26.3.08
US company plans tourist spaceship
US company plans tourist spaceship
A California aerospace company plans to enter the space tourism industry with a two-seat rocket ship capable of suborbital flights to altitudes more than 37 miles above the Earth.
The Lynx, about the size of a small private plane, is expected to begin flying in 2010, according to developer Xcor Aerospace, which planned to release details of the design at a news conference later on Wednesday.
The company also said that, pending the outcome of negotiations, the Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded it a research contract to develop and test features of the Lynx. No details were released.
Xcor's announcement comes two months after aerospace designer Burt Rutan and billionaire Sir Richard Branson unveiled a model of SpaceShipTwo, which is being built for Sir Richard's Virgin Galactic space tourism company and may begin test flights this year.
Xcor intends to be a spaceship builder, with another company operating the Lynx and setting prices.
The Lynx is designed to take off from a runway like a normal plane, reach a top speed of Mach 2 and an altitude of 200,000 feet, then descend in a circling glide to a runway landing.
Shaped something like a bulked-up version of the Rutan-designed Long-EZ homebuilt aircraft, its wings will be located toward the rear of the fuselage, with vertical winglets at the tips.
Powered by clean-burning, fully reuseable, liquid-fuel engines, the Lynx is expected to be capable of making several flights a day, Xcor said.
10 tips on how to avoid a messy divorce
1. Don't employ aggressive or combative lawyers.
Do it yourself using a self-help guide, such as Lawpack's DIY Separation & Divorce Kit, or use only tried and tested lawyers that have been recommended by your friends. Resolution (formerly known as the Solicitors' Family Law Association) is a group of family lawyers who are committed to dealing with divorces in a non-aggressive way and who will point you in the right direction if you need help finding a lawyer with the right amicable approach.
2. Protect your children.
Never involve them in the fall out between you and your spouse, and absolutely never use them as pawns so you can achieve your financial goals. The courts take a very dim view (and quite rightly) of parents who deny or offer contact to their children in return for some financial gain. It has been established that children are not so much affected by their parent's divorce as by the way their parents behave towards each other before, during and after the divorce. Don't let your divorce give your children a legacy of unhappiness and difficult relationships of their own.
3. Be dignified.
Don't conduct your dealings with your soon-to-be ex as though you're in the middle of a battle. Keep your communications measured and don't allow yourself to become personal or critical of your spouse or their lawyer. Whenever you are feeling really angry, avoid writing or picking up the phone - wait a day or two when you will be feeling calmer.
4. Tell the truth.
This is an absolute must in all matters financial, or you may find yourself being penalised by the court. Truth in all matters, even if it hurts, is by far the best policy. If you try to hide things and you're found out, your spouse will delve into your affairs in such a way as to increase your costs and theirs, and they will be unlikely to want to reach an early settlement. You could even find that your costs go through the roof.
5. Be empathetic.
Everybody goes through various emotional stages during a divorce - anger, bitterness, sadness, etc. - but not necessarily at the same time. If your spouse seems to be finding it extra tough at a time when you're bouncing back and feeling fine, give them some time and they will catch up with you. Trying to force people into a situation that they are not yet ready for can be cruel and expensive.
6. Mediate or collaborate.
Court proceedings and lawyers are not the only way to reach agreements and settle divorce disputes. Contact familymediationhelpline.co.uk or collaborativefamilylawyers.co.uk for more details of how these procedures work and where to find expert mediators/collaborative lawyers.
7. Don't fight on principle.
Be pragmatic in your approach to the issues that will arise and bear in mind the costs of your fight (both emotionally and financially), as well as the value of what you're trying to gain. The legal buzzword is 'proportionality'. Keep it in mind at all times.
8. Don't flaunt the new love of your life in front of your soon-to-be ex or your children.
Your spouse will not feel better after finding out that you're happy and getting on with life and, however hard they try, it's likely to increase their feelings of hostility and anger about the situation. Children should not be introduced to your new squeeze without you being absolutely sure that your new relationship is stable and, preferably, you should have consent from your spouse about the meeting. Go slowly. If this is a relationship that has staying power, you can afford to hang on.
9. Don't rush into things.
You're not on a short fuse and it's rare that you need to get on with things quickly (unless foreign jurisdictions are involved). Emotions tend to run very high shortly after separation and this doesn't help a couple to sort things out amicably and rationally. Therefore, wait a while before you start the legal ball rolling. Let the dust settle and you may find things slot into place all the more easily as a result.
10. Step back when the going gets hot.
Your nearest and dearest may well say everything you wish to hear when things get bad, but this may not be what you need. Listen, instead, to those who are not afraid to question you and if this means that you have to pay for independent advice from a lawyer or counsellor, so be it. It could well be money well spent.
Do it yourself using a self-help guide, such as Lawpack's DIY Separation & Divorce Kit, or use only tried and tested lawyers that have been recommended by your friends. Resolution (formerly known as the Solicitors' Family Law Association) is a group of family lawyers who are committed to dealing with divorces in a non-aggressive way and who will point you in the right direction if you need help finding a lawyer with the right amicable approach.
2. Protect your children.
Never involve them in the fall out between you and your spouse, and absolutely never use them as pawns so you can achieve your financial goals. The courts take a very dim view (and quite rightly) of parents who deny or offer contact to their children in return for some financial gain. It has been established that children are not so much affected by their parent's divorce as by the way their parents behave towards each other before, during and after the divorce. Don't let your divorce give your children a legacy of unhappiness and difficult relationships of their own.
3. Be dignified.
Don't conduct your dealings with your soon-to-be ex as though you're in the middle of a battle. Keep your communications measured and don't allow yourself to become personal or critical of your spouse or their lawyer. Whenever you are feeling really angry, avoid writing or picking up the phone - wait a day or two when you will be feeling calmer.
4. Tell the truth.
This is an absolute must in all matters financial, or you may find yourself being penalised by the court. Truth in all matters, even if it hurts, is by far the best policy. If you try to hide things and you're found out, your spouse will delve into your affairs in such a way as to increase your costs and theirs, and they will be unlikely to want to reach an early settlement. You could even find that your costs go through the roof.
5. Be empathetic.
Everybody goes through various emotional stages during a divorce - anger, bitterness, sadness, etc. - but not necessarily at the same time. If your spouse seems to be finding it extra tough at a time when you're bouncing back and feeling fine, give them some time and they will catch up with you. Trying to force people into a situation that they are not yet ready for can be cruel and expensive.
6. Mediate or collaborate.
Court proceedings and lawyers are not the only way to reach agreements and settle divorce disputes. Contact familymediationhelpline.co.uk or collaborativefamilylawyers.co.uk for more details of how these procedures work and where to find expert mediators/collaborative lawyers.
7. Don't fight on principle.
Be pragmatic in your approach to the issues that will arise and bear in mind the costs of your fight (both emotionally and financially), as well as the value of what you're trying to gain. The legal buzzword is 'proportionality'. Keep it in mind at all times.
8. Don't flaunt the new love of your life in front of your soon-to-be ex or your children.
Your spouse will not feel better after finding out that you're happy and getting on with life and, however hard they try, it's likely to increase their feelings of hostility and anger about the situation. Children should not be introduced to your new squeeze without you being absolutely sure that your new relationship is stable and, preferably, you should have consent from your spouse about the meeting. Go slowly. If this is a relationship that has staying power, you can afford to hang on.
9. Don't rush into things.
You're not on a short fuse and it's rare that you need to get on with things quickly (unless foreign jurisdictions are involved). Emotions tend to run very high shortly after separation and this doesn't help a couple to sort things out amicably and rationally. Therefore, wait a while before you start the legal ball rolling. Let the dust settle and you may find things slot into place all the more easily as a result.
10. Step back when the going gets hot.
Your nearest and dearest may well say everything you wish to hear when things get bad, but this may not be what you need. Listen, instead, to those who are not afraid to question you and if this means that you have to pay for independent advice from a lawyer or counsellor, so be it. It could well be money well spent.
12.3.08
11.3.08
Japan moves beyond HDTV
A research laboratory in Japan is working on a video format that goes far beyond even regular (and still relatively new) high definition television. This technology, named Super Hi-Vision, delivers a screen with 16 times the pixel resolution of an ordinary HDTV screen, giving a sharper, more detailed picture.
This ultra high definition television is so cutting edge that the researchers working for NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster, had to build their own camera to produce test footage for demonstration purposes - they combined 16 normal HDTV recorders.
NHK claims that Super Hi-Vision provides clearer images with a wider viewing angle, for a result 'so real that viewers feel as if they were actually at the site of the broadcast and find themselves attempting to touch what's on the screen.'
The BBC, who often collaborates with NHK on programme production, is planning to use NHK's technology to screen coverage of the 2012 Olympic games on big screens in city centres across the UK.
But for the time being, Super Hi-Vision can only be found in Tokyo, at NHK's Broadcasting Centre, where it is projected onto a 10 by 5.5 metre screen. Full-time public broadcasting in ultra high definition is planned to begin in 2025.
10.3.08
8.3.08
Microsoft Table Top PC
A Microsoft representative demonstrates a $10,000 coffee table PC, the Surface. It features touchscreen technology that can sense and process multiple touches at the same time and "turns an ordinary tabletop into a vibrant interactive surface." It's intended for enhancing customer experiences inside retail stores -- or perhaps creating some really cool bar games. At the moment the Surface is available only to select partners in the United States, although Microsoft was gauging a possible entry into the European market.
Bollograph 3D Visualisations
Soscho co-founder Christian Lepper and inventor Peter Boll pose with their "bollograph," a monitor that takes data from a 3-D application and renders it in three dimensions under a dome, where it is viewable from all sides. Possible applications, according to Boll and Lepper, include real-time 3-D TV broadcasts, 3-D cinema, medical uses and flight control.
4.3.08
Doomsday Film by Neil Marshal TV Spots
Here's a sneak preview of the UK poster, soon to be seen at a tube station and/or bus shelter near you!
Overtones of a North South divide in the UK.
I'm a big fan of Neil Marshall's, I loved the black humour of Dog Soldiers where a bunch of squadies square up to werewolves.
Four television promos for Neil Marshall's Doomsday are making their exclusive web debut with shock till you drop today. Marshall's latest endeavor since the vicious 2006 horror film The Descent.
Stars Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell.
Neil Marshall's myspace:
www.myspace.com/shockmeister
Are you being secretly manipulated?
Does your self-esteem change according to approval or disapproval from others? Always end up apologising simply to keep the peace? If so, you may well have been 'gaslighted'. We talk to psychologist Dr Robin Stern, author of The Gaslight Effect, about spotting and stopping this type of manipulation.
Taking its name from the classic 1944 film, Gaslight, in which Ingrid Bergman plays a woman who suffers at the hands of her manipulative and scheming husband, Stern believes that this particular form of insidious bullying is startlingly common - and can be emotionally devastating.
"The Gaslight Effect results from a relationship between two people; a gaslighter - who needs to be right in order to preserve his own sense of self and his sense of having power in the world - and a gaslightee, who allows him to define her sense of reality.
"Gaslighters and gaslightees can be of either gender, and gaslighting can happen in any type of relationship including with your boss as well as your partner, but I refer to gaslighters as 'he' and gaslightees as 'she' since that's the pairing I most often see in my practice.
"What is remarkable is that most people who experience this kind of manipulation are actually very successful in every other area of their lives and could never imagine themselves in an abusive relationship, but this is such a gradual process that it tends to creep up on them - and by the time they realise it the damage is usually already done," she adds.
She believes women are generally very good at empathising - having been socialised to be people-pleasers - and that it comes naturally for us to put ourselves in other people's shoes.
"The problem," she says, "is that women often fall into the empathy trap, which tends to occur when we become so good at trying to understand where someone else is coming from and how they're feeling that, almost imperceptibly, we start to see things from their perspective.
"Suddenly one's own feelings and sense of reality take a second seat and you will often end up apologising for someone else's behaviour, feeling unsure of yourself and your opinions, losing the courage of your convictions and, over time, essentially forgetting who you are," she cautions.
"Suddenly one's own feelings and sense of reality take a second seat and you will often end up apologising for someone else's behaviour, feeling unsure of yourself and your opinions, losing the courage of your convictions and, over time, essentially forgetting who you are," she cautions.
The warning signs
The Gaslight Effect may not involve all of the experiences or feelings Stern has identified below, but if you recognise any of them in your own relationships, there's a good chance that you may be a victim.
1. You are constantly second-guessing yourself and ask yourself, 'Am I too sensitive?' a dozen times a day.
2. You are always apologising to your mother, father, boyfriend or boss and wonder frequently if you are a "good enough" girlfriend/wife/employee/friend/daughter.
3. You can't understand why, with so many apparently good things in your life, you aren't happier.
4. You frequently make excuses for your partner's behaviour to friends and family.
5. You find yourself withholding information from friends and family so you don't have to explain or make excuses.
6. You start lying to avoid the put-downs and have trouble making simple decisions.
7. You think twice before bringing up certain seemingly innocent topics of conversation.
8. You have a sense that you used to be a very different person.
9. You feel as though you can't do anything right.
10. You find yourself furious with people you've always got along with before.
How to fight back
"The most important thing is to identify what is going on because once you understand what is really happening in your life then that in turn is very empowering," says Stern.
"Once you realise that you have your own part to play in the situation then you automatically have control over stopping it."
The next step is to immediately recognise the Gaslight Effect when it comes up, and to tackle it head on, according to Stern.
"It's a time to opt out of the conversation and to say that, although you respect that person, you are going to have to agree to differ, and thus remove yourself from a potentially volatile situation," she advises.
"Remember, you always have the power to set that boundary and you have the right to be in a relationship where people show respect to you - and if this is not the case then you can simply say, without being belittling or aggressive, that you don't like the way you are being spoken to at the moment or, in the long-term, work out whether or not you really want to stay with that person or in that job, or to leave.
"The ultimate power that we have in any relationship is the power to withdraw. We don't have the power to change somebody's mind or to make them think differently - although we can try!"
The Gaslight Effect may not involve all of the experiences or feelings Stern has identified below, but if you recognise any of them in your own relationships, there's a good chance that you may be a victim.
1. You are constantly second-guessing yourself and ask yourself, 'Am I too sensitive?' a dozen times a day.
2. You are always apologising to your mother, father, boyfriend or boss and wonder frequently if you are a "good enough" girlfriend/wife/employee/friend/daughter.
3. You can't understand why, with so many apparently good things in your life, you aren't happier.
4. You frequently make excuses for your partner's behaviour to friends and family.
5. You find yourself withholding information from friends and family so you don't have to explain or make excuses.
6. You start lying to avoid the put-downs and have trouble making simple decisions.
7. You think twice before bringing up certain seemingly innocent topics of conversation.
8. You have a sense that you used to be a very different person.
9. You feel as though you can't do anything right.
10. You find yourself furious with people you've always got along with before.
How to fight back
"The most important thing is to identify what is going on because once you understand what is really happening in your life then that in turn is very empowering," says Stern.
"Once you realise that you have your own part to play in the situation then you automatically have control over stopping it."
The next step is to immediately recognise the Gaslight Effect when it comes up, and to tackle it head on, according to Stern.
"It's a time to opt out of the conversation and to say that, although you respect that person, you are going to have to agree to differ, and thus remove yourself from a potentially volatile situation," she advises.
"Remember, you always have the power to set that boundary and you have the right to be in a relationship where people show respect to you - and if this is not the case then you can simply say, without being belittling or aggressive, that you don't like the way you are being spoken to at the moment or, in the long-term, work out whether or not you really want to stay with that person or in that job, or to leave.
"The ultimate power that we have in any relationship is the power to withdraw. We don't have the power to change somebody's mind or to make them think differently - although we can try!"
Recognising Depression
As a major new study finds that anti-depressant drugs don't work for the majority of people who take them, this raises all sorts of concerns for the one in 10 people who suffer from serious depression.
Probably the main reason for this is that depression has become a catch-all diagnosis that some respected researchers say covers many other emotional and psychological conditions like anxiety, stress, and the unhappiness from distressing life events like divorce and bereavement.
The most important thing I'd like to say to you if you are presently on anti-depressant medication is that you should not stop taking your medication without the guidance of your doctor!
Despite the findings of this report, anyone on medication needs to come off of it in a supervised manner.
Despite the findings of this report, anyone on medication needs to come off of it in a supervised manner.
The second important point I'd like to make is that anti-depressants like Prozac, Seroxat, Efexor and others, might work very well for you as an individual and you should not worry when hearing about this research that you're doing the wrong thing taking them if they have benefited you!
Now, let's consider the fact that there's a real positive to come out of this report - that we can now re-focus our minds on how best to help those who suffer with depression and who are not helped by anti-depressants.
• Let your nearest and dearest know that you have concerns about your well-being. Don't keep these blue feelings secret. Keeping them to yourself can worsen them.
• Go to your doctor and book a double appointment so that you have plenty of time to go through your symptoms.
• It's terribly important while you're getting help to decrease any demands on your time that you can. The fewer demands that you have in your life, the quicker you can recover. This is about setting limits and learning to assert yourself because many people who get depression struggle with setting boundaries and saying No to other people's demands for their time.
• Make sure you eat well and don't rely on pre-packaged ready meals that may have too much salt, sugar and other additives that are not good for your mood.
• Try to establish a good sleep routine.
• Allow yourself one small nap or rest during the day but avoid staying in bed.
• Take gentle exercise every day to boost your endorphins - those feel-good brain chemicals.
• Try keeping a journal so that you can keep tabs on how your mood goes up and down.
• Get to know what things actually set you off as people are more likely to suffer more depressive episodes if they do not sort out the root cause.
• Begin to learn to talk about your feelings to other people so that you feel you have better communication and stronger relationships - definitely a protective factor that helps protect you from future depression.
• Question whether you're a bit of a perfectionist and need to accept yourself more. Realise the fact that no one is perfect. The seemingly "strongest" and most compassionate people I've ever met have often been depressives! But they must learn to say No to helping others when they need to be gentler and help themselves.
• If you and your doctor think it's appropriate then get counselling. There are different types of counselling but cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been successful for many people with depression. It teaches them how to rethink about their world and challenge any negative beliefs that feed their depression. If you end up going for a "talking cure" with some form of counselling you'll find one interesting point many counsellors talk about is "surrendering to your depression and acknowledging it". In a sense they urge you to "embrace it" so that you can then actually face it head-on. The basis for this is that if you don't wholeheartedly face it and embrace it than you may stay in denial about what's causing it.
Where Does Depression Come From?
Although every person's set of symptoms and experience of depression is unique there are a few major causes, these are:
Reactive depression - where you're "reacting" to some sort of life events like divorce or bereavement.
Chronic depression - a long-term depression that may have resulted from something like a difficult or traumatic childhood or event, or work from a disturbance in your brain chemistry.
Bipolar disorder - manic depression where people experience extreme highs followed by extreme lows.
Postnatal depression (illness) - after the birth of a baby, women may suffer this either in a very minor form right through to a much more serious condition.
SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder that affects people in the autumn and winter months and is tied into lack of sunlight.
Useful contacts
- besides your own doctor you can find more information and help at:
The Depression Alliance - http://www.depressionalliance.org/
Depression Anonymous - http://www.depressionanonmymous.org/
The SAD Association - http://www.sada.org.uk/
Clinical depression - http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/
Sane - http://www.sane.org.uk/
Postnatal illness - http://www.pni.org.uk/
The Samaritans - 08457-90-90-90
Reactive depression - where you're "reacting" to some sort of life events like divorce or bereavement.
Chronic depression - a long-term depression that may have resulted from something like a difficult or traumatic childhood or event, or work from a disturbance in your brain chemistry.
Bipolar disorder - manic depression where people experience extreme highs followed by extreme lows.
Postnatal depression (illness) - after the birth of a baby, women may suffer this either in a very minor form right through to a much more serious condition.
SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder that affects people in the autumn and winter months and is tied into lack of sunlight.
Useful contacts
- besides your own doctor you can find more information and help at:
The Depression Alliance - http://www.depressionalliance.org/
Depression Anonymous - http://www.depressionanonmymous.org/
The SAD Association - http://www.sada.org.uk/
Clinical depression - http://www.clinical-depression.co.uk/
Sane - http://www.sane.org.uk/
Postnatal illness - http://www.pni.org.uk/
The Samaritans - 08457-90-90-90
Health benifits of different tea
The team at Dundee University this week announced that several black tea constituents, known as theaflavins and thearubigins, mimicked the action of insulin. While the scientists stressed that further research is needed, black tea is also full of free-radical fighting antioxidants which protect the heart and fight cancer.
Peppermint tea is most commonly linked with aiding digestion. The menthol content is widely believed to ease problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches and is even thought to help control mild asthma, stress and protect us from the common cold.
An incredibly popular herbal tea, camomile tea is best known for aiding sleep, but has also been linked to fighting off colds, menstrual cramps, inflammation and muscle spasms. Camomile tea also has high antioxidant levels.
The far east has always been one step ahead with its magical potion that is green tea. This tea is made up of polyphenols which are considered the most potent antioxidants. Green tea has been linked to health benefits such as stabilising diabetes, aiding digestion, assisting in weight loss programmes, and slowing the aging process. These antioxidants have also been found to help lessen high cholesterol.
Indigenous to the South African herb 'rooibus,' red tea provides all the benefits of green tea and more - all without caffeine. The wonder tea contains zinc and alapa hydroxyl acid for healthy skin, magnesium for a healthy central nervous sytem, and calcium, manganese, and fluoride for healthy teeth and bones. Studies have also shown that red tea has a soothing property and can be used directly on the skin to relieve irritation.
Jasmine tea, made from green tea leaves with added jasmine flowers, comes with many of the same health benefits and is thought to be particularly good at lowering cholesterol levels.
New research suggests that white tea is now the healthiest of all. As the least processed of all teas, the health-benefitting ingredients of white tea are preserved instead of lost. It contains the highest level of polyphenols, known as disease-preventing antioxidants, and has ten times the antioxidants found in vitamin E and twenty times the antioxidants found in vitamin C.
Like many of our other teas, Oolong is rich in antioxidant polyphenols which prevent cancer and keep the heart in top shape. The added benefit of Oolong, however, is that it has much less caffeine than black tea.
1.3.08
Dive into Leeds's pool of art
A giant funnel has plunged into the city's defunct swimming pool. If only the space could be saved from demolition for more wonderful art installations ...
Emptied of water it makes an amazing space; if only it could be saved from demolition, that play on the famous hymn could be its new name. Amazing Space, the Tate Modern Turbine Hall of the north. The first, and alas only exhibitors, Germany's Office for Subversive Architecture, prove the point with a vast textile funnel from roof to, almost, pool floor tiles.
Called the Accumulator, the Leeds' funnel is notionally capable of catching the city's rainwater from the leaking roof at a rate that would refill the pool in 12 years. In Manchester it would probably take a week.
Susan Blackmore Interview with Wired
In the 1970s, Richard Dawkins coined the term "meme" in his book The Selfish Gene to refer to aspects of human culture and how they evolve in a way that's analogous to how genes evolve. Since then, the study of memes has become an evolving meme itself.
A meme is an idea or thing that is passed from person to person and is either adopted for its usefulness or other purpose -- in some cases becoming a wildly popular idea that can't be stopped -- or abandoned to die a quick and ignoble death. A meme can be a song or snippet of a song, a dance, an urban legend, an expression or behavior, a product brand or even a religion.
British scholar Susan Blackmore theorizes that the evolution of memes occurs outside of human beings' capacity to control it.
A meme is an idea or thing that is passed from person to person and is either adopted for its usefulness or other purpose -- in some cases becoming a wildly popular idea that can't be stopped -- or abandoned to die a quick and ignoble death. A meme can be a song or snippet of a song, a dance, an urban legend, an expression or behavior, a product brand or even a religion.
British scholar Susan Blackmore theorizes that the evolution of memes occurs outside of human beings' capacity to control it.
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