Man Woman Gives Birth, America Is Definitely Home of the Free

He is not a he, he is a she with boobs lopped off and testosterone that would increase the size of the clitoris and make it look more penis-like. Let's be real here. A man cannot carry a baby. She was not born with ambiguous genitalia. This "dude" is not a dude. She is a dudette. She is a mother. She gave birth through her vagina. That's right "he" gave birth naturally.

He is a she. I am sick of the politically correct nonsense around this woman. Just because someone has surgery and names herself a man, doesn't make it so. Might make her delusional. And it makes the news media look more insane than average, too,"The new dad walked easily, although he appeared tired, .... Someone opened the door for him." Oh, and can you imagine how this kid is going to feel about "dad". This is just nuts. (Couldn't resist.)

She is free to call herself whatever she wants. This is America. And so I am free to call her a she and so I will.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

Picking Perfect Babies

A British family chose IVF and screened embryos that had a breast cancer gene:

By screening out embryos carrying the gene, called BRCA-1, the couple, from London, will eliminate the hereditary disease from their lineage.

About 5% of the 44,000 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Britain each year are estimated to be caused by the BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes, both of which can be detected in embryos.

Doctors say thousands of cases of breast cancer could be avoided by screening embryos using the technique called preimplantation diagnosis (PGD).

Eleven embryos were created. Six had the bad gene. Six were destroyed. Two were implanted. One malfunctioned. Two were frozen for "future use".

As a doctor, I find the notion of avoiding the future pain of such a disastrous disease--55-85% of those with this gene end up with the cancer--exciting and hopeful. But I shudder, too, at the implications and the callous actions taken. Creating eleven lives, destroying six, so that one ostensibly healthy one is created..... It's the destruction that is so problematic. No one would dream of having eleven children, and then dumping six overboard because they had a 50-85% chance of suffering down the road.

Doctors and parents choosing this procedure view embryos as specimens not life. With time, genetic markers will identify everything from depression to homosexuality to heart disease. Given the rationale used in genetic selection, there will be no ethical reason to prevent its use for nearly any dysfunction.

Destroying embryos is okay in order to have a healthy baby:
	Agree
	Disagree
pollcode.com free polls

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

Wall-E

Took the kiddos to Wall*E today. It is not a kid's movie and yet they loved it. My daughter announced as it was finished, "I want to see it again!" So, did I. I'm still mulling the meaning of it and pondering the imagery, which is so rich and visually stimulating, it deserves a second and third look. (Trailers here.)

Imagine Bladerunner meets E.T. meets The Sound of Music. I'm serious. The setting is a dystopian science fiction backdrop of a ruined world. The flashing neon signs felt straight out of the darkness of Bladerunner. The plucky main character, even his gravelly voice and big expressive eyes, his sympathy, his cheerful task-orientation reminded me of E.T. And the love story, for this is what the movie really is, is pure romance along the lines of The Sound of Music.

Here's the negative, and one reviewer finds it a horrible negative, but he's in the minority: The villain, superficially, is the evil corporation Buy-n-Large or BNL. I don't know if Disney-Pixar is being ironic. I mean, who, besides Disney creates better, huge, artificial, commercial environments? I can't think of one. So, this corporation took over the world, created a mess and earth ends up trashed. Actually, it ends up a literal trash heap. So, you've got the environmentalism crap too. Still, the real villains are the stupid people. Humans, or is it Americans, are dumbasses....or can be fat, lazy and stupid. The question: can humans redeem themselves?

Pixar's robots are human, some good, some evil, and the humans lost their humanity somewhere in the hundreds of years of their cruise-ship-like existence when they had to escape Earth. Earth is desolate and deserted and Wall-E is alone in the world until he receives his first visitor--Eve. And from there, things get more interesting. Saving the world, saving humanity and saving love all factor into the wee story arc.

The movie sticks with me now and I'll be contemplating the implications for a long time. There's so much more I could tell you, but I won't. Except this: Go see the movie. It's the best movie I've seen in a long, long time.

Four/four stars.

Cell Phone Addiction In Children

So, this conversation happened at the dinner table a few days ago:

Daughter 8: Mom, I want a cell phone.

Me: No

Daughter: Everyone has a cell phone! [Head collapses into arms, dramatic weeping.]

Me: [Laughing] No, you are not crying about not having a cell phone. Who? Who has a cellphone?

Daughter: Lots of people.

Me: Who? And how old are they?

Daughter: [Face squirreled up, more tears] You're mean!

Me: You have no idea how mean. Just wait!

I might have peeved tween but at least I don't have an addicted adolescent. What. In. The. Hell?

They were brought in after spending an average of six hours a day on their phones, talking, texting or playing games.

Their parents became concerned that the children, aged 12 and 13, were unable to carry out normal activities without their handsets. They were failing at school and deceiving relatives in an attempt to obtain more money for phone cards.

This makes me think of that Star Trek episode where everyone got addicted to that alternative reality game. Yes, I'm that big of a nerd.



Really, I think parents should just give up and give in....it's all over. Why even try to fight it?


Cross-posted at Right Wing News

New iPhone Desires

So, I love my iPhone. Still love it after all this time. Gizmodo has a wishlist for the new iPhone that's coming out just in time for Father's Day. There are good suggestions there. Some I'd like to reinforce and add:

First, the Edge network sucks ass. It is just so freakin' slow! AT&T needs to make it better. Or, the iPhone needs to be liberated to be on all networks. Apple works to thwart that of course. Rock on, hackers!

Second, phone calls inexplicably drop. What. In. The. Hell. As bad as I hated Sprint and the little piece of crap phone I had, phone calls didn't drop. I hope Apple fixes this. It's a problem with the phone.

Third, it's a hop and a skip to make the iPhone have GPS. Steve Jobs: make it so!

I haven't had problems with battery life, but my sister has suffered with hers.

The other thing is this: I want to be able to blog from my phone. At least a little post. That will only happen if the network speed and the iPhone's speed itself, gets quicker. I've gotten used to the typing on it. I just want it to not be so dang slow navigating the web.

I still love my phone. I just want more. Give me more!

Google Sucks

I'm switching away from Blogger (owned by Google) and not a day too soon. The new site should be up within a week or two. Thankfully. I don't want to give Google any more business than necessary. They left a video up of a marine being shot through the head by an Iraqi sniper for far too long. What is wrong with those people?

One Toilet And It Doesn't Work

And you're stuck in space. Some days suck worse than others. I guess I should be counting my digestive blessings or at least my plumbing blessings.

Humans: Polluting The Universe--UPDATED

One of the big worries about sending pigs, I mean probes, in space is that human microbes will pollute the worlds they'll explore, potentially wiping out innocent alien civilizations and destroying otherworldly environments. And the UN can prevent this. Evidently, there's a treaty:

However far in the future such technologies may be, it is worth thinking about the potential problem of contaminating other solar systems with Earth life, according to a new paper by Charles Cockell of the Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research at Open University in Milton Keynes, UK.

Why should we take the trouble to avoid such interstellar contamination? First, there is the "utilitarian desire to preserve examples of other life of potentially enormous scientific interest", Cockell says. In previous writings, he has also argued that humans have an ethical responsibility to avoid harming life in other solar systems.

There may also be a legal issue. NASA's planetary protection officer, Cassie Conley, notes that the 1967 outer space treaty stipulates that countries should avoid "harmful contamination" of the Moon and other celestial bodies.

To respect the treaty, NASA follows guidelines for planetary protection set out by a Paris-based group of international experts called the Council on Space Research (COSPAR), which advises the United Nations and promotes international cooperation on space research.

I guess my idea of huge space barges full of garbage won't fly. Why are we giving a crap about this? Aren't life forms from other planets always smarter than us? It seems excessive to worry about them getting sick from us.

UPDATE: Via reader DiorJohnnyBravo--Did someone say "Pig's in Space?"


I do worry about the worlds in other dimensions. You know, the parallel universe where my twin lives. Cross-pollinating disease between dimensions seems like a bad idea.

Stuff You Should Know

What does Obama really believe? If you listen, he'll tell you.

And so will Michelle. Ugh. The woman needs to pipe down if she doesn't want criticism for saying stupid things.

I don't know what to think about this research that says cellphone use by pregnant women causes attention problems in the offspring, but it seems that cell phones might be more troublesome than we know. And here's the weird thing: when my iPhone is anywhere near the subwoofer, the subwoofer vibrates when I get a phone call or text or email. In fact, if the phone is near the radio, the radio goes static until it turns off again. They produce a huge EMF for being so small. At the rate people use phones now, the next generation will all be mentally retarded.

Want to see the droopiest ta-ta's ever? Evidently they fed one of the meanest mouths, too. Part of the Code Pink crowd's progeny. Ew, my eyes are still recovering. And just so you know, yes, sometimes bloggers get hate mail. Lovely. (We get love notes, too, so it all evens out.)

William F. Buckley built a road that I don't think conservative have been following for quite some time.

Crazy ants (not to be confused with my crazy aunts) are taking over Houston. I should be disturbed, but here's the disturbing part: if we get infested with them, they eat wires. No! Not that! They also eat fire ants, which is a good thing.

Is the world economy destabilizing? Yes. Are energy prices going to cause problems? Seems like they will.

Ann Althouse wants liberals to not speak their truth so people will take them seriously when it comes to Supreme Court Justices. Even if they don't say it, Ann, we know their judicial intentions. There's no hiding it.

Are conservatives out of ideas? Um, no. But the conservatives aren't running the Republican party right now. Neither are the libertarians. Right now, fat, happy, pseudo-dems are running the party and the only ideas they possess come from the Democrats. It's called liberalism lite and it sucks.

Part of this cross-posted at RWN.

Getting Out Of Public Restrooms Clean Gets Easier--UPDATED

Longtime readers know of my germ phobic nature. I'm not totally anal, but after having a kid spend four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, public germs freak me out. That's in contrast to private germs--the germs in our homes, our beds, bathrooms and kitchens--that our bodies have acclimated to and are used to fighting and help build our immune systems. Yes, I do believe in hand washing at home. And yes, dirty kitchens and bathrooms at home skive me out. But a hermetically sealed bubble boy life doesn't interest me.

That's in contrast to my love of fastidious, obsessive cleanliness in public places. I want restaurant kitchens, public bathrooms, etc. to be perfectly clean, because no matter how hard they try to keep it clean, there are still going to be germs. I try to not think about it. And one of my pet peeves is public bathroom design where a person can't get out of the bathroom without touching some germ-infested surface.

Yesterday, I received an email from the owner of a business that solves the problem of getting out of public bathrooms clean. Check it out:


No, I'm not getting paid to advertise this gizmo, although I told the owner that it would be nice. Actually, I just think it's high times something like this came along. So, if you own a business, buy these things. They look easy enough to install. I actually used one at a local restaurant the other day. What a thrilling experience to get out of the bathroom without having to touch anything. It doesn't take much.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

UPDATED: Hey, this might not be world changing stuff, but a healthier world matters to me!

Thanks Pilot Pal!

I shared with you people one of my favorite essays by David Sedaris called, "Thanks! Stadium Pal!" It's one of the funniest things I've ever read. One passage was particularly apropos to today's topic: How do jet fighter pilots pee in flight? The sad former answer was in their pants or some other equally humiliating answer. Hell, it's the same answer for marathon runners, so whatever. Some tasks require sacrifice. Flying a jet is worth wet pants, I guess.

The humiliation is over and there is a new urination technology for pilots:

The aerobatic maneuver is even harder for female pilots.

On long or cold-weather flights, the amount of gear and clothing made the maneuver nearly impossible, and pilots would sometimes have no choice but to relieve themselves in their flight suits.

In the AMXD, a cup for a man and a pad for a woman is strategically placed before the pilot dons a flight suit.

An instructional DVD tells pilots: "When the time comes to urinate, unzip the flight suit, remove the hose.... The control unit will pump the urine from the cup to the collection bag, where it will be chemically gelled." See how the system works »

Pilots are free to think about other business.

The Army and Navy look to use these elsewhere. But I have to wonder, why not just use the Stadium Pal? Truckers use them. And if the adhesive that Sedaris used and so viciously harmed his nether regions were replaced by something kinder and gentler, I would think it'd be a cheaper alternative. $2,000 bucks a pop seems excessive just to pee easily.

Protect Your Privacy

A novel approach to information management. Are you sure you want your hard drives where anyone can find them? I think not.

On a side note, how effective do you think Mac's secure trash removal is? Hey, I could be Valerie Plame, you would never know--super special extra-ordinary deep cover.

Men (NOT) At Work

Some people think men are opting out of society because society isn't kind to men. Maybe. I had been thinking it was the economy and worried that women in the work world just deflated a man's need to provide or something. Stupid idea, but I just threw it out there musing aloud. Turns out, there's an economic answer that makes a lot of sense. The economic slump (I don't think anyone is calling it quite a recession anymore, because how can a quarter of growth, no matter how slight be considered going backwards?) has not affected women in the same way it's affected men because they men are concentrated in certain job sectors. Aha! Now, that makes sense to me. But there's more, it gets worse, so sayeth Peter Coy of Business Week:

What’s going on? Simply put, men have the misfortune of being concentrated in the two sectors that are doing the worst: manufacturing and construction. Women are concentrated in sectors that are still growing, such as education and health care.

This situation is hardly good news for women, though. While they’re getting more jobs, their pay is stagnant. Also, most share households—and bills—with the men who are losing jobs. And the “female” economy can’t stay strong for long if the “male” economy weakens too much. (h/t khankrum)

Long term, it seems to me that even education and health care will slow. People need money to pay for college and health care. Around here, the census at the local hospitals is low. Yes, we're out of flu season, but people will put off elective or even needed procedures if they think they can get away with it. I've always been amazed how people will care for their cars, but not their bodies. Without health you can't work to even fix the car. But still, people can survive and be pretty sick for a long time and lots of people do. We'll know the economy is really bad when people start yanking out their teeth with pliers and college enrollments drop.

Speaking of college, is a four year degree worth anything? In some areas, I really don't know. There are a few years between now and my kids deciding their futures, which is a relief. To me, anything soft--history, literature, poly sci, etc.--is worthless. Not because those areas of study are worthless, to the contrary, our students don't get enough. However, most curricula you read these days doesn't inspire confidence and colleges filled to the brim with revisionists inspire less confidence. A four year degree seems like four years of brain washing and what's the result? A worthless degree that gets a grad no solid job. However, a degree in engineering, science, mathematics, etc. will definitely land a grad a job.

In addition, even if a person wants to be a writer or a more artsy fartsy generally, it's almost imperative to have a knowledge of technology. The world gets more complex and a foundational science knowledge helps with everything. So a four-year degree in something "hard" seems valuable. The rest of it, people can learn if they have a love of reading. Most of my history and literature understanding has come in my adult years just reading and being interested in things that didn't used to interest me.

Mother's Day Rocks....and Rolls!

My mom birthed me, therefore I am. Thanks mom!

Wait is it 10:41 CST? Why, yes it is. I rolled my old bones out of bed an hour ago, secure in the knowledge that I got to sleep in today. Sleeping is just better when you know someone else is responsible for the urchins. A breakfast spread (not in bed--that mode of eating is overrated--crumbs, spilled stuff, it's better in theory) sat on the table. My little cherubs were there. The youngest one sans clothes. He's happier that way these days.

I got a present. Try to not be jealous. It's going to be hard because they're so freakin' cool!



The earphones, made by Etymotic Research specially for my iPhone, cancel noise, so I'm not blasting my eardrums now turning the music up so dang loud to cancel external noise. They fit into my wee ear canal comfortably. My Apple earphones hurt my ear and were falling apart after daily use since December. I endured the pain because 1) I'm cheap and 2) my options sucked for so long. The benefits of the old Apple earphones still outweighed the other two choices. With the Apple earphones, you could use the phone and I really, really like the feature of uninterrupted music. That is, I could receive a phone call or make one, and the song I was listening to would fade out and then back in right where it was. The other headphones were either headphones or wireless blue tooth phone, but not both phone and headphones.

Not now. The Etymotic HF2's do everything the old Apple earphones do, they just do it oh so much better. The sound is astonishingly good. Rich and full, nice bass, mid-tones good, treble decent. Sounds a bit tinny right now but I'm listening to an old Roy Orbison recording of You Got It so it might be that. Now, I'm listening to Prince's I Would Die For You. Sounds the same. It's the earphones. But I'm quibbling. They are fantastic.

I accepted one phone call and experimented with going outside. A complaint about the Apple headphones was that the microphone picked up every little sound. Thus, a breezy day negated talking on the phone outdoors with the headphones on a walk say, requiring me to pull them out, hold the headphones in one hand (no clip--the new ones have a clip) and gab on the phone. I know. I suffer. We'll see if it's the same deal with the new ones. I don't know. During my one test run, the caller could hear the birds chirping in the background, so we'll see.

If I was a good mother, I'd be waxing elephant about the inherent joys of motherhood first before telling you yahoos about the rocking headphones. But I never claimed to be a good mother. No award winning, heroic deeds of self-sacrifice (this morning yet, anyway) to distinguish me from any other mother who does her loving duty day in and day out. I just love my kids.

My Little Toot ran up to me, naked of course, jumped into my arms and exclaimed, "I love you Mama!!" Well take my heart out and crush it in your little palm, son. Oof, I just can't even describe the feeling that comes from hearing those words, that way, from that sweet little face. The headphones are choice, but there is no comparison to those pink cheeks, blue marble eyes, and squeaky voice. We moms are complete suckers. It's that skin, the sweetness, the purity that helps us when, five minutes later, he is head butting me because I won't give him his third bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.

Motherhood is complex, mundane, routine, surprising, demanding, relentless, and really not for the faint of heart. Until a woman is a mother herself, she can't really comprehend her own mother's dedication and love. There aren't words for it really. It begins with the sacrifice of the body. I remember being astonished how consumed I was by being pregnant even when I was too busy to think about it. This little dot of a kid completely changed my biochemistry. My body responded to this alien invasion on autopilot, but my life was no longer just mine. It became this other being's too. And the pregnancy was just the beginning of life giving.

As time goes on, that commitment and choice becomes even more apparent. You don't know what kind of kid you'll get. I expected that I'd have no problems. Of course, when I got pregnant, the notion of a deformed child or some birth defect subtly terrorized me--hung out there as a looming possibility, but I didn't really believe that would happen. And I thought the pregnancy would be fine. But I couldn't know.

Motherhood disabused me of the notion that I had control of my destiny. It was an illusion anyway. I thought I could make life conform to my whims. And to a certain extent, I could, but mostly I possessed the hubris that all young people have. That life will go on forever and that all mistakes can be corrected with work and time. I was wrong.

My body betrayed me. It birthed the babies early and wanted to do the same with each successive pregnancy. We only know a little about why. There is always a why, but there's not always a way to find the why. And then one of my sons died. And the other lived and suffered. And I was helpless to stop it or change anything.

Motherhood revealed the truth: I am limited and am a conduit for life force but do not possess the power of life. That knowledge is self-evident and of course, I knew it intellectually before, but I didn't know it in the way I knew it after the birth of my sons.

I don't want to get all maudlin here, that's not really my point. But I do think that a certain humility and self-awareness comes with parenthood. Suddenly, life gets re-prioritized. And all my fancy ideas and selfishness and self-will and ideas about life got shot through the blender of reality and what's really important. And imagine my surprise! What was really important wasn't me, well not every single second anyway.

Motherhood doesn't automatically make a person a selfless, loving paragon of virtue. It didn't me, that's for sure. It did expand my world beyond my own confined constraints. My heart expanded and I was made vulnerable. A hug from a naked gnome reveals my weakness and newfound strength too. My life is more focused and more full. I am chained and freed at the same time.

The world needs more mothers and fathers. People making choices for the benefit of others over themselves. Japan and Europe die today because their citizens live like today is the last day. And they create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why care about society lasting beyond this generation? What is worth saving about it?

If you're a mother (or a father), the answer to that question is self-evident.

Oh, and one more thing! I had the earphones in the wrong ears. I switched them. The sound is even better!

Cross-posted at Right Wing News.

Twitter

If you've spent any time reading my blog, you're accumulated more than enough evidence that my life is dull, boring, bland, average and predictable. Even so, I do have friends, and some pretty cool ones, and it's been great reconnecting and keeping up with them on Facebook.

While on Facebook, a bunch of people (mostly younger I noticed) were "Twittering". What the heck is twittering? Well, it is non-stop updating people of what is going on in your life. I'm stymied. What is there to say? And does anyone care that at this moment "I'm folding underwear" or "I'm chasing my naked toddler through the house" or "The dog shit in the house again and I'm trying not to think of what a lovely fluffy pillow his hide would make", etc.? I think not.

And yet, I'm rather fascinated by what an awesome person like LaShawn Barber is doing at any given time. Surely she has a more glamorous life than I do (go to that link and you'll see that she does, indeed, AND she looks hot). And now I can find out. She Twitters. Yeah, she does.

I've noticed that other people used Twitter but gave up on it. It seems like a difficult thing to sustain. But if you do sign up, I'll be on there. Look me up.

Interesting Things You Should Know

I'm going to start on a spiritual note. What is it like to be spiritually abused? A Christian talks about how her ten years in spiritual darkness.

"Did Wright matter?" Yes. Wright will matter in the general. And Gaius writes about the failure of the press in dealing with Obama. As an aside, BlueCrabBoulevard has such a pleasing layout. And I really like the date next to each post. The whole website is restful. Obama is omniscient. Aren't all saviors? Oh, and MKH highlights the press bias with photographic proof (via Cassy at Wizbang) . Amazing that the MSM can do what they do with a straight face. Give me a break.

Something more to worry about if you're so inclined: Geomagnetic storms.

I love Firefly. You know this. Nerd alert: So does Rachel. Shiny! (For what it's worth, I'm a Mal girl, myself, but I do so, so love Kaylee. She is just yummy!) And I'd like to remind Firefly lovers why Mal is hotter than Jayne. When Jayne sold out his crew Mal nearly blew Jayne out the hatch. Captain Malcolm Reynolds showed Jayne who was boss. Yes, sir!

Why is there no sympathy for Muslims claiming discrimination? Canadian Muslims cry foul and Mark Steyn defends himself and answers.

It is time to discuss the ugliness that are Crocs. They are fine for children. Although, they do leave kid's feet stinky in adult rugby player ways. Whew!

No freaking way! Al Gore is an opportunist? Nooooo..... It's perfectly fine to exploit the deaths of over 60,000 people to bring up your pet theory. Perfectly. Fine.

Is the middle class drowning in debt? No.

Cry a sartorial tear for Hillary. If you can muster the emotion.... No tears here.

Stephen King hates the military and he's a moron. Sorry, to family members who love him, or rather, love his freaky writing.

Be careful talking sexy on the internet. Don't say you haven't been warned.

The right to free speech is trumped by the right to an abortion. What?

You know the dude who imprisoned his daughter? Yeah, well he raped someone back in the day, was convicted and spent time in prison, but guess what? Stupid Austria doesn't keep that crime on the books after fifteen years so it's like it never happened. And when his daughter went missing, no one asked because no one had the info to ask. You have got to be kidding me.

60 years of Israel. Why weren't they named Jewland?

Just a reminder to hit the awesome blogs in my blog roll. They are there for a reason. I love them!

Stuff You Should Know & Chickens

See Chastity. Yes, some people are chaste and live to talk about it.

The internet will be obsolete soon. I thought I'd give you a heads up. The new way of doing things will be a "grid". It sounds so incredibly cool.

Do you think my planned community would have a problem with this? I also want to keep bees. Whaddya think?

Some are questioning climate change theory. You don't say.

The love fest is over. Bill Clinton is in the Democrat's shitter. It's about time. When were these people going to see him for what he is?

Fred Thompson for Veep? I'd like that.

I didn't blog about the Pizza Hut thing last week, but you should know about it.

Zimbabwe is a mess. Robert Mugabe demonstrated what socialist policies do and how quickly they destroy a country. It's going to get worse for these poor people, before it gets better. Venezuela take note. You're next.

Finally, Muslims are leaving Islam and converting to Christianity in droves. Interesting, if true.

Jailed Mororrocan Facebook User Freed

This is good news.


Update: Oops! Link fixed.

Cancer On The Internet

The problem with diagnosing cancer is this: you rarely feel pain until it's too late. You have unexplained weight loss that you welcome. You tire easily. You slow down a bit and adjust but you often don't feel that bad. And when you finally feel pain, it's often too late.

Gaius over at Blue Crab Boulevard notes that 40% of internet activity is cancerous. How long until the body dies?

The botnet problem shows no sign of easing. Security firm Damballa pinpointed 7.3 million unique instances of bots carrying out nefarious activities on an average day in January - an astronomical leap from a daily average of 333,000 in August 2006. That included botnet-delivered spam, which accounted for 91% of all e-mails in early March, up from 64% last June, says e-mail management firm Cloudmark.

Beam Me Up Scotty

Remember that Star Trek episode where everyone is playing that game with a headset and they're lured into zombie-like status? Can you imagine a world where your thoughts can control the game you're playing? Well, imagine no more, the future is now:

The Epoc technology can be used to give authentic facial expressions to avatars of gamers in virtual worlds. For example, if the player smiles, winks, grimaces the headset can detect the expression and translate it to the avatar in game.

It can also read emotions of players and translate those to the virtual world. "The headset could be used to improve the realism of emotional responses of AI characters in games," said Ms Le.

"If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous," she explained.

The $299 headset has a gyroscope to detect movement and has wireless capabilities to communicate with a USB dongle plugged into a computer.

The Emotiv said the headset could detects more than 30 different expressions, emotions and actions.


The headset could be used to improve the realism of emotional responses of AI characters in games
Tan Le, Emotiv

They include excitement, meditation, tension and frustration; facial expressions such as smile, laugh, wink, shock (eyebrows raised), anger (eyebrows furrowed); and cognitive actions such as push, pull, lift, drop and rotate (on six different axis).