The rise of mountain lions in the Midwest

Cougars are on the rise in the Midwest. From 1990 to 2008, the number of sightings confirmed by wildlife professionals increased. That’s good news for fans of big cats, which were extirpated from most of that area around 1900.

Here’s a breakdown of the rise of mountain lions in the Midwest, by the numbers.

3: Number of known breeding populations that now exist in the Midwest: In the Black Hills of South Dakota, in the North Dakota Badlands, and in western Nebraska.

8: Percent of land in the Midwest that makes for suitable cougar habitat.

0: The number of cougars the average person is likely to see in the wild in their lifetime. “Really, one of the most important things I like to make sure people know is that it’s very unlikely that they will ever see or encounter a cougar,” says Michelle LaRue. “It’s slightly more likely than winning the lottery; your chances aren’t that great. But with that said, always be aware of your surroundings, especially in the wilderness.”

 

Source: Outside – By the numbers: The Rise of Mountain Lions in the Midwest

 
 

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Gallery of photos – Cosplay at Comic-Con 2012 in San Diego

 

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Researchers discover our twin solar system, GJ676A – where everything is 4x larger

Astronomers have detected our “grotesque” twin: A planetary system arranged much like our own solar system, a new study says.

Dubbed GJ676A, the system has two rocky planets orbiting close to its host star, and two gas giants orbiting far away. This means the system is arranged like our system—though in GJ676A, everything is much larger.

For instance, the smallest rocky planet in GJ676A is at least four times the mass of Earth, while the largest gas giant is five times the size of Jupiter.

Other multiple-planet systems have been discovered, such as HD10180, which has been called the richest exoplanetary find ever because of the seven to nine planets orbiting its host star.

But HD10180’s planets are all gas giants in relatively close orbits, while GJ676A has both rocky and gas planets—and its “Neptune-like” planet takes 4,000 days to make one orbit.

The long orbits of GJ676A’s gas giants and the short orbits of its close-in, extremely hot super Earths are what led the astronomers to dub GJ676A our solar system’s twin.

 

Source: National Geographic News – Solar System’s “Grotesque” Twin Found

 

 

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Comic-Con goes LGBT in 2012 – costumes, panels, & storylines

Caped crusaders are out and proud this year at Comic-Con International. Even Superman and Batman at the Prism Comics booth wear snug Underoos, capes and chef’s aprons — but not much else — as they entertain passersby.

“It feels revolutionary,” says Scott Covert, decked out as Batman’s sidekick, Robin, at one of the convention’s many panels about gay culture and the comic book world. He flips the lip of his cape as he adds, “There’s more tolerance this year.”

Gay Geekdom celebrated last month when Marvel’s mutant superhero, Northstar, married his longtime partner, Kyle, in “Astonishing X-Men No. 51.” The day the issue was released, comic book shops nationwide, including L.A.’s Meltdown Comics, hosted commitment ceremonies, vow renewals or parties; and there was a legal same-sex wedding at Midtown Comics in Manhattan.

Also in June, DC Comics resurrected the original Golden Age Green Lantern, featuring Alan Scott as a gay man. Even Archie Comics’ All-American Riverdale was the site of a biracial, military-themed, same-sex wedding earlier this year.

 

More on this – Hero Complex: Comic-Con: Gay characters enjoying new prominence, tolerance

 

 

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Wikimedia Foundation votes to start a travel guide – as Wikitravel implodes

The Wikimedia Foundation has decided to create a travel guide in the mold of its non-profit, user-written and search engine results-hogging Wikipedia.

The foundation’s board of trustees on July 11 approved a proposal to launch an advertisement-free travel guide and noted that 31 of the 48 administrators of the Internet Brands-owned Wikitravel have pledged to join forces with the Wikimedia Foundation’s travel guide website.

The foundation indicated that Wikitravel is the current leader in travel wikis, but its advertisements and monetization efforts may turn off travelers and would-be contributors.

In addition, the foundation argues that Internet Brands has failed to keep pace with the times and that Wikitravel suffers from a “lack of technical support/feature development.”

Jani Patokallio, a Wikitravel admin based in Melbourne, Australia, wrote about the editors’ mass exodus from Wikitravel, and told Skift that the situation there had reached “the boiling point.”

 

Source: Skift – Wikipedia Parent to Launch Travel Guide with Wikitravel Rebels

 

 

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Go inside Hollywood’s nerdiest offices – Walking Dead, Geek and Sundry, and more

Seat of power from the web series – Written by a Kid.

 

 

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The Comic Book Awards – 2012 Eisner Winners from Comic-Con

 

Best Short Story
“The Seventh,” by Darwyn Cooke, in Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition (IDW)

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Daredevil #7, by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)

Best Continuing Series
Daredevil, by Mark Waid, Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)

Best Limited Series
Criminal: The Last of the Innocent, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7)
Dragon Puncher Island, by James Kochalka (Top Shelf)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12)
Snarked, by Roger Langridge (kaboom!)

Best Publication for Young Adults (Ages 12-17)
Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol (First Second)

Best Anthology
Dark Horse Presents, edited by Mike Richardson (Dark Horse)

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Caught by the paparazzi – Prince William & Harry bodyboarding in Cornwall

While his wife Kate and her sister Pippa Middleton were at Wimbledon, Prince William and his brother Harry spent the weekend with friends in Cornwall, body-boarding and hanging out in the local pubs.

No strangers to the surf, the princes have spent the summers of their youth in the area around the small seaside resort of Polzeath. And even Prince Charles has been photographed along the shores in a wet suit!

 

Source: People – Prince Harry & Prince William Frolic in the Surf

 

 

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Researchers explore Chinese censors – find 13% of posts blocked but not those criticizing government

The 500m people who use the internet in China have long been aware of the presence of the censors who watch their movements online and delete their more inflammatory posts. Now those monitors may have to get used to someone watching over their shoulders.

Teams at Harvard and the University of Hong Kong have been using new software that allows them to watch the censoring of posts on Chinese social-media sites more closely than before. And now they have started to release some of their key findings.

  • Found that 13% of all social-media posts in China were censored.
  • Posts critical of the government are not rigorously censored.
  • But, posts that have the purpose of getting people to assemble, potentially in protest, are swept from the internet within a matter of hours.
  • Censoring of topics, days before the news broke.

Keep reading to learn how this data is allowing researchers to challenge the censors – The Economist: Monitoring the monitors

 

 

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