Ay Caramba!

No wonder I can't lose weight, the calories are out to get me.
...seriously, 2,900 calorie fries! Wow.

Water water everywhere...now a drop to drink

Dean Kamen has introduced a truly amazing new device that purifies ANY water.
The claims he makes are truly astounding, such as the ability to get water from the ocean, from poisoned wells, from urine...he claims this device has the potential to eliminate 50% of the diseases the world faces by bringing clean drinking water to the 20% of people of this planet who do not have it. If this thing pans out....WOW.

Two New(ish) Techs

Not really related to anything, but thought I'd share.

Room temperature superconducting material
and
Flying laser cannon

Need a laugh?

Pointing out awful errors from bad photoshopping should do it.
Check out PhotoShopped for some chuckles.
* * *
Funny thing is, I remember seeing some of these images at the grocery story and the movie theater, but I didn't really notice. They might not have looked right, but I didn't think on it long enough to figure it out. Sad state of affairs when we don't notice when a movie poster portrays someone as having only three fingers...maybe if she'd been green and in a spaceship...

Papercraft

Paper animation - yes, using real paper, with the image cut out. Yes, it takes a LONG time. The effect is really cool though.

Wow

I'd never have guessed I'd have the same thing to say about two totally different movies...and yet have it mean such completely opposite things.
- - -
First up: Tropic Thunder - I'm not sure what to say except check out the picture. Guy in front, Ben Stiller. Guy in back, Jack Black (with blond hair). Guy in the middle...the black guy in the middle...Mr. Robert Downey Jr. - yeah, I had to do a double take too. Going from Iron Man to a comedy (?) war movie with Jack Black...wow.
- - -
As for the second wow, a movie I don't really know anything about. It's called Watchmen, and is apparently based on a graphic novel (named one of the "100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present" by Time Magazine). It also won a Hugo Award. Not a bad pedigree. Anyway, from the just released shots of some of the characters in costume, it earns a "wow" in it's own right. Maybe a little on the schticky side, but still, looks interesting.

Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis (OOKP)

What the heck is Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis? Well, basically, it's a procedure whereby a person can regain their lost sight through, basically, putting a tooth in their eye. Yeah, I know, I had to double check to make sure it wasn't a hoax, but it's not, it's a real procedure. This world is a strange place.
(FYI, if you didn't know, they're doing face transplants now as well. And bionic eyes are not far off.
. . .
Speaking of electronic..."enhancements" or medical replacements, Dean Kamen of Segway fame is coming along nicely on his "Luke arm" project. Quite amazing. I think the eventual goal is to tap it directly into the nervous system.
. . .
Exoskeletons are coming along at a good pace as well. Oh, and did you know that you can live without a pulse now as well? You can. The boundaries between man and machine are becoming thinner and thinner. Homosapien or robosapien? That is the question that I, Cyborg author Kevin Warwick explores. He even goes as far as to state: "Though I may have been born a human, I will die a cyborg."
. . .
Actually, there appears to be an interesting take on the whole subject written from a Jewish viewpoint, looking at this new technologically driven world that we live with the Golem legend in mind. I haven't read it, but this book looks quite interesting. Maybe I'll check it out next time I'm at the library.
. . .
I could keep going on about this stuff for days, but I won't. There's not way a single blog post could cover it all. So fascinating though. And this stuff I'm covering is the stuff that's readily available knowledge, not anything that looks at current military secret research. I've heard that the public is generally about 8 to 25 years behind on what the military is researching and doing.
. . .
Just two things to remember: 1) The Singularity is coming (last projection I saw was for around 2025), and 2) England already has Skynet in place and running (as of November 2007). Fifth generation actually. True, it's not THAT Skynet, but it's still a Skynet put in orbit by the military.
Just to give you something to think about . . . *grin*
. . .
If you feel so inclined, give a little research time to telepresence, nanotechnology, customized drugs (as well as viruses), and autonomous armed robots, just to name a few things that we either currently have or are on the cusp of having. Oh, the space elevator project is pretty cool too. Don't know if it's ever going to actually happen, but cool nonetheless.

Let 'Er Float!

High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas - the business of Sea Salvage.
(Sounds odd, but this is really an interesting article)

Free!!!

It's the future of business.
(No, really)

Now these are some nice desktop backgrounds...

Getting from Here to There...takes about 7 hours and 51 minutes.

Surfer dude flabbergasts scientists with new (possible) Holy Grail of physics - Unification Theory:
Like, the universe is one, man...
No, really. I'm not kidding. Seriously. This is not a joke. It even has a name. So does he. Garrett Lisi, and the E8 pattern. Yeah, I know...but at least if this whole physics thing doesn't work out, he's got a cool name for a band.

I just found my dream home - a very cool Modern Log Cabin
Daddy wants...

Wow

My life will never be the same...I have discovered manualism.

Check it out. I suggest starting with the William Tell Overture or the Super Mario Brother's theme.
His name is Jerry Phillips, and his ouvre and info is here. It includes everything from Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" to the "William Tell Overture" to Guns 'n Roses "Sweet Child of Mine."
Just amazing.
(In case you're wondering, manualism is playing music with your hands.)

I love random information.
Here are two great articles from one of my favorite sites, Damn Interesting

The first up is titled Amoebic Morality, and is about how single cell organisms can come together and cooperate, even sacrificing themselves for the greater good. Fascinating.

The second is the (true life) story of the origins of Assassins. Almost a thousand years ago, actually.
Have fun reading!