“…”The result is thrilling,”…”It might be an indicator that the universe is different from what we thought it to be.” [scientist] says he’s open to the idea that fundamental constants might actually change over time and position, as scientists don’t have a decent explanation for why the fundamental constants have their particular values anyway. Still, the huge claim that a constant changes demands weighty evidence—which the new data are not…They say the chances that random statistical fluctuations in the data could produce a fake signal as big are less than 1 in 15,000…” Full Slice

As with any invention that sounds too good to be true, one keeps hoping for some public demonstrations. Still, it will be nifty if this clever looking engine design works out as claimed.

“It may not be Atlantis, but evidence of a lost civilization probably lies beneath the waves all along the Washington coast — in fact, all along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

A recently announced discovery of stone tools on California’s northern Channel Islands, just across the Santa Barbara Channel from the city of Santa Barbara, may tell us a good deal about what that civilization did….” Full Slice

The inventor of the vanadium redox flow battery is interviewed.

Yet another uncollapsed rille up on the Moon.

NASA To Offer Explanation Of The Missing Sunspots

Session started 2010-12-30 01:05 UTC (2010-12-29 8pm EST/5pm PST)

Pre session festivities start at 2010-12-29 23:00 UTC (2010-12-29 6PM EST, 3pm PST)

Agenda:

1. Tamji - North African mercs taking out Al Qaeda
   1. Malian Tuaregs, a specific group.
   2. The French are already mining uranium - Mali, Niger.
   3. An uncontrolled area - borders are a joke.
   4. What are the existing treaties? Can they be enforced?
   5. The Tuaregs want to redraw their own border.
   6. Tuaregs as Tamji’s personal bodyguard.
2. Dean - Biofuel companies
   The problems with biodiesel - the dudes dumping their glycerol/hydroxide/methanol waste, in Europe they add phosphoric acid and potassium hydroxide.
   Glycerol waste -> react with bioacetaldehyde, gives a 2, 3, cyclic diether, as an oxygenator for biodiesel.
   Chain of secondary processes at the very end for the least toxic outcome. You have to do flux balance analysis. How local is the waste processing? Cost of unit processing going down with larger plants, suggesting centralization. The efficiency of electricity for short trip cars obviates much biofuel.
   Joule
   Sapphire
   Consortium
3. Dean - Moderated agenda items as a routine part of a research session - and recording them
   • Moderated Agenda Discussion rules as agreed and practiced
     • Contributor of the Agenda Item talks for 2 minutes as timed by a moderator
     • Each attendee may  then talk for 2 minutes without interruption until no more requests to speak are received
     • The contributor may then follow up uninterrupted for 1 minute, and then each attendee may do the same.
     • Once requests for uninterrupted talk are finished, open discussion ensues

   Automated vs. Contrived
   Baloney.com “brand”

4. Dean - Do we need a term that means “the consequences of increased CO2 concentration” to encompass climate change, ocean acidification, and other consequences.
5. Wad - Moderated discussion: “Current sunspot activity and conjectures on future sunspot counts” Proposed Moderator: Walter
   Sunspot number prediction against actual
   Recent large spot
   Solar output
   Sunspot number hits zero 2010-12-19
6. Wad - Orbital Debris - See this post from Baloney.Com.  Wad is calling for a moratorium on rocket launches which leave orbital debris until an effective plan for removing it is in place.  Dean thinks the idea is out of fantasy land.
7. Wad - Brief discussion on why SDO and SOHO are no showing pictures and what the hell was that thing that went between SOHO and the sun on December 7, 2010?
8. Curtis - Baloney Instrument Panel - display on front page & use to display/track state of items of Baloney interest such as Arctic ice, ecological & economic indicators, sunspots etc - something similar to this (from comments)
9. Walter -  Ultra Low Frequency monitoring for earthquake forecasting
10. Walter - Male pattern baldness as a high latitude adaptation for increased vitamin D capture?
11. Ed - Quirk theory vis-a-vis the recent multidimensional patents by Baloneys and the cellbase project by other Baloneys.  Multidimensional organization a natural evoluationary process in data storage, navigation and transformation indicated by the emergent patent work.  Quirk queries into cellspaces as theorems of the mathematical theory.
    Timeline’s multidimensional sorting patent
    Rob’s multidimensional vector subspace for token analysis patent
    Wad’s multidimensional organization of portolio information objects patent
12. Ed - Web organization to maximize networking effects.  Consideration of Daily Kos version 4 as an exemplar of the “outer” ring of Web “ping paths” we want to set up to drive traffic to more “inner” rings.  Establishing Baloney memes through circuits of ping paths laid down by coordinated design and execution.
13. Jeff - ???
14. Scott - ???

Session estimated start 2010-12-30 00:05 UTC (2010-12-29 7pm EST/4pm PST)

Agenda:

1. Dean - Biofuel companies
   Joule
   Sapphire
   Consortium
2. Dean - Moderated agenda items as a routine part of a research session - and recording them
   Automated vs. Contrived
   Baloney.com “brand”
3. Dean - Do we need a term that means “the consequences of increased CO2 concentration” to encompass climate change, ocean acidification, and other consequences.
4. Wad - Moderated discussion:  “Current sunspot activity and conjectures on future sunspot counts”   Proposed Moderator:  Walter
   Sunspot number prediction against actual
   Recent large spot
   Solar output
   Sunspot number hits zero 2010-12-19
5. Wad - Orbital Debris
6. Curtis - Baloney Instrument Panel - display on front page & use to display/track state of items of Baloney interest such as Arctic ice, ecological & economic indicators, sunspots etc
7. Walter
   Ultra Low Frequency monitoring for earthquake forecasting
   male pattern baldness as a high latitude adaptation for increased vitamin D capture?
8. Ed - ???
9. Jeff - ???
10. Scott - ???

“…Since latently HIV-infected cells are unstable and constantly release HIV virions, the activated macrophages rapidly intercept the released HIV virions to prevent reinfection resulting in exhaustion of infected cells. After less than 18 weekly administrations of 100 ng GcMAF for nonanemic patients, they exhibited low serum Nagalase activities equivalent to healthy controls, indicating eradication of HIV-infection, which was also confirmed by no infectious center formation by provirus inducing agent-treated patient PBMCs. No recurrence occurred and their healthy CD + cell counts were maintained for 7 years.” Full Slice

“Scientists have developed the first cell controlled by a synthetic genome. They now hope to use this method to probe the basic machinery of life and to engineer bacteria specially designed to solve environmental or energy problems…”This is the first synthetic cell that’s been made, and we call it synthetic because the cell is totally derived from a synthetic chromosome, made with four bottles of chemicals on a chemical synthesizer, starting with information in a computer,”…” Full Slice and Another Slice

“Study links restless leg syndrome with [redacted] dysfunction in older men…more common in older men with restless leg syndrome (RLS) than in those without RLS, and the magnitude of this association increased with a higher frequency of RLS symptoms….” Full Slice

Yup, can’t deny it now.  Any organization can send a satellite to take pictures of the moon which will prove we were there.

Congratulations NASA!  Regardless of why you did it, you did it and everyone survived the trips.

During the course of a recent e-exchange, I was reminded of the futility of tit-for-tat exchanges vis-a-vis [insert controversial topic here]. First, attempting to understand the other seems to fall by the wayside, followed by a general failure to attempt being understood (no doubt the between-the-lines understanding sort of happens, but that’s not ostensibly what’s being legitimately sought). Ultimately, there are dribbling attempts to get last words in and the sad thing just peters out.

Nevertheless, I was inspired, by the claimed lack of facile touchibility about various forms of reliable information, to ‘ogle

global warming faq

only to locate a third-hand, yet promising, pointer. This finding led to further ‘ogling, quickly turning up

The Physical Science Basis of Climate Change

Which contains a series of chapters of interpretations referring to the primary scientific literature.

I am not content to simply trade unsubstantiated claims in an emotional, posturing context (despite the wanking joy of doing that). I would rather trade substantiated claims and backed-up interepretations in an emotional, posturing context. I would most like to trade substantiated claims and backed-up interepretations in a dispassionate context.

That would require buy-in, and not a little work (i.e. this is an invitation to a journal club, or perhaps “sequential blogging on peer-reviewed research“). Could just be a measure of just how much Baloney Factor people may have.

What the heck is this?

No cries for justice, just sensible forgiveness.

“Sukhvir Singh said through a Punjabi interpreter on Friday that he and other members of the Sikh community wanted to offer forgiveness to Vázquez once they learned he had no previous criminal offenses and had a history of steady work.

Singh said he did not want to see the young man’s life ruined.

“If someone has made a mistake, they should learn a lesson from it,” Singh said. “They should be punished accordingly, and it should be known to society that it is not good to have hate toward any human being.”

“Vázquez said after the hearing that he was grateful for Singh’s forgiveness and that he has learned his lesson.

He is attending an alcohol-treatment program and said he does not intend to drink anymore.” Full slice

Maybe we have something to learn from the Sikhs.