Synthetic Life
I heard about this yesterday in the news but thought I'd post the TED video of the announcement. Indeed, this is a philosophical shift in how we view life. Humanity has now taken its first step toward creating new life not from an existing organism but pretty much from scratch using basic building blocks.
This has, of course, divided the scientific community. Is this opening Pandora's Box? Is this playing God? Or is this something that could offer solutions to things we could not solve before? I am both intrigued and worried about the implications this has in terms of the environment, medicine, and everyday life in the future. Too much CO2? Here, use this special synthetic algae! Lost an arm? Code in your DNA sequence and this vat of amino acids, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and fats will grow you a new one!
Okay, maybe that last one is a little extreme for my lifetime. Or not? Create a synthetic sperm and an egg, use a surrogate mother, and there you go. Also, the potential for bioterrorism is real here. Imagine making a cell that thrives on asphalt and concrete. There goes a city's infrastructure. Yeah, that example was from Oryx and Crake.
Anyway, the first step has been taken and we can only guess where this leads. I hope the rigor of ethics approval for future projects is as strong, if not stronger, as the two year process given to this project.
TTC and Twitpic
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/01/22/snoozing-ttc.html
We have come to a point where going outside means not just being in the public eye of the city you are in but also in the public eye of the Internet world.
One picture on Twitpic has caused quite a stir, leading up to paper newspapers running a whole-page story and a subsequent TTC review on the incident. This could potentially cost him his job (and thus, the ability to pay the mortgage and support the kids) which would really suck in this climate of unemployment.
Though, of course, it was not the intent of the photographer to take someone's job away. He found it funny and I am sure so did a lot of people.
But it illustrates the growing fact that no matter where we are, we need to be aware of our behaviour. Anyone with a cell phone camera can pull this off. So don't act like a fool in public.
This also means we must consider the ramifications of posting something on the Internet. You are speaking to a global community and could easily offend anyone. I take a lot of photos of my "adventures" / daily life but I don't post them all up on Twitpic (just mainly of delicious meals I eat, haha).
I consider, to the best of my ability, whether I am violating anyone's privacy (subjects in the background/foreground) and any other possible consequences before posting.
And well, on two extremes, maybe the guy above will still be enjoying his sleep not worrying about an inquiry or there may be sweeping reform changes throughout the TTC staff in the months to come.
1TB 2.5″ HDD – So Much Stuff Right in Your Pocket
I didn't know these existed till today. I'm a little slow on this part I think. But wow, 1TB in a USB-powered (no bulky AC adapter) enclosure. These were out in July 2009.
That means I could possibly have 2TB within my future notebook - yes, I am buying a new one very soon. I cannot stand my Asus Z70Va from 2005 anymore. I'll write about the new laptop once it is formally announced at CES 2010.
With this new laptop, I hope I can finally start working on two projects I have in my mind. Believe me, trying to video edit on my current laptop has been trying and I just don't have the patience any more. Hope I can get some things done for my Youtube channel sometime later this year. Haha.
Magnus Larsson: Turning Sand Dunes into Architecture
Applying microbiology to saving the world from desertification. A project of this size (building a sand wall across Africa) is full of challenges but I find his proposal to be scientifically and economically sound. In Oryx and Crake (Atwood), I read about microorganisms modified to destroy asphalt and thus were weapons of bioterrorism as they destroyed highways and infrastructure. Here, microorganisms are employed in a beneficent fashion that has far-reaching and widespread consequences from geography to politics.
Loss of arable land is a major concern as we struggle to feed the world population. Loss of greenery can only lead to more greenhouse gases staying up in the air, which leads to climate change. Starving refugees from these areas become concentrated within refugee camps, becoming a prime breeding ground for new diseases and viruses (higher opportunity for mutations with less healthy people in close proximity). Politically, famine brings about civil unrest, political conflict, scapegoating and genocide, and war. I could ramble on about the ramifications and the interacting forces at work here but the "big picture" forming in my mind could fill a novel.
This project has a lot of hurdles to overcome but it certainly has an aspect of "set it and forget it". Once you culture the bacteria, nature will take care of the rest. Now it's up to the nations to band together to allow this project to go forward.
I personally believe that throwing money at Africa in the form of foreign aid and food is doing absolutely nothing, to say the least, or is merely a band-aid fix, to say the most. With so much corruption prevalent in so many African governments, much of the aid provided never reaches those who need it most. We must solve the rampant corruption so we can help them help themselves. In other words, we must teach them to fish.
This is Why I Do My Own PC Repairs
From Engadget:
"Sure, it seems like a no-brainer, but when Sky News in the UK dropped a brand new laptop off at several repair shops in London (equipped with a key logger and sneaky video recording software) they caught employees accessing personal data, hacking accounts for banking and social networking sites, and charging for unnecessary work. Who would've thunk it, right? For their next report, the news team is going to investigate whether or not the iPozh is actually manufactured by Apple."
Update: Now with video!
Another reason why I don't trust retail repair services. And if I must go to someone else, I only go through manufacturer's warranty and after I get all my important data off.
Once Science Fiction
"Space, the final frontier." - Dubbed "Spaceport America", the world's first spaceport breaks ground and begins construction in New Mexico. The above is a rendering of what it will look like. Next thing we know, we see spacedocks building the USS Enterprise. 
This kind of technology where a screen is powered wirelessly (radio frequency) makes us that much closer to a world looking a lot like Minority Report. Driver's licences and passports with animated pictures of yourself! Newspapers that update their stories right before your eyes!
I just realized, is that a Gattaca reference? "Specimen card". Maybe I'm mixing up movies again. I would be very sad if J.K. Rowling attempts to sue and hold back technological progress. Haha.
From Gizmodo,
"It looks like a nondescript battery, but this is actually the world's smallest GPS, GSM and RF tracking device.
The recently released CATS.i measures just 45mm x 35mm x 12mm, and makers say it can be used to track cars, pets and even people. Given that they also claim this is the "most covert" tracking device of its type and is "almost undetectable when being worn", I'm not sure I want to know who their normal customers are.
The device uses a built-in GSM sim chip to report back its GPS data, either constantly or at set intervals, which can then be tracked online. It is battery powered but can also be hardwired to vehicles, or even solar power—though the makers don't specify how. Quad band GSM, GSP and RF ensures you should be able to monitor the people you are stalking—sorry, tracking—wherever they go."
So, basically, someone could reverse pickpocket one of these on me and track me wherever I go with a cell phone. Wow. I'm going to be super paranoid now especially with old tricks like casually bumping into me or the "hot girl" distraction. Nah, I'm not that important.
