Reminsing ....

Not sure if I spelled that word correctly but whatever. I found myself thinking a lot about my childhood today. Friends I made, and in turn friends I lost. Over the years people have moved on and become just a memory. The thing is I still remember those faces, names. I remember vividly toys I played with, and people I hung out with. I even remember something of the politics of the era.I think found myself thinking about the last few years that I've been in school.

Again, I vividly remember people I hung out with, things we did, faces I saw. Granted this is a little more recent than my childhood, but still I vividly remember these things. I remember the good with the bad. As much as I try to shove things down, something happens to bring those painful memories up again and break that wound wide open.I discovered today that life is made up of hellos and goodbyes. Everyday you meet new people, make new friends. Every day you have an impact on everyone you see. Think about that. Just try to wrap your puny little brain around that conept. How many people a day do you some how come into contact with them? Fifty, a hundred? Every one of those people you've impacted in some way. If for only a brief moment. Somtimes it is those brief moments that can have the biggest impact on a life.

I still remember things that were said to me by people I have long since lost contact. I remember in detail things that were said to me a yea and a half ago when I was trying hard to screw my life up. I remember a lot of things people have said to me, for better or worse. The thing is people, our time on this earth is short, very short. We only have a few moments to impact a life to our God. Things we say, do, thinks will have an impact for years to come.

Life isn't just about that, it's also about letting go. We have to learn to let go of those people that we have impacted. Place them in God's hands, they are no longer in our control, nor were they ever. People can be stupid yes, but just because we have a God who is in control of the earth taking care of people doesn't mean we just leave people to their own devices. It is imperative that we get in our family's face when they screw up. No matter how many times they screw up. Do not write off your friends simply because they screwed up. God has them on a program, you can help. You can impact your friends for God by simply getting in their face.

Now I'm not saying it's a good idea to do this to the general public, but sometimes a smile, touch of the hand, a quick prayer, simple things can make all the difference in the world. So as this year comes to a close think about how many people you've come into contact with, and how many negative and postive impacts you've made on the lives of those people.

Stop complaining, people! We live in a bounteous land ruled by brilliant intellectuals

New Delhi-based economist Ajay Shah has a fascinating column in India's Business Standard (via Bayesian Heresy) in which he makes the case that the current financial troubles in the U.S. may bring a recession, but can't really be called a crisis. I recommend reading the whole thing, but here are a couple of key passages:

In such difficult times, why is the US economy still rolling with the punches? Why has the US economy not collapsed in a mire of failed firms, finger-pointing by government agencies, morchas in the streets, and JPC inquiries? Understanding how this shock is being absorbed, and the equilibriating forces in play, is important in making a call on whether this is a crisis or a mere recession.

In the idealised world of securitisation, a parcel of home loans is converted into securities, which are then sold into the broad market. The ownership of these securities is dispersed amidst international hedge funds, pension funds, etc. The originator of the home loan is largely immune to the outcome : if a default takes place, the losses are borne by the owners of the securities.
Many critics of securitisation have pointed out that this theory has not quite panned out as expected. However, at the same time, there is no doubting the fact that securitisation has given a substantial dispersion of the $400 billion loss. For this reason, the impact of the massive loss on the US financial system is not as large as it might otherwise have been.

A JPC appears to be a Joint Parliamentary Committee, a morcha is a "public demonstration for conveying a protest or making a demand." I'd say we've already had the equivalent of a few JPC inquiries in the U.S., with many more yet to come. As for morchas, those are probably coming, too--although they'll remain pretty calm affairs unless the economy gets really bad.

The point about securitization is really interesting. As lots of smart folks have been saying lately, we've got an insolvency problem. But it may be dispersed so widely that relatively few financial institutions are in fact insolvent.

Then there's this gem from Shah:

Unlike many countries which have experienced crises, monetary policy in the US is manned by brilliant intellectuals like Ben Bernanke and Fred Mishkin. Few people in the world understand the interplay between monetary policy and financial sector difficulties as well as them.

Fed governor Mishkin goes by Rick, not Fred (his full name is Frederic). But whatever--he is really smart, and Bernanke (whom I don't know nearly as well) seems to be too. I'm generally hesitant to place all too much trust in smarts. But I guess it's better than putting trust in dumbs.

Stop complaining… Here is a way to make new India!”

We see many people complaining about the system in India mostly tracing the roots down to the corruption and inefficiency of the politicians. First of all, we all know very well that we have a very little choice of electing the right people in the local elections (either MPs or MLAs, for the reasons of money, muscle power, etc.). We do not have the chance of directly electing Head of the Government (Chief Minister or Prime Minister). The elected MPs/MLAs will elect the head of the government. The so-called elected head of the government has to please the MLAs/MPs and it is where most of his time and efforts are spent. His direct responsibility to the voters of the state/country is of second priority for him. It has been obvious in many situations that the head of the government is not a choice of majority voters. This system of elections has showed us its dangerous draw backs. For example, if a party has good candidate to serve as a Prime Minister, he can not become the PM unless that party gains the majority in the country/state elections. In practise, the present indirect election of the head of the government has become a dangerous procedure pulling things like money, muscle power, cast based politics, etc. into any kind of elections. In electing the head of the government we observe the regional and cast feelings are raised most of the times.

Here we are talking about one cause of inefficient governance in the country; but there are many more which has completely changed the political culture over the years. Many of us understand some/most of the causes and there are few probably with some solutions. But until recently, it has not been possible for anyone to put them into actions for the reasons of courage and practicality. Though there are many interested people, the like-minds are scattered and lack of knowledge of the methodology prevents them finding out any practical ways of putting their ideas into actions. Here is a way paved for such people… LOKSATTA - the party! Loksatta has realized that the basic problem can only be solved by cleansing the present political culture and that is the change, apart from the economic growth, that India needs at this moment to sustain its position as a stable nation in the emerging world.

From “Self-governance” to “Good Governance”

Once India fought against its foreign rulers for “Self-governance”. It is the time for its people to go for another revolution on its own corrupted political culture to bring “Good-governance”.

THE LOKSATTA PARTY
Loksatta party, the off-spring of the Loksatta - Peoples’ movement for Good Governance, aims at bringing-in a new culture in the Indian politics. It consists of people who have/have been working as government servants at various capacities and understood the functionality and administration of the state government. Apart from their experience they are overwhelmingly dedicated to see a purer tomorrow, the self-less visions once our great leaders had.

After launching several successful campaigns and programmes to pressurize the present governments to bring-in better governance methods/policies, Loksatta - the non-partisan movement- has come forward to cleanse the system by providing a political party with high values. It is our time to stop complaining, but to come into action to do whatever little we can!

Links:
www.loksatta.org,
www.voteindia.org

Deal with People Who Always Complain - wikiHow

Deal with People Who Always Complain - wikiHow

How to Deal with People Who Always Complain

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

There are a lot of lame people out there who like to whine and complain about others for no reason. This step by step guide will (hopefully) help you get over it.

Steps

1. If you're being complained about for something you're sure you didn't do, then it's not your problem. Realize that YOU are not the problem, it's the one complaining who has a problem. That's right, they have a problem.
   
2. Ignore them. Chances are, they are complaining about you because they are jealous of you.
   
3. Don't let their complaining get to you. Make your face neutral, put on the 'I don't give a crap about it' look. Thinking that you are a brick wall and they're the rubber ball might work. Rubber balls bounce off brick walls.
   
4. Ask them to put their complaint in writing. Tell them that it is important that they only state the facts, not their feelings. Then encourage them to give their comments to the person(or persons) who can actually do something about their complaint. Nine times out of ten, they will stop complaining and they won't write anything down.
   
5. Think of them as a three year old. Their life is more suited to a little kid than a teenager because all they do is whine and complain for no reason.
   
6. Lastly, If you must walk by the complainers, walk by them with your friends. You will be less of a target.
   

Tips

• Here are some reasons about why people who whine & complain all of the time are so lame.
  
• Remember, these people are immature, mature people don't waste time whining and complaining.
  
• It's likely that they have a big ego. They think they're better than the rest, and that's not true. Everybody is equal.
  

Warnings

• People who whine and complain all of the time are very poisonous. Avoid them if possible.
  

Things You'll Need

• Resiliency
  
• Some good friends
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Deal With Someone Who is Always Late
  
• How to Always Win an Argument
  
• How to React when Your Friends Gang up on You in an Argument
  
• How to Have a Good Argument
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Deal with People Who Always Complain. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Always Win an Argument - wikiHow

Always Win an Argument - wikiHow

How to Always Win an Argument

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Want to get your way? Read on and you'll learn how to win every argument you enter.

Steps

1. The First, and most important point is to attempt to pick the strongest side of the argument. Having the strength of advocacy on your side is by far the easiest way to win an argument. While most arguments have an easily identifiable winner and loser, some arguments are not so clear. Try to identify these arguments and either stay away, or be very careful about getting into it.
   
2. Think about the possible arguments for and against your side, and the opposite side. If there is any major weakness in your argument, you must fill it before coming to a confrontation with the opposition, or risk losing the argument. Also try to take each argument to its logical conclusion, and identify any major pitfalls your opponent can step into. A gentle nudge here and there to get them to make some sort of statement that allows you to close the beartrap is psychologically damaging and can win an argument on the spot.
   
3. When in the argument, keep calm, and present your side of the argument in a logical manner. When the opposite side brings up a point, always counter this point with something relevant supporting you.
   
4. Always take full advantage of any illogicality or fallacy in your opponent's argument. Return any illogical points with as many relevant logical facts as possible, to completely quash their point. If this is not possible, take their point and use it in your favor logically. (e.g, when males grow their hair long in western society, 'its not natural' is a common argument for those opposed to it. However, it is more natural than cutting it as hair grows when it is left. Long hair, by using their argument against them, is completely natural for both genders.)
   
5. If you point out a mistake that your opponent made, and declare it a logical fallacy, don't under any circumstances make the same mistake. Your opponent gets a free pass because he or she didn't know it was a mistake, you on the other hand are guilty of knowing what's right and what's wrong. It's a quick way to assasinate your own Ethos.
   
6. It's always possible to lose an argument, these tips will greatly reduce the chance of losing. However, arguments do sometimes come to standoffs, where no side is stronger than the other and nobody wins or loses. when this happens, learn to leave the argument as nothing can be gained by continuing to confront your opponent. When this happens, don't lose control or get desperate.
   

Tips

• Religion is not a valid basis for views in a confrontation. Remember: The devil himself could quote the bible for his own purposes.
  
• Don't make the mistake of trying to use logical tactics to argue an opinion, a theory, or something that has no basic in logic. For example, "Men are superior to women" is an opinion; "superior" is a subjective judgment.
  
• Similarly, it is counterproductive to try to argue about emotions ("You shouldn't feel that way"). Trying to talk people out of their feelings isn't logical; it's controlling and insensitive.
  
• If you can't shake the wish to argue something that is just your opinion, ask yourself why. Remember you can choose to keep your opinion to yourself, or take positive action towards a social or political cause, rather than merely talking yourself blue in the face. Don't draw everyone you know into endless debates over your pet theory in the hopes that they will deliver a logical fallacy for you to knock down. This is in itself a complex form of the "straw man" fallacy. Besides, if you go around arguing all the time, people will avoid you and there will be no one left to argue with.
  
• Using 'childish' tactics, such as shouting "Shut Up," will only decrease the credibility of your argument. This will certainly detriment your cause.
  
• Keep control of yourself. Appear calm, even in a heated argument. Don't use harsh language, or succumb to your anger. This will muddle your thinking and hinder your argument.
  
• If you succeed in making the other person angry, it doesn't mean you've won the argument.
  
• Think constantly. By not thinking something through entirely before you say or do it often jeopardizes your argument. Do not do anything in the absence of thought.
  
• Never use the word "should." It denotes a subjective obligation.
  

Warnings

• This approach may annoy those who cannot stand to lose, and they often become violent.
  
• Never lose control of yourself.
  
• This is often very difficult for many people. Don't try it if you'll break down halfway through.
  
• Pick your battles wisely!
  
• If there is no-one there to judge the argument, or declare a winner, don't hold on to hope the other guy may see your view. Move on after the argument is made, you can go back later and review the argument and decide whether you won or lost, and modify from there.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Think of Quick Witted Comebacks
  
• How to Think of a Comeback Quickly
  
• How to Stay out of an Argument
  
• How to Avoid Getting Into an Argument over Harry Potter
  
• How to React when Your Friends Gang up on You in an Argument
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Always Win an Argument. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

The First Brain-Computer Interface for Mainstream Consumers [Neural Interface]

Have you ever wanted to control your computer with your mind? I have. And come next December maybe we will. It has been long since i've been talking about Emotiv Systems . Last February 19th they came out of the cave at the GDC’08 conference with a brand new bone, the latest version of their consumer based brain-computer interface that is quite frankly geeking me out. The headset will be marketed for the game industry and is expected to go for $299. Read on for what to expect. The features are, well, pretty unbelievable.

I’ll start off by noting that there was not one, but two companies demoing brain-computer interfaces at GDC this year. Emotiv Systems & the EPOC neuroheadset, which we’ll be focusing on here, and NeuroSky. The latter is planning on selling their sensors and technologies to partners and will not be developing a specific headset on their own (they had a demo unit at GDC just to show the functionality of their systems).

What Are Brain-Computer Interfaces and the EPOC Neuroheadset?

If you’ve read Think Artificial before, you’re probably somewhat familiar with BCIs. Brain-computer interfaces. Devices that allow us to control machines using only our minds.
The key technology is called electroencephalography (EEG). A device monitors your brain’s electrical activity via sensors on your scalp. It’s been used for medical purposes for years — and the futuristic image on the side here depicts setup for a musical brainwave performance at the Deconism Gallery in 2003, for example. The audience of a concert hooked up to the EEG devices to affect music and lighting.

However, monitoring the waves is different from detecting their patterns and using them reliable “triggers”, like Emotiv Systems’ EPOC device and software does. For this to work, two things are essentially required: The user has to practice producing a repeating, recognizable pattern. But there’s always noise (because it takes practice to be able to visualize the same image, or sequence), so the second thing is that the software deciphering the electrical activity must learn to recognize trigger waves.

Naturally, EPOC is not an invasive kind of — you won’t need a drill and pliers to use it. But you’ll still have to shave your head (just kidding).

The Emotiv EPOC Neuroheadset uses a set of sensors to tune into electric signals naturally produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expression. It connects wirelessly with all game platforms from consoles to PCs. The Emotiv neuroheadset now makes it possible for games to be controlled and influenced by the player’s mind. [link]

Emotiv Systems have been working 4 years on R&D, and have come up with their commercially viable BCI — and at a remarkably low price considering its capabilities and that this is the first time such technology hits the market for general consumers. Which brings us to its features.

What Emotiv’s Epoc Neuroheadset Can Do

Let’s start off with an easy-digest list of features expected to be bundled in the first release of EPOC:

Wireless headset - 12 hour battery-life (playing time)
Demo Game - Makes use of- and demonstrates the headset’s features
Emortal - Access to an online hub that allows users to interact with photos and music using Epoc
The EPOC system is comprised of three main software components, each of which detects different kinds of brainwave activity.

The Affectiv suite can reportedly measure the emotional states of the user. Anger, fear, frustration. Emotiv puts forth the example that this could be used to have games increase or decrease the difficulty level depending on the player’s state of mind. The Cognitiv Suite is the control mechanism that allows players to control objects, and the Expressiv suite which measures and interpretes facial expressions of the user. The descriptions and demos are vivid, for example: You smile and thus your avatar smiles.

One of my earliest questions regarding EPOC was: can the system discern many patterns at the same time with any knowledge beforehand on what you’re trying to accomplish?

Most of what I’ve seen from their demos is task-and-turn based, where the player is moved between “phases”, each of which requires him to use one and only one specific action at a time. The Stonehenge Demo, for example, moves the player from stone to stone — but the player only applies one action to each stone (e.g. “rotate” or “lift”; not both).

Let’s elaborate. A user is inside Second Life and has created a plain box. My question is: Can the system handle rotating the box while the user is smiling/making the avatar smile? Or rotating the box, moving it a bit forward, then up — perhaps even rotating and lifting the box at the same time? Is all of this possible? Because if this were possible I’d be geeked out.

Keymap Your Brainwaves
I got mail yesterday. And I geeked out. The letter was from Emotiv reporting, amongst other things, more information on EmoKey — their software for mapping mental intention to keyboards (yes, meaning the Epoc headset will be connectable to virtually any application).
The descriptions almost sound surreal:

EmoKey Software - Use the Emotiv EPOC with your existing software

In our efforts to enabled our users, Emotiv has developed the EmoKey software application in conjunction with the Emotiv EPOC. EmoKey allows you to associate any of the Emotiv EPOC detections with keystrokes on your PC. EmoKey enables all of your existing PC software to be Emotiv EPOC compatible right out of the box! In practice, this means that you can link a “smile” detection to type the “smiley emoticon” in your chat application or link a thought, such as “rotate clockwise” to a series of keystrokes such as “a-w-d-s-a-w-d-s” to rotate your magic wand!

This appears to indicate that you can basically do any action, at any time, anywhere. Right? Well, almost. It’s not clear whether you can only “press” one button at a time (”a then w then d then s….”), or if you can press many buttons at the same time. It could even be a third case where you can press 3 buttons at a time — one from each detection suite (unlikely).

However, I can venture the guess that a feature of the EmoKey is to define a “virtual button” (if not, please spread the idea to Emotiv!). This could allow you to compose a series of virtual buttons. A specific thought could then be assigned to a series of them “ctrl+a, ctrl+w, …” instead of single physical buttons, thereby enabling you to press two buttons at the same time. Like enabling rotation of a something while smiling. This brings up the question of how many mappings there can be?

Bharathi The Letter Writer

I felt my hairs raising in surprise as i read this article in last weeks Hindu (sunday the 6th) Little we do know of bharathi until this man unearthed the previous volumes of Hindu to find out his way of voicing in the forum with the then popular daily (still it is). His eloquence in english and the choice of words in expressing his anguish were worth experiencing.

T S Subramanian writes about an hitherto unknown aspect of Bhrathiar’s oeuvre:

On December 27, 1904, The Hindu published a letter, “Mr. Sankaran Nair’s Pronouncement,” by C. Subramania Bharati in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section. At the age of 22, he wrote his very first piece in English to appear in print. Research into the microfilms of The Hindu by A.R. Venkatachalapathy, Professor at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, has brought to light Bharati’s Letters to the Editor. (See the report ‘Early views of nationalist-poet Subramania Bharati’ in The Hindu of March 30, 2008.) These 16 letters, two ‘open letters,’ and two articles are unknown even to Bharati scholars.

The letters and articles were written between 1904 and 1916. The writings have a remarkable range and a distinctive voice. They present the poet’s views on social reform; his admiration for Tilak; his criticism of Annie Besant and the Theosophical Society; his defence of Aurobindo; being hounded by spies and informers when he was in exile in French-ruled Pondicherry; his admiration for Serbian patriotism; and the wretched condition of indentured Indian labourers in South Africa.

Interestingly, these letters are not among the papers passed on to his step-brother C. Viswanathan, who brought Bharati’s writing in English to light. Considering this adds up to a little less than 150 pages, the recently discovered letters are a small treasure. With their intellectual intensity and breadth, they enrich and widen the understanding of the poet’s life and work.

“It is by no means surprising,” notes Dr. Venkatachalapathy, “that Bharati should write to The Hindu. The only career he pursued was that of a journalist and he obviously followed the pre-eminent English daily of the day closely.” In his Tamil prose, he frequently made references to this newspaper and often responded to the issues raised in it. Importantly, most of these letters were published at a time when many journals he was associated with were proscribed by the British and he had little access to other forums.

The piece goes on to reproduce some of those letters, and one can identify the same tone that he used in his Tamil writing in these letters too (I remember one in which he took Gandhi to task for opposing the remarriage of widows, for example):

The intelligent and well-intentioned critic, Mr Plainspeaker, who discussed in Saturday’s Hindu, the memorable pronouncement of Mr Sankaran Nair’s on the necessity of Social Reform for bringing about political regeneration, has been a little misguided by those treacherous things, viz., words. Mr Plainspeaker waxed indignant at hearing of ’those great principles of equality and brotherhood upon which the British Government is based’. I understand, and respect the feelings of Mr Plainspeaker, aye, even as I respect the indignant feelings of the down-trodden [Dalit] when he hears that Hinduism proclaims (I quote Mr Plainspeaker) the ‘one-ness of life’ and the ‘brother-hood of man’. ‘Talk of the one-ness of life, the brother-hood of man’ exclaims the [Dalit], ‘when yonder Brahman, who would bow low to an Englishman as if to a god, believes that my very shadow would pollute him.’ I entirely agree with Mr Plainspeaker in his righteous protest against British-Indian regulations. But all this does not in the least affect Mr Sankaran Nair’s position. What the eminent social reformer means to say is simply this: There can be no political emancipation without the feeling of nationality. There can be no feeling of nationality where the caste system is prevalent or, rather, say (as some hyper-critical men want us to believe that the caste system is present in all human communities) where the jati system is prevalent, the wonderful system which makes a [Dalit] philanthropist inferior to a Brahmin go-between. Is it doubted in any quarter that, in England, a cobbler-boy with necessary merit finds his path clear to the Premiership? And is it not treason in India to believe that a Sudra (not to speak of Panchama) with an unparalleled knowledge of Sanskrit scripture and with exceptional goodness and piety can ever aspire to the seat of Sringeri? Why will people be so wilfully blind? Why do they refuse to find any difference between a mountain and a molehill? Where is Great Britain and alas! where is India?The National Congress, I readily concede, has some of India’s best sons in its ranks and its aspirations are of the worthiest. But does anybody seriously believe that a man who, in his stony heart, condemns a babe widow to perpetual misery might be worthy to be placed at the helm of a rising people? Impossible.’I do not think India will ever be called-and she ought not to be called-into the Councils of the Empire until we show we have fully and frankly accepted those great principles of equality and brother-hood upon which the British Government is based. The principles are utterly repugnant to the caste-system as understood and practised among us.’ So said Mr Sankaran Nair, and his words are worthy to be written in golden letters. Without social reform our political reform is a dream, a myth, for social slaves can never really understand political liberty. And unless and until our Social Conferences prove a success our National Congress is nothing but glare and dust.

Nor is his humour missing:
And now our leader has spoken for us all in language unmistakable and clear, unmistakable may I hope, even to those who hailed his release from six years’ imprisonment with two special police stations placed on each side of his house in Poona!

Of course, there is also the politics of the period, like this one involving Besant and Aurobindo:
Mr Arabinda Ghose authorises me to contradict on his behalf certain statements about him made by Mrs Besant in her recent letter to the Christian Commonwealth which I have brought to his notice. These allegations are, without exception, inaccurate, misleading or entirely erroneous.

It is misleading to say in connection with an attempt to brand as ‘seditious’ and ‘extremist’, the opposition of social orthodoxy to Mrs Besant’s more recent developments - that orthodoxy gave Mr Arabinda Ghose as a leader of the advanced nationalist movement. A convinced Hindu in all matters of religious life and faith, Mr Ghose accepts in questions of social conduct the liberalism of Swami Vivekananda.

A must, must read piece!

India to launch remote sensing satellite this month - 2 days ago

India will later this month launch a remote sensing satellite equipped with high-resolution cameras and advanced scientific instruments, space agency officials said here.

Cartosat-2A, as the all-weather, reconnaissance satellite is called, will be used to plan urban and rural development projects. It can also be used for intelligence gathering, the officials said Friday.

"The tentative launch date is April 28," Indian Space Research Organisation chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters in Bangalore where the agency is based.

"The exact date and time will be finalised in a fortnight after factoring weather and other relevant data," he added.

Identical to the mapping satellite Cartosat-2, which was launched in January 2007, the 680-kilogram (1,500-pound) Cartosat-2A will be placed in a polar orbit at an altitude of 630 kilometres (391 miles).

The satellite will be launched by the Indian-developed rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, from the Sriharikota space station in southern India.

India started its space programme in 1963, and has since developed and put several of its own satellites into space. It has also designed and built launch rockets to reduce its dependence on overseas space agencies.

Space agency chairman Nair said the body has finalised a project report concerning a manned mission by 2014-15.

"The report is being submitted to the government for approval and budgetary allocation," he said. "The Space Commission, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will meet next week or so to review the report and take a decision."

Goodbye Internet, Your Successor Is Here

The next-generation mode of communication will make the Internet obsolete as it will be
around 10,000 times faster.

Monday, April 07, 2008: Using a 2Mbps connection and thinking you are at the edge? Think again. The most loved Internet may soon look like the floppy drives of early 90s compared to the Blue-ray disc. The inventor of the Web, CERN, a Swiss organisation, is laying bricks for the next-age communication with the Grid. The Grid is supposed to be 10,000 times faster than the current connections. On the lines of the Web, the Grid will first connect leading research and academic institutions. But eventually, it will reach homes as well.

And that will be a revolution. Imagine downloading full-length movies in a matter of seconds, even before you blink your eyes. In a scenario like that online applications will definitely take over the desktop-based applications, thus leading to the online OS -- regarding which experts have had doubts hitherto. But the first ultra-high speed fibre optic cables are already being laid. So hold on to your mouse and get ready for a super-fast journey through the Web...

The emergence of the Grid will change the entire perception the way people interact with each other online. The data transfer rate will be so fast that live chats or webcams will appear to be ancient technologies -- you will actually be able to chat with each other in a 3-D manner. The two dimensional websites will come to an end, especially for online shopping and a lot more things; you will actually be able to 'wear' a dress on sites like e-Bay and see how you look in that dress in a 3-D image.

This will definitely affect the mobile communication as well, thus leading to popularity of MIDs or mobile Internet devices married with mobile phones. For gamers, it would be like a heaven where they could actually play with the hologram of other players.

The possibilities that the Grid will offer are so vast that the imagination will have to take a back seat and wait for the Grid

China's population policy: Blessing or Nemesis

China, home to the world’s largest population has done a commendable job in reining its once alarming population crisis through concerted efforts to promote holistic family planning and enhancing the quality of health & education of its people. A two fold reduction in birth rate, a four fold reduction in natural growth rate, implementation of a 9 year compulsory education program leading to marked improvements in literacy, universal access to the public health ystem, emancipation of women on professional and social fronts, flexible schemes to support the retired and the aged together with enhanced awareness and international endorsement of the Population and Family planning program are some of the highlights of China’s untiring efforts towards solving the problem of population and development.

With the advent of the 21st century, China is gearing up to formalize a set of targets & principles and is charting a plan of action augmented by guarantee measures to sustain its positive drive to control population while improving the quality of life in general. Important targets include sustainable development to improve the economic conditions of people, setting goals to limit population and maternal / infant mortality rates, close coordination between the legal, educational, economic and administrative frameworks to help facilitate the better utilization of resources and thus result in anthropocentric form of development. The important steps to achieve the set targets include promoting family planning with emphasis on information, education and communication along with developing industries related to reproductive health, disseminating knowledge on child bearing and caring, better health education among farmers and women, continuation of the 9 year compulsory education program to expand to middle school and higher learning, raising the people’s ideological and moral standards, safeguarding children’ and women’s rights in the social, political and the cultural spheres, optimizing labor resources, steps to reduce poverty in the rural and urban areas, providing better facilities to the elderly and improving the ecological environment to alleviate human settlement. An improved legal system, better incentives to promote family planning, intense publicity and education, developing a robust scientific and technological backbone, better policies to improve money input and actively involving the non governmental and mass organizations are some of the guarantee measures planned.

While China’s population and development policy is all set to meet with stellar success given the disciplined approach that is being taken I would like to draw your attention to the mainstay of today’s Chinese economy. Cost effective manufacturing due to availability of cheap labor fulfilling the needs of the cost-conscious western world forms the back bone of China’s remarkable economic growth. The current population and development policy is bound to have a two pronged effect on the Chinese economy.

1. Firstly China is bound to face a noticeable shortage of manpower with the proportion of youth dropping consistently over the next 25 years vis-à-vis other countries like India. This may result in China faltering on its core-competency of “abundant” low-cost labor.

2. Secondly the reduction in population coupled with the marked improvements in the quality of people’s life will increase the bargaining power of its labor force which over time will no longer be willing to settle for the “low wages” it traditionally earned. This will lend another blow to the China’s ability to satiate the low-cost production aspirations of the world which is currently out-sourcing its manufacturing to China thereby weakening China’s strong position in the manufacturing domain. One can already notice such effects in the Indian BPO industry which offlate has come under a lot of pressure
due to cheaper alternatives mushrooming in the Philippines and Eastern Europe.

3. This could further snowball into an all round increase in prices of manufactured goods the world over as the goods will no longer enjoy the benefits of cheap labor thereby negatively impact all the consumers.

While undoubtedly the efficacy of China’s population and development policy is well on track to achieve its desired objectives, only time will tell if it proves a blessing or a nemesis to the Chinese and the World economies in the long run.

A Usual Love Story - Concluding Part

( This story wan't written by me... found it somewhere in the blogosphere... Sorry for not quoting the reference )

I spent a sleepless night thinking about all the events that had happened between me and her wishing that my mom had not taken up this topic.The time to visit her place came sooner than expected and we drove to her place at around 6 in the evening. Her father greeted us at the doorway and I must say that I liked him at once. He seemed really cool..not bad for a first impression!!! We were ushered inside and my parents were happily chatting with their prospective samdhis. I started getting fidgetty noticing which the girls mother called her out...Anu...pls bring something to drink for them.I could hear her footsteps as she walked into the room and my heart skipped a beat hearing each of her steps. I just couldnt bear the suspense anymore and I put the head down prompting some friendly badinage from the people around...the girls mother had a ball teasing me saying..."Tum to dulhan se bhi zyaada sharmaa rahe ho bete!!!"She came close to me and said..."Chai lejiye!!!"

I knew it. The same voice....which had haunted me all these years...I looked up only to see her right in front of me. I looked up slowly to see her staring at the floor. The same girl whom I really loved and the one who rejected me was right in front of me...as my prospective wife!!!What a situation to be in.Not even once did he look at me. I had a doubt whether she knew it was me all along. There were lots of questions in my mind and lots of thoughts which were floating inside and on top of it, the elders yakking around was not helping my cause.Fortunately, the girls father noticed it and said..."Beta...akele mein baat karna chahte ho??To sharmaate kyun ho??Waise hum oldies ke beech mein tum log to bore ho jaaoge :-)...VenkateshJi, you were telling me that you have an interest in gardening right!!I have a small terrace garden and at this time, the breeze is also good. Why dont we go there...and let these youngsters talk what they want...(winking at me)!!!! They immediately left us alone to do all the talking...and now was my chance again. WE sat opposite each other without saying a word until I said "How are you Ananya?"

Ananya:"FIne Vivek...its been a long time."

Me:"Yeah...did you expect me to be your prospective groom once you heard what your parents said?You didnt seem to recognize me at all"

Ananya:"Dont be silly!!!Of course I knew all along that it was you. And what do you expect me to say in front of everyone...Hi Vivek how are you...abhi tak tum mujhe bhoole nahi or what??"

Me:"Sorry for putting you in such an uncomfortable situation. IF I had known it was you, I would not have come."

Ananya:"Why do you say so?"

Me:"IF you had really wanted to marry me, you wouldnt have rejected me then."

Ananya:"Vivek, why dont you understand??Things were really different then. I didnt want to get committed at all. I wanted to achieve something in my life. I wanted to be independent and prove something to the world..I never said that I didnt like you...do you know how much I missed talking to you when you were avoiding me?Do you know how much I wanted to tell you that I really loved you...??" Tears were streaming down her cheeks. In a flash I forgot everything and I was by her side once again.

ME:"You know Anu...seeing you after such a long time, I feel really nice. But I need to think about this now...I am really confused and right now, all this is too much for me...I will get back to you soon".

Ananya:"I totally understand..I will wait for your answer."

We left her place after having dinner. I spent the whole night thinking about her and the events which took place at her house."Lots of negative thoughts also flew by.."How can someone who rejected you without thinking now suddenly come up and say that she loves you...??She broke my heart...and now...wants to make amends...does she love me??But who cares yaar...the problem is that I still love her."The final thought settled it all and I
slept in peace having made my decision.

The next day, I called her up and asked her to come to cafe coffee day in the evening. And when she came, I made sure that she saw the most beautiful sight ever in her life. I had decorated every corner of coffee day with red roses with each one having her name on it. And just like college days, I went down on one knee, pulled out a rose from my pocket and repeated the same words. Her emotions took over and she hugged me as if she was never going to see me again.

We conveyed our approval to our respective parents and immediately got engaged. Wedding preparations were going on when Ananya's parents invited us over for dinner. I sat opposite to her enjoying my view and my dinner when her father popped up a shocker...!!"So Vivek...how did you propose to my daughter in college?" We were speechless. I immediately looked at her and she seemed equally puzzled. I looked at my parents and they were smiling too...Suddenly everything dawned on us. This wasnt a co-incidence at all. Both the parents knew this beforehand and therefore arranged our marriage!!!!

FInally, her dad admitted that he had found my photo under her pillow...which she hadnt told me at all...and also that he had found out the details about the entire incident from her best friend to whom she had confided earlier...and conveniently forgot to tell me about it.

Immediately they met up with my parents, got our horoscopes matched and then you know the rest!!!!! "Anu darling...!!!"'Hmm..."she said!!! We were sitting in the same garden in Kodaikanal where we had come for our honeymoon. Do you remember this place??""I remember this place and also how stupid you looked while you tried to propose...but cant help it...you looked too cute :-)""Shall we go to Coco's walk tomorrow?"Coco's walk.."she exclaimed with childish excitement...not quite for a 24+ woman....I smiled and brought her face towards mine...eagerly hoping that the years to cme will be as sweet as this moment.

A Sweet Love Story Part 1 ( An usual Love Sotry )

It was the end of a usual tiring day. I had returned from office ennervated and tired after undergoing an arduous routine throughout the day. Today, my house had a different air around it. My parents were behaving in a different manner and that didnt go unnoticed by me. I knew that eventually something would come up at dinner so I didnt bother to ask.

Dinnner time finally arrived and I sat along with my parents waiting for them to break the suspense. As the silence lingered, my parents talking in hushed tones obviously how they are going to talk to me, I started feeling uneasy. I was hoping...Oh God...anything but that please.....finally the thought I dreaded came from my wonderful mothers mouth..."Vikku, we have seen a girl for you. Your horoscopes have matched and we are going to meet her family tomorrow so come early from office."

As soon as I heard that, I groaned with agony. I was a fiercely independent person who loved his independence. I was really unsure how I would be able to adjust in this new relation. The idea of losing it was a bit painful, a view all bachelors would share. I tried to wrigle out of it but no avail. Finally I gave in and asked my mother what is the girls name. And the reply was the girls name is "Ananya".

This name sounded really familiar to me...in fact...more than familiar. I retired for the day and was lying in my bed thinking about my past, something I had locked somewhere away in my life. I closed my eyes searching for the face which haunted me throughout these years, the face...on which even a smile would light up my entire day and for which I was even willing to die a thousand deaths.......yes that face was Ananya's...my Ananya's.

Ananya always had a larger than life personality. A very sweet girl with a never say die attitude and always lightens the atmosphere around her. Though we share the same friends circle, I never had the courage to talk to her. She was always yakking around with everyone she knew and was always there for her friends. Our talks were always limited to studies, notes and other boring stuff. But she made me realise that my life is incomplete without her.

There were numerous occassions when I tried to tell her what I felt but ended up fumbling with words. Finally the moment came...we had planned a trip to Kodaikanal...just a group and Ananya was also coming (well...that was the only reason why I decided to camp along)...all of us had a great time sightseeing. After sometime Ananya just wanted to sit down and she told us to continue. We were not for the idea of leaving her alone and here, I grabbed the chance with both my hands and told the guys that I will stay here and you people continue.

Ananya was as usual at her radiant best and one look at her beautiful face is enough for a guy to lose his mind completly. I gathered enough courage to start the topic. I said "Anu, If you dont mind, can I talk to you about something??'Ananya: "Sure Vivek, why are you hesitating...?Are you going to propose to me or what??" There was a childish chuckle on her face when she said that. GOD!!!I hate these girls for this...they very well know whats going on in your mind but they plead ignorance...

I: "Ya you are absolutely right...thats what I was going to say"Ananya: "Go on what do you want to say...chuckles again"....God this was too much for me to take.

I immediately took out a red rose from my pocket, the one I wanted to give her when I profess my love, went down on one knee and said ..."Anu, I may not be the smartest or the most romantic guy around but believe me...I really love you and would do absolutely anything for you. Every time you smile at me, I feel as if I have been reborn. You have given my life a new meaning and have absolutely no idea of what difference you have made to it. All I know is my life without you would be hell. Please....will you be mine??"

She was surprised...rather I would say shocked!!!!"How can you say this Vivek?? I mean how can you even think about this??" "Why what is wrong" I asked. "There is absolutely nothing wrong...but I never felt the same way for you. I respect you as a person and as a friend but nothing beyond that. My parents trust me a lot and I would not want to let them down. We will be good friends forever."

I felt that my entire world came crashing down that day. Soon after, the others returned and this incident never came up. I made it a point to avoid Ananya and no one suspected a thing as I never spoke to her much. Eventually, we finished college and moved to our respective careers. I never made any efforts to find out what she was doing or whether she was married and moved out of the country. I never thought about her.......................... until today.

Part 2 coming up!!!!

People were better off during ‘India shining’ days, claims Advani

NEW DELHI: There is no let-up in the attack mounted by the Opposition on the Manmohan Singh government for its failure to control prices.

With inflation touching 7%, Mr L K Advani, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, on Sunday contended that the development was “an official admission of the UPA regime’s utter failure to control prices of essential commodities.’’

Mr Advani sought to use the issue to puncture the Congress’ claims of being champion of the aam aadmi. “As far as the common man is concerned, price-rise means daily loot from his meagre family budget,’’ he said while addressing party workers on the occasion of the BJP’s foundation day.

The BJP leader juxtaposed the Manmohan Singh government’s track-record on the economic front with that of the NDA regime, and claimed that the people were now realising that that they were better-off during the six years of the Vajpayee government.

``The common people are today fondly recalling the BJP-led regime’s success in keeping prices under check,’’ he said, adding, ``Indeed, the people are also seeing the contrast between the two governments in every aspect of governance.’’

The BJP veteran made it clear that the sky-rocketing prices would form a crucial weapon in the party’s arsenal during the next round of assembly polls, including Karnataka. ``

Today, I wish to forewarn the Congress: There are several reasons why people are angry with you. But as far as prices are concerned, they will make you pay a heavy price whenever elections are held,’’ Mr Advani maintained. He argued that the Congress’ track-record in governance had traditionally been marked by betrayal of the common man, and warned the people not to be taken in by the party’s claims. ``The UPA government’s failure to contain prices reminds them that, historically, whenever the Congress has come to power at the Centre, price-rise, corruption and mal-governance have also come along,’’ Mr Advani said.

The BJP leader argued that it was not just prices of essential commodities which were rising. “It’s not just roti (food) and kapda (clothing) that is now beyond the reach of the common man; even makan (housing) has become unaffordable, since the prices of steel and cement have shot up enormously since UPA came to power,’’ he said.

The Vajpayee government, Mr Advani pointed out, had also ensured that bank interest-rates were kept low, as a result of which tens of lakhs of people, especially the urban middle classes, saw their dreams of owning a house realised. “Today, that dream has disappeared for them,’’ he contended.

Airport: Skybus Airlines Shutting Down

Another News reflects slowing US Economy...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Low-cost carrier Skybus Airlines is shutting down Saturday and plans to file for bankruptcy protection next week, becoming the latest of the nation's airlines to fall because of rising fuel costs and a slowing economy.

The financial situation of the airline, which announced the shutdown late Friday, has worsened in recent weeks, said Skybus spokesman Bob Tenenbaum.

"We deeply regret this decision, and the impact this will have on our employees and their families, our customers, our vendors and other partners, and the communities in which we have been operating," Michael Hodge, chief executive of Columbus-based Skybus, said in a statement.
"Skybus struggled to overcome the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment," he said. "These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier."

The airline makes 74 daily flights to 15 U.S. cities, Tenenbaum said. It has about 450 employees.
Tenenbaum did not know how many passengers would be affected but said the company has flights scheduled through Sept. 2. All passengers affected by the shutdown are eligible for a full refund.

The airline said that all flights were to be completed Friday and that it plans to file Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Skybus is pulling the plug less than two weeks after CEO Bill Diffenderffer resigned to pursue a book-writing career. He was succeeded by Hodge, the company's chief financial officer for the past year.

Skybus has endured some bumps since it began flying May 22, 2007. Over two days during Christmas week, the airline canceled as many as a quarter of its flights because of problems with two of its planes. Recently, it has been dropping flights and destinations because of high fuel costs.

The announcement adds to a string of bad news for airlines, which have been hurt by a slowing economy, high fuel prices and maintenance concerns.

ATA and Aloha Airlines both stopped flying this week after filing for bankruptcy protection. American, Southwest and Delta airlines have all had to cancel flights recently to address safety concerns about some of their aircraft.

On the Net: http://www.skybus.com/

Phone in shirt pocket? Must be an Indian

Phone in shirt pocket? Must be an Indian - Anand Parthasarathy ( THE HINDU)

Singapore: Six out of ten male owners of mobile phones worldwide, carry them in their trouser pockets — and the same proportion of women use a hand bag or purse. But there are interesting regional and cultural variations –— and the world biggest maker of mobiles has an entire team of anthropologists, sociologists and human behaviour experts to study how people around the world communicate with each other, so that the devices it makes can suit the tastes and trends in different geographies.

You carry your phone in a belt pouch? Then you can’t be Japanese. They just hate to be seen doing that. But older, less fashionable users in many countries can be still seen securing their phones that way. In Delhi 11 percent of phone carriers use a strap of some kind to secure their phones.

Three of ten men who use their pant pockets and half of all women who use a hand bag, tend to miss some calls because they can’t get their phones out fast enough. The men in some parts of India — mostly in the south, fare better. Why? Because they tend to use their shirt pocket to carry their phones and are therefore “faster on the draw.” And why the shirt pocket?, because they are probably wearing a dhoti or ‘mundu’ and have no other convenient receptacle! In fact the study team recommended that the message alert light should be placed on the top surface of the phone so that it will be seen more easily by such users.

Insights like these have emerged from regional studies conducted by the Finland-based Nokia’s human behavioural unit of its Design Team. Jan Chipchase, a member of the team who spoke to The Hindu on the sidelines of the compan y’s annual showcase of new products and technologies which concluded here on Wednesday, will be in Mumbai next week to lead its latest research exercise ... to understand how residents in shanty towns such as Dharavi, manage their communication needs and in what way a mobile phone maker can help them.

Nokia’s specially designed, ‘made for India,’ phones such as the N 1100, were created in response to lessons from such studies on the subcontinent, Mr. Chipchase said.

The phone, which had special dust proofing and came with a built-in torch, answered customer wish lists in India.

Nokia studies also revealed Indian customers’ urge to protect their phones from extra wear and tear — by enclosing them in plastic covers. In fact the company was surprised to see that even customers who paid premium prices to acquire ultra thin models then sacrificed the advantage by encasing the hand set in a thick case.

This also grew out of Indian inclination to trade the phone when they bought a better model --— rather than throwing or giving it away.

The need in fast growing, developing markets such as India for 2-3 users in a family to share a phone also prompted Nokia to introduce models such as the 12000 and 1208 with multiple address books.

What next? The behavioural team is looking ahead, 10 to 15 years from now, to try and second guess human trends.

Avoid Daily Investment Checking to Prevent Big Mistakes

Does watching cable or checking business news sites give you cold sweats as you ponder how your investments are doing? Are you logging into your financial site every day but still feel your money slipping away? Just ignore your money, J.D. at Get Rich Slowly says—stocks pay off in the long term, not day-to-day, and worrying about it is the easiest way to make a money-losing mistake:

' In Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes, the authors note that it's dangerous to watch your investments every day. When you pay close attention, you tend to become emotionally invested in even small movements. You lose sight of the long-term and make decisions based on short-term events. Peek in every month or so, but don't constantly check your investments.'

Sound advice, and a good way to avoid letting money stress spill over into other areas of your life as well. For more reassurance that you can make money when the market sky looks grim, see what our readers recommend as recession-safe investments. How to Conquer Your Fear of Investing [Get Rich Slowly]

Presenteeism - Going to Work Sick...

Adam of Lifehacker, writes about Presenteeism, which is being in the office when you are sick.

' The problem with presenteeism: It’s making your coworkers sick and it may be costing your employer a lot of money. So why do people do it? … '

I’ve known of cases where the employee was admitted in the hospital, and all that the supervisor could think about when calling the employee was - “I heard you are sick. How long will you be? Or, do you think you can come for sometime and finish this work?”

Well, now what can one say to that?

Distinctive Profile of India 2020

Distinctive Profile of India 2020

A nice article by APJ in his website...

I visualize the following distinctive profile of India by the year 2020.
1. A Nation where the rural and urban divide has reduced to a thin line.
2. A Nation where there is an equitable distribution and adequate access to energy and quality water.
3. A Nation where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in symphony.
4. A Nation where education with value system is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination.
5. A Nation which is the best destination for the most talented scholars, scientists, and investors.
6. A Nation where the best of health care is available to all.
7. A Nation where the governance is responsive, transparent and corruption free.
8. A Nation where poverty has been totally eradicated, illiteracy removed and crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated.
9. A Nation that is prosperous, healthy, secure, devoid of terrorism, peaceful and happy and continues with a sustainable growth path.
10. A Nation that is one of the best places to live in and is proud of its leadership through creative and effective leadership in Parliament, State Assemblies and other institutions of the State.

courtesy: http://www.abdulkalam.com/

Indian origin US scientist sees Tumors deep inside the body

It's a double joy for Indians as "Indian-origin" US scientists along with his team of US researchers has discovered a new technique that can further be useful in the cancer surgery more efficiently.

Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, the team leader of researchers and the professor of Radiology in Stanford University school of Medicine have developed a new technique that can magnify the tiny diminutive tumors by 1,000 times molecules deep inside the human body, which has paved the way for more efficiently cancer surgery.

Sanjiv and his team have used the ‘Raman Effect’ technique that has not been used so far in biological microscopic viewing but vastly used in other scientific researches. Raman Effect was invented by great Indian scientist Chandrashekhar Ventak Raman in 1920 for which he had won Noble prize in Physics.

According to Sanjiv, “Raman spectroscopy expands the available toolbox for the field of molecular imaging.” “This is an entirely new way of imaging living subjects, not based on anything previously used.”

Illustrating the Raman effect, the lead researcher Gambhir said that signals from Raman spectroscopy were stronger and longer-lived than other available methods, and the type of particles used in this method could transmit information about multiple types of molecular targets simultaneously.

Generally scientist can measure one or two things at a time from the current available techniques, but “With this, we can now likely see 10, 20, 30 things at once,” said Gambhir.

The researchers team of Stanford University School of Medicine had tested the system on mice through injecting them with various engineered Raman nanoparticles and then analysed the anesthetized mice under a special microscope where they were exposed to laser light.

The Scientist found that there were several nanoparticles tagged with the different pieces of proteins probing towards different tumor molecules.

Describing about the ‘Raman Effect’ Sam cited that Stanford researchers team has utilised this technique in the innovative way in which the light (laser) hits the object, roughly one in 10 million photons bouncing off the object’s molecules with an increase or decrease in energy is known as Raman scattering. This sort of scattering pattern is unique to each type of molecule and can be measured scientifically, which is also called as spectral fingerprint.

Gambhir has elaborated that this techniques has been developed from currently popular Positron Emission Tomography (PET) techniques that was discovered 20 or 30 years ago but could not be used in this field. Nowadays, PET has become a routine hospital imaging technique that uses radioactive molecules to generate a three-dimensional image of body biochemistry.

“Nobody understood the impact of PET then,” said Sanjiv while “Ten or fifteen years from now, people should appreciate the impact of this.” he indicated the relevance of this technique.

The researcher team of Stanford University is further studying the impact of Raman nanoparticles throughout the body over the course of several days before they are excreted. The team is also optimizing the particle size and dosage and its hazardous effects on the body.

Postdoctoral scholars Shay Keren, Cristina Zavaleta, Zhen Cheng, Adam de la Zerda, and Oliver Gheysens were among the team of Dr. Sanjiv for founding the way to make Raman spectroscopy a medical tool. The research has been published on March 31, 2008 in an advance online issue of the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” and funded by National Institutes for Health and Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence.

Sources: Press Release of Stanford University, School of Medicine. For more information do visit http://med.stanford.edu/

Living Tissue to Power Your Computer?

A few years ago I read about an experiment that used living cortical neurons from a rat brain to perform calculations. More specifically, the neurons were connected to the controls of an F-22 fighter jet simulator. After some training, the brain was able to fly the jet in tough weather conditions. Today Geylen brought my attention to another similar experiment. An associate professor at the Uni. of Arizona has built a robot chassis controlled by the brain of a moth. He predicts we’ll be using such organic-machine hybrid computers soon.

A scientist who successfully connected a moth’s brain to a robot predicts that in 10 to 15 years we’ll be using ‘hybrid’ computers running a combination of technology and living organic tissue.
Charles Higgins, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, has built a robot that is guided by the brain and eyes of a moth. Higgins told Computerworld that he basically straps a hawk moth to the robot and then puts electrodes in neurons that deal with sight in the moth’s brain. Then the robot responds to what the moth is seeing — when something approaches the moth, the robot moves out of the way. [Usability News]

The benefit of using biological brains is flexibility and the ability to deal with things such as visual pattern recognition, which would otherwise require expensive “conventional” computers. (In quotes because technically biological systems are the conventional computers.)

Higgins goes on explaining his prediction; in the next few decades computers will utilize biological components for processing. The premise for his assumption is that it’ll become increasingly easier to grow biological components like hearts or brains in coming years. We won’t need to rip out the brains of grown animals or insects. (Or, like he does in this case, attach the whole moth to the exoskeleton and plug wires into its brain.) At the same time, our understanding of biology will advance and enable us to properly utilize complex, organic systems for various tasks.
Artificial lifeforms, bioprinters and related research

Personally I think its fascinating and a relatively plausible option. As a recent example of related technological advances I can point out the bioprinter — a modified Inkjet printer that prints 3D organic structures (read about it in this New Scientist article with the amusing title “Print me a heart and a set of arteries”).
However, I’m toying with the idea whether synthetic materials — sculpted from the ground up — will be a viable and possibly better option. Perhaps models of natural systems, yet made of new materials that aren’t as frail. I’ve written about Venter’s advances in creating the world’s first artificial lifeform. While it is organic material — our stride down the path of engineering complex systems will undoubtedly enable us to alter and improve them. But regardless of any superior solution, I’m sure we’ll see a myriad of living-machine hybrid experiments.
Would you buy a computer containing living tissue?
Like Higgins, I see no impending ethical issue and would be happy and intrigued to have my MacBook powered by living tissue, or possibly an entire lab-grown mouse brain for that matter if done properly. I decided to do a quick initial-reaction “consumer survey” on the matter. When I asked my girlfriend Diljá whether she’d want one she answered that she’d have to know more about it. My father said it was spooky. My teenage nephew totally wanted one, and his mother first covered her face over the bizarre question and then asked “How long would it last?”. Good question. But after giving it some thought, those who weren’t already became hesitant and uncertain.
I hope for fast advances in this area. I think that, aside from the fascinating science behind it, it’d be interesting to observe how gadgets containing living tissue are marketed.

Links & References
EarthSky has picture in their article on the robo-moth
The Higgins Lab
Science Daily article ‘Brain’ In A Dish Acts As Autopilot
Neuron image courtesy of BrainMaps