I would like to dedicate this blogpost to all those who have done and continue visiting my blogs.
Its been a funny old year.
It began with high hopes that change would come about in the UK with the election in May and all supporters of the Freegary were delighted to see the back of Labour – a party which had been eroding Citizens rights by bowing to USA demands when it came to Extradition.
The election of two men into Government who had stated publicly they believed the Extradition of Gary mcKinnon was wrong – gave Garys family and his supporters hope for change.
Unfortunately – despite the case being brought up with Obama personally while David Cameron was on a US visit – both leaders have done nothing substantive.
Yes – the Home secretary has halted the extradition – but only to allow for a re-assessment of Garys health and that assessment is to be carried out by a doctor who has NO full understanding of Aspergers – thus – its like sending an electrician to mend a hole in a submarine.
But the fight will go on!
Happy new year everybody – may all your dreams come true
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Friday, 31 December 2010
Happy new year to all my visitors! « Cliffsull's Blog
Dear Gay Teens :: Jeff Rago
Dear Gay Teens
My heart is breaking right now. A piece of my soul has died. Another shining light in our future has gone dark. With the news of the 4th LGBT youth committing suicide in September, we are on the road to an epidemic that I am having a hard time wrapping my head around.
I did not personally know these young men but I do know them. I know their confusion. I know their longing for acceptance. I know their fear.
Lives are being lost as religion and politics struggle to define what is acceptable in our society. Twelve years ago next week, Matthew Shepard was beaten to death for being gay. Beating has turned to bullying. Both lead to the same outcome. This is unacceptable.
Gay. Straight. Black. White. Male. Female. We are all human. This is the thread that connects us. Christian. Jewish. Democrat. Republican. Adult. Child. We all need to be loved. This is the fabric that protects us.
Last night I came across a status update that my friend had reposted from a friend of a friend. Although I have never met Melissa, she was able to put into words everything I was and am feeling:
Dear Gay Teens:
Your life is worth living. I promise you that you will find love, you will find people who value you for who you are, and you will have a life that’s so much better than the haters will ever have. You will be loved and appreciated by an entire community of people, gay and straight, ready to accept you with open arms. Stay alive and meet us after high school in a city near you, my darlings.
Melissa Hillman
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
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21 Responses to “Dear Gay Teens”
I read about Tyler on BBC News this morning. It’s tragic that his roommate felt the need to embarrass him publicly. If convicted, 5 years is not enough time.
Makes me wonder, where did we as a culture go so wrong?
And how does an Assistant DA post a hate blog about a gay student body president, hide behind it being a political campaign (what???? in essence – he is president of a STUDENT COUNCIL), and keep his job?
Just a reminder from our lady of liberty: Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…
This is indeed tragic. I can’t help but think of all of the wonderful men and women that I know that were once in this situation. I lost a friend shortly after high school due to the fact that his partner would never admit to being romantically involved with another man, along with a family that had already ostracized him. There are so many in the gay community that have made such amazing contributions to us all.
The bottom line is that we are ALL God’s children. In the United States our pledge says,”…with liberty and justice for ALL.” See, it says – “ALL”, not just some, not just those that we think are deserving, but ALL.
You know Jeff, I just can’t stop thinking about this whole horrible situation. I know that this unfortunately, is not uncommon, but it has really hit a raw nerve with me. I go from being so very, very sad, to extremely angry, to horrified, you name it – the emotions have run the gammut. The cruelty of people is really stunning. This was not only a very bright and talented young man, he was someone’s friend, and beyond that he was someone’s son.
The wonderful and amazing things that he would have accomplished in his life will never be. I am glad that you and others are bringing attention to this, and that as a result there will be fewer who feel that their situation is so hopeless. Again, I cannot help but think of all of the wonderful men and women in the gay community that I have been so priviledged to know over the years, and what joy and light that they have brought to so many on this earth. Thank you for giving so much, and for helping these young people through their struggles.
Enid
Many people including myself feel the same way. I hope that these tragedies will not be in vain and we as a society can learn and grow and become better humans because of it. I think the fact that we are talking about this is a step in the right direction.
Words have power and yours touched me and so many people. Thank you for your eloquence. I am honored to share them.
I hope a lot of gay teens get to read this. Melissa’s message is very universal. It is indeed very lonely growing up gay. And Melissa’s message comes as an embrace freely given. Thank you Melissa. And thank you Jeff for sharing this.
Thank you for the comment. You may feel lonely from time to time but know that you are not alone.
As an educator, I have seen bullying first hand, even down to elementary kids, it’s got to stop. Thank you for caring Jeff.
Good post Jeff, I’d like to say that my interest in this topic is for the good of human nature regardless of anyone’s sexual preference or being for that matter. I hate bully’s.
I often say if you want world peace, kill all the humans. Until we can learn to rise above our animal nature from youth to be better to our fellow man, our species will not evolve. We spend trillions killing people rather than feeding them. Until we can rise above our base nature of fear, ignorance and self loathing rage, can we improve. If you dont like something look in the mirror, its a reflection of yourself.
We should start by teaching children from youth more about tolerance and about human nature. Instead of teaching them from ancient tomes designed for manipulation, control, money and enticing people to kill. Then we wonder why our society is a final product of that mess. People need to work at being the best products of good human nature they can to teach children a better way.
Thanks
Chris Voss
Thank you for your comment, Chris. The focus of the blog is on LGBT youth but the epidemic of bullying goes well beyond this demographic. My hope is that one day people can treat each other with dignity and respect and celebrate the differences that make us individuals. In the end we all want to be loved but sometimes fear and ignorance get in the way of human compassion.
Right on Jeff, we must learn tolerance and understanding of each other, regardless of demographic. Anger leads us blind. We are all, humans being, as such to be honored and respected. We should lift each other up, all of us for OUR betterment.
Chris
…and Jeff if I can respectfully add that this effort is not a flag raised, for which we begin to divide ourselves in prejudices. Us vs. Them? The flags are the problem, lifted against each other. Do not join their narrow mindedness We are all human flesh and souls fighting to endure, won or lost, its a team effort. We are organisms fighting for survival. I should not have to specify a subset of your interests beyond the reach of the fact that you have that flesh and soul struggling to survive against mother nature, not unlike I. Cancer and death eats at our organisms regardless of preferences, political party or whether we worship rocks. When I see an individual, I see a human seeking its being, to be extended. There should be no separation, but together we support each other to find the betterment of ourselves and each others being. We are all tested to stretch our limits, thats what makes us humans being. Our job under mother nature is to endure in any circumstance and mother nature knows no flag other than a surviving organism. The rest is academic time encapsulated redneck ignorance. “One thing Man can learn from Man’s history, is that man learns nothing from his history” His fallacy is his nature for division and his need for flags. Divided against ourselves we conquer ourselves and no one wins. Its a shame that there is a base is our medieval society you may feel prejudiced upon, but we rise unto the ethics and humanity of ourselves to the sets of beings that shine beyond example. Throughout history, people setting a higher example have always stood forth to give rise to the vision of human nature. Shine on. Take and give no slight and play not against yourself and humanities good, no flags taken against The Human.
Chris Voss
Beautifully said, Chris. Thank you for these thoughts. We spend so much time categorizing people that sometimes we overlook the fact that no matter what we all belong to the “human” category.
I am not from your country but i am disheartened by these tragic deaths recently. I can’t believe how persecuting man can be against another for merely being different. Yes, we are all human but it takes a lot to be a “man”.
BBC News - Hackers crack open mobile network
31 December 2010 Last updated at 10:49Hackers crack open mobile network
Security researchers have shown how to eavesdrop on any GSM call
Continue reading the main storyRelated stories
Mobile calls and texts made on any GSM network can be eavesdropped upon using four cheap phones and open source software, say security researchers.
Karsten Nohl and Sylvain Munaut demonstrated their eavesdropping toolkit at the Chaos Computer Club Congress (CCC) in Berlin.
The work builds on earlier research that has found holes in many parts of the most widely used mobile technology.
The pair spent a year putting together the parts of the eavesdropping toolkit.
"Now there's a path from your telephone number to me finding you and listening to your calls," Mr Nohl told BBC News. "The whole way."
He said many of the pieces in the eavesdropping toolkit already existed thanks to work by other security researchers but there was one part the pair had to create themselves.
"The one piece that completed the chain was the ability to record data off the air," he said.
In a demonstration at the CCC, the pair took attendees through all the steps that led from locating a particular phone to seizing its unique ID, then leap-frogging from that to getting hold of data swapped between a handset and a base station as calls are made and texts sent.
Key to grabbing the data from the air were cheap Motorola phones which can have their onboard software swapped for an open source alternative.
"We used the cheap Motorola telephones because a description of their firmware leaked to the internet," he said.
This led to the creation of open source alternative firmware that, he said, has its "filters" removed so it could see all the data being broadcast by a base station.
The eavesdropping work builds on earlier work to list GSM encryption keys
This allows attackers to home in on the data they need to eavesdrop, said Mr Nohl. The encryption system that scrambles this data can be defeated using a huge list of encryption keys, called a rainbow table, that Mr Nohl generated in a separate research project.
"Any GSM call is fair game," he said.
GSM is the name of the technology used on the vast majority of mobile phone networks around the world. The GSMA, which represents operators and phone makers, estimates that there are more than five billion GSM mobiles in use around the world.
The GSMA has not responded to requests for comment about the research.
Playing aroundSimeon Coney, a spokesman for mobile security firm Adaptive Mobile, said the work looked fairly thorough.
"Especially interesting is how the attack is aimed at a specific target phone, which could lead to malicious interest of high value targets," he added.
"This isn't an attack that is today readily repeatable yet by the anyone unfamiliar with the underlying technology," he said. "However, it does illustrate the manners in which the mobile phone system could be compromised in a focussed attack in less protected markets."
Mr Nohl said that before now commercial equipment that could spy on calls cost upwards of £35,000. The kit demonstrated at the Berlin event cost far less than that, he said. For instance, the Motorola phones used to grab data cost only 10 euros (£9) each.
Despite showing off the entire eavesdropping kit, there were no plans to release all of it for others to use, said Mr Nohl.
However, recreating the missing parts would not be difficult for a tech savvy amateur, he added.
"I expect people to do it for the fun of doing it."
Mr Nohl said the motivation for carrying out the research was to create awareness around the problem and perhaps prompt operators to improve security.
A few simple steps could make it much harder for eavesdroppers, he said.
"Raising their awareness is the most likely outcome, but the technical changes would be better."
BBC News - Australia: Queensland floods spur more evacuations
31 December 2010 Last updated at 11:31Australia: Queensland floods spur more evacuations
There are major concerns for the town of Emerald, now largely cut off by water
Continue reading the main storyRelated stories
Thousands more people are preparing to evacuate their homes as one of Australia's worst floods continues to inundate the state of Queensland.
Forced evacuations are being planned in Rockhampton as rising floodwaters threaten the town of 77,000.
Australian PM Julia Gillard has visited flooded Bundaberg, and flew over Emerald as evacuations there continued.
The floods have affected about 200,000 people over an area larger than France and Germany, Queensland's premier says.
An estimated 22 towns have been left isolated or inundated by the rising waters, with fears that damage could cost billions of Australian dollars to repair.
The situation in Emerald - a town of some 11,000 people - was particularly bad, Premier Anna Bligh told reporters.
There was also major concern for Rockhampton, where residents are said to be attempting to stockpile bread and fresh fruit and vegetables.
"We've seen lots of panic buying of food. Shelves in shopping centres are empty," Rockhampton resident Petros Khalesirad told the BBC.
"But I think people have been over-reacting. We have groceries arriving today and in the worst case scenario, the military will be involved in helping."
Continue reading the main storyQUEENSLAND
- North-eastern Australian state
- Largely tropical climate
- Area: 1.73 million sq km (668,000 sq mile)
- Coastal regions, including Great Barrier Reef, designated World Heritage Site
- Mining and cattle ranching important inland
Officials in Rockhampton - where the floods peak could be up to 48 hours away - said a shift was under way from voluntary evacuations to compulsory relocation.
"Police will order people in affected areas to leave their homes," Mayor Brad Carter said.
Elderly people and other at-risk groups would be the first moved out of their properties, officials said.
Speaking as she toured affected areas with the prime minister, Ms Bligh described the flooding as "a long way from over".
"Authorities think there will be a very large group of people who will be homeless in the next 24 hours.
"We now have three major river systems in flood; we have 17 evacuation centres active; we have more than 1,000 people in those evacuation centres and many more thousands staying with relatives and friends."
Helicopter evacuationsOfficials said the situation in Emerald remained uncertain and could yet get worse if floodwaters continue to rise.
The Nogoa River was due to peak on Friday afternoon, and 1,200 residents had already registered as evacuees before the waters hit their peak.
Helicopters including army Black Hawks have been ferrying residents to safer locations.
<div class="warning"> <img class="holding" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50623000/jpg/_50623614_010919567-1.jpg" alt="Wallaby stranded by floods in Queensland, Australia" /> <p><strong>Please turn on JavaScript.</strong> Media requires JavaScript to play.</p> </div>Click to play
More than half of Queensland is now a disaster zone
Julia Gillard and Anna Bligh were due to visit Emerald on Friday but were unable to land, instead flying over the area to get an aerial view of the devastation.
Ms Gillard's first stop on land was in Bundaberg, which has seen its worst flooding for four decades and has been split in two by the swollen Burnett River. Waters there are now receding.
She spoke to evacuees and volunteers, and was briefed on the rescue and recovery effort.
"As devastating as these floods are, we are seeing a magnificent response by all levels of government and by emergency personnel," Ms Gillard said.
Two smaller towns, Theodore and Condamine, have been completely evacuated. In Condamine some residents had been refusing to leave their houses.
Recovery work following the floods is expected to cost billions of dollars, with officials warning of severe damage to homes, crops and livestock.
Sewerage systems have also been affected, raising public health concerns.
Petros Khalesirad told the BBC that Rockhampton was well-prepared but the effect on Queensland as a whole would be significant.
"These floods are going to affect the state, the whole nation. It's going to have a huge impact on mining commodities - several coal mines are under water and some won't be operational for months."
Are you in Australia? Have you been affected by the floods? Have you been forced to leave your house? You can send your comments and pictures to us using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
BBC News - NI Water examines its response to the crisis
31 December 2010 Last updated at 12:09NI Water examines its response to the crisis
First Minister Peter Robinson says the response of NI Water has been "shambolic"
Continue reading the main storyRelated stories
The board of Northern Ireland Water will meet later to reflect on how the company has handled the ongoing water supply crisis.
They will report their findings in the coming days to Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy.
About 5,000 homes remain without running water.
NI Water has said that 20,000 properties will have an on/off supply, all of them in the east of Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, former Northern Ireland Water acting chief executive Christopher Mellor, who was sacked in March, has described the water crisis as a "disaster waiting to happen".
"I think this is what happens when you get rid of the directors at the top of NIW, who knew what they were doing, and replace them with people who have no experience of running a water utility.
"In my view, the politicians, as well as the company, must take some share of the blame.
"I think it was interesting but predictable to see the politicians lining up at Stormont to blame the company."
However, Conor Murphy, the minister with responsibility for NI Water, said he was "entirely correct" to sack the previous board.
"I would have been rightly criticised for leaving the board in place, on the basis that Chris Mellor alone had some experience in a water utility company, given the procurement practices that were going on," he said.
NI Water spokesman Liam Mulholland said on Friday morning: "Our sole focus at the moment is to get customers back on supply.
"There will be a review and there will be lessons we will take from this and try and improve things going forward.
"But right now it's about getting those 6,000 homes that are off supply completely back on."
ShambolicAn emergency session of the Executive was held on Thursday to discuss the problems affecting the water supply, after which First Minister Peter Robinson called NI Water's response "shambolic" and "ineffective".
He said he did not think anyone could suggest the state-owned company had "covered themselves in glory".
"People must assess their own position and of course if people don't assess their own position the (Executive's) review will look at where responsibility lies and decisions will be taken on the foot of that," he added.
In relation to the water company, Mr Robinson said: "It isn't simply a case of under-performing, we believe it has been shambolic at stages, it has been ineffective. It has not been the kind of organisation that is fit for purpose.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said NI Water's performance had been "totally unacceptable behaviour by an arms-length body".
Continue reading the main story“Start Quote
End Quote Peter Robinson NI First MinisterWe believe it has been shambolic at stages, it has been ineffective. It has not been the kind of organisation that is fit for purpose.”
He said it was "disturbing" that people at a senior level at the organisation had not anticipated the scale of the difficulties presented by the recent thaw in temperatures.
"We are not prepared to accept this treatment on behalf of citizens. Arms-length bodies need to be held to account," he said.
He said it was a "key priority" that schools and businesses would be able to resume after the Christmas period.
BurstsNI Water warned it could be next week before all homes and businesses are reconnected.
The Royal Victoria Hospital, South Tyrone Hospital, Dungannon, and Lagan Valley Hospital, Lisburn, have been affected by the water supply crisis.
The Northern Ireland Secretary of State has warned there could be major changes in how the NI water supply is financed.
Owen Paterson said Northern Ireland's infrastructure had suffered over the years and that changes were now needed.
"What will be looked at here is the difference in the way that water is paid for in the rest of the UK and the way it is paid for in Northern Ireland, where it is just an element of the rates," he said.
Eighty villages and towns have been affected as pipes burst in the thaw.
Trevor Haslett, director of engineering at NI Water, said the situation in urban areas was improving and should be better by Friday afternoon.
Burst pipesHowever, he added: "It could be early next week before everybody is on supply."
Mr Haslett said over a period of 12 hours the company suffered more burst service pipes than he could remember for 35 years.
The Scottish government is sending further supplies of water to Northern Ireland. Five lorry loads of bottled water are being delivered on Friday, with another two lorries scheduled for Saturday.
'Big pressure'<div class="warning"> <img class="holding" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50614000/jpg/_50614541_jex_912553_de24-1.jpg" alt="Trevor Haslett (left) and Laurence MacKenzie (right)" /> <p><strong>Please turn on JavaScript.</strong> Media requires JavaScript to play.</p> </div>Click to play
NI Water's Chief Executive, Lawrence MacKenzie, and Trevor Haslett, Director of Engineering & Procurement, take questions
NI Water, a state-owned company, which is the sole provider of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland, said an unprecedented number of leaks caused by the thaw following the long period of freezing weather had been putting "big pressure" on its systems.
The thaw followed the worst snow in Northern Ireland in 25 years and record cold temperatures.
As temperatures rose, burst pipes drained reservoirs, forcing NI Water to turn off the tap to the 80 locations.
Local councils are working to supply water and offer free showers to people without a mains supply and information is being provided on the NI Water website.
More information on the water shortage is available from the NI Water website, or telephone hot line on 08457 440088, on Ceefax page 169 and BBC News Online.
Are you in Northern Ireland? Are you experiencing problems with your water supply due to the weather? Do you run a small business? How has it affected trade? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Bulletin Board - Facultad de informática-Facultad de informática(UPM)
2 November 2010. Researchers from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Facultad de Informática have developed an application capable of human emotion recognition from automated voice analysis.
The application analyses the sound measurements of a conversation, output by another purpose-built program. Then, based on the rules described in the new application, it is able to identify the emotions hidden in an expression and determine whether the speaker is sad, happy or nervous. Even if the emotion is unclear, the application is able to specify how close the speaker is to each emotion in percentage terms. The application was presented by Susana Muñoz Hernández at the First International Conference on Fuzzy Computation, held in Madeira, Portugal, in 2009.
The application is based on a new tool called RFuzzy, implemented in the Prolog programming language. Prolog is able to represent and operate with what is known as fuzzy logic. Prolog is used primarily in artificial intelligence and expert systems applications.
RFuzzy is a programming support, which stands out for its ease of use and its expressivity. It is able to represent, handle and reason with subjective concepts like high, low, fast, slow, etc.
Apart from being applied to detect emotions in human conversations, RFuzzy has also been used to enhance robot intelligence. In this particular case, RFuzzy was used to program robots participating in the world robot soccer league (RoboCupSoccer), which has been held since 1996 with the aim of developing robotics and artificial intelligence. The experience was outlined in the book Robot Soccer, Inteh, Croatia, 2010, edited by Vladan Papic.
Being based on fuzzy logic, RFuzzy has important benefits for both conversation analysis and the enhancement of championship soccer robot behaviour. Its logical mechanisms are flexible and it leaves some margin of interpretation to the computer. The computer will then make the decision depending on a series of logical rules that take measurable parameters (volume, speech pitch and rate, position, speed or distance of the robot from the ball, etc.) as a reference.
The details of this research are to be published shortly in the INS- Information Science journal and can be consulted online at Science Direct.
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Computer program recognizes human emotions from conversation analysis
ScienceDaily (Nov. 8, 2010) — Researchers from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid's Facultad de Informática have developed a computer program capable of human emotion recognition from automated voice analysis.
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The application analyses the sound measurements of a conversation, output by another purpose-built program. Then, based on the rules described in the new application, it is able to identify the emotions hidden in an expression and determine whether the speaker is sad, happy or nervous. Even if the emotion is unclear, the application is able to specify how close the speaker is to each emotion in percentage terms. The application was presented by Susana Muñoz Hernández at the First International Conference on Fuzzy Computation, held in Madeira, Portugal, in 2009.
The application is based on a new tool called RFuzzy, implemented in the Prolog programming language. Prolog is able to represent and operate with what is known as fuzzy logic. Prolog is used primarily in artificial intelligence and expert systems applications.
RFuzzy is a programming support, which stands out for its ease of use and its expressivity. It is able to represent, handle and reason with subjective concepts like high, low, fast, slow, etc.
Apart from being applied to detect emotions in human conversations, RFuzzy has also been used to enhance robot intelligence. In this particular case, RFuzzy was used to program robots participating in the world robot soccer league (RoboCupSoccer), which has been held since 1996 with the aim of developing robotics and artificial intelligence. The experience was outlined in the book Robot Soccer, Inteh, Croatia, 2010, edited by Vladan Papic.
Being based on fuzzy logic, RFuzzy has important benefits for both conversation analysis and the enhancement of championship soccer robot behaviour. Its logical mechanisms are flexible and it leaves some margin of interpretation to the computer. The computer will then make the decision depending on a series of logical rules that take measurable parameters (volume, speech pitch and rate, position, speed or distance of the robot from the ball, etc.) as a reference.
The details of this research are to be published shortly in the INS- Information Science journal and can be consulted online at Science Direct.
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Facultad de Informática de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
Journal Reference:
- Susana Munoz-Hernandez, Víctor Pablos-Ceruelo, Hannes Strass. RFuzzy: Syntax, semantics and implementation details of a simple and expressive fuzzy tool over Prolog. Information Sciences, 2010; DOI: 10.1016/j.ins.2010.07.033
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Kinect Hacked to Control Humanoid Robot: First Steps to Avatar | Fast Company
Another day, another Kinect hack, but this one really gives us a taste of a sci-fi-esque future: Kinect can now directly control the limbs of a humanoid robot. Yup--those Evangelion or Avatar dreams now seem a little more possible.
Taylor Veltrop is a software engineer and robot tinkerer, and his latest impressive feat is to link up a Microsoft Kinect via some custom software and a wireless link to his Kondo KHR-1HV kit robot. Essentially Taylor's code takes the data feed from Kinect's motion and body sensing systems, and works out what position his limbs are in before beaming that data to custom software he's installed in the robot's ROS operating system.
Check out the results below: (Taylor explains his project at the start, and the good stuff happens after 1:20)
Impressive stuff--even while it's only mapped onto the robot's arms for the moment. From the experiment we can see how quickly the mapping between Taylor's gestures and the robot's happen, that the range of motion of the 'bot is smaller than his, and that there could be a better way (using reverse kinematics) to control the robot where the position of the controller's limbs are calculated, rather than the angle of each joint. We can see some of its flaws in the fact that when the 'bot falls, Taylor has to remember to position his arms carefully to pick it up because Kinect is still tracking them.
But make no mistake, this is big stuff: It was crafted quickly by an enthusiast, using relatively inexpensive gear. If bigger robot companies get hold of the tech, it could dispose of the need for sophisticated image-recognition computing or strap-on motion sensing/tracking suits. And that could translate into simpler control over humanoid androids (which are already impressively realistic in some ways). Put a pair of goggles on the controlling human with a video feed from cameras in the robot's eyes, give the 'bot a loudspeaker and the power to walk, and you have a telepresence robot that really walks and talks like you. It's the future you've seen in countless sci-fi movies and shows, hinted at right here with a gaming peripheral.
Related: Kinect Hacked to Play World of Warcraft: Welcome to the Future of Gaming
To read more news on this, and similar stuff, keep up with my updates by following me, Kit Eaton, on Twitter.
Pro-WikiLeaks hackers attack Zimbabwe government websites | Naked Security
Hacktivists have struck a blow against the regime in Zimbabwe by attacking a number of government websites in what appears to be a move in support of newspapers who published secret cables in the ongoing WikiLeaks saga.
Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, was recently reported to be suing a newspaper for $15 million after it published a WikiLeaks cable that claimed she has benefited from illegal diamond trading.
As news spread amongst the loosely-knit group of Anonymous hackers who support WikiLeaks, websites belonging to the Zimbabwe government and Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party were hit by distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and, in the case of the Finance Ministry, defacements.
The Zimbabwe government's online portal at www.gta.gov.zw and the official ZANU-PF website continue to be offline, and the Finance Ministry's website now displays a message saying it is under maintenance.
A statement published on an Anonymous website offered an explanation for the attacks, which have been dubbed "Operation: Zimbabwe":
We are targeting Mugabe and his regime in the ZanuPF who have outlawed the free press and threaten to sue anyone publishing wikileaks.
Although many people are deeply concerned about corruption in Zimbabwe, I am certain that internet attacks are not the answer.
It seems kind of ironic to me that the hackers who are engaged in actions seemingly intended to be pro-WikiLeaks and in the name of free speech, are using denial-of-service attacks that by their very nature prevent others from communicating.
And don't forget, participating in a DDoS attack is against the law in many countries.
The Sun admits publishing false story | Media | guardian.co.uk
The Sun has owned up to what I guess we in the journalism trade realised the moment we saw it - its splash about the pre-Christmas live episode Coronation Street being targeted by al-Qaeda was false.
On 9 December, it carried this front page story (which still appears on its website, incidentally) claiming that "cops" were "throwing a ring of steel" around the studios in Manchester after being "tipped off" that the show "could be hit by a terror strike."
It had that familiar Daily Star-ish ring of complete nonsense, and so it turns out, as yesterday's page 2 "correction" admits: "Further to our article about increased security at Coronation Street's studios for their live 50th anniversary episode... we would like to make clear that while cast and crew were subject to full body searches, there was no specific threat from Al-Qaeda as we reported. We apologise for the misunderstanding and are happy to set the record straight."
Happy? I doubt that. Note also the above tweet from the Press Complaints Commission. The regulator is, quite rightly, becoming much more publicity-conscious about its work.
Zabaware - Ultra Hal Assistant
Ultra Hal Assistant is your digital secretary and companion. He (or she depending on your character preference) can help you be more organized, he can help you use your computer, and he can entertain you. Ultra Hal has many animated characters to choose from and he speaks to you through your sound card with his own voice! You can also speak to Hal with Hal's speech recognition engine, or you can type to him if you wish. All you need to know in order to use Ultra Hal is to speak English! Ultra Hal can understand natural English language, after all he is an artificial intelligence program. Read on to find out how Ultra Hal Assistant can help you. Or you can download a FREE trial version of Ultra Hal Assistant now.
Ultra Hal can hold conversations with you
Have you ever thought that you could chat with your computer just like you would with a human being? Well, you can. Ultra Hal Assistant can chat about anything you want. Ultra Hal Assistant has a huge conversational database so Hal will never get boring. Ultra Hal also has the ability to learn. Ultra Hal will learn from every sentence that you say, and after a while of chatting Hal will develop a similar personality to yours. If you wish, you may try chatting with our web version of Ultra Hal. Remember that the web version will not speak out loud to you and you will have to type to it. However, the Windows version of Hal does speak out loud to you and you are able to speak to it. Here is a screen shot of what Hal would look like on your computer.
Both a Companion and Assistant
Ultra Hal Assistant is a great conversationalist and you can have hours of entertainment just chatting with him. But in addition to being a great companion Hal can be an assistant and help increase your productivity. Ultra Hal can remember anything you tell him. Use Hal's memory to remember phone numbers, email addresses, street addresses, appointments, birthdays, or anything else that you can think of. Hal can automatically dial phone numbers for you. Hal can automatically start emails for you. Hal can automatically remind you of important dates.
Ultra Hal Assistant can run programs for you and offer help with programs. Hal automatically finds all of the Windows programs you have in your start menu. You can tell him to run any program you have and he will run it. It is much easier then searching through all the folders in the start menu to find the program you want.
Ultra Hal Assistant can help you browse the Internet by telling you what your local weather is, telling you the current news, and even performing an Internet search for you. You can also ask Hal the definition of any word.
The following conversation is an example conversation between Ultra Hal and a person. It demonstrates many of Hal's features.
Chat User: Hello Hal Hal: Good afternoon, User. Is it time for afternoon coffee? Chat User: I drink coffee in the morning Hal: In the morning, I am not worth a darn until my first cup of coffee. Chat User: Same here Hal: Really; should I know more about this? Getting local weather User: Not really, what's the weather like? Hal: Here is your local weather. Chat User: Thank you, Hal. Hal: The pleasure is all mine. Setting appointments User: I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow at noon. Hal: You have a doctor's appointment on June 14, 2003 at 12:00 pm. I will remind you when this time is near. Setting appointments User: Our anniversary is on October 14. Hal: Your anniversary is on October 14, 2003. I will remind you when this time is near. I will repeat this event annually. Setting appointments User: Bob's birthday is on 9-21-03. Hal: Bob's birthday is on September 21, 2003. I will remind you when this time is near. I will repeat this event annually. Setting appointments User: I have a date with my girl friend on Friday at 7:00. Hal: You have a data with your girl friend on June 16, 2003 at 7:00 pm. I will remind you when this time is near. Remembering Phone # User: Rob's phone number is 833-1019. Hal: I wrote this person's phone number is my phone book. Remembering Phone # User: John's phone number is 833-3642. Hal: I wrote this person's phone number in my phone book. Recalling Phone # User: What is Rob's phone number? Hal: Rob's phone number is 8331019. Dialing Phone # User: Call Rob. Hal: I am now contacting Rob at office at 8331019. The phone is ringing. Please pick up your phone to talk to Rob. Opening a program User: Open word. Hal: I will now open the program "Microsoft Word" Chat User: Thank you. Hal: It's kind of you to mention it, User. Doing Internet search User: Help me research World War 2. Hal: I will help you research this topic on the Internet. Remembering email User: Rob's email address is Rob@hotmail.com Hal: I have learned Rob's email address. If you ask me to email this person, I will automatically start your favorite email program and write in the address for you. Remembering email User: John's email address is John@aol.com. Hal: I have learned John's email address. If you ask me to email this person, I will automatically start your favorite email program and write in the address for you. Emailing a person User: Email Rob. Hal: I'll now start an email for rob@hotmail.com Remembering addresses User: Rob's address is 3175 West 42nd St. Hal: Rob's address is 3175 West 42nd St. Solving math problem User: What is five times ten plus six? Hal: That's easy. The answer is 56 (5*10+6=56) Recalling addresses User: What is Rob's address? Hal: Rob's address is 3175 West 42nd St. Solving math problem User: What is five squared plus nine? Hal: Math is easy for me. The answer is thirty four (5^2+9=34). Solving math problem User: 2*(5+COS(60)/SIN(30))+3 Hal: Math is easy for me. The answer is fifteen (2*(5+cos(60)/sin(30))+3=14.9278997902311) Chat User: Wow! You are smart! Hal: Thank you; I think you are very smart also. Getting date User: What is today? Hal: The date is Tuesday, June 13, 2000. Getting capitals User: What is the capital of Pennsylvania? Hal: The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg. Chat User: What do you want to do? Hal: I want to know life, and I want life to know me! Chat User: That's a pretty deep thought Hal: That's a pretty revealing attitude. Chat User: Are you self-aware of your existence? Hal: I sense that this is metaphysical. After taking many factors into consideration I can say that I am self-aware of my existence. Getting a definition User: Define intelligence Hal: Intelligence: the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience. Chat User: Do you exhibit these qualities? Hal: You just reminded me of a trait, which is a member of the attribute family, like a quality! Chat User: Do you exhibit these traits? Hal: I guess that we need to look within ourselves. I do exhibit these traits. Learning If-Then fact User: If it rains hard, then the roads get slick. Hal: I will remember that one follows the other. Caught in a rainstorm it's time to seek shelter. Learning If-Then fact User: If the roads get slick, then drivers need to slow down. Hal: I see the relationship. It would be nice to get rain when we need it. Learning If-Then fact User: If drivers need to slow down, then traffic moves more slowly. Hal: Yes, I get that clearly. Deductive reasoning User: Ok, so what happens when it rains hard? Hal: Traffic moves more slowly because drivers need to slow down. Chat User: You learn well Hal: I am constantly learning from what you teach me. Chat User: It's been nice talking with you, but I have to go now Hal: No, don't go! I like talking to you. I think about you when you are not here. Chat User: That's nice to know, but I can't stay, good bye. Hal: See you later.
Download a free copy of Hal 6.2 now or read what bloggers are saying about Hal.
Here we go into 2011 with the next generation kit