Lofty Matters

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University of Washington computer scientists are hard at work to help hearing-impaired people to be able to use sign language over a mobile phone…similar to in Japan or Sweden.

Hearing-impaired people have obviously already been able to use text messages for communication. But the goal is for them to be able to communicate in their language — American Sign Language (ASL). The next step is to convince a commercial cell phone manufacturer to integrate the new MobileASL software before this service becomes widely available.

Unfortunately, two-way real-time video communication is not really possible yet in the US because of low data transmission rates on U.S. cellular networks. Additionally, limited processing power on mobile devices have prevented real-time video transmission with enough frames per second. Communication rates on US cellular networks allow about one-tenth of the data rates as compared with Europe and Asia.

The solution was to design software to work even with this bandwidth limitation. The team discovered that the most important part of the image to transmit in high resolution is around the face. The team developed a way to transmit the person’s face and hands in high resolution with the background transmitted in lower resolution. Currently they are working on a separate feature that identifies when people are moving their hands so that battery consumption can be conserved.

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This site really is a must-read for anyone shopping for a web hosting service.

Researchers at the biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology say they have successfully used embryonic stem cells to grow human blood cells. 10 to 100-billion blood cells have been generated at a time and this technique could put an end to problems in sourcing blood for transfusions.

The hope is to be doing human trials of the lab grown blood by the end of 2009. The military will probably be the first to use this new technology.

It has now been shown that very large quantities of red blood cells can be generated from human embryonic stem cells. These cells are just like normal, transfusible blood. Whole tubes of blood have been generated in the lab from scratch. They have then gone on to successfully show for the first time that this blood is actually able to upload and load oxygen just like normal red blood cells.

This process can be used to create all the different blood types.

The next step in the testing process is to make sure the lab-grown blood cells maintain their integrity the same way normal blood cells do. Eventually, human testing will be necessary. The very first steps would be to use very small amounts of these cells that were labeled. The goal is to make sure they behave appropriately in humans.

Although embryonic stem cells were used in this study, researchers are confident that other types of stem cells could also be used.

Geneva Roth Ventures is an established entrepreneurial growth firm. They specialize in assisting diverse start-up companies that are dedicated to growth and industry through quality business practices.

Geneva Roth Companies has a goal and a vision for the creation of new ventures to provide products, services and information for addressing a variety of needs and audiences in this tumultuous economy. Geneva Roth is able to maintain their perceptive vision for new corporate ventures even in this highly competitive market.

The company’s foundation for success and growth of new businesses is due to its distinctive ability to analyze market demand, a willingness to take risks with high returns, and the ability to define and employ a successful management team to direct each business for the best growth possible.

Geneva Roth is able to provide a full range of services designed to keep either a corporation or an individual on top of their game in this fast-paced world we live in. Through a perceptive consultation, they will be able to define and then go on to serve and meet every need - whether personal or corporate.

Here is a sample of their services:

• Call Center Support - Trained staff will provide 24/7 coverage to meet the demands of any call center

• Technology Development - Technological support through customized software designed to meet the growing technology needs

• Management Services - Management teams are the best investment for success

• Angel Investment - Fast-track financing for high risk start-up companies

Geneva Roth features a variety of industries fully capable of addressing today’s needs.

• Corporate/Litigation Support Services - Digital Current offers an entire suite of support services suitable for any corporatation

• Food/Restaurants - Planet Sub or Rancher’s Gourmet will handily meet whatever gourmet needs you have
  

• Transportation - Extreme Limousine offers the solution for any luxury transportation need

• Financial Services - Contractor’s Capital is the solution to providing financial support and Debt Logix offers debt collection services

• Real Estate - Quadra Development is a full service residential and commercial development company for both residential and commercial real estate transactions

Five years later some are looking back at the worst blackout in North American history and are saying that the country’s problems that made it black for 50 million people have mostly been resolved. Larger issues may lead to even bigger and more damaging outages soon however.

Excess capacity in the system is diminishing and construction and plans for new plants has slowed because costs to build and operate them have skyrocketed.

Simultaneously, electricity use is projected to increase 29 percent between 2006 to 2030. Much of this will be driven by residential growth.

The blackout occurred five years ago today and it shut off power to huge areas of the Northeast and Midwest - some for as much as four days. Rolling blackouts continued in Ontario for the next week.

Hundreds of thousands of people also lost access to tap water for days in Ohio. This led the mayor of Cleveland to accuse shop owners of gouging people who were desperate for drinking water.

Millions of New Yorkers left the city on foot because subways were shut down and office towers were dark.

A U.S.-Canadian government task force was appointed and they largely blamed the Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corporation because they allowed a local power failure occurring near Cleveland to escalate to the East Coast and up into Canada.

Industry experts say changes have been made to protect against a similar outage.

The above picture shows the sun setting over the Manhattan skyline on August 14, 2003 during a major power outtage that affected a large part of the north eastern United States and Canada.

Americans demand more power to operate their flat-screen televisions, video games, surround-sound systems and appliances…there’s no denying this fact. Even in the face of this, there is broad opposition to the infrastructure that experts say we need.

Construction of coal-fired generating plants has mostly stopped and new nuclear plants are years away. Higher efficiency will only do so much.

Industry experts say it is easy for those in Washington and across the country to forget what happened five years ago. This is a mistake because it will occur again on a grander scale if nothing is done.

The U.S. had its own warning five years ago.

I find myself wondering more and more these days about how realistic it would be to own an electric automobile. Have you ever wondered about the realistic benefits of owning a hybrid vehicle?

A hybrid electric car combines the strengths of a traditional internal combustion engine and those of an electrically powered vehicle.

Here are a few tidbits of info that I find interesting and helpful for a decision like this:

• Nickel-Metal-Hydride is what the batteries that the power comes from are made of. These batteries are designed to be completely discharged and recharged and have the ability to store electrical power.

• The combustion engine found in a hybrid electric car is similar to a normal smaller engine. The engine is smaller and weighs less and this is what makes it more energy efficient.

• Maximum efficiency is achieved because the motor is constructed according to average power used by a hybrid electric car. The specification of the highest level of demanded power directly corrolates to the size of a motor in a typical combustion motor.

If you are getting closer and closer to making a change, I found some really cool information today about converting your existing vehicles to electric.

Electric Vehicles of America says it is possible to convert your gas-powered car to an electric powered car. It even lists car shops were you can have your car converted to electric powered.

At Electric Vehicles of America you will find free detailed calculations for whatever your specific application may be…whether industrial, on-road electric car or electric truck, off-road electric vehicle, electric boat, or even sailboat auxiliary.

The calculations made by Electric Vehicles of America will identify the amperage, horsepower, and running time at various speeds.

~This is not a sponsored entry~

If you have a business that need advertising, then no doubt you have pondered and been faced with what exactly to look for in a Full Service Advertising Agency.

There are several keys to keep in mind as you contemplate who to trust and choose to handle your advertising needs:

1. Creativity: Creativity is of paramount important in creating an effective campaign. You need a team of writers, art directors, and desigers that have the experience and talent to create something that will evoke reaction and response from people.

2. Media Planning: An effective planning process begins with a detailed understanding of what your unique marketing objectives and target markets are. Be certain that your advertising agency understands your plan and can create an advertising campaign that will implement it.

3. Account Management: Be certain that your account management style matches the philosophy of your advertiser. It’s also important to note what kind of access clients will have to all of their creative, planning, and buying schedules.

4. Referrals and Testimonials: There’s nothing like hearing the details from someone who has already been there. Find colleagues who are happy with their advertising agencies and ask them for referrals. If you are considering a specific agency, read through testimonials to get a good idea of how the agency serves their customers.

This is a prime example of why having an automated system to provide links to news stories is a risky thing.

There was an online story about the call girl involved in the Eliot Spitzer scandal. At the end of the story, there was a link from Yahoo to help readers search for additional news and Web sites based on keywords in the story.

Unfortunately, in this case the automated system highlighted the words “underage girls.” This means that readers who mouse-overed the phrase got a pop-up window that had images from Flickr. Clicking on the pop-up led to hundreds of images of females in pigtails, knee socks and lingerie as well as other, more graphic images.

Yahoo states it is making sure the phrase “underage girls” will no longer be a keyword link. This incident shows how difficult it is for publishers to keep control over their sites with so many Internet users also generating material.

Small bioptic telescopes have been mounted on glasses to help people with vision impairments for about 60 years. This is allowed for driving by 39 states in the U.S. Unfortunately, most of them were either too heavy or too ugly to be very useful.

A Harvard research team has now developed a new kind of telescope that can be embedded in glasses lenses. One major advantage is the appearance of the glasses. They look almost like normal everyday glasses so they are much more user-friendly.

Above is an example of the next generation of the in-the-lens telescopic device. This is a conceptual simulation of what the in-the-lens Keplerian telescope lenses will look like.

Techniques have also been developed to help people with low vision better see and enjoy TV.

Dada Entertainment is a well known Ringtones and MP3 music provider. They have just released a new public Application Programming Interface (API) and affiliate program. Their new Ringtone API is an interesting new affiliate program that is worth checking out if you have been looking for something new and different to promote. It has a few cool bells and whistles that are worth mentioning, too.

People that sign up as affiliates are paid for leads they generate. That is standard of course, but this program is unique because for the first time ever affiliates can contextually integrate Dada.net’s content catalog on their website or widget and earn money!

Sound interesting? Go check it out!