The Art of Surveillance

Cool Gallery Here- Surveillance as Art

Scientists dicover mummified dinosaur

Scientists on Monday announced the discovery of what appears to be the world's most intact dinosaur mummy: a 67-million-year-old plant-eater that contains fossilized bones and skin tissue, and possibly muscle and organs.

Preserved by a natural fluke of time and chemistry, the four-ton mummified hadrosaur, a duck-billed herbivore common to North America, could reshape the understanding of dinosaurs and their habitat, its finders say.

"There is no doubt about it that this dinosaur is a very, very significant find," said Tyler Lyson, a graduate student in geology at Yale University who discovered the dinosaur in North Dakota.

A Molecular map of aging

A new genetic database could help reveal why animals age so differently

Even closely related animals can have drastically different life spans, a fact that scientists have been puzzling over for years. Mice, which live about two years, got the short end of the longevity stick: their rodent cousin, the Southern flying squirrel, can live nearly 20 years. Chimps are 99 percent genetically identical to humans but live only half as long. Now a new resource could help pinpoint the genetic changes that underlie those differences.

In a study of mice, researchers at Stanford University and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) have generated a database that catalogues how gene expression--a measure of how active a gene is--changes in different parts of the body as the animals age. The researchers' findings suggest that different tissues age very differently, and this could help pinpoint when it is appropriate to use mice as a model of human aging--and when it's not.

Honda FCX Calrity has come up with a way to get around the problem of fueling its hydrogen cars—do it at home

It seems Honda is gearing up to be the one of the first major companies to bring a hydrogen fuel cell car to market -- their FCX Clarity is set to go to production in 2008, in a move they're hoping will break the catch-22 dilemma stopping motor companies from producing cars because there's no hydrogen distribution, and stopping fuel companies from distributing hydrogen because there's no cars that use it. To nurse consumers through the infancy of the hydrogen economy, Honda's also attempting to decentralize the production of hydrogen through their Home Energy Station unit, which sits outside your house and reforms natural gas to produce enough Hydrogen to power both the car and the home's energy needs at around 50% of the normal cost and with a 30% emissions reduction.

Of course, while California's Hydrogen Highway is a leading initiative in developing a hydrogen distribution infrastructure, fuel supply will still be a huge issue for the first generation of FCX owners. To ease this transition for early adopters, Honda decided to build a home-based hydrogen generation and fueling device -- which has evolved into an energy-saving power station for the whole home.

Running on a home's existing natural gas supply, the Home Energy Station IV produces and stores hydrogen, while providing heat, hot water and electricity to an average-size home.

The Home Energy Station IV can reduce both cost and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the consumer. Compared to the average U.S. consumer's home with grid-supplied electricity and a gasoline-powered car, a home using Home Energy Station IV to help produce heat and electricity and also to refuel an FCX Clarity can reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 30 percent and energy costs by an estimated 50 percent.

"Honda is striving to address the need for a refueling infrastructure for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles," said Ben Knight, vice president of Honda R&D Americas. "The Home Energy Station represents one promising solution to this issue, while offering the added benefit of heating and powering the home more efficiently."

The natural gas is reformed to produce hydrogen, which is then run directly through to a fuel cell stack to generate electricity for the home and enough heat to run the hot water supply. When immediate consumption is not needed, the hydrogen is refined, compressed and stored in a large tank for later use, or to fill a hydrogen car like the FCX Clarity.

Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones - Mannish Boy - 1981

Chismillionaire's Monday deal of the week- a day late

Roadmaster 1.4" Keychain Photo Frame - 2-Pack - VKC140/ $29.99

24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot

A Scorsese Directed Short, Scripted by Hitchcock

http://www.scorsesefilmfreixenet.com/video_eng.htm

Snoop Dog - Sensual Seduction - GREAT!!!!

It's a Winter Warmer Van Damme Friday

Tesla's Electricity

Slam Dunk Trampoline Basketball Show

Police Hunt for Stolen Guinness

Gardai in Dublin are on the lookout for 36,000 pints of beer stolen from the Guinness brewery.

More than 400 kegs were stolen in what is likely to be the largest carry-out of drink this Christmas.

A man drove a truck into the yard on Wednesday, and left with a trailer containing 180 Guinness kegs, 180 Budweiser kegs, and 90 Carslberg kegs.

Police estimated the haul to be worth at least 64,000 euros (£46,000), at wholesale prices.

However, this figure would be considerably more if Dublin pub prices were charged.

The robbery occurred the same day as a special Garda operation known as Freeflow was launched to ease traffic congestion and combat drink-driving over Christmas. Freeflow officers manning many checkpoints across the city are expected now also to be on the look out for any large quantity of stolen drink flowing through Dublin's traffic. The stolen trailer has since been found at Slane Hill in County Meath. It was empty.

Chismillionare Auto Show Report

$12 will get you in. $10 during the week
Went down at lunch - REPORT

Impressive- inside & Out
Best of Show Jaguar XKR cabrio- no joke, it's %@%$$^ perfect. PERFECT!!!!!!!!
A DB9 for half the price. . STUNNING. Not a sissy car by any means. Easy ingress and egress even for my Peter Griffin physique. This cat has claws.

New Honda Accord Sedan and Coupe- really handsome design- you won't believe how big they are for Hondas- The accord Sedan is bigger than a 300C in every dimension- not kidding. 270hp v6 and gets 25mpg for $25K!!!

Yukon Denali- Interior a revelation and the capability it offers is astounding. Get the Denali over the Yukon or Tahoe, you get a 6 speed automatic, 6l 400hp engine and all time 4wd as opposed to push button while still being almost 20 grand less than the same Escalade. If you need HID's and cooled seats, get the Caddy which as far as I can tell are the only differences.

Corvette Z06- Silver bullet is as stunning as its performance is prodigious. New interior upgrade package ($8000 package- yikes) makes it almost as nice as a Benz or Audi... Stitched leather dash and no plastic. I think when you buy one you must present the dealer with a valid pilot's license. Getting pricey at 77 grand.

Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 8- all wheel drive 420hp 0-60 in 4.6 sec in wet or dry and 65 cu ft of cargo. Nice easy in and out( we call that ingress and egress). Interior upgraded for this year. Beats out E63 AMG wagon and S4 Avant for family hot rod winner. Can you believe the Audi R8 just beats it in the quarter mile by about three tenths. Price 42 grand. 37 used on ebay. Yeah that's called VALUE!!!!

Chevy Malibu/Saturn Aura- handsome all around. Would reccommend along with the Honda

Impressive from Outside- roped off or on rotating displays

Best in Show after the Jaguar XKR
Nissan GT-R Yep that's right- phenomenal design. Pictures cannot capture the subtlety of the design. There is much more curve/ sinew than you can pick up in 2dimensions. Fit and finish are there in spades. Bonus that the model they had was Right Hand Drive!! This is the real super car for half the price of an R8 and half the price of the more comparable Porsche 997 Turbo. Tires-- enormous 325/35/20. GTR will do 7:38 at the Nurburgring just as easily as it will happily trot down to Whole Foods for some Cabernet and Gruyere in four inches of fresh snow.

Second Runner Up Audi R8- I was waiting to see it in person and it is just how I thought. Amazing, very Audi very much a design and engineering exercise. Example was super snow white with tobacco leather. An everyday car for sure and will turn heads like a Ferrari or Lambo, but Nissan GT-R will most likely walk all over it for half the price and is more of the enthusiast's choice.

Pontiac G8 GT- Great looking- Chiseled and strong. Interior looks excellent and very roomy like all new GM products. Pitch on rear seats of special note- Rear seat passengers are thought of highly with this model. Lots of under leg support for front and rear passengers. Great bolstering and cavernous trunk. Larger platform the new Caddy CTS. Priced 34 loaded with 360hp. 5 grand less than the loaded non SRT 300C that was on display


Mercedes CL 65- Alubeam paint amazing- Only Pillarless coupe in production. A coupe that has full power front and rear windows. Seven feet of open space between side mirror and quarter panel. 209K as priced.

Not to be outdone by the 627 hp 460 thousand dollar SLR roadster. Be like Paris Hilton if you dare. No other car could joe flip flop jump into and drive 205 mph with one hand on the wheel and the other one working the ipod. Thanks to Gordon Murray and McLaren for this. Remarkable piece of engineering.

High line marques to see- not usually at the show but they have now moved to the convention center on Summer St insead of bayside expo center.

Super Lime green Lamborghin Murcielago roadster- $425,000 sticker with a SOLD sign on the window!! Black Gallardo Spyder and yellow Gallardo Superllegara still available.

Ferrari F430 Coupe Yellow/Black. $225000 F430 Spyder Red /Tan $245000
Maserati Gran Turismo- beatiful in black/tan. I would take mine in light blue with oxblood leather.

Aston Martin- Vantage Roadster in White with Cognac leather. Vantage Coupe in Modena Yellow with black interior with yellow stitching- not sure if that works.
Chismillionare's Dream Car- DB9 Volante in Sage(light green) with cream leather and bamboo wood accents. Aston representative handing out Aston Martin Winged emblem drool wipes.

Bentley Display for Papa Don- Butterscotch metallic Continental GTC Cabrio with cream leather and macassar wood $200 grand. Bentley Azure convertible $375 grand for the ultra wealthy or up an coming rap artist. Of note in the Azure- the 4 inch thick shag lambswool floor mats and champagne chiller in the back of the Silver Spur Mulliner edition.. Ahhhhh now that's nice


Disappointments

Audi S6 and Audi S5
Seats are quite slim. I know I am wide of beam but I have loved Audis in the past. New interior layout instrumentation terribly vexing and not clean. Getting Pricey. S6 eighty grand. New S5 almost 60 grand.

Infiniti G37
Interior claustrophobic and I am not terribly tall. Forget ordering the sun roof even with the seat all the way down.

Cadillac CTS- Motor Trend's car of the year. Lovely interior. Smells super inside. Not worth the 42 for the sporty one but 32k for the normal engine non sports package a bargain of epic proportions. But the A pillar and B pillar always seem to be in way/field of vision. Rake on Windshield very steep. Like looking through a mail slot while driving. I would not buy one, but this car will do to sedans, what the 300C did two years ago.

Volvo S80 V8- Almost 60 grand for what appears to be an interior by Ikea. Seats are flat as a board and design is derivative. New Jag Xf a better bet.

Saab Turbo X. Much talk on this lately. 300hp Haldex AWD- only 300 to be made, only in black. 42 grand is hilarious for a Saab though. Maybe for 22 grand in two years. Now, Laughable.

Mercedes E and CLS- Odd that a 5 series BMW is roomy yet an E class and especially CLS feel like Mini Coopers. The new C class is in fact roomier but is overpowered by the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I know they say they promised you a Mercedes Benz in the ads, but unless you step up to AMG models, there is better value elsewhere.

Good time- no crowds, in and out in 50 minutes.

Trump site-shopping for a Bay State casino

Boston, Holyoke atop a longer list By Matt Viser, Globe Staff | November 29, 2007 Business mogul Donald Trump is scouring waterfronts, depressed mill towns, and vacant rural tracts across Massachusetts, searching for locations suitable for a lavish resort casino that he could develop under Governor Deval Patrick's proposal to legalize casino gambling. His list of as many as a dozen sites includes undisclosed locations in the Boston area, the region that an industry source said he most desires, as well as the Holyoke Mall and a harness racing track in Plainville. Executives from Trump's resort development arm, Trump Entertainment, have toured sites in Fall River, New Bedford, and Warren, and they met recently with the mayors of Chicopee and Holyoke, according to local officials, land owners, and an industry source. They also have had extensive discussions with Gary Piontkowski, the owner of the Plainridge Racetrack in Plainville, but no agreement was reached, said the industry source. Several of the locations are in communities looking for an economic boost that have already expressed a strong interest in hosting a casino, making it more likely local voters would approve a casino if the political and economic stars line up. "We have a real high elderly population, a poor population, and those are the ones most accepting of casinos," said Holyoke's mayor, Michael Sullivan, whose community has twice approved casinos in nonbinding ballot questions. "I would venture to say that if we gave the voters a choice between biotech and casino gambling, they would pick casino gambling." Trump Entertainment owns and operates three casinos, all in Atlantic City, but for years has sought to spring from the New Jersey seaboard to open casinos in other states. Its celebrity chief executive, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes Magazine at $2.6 billion, also owns a vast amount of property in New York, Florida, and throughout the world. Trump has tried for years to make a splash in the Boston market. Most notably, he sought to build a casino, marina, and residential development on Boston Harbor's Long Island in the mid-1990s - a long shot at the time because there was no appetite to legalize casinos in Massachusetts. A meeting was scheduled with Mayor Thomas M. Menino at the Plaza Hotel in New York, but the mayor canceled and Trump's plans never gained political support. This time around, he joins a growing list of developers who are laying plans to compete for three casino licenses that would be authorized under Patrick's proposal. The Democratic governor filed legislation last month that would license a resort casino in three separate regions, Western Massachusetts, Southeastern Massachusetts, and the metropolitan Boston area. His proposal faces a stiff fight in the State House, where Speaker Salvatore DiMasi has expressed skepticism and has not set dates for hearings, which will not be held until next year at the earliest. Trump executives would not discuss any of their intentions, including their search for locations in the Boston metro region. But the industry source said the Boston region would be Trump's top choice because of its large population and tourist base. "The bottom line is we think that Massachusetts could present an interesting opportunity for our company and our brand," said Tom Hickey, director of corporate communications at Trump Entertainment. "It's an opportunity that we have explored, and that we will continue to explore." Trump's casinos in Atlantic City have struggled in recent years and in 2004 the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Earlier this year, Trump reportedly began accepting bids for the properties. Trump Entertainment tried unsuccessfully last year to enter the casino market in Philadelphia, but could not secure one of the two licenses awarded in the city. Similarly, Trump tried to interest Johnston, R.I., in a 500-room hotel and 5,000-slot-machine resort off Interstate 295, but the plans did not gain traction. Trump's thorough review of the Massachusetts landscape is not unexpected. The gambling industry has expressed strong interest in Patrick's casino proposal. Suffolk Downs has a proposal already lined up to redevelop its East Boston racetrack. Just to the north, Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere has been courting partners. The Mohegan tribe of Connecticut has an agreement for land in Palmer, and the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe has plans to build in Middleborough under Patrick's state-license proposals, or under the tribe's own application for a casino under the federal Indian Gaming Act. Officials from MGM Mirage and Foxwoods, meanwhile, have looked at a 1,600-acre tract in the Central Massachusetts town of Warren. Trump officials have also looked at that land, which is adjacent to the intersection of Interstates 90 and 84. Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson has expressed interest in the Marlborough area, near the juncture of Interstate 495 and the Massachusetts Turnpike. Under the governor's proposal, the licenses would go out to bid on a rolling basis, allowing developers to compete on multiple licenses. That setup has developers, like Trump, looking at numerous sites across the state to secure several options. Trump's list of potential sites indicates he could aggressively embrace a multisite approach - seeking to hedge his bets if the legislation is approved and he decides to get in on the bidding. Ultimately, he could sign purchase options on individual properties that he could exercise if he won a casino license. Eric L. Hausler, senior vice president of development at Trump Entertainment, met with Holyoke's mayor about two months ago to discuss possible scenarios, including buying the Holyoke Mall or the former site of Mountain Park, one of New England's first amusement parks, and building a resort casino on either of those properties. Building a casino in Holyoke would allow Massachusetts to compete directly with Connecticut casinos. The city is northwest of Springfield at the junction of the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 91, and is located closer to Connecticut's Bradley International Airport than both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. But a Holyoke site also would put front and center the arguments over a casino's impact on social ills. The city of 44,000 is one of the poorest communities in the state, with more than 7 percent of residents unemployed and one-fourth of the population living below the poverty line. While remaining skeptical over the social costs and uncertain whether casinos will get the necessary legislative approval, Holyoke's Mayor Sullivan says a casino could provide the catalyst the city needs to revitalize its economy. "It's a challenge for a community like Holyoke, but I'm a pragmatic guy," Sullivan said. "If there's a benefit for the city of Holyoke, I want us to be at the table." Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

The Most Successful Sniper in History

The unofficial Finnish frontline figure from the battlefield of Kollaa places the number of Häyhä's sniper kills at 542. A daily account of the kills at Kollaa was conducted for the Finnish snipers. Häyhä used a Finnish variant, M28, of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle (known as "Pystykorva" rifle), because it suited his small frame (5 ft/1.52 m). He preferred to use iron sights rather than telescopic sights to present a smaller target (the sniper must raise their head higher when using telescopic sights) and aid concealment (sun reflecting off telescopic sight lenses can reveal a sniper's position).

Besides his sniper kills, Simo Häyhä was also credited with as many as two hundred kills with a Suomi M-31 SMG submachine gun, thus bringing his credited kills to at least 705. However, the latter claim has never been substantiated. All of Häyhä's kills were accomplished within 100 days prior to injuries caused by an enemy bullet. Häyhä's record of an average of 5 kills a day, almost one kill per daylight hour of the short winter day, is unique.

Read the rest at Wikipedia here.

The 15 Brilliantly Timed Sports Photos

Sporting events garner so much media attention these days that you can be certain that anytime something goes wrong, someone will catch it on film. This is a list of 15 of the most brilliant (and often hilarious) sporting photos caught on film.

Gymnastic

Watersports

Motor sports

Tennis

Baseball

Basketball

Soccer

A Big List of Sites That Teach You How To Do Stuff

Written by Josh Catone / November 28, 2007 / 24 comments

With all due respect to Kevin Smith, the web is no longer only for complaining about movies. In fact, there are a large number of very helpful sites that teach you how to do things. These are do-it-yourself sites, but we're not talking about building a deck or baking a cake -- the web is full of more general interest sites that give quality instruction on all sorts of fun and useful projects. Including, sometimes, how to build a deck or bake a cake.

In this horribly-titled, but hopefully useful round-up we will specifically focus on such general purpose sites that include some sort of rich media instruction (generally video). We also might throw in a tech-focused site or two, since this is after all, a tech-focused blog.

If you know of any instructional sites that are missing from this list, please mention them in the comments below.

• Instructables - "The World's Largest Show and Tell," as the site calls itself, is a community where people can create and share guides that cover a variety of topics from art and crafts to food, technology, and the home. The multi-page guides are well illustrated and users can rate and discuss them.


• SuTree - The recently redesigned SuTree aggregates video tutorials from over 250 sources. Their library includes over 11,000 videos covering just about every topic you can imagine. They republish videos from a bunch of other sites on this list.


• TrickLife - A user generated video tutorial site covering a large number of topics. Their "Computing" section is one of the most active and features a number of great tutorials about how to use various computer programs.


• VideoJug - VideoJug is one of the largest general purpose professionally produced video tutorial sites. They host over 15,000 video tutorials in just about every subject under the sun, including some tongue-in-cheek tutorials like this one: How To Use CSI Techniques To Find Out Who Used Your Coffee Mug. The videos include text as well to make them easier to follow.


• Expert Village - Expert Village calls itself the world's largest video tutorial site, and with nearly 49,000 videos, they might be right. Expert Village produces videos using a network of "experts" in various fields. Anyone can sign up to be an expert and the site contacts those it feels would do well hosting a video tutorial series.


• eHow - eHow is a very large tutorial site covering a wide range of topics. Many of the tutorials were created by their editorial team, though some are user submitted. The presentation of the tutorials isn't very compelling (generally on a single page, broken into steps, without much in the way of rich media to aid instruction), but the site does have a small and growing video tutorial library.


• Household Hacker - A really cool video tutorial blog that instructs on how to achieve a number of "hacks" using common household items (usually these have to do with technology). As an example, the video embedded below demonstrates how to charge and iPod using an onion and some Gatorade (not sure why you'd ever want to do that, but, still pretty neat):

• Make: Podcast - Make Magazine is, in general, one of the coolest DIY magazines out there, instructing each month on a variety of awesome projects. Their online video podcast is a great collection of tutorials on how to do cool things like make a potato cannon or screen print your own t-shirt


• 5min - The "videopedia," as the site calls itself, 5min is another repository of user created video tutorials. Their hook? All the videos must be under 5 minutes in length. This site is great for someone who wants to learn how to do something on a tight schedule.


• ViewDo - Another video tutorial site that relies on user contributions, ViewDo also mixes in some tutorials created in house. ViewDo covers a ton of topic areas, and one of the nice things about the site is that videos can be downloaded to a portable media player (like an iPod or PSP) and watched on the go.


• Sclipo - Sclipo not only encourages people to share their knowledge, but also provides a utility for them to do so via webcam. As on most video sharing sites, users can rate and comment on clips.


• Helpfulvideo - This is a rather strange site that mixes up video tutorials with video classified ads. I'm not really sure where the crossover is, but if you're looking to buy a used car then learn how to change its oil filter, then perhaps this site is for you.


• TeacherTube - TeacherTube is a straight up YouTube clone aimed at providing an outlet for educational videos that I gather can be used by teachers in class. Some of the videos were pretty good, but the site seems really unfocused compared to the rest in this round-up. Then again, what kid wouldn't love Dr. Loopy Discusses the Water Cycle? (Um, don't answer that.)


• Koonji - Offering people-powered guides, in my August review of Koonji I compared the site to Instructables and Squidoo.


• Squidoo - Speaking of Squidoo... While not totally focused on tutorials, Squidoo's lenses are a font of information about all sorts of stuff and often include how-to guides (or links to them!).


• About.com - Who could forget About.com? Not us! Buried in the editorial of About.com are hundreds of tutorials, including a growing amount of video content -- you just have to dig for it sometimes.