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...versus double six and double nine sets: math is quicker, and more fun to play.
The stunt:
The schematic:
The math:
Physics arXiv: Domino Magnification
Site: CDT-domino.com
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW: One of the most promising ways to capture, generate and manipulate photons is with tiny diamonds. The secret is to create nanodiamonds with a defect in their structure where a nitrogen atom has taken the place of a carbon.
Quantum physicists are particularly interested in these so-called nitrogen vacancies because they can capture, store and emit the quantum information that photons carry. What’s more, they do all this at room temperature. It is even possible to manipulate this information using magnetic and electric fields.
In short, nitrogen vacancies are important building blocks for for quantum computers.
But there’s a problem. It’s not hard to make individual nanodiamonds but it is extremely difficult to arrange them next to each other so that the quantum information they store can be processed.
Their idea is to bind nanodiamonds together with the required nanometre precision using biological molecules such as DNA and protein. What’s more, they say they’ve demonstrated the technique for the first time.
Physics arXiv: Self-assembling hybrid diamond-biological quantum devices
The last week of January the PAnd0RA Ulitimatum returns! Episode Three: A Broken Jar will see Pandora 001 adjusting to life aboard the Cargo Transport DROMEDARY as an official member of the crew. Learning to balance crew duties, life with her companion Captain Gital and her ever-growing Fan Club prove challenging for the Android. However, a mysterious passenger aboard the DROMEDARY will provide new insight for Pandora to navigate the complexities of interacting with her fellow sentient beings. Is this person a friend or an enemy? All will be revealed in The PAnd0RA Ultimatum!
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| The coloured background indicates the peaks and troughs in the occurrence of quasars at the distance of the LQC. Darker colours indicate more quasars, lighter colours indicate fewer quasars. |
An international team of astronomers, led by academics from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), has found the largest known structure in the universe. The large quasar group (LQG) is so large that it would take a vehicle travelling at the speed of light some 4 billion years to cross it. The team publish their results in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Quasars are the nuclei of galaxies from the early days of the universe that undergo brief periods of extremely high brightness that make them visible across huge distances. These periods are 'brief' in astrophysics terms but actually last 10-100 million years.
Since 1982 it has been known that quasars tend to group together in clumps or 'structures' of surprisingly large sizes, forming large quasar groups or LQGs.
The team, led by Dr Roger Clowes from UCLan's Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, has identified the LQG which is so significant in size it also challenges the Cosmological Principle: the assumption that the universe, when viewed at a sufficiently large scale, looks the same no matter where you are observing it from.
The modern theory of cosmology is based on the work of Albert Einstein, and depends on the assumption of the Cosmological Principle. The Principle is assumed but has never been demonstrated observationally 'beyond reasonable doubt'.
Royal Astronomical Society: Astronomers discover the largest structure in the universe
1. A measure of the unavailable energy in a closed thermodynamic system that is also usually considered to be a measure of the system's disorder, that is a property of the system's state, and that varies directly with any reversible change in heat in the system and inversely with the temperature of the system; broadly : the degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system
2. a : the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity; b : a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder
3. chaos, disorganization, randomness, see Meridian-Webster
Further examples of entropy: aging, obesity; methods to counter: vitamins, exercise, diet.
No measure, despite how noble the intentions, will 100% protect us from our fellow humans, and comparisons to dangers from knives, cars and baseball bats obfuscates the issue at hand: the warping of the constitution to justify building personal arsenals (with no apparent responsibility to secure them), and the wealth of weapons manufacturers. Mr. LaPierre is a lobbyist, and like so many "chicken hawk patriots" conveniently missed his generations' opportunity to be a "good guy with a gun" and represent his country in Vietnam.
In Chicago, in New Orleans, in East Winston-Salem, East/South Side ____________, random acts of violence are seen by the same media as a personal failing in "that area of town" versus a structural failing. That structure is society as a whole and a failure to apply not the Second Amendment, but the Second Law of Thermodynamics - Entropy - to systems decaying due to the market-driven and void meaning now of "education," avarice, career politicians pimping constituencies with the flimsiest fidelity to principles or promises, propped up by corrupt money interests whose only ambition is not "the common good," but to maximize profits, avoiding taxes and bequeathing large truckloads of treasure to their heirs.
In physics, entropy is why there can be no such thing in nature as 100% efficiency or perpetual motion machines. Thus, no one political party, culture/race has, or should have a complete lock on the Oval Office and the Presidential Mansion (as it was once called).
We are given sound bites and sloganeering: speeches on "shining cities on a hill," whereas we have the stench of a dung heap ripe with methane for the lighting. Lit by ignorance, goaded by pundits with zero education, zero sophistication, zero appreciation for nuance that some of our fellow mortals cannot digest; that some of their worst pronouncements might as well be from clouds and smoke on Mount Sinai.
And by some stretch of sanity, what would be gained if such inane, insane actors were actually successful in what could nakedly be called revolution and armed insurrection? The Pyrrhic ashes of anarchic victories are a poor foundation to rebuild a republic from.
As I watch the news, I'm not sure if this is an enactment of Animal Farm, or a slow train wreck. Some common sense suggestions:
- For starters: how about an ATF Director (not ONE since 2006)?
- Propose Conflict Resolution Skills classes to students and teachers K - 12. Science teacher Ryan Heber essentially used that to talk a shooter down in California, diminishing casualties.
- Propose rebuilding infrastructure of state mental health services gutted by cuts - obviously, the "free market" has seen no value in filling this need.
- Propose universal background checks for all gun sales (including mental health screens).
- Propose registration of all legally purchased firearms and owning tax.
- Proposal: Digital Grip Recognition Biometric authorizing tech: you shoot it, you own it and the consequences.
- Propose owners spend up to $5,000.00 to secure home arsenals (preferably biometric safes).
- Propose owners liable $500,000.00 if stolen weapons are used in armed robbery.
- Propose owners liable $1,000,000.00 if stolen weapons are used in a murder.
"Common sense is not so common." Voltaire
New #scifitop7 Topic!
Hi Twitter followers! It’s time for another #scifitop7 topic on Twitter. Starting this week, the new #scifitop7 will be your top 7 science fiction books!
My #scifitop7 books: 1984; Brave New World; Oryx & Crake; Year of the Flood; Frankenstein; Dune; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Follow the conversation on Twitter and share your top 7; you might learn of a gem, or someone else might learn one from you!
But omgosh, guys, see this is what we women deal with all the time, in so many aspects of our lives.
Makes me think of my Lettering and Layout instructor, back in the day, who told us that women weren't good at lettering, we don't have the delicacy of line like men do. (HUH?)
Anyway, here's what this reader had to say:
This was a great book. Have to say I'm surprised, I thought the
This was a great book. Have to say I'm surprised, I thought the author was a man, but when I went back I found out it's a chick. I'm also glad I didn't read the bio, I wouldn't have been interested reading a book by a mom of three, which sounds bad I know but really how many domestic housewives do you know that can write a fantasy that a 32 year old man would be interested in? I'm pretty impressed I tend to not enjoy chick writers (no offense). I prefer stuff like Robert Jordan, or R.A. Salvatore or Jim Butcher but this wasn't your typical chick book. It's pretty dark and she gets the male character's pretty well, also has a good sense of humor. The book jumps from several characters (which I usually dislike) but all of them are so different and again I was surprised that the author was able to write such convincing male characters (which I find women authors are not very good at, again no offense). The main character is pretty intense and you tend not to like her but she grows on you. For $4 it was a damn good read and I look forward to the next book.
In recent years, machines have grown increasingly capable of listening, communicating, and learning—transforming the way they collaborate with us, and significantly impacting our economy, health, and daily routines. Who, or what, are these thinking machines? As we teach them to become more sophisticated, how will they complement our lives? What will separate their ways of thinking from ours? And what happens when these machines understand data, concepts, and behaviors too big or impenetrable for humans to grasp? We were joined by IBM’s WATSON, the computer Jeopardy! champion, along with leading roboticists and computer scientists, to explore the thinking machines of today and the possibilities to come in the not-too-distant future.
Site: World Science Festival
Book: The Singularity is Near
Immanuel Kant, who coined the term genius in the 1700s, defined it as the rare capacity to independently understand concepts that would normally have to be taught by another person. Since then, the spectrum of abilities that we call genius has widened, but pivotal questions remain: What exactly is genius? Where do the remarkable abilities of genius come from?
Site: World Science Festival
"Imagination is the shadow of creation. Ain't none if you miss one of both.
No copyright needed. I already stole this plot from the universe."
[José Justino Bronze]
------------------------------
Ebon-X plot
Participant 'party'
- Human
Earth 2011. Reality.
* ~ Terra-ist terrorist
* Hueman ~ Original creation
* Human kind ~ Creation by Hueman
African Diaspora ended up in Babelonian confusion (of tongues). They seek their salvation in younger peers i.e. "human kind".
- Anunaki
Left Earth 3600 solar years ago.
* A nu-nao-aki ~ we are not here
* A nu-nao-a-ki ~ we have no ki / we have no key
Came back for the first time in anticipation of the moment. They believe to live in the state "messy-us" and wait / are looking for the Mesyah (to arive) here on earth.
They left in attempts to keep [the] word pure. Pure from Babylonian confiusion (of tongues). "Affairs/traids" of humanity serving "bookkeeping" led to the question if word represent reality. Nebucatnezar / Babylon was about to develop itself to a center of "the world". "Affairs/traids" and "war" become one and the same (the military industrial complex was born).
- Elohim
Left Earth 10,500 years ago.
* El-o-HIM = He or Him
Also coming back.
Last time they came back undercover to help Anunaki restore [the] word again which turned out to be corrupted. They ran the risk of becoming infected by corrupted word but believed to have to take action. After returning "Terra" / earth was more back-words than expected.
10,500 years ago, Elohim made (a) man "in his image". Human kind was made in the image of Hueman. They turned against Hueman after being included in "the family". In order to keep the bloodline pure, one part left. At the last visit (to those who were later called Anunaki) they kept their bloodline clean, but underestimate what at that time was going on with [the] word. Unnoticed, their language also was corrupted / infected. They are not yet aware of it.
- Jin
Bio-Chemical robots.
Programmed to attack Earth and destroy everything that resemble hueman and then restore Earth to original state, but without Hueman. "Set" yielded them, "set" (programmed) them before beginning his ultimate attempts to get hueman on his side by means of infecting bloodlines with his seed to set "destiny" to his hand.
He also built in "modules" which make it possible for hueman and even human-kind to call upon them, to call for help regardless of the purpose and without judgment.
Figures from 'scriptures':
- Seraphs
Celestial beings that surround G*ds throne.
- Cherubs
Guardians of Eden (Pangea, Africa, Earth)
- Lucifer
* Set / Program(mer) or institution.
* Lucifer / illuminator.
* Is-not-clue's / St. Nicholas.
In his last attempt to corrupt G*ds seed he is merged into huemanity. 10,400 years ago, he attacked "Phy-sick" / physically with his seed. 3600 years ago. 3500 years ago he attacked [the] word itself which turned out to be "faith-all" to him.
- Michael
Not distinguishable from hueman or G*d.
- Gabriel
Not distinguishable from hueman or G*d.
"Imagination is the shadow of creation. Ain't none if you miss one of both.
No copyright needed. I already stole this plot from the universe."
[José Justino Bronze]
------------------------------
Ebon-X plot
Participant 'party'
- Mens
Aarde 2011. Realiteit.
* Terra-ist ~ terrorist
* Hueman ~ Original creation
* Human kind ~ Creation by Hueman
Afrikaanse diaspora is in de Babelonische (spraak) verwarring verzeild geraakt. Ze hebben hun heil bij jongere soortgenoten geparkeerd "human kind".
- Anunaki
3600 zon-jaren geleden vertrokken.
* A-nu-nao-aki ~ we not here
* A-nu-nao-a-ki ~ we have no ki / we have no key
Komen voor het eerst terug in verwachting van het moment. Ze menen in de staat "messy-us" te leven en wachten op / zoeken naar de verlosser.
Ze vertrokken in een pogin [het] woord rein te houden. Schoon van Babylonische versprekingen. "Handelingen" van de mensheid leidde tot de vraag naar vertegenWOORDiging van realiteit t.b.v. "boek-houding". Nebucatnezar/Babylon staat op het punt zich als centrum van "de wereld' te ontplooien. "Handelingen" en "oorlog" verworden een en het zelfde (militaire industriele complex).
- Elohim
10.500 jaar geleden vertrokken
* El-o-Him = He or him
Komen WEER terug.
Vorige keer hebben ze van achter de schermen(?) de Anunaki vorm gegeven door het woord weer in te voeren welke gecorumpeerd bleek. Ze liepen risico met de gecorumpeerde taal besmet te raken maar meenden in te moeten grijpen. Na terugkomst was "Terra"/de aarde verder heen dan verwacht.
10.500 jaar geleden maakten Elohim mens "naar zijn beeld". Human kind werd naar Hueman gemaakt. Deze begon zich tegen Hueman te keren na te zijn opgenomen in "de familie". Om de bloedlijn rein te houden is een deel vertrokken. Ze hielden bij het vorige bezoek (aan hen die later Anunaki werden) de bloedlijn rein, maar onderschatten wat er op dat moment met het woord gaande was. Ongemerkt is hun taal ook gecorumpeerd/besmet. Men is daar nog niet van bewust.
- Jin
Bio-Chemische robots.
Voorgeprogrammeerd om bij bepaalde omstandigheden de aarde aan te vallen en alles wat op mensen lijkt te vernietigen om vervolgens de aarde te herstellen naar originele staat, maar dan zonder mens. "Set" heef ze gemaakt en ze zo "ingesteld"/geprogrameerd voor hij begon aan zijn ultime pogin hueman aan zijn kant te krijgen door alle bloedlijnen te "bevlekken" met zijn zaad om zo "het lot" naar zijn hand te keren.
Ook heeft hij "modules" ingebouwd die door hueman en zelfs door human-kind kunnen worden gebruikt om ze aan te roepen voor hulp, ongeacht het doel/oordeelloos.
Figuren uit 'schriften':
- Serafs
Hemelse wezens die G*ds troon omringen.
- Cherubs
Bewakers van Eden
- Lucifer
* Set / instelling
* Lucifer / verlichter, illuminator
* iS-in-t Niet-clue's / Sint Nicolaus
Is in zijn laatste poging om G*ds zaad te corrumperen opgegaan in de mensheid. 10.500 jaar geleden viel hij "vies-ziek"/fysiek aan met zijn zaad. 3600 jaar geleden viel hij het woord zelf aan wat hem "fat-taal" werd.
- Michael
Niet van hueman of G*d te onderscheiden.
- Gabriel
Niet van hueman of G*d te onderscheiden.
First Cause: Homecoming is under construction–stay tuned! In the meantime, a brief First Cause snippet:
After hanging up the phone, Angela wandered to the chosen meeting place to wait for Adam. She sat on a bench, knowing she had a bit of time to kill, and buried her head in her hands. She wondered if she was doing the right thing.
Since birth, Angela and hundreds of thousands of fellow Luceri–collectively known as Terranauts–had been raised on a secluded compound on their home planet of Lucero, as part of an intricate long-range plan called the Terra Project. Representing a generation and a half of highly disciplined warriors, the Terranauts were schooled heavily in selected areas of human history as well as a myriad of combat and survival techniques; the stated purpose of the Project was the repatriation of the Luceri people to Earth, their original home planet. Angela was one of a relatively small number of Terranauts who had been sent to Earth’s industrial centers as advance scouts.
As part of their schooling, Terranauts were repeatedly reminded that they were on the front end of a new era in Luceri civilization, and that theirs was a vital role in the future of the human species. They were sworn to secrecy–a level of secrecy that would have alarmed the average Luceri–about the precise details of their training; in fact, the vast majority of Luceri were unaware of their existence. The average Luceri, Terranauts were told, was not sufficiently informed in certain areas of terrestrial and Luceri history to properly grasp the Project’s context and objectives. As such, Angela and her fellow Terranauts were taught to be proud of their birth into this most select of groups, and to regard terrestrials as kin, but also to use force if it was necessary to make them understand the necessity and inevitability of this next stage in history. Angela had absorbed this instruction as might anyone indoctrinated from birth to the exclusion of opposing viewpoints, and though she had been something of an independent thinker compared with her fellow trainees, her mental acuity combined with what she had been told about the terrestrials to reinforce a guiltless superiority complex.
Grateful to my friend from Austin, Texas Deone Wilhite for this posting...
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| Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, age 9 (see link below) |
At age nine, after a trip to the Hayden Planetarium—the same planetarium he would direct 25 years later—Tyson decided on a career in astrophysics. “I felt called by the universe to do this,” he says, “and that has never changed.”
In junior high, Tyson took to using his telescope on the roof of his apartment building. At the sight of a teenager fumbling with a mysterious object in the night, neighbors often thought they saw a thief and called the police, whom he would placate by offering a look through the lens.
In high school, Tyson won summer scholarships to study astrophysics in Africa, Utah, and Scotland. He rubbed elbows with astronaut Neil Armstrong and biochemist and sci-fi writer Isaac Asmiov. At 15 he was invited to give his first lecture, to an extension class at the City University of New York.
“It was as natural as breathing,” Tyson recalls. “I was just talking about what I knew, the way other boys talked about baseball cards.”
Frank Bash, professor emeritus of astronomy and former director of UT’s McDonald Observatory, supervised Tyson as a teaching assistant for Intro to Astronomy. “Neil had a natural gift for teaching,” Bash says. “After he taught, the students would beg for him back. He did crazy stuff—moonwalking in class.”
Doing the moonwalk for his students wasn’t a gag, Tyson says—it was a strategy. “If you’re only using words to communicate as a teacher, why show up?” he says. “Why not just type your notes? Teaching is a full-body performance. The moonwalk was all the rage in 1983, and the students loved it. It made the material work for them.”
Back in the lab, though, things weren’t going as well. Tyson wasn’t making progress on his dissertation, and professors encouraged him to consider alternate careers. He took the criticism hard, and he also faced racial discrimination on campus.
“I was stopped and questioned seven times by University police on my way into the physics building,” he says. “Seven times. Zero times was I stopped going into the gym—and I went to the gym a lot. That says all you need to know about how welcome I felt at Texas.”
"That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Friedrich NietzscheAlcalde - Texas Exes: Star Power
#P4TC: Diaspora 10 February 2012
NASA: The star of this movie is the Vela pulsar, a neutron star that was formed when a massive star collapsed. The Vela pulsar is about 1,000 light years from Earth, spansis about 12 miles in diameter, and makes over 11 complete rotations every second, faster than a helicopter rotor. As the pulsar whips around, it spews out a jet of charged particles that race out along the pulsar’s rotation axis at about 70% of the speed of light. In this still image from the movie, the location of the pulsar and the 0.7-light-year-long jet are labeled.
The Chandra data shown in the movie, containing eight images obtained between June and September 2010, suggest that the pulsar may be slowly wobbling, or precessing, as it spins. The shape and the motion of the Vela jet look strikingly like a rotating helix, a shape that is naturally explained by precession, as shown in this animation [link to mathematica animation from Oleg K]. If the evidence for precession of the Vela pulsar is confirmed, it would be the first time that a jet from a neutron star has been found to be wobbling, or precessing, in this way.
NASA: Chandra page
RETRO-KM by EDWARD UZZLE
Set in what used to be the Americas; now a dystopic and balkanized litter of Nation-States. A surreal glimpse into the spiritual growth of a warrior-soldier from an emerging Black nation. It is a startling vision of ethnic conflict, voudon technologies, and soul bending revelations. Retro-KM is novel that embodies a brand new genre of speculative fiction; cifer-RA (High-Science-Entertainment), brought to you by Daathrekh Publishing.
“This is the worst time for a reconnaissance action. Aten (the sun) won’t be up for an hour and I’ve been ‘tracking’ all night. This place was once a thriving Metropolis. Now it’s a wasted city…”
Worlds will collide. Prepare to have your mind blown. Edward Uzzle has created a stunning vision of the not too distant future, a universe peopled with techno-warriors, mystic supermen and more. Pro-black and action packed RETRO-KM: Lord of the Landlords is a hard SF tour de force, a journey of epic proportions and a definite must read. ~Valjeanne Jeffers, author of The Immortal series and The Switch II: Clockwork
Pick up your copy of RETRO-KM at Amazon
Barnes and Noble
And Check out Daathrekh Publishing
Andre Norton wrote a sci-fi that morphed into alternate history "Android at Arms".
On the first page of the second chapter, the main character proudly states that his planet's first ships came with the Afro outspread, a very first outspread.
Hmmmm, it would really be interesting to see an anthology of original stories linked to the Afro outspread. Ships leaving Earth in all different directions, Why did they leave, where they end up, how they carry their own legends and mythologies and how it translates under alien stars.
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| MAPLE: Underwater Cosmic-Ray Muon Radiography |
The rate at which protons capture muons has been accurately measured for the first time by the MuCap collaboration at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. This process, which can be thought of as beta decay in reverse, results in the formation of a neutron and a neutrino. The team has also determined a dimensionless factor that influences the rate of muon capture, which was found to be in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions that are based on very complex calculations.
Muons are cousins of the electron that are around 200 times heavier. Beta decays demonstrate the weak nuclear force in which a neutron gets converted into a proton by emitting an electron and a neutrino. Now, replace the electron with the heavier muon and run the process backwards: a proton captures a muon and transforms into a neutron while emitting a neutrino. This process – known as ordinary muon capture (OMC) – is crucial to understanding the weak interaction involving protons.
Physics World: Muon-capture measurement backs QCD prediction
Across my side it stretched...down to my hip. The bandage wasn't large enough.. So, I covered it with paper towels and tape.
Pink oozed from the sides but No time to worry.. I threw on my tank top and black sweat shirt. Zipped and pulled the hood to cover my hair and shadow my face...
flung open the bathroom door.. and on the sofa I returned.
"I wanted to tell you.. but I didn't know how.. I know your angry and should be, I promise it won't happen again.."
I listened too intently that my side ached extensively.. My hard lips burned. My elbows itched. My pants grew uncomfortable and hurt between my legs.
"I'm sorry.. It just happened. You know I love you.. I guess I drank too much. I just got carried away." He said.
"Umph" I grimaced, while biting my lower lip. Uneasy and anxious, I rocked, holding my side. It ached so bad.. I could feel the dampness enter my sweatshirt.
The pain began to grow unbearable. I clutched my wound to hold it together..discreetly so he wouldn't notice.
He continued on and on.
His voice stuttered, mumbled, and fumbled over what soon sounded liked gibberish.
I searched desperately for answers and comfort within his words...but found none.
My thoughts became unclear and disoriented.
My body became weak and faint.
Feeling my drift.. I leaned further back onto the couch...
I ached all-over and I felt nauseous. I licked my lips and quietly asked "So, your telling me...that you slept with her? Right?"
He looked confused and dazed. "Umm. Yeah. Babe, that's what we've been talking about for over an hour."
He reached for me..and solemnly asked "Are you okay?"
Shaken.. I dodged his gesture.. My skin grew hot.. but my insides icy.
With rocky, trembling fingers I unzipped my hoodie and revealed my leaky top. The soiled bandages fell to the floor..
Gently over my head, I pulled the bloody shirt..revealing a silver curve that rose from my chest.
I reached my arm around my shoulder and neck, grabbed the handle, and snugly pulled. With one swift flip, the blade boomeranged from my back and straight into his Mother-fucking forehead..
In front of me, on the coffee table, he sat..still wide-legged and doe eyed with a meat cutter sticking out of his head.
Instantly.. I was healed! I leaped from the sofa and peered on him.. In my pretty, pink, Converse Chuck's, I kicked him in his chest and watched him topple to the floor.
Mumbling..in my own "gibberish".. and tugging him along.. "Now.. NOW.. you get carried away." I got your "Carried Away".. Carried away so you fuck her? No sir (while vigorously shaking my head).. NOW, you get carried away..
You idiot.
