Climate ‘spurred human innovation’ (BBC)

justinpickard:

Abrupt climate change in Africa helped trigger technological and cultural advances in early modern humans, according to new research.

A quantum of hope.

grinderbot:

The new seep discovery is only the third documented seep site on the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and by far the most extensive; the two seep areas at this site are estimated to be at least a kilometer long and in places hundreds of meters across. Sea cucumbers were also seen tucked into the tight mounds of mussels and shrimp swam above them. Many species of fishes, including some with unusual behaviors, were also common around the unique ecosystem..

And you shall know us by our external battery packs.

Cosmonauts/Astronauts since Yuri Gagarin have planted trees along the “avenue of Cosmonauts”. Today, we planted ours.

Program Update

This is a screenshot of m1k3y tv: This is the lifestyle of the technomad; those formerly knowns as the Wifi Bedouin. Our bodies are but meat pointers to the internet. Our work alive and active, whilst we sleep, rest, play, scheme… or create. Cyberspace is the realm from which I’m speaking to you now. Not […]

This is the story of that reality: my journey through the corporate R&D wormhole and out the other side into the blogosphere; my first-hand witness of how the future is—and mostly isn’t—created; how I became an anarchist futurist, a Doktor of Mystery and, above all else, a grinder.

http://www.thestate.ae/anarchist-futurism-the-lie-of-history-part-1/

My first piece for The State; an origin tale 🙂

The ancestors of sharks survived at least three mass extinctions. Sharks are a “generalist” species, which means they feed on a variety of foods in many different habitats. They can even eat garbage and survive. Humans can do that, too. So if we find ourselves in a situation where food supplies dwindle, we will still be able to eke out an existence eating bugs, slimes, and other perfectly fine sources of nutrition that most of us to do not ordinarily consider a meal.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/05/18/humans-will-survive/4xwoH2GARqtdyBx5EyvapL/story.html

Experimentation on rodents and newts, though, is a different story. Because the ISS wasn’t equipped to house this particular mix of animals without possible health risk to its crew, the month-long Russian mission took place in an isolated spacecraft. In addition to cameras, the flying pet store of death was also equipped with sensors to track the heart rates and blood pressure of its tiny crew, who were launched in separate containers but were apparently allowed to mingle during the flight.

“This is the first time that animals have flown in space for so long on their own,” noted Sychov after the mission. The surviving animals (which also included “snails, some plants, and microflora”) have been moved from the landing area in Orenburg to Moscow for further testing.

Now, the real estate market is booming in these favelas. Middle-class Brazilians have discovered the slums as a cheap housing alternative. They are also accompanied by an influx of foreigners, most of whom come from the crisis-ridden countries of Southern Europe. Many of the newcomers head to Rio to build an entirely new life for themselves.

Cantagalo is now home to Spaniards, Italians, Argentineans and an Australian. In the neighboring favela of Pavão-Pavãozinho, a prominent immigrant from Germany has also found a place to live: the former senator of the interior in the city-state of Hamburg, Ronald Schill, who was once called “Judge Merciless” for his harsh rulings. Until recently, he was living in an apartment on the Copacabana. Now, he has purchased a small house in the favela.

“Rents and purchasing prices are lower here than down below,” he says as he points to the asphalt jungle at his feet. It’s primarily the favelas in the southern zone of the city that attract the gringos. These areas are usually only minutes from the beach and offer some of the best views of Rio’s stunning urban landscape.

Standing on his terrace, Baronio gazes at the Atlantic. It takes him only 15 minutes to get to the beach. “In Europe the rich would live here,” he says in amazement.

http://m.spiegel.de/international/world/a-900626.html