Saturday, 29 November 2014
Vinyl record sales hit 18-year high
More than one million vinyl records have been sold in the UK so far this year - the first time the milestone has been achieved since 1996.
The figures mark a largely unexpected resurgence in an industry now considered to be dominated by digital.
Earlier this month, Pink Floyd's The Endless River became the fastest-selling vinyl release since 1997.
The Official Chart Company told the BBC it will soon launch a weekly vinyl chart.
"In an era when we're all talking about digital music, the fact that these beautiful physical artefacts are still as popular as they are is fantastic," said Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live's Wake Up To Money, he said: "It's really remarkable. We're seeing it come back as a significant earner for the music industry as well.
"Only five years ago this business was worth around £3m a year. This year it's going to be worth £20m."READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30216638
NEW HANGOVER CURE?
Scientists have developed the ultimate hangover cure - a drug that reduces the harmful effects of binge-drinking on the brain.
The same drug may open the door to new treatments for Alzheimer's and other brain diseases, researchers believe.
Tested on rats experiencing the equivalent of a human binge-drinking bender, it curbed brain cell loss and inflammation and improved their memory.
Evidence suggests that binge-drinking may have long-term effects on memory, decision-making and the ability to pay attention. Teenagers are especially at risk because their young brains are still developing.
The new drug, named ethane-beta-sultam, was developed over 10 years by British, Belgian and Italian scientists.
Binge-drinking is defined as consuming five or more alcoholic drinks one after the other over a four to six-hour period.
Rats taking part in the study were given doses of alcohol designed to simulate binge-drinking in a human.
Their memory was tested by seeing how well they could find a hidden platform in a water maze.
Animals treated with ethane-beta-sultam were able to navigate the maze as well as those not fed alcohol.
"One of things that alcohol does is to destroy some of the brain cells which are important for navigation and orientation. But a combination of alcohol and our compound could overcome this damage," Professor Mike Page, from the University of Huddersfield, said.
Future work may turn up a compound that performs even better than ethane-beta-sultam, Prof Page said.
In the longer term, such compounds may help in the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's that also involve inflammation and the loss of brain cells.
Prof Page acknowledged that protecting against the harmful effects of binge-drinking on the brain might be controversial, but said if it's accepted that alcohol abuse is going to continue, then it might be sensible for society to try and treat it in some way.
RHINO GOES FOR A WALK
Police had to tick off circus workers in Luckenwalde,Germany.This was due to taking a 2.5 tonne Rhino for a walk without a lead.
JUST N YOUR SAY NO TO FLYTIPPING IN YOUR AREA
I m not a busybody but noticed lately around northam items being left around outside form a sofa,tv to general rubbish.This is a shame as northam has a growing community base also were i do some work at westho is the same but thats mostly dog mess it only impt long before it looks like a gettoroves if you make a stand if not a noone wil care and we become the people
we hate.
SMOKING ADVERTS BACK ON TV VERY UNCOOL.
VANDAL DEFACES COLOSSEUM
Why do people think it is cool to do criminal damage to ancient buildings .In this case a 10 in by 7 in letter k on the 2,000 year old colosseum,rome,italy.The person responsible is refusing to pay the fine issued for this act. T HIS IS THE FIFTH tourist prosecuted so far this year as is known the amphitheatre was used for gladiatorial battles.
FACEBOOK POLICY
Facebook
Hi Ghostman,
We wanted to let you know we're updating our terms and policies on January 1, 2015 and introducing Privacy Basics. You can check out the details below or on Facebook.
Over the past year, we’ve introduced new features and controls to help you get more out of Facebook, and listened to people who have asked us to better explain how we get and use information.
Now, with Privacy Basics, you'll get tips and a how-to guide for taking charge of your experience on Facebook. We're also updating our terms, data policy and cookies policy to reflect new features we've been working on and to make them easy to understand. And we're continuing to improve ads based on the apps and sites you use off Facebook and expanding your control over the ads you see.
We hope these updates improve your experience. Protecting people's information and providing meaningful privacy controls are at the core of everything we do, and we believe today's announcement is an important step.
Sincerely,
Erin Egan
Global Chief Privacy Officer
Updating Our Terms and Policies: Helping You Understand How Facebook Works and How to Control Your Information
Privacy Basics
Privacy Basics offers interactive guides to answer the most commonly asked questions about how you can control your information on Facebook. For example, you can learn about untagging, unfriending, blocking, and how to choose an audience for each of your posts. This information is available in 36 languages.
Along with our privacy checkup, reminder for people posting publicly and simplified audience selectors, Privacy Basics is the latest step we've taken to help you make sure you're sharing with the people you want.
Helping you get more out of Facebook
Every day, people use our apps and services to connect with the people, places and things they care about. The updates to our policies reflect the new products we've been working on to improve your Facebook experience. They also explain how our services work in a way that's easier to understand. Here are some highlights:
Discover what's going on around you: We’re updating our policies to explain how we get location information depending on the features you decide to use. Millions of people check into their favorite places and use optional features like Nearby Friends (currently only available in some regions). We're working on ways to show you the most relevant information based on where you are and what your friends are up to. For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.
Make purchases more convenient: In some regions, we're testing a Buy button that helps people discover and purchase products without leaving Facebook. We're also working on new ways to make transactions even more convenient.
Find information about privacy on Facebook at the moment you need it: To make them more accessible, we moved tips and suggestions to Privacy Basics. Our data policy is shorter and clearer, making it easier to read.
Understand how we use the information we receive: For example, we use device information to optimize your mobile experience, like understanding battery and signal strength to help us make sure our apps work well for you. We ask for permission to use your phone's location when we offer optional features like check-ins or adding your location to posts.
Get to know how the family of Facebook companies and apps work together: Over the past few years, Facebook has grown and we want to make sure you know about our family of companies, apps and services. We use the information we collect to improve your experience. For example, if you're locked out of your Instagram account, you can use your Facebook information to recover your password. Nothing in our updates changes the commitments that Instagram, WhatsApp and other companies have made to protect your information and your privacy.
Your information and advertising: People sometimes ask how their information is shared with advertisers. Nothing is changing with these updates—we help advertisers reach people with relevant ads without telling them who you are. Learn more about ads and how you can control the ads you see.
Keep in mind that your settings on Facebook are not changing, and that some features are only available in certain regions. For example, tag suggestions are only available outside of Canada and the EU.
Giving you more control over ads
We've heard from some of you that it can be difficult to control the types of ads you see if you use multiple devices and browsers. In the past, if you opted out of certain kinds of advertising on your laptop, that choice may not have been applied for ads on your phone. We know that many people use more than one phone, tablet or browser to access Facebook, so it should be easy for you to make a single choice that applies across all of your devices.
That's why Facebook respects the choices you make about the ads you see, across every device. You can opt out of seeing ads on Facebook based on the apps and sites you use through the Digital Advertising Alliance. You can also opt out using controls on iOS and Android. When you tell us you don't want to see these types of ads, your decision automatically applies to every device you use to access Facebook. Also, we're now making ad preferences available in additional countries, beginning with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK.
These updates take effect on January 1, 2015. As always, we welcome your feedback about our policies.
Chip Reichenthal INTERVIEWED BY MARK ANTONY RAINES AKA GHOSTMAN
Hello Good Brother:
Here are the answers to your questions for the blog. Naturally they can be edited to make them shorter if need be. I hope it makes for good blogging, and feel free to let me know how it did or if other questions arise from the interview, either from yourself or from others. I really appreciate being asked, and thank you ever so much. I am attaching the answers as a Document, and if you have any problems with it, I will re-send as a 'cut and paste'. Very best to you, Brother, and again I thank you!
Sincerity and Regards,
Chip Reichenthal
Q: What inspired
you?
A: I feel very
fortunate, with some years hosting radio shows and being at
paranormal conventions and events, to have met what I feel are the
greatest minds and talents of the paranormal and metaphysical realms.
I feel that many if not most of them come into the realm from a place
of fear, where something grabbed them or called out their name and
aroused their greatest curiosities. My beginning was quite different,
as my earliest experiences were from people I knew well and loved,
and I feel that my earliest experiences came instead from a place of
love, and yet I am just as motivated to find answers to afterlife
sciences, yet rather than a quest for evidence, it is more about the
opportunity to communicate.
My first
experience came in 1979, right around the time of my 21st
Birthday. My very best friend, who lived next door to me all while
growing up since we both were two years old, was involved in a
horrific accident. A drunk driver ran a red light and hit him while
he was on a motorcycle, and he hit the car head first. He was
brain-dead once at the hospital, and his prognosis was grim at best.
My first encounter with death, yet he was not dead, kept alive
artificially with breathing apparatus’’ until his parents had to
make a horrid cross-country trip to unplug him. Meanwhile I was
trying to process all this, made any grieving more difficult since my
dearest friend was not dead. One night I went out to a swingset in my
parent’s back yard, with some beers and a determination to figure
how to process all this. It was rather peaceful on a warm summer
night, yet right around midnight into my Birthday proper, something
‘changed’ with the swing next to me. It’s very hard to
describe, but it seemed there was something…some kind of energy on
that swing next to me…not that I saw it or heard it, but knew
something was there as surely as if I had. Turns out, it was my
friend! I had conversations with him, in my mind, since I heard about
his accident, but in those conversations it was my inner dialogue
that spoke for him. Yet here, what this ‘energy’ said was beyond
my wildest imaginings, and something my inner voice would never have
considered. My friend said he came to visit on my Birthday and beyond
that, said he wanted to ‘give up’ and came for my blessing. Give
up? What do you mean…give up, is what I asked in return. He said he
could not move, eat, bathe, or do anything for himself…he no longer
had that option, because he was brain-dead. At best, he was doomed to
be a vegetable, and others would have to do everything for him. He
always was very independent, it was his nature to be so, and refused
to live in such undignified manner, and he wanted out, and came for
my blessing. I tried to talk him out of it…stronger survive, I
said…hang in there, Doctors may find a way to fix him, I said. He
stood his ground, though, and made some convincing arguments until it
finally made sense to me that perhaps, in his case, there are worse
things than death, and I caved in, agreed with him, and gave my
blessing. I told him I was moved, I was touched, that of all people,
he came to me for such blessing, and once granted, he thanked me. I
told him I hoped he might visit me…after…and he said he would
try. After that, he was gone, and the ‘energy’ on that swing was
no more. About ten minutes later, by now around 3am, my Mother came
outside to the swingset to tell me that my friend’s parents had
just called to tell us they pulled the plug on him about ten minutes
ago and wanted us to be the first to know. At that point, I realized
quite plainly that I had spoken to my best friend, my first soulmate
in life, right at the moment of his death. That changed my outlook on
death and the potential for afterlife forever. Happy Birthday to me.
I had also had a visit from my Wife’s Father a year after his
passing, a story perhaps for another day, and my friend has also
visited a few times, and I have spend the better part of my full
adulthood in search of answers, considering paranormal, spirituality,
parapsychology, metaphysics, quantum physics and other realms that
consider these quandaries, really ever since that defining moment.
Q: What are your
aims?
A: Through the
years I have developed a distinct platform, especially nowadays where
it is not so taboo to talk freely about ‘ghosts’ or communicating
with the dead, and it has everything to do with being brought into
the realm in a fashion more ‘love-based’ than fear-based’.
Especially considering media, where television shows are practically
horror movies guised as research or documentary shows. It appears as
though evil is afoot whenever something unseen is making noises or
moving things about a house, and there is even taunting potential
spirit activity to gain evidence for the studio audience, and I
vehemently disagree with such methods and aim to change the way we
approach these energies. I think if there are spirit energies, even
ones thought malevolent, then perhaps we should consider them as
people, who lived lives, gained wisdom, and are worthy of respect
rather than fear or eradication. I understand the reasoning behind
all this…we tend to fear the unknown, and even look for thrills,
and there are many faiths that see any attempt to communicate with
these types of things as sinful. Yet I have spent decades researching
and investigating the paranormal. I had some years attuned as a
spirit medium with remarkable success, and I look to theoretical
physics as well. I have never had a negative encounter or got
scratched or pushed; never had an EVP that was negative or
threatening, I have helped people besieged by the poison of deep
grief and even helped spirit energies cross over or relay messages to
loved ones. I have seen love in them, or felt their pain; I have
considered some things more residual than in spirit; I have
considered that there may be times the person’s personality or
history splits…where the pain is in one area and the grace in
another, and have seen instances where the living are creating the
chaos of items moving about a room on their own. There are so many
different situations, and each different, often leading to more
questions than answers. One thing rings out, and that is that the
dead don’t suddenly change into some evil and monstrous beings or
develop otherworldly psychic powers just because the living body is
out of the equation. Like anyone else, they hope to be heard,
considered, respected…sometimes they don’t know they’re
dead…but we all long to belong. I distinctly believe that every
single person is a story, and when you take the time to learn that
story, it is always fascinating. The more you learn these stories,
the more you know about people, dead or alive, and after a long time
looking toward afterlife communication and speaking with so many
other enthusiasts, eventually you come to believe that some things
are true whether we believe in them or not. My platform is,
basically, that ‘ghosts’ are people too…if they are ‘ghosts’
in the first place. I see people who honor the history of a property
thought ‘haunted’, and sometimes there is a distinct love and
honor there, which is great…and sometimes they are basically
treating the dead like pets or flaunting the tragedy the occurred
there and sometimes that is unconscionable disrespect …and yet they
wonder why so much negative activity occurs. Sometimes I see people
who feed the bad…and once someone tells you they ‘have a bad
feeling about a certain room’ or they think a ghost is active, it
sends all others into expectation mode, and they begin to blame all
sorts of natural activity to the ghost they now expect or the ‘bad
feeling’ has to come to fruition somehow, and it becomes our
expectation to see bad where there may be none in the first place. So
many times I have been on investigations where people get ‘scratched’
in front of us or expect all this nasty
stuff, and often the ‘scratch’ comes from engaging in something
and forgetting or ignoring it, and rather than malice, it’s the
kind of thing where they want the attention back and it’s
incidental and not malicious at all…sometimes people create the
‘scratch’ themselves for attention. Again, everything’s a
situation on these investigations, if there is anything there at all.
It may also be inter-dimensional, or even a time-warp that brings us
these energies…the Einstein ‘space-time’ thing…and look…I
do not claim to be an expert in this…no one is, really…as we
still have no proof of any of this. But if I can impact anything
within these realms, I hope to show a kinder side of afterlife
science, where if we think on paranormal activity stemming from
people and not some demon, we have a wonderful chance to embrace a
kinder side of the realm, and that is my greatest motivation here. We
need more ‘nice’ in life, and it can bring some amazing potential
when we bring more ‘nice’ to afterlife science as well, and there
aren’t many folks actively considering that, so I will.
Q: What plans do
you have for the future?
A: I have a lot
of things going on, thanks mainly to the radio shows. They’ve led
to more shows, guest appearances, lectures, I have a book out that’s
published and writing more, I’ve had acting roles in film and have
been a part of documentaries on internet and in film, I make
appearances at Paracons. I’ve had the tremendous fortune to meet my
heroes, and many are personal friends now. I have some offers in the
air, to appear in Documentaries, write for a magazine, more acting
roles, another book in the works; I do Tarot readings, and have some
nationally known psychics I’ve read for who loved my approach. It
is magical. For the radio, I am not aiming for fame…I am aiming to
be the person these friends and talents come to when they want
something promoted, or to be featured in the kindest light, and I
hope to ask the deeper questions…I don’t want a million
listeners…I want my heroes to think of me when they have something
special to them, and I hope to pay goodness forward. All else will
follow from there. Of all things, though, I get the most pleasure and
value from lecturing. I want to do more of that. I have a lecture
platform entitled “Ghosts Are People Too: The Kinder Side of
Afterlife Science” and it has been wonderfully received. My book
that is currently out is called “Even the Dead Won’t Tell You the
Truth” from Rowe Publishing, on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the
Rowe Publishing website of rowepub.com. The book is a fictional work
based on personal truths, and is a murder mystery where the main
character talks to the dead as a living. His best friend is charged
with murder, the victim known to them both. The friend is not into
the ‘talking to the dead’ stuff, but with evidence circumstantial
and damning and piling up, he asks our medium to communicate with the
murder victim to find a way to clear his name. It has a lot of
first-person perspective from the eyes of a medium and is as
informative as it is a really good mystery, and the book has done
well. I am working on a new book that may be a sequel, but adds some
science-fiction to the mix, and will still delve into first-person
metaphysics. I am also more active in UFOlogy and have a few
prospects there…and sometimes the world of physics and the quantum
world helps to find potential answers to a lot of paranormal-type
things, and I’m in. Most of all, in any and all of this, the
platform is about ‘nice’, it is about a kinder approach along
with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. My current radio show is
called “Beyond the Norm with Chip Reichenthal” and is on A1B
Radio Monday nights at 9 pm Eastern US time on www.MyA1B.com
and I will be doing lecture tours in 2015 with another Rowe
Publishing Author, Mark Keyes, who inspired a character in my book.
He is a State Police Detective who works malevolent hauntings in his
spare time with some other lawenforcement
officers, and wrote a marvelous book called “Chasing Shadows”, a
non-fiction that is truly the best book I’ve ever read on the
paranormal, and he also embraces a kinder look at afterlife, and
together we will be bringing the ‘nice’ forward. It seems more
opportunities are coming my way all the time now, and I am still open
to lecture dates or doing readings and other engagements. I hope to
accomplish what my greatest hero if life has…my Dad…who
ultimately is a ‘nice guy’ who finished first, and that is my
ultimate goal.
Friday, 28 November 2014
Kenneth Dudley interviewed by mark antony raines ghostman
Kenneth Dudley wrote: questions what inspired you? What are youraims? What plans do you have for the future?
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are theses questions directed to me? 1: FINDING THE TRUTH 2:SAVE MANKIND 3:SAVE MANKIND
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Thursday, 27 November 2014
shootingstarbaby@teardropsofanangel.com,interviewed by mark antony raines aka ghostman
I am inspired by God and all my supernatural experiences they are beautiful and beauty also inspires me. I am trying to earn angel wings and by this I figure...doing very good things for good karma and also music and ghost huntings and blessings. My plans for the future is to own a small business when I am older in a historic place and sell beautiful things like guitars, flowers and religious stuff. I have a certificate of Entreprenuership from Columbia College and I am studying business and finance.
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Bob Paulsen INERVIEWED BY MARK ANTONY RAINES AKA GHOSTMAN
QUESTIONS WHAT INSPIRED YOU? WHAT ARE YOUR AIMS? WHAT PLANS DO YOU HAVE FOR THE FUTURE? THANK YOU Near death for inspiration...the need to understand for motovation. ...and the future is the present. .
Josh Heard Author, Lecturer, Paranormal Investigator-INTERVIEWED BY MARK ANTONY RAINES-GHOSTMAN
What initially inspired me was a paranormal experience a few days after my uncle passed away. I was around 12 years old when this all took place. Having had too much "family time," I was home alone. I was trying my best to cope with the loss of my uncle by myself. He was, after all very close to me and this was the first time I had truly dealt with losing a close family member. I remember walking through my house and being stopped abruptly by what could only be described as my uncle's cologne. It was a very distinct smelling cologne that I still to this day have yet to find out the name or brand of. I was frozen solid and every hair that my body had to offer was standing on point. I said his name, sensing he was close to me and the cold left me. My hair was back to normal and I could no longer smell his cologne. That was the experience that really got me thinking about the possibility of life after death. From that moment on, I devoured every book on ghosts and paranormal investigating that I could get my hands on.
My main goal or aim in this field is to present the facts and only facts. I try to bring the most credible evidence to the table and, with the evidence, try to put forth theory as to why some of these paranormal happening exist. In my mind, there is no doubt whatsoever that there is an afterlife. My only goal is to try and explain/ understand it.
The future is full of possibilities for me. We just completed filming for a paranormal documentary entitled "A Brush With Evil." It is set to be released in spring of 2015. This documentary retells my first book "When Ghost Hunting Goes Wrong: A Brush With Evil." In the film, the team and I show the audience the potential dangers of paranormal investigating. Things that you certainly won't see on television. The story itself, surrounds one location. A haunted chapel outside of Maryville, MO. A location where I have personally experienced more activity than anywhere else in my travels. Very dark stuff resides within the small, one room chapel and we have done our best to try and figure out who or what it is. The film itself will be terrifying BUT will bring with it an overall message of hope and overcoming obstacles. I cannot wait to share this film with everyone. We will be taking the film on tour in the spring and then releasing it online and on DVD as well. Many more books are in the works as well for me but, at this point, the film is top priority. To see the first trailer, go to YouTube and search for A Brush With Evil Trailer #1. I hope you enjoy it!!
Thanks so much for reaching out. If you have any more questions, I will be around!!
Josh-SEE TRAILER-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJyWTMSPAYU
'Hitler' painting fetches $161,000 at Nuremberg auction
A watercolour thought to be painted by Adolf Hitler has sold at an auction in Germany for 130,000 euros (£103,000; $161,000).A private buyer from the Middle East, who wished to remain anonymous, bought the work, auction house Weidler said.
Experts generally consider Hitler's artworks to be of poor quality.
The auction was held in the central German town of Nuremberg.
The auction house said bidders from four continents had expressed an interest in the work.-READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30160663
Saturday, 22 November 2014
CARTOONS AND CENSORSHIP
PEPPA PIG was part of a Facebook campaign due to insult to Islam.THE SIMPSONS were banned in Venezuela due to being unsuitable for kids.BUGS BUNNY in a episode made during world war 2 is longer aired due to racial slurs to Japanese.SPEEDY GONZALES taken off the air in America in 90,s due to being too Mexican.SOUTH PARK was nearly banned in Russia due to promoting religious hatred.SPONGE BOB was seen as a pro -gay propaganda by American christian activists.BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD were banned in America after showing characters shooting guns after Columbine murders.TINY TOONS was cancelled after a episode showing its characters being killed in a drink and drive crash.TOM AND JERRY at least 3 episodes were taken off the air due to blacking up of characters even leading to disclaimers via Amazon and i tunes.I myself got in trouble for a cartoon i posted of a cat showing a sign saying woolsery sells out,caused a bit of a storm and had to delete and put on a disclaimer.
Happy Cafe & Cafe Cycles
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MPs back bill designed to limit NHS 'privatisation'-MAKE A STAND AGAINST.
A bill which aims to curb the private sector's role in the NHS has cleared its first parliamentary hurdle.
Under the bill, compulsory tendering for NHS contracts would end and NHS hospitals' income generated by private patients would be restricted.
Although MPs backed it in a vote by 241 to 18, as a private member's bill it has only a slim chance of becoming law.
The government insisted its priority was to ensure care was "delivered in the right way for patients".
Labour MP Clive Efford brought in the bill, which he said would "cut the heart out" of the coalition's reforms.
It would restore ultimate responsibility for the NHS to the health secretary, stop NHS hospitals earning up to 49% of their income from private patients, and would exempt the NHS from an EU-US trade treaty known as TTIP.
Critics fear TTIP could lead to American companies suing future governments for reversing privatisation.
Those who voted in favour of the bill included two Conservative and seven Lib Dem rebels.MAKE A STAND AGAINST THIS-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30137368
Comet landing: Organic molecules detected by Philae
Carbon-containing "organics" are the basis of life on Earth and may give clues to chemical ingredients delivered to our planet early in its history.
The compounds were picked up by a German-built instrument designed to "sniff" the comet's thin atmosphere.
Other analyses suggest the comet's surface is largely water-ice covered with a thin dust layer.
The European Space Agency (Esa) craft touched down on the Comet 67P on 12 November after a 10-year journey.
Dr Fred Goessmann, principal investigator on the Cosac instrument, which made the organics detection, confirmed the find to BBC News. But he added that the team was still trying to interpret the results.
It has not been disclosed which molecules have been found, or how complex they are.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
There's a trade off - once it gets too hot, Philae will die as well. There is a sweet spot”
Prof Mark McCaughrean
Senior science adviser, Esa
But the results are likely to provide insights into the possible role of comets in contributing some of the chemical building blocks to the primordial mix from which life evolved on the early Earth.
Preliminary results from the Mupus instrument, which deployed a hammer to the comet after Philae's landing, suggest there is a layer of dust 10-20cm thick on the surface with very hard water-ice underneath.
The ice would be frozen solid at temperatures encountered in the outer Solar System - Mupus data suggest this layer has a tensile strength similar to sandstone.
"It's within a very broad spectrum of ice models. It was harder than expected at that location, but it's still within bounds," said Prof Mark McCaughrean, senior science adviser to Esa, told BBC News.
"People will be playing with [mathematical] models of pure water-ice mixed with certain amount of dust."-READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30097648
Sun's magnetic field boosts lightning strikes across the UK
The number of lightning strikes across the UK has been significantly affected by solar activity, according to new research.
Scientists say the Sun's magnetic field is bending the Earth's own field, increasing our exposure to cosmic rays.
These rays are believed to increase the number of thunderclouds and trigger lightning bolts in some locations.
Over five years, the UK experienced 50% more strikes when the Earth's magnetic field was affected by the Sun.
Fields of influence
The manner is which lightning bolts are triggered has long puzzled scientists as the air is known to be a good insulator of electricity.
Something else needs to come into play to conduct the electrical charges built up in thunder clouds down to the ground.
Since the 1990s, researchers have speculated that the magnetic activity of the Sun could be linked to lightning on Earth.
Current theories hold that high energy particles called galactic cosmic rays provide the necessary link that lets the current flow into a lightning bolt.
This latest work suggests that the orientation of the Sun's magnetic field is playing a significant role in the number of strikes.
The researchers believe the field is like a bar magnet, so as our star spins around sometimes the field points towards the Earth and sometimes away.
"What we found was there is significantly more lightning in the UK when the field is pointing towards the Sun than when its pointing away which was surprising," said Dr Matt Owens from the University of Reading, the lead author on the study.
"What we think is happening is that the Sun's magnetic field is pulling or pushing on the Earth's field and that's letting energetic charged particles down into the atmosphere at different locations and the idea is that these actually trigger lightning."
"For lightning, you need a thin conducting channel like a wire, and galactic cosmic http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30103561rays can provide this thin column of ionisation in the atmosphere."READ MORE-
Geckos inspire 'Spider-Man' gloves
The way geckos climb has inspired a device that allowed a 70kg man to scale a glass wall like Spider-Man.
Much research has gone into trying to unlock the clever way that little geckos climb.
But trying to use gecko adhesion to work at larger scales - such as on a human hand - without any loss of performance has proven difficult.
The hand-sized silicone pads created by a team at Stanford University keep their adhesive strength at all sizes.
They employ the same attractive and repulsive forces between molecules - known as van der Waals forces - that geckos use.
Although the forces are very weak, the effect is multiplied across the many tiny hairs that cover the toes of a gecko, allowing them to stick firmly to surfaces.
Along the same lines, the Stanford team created tiny tiles called microwedges to harness van der Waals forces. They were able to produce a dry adhesive even more efficient than that of the gecko.
In tests, the 70kg (11 stone) climber successfully scaled a 3.6m-high vertical glass wall using 140 sq cm silicone pads in each hand.
The climber tested the adhesive hundreds of times on the wall without failure.
Earlier this year, America's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) demonstrated another climbing device which allowed a person to scale a sheer glass wall.
However, the exact details of their climbing method remain classified.
This latest effort was also a collaboration with Darpa. The agency's Z-Man programme aims to develop biologically-inspired climbing aids for soldiers without the need for ropes and ladders.
The team at Stanford have published their findings in the Royal Society journal Interface.
SHARK JAW IN GARDEN
- Scientific name: Isurus oxyrinchus
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