“SABLE-3 was launched on Saturday, August 11th, 2007, at 9:31 AM with a payload…that the Kaysam 1200 gram balloon carried to over 117,597 feet…” Full Slice (w/photos !) - Good science learning project for just about anyone.

“Dictionaryofsign.com is a brand new community compiled international dictionary of sign language. With your help we would like to create a massive searchable database of sign languages from around the world - available to all for free…” Full Slice

“The Second Young Engineers’ Satellite (YES2) was activated and separated from the Foton-M3 spacecraft…The Fotino capsule was due to be deployed on a 30 km long tether in space, the longest ever. As the tether deployed slower than planned, it reached a length of 8.5 km before a preprogrammed command cut Fotino loose from the spacecraft…” Full Slice

Nick Szabo’s blog is the first one I’ve mentioned, here on Baloney, that I specifically recommend.

“…there may be no better indication of how well the niche social network is growing than a recent post on TechCrunch, “9 Ways to Build Your Own Social Network,” which lists nine different sites that help people build their own specialized network. Whether it’s Ning or Haystack, these applications aren’t for people setting up Facebook competitors. They’re for the niches, and they’re becoming increasingly successful…” Full Slice

“…”The building sector is responsible for close to half of all energy consumption in this country and close to half of all greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. Buildings are the single largest contributor to global warming, he said, emitting more than even automobiles.

To demonstrate Mazria’s point, Architecture 2030 has compiled a report that features images depicting the dramatic effects of sea level rise — from about 3 to 16 feet — on 21 cities around the country.

The chief villain contributing to global warming, Mazria said, is coal that is burned in power plants to generate electricity in buildings…” Full Slice Nice graphics irrespective of the truth of his claims and a grass roots movement could take advantage of them as a communication tool. [HINT - manifest the potential shoreline]

Now that everything’s melting, we can start using up the ocean itself:

http://green.yahoo.com/index.php?q=node/1570

“An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the “most remarkable” water science discovery in a century.

John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies, it would burn.

The discovery has scientists excited by the prospect of using salt water, the most abundant resource on earth, as a fuel.”

“…On the first flight, the aircraft, which has a wingspan of 18m (59ft), flew for more than two days before it developed a fault. The second, shorter flight was curtailed when thunderstorms threatened the propeller-driven plane.

“What was proved - and what was a world first - was that the aircraft was flown using its solar electrical power system through two complete diurnal cycles…The aircraft was flown on solar power and charged its batteries during the day, discharged its batteries during the night, and remained aloft the following dawn when the cycle was repeated.”…” Full Slice

“A satellite imagery study by the World Bank in collaboration with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicates that despite efforts to reduce the practice, global gas flaring…has remained fairly stable over the last 15 years. The satellite data does suggest a slight upward [trend] over the past few years, with an estimated 168 billion cubic meters (BCM) flared in 2006…roughly equivalent to 27% of the natural gas consumption of the USA…Gas flaring is widely recognized as a waste of energy and an added load of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. It is, however, preferred to the companion process of venting: the release of gas without combustion. Venting is not only dangerous, but releases gases with higher global warming potential…” Full Slice - Absurd behavior

“Planning for a summer delivery for your child? You might want to choose an ophthalmologist along with an obstetrician…Babies born in June and July had a 24% greater chance of becoming severely myopic than those born in December and January the group with the least number of severely myopic individuals…“It is probably a long-term effect of early-life exposure to natural light that increases the chances of a child becoming short-sighted…A more thorough laboratory analysis of myopia in young chickens suggested that the body has a mechanism that causes the eyeball to lengthen (short-sighted eyes are longer than normal) when it is exposed to prolonged illumination. This mechanism is associated with melatonin, a pigment secreted by the pineal gland, though scientists are not sure exactly how it operates. This is the same gland that sets our body’s internal clock or permits it to participate in “Circadian rhythms.”…” Full Slice

“An international team of researchers has detected low-energy solar neutrinos–subatomic particles produced in the core of the sun–and measured in real-time the rate the particles hit our planet.

The researchers also obtained fresh evidence that neutrinos oscillate (transform from one state to another) before arriving at Earth, adding weight to present theories about the nature of neutrinos and the inner workings of the sun and other stars…” Full Slice

“…The team of scientists mapped over 1,500 square miles, exploring the deep sea creatures living in the depths of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. They used the latest technology to learn more about what is living in this remote and relatively unexplored deep-sea environment using remotely operated vehicles equipped with digital cameras.

With a suite of eight deep sea cameras they were able to capture images of life on the peaks and valleys of very rugged terrain. Colourful sponges and corals encrust rocky cliffs, whereas areas of soft sediment are populated by starfish, brittle-stars, sea cucumbers and burrowing worms. Fishes, crabs and shrimps forage over the ridge exploiting whatever they can find. Trawls, traps and corers have brought back thousands of specimens for study back in the laboratory…” Full Slice

“…“There is no indication of an MOC slowdown. And the large fluctuations explain why previously it was diagnosed that a slowdown had already happened. By chance, measurements were taken at a time when the MOC happened to be quite weak.”

With the instrument array it is feasible to monitor the annual average MOC to a resolution of about 1.5 Sverdrups, or about 8 percent of the mean value. This would be sufficient to detect any large, abrupt changes in the circulation, critical to planning for future climate change.”

“…the provider of lithium-ion batteries for the two Mars rovers, the Phoenix Mars Lander (launched 4 August 2007) and the future Mars Science Laboratory mission (2009), has received two federal awards totaling $200,000 for developing lithium-ion batteries for use in hybrid electric vehicles.

The first Phase I award from the Department of Energy’s Small Business Innovation Research program is to support the development of a novel lithium-ion battery with advanced silicon nanoparticle-based anodes. The resulting batteries are to demonstrate improved energy density, long cycle life, high rate capability and low-temperature performance…” Full Slice

“…What I saw was Clearview, the typeface that is poised to replace Highway Gothic, the standard that has been used on signs across the country for more than a half-century. Looking at a sign in Clearview after reading one in Highway Gothic is like putting on a new pair of reading glasses: there’s a sudden lightness, a noticeable crispness to the letters.

The Federal Highway Administration granted Clearview interim approval in 2004, meaning that individual states are free to begin using it in all their road signs. More than 20 states have already adopted the typeface…” Full Slice