Stand Aside, Sir Isaac Newton

A sleek Gulfstream V is set to soar into the South Island skies this month.
The US-based High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (Hiaper) aircraft is centrepiece of a huge, multi-national scientific study centred on the South Island over the next two months.

The 8yr.old $100m highly-modified corporate jet contains some of the most sophisticated scientific technology ever sent airborne. With 100+ researchers from the US, UK, Germany, Oz and NZ, the Deepwave project sets out to unravel the mysteries of gravity waves, a vital but little-understood atmospheric element.
Gravity waves form when winds strike a large obstacle (such as a mountain range), sending ripples hundreds of kilometres across land and water, and vertically into the atmosphere.
The Southern Alps are considered a "hot spot" for gravity waves, as the seasonal positioning of the southern circumpolar jet system over them creates strong gravity waves.

Tony Bromley, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research meteorologist: "Because there are no other influences from terrain, you get a smooth flow on the western side right across the Southern Ocean and, when they hit the Southern Alps, you get the uplifting effect."
Within these waves (which can reach heights of 100km), the jet will fly 20 missions at up to 12,800m, extending across to Tasmania and deep into the subantarctic Southern Ocean.
The Deepwave project will be based at Christchurch Intl.Airport.

Is Your Brain In Your DICK???

If you thought watching porn could make you go blind, think again.
A new German study says that porn may have adverse effects on your brain!
Researchers say men who watch a lot of porn usually have smaller striatum (that's the area of the brain linked to motivation and rewards). The connection between the striatum and the prefrontal cortex (responsible for behaviour and decision-making) also decreases when watching increased amounts of porn.

As well as possible brain shrinkage, a lot of porn also makes it difficult for people to become aroused by their own sexual partners, there are potency problems, and some become bored by mainstream porn and seek more extremes.
A survey by the University of East London said 97% of boys aged 16-20 have viewed porn, and girls of the same age: 80%. One in three women regularly watches porn, and 70% of men 18-24 visit porn sites at least once a month.
There's a significant number of students, boys in particular, for whom it is quite a frequent behaviour. At that age, they're still developing their sexuality, their ideas of what's normal in sex, and ideas of what's appropriate in relationships. Heavy exposure to pornography can be problematic in all of these areas.
So the nuns were right - pornography DOES sink the brain! Mind you, perhaps those with smaller brains are more attracted to porn. And, if their brains are in their dicks, they may be very very small brains indeed...

The Price Of Saving History

Six months after the Feb.2011 EQ: courtesy PhilBee NZ

Restoring one of Christchurch's most prominent historic landmarks will cost at least $50 million.
The Canterbury Provincial Council buildings (cnr.Armagh/Durham Sts.), are widely acknowledged as NZ's most outstanding example of high Victorian gothic revival architecture.
They were severely damaged in the Feb.2011 earthquake: the stone chamber (c.1865), collapsed and the stone towers at both Armagh and Durham streets had to be deconstructed.
The Chch City Council, determined to see the buildings restored, has revealed the restoration work is likely to cost at least $50m, maybe as much as $70m, well over the council's expected $30m total insurance payout.
Deputy Mayor Vicki Buck is questioning where the extra money will come from and where the restoration of the buildings fits on the council's list of spending priorities. She says the council needs to start looking at the bigger picture and weighing where it's best to spend its money: "If there's limited capital we need to start looking at which are the most important assets."
Hmmmm, I'd have expected council to have been doing that from Day One, not starting now - three years after the EQs!
The council has secured some funding for the restoration. The Chch Earthquake Appeal Trust and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage were giving $2.5m towards repairing the complex's two stone towers. (The trust received about $100m in donations to help repair damaged properties across the city.)
Rebuilding the Canterbury Provincial Council buildings is due to start later this year.