Archive for August 6th, 2011
Her name is Rocksy – Toledo Blade
The University of Toledo’s new female mascot will be named Rocksy following a month-long online university poll.
Of the 1,779 who voted, 812 were UT students and another 394 were Rocket fans, according to the UT marketing and communications office. The rest of the voters were faculty, staff, and other.
For the time being, Rocksy will not appear at athletic events and only represent the university at community gatherings and campus functions, according to UT vice president for external affairs Larry Burns.
Other suggestions for the new female mascot’s name from the online poll were Rachel, Ricki, Rochel, Rochelle, and Rockelle. Rocky the Rocket has been UT’s primary mascot since 1968.
Hackers strike at 70 US law enforcement websites – Yahoo! News
LONDON (AP) — The group known as Anonymous said Saturday it has hacked some 70 law enforcement websites across the southern and central United States in retaliation for the arrests of its sympathizers in the U.S. and Britain.
The group also claimed to have stolen 10 gigabytes of data, including emails, credit card details, and other information from local law enforcement bodies.
“We are releasing a massive amount of confidential information that is sure to embarrass, discredit and incriminate police officers across the U.S.,” the group said in a statement, adding that it hoped the leak would “demonstrate the inherently corrupt nature of law enforcement using their own words” and “disrupt and sabotage their ability to communicate and terrorize communities.”
Anonymous’ claims couldn’t all be immediately verified, but a review of the sites it claims to have targeted — mainly sheriffs” offices in states such as Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi — showed that most were unavailable or had been wiped clean of content.
via Hackers strike at 70 US law enforcement websites – Yahoo! News.
Roseanne Barr: I’m running for president – Lifeline Live – USATODAY.com
Look out, President Obama: Comedian Roseanne Barr is gunning for your job!
On Thursday night’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the funny lady declared that she’s decided to run for president in next year’s election.
“I’m totally serious,” she said, as the audience cheered her announcement. “I want to be part of the debates, because I want to represent the tax payer. In fact, I’m choosing the tax payers as my vice president.”
But, don’t expect her to align with either Republicans or Democrats.
via Roseanne Barr: I’m running for president – Lifeline Live – USATODAY.com.
Smartphones or Sex? One-in-Three Say Smartphones – Mobiledia – The Mobile Future – Forbes
A national survey found that a third of Americans would rather give up sex than their smartphones, as mobile devices become even more rooted into people’s lives.
The survey by Telenav found people are more likely to give up a variety of habits instead of their smartphones. More than 50 percent of people would rather give up caffeine, chocolate or exercise than part with their iPhones or Blackberrys for a week, while a hygienically questionable 22 percent would be willing to part with their toothbrushes.
via Smartphones or Sex? One-in-Three Say Smartphones – Mobiledia – The Mobile Future – Forbes.
Question Of The Day: Black dwarfs – how do these invisible stars form? | How It Works Magazine
When a star becomes a white dwarf it no longer has an internal heat source, instead staying luminous only because of its retained temperature. A black dwarf is a white dwarf that has given off all its heat and cooled down to the temperature of the surrounding universe, known as the cosmic microwave background, which is about 2.7 Kelvin.
While a white dwarf gives off heat via thermal radiation it does so incredibly slowly, because the densely packed electrons that prevent it from collapsing are excellent conductors of heat. A hypothetical white dwarf born at the start of the universe 13.7 billion years ago wouldn’t have cooled down to the temperature required to form a black dwarf even today. In fact, the estimated time for a white dwarf to cool to a black dwarf would be roughly 73,000 times the age of the universe. For this reason, unlike their white, red and brown dwarf cousins, black dwarfs have not yet been observed. Indeed, as a black dwarf would emit little to no radiation, finding one would be nigh on impossible, as it would appear almost invisible to us, other than the effects of its gravity.
via Question Of The Day: Black dwarfs – how do these invisible stars form? | How It Works Magazine.
UK officials apologise after planting lethal flower next to children’s playground | Adelaide Now
OFFICIALS in an English town were left red-faced today after it emerged one of the world’s deadliest flowers – used by Amazon hunters to make poison arrows – was unwittingly planted in a public park where children play.
Staff from South Lakeland District Council mistakenly planted a number of poisonous purple-flowering monkshood flowers in a park in Kendal, northwestern England, just yards from a children’s playground, local newspaper The Westmorland Gazette reported.
Local botanist Thomas Gudgeon, who first spotted the plant at Abbot Hall Park, said, “Natives of the Amazon jungle dip their arrows in the plant to kill monkeys in the trees. The monkey is dead before it hits the ground – it’s one of the world’s deadliest plants.”
The consequences can be fatal if the plant – also known as wolfsbane – is eaten and it can also cause heart complications, muscular weakness, nausea and vomiting.
via UK officials apologise after planting lethal flower next to children’s playground | Adelaide Now.
6 Mysteries of Jupiter NASA’s New Spacecraft May Solve | Wired Science | Wired.com
A plucky spacecraft named Juno began a long journey to Jupiter today from Florida at 12:25 p.m. EDT despite a small anomaly with the helium system of its rocket ride and a boat wandering into the launch zone.
Named after the mythical Roman goddess and wife of Jupiter, Juno will take about five years to reach the gas giant and slip into orbit. It packs a suite of scientific instruments to study Jupiter, in addition to some Lego figurines.
Once there, NASA expects the spacecraft to spend a year making at least 32 pole-to-pole orbits before intense radiation bakes its circuits.
via 6 Mysteries of Jupiter NASA’s New Spacecraft May Solve | Wired Science | Wired.com.
