Computer Virus on International Space Station

Nasa has confirmed that there is a computer virus that ‘is alive and well’ on the International Space Station (ISS).

Laptops that were taken aboard in July were reportedly infected with a virus known as Gammima.AG. It’s a type of ‘worm virus’ that lurks on machines waiting to steal login details for popular online games.

Nasa also said this isn’t the first time it has happened. You would’ve thought Nasa would have a virus scanner wouldn’t you?Source: Current.com

Green Light for Big Bang!

Tests have cleared the way for the start-up next month of an experiment to restage a mini-version underground of the “Big Bang” which created the universe 15 billion years ago, the project chief said on Monday.

Lyn Evans of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) said weekend trials in the vast underground LHC machine in which the particle-smashing experiment will take place over the coming months and years “went without a hitch”.

“We look forward to a resounding success when we make our first attempt to send a beam all the way round the LHC,” said Evans, who heads the multinational team of scientists that shaped the project and the machine, the Large Hadron Collider.

The final tests involved pumping a single bunch of energy particles from the project’s accelerator into the 27-km (17-mile) beam pipe of the collider and steering them counter- clockwise around it for about 3 kms (2 miles).

Earlier in the month a clockwise trial in the LHC — which runs deep under French and Swiss territory between the Jura mountains and Lake Geneva — had been equally successful, CERN said.

The LHC team now plans to send a full particle beam all the way around the collider pipe in one direction on September 10 as a prelude to sending beams in both directions and smashing them together later in the year.

That collision, in which both particle clusters will be traveling at the speed of light, will be monitored on computers at CERN and laboratories around the world by scientists looking for, among other things, a particle that made life possible.

The elusive particle, which has been dubbed the “Higgs boson” after Scottish physicist Peter Higgs who first postulated nearly 50 years ago that it must exist, is thought to be the mysterious factor that holds matter together.

Source: Reuters.com

Intel Wireless Electricity - Hello Tesla

Intel on Thursday showed off a wireless electric power system that analysts say could revolutionize modern life by freeing devices from transformers and wall outlets.

Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner demonstrated a Wireless Energy Resonant Link as he spoke at the California firm’s annual developers forum in San Francisco.

Electricity was sent wirelessly to a lamp on stage, lighting a 60 watt bulb that uses more power than a typical laptop computer.

Most importantly, the electricity was transmitted without zapping anything or anyone that got between the sending and receiving units.

“The trick with wireless power is not can you do it; it’s can you do it safely and efficiently,” Intel researcher Josh Smith said in an online video explaining the breakthrough.

“It turns out the human body is not affected by magnetic fields; it is affected by elective fields. So what we are doing is transmitting energy using the magnetic field not the electric field.”

Examples of potential applications include airports, offices or other buildings that could be rigged to supply power to laptops, mobile telephones or other devices toted into them.

The technology could also be built into plugged in computer components, such as monitors, to enable them to broadcast power to devices left on desks or carried into rooms, according to Smith.

“Initially it eliminates chargers and eventually it eliminates batteries all together,” analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said of Intel’s wireless power system.

“That is potentially a world changing event. This is the closest we’ve had to something being commercially available in this class.”

Previous wireless power systems consisted basically of firing lightning bolts from sending to receiving units.

Smith says Intel’s wireless power system is still in an early stage of development and much research remains before it can be brought to market.

Rattner spoke of technological transformations he expects by the year 2050.

“You’d like to cut the last cord,” Smith said.

“It’s great that we have wireless email and wireless internet and stuff like that but at the end of the day it would be nice to have wireless recharge as well.”

Four Eared Cat

What is up with all of these messed up animals lately? Two headed turtles, two headed cats, four eared cats! I can’t even keep up with all of these anomolies. Well a four eared cat was just recently found and adopted. Here is the story.

When Valerie and Ted Rock came across a kitten with four-ears, they couldn’t believe their eyes.
But the endearing feline was so adorable they decided he was destined to be a part of their family.

The couple were in a Chicago bar two years ago when they noticed a little grey bundle of fur being passed around to the amazement of fellow drinkers - and their parental instincts kicked in.

A good listener: Two-year-old house cat Yoda was born with four ears
The couple immediately fell for the freaky feline and asked the owner if they could adopt him. He agreed and the couple named the cat Yoda, after the pointy-eared Jedi knight in Star Wars.

Valerie, 65, said: ‘We were at a pub on the south side of Chicago with a group of friends when we noticed a small cage sitting on the bar and people passing around a kitten.

‘He had been part of a large litter and the owners were looking to find a home for him.

‘Ted and I had just lost a cat that was our pet for over 20 years, and we were sure we were done with cats.
‘When he was passed around he reached for Ted, crawled up into the crook of his neck and fell asleep - Ted was a goner.

‘It was a done deal when the kitten made himself at home on Ted’s shoulder.

‘We decided to name him Yoda. I understand the Star Wars character was based on George Lucas’ cat.’

After adopting the eight-week-old kitten into their Illinois home, Valerie decided to have Yoda checked out with the local vet.

Owner: Valerie Rock found Yoda being passed around a Chicago bar and took him home with her
But the vet was mystified by his unique appearance.

‘The vet had never seen anything like it before,’ explains Valerie. ‘He immediately went to the internet and found the four-eared cat in Germany.
‘We have spoken with other vets in our acquaintance, and they likewise had never encountered anything like this.
‘We began to realise that we had something very special.

‘As a result, he has been an indoor cat and has a chip installed in case he gets lost. Yoda is so different that we were concerned that he might be catnapped.’

Yoda’s extra ‘flaps’ are separate to the base of his skull, with one placed slightly behind the other.

Yet despite his unusual looks, Valerie is sure Yoda’s behaviour - and hearing - are quite normal.

‘Yoda’s hearing is normal as far as we know,’ says Valerie. ‘People do a double take when they see him or his picture. It is great fun showing him off.

Yoda: The wise Star Wars character the cat was named after
‘We have actually had people ask if we had his ears cut to look this way.
‘But he is a perfectly normal affectionate, curious cat and is a joy to have around.

‘He is not afraid of anything and is very sociable unlike some of the other cats I have owned.

‘But he does have an interesting obsession with bread - I can’t leave bread on the counter for a moment.

‘And when he purrs, it is not audible. The only way I know that he is purring is to put my finger on his throat to feel the vibration.

‘He also is not very vocal. He meows, but only softly, and not very often which is a good thing.’

Source: Dailymail.co.uk

Iris Linked with Personality Traits

A Swedish psychology graduate student at Örebro University in Sweden has reportedly linked the patterns of a someone’s iris to specific personality traits.

Mats Larsson found that ‘a low frequency of crypts was significantly associated with tender-mindedness, warmth, trust, and positive emotions, whereas more distinct and extended furrows were associated with impulsiveness.’

It furthers earlier, and rather tenuously linked, studies which have linked people with darker eye colours to being more likely to show signs of ‘extroversion, neuroticism, and sociability’

Stuff like this always amazes me, I mean, it’s like a personality fingerprint, in your eye!

Two-Headed Turtle Found & Stolen!

The two headed turtle was first shown in Brooklyn, NY a few weeks ago. Apparently the two headed turtle was stolen! If you happen to come across a stolen two headed turtle you could be in for a reward.

Big Foot Found - Press Conference Friday

According to reports, two professional Bigfoot hunters have managed to actually find the body of the creature.

Bigfoot is a legendary creature, with many myths surrounding him, but no proof.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer believe to have changed all of that, as they have found a dead Bigfood in the woods.

They found Bigfoot in north Georgia, two weeks ago.

They have since taken the body of Bigfoot, and put him in the freezer.

A press conference is set to be held in California, where they will present DNA as well as photo proof of the cretaure.

They have been endorsed by the real Bigfoot Hunter, Tom Biscardi.

Spray On Condom’s - The Future of Sex

Condoms are probably some of the most used products on the planet, and they come in ahuge number of varieties, colors, flavors and extra-features. However, it would seem thatthe German researchers from Vinico have come up with what might be called the ultimatecondom when it comes to portability and wearability, namely the Spray Condom.

Yes, as the name very clearly suggests, this thing is nothing less than a liquid condom thatapplies on the male organ much in the same way as a deodorant. What we’re actuallydealing with here is an aerosol that contains liquid Latex (actually, a mixture of India rubberand water, capable of decomposing quite rapidly after removal), which becomes flexibleafter a few seconds of exposure to the surrounding environment, being at the same timequite safe.
The advantages of this product are quite clear, since they make the “daunting” task ofapplying the condom as easy as spraying, but that’s not the half of it. Thus, the condomexperts from Vinico are informing us that this solution offers an increased level of safetycompared to the classical variants, since the danger of tearing is virtually non-existent, theSpray Condom taking exactly the shape and size of the wearer’s penis. Moreover, theapplication time is greatly reduced, and the experts also assure us that the quality of theuser’s sex life will not be impaired at all, but exactly on the contrary.
The only problem with these aerosol latex condoms is the fact that they’re still being tested(so absolutely no word on either availability or prices), and thus we’re not quite sure of theirlevel of safety. The only thing that really puzzles me here is the answer to a simplequestion, which the manufacturers unfortunately haven’t addressed: how the hell do youtake them off?
We are just a few, but there are many of you, Softpedia users, out there. That’s why wethought it would be a good idea to create an email address for you to help us a little infinding gadgets we missed. Interesting links are bound to be posted with recognition goingmainly to those who submit. The address is

Chupacabra Video: This Blood Sucking Animal Found In Texas!

Reports are buzzing that the blood-sucking, elusive creature called the Chupacabra may have been spotted in Texas - and caught on camera!

Some say it’s a dog, some say it’s a coyote - but is there a possibility that the creature caught on a dashboard camera is a Chupacabra?

Cpl. Brandol Reidel was on patrol with his partner in Dewitt County, TX, when they saw something an animal they’d never seen before.

The Chupacabra, or “goat sucker”, is an animal said to be unknown to science. The Chupacabra is said to hunt and kill animals in places like Puerto Rico, Miami and Mexico

According to Wikipedia, the Chupacabra is commonly described as a reptile-like creature with scaly gray skin and sharp quills along its back.

The Chupacabra ’spotted’ in TX, however, fits a different description that is seen less often. It is said to look like a strange dog with little hair, big teeth, claws and pronounced eye sockets.

Below is the video - one of what appears to be a Chupacabra and the dashboard TX video.

WHEN TO WATCH: Tuesday morning, August 12, from about 1:00 am until morning twilight gets too bright.
The Perseids are probably the most-watched annual meteor shower. The shower has a very long duration, from about July 15 through August 25. The shower is most interesting around its peak on August 12 or 13. This year, the peak comes on August 12 because of the leap year. The radiant is above the horizon the entire night for observers north of latitude 32N, but it is fairly low at the end of evening twilight. Evening Perseid rates are fairly low, and the bright Moon makes things worse this year. The real meat of the show comes during the predawn hours when the Moon is down and the radiant is high.

Predawn rates for observers with truly dark skies may exceed 100 Perseids per hour (West Coast of North America and/or Eastern Asia may be favored this year), with a nice sprinkling of sporadic and minor shower meteors added to the mix. Adjacent mornings from August 10 through August 13 are well worth watching, although rates will be significantly lower.
Perseids are fast meteors and tend to be fairly bright on average. An occasional fireball is seen. “

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