Author Archives: Andrew Brentford

A Galactic GPS System That’s Now in the Works Could Help Our Descendants Navigate Through the Universe

Photo: Avarycce

The International Space Station aims to be testing out an interplanetary GPS system by 2017, IEEE Spectrum reports. Rather than navigate with the stars or planets themselves, the system would rely upon the lingering X-ray pulses of dead stars to create a map of the galaxy.

At present, space navigation relies primarily on a network of earthbound tracking stations. When a craft ventures into deep space, ground crews beam radio waves out to the craft, which are then retransmitted back. By measuring the round trip time and the Doppler shift of the signal, the crews can calculate the craft’s position. But the further away the craft wanders from our planet, the poorer this method’s resolution becomes. So it follows that if a space vehicle could calculate its own position independently and accurately, its navigational capabilities would improve by leaps and bounds.

The new system aims to do just that. It relies upon the electromagnetic radiation emitted by pulsars, or technically dead stars that still give off bursts of oscillating energy. These pulses come at regular intervals, so they can be used for navigation in the same way GPS systems on earth use atomic clocks for standardization and accuracy.

A craft heading into space would carry a detector that, similarly to a GPS receiver, would accept X-rays from multiple pulsars and use them to resolve its location.

In order to test the system, the NASA team built the Goddard X-ray Navigation Laboratory Testbed (GXNLT). Nicknamed the “pulsar-on-a-table,” it’s composed of pulsar-processing software and hardware, a modulated X-ray source, and a built-in detector. The test bed tries to mimic the combination of an interplanetary GPS and pulsars.

If all goes well, a NASA engineer told IEEE Spectrum, these initial systems will lay the foundation for our descendants to navigate throughout our solar system and beyond.

More from Smithsonian.com:

Quirkiest Space Shuttle Science 
Have GPS Devices Taken Fun Out of Navigation? 

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A Galactic GPS System That’s Now in the Works Could Help Our Descendants Navigate Through the Universe

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Quote of the Day: Robert Gates on "Cartoonish" Views of the Military

Mother Jones

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From former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, on the endless speculations about what the military could have done to stop the Benghazi attacks:

It’s sort of a cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces.

I guess Gates is no longer on Darrell Issa’s Christmas card list. But if you want to know just how cartoonish most of this stuff has been, consider the infamous “stand down” theory. This is the suggestion that there were military forces available to send to Benghazi, but they were told by President Obama to stand down. The motivation for this is always murky, but presumably based on political considerations of some kind.

But the real giveaway about this whole thing is that it keeps changing whenever it’s debunked. Originally, the story retailed by Charles Woods, the father of Benghazi victim Tyrone Woods, revolved around the notion that Obama had a live video feed of Benghazi and refused to let a fast-response team deploy even though he knew they could get there in time. That wasn’t true, so another story developed that General Carter Ham was ready to send in a team, received an order to stand down, and was going to disobey orders and send them in anyway. But then his second in command apprehended him and told him that he was now relieved of duty. That wasn’t true either. So then we got a story about a team in Tripoli that Obama refused to deploy. Then a story about a C-110 team in Croatia that could have gone in but wasn’t allowed to. And finally, last week, a different story about a different team in Tripoli that could have gone in the next morning but didn’t.

In other words, “stand down” has referred to at least five different things over the past several months. It doesn’t matter if any of it is true. It doesn’t matter if Obama was involved. It doesn’t matter why the military made the decisions it did. If one story falls, there’s always another “stand down” conspiracy theory to take its place. Cartoonish indeed.

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Quote of the Day: Robert Gates on "Cartoonish" Views of the Military

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The 10 Worst Prisons in America: Tent City

Mother Jones

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Tent City is Joe Arapaio’s baby Jack Kurtz/ZumaPress.com

Part 3 in an 11-part series.


#1: ADX (federal supermax)


#2: Polunsky Unit (TX Death Row)


#3: Tent City Jail (Phoenix)

Serving time in prison is not supposed to be pleasant. Nor, however, is it supposed to include being raped by fellow prisoners or staff, beaten by guards for the slightest provocation, driven mad by long-term solitary confinement, or killed off by medical neglect. These are the fates of thousands of prisoners every year—men, women, and children housed in lockups that give Gitmo and Abu Ghraib a run for their money.

While there’s plenty of blame to go around, and while not all of the facilities described in this series have all of the problems we explore, some stand out as particularly bad actors. We’ve compiled this subjective list of America’s 10 worst lockups (plus a handful of dishonorable mentions) based on three years of research, correspondence with prisoners, and interviews with criminal-justice reform advocates concerning the penal facilities with the grimmest claims to infamy.

We will be rolling out profiles of all of the contenders in the coming days, complete with photos and video. Our third contender you’re probably already familiar with, thanks to a proudly defiant boss who takes pride in humiliating his heavily Latino jail population, and pinching pennies at the expense of their humane treatment.

3] Tent City Jail (Phoenix, Arizona)

Number of prisoners: ~2,000

Who’s in charge: Joe Arpaio, warden and sheriff of Maricopa County

The basics: No jail is more closely associated with its jailer than Tent City, the 20-year-old brainchild of Maricopa County’s infamous tough-guy sheriff Joe Arpaio. In 1993, to save the county the cost of building a new jail, Arpaio set up hundreds of Army surplus tents from the Korean War era and used them to house prisoners. Tent City residents now number more than 2,000, most of them awaiting trial. (See this county press release (PDF) for an event celebrating its 20th year.) The tents are unheated in winter and uncooled in summer—temperatures inside them have been clocked as high as 145 degrees. A few permanent buildings suffice for showers and meals, and a guard tower displays a permanent “vacancy” sign, warning passersby to stay in line. Arpaio himself has called the place a “concentration camp,” while Tent City’s prisoners have gone so far as to cobble together a survival guide.

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The 10 Worst Prisons in America: Tent City

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Wooden Windows Possess A Number Of Benefits

There are a few things that homeowners should learn when thinking about window replacements. There are several advantages to replacing old frames with wooden windows. For years, the number one choice for home window construction and replacement has been wood. The wood frame is constructed of fir, cypress, pine, cedar, redwood, and mahogany. A wood window will improve the homes value, is more energy efficient, can be painted the color the siding, and they do not develop condensation as aluminum will.

Folks can select the material they want the frames to be made from as well as a variety of styles that will enhance the appearance of the home. Since wood frames are very energy efficient they save homeowners quite a bit of money on monthly utility bills. The wood frame is great during the winter or summer months and is often the first choice when changing a homes interior design.

For most people buying a home is the biggest investment they will make. Because it is such a big purchase folks want everything to be perfect right down to the color. When using sash windows it is easy to match them to the siding color on the house. Using wood frames allows homeowners to paint the exterior of the house any color they want.

When a homeowner makes improvements to the home the value and appeal improves. Also, the homes integrity is preserved when improvements are made. Wood frames are quite durable and not likely to crack and break which will lower the expense of maintaining and repairing. Wood frames are perfect for recycling, echo friendly, and very cost efficient.

Once the right contractor is found that can install frames using custom manufacturing, it is a good idea to find out if they handle restorations. You may choose to restore and repair the existing window frames to their original condition. It is less expensive to repair the frames instead of replacing them. Make sure to select the company that considers the environmental effects of the materials they use. Choose the contractor that uses echo friendly materials.

Usually the wooden frames are constructed from natural and renewable materials. These frames resist condensation when they are triple and double glazed. Installing a higher quality window increases the likelihood it will be around for over a century. It should be noted that this is possible only when well maintained regularly with finish or fresh paint.

Although the aluminum frame may be recyclable and less expensive than wood, it is not a good choice if you are looking for energy efficient windows. Fiberglass is stronger and more costly, and offers some ecological concern. Aluminum and fiberglass develop condensation and thought to be second rate materials for windows.

Many people have a budget that does not allow for replacing all windows in the home. An alternative is to purchase salvaged frames which are very economical. It is best to avoid very old wooden windows because they are very often painted with lead paint and are less energy efficient.

While hunting for the best wooden windows, London homeowners should check for services online. You can learn more about The Wooden Window Workshop at http://www.sashwindowrepairs-london.co.uk/restoration-of-sash-windows.html today.

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