I'm Home

[shanmonster]

I opted to come home early. The cramps and the Midol high were sufficient enough to keep me from doing my job well (despite that, one kind gentleman thanked me just before hanging up, and said, "You're very good at your job!"). I kept zoning out on customers, and asking the same questions over and over again. Not good. So here I am. I'm having a cup of chai in the hopes it will help settle things down a bit. I'll share all the links permeating my browser tabs with you, and then I'll see about doing some more sewing.

Eggheads Invent Tele-Petting: "Researchers have developed a cybernetic system to allow physical interaction over the internet. The system allows touching and feeling of animals or other humans in real time, but it's first being tried out on -- chickens." Somehow, I can't see this honestly being developed in order that people can cyber-touch a chicken. A cock, yes, but not of the feathered variety. Ahem.

A couple of points in this article interest me. First of all, what's with this? "Used in zoos, it may allow visitors to pat a lion or scratch a bear." Holy animal tormentation, Batman! I don't think that has been thought out, much. I know I would go bonkers if someone kept poking me over and over again. It would be worse if they weren't in claw's reach.

Secondly, "'Remote dance synchronization is a real possibility,' said Lee Shang Ping, a fellow team member. 'Students learning how to dance can wear these special shoes, which will stimulate their muscles when their dance teacher moves her legs.'" Personally, I think they're dreaming, here. There's a whole lot more involved in learning to dance than knowing when to move one's legs. Maybe this would work better with DDR or something. I'm guessing Ms. Ping isn't a dancer (thanks, Kelly Smith).

Next up, Neil Gaiman made me laugh out loud when he said,

My favourite correction of recent months is still the Observer's inability to tell the difference between a cow and a crow. (If they'd just left it as "cow" most readers would simply have assumed that there was a missing "r" -- but then someone decided that "heifer" was a better word than "cow", and it all got very silly.)"

The Darth Side: Of course Darth Vader has a blog.

The Horrors of the Fursuit Yiff List: Yikes. Goes from bad to worse (somewhat NSFW). The Orca one scares the bejeezus out of me.

An article on the Bellydance Superstars: asim discusses an interesting article plagued by an appalling writing style.

Rent My Daughter: 'Nuff said.

Kinky shopper KOed by vibrating knickers: I'm betting it's an urban legend (sorta NSFW).

Fantastic response to 'piano man': Intriguing mystery! Who wants to bet there will be a forthcoming movie?

Baby DNA Kit - DNA Profile and DNA Storage: I thought you could buy everything on eBay, but I guess Target has it's own cornucopia.

Menstruations Barbie: NSFW, of course.

Squirrel Fishing: An oldie but a goodie.

All that glitters: One of those news stories that will make you say, "Buh???"

My Dinner at Applebee's With White Supremacists!: A Jewish reporter infiltrates a hate group. Wacky hijinks ensue.

Comments

[liquid-quaalude.livejournal.com]

I hate to look like the biggest idiot in the world, but that kid rental is a joke right?
Its just that now a days you never know!

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing it's as bonafide as Bonsai Kitten.

[zombienought.livejournal.com]

I am astounded that porn companies have not
developed the haptic system first.

The Barbie link no workie. :(

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

The Barbie link is working for me. Try again.

Maybe the group which developed the human-chicken interface moonlight as pornographers.

[vureoelt.livejournal.com]

Haptics typically field force-feedback as the first, best, reason to invest and develop a tactile based system. It's a good thought, definitely. But I'll agree the zoo idea seems silly, if the point is not to duplicate the sensation of touchng the animal, what's the point? See how it reacts when you prod it in some random location? As for dance, boy did I misread it the first time. I had thought they were only talking about using it as prompts to do synchronized performance dancing and whatnot. Still, the impulses might be able to provide enough guidance on how to move your muscles as well as when. So maybe it's not quite the crock you think it is. I doubt that "stimulate their muscles" will get as far as electrical currents guiding muscular contractions, but something a bit more removed isn't impossible.