Chat 31 May Schneier at Security
  • TSA Officer: (Looks at Schneier's ticket. Looks at Schneier's ID. Looks at Schneier. Smiles.)
  • Schneier: (Smiles back.)
  • TSA Officer: (Looks at Schneier's ID. Looks at Schneier's. Smiles.)
  • Schneier: (Tips hat. Smiles back.)
  • TSA Officer: A beloved name from the blogosphere.
  • Schneier: And I always thought that I slipped through these lines anonymously.
  • TSA Officer: Don't worry. No one will notice. This isn't the sort of job that rewards competence, you know.
  • Schneier: Have a good day.
Quote 30 May
No one who has just given birth is in a state to understand the full implications of how their baby’s genome might be used in future.
— [Dr Helen Wallace, of GeneWatch]
Photo 30 May 55 notes
via Faire Des Pompes.
Photo 29 May [via Information is Beautiful]

[via Information is Beautiful]

Photo 29 May [via USDoE, Wikipedia] Startlingly beautiful, for something so destructive.

[via USDoE, Wikipedia] Startlingly beautiful, for something so destructive.

Quote 28 May
The servers are regularly backed up, have RAID and other goodies for fault tolerance, and are looked after by a cadre of good looking, witty, intelligent well paid systems administrators.
— [via The Register]
Quote 28 May
The ITER reactor project, it is hoped among nuke boffins, may finally unlock the secrets of controlled nuclear fusion and so end the energy problems of the human race forever.
— [via The Register, Wikipedia] Fusion power is currently the holy grail of energy technology. It would provide significantly more energy for a given weight of fuel than any other technology. Deuterium - fusion’s primary fuel - is incredibly abundant in the Earth’s oceans. Since fusion reactions are so much more energetic than chemical combustion and seawater is easier to access and more plentiful than fossil fuels, some experts estimate that fusion could supply the world’s energy needs for millions of years. Fusion power is also inelastic, unlike wind, solar, or fossil-fuel power. The cost of wind energy, for example, goes up as the optimal locations are developed first, while further generators must be sited in less ideal conditions. Like the currently dominant energy sources, fusion could provide very high power-generation density and uninterrupted power delivery (due to the fact that it is not dependent on the weather, unlike wind and solar power). Fusion energy might even be able to support power consumptions 100 times the world’s power needs.
Photo 27 May [from flickr] Oxford students will place their bikes wherever they want.

[from flickr] Oxford students will place their bikes wherever they want.

Quote 27 May
These days, million-to-one shots come off six times out of ten.
— 

[via The Register] DARPA are nearing the final stages on an electronic sighting system which can use a laser to accurately assess wind, humidity, pressure &c. The system, called One Shot, will perform all the necessary ballistic calculations, projecting a cross-hair (and a confidence-based error-gauge) on a shooter’s rifle scope. The scope will automatically update itself as the shooter aims for the target. All the shooter has to do is line up, and take the shot.

One Shot is intended to allow a shooter to hit a day-lit target at ranges of 1500m using a single round six times out of ten. 

Photo 26 May [via Wired] The reality is that this thing is probably just a sophisticated spy plane that can also be used to test prototype satellite sensor arrays. However, the theories are far more romantic: orbital bomber prototype anti-satellite platform test-bed for laser weapons systems

[via Wired] The reality is that this thing is probably just a sophisticated spy plane that can also be used to test prototype satellite sensor arrays. However, the theories are far more romantic:

  • orbital bomber prototype
  • anti-satellite platform
  • test-bed for laser weapons systems

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