March Is Here

March is finally here though it's still rather cold for the time of year. Things are supposed to get more spring like next week. It's about time. It's rarely got above 4 or 5 degrees since the middle of December and though we haven't any really deep snowfall, we've had it regularly enough to disrupt traffic, rail and airports.

This post summarises news from the past couple of weeks. China and its internet censorship policies have been cropping regularly in the press. This report from The Times online suggests that China are indeed bugging western nations.

In a follow up to the pinching of the sign at Auschwitz, the BBC reports that a Swede is being sought by authorities for authorising the theft.

The BBC reports on a study in which people are about 20ms faster when reacting rather than initiating. This would mean that the one who draws first in a gun fight would be at a disadvantage.

There is an official explanation about why WTC 7 collapsed in what appeared to be a controlled demolition. The BBC report states that media film never saw the side of the building that was facing the twin towers when they collapsed and that this side was badly damaged by debris. Also the building was constructed over metro so that that it was more likely to fall in on itself. I'm afraid is does not convince me. If only one side of the building was affected, I still cannot understand why the 47 story tower came straight down.

New Scientist reports on how physiologists have hacked a 25fps camera to produce 400fps images!

Ants will sacrifice themselves by moving out of a colony if they find themselves sick says the BBC. Also bat's are not affected by alcohol when it comes to flying.

The Brits have decided to start drilling for oil in the Falkland islands. Argentina is not pleased and has the backing of the likes of Chavez who says the time for playing empire is long over.

The British National Archives have released UFO files. Read them here.

Yes, no, yes...finally! The Dutch have NS have announced that from March 2010 it will be possible to internet in the train! Story from Tweakers.net here.

It is possible to bank sleep. If you know you are going to have a long day then extra sleep beforehand will make you feel fitter say the BBC.

I have to admit liking girls with curves and broad hips. This article from Nu.nl explains that the site of an hourglass figure tickles part of the brain associated with rewards and has a drug inducing effect. I'm not complaining, though some people don't appreciate the female figure, especially when a Venus de Milo is created out of snow.

Apple's iTunes store has celebrated their 10 billionth download. Now when is the music industry going to get up of its arse and do something constructive, now that there is proven business model for selling music online.

Men At Work's fight over the kookaburra is not over yet according to the BBC. EMI have backed them up saying that the copyright does not actually belong to the company making the claim.

A drop of oil in some acid can solve a maze faster than a rat.

It has taken longer than I thought but Ars Technica reports on how the internet has finally beaten print as a primary news source in the US.

In a worrying development, a GM potato has been approved for use by farmers. Though luckily not fit for human consumption, it is impossible to test every effect and side-effect from using a GM crop, affecting parasites, the food chain etc.

A report from Ars indicates that it is possible to obtain medical records using P2P techniques. Think twice about sending medical information in plain email or storing it on your PC.

While publishers are afraid to touch 6 Days In Falluja, there is more evidence that munitions have caused birth defects in the city.

The recent 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chili may have caused the Earth's rotation to speed up, shaving 1.26 microseconds of a day. BBC explains the mechanics here.

Ubuntu have dropped their Earthy brown tints for a more purple/aubergine style. There's more to see at Ars here.

In the true spirit of openness and freedom, North Korea have introduced their own Linux distribution, Red Star. Meanwhile in South Korea, a couple have been arrested for neglecting their newborn as a result of internet addiction.

Finally some amazing photo shots, the first from the Boneyard, the largest plane cemetery in the world and the second courtesy of NASA and their Blue Marble project.

Welcome to 2010!

It's been a busy couple of months what with moving house in November and of course Christmas and New Year. Finally I have made time to publish all those links that I saved. So here a summary of what I thought were notable events around the turn of the new decade.

First off, a public protest at the weak security of Facebook. I don't have an account on it because I find it far too easy to profile me and then there's the duty of updating your status and checking your "wall". Maybe I'm just anti-social in its most literal form, but it could be worse; I could be using Twitter. In any case Facebook got hacked in November to prove a point.
So, after that the Iranian cyber army had a go at Twitter in December. Gory details here.

Intel and AMD settled up in November. There has always been rivalry between the two, especially since AMD needs rights from Intel to be able to do anything with the common or garden x86 PC architecture. But Intel have been hit some anti-trust litigation and shown to have played some dirty tricks to maintain their market lead.

Copier paper could be the future of battery technology according to the BBC. One advantage is that being lighter than traditional materials, it is an ideal applications in electric cars.

For the James Bond wannabes, the CIA have published a manual on their tricks of deception.

Octopus have one of the largest brains in the marine world. This article from the BBC shows how they pick up coconut shells and carry them off, using them as a protective cover.

A novel use for an old red phone box; a village public library.

The genetic code of cancer has been cracked according to the BBC. Smokers trigger a gene mutation every 15 cigarettes and it is hoped that by tracking gene mutations caused by cancer, it will be possible to prevent and maybe even cure some types in the future.

However metal god Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Let's hope he's up and running again soon.

In the run up to Christmas it was revealed that the Vatican did not provides its full cooperation with regard to child abuse cases in Ireland.

"Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow". A New Zealand billboard caused a stir shortly before christmas, as described in this BBC article.

A vocal protest at the British royal family outside a premiere in London. Whether you agree or not with the sentiment, at least it shows there is some freedom of speech in the UK. You'd probably be arrested for this in US.



The Italian police managed to prang their prize Lambo.

"Arbeit Macht Frei". The Auschwitz sign got nicked by a couple of Poles in December. Luckily the sign was later tracked down although it had been cut into three sections. To me that's as bad as desecrating a grave.

Risky domain names sees Cameron (.cm) at the top of the list, followed by China (.cn) and Samoa (.ws).

Marilyn Monroe liked the odd bit of pot according to the BBC.

The LHC has finally done its first bit of sub-atomic smashing - hurray! Then we had another power failure in December - boo! Though in related news, it probably won't hit the carts but a song has been recorded about the LHC in celebration of the Higgs boson. The intention is to promote and inspire science to the younger generation.

As The World Turns, one of the longest running soaps ever has finally been terminated.

This happened above Norway, sparking all kinds of UFO fears or the second coming. It was probably a Russian missile outside the Earths atmosphere that went awry, but it paints a pretty picture.



Christmas Day had just been and gone when Turkey demanded they wanted the bones of St. Nicholas back. Perfect timing.

A Spanish MP was used as the basis for a digital photo fit of Osama Bin Laden. The FBI used the photo without the MPs permission. Think twice about that mugshot they take when you cross the US border.

RIP Otto, who at over 20 years old was officially the world's oldest dog. Also RIP Lucky, the worlds oldest sheep at 23 years old.

Gunsights with biblical references inscribed on them. Fuel to the fire for those who think the current conflict in Afghanistan isn't in some way regligiously motivated.

Old computers illustrates how much has changed in such a short time. Ideal for those who understand the bits and bytes and are looking for a trip down memory lane.

Humunculus. Rotting fruit has never been so scary.



A an environmentally friendly "cloud" tower above London is one architects dream for the Olympic village.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin is at 32% the world's strongest beer.

Oink, the membership driven site where you could access your MP3s from anywhere has finally been cleared of all piracy charges.

Men respond to the smell of ovulating women, from an article in Science daily. However claiming prior art, this looks very similar to a 2007 IgNoble involving lap dancers.

And finally, as the result of a Chinese hacking incident involving Google and an Internet Explorer exploit, Microsoft have finally declared IE6 officially dead. Now that is a resounding start to the New Year!

McLaren T.27

Unexpected move for a F1 team, but they have developed a short range electric vehicle for cummting and short runs, says the BBC. The design is such that its is as light as possible (600kg), can travel up to 60mph and does 100 miles on single charge. Three prototypes are planned for the coming year and a half.

Bald Bears And Bird Stories

Some nature related articles this week. The first is about bears in a Leipzig Zoo that are going bald. Vets are not entirely sure of the cause but suspect that it may have to do with the climate. The bears in question are from South America and not used to a temperate climate. The zoo admits that they are not very good at reproducing original habitat and that hte same problem has been seen at other zoos.
Then we have a video of the spatuletail hummingbird's mating ritual. The little fellow has a fork tail with a blue flap at each end and uses these while flitting from branch to branch to impress the female. Slow motion video from the BBC is here.
Finally a sad story about a spoonbill that was being tracked by a nature conservation trust. The birds are rare and protected in the Netherlands. Nu.nl reports on the bird, named Harrie being shot by a French hunter on its trek to Africa for the winter.

Intel Charged With Bribery

Following hot on the heels of the European anti-trust case against Intel, they are now being done by a court in a New York for bribery, according to the BBC. Now I'm not an AMD fan-boy, though I tend to find AMDs product are better value in low-mid range of processors. But when Intel have been paying off computer makers to favour their gear, it kind of makes you want to favour the competition doesn't it?

New Anti-Terrorist Weapon: Bears

The BBC has a story on a a camp of Kashmir militants that was attacked by a bear. Two militants were killed. Turned out that the cave they were sheltering in was the bear's den. Although armed with assault rifles, they so taken by surprise that they fled.

Illegal Music Downloaders Buy More

In yet more evidence against the practices of the RIAA and such, The Independent has news of a study carried out on internet users between the ages of 16 and 50 and their downloading habits. The evidence showed the users who downloaded MP3s illegally spent more on music than those that didn't, indicating that file sharers are music lovers. Yet another call to the record industry to change business models.