Parting Picture

Isolated Tribes

If you've seen Wade Davis's unforgettable 2004 TED Talk -- where he evokes the magic of the world's cultural diversity, and speaks so eloquently about the alarming rate with which cultures and languages are dying -- then you might find this photo as heart-stopping as I did.

It's so surreal, I thought at first it must be a hoax. But Reuters just picked the story up, and I'm going to assume they did my fact-checking for me. The photo shows members of one of the world’s last uncontacted tribes, who were spotted and photographed from the air in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest near the Brazil-Peru border. Survival International

Survival International, an advocacy group for tribal people, released the photos on their website and quotes Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirelles Junior, who works for the Brazilian government’s Indian affairs department: "We did the overflight to show their houses, to show they are there, to show they exist ...This is very important because there are some who doubt their existence."

"What is happening in this region is a monumental crime against the natural world, the tribes, the fauna and is further testimony to the complete irrationality with which we, the 'civilized' ones, treat the world," Meirelles said.

Apparently, more than 100 uncontacted tribes remain worldwide, with half living in Brazil or Peru. Extraordinary. (From blog.ted)

Oil Rustling

The bandit pulled his truck to the back of a Burger King in Northern California one afternoon last month armed with a hose and a tank. After rummaging around assorted restaurant rubbish, he dunked a tube into a smelly storage bin and, the police said, vacuumed out about 300 gallons of grease.

Nick Damianidis, an owner of Olympia Pizza and Pasta in Arlington, Wash., has had oil stolen.

The man was caught before he could slip away. In his truck, the police found 2,500 gallons of used fryer grease, indicating that the Burger King had not been his first fast-food craving of the day.

Outside Seattle, cooking oil rustling has become such a problem that the owners of the Olympia Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Arlington, Wash., are considering using a surveillance camera to keep watch on its 50-gallon grease barrel. Nick Damianidis, an owner, said the barrel had been hit seven or eight times since last summer by siphoners who strike in the night.

“Fryer grease has become gold,” Mr. Damianidis said. “And just over a year ago, I had to pay someone to take it away. . .”

In 2000, yellow grease was trading for 7.6 cents per pound. On Thursday, its price was about 33 cents a pound, or almost $2.50 a gallon. (That would make the 2,500-gallon haul in the Burger King case worth more than $6,000.) (Full story at nytimes)

I wondered when this was going to start happening.

We Created Dyslexia

For generations, scholars have debated whether language constrains the ways we think. Now, neuroscientists studying reading disorders have begun to wonder whether the actual character of the text itself may shape the brain.

Studies of schoolchildren who read in varying alphabets and characters suggest that those who are dyslexic in one language, say Chinese or English, may not be in another, such as Italian.

Dyslexia, in which the mind scrambles letters or stumbles over text, is twice as prevalent in the U.S., where it affects about 10 million children, as in Italy, where the written word more closely corresponds to its spoken sound. "Dyslexia exists only because we invented reading," said Tufts University cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, author of "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain." (Full Story at wsj)





Interesting. I didn't realize they were still pretty much in the dark on what causes dyslexia, or at least how it works on a neurological level.

Whiffle Hurling

I catch the Whiffle ball with one hand, spin around, and begin dribbling it off my bat as I drive for the goalposts. Damn: I'm swarmed by defensemen frantically waving their bats and trying to block my shot. Taking a dive for it, I spy an opening -- then smash the shot past the goalie.

Woo hoo! I've just scored the first goal in a ferocious game of "Whiffle Hurling."

Yes, Whiffle Hurling. I suspect you've never heard of it. Actually, I'm positive you've never heard of it -- because the sport didn't exist until two years ago. (Full Story at wired)

Sounds fun to me. I remember always making up games as a kid. I guess somewhere along the line you stop doing that for some reason.

Link Child

We have all seen the nature shows where the baby deer wanders too far from its mom and gets pounced on by some hidden predator. Well aside from opposable thumbs, moms have a new way to differentiate themselves from our mammalian brethren. The “Link” Child Locator is a device that takes a page from the movie Alien, in that it allows for the tracking of your spawn as they hide in the clothing racks at your local Gap store. The product has 2 components, a bracelet worn by the child that contains a transmitter module that works at a range of up to 100′, and a watch-style bracelet worn by the parent that receives the child’s signal and indicates its direction and distance on a small LCD display. Hide-and-seek will never be the same. (From yanko)


You have to admit this is better than those child leashes you occasionally see folks walking around with.

Stonehenge

ScienceDaily (May 30, 2008) — Archaeologists at the University of Sheffield have revealed new radiocarbon dates of human cremation burials at Stonehenge, which indicate that the monument was used as a cemetery from its inception just after 3000 B.C. until well after the large stones went up around 2500 B.C. . .

Many archaeologists previously believed that people had been buried at Stonehenge only between 2700 and 2600 B.C., before the large stones, known as sarsens, were put in place. The new dates provide strong clues about the original purpose of the monument and show that its use as a cemetery extended for more than 500 years. (Full Story at sd)


Anyone who has read the Artemus Fowl books knows this study is totally bogus.

Sun Jar

I made this sun jar as a birthday present for my sister-in-law using a gutted solar landscape light, a glass jar from IKEA, and some glass frosting spray (following this example). I also upgraded the 600 mAh Ni-Cd battery that came with the light to a 2450 mAh NiMH battery. (Full Details at makezine)


I've always thought these things were cool but a bit pricey. I may have to try this. By the way, if you don't know what a sun jar is, its basically a jar you put near a window during the day to charge its battery and at night it becomes something of a night light.

The Site You Should Know About

This is my new weekly segment. I will be sharing sites with you that I find useful, interesting, fun etc.

The first site I would like to highlight is the Great Vegetable Challenge. Useful for any parent of young children who hate vegis. The site is being done by a mum in England. Her son, Freddie, simply wouldn't touch vegetables. So she set out to do something about it. Through the great power of the "internets" she has been collecting recipes from her readership, going A-Z through all the vegetables. Freddie gets to score each recipe, and they keep up with all the vegetables on her refrigerator. There are the lands of "hate," "not sure about," and "like." There has been a general migration towards the "like."

So if you have a picky punk - get to reading. She is up to the letter "T" so you have a lot of catching up to do.

Below is a video from her most recent post on "why the turnip is your friend." The video isn't exactly representative of her usual posts, but I liked it. Most of her posts contain recipes that she tried, some pictures of said recipes and kids, and Freddie's reaction to them.

Parting Picture

Chicken Wings Are Serious

A 7-year-old South Florida boy facing grand theft auto charges is now accused of beating up his grandmother at a Wal-Mart after a dispute over chicken wings.

Vikkita Stratford told WPBF-TV in Palm Beach, Fla., that her grandson beat her up Monday after he ordered chicken wings without her permission at a Lake Park Wal-Mart.

""He just started hitting me — just started hitting me in front of the whole Wal-Mart," she told the station. "Everyone in there was upset." (Full Story at foxnews)

You really can't ask for a better opening line.

"AND A GOOD DAY TO YOU SIR!"

For almost 60 years, Dianne Odell lived inside a 7-foot-long metal tube, unable to breathe outside it but determined not to let it destroy her spirit.

From her 750-pound iron lung, she got a high school diploma, took college courses and wrote a children's book about a "wishing star" named Blinky.

"I've had a very good life, filled with love and family and faith," she said in 1994. "You can make life good, or you can make it bad."

Odell, 61, died Wednesday when a power failure shut off electricity to the tube and stopped the pump drawing air into her lungs. (Full Story at cnn)

So, yeah. . . I don't have much to complain about.

It Was a Hoax

Remember that youtube post I did the other day of the gps drawn picture - FAKE.

Erik Nordenankar's self-portrait – which straddles the entire globe – was allegedly created by tracing the route taken by the specially-primed case on its 55-day journey around the world.

The artist claimed he gave the case to DHL, the package delivery firm, with exact co-ordinates detailing the stages of its tour.

When the package was returned to Stockholm he claimed he downloaded the GPS's route memory to produce the enormous drawing above. It is composed of a single 110,00km-long line that passes through six continents and 62 countries.

But after bloggers pointed out holes in Nordenankar's claim, DHL confirmed to the Telegraph that the artwork was an "entirely fictional project".(Full Story at telegraph)

Season Of Birth Defect

THE star you were born under influences the person you become. Not something you expect to hear from scientists but, incredibly, it seems to be true. There is firm evidence that the time of year you are born affects not just your personality, but also your health, specifically your chances of developing serious mental illness. But don’t expect to find clues in your horoscopes. The star in question is the star we were all born under - the sun. (Full Story at civicplatform)


Is it accurate for you? I guess I need to start trying to have my kids in August or January.

Game With Anything

What's Fair?

ScienceDaily (May 29, 2008) — In the biblical story in which two women bring a baby to King Solomon, both claiming to be the mother, he suggests dividing the child so that each woman can have half. Solomon's proposed solution, meant to reveal the real mother, also illustrates an issue central to economics and moral philosophy: how to distribute goods fairly.

Now, researchers at the California Institute of Technology have discovered that reason struggles with emotion to find equitable solutions, and have pinpointed the region of the brain where this takes place. The concept of fairness, they found, is processed in the insular cortex, or insula, which is also the seat of emotional reactions.

"The emotional response to unfairness pushes people from extreme inequity and drives them to be fair," Quartz says. This observation, he adds, suggests that "our basic impulse to be fair isn't a complicated thing that we learn." (Full Story at sd)

Interesting. Do you find any moral/theological implications here?

Parting Picture

[extra pic to make up for yesterday]

IQ In a Pill

. . .That’s when I stumbled across a small story in an American scientific magazine. It said there was a spiky debate across America’s universities about the increasing use by students of a drug called Provigil. It was, they said, Viagra for the brain. It was originally designed for narcoleptics in the seventies, but clinical trials had stumbled across something odd: if you give it to non-narcoleptics, they just become smarter. Their memory and concentration improves considerably, and so does their IQ. . .

When the American journalist David Plotz took Provigil, he said it should be given a slogan. Just as valium was marketed as “the housewife’s little helper,” he said this should be sold as “the boss’ little helper.” It makes you work better and harder than before. . .

Is all this just the placebo effect: I expect it to do this to me, so it does? Perhaps. But in the clinical trials, it worked much better than the placebo. (Full Story at johannhari)



Make sure to read the whole article. Its some pretty interesting stuff. It also raises a lot of ethical questions. I would have to think about it some more before giving an opinion on whether or not someone should take the stuff, but I'm interested in your opinion. What do you think?

Smart Russian Strays

MOSCOW -- Like human commuters, this city's stray dogs can often be spotted traveling on the subway, waiting patiently for a train to pull in and its doors to slide open.

In Soviet times, dogs were barred from Moscow's metro. Today, however, they are so common there -- curling up on empty seats, nuzzling their neighbors, lounging in stations -- that there is even a Web site devoted to them: www.metrodog.ru. . .

As the number of cars in Moscow has exploded, and their speed increased from the days of Soviet clunkers, strays have learned to cross the street with pedestrians. They can also be seen occasionally waiting for a green light. (Dogs are colorblind, so researchers theorize they recognize the shape or position of the walking-man signal.) (Full Story and Video at wallstreetjournal)

I think I would like to visit Russia at some point. Probably will never happen, but I can put it on the list anyway.

Oops

Remember the French guy wanting to sky dive from 25 miles up (I posted about it yesterday). Well this is how it turned out.

Digital Green Thumb

Growing plants would be a lot easier if plants could express what it is they need from you. Fret not because that’s what the Pet Plant by Junyi Heo does. The very sleek looking pot measures soil conditions, temperature, humidity, and water - calculates those variables based on the need of said plant, and expresses its condition via a series of pictograms on an LCD display.

It’s also smart enough to know if you’ve over watered and will systematically drain itself into a water vessel. All this high tech goodness does mean it needs power but a simple USB interface does double duty by charging and transmitting pertinent information to and from computer software. (From yanko)

Pretty cool stuff.

Parents Make a Difference

ScienceDaily (May 28, 2008) — New research from the University of New Hampshire shows that students do much better in school when their parents are actively involved in their education.

Researchers Karen Smith Conway, professor of economics at the University of New Hampshire, and her colleague Andrew Houtenville, senior research associate at New Editions Consulting, found that parental involvement has a strong, positive effect on student achievement.

“Parental effort is consistently associated with higher levels of achievement, and the magnitude of the effect of parental effort is substantial. We found that schools would need to increase per-pupil spending by more than $1,000 in order to achieve the same results that are gained with parental involvement,” Conway said. (Full Story at sd)

I wonder if they could invest $500 per student into parent involvement then? The problem is what program would actually increase parent involvement? Parent report cards? Prizes for parents?

Water - The Next Oil?

I've been thinking for a while now that potable water is the next big eco-issue. If you're looking to invest some money on an industry that is poised to take off, look into desalination.

Falling For 25 Miles

Michel Fournier is about to make the greatest leap of his, and anyone else’s, life. On Sunday, the 64-year-old retired French army officer will fly almost 25 miles into the sky in a giant balloon, step out of a pressurized capsule and plunge headfirst towards the earth, soaring through the atmosphere for an estimated 15 minutes.

A lot can go wrong when you’re trying to reach 130,000 feet up in the air. At above 40,000 feet, there’s no longer enough oxygen to breathe. At 12 miles up, the air pressure can cause blood to boil. Fournier will be taking the trip in a special space suit, but if it malfunctions, he’ll be dead within seconds. (Full Story at miijoo)

I don't understand if this is to prove something or just beat records or what. Best of luck to him at any rate.

Plastic, Be Gone.

Getting ordinary plastic bags to rot away like banana peels would be an environmental dream come true.

After all, we produce 500 billion a year worldwide and they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. They take up space in landfills, litter our streets and parks, pollute the oceans and kill the animals that eat them.

Now a Waterloo teenager has found a way to make plastic bags degrade faster -- in three months, he figures. (Full Story at therecord)

If his idea works, it could change a lot of things. I assume, though, that this can't be done out in the open. You have to treat the plastic at a facility. So even though it might keep future plastic from entering the environment, it won't do much for the plastic already floating around out there.

Wonder No More

Elf Ears

Here's an interesting body mod that turned up on Instructables - elf ears.

For the folks who want to do this without surgery, here are a couple how-tos for applying elf-ear costume ears :) (Full Story at makezine)


I thought you could use this at your next Lord of The Rings themed wedding or something.

The World Is My Canvas

Keep It in Park

The FHWA’s “Traffic Volume Trends” report, produced monthly since 1942, shows that estimated vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on all U.S. public roads for March 2008 fell 4.3 percent as compared with March 2007 travel. This is the first time estimated March travel on public roads fell since 1979. At 11 billion miles less in March 2008 than in the previous March, this is the sharpest yearly drop for any month in FHWA history. (Full Story at dot)


That's a lot less driving. I wonder if the trend will continue or even move at an exponential rate. And another thing, when will this decreased demand translate into cheaper fuel?

Parting Picture

Amanda and Her Cousin Amy, Valdese, NC May 1990 | by Maryellen Marks

Genetic Discrimination

President Bush yesterday signed legislation into law that will bar health insurance companies or employers from denying or canceling coverage, hiking premiums or making decisions on hiring, firing and compensation based on genetic test results. (Full Story at sciam)



This very much reminds me of Gattaca. It also brings up some interesting questions. If it became cheap and easy to analyze someone's DNA, don't you think this could start being a problem? Clearly I'm a cynic, but I just don't think people tend to be all that honest when money is in the equation.

Telectroscope

As the first splinters of sunlight spread their warmth on the south bank of the River Thames on Thursday, it became clear that after more than a century, the vision of Victorian engineer Alexander Stanhope St. George had finally been realized.

In all its optical brilliance and brass and wood, there stood the Telectroscope: an 11.2-meter-(37 feet) long by 3.3-meter-(11 feet) tall dream of a device allowing people on one side of the Atlantic to look into its person-size lens and, in real time, see those on the other side via a recently completed tunnel running under the ocean. (Think 19th-century Webcam. Or maybe Victorian-age video phone.) (via makezine)

Of course they didn't actually drill a tunnel across the Atlantic, but its still cool. I'm betting their are some folks who will buy the story hook, line and sinker too.

No Worries Point And Shoot

Now here is a point-and-shoot I might actually want to have around. My Rebel XT has served me fine for a couple years now, but I’d be wary of taking it whitewater rafting. This Pentax, however, will go 13 feet under the waves for a couple hours and be none the wetter inside.

It’s sealed against dust and dirt as well as water, and will operate down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. It has a 5x non-protruding zoom, a perfectly decent LCD, takes 720p video clips, and can focus as close as a centimeter, which is fantastic. At $330, it’s a bit expensive, but I think I can honestly say that I’d buy this over any other point-and-shoots I can think of off the top of my head. (via crunchgear)

This seems ideal for moms who take the kids to the pool all the time, or someone who goes camping etc. Seems like a lot of camera for that price actually.

Don't Be Hatin'

ScienceDaily (May 23, 2008) — University of Alberta Educational Psychology PhD student Lindsey Leenaars has completed a study that assessed what types of high school students are being indirectly victimized. This includes being involved in emotionally damaging scenarios such as receiving hurtful anonymous notes, being socially excluded, or having rumours spread about them, including threats of physical harm.

Leenaars analyzed data that was collected in Ontario in 2003. More than 2,300 students aged 12--18 filled out an anonymous questionnaire asking them questions, including how they rate their attractiveness, their sexual activity, their friendships and school social problems. (Full Story at sd)

So basically they did a study that showed teens don't like snobs. Is that what you are getting from this too? To me, this seems rather obvious.

Coke-Bot

Just spotted, a Coke vending machine robot walking around outside of Shibuya Station in Tokyo. Coca-Cola has oversized robot vending machines lumbering around Tokyo pinching the heads of people who prefer a different brand. These robots have been made to the likeness of the 11inch tall desktop toys which feauture the regular as well as the black Coke Zero available in Japan. The toys feature bendy arms and have a little coin slot for saving up your yen and buying more coke. (via livegrids)


Japan is nuts. Every time you turn around they are doing something crazy. It would be cool to watch one of these in public.

Look at Me, I'm an M&M

At this week's National Confectioners Association All Candy Expo, Mars announced that it will be taking their personalization of M&Ms program to the next level with "M&M Faces." Now you can write personal messages on M&Ms, but with M&M Faces you'll be able to upload a photo and put it on a batch of M&Ms. The program is set to launch next month.

"The consumers aren't recreating the brand, they enhance it," said Cass. "The brand essence is fun, and they simply redefine that," says Jim Cass, Mars Direct's VP. Kudos for understanding how consumers interact with THEIR brand guys. (via candysnpb)

You can also go over here and create an M&M to look like you.

Parting Picture

Jesus Take The Wheel

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - It seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field _ coming to rest right next to a sign reading, "Jesus is Lord." (Full Story at wtop)

Overheard

Frat boy #1: Dude! Look at that girl in that store... She's checkin' me out.
Frat boy #2: Dude, that's a mannequin!
Frat boy #1: Oh.

--Rockefeller Center

Overheard by: Michelle



You can go here to check out more things people have overheard in New York City. (Do remember that people don't always censure themselves on the street. . . actually, I should say they almost never do).

Save Gas, Buy Mules

MCMINNVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - High gas prices have driven a Warren County farmer and his sons to hitch a tractor rake to a pair of mules to gather hay from their fields. T.R. Raymond bought Dolly and Molly at the Dixon mule sale last year. Son Danny Raymond trained them and also modified the tractor rake so the mules could pull it.

T.R. Raymond says the mules are slower than a petroleum-powered tractor, but there are benefits.

"This fuel's so high, you can't afford it," he said. "We can feed these mules cheaper than we can buy fuel. That's the truth."

And Danny Raymond says he just likes using the mules around the farm.

"We've been using them quite a bit," he said.

Brother Robert Raymond added, "It's the way of the future." (From wtop)

Who's laughing at the Amish now?

Build Your Own Casket

None of us are getting out of this alive, so you might as well bury yourself in your work. Join a growing number of independent-minded people looking for a more meaningful alternative to today’s burial arrangements. This course covers a range of important details such as: proper sizing, joinery, handle construction, hardware and design options. (Full Details at northhousefolkschool)
I actually think it would be a good exercise. I wonder if I can find something like this near where I live.

Perfect Sandwich

A leading UK chemical engineer has revealed the unlikely ingredient needed to make the perfect sandwich ... bubbles.

Speaking at an Institution of Chemical Engineers’ (IChemE) lecture, Professor Grant Campbell said that bubbles in bread are as important for making a good sandwich as its filling, due to the unique composition of wheat. (Full Story at sd)

Call me crazy but I think he is overstating his case a tad.

Not All Dudes

Alright, alright I didn't mean to ruffle feathers by saying "all" my readers were male. I do have a small group of females that visit the blog.

Parting Picture

Poll

I'm giving the poll a rest this week. We don't have a full week anyway. Interesting to see that the few people who peek at this blog are men. I guess that's to be expected though. Next up - several parting pictures.