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In the gospel today the Lord describes metaphorically (i.e. figuratively) what a Christian is and what He expects of us. Note five things about what He says.I. The Definitiveness of his Proclamation – The Text says You are the Salt of the earth….You are the light of the World…..But if salt goes flat it is good for nothing…..No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. The Lord is definitive in two ways. First he says, “You.” He is not talking to people long ago, or someone next to you. He is not merely talking to your pastor,...

It’s not the brightest of ideas. But the federal government went ahead and banned light bulbs. As of Jan. 1, 75- and 100-watt incandescent light bulbs were banned. Once the ones on the shelves run out, that’s it. Canadians will be left to light their homes with two main remaining options: compact fluorescents – the twirly-looking ones – and LEDs. Next year 40- and 60-watt incandescent bulbs will also get the same treatment. All in the name of energy conservation and feel-good enviro policies! Even though the compact fluorescents come with their own problems due to the mercury in them....

O Holy night! Yes, a silent night! and, it came upon a midnight clear. Christmas, it would seem, is a festival of the mid night. Jesus is born when it is dark, dark midnight. We are sure of it. And why not?Even though we are not told the exact hour of his birth we are sure it must have been night. Scripture does say that the Shepherds who heard the glad tidings were keeping watch over their flock “by night” (cf Luke 2:9). Further the Magi sought him by the light of a star, and stars are seen at night,...

Explanation: The bulging center of our Milky Way Galaxy rests on a pillar of light in this luminous skyscape. Recorded on September 22nd in dark South African skies, rivers of dust seem to flow downward from the galactic center towards Antares, yellowish alpha star of the constellation Scorpius, near the top of the scene. The brightest celestial beacon present is not a star at all though, but planet Venus, still dominant in the western sky after sunset. Of course, the pillar of light stretching upward from the horizon is Zodiacal light. Sunlight scattered by dust along the plane of the...

Saw these on Vsauce2 just now and thought they were pretty cool. Apparently these skateboard wheels have LEDs in them that light up when the wheels spin. The LEDs have a 100,000 hour life expectancy and there are no batteries. The spinning of the wheels generates the current necessary. I have no idea how durable they are, though. The website says a set of 4 wheels is $40. A whole board is $100. I'm not gonna link directly. I will put a picture or two for people who don't YouTube.

there's no reason to believe the Honolulu's rail project will do anything to improve traffic congestion. In fact, it's likely to divert resources from more-affordable solutions. "The one thing about these projects [is that] they are very inviting politically," says former Hawaii Gov. Ben Cayetano. Along with Cliff Slater of Honolulutraffic.com and University of Hawaii's Roth, Cayetano has filed a federal lawsuit against the rail project that's held up construction. They claim the city misled the public about the total cost of the project and didn't deliver fully on a required review of alternative solutions to a rail line. Panos...

Conservatives may be less likely to buy energy efficient light bulbs if they're packaged as environmentally friendly, new research suggests. In one study, participants were given $2 to spend on a light bulb with a choice between a 50-cent incandescent bulb and a $1.50 compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb. They were told the CFL bulb would last 9,000 more hours and reduce energy costs by 75 percent compared with the old-fashioned bulb. Both liberal and conservative participants were more likely to choose the CFL bulb, the researchers found. But if the CFL bulb was marked with a sticker that said...

Like the sun, insulin levels rise and fall in a daily rhythm. Disrupting that cycle may contribute to obesity and diabetes, a new study suggests. Many body systems follow a daily clock known as a circadian rhythm. Body temperature, blood pressure and the release of many hormones are on circadian timers. But until now, no one had shown that insulin — a hormone that helps control how the body uses sugars for energy — also has a daily cycle. Working with mice, researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville have found that rodents are more sensitive to insulin’s effects at certain...

UNDATED (NBC) - As we say goodbye to 2012, we're also saying goodbye to a fixture in America's lighting fixtures: The 75-watt incandescent light bulb. Under federal law, 75-watt bulbs can no longer be produced or imported as of January 1st, though retailers can still clear remaining stock. **SNIP** Traditional 60 and 40 watt bulbs will be phased out in 2014.

A discovery that promises transistors – the fundamental part of all modern electronics – controlled by laser pulses that will be 10,000 faster than today's fastest transistors has been made by a Georgia State University professor and international researchers. Professor of Physics Mark Stockman worked with Professor Vadym Apalkov of Georgia State and a group led by Ferenc Krausz at the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics and other well-known German institutions.There are three basic types of solids: metals, semiconductors, used in today's transistors, and insulators – also called dielectrics.Dielectrics do not conduct electricity and get damaged or break...

EnlargeEngineers at Caltech have created a device (illustrated here) that can focus light into a point just a few nanometers (billionths of a meter) across -- an achievement they say may lead to next-generation applications in computing, communications, and imaging. Credit: Young-Hee Lee (Phys.org)—As technology advances, it tends to shrink. From cell phones to laptops—powered by increasingly faster and tinier processors—everything is getting thinner and sleeker. And now light beams are getting smaller, too. Engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a device that can focus light into a point just a few nanometers (billionths of a...

Scientists at the Wake Forest University have created a new type of light bulb that promises to be just as efficient as LED equivalents, but without any of the drawbacks. The new field-induced polymer electroluminescent bulbs — FIPEL for short — produce light when an electric current is passed through the nano-engineered plastic layers. The team says that the new type of bulbs are malleable, allowing them to take any shape like compact fluorescent lamps. They also won’t shatter like traditional bulbs, nor will they generate the same hum or flicker. The inventor of FIPEL, Dr David Carroll, believes that...

Technique may enable robotic animals that move with the strength and flexibility of their living counterparts.Many robotic designs take nature as their muse: sticking to walls like geckos, swimming through water like tuna, sprinting across terrain like cheetahs. Such designs borrow properties from nature, using engineered materials and hardware to mimic animals’ behavior. Now, scientists at MIT and the University of Pennsylvania are taking more than inspiration from nature — they’re taking ingredients. The group has genetically engineered muscle cells to flex in response to light, and is using the light-sensitive tissue to build highly articulated robots. This “bio-integrated” approach,...

People often say that time speeds up as we age, but if the latest scientific theory is true the opposite could well be the case. The radical theory by academics suggests that time itself could be slowing down - and may eventually grind to a halt altogether. The latest mind-bending findings - put forward by researchers working at two Spanish universities - proposes that we have all been fooled into thinking the universe is expanding. In fact, they say, time itself is slowing down until eventually, in billions of years time, it will cease altogether. Although the findings might sound...

Compact device promises to open window on chemical reactions in the lab. The pressurized, cylindrical chamber fits in the palm of Margaret Murnane’s hand. Yet out of one end of the device comes an X-ray beam that packs almost as much punch as the light generated by massive particle accelerators. Murnane and Henry Kapteyn, both physicists at JILA in Boulder, Colorado, a joint institute of the University of Colorado and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, have reported the first tabletop source of ultra-short, laser-like pulses of low energy, or ‘soft’, X-rays. The light, capable of probing the...

Remember how we must live and to who all the praises we must give.

Enlarge Image Bending the rules. Light normally travels in straight lines, but with some clever pre-adjustment, it curves instead. Credit: F. Courvoisier and J. M. Dudley Any physics student knows that light travels in a straight line. But now researchers have shown that light can also travel in a curve, without any external influence. The effect is actually an optical illusion, although the researchers say it could have practical uses such as moving objects with light from afar. It's well known that light bends. When light rays pass from air into water, for instance, they take a sharp turn;...

‘Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb’ approved by RomeWASHINGTON (March 26, 2012) -- The Vatican has approved the publication of the "Rite for the Blessing of a Child in the Womb," which will be printed in English and Spanish in a combined booklet and should be available for parishes by Mothers' Day. The U.S. bishops who collaborated on the development of the blessing welcomed the announcement of the recognitio, or approval, by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome. "I'm impressed with the beauty of this blessing for human life...

There is no doubt that Israel is ready to carry out a first strike against Iran, Shlomo Gazit, former head of Israeli intelligence, told RT. And Israel will not seek any approval from the US or even its own citizens to make such a move.

(CNSNews.com) – Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has pledged multiple times that he would repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform law. However, his repeal proposals are light on specific details. “If I were president, day one I will take action to repeal Obamacare. It's bad medicine. It's bad economy. I'll repeal it,” Romney said at the Jan. 26 GOP debate in Florida. “And I believe the people -- I believe the people of each state should be able to craft programs that they feel are best for their people.” However, Romney’s plans...