Friday Links!
Another set of links for your reading pleasure. Also please note that we have a contest coming up within a week or so, and it's going to be big.Leading off, here's a link to a stunning article about Alzheimer's disease. Researchers are theorizing that Alzheimer's may actually be a third type of diabetes. Incredible, I know, and you can read all about it here.
Geoff Engelstein sent me a link to an amazing new techology called the Audeo. Here's an excerpt:
The Audeo is being developed to create a human-computer interface for communication without the need of physical motor control or speech production. Using signal processing, unpronounced speech representing the thought of the mind can be translated from intercepted neurological signals.
Wow, and wow again. The company's website and technology details are here.
Here's a grim but interesting link to a story about children sacrificed by the Incas and the elaborate rituals involved. Like I said, it's grim but it's fascinating, and it's here (thanks Sirius).
And now, just to balance that out, a link from Steven Kreuch to some of the funniest answers I've ever seen to test questions. These are digitized copies of actual exam papers, and they're hilarious. See them all here.
Eli 6.2 is going through a mummy phase, and he's totally fascinated by Anubis. Well, as luck would have, a 25-foot replica of Anubis sailed down the Thames this week as a part of a promotion for a King Tut exhibit that's opening in London soon. The story is here (and there's a great picture as well).
Chris Erbes sent in a link to an extremely interesting story about how Carnegie Mellon is using the CAPTCHA test to help them complete the transcription of digitized manuscripts. It's, ingenious, like everything Carnegie Mellon does, and you can read about it here.
Link #2 from Sirius this week, and it's a fantastic collection of photographs of lost cities. Dozens of cities, hundreds of photographs--it's the best collection of these kinds of images I've ever seen. Take a look here.
From Tim Lesnick, a link to a video of a coronal mass ejection ripping the tail off a comet. It's every bit as amazing as it sounds, and you can watch it here.
From Jesse Leimkuehler, a link to a story about the launch of Sputnik in 1957, and how some of the individuals involved are speaking about their experiences for the first time. Read it here.
Since this has been Prince week, Rob Varak sent in a link to a guitar-melting solo by Prince at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony in 2004. It starts at about 3:30 of the video (a group rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), and it's a demonstration of what a fine guitar player he is (and what a stage hog as well). See it here.
And I know I've said this several times, but I think George Harrison wrote the best songs of all the Beatles. Not the most, or the most popular, but the best.
Here's a classic story:
Custody Battle Ensues Over Leg Found in Barbecue Smoker
A South Carolina man who stored his severed leg in a barbecue smoker that was later auctioned off is locked in a custody dispute with a North Carolina man who found it.
Oh, I do love The South. The story is here, and thanks to Randy Graham for sending in the link.
Finally, I saw an article this week that highlights the importance of excruciating detail in reporting. It seems that a South Carolina woman had stopped her convertible on the shoulder of a highway to put the top up when her dog jumped out. She went after the dog, and here's how the story described what happened:
A woman from Georgia died when she was hit by four vehicles on Interstate 85 on Thursday night as she tried to rescue her dog, authorities said.
Well, that sounds gruesome.
But wait, the one thing this story desperately needs is MORE detail:
[The woman] was in the middle lane of the highway when she was hit by a sport utility vehicle, an 18-wheeler and two cars.
Here's what I want to know: how did the tractor-trailer and the tour bus miss her?
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