Such Tourists....

Circadian Rhythm - Metabolism Link Discovered

I think we all kinda assumed that there was a link between our biological clocks and how much energy our cells use. But the assumption/theory has been proven. The protein CLOCK which regulates our biological clock, works in equilibrium with the protein SIRT1 -- which regulates energy consumption by our cells.

Our circadian clocks are estimated to regulate around 15% of our genes. So naturally if there is a disruption in the balance between the two proteins mentioned, then normal cellular function itself will also be disrupted. So basically changes in our sleep patterns and our diets can directly affect cellular action.

Now the importance in this discovery is that treatment can be directed towards the CLOCK-SIRT1 equilibrium and help manage or solve social problems like diabetes and obesity.

Original article here.

Norman Foster Made Me a Yacht

Ok, no, obviously he didn't. But, Norman Foster did design this incredible looking Yacht you're viewing right now!

For those that don't know Norman Foster -- he's just an amazing architect. Check out his site here to see some of the work he is responsible throughout the world. Unbelievable!

Anyways, back to the boat. I've only provided the exterior shot, the link at the bottom will take u to the site where the views of the interior and other aspects of the exterior are available.

This 134 foot ship has a grand staircase, submersible beach deck, his and hers private balconies... -- just check out the link, its astounding!

Boat here..

Space Tourism

Virgin Galactic is offering space tourism to the public -- those who can afford the six figure ride, that is.

But it just looks so darn cool!

WhiteKnightTwo (pic on the left) will basically take you to an altitude of 50,000 feet, and then release the SpaceShipTwo (attached below the WhiteKnightTwo) which then goes up to 360,000 feet!

The whole setup looks unreal. This 'mothership' is to be unveiled on Monday. There's already been test flights, and all is basically a go... I just hope they start building space stations and we all go into Star Trek mode... but thats just me....

Read article here.

"Google URL Index Hits 1 Trillion"

.... Well... the title explains it all... I have to admit tho -- and I'm not tryin to be a dick -- but I figured there'd be more than a trillion links... I mean the world has like 6.7 billion people... My math skills aren't that 'on point' -- but I figure that more than half of that population is 'internet ready' -- and well... as I said, my math isn't that great...lol... Anyways, still interesting to know how "big" the world wide web is...

Slashdot article here.

Ireland Park in Toronto, Canada

Thought this pic was great. I see so many pics of 'the city of New York, LA, Miami' etc... Haven't really seen that many that truly shows off Toronto. This pic really seems unique, clean, modern and inviting.
See more at daily dose of imagery...

5 Year Old Boy Ends up at Hooters...

Riiight... So this is every guy's 'story of his childhood'... lol. A 5-year-old boy in Denton, Texas managed to "escape" his day care center -- the 'Imagination Station', and ended up at the Hooters parking lot approx. half a mile away.

He stopped at a gas station to buy snacks and drinks. I don't get it. Snacks and drinks are better at hooters... so why bother? Was he on a tight budget? Either way, appparently he escaped through the fire exit that has no alarm at the day care center.

Pretty ridiculous.

Read the rest here...

Woman Explained Scientifically...

Thought this was kinda funny...old, been around -- but still funny... lol

Ubuntu on Dell

Wow, Dell's releasing their computers (Linux systems) with the Ubuntu operating system... -- Hardy Hering -- version 8.04 . Seems like Linux is slowly creeping up and taking over the Windows giant. And it's about time if you ask me... I think its ridiculous that you have to pay 300 some odd dollars for Windows -- and the "basic" version at that... Linux is free. This whole open source movement is GREAT. ROCK ON. YEAA..

I thought I was kinda cool for posting my pics on Ubuntu, but really, I was outta the loop... and I joined in time? Meh...

Dell's got Ubuntu.

Terminator Salvation (Terminator 4)

Not much to say here, the picture and headline speaks for itself... Looks super cool tho! The original site where I got this from has a link for the teaser trailer. I didn't post that here cause I'm still unsure on how this movie is gonna be... the picture looks cool -- thats bout it from me.. lol

Nintendo Wii, Number One Console...

Soooo.. I feel a lil retarded... Here I am commenting on certain posts about how the Xbox 360 -- in my opinion -- through all the reading and 'research' I have done -- is better than the PS3, bla bla bla... and BOOM.... I read THIS. Nintendo Wii is outselling the Xbox 3:1 !!!!! WHAT?! Wii has sold 500,000 more consoles than the Xbox 360 -- and the Xbox 360 has also had a 1 year headstart!!!! DAMN... So yea... thought you should all know..

Dead Baby Penguins in Brazil

So apparently more than 400 dead baby penguins have been found on the shores of Rio de Janeiro over the past couple months... Insane!? The picture on the left shows a penguin getting treatment at the Niteroi Zoo in Rio de Janeiro.

These penguins are being washed ashore from Antarctica and Patagonia -- which is quite the distance for baby penguins. There are several theories as well, oil spills affecting their journey back home, and also the "over fishing" forcing them to swim further away for food.

Its really quite sad... I'm not an animal person at all (I know, I guess that makes me horrible somehow)... Why do I care enough to post about these penguins?? I suppose it's cause I'm told that I walk like a penguin... Lol

Original article here...

Ubuntu: Hardy Hering

Just wanted to show off my Ubuntu layout.. still a newbie at this, but I got the Cube Desktop goin on! lol Here it is, check it out!

XBOX 360 and PS3 Add Movies

Xbox 360 and PS3 have both added the service of renting movies through their online connections. No idea what this company is for PS3, but Xbox is going through Netflix.

Microsoft made their Netflix announcement first -- couple days later Sony came out with theirs... I personally think its useless for this feature -- but I understand the competition and what needs to be done to overcome each other. However -- I can comfortably say that the 360 is the way to go. It's got the same games as PS3, but more exclusive game selection (Halo 3, Guitar Hero 4) -- and 360 is cheaper! Microsoft just knocked out 50 bucks from the 20gb model!

Bare Naked Ladies Lead Singer Arrested?!

I was never a huge fan of the BNL's -- but... but... I had no idea that lead singer Steven Page was the type to get arrested for posession of cocaine! He got bailed out for $10,000 -- and a mugshot of him all over the net lookin all blown out... worrrd....

Siamese Twins Separated in Saudi

Moroccan Siamese twins connected at the chest and stomach since birth were separated successfully on Saturday, July 12, 2008 at King Abdul Aziz Medical City in Riyadh.

Safa And Marwa shared the same liver and digestive tract when they arrived at the hospital on April 4th.

King Abdullah covered the cost in the 19th successful separation at the medical facility, largely due to the Royal Family's expense.

AFP article.

Potential Prevention for Insulin Loss in Type 2 Diabetics

Amazing discovery here... Associate Professor Trevor Biden and Dr Ross Laybutt of Garvan Institute of Medical Research (Sydney, Australia) have published a paper establishing ER (Endoplasmic Reticulum) stress in type 2 diabetics.

The ER basically puts together amino acids and produces proteins -- insulin being one of those proteins. When the structuring of this protein is disrupted -- like in type 2 diabetes -- the beta cells of the pancreas gets affected and "dies off" thus affecting the production of insulin.

This ER stress is negated in type 1 diabetes.

With this discovery, reducing ER stress can now be concentrated on -- slowing down the degeneration of insulin in type 2 diabetics, and possibly eliminated it as well.

Original document here...

Final Fantasy 13 for Xbox ONLY?

Ok, ok... no wait, Final Fantasy XIII WAS only exclusive for Xbox 360 -- but now it seems that they have updated this news to say that the release is to coincide with the same date as PS3... This should now answer the million dollar question... XBOX OR PS3? Xbox it is.. cause u can play Halo 3 as well as FFXIII lol...

It is however funny to see the postings of those who thought it was only for 360, before the update was posted that it was for BOTH 360 and PS3...

Read here.

New Radiohead House of Cards Video!!!

I'm not even gonna bother tryin to explain the details on how this video was made.. here's the quote:

"No cameras or lights were used. Instead two technologies were used to capture 3D images: Geometric Informatics and Velodyne LIDAR. Geometric Informatics scanning systems produce structured light to capture 3D images at close proximity, while a Velodyne Lidar system that uses multiple lasers is used to capture large environments such as landscapes. In this video, 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes"

So basically, its freakin awesome.. the pic up there show's a still from the video of Thom Yorke's face... crazy! Click the link below to check out the video, the making of the video, and how to tweek the video as well!!

Check out the new Radiohead video!!

Port Forwarding Your Xbox 360

I've had the all too familiar problem on Xbox Live with the "NAT issue" and/or the wait for "players found".... brutal... I actually don't own an Xbox 360, but I'm always at a buddies house playing Halo 3, and getting frustrated along with the rest of the crew just waiting... and waiting....

Well, here's how to port forward your xbox.. let me know how it works for you all...

Two-Headed Snakes

Now I always thought these was a myth, or a rumor -- urban legend if you will. But according to National Geographic's article, "Life is Confusing For Two-Headed Snakes" -- its definitely real. The state of Arizona was home to a 2 headed king snake that was held in captivity for nearly 17 years!

These snakes are not evolutionary creations -- rather anomalies that are comparable to Siamese twins. They can be joined at various places between their bodies, sharing throats, stomachs, or even having separate throats and stomachs and other organs.

These leads to the obvious conclusion that their existence is not just difficult -- but verily impossible. The two heads would compete for food, for different paths of travel, and for different tactics on escape from predators -- all of which making their lives that much more vulnerable.

However, what interests (makes me laugh out loud) me more is what Van Wallach, a researcher at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology has to say:

"In some snake species," he added, "the male rubs its chin against the female dorsum during courtship. As this particular snake has two heads—which may have different ideas about courting and mating—and two chins, it would be nice to find out how the two heads manage the deal and also to find out what the female's response is."

Well... I guess it would be "nice" to find out how two heads manage to elicit a response from a female... lol

"Shit Happens"

Thought this pic was hilarious -- one of the many t-shirts you can get at bustedtees...

Teen Delivers LSD Cookies to Cops

18 year old Christian Phillips delivered cookies laced with LSD to police at the Blue Mound Police Department -- on behalf of MADD. At the time he was working for MADD as a part of his community service that he was serving. He got arrested at the Lake Worth Police Department, who had been warned by the Blue Mound department, when he came in to deliver another basket.

Apparently 3 cops ate these cookies -- and one of them "thought it smelled like weed" so got it tested... UMM, im no expert -- really im not -- but LSD doesnt smell like weed... The dude was trippin -- thats what they couldnt admit!

Article Here...

Rocketmail

So I'm one of the few OG's representin the good ole ROCKETMAIL... Back in the 90's it was only Rocketmail and Hotmail that were providing free web based email accounts. People laughed at the idea. At the time, Rocketmail was a lot better than Hotmail -- with a more powerful program base -- attracting all programming and computer nerds alike. In 1997 Yahoo! acquired Rocketmail -- allowing the users to transfer their accounts to Yahoo! or to keep their account by signing in under "user.rm".

The users were ridiculed... Well guess what? ITS BACK. Rocketmail is now an extension that Yahoo! is providing its users (@rocketmail.com) as well as ymail (@ymail.com). So, this post may be useless, but its for all you rare rocketmail users out there... KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE.. (lol)

Parents Who Put Baby on EBAY

YEA, THE CASE WAS DROPPED! So they figured the parents were "joking" and it was all just one huge mistake...

I mean its a joke when u maybe tell friends about it, talk amongst yourselves about it, whatever -- but putting that on ebay?? Actually starting a bid, and letting it go for hours? Well, 2.5 hours, but still -- its EBAY !!

I dunno, I think we should expect to hear more from this "family"...

(original article)

Dinner in the Sky

Here's pics of an amazing event brought to Toronto's Dundas Square by AMEX. 24 people get lifted about 50 meters to enjoy their food in the sky... You can see the rest of the high quality pics on flickr.

Morning Sickness Protects Fetus?

Two Evolutionary Biologists have come up with evidence through their studies showing that morning sickness is an "evolutionary wellness insurance".

The study shows that the nausea and vomiting that is experienced by two thirds of pregnant women is a healthful means of eliminating certain foods such as "meat and strong-tasting vegetables" that through history have shown us to contain many harmful micro-organisms, parasites, and/or toxins harmful to not only a pregnant woman, but her fetus as well. This is the peak time during which the fetus' organs and related systems are developing -- thus making the fetus the most vulnerable to such foreign bodies. By the 18th week the 'morning sickness' diminishes, which happens to be the time when the fetus begins to becomes less vulnerable.

"If morning sickness were the result of the fetus signaling its viability to the mother, then all humans and other mammals should experience it".

Now then, try explaining that to a pregnant woman... Click here to read the original article.