(by way of Boing Boing) O’Reilly has just released Mind Hacks: Tips & Tools for Using your Brain in the World — from a quick browse of the accompanying blog, I can already see this is a book I’m going to have to get a copy of…
MindHacks book & blog Read More »
Yesterday I did a quick scan of the one-handed keyboards that are available, and figured I’d post a quick summary:
And of course there’s the plethora of cellphone / PDA keyboards like the one-thumbed “chicklet keyboards” on the Treo-600/650 and Blackberry or using Multitap or T-9 on a standard 12-button cellphone keyboard. I’m not a big fan of Multitap or predictive systems like T-9, but I’ve liked the Treo keyboard even for one-handed typing. I expect I’d have more trouble using it eyes-free than I do with the Twiddler, but then again I don’t have years of experience using the Treo to type SMSs under the table when the teacher isn’t looking either…
A couple non-commercial things of interest:
The Data Egg was an integrated PDA & five-button chording keyboard designed and prototyped back in the early ’90s, but it got black-holed after the inventor lost control of his IP. Never tried one myself, but I’ve always liked the idea as a sort of chording-keyboard sleeve over a PDA.
Something else I like the look of is Chordite, which interests me mostly because of its unique hand-fit. Prototype only, researcher claims about 33 wpm.
Quick one-handed keyboards survey… Read More »
(by way of Dr. Wex) For sale on eBay: unauthorized special-edition iPod commemorating the U2 vs. Negativeland legal battles, pre-loaded with 7 Negativeland albums. Price is already $450 with 5 days left to go (yow), proceeds to benefit Downhill Battle.
U2 v. Negativeland special-edition iPod Read More »
Via the SJ Mercury News (sub. req.), the FDA has approved an RFID chip that you place on (not in) a body part that’s to be operated on to identify the proceedure and other info:
The system works like this: At an initial visit, the information on the operation is placed in the computer. The patient sees it on a monitor and verifies that it’s correct. The data is then printed out on the chip and then re-read by the computer. Again, the patient verifies the data.
On the day of the procedure, the patient once again verifies the chip is correct, and it is then placed on the area to be operated.
At the suggestion of the FDA, the chip will have a notice on it that it should be removed before the procedure.
This would presumably replace the current technique of using a sharpie and writing stuff on the patient like “no, the other leg!” I’m curious but a bit sceptical — on the one hand the RFID tag can hold a lot more info than you can fit on a body part (allergies, etc.), but I don’t see that making up for the immediacy of reading what’s written on the body part you’re about to operate on. Why would an RFID tag be any more likely to be read than the patient’s chart?
RFID for patients in hospitals Read More »
Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-CA) office has come out with a report on The Content of Federally Funded Abstinance-Only Education Programs (pointer via the SJ Mercury News). These are federally-funded (though not federally supervised) programs to teach teenagers the importance of not having sex before marriage — often by scaring the bejesus out of them. I’m all in favor of teaching teenagers (and adults) to think twice and three times before having sex, but it would seem quite a number of the programs have found that it’s easier to scare people with opinion, distortions and outright falshoods than to let kids think for themselves with all the facts on hand.
From the report’s executive summary:
The report finds that over 80% of the abstinence-only curricula, used by over twothirds of SPRANS grantees in 2003, contain false, misleading, or distorted information about reproductive health. Specifically, the report finds:
- Abstinence-Only Curricula Contain False Information about the Effectiveness of Contraceptives. Many of the curricula misrepresent the effectiveness of condoms in preventing sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. One curriculum says that “the popular claim that ‘condoms help prevent the spread of STDs,’ is not supported by the data”; another states that “[i]n heterosexual sex, condoms fail to prevent HIV approximately 31% of the time”; and another teaches that a pregnancy occurs one out of every seven times that couples use condoms. These erroneous statements are presented as proven scientific facts.
- Abstinence-Only Curricula Contain False Information about the Risks of Abortion. One curriculum states that 5% to 10% of women who have legal abortions will become sterile; that “[p]remature birth, a major cause of mental retardation, is increased following the abortion of a first pregnancy”; and that “[t]ubal and cervical pregnancies are increased following abortions.” In fact, these risks do not rise after the procedure used in most abortions in the United States.
- Abstinence-Only Curricula Blur Religion and Science. Many of the curricula present as scientific fact the religious view that life begins at conception. For example, one lesson states: “Conception, also known as fertilization, occurs when one sperm unites with one egg in the upper third of the fallopian tube. This is when life begins.” Another curriculum calls a 43-day-old fetus a “thinking person.”
- Abstinence-Only Curricula Treat Stereotypes about Girls and Boys as Scientific Fact. One curriculum teaches that women need “financial support,” while men need “admiration.” Another instructs: “Women gauge their happiness and judge their success on their relationships. Men’s happiness and success hinge on their accomplishments.”
- Abstinence-Only Curricula Contain Scientific Errors. In numerous instances, the abstinence-only curricula teach erroneous scientific information. One curriculum incorrectly lists exposure to sweat and tears as risk factors for HIV transmission. Another curriculum states that “twenty-four chromosomes from the mother and twenty-four chromosomes from the father join to create this new individual”; the correct number is 23.
The report finds numerous examples of these errors. Serious and pervasive problems with the accuracy of abstinence-only curricula may help explain why these programs have not been shown to protect adolescents from sexually transmitted diseases and why youth who pledge abstinence are significantly less likely to make informed choices about precautions when they do have sex.
…and you’ll go blind too! Read More »
Also from the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting, by way of PRNewsWire:
Novel Imaging Method Shows Abnormal Brain Anatomy in Children with ADHD (embargoed until 9 a.m. CT, Nov. 29)
Researchers at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in New York have discovered that children with h Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have abnormalities in the anatomy of their brains. Previously, ADHD was suspected to be a chemical imbalance, but this study shows physical abnormalities in the fiber pathways in three areas of the brain that regulate attention, impulsive behavior, motor activity and inhibition. A second study found that stimulant medications usually prescribed for ADHD actually correct some of these structural abnormalities. The studies will be presented by Manzar Ashtari, Ph.D.
Physical differences in ADHD brains Read More »
A new study presented yesterday at the Radiological Society of North America yesterday showed differences in brain patterns when people are lying vs. when they’re telling the truth. It’s a small study (just 9 subjects) and it’s not clear that fMRI would be any more reliable than a polygraph, but it’s an indication of what’s down the road…
Changes were detected in the frontal, temporal and limbic lobes — it’s not clear to me how many of those changes might be detectable by the near-infrared spectral imaging I blogged about earlier, but if possible that might address some of the cost issues associated with fMRI…
Using fMRI to detect a lie Read More »
For Bay Area locals, SDForum is hosting a forum on AI in Computer Games on the evening of Dec 8th at PARC. Panelists include Will Wright (creator of The Sims) and Damian Isla (lead AI programmer of Halo) among others. At $40 ($25 for members) it’s pricy enough I won’t be going, but should be interesting.
SDForum on AI in Computer Games Read More »
A major security hole has been found in TWiki which allows anyone with access to the search function to execute arbitrary shell commands with the privilages of the web-server process. Anyone running TWiki should read here and upgrade and/or take countermeasures immediately.
Major TWiki Security Hole Read More »
Last weekend I threw a house-cooling party, and I figure what can be better to cool a house than liquid-nitrogen ice-cream? I made up a big batch of unflavored ice-cream base, got some lN2 and had people bring whatever flavorings they wanted to try mixing into a micro-batch of ice cream. Having learned from my mistakes the last two times I’ve made it, this stuff was some of the creamiest, best ice cream I’ve had.
A few lessons learned:
The winning flavor of the night, by my taste at least, was the orange-raspberry sorbet. In the interests of posterity (and so I can find it when I want it next time), here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
Mix sugar, water and orange zest together in a saucepan, stirring under low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then bring to a boil and and let boil until you have a syrup — roughly 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. When cool, stir in orange juice, lemon juice and raspberry lambic. This is your sorbet base. (You could put this in an ice-cream maker at this point, should you want to make it the old-fashioned way.)
Put base in a large bowl, and don safety glasses. If the bowl is metal, you’ll probably want those gloves as well. Slowly pour liquid nitrogen into center of bowl, mixing all the while with electric mixer. (We use a tough plastic mug with a handle to pour the lN2 — don’t use a metal cup.) Stop every few seconds to blow the fog away and to break up any solid ice-patches that have formed. Keep adding lN2 until sorbet is completely frozen. Sorbet will still be soft-serve, that’s OK.
I hear that for best results you should put the sorbet (or ice cream) into the freezer for about 15 minutes to even out the ice crystals and “set,” but I’ve never had the patience for that. Do make sure all the lN2 has boiled away though before putting any in your mouth, or else you might get a rude surprise.
Enjoy!
1 Ask your local lab-supply store or physics grad student for food- or medical-grade liquid nitrogen, or follow these three easy steps to make your own! 1) Collect about 1000 pints of air for every 1 pint lN2 desired. 2) Chill air until nitrogen condenses (around -320 degrees Fahrenheit). 3) Skim off liquid nitrogen and keep in insulated container. Should any liquid oxygen sublimate, save for making flambé!
Liquid-Nitrogen Ice Cream Read More »