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March is named for the Roman god of war, Mars. However, in the northern hemisphere it as the beginning of spring, so March brings the vernal equinox, the Full Worm Moon, and the return of Daylight Saving Time. For us here in the southern, it is the end and the start of Autumn.  · The Month of March · March is named for Mars, the Roman god of war, because this was the time of year to resume military campaigns that had been interrupted by winter.…

March 5th 2013 · New Zealand’s five-yearly census had been scheduled for 8 March 2011. But after Canterbury’s devastating February earthquake (see 22 February), Government Statistician Geoff Bascand and Statistics Minister Maurice Williamson announced that it would not go ahead. Statistics New Zealand’s Christchurch operations had been significantly disrupted, and the exodus of people from the city would have skewed the results. · Cancelling…

Cheese seems to make everything better, doesn’t it? In a recent study, scientists at the University of Oxford looked at the environmental elements that appear to increase, or decrease the risk of early death. It found there was a positive benefit from eating cheese. Hurrah. · From buttery sharp cheddar to gooey ripe Camembert, cheese is delicious in all its guises, whether the molten star of a warming meal, a tangy salad component or a quick…

The world's first "biological computer" that fuses human brain cells with silicon hardware to form fluid neural networks has been commercially launched, ushering in a new age of AI technology. The CL1, from Australian company Cortical Labs, offers a whole new kind of computing intelligence – one that's more dynamic, sustainable and energy efficient than any AI that currently exists – and we will start to see its potential when it's in users'…

On March 4th, 1855, shepherds searching for 1000 missing sheep in the upper reaches of the Waitaki Valley apprehended suspected rustler James Mackenzie, one of New Zealand’s first and most enduring folk heroes. · Caught red-handed, Mackenzie denied the theft, claiming he had been hired to drive the sheep to Otago. After escaping from his captors, he walked 160 km to Lyttelton, where he was recaptured on 15 March. The Supreme Court found…

A new movement aims to connect creators from every country across the world, asking if art could be the ‘one language that unites us all’. · Project 195, launched by art platform 13AM Studio, began on 17 February and will run until 31 August. Creatives from 71 nationalities are already on board. · George Ripton, founder of 13AM Studio, explained: “Art is the purest form of connection – it crosses borders, cultures and languages without…

How should the government fund the billions more dollars needed to improve New Zealand’s infrastructure, boost defence spending and much else? · It must be done by some combination of cutting other spending, raising taxes, borrowing, or selling assets. Raising tax rates rubs against the government’s growth objective. Borrowing is troubling because the public debt is already imprudently high. · Asset sales should be in the mix. This week, the…

In the US, a whistleblower has claimed that the National Security Agency (NSA), the US government’s electronic surveillance and codebreaking agency, has been infiltrated by radical gender activists. · In response, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ordered an investigation, demanding that participants be identified, fired, and stripped of security clearances. · The controversy arose after City Journal exposed an NSA sex chatroom…

A new global satellite study confirms what many suspected—New Zealand isn’t even on the map when it comes to the world’s biggest methane emitters. · The study, which analysed data from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite, found that the worst methane emissions come from massive wetlands and fossil fuel extraction sites overseas. · The Sudd wetland in South Sudan tops the list at 4.5 million tons per year, while Argentina’s Iberá…

In 79 A.D, Mt. Vesuvius erupted, killing thousands of people in the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Currents of hot gas and volcanic matter, ash and gases, as well as subsequent earthquakes caused brutal, widespread devastation. Archaeological evidence even reveals the brain of one young man who died lying in his bed became the only known example of a person’s brain vitrifying—i.e., turning to glass. · Finding brain tissue in an…