Comment Street Cred +10 (Score 3, Funny) 222
It's not all about the bling yo!
Comment I protest! (Score 1) 538
The dept. this article was placed in. It should be in The-Grass-Is-Always-Greener dept.
Comment Interesting tactic (Score 1) 685
exactly what cults do to control information.
Comment So much for security through obscurity... (Score 2, Interesting) 132
Why are these things even connected to the internet if there is the danger of cracking them?
Comment I disagree with the disagreement (Score 1) 830
If we ask Ray what he means by "brain" we may understand better, the part of the brain that is practical to reverse engineer first is logic, or the neocortex. Assuming that Ray means the whole brain is where I think neuro-scientists are correct in their conclusion as of now 10 years is very optimistic. On the other hand if we only consider the logic center and don't deal with vision centers, speech and hearing centers, motor functions and autonomic systems, then we can probably do it. The key problem is input, the brain is nothing without data input and interaction, and experience.
There is more to the human brain then logic, but at this point raw compute power which is approximately 20 Quads per second and developing subroutines to simulate neuron function is what I think Ray is speaking of, simulating sensory stimulus response may be part of that program. The co-processing centers that pre-process the input to signals the brain as whole understands is another problem, and I don't think this is what Ray is predicting, but I think we need to ask him what he means before we jump all over his statement like we know what he's talking about. The brain is an electrochemical streaming massively parallel biological processor, which seems to be very well suited to pattern recognition and linear logic calculations. The brain not well suited to exponential logic, so neuro-scientists are correct from their frame of reference but wrong in the actual application of their logic because it's linear.
Raw compute power and the interactive subroutines which are repeated over and over in the wet wired world of the brain, simulating the plasticity and electronic logic is probable but the chemical side of things is a whole other issue, this would involve understanding hormonal function and interaction at a level not available today. It would require the understanding of calcium, potassium, sodium and other ion channels and other mineral interaction and function in the brain, and it would require the mapping of the two-way interaction between antagonists and receptors, re-uptake of hormones and their effects on signal processing.
Is what Ray Kurzweil says clear? On the surface yes, but the meaning of what he is saying needs to be explained and not so quickly dismissed.
Comment Solution? (Score 1) 646
A coat of clear matte finish spray paint?
Comment Blade Runner, and STNG: A Final Unity (Score 1) 1120
Westwood Studios died some years ago but I loved their Blade Runner game, it was way ahead of it's time. I'd like to see the graphics updated to realtime 3D.
Same with Star Trek the Next Generation: A Final Unity. Great game and story, horrible video cut scenes, really clunky UI.
I bet these two games would come out great using Valve's Source engine.
The Great Ethanol Scam 894
theodp writes "Over at BusinessWeek, Ed Wallace is creating quite a stir, reporting that not only is ethanol proving to be a dud as a fuel substitute, but there is increasing evidence that it is destroying engines in large numbers. Before lobbyists convince the government to increase the allowable amount of ethanol in fuel to 15%, Wallace suggests it's time to look at ethanol's effect on smog, fuel efficiency, global warming emissions, and food prices. Wallace concedes there will be some winners if the government moves the ethanol mandate to 15% — auto mechanics, for whom he says it will be the dawn of a new golden age."
Comment Re:Yeah, real big secret (Score 1) 550
Poor Eleanor Clift I bet she was sure she was winning a Pulitzer prize for that news story! Big deal, everyone knows where Fort Knox is, it doesn't make it any less secure. Anybody knows where all the oil refineries are, taking a refinery out is more of a threat then offing a political leader. (just look at Iraq)
Who do people think these politicians are that we couldn't survive without them? Bah!
Comment Despite all the technicalities (Score 1) 837
I would have loved to have a boss who was willing to spend $300 on something as simple as a very long network cable. That might mean he actually approves of spending real money for real equipment rather then beating up the tech department to spec out the cheapest equipment that will get the job done. He might actually be reasonable when it comes to proposals for new equipment and not always ask you why it's needed, because he knows the faster the equipment the more work that can be done.
I'd love to have a boss like that, he probably likes to pick up the tab at the bar too.
Another thing, I got some serious wind burn from all the propeller heads spinning their propellers at top speed.
Comment Irony is not lost on the Feds (Score 1) 590
It would be one thing if the G'n'R tracks from Chinese Democracy were awesome, and the best they've ever put out.
That's far from the case, it's the worst G'n'R I've ever heard.
I find it ironic that the Feds who really have bigger fish to fry want to make such a lame example of this poor kid. I think instead they should arrest Axel and put him in prison for 6 months for even wasting our time.
Shouldn't the Feds be out there doing something useful like finding Elvis, Jim Morrison, even a Sasquatch or space alien?
Submission + - Fire Water, Erie PA man makes water burn. (myspace.com)
aeroseth writes: "Carried by the Associated Press and reported on Yahoo!, Wired News, The Pittsburg Post Gazett and and CBS News:
(AP) An Erie cancer researcher has found a way to burn salt water, a novel invention that is being touted by one chemist as the "most remarkable" water science discovery in a century.
John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies it would burn.
The discovery has scientists excited by the prospect of using salt water, the most abundant resource on earth, as a fuel.
Rustum Roy, a Penn State University chemist, has held demonstrations at his State College lab to confirm his own observations.
The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen, Roy said. Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies, he said."
John Kanzius happened upon the discovery accidentally when he tried to desalinate seawater with a radio-frequency generator he developed to treat cancer. He discovered that as long as the salt water was exposed to the radio frequencies it would burn.
The discovery has scientists excited by the prospect of using salt water, the most abundant resource on earth, as a fuel.
Rustum Roy, a Penn State University chemist, has held demonstrations at his State College lab to confirm his own observations.
The radio frequencies act to weaken the bonds between the elements that make up salt water, releasing the hydrogen, Roy said. Once ignited, the hydrogen will burn as long as it is exposed to the frequencies, he said."
