Lunch Notes 7-6-2004

[Balandar]

Whenever I find something of interest during my lunch break, I'll post that information here on the forums.

About the Space Elevator

The Space Elevator is a revolutionary way of getting from Earth into space – a ribbon with one end attached to Earth on a floating platform located in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and the other end in space beyond geosynchronous orbit.

The Space Elevator will ferry satellites, spaceships, and pieces of space stations into space using electric lifts clamped to the ribbon, serving as a means for commerce, scientific advancement, and space exploration.

Once relegated to the realm of science fiction, the concept is now being researched and prototyped.

http://www.isr.us/Spaceelevatorconference/aboutSE.html

Military on alert for Coke's chip contest

Specially rigged Coke cans, part of a summer promotion, contain cell phones and global positioning chips. That has officials at some installations worried the cans could be used to eavesdrop, and they are instituting protective measures.

Coca-Cola Co. says such concerns are nothing but fizz.

Mart Martin, a Coca-Cola spokesman, said no one would mistake one of the winning cans from the company's "Unexpected Summer" promotion for a regular Coke.

"The can is dramatically different looking," he said. The cans have a recessed panel on the outside and a big red button. "It's very clear that there's a cell phone device."

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/07/02/coke.mi...t.ap/index.html

Titan's Surface Revealed

July 4, 2004: It didn't take long for the Cassini spacecraft to start making discoveries. In orbit around Saturn for only a few days, Cassini has already captured images of Saturn's giant moon Titan revealing never-before-seen details of the moon's surface.

"Although the initial images appear bland and hard to interpret, we're happy to report that we have indeed seen Titan's surface with unprecedented clarity," says JPL's Dennis Matson, project scientist for the international Cassini-Huygens mission.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2004/04...htm?list1049228

Pakistani child gets Indian eye

A one-year-old Pakistani boy saw the world for the first time yesterday through an eye donated by an Indian.

Mohammed Ahmed gained partial vision after a difficult operation at the Agarwal Eye Institute in the southern city of Madras where another Pakistani child got a donor's eye six months ago.

Doctors said Ahmed, who was born blind, would get near-normal sight by the time he heads back to Karachi next week.

"It was a complicated surgery since both his cornea [the transparent circular part of the front of the eyeball] had become white and the iris [the flat coloured membrane behind it] was stuck to the cornea," said Dr Amar Agarwal, who performed the surgery.

"We had to proceed very carefully, first to detach the iris and thereafter replace the defective cornea with a healthy one procured from a 50-year-old Madras donor two weeks back," Dr Agarwal told reporters.

"Now the Karachi kid can see the world through Indian eyes."

Sitting next to the doctor and oblivious of the media attention he was getting, Ahmed reached out to a ball placed on a table in front of him.

"We never imagined he will get his eyesight," said his mother Mehmooda Salim. "It's the will of Allah. We are thrilled."

Ahmed's father, Mohammed Salim, said that after he contacted the clinic and talked to Dr Agarwal it was easy to get the visa and get to Madras.

"We have a lot of faith in India. We are overwhelmed by the warmth of the people here. There are many patients back in Pakistan and they could now seek a cure from Indian specialists," he said.

Last year, a life-saving heart surgery was performed on two-year-old Pakistani girl Noor Fathima at a hospital in Bangalore, also in southern India. Since then a steady stream of Pakistani children has flocked to India seeking treatment for variety of ailments

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/04/...l?oneclick=true

Moore: pirate my film, no problem

Controversial film-maker Michael Moore has welcomed the appearance on the internet of pirated copies of his anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and claimed he is happy for anybody to download it free of charge.

The activist, author and director told the Sunday Herald that, as long as pirated copies of his film were not being sold, he had no problem with it being downloaded.

“I don’t agree with the copyright laws and I don’t have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they’re not trying to make a profit off my labour. I would oppose that,” he said.

“I do well enough already and I made this film because I want the world, to change. The more people who see it the better, so I’m happy this is happening.”

Moore’s views have not been well received by Hollywood’s establishment, which is fighting a war against the online pirates it claims cost the industry £1.6 billion a year in lost sales.

http://www.sundayherald.com/43167