Darren Straight’s Blog

Just heard about this via the Nasa Website:

On Wednesday, 2006 March 29, a total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor which traverses half the Earth. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow begins in Brazil and extends across the Atlantic, northern Africa, and central Asia where it ends at sunset in western Mongolia. A partial eclipse will be seen within the much broader path of the Moon’s penumbral shadow, which includes the northern two thirds of Africa, Europe, and central Asia.

Via: NASA | Exploratorium

Flood Maps is a Google Maps mashup that takes flood data from NASA for the US and Europe (and maybe more parts of the world) and allows you to ‘raise’ the sea level from 1m to 14m.

Via: A Welsh View

I was just reading this Article By Mark Henderson on the Times Online website about how dozens of the world’s cities, including London and New York, could be flooded by the end of the century, as global warming could get worse than what they first thought, here’s a copy of the article.

DOZENS of the world’s cities, including London and New York, could be flooded by the end of the century, according to research which suggests that global warming will increase sea levels more rapidly than was previously thought.
The first study to combine computer models of rising temperatures with records of the ancient climate has indicated that sea levels could rise by up to 20ft (6m) by 2100, placing millions of people at risk.

The threat comes from melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, which scientists behind the research now believe are on track to release vast volumes of water significantly more quickly than older models have predicted. Their analysis of events between 129,000 and 116,000 years ago, when the Arctic last warmed to temperatures forecast for 2100, shows that there could be large rises in sea level.

While the Greenland ice sheet is expected to start melting as summer temperatures in the Arctic rise by 3C degrees to 5C (5.4F-9F), most models suggest that the ice sheets of Antarctica will remain more stable.

The historical data, however, show that the last time that Greenland became this warm, the sea level rise generated by meltwater destabilised the Antarctic ice, leading to a much higher increase than can be explained by Arctic ice alone.

That means that the models of sea-level rise used to predict an increase of up to 3ft by 2100 may have significantly underestimated its ultimate extent, which could be as great as 20ft.

Such a rise would threaten cities such as London, New York, Bombay and Tokyo. Large parts of the Netherlands, Bangladesh and Florida would be inundated, and even smaller rises would flood extreme low-lying areas, such as several Pacific islands and New Orleans.

“Although the focus of our work is polar, the implications are global,” said Bette Otto-Bliesner, of the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, who led the study. “These ice sheets melted before and sea levels rose. The warmth needed isn’t that much above present conditions.”

Her colleague, Jonathan Overpeck, of the University of Arizona, said: “This is a real eye-opener set of results. The last time the Arctic was significantly warmer than the present day, the Greenland ice sheet melted back the equivalent of two to three metres (6ft-10ft) of sea level. Contrary to what was previously believed, the research suggests the Antarctic ice sheet also melted substantially, contributing another 6ft to 10ft of sea level rise.”

The findings, which are published today in the journal Science, have emerged from a study that used data from ancient coral reefs, ice cores and other natural records to reconstruct the climate during the last gap between Ice Ages. In this interglacial period, between 129,000 and 116,000 years ago, temperatures in the Arctic were between 3C and 5C above present levels — a similar level to that predicted for the end of this century.

The scientists found that meltwater from Greenland raised the sea level by up to 11ft, but coral records showed that the total global rise was between 13ft and 20ft. Dr Overpeck said that the melting of Antarctic ice sheets was the most likely explanation. As sea levels rose, the floating ice shelves off the coast of the continent would have become more likely to break up. That in turn would have allowed glaciers to dump more ice from the continent itself into the sea.

He said that this was particularly worrying at present as the base of the West Antarctic ice sheet lay below sea level, which would allow ice to escape to the sea easily.

Several recent studies have indicated that the Greenland ice sheet, which contains enough water to raise sea levels by 23ft, and the West Antarctic sheet, which holds enough for a 20ft rise, are thinning. Both are expected to take several centuries to melt completely, but could release substantial quantities of water by 2100.

Dr Overpeck said that the results added to the urgency of measures to control the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming.

Via: Times Online

Climbing Mount Everest for me would be like a dream come true, it surely must be a great experience to climb it and see the world from above, just think of them fantastic views on the way up!

But theres a problem, I’ve never really done any professional rock climbing before so I would have to learn rock climbing before I even start thinking about taking on Mount Everest.

But hey maybe one day I will because after all, quotes like: “It’s never too late, you can accomplish everything you want - as long as you put some work into it.” really give you that great feeling that if you try you’ll succeed in reaching the summit or Mount Everest one day!

Now though I say this, I beileve that my time is not right for Mount Everest as my time is with my studies so for now I’m just going to have to put my dreams of going to Mount Everest on hold, but hey have no ferar for those of you who still want to go and have a bit more time than me at the moment why not read below.

It doesn’t require 10 years of climbing to attempt Everest. 2-3 years could be adequate if you climb very often, including some high Alpine climbs. But you should still take your time to learn the skills and enjoy the practice on various mountains around the world. It’s a longer, yet much more rewarding approach to climb Everest.

Becoming a climber

1. Take a course in rock climbing

Start in spring or summer for the best weather, most spare time and fun. An initial rock-climbing course usually takes a weekend. It will familiarize you with the gear. Ropes, personal/climbing equipment, belaying, the techniques to climb various rock formations and rock materials, abseiling, how to find routes to climb (there are route-guide books) and of course the art of rock climbing itself (to use your legs rather than your arms and so on). Expect sore legs, arms, back and fingertips. And a whole new dimension to your life.

2. Practice

Buy a guidebook for various climbs and routes in your neighborhood and start practice what you’ve learned.

You don’t need to be a skilled rock climber to climb the Himalayas since the technical parts of alpine mountains usually are different from rock  “tip” climbing. You will wear bulky shoes and clothing - the rocks will be rougher and wider.

But you need rock climbing skills to know the proper techniques. It will make your climb so much easier.

Practice everywhere. Go outdoors, at evenings and weekends. It’s a neat feeling to climb a steep, dark, wet and cold hill at night, and then dress up in the car for a fancy dinner at an upscale restaurant!

Climb while spending a weekend at the in-laws summer house. Behind the mall. At school brakes. In the park. There are rocks to be found everywhere. People think that you are crazy? Don’t worry about it. You are about to become an Everest climber!

Bring climbing gear with you on vacations. We’ve had some great rock climbs in really unexpected places like the Seychelles. Make climbing a part of your every day life. 10 minutes here. One hour there. You have the time.

3. Aid climbing

After you have practiced some rock climbing on your own, say a month or two, you should follow up with a class in aid climbing. It takes just a day or two and will introduce you to further techniques in artificial climbing and pegs.

These skills are specifically suited for difficult walls and tricky sections. With these techniques, you’ll get in and out of everywhere.

4. Time to go Ice

You have climbed for around, say - 3 months, and if you started at summer and live in a temperate climate, now is the season to take a class in ice climbing. This course takes anything from 1-3 days, depending on travel. You will learn to use ice- screws, snow belays, crampons and those cool ice picks. You will be wearing hard boots and learn to climb in heavy weather gear. The ice will shimmer  translucent blue and green, you will be mortified, but in the end you’ll make it and then transform into Superman, ready to sign autographs!

5. Ready for the Big Ones

Following the winters ice-climbs, it is now spring and a good time to join a guided expedition to a high mountain. Denali in Alaska is a good one. The climb is around 2 weeks, season ranging from May to July. You will learn to deal with cold and foul weather, altitude, to pack light, to melt water and prepare altitude food, how to set up camp, what gear to use and how to use it.

Also, you will learn how you respond to altitude - what is normal and when to be alarmed. You will also learn to handle various mountaineering problems, medicals and alpine illness preventions.

Since we had already attended a mountaineering course in the Mount Blanc massif, we took on Denali alone. Reading the book “Surviving Denali” (Jonathan Waterman) prior to the climb was of great value to us.

6. On your own

It’s time to make your own expedition. Aaargh! Take on an easy mountain: Cho Oyu in Nepal and the likes. (But never underestimate ANY mountain). Practice what you learned when you were guided.  Good time to climb Cho Oyo is in the fall, September/October. Aconcagua, South America, is a favorite in the spring.

7. Everest

Ready to go. Here is how…

Via: MountEverest.net

The Simulation Argument with the phrase “Are you Living in a Computer Simulation?” is one area of study which has nearly always interested me, because I believe there is always a significant probability that we as are living in a computer simulation.

If the simulation hypothesis is true, you exist in a virtual reality simulated in a computer built by an advanced civilization. Your brain, too, is merely a part of that simulation.

1. What is the Simulation argument?
The Simulation argument was set forth in a paper published in 2003. A draft of that paper had previously been circulated for a couple of years.

The shows that at least one of the following propositions is true: (1) the human species is very likely to go extinct before reaching a “posthuman” stage; (2) any posthuman civilization is extremely unlikely to run a significant number of simulations of their evolutionary history (or variations thereof); (3) we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation. It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed.

The argument has attracted a considerable amount of attention, among scientists and philosophers as well as in the media.

References:

N. Bostrom, “Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?” Philosophical Quarterly, 2003, Vol. 53, No. 211, pp. 243-255. URL:  http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html.

Via: simulation-argument.com

I’ve blogged about the effort to build a space elevator before and will do again in the future until that day comes when we finally see a fully functional one from earth to space, but I guess for now all I can do is keep you updated on the latest news, and this times it’s news on how the LiftPort Group have managed to get 1 mile (1.6 km) into the sky.

So that’s one step further to a Space elevator, anyway here’s the article about it:

A slim cable for a space elevator has been built stretching a mile into the sky, enabling robots to scrabble some way up and down the line.

LiftPort Group, a private US company on a quest to build a space elevator by April 2018, stretched the strong carbon ribbon 1 mile (1.6 km) into the sky from the Arizona desert outside Phoenix in January tests, it announced on Monday.

The company’s lofty objective will sound familiar to followers of NASA’s Centennial Challenges programme. The desired outcome is a 62,000-mile (99,779 km) tether that robotic lifters – powered by laser beams from Earth – can climb, ferrying cargo, satellites and eventually people into space.

The recent test followed a September 2005 demonstration in which LiftPort’s robots climbed 300 metres of ribbon tethered to the Earth and pulled taut by a large balloon. This time around, the company tested an improved cable pulled aloft by three balloons.

Rock solid

To make the cable, researchers sandwiched three carbon-fibre composite strings between four sheets of fibreglass tape, creating a mile-long cable about 5 centimetres wide and no thicker than about six sheets of paper.

“For this one, the real critical test was making a string strong enough,” says Michael Laine, president of LiftPort. “We made a cable that was stationed by the balloons at a mile high for 6 hours…it was rock solid.”

A platform linking the balloons and the tether was successfully launched and held in place during the test. LiftPort calls the platform HALE, High Altitude Long Endurance, and plans to market it for aerial observation and communication purposes.

But the test was not completely without problems.

The company’s battery-operated robotic lifters were designed to climb up and down the entire length of the ribbon but only made it about 460 m above ground. Laine told New Scientist that the robots had worked properly during preparatory tests and his team is still analysing the problem.

Carbon nanotubes

In March, LiftPort hopes to set up a HALE system in Utah’s Mars Desert Research Station and maintain it for three weeks. Then, later in the spring, Laine says he wants to test a 2-mile (3.2-km) tether with robots scaling to at least half way up.

Laine aims to produce a functioning space elevator by 2018 – a date his company chose in 2003 based on a NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts study, which said an elevator could be built in 15 years. “This is a baby step, but it’s part of the process,” he says of LiftPort’s recent test.

The idea is to build the actual elevator’s ribbon from ultra-strong carbon nanotube composites and to have solar-powered lifters carry 100 tonnes of cargo into space once a week, 50 times a year.

Beams and climbers

Laine sits on the board of the California-based Spaceward Foundation, which partnered with NASA to put on two space-elevator-related competitions that were the first of the agency’s Centennial Challenges programme – the Tether Challenge and the Beam Power Challenge.

The first is designed to test the strength of lightweight tethers while the beam challenge tests the climbing ability and weight-bearing capability of robots scaling a cable. Laine’s team is not competing in the NASA challenges so there is no conflict of interest.

In October 2005, none of the competition entrants performed well enough to claim the twin $50,000 purses. But the challenges are scheduled to take place again in August 2006 with $150,000 top prizes. Nineteen teams have signed up for the beam power challenge so far and three will compete in the tether challenge.

Ben Shelef, founder of the Spaceward Foundation, hopes the competitions will drum up interest and drive technological innovation. He told New Scientist he is pleased to hear of LiftPort’s successful test. “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step,” he says.

Source: NewScientist.com

Adventurer Steve Fossett has reached the US as he pushes on with his bid to make the longest, non-stop flight in aviation history.

After arriving just after 1900 GMT, he is now heading for Florida, where he must decide if his Virgin GlobalFlyer has enough fuel to cross the Atlantic.

Mission engineers’ calculations suggest it could be touch and go.

There was a 50% chance he might have to abandon the record attempt, Mr Fossett told the BBC from his cockpit.

“We calculate that I just barely have enough fuel to make the coast of England,” he said.

“In fact, if we’ve miscalculated at all, I would end up in the water; so I’m going to take a very difficult decision when I reach Florida before I head out over the Atlantic.”

Ireland option

The 61-year-old American is trying to crack the record set in 1986 by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager.

They clocked 40,212km (24,987 miles) during a non-stop, non-refuelled flight in their Voyager aircraft.

In his bid to eclipse that mark, Mr Fossett set out from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday for Kent International Airport in the UK - a journey that would take him around the world once and across the Atlantic twice.

But a leak from the fuel tanks during the ascent to cruising altitude means the aviator may now have to land early.

“If I am truly short of fuel, Ireland is closer than England; and I will still have the longest distance flight, whether I land in Ireland or England,” he explained.

Decision time will come in the next few hours.

Assuming he does have sufficient reserves to complete the epic journey, landfall over Ireland would occur at about 1730 GMT on Saturday; a landing at Manston in Kent would follow around 1830 GMT.

Track record

The flight has proved quite a struggle so far. High cockpit temperatures, turbulence and lack of sleep have tested the experienced airman to the limit.

Sixty-one-year-old Mr Fossett is no stranger to adventure and has set 109 records is many sporting fields, including yachting and ballooning.

Last year, the former stockbroker became the first person to fly solo, non-stop around the world without refuelling, a feat accomplished in 67 hours and one minute.

It was the amount of fuel left in his experimental GlobalFlyer at the end of the journey that convinced Mr Fossett the longest-distance flight record could also be won.

Sponsor, friend and fellow adventurer Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin empire, said of the latest challenge: “This is a huge achievement, especially under the circumstances.

“The conditions Steve has been through have been extreme to say the least, coping with severe turbulence, extreme heat and no sleep,” he added.

“I have always suspected that Steve was half human, half android and after what he’s been through, I believe I may be right. We will have to get his DNA tested when he gets back.”

(1) Fuel tanks - Gross weight is 10 tonnes; empty weight is 1.5t
(2) Engine - Williams FJ44-3 ATW (10,200 Newtons of thrust)
(3) Cockpit - Pressurised and large enough for pilot to lie down
Length - 11.7m; Height - 3.6m; Wingspan - 35m
Speed - in excess of 460km/h; 290mph; 250 knots

Source: BBC | Mission Control

About 30 minutes ago or so I was having a general chat with Krishna C Mandava, one the moderators from Google Community, and he was telling me about this new course called Computer Forensics might be a good idea for me to do, and I thought wait a minute I like Forensics and I like Computers, would Computer Forensics not be a great course for me to do, just one problem though, I’m already studying a Foundation Degree in IT and then will move onto the Honours Degree in IT, so as you can see I don’t think I will want to do another course not after having done what I’m doing now.

Nevertheless I’m keeping an open mind about it, there’s no stopping me from studying it at a later date, for that reason I did some investigation about Computer Forensics to find out what it’s all about, here’s a little bit of information I found!

1. What is Computer Forensics?
There a number of slightly varying definitions around. However, generally, computer forensics is considered to be the use of analytical and investigative techniques to identify, collect, examine and preserve evidence/information which is magnetically stored or encoded.

2. What is the objective of this?
Usually to provide digital evidence of a specific or general activity.

3. To what ends?
A forensic investigation can be initiated for a variety fo reasons. The most high profile are usually with respect to criminal investigation, or civil litigation, but forensic techniques can be of value in a wide variety of situations, including perhaps, simply re-tracking steps taken when data has been lost.

4. What are the common scenarios?
Wide and varied! Examples include:
- Employee internet abuse (common, but decreasing)
- Unauthorized disclosure of corporate information and data (accidental and intentional)
- Industrial espionage
- Damage assessment (following an incident)
- Criminal fraud and deception cases
- More general criminal cases (many criminals simply store information on computers, intentionally or unwittingly)
- and countless others!

5. How is a computer forensic investigation approached?
It’s a detailed science. However, very broadly, the main phases are sometimes considered to be: secure the subject system (from tampering during the operation); take a copy of hard drive (if applicable); identify and recovery all files (including those deleted); access/copy hidden, protected and temporary files; study ’special’ areas on the drive (eg: residue from previously deleted files); investigate data/settings from installed applications/programs; assess the system as a whole, including its structure; consider general factors relating to the users activity; create detailed report. Throughout the investigation, it is important to stress that a full audit log of your activities should be maintained.

6. Is there anything that should NOT be done during an investigation?
Definitely. However, these tend to be related to the nature of the computer system being investigated. Typically though, it is important to avoid changing date/time stamps (of files for example) or changing data itself. The same applies to the overwriting of unallocated space (which can happen on re-boot for example). ‘Study don’t change’ is a useful catch-phrase.

And here’s an overview of the BSc(Hons) Cyber Security and Computer Forensics joint honours course as posted on the Kingston University London Website.

OVERVIEW
This new course could be an ideal choice if you are interested in how computers can be used to prevent and solve crime. In addition to gaining a thorough knowledge of core computer science subjects, you will learn how to perform and evaluate rudimentary computer forensic investigations as well as how to make systems more secure using biometric technologies such as voice scans and iris scans.

Biometric technologies are used in the following sectors where there could be a digital threat: public services, law enforcement, banking, physical access control and computing and networking. In addition to learning about the practical elements of these systems, you will also look at the legal and privacy issues surrounding subject.

Computer Forensics World
Kingston University London

Ok there’s been quite a lot of news about Global Warming lately so for those of you who are still living under a rock I thought I better post you the latest news about it!

Jan. 31, 2006 — Global warming could cause ice at both poles of the Earth to start melting this century, driving up sea levels, according to a major study published Monday by the British government.

The study, “Avoiding Dangerous Climate Change,” collates evidence presented by scientists at a conference staged a year ago ahead of the 2005 Group of Eight (G8) summit, where Britain placed global warming high on the agenda.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair added his voice to the warning on Monday.

“It is clear from the work presented that the risks of climate change may well be greater than we thought,” Blair said in the study’s foreword.

“It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with industrialization and economic growth from a world population that has increased six-fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate that is unsustainable.”

The consensus view among scientists, the document warned, is of large-scale and irreversible disruption to the planet’s climate system if temperatures rise by more than 3° Celsius (5.4° Fahrenheit) above current levels.

Such a rise is well within the range of climate change projections for the century, it said, warning: “In many cases the risks are more serious than previously thought.”

The international conference, which took place in Exeter, southwest England, was the biggest gathering of climate scientists since a landmark report in 2001 published under U.N. auspices.

That report confirmed that temperatures were rising and pinned the blame on carbon emissions disgorged mainly by the burning of oil, gas and coal.

It said that future greenhouse gas emissions were likely to raise global temperatures by between 1.4 and 5.8°C (2.5 and 10.4°F) from 1990 to 2100. The temperature has already risen about 0.6°C (1.6°F) since 1900.

But the U.N. report also acknowledged some uncertainties as to when, where and how this pollution would affect the climate.

The latest study says that some of the knowledge gap has been filled. Compared with the U.N. report, it said, there “is greater clarity and reduced uncertainty” about the impacts of climate change across a wide range of systems, sectors and societies.

There is a serious risk of large-scale, irreversible system disruption, including the possible destabilization of the Antarctic ice sheets, if the warming goes beyond 3°C (5.4°F) above current levels, the report warned.

A regional increase of 2.7°C (4.9°F) above present levels could trigger melting of the Greenland ice cap, it said.

It said increasing acidity in the ocean would be likely to reduce the capacity to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and affect the entire marine food chain.

Even a more modest rise in global temperatures of about 1°C (1.8°F) would probably lead to extensive coral bleaching, the report said.

Source: Discovery Channel

It look’s like the Russians have plans to build a moonbase, could this be the beginning of the planetary wars or space wars or why not Star Wars!

RUSSIA is planning to mine a rare fuel on the moon by 2020 with a permanent base and a heavy-cargo transport link, a Russian space official says.

“We are planning to build a permanent base on the moon by 2015 and by 2020 we can begin the industrial-scale delivery … of the rare isotope Helium-3,” Nikolai Sevastyanov, head of the Energia space corporation, was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency as saying at an academic conference.
The International Space Station (ISS) would play a key role in the project and a regular transport relay to the moon would be established with the help of the planned Clipper spaceship and the Parom, a space capsule intended to tug heavy cargo containers around space, Mr Sevastyanov said.

Helium-3 is a non-radioactive isotope of helium that can be used in nuclear fusion.

Rare on earth but plentiful on the moon, it is seen by some experts as an ideal fuel because it is powerful, non-polluting and generates almost no radioactive by-product.

Source: News.com.au