Anti-android marriage activist speaks out

As politicians in Maryland ponder the question of gay marriage, a group of activists from Protect Marriage Maryland try to persuade them that gay love will inevitably lead to the worst possible outcome. That's right: Marriage between humans and artificial intelligence. Listen to the evidence!

At a meeting with politicians about gay marriage, this Star Trek fan explains how if we "set the precedent" of marriage between any two people who love each other, it could open the door for people to marry androids like Data. The guy has obviously thought a lot about this, since he knows about Data's whole "gaining emotions" plot arc.

What's great about this guy is that he's like a Protect Marriage activist from the future, come to warn us about the growing human-robot love problem. And I think he's right. Gay marriage leads to robot marriage - which is exactly what I'm hoping for. Bender would understand.

Story from: io9.com

This has to be one of the strangest things I've read in a long time!! : o

Some people have a lot of time on their hands to worry about things like this!

And you thought you had a bad day at work!

For anyone who thought they had a bad day........... take a moment to feel for this guy!!



I wonder how long it took to clean up!

What is meant by magnitude?

So, What is meant by "magnitude" when observing space objects?
Being an amateur astronomer myself and not long into the subject I found myself asking this question. 'Magnitude' is a scale used to dictate the brightness of any given space object, this is easier said than done due to the way the human eye responds to light. It takes a difference in light levels of around 2.5 times before we can determine that an object is "twice as bright".


Stars are measured using this logorithmic relationship. A brighter object ha s a lower magnitude than a feinter one and the brightest objects in space have a magnitude which can be below zero. A magnitude difference of 5  is equivalent to a 'true' difference of 100, so an object with a magnitude of '0' will be 100 times brighter than an object with a magnitude of '5'. The feintest objects viewable by the naked eye are around 6.0 while our own Sun has a magnitude of -26.7.


The magnitude of an object is usually indicated by the brightness of the light reaching earth, which of course can be reduced by dust clouds and particles and also the distance from the Earth so this magnitude is called 'apparent magnitude'. This can be compared to 'absolute magnitude' which is measured from a standard distance from the object of 32.6 light years.
Although brightness of a star is one important characteristic it's colour is also important as this can indicate its surface temperature, in the same way heated metal glows dependant on it's temperature (red hot, yellow hot, white hot and blue hot). Knowing the colour and energy output of a star can be paramount to discovering it's size, as a luminous but cool star will have a larger surface area as the energy will be spread out. 

Ghosts in the Saddle, Blackpool

Have you seen or heard anything strange going on in your local?

It seems if your local is The Saddle Pub in Blackpool, it's very likely you have!

Janet Ingleson of The Saddle says her staff and herself have been having ghostly experiences for almost 6 months!

Objects have fallen from shelves, and a barman believes he was confronted by a spirit in the cellar. The assistant manager thought there was burglar in the cellar and although he thought he could see him clearly, noticed that their legs were see through.

Things have also been going bump in the night, to the point that Janet has been woken six times in one night!

Janet has only just taken over the pub recently, so knows little of the history, although The Saddle is one of the oldest buildings in Blackpool, so will have has a very colourful history.

Janet has appealed for help, and we have left our details from Parastronomy. Unfortunately at the time of writing this she is on holiday, so we'll wait to hear back from them.

Haunting 101 - Know your ghost

I thought I'd add something regarding the different types of common haunting. I don't think people realise that a ghost isn't just "a ghost". They are categorised into different types, and this will help distinguish between each one.


These types of haunting are all based on my (ownjoouk) thoughts, from what I have read and watched in the past.


Residual Haunting


A residual haunting is when a positive/negative energy is trapped in the physical realm, and plays back almost like a recording of the original event that took place. The negative side of this could be caused by a murder or a rape that was so traumatic it is trapped and leaves an imprint in our realm. People may hear or see this violence repeat over. The positive energy could be caused by a party or other happy event, that again leaves an imprint, and laughter and music can still be heard.


With this type of haunt the apparition won't acknowledge a human being there. As said previously it is simply like a tape playing back, so there will be no interaction with people or objects in our realm.


Intelligent Haunting


For intelligent hauntings I have to touch on Einstein's theory..... but as I have tried my hand at quantum physics on a previous article, I'm quick to shy away from this. I'd feel more comfortable not talking about it!


So basically, all I will say is, according to Einstein, we are beings of matter/energy. As we are beings of matter/energy, we are therefore intelligent (or at least some of us are!). We also always have an aura of energy that surrounds us. Upon our death, this energy leaves our body, but where does it go? This is where the theory of intelligent haunt comes in. If the energy can leave our body, then surely the energy is also intelligent as this controls what we see, think etc.


If this energy becomes trapped in the physical realm, this causes an intelligent haunt where the aura is seen as a "ghost", and the aura stll tries to live out daily tasks.


If the ghost appears to be interacting with objects, or with us, then it is classed as intelligent.


Poltergeist


A poltergeist is most commonly found i na home with young children (particularly during puberty) as it occurs with extreme inner energy. This can causetapping, lights flicking on and off and movement of objects - among other things. This type of haunting is generated by human beings.


Arguably the most well documented poltergeist case is that of the Enfield poltergeist.


It took place in Enfield, London in the late 1970s. This poltergeist case surrounded the Hodgson family, which consisted of mother, 2 daughters and 2 sons. As usual the focus of the activities was around the prepubescent girls. The entity that was stalking the Hodgson's was that of a supposed "Bill". A previous owner of the house.


Have a look on google for more information on this.


Demonic Haunting


Demonic hauntings are very rare, and an extreme haunting to say the least.


The haunting will start very subtle, almost like it is pretending to be your average ghost. Slowly, these hauntings become more frequent and more violent. People have been scratched, beaten and have terrible nightmares and visions. They also attack while you sleep. The demon is not like the characteristic ones you see in movies, like little goblins. They are sinister and calculated.


In some cases the demon can appear angelic and convince the person it is haunting to do "good", which actually isn't good at all. Demons are also said to follow their victim, and can travel from say the UK to australia in the blink of an eye.


In an instance of this haunting, you need proper help from a priest and demonoligist, as trying to get rid of this yourself will only provoke and cause a stronger reaction from the demon.


So this is your 1st lesson on haunting, I hope you find this educational!