Special Ops site

Interesting survival information, tests..
http://www.usrsog.org/index.htm

Survival Kits

When preparing a survival kit, its worth looking at what other kits include.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_kit

Red Cross Emergency Kit: $70
http://www.redcrossstore.org/Shopper/Product.aspx?UniqueItemId=3&Page=1&StartAtPage=1&SId=305468&LocationId=0

Everything Survival Kit: $80
http://www.readynation.com/OnlineStore/ProductDetail.aspx?gid=8e222a91-64da-4c07-91e2-4e6df177fca3

Guardian Deluxe Survival Kit: $70
http://www.vkrsupplies.com/?gclid=CP7I1b38gpQCFSMYagod1DE_XA

Survival Links

http://www.survival-homestead.com/teotwawki.html
http://survival-and-preparedness.blogspot.com/

Solar Power using magnifying lens

IBM uses a magnifying lens to focus 2300 suns onto a centimeter square, which heats up to 1600 degrees Celsius, creating 230 watts. After cooling down to 85 degrees Celsius using microprocessor cooling technology, one is left with 70 watts of power. A way to capture solar power that is 5 times more efficient than current solar farms.

http://physorg.com/news130086323.html

First contact would probably be with robots

A few interesting points sparked by this article - andn it's good to see scientists coming around to my point of view! ;-)

• The average alien civilization is probably 50,000 years older than ours
• The technological advances that would be possible in 50,000 years of civilization are mind-boggling. The Arthur C. Clark quotation "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" comes to mind.
• This nonsense with manned space exploration being the primary mission of NASA has to come to an end. Just as unmanned military aircraft are the future, so are unmanned spacecraft.

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/04/858045.aspx

Environmentalists demonstrate they aren't interested in reducing global warming...

...unless it is done their way - through emissions cuts alone.

Could this be because only this way gains them access to political power to control society?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/02/australia.carbon.capture.ap/index.html

Spooky Doo - the robotic dogs are coming

Filed under "signs of the Apocolypse" - You have to see this to believe it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?section=BigDog

Turing test candidate - already?

IBM's Blue Gene, the world's most powerful supercomputer, will power an avatar in a virtual world such as Second Life in an attempt to pass a modified Turing test. Could AI be that close to passing a computer off as a human?!

http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206903246

Telepathy underway

Soon we will be able to silently communicate with each other. And perhaps translate our thoughts into other languages.

Thoughts in the form of nerve signals are intercepted by a neckband and translated into words. Currently the system only understands 150 words, eventually it will recognize the full gamut, much like word recognition software. The device could then translate the words into another language prior to transmitting.

The device only picks up thoughts intended to be spoken, so it doesn't read your mind. At least not yet. :)

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13449-nervetapping-neckband-allows-telepathic-chat.html

Use radar to see thru brick walls

While not cutting-edge (this came out in 2006), this is still ground-breaking. Prism 200 provides the ability to see thru brick and concrete walls and display the location of occupants using Ultra-Wideband Radar.

http://www.cambridgeconsultants.com/prism200.shtml