Insofar as people are like hamsters, companionship makes our wounds heal faster. Another way of stating this is that stress prolongs the healing of wounds, but can be offset by the presumed joy of having friends (or, in the case of the hamsters, siblings) to comfort you. (Science Daily/Ohio State University: “Study: A Little Help […]
Oh I get by with a little help from my friends…
Posted by Ben on September 20, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/oh-i-get-by-with-a-little-help-from-my-friends/
Hurrican Ecology
Hurricanes can wreak horrific structural damage and lead to loss of life, but you knew that already. What you might not be thinking about are the numerous benefits of hurricanes. No, they don’t revive your immune system or add years to your life (or your house). But they can clean out waterways, help re-build barrier […]
Posted by Ben on September 16, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/hurrican-ecology/
Tunguska, your secrets are mine
Remember the 1908 explosion above Tunguska, the one that inexplicably flattened like 800 square miles of trees? Well, okay, you don’t remember it—but you’ve heard of it, right? It’s fairly mysterious, though the general consensus seems to be that it was caused by some form of meteorite or other exploding in the air. Of course […]
Posted by Ben on September 14, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/tunguska-your-secrets-are-mine/
Field Guide to Anyplace, USA
The Smithsonian Institution brings you North American Mammals, which is all well and good; a searchable database of mammals in North America, what’s not to like? What makes this wicked cool, however, is that the site lets you make your own customized field guide. You can click on a map, or input your latitude/longitude, and […]
Posted by Ben on September 10, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/field-guide-to-anyplace-usa/
Bye Aliens, Hello World (Aliens, Stains, Books, Chicken Livers, & Atrocious Bad Luck)
Bye E.T.! Any chances of aliens finding Earth may soon disappear. Which isn’t to say that there ever was a chance, really, but if there was, it’s soon to be gone, mostly thanks to the decrease in signal leakage from the technology around us. Television broadcast antennas—which put out a fairly significant amount of radio-waves—are […]
Posted by Ben on September 8, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/bye-aliens/
Best of Lethal Nonlethal Weapon Brainstorming
Do you like inventing nonlethal weapons, but find yourself falling short on ideas? Look here, where you can find all SORTS of ideas for nonlethal weapons, thanks to the folks at the USAF Institute for National Security Studies. The one problem being that the authors seem to be a little unclear on the concept of […]
Posted by Ben on September 2, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/best-of-lethal-nonlethal-weapon-brainstorming/
Jerry weighs in on Eco-policy blunders!
Apologies for the unnecessary exclamation point. But I had to draw your attention in somehow, and now that you’re here, let me say what I have to say and get it over with. The editor of the American Chemical Society (of all organizations) rants on idiotic environmental non-policies. On his list—allegedly “inspired by TV’s David […]
Posted by Ben on August 31, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/jerry-weighs-in-on-eco-policy-blunders/
That’s disgusting. So what?
“What, precisely, is so bad about sex between adult siblings, bestiality, and the eating of corpses?” I’m glad you asked. Paul Bloom of Yale looks at the oft-irrational premises of disgust in modern times, delving also into its more ancient roots to look at where disgust comes from (for those who don’t want to read […]
Posted by Ben on August 27, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/thats-disgusting/
Traffic Paradox
There’s a new, highly sophisticated model for traffic prediction on the block. Which would be helpful, if you happen to be driving the Autobahn. What’s interesting is that the new model predicts traffic with a high degree of accuracy, but may well make itself irrelevant as more and more people look to its predictions, and […]
Posted by Ben on August 17, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/traffic-paradox/
Scan this
Up-and-coming terahertz scanners would allow security staff to see people as if naked; more up-and-coming yet is a handheld terahertz scanner, which, rather than producing an on-screen image (and maybe making people uncomfortable, what with them being seen au naturel on some security screen for guards to snicker and chuckle at), would simply operate on […]
Posted by Ben on August 12, 2004
https://www.swordbilled.com/scan-this/