Free Republic

A few fellow FReepers know of my work to upgrade my recently purchased refurb Dell Latitude 5490 laptop computer. Here I'll try to tie up everything accomplished so far. Note that I'm not particularly strong in Information Technology, but, since I've been asking a lot of questions, I thought that particularly for those in the market for a new laptop at a modest price, this information may be useful. General comments would be that these machines are available on eBay from reputable sellers fairly inexpensively, especially if one is willing to hunt for a "good deal". The 5490 is (was)...

MOSCOW–Russia further curtailed its cooperation with the United States in nuclear energy on Wednesday, suspending a research agreement and terminating one on uranium conversion, two days after the Kremlin shelved a plutonium pact with Washington. It also said it was terminating for the same reasons an agreement between its nuclear corporation Rosatom and the U.S. Department of Energy on feasibility studies into conversion of Russian research reactors to low-enriched uranium. On Monday, President Vladimir Putin suspended a treaty with Washington on cleaning up weapons grade plutonium, signaling he is willing to use nuclear disarmament as a new bargaining chip in...

The earthquakes yesterday scared people along the East Coast, but the truly terrifying earthquake may strike the Midwest—and FEMA is preparing for it. Early in the morning of May 16, while most of America was being titillated and transfixed by the appearance in court of the then-suspect Dominique Strauss-Kahn, an urgent message was suddenly received at the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C Reports were streaming in of a catastrophic earthquake, magnitude 7.7, that had struck the Midwest near the town of Marked Tree, Ark. First reports were alarming: phenomenal property damage; casualty figures were...

Even though the Civil War ended in 1865, America still has some battle scars. It's been said, "time heals all wounds," but when it comes to your sense of pride and lifestyle being hurt...it can take longer.The Civil War has been called the turning point in the young life of America. Four bloody years of fighting that pitted north against south. Many are still fighting it.The North had it's immigrant workers and industry. The South -- plantations, slaves and an agricultural economy. The two clashed in the Civil War. The conflict took more american lives than any other.Hollywood makes movies...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 July 9 Analemma Credit & Copyright: Vasilij Rumyantsev (Crimean Astrophysical Obsevatory) Explanation: If you took a picture of the Sun at the same time each day, would it remain in the same position? The answer is no, and the shape traced out by the Sun over the course of a year is called an analemma. The Sun's apparent shift is caused by the Earth's motion around the Sun...

Baby sex ratios linked to latitude 00:01 26 April 02 Emma Young People living in southern Europe have more male children than those in the north - but the latitude link is reversed in North America. The findings rebut suggestions that temperature variations could explain altered sex ratios at different distances from the equator. Victor Grech and his team at St Luke's Hospital, in Malta used data from the World Health Organization to compare the male to female birth ratio in Europe and North America over 50 years. They split the continents into three separate bands: southern Europe, central Europe...