From a thread on the Sagittarius site...
Riser Length Weight
Inches Grams Lbs Oz
Samick Mizar 23 920 2 0
Stylist Sapphire 23 992 2 3
Stylist Supreme 25 992 2 3
Merlin Apex 1080 2 6
Yamaha Eolla 25 1095 2 7
BMG Extreme 24 1100 2 7
Win & Win KAP Evolution 2 23 1100 2 7
Win & Win KAP Surprise 24 1100 2 7
Stylist Supreme 25 1106 2 7
Win & Win Winact 23 1120 2 8
Hoyt Radian 1130 2 8
Petron S3 23 1134 2 8
PSE X-Factor 25 1134 2 8
Yamaha Super Feel Forged 23 1145 2 8
Hoyt GM TD4+ 25 1150 2 9
Samick Agulla 25 1150 2 9
Hoyt Elan 25 1160 2 9
Martin Aurora 24 1162 2 9
Best Zenit 23 1190 2 10
Win & Win Toutall 25 1190 2 10
Hoyt Aerotec 23 1191 2 10
Hoyt Matrix 23 1191 2 10
Bernardini Nilo 23 1200 2 10
Win & Win KAP Winstar 25 1200 2 10
Win & Win Winact 25 1200 2 10
Bernadini Ghibli 25 1210 2 11
Spigarelli Explorer 23 1215 2 11
Petron S3 25 1219 2 11
Bernardini Nilo 25 1220 2 11
Bernardini Tuareg 25 1220 2 11
Sky Conquest 1230 2 11
Spigarelli Explorer 25 1230 2 11
Hoyt Matrix 25 1247 2 12
PSE Universal 1250 2 12
Hoyt Avalon 1270 2 13
PSE Intrepid 25 1270 2 13
Samick Agulla Ultra 25 1275 2 13
Bernardini Aladin 25 1300 2 14
Best Moon 25 1300 2 14
Win & Win KAP Certi-Q 25 1300 2 14
Hoyt Aerotec 25 1304 2 14
Browning Olympian 1320 2 15
PSE Zone 1320 2 15
Win & Win Exfeel 25 1320 2 15
Win & Win Infinite 25 1320 2 15
Green Horn Victory B+ 25 1335 2 15
Yamaha SFF 2 1340 2 15
Best Zenit 25 1350 3 0
Spigarelli 2001 V.B.S. 1380 3 1
Samick Masters 25 1400 3 1
Spigarelli 2001 25 1400 3 1
Win & Win Xpert 25 1400 3 1
Hoyt Axis 25 1550 3 7
KG Nemesis 24 1758 3 14
Friday, August 05, 2005
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Border security, UK Style
We're stopping them coming in, but we can't stop them getting out. A great little analysis on the inanity of UK border controls and IT.
The Crash is coming and there is nothing we can do about it.
Gitterdammerung (The Twilight of the Gits)
"...first bear in mind the difference between today's greedy git versus someone hit by the Crash of '29. Our forbearers maybe lived it up too much in the Roaring Twenties, but they had also survived the trenches of the Somme, so they were better accustomed to hardship than today's spoilt Baby Boomer who suffers anxiety attacks while stuck in traffic. Will the gits buckle down and work three shifts a day as my grandfather did? Or throw all their toys out of the cot and turn nasty? No prizes for guessing."
from a Social Affairs Unit weblog.
"...first bear in mind the difference between today's greedy git versus someone hit by the Crash of '29. Our forbearers maybe lived it up too much in the Roaring Twenties, but they had also survived the trenches of the Somme, so they were better accustomed to hardship than today's spoilt Baby Boomer who suffers anxiety attacks while stuck in traffic. Will the gits buckle down and work three shifts a day as my grandfather did? Or throw all their toys out of the cot and turn nasty? No prizes for guessing."
from a Social Affairs Unit weblog.
Friday, July 15, 2005
My 400th Post - and my first video file
Well, this is my 400th post, so I thought I'd put up a video file for a change. This video is of the Phoenix Band at Stockton Heath walking day. Walking Day is held each year at many villages and towns in this part of North-West England, principally in Warrington.
The video shows the highlight point in Walking Day, when the band stops in Victoria Square in the centre of Stockton Heath, and the baton man (who incidentally works at Daresbury Laboratory), does his stuff.
The video shows the highlight point in Walking Day, when the band stops in Victoria Square in the centre of Stockton Heath, and the baton man (who incidentally works at Daresbury Laboratory), does his stuff.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Home-grown suicide bombers
Today's news has confirmed what most people were thinking: the London attacks were performed by British suicide bombers. And these are the first suicide bombs on British soil.
Given the information that is available from the police, it doesn't take much to put two plus two together to work out what these guys did. They hatched a plan up in Leeds, travelled down to Luton, took the bombs out of their car and then went their separate ways from King's Cross. Three of them killed themselves at 8:50 along with their victims. Perhaps the fourth one bottled it, then travelled around in an agitated state (according to one eye-witness) before blowing himself up on a bus. Was this fourth one deliberate or accidental?
I've been keeping an eye on the official victim list: although I checked on all my friends that I'm in regular contact with, I have this nagging doubt that someone I know might have been on one of the trains/bus. I guess that's a feeling shared by many people.
But, the attacks won't stop me going to London. See you there next week.
Given the information that is available from the police, it doesn't take much to put two plus two together to work out what these guys did. They hatched a plan up in Leeds, travelled down to Luton, took the bombs out of their car and then went their separate ways from King's Cross. Three of them killed themselves at 8:50 along with their victims. Perhaps the fourth one bottled it, then travelled around in an agitated state (according to one eye-witness) before blowing himself up on a bus. Was this fourth one deliberate or accidental?
I've been keeping an eye on the official victim list: although I checked on all my friends that I'm in regular contact with, I have this nagging doubt that someone I know might have been on one of the trains/bus. I guess that's a feeling shared by many people.
But, the attacks won't stop me going to London. See you there next week.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
The Sorting Door Project
The Sorting Door Project - an interesting study into how multiple RFID tags can be used to reduce your privacy.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Truth In Cosmetic Surgery Blog
Truth In Cosmetic Surgery - an interesting website about how bad plastic surgery is.
Fingernails store personal information
Fingernails store personal information. An amazing article on biometrics from optics.org:
'Secure optical data storage could soon literally be at your fingertips thanks to work being carried out in Japan. Yoshio Hayasaki and his colleagues have discovered that data can be written into a human fingernail by irradiating it with femtosecond laser pulses. Capacities are said to be up to 5 mega bits and the stored data lasts for 6 months - the length of time it takes a fingernail to be completely replaced.'
'Secure optical data storage could soon literally be at your fingertips thanks to work being carried out in Japan. Yoshio Hayasaki and his colleagues have discovered that data can be written into a human fingernail by irradiating it with femtosecond laser pulses. Capacities are said to be up to 5 mega bits and the stored data lasts for 6 months - the length of time it takes a fingernail to be completely replaced.'
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Man vs. Car - in London
As an antidote to the terrible events in London last week, here's a little something to cheer you up. Tonight on Top Gear - the UK's most popular driving program - we were shown a challenge between car and runner. Each had to cover the same London Marathon course through Central London during rush hour, from Greenwich round to Westminster and back again, or thereabouts. Even with it being London, and knowing that the average speed of cars in London is 10.6 miles per hour, you would have to bet on the car, right? After all, marathon runners can only get up to about 15 mph, and there had to be sections of the 26 mile course, where the car would get way ahead of the typical runner and easily win the race.
Wrong! Although the car was initially in front (in a quiet part of Greenwich), it was quickly overtaken and never caught up. The runner won by a good 10 minutes.
Ok, so it's a runner not a normal commuter, but there's an important lesson here. It's total lunacy to drive around London. For short journeys you might as well walk. Am I the only person who thinks this in London? It seems so, given the zillions of people who struggle through the congestion charging zone every day.
Anyway, you can find out more about it here.
Wrong! Although the car was initially in front (in a quiet part of Greenwich), it was quickly overtaken and never caught up. The runner won by a good 10 minutes.
Ok, so it's a runner not a normal commuter, but there's an important lesson here. It's total lunacy to drive around London. For short journeys you might as well walk. Am I the only person who thinks this in London? It seems so, given the zillions of people who struggle through the congestion charging zone every day.
Anyway, you can find out more about it here.
Friday, July 08, 2005
ELSEWARES » INDEPENDENT ART & DESIGN
ELSEWARES » INDEPENDENT ART & DESIGN. Cool stuff from old junk.
A Letter To The Terrorists, From London
From The London News Review. This pretty much sums it up to me:
This is London. We've dealt with your sort before. You don't try and pull this on us.
Do you have any idea how many times our city has been attacked? Whatever you're trying to do, it's not going to work.
All you've done is end some of our lives, and ruin some more. How is that going to help you? You don't get rewarded for this kind of crap.
And if, as your MO indicates, you're an al-Qaeda group, then you're out of your tiny minds.
Because if this is a message to Tony Blair, we've got news for you. We don't much like our government ourselves, or what they do in our name. But, listen very clearly. We'll deal with that ourselves. We're London, and we've got our own way of doing things, and it doesn't involve tossing bombs around where innocent people are going about their lives.
And that's because we're better than you. Everyone is better than you. Our city works. We rather like it. And we're going to go about our lives. We're going to take care of the lives you ruined. And then we're going to work. And we're going down the pub.
So you can pack up your bombs, put them in your arseholes, and get the fuck out of our city."
This is London. We've dealt with your sort before. You don't try and pull this on us.
Do you have any idea how many times our city has been attacked? Whatever you're trying to do, it's not going to work.
All you've done is end some of our lives, and ruin some more. How is that going to help you? You don't get rewarded for this kind of crap.
And if, as your MO indicates, you're an al-Qaeda group, then you're out of your tiny minds.
Because if this is a message to Tony Blair, we've got news for you. We don't much like our government ourselves, or what they do in our name. But, listen very clearly. We'll deal with that ourselves. We're London, and we've got our own way of doing things, and it doesn't involve tossing bombs around where innocent people are going about their lives.
And that's because we're better than you. Everyone is better than you. Our city works. We rather like it. And we're going to go about our lives. We're going to take care of the lives you ruined. And then we're going to work. And we're going down the pub.
So you can pack up your bombs, put them in your arseholes, and get the fuck out of our city."
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Astrologer Sues NASA Over Comet Probe - Yahoo! News
Astrologer Sues NASA Over Comet Probe - more marvellous lunacy.
Monday, June 20, 2005
John Titor on the future
An interesting article from a set posted by an (alleged) time-traveller from 2036. Good stuff.
First reporter in Nagasaki - his report finally published
An article from George Weller in Nagasaki has only now been published in the Mainichi Daily News: "American George Weller was the first foreign reporter to enter Nagasaki following the U.S. atomic attack on the city on Aug. 9, 1945. Weller wrote a series of stories about what he saw in the city, but censors at the Occupation's General Headquarters refused to allow the material to be printed".
A powerful but harrowing account of the first atom bombs.
A powerful but harrowing account of the first atom bombs.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Landed Properties and Proprietors
Landed Properties and Proprietors: "Several other families have held land since the twelfth century, including Tremlett, Tichborne, Plowden, Fulford, Lucy, Mallet, Medlicott and Saltmarshe. They never ranked, as they do not rank today, among the great ennobled families, the Cecils, Thynnes, Cavendishes and Comptons, who date from post reformation days, nor even the FitzRoys, Churchills, Bentincks and Wellesleys, who date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They are older by far than these, and less distinguished. The first qualification is explained by the deficiency of the last. Many of them owe their survival to their very lack of past renown. By not aspiring to royal favours they ran no risks of attainder and forfeiture, consequent upon the disgrace of many an over-ambitious mediaeval and renaissance name, and few risks of losing all they possessed in later centuries at the gaming-table and on the turf. Whereas in 1618 Sir Walter Ralegh had his head cut off and his estates confiscated, and whereas in 1741 Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford, came to it premature end through dissipation, after being obliged to sell Wimpole and his unrivalled collections in order to pay his debts, the Plowdens still live unostentiously at Plowden in Shropshire, and the Fulfords at Great Fulford in Devon ~ two manor houses of moderate size as they have always done since the twelfth century."
Porn Peddlers Won't Bare It All
From Wired News: Porn Peddlers Won't Bare It All. A rather bizarre story about the maturing world of the internet porn industry...
Friday, June 10, 2005
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Why you should ignore emergency procedures
In a very interesting WIRED article, a summary is made of a NIST report about why people survived or died in the 9/11 World Trade Centre attacks. Basically, the report says that around 3000 lives were saved because people ignored the emergency procedures - instructions were given to them to stay put or use the stairs to get out - and used elevators to get out of the buildings. There is an interesting PDF presentation about it at the NIST website. The complete report is here, with an executive summary here. In particular, the executive summary says:
More than twice as many occupants were killed in WTC 1 as WTC 2, largely due
to the fact that occupants in WTC 2 used the 16 minutes between the attacks on WTC 1 and WTC 2 to begin evacuating, including the use of elevators by some occupants in WTC 2.
Los Alamos whistle blower hospitalised in attack
Los Alamos whistle blower hospitalised in attack. Who could have done such a thing?
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Constitutions - US vs EU
Someone told me the other day that while the US constitution is only 2 pages long, the proposed EU constitution is over a 1000. So I had a look.
Well, it's not THAT bad, but it's not far off, as you can see from the copies I've found below:
Proposed EU Constitution (from the BBC: 325 pages of PDF.
US Constitution (from USConstitution.net, including amendments): about 30 pages of HTML.
Just think how easy it is to hide stuff in a long boring document, and then think why the EU constitution is as long as it is.
Well, it's not THAT bad, but it's not far off, as you can see from the copies I've found below:
Proposed EU Constitution (from the BBC: 325 pages of PDF.
US Constitution (from USConstitution.net, including amendments): about 30 pages of HTML.
Just think how easy it is to hide stuff in a long boring document, and then think why the EU constitution is as long as it is.
Committee on Radioactive Waste Management
CORWM: Have your say on the UK's Radioactive Waste - and help them find a way forward. This is an effort to get input from the public on radioactive waste management.
Monday, June 06, 2005
Party party!
Well, I went to my friend Julie's birthday party on Saturday night - excellent night out. Can you guess what the theme was? Took a few nice photos, which you can see here. I spent Sunday recovering quietly in a corner...
Friday, June 03, 2005
News
"...security consultant Bruce Schneier says: 'One of the things I routinely tell people is that if it's in the news, don't worry about it. By definition, 'news' means that it hardly ever happens. If a risk is in the news, then it's probably not worth worrying about. When something is no longer reported - automobile deaths, domestic violence - when it's so common that it's not news, then you should start worrying.'" From
The Register.
The Register.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
A poem about love
Sorrow, piled on my pillow, what is your shape?
Like waves in rivers and seas, you endlessly churn.
How long the night, how dark the sky, when will it be light?
With no relief, I sat up, gown thrown over my shoulders, in the cold.
When dawn came at last, only ashes remained of my hundred thoughts.
- Chairman Mao Zedong
Video calling using Skype
Woo-hoo! Now you can make video calls using Skype. Yeah, I know you could do it with MSN Messenger before, but Skype is cooler. Yes, I know there's no reason for that, but it's still true.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Nearly finished
I've been a bit quiet the last few days - this is why. Been decorating the spare bedroom. Nearly finished now. Just the carpet to do and a bit of skirting board.
Friday, May 27, 2005
How to do physics
Some time ago I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed a perfect score. The instructor and the student agreed to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected.
I read the examination question: "SHOW HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE HEIGHT OF A TALL BUILDING WITH THE AID OF A BAROMETER."
The student had answered, "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."
The student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade in his physics course and to certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this.
I suggested that the student have another try. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said he had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on.
In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula x=0.5*a*t^^2, calculate the height of the building."
At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student almost full credit. While leaving my colleague's office, I recalled that the student had said that he had other answers to the problem,so I asked him what they were.
"Well," said the student, "there are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of simple proportion, determine the height of the building."
"Fine," I said, "and others?"
"Yes," said the student, "there is a very basic measurement method you will like. In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units."
"A very direct method."
"Of course. If you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of g at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of g, the height of the building, in principle, can be calculated."
"On this same tact, you could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to just above the street, and then swing it as a pendulum. You could then calculate the height of the building by the period of the precession".
"Finally," he concluded, "there are many other ways of solving the problem. Probably the best," he said, "is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: 'Mr. Superintendent, here is a fine barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will give you this barometer."
At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.
The student was Neils Bohr and the arbiter Rutherford.
I read the examination question: "SHOW HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE HEIGHT OF A TALL BUILDING WITH THE AID OF A BAROMETER."
The student had answered, "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."
The student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade in his physics course and to certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this.
I suggested that the student have another try. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said he had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on.
In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula x=0.5*a*t^^2, calculate the height of the building."
At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student almost full credit. While leaving my colleague's office, I recalled that the student had said that he had other answers to the problem,so I asked him what they were.
"Well," said the student, "there are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of simple proportion, determine the height of the building."
"Fine," I said, "and others?"
"Yes," said the student, "there is a very basic measurement method you will like. In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units."
"A very direct method."
"Of course. If you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of g at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of g, the height of the building, in principle, can be calculated."
"On this same tact, you could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to just above the street, and then swing it as a pendulum. You could then calculate the height of the building by the period of the precession".
"Finally," he concluded, "there are many other ways of solving the problem. Probably the best," he said, "is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: 'Mr. Superintendent, here is a fine barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will give you this barometer."
At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.
The student was Neils Bohr and the arbiter Rutherford.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Charlie
Just a post of my little dog Charlie. He's not been well today - he drank too much water and went a bit funny.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Monday, May 09, 2005
Build a Better DVR out of an Old PC
Build a Better DVR out of an Old PC. From MakeZine magazine. Brilliant.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Exploding toads baffle Germans
Exploding toads baffle Germans, and it's all happening in Hamburg, down the road from DESY
Friday, April 15, 2005
SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator
SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator. A good way of saving time when generating papers.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
The case of the missing al-Qaeda
The case of the missing al-Qaeda, and how the government is trying (again) to fool you that ID cards and control orders are a good thing. Bollocks they are. Personally, I'm Backing Blair, know what I mean?
Friday, April 08, 2005
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Friday, March 11, 2005
Just how useful are ID cards?
Not very, according to this article, which describes plenty of ways people are abusing the ID schemes of other countries. And the Government want us to pay for this?
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Managing The Parallel 'You-niverse
Managing The Parallel 'You-niverse'. An article on how your identity is under threat.
It's windy under the sea
Herring and their mysterious farting sounds. Some real science about how herrings use farting to keep in contact with each other when navigating the cold oceans.
Monday, March 07, 2005
Divide And Conquer Yourself
Divide And Conquer Yourself - a nice article about Linux vs. Windows. With a real point: 'Real Programmers Don't Care'.
BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | A Swiss hygiene inspector calls
Marvellous stuff from the BBC. It confirms my experience of working in Switzerland. They definitely have 'a system' for everything.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about UK terrorist legislation. Look here to see just how many of your liberties are disappearing.
Guilty! New Labour could arrest self under new terror law
From The Register: Guilty! New Labour could arrest self under new terror law - a funny example of an outrageous new law.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
America and Europe
On 2nd December 1823, President James Monroe addressed the Congress of the USA as follows:
'...the American continents... are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers... In the wars of the European powers, in matters relating to themselves, we have never taken part, nor does it comport with our policies to do so.'In the same year, Thomas Jefferson wrote to Monroe, saying:
' It is our policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world. I have ever deemed it fundamental for the United States never to take part in the quarrels of Europe, Their political interests are entirely distinct from ours..... The are nations of eternal war.'Make of that what you will.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
Just like us.
Macaques swap juice for a glimpse of leaders' faces and females' rears. A bit like Hello magazine, then...
EFF: Endangered Gizmos!
EFF: Endangered Gizmos! Things that are great that they might stop you buying soon.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Lab relations sour as missing disk charges are proved false
From Nature:
Los Alamos lab's computer disks didn't go missing - they never existed.
[WASHINGTON] Two classified computer disks that allegedly vanished last summer at the Los Alamos nuclear-weapons laboratory in New Mexico never existed, according to an investigation by the government agency that oversees the lab.
The security lapse, together with an unrelated accident, led to a three-month shutdown of the laboratory last summer, with director Peter Nanos accusing scientists of operating in a "cowboy culture" (see Nature 430, 387; 2004). The conclusion that the disks never existed has infuriated many of the lab's researchers
"The talk in the halls is mutinous," says Doug Roberts, a computer scientist at the laboratory. "I've been at the lab for 20 years and morale has never been this bad before."
The Los Alamos National Laboratory has been battered in recent years by a wave of scandals. In 1999, it was the subject of national scrutiny when Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese-born scientist, was accused of smuggling nuclear secrets to China (see Nature 398, 96; 1999) and subsequently acquitted. In 2000, two computer hard drives containing classified data disappeared from a secure area inside the laboratory, only to reappear later behind a photocopier (see Nature 405, 725; 2000). And in 2003, the laboratory's director and deputy director resigned following accusations that they had improperly fired two whistleblowers who had alleged widespread theft at the lab (see Nature 421, 99; 2003).
The latest trouble for the laboratory began early last July, when an inventory of classified data in its weapons-physics directorate revealed that four disk drives were missing. Almost immediately, two of the drives were found to have been improperly moved to a different building, but another two could not be located. In response, Nanos shut down large parts of the laboratory and publicly chided the scientists working there for failing to follow security procedures. "This willful flouting of the rules must stop, and I don't care how many people I have to fire to make it stop," he wrote in the 2 August issue of the laboratory's newsletter.
But now it seems that the missing drives were in fact an artefact of flawed inventory procedures. According to the report by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which was released on 28 January, 12 barcodes used to catalogue classified disk drives were issued to a group that needed only 10. The extra barcodes were nevertheless included in a master list, and so when auditors conducted an inventory last July, they concluded that two disks were missing. "The allegedly missing disks never existed and no compromise of classified material has occurred," the report explains.
Many scientists at the laboratory say that the incident, together with Nanos's public rebuke, has profoundly damaged the relationship between Los Alamos researchers and the lab's management.
"Trust in upper management has been completely lost," says Brad Holian, who has worked as a theoretical physicist at the laboratory for 32 years. Holian says that the three-month shutdown was the breaking point for many already frustrated scientists. "We were told in the theoretical division that we couldn't write down calculations on the blackboard," he says. Many of his colleagues are leaving the lab, and Holian himself says that he plans to retire this March — years earlier than he had originally planned. "I think there are a lot of people in my situation," he says.
Los Alamos lab's computer disks didn't go missing - they never existed.
[WASHINGTON] Two classified computer disks that allegedly vanished last summer at the Los Alamos nuclear-weapons laboratory in New Mexico never existed, according to an investigation by the government agency that oversees the lab.
The security lapse, together with an unrelated accident, led to a three-month shutdown of the laboratory last summer, with director Peter Nanos accusing scientists of operating in a "cowboy culture" (see Nature 430, 387; 2004). The conclusion that the disks never existed has infuriated many of the lab's researchers
"The talk in the halls is mutinous," says Doug Roberts, a computer scientist at the laboratory. "I've been at the lab for 20 years and morale has never been this bad before."
The Los Alamos National Laboratory has been battered in recent years by a wave of scandals. In 1999, it was the subject of national scrutiny when Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese-born scientist, was accused of smuggling nuclear secrets to China (see Nature 398, 96; 1999) and subsequently acquitted. In 2000, two computer hard drives containing classified data disappeared from a secure area inside the laboratory, only to reappear later behind a photocopier (see Nature 405, 725; 2000). And in 2003, the laboratory's director and deputy director resigned following accusations that they had improperly fired two whistleblowers who had alleged widespread theft at the lab (see Nature 421, 99; 2003).
The latest trouble for the laboratory began early last July, when an inventory of classified data in its weapons-physics directorate revealed that four disk drives were missing. Almost immediately, two of the drives were found to have been improperly moved to a different building, but another two could not be located. In response, Nanos shut down large parts of the laboratory and publicly chided the scientists working there for failing to follow security procedures. "This willful flouting of the rules must stop, and I don't care how many people I have to fire to make it stop," he wrote in the 2 August issue of the laboratory's newsletter.
But now it seems that the missing drives were in fact an artefact of flawed inventory procedures. According to the report by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which was released on 28 January, 12 barcodes used to catalogue classified disk drives were issued to a group that needed only 10. The extra barcodes were nevertheless included in a master list, and so when auditors conducted an inventory last July, they concluded that two disks were missing. "The allegedly missing disks never existed and no compromise of classified material has occurred," the report explains.
Many scientists at the laboratory say that the incident, together with Nanos's public rebuke, has profoundly damaged the relationship between Los Alamos researchers and the lab's management.
"Trust in upper management has been completely lost," says Brad Holian, who has worked as a theoretical physicist at the laboratory for 32 years. Holian says that the three-month shutdown was the breaking point for many already frustrated scientists. "We were told in the theoretical division that we couldn't write down calculations on the blackboard," he says. Many of his colleagues are leaving the lab, and Holian himself says that he plans to retire this March — years earlier than he had originally planned. "I think there are a lot of people in my situation," he says.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Man urinates his way out of avalanche
Man urinates his way out of avalanche. Those relaxed Slovaks....
Monday, January 31, 2005
Pirelli Relativity Challenge
Think you can explain relativity to a layman? Then take the Pirelli Relativity Challenge, and win 25,000 Euros!
Friday, January 21, 2005
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Yet more bollocks form the govt. about ID cards
From The Register: The EU invention of a passport standard including facial and fingerprint biometrics complicates matters, as does pressure from some people in the US, e.g. outgoing Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge, for fingerprints to be added to US passports. Ridge argues this has to be done in order to keep pace with Europe, while in Europe it has been argued that Europe needs to implement biometric passports in order to keep pace with the US. Which would be funny if it weren't so shameful - it's quite clear what they're all up to.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Run your PC from your Pocket PC
Ok, this guy is connecting to his Mac, but the idea should work with anything.....
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
The Early Days of a Better Nation
The Early Days of a Better Nation. A fascinating website. In particular:
'The CIA and its allies in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) poured vast sums of money into promoting Abstract Expressionist (AE) painting and painters as an antidote to art with a social content. In promoting AE, the CIA fought off the right-wing in Congress. What the CIA saw in AE was an "anti-Communist ideology, the ideology of freedom, of free enterprise. Non-figurative and politically silent it was the very antithesis of socialist realism" (254). They viewed AE as the true expression of the national will. To bypass right-wing criticism, the CIA turned to the private sector (namely MOMA and its co-founder, Nelson Rockefeller, who referred to AE as "free enterprise painting.") Many directors at MOMA had longstanding links to the CIA and were more than willing to lend a hand in promoting AE as a weapon in the cultural Cold War. Heavily funded exhibits of AE were organized all over Europe; art critics were mobilized, and art magazines churned out articles full of lavish praise. The combined economic resources of MOMA and the CIA-run Fairfield Foundation ensured the collaboration of Europe's most prestigious galleries which, in turn, were able to influence aesthetics across Europe.'
'The CIA and its allies in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) poured vast sums of money into promoting Abstract Expressionist (AE) painting and painters as an antidote to art with a social content. In promoting AE, the CIA fought off the right-wing in Congress. What the CIA saw in AE was an "anti-Communist ideology, the ideology of freedom, of free enterprise. Non-figurative and politically silent it was the very antithesis of socialist realism" (254). They viewed AE as the true expression of the national will. To bypass right-wing criticism, the CIA turned to the private sector (namely MOMA and its co-founder, Nelson Rockefeller, who referred to AE as "free enterprise painting.") Many directors at MOMA had longstanding links to the CIA and were more than willing to lend a hand in promoting AE as a weapon in the cultural Cold War. Heavily funded exhibits of AE were organized all over Europe; art critics were mobilized, and art magazines churned out articles full of lavish praise. The combined economic resources of MOMA and the CIA-run Fairfield Foundation ensured the collaboration of Europe's most prestigious galleries which, in turn, were able to influence aesthetics across Europe.'
Monday, January 10, 2005
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Tsunami damage
Satellite photos of several regions affected by the 26th Dec. tsunami, before and after. Powerful images.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
How to turn a digital photo into a sketch using Photoshop
An interesting article on how to turn photos into sketches using Photoshop Elements.
Monday, January 03, 2005
Heathrow x-ray weapons scanner, just say no.
Heathrow x-ray weapons scanner, just say no. A trial is being carried out at Heathrow airport now.
'See through clothes' scanner gets outing at Heathrow
'See through clothes' scanner gets outing at Heathrow. Another article on these pesky scanners they want to put in everywhere....
Home Office stalls on weapons scanner health risks
Home Office stalls on weapons scanner health risks. Another perceptive article from the Register on how our Govt. cares SFA about whether scanning us all might be a teeny bit risky. I'm going to buy a film badge in case I'm being scanned....
Spy Blog: X-ray imaging "under the clothes" of children
Spy Blog: X-ray imaging "under the clothes" of children. An interesting article about the amusing quadruple moral dilemma of whether it's ok to X-ray scan children (to stop them from stabbing each other), but then have to face the lawsuits from parents about the cancer caused by the scanners, or by the nude pictures created by them. And of course, shouldn't the scanners be being used at airports and on the tubes really, where there might be 'real' criminals (i.e. terrorists). Hmmmm....
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