Nanobots--coming to a reality near you...

I haven't blogged in forever. I've been involved in a couple of projects that have effectively sucked up all my free time. But raising my head above my limited horizons I came across this article about combining living cells with mechanical parts.

I suppose the luddites and technophobes are screaming right now, but it only makes sense that the more complicated your devices become the more "biological" they become. You either end up incorporating living material into your machines or duplicating them. It's physics itself that determines the best solution to any physical problem. It's also physics that says the "gray goo" scenerio won't happen, but perhaps I'll save that rant for another time...

Famous Atheist Now Believes in God

"At age 81, after decades of insisting belief is a mistake, Antony Flew
has concluded that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have
created the universe. A super-intelligence is the only good explanation
for the origin of life and the complexity of nature, Flew said in a
telephone interview from England." more here

It is interesting whens one's philosophical "enemies" are dragged to your side. I supposed we can't begrudge him the reluctance with which he admits (though not in so many words) that the goal, for which he spent his whole life, is wrong. The comments of the individual reporting this that, "I don't think it's like a big deal" and that Flew accepts only a "minimal God" are amusing. What's more they show the truth behind the false veneer of honest intellectual inquiry.

The truth is that those who actively promote atheism are really antitheists.

I think we are witnessing the death of atheistic materialism. What will replace it, once the shock and denial wear off, will be a more honest, burning, hatred for God.

When Virtues Become Vices

Apparently chastity, once considered a virtue, is now an "extreme view on sex"--at least according to the Herald and Weekly Times

If "Ms (laugh) Henry Waxman" (The editor of this story is the funniest part of the whole thing.)--If Ms Waxman were a considervative he (she?) would be branded a far right-wing extremist. The phrase "far left-wing extremist", has never appeared in the mouth of a reporter or editor. They don't believe that anything can be too far left leaning. But then they showed their colors when the put the headline on the story.

By all rights, Ms Waxman would never be given the time of day. Yet the press, in their non-stop pursuit of their culture war, gladly give Ms Waxman an unchallenged platform to spread blatant political propagada. Did they look into the facts of his allegations? Did they look into the ties between individuals in HHS and the various sex/abortion industries (like Planned Parenthood) that normally get the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in this arena?

Media bias is nothing new. I'm only surprised that it has become so blatently partisan. They're starting to sound more and more like your typical liberal college rag or, perhaps, NPR.

I'll leave with a quote (pardon my King James) from Jesus' favorite prophet:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; they put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:20

At least we can be confident that someday there will be a true accounting, and if God has anything to say about it, it wont go well for Ms Waxman or the editors and reporters of the Herald and Weekly Times.

Cracks In The Foundation

There has been a lot of press of late about Mr. Annan getting caught with his pants down in the so called "oil for food" scam. As usual the press is marching in lock-step, pointing fingers at the president and US conservatives saying "no one agrees with you anyway". Sophomoric (and self serving) appeals to popular/"world" opinion aside, its always interesting when a new iceberg tips its head above the news cartel waters. This report seems to indicate that not all is well in Annon land.

While it would be amusing to see Annan get tossed out on his ear for his crass attempt to influence US elections, he's in his second term and has most likely done all the damage he most likely to do. Like the president, I'd prefer to see a full accounting--though I'm afraid we're not likely to see that with him still in office. One would have expected his Nixonesque secrecy to have roused the press, but they're always the last to turn on their own. After all, this "news" has been known for years now.

Flogging the Blog

MSN Spaces reaction: "'This isn't for them,' said Blake Irving, MSN corporate vice president.
'Those are folks that are going to be using existing services. ... But
to actually produce something that everyone can use, where they can't get themselves into trouble [technically], but can have almost the same amount of power -- not the same amount of flexibility, but the same amount of publishing power -- is a coup for users. Users are going to go crazy for this kind of thing.'"

How much more needs to be said? Just as Microsoft said that people that actually want browsers that support Cascading Style Sheets and Web Standards are not their customers, now they are saying that only techno-illiterates are wanted for blogging. How much demand do they think there is in a demographic that includes people who have to glance at a pictographic quick reference chart to turn on their computer?

Someone needs to revisit their business plan and set their sites a little higher. Aparently Microsoft is all out of visionaries.

Is it just me, or does Microsoft lately seem to always be coming to the party late and poorly dressed? This MSN Space(d) idea is poorly conceived and only half-heartedly implimented.

With its late entry into blogging, web-based search engines and its apparent abandonment of Internet Explorer, it sees that Microsoft feels, like Alexander, that there are no more worlds to conquer and has just given up any real innovation.

While it will always have some techno-serfs, I can't see its empire lasting if it doesn't continue to expand with real innovation instead of this second-rate "me-too" development.

Refer Madness For Real

This story is funny for a number of reasons. It's basically a bunch of European pot-smoking quasi-scientist types who are trying to come to grips with the fact that their habit of choice is really, after all, dangerous. The comment at the end about "half the world" smoking pot shows just how skewed their perceptions of reality are.

At first glance their comments about legalizing pot so the government can regulate it seems like self-serving nonsense. Which it is. But it also seems to be an implicit aknowledgement of the destructive power of government to commerce as well as an indictment of their law enforcement.

Even more reasons why europe will never really about to anything.

PC Stereotypes

Hmong Hunter Charged With 6 Murders Is Said to be a Shaman

But I thought Shamen were the good guys! Only Christians are truly evil, right? But then perhaps not all "spirits" are good spirits, eh?

Who Said The World Court Wasn't A Weapon Against the US?

Interesting that a (liberal) US based organization went to Germany to prosecute crimes that allegedly took place in Iraq. Can any non-liberal/non-anti-American doubt the wisdom of pulling out of the World Court? The UN has repeatedly shown itself to be a criminal anti-US hate club; at least this weapon has been denied them.

The only real question left is whether Germany's hatred of the US or its economic weakness will win out. I'm betting german judges would rather screw up US/European relations further (and of course blame it all on the US) even at the cost of economic trade.

And Microsoft still has its collective head in....the sand

IE use has dropped to under 90% This has to be the fastest abandonment of a technology on record. While security has been the straw that has broken the MScamel's back, there can be little doubt that it is fueled by a resentment of MS's lack of response to customer demand. They disbanded their IE development team years ago and effective abandoned both their product and their customers and now they are reaping their just reward.
New browser wins over net surfers

Only In Texas

I don't know if this is "digital convergence" or just incredible laziness, but I think State Scrambles to Regulate "Remote Hunting" is funny. I especially liked the hunters with disabilities ploy. When you consider all the 12-year-olds that will be clicking their mouse thinking this is the best thing since Delta Force, it might become a valid argument. At least for those hunters that step in front of the web cam. =)