Interesting Stuff Thread

robindch

Opposition to wind farms, a bit like opposition to vaccines and fluoridation, has been growing over the last number of years thanks largely to a small number of uninformed or dishonest activists working mostly via social media.

Research suggests that complaints of illness attributed to nearby windfarms has nothing to do with the windfarms themselves, and everything to do with anti wind farm groups (a) targetting specific locations for complaints and (b) adding health concerns to their wider opposition.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0076584

TheChizler

robindch wrote: »

Opposition to wind farms, a bit like opposition to vaccines and fluoridation, has been growing over the last number of years thanks largely to a small number of uninformed or dishonest activists working mostly via social media.

Research suggests that complaints of illness attributed to nearby windfarms has nothing to do with the windfarms themselves, and everything to do with anti wind farm groups (a) targetting specific locations for complaints and (b) adding health concerns to their wider opposition.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0076584

There was a great thread in another forum which exemplified this perfectly. Campaigners going round to locals asking if they had any niggly health complaints, explaining that these were actually quite serious conditions, and informing them that wind farms were actually to blame and that rejecting them was key to 'salvation'.

Quite like religious pamphlet pushers. Same sh**, different bucket.

Edit: Infrasound, f*** sake. You'd get more low frequency noise from the wind shaking your house!

Gbear

robindch wrote: »

Opposition to wind farms, a bit like opposition to vaccines and fluoridation, has been growing over the last number of years thanks largely to a small number of uninformed or dishonest activists working mostly via social media.

Research suggests that complaints of illness attributed to nearby windfarms has nothing to do with the windfarms themselves, and everything to do with anti wind farm groups (a) targetting specific locations for complaints and (b) adding health concerns to their wider opposition.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0076584

There's a bunch of nonsense arguments associated with wind power - they kill birds (I doubt it's a big deal), they're ugly (I don't really think so but so are all power plants anyway), the space issue is less important (because as far as I know animals can graze on land with wind farms) and I suspect the "illnesses" are similar to those attributed to mobile phone towers (almost certainly absolute bollocks).


However just because some of the arguments are nonsense that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea. I'm a bit on the fence about the whole thing.
I find it difficult to judge whether data I've seen is trustworthy and tells the whole story when it comes to cost, subsidies and I've never read a clear explanation about how intermittency is dealt with.

Having better storage and transmission technology would get me a little more on board.

And, of course, no form of power generation exists in a vacuum. It doesn't just have to work, it has to be better.

TheChizler

There's definitely some concerns regards cost/transmission/storage but in this country it seems so be working pretty well so far. A couple of years ago on a good day wind powered generation hit 50% of the total generated!

The above are legitimate concerns but I just see red when people scaremonger with pseudoscientific bollox.

Gbear

TheChizler wrote: »

There's definitely some concerns regards cost/transmission/storage but in this country it seems so be working pretty well so far. A couple of years ago on a good day wind powered generation hit 50% of the total generated!

That doesn't really say much though. On a calm day it could be **** all%.

TheChizler

Gbear wrote: »

That doesn't really say much though. On a calm day it could be **** all%.

Well it's only indicative of potential. More relevantly it hovers on average around 11%, which is still pretty good considering how recently we got into the game.

endacl

Could we relocate the Dail to point at a wind farm? The hot air generated on any given day should be more than enough to allow us to do away with all other forms of supply. The chamber might as well be given over to some useful purpose...

recedite

Gbear wrote: »

There's a bunch of nonsense arguments associated with wind power - they kill birds (I doubt it's a big deal),

There was a study done in the UK on this; they do kill some birds.
However, they also found that cars kill twice as many birds as wind turbines, and cats 20 times as many.

robindch

Gbear wrote: »

There's a bunch of nonsense arguments associated with wind power - they kill birds (I doubt it's a big deal), they're ugly (I don't really think so but so are all power plants anyway), the space issue is less important (because as far as I know animals can graze on land with wind farms) and I suspect the "illnesses" are similar to those attributed to mobile phone towers (almost certainly absolute bollocks).

To which list you could have added "lower the price of your house", only the UK's Advertising Standards Authority has banned a leaflet which makes that claim:

http://www.advertiser.ie/mullingar/article/63017/uk-ruling-strengthens-midlands-windfarm-project-

Advertiser wrote:

[...] “There is no peer-reviewed research which definitively states that wind turbines have a negative impact on property prices. It was very interesting to see the British Advertising Standards Authority move to ban claims that windfarms depress property prices last month,” said CEO of Element Power Ireland, Tim Cowhig.

Element Power is the company behind the Greenwire project, a plan to erect 600 wind turbines across five Midland counties in an €8bn project to sell 3,000 megawatts of electricity to the UK by 2018. One hundred of these are planned to be erected on private land in Westmeath.

Mr Cowhig went on to say that “Spurious claims that windfarms cause a drop in the value of adjacent properties were being made on a regular basis by a small group of anti-wind campaigners in the Midlands”.

“I think the ruling by the ASA sets a precedent that false and mischievous claims about wind energy are not going to go unchallenged. Our company is committed to providing factual peer-reviewed information and that is what we have been doing through our public information days in counties Kildare, Laois, Meath, Offaly, and Westmeath.

“Some people may not like or agree with the information we are providing, however, they shouldn’t try to mislead, confuse, or muddy the waters by peddling information which is factually incorrect. Minister Pat Rabbitte summarised the issue best on local radio last week when he said the concerns which were being whipped up and preyed on by anti-wind campaigners were ‘entirely unfounded’ and amounted to ‘unnecessary fear’,” concluded Mr Cowhig.

Knex*

3D printing is something that really excites me, so its rather cool to see how a Father managed to create a prosthetic hand for his son at a fraction of the cost.

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/man-makes-3d-printed-prosthetic-hand-son-only-10

robindch

For any grammar fascists who've been subjected to intemperate lectures about their intolerable habit of putting an two spaces after a full stop instead of one, well, here comes the history:

http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324

MrPudding

robindch wrote: »

For any grammar fascists who've been subjected to intemperate lectures about their intolerable habit of putting an two spaces after a full stop instead of one, well, here comes the history:

http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324

Well, that explains why the OSCOLA guide has double spaces. I thought there must be something in it if they are doing it, but never got round to checking.

MrP

TheChizler

robindch wrote: »

For any grammar fascists who've been subjected to intemperate lectures about their intolerable habit of putting an two spaces after a full stop instead of one, well, here comes the history:

http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=324

Halfway through that article I realized they were using double spaces. Couldn't finish it.

robindch

Worried about antibiotic resistance in humans?

Well, you can now also worry about it in crows, gulls, houseflies, moths, foxes, frogs, sharks and whales, as well as in sand and coastal water samples from California and Washington.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=flying-the-coop-antibiotic-resistance-spreads-to-birds-other-wildlife

Sulla Felix

What's the problem, it's not like the deadliest pathogens in human history have been shown to be hothoused in animal popul... oh.

darjeeling

The rise of the machines continues. Not content with chess, they can now beat us at rock-paper-scissors too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVNnoOcohaU

Just hand over your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle already. It's not going to get any better.

Didn't they do that a few years ago already?

robindch

If you've ever wondered what question could be answered by the sentence "For most larger mammals, a surprisingly constant 20 seconds or so", then wonder no longer:

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/23/new-law-of-urination-mammals-take-21-seconds-to-pee/

darjeeling

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Didn't they do that a few years ago already?

I think they sent it through time.

gaynorvader

darjeeling wrote: »

The rise of the machines continues. Not content with chess, they can now beat us at rock-paper-scissors too:

{link removed}

Just hand over your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle already. It's not going to get any better.

It's cheating!

kiffer

gaynorvader wrote: »

It's cheating!

I'd be much more impressed if it analysed your previous throws and won slightly more often than chance.
Or if it analysed your body movements and predicted before your hand formed paper, rock or scissors.
"Human's arm is moving 5% faster than an average throw, probably going to throw rock"
"Human has leaned slightly forward, probably throwing scissors."
That kind of thing.
That said if I recall the rules of competition level roshambo a misformed throw counts as rock? If for example you intend to throw paper and you throw for some reason don't fully unfold your hand and there is any ambiguity then it's rock.
So to beat this cheat bot you just need to throw something it miss identifies as paper but because it's a baf thrie counts as rock... it'll play scissors and you'll win.
Unless it's been programmed to throw paper if it can't identify your throw... those sneaky robots.

Turtwig

Bleh will it win at this?


Interactive version.

darjeeling

gaynorvader wrote: »

It's cheating!

This is what happens when you raise robots without religion.

<runs away>

joseph brand

Herbal Supplements Are Often Not What They Seem.

Americans spend an estimated $5 billion a year on unproven herbal supplements that promise everything from fighting off colds to curbing hot flashes and boosting memory. But now there is a new reason for supplement buyers to beware: DNA tests show that many pills labeled as healing herbs are little more than powdered rice and weeds.

Using a test called DNA barcoding, a kind of genetic fingerprinting that has also been used to help uncover labeling fraud in the commercial seafood industry, Canadian researchers tested 44 bottles of popular supplements sold by 12 companies. They found that many were not what they claimed to be, and that pills labeled as popular herbs were often diluted — or replaced entirely — by cheap fillers like soybean, wheat and rice.

Among their findings were bottles of echinacea supplements, used by millions of Americans to prevent and treat colds, that contained ground up bitter weed, Parthenium hysterophorus, an invasive plant found in India and Australia that has been linked to rashes, nausea and flatulence.

Two bottles labeled as St. John’s wort, which studies have shown may treat mild depression, contained none of the medicinal herb. Instead, the pills in one bottle were made of nothing but rice, and another bottle contained only Alexandrian senna, an Egyptian yellow shrub that is a powerful laxative. Gingko biloba supplements, promoted as memory enhancers, were mixed with fillers and black walnut, a potentially deadly hazard for people with nut allergies.

Of 44 herbal supplements tested, one-third showed outright substitution, meaning there was no trace of the plant advertised on the bottle — only another plant in its place.

Many were adulterated with ingredients not listed on the label, like rice, soybean and wheat, which are used as fillers.

There's nothing like a good dose of 'the running gutters', to let you know the pills are working. I can't help thinking about the brilliant sketch from Mitchell and Webb. But, are herbal supplements slightly different than homoeopathy?

I suppose some herbs might be good for something, as long as you get what you're paying for, and not just ground rice. But, I wouldn't know, since I've never resorted to 'alternative medicine'.

Turtwig

The thing about alternative medicine is that the regulations are way less strict than regular medicine. They can make the most ridiculous of claims about their produce on their labels and get away with it. Manufacturing and fabrication controls aren't near as restrictive. Which is sad too because a lot of people don't seem to realise that any substance inside your body has potential to do either good or bad. This notion that artificial medicines are the only bad stuff is so wrong on so many levels. Just because it has apparently 'natural' ingredients don't mean it's going to be good for your body.

recedite

Of 44 herbal supplements tested, one-third showed outright substitution, meaning there was no trace of the plant advertised on the bottle — only another plant in its place.

But did any of the people taking the "medicines" notice?
The thing about a placebo, its actual composition is not very important

gaynorvader

recedite wrote: »

But did any of the people taking the "medicines" notice?
The thing about a placebo, its actual composition is not very important

Personally I'm quite partial to placebos laced with mint.

recedite

I like a basic unflavoured sugar pill myself. I take one in the morning and two in the evening.

robindch

What about taking no homeopathic crap at all -- at zero concentration, shouldn't it be infinitely effective?

recedite

At zero concentration, the efficacy of the active ingredient is infinitely high, but on the other hand you are missing out 100% on the placebo effect.
So its important to strike a balance with the various factors at work here.

Turtwig

recedite wrote: »

At zero concentration, the efficacy of the active ingredient is infinitely high, but on the other hand you are missing out 100% on the placebo effect.
So its important to strike a balance with the various factors at work here.

"Increase Placebo by 100% you say.. . I'LL TAKE IT!"

Sarky

Racist who tried creating white-only enclave turns out to have African descent. He's not happy. But who cares, this story nearly made me rupture something from laughter.

Genghiz Cohen

joseph brand wrote: »

I suppose some herbs might be good for something, as long as you get what you're paying for, and not just ground rice. But, I wouldn't know, since I've never resorted to 'alternative medicine'.

Herbal supplements are completely different given that they should have active ingredient. St Johns Wort for example (according to the Snake Oil Supplements chart) has useful properties for fighting depression. Where a Homeopathic Remedy would be something that causes effects like depression diluted to a ridiculous scale.

Cabaal

some interesting stats

Sarky

Makes Ireland look like a very confused place that doesn't know what it wants. How strange.

Hotblack Desiato

So something like a third of thirtysomethings disapprove of sex before marriage? WTF??

darjeeling

ninja900 wrote: »

So something like a third of thirtysomethings disapprove of sex before marriage? WTF??

Maybe it's the marriage bit they don't like.

Hotblack Desiato

It's also interesting that the females are generally more disapproving of everything :pac:

kiffer

ninja900 wrote: »

It's also interesting that the females are generally more disapproving of everything :pac:

I'm sure that's statistically negligible and a result of patriarchy.
More men disapproved of sex before marriage?
I question the whole data set simply because I don't know a single person in their 30s who says blue movie.

swampgas

ninja900 wrote: »

So something like a third of thirtysomethings disapprove of sex before marriage? WTF??

Hmmm. Maybe when asked they will say they disapprove, that doesn't mean they won't actually engage in pre-marital sex. There is that old trope about Catholics getting a kick out of sex being sinful, guilty and dirty!

So maybe for some of them what they're really saying that sex before marriage is "wrong", but that's the way they like it. Of course there must be quite a few so damaged by Catholic guilt and shame that they really do see sex as something bad.

Brian Shanahan

swampgas wrote: »

So maybe for some of them what they're really saying that sex before marriage is "wrong", but that's the way they like it. Of course there must be quite a few so damaged by Catholic guilt and shame that they really do see sex as something bad.

Jebus! Now I'm getting images of 1/3 of my clubmates donning bondage gear before getting it on!

And I've a match Saturday. Pain will take the memory away.

Hotblack Desiato

Depends what kind of club it is :pac:

Brian Shanahan

ninja900 wrote: »

Depends what kind of club it is :pac:

GAA.

seamus

kiffer wrote: »

I'm sure that's statistically negligible and a result of patriarchy.
More men disapproved of sex before marriage?

I'd say if you dig into that, more men disapprove of women having sex before marriage, rather than themselves. I don't believe I've ever met a single man who has said they don't want sex before they're married, but plenty who would like to have a virgin wife.

Knex*

seamus wrote: »

I'd say if you dig into that, more men disapprove of women having sex before marriage, rather than themselves. I don't believe I've ever met a single man who has said they don't want sex before they're married, but plenty who would like to have a virgin wife.

I'd have to agree. However, a virgin wife sounds like a terrible idea to me, in all honesty.

Delirium

RNA controls splicing during gene expression, further evidence of 'RNA world' origin in modern life

RNA is the key functional component of spliceosomes, molecular machines that control how genes are expressed, report scientists from the University of Chicago online, Nov. 6 in Nature. The discovery establishes that RNA, not protein, is responsible for catalyzing this fundamental biological process and enriches the hypothesis that life on earth began in a world based solely on RNA.

"Two of the three major processes in eukaryotic gene expression—splicing and translation—are now shown to be catalyzed by RNA," said Jonathan Staley, PhD, associate professor of molecular genetics and cell biology at the University of Chicago and co-corresponding author on the study. "The eukaryotic gene expression pathway is more of an RNA-based pathway than protein-based."

For genes to be expressed, DNA must be translated into proteins, the structural and functional molecules that catalyze chemical reactions necessary for life. To do so, genetic information stored in DNA is first copied into strands of messenger RNA (mRNA), which are subsequently used to create proteins.

kiffer

seamus wrote: »

I'd say if you dig into that, more men disapprove of women having sex before marriage, rather than themselves. I don't believe I've ever met a single man who has said they don't want sex before they're married, but plenty who would like to have a virgin wife.

I considered that... but only after I had posted...
But in fairness you've got to try before you buy, and while I'm sure there are a lot of men who would want to marry someone who hasn't been "sullied" by another man those men would still like to make sure everything was a go go and not no no...?

Sarky

Sweden is closing some prisons because they just don't have enough criminals to put in them.

Brian Shanahan

kiffer wrote: »

I considered that... but only after I had posted...
But in fairness you've got to try before you buy, and while I'm sure there are a lot of men who would want to marry someone who hasn't been "sullied" by another man those men would still like to make sure everything was a go go and not no no...?

Well in all honesty in this case I agree with Winston.

Hotblack Desiato

Sarky wrote: »

Sweden is closing some prisons because they just don't have enough criminals to put in them.

Would they take some of ours?