Free Republic

Interview

Researchers and observers have long recognized that birds and various other flying creatures change the positioning of their body structures in flight in order to perform specific maneuvers or adjust their aerodynamic profile to accommodate changing flight conditions. This adaptive orientation of body shape has been dubbed “morphing” in the popular literature. The words “morph” and “morphing” are actually digressive forms of the word “metamorphosis,” which derives from the Greek “meta” (to change) and “morfe” (form). This is an apt description of the ability that birds possess to change the form or geometry of their bodies for increased maneuverability, as...

Researchers have developed advanced shape-memory polymers that could find uses as expandable stents and fasteners that close themselves. The researchers who developed self-tying sutures that change shape when exposed to light have now made morphing structures that can take on three consecutive shapes in response to changes in temperature. The shape-changing polymers could eventually be employed as removable stents and self-closing fasteners used in assembling complex parts. The structures are made of shape-memory polymers, a class of materials that change from one preset shape to another in response to a new condition, such as increased heat. In the past few...

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 11, 2006 – The days of the weekend warrior are over, a top defense official said here yesterday. Thomas F. Hall, assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs, said the country has entered the era of an operational reserve force vs. a strategic one. Hall spoke at WEST 2006, a technology, communication and national security conference co-sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and the U.S. Naval Institute. Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 500,000 reserve component servicemembers have been mobilized, Hall said. Mobilized guardsmen and reservists currently number 130,000. Though the number of mobilized...

When Democrats and Republicans become so strikingly similar that distinguishing them requires much imagination and strong drink, it's time to ask where do conservatives (in media lingo that's code for Christian "right" et al., and vice versa) turn? There's been a "raging" battle between the red and blue "staters," but now it's time to get serious, the differences are not so much real as imagined. "Large-mouthed" talk plus seas of ink are spilt over the great divisions in society but the fact is, latter-day Republicans or RINOs (Republican In Name Only), have been knocking themselves out trying to "out democrat"...

True (and False) TransformationTwo counterfeit forms of spiritual maturity, and one way to find the real thing.by John Ortberg Hank had been a Christian for 50 years. By the time I came to pastor Hank's church, he was an old cranky guy. He had been a member there since he was a young cranky guy. Hank complained about his family, he complained about his job, and one day, he began to complain about the church's music. He stopped people in the church lobby—visitors, strangers—and said, "Don't you think the music in this church is too loud?" We sat him down...