As funding from Congress has dwindled, NASA has had to go to new lengths to find funding elsewhere. The latest is a virtual airport control tower package for sale to airports and air traffic authorities that can be customized to train air traffic controllers, plan new runway configurations, and test new equipment on specific aviation facilities nationwide or worldwide. The site offers 360-degree Quicktime movies of the simulator imagery and describes its various rooms and functions. “We allow you to see into the future,” boasts the Web site’s promotional blurb. No price for the package is given.
Continue reading… “NASA’s Virtual Airport Control Tower”

MSNBC is reporting on a brewing battle between makers of spy software and anti-spy software. According to this article the makers of Spector and WinWhatWhere have added a feature to their new software that disables the popular anti-spy software Who’s Watching Me.”
Continue reading… “Spy Vs. Spy”

This article describes a collaboration between Motorola, Visionics and Wirehound to build in an automatic face recognition capability into mobile phones. Particularly interesting is how the phones will scan all faces in the field of view, and indicate matches by an instant short message.
Continue reading… “Face Recognition On Mobile Phones”

Scientists have created Australia’s first cloned and genetically modified calves, putting the major dairy exporter on the path to becoming a commercial producer of GM milk.

The United States, Europe and New Zealand are already cloning and genetically modifying cattle as scientists push toward revolutionizing the world dairy market.

Continue reading… “Australia Produces First Cloned Dairy Calves”

Reuters – About one out of every 200 passengers on domestic flights on the 10 largest U.S. airlines files a lost baggage report, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Two percent of those travelers never see their luggage again.

To find what happened to your lost stuff, try the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama.

Covering more than a block of this gritty manufacturing town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the privately owned retailer has cornered the market for the resale of luggage and other belongings lost by air travelers in the United States.

The allure of potential bargains draws approximately 800,000 people each year into the store, making it one of Alabama’s biggest tourist attractions.

Continue reading… “Lost Luggage is Big Business”

An Australian firm unveiled an electronic shark repellant unit Wednesday that attaches to a swimmer’s ankle and emits an electronic field to ward-off sharks.

The SEACHANGE™ Shark Shield™ is a miniature version of cumbersome anti-shark pods used to protect triathletes in Sydney Harbour during the 2000 Olympics and worn by abalone divers.

The personal anti-shark unit weighs 450 grams (one lb) and has a battery life of two hours. A slightly larger unit for scuba divers weighs 590 grams (1.3 lb) with a battery life of four hours.

Continue reading… “Electronic Anti-Shark Units for Swimmers”

China rocketed dummy astronauts into orbit aboard its third unmanned “Shenzhou” spacecraft Monday night, laying a new foundation for plans to send the country’s first person into space in “the near future,” the official People’s Daily said on Tuesday.

President Jiang Zemin hailed Shenzhou III’s successful launch as a “new milestone” for China, whose last unmanned flight — the Shenzhou II — put a monkey, a dog, a rabbit and snails into orbit in January 2001, it said.

Continue reading… “China Launches Dummies Into Space”

There seems to be a growing movement that doubts the existence of black holes, going against most of the rest of astrophysics. They suggest the existence of gravastars, “star-size agglomerations of “wavelike” substance” (space-time fabric, if you will). Different scientists claim to have created the “wavelike substance” in a lab, called Bose-Einstein condensates.”

I understand gravastars taste terrific with cream cheese and red onion.
Continue reading… “Existence of Black Holes in Question”