Royston

Charging batteries / cells from your toilet, or perhaps a household waste unit would probably be more practical. You can run a car quite easily on sh*t (lots of), so it's a viable method, although rush hour would be something to avoid.

If you try to hijack science, to do anything but further our understanding of nature, you stop doing science.

Klaynos, helpfully showed me how to embed LaTex equations. You can see the result on the same link.

I've noticed a couple of blogs using LaTex, is this on request ? I could really do with LaTex to start my tutorial / revision for myself, category...if that's not too much trouble

It reminds me of the end of a short tour in Nazca, where the guide was explaining the lifestyle of the mining communities of the surrounding area. He pointed out that the majority of miners make the work more bearable, by drinking Pisco (an alcoholic drink) and chewing on coca leaves, in moderation. This pompous old so and so, on the tour was disgusted by this, and immediately got on his moral high ground and stated that it was 'utterly wrong that workers are encouraged to indulge in intoxicating substances' without any thought into the lack of choice of work in that area, and of course, the hideous working conditions these men had to endure day after day. The guide made it abundantly clear (he was quite upset by this) that starving the working class of creature comforts, which make their job more bearable especially in such pitiful working conditions, is clearly more morally questionable, when that decision is based on some irrational standard that you (the pompous guy) has...which IIRC received a small ripple of applause. Now I realize this is a more extreme example, but it's precisely this type of attitude that doesn't even consider the working class little luxuries that make day to day living more enjoyable. Smoking has been quite rightly banned in public places, that's as far as it should be taken, unless a complete ban is put forward...but perish the thought of the government losing out on all that revenue, supplied by cigarettes and beer.

By that reasoning, drinking alcohol deserves a license over smoking...surely alcohol related violence, traffic accidents et.c would be more applicable to a license, than smoking, which is already banned in public places. I certainly agree with the ban in public areas, but this license is just another means for the government to get some extra money, and with such a genius idea as to, 'making the form tricky to fill in', I can really see such an idea working...not. How are the government going to know if I'm a smoker or not...random nicotine checks on the whole population, how can you enforce such a license, it's a really lame idea. Unless they're going to ban it altogether, the current policies on smoking are fine, other people aren't affected by second-hand smoke, the tax on cigarettes is huge and a good source of revenue, and for people who enjoy a cigarette, their few minutes of pleasure from a stressful day are preserved.

Deleted...afk, and missed the responses.

Heh...yeah, who could forget <uber dry sarcasm> This thread still sticks in my mind as one of SFN's finer moments... http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=13615

Given the logistics and funding as not being an issue, this thread is for sharing ideas (even outlandish) on future methods for providing energy for Earth. You can only use known or emerging technology, and your idea has to agree with physical laws...so no perpetual motion et.c An example would be...(I haven’t thought it through) A large superconducting generator outside the Earths atmosphere, (much easier to bring to lower temperatures) and with the transmission of electricity through superconducting wires, which are liquid nitrogen cooled and have a carbon nanotube exterior, that serve as a tower for the generator...similar to the space elevator, but on a larger scale. All power generation is outside the Earths atmosphere, so any emissions would not contribute to GW et.c I'm sure it's utterly impractical, but it's just an example. As the title suggests, the more imaginative the better, so feasible fiction if you like. If any ideas are posted, other members are allowed to point out errors.

So essentially you're saying, humans are inherently fickle (always wanting improvements), and this can be observed through refinement in material possessions through to progress in more intellectual pursuits, such as science. From what I gather, you're saying that people, who are never satisfied, are bad unless this dissatisfaction is geared towards some progress that could help humanity? A couple of points, for an 11 year old, that's not a bad philosophy...but remember there are plenty of small societies / tribes et.c that don't crave progress, their happiness is keeping tradition...in fact it's the progress in other parts of the world, that can be detrimental to their happiness. I don't think a human 'always' wants more, unless that idea is presented to them, and this is definitely true in modern consumer societies, as opposed to isolated self sufficient societies. However, you'll always find people that are exceptions to some general rule in all walks of life, and that might be something worth considering.

Unfortunately, it has been confirmed the UK involvement with the ILC has been withdrawn. It seems as though resistance to the decision fell on deaf ears. Please see the article from physicsworld below... http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/32809 Strangely enough, after watching Top Gear the other night, Jeremy Clarkson commented that 'the maths and science of this car are incredible', after test driving a Ferrari, the distinction has clearly permeated into popular media.

Sorry, missed all the recent responses...the large incisors were a feature I distinctly remember, it was only a foot away when it was jumping and squealing. Hmmm, could have been an ex-girlfriend, all things considered The mammal certainly wasn't native to Britain.

Here's mine...http://blogs.scienceforums.net/Snail I'm yet to add some content, (hopefully today) but the blog will be mainly physics based (including anything I think will be useful for others, as I work through my degree), new discoveries in science, and bad science. I'm also going to have a category with links to scientific articles in the press, where comments will be strongly encouraged. Other than that, random thoughts, anything that catches my eye, general bloggy stuff...just to add, I am a weblog virgin

I've noticed this a lot in the physics sub-forums, another problem, which is especially annoying, is when new members ask a question (be it homework, or any other section) and the reply is from somebody who hasn't got the foggiest what they're talking about...usually starting with 'Well, I think...' If somebody has come here to learn, then leave it to an expert or somebody who at least has been educated to a reasonable standard (in that field) to respond...if you don't know what you're talking about, then you're not in any position to be giving advice. If it's an urgent question, then provide a link to a reputable source, or wiki (as that does suffice on most occasions) don't make the situation worse with your 'opinion.' Another problem, is the same questions that keep popping up...e.g Where is the centre of the universe ? Answer, it's been discussed here (link provided) thread closed. I can understand this from new members, but not from people that have been on here for some time. Also, people that continually write (blatant) incoherent crap should be warned or banned from certain sub-forums, it really degrades the quality of a good discussion...plus half the discussion can be derailed by trying to work out what that person is going on about. Rambling on generally makes your post less clear, not clearer...if you start off with something you're not sure about, it should be kept short and sweet. I'm glad somebody (Klaynos) brought up the quality of posting, and this is more directed at people, that by now, really should know better.

Bureaucracy can be filled with paradoxes, and now the bureaucracy of paradoxes. People should have the right to time travel, but paradoxes should be banned...along with bureaucracy.

You might want to check the links provided by Martin... http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showpost.php?p=386171&postcount=1

I welcome the ban in public places, but if people want to time travel in the privacy of their own home, that's their business...nobody else's.

Neat...drag the balls for maximum fun I recommend trying zero friction, with maximum repulsion and attraction.

Absolutely, it's merely a last resort, patients will be made aware of the risks involved. With a disease as debilitating as Alzheimers, a last resort would be welcome for many, despite the risks. As much as I'd love to sit here discussing the ethics of the treatment (personally I don't think there's much to discuss) I stuck this in neuroscience (not biomedical ethics) for interest value, I think the findings are fascinating...and significant if this one case, is not a one off, it's very early stages. I'll try to remember to post any further developments of the treatment, as soon as they're available.

Thanks all for the responses, still the closest resemblance is the Nutria picture I attached...we do have some animal parks (not really zoo's) roughly 20 miles away, but I'm certainly puzzled as to what it could be. Hermanntrude, I live on the south coast near Brighton, and an otter is something I'd be able to identify (spotting wildlife was something I did avidly whilst traveling, so I have quite a good eye for differentiating species.) If I come across anything, I'll be sure to post it on here.

Positive, I would have recognized a weasel straight away. This was far too large for a weasel, stoat, polecat, ferret et.c (incidentally my sister used to own two polecats, certainly didn't resemble anything from that family, that come from the UK.) Remember I confused this with a cat or small fox regarding its size, it was certainly petrified (in unfamiliar surroundings) which means it could of escaped from somewhere...I'm determined to identify this animal now, so I'll scour the net and hopefully I can find an image of what I saw. I do like that weasle pic Paralith

No, it had a short neck, and the hind legs were too large for a weasel or ferret. It was definitely more rodent like, but nothing like I've ever seen before. I've just found a picture of a Nutria, if you can imagine one of these, but much slimmer, light brown and completely manic...that's a pretty close resemblance to what I saw.

I'm amazed I havn't asked this before, but this happend roughly ten years ago, and for some reason I was thinking about it last night. Anyway, I was walking back from a friends house, and took the normal route past the local hospital on a main road. I noticed an animal in the distance, but couldn't make out if it was a cat or a young fox (it was quite large) then it came hurtling towards me, and instantly I thought it was a particulary large sewer rat. However, it stood up on it's hind legs and was jumping and squealing very loudly. I noticed it had prominent front teeth, similar to a rodent, light brown in colour, but it was far too big for a rat, it was very slender almost sinewy, and I believe it had quite a long tail. It then turned and run towards a young couple who were walking towards me, got up on it's hind legs and started squealing again, before running across the road and hiding under a parked car. I passed the couple, and we just looked at each other with very bewildered looks on our faces...I went to check under the car where it had fled to, but it had already gone. Remember this is in the UK, so I thought it was an escaped pet, but it's the size, behaviour and the fact it could jump on it's hind legs which has left me clueless as to what it could be. So, any ideas, what this mammal is ? No, I wasn't drunk at the time.

Out of interest, what happend to the IRC stats ?

What do you not like about SFN...5 pages and 93 replies, ouch