Here Comes The U.S. Army's Monster Laser Truck

Not quite handheld yet... The truck-mounted laser weapons system that Boeing and the Pentagon hopes will prove the efficacy of the technology on the battlefield

The Death-Ray On Wheels: US Army Begins Testing Monster Laser Truck That Can Shoot Down Anything, Including Missiles -- Daily Mail

* Boeing's land-based laser weapon could be used for missile defence * Beam will hit targets at a phenomenal 186,000 miles a second Laser weapons are a step closer to deployment on Earth's battlefields as a U.S. defence company gears up to test a new land-based device. Boeing has announced that it has successfully mounted a 10kw solid-state laser on an eight-wheeled, 500-horsepower truck that could be used alongside conventional Army forces. The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) is now ready for field testing and over the next year will have a chance to show off its ability to acquire, track and destroy targets. Read more ....

More News On Boeing's U.S. Army Laser Truck

The Army's eight-wheeled laser truck that zaps enemy missiles -- The Week Boeing Just Put The Finishing Touches On An 8-Wheeled Laser Truck -- Business Insider Boeing trucks ahead with 8-wheeling laser weapon -- CNet Truck Mounted High Energy Laser For Destroying Incoming Rocket and Artillery To Be Tested Next Year -- Ottawa Citizen Pew pew: Boeing's laser truck powers up -- Dvice Boeing lands $16M laser weapon follow-up -- Optics.org

Global Hunger Continues For One In Eight In The World

One In Eight Of World Population Going Hungry: U.N. -- Reuters

(Reuters) - One out of every eight people in the world is chronically undernourished, the United Nations' food agencies said on Tuesday, and aid groups warned that rising food prices could reverse gains in the fight against hunger. In a report on food insecurity, the UN agencies said 868 million people were hungry in 2010-2012, or about 12.5 percent of the world's population, down more sharply than previously estimated from about 1 billion, or 18.6 percent in 1990-92. The new figures, based on a revised calculation method and more up-to-date data, are lower than the last estimates for recent years that pegged the number of hungry people at 925 million in 2010 and 1.02 billion in 2009. Read more ....

More News On Global Hunger

UN says world hungry not 1 billion after all -- Seattle Times/AP UN Says World Hungry Now Under 1 Billion -- Voice of America MDG target to halve prevalence of hunger within reach, says UN -- The Guardian UN tweaks the methodology of malnourishment -- Globe and Mail Hunger falls but still unacceptably high-FAO chief -- Reuters

The Volcano That Destroyed The Minoan Civilization Is Stirring To Life Again

Cruise ships muster in the bay of the island of Santorini. The volcanic peak can be seen at the top-right of the image. 

 'Atlantis'-Killer Volcano Under Island Of Santorini Wakes Again -- News.com.au

IT destroyed the Minoan civilisation and sent shockwaves through history as the legend of Atlantis. Now, the volcano of Santorini is stirring again. Almost four thousand years ago, the island of Santorini was probably much as it is now - a scenic retreat for the Minoan's wealthy and powerful. And history may be set to repeat itself: Magma has been detected once again pouring up to 20 million cubic metres of molten rock into chambers deep beneath the idyllic island.

Read more ....  

My Comment: We have been lucky in the modern age to not experience a major earthquake in this part of the world .... but if this report is true .... it appears that the clock is ticking.

Steve Jobs' Vision of the World

A New Electric Car World Speed Record

The Nemesis, driven by Nick Ponting, 21, hit 148.7mph - breaking the 137mph set by Don Wales, the grandson of speed ace Sir Malcolm Campbell, 10 years ago

 Electric Car Smashes World Speed Record - Clocking 148.7mph To Beat Record Set By Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Grandson -- Daily Mail

* Creators want to 'smash the sterotype that electric cars are 'slow and boring cars that Noddy would drive'
* Team also wants 'debate about how everyone will move around when the world runs out of oil'

There was no roar from the engine as this super-charged sports car topped 150mph on its record-breaking run yesterday. Only the relatively gentle sound of tyre rolling over road disturbed the peace and quiet as the UK land speed record for an electric car was shattered.

The team behind a supercar powered by energy from wind turbines believe they have smashed the UK land-speed record for an electric car. Their recorded speed of 148.7mph breaks the record of 137mph set by Don Wales, the grandson of speed ace Sir Malcolm Campbell, 10 years ago.

Read more ....

My Comment: Here is some more info .... the Nemesis can travel from 100-150 miles between charges, depending on driving style, and can be charged from empty in less than 30 minutes.

Bright Comet To Light Up The Sky In A Late 2013 Pass-By

Photo: Hale-Bopp sailed overhead, leaving two trails: An ionic trail of magnetically-charged particles facing directly away from the sun (left), and a trail of dust and debris.

Comet 'Shining 15 Times Brighter Than Moon' Will Fly By Our Planet In 2013 -- Daily Mail 

They are one of the most spectacular views a human could hope to see - and next year a comet which could outshine the moon is due to fly by the Earth.

Comet ISON is visiting the inner solar system and is set to put on spectacular views for the Northern Hemisphere across November and December as it heads towards the sun.

 It may prove to be brighter than any comet of the last century - visible even in broad daylight - and this may end up being its one and only trip to the solar system, as its trajectory may see it plunge into the sun in a fiery death.

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My Comment: Let's hope that it will be a bright one for everyone to see.

New 200mph McLaren British Supercar With £800,000 Price Tag

State-of-the-art: The super-lightweight but powerful supercar (pictured) is being built at McLaren's factory in Woking, Surrey

New 200mph McLaren British Supercar With £800,000 Price Tag Is Revealed For The First Time Ahead Of Paris Motor Show -- Daily Mail

* Lightweight but powerful vehicle being built at McLaren's state-of-the-art factory
* It is being seen as the spiritual successor of the three-seater McLaren F1 supercar of the 1990s

A new 200mph British supercar has broken cover with a scintillating £800,000 price-tag to match.

The new flagship two-seater McLaren P1 will accelerate from rest to 62mph in under three seconds and is set to be one of the stars of next week’s Paris Motor Show.

The super-lightweight but powerful supercar is being built at McLaren’s state of the art factory in Woking, Surrey and has the ambition of being the best road and track car in the world for drivers.

Read more ....

My Comment: She looks very hot.

Can We Finally Break The Speed Of Light?

Space time mapped out: Teams at NASA are exploring ways to warp the universe to enable faster than light travel. Pictured is a model of how a ship, enclosed in a space-time 'doughnut', could reach the stars

Can We Finally Break The Speed Of Light? Nasa Breakthrough Suggests Star Trek's 'Warp Drives' May Not Only Be Possible - But Practical -- Daily Mail

* NASA suggests new model which could reduce energy requirements for warp-speed travel from planet-sized to car-sized
* 'Humble experiments' in laboratory could lead to faster-than-light travel

As we take our virgin steps into space, there is one thing that could always put a cap on our ambitions.

Despite our desire to explore the stars, we are limited by travelling at less than light speed - and even if we managed to match that pace, we would still be listing our voyages from star to star in years, centuries or millenia.

But, in what could be a huge breakthrough, theorists from Nasa say there is 'hope' that we can achieve faster-than-light travel, after physicists found a theoretical possibility for warp speed travel.

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My Comment: Faster please. :)

The Complete Guide To Twitter’s Language And Acronyms

The Complete Guide To Twitter’s Language And Acronyms -- Twitter

The beauty and challenge of Twitter is stuffing your most sophisticated thoughts and feelings into a measly 140 characters (or less). Unfortunately, our traditional methods of communication have proven to be a poor training ground for micro-messaging, and even the most savvy platform users have sighed in exasperation as those bright red negative character signs mock our basic intelligence. But, perhaps even worse, no good tweet is ever going to be 140 characters because it’s impossible to share, respond or reference a tweet that’s already at it’s max. If you want to make a big statement with a small message, you have to trim the fat.

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My Comment: A useful and brief list.

More Countries Are Blocking YouTube Over Anti-Islam Video

More Countries Push To Block YouTube Over Anti-Islam Video -- L.A. Times

As protests over an online video mocking the Islamic prophet continue to simmer in Pakistan, Indonesia and elsewhere, more countries are trying to keep it from being seen around the world.

Google has already stopped the film trailer from being viewed on YouTube in Egypt and Libya “given the very difficult situation” and has restricted it in Indonesia and India over concerns that it violates local laws. Malaysian news media reported that the video was also inaccessible there late Monday after government officials lodged similar complaints with the company about the amateurish video.

Read more ....

More News On Countries Blocking YouTube Over Anti-Islam Video

YouTube blocked in Saudi to stop anti-Islam film -- Houston Chronicle/AP
Pakistan, Bangladesh Block YouTube Amid Islam Film Protests -- Bloomberg Businessweek
YouTube selectively restricts access to anti-Islam film -- Daily Star
In Egypt, despite Google claims, anti-Islam film can be seen online -- Bikyamasr
Google Refuses to Censor Anti-Islam Film in America but Bars Access in Muslim Countries -- News Busters

Real Time Map That Shows You Every Plane In The Air Right Now

Flightradar 24 makes it possible to track flights all around the world

Rush Hour In The Skies: Real Time Map That Shows You Every Plane In The Air Right Now -- Daily Mail

At any given moment there are an estimated 5,000 commercial airplanes in the skies over the United States and now there's a website that enables you to track them, in real time, on a map.

Flightradar24 makes it possible to track flights all around the world, whether commercial airliners, private jets or military aircraft.

The website's flight map is updated every couple of seconds. Using the map you can track a specific flight, mark out its route, the airport from which it departed and where it is supposed to land. You can even see its altitude and speed.

Read more ....

Editor: Flightradar24's website is here.

A Final Tribute To Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong To Be Buried At Sea: Family -- Reuters

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, will be buried at sea, family spokesman Rick Miller said on Thursday.

Armstrong died on August 25 following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. He was 82.

A public memorial service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral on September 13 and will be broadcast live on NASA Television and streamed online at nasa.gov and nationalcathedral.org.

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My Comment: I guess he does not want a grave-site turned into a public memorial and place for those to gather and acknowledge his moon-walk accomplishment.

FBI To Start A Face Recognition System Database Across America

FBI Begins Installation Of $1 Billion Face Recognition System Across America -- RT

Birthmarks, be damned: the FBI has officially started rolling out a state-of-the-art face recognition project that will assist in their effort to accumulate and archive information about each and every American at a cost of a billion dollars.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reached a milestone in the development of their Next Generation Identification (NGI) program and is now implementing the intelligence database in unidentified locales across the country, New Scientist reports in an article this week. The FBI first outlined the project back in 2005, explaining to the Justice Department in an August 2006 document (.pdf) that their new system will eventually serve as an upgrade to the current Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) that keeps track of citizens with criminal records across America .

Read more ....

More News On The FBI Installing Software Across The Country

FBI to roll out $1 billion public facial recognition system in 2014, will be on to your evildoing everywhere -- Endgadget
The FBI Banks $1 Billion For Facial Recognition Tech -- Fast Company
FBI moves forward with plans to build $1billion database of Americans' photographs for new facial recognition software -- Daily Mail
FBI launches $1 billion face recognition project -- New Scientist
How the feds are tracking us -- PC World
FBI Wagers $1 Billion On Facial Recognition Software -- Inquistr

My Comment: It will only be a question of time before no one will be able to hide.

Two Planets ... Two Stars

Two Planets ... Two Stars: Nasa Detects Strange New Solar System (And One Of The Planets Occupies The Life-Supporting 'Goldilocks Zone') -- Daily Mail

* First time that planets have been seen orbiting a two-star system
* 'Theorists will be going back to the drawing board to improve our understanding of how planets are assembled'

Nasa has announced the discovery of a solar system which is home to not one, but two stars.

The Kepler solar system, 4,900 light-years away from Earth, has two stars - called a binary system - orbiting each other in a cosmic dance.

What makes this discovery exciting is the discovery of two planets circling the system - and one of them inhabits the so-called 'Goldilocks Zone', where the planet is the right distance ('not too hot, not too cold') to support liquid water and potentially support life.

Before today, it was unknown whether planets could form around a two-star system.

Read more ....

My Comment: Another mystery solved.

How One U.S. Navy Captain Used A Creative Way To Provide For His Family If He Died

Stamp Auction

Neil Armstrong Couldn't Afford Life Insurance, So He Used A Creative Way To Provide For His Family If He Died -- Business Insider

After all the danger, glory, and fame it's easy to forget that at the end of the day astronauts are federal employees subject to the same General Schedule (GS) pay scale as everyone from typists to CIA agents.

Unfortunately, a federal salary wasn't enough for Apollo 11 astronauts to purchase life insurance.

Read more ....

My Comment: A small confession .... as a stamp collector, I would pay $5,000 for such a signed postcard.

How Tall Can Buildings Get?

Is There a Limit to How Tall Buildings Can Get? -- The Atlantic

The race is always on. Within the span of just two years, the world's tallest building was built three times in New York City – the 282.5-meter Bank of Manhattan in 1930, the 319-meter Chrysler Building in a few months after, and then 11 months later the 381-meter Empire State Building in 1931. The era of architectural horse-racing and ego-boosting has only intensified in the decades since. In 2003, the 509-meter Taipei 101 unseated the 452-meter Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur after a seven-year reign as the world's tallest. In 2010, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai far surpassed Taipei 101, climbing up to 828 meters. Bold builders in China want to go 10 meters higher later this year with a 220-story pre-fab tower that can be constructed in a baffling 90 days. And then, in 2018, the Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (below, right) will go significantly farther, with a proposed height of at least 1,000 meters.*

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My Comment: It seems that money is the biggest limitation.

Hover 'Bike' Flies On Pilot's Intuition

Remembering Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong Dead At 82: First Man To Walk On The Moon Passes Away Following Heart Surgery, 43 Years After Giant Leap For Mankind -- Daily Mail

* Former astronaut Neil Armstrong captained Apollo 11 mission to the moon
* He and fellow NASA astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin spent nearly three hours on lunar surface
* Served in U.S. Navy in Korean War and flew 78 missions during combat
* After lunar landing, took worldwide tour with Apollo 11 crew and met Queen Elizabeth II during 38-day journey
* Famously stayed out of public view following moon landing; friends said he had no interest in becoming a novelty

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died at the age of 82, after suffering complications from heart surgery, his family said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the former NASA astronaut had undergone heart surgery.

He famously uttered the quote moments after setting foot on the lunar surface: ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’

Read more .....

More News On The Death Of Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong, first man to step on the moon, dies at 82 -- Washington Post
Space legend Neil Armstrong dies -- CNN
First Man to Set Foot on Moon Dies at 82 -- Voice of America
Neil Armstrong, US astronaut, dies aged 82 -- The Telegraph
Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon, dies at age 82 -- The Guardian
Tributes pour in for 'man on the moon' Armstrong -- AFP
Man on the moon: moment of greatness that defined the American century -- The Guardian
Remembering Neil Armstrong, A Man of Profound Skill and Preternatural Calm -- Time
Armstrong’s small step a giant leap for humanity -- Washington Times/AP
Neil Armstrong, 1930-2012 -- John Steele Gordon, Commentary
One small step for man, or a man? Armstrong said his famous words from the moon were misquoted -- Washington Post/AP
What happened to NASA’s pioneering astronauts? -- Washington Times/AP

My Comment: After spending the past 2 days camping in the woods .... I fire up my computer to see what is happening in the world .... everything then becomes a blur except this story .... and then an overwhelming sense of loss knowing that something is now gone forever.

I was nine years old when I saw him walk on the moon .... becoming one of those grainy black and white childhood images that has always stuck with me. Over the years he then became the symbol (at least to me) of not what man is .... but what man is capable of doing .... and now he is gone and the world is a lesser place because of it. But I take comfort that even though he is gone .... as long as history books are written .... he will always be remembered as the first man to walk on a different celestial body .... and the first man to look at the earth from a perspective that no one had ever looked at before.

Test Flight Of U.S. Air Force Hypersonic X-51A Aircraft Ends In Failure

Military’s Mach 5 Missile Fails, Again -- Danger Room

A crucial test for the Air Force’s experimental Mach 5 missile has ended in failure, according to the Air Force. Tuesday’s test is also the third time the hypersonic X-51A Waverider cruise missile has fallen short. But this time could be the last.

As first reported by Danger Room, the Waverider’s control fin failed, preventing the missile’s scramjet engine from starting. The Air Force later confirmed the result in a statement. That also corresponds to information provided by an insider familiar with the test, who said a problem with a missile’s fin caused a loss of control before the engine could kick in.

Read more ....

More News On Yesterday's Failure Of The Hypersonic X-51A Aircraft

US hypersonic aircraft crashes seconds into military test flight -- Reuters
Hypersonic vehicle fails flight test: US Air Force -- AFP
Hypersonic jet Waverider fails Mach 6 test -- BBC
Unmanned Air Force craft fails in attempt to reach Mach 6 for 5 minutes over Pacific Ocean -- Washington Post/AP
Hypersonic Waverider jet fails during attempt to fly six times speed of sound -- The Telegraph
US hypersonic aircraft crashes in test flight -- The Telegraph
Air Force's Hypersonic X-51A jet fails latest test flight, is lost over the Pacific -- FOX News
Air Force X-51A WaveRider Hypersonic Jet Crashes -- ABC News
X-51A WaveRider hypersonic mission doomed by bum missile fin -- Endgadget
USAF Hypersonic Aircraft Fails Flight Test -- Defense News
Hypersonic Craft Fails in Test Flight -- Wall Street Journal

Key Hypersonic Test Flight Tomorrow

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Key Test Set For Sustained Hypersonic Flight -- L.A. Times

The unmanned experimental aircraft X-51A WaveRider is expected to fly above the Pacific Ocean near Point Mugu at Mach 6 for 300 seconds Tuesday.

Since test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in 1947, engineers and scientists have dreamed of ever-faster aircraft. Now, they face one of their toughest challenges yet: sustaining hypersonic flight — going five times the speed of sound or more — for more than a few minutes.

In a nondescript hangar at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, a team of aerospace engineers has been putting the finishing touches on a lightning-quick experimental aircraft designed to fly above the Pacific Ocean at 3,600 mph. A passenger aircraft traveling at that speed could fly from Los Angeles to New York in 46 minutes.

Read more ....

Update: Tomorrow's Test Of The X-51 Waverider Could Usher In A New Era Of Flight -- Business Insider

My Comment: I wish them the best.