The Bad Astronomer's selection of the best astronomical images for the year 2007. Several of the images are simply stunning but all are worthy of a viewing.

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The United States Government, Playboy, Western Union, and CD Universe are just a few of thousands of businesses & government departments that have been hacked into costing over a billion dollars of damages per year and climbing. The number of hackings will continue to climb because finance & organization will keep hackers ahead of the law.

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Encase it in concrete, truck it to a site, bury it underground, hook it up to a steam turbine and, voila, one would generate enough electricity to power a 25,000-home community for at least five years. The company Hyperion Power Generation was formed last month to develop the nuclear fission reactor at Los Alamos and take it into the private sector

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The company's latest diabolical plan involves giving away free copies of Windows Vista Ultimate, Office Ultimate '07, Money Plus Premium, Encarta Premium or Streets and Trips -- scary, we know. All you need to do is fill out a few surveys now and then, and download a little app that lets Microsoft watch your every move for three months.

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"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.

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The Philadelphia Experiment was an alleged naval military experiment in 1943, in which the U.S. destroyer escort USS Eldridge was to be rendered invisible to human observers for a brief period of time. It is also referred to as Project Rainbow.

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Weird seeing this, Ronald McDonald looks pretty scary there. A vintage piece of film right here!

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"The United States has not outlawed "enhanced interrogation" techniques because the Bush administration does not include enhanced interrogation in its definition of torture " - BBC.co.uk

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It was a really interesting weather formation!

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Apple is rumored to be close to announcing movie rentals and Apple TV is perfect platform. Add a 1TB HDD and BitTorrent downloading technology and you have the beginnings of a great living room experience. Enable the iPhone and iPod touch as a remote control for Apple TV 2.0 to replace the bogus “gum stick” remote and and they’ll surely have a hit

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A yearbook of all the top events you've been talking about, from News to Science to Arts/Entertainment to Businesses/Tech to Sports to Pop Culture. You name it -- it's here.

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I decided to boot my Thinkpad X60 with "mem=256M maxcpus=1", logged into KDE 4 and set the power saving policy to "Powersave", which throttles the CPU to 1Ghz and locks it there. And then I used KDE 4 some, started Konqueror, browsed about a bit, configured a few things with System Settings, started Kopete and chatted a little.

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The first store from Tesla Motors is under construction in LA and we've got the first picture.

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two trains collide on the same track!

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Litroenergy is a patent pending designed light source material that emits light for 12 plus years- without electricity or sun exposure! The light source is inexpensive, non-toxic, and will stay on for 12+ years (half-life point) continuously without having to be plugged into any power source.

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It seems to be everywhere :

http://naziresource.ytmnsfw.com/

http://lookingforjew.ytmnsfw.com/

http://secretnaziwalmart.ytmnd.com/

http://secretnazidsgame.ytmnd.com/

http://sdhatesjews.ytmnd.com/

http://jewdollar.ytmnd.com/

http://lolnazijew.ytmnd.com/

http://dubyahatesjews.ytmnsfw.com/

http://secretnazinumbergame.ytmnd.com/

http://lolnazistufff.ytmnd.com/

http://billnyrgases.ytmnd.com/

http://maddenjews.ytmnd.com/

http://secretnazibible.ytmnd.com/

http://jewhater.ytmnd.com/

http://santakillsjews.ytmnd.com/

http://jewovens.ytmnd.com/

http://schatesjews.ytmnd.com/

http://finalsolution.ytmnd.com/

http://nazivikings.ytmnd.com/

http://antiamericanism.ytmnd.com/

http://obvnazianime.ytmnsfw.com/

http://michaelnazi.ytmnd.com/

http://omgswnj.ytmnd.com/

http://omgmidway.ytmnd.com/

http://jewsdid911.ytmnd.com/

http://nazijew.ytmnd.com/

http://santahatesjewslol.ytmnd.com/

http://secretnazijew.ytmnd.com/

http://smartchildnazi.ytmnd.com/

http://ibmhatestheheebs.ytmnd.com/

http://brokenarmnazi.ytmnd.com/

http://nazilinkinparkfaint.ytmnd.com/

http://nazijewfight.ytmnd.com/

http://blizzardisracist.ytmnsfw.com/

http://hebetrayedus.ytmnd.com/

http://jewsmarternazi.ytmnd.com/

I even did my own research.. and found THIS:




Point proved. Google is a nazi-jew-hater.

“When we finished filming, I felt very disappointed because it was a movie I didn’t appreciate and I did not like the action scenes involved. I felt the style of action was too Americanized and I didn’t understand the American humor,” Chan said “Rush Hour 3″ was no different from the first two installments for him.

“Nothing particularly exciting stood out that made this movie special for me … I spent four months making this film and I still don’t fully understand the humor,” he said, adding the comedic scenes may be lost on Asian audiences.

So even Jackie can't understand his own film? Let me tell you, if you haven't had the mis-pleasure of gazing apon this flick, DO NOT. It seems to me as if Jackie has sent a couple of hours of my life, and a few months of his, well down the drain.

If you enjoy fast-paced action thrillers, this film isn't for you. If you like anything else, this film DEFINITELY isn't for you. Its hard to describe this film in four words but let me try : "DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE". I couldn't follow the plot, or the primary-school-black-humor, and this definitely isn't any of Jackie's best work to date. So if you're willing to fork out $20 on a DVD you'll watch once then throw away to further rip a hole in our precious o-zone, then sure, go ahead, you pompous ass-wipe. But for the rest of the world, this film is better left on the shelves.

Disclaimer:

The information in this document is provided AS IS for theoretical educational purposes only; any and all practical applications using information derived from this document is the sole responsibility of the individual exercising such activity.

Location problems:

The details provided in this document use research gleened from using UK standard plugs; as such the may be slightly different depending on the location and type of plug you are using, but the basic concept is the same.

DANGER:

The device described in this document is potentially hazardous to life and equipment, if used (which is not advised) the device should be used in a controlled environment which uses a fused breaker; if not, the device may cause a perpetual feedback loop which will result in high temperatures which will in most likelihood cause the device itself to melt and may cause an electronic fire which will fuel itself until the electricity is shut off.

Required equipment:

x1 plug for an appropriate power receptacle (cannot be a moulded type plug)

x1 appropriate screwdriver

x1 piece of electronically conductive wire

x1 power receptacle

Instructions:

Open the plug housing using the screwdriver. Depending upon your location and type of power plug there should be between two and three power terminals (metallic blocks or pins to which the power cord is connected), using the electronically conductive wire, bridge the gap between the positive and negative terminals making sure to stay away from the grounding terminal (this is why a moulded plug will never work - you just cant open them) If there is one.

In the UK the colour for the positive terminal is often red or brown, and the negative to be black but not all plugs provide a means to tell the difference. In such cases you may need to open a working plug to see what's going on, if you still don't know ask someone with electronic or DIY knowledge - anyone who has changed a plug before should know.

The device is almost finished, all that is left is to close the plug and screw it back like it was before you started.

Implementation:

Just plug the device into a power receptacle; it will cause a feedback loop similar to a power surge. This will cause the main breaker to blow its fuse which will cause temporary but harmless power outage. Be careful to use the device in a situation where the power system is actually using such a fused-breaker or the feedback loop will create tremendous heat which will most likely melt the plug and start an electrical fire - see the warning at the top of this document

Concealment:

To conceal the device, use a plug attached to a device which is in regular use such as a lamp. This will not work for very long if it uses a device in constant use as someone will eventually replace the device or plug.

How it works:

When the device is attached to a power receptacle (power socket) the device causes a feedback loop. Upon attaching the device there is often a loud snap, crackle or pop; this is caused by an effect similar to arch welding, this actually causes in some cases the wire to be burned off and renders the device useless or more often the wire is welded to the terminals to which it is connected. More importantly, it overwhelms the power breaker causing it to flip its switch (it cant be put back while the device is still in place) [/protect]

- Shadow120

Yes, we all saw it last time, the "Movie based on the comic" films.. X-men, Spiderman, Batman, all being high-rollers on the big screen.

But doesn't it strike you as odd that these same big-shot film and production companies are now trying to capitalize on the success of late-80s cartoons aswell?

With Transformers being a bit hit, and a sequel on the way, it seems producers and screenwriters have found a new "gap in the market". Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is another example of this new wave, as is the new adaptation of "Thundercats". Is there a reason for this wave? Or have writers just plain run out of ideas for new films? We already have movies based-on-the-book-of-the-film-of-the-book-of-the-film etc etc etc, with a new one on the way (I am legend), and fair play to those guys, taking the effort to write a prose-based novel into a screenplay takes alot of work, but adapting a cartoon to a movie takes very little work in comparison to writing a movie from scratch.. They already have characters, character profiles, storylines, traits, and heck, even PLOTS set out for them, all they have to do is digitalise the graphics and increase the resolution (I know theres more effort than that, but its nothing compared to the work that goes into a REAL film). The way I see it, theres a few reasons "they" are reviving old comics to the big screen... Whoever "they" may be.. And here they are :

- They're trying to capitalize on dead-success (Theres a reason 80s/90s cartoons should stay in the 80s/90s)

- They're doing it for nostalgia sake (In which case they'd be pitching to a very niche market.. Doesn't seem to be the case)

- They've simply run out of ideas (In which case, they need new writers, and theres alot of people willing to get payed obscene amounts for minimal effort, and by minimal I mean minimal.. For example : A raging toaster sets out to find the creators who gave him human emotions, whilst re-uniting with his old high-school flame on the way, but has to protect her from his arch-nemisis who is an alien with a speech impediment, starring Samuel L Jackson and Paris Hilton. It's THAT easy)

- They're just lazy (Seems to be the most probable reasoning to me, and doesn't really require too much explanation)

So yes, that feeling of deja-vu isn't a head trauma, it's simply that the movie companies are trying to suck the loose change from your pockets that they didn't seem to catch when they shook you by the ankles as a child, and they've realized that as you grow up, you have more money and looser pockets, they also note that ticket prices increase, thus bleeding you dry and forcing you to take out a second mortgage just to see the new remake of "The Jetsons" adapted to the big screen, or whatever next really.

And don't forget merchandising, the old plastic sacks of crap that are gathering dust in a warehouse for tesco-metro somewhere in Denmark now have a new point of sale and they can give the movie company a new means of income on a lunchbox they didn't even design, but royalties are royalties, and I hope the original writers of the old series' are making just as much if not more than the big-shots "adapting" their films.