Did you know that the world is almost out of gallium? Or that the supply of zinc may only last another 30 years?

Robert Silverberg tells us:But now comes word that it isn’t just wildlife that can go extinct. The element gallium is in very short supply and the world may well run out of it in just a few years. Indium is threatened too, says Armin ( Read more... )

Sometimes schneier reads more like an absurdist-humor blog than a security-issues blog. Today he linked to the tragic tale of an artist unable to ship his empty (but labeled) containers ( Read more... )

Thanks to featherynscale, I have now learned of potential proof that happiness leads to success, rather than just the other way around ( Read more... )

You've just gotta love MIT.

On the Effectiveness of Aluminium Foil Helmets: An Empirical Study

Abstract:Among a fringe community of paranoids, aluminum helmets serve as the protective measure of choice against invasive radio signals. We investigate the efficacy of three aluminum helmet designs on a sample group of four individuals. Using a $250, ( Read more... )

This appeared a couple days ago, but I haven't seen any other mention of it since.....

Gay Men Respond Differently to PheromonesWASHINGTON (AP) - The sexual area of a gay man's brain works a lot like that of a woman when exposed to a particular stimulus, researchers say.

There's even a possible biological explanation for "gaydar" in there.

The AP says that Congress may extend daylight-saving time by two months in an attempt to save energy.

The quote that has me puzzled: "The more daylight we have, the less electricity we use." - Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., co-sponsor of the measure ( Read more... )

Do you need to build a hyperspace bypass? Or are you just feeling remarkably antisocial? Well, you might find this feasability study to be useful.

While looking futilely at Apple's trailer page for the latest Star Wars Episode III trailer (thanks to this guy for making it available since I had no desire to watch The O.C. to see it), I came across the trailer for Wallace And Gromit and the third trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. The latter is a wonderful sendup of action movie ( Read more... )

In the first episode of this season, Alias was apparently trying to reinvent itself by poorly imitating the first season.
Tonight Alias decided to try reinventing itself by taking a plot device from Kurt Vonnegut and weakening it so that it's not quite so potent, literally or literarily.

In this episode of Alias, we had bad guys developing and ( Read more... )

Yesterday we got to see a close friend of mine who I've rarely gotten to see since she moved to Michigan a few years ago. We first met nearly eleven years ago and there's lots of dramatic history with her, but now it's to the point that we're just comfortable with each other. It's a nice feeling. It helps that she's gotten her life to such a ( Read more... )