Sweet nectar of the gods, bringer of all good things. As you read these news briefs, dedicate a prayer to its provider…coffee.
- NASA’s X-43A scramjet set to try for unprecedented Mach 10 today! That’s around 7,000 miles per hour/11,000 kilometres per hour folks. We’re talking about circumnavigation of the Earth at the equator in less than three hours (if the jet could last that long). Somebody lift my bottom jaw, please. Check Space.com for updates later in the day.
- Surprised astronomers find second black hole at center of the Milky Way.
- Laser test marks first anti-missile milestone.
- Smart-1 probe arrives at the Moon. Poor little Smart-1, doing such a good job but living in the shadow of…hey wait, check this out! NASA to back Opportunity out of Mars crater. Now, what was I saying?
- Scientists face up to the truth of methane on Mars. Is that like someone owning up after breaking wind?
- ESA’s Mars Express takes some really nice pictures of Phobos.
- Top scientists ask whether we really might be living in the Matrix. For some reason the number 42 is stuck in my head.
- Physicist finds gay gene, then god gene. A little genetic engineering…and hey presto, a gay God. Perhaps we could make him fluorescent as well?
- Hey wait a minute bubba, this cain’t be right? Lesbian couples raise well-adjusted teenagers. May the fluorescent gay god have mercy upon our souls.
- High priest of Darwinian evolution Richard Dawkins is back with a new book, The Ancestor’s Tale (Amazon US and UK).
- Speaking tonal languages promotes perfect pitch.
- Shock waves prove a good method for food sterilisation.
- Chicago residents keep their grass on their roof. Settle down narcs, I’m talking lawn here, although I do see a Cheech and Chong movie in this.
- The science of superheros – not as much fiction as you think.
- Tom Hanks to play Robert Langdon in Da Vinci Code movie?
- Rosslyn Chapel, post Da Vinci Code.
- Tutankhamen to undergo full body scan to solve the riddle of his death. DNA tests as well, which a few people have been requesting for quite a while.
- Database to be set up to help protect ancient Tibetan kingdom.
- Egyptian officials unearth rare wooden sarcophagus in southern Egypt.
- Anonymous researcher says the Tasmanian Tiger is alive, but on the brink of extinction.
- Do you see dead people? You aren’t that special.
- What’s that playing on the radio? Just your favourite tracks on NSA-SPY-666.
- Noon turns to night in China.
- An interview with the father of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot, to celebrate his 80th birthday.
- Randi’s rant for this week, with the US Air Force in the firing line for their teleportation study (and of course a little bit of the ubiquitous Uri Geller fixation).
- Over at Paranormal News you’ll find both Conspiracy Journal #288 and Filers Files #47-2004.
- Bill Clinton tells of death visions during recent heart operation.
- Always wanted your own Star Trek communicator? Try Ebay. All things considered though, do you really want Scotty to beam you up?
Quote of the Day:
When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.
Thomas Paine
