Katashi_itto
Katashi_itto's JournalColorado Boy Asks Nation Not To Find His Missing Little Brother
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An Onion video
Scientists create state of matter that’s pretty much the same as light sabers
Guess it wasn't a bad idea after all for me to practice Kendo and Iaido all this time...:
Scientists have created a state of matter that so far has been found in fictional galaxies far, far away.
The joint team of physicists from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said theyd been exploring the properties of photons when they were able to coax them into binding together into molecules.
Previously, scientists had believed photons were massless particles that would not interact with one another.
But photonic molecules arent quite like laser beams, which simply pass through one another if fired at each other; theyre more like another science fiction weapon.
Its not an inapt analogy to compare this to light sabers, said Mikhail Lukin, Harvard professor of physics. When these photons interact with each other, theyre pushing against and deflect each other. The physics of whats happening in these molecules is similar to what we see in the movies.
More Here
Goldfrapp - Melancholy Sky
Perfume - Monochrome Effect & others (with English subs)
GOP Congressman: 'I'm Stuck Here Making $172,000'

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) appears to have little sympathy for Capitol Hill staffers and the possibility of their health care costs changing.
The National Review reported Wednesday that House Republicans met to discuss a point of contention within the Affordable Care Act, requiring staffers in Congress to obtain insurance through the new health care exchanges. In the midst of that discussion, Gingrey spoke up against the continuation of a federal subsidy for those staffers.
Gingrey said that younger folks on the Hill. may not be raking in money now, "but in a few years they can just go to K Street." "Meanwhile, I'm stuck here making $172,000 a year," he added, according to The National Review.
Center for Responsive Politics data revealed that Gingrey's Sept. 17, 2013 FEC filing lists him with $2,564,096 cash on hand. In March, Gingrey announced that he was running for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/18/phil-gingrey-salary_n_3950687.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
Japanese Cat Weight Lifting and other
http://www.break.com/video/ugc/japanese-cat-weight-lifting-454076Some random Japanese game show that apparently bets on cats, and how much they can lift. Fairly random, but so awesome.
Japanese Cat Cafe in Shinjuku HD Tour. Pay to pet cats and eat with them in Tokyo!
Japan loves cats! They have Neko cafes dedicated to cats. This place features the Munchkin Cat! For $10 you have 90 minutes to play with cats in a cafe. You can order coffee, beer or pasta, allowing to eat and drink in their presence. An excellent place to take a lunch break to watch Japanese play with cats. Silly Humans!!!
Girls Don't Poop
NSA Honcho built Enterprise Bridge Replica to sell Congress on Spying

Charlie Jane Anders
How did the National Security Administration sell Congress on its controversial spying program? Apparently by building a replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise bridge and letting lawmakers sit in the big chair and "play Picard."
(Update: Added a picture. Update #2: This wasn't the NSA, but Alexander's prior job. Sorry for the mix-up.)
As Foreign Policy's profile of the NSA's general Keith Alexander explains:
When he was running the Army's Intelligence and Security Command, Alexander brought many of his future allies down to Fort Belvoir for a tour of his base of operations, a facility known as the Information Dominance Center. It had been designed by a Hollywood set designer to mimic the bridge of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek, complete with chrome panels, computer stations, a huge TV monitor on the forward wall, and doors that made a "whoosh" sound when they slid open and closed. Lawmakers and other important officials took turns sitting in a leather "captain's chair" in the center of the room and watched as Alexander, a lover of science-fiction movies, showed off his data tools on the big screen.
"Everybody wanted to sit in the chair at least once to pretend he was Jean-Luc Picard," says a retired officer in charge of VIP visits.
Alexander wowed members of Congress with his eye-popping command center. And he took time to sit with them in their offices and explain the intricacies of modern technology in simple, plain-spoken language. He demonstrated a command of the subject without intimidating those who had none.
Read the whole fascinating profile over at Foreign Policy. [via BoingBoing]
Update: I found what appears to be a picture of the Information Dominance Center, although I'm not sure if this is the version that was designed to look like the Enterprise. Here it is, via DBI Architects:

Read More here at IO9
The NSA Leaks Are Starting To Hit The Bottom Lines Of Tech Companies
Revelations about vast US data collection programs are starting to hit American tech companies, which are ramping up pressure for increased transparency to try to mitigate the damage.
An industry group, the Cloud Security Alliance said last month that 10 percent of its non-US members have cancelled a contract with a US-based cloud provider, and 56 percent said they were less likely to use an American company.
A separate report this month by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, or ITIF, a Washington think tank, said US cloud providers stand to lose $22 billion to $35 billion over the next three years due to revelations about the so-called PRISM program.
Daniel Castro, author of the report, says a loss of trust in US tech firms could lead to "protectionist" measures that hurt the fast-growing cloud sector.
"The risk is that a country like Germany will say you have to be a German company to provide data services in Germany," Castro told AFP.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/prism-the-nsa-leaks-are-starting-to-hit-the-bottom-lines-of-tech-companies-2013-8#ixzz2egqfm3zv
http://www.businessinsider.com/prism-the-nsa-leaks-are-starting-to-hit-the-bottom-lines-of-tech-companies-2013-8
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