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Apr. 28th, 2008
News articles
Apr. 28th, 2008 08:58 pmCanada has fewer Ph.D.s than US - A recent survey reveals that people with doctorates account for 0.4 percent of the Canadian population, while 0.7 percent of the US population has doctoral degrees. That said, the enrollment in doctoral programs between 2000 and 2004 has increased so, with an average time-to-completion of 5.75 years, many are still in school so would show up on the survey. The average age of doctoral graduates is 36 with 59 percent of them debt-free upon graduation. Found on Rick Mercer's blog.
Microwaves focused to area smaller than their wavelength - University of Michigan researchers have succeeded in focusing 30-cm microwaves to a point approximately 1.5 cm in size, smaller than the wavelength of the radiation. They propose that if the approach can be adapted to optical wavelengths it could be used to greatly improve lithography and data storage. Found on Warren Ellis's blog.
Ontario legislature may offer streaming video of debates - Imagine the heart-pounding excitement! In fact, it's not a bad idea to increase the openness of what goes on the legislature in a manner that is accessible to Generation-I (I for Internet, that is).
A better source of biofuels may be hardy plants - Some members of the biofuel industry argue that an alternative to using food crops to generate biofuels is to raise "crops" of hardy plants on land that cannot support food crops. Jatropha is a hardy plant that is drought-tolerant, yet produces a seed that is 40 percent oil that can easily be converted into biodiesel.
Lizards demonstrate evolution in action - Formerly insect-eating Pod Mrcaru lizards introduced to an island off Croatia evolved a completely new gut structure to handle a vegetarian diet in only 30 years, providing wonderful example of evolution in action.
Microwaves focused to area smaller than their wavelength - University of Michigan researchers have succeeded in focusing 30-cm microwaves to a point approximately 1.5 cm in size, smaller than the wavelength of the radiation. They propose that if the approach can be adapted to optical wavelengths it could be used to greatly improve lithography and data storage. Found on Warren Ellis's blog.
Ontario legislature may offer streaming video of debates - Imagine the heart-pounding excitement! In fact, it's not a bad idea to increase the openness of what goes on the legislature in a manner that is accessible to Generation-I (I for Internet, that is).
A better source of biofuels may be hardy plants - Some members of the biofuel industry argue that an alternative to using food crops to generate biofuels is to raise "crops" of hardy plants on land that cannot support food crops. Jatropha is a hardy plant that is drought-tolerant, yet produces a seed that is 40 percent oil that can easily be converted into biodiesel.
Lizards demonstrate evolution in action - Formerly insect-eating Pod Mrcaru lizards introduced to an island off Croatia evolved a completely new gut structure to handle a vegetarian diet in only 30 years, providing wonderful example of evolution in action.
More news articles
Apr. 28th, 2008 09:47 pmSpam is 30 years old - on May 2nd, according to New Scientist. Found on Slashdot.
Bill to prohibit discrimination based on genetic test results moves ahead - The US congress reached an agreement that has allowed a proposed bill to prohibit discrimination by employers and insurers based on genetic tests to proceed. Apparently even the concerns raised by the President have even been addressed and it is expected that the bill will pass both the House and Congress to become law eventually. Found on Slashdot.
Cyanbacteria modified to produce cellulose and sugar for biofuel production - Two researchers have tweaked the genes of blue-green algae to produce a gel-like form of cellulose that is easy to convert into sugars for biofuel production, as well as large amounts glucose and sucrose. The bacteria could be grown in vats on land unsuitable for food production using water that is unsuitable for human use. Found on Slashdot.
Artificial spider's silk spun on chip - German researches have developed a way to spin artificial spider silk using a glass chip filled with tiny ducts that emulates the function of a spider's silk-producing ducts.
Web-like solar sail proposed for unmanned deep space missions - Finnish researchers propose using a novel type of solar sail to provide thrust for the next generation of spacecraft headed out of the solar system. The sail consists of a 100 20-kilometer long strands of wire which are then positively charged. As a result, they spread out in mutual repulsion to form a broad web, as well as repel the positively charged ions emitted by the sun to provide thrust. Within a year they could propel a 200-kg spacecraft to a speed of 30-km/second.
Bill to prohibit discrimination based on genetic test results moves ahead - The US congress reached an agreement that has allowed a proposed bill to prohibit discrimination by employers and insurers based on genetic tests to proceed. Apparently even the concerns raised by the President have even been addressed and it is expected that the bill will pass both the House and Congress to become law eventually. Found on Slashdot.
Cyanbacteria modified to produce cellulose and sugar for biofuel production - Two researchers have tweaked the genes of blue-green algae to produce a gel-like form of cellulose that is easy to convert into sugars for biofuel production, as well as large amounts glucose and sucrose. The bacteria could be grown in vats on land unsuitable for food production using water that is unsuitable for human use. Found on Slashdot.
Artificial spider's silk spun on chip - German researches have developed a way to spin artificial spider silk using a glass chip filled with tiny ducts that emulates the function of a spider's silk-producing ducts.
Web-like solar sail proposed for unmanned deep space missions - Finnish researchers propose using a novel type of solar sail to provide thrust for the next generation of spacecraft headed out of the solar system. The sail consists of a 100 20-kilometer long strands of wire which are then positively charged. As a result, they spread out in mutual repulsion to form a broad web, as well as repel the positively charged ions emitted by the sun to provide thrust. Within a year they could propel a 200-kg spacecraft to a speed of 30-km/second.
Rules for shooting photos in public
Apr. 28th, 2008 10:55 pmUSA Today's Kim Komando provides some rule-of-thumb answers to what can and cannot be shot in public (your mileage may vary. Check your local laws to be sure). I've summarized them here but you can get more details from the article.
1) It is generally legal to take photos in public provided you are not obstructing people.
2) It is generally legal to photograph people in public (like in a park), but not in public places were they have a reasonable expectation of privacy (such as a public washroom).
3) It is generally legal to take pictures of private places (like the outside of a person's house) without permission if it is visible from a public space.
4) That said, photographing the inside of a person's house, even if visible from a public space, may not be so kosher because it violates their reasonable expectation of privacy.
5) Some government-controlled spaces (military installations, nuclear facilities, court houses, etc.) may ban photography.
6) You may legally photograph the scene of an accident but be sure not to obstruct emergency workers.
7) If you sell those photos to a news agency you generally do not need to obtain written consent.
8) If you sell photos of people taken in a public space to a commercial establishment, such as a stock photo company, you should (and may even require) written consent (a model release form) of anyone uniquely identifiable in the photo.
9) Note that some "public spaces", like supermarkets, are actually private spaces that are open to the public so you should only photograph there after either obtaining permission or finding out what rules they may have in place.
10) Amateur sports can generally be photographed without consent, but not if the sports league specifically bans it so it's safest to ask first.
11) Professional sports may have strict limits on whether or not photography is allowed and may limit the type of photography so check first.
In all cases, when in doubt, ask. Even if it is legally permissible it is best to stop shooting if someone is giving you a hard time about it.
1) It is generally legal to take photos in public provided you are not obstructing people.
2) It is generally legal to photograph people in public (like in a park), but not in public places were they have a reasonable expectation of privacy (such as a public washroom).
3) It is generally legal to take pictures of private places (like the outside of a person's house) without permission if it is visible from a public space.
4) That said, photographing the inside of a person's house, even if visible from a public space, may not be so kosher because it violates their reasonable expectation of privacy.
5) Some government-controlled spaces (military installations, nuclear facilities, court houses, etc.) may ban photography.
6) You may legally photograph the scene of an accident but be sure not to obstruct emergency workers.
7) If you sell those photos to a news agency you generally do not need to obtain written consent.
8) If you sell photos of people taken in a public space to a commercial establishment, such as a stock photo company, you should (and may even require) written consent (a model release form) of anyone uniquely identifiable in the photo.
9) Note that some "public spaces", like supermarkets, are actually private spaces that are open to the public so you should only photograph there after either obtaining permission or finding out what rules they may have in place.
10) Amateur sports can generally be photographed without consent, but not if the sports league specifically bans it so it's safest to ask first.
11) Professional sports may have strict limits on whether or not photography is allowed and may limit the type of photography so check first.
In all cases, when in doubt, ask. Even if it is legally permissible it is best to stop shooting if someone is giving you a hard time about it.