Yummy Wakame Weblog
Archive: July, 2005
Vehicle to autonomous biped robot conversion for the Mini Cooper r50
“I first had the vision to build a robot while working as an engineer on the old Mini Coopers in the late 1960s. There were no real robots at the time of course, so it was purely science-fiction. But I always believed a robot would be the most natural complement to the automobile – a full biped, intelligent version having great strength, dexterity and a library of mechanical knowledge. I imagined a robot with the ability to repair vehicles, direct traffic and watch over high-accident crossroads to preempt accidents.
This ambition started to look possible when work began on the new Mini. I’ve always believed BMW overbuilds many of their parts, so the over-building of certain Mini applications for my robotics use went unnoticed. In 1998, I began tests in a remote location outside Oxford.
In 2000 I thought my formal connection to Mini might be severed when Rover was sold by BMW. Luckily, BMW chose to retain the Mini brand. Subsequently, a few engineers would need to stay in England – Oxford to be exact. I was slated for retirement and was originally from the Oxford area so it raised little suspicion when I offered to stay. From then on, progress was swift.”
This is SO COOL! You HAVE to check out the videos of this robot further down the page!
Michael Wolf, photographer
Architecture of density – Hong Kong
I’m suddenly feeling horribly claustrophobic and dizzy!
Found on s a u c e r u n e y.
Cross your legs and dab your eyes
Today class we will talk about circumcision.
In the first world circumcision is a widespread practice and considered the norm. But just because a practice is widely accepted, it doesn’t automatically make it right. Slavery used to be widely accepted, and in some parts of the world, it still is. Everything should be questioned.
I put this to you: Why is female circumcision considered genital mutilation while male circumcision is not? This seems like a sexist double standard to me. Also a lot of people don’t realise that this delicate operation can easily go horribly wrong, scarring a man for life, and in some cases entirely destroying the penis. Surely with so much at risk, the patient should get to choose when he is at an age to make such a big decision?
I remember as a little girl finding myself at a Jewish circumcision ceremony. I asked what they were going to do, and when they told me, I was horrified! I begged and pleaded with them not to do it. They giggled at my naivety and told me it would be perfectly fine, and because the baby is so small, it would only hurt a very tiny amount. I didn’t understand how that could be true. I was small, and when I cut myself or slammed a finger in the door, it hurt like hell. It didnt hurt less because I was small.
I’ll never forget hearing the baby scream. I cried for him. The adults got annoyed with me and ushered me to another room. Why should such a painful operation be forced on a defenceless baby WITHOUT any anesthetic? Why do we just accept this as normal?
I am not against circumcision or any form of body modification. There are pro’s to being circumcised, just as there are to going natural. What I am against is forced mutilation.
If we left it up to the adult male to decide the fate of his member, I wonder just how many would go through with it after all. If you decided to go through with it later in life, I bet you’d demand anesthetic and take painkillers home with you.
Therefore Nathan is perhaps not a fish
“The proof of why Nathan is a fish was removed from this website due to it’s provocative nature and detailed analysis of Nathan’s biological make up.”
"Super mice" eat 3-foot high albatross chicks alive!
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – “Monster mice” are eating three-foot-high albatross chicks alive, threatening rare bird species on a remote south Atlantic island seen as the world’s most important seabird colony. (more…)
Circumcision could help to halt HIV pandemic in Africa
BBC News: New research suggests circumcision could be effective in preventing the spread of HIV among men.
The study of more than 3,000 men in South Africa was done by the French agency for Aids and Viral Hepatitis. The data, outlined at a conference in Brazil, shows male circumcision prevented about seven of 10 infections. UN health agencies have cautioned that more trials are necessary before they will recommend this as a method to protect against Aids. Previous studies have suggested that men who are circumcised have a lower rate of HIV infection. (more…)
80-year-old travels the freeway in his electric wheelchair
And not just any freeway, but the German autobahn! He tool to the hard shoulder in his electric chair which can only reach a maximum speed of 6mph. Truck drivers called the police who intercepted the pensioner and took him back to his nursing home.
And all he wanted to do was a little shopping.
If you don’t believe me read it at BBC News.
Konfabulator is now free!
Version 2.1 won’t send you registration reminders because it’s free. There’s no catch. No spyware, no ads, nothing sending your information to them. This has all happened since Yahoo! aquired Konfabulator. Did you know Yahoo! also aquired Flickr? Well they did, and what a good all round job they did there.
If you take a peek at my desktop the widgets floating on it are: a Flickr photo frame, a Flickr quick file upload utility, weather in Erie PA, multi time-zone display, event countdown timer, a thingy so I can chat directly to A.L.I.C.E Bot from my desktop without having to look at her ugly face, quick currency converter, Mahjong and a cute little ladybug that crawls all over and under my pages. Where would I be without them? There are thousands of widgets to choose from and new ones are being added daily.
If you haven’t already tried Konfabulator, and you’re the sort of person who likes to soup up their desktop, this is the ultimate mod!
Go on, give it a try!
(Available for Mac OS X 10.2 or greater, Windows XP and Windows 2000)
Help Save Japan’s Dolphins!
More than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are being slaughtered each year and their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan, often times labeled as whale meat. Send a letter to President Obama, Vice President Biden and Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki urging them to address this issue »
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