Internet-D

Here’s a novel potential public health measure against the flu—kick up the humidity. The cold, dry months of winter signal the start of flu season. But previous research found only a weak correlation between the spike in flu rates and the drop in relative humidity. Now researchers from Oregon State University say that’s because it’s absolute, not relative, humidity that counts. Their study is in the February 9th edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Relative humidity is a function of temperature. During the dry winter, relative humidity is low in a warm house but high in the cold outside. Absolute humidity, however, is simply the total amount of water in the air. The less water in the air, the longer the flu virus survives. And that leads to a greater chance of someone catching the bug.

The scientists aren’t sure why humidity affects the flu virus survival. But they hope their discovery can be put to work. Emergency rooms and nursing homes, for example, could up their humidity during the winter. Maybe it’s time for a new health mantra: a sauna a day keeps the flu bug away.
—Adam Hinterthuer

Scientific American

I know they said “Capt. Sully” stayed cool and calm, but it really is unbelievable. He sounded like he was ordering pizza for pick-up, explaining that he’ll be delayed a tad.

Psychopathical? Psychopathical and a bisexual pimp.

In an updated article:

Microsoft says:

“As stated in the Xbox Live Terms of Use, a member may not create a gamertag or use text in other profile fields that include comments that look, sound like, stand for, hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate content of a potentially sexual nature. Profiles that do are asked to change the language and suspended until changes are made. In regards to sexual orientation, for gamertags or profiles we do not allow expression of any type of orientation, be that hetero or other. Players can, however, self identify in voice communication where context is more easily explained to all players involved.

“Harassment of any kind is not condoned and is taken very seriously; we strongly encourage Xbox Live members to immediately report inappropriate behavior through the compliant tools in the service so that it can be investigated and the appropriate action taken.”

“The Xbox Live community grows daily, and we continue to explore methods and levels of enforcement to enhance the ways our members connect and have fun, while adhering to a code of conduct that encourages respect and keeps the service safe and fun for all our members.”

What is Microsoft doing and why? What’s their concern here?
The Consumerist 1st article
The Consumerist 2nd article

• Bif Bang Pow! has just released pics of its Dexter figure, which comes complete with a bloody garbage bag of assumably severed limbs. (Best accessory ever? It’s gotta be up there.) You can pre-order him for $17 right over here. — Topless Robot – Toy Trifecta: Joker, Dexter, Another Star Wars/Disney Abomination

oh wow, really?  and yes, I agree, that is likely one of the most kick ass accessories ever for an ‘action figure’, but really, how many serial killers deserve one?

British Army snipers call it ‘the Silent Assassin’ and it is the weapon the Taliban fear the most.

It is the British-made L115A3 Long Range Rifle which, in recent weeks, has killed scores of enemy fighters in Afghanistan.

In a new initiative on the front line, the Army is using sniper platoons to target the Taliban and ‘The Long’, as the snipers call it, can take out insurgents from a mile away.
Many of the elite marksmen who use the rifle make their own extraordinary suits of camouflage to stay hidden from the Taliban.

Some have been known to go ‘under cover’ for two days while they pick off the enemy.

Last week Army snipers were training with the rifle and full camouflage on the snow-covered ranges of the Support Weapons School at the Land Warfare Centre at Warminster, Wiltshire. One of them, known as Yuppie, said: ‘You could call it made-to-measure camouflage.

‘This one is green string tied into sheets, then covered in straw with straps attached so it fits tight. It took three months and a lot of patience to make.’

His comrade Dean, who like Yuppie is a veteran of Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, said: ‘I wouldn’t say us snipers are an elite, but we think we’re a cut above the rest.’

The L115A3 Long Range Sniper Rifle – based on a weapon used by the British Olympic shooting team – weighs 15lbs, fires 8.59mm rounds and has a range of 1,100-1,500 yards.

Daily Mail

That’s pretty impressive.

When he’s working, Epping Police Officer Bradley Jardis is just like any other cop.

He’s patrolling the streets to catch people with drugs because that’s what he’s supposed to do.
But when he’s off the clock, this 28-year-old officer is speaking publicly about why he believes existing drug policies have failed and why it’s time for lawmakers to legalize drugs.It’s an unusual position to take for a police officer charged with enforcing laws, but Jardis insists that prohibiting drugs leaves the dealers in control, creating a dangerous black market that breeds crime and gives kids easy access.
Jardis believes drugs should be regulated by the government just like alcohol. “We treat alcoholism as a public health problem, but we treat drug addiction as a criminal problem, and that’s wrong,” he said.

And he’s not the only officer who feels this way.
Jardis, of Hooksett, is among a growing number of current and former New Hampshire law enforcement officers and others in criminal justice who have joined a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP.
Rick Van Wickler, superintendent of the Cheshire County Department of Corrections, joined LEAP in late 2007, and Ron White, superintendent of the Merrimack County Department of Corrections, came aboard about a month ago.
LEAP’s membership in New Hampshire has now grown to 132, with as many as 20 new members joining in the past three months, according to Tom Angell, the group’s media relations director.
LEAP, which began in 2002 with five founding members, now has more than 11,000 members in 90 countries.

MSNBC
Is it hopeless or will it happen…eventually?

#2. Using Antibacterial Soap
Why People Do It:

Bacteria make us sick. The only way for us (and our precious children) to stay healthy is to kill the fuckers. Referring to the bacteria there, not the precious children.
These days you can get antibacterial anything: hand soap, dish soap, hand lotion, edible panties, gun oil. We’ll have those bacteria eradicated in no time!

Why They Shouldn’t:

Nature is a funny thing. Not “knock-knock joke” funny, but “horrifying death preceded by agonizing suffering” funny. The thing about biology is that while it is really easy to kill a lot of something, it’s a lot harder to kill all of something. And the survivors tend to be a lot tougher and pissed off.

Thus, there is concern that the stronger bacteria will become resistant as the weaker bacteria are killed off by our shelves of antibacterial products, leaving only the resistant ones behind. Darwinism works its magic.
This has already happened with the staphylococcus bacteria, which have developed strains that laugh at penicillin like Superman laughs at bullets, except Superman won’t cause you to develop pus-filled boils and kill you afterward.

If the idea of super germs isn’t scary enough, it turns out the same chemicals we’re using to try and kill those germs may actually be making us sick as well. The active ingredient in antibacterial soap is now thought to have the potential to affect sex hormones and the nervous system both. In fact, the chemicals causing the concern have been found in the urine of 75 percent of people, which means the poison is probably in your wiener right now.
If all this still isn’t ironic enough for you, then consider that getting rid of all those bacteria may actually be worse for us in the long run. Scientists believe that kids who are kept in sterile environments develop more allergies. The theory is that these kids are not exposed to the germs and their immune systems never develop the natural resistance to them. Basically it means our immune systems are playing Dungeons & Dragons instead of pumping iron and taking Karate and banging hot chicks.

The final nail in this comedy of errors and mixed metaphors is that studies found that using antibacterial soap is no better than using regular soap. Just one more marketing gimmick.

The rest of the list can be found on cracked.com

It blow’d up real good!

oh wow dude. really?

One of al-Qaeda’s founding leaders, Dr Fadl, has begun an ideological revolt against Osama bin Laden, blaming him for “every drop” of blood spilt in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, who goes by the nom de guerre Dr Fadl, helped bin Laden create al-Qaeda and then led an Islamist insurgency in Egypt in the 1990s.
But in a book written from inside an Egyptian prison, he has launched a frontal attack on al-Qaeda’s ideology and the personal failings of bin Laden and particularly his Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Twenty years ago, Dr Fadl became al-Qaeda’s intellectual figurehead with a crucial book setting out the rationale for global jihad against the West.

Today, however, he believes the murder of innocent people is both contrary to Islam and a strategic error. “Every drop of blood that was shed or is being shed in Afghanistan and Iraq is the responsibility of bin Laden and Zawahiri and their followers,” writes Dr Fadl.
The terrorist attacks on September 11 were both immoral and counterproductive, he writes. “Ramming America has become the shortest road to fame and leadership among the Arabs and Muslims. But what good is it if you destroy one of your enemy’s buildings, and he destroys one of your countries? What good is it if you kill one of his people, and he kills a thousand of yours?” asks Dr Fadl. “That, in short, is my evaluation of 9/11.”

The only mostly insane fanatic berates the completely insane fanatic.
Telegraph

Creationists often publish lists of a few dozen scientists who doubt Darwin. So in 2003 the National Center for Science Education put together a list of 200 scientists who accept evolution.

“Except that all of ours were named Steve.” That was the NCSE’s Eugenie Scott at last week’s AAAS meeting. “And now we have one thousand scientists named Steve. Project Steve has a serious message. Approximately one percent of Americans are named Steve or Stephanie, so do the math. Our one thousand Steves represents a hundred thousand scientists accepting evolution, as opposed to the rather paltry number dissing Darwin. It’s important because in states where we have major problems with anti-evolution going on, the number of scientists doubting evolution has been proclaimed to the public. I just want the press to keep asking, ‘How many Steves do you have?’”

And the thousandth Steve is: “The distinguished botanist at the University of Tulane and head of the Tulane Herbarium, Steve Darwin.”

—Steve Mirsky

Scientific American

“I look at it a total different way today. You know, I don’t hate them. If it hadn’t happened, a lot of things wouldn’t have changed. I don’t think we’d have a black president as soon as we had one … minorities getting in positions that would have taken more years to get into. There’s a positive thing that came out of a horrible situation.”
– Rodney King Speaks Out on Police Beating | Celebrity Smack! Gossip & Entertainment Blog

Wow.  I think I agree with him on this?

Slate

This is not a scene from some movie. It happened in Australia in December 2007.

Watch video
– Driving into huge a dust storm

Project Pterosaur
By Dr. Richard Paley & Fellowship University Theobiology Department Staff
About Project Pterosaur
Mission Statement

The goal of Project Pterosaur is to mount an expedition to locate and bring back to the United States living specimens of pterosaurs or their fertile eggs, which will be displayed in a Pterosaur Rookery that will be the center piece of the planned Fellowship Creation Science Museum and Research Institute (FCSMRI). Furthermore, the rookery facility will establish a breeding colony of pterosaurs in order to produce specimens that could then be put on display by other regional institutions or church groups.

By doing all this, we hope to accomplish three goals:

1. Support Creation Theory by showing the incorrectness of the philosophy of Evolutionism.
2. Educate the population about Creation Science.
3. Create excitement about Creation and the Bible in the public.

I (Dr. Paley) am the founder and Chief Officer of the project. I will also be leading the expedition and acting as Science Liaison to the public. Funding is being provided by Fellowship University, the Fairlight Institute, and donations from wealthy Christian businessmen who wish to remain anonymous at this time.

I-gotU is a GPS Logger and Receiver 2-in-1 device including user-friendly Travel Blog Software. i-gotU records trip routes, Auto-adds photo GPS locations, creates an animated trip journal that brings back live trip memory by plotting the route and playing back the photos / YouTube videos with the exact location on 3D maps.
– i-gotU GT-120 USB GPS Travel Logger – the name says it all - The Red Ferret Journal

Oh just think of the fun you can have with this device!  Just throw it in your girlfriend’s car and you’ll be able to see where she goes for a whole 30 hours!

Technology : making stalking easier every day.