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November 2001
McMaster of the Universe? A rotary engine may be in your automotive future! November 3, 2001 -
Back in the mid-80s, Unique Mobility introduced an elegant new design for a hybrid gasoline-electric car that would take off like a rocket, roar down the road like a muscle car, yet deliver in excess of 100 miles per gallon. The fat cats in Detroit stretched and yawned. Retooling would cost too much.
Since then, a few manufacturers have introduced their own versions of the concept which, as a review of the products at Hybrid Cars reveals, are uninspired but better than the same old thing.
Now, however, the McMaster Rotary Engine may change everything:
"It has no oil, no seals, no rings, and no coolant; it is designed to run completely dry."
It's easy to brush off something like this as just another crackpot invention, but McMaster has made hundreds of millions of dollars from his inventions and is hurrying to complete this project before he dies from old age. Really. And a lot of very high-powered people are taking his new design very seriously. One is the dean of the engineering school at the University of Toledo, Nagi Naganathan:
"The power this engine is able to produce in such a small package is the product of a genius mind. ... I see it available for certain applications within five years."
We can only hope.
- Business 2.0.
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August 2001
Land of the free? August 16, 2001 - In song we call America the "land of the free." In reality, we are among the least free in the world, putting more of our citizens in prison than anybody else: "The United States has the highest (per capita) rate in the world (702) followed by Russia (465) and South Africa (385)." When the populations for both state and federal prisons are included, the rate is almost 1200, according to Figure 5.2 of the 2000 Statistical Abstract of the United States. Our diversity accounts for some of this, but relative to the rest of the world we were pretty diverse 40 years ago, too, and the rate back then at the dawn of the counter-culture was closer to 200. Whatever changed between now and then - increased drug abuse, the ineffectual war on drugs, racial entitlement, gender entitlement, the war on men - it has made America anything but the "land of the free." Is it too late to turn things around? No. But we lack the will to change - between scrambling to make a living, pay the bills, buy big FUVs and watch the WWF, NFL, or the Home Shopping Network, Americans are both too distracted and just comfortable enough to be bothered with turning things around. When will that change? Maybe when the incarceration rate reaches 2400 and the men in prison, probably led by "deadbeat dads," backlash. BBC News.
Approval of stem cell research squeaked through: August 25, 2001 - The stem cell lines approved by President Bush for ongoing research are mixed with mice cells. According to Jay Lefkowitz, who helped devise the Bush policy, they knew about it and don't see it as a problem: "President Bush has unlocked the door so that critical research can be conducted in an area that is currently uncharted. To fulfill that mission, we believe the existing stem cell lines are more than adequate." International Herald Tribune.
Nisuqally quake cracks artesian wells? August 5, 2001 - Sunday, July 23rd, the Nisqually area in Washington state had another earthquake similar to but smaller than the one that caused so much damage in Seattle and Olympia on February 28th of this year. Last month's quake was only a 4.3 magnitude. Big enough to be felt, small enough to cause no damage. At least, that's what everybody believes. However, during the past several days local lakes have begun rising at a rapid rate and are now at above-normal levels despite the dry summer. Is the area about to be flooded by its world-famous artesian wells? More information.
Michael Fumento - Pro-life fanatics vs. science helping the sick? July 31, 2001 - Those who support lifting the ban on funding embryonic stem cell experimentation probably don't want you to know embryos are unnecessary to stem cell research. "But actually it's science, not abortion opponents, making the case for non-embryonic cells. Overwhelmingly, the incredible breakthroughs in stem cell research have involved NON-embryonic stem cells." Washington Times.
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July 2001
Aborted fetuses no longer source of stem cells: July 2001 - Various sources report stem cell research is at a virtual stand still because of concerns over harvesting aborted fetuses. But that should no longer be an issue as a team of scientists at UCLA and the University of Pittsburgh have found fat to be a rich source of stem cells: "The research team, which details the discovery in the April edition of the peer-reviewed journal Tissue Engineering, is the first to grow human tissue - bone, muscle, cartilage and fat - using stem cells harvested from fat. The team obtained the fat using liposuction." - Arthritis Support, May 2, 2001. Also, TIME, April 10, 2001. Other stem cell sources: True stem cell found? Helen Pearson, Nature, May 4, 2001. For additional information: Stem Cell Research News.
Donna LaFramboise - No time for Fido: July 5, 2001 - The movie, A.I: Artificial Intelligence, brings us another anthropomorphic view of machine-as-best-friend. But how fictional is it? "By 2009...my personal computer will house an artificial being (actually an elaborate piece of software) who takes the form of a personal assistant. I will be able to select the sex of this assistant and communicate with her verbally. Following my instructions, she will ...pay my bills and purchase books and music...sort my e-mail and reply politely to much of it in the same way secretaries answer their bosses' correspondence...re-schedule my appointments and remind me my husband's birthday is approaching." And when computers can do a better job of teaching our children one-on-one, what time will we make for them to gather with their peers in classrooms? - National Post.
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June 2001
Long-haired weirdo hippie freaks? Oh, my! April 30, 2001 - Ken Kesey addresses the graduating class of Evergreen College: "This was declared the college for all hippies, one place so they could keep an eye on them," he said. "I can see they were successful." - Olympian.
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May 2001
Gersh Kuntzman - Eat my electrons! April 30, 2001 - We're teetering on the verge of a recession and an energy crisis seems imminent, yet Americans are still buying gas guzzling lead sleds. Why aren't they buying the new gas-electric hybrid cars from Honda and Toyota? Because they're gutless? "I think not! This baby zooms to 75 miles per hour (I promise you, officer, I did not inhale!) with no problems." The Honda also has a range of 600 miles on a single tank of gas. "But forget the economy and forget your wallet. Think of the gloating!" The Honda takes off like a slingshot. - Newsweek.
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April 2001
Killer influenza: April 22, 2001 - A killer flu epidemic may be in our future, but there is a cure. "Relenza is available on the National Health Service and played a part in dramatically reducing this winter's flu outbreak. But there is a catch: Relenza is prescribed only for the elderly and other high risk groups. No stockpile exists to protect the general population from the virulent strain that some believe to be inevitable." - Sunday Times.
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March 2001
Bill Moyers - Trade Secrets: March 29, 2001 - We are poisoning the planet, and ourselves, with the checmicals we use everyday. "The problem is that for most chemicals, we simply do not know how safe - or dangerous - they may be. And they are everywhere around us - in the air, soil, and water; in our homes; and in our bodies. Not a single child today is born free of synthetic chemicals." - PBS.
Sea of Japan dying: March 27, 2001 - The Centre for the Research of East Asian Marginal Seas now has hard evidence to prove global warming is killing the oceans. According to Professor Yoon Jong-Hwa of the Research and Institute for Applied Mechanics, "It is possible that the Sea of Japan is one of the first expanses of water affected by global warming, if that is the case, then we very much fear that eventually the world's major oceans will also be affected." - China Lateline.
Europe facing social disintegration: March 30, 2001 - Prof. Robert D. Putnam of Harvard warns that within the next 30 years Europe will face the same problems America is dealing with right now. "Most Americans watch Friends rather than have friends nowadays." - Irish Times.
Is the ideal engine near? For decades, engineers have struggled to develop a practical "Stirling Engine," which runs on heat that can be generated by any fuel. In theory, every home equipped with a Stirling Engine could generate its own cheap power. Is this what Dean Kamen's project, "Ginger," all about? - Boston Globe.
Spam is annoying, but ID theft is criminal: The Internet has exacerbated a genuine, terrible privacy problem: identity theft - the appropriation of someone else's identity in order to commit a crime. The government estimates that more than 500,000 people are victimized each year. - Boston Globe.
Cancer risk official: High voltage power cables have been officially linked to cancer for the first time. A study shows that children living near them run a small but significant increased risk of falling victim to the disease. - Sunday Times.
Cloning looms as economic reality: The most talented people will be cloned and the least talented women will be hired as surrogate mothers. - Sydney Morning Herald.
Microsoft attacks free enterprise: First the software giant dismissed Linux as irrelevant, now they're calling it unAmerican, what's next? What's good for the Microsoft monopoly is good for the world? - ZDNet.
Jeff Moad: Stop, you're killing me! - ZDNet.
Has your homepage been hijacked? - ZDNet.
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February 2001
The scoop on when to snoop: No one wants to be snooped on, but no one wants the United States to become a hotbed of terrorist activity either. - ZDNet.
Canadians support organ cloning: Although the vast majority of Canadians who were surveyed oppose cloning humans, most say they support the cloning of human organs to treat medical conditions - Toronto Star.
Imortality: How long can humans live? Experts renew age-old debate - Sacramento Bee.
ISP Found guilty in child porn case: They knew and did nothing: "Those who create the market will be held responsible" - Wired.
Drug War: Police say they seize property as a powerful tool against drug dealers. No doubt it would be an even more powerful tool to lock dealers up permanently. But we cannot summarily imprison citizens. For the same reasons, we cannot summarily seize their property - Seattle Times.
Shockwave Rider: "For all the claims one hears about the liberating impact of the data-net, the truth is that it's wished on most of us a brand-new reason for paranoia" - Ottawa Citizen.
In many cases, we have found that humans have exactly the same genes as rats, mice, cats, dogs and even fruit flies - New York Times.
Forces of nature: Empty space is never completely empty, but instead burbles with "virtual particles" that wink into existence and then vanish - New York Times.
Screw the environment! US opposes EU's commitment to real progress in cutting emissions of greenhouse gases - Irish Times.
Japanese scientists developing artificial eyes - Sunday Times.
So sue me! The vocabulary of law and legalisms is the only shared language we have left for regulating behavior in an era in which there is no longer a social consensus about how men and women, and even boys and girls, should behave - New York Times Magazine.
Dead baby's genes were crying out: Son's genotype disappeared by mistake...can it be brought back by intention? - New York Times Magazine.
Tragic genius of mathematics rediscovered after 60 years: Unearthed papers show a Jewish soldier was behind a monumental theory - Sydney Morning Herald.
Even in the bathroom, big brother is watching - Seattle P-I.
Phyllis Schlafly: Denmark in dire straights! There is something rotten in Denmark and America should make sure we don't make the same mistakes - Town Hall.
"No knock" searches: Computer users beware kevlar-clad goons toting M-16s - Wired.
Diabetes epidemic threatens millions: 61% of Americans at risk - Indianz.
Cloned human planned by 2003 - BBC.
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January 2001
Alaska holds the answer to energy problems - Seattle P-I.
Italian fertility expert to attempt human cloning - Globe and Mail.
Science of the small: Because of nanotechnology, we'll see more changes in the next 30 years than we saw in all of the last century - Forbes.
Scientists make light stand still: Researchers say they have slowed light to a dead stop, stored it and then released it as if it were an ordinary material particle - Seattle P-I.
The 20th century was American, but this one will be Europe's - Independent Argument.
Scientists link eye cancer to mobile phones - Sunday Times.
Is this the revolution the world is waiting for? - Sunday Times.
Laser-equipped 747 designed to blast ballistic missiles - CNN.
Breakout Artist: Dean Kamen, multimillionaire inventrepreneur, is going global with his wildest notion of all - that scientists will be the 21st century's superstars - Wired.
Is CNN caught up in a publicity stunt? First, read this, then read this. Are you really curious? Think it's something really terrific? Now, read this. Want more? Go to the World Intellectual Property Organization site, click on Search, log in as "guest" with password "guest," seach for "Kamen," you'll find the same thing. "IT" is nothing more than a motorized two-wheel scooter. For something really revolutionary, click on the skycar link below.
Skycar - Moller International.
Exo-Skeletor Flying Vehicle - SoloTrek.
Demand grows for human cloning - Global Change.
Scientists locate planets that can sustain life - Sunday Times.
Using nanotubes to construct a ski lift into space - National Post.
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2000
Nanotubes by the Kilo, December 2000 - Science Magazine.
Jupiter moon may have a saltwater ocean, December 2000 - CNN.
Do mobile phones speed up reaction time? If microwave emissions can influence reaction times as they pass through the skull, what else might they be doing? December 2000 - New Scientist.
Is Big Brother watching your net searches: Do you care if Microsoft knows the address of everyone you correspond with via e-mail, all the applications you use, every search you do and every place you go on the Internet? December 2000 - ZDNet.
Design Nightmares: Don't build a site of the living dead or fall prey to pop-up poltergeists. Avoid making these common design mistakes and you'll never again scare a visitor away, December 2000 - C|Net.
Wireless Internet: The technology needs more work, December 2000 - UseIt.com.
Slavery is more common around the world than at any time in human history, December 2000 - Independent News.
The fetal alcohol crisis: In addition to the tragedy caused, the cost of women binge-drinking while pregnant now exceeds that of the national debt, December 2000 - Report magazine.
Victims of the year get the recognition they deserve, December 2000 - Jewish World Review.
McCutchen Update: New Court Rules Restrict Sealing of Records, November 2000 - McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, LLP.
Scientists Make a Bacteria-Size Machine Work, November 2000 - New York Times.
10 Men Fathered Europe - More than 95 percent of European men today descended from just 10 possible male ancestors, November 2000 - Discovery.com.
July Weird Witness News Investigative Report - WTO: Women Taking Over
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