Is it hunting season on Lions?

This past week, we received news that our minister of sport was not talking out of his ass earlier this year when he said that the Southern Kings would be in the Super Rugby tournament instead of the Lions. It is now official. The Lions, my team, the current Currie Cup champions, will not be playing in the next Super Rugby tournament.

I am a Lions supporter, I am well used to disappointment and heartbreak but this is ridiculous. We have been dropped from the premier rugby tournament not because of a lack of skill or performance, but because of politics. We don’t even get the opportunity to defend our spot, it’s just done. We’re out.

How do the Kings expect to compete at this level? They never have before. The only way I can see them not making complete asses of themselves is to poach players… probably from the lions. I don’t get it. How do politicians justify messing with the sport to this extent? Surely there are more pressing matters vying for their attention? Surely the South African representatives to the Super Rugby tournament should be based on the best teams? Right?!

I have always been a Lions supporter. I will always be a Lions supporter. This tragic political decision may derail our fine rugby union and force another few years of development before we can again compete at the highest level, but you know what? I will still be a Lions supporter, even if no one in government is.

-Odd

“Sports and politics don’t mix.” –Eric Heiden 

Well done to our athletes!

 So the Olympics have just finished and we ended up with 6 medals, including 3 gold! I’d like to start off by congratulating our whole team. You guys are fantastic and we’re all proud of you!

It is a truly incredible feat, considering the relatively insignificant amount of money that our government puts into the Olympic program and the ton of political B.S. that goes on around it. I hope that our leaders pay attention to the upwelling of positive emotion coming from the populace. I hope that they decide to put some serious clout behind our athletes and out athletic programs.

Community enrichment through sport is a very solid plan for improving disadvantaged communities and could go a long way to work against the thriving criminal sector in SA. People who feel that they have an opportunity to improve their situations through sport are far less likely to fall into a life of crime.

Just a thought. Use it, don’t use it.

-Odd

“The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.” –Pierre de Coubertin

Geeks, Games and Greatness Podcast - Episode 4

Your next installment of the Podcast is here! In which we talk about Doctor Who, Horse Riding, AFDA, Animation, GeoCaching, South African politics, Microsoft Surface tablets and privacy on the internet.

As you might have noticed, we're playing around with the name. If you have a suggestion for us as to what it should be, please leave us a comment, get hold of us on twitter (@OddModlin and @i4n0fd00m) or drop us a mail (oddcastblog@gmail.com)

So have a listen, share it around and tell us what you think :)

Thanks,
-Odd

Big Brother Inc.

According to a new study performed by Krux Digital, in the last year there has been a huge surge in the number or companies and services that are following you around the Internet.

Finding out what you do on the Internet is a massive business now and you are the product. Does that freak you out a little? It should. According to the Krux Digital study, the number of companies tracking you on “popular” sites has nearly doubled in the last year and the number of “data collection events” has risen 400% in the same period.

So what is all that information being used for? Who’s checking out what we’re doing? Well… that’s just the thing: We don’t know. You are not asked if you want to give the information, it is just taken. You are not asked if you are ok with them selling the information, it’s just sold. You are not given any warning about what sites or services are tracking you or what information they’re gathering. That should trouble you, it certainly troubles me.

It is, however, not all doom and gloom. The Internet is full of smart people (as well as trolls and cats) and they are aware of the problem – The smart people… the trolls and cats would not be of much use in this instance. So if this post has got you thinking, then I suggest you head over to TED and watch a video by Gary Kovacs. He will explain the situation, give you some tools to track the people that are tracking you and offer some suggestions on how we can work against this worrying trend.

One of the major powers of the Internet is it’s anonymity. That can get irritating when we have to deal with the trolls, but ask an Egyptian or Chinese citizen about how important it is and you will see that we need to be very careful about how we let the Internet develop.

-Odd

“If you stare long into the abyss, the abyss states back into you” – Friedrich Nietzsche

The SKA

For those of you who didn't hear, the announcement for who will host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) was a while ago. The two big contenders were South Africa (with other African partners) and Australia.

In true committee style, it was decided to go for a compromise and give it to us both. >.< This may sound like a disaster, but while it complicates the management of the project - it doesn't really have any effect on the science.

The SKA is made up of many smaller radio telescopes and will use essentially two different set-ups. There will be a medium-frequency  array (hosted mostly in Africa) and a low-frequency array (hosted in Australia). The two arrays would have been technically distinct from one another even if only a single country had won the bid.

The South African portion of the SKA will be mostly in the Northern Cape, but installations will also be done in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar and Mauritius.

It's nice to see an international scientific project happening in Africa, and I just hope that it doesn't get bogged down or disrupted by politics - either international or internal.

You can find out more about the SKA at their website: http://www.skatelescope.org/

-Odd
"ET phone home"


P.S. I've added a download link to the PodCast post below... as I know I prefer listening to my 'casts in my car rather than streaming, and I'm sure you do too.

The SA Public's Silly Priorities

I'm constantly finding myself dumbstruck by the South African public. I find it fascinating (in the same way as an exploding volcano) to watch what we as a country get incensed about, what we find worthy of our attention as a group of people.

We've recently had two large upwellings of public protest about two very different issues: The whole Zuma Spear controversy and the toll roads in Jo'Burg. I've already put in my two cents about both those issues so I won't go into them again. What I interested in is that the people of South Africa obviously feel that these are the most important matters facing our country at the moment.

Seriously? Paying tolls (which happens EVERYWHERE else in the world) and a picture that is in (arguably) bad taste? That is what you think is important? Regardless of what you think of either of those issues, surely we have bigger fish to fry? Don't we have a couple blue whales sitting in the background?

Apart from nebulous concepts like crime, corruption and education there are some very serious, very specific problems that I would think take precedence over anything as trivial as what we get worked up about. For instance:

The DA recently had a match to COSATU’s head office that ended in violence when COSATU supporters clashed with the DA. We should be screaming our heads off about this! The right to protest is one of the basic freedoms that the ANC (and COSATU) fought for and it must work both ways… it’s not just the ANC and its partners that can protest.

Bheki Cele is still a member of our government. After every complaint, report and investigation, this man is still collecting a paycheck out of our pockets. The fact that he still has any form of authority is due a failure of us as a people to call for his head. You think he would still be there if we cried about that as much as we do about tolls?

The death toll on our roads is sitting at about 14000 people a year. 14000 people! We had 900 people killed in December last year. It beggars belief. Sure this is due to number of factors, but it could be significantly reduced by enforcing drinking laws and holding Taxi associations accountable for the maintenance of their vehicles.

All of these problems have solutions; they’re not nebulous policy decisions that are open to debate. All that is needed is the political will to make it happen, but that will never materialize until the South African public hold their elected officials accountable for what they do. We need to make a noise about what really matters to us… not about a stupid little painting.

-Odd

P.S. I really do love this country... I think it's the best place to be in the world, and I'll have something more positive next time :)

“Too many leaders act as if the sheep... their people… are there for the benefit of the shepherd, not that the shepherd has responsibility for the sheep.” –Ken Blanchard

Zuma’s Public Privates

In case you missed it, last week a South African artist by the name of Brett Murray exhibited a painting of Jacob Zuma with his scholng hanging out. This has caused a massive outcry in certain circles and there’s now a controversy as to whether or not the artist had a right to use Zuma’s likeness.

On principal I’m inclined to support Brett’s right to use art as a means of political protest, even if I think the painting is in poor taste, but a lot of people are up in arms about the invasion of Zuma’s privacy… I have a couple issues with that.

First off, Zuma is a public person. As president of our country he is in the public domain and must submit himself to criticism, commentary and satire: that’s just the way that a free media operates. Now, you could argue that his wedding tackle is not part of his public profile but if you look at everything he’s been up to while in the presidency (and before) then it’s not a big stretch (ah-ha) to see where the artist is coming from.

Additionally, if Zuma is really personally mortified by this painting and wants to have it removed then it is his right as a private citizen to request that. Note that I said “his right as a PRIVATE CITIZEN” – this is an important distinction, because he chose to lodge his complaint through his position as president of the ANC. In my opinion, the position of President of the ANC is a public position and so open to satire of this nature. You can’t have it both ways, JC: Either you’re a public personality that is backed by the ANC and open to satire or you’re a private citizen without political powers and a right to privacy.

This sort of situation is precisely why politicians in the first world resign at the first hint of controversy. They do that to avoid further embarrassment to themselves and their political party. With all the shenanigans that Zuma has been through in his political career, can anyone really say that they didn’t see this coming? Really?

-Odd

“The first 20 stories written about a public figure set the tone for the next 2000 and it’s almost impossible to reverse it.” –Charles W. Colson

Imagine

Imagine a political party that offers rebates when the systems aren’t working, and services aren’t being delivered, we do pay for essential services after all. To mention the hyper-ten-shin. Nothing grates me more than seeing municipal budget being blown on repairing the damage caused by striking municipal workers instead of much needed developments and upgrades, all the while my rubbish piles up outside my front door. And its coming out of my pocket, surely, when my power is out, or my garbage is standing, the local government should be refunding me for the services I haven’t received. . Anyway, that’s my bitching done, but I can, cause I vote.

Actually, no, I'm not done. I want to talk about delegated authority. As a legal entity, when I vote I am delegating my authority (to make legal and financial decisions) to a person, who represents a party. I choose this party because I believe their values are in line with my own and therefore they will most suitably represent MY needs and desires. However, that party won't necessarily "win" the election process. Therefore the party whose "values" most suitably align with the majority stands to make my decisions for me. I don't like that, not one little bit. I did not delegate my authority to you money hungry, gravy train riding, under educated and over inflated, blood sucking morons. Yet you reserve the right to spend my tax money on ineffective and outright idiotic ideas, and then, you tax me even more. You tax me for driving to work so that I can earn a living, then you tax me on that too. Then you tax me on the groceries I buy to feed my family, and double tax me on the cigarettes I smoke to cope with all the fucking taxes. I most certainly did not delegate my authority to you, and most certainly not for the above mentioned reasons.

-Simon

Thoughts on democracy

So we've got our local government elections coming up tomorrow. Which is great because there's a possibility that together we can make a change for the better... and the fact that we get a public holiday doesn't hurt either.

I was chilling out with some friends yesterday and I made a comment about voting and one of the guys said that he isn't going to vote because he's protesting 'the system'. I had to restrain myself from strangling him on the spot...

I almost wasn't successful...

Give me a second to calm down...

...

...

...

Ok, I'm fine... Homicidal impulse controlled... nothing to see here... move along.

Sure, democracy isn't the perfect form of government... but it's the best we've got, and it only works if everyone participates. I think it was Alexis de Toqueville who said that we get the government we deserve and that really strikes a cord with me.

In a democratic system (even one like ours that is heavily weighted towards one party) the public are responsible for the people governing them and only though continuous pressure and engagement can we ever hope to improve the woeful governance we experience.

Personally, I'm hoping that the DA can take Joburg... or at least some the municipalities in Gauteng, but if they don't I'll go back next time and cast my vote again... in hope... and in the knowledge that if I don't, nothing will ever change.

And if you don't vote, you can't complain - about anything - period. If I hear you complaining and you didn't vote... I probably won't try to control my reaction.

-Odd

"A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation" -James Freeman Clarke

In the News:

Sweden to replace stamps with SMS - great new use of existing technology.

Researchers show method to disable cellphones by SMS - as cellphones become more advanced, they become exposed to the same dangers as computers... this is worrying.

Google gives Japan a hand with People Search - Great lateral thinking here. Putting existing technology to work, helping during a time of crisis. Google FTW.

Laser scribing to create better solar cells - anything that provides clean energy (without the risk of melt-down) has to be a good thing.

Cuba sentences a US citizen for setting up Internet connections - Disturbing, yes, but not inconceivable. We've recently seen the effect that the free transfer of information over the internet has had on dictatorships.

In The News:

Video Games: An hour a day is key to success in life - see... I told you I was working!!

Israeli General claims credit for StuxNet worm - A retiring general from Israel has been credited with instigating the StuxNet worm which attacked Iranian nuclear facilities... wow.... I never thought I'd see someone own up to it.

Too many Facebook friends causes stress - hmmm.... maybe I'm damaged... but if I only see you online... I don't really care... but it's still and interesting article.

Anything you search for can and will be used against you in a court of law - wow.. .this is seriously scary... so much for the anonymous and neutral nature of the 'net.

The Khan Academy is the future of education - This is an absolutely incredible idea!!! With the lack of effective teaching in this country... We should really jump into this program.

Peaceful Protests

The last few weeks have seen the Egyptian population hold a (mostly) peaceful protest to oust the dictatorship ruling their country and to call for a more democratic government.

Sure, there were a few sporadic instances of violence, but considering the sheer number of people involved, those are negligible.... and it worked. Due to their peaceful protest, Mubarak has stepped down and they will (hopefully) be having democratic elections in the next few months.

Theirs is an example that I wish we could emulate in this country.

We've also been having demonstrations in South Africa this week... union action... a strike. This protest is not about freedom, democracy or liberty... it's about money. So you would think that we would be at least as well behaved as our Egyptian friends who were quite literaly fighting for their future. Right?

Wrong.

There has been massive violence, with people being dragged out of their cars and beaten. It's sickening and frankly makes me ashamed. Is a few extra rand a month really worth turning into a howling barbarian for?

It seems that every time a large trade union strikes in South Africa, we have looting, violence and mob rule. It's crazy... if the unions can't control their members, then they should not be allowed to strike... the right to strike does not (or rather, should not) cancel out the rule of law.

Maybe the new Lead SA initiative of a bill of responsibility will work. I hope it does. We in South Africa need to stop shouting about our rights and start realising that those rights also come with responsibilities... and not rioting, not looting and not beating the crap out of your countrymen are definately on that list!

Anyway... enough ranting... I love this country... and I know others do too. It's only a few idiots who always seem to ruin things. So I'm going to put out a call to the striking union members (not that I think they read my blog): If you see someone at your rally that is about to do something illegal or immoral: jump on him! kick him in the head! you will get far more support from the public if you show that you can actually hold a peaceful protest.

-Odd

"I contend that non-violent acts exerts pressure far more effective than violent acts, for the pressure comes from goodwill and gentleness." -Mahatma Gandhi

South African politics and the official opposition

With our municipal elections coming up soon, I'd like to talk a little bit about our political landscape, and my views on it.

I personally think that democracy is the least flawed form of government, and that our specific flavour of it in South Africa is more flawed than it has to be.

We don't live in a multi-party democracy... sure it says that on paper, but practically there is only one party: the ANC. This is due to the fact that they are still seen as the revolutionary party and so a majority of the constituency will continue to vote for them out of a sense of responsibility. "They gave us freedom, so we must continue to vote for them." This view continues despite the massive heap of broken promises piled around the ANC... In fairness, a lot of those promises were absolutely impossible to keep... but that simply means they shouldn't have been made in the first place.

Now I'm not resting all of our governmental ills entirely on the ANC: our illustrious 'official opposition', the DA, haven't exactly lived up to my expectations either. They may well be better at the administration that is required of government (Cape Town seems to be thriving), but as a political party they've left me disappointed. Their entire platform seems to be ANC bashing and that irritates me. I have very little idea of their platform, what they stand for (besides the mandatory generalistaions like more jobs, less crime and the like), or what their plan would be if they, by some miracle, got elected to national government. Sure... I could probably track down all that detail, but I don't think it's my responsibility. If they want my vote, then they should be the ones chasing after me. If they're not willing to put in the effort to get my vote, how much work will they do for me after they've got it?

Not that I see much alternative... and that's where the major problem lies. The social ills of crime, corruption, greed and graft all seem to point to a lack of leadership in this country. We have no one to point to and say, "Look! he/she/it is doing the right thing, so I will follow their example."

Despite all this moaning and complaining, I urge all of you to make sure that you're registered to vote (you can sms your ID number to 32810 to check), and turn out to vote on the day.

If you don't vote, you can't complain. Period.

-Odd

"A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." -Theodore Roosevelt

Appalling Ignorance

Last Friday night found me at a (truly epic, supremely awesome) party, but I'm not going to blog about how many drinks I had/ numbers I got/ fights I fought. What I'm going to blog about is ignorance.

I'm not sure how the topic came up, but I made some offhand comment about what's happening in Egypt... and I truly hope that by now all of the people reading this blog know what I'm talking about, because no-one I was chatting with at the time did. Inconceivable!

So, throughout the course of the evening, I accosted various groups of people at the party and asked them what they thought of the situation in Egypt (yes, I'm that weird guy at the party that you try to avoid eye contact with). The final result? I found two people who knew what was happening (both already friends of mine. Naturally.)

It blew my mind... here was a group of my supposed peers who had absolutely no idea. Sure: we were at Bohemians and a large proportion of the crowd were students starting a heavy weekend and so may not technically be peers of mine anymore, but they're STUDENTS, their entire purpose is supposed to be the accumulation of information (if not knowledge).

I don't understand how, in the modern era of the syndication, communication and community of information, people around me could be so unaware of the world around them.

Colour me shocked... It was still an awesome party though ^^;

-Odd

"He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice." - Albert Einstein

In The News:

Manchester airport introduces hologram staff - that's right, if you travel through Manchester airport, you can be directed, assisted and reminded of security procedures by a helpful hologram... so cool!

520 day mock Mars mission nears landing - they're doing a dry run... that must mean we're pretty close to actually going... anyone besides me want to go to Mars?

Google beats Bing at Jeopardy questions - who would win if search engines played this popular US game show? Google of course!

Egyptians find new ways to get online - with all the unrest in Egypt, the government shut down the internet... which is troubling in and of itself... but as this article shows: The flow of information is far more robust than most people think.

Fernando Torres signs for Chelsea for 50 million pounds - 50 MILLION POUNDS?! For a guy that can kick a ball around a little? As signs of the apocalypse go... in my book this one is right up there with rains of blood and the appearance of the angel of death.

In the News:

MySpace is up for sale - ...but as the article says.... who the hell would want to but it?

New wave of Office robots - ... coming to take your job soon?

Flying robots - more robots coming... and these ones can build more robots... they look kinda cute... not scary at all

worm remote controlled by laser - yep... and organic organism being remote controlled by laser... who thinks this stuff up?

Israel/US confirm testing StuxNet - and here I thought that China was winning the digital arms race.

Leapfrog Technologies

Looking at how the successful emerging economies (read China) are doing things, I can't help but think that South Africa is missing a trick.

Leapfrogging (in terms of national policy and technology) is the process of adopting next generation technologies instead of implementing those that are currently being used by the developed world. This process would include initiatives such as renewable energy projects, and emphasis on computing and robotics programs.

China's making a big push to use these "leapfrog" technologies to get an edge over the US, and as we're soon to become part of B.R.I.C.(S), we should be following suit, yes? That would make sense? ... but no... we're still building coal based power stations, and looking to the west and Europe for our business models.

I think this is a major oversight by our "leaders", and stems from simple short-sightedness. 50-100 years from now, South Africans will be looking at the new global economic powerhouses (China, Japan, South Korea), and wondering where our development went wrong...

-Odd

"To be thrown upon one's own resources, is to be cast into the very lap of fortune; for our faculties then undergo a development and display an energy of which they were previously unsusceptible" -Benjamin Franklin

Getting into the spirit

Wow.... Christmas has really ninja'd me this year, I'm left working till the end of the year and not having finished any of my gift shopping. Oi-vey!

If you're expecting a gift from me this season, don't be surprised if you get an I.O.U. ... but then, if you're a friend or relative of mine, you probably know me well enough that you don't need that warning, do you?

I'd like to wish everyone a happy festive season and urge you to experience the holiday in it's true meaning. So instead of spending all of your time stressing about presents, family politics or getting the house 'just right' for visitors: take a step back and enjoy being with your family and friends. You can't have quality time with someone if your mind is a thousand miles away running through a department store trying to get those last minute presents.

In The News:

Microsoft kills Office anti-piracy program - they've realised that irritating their customers isn't a good thing? ..... nah.... must be another reason.

US Army considers giving all soldiers a smart phone - Are you at war? There's an app for that.

North Korea warns that any conflict with the south would go nuclear - freaking scary.

Japan's low-cost space program is pushing boundaries - Sugoi! big ups.

First measurement of the magnetic field in the earth's core - of course, measurement is only the first (very small) step towards understanding.

Word of the Week:

Mephitic - Adjective

1. poisonous; foul


2. foul-smelling; putrid

Happy holidays everyone.... have fun, but be smart! Don't drink and drive and watch yourselves on the road... I insist that you all are alive next year to keep reading this blog... so if you get yourself killed, I'll never talk to you again!

-Odd

"The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn't for any religious reasons. They couldn't find three wise men and a virgin." - Jay Leno

On violent protests and censorship

This week has seen a continuation of what seems to be a national theme for those of us in South Africa: the violent protest. The latest has come from students down in Durban, protesting for better bus transport and food at the university, but my personal favorite was a couple years ago when a group protesting against poor public transport burned trains and buses... it's utterly fantastic... I find that I'm simply not able to grasp the mentality that would be capable of such dark humor.

At first I thought that a stronger police action was needed. Break up unregistered protests before they turn violent, deny protest permits to groups or organisations that have a history of violence and come down HARD on anyone who does get violent. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well... maybe not.

Violence, as Asmiov wrote, is the last refuge of the incompetent, but sometimes it may be necessary. It can be argued that for a long time in South Africa it was necessary, and so it will take a long time to filter out of out society. What worries me is that it's the youth that is getting violent... far more violent than their preceding generation, this has to be a failure of education... which imperils our fragile outlook for the future.

On the other hand, we have the case of Google vs China. The search mega-corporation has finally stood up the dictatorial state, redirecting all users in China to the unfiltered search of their Hong Kong site. China has since censored these results, blocking searches or results as suits them. Did the Chinese students embark on a violent protest to reclaim their right to information (which, personally i think is far more important than an earlier bus ride or easy access to sandwiches)? No... there has been, as far as I can see, zero reaction from the Chinese public.

There must exist some reasonable middle ground somewhere between the mob ruled chaos and the Orwellian government control, but how do we judge? And once we've found the blueprint for such a prefect society, we need to introduce it to the single greatest problem facing good governance..... people.

In the news:

First Flight For SpaceShip Two - Virgin Galactic's new spaceship did it's first atmospheric test flight on Monday... we're getting close to the fabled commercial space flight.

Does This Headline Know You're Reading It? - the building of Text 2.0, where whatever you're reading can tell where you're looking and add video, sound, translation or explanation as needed. It also raises some question about how much we really want our computers to know. Cool article.

Has Emily Howell Passed the Musical Turning Test? - WOW!!!!!! you have to read this, and listen to the music! An AI computer program that creates wholely original, beautiful music!

NASA Mars Rover Getting Smarter as it Gets Older - a great application of AI.

To Mars and back -- as real as it gets - a group of astronoughts do a full scale simulation of a mars mission.

Hey... I managed to post before friday, Woot! I haven't done much work on the Necromunda board, and my internet connection at home is down (thank you telkom), so I haven't been playing wow.... missing my gorgeous lady.

-Odd

The three laws of journalism are:

1) Inform the public of matters of public import.

2) Entertain the audience, when it does not interfere with the first law.

2) Sneak in puns when it does not interfere with the first two laws, unless it's a really good one.

-Mat Boyd (http://www.threepanelsoul.com/)

Evolutionary Politics

The State of the Nation address that our bold leader Zuma gave last week was a joke. I haven't heard a single person who was happy with it. A reiteration of ANC dogma was NOT what the thinking people of South Africa were looking for in this troubled time. I for one was hoping for something a little more concrete, not load of promises about how our government will create jobs, fix the economy and bring us all breakfast in bed, I wanted to know exactly how they planned to pull it off.

In South Africa we are all afflicted with the curse of Revolutionary Politics... as I see it, this means that the people who fought for freedom, having achieved it, have no idea what to do with it. Instead of actually working for the betterment of their country, government officials seem content to make empty promises and fill their not-so-empty pockets. This won't change until the electorate gets fed up enough to stop voting as if we were still under apartheid... until they realise that, while the ANC has done great things in the past, they don't have the capability or the motivation to lift South Africa to a more prosperous future.

It's not all the ANC's fault though, the opposition hasn't exactly covered itself in glory either. Where are the alternative plans? Where is the mass educational drive that will teach the disadvantaged masses about the real power of the vote and how democracy is supposed to work?

Still.... I suppose it's better to have a government that does nothing, rather than one that actively goes out of it's way to screw things up. As long as they keep that kid Julius muzzled, I'll be content (if not happy).

In the News:

How long till human level AI - a nice article about a survey of industry leaders, asking when they think we'll take the big step

Six-legged Robot Teaches Itself to Walk - a neat new robot ^^

Appeals Court Rules On Internet Obscenity Standard - The californian courts have set a worrying precedient with this one.

Where's Your Flying Car (and Your Jetpack)? - apparently... they're nearly here... Cool!

Fall Into A Black Hole At the Speed Of Light With New Simulator - a couple scienctists have developed a graphic simulation of what happens at the event horizon of a black hole. Nice.

Mixing Man and Machine - the world's first cyborg (now ex-cyborg) talks about artificially enchancing the human race.

Digital/Real World cross over - A huge step in Augmented reality, you HAVE TO watch this! it's a very different approach, and I'm seriously considering trying to build a similar rig. This guy is my new hero.

Brain Surgery Linked To Sensation of Spirituality - quite troubling if you're the religous sort (or maybe not... depends on how much of a control freak you think God is, i guess).

Scrapheap Transhumanism - this dude is seriously whacked... I, for one, would not have the balls to do this.

In an unrelated matter, I had an Epicly Awesome weekend... I officially have the coolest girlfriend in the world... so sorry for the rest of you guys ^^. Hope you enjoyed the post. As always: If you've got a comment post it, and if you enjoyed it... click the link on the right to follow... and tell your friends ^^

-Odd

"What do you mean I could be the president, of the United States of America? Tell me something, it's still WE, THE PEOPLE right?" -Megadeth, Peace Sells.