"Plastic takes thousands of years to decompose — but 16-year-old science fair contestant Daniel Burd made it happen in just three months. The Waterloo, Ontario high school junior figured that something must make plastic degrade, even if it does take millennia, and that something was probably bacteria. The Record reports that Burd mixed landfill dirt with yeast and tap water, then added ground plastic and let it stew. The plastic indeed decomposed more quickly than it would in nature; after experimenting with different temperatures and configurations, Burd isolated the microbial munchers. One came from the bacterial genus Pseudomonas, and the other from the genus Sphingomonas. Burd says this should be easy on an industrial scale: all that’s needed is a fermenter, a growth medium and plastic, and the bacteria themselves provide most of the energy by producing heat as they eat. The only waste is water and a bit of carbon dioxide."
- April Buchheit
from Bookmarklet
So why is carbon sequestration a good idea when it's all complicated and expensive, but bad when it involves burying plastic bags in landfills?
- Paul Buchheit
I think it's better to sequester carbon as dirt than as bags.
- Gabe
But if it's already in plastic bag form, why not leave it that way instead of turning it into CO2?
- Paul Buchheit
Paul: that's exactly what I've been thinking. Particularly since the City of Seattle no longer allows residents to sequester food based carbon in landfills and instead requires us to burn it into compost.
- Hayes Haugen
Dirt is useful because you can grow stuff in it. Most waste products are not so useful.
- Gabe
Yes, but the choice isn't between dirt and plastic -- it's between plastic and CO2.
- Paul Buchheit
I have to agree with Paul on this one: atmospheric CO2 is much more of a pressing concern at the moment than landfill space. Though I do admire the kid's scientific spirit.
- Louis Simoneau
Concur with Louis and Paul. Here's an interesting Penn & Teller bit about landfills: http://www.youtube.com/watch... (from their Bullshit episode on Recycling myths).
- Stephen Mack
It doesn't say what the process actually produces. They mention the feed material (plastic) and the waste material (water, CO2), but not the real products. I assumed it produced globs of carbon. Am I wrong?
- Gabe
Has nobody considered this for an artificial ecosystem? Compost your scraps for fertile soil, and compost your bags for the CO2 for the plants growing in it. Sure you'll need an airlock on your greenhouse (and an oxy mask whenever you enter it) but you'll have the best damned tomatoes on your street.
- Chris Charabaruk
You don't want to leave it in plastic form as it screws up the ocean large! Check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... I hope they can use this to make something that would eat the plastic in the ocean rather than the sea life dying from it.
- Luke Kilpatrick
Since it said that the waste products were CO2 and water, I assumed there were also non-waste products. The good thing about landfills is that they can later be mined for all the great things that were too cheap to recycle.
- Gabe
Yeah, I think landfills have an unjustly bad reputation. When properly managed, they are a great way to deal with garbage that our technology can't yet efficiently recycle. (we're saving for the future!)
- Paul Buchheit
that's great news. now i can really finish my threat to all my damn *invincible* plastic bags! (waves fist)
- ed fry
The two biggest problems with landfill are the leachate seeping into groundwater (or contaminating local soil) and methane (a greenhouse gas). Even if you can mitigate those problems, they're difficult to eliminate entirely, making the land almost useless once it's full.
- Gabe
Gabe, not to minimize the problems, but I live right next to Shoreline Ampitheather in Mountain View, which is built on landfill is proof that the landfill land is hardly useless.
- Stephen Mack
It's not just landfills, though. Take the large floating trash gyre of the Pacific, and its effects in the ecosystem. So the tiny little plastic balls in water are fake food, and animals eat them, and then die in various ways, lowering populations and making species even more fragile. Landfill may be a good way if it's contained and monitored more closely, or CO2, in various areas- such...
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- anna sauce
@anna at least he is coming up with a solution rather than just finding more things to complain about
- Chris Johnston
anna's right -- the problem is when the stuff ends up in the ocean. Landfills are a good way to keep the stuff out of the ocean.
- Gabe
Stop speculating and start experimenting!
- Dane Deasy
Join our forum and help us stop the ACTA laws from going into effect before we are too late! http://en.swpat.org/wiki... Read and rage! then join!
- ed fry
come fellow internet goers, do your part for child safety (among other moral issues) and report http://www.anontalk.com ! Anontalk is a public BBS to talk about pedophilia and even link child pornography.
- ed fry
"Keep Fucking That Chicken": Ernie Anastos, News Anchor, Curses On Air (VIDEO) --- Say hello to the new phrase that's sure to sweep the nation! - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009...
"Legendary New York broadcaster Ernie Anastos had a momentary lapse of reason Wednesday night when he dropped the F-bomb live on TV. During some playful banter with local weatherman Nick Gregory, Anastos complimented Gregory, or at least attempted to, by saying, "It takes a tough man to make a tender forecast, Nick." Looking confused, Gregory responded, "I guess that's me." Without missing a beat, Anastos continued, "Keep fucking that chicken," a completely bewildering phrase that made co-anchor Dari Alexander's eyes bug out of her head. Gregory, for his part, just threw his hands up and shook his head."
- Brad Williamson
from Bookmarklet
Why is this a "video tape" of a screen and audio from the speakers? Just seem odd to me, is this how someone "records" their TV programs?
- Stephen Christian
I swear, it feels like that guy belongs in an episode of Family Guy. If this vid become viral enough, I'm sure he'll make a cameo on there.
- Brad Williamson
the best i could ever make on Mario Paint was like.. nothing actually lol nothing i ever made on Mario Paint was good. btw there needs to be a NDS port of this.
- ed fry
I've never even seen Mario Paint IRL, nor do I have any sort of console. You'd know such things *far* better than me :P
- i80and
if you get some you gotta let me try one >_<
- ed fry
Definitely. I don't know why random thinkgeek stuff keeps popping up though. This has been in my list for some time, and has already been pulled into FF more than once.
- Tanath
i may have just found the most awesome heavy metal band ever. dare i say it.. even better then Dethklok! these guys are just made of win... many times over. they are called Austrian Death Machine and their gimmick is they make songs around the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies with arnold in the band! hilarious stuff, check them out...
I have been playing through the new Professor Layton game for NDS "Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box" and holy crap it's just as good as the first game was! In fact I think the story is much more interesting in this one. Looking forward to seeing the anime that is based off this game, when it's finished and translated.
The english voice actors really make this game come to life I think.. along with the music which is outstanding. The puzzles are just as tough as they were in the first one.. and alot of fresh ideas this time around! It doesn't seem they lost their amazing puzzle ideas.. I hope this series has a long history.. very good and perfect for the NDS. Highly recommended for people who love puzzles.. there are tons in the Professor Layton games (obviously).
- ed fry
been enjoying my new motherboard.. my friend lent me this awesome game called Freelancer.. so epic! if you like space an you like detail.. this game is perfect.. here are some screenshots i took. as you can see in one i'm playing chicken with a star... not recommended! another is a spinning whirlpool thingy and uh nice detail in the others!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... here is a wiki article on it if your looking for more info.. i recommend the game to anyone who really likes detail and the beauty and horror of space.. this game really has it all!
- ed fry
That is pretty amazing. I have heard of some things like that happening, not with site but with other mental faculties in similar circumstances.
- Geoff Schultz {TF}
gnarly. that said, i'm glad she can see so well. and thank goodness for this: "Despite lacking one hemisphere, the girl has normal psychological function and is perfectly capable of living a normal and fulfilling life. She is witty, charming and intelligent." amazing how the brain can compensate for missing or damaged tissue!
- Joe Silence
Because some people are watchers. Each to there own.
- Johnny
from iPhone
I'm referring to new subscribers, actually. People have been subscribing, but then I find they haven't liked anything in my feed. Makes me raise an eyebrow. o_O See?
- Tanath
no that's raising an eye.. you should get that checked out.. looks.. popeyeish
- ed fry
i've been going back to the Diablo roots and playing the original.. plus I've been trying the expansion Hellfire.. and i gotta say.. jeez they made the new Monk character insanely strong >_> like really i'm taking out demons with.. with a short staff and nothing else..and also the expansion has some things that Diablo 2 had.. hmm...
mind you the Hellfire expansion wasn't even made by Blizzard.. it was made by Sierra! and it seems that Blizzard requested they take multiplayer out of the game.. why i'm not sure but that really sucks.. anyways Hellfire has things like runes and something like the "ALT = find crap on the ground" mode for the Monk's innate special. never the less cool game! =P
- ed fry
http://www.box.net/shared... <-- ok so this is a song i'm working on. i've never done this genre before.. mostly i do Ambient/Electronic. anyways if you like it or don't like it could you give feedback? it's not complete yet this is basically a rough version that i need to smooth down. your welcome to download it if you want too lol
hm.. maybe i should mention what genre it IS first of all. it's like a Classical/Hiphop like thing.
- ed fry
=/ all i'm asking is a few minutes of someones time to check this out.. really not much and you might end up liking it. would really be appriciated!
- ed fry
would like some feedback on this song..if you like it/hate it whatever.. please comment here so i know if i should make more like it in the future. also share the link with friends if you think they would like it.. its kinda.. Electronic/Ambient set in a 3/4 time signature.. pretty cool i think lol
- ed fry
"A new reality show called “Penitents Compete” (when translated) will soon premiere on Turkish television. The premise: Each week, a different group of atheists will appear in front of the religious leaders [a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a Jewish rabbi and a Buddhist monk]… if an ex-atheist is “persuaded” to start following one of the religions, he or she will have the chance to travel to that religion’s center, whether Jerusalem for Christians and Jews or Mecca for Muslims or Tibet for Buddhists."
- Tanath
from Bookmarklet
If he doesn't change his stance, then what? They send him to hell then and there?
- Jack&Cleo
LOL. They'll prolly have multiple contestants, and the first one to convert wins. :P
- Tanath
I really think we should put on the opposite show. ...hosted by an atheist, the contestants are an immam, a rabbi, a priest and Tom Cruise. First one to call his or her beliefs, erm, improbable wins.
- Edward Zwart
An atheist TV show is an interesting idea...
- Tanath
I don't get it. Why would a non-believer want to go on a game show where only losers win? You can only win if you are weak minded enough to buy some crock of bullshit, which in that case you aren't really a sworn atheist, because you entered with the hope of being convinced that something other than what you currently believe or not believe is true. The whole concept of the game show...
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- April
@April, For the most part I agree with you, but not when it comes to your point about being a "truly sworn atheist." It's far more logically defensible to say that you are so far unconvinced (to the point of total lack of belief), but that you are open to having your mind changed by new evidence.
- Edward Zwart
@Edward: Your show is a much better idea. In the improved show, the host should have the ability to subtract points from the theist contestants whenever they make a statement that is directly contradicted by science, or by a their religion's primary text. Of course, if the host were any good, I'm reasonably certain each half hour installment would be approximately 29 minutes of a giant red X super-imposed over the contestants with a nearly uninterrupted accompanying 'wrong answer' buzzing noise.
- cdogzilla | downgraded
@Chris Munro -- Bwahahahaa!!! I want to watch that! "Contestant #3, you claimed Jesus preached only a message of love." BZZZZZZZZZ!!!! "I'm sorry. You've been..." Audience: "CON-TRA-DICTED!"
- Absentee
@Edward: It is highly unlikely that credible new evidence supporting the existence of a god would be revealed on a game show by a religious leader looking to convert people.
- April
I have this and the rules are unfathomable. Even the improved rulebook that you can download (from http://www.lostboardgame.com/) isn't much better. You don't have to know anything about the show to play the game which is both good and bad and the scenarios only cover the first two series.
- Surferbill
Hunh. I thought it was photoshopped. I coulda sworn I saw the same box in a store once, only it said Lost: The Series. Unless I misremember.
- Tanath