Robot Prostitutes?

Photo: SEX TOURISM: Are sex robots the future, like in Steven Spielberg's AI Artificial Intelligence?

Robot Prostitutes 'The Future Of Sex Tourism' -- Sydney Morning Herald

The future of sex tourism lies in robot prostitutes, two New Zealand researchers have theorised.

Management professor Ian Yeoman, a futurist with an interest in tourism, and sexologist Michelle Mars from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, have looked to how red light districts might operate in the year 2050.

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My Comment: Probably a discount will be involved (for the robots).

Nissan Unleashes 'BatMobile' DeltaWing Concept Car

This is the dramatic moment Nissan unleashed its flame-throwing 'Batmobile' in Europe for the first time

Like A Bat Out Of Hell: Nissan Unleashes 'BatMobile' DeltaWing Concept Car For Fire-Breathing Test Drive -- Daily Mail

Flames belched from the exhausts of Nissan's DeltaWing as it blasted round Norfolk's Snetterton race track on its first test drive.

The Deltawing is a revolutionary vehicle many have likened to the BatMobile.

The ultra-aerodynamic prototype will race at Le Mans this year and could change motorsport forever, its creators believe.

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My Comment: Definitely something that Batman would drive.

One Day Cellphones Will Be Able To See Through Walls

Dr. Kenneth O, director of the Texas Analog Center of Excellence and a professor of electrical engineering, left, worked with a team including Dae Yeon Kim, who was among the authors of the research report. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Texas at Dallas)

New Research Could Mean Cellphones That Can See Through Walls -- Science Daily

ScienceDaily (Apr. 18, 2012) — Comic book hero superpowers may be one step closer to reality after the latest technological feats made by researchers at UT Dallas. They have designed an imager chip that could turn mobile phones into devices that can see through walls, wood, plastics, paper and other objects.

The team's research linked two scientific advances. One involves tapping into an unused range in the electromagnetic spectrum. The other is a new microchip technology.

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Publishing World Struggles To Adapt To New Lines

London Book Fair: Publishing World Struggles To Adapt To New Lines -- The Guardian

The partying goes on at Earl's Court, but new formats and self-publishing are changing the industry

The trays of free wine and boastful talk of six-figure deals struck at dinner parties might seem to some like the last days of decadence for a publishing world in denial about the digital storm clouds gathering overhead.

But in the main hall of Earl's Court, hundreds of publishers gathered for the 41st London Book Fair have been showing stands of lovely new books as editors meet agents and foreign publishers keen to buy unpublished books, sell foreign rights, and relentlessly talk up their new titles.

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My Comment: A sobering analysis that the hardcover book is the way of the dinosaur.

Deformities in Gulf Seafood Found After BP Oil Spill

Gulf Seafood Deformities Alarm Scientists -- Al Jazeera

Eyeless shrimp and fish with lesions are becoming common, with BP oil pollution believed to be the likely cause.

New Orleans, LA - "The fishermen have never seen anything like this," Dr Jim Cowan told Al Jazeera. "And in my 20 years working on red snapper, looking at somewhere between 20 and 30,000 fish, I've never seen anything like this either."

Dr Cowan, with Louisiana State University's Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences started hearing about fish with sores and lesions from fishermen in November 2010.

Cowan's findings replicate those of others living along vast areas of the Gulf Coast that have been impacted by BP's oil and dispersants.

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My Comment: To say that this is disturbing is an understatement.

Avian Flu Paper On Mutant-Flu Research To Be Published

Dutch authorities say work on an avian flu virus that is transmissible between mammals cannot be published without an export permit. MEDICAL RF.COM/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Mutant-Flu Researcher Plans To Publish Even Without Permission -- Nature

Virologist plans to defy Dutch government over export permit requirement for avian flu paper.

Ron Fouchier, a researcher at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, whose work on H5N1 avian flu virus has been at the centre of controversy, says that he is prepared to defy government demands and submit the work to Science without seeking the export permit that the Dutch government says is required.

A government official says that such an action could incur penalties including up to six years' imprisonment.

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My Comment: Pandora's Box is now open.

5 Horrifying Facts You Didn't Know About the Space Shuttle

The space shuttle Discovery attached to its 747 transport aircraft passes over Washington, D.C., April 17, 2012. The shuttle will become an exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The Discovery, along with the rest of the shuttle fleet, has been retired from active service after 32 years of operations. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jason M. Graham

5 Horrifying Facts You Didn't Know About the Space Shuttle -- Forbes

Criticizing the Space Shuttle is like punching America in the face. After all, it’s been a symbol of national pride for thirty years. But many of my friends and I are celebrating yesterday’s piggy-backed final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum…because a museum is where the shuttle belongs.

Yes, the Shuttle deserves a tip of the hat—after all, it took us to the final frontier. But as the former editor of the Space Future Journal, a website dedicated to space tourism, I’ve met people who are as enthusiastic about average citizens, not trained astronauts, visiting space as I am. And we know the Shuttle wasn’t the vehicle to take us there.

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My Comment: Details details details ....

Steve Jobs Was Designing His Own Superyacht

Steve Jobs’s Unfinished Luxury Feadship Superyacht -- CEO.com

Updated: What is French designer Philippe Starck working on for Apple? Prior to his death, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was working with Starck on a yacht. And this is very likely the “fairly, if not very, revolutionary” project he was talking about. To be built by luxury superyacht builder Feadship, the yacht is believed to have a very minimalist and sleek design with a main feature being 40 foot long glass walls. And Starck has been involved in its design.

Mentioned in the New York Times from Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Steve Jobs, which was released last Monday, the late Apple leader was working on creating his very own Feadship superyacht. Jobs didn’t like the normal yacht designs so he decide to design it himself, not a surprise, creating a super luxurious yacht to rival his good friend and fellow yachtsman Larry Ellison.

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Update: Steve Jobs Was Designing His Own Luxury Superyacht -- Complex Rides

My Comment: It would definitely be one of a kind.

Porn Will "Shut Down" Your Brain

Watching explicit films has some surprising effects on brain activity.
CREDIT: Petr Malyshev, Shutterstock

Porn May 'Shut Down' Part of Your Brain -- Live Science

Watching pornography would seem to be a vision-intensive task. But new research finds that looking at erotic movies can actually quiet the part of the brain that processes visual stimuli.

Most of the time, watching movies or conducting any other visual task sends extra blood flow to this brain region. Not so when the movies are explicit, the researchers found. Instead, the brain seems to shunt blood — and therefore energy — elsewhere, perhaps to regions of the brain responsible for sexual arousal.

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My Comment: No comment.

Six Out Of Ten Children Download Adult Material

MPs Call For Automatic Block On All Online Porn To Stop The Surge In Children Watching Adult Material -- Daily Mail

* Six out of ten children download adult material

Internet users should automatically be blocked from accessing pornography at home to stop the surge in children seeing adult material, MPs will demand today.

Anyone wanting to view hardcore images online should have to ‘opt out’ of a special filter, according to the panel of MPs and peers looking into child protection.

Their report said that six out of ten children download adult material because their parents have not installed filters. The use of protective filters in homes has fallen from 49 per cent to 39 per cent in the last three years.

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My Comment: Six out of ten children download adult material .... my gut is telling me that it is higher.

A Digital Pearl Harbor Is A Real Possibility

Ex-FBI Cyberexpert: Potential For Digital Pearl Harbor Is Real -- CNET

Shawn Henry talks to CNET about why he left public service and joined a private-sector firm, and he predicts that we will see an attack on critical infrastructure that has physical consequences.

After 24 years with the FBI, Shawn Henry retired late last month from his post as executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Service Branch of the agency. Today, he announced that he will be working for security startup CrowdStrike.

In a phone interview with CNET today, Henry discusses what he thinks are the biggest cybersecurity threats facing the country and why the bad guys always seem to be one step ahead.

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Update: Several nations trying to penetrate U.S. cyber-networks, says ex-FBI official -- Washington Post

My Comment: Shawn Henry is in the business .... and he is right .... a digital Pearl Harbor is a real possibility, and one that will probably hit us in some distant future.

Hot To Beat A Heart Attack

The Guide To Beating A Heart Attack -- Wall Street Journal

First Line of Defense Is Lowering Risk, Even When Genetics Isn't on Your Side.

Here's the good news: Heart disease and its consequences are largely preventable. The bad news is that nearly one million Americans will suffer a heart attack this year.

Deaths from coronary heart disease in the U.S. have been cut by 75% during the past 40 years. Hospital admissions for heart attack among the elderly fell by nearly 25% in a five-year period during the last decade, a remarkable feat when many experts had expected the aging population to cause an increase in the problem.

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My Comment: Exercise. Diet. Sleep. No Stress.

How Green Is Your Cloud?

Greenpeace Gives Apple, Amazon Low Marks for 'Dirty' Clouds -- PC Magazine

A Tuesday Greenpeace report that studied the environmental impact of the cloud criticized firms like Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, and Amazon for lagging behind their Web counterparts.

The firms, however, took issue with that characterization.

Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft "are all rapidly expanding without adequate regard to source of electricity, and rely heavily on dirty energy to power their clouds," Greenpeace said in its report, dubbed "How Clean Is Your Cloud?"

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Update: Apple defends green credentials of cloud computing services -- The Guardian

My Comment: Alternative energies have a long way to go before they are sustainable energy suppliers .... for the moment "dirty energy" is the only reliable source of electricity, an indispensable fact if you are running a 'cloud environment'.

Time-Lapse Video Shows The Beauty Of Our Planet From Orbit

The Greatest Show OFF Earth! Breathtaking Time-Lapse Video Shows The Beauty Of Our Planet From Orbit -- Daily Mail

Since perhaps the dawn of mankind, our ancestors have looked up in the stars and marvelled at their mystery and beauty. With the development of spaceflight, a lucky few have had the opportunity to travel up there - and look back.

Now an incredible time-lapse video, made from pictures provided by Nasa, has given the rest of us a way to see the magnificent view of the Earth from the International Space Station.

Hovering in space up to 250 miles above the surface of our planet, these lucky explorers and scientists can see our fragile home as few others will ever have the chance.

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Supercar Expected To Fetch £3million At Auction

BEAUTY: This rare racing version of the McLaren F1 is expected to fetch more than £3million when it is sold at auction

Going, Going, Gone In 60 Seconds? Supercar Expected To Fetch £3million At Auction... And It Can't Even Be Driven On Roads -- The Daily Mail

This ultimate version of the UK’s greatest-ever supercar is expected to fetch more than £3million when it is sold off in California.

The 1997 McLaren F1 GTR is a race car based on the iconic 240mph F1 model, the fastest production car to ever come out of England.

And the model on offer is the legendary ex-GTC Gulf Team Davidoff McLaren F1 GTR FIA GT Endurance Racing Coupe.

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My Comment: Only £3million?

SpaceX Launch Ready For This Month

SpaceX launched a Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in December 2010. It's planning a more ambitious test mission for April 30: sending its capsule to the space station and recovering it. Chris Thompson/SpaceX/File

All Systems Go For 'Historic' SpaceX Launch This Month -- Christian Science Monitor

NASA and SpaceX, the private aerospace firm that is seeking a contract to replace the space shuttle, met Monday in anticipation of a crucial space-station test run April 30.

As a NASA 747 carried the venerable space shuttle Discovery to its retirement home at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum annex at Dulles Airport in Virginia on Tuesday, the space agency and its private-industry partner SpaceX were gearing up for a different milestone.

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My Comment: I wish them the best.

Space Shuttle Discovery Over Washington (D.C. Photos)

Space Shuttle Discovery Takes a Tour of Washington, D.C. -- Popular Science

This morning, the space shuttle Discovery, riding atop a 747 shuttle-carrier, flew from Kennedy Space Center in Florida up to Washington, D.C. to its final resting place at the Smithsonian. Along the way it took a tour of the capital, where it was photographed by everyone with a camera, because how often do you see a space shuttle flying around? There aren't any pictures of the shuttle stopping to see the cherry blossoms, but there are plenty of it zooming past Washington landmarks. Check some out in our gallery below.

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How Practice Rewires The Brain

(Credit: Marcos Andre, Wikimedia Commons)

Spine Tuning: Finding Physical Evidence of How Practice Rewires the Brain -- Scientific American

In kindergarten, several of my friends and I were very serious about learning to tie our shoes. I remember sitting on the edge of the playground, looping laces into bunny ears and twisting them into a knot over and over again until I had it just right. A few years later, whistling became my new challenge. On the car ride to school or walking between classes, I puckered my lips and blew, shifting my tongue like rudder to direct the air. Finally, after weeks of nothing but tuneless wooshing, I whistled my first note.

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My Comment: I guess there is some truth to the saying that "practice makes perfect".

10 Extreme Alternative Motorcycles

Ryno
This electric unicycle incorporates motorcycle-like steering geometry that uses accelerometers and gyros to accelerate, brake, and help you stay balanced. Anticipated to reach market in early 2013 at $4500, the Ryno offers a 20-mph top speed and an estimated cruising range of 20 miles from its lithium iron phosphate battery. Christopher Hoffman, who heads the Portland, Oreg.–based outfit, says that unlike the Segway, his creation is "very gentle and responsive, and feels like a part of your body. It's weird." We'll say.

10 Extreme Alternative Motorcycles... and One That Flies -- Popular Mechanics

When you think "motorcycle," the image that jumps to mind is probably a Universal Japanese Motorcycle—the silhouette pioneered by these bikes of the '60s came to define what a motorbike looks like. But there's another world of bikes that veers from the norm and embraces the unusual. These offshoots—some open-air, others enclosed—explore everything from backwards trike layouts to V-8 and alternative fuel powerplants.

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US Space Shuttle: The End Of An Era

Space Shuttle Discovery Takes Off On Final Voyage To New Museum Home -- The Telegraph

Aboard a modified jumbo jet, Nasa's oldest shuttle takes off from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre bound for its new home at the Smithsonian Institution.

For its last ride, Discovery took off not from its usual seaside launch pad but atop a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet that taxied down the Kennedy Centre's runway at dawn.

The shuttle, which completed its final spaceflight in March 2011, piggybacked on the jumbo jet in order to make its way to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Virginia.

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CSN Editor: NASA's live feed is here.