Alaya·Techne

Category: Uncategorized

  • LIP: Large Igneous Province

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    This is something that came up more than once recently while reading about geology. In a few places on Earth there are these areas where millions of years ago massive amounts of igneous rock plumed up from the Earth’s magma. They are called large igneous provinces or LIPs. This is very different than regular land…

  • Interesting mini “stick” computers

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      The above computer is a quad-core system that can run Android or Ubuntu. It has built-in wireless and bluetooth, USB port, HDMI video port, and micro SD card slot. Wow. The cost is around $100. Also mentioned in news articles recently: Less powerful CPU than above model but still nice and only $36.

  • Japanese writing desk

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    Saw this very fine black laquered writing desk. Unfortunately the scene does not show more detail such as the legs.

  • Is China more legitimate than the West?

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    A really interesting article at bbc.co.uk contrasts the recent selection of top leaders in the United States vs. China, and asks whether in fact China is more together. Think about this: In China the choice for the top leaders happened in a very civilized kind of way. In comparison, in the United States, the process…

  • RG12635137 The People of The State of CA v. Walgreen Co.

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    I’m reading now a complaint filed for unlimited civil, case # RG12635137 on 06/18/12 in Alameda County, California by district attorneys from multiple counties detailing severe and flagrant violations of environmental and privacy laws.  Walgreens is not the only company to have done this either.  There have been similar cases brought and won against Target,…

  • New thesis about homosexuality relating to epigenetics

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    Epigenetics is a very trippy area of research that is increasingly leading to completely new understanding of how the body works. The human DNA codebase if stretched out horizontally would stretch to 1.8 meters. Yet instead it winds around this material called chromatin and ends up being only tens of microns in width. This and…

  • The Ultimate Screen Rotation/Orientation Utility for Android

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    In the past I mentioned a useful app called Orientation Control which provides more fine-grained control over when and how the screen rotates on an Android device (in my case a Galaxy Tab tablet).  But I was still annoyed by the fact that with certain apps that I always want to launch in one particular…

  • Very Cool Solar Beads

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    [hana-flv-player video=”http://techne.alaya.net/files/2012/11/NHK-solar-fabric-2012.11.28.mp4″ width=”600″ description=”” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /]

  • Amazing: Tidal bores

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    [hana-flv-player video=”http://techne.alaya.net/files/2012/11/Qiantang-river-tidal-bore.flv” width=”600″ description=”Qiantang river tidal bore” player=”5″ autoload=”true” autoplay=”false” loop=”false” autorewind=”true” /] Tidal bores are when the water from a rising tide causes a current flow upstream against the flow of a river. It only happens with a small number of rivers on Earth and is a wondrous phenomenon.

  • 14-year old bicyclist killed

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    REDWOOD CITY — A pickup truck hit and killed a 14-year-old girl Monday morning as she rode her bike to school in what officials said appears to be a horrible accident. The girl, whose name was not released, was struck around 8:30 a.m. at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood…