To Photograph a Wind Farm You Must Learn to Survive at Sea

 

The prize was more than thirty miles off the German coast. Rising 300 feet from the surface of the North Sea was a forest of shimmering fiberglass-and-steel wind turbines. In his dreams, photographer Luca Locatelli stood atop a turbine with his camera to capture the essence of Germany’s massive push for offshore wind power.

But his dream would have to wait.

All wind-turbine workers must receive water-safety training before they can work offshore. Inside a German training pool of the Maritime Center of Competence Elsfleth (MARIKO), a student readies to flip a life raft as his instructors look on.
All Photographs by Luca Locatelli

 

Trainees in an emergency raft signal to a faux helicopter for rescue in a simulated nighttime thunderstorm, which includes waves more than six feet high, total darkness, deafening sound, and high winds inside the Elsfleth training center.

“I have to say that we have severe preconditions for everyone,” wrote an energy company executive. “The photographer needs to have all certificates … [which] include, among other training, the so called ‘survival at sea’ and HUET,” (which stands for Helicopter Underwater Escape Training).

An instructor, left, and a safety diver, right, watch an upside-down trainee try to safely escape from a capsized-helicopter simulator. Helicopter escape training is a prerequisite for working on offshore wind platforms.

 

Two trainees in red suits are surrounded by instructors and safety divers as the helicopter simulator descends into the wave pool.

Undaunted, Locatelli and his assistant, Sirio Magnabosco, enrolled in the grueling four-day training, which allowed them access to the offshore wind farms. Magnabosco made a video (at the top of this page) of Locatelli going through the course. The training included weathering a pool outfitted to create stormlike conditions at sea—six-foot waves, thunder and lightning, and wind and rain, all in total darkness.

“I can tell when it’s dark, when there is the wind, when there is the noise of the thunderstorm, somehow you don’t recognize very well that it’s a simulation,” Locatelli recalled. “You are just in trouble. The water is real. The waves are real. So you have to breathe, and you have to swim, otherwise you fail.”

A helicopter shuttling workers prepares to take off from the Regina Baltica, a boat that is used as a floating hotel, more than 30 miles off the coast of Germany. Nineteen wind farms have been built or are under construction in German waters of the North and Baltic Seas.

“Energy cowboys” wait for the ride out to the wind turbines to begin work in the morning aboard the Regina Baltica.

The wind farm that Locatelli was able to photograph, courtesy of DONG Energy, was the Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind farm that was inaugurated this month. The312-megawatt wind farm has 78 turbines producing enough power for 320,000 German households. Eighteen other wind farms have been built or are under construction in German waters of the North and Baltic Seas.

And, once Locatelli was finally allowed access to the turbines in the sea, he was finally able to make the images that he had envisioned all along.

Photographer Luca Locatelli is all geared up to photograph wind turbines in the North Sea.

 

A Siemens worker on an offshore wind turbine uses a crane to lower a wrench to workers below. The technicians were finishing work on the 78-turbine Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind farm off the coast of Germany in the North Sea.

A Siemens maintenance vessel floats among wind farms more than 30 miles from the German shoreline. The vessel can hold up to 40 technicians, has a workshop, holds small turbine parts, and can safely deliver workers to turbines in eight-foot swells.

 

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http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/28/to-photograph-a-windfarm-you-must-learn-to-survive-at-sea/

China Ends 1-Child Birth Policy, but it May be Too Little, Too Late

 

Critics say that change may be slow because large families are too pricey October 30, 2015 For illustration purposes only. NI QIN ©iStock.com By Megha Rajagopalan and Koh Gui Qing BEIJING (Reuters) - China will ease family planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children after decades of a strict one-child policy, the ruling Communist Party said on Thursday, a move aimed at alleviating demographic strains on the economy. The policy is a major liberalization of the country's family planning restrictions, already eased in late 2013 when Beijing said it would allow more families to have two children when the parents met certain conditions. A growing number of scholars had urged the government to reform the rules, introduced in the late 1970s to prevent population growth spiraling out of control, but now regarded as outdated and responsible for shrinking China's labor pool. For the first time in decades the working age population fell in 2012, and China, the world's most populous nation, could be the first country in the world to get old before it gets rich. By around the middle of this century, one in every three Chinese is forecast to be over 60, with a dwindling proportion of working adults to support them. The announcement was made at the close of a key Party meeting focused on financial reforms and maintaining growth between 2016 and 2020 amid concerns over the country's slowing economy. China will "fully implement a policy of allowing each couple to have two children as an active response to an ageing population", the party said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news agency. There were no immediate details on the new policy or a timeframe for implementation. Wang Feng, a leading expert on demographic and social change in China, called the change an "historic event" that would change the world but said the challenges of China's aging society would remain. "It's an event that we have been waiting  for a generation, but it is one we have had to wait much too long for," Wang said. "It won't have any impact on the issue of the aging society, but it will change the character of many young families," Wang said. Too little, too late? Under the 2013 reform, couples in which one parent is an only child were allowed to have a second child. Critics said the relaxation of rules was too little, too late to redress substantial negative effects of the one-child policy on the economy and society. Many couples who were allowed to have another child under the 2013 rules decided not to, especially in the cities, citing the cost of bringing up children in an increasingly expensive country. State media said in January that about 30,000 families in Beijing, just 6.7% of those eligible, applied to have a second child. The Beijing government had said last year that it expected an extra 54,200 births annually as a result of the change in rules. Chinese people took to microblogging site Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, to welcome the move, but many said they probably wouldn't opt for a second child. "I can't even afford to raise one, let alone two," wrote one user. Couples who flout family planning laws in China are, at minimum, fined, some lose their jobs, and in some cases mothers are forced to abort their babies or be sterilized. William Nee, a China researcher at human rights campaign group Amnesty International, welcomed the move, but urged China to go further. "China should immediately and completely end its control over people's decisions to have children. This would not only be good for improving human rights, but would also make sense given the stark demographic challenges that lie ahead," he said.   http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-ends-1-child-birth-policy-but-it-may-be-too-little-too-late/

Maple Sweet Potato Cake

 

Maple and Sweet Potato Cake.  Garrett McCord Whenever it starts getting a bit cool I roast sweet potatoes. They're an easy meal in themselves or perfectly fine for a side. Plus, roasting them is so easy. When I roast sweet potatoes I usually make a few extra than I need for that meal. The leftovers get mashed and then scuttled away in the freezer or fridge for future projects. Sometimes I use the mash for a sweet potato shepherd's pie topping, or swirl them into waffle or biscuit dough. However, one of my favorite uses is this crazy easy sweet potato cake. This cake take about 5 minutes of active work followed by 1 hour of baking. The result is a dense, sweet, earthy cake that easily beats out any pumpkin cake recipe you have. It's incredibly rich, and the maple and brown sugar give it a musky flavor. A pinch of cinnamon keeps it simple, but I've happily added ground mace, coriander, allspice, ginger, and even ground star anise for something truly elegant. Serve this plain as a snack or toast a slice before smearing it with butter. I've also used this cake in a trifle with pastry cream, bourbon, and candied cranberries. Lastly, I enjoy serving this with a little bit of black coffee or even a hot buttered rum. Related Sweet Potato Links: Perfect Roast Sweet Potatoes What's the Difference Between Yams and Sweet Potatoes? History of the Sweet Potato in China Are Sweet Potato Greens Poisonous? 7 Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes Ingredients 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 cup of sugar 1/2 cup of brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 cup of pureed sweet potatoes 1/2 cup of olive oil 2 eggs 1/4 cup of maple syrup (Grade B, preferably) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 60 minutes Total Time: 65 minutes Yield: 1 loaf cake Preparation 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan by spraying it with baking spray or lightly buttering and flouring it. 2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and sugars. Set aside. 3. Whisk together the sweet potato puree, olive oil, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture and stir together with a spoon until it just comes together. Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out of the center clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan to cool on a wire rack. Serve hot, warm, cool, or toasted.   http://produce.about.com/od/Fall-Produce/r/Maple-Sweet-Potato-Cake.htm

Halloween Cocktails Cinemagraphs

 

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 11:00 AM PDT

À travers de superbes cinémagraphes, les créatrices de Kitchen Ghosts nous invitent à découvrir une série de cocktails spécialement conçus pour la fête d’Halloween. Épicés ou plus légers, les ingrédients sont indiqués afin pour que vous puissiez vous aussi réaliser ces délicieux breuvages.

www.fubiz.net

A Year in Space

 

Wed, 10/28/2015 - 1:40pm Tim Studt Astronaut Scott Kelly offers his expertise, experience and body to build a knowledge database that will pave the way for trips to Mars, and beyond. Astronaut Scott Kelly. Photo: NASA Johnson Astronaut Scott Kelly has accomplished a lot during his 51 years, much of it in non-normal environments. Nearly 2.5 years of Kelly’s life has been spent in extreme environments, either as a naval test pilot experiencing high-G’s in super-sonic military aircrafts or working on science experiments in the International Space Station (ISS)’s zero-G environment. As a NASA astronaut with long-duration experience on space shuttles and the ISS, Kelly volunteered and was selected by NASA, in November 2012, to be its member of a planned Year-in-Space mission. As its member of the planned two-person science-based mission, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) selected veteran cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko. Kelly and Korniyenko were launched to the ISS on March 27, 2015, aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Both are scheduled to return to Kazakhstan in Spring 2016 (342 days). The Kelly-Korniyenko Year-in-Space mission is unique to space travel as it’s the first time long-term science experiments are being dedicated to understanding how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space. Kelly’s mission will be the longest continuous term in space for an astronaut, while Korniyenko’s mission will add to six other cosmonauts’ records who spent 10 to 14 months aboard Russia’s (now-defunct) MIR orbiting spacecraft in the 1990s. The Year-in-Space duration is twice as long as a normal six-month tour aboard the ISS for “traditional” astronauts and cosmonauts, and spans ISS Expeditions 43 to 46. Scott Kelly also has an identical twin, Mark Kelly, who also was an astronaut and a Captain in the U.S. Navy who became a test pilot and piloted four STS missions to the ISS. Scott and Mark are the first siblings to go into space. They each agreed to become the test and control subjects, respectively, for some of the science experiments being conducted during the Year-in-Space mission. Being identical twins, they have the same genetic makeup and offer an excellent methodology and capability to determine what effects living and working in space have on the body’s genetic makeup. “This is a once-in-a-space-program opportunity,” says John Charles, PhD, Associate Manager for International Science, NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP), reflecting on the strong scientific value of having identical twins perform space medicine experiments. With these criteria, it became an obvious choice this year for the Editors of R&D Magazine to choose Scott Kelly as our 2015 Scientist of the Year—R&D Magazine’s 50th annual Award, recognizing outstanding researchers for their groundbreaking research, and the knowledge they create to enhance the human condition. Scott is both the subject of these year-long science experiments, and the researcher collecting unique data that will influence generations of space travelers in the future—he is literally this year’s scientist of the year. The science There already have been and are plans in future expeditions for human research investigations aboard the ISS. All astronauts are medically monitored during pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight phases according to established Medical Evaluation Documents and protocols. The opportunity to collect and compare the effects of spaceflight on the human body over 12 months—rather than typical six-month missions—is the unique capability Year-in-Space offers, especially on twin brothers—test and control subjects—for genetic changes. Much of the data collected will be evaluated for future human travel to Mars. A trip to Mars can vary from six to eight months one-way, depending upon planetary positions, so data is needed for these long-duration voyages. “For typical ISS science studies, we usually have specific outcomes in mind, and they’re goal-oriented,” says NASA’s Charles. For Kelly’s Year-in-Space mission, “the [experiment] slate was essentially blank.” As such, NASA offered academic, government and private researchers the opportunity to propose research studies that could be performed with the resources offered by Scott and Mark. An aurora taken from the International Space Station. Image: NASA Johnson“ Scott will participate in about 450 experiments while on the Year-in-Space mission,” says Julie Robinson, PhD, ISS Program Scientist. “About 700 to 800 researchers are expected to directly work with the data provided by Scott. Along with the comparative medical science investigations with his brother, the experiments Scott will participate in include Earth studies, astrophysical studies and physical science experiments.” Robinson also notes there is a huge community of researchers who are working on details for travel to Mars and developing the criteria for building a Martian infrastructure. “The scale of the work being created and collected by Scott is invaluable for these efforts,” she says. The knowledge and lessons learned in space also can have direct carryovers to the development of advanced patient care on Earth. One of the medical science experiments being conducted during the Year-in-Space examines how body fluids shift to the upper body while in a microgravity environment. It’s known the faces of in-orbit personnel get “puffy,” while their legs lose bone mass and get skinny. Previous studies have noted varying visual deficits experienced by up to two-thirds of the orbiting astronauts and cosmonauts, which on long-duration voyages could be a big concern. For one astronaut, the deterioration was so severe that he couldn’t read the checklist for landing on re-enrty—luckily he had it memorized. One of the hypotheses being evaluated is the shifting of body fluids to the upper body contributes to increased intracranial pressure and subsequent decreased visual capacity. A potential solution developed by the Russians is the creation of a lower body negative pressure suit. The use and testing of this system, however, required moving NASA testing equipment to the Russian Zvezda service module where the large immovable negative pressure suit system is located—not a small undertaking. And, instead of using invasive techniques to measure intracranial pressures, such as drilling into the skull, NASA developed noninvasive optoacoustic devices for this experiment. This noninvasive device could also be used for patients suffering from elevated intracranical pressure on earth. These Year-in-Space experiments are supported by the Henry Ford Medical Center, UC-San Diego and the Wyle Science, Technology and Engineering Group. Vision experiments are at the top of NASA’s medical concerns. Scott’s lack of serious vision problems was one of the criteria that resulted in NASA’s final approval for his participation in the Year-in-Space program. Another experiment being evaluated investigates how microgravity affects an astronaut’s DNA and RNA. Taking blood samples from space-borne Scott and Earth-bound Mark at similar intervals throughout the Year-in-Space, as well as during pre-flight and post-flight periods, researchers can determine if gene expression and behavior changes while in space. The body fluid samples taken by Scott are bagged and frozen aboard the ISS and are scheduled to return with Scott next spring for evaluation by a number of researchers and research organizations. Some of this specific DNA/RNA evaluation work is supported by Weill Cornell Medical College at Cornell Univ. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly corrals the supply of fresh fruit that arrived on the Kounotori 5 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-5.). Photos: NASA Johnson Still another experiment proposed by nutritionists at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, creates a biochemical profile of Scott using blood tests to show his internal organ health. Other investigations look to analyze the human molecular response (from blood samples) to the physical, physiological and environmental stresses associated with Scott’s diet, stress, weightlessness and other unique responses to spaceflight. Life in a confined environment, for example, can affect the creation of chemical compounds that tell a human cell what to do and when to do it. Other space medicine experiments considered for the Year-in-Space include investigations as to how the immune system is affected aboard the ISS; space effects on atherosclerosis; effects on microorganisms within the body; risks of osteoporosis; changes in blood vessels; changes in brain structure and sensory/motor abilities; and the post-flight return of mental and physical abilities. In addition to blood, urine, saliva and even fecal samples are taken and bagged at regular intervals from both Scott and Mark for the specific experimental comparisons and evaluations that will be performed by various researchers in the post-flight time period. Mark doesn’t have the same diet as Scott, but does follow Scott’s daily 1.5 to 2.0 hrs routine of exercise to keep in a similar physical condition as his brother. Scott’s daily waking routine consists of about a third of the time devoted the Year-in-Space experiments, a third devoted to ISS maintenance concerns and the remainder spent on physical exercise and personal care. While generating data on the various medical effects noted above, the purpose of these experiments is to help scientists develop countermeasures to offset the negative effects through drugs, new exercise routines, upgraded shielding or artificial gravity systems. Living and working in space has a lot of physical and medical issues, including backaches, bone loss, poor sleep patterns, loss of balance, muscle atrophy, nausea, rashes and post-flight kidney stones to name a few. “You feel bad for the first month and I’ve never felt completely normal,” says Scott. Scott’s twitter In response to requests for Earth studies and working with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) to help people better understand the Earth from the ISS’s vantage point, Scott creates almost daily tweets (@StationCDRKelly) containing recent images he has taken. The images include those of specific geographical spots on the Earth, weather patterns, the ISS and whatever else strikes his fancy. He often makes a game of these, asking followers to see if they can identify the geographical image he’s tweeted. The Expedition 43 crew gathers aboard the International Space Station to affix their mission patch to the vehicle. In view is Commander Terry Virts (center left), Scott Kelly (top left), Gennady Padalka (top center), Anton Shkaplerov (top right), Mikhail Kornienko (bottom right), Samantha Cristoforetti (bottom center). Photo: NASA Johnson One of his tweets noted the departure of Expedition 44 crew members on September 11, and the recognition of his elevation to ISS commander for Expeditions 45 and 46, following the departure of ISS commander for Expeditions 43 and 44, Gennadi Padalka. Padalka is the most experienced spaceman in the world with a record 879 days in space over five space missions. Not all went as expected during the beginning of Scott’s Year-in-Space, further demonstrating the fragility of the systems and potential dangers in which astronauts operate and how changes often have to be made “on the fly.” In April, a Russian Progress supply ship wasn’t able to be controlled by ground controllers and ultimately re-entered the atmosphere and burnt up. The very next resupply mission, a SpaceX system then exploded soon after launch in late-June. Back-up supplies are always maintained so that re-supply failures can be tolerated without endangering the health or safety of the ISS personnel. Following the SpaceX failure, the ISS still had enough supplies to last them through October. But failures of consecutive resupply missions are rare. These consecutive failures slightly affected the sequencing of the Year in Space experiments with substitutions subsequently made and implemented. A Russian supply ship successfully docked with the ISS in mid-July, two weeks after the SpaceX failure. Scott took all of this in stride and continued his experiments, tweeting and instructional videos.   http://www.rdmag.com/articles/2015/10/year-space

Like being there: The next generation of 3-D holograms

 

Center for Integrated Access Networks tackles bandwidth challenge to bring 3-D holograms to your living room Imagine watching the World Cup or the Super Bowl in 3-D in the comfort of your own home. That option may be available sooner than you think. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), optical scientist Nasser Peyghambarian and his team at the University of Arizona are working to make next-generation holograms possible. The researchers foresee the day, possibly within the next decade, when laser-generated holograms will be transmitted anywhere in the world, in real time. Transmitting a video rate hologram takes an enormous amount of bandwidth and power--think 10,000 times the rates for high-definition television. At the Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN), the vision is to create transformative technologies for optical access networks that can do just that--transmit huge amounts of data to a broad population anywhere, at any time. The broader impacts of CIAN’s research could be felt in almost every home. Ultra-high data bandwidth and cost effective services could contribute to business innovation, improve educational opportunities, enhance distribution of medical services, minimize the environmental impact from infrastructure and pollution, enable new and varied entertainment opportunities, and increase overall national security, just to name a few possibilities. CIAN is one of the NSF Engineering Research Centers, which are interdisciplinary, multi-institutional centers that join academia, industry and government in partnership to produce transformational engineered systems, along with engineering graduates who are adept at innovation and primed for leadership in the global economy. CIAN is a multi-institutional research effort consisting of the University of Arizona (lead) and its partner institutions--the University of California at San Diego, the University of Southern California, the California Institute of Technology, the University of California at Berkeley, Columbia University, the University of California at Los Angeles, Norfolk State University and Tuskegee University. The research in this episode was supported by NSF award #0812072, NSF Engineering Research Center for Integrated Access Networks (CIAN). Miles O'Brien, Science Nation Correspondent Marsha Walton, Science Nation Producer http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/science_nation/nextgenhologram.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_51

Bathing Women Oil Paintings

 

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 04:00 AM PDT

Jusqu’à ses 27 ans, Josep Moncada travaillait en tant que comptable à Barcelone avant de se consacrer à sa passion, la peinture. Aujourd’hui diplomé de l’école d’art La Massa, Josep est un peintre dont le travail est reconnu à travers le monde. Ici, nous présentons une de ses séries de peintures à l’huile, qui d’un point de vue quelque peu voyeuriste, se focalise sur des parties du corps de femmes se baignant dans une piscine.

Portraits of Auto Mechanics in the Style of Renaissance Paintings

 

Posted: 29 Oct 2015 03:00 PM PDT

Le photographe Freddy Fabris, basé à Chicago, a longtemps travaillé pour des projets publicitaires dans des agences telles que Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi et Ogilvy & Mather. Récemment, il s’est concentré sur des séries personnelles comme ces portraits de mécaniciens, capturés à la manière des peintures classiques. Ces clichés nous font penser à des toiles de Rembrandt, Da Vinci et reprennent directement des scènes de Philippe de Champaigne (Le Dernier Souper) et de Michelangelo (La Création d’Adam).

Soothing gals

 

Drivers Push Tesla’s Autopilot Beyond Its Abilities

 

Tesla says its new Autopilot feature is not synonymous with autonomous driving, but some drivers are acting like it is. By Bradley Berman on October 21, 2015   Why It Matters Autonomous vehicles will become a lot safer than today’s cars. But we’re not there yet. Tesla’s Autopilot feature is meant to assist drivers, not take over the driving completely. Enthusiastic Tesla owners cheered last Wednesday when the company enabled the use of an automated driving system, called Autopilot, in its Model S all-electric sedans. The wireless update of vehicles to Version 7.0 of Tesla software—which allows properly equipped cars to steer, switch lanes, and manage speed on its own—is exactly the kind of bold move that makes many Tesla fans so excited about the company. In fact, a number of Tesla drivers immediately took to the road to test the limits of Autopilot—taking their hands fully off the wheel and seeing how far the car could drive itself down highways, country lanes, and suburban streets. That led to dangerous situations and near accidents, as evidenced by videos made by drivers (while driving) and posted to YouTube. In one video, a Model S driver admitted to ignoring warnings until the vehicle automatically swerved over the double-yellow dividing lines toward an oncoming vehicle. “Had I not reacted quickly to jerk the steering wheel in the opposite direction, a devastating head-on collision would have occurred,” he wrote in the YouTube post. Tesla’s Autopilot system—which uses a combination of forward radar, a forward-looking camera and 12 long-range ultrasonic sensors, and fast processors—can handle straight-ahead predictable highway driving. Yet Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly warned that Autopilot is not synonymous with fully autonomous driving (see also “Why Self-Driving Cars Must Be Programmed to Kill”). “Tesla is very clear with what we’re building, features to assist the driver on the road,” said Khobi Brooklyn, a Tesla spokesperson, in an e-mail. “Similar to the autopilot function in airplanes, drivers need to maintain control and responsibility of their vehicle while enjoying the convenience of Autopilot in Model S.” Brooklyn said that customers were informed about Autopilot’s functions through release notes that come with every update, an update to the owner’s manual, and e-mails. Drivers are encouraged to keep their hands on the wheels (see “What Will Tesla Drivers Do Behind the Wheel With Autopilot Engaged?”). But not all drivers are getting a clear message. “I think it’s wonderful that Tesla has gone out there with this technology, but they might have hyped Autopilot a little bit too much,” says Alain Kornhauser, director of the transportation program at Princeton University. “It doesn’t work in all circumstances. Drivers don’t necessarily know when the car goes from tracking fine to a gray area when the car is confused, and then to a situation when the car doesn’t know where it’s going. These things aren’t well-defined.” Kornhauser drives a 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-550 sedan with Distronic Plus, a suite of assisted driving technologies that closely resembles the Tesla Autopilot system. Distronic Plus has been available in S- and E-Class vehicles since 2013. Yet automakers like Mercedes commonly refer to the technology as assistive, rather than using words like “auto” or “automatic.” Automakers and regulators have not yet defined the best way, or the required timing, to alert drivers to take control back over the vehicle. Kornhauser warns that drivers need to be very cautious. “You have to show some respect, because you’re driving a lethal weapon,” he says. He contrasted Tesla’s approach with Google’s autonomous vehicle program. Google is committed to complete autonomy—as a means to avoid any question about when a driver needs to be attentive or not. Its self-driving cars drive themselves in all situations, and sometimes operate without any passengers (see “Lazy Humans Shaped Google’s New Autonomous Car”). Doug Newcomb, president of the C3group, which holds conferences and offers consulting on connected cars, agrees that Google—and especially mainstream automakers—are being more careful than Tesla. “This is Tesla’s MO,” says Newcomb. “As a technology company, they’re pushing things more than car companies.” Newcomb says that Tesla is being “somewhat cavalier” in not fully acknowledging how the technology might be used. “With new technology, people are going to use it in ways that it wasn’t intended,” he says. “But in this case, you’re not talking about smart phone or a computer. You’re talking about a dangerous vehicle.” http://www.technologyreview.com/news/542651/drivers-push-teslas-autopilot-beyond-its-abilities/

Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress

 

Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples provided. By Mayo Clinic Staff Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic — and it may even affect your health. Indeed, some studies show that personality traits like optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive thinking that typically comes with optimism is a key part of effective stress management. And effective stress management is associated with many health benefits. If you tend to be pessimistic, don't despair — you can learn positive thinking skills. Understanding positive thinking and self-talk Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst. Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information. If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you're likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking. The health benefits of positive thinking Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include: Increased life span Lower rates of depression Lower levels of distress Greater resistance to the common cold Better psychological and physical well-being Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress It's unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. It's also thought that positive and optimistic people tend to live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and don't smoke or drink alcohol in excess. Next References See more In-depth http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/positive-thinking/art-20043950

Weight loss: Gain control of emotional eating

 

Find out how emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts, and get tips to get control of your eating habits. By Mayo Clinic Staff Sometimes the strongest food cravings hit when you're at your weakest point emotionally. You may turn to food for comfort — consciously or unconsciously — when facing a difficult problem, feeling stressed or even feeling bored. Emotional eating can sabotage your weight-loss efforts. It often leads to eating too much, especially too much of high-calorie, sweet and fatty foods. The good news is that if you're prone to emotional eating, you can take steps to regain control of your eating habits and get back on track with your weight-loss goals. The connection between mood, food and weight loss Emotional eating is eating as a way to suppress or soothe negative emotions, such as stress, anger, fear, boredom, sadness and loneliness. Major life events or, more commonly, the hassles of daily life can trigger negative emotions that lead to emotional eating and disrupt your weight-loss efforts. These triggers might include: Relationship conflicts Work stress Fatigue Financial pressures Health problems Although some people eat less in the face of strong emotions, if you're in emotional distress you might turn to impulsive or binge eating, quickly consuming whatever's convenient without enjoyment. In fact, your emotions can become so tied to your eating habits that you automatically reach for a treat whenever you're angry or stressed without thinking about what you're doing. Food also serves as a distraction. If you're worried about an upcoming event or stewing over a conflict, for instance, you may focus on eating comfort food instead of dealing with the painful situation. Whatever emotions drive you to overeat, the end result is often the same. The emotions return, and you likely then bear the additional burden of guilt about setting back your weight-loss goal. This can also lead to an unhealthy cycle — your emotions trigger you to overeat, you beat yourself up for getting off your weight-loss track, you feel bad and you overeat again. Next Oct. 03, 2015 References See more In-depth   http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss/art-20047342

Rise of the Microglia

 

New research shows that the resident immune cells of the brain are involved in both development and disease By Diana Kwon October 23, 2015 Microglia, the immune cells of the brain, have long been the underdogs of the glia world, passed over for other, flashier cousins, such as astrocytes. Although microglia are best known for being the brain’s primary defenders, scientists now realize that they play a role in the developing brain and may also be implicated in developmental and neurodegenerative disorders. The change in attitude is clear, as evidenced by the buzz around this topic at this year’s Society for Neuroscience (SfN) conference, which took place from October 17 to 21 in Chicago, where scientists discussed their role in both health and disease. Activated in the diseased brain, microglia find injured neurons and strip away the synapses, the connections between them. These cells make up around 10 percent of all the cells in the brain and appear during early development. For decades scientists focused on them as immune cells and thought that they were quiet and passive in the absence of an outside invader. That all changed in 2005, when experimenters found that microglia were actually the fastest-moving structures in a healthy adult brain. Later discoveries revealed that their branches were reaching out to surrounding neurons and contacting synapses. These findings suggested that these cellular scavengers were involved in functions beyond disease. The Brain’s Sculptors The discovery that microglia were active in the healthy brain jump-started the exploration into their underlying mechanisms: Why do these cells hang around synapses? And what are they doing? For reasons scientists don’t yet understand, the brain begins with more synapses than it needs. “As the brain is making its [connections], it’s also eliminating them,” says Cornelius Gross, a neuroscientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Microglia are critical to this process, called pruning: they gobble up synapses, thus helping to sculpt the brain by eliminating unwanted connections.* But how do microglia know which synapses to get rid of and which to leave alone? New evidence suggests that a protective tag that keeps healthy cells from being eaten by the body’s immune system may also shield against microglial activity in the brain. Emily Lehrman, a doctoral candidate in neuroscientist Beth Stevens’s laboratory at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, presented these unpublished findings at this year’s SfN. “The [protective tag]’s receptor is highly expressed in microglia during peak pruning,” Lehrman says. Without an abundance of this receptor, the tag is unable to protect the cells, leading to excess engulfment by microglia and overpruning of neuronal connections.*  But pruning is not always a bad thing. Other molecules work to ensure that microglia remove weak connections, which can be detrimental to brain function. Cornelius Gross, a neuroscientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, and his research group have been investigating the activity of fractalkine, a key molecule in neuron-microglia signaling whose receptors are found exclusively on microglia. “Microglia mature in a way that matches synaptogenesis, which sets up the hypothesis that neurons are calling out to microglia during this period,” Gross says. His lab found that removing the receptor for fractalkine created an overabundance of weak synaptic contacts caused by deficient synaptic pruning during development in the hippocampus, a brain area involved in learning and memory. These pruning problems led to decreased functional connectivity in the brain, impaired social interactions and increased repetitive behavior—all telltale signs of autism. Published last year in Nature Neuroscience (Scientific American is part of Springer Nature), this work was also presented at the conference. When Pruning Goes Awry Studies have also found evidence for increased microglial activation in individuals with schizophrenia and autism; however, whether increased microglial activity is a cause or effect of these diseases is unclear. “We still need to understand whether pruning defects are contributing to these developmental disorders,” Stevens says. Some findings are emerging from studies on Rett syndrome, a rare form of autism that affects only girls. Dorothy Schafer, now at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, studied microglia’s role in Rett syndrome while she was a postdoctoral researcher in Stevens’s lab. Using mice with mutations in MECP2, the predominant cause of the disease, she found that while microglia were not engulfing synapses during early development, the phagocytic capacity (or the gobbling ability) of these cells increased during the late stages of the disease. These unpublished results suggest that microglia were responding secondarily to a sick environment and partially resolve a debate going on about what microglia do in Rett syndrome—in recent years some studies have shown that microglia can arrest the pathology of disease, whereas others have indicated that they cannot. “Microglia are doing something, but in our research, it seems to be a secondary effect,” Shafer says. “What’s going on is still a huge mystery.” Return of the Pruning Shears As the resident immune cells, microglia act as sentinels, sensing and removing disturbances in the brain. When the brain is exposed to injury or disease, microglia surround the damaged areas and eat up the remains of dying cells. In Alzheimer’s disease, for example, microglia are often found near the sites of beta-amyloid deposits, the toxic clumps of misfolded proteins that appear in the brain of affected people. On one hand, microglia may delay the progression of disease by clearing cellular debris. But it is also possible that they are contributing to disease. Early synapse loss is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative disorders. Growing evidence points to the possibility that microglial pruning pathways seen in early development may be reactivated later in life, leading to disease. Unpublished data from Stevens’s lab presented at the conference suggest that microglia are involved in the early stages of Alzheimer’sand that blocking microglia’s effects could reduce the synapse loss seen in Huntington’s disease. As a newly burgeoning field, there are still more questions than answers. Next year’s conference is likely to bring us closer to understanding what these dynamic cells are doing in the brain. Once the underdogs, microglia may be the key to future therapeutics for a wide variety of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. *Clarification (10/27/15): Text updated to provide attribution.   http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rise-of-the-microglia/?WT.mc_id=SA_MB_20151028

Nine reasons why the Barber Vintage Festival is the one motorcycle event you cannot say 'no' to

 

There's something for everyone at the Barber Vintage Festival (Credit: Somer Hooker / Gizmag) Image Gallery (160 images) Every October there’s a three day party in Birmingham, Alabama, for motorcyclists of all persuasions. Unlike most brand-specific get togethers, this event honors one and all, from the beginnings of motorcycling history to the wonderous two-wheeled technology of today. The event is kid-friendly, exceptionally well organized, incredibly welcoming and spotlessly clean.   It’s called the Barber Vintage Festival and it’s unlike any other event in the world. Here are the nine reasons why the Barber Vintage Festival is the one motorcycle happening you cannot say no to. Britten the featured marque in 2015 Every year Barber Vintage Festival picks a theme to expand upon, and as this year is the 20th anniversary of the passing of legendary New Zealand motorcycle designer John Britten, it presented the perfect opportunity to host a tribute to his work. Nine of the 10 existing Britten motorcycles were on hand, including the famed "Streamliner," as was the Britten family. To a Britten enthusiast, getting eyes-on just once in a lifetime might have to do, so to see them running in a pack on the track, racing in AHRMA and all displayed together in the Barber Museum was such a rare sight – even John Britten himself never got to see it. The tale of John Britten is a fairytale equally enchanting as that of fellow-Kiwi Burt Monro, who gained international acclaim for his home-grown innovation thanks to the movie The World's Fastest Indian. Britten was another motorcycle innovator from New Zealand, who put a whole new spin on "homebuilt" motorcycles. Built from the ground up, each of his V-twin motorcycles was a spectacular vision of "outside-the-box" thinking and captured the imagination of the world. In the early 90’s he brought an example to Daytona and was allowed to run it in Battle of the Twins where he made quite the display as his rider rode the rear wheel, flashing the peace sign to spectators as the competition tried to catch them. Sadly, John succumbed to cancer at age 45, robbing us all of what might have been. Brittens were sold with a tuning laptop in each crate which was remarkably innovative for the time. Expensive even then, (prices varied, but around US$75,000 seems to be the range), they are now among the most treasured motorcycles in the world and easily worth more than 10 times that now. With only 10 Brittens on the planet, George Barber saw to it that nine of them made it to the Vintage Festival. Think about that for a moment – that's 90 percent of the entire production run in one spot, turning the Barber Festival into an defacto Britten festival. Indeed, one of them was already there, because George Barber invested in John Britten’s dream early on and was one of the first buyers. He is to this day an original owner of the first Britten group. Those who attended the annual Motorcycles by Moonlight museum charity dinner got to see them all in one room. This proved to be much more intoxicating then any of the beverages served, at least until the next day when five were paraded on the track at once, with a couple on the back wheel in true Britten fashion. Kirsteen Britten, John’s wife, was on hand to speak about John’s life and passion. She also flagged off the parade lap with the bikes on the track Five Brittens on the track at once: never before and probably never again Kirsteen Britten leads the parade of Brittens while seated on the back of George Barber’s Porsche Spyder   George Barber and his staff The Southern gentleman turned around on the tram. "Is everything all right? Is there anything you need?" He had white hair and look of concern as we rode around the track. None other than Mr. George Barber himself was sampling the service being provided at the grounds that bear his name. He patiently moves through the crowds like a host at a Derby Day party, making sure everyone is content and everything is sufficient. One of the hallmarks of the Barber Vintage Festival is plain old Southern Hospitality. Some meets have organizers and staff that interact with their patrons more like taskmasters with whips. Not so at Barber’s. All staff will treat you with courtesy and genuine concern. They want to make sure you’re happy and help if you’re not. It’s important to ask and listen, to learn to improve. It’s a mandate that comes directly from the top, Mr. Barber himself. And it’s the secret sauce to how they always manage to take it up several notches every year. The gentleman who makes it all possible, George Barber The Museum and Grounds It’s the first thing you see when you enter the park and frankly, it’s just plain majestic. Five stories of poured concrete with a glass front that brings to mind more upscale hotel than motorcycle museum. Barbers is often described as an 850 acre botanical garden with a race track and what is commonly regarded as the best motorcycle museum in the world. The grounds are spotless, and the crowds at BVF respect that. There is a huge camp area and it’s popular, with good bathrooms and lovely views. The ground staff knows what’s nesting here, what has babies, and concern for the surrounding environmentally sensitive river is paramount. The race track is sold out most of the year for track days and corporate functions, Porsche and Mercedes have offices on the grounds. So while it’s probably true that the grounds and racetrack each sets a world standard, it’s the museum that stands alone in it’s unlikely to ever be contested "Best In The World" status. The state of the art dedicated building holds roughly 1600 motorcycles and is currently undergoing an expansion that will double its size. Inside the vast collection is the largest Lotus car collection in the world as well as many machines a staunch enthusiast will recognize as the core MOMA Art of the Motorcycle exhibit. You could easily spend a day in the museum alone and many do just that.   The Racing Sparse grids, single file races? Not at Barbers. This is the race entrants look forward to all year, so much so that AHRMA, the series that sanctions the weekend had to find a way to limit entry’s by requiring pre-Barber qualifier races in order to get in. The resulting full grids, top name racers and busy paddock make for outstanding spectating. The best part? It’s all included in the price of your standard BVF gate admission. If you get tired of watching the road races (which includes the Century race and of course the Britten on track exhibition), there’s vintage MX dirt track racing thru the surrounding woods as well.   The Motorcycle Swap meet The swap meet has six hundred vendor spaces and sells out months before the event. and the Barber staff works hard to keep the focus on small vendors. Jeff Ray CEO noted years ago that when one mega meet kept increasing its fees due to popularity, the smaller guys got nudged out. Soon it was nothing but professionals selling reproduction parts and services. He realized that attendees have a "lust for rust," that they like to find those small treasures like the Pickers do. In fact the swap meet has a pickers contest. The entrants with the most unusual item entered, are awarded a trophy and a free space the next year. Vendors have been known to make sales just as they pull in   The Century Race Early on the Museum began "The Race of the Century." To enter, participants had to have a motorcycle at least 100 years old. Each year the field got larger and the speeds faster. By 2012 (1912) better brakes and dual speed rear ends were making it really interesting. Last year they realized that they were now getting into the era of 3 speed transmissions and big V-twins. Speeds would be approaching 80+ mph. The focus shifted to a parade lap for 100+ year old motorcycles. The happy result is the Indian – Harley wars might never end. At least not while Barber is offering such a choice battlefield. The year the field consisted of a couple of Harley Davidsons that had been battle tested in a Cannonball cross country run, a Triumph single and an Indian V-twin. Another facet of the mid-day activities on Saturday is a parade lap of honor for any machine that had participated in the Cannonball race, a cross country rally for pre-1936 or pre 1916 motorcycles depending on the year. It’s quite a show – the gambit ran from flat tank Harley Davidsons to Art Deco BMWs. Crossing the finish line always feels good – 1929 101 Indian Scout Motorcycles On Parade We’ve all heard the term "Three Ring Circus," where three separate shows were going on at once under the Big Top. Multiply that times three at The Barber Vintage Festival. Early on the VJMC (Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club) and AMCA (Antique Motorcycle Club of America) became one of the foundations for the festival. Each club was given an area to stage a ride-in bike show. It was popular and as the festival grew, more shows sprung up; formally and informally. Motorcycle Classics magazine took over the formal task of the "main" bike show and with the promise of the winner making the magazine owners started turning up with bikes from all 49 states. Soon Ace Café joined the party with one of their own as well – for an additional fee you could enter its build-off show and sip adult beverages while watching the races (by paying admission to a private area).   The Art One of the most unexpected things about Barbers is the applications of art in its public spaces. They vary from whimsical (like the giant ants carrying away a motorcycle and rider as well as a giant Coca Cola bottle), the ultra-serious (The Ted Gall sculpture "The Chase" on the museum’s front lawn) and the iconic (the giant spider in the race track front straight grass by the Charlotte’s Web turn). A walk around the track might take you past a pride of lions on the hunt, an Indian totem, giant flowers with spinning petals, Don Quixote on his horse, and a man seemingly drowning in a lake known as the "Zombie Frenchman." Art is all throughout the museum too and it’s not just interesting, it’s remarkably clever – a real car in parts displayed to resemble a giant model car kit, and "trees" made of motorcycles that seem to grow thru the museums floors are but two examples of many. It’s not a stretch to suggest a visit here for the art and artistic displays alone.   Thrill Shows One of the favorite past times at any motorcycle event is the Motorcycle Thrill Show and like everything else at Barber’s they deliver three times more entertainment than you might expect. The traditional stunt show is taken over the top (literally) by the On The Edge motorcycle stunt show. Based in the UK this accomplished quartet of trials bike experts pull off the impossible numerous times a day. Nestled in the fan zone is a strange looking metal mesh ball that houses as many as three genuine "daredevil" riders at a time all somehow managing to miss each other as they ride inside the sphere fast enough to glue themselves with centrifugal force upside down at speeds up to 60 mph. The three "man" team is actually two guys and a gal and the crowd loves that reveal, which is saved until the end. More surprising is that this, like many carnival shows, is a family business and the globe (and show) date back to 1912 when the Uris family took it on the road. Completing the trio is an old fashioned Wall of Death. This mother of all carnival shows is run by the American Motor Drone Company and showcases the vintage American sport of board track racing using antique Indian and Harley Davidson motorcycles. Fans stand inches from the riders who scream by and grab dollar bills from the crowd as the whole platform sways with the force of the machines inside it. If you have never seen it this authentic (and memorable) piece of Americana it’s like stepping thru a doorway back in time.   Want to attend the Barber Vintage Festival in 2016? Plan ahead. Camping and swap meet spots sell out in days once sales open. This year’s crowd of 69,000 attendees was a record but there were almost no lines to get in or anywhere else, and buying your $60 (or less with advance purchase) three day pass is part of that lovely no-waiting-in-line process. The website is really informative, check out this link for the FAQ. In the meantime, take a closer look at all of these reasons (and more) to put this ebent on your agenda in our extensive Barber Festival photo gallery.   http://www.gizmag.com/barber-vintage-festival-motorcycle-show/40056