Researchers create see-through goldfish
The "ryukin" goldfish's beating hearts are visible through their translucent skin and scales.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Broadcasters' woes threaten free TV
Broadcasters' woes threaten free TV
As their business model unravels, the big networks could ditch free broadcast signals entirely.
New uses for everyday things
101 new uses for everyday things
Sanitize with lemons, dry shoes using newspaper, or give your cat a dab of olive oil.
Secrets to picking breads for weight loss
Secrets to picking breads for weight loss
A simple trick can help you figure out which breads are lower in calories per slice.
Sea lions mysteriously vanish
Sea lions mysteriously vanish
One city's famous tourist spot has lost its main attraction, and nobody knows why.
Gifted 7-year-old boy paints like a master
Gifted 7-year-old boy paints like a master
Kieron Williamson's exhibition sold out in minutes and hundreds wait to buy his work.
Are artificial sweeteners unhealthy?
Are artificial sweeteners unhealthy?
See if there's any truth to the rumors that artificial sweeteners are bad for you.
Outback Steakhouse To Pay $19 Million To Settle Sex-Bias Lawsuit
Outback Steakhouse agreed to pay $19 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging sex discrimination against thousands of women at hundreds of its U.S. restaurants.The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Outback discriminated against female employees and denied them equal opportunities for advancement.
The lawsuit, filed by the EEOC in federal court in Colorado in 2006, said female employees couldn't get promoted to the higher-level profit-sharing management positions in the restaurants and were denied favorable job assignments, particularly kitchen management experience, which was required for employees to be considered for the top management job.
"There are still too many glass ceilings left to shatter in workplaces throughout corporate America," said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart Ishimaru.
"The EEOC will continue to bring class lawsuits like this one against employers who engage in gender discrimination on a systemic scale."
In addition to the money, the settlement requires that Outback launch an online application system for employees interested in managerial and other supervisory positions; hire a human resource executive in the newly created position of vice president of people; employ an outside consultant for at least two years who will determine compliance with the settlement terms and analyze data from the online application system to determine whether women have equal opportunities for promotion.
Blue Moon On New Year's Eve An Aphrodiasiac?
New Year's Eve for 2010 will be different, with the harbinger of a blue moon set to appear in the night sky to mark the occasion - that may bring with it the worst snowstorm of the season.
Blue Moon On New Year's Eve An Aphrodiasiac?
Blue Moon On New Year's Eve An Aphrodiasiac?
Jobs with increasing pay in 2010
Jobs with increasing pay in 2010
Not everyone should expect a salary bump next year, but things are looking up for 10 fields.
Repugican terror criticism backfires
Repugican terror criticism backfires
Custody battle launched over Palin's grandson
Sarah Palin's oldest daughter has lost her bid to keep a bitter legal dispute with her 1-year-old son's father confidential.
Custody battle launched over Palin's grandson
Custody battle launched over Palin's grandson
Pot-stuffed teddy bear found at California toy store
Authorities say they confiscated a teddy bear at a Southern California toy store that was stuffed with marijuana.
Back to the Future
Acres of vacant land are eyed for urban agriculture under an ambitious plan that aims to turn the struggling Rust Belt city into a green mecca.
Reporting from Detroit – On the city’s east side, where auto workers once assembled cars by the millions, nature is taking back the land.
Cottonwood trees grow through the collapsed roofs of homes stripped clean for scrap metal. Wild grasses carpet the rusty shells of empty factories, now home to pheasants and wild turkeys.
This green veil is proof of how far this city has fallen from its industrial heyday and, to a small group of investors, a clear sign. Detroit, they say, needs to get back to what it was before Henry Ford moved to town: farmland. [...]
It is the size and scope of Hantz Farms that makes the project unique. Although company officials declined to pinpoint how many acres they might use, they have been quoted as saying that they plan to farm up to 5,000 acres within the Motor City’s limits in the coming years, raising organic lettuces, trees for biofuel and a variety of other things.
The Brain in 3D
Van Wedeen, a Harvard radiology professor, is awestruck: “We’ve never really seen the brain – it’s been hiding in plain sight.” Conventional scanning has offered us a crude glimpse, but scientists such as Wedeen aim to produce the first ever three-dimensional map of all its neurons. They call this circuit diagram the “connectome”, and it could help us better understand everything from imagination and language to the miswirings that cause mental illness. But with 100 billion neurons hooked together by more connections than there are stars in the MilkyWay, the brain is a challenge that represents petabyte-level data.
Getting to grips with why we slip
Whether ice, wet floors or banana skins are to blame, falling over is no laughing matter.And explaining how it happens has friction aficionados floored.
Getting to grips with why we slip
World's Oldest Dog May Be Living In Greensboro, NC
A Greensboro woman is working to get her dog into the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living dog.World's Oldest Dog May Be Living In Greensboro, NC
Rcession hitting the courts
From the NY Times:
Contract disputes statewide in 2009 are projected to be up 9 percent from the year before. Statewide home foreclosure filings increased 17 percent, to 48,127 filings. Cases involving charges like assault by family members were up 18 percent statewide. While serious crime remains low, misdemeanor charges in New York City were up 7 percent and lesser violations were up 18 percent in 2009.
Judges and lawyers say the tales behind any number of cases, including low-level offenses like turnstile jumping and petty theft, are often a barometer of bad times. And they said that the data showed that courts nationally would be working through the recession’s consequences for years, much as they did with the flood of cases stemming from the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, even after the epidemic had slowed.
Although this piece deals with only one state it is indicative of a national trend precipitated by the disaster that was the shrub cabal.
Two al Qaeda Leaders Behind Northwest Flight 253 Terror Plot Were Released by the shrub in 2007 b
The Dick has some explaining to do.
The Gitmo detainees were sent to Saudi Arabia in 2007, where they underwent "art therapy," and then were set free.
But now the repugicans have a problem with President Obama wanting to try suspected terrorists in US courts.
Maybe if we promise the maximum sentence will be "art therapy," the repugicans will shut up.
The Gitmo detainees were sent to Saudi Arabia in 2007, where they underwent "art therapy," and then were set free.
But now the repugicans have a problem with President Obama wanting to try suspected terrorists in US courts.
Maybe if we promise the maximum sentence will be "art therapy," the repugicans will shut up.
Repugican hypocrisy laid bare ... yet again
Repugicans Who Opposed The Stimulus Continue To Pan It As A ‘Failure,’ While Also Taking Credit For Its Success
Every repugican in the House and nearly every repugican Senator voted against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as the stimulus).
Although the Congressional Budget Office has credited the stimulus with creating up to 1.6 million jobs, the same lying politicians who opposed the stimulus have attempted to justify their opposition to the policy by smearing it as a failure.
But as ThinkProgress has documented, the same lying politicians are returning to their districts to take credit for the economic success of the stimulus.
It's Not Scary to Swap Take-Out for Home Cooking With NoTakeOut Meal Planner
From Treehugger:
Images via NoTakeOut
If you are resolving to cut back on take-out foods, but really aren't sure how taking over at the stovetop will go, there's a cool website that will help out. NoTakeOut plans your meal from each ingredient and tool needed down to every last step of preparation so you can take the kitchen by storm. And while the website doesn't purport to be a "green" option, it has a whole lot of potential for being just that.
Article continues: It's Not Scary to Swap Take-Out for Home Cooking With NoTakeOut Meal Planner
Arrow Trucking Strands Drivers During Layoff
Layoffs are a fact of life in this economy, but there are humane ways to do it. Then there’s the Arrow Trucking Arrow Trucking method.
The Tulsa, Okla., trucking company stopped payment on the gas cards of its drivers, leaving some of them stranded Tuesday around the United States, miles from home. No explanation on the website. No one at the company answering phones.
The 200 or so employees at Arrow Trucking’s headquarters were told to pack up their belongings and go home Tuesday morning, according to the Tulsa World.
The only acknowledgment was a brief recorded message on the company’s main phone number, asking drivers of its Freightliner and Kenworth trucks to turn their rigs in to the nearest dealer and to call a special hotline to arrange for a bus ticket home. Drivers of the company’s Navistar trucks were told to call back for more information.
Fury as China executes British citizen
Akmal Shaikh. Photograph: Reprieve/PA
China was this morning condemned for its human rights record after a British man who, his supporters say, had mental health problems, was executed for smuggling drugs.
Akmal Shaikh, 53, was put to death at 10.30am local time (2.30am British time) after frantic last-minute pleas for clemency by the Foreign Office failed.
Daily Almanac
Today is Tuesday, Dec. 29, the 363rd day of 2009.
There are 2 days left in the year.
Today In History December 29
There are 2 days left in the year.
Today In History December 29
Our Readers
Some of our readers today have been in:
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Gorzow Wielkopolskie, Lubuskie, Poland
Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
London, England, United Kingdom
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Durgapur, West Bengal, India
Ringsted, Vestsjalland, Denmark
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Veldhoven, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Bandung, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Gorzow Wielkopolskie, Lubuskie, Poland
Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium
London, England, United Kingdom
Manila, Manila, Philippines
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Durgapur, West Bengal, India
Ringsted, Vestsjalland, Denmark
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Veldhoven, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
Bandung, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
Ready for the pace of life to change?
To pick up considerably?
Good, because that's what's happening.
Don't worry -- it will be fun, mostly because it's going to be your doing, and also because you've really been itching for a change for a long time.
So if a higher-up comes to you with what seems like a totally unexpected schedule shift, think for a second.
Weren't you really begging for this?
Wait a minute the pace picking up!?
Ready for the pace of life to change?
To pick up considerably?
Good, because that's what's happening.
Don't worry -- it will be fun, mostly because it's going to be your doing, and also because you've really been itching for a change for a long time.
So if a higher-up comes to you with what seems like a totally unexpected schedule shift, think for a second.
Weren't you really begging for this?
Wait a minute the pace picking up!?
Monday, December 28, 2009
Man steals plane to leave town, but doesn't get far
A homeless man trying to leave town in a stolen plane crashed the single-engine aircraft on a municipal airport runway without ever leaving the ground, police said.
Full StoryFlying Asian Carp, If You Can't Fight 'Em Eat 'Em
From Treehugger:
"Illinois River silver carp jump after being disturbed by boats earlier this month." Image credit:HoumaToday
Mid-Westerners are so desperate to halt a threatened Great Lakes invasion by the aggressive and ecologically destructive Asian Carp, a.k.a. the 'flying'or 'silver' carp, that the US State of Michigan is suing Illinois, pushing for permanent navigation lock closure; and, a downtown Chicago segment of the Illinois River was recently poisoned with rotenone, killing all gill breathers, so as to prevent the flying carp's passage into Lake Michigan. Expensive and unproven solutions, they are; but, all we've got. Enter from stage South, an LSU AgCenter video series which proclaims the culinary virtues of the Gengis Khan of bottom feeders.
Article continues: Flying Asian Carp, If You Can't Fight 'Em Eat 'Em
One of 2009's hot, new species
That's an Eastern Pacific black ghostshark, native to the coast of southern California.
It's one of 94 new species the California Academy of Sciences documented in 2009. Ghostsharks (or chimaeras) are, unsurprisingly, related to sharks, but only distantly. Their evolutionary path branched away from their better-known cousins some 400 million years ago. What makes them different? Among other things, retractable sexual appendages on the foreheads of the males.
New Species of "Ghostshark" Named By Academy Researchers
94 New Species Described by the California Academy of Sciences in 2009
Time-lapse video of the Northern Lights
This time-lapse video (you'll have to follow the link to watch) shows a far more spectacular display over the Ringebu Fjell in southern Norway, captured by photographer Bernd Proschold. The moment when the clouds clear away, and the lights burst into view is absolutely breathtaking.
The World At Night: A Glimpse of the Far North
'Back to nature' cuts flood risks
 |  | Reconnecting flood-plains to rivers will help reduce the risk of future flooding, a study by US researchers suggests. |
Despite the Pro-Rape repugicans
Senator Al Franken's (D-Minnesota) anti-rape amendment was signed into law by President Obama last week.
Archaeology's Hoaxes, Fakes, and Strange Sites
Archaeology magazine has eight stories of archaeological hoaxes that made the news throughout history, with bonus links to their earlier articles about hoaxes.
Tips for throwing a fun yet frugal party
Tips for throwing a fun yet frugal party
Hosting a festive get-together doesn't have to leave you feeling broke.
Iran rounds up activists after deadly clash
Iran rounds up activists after deadly clash
The most violent showdown in months prompts a wave of reported arrests.
Expect the unexpected when flying
Expect the unexpected when flying
New security rules are "maddeningly vague," says a blogger, and cause longer lines.
Newest national park tells a tragic story
Newest national park tells a tragic story
The Port Chicago explosion spurred the end of segregation in the U.S. military.
Rough year for Ponzi scheme victims
Rough year for Ponzi scheme victims
Thousands of people watched more than $16.5 billion disappear like smoke due to scams.
Best and worst stocks of 2009
Best and worst stocks of 2009
A slew of bank stocks tanked this year, but Ford shares spiked more than 300%.
End of the road for 235-year-old tree
End of the road for 235-year-old tree
Frank Knight, 101, looked after the ailing elm for half a century but wasn't able to save it.
Disinfectants make this germ stronger
Disinfectants make this germ stronger
A bacterium responsible for a range of infections eats cleansers for breakfast.
Five bad habits you should break now
Five bad habits you should break now
Biting your nails damages your teeth and exposes you to harmful bacteria.
Seven simple dinners
Seven simple dinners
Put a hot meal on the table in a snap with these quick menus for the entire week.
Easy ways to stop getting sick
Hardest-to-get cars on the market
Hardest-to-get cars on the market
Thanks to limited supplies, these 2010 vehicles won't last long on dealership lots.
When to start taking Social Security
When to start taking Social Security
Calculating when you should begin receiving your benefits is tricky, but critical.
GPS strands couple in wilderness
GPS strands couple in wilderness
The Nevada pair was lost for three days when the device sent them down a remote road.
How does your salary rank?
How does your salary rank?
IRS statistics reveal how your income compares to that of other taxpayers.
Bridge up for 80 years, down in an instant
Bridge up for 80 years, down in an instant
A bridge between Vermont and New York is demolished because of age and extreme temperatures.
MPAA Lawsuit: Torrent Search Engines Unlawful, U.S. Judge Says
The operator of a popular BitTorrent search site said Monday he will likely challenge last week's landmark decision by a U.S. judge declaring such sites unlawful and no different from conventional peer-to-peer piracy services."We do think from our preliminary review there are a number of issues for appeal," said Ira Rothken, attorney for popular torrent search engine ISO Hunt, the defendant in the case.
The long-awaited decision, while not unexpected, was the first in the United States in which a federal judge found that BitTorrent search engines are an unlawful avenue (.pdf) to free movies, music, videogames and software. A contrary ruling likely would have sparked a gold rush of BitTorrent prospectors in the United States.
Targeted in the case was Gary Fung,[pictured] a Canadian who operates ISO Hunt and other torrent search engines. Among other things, he argued that U.S. laws did not attach to him, and if they did, that his websites were protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
In a lawsuit brought by the Motion Picture Association of America, U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles ruled: “Defendants’ technology is nothing more than old wine in a new bottle.”
Fung’s “intent to induce infringement is overwhelming and beyond reasonable dispute.”
In terms of infringement, the judge said ISO Hunt was no different than Napster and Grokster. But he said the BitTorrent technology was far superior and “obviously increases the potential for copyright infringement.”
The judge wrote that, instead of having to log into a proprietary network to download copyright files from each others’ computers, “users access defendants’ generally accessible website in order to download those files. And instead of downloading content files directly through defendants’ website, defendants’ users download dot-torrent files that automatically trigger the downloading of content files. These technological details are, at their core, indistinguishable from the previous technologies.”
The MPAA has sued dozens of similar sites in the United States, resulting in settlements or default judgments. the industry group won an $111 million default judgment against TorrentSpy last year after a federal judge concluded the now-shuttered tracker hid evidence.
That case is on appeal, but Judge Wilson’s ruling marks the first time that the legal merits of torrenting have been squarely addressed in the United States.
“The court’s decision establishes a powerful precedent that makes clear, once again, that website operators must respect the rights of content owners and control infringement on their websites, or face liability for their actions,” MPAA vice president Daniel Mandil said in a statement.
Fung, in an e-mail, said his sites should be protected by safe-harbor provisions of the copyright law, which immunize search engines from infringement liability if they promptly remove works when a rights-holder notifies them to take down infringing content.
“We are considering all options,” Fung said.
Among other things, the judge said Fung has not “acted expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the infringing material.”
The judge said Fung’s sites — including ISO Hunt, Torrentbox and Podtropolis — garner about 10 million hits monthly. Wilson noted that metadata for the sites included “warez” to alert search engines of the site’s nature ,and that Fung was “fostering a community that encouraged — indeed, celebrated — copyright infringement.”
But both Fung and Rothken said the judge got it wrong, that the site has removed thousands of infringing files upon proper request. “This alone, among other reasons, contradicts allegations that we willfully induce infringements,” Fung said.
The decision came eight months after a Stockholm court ruled similarly in the movie studios and Swedish government’s case against The Pirate Bay, the world’s largest BitTorrent site. That case, a blend of a civil and a criminal trial, is on appeal.
That April decision calls for the jailing of the Swedish site’s four co-founders. Despite a Stockholm court’s orders, the site remains functional.
Fung does not face any prison time. The judge did not order Fung to shutter his sites or pay monetary damages. A hearing on those matters is scheduled Jan. 11 in Los Angeles.
Tree Older Than Dirt Survives 13,000 Years
A tree older than dirt?
In California, a tree that appears to have survived for 13,000 years has been discovered on top of a small hill growing amongst a pile of boulders in a suburban Riverside County neighborhood, reports MSNBC.
Tree Older Than Dirt Survives 13,000 Years
In California, a tree that appears to have survived for 13,000 years has been discovered on top of a small hill growing amongst a pile of boulders in a suburban Riverside County neighborhood, reports MSNBC.
Tree Older Than Dirt Survives 13,000 Years
Times Square crystal ball to feature Celtic knot
The New Year's Eve crystal ball that drops in Times Square will have a new kind of sparkle when it descends at the stroke of midnight Thursday, and revelers will be able to toast 2010 without popping a cork.
Times Square crystal ball to feature Celtic knot
Times Square crystal ball to feature Celtic knot
Yemen arrests 29 al Qaeda suspects after raids
Yemen has arrested 29 suspected al Qaeda members since raiding the group to foil attacks on oil installations and foreign interests including the British embassy, national security chief Ali Mohammad Al-Ansi said.
Yemen arrests 29 al Qaeda suspects after raids
Yemen arrests 29 al Qaeda suspects after raids
Make $30/hr without a four-year degree
Make $30/hr without a four-year degree
An associate's degree or technical certification could also land you a lucrative career.
"New York Is Not Ready For The iPhone"
That is according to there 'customer service' department. According to some reports, AT&T has apparently stopped selling the iPhone in New York City.
If you listen to certain customer service representatives, it's because "New York is not ready for the iPhone."
It may not be all that cut and dried, however.
If you listen to certain customer service representatives, it's because "New York is not ready for the iPhone."
It may not be all that cut and dried, however.
Snow, Ice Still Causing Problems In NC Mountains
First came snow, then came ice and now people in the NC mountains are ready to have a melt down. Thousands have been without power since Christmas Day.Snow, Ice Still Causing Problems In NC Mountains
Chinese Hackers Behind Stolen Climate Emails?
From Treehugger:
photo via ruby-sapphire
Britain's The Mail is running a story this morning with new details on the hacked email scandal, known as Climategate. The paper reports that the stolen emails from some of the world's top climate scientists were funneled through computers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to a server in Russia, where they were displayed on an FTP. They also say that they have evidence that the hackers were Chinese, putting a new twist on the evolving story.
Article continues: Chinese Hackers Behind Stolen Climate Emails?
Rare Antarctic Sea Life Photographed by Researchers
From Treehugger:
Rare Antarctic coral is one of the organisms photographed by researchers. All photos via BAS / P. Bucktrout
Beneath the icy waters of Antarctica, in a place that seems so inhospitable, live amongst the rarest and most beautiful creatures on earth. Recently, a team of international researchers traveled to study marine life there, where ocean temperatures are rising more rapidly than anywhere else in the world. What they brought back are some of the most fascinating photographs of Antarctic sea life ever seen--portraits of organisms on the front-line of global climate change.
More pictures after the jump...
Article continues: Rare Antarctic Sea Life Photographed by Researchers
Iranian protests growing
According to various news accounts, the protests in Iran are more widespread and larger than those in the past.
Yesterday was a holy day in the country, but that didn't prevent Iranian officials from gunning down protesters.
Yesterday was a holy day in the country, but that didn't prevent Iranian officials from gunning down protesters.
From the New York Times:
Police officers in Iran opened fire into crowds of protesters on Sunday, killing at least 10 people, witnesses and opposition Web sites said, in a day of chaotic street battles that threatened to deepen the country’s civil unrest.
The protests, during the holiday commemorating the death of Imam Hussein, Shiite Islam’s holiest martyr, were the bloodiest and among the largest since the uprisings that followed the disputed presidential election last June, witnesses said.
One of those killed was the nephew of presidential candidate Mousavi, who was assassinated, according to witnesses:
Mr. Moussavi was first run over by a sport utility vehicle outside his home, Mr. Makhmalbaf wrote on his Web site. Five men then emerged from the car, and one of them shot Mr. Moussavi. Government officials took the body late Sunday and warned the family not to hold a funeral, Mr. Makhmalbaf wrote.
That murder has most likely turned Ali Mousavi into a martyr.
Mourning his death will precipitate another round of protests.
Mourning his death will precipitate another round of protests.
The Times also noted:
The turmoil revealed an opposition movement that is becoming bolder and more direct in its challenge to Iran’s governing authorities. Protesters deliberately blended their political message with the day’s religious one on Sunday, alternating anti-government slogans with ancient cries of mourning for Imam Hussein.
It appeared that the post-election turmoil was over. It is not.
Tomb of ancient legendary ruler found
Tomb of ancient legendary ruler found
Experts dig up the likely burial spot of one of China's most iconic figures.
Daily Almanac
Today is Monday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2009.
There are 3 days left in the year.
Today In History December 28
There are 3 days left in the year.
Today In History December 28
Our Readers
Some of our readers today have been in:
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
London, England, United Kingdom
Faro, Faro, Portugal
Kristinehamn, Varmlands Lan, Sweden
Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Waterford, Waterford, Ireland
as well as Poland, Denmark, and the United States
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Milton Keynes, England, United Kingdom
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
London, England, United Kingdom
Faro, Faro, Portugal
Kristinehamn, Varmlands Lan, Sweden
Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Waterford, Waterford, Ireland
as well as Poland, Denmark, and the United States
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
Your ideas are certainly commendable, but are they too complicated for most people to understand?
If you work in a technical field or have a particularly intellectual hobby, don't expect your friends and relatives to know automatically what you're talking about today.
You may have to go into much more detail than you normally would -- but you don't mind, especially when it's for a good cause.
Dumb it down ... got it.
Your ideas are certainly commendable, but are they too complicated for most people to understand?
If you work in a technical field or have a particularly intellectual hobby, don't expect your friends and relatives to know automatically what you're talking about today.
You may have to go into much more detail than you normally would -- but you don't mind, especially when it's for a good cause.
Dumb it down ... got it.
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