Freedom through the internet

Interesting site that brings to light internet oppression from around the world. Also, here are some steps you can take to turn your mobile phone into an internet portal. I had to screen shot it because copy/paste disabled so you can download the pdf instructions.

Find it here, large file

Official Google Blog: Google search and search engine spam

Official Google Blog: Google search and search engine spam

Yeah, Google Improves its Algorithm Yet Again

Check it http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/google-search-and-search-engine-spam.html

USDA take list - 'nuisance' animals poisoned or killed by thousands

U.S. government commits avian holocaust with mass poisoning of millions of birds

Yuck. No wonder there are mass deaths across the nation every year. The USDA has actively been poisoning and killing animals considered to be detrimental to farming for decades.

This doesn't include any animal accidentally killed that went unrecorded. Who knows how many pets, or even people, have been poisoned unintentionally. Also, how many non-target species that are endangered die?

Not really that surprised but I wish humans were more tolerant. I am not saying let the wolves in, but when humans did that they were gifted with man's best friend, dogs. Work with nature and not against it... Don't destroy the work of God for food - Romans 14:17-20.

Dealing with anger and grief in troubled times

Today I woke up in a horrible mood. Not surprising given the nature of today's climate; bitter, mean, cold, etc. Sure there are a lot of great things about humanity but they seem to get lost and mired in the muck we generate.

I have actively been developing the skill to wash these feelings away. Not only is my blood pressure down but I am able to function even when I read about or experience first hand tragedy.

Although completely off topic (not a first as regular readers know) I wanted to share with you the tools I have developed to cope with grief and anxiety.

1) Breath! I can't believe how often I find myself anxious and holding my breath. Exhale and let life happen. Holding your breath, breathing too fast, too shallow, these things contribute to your overall mood.

2) Go slow. Make fewer mistakes which generate more frustration.

3) Smile, especially if you don't want to and especially at people you don't know.

4) Hug a friend. Make someone else smile.

5) Go outside. I get cave crazy in the winter and nothing like some sunshine brings me out of my winter blues.

Finally if you have done all this and the grey days still have you down check out this live chat at the LA times site tomorrow (Wednesday Jan. 26 2011) at this link or by copying and pasting this into your browser.

http://www.dailypress.com/dp-live-health-chat-sad-depression,0,7226494.htmlstory?altcast_code=9e0e085d8d

Himalayan glaciers covered in debris less likely to melt than those exposed.

That seems obvious but this has big implications for climate studies. "[glacier melting rates went] from high for debris-free glaciers to zero for glaciers with debris cover greater than 20 percent"

Okay, let us cover all the worlds glaciers in concrete, there, no more global warming ;)

Cold Fusion Achieved?

Well now is not this just the biggest piece of good news in a while... unless the guy is a fraud which some scientists are suggesting.

“We have passed already the phase to convince somebody ... We are arrived to a product that is ready for the market. Our judge is the market. In this field the phase of the competition in the field of theories, hypothesis, conjectures etc etc is over. The competition is in the market. If somebody has a valid technology, he has not to convince people by chattering, he has to make a reactor that work and go to sell it, as we are doing.”

The email where you get machine pricing information is info(at)leonardocorp1996.com

Interesting. The most interesting claim is that this machine is a near replica of an older machine the 'nickel-hydrogen low-energy nuclear reaction (LENR)' machine originally developed by Francesco Piantelli of Siena, Italy.

Here is a link to a more detailed article http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-01-italian-scientists-cold-fusion-video.html which has a video of the machine 'working'.

The gist? 1 part fuel = ~12 parts clean energy with no nuclear waste. In traditional fusion reactions achieving the high temps required takes an enormous amount of energy and results in elevated stream temperatures from the water that is needed to cool the reactors.

Nitrates in the Umatilla Basin

Nitrates are above maximum standards in the Umatilla Basin despite the restoration efforts. Check out the article at the Eastern Oregonian. I would give you the link but for some reason I can't use the paste function and I really don't want to type it in manually.

Beef fat floating in Houston Area river closes shipping route temporarily

"The Coast Guard says a nearly one-mile stretch of the Houston Ship Channel will be closed for at least four days as workers use pitchforks and fishnets to corral, pierce and remove 15,000 gallons of beef fat."

Wow. "[~]250,000 gallons of beef fat leaked from a storage tank, and some reached the waterway through a storm drain"

Shark Finning Banned in US

Did you know that 73 million sharks are killed just for their fins every year?! Hopefully this new law will reduce that number significantly. What is amazing is that The Shark Conservation Act allows the North Carolina dogfish fishery to continue. That concession was made so that Senator Richard Burr would vote for it. I didn't think that was legal... The fishery currently accounts for ~1% of all shark fishing in the world but their share will certainly go up when they are the only fishermen allowed to hunt them. That smells a little fishy ... :)

Size of Pacific Ocean Patch Debated

Whether the patch's size is a result of hyperbole or extreme disregard for the environment, the great Pacific garbage patch has shrunk to 1% of what it was! Despite an increase in plastic usage...

"...the oceanography professor says the data suggest that plastic contamination hasn't increased dramatically -- or perhaps not at all -- in recent decades, despite greater use of plastic." Yeah! One win for the recycle, reduce, reuse motto. Oh wait.

"The Algalita Marine Research Foudation in California, founded by sea captain Charles Moore, first spotlighted the ocean pollution. After a 1999 expedition, it reported a garbage patch of mostly plastic that could be the size of Texas, Executive Director Marieta Francis says."

Although the OSU professor interviewed leans toward the patches size being exaggerated, the plastic at this point could be so water logged that it sank and was buried in sand elsewhere. Or perhaps the currents have changed so that the patch is more dispersed. This theory is more compatible with the amount of trash that washes up on beaches during a storm.

:)

Mass Bird and Fish Die-off

From the CSM, "Biologists estimate that between 1,000 and 3,000 birds fell over Beebe on New Year's... Adding to the mystery is an apparent fish kill 125 miles away in the same state. A day before the bird die-off, a tugboat operator near Ozark, Ark., spotted thousands of dead drum fish floating in the Arkansas River. Biologists say the two events are probably not related and suggest that the fish kill – a much more common event than a bird rain – is likely linked to a disease that affected only one species."

Bees still in peril

Sad, but there has been a 96% decline across four species of bumble bees over the past few decades.