Author Archives: Michiel

Computer Engineer Barbie

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Yup, it finally happened,

Barbie® I Can Be…™ dolls and accessories empower girls to play out different roles and “try on” fabulous careers, including computer engineer, the first Barbie® profession chosen by popular vote! Always a reflection of the times, this digital diva engineers the perfect geek-chic look, with hot pink accessories and sleek gadgets to match. The inspiring set also comes with a special code that unlocks career-themed content online, for even more digital play (how fitting)!

http://shop.mattel.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4032107&cp=3719989.3748552

A dagger to the CIA

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Opinion piece by a former CIA operative on its current lack of operational capability,

On December 30, in one of the deadliest attacks in CIA history, an Al Qaeda double agent schemed his way onto a U.S. base in Afghanistan and blew himself into the next life, taking seven Americans with him. How could this have happened? Agency veteran Robert Baer explains, offering chilling new details about the attack and a plea to save the dying art of espionage

http://www.gq.com/news-politics/politics/201004/dagger-to-the-cia

Humanity fail – Avatar makes people depressed

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Apparently the inability to live as a 9 foot tall, blue, cat humping alien is driving some people to suicide.

James Cameron’s completely immersive spectacle “Avatar” may have been a little too real for some fans who say they have experienced depression and suicidal thoughts after seeing the film because they long to enjoy the beauty of the alien world Pandora.

“Ever since I went to see ‘Avatar’ I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it,” Mike posted. “I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in ‘Avatar.’ “

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/11/avatar.movie.blues/index.html

The Future is Here! Vat-grown meat!

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SCIENTISTS have grown meat in the laboratory for the first time. Experts in Holland used cells from a live pig to replicate growth in a petri dish.

The advent of so-called “in-vitro” or cultured meat could reduce the billions of tons of greenhouse gases emitted each year by farm animals — if people are willing to eat it.

So far the scientists have not tasted it, but they believe the breakthrough could lead to sausages and other processed products being made from laboratory meat in as little as five years’ time.

They initially extracted cells from the muscle of a live pig. Called myoblasts, these cells are programmed to grow into muscle and repair damage in animals.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6936352.ece

Chairman Mao’s Underground Bunker Paradise

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In 1969, Chairman Mao commanded the construction of a second Beijing beneath the surface of the original city, designed to accommodate all six million of its then inhabitants, so that if nuclear war did kick off, folk would still have somewhere to hang out and play Mah Jong while the rest of us burnt to death in a shower of atomic rain. War never came, but the city is still there.

http://www.viceland.com/wp/2009/11/chairman-maos-underground-city/

WoW datacenter details

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  • Blizzard Online Network Services run in 10 data centers around the world, including facilities in Washington, California, Texas, Massachusetts, France, Germany, Sweden, South Korea, China, and Taiwan.
  • Blizzard uses 20,000 systems and 1.3 petabytes of storage to power its gaming operations.
  • WoW’s infrastructure includes 3,250 server blades, 75,000 CPU cores, and 112.5 terabytes of blade RAM.
  • The Blizzard network is managed by a staff of 68 people.
  • The company’s gaming infrastructure is monitored from a global network operating center (GNOC), which like many NOCs, features televisions tuned to the weather stations to track potential uptime threats across its data center footprint.

http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2009/11/25/wows-back-end-10-data-centers-75000-cores/

Channel 4 to crash passenger jet

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A passenger jet is to be deliberately crash-landed as part of a scientific experiment on Channel 4 that the broadcaster hopes will be one of its biggest hits of next year.

Two pilots will parachute from the 300-seat airliner after setting it on autopilot to crash at high speed into the desert. The plane will be loaded with cameras and sensors recording the impact of the crash, which Channel 4 said would provide invaluable information about how planes react in potentially fatal accidents.

[…]

In a separate programme, Channel 4 will recreate a typical row of 1940s terraced houses before blowing them up with bombs identical to those used by the German airforce during the war, including a V2 rocket.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/12/plane-crash-tv-channel-4

Belle de Jour is a science nerd

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After many years, book deals and a ITV series, Belle de Jour reveals her identity,

Her name is Dr Brooke Magnanti. Her specialist areas are developmental neurotoxicology and cancer epidemiology. She has a PhD in informatics, epidemiology and forensic science and is now working at the Bristol Initiative for Research of Child Health. She is part of a team researching the effects of exposure to the pesticide chlorpyrifos on foetuses and infants.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article6917495.ece

Gazprom CEO’s palace removed from Google Maps

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The head of Gazprom is building a most luxurious palace in the style of the XVIII century worth $ 50 million
Design documentation for anticipated future residence of the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, who looks like a huge palace in the style of the XVIII century.
Impressive, very similar to the mansion in Peterhof, suddenly brought up on the shore of the Istra reservoir palace initially caused a lot of noise in the blogs.
But officially the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, who recorded in the real owners of the palace, that he has the attitude toward him, not admitted.
“Our company has no relation to the” Istra Manor “- the spokesman said Gazprom” Sergei Kupriyanov. But at the same time, membership
mansion Miller refused to comment, that is neither confirmed nor denied.

English fail via Google Translate, but you get the idea.  Check out the Google Maps images at the bottom of the fishki link.

http://fishki.net/comment.php?id=60416

Translated via Google Translate

Gold, a 6000-year old bubble

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Some background on the cost/value of gold and fiat currencies.

In a world with multiple fiat moneys, the zero value of money equilibrium lurks for each of the fiat currencies, including gold.  Admittedly, as regards gold, so far so good.  Gold has positive value.  It has had positive value for nigh-on 6000 years.  That must make it the longest-lasting bubble in human history.

http://blogs.ft.com/maverecon/2009/11/gold-a-six-thousand-year-old-bubble/

Russian Billionaire Installs Laser Shield on Floating Lair

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Get this,

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has a rather curious new addition built in to his latest oversized yacht. The 557-foot boat Eclipse, the price tag of which has almost doubled since original plans were drawn to almost $1.2 billion, set sail this week with a slew of show-off features, from two helipads, two swimming pools and six-foot movie screens in all guest cabins, to a mini-submarine and missile-proof windows to combat piracy.

[….] Ambramovich has installed an anti-paparazzi “shield”. Lasers sweep the surroundings and when they detect a CCD, they fire a bolt of light right at the camera to obliterate any photograph.

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/russian-billionaire-installs-anti-photo-shield-on-giant-yacht/