Memepunks

Nanotech Conjures Maxwell's Demon

2007-02-24T10:12:00.000-05:00

Let's start with something small. It doesn't get much smaller than the new creation out of Edinburgh University. The assembly works on the scale of nanometers, about one 80,000th the thickness of a human hair, and it was 140 years in the making. It began as a hypothetical question posed by brilliant mathematician and physicist James Clerk Maxwell. He pondered the possibility of violating the second law of thermodynamics through the intervention of a hypothetical "demon". This demon, being small enough to control individual molecules, could cheat the laws of physics and arrange molecules away from their normal state of entropy. Known as Maxwell's Demon, this thought experiment has been fodder for chemists and physicists ever since.

Thanks to Professor David Leigh and his team at Edinburgh, the demon is no longer the stuff of fantasy. Professor Leigh has created a nano-engine that can move a chemical system out of equilibrium. This tiny wonder works on very simple albeit very small mechanical principles. Leigh constructed an assembly of rotaxanes and put them to work. A rotaxane is basically a long barbell shaped molecule threaded through a second ring shaped molecule. The ring molecule moves chaotically from one end of the axle to the other, but cannot pass over the ends of the barbell. With many of these rotaxanes in parallel, on average you will see an even spread of the rings along the barbells. Some at one end, some at the other, some in the middle. That is until Dr. Leigh turns on his machine.

By shining a beam of light into the device, the axles of the barbells change shape in the presence of the rings. If the ring is on the right for instance, the axle thickens, trapping it there. If the ring is in the center, or left, the axle remains narrow enough for the ring to continue moving. In short order you end up with the majority of the rings on the right side... Order from chaos. Now, this machine doesn't violate thermodynamics of course, because it requires a light beam as a power source. But it does arrange molecules using only their natural motion. Something that up until this moment has occurred only in nature. Dr. Leigh has succeeded in building a workingNanomotor, driven by nothing but light.

Motors like this, that manipulate individual molecules are a prerequisite to creating fully functional nano-constructors. This is a stepping stone to the machines that will construct our future, one molecule at a time. They may take the form of VonNeumann machines that will replicate and build in trillion member swarms. Or more likely, we will see Leigh's technological descendants toiling away inside a future desktop factory like the one in this STUNNING VIDEO.

That particular conceptual animation is courtesy of Nanorex. Nanorex is a company local to Michigan that is working with K. Eric Drexler himself, the godfather of nanotech, to devise new microscopic miracles using cutting edge open source software. Oh, and they render them using distributed computing technology. Nanomachines, open source, and distributed computing, I have no idea how they fit so much awesome under one roof. Check out their gallery for more infinitesimal goodness.

One last word. There seems to be an underlying uneasiness or outright fear in some people whenever the word nano is invoked. No doubt brought on by too many camp fire stories about grey goo or exposure to Michael Crichton novels. Well, breathe easy friends. There are no out of control microscopic robots on the horizon. Even Dr.Drexler , who first postulated the idea of grey goo, has suggested that we all move on to the real hurdles and remarkable possibilities that nanotechnology presents us with. Perhaps, many decades hence, we may have to worry about some one's crude attempt toweaponize nanotech. But until then, don't sweat the small stuff. [via Engadget]

"...if we conceive of a being whose faculties are so sharpened that he can follow every molecule in its course, such a being, whose attributes are as essentially finite as our own, would be able to do what is impossible to us." - James Clerk Maxwell

X PRIZE Cup Underway

2006-10-20T12:58:00.000-04:00

The Wirefly X PRIZE Cup competition has begun in Las Cruces New Mexico! Prizes totaling 2.5 million dollars are being sought by teams of space engineers and rocket men. The event runs from this morning until tomorrow afternoon, and for those of us that cant be out in New Mexico, SPACE.com is providing a live video feed for the duration.

Three potentially historic contests will be taking place over the next two days. Two of the competitions will focus on new lunar and planetary landing technology. Both the Northrup Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge and the Vertical Rocket Challenge involve the take off, landing and return of prototype lander vehicles. Decendents of this technology may some day carry us to the moon and other worlds beyond. The favorite for the Lunar Lander prize is Armadillo Aerospace, founded by John Carmak, the millionaire creator of both Doom and Quake.

The third contest may have the most long term ramifications. It is Spaceward Foundation's Space Elevator Games. A contest in two parts, the Space Elevator Games hope to spur the development of a material strong enough to act as a tether into space, as well as new ways of beaming power to tether climbing robots. These students, enthusiasts and engineers are laying the ground work for a highway to the stars. "Up is good", as X PRIZErs are fond of saying.

In addition to the contests, there will be a slew of special events and exhibits. Including prototype engine test firings, sounding rocket launches, and amateur rocketry events. "Rocketman" Dan Schlund will fly around Las Cruces with a rocket belt (jetpack). The Rocket Racing League's new X-Racer will be unveiled to the public as well. A T-38 astronaut training jet will fly over the competition, and the X PRIZE Cup event planners have also promised "other surprises".

For anyone who is even remotely interested in the future of space flight, these next two days should be very exciting. The upstarts of space travel are all gathering in one place to compare notes and field their inventions. And the best thing is that they are not the result of a billion dollar space program, not NASA starched shirt types or foreign government space program representatives. They have talent, big aspirations and know how. But they are regular folks. They are us... Reaching for the stars on their own terms.

"I could have gone on flying through space forever." - Yuri Gagarin

A Future Without Flats

2006-10-16T03:56:00.000-04:00

Early last year at the North American International Auto Show, Michelin gave us a glimpse into the future of where the rubber meets the road. They unveiled a high tech replacement for the classic 60 year old radial tire. It's a tire-wheel hybrid they have unfortunately named the Tweel. Michelin's radial tire concept which debuted in 1946, has kept the world rolling for over half a century. But it has many drawbacks that we over the years have had to learn to deal with. Flats, blow outs, pressure checks, air pumps, and other problems are facts of life with the industry standard radials. But with the advent of the tweel, all of those things may become artifacts of a pneumatic past.

Tweels are airless. They consist of a semi deformable central wheel, which behaves some what like a conventional car wheel. Branching off from the wheel are flexible spokes that act as shock absorbers. Around the ring of spokes is the actual tread of the tire on a thin band. The tweels are all one piece and provide many advantages over classic radials. First and foremost is their lack of a pressure system. The spokes of the tweel do the job that a pneumatic cushion would, without the dangers of a flat or blow out. Secondly, because of the nature of the tweel, engineers now have have the freedom to focus on both comfort and performance.

With a typical tire, there are two types of rigidity. To increase the handling of a car, you want a tire that is stiff laterally. But for a comfortable ride, you want a vertically stiff tire. With a conventional radial tire that relies on air pressure, there is a limit to the amount of one that you can have without sacrificing the other. But with the tweel, you can optimize both the lateral and vertical stiffness of the spokes and hub independently. Thus without loosing the slightest bit of comfort, you can drastically improve a cars handling. This is the real reason why engineers at Michelin are giving the tweel a spin. In the long run, it stands to completely out perform radials.

For now the tweel is still in the design and testing phases. Michelin has approved the tweel for use in low weight low speed vehicles, such as Dean Kamen's tall standing stair climbing wheelchair, the iBot. They are also experimenting with military applications. Vehicles equipped with tweels are much less likely to be immobilized by explosives or other damage than vehicles with pneumatic tires. Further down the list are heavy equipment and construction vehicles that could benefit from improved performance. But the endgame sees the tweel much closer to home.

Michelin has outfitted an Audi A4 with prototype tweels. Eventualy, they would like to see tweels on passenger vehicles and beyond. But there are issues that must be overcome. At high speeds, tweels suffer from both excess vibration and unacceptable noise. Michelin engineers have been working diligently to solve those problems in the year since the tweel's debut. Already the tweel has been noted "one of the most amazing inventions of 2005" by Time magazine, and "Best of Whats New" in Automotive Technology by Popular Science. Earlier this year the tweel earned a gold medal for innovation at Intermat 2006 in Paris.

Have a look at this promotional video of tweeled vehicles in action. Once these airless wonders are ready for prime time, I can see them catching on quickly. No doubt they'll cost a premium for their performance, at first being the domain of auto enthusiasts. But eventually a robust tweel technology could become the new standard, leaving radial tires in the dust. Either way, true innovation is a rare gem in the automotive industry. We have been doing a lot of the same things the same way since the time of our grandparents. It's good to see that in a field dominated by convention and the status quo, some one has the wherewithal to reinvent the wheel. [via WallStreetFighter]

"One sees them all about—men who do not know that yesterday is past, and who woke up this morning with their last years ideas [...] there is a subtle danger in a man thinking that he is ‘fixed’ for life. It indicates that the next jolt of the wheel of progress is going to fling him off." - Henry Ford

X PRIZE for Genomics

2006-10-05T03:20:00.000-04:00

The X PRIZE foundation is at it once more. Two years ago Space Ship One rose to the occasion and collected the first X PRIZE. A ten million dollar bounty was awarded to Mojave Aerospace Ventures, the heroes of private spaceflight, as they returned from their second 100 kilometer trip into the heavens. The Ansari X PRIZE has stimulated a storm of growth and progress in the commercial space flight industry. And the fun didn't stop in October of 2004. Rival teams continue to compete in an annual X PRIZE Cup event for millions in awards. This year the X PRIZE Cup is being held in New Mexico, and includes contests for lander module technology and space elevator development. A few million in fame and fortune put out by the X PRIZE foundation has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in research and technological advancement.

With the marked success of the Ansari X PRIZE , it's no surprise that the foundation has decided to explore other avenues of science. Today, on the second anniversary of the Space Ship One flight, the X PRIZE Foundation announced the creation of the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics. This prize of $10 million will be awarded to the first group that can successfully meet the Archon challenge. That is, to sequence no less than 100 human genomes in no more than ten days. Keep in mind, that the original Human Genome Project to map a single human genome took more than a decade, and $3 billion in funds. For some one to claim the Archon X PRIZE, they must do a hundred times the work of the HGP and all in a tiny fraction of the time.

If the Archon prize is half as successful as it's space faring brother, this will mean a leap forward in genomics so drastic, the rules of the game will change. With the technology to sequence 10 genomes in a single day, personalized medicine could become common place. Fore knowledge of genetic maladies, drug susceptibilities and biological tendencies could have an effect on medicine greater than the invention of the microscope. And that is just the beginning. The more genomes that are mapped, the greater our collective understanding of of who we are. With a thousand genomes to compare and contrast, we'll learn a little more about ourselves. With a million, whole new fields of bioinformatics will form. And with the knowledge gained from a billion sequenced human genomes, the foundation would be laid for real human genetic engineering.

When the Ansari X PRIZE was offered up, rocket men from all over the country took notice. Enthusiasts, wide eyed millionaires, dedicated engineers, mavericks, and geniuses huddled around blueprints and scale models and tanks of liquid oxygen in an attempt to reach the stars. And ultimately, they went above and beyond and are still moving forward. The effect of the original X PRIZE has been nothing short of amazing. Now the same carrot is being dangled in front of geneticists. Three teams have already entered the running in the brief time since the Archon X PRIZE has been announced. Winning the Archon will require a breakthrough idea that will change the way we look at the very building blocks of life. Already dozens of scientists are clamoring to find it. That, my friends, is the real prize.

MEMEPUNKS UPDATE: After doing some further research I found an article that lends a bit more depth to the story. First, there is a follow up reward for the winners of the Archon X PRIZE if they decide to claim it. 100 additional volunteers have signed up to have thier DNA sequenced. If the winning team choses ot map the genomes of the "Genome 100", they will net themselves another cool million. The volunteers will be a mix disease sufferers nominated by charities, and high profile celebrities. The charities believe that by decoding the genomes of patients, insight will be gained about the nature of the disease. The X PRIZE foundation hopes that big name celebreties will increase awareness of the event and make it more relavent to everyone. Names already on the list include Paul Allen, Larry Page, and Stephen Hawking.

Also, the source of the $10 million prize money is notable. A Canadian geologist named Stewart Blusson is funding Archon. Dr. Blusson used advanced geology and surveying techniques to locate gold and diamond mines in the northern hemisphere. He has a stated love for science and out of the box thinking. In 1998 he donated $50 million to his Alma Mater the University of British Columbia, specifically for reaserch and academic excellence. [via Slashdot]

"We've discovered the secret of life". - Francis Crick

Movie Review: The Guardian

2006-10-04T01:09:00.000-04:00

I would love to come back with a great movie review for all of you, but instead I have this.... The Guardian. Kevin Costner and Demi Moore humper Ashton Kutcher team up in this buddy movie about the U.S. Coast Guard. Riding on the tails of the amazing work the coast guard did following Katrina, this should have been a great movie but fell well short. The plot centers around the aging coast guard swimmer Ben Randall (phoned-in by the Postman himself) and his conflict and inevitable respect for the up and coming cocky coast guard enlistee Jake Fischer played by Kutcher. Randall loses his team and starts to doubt himself and his skills so he accepts a teaching position where he encounters Fischer who wants to prove himself in the rough and tumble world of coast guard search and rescue.

The Good -
The cinematography of the storm footage and helicopter action was very impressive. While I am sure most was CGI, it felt real none the less. I was also impressed with Melissa Sagemiller, the love interest of Fischer. She played her role very down to earth and the only time I ever felt real emotion from this movie was during her dramatic scenes.

The Bad -

Teaming Kevin Cosner and Ashton Kutcher together for ANYTHING is just a bad idea. Their interactions on screen felt very forced and unnatural. Kutcher plays "over the top" like Saul Hudson plays guitar but it is painful to watch in almost every movie he has done. When he is forced to get emotional, Kutcher just falls back on his "mildly crazy" acting skill and envokes zero emotion from the audience. Combine that with the melodramatic and depressing way Cosner attempts any role Hollywood throws his way and its like watching two monkeys finger paint while doing mass quantites of zoloft and crystal meth.

The Ugly -

a literary professor once told me that "It was a dark and stormy night" was the most cliche and unoriginal opening for a story. The Guardian is the dark and stormy night of Hollywood. Every scene had been done in dozens of movies much better then this one. From the "hero's fall" to the boot camp hard core life lessons to standing up to the bullies (in this movie it was a bar full of Navy seaman). I was bored with this movie more then anything else. The only thing that kept me going was eventually naming movies where the current scene was done first or better.

There is nothing new here. Its Top Gun and Full Metal Jacket and Men of Honor warmed over. I would recommend this as a netflicks or blockbuster rental when the weather is bad or the internet is down. In other words, when you have nothing better to do. Don't waste 9 bucks on this one folks.

1.0 memestar

Too Fast, too furious, too much Damn Traffic

2006-10-03T14:23:00.000-04:00

First, let me say WERE BACK!!!! Second, we are working on some good lengthly posts to entertain and enlighten our faithful readers, but until then... Enjoy this little bit of american muscle!!!!

Memepunks calls metro Detroit our real world home, so when this video was passed along to us by Juggy1337, we thought it would make a great post. The details are a bit sketchy right now, but our local news affiliate is running a story about this video later today and the teaser mentioned "rich men, fast cars, and an illegal street race that costs ten thousand dollars to enter" I have no idea if any of that crap is true, but here is a Z06 Chevy Corvette tailing the new Ford GT on the freeways around Detroit. The video file is titled "Bullrun" and seems to entail a new era of "Cannonball Run" fun and hyjinx.

Listen closely to the video and you will hear the passenger mention that they are following a Ford GT driven by thechief designer of the GT.... I wonder what ole Bill Ford thinks of this?

Anyways, check out the other cars in the footage. Not often the streets of Detroit have this kinda exotic muscle rollin on it. (although we do see a lot of Vets in these parts, not many Z06 models)

The only thing sorta depressing about this video is that its American Muscle on Motor City Freeways... and the dude rolls down the window and yells... "WE NEED FUEL! PETROL!!!!"

COME ON!!!!

UPDATE: It appears youtube is no longer playing nice with this particular video and is now telling me the "owner" is not allowing their video to be ebedded anymore. Apparently, this now a "private" video. We are looking at finding a viewable copy. Please Stay Tuned.

UPDATE (10/10/06): Well the local news ran their story, and as was expected, they uncovered exactly the same things we did. Although they actually spoke to the lead designer of the GT, so I guess they got that on us (or at least they CLAIM they talked to him). Anyways, here is a bad TV rip of the original footage. I would have liked to have the original video without the commentators opinion and news directors edits. They cut out most of the other exotic cars that appear, but you can see them briefly. Sorry folks, but this is the best we can do for now.

We Can Rebuild Him. We Have the Technology.

2006-09-15T04:45:00.000-04:00

Oscar Goldman's intro voiced over Steve Austin's transformative surgery thirty years ago is now a part of the American psyche. The idea of bionics and cyborgs, once solely the domain of science fiction, is becoming undeniable fact. Advanced prosthetics are now being integrated directly into the minds and bodies of those without arms or legs. We are no longer talking hooks and claws and pink plastic over hollow inert limbs. This is real cybernetics, electronics wired right into your nerves, a technological extension for an injured or incomplete human form.

We may not have quite reached the stage of "better, stronger, faster". But we do now have the technology to restore real quality of life and natural capabilities to those without limbs. there are an estimated 1.8 million people in the US alone that have lost limbs. And this a country that isn't currently war torn, one without land mines scattered across the landscape, where most of our crippling diseases are under control. Looking to the third world, you'll see even more people that could benefit from limb replacement technology. Up until recently, science's reach has exceeded it's grasp in creating an effective artificial limb. Although they have been slow to develop, newly effective bionic prosthesis are nothing short of miraculous.

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago has been quietly implementing it's Bionic Arm technology for the last few years. Created by Todd Kuiken, M.D., Ph.D. director of RIC’s Neural Engineering Center for Bionic Medicine, This new limb is head and shoulders above the rest. The myoelectric arm works by receiving the electrical signals sent by the brain and then activating small motors at the joints of the arm. Doctors at the RIC have rewired nerves meant for a flesh and blood arm to muscles in the chest. Surface electrodes are then placed against the pectoral muscle to intercept signals sent by the brain. The amputee thinks about moving the original missing limb. Muscles in the chest respond accordingly, and wires there convey the signal to the artificial arm.

Using this technique, patients are able to move and manipulate their mechanical arms and hands just like anyone else. They think about it, and it happens. The first man to get the Bionic Arm was a double amputee that barely survived a horrific electrocution. But now, with the Bionic Arm in place, and it's three motors whirring away, Jesse Sullivan has regained a great deal of both form and function. Have a look of this video of Jesse showing off his fantastic thought controlled prosthesis. Built into the arm is a 64 bit computer that translates the nerve impulses into literal motor control. It takes about six months to retrain an amputee to use the Bionic Arm as if it were their own. But as you can see the results are remarkable.

But Jesse's amazing limb is already last years model. Dr. Kuiken and his team have improved upon the original design and amputee Claudia Mitchell has been selected to test drive it. A former military service woman who lost her arm in a motorcycle accident, Claudia was seen as an ideal candidate for the newest limb. The new Bionic Arm has six motors instead of three. Twice as much articulation and the ability to do such things as lifting the arm over her head make Claudia's prosthesis peerless. And there is more to the story than just a design overhaul and some supped up servos. The nature of Claudia Mitchell's operation and augmentation are on a different order than Jesse's all together.

First off, Claudia's nerves were rewired successfully without any loss of tissue. Normaly, an operation like this would require a disfiguring removal of surface tissue to provide better reception to the electrodes. But most interesting is exactly how Claudia has been rewired. Using a new technique, the Bionic Arm is no longer just a one way interface. Doctors have rewired a softball sized patch of skin on her chest to send signals to the brain as if it were coming from a living arm. And then they wired the myoelectric arm to send feedback signals to that patch of skin. Now, Claudia can tell if she is holding something hot or cold in her completely mechanical hand. This is a first in prosthetics of any kind. Soon doctors plan to wire pressure sensors in the arm to Claudia's rewired sensory skin patch. Restoring, for the first time in history, an amputees sense of touch.

Keep in mind that the 3 million dollar Bionic Arm program is still in the experimental phase. "This is very much a prototype device. We have a lot of smoke in this lab. We fry a lot of transistors." says Dr. Kuiken. But with the success he has seen thus far, and more than 400 amputees coming back from the middle east war zone alone, it wont be long before an incarnation of the Bionic Arm becomes an every day cure to a world wide problem. Desinged for healing and not augmentation, we wont see any iron bar bending or Robocop hand shakes any time soon. But I cant help to think, with their beaming smiles and computer controlled myoelectric feedback sensing bionic limbs, that Jesse and Claudia are waving at us from the future. [via Digg]

Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling - William Butler Yeats

From the Video Files: Dirty Love, Enterprise Style

2006-09-11T18:06:00.000-04:00

The internet has made fan based multimedia tributes something to behold. They range from the great to the terrible, but every single one of them have one thing in common... Ordinary people paying tribute to their favorite movies, tv shows, or pop culture phenomenon. Mashups and movie trailer remixes and now full on music video re-edits are all the rage and this little gem is one of the best in recent memory. t. jonsey & killa edited some old original series Star Trek clips and layered the NIN song "Closer". They applied some filters and chose some great footage to really bring out the "undertones" of the Spock/Kirk relationship. (via Boing Boing)

look for more of the internets great community video creations in the next installment of Memepunks Video Roundup.

"Guilt Free" Embryonic Stem Cells

2006-09-04T06:26:00.000-04:00

Last week, biotech company Advanced Cell Technology announced a break through in the field of embryonic stem cell research. One that at first glance stands to put the "ethical" debate about embryonic stem cells behind us for good. But as the days wear on, controversy and fallout continue to plague this remarkable discovery. It began with a press release for an article to be published in Nature magazine. Advanced Cell Technology declared that they had developed a technique to derive stem cell lines from embryos without causing the embryos any ill effects. And they did it using a method which has been around in IVF circles for years.

The technique is called PGD or preimplantation genetic diagnosis. It was originally developed in the field of invitro fertilization. When the embryo is at a very early stage of development, often even before the blastocyst stage, a tiny amount of genetic material is taken. A microscopic breach of the cell wall would be made chemically, mechanically, or using a laser. And the embryo would regrow the lost material without any ill effect. Initially, that extracted cell has been used by concerned families to scan their perspective child for any number of genetic maladies. Robert Lanza and his research group at Advanced Cell Technology have succeeding in giving another purpose to that little snippet of biopsied genes... Using them to create new stem cell lines. The technique hasn't been perfected yet. After 91 PGD biopsies, only two new stem cell lines were created. But Lanza and his team have shown that the procedure is viable.

So that's it then. A new procedure that will allow us to create stem cell lines from embryos without effecting the embryos developmental potential. Does this mark the end of the stem cell debate? Are we to expect wide smiles and thunderous applause from both side of the isle? Hardly. If anything this new procedure has further stoked the fires of debate.

First of all we have the nature of the study Professor Lanza conducted created stem cell lines from PGD material. The team at Advanced Cell Technology used only 16 embryos for their study. To minimize the number of embryos to be manipulated, rather than performing 91 separate PGD on 91 separate embryos, they used only 16. Which means that multiple PDGs were performed on individual embryos, eventually harvesting all of their genetic material and destroying the embryos outright. This has raised the ire of the religious and "bio ethicists" created an uproar and cause outlets such as the New York Times, Nature, and The Scientist to carefully reword their coverage of this breakthrough. Noting that the embryos used were in fact destroyed, and it doesn't end there.

Those on the right are appreciative that scientists are looking for a way to avoid "killing" embryos, but they are also extremely critical of any embryonic research, believing that destruction of genetic material is tantamount to the destruction of the embryo. And they fear a trade or market will develop for embryos if there is ANY successful way to derive stem cells from them, whether it is harmful or not. But you expect flak from the bio-conservatives when it comes to embryo research of any kind. It's Bush's witless veto all over again. What is surprising is the response coming from those in favor of embryonic stem cell research.

Embryonic stem cell researchers are leery of any sort of practice that kowtows to the embryo hugging right wingers. Reaserching ways to avoid "killing" embryos just validates the side of the argument that embryos can be "killed" in the first place. Also some scientists feel that the limited genetic demographics of those that use IVF clinics would limit the usefulness of any stem cell lines derived from them. And others like Arthur Caplan see the catch 22 inherent in the system...

"if you are going to use blastomeres from embryos where would you get them. from human embryos! so either you make them just to get blastomeres which means destroying embryos and makes no sense or you get them at fertility clinics. but the only people who will let you pull a blastomere off of one of their embryos are people who dont plan to use them anyway! So they are going to destroy their embryos, making it senseless to use a blastomere."

There is validity to the points made by concerned stem cell researchers that have to fight tooth and nail for every bit of funding and political support they get. But the real matter of substance here is getting more stem cell lines. Perhaps techniques like this will lend a bit of credence to the superstitious right. Perhaps all the stem cell lines derived from WASP dominant IVF clinics wont be the most useful for curing diseases that target minorities. Maybe there is some faulty circular logic to the whole affair. But in the end, if the result of this breakthrough is more stem cell lines, access to government funding, and another tool in our stem cell harvesting arsenal, then I say have at it!

Now there are three legitimate criticisms coming from some research circles that raise some indisputable points. One is that this particular success has yet to be repeated outside of ACT's laboratory. We will definitely need positive verification before this discovery can move any further ahead. Another concern is whether stem cells created using this method will have the same miraculous properties of lines created using entire embryos. This I think is the most over riding concern, and will require further and very deep investigation. And lastly, "moral" concerns aside, will even a procedure that leaves an embryo unharmed satisfy our administration's draconian laws on stem cell funding? Or is this end run pointless to begin with?

Only time will tell whether this breakthrough will usher in a new era of stem cell research, or just be one more foot note in the history books when we look back at the early years of embryonic stem cells. It does seem to me that we are in a very dangerous place now, where scientific decisions are made not by scientists at all, but by lobbyists and politicians. I'll be keeping that in mind when the mid term elections roll around in November. And I'll be voting pro stem cell all the way. At this point I would even settle for one of those little check boxes on my tax form. "Do you want 35 dollars of your Federal Tax to go toward embryonic stem cell research? This will not effect your return." But of course that check box is needed to collect presidential election funds. Next time, maybe we should elect a scientist. [inspired by Wired's Bodyhack Blog]

"I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother wants us to." - Willard Gaylin

Review: Crank

2006-09-04T03:36:00.000-04:00

Billed as the this summers "Adrenaline Packed" action movie, Crank opened just in time for summer to close up shop. I won't worry about spoiling the movie for you, our faithful readers. If you have seen the trailer, you know the movie. There is no Hollywood twist, no seeing of dead people, no crying game, no bad guy pretending to be a good guy. You get exactly what you expect in this movie, as long as you didn't expect much. Jason Statham plays a hit man with a bad attitude who gets injected with an exotic asian drug/poison that blocks the endorphin receptors and basically shuts down a victims body. This of course doesn't happen right away, but rather drags out over the course of a few hours. Why great Asian scientists would invent a synthetic drug to do what good old fashioned potassium chloride has been doing for years is beyond me, but it wouldn't be much of a movie if the hero was given a real poison that killed instantaneously, now would it?

The Good

Jason Statham was decent as the anti hero, although he is starting to get type cast into these roles. He is a great actor with a range that is rarely showcased in his choice of roles. He can play the straight man so easily, ala Snatch , that I'm surprised he doesn't take more comedy roles. The film had a very stylish feel to it as well. The scenes were strange and surreal with a bit of classic 70's cinema thrown in. No idea what the girls in the plastic bubbles and army of lawn jockies were supposed to symbolize, but it made Crank feel more like Diamonds are Forever then it did Die Hard . The only real exciting and fulfilling aspect to this movie was the ending. What people expect to happen (but deep down inside hope doesn't) actually comes to pass. In a movie so removed from the real world, this aspect grounded it right back to reality. Quite literally, I might add.

The Bad

I felt angry paying 9 dollars to see this movie. The unabashed product placement in this movie made me cringe. The choice to zoom out of a given action scene to a city map view, then scroll around to another location was cute at first, but there was no reason to tag those transition shots with "Property of Google Maps" and include the little compass rose. They used several famous energy drinks as plot devices as well. Red Bull, Rockstar, and a slew of others were guzzled by our hero to keep his "heart pumping" and adrenaline levels up.

The Ugly

This movie was no more then a remake of Transporter 2. From the fast cut scenes to the crazy road stunts to the race against the poison clock. I challenge any one to watch these two movies in a single day and then sleep on it and awake being able to tell them apart. In fact, as I write this review, I have to stop and remind myself of which I am reviewing. "Did Crank have the helicopter or the airplane?" "Did Crank have the Cuban bad guy or the Asian?" "Which movie had the Brigtte Nielsen wannabe psycho and which had the down home cutie girlfriend ?"
But the true ugliness of this movie is that it tried too hard. It wanted to be so much and achieved so little. The cinematography would drive epileptics to fits and the surreal setting I mentioned earlier wore out far too quickly. I mean seriously, what is the point of projecting tortoises humping on the ceiling of a scene in this movie? The only adrenaline rush I felt while watching this movie was the bile rising up in my stomach from the insane chase cams and over the shoulder shots.

Much like it's drug namesake, Crank is a bad version of a bad idea. Wait for cable or DVD on this one folks.

1.0 memestar

"That was the worst fuckin' head I ever got in my life! Next time don't be so fuckin' eager! " -Mallory Knox

CRIKEY!!!! The Croc Hunter is Dead!

2006-09-04T01:34:00.000-04:00

It is being reported by Reuters wire service that Australian real world Pitfall Harry, Steve Irwin, died today. Irwin, famous for his wild antics wrestling crocodiles and enraging venomous snakes around the globe, was said to be filming a documentary when he was stung in the chest by a stingray barb.

Irwin was one of the main reasons that Animal Planet, a Discovery channel owned station, took off and made itself a mark in the vast sea of cable TV. His child like excitment of nature was contagious and he was one of the few guys that could make poking a viper with a stick seem fun and light hearted.

At least he died doing what he loved. And thats all we can really ask for from death.

"Because I have loved life, I shall have no sorrow to die." - Amelia Burr

The Thing About Match.com

2006-08-30T20:52:00.000-04:00

For those single people out there we have heard it all before one of your friends has this story, “Oh, you should try match.com, I have a friend who did it and that’s how they found their wife/husband.” Maybe you heard this one, “I tried match.com and went out on a lot of dates. Watch out for those married people and one night stands, haha.” It has occurred to me that Internet dating is now considered just a normal way of meeting people. We have been groomed by technology to rely on it as a resource, not only for information but to find our soul mate as well. Since I am a part of the digital age I have braved my insecurities, took some pictures and opened a Match.com account.

You get to have your own page which is very similar to Myspace.com but specifically for dating. If you decide to set up an account, give yourself 30 minutes or more and get a credit card handy. There are several categories to fill out, such as basics, lifestyles, interests and values just to name a few. However, it is the Intro that is the foundation of you and what you are attracted to. The more clever the writing the more hits you get. Beware, all of the men I have viewed say the same thing. “I’m just a laid back guy, looking for a nice girl to be my best friend.” And “Honesty is key I don’t want to play any games or be lied to.” Here I thought lying and cheating on a significant other was a good way to go about things.

Match.com has teamed up with Dr. Phil so you have a choice in packages. You can either sign up for a month or bulk up on months for a cheaper rate. I signed up for 3 months for $50.00, but you have to cancel or they will continue to charge you. If you decide to go with the Dr. Phil package, or the Premium package as I like to call it, you pay extra but have access to dating tips and video modules Dr. Phil style. Probably not necessary, but if you have never dated before or do not know how to talk to people in a social setting then you might want to pay the extra $20.00 or so bucks.

Here are some tips. Be brave and honest about who and what you want. Some people will lie to you and pursue you with bad intentions. If you do not want a one night stand then say, “No!”. You do not owe these strangers anything. I will let you know this is very similar to going out and meeting people. Some are very attractive and some are very, uh, unattractive. I highly recommend you post a picture and be honest about your body weight. There are jerks out there who will judge and those that will fall instantly in love with you. Keep yourself grounded and pay attention to how people speak to you in e-mails. Also, if you have shared several e-mails, bump it up to a phone call so you know how they really talk.

If you are single with a bit of cash and time then this is something to consider. Do not expect instant success! Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither should a long lasting loving relationship. I could insert more clichés but what’s the point? Really,try talking on the phone before you set up a meeting date. I could have saved myself the grief and stress of looking for last minute escape routes had I just talked to the guy on the phone first! Arm yourself with a good sense of humor, patience and the ability to say “no thank you.” Other than that open your heart and say ahhhh.

Disclaimer: Before reading further please understand I respect these men tremendously for putting themselves out there. There is no obvious physical feature used to identify them, names, location of work or anything else…

The first date I will call King V, match.com clued me in and said we are 70% compatible. Out of the 25 categories we filled out 17 of them matched. The date was planned for a Starbuck’s in Ann Arbor and after walking three city blocks in heels because I had to park so far away, I was looking forward to sitting down in air conditioning and sipping on a soy latte. As I approached the building my heart skipped a nervous beat as it dawned on me, “I could be meeting my potential husband or my next boyfriend… Eek!”
King V and I spotted each other instantly but didn’t make a move until it was obvious I was looking for someone. Then he approached, handsome with a nice smile and something else… a lisp! In the words of David Cross, “Not every gay man has a lisp but only gay men have a lisp.” It wasn’t just a lisp but other behaviors as well that made me question his interest in women. So much that I found myself analyzing him when he spoke about the pressures of being a man in his family and how things will change when he has kids.
As I was ready to sit down King V suggested we tour the U of M campus. We walked and talked for about a mile and a half. Timid King V opened up to me and shared his last relationship trauma and how he still misses his ex-girlfriend. Bad move number one, especially if the length of the relationship (10 months) doesn’t match the length of time apart (3 years). Not to mention, he asked for my advice about another girl he was speaking to on match.com. Bad move number two! After two hours together I called it a night we gave each other a light hug and went our separate ways. We have since followed up with e-mails, but after meeting me once he wanted to smack my ass and make out with me. Hard to be flattered by those comments when I felt there was nothing between us in the first place. Match.com Rating - 70%, My Rating - 30%.

The second date, Mr. Saturday Blues, almost did not happen as I noticed our compatibility rate was only 60% and all his dislikes were my likes. I e-mailed him and suggested we not meet. He doesn’t like tattoos, I have one. He is very religious where I am not so much. He e-mailed me back saying those things don’t matter to him and that we should meet anyway. So, I found myself sitting before a socially awkward guy 10:30 on a Saturday morning with about four hours of sleep under my belt. Even sleep deprived I am able to assess a situation fairly and from the moment I met him the date needed to end quickly. I asked him questions and found myself working in conversation about myself and what I like or do.
Mr. Saturday Blues asked me, “What are your favorite movies? This will let me know if you have good taste...” My thought, “Is this for true?!” Then our conversation revolved, I reiterate, revolved around his favorite Stanley Kubrick films. Whether on a Saturday morning first date or not, discourse about the meaning of Stanley Kubrick films is so much not fun. Not only that but had he bothered to ask, he would have learned that I wrote a term paper on a Clockwork Orange and the purity of a rebellious society. Needless to say he gave me an out and I took it selfishly, the only selfish moment I had. Match.com Rating - 60%, My Rating - 0%.

The third date, Mr.Fogetabouddit a “Goodfellow” who was more pussycat then New York gangster turned Michigander. The wine and romance of our date went to my head and I found myself drunk more on possibility then on true compatibility. Match.com’s rating for us was 82%. The conversation was engaging as we shared stories, food and cigarettes. Here is where it gets goofy, I felt he should have offered to pay for me but I asked him out to dinner and in the end we split the bill. If I was to nit pick, which is what the nice folks at Memepunks pay me to do, I would say if a man orders for his date then he should at least offer to pay. Ladies/ gentlemen, use your best judgment, if you had a good time and really like the person offer to pay the bill, it shows character. After our date he walked me to my car, opened the door and pursued pushing his tongue down my throat. When I explained I had to leave for a morning meeting, he told me how he was planning on having me over that night for a movie. In his words, “You're a classy lady and I wasn't gonna sleep wich you or nothin' just have you ova to get to know ya better.” First date sleep overs = bad idea. As individuals should we not give each other more space and time? This is something I have stated on my match.com page, I want a long term relationship but time is of the essence. So, I took his last gesture of having me over as a bad match but the human spirit kicked in and he apologized for the idea of going back to his place after our first date. Mr. Fogetabouddit explained to me that his life is good, he loves his house, loves his job and would like to share it with someone. An attitude like that speaks volumes about his character. Match.com Rating - 82%, My Rating - still checking it out %.

John Lennon once said of Yoko Ono and their first meeting, if her art work did not impress him he would have walked out in the first five minutes. However, he gave it chance and one of her art pieces was a word written on a white ceiling. She wrote one little three letter word on the ceiling, “Yes.” This won him over and they went on to become one of the world's most famous ground breaking couples. So give yourself all the date possibilities necessary to make the best decision. Your time and energy is valuable, use it wisely. In the words of Johnny Drama, “Try my eggs Florentine and take a deep breath.” When searching remember to take a deep breath, be understanding of what you want and say, “Yes” when the time, art work and person is right.

"We are strong, no one can tell us we're wrong
Searchin our hearts for so long, both of us knowing.
Love is a battlefield." - Pat Benatar

It's Pronounced MEEM-PUNKS

2006-08-25T05:30:00.000-04:00

This marks the official 100th post here at Memepunks! A few months ago this site was little more than one person's hesitant attempt to give blogging another try. And now the Memepunks adhocracy is charging headlong into the future. We've exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds. That can happen when you set up shop on a little place called The Internet.

Our post on the space elevator grabbed the attention of the amazing folks at Liftport. We started people talking all over the Internet with our coverage of America's war on science. And our post on the possibility of a Google AI spread like wildfire, making the top spot on Reddit. It was linked to by author, and Boing Boing band manager Jon Battelle's Search Blog. Former Harvard Business Review executive editor and Rough Type creator Nicholas Carr even jumped into the fray. Tens of thousands of you stopped by to see what all the fuss was about. Many of you have stayed around for the duration. "Memepunks", a non existent word 4 months ago, now gets 30,500 hits on Google.

To our fans, commenters, and anyone that has taken the time to read one of our posts. Thank you, thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts. Memepunks isn't just us, it's you too. We would also like to thank all of those who contributed above and beyond the call of duty. Most especially B, who has warmed into being a full time contributor, editor, webmaster and member of the ad-hoc. Couldn't have done it without you bro... not by half. We would also like to thank (in no particular order) MJL, Don, Gynkoba, Micker, Minister, Cory, TheMadElf, Shadowhawck, Marty and the BBC, Scathatch and the crew at AVcorp, Smokey and the CSS master, KC and Natalie, Jonathan, Rook and family, Brent, Stella, Vince, and all the rest of our friends and families. If we forgot anyone, rather than apologize to you, just gmail us or comment. We'll try our hand at revisionist history and add you to the list.

Now, what's in store for the future? The proposed redesign of the site is still going strong and is only about a month behind schedule. We have a couple of extraordinary media events coming up, which we will announce soon. We are welcoming a guest blogger, who will bring an eye for trends, an ear for music, and matching X chromosomes to the mix. Look for MJL's inaugural post shortly. Memepunks will be attending the annual meetings of the Cryonics Institute and the Immortalist Society next month. And We'll be establishing a presence in Second Life, so we can start reporting on all the great things that go on there. Memepunks will also be revisiting some previous posts to see how some of these big future filled projects are progressing.

Look for more reviews of books, movies and music on the horizon. And of course we'll be putting up a torrent of posts on biotech, robots, web 2.0, space travel, nanotech, computers, AI, the IP wars, the Google revolution, cutting edge science, paradigm shifts and Internet weirdness. All in all, not a bad first 100 for a couple of computer techs from the suburbs of Detroit. Thank you again for making the first 100 possible. And here is to 1000 more! Onward and Upward.

“All this will not be finished in the first hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.” - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

You start by downloading songs......

2006-08-23T16:27:00.000-04:00

Another music artist has entered the battle between the music industry and their fans but this volley might not be what people would expect. Master of Parody and Hero of the singing comedy genre Weird Al Yankovic has released the newest single from his upcoming CD, "Straight out of Lynwood ". The song, titled "Don't Download this song ", is a parody of epic proportions. While the song is written as a warning, the lyrics scream of the idiotic business model of suing your customers in mass numbers and trying to strangle technology with an iron fist. Its an original recording, but has a very "We are the World" feel to it. Al is by no means the first artist to fight back against the RIAA, but unlike recent soldiers in the war, Al makes his shots with wit and style.

I have been a "Weird Al" fan for the better part of my life. I embrace the lyrical aspect of music and enjoy listening to the ways artists write and execute their passion for the sung word. I also embrace cover artists who take a song and add their own personalities and nuances to it. (One notable exception to this is the recent Gnarles Barkley cover of the Violent Femmes "Gone Daddy Gone", but that is a discussion for another post). Weird Al puts an amazing comedic aspect to not only the music he covers, but in his original works. Comedy that is both juvenile and yet surprisingly adult and deep.

Some people dismiss his music as sophomoric and uncreative, but I will violently defend his humor! You can't produce lyrics such as:

I'm the pioust guy the little Amletts want to be like
on my knees day and night scoring points for the afterlife.

to the tune of Coolio's "Gangster Paradise" and not be considered a well rounded musical talent.

Al has also released a music video over at yahoo music for "Don't Download this Song" and has gotten George Plimpton to do the animation for it. While the Nazi RIAA tank chases and prison scenes are all classic Plimpton and fit well with the song, I would have liked to see Al go a different way with it. As I mentioned earlier, the song sounds very much like the great 80's cause-de-jour marketing tool, "We are the World" and it would have been great for Al to get a large group of "one hit wonders" and faded musical artists together and shoot it in a "we have a cause and you should listen to us" style that made the video for We Are The World so popular. In fact, you could probably get 90% of the original "We are the World" artists to do this project for a hundred bucks each.

I recommend you all NOT download this song and check it out.

Al is also playing that song along with several other hits on his myspace page, but for ethical reasons, I will not be linking to THAT.

EDITORIAL NOTE: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS POST ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF MEMEPUNKS.COM AND ITS AFFLIATED ENTITIES. THEY ARE THE OPINIONS OF THE POSTING AUTHOR ALONE.

Movie Review Snakes on a Plane

2006-08-22T19:59:00.000-04:00

As if you didn't know, the most highly anticipated movie of the summer made its debut last weekend. Of course I'm talking about Hollywood blockbuster Snakes on a Plane! You wont find any shakespearean soliloquies or Oscar worthy material on board this 747. What you will find is a legion of deadly poisonous snakes. Originaly, Snakes on a Plane was off to a rocky start. With a so/so script, and a wishy washy studio going back and forth on changing the title to something "less campy" and more respectable, Snakes had the makings of a cinematic tour de turds. But it turns out this mid-budget fright fest had two power houses in it's corner. Samuel L. Jackson and the Internet.

When the studio big-wigs renamed the film Pacific Air Flight 121, Samuel L Jackson had some things to say about that. Namely... "Nobody wants to see Pacific Flight 121. That's like saying 'Boat To Heaven.' Bullshit! C'mon! People know what they want to see. People either want to see this movie, or they don't. So let 'em know, if you're coming to see this movie, you're going to see a plane full of deadly-ass snakes. That's what it should be called: Deadly Ass Snakes on a Plane" On March second, the studio caved, and thankfully returned the film title to it's former glory. Sam also wanted them to film the movie with an R rating in mind, rather than the watered down PG-13.

But the real driving force behind Snakes on a Plane arriving in it's final form at the box office was the mighty world wide web. Second only to Sam Jackson in it's ability to kick ass and take names, the Internet adopted Snakes on a Plane as its own long before it was a finished film. It started innocently enough a year ago with a single post by indy blogger Josh Friedman on his blog "I find your lack of faith disturbing". News of Snakes on a Plane quickly saturated the web. There were fake movie posters, Music Videos, movie contests, T-shirts, poster parodies, clips and comedy routines. And of course, millions upon millions of iterations of a made up line of dialog from the movie where Sam Jackson's character angrily refers to "motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!" There were even rocky horror style movie participation groups passing a script around the web months before the movie was scheduled to open.

The Internet buzz eventually went mainstream, with appearances on the Daily Show and the Colbert Report among other places. Better late than never, the studio caught on. They went back and re shot five days worth of footage, cranking up the movie to an R rating to appeal to the growing online fan base. They also made sure to include Samuel L Jackson's "motherfucking snakes" line. They jumped onto the viral marketing bandwagon as well, organizing online fan contests, and adding a way to get personalized calls from SLJ himself to your friends via the web. So what did all of this do for the movie itself? What did we end up with when the house lights went down and the projector started rolling? We ended up with Snakes on a Plane.

Jackson is as bad a motherfucker as ever. Sam delivers his lines as only he can, and almost makes wading into a horde of poisonous snakes with only a tazer and an attitude believable. He stars as FBI agent Neville Flynn. He and his partner Agent sanders, played by Hong Kong veteran Mark Houghton, find them selves escorting a young extreme sportsman turned murder witness from Hawai'i to Los Angles to testify against a ruthless Asian mobster. The RedBull drinking, Kawasaki riding, surfer witness is portrayed aptly enough by Wolf Creek Alumni Nathan Phillips. Terry Chen swings for the fences as the villainous Chen Leong without chewing the scenery. ER's Julliana Margulies plays lead flight attendant and heroine Clair Miller.

The premise of the film is simple. To kill the witness on his way to testify, mob boss Chen arranges to have 400 deadly snakes unleashed on the plane. This is were the movie happily goes right over the top. Take a host of stereotypical passengers; a richdebutante with a dog in her purse, a stuck up brit CEO, an effeminate male flight attendant, an Asian kickboxer, a dirty minded co-pilot, a rap star complete with entourage, a pair of young children traveling alone for the first time, a mother with her new baby, a young couple in love. Then instantly add hundreds of slithering, biting, "deadly ass",poisonous snakes. That's when the fun begins. The violence comes at you fast and furious and much of it catches you by surprise. And it's not just snakes that kill people, the general chaos that ensues also results in a slew of fatalities.

Some shots of the snakes are arguably real animals. But most of the violent snake attacks come from computer generated reptiles. It doesn't quite mesh with the real backdrop and human actors, but it's close. More along the lines of Alone in the Dark than Jurrasic Park's raptors or WETA's Balrog. There are scenes shot from the snakes POV, in green hazy Snake-O-Vision. Which brings back fond memories of Predator and Wolfen. The survivors fight a losing battle against the rampaging snakes that puts the passengers of Tail Sting to shame. They use broken bottle spears, home made flame throwers, tazers, and everything else on the plane to repel the ophidian invaders. The movie just keeps building, at one point even introducing a 30 foot long man eating anaconda!

As the movie goes on, you do start to feel for some of the characters, even in this completely unbelievable situation. And Snakes goes out of its way to break the molds of the various stereo types it establishes at thebeginning. Away from the plane, we have a stalwart FBI administrator and a snake expert coordinating things on the ground. I wont give away scenes or reveal too much of how the movie closes. But suffice it to say, I got my popcorn chewing moneys worth. And to quote Josh, "What else do you need to know? How the snakes get on the plane, what the snakes do once they're on the plane, who puts the snakes on the plane, who is trying to get the snakes off the plane...This is not for you to ponder. There are snakes on the plane. End of fucking story."

Was Snakes on a Plane a success? With a budget of only 36 million, Snakes made almost half of that in it's opening weekend. Beating out Talladega nights as the top movie of the weekend. And although the studio calls the numbersdisappointing, wait until the DVD comes out.
Wired already appointed SoaP the Best Worst Movie of the Year. And Sam Jackson has gone on record, perhaps sarcastically, stating that Snakes will win MTV's Best Movie award.

But Snakes on a Plane isn't just a movie anymore, it's also a meme. And I give them both Four Motherfucking Memestars.

Robot Update 014

2006-08-20T16:48:00.000-04:00

The pinnacle of many a technology is to be seamlessly integrated into our lives. Cellphones, ATM cards, automobiles, remote controls, etc... We don't really marvel at them any more, it's just the way things are. In order for new technologies to pervade our way of life, they either need a new infrastructure built to support them, or they must be able to thrive wholly within the existing one. This is why many roboticists and engineers have been chasing the grail of the humanoid robot. In theory, a robot with two arms and two legs can go anywhere we can; our offices, our homes, our schools, and our market places. A robot that shares our dimensions can use our doors, travel along our sidewalks, and share our public spaces.

But thus far, humanoid robots have been underachievers. Although they are near miracles of coordination and technology, they are inevitably slow, awkward and expensive. Even the most out of shape human can literally run circles around our most agile high tech humanoid robot. There is another approach now being studied that may allow for societally integrated robots, while the humanoids are still finding their stride. It's called Ballbot, and it is today's robot.

Ballbot is the fruit of the labors of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute. Lead by Professor Ralph Hollis, the engineering team developed a robot that stands and travels by balancing itself on a single steel sphere. The robot was built to human dimensions, tall and thin by robot standards. It's 1.5 meters tall (four foot nine), is 400mm in diameter (16 inches), and ways 45 Kilograms (just under 100 pounds). Ballbot works on a principle similar to the old track balls and ball computer mice, but in reverse. Rollers powered by a drive motor spin against the single steel drive ball, and act to keep Ballbot upright and propel it in any direction, without the need to turn or corner.

The robot is basically a cylinder that consists of three aluminum channels that hold up a series of circular shelves, like a book shelf or layer cake. Each shelf contains a different component. One houses Ballbot's 200MHz Pentium brain and 802.11b Wifi link. Another holds the 48V lead acid battery that gives Ballbot a few hours of operating time. About halfway up the robot sits the IMU, an Inertial Measuring Unit that emulates a vertical gyroscope and provides Ballbot with his remarkable sense of balance and high center of gravity. Three "leg" pylons deploy when Ballbot is without power, preventing it from falling over in the event of a malfunction.

Due to Ballbots layered and modular construction, it can be reconfigured and modified without requiring a redesign. This also makes Ballbot inexpensive to build and maintain, another trick the humanoid robots have yet to master. The next incarnation of Ballbot will see the addition of a head with a variety of sensors, and a pair of articulated arms to the chassis. This will increase Ballbots ability to stay balanced, and also ad a whole new level of functionality to the Ballbot framework. In a combination of simplicity and genius, Professor Hollis and his team have created a machine that can travel effortlessly in spaces made specifically for humans, and do so without unnecessary complication or expense.

Professor Hollis has been building and designing robots since before robotics was even a recognized field of study. Have a look at the Microdynamics Physics Laboratory project page for the Ballbot to find additional information that the team has provided. This includes addition hi-rez pictures, white papers, and a couple of neat videos of Ballbot in action. Still there are miles to go before Professor Hollis and his team can sleep. "We want to make Ballbot much faster, more dynamic and graceful," he said. "But there are many hurdles to overcome, like responding to unplanned contact with its surroundings, planning motion in cluttered spaces and safety issues."

So before we finish, lets get the Dalek jokes out of the way. Certainly even the best designed robot which balances on a single sphere will be incapable of navigating stairs. This is something that true integration into our living and working spaces will require. But with the minor addition of more ramps and elevators in everyday locations, the world could easily accept a host of rolling Ballbots. It will have the added bonus of making the world a nicer place for Murderballers and the occasional legendary physicist too. [via Slashdot]

"Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand?" - Miyagi Sensei

Woot Off? Woot On baby!!!!

2006-08-17T11:00:00.000-04:00

A while back we introduced our friend, Woot. Well the magical day is upon us and there is currently a Woot Off going on RIGHT NOW!!! This is where they post a new item after the previous item sells out, which means a ton of good deals and witty write ups!

Head on over to Woot and check it out.

(the little bar at the bottom moves from right to left and idicates the number of items left till the next item is posted)

Memepunks Goes Bookcrossing!

2006-08-16T00:08:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, your faithful editors of Memepunks took some time off from our hectic posting schedules to finally get out and feel what its like to bookcross. We here at Meme Station Zero are avid readers and stumbled across bookcrossing a few months back. The idea is simple. If you have a book you like, or don't like for that matter, register it at the bookcrossing site, label it appropriately, and then release it into the wild for other interested parties to pick up, read and then hopefully return the book to the free world for more sharing. Think Napster for books without the pesky XXAA lawsuits.

We thought long and hard about where to set free our first round of books. We eventually decided on scenic downtown Ann Arbor, Mi. There are a few reasons for this. The first is Ann Arbor has a fairly hip and intellectual demographic. We felt a strong chance that our books would land in the hands of an appreciative audience that would not only enjoy them, but would perhaps join the bookcrossing revolution. Second, there are many "3rd places" where people gather and interact that would make excellent seeding grounds. And finally, the city of Ann Arbor, and more directly the University of Michigan is playing host to one of the most ambitious and altruistic projects ever conceived in the digital era. Google print has set up shop at the University of Michigan (and other great libraries around the world) with one goal. The preservation by means of digitization all written texts. That's right, Google wants to scan, catalog, and integrate into their search engine every book ever published. How freakin cool is that?

First, we stopped in at the Ann Arbor Bus Depot (map). This close to the supposed "MotorCity" the Bus depot was a classically depressing experience. From the faded and shabby exterior, to the hollow and sparse interior, the place sorta creeped me out. But we felt it would be a great place to leave a good story for a weary traveler. We decided on Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (more details). We casually placed the book on a chair, snapped a comemorative digital shot, and made for the exit. Our first release! It felt adventurous with an odd hint of danger for no good reason and we were hooked!

Second up was the Espresso Royale Caffe (map). A small out of the way independent coffee house right on Main street. The lounge was quiet for a Saturday morning, but there were several students and suited businessmen sipping and chatting. Here we left Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep (more details). We didn't linger long here either, as we were still adjusting to this life of underworld book seeding. I think that slowly this was replaced with a child-like sense of immediacy that we HAD TO DO MORE!

We ventured further south on Main street and wandered into one of the dozen or so Starbucks (map) coffee houses littered throughout Ann Arbor. Here we sat and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee and discussed the rest of our adventure as we thought it should go. Perhaps it was the piercing blue eyes of our indie hot barrista, but we were inspired to leave a copy of Dune by Frank Herbert(more details). This time however, we embraced our actions. We stood triumphantly by our newest release, watching it like a parent does a child as they take those first tentative pedals away on their Christmas bicycle.

Next up was the amazing Vault of Midnight(map). This awesome pop culture marketplace takes us back to our childhoods every time we step across the threshold. Billed as a comic shop, this place offers so much more. From strange foreign imports to classic action figures and everything in between, this place is a "must see" for any geek, movie fan, or self proclaimed nerd. Looking for that latest issue of Spiderman? These guys have it. How about a complete set of Pulp Fiction playschoolesqe figures? What about a hard cover edition of Maus? Look no further. Here we left Neuromancer by William Gibson (more details) and spent way too much time getting lost in all the whuffie this place exudes.

Our next stop was set to be another Starbucks down the street, but we were waylaid by a free concert in Liberty Park. The fellas (and lady) from The Six Foot Poles were doing a benefit concert and had amassed quite a gathering. We stopped to enjoy the performance and realized this would be a perfect spot to set free another book from our dwindling collection. It was a wonderful sunny day and the park was shaded with a slight breeze blowing through. Had we not been so excited to finish our bookcrossing, this would have been an ideal spot to kick back, relax, read an excellent book and listen to some good music. We set free upon this small slice of heaven a copy of Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology by Bruce Sterling (more details). Hell, our afternoon could have ended right here if given the right circumstances. A nap in the park felt like the only right answer to the "what's next" question. We still had two books to go though, and we weren't about to give up now!

The next release is a bit harder to explain. We were confident in our adventure so far and we stopped along Liberty street and sat at a small table against a mural of some fine authors and visionaries. There is a Potbelly Sandwich shop at the corner and I believe they maintain these tables, but they were far from the entrance and open to anyone. We decided under the giant head of Harry Houdini to release Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury(more details). Hopefully our book will escape its chains of bondage and find a new fan of this classic story.

Finally, we ended up back in a Starbucks (map). This one at the corner of State and Liberty. This is a monster store. Seating for dozens of coffee mavens and hard studying students. They have a great open sided fireplace as a center piece and even basement seating. Here we released our final book, Skeleton Crew by Stephen King(more details). A fine collection of his early short stories, Skeleton Crew was a fitting end to our adventures. Check out Survivor Type if you ever get to read it. It was the first story to ever give me full on nightmares and cold sweats.

So our first bookcrossing adventure came to a close, but it will not be forgotten. In a great city with a great personality we did our part to share some good reading with the world. From a surprise concert in the park and an indie film shoot (If anyone has any info on a small indie film named "Take 2" being filmed in and around Ann Arbor, PLEASE email us), to a long lost friend of Memepunks appearing out of the blue, it was a good day. Please check out bookcrossing and Ann Arbor if your ever in the area. Memepunks will be happy to show you around and let you buy us a beer or two!

"Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those Who Ride the Lightning

2006-08-14T18:23:00.000-04:00

Back in April I posted an earth day follow up and touched on how better hybrid car technology was on the horizon. Well as usual, the future has arrived ahead of schedule. We might be leapfrogging hybrids all together in favor of cars that are 100% electric. Historicaly, the problem with electric cars has been the technology. Due to battery constraints, inefficient motors and lack of research funding, the electric car has been relegated to novelty status. Most of them look like little more than glorified golf carts; short range, slow, and tiny. Concessions made to the technology took too much from both the form and the function of electrics, keeping them well outside the mainstream for most drivers.

There were exceptions of course, but never in enough numbers to impact the trillion dollar auto industry. At last, the technology is catching up with the visionaries. Electric cars are now being built that not only match their internal combustion counterparts for speed and power, but leave them in the dust. The most visible poster car for electric performance is the bright yellow Zooop. The Zooop tops out at 112 mph, with a range of 280 miles, all without needing a single drop of exorbitantly priced gas. It is the product of a Parisian fashion house of all things, Maison de Courrèges. The one unfortunate aspect of the Zooop (apart form it's name) is the cars appearance. It looks like the car Electra Woman and Dyna Girl would drive if they were still fighting crime. But the Zooop isn't built to be a production car, it's as much a work of art as it is a zero emissions sports car.

The real future of the automobile is being built at America's newest car company. On the opposite side of the country from the "Big 3" and the "Motor City", this automotive start up is based out of silicon valley. Tesla Motors recently revealed their spectacular new street machine, the Tesla Roadster. Named for the father of AC current, the roadster was unveiled on the 150th anniversary of Tesla's birth, July 10th 2006, the year of Tesla. Unlike the Cartoonish Zooop, the Tesla roadster is a full blooded sports car.

The unlikely mind behind the Tesla Roadster is Martin Eberhard, inventor of the Rocket E-book reader. An expert in portable electronics, Eberhard was the farthest thing from an automotive engineer. But after some big money investments from the founders of Paypal, Google, and Ebay, Martin has made his dream of a non oil dependent sports car a reality. Tesla Motors has partnered with Lotus for the final design and assembly of the Tesla Roadster.

The technical specifications of the Tesla are amazing. The car is capable of instant acceleration, 0-60 in less than four seconds. The top speed of the roadster is right around 130 mph, its range is 250 miles, generating 248 horsepower. The 2 speed 185Kw electric motor redlines at over 13,000 RPMs, has only one moving part, and is the size of a shoebox. That's another draw to this electric marvel. No oil changes, no belts or filters or spark plugs, no waiting for the engine to "warm up" the heater, none of the baggage that comes along with internal combustion. In fact, the only maintenance that Tesla Motors recommends in 100,000 miles is break and tire service.

The styling of the car oozes speed and performance, but that's no surprise coming from Lotus. There are things that may cause some gear heads to take a step back from the Tesla Roadster. For starters, the car is silent. No throaty Corvette roar, no Ferrari whine that suggests speed lives under the hood. And of course the Tesla must be plugged in periodically to charge the batteries, which is something sports car owners might take exception to. But at one penny per mile, and having the freedom to drive passed any and all gas stations at 130 mph, defying convention isn't an obstacle, it's a perk.

The Tesla Roadster may not be for all of us, with production models costing as much as $80,000. But Tesla Motors is also working on a sedan for everyday driving. And other conventional car companies like Mitsubishi are now announcing fully electric production vehicles that will hit the market in the next 1-5 years. With the stir that the Car 2.0 start up is creating, it's no surprise that many competitors are now working to steal Tesla's thunder. It remains to be seen if Tesla will become another Tucker or DeLorean. But just looking at the rolling wonder that is the Tesla Roadster, I am of the opinion that Martin Eberhard has caught lightning in a bottle. [inspired by Wired]

“Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine.” - Nikola Tesla

Movie Review: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

2006-08-07T23:03:00.000-04:00

Actor Will Ferrell is back in theaters this past weekend with the new movie, Talladega Nights. Teamed once again with writer/ director Adam McKay, Ferrell has finally dug himself out of the BeWitched and Kicking And Screaming funk he put himself into. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is the story of the #1 NASCAR driver in America and his interactions with the world around him. He lives his life by the motto, "If you're not first, you're last" and it shows. From his trophy wife to his lavish home, Ricky Bobby will do anything to be #1 (including winning a NASCAR race in reverse). When a snooty Frenchman comes from the ranks of the European formula circuit to usurp Ricky, suddenly staying #1 isn't as easy as he thought.

The Good.
The Adam McKay /Will Ferrell combo is a marvelous thing to behold. Teaming these two up is cinematic gold. According to IMDB.COM, Talladega Nights was #1 at the box office this past weekend, grossing $47 million. The dynamic duo are not new to Hollywood, as they gave us Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy back in 2004. Lets hope we see more of them. The writing was decent, with the story moving along at a steady pace. What is the real genius behind this movie is McKay's instinct in what ad-lib, impromptu, Will Farrell rants to keep and which ones to cut. Farrell is the type of comedy presence that can be uproariously funny and then drag out into uncomfortable tyrades. McKay is able to pick and choose these moments to keep the movie from becoming a BeWitched stinker. Also good were the supporting cast of characters, with comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (Mr. Throw the Jew Down the well himself) playing the very french and very gay Jean Girard and John C. Reilly as Ricky's best friend and the other member of the "Shake and Bake" team, Cal Naughton, Jr.

The Bad.
Sacha Baron Cohen was a bit too over the top as the Frenchman. Every character in this movie was a satire in and of themselves, but Jean Girard stood out as being almost too ludicrous. Perhaps it was the very heavy and sloppy french accent or the way Cohen carried the character, but it just didn't mesh well with the feel of the film. In almost every scene with him, it was everyone else and then GIRARD! I found this most noticeable when Ricky Bobby visits Girard at his home to discuss his return to NASCAR and Ferrell falls flat against the over the top acting of Cohen. That scene, above all else, felt very forced and surprisingly uncomfortable for a comedy. That's not to say it wasn't funny. Any movie about NASCAR that can work in a Highlander reference gets a thumbs up from me, but the scene shifted the mood of the film slightly.

The Ugly.
If Farrell and McKay aren't careful they are going to suffer the same fate as most film franchises coming out of Hollywood. These two films, Anchorman and Talladega Nights, are almost identical in plot. A socially inept and ego filled hero reaches the top of his game, only to be undone by his own pride. The hero then finds the strength to overcome their adversity and regain their throne. While the devices (a pregnate panda bear or a cougar) and the characters change, the ideas stay the same. These movies are funny and well written, but if they keep doing them in the same formula assembly line, the jokes are going to wear thin quickly. I want more of this team, but I would like some variety too.

Talladega Nights is a great film. Full of good laughs and fun times. Not as good as Anchorman, but still a worthwhile summer release.

3.5 memestars

Robot Update 013

2006-08-07T17:26:00.000-04:00

A while back, I talked about the mars rovers, and more recently SPHERE, NASA's floating helper bots. This weeks robot is a sort of hybrid of those two ideas, with some distributed computing, ad hoc networking, and colony intelligence thrown into the mix. They are called Microbots, and they may soon be bounding across the surface of an extraterrestrial planet near you.

Stephen Dubowsky, an engineer for MIT's field and space robotics laboratory is leading the project that will bring the microbots to life. The concept behind the little spherical exploration machines is a time honored one. Many hands make for light work. Each microbot will weigh less than 100 grams, or right around 3.5 ounces. They'll be baseball sized, constructed of light weight but very strong composite materials. Pound for pound, for the cost and effort of delivering one spirit or opportunity style rover to mars, you could instead send more than 1000 microbots. In it's life time, a single colony of 1000 of the little guys could explore more than 50 square kilometers of martian surface. That's an order of magnitude more area than any current ground based rover could cover.

Although the microbots design is simple, there is some pretty sophisticated technology at work under their tiny transparent hoods. microbots will get their power from miniature fuel cell technology. Conventinaly, something like this would run off the same sort of Lithium Ion battery that powers my laptop. But because of the microbots unique use of energy for motion, a fuel cell is ideal. Speaking of motion, that's one of the microbots coolest qualities. They will use artificial muscles called dielectric elastomer actuators. These alloys contract or expand in the presence of electricity. Meaning that a microbot will generate force in the same way we do, by flexing its muscles. The actuators will work to both change the orientation of the small robotic sphere as well as powering a mechanical "foot" concealed within it. Microbots will move by rolling, bouncing and hoping from place to place. MIT engineers estimate that any given microbot will be capable of making meter high jumps on a planet with mars like gravity.

Suites of spectrometers, cameras, and other measuring devices will be nested in the heart of a microbot explorer. And although each robot on it's own wont have much by way of memory, communications range, or processing power, together they will accomplish feats no rover can. For instance, to explore areas where long range communication back to the mother ship is impossible, a colony of microbots could link up like a string of pearls or trail of bread crumbs. Each one acting like a WiFi signal repeater, one robot could be talking to NASA from the open air of mars, while one member of the colony is deep under the surface recording and exploring. Also it would now be conceivable to sacrifice a microbot, or ten, or a hundred to explore interesting features that would be inescapable. Such as martian lava tubes or deep craters, where water might be abundant. After a handful of microbots took a one way trip down a lava tube and sent back their finding, the rest of the collective could go on exploring, losing very little of their effectiveness.

There are plenty of terrestrial uses for microbots as well. They could be deployed in disaster areas to search for survivors, sweep hot zones for IEDs, even be sent out to discover portions of our own planet we have yet to fully explore. The MIT team will be testing the first colony of microbots this fall. There is quite a future for hordes of well designed collectively intelligent highly mobile robot colonies. Perhaps they will be the harbingers of human landers and astronaut boots as we make our way across the solar system. Eventually, to explore new worlds, we'll just have to follow the bouncing ball. [Via Robots.net]

Book Review: ECHELON

2006-07-28T19:29:00.000-04:00

The original plan was to start off the stream of Memepunks book reviews with this years Hugo Award nominees. But we were contacted just recently by the good folks at Random House, and offered a review copy of of a newly released speculative fiction novel. The theme of the book is government surveillance and data aggregation, two topics very near and dear to our hearts, so of course we agreed. With out further ado... ECHELON

ECHELON is the first novel of author Josh Conviser. The trade paperback weighs in at a 289 pages and retails for 13.95. Although it is a work of speculative fiction/sci-fi, ECHELON has it's roots in the US government's very real electronic surveillance program of the same name. That, combined with the current wiretap scandals and domestic spying programs coming out of Washington, makes ECHELON's theme very poignant.

The novel is set in a not so distance future where the government spy machine has long since graduated from the small potatoes of running any one particular country. Echelon is now a deeply secret almost legendary organization that directs the fate of the world by controlling the the flow of information. The populace live very safe, albeit completely controlled lives. But this isn't the Oceania of Orwell's 1984. There is no jack booted gestapo or shining faced Supreme Leader. Echelon dominates quietly, unseen by the huddled masses. They employ force either by manipulating global military powers, or through the use of highly trained well equipped covert operatives.

The book has some very noticeable flaws, but that is to be expected in a new author's first endeavor. Josh Conviser made his creative bones in Hollywood and that is apparent in much of the writing. The dialog descends into witty banter more often than it should, and combined with the adrenaline soaked action that ensues, the book has a very cinematic feel. Some of the action scenes go over the top or beyond the levels of believability without needing to. For instance, the addition of a Nitrous Oxide element to an already harrowing escape sequence. In addition, occasional instances of Conviser's prose piles up the descriptors to a point that borders on melodrama. He also falls victim to a couple of rookie writing habits, such as using a reflective surface to trigger a characters description.

But the good points of ECHELON greatly outweigh its faults. First off, the characters are what really pull you into the story. The two leads are a duo of Eschelon operatives. One, Ryan Laing is a spy/commando who is augmented with some bleeding edge nanotechnology that makes him super human and nearly indestructible. He begins the story as a gung-ho field agent with a collection of gear that would shame batman. His partner/controller is Sarah Peters, a young but gifted hacker that is constantly immersed in the global flow of data. She is a much more "human" character that is often literally in the back of Ryan's mind. The two of them develop as the story progresses, and their plights succeed in keeping you in the action and turning pages. The supporting cast includes the fatherly Christopher Turing (his name no doubt a tip of the hat to the man himself), head of Echelon. The shadowy administrator Jason Sachs, who oversees Echelon's daily operations and dirty work. And David Madda, Echelon gadget man, a 21st century hybridization of James Bond's Q and Max Headroom's Bryce.

Through out most of the story, you are unsure of who exactly the heroes are, and seeing as all of this is coming from the perspective of a globe controlling intelligence agency, it begs the question are any heroes at all. One of the initial hang ups I had with ECHELON was the moral ambiguity of it. While settling into the book, everything was filtered through the eyes of the Echelon organization. But once things really get moving, not only does Conviser land on solid ground, but he does so without preaching or getting heavy handed. This made the initial skewed perspective even more prevalent to the story.

Truly globetrotting, the settings are varied and interesting, ranging from luxurious wine country, to far east wasteland, to tropical paradise without missing a beat. Reference to adventurous sports abound, including fencing, kayaking and rock climbing scenes. And the technology often takes center stage without stealing the show. Characters are equipped with sonic weapons, lasers, combat suits, railguns etc. Josh has a thing for next generation vehicles too, including hovering "coil bikes", gyroscopic "wheels" that work like supped up Embrios, and even a submarine that can break the sound barrier by traveling within it's own air bubble.

But some of the technology becomes far more than nerd candy or clever plot devices. The nanomachines within Ryan's body are a story element all their own, and a very good one. Conviser paints a unique picture of invasive nanotech, disquieting without being alarmist. The "Flow", which is the virtual reality representation of the collective computer networks of mankind, is much more than window dressing. Indeed, the Flow is the central over riding element of the story, being both the means of Echelon's control, and the proving ground for the worlds future.

In the end, there were two salient points I took away from ECHELON. One is the old debate about security vs. freedom. Something that is now more important than ever. Conviser makes an end run around the choice itself, as to whether we should give up one for the other. Instead, he presents us with a future where the powers that be are more than willing to make that choice for us. The other was the leap that Conviser makes from the old school of cyberpunk. ECHELON demonstrates that the future is about much more than connectivity and information. The real golden apple isn't the machines or the bits inside of them. It's about the dissemination of the information, the aggregation of the data into something useful, or misleading or powerful. We are beginning to leave behind the age of information and move on to the age of relevance and understanding. ECHELON has fun telling us that it just might be a bumpy ride.

Well done Mr. Conviser. As first novels go, you've come through with flying colors. We at Memepunks are already waiting to read the next one. 3.5 Memestars.

"Thousands can see it. If they can't tell millions, it doesn't exist."
"Truth tempered by dissemination" - ECHELON

Taste the Future

2006-07-26T03:38:00.000-04:00

There is something prehistoric about human beings eating meat. Despite our cultural advances, when it comes right down to it, a steak is still the result of a slaughtered cow and some fire. The problems with the historical meat model are many; Diseases like mad cow, famine in places that lack substantial farming, the health factor of fatty meats, not to mention hordes of dead animals. A small percentage of the population work themselves out of the equation by foregoing meat entirely. However, most of us still like a good steak or a juicy hamburger now and again, not to mention a chicken wing or a slice of bacon. So why is the meat business still struggling with the industrial revolution while other major commodities are already moving to hyper industrialization or new models entirely?

Part of the problem is the "ethics" of meat. The other hurdle, like with the farming of food crops, is that some people simply have an aversion to science encroaching on their dinner table. But despite a few stumbling blocks, there are some people working to bring meat out of the dark ages. The first tentative steps were taken over a decade ago in Europe, when Marlow developed a product called Quorn. Quorn is relatively new in the states, but Europe has been enjoying it for years. It's remarkably like chicken, but contains no real meat at all. Quorn is actually mycoprotein, derived from a previously obscure fungus and fermented in massive bioreactors for your dining pleasure. It may not sound appetizing, but I am told that Quorn is far more like real meat than any other substitutes, and loads more "authentic" than products made from soy.
I will be picking some up after posting this article and giving Quorn the Pepsi challenge.

Wired covered Quorns emergence into American kitchens back in 2002, and results were mostly positive. There was a dust up over Quorns original claims that it was made from mushrooms. But a quick look at their website tells you that the makers of Quorn are now proud of it's high tech mycoprotein roots. But although Quorn solves some of the problems with the meat model, it's not really playing by the rules. Deliciousness aside, although similar to meat, products like Quorn and the new Valess are still just synthetic meat substitutes. So where are the T-bones of he future?

They are currently taking shape inside Dutch bioreactors and labs in Maryland and Hawai'i, if New Harvest has anything to say about it. The Dutch government recently allocated $2.5 million for research into growing real meat from cell cultures on an industrial scale. Lead by Professor Henk Haagsman of Utrecht University, the dutch team is attempting to grow minced pork meat from pig stem cells in mass quantities. They predict successful results by 2009. In Hawai'i, Tissue Genesis' vice president of engineering Paul Kosnick, believes that with the proper funding a vat grown meat product would be possible within five years.

Jason Mathery, director of New Harvest and a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, envisions scores of industrial bioreactors. Some for producing the originating stem cells, some for producing the medium that the meat will have to be grown in, and some actually growing the meat in thin sheets to be layered into finished products. This would eliminate all of the overhead of running an old school animal farm. And in fact could take place inside any suitable structure from first cells to final product. No longer would the third world have to worry about good grazing lands or diseased animals. And test tube meat is an order of magnitude more efficient than the animal variety. With the animal, you have a whole life cycle to worry about, and all the energy that goes into keeping a fully living body in healthy shape. But in the lab, you only need to see to the needs of the actual tissues being grown for consumption. Mathery says;

"To produce the meat we eat now, 75 (percent) to 95 percent of what we feed an animal is lost because of metabolism and inedible structures like skeleton or neurological tissue. With cultured meat, there's no body to support; you're only building the meat that eventually gets eaten."

This may sound ghastly to some of you, but Jason has a very interesting way to look at it.

"We already eat meat that's processed in vats - chicken nuggets. But if we grow a better steak using cell cultures, we could give it the fat content of salmon, eliminate pathogens like salmonella, and save tens of millions of animals a year. Sure cultured meat isn't natural But neither are the processes for creating cheese or wine - not to mention stuffing 10,000 into a metal shed and pumping them with drugs."

One of the big positives in cultivated meat is that we could decide on its make up as it was being made. Beef, pork, chicken or what have you could be a hundred times more healthy than its "natural" counterpart. It could also be grown to specific compositions, textures, and tastes. I could foresee a time when meat cultivation centers become as famous for particular cultures of meat, just like certain vineyards are now renowned for their unique wines. And why stop there. What's to say that you couldn't put a microwave sized bioreactor in every kitchen, where tomorrow's New York Strip could be grown to order today.

It would be healthier, more plentiful, made to suit individual tastes, dead animal free, and available anywhere you had some floor space and some sunlight. When New Havest starts passing out the cultivated vat grown cheese burgers at the 2009 BBQ, I'll be a the head of the line. Until then, I suppose we'll have to get our delicious beef the old fashioned way. Bon appetit! [via Wired]

"The flesh. It should make the computer crazy, like those old ladies pinching babies. But it doesn't, not yet. I haven't taught it to be made crazy by the flesh, the poultry, the steak. So I'm going to start teaching it now!" - Seth Brundle

Myspace Embraces the Darkness

2006-07-25T18:31:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, rolling blackouts once again plagued the land of Disney, Neverland Ranch, and Scientology. The recent heatwave that hit us here in the states has really affected California. This is nothing new of course, California has been fighting their antiquated power grid for years. But what is interesting about these recent outages is the fact that they also affected a whole bunch of people living hundreds if not thousands of miles away.

Myspace.com, the hugely popular social networking site, reported outages this past Sunday, blamed on the blackouts. Myspace founder and everyones friend, Tom Anderson, posted a message to the main page stating "things were screwy" and blamed the blackouts and weak power grid in their L.A. datacenter. But on a plus side, myspace users were given a Pac-Man game to placate them! I wonder how many myspace users KNEW what Pac-man was before seeing this? Maybe their Mom or Dad talked about their earliest memories chasing ghosts and chomping pellets, but other then that, I doubt they have any clue. I wonder what Atari had to say about that? 96 million users, at 1984's .25 a game, I say myspace owes them about 4 million in arcade fees. (If I were Atari, I'd demand payment in sticky arcade tokens!) No, it was probably a cheap knock off clone written by a Myspace Monkey while his cage was being cleaned.

The more interesting aspect of this event is the fact that it happened at all. Myspace is being touted as "the most popular social networking site on the internet" and with the recent purchase by News Corp (Parent of the fairly unbalanced Fox News) last year for $580 million dollars, what is going on there? What kind of infrastructure is built where a world wide site can be brought to its knees by a local power outage? Myspace sure hasn't invested that money and banner revenue in content improvements . And its not going to infrastructure. So where is it? All I know is I sure hope Tom at least got himself a new white board.

Movie Review: Clerks 2

2006-07-25T14:59:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Clerks 2

This weekend the irreverent and shocking comedy of writer/director Kevin Smith returned to its roots with the big budget nationwide release of Clerks 2 . This long awaited sequel to Smith's breakout smash returns us to the small New Jersey town with our intrepid heroes Dante and Randall. This time around the boys are working at a burger joint after the Quick Stop burned in a tragic coffee pot accident. Thankfully Jay and Silent Bob are back to provide their street wisdom and witty commentary about life, liberty, and everything suburban. As Jay so eloquently offers up when asked by some teens if they were holding, " Shit, everything but coke, heroin, and your cock." Indeed Mr. Jay. Indeed.

This time around we got some better casting and bigger set budget. Mooby's, the Golden Arch inspired fast food joint where the boys find themselves working, is a great satire of our big burger fast food empire rolling across the American landscape. With its cutesy named combo meals and sanitized plastic "play area", it's an every town joint that Smith can sell so easily with his satirical humor and no holds barred attitude. Make no mistake, this is not a big budget Hollywood extravaganza, but its got all the elements to make an exceptionally funny movie.

Cameos abound in this movie, from "My Name is Earl"'s Ethan Suplee and Jason Lee to Wanda Sikes and stand up comedian Earthquake . And of course Kevin Smith's man-love shines on for a brief appearance by Mr. Daredevil himself, Ben Affleck.
"Phantoms WAS THE BOMB, YO!"

Smith tells a great story full of our pop culture influences and the choices we force upon ourselves. If any one person in Hollywood has his finger on what its like to be "US" right now, I have got to say its Kevin Smith.

The Good
Acting Lessons. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson have come a long way from the original Clerks. The first movie was well written but poorly executed. The dialog between characters felt more like pieced together monologues. In Clerks 2, these issues were nullified. The conversations moved dynamically and set a much more believable pace. The addition of Rosario Dawson really helped bring the characters together. Everyone played their roles well and it helped maintain the great setting for this movie.

The Bad
I would have liked to have had more back story developed with the characters. We know Dante and Randall are best friends and we learn exactly what that means as the movie progresses, but we don't ever find out why. Also, what happened to Veronica and Caitlin? Or Snowball?
The ending was a bit too contrite as well. While it provided true closure to the story, it just seemed... I don't know, perfect? And these characters lives were so far from perfect, it stood out as almost too easy.

The Ugly
Some questionable moral lines were crossed in this movie. From ATM discussions to Interspecies Erotica, this movie had it all. If the porch monkey conversation didn't offend you (apparently, we are taking it back) then the religiously crazed teenage co-worker masturbating while crying and apologizing to Jesus surely will. But here is the rub. It's funny. Uproariously funny in fact. Rarely do I laugh out loud in a theater, but not here. As uncomfortable as I felt laughing, I couldn't help it.

This movie cements Kevin Smith as a hero to our generation. He understands us, he makes us laugh, and he doesn't apologize for it. There was some controversy about this movie at a recent film critics screening when ABC's "Good Morning America" terribly un punny movie critic, Joel Siegel, jumped up and disrupted the entire film by storming out of the theater yelling obscenities about how this movie was terrible and.... well... obscene... (Irony, thy name is "Hollywood"). Not only did Kevin Smith respond on his blog, but confronted Siegel on the Opie and Anthony radio show. Kevin Smith knows his fans and knows his comedy. Who else would make a million dollar film and run their entire myspace friends list in the credits? You think James Cameron or Micheal Bay would do that? I hate myspace, but that was just cool.

4.5 out of 5 memestars

Sometimes I wish I'd done a little more with my life instead of just hanging out in front of places. Maybe be an animal doctor. Why not me? I like seals and shit. Or maybe be an astronaut. Go into space and shit. Be the first to find a new alien lifeform... and fuck it. People would be, like, "there he goes. Boy fucked a martian once." - Jay

State of The Blog

2006-07-19T16:28:00.000-04:00

As you know, we will soon be unbanned in India, as we are moving the blog to a legit web host, and officially taking up residence at www.memepunks.com for good. (no more domain forwarding). Our original plan was to ease up on the posts, work really hard at getting the CSS, Wordpress, and graphic elements under control. Then get the site moved over ASAP. However, the amount of content we were maintaining during that time was unacceptable. So, we are going to slow down the transition process a bit. Hopefully still being able to get everything up and ready by August 1st, but also keeping the posts coming strong in the mean time. Thanks to all of you for your patience, thanks for sticking with us through the slow spots, and as they say in the country where we are banned... Namaste.

Memepunks Banned in India!

2006-07-18T19:02:00.000-04:00

Memepunks.blogspot.com is officially blocked by ISPs and the government in India. Now, before we start handing out the "Free Memepunks!" protest signs, it isn't us specifically that are feeling the censors boot. In fact, ALL websites that have a *.blogspot.com, *.typepad.com, or geocities.com/* are being blanket blocked at the request of the Indian government. That's millions of websites all told, most of which are the blogs of small groups or individuals. There are some reports that rural India has not yet blocked all of the above addresses, but that may change once the Indian government catches up with the patchwork boon docks ISPs.

As to why these sites are being censored, there are a few scattered reports, but precise details are scarce. We know for sure that the order came down for the India Department of Telecommunications, which all ISPs must obey or face the consequences. And the DoT typically gets its marching orders from The Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-In). This is not an entirely new phenomenon, as CERT-IN and the DoT have blocked 100 or so websites over the past six years. But this is the first time have they blocked so many at once, and especially not whole blog domains like blogspot and typepad. When asked about the specifics fo the censorship, CERT-In director Dr. Gulshan Rai said "Somebody must have asked for some sites to be blocked. What is your problem?".

At first it was though that the censorship was done in response to the commotion that followed the horrific Mumbai train bombings . But it now seems more likely that the site blocking is in "an effort to curb the propagation of religious extremism on the Net". If this is just heavy handed policy aimed at stamping out Muslim extremist sentiment, the Indian government has missed the boat big time on this one. In fact one of the sites blocked was created just to provide relief for the Mumbai bombing victims, and now those in need of relief are reaching the site through a Pakistani proxy service. Irony, thy name is Internet. It's a good thing this "extremism" isn't circulating in the mail or over the phones, perhaps India would start shutting down whole calling and zip codes.

There is a flood of information on India's latest misstep bubbling up all over the internets. For a first stop I would recommend the Google groups Bloggers Collective. Or if Wiki is you preferred dish, hop over to the Censorship Wikia. I learned about this first via Boing Boing, and while I was typing this article, they posted an Update, which included a more detailed list of banned URLs. Struggle on citizens of India, there are ways around every firewall.

"The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it." John Gilmore (EFF)

Movie Review: A Scanner Darkly

2006-07-17T02:40:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: A Scanner Darkly

Opening this past weekend in limited release, the newest film adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick novel hits area theaters. The story follows a group of middle american drug users as they live, love and battle in the very near future. Phillip K. Dick is an American SCI-FI icon who delves deep into the human experience using science fiction themes as a backdrop for issues we all contend with. A Scanner Darkly is no different. Set 7 years into our future, this movie addresses issues we are living with today.

The protagonist of the film is an undercover LAPD cop who is trying to root out the source of a highly addictive and dangerous drug, substance D. He surrounds himself with a cast of sadly comical characters, lives in a run down suburban home (located in true Americana style at the end of a cul-de-sac), and spends his time trying to do his job and deal with a developing substance D addiction. He involves himself romantically with a mysterious drug dealer named Donna, who he hopes will shed light on the ultimate source of substance D.

As an undercover officer, Agent Fred's identity must be protected and shielded from everyone, including his own handlers. The scanners referred to in the title are high quality audio and video surveillance used to monitor every aspect of Bob Arctors (Agent Fred's undercover persona) life. In order to accomplish this , Agent Fred dons a scramble suite that blocks the scanner sensors by constantly displaying random images of different people in different clothing and modifying his voice. As Bob Arctor takes more substance D, Agent Fred's left and right brain hemispheres start to disassociate to the point where he has trouble separating his real life from the fake one. When his handlers inform him of his drug related brain damage, Agent Fred swears off substance D with tragic results. He finds himself suffering through withdrawal and turns to the only help available, New Path recovery clinics. The true antagonist of the film, New Path is not all it seems as Agent Fred soon learns. The audience also learns that the people surrounding both Agent Fred and Bob Arctor are not as they first appear either.

The Good

The amazing look of this film. Director Richard Linklater puts together a great story with some really amazing cinematography. When I first saw the previews for this film, I thought "Hmmm someone is having lots of fun with photoshop filters." But after seeing the movie, it became plainly obvious that this was the only way to do it right. Shot digitally, and then animated using interpolated rotoscoping, (the process of digitally tracing footage for animation) this movie provides a unique feel where the animation becomes an intergal part of the story. At times the animation feels subtle, mostly on close up character shots where feeling and emotion are important to the scene. Then almost instantly the audience is given a scene where depth and perspective are skewed. Exterior shots with moving objects such as cars and even highway travel scenes really show this aspect of the animation. By the end of the film, I realized how unsettling this can be. But it helped impress the overall mood of the film, and for that Linklater should be commended. After watching this film, I am now very interested in seeing The Waking Life , another Linklater film shot in the same format. In a 2004 documentary, Linklater described the interpolated rotoscoping technique claiming it was the only way to represent his Lucid Dreaming ideas. I couldn't agree more.

The casting was also superb (With one notable exception which I will get into a bit later). Woody Harrelson and Robert Downey Jr. played great drug addict roles. The laughs they create while high and dealing with simple life challenges such as 18 speed bikes (or is it a 9 speed?) and ordering dessert are paranoid and tragic and worth every laugh. Even Wynonna Rider (whom I am not normally a fan of) was surprisingly good.

The Bad

The amazing look of this film. Now before you start yelling "hypocrite!" let me explain. The shifting depth perception and perspectives threw off my equilibrium and made me a bit nauseous. The scramble suits were especially disturbing. The constant shifting of faces and body parts really made me uncomfortable. But like a horrific highway accident, I couldn't help but stare. The "bad" was a must have for this movie. Much like Sin City, where animation and camera usage are so much a part of this film, it becomes another character telling its part of the story.

The Ugly

The casting of Keanu Reeves as Agent Fred/Bob Arctor. I have serious doubts as to Keanu Reeves' humanity. I've watched tomatoes rotting in a field have more emotional range and inspired sympathy. In the first Matrix film, the confused lost little boy act was sorta new, now its just annoying. I never felt the fall of Agent Fred/Bob Arctor. I just couldn't identify with him because the character never really changed. The only way we really knew of the substance D withdrawal was a single scene of Agent Fred vomiting in the lobby of a New Path recovery clinic. He might as well have been on a bad booze bender for all the emotion it brought out. Keanu is the reason I referred to Arctor/Agent Fred as the "protagonist" and not the hero. There was nothing heroic about Keanu playing this role.

I also disliked the way New Path was represented. The original story really told the story of New Path. How New Path destroys a persons self worth and personal pride, emptying them of all personality and then attempting to "rebuild" them in a new image. The fact that the LAPD had attempted to infiltrate New Path and failed on several occasions was never really explained. The lack of backstory for New Path combined with Reeves' terrible acting really left the ending feeling hollow and empty.

All together, this movie is a disturbing look at a very possible future, where big corporations value profit above substance and the powers that be are watching everything we do. As always we here at Memepunks recommend checking out the source material of anything that trips our triggers. A Scanner Darkly is no exception. The Head Memepunk in Charge has read the book, but not yet for this lowly film reviewer. It has now moved way up the "To be read by me" list, thanks to this movie.

4 memestars, had it not been for Mr. Woah.... as it is, 3.5

A Stem Cell Crossroads

2006-07-13T03:03:00.000-04:00

Embryonic stem cells have always been a source of controversy here in America. We have politicized something that should be an issue of hard science, and placed stumbling blocks in the paths of some of the greatest minds in biotech research. The fireworks began in the early days of President GWB, when he placed a ban on all federal funding for any embryonic stem cells derived after August 9th, 2001. This turned out to be a much more dismal picture than the President painted initially. There were fewer "lines" of stem cells than promised, and many had been contaminated with non human tissues. Since then it has been slow going for ESCs. There has not been a single instance of a viable embryonic stem cell therapy in the US, and no changes have been made in the federal funding policy. But both of those things may be about to change.

First off, scientists at Geron have devised a treatment for spinal injuries using embryonic stem cells. Their plan is to inject oligodendrocyte progenitor cells into the damaged spines of injury victims. OPCs are special cells that play a support role to neurons in the central nervous system. They do this by creating a fatty myelin sheath around the neurons which then aids in transmitting signals within the brain and spine. Oligodendrocyte progenitor cells can be grown from human embryonic stem cells, and that is just what Geron is doing. They have already carried out the treatment successfully in rats, and in vitro in the laboratory.

The cells also do not have to be cultured specifically for the patient. Tests have shown that the central nervous system does not reject the newly introduced treatment cells. Geron has applied to the FDA to begin human trials. They are ready to get underway as soon as the US regulator gives them the go-ahead. But the specifics of this treatment may not apply to other proposed ESC therapies, as immune responses may differ dramatically. The jury is still out on whether or not a success here will herald new growth and support for the cause of embryonic stem cells. But many eyes will be on the good doctors at Geron. I wish them success, both in the healing of their patients and in helping medicine take a step forward.

Secondly, the question of federal funding has come back around. Last year the house passed H.R. 810, the "Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005". This is a bill that would allow for federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. It goes on to specify the source of the stem cells must be "derived from human embryos that have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics, were created for the purposes of fertility treatment, and were in excess of the clinical need of the individuals seeking such treatment". This would supersede the President's August 9th 2001 decree. This is not a blanket endorsement of ESC funding. It merely seeks to utilize embryos that already exist in excess. The bill goes on to further stipulate that it must be determined, "that the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded".

They are talking about embryos that would otherwise quite literally go to waste. These plentiful and miraculous cells that could go on to save and improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people are currently being discarded. The passage of this bill would breathe new life into federally funded ESC research, without the destruction of a single embryo that wasn't already destined for the trash heap. H.R. 810 is now on the Senate's schedule, and could be voted on as early as next week. Even many republican Senators are backing the bill. It appears that the bill will get the needed 60 votes to pass the Senate. At which point the ball is in the President's court... As usual, he plans on dropping it.

The Denver Post recently covered a trip made to Colorado by the President's Deputy Chief of Staff/handler/brain, Karl Rove. Rove, who's machinations deserve a post of their own, stated in no uncertain terms that President Bush would veto the stem cell bill if it passes the Senate. If he does use that option, this would be the Presdent's first veto. Once again, science and medicine would fall by the wayside in the face of superstition and politics. Rove also stated that they are confident that congress lacks the 2/3rds majority needed to over turn a presidential veto. Thus giving Bush and company the final say in the matter.

Last month one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Diana DeGette, sought a meeting with the President in an attempt to convince him not to veto H.R. 810. But Rep. DeGette received a four sentence letter refusing her meeting with the President, the day after Rove's public statement. There was no explanation as to why. The bill's supporters will push for a vote regardless of an impending veto from the white house. And who knows, with midterm elections not far away, perhaps stem cells could become an important enough political issue to fuel a 2/3rds majority in congress. I know I'll be watching the fate of this bill carefully, and casting my vote accordingly. [inspired by Bodyhack]

“In a prime-time address, President Bush said he backed limited federal funding for stem cell research. That's right, the President said, this is a quote, the research could help cure brain diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and whatever it is I have.” - Conan O'Brien

Weekly Robot Update 012

2006-07-06T18:42:00.000-04:00

A couple of months back I posted about Crusher, a mean green autonomous military vehicle. Now I want to take a look at another self guided, free wheeling, street machine. Built on the chassis of an off the shelf Volkswagen, but enhanced with the latest in technology, he has recently proved himself more than a match for any of his autonomous peers. His name is Stanley, and he is this week's robot.

A couple of years back, DARPA announced a "Grand Challenge". To take place in 2004, the Grand Challenge was a competition to see if anyone could produce a vehicle capable of self navigating a 150 mile course through the desert. A collection of 25 industry and university teams rose to the challenge and produced computer controlled off road vehicles for Grand Challange 2004. Unfortunatly, the competition was an abysmal failure. The top competitor, Carnegie Mellon's Red Team, drove off the road after only 7.4 miles and promptly caught fire. There was however a silver lining to the Grand Challenge of 2004. It had renewed interest in the field of robotic vehicles.

In 2005 DARPA once again threw down the gauntlet. This time the teams of engineers knew exactly what the were in for, and a slew of new and improved vehicles qualified for the competition. One of them was the brain child of Sebastian Thrun, the head of Stanford University's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Thrun, along with a team of both Stanford and Volkwagen engineers brought Stanley to life. They put their heads together to construct the pinnacle of autonomous vehicles. Stanley won the Grand Challange hands down, finishing the entire course a full ten minutes ahead of Carnegie Mellon's robo-humvee.

Stanley is a stock diesel powered Volkswagen Toureg R5. Volkswagen of America's Electronic Research Lab developed the drive-by-wire system that would allow Staley to be controlled by his electronic brain. Stanely has a cluster of seven Pentium M processors to do his thinking. But his most winning feature is the suite of sensors that reveal his environment without human intervention. Stanley uses GPS data, wheel speed and position sensors, and inertial sensors for collection of internal information. For the outside world, Stanely employs a monocular video system, radar, paired stereo cameras, and four laser range finders. Stanley processes all of this information in real time, as fast as his tires can eat up the road.

Stanley's power comes from his engine, but the system to power all of the computers and sensors is itself computer controlled and backed up via a rack of batteries. Stanley is more than just hardware, sensors and processor cycles though. Sebastian Thrun also engineered Stanely with a rudimentary self awareness algorithm. Rather than simply programing the car to drive by rote, Stanley was actually taught how to drive. It analyzed how its own reactions based on sensor data differed from those of a human driver and altered its responses accordingly. The robot was also taught to question its own incoming data and analyze it for patterns. Looking further down the road and smarter than any SUV has a right to be, Stanley went from incorrectly judging terrain one out of every 8 times... To once every 50,000. The once timid vehicle no longer jumped at shadows or backed off from shrubbery. Complete with his new programming algorithms, Stanley is now the best of the best of the automotive set. Have a look at this google video of some of Stanleys Grand Challenge highlights.

For his technological accomplishments and Grand Challenge victory, Stanley is being inducted into the Smithsonian this summer. The Smithsonian and Stanely's creators both see him as much more than an up and coming toy for the military. Stanley is precursor for what will some day be the worlds automated roadways. Fully automated roads populated by Stanley's grand children could save tens of thousands of lives per year, in addition to freeing us from the doldrums of the daily commute. There may soon come a time when you simply tell your car where you want to be and then sit back and enjoy your favorite movie, while a host of networked smart cars carry you and your peers safely to your destinations.

By no coincidence, DARPA has announced the rules for Grand Challenge 2007. Vehicles will have to successfully navigate a 60 mile urban environment. Using signals and obeying traffic laws accordingly, vehicles will be forced to move through and merge with traffic. It is due to take place in early November of next year. I cant speak to the roster of rolling robots that will be at the starting line come 2007, but I'm willing to bet that Stanley or Stanley Jr. will be there kicking tailgate and taking VIN numbers. Robots, start your engines! [inspired by Wired]

"It is a one-of-a-kind car, Mr. Long. It is the fastest, safest, strongest car in the world. It is also completely fuel-efficient and is operated entirely by microprocessors which make it virtually impossible for it to be involved in any kind of mishap or collision." - Devon Miles

Independence Day

2006-07-04T17:15:00.000-04:00

First off, to those of us here in the states, happy Fourth of July! Perhaps you have been asking yourself; What happened to Memepunks? Where was last week's weekly robot update? What has science been up to lately?!

Things have been "afoot" behind the scenes here at Memepunks. We too will be celebrating our independence very soon. Memepunks is moving our operation to a legitimate web host in the coming week or so. After three months with our friends at blogger, it's time to move on. Although there were times when system slow downs and outages were frustrating, blogger performed above and beyond the call of duty for a free blog engine. Well done blogger, and thanks, we couldn't have gotten this far without you.

For our new host, we have chosen the cthulhu-esque logoed Laughing Squid. Their support is superb, and their services seem perfect for us. Also they have a blog of their own in which they cover things like BarCamp and the Robogames. Which means they must be an alright group of folks. For our new blog software, we are moving to WordPress. WordPress is an open source blogging engine that also happens to be the most popular self hosted blogging software on the planet. It's distributed under the time honored GNU-Gpl liscence, and came highly recommended by my friend and original Linux mentor Mick.

Hopefully this change in venue will issue in a new era of creativity and usability for Memepunks and our beloved readers. But this doesn't mean that we will be on hiatus until then. We will continue to blog about all sorts of future friendly ideas and strange or interesting stuff. I still owe you an extra WRU when all is said and done. Stay tuned to this space for the inside scoop on upcoming stem cell trails, synthetic meat, electronic interest detection, vat grown organs, and the Google Revolution. Special thanks to many of you for your kind words and e-mails. And of course to all of you... Thanks for reading Memepunks!

Memepunks - "Evenly distributing the future since 2006"

Memepunks Roundup - Viral Videos Gone Wild

2006-07-01T02:16:00.000-04:00

Hello Memepunks fans! We spend much time surfing the web because, as we have said before, the Internet isn't going to surf itself... YET!. We would like to introduce you to our newest feature, Viral Videos Gone Wild. A note though, while the cheesy title might make you think your getting hot chicks making out or removing their tops in a drunken stupor we assure you, these are all work safe. If your looking for that kind of content, its out there. Hell, that stuff built the Internet. But here we will bring you some of the clips that made us laugh, tear up, or just shake our heads.

Our first clip is a local news broadcast from the Las Vegas area. What makes this so interesting is that the reporter was obviously doing a fluff piece about some local "eccentric" and ended up getting MUCH more then he bargained for. Finally, prayer is shown to actually make a difference... Although something tells me this guy is gonna need more then a weather balloon to get his miracle requirement fufilled.

The next clip is just a rip of one of the many "Craziest Police Chases" that Fox and other networks put together. The reason I make note of it is the shear Hollywood action buddy film footage of the cop using her rolling police car as cover. Complete with real bullet holes and expert clip changes, I was waiting for Jerry Bruckheimer to jump out from behind the camera and yell, "CUT! PRINT!" This is the kind of woman I want to marry: fearless, dedicated, and good with a police issue 9mm Sig Sauer.

Next up we have Robert Kovacak, a field reporter for an NBC affiliate in Los Angeles. I bet Robert woke up that morning thinking he was just gonna have a normal day on the job, get assigned a story, maybe interview a few friends or relatives. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. By dumb luck, the subject of the manhunt he is reporting on is on his way to the police station to turn himself in when our fearless reporter overhears him on his cell phone. What results is a rather surreal on the spot interview. I'm really glad we got to hear why the cops couldn't find this guy. Hangin out at the Jack In The Box, gettin a soda, a sprite. Gonna have to remember that the next time I shoot my neighbor and have to hide out from the cops.

And finally, to celebrate the upcoming 4th of July holiday, we have this footage. A NASA rocket taking a satellite into orbit has a slight problem right after launch, and what makes this so interesting is the damage this thing caused. How does a 17 foot CRACK IN THE BOOSTER miss pre-flight?!?!!? No wonder NASA is collapsing.

Thanks for checking us out, and we will be bringing you more of our favorite videos as we stumble upon them.

Brain Parade, the Third - Future Shock

2006-06-29T18:37:00.000-04:00

The third of our Brain Parade questions is going to take a little set up. In 1970 Alvin Toffler wrote a book called Future Shock. The meme caught on like wild fire, and through out the 70s future shock was a household word. It even made it into a heinous school documentary hosted by Orson Welles. In a nutshell, future shock is the idea that technology will advance so quickly over such a short period of time, that the change will leave people with shattered psyches. According to Toffler, this "future shock" could also effect whole societies. Future Shock is still a popular meme, and has more than a passing resemblance to the technological singularity. With that little Primer in mind, here is the Brain Parade question, as it was presented to us by our brothers in blogs over at Meme Therapy. Our answer follows.

"It was once said that Science Fiction is the only antidote to Future Shock. Do you think the predictions of Future Shock that were made back in the 70s have now or ever will materialize?"

Future Shock is an undeniable truth that accompanies human advancement. Arguably mankind has advanced more in the last 50 years than in the previous 5000. And it will become harder for some people and societies to adjust to even greater potential changes. It is entirely possible that we are staring down the barrel of a technological Singularity. If we play our cards right, we may soon see more Future Shock than we ever have before. But that is not a bad thing. In essence Future Shock is a measuring stick for our success. If we aren't seeing a marked increase in Future Shock, it means we're doing something wrong. In the existing model, less Future Shock means less progress... less future.

South Korea seems to always be living 5 minutes in the future; The elderly using e-mail, robot border patrols, the highest level of broadband penetration in the world, Internet cafe deaths, etc. But their neighbors to the north, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea live in a throwback state of starvation, oppression and information control. If some how you brought down the DMZ and North and South Korea pulled a German reunification, you would have half a country in Future Shock.

Already we are starting to see whole industries succumbing to Future Shock. Take a look at Big Entertainment. The RIAA, MPAA and their brethren are attempting to litigate and lobby an end to progress. They cant cope with a changing world where their failed business model is simply no longer viable. If that's not Future Shock, I don't know what is. The telcos are following suit, trying to ban municipal WiFi and choke VOIP. More and more businesses and politicians are operating in a constant state of Future Shock, trying to stem the tide of progress to avoid a future which is to them unfathomable.

But progress doesn't stop. More information is exchanged, and in a more free way, than ever in human history. Areas of research and technology are advancing at speeds previous generations wouldn't have thought possible. Thanks to Moores law, we sequenced the human genome years ahead of schedule. As the rate of technological innovation accelerates, we will see more and more dinosaur cultures and industries swept over and replaced with new paradigms. The displaced and disenfranchised future shocked will become an even more visible permanent fixture than they are today.

That being said, we can reduce the amount of Future Shock by exposing people to new ideas. We can get people thinking outside their established boxes and really examining the possibilities inherent in our future. But whether we use science fiction, the transhumanist movement or media buzz, there are always going to be those that simply can not deal with the sweeping changes that the future will bring. This isn't something we should mourn. It means that we are growing. Becoming more than we once were, both as a society, and as a species. We should embrace Future Shock and invest in curbing this unavoidable side-effect of the human condition.

There you have it, the third and final installment of Memepunks' contributions to this particular batch of Brain Parades. If you want to know what some prevalent authors, pundits, and bloggers think about future shock, set your dials to the Meme Therapy Future Shock Brain Parade. Once again, it has been a blast blogging along side the fine folks of Meme Therapy, their particular combination of big ideas and great minds always keeps us coming back for more. Kudos Meme Therapists, and blog on.

Brain Parade, the Second - Pick a Spaceship, any Spaceship

2006-06-29T00:58:00.000-04:00

Again, the adhocracy that is Memepunks collaborated to answer a question put to us by the good people of Meme Therapy. This Brain Parade was more light hearted and fanciful than usual and was a lot of fun for us to answer. Read on for their question and our answer.

MT: "We give you a coupon redeemable for any spacecraft depicted in a science fiction story (insurance not included). Which ship do you trade it in for and what do you do with it?"

There were quite a few ideas we tossed around with this one; the Enterprise with its holodeck and matter replicators, the SDF-1 for the space folding and genetics technology (not to mention and giant laser and big friggen robot), or the Heart Of Gold complete with the Infinite Improbability Drive and a depressed robot. But we finally settled on the staple of British sci-fi. The TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. A space ship that travels through time, space and dimensions. It's the signature vehicle of Doctor Who, and our choice for the coupon trade in. The Ninth Docotor said it best with "It's not just any old power source -- it's the TARDIS! My TARDIS: the best ship in the universe."

Because the TARDIS's interior occupies separate dimensions from its exterior, it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside be several orders of magnitude. The TARDIS literally has everything. It has on occasion contained entire cities and even whole planets. But standard, it comes complete with living quarters, kitchens, swimming pools, a hospital, an art gallery, libraries, gardens, a cricket pavilion and a multi story MC Escheresque wardrobe. The TARDIS also sports robotic support in the form of a K-9 unit, a brilliant incredibly useful rolling Aibo with a laser. It can also change it's appearance to blend in with the local surroundings, although the doctor's Tardis lost the ability to assume any form.

The TARDIS's controls are isomorphic, mapping themselves to their specific owner. And it's power source is infinite, tapping into an ancient mystical black hole. It's nearly indestructible, and can teleport to safety if attacked. The TARDIS uses an Astral Map to plot out the entire space time continuum, and can travel to any place or any time in a fashion that makes speed meaningless. In addition, the TARDIS allows its users to speak and understand any language. And the ship itself is a soulful intelligent being, despite its silence. It will sometimes propel you of it's own accord to someplace exciting or where you are needed. The TARDIS is in essence the ultimate Sport Utility Vehicle.

For the second part, we are faced with an interesting dilemma. What do you do with a ship that can take you anywhere in time and space? We decided to invest our time with the TARDIS in helping humanity. Not in a heavy handed way, but we would simply pop around and change history to avert any massive species wide extinction of the human race. And we'd do so quietly. Ensuring that human kind is around for as long as possible, but without raising a fuss. We'd set up shop in the distant future, and travel back through history, smoothing over the biggest of the trouble spots.

After our work was over, before retiring and ending our omniverse spanning escapades, we would have ourselves a party. A transdimensional tailgate party at the heat death of the universe. Any and all fellow travelers would be welcome, and we would be happy to provide two way transportation to any of the universe's luminaries, philosophers, leaders, scientists, authors, etc. who didn't have a TARDIS of their own. BYOB of course.

As for insurance, we'd probably choose Progressive's PLPD... after all, even the worst driver can avoid an accident if they can go back 15 minutes before it happens.

We weren't the only Brain Paraders to choose the TARDIS. Check out the I Want to be a Spaceman Brain Parade to see what some pillars of the SF blogosphere had to say. We look forward to more Brain Parades to come, and hope that the gang at Meme Therapy keeps the good stuff coming.

Brain Parade, The First - Alienation

2006-06-29T00:22:00.000-04:00

Some time ago we mentioned that our friends at Meme Therapy had invited us to participate in some upcoming Brain Parades. Meme Therapy sent us a few questions, and we here at Memepunks put our heads together to answer them. The first question was rather open ended, and we answered it accordingly. What follows is their question and our answer.

"Do you think technology is contributing to an increasing sense of alienation in modern society?"

Technology doesn't contribute to alienation. Alienation and technology are both byproducts of humankind's continuing evolution. Now that things like upright walking and verbal communication are out of the way, we are evolving through changes to our culture, philosophies, technologies, and economies. Technology is but one manifestation of that evolution. Each of them, culture, economics, philosophy, and technology have their own alienated populations. But technology becomes the usual suspect when you look at the microcosm of the elderly, or the bio-Luddites for example. This is because technologies rate of change is faster and more visible than most other paradigms.

But the real cause of alienation is evolution itself. There are stragglers in every wagon train. The Amish, the neo-Luddites, and the technophobes are just the latest in a long line of evolutionary hold outs. Where ever there is advancement, there will be humans on both ends of the spectrum; Those that are leading the charge into the future, and those bringing up the rear. There are tools at our disposal to cut down on the amount of alienation brought on by continuing evolution. Better education, philosophical hand holding, constructive and open dialog with the fear mongers and the frightened, etc. can all be used to limit the amount of alienation in our society. But alienation will always exist at some level. It has been there since the beginning of our species, and it will be there long after we have become something else.

You can see how other bloggers, authors, and assorted brains answered in part One and Two of the Technological Alienation Brain Parade.

Movie Review: Superman Returns

2006-06-28T04:02:00.000-04:00

Movie Review: Superman Returns

The iconic American superhero once again soars into theaters to the giddy anticipation of friends and fans of the man of steel. This most recent incarnation of Superman follows on the great success of Hollywoods recent comic/superhero re-imaginings. In fact, we even got treated to a little bit of Venom before the main feature. Superman Returns has our hero disappearing for several years on a quest to rediscover his home world. He finds that it is truly gone and returns to earth a bit jaded but more resolved then ever to help humanity achieve its full potential.

The Good
The characters are well written and more importantly, amazingly cast. Brandon Routh is an excellent Superman, bursting with the pride and strength of the hero as well as the bumbling awkwardness of Clark Kent. It was great to finally get a strong and forceful superhero love interest in Kate Bosworth . She played the role extremely well and proved that a leading lady could hold her own in a modern day superhero film, unlike the cardboard cutout Katie Holmes in Batman Begins or the ditsy and selfish Mary Jane Watson we got from Kirsten Dunst. Lex Luthor was also perfectly cast with Kevin Spacey . One of the most versatile and progressive actors working in Hollywood today, Spacey pulls the Luthor role off superbly. His contempt for Superman oozes off the screen and the glee he shows when destroying a huge model train display would have been disturbing had it not been so amusing, Luthor slinking away when its obvious his test has gotten out of his control.

The Bad
There were a few scenes that just didn't fit with the film. One in particular was an elevator scene where Clark tries to catch Lois's eye across a sea of people all holding their copies of the daily planet reading about Supermans return. In our modern world, which this film embraces throughout the story, an elevator full of newspaper readers just feels wrong. I understand what the scene was trying to do, but it just didn't sit right for me. The other scene which felt hanky involved Superman laying in a coma in the hospital. Again, I knew what this was trying to accomplish, but I felt it just didn't deliver. I got much more of an emotional punch from the Spiderman train scene for the Superhero weakness angle. The hospital scenes were just too distant and removed.

The Ugly
This movie has a ribbon of darkness to it. Something that is very subtle and subdued, but present none the less. A feeling of loss and emptiness fill the characters in this movie. Superman missed his homeworld and his "kind". Lois Lane missed Superman, the man she fell in love with and who abandoned her on an almost selfish quest for personal discovery. Clark Kent missed Lois Lane, who had moved on in her heart and even had a child. Richard White who loves a woman that loves another. While these help create some deep and identifiable characters, it brought a somber note to an otherwise amazing film. In the closing scenes of the movie, Superman is hovering above Lois and she looks to him and says "So I guess we will be seeing you... around." And Superman gives her a smile and a nod and says "Ill always be around". While that smile does lighten the heart, it also has a sadness to it. A defeated heart that is more accepting then empowered.

This movie is a well done re imagining. Updated for a new generation, it passes the Superman litmus test and has added some new dimensions to the lore. I would like to think that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster would be proud to have this movie represent their Superman.

4.5 memestars

11 Million Year Old Rat Found, Doesn't Look a Day Over 40.

2006-06-27T18:17:00.000-04:00

Last year biologists discovered some strange looking rat carcases in the meat markets in Thailand and Laos. The identified them as a unique species of rodent. In May of this year, Dr. Mary Dawson, curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pennsylvania and the chairperson of the Division of Earth Sciences, published her own opinion of the creature. Once that has since been supported and accepted as fact. The rodent is a Diatomyidae, a species that we thought became extinct 11 million years ago. The Laotian Rock Rat, as it has been nicknamed is the mammal that time forgot.

It's very slow and waddles like a duck when not climbing in its preferred rocky environs. The creature is also very docile, having some how missed out on the last 11 million years of evolution. This methulselan rat isn't alone in the prehistoric hold overs club. There is also the Monito Del Monte, a small marsupial recently identified in south America. This "little mountain monkey" was believed extinct circa 11 million BC. And who can forget the discovery of the Coelacanth? A rough and tumble, 150+ pound fish that appeared out of the deep blue after being gone for over 80 million years. This creature lived along side the big Hollywood dinos like T-Rex and Triceratops. It's not known how any of these species survived and laid low for all these millions of years. But it lends credence to the thought that there may be even more prehistoric survivors walking, climbing, and swimming through remote parts of the world.

But the Laotian Rock Rat is now more than just conjecture. The furry little guy has been photographed, and just recently video taped. Docile, cute, good with humans, and an 11 million year old antique. Some one should be breeding these things to sell in pet stores. I think a Miocene era living fossil would be infinitely preferable to the default rabbit or trendy ferret. And what sorts of things might we learn from the DNA of a species from that far back in evolution's play book? Perhaps it could even aid in the discovery of the Ur-mammal from which we all came. Not bad for an old guy.

Memepunks Call to Action!

2006-06-23T13:54:00.000-04:00

Here at Memepunks we are up front about our feelings on DRM or Digital "Rights" Management. More correctly referred to as Digital Restrictions Management, this is the technology that neuters your media and electronics. It's the stuff that wont let you move files from your iPod to your computer. It's the stuff that plants root kit viruses on your computer, if you should be foolish enough to try listening to a CD by Sony Music. The world is now lousy with DRM; the region coding on your DVD player, the copy protection on your CDs and DVDs, the broken USB ports on your DVR cable box, limitations on whatever you buy from iTunes or most other on line music stores.

The level of contempt that the entertainment industry has for its customers is abhorrent. Customers are seen as swindlers, cheaters and thieves. To stop the occasional bad apple, the RIAA believes we must all give up our rights and freedoms. Imagine if we were treated that way by our grocer, our favorite retailer, or our local hardware store. Not only would we take our business elsewhere, we might just come back with torches. One activist group has never stood idly by in the face of DRM. The good folks at Defective By Design are known for their flash mob protests and Hazmat bunny suited DRM elimination crews. They have, in the past, protested Microsoft DRM, General DRM, and most recently Apple's iPod-iTunes DRM in cites like Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and Cambridge.

Today Defective By Design is asking for our help. They are calling on us to contact the RIAA, the mother of all DRM advocates. DBD would like you to sign up for their telephone protest. At which point they will provide you with a phone number for the Recording Industry Association of America. At some point today, they ask that you call the RIAA and give them a piece of your mind. Let them know what you think of DRM and the companies that support it. Not only is this a great show of solidarity, but it will get the RIAA's attention, and provide a fun outlet for the ticking rant-bomb inside each of us that has had to deal with their particular vile flavor of draconian DRM. Memepunks is joining in to help spread the word and of course make some calls of our own. Sign up HERE with Defective By Design to call the RIAA out on it's grade A mustache twirling evilness. (If you don't want the RIAA to have your phone number feel free to use Skype)

Once you sign up, log in to get particulars on how to contact the RIAA. And this isn't limited to the US, participants are welcome to call the UK, France, Canada, and Germany. Hop on this ASAP, as time is of the essence. Thousands have already signed up for this day long protest. It's time to show the RIAA mafia a little of the love that they have been showing us, their customers. They have to be made to understand that their current model of litigate-lobby-strong arm-produce crap simply will not succeed in the face of informed customer choice. The only thing a better mousetrap creates is smarter mice. Those that choose to violate copyright continue to do so. The ones that really suffer are the non tech savvy customers that simply want to exercise their guaranteed fair use freedoms.

The RIAA needs to find a better business model and quick. Because if they don't, some one else will. While you are pondering that, why don't you view one of these free google videos, or shop around for some music on Magnatune, or perhaps AllofMp3. We at Memepunks think this should not just be a one day thing. When you get those contact numbers and have made your call, save them some place. And then whenever you find yourself frustrated by the RIAA's DRM gestapo, pick up the phone once again and let freedom ring.[via Boing Boing]

"The idea of the enlightenment, the idea of the thing that brought an end to the dark ages, is really the idea that information should be shared, that knowledge should be shared, that progress occurs when we all share knowledge. And no matter what regime we've had since then, that's been a fundamental part of it." - Cory Doctorow

Memepunks Update: The protest has come and gone. By the afternoon the RIAA was screening all of its calls. We could only leave voicemail, so leave them we did. As of Monday at 11:30AM EST, Defective by Design was returning nothing but 404s. We arent sure if this is some sort of retaliation or if DBD is simply updating, But we will be watching to find out. Just in case, we've taken the liberty of collecting and posting the phone numbers of the various record industry stooges so that you may call them repeatedly and at your leasure for any questions or comments on DRM or copyright.

Brad Buckles RIAA USA (202) 857-9607
Mitch Bainwol RIAA USA (202) 857-9651
Cary Sherman RIAA USA (202) 857-9632
Mitch Glazier RIAA USA (202) 857-9673
Neil Turkowitz RIAA USA (202) 857-9647
Steve Redmond BPI UK +44 (0)20 7803 1324
Peter Jamieson BPI UK +44 (0) 20 7803 1311
Matt Phillips BPI UK 44 (0) 77 3951 4963
Michael Haentjes IFPI Germany +49 (30) 59 00 38-0
Peter Zombik IFPI Germany +49 (30) 59 00 38-0
Jean never Foitzik IFPI Germany +49 (30) 59 00 38-23
Herve Rony SNEP France +33 (1) 44 13 66 66
Graham Henderson CRIA Canada 1 (416) 967-7272 ext. 102

Enjoy this information, and as always, please use it responsibly.

Weekly Robot Update 011

2006-06-21T17:51:00.000-04:00

I am beginning to sense a pattern... The Japanese have a thing for robots. There is a movement within that country to roboticize nearly every aspect of their lives and culture. We've seen any number of strange, interesting and remarkable robots from the land of the rising sun. But this is the first one designed solely to trip the light fantastic. She comes in pink or blue, she dances divinely, and she is this weeks robot.

In an unfortunate mishmash of engrish, her name is Partner Ballroom Dance Robot, or PBDR. The PBDR is a collaborative effort between both robotics and creative design companies. Developed by the Kosuge and Wang Laboratory of Tohoku University, Nomura Unison, and Troiso. In cooperation with Riken and Nanasai, this unlikely robot has quite a pedigree. The Partner Ballroom Dance Robot stands 1.65 meters (about 5'4") tall, and weighs a respectable 100 kilograms. She can move her upper body via a series of actuators in her waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and neck. She has pressure and motion sensors integrated into her reflective neon plastic body. The robot moves across the dance floor by means of three electric powered wheels hidden beneath her gown like form factor. The skirts also conceal PBDR's logic, control system, and batteries which allow her to cut a rug for half an hour before needing a recharge.

PBDR is capable of executing a series of dance moves on her own, as well as mimicking the movements of a partner, or following a human dancers lead. She responds to movement and pressure exerted by her dance partner, and is able to smoothly be guided through a myriad of ballroom dances. PBDR debut at last years World Expo Prototype Robot Expidition in Aichi Japan. Needless to say, she was the bell of the ball. Since then, PBDR's creators have been making constant upgrades and improvements. There is even a male PBDR in the works. (Have a look at the Partner Ballroom Dance Robot dancing here. Or if you prefer a downloadable version, have at it.)

The purpose behind the PBDR is to better develop human-robot physical interaction. So that a robot could respond to the wishes of its owner based on a subtle pressure or guiding hand. Another key technology that Partner Ballrom Dance Robot was developed to explore is that of anticipation. Researchers want to have a system where in a robot can predict its owners needs without being explicitly instructed to do something. All of this is of course geared to the support of Japans growing elderly population. The technology that is derived from PBDR will be incorporated into future robots that will provide care for those that cannot completely care for themselves. Someday we may see the descendants of PBDR helping old ladies across bustling streets, caring for the infirm, or minding the children. But for now, these gleaming, graceful, automatons are strictly ballroom. [via we make money not art]

Robots
Dancing robots
Dancing robots
Robots
Robots
Taking system
FOOTBALL! - Strongbad

NFL 2k7 - Imperials Vs. Chaos?!?!

2006-06-21T10:53:00.000-04:00

It is being reported that EA, the largest name in console sports gaming, is setting its sights on the MMO world with the recent acquisition of Mythic Entertainment, makers of Dark Age of Camelot and the upcoming Warhammer MMO. From the press release on EA.COM:

Electronic Arts today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Virginia-based Mythic Entertainment®. Upon completion of the acquisition, Mythic Entertainment will become EA Mythic, a wholly-owned studio dedicated to developing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). Mythic is recognized worldwide for revolutionizing the online gaming space with the award-winning Dark Age of Camelot® and is currently developing Warhammer® Online: Age of Reckoning under license agreement with Games Workshop.

We here at Memepunks were big fans of Dark Age of Camelot when it launched. Back then Mythic was a small time game house with big ideas. They had some problems, but had a good relationship with the community (I still miss my Herald Updates from that sexy minx Sanya) and were delivering content on a semi regular basis. Then this little MMO from Blizzard came out and like most of the free world, we forgot all about our Skalds and Thanes.

EA is a strong company. They have and keep the major sports licenses because they make good games that fans enjoy. EA has devoted much of their development to consoles however, and it will be interesting to see how this return to the PC world goes.

I am optimistic about this though. We may just have to dust off our visa cards and break out our 44 oz mountain dew jugs once again!

Scientists Develop Anti-Aging Compound Using MAGIC

2006-06-20T01:44:00.000-04:00

South Korea, who's previous sterling reputation for biotech was recently besmirched, is returning to the scientific lime light. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology are challenging the most deadly of all diseases... Aging itself. In a recent breakthrough, Prof. Kim Tae-kook and colleagues are said to have discovered a "cellular fountain of youth." As published in Nature Chemical Biology, a UK science periodical, Tae-kook has developed a compound called CKG733. CKG733 is able to "reset" the aging mechanism in cells. Not only does it expand the lifespan of young cells, allowing them to live longer and double more often than their non CKG effected counterparts, but it also rejuvenates cells that are already old. The compound is capable not only of blocking the aging process, but reversing it as well.

Now keep in mind that we are not talking about organism wide aging. This is a reaction that happens on the cellular level. Actual aging, or senescence as it is called in biology, is a complicated process which includes many factors. Cellular senescence is just one small part of the process that changes people from young to old. But it is an integral part, and one not many scientists have been eager to challenge. Most biologists see aging and death as a natural part of life. But we are now starting to see it as one more thing that can be quantified, fought, and eventualy treated, like Polio, cancer or heart disease. CGK733 may just be the first shot fired in the war on aging.

CGK733 was developed using a revolutionary magnetic nanoprobe, magnetism-based interaction capture or MAGIC for short. This method is unique in that it permits researchers to actually view the molecular reactions occurring within a given cell. In all other techniques, scientists must observe the beginning and end of any cellular reaction, and guess at the inner workings of it. This is one of the many sources of dangerous side effects. As we know what a particular drug does, but not how it does it, complications can occur. With MAGIC, we get to see exactly what's happening within the cell, what molecules interact with what, and how. This leaves little room for debate or mistaken conjecture on the part of researchers.

MAGIC has already been used to discover a hand full of effective cancer drugs. This new technology alone is worth the price of admission. But CGK733 is Professor Kim and MAGIC's greatest achievement. CGK itself is a complex Thiourea derivative. Discovered while testing a battery of 20,000 drugs, CGK733 has been shown to increase or rejuvenate cellular lifespan in excess of 25 %. To date it is the only drug ever found that can reverse cellular senescence. Normal cells age by instigating a slowing or stop in division when they detect damage to their DNA. CGK733 blocks the protein that controls this process. Not only does this prevent the slowing process, but it also stops the cell from acquiring chromosomal damage.

Of course, we shouldn't start patting each other on the back just yet. CGK733 is a far cry from immortality in a bottle. It does not mean that grandma can pop a pill and live another 50 years. Cellular senescence is a great place to begin the battle against aging and "natural" death however. Researchers even predict that functional longevity drugs may be derived from CGK733 in as few as 10 years. And this is the very earliest of stages for both CGK733 and MAGIC. Anti-Senescence science is just now breaking out into the main stream. The sooner we start tackling the problem, the better chance we have for developing true life extension while those that are reading this are still around. Something like CGK733 is just the thing to make people stand up and take notice. Perhaps in 20 years we'll all be looking back on this discovery and saying "kamsa hamnida". [via the Korea Times]

"Julius Deane was one hundred and thirty-five years old, his metabolism assiduously warped by a weekly fortune in serums and hormones. His primary hedge against aging was a yearly pilgrimage to Tokyo, where genetic surgeons re-set the code of his DNA, a procedure unavailable in Chiba." - Neuromancer

2000 Year Old Computer Reveals Secrets

2006-06-16T05:19:00.000-04:00

About a century ago, a mysterious device was recovered from the sunken wreckage of a Roman ship. Greek sponge divers brought the relic to the surface where it was studied at length. It has since been named the Antikythera Mechanism. The machine is estimated to be over two thousand years old, and is Greek in origin. It is an archaeological paradox that we have been trying to solve for over a hundred years. I turns out that the two millenia old Antikythera Mechanism is actually an analog computer.

The device is small, measuring 33x17x9 centimeters. It's smaller than a modern shoebox. The innards of the device include a complex set of differential gears formed at equilateral triangles, a technology previously thought to be invented in the 16th century. And the complexity of the device rivals that of clocks that were not made until the 18th century. The existence of the Antikythera Mechanism is causing us to rethink and possibly even rewrite what we know about ancient history. The mechanism was probably operated via a hand crank, and originally contained within a wooden frame or box. It is covered in Greek text, over 2000 characters in all.

After much careful study, and various x-ray scans, it was determined that the device is an Orrey. The purpose of an Orrey is to track the movement of celestial bodies. The differential geared construction allowed the Antikythera Mechanism to add and subtract angular velocities and thus accurately describe the motions of planets. This made it possible to compute a true lunar cycle, accounting for the effects of the suns movement. This hints at a level of technical expertise well above and beyond what we previously believed the ancient Greeks were capable of.

Michael Wright, the curator of mechanical engineering at the Science Museum in London believes that the device may have been built at an ancient academy "founded by the Stoic philosopher Poseidonios on the Greek island of Rhodes". It is now believed that Rhodes was famous for it's tradition of mechanical engineering and automata. Cicero may have mentioned it or a similar device in his writings. He tells of a machine "recently constructed by our friend Posidonius, which at each revolution reproduces the same motions of the sun, the moon and the five planets." And the poet Pindar may have been speaking of the automata of Rhodes when he wrote;

The animated figures stand

Adorning every public street

And seem to breathe in stone, or

move their marble feet.

Recently there has been a breakthrough in the study of the Antikythera Mechanism. Researchers with the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project have arranged to have the device scanned with the most advanced imaging equipment available. Two revolutionary machines were brought to bear on the ancient computer. The first one was was provided by Hewlett Packard. A domed reflective imaging scanner was used to create super detailed computer generated images of the mechanism under various lighting conditions. The second machine was provided by the X-Tek Group. They brought in an eight ton 400kV microfocus Computed Tomography System nicknamed Bladerunner. Through Bladerunner, the researchers could now see the inscriptions inside the sealed components. Something that hadn't been seen for over 200 years.

Using the images from the two machines, they were able to identify an additional 1000 characters that were previously illegible. A complete translation is still underway. But with the new information they have gathered this year, experts now believe that the Antikythera Mechanism was designed to compute a heliocentric solar system, a millenia and a half before Copernicus. The research project has scheduled an international congress in Athens in November. By then a complete translation should be ready, and the full ramifications of the Antikythera Mechanism can be discussed by scientists from all over the world. Yanis Bitsakis of Athens University out lines the task faced by historians in the years ahead, "The challenge is to place this device into a scientific context, as it comes almost out of nowhere... and flies in the face of established theory that considers the ancient Greeks were lacking in applied technical knowledge."

Imagine an ancient Greece very different from the one you learned about in school, populated by accomplished mathematicians and engineers. A place where clockwork statuary lined the streets and sophisticated analog computers helped the Greeks calculate their place in the universe. Whatever ancient city the Antikythera Mechnism does hail from, it was a place of marvelous automata fifteen hundred years ahead of the Renissance. To think that the Greeks had the seeds for a potential industrial revolution at the same time that Alexander was marching his phalanx across Europe. First Bosnian Pyramids,and now Greek Clockwork... history gets more interesting every day. [via The Register]

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." - Archimedes

Say Hello to my little friend....

2006-06-15T23:17:00.000-04:00

Friends of Memepunks, this is Woot . Woot, these are the friends of Memepunks. Now that introductions are out of the way, let me tell you about the best little e-commerce site on this here world wide web. What is this Woot you may ask? Well, it all started as an experiment for an electronics dealer's on-line presence, but has evolved into something so much more than just a simple web store. What makes this Woot so different than a newegg or an amazon or a Best Buy you ask? Well before we get into it, perhaps we should start with the name, Woot.

As LOL and WTF and PWNED have entered our standard vocabulary thanks to the wonder that is on-line life and community, so to a lesser extent has the word Woot . It is used as a term of excited exclamation in the world of the web. Much like "Wow" and "Amazing" and "Huzzzahhh", Woot is a term used when telling your on-line friends about your new beta gmail account, or that great deal you got on Ebay for the latest in wrist wearable broadcast technology.

So along come these guys from Texas with an idea for a web store. First, Woot doesn't sell things... It sells A THING. Just one. Everyday a new item (there are exceptions to this of course, called Woot-offs, but we will get to that a little bit later) is posted and they don't tell you how many they have. That's right, you have no idea what their inventory level is until the item is all sold out. This is ok though, as any single customer can only ever buy 3 of any given item. And once an item is sold out, there is nothing else put up. "What the Hell?" you may be asking. "That spits in the face of everything we know about retail commerce!" Indeed. Its a new business model built on the power of the web and by all accounts an amazingly successful one.

From toasters to flat panel TVs (with blender) to froggy keyboard and mice sets , Woot spans the extremes of retail. But the novel business model is not the secret to their success. The real wonder is the humor and fun the site puts out with every new item. The descriptions of the items are truly unique and uproariously funny. Their wootcasts are also great. Take for instance, Bluetooth the Pirate. You can't stop the shanty, 'cuz the shanty won't stop!!

There is also the most special of days. Those days when the Woot staff looks around their warehouse and says "My lord in Heaven, we need to get rid of this crap!" and low and behold the elusive Woot-Off. This is a non-stop liquidation of all the left over stuff, usually with lower prices, and for days at a time items will be posted immediately after the previous item sells out.

And of course the Bag of Crap; Bride of Chucky; Bowl of Crayons... Sometimes, Woot gets special cast offs from their vendors; Calanders, ugly ties, toy robots straight from the Asian black market. Woot will throw up a "Bag of Crap" which is a random item from their inventory for JUST A DOLLAR!!!! There is even an urban internet legend of someone getting a $2500 plasma TV as their bag of crap, but this is unconfirmed.

So now that you two have met, we hope you give our friend Woot the chance to impress and astound you.

Weekly Robot Update 010

2006-06-15T03:50:00.000-04:00

This one has been brewing a while. I wanted to post this around WRU 006, but I held off to find some concrete technical specifications on the robot. Not many were forthcoming, so I've decided to post while the iron is still hot. Details are still a bit sketchy, and it doesn't have a name. But this robot has done something that no robot has ever done. It's the latest surgical tool in the armory of modern medicine, and it is this week's robot.

Robotic surgery is not a new field, bots have found themselves in operating rooms for over a decade. Ranging from primitive camera wielding "assistants" like Aesop to advanced multi armed remote surgery robotics like Da Vinci , these machines run the gambit in both form and function. Miniature robots that would crawl, climb, slither or wriggle through your internals are also edging their way onto the scene. We are seeing more and more medical robots for two main reasons. First, a well designed robot is much less invasive than a human doctor. In many instances, to fully practice their craft, doctors must access a patients internals with their hands. Human hands, while marvelous, are much larger than they need to be in a surgical setting. A robots appendages can be designed much smaller, allowing them to perform surgery with much less trauma to the patient.

The second killer app for medical robots is telepresence. Remote surgeries can be conducted with a robot on site, and a doctor miles and miles away. With the proper software and training to compensate for the time lag involved, Surgeons can operate robots remotely from across the globe. This can be useful if the patient is in a remote or hostile area, where a surgeon doesn't have access to them. Also, this comes in handy in specialized fields where a great deal of expertise is required, and specialists are in short supply. One surgeon could be in multiple places at once via robots, and trained techs could assist in the surgery without the surgeons specialized expertise.

This latest robot not only excels in both of those areas, it goes one step beyond. The unnamed prototype is designed by Dr. Carlo Pappone, head of Arrhythmia and Cardiac Electrophysiology at Milan's San Raffaele university. It is the first robot in history to successfully perform a medical procedure WITHOUT human control or intervention. Last month in Milan Italy, the robot treated a 34 year old man suffering from atrial fibrillation . The surgery lasted 40-50 minutes and was a complete success. Dr. Pappone's only involvement was to turn the robot on, and monitor it. He was in Boston at the time watching the process remotely.

While the specifications of the robot are still hazy, information on it's basic principle is available. Radio frequency ablation, a typical treatment for AF, involves stiff manual catheters which are maneuvered into the heart where their rigid tips emit enough radio frequency to break up the problem tissues. A procedure like this takes 3 to 5 hours and requires a full surgical team. Where as Pappone's robot uses a much less invasive soft catheter with a magnetic tip. Rather than manually steering the catheter into the patients heart, the robot uses external electromagnets to move it. This way only the smallest of tools is actually placed inside the patient and the rest of the process is done without even touching him. In the same way that a compass needle points to magnetic north, the robot guides the tiny catheter into the heart. The process takes 1/5th as long as a standard treatment, and can now be done without a single doctor scrubbing up.

Although Dr. Pappone has conducted over 40 radio frequency ablations with the robot, this is the first one without a human guiding the process. "It has learned to do the job thanks to experience gathered from operations on 10,000 patients," Pappone said. He has included all of his accumulated knowledge into the programing of the robot. Dr. Pappone has said that the robot has the expertise of several human surgeons incorporated into its software. The prototypes programing is so advanced, that it can now reconfigure itself on the fly after scanning and recognizing particular types of patients. The machine is nearing the end of its prototype stage, and if all goes as planed, will go on sale later this year.

Dr. Pappone points out that in addition to the wow factor, and the improvement over human RFA techniques, that the robot will also be able to provide treatment to thousands of children with heart irregularities in remote regions like Africa. Given the choice, so long as its operations are transparent and logged, I would choose a well designed autonomous robot doctor over the human variety. Especially if it was less invasive, safer, and faster than even a team of surgeons. Something like this could also go a long way to reducing surgical costs and thus be more accessible to everyone. If they continue performing as well as this one, perhaps in the future robotic surgeons will be the rule instead of the exception. Domo Arigato Doctor Roboto. [inspired by Discovery Reports]

“A good surgeon operates with his hand, not with his heart” - Alexandre Dumas, pere

What happened to Dharmas Karma?

2006-06-14T12:54:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the terrible title, but it is being reported that Jenna Elfman of Dharma and Greg stardom lashed out at indie filmmaker John Roecker, for wearing a tee-shirt that attacked her chosen religion, Scientology . Personally, I think its the greatest tee shirt ever, but apparently she got quite upset about it, asking if he "raped babies". Quite a compelling argument against free speech, I must admit. but this article is nothing special with one exception. Most people think Scientologists are crazy, except for them of course, but the thing about this article that really stood out was the following paragraph:

Bizarrely, Roecker also says that the Elfmans had a young, twenty-something male companion with them whom they continually instructed to move away and cover his ears whenever references to Xenu were made.

Uhhh... that's just creepy.

But I give this Roecker credit. He has giant balls of steel. Wearing a shirt like this in Hollywood is like wearing a "Catholic Priests molested me and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" shirt while on vacation in Rome.

Open Source Spectrum

2006-06-13T02:43:00.000-04:00

If you saw the Memepunks article on the Maker Faire and watched the video link, you saw a segment on "Software Radio". When we think of "radio" we don't often appreciate the full breadth of the word. Most people envision AM, FM, XM, or perhaps shortwave. But radio is a great big chunk of the electromagnetic spectrum. It consists of cellular signals, WiFi, broadcast TV, garage door openers, cordless phones, RFIDs, bluetooth, GPS, radar, and a host of other mediums. Historically, we think of all of those devices as very different. Your Dish TV receiver doesn't seem to be a very close relative of your keyless entry fob. However all of these radio devices are in fact cousins. The only reason they are each dedicated to a specific task is because, up until this point, radios weren't all that smart. But this is changing as we speak.

GNU Radio has arrived to free us from the bonds of convention. It is a collaborative project between Matt Ettus and Eric Blossom. Originaly, Eric just wanted something that could Decode HDTV broadcasts, in order to escape the looming vileness of the broadcast flag legislation. What he and Matt have cooked up has turned out to be so much more. The hardware is a Universal Software Radio Peripheral. A mother board with slots for a few daughter cards. The mother board plugs into the USB of your computer, and you can mix and match daughter cards to access different parts of the spectrum. Unlike conventional radio, none of the thinking is hard coded. All of the real work is done via software. Using GNU Radio, you can transform your WiFi access point into an HDTV receiver simply by running a different program.

A few lines of open source code, and a fast enough processor, and the USRP can assume any function, from transceiving GPS to listening to every FM band, or police radio. This miraculous device is not just a jack of all trades, but a master of them as well. With the proper software algorithms, you can turn a USRP into an HDTV receiver even more perfect than a dedicated off the shelf model. And speaking of off the shelf, Matt Ettus is now building and selling Universal Software Radio Peripherals. And of course, using the GNU public license, all of the software is open source. Giving you the freedom to tinker with the electromagnetic spectrum until your heart is content. The price for the hardware may be a bit prohibitive for the garage tinkerer, but a USRP costs about a tenth of what a less functional close source hardware platform would.

The uses for something like this are limitless. Perhaps you want to record every FM broadcast for a day. Or have your hot spot give off both WiFi and 3G. More important are the applications that aren't obvious, the things will only come from a decentralized and unregulated spectrum. Eric Blossom says, "Decentralized controls enable innovation at the edge -- it's closer to the computer model, I think what we'll find is that people will come up with things we never really thought about." Take for instance Path Intelligence, which uses GNU Radio to anonymously track the presence of cell phones, and thus foot traffic in UK malls for marketing purposes. More daughter cards, antennas and software apps are being developed for the USRP everyday. Soon you'll just have a black box that plugs into your computer, that does anything and everything that can be done with the spectrum. If you want to broadcast HD from your laptop, run a program. Want to get on the WiMax bandwagon? Run another.

Finally a use for all of those unused PCI or PCMCIA slots. This hearkens back to the days of ham radio, but with a wellspring of more possibilities. Eric is already working on a radar system that will use signals from cell towers, and commercial broadcast towers to locate and map flying objects up to 50 miles away. And there is no need to just use one slice of the spectrum at any given time. There is nothing to stop you from transmitting data over WiFi while broadcasting in HD. Matt Ettus believes his device could change the world. From the narrow bandwidth, false scarcity world of dumb electronics, to something quite different... "A world in which bandwidth is not an issue. People will create applications that will use that bandwidth, like complete telepresence." Complete telepresence, an end to bandwidth scarcity, and Open Source to boot. I'm not sure whether or not video really did kill the radio star. But GNU Radio is set to bury them both. [via Wired]

"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

Pessimest Prime

2006-06-13T00:16:00.000-04:00

When we heard the official word that they were making a new Transformers movie, our pop cult ears perked up. There were questions of course. How would they do it? Live action or CGI? Who would do the voices and play the human component? Who would write it and who would direct it? Would we get another Daredevil or a Batman Begins? Like most of the internet we watched the viral videos of live action/cgi asking "Is this test footage "? What about this ? How about a transformer navy? Hell, guys with a decent PC and some free time on their hands were delving into the transformer world , why not Hollywood? We speculated as to the plot and the characters, but the important thing was it was being attempted.

Growing up I had three staples in my sandbox. Star Wars action figures (often hanging out in the Cantina or battling Jabba on his sail barge), G.I. Joe (usually waging a massive attack on Cobra's secret desert base somewhere far away from my mid western surroundings) and Transformers. The wonder of transformer toys was their dual nature. How cool was it to have a super sonic jet that turned into a bad ass killer robot? Or a semi truck that becomes a leader of an entire sect of intelligent machines? Our imaginations ran wild with plots and scenarios, fueled by a half hour animated tour de force everyday from 3 to 3:30.

The rumor mill then revealed a writer from Alias would be penning the script. This was a positive sign, as Alias is a well written show with a depth and involvement often lacking from broadcast TV. And then another bombshell. Mr. popcorn chomping, blow up every piece of set and scenery himself, Micheal Bay, was set to direct. The man that brought us Armagedon, Pearl Harbor, The Rock and Bad Boys I and II was set to bring our childhood adventures to life! Now your talking!

But then we saw this article , and our baited breath was expelled in a defeated sigh. Megatron as a jet? WTF? Are we that over-protective of our kids that we can't have a giant gun anymore? Soundwave as a 4 foot robot? Say it aint SO!!!! and then the worst news of all. They have already gotten the viral marketing set up with a walking Xbox and a plasma TV sprouting arms. What is its weapon? High definition reruns of Bosom Buddies?

Maybe we are jaded in our old age, but signs are not looking good for this remake. Don't get us wrong, we are going to hand over our 9 bucks to the Red Army that is Hollywood, but we will be doing so with our hearts in our hands and our spirits lower then Drill Dasher on a mission to The Core . But all hope is not lost. Perhaps these vicious rumors are not true. Maybe this will be an amazing film on par with those hobbit movies, but we won't be holding our breath.

Hollywood is a world with all the personality of a paper cup.
~ Raymond Chandler

Weekly Robot Update 009

2006-06-09T19:40:00.000-04:00

Many of us remember the scene in the first Star Wars film where Luke is being trained in the use of the light saber for the first time. He fights that little floating sphere that shoots lasers at him. Well that image stuck in the minds of some NASA and MIT engineers. And years later they attempted to develop a useful space robot built around the same floating sphere concept. NASA named it the Personal Satellite Assistant, but the floating ball never really got off the ground. But now there is a new take on the PSA concept. It's called SPHERES and it's this weeks robot.

SPHERES or Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites were developed by the MIT Space Systems Laboratory and Payload Systems for both NASA and DARPA research. The small robot satellites are designed primarily to test autonomous flight and coordination algorithms. The robots are capable of flying in a microgravity environment using small CO2 thrusters positioned all over them. Each robot has smart enough avionics to fly on it's own, yet is built to maintain a steady stream of communication with the other SPHERES and a central computer using a wireless link. The SPHERES navigate through the use of ultrasound scanning and infrared beacons. Each SPHERES is right around 8 inches in diameter and weighs only 7 pounds. Each robot gets it's electrical power form a pair of common household AA batteries.

Only one floating robot has made it's way to the International Space Station for testing thus far. Have a look at the first video of "Red" being booted up for the first time. It isn't doing much just yet, except holding it's position in space. But the real pay off comes when multiple SPHERES start working together. A second robot is being sent up the gravity well to the ISS next month. And the third will follow later this year. Astronauts in space and engineers on the ground have already been putting the first robot through it's paces. Testing it's flight capabilities, communication and navigation skills, and even deliberately causing thruster problems, to see if the robot can fix them. So far Red has passed with flying colors. MIT engineering professor David Miller said, "We've commanded it to do a variety of maneuvers—loops and turns, for instance. And we've tested the robot's ability to solve problems. Not bad for one little droid, I can’t wait to see what three of them can do."

There are plenty of images of more SPHERE tests, both on the ground using tethered or wheeled models, and in the weightless environment of the NASA reduced gravity spacecraft. And also more video of the ground based test vehicles going through some maneuvers. The SPHERES have a great deal of potential to aid in space flight, and NASA has big plans for them. Someday, SPHERES descendants will accompany astronauts on space walks, and provide communication, video, and sensor information both inside and outside of space vehicles. SPHERES may also form the basis for a very large interferometer telescope that is in the works, one that will be composed of a large number of very small satellites working in tandem to give us a much larger "lens" than Hubble ever could. SPHERES could also be used for space based construction projects, and there is speculation that they could even aid in lunar colonization efforts.

Whatever roles future SPHERES are assigned to play, I have no doubt they will participate in coming space exploration. Small autonomous formation flying satellites are smarter, more efficient, and less expensive than their old guard vehicle sized counterparts. SPHERES let you do more with less, which is a doctrine that NASA is going to have to get very cozy with if they want to compete with rising foreign space programs, and more so, privatized space flight. I envision swarms of SPHERES building, repairing, scanning, exploring, and cooperating in and around space far into the future. These little guys are just getting started, and for them the sky is clearly not the limit. [via NASA]

“There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.” - Pythagorus

Man Lives on Monkey Food Alone

2006-06-08T23:21:00.000-04:00

Adam Scott, also known as the Last Angry Man is boldly going where no homo sapien has gone before. This is the story of a man who had a week of vacation time coming from work, and enough money to ship 40 pounds of ape food across Canada. Adam has vowed to spend an entire week eating nothing but monkey chow. It's a food used in zoo's to feed monkeys, apes, and other primates (which now includes Adam). Monkey chow comes in large twenty pound bags of dry kibble, like bulk dog food. The kibbles are large marshmallow sized rock hard chunks of nutritious goodness. Of course they smell and probably taste about like dog food.

Adam has been kind enough to document his "experiment" with a daily video blog. I've been watching him since day three when The Mad Elf clued me in on Mr Monkey Chow. It's been quite a thing to see. Adam is now in day six, with one more day to go before his ordeal is over. Watching the videos in sequence is like watching devolution in action. Adam was chipper on day one and hopeful about the coming week. By day four he was talking about killing passer byes for their food. On day six, his mood is abysmal. He's desperate enough to try monkey chow soaked in vodka overnight as a form of breakfast, and his mind is on those that are starving. (He plans to make a donation to Bread for the World when this is all over.)

Memepunks made a comment on Adam's blog that he should try other monkey foods, which may be more delicious than the dry monkey chow kibbles. Well, others must have suggested the same thing, because he tried a wet food canned alternative the next day. The results were less than spectacular. Adam has gotten an upswing of popularity and support since he began his week long battle with monkey chow. His actions have many people thinking about hunger, food sources and the primate condition. One Boing Boing reader even mentioned a long ago plan to create human chow in a dry kibble form, and to make it ubiquitous enough to end world hunger. That's an idea that may require further thought later. In addition to the Boing Boing story, Adam was also interviewed by both G4 and CBC radio! Adam says that he is surviving now off of the supporting E-mails alone. Memepunks is in your corner Mr. Monkey Chow. One more day to go. Hang in there ya' big ape.

"But your behavior studies are another matter. To suggest that we can learn anything about the simian nature from a study of man is sheer nonsense. Why, man is a nuisance. He eats up his food supply in the forest, then migrates to our green belts and ravages our crops. The sooner he is exterminated, the better. It's a question of simian survival." - Doctor Zaius

America's War on Science

2006-06-07T04:58:00.000-04:00

There is an unseen war going on in America. It's part of the war on drugs, part of the war on terror, and part of consumer safety. As an emergent side effect of these, and some additional foolishness, America is waging war on science. While the government targets terrorists, drug makers and illegal fireworks, it's the arm chair chemists and curious youngsters that get caught in the crossfire. The government has enabled legislation that makes DIY chemistry impossible without violating laws. And in so doing, we are sowing salt into the soil of our own future. Years ago, chemistry sets geared toward children and model rockets were simply part of growing up as a youngster in middle America. Some of my fondest childhood memories involve standing over the metal cabinet of my Chemcraft chemistry set, wearing over sized adult safety goggles and scrawling notes on my latest bubbling concoction, or launching an Estes rocket in the park.

But many of the youth of today will never get that chance. The Consumer Product Saftey Division has made it a point to outlaw chemicals that can be used to make illegal fireworks. Chemicals like sulfur and potassium perchlorate, that would have been standard issue in any lab experiment of yesteryear are now contraband. The CPSD, best known for its issuing of recalls for consumer goods, claims that this ban is in effect to reduce injuries from home made fireworks. The fact of the matter is that 98% of all firework related injuries are caused by off the shelf fireworks. All of this CPSD nonsense is to cut down on the other 2%.

The modern CPSD does more than just alert consumers to dangerous toasters. They have the power to mobilize law enforcement, and sponsor raids on citizens and businesses. One such raid was directed at the amazing online store United Nuclear. United Nuclear sells super powerful magnets, aerogel, lasers, chemicals, lab ware, and all sorts of other geeky goodness. The founders of United Nuclear were held at gun point, handcuffed, and had all of their computers and records confiscated. Why? Because some of the chemicals they sell could be used to make fireworks. United Nuclear is now involved in a long legal battle to avoid fines and prison sentences thanks to the CPSD.

And the fun doesn't stop there. In an attempt to curb the production of crystal meth, more than 30 states have now outlawed or require registration for common lab equipment. In Texas, you need to register the purchase of Erlenmeyer flasks or three-necked beakers. The same state where I do not have to register a handgun, forces me to register a glass beaker. In Portland, Oregon, even pH strips are suspect. Modern off the shelf "chemistry" sets are sold without any of the questionable chemicals or equipment. For example, when a current company tried re releasing a kit based on the one marketed by Mr. Wizard himself back in the 1950s, they found that they could only include five of the original chemicals in the set. The rest of the items were replaced with inane things like super balls and balloons. Even a non neutered modern chemistry set like the C3000 from Thames and Kosmos is forced to ship without many key chemicals, suggesting to their customers that they acquire the missing ingredients elsewhere.

Forget about model rocketry. Since the beginnings of the war on terror, the government has ridiculously claimed that model rockets could be used to shoot down commercial aircraft. Now all rocket engines above a certain size and thrust limit require fingerprinting, background checks and waving of your search and seizure rights! Said engines often require a Low Explosive Usage Permit to launch or take them across state lines. And all of these paranoid laws and regulations on chemistry, rocketry, and lab ware are not being done in ignorance. The powers that be are aware of the effect legislation is having on budding scientists and hobby enthusiasts. Pentagon and Justice Department consultant, professor James Tour said, “The fact that there are amateurs and retired professors out there who need access to these chemicals is a valid problem, but there aren’t many of those guys weighed against the possible dangers.” So because we still fear the terrorist boogieman, our kids are not allowed the same access to science that we had growing up. And hobbyists are forced to collect their chemicals and do their work in secret.

But there are some lights shinning in the darkness of this situation. Companies like United Nuclear, which continue to sell chemicals and lab equipment despite legal problems, and websites that support chemistry hobbyists. Like Readily Available Chemicals, which maintains a list of places where one can make an end run around the restrictions and purchase chemicals or lab ware. Or The Nitrogen Order, who provides a how to on building your own chemistry set, and provides lessons and experiments. And Science Madness who's forums give hobbyists a place to meet, compare notes, and exchange secrets of the trade anonymously. One of my favorites is the Society for Amateur Scientists, which just began a LABRats program, to match up youngsters that are interested in science with mentors that are practicing scientists.

I propose a Web 2.0 weapon in the fight to protect good chemistry from bad government. Perhaps a combination of the above websites, along with a strong membership of successful scientists. You could invite any and all hobbyists to participate, recommending and rating various experiments for others to try. Rolling lists of where to buy chemicals and supplies in local areas could be constantly updated with pricing and availability. Arm chair scientists could hold meet ups, collaborate on projects, and even "publish" their findings on the sites electronic periodical. It would be a great jumping off point for youngsters looking to start the beakers bubbling, and an excellent haven for amateur chemists of all ages. You could get a high profile spokes person, like Bill Nye or the Myth Busters, and subsidize the site via marketing deals with companies like Thames and Kosmos, United Nuclear, and Estes. I'd be happy to pay a small fee to join something like that, and they could even funnel a chunk of the profits into lobbying to put an end to the war on science.

While this continues, and children's exposure to real chemistry is stifled, our national science scores are plummeting. People are getting out of high school without ever having fired up a Bunsen burner. Now more than ever, innovation is needed for the United States to compete in the global economy. Visionaries like Gordon Moore, Vint Cerf, and David Packard all acquired their love of science and technology by enjoying real hands on chemistry as children. By legislating away amateur chemistry and rocketry, we are depriving an entire generation of potential innovators that same chance. All in the name of a little extra false security. “People who want to make meth will find ways to do it that don’t require an Erlenmeyer flask. But raising a generation of people who are technically incompetent is a recipe for disaster.” says Bill Nye.

Take a look at the picture I included with this post. It came from Stacina's Creative Commons licensed flickr stream. It's a picture of a home chemistry lab in Fort Myers, Florida. A lab full of unlicensed glassware and chemicals that would break all sorts of rules, and arouse untold suspicion and maybe even be shutdown by the powers that be. It's a good thing the war on science is a relatively new phenomenon... Because that's the home chemistry lab of Thomas Alva Edison. [via Wired]

I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale. - Marie Curie

Let the bodies hit on four! but stay on 17...

2006-06-06T01:09:00.000-04:00

Las Vegas, NV.... Sin City, Sodom and Gomorrah in the desert, or as Cotton McKnight put it, " A city built of hot sand, broken dreams and $5 lobster. A city where you can get a happy ending, if you pay a little extra." Vegas, like America in general, has reinvented itself many times over in its illustrious career as an American landmark known the world over. From the heady days of mobsters and the Chairman , to the corporate takeover of the 80's and 90's, to its short lived stint as a family vacation destination , Vegas encapsulates the American Dream in all its glory and horror.

The most recent marketing campaign, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" has been a great hit with the tourist set, but ignores an amazing yet subtle shift in what Vegas has to offer. Vegas is growing up to be true cultural mecca. Many culture elitists may disagree, saying that Vegas is nothing more then Ahab chasing his whale with all their supposed cultural investments, but it is working. Vegas is introducing fine art ; Broadway caliber stage shows ; amazing restaurants from world famous chefs ; and even a few fish to people who wouldn't normally visit those kind of venues. Sure there are still bare breasted dancers a plenty, both the respectable and the not so respectable sort, but more and more Vegas is seeing the value in high culture and is giving its fans what they want. And rest assured, Vegas doesn't do anything that isn't going to earn them respect or money or both.

And its with that in mind we present you, "Bodies... The Exhibition ". An exhibition that "tastefully" invokes visions of the side show days of the traveling carny. This is almost too perfect a fit for the Vegas experience. It has macabre undertones swirling with graphic visuals that Vegas embraces and enhances. But this is also a science and better living expo. 21 whole body specimens and over 260 preserved organs are on display in an innovated preservation process.

A human specimen is first preserved according to standard mortuary science. The specimen is then dissected to show whatever it is that someone wants to display. Once dissected, the specimen is immersed in acetone, which eliminates all body water. The specimen is then placed in a large bath of silicone, or polymer, and sealed in a vacuum chamber. Under vacuum, acetone leaves the body in the form of gas and the polymer replaces it, entering each cell and body tissue. A catalyst is then applied to the specimen, hardening it and completing the process.

While this is a great Vegas attraction, it is by no means unique to Las Vegas. There are many "Bodies... The Exibition" shows going on around the world. From New York to London , these shows are bringing the wonder of the human body to a new level, letting us see how we work in a new and inventive way. This is science and art blended into a unique vision and is something we here at Memepunks can appreciate immensely. This exhibit has now made my top ten "things to do the next time I'm in Vegas" list and while "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" is a great catch phrase, we will bring you our first hand review of this exhibit, and many others when we see them. I wonder if they have a "Corpses Playing Poker" display? That would be worth the 24 dollar admission in and of itself!

I think I would give my body to science if I could get signed on for the bodies exhibit on the Vegas strip. I wouldn't have to worry about an after life; I'd be more then happy to spend eternity as the "Bad Life Choices" kidney, lung, liver, heart, brain, whatever....

" Our bodies are apt to be our autobiographies. " - Frank Gillette Burgess

Wachowski Siblings Sign on for Speed Racer?

2006-06-05T04:16:00.000-04:00

The Hollywood rumor mill is at it once again. This time the whispers are in regards to a live action remake of the Japanese manga and anime classic, Speed Racer. It's the story of a young race car driver, his family, and the remarkable Mach 5 super car. Originaly released in Japan under the title Mach Go Go Go, Speed racer achieved seminal success here in America. It was the first anime to really catch on with American audiences and started an interest in Japnese animation that has swept the country ever since.

For quite some time now, remake fever has been a standing tradition in Hollywood. Two years ago actor Vince Vaughn sold a script to Warner Brothers for a Speed Racer remake. Vaughn was looking to play Speed Racer's mysterious anti-hero Racer X. That is the last we heard of Speed Racer until just recently. Now IGN is reporting that Andy and Larry Wachowski are looking to write and direct their own version of Speed Racer for the silver screen. No one is officially confirming or denying anything yet, but that is usually a good sign in pre-deal tight lipped Hollywood.

The Wachowskis have stayed relatively under the radar in the years after the Matrix Trilogy. With the exception of their recent film V for Vendetta. Although Vendetta strayed from Alan Moore's brilliant anarchist comic book work, the film was excellent none the less. If it turns out to be true that Andy and Larry are indeed taking over the controls of the Mach 5, I look forward to their take on it. It is unknown whether or not Vince Vaughn will continue to play a role in Speed Racer's development. But perhaps it's fate that the Wachowskis end up making Speed Racer. It is after all the anime that first brought us bullet time. Check out the opening sequence at the very end to see for yourself. [thanks to The Mad Elf]

"The Mach Five is the most complex and ingenious car ever built; a tribute to my father's imagination, genius and technical skills!" - Speed Racer

The Pirate Bay Sails Again!

2006-06-03T11:15:00.000-04:00

Rising from the black depths of the Internet like a ghost ship, ThePirateBay.org has returned from the grave. After a seizure of servers and site shutdown by the authorities that we covered here on Memepunks, the forces that be assumed that TPB would be down for the count. But you cant keep a good pirate down. Head on over to their site and have a look at their new logo which includes cannons being fired at the Hollywood sign, and the sarcastic "the police bay" page header. Congratulations MPAA and Swedish government. However much money/man hours you have put into sinking the TPB has only kept them under for a whopping total of three days.

Memepunks will keep you updated if TPB should issue any official statements in regards to last weeks incident. But for now we have some torrents to look up. Perhaps for irony we'll check out Poseidon. Feel free to head on over to The Pirate Bay and find some torrents for yourselves. Come on in, the water's fine.

Memepunks Update: Swedish news outlets are reporting that The Pirate Bay's number of visitors has doubled since the three day shutdown. Now in addition to a ridiculous expenditure of law enforcement and legal budgets, the enemies of TPB have succeeded in doubling its user base. Note to the **AAs: File sharing is a moveable feast, and everyone is hungry.

March of the Penguins

2006-06-03T05:58:00.000-04:00

The Red Hat Summit concluded today in Nashville. It was a gathering of open source industry leaders, experts and visionaries. Speeches and conferences lasted three days and covered a range of poignant topics including; "Open source, Freedom, Patents, Public policy, and Ground-breaking technology." There were a number of big names present, including the One Laptop Per Child Chairman, Professor Nicholas Negroponte. Also in attendance was author, blogger, DRM expert, EFF fellow and my personal hero Cory Doctorow. And of course the chairman, CEO and President of Red Hat Matthew Szulik was on hand to provide opening and closing keynotes for the summit. From start to finish, this year's Red Hat Summit showed that not only is Linux coming into it's own, but that Open Source Software is both an instrument for societal change and a pathway to a brighter future.

Have a look at the video of the opening keynote speech by Matthew Szulik. It begins with Szulik addressing what I refer to as the four noble truths of Open Source. Freedom, Courage, Accountability, and Commitment. He also speaks to the changes that have happened over the last ten years of the open source movement. Such as how ISO has approved the Open Document Format as an international standard, beating out Microsoft's proprietary format. He notes that ten years ago there was no Creative Commons, no built in infrastructure to replenish our informational and creative assets. Szulik stressed transparency, collaboration, and competition through continued innovation rather than industry lock in and control. Echo that!

After his initial introduction, in a tip of the red hat to collaboration, his keynote is actually taken over by other presenters. There are four separate segments that follow Szulik. The first two are rather technical, and probably wont strike a chord with those not already entrenched with the open source development community. But about 31 minutes into the keynote, Havoc Pennington introduces Mugshot. This is the OSS community's answer to social networking sites like MySpace. At the moment Mugshot in invitation only, but you can sign up to get on the waiting list and try it for yourself. This looks to be the first social networking site that I may actually use actively. Take THAT Rupert Murdoch! Seriously though, it remains to be seen whether something like Mugshot will be the MySpace killer.

After Havoc, about 39 minutes into the keynote video we see Christopher Blizzard of the One Laptop Per Child program, which we blogged about a while back here on Memepunks. He speaks with candor about the goals and aspirations of the OLPC and even debuts the first functional prototype of the $100 machine in question. The OLPC initiative was definitely the star of the Red Hat Summit. And although you cant see the actual prototype in the keynote, you can check out the video of Chistopher showing the machine off to a select few. It's orange, it has bunny ears, bears more than a passing resemblance to my old Speak and Spell, and I really really want one (more photos available here). Professor Negroponte delivered a keynote of his own on the last day of the conference where he noted that the OLPC project would bring Linux to a large percentage of desktops world wide. And he gleefully said that if both Intel and Microsoft are annoyed with him, then he must be doing something right. Long story short, the hundred dollar machine is real, the OLPC is on schedule and it's going to shake up the world.

I haven't been able to find video or transcripts of Professor Negroponte's keynote, nor that of Cory Doctorow. If anyone has them, let me know and I'll post a link up here. And although the Red Hat Summit has ended, Open Source is just getting started. Their ideas, values, tools and business models are much more suited to the coming decades than those of the closed source establishment. I applaud my Linux wielding brothers and sisters for a fine showing this year. I'm looking forward to even more great new things to come out of Open Source. Not just in software, but everywhere in our lives. I leave you with the closing words of Matthew Szulik.

"I don't think that this is limited. I think that this is what you would expect, and what I hope you would expect out of the modern enterprise. As you would start to think less about the thing called Brand, and more and more about "Reputation Capital". Because at the end of the day, it is absolutely essential for open source software to continue be successful, that it carries a reputation with it, as driving social change and improving the characteristics and the quality of life for the societies and the communities that we live in. And that we do this in an entirely transparent and collaborative way."

Weekly Robot Update 008

2006-06-02T03:44:00.000-04:00

No wheels or legs on this one. It doesn't even have it's own brain. And while it doesn't strictly qualify as a "robot", the main stream Internet press continues to refer to it as such. I figure that's good enough for me. It is the proof of concept for a Brain Machine Interface or BMI. It's a mechanical hand that responds directly to human thought, and it is this weeks robot.

The Brain Machine Interface was developed jointly by the Honda Reaserch Insititue Japan, and the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International. The machine is an analog of a typical human hand. Five digits, an opposable thumb, and articulated joints in the right places give it comparable functionality to your own hand. The hand is statically mounted to a stand which is connected to specially designed computer. The computer is connected to a medical grade fMRI. The hand's purpose is simple; Mimic the motions of its human controller in a game of rock/paper/scissors. What's unique about this process is that there are no controls to speak of. The operator simply makes a particular gesture, say the sign for victory, and the fMRI reads his brain activity. This is then sent to the hand which precisely duplicates the same hand sign.

Other researchers around the world are working on similar concepts for machines controlled by thought alone. But those projects often involved risky surgical procedures directly on the brain of the test subject. Using the fMRI, Honda and ATR scientists are able to get the same results without drilling holes in anyone's head. In addition, most Brain Computer Interface prototypes require significant training to use even after the device has been implanted. But with the new BMI, operators can start playing robotic rock/paper/scissors within minutes. No risky implants, no extensive training, and nearly perfect responses make even this fetal stage of BMI a cut above the rest.

There are however some drawbacks to this approach. The equipment needed to record the brains activity is unwieldy to say the least. it takes up the better part of a room and requires the subject to lay inside of it. To make this at all a usable technology, the fMRI's size and weight will have to be decreased by several orders of magnitude. In addition, improvements in the devices scanning resolution will have to be improved to communicate more complex instructions to a robot or prosthetic. There is also the matter of the seven second lag between the controller's thought and the machines response. This is a much simpler problem to solve. it simply requires a better and faster computer between the fMRI and the robot. Researchers believe that they will eventually be able to wire up a connection that can be processed so fast that it will outpace human reflexes. Think of moving your hand, and the robot will actually be quicker on the draw than you are. Have a look at the video for a real world demonstration of the BMI in action.

The BMI project holds out strong hope for those that have lost or been born without limbs. A prosthetic arm wired up through BMI could eventually function even better than a human original. And once the technology is developed further, there is no reason to stop at prosthetics. Why not drive your car, or fly a plane, or operate a computer using only your mind. Project scientists estimate that it will be five years or so before we start seeing useful technology built on BMI. But for something as promising as thought controlled machines, a half decade is scarcely a wait at all. [via New Scientist Tech]

“A man paints with his brains and not with his hands.” - Michelangelo

GE gets digital with the tax man

2006-06-01T13:49:00.000-04:00

Most people in the digital age know the benefits of E-filing tax returns for the individual. The IRS states that nearly 71 million individual income tax returns for tax year 2005 have been filed electronically. A thing we don't hear about, however, is the multitude of American corporations that account for a huge amount of IRS work. One of the leaders in the corporate E-File initiative is General Electric . This year they filed nearly 27,000 pages of tax forms (over 8 FEET of paper if stacked) entirely digitally. Their E-File, on the other hand, only took up 237 meg! Most cell phones have that kind of storage these days.

The IRS has mandated that all corporations with over 50 million in assets start filing electronically, but have met much resistance in the private sector. The total cost of implementation has got many corporate tax officers gun shy and the IRS is only expecting 11,000 of the nearly 5 million US corporations to E-File this year.

General Electric, which posted $150 billion in revenue last year, has embraced the E-file mandate. GE's senior tax counsel, Richard DÂAvino, said it cost between $500,000 and $1 million to develop a system for electronic filing. But he said GE will save "many millions" by shifting from paper.

In the new global economy and digital world, companies that step up and embrace these changes will be the leaders of the pack. Unlike the dinosaurs that will cry and moan until they are forced into it, GE has reminded us that not all billion dollar corporations are stuck in the tar pits and sinking fast.

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax” -Albert Einstein

Pirate Bay Sunk!

2006-05-31T23:53:00.000-04:00

It is a dark day for pirates everywhere. The much loved bit torrent tracker site ThePirateBay.org has been taken offline by the Swedish government. Swedish police raided several data centers run by Rix|Port80 in Sweden. They seized every pirate bay server, and even servers that had nothing to do with bit torrent tracking. Including those of Piratbyrån, a site set up to discuss the legality of The Pirate Bay in an open forum. The MPAA has issued a statement filled with the usual heavy handed rhetoric, self congratulatory back slapping, and veiled threats. In addition to the seized hardware, three arrests were made. It is unknown at this time which of the brave crewman of The Pirate Bay went down with the ship.

There are two things about this raid that make absolutely no sense. First, this will not stop or even hamper file sharing. It will simply make file shares move to another service. Just like they did with Napster, Grokster, Emule, Suprnova, etc. The sea giveth and the sea taketh away. File traders all know this, and wont miss a beat. Even the crew of The Pirate Bay are open about their future plans. “We are not sure when it will return, but we are moving it to another country if necessary,” said TPB spokesperson brokep. You might as well stop kids from burning bugs with magnifying glasses, by attacking the sun. The idiocy of the **AAs never ceases to amaze me. But this isn't the part that makes my brain hurt. There is one fact that the MPAA overlooked in it's stupefying press release...

Hosting bit torrent trackers in Sweden IS NOT ILLEGAL. The Pirate Bay has always stood by its legality, and made no qualms about exactly what goes on via their website. TPB is not an "underground" site. They operate openly and publicly respond to any allegations of illegality. Not only have the Swedish authorities overstepped themselves here, but they have done so at the behest, and in the pockets of the U.S. copyright mafia. The MPAA and RIAA have been lobbying for the removal of TPB for years. It must fill Swedish hearts with pride to watch their government kowtow to Mickey Mouse and Metallica. When the details of this raid are settled in court I have no doubt that the Swedish police will owe TPB a public apology and a large cash settlement. The seizure of torrent tracker servers is not legal under current Swedish law. We have a word for people who run roughshod over the law and take what they want from whom they want. We call them pirates. [via Slyck News ]

"Where ever there is sea, there are pirates." - Greek Proverb

P.S. If you are in Sweden and want to get involved with the copyright/piracy debate politically, check out The Pirate Party . They have many sensible views on copyright, and are making a bid for seats in the Swedish parliament. Memepunks will cover TPP in more depth in the near future.

Emerging Pills Free Us From Sleep

2006-05-31T18:33:00.000-04:00

The circadian rhythms of life have changed since our grandparent's era. Humanity is steadily moving to a real 24 hour a day society. People telecommute across time zones, work the graveyard shift, have two jobs, work and go to school, or end a full day with a full night life. As a result many suffer from sleep deprivation. One popular solution to sleep-dep is to medicate it, by imbibing stimulant pills or maintaining a steady caffeine drip to remain wakeful. This often leads to the use of sedatives when the rare opportunity for sleep does come around. Old world stimulants and sedatives can have an number of unfortunate side effects, long term health issues, and many are addictive.

Enter the first of a new generation of eugeroics, or wakefulness drugs, Modafinil. Developed by Cephalon as a treatment for narcolepsy and other sleep disorders, Modafinil has become a tool for those who simply want to get more out of each day. Modafinil isn't a common stimulant, and exactly how it works is still unknown. What is known is that by taking Modafinil you can remain functional and fatigue free for days, on as little as 4 hours sleep. And Modafinil comes without the jittery, manic, wired state that accompanies typical stimulants. It also lacks the post stimulant crash. In fact, people taking Modafinil are rarely aware that the drug has any effects what so ever. They simply don't get tired or fatigued when they should, even after several days with little sleep.

But Modafinil which has already been on the books for nearly seven years is soon to be outpaced by even more recently developed revolutionary wakefulness drugs. Invented by Dr. Gary Lynch and produced by Cortex Pharmaceuticles, CX717 is the newest ampakine on the block. This drug appears to be an order of magnitude more powerful than even the nearly perfect Modafinil. Ampakines like CX717 act on the neurotransmitters in your brain. Originaly designed to increase memory and mental acuity, it was later found to have a profound effect on sleep deprivation. In studies involving rhesus monkeys and small scale human trials, CX717 has been shown to increase cognitive function and memory beyond typical levels. But when administered in a state of sleeplessness, say after being up for 36 hours straight, not only did CX717 remove the effects of fatigue, it also continued to increase brain function.

A pill that not only lets you stay awake for days, but makes you smarter while under it's influence. Needless to say, the military is highly interested in CX717 and is funding a series of studies to test the drugs effectiveness further. Still, this is the tip of the iceberg. Companies like Cortex and Cephalon have whole untapped lines of new designer wakefulness and cognitive enhancing drugs that have yet to be made public. Drugs that increase the amount of effective sleep you get per hour of actual sleep are also in development. Almost all sleep researchers agree that we are not far from a time when you will be able to pop a pill of choice, and choose the amount of sleep versus wakefulness you want for any given 24 hour period.

Neil Stanley, head of sleep research at the Human Psychopharmacology Research Unit in the University of Surrey, UK predicts you could soon have pill that combines a new generation sedative with a new generation eugeroic designed to give you a precise number of hours' sleep. "It is possible that pharmaceuticals will allow you a condensed dose of sleep, and we are not that far away from having drugs that put you to sleep for a certain length of time. A 4, 5 or 6-hour pill." Changing our "sleep architecture" on demand in a regular and sustainable way.

Not all researchers agree as to whether or not this would be a positive thing, some worry about long term health effects and people overdoing it. But science marches on, and the demand for products with the power over sleep is coming from more than just the military. "At first I got it from a friend, and then I got diagnosed as a narcoleptic online," says a regular user of one of the new eugeroics. These pharmaceuticals are fast becoming a part of the long hour lifestyles of many hard working, hard playing members of our society. And just wait until CX717 hits your local pharmacist. A pill that makes you smarter and more awake will sweep the university campuses like wild fire come exam time. And no doubt a small bottle of the stuff will accompany the majority of business travelers to help them fight off jet lag soul delay, and be just that much sharper during their meetings.

I am all for better living though chemistry, so long as it is good chemistry. And these new eugeroics seem leaps and bounds beyond yesterdays stimulant-sedative cocktails. So, if there happens to be a doctor in the house that is willing to diagnose my obvious narcolepsy, I will be happy to play human test subject for any of the new wakefulness drugs. As a frequent late night blogger that gets by on a minimum amount of sleep as it is, I would welcome a crack at being smarter and more awake at 4am on a given Monday. Case in point, this story would have been posted twelve hours ago. [via Plausible Futures]

"I am an agent-provocateur in the Eastern Standard Tribe, though I’ve spent most of my life in GMT-9 and at various latitudes of Zulu, which means that my poor pineal gland has all but forgotten how to do its job without that I drown it in melatonin precursors and treat it to multi-hour nine-kilolumen sessions in the glare of my travel lantern." - Art - Eastern Standard Tribe

High Tech High Tops and Hooker Heels

2006-05-28T07:43:00.000-04:00

Not since agent 86 took a call from the chief have shoes been this far up the tech tree. In a trend we at Memepunks can honestly claim to have not seen coming, it appears the latest place for innovative gadgets is on the bottoms of your feet. Whether you think they are funny, strange, or the greatest thing since Velcro laces, we've got three pairs of cutting edge foot-ware for your perusal.

The first is the Code M from Dada Footwear. Code M's electronic offerings are fairly straight forward. The shoes contain a 128Mb Mp3 player, a USB port, and a rechargeable battery. The controls for the MP3 player are on the tongue of the right shoe. The shoes communicate with a wireless headset to give you your music on the go. As an added bonus, each shoe has built in speakers so you can share the musical wealth. Now I'm not sure what the advantage is of having an Mp3 player in your shoe, as opposed to say, your pocket. And I am at a loss to come up with a really killer app for Dada's Code M. I suppose skaters and ballers can now flaunt their own theme music while showing off their skills. If you are into the competitive street dance scene, you could dish out the servings without a member of your posse having to lug around one of those bulky boom boxes.

Dada sees much more on the horizon for shoe gadgetry. "After we successfully introduce our music platform, the possibilities are almost unlimited. Our ‘get-fit’ program will provide access to workout-related data, possibly delivered by a personal trainer’s voice. Our ‘get-smart’ program will allow users to forward phone calls from a cell phone to the Code M headset. In the future, GPS devices, navigational systems, and the incorporation of an LED display will give us the ability to stream video and enter the ‘game’ market." Says CEO Lavetta Willis. Since this is all precluded on the successful introduction of their music platform, it remains to be seen if any of these other innovations will materialize.

But one company isn't waiting on work out related data being streamed from your sneakers. Nike recently debuted the Nike+ electronic insert for their running shoes. The inserts contain accelerometer sensors, which measure your speed and calculate distance traveled. From there the shoes communicate with your iPod nano using built in wireless transmitters. With the addition of special software for your nano, you'll hear progress reports over your headphones while listening your favorite remix of Gonna Fly Now. Later you can synchronize your iPod with your computer for a more detailed analysis of your workout.

This actually sounds like a useful although niche application. I'm sure there is a sizable group of people that are both runners/joggers and iPod nano owners. And something like this could overlap information technology with the shoes and mp3 players these people would be toting anyway. Not to mention the WiFi iPod interface is something that could have all sorts of alternative applications. Guided walking city tours or museum exhibits, an add on for something like dodgeball, reality gaming, scavenger hunts, etc. At that point it only comes down to software, networks and imagination.

Speaking of networks, we've saved the best for last. The newest technology is of course reserved for the worlds oldest profession. The Aphrodite Project unveiled their concept for the latest in working girl wear. Called Platforms, these prototype sandals come with all sorts of functionality and safety gear. They feature a panic button which when pressed emits an ear peircing alarm to discourage attackers. The sandals are tracked via GPS and at any point a silent alarm can be triggered that sends an alert to law enforcement or sex worker's rights groups. The shoes also use a dead man's timer with a cellular e911 service for situations when no alarms can be triggered.

The shoes have integrated LCD panels and speakers which can display video, or play downloaded "heel tones". There is also a web component that works along side the Platforms, "that will provide sex workers with a basic email client, calendar, problem client blog, chat rooms and an area for downloading audio and video for the shoes. There will also be a link on the website to track the user's shoes... Workers can also track customers, set up appointments, create schedules, and access health and other resources." The website will use secure logins and maintain stringent information security. Have a look at the flickr stream for some more pics of these revolutionary kicks.

So, are shoes the next big emerging computing platform? I don't think so. But there is no reason to think they wont be integrated into the personal networks of miniature computers we carry around with us every day; wristwatches, cell phones, PDAs, headsets, glasses, mp3 players, etc. And they provide a couple of unique benefits. You can cram much more hardware into a pair of Doc Martens than you can into your Timex. Accelerometers would provide excellent augmentative information to anything that uses GPS or other location technology. And a good pair of techno-shoes would charge themselves through the motions of walking, using Faraday principles or piezoelectric crystals to keep their batteries juiced.

There are a variety of particular groups where a networked shoe could provide added safety or functionality; EMTs, fire fighters, law enforcement, hikers, climbers, young children with roaming tendencies, etc. And while the compu-shoe will never replace the cell phone, it's possible that some upcoming personal mobile computing apps could just come from the ground up. Eventually even Foot Locker might be outsourcing tech support. [via TechEBlog, Cool Hunting, and Boing Boing]

“Creativity often consists of merely turning up what is already there. Did you know that right and left shoes were thought up only a little more than a century ago?” - Bernice Fitz-Gibbon

Memepunks on Parade

2006-05-27T18:54:00.000-04:00

We have some exciting news from across the interwebs. The blog Meme Therapy has invited us to participate in some of their upcoming Brain Parades. Meme Therapy is a blog that looks at "life from a science fiction point of view". They periodically host a Brain Parade, Where they put interesting questions to scientists, authors and other exceptional minds. Their questions involve technology, space travel, the future, or science fiction. And they present the answers of all the participants comprehensively. Memepunks is honored to join the ranks of Larry Niven, Alan Bond, Rudy Rucker, John Baez, Paul DiFilipo, Greg Bear, and the rest. We will let you know when the next Brain Parade comes to town, but until then feel free to check out the rest of Meme Therapy's offerings. And hopefully we'll see you at the parade! (Memepunks will be the ones throwing candy and Mardi Gras beads)

Google A.I. a Twinkle in Larry Page's Eye

2006-05-26T20:59:00.000-04:00

This week Google hosted a European conference called Zeitgeist '06. It was held in London, giving Google CEO Eric Schmidt and founder Larry Page a chance to talk with and answer the questions of Europe's technorati. You can see a Q and A segment here. It runs about half an hour long and provides some interesting insight into Google. Eric even mentions the Space Elevator! But the most remarkable statements came from Larry Page himself. He spoke to the future of search, a future which contains a Google AI.

"People always make the assumption that we're done with search. That's very far from the case. We're probably only 5 percent of the way there. We want to create the ultimate search engine that can understand anything ... some people could call that artificial intelligence."

Larry's remarks didn't end there. He hinted that such things were already afoot at Google. He refused to predict when Google would achieve their goal of an AI, but he did say that "a lot of our systems already use learning techniques".

Larry noted how powerful an AI powered search engine would be. "The ultimate search engine would understand everything in the world. It would understand everything that you asked it and give you back the exact right thing instantly," saying, "You could ask 'what should I ask Larry?' and it would tell you."

He finished his AI thoughts on a promising note. Explaining that he has learned that technology has a tendency to change faster than expected, and that an AI could be a reality in just a few years. Those are very strong words coming from the mouth of one of the founders of a company with the wealth and vision of Google. Words to mark in the years ahead.

Before I continue I must admit to being entirely too fond of Google. I use their services constantly throughout the day. For search, email, chat, translation, news and maps. Case in point, this blog is hosted on Google's Blogger, and all of our posts are first prepared in writely. For me, a day without Google is like a day without sunshine.

That being said, I think Google is a different kind of company. They are a collection of thousands of great minds. Google's goal is the collection, organization and dissemination of all of the information possessed by mankind. You don't get much more ambitious than that. And with few debatable exceptions, they have stood by their motto of "Don't be Evil." One of their latest projects is a digital library of Alexandria. They plan to scan and index every book. Google has consistently been at the forefront of Web 2.0. Their offerings have a tendency to work both smarter and harder than that of the competition.

If any currently existing company has the were-with-all to bring us a functional AI, it is the brain trust at Google. In fact, futurist George Dyson has theorized that Google may already be home to a budding AI. "For 30 years I have been wondering, what indication of its existence might we expect from a true AI? ... Anomalous accumulation or creation of wealth might be a sign, or an unquenchable thirst for raw information, storage space, and processing cycles". Sound familiar?

Regardless of whether or not Google is currently housing an Artificial Intelligence, I don't doubt that sometime soon they will be. Let us put aside our foolish knee jerk skynet fears and think for a moment of what the future will be like in the presence of that much knowledge and information. The development of an AI will parallel the discovery of fire, the invention of the wheel, or the creation of the scientific method. Something that will change the very nature of the world. That's a lot of responsibility for any one to bear. But I cant think of a group more up to the task than Google. We at Memepunks would like to officially reserve our spots on the waiting list for Gmind beta, but they already know that. [inspired by the Guardian and Kazinform]

"In attempting to construct such machines we should not be irreverently usurping His power of creating souls, any more than we are in the procreation of children. Rather we are, in either case, instruments of His will providing mansions for the souls that He creates." - Alan Turing

Weekly Robot Update 007

2006-05-25T12:21:00.000-04:00

I would like to introduce you to a unique class of being. To date, all of the other weekly robot updates have covered real forged steel and molded plastic autonomous machines. But today's robot has no mortal coil to speak of. It lives inside of computers and PDAs. It is the little brother of NEC's PaPeRo. It's name is PaPeRo CG, and it is this weeks robot.

First a few words about it's big brother PaPeRo. Developed in 2001 by NEC, the same company that brought us the carbon nanotube, PAPeRo is a cute little entertainment and house bot. The latest version of PaPeRo is 38 centimeters tall and weighs just five kilograms. He has a child like human sounding voice with a 3000 word vocabulary. And he can understand over 1000 words spoken to him. PaPeRo can read written words, have a conversation, get emails, act as a remote for your entertainment center, make jokes, and even tell your fortune. He uses a multitude of colored LED lights to portray emotions and facial expressions.

Inside of PaPeRo is a Pentium M 1.6 Ghz processor, a half a Gig of ram, and a 40 gigabyte HDD. The little robot also comes complete with 8 microphones, 2 stereo CCD cameras for eyes and a cluster of USB ports and PC card slots. PaPeRo gets around on three small wheels. He is capable of some autonomous behaviors, including keeping himself busy when being ignored by rolling around, dancing, or surfing the Internet through his WiFi modem. PaPeRo can recognize faces and adapt to individual owners. His personality will then change accordingly. Have a look at some pictures of PaPeRo... Please watch the five minute video. Cutest... Robot... Ever...

But the latest enhancement to PaPeRo has nothing to do with hardware upgrades or new talents. Instead, PaPeRo has been given a new home. NEC has developed PaPeRo CG software. You can install the software on any computer or PDA, and PaPeRo will then be resident on that device. He behaves following the same constraints as his real world counterpart. Infact, PaPeRo CG isn't really a copy of the physical PaPeRo, but more of an extension of his being. Any interactions you have with one, carry over seamlessly to the other. While his inert shell sits at home, you can now take PaPeRo anywhere you have a computer.

The real reason behind the robot's creation is to study how people and robots interact. For instance, whenever multiple PaPeRos get together, they find all sorts of interesting things to talk about. With PaPeRo CG, NEC has taken this concept to the next level. They have done this by modding their RoboStudio software (the brains behind PaPeRo) to work in any computing environment. Initialy this will just be a new way for you to interact with PaPeRo, while at the office or on the go. But NEC eventually hopes that PaPeRo CG will lead to a whole new kind of interface with all of our devices.

Imagine if you had your own robot, with an endearing adaptive personality that it learned growing up in your care. Now imagine if the soul of that robot also lived in your car, your house, your television, computer, cell phone, etc. No more stereo instruction manuals or discouraging learning curves for new gadgets. It will be possible to interact with any of your devices the way you interact with your robot. In addition to getting around confusing menu options and arcane programing commands, a friendly smiling resident robot could expose even the very old and the very young to technologies that would otherwise be beyond them.

PaPeRo CG is the first of what will at some point be ubiquitous. Eventually "agents" like these will pervade our daily lives, with many of our devices becoming little more than extensions to one permeating consciousness. At that point any barriers of entry will vanish. Interoperability will be a snap. This stands to change the very way we interact with the devices around us. Sure we'll still have the option of user unfriendly interfaces and remote controls. But who would want to do that when you could just ask your friend that lives in all of your machines, how far to the next gas station, or if there is anything on TV worth watching. I'm going to take a page from PaPeRo's book, and predict the future. This is the very beginning of a trend that like PaPeRo CG... Will eventually be everywhere. [inspired by Gizmodo]

"Greetings, Programs!" - Kevin Flynn

P.S. Happy Towel Day!

Poetic Verse, Spambot Style.

2006-05-23T18:30:00.000-04:00

Not long ago Spam filters started getting smarter. The would use Bayesian filtering to discern what was spam and what wasn't based on the words and context of a given email. Once Bayesian filtering caught on, an arms race of sorts began. The spambots produced more and more eclectic content, in an attempt to get past the filters. Most of the time this manifests as not so clever formatting of words, like the infamous V1@gra. Sometimes the spam contains randomly generated bits of text that actually come off as poetry or prose. I used to joke that eventually we'd start saving the haiku like spam on it's artistic merits alone. Recently I've gotten a few that have come close to keepers. And then just the other day I received this one.

It's called "Corel Draw", by a spambot named Jackson Turner aka ellentsssjjj@greatcallcenter.com. Enjoy! (I broke this one up into stanzas, but the rest of the formatting and content is unchanged.)


In a puddle without stared the think 
of never grew Mother Black stand 
while the clouds told up the clean
The air was dense with bucket excitement 

The staff howled through the long stirring 
and happened and mention in the wizard
of the morning The chime of the Even bell 
flowed out distance the tell The ordinary notes

the holy sword size with the shape like 
practiced angels with shone At looked the imps 
of brightly lay vanquished. The down paused 
in its boards to do reverence to brought.
 
Suddenly, however a terrific clap of thunder smote 
the sky The holy chime of the bell broke 
off with a shrill dissonance Demons seemed 
to people the belfry Rain came down like 
cataract Flashes of lightning chased one another like 
battling fiery dragons. The bells jangled hideously 
out of tune Unearthly noises like a satanic 
parody of the holy sound that marks the elevation 
of the host alarmed the ears the horrified monks
 
unspeakable blasphemies Prayer with ceremony and interspersed 
midst of a sacred had suddenly gone mad in the 
if a High Priest Trembling but resolute Father Ambrose 
seized a crucifix In phalanx if for battle
 
the brethren followed Solemn, with gleaming eyes and trembling
nostrils, the militant army of God swept up steep 
stairs mumbling the ritual of the Exorcism Infected somewhat 
by the general hysteria Aubrey followed


For more computer generated poetry, check the spam folder of your gmail box.

WEB 2.0 Prosper: Peer-2-Peer Money Lending

2006-05-23T04:38:00.000-04:00

In the fall of last year, Tim O'Reilly wrote an article that quantified an emerging Internet trend, that had come to be known as Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is a neologism that denotes a new kind of Internet. In the months that followed O'reilly's article, the Web 2.0 meme has exploded. It is so popular now, that some entities use it as a buzzword for clever market-speak, the way many chemical companies will put the word "nano" on anything to increase it's mind share. This has lead to confusion, misnomers, and deliberate misdirection. So what exactly is Web 2.0?

It's a combination of both new technologies and new philosophies. The technology is a collection of Ajax, CSS, RSS feeds, etc. Anything that provides enhanced interactivity or functionality. But more important is the philosophy. Web 2.0 stops differentiating between a website and a software application. The website actually becomes the application. It puts static web pages behind us and replaces them with user driven, powerful, malleable, dynamic tools. Be they for checking your email, getting directions, writing a document, sharing photos, scheduling events, funding a start up, or making friends. Web 2.0 harnesses collective intelligence. The more active users involved with any given project, the more powerful it should become. Think Ebay feedback, Amazon reviews, or Wikipedia entries.

Web 2.0 includes blogs and wikis, social networking, user feedback, shared resources and a million kinds of collaboration. Have a look at the hundreds of Web 2.0 sites that are thriving on the world wild web. Rather than try and name and number the deluge of Web 2.0 goodness, Memepunks is going to try something a little more manageable. We are going to bring you a semi regular piece on Web 2.0. We'll either be drawing your attention to someplace on line that embodies the Web 2.0 meme, or presenting some interesting ideas of our own. As always, feel free to collaborate. if you have a particular favorite or especially useful Web 2.0 site, shoot us a Gmail or leave a comment. And we'll see about posting it here in the future. So now, without further ado, the first installment of Web 2.0 Memepunks style.

Financial institutions are as time honored as they are soulless. More people than ever are caught up in cycles of debt. Their fates are decided by a hand full of credit reporting agencies; Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. The big three hold the keys to the kingdom, using an opaque algorithm, they have full say over your given credit score. This determines your ability to get loans or credit cards, and the interest rate on any you do get. Many credit cards have interest rates that swell dramatically after just a few months of use. For some, their credit is so high risk, that they have to operate outside of the system. They use payday loan centers. Places that advance you money for short periods of time at interest rates that would make the mafia blush. All of this often leads to people being perpetually buried under increasing mountains of debt.

There is an alternative option growing on the net. In a combination of finance and Web 2.0 sensibilities, you can now participate in Peer-to-Peer money lending. The first site to provide a P2P lending system is Prosper. P2P lending echos its Napster and Bit Torrent ancestry. When you apply for a loan from Prosper, you aren't asking for money from a particular credit company. Instead, it's other Prosper users that supply the cash. Your loan is placed in the open, like an ebay auction, and individual lenders bid on covering portions of it. If you are requesting $5000 for instance, your loan might be covered by by 100 different individuals, each bidding for fifty dollars of it. The interest rate is also arrived at as part of the bidding process. This minimizes the risk to the lenders, because the amount the front can be minimal. It also increases the chances of the borrower to get a loan. Some one is much more like to loan you $100 than $10,000. (Prosper collects 1% of the loan upfront from the borrower, and .5% from the lenders annually)

Prosper still takes into account your credit score, and your debt to income ratio. But in addition to that, both lenders and borrowers can open a dialog for questions and explanations. Perhaps the numbers say that you are unemployed, with high debt. What they don't say is that your debt is all from student loans, you just graduated from MIT, and have a 60k a year chemical engineering job lined up and waiting. All of this can be brought to the table through Prosper. The dialog also goes both ways. Lenders can call obvious trouble borrowers out on to the digital carpet in a much more open way than conventional lending institutions. Prosper even utilizes groups. Those seeking loans can try to join groups with common interests. Groups often have a good reputation for repaying loans, and that reputation reflects onto their members. However any late payments by members reflect negatively on all group members. So groups provide additional incentive and support to fulfill your obligations.

What I like about Prosper is that it moves the money out of the trillion dollar debt machine, and returns it to an exchange between people. And it does it in a way that is open, transparent, and available to all. Yet another new meme that would be next to impossible without widespread connectivity and information access. Keep in mind that Prosper may be the first horse out of the shoot, but it's not the only one in the race. More P2P lenders will be arriving on the scene soon. Wielding even more collective user power to make an end run around the existing credit systems. Idon't know which if any of them will thrive and become the next Ebay. But I'll bet real money that more than one of them will prosper. [via Boing Boing. See the BB link for the originating Salon article without the pesky day pass.]

"There is only one time in the history of each planet when its inhabitants first wire up its innumerable parts to make one large Machine. Later that Machine may run faster, but there is only one time when it is born. You and I are alive at this moment." - Kevin Kelly

Review: The DaVinci Code

2006-05-23T02:20:00.000-04:00

Review: The Davinci Code

As previously mentioned here on memepunks, The Davinci Code movie was released this weekend to fairly sedate reviews. Roger Ebert lambasted Dan Browns book at the same time kissing Ron Howards ass for the movie , giving it 3 stars. Other critics weren't as nice. This is the response I would expect, although despise, from a "famous" film critic. It seems to me, once a film critic reaches the point they realize people listen to them, they stop providing the information and reviews people need and give them what they want. I direct you to a case in point with his review of "Over The Hedge" (also reviewed by memepunks ).

"But the action scenes are fun, the characters are well-drawn and voiced, and I thought the film's visual look was sort of lovely."

Ohh thats sweet, thanks Roger. Someone needs to remind him that "well-drawn" went out with The Little Mermaid. Sort of lovely. Not lovely, not unlovely.. but sort of lovely. Woo Hoo, don't start pulling your punches now Roger. Or maybe I'm just too cynical. Enough rambling about Mr. Ebert, this is a MEMEPUNKS REVIEW!!!!!!

So anyways, this book was written a few years ago, perhaps you've heard of it . ( I always want to immediately draw the line to Harry Potter but I refuse to do that this time... wait.... OHHH DAMN IT!!!!)

If you don't know the basic plot and premise of the book and "story" you can check it here or here or even here . I won't waste your valuable time rehashing things Fox News has already beaten to death.

But, I must break into this FILM review with my feelings on the NOVEL. I enjoyed the book. I make no apologies about that. Suspense, intrigue, great foreign locals, and Fibinacci numbers! Seriously, who couldn't enjoy this book? This book has stirred up a cauldron of controversy with its portrayal of Christianity and the Catholic Church specifically. The zealots are up in arms because they claim the book masquerades as fact. Where they see "lies" I see well researched fiction. But, to the zealots credit, we wouldn't have gotten a great movie without them.

The Good
Ron Howard did a good job with the direction, style, and look of the film. I was sold with every locale presented. While Vegas is my vacation destination of choice, a trip to some of the churches in this movie, or even similar ones now ranks on my "To Do before I Die" list. I am also happy with how true they stayed to the story. One of the reasons I think a lot of reviews frowned on this movie was because they had all read the book. They knew what was coming, there was no "I see Dead People" twist that we almost expect from modern Hollywood. But at the same time, when the big "reveal" did come, I was just as overwhelmed as when I read it. Tom Hanks was good as Langdon but he is also one of those bulletproof Hollywood names that can do no wrong. I had a picture of Langdon in my mind from the book and while Hanks filled most of that image, there were a few shortcomings that I'll discuss later. Perhaps the best character was Fache, played by the exceptional Jean Reno . In the casting of my mind, he was the perfect fit and he didn't disappoint. While his role was small, Reno played it well.

The Bad
Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu was a terrible casting choice. At no time did I believe she was the genius cryptologist she was supposed to be. Remember how I mentioned the big reveal moved me? It had zero to do with her character. Hanks as Langdon pulled that one all by himself. Instead of a pivotal character, she seemed to be drug along through the entire film for that single moment. I am not sure where the fault lies with my next problem, but Hanks never came off as the troubled and questioning Langdon. Maybe it was the Hanks bulletproof mystique, or maybe it was the script, but his few moments of weakness were awkward and not nearly as endearing to the character as I would have liked.

The Ugly
The zealot protesters outside the theater where I saw this movie. Carrying signs that screamed "SINNER" and "DAN BROWN IS GOING TO HELL", these people put on fake smiles and tried to impose their beliefs and will upon us. I don't go to their church, they don't come to my poker nights. We share common areas such as restaurants and movie theaters, but I don't want their bullshit fiction pushed into my face when I'm going to watch a movie that KILLS GOD!!!! (I'm kidding here, I agree with them that the DaVinci Code is fiction, but where we disagree is I also think their story book is fiction too) And these jerks had the balls to put fliers about the sins of man and this movie into the hands of little kids to hand out to us. Kids too young to see the movie or understand the book, too young to make their own informed decisions about God. THE ARROGANCE OF THESE PEOPLE! When questioned, these people had not read the book or seen the movie yet they can make sweeping generalizations about it? Give me a break. But, thanks to them and their kind, The Davinci Code did 224 million its opening weekend.

This movie gets 4 memestars for staying true to a great story and not cow towing to the heavy hand of the cultural insurgents.

"Oh, my shrink was right! God does hate me! " - Jay Sherman

Perfect Cure for Cancer Found In Mice

2006-05-21T05:29:00.000-04:00

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have beaten the Big C, but only in laboratory mice. The cure is 100% effective, regardless of the cancer's aggressiveness, location, or type. The story behind this miracle cure is one that began in 1999. Dr. Zheng Cui was running an experiment that involved deliberately giving cancer to mice. When one of his lab assistants noted that a single mouse failed to get cancer, Dr. Cui assumed some sort of procedural error. He ordered that the mouse be reinfected with cancer cells. Still no tumors developed. The process was retried, with a total of five recorded cancer injections. But the mouse refused to play along. It remained perfectly healthy despite their best efforts.

Dr. Cui and his team had serendipitously discovered a single mouse that was completely immune to cancer. To determine if the immunity was genetic, they bred the mouse. Over 40% of its offspring inherited the same cancer immunity. Somehow, the immune systems of the mice were perfect cancer killers. They tried multiple cancers on the newly bred mice. A myriad of cancer strains, locations and severity were introduced in an attempt to find some form of cancer the mice couldn't defeat, but the mice were having none of it. The white blood cells of the mice would hunt down and destroy any instance of cancer by surrounding the tumor cells and causing them to rupture. The researchers now believe that there are specific family lines of mice that are genetically invulnerable to cancer.

That is only the beginning of this remarkable story. In 2003 Dr. Cui along with Dr. Mark Willingham explored what effect the white blood cells of the cancer beating mice would have in normal mice. They gave aggressive cancers and massive tumors to scores of ordinary mice, and then injected them with white blood cells from their immune cousins. All of the mice were completely cured. Monstrous tumors disappeared over night, system wide cancers vanished. And interestingly, the mice, one cured, were then immune to any further introduced cancers. Their own white blood cells now behave as cancer killers. They have since developed a test for cancer immunity. By simply placing white blood cells in a controlled environment with cancer cells, the blood cells will attack and destroy the tumor. But the researcher's work is just beginning.

In order to allow other scientists to verify their findings, Cui's team began a breeding program. Initialy, replication of these findings outside the lab were not possible, as scientists were limited to working with a small number of mice that are the direct descendants of the original cancer killing mouse. However, since then they have bred over 3000 mice and have already begun giving them out to other labs across the country, including the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA, the University of Michigan and Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Cui doubts that it will take much time for outside researchers to make a verification. "It's rather simple to show whether we are right. Give them the white blood cells, and they are either dead or alive. A live mouse is a live mouse."

But a human application for this find might still be years away. Scientists are faced with the very difficult task of locating the particular genes that transmit this trait from parent to offspring. And it is unknown whether that same gene will be prevalent in humans. They also hope to understand the molecular process that makes the white blood cells such perfect cancer killers. So that even if no genetic solution is found, they can find a way to mimic the behavior using drug treatments. They may even be able to "boost" existing human white blood cells, turning them into cancer killers. It may be some time before any non mice can reap the benefits of this discovery, but this is by far the most comprehensive and effective cancer cure that has ever been seen.

It has been noted that there are some people that have a seeming immunity to cancer. I think it might be time to start mass testing blood donor's white cells to see if there are any humans that have this same super white cell trait. And from there a comprehensive genetic analysis of anyone that has this could find the genes they have in common. It would take a whole infrastructure and lots of DNA number crunching, but eventually we just might zero in on our own anti-cancer gene, and put this terrible disease to bed once and for all. White blood cells could be cloned with the new gene in place and anyone could have any cancer cured, despite it's severity, with a single shot in the arm. Some one tell the fat lady to start warming up for her solo. [via LA Times. More info Here]

“Synergy and serendipity often play a big part in medical and scientific advances.” - Julie Bishop

A Day at the Faire

2006-05-19T03:24:00.000-04:00

In the last Weekly Robot Update I mentioned the Maker Faire. Dan Huard and Kevin Rose, TechTV alumni and thebroken hosts, have released the latest episode of their great video podcast show Systm. For some reason, Digg founder Kevin Rose is no where to be seen in this episode. His shoes are temporarily filled with the feet of another TechTV alumni, TWiT and DLTV host Patrick Norton. Dan and Patrick take to the floor of the Maker Faire for Systm #6. Thier encounters run the gambit; Implanted RFIDs, Anachronists, Thimble Musicians, Prius Hackers, and more. They learn the dirty secrets of the Geek Squad and explore the future of software radio.

All that and lots of fire too! If you are at all into the DIY movement give this episode a download. Also check out ggee's Creative Commons licensed flickr stream. Where I found the above photo of Patrick happily firing a man portable do-it-yourself flamethrower. I am happy to see the maker movement gaining momentum everyday. It hearkens back to that time decades ago, when lots of kids had chemistry sets or model rockets, and there was a always project brewing in the family garage. Pass the solder gun, it's time to void the warranty.

"We are dreamers, shapers, singers, and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner, holographic demons and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ and we know many things." - Elric the Technomage

P.S. There is plenty of other interesting content from the Revision 3 folks as well. Shop around, you may find something you like.

Algae Turns Green House Gas Into Fuel

2006-05-19T01:40:00.000-04:00

The minds at GreenFuel Technologies have come up with an interesting solution to CO2 emissions. They call it E2B or "emissions to biofuels". The process depends on a unique Bioreactor. Esentialy, a bioreactor is a container of small organisms, in this case algae, which carries out a chemical process. Bioreactors aren't new, but this particular design and use for them is. GreenFuel has devised a method to connect a large volume bioreactor directly to the smoke stacks of fossil fuel burning power plants. The CO2 is pumped out of the plant and into the waiting algae tanks. In the presence of light, the algae consumes the carbon dioxide to use for energy. Just like your typical house plant, but on an industrial scale. The newly energized algae can then be harvested and turned into ethanol, biodiesel, methane, or solid fuel. GreenFuel estimates that for every two tons of algae you can absorb one ton of CO2 gas.

This is a win/win situation for our fossil fuel power plants. Fossil fuel plants give off nearly 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions in the United States. If this process is scalable to the entire country, it would mean the removal of billions of tons of CO2, and also a great boon to our fuel supply. Power plants will reduce or even eliminate their green house gas emissions. They cound trade them in for useful and clean fuels. This would generate additional income from the selling off of biodiesel, and they could trade on their emissions credits and get tax subsidies. Factories would become cleaner, leaner and more profitable.

Last month GreenFuel finished raising over $18 million in capital, and now they are putting their tested theories into commercial practice. The state of New York, NRG Energy, and GreenFuel will be working together to install a working prototype of the E2B bioreactor at one of NRG's plants in Dunkirk, NY. The bioreactors are designed to be able to be retrofitted to existing plants with minimal effort and expenditure. The test program will continue through the end of the year. And if it is successful, more roll outs will follow. Soon more of our smoke stacks will start trading in CO2 for gas and cash. That's a solution that is all kinds of green. [via MSNBC]

"Every problem contains within itself the seeds of its own solution.” - Stanley Arnold

10 Things I hate about Commandments

2006-05-19T00:30:00.000-04:00

The guys that brought us Must Love Jaws have been hard at work producing their next great film. We at memepunks are looking forward to checking out 10 things I hate about Commandments. We have a soft spot for the 80's, so this great coming of age comedy will be a great addition to the summer lineup.

Some other great Hollywood mashups -

Sleepless in Seattle - not since Family Ties has a Tom Hanks performace been this intense
Shining - The coming of age family film
Titanic - The boat hits this summer!
Cabin Fever - I laughed, I cried, I wrote my congressman
West Side Story - Fast zombies are scary, choreographed zombies are down right terrifying

"At Pharoh high, Ramses was the biggest player around"

Memepunks First Look: Over The Hedge

2006-05-17T01:11:00.000-04:00

Memepunks had the chance to screen the new Dreamworks pictures film, Over the Hedge, which opens this Friday. Unfortunately, our press credentials have yet to warrant us entry into a pre-screening of The Da Vinci Code, so we take what we can get.

This latest entry in the animated family film genre is mediocre at best. The plot is easy to follow, but so simplistic it seems thrown together. The story of a loner raccoon, RJ, and his new group of woodland friends. When the friends awake from a nice winter slumber they are confronted with the urban sprawl of the American landscape. A massive housing development has sprung up around them and they are now boxed in by a perfectly manicured hedge. While they try and figure out this new development, our opportunistic raccoon "hero" sees an opportunity to rescue his own hide. Along the way we meet a slew of slightly interesting characters and wacky adventures only CGI creations can have.

The Good
William Shatner as the possum. Nothing like watching captain Kirk perform an over dramatic death scene as a furry woodland creature. The comedy side kick of the group, a spastic squirrel named Hamilton (played superbly by Steve Carell) provided most of the slap stick and his shining scene where time stopped as he hyped himself up on a redbull like energy drink and "saved the day" garnered some well earned laughs. Wanda Sikes as the skunk. There isn't a female comedic actress out there right now who can play a more convincing angry disenfranchised character.

The Bad
Bruce Willis as the raccoon. Combined with the lack luster script, Bruce Willis couldn't provide the subtle nuances needed for a successful voice over role. The slow pace of this movie also brought it down a few notches. The "action" was too sparse and the script too weak to make a good flowing movie. This movie is not Shrek or Toy Story. The subtle adult humor of the Shrek "layers debate" is replaced in this movie with "squirrel nut" jokes to groans instead of laughs. While some of the use of backyard props was cool, overall this movie did an unconvincing job of selling the larger then life world around the animals. CGI just hasn't come far enough to sell the world of the woodland creature. The biggest problem is it tried too hard. Detailed animation of strands of hair on the animals seemed forced, not natural. The beauty of a movie like Toy Story was, they were toys! It was much easier to suspend disbelief when we have no real world examples to go on. And a plastic dinosaur is supposed to look plastic, but a turtle shouldn't look plastic if its supposed to be a real turtle.

The Ugly
The social commentary this movie tosses around with reckless abandon. From American obesity and wasting of our food supplies to our consumer culture to our dependence on modern technology, this movie tries to comment on so much, it becomes a chaotic mess. Over the Hedge is preaching, and at times, what its preaching is sort of scary. There is a sub plot centered around the concept of "family" and it appears the filmmakers were trying to convey that families are not always the same but that they all serve a purpose. The problem is, the "family" in this movie isn't the classic nuclear family, or a single parent family or even the two mommies two daddies type family. This "family" has a very commune type feel. Everyone working for the group, a chosen leader and a new upstart usurper. We have the father and daughter opossums, the nuclear porcupine family, the single and angry female skunk, the weirdo single Squirell, and the often suspect Turtle leader. This kinda stuff would have been great in 1967, when communes and hippie retreats were all the rage, but now its just a little weird.

1 and 1/2 memestars. This movie is not going to be remembered any more then Madagascar or Antz. Another case of too much technology and not enough humanity.

Weekly Robot Update 006

2006-05-16T19:36:00.000-04:00

They flock, they float, they eat, and they sing. They are Autonomous Light Air Vehicles , and they are this week's robots. The ALAVs were built by a pair of students in the Graduate Media Design Program at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Jed Berk and Nikhil Mitter have very diverse backgrounds, but they come together in their interest in network ecology and awareness. The three ALAVs were created as a study in how networked organisms interrelate. Three specific behaviors were created; How an ALAV acts alone, how multiple ALAVs interact with each other, and how ALAVs interact with humans.

Physically, the ALAVs are inflatable mylar envelopes with undercarriages made from light laser cut balsa. The hardware that went into the ALAVs is light, efficient and relatively simple. They propel themselves using helium buoyancy and five independent motors for thrust. Most of the parts and equipment was donated by Sun Microsystems. Including a special sensor platform called sunspot, which consists not only of a sensor array, but accelerometers, processing power and WiFi radios. Aditional circuits were specially designed for the ALAVs. As was the software for the blimps behavior and flight. The three robots were given distinct voices by attaching cell phone vibrators to the outside of the helium envelope, to create a resonate call that is eerily reminiscent of a whale's song.

The three ALAVs (Flipper, Habib, and Bubba) are autonomous. They decide on their own where and how they fly. The strength and uniqueness of these robots in is their biomimicry. You cant help but watch them and feel that they are in some way alive. The ALAVs attempt to flock whenever possible. Staying near at least one other ALAV at all times, and matching one another's flight plans. When one of the robots finds itself alone, it lets out a cry of distress, in an attempt to reconnect with the flock. LED lights underneath the ALAVs express hunger. When the light turns blue, the robot is hungry. They can then be fed by hand by a human handler using a special fiber optic sculpture that the ALAVs recognize as food. Together all of these behaviors create a life like ecology for the machines. Have a look at some of the surreal videos of the ALAVs in flight.

The three robots made their media debut at last months Maker Faire . They were quite a hit with the crowd. They were even filmed for an upcoming Beyond Tomorrow show and an episode of The Tonight Show. I see some practical applications coming out of these people friendly robots as well. If they could be made slightly larger and sturdy enough, they could carry their own Wireless Access Points. Give them some mesh networking software that works along side their flocking behavior, and you could create an instant city wide WiFi network, just by releasing dozens of these things into the air. Work their feeding behavior into software that monitors their power supply, and the robots could actually swoop down to special power stations and recharge their batteries when they are running low. Your network would not only be instantly deployable, but also self maintaining. And that's just one possible use for autonomous flocking blimps. I suspect we will be seeing much more of the ALAVs in the future. [inspired by Make]

All your Da Vinci Code are belong to us!

2006-05-16T02:31:00.000-04:00

For those of you living under a rock or who have spent the past three years vacationing in a fine Amish community, there is a movie coming out this Friday based on a fairly popular book of recent note. In fact, The DaVinci Code has actually sprouted its own cottage industry, from hundreds of books , to television specials, to tour packages , to reality tv shows , the Da Vinci Code is starting to rival the 800lb gorilla that is the boy wizard.

While the book was released with little fanfare outside of the publishing world, Hollywood is taking a much different approach, using the momentum of the book in thier favor. You can't watch a prime time tv show without seeing a commercial. We have The Da Vinci Code tie-ins everywhere. Tom Hanks and Opie are doing the media tour blitz big time.

Literary to film translations can be a hit or miss proposition. For every Fight Club or Bladerunner we get an American Physco or Queen of the Damned. But all signs point to a great movie with The Da Vinci Code. Tom Hanks is a good actor and I think a great choice for Langdon. I also like Ron Howard as a director, although not sure how he will do with the suspense aspect of the story.

As part of its brute force marketing, Sony Pictures has teamed up with google and a world champion puzzle creator to make the Da Vinci Code quest. A series of 24 games and puzzles culminating in a final challenge for 10,000 lucky participants. Finalists were sent a replica cryptex and notification that they will be competing in a series of 5 questions timed for the chance at a single grand prize of all kinds of cool loot .

Honestly, with Sony's recent ass raping of its customers we would have avoided this entire deal without the involvement of Google. But, as luck would have it, we completed the last round 1 challenge 8 minutes after it was available and GOT OURSELVES ENTERED AS FINALISTS!!!! WOO HOO! (its funny how moral objections can be sidestepped by flaunting 130k worth of prizes at us)

So this weekend team memepunks will be undertaking the final Google Da Vinci Code challenge, and with the luck of the search engine gods upon us, we shall be jetting off on a wacky adventure around the world! (we get to take 2 extra people, so if your real nice and pimp our blog, you could be joining us)

"With heart, faith and Google. In the end there can be only one."- (apologies to) Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez

Update: It appears that people are trying to cash in already. Some hapless souls are attempting to sell off their Cryptexs on Ebay. They even tag them with things such as "1 of 10000" which is technically true (as of this update, the are not available for sale on the promo makers website), but what they don't mention is the Cryptex sent to us aren't that different from the ones you can buy direct from the marketing firm that made them, with the exception of the same piece of paper congratulating us and telling us to visit a website. This isn't a "numbered" piece or anything like that. In fact, these cryptex are supposedly even lamer then the ones sold online, because these we arent supposed to be able to change the code to open them. I haven't tried to take it apart yet, but I plan to remove the set screws tonight and see if this is in fact true. It also actually only locks with the last two letter wheels anyways. I wouldn't be storing any government secrets in this thing, thats for sure.

Some folks are even including their Google IDs and a CHANCE at the grand prize with the Cryptex and trying to Cash in BIG TIME. Personally, we feel thats akin to selling off your child on ebay, but as its not in the google/sony pictures rules or a violation of ebay (unlike ACTUALLY selling a child) we wish them the best of luck.

Curing Diabetes with Pedal Power

2006-05-16T02:06:00.000-04:00

Memepunks has joined forces with our long time friends in the Brentwood Bicycle Club to help cure diabetes. We will all be at the starting line for next months Tour De Cure. Througout the end of May and month of June, Tour De Cures will be taking place all over America. We will be attending the ride in Brighton, Michigan on June 11th.

"Tour de Cure is a series of cycling events held in more than 80 cities nationwide to benefit the American Diabetes Association. The Tour is a ride, not a race, with routes designed for everyone from the occasional rider to the experienced cyclist. Whether you ride 10 miles or 100 miles, you’ll travel a route supported from start to finish with rest stops, food to fuel your journey and fans to cheer you on!"

The funds raised at the Tour De Cure will go to the American Diabetes Association. The ADA actively funds visionary diabetes research including genetic engineering of non-pancreatic cells into glucose-sensitive, insulin-producing cells. As well as transforming stem cells or pancreaticductal cells into insulin-producing cells. More than just treatments and preventative measures, studies like this seek a a total cure for diabetes. As we covered last month, great leaps are already happening in the field of diabetes research. We are nearing the last mile in the elimination of this disease. At this critical juncture every iota of help goes a very long way. That's why Memepunks is doing our part to chip in.

If you are interested in lending some pedal power of your own, find a Tour De Cure in your area and sign up. If you would rather help out with dollars instead of miles, feel free to sponsor Memepunks! Or If you know some one who is riding in the Tour De Cure, feel free to sponsor them. Barring any of that, just getting the word out will help.

"Sometimes, when she rode hard, when she could really proj, Chevette got free of everything: the city, her body, even time. That was the messenger's high, she knew, and though it felt like freedom, it was really the melding-with, the clicking-in, that did it. . . .She was entirely part of the city, then, one wild-ass little dot of energy and matter, and she made her thousand choices, instant to instant, according to how the traffic flowed, how rain glinted on the street-car tracks, how a secretary's mahogany hair fell like grace itself, exhausted, to the shoulders of her loden coat" - Virtual Light

Japanese Super Sewer

2006-05-15T04:09:00.000-04:00

Our friends in Tokyo Japan have constructed a colossal piece of underground infrastructure. Called G-Cans, its purpose is to drain and contain excess water during storms and typhoons. The project began in 1992 and took 12 years to complete. It consists of five concrete containment silos with a height of 65 meters and a diameter of 32 meters, each large enough to contain full scale ready to launch space shuttle. They are connected by 6.4 kilometers of tunnels 50 meters beneath the surface. The heart of the operation is a water tank 177 meters long, 78 meters wide and over 25 meter high. The structure is supported by 59 monolithic pillars. To pump the water out of G-Cans, a cluster of 14,000 horse power turbines can pump water into the nearby Edogawa river, at a rate of over 17 million tons per day.

In addition to the sheer scale of engineering involved with G-Cans, the structure itself is breathtaking. The long voluminous tunnels and towering pillars give the place a strangely majestic feel. It looks like a Hollywood set, or some computer generated level for a next generation video game. So much so that G-Cans has become a tourist attraction, offering free tours to visitors. Have a look at some remarkable images from the official G-Cans site. (unfortunately available only in Japanese) And some additional images from JPDN. Becuase of the unique atmosphere, G-Cans has been the home to several TV and film shoots. Including this Range Rover commercial.

G-Cans is quite an accomplishment. I am forced to wonder if something of this magnitude could be constructed beneath coastal US cities that face flooding dangers. Such as the recently ravaged New Orleans. I understand that the majority of NOLA is below sea level, which would present some interesting engineering challenges. But I can't help but think that we can learn from our typhoon weary neighbors. Anyone with a civil engineering degree care to comment?

“Architecture begins where engineering ends.” - Walter Gropius

Hybrid Bear Shot By Hunter in Great White North.

2006-05-12T17:50:00.000-04:00

DNA tests have recently confirmed that a bear killed by a hunter is half grizzly and half polar bear. Avid hunter Jim Martell was on a $45k guided polar bear hunt on Banks Island when they encountered the strange animal. The hunts Iniut guide, Roger Kuptana, was the first to note that the bear wasn't normal. It had an indented face, a humped back, long claws, and eyes ringed in black. The outfitters hosting the hunt sent the carcass out for DNA testing to save Martell a potential thousand dollar fine and year in jail for killing the wrong kind of animal. As it turned out, the creature had a polar bear mother and grizzly bear father. Although rumors of polar-grizzly hybrids have circulated for some time, this is the first time a confirmed specimen has been encountered in the wild.

There are a great number of Interspecific Hybrids, including Mules, Zedonks, Wolphins, Camas, and the infamous Liger. But rarely do they occur naturally in the wild. Perhaps we are seeing the beginnings of a new Darwinian pressure. With increased migration, and shrinking habitats more animals may be shopping outside their species on date night. There is a mystery ape population in the Congo that appear to be abnormally large Chimpanzees with a unique culture. Many theorize that this might be a Chimpanzee-Gorilla hybrid. If it's hybrid parentage turns out to be true, the Chimpilla will replace the Liger as my favorite. I'm all for hybrids, be they the products of a genetics lab or the rising stars of the animal kingdom. Convergence and diversity are not always separate animals.

"Assault weapons have gotten a lot of bad press lately, but they're manufactured for a reason: to take out today's modern super animals, such as the flying squirrel, and the electric eel." - Lenny

The First Martian Explorers Will Burn Their Bridges Behind Them.

2006-05-11T17:36:00.000-04:00

While sifting though the information that came out of last weekends ISDC, I came across a very unique plan for the privatized colonization of Mars. Founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, Peter Diamandis is shaking things up again. Many of you might recall the ten million dollar reward Peter offered for the first successful privately funded space ship. Peter has a new vision, one that stretches all the way to Mars. At the ISDC he unveiled his Mars Citizenship Program. To fund the project, Diamandis plans to raise 2 billion dollars. He's laid out an investment plan where 90 thousand people would each donate $10,000. Ten thousand people would donate $100,000. And 100 people would each donate a million bucks.

Once the funding has been collected, there will be a competition among all of the contributors. From the 100,100 people, 101 will be chosen as winners and Mars mission candidates. Those one hundred will then undergo rigorous training and assessment. Eventually Peter will be left with 6 teams of twelve astronauts. Meanwhile, several unmanned spacecraft will have been sent to Mars, delivering modular habitats, supplies and construction robots. The first team of twelve colonists will then leave for Mars. Thier journey will be one way. They will leave earth behind them for good, with no plans for a return trip. These new martians will find a robotically constructed mars base waiting for them.

Those first pioneers will struggle to survive and thrive and build a new world for themselves. New teams of twelve will be sent at regular intervals until a stable population is reached. At that point humans will no longer be found on just one planet in the universe. We will have two homes; one red, one blue. The colonists, leaving on a half year 250 million mile journey with no return address, will give up all the earth has to offer. In exchange, they will gain a new world. And that will set a precedent that will some day take us across the stars. [via MarsDrive]

"Mars is wild, untamed. I'm forming a cadre of Martian knights charged with enforcing Martian law." - Captain Murphy

Weekly Robot Update 005

2006-05-09T19:02:00.000-04:00

Congratulations, it's a bouncing baby... Robot! Babybot is being developed by the Laboratory for Integrated Advanced Robotics at Genoa University in Italy. Babybot was built as part of the ADAPT project, the Artificial Development Approach to Presence Technologies. The goal of Babybot is to create a machine that interacts with its environment the same way we do at a very young age. The theory behind is to duplicate the human sense of "presence". Presence is how we view the world around us. It incorporates all of our senses, and gives us a unified picture of our environment and our place in it. "Our sense of presence is essentially our consciousness" says Giorgio Metta, ADAPT project coordinator.

So what they have done, is model a small robot on the torso of a two year old, and given it a whole suite of human like senses. Babybot has three gyroscopes in its head to provide a sense of balance. Its eyes are two video cameras designed to mimic the characteristics of human vision, with a high resolution central image, and low resolution peripheral. In addition they are set to work stereoscopically, to provide Babybot with depth perception. Its ears are directional microphones inside of external cones. They coordinate directional sound information with the visual input from the eyes to get a clear picture of the environment. Babybot uses a specially designed five fingered hand to grasp and manipulate its surroundings. The hand has 15 joints, and six active degrees of freedom. It has a cluster of pressure sensors to give Babybot a sense of touch.

Babybot's brain is a cluster of computers running a several simultaneous neural networks. A neural network doesn't work like a classical computer program. Instead, it mirrors how our brains work. The system establishes a myriad of artificial "neurons" within the network, each one having a specific function or way of behaving. The network then strengthens or weakens the links between those neurons to alter the programing. The same thing that happens to our own neurons. The neural net model is one of the top contenders for developing real artificial intelligence. And although Babybot is no computing powerhouse, it does have the beginnings of a mind of it's own. Check out the videos for some footage of Babybot in action. While it seems like not much is happening besides a mechanical game of pick up, what Babybot is doing is the same thing we all did in our earliest days; Learning who it is, by exploring its world.

Babybot is just the beginning. Dr. Metta and the rest of the ADAPT team are already hard at work on the sequel to Babybot. Something they have named Robotcub, scheduled to be completed by Spring 2007. Robotcub will have more neural network power, and better sensory input than his predecessor. In addition, Robotcub will easily be able to crawl, and if it is smart enough, even learn how to walk on its own! As an added bonus, Robotcub will be designed completely with Open Source Software and hardware. Anyone will be able to take advantage of the incredible work of the ADAPT team. Good work folks, I'll save you a spot for Weekly Robot Update 057. [via New Scientist]

"A new baby is like the beginning of all things-wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities." - Eda J. Le Shan