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Saturday, September 30, 2006

http://www.kiphawleyisanidiot.com/

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

I'm googling trying to get info on when/why one needs an ID to go to a federal courthouse. It seems in Virginia, you can't get a marriage license without a social security number. I find that troubling. Scnecloth (sp) v Bustamonte.

Found a few cases, but I don't know how to cut and paste with a one-button mouse. I'm at the coffeehouse after a long day at the library, where firefox on a windows machine seems to work best for me. Anyway, http://www.secondaryscreening.net looks interesting.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Aardvarks on a Tank. 5 minute video.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

http://zackexley.com/

Bashman link finally fixed. So it took a year. His own site's cite site map has it wrong too.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Major premise: sharks with chip implants.
Minor premise: chips with lasers.
:. Conclusion -
Sharks with lasers.

Snakes in a maternity ward!
My local Mcnewspaper's top story is two babies die at local hostipal, of heparin overdose. Heparin... isn't that snake venom?

The other headline is "U.S. imprisons 14,000 in overseas facities." Impeachment grounds there, and potential clients for lionel j hutz.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Corncobs as biofuel in Missouri.

I was looking for a way to kill time while avoiding work. Link.

Orin Kerr, September 15, 2006 at 1:38am] 0 Trackbacks / Possibly More Trackbacks
Same-Day Transcripts for Supreme Court Arguments: If you're a Supreme Court geek, you're going to be really excited by this news: Starting this fall, the Supreme Court will be posting transcripts of oral arguments on the same day as the argument. Okay, so it's far from same-day video, and it's not quite same-day audio (my own preferred approach), but it's still going to be very helpful for those interested in a case who can't make it to DC for the argument and want to know the details of what happened.

W00t! Yes, I'm a supreme court geek, and I'm really excited. I hated waiting for the transcripts.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Of potential interest to Politech readers:

Scanner Helps Ind. Police Find Stolen Cars
By Associated Press, 17 July 2006
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-07-17-license-plate-reader_x.htm

INDIANAPOLIS -- Lawrence police officers are using a new scanning
device that can quickly identify stolen cars. The system has helped
the department recover 21 stolen cars in seven weeks. It uses two
cameras attached to a squad car that scans license plates and
compares them in less than a second to a nationwide FBI database of
reported stolen vehicles.

This might not be a bad idea, although the ominous potentials are evident.

White buffalo spotted, world peace at hand.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Kelly Galley agrees. Her three children -- 13-year-old twins Monique and Jaicen Massa and 11-year-old Jaymie Massa -- were suspended last week for protesting the dress code by wearing T-shirts with the First Amendment on them. Jaymie had stayed home from Lincoln Park Middle School on Tuesday, but Monique and Jaicen wore the shirts again -- their third offense -- and were suspended again, this time for five days. One more offense and they'll be expelled.

Galley said it's likely she'll end up homeschooling.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,1870279,00.html
Another day, another odd medical breakthrough.

New Scientist, via slashdot: Within a few years, laptops and other energy-guzzling portable devices could run on long-lasting, easily recharged fuel cells based on a safe and practical new way of storing and releasing hydrogen.

Chemist Don Gervasio and colleague Sonja Tasic, both at Arizona State University in the US, set out to develop a fuel cell that would generate more electricity for its weight than the best batteries, and would also work at room temperature.

Gervasio's solution was to use the alkaline compound borohydride. A 30% solution of borohydride in water actually contains one-third more hydrogen than the same volume of liquid hydrogen.

"The difference is that the borohydride is at room temperature, and it's stable, non-toxic and cost-effective," Gervasio says.
Quick recharge

The borohydride solution releases its hydrogen as it flows over a catalyst made of ruthenium. The hydrogen passes through a membrane and combines with oxygen in the fuel cell, generating electricity and waste water.

Theoretically, this could achieve an energy density up to about 2200 watt-hours per litre Gervasio says, compared to 200 watt-hours per litre for a lithium polymer battery.

"For the same size and weight you can make a lot more electricity, so your laptop or camcorder will run a lot longer," he says.
Clogged up

However, Gervasio's early systems ran into trouble when the hydrogen-generating cells became clogged with insoluble boron oxide. His team looked for something that would dissolve boron oxide, and found it in a widely-used material: ethylene glycol, otherwise known as antifreeze. The ethylene glycol also had no effect on hydrogen generation.

The researchers can now run the hydrogen generator on a 15% solution of borohydride, half-way to their goal of a truly power-packed 30% solution. "By using this additive, we've raised the hydrogen storage to about 600 usable watt-hours per litre, which is two to three times as good as any battery," Gervasio says. "We're half-way there."

Gervasio recognises that there are still many steps between his prototype and a competitively priced, off-the-shelf, battery-sized fuel cell. Nevertheless, he believes they could appear in power-hungry devices such as laptops, camcorders, and radios within five years.

Gervasio revealed details of the prototype system at the 232nd American Chemical Society National Meeting, in San Francisco, US, on Tuesday

Monday, September 11, 2006

torture continues, abu greib under new management. via drudgereport.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

I recently realized that I've been forgetting to read a bunch of webcomics
e.g. Sinfest,
that were bookmarks on my last computer than got stolen. So this post is a placeholder to put links to those as I remeber what they were.
Least I could do.
Ok, I'm avoiding work. Nothing new about that.

Multiculturalism update: I write this from IUPUI library. It's a diverse campus, that is, that it's mostly international students. But today was the first time I saw a cricket game on the lawn.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

I don't know why google thought I might like "Buy rare wildflower seeds" but yeah, except I usually buy seeds for 10 cents a package at family dollar, and harvest my own wildflower seeds, so the link will be more for window shopping, but worth a look.

China launches spaceship to grow giant vegetables.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Word for the day: aardwolf.

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