Will your Thanksgiving table feature a modern relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex? The answer may surprise you. Birds are dinosaurs: Lumen Learning shows the modern classification of Amniotes (vertebrates having an egg with an “amniote”.) In the lower right corner are Aves (all living birds), directly below two groups of dinosaurs. Some biologists declare that birds are dinosaurs, others insist they evolved from dinosaurs. The difference in views is merely semantic. Birds are dinosaurs. Birds are cousins of T-Rex. Wikipedia posted this diagram of the evolution of dinosaurs. Birds are in the upper left, adjacent to the meat-eating dinosaurs containing Tyrannosaurus …
Author: Mark Pryor
Could Facebook & Twitter determine how we think? Could Russia?
Facebook and Twitter continue to make a significant impact our lives. Part of the reason is their business model. Another factor is our own human nature. The power of these tools has attracted many bad actors—including the Russians. First, let’s take a quick look at the business model. Over 98% of Facebook’s revenue (taken from their latest financial report) comes from advertising. You and I pay nothing to sign up. We’re not the client—we’re the product Facebook sells. How do they attract advertisers? By learning what we like, and delivering posts that reinforce our preferences. Facebook then uses their detailed …
China’s Great Wall of Sand
What’s the big deal in the South China Sea? China’s claim to the South China Sea overlaps with claims from other countries in the region. It also could limit the movement of $5.3 trillion of goods per year. To strengthen their claim, they have been building a Great Wall of Sand. Who claims territorial rights? Business Insider published a map that shows the area claimed by China (inside the red dashed line) and the overlapping claims from neighboring countries: But why is this important? Another Business Insider article shows the amount of LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) that passes through the sea: If …
Hacker breaks into CNBC laptop
Watch a demonstration of a Russian hacker breaking into the laptop of a CNBC reporter’s laptop. My upcoming book, Cyberian Affair, is all about Russian hacking.
Atoms, Electrons, Protons, Neutrons, Quarks, Gluons, Strings
An article in Life Science included a very simple diagram of many well-known subatomic particles: Surrounding the nucleus of an atom is a cloud of very light electrons. The nucleus consists of two types of hadrons – a proton and a neutron. Like all hadrons, the proton and the neutron contain three quarks plus the gluons that bind them together. The proton and neutron contain the two most common quarks – “up” and “down” According to string theory, all these particles are composed of very small strings The diagram above gives a misleading idea of relative sizes. Each step to …
Where did the idea for Noble Phoenix come from?
People often ask me, “Where did you get the idea for your book?” This may not be a typical answer, but the ideas for Noble Phoenix had been developing, forming and re-forming for most of my life. When I retired, I finally had the opportunity to focus and write, and to unleash everything that was bottled up. Science: From an early age, I have been fascinated by science. When I enlisted in the Navy, I supported aviation electronics equipment. In civilian life, my career focused on computers, global telecommunication and network security, supporting both government and commercial clients. This led …
Autism – Ask An Autistic YouTube Series
Excellent YouTube series on autism, explained very clearly by an autistic.
Print Books On Demand – No Inventory
No need to print a thousand books and hope to sell them. Today, “Print On Demand” means even independent authors can publish paperbacks at a reasonable cost. When you order Noble Phoenix, a machine like this prints it within a few minutes.
Handling Plutonium Inside a Glovebox
See how plutonium is safely handled in a glovebox. Technology included in Noble Phoenix.
Stem Cells for Traumatic Brain Injury
Treating brain injuries with stem cells. Real technology featured in Noble Phoenix www.pryorpatch.com