Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The Biggest Flaw in Obama’s Immigration Argument


Illegal Immigration


Since nothing is being done, something needs to be done. That’s pretty much the argument that President Obama is making in regards to his executive order to use prosecutorial discretion. As he said in an interview with George Stephanopolous, “The reason that we, have to do.. uhm prosecutorial discretion in immigration, is that we know, that we – are not even close to being able to deal with the folks who have been here a long time…”


Here’s the thing. This is going to cost America as much if not more money than it would cost to secure the borders. The problem that we face is two-fold. On one hand, we have a leaky border. On the other hand, we have the people who are already here illegally. Unlike many conservative commentators, I do not believe that amnesty is necessarily bad if it’s handled properly. Many of the illegal immigrants are here for good reasons and are contributing to the country. However, any amnesty or prosecutorial discretion must occur after the borders themselves are secure.


This is not a “chicken and egg” situation. This is a very clear cause and effect situation. We have to handle the cause before we go after the effect, which in this case is the mess that Obama is trying to fix. It’s so clear and simple that there’s no need to turn this into a long post with tons of evidence or convincing talking points. This one’s pretty obvious. The President wanted something for his legacy that would stick as well as helping to secure better odds for the Democrats in the 2016 elections.


The worst part is that the move is a political one but will be viewed by the ignorant as socially correct. If it didn’t benefit him, he would not have done it.


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Monday, November 24, 2014

7 Things #Ferguson has Taught Us About Modern America


Ferguson


As this story is being written, Ferguson is burning. Bloggers and journalists are busy giving their opinions about the grand jury’s decision to not indict Darren Wilson for the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. Discussions and debates are happening in homes across America and being prepared for office discussions the day after.


Prior to watching the coverage of the rioting in Ferguson and other demonstrations across the country, I had no intention of adding to the discussion. There would be plenty and this little blogger wouldn’t have a chance with all the noise, but something happened. It turned out worse than expected and one thing prevailed that I didn’t expect. Cooler heads usually prevail when there is this much build-up. We learned years ago after the Rodney King riots that police, national guard, the various levels of government, and the leaders of the community would have to be prepared for the worst. With all of these warnings, it still got bad.


It could have been worse, but it was bad enough. Stupidity prevailed and will continue to prevail. On the night of the grand jury decision, we learned seven very clear things about the state of affairs in modern America.


Facts Cannot Stop Stupidity


The almost completely undisputed facts that Michael Brown robbed a store and assaulted a police officer do not seem to be part of the discussion for the protesters or rioters. The fact that his blood was found inside of the police car that held the officer that he attacked has been pushed to the wayside. We are somehow supposed to believe that after trying to take a gun from a police officer (presumably to do harm to the officer) and then running away after being shot that Michael Brown suddenly had a complete change of heart. A minute and a half after assaulting the officer, Brown allegedly became docile, put his hands up, and decided to no longer act aggressively.


I don’t need to use common sense to know that the story that protesters are clinging onto didn’t happen that way. We have the grand jury of his peers telling us that after reviewing the evidence, they did not feel the officer should be indicted. That fact alone should hold the most weight, but it didn’t. We were given a compelling series of points during the press conference that made it seem very clear that Michael Brown attacked the officer, tried to take his gun, ran away, and then turned and aggressively approached the officer.


Nobody knows all of the available facts other than the grand jury and the prosecutors. All of the rest of us are only able to draw our own conclusions based upon what is told to us and the decision of the grand jury. Those two things clearly point to severe wrongdoing on Brown’s part. All of those facts are irrelevant to the blind who wanted an indictment regardless of the facts.


Stupidity Spreads Rapidly


Oakland, New York, Los Angeles – reports are coming in from across the country that people are demonstrating against the decision. The sheer size of the protests that started immediately after the decision was announced means that most who are out there are doing so without knowing the facts that are currently available. It would be silly to demonstrate given the facts, but that didn’t stop them.


These people aren’t interested in the truth. Most aren’t even interested in justice. They’re interested in a cause that pits race on race, that pits order against anarchy. Most of these same people would not last very long without the police that they’re protesting.


The President Doesn’t Know How to Act without an Agenda


This was an opportunity for the President to put aside his ego and his place in history in order to restate the facts that we now have available and declare that the decision seems to be a righteous one. Instead, his tone was sharp. He did very little to convey the facts, nor did he seem to support the decision.


As hard as it is for most people to believe, the President benefits from the protests. The riots are a distraction from much of the negative press that has surrounded him for months. I won’t go so far as to say that he wanted things to go this way, but he certainly isn’t acting like a President that wants justice to prevail over controversy.


He should have been there. Even if he didn’t go in person, the administration should have had a presence of some sort in Ferguson to help those who are being harmed by the riots. Instead, he is letting Ferguson burn.


Every Police Action is Considered an Overreaction


Those who know me are aware that I’m not a supporter of the police state trajectory that we seem to be on. The militarization of law enforcement is a terrible thing, especially considering the people who are calling the shots. However, there are certain times when it’s acceptable to be in riot gear. Those certain times are during riots themselves.


Somehow, the media has turned the need for riot control actions into a bad thing. It’s amazing to watch reporters tear into the police in Ferguson for the way that they’re reacting, then condemn them further a few seconds later for not being there to protect private property as rioters burn buildings and loot businesses. Which is it?


Looting Supersedes Ideology


The atmosphere was described as “festive” when the first few stores were broken into and looted. A large portion of the protesters were clearly not there because they wanted to support the family of Michael Brown or condemn the decision of the grand jury. They were there to get something for themselves. They were there to take advantage of the mayhem.


Just before we watched a Fox video camera destroyed on live television, we saw smiling, giddy “protestors” running out of the liquor store (the one Michael Brown had robbed the day that he was killed) with bottles of Bacardi in their arms. They weren’t there for the protests. They were only there for the looting.


The Media Wants to be Part of the Story


As we shifted back and forth between Fox News and CNN, one thing was clear about the reporters on the streets. They weren’t just there to report the story. They wanted to be part of the story. There’s no such thing as a journalist at a scene who can keep completely detached from the events surrounding them, but it was disgustingly clear that the majority of them were doing what they could to be a subject rather than a reporter.


This isn’t isolated to Ferguson. We have seen too many reporters get rewarded for this type of bad journalism in recent years. Ferguson was just a clear example of this happening in modern American journalism.


Many Want War in America


The community of Ferguson has clearly expressed that most of them do not want to be the center of the nation’s attention. That hasn’t stopped others from using Ferguson as a hotspot and rallying point for their own agendas.


It would be easy to call them out by name. They haven’t been shy about their participation and there is plenty of news about their shenanigans already, but what hasn’t been discussed is the motivation. While most Americans do not want to believe it, there are parties within our borders who want Ferguson to explode. There are those who were “supporting” Michael Brown’s family while secretly hoping that the decision would go down as it did so they could agitate the situation and force their agenda onto the pedestal. They go their wish.


Just as many have stood up to protest the decision, there needs to be others who fight equally hard on the side of law and order. It can’t be the police. It won’t be the government. It must be the sane and intelligent people of America who make a fervent call for peace in the face of stupidity.


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For Obama, 4th DefSec Epitomizes Foreign Affairs Failures


Obama and Hagel


Things don’t always work out. Every President will pick the wrong people for jobs, but when it happens two or three times, one has to wonder if there’s a trend. As the Obama administration prepares to pick it’s 4th Defense Secretary in 6 years, the problems are clear. This administration doesn’t quite understand the concept of maintaining a strong defense.


Chuck Hagel was supposed to be the right conservative choice. He was a Republican Senator, a veteran, and one who had experience with and understanding of the volatile Middle East. However, anonymous reports from inside the White House paint a picture of a man who wasn’t empowered to do his job due to the centralized methodology in the administration. They like their own opinions and do not seem to want to listen to those who have opposing views.


It isn’t just defense. The administration has had difficulties with other areas of foreign relations. In fact, the Nobel Peace Prize winning President has failed to achieve any notable foreign relations victories during his tenure other than being the person in office when Osama bin Laden was killed. Iran, North Korea, Russia, China – the list of enemies gaining power continues to increase while our allies are not embracing our lead like they once did.


Even the previous Bush administration, often criticized for hurting America’s place in world opinion, held a much better track record for getting the world follow our lead.


The Obama administration has been hurting America’s standing in the world. Losing yet another Defense Secretary is par for the course.


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At Taco Bell, this will be my exact order every time until prices or taxes change.



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Automotive milestone.



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Big, Bold, and Beautiful 2015 GMC Sierra All-Terrain


2015 GMC Sierra All-Terrain


With almost 100 years of truck building and perfecting experience GM has been evolving their trucks for a long time and has worked to continuously offer as perfect a truck as possible. The GMC version of the truck is the Sierra and for 2015 this truck is makes a huge statement and sets a whole new bar of truck standards for others to follow. Packaged with nearly luxurious interior and newly designed high-tech engines, the GMC Sierra is a strong and gorgeous truck for any truck lover to enjoy and just might gain some new loyalty from followers of the competition.


New for 2015 is an All-Terrain trim package that will match up with the Silverado’s Z71 off-road package. This makes the two offerings from GM a pair to be reckoned with and certainly a difficult choice to make between the two. The All-Terrain package will include Rancho twin-tube shocks, thick coil springs and wide leaf springs to help owners who want to play in the mud or head out on the trails be able to do so with ease and confidence. The All-Terrain model has the choice of the same two engines as the rest of the lineup, a 6.0-liter V8 or the Duramax 6.6-liter turbodiesel V8. The 6.0 is mated to a Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic transmission and the Duramax is paired with the Allison 1000 six-speed automatic transmission.


The All-Terrain model of the Sierra is also fitted with a ton of premium upgrades to help it really stand out in a crowd. Adding a ton of chrome to the outside (how could you ever have too much chrome) including the running boards, 20-inch alloy wheels, door handles, window trims, side mirrors and of course the mean looking grill, this big beast of burden is also a thing of beauty and sure to turn many heads at any ball it attends. Inside there is tech to be enjoyed to include 4G LTE connectivity to create a Wi-Fi hotspot, the GMC IntelliLink infotainment system, and the Siri Eyes Free system for iPhone users.


Add to the outside interest the LED and HID jeweled headlights, a chrome-accented front bumper (yes, more chrome), a body colored rear bumper, integrated bumper steps, under the rail bed lighting, integrated back up lights, and twin LED bed lights to help with backing up, all help to create a truck that is as close to the Denali luxury as it can get without quite stepping completely into luxury and out of the fun and work phase.


Inside the All-Terrain, to go along with all the high-tech gadgetry is a plethora of comfort, control and style to enjoy. Offering a seriously quiet cabin allows owners to fully enjoy the ride by listening to their choice of sounds on the premium Bose sound system rather than a bundle of road noises from outside. The materials throughout this awesome truck are premium, supple, and very comfortable for anyone to ride in. There is plenty of room for all passengers that want to tag along to the lake, out in the wilderness, or just for a ride down the road. Add to the tech with Bluetooth connectivity, five USB ports, a 110-volt standard receptacle, and at least three 12-volt ports for charging and running electronics. The center console is so large it can become a moving office by allowing enough space to hang hanging folders and keep things filed and organized on the road.


Starting with the standard 6.0-liter V8 gasoline powered engine that cranks out 360 horsepower and 397 lb.-ft. of torque this is not a truck for the light hearted. Matched up with the Hydra-Matic six-speed automatic transmission and this truck is able to pull loads, head off road, help another truck out of a sticky situation, or just show off on the highway with ease and confidence.


The brawnier of the two engines, the 6.6-liter Duramax turbodiesel V8 engine pushes a massive 397 horsepower and a crazy 765 lb.-ft. of torque. Add to the matching of the Allison 1000 six-speed automatic transmission and this beast of burden is really ready to get the job done. No doubt any owner with this massive power plant under the hood can build the biggest treehouse, take a larger boat to the lake, or simply handle any rocky incline on the trails to allow maximum fun in this Sierra.


The All-Terrain Sierra comes standard as four-wheel drive which should have been obvious from the name and with the upgraded suspension can tackle just about any obstacle. Aluminum skid plates can be added to help protect the machinery underneath and the 3500 model will get its own set of the dual rear wheels to set it apart from the rest. Ensuring the driver can opt for the right setting, an electronic two-speed transfer case is installed. This allows the driver to choose between 2WD, 4WD high, and 4WD low as well as an Auto mode. This gives the driver the ability to choose based on the road or ground ahead, which setting they need.


The starting price for the All-Terrain is expected to begin around $52,000 and add an extra $7,000 for the Duramax engine setup. Even though that is a fairly large price tag, this is a massive and beautiful beast of a truck for the price that will never let any owner down or leave them stranded. Not to mention, a truck like this will be the envy of the entire neighborhood.


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Friday, November 21, 2014

House passes bill aimed at limiting “secret science” in the EPA


House passes bill aimed at limiting “secret science” in the EPA


The House of Representatives has passed legislation that prevents academic scientists on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Scientific Advisory committee from participating in “activities that directly or indirectly involve review of evaluation of their own work,” as quoted by The Huffington Post.


Bill HR-1422, also known as the Science Advisory Board Reform Act, passed the Republican-led House of Representatives with a vote of 229-191. The bill, sponsored by Representative Chris Stewart (R-UT), makes it so that a scientist cannot advise the EPA on the findings that’re contained within that scientist’s own published, peer-reviewed paper.


“HR-1422 would negatively affect the appointment of experts and would weaken the scientific independence and integrity of the SAB.” Said Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA), on Tuesday, as quoted by Inhabitat. “I get it, you don’t like science. And you don’t like science that interferes with the interests of your corporate clients. But we need science to protect public health and the environment.”


“Instead of an overly broad bill that would tie EPA’s hands, the Administration urges Congress to support the Administration’s efforts to make scientific and technical information more accessible and regulations more transparent,” said White House in a statement, as quoted by The Hill, in which it threatens to veto the legislation.


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This British company wants to crowdfund a mission to the moon


The British company wants to crowdfund a mission to the moon


Described by its creators as “the most inspirational lunar project since the Apollo landings,” a new project on Kickstarter known as Lunar Mission One is looking for £600,000 ($940,000) in crowdfunding to send an unmanned robotic landing module to a completely unexplored area of the moon, according to CNET.


Even more interesting is the fact that the ambitious project also involves drilling down to a depth of at least 20 meters, potentially as far down as 100 meters, where the spacecraft will bury a digital time capsule which should be preserved for roughly a billion years due to the conditions at the South Pole of the moon.


The time capsule isn’t the primary goal of the mission, however, it’s merely one of the ways the company plans to fund the endeavor. The mission’s primary goal is to learn more about the origins of Earth’s closest celestial body. A minimum pledge of £60 ($94) is all that’s needed to get space in the digital time capsule.


“Lunar Mission One will make a huge contribution to our understanding of the origins of our planet and the moon, and will inspire a generation to learn more about space, science and engineering, in the same way that my generation was inspired by the Apollo moon landings,” said David Iron, founder of Lunar Missions, as quoted by Space.


“It is increasingly difficult to fund space science and exploration of the kind aimed at developing understanding and knowledge,” continued Iron, as quoted by The Guardian. “We are introducing a new form of funding, and if it works we’ll have a legacy that shows it’s possible to fund these missions very differently.”


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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

NYC is turning thousands of payphones into Wi-Fi hotspots


NYC is turning thousands of payphones into Wi-Fi hotspots


A new “communications network” known as LinkNYC has announced plans to turn all of the payphones in New York City, of which there are many, into public Wi-Fi stations, according to The New York Times. The kiosks will be taller and narrower than average phone booths, but will retain the advertising space.


NYC has been trying to figure out what to do with its dilapidated payphones for quite some time. The city did a miniscule rollout of Wi-Fi hotspots at 10 phone booths back in 2012, and in 2013, the Department of Information Technology and Communications made numerous proposals for redesigning and repurposing the booths into something more useful and aesthetically pleasing.


According to Tech Crunch, the LinkNYC network is a public-private partnership between the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation and CityBridge, which is a coalition of companies that includes Qualcomm, Antenna, Comark, and Transit Wireless (the company that has installed Wi-Fi in 47 stations of the city’s subway system).


The LinkNYC kiosks will offer “up to gigabit speeds,” feature charging stations for devices, have touch screens for accessing information about the city, and allow free domestic phone calls. While the consortium hasn’t elaborated about its gigabit capabilities, and it hasn’t mentioned any attempts to secure a contract with any of the ISPs in the area.


However, according to CNET, LinkNYC plans to deploy “the fastest and largest free municipal Wi-Fi deployment in the world” and claims that it will be “more than 20 times fast than the average home Internet service in NYC” with a “seamless roaming experience from Link to Link” and adds that this will all come “at no cost to taxpayers.”


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Friday, November 14, 2014

IBM’s Watson AI will give health advice based on your DNA


IBM’s Watson AI will give health advice based on your DNA


Personal health has become the latest battleground for technology giants, from apps that track your eating habits to wearable gadgets that help you exercise, companies such as Apple and Google are touting the benefits of their health-centric technology. All of that seems gimmicky to IBM, however, as the company wants to use its artificially intelligent supercomputer to analyze your DNA and interpret the results, according to The Wall Street Journal.


The New York-based technology giant is joining forced with a startup called Pathway Genomics in order to create an advanced app that tracks your fitness and diet using DNA sequencing and Watson, IBM’s artificially intelligent machine, to give users custom health recommendations. While it certainly won’t be a replacement for a human doctor, the app will act as a tool for being healthy on a day-to-day basis, according to Market Watch.


“Say you’ve just flown from your house on the coast to a city that’s 10,000 feet above sea level,” said Pathway Genomics’s chief medical officer Michael Nova in a recent blog post, as quoted by Gizmodo. “You might want to ask how far you could safely run on your first day after getting off the plane, and at what pulse rate should you slow your jogging pace. Or say you’re diabetic and you’re in a city you have never visited before. You had a pastry for breakfast and you want to know when you should take your next shot of insulin. In an emergency, you’ll be able to find specialized healthcare providers near where you are who can take care of you.”


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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Amazon is looking for drone testing pilots in the UK


Amazon is looking for drone testing pilots in the UK


Amazon announced its ambitious plans for special package delivery drones, a project known as Amazon Prime Air, late last year but hasn’t had much to say about the project since then, until now that is. The project has numerous obstacles to overcome, but the American e-commerce giant is making progress.


According to Tech Crunch, Amazon is expanding its delivery drone testing to Cambridge, with a plan to fully staff a large research lab in the British city, expanding on the foothold that the company acquired when it bought Cambridge-based speech tech startup Evi Technologies two years ago.


“If you want to apply state-of-the-art technologies to solve extreme-scale real world problems… If you want the satisfaction of providing visible benefit to end-users in an iterative fast paced environment… This is your opportunity,” the company wrote on the career page of it’s website, as quoted by The Telegraph.


“You can expect to collaborate on test plans, plan the test evolution, and execute the flights while working closely with our flight engineering and flight test teams in Seattle. We’re looking for aerospace, systems, or other engineers with extensive UAS flight experience. Success will require attention to detail, a safety-oriented attitude, flexibility, and creative problem solving.”


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Advanced carbon-mapping could help slow deforestation in the Amazon


Advanced carbon-mapping could help slow deforestation in the Amazon


The immense jungle canopy of the Amazon simply looks like a muddled sea of green to the human eye when viewed from space, but satellites and other high-tech instruments can provide an infinitely more nuanced view of the biological Mecca, right down to the household level.


While that kind of technology seems more suited for the CIA, there’s another audience that could benefit even more from it: forest managers and scientists that’re looking to sequester as much carbon dioxide as possible, as the Amazon Rainforest absorbs a staggering amount of the carbon dioxide that’s emitted by humans and natural sources.


Unchecked logging, slash-and-burn agriculture, and fossil fuel exploration threaten to damage this crucial carbon dioxide sponge, which could have harsh consequences if not stopped. In order to combat this, scientists have published details on a new high-resolution mapping technique using satellite imagery and an airborne remote-sensing technology called Lidar.


“We found that nearly a billion metric tons of above-ground carbon stocks in Peru are at imminent risk of emission into the atmosphere due to land uses such as fossil fuel oil exploration, cattle ranching, oil palm plantations and gold mining,” said researcher, Greg Asner, as quoted by Telesur. “This new map provides the evidence needed to start negotiating in the carbon market on a bigger scale.”


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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

New “Ozzy Osbourne” frog discovered in the Brazilian Amazon


New “Ozzy Osbourne” frog discovered in the Brazilian Amazon


The first animal that pops into your mind when you think of Ozzy Osbourne most likely isn’t a frog. Instead, you’d probably think of a bat, right? A team of scientists had a similar though too, which is why when they discovered a new species of frog that mimics the sounds that bats make, they decided to name it after the legendary rock star.


According to Loudwire, the new species was discovered by Pedro Peloso and a group of colleagues during a month-long expedition into the Brazilian Amazon back in 2009. Referred to as the Bat Frog, the creature’s official scientific name is Dendropsophus ozzyi, as detailed in the journal Zootaxa.


The tiny tree frog emits a unique and highly unusual bat-like call, which was an immediate giveaway to the group of scientists that the species was unknown to science. Peloso said that he has “never heard anything like it” and, being avid fans of Black Sabbath, decided to name the two-centimeter-long species after the band’s lead singer, Ozzy Osbourne.


The new species was discovered in the Floresta Nacional de Pau-Rosa area of the Brazilian Amazon. Almost two dozen specimens were collected from three different areas, which suggests that the animal is probably common and widespread. Considering how well-explored the region is, it serves as a reminder of just how rich in biodiversity the Amazon Rainforest is.


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NASA agrees to lease the Moffett Federal Airfield to Google


NASA agrees to lease the Moffett Federal Airfield to Google


NASA has agreed to lease the Moffett Federal Airfield in the San Francisco Bay Area to Google, according to Tech Crunch. The technology giant will pay NASA $1.16 billion over the course of six decades in order to rent the 1,000-acre site, which includes a working airfield, a golf course, and numerous other buildings.


Google made the deal through Planetary Ventures, one of the company’s subsidiaries, which won the ability to negotiate for the airfield earlier this year. Ever since then, Google and NASA have been working out the terms of the agreement, which most people expected to go through, considering Google’s significant interest in acquiring the land and NASA’s equally significant interest in getting rid of it.


“As NASA expands its presence in space, we are making strides to reduce our footprint here on Earth,” NASA administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement, as quoted by The Verge. “We want to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology development and space exploration – not in maintaining infrastructure we no longer need.”


According to USA Today, Google plans to invest more than $200 million into the facility in order to refurbish the hangers and add numerous other improvements, such as an educational facility or a museum that will showcase the airfield’s history, as well as that of Silicon Valley. Planetary Ventures also will use the facility for “research, development, assembly, and testing in the areas of space exploration, aviation, rover/robotics and other emerging technologies.”


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Sunday, November 9, 2014

DARPA wants to kill the next Ebola crisis in the womb


DARPA wants to kill the next Ebola crisis in the womb


The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the research organization of the United States military which, since its founding, been tasked with developing advanced military technology. However, according to Engadget, now DARPA has turned its attention towards the Ebola crisis, or more specifically, how to prevent it from even getting off of the ground.


“We keep seeing these unexpected bio-threats pop up along the globe, and we don’t want to be in the position where we are reactive,” said Alicia Jackson, deputy director of DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, as quoted by FedScoop. “We want to be in a position where we’re building a platform technology that can be applied not just to Ebola, but the next thing.”


“DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office, which launched earlier this year, looks at biology as a technology, with a focus on harnessing living systems or integrating those systems with nonliving systems,” said Jackson, as quoted by RT. “We are trying to rethink that paradigm. We’re not just interested in solving the Ebola crisis. We want to be prepared for the next thing. We’re looking for a way to completely transform the way we’re attacking these problems, either with a vaccine or therapeutics or diagnostics.”


“We don’t just throw money over the fence and hope a good idea comes to fruition,” Jackson said. “We really work with the person who we’re funding to structure their technical project in a way that allows us to gauge and measure progress every step of the way. Biology is the most ancient and most powerful technology that we know of,” Jackson said. “It can do things that no other man-made machine or synthetic chemistry can even begin to approach in terms of the materials it can create and the functions that it can do.”


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BMW wants to recharge electric vehicles using street lights


BMW wants to recharge electric vehicles using street lights


One of the biggest issues that electric vehicles face is the lack of places to charge them up when you’re away from home. While the obvious solution would be to develop a standalone recharging network, that takes time to implement and is very costly. Fortunately, BMW has a solution that’s both easy to implement and affordable.


According to a new report from Reuters, the German automaker has developed two prototype street lights that equip a standard LED street light design with a charging socket for an electric vehicle. The idea is ingeniously simple, as it utilizes an already-existing piece of infrastructure, and could make driving an electric vehicle much more practical in urban areas.


BMW will begin a pilot project for the technology next year in its home city of Munich. The lights can be grafted directly onto the city’s existing local authority street lighting infrastructure and can be used by as many drivers as possible, regardless of the kind of electric vehicle model that a person has or the company that provides the electricity.


The German automaker has already installed two of these charging street lights in front of its headquarters. Drivers will be able to pay to charge their vehicles by using a dedicated mobile app. BMW has created some of the most advanced electric vehicles available, but the market for such vehicles has struggled to take off due to insufficient infrastructure.


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An agency is using Tinder to spread awareness of sex trafficking


An agency is using Tinder to spread awareness of sex trafficking


No Tinder user is ever certain of what they’ll see when they swipe to the right, but they certainly don’t expect to see the face of a victim of sex trafficking. However, a new campaign created by the advertising agency known as Eighty Twenty is bringing some disturbing images to the dating app in Ireland in order to raise awareness on the issue.


According to The Verge, the first few photos on the campaign’s fake profiles are exactly what you’d expect to find on a real Tinder profile, but as you swipe to the right in order to see more photos, the woman gradually begin to show realistic simulated injuries and other signs of abuse.


The last two images include a message that denounces sex trafficking and links to another organization, Turn Off The Red Light, that’s working towards having a complete ban on all forms of sex work throughout Ireland which, up until just recently, was technically legal in the country, although the public solicitation of sex was not.


“Sex trafficking is one of the most lucrative crimes with the sums involved on a par with those for drug smuggling and gun running, yet many people are not aware that it is a reality in communities right across Ireland. The Immigrant Council of Ireland is committed to using every possible opportunity to increase awareness about the activities of the thugs behind these crimes and the impact on their victims,” reads the message on the fake Tinder profiles.


“It is important that men of all ages who buy sex are made aware of the consequences of their actions. We are delighted to partner with the team at eightytwenty to bring this important message to an audience which is difficult to reach through traditional media,” the message concludes, as quoted by Jezebel.


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Friday, November 7, 2014

Thursday, November 6, 2014

OnBeep makes Star Trek communicators a reality with Onyx


OnBeep makes Star trek communicators a reality with Onyx


With Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp and Snapchat’s own multi-billion dollar valuation, messaging apps have been some of 2014’s biggest technology stories. Aside from smartphones, however, there hasn’t been much in the way of new messaging hardware, and that’s something that OnBeep wants to change, according to The Verge.


The San Francisco-based startup is mixing things up with a new wearable device called Onyx. This nifty-looking, $99.99 device is supposed to be clipped on to your clothing and allows for real-time voice communication with another person, or even a group of people, that’re also wearing an Onyx, simply press the button and begin talking.


The Onyx connects to your smartphone, iOS or Android, via Bluetooth and will work so long as your smartphone is connected to a network. The device’s battery lasts for twelve hours during heavy usage. The Onyx’s companion app allows users to manage who’s in a particular group, look up on a map where each group member is, and figure out who’s speaking.


“We’ve come up with a design that works for all kinds of people and all kinds of fabrics and that is friendly,” said Jesse Robbins, the founder and chief executive of OnBeep, as quoted by Venture Beat. “It’s easy to use. It just works. There’s not a whole lot to the app. There’s a lot of complexity underneath in order to make that happen.”


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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Of course there are 16 cars in the Starbucks drive thru when I'm in a big hurry.



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Yippee



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Formula One is testing out a “virtual safety car”


Formula One is testing out a “virtual safety car”


In the event of a dangerous situation on the race track, such as a crash or pileup, several forms of motorsport deploy a safety car which leads the race cars around the track at a safer speeds. In the wake of Formula One driver Jules Bianchi’s terrifying crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, however, Formula One officials have decided to begin testing out a system which could render safety cars obsolete, according to BBC.


After the practice rounds at the United States Grand Prix on Friday, teams tested a new “virtual safety car” program which forced the racers to reduce their speeds to about 35% less than what they would be in a normal dry lap. The idea is that this will force drivers to slow down for safety reasons without needing to deploy a safety car on the race track.


“There are positives and negatives. When you’re wheel-to-wheel and the system comes on you can’t just hit the brakes like we are now to get the speed down,” Jenson Button told Sky Sports after the test. “In that respect it’s very tricky. I like the idea but you do spend a long time looking at your steering wheel. With the way the Safety Car boards are now and with the lap that we do when there’s no Safety Car you can dip below the time and you get away with it because as long as you cross the finish line positive, you are okay.”


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Sunday, November 2, 2014