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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 31 declined, 9 accepted (40 total, 22.50% accepted)

The Courts

Submission + - Court reinstates proof of age for porn models (law.com)

Submitted by
arbitraryaardvark
arbitraryaardvark writes: "An ohio swinger's magazine objects to keeping proof on file that its advertisers are over 18.
I reported here in 2007 that the 6th circuit struck down U.S.C. Title 18, Section 2257 as a First Amendment violation. The full 6th circuit has now overturned that ruling. The case might continue to the Supreme Court.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, Publishers of sex photos need to keep records of age, federal court rules."
Power

Submission + - Mercedes phases out gasoline by 2015 (yahoo.com)

Submitted by
arbitraryaardvark
arbitraryaardvark writes: "Yahoo's Ecogeek blog is reporting that Mercedes will phase out petroleum-powered cars by 2015. Vehicles will be powered by electricity, biodiesel, or hybrid flying monkeys. Story is unconfirmed but well sourced. Mirror of TFA.
Mercedes to cut petroleum out of lineup by 2015
In less than 7 years, Mercedes-Benz plans to ditch petroleum-powered vehicles from its lineup. Focusing on electric, fuel cell, and biofuels, the company is revving up research in alternative fuel sources and efficiency."
NASA

Submission + - NASA to launch solar sail (physorg.com)

Submitted by
arbitraryaardvark
arbitraryaardvark writes: "Physorg reports that NASA will launch a solar sail around the end of July. C-net It'll be the first of its kind; a previous attempt blew up. It's a small proof-of-concept gizmo, not a full-on spaceyacht. Solar sails operate on photon pressure from sunlight. They are well known to science fiction readers, otherwise not so much."
The Courts

Submission + - Virginia top court to rehear spammer's conviction (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
arbitraryaardvark
arbitraryaardvark writes: "Mega-spammer Jeremy Jaynes was convicted in Virginia of spamming in '05, sentenced to 9 years, and lost his appeal, 4-3, at the Virgina Supreme Court. But the court has just ordered a new hearing on whether the anti-spam statute is unconstitutional under the First Amendment, reports How Appealing.
We previously covered the appeal and the conviction."
Math

Submission + - Riemann hypothesis a step closer to solution

Submitted by
arbitraryaardvark
arbitraryaardvark writes: "A new mathematical object has been discovered by Bristol University student Ce Bian. The Riemann hypothesis, unproven since 1859, has something to do with the distribution of primes, and something called L-functions. Bian has demonstrated the first known third degree transcendental L-function.
This apparently opens up a new way to go about looking for proofs of Riemann's hypo.
There is an unclaimed $1 million prize for a valid proof.
Slashdot has covered a couple of earlier attempts to claim the prize."
Privacy

Submission + - Spam King pleads guilty in Seattle (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
arbitraryaardvark
arbitraryaardvark writes: "The Seattle Times reports that spammer Robert Soloway has pled guilty to mail fraud and tax avoision, in exchange for the state dropping multiple iffy counts of identify theft. Wikipedia. Slashdot previously covered his arrest and mention in the New Yorker. The wire fraud felony count is based on selling $500 packages to wannabe spammers."
Puzzle Games (Games)

Submission + - Old islamic tile patterns show modern math insight

Submitted by
arbitraryaardvark
arbitraryaardvark writes: "Reuters reports Medieval Muslims made mega math marvel.
Tile patterns on middle eastern mosques display a kind of quasicrystalline effect that was unknown in the west until rediscovered by Penrose in the 1970s.
"Quasicrystalline patterns comprise a set of interlocking units whose pattern never repeats, even when extended infinitely in all directions, and possess a special form of symmetry."
It isn't known if the mosque designers understood the math behind the patterns.
page 2 of story."

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I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning. -- Plato

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