for_sv's blog

Town with sign language as official language

Architects and town planners yesterday began drawing up blueprints for the first town built entirely for deaf people in the US.

Almost 100 families, from London to Australia, have reserved space in the South Dakota village, where all business will be conducted in sign language.

Future residents hope to become fully integrated in the day-to-day life, with every element designed specifically for deaf or hard of hearing people.

Buildings will incorporate glass for increased visibility, emergency services will rely on lights as opposed to sirens, while shops, restaurants, petrol stations, hotels and schools will be required to use sign language.

Marvin Miller, 33, who conceived the plan, hopes the building work will begin later this year. "Society isn't doing that great a job of 'integrating' us," Mr Miller, who is deaf, told the New York Times.

"My children don't see role models in their lives - mayors, factory managers, postal workers, business owners. So we're setting up a place to show our unique culture, our unique society."

The creators insist that the town, which will have a population of 2,500, will not be the sole reserve of deaf people. The only commitment asked by those intending to move there is that they live in an environment based on sight and American sign language. Opponents fear that the town will only serve to further isolate deaf people.

The town will be called Laurent after Laurent Clerc, a French educator of deaf people from the 1800s. The 92 families who have already reserved spaces will be expected to put down deposits for property within the next few months.

April 16, 2005 in Info, World News | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 15, 2005

Google intros Q&A service

Google Inc. began delivering factual answers for some queries at the top of its results page, to save users from having to navigate over to other sites and look for the information.

For example, if a user enters the query "Portugal population," Google returns the answer -- 10.5 million -- along with a link to the Web page where the information came from, which in this case is the population page of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Factbook.

Continue reading...

April 15, 2005 in Info, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 14, 2005

ITSY-BITSY DRONE

There are now dozens of different types of drones in the Pentagon's arsenal. But you'd be hard-pressed to find one smaller than this Wasp Micro Air Vehicle (MAV), now being tested aboard the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group off Southern California.

"The Wasp has two cameras — one forward and one aft — that collect and feed live video or other information. It’s designed to follow a programmed or relayed route using Global Positioning System waypoints or other navigational systems," C4ISR Journal says.

Last month, researchers on the Nimitz's ships "launched several of the 7-ounce, 13-inch planes." Sailors there will be taking "the Wasp along on its upcoming deployment, used it for several missions, including maritime interdiction and force protection. Micro UAVs might help in situations in which ships do not have helicopters available... 'It has the potential to save lives during boardings,' said Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Roth, the Nimitz group’s communications officer."

Meanwhile, Darpa and Honeywell are teaming up for a second, slightly larger MAV program. Weighing in at about 12 pounds, the gallon-of-apple-juice-sized drone is meant to fit inside a soldier's (already overstuffed) backpack. The idea is that the MAV will give a small infantry unit the ability to see over the next hill, or around the next corner. That's pretty much what the hand-launched Raven and Dragon Eye drones do today. But this MAV uses ducted fan propulsion, giving it a helicopter-like ability to hover over a valley or alleyway -- or even land on a nearby rooftop, and watch a battle unfold.

April 14, 2005 in Info, Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 13, 2005

Sony aims to beam sights, sounds into brain

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: PlayStation maker Sony Corp. has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain.

The technique could one day be used to create video games in which you can smell, taste, and touch, or to help people who are blind or deaf.

The U.S. patent, granted to Sony researcher Thomas Dawson, describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce "sensory experiences" such as smells, sounds and images.

"The pulsed ultrasonic signal alters the neural timing in the cortex," the patent states. "No invasive surgery is needed to assist a person, such as a blind person, to view live and/or recorded images or hear sounds."

According to New Scientist magazine, the first to report on the patent, Sony's technique could be an improvement over an existing non-surgical method known as transcranial magnetic stimulation. This activates nerves using rapidly changing magnetic fields, but cannot be focused on small groups of brain cells.

Niels Birbaumer, a neuroscientist at the University of Tuebingen in Germany, told New Scientist he had looked at the Sony patent and "found it plausible." Birbaumer himself has developed a device that enables disabled people to communicate by reading their brain waves.

A Sony Electronics spokeswoman told the magazine that no experiments had been conducted, and that the patent "was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction that technology will take us."

April 13, 2005 in Info, Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 12, 2005

Driving directions on your cellphone... from...

Who else? but Google

You can use Google SMS to get detailed driving directions, including total number of steps, estimated distance and travel time. Just send your start and end address to 46645 ('GOOGL' on most phones), and we'll return step-by-step directions.

April 12, 2005 in Info, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 11, 2005

Viagra

An Irish woman of advanced age, visited her physician to ask his help in reviving her husband's libido.

"What about trying Viagra? asks the doctor.

"Not a chance", she said. "He won't even take an aspirin".

"Not a problem", replied the doctor. "Drop it into his coffee. He won't even taste it. Give it a try and call me in a week to let me know how things went".

It wasn't a week later that she called the doctor, who directly inquired as to progress. The poor dear exclaimed, "Oh, faith, bejaysus and begorrah! T'was horrid. Just terrible, doctor!".

"Really? What happened"? asked the doctor?

"Well, I did as you advised and slipped it in his coffee and the effect was almost immediate. With a twinkle in his eye, With one swoop of his arm, he! sent the cups and tablecloth flying, ripped me clothes to tatters and took me then and there, making wild, mad, passionate love to me on the tabletop! It was a nightmare, I tell you, an absolute nightmare!"

"Why so terrible?" asked the doctor, "Do you mean the sex your husband provided was not good"?

"Oh, no, no, no, doctor, the sex was fine indeed! 'Twas the best sex I've had in 25 years! But sure as I'm sittin' here, I'll never be able to show my face in Starbucks again".

April 11, 2005 in Humor | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 10, 2005

Pentagon Invests in Unmanned 'Trauma Pod'

The Pentagon (news - web sites) is awarding $12 million in grants on Monday to develop an unmanned "trauma pod" designed to use robots to perform full scalpel-and-stitch surgeries on wounded soldiers in battlefield conditions.

The researchers who pitched the Defense Department on the idea have prepared a futuristic "concept video" that seems straight out of a teen fantasy game, showing with full color and sound effects the notion that robots in unmanned vehicles can operate on soldiers under enemy fire and then evacuate them.

"The main challenge is how can we get high-quality medical care onto the battlefield as close to the action and as close to the soldiers as possible," said John Bashkin, head of business development at SRI International, a nonprofit laboratory that often handles Defense Department research. "Right now, the resources are pretty limited to what a medic can carry with him."

Read

April 10, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 09, 2005

penny

There was a young woman named Jenny,
Whose limericks weren't worth a penny.
Her rhythm and rhyme
Were perfectly fine
But whenever she tried to write any,
She always had one line too many.
- Anonymous

April 9, 2005 in Humor | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Penny Sculptures

Penny Sculptures. "All stacks of pennies were done without any glue. Only the weight of the pennies provides the support."

April 9, 2005 in Art | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 08, 2005

The Most Ambitious Game Ever?

The Most Ambitious Game Ever? At this year's Game Developers Conference, Sims creator Will Wright's upcoming game Spore drew standing ovations. Not to be outdone, Peter Molyneux (of Populous and Black & White fame) revealed his own ambitious game-like project The Room. While the top game designers have freedom to play, independents rail (read Greg Costikyan's amazing bit in the middle) at the restrictions of the publisher system. For those who doubt games can be art.

April 8, 2005 in Games | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

SleepTracker wristwatch

Invention of the day: The SleepTracker wristwatch, which "monitors your sleep and wakes you at the moment that your body would best adjust from moving from a sleeping state to being awake."

April 8, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 07, 2005

ID theft is inescapable

March 2005 might make history as the apex of identity theft disclosures. Privacy invasion outfit ChoicePoint, payroll handler PayMaxx, Bank of America, Lexis Nexis, several universities, and a large shoe retailer called DSW all lost control of sensitive data concerning millions of people.

Credit card and other banking details, names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth have fallen into the hands of potential identity thieves. The news could not be worse.

In March 2005 alone:California State University at Chico notified 59,000 students, faculty, and staff that their details had been kept on a computer compromised by remote intruders. The haul included names, addresses and Social Security numbers.

Read

April 7, 2005 in Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 06, 2005

'Bionic eye' may help reverse blindness

A "bionic eye" may one day help blind people see again, according to US researchers who have successfully tested the system in rats.

The eye implant - a 3-millimetre-wide chip that would fit behind the retina - could be a dramatic step above currently available technology, says the team at Stanford University, California, US.

About 1.5 million people worldwide have a disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and 700,000 people in the western world are diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration each year. In both degenerative diseases, retinal cells at the back of the eye that process light gradually die.

Read

April 6, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 05, 2005

Global Voices, Atanu Dey and BBC-NPR program "The World"

Global bloggers report (5:45)
Many websites have a section called a "blog" or web log. The log is a way for people to participate in online discussions. While these blogs are becoming more well-known in western countries, there are plenty of active bloggers all over the world. The World's technology reporter Clark Boyd has the story.

Related Links:
Global Voices Site
Ethan Zuckerman's Blog
Rebecca MacKinnon's Blog
Hossein Derakhshan's Blog
Atanu Dey's Blog
Ory Okolloh's Blog

April 5, 2005 in Info, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Fight Osteoporosis: Bone Up on B12

Women are about four times more likely than men to develop osteoporosis, or weak, porous bones. But a new study links vitamin B12 deficiency with low bone mineral density in men, and confirms similar, previously reported findings in women. Researchers funded by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) reported the findings in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. The study was led by epidemiologist Katherine Tucker with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston, Mass. Tucker directs the HNRCA's Dietary Assessment and Epidemiology Research Program.

While vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked with low levels of markers of bone formation, the mechanism behind the relationship is not known.

The scientists examined the relationship between vitamin B12 blood levels and indicators of bone health measured in 2,576 men and women, aged 30 to 87, participating in the Framingham Osteoporosis Study. They found that those with vitamin B12 levels lower than 148 picomoles per liter (pM/L) were at greater risk of osteoporosis than those with higher levels. Plasma B12 levels below 185 pM/L are considered "very low," according to some experts.

The study found that those with vitamin B12 concentrations below 148 pM/L had significantly lower average bone mineral density--at the hip in men, and at the spine in women--than those with concentrations above.

The range of symptoms of B-12 deficiency includes anemia, balance disturbances and cognitive decline. Osteoporosis usually progresses with no outward effect until a fracture occurs.

The recommended dietary allowance for vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms per day for both men and women. Low stomach acid and aging can lower the ability to absorb the vitamin. Those over age 50 are encouraged to consume fortified foods or supplements containing B12.

This study suggests adequate vitamin B12 intake is important for maintaining bone mineral density. Animal protein foods, such as fish, liver, beef, pork, milk and cheese are good sources of vitamin B12.

From ARS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.

April 5, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 04, 2005

Insect Criminality

[Bee crimes against the colony.] [Worker] [policing]: [the policing of insect societies].

April 4, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Elephants do impressions

They say that elephants never forget. Now the creatures have shown that, when it comes to the fine art of vocal mimicry, they're not averse to learning new tricks either.

Researchers have recorded two African elephants (Loxodonta africana) that are adept mimics. One does a decent impression of an Asian elephant, and another is, remarkably, a dead ringer for a passing truck. The skilful impressions are far from the traditional grunts of an average African elephant.

The discovery adds elephants to a notably short roll call of animal mimics, which includes little more than humans, sea mammals, bats and birds. "The surprising thing is how few mammals show an ability to modulate their sounds," says Peter Tyack of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, who led the study.

Copycat time

The two elephants in question are Mlaika, an adolescent female living in a semi-captive group in Kenya, and Calimero, an adult male who lived for 18 years with two Asian elephants at a Swiss zoo. Calimero, perhaps unsurprisingly, mimics the typical chirp noises of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). "But Mlaika seemed to be making noises like a truck, of all things," Tyack recalls.

Click here to hear a recording of Mlaika's truck-like calls.

Continue reading...

April 4, 2005 in Fun, Info, Reality | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 03, 2005

Brain chip reads man's thoughts

A paralysed man in the US has become the first person to benefit from a brain chip that reads his mind.

Matthew Nagle, 25, was left paralysed from the neck down and confined to a wheelchair after a knife attack in 2001.

The pioneering surgery at New England Sinai Hospital, Massachusetts, last summer means he can now control everyday objects by thought alone.

The brain chip reads his mind and sends the thoughts to a computer to decipher.

Read

April 3, 2005 in Tech/Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

It's how to change the mood if someone is mean.

Can you never think of the right thing to say? Trouble relating in social circumstances? Maybe Taxi1010 can help. This guide to verbal self-defense is extensive, detailed, and quite clearly the work of a troubled mind. Start here, or search by insult on the "sunporch", key/codeword in the "kitchen", bridge in the "wine cellar", or response in the "nursery." Examine one of the many, many stargates(use this handy map, organized by stage of psychological development)... read one of the many, many essays... wherever you go it is an explosion of advice, comebacks, hypothetical situations, and who knows how many MSPaint masterpieces. Spend a minute, spend a day, spend your life trying to figure this site out.

April 3, 2005 in Reality | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 02, 2005

Euromail: What Germans can teach us about e-mail.

North America and Europe are two continents divided by a common technology: e-mail. Techno-optimists assure us that e-mail—along with the Internet and satellite TV—make the world smaller. That may be true in a technical sense. I can send a message from my home in Miami to a German friend in Berlin and it will arrive almost instantly. But somewhere over the Atlantic, the messages get garbled. In fact, two distinct forms of e-mail have emerged: Euromail and Amerimail.

Amerimail is informal and chatty. It's likely to begin with a breezy "Hi" and end with a "Bye." The chances of Amerimail containing a smiley face or an "xoxo" are disturbingly high. We Americans are reluctant to dive into the meat of an e-mail; we feel compelled to first inform hapless recipients about our vacation on the Cape which was really excellent except the jellyfish were biting and the kids caught this nasty bug so we had to skip the whale watching trip but about that investors' meeting in New York. ... Amerimail is a bundle of contradictions: rambling and yet direct; deferential, yet arrogant. In other words, Amerimail is America.

Euromail is stiff and cold, often beginning with a formal "Dear Mr. X" and ending with a brusque "Sincerely." You won't find any mention of kids or the weather or jellyfish in Euromail. It's all business. It's also slow. Your correspondent might take days, even weeks, to answer a message. Euromail is also less confrontational in tone, rarely filled with the overt nastiness that characterizes American e-mail disagreements. In other words, Euromail is exactly like the Europeans themselves. (I am, of course, generalizing. German e-mail style is not exactly the same as Italian or Greek, but they have more in common with each other than they do with American mail.)

Continure reading...

April 2, 2005 in Humor, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 01, 2005

Google Gulp - quench your thirst for knowledge.

At Google our mission is to organize the world's information and make it useful and accessible to our users. But any piece of information's usefulness derives, to a depressing degree, from the cognitive ability of the user who's using it. That's why we're pleased to announce Google Gulp (BETA)™ with Auto-Drink™ (LIMITED RELEASE), a line of "smart drinks" designed to maximize your surfing efficiency by making you more intelligent, and less thirsty. Think fruity. Think refreshing.
Think a DNA scanner embedded in the lip of your bottle reading all 3 gigabytes of your base pair genetic data in a fraction of a second, fine-tuning your individual hormonal cocktail in real time using our patented Auto-Drink™ technology, and slamming a truckload of electrolytic neurotransmitter smart-drug stimulants past the blood-brain barrier to achieve maximum optimization of your soon-to-be-grateful cerebral cortex. Plus, it's low in carbs! And with flavors ranging from Beta Carroty to Glutamate Grape, you'll never run out of ways to quench your thirst for knowledge.

How to get Gulped?
You can pick up your own supply of this "limited release" product simply by turning in a used Gulp Cap at your local grocery store. How to get a Gulp Cap? Well, if you know someone who's already been "gulped," they can give you one. And if you don't know anyone who can give you one, don't worry – that just means you aren't cool. But very, very (very!) soon, you will be.

Google Gulp and Your Privacy
From time to time, in order to improve Google Gulp's usefulness for our users, Google Gulp will send packets of data related to your usage of this product from a wireless transmitter embedded in the base of your Google Gulp bottle to the GulpPlex™, a heavily guarded, massively parallel server farm whose location is known only to Eric Schmidt, who carries its GPS coordinates on a 64-bit-encrypted smart card locked in a stainless-steel briefcase handcuffed to his right wrist. No personally identifiable information of any kind related to your consumption of Google Gulp or any other current or future Google Foods product will ever be given, sold, bartered, auctioned off, tossed into a late-night poker pot, or otherwise transferred in any way to any untrustworthy third party, ever, we swear. See our Privacy Policy.

April 1, 2005 in Humor | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack