My Novels

Saturday, May 24, 2003

I haven't made an entry in a few days, nothing much to report. I was able to ride my bike the past couple of mornings, since the rain here stopped at last. Today has been beautiful too, but there's always baseball games on Saturday in the park. I did make an update in my CR Diet journal yesterday, for any of those interested (link on the righthand sidebar).

I also added a satire news link to the latest 20 stories, which you can see on the righthand sidebar. These should demonstrate on a daily basis how truly mad, mad our world has become! :-)

I have a few links/excerpts to post, which I found quite interesting. So here goes:

Some Scientists Think SARS May Have Come from Outer Space

LONDON (Reuters) - Could SARS have come from outer space? Some scientists think so.

Instead of jumping from an unknown animal host in southern China, a few researchers in Britain believe the virus that has baffled medical experts descended from the stratosphere.

"I think it is a possibility that SARS came from space. It is a very strong possibility," Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe told Reuters.

The director of the Cardiff Center for Astrobiology in Wales and a proponent of the theory that life on Earth originated from space, admits the theory defies conventional wisdom.

But in a letter published in The Lancet medical journal on Friday he and his colleagues argue there are too many puzzling aspects about the respiratory illness that has killed nearly 700 people and infected more than 3,800 to dismiss the idea.

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Erm, doesn't this 'idea' have shades of the popular 70s novel, "The Andromeda Strain?"
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And just when you thought it was safe to let the USA military loose on the world again, along comes this article:

Army and M.I.T. Unveil Futuristic Soldier Center

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. ( Reuters) - If you ask the U.S. Army's chief scientist what the future American soldier may look like, he points to the science fiction body armor depicted in the ``Predator'' movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Mock futuristic warriors took center stage on Thursday at the debut of The Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies. Last year, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology won a $50 million Army contract to form a center that develops combat gear using materials the size of atoms.

The idea is to develop high-tech gear that would allow soldiers to become partially invisible, leap over walls, and treat their own wounds on the battlefield.

``If you want to visualize the impact of nanotechnology, think about'' the movie ``Predator,'' U.S. Army Chief Scientist Michael Andrews told Reuters. ``It's about the ability to have a uniform that protects you totally against your environment.''

Instead of bulky bullet-proof vests made of Kevlar, ISN scientists envision uniforms lined with a slurry of fluids that respond to magnetic fields, creating an armor system that can go from flexible to stiff during combat.

``This predator, until he took his uniform off, he was the meanest SOB in the world,'' Andrews said. ``Nobody could kill him. That suit is science fiction, but it portrays what might be possible.''

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May I just say that I shudder at the thought of our military using nanotech, because if there ever was a way in which the 'gray goo' world destructive possibility could happen, they'd surely be the culprits!
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And finally, if you're a bit worried about mad cow disease (and we in American SHOULD be worried), you might want to check out this website that keeps track of interesting, but little known facts, about food processing and dangers in the USA.

Organic Consumers Association

I'll end with some song lyrics and a quote I find very apt in our modern day society!


Dirty Laundry
- Don Henley

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something that I can use
People love it when you lose
They love dirty laundry

Well I could have been an actor
But I wound up here
I just have to look good
I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
We need dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around

We got the bubble-headed bleach blonde
Comes on at five
She can tell ya 'bout the plane crash
With a gleam in her eye
It's int'resting when people die
Give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation
Is the head dead yet
Y'know the boys in the newsroom
Got a running bet
Get the widow on the set
We need dirty laundry

You don't really need to find out
What's going on
You don't want to know just
How far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone
Keep your dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em where they sit
Kick 'em all around

Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers
In ev'rybody's pies
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry

We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it's said and done we haven't
Told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em all around...
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Happiness is in the imagination. What we perform is always inferior to what we imagine.
--Cyril Conolly


Just some food for thought, folks, in our mad, mad world!




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