Mercifully, this bitter campaign is almost over. I see no problems with the E.U. that would be helped by us leaving as opposed to staying in and at least trying to fix them, just as we don't scrap Parliament when it does something wrong.
Mind you, we could all do ourselves a massive favour and actually vote at the next European Parliament elections. That way we might get people in charge who would try and get something done and make things better, rather than our current bunch of UKIP MEPs who think the E.U. is fundamentally flawed and decide to make personal insults to its members instead of trying to make the system work. Of course the system is flawed if you vote in MEPs who hate the system !
And I have a confession to make... I didn't vote at the last EP election. I really wish I had, because the demonstrably xenophobic and racist (http://astrorhysy.blogspot.cz/2015/03/yes-ukip-you-are-being-racist.html) policies of UKIP are an anathema to everything I believe in. The problem is that Europe, most of the time, just ticks along quietly not doing anything that I ever notice. Its benefits - like freedom of movement, which has allowed me to have the job I have now - go by quietly unsung, while its flaws are loudly trumpeted as the sign of the apocalypse.
I have yet to see a single credible argument in favour of Brexit. Those who want us out routinely champion the benefits of the E.U. but think we'd get the same benefits outside. Well, perhaps we would. But at the absolute least we'd have to re-negotiate all of them, and that would take years. What's the point ? Why not just stay in and enjoy the benefits we've worked for ?
Wednesday, 22 June 2016
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
Re-usable rockets are getting real
NASA does great things when they're allowed to get on with them. The trouble is they're constantly subject to the worst sort of government interference that capitalists rightly object to. No sort of Haldane Principle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haldane_principle) appears to be enforced. If it was, perhaps the space age would have worked out differently.
Then again, space exploration is neither about pure science nor pure politics nor pure adventuring. It's a strange hybrid of all of these, which political systems are ill-equipped to handle. This is also true in Europe, where despite a run of 72 successful Ariane 5 launches, ESA still does nothing more than make occasional, pathetic squeaks about developing a human capsule, or worse, insists that it doesn't have a reliable launcher.
On the other hand the private institutions are currently relatively free to do whatever they wish, and their founders grew up fully expecting manned space exploration to be routine. They've been allowed much greater freedom to innovate than the government agencies and no-one is changing their mandate every five years. True, at the end of the day they're seeking profit just like any other private company... but they're also rather more philanthropic and forward-thinking than many other companies. This model has been rather successful in the past (https://www.jrf.org.uk/).
Though it's worth remembering that SpaceX would not be where they are today without NASA as their principle contractor. They've effectively been given government money for a government project without nearly as many of the government rules as NASA has to follow. This model appears to be delivering rich rewards thus far, and since rockets are damnably expensive to start with, even a profit-motivated company cannot help but get things cheaper (unlike, for example, the pharmaceutical industry).
Eventually though, we're going to get large numbers of people in space. At that point some form of government oversight is likely to be required. Corporations are currently great for space innovation, but it's hard to see them being so successful at regulating people's lives.
Originally shared by Kevin C
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/06/some-real-talk-about-the-future-of-rockets/
Then again, space exploration is neither about pure science nor pure politics nor pure adventuring. It's a strange hybrid of all of these, which political systems are ill-equipped to handle. This is also true in Europe, where despite a run of 72 successful Ariane 5 launches, ESA still does nothing more than make occasional, pathetic squeaks about developing a human capsule, or worse, insists that it doesn't have a reliable launcher.
On the other hand the private institutions are currently relatively free to do whatever they wish, and their founders grew up fully expecting manned space exploration to be routine. They've been allowed much greater freedom to innovate than the government agencies and no-one is changing their mandate every five years. True, at the end of the day they're seeking profit just like any other private company... but they're also rather more philanthropic and forward-thinking than many other companies. This model has been rather successful in the past (https://www.jrf.org.uk/).
Though it's worth remembering that SpaceX would not be where they are today without NASA as their principle contractor. They've effectively been given government money for a government project without nearly as many of the government rules as NASA has to follow. This model appears to be delivering rich rewards thus far, and since rockets are damnably expensive to start with, even a profit-motivated company cannot help but get things cheaper (unlike, for example, the pharmaceutical industry).
Eventually though, we're going to get large numbers of people in space. At that point some form of government oversight is likely to be required. Corporations are currently great for space innovation, but it's hard to see them being so successful at regulating people's lives.
Originally shared by Kevin C
http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/06/some-real-talk-about-the-future-of-rockets/
Monday, 20 June 2016
Behold the Statolaunch !
I never heard of this before.
With a gargantuan wingspan of 385 feet (117 m) and six engines, the plane is taking a new approach in the private space race, by launching satellites and spacecraft into orbit from high altitude. The advantage of the approach will be the ability to position the plane so satellites can be directly delivered into very precise orbits and do so quickly, without launch range scheduling issues and weather-related delays, Chuck Beames, who oversees Allen's space ventures, said.
Initially, the system is intended to deliver satellites weighing up to about 13,500lbs (6,124 kg) into orbits between 112 miles and 1,243 miles (180 km and 2000 km) above Earth.
Instead of a satellite, the Stratolaunch airplane could launch a Dream Chaser spaceship. This could act as a mini-shuttle to reach low Earth orbit destinations and return astronauts or payloads to runway within 24 hours.
I know the Guardian has a reputation for spelling mistakes, but honestly this Daily Fascist article is chock full of 'em. And it has this hugely annoyingfeature bug where if you copy and paste text it somehow adds into the clipboard, "read more at dailmailonline blah blah blah weblink", which is extremely irritating.
Originally shared by George Virginia
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3649882/Paul-Allens-space-company-nears-debut-worlds-biggest-plane.html
With a gargantuan wingspan of 385 feet (117 m) and six engines, the plane is taking a new approach in the private space race, by launching satellites and spacecraft into orbit from high altitude. The advantage of the approach will be the ability to position the plane so satellites can be directly delivered into very precise orbits and do so quickly, without launch range scheduling issues and weather-related delays, Chuck Beames, who oversees Allen's space ventures, said.
Initially, the system is intended to deliver satellites weighing up to about 13,500lbs (6,124 kg) into orbits between 112 miles and 1,243 miles (180 km and 2000 km) above Earth.
Instead of a satellite, the Stratolaunch airplane could launch a Dream Chaser spaceship. This could act as a mini-shuttle to reach low Earth orbit destinations and return astronauts or payloads to runway within 24 hours.
I know the Guardian has a reputation for spelling mistakes, but honestly this Daily Fascist article is chock full of 'em. And it has this hugely annoying
Originally shared by George Virginia
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3649882/Paul-Allens-space-company-nears-debut-worlds-biggest-plane.html
Sunday, 19 June 2016
Most Facebook users reshare without reading more than the headline
Automatically makes me feel guilty about sharing it even though I did read it first.
But most interesting, for our purposes, is this habit of sharing without clicking — a habit that, when you think about it, explains so much of the oft-demoralizing cesspool that is internet culture. Among the many phenomena we'd tentatively attribute, in large part, to the trend: the rise of sharebait (nee clickbait) and the general BuzzFeedification of traditional media; the internet hoax-industrial complex, which only seems to be growing stronger; and the utter lack of intelligent online discourse around any remotely complicated, controversial topic.
This was, incidentally, the Science Post's inspiration for its recent "lorem ipsum" gag on the subject. The editor of the site, who writes anonymously, told The Washington Post that he had tired of seeing the sheer number of misunderstood, misrepresented or straight-up fictitious bunk that people gleefully signal-boost across the internet. The Science Post is run by professors and doctors, he explained: It pains them to see bad information spread this way.
Which is precisely why clickbaity science headlines are so damaging.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/06/16/six-in-10-of-you-will-share-this-link-without-reading-it-according-to-a-new-and-depressing-study/?utm_term=.010b1f70304a
But most interesting, for our purposes, is this habit of sharing without clicking — a habit that, when you think about it, explains so much of the oft-demoralizing cesspool that is internet culture. Among the many phenomena we'd tentatively attribute, in large part, to the trend: the rise of sharebait (nee clickbait) and the general BuzzFeedification of traditional media; the internet hoax-industrial complex, which only seems to be growing stronger; and the utter lack of intelligent online discourse around any remotely complicated, controversial topic.
This was, incidentally, the Science Post's inspiration for its recent "lorem ipsum" gag on the subject. The editor of the site, who writes anonymously, told The Washington Post that he had tired of seeing the sheer number of misunderstood, misrepresented or straight-up fictitious bunk that people gleefully signal-boost across the internet. The Science Post is run by professors and doctors, he explained: It pains them to see bad information spread this way.
Which is precisely why clickbaity science headlines are so damaging.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/06/16/six-in-10-of-you-will-share-this-link-without-reading-it-according-to-a-new-and-depressing-study/?utm_term=.010b1f70304a
Paying people not to be criminals
Interesting implications for a UBI.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36552930
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36552930
Friday, 17 June 2016
Spiders, inspiring kinky sex and Celtic monuments
If they did not have to mate with females, male spiders would certainly avoid them altogether. Females are larger, more aggressive, and often eat their suitors before or after sex. Male nursery web spiders have a more legs-on approach: they tie the female down with shackles of silk. These "bridal veils" have long been suspected to help males avoid becoming a sexual dessert. But this idea was not empirically tested until February 2016.
In 2013, photos of silken structures comprising a vertical pillar surrounded by an intricate fence of white were uploaded to Reddit and Facebook. They went viral, passed around the public and sent to expert entomologists. After three days, a tiny spider popped out. Silkhenge is a spider egg sac. The species remains a mystery, however.
And my personal favourite :
By crawling backwards along this dragline, net spiders – colloquially known as slingshot spiders – convert their web into an elastic cone, with themselves at the centre. And there they wait, until they detect a nearby fly on the wing. "For a long time, people thought that if something is vibrating nearby they would activate the slingshot," says Torres. "But most studies have now indicated that they wait for something to fly into the web." When this happens, the spider lets go of the coiled up dragline, firing itself – and the web – at high speeds into its prey.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160617-forget-webs-spiders-also-make-slingshots-and-silkhenges
In 2013, photos of silken structures comprising a vertical pillar surrounded by an intricate fence of white were uploaded to Reddit and Facebook. They went viral, passed around the public and sent to expert entomologists. After three days, a tiny spider popped out. Silkhenge is a spider egg sac. The species remains a mystery, however.
And my personal favourite :
By crawling backwards along this dragline, net spiders – colloquially known as slingshot spiders – convert their web into an elastic cone, with themselves at the centre. And there they wait, until they detect a nearby fly on the wing. "For a long time, people thought that if something is vibrating nearby they would activate the slingshot," says Torres. "But most studies have now indicated that they wait for something to fly into the web." When this happens, the spider lets go of the coiled up dragline, firing itself – and the web – at high speeds into its prey.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160617-forget-webs-spiders-also-make-slingshots-and-silkhenges
Wednesday, 15 June 2016
It's always nice to see idiots shoot themselves in the foot
[The thing about racists is, they're inherently stupid people. Here we witness Britain First using a picture of Czechoslovakian RAF pilots to suggest that we'd be better off without the support of our European friends.]
And there's a really bad-ass monument for them in the center of Prague.
https://beyondprague.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/img_3124.jpg
Originally shared by Ray Radlein
http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/britain-first-just-used-a-picture-of-czechslovakian-wwii-pilots-to-tell-people-to-leave-the-eu--W1xen5R1rEZ
And there's a really bad-ass monument for them in the center of Prague.
https://beyondprague.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/img_3124.jpg
Originally shared by Ray Radlein
http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/britain-first-just-used-a-picture-of-czechslovakian-wwii-pilots-to-tell-people-to-leave-the-eu--W1xen5R1rEZ
Tuesday, 14 June 2016
Electric microbes at the bottom of the sea
At the bottom of the ocean lie vast reserves of methane, released by microbes feeding on the remains of dead algae and animals as they sink down from the surface. If the methane escaped into the atmosphere the gas would exacerbate global warming, but luckily a consortium of microbes seem to keep it in check.
The microscope revealed thin wire-like structures protruding from the bacterial cells. Although only a few nanometres wide, the wires were several micrometres long, which is much longer than the cells themselves. It seems that the bacteria use these nanowires to hook up with the archaea.
The archaea feed on electrons from methane, oxidising the gas to generate carbonate. They then pass the electrons on to their partner bacteria along the nanowires, which act like power cables. Finally the bacteria deposit the electrons onto sulphate, producing energy that the cell can use in the process.
In a more extreme version of this process, some bacteria can link up to form long "cables". Cable bacteria live on sea floors and river beds where there is little oxygen. Without oxygen, they have nowhere to donate their electrons. To cope with this the cable bacteria, which belong to the family Desulfobulbaceae, form chains, one cell in diameter, extending thousands of cells and distances of several centimetres – a huge distance for a bacterium only 3 or 4 micrometres long – until they finally reach a habitat with oxygen.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160613-there-are-microbes-that-eat-and-poo-nothing-but-electricity
The microscope revealed thin wire-like structures protruding from the bacterial cells. Although only a few nanometres wide, the wires were several micrometres long, which is much longer than the cells themselves. It seems that the bacteria use these nanowires to hook up with the archaea.
The archaea feed on electrons from methane, oxidising the gas to generate carbonate. They then pass the electrons on to their partner bacteria along the nanowires, which act like power cables. Finally the bacteria deposit the electrons onto sulphate, producing energy that the cell can use in the process.
In a more extreme version of this process, some bacteria can link up to form long "cables". Cable bacteria live on sea floors and river beds where there is little oxygen. Without oxygen, they have nowhere to donate their electrons. To cope with this the cable bacteria, which belong to the family Desulfobulbaceae, form chains, one cell in diameter, extending thousands of cells and distances of several centimetres – a huge distance for a bacterium only 3 or 4 micrometres long – until they finally reach a habitat with oxygen.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160613-there-are-microbes-that-eat-and-poo-nothing-but-electricity
Monday, 13 June 2016
Post-satire era
From ClickHole :
http://www.clickhole.com/article/6-convoluted-ways-thinking-about-orlando-shooting--4519
1. Although the gunman specifically attacked a gay nightclub during Pride Month, this is really just an attack on the American way of life of going out on the weekends: There’s no need to defend the rights of gay people when you could instead just talk about how we’re not going to be scared away from fun nightlife activities. You could even consider using a completely beside-the-point hashtag like #NoToFearYesToWeekends when you post your labyrinthine arguments online.
And Sky "News" presenters actually freakin' used this argument as though it wasn't batshit crazy.
God almighty.
Via Evan Brody.
Originally shared by A.V. Flox
Watch gay erasure in real time, as SkyNews host Mark Longhurst repeatedly interrupts gay Guardian columnist Owen Jones, saying the #Orlando mass-shooting was an attack against "human beings trying to enjoy themselves, whatever their sexuality."
Broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer, who was also present, accused Jones of "taking ownership" of the tragedy, as though his pointing out that the targets of the attack were LGBTQ somehow denied anyone's right to grieve.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/owen-jones-walks-off-sky-news-after-presenters-deflect-homophobia-behind-orlando-shooting-a7078891.html
http://www.clickhole.com/article/6-convoluted-ways-thinking-about-orlando-shooting--4519
1. Although the gunman specifically attacked a gay nightclub during Pride Month, this is really just an attack on the American way of life of going out on the weekends: There’s no need to defend the rights of gay people when you could instead just talk about how we’re not going to be scared away from fun nightlife activities. You could even consider using a completely beside-the-point hashtag like #NoToFearYesToWeekends when you post your labyrinthine arguments online.
And Sky "News" presenters actually freakin' used this argument as though it wasn't batshit crazy.
God almighty.
Via Evan Brody.
Originally shared by A.V. Flox
Watch gay erasure in real time, as SkyNews host Mark Longhurst repeatedly interrupts gay Guardian columnist Owen Jones, saying the #Orlando mass-shooting was an attack against "human beings trying to enjoy themselves, whatever their sexuality."
Broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer, who was also present, accused Jones of "taking ownership" of the tragedy, as though his pointing out that the targets of the attack were LGBTQ somehow denied anyone's right to grieve.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/owen-jones-walks-off-sky-news-after-presenters-deflect-homophobia-behind-orlando-shooting-a7078891.html
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