Passwords Could Soon Be Obsolete

Technology is constantly narrowing the gap between science fiction and reality, bringing fundamental changes into our lives. According to IBM researchers, in five years we won't need passwords, won't be bothered by junk mail and will be able to control many of our machines with our minds. The American technology company released its 6th annual Five-in-Five, a list of five innovations the firm expects to see within five years. One of them will enable us to generate small amounts of energy to supplement the electric power we use in our homes. "You can do micro-electronic generation," says Bernie Meyerson, vice president of Innovation at IBM. "For instance, you can have somebody in the third world who has access to a phone or a smart phone, but doesn't have access to a power grid, which is a very common thing and literally in a shoe has something that recovers energy from walking and can charge the battery to enable that person to actually become connected with the rest of the world." Another innovation will make those hard-to-remember passwords obsolete. Soon, in order to access our e-mail or bank account, we'll use a technology known as biometrics. A tiny sensor could confirm your identity by recognizing the unique patterns in the retina of your eye. "Imagine that things recognize you," Meyerson says. "You walk up to an ATM. It takes one look at you and says, "Yep, you're you."" Within five years, it's possible we'll no longer be inundated with junk mail, because a new electronic device will delete it before we ever see it. "That device, as you act upon it, as you eliminate mail, you don't read it, you just look at it and kill it," Meyerson says, "after a while it learns your habits and works as your assistant by eliminating stuff you never wanted anyway." IBM also sees us controlling many of our electronic devices telepathically. "A simple ability to command a system to do something without actually doing or saying anything, literally thinking and having something happen, as a result, that's accurate," Meyerson says. "Something with deep capability so that a person, for instance, who is paraplegic or quadriplegic, can actually utilize brain waves to make things happen and basically run their own lives independently." The fifth innovation on IBM's list is the elimination of the so-called "digital divide," between those who are and aren't connected. "We anticipate that, in five years, better than 80 percent of coverage of the world populations by cellular phones and smart phones," Meyerson says. "At this point, imagine having, for instance, the ability to speak openly with anybody anywhere, anytime and in any language, real-time translation - literally the old Star Trek idea of a universal translator coming to be." IBM's track record of predictions over the past five years has been mixed. Some predictions are still not reality. In 2006, for example, IBM researchers predicted there would be a 3D Internet by now. However, in 2009, they predicted city buildings would "sense and respond" like living organisms. Three years later, that future is here. At a New York art museum, sensors are detecting subtle fluctuations in temperature, humidity, air flow and light levels, and adjusting the building's environment to help preserve the works of art. What's important about the Five-in-Five list, says IBM's Meyerson, is it encourages the researchers to turn as much of their innovative imagination as possible into practical realities.

Music may help brain-damaged patients relearn how to walk and talk

Music-based therapy may play a role in helping brain-damaged patients heal as songs can help create new speech pathways in the brain that evade damaged regions, researchers say. But scientists are still in anticipation of solid data to prove what seems to work in case study after case study. "It used to be thought that music was a superfluous thing, and no one understood why it developed from an evolutionary standpoint," Discover News quoted Michael De Georgia, director of the Center for Music and Medicine at Case Western Reserve University's University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland as saying. "In the last 10 years, we've just started to understand how broad and diffuse the effect of music is on all parts of the brain. "We are just starting to understand how powerful music can be. We don't know what the limits are." During the post-World War II era, physical therapists observed that Big Band music helped wounded veterans get up and learn to walk again, according to Lee Anna Rasar, a musical therapist at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. Since then, researchers have recognized a consistent pattern. When given a rhythm to walk to, people with Parkinson's disease, strokes and other forms of neurological damage are able to regain a symmetrical stride and a sense of balance. Each beat acts as an auditory cue that the brain uses to anticipate timing and regulate footfalls. Scientists are still working out the details of how this kind of therapy works. But one likely explanation is that music is represented in many areas of the brain, while just two brain regions process language. Music also tends to dig deeper, more well-worn pathways between neurons. Through music, then, patients can reach into their stored knowledge about words and use songs to create new connections for speech. Catherine Wan, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School asserted that the theory makes a lot of sense, but studies are only just starting to back it up. In a recent study with six autistic children who could not talk at all, Wan and colleagues found that music-based therapy helped all of them in articulating words and phrases in a better manner. Some of the kids aged 5 to 9 years old said their first words after just eight weeks of music-based therapy, Wan said, and that was after years of other kinds of treatments. "As much as we would like to say that music is a powerful medium, I think it's important for people to test it rigorously to try to really tease out what are the components that are contributing to the effects," Wan said. "Is it because they are seeing a therapist five times a day or it's a new therapy so they're more motivated or is the therapy itself that is important?" she added.

Having sex with animals ups risk of penile cancer

Men who have sex with animals are twice as likely to develop cancer of the penis, a new study has found. A team of urologists from centres around Brazil looked at risk factors for penile cancer in men and conducted a study on 492 men ranging in age from 18 to 80 years old. They found that men who had sex with animals during their lifetimes were twice as likely to develop cancer of the penis as others. Those who had engaged in bestiality also reported a higher incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and of 492 volunteers, 118 were oenile cancer patients. Stjnio de Cassio Zequi, the lead author of the study said that if a man has sex with an animal it could produce micro-traumas in the human penile tissue. "The genital mucus membranes of animals could have different characteristics from human genitalia, and the animals' secretions are probably different from human fluids," the Daily Mail quoted him as saying. "Perhaps animal tissues are less soft than ours, and non-human secretions would be toxic for us," he added.

La Tecnología 'Apendeja ... o!

Estar en el año 2011 implica que ... 1. Accidentalmente tecleas tu password en el microondas. 2. Ya no has jugado solitario con cartas verdaderas en años. 3. No tienes una pinche idea ni del teléfono de tu casa. Antes de memoria lo sabíamos todos. 4. Le envías un e-mail al que se sienta junto a ti. 5. La razón que tienes para no estar en contacto con tu familia es por que ellos no tienen correo electrónico. 6. Se te pierde un momento tu vieja en el super y le llamas al celular (y ella está en el siguiente pasillo). 7. Cada comercial de la televisión tiene su página de Internet en la parte de abajo. 9. Salir sin celular, el cual no habías tenido hasta hace unos 15 años, te hace entrar en pánico y regresar por el. Pierdes primero los calzones que el celular. 10. Te levantas en la mañana y te conectas antes de tomar tu café o ver si tus hijos y esposa amanecieron vivos. 11. Ya no cuentas chistes... ahora le das REENVIAR . 12. Estas volteando alrededor para que nadie te vea que estas sonriendo como estupido enfrente de tu PC. 12. Te sientes contento por cuidar a unos inches puerquitos y gallinitas en la granja cuando en la vida real se han muerto todas las mascotas que has tenido y te sientes orgulloso de hacer un castillo en un lugar que ni existe y para acabarla de chingar en la vida real pagas renta. 13. Peor que eso, ya sabes, perfectamente, a quien le vas a enviar este correo. 14. Estas tan idiotizado leyendo que no te fijaste que faltó el numero 8 y se repitió el numero 12 en esta lista. Que pendejo.... 15. Y ahora regresaste para ver efectivamente que no esta el numero 8. Más Pendejo..... 16. Y ahora te estas riendo de ti mismo. ¿porque será? (por pendejo... o, quizá, porque es 'saludable' reírse de uno mismo de cuando en cuando). 17. Y no digas que no!!! ... hazle pasar un momento divertido a tus amigos. 18. Y Para colmo de males no has quitado la mano del mouse Lo dicho!! La pendejez no respeta profesiones, verdad?... AGARRA PAREJO..........(NO ME DIGAS QUE NO) SI TODAVÍA TE ESTAS RIENDO SALUD .... y .... nota... que a mi tambien me cojieron con esto, por eso se los reenvio para no ser el único, jejejeej!!!!! tómalo por el lado amable mmm... quien sabe... a lo mejor sirve de algo!

Old Dog

An old German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. The old German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep shit now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old German Shepherd exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder, if there are any more around here?" Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!," says the panther, "That was close! That old German Shepherd nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes. The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther. The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" Now, the old German Shepherd sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old German Shepherd says... "Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!" Moral of this story... Don't mess with the old dogs... Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! Bull Shit and brilliance only come with age and experience.

trayectoria de rodolfo aicardi

La voz que puso a bailar a Colombia y al mundo en los años 70 y 80, pero que también los puso a 'sufrir' a los enamorados con sus baladas melodramáticas, Rodolfo Aicardi, falleció el 24 de octubre en su casa de Medellín. El cantante estrella de Los Hispanos en la época dorada de esta agrupación popularizó el género tropical con tal estilo que le valió el apelativo de 'El Insuperable'. Nacido en Magangué, Bolívar, el 23 de mayo de 1946. Muy joven mostró su vena artística y tras varios intentos fallidos por hallar eco en alguna disquera, sólo en 1968 el Sexteto Miramar apreció su voz y conoció el éxito, el primero de más de 300 discos: Que Quiere esa Música Esta Noche. Marco Tulio Aicardi Rivera, su nombre de pila, tomó de un hermano medio el nombre artístico de Rodolfo. Nombre con el cual lo llamarían a reemplazar a Gustavo 'El Loco' Quintero, quien dejaba Los Hispanos (Codiscos) para formar Los Graduados. Inició su vida artística interpretando baladas en el Club del Clan, cuando lo dirigían Guillermo Hinestroza y Luís Betancur Tolosa. Luego hizo su debut para el mundo del acetato con el Sexteto Miramar, grupo que en 1965 se formó con el apoyo de las directivas de Discos Fuentes y que después acompañó esta gran voz, la cual demostró toda su potencialidad cuando impuso su primer tema, el bolero-balada Qué quiere esa música esta noche, su primera grabación. Para ese entonces recibía clases de canto del maestro Pietro Masqueronni. En 1975 fue el baladista de moda en Puerto Rico y Nueva York y fue su tema Sufrir el que dio inició a la conquista del mercado internacional cuando lo impuso en Venezuela, Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico. Después, se definió por la música tropical. Reemplazó a Gustavo «el Loco» Quintero en Los Hispanos, quien se retiró para integrarse a Los Graduados, agrupación. Rodolfo Aicardi, con su primer tema en compañía de Los Hispanos, mostró la gran versatilidad de su voz. El tema bailable Así empezaron papá y mamá lideró la sintonía y los ubicó como el binomio más vendedor de la historia fonográfica. Los Hispanos firmaron luego con Discos Fuentes, compañía para la cual grababa Rodolfo, y por sugerencia de don Antonio Fuentes pasó a ser la voz líder del nuevo grupo. Fue cuando empezó la época de éxitos como Así Empezaron Papá y Mamá, El Papelito Blanco y Adonay, a los que les ponía mucha alegría, sin olvidar el género de la balada popular, a la que le imprimía su dosis de sentimiento, logrando 'hits' internacionales como Sufrir, Volver, El Eco de tu Adiós, Naila y La Pena de mi Viejo, entre otros. Sin embargo, el éxito de la música tropical lo llevó de Los Hispanos a integrar otros grupos como Los Ídolos, Los Bestiales, La Típica RA7 y el Concierto Hispano, desde 1995 a la fecha y grabó también con Sonolux y Discos Dago. En su fructífera carrera artística recibió quince Discos de Oro que le han sido otorgados y sus más de 75 producciones discográficas. Con su música ha trascendido las fronteras colombianas llevando su talento a través del mundo a países como Italia, Bélgica, Estados Unidos, México, Francia y casi toda Centroamérica, entre muchos otros. Su música y talento, además, han llegado a otros países. De hecho, Rodolfo Aicardi, con alegría, recordaba que en su momento realizó conciertos en casi todos los países de Europa y América. Se destaca el gran éxito que obtuvo en 1980 y 1981, cuando figuró en Europa con el tema Colegiala (14 Cañonazos Bailables Vol. 20, 1980), del cual vendió mas de 500.000 copias en sólo Francia. También ha contado con el acompañamiento de agrupaciones muy destacadas como La Típica RA7, Los Bestiales, La Sonora Dinamita y Los Líricos, dejando en todas sus grabaciones, su estilo inconfundible. Sin embargo, su más grande éxito de tiempos recientes se grabó en 1980 y apareció en los 14 Cañonazos de ese año, así como también en la edición 2004 de la serie; éste tema es Cariñito. En Medellín, también fue el disco de fin de año en el 2005 su versión de La Tirana, original de Darío Gómez. Finalmente Rodolfo se retiró de la música debido a serios quebrantos de salud, como diabetes e insuficiencia renal, teniendo que someterse a delicados tratamientos médicos y llegando a requerir incluso, el trasplante de los dos riñones y el páncreas. En su larga y exitosa carrera, realizó giras artísticas a Italia, Bélgica, Surinam, Centroamérica y los Estados Unidos. De él, uno de los recuerdos más bellos que tienen sus admiradores es su tema La colegiala que logró, sólo en Francia, vender más de quinientas mil copias abriendo un camino pródigo para la música colombiana en el viejo continente. Rodolfo Aicardi murió en Medellín, el 24 de octubre de 2007, lo cual representó una gran pérdida para la música romántica y tropical del país.

1938 Welles scares nation

Orson Welles causes a nationwide panic with his broadcast of "War of the Worlds"-a realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion of Earth. Orson Welles was only 23 years old when his Mercury Theater company decided to update H.G. Wells' 19th-century science fiction novel War of the Worlds for national radio. Despite his age, Welles had been in radio for several years, most notably as the voice of "The Shadow" in the hit mystery program of the same name. "War of the Worlds" was not planned as a radio hoax, and Welles had little idea of the havoc it would cause. The show began on Sunday, October 30, at 8 p.m. A voice announced: "The Columbia Broadcasting System and its affiliated stations present Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater on the air in 'War of the Worlds' by H.G. Wells." Sunday evening in 1938 was prime-time in the golden age of radio, and millions of Americans had their radios turned on. But most of these Americans were listening to ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy "Charlie McCarthy" on NBC and only turned to CBS at 8:12 p.m. after the comedy sketch ended and a little-known singer went on. By then, the story of the Martian invasion was well underway. Welles introduced his radio play with a spoken introduction, followed by an announcer reading a weather report. Then, seemingly abandoning the storyline, the announcer took listeners to "the Meridian Room in the Hotel Park Plaza in downtown New York, where you will be entertained by the music of Ramon Raquello and his orchestra." Putrid dance music played for some time, and then the scare began. An announcer broke in to report that "Professor Farrell of the Mount Jenning Observatory" had detected explosions on the planet Mars. Then the dance music came back on, followed by another interruption in which listeners were informed that a large meteor had crashed into a farmer's field in Grovers Mills, New Jersey. Soon, an announcer was at the crash site describing a Martian emerging from a large metallic cylinder. "Good heavens," he declared, "something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now here's another and another one and another one. They look like tentacles to me ... I can see the thing's body now. It's large, large as a bear. It glistens like wet leather. But that face, it... it ... ladies and gentlemen, it's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it, it's so awful. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is kind of V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate." The Martians mounted walking war machines and fired "heat-ray" weapons at the puny humans gathered around the crash site. They annihilated a force of 7,000 National Guardsman, and after being attacked by artillery and bombers the Martians released a poisonous gas into the air. Soon "Martian cylinders" landed in Chicago and St. Louis. The radio play was extremely realistic, with Welles employing sophisticated sound effects and his actors doing an excellent job portraying terrified announcers and other characters. An announcer reported that widespread panic had broken out in the vicinity of the landing sites, with thousands desperately trying to flee. In fact, that was not far from the truth. Perhaps as many as a million radio listeners believed that a real Martian invasion was underway. Panic broke out across the country. In New Jersey, terrified civilians jammed highways seeking to escape the alien marauders. People begged police for gas masks to save them from the toxic gas and asked electric companies to turn off the power so that the Martians wouldn't see their lights. One woman ran into an Indianapolis church where evening services were being held and yelled, "New York has been destroyed! It's the end of the world! Go home and prepare to die!" When news of the real-life panic leaked into the CBS studio, Welles went on the air as himself to remind listeners that it was just fiction. There were rumors that the show caused suicides, but none were ever confirmed. The Federal Communications Commission investigated the program but found no law was broken. Networks did agree to be more cautious in their programming in the future. Orson Welles feared that the controversy generated by "War of the Worlds" would ruin his career. In fact, the publicity helped land him a contract with a Hollywood studio, and in 1941 he directed, wrote, produced, and starred in Citizen Kane-a movie that many have called the greatest American film ever made.