Real Estate Invesment: January 2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Murphy's war law

Friendly fire - isn't.
Recoilless rifles - aren't.
Suppressive fires - won't.
You are not Superman; Marines and fighter pilots take note.
A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.
Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.
If at first you don't succeed, call in an air strike.
If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.
Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself.
Never go to bed with anyone crazier than yourself.
Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
The enemy diversion you're ignoring is their main attack.
The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions:
when they're ready.
when you're not.
No OPLAN ever survives initial contact.
There is no such thing as a perfect plan.
Five second fuses always burn three seconds.
There is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.
A retreating enemy is probably just falling back and regrouping.
The Ol' Ranger's addendum:
Or else they're trying to suck you into a serious ambush!
The important things are always simple; the simple are always hard.
The easy way is always mined.
Teamwork is essential; it gives the enemy other people to shoot at.
Don't look conspicuous; it draws fire. For this reason, it is not at all uncommon for aircraft carriers to be known as bomb magnets.
Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.
If you are short of everything but the enemy, you are in the combat zone.
When you have secured the area, make sure the enemy knows it too.
Incoming fire has the right of way.
No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
No inspection ready unit has ever passed combat.
If the enemy is within range, so are you.
The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.
Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.
Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.
Radar tends to fail at night and in bad weather, and especially during both.)
Anything you do can get you killed, including nothing.
Make it too tough for the enemy to get in, and you won't be able to get out.
Tracers work both ways.
If you take more than your fair share of objectives, you will get more than your fair share of objectives to take.
When both sides are convinced they're about to lose, they're both right.
Professional soldiers are predictable; the world is full of dangerous amateurs.
Military Intelligence is a contradiction.
Fortify your front; you'll get your rear shot up.
Weather ain't neutral.
If you can't remember, the Claymore is pointed toward you.
Air defense motto: shoot 'em down; sort 'em out on the ground.
'Flies high, it dies; low and slow, it'll go.
The Cavalry doesn't always come to the rescue.
Napalm is an area support weapon.
Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
B-52s are the ultimate close support weapon.
Sniper's motto: reach out and touch someone.
Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity.
The one item you need is always in short supply.
Interchangeable parts aren't.
It's not the one with your name on it; it's the one addressed "to whom it may concern" you've got to think about.
When in doubt, empty your magazine.
The side with the simplest uniforms wins.
Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.
If the Platoon Sergeant can see you, so can the enemy.
Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can sleep.
The most dangerous thing in the world is a Second Lieutenant with a map and a compass.
Exceptions prove the rule, and destroy the battle plan.
Everything always works in your HQ, everything always fails in the Colonel's HQ.
The enemy never watches until you make a mistake.
One enemy soldier is never enough, but two is entirely too many.
A clean (and dry) set of BDU's is a magnet for mud and rain.
The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.
Whenever you have plenty of ammo, you never miss. Whenever you are low on ammo, you can't hit the broad side of a barn.
The more a weapon costs, the farther you will have to send it away to be repaired.
The complexity of a weapon is inversely proportional to the IQ of the weapon's operator.
Field experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
No matter which way you have to march, its always uphill.
If enough data is collected, a board of inquiry can prove anything.
For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. (in boot camp)
Air strikes always overshoot the target, artillery always falls short.
When reviewing the radio frequencies that you just wrote down, the most important ones are always illegible.
Those who hesitate under fire usually do not end up KIA or WIA.
The tough part about being an officer is that the troops don't know what they want, but they know for certain what they don't want.
To steal information from a person is called plagiarism. To steal information from the enemy is called gathering intelligence.
The weapon that usually jams when you need it the most is the M60.
The perfect officer for the job will transfer in the day after that billet is filled by someone else.
When you have sufficient supplies & ammo, the enemy takes 2 weeks to attack. When you are low on supplies & ammo the enemy decides to attack that night.
The newest and least experienced soldier will usually win the Medal of Honor.
A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
Murphy was a grunt.
Beer Math: 2 beers times 37 men equals 49 cases.
Body count Math: 3 guerrillas plus 1 probable plus 2 pigs equals 37 enemies killed in action.
The bursting radius of a hand grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.
All-weather close air support doesn't work in bad weather.
The combat worth of a unit is inversely proportional to the smartness of its outfit and appearance.
The crucial round is a dud.
Every command which can be misunderstood, will be.
There is no such place as a convenient foxhole.
Don't ever be the first, don't ever be the last and don't ever volunteer to do anything.
If your positions are firmly set and you are prepared to take the enemy assault on, he will bypass you.
If your ambush is properly set, the enemy won't walk into it.
If your flank march is going well, the enemy expects you to outflank him.
Density of fire increases proportionally to the curiousness of the target.
Odd objects attract fire - never lurk behind one.
The more stupid the leader is, the more important missions he is ordered to carry out.
The self-importance of a superior is inversely proportional to his position in the hierarchy (as is his deviousness and mischievousness).
There is always a way, and it usually doesn't work.
Success occurs when no one is looking, failure occurs when the General is watching.
The enemy never monitors your radio frequency until you broadcast on an unsecured channel.
Whenever you drop your equipment in a fire-fight, your ammo and grenades always fall the farthest away, and your canteen always lands at your feet.
As soon as you are served hot chow in the field, it rains.
Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
The seriousness of a wound (in a fire-fight) is inversely proportional to the distance to any form of cover.
Walking point = sniper bait.
Your bivouac for the night is the spot where you got tired of marching that day.
If only one solution can be found for a field problem, then it is usually a stupid solution.
No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
The most dangerous thing in the combat zone is an officer with a map.
The problem with taking the easy way out is that the enemy has already mined it.
The buddy system is essential to your survival; it gives the enemy somebody else to shoot at.
If your advance is going well, you are walking into an ambush.
The quartermaster has only two sizes, too large and too small.
If you really need an officer in a hurry, take a nap.
The only time suppressive fire works is when it is used on abandoned positions.
There is nothing more satisfying that having someone take a shot at you, and miss.
Don't be conspicuous. In the combat zone, it draws fire. Out of the combat zone, it draws sergeants.
If see you, so can the enemy.
All or any of the above combined.
Avoid loud noises, there are few silent killers in a combat zone.
Never screw over a buddy; you'll never know when he could save your life.
Never expect any rations; the only rations that will be on time and won't be short is the ration ofshit.
Respect all religions in a combat zone, take no chances on where you may go if killed.
A half filled canteens a beacon for a full loaded enemy weapon.
When in a fire fight, kill as many as you can, the one you miss may not miss tomorrow.
The last six laws were sent by Hank Samples. A Viet Nam combat veteran (70-72) 11th ACR-101st Abn.
It is a physical impossibility to carry too much ammo.
Sent by - Baseka@aol.com
If you survive an ambush, something's wrong.
Sent by - CPL Nagel
Some General last words (as his aides tried to get him to get his head down):
"What! what! men, dodging this way for single bullets! What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist..."
Sent by Yael Dragwyla
The General was General John Sedgwick, said on May 9, 1864 at the Battle of Spotsylvania.
Sent by Mike Gottert
If you can see the flashes from the enemies' guns in battle, he can see yours too.
Flashlights, lighters and matches don't just illuminate the surrounding area; they illuminate you too.
Just because you have nearly impenetrable body armor and a hard-ass Kevlar helmet, doesn't mean you don't have exposed areas.
There are few times when the enemy can't hear you: When he's dead, you're dead, or both.
Addendum: When he's not there, when you're not there, or both.
Never cover a dead body with your own in hopes of looking like you're one of the casualties. Even using his cadaver is a stretch to avoid being shot "just in case."
You're only better than your enemy if you kill him first.
The last seven laws were sent by Charlie.
Complain about the rations all you want, but just remember; they could very well be your last meal.
Never underestimate the ability of the brass to foul things up.
You have two mortal enemies in combat; the opposing side and your own rear services.
You think the enemy has better artillery support and the enemy thinks yours is better; you're both right.
Three things you will never see in combat; hot chow, hot showers, and an uninterrupted night's sleep.
"Live" and "Hero" are mutually exclusive terms.
The last six laws were sent by Donald J. Cheek, CPT, US Army (Ret) - Gulf War vet.
Don't be a hero
Sent by Bo Zhang
Once you are in the fight it is way too late to wonder if this is a good idea.
NEVER get into a fight without more ammunition that the other guy.
Cover your Buddy, so he can be around to cover for you.
Decisions made by someone over your head will seldom be in your best interest.
Sometimes, being good and lucky still is not enough.
If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops probably do not have what they need.
If you are wearing body armor they will probably miss that part.
Happiness is a belt fed weapon.
Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative...
If you are allergic to lead it is best to avoid a war zone.
Hot garrison chow is better than hot C-rations which, in turn, are better than cold C-rations, which are better than no food at all. All of these, however, are preferable to cold rice balls even if they do have little pieces of fish in them.
A free fire zone has nothing to do with economics.
Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at the end of the day is better.
Being shot hurts.
Thousands of Veterans earned medals for bravery every day. A few were even awarded.
There is only one rule in war: When you win, you get to make up the rules.
C-4 can make a dull day fun.
There is no such thing as a fair fight -- only ones where you win or lose.
If you win the battle you are entitled to the spoils. If you lose you don't care.
Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. What is important is what you are doing -- NOW -- to solve our problem.
Always make sure someone has a can opener.
Prayer may not help . . . but it can't hurt.
Flying is better than walking. Walking is better than running. Running is better than crawling. All of these, however, are better than extraction by a Med-Evac even if it is, technically, a form of flying.
If everyone does not come home none of the rest of us can ever fully come home either.
Carrying any weapon that you weren't issued (e.g, an AK) in combat is Not A Good Idea!
A combat vet will know the sound of an unfamiliar weapon in an instant and will point and shoot.
Not only that, AKs use green tracers which mean "shoot 'em all and let God sort them out".
As has been noted, "Friendly fire isn't!"
The last 25 laws were sent by Jim
When the going gets tough, the tough go cyclic.
Sent by SPC Chris
Military Intelligence is not a contradiction in terms, "Light Infantry" is!
Sent by CPT Sean M. Murphy, FA, USA
Proximity factor: The need for relief is directly related to the distance of the relief station.
Sent by Joe Garcia
Always keep one bullet in the chamber when changing your magazine.
Sent by J.E.S.
In peacetime people say, "War is Hell". In combat, under fire from artillery, airplanes, or whatever, a soldier thinks, "War is really really really LOUD as Hell!!!".
f you can think clearly, know exactly what's happening, and have total control of a situation in combat, then you're not in combat.
When you get the coveted 1,000 yard stare, don't forget about the enemy who is 30 yards away and about to pop your ass.
Stay away from officers in combat, they're clever decoys for noncoms.
If you think you don't need something for your combat load for an OP PLAN, you'll probably wish you had it after the shit hits the fan in combat.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
The last six laws were sent by Michael Desai
Failure of plan A will directly affect your ability to carry out plan B.
Sent by Lenny Quites
If you drop a soldier in the middle of a desert with a rock, a hammer, and an anvil, tell him not to touch any of it, and come back two hours later, the anvil will be broken. "Because soldiers gotta fuck with shit". (quoted from an Officer during an interview in which the Officer was asked why barrels were thickened on the M-16A2).
Sent by Darrell A. Pierce
War does not determine who is right, war determines who is left.
Sent by Quenya. Aus. (didn't know there were Elves in Australia, didn't know that elves were interested in war).
Lackland's Laws:
1. Never be first.
2. Never be last.
3. Never volunteer for anythin
An escaping soldier can be used again.
Sent by Asier Zabarte
If you think you'll die, don't worry you won't.
Near death, but still a live? There is nothing wrong with physics. God doesn't like you.
It is better to be lucky than good in the battlefield.
Sent by Rob
If it's worth fighting for...it's worth fighting dirty for.
Sent by former Lt. C. Harper (Vietnam '65)
if god wanted boots to be comfortable he would have designed them like running shoes.
Sent by Pv1 Goetze
If you survive the extraordinary things, it will often be the little things that will kill you.
Give an order, then change the order, will get you disorder.
Sent by Samuel
You never have fire support in heavy firefight but you always have it on a silent recon mission
Sent by Roswell
Revision to Marine Corp. Motto "If it makes sense, we won't do it".
Sent by Larry Wotring
The only thing more dangerous to you than the enemy, is your allies
Sent by Marc Underwood
Night vision - isn't
Sent by truga
When you need CAS, they'll be on last weeks radio fill and you won't be able to reach them
When you need Apache's, they'll be busy escorting the generals bird around
Last two laws were sent by Warpig, saying they are "A couple of additions to the law I picked up in Afghanistan".
Supply & Demand law
Whatever you have, you won't need; whatever you need, you won't have.
Leadership law
If it was risky, it worked and no one got hurt: you were brilliant
If it was risky, it worked and someone got hurt; you were courageous
If it was risky, it didn't work and no one got hurt; you were lucky
If it was risky, it didn't work and someone got hurt; you were stupid (and probably dead)
Last two laws were sent by Sylvia Steward
The best sniper position is always the hardest to reach
Snakes aren't neutral
When you need to use the bathroom - the enemy is watching your position
Last three laws were sent by Mitchell Jones, Law Enforcement Precision Marksman, Arkansas

Laws of War for Helicopters

Helicopter tail rotors are naturally drawn toward trees, stumps, rocks, etc.
While it may be possible to ward off this event some of the time, it cannot, despite the best efforts of the crew, always be prevented.
It's just what they do.
The engine RPM and the rotor RPM must BOTH be kept in the GREEN.
Failure to heed this commandment can adversely affect the morale of the crew.
The terms Protective Armor and Helicopter are mutually exclusive.
"Chicken Plates" are not something you order in a restaurant.
The BSR (Bang Stare Red) Law:
The louder the sudden bang in the helicopter, the quicker your eyes will be drawn to the gauges.
Corollary: The longer you stare at the gauges the less time it takes them to move from green to red.
Loud, sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention.
The further you fly into the mountains, the louder the strange engine noises become.
It is a bad thing to run out of airspeed, altitude and ideas all at the same time.
"Pucker Factor" is the formal name of the equation that states the more hairy the situation is, the more of the seat cushion will be sucked up your butt.
It can be expressed in its mathematical formula of:
S (suction) + H (height above ground) + I (interest in staying alive) + T (# of tracers coming your way).
Thus the term 'SHIT!' can also be used to denote a situation where a high Pucker Factor is being encountered.
Running out of pedal, fore or aft cyclic, or collective are all bad ideas.
Any combination of these can be deadly.
All the Laws of War for Helicopters were sent by Jim Kirk with courtesy of CWO4 Larry Gilbert (Ret). his brother-in-law that sent them to him
Helicopters have been described as nothing more than 50,000 parts flying in close formation. It is the mechanics responsibility to keep that formation as tight as possible.
It is mathematically impossible for either hummingbirds, or helicopters to fly. Fortunately, neither are aware of this.
The last two laws were sent by Darrell A. Pierce
LZ's are always hot.
Sent by loony39478@yahoo.com
There are 'old' pilots and 'bold' pilots, but there are no 'old, bold' pilots.
Any helicopter pilot story that starts "There I was,...." will be either true or false.
Any of these stories that end with "No shit." was neither true nor false.
The mark of a truly superior pilot is the use of his superior judgment to avoid situations requiring the use of his superior skill
The last three laws were sent by Brad Lucas, CPT, AV USA Ret, and a 1st Gulf War Vet.
Ch-53's are living proof, that if you strap enough engines to something it will fly.
Sent by Jason Koeck

Laws of War for Tanks

The same gun tube that would probably stay in alignment after lifting a car, will get you beaten after calibration if used to assist in climbing on the tank.
Tanks draw fire. A lot of it. It does not behoove the infantryman to hide behind one.
If you're close enough to actually hear an M1 series tank running, while in combat, and not part of the crew, you're too close.
Laws of war for tanks were sent by Darrell A. Pierce

Laws of the Marine Corp

It never rains in the Marine Corp, it rains on the Marine Corp.
Sent by Jesse Cason

Law of Fighting Airplanes

The enemy is always has the advantage.
Heat-seeking missiles don't know the difference between friend and foe.
'Armor' is a fantasy invented by your C.O. to make you feel better.
Afterburners aren't.
Air Brakes don't.
Your cannon will jam in combat, and then when you get back to base there will be nothing wrong with it.
You may have the better plane, but the enemy is the better pilot. (or vise versa)
When getting spare parts for your aircraft, you can get them CHEAP - FAST - IN GOOD CONDITION,
pick two. (This applies to everything)
Your radar will not pick up the enemy behind you or the one in the sun.
If you have got into the sun and are about to ambush the enemy, it will either be a trap or you'll run out of fuel.
Law of Fighting Airplanes were sent by Luke

Saddam's First (and last) Law of War:

Don't pick a fight with the baddest guys on the block!
Sent by Jim Kirk

Laws of Desert Combat:

Any attempt to find cover will result in failure.
Supply Shipments at night stick out like a sore thumb.
Tanks should never leave the established roads
Established roads are always mined
Operations in daytime will cause the lesser equipped army to win
The effectiveness of a soldier in desert combat is inversely porportional to how heavy his equipment is
Have plenty of water on hand
The last 7 laws were sent by Fenix

Laws of War in Iraq:

If it makes sense, it is not the "Army Way"
Saddam's First (and last) Law of War:
Don't pick a fight with the baddest guys on the block.
If you do, don't even try to run or hide. The pain will be worse.
The Iraqis always know the area better than you, no matter how many dismounts or convoys you have been on.
Iraqis always have the advantage of blending in with the crowd. You do not.
Iraqis are used to the heat and will rarely, if ever, be out during the hottest part of the day.
Drink more water than you think that you will need.
Drink more water than you think that you will need.
Always keep your radio fill up to date.
Don't piss off the IP's that run the check points, they sometimes allow insurgents to place IED's near their location just to fuck with you.
Be nice to the Iraqi children, they will soon be either IP's, IA's, or insurgents!
Always remember: Shoot first and then swear up and down that you saw them pull out a grenade. This always works!!!
IED's will be placed frequently in the same spots over and over again.
Always shoot the guy walking down the MSR in the middle of the night carrying a gas can and a shovel. If they can't place the IED's, they can't blow you up!
Last 13 laws were sent by Thomas Anderson, M SPC MIL USA USAREUR
Military restatement of Uffelman's Razor:
Never attribute to an Officer that which is adequately explained by a Private.
From SFC Raines
Anderson's first Law:
If at first you don't succeed, blame it on the new private!
If at first you don't succeed, redefine success.
From SPC Coffee
Law of Murphic Relief:
If, throughout your entire life you have been ruled by Murphy's Law, then at least one thing, usually no more than that, will go so right as to make up for a lifetime of failures.
From My Wife Rita!! Happily married now for 5 years!!

gua terbesar

National Geographic presents The World’s Biggest Cave, a TV special that gives us a close-up look at Son Doong, a huge recently-discovered underground labyrinth in Vietnam.

In 2009, a team of British cavers investigated a recently uncovered cave in a remote Vietnamese jungle. The Son Doong cave is enormous; can it be larger than the current world-record holder? The explorers traveled for miles through the cave before hitting a 46-foot-high wall. Now, follow the team as they return to Son Doong to finish exploring the cave and climb the wall. Will Son Doong prove to be the worlds biggest cave? And what secrets are undiscovered inside this unique ecosystem?

The special airs Monday, December 20th at 10PM EST. Check the listings for an encore presentation. Also read the full article on Son Doong cave by Mark Jenkins in the January 2011 issue of National Geographic Magazine. But first, enjoy some of the beautiful pictures illustrating the natural beauty of Son Doong.

A half-mile block of 40-story buildings could fit inside this lit stretch of Hang Son Doong, which may be the world’s biggest subterranean passage. (Photo Credit: © Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Like a castle on a knoll, a rock formation shines beneath a skylight in Hang Son Doong. A storm had just filled the pool, signaling that exploring season was coming to an end.(Photo Credit: © Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Navigating an algae-skinned maze, expedition organizers Deb and Howard Limbert lead the way across a sculpted cavescape in Hang Son Doong. Ribs form as calcite-rich water overflows pools. (Photo Credit: © Carsten Peter/National Geographic)

Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © NGC)

Hang Song Doong aka Mountain River Cave, Son Trach, Bo Trach District, Vietnam. (Photo Credit: © ITV STUDIOS LTD./ Simon Reay)

100,000-year-old human settlement in U.A.E. overturns what we know of our evolution

Human artifacts recently discovered in the United Arab Emirates date back at least 100,000 years, which means our ancestors might have left Africa up to 125,000 years ago...twice as long ago as previously thought. What's going on here?
The tools discovered during an excavation in the U.A.E., located in the southeastern part of the Arabian peninsula, have been reliably dated to 100,000 years ago. Genetic evidence has suggested modern humans did not leave Africa until about 60,000 years ago, but these tools appear to be the work of our ancestors and not other hominids like Neanderthals.
If they are the work of our ancestors, then they've been found outside Africa at least 40,000 years ahead of schedule. But, as the paleontologists behind this discovery are quick to point out, the 60,000 year figure is one based on only one strand of evidence, and that's genetic data. It's a useful tool, to be sure, but using genetics to reconstruct a species's history can be tricky - genetic data once said domestic dogs were 120,000 years old, but more recent evidence has shown they're actually much closer to 20,000 instead.
This find is one of the first major archaeological discoveries that seems to place anatomically modern humans out of Africa - but, helpfully, still close to Africa, so it's a bit easier to reconstruct their path and timing of migration. That automatically makes this an intriguing find, although we can't instantly dismiss the old 60,000 years figure. This is an extraordinary claim and, as one of the best scientific maxims points out, it requires extraordinary evidence.
Well, I can't guarantee their evidence is sufficiently extraordinary, but at a press conference yesterday the researchers involved did lay out some compelling reasons to believe the basics of the find - that modern humans lived in Arabia 100,000 years ago - even if they were reluctant to discuss the wider implications.
They answered a number of questions one might have about this discovery, so let's dive in:
How do we know anatomically modern humans made these tools?
Paleontologist Tony Marks explains how they identified the likely makers of these tools, which were classified assemblage C:

"There were two possibilities for assemblage C. First, that it was made by local people who'd been there for a long time and who would have left similar artifacts around the landscape. Or second, it was made by people moving into the area. Since assemblage C was 120,000 years old, we looked at what was in southeastern Arabia at that time, there was literally nothing. Long before 120,000 in western Arabia there was what we call the Acheulean, but it had disappeared about a half million years ago, leaving a 400,000 year gap between it and assemblage C. Thus it seemed that assemblage C was made by people coming from somewhere outside southern Arabia, either from the north or from the west.
"A comparison of contemporaneous Paleolithic assemblages from the north showed they totally lacked the bifacial tool production found at assemblage C. Their technique was quite different. Thus, they were unrelated. In east Africa, however, there were contemporaneous Paleolithic assemblages that not only used bifacial techniques to make some of their tools, but also used the other two techniques, blade production and radial (levaloir). An origin in east Africa for assemblage C people therefore was most plausible based on the stone tools and how they were made."

But couldn't it have been another hominid species that had already left Africa, such as the Neanderthals?
Marks offers some logical reason why Neanderthals are very unlikely candidates to be behind these tools, even leaving aside the fact that the tools fit the more human style:

We can look at it from a broad point of view. If these tools were not made by modern man, who might have made them? Well, could Neanderthals have made them? Well, at 120,000 years ago, beginning of the inter glacial, Neanderthals had pretty well developed their facial characteristics and body characteristics to be recognizable as Neanderthals and not the yet classic Neanderthals. But they're mainly in Europe at about the beginning of the last interglacial there's a movement, a spread of Neanderthals along the temperate zone to the east. That is the Crimea, southern Russian plain out to central Asia. There is no evidence for any Neanderthals south of that temperate zone to the east. It is only in OSI4, that is when it starts getting cold that you have movements of Neanderthals out of the highlands of the temperate zones down into the (levant). Into lower elevations where the environment is better. Here is a group of Neanderthals who instead of going into this temperate zone, which was getting better, they took a turn south, went several thousand kilometers into what at the time was desert, really dry areas, until they reached southern Arabia, which happened to be very good because of monsoons that were coming up from the south. It seems to me a very difficult explanation and one that is – doesn't follow any reasonable logic.

If these tools date back to 100,000 years, why then do they think humans left Africa 125,000 years ago?
Adrian Parker explains how ancient climate limited the times when humans could leave Africa, and that about 125,000 years ago was an ideal time to move into Arabia:

We need to go back to where modern humans emerged in east Africa. This occurred approximately 200,000 years ago. The period between 200,000 years ago until 130,000 years ago corresponds to time when there was a global ice age. During ice ages global sea levels fall as water becomes locked up in the vast ice sheets in the northern and southern hemispheres. When ice ages occur, the world's major desert belts also expand and thus modern humans would have been restricted to east Africa as the deserts of the Sahara and Arabia posed major geographical barriers that prevented movement out of the region.
By 130,000 years ago global climatic conditions changed and we moved into an interglacial, a period of warmer, global temperatures. At this time, the Indian Ocean monsoon system was forced northwards, bringing rainfall into Arabia. The previously arid interior of Arabia would have been transformed into a landscape covered largely in savannah grasses with extensive lakes and river systems. At the onset of the inter glacial, sea levels in the southern Red Sea were over 100 meters lower than today. this led to a brief window of time when sea levels were still low and Arabia experienced a wetter climate, thus humans would have been able to cross a much narrower Red Sea, perhaps as little as four kilometers wide before sea levels rose sufficiently to make the crossing more difficult."

Did this particular population of anatomically modern humans then spread out further, or could they have been an isolated population that just died out, with the successful population only leaving at the accepted 60,000 year date?
Lead researcher Hans Pedro Ortun says there's no real way to know that from just one site, but one can still speculate a little:

"We only can speak about the site that we are dealing with and not with where these people would have gone. But as you can easily imagine the route to the north was easier than the route back to the south because the desserts there would have become worse in that period of time. So the natural answer to your question would be that they moved towards the Persian Gulf which was smaller then, and along the gulf, either towards the north or west into Mesopotamia or towards the east along the Iranian coast and the Indian subcontinent."

What does this discovery tell us about human migrations?
Again, Dr. Ortun says this pushes the first human migrations back at least 20,000 years, but it also illuminates a lot about their mechanics:

Well, the mechanisms of getting out of Africa should be understood in a different way. Up till now we thought of cultural developments leading to the opportunity of people to move out of Africa. Now we see, I think, that it was the environment that was the key to this and the change from a glacial period into an interglacial opened the other possibility to leave Africa though the southern corridor and this certainly not only happened once, this happened many times during the (quarternerly) and this leaves a lot of possibilities for human migrations and keeping this in mind, might change our view completely. There are not many exits from Africa. You can only exit by the Sinai or by the south. That's the only – that's the only points where you can leave it. so either it's the route that we propose, or it could be the route from Egypt to Sinai and both are possible, both have their problems and in any case, our findings open a second way, which in my opinion is more plausible for massive movements than the northern route.

But how does this fit with the 60,000 year figure produced by genetic data?
As I outlined above, there are some reasons to be cautious about the genetic data, and Nicholas Wade pushes it further. He points out that there may be no genetic evidence to back up their archaeological discovery, but it's not as though there's any archaeological data to bad up the genetic claims:

If we take this 60,000 year expansion and we say OK, instead of looking at it from a genetic point of view, let's look at it from an archeological point of view. what were these people carrying in the way of culture at 60,000 years ago in Africa and can you find it anyplace outside of Africa? And the answer is no, you can't. There is no archeological evidence for movements at 60,000 out of Africa. Now, it may turn up next year, but at the moment it's simply not there.

For more on how we got here, check out our earlier piece on the even more extraordinary claim that a 400,000 year old human tooth had been discovered in a cave in Israel. Whether either of these claims ultimately stand up - and this new finding seems to have a better chance of that than the cave teeth - it looks like the story of human evolution is about to get a lot more interesting.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

hadiah best gila tuk nerd

1. Aerogel

Also known as frozen smoke, Aerogel is the world's lowest density solid, clocking in at 96% air. It's basically just a gel made from silicon, except all the liquid has been taken out and replaced with gas instead. If you hold a small piece in your hand, it's practically impossible to either see or feel, but if you poke it, it's like styrofoam.
Aerogel isn't just neat, it's useful. It supports up to 4,000 times its own weight and can apparently withstand a direct blast from two pounds of dynamite. It's also the best insulator in existence, which is why we don't have Aerogel jackets: it works so well that people were complaining about overheating on Mt. Everest.
Price: $35

2. EcoSphere

Inside these sealed glass balls live shrimp, algae, and bacteria, all swimming around in filtered seawater. Put it somewhere with some light, and this little ecosystem will chug along happily for years, no feeding or cleaning necessary, totally oblivious to the fact that the rest of the world exists outside.
EcoSpheres came out of research looking at ways to develop self-contained ecosystems for long duration space travel. They're like little microcosms for the entire world, man. But ask yourself: are we the shrimp, or the algae?
Price: $80

3. Mars Rock

NASA has been trying to figure out how to get a sample of rock back from Mars for a while now. You can beat them to the punch and pick up a little piece of the red planet without having to travel a hundred million miles, by just taking advantage of all the rocks Mars sends our way.
Every once in a while, a meteorite smashes into Mars hard enough to eject some rocks out into orbit around the sun. And every once in a while, one of these rocks lands on Earth. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen, and whoever finds the meteorite is allowed to cut it up into bits and sell it to people who want to have their very own piece of another planet.
Price: $70+

4. Gömböc

The Gömböc is a self-righting object, which means that no matter which way you put it down, it stands itself back up. It's like a Weeble, except it doesn't cheat by having a weight at the bottom, and it's the only shape that can do this.
The existence of a shape with these properties was conjectured in 1995, but it took ten years for someone to figure out how to actually make one that worked. And then everyone was embarrassed when it turned out that turtles had evolved this same basic shape in their shells a long time ago, to make it easier for them to roll themselves back over if they get flipped.
Price: $150

5. Violet Laser Pointer

It's no longer geeky enough to have a red laser pointer, or a green laser pointer, or even a blue laser pointer. Keep moving up the spectrum until you get to violet, and you'll find the new hotness at 405 nanometers.
So what's next year's new color going to be? It's looking like orange, but they're not quite what I'd call affordable yet. Something to look forward to for next year, especially if you're going for your own personal laser rainbow.
Price: $110

6. Gallium

Gallium is a silvery metal with atomic number 31. It's used in semiconductors and LEDs, but the cool thing about it is its melting point, which is only about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If you hold a solid gallium crystal in your hand, your body heat will cause it to slowly melt into a silvery metallic puddle. Pour it into a dish, and it freezes back into a solid.
While you probably shouldn't lick your fingers after playing with it, gallium isn't toxic and won't make you crazy like mercury does. And if you get tired of it, you can melt it onto glass and make yourself a mirror.
Price: $80

7. Miracle Berries

By themselves, Miracle berries don't taste like much. The reason to eat them is that they contain a chemical called miraculin that binds to the sweet taste receptors on your tongue, changing their shape and making them respond to sour and acidic foods.
The upshot of this effect is that some things you eat taste spectacularly different. Straight Tabasco sauce tastes like donut glaze. Guinness tastes like a chocolate malt. Goat cheese tastes like cheesecake. After about an hour of craziness, your taste buds go back to normal, no harm done.
Price: $15

8. DNA Genotyping

There's nothing more personal than someone's own DNA. And there are ways to give the gift DNA that won't get you children or arrested. With just a little bit of spit, you can get an genotype analysis that will reveal fun insights about longevity, intelligence, susceptibility to diseases, and even food preferences.
While the technology hasn't reached the point where you can affordably get a complete sequence of an entire genome, looking at specific markers is still good enough to suggest some things worth looking out for while spurring a lively nature versus nurture debate.
Price: $100

9. Klein Bottle

If you want to give a mathematician something to try to wrap their head around, a Klein bottle is a good place to start. A real Klein bottle is an object with no inside and no outside that can only exist in four dimensions. These glass models exist in three, which means that unlike the real thing, they can actually hold liquid.
The difference between the models and the real thing is that by adding an extra dimension, you can make it so that the neck of the bottle doesn't actually intersect the side of the bottle. Take a couple aspirin and try to picture that in your head.
Price: $35

10. Giant Plush Microbes

They're cute! They're fuzzy! They're potentially deadly! All of the microbes, bacteria, and viruses that you know and love (or maybe not) are available in huggable forms about a million times larger than real life. In the picture are gonorrhea, syphilis, mono, and herpes.
These giant plushes are the perfect way to make the holidays even more awkward, when you present your friends with a variety of adorable STDs. Microbiologists, at least, will appreciate that they're more or less anatomically correct, too.
Price: $9

11. Ferrofluid

Magnetic particles suspended in oil never looked so sexy. That's all a ferrofluid is, and it looks pretty gross until you put it in close proximity to a magnet, at which point it grows spikes all over the place as the fluid flows out along magnetic force lines.
Ferrofluids are found in everything from speakers to hard drives, but it's much more fun to play with when when you've got a puddle of it naked and out in the open.
Price: $40

Friday, January 21, 2011

tak payah jadahnya kapal selam

Kuala Lumpur 21 Jan: Markas Tentera Laut Diraja Malaysia hari ini mengesahkankan,Kapal BM 5 berjaya menyelamatkan kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL yang dirampas lanun di perairan Teluk Aden.

Dalam satu kenyataan akhbar,kejadian ini berlaku pada 21 Jan 2011.

Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL adalah kapal jenis Chemical Tanker yang disewa oleh MISC bagi membawa muatan minyak pelincir dan ethylene dichloride dari Timur Tengah ke Singapura.

Kejadian berlaku pada 20 Jan 11 jam 11:40 malam, kira-kira 300 batu nautika Timur negara Oman, 2 jam selepas Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL dipisahkan di kawasan ‘selamat’ setelah selesai diiringi Kapal Auxiliary TLDM BM 5 melalui perairan Teluk Aden.

Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL telah dinaiki oleh 7 orang lanun yang berasal dari Somalia bersenjatakan senapang AK-47 dan pistol dengan menaiki bot jenis ‘skiff’. Dalam masa yang sama, pihak lanun dipercayai menggunakan sebuah kapal induk bagi melancarkan serangan ini yang secara keseluruhan melibatkan seramai 18 orang lanun.

Krew Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL sempat mengaktifkan Ship Security Alert System sebelum berlindung di bilik keselamatan khas yang terletak berhampiran bilik jentera kapal.

Bertindak dari pangilan kecemasan ini, Kapal Auxiliary TLDM BM 5 yang berada kira-kira 14 batu nautika dari Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL bergegas ke tempat kejadian untuk mengamankan keadaan.

Helikopter Fennec TLDM yang dilancarkan dari Kapal Auxiliary TLDM BM 5 turut terlibat di dalam operasi ini dengan memberi bantuan pemantauan dan tembakan dari udara.ke arah kapal induk lanun telah berjaya menghalangnya dari memberi bantuan kepada lanun di atas Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL.

Kerosakan kapal induk dan kecederaan pada lanun yang berada di atasnya pada ketika ini tidak dapat dipastikan oleh sebab serangan dilakukan pada waktu malam.

Pasukan Perlindungan Khas ATM yang berada di atas Kapal Auxiliary TLDM BM 5 telah diatur gerakkan untuk menggempur lanun di atas Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL.

Perlindungan Khas ATM berjaya menawan kembali dan menyelamatkan semua 23 orang krew Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL. Seramai 3 orang lanun mengalami kecederaan di dalam kejadian ini dan diberi rawatan di atas Kapal Auxiliary TLDM BM 5.

Pasukan Perlindungan Khas ATM telah berjaya mengamankan keadaan di dalam masa 2 jam selepas Kapal MT BUNGA LAUREL dinaiki lanun tanpa melibatkan sebarang kecederaan di pihak Pasukan Perlindungan Khas ATM.