LostInSpace

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- The world's first solar sail spacecraft takes flight on Tuesday, launched by space enthusiasts who cobbled the privately funded mission together on $4 million and an untested theory that light can power limitless space exploration. Can't wait to hear the results.

Watch out for "happy slapping," the latest youth craze to sweep Britain. I hope not. This better not migrate over to the U.S. Egads!!! And they (apply anyone you want to who they is) call the U.S. a violent nation.

Sunset on Mars Don't remember if anyone's posted this image before. It's a simple image of a sunset on mars but something about it gives it that cool factor. Also, it's a very crisp and clear image.

quote:Originally posted by Scrivener: Now if only War of the Worlds is equally as good! June 29, June 29, June 29... One can only hope, one can only hope. (keeping fingers crossed)

Link quote: ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) -- Mountaineers who ascend North America's loftiest peak are often brought down to earth by "virus-laden poo" left behind by previous climbers, a medical report says. The unsanitary conditions created by piles of human feces on Mount McKinley can cause diarrhea among climbers, which can lead to widespread problems when combined with the physical stress of a mountain expedition, according to the report in the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine. Of 132 climbers interviewed on the 20,320-foot (6,200-meter) peak in the summer of 2002, more than a quarter reported having trouble with diarrhea, said the report, which was conducted by officials with the Alaska Division of Public Health. At high altitudes and in cold temperatures, the authors said those troubles can be severe and potentially dangerous, leading to acute mountain sickness, hypothermia and fatigue-related accidents. "They think they're going out on a pristine climb and there's virus-laden poo all around them," said Dr. Bradford Gessner, a mountaineer and one of the study's authors. The researchers said other peaks around the world had similar sanitation troubles but they did not have data on the degree of the problem. The study recommends a campaign to better educate climbers about hygiene and to impose stiffer penalties for breaches. Climbers also should use alcohol-based hand sanitizers or other antiseptic cleansers after defecating, use purification tablets for drinking water and avoid crowded sleeping arrangements. Such steps also are appropriate in other well-traveled climbing routes, like Washington's Mount Rainier and on Himalayan peaks, they said. The National Park Service already has started a clean-up campaign, including the distribution of devices called clean mountain cans to store feces for removal from the mountain, said Roger Robinson, lead mountaineering ranger for Denali National Park and Preserve, site of McKinley. Because of the harsh conditions, piles of feces have accumulated at the mountain's crowded high camp, located at 17,200 feet (5,200 meters), Robinson said. "It's just an ice pack up there. You really can't dig down and bury anything," he said. I'd think twice about climbing any more mountains. Yuck!

(AP) -- For a video game, Pac-Man is getting downright old. The ghost-wary hero with an insatiable appetite for dots turns 25 this month. Man I feel old.

Yeah, saw that when I went to the BBC site for a report I saw about the oil for food probe. We'll have to wait and see what happens with the Bashir case.

Link quote: Annan in new oil-for-food probe The Iraq oil-for-food inquiry is reviewing new material on Kofi Annan's alleged contact with a firm which won a contract to work for the UN programme. Two newly uncovered memos from the company, Cotecna, suggest the UN head may have known more than he said about the multi-million dollar contract. Mr Annan has denied prior knowledge of Cotecna's bid for the contract, though his son worked there as a consultant. An earlier UN report found no evidence that Mr Annan had helped Cotecna. However, Mr Annan was criticised for failing to look into the possibility of a conflict of interest. And his son Kojo was found to have "intentionally deceived" his father about his financial relationship with the company. Cotecna was hired in 1998 by the UN to monitor goods coming into Iraq under the oil-for-food programme. Paris meeting The first memo from Cotecna describes a meeting between Kofi Annan and Michael Wilson, then a vice-president of the firm, 10 days before the contract was awarded. It says an executive met the head of the UN "and his entourage" and was told the firm "could count on their support". The memo, published by the New York Times and later confirmed as authentic by an unnamed Cotecna consultant, was apparently found three weeks ago during a search of the Geneva-based company's archives. The second memo, also from Michael Wilson but reported by AP news agency, discussed a meeting three days earlier with UN procurement officials to talk about the bid. The message expressed confidence that the bid would be successful because of "effective but quiet lobbying within diplomatic circles in New York". It also suggests that Mr Wilson mistakenly believed Mr Annan's approval was required for the bid. 'Potentially devastating' The UN independent inquiry committee said in a statement it would "conduct additional investigation regarding this new information". "Does this raise a question? Sure," the executive director of the investigation, Reid Morden, told AP. He said the secretary general would soon be interviewed as part of the investigation. Salim Lone, a former UN director of communications in Baghdad, told the BBC that the allegations were potentially very damaging for Mr Annan. "If it is true I think it would be devastating for Mr Annan," he said. "I don't think he could continue as secretary general. It would be untenable because he has denied quite strongly any knowledge of Cotecna pursuing this contract and he has also set quite high standards for himself." But Mr Wilson told the New York Times no senior company officials had any recollection of the memos, which appeared to contradict what the company had said. UN spokesman Fred Eckhard, meanwhile, said he could not confirm that the meeting between Mr Annan and the Cotecna executives took place. "We spoke to the secretary general who is in Paris today, and he has no recollection of any such exchange," he told AP on Tuesday. The final version of the inquiry's report is due out in the next few months.

Link quote: LARGO, Florida (AP) -- An autopsy on Terri Schiavo backed her husband's contention that she was in a persistent vegetative state, finding that she had massive and irreversible brain damage and was blind, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday. It also found no evidence that she was strangled or otherwise abused. But what caused her collapse 15 years earlier remained a mystery. The autopsy and post-mortem investigation found no proof that she had an eating disorder, as was suspected at the time, Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin said. Autopsy results on the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman were made public Wednesday, more than two months after her death March 31 ended a right-to-die battle between her husband and parents that engulfed the courts, Congress and the White House and divided the country. She died from dehydration, Thogmartin said. He said she did not appear to have suffered a heart attack and there was no evidence that she was given harmful drugs or other substances prior to her death. He said that after her feeding tube was removed, she would not have been able to eat or drink if she had been given food by mouth, as her parents' requested. "Removal of her feeding tube would have resulted in her death whether she was fed or hydrated by mouth or not," Thogmartin told reporters. He also said she was blind, because the "vision centers of her brain were dead," and that her brain was about half of its expected size when she died 13 days following the feeding tube's removal. Michael Schiavo said his wife never would have wanted to be kept alive in what court-appointed doctors concluded was a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery. The Schindlers, however, doubted she had any such end-of-life wishes and disputed that she was in a vegetative state. The medical examiner's conclusions countered a videotape released by the Schindlers of Terri Schiavo in her hospice bed. The video showed Schiavo appearing to turn toward her mother's voice and smile, moaning and laughing. Her head moved up and down and she seemed to follow the progress of a brightly colored Mickey Mouse balloon. They believed her condition could improve with therapy. However, doctors said her reactions were automatic responses and not evidence of thought or consciousness, and Thogmartin's report went farther. "The brain weighed 615 grams, roughly half of the expected weight of a human brain," he said. "This damage was irreversible, and no amount of therapy or treatment would have regenerated the massive loss of neurons." Thogmartin said the autopsy report was based on 274 external and internal body images, and an exhaustive review of Terri Schiavo's medical records, police reports and social services agency records. He said hospital records of her 1990 collapse showed she had a diminished potassium level in her blood. But he said that did not prove she had an eating disorder, because the emergency treatment she received at the time could have affected the potassium level. Testimony in a 1992 civil trial indicated that she probably was suffering from an eating disorder that led to a severe chemical imbalance. Over the years, the Schindlers had sought independent investigation of their daughter's condition and what caused it. Abuse complaints to state social workers were ruled unfounded and the Pinellas state attorney's office did not turn up evidence of abuse. Calls seeking comments Wednesday from the Schindlers and Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, were not immediately returned. Speaking before the report was issued, Felos, said the Schindlers continue to engage in a "smear campaign against Michael to deflect the real issues in the case, which were Terri's wishes and her medical condition." During the seven-year legal battle, federal and state courts repeatedly rejected extraordinary attempts at intervention by Florida lawmakers, Gov. Jeb Bush, Congress and President Bush on behalf of her parents. Supporters of the Schindlers harshly criticized the courts. Many religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, said the removal of sustenance violated fundamental religious tenets. About 40 judges in six courts were involved in the case at one point or another. Six times, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene. As Schiavo's life ebbed away following the final removal of her feeding tube, Congress rushed through a bill to allow the federal courts to take up the case, and President Bush signed it March 21, but federal courts refused to step in.

quote:Originally posted by echo: Bill Gates is hot! I do hope you mean that in the theological sense.

Yeah, I figured that about them calling you. Don't know why I typed that myself sometimes I just run off at the mouth. I think the heat here in NY is getting to me ugh it's hot. My kingdom for an ICE AGE!! Anyway, quote:He didn't find a publisher crazy enough to market it for him!!! So he has to sell it over the net! Like that has any reflection on how good or bad your products are. In fact, it might make them even better because you are handling the distribution of the product yourself and not on some "too soon" release date from a publisher. Apparently, these guys haven't been keeping up to speed with the news about game publisher shenanigans like the recent Dungeon Lords fiasco. These guys need lives of their own so they can stop picking on your life. Hence, the reason why I stay away from those places.

I do hope that the Mindware Studios guys weren't hinting or even questioning that you were involved in this. What fool would put their real name in a leaked game.

Looks like someone is trying to stir up yet another hornet's nest.

I was watching the news last night, couldn't escape it again, every time I turned the channel there there it was more MJ coverage. One report was rather interesting about his finances. He spends 20-30 million dollars a year more than what he makes in that year. He also has like a 300 million dollar loan out using his beatle rights as collateral. Another news network repoter said the same thing I did about MJ surrounding himself with the right people to protect him from himself. Hmmmm, wonder if these guys read these posts. Attorney: Jackson will be more careful Michael Jackson's money troubles "The Michael Jackson brand is effectively dead." Well that maybe true in the states but according to the experts he's still highly popular overseas and I think that's were he will have to go to make his money with tours and new albums if he's going to do that again.

Larry Flynt move on over cause here I come!!

Link quote: CNN: (SPACE.com) -- Astronomers announced Monday the discovery of the smallest planet so far found outside of our solar system. About seven-and-a-half times as massive as Earth, and about twice as wide, this new extrasolar planet may be the first rocky world ever found orbiting a star similar to our own. "This is the smallest extrasolar planet yet detected and the first of a new class of rocky terrestrial planets," said team member Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "It's like Earth's bigger cousin." Currently around 150 extrasolar planets are known, and the number continues to grow. But most of these far-off worlds are large gas giants like Jupiter. Only recently have astronomers started detecting smaller massed objects "We keep pushing the limits of what we can detect, and we're getting closer and closer to finding Earths," said team member Steven Vogt from the University of California, Santa Cruz. The discovery of Earth's distant cousin was announced Monday at a press conference at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. The new planet orbits Gliese 876, an M dwarf star 15 light years away in the constellation Aquarius. The "super-Earth" is not alone: there are two other planets -- both Jupiter-sized -- in the same system. This third world was detected by a tiny extra wobble that it caused in the central star. From this wobble, the researchers measured a minimum mass for the new planet of 5.9 Earth masses. The planet orbits makes a full orbit in a speedy 1.94 days, implying a distance to the central star of 2 million miles -- or about 2 percent of the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Orbiting so close to its star, scientists speculate that the planet's temperature is a toasty 400 to 750 degrees Fahrenheit (200 to 400 degrees Celsius). This is likely too hot for the planet to retain much gas, like Jupiter does. Therefore, the planet must be mostly solid. "The planet's mass could easily hold onto an atmosphere," said Gregory Laughlin from UC Santa Cruz. "It would still be considered a rocky planet, probably with an iron core and a silicon mantle. It could even have a dense steamy water layer." A paper detailing these results has been submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. Can you imagine the resources available on this planet. It's a miner's dream.

Hmmmm, yeah he better watch his money what's left of it anyway. If he was smart, he'd have a good portion of it hidden away in a swiss bank account and move there. Let's hope he knocks off putting himself in these positions but I doubt it. I heard that one of the jurors (pre verdict) had a book thing already going. I wonder if the book would have sold more with him being guilty or innocent. I'm just glad it's over. The media frenzy over this was sickening.

Hah, let's see how long it takes before someone hacks into that idea.

quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: well who said he was violent?"...criminal history that included burglaries and a violent assault" It was only a matter of time before he killed someone and then people would have been screaming why wasn't this guy locked up. You are correct that nowadays these violent crime prosecutions basically go with basically just a slap on the wrist.

quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: I remember this about parkan2 and that has been disappointing, no more game vids, no more following games! I'm Done! I've been lucky in that respects. Most, if not all, of the games I put my radar on have been anything but disappointing. The only one that comes to mind is Sea Dogs II arrrggghhh I mean Pirates of the Caribbean. Once I found out the developers sold out to disney, my heart sank as I kept reading more and more about lots of things being taken away from the game to better tie in with the movie. I bought it anyway played it for a little while and have never been back to it. Very disappointed to what it should have been. But over all I've been very happy with the games I bought.

quote:Originally posted by Cruis.In: fps, just gets better whether effects, sometimes better gun sounds... when will they get rid of the first person view? oh yeah its an fps... This looks like it's not just an FPS but has lots of RPG elements also. Anyway, seems like I've been waiting forever for this game. If you haven't already, check out the game vids in the second post I made. This game is going to rock. As for the first person view, I'm sure there will be a code you can enter that would give you third person perspective if it's not already implemented in the game as an easy option. I noticed when viewing the Clans. Physics. Trade. clip that the inventory menu is exactly the same as it is in System Shock 1 and 2 I think deus ex had the same inventory menu also (since it was made by the same guys who made system shock). Glad to see a good idea still in use.

Also check out this section: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Check out the first clip: Anomalies. Vehicles. DX9.

Ouch that's gotta hurt: Link quote: NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Citigroup said Friday it agreed to pay $2 billion to settle a class-action suit related to its work for bankrupt energy trader Enron Corp. The money will be split among investors who bought Enron stock or publicly traded debt securities issued by Enron and Enron affiliates between Sept. 9, 1997 and its December 2001 bankruptcy filing. The statement from Citigroup (Research) said that it has sufficient reserves to pay the settlement. The deal, tied for third on the list of the biggest securities class-action settlements in history, still needs the approval of the Board of Regents of the University of California, the lead plaintiff in the case, and the board of Citigroup. The University of California lost nearly $145 million in its pension and endowment funds due to Enron investments, according to the university. The deal is also subject to the approval of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. "It is a key priority for Citigroup to resolve major cases like this one and to put a difficult chapter in our history behind us," said a statement from Citigroup CEO Charles Prince. Citigroup denies violating the law in the settlement. The suit named eight other Wall Street firms, as well as law firms that worked for Enron. Before the settlement announced Friday, plaintiff attorneys had reached agreements worth $491 million with Lehman Brothers, Bank of America, Andersen Worldwide, Enron's outside directors and one Enron executive who was on the board, Ken Harrison. The number of plaintiffs in the case is not yet final, but lead lawyer William Lerach estimated some 50,000 Enron individual and institutional investors would be affected. "This agreement is a tremendous recovery for Enron investors and continues a pattern of highly favorable settlements," said a statement from James E. Holst, the university's general counsel. The case continues against some of the leading firms on Wall Street, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse First Boston and Goldman Sachs. The suit charged that the Wall Street firms and Enron lawyers helped set up many of Enron's off-the-book partnerships that made the energy trader's books and results look better than they actually were. The settlements with the investment bank are important for the plaintiffs as they have the deepest pockets among those named in the suit. Enron and its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, are both bankrupt. In 2004 Citigroup reached a similar settlement of nearly $2.6 billion in a case involving WorldCom, the telecommunications company that also went bankrupt due to accounting fraud. WorldCom now operates as MCI (Research). Citigroup made net income of $17 billion in 2004 after taking a $4.95 billion after-tax charge to cover the WorldCom settlement and to increase its legal reserves.

I haven't checked their site in a while the game is suppose to be release 10/05 but on 5/15/05 they've released a video of the game with dx9 in action. S.T.A.L.K.E.R

In case some don't know what the flap is about: Link quote: Dean defends remarks about GOP Wednesday, June 8, 2005 Posted: 9:45 AM EDT (1345 GMT) WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean on Wednesday defended his recent harsh criticism of Republicans, including his observation that they are "pretty much a white, Christian party." Dean noted that he, too, is a white Christian. But he said the GOP is too narrow in its scope and the Democratic Party is far more diverse. While even prominent Democrats in recent days have distanced themselves from some of his comments, the outspoken Dean, appearing on NBC"s "Today" show, said criticism of him is meant by Republicans to divert attention from the country's problems and make him the issue instead. Dean told a forum of journalists and minority leaders Monday that Republicans are "not very friendly to different kinds of people, they are a pretty monolithic party ... it's pretty much a white, Christian party." Challenged on that during the NBC interview, Dean said "unfortunately, by and large it is. And they have the agenda of the conservative Christians." "This is a diversion from the issues that really matter: Social Security, and adequate job opportunity, strong public schools, a strong defense," Dean said. Asked about it on the "Fox & Friends" show, GOP Party Chairman Ken Mehlman joked that "a lot of folks who attended my Bar Mitzvah would be surprised" he heads a Christian party. "We gotta get ourselves beyond this point where when we disagree about politics, we call the other guy names," he said. The former Vermont governor also recently raised eyebrows when he told a group of progressives that Republicans "never made an honest living in their lives," a comment he was forced to explain a day later. The one-time presidential candidate also said that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who has not been accused of any crime, ought to go back to Houston where he can serve his jail sentence. Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Tuesday that Dean is doing a good job, but is not the party's spokesman. Last weekend, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, and 2004 vice presidential candidate John Edwards criticized Dean for his recent remarks, saying he doesn't speak for them. Biden, asked about Dean Wednesday during an interview on the Don Imus radio show, also said the chairman is doing a good job. "A lot of things he does say, I agree with," Biden said. But he also said that Dean "has views that are slightly different than mine .. .But look, he's a lightning rod. ... It's probably good that there's a guy out there that's a lightning rod ... ." Biden, however, added that he thinks "the rhetoric is counterproductive." "I think this country has a purple heart, not a red heart or a blue heart," Biden said. "If we can't bring this (country) together, man, boy, we're really in deep trouble."