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Thursday, October 6, 2005 Anti-Sniper robot developed. From the makers of roomba. @ 01:35 PM CST [Link] Super red blood cells created. They might look like sperm swimming backwards, but red blood cells have become the first living cells to be fitted with an artificial tail. As the tail whips back and forth, the cell moves tail-first at a cool 6 micrometres per second - about 10 times as slow as sperm swim. Also: Depressing piece on the end of the age of enlightenment. @ 01:33 PM CST [Link] The "ownership society" strikes again. Wow, this is inexcusable. A man who did not pay a 25 dollar fire protection tax lost his home when it caught on fire. "You either buy it or you don't have it," said Don Billig, the association's secretary. International Falls, Minn. "You buy the fire protection up here, and you have it," Billig said. However, Fire Chief Jerry Jensen said, "It's not the way we're trained. It's just wrong. ... My job is to put out fires, not to watch them burn, [and] I don't want this to happen again." But it has happened before, and it might again because for two years the city, county and the fire association have been unable to agree on costs of replacing the voluntary fee with a property tax levy that would fund fire protection for everyone. The Fire Department poured enough water on Berg's structure -- a mobile home and enclosed porch -- to put the fire out temporarily and make sure everyone was safe. But when firefighters were called back later, they let the rekindled blaze destroy the building's remains. @ 01:21 PM CST [Link] Sunday, October 2, 2005 Bicycle riding robot unveiled. Tentatively named Murata Boy, the system is an integrated machine that looks like a bicycle with a humanoid robot rider. The 50-cm-high, 5-kg robot hits speeds of up 60 cm per second. The robot can also balance on two wheels while stationary using sensors. Off to the critical mass rally! @ 06:22 PM CST [Link] Audiophiles impressed with 20 dollar amp. When I was about ready to give up on the thing the noise finally stopped, and music appeared in it its place. Based on the fact that it did this every time I turned it on, it seems that the little T Amp needs a minute or so to warm up. I began by listening to the new Beck CD, Guero, which I spun as a CD from the laptop's drive rather than as ripped MP3s or AIFFs. Right off the bat the sound certainly didn't bear much resemblance to what I might have expected from a twenty dollar plastic multimedia amplifier which, moments earlier, had assaulted me repeatedly with white noise. Surprisingly open, fast, with great microdynamics and abundant detail was my first impression. The harshness, brittleness and generally grungy nastiness I might have expected from such a product were nowhere to be found. See also: Techy piece from 1998 about Class T amplification. @ 06:12 PM CST [Link] The Shining trailer redone as father-son shmaltz fest. This is incredibly clever and funny. 9 meg quicktime file. I have no idea who made this, but maybe they can try their hand at other Kubrick films. Maybe turn Full Metal Jacket into a Marines recruitment commercial. Also: West Side Story as a zombie movie. @ 04:36 PM CST [Link] 20 million yo spider found in amber. They also plan to try to extract its DNA out. Arachnid park anyone? Probably not. Even tiny errors in DNA replication can cause huge problems. Dr Penney believes it was climbing up a tree 20 million years ago when it was hit on the head by fast flowing resin, became engulfed in the resin and died. He claims the shape and position of the blood droplets revealed which direction the spider was travelling in and which of its legs broke first. "It's amazing to think that a single piece of amber with a single spider in it can open up a window into what was going on 20 million years ago," he said. See also: Beyond Jurassic Park: Real Science with Ancient DNA. @ 04:30 PM CST [Link] I am loved over at the free republic. *shudder* I guess ad blocking transcends politics. Even crazy right-wing hate nutcase politics. @ 04:22 PM CST [Link] [Archives] Search entries: