A study from the National Violent Death Reporting System of the Centers for Disease Control sampling 16 states and enumerating demographics of the victims of fatal violence and method of violence has just been released. Nationally, there are about 50,000 violent deaths per year in the United States. The present, and most recent, study is of 2005.The NVDRS was first funded in 2002, and collects violent death data from death certificates, police reports, coroner and medical examiner reports, and crime labs. The purpose of this survey is to provide verified and usable data for a number of health related and policy related decision making processes.From the report: Continue reading CDC Surveillance for Violent Deaths Released
Monthly Archives: April 2008
When Science Goes Wrong
Simon LeVay, who is the guy who first identified the relationship between sexualy dimorphic hypothalamic nuclei in mammals (in the medial preoptic or anterior areas) and homosexuality in human males, has come out with a new book … When Science Goes Wrong
Experimental brain surgery goes horribly awry; a dam fails catastrophically; a geologist leads an ill-equipped party to its doom in the mouth of an active volcano: these are the amazing and sometimes horrific stories of technical errors and scientific mistakes that LeVay (The Sexual Brain) relates. Some, like the case of the British meteorologist who failed to predict a hurricane that killed 18 people, seem due to arrogance. Others–the loss of a costly spacecraft, a criminal conviction based on inaccurate DNA analysis, multiple deaths after an accidental release of anthrax–are the result of ordinary human error. Some incidents may well have been deliberate, such as a nuclear reactor error that was possibly the result of a love triangle gone bad, or the data falsified by a physicist seeking fame as the discoverer of a new element. LeVay surveys a range of fields, offering several reasons why things go wrong and noting that for every brilliant scientific success, there are a dozen failures. Readers curious about particularly notorious cases will find LeVay’s book both entertaining and thought provoking.
But what I really want to who you is this interview of LeVay by John Stewart, where you will find, among other things, an interesting discussion of the possibility that the Earth will be sucked into a tiny Black Hole this June: Continue reading When Science Goes Wrong
What To Do when your DVD Video Goes Missing
Linux to the rescue!
Have you ever recorded an important video on a home DVD recorder? Do you use a camcorder that records directly on DVD disks? If you have had a recording fail to finalize properly, rendering it unusable, this post may help you.
Not THIS post. … THIS post.
Technology News
ISO takes full charge of Open XML, sets up ‘harmonization’ group
We can’t call it “Office Open XML” anymore, because it no longer belongs to Microsoft Office exclusively. As of yesterday, International Organization for Standardization committee SC 34 passed a resolution that effectively assumes stewardship of Open XML, the document format standard originally produced by Microsoft, and which is now officially under new management.
A Cleaner, Leaner JetJET engines are now so reliable that a pilot can go an entire career without seeing one fail. Autopilots are so good that some airlines have set up their cockpits to emit a loud beep every few minutes, to make sure the crew is still awake. And navigation is so accurate that landings can be timed to the second.So what’s left to worry about in aviation?In a word, fuel.Jet fuel is now the largest expense for most airlines, and for American carriers each penny increase in price per gallon costs nearly $200 million a year. The industry is also becoming increasingly nervous about what happens when that fuel is burned. Aviation is responsible for about 2 percent of global emissions of greenhouse gases, and that share will rise as air travel continues to grow.So the industry is scrambling to build greener airplanes — to save weight and improve engine efficiency, with an eye toward reducing operating costs and emissions.The Ten Open Source Commandments
Next Sunday, the Passover again falls upon us. For those of us Jews that celebrate the holiday, it is most associated with a ceremonial meal spent with family, where we recite the story passed down to us over hundreds of generations from Maxwell House haggadahs chronicling the exodus from Egypt as slaves of the Pharaoh. Personally, I find the entire experience somewhat draining, because if you really do it the way its supposed to be done, it takes at least ninety minutes …
10 Things To Consider when Choosing a Linux Distribution
I can’t begin to tell you how many people over the years I have consulted with about choosing a Linux distribution. And even with my own personal loyalties to one distribution or another, it always amazes me how certain distributions are better suited to various users and needs. So when I set out to write a 10 Things article, it only made sense that my first one be related to choosing a Linux distribution.
Fresno Area Rational People, Take Note!
Scott Hatfield of Monkey Trials reports that an infamous Young Earth Creationist Don Patton is planning a church sponsored talk in a local public high school on the topic of creationism. Scott is seeking help.If you live in the vicinity, please consider showing up and being a person with a brain in the audience.PZ Myers has outlined an excellent strategy for Scott (or anyone else i his position). I would add one more item: Scott, send off a note to the National Center of Science Education letting them know what’s up.
PC vs. Mac … Virus
The Human Footprint (NGS)
Sunday, April 13th, 9pm ET/PT
Bats and Shade Grown Coffee
Birds have always gotten a fair amount of the credit for ridding shade grown coffee plants of various insect pests. But a new study now shows that bats have a huge positive impact in this area as well. The study also shows something else interesting: These insect eating bats often use a “perch and wait” technique for grabbing flying insects, rather than flying around all the time hunting on the wing. Continue reading Bats and Shade Grown Coffee
Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis
In Al Gore’s brand-new slideshow (premiering exclusively on TED.com), he presents evidence that the pace of climate change may be even worse than scientists were recently predicting, and challenges us to act with a sense of “generational mission” — the kind of feeling that brought forth the civil rights movement — to set it right. Gore’s stirring presentation is followed by a brief Q&A in which he is asked for his verdict on the current political candidates’ climate policies and on what role he himself might play in future.
Continue reading Al Gore: New thinking on the climate crisis
Cambodia’s Water Birds
Storks, pelicans, ibises, and other rare waterbirds from Cambodia’s famed Tonle Sap region are making a comeback, thanks to round-the-clock protection by a single team of park rangers. In a project established by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Ministry of Environment of the Royal Government of Cambodia, former hunters and egg collectors have found new employment in monitoring the breeding bird colonies. This novel approach guarantees an active role for local communities in the conservation of this important seasonally flooded wetland.A new report shows that some of the waterbird species have rebounded 20-fold since 2001, when the conservation project began. Before that time, rampant harvesting of eggs and chicks had driven the colonies to the brink of local extinction. “This is an amazing success story for the people and wildlife of Cambodia,” said Colin Poole, director for WCS-Asia. “It also shows how important local people are in the conservation of wildlife in their own backyards.”
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
Johnny Lee: Wii Remote hacks
Finally, something really important to blog about:
Johnny Lee demos his amazing Wii Remote hacks, which transform the $40 game piece into a digital whiteboard, a touchscreen and a head-mounted 3-D viewer.
It is said that these girls could serve life in prison
Because they are being charged with kidnapping.(The “are social networking sites evil” poll is here.)
Holy Crap, Kobe!
Will the Earth be sucked into a tiny black hole in June?
It is said that scientists involved in the Manhattan Project to engineer and implement the first nuclear bombs seriously considered the possibility that such a bomb could initiate a chain reaction that would destroy the Earth. Now it is being claimed that the production of miniature black holes by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN in Switzerland could do the same. The LHC is scheduled to go on line in June. Continue reading Will the Earth be sucked into a tiny black hole in June?
Ellison Endorses Madia
Minnesota Third Congressional District hopeful, Democratic candidate Ashwin Madia, was endorsed by Fifth District’s Keith Ellison.You will remember that Keith Ellison attained sudden national attention when he was first elected to congress last year because he is not a Christian, and many right wing fanatics thought maybe he’d swear his oath of office on the Koran, thus ruining everything….Indeed, many hard right wing groups continue to spew anti-Ellison propaganda. He is everything the right wing hates … non Christian, Muslim, and Black.Ellison is a very popular figure in Minnesota, and has proven to be an effective member of congress.
Madia is trying to take an open seat in a traditionally Republican district, and the word is that he has a fair chance of doing so. This district was gerrymandered years ago to be a Republican district. The logic behind that (from the perspective of the Republicans) was to surround the generally liberal and Democratic Twin Cities with Republican member of congress. There are certain political processes having to do with funding and planning that strike fear in the hearts of suburbanites, such as spending money in the “inner city” and on poor people who are sometimes not white, etc. But the district has changed, and much of it is now working class and Democratic. The fact that the Republican congressman who has represented this district (he is now retiring) is very moderate (for a Republican) has minimized the chances for any strong anti-Republican backlash. But now that the seat is open, there is a good chance of a turnover.Ellison’s endorsement: Continue reading Ellison Endorses Madia