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September 30 海角七號…幹! 你看了沒~半信半疑地和家人買了票 (上次首映，看著男、女主角在大遠百宣傳…該不會又是沒什麼梗的國片吧! …Orz，顯然我錯了)
9/29 7:10~9:30…嘴角笑，心裡”扯”! ……到現在還是一直”扯” (用台語念會有押韻)
道底在”扯什小”-
主席代表:這麼漂亮的海岸，為什麼都被別人BOT，每年辦春吶，製造一堆垃圾…當地人只能撿垃圾! Rainman: *每每經過夏都，心中總納悶…海洋是公家的，為什麼他們說圍就圍~幹 *獨自踏在家鄉沿岸鬆軟的沙灘上，哀呀…踩到什小??? 怎麼一堆垃圾，居民和當地業者把這裡當成天然掩埋場(食物殘餘留著說會自然腐化 ; 廢士-就是士嘛!當然得回歸自然)，這什麼道理~幹
Q:道底是誰管好?
主席代表:當地又不是沒人材~幹 Rainman: *需要時請出來，不要時地上踩 ; 這樣的生活誰搞地下去，又不是”達摩”，不吃不喝還可以活~幹
主席代表:燒掉恆春，把年輕人都找回來重建家園，不要在外當人伙計! Rainman: *燒掉ETS，把台灣或日本人找來經營ETS，就不會發生三月中申請寄件八月底到件的意外!!! *但是ETS若沒出包，我現在也不會坐在電影院看”海角七號” ; 而是坐在書桌前望著學校行事例上的”mid-term exams on 十一月1號~七號”
熱潮能持續多久，是短短的幾個月，還是… 國人真能用心支持嗎? 幹瞧歸幹瞧…但還是深愛世界地圖上這塊小小的海角- Southern Taiwan ! September 29 Will East Coast Flood West Coast in Search of Jobs?By Tom Foremski - September 24, 2008 This financial crisis is fascinating to watch especially if you have no skin in the game. Last week I wrote about some of the implications: Silicon Valley and Wall Street: We're Not Immune - Here's Why I wrote about the fall in enterprise software and hardware sales as the financial services sectors combine operations; and the potentiall fall in investment capital in startups; and the problems with selling companies as the investment banking sector collapses. There is also another aspect: IT jobs. Financial services is a massive employer of programmers and systems analysts of all types. Silicon Valley always needs smart programmers and systems analysts of all types. Will those tens of thousands of IT workers now come flooding over to the West Coast? Will it be a modern equivalent of the advice given in 1851 by Indiana journalist John Soule "Go West Young Man." On WebGuild Daya Baran writes:
Foremski's Take: I don't think we will see many East Coast IT workers coming over to Silicon Valley because of two reasons: culture and skills set. East Coast IT people chose the safe confines of a large organization, the relative job security and a regular work week. There isn't much of that around here. Startup life is your life and that's it. If they had wanted to work over here they would have already moved over here. The skills need by a large financial services company are different to that of a startup. Companies here want skill sets that include PHP, Ruby, Flash, MySQL etc. There's not that many overalapping skills within financial services. The largest threat from the pool of highly talented East Coast IT people is going to be to the large IT outsourcing companies in India, China and the rest of the world. Outsourcing IT to India and other regions, is becoming more and more expensive and the staff turnover rates can be as high as 100 per cent annually. The dollar is cheap and US IT staff are highly trained in the latest IT enterprise technologies. This could lead to a reversal of the IT outsourcing trend of recent years in the US. The Brudelli Leanster - remarkable car-bike fusionSeptember 28, 2008 The Brudelli is a new variation on the motorcyclewhich takes advantage of a two-wheeled front end to offer a dynamic riding experience that delivers the leaned cornering of a motorcycle with the precision steering and traction of a multi-wheeled vehicle. The machine is all skin and bones – by basing the machine around a lean and mean KTM690 Supermoto, it’s lighter than a car could contemplate at just 238 kg. When you have such little weight to push around, the 654cc KTM engine’s 47kW @ 7,500 rpm offers incredible acceleration courtesy of the 65 Nm @ 6,550 rpm midrange all the way to 170 km/h. The concept emanated on Norwegian gravel and winter roads but is very adaptable to all surfaces including tarmac roads, go-kart tracks and speedway tracks where even newbies apparently find themselves doing 100 metre controlled power slides in no time at all. Sounds good, heh! Available now at EUR 21,000 Euros (US$30,000) ex. VAT and ex. Works Hokksund. We first covered Brudelli’s 625L Leansterconcept in 2006. The machine used a 625 cc KTM single cylinder motor, and a leaning two-wheels-at-the-front. The company’s latest development of the Leanster, is the Brudeli 654L, a unique vehicle designed to provide an extraordinary riding experience and based on the 654 motor. The production model Brudeli654L “Making 100 metre controlled powerslides at the local dirt track oval (speedway) is a quite unbeatable feeling. Especially when this is a street-legal vehicle that you actually came cruising with to the track.” says Geir Brudeli, the inventor of the Leanster and manager of Brudeli Tech. “Then just a few minutes later you could be at a go-kart track without any change of setup, leaning 45 degrees into corners with a control superior to that of a normal motorcycle. The Leanster suspension is 100% mechanical and leaves the rider in control. It is built with the goal of boosting the motorcycle experience.” Brudeli Tech believes its customers are going to use the 654L mainly for riding on normal roads, and this is what it is designed for. The vehicle is best described as something in between a motorcycle and ATV-quad. It leans into corners like a motorcycle but, at the same time, has a lot of the stability of a sport quad. The idea was born on the Norwegian gravel and winter roads, but the Leanster has also proven to work extremely well on tarmac roads and go-kart tracks also. A lot of motorcyclists watch the dirt track races dreaming of being able to control a bike in the same way. The Brudeli 654L is a way of getting closer to that dream. The footboards stay parallel to the ground, while the rest of the vehicle, including the two front wheels, leans at an angleof up to 45 degrees. The two wheels in front also offer much shorter braking distances. The design of the new model was executed by Atle Stubberud of Soon Design The leanster is TUV-approved and will be street legal in Europe. Brudeli Tech is located at Eiker Næringspark, a Swedish industrial estate. It is owned by 12 Norwegian investors and partners and is completely independent of any of the large motorcycle manufacturers. The stateowned “Innovation Norway” has been the most important partner in the business development, from the original idea until today. Innovation Norway’s mission is: “We give local ideas global opportunities.” September 26 Run while you ride on the elliptiGO bikeSeptember 25, 2008 The elliptiGO glide bike offers riders all the best elements of running and cycling in one machine. Whilst running is an excellent way to improve cardiovascular health and general fitness, many runners are plagued with back and leg injuries due to the high impactnature of the sport. Similarly, bike riders often suffer from shoulder and back injuriesand saddle-soreness. When you ride the elliptiGO you use the same biomechanicsof running but the impact is reduced and the upright position is a much more comfortable way to ride a bike. The elevation of the bike is much safer for riders as opposed to a traditional bicycle, as they have a greater line of sight, can see over vehicles and the rider is much more visible to drivers, pedestrians and other cyclists. As you ride the elliptiGO you use many of the same muscle groups you utilize when running but the exercise is low-impact and you engage in an excellent form of weight bearing exercise which is good news for your bone strength and muscle growth. The location of the crank on the elliptiGO means that the rider is less likely to come into contact with the chain whilst allowing maximum stride length and pedal angles but minimizing the wheelbase. The bike has a low cross-over frame height which ensures that it is easy to get on and off and also allows the rider to cross from one side to the other. There are eight gears which offer speeds from six to 25mph and as they are located in the internal shifting hub there are fewer greasy parts and less maintenance than a derailleur. As the pedals are adjustable, the rider can determine just how hard they want to work and which muscle groups they wish to engage. The elliptiGO also allows the rider to coast without pedaling, making it ideal for relaxed cruising. The elliptiGO design is among the entries for the annual Create the Future Design Contest See elliptiGO Jude Garvey T-Mobile won't slow surfing by Google phone usersNEW YORK (AP) — In advance of the new Google phone, T-Mobile USA has changed the wording of the user agreement for its wireless data network and no longer claims the right to slow surfing to a crawl once a subscriber goes over a monthly usage limit.
The amendment was made late Wednesday, a day after T-Mobile revealed the G1, the first smart phone that will use the new network. The G1 is also the first phone to use Google's mobile software platform.
Bloggers had spotted a 1-gigabyte monthly download limit in T-Mobile's user agreement and were concerned that it would apply to the G1. The phone comes with a Web browser, access to Google e-mail and songs from Amazon.com, which could make a user quickly exceed a gigabyte of traffic. In a statement, T-Mobile said that since the G1 doesn't go on sale until Oct. 22, the details of the plan were not final, but it had removed the limit anyway. It still reserves the right to slow down traffic for a "a small fraction of our customers who have excessive or disproportionate usage that interferes with our network performance." Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Google phone to cost $179, will go on sale Oct. 22GOOGLE PITCHES NEW G1 AS FLEXIBLE, LOWER-COST ALTERNATIVE TO IPHONE
Article Launched: 09/23/2008 08:25:01 AM PDT Have Your Say!
Google likes to talk about organizing the world's information and making it accessible everywhere. On Tuesday, the Internet giant took a step toward fulfilling that mission with the long-awaited debut of the first mobile phone to use its software known as Android. The phone, which will go on sale at T-Mobile on Oct. 22 for $179 — $20 less than the iPhone — closely resembles a T-Mobile Sidekick, with a big screen and a keyboard that slides out from underneath and contains an extra key dedicated to Internet search. The device also has WiFi capability and GPS built in. But what is special about the device is that it is designed to function as a full-fledged personal computer running any kind of application a developer can dream up. "It's just very exciting for me as a computer geek to be able to have a phone that I can play with and modify and innovate upon just like I have with computers in the past," Google co-founder Sergey Brin said at a news conference Tuesday in New York. Brin joked that the first application he wrote took advantage of the phone's accelerometer and measured how long it took for him to catch the phone, or for it to hit the ground, after it was thrown up in the air. Andy Rubin, Google's senior director of mobile platforms, said the source code for the phone would be released on the Internet as soon as the phone goes on sale. Though the software is basically complete, Rubin said Google will continue Advertisement
The G1 comes with maps, e-mail and instant messaging, a music player and a camera. Users can also download applications that measure their carbon footprint or scan barcodes in a store so they can comparison-shop on the Internet. Ten years from now the end result will be powerful devices that are tailored to the personal preferences of their owners. "Your phone will be smart about your situation and alert you when something needs your attention," Rubin wrote in a blog post last week as he prepared for the launch. "I think people will be happier with the G1 than they are with the iPhone," said John Bruggeman, chief marketing officer of Wind River, which is working with manufacturers to adapt Google's code to new phones and other devices. "Plain and simple, I will be able to get more applications more easily from a broader set of options.'' Apple has shown that ordinary people are eager to experiment with games and productivity applications that run on a mobile device. Since it launched its App Store in July, users have downloaded more than 100 million applications for the iPhone and the iPod touch. There are more than 3,000 iPhone applications available — but that is a fraction of the 200,000 submitted to Apple. The Android Market will theoretically be more open to developers. "If it can truly be that anyone can publish whatever they want, that's a paradigm change in itself," said Gerry Purdy, chief analyst for Frost & Sullivan. Purdy acknowledged that the new phone's security will be a major issue. Tim Westergren, chief strategy officer of Pandora, a popular music discovery service, said he is "most definitely" considering developing an application for Android. Pandora is one of the top apps offered in the iPhone store. Cole Brodman, T-Mobile's chief technology officer, said the G1 will be advertised through "the biggest marketing campaign we've ever launched for a mobile device." Brodman said T-Mobile also announced two new plans: It will cost $25 a month for unlimited Web searching and $35 a month for unlimited Web searching and messaging. Using the phone to talk will cost extra. Similar to the iPhone, the G1 will not be able to be used as a modem for a personal computer. The phone will be able to run on T-Mobile's new 3G network, which is in the process of being installed throughout the country. Brodman said the new network, which is much faster, will be available in 22 markets by October. T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, Google and HTC, which manufactured the phone, are hoping the G1 will have the same mass appeal as the iPhone, but at a lower cost. Google intends for this to be the first of many so-called "gPhones," making its Android software as ubiquitous as Microsoft's operating system. The next gPhone is expected from Sprint Nextel. Still, it's not clear that Google will be successful. Jake Seid, managing director of Lightspeed Venture Partners, noted that the idea of a standard technology platform has been tried multiple times in the past. In 1998, mobile industry leaders tried to come together around the Symbian operating system, partly out of concern that Microsoft would come to dominate mobile devices the same way it dominated personal computers. Seid said such efforts face a common challenge in keeping a uniform code base. "Being open doesn't matter," he said. "If you look at what has been successful, it has been end-to-end control." Contact Elise Ackerman at eackerman@mercurynews.com G1 PHONE Price: $179.99 Cheapest data plan: $25/month Monthly bandwidth cap: 1 gigabyte Memory on the phone: 1 gigabyte Power: Up to 5 hours Screen: Touch screen Camera: 3 Megapixel Compatibility with Microsoft Exchange: No Source: T-Mobile IPHONE Price: $199 Cheapest data plan: $35/month Monthly bandwidth cap: 5 gigabytes Memory on the phone: 8 gigabytes Power: Up to 5 hours Screen: Multi-Touch display Camera: 2 Megapixel Compatibility with Microsoft Exchange: Yes Source: Apple 燒錢的生活
Check SCU的tuition…
初一、十五，外婆忙著拜拜 紙錢燒著燒著~我望著望著 炊煙裊裊繞於心 滴淚如雨淌不盡 . . . 媽的! 在矽谷花錢和燒錢沒兩樣…
怪怪 美國金融危機 掛了第三家-Washington Mutual 生活費怎麼還不降價
扯(彳ㄜˋ)聲若響大約在三個月就要開學了 即將暫時放下對設計的熱情轉戰工程…
改了一首中文歌後，來個台語的-鼓聲若響 Rainman台語字不會寫，內容請自行改唱台語 內容牽涉不雅字眼，自行斟酌 只為博君一笑!!! 並非指所有大陸人…
扯(彳ㄜˋ)聲若響 Underwater exoskeletons mimic dolphins and penguinsSeptember 26, 2008 The University of West Florida’s A slew of powered exoskeleton prototypes designed to enhance human strength and endurance have emerged over the past few years: Raytheon is working on models to increase the effectiveness of soldiers; Berkeley's Lower Extremity Exoskeleton helps users carry immense weights; and Cyberdyne’s extremely impressive HAL system The West Florida team predicts that their underwaterexoskeleton design will allow swimmers to reach a cruising speed of 1 m/s, and a top speed of over 1.5 m/s, with 504-Watts power consumption. Currently, divers equipped with fins swim at approximately 0.5 m/s over an extended period of time. The underwater exoskeleton concepts emulate two types of biological propulsion: body and/or caudal fin locomotion, where the undulation of the body moves it through water; and medianand/or paired fin locomotion, where the manipulation of fins provides the thrust. For reference, BCF locomotion is used by dolphins, while MPF locomotion is used by penguins and turtles. Both categories are extremely efficient in the animal kingdom, but the former style is more familiar, and less ridiculous looking, when applied to humans, (the latter style of exoskeleton, which employs fin-flapping, was diplomatically described by the researchers as having “the advantage of novelty” and “appeal as a recreational device.”) The dolphin-based exoskeleton augments the lower body in order to generate more powerful and efficient flipper strokes. The swimming motion of users remains unchanged in this design, resulting in an intuitive, responsive system. The researchers are also investigating whether increasing the force of the up stroke results in greater speed – if the theory bears out, the exoskeleton will further improve swimming efficiency. The second exoskeleton design provides users with lift-based arm fins, based on the biology of turtles and penguins. While similar design elements have been successfully incorporated in underwater vessels, the researchers are not overly optimistic The next phase of the research involves constructing prototypes. And as with all exoskeleton projects, if the University is short of volunteers to test it out, sign us up! Via Wired The CarvX four-wheeled carving recumbent bikeSeptember 25, 2008 Vehicles with a carving or tilting mechanism to assist in steering through corners make a lot of sense. We can attest to the validity of the theory following our test ride of the virtually undroppable Piaggio MP3 scooter and we've seen numerous design platforms that incorporate this approach including the VenturOne plug-in hybrid , the Xnovo three-wheeler, Brudeli's Leanster and the Lumeneo Smera. Human-powered carvers have also been spotted on the drawing-board, but we've never encountered a concept designthat applies this principle to a four wheeled recumbent bicycle - until now. The CarvX from GBO design - engineering The CarvX is only a concept design at this stage, but given that recumbent bikes September 24 The autonomous vehicle that thinks like an antSeptember 23, 2008 We've seen numerous examples of science mimicking nature in the developing fields of robotic automation and artificial intelligencein recent times, from robotic fish to leaping micro-bots and mechanical rodents. Now a team of engineers from the University of La Laguna (ULL) in the Canary Islandshave applied this thinking to self-steering vehicles using a system based on the way antsnavigate between home-base and their food source. Known as Verdino, the prototype machine is a modified golf cart that uses an onboard camera to sense the road surface and applies an algorithmbased on the way ants move to determine its path and steer the vehicle accordingly in real-time. Ants find their way by following a trail of pheromonesleft behindby other members of the colony The researchers report promising results from a current trial in which the vehicle is being used as an internal transport system to link 25 housing units and a visitor center in the south of Tenerife. Potential applications for the method include driver-less transport in tourist complexes, shopping centers, industrial estates, or even in vehicles modified for use by elderly or disabled people. World’s first pure merino baby swaddleSeptember 23, 2008 The Cocooi baby swaddle from Merino Kids of New Zealand is made from 100% pure merino wool and is allergy-safe, fire-resistant and has a unique design that allows you to swaddle your baby quickly and easily. In the first few months of life, most babies enjoy being swaddled as it recreates the warmth and safety of the womb. However, some babies can overheat and numerous medical studies have shown that a key factor in avoiding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is to ensure your baby does not get too hot whilst sleeping. Due to its unique properties, the Cocooi swaddle allows you to safely wrap your baby regardless of the temperature of the nursery. It is made from super-fine, unbleached merino fabricwhich has the ability to regulate a newborn baby’s body temperature, therefore reducing the risk of overheating. The merino fibers used in the Cocooi are unique due to their fineness, (just one-tenth the thickness of human hair) and their natural crimp which produces millions of air pockets in the fabric. Air is captured and circulated within these pockets which ensures your baby is kept warm all night. Merino fiber also has the capacity to release moisture and body heat, so if baby gets too warm during a sleep, excess heat will be released from the fiber. Another unique property of merino fiber is that it has an incredible capacity to absorb moisture, with tests suggesting it can absorb up to 35% of its own weight, making it the ideal material for a swaddle. Due to the natural elasticity of the fiber, the swaddle can be stretched around your baby easily allowing you to use it for newborns and up to three months old. The Cocooi’s diagonal-winged design is unlike other swaddles because you can swaddle your baby but still give your baby freedom to move. Designer Amie Nilsson, founder of Merino Kids, said: “Swaddling is an age-old practice proven to help babies settle and sleep longer. Some parents may have been put off swaddling if they've encountered straitjacket-style swaddles that pin their baby's arms, but they will love our Cocooi Baby Swaddle which provides the perfect balance of familiar snugness and freedom to move.” The swaddle can be used in a stroller and car seatwith a safety harness. A leg pouch lets you check for a wet diaperwithout waking your baby and due to the cross-over design, the fabric will stay free from their face whilst they sleep. Although the Cocooi is made from super-fine wool, it can be washed and tumble-dried on a low setting and it is stain-resistant but soft enough for baby’s delicate skin, including those infants who suffer from eczema or sensitive skin. With colors including in blossom, natural and periwinkle, the Cocooi is available at Babysleepbags for USD $49. 你怎麼說-改版
最近的台灣人聯提案再度被幹掉加上毒奶粉事件，Rainman有感而發改編鄧麗君的名曲”你怎麼說”… 唉~ 日子真不好過!!!
我沒惡整你 你惡整我 September 23 Silicon Valley unemployment reaches four-year highIn another sign of a slowing economy, the unemployment rate in Silicon Valley inched upward for a fourth consecutive month in August to reach a four-year high. Unemployment in Santa Clara and San Benito counties reached 6.6 percent last month, up from a revised 6.5 percent in July and 5 percent in August 2007, according to data released Friday by California's Employment Development Department. The 6.6 percent unemployment rate in Silicon Valley is the highest since July 2004, when it was 6.7 percent. But there was a small dose of good news for the South Bay counties: The number of jobs rose by 300 in August from July, bringing the area's workforce to 916,000. However, the year-over-year job total in Silicon Valley fell by 1,400 jobs. "We've lost a lot of wealth, and it's hitting us even here in Silicon Valley where the fundamentals of the economy are strong,'' said Stephen Levy of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. Job losses and money losses in homes and investment portfolios are "a triple-whammy on consumers, and it's going to be with us for a while,'' he said. Statewide, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent in August, up from 7.4 percent in July. The number of people unemployed in California was 1,417,000 — up by 61,000 over the past month. The number represents a jump of 413,000 compared with August of last year. There was some positive news for some industries in Silicon Valley, Advertisement
"This is a good sign that construction is up," Shriver said. The South Bay counties also recorded month-over-month job losses in trade, transportation and utilities (600 jobs). The area also lost 1,200 jobs in financial activities, with half of those in finance, including mortgage, banks, and savings and loans. Mercury News staff writer Pete Carey contributed to this story. Contact Mark Gomez at mgomez@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5869. Solar brick provides integrated outdoor lighting solutionSeptember 23, 2008 Sunrise Solar Corp The solar brick incorporates solar cells, an energy storage device and a crystal lighting system that surrounds the energy module in a square or rectangle. The light within the brick is then automatically activated after dark. The solar brick is able to be designed to light in any color and can be embedded into a range of construction materials including walls or concrete slabs as an integrated part of the structural design. The super bright LED light can operate for 8-10 hours in sunny conditions and 3-4 hours on continuously rainy days. The light is made from boro-silicon glass and fitted into the brick by a stainless steel fastener and waterproof silica gelsealing washer. The highefficiency solar cellgenerates no carbon emissions, making it entirely clean technology. Potential applications for this technology include fixed public spaces, bridges, rural airfields, building lighting, safety lights and decorative lighting. September 22 In the game of attraction, some of us are led by the nose"Who knows the secrets of the human heart?" asked the bartender at the end of 1992's gender-bending caper The Crying Game, a meditation on love, attraction and human nature. Well, scientists are still wrestling with the rules of attraction, but the nose, rather than the heart, may be the place to start looking for an answer, suggests one new study. Since 1995, researchers such as Claus Wedekind of Switzerland's University of Lausanne have pursued the notion that scent may play a role in human mating, following the observation that mice, rats, sand lizards and even fish prefer mates with immune system genes unlike their own. In animals, scents provide the signal of this difference, which evolutionary biologists find leads to offspring with healthier immune systems who are able to fend off a wider variety of ailments. Pheromone experiments, most famously done with scents from men's sweaty T-shirts evaluated for attractiveness by women, have found some evidence of dissimilar immune system preferences in people. So, "Birds do it, bees do it. Even educated fleas do it," as Cole Porter once penned. "Let's do it, let's fall in love." But is it so simple? Not every study has found the pheromone effect. A 2002 study looking at T-shirt odors, for example, found the preference instead was for scents from men with similar immune systems rather than dissimilar ones. Hoping to look at the question from another angle, a recent study in PLoS Genetics led by statistician Raphaëlle Chaix of the University of Oxford analyzed the genes of 30 couples from Nigeria and 30 couples from Utah to see whether they preferred a certain set of immune characteristics (technically speaking, the Major Histocompatibility Complex, or MHC) in their mates. Well, yes and no — for the Americans, the study finds a "small but significant" tendency for couples to have dissimilar immune system gene sets, Chaix says. But among the Africans, no effect is seen, which suggests social factors there overpower any immune system preference. Or perhaps among the genetically diverse but poor African population, Chaix suggests spotting people with a weak immune system is easier, alleviating any need to sniff it out when looking for a mate. So, if you are lonely and living in Utah, all you need to do is mutate your immune systems and so long, empty datebook, right? No, says Chaix. Pathogens will likely get you if your immune system is too screwed up, and that may explain why preferences aren't for extremely different immune system smells in past studies. Too much variety in your offspring's immune system genes might also lead to autoimmune diseases and other problems. "In this context, we may think that sexual selection is a weaker evolutionary force in comparison to selective pressures from pathogens," she says. "But we still have to test it." "Our study indicates that the relative importance of biological and social factors varies from one population to another," the authors conclude. Future studies of more couples should include "just married" childless couples, they add, and look at more locations to build a better picture of the secrets of human attraction. Or you could just ask your bartenders. No doubt they've seen it all by now. September 21 Biz break: Jobless rate up in San Jose regionPlus: Applied Materials adopts more solar power; Cisco to buy Jabber
Compiled by the Mercury News
Mercury News Article Launched: 09/19/2008 01:46:59 PM PDT Related Links
Meltdown on Wall Street got you down? Worried about your 401K? Think you'll never be able to retire? It could be worse. Really. You could be out of work. In another sign of the faltering economic times, the August unemployment rate in Silicon Valley rose again for the fourth consecutive month. Unemployment in Santa Clara and San Benito counties reached 6.6 percent last month, up from a revised 6.5 percent in July, according to data released today by California's Employment Development Department. The South Bay counties added 300 jobs in August, bringing the combined employment to 916,000. However, the year-over-year job total in Silicon Valley fell by 1,400 jobs. The year-over-year unemployment rate rose from 5 percent in August, 2007 to 6.5 percent. Statewide, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent in August, up from 7.4 percent in July. The number of people unemployed in California stood at 1,417,000 — up by 61,000 over the past month. The number represents a jump of 413,000 compared to August of last year. Looking on the sunny side of life: And you thought your company was green. Not even close, apparently, after Applied Materials and SunPower today announced completion of two SunPower solar power systems totaling 2.1 megawatts at Applied Materials' corporate facilities in Sunnyvale. The systems represent the largest solar power deployment at a corporate Advertisement
"This is another exciting milestone in the adoption of solar power in California," said Mike Splinter, president and chief executive officer of Applied Materials. "More companies are realizing the wisdom of integrating solar as a non-intrusive, clean, silent form of energy generation into our businesses and communities. We've converted our parking lots to power plants and we encourage others to join us in making solar power a meaningful part of the energy supply." Since the first phase of installation in November 2007, Applied reports that its solar installation has generated 1,413 megawatt hours of power. The system is expected to replace more than 2,700 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions from approximately 450 passenger cars. Cisco to acquire Jabber: Cisco today announced its intent to acquire privately held Jabber, a company that provides presence and messaging software, to enhance Cisco's own such functions. As is often the case, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition of the Denver-based company will enable Cisco to embed presence and messaging services "in the network" and provide more capabilities to users across multiple platforms including Cisco WebEx Connect and Cisco Unified Communications. Silicon Valley tech stocks: September 20 Motion Capture in MRISeptember 17, 2008 We’ve seen a bit of innovative motion capturetechnology in recent times, furthering the notion that the technology can find some compelling application in the real world and is far more relevant than just computer games! MoCap technology is advancing rapidly and Measurand The extended leads of the ShapeHand system allow the electronic components to be placed outside the MRIroom, and away from the magnetic field. MRI machines are highly sensitive systems that immerse patients into a big, magnetic tube. Nobody else can see, or go inside the tube, and this makes analyzing someone inside the tube difficult. The 3D images generated by the ShapeHand system provide the watchful medical staff with the eyes to see inside these huge, magnetic systems. One application of ShapeHand is for the subject to identify differently shaped blocks with their hands. Medical professionals could request that the subject pick-up and identify a particular shape, and would monitor the subsequent brain activity. However, without the ShapeHand the medical professional would have no way of knowing if the subject was identifying the correct shape. What if the subject mistook a square for a triangle? With the ShapeHand, the medical professionals could trace the hand movements and ensure that the subject was doing what was asked. There are countless other ways the ShapeHand can be used in conjunction with MRI machines. Medical professionals, to ensure the subject is pressing the right button on a touch screen Motion capture technology possesses endless possibilities, and Measurand’s cooperation with the medical community and MRI machines is yet another example of the inventiveness in applying this emerging technology. Anxiety-detecting machines could spot terroristsUPPER MARLBORO, Md. — A scene from the airport of the future: A man's pulse races as he walks through a checkpoint. His quickened heart rate and heavier breathing set off an alarm. A machine senses his skin temperature jumping. Screeners move in to question him.
Signs of a terrorist? Or simply a passenger nervous about a cross-country flight? It may seem Orwellian, but on Thursday, the Homeland Security Department showed off an early version of physiological screeners that could spot terrorists. The department's research division is years from using the machines in an airport or an office building — if they even work at all. But officials believe the idea could transform security by doing a bio scan to spot dangerous people. Critics doubt such a system can work. The idea, they say, subjects innocent travelers to the intrusion of a medical exam. The futuristic machinery works on the same theory as a polygraph, looking for sharp swings in body temperature, pulse and breathing that signal the kind of anxiety exuded by a would-be terrorist or criminal. Unlike a lie-detector test that wires subjects to sensors as they answer questions, the "Future Attribute Screening Technology" (FAST) scans people as they walk by a set of cameras. FIND MORE STORIES IN: Washington | Internet | Transportation Security Administration | Homeland Security Department | Science | Technology | Michigan State University | Electronic Privacy Information Center | Orwellian | Robert Burns | Jennifer Martin
"We're picking up things with sensors that can't necessarily be detected by the human eye," said Jennifer Martin, a consultant to Homeland Security's Science and Technology division. The five-year project, in its second year, is the department's latest effort to thwart terrorism by spotting suspicious people. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has trained more than 2,000 screeners to observe passengers as they walk through airports, questioning those who seem oddly agitated or nervous. The system would be portable and fast, said project manager Robert Burns, who envisions machines that scan people as they walk into airports, train stations or arenas. Those flagged by the machines would be interviewed in front of cameras that measure minute facial movements for signs they are lying. Like the TSA's program, FAST raises reliability questions. Even if machines accurately spot someone whose heart rate jumps suddenly, that may signal the agitation of learning a flight is delayed, said Timothy Levine, a Michigan State University expert on deceptive behavior. "What determines your heart rate is a whole bunch of reasons besides hostile intent," Levine said. "This is the whole reason behavioral profiles don't work." John Verdi, a lawyer at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, calls physiological screening a "medical exam" that the government has no business conducting. "This is substantially more invasive than screening in airports," Verdi said. Burns said the measurements would not be stored and would give a quick read on someone. Previous research, Burns added, has found that people planning to cause harm act differently from the anxious or annoyed. To pinpoint the physiological reactions that indicate hostile intent, researchers have set up two lab-like trailers on an equestrian center outside Washington, D.C. Science and Technology recruited 140 local people with newspaper and Internet ads seeking testers in a "security study." Each person receives $150. On Thursday, subjects walked one by one into a trailer with a makeshift checkpoint. A heat camera measured skin temperature. A motion camera watched for tiny skin movements to measure heart and breathing rates. As a screener questioned each tester, five observers in another trailer looked for sharp jumps on the computerized bands that display the person's physiological characteristics. Some subjects were instructed in advance to try to cause a disruption when they got past the checkpoint, and to lie about their intentions when being questioned. Those people's physiological responses are being used to create a database of reactions that signal someone may be planning an attack. More testing is planned for the next year. |
. This technique known as "Ant Colony Optimisation" forms the basis of the algorithms used to control Verdino's path without any driver intervention.
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