Riehl World View

35 Cool Landscape Pics From Mars

Originally from a somewhat spamish tweet. But they're sourced to Boston.com. Thirty-five very cool images of the landscape on Mars - with descriptions so you know what you're seeing.

Since 2006, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been orbiting Mars, currently circling approximately 300 km (187 mi) above the Martian surface. On board the MRO is HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, which has been photographing the planet for several years now at resolutions as fine as mere inches per pixel. Collected here is a group of images from HiRISE over the past few years, in either false color or grayscale, showing intricate details of landscapes both familiar and alien, from the surface of our neighboring planet, Mars. I invite you to take your time looking through these, imagining the settings - very cold, dry and distant, yet real. (35 photos total)

Fact Check: The Media Now Worse Than Blogs

The media has gotten so far out of hand in the face of an increasingly quick news cycle, they no longer have any more value than blogs anymore. They can say all they want. But many of us are as, if not more diligent than them in checking sourcing today. If nothing else, we usually qualify it up front.

The Washington Post, New York Times and many more outlets, including TV were pwned by a bogus email on climate change. They've become so pathetic they don't even bother to pick up a phone if it's breaking news that fits with their and the liberal agenda. Were this the reverse, they would have sought multiple confirmations before breathing a word.

An email press release announcing the change is a hoax, say Chamber officials.

Several media organizations fell for it.

A CNBC anchor interrupted herself mid-sentence Monday morning to announce that the network had “breaking news,” then cut away to reporter Hampton Pearson, who read from the fake press release.

Pearson quickly followed up with a second report saying the “so-called bulletin” was an “absolute hoax.” Smelling a rat, CNBC’s Larry Kudlow demanded to know whether the White House had been involved.

What happened to global warming?

This headline may come as a bit of a surprise, so too might that fact that the warmest year recorded globally was not in 2008 or 2007, but in 1998.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Moon Blast As Futuristic Weapons Development

While appropriate to have a bit of fun over the recent man made "explosion" on the Moon, having recently watched a Cable TV special on advanced weaponry, it would be foolish to dismiss it for the research value I imagine it gave the military with regard to the development of advanced weapons system currently imagined for deployment in Space. Also see link below.

Orbital bombardment is the act of attacking targets on a planet, moon or other such object from orbit around the object, rather than from an aircraft, or a platform beyond orbit. It is most often encountered in fiction, but has been proposed as a means of attack for several real-world weapons systems concepts, including kinetic bombardment and as a nuclear delivery system.

Having watched the special, the staged crash was very much in line with what many believe will be a very effective and practical weapon for Space. One doesn't need fueled explosions. Without atmosphere, the kinetic energy alone is enough to create damage several times greater than today's nuclear weapons. Danger Room: Heh!

We all know that the Pentagon has more space weapons technology in mind than just a single, satellite-shooting missile. But trying to pin down how much the Defense Department is spending on space combat research — and on what projects — is an absolute bitch. The programs are spread across at least a dozen different accounts; much of the technology involved is "dual use" — meaning, it could help with another military matters, too; and that’s before you get into the Defense Department’s "black," classified budget.

Bi-Cultural: Are You Offended?

Here's a curious bit of pseudo-scientific research. I say pseudo as, having studied it some, the psychology of personality will never truly be a hard science, no matter how much data they conjure up.

Developmental context effects on bicultural posttrauma self repair

Um, in Chimpanzees raised by humans. Get it?

Right up there with white, black, brown ... whatever you want to call them. And, yes, bicultural did have a standard definition once. Of or relating to two distinct cultures in one nation or geographic region. Not no more.

Longitudinal studies have shown how early developmental contexts contribute significantly to self-development; their influence extends through adulthood, informs sociality, and affects resilience under severe stress. While the importance of sociality in trauma recovery is recognized, the relationship between developmental and posttrauma contexts and recovery effects is less appreciated, particularly in cases in which recovery contexts differ widely from the culture of origin.

Robot Gone Missing: Where's Waldo?

There are some news stories you just can't make up. No one would believe you. Where's Waldo? They're counting on Labor Day boaters to help out. Rosie is said to be at home worried sick. She's been after Waldo to give up the sea for years.

The robot from the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota has been missing since Monday.

It cost about $100,000. It also was equipped with a detector to find red tide, a toxic algae bloom. That was valued at another $30,000.

Scientists aren't sure what happened to the robot, which is nicknamed Waldo. It could have had a leak or malfunction and sunk to the bottom. It also could be on the surface, but its communication system isn't working properly to signal its location.

The lab hopes boaters out for the busy Labor Day weekend might spot Waldo.

Is Messaging Exoplanet A Good Idea?

Glenn Reynolds links to an item on our sending messages to a far off water-covered exoplanet and asks if it's a good idea.

"It may be covered by a large and deep ocean and is the first serious ‘waterworld’ candidate discovered beyond our Solar System". Is this a good idea?

While unsure of how productive an exercise it might be, I think it's pretty cool to do. If there's a down side to eventually making contact with anything out there, they probably already know more about us, than we do of them. But under the particular circumstances in this case, I know what one of the text messages should be.

"You folks must have some kick ass swimmers up there. We have this little thing called the Olympics you might be interested in. There is a drug test, but it pays pretty good these days. If there's any interest, please just let us know" - USOC.

DNA Breakthrough: Heather Really Does Have Two Mommies

Hmm. Well, Heather would have to be a monkey for the headline to actually be correct. But I suppose they could name one of the four offspring from two mother's DNA Heather, right? Coming to a medical ethics debate near you.

Scientists have produced monkeys with genetic material from two mothers, an advance that could help women with some inherited diseases have healthy children but which would raise a host of safety, legal, ethical and social questions if attempted in people.

Using cloning-related techniques, the researchers developed a way to replace most of the genes in the eggs from one rhesus macaque monkey with those from another, fertilized the eggs with sperm, transferred the resulting embryos into animals' wombs and produced four apparently healthy offspring.

The technique was developed for women who carry disorders caused by defects in a form of DNA passed only from females to their children, and the researchers said they hoped work will eventually translate into therapies for people.

Hubble Snaps Jupiter Impact

New, sharper images of the recent impact on Jupiter at link.

Jupiter’s new scar has been photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The huge mark was left when a comet or asteroid plowed into the planet.

Report On Non-Embryonic Stem Cells

Story at the Pirate's Cove.

Ordinary cells reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells can help repair damaged heart tissue in mice, researchers reported on Monday in a study that shows a potential practical use for the experimental cells.