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Assorted stories
May. 27th, 2008 03:20 pmNRC work is for the birds - or like the birds. An NRC researcher is one of the few people in the world developing a nano-air vehicle (NAV) in which the wings provide both power and thrust, much like they do with birds and insects.
Sky diver's ride leaves without him - ending his third attempt to break four world records by diving to earth from a height of 40 km. It appears that the helium balloon that was being filled to lift him and his capsule broke free and sailed off into the sky on its own. With a replacement balloon expecting to cost more than $200,000 and his funds pretty much exhausted, it looks like the end of the line for this attempt.
Self-erasing paper - Xerox has developed a paper that changes colour when exposed to intense ultraviolet light, then gradually fades back to its original colour within 24 hours. The paper could be reused as many as 100 times. No word on whether a single sheet of this paper is actually cheaper than 100 sheets of regular paper. Found on Slashdot.
Have you just been hacked, or just backscattered? - Backscattering is on the rise among email spammers to combat email filters that remove messages from non-existent domains. The process begins with a spammer finding your email address on the internet, placing it in the From line of the message, and aiming it at an inactive address. The message then bounces, but comes back to you, generally saying that the server has received unsolicited bulk mail from your address. Found on Slashdot.
The blade-runner is back in the Oympics - An appeals board, after two days of expert testimony, has granted Oscar Pistorius to right to compete in the next Olympics games, to be held in China. Now, all has has to do is meet the qualifying times before he can be named to South Africa's Olympic squad.
Sky diver's ride leaves without him - ending his third attempt to break four world records by diving to earth from a height of 40 km. It appears that the helium balloon that was being filled to lift him and his capsule broke free and sailed off into the sky on its own. With a replacement balloon expecting to cost more than $200,000 and his funds pretty much exhausted, it looks like the end of the line for this attempt.
Self-erasing paper - Xerox has developed a paper that changes colour when exposed to intense ultraviolet light, then gradually fades back to its original colour within 24 hours. The paper could be reused as many as 100 times. No word on whether a single sheet of this paper is actually cheaper than 100 sheets of regular paper. Found on Slashdot.
Have you just been hacked, or just backscattered? - Backscattering is on the rise among email spammers to combat email filters that remove messages from non-existent domains. The process begins with a spammer finding your email address on the internet, placing it in the From line of the message, and aiming it at an inactive address. The message then bounces, but comes back to you, generally saying that the server has received unsolicited bulk mail from your address. Found on Slashdot.
The blade-runner is back in the Oympics - An appeals board, after two days of expert testimony, has granted Oscar Pistorius to right to compete in the next Olympics games, to be held in China. Now, all has has to do is meet the qualifying times before he can be named to South Africa's Olympic squad.