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Ten Uplifting Songs To Make Your Day

October 29, 2014 by Leave a Comment

We all have bad days, weeks or months, and sometimes we turn to music to try and give us a bit of a boost. Music is such an individual thing, but I thought I’d share ten songs that may give you some much needed positivity in an otherwise crap day. Enjoy:

The Pogues – Ghost of a Smile

The Waterboys – Spirit

Architecture in Helsinki – Desert Island

Patti Smith – April Fool

Paul Kelly – Beautiful Feeling

Finn Brothers – Won’t Give In

Tracy Chapman – Sing For You

Yusuf Islam – Midday (Avoid City After Dark)

The Panics – Majesty

My Friend The Chocolate Cake – I’ve Got A Plan

Filed Under: General Tech, Music

Bank Robbery

October 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment

On Friday, A hooded robber burst into a bank and, at gunpoint, forced the tellers to load their cash into a plain brown bag.

As the robber approached the door, one brave customer grabbed the hood and pulled it off, revealing the robber’s face. Without a moment’s hesitation, the robber shot the customer.

He then looked around the bank and noticed one of the tellers looking straight at him.

The robber instantly shot and killed her also.

Everyone in the bank, by now horrified, stared down at the floor in silence.

The robber yelled “Well, did anyone else see my face?”

There was a long moment of dead silence in which everyone was terrified to speak.

Then, one old Australian named Bernie cautiously raised his hand and said “My wife got a pretty good look at you!!”

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, The Gender Wars

Euclideon Unveils Its Progress

September 25, 2014 by 4 Comments

It’s hard to believe it’s been just over three years since I had my first hands-on with Euclideon’s graphics technology. I was impressed back then and have been keeping in semi-regular touch with the team to see how thing’s are going. In the past fortnight they’ve released some pretty interesting updates on how they’re going.

Aside from showing off their work looks visually, they also allude to the fact that the tech is being used in the development of two games, that they’re launching a games division in 2015 and that they are willing to start talking with investors (big or small).

First, check out the introductory video that covers what the company have been doing to date and some initial examples:

Then have a look at the hi-res demo of their software at work:

And finally some pics to look at (click on each one for full detail):

As someone interested in the area, I find the level of detail stunning. I’ve also been amused over the past three years at the huge cohort of people who have written the tech off as unviable. There’s certainly still plenty of unanswered questions, but al the same it seems to me Euclideon might be forging ahead quite nicely.

What’s your take on it?

Filed Under: General News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With:

Australia: You Can Patent Breast Cancer Genes

September 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Isn't this the sort of stuff patents should apply to?

Isn’t this the sort of stuff patents should apply to?

A fascinating decision by the Federal Court of Australia this week, that will have some significant implications for research in coming years.

The full bench of the Federal Court of Australia has ruled that private companies do have the right to control human genes. The court upheld a decision from February 2013 that ruled patents on breast cancer genes were valid, because the method of isolating the gene created something new and could therefore be patented.

The reaction has been fairly swift from both the legal and scientific sectors.

Dr Luigi Palombi, a patent lawyer and Adjunct Professor in the School of Law at Murdoch University: “The decision ignores the bedrock principle of 400 years of patent law. Only an invention can be the subject of a patent. The decision ignores the scientific facts. It ignores good policy. And it ignores common sense. Australian ingenuity in the biological sciences is now handcuffed by this decision.”

Dr Palombi also questioned the inconsistencies at an international level:

“How is it possible that the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously came to the exact opposite result in only three months? Despite the attempt by the Full Federal Court to try and differentiate the precise claims between the Australian and U.S. patents that Myriad has over the BRCA 1 genetic mutations, the so-called invention is the same.”

This inconsistency has ramifications for local researchers as well :

“At the end of the day, the Australian patent claims pieces of genetic material (BRCA 1 gene mutations) extracted from the human body are an ‘invention’. How is that something anyone invented? American scientists, universities and companies now have the freedom to ignore patents over isolated biological materials that are not ‘markedly different to any found in nature’, but Australian scientists, universities and companies cannot. This decision reinforces the need for the Australian parliament to change patent law in Australia.”

Paul Grogan, Director of Advocacy at Cancer Council Australia, sees legislative change as being required:

“Given the unanimous Federal Court ruling is an interpretation of Australian law, the law itself needs to change to protect healthcare consumers from gene monopolies … The patents system should reward innovation and help deliver affordable healthcare, not stymie research and increase costs by allowing commercial entities to control the use of human genetic materials.”

I find it hard to disagree with either men – what’s your take?

[Release originally via Australian Science Media Centre]

Filed Under: General Tech, Science Tagged With: , ,

Use of the Virtual Environment for Learning: Upcoming Presentation

August 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Second_LifeWith thanks to Sarah Jones via the SL Health group:

The University of Texas at Arlington College of Nursing will present a program with Dr. Dee McGonigle (SL: Houstonccn) speaking on the topic “Use of the Virtual Environment for Learning”.

Date: Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Time: 2:00-3:15 pm SLT

Location: The UT Arlington Conference Center in Second Life, UTArlington III, SLURL: http://bit.ly/UTASLConferenceCenter

More information: http://www.uta.edu/secondlife/nursingce/

Dr. Dee McGonigle, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, ANEF, is a Professor and Chair of the Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) at Chamberlain College of Nursing. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the NLN Academy of Nursing Education.

She co-founded the Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI) and was Editor in Chief from 1996 through 2013. She is an active researcher and through her grant writing, has received over $870,000 in funding. She is an active researcher, presents internationally and nationally, and co-authored two textbooks: Nursing Informatics and The Foundation of Knowledge, one of Jones & Bartlett’s best sellers and AJN’s 2010 Technology Book of the Year, Integrating Technology in Nursing Education: Tools for the Knowledge Era.

Dr. McGonigle has written more than 100 publications including work books, book chapters, and articles. She is a member of both the Informatics and Technology Expert Panel for the American Academy of Nursing and the Serious Gaming and Virtual Environments special interest group for the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. She is searching for a way to facilitate translation by helping those who know (researchers) and those who do (clinicians) communicate and share. Her current areas of interest are in the nursing informatics competencies and diffusion of innovative technologies, especially those impacting learning.

Filed Under: Non-Profit, Virtual Worlds

Bruce Springsteen Gets His Own Academic Journal

August 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment

The_Biannual_Online-Journal_of_Springsteen_Studies

No, it’s not a joke – McGill University have launched an academic journal devoted purely to the work of Bruce Springsteen. The brief is to publish scholarly works looking closely at Springsteen’s creative output in context of wider society.

The first issue is available for free now, and here’s an example of one article’s title and abstract:

SPRINGSTEEN AS DEVELOPMENTAL THERAPIST: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY

Based on differing theories of moral development proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg, Martin Hoffman, and John Gibbs, this paper posits that listening to Bruce Springsteen’s music can increase moral growth. Scores of Springsteen songs parallel psychological techniques used to increase moral development, such as being exposed to two or more beliefs that are contradictory, social perspective-taking by listening to moral dilemmas, gaining empathy with the distress that another person experiences, hypothetical contemplation, and meta-ethical reflection. Through qualitative-based autoethnographical storytelling, the author outlines how his moral development was enabled through such Springsteen songs as “Factory,” “Highway Patrolman,” “Independence Day,” “Johnny 99,” and “Used Cars,” as well as two self-disclosures from Springsteen’s Live 1975-85 album.

It’s easy to scoff, but hell if anyone has observed the progress of life in the USA over the past forty years, it’s Bruce Springsteen. I wouldn’t say no to a PhD in Springsteenology. Would you?

Filed Under: General Tech, Music Tagged With:

Album Review: The Empty Hearts

August 14, 2014 by 1 Comment

The_Empty_Hearts_New_LP_out_August_5__2014_-_YouTubeA rock band is a machine. It’s a totally unoriginal analogy, but powerful all the same. There’s a bunch of moving parts and when things are running well, a band can feel like it could go into perpetual motion. This is particularly the case where you have each member coming into the project with a decade or four of experience under their belt and a willingness to leave egos locked in the bathroom, if not at the door.
This appears to have occurred with The Empty Hearts. Consisting of industry veterans Wally Palmar (The Romantics), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Andy Babiuk (Chesterfield Kings) and Clem Burke (Blondie), their debut album is as polished as you’d expect, but there’s more to it than that. The agreed approach within the band was to recreate a time where playing music was plain fun, and to use the vintage gear at their disposal to achieve it. Which I’d argue they’ve done in spades.

The self-titled album contains twelve tracks and it’s driving rock from start to finish except for the Petty-esque I Found You Again, but even then the tempo doesn’t drop that far. Picking highlights is always fraught with danger, but the opener and Soul Deep stood out for me. I know it’s somewhat of an anachronism, but picking favourites is a little trite here, as this is an all-too-rare album experience. I’d actually make a plea to The Empty Hearts: get this album out on vinyl. Now.

For the older listeners amongst us, there’s going to be occasions of hearing The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones to name three, but the songs are well and truly strong enough to make it a pleasurable comparison on style rather than any concerns on being derivative. They’ve set out to recreate a period in time and have done it in stunning measure. The keyboard work of Ian McLagan (The Faces) also deserves a shout-out for the too infrequent times it appears on the album.

This is an album that any fan of rock is going to enjoy. I tend to judge a rock album on its ability to put out the feeling of that well oiled rock machine working for all the right reasons, and that’s exactly what The Empty Hearts have done. You’d hope they’re planning on touring in support of this release, as they could play the twelve songs in album order and bring the house down, let alone anything else in their repertoire.

Have a taste of some of the songs:

Filed Under: General Tech, Music, Music-related Tagged With:

The City 2 Surf Run Summarised In 14 Simple Points

August 12, 2014 by Leave a Comment

city2surf(A guest post from Wendy Symons – thanks Wendy!)

Ok so I have been asked a lot of questions about the City2Surf for beginners. Here is my spin on it.

1. It’s a bloody long way.

2. There are a lot of people.

3. There are a lot of stupid people.

4. Heartbreak hill is not a hill, it is actually a mountain that is 1.6 kilometres long. Anyone that tells you differently is lying.

5. There are people that sit about 1kilometre up the mountain and tell you that you are at the top. They are also lying and they should be punished or stabbed with a fork.

6. There are people who sit outside their fancy houses having champagne breakfast/brunch. They are cruel people and should also be punished.

7. Everyone says the run is 14 kilometres. More lies. It is 14.7 kilometres. Which is practically 15 kilometres. Trust me, every metre counts when you are running up and down hills.

8. There is lots of nice things to see along the way, but you won’t see any of it.

9. When you finish, you may just run into the only other people you knew were running. Just randomly. Whilst buying a T shirt. With 80 000 other people.

10. The bus ride from Bondi to Bondi Junction afterwards will be far more painful than the actual run.

11. You will be unable to walk up or down stairs for a couple of days without looking like an idiot. Random people will ask you how you went in the run purely because you are walking like a duck.

12. Despite all this you may contemplate doing it again next year.

13. And if your beloved has done the run more than half a dozen times, you may prefer to get tips from him, rather than waiting till the day before the run to tell him you are going in it.

14. And if you want to do it, just do it. Life is short. Go your hardest.

Filed Under: General rant, The Dusty Cupboard

A Lesson For Life

July 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

An old prospector shuffled into the town of El Indio, Texas leading an old tired mule.
The old man headed straight for the only saloon in town, to clear his parched throat.
He walked up to the saloon and tied his old mule to the hitch rail.

As he stood there, brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger stepped out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.

The young gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying,
“Hey old man, have you ever danced?”

The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, “No, I never did dance … never really wanted to.”

A crowd had gathered as the gunslinger grinned and said, “Well, you old fool, you’re gonna dance now,” and started shooting at the old man’s feet.

The old prospector, not wanting to get a toe blown off, started hopping around like a flea on a hot skillet.

Everybody was laughing, fit to be tied. When his last bullet had been fired, the young gunslinger, still laughing, holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.

The old man turned to his pack mule, pulled out a double-barreled shotgun, and cocked both hammers. The loud clicks carried clearly through the desert air.

The crowd stopped laughing immediately. The young gunslinger heard the sounds too, and he turned around very slowly.The silence was almost deafening.

The crowd watched as the young gunman stared at the old timer and the large gaping holes of those twin 10 gauge barrels. The barrels of the shotgun never wavered in the old man’s hands, as he quietly said, “Son, have you ever kissed a mule’s ass?”

The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, “No sir … but… I’ve always wanted to.”
There are a few lessons for us all here:

Never be arrogant.

Don’t waste ammunition.

Whiskey makes you think you’re smarter than you are.

Always, always make sure you know who has the power.

Don’t mess with old folks, they didn’t get old by being stupid.

Filed Under: Age, Email Joke Graveyard

The Real Laws of Nature

July 28, 2014 by Leave a Comment

…Here are the REAL LAWS

1.Law of Mechanical Repair:
After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch and you’ll have to pee.

2.Law of Gravity:
Any tool, nut, bolt, screw, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

3. Law of Probability- The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of your act.

4. Law of Random Numbers:
If you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal and someone always answers.

5. Supermarket Law:
As soon as you get in the smallest line, the cashier will have to call for help.

6. Variation Law:
If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will always move faster than the one you are in now.

7. Law of the Bath:
When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

8. Law of Close Encounters:
The probability of meeting someone you know increases dramatically when you are with someone you don’t want to be seen with.

9. Law of the Result:
When you try to prove to someone that a machine won’t work, it will.

10. Law of Biomechanics:
The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

11. Law of the Theater & Hockey Arena:
At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle, always arrive last. They are the ones who will leave their seats several times to go for food, beer, or the toilet and who leave early before the end of the performance or the game is over.. The folks in the aisle seats come early, never move once, have long gangly legs or big bellies and stay to the bitter end of the performance. The aisle people also are very surly folk.

12. The Coffee Law:
As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

13. Murphy’s Law of Lockers:
If there are only 2 people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

14. Law of Physical Surfaces:
The chances of an open-faced jam sandwich landing face down on a floor, are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet or rug.

15.Law of Logical Argument:
Anything is possible if you don’t know what you are talking about.

16. Brown’s Law of Physical Appearance:
If the clothes fit, they’re ugly..

17.Oliver’s Law of Public Speaking:
A closed mouth gathers no feet.

18.Wilson’s Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy:
As soon as you find a product that you really like, they will stop making it.

19. Doctors’ Law:
If you don’t feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor, by the time you get there you’ll feel better… But don’t make an appointment, and you’ll stay sick. This has been proven over and over with taking children to the pediatrician.

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, General humor

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