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Chris Chandler
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MAVEN Ready To Launch Today
Sears To Convert Old Auto Centers Into National Chain of Data Centers
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TSA Screening Barely Working Better Than Chance
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Canine conundrum: Did dog days dawn in Europe?
Dogs have a special connection with humans, more so than any other animal. But until recently, little was known about how we formed this bond. Charles Darwin once speculated: “I do not believe… that all our dogs have descended from any one wild species.” Modern genetic tools now show that Darwin’s guess was wrong. All dogs seem to have descended from gray wolves. But if that is the case, when and where did the process of domestication begin?
There have been conflicting ideas about dogs' origins. Genetic studies have suggested the Middle East and East Asia. Now, if a new study published in Science by Olaf Thalmann at the University of Turku and colleagues is right, we have a different possible answer. Thalmann’s claim, based on a comprehensive genetic analysis of fossils and modern-day species, suggests that dogs were first domesticated in Europe at a time when humans were still hunter-gatherers.
The analysis is based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is passed down from mothers to their children with no input from fathers. Each cell has multiple copies of the mtDNA, making it the easiest bit of DNA to extract from ancient bones. Differences between individuals’ mtDNA allow the construction of a branching tree of maternal inheritance, leading back to the last common female-line ancestor. Thalmann used the mtDNA of many modern and ancient wolves and dogs to create just such a tree.
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Why is a corn-based agriculture system problematic? Look at the numbers
Humble Bundle Launches Online Store For Games
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“Tired of Being Tired”
Tired of Being Tired by Jesse Lynn Hanley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is challenging, particularly to someone who qualifies by all her metrics as a Driven Perfectionist. However, it’s what I needed to read right now.
Some of the reviewers have said that this book is basic common sense, but I beg to differ. These “small changes” are not small at all, they’re enormous and difficult shifts in thinking for me. I’m adrenaline addicted (I could have told you this before the book) and LOVE pressure. I set up projects specifically anticipating the time crunch, late nights, caffeine and exhilaration of making it by deadline. I started reading this book at the same time I decided to do a huge project (NaNoWriMo) and realized I was doing it again, despite my lip service to cutting back on stress. I’ve got to acknowledge I’m in recovery.
The “10 Simple Solutions” aren’t simple, especially for someone who has reached the “Burned Out” stage. The authors understand what they’re asking is going against the very nature of the people they’re writing to, thankfully. The book encourages us to implement what we can. In the past two weeks, I’ve been eating like crazy, while cutting out coffee and anything else stimulating. I’ve slept in when I could, and gone to bed by 10:30 most nights. I have been taking naps or at least spending 30 minutes meditating every day. This may sound relaxing and enjoyable to some, but to me, it’s TORTURE. On top of all that I need to chillax about the fact that it’s torturous and just relax and enjoy it. I suspect the same is true of anyone who truly needs this book. It’s more than changing diet and activity. It’s examining your very way of life. It HURTS to read that with all of your efforts to be the best you possible, you’re actually tearing yourself down. Just be prepared for that sting when you look at yourself from this perspective.
The supplement chapter is especially complicated, and it is partly outdated already. Also, I’m supposed to cut back on work hours, but somehow find the $$ for all of this? Sure, okay. Some of the suggestions aren’t readily available. The book is fairly repetitive and talks down to the reader sometimes (I wasn’t fond of the pronunciation guides, especially), but these are minor quibbles. On the whole, a needful book for me.
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Sponsor Shout-Out: Pencils.com and the Blackwing 602 Legacy Edition
Support Boing Boing by supporting our sponsor - grab a box of Palomino Blackwing Legacy Edition pencils here.
Next World of Warcraft Expansion: Warlords of Draenor
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Feedly Forces Its Users To Create Google+ Profiles
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EPA Makes Most Wood Stoves Illegal
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Expansion of Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant Suspended
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US FDA Moves To Ban Trans Fat
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GIMP, Citing Ad Policies, Moves to FTP Rather Than SourceForge Downloads
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Solid Concepts Manufactures First 3D-Printed Metal Pistol
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Super-Typhoon
Violent Femme's "Gone Daddy Gone" (1983)
Thanks to the World's Best Ever for posting this video of The Violent Femmes performing "Gone Daddy Gone" from 1983.
Scientists Says Jellyfish Are Taking Over the Oceans
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Color photos of the original Addams Family set
Da da da dum (snap snap). These are color photos from the set of the original Addams Family black-and-white television show that aired from 1964-1966. The photos were taken by Richard Fish (1919-2005). More background on Fish here.
Man sues DHS, NSA for the right to parody them on mugs, T-shirts
For 10 years, a Minnesota man has been selling T-shirts, mugs, and other items with slogans like “Department of Homeland Stupidity” and “The NSA: the only part of the government that listens.”
In 2011, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency sent a cease-and-desist order against Zazzle, the original manufacturer of these items for the website LibertyManiacs.com. The government agencies argued that it is a crime to use, mutilate, or alter a government seal without permission. (The site has now switched over to CafePress.)
On Tuesday LibertyManiacs owner Dan McCall sued those agencies, arguing that he has a First Amendment right to parody the DHS, the NSA, and other government offices, and that he should be allowed to use the relevant seals.
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Limiting carbon emissions is harder when you’re conserving water
In the US, fully half of the water withdrawn from sources such as lakes and aquifers ends up being used for generating electricity. Most of that water is converted to steam, cooled, and returned to its original source. Even in those cases, however, losses during the cooling process reduce the total amount of water available.
The end result is that electricity generation competes with other potential uses for the water. In cases of severe drought, power generation may end up losing, reducing the amount of electricity we can generate. This situation is a problem given that climate change is expected to exacerbate droughts in a number of regions of the US.
To find out how much of a problem this can be, three MIT researchers have looked into the balance between water use and carbon emissions, using the Texas power grid as their test tube. Their model shows that taking carbon emissions into account is bad news for coal, but limiting water use essentially forces coal off the grid. While nuclear looks great for limiting carbon emissions, its heavy water requirements cut down on its role when both factors are considered.
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The Pentagon May Retire "Yoda," Its 92-Year-Old Futurist
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Stunning time-lapse videos of sky and landscapes
From National Geographic: "After quitting a comfortable day job, photographer Shane Black spent two months on the road shooting time-lapses of some of America's most beautiful spots. His 'Adventure Is Calling' video is the mesmerizing result, made from about 10,000 of the photos he took."
I wish my eyes were sensitive enough to see the night sky like this.
Geoengineering, through the eyes of the IPCC
It has been well established that our emissions of greenhouse gases are changing the Earth’s climate and that in order to avoid future warming and ocean acidification, fossil fuel use will need to be limited. There is a sort of “Plan B,” however—the intentional manipulation of the climate, known as “geoengineering.” Some forms of geoengineering could be done relatively easily, while others seem more like “terraforming” schemes out of sci-fi novels.
As part of its latest report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) includes a review of research into the two main categories of geoengineering: the artificial removal of CO2 from the atmosphere and the artificial reduction of sunlight reaching the Earth. There’s nothing yet about the practical feasibility of any techniques—that data may appear in sections of the report that have not yet been released—but the paper nicely describes how various schemes actually work.
Taking off some blankets
The removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere could take many forms, some of which have much more potential than others. The first is biological. The regrowth of forests that have been cleared does have an effect, but it can only remove about as much carbon as the forests released when we cut them down. Soil provides another place to stuff some atmospheric carbon, though. By adopting soil-carbon-enhancing farming techniques, restoring some low-quality agricultural land, and producing and mixing in biochar, soils could make a bigger difference than reforestation over the twenty-first century.
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Awesome decoupage superhero Chucks
Phil Torrone from Adafruit sez, "Here's a project from one of our team members at Adafruit. These cool Chucks are the work of Angel Rodriguez, one of our shippers. Not only is Angel gifted with lightning shipping speed, she's also got some sick wearable decoupage skills. She made these Jean Grey/Phoenix shoes (and the equally cool box) for one of her coworkers."
October 27, 2013
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