The 45 Most Powerful Images Of 2001

Buzzfeed compiled a collection of images from the year’s news stories that will remind you how many really big events happened in 2011, from natural disasters to citizen protests to legislation to war. Pictured is a girl in isolation in order to assess her exposure to radiation after Japan’s nuclear facilities were compromised by the March earthquake. Link

New Batch of Giant Alien Worlds Found

The finding of 18 distant planets boosts a theory about how planets form. Read more

Measuring a Tiny, Yet Mighty, Black Hole

Astronomers have measured the vital statistics of the black hole living in the famous Cygnus X-1 binary system to a very high precision. The mass and physical size of the black hole may surprise you... Read more

NOAA: Arctic worse than in 2005

It's not surprising, but it's also to be expected. When you have one of the two parties that can't accept science and climate change, how can you combat the problem? More melting may be the new normal for the Arctic.

The report, written by 121 scientists from around the world, said statistics point to a shift in the Arctic health in 2006. That was right before 2007, when a mix of weather conditions and changing climate led to a record loss of sea ice, from which the region has never recovered. This summer's sea ice melt was the second worst on record, a tad behind 2007.

"We've got a new normal," said co-author Don Perovich, a geophysicist at the Army Corps of Engineers Cold Research and Engineering Lab. "Whether it's a tipping point and we'll never recover, who's to say?"

Magnetic Pole Reversal Happens All The (Geologic) Time

Scientists understand that Earth’s magnetic field has flipped its polarity many times over the millennia. In other words, if you were alive about 800,000 years ago, and facing what we call north with a magnetic compass in your hand, the needle would point to ‘south.’ This is because a magnetic compass is calibrated based on [...]

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Facebook finds the town too Effin rude for site

For most people adding the name of where they live on Facebook is relatively straightforward. A problem, however, arises when the place where you live is branded as offensive by the social networking site. One woman from Effin in County Limerick in the Irish Republic has so far been unable to add the village name to the 'home place' section of her Facebook profile.

Ann Marie Kennedy, who works in the department of nursing and midwifery at the University of Limerick, has now started an online campaign to to get Effin recognised. "I was born and raised in Effin and my family come from here," she said. "I am also directing a play, 'Effin Cinderella' this Christmas.

"I would like to be able to put Effin on my profile page and so would many other Effin people around the world to proudly say that they are from Effin, County Limerick, but it won't recognise that," she added. "It just won't let me add it. It just keeps giving suggestions such as Effingham, Illinois; Effingham, New Hampshire."

She said: "I'm a proud Effin woman and I always will be an Effin woman." The 47-year-old Effin native has now started an online campaign, although an attempt to set up a Facebook page called 'Please get my hometown Effin recognised' was also unsuccessful. "It came up with an error message that it was 'offensive'," she said.

More and More US Teenagers Prefer Surfing the Net to Driving a Car

Remember your first time driving? For most Americans, nothing symbolizes freedom more than the open road. But that's changing: for more and more teenagers, freedom doesn't mean a fast car. It means a fast Internet:

If Ferris Bueller had a day off now, would he spend it on Facebook?
Recent research suggests many young Americans prefer to spend their money and time chatting to their friends online, as opposed to the more traditional pastime of cruising around in cars. [...]
But with money tight in many households, and the cost of gas and insurance soaring, some youngsters are having to choose between buying a car and owning the latest smartphone or tablet.
In a survey to be published later this year by Gartner, 46% of 18 to 24-year-olds said they would choose internet access over owning their own car. The figure is 15% among the baby boom generation, the people that grew up in the 1950s and 60s - seen as the golden age of American motoring.

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Editorial Comment

Yes, we are back, albeit on a severely limited basis for the moment - we are using the facilities at our local Library to get up with the comments and to post updates until our system is repaired.