Bionic woman: not so far off

Three years after losing her left eye in a car accident, San Franciscan Tanya Vlach wants to make her artificial eye more useful: She's planning to put a video camera in her eye socket with the goal of having a bionic eye.

Asked in an e-mail what her inspiration is, Vlach wrote:

"The Bionic Woman and maybe Bladerunner! Ever since I lost my eye I would fantasize about having a bionic eye. So I did research and I realized that as technology becomes increasingly smaller it seemed doable to engineer a miniature video camera small enough to put inside my acrylic prosthetic. And then finally I would have a device as close to an eye as I could get. Also, I love photography and video, this would be a true P.O.V (point of view) perspective."

Work is already under way in various places that could serve as a starting point for Vlach. For instance, researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have created a contact lens that contains an electronic circuit and LEDs. And scientists at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, meanwhile, have developed what could be a precursor to a bionic eye, though it's unclear whether that eye has quite the Web functionality that Vlach is seeking. There's also work being done in Boston on embedding chips behind the retina.

In her blog, "one-eyed," Vlach discusses the technical aspects of what she hopes to achieve with her "experiment in wearable technology, cybernetics, and perception."
"I am attempting to recreate my eye with the help of a miniature camera implant in my prosthetic /artificial eye," she writes. "While my prosthetic is an excellent aesthetic replacement, I am interested in capitalizing on the current advancement of technology to enhance the abilities of my prosthesis for an augmented reality."

Beyond that, Vlach reckons that the eye technology could even incorporate wireless charging, allow the pupil to dilate and constrict as light changes, and use blinking to take still photos, zoom, focus, and turn on and off.

She's currently working on a science fiction screenplay and has several ideas for the technology, including making a documentary, broadcasting an online "lifecast," and doing art installations.

Full article: http://tech.msn.com/news/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=14176836&GT1=40000
Source: MSN

Obvious article is obvious

Fully one quarter of employees who use the Internet visit porn sites during the workday, according to October figures from Nielsen Online; that's up from 23 percent a year ago. And hits are highest during office hours than at any other time of day, reports M. J. McMahon, publisher of AVN Online magazine, which tracks the adult video industry.

Source: Newsweek
Full article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/171279?GT1=43002

If YouTube recommended it...

Happy Turkey Day...

... to everyone!

It's almost like... they're tackling me!

With sports fans still getting used to their high-definition television sets, the National Football League is already thinking ahead to the next potential upgrade: 3-D.
Next week, a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders will be broadcast live in 3-D to theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston. It is a preliminary step on what is likely a long road to any regular 3-D broadcasts of football games.
The idea is a "proof of concept," says Howard Katz, NFL senior vice president of broadcasting and media operations. "We want to demonstrate this and let people get excited about it and see what the future holds."
The several hundred guests at the three participating theaters Dec. 4 will include representatives from the NFL's broadcasting partners and from consumer-electronics companies. The event will be closed to the general public. Burbank, Calif.-based 3ality Digital LLC will shoot the game with special cameras and transmit it to a satellite. Thomson SA's Technicolor Digital Cinema is providing the satellite services and digital downlink to each theater, and Real D 3D Inc. will power the display in the theaters.
This isn't the first time the NFL has participated in a 3-D experiment. In 2004, a predecessor company to 3ality filmed the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. When Sandy Climan, 3ality's chief executive officer, shows the footage, "people crouch down to catch the ball," he says. "It's as if the ball is coming into your arms."
Technology has advanced considerably since then, and now makes live transmission possible. Boxing in 3-D, Mr. Climan says, particularly "raises your blood pressure."
Real D, which has rolled out 3-D systems in 1,500 theaters around the world, has long advocated the transmission of live events to theaters in 3-D. "We look forward to giving fans of live events the opportunity to feel like they're in the front row," says Michael Lewis, Real D's CEO.
Some live events, including opera broadcasts and circus performances, already pop up on screens at theaters across the country.
Next week's demonstration will also include television displays, to show what might one day be available in homes. While 3-D television sets are already available in stores, mainly for the handful of DVDs available in 3-D, the industry is still working on technical standards for 3-D.
That process raises the possibility that 3-D TV sets purchased today might not be compatible with programs aired in a few years' time. Just as in theaters, home viewers must wear special 3-D glasses.

Source: FOX Sports
Full article: http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8843052?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002

X-Men sequel turns Girl-y

The Silver Screen X-Men are about to get a bit younger.

This according to an article posted this evening on Variety which states that 20th Century Fox has tapped Josh Schwartz, the creator of “Gossip Girl,” “The OC” and “Chuck,” to write and potentially direct a reboot of the X-Men movie franchise under the name “X-Men: First Class.”

Details of the new production are limited at this hour, but according to the report, Fox has been leaning towards a retooling of the franchise using younger versions of the characters introduced in the previous X-Men films, along the lines of those featured in the Marvel Comics series also called “X-Men: First Class."

No specific date has been announced for the release of “X-Men: First Class,” although it’s expected sometime in 2010. Mutant fans won’t have to wait long to get their next fix, though, as May 2009 sees the release of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” featuring Hugh Jackman in the role he originated in the first three X-Men films. Fox is also developing a stand-alone Magneto feature as well as considering a Deadpool spinoff starring Ryan Reynolds, following the character’s debut in “Wolverine.”

Source: CBR News
Full article: http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18876

When a YouTube Video Cam Direct Upload goes horribly HORRIBLY wrong...

scarlet takes a tumble
(to cut to the hilarious chase go about 2:30 in)

When one man has way too much time on his hands...

Now I've said time and again that I'm obsessed with this Beyonce song and music video. It's just... wow! and addictive multiplied by bad ass-ery. I, however, haven't taken the time to learn every impossible dance move that Beyonce pulls off. This gentleman has...
You must watch it to believe it.

Stephen Colbert finds the perfect lure for President Elect Obama

Stephen Colbert ponders how he can get President Elect Obama on his show. Then he remembers- Barrack Obama is a closet comic book nerd. And who just appeared as himself in a recent Spider-Man comic book...?

SUPER POWERS!

When a young couple tries to save their marriage by dressing up as super heroes in the bedroom, they end up saving much more than their sex life. Winner of the Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short Film at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

British chicks need sperm

LONDON - Britain is facing a sperm donor shortage after reversing confidentiality laws and limiting the number of women who can use sperm from one donor, fertility experts warned Wednesday.

Britain in 2005 changed the law protecting anonymous sperm donors and allowed children to learn the identity of donor fathers — one reason, fertility experts say, there are fewer donors now.

“The only countries that seem to have enough sperm are those that pay — like the U.S. and Spain — or the countries that retain anonymity,” said Allan Pacey, a member of the British Fertility Society that warned of the shortage in the British Medical Journal.

Sources: Associated Press, MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27683226/wid/11915773?gt1=31037

The Nerd Corner's Game of the Week - BUTT SCAN!

We've all been there... especially in the upcoming Holiday season... enjoy!
(Sadly I'm having trouble embedding the game onto the blog so you'll have to click the link... but it's worth it!)

http://www.gimme5games.com/index.jsp?id=scan

HO HO HO You fat motha f&cka!!!

Our very own Greg Gallows...

Woman killed by dead husband...'s coffin.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Police say a woman has died on the way to a cemetery when a traffic accident hurled her husband's coffin against the back of her neck.
Police said 67-year-old Marciana Silva Barcelos was in the front passenger seat of the hearse when the accident occurred Monday in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Barcelos died instantly.

Sources: The Associated Press, MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27666284/?gt1=43001

BREAKING NEWS!!! The McRib is back!!!

'nuff said!

Super Mario Bros. NES - Inexpectable Incident

What happened to Mario?!

Super Monk Bros. Brawl

JERUSALEM - Israeli police rushed into one of Christianity's holiest churches Sunday and arrested two clergyman after an argument between monks erupted into a brawl next to the site of Jesus' tomb.

The clash between Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks broke out in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, revered as the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial and resurrection.

The brawling began during a procession of Armenian clergymen commemorating the 4th-century discovery of the cross believed to have been used to crucify Jesus.

The Greeks objected to the march without one of their monks present, fearing that otherwise, the procession would subvert their own claim to the Edicule — the ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus — and give the Armenians a claim to the site.

The Armenians refused, and when they tried to march the Greek Orthodox monks blocked their way, sparking the brawl.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police were forced to intervene after fighting was reported. They arrested two monks, one from each side, he said.

A bearded Armenian monk in a red-and-pink robe and a black-clad Greek Orthodox monk with a bloody gash on his forehead were both taken away in handcuffs after scuffling with dozens of riot police.

Six Christian sects divide control of the ancient church. They regularly fight over turf and influence, and Israeli police are occasionally forced to intervene.

"We were keeping resistance so that the procession could not pass through ... and establish a right that they don't have," said a young Greek Orthodox monk with a cut next to his left eye.

The monk, who gave his name as Serafim, said he sustained the wound when an Armenian punched him from behind and broke his glasses.

Father Pakrat of the Armenian Patriarchate said the Greek demand was "against the status quo arrangement and against the internal arrangement of the Holy Sepulcher." He said the Greeks attacked first.

Archbishop Aristarchos, the chief secretary of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate, denied his monks initiated the violence.

After the brawl, the church was crowded with Israeli riot police holding assault rifles, standing beside Golgotha, where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, and the long smooth stone marking the place where tradition holds his body was laid out.

The feud is only one of a bewildering array of rivalries among churchmen in the Holy Sepulcher.

The Israeli government has long wanted to build a fire exit in the church, which regularly fills with thousands of pilgrims and has only one main door, but the sects cannot agree where the exit will be built.

A ladder placed on a ledge over the entrance sometime in the 19th century has remained there ever since because of a dispute over who has the authority to take it down.

More recently, a spat between Ethiopian and Coptic Christians is delaying badly needed renovations to a rooftop monastery that engineers say could collapse.

Sources: The Associated Press, MSNBC
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27625446/?GT1=43001

Get caught up: With the Angels!

Get caught up fast with these essential episodes...

Ep. 1 Life Of The Party


Ep. 2 Sunset Sunrise


Ep. 4 Welcome Wagon


Ep. 6 Chance Meeting


Ep. 8 Behind the Scenes

LOST announces it's 5th season premiere date

ABC has confirmed the premiere date for the fifth season of Lost, and it's Jan. 21.
Yep, that's a Wednesday, and it's where Lost — which last season aired Thursdays at 10 pm/ET, following Grey's Anatomy — will stay.
More specifically, Lost's regular time slot will be Wednesdays at 9 pm, though the new cycle will kick off with a three-hour event — a clip show followed by the first two episodes.
At this time, sources are unable to confirm if the 17-episode Season 5 will in fact pull off the straight-through feat.

Source: TVGuide
Full article: http://www.tvguide.com/News/Lost-Season-Premiere-58305.aspx

CHANGE is here!

It would be about f*&@ing time!!!

Is a merger in store for The Office? Ricky Gervais, the brilliant mind behind the British original, tells TVGuide.com he'd like to appear in NBC's Americanized version.

Gervais even has an idea for how he could appear: as himself, playing struggling actor Andy Melman on HBO's Extras.

"I'd quite like them to maybe be watching an episode of Extras, and Michael Scott comes along and goes, 'This guy is no good. If they ever do a remake, I think I should do that part."


Source: TVGuide
Full artilce: http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ricky-Gervais-Visiting-55493.aspx

TRAPPED IN AN ELEVATOR FOR 41 HOURS- WITH DIARRHEA

A man is trapped in an elevator for 41 hours, with diarrhea.

Note: This is a spoof of this classic video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_bMhNI_TY8

Thank you President Elect Barack Obama!!!

Recently my friend called me to tell me that the Chicago Sun Times edition of Wednesday's paper announcing Barack Obama the winner of the 2008 Election was going for up to $50 on eBay because they've been sold out since going on press. So I decided to check out this little newspaper stand outside of my job and the little old clerk has an entire box of newspapers left. So I snatched up most of them for $20 ($.50 a piece). He had no clue. Now I am planning on selling them on eBay for $40 a pop (at least). Thank you President Elect Obama for making me a cool $1600! :)

See the hype on eBay!

VOTE!

While we here at the Nerd Corner do not endorse any particular candidate (we only proclaim which one we would rather do more), we do urge you to exercise your civil duty and vote in this election.

Vote or die motha fucka, motha fucka vote or die!!!

Marital Troubles - SethComedy

Every marriage has its arguments. Every marriage has its fights. But not every marriage has a situation like this.

Twitter = Terrorism

By Ian Paul, PC World

A U.S. Army intelligence report sent the media into overdrive the last few days with its pronouncement that terrorists might "Tweet" their way through an attack using the microblogging site Twitter. The Army says it "red-teamed" the possible use of Twitter, which means that a team of soldiers or analysts used Twitter to see if they could find weaknesses with the Army's battle readiness. But is a Twitter attack realistic? Should we be Twitterified of Twitter? Let's take a closer look.

The report outlines three possible uses for Twitter as a terrorist tool. They are:

Sending and receiving messages to and from other terrorist cell members.
Detonating a roadside bomb.
Following a soldier's Tweets.

Full article: http://tech.msn.com/news/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=11838092&GT1=40000

Sources: MSN, PCWorld