Anyone who works as a freelancer these days has to be at least a bit familiar with techie things. But it isn’t just that. When I was a kid and those vaguely SF puppet shows were on the television and all the other kids wanted to be Greg Gogetem or Steve Savetheuniverse, I wanted to be the guy in a white coat and glasses called Doc or Brains. Here are some technology-related feeds I find useful and/or entertaining.
Slashdot » Elementary School Kids Explore the Moon At Close Range
sighted writes "The twin robotic spacecraft that make up the new GRAIL mission to map the moon's gravity include small cameras in addition to their primary scientific instruments. The first images from those cameras, as selected by school kids, were downlinked to Earth on March 20. 'MoonKAM is based on the premise that if your average picture is worth … [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Justice League – Public Sign Style [Pic]
When the Justice League finally come out of hiding, these are the signs that we will see for Justice League zones where the JL will defend you from baddies in the night. 
[Via World of Superheroes]No related posts. 
[Link]
Slashdot » Dutch Artist Admits Faking Viral 'Human Bird Wing' Video
Velcroman1 writes "Dutch filmmaker and animator Floris Kaayk in collaboration with media production company Revolver fessed up to creating a 'media art project' that took the world by storm in recent days — a video of inventor Jarno Smeets taking flight by flapping his arms. But like the wax melting from Icarus' wings, the truth is finally emerging. Kaayak … [Link]
WIRED » Found Contest: Imagine the Future of Watches
Imagine the future of watches. Now that clock functionality is built into nearly every mobile and computing device, will the dedicated time piece disappear? Will they become simpler, or more complex? Will the Swiss fashion even more elaborate and luxe wrist accessories?
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ProgrammableWeb.com » Ten Protips on Avoiding Hackathon Fail
Delyn Simons is VP of Developer Platform for Mashery (a ProgrammableWeb sponsor). Delyn previously worked in developer community for eBay and still believes that people are basically good. 
Our Mashery Developer Outreach team co-organized and participated in over 50 hackathon events in 2011. Not yet 3 months in to 2012, we’re already up to 25 and counting. All this exposure to … [Link]
Slashdot » GCC Turns 25
eldavojohn writes "With the release of GCC 4.7.0, the venerable and stalwart constant that is the GNU Compiler Collection turns twenty five. More ISO standards and architectures supported with this release and surely more memories to come from the compiler that seems to have always been."
Read more of this story at Slashdot. [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Mad Men Ladies in ‘Keep Me Hanging On’ [Vid]
A cool edit of clips of women from Mad Men to the track of “Keep Me Hanging On” (a hit from the ’80s for those of you too young to know that!)[Via Pleated Jeans]No related posts.
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ProgrammableWeb.com » Hipstamatic Now API BFFs with Instagram
Well, maybe not forever. But Wednesday’s announcement that popular iPhone photo app Hipstamatic can now post their snapshots directly to Instagram’s photo sharing network is pretty huge. This marks the first time the Instagram API has allowed a third-party app to add content to its growing social network, clocked at 27 million registered users earlier this month. For developers who couldn’t … [Link]
Geek Culture » Please be real, please be real!
Crap, it's a hoax. [Link]
WIRED » 'Bird Man' Hoaxster Comes Clean on Dutch Television
The man who claimed to achieve bird-like flight with a custom-built contraption came clean today: It was a hoax 8 months in the making. "Jarno Smeets" of the Human Birdwings project is really Floris Kaayk, a Dutch artist.
[Link]
Slashdot » How Big US Firms Use Open Source Software
Diomidis Spinellis writes "We hear a lot about the adoption of open source software, but when I was asked to provide hard evidence there was little I could find. In a recent article we tried to fill this gap by examining the type of software the U.S. Fortune 1000 companies use in their web-facing operations. Our study shows that … [Link]
WIRED » The House GOP Plan to Gut the FCC
You'd think that Congress would want to have an empowered regulator able to do something to protect the country from the rational, profit-seeking depredations of our new generation of monopolists. Instead, House Republicans are going in exactly the opposite direction. They're lining up big-company support to push legislation early next week on the floor of the House that would gut … [Link]
WIRED » Secret Nuclear Drone Plan Nixed by 'Political Realities'
A government lab hatched a secret plan for nuclear-powered drones, a new document shows. But the project had to be abandoned for "political" reasons.
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Slashdot » Researchers May Have Discovered How Memories Are Encoded In the Brain
Zothecula writes "While it's generally accepted that memories are stored somewhere, somehow in our brains, the exact process has never been entirely understood. Strengthened synaptic connections between neurons definitely have something to do with it, although the synaptic membranes involved are constantly degrading and being replaced – this seems to be somewhat at odds with the fact that some … [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Pick Up the Ladies Nerd Style [Pic]
And that’s how it’s done.[Via I fucking love science]No related posts.
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Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: Which Multiple Desktop Tool For Windows 7?
First time accepted submitter asadsalm writes "MacOS has spaces. Windows had no out-of-the-box utility for multiple virtual desktops. Which Multiple Desktop Tool should one use on Windows 7? Sysinternals Desktops, mdesktop, Dexpot, Virtual Dimension, VirtuaWin, Finestra are the few options that I have shortlisted." So, if you use both Windows and multiple desktops, what's your favorite method?
Read more … [Link]
Slashdot » DoD Networks Completely Compromised, Experts Say
AZA43 writes "A group of U.S. federal cybersecurity experts recently said the Defense Department's network is totally compromised by foreign spies. The experts suggest the agency simply accept that its networks are compromised and will probably remain that way, then come up with a way to protect data on infected machines and networks."
Read more of this story at … [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » All You Need is the iPad [Infographic]
What do you guys think? Is the iPad consuming all your digital needs, or is this a rather oversimplification of the complicated needs of geeks these days that will require multiple devices, regardless of the jack-of-all-trades quality of the iPad?[Via Daily Infographic]No related posts.
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Geek Culture » Robots at Kiva!
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Pogue's Posts » The Disruptive Power of iMessage
Apple has changed the way we buy music, use our phones, operate our computers and so on. Let's not overlook one of Apple's greatest ideas yet: messages. [Link]
WIRED » Navy's Tiniest Warships Could Lead Assault on Iran
If the U.S. Navy goes to war against Iran, its tiniest ships could play the biggest role. Diminutive minesweepers and coastal patrol boats are being upgraded, rearmed and pushed to the maritime front line in the Persian Gulf. Which is kind of ironic: the bigger-is-better Navy has been trying to get rid of the warships for years.
[Link]
WIRED » I'm an Ape, and I'm Also a Fish
Anthropologist John Hawks thinks deeming humans as apes is a "canard," but Laelaps blogger Brian Switek begs to differ. In an evolutionary context, Switek argues, humans are many things — apes and fish included.
[Link]
Slashdot » Blackjack Player Breaks the Bank At Atlantic City
Hugh Pickens writes with a link to Atlantic writer Mark Bowden's account of how one gambler has cleaned up against casinos: "[B]lackjack player Don Johnson won nearly $6 million playing blackjack in one night, single-handedly decimating the monthly revenue of Atlantic City's Tropicana casino after previously taking the Borgata for $5 million and Caesars for $4 million. How did … [Link]
ProgrammableWeb.com » The Next Wave? Enterprises Moving SOAP to REST
For some time we’ve noted that SOAP is losing to REST and REST-like approaches. In fact, in most sectors, it’s already lost. 68% of the APIs in our directory are REST, while 19% are SOAP. But one area where SOAP has remained popular is the enterprise. Anecdotally, this may be changing, based on recent announcements, such as from the Cicero API. … [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Use the Force…And Don’t Get Wet
Um, yes please! 
[Obi-Wan Kenobi Umbrella | Anakin Skywalker Umbrella $55.95 each]No related posts.
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WIRED » Amazon, Eucalyptus Team on Hybrid Cloud
Looking to build out its portfolio of cloud services, Amazon has partnered with Eucalyptus to deliver an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) product.
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WIRED » How Safe Is Your Data Stored in Apple's iCloud?
Our friend over at Ars Technica answer reader questions, and this one seems like one many iPhone and iPad users will want to know, not to mention future OS X Mountain Lion users: How safe is my data stored in iCloud? Chris Foresman's answer also touches more generally on the issue of storage in the cloud vs. on-premises.
… [Link]
New Scientist – News » Today on New Scientist: 22 March 2012
All today's stories on newscientist.com, including: Niger river dams could displace 1.5 million and artificial pheromone controls invasive ant dance 
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Slashdot » Entrepreneurs Watch As Crowdvesting Bill Stalls In Senate
cayenne8 writes "The JOBS Act bill, passed in the house, has stalled in the senate. One section of this bill, which would legalize 'Crowdsourcing' in the U.S., as it is in other countries, allowing companies and startups (like indie film makers) to solicit investments for profit over the internet. This differs from sites like Kickstarter, which allow you to … [Link]
WIRED » The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen: The Heroine the World Needs Right Now
In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen embarks on a hero's journey armed only with her bow, her arrow and her wits: She must survive a televised death match against 23 other young people if she's to return home and continue hunting to provide food for her family. But in the real world, the character Katniss Everdeen faces an even greater … [Link]
New Scientist – News » False memories generated in lab mice
Researchers have found new ways to track neurons that encode memories, and even manipulate them to create virtual memories 
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New Scientist – News » Messenger reveals secrets of fleet-footed Mercury
An analysis of over 100,000 images has given us a better picture of the closest planet to the sun 
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WIRED » After Massacre, Army Tried to Delete Accused Shooter From the Internet
The military waited six days before releasing the name of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales. One of the reasons: to try and erase the sergeant from the internet.
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WIRED » How the NOAA Predicts Tornadoes
Matthew Seybold, a physical scientist and satellite user services coordinator, shows Wired.com how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses satellites to predict tornadoes five days in advance.
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New Scientist – News » Artificial pheromone controls invasive ant dance
Watch how a simulated chemical can disrupt ants as they forage for food 
[Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Chemical Kama Sutra [Pic]
If only I had seen this back in highschool…chemistry would have been so much more fun. 
[Via Facebook]No related posts.
[Link]
WIRED » Astronauts Practice Refueling Spacecraft in Orbit
Astronauts living at the International Space Station have started learning how to refuel a spacecraft in space instead of on the ground.
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Slashdot » Aspirin Helps Prevent Cancer, New Studies Show
kkleiner writes "For years, research has shown that aspirin is beneficial in preventing heart attacks. Now new studies support its ability to prevent cancer as well. The studies, involving tens of thousands of participants over many decades, show reductions of cancer incidence (both short- and long-term) and mortality rate as well as a decrease in metastatic cancer. It still … [Link]
WIRED » Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Brings Dueling to Disney
Visitors to the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida can now add card game dueling to their vacation plans. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom lets visitors face off against their favorite Disney villains at interactive portals using collectible spell cards.
[Link]
New Scientist – News » James Cameron set for a Mariana Trench sequel
The Hollywood director should reach the bottom of the deepest ocean trench this week. Others may soon follow 
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New Scientist – News » Visual illusions that change how you think
Hall of Mirrors is an exhibition that plays with your mind by playing with your eyes, but is the experience enjoyable? 
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Slashdot » Nvidia's Fermi Architecture Debuts; Nouveau Driver Already Working
crookedvulture writes Nvidia has lifted the curtain on reviews of its latest GPU architecture, which will be available first in the high-end GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The underlying GK104 processor is much smaller than the equivalent AMD GPU, with fewer transistors, a narrower path to memory, and greatly simplified control logic that relies more heavily on Nvidia's compiler … [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » My Day As a Cosplay Model Part 2
I pull in to a series of warehouses on the south side of town. Along one side are several bays offering auto body repair and on the other side are nondescript, two-story buildings with little detail as to what they hold inside. We arrive at our destination – one of those unknown cement blocks. I imagine the inside to have a … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Ship formerly known as Exxon Valdez to be scrapped
The oil tanker, which ran aground off Alaska in 1989 and spilled vast quantities of oil, has been sold for scrap 
[Link]
New Scientist – News » Microbes from nearby river help produce graphene
A graphite research group has found that microbes fished from the river can help reduce graphene oxide to create high-quality graphene sheets 
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Slashdot » Judge Rules Pi-Based Music Is Non-Copyrightable
New submitter AnalogDiehard writes "A copyright case alleging infringement of a 1992 Lars Erickson song 'The Pi Symphony' by Michael John Blake's 'What Pi Sounds Like' was dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon. Both pieces were conceived by assigning numbers to musical notes, then deriving a melody based on the pattern defined by a finite set … [Link]
WIRED » Starfish and Apollo (1962)
In July 1962 the U.S. Air Force detonated a nuke in space, pumping the Earth's magnetic belts with radiation. Space historian and Beyond Apollo blogger David S. F. Portree explains how NASA feared the radiation would bar Apollo from reaching the moon.
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New Scientist – News » Zoologger: First animal with ovaries on the outside
A newly-discovered marine worm has external ovaries, and may use them to keep its young close until they're grown 
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Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Yup, Even Troll Science Exists [Video]
One of my Facebook friends posted this on their wall with the simple comment of “Troll Physics”:No related posts.
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Slashdot » Verizon Says Hactivists Now Biggest Corporate Net Threat
alphadogg writes "Hactivists — not cybercriminals — were responsible for the majority of personal data stolen from corporate and government networks during 2011, according to a new report from Verizon. The Verizon 2012 Data Breach Investigation Report found that 58% of data stolen in 2011 was the result of hactivism, which involves computer break-ins for political rather than commercial … [Link]
Slashdot » The Sounds of Tech Past
itwbennett writes "If you're of a certain generation, the screech of a modem, the stuttering song of the dot matrix printer, and the wet slap of a mimeograph machine can transport you to simpler (or at least slower) times. JR Raphael has rounded up 20 tech sounds on the brink of extinction for your listening torture. We're only sorry … [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » The Next iPhone Screen as Big as the Galaxy?
[Photo Credit: Gordon Mei]According to the Korean Maeil Business Newspaper, Apple has started placing orders to suppliers for the bigger 4.6-inch display (compared to the current 3.5-inch display) with the retina display that’s been installed in “The New iPad”.(Side note: what the eff is up with this stupid name for what SHOULD be the iPad 3? Did they not want to … [Link]
Slashdot » Ask MIT Researchers About Fusion Power
Nuclear fusion power is the process of fusing light nuclei together to release energy, and ultimately, to put electricity on the grid. Today, we have six researchers from MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center here to answer your questions about fusion power, tokamaks, and public support and funding in the U.S. for this research. The Obama Administration's budget request … [Link]
New Scientist – News » Niger river dams could displace 1.5 million
Engineering schemes could lead to one of the world's largest wetlands running dry every four years 
[Link]
Slashdot » Apple vs. Nokia, RIM and Motorola On Nano-SIM Standard
angry tapir writes "Next week, two proposals for a new, smaller SIM card, dubbed nano-SIM — one backed by Apple and the other by Nokia, Research In Motion and Motorola Mobility — will go head-to-head as ETSI (the European Telecommunications Standards Institute) decides which card future smartphones and tablets will use. Measuring approximately 12 millimeters by 9 millimeters, the … [Link]
Geeks are Sexy Technology News » They’re the Planeteers, And You Can Be One Too [Vid]
‘Cause saving our planet is the thing to do!For someone who grew up in the 90s, it’s hard not to perk up and pay attention when someone brings up Captain Planet. Can I help it that I’ve memorised the song? That’s sexy these days right?While I will definitely hold that reciting the Captain Planet theme song from start to finish (with … [Link]
New Scientist – News » What Jaws can do for us
Sharks may hold the secrets to a whole raft of breakthrough technologies – if we don't kill them off first, says Juliet Eilperin 
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Slashdot » When Social Media Meets TV, Are the Results Worth Watching?
blackbearnh writes "Forums and chat groups are letting fans organize and discuss their favorite shows with increasing ease, but what happens when the writers and producers of TV shows start paying attention? An article in today's Christian Science Monitor takes a look at how the production staff of recent shows has interacted with their fan base, and how the … [Link]
New Scientist – News » A DIY guide to improving your brain
In The Emotional Life of Your Brain, Richard J. Davidson has devised simple surveys based on solid neuroscience to help you shape your own grey matter 
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Geeks are Sexy Technology News » If you Lined up all the Elephants…[Pic]
I don’t know why they call their site Fake Science: this seems very accurate to me.No related posts.
[Link]
Slashdot » Amiga Returns With Lackluster Linux-Powered Mini PC
crookedvulture writes "Commodore has revealed the Amiga mini, a small-form-factor system that runs a custom Linux distro dubbed Commodore OS Vision. A trailer for the OS hardly inspires confidence, and the rest of the system doesn't help. While the Amiga mini features a high-end Intel desktop CPU and modern conveniences like Blu-ray, USB 3.0, and 802.11n Wi-Fi, it's stuck … [Link]
Slashdot » Millions In China Live In Energy Efficient Caves
Hugh Pickens writes "Barbara Demick reports in the LA Times that more than 30 million Chinese people live in caves, many of them in Shaanxi province, where the Loess plateau, with its distinctive cliffs of yellow, porous soil, makes digging easy and cave dwelling a reasonable option. The better caves protrude from mountains and are reinforced with brick masonry. … [Link]
WIRED » March 22, 1981: RCA SelectaVision Spins (Briefly) Into Stores
RCA's long-awaited videodisc system, essentially a vinyl record that played video, hits stores in the U.S. The company spent 15 years and $200 million developing it, only for the system to flop and slip into obscurity, nearly taking its creator down with it.
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WIRED » Otaku Spaces Shows Off Collectors' Riches
The new book Otaku Spaces sets out to explain the complicated subculture of otaku through the stories of otaku themselves. The Japanese word usually describes people (usually men) who are obsessed with certain forms of pop culture such as manga, anime and videogames. Like any subculture, however, otakus often feel misunderstood. They are often dismissed as geeks by outsiders, where … [Link]
WIRED » For High Tech Companies, Going Public Sucks
Facebook will survive its IPO, but most companies aren't Facebook. Here's why Wall Street is the tech industry's worst enemy.
[Link]
New Scientist – News » The God issue: Religion is the key to civilisation
As early humans expanded beyond hunter-gatherer groups, religion was the glue that held societies full of strangers together, says Ara Norenzayan (full text available to subscribers) 
[Link]
Slashdot » Australian Greens Demand Public Access To Cloak and Dagger Anti-Piracy Meetings
Fluffeh writes "Continuing the recent stories on the secret, closed door, FOI blocked talks, the Australian Greens have filed a motion in the Senate requesting that the Government release documents regarding its closed door meetings on Internet piracy which the Attorney-General's Department has blocked from being released under Freedom of Information laws. This morning, Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam … [Link]
ProgrammableWeb.com » How Semantic Web Technologies Can be Used for Programmable Web API Search
This guest post comes from Knarig Arabshian, Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent in Murray Hill, NJ. Knarig is interested in creating Semantic Web technologies toward establishing a personalized network of services. She does research work in context-aware computing, service discovery and composition. For more information about her work, you can take a look at her site at … [Link]
Slashdot » Disaster Strikes Norwegian Government Web Portal
An anonymous reader writes "Altinn.no is a web service run by the Norwegian government, on which citizens can find, fill out and deliver forms electronically. Every year Norwegian citizens can also log in to check their tax results. This year, as every year, the site was unable to cope with the traffic generated from everyone wanting to check their … [Link]
WIRED » Report: Hacktivists Out-Stole Cybercriminals in 2011
Just two years ago, cybercriminal gangs were behind record-breaking data breaches that resulted in the theft of millions of customer records. But the year 2011 will be remembered as the year hacktivists out-stole cybercriminals to take the top data breach award, according to a new report released by Verizon.
[Link]
WIRED » A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Mar. 22
Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills.
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Slashdot » Mystery Rising Within Mercury
astroengine writes "Something besides volcanic eruptions and asteroid and comet impacts has sculpted the surface of Mercury — an unknown process, possibly still going on today, that causes the ground to swell from the inside out. The evidence, collected by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft currently orbiting the innermost planet, is scattered all over Mercury, including a dramatic finding that half … [Link]
ProgrammableWeb.com » 44 Upcoming Hackathons: Facebook, Open Data, Baseball and Ninja Geeks
Hackathons are a fast growing phenomenom where developers come together, usually in short periods up to 72 hours to submit ideas, form teams and hack together applications, data visualizations and sometimes form business models around their ideas. ProgrammableWeb is tracking 44 hackathons coming in the next couple weeks all around the world. Here is the complete list of 44 upcoming hackathons: … [Link]
Slashdot » New Doctor Who Companion Announced
eternaldoctorwho writes "Jenna-Louise Coleman will be the newest companion to the Doctor (Matt Smith) on the hit series Doctor Who. The announcement came earlier today on the BBC's Twitter page devoted to the program, along with some other details about the upcoming season of the show. Miss Coleman is also known for her previous roles on Emmerdale and Captain … [Link]
Slashdot » Sprint CEO Defends Company's Decision To Bet It All On the iPhone
zacharye writes "Sprint chief executive Dan Hesse is being watched closely by the company's board of directors, but the CEO has to answer to investors and subscribers as well. Last year in October, Hesse revealed that the company is placing a massive $15.5 billion bet on Apple's iPhone, and in a recent interview, Hesse defended the move, which has … [Link]
ProgrammableWeb.com » Today in APIs: Pinterest, Siri, Instagram and 12 New APIs
Will Pinterest finally and officially open its Pinterest API? Forbes calls for Apple to do the same with Siri, while the Instagram API aims to be more of a platform. Plus: reading made social, content monetization and 12 new APIs. Pinterest Redesigning and Finally Set to Open its API For some popular web services, it seems like you’re waiting awhile for … [Link]
Slashdot » Historic Heat In North America Turns Winter To Summer
An anonymous reader writes "A huge, lingering ridge of high pressure over the eastern half of the United States brought summer-like temperatures to North America in March 2012. The warm weather shattered records across the central and eastern United States and much of Canada. From the article: 'Records are not only being broken across the country, they're being broken … [Link]
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