For pity's sake: DON'T MOVE to the COUNTRY if you want to live

Although you are more likely to be murdered in the city, the rate of accidental death in the country makes it more dangerous.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/for_pitys_sake_dont_move_to_the_country_if_you_want_to_live/ / big city dangerous place worry they might get murdered being killed on purpose more likely in town according to new research researcher study rare compared die dying in an accident more likely die unexpectedly countryside United States of America US USA U.S. U.S.A. cars guns firearms fire arms drugs causing majority injury deaths US Dr Sage Myers University of Pennsylvania risk of homicide higher big cities risk unintentional injury death 40 percent higher most rural areas most urban overall rate unintentional injury dwarfs risk homicide rate unintentional injury more than 15 times homicide among the entire population results massive study directed most common causes of injury death motor vehicle crashes leading to 27.61 deaths per 100,000 people in most rural areas and 10.58 per 100,000 in most urban areas risk firearm related firearm-related death difference across rural urban rural-urban spectrum entire population whole age subgroups studied firearm-related deaths found significantly higher rural areas children people 45 years and older people 20 to 44 risk firearm-related death significantly lower rural areas mean streets not so mean risk being run over wrapping your motor around tree telegraph pole mean compared open road country possibility probability likely get shot countryside too accident suicide opposed person most likely to shoot an American is himself more most likely die in a car crash fall accidental poisoning intentionally kill himself awful dangers posed computer equipment fearful engine of death the hot tub Annals of Emergency Medicine /

Wine judges fail the taste test (stream or podcast)

Turns out that "professional" wine tasters are no better at differentiating expensive wine from the cheapest plonk than anyone else.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-22/wine-blind-taste-testing/4835208 / study Great Britain England United Kingdom has found wine judges no better than general drinker picking most expensive wine lind taste test Oxford University psychologists finding research study found wine experts can judge faults quality maybe vintage year wine was made not always select top price top-priced bottle Professor Charles Spence Britain's top wine writers judges taste champagnes champagne turned out they had no idea what grape composition was which sounds shocking couldn't pick price their preferences were just flat 400 pounds $600-$700 tasted no better than 15-pound ($30) champagne alcohol /

Fukushima is leaking radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean after all

Credit: Gizmodo

Nuclear industry — broken promises — surprised?

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/07/fukushima-is-leaking-radioactive-water-into-the-ocean-after-all/ / operator Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated ground water likely been flowing into sea acknowledging leakage first time Tokyo Electric Power Co Tepco came under fire Monday revelation number plant workers thyroid radiation exposure times exceeding threshold levels increased cancer risks ten times number released previously deep apology causing grave worries for many people Masayuki Ono Fukushima plant general manager Tepco repeatedly blamed overlooking early signs covering delaying disclosure problems mishaps head Japan's new Nuclear Regulation Authority created since March 2011 earthquake tsunami wrecked Fukushima contamination sea had been continuing since the accident admission came company general manager Masayuki Ono told news conference plant officials come believe that radioactive water leaked from wrecked reactors likely seeped into the underground water system escaped into sea atomic nuclear officials experts suspected leak Fukushima Dai-ichi earl crisis Tepco previously failed to confirm ground water leakage more than two years offer our deep apology causing grave worries for many people, especially for people in Fukushima soaring radiation Tepco based water sample tests any impact of the leakage appeared to be contained by silt fences erected near the devastated reactors utility is already injecting the chemical sodium silicate into part of the seawall separating the ocean from the plant site to prevent ground water from seeping through March 2011 earthquake tsunami knocked out cooling systems Fukushima plant triggering fuel rod meltdowns causing radiation leakage food contamination mass evacuations Tepco this month acknowledged levels radiation groundwater had soared suggesting highly toxic materials from the plant were getting closer to the Pacific uranium /

Kickstarter does it again: NFC ring! (video)

Credit: John McLear/ Kickstarter/ The Gadgeteer

NFC (Near Field Communication) ring — unlock doors, mobile phones & transfer information. Sign up for as little as £22 (as of this writing, 13:00 UTC Monday 22 July).

Or for just £8, the project team will supply the NFC inlay alone & you can 3D print your own ring.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/07/21/nfc-ring-review/#more-135963 / finger no updates no charging no fuss take your phone out your pocket slide your hand under NFC Ring will unlock third party application app Google play store privacy private two inlays public private keep personal information private as you want NFC enabled door lock share WiFi information link to website contact information suitable passed securely your friends smartphones tablets tablet start apps custom settings parameters making really easy way personalize app experience to match your ring developing development develop year product invented John McLear automatically unlock cell mobile phone make jewellery practical wear a ring practical useful personal prototype prototyping 3D printer using Tinkercad create renders render metal RFID biggest problem developing ring naturally metal absorbs absorb RFID signal antenna induction fails does ability communicate with the ring intermediate layer material /

Forget battery swapping: Tesla aims to charge electric cars in five minutes

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/516876/forget-battery-swapping-tesla-aims-to-charge-electric-cars-in-five-minutes/ / electric vehicle EV charge recharge LiIon lithium ion Tesla Model S typical home public charging station more practical Tesla Motors reduce reduced reducing charging times network supercharging stations designed exclusively future electric vehicles charge battery cell halfway 30 minutes half charge 20 minutes Tesla’s chief technology officer JB Straubel company eventually cut time fully charge battery just five minutes not much longer than it takes to fill a gas tank petrol gas gasolene battery swap technology Tesla recently unveiled take takes out depleted battery replace replaces fully charged one MIT Technology Review 120 kilowatts electricity deliver well under 10 kilowatts competition supercharging technology Japanese Chademo standard 50 kilowatt 50-kilowatt charging SAE International brand-new fast-charging standard adopted by major automakers General Motors GM 100 kilowatts kilowatt battery packs store three times the energy competition competitor electric-car batteries car Arindam Maitra, a senior project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute cooling system for the battery wall socket on-board chargers AC power from the wall convert DC regulate power delivered deliver battery AC-to-DC conversion challenge heat cool overheat damage damaging communicate electronics monitor state volt voltage temperature adjust charging rates charging system interface electrical grid supercharging station wind turbine solar panels batteries power grid /

Panasonic announces the Lumix DMC-FZ70

Credit: Panasonic/ The Gadgeteer

Canon has a 50x super-zoom, Panasonic is preparing to one-up them with 60x. Perhaps not surprisingly, they've abandoned the across-the-range f 2.8 aperture of the FZ200, but then, they've reduced the minimum focal length to 20mm (35mm equivalent) & more than doubled the zoom range. Win some, lose some.

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/07/19/panasonic-announces-the-lumix-dmc-fz70/ / photograph image digital tighter shot close enough good quality picture wide angle zoom 20mm wide 1200mm telephoto f/2.8-5.9 stabilized optical zoom lens Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ70 ultra wide angle 20mm f/2.8 super-zoom Panasonic’s most versatile bridge camera newly announced 16.1MP megapixel mega pixel Panasonic Lumix FZ70 super-zoom mini-SLR SLR 60x O.I.S. optical image stabilization zoom previous FZ60 zoom range 24x FZ70 improved image stabilization long end of the zoom reducing reduced minimizing camera shake induced by exceptional 1200mm zoom length telephoto range new 16.1MP CMOS sensor promises improved noise levels higher film speed ISOs smoother low-light performance added ability to shoot raw photos For audio video enthusiasts shoot 1080i60 HD video auto focus new special sealed Wind Shield Zoom Microphone reduce extraneous wind noise staggering 70% improved features work in real life appear to us on paper articulated articulating LCD improved electronic viewfinder EVF specs camera vs. Panasonic’s current flagship DMC-FZ200 super-zoom due out September, 2013 expected price approximately $400.00 /

Human nature may not be so warlike after all

Credit: Douglas Fry/ Wired

Though the view is widespread that human beings are a warlike species, 2 anthropologists, Douglas Fry & Patrik Soderberg, have written a paper suggesting that individuals banding together to make war on another group is a relatively recent phenomenon.

This is not to say that human beings are not violent. One-on-one killings occur in almost all species, including ours, & have for a very long time. Examination of the behaviour of other primates, including chimpanzees, shows that war (group-on-group violence) occurs. However, say Fry & Soderberg, group-on-group violence is a relatively recent phenomenon amongst human beings.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/to-war-is-human-perhaps-not/ / Longstreet awful history violence between groups of people humans predisposed to war new study of violence modern hunter-gatherer hunter gatherer societies may hold clues prehistoric human life warlike behavior relatively recent phenomenon humans violent researchers say most killing results flared tempers personal feuds rather group conflicts findings contradict notion humans evolved tendency form coalitions kill members neighboring groups wrote anthropologists Douglas Fry Patrik Soderberg July 18 2013 Science paper vast majority assume war is ancient part and parcel human nature perceptions very strong influences current day current-day society hope illuminate era stretching roughly 10,000 years ago metal tools appear archaeological record about 2.5 million years ago stone tool use became widespread period looms anthropological self regard self-regard humanity’s adolescence evolutionary crucible shape our species view reinforced studies conflict chimpanzees scattered archaeological evidence violent deaths prehistoric humans group on group group-on-group violence common constant reflecting influencing human nature research researcher researching researchers view unjustifiably dark scientific version original sin collective human violence aberration basic feature of life 2007 Beyond War: The Human Potential for Peace argued archaeological evidence prehistoric warfare misinterpreted modern hunter-gatherer violence exaggerated vast majority assume war ancient part human nature most foraging societies lethal aggression infrequent archaeological record violence regular group on group group-on-group character relatively recently people settled down ever larger ever-larger more complex hierarchical societies new paper looked at ethnographic histories 21 nomadic forager societies compiling database well documented well-documented incidence lethal aggression could be found reputable accounts spanning last two centuries counted 148 incidents more than half involved a single person killing another 22 percent involved multiple aggressors multiple victims one-third involved conflicts between groups behavior killings were motivated sexual jealousy revenge previous murder insults other interpersonal quarrels collectively between-group between group violence exceptional exception weight evidence suggests humanity humanity’s origins peaceful warlike foraging groups co-operation cooperation homicide homicides generally people get along very well humans have a capacity for warfar central part of human nature history of conflict /