I should have thought of projects like this one while I was in college: MIT students simulate life on Mars

I would have gotten to go on vacation on the school's dollar all in the name of science.

I could have simulated effects of low-gravity environments by staying at luxury hotels where they do everything for you.

If I only knew then...

Plug-in bouncer...

I found an interesting Do-It-Yourself project:  Homegrown security bot heckles vagrants, longs to be a real cop

I'm tempted to try it myself, but I don't think my kids will appreciate being the subjects.

I think he could market and sell these things as "Bar-bots".  Kind of catchy, eh?

Star Wars stuff is always cool...

I'm not sure I can think of anything to say about this one, that hasn't already been said.

But, I will say that I would be too amused by this desk to ever get anything done:  "Carbonite Desk"

I found this article on a giant "action figure" on eBay: Towering Gort

I can actually only think of one person of all that I know who would really want this.

In fact he's the only guy I know who even recognize who Gort even was before this article.

Fear the Elmo

I was reading through some news and found this almost disturbing video of a robot "toy" Elmo:

 

I just saw this documentary on the future production of food crops. It's an eye opener. Large seed companies have patented genetically altered strains of common food crops and then sued independent farmers for patent infringement when strains of the altered crops appear in the farmers fields. You won't look at corn the same way again. Here's a link to the movies site: The Future of Food

My wife found this: Hillary Obama

It's a little disturbing, but it's pretty funny.

I don't usually endorse a movie unless I think it's really well done, or has some sort of interesting twist or aspect to it.

We recently watched Amazing Grace (2006). It's a movie about William Wilberforce, who was a British abolitionist from the late 1700's.

It was really well acted, and written. I expected this show to be somewhat boring as I don't usually go for historical movies, but this one was pretty engaging.

I highly recommend renting it.

Yay!...Telemarketers are still at bay.

I just saw this post: Congress bars 'automatic removal' of Do-Not-Call list numbers

Always check the to...

I came across this funny article that demonstrates that sometimes e-mail is too easy:

Lilly's $1 Billion E-Mailstrom by Katherine Eban

Placebos...

As part of a project I worked on, we had to document clinical study drugs.

Often these studies included control & test medication.  The control drug is usually a very well documented drug like aspirin or ibuprofen.  Sometimes it's a placebo.  Placebos are not usually accepted as a standard practice for treating medical maladies.

Here's an interesting news article where a VA doctor actually prescribed a placebo: Gulf War Veteran Gets Placebos Instead Of Real Medicine

It's definitely incentive to check the ingredients in your prescriptions.

Something Nice…

I've been watching all of the show Sliders. In the 4^th season there's an episode called "Roads Not Taken". They had a poem that I liked. I found it on the net of course. Here it is:

Sudden Light by
Dante Gabriel Rossetti(1828-1882)

I HAVE been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.

You have been mine before,—
How long ago I may not know:
But just when at that swallow's soar
Your neck turned so,
Some veil did fall,—I knew it all of yore.

Has this been thus before?
And shall not thus time's eddying flight
Still with our lives our love restore
In death's despite,
And day and night yield one delight once more?

Why not my tooth brush?

As I was looking for something meaningful to blog about, I realize it's more meaningful to blog about things that are meaningful to me. Oddly enough, my toothbrush is a topic that merits at least one post.

It is a Crest Spin Brush Pro. I'm not sure why Crest decided to add the "Pro" designation. That seems to insist that there people who only brush their teeth recreationally or with some sort of amateur status. Nevertheless, I believe the pro version means that all portions of the toothbrush head oscillate and not just part of it.

When my wife first got it for me, I was a little skeptical, because putting anything with a motor into my mouth has generally been frowned upon my entire life. But she usually has good judgement, so I decided to go with it this time.

I haven't tried other models, but this one in particular did a great job at cleaning my teeth. Afterwards, my teeth felt polished. It somewhat the same feeling as if I had just come from a dental visit. The big difference is that I get to use toothpaste that doesn't taste like mint sandpaper.

I would recommend at least this model to anyone looking for a good motorized/electric toothbrush. Since using it my dentists/dental assistants have commented that I've done a great job keeping my teeth clean. Although I will have to attribute some of these results to a regular habit of flossing.

An Interesting Article…

I hope not to need this advice any time soon, but I came across a good link to this article:

"Bloggers beware: You're liable to commit libel" by Steve Tobak

It describes your rights as a "publisher" and what kind of burden of proof would have to be presented if you publish defamatory statements.

It's a nice simplified synopsis of the laws surrounding libel suits.

I recently tried out Second Life. Here are a few thoughts I have about the experience:

1. I still haven't figured out how to get off the first Island. Now, running around on an island where people are just changing their clothes and hair for 45 minutes is not my idea of entertainment.


2. My avatar looks nothing like me despite working on it for quite a while:
   

























Whereas my Yahoo Avatar much more resembles me in real life. I even think my Yahoo avatar has a lot more charisma.



















3. I still haven't figured out how to get off the first Island. Now, running around on an island where people are just changing their clothes and hair for 20 minutes is not my idea of entertainment.

I know this game is supposed to be a revolutionary way to interact with others across the planet as if they were really there. But…they're not, and you're not. I'll try it out a couple of more times before I give my official opinion.