The Science Of Sharpening A Knife

How To Sharpen Any Knife -- Gizmodo

A sharp knife isn't just sharper, it's a safer, more efficient, more precise tool. And, like most people, your knives are probably dull. Here's how to fix that quickly, easily and cheaply.

Why do you need to sharpen knives? A sharp knife stands less chance of slipping on the material being cut and, because it requires less effort and force to use than a dull knife, you're less likely to cut yourself. Working with a sharp knife is faster and easier, too. It also damages the material being cut less — ever tried to slice a tomato with a dull knife? It doesn't exactly produce clean results.

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My Comment: For those who love to cook .... a sharp knife is essential. This is a good summary on how to have one.

A Better Map Of The Ocean Floor Has Been Produced

The new gravity data gives us our clearest view yet of the shape of the ocean floor

Satellites Detect 'Thousands' Of New Ocean-Bottom Mountains -- BBC

It is not every day you can announce the discovery of thousands of new mountains on Earth, but that is what a US-European research team has done.

What is more, these peaks are all at least 1.5km high.

The reason they have gone unrecognised until now is because they are at the bottom of the ocean.
Dave Sandwell and colleagues used radar satellites to discern the mountains' presence under water and report their findings in Science Magazine.

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My Comment: The oceans are still a mystery .... but more is being discovered about the oceans everyday.

Security Officials: Ebola Pandemic Should Be Treated 'The Same Way' As Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons

Ebola Virus: Pandemic Should Be Treated 'The Same Way' As Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons, Security Officials Say -- The Independent

Special report: The Government has admitted that the virus spreading across Africa will 'get worse'

The Ebola virus spreading exponentially across Africa and killing thousands of people “will get worse”, the Government has admitted, amid calls for the full involvement of the international military to contain the disease.

Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, said that ministers had been shocked by a prediction from the US public health institute that 1.4 million people may be infected by the virus by January if it continues unchecked.

As ministers, diplomats and humanitarian organisations from 20 different countries pledged a further £79 million to control the outbreak, which has already killed more than 3,000 people, a group of 35 European security officials issued a joint declaration suggesting that Ebola should be treated in the same way as the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

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My Comment: Is it me .... or am I starting to sense panic among our government officials?

UN's Ebola Response Chief Warns Of A 'Global Nightmare' On The Prospect Of The Virus Mutating And Becoming Airborne

A burial team remove a Ebola victim's body from isolation in Sierra Leone

Doomsday Warning: UN Ebola Chief Raises 'Nightmare' Prospect That Virus Could Mutate And Become Airborne - Making It Much More Infectious -- Daily Mail

* UN warns Ebola virus currently plaguing West Africa could become airborne
* The longer it moves between human hosts the greater possibility of mutation
* The risk grows the longer virus is living within the human 'melting pot'
* NGOs have said the Ebola virus is currently infecting five people every hour
* More than 3,300 people have died from Ebola since the outbreak first began
* Officials call for 1,000 new Sierra Leone isolation centres to contain virus
* British survivor says 'horror' of children dying from disease must be avoided
* Will Pooley was first Briton to contract virus after working in Sierra Leone
* Thomas Eric Duncan is the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S.
* He flew into Texas from Liberia, touching down in Brussels and Washington
* Up to 100 people in Texas are feared to have come into contact with him
* Doctors at the hospital in Texas said he was in a serious but stable condition

The longer the Ebola epidemic continues infecting people unabated, the higher the chances it will mutate and become airborne, the UN's Ebola response chief has warned.

Anthony Banbury, the Secretary General's Special Representative, has said there is a 'nightmare' prospect the deadly disease will become airborne if it continues infecting new hosts.

His comments come as organisations battling the crisis in West Africa warned the international community has just four weeks to stop its spread before it spirals 'completely out of control'.

And the British nurse who survived the disease said the 'horror and misery' of watching young children die from the disease must be avoided 'at all costs'.

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My Comment: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is giving the world has only four weeks to stop the crisis from spiraling out of control .... 1 month to stop Ebola before it's 'totally out of control' - global aid NGO -- RT

A New Way To Store Oxygen

Photo: The Oxygen-Absorbing Material. U. of Southern Denmark

Weird Crystal Can Absorb All The Oxygen In A Room -- And Then Release It Later -- Popular Science

This could potentially make fuel cells, space travel, and scuba diving a lot more efficient.

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark say they’ve invented a crystal that pulls oxygen out of the air and even water. Apparently, just a spoonful of the stuff can suck up all the oxygen in a room.

The crystal is a salt made from cobalt*, and it appears to be capable of holding oxygen at a concentration that is 160 times higher than the air we breathe. The paper notes that "an excess" of the substance would bind up to 99 percent of the oxygen in a room.

But what’s more remarkable is that the crystal can later release the oxygen when exposed to heat or low-oxygen conditions. In a press release, study author Christine McKenzie likens it to the hemoglobin in our blood, which uses iron to bind and release oxygen in the human body.

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My Comment: Space travel, underwater use, energy systems/fuel cells, the applications are endless.

A Blast From The Past: A 1981 News Report On The Internet

1981 News Report On The Internet is Now Hilarious -- Neatorama

There are so many amusing things in this 1981 television report about getting newspaper content from the Internet that it's hard to keep track. The smirk and smug tone of voice of the reporter, as if she's informing the public of a quaint yet ridiculous idea that stands no chance of ever being embraced by the public. The opening line: "Imagine if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee and turning on your home computer to read the day's newspaper." Mind boggling! The CRT screens, dial-up connections using a phone receiver and hours of download time for a text file.

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My Comment: We have certainly gone a long way in 33 years.

The Real Story Of The U.S. President's 'Nuclear Football'

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the nuclear "football." (Jamie Chung)

The Real Story of the "Football" That Follows the President Everywhere -- Michael Dobbs, Smithsonian Magazine

Take a peek at the mysterious black briefcase that has accompanied every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy

It is the closest modern-day equivalent of the medieval crown and scepter—a symbol of supreme authority. Accompanying the commander in chief wherever he goes, the innocuous-looking briefcase is touted in movies and spy novels as the ultimate power accessory, a doomsday machine that could destroy the entire world.

Officially known as the “president’s emergency satchel,” the so-called nuclear “Football”—portable and hand-carried—is built around a sturdy aluminum frame, encased in black leather. A retired Football, emptied of its top-secret inner contents, is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. “We were looking for something that would demonstrate the incredible military power and responsibilities of the president, and we struck upon this iconic object,” says curator Harry Rubenstein.

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WNU Editor: The below video describes how important the 'nuclear football' is.

This Is The Greatest Paper Map Of The United States

Left: Imus map of Cincinnati. Right: National Geographic map of Cincinnati

The Greatest Paper Map Of The United States You’ll Ever See -- Seth Stevenson

Made by one guy in Oregon.

American mapmaking’s most prestigious honor is the “Best of Show” award at the annual competition of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society. The five most recent winners were all maps designed by large, well-known institutions: National Geographic (three times), the Central Intelligence Agency Cartography Center, and the U.S. Census Bureau. But earlier this year, the 38^th annual Best of Show award went to a map created by Imus Geographics—which is basically one dude named David Imus working in a farmhouse outside Eugene, Ore.

At first glance, Imus’ “The Essential Geography of the United States of America” may look like any other U.S. wall map. It’s about 4 feet by 3 feet. It uses a standard, two-dimensional conic projection. It has place names. Political boundaries. Lakes, rivers, highways.

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My Comment: Yup ... this is proof that you can always make something better .... even a better map.

Amazing Video Of What A Nuclear Explosion Looks Like

One Of The Most Amazing Nuclear Explosions Ever Recorded On Film -- Sploid

As things get hotter between Russia and NATO, Putin is waving his nuclear dick around. Russia plans to conduct massive nuclear war maneuvers. Yesterday it successfully tested its new Bulava ("Mace") submarine launched nuclear missile, hitting its target with complete accuracy with its dummy warheads.

The Red Fleet's Commander-in-Chief Admiral Viktor Chirkov said that it blasted off from the White Sea, hitting its objective in the Russian Federation's far east minutes later. The Bulava can travel for 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) to rain nuclear death in the form of six to ten warheads.

Let's pause a bit, look at this video, and reflect on this.

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My Comment: I have seen this video before .... it is a testament to how inventive and destructive man can be at the same time.

Millions Across Africa Are Now At Risk In The Latest Ebola Outbreak

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Millions More At Risk In Ebola Outbreak, British Study Finds -- The Telegraph

Research by the University of Oxford reveals how 15 more countries across Africa could be hit by the Ebola virus

The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history could spread to a further 15 countries in West and Central Africa, putting up to 70 million people at risk of infection, a ground-breaking study has found.

Research by the University of Oxford compared historic outbreaks to the virus’ possible transmission in bats and chimpanzees to predict how the disease could spread through its vast animal reservoir.

It is the first time scientists have attempted to explain how the virus, which is contracted through contact with infected bodily fluids, has travelled westward across Africa.

The resulting map shows how the populations of the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ghana and a dozen more countries could be hit by the outbreak, which has already killed nearly 2,300 people in 2014.

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More News On The Ebola Crisis

Ebola virus: 'Biological war' in Liberia -- BBC
Ebola is ‘devouring everything in its path.’ Could it lead to Liberia’s collapse? -- Washington Post
Virologist: Fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia is lost -- Deutsche Welle
Ebola outbreak a 'war with an enemy that we don't see' -- AP
Ebola death toll rises to at least 2,296, WHO says -- FOX News/Reuters
35 Deaths Attributed to Ebola Outbreak in Congo -- AP
Worst Ebola outbreak on record tests global response -- Reuters
Official: U.S. military’s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus -- Washington Post
Photos: Ebola, the Invisible Threat -- WSJ
The reason Ebola isn't being stopped -- Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield, CNN

Update: The crazy conspiracy theories are now making the rounds .... Largest Liberian Newspaper: US Government Manufactured Ebola, AIDS Virus (CBS)

182 Billion Emails Sent Daily Worldwide

My Comment: And how many are span?

Doctors Without Borders: Ebola Virus Is “Totally Out Of Control” In Western Africa

Doctors Without Borders: Ebola Virus Is “Totally Out Of Control” In West Africa -- Legal Insurrection

The international volunteer medical organization Doctors Without Borders has issued a chilling warning — that the deadly Ebola virus is “totally out of control.”

The Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with infected people and causes internal bleeding and organ failure. There is no cure or vaccine so infected patients must be quarantined to stop the rapid spread of the virus. According to the World Health Organization, an Ebola outbreak can result in over 90% fatality rates.

Bart Janssens, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, said Friday that the international community must send in more resources to stop the current Ebola epidemic.

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More News on reports That The Ebola Virus Is “Totally Out Of Control” in Western Africa

Doctors Without Borders: Ebola Out Of Control In West Africa -- IBTimes
Doctors Without Borders: Ebola outbreak 'out of control' -- AP
Ebola outbreak is 'out of control' in West Africa, says medical expert -- Tech Times
Ebola Outbreak 'Tip of the Iceberg,' Experts Say -- NBC

A Look At The U.S. Navy's 'Area 51'

The Navy's Acoustic Research Detachment is located on the banks of Lake Pend Oreille, which provides the perfect conditions for testing new submarine advancements as conditions closely mimic the ocean

The Navy's Most Vital And Secretive Submarine Base Is In... Idaho?!? -- FOXtrot Alpha/Jalopnik

From Foxtrot Alpha: The US Navy's submarine bases are some of the most high-security installations in the world, but one of their most important and shadowy submarine outposts is not in the middle of an ocean, but rather in a lake in landlocked Idaho.

The US Navy's submarine bases are some of the most high-security installations in the world, but one of their most important and shadowy submarine outposts is not located along the ocean, but rather in a lake in landlocked Idaho.

The Navy's Acoustic Research Detachment (ARD) at Bayview, Idaho, which is some 375 miles from the ocean, is where new submarine and surface ship shapes and subsystems are tested in a sub-scale environment that closely mimics the ocean. In other words, ARD Bayview is the Navy's lower-key subsurface Area 51, and massive Lake Pend Oreille is a water based, smaller, and more outsider friendly Nellis Range Complex.

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Update #1: The Navy's top secret submarine base in land-locked IDAHO where its new stealth technology -- Daily Mail
Update #2: The Navy's 'Area 51' in North Idaho -- Boise Weekly

My Comment: Forget about the US Navy testing it's newest equipment .... I would love to have a cottage on that lake .... the view looks awesome.

Are French Spies Responsible For Creating Mysterious YouTube Videos?

Are French Spies Creating Mysterious YouTube Videos? Bizarre 11-Second Shorts Could Be Encrypted Codes, Claim Conspiracy Theorists -- Daily Mail

* Unexplained clips appeared on Webdriver Torso's account in September
* Clips were posted for seven months, stopped three weeks ago but then started again today
* Each upload has 10 slides with blue and red rectangles of different shapes
* A BBC report has suggested the videos were likely uploaded in France
* Theorists claim it could be a modern-day equivalent of a numbers station used by spies during the Cold War

For seven months, a YouTube user posted a series of bizarre videos one after the other in quick succession before suddenly stopping.

Almost every clip on the Webdriver Torso channel lasts for 11 seconds and features ten slides, each one showing a blue and red rectangle of different sizes and shapes.

These were posted approximately every hour until three weeks ago, when they just stopped.

However, a new video has appeared today – causing conspiracy theorists to speculate on what the clips are.

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More News On Reports That French Intelligence Is Responsible For Creating Mysterious YouTube Videos?

Webdriver Torso YouTube mystery clips' French connection -- BBC
Are French spies creating mysterious YouTube videos? -- Digital Trends
Is this espionage or an art project? -- Globe and Mail
Could This Mysterious 'Number Station' YouTube Account Be A Message Board For Spies? -- Huffington Post
The truth behind one YouTube account's 77,000 mysterious videos -- The Guardian

WNU Editor: Here are some more mysteries on the web .... Five of the Internet’s eeriest, unsolved mysteries -- Washington Post

Dolphin Wars?

NATO Military Dolphins to Roam Black Sea – Media. © Photo public domain

NATO Military Dolphins to Roam Black Sea – Media -- RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) – US military-trained dolphins and sea lions will participate in upcoming NATO military exercises in the Black Sea, the Russian Izvestiya newspaper reported Monday.

The paper, citing a spokesman for the US Navy’s marine mammals program, said some 20 dolphins and 10 sea lions will participate in exercises.

The exercises will test new equipment designed to "disorient enemy sonars, while sea lions and dolphins are looking for mines and military divers," the newspaper wrote.

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More News On NATO Exercises To be Conducted In The Black Sea Using Dolphins

US Navy to deploy combat dolphins for Black Sea military drills – report -- RT
Dolphins 'to Take Part' in NATO Black Sea Drills - Report -- Novinite
US, Russian military dolphins may face off in Black Sea -- News.com.au
US Military Dolphins to Participate in Black Sea Nato Drill -- IBTimes
Russian and American Military Dolphins Might Face Off This Summer -- Government Executive
Will U.S. and Russian Dolphins Face Off? No Way, Navy Says -- NBC

The Future Of Surveillance Will Be On Display In Today's Boston Marathon

Creepy Autonomous AI CCTV Surveillance Network Watches All Of Boston -- Daily Caller

Following the Boston Marathon bombings almost one year ago, the Boston Police Department started looking toward more high-tech means of securing the city against future attacks. They found the solution in the form of an artificially intelligent, self-learning surveillance network that now watches the entire city, and all of its inhabitants.

The Texas-based Behavioral Recognition Systems, Inc. (BRS Labs) headed by former Secret Service special agent John Frazzini has a reputation for developing advanced, AI-based surveillance platforms. The system the company built for Boston after the bombings is on the bleeding edge of such technology, and not only watches and analyzes human behavior, but learns from it to identify suspicious or abnormal activity.

It actually predict threats by itself, completely free of additional human programming, guidance or monitoring.

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My Comment: This is cutting edge technology that is just as disturbing as the NSA's ability to monitor our communications networks.

A 'Radiation Belt' For Nuclear Emergencies

Israeli Company Develops 'Radiation Belt' For Nuclear Emergencies -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters

Called the "StemRad 360 Gamma" belt, it shields the body from the effects of gamma radiation.

"It may look simplistic on the outside but the structure inside is three dimensional and very unique. The idea here was to create a product that on the one hand protects but on the other hand is not over burdened weight."

Oren Milstein is co-founder of Stemrad, the company behind the belt. He won't give much away about its key technology, but says it's partially comprised of lead and has been designed to protect the pelvic area, where most of the the body's renewable bone marrow is concentrated.

Milstein says protecting that bone marrow can be crucial to ensuring survival after radiation exposure.

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Update #1: Nuclear Accident? Fasten Up Your 'Radiation Belt' -- NextGov
Update #2: ‘Anti-radiation belt’ developed by Israeli firm for nuclear emergencies -- RT

My Comment: There are three Nobel laureates on-board, and they are vouching for it.

Scientists Reconstruct Asteroid Impact To Have Hit Earth 3.26 Billion Years Ago

The massive asteroid was almost as wide as Rhode Island and about three to five times larger than the rock thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs.

Scientists Reconstruct Asteroid Impact SIX TIMES Bigger Than The Blast That Wiped Out The Dinosaurs Which Boiled Oceans, Burned The Sky, And Shook The Earth For Thirty Minutes -- Daily Mail

* 36 mile wide asteroid is believed to have hit Earth 3.26 billion years ago
* Collision punched a crater into the planet’s crust 300 miles across
* Atmosphere filled with dust and the tops of oceans boiled

cientists have reconstructed one of the biggest asteroid impacts ever to hit Earth - and say it was six times as big as the blast than wiped out the dinosaurs.

The 36 mile wide asteroid is believed to have hit Earth 3.26 billion years ago, creating unique geological features found in a South African region known as the Barberton greenstone belt.

Researcher say the impact would have boiled oceans, burned the sky, and cause the planet to shake for 30 minutes.

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My Comment: That must have been one hell of an impact 3.26 billion years ago.

Boeing's 'Phantom Swift' Vertical Take Off And Landing Craft

 

Boeing Going Vertical with 'Phantom Swift' Military X-Plane (Video) -- Yahoo News/Live Science 

Aerospace giant Boeing is designing a new type of aircraft capable of taking off, hovering and landing vertically, the company says. Such vehicles are essentially hybrids of helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes, and could one day be used by the military to transport troops, weapons or cargo to and from the battlefield. 

Boeing was one of four companies recently selected to receive funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — the arm of the U.S. Department of Defense charged with developing new technologies for the military — to design new, unmanned vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Boeing will receive $17 million as part of the agreement, which is part of DARPA's VTOL Experimental Plane, or X-Plane, program.  

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My Comment: The above Live Science article provides a good description of DARPA's X-Wing Competition.

For One Day Only Next Week, Google Will Let Anyone In The US Buy Glass

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For One Day, Google Will Let Anyone In The US Buy Glass -- The Verge

Google is about to make its biggest push yet to get Glass in the hands of as many people as possible. The Verge has obtained documents indicating that the company will open up its "Explorer Program" and make Glass available to anyone who wants to purchase a pair, possibly as soon as next week. It’ll be a limited-time offer, only available for about a day, and only US residents will be eligible to purchase the $1,500 device. Google will also include a free sunglass shade or one of its newly-introduced prescription glasses frames along with any purchase. An internal Google slide shows that the promotion may be announced on April 15th, though all the details of this program have yet to be finalized.

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Update: Google Glass available to anyone for one day only -- CNN

My Comment: Rats .... it will only be available in the U.S. .... and I live in Canada.