When the Sky is Full of 0’s and 1’s
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Avant/Chicago: talks about how the Printers Ball was shut down early by the cops. Not a good week for local print publications.

So I was reading this blog post about this article and it appears that the long arm of cut backs and pointless war have come back to hurt america directly. Seems that due to tax cuts and money need for the war in iraq that the levee project in loiusiana (on going since 1995) ran out of funding. Its sad when natrual disater strikes, but its even worse when some (alot possibley) of the damage could have been prevented.

Wired News: Drier Laundry Through Chemistry
How could I pass this up, being a chemist and all. But you have to love the media’s misuse of terms.

The researchers found they could lower surface tension by mixing common surfactants in a new way — five parts lauryl sulfate to one part dioctyldecyldimethyl ammonium bromide. “We call it dodab,” Carter said. Carter tested the compound using a washing machine in his lab.

OK, well technically this is not a compound but a mixture. What is interesting is that really these to ingredients are fairly common hopefully meaning that getting a product out this wouldn’t be to hard. Although, is there really a need, are there American houses going “our clothes are to wet when they get out of the washer”. They do mention a possible 10% drop in electricity useage which could have a significant impact on overall energry consumption.

New Scientist Breaking News - Billboards beam adverts to passing cellphones
Wow, so it looks like those weird ads from “Vanilla Sky”, the ones that talk to passers by, are not far away. I guess this is not surprising that ad agencies would find a use for wireless technology.

In Texas, A Time to Circle the Minivans
This strory is just amazing. One woman with her silent protest has started a movement for peace in the heart of texas. On the flip side we have the unsympathetic pro-war jerks coming down to show us how much they value human life. The suppoort for the Peace House is great, now they have enough money to pay off their mortage and bills. This is some of the greatest news I have heard in a while. Its good know there are other peaceful protesters and that things can get done with just anti-viloent protests. Keep up the great work everyone. Meet with Cindy , an interesting blog discussing this and an interview with Cindy