My Useless Opinion

Researchers develop bionic contact lenses!

2008-01-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

Researchers at the University of Washington have recently discovered a way to safely create a contact lens that has a digital display for the wearer to view information, such as the Internet, driving controls (speed, direction, etc), or perhaps even vision enhancements.

The press release from the University of Washington reports that their researchers tested the contact lenses for safety in lab rabbits and have found no adverse affects. With hope, we will soon be able to browse the Internet, watch television (with a bluetooth earpiece perhaps?), view things more clearly, or obtain information about our environments with nothing but our contact lens to help us out.

According to the researchers involved, the lens would display the information superimposed over the wearer's normal view, much like we have seen in the Terminator series and the Bionic Woman.

Even better is that the area outside the pupil could be used to place even more electronics, allowing for further improvements:

"There is a large area outside of the transparent part of the eye that we can use for placing instrumentation," Parviz said. Future improvements will add wireless communication to and from the lens. The researchers hope to power the whole system using a combination of radio-frequency power and solar cells placed on the lens, Parviz said.

A full-fledged display won't be available for a while, but a version that has a basic display with just a few pixels could be operational "fairly quickly," according to Parviz. (Press Release)

Has Barack Obama Left the Primary Season Unaffected?

2008-06-12T12:43:00.001-07:00

What won me over about Barack Obama from the onset, and even before he had officially announced his candidacy for President, was how he came off as an honest person, one who wouldn't play Washington's game, but was getting involved to make a genuine difference. Certainly, this was the crux of his second, most recent book, The Audacity of Hope. Obama expressed a deep desire to get involved in politics so that he could turn it into what it was supposed to be: a representation of the governed. This is why I did not vote for Hillary. In every aspect, her goal has always seemed to be to "make it". It always feels like she's just trying to prove what she can do, and trying to get the glory that she feels like she so rightly deserves. I couldn't vote for somebody who is in the contest for the sake of being a winner, instead of for the sake of making the world a better place.

Over the past six months, though, I have begun to get the feeling that many of Obama's insiders have been encouraging him to make a point of saving face when being attacked by his opponents. I feel that instead of claiming ignorance Rev. Jeremiah Wright's controversial sermons, he should have stood against the attacks and stated that Barack Obama is not Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Regardless of what church Senator Obama attends, Rev. Wright is not the man running for President, nor can the people should not hold Obama accountable for Rev. Wright's opinions, regardless of how the media feels like portraying it.

Going further along the same vein, a member of Obama's team resigned this weekend after it came out that he had received special treatment from Countrywide, the nations largest mortgage lender and one that nearly lost everything in the subprime debacle, having been deeply involved in the issuance of subprime loans to unworthy, and sometimes unaware, borrowers. James A. Johnson, the man in question, had been CEO of Fannie Mae before joining on with Obama's team as the man in charge of finding Obama a running mate for the election in November.

When the subject first came up on Saturday, June 7th, Obama pointed out that his only job in Obama's campaign was to vet his potential running mates, and that he was neither making important decisions for Obama, nor getting paid for any work he was doing. At first, Obama did stand against the media's (and John McCain's) attacks, but on Monday, Johnson resigned from his volunteer post with the Obama campaign. Obama accepted his resignation and his campaign issued a statement.

I am at least glad that the decision seems to have been made by Johnson, instead of by Obama himself, however this is just another example of Obama stepping out of the way of the media to keep from getting burned.

Now I do not mean to imply that Obama should accept any sort of defamation for having been involved with Rev. Wright or with Jim Johnson, but rather that he should stand up against the media and his opponent and say, "I will not let you do this." These attacks are the exact types of things that Obama promised to change, yet instead he is starting to play the game by saving face.

One might say that he and his staff simply realized that he couldn't make it through the election if he didn't start pointing out the faults in his opponents instead of just promising change, but my question is, "Why not?" That is what he promised to do: to show the country and the world that you CAN succeed in changing this country without playing the Washington game. And I certainly hope that, in the end, that is what he will have done.

Even if he does become greatly changed by the electoral process, and finds himself unable to return to the Barack Obama he once was, he will still get my vote. In my opinion, he is a far greater candidate than any of the alternatives, real or presumed. But I pray that he realizes what is beginning to happen and breaks the restraints that have started to keep him down. If he does, we will finally know that it is possible to win the Whitehouse without playing the game.

Free Speech -vs- Fake Child Pornography

2008-06-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

I have no desires to argue that the production of child pornography represents free speech, nor do I believe that those involved in the spread of child pornography deserve any leniency. I do, however, find this recent Supreme Court decision a bit interesting, and somewhat in error.

As the New York Times reports, The Supreme Court ruled in defense of a portion of a child pornography law that essentially states that it is illegal to promote legitimate, adult pornography as child pornography, usually referred to as "fake child pornography". This goes against a 2002 decision in which the court said that legislation cannot ban pictures of adults posing as children, or essentially cannot ban pictures in which there are no REAL children present.

So, one would be led to interpret these decisions just as the editors at the New York Times have: "Fake" child pornography is legal, but it is illegal to market it as such.

No I guess I can see the reasoning, being that those who sell it might be misleading their customers, but that is not an issue for a Child Pornography Law, but for a business practices law. At any rate, how can this act not be considered free speech as well?

I could understand a person saying real child pornography is just as much free speech as is your typical convenience store pornographic magazine, if it were not for the fact that this is a terrible offense against the children involved.

In fake child pornography, no children ARE involved, however, I'd be worried about the persons who involve themselves in the receipt of this type of pornography, and what desires it might produce in them, as well as what ends might result.

Supreme Court: Guantanamo Detainees Have Right to Appeal in Civilian Court

2008-06-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Things make me so mad sometimes. Let me begin to explain by reiterating that I voted for Bush on his second term (yes, I know... I do apologize to the rest of you for that). I probably should have done some actual research before casting my vote (not that I would have voted for Kerry, but hey.)

I've read many news stories regarding the treatment of Guantanamo detainees, and have always felt that our military has claimed more power than is rightly theirs. I'm sure there are a number of people being detained who actually are serious, serious threats, and who might have taken any number of lives had they been free all this time; however, I feel that the behavior (or potential behavior) of those who are guilty should NEVER infringe on the rights of those who aren't.

For this reason, I was glad to hear of today's Supreme Court Ruling that determined that Guantanamo detainees have the right to appeal military tribunal decisions in the US Court system. This has gone on too long. How can we say we have the right to prosecute a person internally, without affording them the rights of any other person who gets prosecuted? Why shouldn't they have presumed innocence? And where do Bush and Congress get off thinking they can write legislation that gives them free reign over any person they so much as suspect to be an enemy combatant?

Enough is enough, and I hope there will be no delay in re-writing the legislation that allows our military to treat their suspects the way they do. Call me disloyal, I just hope to be able to always consider myself fair.

APA: Artificial sweeteners linked to weight gain

2008-02-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

In an article in the February edition of the American Psychological Assocation's "Behavioral Neuroscience", Psychologists at Purdue University reported on a study in which they tested rats eating yogurt with either glucose or a saccharin based sweetener to see how they reacted in regards to weight gain. They reported that "rats given yogurt sweetened with zero-calorie saccharin later consumed more calories, gained more weight, put on more body fat, and didn’t make up for it by cutting back later, all at levels of statistical significance.

"Authors Susan Swithers, PhD, and Terry Davidson, PhD, surmised that by breaking the connection between a sweet sensation and high-calorie food, the use of saccharin changes the body’s ability to regulate intake." (Press Release)

The production of some bio-fuels causes enough emissions to offset benefits of using the fuel

2008-02-10T15:51:00.001-08:00

Another interesting report in Chemistry World this month shows that some types of biofuels, or some methods of producing and transporting various bio-fuels may very well cause close the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as standard energy sources. The article goes into how one particular process in creating a certain bio-fuel lets off high amounts of Nitrous Oxide, which is another greenhouse gas more than 300 times more potent than Carbon Dioxide, which is the general greenhouse gas that most countries are trying to prevent.

What does this mean? While it is still a great movement for various countries and companies to try to "go green", if not done right, it could end up not helping anything at all. Though that does not mean they should give up, but just make sure they're not making more pollution in producing fuels that would produce less pollution.

Indian physicists trap light in a fluid, releasing it at their will

2008-02-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry and Chemistry World, researchers in India have found a fluid that, when bombarded with a specific magnetic field, is able to hold light until the magnetic field is released, when a burst of protons can be seen escaping all at once.

Though they weren't trying to capture light in the fluid that they created, researchers are hoping that this will greatly improve light-based computing in the near future.

Obama wins 4, looking at another in Maine.

2008-02-10T15:37:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, Democratic candidate and US Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) has made a dent in Hillary Clinton's already narrow lead. Obama won contests in Louisiana, Washington State, Nebraska, and in the US Virgin Islands. Before results began pouring in on Sunday, Hillary Clinton had demoted her campaign manager, according to some reports, while other reports stated that her campaign manager resigned due to the sacrifices required by running a national campaign such as this, which is becoming one of the lengthiest primary races in US history.

As of 6:30pm on Sunday, Barack Obama was showing a 57% to 42% lead over Clinton in the state of Maine, the only state voting today, and only for the Democratic nominee. Republicans in Maine voted on February 2nd, giving a victory to Mitt Romney, who has since dropped out of the race for Republican Nominee for President of the United States.

Romney's retraction of his bid for President leaves only McCain and Huckabee, and though Huckabee has a far inferior number of delegates thus far, he continues to win states across the country.

Obama and Clinton will match up again on Tuesday in the "Potomac States" of Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C., where polls show Obama with a substantial lead. According to reports, Clinton is hoping for major victories in the large states that vote at the beginning of March, but if Obama picks up any more momentum, that might prove unlikely as well. She was already expected to win Maine, and though only 59% of the precincts in Maine have reported results, it is likely that Obama's lead in the caucuses will not diminish much when the final tally is in.

A proven enemy of Taliban dies in Guantanamo without trial

2008-02-05T10:05:00.000-08:00

For the first time ever, a Guantanamo detainee has passed away due to natural causes. In the case of Abdul Razzaq Hekmati, it was cancer. And if it were anybody else, I would not be writing this article today.

The New York Times reported on the death of Mr. Hekmati, along with the story of his 5-year detainment as an "enemy combatant." According to the article, Hekmati was an Afghani war hero, having fought directly AGAINST the Taliban and even masterminded a prison break of three prisoners in a Taliban prison in 1999.

Transcripts show that at his many tribunals, Hekmati denied all of the charges against him, save one that said he worked for the Taliban as a truck driver for three months in the 1990s, which was required by all able-bodied Afghani men during the Taliban rule. Having openly accepted that accusation, and plainly explained it, the tribunal still seemed uninterested in believing any of his other statements.

Hekmati asked the tribunals to call witnesses on his behalf: "Ismail Khan, now the minister of energy; and Hajji Zaher, a general in the Border Guards." (New York Times). These were two of the prisoners that Hekmati had helped to escape from the Taliban prison in 1999. Both men, when asked by the New York Times, stated that they had never been contacted by the Tribunal council and had tried many times to attest to Hekmati's loyalty against the Taliban and against Al Qaida, but were always unable to get anybody to listen.

The Tribunal claims that they attempted to contact these two men, but that they were "not reasonably available." (New York Times). Even a former intelligence member and tribunal council member has since stood out to say that in his experience, it was the American military's practice to never try to contact any person who was listed as a potential witness for a detainee's defense, even though the military maintains that this is a right they will afford any detainee.

Hekmati refuted the claims against him many times, was never allowed to see or hear any of the evidence against him, and claimed he was falsely accused by two of his enemies in the Taliban, one who had killed a number of his family members before he was arrested in Afghanistan in 2003. As far as any records have shown, the only evidence that Mr. Hekmati was given the time of day was in that he did in fact sit before the Tribunal on more than one occasion, yet it seems that their only goal was to keep him locked up indefinitely, without a chance to clear his name.

People, I am sickened by this. I have heard time and time again of the injustice that is said to take place in Guantanamo, but until now, I haven't heard such damning proof as this. Yet the Pentagon maintains that they did everything to assist Mr. Hekmati in his defense. That's a lie so obvious they might as well have been smiling when they said it. If this doesn't change, and very, very soon, then being an American won't be something to be proud of for much longer.

Please write to your congresspersons at the links below:

The United States Senate

The United States House of Representatives

Microsoft makes $44.6 BILLION dollar offer for Yahoo!

2008-02-01T08:24:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple of years, Yahoo! has been disappointing investors by always missing the targets on earnings and profits. Earlier this week, Yahoo! announced it would have to lay off thousands of employees in an attempt to win what seems to be an uphill battle that just won't end. With its stock much lower than it used to be, Microsoft immediately jumped in with a $44.6 Billion dollar takeover bid, and if you have opened any news site today, then you will likely have heard about it already.

The interesting thing about how the media is handling this news is the speculation from every angle. The story isn't just the offer, but it is the stories behind that headline that are interesting.

On one hand, the Guardian, which is a pretty good British news source, asks "What would a Microsoft-Yahoo deal mean for web users?". What they want to know is who, among MSN/Live users and Yahoo! users, would end up having to switch to the other service? Which chat would become most popular, which email, which search, etc?

Then in a separate article, by a different journalist also at the Guardian, they ponder over "The problems of merging Microsoft and Yahoo". This article goes over the differing technologies that each company uses. Not surprisingly, Microsoft makes use of all of its own software, from ASP for web page development to Windows on the Hotmail / Microsoft Live email servers. Yahoo! however, uses FreeBSD as its operating system and PHP for its web pages, both of which are open source, and therefore free to the public. Attempting to merge everything together into one functional system would require enough money to make Bill Gates skittish.

In the meantime, reporters at Forbes are offering their own opinions, beginning with "Why Yahoo! Can't Fix Microsoft". The writers believe that Microsoft has failed as a web company and should stick to their software packages. The article states that the world would be a better place if Microsoft just spun off all of its web properties and SOLD them to Yahoo!, instead of buying Yahoo! and increasing their responsibility in web property. They think that Microsoft isn't suited for the web and for that reason, shouldn't expand across it.

And finally, in another article, Forbes reports that "Microsoft Admits Yahoo! Isn't In The Bag". In a conference call, Microsoft admitted "that 'any number of companies might have an interest' in also acquiring Yahoo!. EBay, News Corp. (owner of Fox, MySpace, and Dow Jones), AT&T, and Comcast have each previously been speculated as possible Yahoo! buyers." (Forbes.com) Of course, Google, already owning 56% of the market, would not be legally permitted to buy Yahoo!, so Microsoft isn't worried there, but even with MS and Yahoo! put together, Microsoft would only maintain 32% of the market, still trailing Google by over 24%.

According to MarketWatch.com, which was owned by Dow Jones (the publisher of the Wall Street Journal) until the December 2007 Dow Jones buyout by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., analysts have been shaky on the deal all morning, not knowing whether a potential merger would actually do any good for either company.

Scientists create strong, easy-on / easy-off "Gecko Tape"

2008-01-30T12:21:00.000-08:00

In a simultaneous press release from the National Science Foundation and the University of California in Berkeley, researchers have announced a new adhesive based solely on the ability of geckos to climb most any surface without every getting stuck in place. Researchers developed tape containing millions of nanofibers that, when pulled across a surface, hold many time tighter than the average piece of tape. When the tape is pulled directly away from the surface, however, it is released freely.

Berkeley researchers spent several years studying the way geckos were able to climb and stick to surfaces with an easy release and hope that this new technology could be used in "a range of products, from climbing equipment to medical devices." (Press Release)

The only problem being worked out thus far, is the need to massage the tape into place, allowing the sides of the nanofibers -- the parts that do the actual sticking -- to make as much contact as possible before the tape begins to work.

The research team was "specifically tasked in 2003 with developing biologically-inspired synthetic gecko adhesives," by the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..." (NSF.gov - NSF at a Glance)

Egypt & India: Where'd the Internet go?!

2008-01-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

Reuters and the New York Times reported today that most of Egypt and India found themselves without Internet access today as one of the major underwater cables leading into Egypt was mysteriously cut, possibly by recent storms in the area.

The cable was a major throughput for Internet activity in the Middle East and surrounding countries, and while some connectivity has been partially restored by rerouting through other cables, Egypt does not expect to have connectivity fully restored for 10 to 15 days.

My useless opinion? I hope you weren't planning any major raids with players from that region of the world on your favorite MMORPGs this week. Those connections that have been restored are said to be moving slower than dirt due to the increased congestion.

World to America: "You're not the boss of me!"

2008-01-27T15:05:00.001-08:00

An interesting hypothetical look at the future of global politics based on the current stand of world powers can be found on the New York Times website today.

What if, 8 years from now, the United States found itself quieted by the rest of the world? What if nobody cared what the U.S. Government had to say anymore?

I believe, in agreement with the article, that we've certainly begun heading in that direction. The world is tired of us bossing everybody around and stubbornly refusing to accept global attempts at peace and environmental protection. Nobody cares if Bush wants to be a little brat at a global summit to determine how we, as a planet, will move towards greener practices. Bush stood with his arms crossed and the rest of the world was this close to telling him where he could shove it.

In the interests of full-disclosure, I voted for Bush the second time around. And to keep that disclosure going, it is a decision that I now regret. It is my opinion that Bush is too stubborn to listen to anybody else any longer. He is going to do what he set out to do, even if it is blatently obvious to the rest of the world that he is an idiot. I imagine the cabinet room being one of, "I don't care what you have to say! My name is PRESIDENT George W. Bush!"

Strong enough to go to war? Yes... Smart enough to listen to the advice of others? Absolutely not. Let's hope our foreign policy can change enough so that we learn how to share responsibility for the world with everybody else, instead of trying to hoard it all for ourselves. Let's surround ourselves with good advisors, namely the rest of the world. Otherwise, we might just find ourselves outcast from a world of people who have felt outcast for far too long. It's time for the bully to grow up.

WSJ.com will remain a paid service, Murdoch says

2008-01-27T10:33:00.000-08:00

In an article that has disappointed me greatly, the New York Times has reported that Rupert Murdoch, billionaire owner of the media conglomerate known as the News Corporation has decided to renege on his original claim to allow free web access to the Wall Street Journal website. Murdoch and his News Corp. completed the buyout of Dow Jones in December, 2007. Dow Jones is the parent company of the Wall Street Journal, Market Watch, Barron's Magazine, and Dow Jones Newswires.

Murdoch began his attempt to buy out Dow Jones around May of 2007, amidst much controversy, with the media making great claims to the potential of turning the Wall Street Journal into a tabloid, like much of Murdoch's oversees papers, or of turning it into a pro-republican news source much like Fox News.

After making many promises to the Bancroft family, long time majority shareholders of Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch was able to secure the deal and completed it in the fourth quarter. One of his first promises was to allow open access to the Wall Street Journal online, at no charge, but last week he came to the decision that the $99 per year subscription fee could not be beaten by sheer ad dollars on a free website. That being the case, those of us who want to read WSJ articles online without forking over the fee will still need to access WSJ.com via our mobile phones, which is a free service thus far.

Murdoch began his media conglomerate as the son of an Australian newspaper owner. When he took over the family business, he quickly began buying out competitors as well as papers in other markets. To this day, the News Corporation is one of the largest news sources in the world. News Corp. is also the parent company of MySpace, PhotoBucket, Beliefnet, IGN Entertainment, DirecTV and Britain's BskyB (British Sky Broadcasting) Satellite Television Service and has recently launched the Fox Business Network on cable and satellite to compete with CNBC. Fox Business has one upper hand on CNBC, its core business news competitor, which is its now close relationship to the WSJ and to Dow Jones, allowing the free movement of business news content to and from the Wall Street Journal. In an attempt to compete, the New York Times has recently reached an agreement with CNBC (January 7, 2008) to share content freely between both entities.

Though Murdoch has made stern promises to keep his hands clear of the editorial processes at the Wall Street Journal, some sources are still skeptical, though I think it will take time to really see the effects of Murdoch's influence on the WSJ, if there are any.

Strike brings Gladiators, Price is Right to Primetime.

2008-01-24T07:41:00.001-08:00

Well, after two and a half months without any writers to speak of, we're really starting to see the studios get desperate. Popular game shows have started returning to America's primetime schedules but I don't think it will cause much of a loss in ratings. Having watched the shows as a child (on daytime and saturday afternoon TV) I am actually interested in watching them on Primetime schedules. I've already seen American Gladiators this past week and have to say it was very well done... A step up from its Saturday afternoon schedule of 15 years ago.

So the Price is Right will be on Friday nights and hosted by Drew Carey, who is no Bob Barker, but who knows... It could be good! I'll certainly give it a chance.

Studying algae to speed up computers?

2008-01-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

A press release came out today stating that a research team led by Michael Sussman, a University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemistry professor and director of the UW-Madison’s Biotechnology Center, discovered which genes are used by diatoms - unicellular algae - to encase themselves in intricately patterned, glass-like shells made of silica.

According to the press release, silica is closely related to the silicon we use to create computer chips today, and diatoms are able to create patterns much smaller than current chip manufacturers are capable of.

Over the past 30 years, chip manufacturers have continued to increase processor speed by "using photolithographic techniques for the past 30 years," explains Sussman. "But they are actually hitting a wall now because they’re getting down to the resolution of visible light."

Using DNA chips designed by some of the researchers involved, they were able to pinpoint which genes in the diatoms were used to create the actual silica shells, and now believe that they can manipulate these genes to begin drastically enhancing the speed of processors used in computers.

Though it may be few years before this new technology hits the streets and begins to affect you and I, it is still a vastly interesting leap in what seems to be an era of scientific breakthroughs.

Read the press release here.

The World's Best Microscope: TEAM 0.5

2008-01-22T11:06:00.000-08:00

As if there weren't enough interesting technology stories this week, Berkeley Lab announced the completed installation of, "the World's Best Microscope...capable of producing images with half‑angstrom resolution (half a ten-billionth of a meter), less than the diameter of a single hydrogen atom," and named TEAM (Transmission Electron Aberration-corrected Microscope) 0.5. (version 1 is scheduled to come out next year).

What makes the microscope so great is that it has been corrected to adjust for spherical aberration, creating an intensely clearer image with extremely high resolution. The next version is being created with an additional correction for chromosomal aberration, or aberration caused by the variance of wavelengths of light (differences in color and strength cause light to be refracted at different angles through a lens).

Even though TEAM 1 isn't scheduled to come out until next year, TEAM 0.5 is still the best microscope ever invented, and was built for the Department of Energy, which will allow public use as early as October 2008. The image from the microscope will be transmitted to a screen similar to a high definition flat panel TV, located in what will be the microscope control room.

Reportedly, one will be able to differentiate individual atoms with TEAM 0.5, and researchers have already tested it out, making "a series of images of two gold crystals connected by a 'nanobridge' only a few dozen atoms wide. From each exposure to the next, individual gold atoms could be seen changing positions." (Press Release)

Fred Thomspon drops out of the race!

2008-01-22T11:53:00.000-08:00

Though it is an odd place to find such news, the BBC has reported that Fred Thompson has dropped out of the running for the Republican nomination for President after losing in South Carolina. I thought Thompson was confident he'd get the SC vote, but somehow he placed third, and for that reason, he has thrown in the towel.

When I had first heard of Thompson's decision to run for President (though unofficially announced), I actually found myself interested. He did what is believed to be the best job ever of gaining in polls without officially being a candidate. It is my opinion, though, that the Law and Order star and ex-Senator from Tennessee tried to ride the wave a bit too long and the people (as did I) got tired of waiting.

When it came down to it, I was rarely impressed with him in his debates. He has portrayed a firm, fair, and decisive leader in Law and Order, but those were lines that were written FOR him. He has struck me as pretty undecisive in the past, except on issues that might have gotten him the Republican vote.

At any rate, I am somewhat glad he has dropped out, if only because I get to watch him on Law and Order again on NBC, though I am unsure whether he will be allowed to return in new episodes.

One down in the Republican bid... How many left to go??

New York Times paints Giuliani as vindictive, vengeful

2008-01-22T09:50:00.001-08:00

I read an article in the New York Times this morning on the way to work that, while obviously biased, still served to shed some light on Presidential-hopeful Rudolph Giuliani. I'm certain simply from the language used, that the writers could no longer find themselves objective in their report, but there is definitely enough information to make anybody wonder if Giuliani is the best choice for the leader of the free world.

The article goes in depth and back many years over Giuliani's term as Mayor of New York City. It seems that while he was in office, anybody to cross his path ended up beaten and abused, metaphorically of course. The article references people whose jobs were lost after disagreeing with Giuliani, or even pointing out his flaws or flaws in his administration.

One thing is for sure... Political office will buy you a certain amount of persuasiveness.

Your cellphone to report radiation in your area?

2008-01-22T09:29:00.000-08:00

Scientist at Purdue University are working with the State of Indiana to create a network using existing cellphone users that would report back to a data center any radioactive activity in a users' area. The idea is that they could track radioactive substances that could be used in terrorist attacks as they pass multiple cellphone users while transporting radioactive material.

While I think that it is a novel idea, in part, I find myself more worried about the possibility of the government making it mandatory for cellphones to come equipped with the required hardware, which is supposedly very small and lightweight. Whereas I am all for catching terrorists who are trying to blow up my neighborhood, I'm not sure how I feel about being forced to do it. We could eventually find ourselves being subpoenaed when our phones report we've been close to radioactive substances.

Since your cellphone always reports where it is, the system would measure the strength of the radioactive signal versus that of other cellphones around you to pinpoint the location of radioactive sources and track their movements.

Your comments are encouraged.

Ebola virus with no threat?

2008-01-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have figured out how to disable one of the eight genes found in the Ebola virus to keep it from being able to reproduce. In doing so, they have created a sample of the virus that can be tested in nearly any environment without threat of an outbreak. Though the virus could infect a single cell in a person's body, it is unable to reproduce and spread throughout the body, making it essentially harmless, but extremely useful for testing purposes.

To allow them to perform controlled reproduction of the "sterile" virus, they have introduced the protein that the virus would use for reproduction into the kidney of a monkey, which allows the virus to only reproduce while contained in the kidney. As soon as the virus is removed from the presence of the protein, it can no longer reproduce.

"At present, research on live Ebola virus is confined to the very highest level of biosafety, known as Biosafety Level 4 (BSL 4). Because such laboratories are rare, small and very expensive, basic research that is the basis for any potential drugs or vaccines to thwart the virus has been limited to perhaps half a dozen labs worldwide. The system devised by Kawaoka and his colleagues could provide a way to greatly expand studies of the pathogen and speed the development of countermeasures." (Press release)

Pain-killers... without the side effects.

2008-01-22T07:40:00.000-08:00

I never cease to be amazed by the unending list of new discoveries by scientists, researchers, and doctors worldwide. This time, doctors at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York have tested a way to program a virus to deliver a specific gene (the one associated with the pain-killing effects of certain opiates) directly to the pain receptors in a patient suffering from Chronic Pain.

The press release, published on Monday, January 21, 2008, states that doctors are hopeful that this will create a way to relieve pain for up to three months after a single treatment, and without the negative side effects that opiates might normally cause.

If their discovery pans out, perhaps Dr. House will no longer have an excuse to continue his self-imposed Vicodin treatment. (I know... It's only television).

At any rate, the researchers are optimistic about the possibility of future testing in human patients.

(Press Release)

Caffeine increasing the risk of miscarriage?

2008-01-20T12:23:00.001-08:00

I read an interesting article in the New York Times this afternoon; one that concerns me because I have friends who are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant. The New York Times reported on an upcoming study to be published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published by the National Medical Society. In the study, researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research worked to discover whether there was any actual link between the intake of caffeine of pregnant women and the liklihood of miscarriage.

After interviewing a number of pregnant or recently pregnant women, the researchers decided that intake of more than 200mg of caffeine a day may very well increase that risk. Some doctors, though, question the reliability of the results.

Critics had maintained that the association was not so much a high dose of caffeine intake that increased the risk of miscarriage, but that women with a healthy pregnancy are more likely (than those about to miscarry), to reduce their caffeine intake due to nausea, vomiting, and aversion to caffeine, Li said. "Therefore, the critics claimed that the observed association was a result of reduction of caffeine intake by healthy pregnant women," he said.

So what's a fatigued mom-to-be supposed to do for her daily energy jolt?

"If you definitely need caffeine to get you going, try keeping it to one cup or less a day. Avoiding it may be even better. Consider switching to decaffeinated coffee and other decaffeinated beverages during your pregnancy," said Tracy Flanagan, MD, Director of Women's Health, Kaiser Permanente Northern California. “Learn to perk up instead with natural energy boosts like a brisk walk, yoga stretches, snacking on dried fruits and nuts."

Obama, half Kenyan, urges peace

2008-01-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

I was wondering why I hadn't heard anything about Obama's opinions or feelings on the violence that has ensued over the past few weeks in Kenya. When the reigning President was re-electing by what seemed an impossible margin (more votes than seemed were possible in the country), the opposition revolted. It has been a free for all war, and I continued to find myself wondering why I hadn't heard anything in the news about what Obama thought about his father's country being in a state of civil war.

Well, it simply turns out that I hadn't gone looking for such news. In a search on Google News, I came across an Associated Press article from January 8th reporting that while campaigning in New Hampshire, Obama was also on the phone with the Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, trying to encourage a peaceful approach to their goal, while also trying to contact the tentatively re-elected President Mwai Kibaki.

"What I urged was that all the leaders there, regardless of their position on the election (to) tell their supporters to stand down, to desist with the violence and resolve in a peaceful way in accordance with Kenyan law," Obama said. He said Odinga "gave me some encouraging signs that he would be willing to have such a meeting." (Associated Press)

Kenya apparently is quite proud of Obama's heritage, having gone so far as to create a beer in his honor, called Senator, though Newsweek reports that most residents simply ask for a cold "Obama" these days.

Motley reviews for Cloverfield, but it still sets records!

2008-01-17T15:21:00.000-08:00

I've been rather excited lately... anxious to see a new film that reuses the old plot device of a monster terrorizing Manhattan. The makers of Cloverfield have put out some rather intense previews, none of which shows the viewer what exactly is doing the damage that we see on screen. When Lady Liberty's head comes rolling down the street, demolishing buildings and automobiles on its way, we come to realize only that whatever it is, it is big, and apparently rather angry.

So, being that I have not gone and seen the film myself, I have instead gone online to read the reviews of those reviewers who got the media sneak peek at the film. Many of these reviews give away spoilers about the movie, so instead of reading them yourself (unless you WANT to know), I have read them for you and will tell you the gist what the critics thought about it... hopefully without spoiling the movie for you.

If you've seen the previews at all, you get the idea. Something has been let loose in Manhattan and is very frightening indeed. We've all probably seen movies just like this before, including the many Godzilla movies of the past 50+ years, but this one has its differences in that it is shot as if it were a documentary, but actually is purported to be an accidental "caught-on-film" experience. While friends are recording their goodbye wishes to the main character Rob, all Hell apparently breaks lose and somebody is obviously not scared enough to drop the camera, which some normal people might think would slow down their attempted escape.

Time Magazine reviewer Richard Corliss contends that, while exciting, many of the actions of the "cool, attractive, upmarket young professionals" are simply too absurd to imagine. Whereas most people would try to find a safe place to hide, the majority of the city acts in panic and reverts to trying to outrun the beast. Corliss continues to describe many scenes in the movie that reflect this sudden loss of intellect on the part of the majority of Manhattan Island and goes on to decide that the predictability is a bit much.

Peter Hartlaub, Pop Culture Critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, makes many statements that would agree with Corliss, but he does state his opinion of the movie overall in (nearly) plain English, "even though "Cloverfield" isn't the Godzilla-for-the-YouTube-generation picture that everyone may have been hoping for, it's still a terrific movie, filled with spectacle and a surprising amount of humor, which makes up for its lack of terror or emotional impact."

Chicago Daily Herald writer Dann Gire begins his review with an equally open, if not mildly confusing, opinion: "The heavily hyped science-fiction horror movie 'Cloverfield' is a scary, unabashedly cheesy, in-your-face thriller that cheerily picks the scab off our still-fresh memories of 9/11 to remarkably realistic effect."

While we won't go into why more than one source has said this movie might be insulting to the history of 9/11, we will say that we have read reviews that say, as Gire did, that the way the film handles 9/11 is actually not so bad, and perhaps in good taste.

Moving right along, About.com reviewer Rebecca Murray warns that if you feel like walking out after the first few minutes, that the anticipation is worth the wait. She commends the CGI monster effects and admits that, while the shaky hand camera might bother some, its really worth it. "It’s not that bad. Honest. You actually get used to it and, more importantly, it’s absolutely the right way to tell this tale."

Murray also commends the use of largely unknown actors in the lead roles and gives the film a B+.

In stark contrast, though, New York Sun reviewer Grady Hendrix paints the movie as predictable (again), unimpressive, and tiring. Hendrix pins the acting/directing style on the directing staff's television background, claiming that, "feature films demand a level of engagement that television doesn't, and what passes muster on the small screen looks ridiculous on the big one." Hendrix passes the film off as a made-for-TV film that should have stayed that way, and delivers a very irritated review

Finally, Hollywood Reporter writer Michael Rechtshaffen argues that, "the people they are playing aren't particularly interesting or developed, but who has time to exhibit intriguing character traits when you're trying to outrun a monster?" Rechtshaffen also resounds Rebecca Murray's opinion that the shaky hand-cam really helps to make this movie more intense.

All in all the reviews are exactly how I like them - starkly opposed. In my experience, a movie isn't worth seeing (inasmuch as its only possible to see so many movies in one's lifetime) unless it carries the weight of both strongly negative and positive reviews. In those cases, we tend to find the best of cult-classics, and that is what I hope for in this movie. I expect to find myself and my brother stumped by the question, "Why don't we own this movie?!" only to find it setting on the DVD shelf shortly thereafter, where I'm still confident it should be.

UPDATE - January 20, 5:19pm

Well it seems that despite a few negative reviews, and hopefully because of the glowingly positive reviews, Cloverfield has set a few records this MLK weekend. Not only did it beat the Along Came Polly MLK opening weekend box office draw with $41 million (with a day still to go) over ACP's $32.5 million, it also beat the all-time January box office opening record from the rerelease of Star Wars in 1997. Star Wars had held the record at $35.9 million. Read the article on Entertainment Weekly's website, EW.com (click here).