Viewing Category: Geeky
An interesting article regarding the theories of one Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey, a computer scientist turned self-taught natural scientist turned theoretical biogerontologist. He theorizes that there are 7 obstacles to immortality (heavily excerpted below):
Loss and atrophy or degeneration of cells. This element of aging is particularly important in tissues where cells cannot replace themselves as they die, such as the heart and brain.
Accumulation of cells that are not wanted. These are (a) fat cells, which tend to proliferate and not only replace muscle but also lead to diabetes by diminishing the body’s ability to respond to the pancreatic hormone insulin, and (b) cells that have become senescent, which accumulate in the cartilage of our joints.
Mutations in chromosomes. The most damaging consequence of cell mutation is the development of cancer.
Mutations in mitochondria. Mitochondria are the micromachines that produce energy for the cell’s activities. They contain small amounts of DNA, which are particularly susceptible to mutations since they are not housed in the chromosomes of the nucleus.
The accumulation of “junk” within the cell. The junk in question is a collection of complex material that results from the cell’s breakdown of large molecules. Intracellular structures called lysosomes are the primary microchambers for such breakdown; the junk tends to collect in them, causing problems in the function of certain types of cells. Atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries, is the biggest manifestation of these complications.
The accumulation of “junk” outside the cell. The fluid in which all cells are bathed—called extracellular fluid—may come to contain aggregates of protein material that it is incapable of breaking down. The result is the formation of a substance called amyloid, which is the material found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Cross-links in proteins outside the cell. The extracellular fluid contains many flexible protein molecules that exist unchanged for long periods of time, whose function is to give certain tissues such qualities as elasticity, transparence, or high tensile strength. Over a lifetime, occasional chemical reactions gradually affect these molecules in ways that change their physical and/or chemical qualities.
A lot of the article is devoted to the author's impression of de Grey himself...I honestly haven't yet finished it, but it's nevertheless an interesting idea that immortability, by this man's estimate, may be achievable in 25 years.
Via Slashdot.
I love it when this happens: four problems, one solution!
1. Too many shows piling up on the Tivo, not enough time to watch!
2. Duncan's NordicTrak occupying space in my basement, unused and unreturned for three years!
3. Burgeoning waistline!
4. Joining an activity group that will require a lot of running around come springtime!
The solution: Watch Tivo in my basement while on the NordicTrak!
Friday night's trial run worked quite well for the season premiere of Monk...a 45 minute session without having to really think about it. Will it work for Battlestar Galactica or (perhaps the ultimate test) a week's worth of reruns? Stay tuned!
A mindblowing compendium of science fiction spacecraft! at merzo.net:
This site is intended to allow science fiction fans to get an impression of the true scale of their favorite science fiction spacecraft by being able to compare ships across genres, as well as being able to compare them with contemporary objects with which they are probably familiar. The scales are based on meter-to-pixel ratios so that they are accurate on any platform.
The spacecraft are presented in a variety of different scales on a massive piece of virtual graph paper. If you're using Internet Explorer, you can even pick up the ships and move them around. Finally, you can back up that "The Enterprise D would totally kill the SDF-1!" claim with hard-hitting information graphics! You would still be wrong, even with Transwarp, but at least your argument would have some surface credibility :-)
Bill sent me a link regarding this recreation of "Adventure", the classic Atari 2600 console game. It's been recreated in Flash, and runs in your browser. VERY COOL.
I never had a 2600 myself, unfortunately, so it didn't have quite the nostalgic shock value that I should have enjoyed. I'm an Apple II guy, and got into consoles pretty late in life.
Anyway, having never played Adventure before, I got down to figuring out that the dot was you, and that there was a magnet and key somehow involved. I must admit I quickly grew bored, as kids are wont to be these days.
On a tangential note, I was reminded me of what programmers back then went through to draw a dot on the screen (hint: there was no bitmapped graphics support). And check out these sad, sad hardware specs:
CPU: 6507
RAM: 128 Bytes, in VLSI
ROM: 6K max
Cpu Clock: 1.19 MHz
Graphics Clock: 3.58 MHz
Slot Config: Rom access only
CPU Avail: less than 50%
The original programming guide is online. There are modern tools available, and a thriving community continues to push out titles. Awesome.
I'd kind of like to play Intellivision StarStrike again...will have to look into that.
Ged sent me this link to a group picture of all the major characters from all five Star Wars movies. As hardened as my heart had become toward the newer films, it gave a little tug when I saw this. Apparently it was original posted via Aint It Cool News.
I finally got a chance to see Mamoru Oshii's latest feature anime: Ghost in the Shell: Innocence. If you loved the first Ghost in the Shell movie, you'll probably love this one too! It was meticulously-paced, deep, and insightful. In other words, I found it plodding, dull, and ponderous; the screen shot captures the essence of how I feel about the movie. I like the TV adaptation Stand Alone Complex much better...closer to Shirow's characters and situations in the original Ghost in the Shell manga, without the confusion of the sequel Man-Machine Interface.
I'm not sure what it is about Oshii's movies...they've got wonderful production values, but they feel so still. This is perhaps on purpose, as Oshii's fascination with dolls was one motivator behind the movie. His take on the central characters has all the charm of the long-dead philosophers that are quoted throughout the film. Interesting questions are posed, but no answers are offered. I came away from Innocence feeling weary and empty.
Curious about his track record, I looked around for Patlabor, his earlier production with other members of the group Headgear, a creative collective which actually sounds cool. His movie track record seems to be quite introspective and unsettling. For example, Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer is among his credits, and is called a "bold re-interpretation of Rumiko Takahashi's characters". I guess he's a philosophical kind of person, looking for deeper meaning between the characters and stories under his charge. I didn't particularly enjoy UYBD myself, but long-time fans probably enjoyed it more.
Anyway, not my cup of tea. Pretty, but lifeless seems to be the general consensus among reviewers.
Here's hoping that Steamboy and Howl's Moving Castle are better.
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