Stephen Hawking: "Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution"

"At first, evolution proceeded by natural selection, from random mutations. This Darwinian phase, lasted about three and a half billion years, and produced us, beings who developed language, to exchange information. But what distinguishes us from our cave man ancestors is the knowledge that we have accumulated over the last ten thousand years, and particularly, Hawking points out, over the last three hundred. "I think it is legitimate to take a broader view, and include externally transmitted information, as well as DNA, in the evolution of the human race," Hawking said. In the last ten thousand years the human species has been in what Hawking calls, "an external transmission phase," where the internal record of information, handed down to succeeding generations in DNA, has not changed significantly. "But the external record, in books, and other long lasting forms of storage," Hawking says, "has grown enormously. Some people would use the term, evolution, only for the internally transmitted genetic material, and would object to it being applied to information handed down externally. But I think that is too narrow a view. We are more than just our genes."

Sadly, our species won't make it for much longer at the rate we'll going. There' so many things in humanity's way in these coming years that I want to believe we, as species will be able to make it through all this... but at this point in time, and the type of world we sadly live in, I don't see it happening unfortunately. To come all this way and for nothing... we'll not even going to be able to make it off this planet, let alone colonize space and other planets... What a shame. God help us all.

NYPD rookie makes arrest moments after graduation

NEW YORK – A New York Police Department rookie just couldn't wait to get started.
One of the NYPD's newest officers made his first arrest Thursday just minutes after graduating from the Police Academy in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden.
Officer Dariel Firpo, 23, was leaving the midtown Manhattan ceremony when he saw a 79-year-old man being robbed of his wallet and thrown to the ground by a mugger, police said.
The mugger tried to run away, but Firpo caught him without incident, they said. "Officer Firpo made us all proud," police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. "He's off to a great start."
The man Firpo arrested, Jeffrey Grant, was being charged with robbery. Grant, 47, has 48 previous arrests and was just released last week from Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y., after serving time for a robbery conviction, police said.

Calif. man working 3 jobs wins $39M lottery

Sat Jun 27, 9:25 am ET
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – A man who works three jobs to support his family — including one as a limousine driver — has won a $39 million jackpot in California's SuperLotto Plus. Clyde Persley, who is married with a 4-year-old daughter, turned in his winning ticket on Tuesday night and should get his first check for about $16 million in four to six weeks, said a California lottery spokeswoman.
The 49-year-old Santa Cruz man operates candy-making machines for Santa Cruz Nutritionals, drives a limousine and picks up extra hours at a restaurant.
He says his first moves will be taking his wife on a trip to Hawaii and hiring a financial adviser.
He bought his winning ticket at a Santa Cruz market where he has played the lottery twice a week for several years.

16yr Old Boy Discovers Microbe that Eats Plastic

It's not your average science fair when the 16-year-old winner manages to solve a global waste crisis. But such was the case at last month's May's Canadian Science Fair in Waterloo, Ontario, where Daniel Burd, a high school student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, presented his research on microorganisms that can rapidly biodegrade plastic. Daniel had a thought it seems even the most esteemed PhDs hadn't considered. Plastic, one of the most indestructible of manufactured materials, does in fact eventually decompose. It takes 1,000 years but decompose it does, which means there must be microorganisms out there to do the decomposing. Source: Link To Full Article

Canada begins to vaccinate entire population (H1N1)

Five-to-40-year-olds and Canada's aboriginal communities should be the first to get vaccinated against human swine flu, experts say as Canadian officials decide who gets priority for the flu shots. Under Canada's official pandemic plan, the entire population would ultimately be immunized against the H1N1 swine flu. Source: www.nationalpost.com
Sounds like Canada is trying to do the right thing...

Animals can predict natural disasters

There is no evidence that animals possess a mysterious sixth-sense allowing them to predict natural disasters. Their keen senses of smell, hearing, and sharp instincts alone are enough to send them scattering for the hillsides during a hurricane or tsunami. And even so, animals often die during natural disasters, so if they do have some sort of sixth sense, it's not worth much.

Real girls' calendar

It is nice and sexy to see a calendar with real girls inside it… The dream of many man, of course….

Unveiling! Arc of the Covenant - Ethiopia. Surprised?

Rome - The Orthodox Patriarch, Abuno Paulos, wants to reveal the millennial secret, and in an exclusive interview with Adnkronos said, "The time is ripe to tell the truth." A museum for the sacred symbol will be built in Axum. This was said in an exclusive interview with Adnkronos, visible on the web site _www.adnkronos.com_ (www.adnkronos.com...) , by the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, Abuna Paulos, in Italy for a "G8 of religions," who tomorrow will meet for the first time with Pope Benedict XVI, to whom, "if he asks," continued the Patriarch, "I will tell all of the entire situation regarding the Ark of the Covenant." www.adnkronos.com

"The Ark of the Covenant," affirms Paulos, "has been in Ethiopia for many centuries. As Patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes, and only a very few qualified people have been able to do this, so far." According to the Patriarch, it is kept in a church, but to defend the authentic one, a copy of the religious symbol has been placed in every church in the country. The official announcement, in which Ethiopia will give to the world the keys to the millennial secret of the Ark, will be given next Friday during a press conference at 2:00 p.m. at the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome, by the same Orthodox Patriarch of Ethiopia, along with Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Selassie and Duke Amedeo D'Aosta, who will be in Rome tomorrow morning.

But what is the Ark of the Covenant, one of the greatest mysteries of antiquity, on which fantasy, legend and history have continued to be interwoven for centuries? The Ark, in Jewish tradition, contained the Tables of the Law, that is, the Ten Commandments, and the artifact, made of acacia wood, was built by Moses. The outside decorations were of gold, and it was for a long time kept by the Jewish people. It accompanied them in their vicissitudes, the battles and defeats, the wanderings and struggles against the Philistines, and was kept in various places until King David placed it in the fortress of Jerusalem. But it was Solomon, son and successor of David, who put the Ark in the Temple of Jerusalem which he had built. The story is then interwoven with historical events and other religious and national traditions. In fact, the Ark disappeared in 586 BC with the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the consequent destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem.

Body art and photography by Marco Guerra and Yasmina Alaoui

Astonishing Weight Loss

This is an amazing weight loss success story of a former 630-pound man named David Smith. In 2003, David weighted over 600 pounds and decided to change his life only through carb cycling and exercise. After 4 years, he weighted a stunning 229 pounds, losing 401 pounds but still had excess skin on his body. He underwent several surgeries to remove the excess skin; since then, he looks just like any other guy, and became a certified personal trainer through ACE.

Astonishing Weight Loss

Antelope Canyon

The most visited and photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest, the Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona. It includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon or “The Crack” - and Lower Antelope Canyon or “The Corkscrew.”

BEAUTIFUL

NASA Crawler-transporter

I thought I’d pass these this along to you folks – since I worked the Space Shuttle Launch Pad in 1983-85.
The crawler – transporter is a tracked vehicle used to transport the Saturn V rocket, the Saturn IB rocket during Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and now the Space Shuttle, from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the Launch pad on a Mobile Launcher Platform. The crawler-transporter, built by the Marion Power Shovel Co. at a cost of $14 million, was once the largest tracked vehicle in the world; it has since been surpassed by the German Bagger 288 excavator.

PRETTY COOL

Hard Times

With the economy picture now is so tough and people hurting and struggling to meet make ends met I decide to add a job search on the side bar for you readers. I know things are hard for most since I’ve been there too. Should you have a particular job in mind please let me know and I will go my sources and see if I can find it.

Look on the sidebar

Alexandria library

The myth goes that there were great secrets within the Alexandrian Library. It seems we all forgot one critical thing: Everything within the walls of the Library was copied from other sources. Everything. When the library was founded during third century BC by the Ptolemy's, it was part of their taxation strategy, or more precisely a "toll road". Everyone who wanted to reach beyond Egypt to the Red Sea, or the other way around to the Mediterranean ships docking in Egypt, with people wanting to pass through, well, they had to hand over everything written onboard for copying by Alexandrian scholars and writers. Maps, logs, literature, diaries and so on, and everything were gathered in the Library of Alexandria.
I am intrigued by the library of Alexandria because of the vast amount of ancient knowledge that was apparently kept there. I am not really looking for any secrets myself, but could you imagine what could be learned from a database of the world’s history.

Did the Alexandria library hold lost secrets?

Tata’s $2,000 Nano Car Hits the Market Next Month

Tata will start taking orders shortly for the world’s cheapest car, the Nano. The car retails for just over $2,000 and will be accessible to people living in India. The cars will actually begin shipping in July. Why is the car so cheap? There is no air conditioning, the steering is manual, the car doesn’t have any airbags, the body of the car is made of sheet-metal and plastic, and the engine is a 624cc two-cylinder. The car maxes out at about 43MPH.

Tata is hoping that people would rather buy this car than motorcycles.

Battlestar Galactica Series Finale

Battlestar Galactica Series – So Long.

Britney Spears Miami Tour - Video

No one can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009? Rumor or fact?

Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009… It has already started.... Ammunition Accountability Legislation Remember how Obama said that he wasn't going to take your guns? Well, it seems that his allies in the anti-gun world have no problem with taking your ammo! The bill 20 that is being pushed in 18 states (including Illinois and Indiana) requires all ammunition to be encoded by the manufacture a data base of all ammunition sales. So they will know how much you buy and what calibers. Nobody can sell any ammunition after June 30, 2009 unless the ammunition is coded. Any privately held un-coded ammunition must be destroyed by July 1, 2011. (Including hand loaded ammo.) They will also charge a .05 cent tax on every round so every box of ammo you buy will go up at least $2.50 or more! If they can deprive you of ammo they do not need to take your gun! This legislation is currently pending in 18 states: Alabama , Arizona , California , Connecticut , Hawaii , Illinois , Indiana , Kentucky , Maryland , Mississippi , Missouri , New Jersey , New York , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Washington … To find more about the anti-gun group that is sponsoring this legislation and the specific legislation for each state. Rumor or fact?? FYI read.