The World's Tallest Mountain

I love factoids like this.

The World's tallest mountain depends upon measurement.

• Mount Everest is 8,840m above sea level.
• Mauna Kea is 10,203m above its base on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
• Chimborazo is 6,384,000m from the centre of the Earth.
  

There. That should sustain your next dinner conversation for at least 10 minutes.

Neturei Karta

Neturei Karta are a branch of ultra-orthodox Jewish belief who believe that only the Messiah can create a new state of Israel. Therefore they do not support Israel in the ongoing Palestinian-Israel conflict.

AAAAAAAAA

A blog post with every single category marked (I'm doing this for scribefire)

The Dungeon Master has gone

Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeon's and Dragons, is dead.

Gibraltar

I have just found out, at the age of 38, that Gibraltar is actually a peninsula. For the last 30 years (approximately) I had the idea that Gibraltar was a rocky island in between Europe and Africa.

You, of course, are probably reading this and going "pfhh! This guy has no idea", which is true.

But for me, this is amazing - about as amazing as the realisation I had almost 12 months ago that Nick Nolte and Gary Busey were actually two different people.

Burj Dubai

818 metres (2684 feet). Construction to be completed in late 2008. The tallest building in the world.

And just to scare you... that picture shows the building at around 580 metres (1900 feet), which means that it is only 70% the eventual height. If you add the extra height in your mind, the building should reach up to the top of the picture.

Cancer vs Positive Thinking

From the department of negative-thinking-researchers- who-don't-have-enough-faith:

Cancer patients' state of mind has no influence on their survival chances, according to a US study that contradicts a widespread belief in the power of positive thinking.

Researchers led by James Coyne, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, found no correlation to a cancer victim's mental wellbeing and their ultimate chances of beating off the disease.

"The belief that a patient's psychological state can impact the course and outcome of their cancer is one that has been prominent among patients and medical professionals alike," Professor Coyne wrote in the study.

"While there can be lots of emotional and social benefits of psychotherapy, patients should not seek such experiences solely on the expectation that they are extending their lives," he said.

The study analysed 1,093 sufferers of cancer in the head or neck, of whom 646 died before the research period ended.

The researchers found no link to suggest that those who lived owed their survival to a positive frame of mind, whatever their gender, type of cancer or the stage of their disease.

"While this study may not end the debate, it does provide the strongest evidence to date that psychological factors are not independently prognostic in cancer management," Professor Coyne said.

Belief that down is up does not make it so. Behold the power of that which is not the human mind.

Shorter men more likely to be paedophiles

From the department of I-am-190cm- which-means-I'm-safe:

Shorter men are more likely to be sexually attracted to children than their taller peers, according to a new Canadian study of the biological roots of paedophilia.

This is likely the result of exposure to "pre-birth conditions" that affected paedophiles' physical development, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reported in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment.

"This research does not mean that paedophiles are not criminally responsible for their behavior," said lead researcher James Cantor.

"But the discovery of biological markers for paedophilia has important implications for future study and possibly treatment."

By analysing the files of over 1,000 men who were assessed for paedophilia or other sexual disorders in Toronto between 1995 and 2006, researchers observed that paedophilic males were two centimetres shorter on average than males who were not sexually attracted to children.

This height difference is a trait found in other illnesses with biological links, similar in scope to the shorter height associated with schizophrenia or Alzheimer's disease, the researchers said.

The same scientific team previously found that paedophiles "have lower IQs, are three times more likely to be left-handed, failed school grades significantly more frequently, and suffered more head injuries as children."

This is not a joke article either. I don't know what else to say except that Randy Newman was right.

Alabama Baptist Pastor found dead

From the department of I-am-very-disturbed-by-this:

An Alabama minister who died in June of "accidental mechanical asphyxia" was found hogtied and wearing two complete wet suits, including a face mask, diving gloves and slippers, rubberized underwear, and a head mask, according to an autopsy report. Investigators determined that Rev. Gary Aldridge's death was not caused by foul play and that the 51-year-old pastor of Montgomery's Thorington Road Baptist Church was alone in his home at the time he died (while apparently in the midst of some autoerotic undertaking).

Now if you were in a church where the pastor died in this manner, what would you do? (especially when the autopsy revealed something where the sun does not shine).

I'm sort of confused about this. There's obviously some level of paraphilia going on here but nothing (as yet) to suggest that the pastor involved anyone else in his "activities".

Blogging about this makes me feel yuck.

Update:
His paraphilia is known as Total enclosure fetishism.

M16 vs AK-47

According to the unbiased and completely objective news service Al Jazeera, the AK-47 kills around 250,000 people per year and is "the real weapon of mass destruction".

The Soviet designed AK-47 is essentially the weapon of choice for poor nations, terrorists and revolutionaries, and has been for many decades. It is a simple, mass produced assault rifle that is rugged, reliable and predictable. This weapon is proof that, despite the overall failure of communism, high quality weapons designed and made by central economic planning could be produced.

Given that the design of the AK-47 was owned by the Soviet Union, it is also one of the first instances of open source design. China and a multitude of other nations have built their own versions of the AK-47 without having to pay licence fees or be sued for copyright.

The great rival for the AK-47 is the US designed M16 assault rifle. While the AK-47 used wood and mass-produced steel, the M16 used aluminium and high-tensile plastic wherever possible. It was during the Vietnam War that M16 armed US troops encountered Vietnamese communists armed with Ak-47s.

So, which is the superior weapon? In my books, neither.

Both weapons drew upon experience gained during World War II, namely that standard infantry rifles were often unwieldy in close combat and fired rounds that were too powerful. On the Eastern front, German soldiers were eventually armed with the Sturmgewehr 44, the world's first assault rifle and one which looks very much like the AK-47. The Soviets armed their soldiers with the PPSh-41 submachine gun. Both of these weapons used smaller bullets fired in greater number, and were lighter and more able to negotiate close combat. The PPSh-41 had the added advantage of being very cheap and easy to produce, which allowed their soldiers the luxury of having their own weapons (early on the war, the Soviets had more soldiers than weapons, which led to the very Soviet practice of instructing advancing soldiers to pick up the weapons of their fallen comrades)

Eventually, the standard bullet that the Soviets developed was the 7.62x39mm round to fit into the AK-47. Moreover, the tapered case of the round allowed the bullets to be stacked up in the distinctive curved ammunition clip. With 30 rounds of ammunition, the typical Soviet soldier of the 1950s and 1960s had more bullets to fire at the enemy than American soldiers.

The Brits also developed a smaller bullet, but the American military hierarchy had no time for innovation and decreed forthwith that the 7.62x51mm NATO round be the standard for all Western nations to use. The Yanks then produced the M14 rifle, while the Belgians designed the FN FAL (which was also used by the Brits and the Aussies for many years as the SLR). While these weapons were effective, it was increasingly obvious that when M14s or FALs were set on automatic, the recoil of the weapon made the bullets inaccurate. The first bullet may be on target, but each subsequent bullet would fly a metre or more above the first. Essentially, these high powered bullets were being wasted (which forced the British and Australian military to design their SLRs in such a way as to prevent automatic fire).

Sometime late in the 1950s, someone realised the shortcomings of the 7.62x51mm NATO round, and the 5.56x45mm NATO round was invented. The M16 was the first major assault rifle to use this smaller round.

In theory, the 5.56x45mm round was superior to the 7.62x51mm round because it was more effective at short range and allowed soldiers the ability to fire automatically without too much inaccuracy. Two or three 5.56mm rounds hitting an enemy would do at least as much damage, if not more, than a single 7.62mm NATO round. Moreover, the 5.56mm round had a higher muzzle velocity and tended to "tumble" when fired, which meant that these bullets would hit their target slightly skewed, thus increasing the amount of damage caused (a tumbling bullet has a similar effect as a hollow point).

The M16's early history was anything but glorious. Red tape in military procurement resulted in the wrong sort of gunpowder being used, which fouled up the weapons quickly. In practice, this led to weapon jamming amongst American soldiers in Vietnam during firefights. Once, after a firefight, a group of three US soldiers were found dead - their position had been over-run by enemy soldiers and all of their M16s were found to have jammed. The use of plastic in the design and the rifle's light weight also led the M16 to be called "the plastic fantastic" and many felt that the weapon was just an oversized toy.

The Vietnamese soon learned to avoid using captured US M16s. Apart from the gunpowder problem, the weapon was just not suited for guerrilla warfare. While the AK-47 could be dragged through mud and dust by a poorly trained Viet Cong soldier and still be effective, the M16 required a highly trained professional soldier who had time to clean his weapon.

But, in terms of actual firing, the M16 was a better weapon, especially once 30 round magazines became standard. The 5.56x45mm NATO round may not be as powerful as the 7.62x39mm that the AK-47 used, but the M16 was more accurate. Moreover the US troops who fired them were hardened soldiers who were better trained than the brave Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldier.

Yet while the M16 was a better weapon in terms of firing, the AK-47 was more reliable and more suited to those who used them. American soldiers had the luxury of cleaning their weapons properly while the Viet Cong and NVA did not. An AK-47 could be immersed in mud for months on end and still fire while the M16 would be useless.

In Iraq at present we are seeing a continued battle between the AK-47 and the M16. Again the AK-47 suits the Iraqi insurgents better than a captured M16, and the M16 suits professional US soldiers better than AK-47s.

If the war was between two professional armies who have clear lines of battle and the luxury of returning to a barracks on a regular basis, then the best weapon would be the M16. But if the war was between two guerilla armies who spend lots of time getting their weapons dirty or muddy or dusty while they travel long distances for battle, then the best weapon would be the AK-47.

With the development of body armour, however, it is increasingly obvious that professional soldiers are threatened less by both the 5.56x45mm round and the 7.62x39mm round. While body armour cannot prevent these bullets from entering the human body at close range, they have acted to reduce a lot of the damage sustained by soldiers from medium range targeting and deflections or ricochets. The relatively low casualty rates amongst US troops in Iraq is a testament to this development of technology. With body armour likely to remain the norm amongst professional soldiers at least, it is likely that the 7.62x51mm NATO round will have a new lease of life (if you pardon the ironic pun). Body armour is very useful against pistol rounds and has saved countless US lives in Iraq against 7.62x39mm rounds, but cannot withstand the higher power of the 7.62x51mm round.

Update:
Ron Lankshear discusses the weapons he has fired.

Adam's Bridge

From the department of the-increasingly-absurd:

The chief minister of India's southern state of Tamil Nadu is sticking to his controversial statement questioning the existence of Hindu God Ram.

M Karunanidhi also said there was no proof that Lord Ram had constructed a bridge where a new shipping canal is planned between India and Sri Lanka.

Hard-line Hindu groups say the chief minister's statement is blasphemous.

On Tuesday Hindu activists angered by the comments set fire to a Tamil Nadu bus, killing two people, police said.

Enraged Hindu hardliners in the city of Bangalore, in neighbouring Karnataka state, also attacked the home of Mr Karunanidhi's daughter, Selvi.

Hindu scripture says the area between India and Sri Lanka - now known as Adam's Bridge - was built millions of years ago by Lord Ram, supported by an army of monkeys.

But scientists and archaeologists say Adam's Bridge, or Ram Setu, is a natural formation of sand and limestone. Hard-line Hindu groups say a proposed canal project between India and Sri Lanka will destroy the bridge.

Adam's Bridge is a series of islands and reefs that, when sea levels were lower, formed a land bridge between Sri Lanka and India. Unfortunately they constitute a barrier to shipping, since the reefs are so shallow, which means that shipping has to go around Sri Lanka rather than between Sri Lanka and the Indian mainland. The current problem is due to the fact that the Indian government wants to dredge a channel so shipping can go through... and the followers of Rama are angry that this would destroy their god's bridge (which is obviously not a bridge any longer).

Personally, I think one solution would be to build a road and rail bridge linking the two nations as well as having a shipping channel. Building a real bridge on a mythical bridge is not going to be blasphemy, surely?

Fantasy author Robert Jordan is dead

From the department of all-those-fans-must-be-annoyed:

It is with great sadness that I tell you that the Dragon is gone. RJ left us today at 2:45 PM. He fought a valiant fight against this most horrid disease. In the end, he left peacefully and in no pain. In the years he had fought this, he taught me much about living and about facing death. He never waivered in his faith, nor questioned our God’s timing. I could not possibly be more proud of anyone. I am eternally grateful for the time that I had with him on this earth and look forward to our reunion, though as I told him this afternoon, not yet. I love you bubba.

My wife and I began reading the Wheel of Time fantasy series back in the early 1990s. After about the 5th book, I realised that Jordan was deliberately patting out the storyline. Eventually we both got absolutely sick of the series because it just went on and on and on...

Now it won't get finished. It's sad that Jordan is dead but, really, the Wheel of Time was just too annoying to keep reading.

Sausage Assault

From the Department of sausages-don't-kill-people-guns-do:

A 12-year-old boy was charged with assault and taken before the courts - for throwing a cocktail sausage.

The boy was accused of throwing the pork snack at a 74-year-old man in Woodhouse Park, south Manchester.

He denied the charge in a hearing at a Manchester Youth Court, where the judge questioned the decision to prosecute.

Greater Manchester Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) are now reviewing the case, which the boy's mother described as an "utter joke".

Holocaust survivors want more support

From the BBC:

Hundreds of protesters in Israel have marched outside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office to demand more state support for Holocaust survivors.

A government offer of a monthly stipend of $20 (£10) was labelled "insulting" by the survivor groups that organised Sunday's demonstration in Jerusalem.

Joining the rally were a few dozen elderly survivors, who say they can barely afford medical treatment.

Mr Olmert has said payments for the 250,000 survivors would begin in 2008.

$20 per month for holocaust survivors? That's pitiful.

The next JK Rowling?

From the BBC:

Five years ago, GP Taylor was a Yorkshire vicar, former punk, ex-policeman and Sex Pistols roadie, who sold his motorbike to pay to print some copies of his first children's book.

With an almost spooky haste, his book, Shadowmancer, was picked up by publishers, and became a number one best-seller on both sides of the Atlantic.

Like the overnight dot.com millionaires, he became one of the instant successes of the children's literature gold rush, with improbably large sums of money and movie plans attached to his follow-up books.

Harrison Ford is 65

He's getting older. 30 years ago he was only 35. What's the go with that?

Tintin to be banned in Britain

Tintin in the Congo is racist!

No Dole program

The ABC reports:

One of the survivors of the Beaconsfield mine collapse, Todd Russell, has addressed students at the Campbell Town District High School as part of its 'No Dole' program.

Grade Ten students at the school, in Tasmania's Midlands, have today signed up for the program, which aims to reduce youth unemployment.

The program operates in eleven Tasmanian schools and 74 interstate.

Ministry and Divorce

Sydneyanglicans.net has a discussion about this.

Some good friends of ours split up a few years ago. Divorce is horrible but this couple were ministering in a Sydney Anglican Church - he was the minister. We even when on holidays for a week together to Bermagui before we all started having kids. It was really sad (their divorce, not the holiday).

Another Adage for you

A prophet of doom is never pleased when he is proved right.