A rainy day in Miami yesterday

It was raining heavily here in Miami yesterday. Finally a break from the sun. I love it when it's cool and overcast. Reminds me of home. What in the world am I doing here?!? Sigh...

I have a little story to tell today. This morning I was in my local Subway, getting my morning breakfast and cafe con leche, when this young man in line behind me wanted just a cookie, but all he had in his pocket was a $20 bill. The cashier shook her head and said she couldn't break that bill for a 50 cent item. The poor guy was crestfallen, so I told the cashier that I would pay for it (I wouldn't want anything to get in the way of me and MY cookie!). The young gentleman just stood there looking VERY confused and speechless. He just could not believe that I was buying a complete stranger a cookie, for no reason. His face got very red and he stood there what must have been 45 seconds trying to understand why I would do such a thing. I asked him if anyone had ever been generous with him before, and he said no. I said, "Well, I am from Oregon, NOT Miami, being generous is just my nature." He seemed to finally get that I wasn't asking for anything in return, that I just wanted him to have a cookie. "Plus," I told him, "its just 50 cents, its really no problem at all" He finally took the cookie and kept saying thank you, thank you, over and over. He was genuinly shocked. I guess I am too. I am a little sad that generosity and kindness is so uncommon. I hope I made his day a little better. Maybe he will pass it on.

Well, anyway here are todays tech news headlines:

• New Electronics Promise Wireless at Warp Speed - "Company uses nanoscale metals to build faster radios to wirelessly process video and other massive data files." Really cool process...
• Pursuing Synthetic Life, Dazzled by Reality - The NY Times is a great newspaper, but sometimes they just write fluffy peices...This one has some good info, but I don't like the way they put opinion in the report.
• Shmoocon's coming - As an IT security student, its nice to understand how hackers and crackers operate, so here is a convention where these things come together. Unfortunately I won't have the time off to attend, but maybe next year will be different.
• Brain Region That Can Be Stimulated To Reduce The Cognitive Deficits Of Sleep Deprivation Identified - I am, by nature, a night owl. I like to stay up late, but my job has me up much too early. I would love to have the effects of sleep deprevation be eliminated so I could stay up forever and use those 8 wasted (usually 5-6 for me) hours of sleep time. Between this new finding and the drug Provigil, I hope to be soon up for the duration!
• Team Uncovers New Evidence of Recent Human Evolution - Dr. Barry Sears of "Enter the Zone" diet book fame has also noted that one out of every four is genetically predisposed to handle grains and cereals without an ellevated insulin response. This study is the genetic evidence that backs up this claim. Now I want the gene therapy that applies it to me and fixes my older, obsolete genetic heratige! I want my cookies without the imballanced hormones that go with it!
• Researcher leads international effort to create 'proteinpedia' - "A researcher at the Johns Hopkins Institute of Genetic Medicine has led the effort to compile to date the largest free resource of experimental information about human proteins. Reporting in the February issue of Nature Biotechnology, the research team describes how all researchers around the world can access this data and speed their own research. "
• Scientists produce carbon nanotubes using commercially available polymeric resins - "Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have successfully produced carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in high yields in bulk solid compositions using commercially available aromatic containing resins. The concentration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and metal nanoparticles can be easily varied within the shaped carbonaceous solid." GO NAVY!
• Brain Signal Linked to Autism - "Imaging the brain during social interaction reveals a deficit that may be tied to a sense of self." This article takes the position that autism is a disorder, that something is wrong with us. I am very curiuos as to the difference between us Aspys and the NTs (NeuroTypicals). But I would never say that we are difficient, and the NTs are not. That is highly erroneous in thinking and dangerous. Will the NTs force us to undergo genetic therapy to "fix" our difficiency? That is analogous to the "whites" fixing the "blacks" via genetic manipulation. Its just wrong. We are not sick, just different. We should celebrate our differences. Feh.
• Robotic glider feeds off ocean temperatures - Very cool article. I hope they are used and not just a 'novel concept'.
• Implants Create Insect Cyborgs - Incredible! When will the military do it to humans?
• Human Skin Cells Reprogrammed Into Embryonic Stem Cells - "UCLA stem cell scientists have reprogrammed human skin cells into cells with the same unlimited properties as embryonic stem cells without using embryos or eggs." Will this get Federal funding? Or is there some overarching moral issue preventing reasonable advances that will elleviate suffering and ban this as well? FEH!
• Studies identify factors associated with exceptionally long life - "Two studies provide new insights on exceptional longevity."

Thats all for today! I finally had some time to get this done, but much more is out there and it seems to be ramping up. Accellerating, one could even say.