Jump to content

StringJunky

Senior Members
  • Posts

    13084
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    84

Posts posted by StringJunky

  1. Multiple studies have shown the relative harm of marijuana is approximately equal to (or even less than) alcohol and cigarettes.

     

    It's effectiveness in treating nausea associated with chemotherapy (better than drugs like Zofran in clinical studies) at least provide very compelling evidence that it should at the very least not be schedule 1 (no accepted medical use).

     

    Poential medically therapeutic uses for cannabis derivatives is not a justification for condoning its use recreationally as your post seems to imply.

     

    Medical cannabis is a highly refined substance and will be named according to the specific components extracted/modified from it just as heroin is not diamorphine in Medicine.

     

    I'm not trying to be semantic, Medicine derived from cannabis should not held in the same light as recreational/raw cannabis...they are different things.

     

    Discussion about recreational use and discussions about therapeutic use shouldn't really be discussed in the same thread IMO...they are not mutually transferrable.

  2. This is from the UK's Health Service website which suggests that there is medication for this condition, besides surgery, but the cause has to be determined by a qualified doctor first so that the appropriate course of action can be taken.

     

    Gynaecomastia is a common condition in teenage boys where firm, tender breast tissue grows under the nipples. It is usually caused by an imbalance of hormones during puberty and usually disappears without treatment within a couple of years.

     

    In rare cases, it could be due to taking anabolic steroids, taking certain medicines (prescription or over-the-counter) or using cannabis. Very occasionally gynaecomastia is due to a tumour or disease.

     

    If the condition occurs in an adult man, he may need tests to find out the cause of the problem. The problem may be linked to the pituitary gland, the liver or the testicles and treatment may be necessary. Treatment options include medication to reduce the extra breast tissue or, in rare cases, surgery.

     

    Some men and boys have fat on their chests that makes it look like they have breasts. This is 'false gynecomastia' and is helped by losing weight. The best way to do this is with a combination of healthy eating and regular exercise.

     

    http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/885.aspx?CategoryID=61&SubCategoryID=614

     

    As you can see with the variety of possible causes only a visit to a doctor can give a true answer to a specific case,

  3. Do you have a source on that? The only significant melting of the Antarctic ice sheet I am aware of is recent melting of glaciers in West Antarctica, and is attributed to changes in ocean circulation patterns rather than changes in surface temperature.

     

    Meanwhile, Antarctic sea ice is generally increasing

     

    What's the principle source of the rising sea level if Antarctic ice is generally on the increase...is this a long term trend there?

  4. Kodama: They are snake oil merchants in that link ....it's pseudoscientific rubbish, trying to feed peoples latent anxieties and in the process make some money.

     

    I think your question about blocking radio waves is ok. You might find this article informative at practical experiment level:

     

    http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2002-03/1015162213.Eg.r.html

     

    As to the potential health risks of radiowaves in general, I'll leave that to a more informed person to put you right.

  5. Yes, I agree, in this instance, history shows that this looks like the case given the number of cameras involved. There are sufficient samples to discern the visual elements of the event that agree between the different picture sources and compile a more accurate impression in one's mind.

     

    One should always be mindful of instrument error.

     

    Don't forget, we are now 'wise after the event'...we were all shooting in the dark before...which was fun.

  6. That may have been true thirty years ago or so, but I would argue that cameras today can, most of the time, capture what our eyes see pretty well, and much of the time cameras catch what our eyes don't see. That is if the camera is used properly by the user.

     

    Your caveat at the end of your post only reinforces what I said. ;)

     

    Yes Toasty, modern high-end cameras are fabulous in automatic mode but even they would still be user dependent in non-average situations like that one (lowish-light/high contrast/moving object).

     

    Anyways! It would be interesting if someone could generate a plausible alternative hypothesis contrary to the official version.

     

    No ideas about flybys from E.T. please!

  7. The point of my posts, I suppose, is to make people aware of the limitations of cameras and that they can only, most of the time, approximate what we actually see with our eyes..the camera will lie unless we are aware and compensate for its limitations.

     

    Photography was a night and day passion for me up 'til about 10 years ago and one of the skills a good photographer has to master is to calibrate its results with that of one's mind's eye in order to create a true picture, as seen or desired by the photographer. In a nutshell, the camera's sensor or film (as it was then) don't render the world before it the same as the human eye. This can give the impression of a scene that actually bears no relation to past reality I hope that makes sense,

     

    Captain, it is interesting that you are still sceptical, despite the reports from apparently high-level sources. I am mindful that the sheer weight of numbers saying and repeating the same thing reinforces the missile theory, when in fact it may not be true.

     

    Perhaps you might stick with this hypothesis of yours (or discover a new one on the way) and analyze the evidence more closely. Try and collect a body of evidence that supports your hypothesis and contradicts the present consensus.

     

    My mind is open, :)

  8. We may however turn the entire surface of the Earth into a radioactive wasteland in the process. Fusion is not without cost.

     

    How so...what's the potential mechanism for this to happen? Are you speculating some potential runaway reaction?

     

    At first I thought you meant fusion byproducts..but then I thought their half-lives are very short apparently... so now you've got me wondering what you meant?

  9. It would appear that (in the US anyway) if a person makes negative written comments on the internet about someone that causes demonstrable harm to their business or reputation, which can't be substantiated with evidence, is liable to be sued. That seems fair to me.

     

    LIBEL ON THE INTERNET

     

    Internet users have been "flaming" others on Internet e-mail, news groups and in Chat lines for years. For those of you who are new to the Internet, "flaming" [as defined in Eric Raymond's Hacker's Dictionary] means posting messages "intended to insult and provoke". In other words, someone posts a message for others to read which insults and/or provokes readers against another person or company.

     

    People and companies are now suing these "flame" posters and/or the Internet site host for Libel. Before we look at some of these lawsuits, let me explain what is legally defined as Libel.

     

    DEFINITION: Libel is the publication of a false statement, (and is not a privileged communication) which injures one's business or personal reputation.

     

    A plaintiff who sues for Libel must prove all of the above and be able to demonstrate some type of resulting damage. This could include being shunned by friends and associates, inability to obtain work because potential employers believed the false accusations. Some states allow for a jury to assess damages based generally on reputational harm.

     

    Privileged communication means statements made during judicial proceedings, legislative proceedings, and those made between spouses (in most states). You can lie all you want under these circumstances and not be able to be successfully sued for Libel.

     

    The U.S. Supreme Court also created a defense based on the First Amendment's Freedom of Speech to allow the media to freely report on the affairs of "public" persons unless the statements are made with "Malice". NY Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). Malice means either knowledge of the falsity or reckless disregard for the truth. A "Public" person is one who has special prominence in the affairs of society. Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc., 418 U.S. 323 (1974). A politician, movie actor, and other "famous" people are "public figures". Other limitations and/or defenses to being able to successfully sue for Libel are:

     

    1. It's the truth. If you have facts and evidence supporting your statement as being true, the plaintiff will not be able to prove that it is false.

     

    2. The group being defamed is too large so as not to be defamatory to any individual. Let's say you write "Lawyers are crooks". John Lawyer will not be able to hold you liable for Libel because it does not specifically say "John Lawyer is a crook".

     

    3. Statements of Opinion and not fact are generally immune from Libel. That's because an opinion can never be proven false. However, if your opinion implies your knowledge of an underlying set of facts which your opinion is based upon, Libel might exist. For instance, stating that a certain business in your opinion "is a fraud" implies that you know of some facts indicating the business has committed fraud. On the other hand, stating "I don't like that business' product" is merely expressing your individual tastes which is not

     

    http://www.wave.net/immigration/lawyer/libel.html

     

    As long people attack the argument, on these boards, and not the person, they should have no fear whatsoever of libel, which is the attitude that's promoted here anyway.

  10. Very interesting debate (except the civilities), please don't stop. I feel miserable because I belong to anothe time zone & cannot interact immediately because...sleeping.

     

    A.

    Martin, what is cob-webby ?

     

     

    I think he means filamentous like a spiders web...think of lots of dusty spiders webs. Found some great computer simulations here of the Universe in all its cobwebby glory! :):

     

    http://cosmicweb.uchicago.edu/filaments.html

     

    The other simulations at the smaller scale look nice too.

  11. Who in particular has flagged those sites?

     

     

    It was a false notification by the site itself (at the time I didn't have anti-malware installed). So had I clicked "OK" it would've probably done something naughty.

     

    So I'd just like for someone with advanced protection/expertise to double check the Wikipedia link itself before I'd change it.

     

    There's a few malware watch sites that list it as dangerous here's two listing that I've extracted:

     

    193.169.235.6 donlaci.cn/download/install.php?uid=13400

    193.169.235.5 goscanmoth.com/?uid=13400

    88.198.160.57 bestscan11.com/download.php?id=2004

    91.212.226.186 1uktimes.cn/go.php?id=2004&key=fff0057594&d=1

    122.115.63.5 totalcaresix.net/redirect2/

    193.104.153.245 hometimesecurity.com/downloader.php?affid=92800

    95.143.192.52 trustedmicrosoftscan2.com/download/pack_283s1.exe

     

    http://www.yourpcblog.com/2009/12/dangerous-domain-list-122009/

     

     

    2009/12/20_12:02 bestscan11.com/download.php?id=2004 88.198.160.57 static.88-198-160-57.clients.your-server.de. fake av - 24940

     

    http://www.malwaredomainlist.com/mdl.php?search=bestscan11.com&inactive=on

     

    I didn't know if it was your installed software that informed you,you did not say.......obviously it was a scareware notification by the malware maker.

     

    You would be led to a payment page for a fake Anti Virus according to one site.

     

    I'll leave someone else to chime in now.

  12. The uktimes.cn link is a redirect to the bestscan site which apparently has a fake antivirus for download. These sites are flagged as very dodgy.

     

    I tried the links but just get a 'server not found error' by firefox.

     

    Your anti malware must have that site listed in its database hence it notified you.

     

    It would be a good idea to edit those links or notify Wikipedia.

  13. According to one report the shapes and gas trail was visible from 6:45 am to 7:00 am, while another source sites the incident occurring around 8:00 am. Since the sunrise in Oslo on December 9, 2009 was 9:06 am it might be possible that sunlight from the rising sun lit up the gases.

     

    In that article I linked to, it was said the spiral was an effect of the sun on the leaking fuel:

     

    Researcher at the Tromsø Geophysical Observatory Truls Lynne Hansen is certain that the light was caused by a missile launch:

     

    - The missile has probably come out of control and exploded. The peculiar spiral shaped light pattern comes from reflection of the sun in the leaking fuel, he said to Aftenposten.

     

    Don't forget also, the lens, sensor, and shutter speed used will influence the final image as well...there might be some flaring of the light in the lens assembly if the sun is in the frame.

     

    If the shutter speed was slow enough and the object was spinning fast

    enough there will be an after trail effect on the sensor creating this seemingly perfect spiral.

     

    Basically, some of the 'information' you are seeing in the pictures may well be artefacts (read: limitations) of the camera system.

  14. You see, that's what I'm reading. Yet I have not found a picture proving such a case.

    When I don't seem to have physical evidence proving the fact, I tend to generate fuzzy ideas about what I'm reading.

    Got any decent ideas where I can find one, CharonY?

     

    p.s.

     

    Thanks for the affirmation, CharonY.

     

    Here's a couple of images of mitochondrial DNA

     

    http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.rkm.com.au/CELL/cellimages/Mitochondrial-DNA-2-500.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.rkm.com.au/CELL/mitochondrial-DNA.html&h=500&w=500&sz=70&tbnid=tIsOukN7JIPcyM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmitochondrial%2Bdna%2Bimage&hl=en&usg=__qCMJBNDQvDfTYCSQAVfFDuFa9Nk=&ei=JLkvS86xMo334Abdpf2pCA&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&ved=0CBUQ9QEwAA

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.