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AndyTheAbsurd writes:

http://fortune.com/2016/01/25/baidu-driverless-vehicle/

Alternate Article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-24/baidu-enters-the-global-race-to-dominate-era-of-driverless-cars

Original Submission

It's official - we're the descendants of the B-Ark.

The rapper known as B.o.B recently recently made the news after a series of Twitter posts arguing that the Earth is flat. As he put it: "A lot of people are turned off by the phrase 'flat earth' ... but there's no way u can see all the evidence and not know... grow up." He also posted an image which seemed to suggest that the heliocentric theory is a conspiracy by Freemasons like Pythagoras and Newton.

American scientist and TV host Neil deGrasse Tyson actually took the time to correct some of B.o.B's math, in response to a claim that if the Earth were round, NYC's skyscrapers should not be visible from the top of Bear Mountain 60 miles away:
   

Within hours, B.o.B released a song titled "Flatline", slamming Tyson for his support of the conspiracy.

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takyon writes:

The BBC is reporting on a new paper and equation written by physicist Dr. David Grimes. The Poisson distribution-based equation estimates how long a conspiracy can stay clandestine based on the number of conspirators. Three real world examples were used: the NSA's PRISM program, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, and Dr. Frederic Whitehurst's revelation of flawed FBI forensic science.

He then applied his equation to four famous conspiracy theories: The belief that the Moon landing was faked, the belief that climate change is a fraud, the belief that vaccines cause autism, and the belief that pharmaceutical companies have suppressed a cure for cancer.

Dr Grimes's analysis suggests that if these four conspiracies were real, most are very likely to have been revealed as such by now. Specifically, the Moon landing "hoax" would have been revealed in 3.7 years, the climate change "fraud" in 3.7 to 26.8 years, the vaccine-autism "conspiracy" in 3.2 to 34.8 years, and the cancer "conspiracy" in 3.2 years.

"The mathematical methods used in this paper were broadly similar to the mathematics I have used before in my academic research on radiation physics," Dr Grimes said.

[...] The Moon landing hoax, for instance, began in 1965 and would have involved about 411,000 Nasa employees. With these parameters, Dr Grimes's equation suggests that the hoax would have been revealed after 3.7 years. Additionally, since the Moon landing hoax is now more than 50 years old, Dr Grimes's equation predicts that, at most, only 251 conspirators could have been involved. Thus, it is more reasonable to believe that the Moon landing was real.

Of course, it doesn't matter if the public knows about a conspiracy if they don't believe it happened... or care.

On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs (open, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147905)

Original Submission

takyon writes:

In recent weeks, Netflix has cracked down on VPN users attempting to bypass IP geolocation to access content not licensed in their countries. Netflix has also made the policy explicit. Now, TorrentFreak and Stars and Stripes report that Netflix will exempt overseas U.S military bases from the VPN blockade, although that isn't reassuring for off-base military members:

While Netflix is determined to take stronger action against VPN-pirates, the company also says that all U.S. military bases are exempt from blockades, Stars and Stripes reports. "Netflix always exempts U.S. military bases around the world. They will still be able to access the U.S. catalog," Netflix spokesperson Anne Marie Squeo said.

This is an interesting decision, since most military bases abroad are not considered U.S. soil. Also, we are not aware of a similar treatment for other overseas workers or military bases of non-U.S. countries. Still, for most soldiers this gesture is not enough, as they live off-base.

Jesse Fowler, a hospital corpsman stationed in Bahrain, says he's not disappointed with the local offering of Netflix but relies on a VPN to access some shows that are not available. "...I'm mad if I can't change where my Internet is so I can't watch my own shows," Fowler says.

This sentiment is shared by the Bahrain-stationed Navy counselor Eric Cutright. "My VPN hasn't been blocked. But if it does, I will be pissed. Netflix Bahrain is trash," he said.

TorrentFreak has kept a close eye on the recent developments and Netflix has indeed started to block more VPN providers. However, blocking all of them appears to be a difficult task, especially because several providers continue to add new IP-addresses. Ironically, many soldiers may switch to piracy again when Netflix is no longer an option, turning the clock back half a decade.

Original Submission

AndyTheAbsurd writes:

http://www.statnews.com/2016/01/21/probiotics-shaky-science/

Original Submission

takyon writes:

Just an ordinary day for Australians:

A deadly funnel-web spider with a leg span of 10cm (about 4in) is the largest specimen ever handed in to Australia's only venom-milking programme. The spider, named Big Boy, has been handed to the Australian Reptile Park, which milks spiders to make anti-venom.

The park's venom programme supervisor, Billy Collett, said he had not heard of a bigger specimen. "There might be one at a museum, but this is the biggest one we've had in our venom programme," Mr Collett said.

Big Boy is a male Sydney funnel-web spider, which is the deadliest spider in Australia and one of the most venomous in the world. The average leg span of a funnel-web is between 6cm and 7cm. Mr Collett said earlier reports that Big Boy's size was 7.5cm were based on an incorrect measurement taken when the spider's legs were not fully extended.

Big Boy will now become one of more than 500 funnel-webs that are milked for venom at the Australian Reptile Park. "We get them into a defence position and with a glass pipette we vacuum the venom right off their fangs," Mr Collett said.

The venom is used in the production of anti-venom for treating funnel-web bites, which can be fatal. The Australian Reptile Park encourages adults to collect funnel-webs if they come across them in the wild so they can be used for venom milking.

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Phoenix666 writes:

Commercial lights for treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD, winter blues) are not nearly bright enough. They max out at 10,000 lumens, which—in my experience—has only a small effect. Recently I built a 30,000 lumen light, which seems much more effective. I suspect even more would would be even better.

Clinical studies have found that bright light treats SAD effectively. To work, it has to be really bright. Most commercially available SAD lamps are essentially fraudulent; they are much less bright than those used in the research. The brightest one I could find, when shopping online several years ago, was 10,000 lumens. That was enough that I noticed a clear improvement, but not nearly enough to restore full brain function. So over several years I've experimented with various homemade alternatives that are significantly brighter—and more effective.

To paraphrase Crocodile Dundee, "Now that's a light!"

Original Submission

-- OriginalOwner_ writes:

Previously: Militia Occupies Federal Building in Oregon After Rancher Arson Convictions

Russia Today reports:

Ammon Bundy, the leader of the armed group occupying a federal wildlife refuge near Burns, Oregon, and four others have been arrested by law enforcement amid gunfire, according to the FBI.

At 4:25 pm on [January 26], the FBI and Oregon State Police "began an enforcement action to bring into custody a number of individuals associated with the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. During that arrest, there were shots fired", the Bureau said in a statement.

The FBI said one person who was "a subject of a federal probable cause arrest is deceased". He said they are not releasing any information on the person "pending identification by the medical examiner's office".

One person suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. He was arrested and is in custody.

The arrested individuals include:
- Ammon Edward Bundy, age 40, of Emmett, Idaho.
- Ryan C. Bundy, age 43, of Bunkerville, Nevada.
- Brian Cavalier, age 44, of Bunkerville, Nevada.
- Shawna Cox, age 59, of Kanab, Utah.
- Ryan Waylen Payne, age 32, of Anaconda, Montana.

CNN, NYT, Washington Post, BBC, OregonLive.

Original Submission

AndyTheAbsurd writes:

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/how-a-diy-network-plans-to-subvert-time-warner-cables-nyc-internet-monopoly

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Hand-powered devices have been used for millennia, but during the last quarter of the 19th century a radically improved generation of tools appeared, taking advantage of modern mass production machinery and processes (like interchangeable parts) and an increased availability in superior material (metal instead of wood).

One of the outcomes included an array of new drilling machines, but their heydays were over fast. These human-powered tools were not only a vast improvement over those that came before them, they also had many advantages in comparison to the power drills that we use today.
...
Hand tools that were sold in the 1870s and saved from the junkyard by antiquarians or nostalgic craftsmen can still perform their tasks without any problem today, even when they were unused for decades - a bit of cleaning (using gasoline) was all that it needed. These tools were made to last. Furthermore, the continued availability of the same models for many decades guaranteed that spare parts remained available. A hand powered drill hardly requires any maintenance to be kept in good shape. Oiling the tool from time to time suffices. After years of intensive use, they might need new wooden handles, but that's all. An electric drill requires much more attention, because it consists of much more parts - and more delicate parts, too.

The electric tool must be opened periodically for cleaning and oiling to keep it running smoothly. The brushes should be inspected and replaced from time to time. Wiring and circuits should be checked. In the case of a corded drill, the cord is prone to damage. The machine has to be kept away from dust, rain and high temperatures. Etcetera.
...
Even when disregarding energy and environmental issues, hand powered drills offer some real, practical advantages. They are rather silent, while power drills can produce up to 130 decibels of noise. Their independence from electricity and batteries also guarantees that you can use them anywhere you want for as long as you want, unhampered by cords that are always too short and batteries that never last long enough. Manually powered drills are also much safer than power drills, and because of their lower drilling speeds and more direct control, corrections are much easier to make while drilling a hole (especially handy for clumsy people like me).Of course, the lower rotation speed can also be seen as the (only) drawback of a hand powered drill.

TFA has an illustrated history on the development of the drill.

Original Submission

AndyTheAbsurd writes:

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/europe-wants-a-dream-chaser-the-new-reusable-spaceplane

Original Submission

AndyTheAbsurd writes:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/people-are-still-trying-build-space-elevator-180957877/?no-ist

Original Submission

el_oscuro writes:

According to google-security-research, "When you install TrendMicro Antivirus on Windows, by default a component called Password Manager is also installed and automatically launched on startup.

http://www.trendmicro.com/us/home/products/software/password-manager/index.html

This product is primarily written in JavaScript with node.js, and opens multiple HTTP RPC ports for handling API requests.

It took about 30 seconds to spot one that permits arbitrary command execution, openUrlInDefaultBrowser, which eventually maps to ShellExecute().

This means any website can launch arbitrary commands, like this:

x = new XMLHttpRequest()
x.open("GET", "https://localhost:49155/api/openUrlInDefaultBrowser?url=c:/windows/system32/calc.exe true);
try { x.send(); } catch (e) {};

TrendMicro helpfully adds a self-signed https certificate for localhost to the trust store, so you don't need to click through any pesky security errors."

It is not like they would ever be useful, now would they?

We always make jokes about posting our passwords on our homepage, but apparently with TrendMicro, that is a feature:

"I noticed that there is a nice clean API for accessing passwords stored in the password manager, so anyone can just read all of the stored passwords:

https://localhost:49155/api/showSB?url=javascript:topWindow.process.mainModule.exports.Tower.handle.getUserData(function(n{alert(JSON.stringify(JSON.parse(n).data.passcard[0]))})

Users are prompted on installation to export their browser passwords, but that's optional. I think an attacker can force it with /exportBrowserPasswords API, so even that doesn't help. I sent an email pointing this out:"

I could go on, but go ahead and RTFA. You can't make this stuff up.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

Tesla Motors Inc. is chipping away at the sales of its rivals in the luxury car space. 2015 saw the combined sales reports of premium cars in the U.S. weigh strongly in favor of the electric vehicle giant. Though Mercedes still tops the list as the best selling luxury car maker in America, Tesla is catching up fast with the Tesla Model S sedan alone.

A number of analysts compile estimates of Tesla's sales in the U.S. using a variety of methods. Tesla Motors does not reveal its car sales by country, so such means often need to be taken. EV Obsession estimates that Tesla Motors sold 26,566 of its Model S sedans in the U.S. alone last year. The lowest estimate sits at 24,200. Regardless, according to these figures, Tesla's Model S outdid the BMW 6-Series, BMW 7-Series, Audi's A7 and A8, the Porsche Panamera, the Mercedes S-Class, and every other car in its rank.

The article/press release is rather exuberant, but the numbers in TFA's table are interesting. Nine other luxury brands from BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Audi, Lexus, and Porsche lost sales last year, while the Tesla Model S grew strongly.

Original Submission

Phoenix666 writes:

New research has revealed the importance of a circadian body clock that matches the rotational speed of the Earth.

A team of scientists from Holland, Germany and the UK's University of Manchester studied animals in which variation in a single gene dramatically speeds up the natural circadian cycle from 24 to 20 hours (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1516442113).

It is the first study to demonstrate of the value of having an internal body clock which beats in tune with the speed of the earth's rotation.

The researchers released animals with 24 hour or 20 hour clocks into outdoor pens, with free access to food, and studied how the proportion of animals with fast clocks changed in the population over a period of 14 months.

This allowed the team to study the impact of clock-speed in context of the "real-world" rather than indoors.

Mice with fast-running clock gradually become less common with successive generations, so that by the end of the study, the population was dominated by animals with "normal" 24h clocks.

The research has potentially important implications for human health: clock-disruption associated with abnormal work and lighting conditions, such as night shift work leads to health problems, such as increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Wouldn't Mars-born humans gradually select for circadian rhythms that match Mars's rotation?

Original Submission