Author Topic: Interesting "stuff" (Read 1309776 times)

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #275 on:** July 22, 2014, 09:31 AM »

Interesting "stuff"

6th-Grader's Fish Project Blows Away Scientists - She says experts were making a silly assumption

40hz · « **Reply #276 on:** July 22, 2014, 10:20 AM »

@ArizonaHot - great article! Thx for sharing.

Like the man said:

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #277 on:** July 24, 2014, 10:47 AM »

An update to my previous post.

Biologist says 6th grade science project stole his lion fish research - UPI.com

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #278 on:** July 24, 2014, 10:52 AM »

Why 'Space Aliens' Might Just Be Humans from the Future.jpg

Interesting "stuff"

Why 'Space Aliens' Might Just Be Humans from the Future Cracked.com

4 Bizarre Rules for Naming Fictional Characters.jpg

Interesting "stuff"

4 Bizarre Rules for Naming Fictional Characters Cracked.com

40hz · « **Reply #279 on:** July 24, 2014, 12:51 PM »

Projection mapping on moving objects. This just keeps getting better and better:

More on it here and a "behind the scenes" video here.

mouser · « **Reply #280 on:** July 24, 2014, 02:53 PM »

holy cow that is cool.

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #281 on:** July 25, 2014, 08:14 PM »

The App I Used to Break Into My Neighbor’s Home Threat Level WIRED

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #282 on:** July 25, 2014, 08:18 PM »

World's hottest selfie.

Spoiler

This Might Be The Hottest Selfie You've Ever Seen -- Because It's From Inside A Volcano

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #283 on:** July 26, 2014, 05:13 PM »

Interesting "stuff"

Congress restores consumers' right to unlock phones

Meet The Man Who Solved The Mysterious Cicada 3301 Puzzle

Interesting "stuff"

Blackphone

IainB · « **Reply #284 on:** July 27, 2014, 02:40 AM »

When I first scanned this in my feedreader, I misread it and thought it was about security of data/comms logging...
Turn Your Old Cell Phones into DIY Environmental Listening Devices to Stop Illegal Logging

Nifty idea though.

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #285 on:** July 28, 2014, 01:46 PM »

Edvard · « **Reply #286 on:** July 30, 2014, 07:45 PM »

As pointed out here, my grammar in that sentence was atrocious. May I clarify:

Alanis Morrisette's song "Ironic" is quite catchy, but the situations described therein are not really ironic.
Which may be an irony in itself.
But it also makes the song 'wrong' in the same manner as a song about goldfish being titled "My Pet Trout" would be 'wrong'.
Trying to explain this to somebody who doesn't understand (or doesn't want to) is an exercise in frustration.
Quite possibly because (1) they like the song, and (2) they think they have learned something new.
Which is ironic, because they think they have learned about irony from a song entitled "Ironic" but they haven't, really.
$:-\$

tomos · « **Reply #287 on:** July 31, 2014, 02:59 AM »

I've enjoyed learning more about 'ironic'

I hadn't realised that she was using the word incorrectly - had never given it any thought before, to be honest.

As pointed out here, my grammar in that sentence was atrocious.
-Edvard (July 30, 2014, 07:45 PM)

lol,
I meant that grammar comment for myself

After watching the video, I was getting self-conscious about my grammar - it's not my strong point, e.g. is it grammatically incorrect to start a sentence with 'after'? I have no idea (and it doesn't really bother me either way). I find a lot of it illogical: simply a case of someone dictating that this is correct, and this not. And we're not exactly somewhere formal that it might be considered necessary to write 'proper' like ;-)

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #288 on:** July 31, 2014, 06:54 AM »

And we're not exactly somewhere formal that it might be considered necessary to write 'proper' like ;-)
-tomos (July 31, 2014, 02:59 AM)

...After that I ain't worried none 'bout my word pickin's

40hz · « **Reply #289 on:** July 31, 2014, 04:06 PM »

From this article over at Quanta Magazine's website:

Hints of Life’s Start Found in a Giant Virus

At more than 1.5 micrometers long, pithovirus is the largest virus ever discovered — larger even than some bacteria. Many of its 500 genes are unrelated to any other genes on this planet.

By: Carrie Arnold

July 10, 2014

Chantal Abergel and Jean-Michel Claverie were used to finding strange viruses. The married virologists at Aix-Marseille University had made a career of it. But pithovirus, which they discovered in 2013 in a sample of Siberian dirt that had been frozen for more than 30,000 years, was more bizarre than the pair had ever imagined a virus could be.

In the world of microbes, viruses are small — notoriously small. Pithovirus is not. The largest virus ever discovered, pithovirus is more massive than even some bacteria. Most viruses copy themselves by hijacking their host’s molecular machinery. But pithovirus is much more independent, possessing some replication machinery of its own. Pithovirus’s relatively large number of genes also differentiated it from other viruses, which are often genetically simple — the smallest have a mere four genes. Pithovirus has around 500 genes, and some are used for complex tasks such as making proteins and repairing and replicating DNA. “It was so different from what we were taught about viruses,” Abergel said.

The stunning find, first revealed in March, isn’t just expanding scientists’ notions of what a virus can be. It is reframing the debate over the origins of life...

What I found particularly fascinating was this paragraph:

...Abergel and Claverie, however, believe that viruses emerged from cells. While Forterre and collaborators contend that the unique genes found in giant viruses are a sign that they evolved before modern cells, Abergel and Claverie have a different explanation: Giant viruses may have evolved from a line of cells that is now extinct. According to this theory, the ancestor of giant viruses lost its ability to replicate as an independent life form and was forced to rely on other cells to copy its DNA. Pieces of these ancient cells’ genes survive in modern mimivirus, pandoravirus, and pithovirus, which would explain the unique genes found in this group. “Life didn’t have one single ancestor,” Claverie said. “There were a lot of cell-like organisms that were all competing, and there was one winner, which formed the basis for life as we know it today.”

Read the full article (and see the photos) here.

40hz · « **Reply #290 on:** July 31, 2014, 04:20 PM »

From this article over at Quanta Magazine's website:

Hints of Life’s Start Found in a Giant Virus

At more than 1.5 micrometers long, pithovirus is the largest virus ever discovered — larger even than some bacteria. Many of its 500 genes are unrelated to any other genes on this planet.

By: Carrie Arnold

July 10, 2014

Chantal Abergel and Jean-Michel Claverie were used to finding strange viruses. The married virologists at Aix-Marseille University had made a career of it. But pithovirus, which they discovered in 2013 in a sample of Siberian dirt that had been frozen for more than 30,000 years, was more bizarre than the pair had ever imagined a virus could be.

In the world of microbes, viruses are small — notoriously small. Pithovirus is not. The largest virus ever discovered, pithovirus is more massive than even some bacteria. Most viruses copy themselves by hijacking their host’s molecular machinery. But pithovirus is much more independent, possessing some replication machinery of its own. Pithovirus’s relatively large number of genes also differentiated it from other viruses, which are often genetically simple — the smallest have a mere four genes. Pithovirus has around 500 genes, and some are used for complex tasks such as making proteins and repairing and replicating DNA. “It was so different from what we were taught about viruses,” Abergel said.

The stunning find, first revealed in March, isn’t just expanding scientists’ notions of what a virus can be. It is reframing the debate over the origins of life...

What I found particularly fascinating was this paragraph:

...Abergel and Claverie, however, believe that viruses emerged from cells. While Forterre and collaborators contend that the unique genes found in giant viruses are a sign that they evolved before modern cells, Abergel and Claverie have a different explanation: Giant viruses may have evolved from a line of cells that is now extinct. According to this theory, the ancestor of giant viruses lost its ability to replicate as an independent life form and was forced to rely on other cells to copy its DNA. Pieces of these ancient cells’ genes survive in modern mimivirus, pandoravirus, and pithovirus, which would explain the unique genes found in this group. “Life didn’t have one single ancestor,” Claverie said. “There were a lot of cell-like organisms that were all competing, and there was one winner, which formed the basis for life as we know it today.”

Read the full article (and see the photos) here.

superboyac · « **Reply #291 on:** July 31, 2014, 04:25 PM »

From this article over at Quanta Magazine's website:

Hints of Life’s Start Found in a Giant Virus

At more than 1.5 micrometers long, pithovirus is the largest virus ever discovered — larger even than some bacteria. Many of its 500 genes are unrelated to any other genes on this planet.

By: Carrie Arnold

July 10, 2014

Chantal Abergel and Jean-Michel Claverie were used to finding strange viruses. The married virologists at Aix-Marseille University had made a career of it. But pithovirus, which they discovered in 2013 in a sample of Siberian dirt that had been frozen for more than 30,000 years, was more bizarre than the pair had ever imagined a virus could be.

In the world of microbes, viruses are small — notoriously small. Pithovirus is not. The largest virus ever discovered, pithovirus is more massive than even some bacteria. Most viruses copy themselves by hijacking their host’s molecular machinery. But pithovirus is much more independent, possessing some replication machinery of its own. Pithovirus’s relatively large number of genes also differentiated it from other viruses, which are often genetically simple — the smallest have a mere four genes. Pithovirus has around 500 genes, and some are used for complex tasks such as making proteins and repairing and replicating DNA. “It was so different from what we were taught about viruses,” Abergel said.

The stunning find, first revealed in March, isn’t just expanding scientists’ notions of what a virus can be. It is reframing the debate over the origins of life...

What I found particularly fascinating was this paragraph:

...Abergel and Claverie, however, believe that viruses emerged from cells. While Forterre and collaborators contend that the unique genes found in giant viruses are a sign that they evolved before modern cells, Abergel and Claverie have a different explanation: Giant viruses may have evolved from a line of cells that is now extinct. According to this theory, the ancestor of giant viruses lost its ability to replicate as an independent life form and was forced to rely on other cells to copy its DNA. Pieces of these ancient cells’ genes survive in modern mimivirus, pandoravirus, and pithovirus, which would explain the unique genes found in this group. “Life didn’t have one single ancestor,” Claverie said. “There were a lot of cell-like organisms that were all competing, and there was one winner, which formed the basis for life as we know it today.”

Read the full article (and see the photos) here.

-40hz (July 31, 2014, 04:06 PM)

Fascinating!!
So maybe like dinosaurs, early viruses were huge! What is the Argentinosaurus of viruses?
I see a new game:
E. Coli vs. P. O. Virus...FIGHT!!

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #292 on:** August 08, 2014, 01:10 AM »

Why I Am Skeptical About 1.2-Billion Passwords Being Stolen

Interesting "stuff"

A tick can make you allergic to red meat

A tick can make you allergic to red meat.jpg

Terrified Woman From Another Universe Wakes Up Here

Some people think this is because we live in the Matrix and it runs Windows, others think it is a butterfly effect caused by cellphone traffic.

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #293 on:** August 08, 2014, 01:34 PM »

Roads Were Not Built For Cars - Cyclists were 1st to push for good roads & were pioneers of motoring

Solar flare event like 1859 due, scientists warn Food, gas, money unobtainable

Wouldn't this just ruin your day. Especially if you were a heavy Bitcoin user.

50 Prison Slang Words To Make You Sound Like a Tough Guy Mental Floss

Renegade · « **Reply #294 on:** August 17, 2014, 06:45 AM »

http://www.zerohedge...-language-your-state

The Most Commonly Spoken Language In Your State Is...

40hz · « **Reply #295 on:** August 18, 2014, 11:41 AM »

This is too cool! A Cthulhu Ouija Board! Ftaghn! Ia!

Interesting "stuff"
click to enlarge

It's by the Cthulhu Project who have a Kickstarter campaign in progress (running through Sept 4, 2014) to do it. (Note: they've already had one successful campaign to their credit.)

mwb1100 · « **Reply #296 on:** August 18, 2014, 12:52 PM »

A Cthulhu Ouija Board! Ftaghn! Ia!
-40hz (August 18, 2014, 11:41 AM)

Neat!

I'm not generally a superstitious type, but I think I'd be afraid to actually play with the thing.

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #297 on:** August 19, 2014, 04:26 AM »

Sep 29, ’10 8:30 AM Author Horace Dediu
Unix's Revenge

With QNX now firmly roadmapped at RIM and Android spreading among vendors like a virus, I wanted to point out that these operating systems share one ancestor: Unix.

A technical triumph

Technically Linux, which underlies Android, among others, is walled off from Unix from an IP point of view, but the philosophical and architectural lineage goes back to 1969′s Unix. It was an amazingly well thought-out operating system which has stood the test of time mostly due to its modular architecture. It was not always clear that Unix would make it this far, and in many ways it was written off.

There is some poetic justice in its comeback. Unix could have become a default for desktop computers. When Windows emerged from the shadow of DOS, Microsoft had the option to base NT on a flavor of Unix. But Bill Gates, no doubt motivated by license fee considerations, hired a group of developers from Digital Equipment Corporation and many elements of the NT design reflect earlier DEC experience with VMS and RSX-11. Microsoft went with that new architecture rather than Unix and that code lives on even in the current Windows 7.

Unix's Revenge Asymco

With Ebola and Chikungunya viri now threatening, is the Android virus the next wave? Too bad you can't call in sick and say you have a bad case of Windows.

Renegade · « **Reply #298 on:** August 19, 2014, 04:54 AM »

A Cthulhu Ouija Board! Ftaghn! Ia!
-40hz (August 18, 2014, 11:41 AM)

Neat!

I'm not generally a superstitious type, but I think I'd be afraid to actually play with the thing.
-mwb1100 (August 18, 2014, 12:52 PM)

Which part? Being eaten or losing your mind?

Arizona Hot · « **Reply #299 on:** August 19, 2014, 05:00 AM »

Postcards from Prison