Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Hot Links

These days, drone aircraft deploy their own drones. Cicada is a strange choice for a name - too noisy for a stealthy drone.

Think you can train cats to walk on a leash? May be easier than herding them.

A new study indicates the ancient city of Angkor and the Khmer Empire may have been done in by a drought.

For many years, it was believed syphilis originated in the New World and spread to the Old World - actually introduced by Columbus' First Voyage. Native American populations were devastated by diseases introduced by Europeans after 1492, and syphilis is one of the few diseases to have gone the other direction. Lately, a number of researchers have claimed to have found instances of Precolumbian syphilis in Europe, casting doubt on that interpretation. Now a new study has reviewed 54 published studies of European evidence and finds them all in error, either through misidentification of skeletal evidence or problems with radiocarbon assays. This is the sort of academic controversey that will go on for decades, but my bet is on the New World origin.

Two companies that are working toward building solar thermal power plants here in the US are planning to store some of the heat in molten salt. This would allow them to continue generating electricity after the sun goes down.

This survey claims to rank America's top 25 drunkest cities and rates Boston number one. I have my doubts about any such survey where New Orleans doesn't crack the list.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This brings to mind our Sophie, a lovely little domestic long-hair tortie who was a rescue; she loved to dash out any open door, only to be come confused and frightened if she was more than 20 feet from the door. She was very willing to walk on a lead, would ride on my shoulder while I was walking, loved to be tethered near-by while I worked in the garden. She was the rarest of cats who also loved to ride in the car ...

Black Dog Lady