You’re essentially looking over my shoulder as I write, think, create, invent, and — in general — ponder the world around us.  Feel free to peruse my writings and chime in as you’re so inspired.  I encourage spirited debate.

This is a specially crafted multi-pronged conduit.  Everything I type feeds parallel simultaneous streams to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and my e-mail broadcast system.  It’s a global tightrope without a net.  Oh, my.

No topic is off limits. If you’re looking for a site that is “politically correct,” you’ve come to the wrong place.  Hit the back button on your browser now.

Lots and lots of new features are coming online.  They’re all in various stages of development.  You’ll soon see innovative things I’m working on — such as a live, streaming, two-way “TV channel” of sorts where you’ll be able to interact with me (audio, video, text) in real time as I type here in front of my computer.

This is my platform to push the boundaries of technology in every dimension.

Hang on tight.  We may achieve orbit.  Or we may sail off a cliff.  But the ride will be exhilarating.

– Eric

You saw it on the news. You read about it in the press. But now you can learn the inside story of the team that launched the world’s first civilian rocket into space.

As many of you know, I was one of the team leaders of this historic mission.  On May 17, 2004, after years of agonizing rocket crashes and catastrophes — some quite spectacular — we accomplished our remarkable goal.

I stuffed the book with 90 full-color photos to bring the adventure to life in vivid detail.  It’s 244 pages long in a wonderfully oversized 6×9 format.  (Paperback size wouldn’t do justice to the glorious color images.)  Check out the covers here.

You can order the book from Amazon by clicking here.

I encourage you to check out my book’s companion Web site at www.TheNewRaceToSpace.com.  You’ll see lots of interesting videos and other neat stories. And, as a bonus, you can save $2.00 if you use the Web site’s special ordering link and enter Discount Code NDE55XNW.

Washington legislators may have finally lost their minds. Two bills winding their way through Congress — the House’s “Stop Online Piracy Act” (aka, SOPA) and the Senate’s “Protect IP Act of 2011″ (aka, Protect IP) — could gut the very foundation of the Internet.

But don’t just take my word for it. The same conclusion is represented by three distinguished law professors from Stanford, Elon, and Temple universities in their jointly published essay, “Don’t Break the Internet.”

Here are a couple of snippets from the authors’ essay:

“The procedures outlined in both bills fail [a] fundamental constitutional test. Websites can be ‘completely removed from circulation’ — rendered unreachable by, and invisible to, Internet users in the United States and abroad — immediately upon application by the government, without any reasonable opportunity for the owner or operator of the website in question to be heard or to present evidence on his or her own behalf. This falls far short of what the Constitution requires before speech can be eliminated from public circulation.”

“As serious as these infirmities are, SOPA, the House’s bill, builds upon them, enlarges them, and makes them worse. Under SOPA, IP rights holders can proceed vigilante-style against allegedly offending sites, without any court hearing or any judicial intervention or oversight whatsoever.”

In the noise of all of the other political gyrations in Washington, legislation that could undermine the foundation of the Internet could squeak through. I urge you to review the entire legal analysis at this link.  If you’re equally concerned, you may want to consider contacting your Congressional representatives.

Image courtesy Stanford Law Review.

ABC News / Australian 9NEWS:   “A U.S. transgender woman has been charged with practising cosmetic surgery without a licence after she injected a patient’s buttocks with a cocktail of substances including cement and [tire] sealant, police say.

“Oneal Ron Morris, 30, was arrested last Friday for conducting a botched butt implant at a Miami home last May, ABC reports.  Police said Morris shot a mixture of cement, glue, mineral oil and ‘Fix-A-Flat’ [tire] mender into the woman’s buttocks and then sealed the amateur incision with super glue.

“Morris, who appears to have an ‘enhanced’ rear end herself from police photos, first met her victim to discuss the procedure in May 2010.  ‘They agreed on the price of $700 for the procedure, which was intended for cosmetic purposes,’ Sgt William Bamford told ABC.  But the patient soon complained of serious pains in her abdomen and throughout her body, and was hospitalized.”

For the complete head-shaking story, visit http://bit.ly/rwQ7if

Police photo of Oneal Ron Morris courtesy of ABC News / Australian 9NEWS

Discovery News:  “Pop the red, cranberry-sized miracle fruit in your mouth and chew it for a while, allowing its juices to coat your mouth. It doesn’t taste like much. But what follows ‘is just a miracle or a kind of magic’ according to Keiko Abe, of the University of Tokyo, as you sample other foods. ‘Beer tastes like sweet juice. Lemon tastes like sweet orange.’

“Sour foods are perceived as trippily sweet when tasted for up to an hour after consuming the berry. This effect has led curious folks in the U.S. and elsewhere to seek the miracle fruit for ‘flavor-tripping’ parties: pop the fruit with friends, then sample a smorgasbord of sour-leaning snacks: limes, goat cheese, beer, grapefruit, vinegar, pickles and more.

“‘To me it was very exhilarating. It really is a very joyous experience,’ said writer Adam Gollner of trying the fruit. Gollner is author of The Fruit Hunters, which includes a chapter on the miracle fruit. “It’s almost like this thing that you can’t understand that is happening to you. That sense of incomprehensibility is a great feeling.’”

For the complete Discovery News article, click here: http://bit.ly/tW1qVS

Image courtesy of Keiko Abe / Science

Until now, your options for flat-panel TVs really boiled down to LCD, LED, or plasma.  But if you’re in the market for a large flat-panel TV, and you want to future-proof your selection, you may want to switch your sights to OLED — organic light-emitting diode technology.

OLEDs provide amazing clarity, contrast, and color saturation.  In the not-to-distant future, they’ll be the technology behind the paper-thin TVs you’ll be able to affix to your wall like wall paper.  In the meantime, manufacturers are ready to roll out more-traditional flat-screen TVs made of OLEDs — such as the stunning 55-inch TV by LG Electronics.

The soon-to-be-unveiled LG Electronics 55-inch OLED flat-screen TV is just 4mm thick  (just a little more than an eighth of an inch).  And the entire TV weighs just 16.5 pounds.

The LG Electronics 55-inch OLED TV is scheduled to be revealed at the International Consumer Electronics show in Las Vegas on January 10th.  For more information, visit this link:  http://fxn.ws/tgDLlb

Image courtesy LG Electronics

My brother-in-law, Larry, gave my wife, Elsie, a musical Christmas ornament 23 years ago — when he was just 8 years old.  23 years later, the Christmas ornament still plays its song — Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer — with the ORIGINAL BATTERY.  It would seem technically impossible.  But, for some unexplained reason, the ornament keeps working.

Not even today’s advanced lithium batteries would function for 23 years.  (Their shelf life is approx. 10 years.)  And back 23 years ago, the battery that was glued into the ornament was the cheapest possible — as the entire ornament only cost Larry a few dollars.  The battery should have lasted four or five years, at most.  But now we’re just two years short of a QUARTER CENTURY.

Would you like to see and hear the ornament for yourself?  Here’s a link to a YouTube video of Elsie and Larry playing the ornament on December 12, 2010.  And here’s a link to a YouTube video of Elsie, Larry, and other family members playing the ornament just a couple of days ago — on December 18, 2011.

You can also scroll down and click on the images below — to immediately play our 2010 and 2011 family YouTube videos.

None of my engineer buddies (in fact, no one who I’ve talked to) has been able to suggest a plausible reason why this ornament continues to play, year after year.  Hence it’s why our family has named it our “miracle Christmas ornament.”

Now, I’m not saying that this ornament is divinely powered.  For us, the phrase  is simply a fun way to talk about our annual family tradition regarding this amazing, never-quit, holiday gift.

How long will it keep going?  Will it make a full quarter of a century?  Impossible to predict.  We’re in uncharted territory.  I’ll keep you posted through the next couple of years.

Let me take this moment to wish a heartfelt “Happy Holidays” to all of my readers — of all faiths — around the globe.  Thank you for letting me be part of your world each week.

-- Eric

From December 12, 2010:

From December 18, 2011:

How would you like to raise up to $2 million for your startup business?  And do it by letting investors “point-n-click” the cash your way via the Web?  It may soon be nearly that simple, thanks to the “Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act” (more commonly known as the “Crowdfunding Act”) that passed the House in an overwhelming (and bi-partisan!) 407 to 17 vote.  President Obama is another driving force behind the legislation, which is designed to dramatically streamline fund-raising for entrepreneurs.

After the bill passes the Senate (and all indications are that it will), and President Obama signs the legislation into law, entrepreneurs will be able to turn on a grassroots method to raise capital — equity sales online — with greatly reduced SEC restrictions.  The freer flow of money would be rocket fuel for startups, which are an essential engine for a robust economy and job creation.

“Crowdfunding” — a way for masses of people (“the crowd”) to feed ventures with capital via the Web — has blossomed in recent years thanks to sites like Kickstarter.com.  But SEC “red tape” (primarily the Securities Act of 1933) has prohibited these sites from directly offering investment shares in the enterprises.  The new Crowdfunding Act will remove this barrier.  No longer will equity sales be restricted to accredited investors.  And the power of public-supported funding will be unleashed.

Entrepreneurial endeavors will be able to sell up to $2 million in ownership shares to an unlimited number of investors.  And individuals will be able to invest up to $10,000 or up to 10% of his or her annual income, whichever is less.

If a company seeks the maximum $2 million in funding, it must supply “the crowd” with audited financial statements.  A company can choose to bypass the audited-financial-statement requirement — but then the maximum capital it can raise is $1 million.  (That’s nothing to sneeze at!)

When the President signs the legislation into law, it will be a glorious day for all entrepreneurs.  Just as important for America, the ensuing new businesses will provide a shot of adrenaline for the economy and help rev up the job-creation engine.  Everyone will win.

I come across all sorts of gizmos and gadgets.  One that struck me as truly brilliant is the “iCADE” iPad arcade cabinet.  Just pop in an iPad and — presto! — you’ve transformed it into a classic arcade (see picture) capable of playing dozens of your Atari favorites, like Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Centipede, Missile Command, Battlezone, Super Breakout, and (one of my personal favorites) Tempest.  (I spent way too many hours playing Tempest in the arcade at UConn.  But I digress…)

I found the iCADE on sale at ThinkGeek for $69.99 (about 30 bucks less than other online stores).  Here’s the link:  http://bit.ly/s56vbe

And, yes, I bought one.  Couldn’t resist.

NOTE:  To complete the iPad-to-iCADE metamorphosis, you’ll also need to download the games from the Apple App Store.  Some are free (like Missile Command), some are 99 cents, and you can download the full collection of 100 Atari games for $14.99.  Enjoy!

Has your cell phone’s autocorrect feature ever made a really screwy suggestion for the word you intended to type?  Worse, have you accidentally sent the text with the nutty word, only to then have an OMG moment — wishing you could take it back?

The editors of “Damn You Auto Correct” have compiled what they believe are the 50 funniest messed-up text messages, as determined by Facebook shares, tweets, comments, and pageviews.  Check out the LOL selection of text messages here:   http://bit.ly/vxU90b

I’m following up on my earlier thoughts regarding Americans Elect.  On the November 25th “Hardball” with Chris Matthews (one of my favorite shows, btw), Americans Elect COO Elliot Ackerman had some revealing comments — a number of which were not factual.  For instance, Ackerman expressed that the donor list is “streaming live on our Web site.”  However, it is not.  He also said that Americans Elect is “not a political party.”  However, a little fact-checking reveals that Americans Elect is registered as a political party in a variety of states, including Florida, Colorado, and Arizona.

Because Americans Elect doesn’t have to reveal its donor list, that invites big money to sneak in the back door — along with wink-and-nod influence.  And the organization, itself, was kicked off with $1.55 million from Wall Street billionaire Peter Ackerman.  Yes, that’s the COO’s father.  So there’s a strange mix of things going on here.  The organization may very well have a significant impact on the 2012 election.  But will it be a healthy impact?  Stay tuned for further perspectives.

In the meantime, check out the Wikipedia information here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_Elect

And here’s a link to the above-referenced Hardball interview: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/#45406374

NASA’s Kepler spacecraft has discovered an Earth-like planet with balmy 70-degree temperatures: “Kepler-22b”.  The plant is 2.4 times the diameter of Earth, and orbits its sun in 290 days.

But we won’t be visiting anytime soon, as the planet is 600 light years away.  How far is 600 light years?  Well, consider that light travels 186,287 miles each second.  Now multiply 186,287 miles times the number of seconds in 600 years.  Whew!

Scientists have pointed the 42 dish antennas that comprise California’s Allen Telescope Array on Kepler-22b to see if it can detect any radio waves — to perhaps catch a Keplerian broadcast of “Dancing with the Stars” (sorry — couldn’t resist that).

Something to think about:  If scientists on Kepler-22b were scanning Earth for radio or TV broadcasts, they wouldn’t hear anything.  Radio waves travel at the speed of light.  So, they’d be examining Earth as it was 600 years ago — and radio was invented here less than 150 years ago.

For additional details about this planetary discovery, including a video of the mission managers discussing their find, check out the following article in the San Jose Mercury News:  http://bit.ly/smOSZF

Artist’s conception courtesy of NASA / Ames/ JPL-Caltech

“Carrier IQ is a piece of software installed on millions of mobile phones that logs everything their users do, from what websites they browse to what their text messages say.

“No, it’s not part of some great Orwellian plot; it’s a diagnostic tool that carriers say plays a crucial role in helping them assess and troubleshoot their networks. But the recording app, which flew under the radar for years until security researchers drew attention to it recently, is setting off red-alert privacy and security alarms.

“It’s also spotlighting how little customers — and, sometimes, the carriers and manufacturers themselves — know about what goes on under the hood of their data-stuffed mobile devices.”

For the full article, including a link to an insightful YouTube video, visit http://cnnmon.ie/ruPxSh

Image courtesy John F. Coughlin / CNNMoney

I’m not big on politics.  But I am on technology.  And I’ve spotted an emerging technology platform that has a legitimate potential to profoundly impact the U.S. presidential election less than a year from now.

It’s called Americans Elect www.AmericansElect.com.  Its goal:  Allow the public to select its own President / Vice President candidate ticket — and put the pair on the election ballot in all 50 states.

What distinguishes this endeavor from a symbolic gesture is that Americans Elect is collecting signatures nationwide to place the selected candidates on the ballot in all 50 states.  So, in theory, the Americans Elect ticket could become President and Vice President of the United States.

As stated by Americans Elect:  “We’re using the Internet to break the gridlock in Washington, open up the political process and give every single voter — Democrat, Republican or independent — the power to nominate a presidential ticket in 2012. Your voice matters. You decide the issues. You choose the candidates. And in a secure, online convention next June, you will make history by putting the Americans Elect ticket on the ballot in every state.”

Could this actually happen?  Given the volatile political climate, and now the technology infrastructure, it’s not impossible.  Check out the Web site www.AmericansElect.com and keep an eye on things.  And if Americans Elect blossoms into a real political force, remember where you heard it first.

I recently came across a Bushnell BackTrack Point-5 ultra-portable GPS at an L.L. Bean store.  It was on sale for $79.  I couldn’t resist finding out what such a low-priced GPS unit could do.  The unit also features a digital compass, altimeter, thermometer, and clock.

I was pleasantly surprised.  This little unit performed like a champ.   Within about 20 seconds of popping in two AAA batteries, the unit had already “locked” onto GPS satellites.  With a press of a button, the unit stored my location.  It gave me a choice of five location icons, as the device will allow up to five “waypoints” to be kept in memory.

My wife and I then went for a few-mile hike in an area with plenty  of hills, trees, and thick brush.   The  BackTrack Point-5 made our return trip simple.

With its small size and attached carabineer, you can just clip it onto your belt or backpack — and off you go.  For easy hikes, it may be all you need.  For more complex journeys, it would make a great backup.

If you’re looking for a “stocking stuffer” for the person who appreciates  unique gadgets, this should certainly be a pleaser.

HEAD’S UP:   I already thought it was a super deal for $79.  But I’ve also spotted it for just $68 at Walmart (online only) and $67 on Amazon.

Check out a minute-and-a-half video and product details at this link.

Image courtesy Bushnell

As I reported in an earlier post, NASA’s Curiosity rover is about twice as long and about five times heavier than the most recent Opportunity and Spirit rovers.  But what’s really unique is that it’s powered by a radioisotope power system instead of solar panels.  The result:  Curiosity should be able to operate continuously through sandstorms and Martian winters for years.

If you’d like to read more about NASA’s Curiosity rover and its innovative power plant, check out a CNET article at this link:  http://cnet.co/rs8Xlz

Image courtesy of NASA

I’ve come across one of the most bizarre music videos that I’ve ever seen.  It is a group of Chinese senior citizens performing Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”  Picture scantily clad women musicians playing clear-plastic fiddles with seniors gyrating to the music in a life-size dollhouse.  I’m not making this up.

If you dare to unlock a weird and freaky place in your brain, turn up your speakers and click on this article’s image and link.  You’ve been warned…

Just when you thought scientific research couldn’t get any more bizarre, here’s a new benchmark:  Researchers at the University College London have apparently discovered a link between the number of Facebook friends and the size particular of brain regions, such as the amygdala, where memory and emotion are processed.

The researchers do not suggest whether they believe it was Facebook activity that increased the size of these portions of the brain — or — if someone’s amygdala size, for instance, influences a person’s desire to acquire Facebook friends.

If you’d like to know more about this unusual study, check out the Reuter’s report here:  http://reut.rs/rm6Apb.  And, yes, feel free to share the details with your friends on Facebook.

Image courtesy of Reuters

Chime.in, a just-launched social-media site, claims it will pay all content posters 50% of the advertising revenue generated on their profile pages.  This in stark contrast to Facebook, which has built a $65 billion empire by leveraging members’ content to attract advertisers and amass revenue.

To provide a first-hand report, I created Chime.in account (very simple to do), and explored the site.  Although the site is still in beta, I must say the user interface is well thought out.  Since the site has just turned on, you probably have a good shot to get your personal name as your user name.  Hey, it’s free.  Go for it.  www.Chime.in

The following is a snippet of a Huffington Post article about Chime.In:

“While Facebook has earned billions of dollars selling ads next to the content uploaded by their 800 million members, users haven’t seen a dime from their posts.

Share with Chime.in and Chime.in will share with you. The site, which allows individuals to post photos, links, videos and text in two thousand character ‘chimes,’ will give users 50 percent of the revenue it earns from selling advertising on their profile pages.

‘This is a firing shot in social media,’ [Bill Gross, the founder] told The Huffington Post. ‘Finally, the interests of the content creators are aligned with the interests of the publisher because they get something for their hard work.”

For the complete article, visit http://huff.to/ogyFGi

Image courtesy The Huffington Post and Getty Images.

London (CNN) — An independent study of global temperature records has reaffirmed previous conclusions by climate scientists that global warming is real.

The new analysis by the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project examined 1.6 billion temperature reports from 15 data archives stretching back over 200 years in an effort to address scientific concerns raised by climate skeptics about the data used to inform reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Researchers found “reliable evidence” of a rise in average world land temperatures of one degrees Celsius — or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit — since the mid-1950s.

[NOTE:  To attempt to quell any straggling skeptics, the researchers have published their methodology, entire data set, and software code, in a fully transparent and well-designed research protocol.   Here's the link:   http://berkeleyearth.org]

“Our biggest surprise was that the new results agreed so closely with the warming values published previously by other teams in the United States and the UK,” professor Richard A. Muller, Berkeley Earth’s scientific director said in a statement.

“This confirms that these studies were done carefully and that potential biases identified by climate change skeptics did not seriously affect their conclusions,” Muller added.

Climate skeptics have consistently challenged the findings of studies by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the UK’s University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit, whose research is used by the IPCC.

For the complete CNN report, including links to the actual study, please visit http://bit.ly/qNMjJE

Image courtesy of CNN

I came across this inspiring two-minute video on YouTube about entrepreneurs.  They formed the fabric of our country — and could (and should) be our engine to the future.  Start your day off with this video.  It will lift your spirits.  Then take that rush of adrenaline and dose free spirit — and go for it.  Change the world.

Facebook has really messed up its News Feed.  Overwhelmingly, people want the Facebook News Feed to function the way it was.  Here’s a simple 1-2-3 to do just that:

(1)  In the left-hand column, click on LISTS.

(2)  Click on the “Create a List” button and type “Most Recent” as the name.

(3)  Select all of the friends you’d like to follow by clicking on their pictures.

That’s it!  Now when you want to see a “normal” most-recent list of the activities of your friends, just click on the “Most Recent” link in the left-hand column.

Bonus option #1:  If you’d like the “Most Recent” link to conveniently appear in your “Favorites” at top of the left-hand column, simply mouse-over the “Most Recent” list name, click on the pencil icon that pops up, and then click on “Add to Favorites.”

Bonus option #2:  If you’d really like to tweak the position of the “Most Recent” link, say to put it at the very top of your “Favorites,” that’s easy too.  All you have to do (once it is in your “Favorites”) is mouse over the “Most Recent” link again, click on the pencil icon again, and select the “Rearrange” option.  Now click and drag the “Most Recent” link to the position you’d like.

Facebook creative director, Ji Lee, spilled the beans about Facebook’s upcoming Facebook Music service when he tweeted:  “The ‘Listen with your friend’ feature in ticker is blowing my mind. Listen to what your friends are listening. LIVE.”

The “ticker” Lee referred to is the live scrolling updates of your friends, as implemented in the recent interface update of Facebook.

The graphic associated with this post is a snippet of a screenshot by quick-fingered Twitter users — before Lee and Facebook removed Lee’s tweet from public view.

What the Facebook Music feature will look like, and how it will actually function, is still a secret.  Keep an eye on both the ticker and the general Facebook user interface over the next couple of days.

NASA has introduced a plan to pay private aerospace companies $1.6 billion to ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS).  A variety of new commercial aerospace companies are expected to compete for the job of providing “turnkey” launch, flight, return, maintenance, and ground-support operations.

The commercialization of space will be an exciting era.  The retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet may provide a short-term space-transportation gap, but — in the long run — the opportunities and new doors that will open will be amazing.

ISS graphic courtesy of NASA

I’ve received a ton of requests to dig through my archives for one of my most popular & fun items from years ago.  So, by popular request, “Rockin’ Rickie Rocket” — the virtual percussionist I first posted in 2004 — is back.  I re-discovered Rickie on YouTube.  It’s the same video clip from seven years ago.  Turn up your speakers, click on the image, and rock out to Rickie!

NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) is expected to fall to earth by Friday. Much of the satellite will burn up during its blazing flight through the atmosphere, but large components will likely survive to impact land or water. Because of the satellite’s orbital path, northern Canada and southern South America are most at risk from any incoming debris.

For more information, visit the following Reuters report:  http://reut.rs/n0IMAo

NASA is also posting regular updates here:  www.nasa.gov/uars

Photo courtesy of Space.com and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

The America Invents Act is the most significant overhaul of U.S. patent law since 1952.  Through this Act, American inventors can hope to see a breakthrough in the logjam of patent applications that hold up applications for years at a time.  (At last count, there are over 700,000 backlogged patent applications — slowing countless product and business innovaions from seeing the light of day.)

The bill also gets the U.S. on the same patent footing as the rest of the world, by changing our system from a “first-to-invent” standard to a “first-to-file” standard.  This one change, alone, is designed to eliminate the myriad of court cases that try to resolve which inventor came up with an idea first.

Additional information can be read at the following AP report: http://bit.ly/pWOQR0

Photo courtesy of the AP.

Renown photographer, Spencer Tunick, has a arranged a photo shoot of 1,000 naked Israelis at the Dead Sea tomorrow.  Tunick is trying to raise worldwide awareness of the receding waters and overall demise of the Dead Sea.  F.Y.I., 3,000 individuals applied for the shoot; 1,000 were accepted.  That must have been an interesting screening process, to say the least.  To see some of Tunick’s, um, revealing work, click here.

Photo courtesy of SpencerTunick.com

Facebook users have long wished they could organize their friends into groups — as some posts that may be appropriate for one segment of your social network (like your close friends) might be shocking for others (like your grandmother).  Starting this week, you can now do just that with Facebook’s new “smart lists” feature.

Facebook’s system makes an initial guess at parceling your contacts into separate groups, based on proximity, family relationship, business name, or school association.  You can override and edit Facebook’s guesses, to get your groups just the way you want them.

Facebook has been working on this feature for some time.  But Google’s recent roll out of Google+ and its “circles” concept seems to have spurred Facebook to speed things to completion.

Image courtesy of USA TODAY

According to the Associated Press, “IBM’s supercomputer system, best known for trouncing the world’s best ‘Jeopardy!’ players on TV, is being tapped by one of the nation’s largest health insurers to help diagnose medical problems and authorize treatments.  WellPoint Inc., which has 34.2 million members, will integrate Watson’s lightning speed and deep health care database into its existing patient information, helping it choose among treatment options and medicines.”

I have mixed feelings about this development.  We all remember how the HAL 9000 turned against the astronauts in 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Sure, that was science fiction.  But so were artificial satellites when they were envisioned a decade before Sputnik by the master science-fiction writers Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.  Computers are marvelous tools.  But good ol’ fashion intuition, by a seasoned physician, is (with current technology) impossible to replicate.

For the full AP article, visit http://bit.ly/n621oi

Photo courtesy AP and IBM

If you can locate the Big Dipper (Ursa Major), and you have a good pair of binoculars or small telescope, you’ll be able to observe a supernova along with amateur and professional astronomers all over the world.

The best time for viewing is right after sunset, before the moon comes up and washes out the sky with its reflected light.

Here’s a link to an excellent one-and-a-half-minute YouTube video by Berkeley Lab scientist Peter Nugent that will help you spot and view the supernova:   http://bit.ly/qilPZ9

For additional information and images, visit the USA TODAY article at http://usat.ly/okjuOS.  (Click on the “BEFORE” and “AFTER” buttons in the USA TODAY interactive image.)

Image of The Pinwheel Galaxy (where the supernova is occurring) courtesy of Reuters and The Guardian.

Call me crazy, but I think it’s ridiculous that Microsoft charges $499.99 for its Office Professional 2010; that’s more than what I paid for the laptop that I’m using to write this post.

If you’re content with all of the features of your current version of Microsoft Office, but would like to open and edit those new .DOCX (for Word), .PPTX (for PowerPoint), and .XLSX (for Excel), just download the 100% free “compatibility pack” from Microsoft.  Here’s the link:  http://bit.ly/rb0Ifl.  The installation will take you less than a minute.

And if you’re totally fed up with Microsoft, just download and use Oracle’s 100% free OpenOffice suite.  As described at OpenOffice.org:  “OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.”

As mentioned above, OpenOffice lets you read and edit Microsoft Office files (like Word, PowerPoint, and Excel).  So you can remain fully compatible with Microsoft files you’ve previously created, or files you share with clients and colleagues.

To give OpenOffice a whirl, just visit www.OpenOffice.org.

Perhaps a little competition will nudge Microsoft towards more reasonable pricing for its products.  I’m all for it.

According to a news report from the BBC, the world’s smallest electric motor “could have applications in both nanotechnology and in medicine….

“The butyl methyl sulphide molecule was placed on a clean copper surface, where its single sulfur atom acted as a pivot….  As well as forming a part of the tiniest machines the world has ever seen, such minute mechanics could be useful in medicine — for example, in the controlled delivery of drugs to targeted locations.

“The next thing to do is to…couple it to other molecules, lining them up next to one another so they’re like miniature cog-wheels.”

To read the complete BBC report, visit http://bbc.in/qZKTg4

Amazon’s Android-based Kindle tablet is about to send shock waves through the tablet PC marketplace.  The device is still so top secret, no photos have yet leaked out (but you can bet they will over the next few days).  Here’s what we do know:

*  Full-color 7″ screen
*  Two-finger multi-touch screen interface
*  Runs a specially customized version of Android 2.2
*  $250 — about half the cost of Apple’s base iPad

Amazon has a huge, loyal customer base and almost unlimited content. Its release of what will be an impressive full-color tablet PC, running the popular Android operating system, will be a game changer.  No, it won’t knock Apple off its roll with the iPad.  But it will make a serious dent.  As for the other tablet makers?  They’re in deep doo-doo.

Volkswagen’s annual car-design competition has a particularly bold entry by designer, Zhang Yuan.  Her design — called the Volkswagen Aqua — runs on hydrogen fuel cells that drive powerful fans for lift and propulsion.  The vehicle is designed to continually transition between land and water (snow and ice, too), so you could literally travel anywhere over any terrain.  Anticipated top speed is 62 MPH.

Check out a recent article at Discovery.com here:  http://bit.ly/jQXfGz

Fuel cells are becoming more and more viable as a zero-emission power source.  For more information, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell.

Image courtesy Zhan Yuan / Volkwagen

Less than a month into its five-year journey to Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft took this nifty picture of the Earth and moon, as part of the vehicle’s “JunoCam” checkout procedures.  The Earth is the larger bright spot on the left, and the moon is the dot on the right.

The Juno spacecraft has 439 million miles to travel before it gets to Jupiter.  One can only imagine the other photos it may take along its celestial course.

For more information regarding the photo, check out the NASA JPL article at http://1.usa.gov/pDDjTh

For more information on the Juno mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/juno

A recent study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research discovered that the communities near large, busy airports received more precipitation than surrounding regions.  Why so?

Well, scientists speculate that the rapid compression and expansion of air around turboprop propellers chills and condenses the water vapor in the air creating (depending on the season) snow or rain.

Could air travel have an effect on global precipitation — and climate in general?  Not really.  Given the enormous volume of air that comprises the atmosphere*, the influence of air travel is (you might say) a drop in the bucket.

It didn’t appear that the researchers looked at the air compression / expansion caused by air flow around the wings of a plane, but I believe that could play a role too.

*In case you’re curious, and if I did my math correctly, the volume of air in the atmosphere is 4.18 billion cubic kilometers…give or take. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug — Zalboraf — that has shown effectiveness in treating a challenging, and in some cases fatal, form of skin cancer.  This is the second melanoma treatment to be approved this year; in March, the FDA approved the drug Yervoy.  For more information, review the article at http://bit.ly/pxhyhW

Many people believe that the first human to step foot on Mars will be from the U.S.  Well, think again.

Discovery published today an interesting article (“Russia and Europe to Send Man to Mars?”) that challenges the common perception that an American would be first to walk on the red planet.

The article quotes Jean-Jacques Dordain, the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), as saying that the ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) would “carry out the first flight to Mars together.”

Russia and the ESA are wrapping up a project in which six individuals simulated a year-and-a-half round-trip to Mars; the team lived the entire time in a cramped 550-cu.-ft. simulated spaceship. The experiment, which will conclude in November, has examined the effects of continuous, close-quarter working on the mind and body.

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, Russia clearly leads in “heavy lift” rocket technology.  And just this week they unveiled the design of a new manned spacecraft at an international air show.  Bottom line:  Russia and Europe have “the right stuff” — and are doing the right things — to propel them to the goal of Mars.

For the thought-provoking Discovery article, check out http://bit.ly/olFmgH

Mars image courtesy of NASA

As reported in the European Respiratory Journal, dogs can be trained to sniff the breath of patients and confirm cases of lung cancer.

The four dogs in the study were two German shepherds, a Labrador retriever, and an Australian shepherd.  The dogs’ overall accuracy was 71%.

For additional details, take a look at the following excellent report in today’s Daily Mail: http://bit.ly/q0ChrB

Over the last couple of months I’ve seen a flurry of doom ‘n’ gloom scenarios based on the nearing peak (in mid 2013) of the 11-year solar cycle.  For instance, a little over a week ago I read in the International Business Times, “Severe Solar Storm to Create Global Chaos and Complete Darkness” followed a week later by “Severe Solar Storms Could Disrupt Earth This Decade.”

I’m not picking on the IB Times.  I’ve seen similar reports in Popular Science, such as the June 30th article entitled, “Are We Prepared for a Catastrophic Solar Storm?”

So are we all toast?

Here’s the reality:

It’s true that with the near total dependence on computers for every aspect of our lives, we’ve never been more vulnerable to solar activity.  I described in a previous article a recent near-miss of a CME (corona mass ejection) — essentially a ball of plasma ejected by the sun.  If a large CME hits our planet, power could certainly go down for an extended period of time.

One of the biggest concerns of scientists is the “Fukushima Effect” in which the backup generators and battery systems at nuclear power plants run out power.  Such a circumstance could cascade to the point where water-cooling systems would become inoperable — and result in Fukushima-like catastrophes around the world.  The actual chances?  Hard to predict precisely.  But, by legitimate estimates, pretty low.

More likely to occur:  Gas pumps at your local service station would stop working.  (They’re essentially computerized pumps; the credit-card processing network would also likely go down.)   “Telecommuting” would not be possible, as phone and Internet would be flicked off like a switch.  Cell phone service would also go down as soon as the backup generators and / or batteries at the cell towers run out of juice.  (You won’t be able to charge your cell phones, anyway.)

If the power grid goes down, once your food runs out (or spoils) in your fridge, don’t count on restocking at the supermarket.  The 18 wheelers that are the mainstay of food delivery across the country would also quickly run out of fuel — and, as mentioned above, the services stations would be unable to refill the rigs.

The probability of a sweeping, worldwide catastrophe as outline above is low.  But CMEs can, and have, made direct Earth strikes over the centuries — and caused significant disruptions.  Do a Google search for the “Carrington Event.”  In 1859, during the peak of another solar cycle, a CME knocked out telegraph offices around the globe (and even shocked some of the telegraph operators).  Most scientists agree that — because of entrenched computerization and satellite-based communications — the same magnitude CME today would disrupt society on a widespread basis.

I’m hoping the media doesn’t escalate the risks to an astronomical level.  The last thing we need is a massive wave of hysteria.  But, hey, it can’t hurt to keep an extra candle or two around the house.  And, perhaps, a couple of cans of Spam…

For a reasonably well-proportioned (non-hyped) news report — with an exceptional piece of video from NASA of a CME — check out the following two-minute CNN video:  http://bit.ly/h7GEmn

For reference, the NASA image associated with this article shows the approximate size of the Earth as compared to a solar eruption.  (In reality, the Earth is 93 million miles away from the sun — so a flare would never envelop the Earth as in the NASA comparison.)

The Los Angeles Times reports that MIT scientists have created a drug that “…takes advantage of a molecule called double-stranded RNA, which is produced by many, many viruses when they infect mammalian cells. Uninfected, our cells usually don’t make this double-stranded RNA, and to some extent our cells have evolved to recognize this structure and respond. Just not potently enough. The drug created by the MIT team can enter mammalian cells and is engineered to induce the cells to commit suicide if — and only if — they contain double-stranded RNA.”

The scientists’ preliminary studies were effective against 15 virus types, including Dengue fever and H1N1.  It will be interesting to see if the next phase of research can replicate this significant level of success.

For the full LA Times article, visit http://lat.ms/q077Jb

I received lots of e-mails regarding my 3D human-organ “printer” articles.  On the lighter side of 3D printing are the amazing new “factory in a box” devices available to the public.  Make model cars, cutlery, drink bottles, chess set pieces, a lunch box, toy soldiers — let your imagination run wild — with just a push of a button.

MakerBot’s “Thing-O-Matic” is one of the leading gadgets in this new marketplace.  For $1,225, you can manufacture with plastic almost any hand-sized object you can imagine.  Just plug the Thing-O-Matic into your PC’s USB port and (using supplied software) it squirts out molten plastic, layer by layer, until your creation is completed.

Check out an excellent article from the UK’s DailyMail here http://bit.ly/fCQvkY.

“Scientists for the first time have used gene therapy to successfully destroy cancer tumors in patients with advanced disease — a goal that has taken 20 years to achieve.  Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania engineered patients’ own pathogen-fighting T-cells to target a molecule found on the surface of leukemia cells.  The results provide ‘a tumor-attack roadmap for the treatment of other cancers,’ including those of the lung and ovaries as well as myeloma and melanoma, researchers said.”

For the complete article, visit