] Hope you have a great day:)

Why would anyone want to build something so destructive? Because by making their own prions, researchers can learn how they work. Learning how these deadly proteins operate is the first step in understanding how to stop their destruction.

Wired News: Science Cooks Up Deadly Proteins

inignoct wrote:
] ] Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), Sony
] ] Corporation(NYSE: SNE) and E Ink Corporation announced
] ] today the world's first consumer application of an
] ] electronic paper display module in Sony's new e-Book
] ] reader, LIBRIé, scheduled to go on sale in Japan in late
] ] April. This "first ever" Philips' display utilizes E
] ] Ink's revolutionary electronic ink technology which
] ] offers a truly paper-like reading experience with
] ] contrast that is the same as newsprint.
]
] [ This is an area I follow with some enthusiasm, since I love
] to read. I'm still not sure how i feel about ebooks...
] there's something missing in the sensual experience -- the
] texture of the page, the smell of ink and paper, the heft and
] solidity of a bound novel. I can't help but think that this
] line of thinking will expire, like most traditional modes, as
] current youth grow up with the new modalities. I see myself
] already becoming the oldster, lamenting the lost experience
] offerd by paper books, while the kids snicker about silly old
] men not being hip to the present. And I'm only 25. Anyway,
] I'm curious to see what the MS community thinks about all
] this.
]
] Leaving behind the philosophy, i think this device, as a
] product, needs to lose the keyboard, add a slick pen
] interface, and be wireless. Then it's existence as *the*
] newspaper is solidified... constant realtime updates to news
] content from the source(s) you choose, an easy means for
] annotation and bookmarking, clipping and forwarding news
] objects.
]
] The evolution towards Star Trek style tablets continues. -k]

Kerry, I feel the same way. I love to read, and half of the passion of reading comes from the book itself. I love to be surrounded by books, and nothing is better than cracking open a new book, feeling it in your hands, the smell of the paper... You are right, the sensations would be missed. I can't say I am a proponent of ebooks, but at the same time, I can see how they would be useful. Take textbooks for example. With an e-textbook, instead of being years behind due to the slowness of publishing, e-textbooks could be updated in a moment, which could really be useful. By the time textbooks hit the shelves in the college bookstore, they are way behind. Anyway, I am oldskool and I always will be:) - Nano

RE: Latest Ebook venture...

Elonka wrote:
] ] For some little girls, it's a favorite doll; for others,
] it's a
] ] dress-up set. But when Elonka Dunin of St. Charles,
] Missouri,
] ] was little, her favorite toys were puzzles.
]
] Let's hear it for geek girls! :)

Thats awesome Elonka...you deserve it:) I am very proud to know you. -Nano

RE: Elonka in 'Woman's World' magazine

] SB 500, the bill to require all electronic voting
] machines in Georgia to produce a permanent paper record,
] has passed out of the committee! To gain passage of
] SB-500 in this 2004 session, the bill now requires
] immediate action by the Senate Rules committee, the body
] responsible for putting legislation on the debate
] calendar for the Senate floor. Again, your calls and
] emails can tip the balance.
]
] Any parties who are interested in seeing this legislation
] passed (ie, any and all voters with a basic understanding
] of computer technology and/or standard accounting
] practices) are again urged to lobby, call, write, fax or
] email our Georgia representatives and members of the
] Senate Rules committee from now through Tuesday, March
] 16, with their [succinct] comments in support of this
] important VVPB bill. The list of committee members and
] their contact information links can be found here.
]
] This bill must pass the full Senate by the 33rd day of
] the 40 day session, the "crossover" day, in order to be
] debated and passed in the house, and subsequently signed
] into law by the Governor.

Blog for Democracy: SB-500 Update

] Researchers are reporting new evidence supporting their
] earlier discovery of an inexpensive "tabletop" device
] that uses sound waves to produce nuclear fusion
] reactions.
]
] The researchers believe the new evidence shows that
] "sonofusion" generates nuclear reactions by creating tiny
] bubbles that implode with tremendous force. Nuclear
] fusion reactors have historically required large,
] multibillion-dollar machines, but sonofusion devices
] might be built for a fraction of that cost.

Freakin cool

Evidence bubbles over to support tabletop nuclear fusion device

] Numerous past attempts to develop synthetic blood have
] failed because doctors got the basic science wrong, claim
] a handful of researchers. This week it was announced that
] a blood substitute based on their alternative theories is
] looking promising in an early trial.
]
] Developing a suitable blood substitute for people has
] been a major effort for decades. An artificial blood
] would relieve shortages and prevent patients being
] infected by contaminated supplies.
]
] Ideally, it could be given to anyone without triggering
] rejection, so accident victims could be given
] transfusions immediately without testing to see what
] blood group they are. And a long-lasting form that does
] not need to be kept cold would be ideal for use in
] disasters, wars and remote areas.

New Scientist - Artificial Blood

] It was hard not to feel a twinge of pity for the
] astrophysicists who are now on display at the American
] Museum of Natural History.
]
] On a platform before a crowd of curious onlookers, the
] scientists eagerly ripped open a box of CDs containing
] data from a newly released million-second-long exposure
] taken by two cameras onboard the Hubble telescope

Science is art

Wired News: See Astrophysicists in Captivity

] A top Clinton-era expert on Europe and security warns
] that if the deadly Madrid bombings prove to be the work
] of al-Qaida, it could transform politics throughout
] Europe

Salon.com News | Spanish bombs

] A $1 million race across the Mojave Desert by driverless
] robots ended Saturday after all 15 entries either broke
] down or withdrew, a race official said.

riiiiiiiiight

CNN.com - Robot race ends without a winner - Mar 13, 2004