Robot Eco Dogs

This news story sort of has to do with Little Brother, the book I just read, since the author talked about this story in the Bibliography in the back.

"For the Feral Dogs Project Jeremijenko has worked with numerous student groups to create packs of roving robo-dogs, which are “released” en masse into a community space to sniff out harmful VOCs, ozone, and other environmental toxins. The ‘packs’ of feral robotic dogs are designed to “patrol” sites of public interest like schools, parks, and industrial sites, in order to generate community and media attention on the issue on contaminants in the environment."

How cool is that? These students are hacking into toy robot dogs and turning them into toxic waste detectors!
I would LOVE to make one of these at home, but I'm definitely not tech savvy enough to do it.

Here's a link to the Feral Robotic Dogs website:
http://www.nyu.edu/projects/xdesign/feralrobots/

Speaking of robots, I saw the movie Wall*e tonight, and fell in love with it. If you don't love it for the adorableness of robot romance then you'll at least be awed by the cool computer animation.

Unicorn Deer!

This single-horned deer was actually found in Italy! Single-horned deer are rare but not unheard of — but even more unusual is the central positioning of the horn, experts said.
"Generally, the horn is on one side (of the head) rather than being at the center. This looks like a complex case," said Fulvio Fraticelli, scientific director of Rome's zoo.












Wicked was phenomenal! The acting and singing were great and the entire play was very witty and funny. And the ending...wow, I seriously never expected that.

Computer Destroying Ants

Houston is home to a new invasive species of ant, thought to have arrived via a container ship in 2002. The as-of-yet unidentified species is colloquially referred to as the crazy raspberry ant for its erratic foraging habits, appearing to dart in every direction but straight ahead. The ant has quickly become a nuisance both to the local ecology and to the people living with them. They are omnivorous and will eat everything from flora to other insects and even the hatchlings of a local grouse called the prairie chicken. They have destroyed all matter of electrical equipment, insinuating themselves into fire alarms and sewage pumps, mucking up the works as they go.
While the species is already too widespread and established for any hope of eradication, even simple population control is proving to be difficult. The animals are not attracted to the usual poison bait traps and so require specialized extermination. The colonies are polygyne (having multiple queens) and may even be interconnected into supercolonies, making colony destruction nearly impossible. Even when individuals are killed, the survivors will smartly pile their dead over the pesticide-treated areas to cross to safety. (Woooo! I made the entire paragraph a link! :) )

A pic of the crazy raspberry ant, which are attracted to electrical wires, and have ruined several people's computers, among other things.


Its news stories like this that make me REALLY glad I don't live in Texas.
I finished the Host, which is 600+ pages in a DAY. IT IS AMAZING. (I know I'm using caps in this post more than usual, but the Host is just that good.) So if you're in a book store soon, go check it out! Another great thing about Stephenie Meyer's new novel is that it also proves she's successful at writing other stuff besides her best-selling Twilight saga.

Control Video Games With Your Mind

So for another world cultures project I had to research some global issues, one of them technology and the future. I found this article and I thought it was pretty cool, even though I don't really play video games. But the whole being able to control a computer just with your mind--how cool is that?

Anyway, here's the article from USA Today:


Control Video Games With Your Mind

By Barbara Ortutay, Associated Press
NEW YORK — Hands cramping up from too many video games?
How about controlling games with your thoughts instead? Later this year, Emotiv Systems plans to start selling the $299 EPOC neuroheadset to let you do just that.

The headset's sensors are designed to detect conscious thoughts and expressions as well as "non-conscious emotions" by reading electrical signals around the brain, says the company, which demonstrated the wireless gadget at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The company, which unveiled a prototype last year, says the headset can detect emotions such as anger, excitement and tension, as well as facial expressions and cognitive actions like pushing and pulling objects.

The headset will be sold with a game developed by Emotiv, but it can also be made to work with existing PC games, the company said. Users will also be able to access an online portal to play more games, chat or upload their own content such as music or photos.


Emotiv plans to work with IBM Corp. to explore applications beyond video gaming. The "brain computer interface" technology could transform not only gaming, but how humans and computers interact, said Paul Ledak, vice president of IBM's Digital Convergence business.

Skydiving...Without a Parachute?

Sounds like death, right? Not for Jeb Corliss. I saw this guy on the Colbert Report a couple of nights ago, and I thought he was interesting. I've always been interested in extreme sports, but I'm way too chicken to ever try them.
Corliss's dream is flying, but not in a plane. He wants to jump out of a helicopter without a parachute AND land safely. How? With his wing suit. The wing suit workss sort of like a flying squirrel, for each foot he drops he glides three feet. Right now he has to wear a parachute, since if he wanted to land safely without one he would need a specially designed runway, which he actually has a design for. All he needs now is the funding.
Apparently, there's at least half a dozen other groups around the globe also working on the same goal as Corliss.


Here's some pictures of Jeb Corliss in his wing suit and two other skydivers over the Florida Keys.