Wednesday, April 30, 2003

Gilgameshs Tomb Found?

The Epic Of Gilgamesh - written by a Middle Eastern scholar 2,500 years before the birth of Christ - commemorated the life of the ruler of the city of Uruk, from which Iraq gets its name. Now, a German-led expedition has discovered what is thought to be the entire city of Uruk - including, where the Euphrates once flowed, the last resting place of its famous King. "I dont want to say definitely it was the grave of King Gilgamesh, but it looks very similar to that described in the epic," Jorg Fassbinder, of the Bavarian department of Historical Monuments in Munich, told the BBC World Services Science in Action programme.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2982891.stm

The Rebel Particle

A sub-atomic particle predicted to exist by physicists has been detected for the first time in a particle accelerator in California - but its properties do not fit with theory. The particle, called Ds (2317), was discovered in the debris of collisions between other sub-atomic particles. But it has baffled and intrigued the 500 physicists working on the project.They think the particle belongs to a family of eight particles known as the charm-strange mesons. Four of them have been found so far, all precisely fulfilling the theorists predictions. But the mass of the newly found Ds particle is significantly smaller than expected, casting doubt on current theories of the nature of matter. The discrepancy means physicists are confronted with a particle they predicted but cannot explain, says the University of Pisas Marcello Giorgi, leader of the international BaBar project that made the discovery. "This has never happened before," he says. "It is very, very exciting".
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993687

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

The End Of Innovation

"Our freedom to innovate is not necessarily going to be as free as it was in the pre-Internet era," he cautioned. "We are at a pivotal point in the history of technology and a lot of assumptions should be questioned."
Rheingold said the explosive growth of Internet-connected PCs, handhelds and cell phones had dramatically altered the cultural landscape. Thanks to connected computers, passive consumers have been transformed into active users, who create as well as consume content.
But vested interests -- the music and movie industries, telecommunications companies and governments -- are starting to clamp down politically and economically to protect their interests.
"They would very much like to get us back to the days when there were three radio stations and one telephone company," he said. "Were going to have to fight to remain users and not be turned back into consumers."
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,58601,00.html

Nother Alien Film?

Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott could be joining forces once again for another "Aliens" film, Zap2it reports.
"Ridley and I have talked about it a couple of times. He has some ideas," the actress told the Chicago Sun Times. "If we developed a good script, Id love to play Ripley again."
The two worked together for the original "Alien" film back in 1979 and Weaver continued to work on the sequels as Ellen Ripley with James Cameron in 1986 and in 1997 with Jean-Pierre Jeanet.
Although a new "Alien" project has not been confirmed yet, Weaver already has plans of what shed like to see in the film.
"The only thing Im not interested in is going to earth," she said. "I saw that Star Trek movie where they went to earth and...yawn. I think its more fun to go to a foreign planet."
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMovies/apr23_weaver-can.html

Tuesday, April 22, 2003

The End Of Human Nature

To the new wave of genetic scientists, Coleridges ancient mariner - who preached love and respect for the natural world - is more than just old. Hes obsolete. Why should you bother loving nature off-the-shelf if you have the power to make it better? Were headed toward an era when human beings will be as casually "enhanced" as chickens or marigolds, with higher IQs, better looks, longer lives.
Bill McKibben understands genetics - but he knows poetry, too. In his brave and luminous book, Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age (Times/Holt, $25), McKibben plays the part of the mariner, forecasting a frightening catastrophe brought on by human obliviousness. Enough indicts germline technology, the so-called designer baby science that aims to let parents improve their offspring by pasting desirable genes into their kids DNA. Whats so bad about that? McKibben explains: By ordering up athletics-enhanced, music-enhanced, optimism-enhanced children, you are not merely urging them in some direction - all parents do that; you are wiring your own tastes into their genes, literally twisting their minds and bodies into the shape you have chosen. And this staggering arrogance is bound to be futile because the technology will get better over time. If you upgrade your child with 25 bonus IQ points, you can count on a 50-point boost becoming available by the time your children have kids of their own. Youve just made Junior obsolete. "The vision of ones child as a nearly useless copy of Windows 95 should make parents fight like hell to make sure we never get started down this path," McKibben writes. Weve been taught that scientists are smarter than other people. But by counting on them to act wisely on our behalf, McKibben argues, we will be complicit: coconspirators in a gigantic (and maybe irrevocable) crime against humanity.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/play.html?pg=3

New Fox Reality Show: Appointed By America!

Fox executives Monday unveiled their latest reality-TV venture, Appointed By America, a new series in which contestants vie for the top spot in Iraqs post-war government.
"Get ready, America, because youre about to choose the man?or woman?who will lead Iraq into an exciting democratic future," said Fox reality-programming chief Mike Darnell, introducing the show at a press conference. "Will it be Ahmed Chalabi, leader of the exiled Iraqi National Congress? Or General Tommy Franks, commander of the allied forces? Or maybe Roshumba Williams, the Macon, GA, waitress with big dreams and an even bigger voice? Tune in Tuesdays at 9 to see."
Describing the new show as "American Idol meets the reconstruction of Afghanistan," Darnell said Appointed By America will feature contestants squaring off in a variety of challenges, including a democracy quiz, a talent competition, and nation-building activities that will demonstrate their ability to lead a bombed-out, war-ravaged Mideast country.
http://www.theonion.com/onion3915/new_fox_reality_show.html

Monday, April 21, 2003

Other Current Read: A Fighting Man Of Mars

I must admit that I have a fascination for Burroughs mars series. I picked this up on the coast this last weekend and read it cover to cover -- would you believe that I found a 64 paperback of it for two bucks? Anyway, I have about 3 in the series and a bunch to go! Excellent read!
http://whitewolf.newcastle.edu.au/words/authors/B/BurroughsEdgarRice/prose/fightingmanmars/

Current Read: Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse: The Quest for the Quantum Computer

Just how smart can computers get? Science journalist Julian Brown takes a hard look at the spooky world of quantum computation in Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse--and his report is optimistic. Based in large part on the groundbreaking work of David Deutsch, the book mostly sidesteps the shouting matches of the AI debate and instead explores the history of computation and quantum theory before turning to the exciting advances likely to come out of their merger. While some readers might cringe at the blithe dismissal of classical computing as a relic, Brown shows us why quantum computing is faster and more powerful, and is a good candidate for replacing its predecessor.The author doesnt pull any mathematical punches, but injects enough humor and personalization into his writing to keep the book from crumbling to dust. Indeed, portraits of such luminaries as Deutsch and Feynman are more engaging than those found in some biographies and are enlightening on their own. But the real power and charm of Browns prose lie in its straightforward explanation of the arcane details of the multiple-worlds theory, "qubits," and quantum logic in language any informed reader can understand. There are more questions than answers in Minds, Machines, and the Multiverse, but the questions are profoundly satisfying all by themselves.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743242637/qid=1051040462/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-1681735-5105447

New StrongBad Email


http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail70.html

Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Time Traveler Busted For Insider Trading

Sources at the Security and Exchange Commission confirm that 44-year-old Andrew Carlssin offered the bizarre explanation for his uncanny success in the stock market after being led off in handcuffs on January 28. "We dont believe this guys story -- hes either a lunatic or a pathological liar," says an SEC insider. "But the fact is, with an initial investment of only $800, in two weeks time he had a portfolio valued at over $350 million. Every trade he made capitalized on unexpected business developments, which simply cant be pure luck.
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/wwn/20030319/104808600007.html

Wednesday, April 9, 2003

Putting In A Wireless Network

When it comes to buying equipment, think g, not b. New 802.11g hardware is nearly five times faster than 802.11b gear, and it will interoperate with that as well.
If youre a PC family, try the Linksys WRT54G 802.11g base. It will work on almost any Net connection, and the company often gives out software upgrades. It has a built-in firewall to stop hackers from plucking your credit card number from the airwaves, and a throughput jack lets you hardwire other computers via Ethernet cable. These should cost about $150.
If youre an Apple household, get an AirPort Extreme, about $200. Its prettier than earlier AirPorts, and newer Macs come with the software to run it.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/unwired/network.html

Tuesday, April 8, 2003

Are We Doomed Yet?

The trend of all software applications is toward greater fluidity of expression because computers are symbol-processing machines. At Ion Storm, for example, we tie ourselves in knots to give game-players multiple solutions to problems, customizable characters, and branching or "multiform" story lines. We believe that a good computer narrative allows players to drive meaningful developments in the game world. To put that another way, we think that players should be able to participate in writing the story. The fact that our ideal in computer entertainment is the empowerment of end users to compose their own experiences is no accident. This ideal is common to every software application from PhotoShop to the pages of the World Wide Web. The freedom of expression in a 3-D world like Deus Ex -- the freedom to customize the self -- is a preview of the godlike powers of creation we will all have when the human-machine language progresses beyond crude signs to a true language of choice and customization. With power, however, comes potential danger. We have no reason to fear new fathers who color-correct their baby photos, but what will we do when DNA and nanoscale machinery are just as easy to manipulate, when each of us is a potential terrorist able to compose a new viral genome with drag-and-drop? Given the nature of the Web and file-sharing, would we have a prayer of suppressing dangerous knowledge that could be turned into novel weapons of mass destruction? What I argue below is that we dont have to suppress knowledge at all. The open pursuit of knowledge is actually our greatest weapon against the dangers taking shape around us. I believe that the coming "self-replicating" threats described by Bill Joy and others are real dangers. I believe that individuals will someday trade the secrets of mass death as easily as the Magic players of today trade playing cards. Nevertheless, I am prepared to live with such a future. In fact, I believe that an open society like ours would be better equipped to deal with these threats than even the most efficient police apparatus. I am alarmed by the ease with which our society is being frightened into abandoning its hard-won openness. Numerous ideas currently in circulation, taken together, foretell a future which might shock our late-capitalist sensibilities, but which could very well become our reality, by degrees, if we dont take the time now to ask fundamental questions about what we value as a people.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/03/31/knowledge/print.html

Monday, April 7, 2003

Matrix: Reloaded SFX

Im sitting in a former naval barracks in Alameda, California, watching the digital assembly of a human face. Bones, teeth, glistening eyes. Layer upon layer. Finally the hair and skin, the creases and tiny scars that make us who we are. The face blinks and breathes. Then it snarls, and my skin crawls.
Agent Smith is back, and hes pissed.
Youll be seeing a lot of Agent Smith this year. Neos man-in-black nemesis returns on May 15 in The Matrix Reloaded, the continuing story of a young hacker who learns that the apparently real world is an elaborate computer simulation. In November, a second sequel, Matrix Revolutions, will take up where Reloadeds nail-biting climax leaves off.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/matrix2_pr.html

Sunday, April 6, 2003

Black Holes and Space Travel

"One possibility is that black holes may allow us to travel to very remote places in the universe, or another universe entirely," said Burko in a telephone interview from his office in Salt Lake City. "It depends on the topology of the universe, which we do not know very well ? Im not arguing its a practical thing to do, but maybe in 1,000 years from now, maybe it would be simpler." In Burkos scheme, black holes may be doorways to wormholes, theoretical constructs equivalent to tunnels, or shortcuts, between distant points of the universe, different points in time, or even parallel universes. Burkos ideas arent new. Wormholes were popularized by Caltech physicist Kip Thorne in the 1980s, and were the interstellar vehicle of choice in Carl Sagans influential novel Contact.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,58359,00.html

Thursday, April 3, 2003

US $ Spent On Iraq

A lot of people dont really understand how much money is at stake with the Iraq "crusade". This diagram could help you to understand what the USA is doing, and what are its main goals.
http://personal.inet.fi/private/kooo/iraq/

Tuesday, April 1, 2003

USs Possible New Laser Rifle?

The TIS-1 (Tactical Infantry System1) isa gasdynamic laser weapon system conceived by Stavatti Corporationin direct response to the Statement of Objectives corresponding to theLFLAN (Light Fighter Lethality After Next). The TIS-1 is arevolutionary tactical weapon system for the individual combatantthat will deliver a first round probability of hit using directed laserlight as the lethal mechanism in selectable bursts from 1 to 170 shotsper minute in excess of 60% at a range of 500 meters and 80% at1500 meters.
http://www.defensereview.com/352003/TIS1.pdf

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