The "Holy Grail" of medicine

Looks like I need to keep up to date with the development in medicine. I didn't even realise that this is where we are now. I knew that we could grow organs out of stem cells, but a powder that grows limbs back...

Medicine's Cutting Edge: Re-Growing Organs

Swarm intelligent robots?

Real-life Transformers: Shape-changing robots could help save lives

Despite the name of the article, the robot actually isn't a "Transformer: Robots in Disguise" type of robot. It's more of collective entity. Nevertheless, it would be impressive to see them accomplish such a thing. However, the bold claim that 5 years would be enough to create such robots, is just too ambitious. There are too many issues involving this. Here's a short list of some critical issues:

The "sugar cube" sized robots, are extremely small. The fact that the robot would be able to accomplish something so ambitious, yet remain so small, has problems. Let's look at some of the things that it would need to fit in a "sugar cube":

1. A processor that has the processing capability of an iPhone


2. A device/mechanism/motor that will allow it to manipulate its "tentacles"/"wheels"


3. An infrared device


4. An optical device for it to "see"


5. A power source that could power all these components for at least long enough for this robot to be useful

Now obviously there's going to a lot more components (i.e. the robots have to be able to communicate with each other, and share power/cpu when attached to each other). The biggest problem i can see, is power supply. Now, these robots are suppose to be able to come together to "transform" into, a snake, or an arm, or whatever... but think of how much power is required for them to be "a robot with an arm that could lift rubble away"...

Not only that, check out the other claims: "The robots will also be able to manage their own hardware and software and will be "self-healing and selforganising", the researchers say."

I'm not saying it's impossible, but FIVE YEARS? ... unless by sugar cubes, they mean really BIG sugar cubes...

oh well, we'll see, 5 years from now...

Nerve-tapping neckband?

This almost seems too sci-fi.

A neckband that can read your nerve impulses and digitally VOICE what you want to say (without you saying it aloud)...

Incredible...

Nerve-tapping neckband used in 'telepathic' chat

Something that's worth watching

Here's an inspirational "Last Lecture" from a terminally ill professor.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

What the HECK?!

Why is there a plane there?

What a way to be born...

I can't believe the baby survived the birth.
This is certainly something you can tell your grandkids when you were born.
"Back in my days, babies came out of toilet holes on moving trains..."

Pregnant woman uses train toilet, baby slips out

Scientology and Clearwater

A very interesting look into scientology.

The worst allergy

Nothing can be possibly worse than being allergic to water. Note that this is an EXTREMELY rare type of allergy.

The teenage girl who is allergic to WATER

Bird boy

Does this mean that he can communicate with birds?

How does a 9-year old boy become the leader of a pack of dogs?

There needs to be some National Geographic feature on these people.

'Bird-boy' found in Russia

Fish can count 2!

That's what you call 2-bit memory.

Fish can count to four

5 Books that make you dumber

I'm literally inundated by laughter regarding the book on masturbation.

5 Books That Can Actually Make You Stupider

Mock gunman terrifies students

Dumbest University of the year goes to... Elizabeth City State University.

What an extremely irresponsible thing to do.

"the university was testing its response to shootings of the sort that have shaken campuses around the country"

Testing the response? The predictability of a response from the shooting is about as predictable as weather. What if some student jumped off a window and died? What kind of responsibility would the University have? Negligence resulting in death that's what. What if the mock gunman was killed by some student in self defense? There are just so many things that could've gone wrong.

Mock gunman terrifies students

Self healing rubber bands

Now it's just a question of how expensive these rubber bands are going to be :P

Self healing rubber bands

Tattoo Computers

Interesting concept.

Tattoo computers that run on blood.

US Shoots down falling Satellite

If you aren't aware, there was a US military satellite that malfunctioned shortly after deployment, and would eventually fall back into Earth. No one knew where it was going to land, so the US military thought it was best to just shoot it out of the sky.

Which they just did.

I've heard that the trajectory of the falling debris goes right into Canada. Some speculate that it might land in Vancouver.

Hopefully our neighbors have done some thorough research, and not have done something so irresponsible. If the debris does cause collateral damage, who's responsible?

Evolution as a "Scientific Thoery" in Florida.

Apparently, the Florida education officials have finally allowed Evolution to be taught in school curriculums.

WELCOME TO THE 20TH CENTURY FLORIDA!

Unfortunately, a compromise had to be made, and Evolution must always be mentioned as "Scientific Theory of Evolution". This is appease the conservatives and religious zealots that are against Evolution.

It is now the 21st century, and Evolution is still a "debate" in the USA. When will the Americans understand that Evolution is no longer a controversy among biologists? The general consensus is that it is a FACT.

Need proof of evolution? Watch bacteria grow. Better yet, buy yourself a dog.

Florida will teach evolution, but only as theory

HD-DVD is Dead

Finally...

Toshiba kills HD-DVD (with help from Sony et al. of course).

Press Release

Rumour: Toshiba to drop HD-DVD, shares up 6 percent.

A rumour is circling that Toshiba is about to drop it's HD-DVD format, a concession of defeat to Sony's Blu-Ray. A representative from Toshiba claims that no decisions have been made, but they are revising their plans.

Despite the fact that it is a rumour, Toshiba shares are up 6 percent. Looks like it's pretty obvious what the investors want.

Toshiba shares jump

less than 1/3 accept nanotech???

Less than 1/3 of Americans think nanotechnology is morally acceptable.

HOW IS NANOTECHNOLOGY MORALLY "UNACCEPTABLE"? Nanotechnology is just a technology, you might as well say tvs, computers, cellphones morally acceptable.

Religion Colors Americans' Views Of Nanotechnology

What in the...

Are those AK-47's i see on those artillery? What the hell are they there for?!?!

China's New Air Defense: AK-47s

Organic Hydrocarbon on Titan

Apparently, they've found more oil in each of the many lakes/seas found on Titan (one of Saturn's moons) than all of Earth's oil fields/reserves/etc combined. The temperature, being -179C, means that Titan has SEAS and LAKES of oil!

The question arises however, if the oil on Earth was created from dead animals/plants through millions of years, how did Titan get all those "organic" hydrocarbons?

original article

What does it take to be a doctor nowadays?

Deaf boy regains hearing after 9 years.

Makes you wonder how effective the process for qualifying doctors really are. So called specialists can't even diagnose a case of "cotton bud stuck in ear". Sometimes, you look really far when things are just right in front of you...

Not so smart...

A chinese court has ordered a holiday resort and a crocodile keeper to pay the parents of Liu HaiYang 220,000 yuan ($30,600USD) after HaiYang was eaten by crocodiles. Full Article

I think the court was wrong, not on the amount but on the verdict. It seems, HaiYang and a group of friends climbed OVER the fence surrounding the pool and began beating the crocodiles with sticks. Now, it shouldn't take a genius to know NOT to get into a pool full of crocodiles... One of the crocodiles (obviously more than a little irritated by the unjustified beating it was getting) manages to catch HaiYang's clothes, and drag him into the pool, where the rest of the crocodile joined in the feeding...

Now why on EARTH would you get near a pool of crocodiles and then BEAT them with sticks? Obviously they aren't scared of the crocodiles... but WHY aren't they scared of them?

I think that with all the Chinese censorships, those stupid kids obviously haven't seen enough National Geographic to fully appreciate how deadly crocodiles are; that or the the late Steve Irwin (rest his soul) did too good of a job subduing crocodiles, that these kids think they could do the same... although i don't recall Steve ever beating those crocodiles.

On a final note, I feel sorry for the crocodile keeper now that he has to kill his crocodile and pay a hefty fine, for the actions of a stupid ignorant kid and a stupid and ignorant government... damn communists, just look at what you've done

The reality of a religious state

Here's a perfect example of why politics and the legal system should not mix with religion.

A student at Balkh University was sentenced to death last October for downloading and distributing an article that criticisms the treatment of women rights in Islamic states.

The RIAA and the MPAA are nothing next to the Sharia....

Afghan Student Sentenced to Death After Downloading Report

More Equality For Women

Finally, women don't have to be burdened with larger breasts :)

Women get bra price equality

The Law rears it's ugly head

Some school policeman is now under-investigation because a friend of his on MySpace has a link to a porn site.

Now, if you still aren't thinking WTF, read the above sentence again.

Okay, if you still aren't thinking WTF, then take some comprehension courses. Either that, or you are just !@#!@$ up.

Apparently, the policeman has a list of friends on his MySpace account. One of those friends of his apparently has a link to a porn site on his profile, and because of this, the policeman is now being investigated by the law (since supposedly, students viewing his profile, could end up in a porn site in "just 3 clicks".

Pfffft

School Cop Investigated for Porn Link on Friend's MySpace Profile

Oh the sweet irony

A couple of days ago, FOX news did an interview with Cooper Lawrence and Geoff Keighley. The issue at hand is the possible romance scene at the end of the game (given that the player has accrued enough influence with a companion). For the full clip, see below.

FOX was accusing of the game to show "Full Digital Nudity and Sex". The news feature was completely misleading and full of false information. To top it off, Cooper hasn't even played the game at all. WHY DO YOU COMMENT ON GAMES THAT YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED?

Her self-righteousness and ignorance earned her the fury of the gaming community. Not long after, her books on Amazon, and many other online bookstores began receiving poor reviews (reducing the average rating of her books to 1 star). On top of that, the books have been give tags like "ignorant", "hipocrisy" etc, as well as custom images (left).

Oh the dripping irony...

Are you a Maguro?

Stumbled across an interesting article.

What a strange name for something like this. I guess tuna does seem lifeless as sushi, but the same could be applied to salmon, or tako :). Regardless, the elaborate attempts at deception could be conceived as a necessity?

This is obviously not a cultural issue as most men would rather prefer their women to not have had too many previous partners. There's always this inferiority complex with men when it comes to their woman's previous relationships. Men get very sensitive when the subject is brought up, so it isn't surprising that women want to hide this kind of information.

However, I'd also like to point out that this is also a serious health issue as STDs could easily be passed without the victim even realizing it.

The Downfall of HD-DVD

Absolute hilarity. This is a comedy version of a scene from Der Untergang (aka "Downfall").

Seat Belts Anyone?

This is why you should always have your seat belt on when you are on a plane.

Passengers hurt after Air Canada plane turbulence

Americans deny Evolution

In a recent survey, it appears that Americans have one of the lowest acceptance percentages for evolution. Only 40% of Americans surveyed accept evolution. That's terrible! Would the creationists in America please stop denying evolution, and confusing the children at school.

One of the lowest things that creationists do, is to attack science because of the word "theory". They attack scientific "theories" by stressing that the word "theory" means it's not proven and can by wrong. Given the general population's understanding of the word "theory" it's understandable how they could be fooled by the LIES of the creationist.

For those that are ignorant. Anything in science that receives a title of "Theory of " is an idea that has been researched and experimented by a plethora of scientists, all of which resulted in evidence that support the theory. It doesn't mean that it's just an idea thrown out without testing.

Jeez, we should just rename all of them to "Law of Relativity" and "Law of Evolution", etc. Scientists treat them the same anyways.

http://www.livescience.com/health/060810_evo_rank.html


And if any of you aren't aware, there seems to be some issues in Alabama right now where the school board wants to teach "Intelligent Design" along with Evolution. No wonder everything is a mess in the US. They deny evolution, they deny polution and global warming. IT'S NOT NORMAL IF THE NORTH POLE IS MELTING AT THE RATE OF ONTARIO" *cough* hum... anyways, yes, keep "denying" these things, i'm SURE they'll go away

Here's a link to some of the efforts that the school board goes to to discredit evolution: Evolution Warning Label

Taiwan investigates 6,100 vote-buying allegations

This should be interesting. An investigation into vote-buying allegations. It's no secret how corrupt and messed up Taiwanese politics is, and if precedance is any indication, neither the KMT or the DPP would be innocent of these allegations.

However, given the fact that vote-buying is almost publically known in Taiwan, it would be interesting how this investigation actually affects the votes.

Taiwan investigates 6,100 vote-buying allegations

Canadian killed in Thailand

A couple of days ago, a news article came out about a Thai policeman(Sergeant Uthai Dechawiwat) that shot and killed a Canadian (John Leo Del Pinto of Calgary) on Monday January 7, 2008. The original article specified that Dechawiwat was sent to break up a fight between Del Pinto and his pregnant ex-girlfriend (Carly Reisig); upon arriving on the scene however, the pair turned on the policeman, and in the resulting struggle, Del Pinto and Reisig was shot.

What's more is the dramatic difference between the original story and Reisig's story. In a later article, according to Reisig, Dechawiwat had come out of no where to punch her in the face; Del Pinto then intervened and pushed Dechawiwat away, where Dechawiwat then draws out his pistol and shoots Del Pinto in the face and chest. After shooting Del Pinto, Dechawiwat then proceeds to shoot Reisig in the chest.

The police chief Wanchai Suwanririkate seems to support the original story of Dechawiwat stopping a fight, but adds that there was another person, Reisig's Thai boyfriend, that was involved; however, he maintains that the trio assaulted the Dechawiwat.

The investigation is still currently on going...

While indeed a disturbing event, it is nonetheless overshadowed by the fact that upon turning himself in to the police, the sergeant was REASSIGNED to a different post after being charged with murder. Here we have an alleged murderer (a policeman at that) who instead of being suspended, gets reassigned to a different post. Now, I believe in "innocense until proven guilty", but when you are charging someone with murder, you don't let him walk around much less carry out police duty.

Bill Gate's Last Day

An enormously humorous piece from ol' Billy G himself.