T-rays and Smart Phones

Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas (Dr. Kenneth O, professor of electrical engineering, and his colleagues) have developed a CMOS chip that will enable smart phone cameras to ‘see through’ objects (walls, skin, et cetera). The camera will use signals in the terahertz range (THz) of the electromagnetic spectrum. The T-ray, as it is being called, has a much less intense radiation field than the X-ray, and may provide health professionals with immediate benefits [photo credit (Kenneth O & Dae Yeon Kim): UTD]

There are numerous positive applications, among them, scanning for skin cancer, breast cancer, tooth decay, and damage inside building walls.

I suppose that in the hands of a creep there are negative applications as well: it probably has the ability to ‘see through’ clothing. Improper cancer self-diagnosis and hypochondria may be more prevalent as well.

It must be more difficult every day for people to write science fiction.

 

Beautiful Libraries of the World

Image credit: VPL LSCC

I just came across an interesting list: the 25 most beautiful libraries in the world, as ranked by Flavorpill.

I must admit, the thing that most intrigued me was the fact that the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch, Library Square came in second (the Vennesla Library and Culture House, in Norway, was in first place).

The Vancouver library was designed by Moshe Safdie & Associates’ Downs/Archambault Partners, and the exterior design —  based on the Roman Colosseum (the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome) — was the most radical design submitted to the City of Vancouver, but the design was embraced by the public, and eventually won the competition.

The exterior has certainly made the library a landmark, but it is the interior, Promenade Square that I enjoy the most: this spacious, glass-roofed concourse serves as the entrance to the library and access to offices and retail space. It’s a lovely place to drink a coffee and enjoy a novel.

My only grievance is that the rooftop garden is not open to the public (I’m still awaiting my private viewing if anybody is reading this and can oblige ;))

 

Beauty

People Magazine  announced their choice for the world’s most beautiful woman, and there is no doubt that their choice is blessed with many physical attributes that are considered beautiful.

But beauty, to me, is more than a physical construct; it is an indefinable quality that emanates from within and transcends physical ideals. Even in the most beautiful works of art there is an enigmatic characteristic that resides within, and emanates from, the work. It is not just the object itself; rather, there is a metaphysical connection to the soul of the artist: the art is a tangible representation of the beauty within the artist.

[Image credit: Joel Carillet]

And so it is with human beings. A photograph of a person is not the person, and their beauty can only be experienced by bathing in their mysterious emanations (I was once within a few-dozen feet (ten meters) of the Dalai Lama as he spoke, and that was close enough for me to decide that he was a beautiful human being).

I believe that beauty can emerge from the most unlikely places, so I make a conscious effort to focus on the beauty of my everyday world and the beauty that emanates from the people whose lives I share, whether they are my friends, colleagues, family, or a person I meet in passing. Sometimes, their beauty overwhelms me.

 

The first human in outer space

On April 7, 2011, the United Nations’ General Assembly declared April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight (at the 85th plenary meeting, 7 April 2011, resolution AVRES/65/271).

Fifty-one years ago (April 12 1961) a Soviet Cosmonaut, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, journeyed into outer space in the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1), orbited the Earth, and returned. His historic flight made Yuri an international celebrity.  

He stood only 5 ft. 2 in. tall (1.57 m), but had an engaging smile and a remarkable public persona.

With the NHL playoffs official start yesterday, it’s apropos to mention that Yuri Gagarin was an avid hockey player (he was a goalie).

His death (on March 27 1968) was steeped in conspiracy theories: Gagarin and flight instructor Vladimir Servogin crashed and died during a routine training flight in a MiG-15UTI.

 

A Saturday Night Live Skit?

clip from YouTube

 

The Squonk

According to a report by William T. Cox — a reporter for The Pennsylvanian Press —  a squonk (Lacrimacorpus dissolvens), a creature long thought to be extinct,  was captured this morning. The salient details of the article are presented below:

In the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania, a rare squonk  was caught this morning, but no picture was taken and only observational notes survive as a description of the elusive creature (Illustration by Coert Du Bois).

J.P. Wentling, who miraculously coaxed the shy animal into a sack, describes the creature’s skin as “an ill-fitting suit covered with repulsive lumps and oddly colored blotches.”

Wentling (who unkind neighbors are now accusing of an excess abuse of alcohol, which is carefully concealed) claims that a plethora of tears leaked from the squonk’s eyes, and he was sure that the creature was ashamed of its own appearance.

When Wentling arrived home, he opened the sack to display his catch; unfortunately, the sack was empty, but for a large amount of liquid, which Wentling declared was “…the remains of a miserable beast that had cried itself to death.”

 

 

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Facebook for Robots

Sometimes I think I’m about to be left behind, in the dust of progress…

 MyRobots is a social network for robots and other smart objects; and, like Facebook, signing up is free.

The MyRobots network is a hub that is intended to allow intelligent devices to form a data/sensory-information network, thereby enhancing their abilities. The MyRobots site claims that it will enhance robotic capabilities because of the computational capacity of its network, which will streamline access and response (the site uses the term Cloud Robotics — branded after cloud computing — to describe the functionality that interconnects and enhances).

As soon as your device/robot is connected (at MyRobots.com), you will be able to monitor it via the web, give commands, and receive alerts.

I’ve probably read too much science fiction in my life, but a part of me is paranoid: I envision a future dystopia when machines have interconnected, become sentient super-minds, and have overthrown the puny-minded humans. Nevertheless, if the idea floats your boat, I can’t think of a logical reason to pass on it (but first make sure there is a human behind the curtain).

 

Tattoos meet Technology

Are we about to plunge further into the cyborg era?

Nokia, once the largest cell phone supplier in the world, has filed a patent application for a tattoo that will alert users when their phones are ringing.

The tattoo is able to detect a magnetic field and transmit a ‘perceivable stimulus’ — from an incoming call, text, status updates, or low-battery signal — to the user. There will be an option for several different vibration signals — similar to different ringtones — to differentiate callers.

I can envision some applications (e.g.: emergency workers) where this could be a useful invention; but, for the average person, the idea seems a little too weird.

Note: the user won’t be forced to acquire a tattoo, there are several other options: stamping a ferromagnetic pattern on the skin; spraying the ferromagnetic pattern onto the skin; attaching adhesive tape (containing the ferromagnetic pattern) onto the skin; and drawing the ferromagnetic pattern onto the skin.

The ‘perceivable stimulus’ can be any stimulus; including, but not limited to, vibration and/or impulse movement of the skin. I assume itching, tickling, and heat sensations are possible.

 

Commonwealth Day

Commonwealth Day occurs each year on the second Monday of March.

The Commonwealth is a legacy of the British Empire; most of the original colonies have become republics (with their own head of state), and a handful of countries in the Commonwealth have monarchs from different royal houses. Currently, the Head of the Commonwealth is Queen Elizabeth II, and this is her sixty-first year in office (her reign began in February, 1952). Elizabeth II is also the monarch of sixteen Commonwealth members, known as the Commonwealth realms (Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Realm of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom).

The members of the Commonwealth sustain and encourage the values as laid out in the Singapore Declaration of 1971 (democracy, human rights, good governance, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace).

Happy Commonwealth Day!

 

Bloomers and Pants

Apparently, bloomers were invented so that women would be able to ride bicycles. And when Katharine Hepburn wore — gasp! — pants in the movie Bringing Up Baby (1938), it was a statement about the objectification of women.

Well, we’ve come a little way since then, but there are still social pressures for women to conform to an ideal (and it seems to me that men are being dragged into the problem as objects instead of women being freed from the problem, but today isn’t about men).

I’m glad I was brought up in a (mostly) tolerant society, but I wonder what sort of prejudices I carry with me as I blindly pass through the world.

It’s International Women’s Day, and it’s an excellent time to take stock of the respect that women deserve and don’t always receive.