StringJunky

Jackson33: I like the idea of this moderation being done 'in the open' since everybody should make themselves aware of the rules before they contribute. There maybe circumstances where it is not appropriate to admonish a transgressor in front of everyone on the boards. Perhaps some visual device inserted at the appropriate point in the thread to indicate to everyone that the matter is 'pending moderation'..this would negate any accusation that a transgression has been ignored or missed by a Mod and at the same time avoid any unecessary public humiliation on the part of the transgressor.

Not even amongst professional scientists it seems. To quote from ajb and Klaynos in Baby Astronaut's thread about checking if something's been through peer review: I don't think it is publicised who has reviewed papers. - Klaynos Referees tend to be anonymous. I think this helps remove any possible hard feelings and resentment when rejecting papers.- AJB http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=46870 I was surprised to learn that the source of any scientific critique in the peer review process is anonymous. If scientists can't take critical analysis on the chin from a transparent source, it's hardly surprising that laymen can't take it on these boards either!

Here's the latest news with details confirming it's almost definitely a failed Russian missile and a better photo: http://www.barentsobserver.com/failed-missile-launch-caused-strange-light-over-northern-norway.4663494.html

Ok. Thanks DH.

Mark: From a fixed position on the Earth the sun moves in a figure of eight pattern (not a circle as you mentioned)during the course of one year. This phenomenon is called an Analemma: Time-lapse photograph taken from the same position, same time, every week for a year I don't know if this is relevant but thought I'd mention it as you are working from a flawed mental image about the apparent movement of the sun through the sky. Hope this helps.

Hi genecks: Yes I did a little bit of reading around on this light source for microscopes and it was all positive- One study for the European Space Agency researching its efficacy for space bound microscopes even recommended it...they actually preferred the green ones for their purposes due to its more even light spread relative to the other colours.. I suppose all light sources produce heat but relative to filament types they are cool. The advantage of using it with live subjects was also mentioned somewhere so they must be cool enough. Taken from a Leica advert: Ready for anything The Leica DM IL LED is suitable for a wide variety of cell and tissue culture examinations in biology and medicine, for studies in development biology or micromanipulation all the way up to live cell experiments in transgenics or electrophysiology. The Leica DM IL FLUO variant offers versatile application potential for fluorescence applications such as GFP labeling and can also be supplied with LED fluorescence illumination on request. Featuring an energysaving automatic shutoff, the compact illumination unit integrates a pre-centered LED with a lifetime of 50,000 hours – no more need for lamp change! The 10 watt power of the LED is fully converted into light A bit expensive Leica but it shows that LED's are up to the job..check out the wattage of any LED before you buy. Google a few reputable microcope makers sites and see the wattage on their LED models and then cross reference that with the Amscopes to see if it's powerful enough. I'm sure they are not perfect but the Amscopes seem very good for the money. With the Nikons Leicas etc you are buying into a whole flexible system of accessories, that's half the reason why they are so expensive. It seems to me Amscope have cut the corners in the right places for the money.

Let's see if ydoaps can come up with one. A haiku about about your awesomeness please ydoaps Here's a very quick tutorial on their form and structure. http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/pdfs/00haiku.pdf

I use led head torches and I think the intensity especially over the short distance the light has to illuminate the specimen would be more than adequate. The light balance should be whiter for better contrast of the specimen than the old filament bulbs and much more efficient on battery power. They are also a cool light source which should enable your child to look at,say, living microscopic pond life without it warming up the slide so much and evaporating the liquid they are suspended in. There aren't any negatives as far I can see.

You've brought up an old thread but the answer to your question is that the great majority of the world's oxygen is produced by marine algae.

I found this site which lets you listen the various sounds a failing hard drive makes: http://datacent.com/hard_drive_sounds.php Your personal data will need saving and your hard drive replacing if makes any of those sounds...best save it now just in case. I second Dudde's comment, Ccleaner is very good and Defraggler by the same company should help as well. It sounds like to me you need to start again and do a full clean install after recovering your wanted data. then endeavouring to learn some basic computer maintenance to keep it that way...using the two apps mentioned on a regular basis would be a good start. Prevention is easier than cure. Your computer probably has a multitude of minor software issues that has accumulated over time causing it to run slow. A Windows computer falls apart and grinds to a halt over time without a regular software/data maintenance routine. I see this happen with my extended family's computers all the time...guess who sorts them out? I'm learning minimalist intervention automated maintenance strategies. You might have a hardware issue and this should be addressed first by someone experienced in these matters.

My guess is the teacher wants them to write a piece of 'faction': A piece, in the style of a news report, put together from imagination but using real data and/or incidents: Faction, a neologism, in literature, describes a text as based on real historical figures, and actual events, woven together with fictitious allegations. Or something along those lines.

VLC Mediaplayer is a good alternative if you are stuck and can handle more media types by default than WMP. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Lightning does follow the path of least resistance but it may not be by the shortest route. The atmosphere between the thundercloud and the ground will have varying and localized levels of conductivity or resistance which will influence the lightning's journey hence its non linear path. This is one theory on how it works: As a thundercloud moves over the surface of the Earth, an electric charge equal to but opposite the charge of the base of the thundercloud is induced in the Earth below the cloud. The induced ground charge follows the movement of the cloud, remaining underneath it. An initial bipolar discharge, or path of ionized air, starts from a negatively charged mixed water and ice region in the thundercloud. Discharge ionized channels are known as leaders. The negatively charged leaders, generally a "stepped leader", proceed downward in a number of quick jumps (steps). Each step is on the order of 50 to 100 ft (15 to 30 metres) long but may be up to 165 ft (50 m).[21] As it continues to descend, the stepped leader may branch into a number of paths. The progression of stepped leaders takes a comparatively long time (hundreds of milliseconds) to approach the ground. This initial phase involves a relatively small electric current (tens or hundreds of amperes), and the leader is almost invisible when compared with the subsequent lightning channel. When a stepped leader approaches the ground, the presence of opposite charges on the ground enhances the strength of the electric field. The electric field is strongest on ground-connected objects whose tops are closest to the base of the thundercloud, such as trees and tall buildings. If the electric field is strong enough, a conductive discharge (called a positive streamer) can develop from these points. This was first theorized by Heinz Kasemir. As the field increases, the positive streamer may evolve into a hotter, higher current leader which eventually connects to the descending stepped leader from the cloud. It is also possible for many streamers to develop from many different objects simultaneously, with only one connecting with the leader and forming the main discharge path. Photographs have been taken on which non-connected streamers are clearly visible.[22] Once a channel of ionized air is established between the cloud and ground this becomes a path of least resistance and allows for a much greater current to propagate from the Earth back up the leader into the cloud. This is the return stroke and it is the most luminous and noticeable part of the lightning discharge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

You can try Eraser from Sourceforge: http://sourceforge.net/projects/eraser/ I have just downloaded it's myself to see what it's like. It seems to run ok and easy to work out. The user reviews are all very positive. I shall use this to get my system's free space properly cleaned up, but my main routine overwriting cleaner to permanently delete my Recycle Bin contents is Ccleaner which I've set to run at startup. It can also fix unused registry entries, orphaned files etc. Gives direct access to Startup programs (msconfig) and allows you to keep down the number of SystemRestore copies which can take up 15% of your hard drive by default in Vista. Great little program http://www.ccleaner.com/

Have you already read this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_complexity

I noted that inconsistency as well, From what you've experienced compared to what I've read all I can conclude is that not all plastics of any given composition are made to the same standard..the process or formulae are probably slightly different. MY hunch is to favour No.2 types and use the ones that pass your test.

Putting 'Speculations' first, has a less cynical and negative air about it. Jill: It's best to put the more 'positive' word first, I think...It's like the difference in the question: Is the glass half empty or half full? Pessimists express the former, yet it's only six of one, half.....! The issue is one of perception. Consider the prefix; Pseudo=false.That is the FIRST word in the forum header...it's not surprisng non-scientists and unfamiliarised newcomers react negatively. It makes people feel it has already been prejudged (as rubbish). It might soften the blow to turn the words around. Anyway, it seems to be logical to put Speculations first because, at the end of the day, an idea that is put there is still considered open for discussion then it may it be classed as Pseudoscience. The present title, as I see it, is putting the cart before the horse!

Taken from a Wiki article on Game Programming: Notably, there are many game programmers with no formal education in the subject, having started out as hobbyists and doing a great deal of programming on their own, for fun, and eventually succeeding because of their aptitude and homegrown experience. However, most job solicitations for game programmers specify a bachelor's degree (in mathematics, physics, computer science, "or equivalent experience"). Increasingly, universities are starting to offer courses and degrees in game programming. Any such degrees should offer a well-rounded education that includes all the fundamentals of software engineering. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_programmer#Experience_needed You might find the link worth clicking on to see the various types of job specs in that area.

Here's a link to the Resin ID codes on the bottles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code Reading around on the properties of the various types No.2's (HDPE) seems to be the most stable at cold temperatures and is recommended for that purpose by some plastic container manufacturers I looked into. LDPE (No.4) is also used for freezable containers but one article specifically said HDPE was suitable for refillable containers. No.5 (Polypropolene) has low impact resistance at low temps so is more likely to fragment. HDPE is used for water pipes and electrical wiring insulation so this seems to indicate that it is more stable under adverse conditions than the others. LDPE degrades under exposure to UV (sunlight).

Never mind, you did your best. It's nice to see patience in the face of ignorance. For laymen like myself it's good to see experts in their field, like yourself, trying to express essentially mathematical concepts in classical real world terms and logically dismantle commonly held misconceptions in a respectful way. Kudos to you sir!

When I clicked on your link it was flagged by Google as an attack site. Here's the link to why it was blocked. I would imagine this information relating to risky sites is shared, hence it being flagged by your AVG, Google and probably others: http://safebrowsing.clients.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?client=Firefox&hl=en-GB&site=http://sparkingtech.com/tech-sci-news/researchers-create-worlds-fastest-internet-connection

Probably because it was deemed that she would be very good...and she is. What she says is what she means...no talking round corners from her..her integrity is beyond reproach as far as I have seen. Your publicly uttered inference to the contrary is unjust. Private matters concerning discontent with someone should be dealt with privately. Don't forget you are speaking your thoughts to a potentially worldwide audience and implying animosity or questioning someone's ability and encouraging a discussion in front of this potentially massive audience leaves alot to be desired. Shame on you Sir.

If the bottom of the tubes are flat with no holes, what could be happening is the bottles and water start out hot and as they cool down a vacuum is formed inside the bottle with the water on the bottle rim acting as an air seal If this is the cause then a hole or holes or irregular surface needs to be made in the bottom of the tube to allow equalization ie prevent a vacuum forming in the first place.

Thanks for having a look into it Dudde. The idea really appeals to me. It could potentially be an easy, quick and free alternative way of restoring your computer back to its original pristine system state without spending hours putting it all back. It's not as bomb proof as a separate hard drive but I can live with that risk. In my previous experiments I have turned off System Restore storage on C: and allocated it to other partitions. I used the 'vssadmin' command to allocate and limit the size on another partition in Vista. It all fails when I reinstall the OS to C: .....it doesn't see the old Restore files on the othr partition if I remember correctly or can't use them anyway. I tried asking about the idea on another forum but people always sidetrack and suggest 'better' ideas which invariably involve commercial software and more hardware. My goal is to create the best possible backup solution IN my laptops using no external hardware. I'm going to look into this again now youve brought it back up.

OK Dudde .Thanks. It was just a thought experiment really. Here's another one. If I put the System Restore files on another partition then at a later date decide to do a reinstall, how do I get Vista to use them again as part of the new installation? It didn't work when I tried it some time ago. The idea was, in the event of a mishap that warranted a reinstall on C:, instead of having to update all the System Files, Service Packs, Updates etc again, I would just use System Restore files from the original installation which would be untouched on the other partition. Can the old System Restore files be linked back to the new installation so that the new System Restore can use them? Can it be done? I'm not interested in using an external hard drive, My system is not mission critical and I just want to try ideas out like this.