Russian Nuclear-Powered Ice-Breakers
September 12th, 2012Via: Scientific American:
Russia’s dream to dominate the Arctic will soon get a boost with a nuclear-powered icebreaker designed to navigate both shallow rivers and the freezing depths of the Northern Sea. Last month Rosatomflot, Russia’s atomic fleet, inked a deal to begin construction of a massive new vessel 170 meters long and 34 meters wide. That is 14 meters longer and four meters wider than any of Russia’s other nuclear vessels.
Powered by two “RITM-200” compact pressurized water reactors generating 60MWe, the new model is designed to blast through ice more than 4 meters thick and tow tankers of up to 70,000 tons displacement through Arctic ice fields. Rosatomflot says the vessel would have liquid ballasts allowing it to alter its draught (the depth of the loaded vessel in the water) between 8.5 to 10.8 meters, allowing it to access both Siberian rivers that reach deep into Russia as well as the Northern Sea.
Playing at the World by Jon Peterson
September 12th, 2012Playing at the World by Jon Peterson
Explore the conceptual origins of wargames and role-playing games in this unprecedented history of simulating the real and the impossible. From a vast survey of primary sources ranging from eighteenth-century strategists to modern hobbyists, Playing at the World distills the story of how gamers first decided fictional battles with boards and dice, and how they moved from simulating wars to simulating people. The invention of role-playing games serves as a touchstone for exploring the ways that the literary concept of character, the lure of fantastic adventure and the principles of gaming combined into the signature cultural innovation of the late twentieth century.
Playing at the World by Jon Peterson
More: ‘Peterson is the first to admit that Playing at the World is not intended for a general audience.’
Alibaba Group Expects Sales This Year to Top Those of Amazon and eBay Combined
September 12th, 2012Via: Reuters:
China’s largest e-commerce firm, Alibaba Group, expects to sell merchandise this year worth more than that sold by Amazon Inc and eBay combined, Alibaba’s chief strategy officer said on Saturday.
The company is aiming for 3 trillion yuan ($473 billion) in annual transaction value from its Taobao e-commerce units in the next 5 to 7 years, Zeng Ming told reporters.
Cryptogon Reader Sent $25
September 12th, 2012TB sent $25. Thank you.
Some Sort of Tracking Data Injected Into World of Warcraft Graphics
September 12th, 2012Via: Tom’s Hardware:
One World of Warcraft gamer has discovered that his screenshots secretly contain user info like the current server IP address, and the time the shot was taken.
ZoomThere’s indication that Activision Blizzard has been watermarking screenshots captured with World of Warcraft’s in-game client application since at least 2008. There’s also indication that Digimarc is the company behind the client’s watermarking tech.
According to reports, these custom marks include user IDs, the time the in-game image was captured, and the IP address of the local World of Warcraft server. Why? Possibly to track down users that are violating Blizzard’s Terms of Service like hacking the game or running a private server.
More: Ownedcore
In Which Countries is Coca-Cola Not Sold?
September 12th, 2012Via: BBC:
After almost 60 years, Coca-Cola is on sale again in Burma. It’s one of the world’s most recognised brands, so are there any countries where the drinks giant still remains unsold?
Coca-Cola says it sells 1.8 billion servings of the drink every day. But for the last six decades, none has been in Burma.
That’s because of US trade sanctions on the military junta which ruled the country from 1962 to 2011.
Those sanctions were suspended a few months ago, as the country began to move towards democratic reforms.
But the company said on Monday its first delivery had arrived and local production would begin soon.
Coca-Cola’s entry into any country is a powerful symbol, says Tom Standage, author of A History of the World in Six Glasses.
“The moment Coca-Cola starts shipping is the moment you can say there might be real change going on here,” he says. “Coca-Cola is the nearest thing to capitalism in a bottle.”
There are now just two countries in the world where Coca-Cola cannot be bought or sold – at least, not officially. They are Cuba and North Korea, which are both under long-term US trade embargoes (Cuba since 1962 and North Korea since 1950).
Related: The American Culture Bomb
California Senator George Smathers Suggested False Flag Attack on Guantanamo Bay to JFK
September 12th, 2012Via: Guardian:
When the assassination idea was discarded Mr Smathers suggested provoking an incident at the US Naval base at Guantanamo Bay on the eastern tip of Cuba as a pretext for a US invasion.
“I did talk to him about a plan of having a false attack made on Guantanamo Bay which would give us the excuse of actually fomenting a fight which would then give us the excuse to go in and do the job,” he said. “He asked me to write him something about it. And I think I did.”
Related: Senator Suggested False Flag Attack To Kennedy 2 Years Prior To Operation Northwoods Proposal
Research Credit: almaverdad2
‘What if Dickens Had Analytics?’
September 12th, 2012I’d still never finish reading Little Dorrit.
Via: FastCompany:
In addition to the Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Paperwhite, Amazon introduced a subscription book format at a press conference in Los Angeles Thursday. These books, called “Kindle Serials,” will be released in segments instead of in their entirety. Updates, or “episodes,” automatically appear at the back of the book as they’re created or released without extra charge.
Charles Dickens popularized a similar format more than 100 years ago when he famously published many of his works as segments in weekly publications. Bezos invoked the author’s works when announcing the new product, and some of them, including Oliver Twist, will be re-released as Kindle Serials.
Dickens, however, didn’t have the Internet. Or data about how readers responded to each of his chapters.
“[Kindle Series] Authors will be able to follow along with reader reaction and adapt the next installments based on the first ones,” Bezos said.
Amazon will provide discussion boards for each Kindle Serials book. Unlike most book discussion boards, they may influence the outcome of the books. Unlike in Dickens’ era, anyone reading can participate.
Research Credit: JRock
UK Banks Could be Shut Down or Forced Into Bail-Outs by Brussels
September 12th, 2012Via: Telegraph:
A panel of European officials would be given sweeping new powers to police the financial sector across the continent but also in the City of London.
They would be given “full decision making powers” to impose EU law and to arbitrate disputes between Britain and the eurozone over the risks posed by British banks, according to the proposals being tabled on Wednesday at the European Commission. Decisions taken by the powerful body would be automatically binding unless Britain was able to win the unlikely backing of a majority and overturn them.
Rulings by the panel could create huge costs for the British government and banks if they were ordered to bail out a struggling institution, contribute to cross-border bail-out funds, or allow the EU to rule over breaches of European law.
Cock Blown Off Serving the Empire? Lab-Grown Genitals, Spray-On Skin
September 12th, 2012Via: NBC:
A few years ago, Dr. Anthony Atala’s lab at Wake Forest University got good at making ears. They were growing new ears on a scaffold using patient’s cells, because so many soldiers were losing their ears in explosions. Now the Department of Defense has a project that’s closer to Atala’s heart: making new genitals for soldiers who have stepped on bombs.
Other labs are still moving forward with the ear project for the military. But Atala has special expertise dating back to his days as a pediatric urologist. He’s already grown bladders using a patient’s own cells, and he’s made penises that rabbits were able to put to their proper use, fathering litters of new little bunnies. He hopes to use this expertise to help rebuild the bodies of veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as men and boys injured in car accidents.
Atala is one of the pioneers of regenerative medicine. But the field has taken off in a big way, attracting biotechnology companies, the U.S. military and academic labs, which are working to literally make the blind see and the lame walk again. They’re perfecting spray-on skin and aim to mass-produce new body parts using bioprinters based on the jet printers attached to your home computer.
“Right now, the way these organs are made is creating them one by one. By bringing the bioprinting in, we can scale it up,” says Atala, whose lab has contracts with the four-year-old Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM), biotechnology companies and private foundations.
All of this technology is years away from the doctor’s office. The most advanced treatments have just begun the very earliest stages of human testing. But all evidence points to the tantalizing prospect of grow-your-own organs and possibly even limbs within a decade or so, and some approaches, such as muscle transplants and spray-on skin, are helping a lucky few now.
