Author Archives: Joshuah

USGS: 7.4 magnitude quake hits near New Zealand

Source: CNN.com Blogs An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 struck Friday near New Zealand, the U.S. Geological Survey said Source: rttnews.com The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu–lying between Fiji and Australia and north of New Zealand–was on Tuesday struck by a major 7.5-magnitude earthquake that generated a small tsunami and forced thousands of frightened [...]
Posted in earthquakes | Leave a comment

1 in 7 home kitchens would flunk inspection, worse than restaurants

Source: USATODAY.com  A new study suggests that at least one in seven home kitchens would flunk the kind of health inspection commonly administered to restaurants. Restaurants should be spotless, and so should your own home; especially the kitchen area.  I have a few rules that I find to be helpful in this regard. Garbage is emptied every evening. [...]
Posted in Economics, Food Storage, Health, Pestilence | Leave a comment

Hurricane Earl strengthens off U.S. East Coast

Source: Yahoo! News Hurricane Earl gained more punch on Thursday as the large storm churned up the Atlantic threatening the U.S. East Coast with dangerous winds and large swells and forcing evacuations in North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said Earl, a powerful Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, had strengthened with its [...]
Posted in Hurricane | Leave a comment

US grapples with bedbugs, misuse of pesticides

Source: guardian.co.uk A resurgence of bedbugs across the U.S. has homeowners and apartment dwellers taking desperate measures to eradicate the tenacious bloodsuckers, with some relying on dangerous outdoor pesticides and fly-by-night exterminators. The problem has gotten so bad that the Environmental Protection Agency warned this month against the indoor use of chemicals meant for the outside. The [...]
Posted in Pestilence | Leave a comment

Volcano erupts in Indonesia forcing thousands from homes

Source: guardian.co.uk A volcano has erupted on the Indonesian island of Sumatra for the first time in four centuries, sending smoke 1,500 metres into the air and prompting the evacation of thousands of residents. There are no reports of casualties so far, and aviation in the area is unaffected.…“This is the first time since 1600 that Sinabung [...]
Posted in Volcano, survivalism | Leave a comment

Lethal backfire: Green odor with fatal consequences for voracious caterpillars

Source: sciencedaily.com Recently, the scientists’ attention was drawn to substances in tobacco plants called "green leaf volatiles" (GLV); GLV are compounds released by plants after mechanical damage. These molecules are responsible for the typical smell of freshly cut grass. Last year the green odorant substances of tobacco were examined more carefully. The scientists found [...]
Posted in Agriculture, Economics, Insects | Leave a comment

Black Rice May Be Cheap Source of Antioxidants

Source:   healthfinder.gov scientists say they’ve also found a cheaper source of antioxidants for consumers: black rice. “Just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants,” study co-author Zhimin Xu said in a [...]
Posted in Food, Health | Leave a comment

How to ‘undo’ an ill-advised Gmail message

Source: CNN.com To enable ‘Undo Send’: 1. Log in to Gmail and go to Google Labs. If you’ve never gone to Labs before, click the word "more" in the very top left corner, then scroll down and click "even more." 2. In the column on the right, click "Labs." It’s next to the icon of a beaker [...]
Posted in Communications | Leave a comment

200-fold boost in fuel cell efficiency advances ‘personalized energy systems’

Source: sciencedaily.com "Our goal is to make each home its own power station," said study leader Daniel Nocera, Ph.D. "We’re working toward development of ‘personalized’ energy units that can be manufactured, distributed and installed inexpensively. There certainly are major obstacles to be overcome — existing fuel cells and solar cells must be improved, for instance. [...]
Posted in Energy | Leave a comment

Coffee and sugar markets surge

Source: - Coffee and sugar markets surge Coffee and sugar prices have jumped to new highs on the back of a recent run of commodities speculation. A Financial Times report notes that the price of Arabica coffee surged 3% to $1.852 a pound for December delivery in New York, a 12-year high while in a parallel [...]
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment