Cyborg Pigeons

Umm, yeah, it’s supposedly true. Some crazy Chinese scientists implanted electrodes into the brains of some pigeons and were able to control their motor skills and movement. Yikes! That’s what I say. I can see all sorts of negative things that could come of this. The Borg

Seriously, such a device could be implanted into a Human brain just as easily, I’m sure. That means that somebody could gain full control of your body. You want to go one way, but they have go the other–and there’s nothing you can do about it. Now, that is messed up! I don’t think we’re ready for this sort of technology. However.

Such devices could be used to possibly help people who are paralyzed. All we need to do is get the signal from the brain to the various muscles that control motor functions. I mean, I could see a lot of good here as well as bad. It sure would be great to take somebody from no mobility to a full life of doing whatever they want to do.

I just thought it was an interesting article, if the story is true that is. Oh, and they had it setup so they could control it via a wireless connection.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17359821/from/RS.1/

The Dresden Files: Harry and…Bianca?

All right, all right. Amidst the outcry (including from me) that the TV show version of Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files hasn’t lived up to the novels, let me just say: wow, I like this Bianca a whole lot more. I hate to say it, but the vampiress Bianca ( Joanne Kelly ) has never looked more…tasty, and her character on the TV show is a lot more likeable–not that the ruthless, conniving, madam-bitch isn’t fun or anything. I mean, sure, the Bianca in the book series runs a whore house, but she comes off as nothing but cruel and cold-hearted (well, she is a vampire, but still…)

I liked how the producers of the TV series decided that it was better to give Bianca and Harry a past…a past that didn’t necessarily include her trying to kill him, or him trying to kill her. She is what she is, and Harry is what he is, and sometimes their paths are going to cross. Yet, the one thing that I know was just creative thinking by a bunch of geeks who wanted it to happen was Bianca and Harry once being lovers (albeit in a very twisted fashion).

Last night’s episode, the first time we’ve been introduced to Bianca on the tube, had Bianca being setup by some unknown source and Harry as her only help to clear her name. The Council thought she’d been distributing Third-Eye, but she claimed to know nothing about it. Also, several attempts had been made on her life. So. She came calling.

I thought it was funny that Harry had a date over when Bianca arrived. And, well, the date got quite upset that this voluptuous, dark-haired babe came looking for her boyfriend–I mean, ex-boyfriend. Oops. Doesn’t that always happen to Harry? LOL Anyway. Bianca asks for Harry’s help and he reluctantly agrees to offer her his services.

Harry, obviously, can’t really trust Bianca, but, believe it or not, he finds out she’s telling the truth. She had nothing to do with the Third-Eye and hates the stuff to no end. Yet, one dead vampire-hunter later, Harry begins to doubt her claim. So. They track down the men who’d been disguising themselves as the vampire-hunter’s and find out that it was another group of vampires. In the end, we learn that Bianca’s apprentice was the one causing all the troubles. Harry apologizes to Bianca in an intimate setting. And when she asks if he is afraid of her, he says no, which leads her to say, “that, my dear boy, is why some day I’ll have to rip your throat out.” Awww, love

As for the woman who played Bianca. WOW! She was smokin’ hot. I like how she lent a sexuality and vulnerability to Bianca’s character that seemed very believable and…satisfying. Joanne Kelly is from Canada and shes played in a few other TV series roles. I noticed she played in Spears and Arrows, which I heard was an excellent series.

GURPS, Ogre’s Net, Promises

Last night I discovered GURPS, found out how much Tang-tasting liquor it takes to get somebody drunk, and learned why you don’t make an assassin angry. What the heck am I talking about? Well, I went over to a friends house to try out his new GURPS campaign. What is GURPS? Generic Universal Role-Playing System. Basically, it’s a system that allows you to apply a general set of rules to your own role-playing world, which could be sci-fi, fantasy, western, etc.

We we’re having a lot of fun until “family” issues interrupted everything, but I don’t blame the person who was having said problems. They’ve been through a lot over the past few weeks. However, the game got cut short because of this. GURPS is actually a lot of fun, and I’m really enjoying my character that I created–it’s a lot better in some ways than D&D, and lot easier. Though, it’s hard to remember sometimes that you want to roll low in GURPS, not high like you do in D&D. That’s definitely something that’s different.

Oh, and that Tang-tasting liquor I mentioned was actually quite good–a little too good if you ask me. I can’t remember the name of it, but it made you feel buzzed pretty quick. And it was only 40% proof. Still, that was enough to give a little kick. Needless to say I couldn’t sleep after coming home because of having way too much Mountain Dew. I didn’t really fall asleep until about four this morning. Anyway.

Ogre’s Network is going to be no longer as of the end of this month. It’s kind of said to see it go, but…oh, well. I still have a few things I’ve got to take care of, and I’m ashamed I haven’t done so yet. I’ve just been busy as of late. I mean, an ogre is only as good as his word, and I feel I haven’t lived up to that ol’ adage. So, I’m going to take care of the things I said I’d take care of two weeks ago. After that, ON will be but a memory.

Fur From China…Watch Out!

Man, I’m going to have to return that fur-trimmed parka I just bought

Big surprise here. I was reading the news on MSNBC and saw an article on faux fur actually being real. Apparently, Chinese suppliers have been using fur from domesticated dogs and even wolves on several high-end clothing brands and, worse, calling it faux. Well, it seems there’s nothing fake about it.

One consumer alerted the Humane Society of America about the fur, saying it felt too real to be fake. And, after various spectrometer tests were taken, it was found that the woman was right. Coats from Andrew Marc and Tommy Hilfiger were both found to have this from-domesticated-dog fur. This left many retailers scrambling to pull the coats in question from store shelves and racks. Should this be surprising? No.

Chinese suppliers are always trying to out bid any and every competitor that comes along–and here are clothing manufacturers, which outsource everything to other Chinese suppliers anyway, are letting it happen. I don’t care what they say. Nothing surprises me anymore. Ooops, somebody got caught There is just no regulation in China for these kinds of things, either. It’s not fair that our companies have to follow stringent guidelines while these guys are getting away with paying employees low wages and, well, things like using dog fur on clothing. I think there need to be regulations. I think the government needs to step in and use trade sanctions to say, “hey, China, you can’t get away with this.”

Huh? Yeah right. That will never happen. Why? Because, if we enforced trade sanctions on China we’d not have half the things our consumers are craving. It’s all made in China, now. It’s ridiculous. Way to go corporate America. I agree with what Steven Colbert on the Colbert Report had to said about the subject: China is a frienemy. That’s an enemy who acts like a friend for those of you who aren’t in the know. This is just another example of that.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17298301/

Best Evidence: Contrails

I’m starting to become a fan of Best Evidence, a TV show on the Discovery Channel that investigates conspiracy claims. The episode on last night was about strange contrails in the skies over the United States that might be causing unseen environmental damage. Several claim that these long-lasting contrails are caused by military aircraft in particular. That there is a secret project going on right now that isn’t very environmentally friendly. So, what is it?

Well, it turns out that back in the late 1970s a scientist had the idea of dusting the atmosphere with aluminum-oxide to help curb the effects of global warming. The idea was: the aluminum particles would reflect back some of the rays of the sun, slowing the amount of sunlight that directly impacts the Earth’s climate. It was an interesting theory, I’ll give him that, but it was never put into practice because of the extent such an experiment would cost in time and manpower, not to mention the unknown consequences that might become of it. However, some conspiracy theorists say that since 1995 the government has brought back the good scientist’s idea and have been running a long-term experiment without any of us knowing. How are they doing it? Why, of course, they’re using military aircraft in various flight paths around the country.

The idea is that these flights are ejecting aluminum-oxide from their exhaust, which leaves long-lasting contrails in the skies. Contrails (also known as vapor trails) are those long, puffy-white formations that you see behind a jet. Those are ice particles and what not that have built up on wing tips or any other various parts of the plane. You could think of it, in a way, similiar to the composition of a comet. Anyway. These contrails generally last for maybe ten to fifteen minutes and then, as the ice crystals melt, fade away. Yet, this seems not to be the case as of late in certain parts of the country.

Particulary over California there has been some concern. Apparently, some soil samples of late have yielded high concentrations of aluminum-oxide, berium, and other various heavy metals. Over the areas where the samples have been taken have been noticed several contrails that have lasted for up to eight hours. I found that interesting. Then, a guy who interviewed some airtraffic controllers found it strange that some of the planes taking off from various civilian airports were military–specifically tankers. These planes also seemed to fly over the same areas that were being effected.

So, the theory is that the government is trying to see if aluminum-oxide and other various heavy metals might be useful in the short term against global warming. Well, if this is the case, then what impact is the fallout of these materials having on our environment? Surely, the United States government wouldn’t be so cavalier? Anyway. I surfed the web and found some of the websites mentioned on the show. And, I have to admit, there is some rather compelling evidence out there. Makes you wonder.

Heroes, LOST

Yet another week, yet another episode of Heroes. This week we learned the fate of Hiro after having been locked up in the hotel pantry by Ms-crocodile-tears. Sylar kills another hero and gains another power–this one perhaps more than he bargained for. Parkman meets up with an old acquaintance. And Peter’s training is interrupted by Mr. Bennet and the Haitian.

I was thoroughly impressed this week both story-wise and production-wise. Heroes really does get better with each episode unlike LOST thus far this season, which seems to only get worse. So. The doctor still doesn’t know Sylar is right next to him. The man who killed his father is but inches away. And, oh man it was awesome, I loved when he was telling Sylar what happened to his father “A man named Sylar killed him.” Yeah, and you’re talking to him bub! Sylar kills the latest find as well, taking yet another power. This time he might have bitten off more than he can chew, though.

The mechanic lady apparently had super-hearing (maybe even into the subsonic level), where she can hear storms coming from miles away (she even picked up Sylar’s heartbeat). She noticed that his heart beat quicker–in anticipation?–when she showed him and the doctor her power. Too bad for her, though, that she had to die for Sylar to get it. Am I seeing a connection here between Sylar and Peter? Sylar can steal powers and has full control. Yet, Peter can mimic and has little control. Gees. A showdown between these two is only inevitable.

Speaking of Peter. He ends up nearly being caught by Mr. Bennet and crew. However, he got away. And he took his trainer with him–the invisible man. Then, he finally confronted Issac and, oh my, what an ending. Simone ends up getting shot with his recklessness, no thanks to Issac. Now, both of them have to feel dumb and angry with themselves. Anyway. Is Simone dead? Who knows. She might be.

Another memorable scene is when Hiro comes to Ando’s rescue from the crazy woman. He hooks up with the guy from the Nevada Gaming Commission, not realizing he is in with the woman. Hiro and his new partner arrive just in time as Ando is being held at gunpoint. However, instead of arresting anybody, the Gaming Commission guy opens up fire on the woman, which is when we learn these two crazy cats are fighting over the stolen money. Ando gets caught in the crossfire and is shot twice in the shoulder. Gees. It was madness. It all ended with Hiro telling Ando he had to do this alone. So, he boards a bus and leaves Ando behind. Oh. And, I had a laugh when seeing Stan Lee was the bus driver Awesome.

Last but not least, we find that Parkman and Ted and his mysterious counterpart decide to go pay Mr. Bennet a visit. Oh, that’s going to be fun. Also, Claire comes to grips with her mother’s illness and her father’s involvement in it. Oops. Yeah, way to go Mr. Bennet.

LOST this week wasn’t exactly the best it could have been. In fact, it was down right mediocre. We learn what Jack’s tattoos say. And the mysterious woman that put them there. Also, Kate wrestles with her feelings toward the good doctor and leaving him behind. Plus, Juliet pays the price for shooting Danny. At least, Jack did come to her rescue. Oh, and we’re finally off that damn science island. Please, no more Hydra! No more animal cages! We’re going home–yeah, to the Others’ home.

I’m not sure what to think about tonight’s LOST episode other than it could have used some more polish. It was almost as if everything were being forced. I don’t know, but where was the acting? None of it was very convincing. I hope things really aren’t spiraling out of control here. Well, I actually, for once, don’t want to say much more about LOST. I just hope things get better.

Computer Troubles: Again

Well, it looks like my computer of awesome-awesomeness might be on the fritz. I’m, of course, referring to my desktop: the dual core AMD that I built about a year ago. Everything went crazy the other night after the computer crashed while I was playing SWAT 4–and the funny part of it is that it happened right when I got shot by a bad guy (I guess he got me). I was just sitting there when the sound went all screwy and the screen went garbled. Then, next thing I knew, the machine was rebooting itself.

Windows came back up. And there was no sign (no message) that anything was ever wrong. In fact, the log file was empty, too. So, I shrugged my shoulders and tried to relaunch SWAT. Almost immediately after SWAT began to load, BAM! The computer rebooted itself, again. By this time I was pissed–ogres don’t handle stress well

The computer came back up and I decided it was time to disable Window’s default setting where it restarts after a crash. Then, I fired up SWAT again and (you know what happened?) it crashed again–plus restarted! The machine tried to POST but nothing happened. The hard drive light stayed steady and the screen was blank. I had to flip the switch on the back of the power supply to turn it off so that I could turn it back on. After turning it back on, worry and frustration clouding my primal mind, it got past POST and Windows began to load, but it didn’t load all the way. It stopped at the option menu. Naturally, I was cursing at the thing. Yet, I kept calm enough to try the Last Known Good Configuration option. Though. Guess what? That didn’t work, either. The machine rebooted, again.

So, to make a long story short, I went into safe mode, checked the log (still nothing) and then restarted and Windows loaded just fine this time. And I was able to play SWAT without anymore issues. It was a strange experience. It could have been something overheating, which is what I suspect. I doubt it was a virus or anything. However. Last night when I got home, I was in the bedroom and heard the computer’s internal speaker beep as if it had just POSTED. I went into the office and, yup, it had. It had restarted itself. But, after it came back up everything was again normal. In fact, I played SWAT last night without any issues. I don’t know. It’s definitely odd. Things like this always, problems with my other machines, seem to happen when I buy a new computer–go figure. What, are the other machines afraid they won’t get any attention anymore?

Heroes, LOST

So, what will Sylar do with his newest power? Will Claire get over her hurt at her father’s apparent lack of concern for her? Will Jessica make her next hit? I don’t know. But, I definitely will be sitting on my couch tonight to find out. NBC’s Heroes has me hooked just like the rest of America.

Last week’s episode just left the Ogre wanting more. I was impressed with a few of the things they did to move the story along. Probably my favorite part was Niki’s bad side, Jessica, preparing for a hit, which I knew had to be the new client that Parkman was working for, and I was right. I was talking to the TV when the picture of the guy was shown, too. I was like: “I knew it, I knew it. That’s freaking awesome!” Indeed. Talk about an awesome segue. However, one bit that I truly enjoyed was when Parkman thought there were two hit-women–but, we all knew it was Niki and Jessica talking and arguing with each other.

Then, Sylar and his bit with the doctor. I saw it coming. Yet, I was impressed with how it was done. When Dr. Suresh arrived at the residence of another find he wasn’t surprised to see it was Sylar, because he’d never seen Sylar before. So, he just assumed that this was the guy whom he had talked to on the phone. Classic. However, the doctor did seem to see that something wasn’t quite right, though he kept trying to shrug it off. I thoroughly enjoyed the part where Sylar realized he couldn’t swab his own mouth for the DNA sample Suresh wanted, so he took it instead from the body on the floor, which he’d so methodically brought into the kitchen. Good thing the good doctor didn’t get a glimpse of that corpse

Clairebear’s scenes were less impressive, but equally thought out. And, I have to give it to the young actress who play’s Claire, she really did an excellent job of showing every emotion on her face that Claire might have felt in such a situation. Awesomely played. Now, that’s talent. She didn’t even have any lines during that scene and yet, I felt and understood what was trying to be said. Awesome.

Ugh. Then, we have Hiro and Ando’s little mishap. Ooops. Ando took to being duped. Well, that shouldn’t surprise me, I suppose. He’s always been an ol’ softy when it comes to the ladies I mean, he did show up at Niki’s house after all–and she needs a lot of help. LOL Anyway. It should be interesting to see how things pan out in this week’s episode. Hopefully, we’ll get to see what Peter’s been up to, and learn the reprecussions of his brother’s little visit to Texas. Only six more hours to go

Don’t get me wrong, though, LOST was excellent last week as well. Desmond’s life flashing before his eyes was an interesting effect of the hatch implosion. I liked how that segue was done, too, with Charlie and Hugo getting him drunk and then Charlie demanding to know and then calling Desmond a coward. The “coward” bit is, of course, what sent Des into a rage of emotions, which ended up working very well.

Seeing through Desmond’s eyes the full story of the events in his life that ultimately led him to the island were intriguing. And I enjoyed how he realized halfway through that he was reliving things. He tried to change things, of course, which I know any of us would try, but he wasn’t allowed to–for if he did, anybody he cared for would be dead, including Penny.

Yet, I’m getting ahead of myself here. What led Charlie to want to know what happened to Desmond? It was, obviously, Desmond running off without preamble towards the water where he rescued Claire from drowning. How did he know Claire was in trouble? That’s what Charlie was truly trying to figure out. And, at the end, that was answered with a simple, short explanation given by Desmond. “I wasn’t trying to save Claire, Charlie. I was trying to save you.”

Ending it right there was an extremely creative idea. That could have gone anywhere. But, just cutting it off like that worked better than anything else they could have done. Well, that’s in my opinion anyway. Though, I tell you what, just reading some of the descriptions for the upcoming episodes makes my mouth salivate. I’m waiting for the one titled Enter 77 where the gang finds a mysterious structure with an even more mysterious inhabitant. I’ll defintely be there for that one.