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| Notice: GeekPress is back up and running, thanks to Paul! It's still a not-so-serious tech news blog, but the format is significantly looser. Diana, having given up programming for philosophy, has her own philosophical blog NoodleFood. More of her work can be found at DianaHsieh.com. |
| 3D ultrasound shows baby's face |
| 1:40:54 am mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in medicine / source BBC News 97 hits / 1 comment / 1 e-mail |
| Advanced 3-D ultrasound technology can provide realistic-looking images of fetal anatomy, including the face. The article includes a comparison of a prenatal ultrasound with a postpartum photograph of the baby's face. |
| As I've always said about advanced radiology technology, "It's like cheating!" |
| read 1 comment |
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| Unintentionally Destructive Comic Book Characters |
| 4:36:44 am mst / 31 January 2001 found by diana / filed in humor / source Daily Radar 147 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Daily Radar takes a look at the 15 most unintentionally destructive comic book characters. Not all are engaged in property damage: #5, Richie Rich destroys "his poor friend's self-esteem." |
| Where is The Tick?!? Where is The Tick?!? |
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| Crossing the language barrier |
| 5:07:45 am mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in internet / source Miami Herald 33 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Online translators are becoming extremely popular among e-mail correspondents who don't speak each other's languages. Despite the well-known (and sometimes humorous) imperfections of machine translation, many people find them invaluable. |
| The machine translation problems are even worse with speech, as demonstrated here. |
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| Morning coffee break may decrease productivity |
| 8:23:38 am mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in science / source BBC News 51 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Scientists are claiming that morning and afternoon coffee breaks may decrease one's ability to concentrate and be productive, both due to the direct stimulant effect of caffeine as well as the mild dehydration that follows from drinking coffee. |
| Of course, the study was sponsored by a mineral water company. Caveat emptor... |
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| Kitchen secrets for busy tech professionals |
| 8:47:33 am mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in culture / source San Jose Mercury News 175 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Busy technology professionals often find that they don't have enough time to cook proper meals. One CEO and mother of two tells her kitchen secrets. |
| Tip #3: "Take vitamins to make up for badly balanced meals." Martha Stewart she ain't! |
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| Right-wing Technological Dread |
| 11:03:32 am mst / 31 January 2001 found by diana / filed in politics / source Reason 76 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Ronald Bailey takes a hard look at Adam Wolfson's conservative article on the dangers of technological progress ("Politics in the Brave New World"). Bailey examines the roots of conservative dread the of scientific progress, particularly the "progressive demystification of the world that science has brought about" and the "fear that technology will fundamentally transform what they believe to be 'human nature.'" |
| A very interesting look at how political ideology influences a person's view of technology. |
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| Metric system thriving in nation's inner cities |
| 1:20:42 pm mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in humor / source The Onion 131 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| From the (spoof) article: "Despite other academic shortcomings, inner-city youths possess a firmer grasp of the metric system than their peers in suburban and rural areas, according to a Department Of Education study released Monday." |
| I like the graphic showing 0.25 kilos, 9 mm, and 10 cc. |
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| Space babies |
| 3:19:52 pm mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in space / source New Scientist 41 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| NASA and JPL scientists are designing a new generation of space probes that can withstand the harsh environment by "mutating" and "evolving" their circuitry with genetic algorithms to adapt to changing external circumstances. |
| I like the name for this new kind of circuitry -- "embryonics". |
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| MS Says Linux Has No Future; Linux Industry Gives Up |
| 3:41:58 pm mst / 31 January 2001 found by diana / filed in humor / source SatireWire 153 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| From the article: "Chastened Linux executives pledged to stop their 'crazy dreaming' and disband their efforts Wednesday after an executive from Microsoft proclaimed Linux was doomed, and openly questioned whether the free, rival operating system should exist." |
| Don't miss the real story. It's almost as crazy as this satire! |
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| Smooth sex |
| 7:01:59 pm mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in fun / source Salon 280 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| "Everything you've always wanted to know about lubrication but were afraid to ask." |
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| Rumor-seeking bots to roam web |
| 8:16:41 pm mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in internet / source BBC News 23 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| Swiss company Agence Virtuelle has developed a software robot that sends out autonomous agents to scour the web looking for the sources of rumors and gossip, checking time stamps on bulletin boards and discussion groups to see when and where various items originated. The RumorBot is expected to help those seeking the origins of libelous remarks, bogus press releases, etc. |
| As the article notes, one major weakness is the inability to track anonymous posting. If the RumorBot becomes widely used, it will merely create an incentive for others to develop more anonymous forums and remailers. |
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| Matt Groening |
| 11:36:00 pm mst / 31 January 2001 found by paul / filed in culture / source Salon 147 hits / 0 comments / 0 e-mails |
| A great profile of Matt Groening, creator of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama". As the article notes, "Were it not for the clueless executives, the inane network decisions, the petty betrayals at the hands of people who benefit from his success, he might have stagnated by now." |
| Another tidbit which I didn't know: "Groening grew up in Portland, Ore., with a father named Homer, a mother named Marge and sisters named Maggie and Lisa." |
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