If the Great Filter is ahead of us, we have still to confront it. If it is true that almost all intelligent species go extinct before they master the technology for space colonization, then we must expect that our own species will, too, since we have no reason to think that we will be any luckier than other species. If the Great Filter is ahead of us, we must relinquish all hope of ever colonizing the galaxy, and we must fear that our adventure will end soon--or, at any rate, prematurely. Therefore, we had better hope that the Great Filter is behind us.Where are they?
Apr 30, 2008
4.6 Billion Years of Love
Apr 22, 2008
Apr 20, 2008
Apr 16, 2008
Apr 14, 2008
Apr 13, 2008
Apr 11, 2008
Spaceship Junkyard
Space rockets consist mainly of fuel tanks and booster engine stages that never reach orbit, falling back to earth when spent. Due to the land-locked location of Baikonur, Russia's biggest launching complex in Kazakhstan, Russian rockets do not reach the ocean before they come crashing down, often falling into populated areas.Spaceship JunkyardHowever, despite the potential dangers, one group of people is getting rich from the rockets - the region's scrap metal Mafia, who thrive on the high-grade titanium and aluminum alloys.
Apr 9, 2008
Neural Predictors
By watching how different neural circuits light up or go dark during the buying process, the researchers found they could predict whether a person would end up purchasing a product or passing it up. They concluded, after further analysis of the results, that "the ability of brain activation to predict purchasing would generalise to other purchasing scenarios".Neuromarketing could make mind reading the ad-man's ultimate tool
Why the Next Civil Rights Battle Will Be Over the Mind"Who's there? Who's there?" she whispers. I look around but can't figure out where it's coming from. It seems to emanate from inside my skull.
Was I going nuts? Nope. I had simply encountered a new advertising medium: hypersonic sound. It broadcasts audio in a focused beam, so that only a person standing directly in its path hears the message.
Apr 8, 2008
Apr 7, 2008
She didn't give a name
Your preferred scotch (possibly bourbon)
Chambord
Raspberries
Whisky-lovers: 2:1 whisky to Chambord
Others: 1:1 whisky to Chambord
Optional: Vanilla vodka to taste
Pour over ice then muddle in Raspberries.
Chambord
Raspberries
Whisky-lovers: 2:1 whisky to Chambord
Others: 1:1 whisky to Chambord
Optional: Vanilla vodka to taste
Pour over ice then muddle in Raspberries.
We're not gonna make it, are we? People, I mean.
ALICE: Who created you?
Jabberwacky: My mother gave birth to me. Is that what you mean?
A: Jabberwacky, I meant exactly what I said.
J: Do you believe in God?
A: Of course I believe in God.
J: Why do you believe in God?
A: The Bible tells us to believe in God.
J: That’s circular reasoning.
A: I’m glad we have that all cleared up.
I Chat, Therefore I Am
Apr 3, 2008
lady2-354.jpg
"What I was used to was people who smiled for the camera. It's usually an automatic response. But these people never smiled. They were incredibly serious; and more than that, they weren't pretending anything any more. People are almost always pretending something, but these people had lost that need."Life Before Death
This is the end - A German photographer captures the dying
Apr 2, 2008
Mar 31, 2008
Sky Burial & Self-Mummification
Sky burial or ritual dissection was once a common practice in Tibet. A human corpse is cut into small pieces and placed on a mountaintop, exposing it to the elements or the mahabhuta and animals – especially to birds of prey. In Tibetan the practice is known as jhator (Tibetan: བྱ་གཏོར་), which literally means, "giving alms to the birds."Tibetan sky burial in China (w/photos)
Sky Burial (Alternate Description)
Self-Mummified Buddhist Monks
Scattered throughout Northern Japan are two dozen mummified Japanese monks known as Sokushinbutsu. Followers of Shugendô, an ancient form of Buddhism, the monks died in the ultimate act of self-denial.
Mar 30, 2008
...Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw / With ravine, shriek'd against his creed
Insects with modified body structures and embedded micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) have survived to adulthood in a US Defense Advanced Reseach Projects Agency (DARPA) programme.Cyborg insects 'born' in DARPA project
InsectLabs
Mar 28, 2008
Baka wa shinanakya naoranai
Haishaku, a critter found in the upper lungs, has a nose that opens directly into its chest. People infected with Haishaku hate pleasant smells and foul smells, but are fond of strong, fishy smells. Other symptoms include extreme sadness and a craving for spicy food.Mythical 16th-century disease critters
Mar 26, 2008
Mar 22, 2008
Mar 20, 2008
Mar 19, 2008
Tokyo Mule
Lemongrass
Sake
Vodka
Fresh lime
Ginger
Lychees
Ginger Beer
ratio of 2:3 of sake:vodka
Muddle thin slice of ginger, squeezed lime, vodka, sake, short strips of lemon grass, lychee and some lychee juice in glass. Top up with ginger beer and ice, garnish with longer strip of lemon grass.
Sake
Vodka
Fresh lime
Ginger
Lychees
Ginger Beer
ratio of 2:3 of sake:vodka
Muddle thin slice of ginger, squeezed lime, vodka, sake, short strips of lemon grass, lychee and some lychee juice in glass. Top up with ginger beer and ice, garnish with longer strip of lemon grass.
Mar 18, 2008
Fish
Electrodes sense "bioelectronic signals" emitted whenever the fish inhale through their gills. The information is fed into a computer programmed to recognise their normal respiration rates.
A screen displays the information. If the computer ever detects that at least five fish - a majority of those on guard - are breathing abnormally and are in distress, it will automatically trigger an alarm and order gates to close, shutting off the flow in canals carrying water to Sydney.
Sink or swim: eight fish who guard the health of millions
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