Saturday, April 05, 2008

Science Country

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Friday, April 04, 2008

Islam Losing Members?

This report suggests Islam is collapsing. Maybe that’s why the extremists are so bent out of shape. They’re desperate to get new members.

Islam used to represent … Africa’s main religion and there were 30 African languages that used to be written in Arabic script. The number of Muslims in Africa has diminished to 316 million, half of whom are Arabs in North Africa. So in the section of Africa that we are talking about, the non-Arab section, the number of Muslims does not exceed 150 million people. When we realize that the entire population of Africa is one billion people, we see that the number of Muslims has diminished greatly from what it was in the beginning of the last century.

On the other hand, the number of Catholics has increased from one million in 1902 to 329 million 882 thousand (329,882,000). Let us round off that number to 330 million in the year 2000.

Any religion that asks as much of people as Islam does, is a hard pill for many people to swallow. Especially in the modern world. The more people are exposed to modern values in these countries,. the more they will probably seek moderation in their lives. While the threat of fanatics is real and exists, I have hope that the world will get over this mess in time. 

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From the BBC No Less

Sooner or later, the facts were going to come out. And a lot of hysterical, grant grubbing frauds are going to be exposed for what they are. In the meantime, you have to smile when one of the biggest global warming shills owns up to reality.

Global temperatures this year will be lower than in 2007 due to the cooling effect of the La Nina current in the Pacific, UN meteorologists have said.

The World Meteorological Organisation’s secretary-general, Michel Jarraud, told the BBC it was likely that La Nina would continue into the summer.

This would mean global temperatures have not risen since 1998, prompting some to question climate change theory.

Gosh. This has been a record inter in many parts of the world. And all those pesky hurricanes the AGW screamers predicted have failed to materialize. That’s the problem with playing chicken little. Sooner or later you’ll look like a joke.

While many people polled claim to believe in AGW, most of them don’t seem to care and find the whole subject incredibly boring.

Let’s hope Al Gore’s 15 minutes are up along with his bogus cause. 

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Thursday, April 03, 2008

Smallville Producers Quit

Now this is a surprise. They were renewed for another season.

Marveling at “seven amazing years,” the exec producers “look back knowing that the show will continue into Season 8 without us,” they say in an open letter. “After much heartache and debate, we have decided it is time for us to move on.”

Giving props to the CW series’ “remarkable” production team and “a wonderful cast who we have watched mature with admiration and affection,” the duo say, “We have been rewarded with a fan base that is as loyal as it is vocal. We are incredibly proud of our work on this show. We achieved what we set out to do. We never compromised our vision. We leave knowing that Smallville is the longest-running comic-book-based series of all time [and] was featured on the covers of Rolling Stone, MAD Magazine, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. The pilot had the highest-rated premiere in the history of the WB [where it originated]. Even in its seventh year, it is still the No. 1 scripted show on the network.”

I think they objected to what the CW wanted, which was against the rule the producers made for the show (which I disagree with). They had a “no tights, no flight rule”. They wanted to ground the show in reality. But at this stage, that’s absurd. They have come so far that for Kal El to not be able to fly makes him look stupid or weak. In fact, my one big complaint about the show is that they wrote him to be kind fo dense. He should have been way more proactive and curious about things than they made him. It’s sort of like Lost in that regard.

By now he should not only be able to fly, the costume should come out. And he should be wearing glasses as Clark Kent. I hope whoever produces the next season gets it right. I generally like the show and think its gotten better, but these missing elements made it annoying at times. 

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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Stooges

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American Idol Top 9

Last night was a very good show except for the wet blanket named Simon Cowell. The first mentor of the season was Dolly Parton, a country legend who is also a phenomenal songwriter. The Idols all did justice to her music in varying degrees. I was especially impressed with Carly Smithson’s version of “Here You Come Again”. It was excellent, but Simon pretty much shrugged at it and dissed her clothes. I didn’t know he was running for Mr Blackwell’s job, but he’s been commenting on clothes a lot lately.

The usual suspects did really well. David A, Dave Cook and Michael Johns did especially good sets. Everyone else was solid, in my opinion. It was one of the most consistently good episodes in a while.

But Simon was a holy terror last night with the exception of a few people he liked. So based on his comments, I think the following people might be. on the chopping block tonight.

Syesha Mercado, who did a great cover of “I will Always Love You”, but was trashed for not living up to Whitney Houston. Kristy Lee Cook, even though she did one of her best performances ever with “Coat of Many Colors”. And Ramiele Malubay who sang “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” very well. I thought it was fine, but Simon kinda trashed her. If Ramiele isn’t in trouble, then it might be Jason Castro who did a very solid performance, which Simon pretty much trashed.

At this stage anyone can go except maybe David A.

By the way, Dave Cook came out and gave credit to all the bands he referenced on his earlier performances, so that’s put to rest. And apparently he had a medical emergency after his performance and was rushed to the hospital. He never gave any indication he was under such stress during the show, which makes him a good performer. And he was one of the few Simon liked last night. 

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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Peak Oil My Ass

As I’ve stated many times, peak oil, as defined by its proponents is bunk. We haven’t even begun to find all the oil on this planet. This is yet another example of what I’m talking about.

A U.S.-based company that has controversially laid claim to nearly all of the Arctic Ocean’s undersea oil said Thursday that new geological data suggests a “potentially vast” petroleum resource of 400 billion barrels.

That figure is backed by a respected Canadian researcher who recently signed on as the firm’s chief scientific adviser.

This report came out last week, so that’s not an April Fools joke. We’re a long way from being out of oil. The only problem is extraction and rights. Many environmentalists want to block any oil drilling anywhere. But as long as there’s a demand, they’ll be overruled. 

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Seoul in the Future

I’ve always been a fan of futuristic architecture. These are some of the most radical designs I’ve seen. Bravo!

The Seoul Commune 2026 project by Mass Studies is just sheer genius. Covering 393,400 square meters of land and bound by the Han River on the northern side, 15 towers of varying height -from 16 to 53 floors-function like one giant house in this park-like setting.

The towers’ functions are separated into public, private, and commercial, offering purely-private rooms called “cells”, communal spaces for public activity and welfare/medical facilities. The base of the 15 towers, where the park merges with the towers, creates the widest spaces of the site. Above, the first floor is 75 meters wide and extends up to the height of the first five stories. The ground floor space is reserved for pedestrians. Three walkways converge there and circulate around each tower’s elevator core.

More pictures after the jump.

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