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ABYSSINIA MEDIA GROUP™ IS TAKING ORDERS FOR:
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| A nanobud consists of a tube of carbon atoms with a bud-like appendage. |
Transparent films containing carbon nanobuds—molecular tubes of carbon with ball-like appendages—could turn just about any surface, regardless of its shape, into a touch sensor.
The films were developed by a Finnish startup, Canatu, and could be used to add touch controls to curved automobile consoles and dashboards, for example. The films are rugged and can be repeatedly bent around something as thin as the cord for your earbuds, so they could be handy for adding buttons to flexible devices.
Touch screens are usually made by overlaying a display screen with a transparent sheet of indium tin oxide. This material is brittle, however, and can’t be used on anything other than a flat surface. Individual carbon nanotubes have long been seen as a promising alternative because they conduct electricity so well. But carbon nanotubes have performed badly in touch screens due to poor electrical connections between different nanotubes. Carbon nanobuds are better because the ball-like appendages are particularly good at emitting electrons, which improves those electrical connections.
MIT Technology Review:
“Nanobuds” Could Turn Almost Any Surface Into a Touch Sensor, Kevin Bullis
Top: Ripples extending down the chain of atoms breaks translational symmetry (like a checkerboard with black and white squares), which would cause extra spots in the diffraction pattern (shown as red dots in the underlying diffraction pattern). Bottom: Stretching along one direction breaks rotational symmetry but not translational symmetry (like a checkerboard with identical squares but stretched in one of the directions), causing no additional diffraction spots. The experiments proved that a new family of superconductors has the second type of electron density distribution, called a nematic. Credit: Ben Frandsen
A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia Engineering, Columbia Physics and Kyoto University has discovered an unusual form of electronic order in a new family of unconventional superconductors. The finding, described in the journal Nature Communications, establishes an unexpected connection between this new group of titanium-oxypnictide superconductors and the more familiar cuprates and iron-pnictides, providing scientists with a whole new family of materials from which they can gain deeper insights into the mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity.
A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, Columbia Engineering, Columbia Physics and Kyoto University has discovered an unusual form of electronic order in a new family of unconventional superconductors. The finding, described in the journal Nature Communications, establishes an unexpected connection between this new group of titanium-oxypnictide superconductors and the more familiar cuprates and iron-pnictides, providing scientists with a whole new family of materials from which they can gain deeper insights into the mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity.
Phys.org:
Unusual electronic state found in new class of unconventional superconductors
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| Map by WillowRaven |
David N. Sebastian, author of the soon-to-be-completed novel, Infinitas, commissioned me to create this map. I always have fun creating maps. They're a nice change of pace and make me think of treasure and adventure.
See if you can guess my favorite map icon. ;D
And although I didn't create the cover (commissioned prior to my meeting David), I thought I'd share it for him, and post the blurb:
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In a world where the evil dragon sorceress rules supreme, the warrior maiden and dragon slayer come together in an epic journey destined to fulfill the 100 year old Prophesy of Drakon, returning balance and goodness to the land.
...
Join sixteen year old cousins, Kali and Drake, and their best friends, Ferrah and Harold, in their search for the hidden Pool of Life where the great sword - 'Omar - lies waiting to fulfill it's duty. Tremble, scream out, and laugh along as they encounter all manner of crazy obstacles in their quest to return peace to their world by infiltrating the dragon sorceresses impregnable stronghold, Infinitas, and ending the battle begun by their ancestors 100 years ago.
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| Cover Art: Angeline Janeiro |
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Be sure to keep an eye on the Infinitas Wattpad page for updates.
Also:
Twitter: @DavidNSebastian
Facebook: David N. Sebastian
Onto wrapping up the next book 
Until next time ...
Aidana WillowRaven
This post edited by Grammarly*
*Blurbs and quotes provided are not edited by WillowRaven, but posted as provided by author/publisher.
Casual games like Candy Crush Saga and Angry Birds may look simple, but underneath those bright colours, calming sounds and flashing messages, there's a lot of deep thinking going on.
In the era of omnipresent smartphones and tablets, these sacharrine treats are nigh-on inescapable, and as breakthrough hits are guaranteed millions of dollars in revenue (Candy Crush Saga alone generated $1.5bn last year), it's no wonder developers are employing increasingly clever psychological tricks to give their creations a crucial edge.
To find out some of the hidden rules of casual game design, we spoke to Steve Stopps, Nic Williams and Jonathan Evans of Lumo Developments, whose first game, Lumo Deliveries Inc, is being specifically designed for a “distracted” audience – people who want to play for short sequences during busy days. We also talk to Dr Simon Moore, a psychologist specialising in games.
Here are six of the key compulsion tactics to look out for the next time you're browsing the app stores.
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| Figure 1: Nano-objects with varying curvatures, Nature |
ARGONNE, Ill. – Like snowflakes, nanoparticles come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The geometry of a nanoparticle is often as influential as its chemical makeup in determining how it behaves, from its catalytic properties to its potential as a semiconductor component.
Thanks to a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, researchers are closer to understanding the process by which nanoparticles made of more than one material – called heterostructured nanoparticles – form. This process, known as heterogeneous nucleation, is the same mechanism by which beads of condensation form on a windowpane.
Heterostructured nanoparticles can be used as catalysts and in advanced energy conversion and storage systems. Typically, these nanoparticles are created from tiny “seeds” of one material, on top of which another material is grown. In this study, the Argonne researchers noticed that the differences in the atomic arrangements of the two materials have a big impact on the shape of the resulting nanoparticle. [1]
ARGONNE, Ill. ― A team of researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Ohio University have devised a powerful technique that simultaneously resolves the chemical characterization and topography of nanoscale materials down to the height of a single atom.
The technique combines synchrotron X-rays (SX) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). In experiments, the researchers used SX as a probe and a nanofabricated smart tip of a STM as a detector.
Using this technique, researchers detected the chemical fingerprint of individual nickel clusters on a copper surface at a two-nanometer (nm) lateral resolution, and at the ultimate single atom height sensitivity. By varying the photon energy, the researchers used the difference in photoabsorption cross sections for nickel and the copper substrate to chemically image a single-nickel nanocluster - thus opening the door to new opportunities for chemical imaging of nanoscale materials. Until now, a spatial limit of about only 10-nm was attainable, and the researchers would simultaneously sample a large sample area. The researchers have improved the spatial resolution to 2 nm. [2]
Argonne National Laboratories:
1. Atomic 'mismatch' creates nano 'dumbbells', Jared Sagoff
2. Powerful new technique simultaneously determines nanomaterials' chemical makeup, topography, Angela Hardin
2015 Humanities Conference
Call for Papers: “Speculative Humanities: Steampunk to Afrofuturism”
On March 11-12, 2015, the Humanities Division at Essex County College will host its Spring 2015 Conference, “Speculative Humanities: Steampunk to Afrofuturism.” This two-day conference offers space for writers, musicians, artists, and academicians to explore, expand upon, and rethink the implications of speculative humanities. This year's conference will feature a special emphasis on the life, work, and influence of Octavia E. Butler.
Speculative humanities encompasses a diverse array of works, from the 18th century mysticism of Swedenborg to the 20th century spiritual teachings of Gurdjieff, along with the 19th century texts of authors such as Mary Shelley, Samuel Butler, and Jules Verne to the 20th and 21st century works of H.G. Wells, Octavia E. Butler, Margaret Atwood, Samuel Delany, Cormac McCarthy, and L.A. Banks. The revolutionary wave sweeping across Europe during the 19th century along with the publication of texts such as The Communist Manifesto influenced generations of writers to produce works featuring both urban utopias and dystopian metropolises.
Historical and fictional texts include post-apocalyptic narratives, steampunk, Afrofuturism, fantasy, fan fiction, fabulist, anime, horror, and what was once categorized as science fiction.
Open to all humanities disciplines--literature, music, history, religion, philosophy, art, architecture, theater, dance, and media--we invite papers, panel presentations, screenings, and performances of works that can be included in the admittedly broad category of “speculative humanities.” We welcome interactive, unorthodox panels, screenings, exhibits, musical performances, and other presentations related to our central theme. Papers on the works of Octavia E. Butler are especially encouraged for submission.
Please email (abstracts of 250-300 words) for panels and individual presentations to both of the conference co-chairs: Prof. Jennifer Wager (jwager@essex.edu) and Prof. Rebecca Williams (wrebecca@essex.edu) by Sunday, January 16, 2015.
Dear Mayor Bill de Blasio,
I share your concern as I as an African American father, have not one, but two sons that I am constantly concerned about.
The concern did not start with Eric Garner, nor Mike Brown, nor Jordan Davis, nor Trayvon Martin, nor Renesha McBride, nor Amadeu Diallo, nor Sean Bell, nor Jonathan Ferrell nor a host of others that have become the current bodies in a dark, efficient version, according the the Guardian, of high-tech lynching.
My concern started when I had an Afro - an impressive one, like your son's - when I was fourteen years old in Winston-Salem, NC.
I pulled out a pick to comb my Afro (had one then). It was one of those folding-handle jobs: one side red, the other green, Black Nationalist colors. I was too young to know that or how it mattered. What I was doing was fixing my “do,” getting my ‘fro right, looking at model cars and toys in King’s Department store as my mother shopped for clothes; reminiscing when this was my whole focus in the world.
He was big: bald receding hairline, hair on the sides like Larry of “Moe, Larry and Curly” but greasy and laid flat with flakes of dandruff. He had a pot belly lapping over his large belt buckle. I was a little over five feet tall and 110 lbs. He was over six feet and outweighed me by about 200 lbs.
“What you doing, boy?”
I was startled, and turned around. I was as respectable as my parents had taught me to be in situations like this: “Nothing,” I said, and turned away.
“What’s in your pocket?”
“My pick!” and frankly, that’s all that was in my pocket. This man, who hadn’t announced who he was or why I was getting the 4-1-1, was beyond annoying me.
“Up against the wall!” he barked.
The wall was again, a shelf of model cars and toys only kids would like. “This isn’t much of a wall,” I quipped.
I was grabbed by the throat and left arm, shoved hard into the toy shelves. An avalanche fell on my ‘fro denting my styling. At this point, I was in shock.
“Who are you, man!?”
“Store detective…” He flipped me like an omelet. I was being bodily frisked…against my will.
“I didn’t steal anything,” I said, “the only thing in my pockets is a pick you prick!”
“SHUT UP, boy: I knows nigras steal!” Source: Old Tapes
Welcome to America: this is the America Dr. Maya Angelou thought had "grown up" after the election of our first black president. This is the America that a representative from South Carolina in the seat of Congress shouts "you lie" disrespectfully during a State of the Union Address. This is an American congress that costs $24 billion in a government shutdown. This is a congress that used the fears of ISIS/ISIL and Ebola to win the midterms that has now "mysteriously" vanished from the news cycle.
This is also, the America where "Broken Windows" became the shared pseudo academic delusion and pursued public policy. It is the spiritual and literal father of "Stop and Frisk"; "Stand Your Ground."
Welcome to the America I have not escaped with extensive and ongoing training and a career in a STEM field - physics. Welcome to the America that causes my pulse to rise, my heart to skip beats when either son doesn't answer their cell phones. These are young men, mind you, that have never committed a crime; never had a record; never seen the inside of a jail cell, yet lately they, I, their mother are all guilty of "existing while black," which covers all the colloquialism bases. Our existence, over a long, painful history that IS America, is an indictment to the American Mythology of Exceptionalism. Every story, every bloodbath, every riot, every acquittal of our murders by citizens or the police only lessens my lifespan: I am constantly and consistently concerned to NOT become the next grieving parent!
Welcome sir, to my America as I, and your children will either witness or sadly experience it, and the ever-present fear of being a part of this darkly efficient, ever-repeating tragedy.
"I'm black, British, and just moved to New York. After the Eric Garner decision, I can't breathe," Lanre Bakare
http://m.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/11/barack-obama-ferguson-and-the-evidence-of-things-unsaid/383212/, Ta-Nehisi Coates
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| Image Source: Interesting Engineering |
Having had the pleasure of lunch in San Antonio with a good friend and scientist I admire along with his wife Alicia and mine (Cassandra), Mark pointed out STEM is difficult, it takes effort to master it and good scientists are usually busy doing...GOOD science. Popular shows have their place in framing the importance of science in our daily affairs, but the best most of us can hope for is a general appreciation for that import, and a vision not to hinder its growth and continuance.
Then, we gave voice to a warped skepticism; a clear evidence of the abhorred vacuum of nature being filled by the inexperienced, the uneducated: the loud, obnoxious nincompoops with a microphone and an audience of willfully ignorant malcontents that sadly: vote. In return for this political Baal worship, they are rewarded with policies against their, and the country's long term best interests.
There are some, still to this day, who doubt the moon landing ever happened. Never having lived during the era or too young to have witnessed it for themselves, their evidence are web articles of dubious expertise and sourcing; Internet videos that can be fabricated on laptops and uploaded to web sites NOW: neither sites, laptops or URLs existed during those days.
The technology we use today is a direct spin off from the space program. The integrated circuit was initially developed due to reducing rocket payloads. Newtonian physics is what we use at the moment to get satellites or astronauts into orbit. Our 238-year experiment in self-government seems to work on cartoon physics at the moment.
We've driven a golden spike into the trail leading inexorably into the future leading to the first manned landing on Mars; the mining of asteroids and Helium 3 on a moon base and more of us having the "Overlook Effect" as we become a space faring species. It will be a paradigm shift technologically, politically and sociologically. Only myopia, fear, draconian budget cuts, conspiratorial and magical thinking will drive us into another inexorable, tragic direction: back to tribalism, the caves and dissolution of the nation state.
We used to do great things. Maybe we can do it...again.
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| Image Source: Kevtak Algebra Readiness Classroom and Homework page |
This reminds me of a student in one of my first math classes I taught at the high school level - Algebra 1 - stating emphatically he "didn't need math to be a mechanic." A visit to the web page for UTI, and that "troubleshooting" and electronic technology involves a considerable amount of math managed to refocus him successfully (the Pre-Calculus class was a bit older, and concentrated on graduating - I didn't need to do much "pep-talking").
A little history for perspective: we use it to balance chemical equations; the first high school physics you'll ever learn before you run into Calculus will be based on this foundation.
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| Image source: Famous Scientists |
Muhammad al-Khwarizmi
Baghdad in the 9th century was a global center of culture and trade, a hub connecting India and China with the Mediterranean and Europe. It was a rich city, a center of learning, and scholars from all over the world would come to study at the House of Wisdom, a renowned library and academy where Muhammad al-Khwarizmi lived as a scholar.
Ideas traveled in consort with commerce along the roads of Baghdad, and al-Khwarizmi embodied the wide range of the city's global vision. The Muslim scholar expanded upon the work of Greco-Roman astronomers such as Ptolemy, created one of the oldest surviving treatises on the Jewish calendar and employed and popularized the Hindu number system of 1, 2, 3... (which, because of al-Khwarizmi's work, we now refer to as the Hindu-Arabic numeration).
But his most influential work dealt with methods to solve complete equations. In "The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing," al-Khwarizmi demonstrated how to simplify equations by adding or subtracting an identical quantity from both sides. For example, adding 4x to each side of 6x = 40 - 4x reveals that 10x = 40. This "act of completion" - al-jabr - gave mathematicians a new tool: algebra.
From Time, Special Editions: Great Scientists - The Geniuses, Eccentrics and Visionaries Who Transformed Our World, Mathematics, page 21.
And, in the spirit of irony as well as completion: x = 4 (today).
Due to a question asked me on Twitter, I've refreshed and republished this post. This article was also posted on the 4RV Publishing Blog.on 12/09/12
So, you've decided you want a unique book cover for your book. You don't want it to look like every other book on the shelf or web browser.
You hop on Twitter or Facebook and put some feelers out, searching for a cover artist or designer. You get dozens and dozens of responses, from both amateurs and professionals. How do you know you are going to get what you want and that it's unique?
First you must learn a few key terms.
1- cover designer
Designers are trained in typesetting, photo-manipulation, and composition. Though rare, some designers are also trained photographers and/or traditional artists. It's accepted, once an image is altered it is a 'new work', and by law, that is true. All it takes are three distinct changes. If you are looking for something more original than manipulated parts of stock photos that could potentially be used on another book cover, be sure to tell the cover designer you are not interested in using stock imagery. A cover designer may or may not be trained for what you are looking for.
2- cover artist
In years past, publishers hired a cover artist to do the visual artwork and a cover designer to do the typesetting and layout. In today's tough job market, more and more designers are doing both the cover image (see above) and the design under one job. On that same note, more and more illustrators or cover artists are tackling the job of design. It is prudent to verify, before trusting your book to anyone that the person you hire is trained and skilled to do what you want for your cover. After all, your cover will be the first impression potential readers will have.
3- custom vs original
Many designers and websites that boast cheap 'custom' cover designs or art can be misleading. Again, let's look at the laws regarding art. By law, if an image (art or design), is altered in three ways, it is a new work. If an artist or designer manipulates two images by combining a figure from one and changing the color of something from another, all they have to do is add text. By law, that is a custom cover. That may be acceptable to you. Designs like this tend to be a cost-effective way to dress a book. However, some authors want a more detailed, more story-relevant cover, that does not include mixing existing stock imagery. If you are in that group, be sure to hire someone who insures the art is original, not simply custom. You'll likely pay more, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.
How do you recognize the difference between cover art and cover design when looking through portfolios?
A cover artwork should be able to stand alone and still tell a story. A design, though it may look awesome and fitting with the title and cover text, if presented alone it would just be a cool visual. Does the portfolio use photographs? And if so, were they taken by the designer or a photographer they hired? Or, if you are looking for artwork, does the artist also do the design aspect of the cover. How well does their design compliment the art?
These are all questions that should be answered before money changes hands.
If anybody has questions as to what is considered original vs custom, or the difference between cover design & cover art, please leave comment or contact me at my signature links.
Onto wrapping up the next book
Until next time ...
Aidana WillowRaven
This post edited by Grammarly*
*Blurbs and quotes provided are not edited by WillowRaven, but posted as provided by author/publisher.
'Endless Shards of Jazz for a Brutal World'.
That's the sub-title of the movie. In a way, it actually signifies the concept of the film itself: which shall be a collage of scenes and sentiments, feelings and ideas, dramatic poems and songs, guitars and blood, nooses and belts, sun and moon - all attempting to affix themselves on one large canvas whose sole goal is to express the pain of a life that feels and sees too much.
- Punk, Vampires, & Afro-Futurism: Director Dennis Leroy Kangalee & Numa Perrier
The past 7 months have been rather overwhelming. Not because of the work load but because of the challenges I had finding the right actress for my upcoming feature film, Octavia: Elegy For A Vampire, a drama about a 150 year old African-American vampire who wants to die due to the world's cruelty, apathy, and seemingly eternal racism. The film was conceived as a cinematic poem and "theatrical-cubist-drama" that meditates on identity, colonization, and the spiritual battle Black people throughout the diaspora must undergo as we push further in the 21st century - a world that seems, once again, to have lost its "center." It's not that there are no morals. It's that there is no consciousness. And man's derangement has corrupted the very blood flowing through his veins. This alone frightens the vampires in my film. But it's no so much the blood that the vampires need -- it is a re-affirmation of who they are, a reminder of their identity, a reiteration of truth in the world. Truth is blood. Without it, we are nowhere, no one...no thing.
It was hard getting actresses' to commit to such a low budget, yet artistically luxurious project. The script alone either attracted or confounded actors. It subverted the "vampire-horror" genre, emphasized the horrors of the real world as opposed to some adolescent fantasy world and it zeroed in on the pain of being alive in a world that you know hates you. As is the case with my dramatic productions, there would be an emphasis on language, dialogue, and emotional connections between everyday observations, history, and political crisis. The role of Octavia demanded someone unafraid, intelligent, and open enough in their emotional life to connect and explore themselves and the themes contained in the script.
I am happy to say that NUMA PERRIER, the Los Angeles based actress, producer, and artist has been cast my leading lady and has taken up the challenge gallantly and with a great deal of finesse, passion, and confidence. Three qualities Octavia herself must possess.
This past weekend we shot the teaser for the film and held a promotional publicity-photo session of the punk band, the Savage Paws, Octavia's rock & roll trio - featured in the film. Slowly, it all started to come together. It is taking shape. It has become real. We got our sonogram. We are closer to realizing our vision and illuminating the script; bringing this incredible story to the screen, and introducing a new character for our times. We will stop at nothing to express it all.
Principal photography commences late February-early March, 2015.
More updates to follow. A teaser will be released next week - along with our next crowdfunding campaign.
(c) Photo of Writer/Director Dennis Leroy Kangalee and Numa Perrier as "young" Octavia with her blood-stained Stratocaster guitar with custom finish ("Silverback") by award-winning photographer & cinematographer Erik Swain; wardrobe and styling by Nina Fleck; Rockefeller Center November 23, 2014.
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| In case you're wondering, Pepper's on the left; Jibo on the right |
While we slept, Rosie came into being.
I read the article about JIBO in an issue of Popular Mechanics on the way back to New York from Austin, Texas. An excerpt:
Breazeal stands a few feet from Jibo and says, in a voice only slightly different from the one she uses to talk to humans, "Wake up, Jibo."
Nothing.
Breazeal looks at the man.
"Wait," he says, adjusting, fiddling. "Hold on. Okay. Go ahead."
Again Breazeal looks at her robot and says with purpose and hope, "Wake up, Jibo."
The robot's round head twists on its base, a remarkably human wiggle. A white circle appears on its round screen, like an eye opening. In a voice like an animated movie character—cute, cheerful, but not treacly or grating—Jibo responds, "Hello, Cynthia!"
Pepper is our first C-3PO (fluent in 17 languages); associating JIBO naturally as R2-D2's progenitor. Pepper uniquely will be the first robot that can "read" our emotions and tailor it's conversation to you.
JIBO is apparently not an acronym, and looking up the definition online can vary from the profound to the profane. All of this, JIBO and Pepper will come with a price: that is the price of accepting something "new"; strange, different, without immediately fearing it for the sake of its uniqueness. It is that fear of technology that keeps us backwards, tribal and far behind than we ought to be. These are the things that occur while we sleep.
For a friend who has an acute interest in robotics: Parama Roy. Remember her name.
Beta Boston:
Robot startup Jibo unveils a multi-purpose 'social-bot' for the home
Scott Kirsner
IndieGoGo: JIBO, Worlds First Family Robot. 4,800 Pre-Sold!
(and, $2,287,609 raised in a $100,000 initial crowd-funding goal)
That's Really Possible:
Presenting our first real R2-D2 and C-3PO: JIBO and Pepper!
Glyn Taylor
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| Illustration: Christine Daniloff/MIT (yeast cell images from National Institutes of Health) |
Researchers have made great progress in recent years in the design and creation of biological circuits — systems that, like electronic circuits, can take a number of different inputs and deliver a particular kind of output. But while individual components of such biological circuits can have precise and predictable responses, those outcomes become less predictable as more such elements are combined.
A team of researchers at MIT has now come up with a way of greatly reducing that unpredictability, introducing a device that could ultimately allow such circuits to behave nearly as predictably as their electronic counterparts. The findings are published this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology, in a paper by associate professor of mechanical engineering Domitilla Del Vecchio and professor of biological engineering Ron Weiss.
The lead author of the paper is Deepak Mishra, an MIT graduate student in biological engineering. Other authors include recent master’s students Phillip Rivera in mechanical engineering and Allen Lin in electrical engineering and computer science.
MIT News: New device could make large biological circuits practical,
David L. Chandler
#P4TC: Bio-Computer
ust giving everyone a heads up on my holiday special, full colored pieces are now $15(normally $25).
Swing by my deviantart page to see what I offer: http://kphillips702.deviantart.com/
Look forward to working with you and happy holidays.
Story seeds, go for it.
Saw uTube vid about viable heart grown from stem cells, a full face transplant. These are what we are allowed to see. Who knows how far we've really come. Implanted organ anti-rejection device, you open a hatch and pop in a small capsule. Organic nanos adjust the body to except new DNA streams. Talk of consciousness transfer and live donors. The medical world has become an industry, a business with a dark underbelly. There is hope for a few and merciless terror for others. Bodies like cars and OEM replacement parts. The critics bash the science by the uncovered mishaps, the egos of ones who can pay to live forever and coined a new word "donor nation".
There was a hospital incident, confusion, intercom voice to evacuate. Guy gets dressed runs out, doesn't know where he's going. Bums on the street direct him to a shelter. No ID, no name, too many questions, sits in lobby watching reruns of Six-million Dollar Man and Robocop. Has flashbacks, flees out the door in anguish screams. No special powers or abilities, an ordinary guy...............
A space ship on a long journey. The suspended animation device has been outfitted with a slew of clone bodies. The idea is to keep someone conscious during the whole trip to run the ship, record and experience. An object strikes the ship, the mind transfer device turns transceiver, picks up an assortment of human souls, all the clones animate. The ship's computer becomes parent, referee, and god..............
Man discovers that photos of people contain a part of the soul. Indians knew this, they warned us. He rigged a way to access the photo soul and record it's experiences. Then he wrote a book about traveling the world in an envelope, the sea in a bottle. He destroyed all data when he recorded a photo soul's experience in a copy machine, a paper shredder and a photographer's studio fire. Today he reads books with no pictures.
Bernal Sphere interior, complete with California-style wine and cheese party, and human powered flight in the lower-gravity area near the axis. Painting by Rick Guidice courtesy of NASA. Source: National Space Society
A Democratic Technocracy I’d define as "a representative democratic republic of elected officials independent of outside financial interests with experience in and/or an appreciation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to effectively govern a nation and global economy exquisitely dependent on STEM."
More in the embed/link below as well as my observations of the movie "Interstellar."
As in past breaks, please enjoy all the previous posts.
Short observation of the announced Executive Action on Immigration Reform: Pass a bill. Yes, at 844 pages, Senate Bill 744 is a hefty thing, but that's why you hire staff to read it and give you the "Cliff Notes" summary. It would also help if the congress worked a sizable amount of a year like every other American. I don't expect the bill's current form to survive a House committee without amendments. Its form will naturally change.
That's politics: the art of compromise that through social media atomizing us into the very factions George Washington warned about in his 1796 Farewell Address has become lost. We've become tribal, "E pluribus unum" a quaint Latin phrase; "United States" oxymoron and national poetry, not reality.
We see, therefore, that war is not merely an act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse carried on with other means. What remains peculiar to war is simply the peculiar nature of its means.
Chapter 1, Section 24, in the Princeton University Press translation (1976)
Variant translation: War is merely the continuation of politics by other means. Carl von Clausewitz, "On War," Source: Wikiquote
Horror vacui: "nature abhors a vacuum" and so does politics in this post "Citizens United" and McCutcheon oxymoronic era. We're making fascism inevitable and "rational"; Oligarchy a natural progression from our laziness as an electorate to be informed; to participate and to actually shape the agendas of the "collectivist conspiracy" also known as self-government.
Spending time with friends and family. Blogging will resume 3 December. Peace.
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| Figure 2 from the paper |
Three frames from a video (electronic supplementary material, movie S1) showing a 70 kg climber ascending a 3.7 m vertical glass surface using a synthetic adhesion system with degressive load-sharing and gecko-inspired adhesives. The time between (a) and (c) is about 90 s and includes six steps.
Geckos, when not shilling for insurance companies, are most known for their climbing abilities that let them scale walls effortlessly. Thanks to their biology, geckos have one major advantage over humans who want to move vertically: they are small, and their bodies are light, so their natural adhesive just has to be good, not great. But a team of scientists from Stanford University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have now one-upped the gecko, creating a hand-sized adhesive surface that allows humans to vertically scale glass walls.
I don't plan on rock climbing sheer faces of office buildings any time soon, but the fact they've figured this out (without the proverbial radioactive genetically enhanced spider) is pretty neat!
Popular Science:
Scale a Glass Wall With Gecko-Inspired Adhesive on Your Hands, Kelsey D. Atherton
Royal Society Publishing:
Human climbing with efficiently scaled gecko-inspired dry adhesives
Elliot W. Hawkes, Eric V. Eason, David L. Christensen, Mark R. Cutkosky
Wikipedia:
van der Waals Force
van der Waals Equation
