Software that monitors how we use a keyboard shows that we type differently when we're under stress, and could flag up signs of cognitive deterioration.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Keyboard style could give early warning of dementia
Software that monitors how we use a keyboard shows that we type differently when we're under stress, and could flag up signs of cognitive deterioration.
Many degrees of separation in dementia brains
The network structure of healthy brains allows very efficient communication between different brain regions – but people with dementia don't have it.Many degrees of separation in dementia brains
Steam-powered car breaks century-old speed record
A low-slung car called Inspiration has smashed a speed record set in 1906 by a modified version of the then-popular Stanley Steamer car.Steam-powered car breaks century-old speed record
Man-Made "Trees"
From BBC-Science:
 |  | Engineers launch a radical plan to start removing CO2 from the atmosphere using man-made "trees". |
Kennedy successor to be chosen by special vote
Unlike most states, a successor to fill Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's seat in the Senate will be chosen through a special election, not by the governor.
Teen Wanted Revenge With Columbine-Style Attack
A 17-year-old boy who burst into a California high school strapped with explosives was out for revenge and intended to commit a "cold-blooded execution," police said.
San Mateo authorities said Tuesday that the former Hillsdale High School student planned a mass murder when he entered the halls Monday morning armed with 10 pipe bombs, a chainsaw and a sword.
Wing Nuts Assert 9/11 National Day of Service to Erase Day as repugican Tool
Say What?!
This is interesting.
9/11 victims' families have long recommended making the date a national day of service.
The shrub, not President Obama, called for it first.
Yet the wing nuts are saying that such a day of service would make the date one of "of leftist celebration and statist idolatry."
9/11 victims' families have long recommended making the date a national day of service.
The shrub, not President Obama, called for it first.
Yet the wing nuts are saying that such a day of service would make the date one of "of leftist celebration and statist idolatry."
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons blaming media for spoiling Oshawa surprise
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons says the media is to blame for spoiling a surprise the band had in store for Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons
Kiss frontman Gene Simmons
China Moves To Cut Use Of Executed Inmates' Organs
China has launched a national organ donation system to try to reduce its dependence on body parts harvested from executed prisoners, who make up the majority of donors, state media reported Wednesday.
Executed Inmates' Organs
Executed Inmates' Organs
Senator Ted Kennedy Mourned Across the World
As news of Sen. Ted Kennedy's death spread around the world, tributes to the man known as the " liberal lion of the Senate " poured in from across the globe.
Tropical Storm Danny forms in the Atlantic
Tropical Storm Danny has formed in the open Atlantic off the Bahamas, and forecasters say it could get stronger as it moves toward the U.S.
The storm has top winds of 72 kilometres per hour and is moving to the west-northwest at 28 kph.
Flea Market Kicks Out Casket Seller
A South Carolina man who builds discount wooden caskets in his backyard says a flea market wouldn't let him sell his wares.
Flea Market Kicks Out Casket Seller
Flea Market Kicks Out Casket Seller
Man who robbed banks only on Thursdays gets 6 years
A New Jersey man who robbed banks every Thursday has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison.
Man who robbed banks on Thursdays gets 6 years
Man who robbed banks on Thursdays gets 6 years
Marijuana Ban Ruled Unconstitutional in Argentina
To Americans, who can't seem to agree on medical marijuana use, which has been shown to improve quality of life for sufferers of many diseases, this should come as a shock. Argentina's supreme court has ruled not just that marijuana use should be legal, but that any prohibition on personal use is unconstitutional. What's the Next Right-Wing Scare Tactic? ... Zombie Death Panels
On last night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, Keith discussed a new talking point on health care reform: zombie scare tactics.
U.S. Online Gambling Soon May Be Legalized
Internet and adult entertainment attorney Gregory A. Piccionelli writes: It's not yet law. It's not yet even a bill out of congressional committee. And you shouldn't get your hopes up quite yet. But yes, legal online gambling, a privileged indulgence allowed most of the citizens of the free world, may soon at last be permitted to the people in the land of the free.On May 6, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank (D), introduced new legislation that would for the first time explicitly permit online gambling in Frank's bill, entitled the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection and Enforcement Act, if enacted will establish a brand new federal regulatory regime through which Internet gambling operators would be able to obtain online gaming licenses that would allow them to accept bets from U.S. residents.
Frank, a longtime supporter of online gaming, has been an outspoken critic of the current anti-online gaming law enacted during the Bush Administration. The current law, called the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), was stealthily passed by the Republican-controlled Congress in the middle of the night on the last legislative day before the GOP got its well-deserved drubbing in the 2006 midterm elections.
The UIGEA basically prevents U.S.-based companies from conducting online gambling operations by criminalizing financial institution participation in the processing of transactions associated with Internet wagering in the U.S.
Critics of the UIGEA have long claimed that the law is ridiculously vague and ambiguous, failing to even effectively define what kind of Internet gambling comprises "illegal Internet gambling,"
The Republican geniuses who authored the bill left that task to attorneys representing the affected banks and credit card networks who are supposed to somehow to figure that out from among a myriad of complex and often conflicting state laws and Native American tribal rules.
Even more bizarre, many of us who have to work with the law believe that the structure of the UIGEA effectively makes credit card issuers and the banking industry the front line enforcers of the law. Commenting on the current state of affairs created by the UIGEA, Steve Kenneally, vice president of the American Bankers Association, was quoted in CreditCards.com as saying "It's not a good thing for banks." Ya think?
Thus, while the UIGEA was written with only a few exceptions to its broad online gaming prohibitions, such as an exception for purely intrastate Internet gambling, it has, nevertheless abysmally failed to prevent Americans from engaging in online wagering.
In fact, other than creating a lot of confusion, the principal effect of the UIGEA so far has been to effectively destroy what was once a thriving multibillion dollar domestic online gaming industry, and drive American online casino operators, and American gaming dollars, offshore.
(Thanks again you oh so business savvy, patriotic repubs. I just don't know why anyone would think we should trust any other party with our nation's economy or our foreign policy.)
Adding to a list of legacy items already including increased foreign oil dependence, increased Chinese manufacturing and debt purchase dependence, the UIGEA is just one more reason why our country's global economic competitors should really step up to the plate and chip in to erect a giant "Mission Accomplished" monument to George W. Bush.
Fortunately, Abe Lincoln was right in his observation that all of the people could not be fooled all of the time. Therefore, despite a mighty effort to do so by George W. and the religious righteous, something vaguely resembling rationality seems to be returning to our nation's capital.
And thus, at a news conference announcing the introduction of his new bill legalizing online gambling, Frank stated that "The government should not interfere with people's liberty unless there is a very good reason." Now that's a combination of words I haven't heard from the ruling powers in D.C. for quite some time.
Going on to address the current federal law, Frank added that the UIGEA's blanket prohibition "is, I believe, the single biggest example of an intrusion into the principle that people should be free to do things on the Internet." Please, just pinch me.
Some details about Frank's bill. If enacted, Chairman Frank's bill would mandate thorough investigations of potential licensees. It would also require technological barriers to deter underage gambling and gambling in prohibited locations.
The law would charge the U.S. Department of the Treasury with the responsibility of promulgating regulations pursuant to the statute. And, in its current form, violators of the law would be subject to fines and/or imprisonment for up to five years.
Also, the bill would effectively repeal the widely criticized and bewilderingly complex 121-page set of regulations promulgated under UIGEA that went into effect on Jan.19.
Not surprisingly, online gaming interests have hailed Frank's bill. For example, Michael Brodsky, chief executive of YouBet.com, commented that "Chairman Frank's bill is a welcome and realistic approach to U.S. Internet gambling."
What would enactment of Frank's Internet gambling bill mean for adult webmasters? Currently, Internet gambling is estimated to generate approximately $10 billion-$20 billion per year from U.S. customers, according to Congressional testimony and various industry experts.
While that is a huge amount, easily dwarfing revenues generated by the U.S. online adult entertainment industry (estimated at $2 billion), it is a figure that is sharply down from estimates of $40 billion-$50 billion per year prior to the passage of the UIGEA.
Consequently, for enterprising adult webmasters struggling to compete in a highly competitive market beset by diminishing profits and plagued by the twin dragons of content glut and rampant content piracy, the opportunities presented by the vast potential of legalized online gambling may prove to be an offer of business salvation that comes not a moment too soon.
Additionally, since the beginning of the web, adult erotic entertainment webmasters have long wanted to lawfully and profitably explore and exploit what appears to be natural demographic synergisms involving the two principal forms of online adult entertainment, erotic content consumption and online gambling. Effective and sustained economic development of opportunities involving online gambling and erotica have been stymied to date by governmental roadblocks erected principally at the behest of the religious right.
Legal uncertainties and, in some cases, prosecutions or threats of prosecution for even promoting Internet gambling sites have severely hampered such development. In fact, were it not for such artificial impediments, it is likely that the online gambling industry in the U.S. would have by now developed numerous new types of games and business models to capitalize on the unique opportunities the Internet and e-commerce can provide to the ancient sport, art and science of gambling.
But, now, if Frank's bill or something similar to it is enacted, and online gaming becomes presumptively legal everywhere in the U.S., we may see for the first time since the advent of the web, what Yankee ingenuity applied to online gaming might be able to create. If you pardon the pun, I'll bet it will take the industry to a whole new level. Such is the history of "ma peoples," I am proud to say.
At the very least, American adult erotic entertainment webmasters, already the best traffic generators in the world, could, at last, freely promote licensed legal websites without the concern of prosecution.
What are the chances Frank's bill will become law? Many congressional observers believe that Frank has a fairly good shot at getting his bill passed. But its passage is by no means assured. A similar bill failed last year. And, as expected, Frank's latest attempt ran into predictably instant hostile conservative Republican opposition.
For example, one of Bill O'Reilly's culture warriors, Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., opined in response to the introduction of Frank's bill: "Illegal offshore Internet gambling sites are a [sic] criminal enterprise [sic] and allowing them to operate unfettered in the U.S. would present a clear danger to our youth, who are subject to becoming addicted to gambling at an early age."
Not a surprising response considering that it is, after all, from a member of a party that has recently seemingly bent over backwards to demonstrate that its initials should probably be changed from GOP to G "No" P.
What is interesting about Spencer's observation, however, aside from what seems to be either a claim of a single giant monolithic offshore criminal empire of gambling sites or a George W. Bushquality Texas-size grammatical error, is his apparent misunderstanding that Frank's bill would legalize online gambling by licensing the gambling sites, thus making them, eh ... legal. Something they are, eh ... currently not.
Also, Spencer B. seems to have missed the fact that Frank's bill would require federally licensed gambling sites to perform effective age verification or risk the loss their license. No such incentive to check age currently exists to protect our youth from becoming addicted to gambling by those pesky offshore sites that Mr. Bachus loves to hate.
(BTW, is it me or do you also find it a bit odd or maybe a bit ironic that this particular representative, who is famous for crusading against "immoral" stuff like porn and gambling has a name suspiciously similar to the Roman god "Bacchus," the mythological orgiastic god of wine famous for his lasciviousness, drunkenness, and kickass god parties?)
Regardless, and despite of the predictable outcries and determined opposition to online gaming legalization we can expect from the moralist crusaders like Bachus as Frank's bill moves through Congress, unlike previous unsuccessful attempts to pass similar legislation, this time we are in the middle of an economic meltdown.
The current crisis has caused the federal government to seek and implement ways to stimulate the economy while cash-strapped governments at all levels are eager to implement new ways of generating revenues.
As Michael Brodsky has observed, Chairman Frank's bill has the potential for "providing much needed revenue in these difficult economic times."
Brodsky is not alone in his observation. Many legislators, such as Frank, recognize that legalized online gaming might well be a gigantic new source of tax revenues that is quickly realizable without the need, or political risk, of raising income taxes.
Moreover, what one would hope all of our elected officials who have a pulse should realize, as Frank and his co-sponsors clearly have, is that legalizing online gambling in the U.S. is an intelligent way to stop the hemorrhaging of domestic gaming revenues to foreign countries that has resulting from the bone-headed passage of the UIGEA. This is one of the reasons why one of Frank's co-sponsors of the bill is none other than New York Rep. Peter King (R).
In my opinion, King should be lauded for his courageous support of Frank's bill in light of the unenlightened opposition expected to be mounted against the bill by his republican colleagues. For his political independence and common- sense support of Frank's bill, I believe King should be allowed to use a party abbreviation like "(R-BR)" for "Republican-But Rational" to denote the fact that, while he is a Republican, he nevertheless demonstrates the ability to think rationally and put liberty and country above party, all traits that have become increasingly rare among his G "No" P party colleagues.
In sum, because of the current political environment and the economic circumstances facing the country, it is more likely than ever that Frank's bill, or something similar to it, will ultimately be enacted, if not this session, than in a subsequent congressional session during Obama's term in office.
If you're stuck on a runway
If you're stuck on a runway
Here's advice if you are stranded on a plane like this month's Continental Express flight.
Say it ain't so, boys
It wouldn't be the same - why spoil a perfect thing?
1960s legend up for a remake
The "Polar Express" director wants to give "Yellow Submarine" a modern 3D update.
Do's and don'ts for perfect spaghetti
Do's and don'ts for perfect spaghetti
You'll never make another plate of soggy pasta or lifeless tomato sauce again.
Sony ups the ante with new Kindle rival
Sony ups the ante with new Kindle rival
Sony's upcoming e-reader does some things Amazon's Kindle can do, and some that it can't.
Huge recall of window blinds tied to deaths
Huge recall of window blinds tied to deaths
Millions of shades are being recalled after the deaths of three children.
Celebrity ad crackdown
Celebrity ad crackdown
Oprah's acai-berry controversy sparks a call for new rules about how stars plug products.
Girl gets Little League milestone
Girl gets Little League milestone
Girls have made big strides in youth baseball, but none can match young Katie Reyes.
World's fastest Web speeds
World's fastest Web speeds
Americans rank only 28th in Internet connection speeds, a new report says.
Oshawa livid that KISS isn't coming this fall
KISS fans and civic officials in Oshawa are reported to be stunned and angered by the band's apparent decision to back away from a commitment to perform in their city this fall.
Oshawa livid that KISS isn't coming this fall
Oshawa livid that KISS isn't coming this fall
What's A Planet?
For one of the farthest, coldest places in the solar system, Pluto sure stirs a lot of hot emotions right here on Earth.
Debate Over Pluto Rages On
Debate Over Pluto Rages On
Man makes $50,000 a year ... begging
A homeless man in Sydney, Australia, earns up to $50,000 a year by begging on a street corner, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Man makes $50,000 a year begging
Man makes $50,000 a year begging
Where buying beats renting
Where buying beats renting
In these cities, it costs only a little more to buy a home than to rent one.
Ship's cargo sparks new questions
Ship's cargo sparks new questions
As rumors swirl, Russians admit the hijacked Arctic Sea may have carried something other than timber.
'Practice' terrorist attacks leave residents in panic
A simulated chemical attack, embassy bombing and mock hotel kidnapping in the capital of Brunei alarmed residents who thought it was a real attack.
'Practice' terrorist attacks
'Practice' terrorist attacks
NYC's 'skinniest' house has fat price tag: $2.7M
It's 9 and 1 2 feet wide and 42 feet long and is billed as the narrowest house in New York City.
NYC's 'skinniest' house has fat price tag
Senator Edward Kennedy Dies At Age 77
Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy died after battling brain cancer. His family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.
Senator Edward Kennedy dies at 77
The last surviving Kennedy brother was one of the most influential senators in history.
Daily Almanac
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 26, the 238th day of 2009.
There are 127 days left in the year.
Today in History, August 26.
There are 127 days left in the year.
Today in History, August 26.
Our Readers
Some of our readers today have been in:
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Padova, Veneto, Italy
The Hague, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Guilford, England, United Kingdom
Vasai, Maharashtra, India
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Padova, Veneto, Italy
The Hague, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Guilford, England, United Kingdom
Vasai, Maharashtra, India
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
You've never been fond of secrets.
When they're kept from you, you feel as if you're not in the loop, which just won't do.
After all, you wrote the book on that very same loop.
It's no better on the other side either.
When you're keeping information from someone, you feel guilty, even if there's a really good reason for it.
That said, better prepare to deal with it for a day or so, because there's something going on that's just not fit for public consumption yet.
Can do.
You've never been fond of secrets.
When they're kept from you, you feel as if you're not in the loop, which just won't do.
After all, you wrote the book on that very same loop.
It's no better on the other side either.
When you're keeping information from someone, you feel guilty, even if there's a really good reason for it.
That said, better prepare to deal with it for a day or so, because there's something going on that's just not fit for public consumption yet.
Can do.
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