A Little History of the RAND Corporation

Here is some background on a very influential think tank that has been the darling of the U.S. military and federal government. Just how powerful is this organization? Read here to find out.

Single Molecule Visible For First Time

An IBM research team has produced the first image of a single molecule of pentacene using an atomic force microscope (AFM) to look at chemical bonds. They are interested in the investigation of using molecules for molecular electronics by having molecules function as wires or logic switches. Pretty cool.

Placebos Rock! Really?

Does the medical placebo reveal how powerful the human brain really is? Could it be that a reasonable expectation of getting better is all that is required?

Click here to find out why the drugmakers are desperate to understand what's going on.

Get Your Tickets to Space

Click here to see the ride of a lifetime offered by VirginGalactic. Let's hope they take American Express.

New Clues in the Mass Death of Bees

The large die-off of bees began in 2006 to such an extent that 1/3 of all bee colonies have been affected in the last two years. The results from a new study indicates the source is from a collection of pathogens.

My suspicion is that we are seeing an effect from genetically modified agricultural crops and you can be sure that corporate attorneys will be on high alert to keep liabilities to a minimum.

Bacteria Causes Some Colon Cancers?

A new study indicates that a specific type of bacteria may be the cause of some colon cancers. The bacteria cause affect immune cells which inflame colon tissue which is thought to initiate certain types of cancer.

So here is yet another indication of the toll inflammation takes on our general health. As you have read here before, one of the best ways to reduce and control inflammation is to ingest significant amounts of natural foods that are high in antioxidants.

Apple on 5th Avenue in NYC

There may be a recession (depression) going on, but look how things are going for Apple at its retail store on New York City's 5th Avenue.

Parasites and Disease Becoming a Problem in U.S.

The poor in America are becoming infected with parasitic infections that are usually associated with developing countries. A reported microbiologist says that 'these are diseases that we know are ten-fold more important than swine flu.'

Ultracapacitors Could Boost Hybrid Efficiency

Argonne National Laboratory is studying the use of ultracapacitors to help decrease the size and cost of batteries in hybrid vehicles. Right now the ultracapacitors are expensive because the some of the components are not yet mass produced, but that could change in the near future.

How Smartphones Are Transforming Our Lives

Are smartphones like the iPhone from Apple turning us into us into de facto cyborgs? One thing for sure is that the Apple App Store is making a nice revenue stream for Apple and consumers are becoming hooked on all the cool and useful items offered for just a few dollars. Someday I just might take the plunge myself.

How to Find Free Wi-Fi

From Gizmodo.com: Sadly, 4G isn't here yet and 3G isn't fast enough, so we still rely pretty hard on free Wi-Fi to get our internets out in the world. Buy what if you're not in range of a Starbucks or Panera Bread? (It happens, ocasionally.)

Toxic Soup? Plastics in the Ocean

There are indications that chemicals from the breakdown of plastics in the oceans are making their way into the food chain. There is some uncertainty about the implications, but there is no doubt that all kinds of plastic materials are making their way into our oceans. This is not a good thing.

Update on TVA's Nuclear Power Program

Click here to read a recent article in the Nashville Tennessean on the status of the TVA's nuclear power program.

Game Changing New Battery

Ceramatec in Salt Lake City had developed a deep-storage batter that may finally give the wind and solar energy producers/users something to cheer about.

This battery is a game changer. It can produce 5 kw of electricity for over 4 continuous hours at a maximum temperature of about 90 deg. C AND for about 3 cents per kw/hr compared to 8 cents for power off the grid.

The battery is designed to be able to do a 3,650 daily discharge/recharge cycles over a 10 year period. That is phenomenal!

DNA Based Microchips On The Way From IBM

DNA based microchips may be about 10 years away, but it looks like IBM has already started experiments that could save hundreds of millions of dollars in high-tech manufacturing tools.

This is a merger of ideas that I've been wondering about for several years. IMHO, DNA is essentially organic software anyway. This looks to be some of the most fascinating science of our lifetimes, and that is saying a lot.

Death by Chocolate? Not So Much

A new medical study out of Sweden indicates that consuming chocolate can help ward off death if one has suffered acute myocardial infarction (i.e. heart attack).

"It seems that antioxidants in cocoa are a like candidate" for explaining the life-saving properties, says Kenneth Mukamal, a researcher in Boston and co-author of the study.

No surprise to me at all. One thing they don't explain in this article is about how important the potency of dark chocolate is to the outcomes. Europeans eat more chocolate that North Americans also.

Predictive Texting Negative Side Effects on IQ

More bad news about the consequences of how we are using cell phones. It appears that teenagers are the vulnerable ones on this issue.

7 Billion by 2011

We all need to be paying attention to the demographics that will be shaping our cultures in our lifetimes. Prepare for change you didn't necessarily vote for.

Asteroid Impact Craters on Earth

Think there are only a couple of asteroid impact craters on our planet? Guess again. There are several as can be seen from these NASA photos taken in orbit.

How to Cure Diseases Before They Have Even Evolved

How do you develop therapeutics for unknown viruses, given there will not be time to develop a vaccine after it appears?

The answer could be in a new class of antiviral drugs that should do something seemingly impossible: work against a wide range of existing viruses and also be effective against viruses that have not even evolved yet.

And just as important if not more so, it should be extremely difficult for any virus to become resistant to these drugs.

Click here to read all about this important work.

Are Dogs Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

Well, not exactly. Here is a story that claims that dogs are as intelligent as a 2 year old human. This seems reasonably accurate.

Pam and I sometimes have to spell some words like 'walk' around our Black Lab, Luke. When Pam drives up into our driveway, I tell Luke that she's home. He definitely understands and runs to the door and waits for her to come inside.

He does watch some TV but he is very selective. We have to be careful, since we all know what watching too much TV can do to the brain.

Tesla Motors Finally Turns a Profit

Surprisingly, Tesla Motors has made it's first profit since its founding in 2002. Apparently they have already sold 609 roadsters since production started in March 2008.

No doubt, this year and next will be a big test.

Tennessee Flags at Half Mast

Time to put Flags at half mast. A proud American has passed.

Famous Jack Daniels master distiller dies

Posted: Aug 07, 2009 10:05 PM EDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Jimmy Bedford, former master distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery, has died.

The 69-year-old's body was found Friday outside a barn at his farm in Lynchburg, apparently the victim of a heart attack, company officials said.

Bedford had retired in March after spending the last 20 years as master distiller supervising the entire operation at the distillery. He was the promotional face behind the product and was shown in one photo standing behind a Jack Daniel's bottle with his arms folded. He also signed some bottles and storage barrels, and hosted tasting seminars.

64th Anniverary of the Hiroshima Bombing Today

I'm running late in getting today's blog entry posted. Today being the 64th anniversary of dropping the first nuclear weapon used in war is noted. There were a few groups assembled to commemorate and protest the event.

Here is some interesting background on the testing of the first nuclear weapon at the Trinity Site in central New Mexico. The Manhattan Project had quite a bit of scientific momentum in getting to this point. After the successful test, the political and military momentum kicked into high gear to use the weapon to persuade the Japanese government to surrender unconditionally. It worked, but we were left with quite a legacy.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

A research team left Sunday on a three week voyage to study this Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the northern Pacific. The debris field is subsurface small pieces of plastic that is difficult to see from the surface or from the air.

It is suspected that this plastic debris field may be causing problems for marine animals. No doubt that a clean-up would be very expensive. Maybe on the order of the ash spill at the Kingston, Tenn. steam plant which may reach to near $1 billion.