ME

Holycow

Robosapien V2 (and Friends!)

The new Robosapien V2 looks fantastic. For just 200 bucks, the new bot will be able to track objects and movements, recognize objects and skin tones—all sorts of crazy stuff. Onrobo (another one of the new robot blogs, a trend I think is great) has details, as well as this first picture. Oh, and they have information about Roboraptor and Robopet, which the new V2 Robosapien can control (although they can be operated independently).

I think that this is nice because then if the Robosapien can control the small roboraptor and robopet then I might be able to get them to fetch me stuff.

Apple Gaming Rumor #174

MacWorld's still a month away, and we've already got rumors of of 100GB iPods, Ultra Thin MacBooks, and of course, the iPhone. But what of the old rumor that Apple's eyeing the video game market? Yep, They've got that too. What do they think? Unlikely. Apple's done well in their current markets of PC and digital music because they've been able to keep their ecosystem closed. iPod + iTunes and the fact that you can't build your own Mac are examples of control Apple has over their products. Apple doesn't need to rely so much on third party providers to sell their systems. If they get into the gaming arena, they're going to be at the mercy of game development studios to produce killer titles for yet another console in an already crowded horse race.
However, Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora says Apple's been hiring video game designers and thinking about entering the video game market sometime in the next few years. Tortora says the decision to enter may be based on how well the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles do as media hubs for the living room, something Apple's also trying to do with their upcoming iTV.

That's so cool because now if apple gets everything like that out then it would be like an apple world. But I don't think that they are going to have good games because to me games from square Enix and sony are really good and are almost unbeatable.

Major PS3 Firmware Update Coming March '07

Despite all Sony's talk about how the PlayStation 3 is supposed to be a media hub, there's been very little to show for it. We have standard trailers and movie playback, but even the Xbox 360 can do that. But come March '07, to coincide with the Europe launch, the PS3 is going to get a major firmware update. SCE's VP of Technology says there could be a utility to download third-party operating systems direction from the PS3. In addition, there are even more gaming features planned to be added with the update. Perhaps more PSP + PS3 integration? What we'd like is to just be able to play DivX and XviD files off a burned DVD directly from the PS3's interface.

I think this is unfair because why doesn't Sony take out the PS3 fully updated at first its just not fair. Now loads of people buy the PS3, but then in around 4 more months its nothing but garbage because there is this NEW PS3 which has 10x more features.
IT'S JUST NOT RIGHT

King Tut Died From Broken Leg, Not Murder, Scientists Conclude

King Tut probably died from a broken leg, scientists say, possibly closing one of history's most famous cold cases. A CT scan of King Tutankhamun's mummy has disproved a popular theory that the Egyptian pharaoh was murdered by a blow to the head more than 3,300 years ago. Instead the most likely explanation for the boy king's death at 19 is a thigh fracture that became infected and ultimately fatal, according to an international team of scientists. The team presented its results this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago, Illinois. "I think it is the end of the investigation. … We can now close this file," said team leader Ashraf Selim, a radiologist at Kasr Eleini Teaching Hospital at Cairo University in Egypt.
But the research effort may add to rumors surrounding the infamous "curse of Tut."

Now I have been to Egypt and its has been said that Tuts helper (or someone like a helper) killed him with a smack on the head when Tut went hunting. I don't exactly know how someone can die with a thigh fracture.

Ancient Tsunami Smashed Europe, Middle East, Study Says

A massive tsunami smashed Mediterran-ean shores some 8,000 years ago when a giant chunk of volcano fell into the sea, researchers say. Waves up to 165 feet (50 meters) high swept the eastern Mediterranean, triggered by a landslide on Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, according to the new study. The research team says the natural disaster likely destroyed ancient communities, with a series of killer waves hitting the eastern Mediterranean coastline from Italy to Egypt. Italian researchers based their findings on geological clues and evidence of a hastily abandoned Stone Age fishing settlement in Israel. Maria Teresa Pareschi and colleagues at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Pisa estimated the tsunami's strength by modeling the impact of the landslide from Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe. The waves would have reached heights of about 165 feet (50 meters) off southern Italy, the team says, with a sea surge reaching 43 feet (13 meters) swamping parts of Greece and Libya. Smaller waves hitting coasts farther away would also have had devastating power, according to Pareschi, who led the study. "A tsunami wave height of a few meters can penetrate deeply inland," she said.

Well now I think that this is not cool because if this really happened then it could happen again and that wouldn't be so good.

Toxin-Free Cottonseed Engineered; Could Feed Millions, Study Says

A toxic chemical has been mostly removed from cottonseeds, potentially turning an underused agricultural product into a food source for hundreds of millions of people, according to a new study. "The world grows cotton for fiber not for seed," said Keerti Rathore, a researcher at Texas A&M University in College Station who helped spearhead the work. "Few realize, however, that for every pound [0.45 kilogram] of cotton fiber, the cotton plant produces 1.65 pounds [0.75 kilogram] of seeds that contain 21 percent oil and 23 percent of a relatively good quality protein." Now this is good because then companies or agribusinesses can get oil with all the cotton they farm.

I think this is good because yes the companies give us cheaper oil which is really good (for my mom).

DNA Varies More Widely From Person to Person, Genetic Maps Reveal

The genetic makeup of the human race is much more varied than previously believed, new research shows. Scientists say that surprisingly many large chunks of human DNA differ among individuals and ethnic groups. The research also suggests that humans have less DNA in common with chimpanzees, our closest living relative, than is widely supposed. The new findings, based on several studies, will have huge changes for research into deadly diseases, the researchers add.

This is not really good for us because then if we have less DNA then its not good also if we live now, soon enough we will create diseases far more complicated for scientists.

NASCAR Lab Tech on Pushing Limits of Speed, Safety

Gary Nelson, NASCAR managing director of research and development, supervises the center. His team uses a variety of means, including computer simulations and crash test dummies, in an endless quest to make a dangerous sport safer. One of your projects is a five-year plan to design "the car of the future." What does that involve? We've focused on the driver's space and what protects the driver: restraint systems, the seat, and the space around him. The [the size of a regulation NASCAR] car got a bit bigger. It looks the same, but just a few inches, from the driver's perspective, is a big deal. We fill that space with crushable material that absorbs some energy. If you think about passenger cars today, they have an air bag that acts as a pillow. There is no way to have an air bag that does what we need at racing speeds. But the theory of absorbing energy of the impact … would be a very good goal. Instead of a pillow between the driver and the wheel, we put protection [outside the cockpit] on the side, front, and back of the car. So when [the car] hits something, we're able to lengthen the time between [impact] and the car coming to a complete stop. It happens in an instant. We're talking about milliseconds. But if we can double the length of that instant, those extra milliseconds make a tremendous difference to what the driver feels.

I think its nice that there is someone who is trying to help the drivers when they crash because lots of people die because of this NASCAR racing (i like nascar).

For Dung Beetles, Monkey Business Is Serious Stuff

So the seeds of the Amazon's much-lauded biodiversity are spread around the rain forest, in many cases. And where there's monkey business, so too are dung beetles, according to Kevina Vulinec, an assistant professor of wildlife ecology at Delaware State University in Dover. The dung beetles, as their name suggests, make a living off other animals' waste. In the process they sow whatever seeds make it through the treasure-dropping animals' digestive tracts. "Dung beetles are essential to tropical biodiversity, and they may be more essential than we even know," said Vulinec, who studies the interactions between monkeys and dung beetles. His aim is to understand their roles in seed dispersal and thus tropical biodiversity. Of particular interest to Vulinec are the applications of this line of research to conservation efforts aimed at regenerating areas of the Amazon rain forest that have been cleared for agriculture and ranching.

I dont exactly believe that DUNG BEETLES are essential to the biodiversity its so dum. In the olden days dung beetles were destroying crops and the farmers didn't exactly get to do anything about it so it just isn't right.

Fruit Flies' Aerial Stunts Inspire Brain Study

Budding engineers often take apart common devices, such as toasters, and put them back together again to learn how the parts make up a working system. But budding biologists have a harder time using this approach—once a living organism is taken apart it usually can't be made to function again. Now, using modern genetic engineering techniques, researchers are able to turn biological components on and off, in effect removing parts to see how each one affects the whole system. "The more things you take apart, the more intuition you gain about the natural world," said Michael Dickinson, a professor of bioengineering and biology at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Dickinson studies fruit flies and how certain cells in their brains contribute to their ability to make rapid mid-air turns. The work, he says, has broader implications for understanding the complexities of the natural world. "In the end, you learn more than just how flies work," he said. "In figuring out how something as complex as a fly is put together, you gain insight into many complicated processes."

I think this is cool because if we can do this to ant brains then we might be able to do it to human brains and than we can create
a real human brain with all the stuff in it. Also we could use that process to make better eye site or make clogs in your brain to not become blogs.

New studies of Damascus swords are revealing that the legendary blades contain nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and other extremely small, intricate structures that might explain their unique features. Damascus swords, first made in the eighth century A.D., are renowned for their complex surface patterns and sharpness. According to legend, the blades can cut a piece of silk in half as it falls to the ground and maintain their edge after cleaving through stone, metal, or even other swords. But since the techniques for making these swords have been lost for hundreds of years, no one is sure exactly why these swords are so good.

I think this is cool because I bet the people who created the swords in those days they all probably didn't know that they were making something so small, sophisticated, and nano type.