* You can listen to a segment of the Slavoj Žižek essay on contemporary apocalypticism that will appear in our upcoming issue of Polygraph here. (via Verso)

* The headline reads, Cigar-Shaped “Mothership” Plunges Argentinian Town Into A Blackout.

* 15 Toys Not to Buy Your Child This Christmas. Of course, science proves you shouldn’t buy anyone gifts at all. (Both links via Neil.)

* Is the public option now too watered-down to fight for? Matt Yglesias and Steve Benen join Josh Marshall in thinking this over. I feel exactly how I did on Monday: the point is to pass anything so it can be improved without a filibuster.

* North Carolina in the news! Kay Hagan is the Senate’s 17th wealthiest senator (via), while Blue Cross/Blue Shield of North Carolina has gotten itself in big trouble for improper issue advocacy against the public option.

* Other politics quick hits: HIV travel ban finally lifted. The national GOP has money problems. They’re talking about a war tax. Despite what you may hear in the press, Obama is pretty good at this whole international diplomacy thing. And Dubai is collapsing; couldn’t have happened to a nicer country.

* The New York Times “100 Notable Books of 2009″ list is already out.

* ‘Are Fake Academic Conferences the New Nigerian Prince Scam?’

* Little-used geek measurements.

Sheppey (distance)
I have to include Douglas Adams’ co-creation (with John Lloyd) here — It’s from The Meaning of Liff, their dictionary of things there aren’t any words for yet. All the words in the dictionary are British place names (the Isle of Sheppey is off the Kent coast). One sheppey is the closest distance at which sheep are still picturesque, and is about seven-eighths of a mile.

* Thor, a Marvel comics character I’m still pretty sure has to be an elaborate joke, will redefine what a superhero movie can be.

* Black Friday LEGO nostalgia.

* Ah, that explains it: that badly timed Dollhouse ARG turns out to be the work of overzealous fans.

* Paging George Michael Bluth. (via)

Units of measurement

The chosen standard of measurement of a quantity which has essentially the same nature as that of the quantity is called the unit of the quantity. Following are the important types of metric system for unit,

(1) C.G.S. System : Length (centimetre), Mass (gram), Time (second)

(2) M.K.S. System : Length (metre), Mass (kilogram), Time (second)

(3) F.P.S. System : Length (foot), Mass (pound), Time (second)

(4) S.I. System : The 11th general conference of weights and measures (October 1960) adopted International system of units, popularly known as the SI units. The SI has seven basic units from which all other units are derived called derived units. The standard prefixes which helps to reduce the basic units are now widely used.

Dimensional analysis : The seven basic quantities lead to a number of derived quantities such as pressure, volume, force, density, speed etc. The units for such quantities can be obtained by defining the derived quantity in terms of the base quantities using the base units. For example, speed (velocity) is expressed in distance/time. So the unit is m/s or ms^–1. The unit of force (mass × acceleration) is kg ms^–2 and the unit for acceleration is ms^–2.

We cover the following Topics in Basic concepts of chemistry:

• Units of Measurement
• Mole Concept
• Atomic Mass
• Molecular Mass
• Percentage Composition
• Stoichiometry
• Volumetric Analysis

UnitConversion.org is a usefull  resource for unit conversion.
Use their free online unit converters to easily convert between different units of measurement.
Simply select the appropriate unit converter from the lists.

converter, unit converter

Abridged Math Tools Chapter Three

by Lesley Cowie

This portion of Math Tools will discuss directional measurements, area measurements, volume measurements and the metric system. Journalists encounter stories with these components often. Rather than simply taking a bystander’s word for these measurements, journalists should figure out the measurements on their own.

The equation is the same for determining time, rate and distance. However, journalists should be sure to arrange the equation as needed. Therefore, distance equals rate multiplied by time. To find the rate, one would divide time into distance. Lastly, to find time, one would divide the rate into the distance.

Journalists should pay close attention to units of measurement. A mile and a nautical mile are different. A mile comprises 5,280 feet, whereas a nautical mile comprises 6,080 feet.

A knot is a measure of speed. One knot is one nautical mile per hour. If the time is given in minutes, a journalist should divide by 60 to convert it to hours before working the equation to find the distance.

One common mistake that journalists make is to think that speed and velocity are the same measurement. While they are used interchangeably, speed measures how fast something is going, and velocity indicates its direction. To calculate the average speed, or rate, one would divide time into distance.

Momentum is the force necessary to stop an object from moving. It is the product of mass and velocity.

Utilizing communications tools to explain measurements

Kathleen Wickham, author of “Math Tools for Journalists,” writes that there are two ways to explain measurements: by analogy and by using simple, accurate numbers.

Analogies allow readers to visualize a comparison and fully grasp the writer’s idea. It is more effective to say that the tree is as tall as a four-story building than it is to say that the tree is 40 feet tall.

This strategy fails when the reader does not understand the comparison. If a writer uses a localized comparison, it is unlikely that the national audience will understand the slang in the comparison.

Analogies also fail when numbers are essential. In some stories, the public wants to know the exact measurements of an item or property. In this case, an analogy would not further the audience’s understanding or perspective of the issue.

Simple, accurate numbers may be obtained through simple equations. Many people are familiar with the equation for area. Area deals with the size of surfaces and may be determined by multiplying length times width.

Perimeter becomes important in stories that discuss construction projects on the ground. This number will help readers understand how large the project is. One can find the perimeter by adding twice the length to twice the width.

Circumference and radius come into play when the project is circular. The radius is the measurement from the outside of the circle to the center point within the circle. This number, multiplied by the product of two and pi, will result in the circumference.

Calculating quantity and capacity

Volume is an important measurement in the business world, from buying to selling. Goods are often sold based on volume. Volume is an important factor in determining the selling price of a good.

Journalists have to calculate volume when it comes to determining liquid measurements and rectangular solids. There are a variety of conversions that must occur when determining liquid measurements. Liquids come in many sizes, from tablespoons and ounces to quarts and gallons.

Determining rectangular solids is an easier process. This type of volume requires length, width and height measurements. After multiplying these three numbers together, one will see the resulting volume of the solid.

Firewood is sold by a measurement called a cord. A cord is made up for 128 cubic feet when the wood is neatly stacked in a line or row. Wickham describes a standard cord as a stack of wood 8 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high.

Beating the system

Although the metric system is not the primary system for measurement in the U.S., it is important for journalists to know. Because many other countries in the world use it, the metric system is important for international commerce and science.

The meter is the basic unit for length. Mass is derived from the meter. One gram is the mass of one cubic centimeter of water at 0 degrees Celsius. With this wording underway, it is easy to see why Americans enjoy using the metric system – or not.

Basically, the metric system is based on the decimal system. Users can change from one unit to another by multiplying or dividing by 10, 100, 1,000 or other multiples of 10. It is important to note that each unit is 10 times as large as the next smaller unit.

The primary units of measurement are as follows: meter (length), gram (mass) and liter (volume). When added to a unit name, prefixes create larger or smaller factors.

There are a series of conversions that a journalist can do to convert American measurements to metric and vice versa. Because there are so many numbers and terms to remember, many people consult a chart to do their conversions.

Fahrenheit is the standard unit for temperature in the U.S. However, many students become familiar with converting Fahrenheit to Celsius and vice versa through schooling.

To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, one would subtract 32 from the Fahrenheit reading and then multiply this number by 0.56. To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, take the product of the Celsius reading and 1.8 and add 32.

For the most part, units of measurement do not need to be capitalized. In special circumstances, such as with temperature (C for Celsius) or units derived from the name of a person or country (N for Newton), the units of measurement may be capitalized.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology suggests a few style rules for using these measurements. For instance, this organization believes that there should be a space between the number and the symbol to which it refers. This division of the U.S. Department of Commerce also says that a zero should be written before the decimal point in situations where the number is less than one.

Directional measurements, area measurements, volume measurements and the metric system are common numbers in society and journalism. These topics have fairly easy equations and conversions for journalists to use. It is important for journalists to note the particular units of measurement for each area of determination.

Elevators of landing stage are designed to reduce of the hour-man and to improve safety where there is no equipment of landing stage. An elevator raises materials with the truck using the hydraulic cylinders. Elevators of landing stage are machines for maximum safety, reduce the risk of damage to the minimum, and enormously improve the time of arrival at the market the effectiveness. Each unit comprises the orders easy to use in the form of pushbutton, A.C. 24V on a cord length of rolling up of 20 feet. The prewired control unit includes a magnetic fuse of starter and overload, and a fuse speed of help stops the dash in the event of a line cut.

The landing stage also raises the high visibility of device, balustrades dismountable with the fixed panels of toe. The apron checkered on each unit is made starting from the heavy steel of measurement and hard during much of years. The perimeter of the platform are surrounded by bevelled toe-guard and electric toe-guard to prevent slips and fall. The electric ones toe-keep are a patented device which is essential with the safety of the personnel. He is made starting from L-shaped aluminium extrusion and hangs below the whole perimeter of the platform. It is important, because if the elevator of landing stage is lowered while an object, a hand, or crosses of foot its way, the guard will be started and the unit will stop the table of lowering electrically. When the object is removed, the table again starts to move. It is not necessary to give to zero the unit.

Toe-keep the provisions are standard security measures of OSHA and standard ANSI used on a series of platforms and are also built in the elevator of landing stage for the protocol of conformity. The elevator of landing stage of table of scissors is also semi-transportable, and can be actuated to 8 feet from the 6.5 that the HP circulates in the car that orders it.

The manufacturers can also adapt elevators to the customer requirements of landing stage with any number of options requested from the hour of the purchase. These options include, but are not limited, to what follows:

PONT EN ALUMINIUM FENDU EN CAMION

The standard steel bridge can be replaced by an aluminium bridge measuring 72 with far X 18 a long time. It is ideal for applications of government.

PONT EN ACIER FENDU

If need be, for the 72 additional with far X 18 bridge steel duplicated a long time can be added at the side opposite with the unit.

DISMOUNTABLE HANDRAILS/TOEBOARDS

They is advantages when the unit is assembled in a well. The balustrades and the additional panels of toe makes it possible the elevator of landing stage to be levelling floor for the traffic of cross of truck of fork.

SIGNALLING EQUIPMENT AND STROBOSCOPE Of WARNING

In the sectors of the heavy human traffic, this offers an additional security measure. The signalling equipment resounds with 80 decibels rather strong to hear above the majority of the light machines.

ADDITIONAL SLOPES Of APPROACH

Your supplier can also equip the elevator with landing stage of the additional slopes of approach and the hydraulic lines. Slopes of approach can be obtained starting from your supplier for the elevators lowered of size of 8� – 12�, according to the size of the additional slope. Slopes of approach must be anchored to the floor.

CHANNEL AND ADDITIONAL STRUCTURAL SUPPORTS OF PLATFORM

The ideal for resistant construction, this increases the capacity of inversion of the elevator of landing stage to 50.000 books., (25.000 books. by axis).

SKIRTS Of ACCORDION OF SAFETY

Keep the people and the remains of obtaining under the elevator of landing stage. We recommend the skirts installed by customer to avoid damage of freight.

AUTOMATIC HOLDS OF WHEEL

Because the unit is raised, this option will block the end of dock of the slope to avoid fall. The clocks of wheel require a special frame of mine.

SIGN SIGNAL Of STOP

Like the truck the elevator of landing stage approaches, to increase them by sign to announce the driver when to stop for the loading s�r/le unloading.

PRINCIPAL OPERATION OF LOCK

This not prevents use – the authorized elevator by closing with key outside the orders.

TWO-SPEED PUMP

Increase the speed of lift by 55% when the elevator is discharged. It is ideal to discharge from the applications.

OPTIONAL UNITS OF POWER 2-10HP

Ask for the representative of your manufacturer the subject whose engine will function well for your operation. The units of internal and external power are available.

SPECIAL COATINGS

The cold galvanized coating is designed for wash to the bottom of the applications and the wet environments. The COATING of STEEL-IT. is conceived for the fortuitous contact of food and lava to the bottom of the environments. Approval by the FDA.

OIL HEATER

This accessory maintains the operation of elevator of landing stage without jolt in the freezing cold. The unit is provided with a thermostat for the automatic ordering of heat.

It is often necessary to quickly raise the personnel of maintenance to the air supports and the shelf. It is essential with the good performances of any organization. The thing important to remember is that of the workmen of transport must be made with the best insurance of safety in the process to avoid damage, the time of breakdown, and responsibilities possible. The platforms of work of lifting truck are an ideal tool which you can use to achieve sure and prompt transport and the altitude of the employees in your warehouse or the factory. Simply by attaching one of these platforms of work in front of your lifting truck, create the entirely new shape of vehicle which is planned for a specific and single function and is designed to achieve this function with moreover high level of human safety.

Platforms of work of truck of fork are established with the pockets of fork in the back which enables them to be reached by the teeth of the lifting truck. Chains are then rolled up around the forks to provide the first level to fix the attachment. The second level of safety comes in the form of lock from tooth engaged to firmly close with key the platform of work in place.

The platforms of work of lifting truck have balustrades on three sides which the workmen can seize and employ to maintain their balance while the platform is raised or moved. The standard units include a dish of floor checkered which is designed to provide the traction of foot for workmen while the lifting truck advances the platform. The fourth side of the majority of the units comprises of the 60� support increased high out of metal, although in California, the conditions of OSHA require of the 84� supporting, that you be able easily to obtain starting from your director of easy account of support.

The standard capacity for the average platform of work of lifting truck is roughly 1.000 delivers-more that enough capacity of weight to enable you to raise several employees immediately and to advance them without misfortune. Other safety devices such as thin straps with harnesses of safety, a harness or a hook to fix the platform further at the lifting truck, and a kit and a Web of emergency stop key can be ordered with your unit. Platforms of work of truck of fork can be ordered in one or the other new models or models used. The models used comprise the same devices of capacity and safety that new platforms of work of truck of fork, but can save you not less than 40% in addition to your buying order.

If you are worried by space limited your dexterity, or if you want to invest in a tool whose operation and storage is maximized for ergonomic suitability, invest in the economy of space, platform of effective work superb of lifting truck of fold downwards. This unit carries out same manner while our standard models function, and it offers the additional advantage of compact storage. A person can easily assemble the unit for the fold of use-and it to the bottom once again finished.

Doors on each side of the platform of work of lifting truck of fold to the bottom can be easily open and closed firmly with established in the bolt. The platform of work of truck of fork of fold to the bottom comprises 60 ‘high balustrades increased out of metal and again ensure the safety of personnel, and the platform also includes a lock of tooth like that found in the standard models. When workmen are finished with the current task, a person can quickly fold the unit downwards and to store it with the minimal effort, wasted time, and spaces it.

Today someone emailed me a link to what was originally a Nikon promotion piece, but is also a stunning view of our universe and everything in it, by size.

the Universcale from Nikon

I think a lot can be learned from it. (What a graphic user interface this thing has!)

Humans have learned a lot in our scant few years on this planet, but we still have much to learn.

For example, we all still need to learn how to stop hating each other.

I think some of the problem is our civilization, our culture, and our media.

We’re taught bias, prejudice, racism, hatred and SELF-loathing from a very early age, in some cases.

And in the grand scheme of things, we’re small.

We would be wise to let our hatred go.

But some have a tougher time with this than others, depending on how ingrained the hate is.

Humans are a strange species.

Have you ever tried the Google Calculator?  I mean really put it to the test?  Did you even know it existed?

Some have knocked it, but I think this thing is pretty versatile and will certainly do in a pinch.  And it’s just fun.  It can do math on just about any unit of measurement you can imagine, even several you’ve probably never heard of like cubits, furlongs, G, candelas, barye, pennyweights, moles, and hogsheads.

You can  mix and match units as long as they are of the same type, such as adding feet to centimeters and multiplying by light years and dividing by mils.  And you can get your answer in parsecs if you so desire.

It also converts currency, temperatures and whatever else you want, like BTUs to calories.  It can convert Roman numerals to decimal or binary or octal or hexadecimal.  It understands many constants like c, e, i, Boltzmann’s constant, pi, AU, etc.  You can use numbers or spell out the number.  You can use mathematical operators or spell them out.  You can tell it what you want (Avogadro’s number in moles) or ask it for what you want (how many moles in Avogadro’s number?).

It can convert more than one thing at a time.  For example, you’re from the USA but driving around in Canada and need gas.  The current price at the nearest gas station is $1.06 Canadian per litre.  Is that good or bad?  What the heck does that mean in US dollars per gallon?  Just enter “1.06 CAD per litre in USD per gallon” without the quotes to see your answer.

It even understands once in a blue moon as a unit of frequency and it knows what a baker’s dozen is.  Last time I checked though, it didn’t know what the loneliest number was.

To use  the Google calculator, just enter what you want in the search field at google.com.  I’m embarrassed to admit, when I first saw this, I stayed up till 3:00am playing with it just to see what it understood.  It was fun.  Oh, if you need the definition of a word, just enter the word ‘define’ followed by the word and hit enter.

To try it out, just cut and paste some of these into the Google calculator.  If you discover things not listed below, please post a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

Cheers,
Maggie

(thirteen inches + (12 meters * 4 hands) / 2 rods) + .63 nautical miles + four cubits, in yards
23.5 EUR in USD
4356 NOK + 803 GBP – 671 AUD in CAD
23.45 British Pounds in Norwegian money
feet in a meter
how many acres in 3 hectares
speed of light / radius of the earth
speed of light  in nanometers / fortnight
c in feet per second
83!
how many furlongs in an astronomical unit?
0×23 + 0b00011010 in roman numerals
three quarter cups, in tablespoons
nine squared
89 mod 7.3
how many horsepower in 310 KW
310 KW in metric horsepower
310 KW in british horsepower
4 horsepower in metric horsepower
8 btu in calories
8 btu in joules
4 joules per cubic meter in BTU per cubic foot
the cube root of 45
how many US teaspoons in 10 UK fluid ounces
14 candela per square meter in footcandle
14 lumen per square foot in candela per square inch
pi*(60^2)
cosine(pi/6)
log(16)
cosh(6)
e
G
c
i/2
145 volt + 1 megavolt in gigavolts
how many dynes per 4.34 newtons
4 pound force + 63 dyne in kilogram force
34 pound per horsepower hour
the 10th root of 1024
the 10th root of 1024 in binary
how many bushels in a peck
43.67 amperes in biots
38 degrees Celsius in fahrenheit
38 fahrenheit to rankine
38 degrees rankine -> kelvin
4 joules per kelvin in BTU per degree rankine
4 watts per square meter kelvin in kilowatts per square foot rankine
1.15 CAD per litre in USD per gallon
3.23 hogsheads, in quarts
How many arcminutes are in 5 radians + 6 degrees – four ninths arcseconds?
345 electron volts in watt hours
36 foot pounds in horsepower hours
30 pounds per square foot in tons per square foot
43 pounds per square inch in barye
8754 barye in pascals
23 bars in atmospheres
30 kilowatts in BTU per hour
8567.3421 coulomb in faraday
283000 kilobytes in bytes
how many bytes in a gigabyte
how many bits in a megabyte
1 nybble in bits
1 barn in square femtometers
1 pound per square foot in millibars
160 pounds * 4000 feet in Calories
2 light years in miles
34762 picofarad in farad
5 choose 3
(G * mass of earth) / (radius of earth ^ 2)
how many quarts in 3.23 hogsheads?
drams in a pennyweight
how many mils to a parsec?
13.4 kiloparsecs + 2 AU in light hours
speed of sound at sea level in nautical miles per minute
What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?
2+2
e^gamma
0xFFFF to decimal
mass of earth * (c^2)
1.7634 millennia, in femtoseconds
3 acre feet in liters
383 acre inches in hogsheads
the boltzmann constant
Stefan Boltzmann constant
the boltzmann constant * 2 fathoms
100 ohms * 3 amps
100 cubits times 1 quattuordecillionth
23 joules * 14.5 ergs
how many joules per 10 calories?
(four score and seven years multiplied by once in a blue moon) nautical miles per cubic foot in hectometers per cord
how many grains in 6.43 pennyweights?
20000 leagues in fathoms
9.8 feet per second per second in meters per second per second
golden ratio * radius of jupiter
moles in Avogadro’s number
the square root of the answer to life, the universe and everything over 2
40 rods / hogshead -> miles per gallon
1.5 score in roman
MMVI in arabic
how many electron volts in 43 joules?
Rydberg constant
3 mark twain in fathoms
mass of mars in atomic mass units
four sidereal days to hours
1 millenia in decades
how many decimeters in an angstrom?
83.56892 micrometers, in picometers
radius of the moon in microns
How many femtometers in a statute mile?
a bakers dozen attometers, in exameters
23 petameters + 45 terameters + 2 gigameters, in hectometers
how many british pints in a barrel?
how many centilitres in 50 cubic feet?
how many US fluid ounces in 1275 cubic inches?
1275 cubic inches, in British fluid ounces
8 long tons in short tons
12.457 gigajoules in btu
the permeability of free space
the magnetic constant
h
Mach 3.4 in feet per second
Rydberg constant / 5 score
8 gross * 23 drams, in ounces
21 troy ounces, in grains
3.4 light seconds, in miles
one and three sixteenths fluid ounces per nautical mile -> teaspoons per mil
how many furlongs in .786 light years?
pi*e pi e*pi e pi*e pi e*((twenty three stone knots and two billion smoot grains and three thousand eight hundred and seventy nine slug feet)  pi per carat yards) per c*cubits per week plus a bakers dozen
1 astronomical unit / speed of light
1 AU/c
4.362 gallons in tierces
140 BTU in watt hours
3 atomic mass units = 4.98161659 × 10-27 kilograms
6 amu in metric carats
how many shots in a pint
4.83 spans in yards

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