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One of the more difficult things I've had to do this week is create sexual tension between two monsters. Not real monsters, mind you, although that comes with it's own set of problems. These are monsters in the story I am writing.
The issue isn't with the monsters themselves. Yes, they have gray skin, dull black eyes, ice-pick teeth and sharp claws. The male monster, Cid, is a sarcastic sonofabitch with a short fuse. He desperately wants to "blow off some steam" with the female monster, Nel, but she isn't having any of it. However, she still flirts with him, bats her dark lashes and leads him on, right before she slams the door in his face. She's kind of a cruel bitch, but that's why I like her. Cid deserves it, anyway.
Even if Cid and Nel were human, that scene still would have been hard for me to write. Why? Because to do it well takes subtlety. Finesse. I want to convey intent with a look, tension with a slide of a hand along a door frame, desire with a tilt of a chin. I am all about the "show don't tell" aspect of writing. To come right out and say what's on Cid's mind would plunge the narrative into the arena of "heaving bosom" pulp romance. That is definitely not the style I'm going for.
Ask me to kill a character and I can gleefully spew out a few hundred words of blood-soaked prose describing every detail of the poor schmuck's demise and, if I'm lucky, I can even make you giggle a little while reading it. Call me sick, but I like writing that kind of stuff. It comes easy. ("Easy" is a subjective term, by the way. All writing for me is a mind-grinding, gut-wrenching experience that often involves tears and rending of clothing.)
But ask me to write about two people flirting with one another and I draw a blank. Flatline. Dammit, Jim, I'm a writer not a sexologist! (that's a thing, right?) I'll fumble about in my brain, groping around in the dark, fingers pawing the air hoping to eventually caress the words I know are cowering in there somewhere. It's like the worst, most awkward round of "Seven Minutes In Heaven" ever.
Why this happens should be obvious. I am terrible at flirting.
I am not a subtle person. I'm big and loud and when I talk I use flailing hand gestures that quite often send glassware flying. Without thinking, I'll blurt out terribly offensive things in mixed company. My laugh can be heard from three rooms away. And, the thing is, if anyone of the opposite gender happened to find this behavior in the least bit charming, I would be the last one to notice. Because as bad as I am at flirting, I am even worse at detecting if I'm being flirted with.
I didn't really think about all this too much, until I read the following quote by author, Neil Gaiman:
In my experience, writers tend to be really good at the inside of their own heads and imaginary people, and a lot less good at the stuff going on outside, which means that quite often if you flirt with us we will completely fail to notice, leaving everybody involved slightly uncomfortable and more than slightly unlaid.
So I would suggest that any attempted seduction of a writer would probably go a great deal easier for all parties if you sent them a cheerful note saying "YOU ARE INVITED TO A SEDUCTION: Please come to dinner on Friday Night. Wear the kind of clothes you would like to be seduced in."
And alcohol may help, too. Or kissing. Many writers figure out that they're being seduced or flirted with if someone is actually kissing them.
In my case, this is so unbelievably true. If it weren't for a blind date set up by my sister, I may never have gotten married. But while this sheds light on my behavior, it does nothing to solve my creative block when it comes to writing sexy scenes. If only I could just hand my characters a "seduction note" and have that be the end of it.
And, if anyone is actually reading this, bless you. I have been a terrible blog-friend these past few weeks. As you can see, I've had my hands full with some amorous monsters. I promise I will soon try to carve out some time to read all the wonderful things I know you are posting on your own blogs.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Prairie Fare: Are artificial sweeteners really that bad?Every now and then, someone emails me a story that is circulating on the Internet or Facebook. One day, the information was about artificial sweeteners. I happened to have a can of diet soda next to me.
By: Julie Garden-Robinson, NDSU Extension Service


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At first glance, recent political reports from Nigeria look promising: for the first time one civilian leader has taken over from another in a democratic transition. President Umaru Yar'Adua was recently elected, replacing Olusegun Obasanjo who took power in 1999 after nearly three decades of civil war and military dictatorship.
Nigerian men play soccer in a village adjacent to an Exxon Mobil gas plant. Oil development has produced jobs, but not for average Nigerians.
In reality this new democracy is narrowly dodging a full-blown civil war. With national and international protests of fraudulent state and federal elections, tensions in Nigeria are elevated. Social unrest is brewing as issues surrounding oil and religion amplify historical divisions between the north and south.
The north-south division dates back to colonial times, when Europeans created boundaries without regard to cultural and ethnic lines. The country's estimated 140 million inhabitants represent more than 250 ethnic groups and speak 500 languages. The rift has broadened as the government, with the introduction of its ninth constitution, seeks to strengthen federal rule. Challenges to the central authority mount and turmoil is inevitable.
Since the 1970s, Nigeria's oil industry has been vigorously developed in the southern regions of the Niger Delta. Today Nigeria is the world's eighth-largest exporter of oil, shipping out 2.5 million barrels daily, which generate over 90 percent of the country's revenues. These oil riches would seem to be a valuable asset in an otherwise lackluster economy and society, but very few Nigerians actually benefit from the oil revenues. An estimated 70 percent of Nigeria's oil income disappears into the hands of corrupt officials who, shockingly, have immunity from prosecution.
The inequalities have led to mayhem in the southern regions. Most of the delta's inhabitants survive on less than a dollar a day and live without power, clean water, or sufficient food. Traditional livelihoods have largely disappeared due to environmental degradation, increased disease, and civil unrest. Nearly 7,000 acknowledged oil spills have led to a collapse of native fishing communities and decimation of the delta's rich biodiversity. A once self-sufficient agricultural nation now imports more food than it exports. Local militias have grown out of the desperation. Violence has superseded democracy in the south, leaving many in fear of Nigeria's future.
The northern regions face added economic inequality. With no oil riches or seaports, the north is economically weak, which has led to a power imbalance within the centralized government. Consequently, the predominately Muslim north is relying on religion as a means to gain control over the predominately Christian south. The power play is evident in the introduction of sharia (Islamic) law into the criminal penal code by northern states. This occurred despite resolutions of the 1999 constitution, which held that a state could not adopt any religion as a state religion.
Nonetheless, 12 northern states have enacted sharia law for both civil and criminal matters. The use of sharia law for criminal matters created a phenomenon whereby Christians and Muslims living in the same state receive different punishments for the same crimes. Sharia sentences include amputation of limbs, death by stoning, and long prison terms for crimes of theft, adultery, and defamation of Islam. The ratification of sharia law has created widespread violence throughout Nigeria. From 2000 to 2003 more than 10,000 deaths were attributed to religious clashes. Civil unrest in Nigeria has become as much about faith as economic stability.
Today Nigeria is at a pivotal point in its history. With a new president, immediate leadership is crucial in easing the country's religious and economic frictions. Nigerian citizens have profound reason for concern. But why should Americans care?
To start, there is more U.S. investment in Nigeria than in any other African country; 2006 bilateral trade totaled $30.8 billion. Nigeria is the fifth-largest source of oil imports for the United States; 40 percent of Nigeria's oil is exported to the United States. Considering that the United States imports 58 percent of oil used annually, there is a clear dependence on Nigeria. Civil strife in Nigeria reduces oil output: violence led to a 25-percent cut and a loss of $4 billion last year alone in Nigeria's oil trade.
Apart from economic ties, there are obvious humanitarian concerns. Ironically, American citizens have more influence on Nigeria's fate than most Nigerians. U.S. governmental ties in Nigeria allow us to demand better for the Nigerian people. Encouraging the U.S. government to seek alternative energy sources and to depend less on foreign fuel could help create more affordable access to fuel for the average Nigerian, likely reducing violence. Further, insisting that all multinational companies working in Nigeria follow a strict code of conduct will assist Nigerians in reducing human rights violations, negative environmental impacts, and widespread corruption. As Hauwa Ibrahim, a Nigerian human rights attorney, once said: "It is our obligation to provide a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless." Ultimately, it is the prosperity of the Nigerian people that will dictate the stability of this new democracy.


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Double Row Rhinestone Bracelet Style ACB26922 3 3
Very Pretty The bracelet is very pretty, elegant. I thought the double row was somehow 1-piece but they were seperated. I would have preferred it to be 1-piece. Also, 1 of the rhinestones is discolored, it's a dark color. Other than that, the bracelet is very nice. March 27, 2013
Very Elegant I bought this bracelet because I wanted a little bling without it being too ostentatious. This bracelet is well made for the price and has a nice secure clasp. It did not dissapoint. February 8, 2013
Beautiful My mother bought me this bracelet to wear on my wedding next year. It is so beautiful and elegant. Not too much in bling or width, just the right amount. Can't wait to wear it! December 1, 2012
1-3 of 3
*Color & Style representation may vary by monitor. Not responsible for typographical or pictorial errors. Product availability varies by store and online. Some in-store purchases require special order and markdown styles cannot be special ordered. Contact your local store for details.


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Rick Santorum Wins Colorado & Minnesota Caucuses, Missouri Primary to Shake Up GOP Race Againby Free Britney at .
Rick Santorum won the Minnesota and Colorado caucuses and a non-binding primary in Missouri on Tuesday night, an unexpected sweep that raised fresh questions about Mitt Romney's ability to win the Republican presidential nomination.
On the flip side, it may help Romney inadvertently.
With Santorum emerging as competition to Newt Gingrich as the principal alternative to Romney, voters continue to veer among candidates but have not coalesced behind one consistently, often leaving Romney ahead almost by default.
Gingrich has won one state, South Carolina. Santorum has now won four, including Iowa. Romney won New Hampshire January 10 and then back-to-back victories in Florida and Nevada that had led to predictions that he was inevitable.
Not so fast.
The results on Tuesday shook the political world, though it is an open question whether they are a momentary embarrassment or a prolonged setback Romney.
Romney goes into the next round of primaries and caucuses much better financed than his opponents in what will be much more of a nationwide campaign.Arizona and Michigan vote February 28, followed by 11 "Super Tuesday" competitions on March 6. But the enthusiasm in the race is no longer his alone.
Santorum's win in Missouri was symbolic and does not affect the awarding of delegates, which will be decided at district and state conventions later this year.
More Republicans participated in the Missouri primary than in the Nevada caucuses, however, and his victory over Mitt in Colorado was a genuine upset.
Combined with the victory in Minnesota, it gave him an important lift that his campaign hoped would translate into an infusion of new donations and support.
The margin in Colorado was relatively close, with Santorum winning 40.2 percent to Romney's 34.9, with Gingrich at 12.8 and Ron Paul fourth at 11.8.
In Minnesota, though, Santorum won 44.8 percent and Ron Paul 27.2 percent, a strong second that blew past Romney's 16.9 - Paul's first "win" over Mitt.
It was Santorum's night, though, and he told cheering supporters at his headquarters in St. Charles, Mo., that he's setting his sights higher than Romney.
"I don't stand here to claim to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney," he said. "I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama."
Minnesota Caucus Results
- Rick Santorum 44.8%
- Ron Paul 27.2
- Mitt Romney 16.9
- Newt Gingrich 10.7
- Others 0.3
Colorado Caucus Results
- Santorum 40.2%
- Romney 34.9
- Gingrich 12.8
- Paul 11.8
- Others 0.3
From Around the Web
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Joe Biden Joins Instagram, Posts First Selfie with Barack ObamaThe selfie trend shows no sign of slowing down after U.S. Vice President Joe Biden joined Instagram and posted a selfie with President Barack Obama.
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11 Comments New Comment Subscribe
The TRUE CONSERVATIVE = RON PAUL ...even Nevada's pre-voting poll people took b-4 voting when asked who they felt was the True Conservative of the 4 of them--- RON PAUL won by a HUGE MARGIN !!
That's because its TRUE !! Rick Santorum is NOT the True Conservative -RON PAUL IS !!!
If I'm not given RON PAUL --- I'll have to vote for Obama---he's better then Rich Mitt, Seedy Newt or Warmongering Santorum! The Republican Party blew it conspiring against the BEST candidate they have!! Oh well....it's their own fault !
It seems that "Slick Rick" showed Old Money Bags Mitt, and DonNo Trump a thing or 2 about How the race was won.
I *hafta say it!!
If Romney had won on yesterday, DonNo Trump would have been at the microphone speaking on Mitt's behalf, and patting himself on the back.
I haven't heard a growl from Romney yet, so he and The Trumpster must be hiding out somewhere being speechless!!
We go the 6th and they think Newt will win. This is really something. Obama opened his mouth about Catholic churches and pissed a bunch of dems off. Include the complete crap he hasn't done for 4 years and we arrive at a divided country. I despise Newt. I was pulling for Romney and now......we shall see.


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Historic Saltwater Farmhouse on Harbor in Round Pond
- bedrooms 3
- baths 1½
- sleeps 6
- pool no
- hot tub no
- pets allowed yes
- type House
- community
rates (USD)
/ night
$ 1,400 - $ 1,650 / week
$ 5,000 - $ 6,000 / month
vacation rental description
Step back in time to "grandmother's house" with antique furnishings, yet all modern conveniences in the heart of Round Pond harbor! Spacious lawns back and front leading to the water's edge for outdoor activities and enjoyment of the working harbor, rocky beach and yacht anchorage. Screened gazebo overlooking harbor for outdoor dining and relaxing. Private, though centrally located within steps of a renowned Anchor Inn restaurant, lobsters-on-the dock, King Ro grocery store, fresh vegetables, flowers and seafood, quaint village shops, historic Granite Hall country store with ice cream stand, penny candy and much more. Community suppers, weekly concerts at Little Brown church and King Ro Market all within walking distance of the house!
vacation rental location
property availability
- dates with deals
- unavailable dates
Last modified on 03-25-2014 at 4:55 PM.
email owner view full calendar
Rosamond W. Allen (Roz)
house rental amenities
Fully equipped eat-in kitchen with gas stove, dishwasher and microwave. Separate dining room; Living room with flat-screen basic cable TV/DVD, piano, stereo and Wi-Fi internet connection. Half-bath, washer/dryer first floor. Three bedrooms and full bath 2nd floor. Sleeps six: 1 queen, 1 double and 2 twin beds. All linens supplied except beach towels. Screened gazebo, 2 picnic tables, Weber gas and charcoal grills, hammock and adirondack chairs. Hundreds of books, badminton, croquet and other games available. Small, well-behaved dogs allowed with prior permission and additional cleaning charge.
activities and attractions in Round Pond Maine
Activities: Tennis, kayaking, sailing lessons for children, fishing, boating and charters, lobstering, hiking, birding all within walking distance, as well as, antique and other specialty shops, fine and casual seafood dining.
Attractions: Near to Wawenock Golf Club, Pemaquid Beach and Lighthouse, Biscay Pond for swimming, Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, Boothbay; Farnsworth Art Musuem, Rockland; Daponte String Quartet, Lincoln County Community Theatre, YMCA, Rising Tide Natural Foods Co-op, River Arts, Skidompha Library, Maine Coast Book Shop and Cafe, as well as numerous fine restaurants, art galleries, clothing and jewelery stores in Damariscotta and antique shops and auction houses in the area. Kayak and canoe rentals, tours and instruction available at Midcoast Kayak in Damariscotta. Ferry to Monhegan Island and Puffin Watch Cruises daily from nearby New Harbor.
vacation rental rates
June 14th thru September 13th $1650 wk*
Nightly - 2 night minimum $250
Memorial Day Weekend thru June 14
September 13 thru Columbus Day Weekend
September 14 thru October 12 $1400 wk*
Nightly - 2 night minimum $200
*Please add 7% Maine State Lodging Tax to rates.
Rosamond W. Allen (Roz)
accepted payment methods
Prior to paying a reservation deposit, always verify payment instructions by calling the phone number displayed on this listing page. By contacting the owner directly and paying by an approved method - credit card, paypal, check or bank transfer - your reservation payment will be protected up to $1,000.Learn more in our Security Center
Top things to do in Round Pond
- Best 4th of July Parade in Maine!!
- Lobsters, corn & clams on the dock!
- Renowned restaurant overlooking picturesque harbor
- Old fashion village market & ice cream parlor
- Boating, kayaking and exploring islands
Rosamond W. Allen (Roz) , owner


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Starting Stats:
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 161.6 lbs
Body Fat: 13.6%
Ending Stats:
Weight: 155.1 lbs
Body Fat: 7.3 %
anthoma46 that is inspired! Great work
Thank you very much pennyready !
Great job. Impressive results.
Way to go, what amazing results, show what following the program and determination can do in a challenge. well done!!
Excellent work!
Great results! Your definition is fantastik!
GREAT JOB!!! I thought you had a white tank top on in the before pic...lol...just kidding. The burn looks like it hurt!!
Tis better to look UP in the mirror to be inspired than to look DOWN at the scale and lose your desire!! - SEM
Great job! Back looks awesome!!!
Thank you!
Thank you all so very much for the positive words and positive feedback!
Wow Great work!!!
Did you enter the challenge competition? (you might win :) Are you starting another challenge, what's your plan forwards?
WOW, congratulations!!! I hope you entered the competition! This has really inspired me - I am beginning my first challenge on Sunday! Amazing results! :)
Thanks BflGalina! I did enter the competition and I'm hoping for the best : ) I'm thinking about doing another challenge in the near future, perhaps next year? Going forward I am continuing to follow the Body-for-LIFE routine in terms of workout and diet.
Thank you very much cbells88! I'm glad I could be of some inspiration! I wish you all the best on your upcoming challenge. Just dig deep and stick to it and you'll have complete success, I believe in you!
Wow, well done, awesome results.
What an inspiration you are.
© Abbott Laboratories,2013


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The other day when I was able to leave the kitchen, I tried so hard to get Martha's cat, Mozart to play with me. I find those cats, however, to have very little sense of humor. And, they are so territorial and kind of bossy.
OK, I'm tired of that toy so now I'll check out this cozy looking chair that I always see the cats napping in.


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Adv. Purchase:
21 Days
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Non-Stop Flights, No min. stay, No peak holiday travel at this price
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Check out these top-rated hotels in Tampa
As rated by TripAdvisor® travelers
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Flight from New York City to Tampa
- Airline:
- Delta
- Round Trip
- Number of Stops:
- No stops
- Date of Flight:
- February 2011
- Seat Class:
- economy
We boarded early, left on time and arrived on time.
We carried on luggage and trip was easy. Wish they were all like this!
See What Our Dealhounds Have Found from Other Cities


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Unless it's super-short and crazy-tight, it's hard to know what kind of looks men love. So we decided to poll a few to find out a thing or two about what they really want to see you in this summer. The results just might surprise you.
"I like when girls don't try too hard to look good; to me, rompers look simple but are still cute."
— Anthony C.
Forever 21 Crisscross Romper, $13.50, forever21.com.
MORE AT Cosmopolitan
(Photo courtesy of Amazon.com)
"Any girl can show a lot of skin or wear tight clothes. I love when she can make sweats sexy."
— Dave M.
Alternative Ladies Vintage Sweatpant, $18, amazon.com.
(See also: Best jeans for every body type)
Mini Skirts"Seeing some leg is super-sexy—plus tight mini skirts accentuate a girl's butt, which is always a good thing."
— Nathan H.
Express Sequin Embellished Mini Skirt, $60, express.com.


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A rustic cabin bedding collection in periwinkle blue, deep reds and brown, the Wooded River Cabin Bear bedding ensemble is perfect for creating a log cabin inspired aesthetic. Available in Twin, Queen, King, and California King sizes, the Wooded River Cabin Bear bedspread features pine tree scenery in earth tone colors of red,blue, brown, green, and tan to offer a southwestern ambiance.
Our mission is to provide an unparalleled online shopping experience for our customers, offering the widest selection of top-quality home products at affordable prices. Founded in 2000 in Franklin, CT. the Yankee Retail Company is an authorized retailer of many world-renowned brands; such as Croscill, Waterford Crystal, American Drew, Brownstone Furniture, Reed & Barton, Swarovski, Lenox, Laura Ashley, and Waverly.


text:
Well it seems there is still something going on with private messages. I no longer receive the error report when I go to My Profile, but I'm still experiencing problems receiving PM's. The Incoming Private Message field says I have 2 messages but none display in the list. I made a screenshot to show this error:
<img src="http://carlsoncm.tripod.com/error.jpg" alt=" - " />


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Nothing screams retro quite like a briefcase-style turntable. The vintage appearance of Pyle Audio's Retro Belt-Drive Turntable (PVTT2U), belies its ability to keep pace with modern audio technologies, though.
Integrated into the fold-away unit are two anti-magnetic stereo speakers. In addition to playing vinyl records, the PVTT2U connects directly to your computer via a USB port, allowing for easy conversion of vinyl music to MP3s. The turntable comes with software so you can edit the music files you made from your vinyl collection and create playlists – the perfect combination of analog and digital technologies. And, like many new technologies, the PVTT2U is completely wireless, thanks to a rechargeable battery. You can charge the turntable by plugging it into a AC-USB adapter or into your computer.
There are three turntable speeds: 33, 45 and 78 RPM, a stereo RCS output, and a ceramic stereo cartridge. The PVTT2U retails for $188.99.
Follow Electronic House on Facebook and Twitter.
Sony is serious about high-resolution audio, but not necessarily at high prices.
Elan g! smart home system combines home theater and control for free-agent offensive lineman.
One of these outdoor subwoofers help put the boom into your backyard music.


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Staff Writer
2012 DEC 31 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at AIDS Weekly -- Investigators publish new report on Opportunistic Infections. According to news reporting originating in Indianapolis, Indiana, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, "The ubiquity of protein-protein interactions in biological signaling offers ample opportunities for therapeutic intervention. We previously identified a peptide, designated CBD3, that suppressed inflammatory and neuropathic behavioral hypersensitivity in rodents by inhibiting the ability of collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2) to bind to N-type voltage-activated calcium channels (CaV2.2) [Brittain et al." The news reporters obtained a quote from the research, "Nature Medicine 17:822-829 (2011)]. Here, we utilized SPOTScan analysis to identify an optimized variation of the CBD3 peptide (CBD3A6K) that bound with greater affinity to Ca2+ channels. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that the CBD3A6K peptide was more stable and less prone to the unfolding observed with the parent CBD3 peptide. This mutant peptide, conjugated to the cell penetrating motif of the HIV transduction domain protein TAT, exhibited greater anti-nociception in a rodent model of AIDS therapy-induced peripheral neuropathy when compared to the parent TAT-CBD3 peptide. Remarkably, intraperitoneal administration of TAT-CBD3A6K produced none of the minor side effects (i.e. tail kinking, body contortion) observed with the parent peptide. Interestingly, excitability of dissociated small diameter sensory neurons isolated from rats was also reduced by TAT-CBD3A6K peptide suggesting that suppression of excitability may be due to inhibition of T- and R-type Ca2+ channels. TAT-CBD3A6K had no effect on depolarization-evoked calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) release compared to vehicle control. Collectively, these results establish TAT-CBD3A6K as a peptide therapeutic with greater efficacy in an AIDS therapy-induced model of peripheral neuropathy than its parent peptide, TAT-CBD3." According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Structural modifications of the CBD3 scaffold peptide may result in peptides with selectivity against a particular subset of voltage-gated calcium channels resulting in a multipharmacology of action on the target." For more information on this research see: CRMP-2 peptide mediated decrease of high and low voltage-activated calcium channels, attenuation of nociceptor excitability, and anti-nociception in a model of AIDS therapy-induced painful peripheral neuropathy. Molecular Pain, 2012;8():2-19. Molecular Pain can be contacted at: Biomed Central Ltd, 236 Grays Inn Rd, Floor 6, London WC1X 8HL, England. (BioMed Central - www.biomedcentral.com/; Molecular Pain - www.molecularpain.com) Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A.D. Piekarz, Sophia Therapeut LLC, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States (see also Opportunistic Infections). Keywords for this news article include: Peptides, Proteomics, Nociceptors, Indianapolis, Ion Channels, United States, Calcium Channels, Carrier Proteins, Membrane Proteins, Peripheral Neuropathy, Sensory Receptor Cells, Opportunistic Infections, North and Central America Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2012, NewsRx LLC
Copyright © 2012 -AIDS Weekly Plus, Publisher. All rights reserved to Charles Henderson, Publisher. Permission to reproduce granted to AEGIS by Charles W. Henderson. Authorization to reproduce for personal use granted granted by C. W. Henderson, Publisher, provided that the fee of US$4.50 per copy, per page is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 27 Congress Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970, USA. Published by Charles Henderson, Publisher. Editorial & Publishing Office: P.O. Box 5528, Atlanta, GA 30307-0528 / Telephone: (800) 633- 4931; Subscription Office: P.O. Box 830409, Birmingham, AL 35283-0409 / FAX:(205) 995-1588 Visit AIDS WEEKLY PLUS.


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Welcome to the new PACSAC web page
This site is intended as a resource for people looking to join a CSA farm, a place for growers to find ideas for improving their farms.
The Portland Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition started as a small group of CSA farmers getting together to provide mutual support, tour each other's farms and share potluck meals in the off season.
Over the years's we've remained a group of CSA farmers getting together in the off season, promoting the core concepts of CSA, and helping Portlanders understand the benefits of joining a CSA farm.
Please take a look at the resources here and let us know if you have questions about CSA or PACSAC. We'll try to answer as promptly as possible.
Portland Area
Community Supported Agriculture
CSA connects farmers and eaters directly. Eaters gain a connection to the place and people who grow their food, and farmers gain a connection to people who eat the fruits of their labor; both sharing in the risks and rewards of seasonal eating.


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Valerie Jan Stanton was convicted of second-degree rape and second-degree sodomy in a unanimous vote by 12 jurors today before Circuit Judge Debra Jones
Jurors heard testimony presented by the state from the victim, his parents and a police officer.
The victim, now 17, told jurors that his relationship with Stanton began after the two met through a mutual acquaintance. (The Star is withholding other information about the teen to avoid publicly identifying him as a victim of rape.)
The teen told jurors that his life goal is to become a professional basketball player and Stanton told him she would help him.
Prosecutors and witnesses testified that Stanton paid for the boy to play with a traveling basketball team based in Birmingham. Stanton took the teen to practices, paid team fees, bought equipment and attended most of his games.
The two began their sexual relationship around March or April 2012, the victim testified, and he said they had sexual encounters in Anniston, Weaver and a hotel in Oxford a total of 15 times.
"I feel bad because it was wrong and I hurt people," the victim testified. "It hurts me that I did it."
The victim's mother discovered the inappropriate relationship in August 2012 and called police.
The police officer told jurors that on the night of Aug. 9, 2012, he went to the victim's home. While the officer was there, the victim received a text message from Stanton. The officer testified that he had the victim call Stanton, and she and the boy talked about their sexual encounters.
The officer told jurors that the conversation was not recorded.
Several days later, the officer obtained a warrant for Stanton's arrest.
Stanton was taken to a local police department, where she admitted to having a sexual relationship with the victim and that she knew his age, the officer said. The legal age of consent is 16 under Alabama law, prosecutors said. Stanton was charged the same day, the officer testified.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Eric Snyder of the Calhoun County District Attorney's Office told jurors that Stanton lives in a fantasy, but what she did to the victim was real.
"What you saw in this courtroom is not fiction. It's this woman's autobiography. These are real people," Snyder said.
Stanton's attorney, Fred Lawton, told jurors the state did not provide enough physical evidence that the crime was committed. Police had no photographs, cell phone records, recordings or videos, Lawton said, and the only evidence was Stanton's testimony to a police officer.
"Put yourself in Valerie's shoes. Wouldn't you insist the state have tangible evidence that you could take back in the jury room so you have beyond a reasonable doubt?" Lawton asked the jurors.
The jury of 8 women and 4 men deliberated for 30 minutes before they returned with the guilty verdict. Jones told Stanton she would sentence her on Sept. 26. Stanton faces a minimum of two years in prison and maximum of 20 years for each charge.
Stanton will return to the Calhoun County Jail, where she's been held since March, Lawton said. The woman's bond was revoked for leaving work without an electronic monitoring bracelet, he said.
Prosecutor Jennifer Weems said this was the third case she's prosecuted in almost seven years in which the defendant accused of a sexual crime was female.
"Consistently they get involved with the minors through sports or some type of youth activity," Weems said.
Weems said she believes Stanton was a sexual predator toward the victim.
"She used the victim's interest in sports to gain access to him and to keep him coming back. We're very pleased with the verdict and feel it was the just and right one," she said.
Weems thanked the local police department who investigated the case, the Department of Human Resources and the Calhoun-Cleburne Children's Center for their help in the case.
Staff Writer Rachael Brown: 256-235-3562. On Twitter @RBrown_Star.


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NM522 contains an F´ episome, which is required for production of ssDNA and for blue/white color selection. To maintain the F´, NM522 should be grown on minimal (M-9) medium.
Genotype: supE, thi, Δ(lac-proAB), hsd5 (r–, m–), [F´, proAB, lacIqZΔM15].
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Bacterial Strain NM522, Glycerol Stock
Bacterial Strain NM522
Store at –70°C.
For product intended use please see Patents & Disclaimers tab.
P2301 For Research Use Only. Not for Use in Diagnostic Procedures.
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Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
The Pitch: A group of misfits enter a large-scale dodgeball tournament to save their local gym from an evil health fitness chain.
More Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story Coverage
The Pitch: Kevin Spacey manages to make Washington, D.C. even more corrupt and power-hungry.
The Pitch: Stan Smith harbors an extraterrestrial named Roger who's also a master of disguise.
The Pitch: A lovable nebbish finds the son of his new girlfriend to be something of a challenge.
The Pitch: An original original comedy series starring Louis C.K.


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Inner Gorge Trail Guides
Flagstaff, Arizona Hiking & Trekking
Grand Canyon hiking and backpacking for all levels of experience. All inclusive trips from 1 to 4 days. Each trip includes gear, transportation from Flagstaff AZ, gourmet meals, professional guides, and all National Park fees....
Outdoors Unlimited Grand Canyon Rafting
Flagstaff, Arizona Rafting Trips
Grand Canyon whitewater rafting trips on the Colorado River. 5 to 15 day non-motorized river rafting vacations with experienced professional guides, delicious food, side hikes, & swimming holes. Authorized concessionaire of Grand Canyon National Park...
Starting at US $265 Per Night
Abineau Lodge B&B Getaways Off the Beaten Path
Flagstaff, Arizona Bed & Breakfasts
Catering to travelers who love nature, wildlife and the outdoors, the Abineau Lodge is located in a quiet rural area just outside Flagstaff Arizona. All nine rooms have private baths, king or queen beds, down comforters & lodge themed furnishings....
US $139 Per Night
Relax at Fall Inn To Nature Bed & Breakfast
Flagstaff, Arizona Bed & Breakfasts
Your home for tonight! Elegance & Charm & hospitality which is the "Best in the Southwest"! Away from downtown train track noise! Close to, lake, hiking/biking, shopping/dining, private massages, fireplaces, Tours & Full sit down breakfast....
Starting at US $109 Per Night/Room
Parkside Family Inn & Suites Flagstaff
Flagstaff, Arizona Hotels & Resorts
AAA approved features ALLL NEW ROOMS w/ 27" Tv,micro,fridge,clock radio and FREE Wireless High Speed Internet. Start your day off right with our complimentary HOT breakfast....
US $29 Per Night/Room
Executive Inn & Suites of Tucson
Central, Arizona Hotels & Resorts
Conveniently located in downtown Tucson, the Executive Inn of Tucson provides easy access to many local points of interest like the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the Old Tucson Studios, Reid Park Zoo and the Pima Air and Space Museum. The University...
Great Discounted Rates! US $45 Per Night
Spirit Steps Tours
Central, Arizona Sight-Seeing Tours
Since 1980, offering an incomparable choice of educational and enlightening experiences for the seeking sojourner. Spirit Steps provides a bridge, a transformational link, from our present-day routines of life to bold encounters. Personal and Privat...
From US $38 Per Hour
International Wildlife Museum
Tucson, Arizona Museums
Tucson's natural history museum features over 400 species of animals from around the world. Dioramas depicting animals in their natural settings and interactive exhibits provide fun and educational experiences for all ages....
Starting at US $8 Per Person
Tucson Rodeo Parade Museum
Tucson, Arizona Museums
Old west Tucson as it was in 1900 on display with the addition of over 125 horse-drawn vhicles of all types....
Arizona State Museum
Tucson, Arizona Museums
Experience the enduring cultures of Arizona, the American Southwest, and northern Mexico through dynamic exhibits, engaging programs, an educational museum store, and a research library....
Starting at US $5 Per Person
Wickenburg Tourism Authority
Central, Arizona Tourism Center
Discover Historic Wickenburg, Arizona! Old West adventures - guest ranches, golf, horseback & jeep outings. Art galleries, western and antique stores, Performing Arts Center, special annual events, and so much more. Wickenburg - the Real West!...
Annapurna Base Camp Trekking
Central, Arizona Hiking & Trekking
Trekking / Hiking to Annapurna Base Camp is an exciting experience for all nature and adventure lovers. It provides you close up view of Annapurna mountain range with understaning you different culture of that region....
Rates from US $1,100 Per Trip
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I think too much, so I am trying to forge a career in the space between advertising, startups and social enterprises. I also make art and write about it at University College London.
"One of my favourite children" - Mum
I am an enthusiastic individual with a tenacity for solving problems and exposing myself to anything where I can learn. I am all about making things instead of talking about making things, so my future is torn between the world of branding and creative agencies or London's startup scene. I have been lucky to work in both kinds of organisations, and believe it is likely they will begin to overlap more and more in an increasingly digital future.
I have won awards for entrepreneurship, art and charity work, often through the development of the UK's first student run pro bono creative agency 'Free Hype'. This forced me to learn how to build a team and manage projects. Effective time management has become a priority whilst continuing to study History of Art with Materials at University College London.
I currently assist at the UCL Advances' youth entrepreneurship education project 'Citrus Saturday'. My experience with teaching children, managing volunteers, and delivering presentations with a purpose allows me to provide useful suggestions and solutions for the project's development.
Hoping for a bidding war when I graduate.
Citrus Saturday is a new charity being created by UCL (using funds from an EU Interreg IVB NWE grant) to provide a teaching template for any youth organisation to use to teach their young people about business, raising their aspirations, broadening work options and increasing employability skills. We provide everything needed to teach basic business principles, then start a new business with young people making and selling lemonade to the public. They also get to keep the money they make, ensuring they understand from an early age the link between doing some work and earning some money!
Day to day, I provide technological and marketing solutions, chiefly writing copy and assisting with the social media. My experience in the creative industries and working with brands has made me crucial as the project develops its relationships with potential corporate funders.
In the run up to an internal UCL Citrus Saturday, I was an integral part of the team. My background in watersports instruction allowed me to advise and plan for practicalities of working with young people. I pointed out and solved several issues pertaining to safeguarding and health and safety requirements.
The logistical planning required for over 70 people, 17 teams and 4 tonnes of ice, lemon, and water was eye opening. I lead on this front, working out which teams needed what and how much in over 15 different locations spread around London.
I have now moved into a more strategic roles assisting with the funding efforts writing proposition documents and preparing presentations for others to deliver to potential funders.
I am now responsible for the layout, cartoons, photographs and overall look of the magazine. It has afforded me the opportunity to become well practised with InDesign, and consider the overall style of a publication.
The new academic term allowed me to refresh the design of the front cover and modernise the society's logo.
Frustrated by most creative industry internship being unpaid, whilst charities desperately seeked help; I set up Free Hype. Free Hype is the first student run pro bono creative agency.
Thanks to technological changes anyone can promote and create media now. Thus, Free Hype was born out of the decision to help out organisations in need and create a portfolio of work for myself and others. The ability to acquire professional mentors from within London increases charities trust in our abilities, and allows us to be more creative and more attractive to student volunteers. Mentors also gain access to enthusiastic and talented potential employees and future clients through initial contact with Free Hype.
Cooperation with UCL's own Volunteering Services Unit has now afforded Free Hype huge amounts of potential from charities. Our founding values mean we now regularly turn down high profile clients in favour of smaller charities that need us more. In our second year, we became a student society allowing us to function better with the increasing amount of student interest.
Our first big project with Medic to Medic (See below), and resulted in them making four times their yearly donations in just two weeks.
In one of his most ambitious book sculptures to date artist Guy Laramée (previously here and here) created an homage to the printed Encyclopedia Britannica by transforming a 24-volume set into a sloping mountainous landscape. Titled Adieu, Laramée says the work was inspired in part by Encyclopedia Britannica's announcement that after 244 years the would cease printing its iconic multi-volume book sets.
(via Artist Guy Laramée Carves a Mountainous Landscape from an Encyclopedia Britannica Set | Colossal)
Circle of Life
The genome of Gloeobacter violaceus, drawn as a gorgeous circular plot by visionary biological data artist Martin Krzywinski (from this paper). Within its concentric layers of information are buried genome composition, relation to other species, and overall genetic structure. It's also very pretty.
Gloeobacter is an ancient photosynthetic bacterium that branched off the rest of the photosynthetic tree (including cyanobacteria and, later, plants) and has its own strange way of eating sunlight.
Krzywinski's informative and beautiful data visualizations are featured at Wired Science, check 'em out: Circle of Life: The Beautiful New Way to Visualize Biological Data
2013.12.22 Sun - Harry's model
a device for a performance space
佐藤 壮馬 soma sato
Full Turn
Kinetic art piece by Benjamin Muzzin creates 3D light sculptures using a flat screen monitor spinning at high speeds.
Julie Mecoli's "Dark Matter" is a series of artworks inspired by the University of Queensland Pitch Drop Experiment (if you want to seriously geek out about this, our story on the experiment is right here).
Mecoli's pieces are made of bitumen. They start out looking like solids and slooooowly reveal their true liquid nature. Check out some of her other work here.
The little-known art of beloved physicist Richard Feynman, born on May 11, 1918.
Conrad Shawcross: Slow Arc Inside A Cube IV
This work loses so much in still photos. It would however look amazing in GIFs. I regret not thinking that when I was in the Hayward Gallery.
Work by Mary Iverson
From the artist statement:
Mary's prints and paintings resonate with so many other things that I am looking at online: data visualizations and information graphics, Modernist painting, and resurgences of photo-realistic and illustrative painting as well. I am particularly struck by the relationships in these images between the natural and the artificial, the figurative and the abstract, and the balance of thought and feeling. This balance is reminiscent of my own feelings about the Internet and the "wildness" of its networks. It seems perfectly appropriate that I would first see these images on the web instead of in the more controlled space of a gallery.
Iverson's shipping containers can be seen as metonymic stand-ins for a whole system of distribution for objects that we deal with every day. These paintings, until recently, left us with little clue of what they might contain. They are like scientific conceptual "black-boxes" which are put into place to sidestep our actual material understanding. We might see these containers on a dock or train and have only a vague sense of what they may contain or how those materials might be used. This parallels directly with the distribution of data on the net. The analog and digital worlds of things echo each other.
Mr. Karl Deckart
Eckental, Germany
Specimen: Soap Bubbles
Technique: Polarized Light
A magnetic field visualized
High-Tech Japanese Art Installation by Norimichi Hirakawa
16 arrows and the exposed - installation, 6720x3000x910mm, label, line tape, arrow
In the world of quantum including this world, every particle is ruled by indeterminacy theory, therefore we never can know both coordinate and velocity of each particle at the same time. But in the world of computer program, all of future is computable by calculation from initial value. It is doomed vision of the world that all of its future is decided at the moment of the big bang. Nevertheless, actually there're freshness and wonder when we observe the future that has come at the moment. A physicist, Lapace imagined an intelligent existence who can foresee all of future by the perfect observation at the moment and the high-speed calculation.
It became being called "Lapalce's demon". Isn't it the computer in the modern period ?
Trying to generate all of a plane composition by using overall calculation capability of commuter is like selling artistic soul to the demon. but, what kind of things is the artistic soul actually ?
The Daily Dish
Horizons by Aaron Farley
Farley on his project:
These are not real photographs of real things. The original photographs are of water and clouds and these are photographs of those photographs, turned on their side, moved, reshot, reprinted, cut and folded, and reassembled to create a different scene which still looks familiar.
Carpal tunnel-ing for science…
Roman Opalka - The Finite Defined by the Nonfinite, 1965-2011
Numerous canvases covered in mathematical sequences organized in narrow horizontal rows with acrylic paint and size 0 brushes, painted by hand and using no rulers. The first number on each new canvas follows the last number of the previous one.
"All my work is a single thing, the description from number one to infinity. A single thing, a single life."
The last number Opalka painted before his death on August 6, 2011, was 5,607,249.
Quantum Blink by Isabel M. Martinez
Martinez on her work:
According to quantum mechanics we have forty conscious moments per second, and our brains connect this sequence of nows to create the illusion of the flow of time. So, what would things look like if that itermittence was made visible? This body of work explores that hiccup, that blink, that ubiquitous fissure in the falling-into-place of things.
In my work I attempt to articulate something in between the freezing of time—that so often characterizes photography—and its relentless passing. I hint towards temporalities that are fluid, speculative, and somewhat loose. I am looking for the line that divides the finite (probability) from the infinite (possibility). If time is a succession of instants, I want to see what lies in between them. I am after the gaps between instants of consciousness.
Early Bird Special: "This Is Our Planet," by Croatian 18-year-old Tomislav Safundžić, was created from imagery captured by NASA at the International Space Station.
Kysa Johnson, "BLOWUP 31 SUBATOMIC DECAY PATTERNS" (2003), ink on panel
7th Prize - Mr. Gabriel Luna
Neuroscience Research Insititue - Santa Barbara, CA, USA
Specimen: Retinal wholemount (40x)
Technique: Confocal laser scanning
"ORE - Google Earth" is a Flickr set by Ling Meng. The designs begin with Google Earth terrain shots, but they become something far more elegant and beautiful.


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Don't Heckle Hockey Players
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or follow us on Facebook. Thanks for visiting!
Yeah, I know our NHL coverage has been, well, sparse, to put it mildly, but that doesn't mean the NHL Playoffs aren't always enjoyable sports-watching, especially in overtime situations. No, I suppose I fall onto the "out of sight, out of mind" side of the fence, and yes, that's meant as an indictment of Versus. Sure, they broadcast in hi-def and their coverage does get viewers, but I've allowed myself to be brainwashed by ESPN. Maybe my response to NHL Playoffs will change if the two entities partner up again.
Mea culpas aside, one thing's pretty clear: If you are a fan of the about-to-be-bounced-out-of-the-playoff Nashville Predators and your are near the Chicago Blackhawks' penalty box with Duncan Keith inside, leave the enemy combatants alone, or else you might wind up getting sprayed. Granted, the penalty box is surrounded by glass, but that didn't stop the fan in the video from flinching so severely, his arm would've been covered with black-and-blue bruises if he was playing the "two for flinching" game.
Unfortunately, Mr Heckler's efforts didn't help his team either. The Blackhawks closed out the Predators by winning last night's game, 5-3.
H/t to 670 The Score for the video.


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Every human process can be replicated in a robot…..logically thinking. Imagine would a robot ever feel?
Every human process can be replicated in a robot…..logically thinking. Imagine would a robot ever feel?
Please log in or register to post a reply.
Every human process can be replicated in a robot…..
i doubt it…
seriously, it's terrible that the image humans have of themselves is more and more that of a (highly complex) machine. i'm not saying that i know it's wrong but it's far from being a fact
take humor.. we don't know even what it is! i can't realize that we can make robots understand humor when we don't understand it ourself
imo you can describe many aspects of humans in a way that might be reproduced by machines. but i fail to see how you could ever build a machine that, for example, has self consciousness
Let me try and explain what i mean. Talking about feeling, if u analyse
what they actually are , in terms of the processes taking place in the
body,we could relate them to some reactions or movements of the neurons
in the brain.
In terms of technology(when it does reach that state), replicating these movements might someday be possible.Practically speaking it seems really tough.But it could anyday happen! :rolleyes:
Of course they can! It's just matter of time and progress. And at my opinion you don't need to create complex neutron network devices since a slightly modified human brain should also do the job fine. You just have to connect it and voila! Of course it's easier said than done but one never knows what will happen in the future!
Wait if 'something' is using a human brain, then it's not completely a robot, right ?
Wait if 'something' is using a human brain, then it's not completely a robot, right ?
who knows… we know little about how we work and there are other centers like the solarplexus in our body that have a great influence on how we feel and behave (the saying that you can "feel it in your guts" doesn't come from nowhere). "connecting the brain", as you put it, might be a very tough job since the brain will expect all the input from the body and it's questionable that you will be able to simulate that.
Of course they can! It's just matter of time and progress.
let me reiterate : we don't know shit about how we work. even assuming that we can understand ourselves has no basis today. besides, this assumption conflicts with any spiritual concept we ever developed.
read "computer power and human reason" by joseph weizenbaum (MIT legend, the guy who wrote ELIZA)
let me reiterate : we don't know shit about how we work. even assuming that we can understand ourselves has no basis today. besides, this assumption conflicts with any spiritual concept we ever developed.
Its not true that we dont even know how we work.Talking about spirituality, we come across these ideas as we grow up, learning from the surroundings. When we say that we r trying to create or rather imagine a robot that would kind of be a replica of a human being first thing we gotto to take in mind is that it would be able to learn from the surroundings. This is also how one robot could be different than the other.
The idea of connecting to the brain seems quite tough, cause hear we are considering the separation of a particular part from a whole interdependent system. Talking purely in terms of 'making' every part of the robot, the study and the working of neurons in the brain seems inevitable.
The feeling 'from the gut', will also be a kind of activity of neurons or say secretion of somekind of hormones/juices. It would boil down to a single process. I dont see why that couldnt be replicated
The feeling 'from the gut', will also be a kind of activity of neurons
that was much more of a statement about the interdependency between the body and the brain…
Its not true that we dont even know how we work
right, we know some things but in general we still know very little
about how the brain works at all. part of the problem is that it's hard
to conduct experiments on a living brain. so most of the experiments
that are done reduce themselves to finding out which regions of the
brain get used during certain actions or sensations.
a good example are these dumb devices we construct were you can concentrate on a left field and a cursor will move to the right while if you concentrate on the right field it will move to the right. we know that if a person thinks "left" hard ebough some region in the brain gets activated. fine. but how useful is a machine that requires me to think in a way that the machine can understand ? we don't understand at all what happens in the brain when we think "left" except for the fact that some electro magnetic pattern arises.
The feeling 'from the gut', will also be a kind of activity of neurons or say secretion of somekind of hormones/juices.
to get back to this sentence… just because chemicals can induce emotions that doesn't mean at all that emotions are fully described by mere interaction of these chemicals. for example : if we would for one second assume that there is a soul stuck in us it makes sense to assume that it is directly affected by the processes in our body.
personally i'm offended by the modern way of science to exclude everything from reality that we can't express in formal laws that our brains can understand and i would be more than amused to see that it's ourselves we can't press into that narrow scientific view upon the world
but how useful is a machine that requires me to think in a way that the machine can understand ?
i m sorry, i didnt get what u meant
Not knowing the working of the brain might be true if thought of literally………i hope u r getting what i mean.See when talk of a robot that would be at par with a human being, i m not talking of us humans programming everything into the robot. What we r to do is make a robot capable to learn, for that we require the basic process of things going on inside the brain and the study of processes that trigger various reactions. That is definately possible…….to an extent i agree with u that as studyng the brain is tough……..not impossible ( that might very efficiently happen whrn bio tech or bio med eng advances to that level)…..so it might be easier to study the roots than the actual process .
i would be more than amused to see that it's ourselves we can't press into that narrow scientific view upon the world
what do u mean?
Also when i m talikng of robots at par with human beings , it is about being parallel and not the same .humans will never be equal to robots or vice versa , it is about 'living' parallel lives with interactions due to the intersection of the surroundings in each case.
Every human process can be replicated in a robot…..
Also when i m talking of robots at par with human beings , it is about being parallel and not the same
contradiction ?
do you want robots that mimic human behaviour or do you want robots that actually feel and think and could be thought of as equal to human beings ?
What we r to do is make a robot capable to learn, for that we require the basic process of things going on inside the brain and the study of processes that trigger various reactions
it took evolution billions of years to produce todays animals including us. so where do you start ? with the complexity of the brain a baby has ? a dog ?
Let me clear myself.
I m talking of robots that THINK AND LEARN BY THEMSELVES which can be considered equal to human beings.
Evolution has taken place for yrs together. We start with a human being only…… not necessary a baby…… all we need to know how the process of learning and thinking happens. The way, as of today we have been able to create light , sound or touch sensitive robots; in the same manner we could create a robot that picks up from the surrounding .ie using all senses and learn from it.
true. but a a baby can only learn to talk, walk, go to the toilet or eat with a fork and a knive because it already has a highly complex brain that allows it to learn these things. we are born with the ability to learn a language. we are born with the ability to walk some day. it's our nature because we have the needed structures in our brain (which is why a dog will never talk and a chimp will never solve differential equations).
creating a machine that has these learning abilites might probably be not much easier than rebuilding the brain of an adult
btw, what you are proposing isn't at all new. MIT and other universities have such machines… or had them. these projects had their time back in the 70's when they AI hype was big. today AI development is more about designing autonomous agents (like a robot moving through a room and cleaning it while avoiding all obstacles or wheelchairs that help disabled people to avoid obstacles)
btw, what you are proposing isn't at all new
I m aware of it…..that what i m proposing ia not altogether new. But as long as i know they have never had robots which could feel things emotionwise or robots that could be human like, they are working on similar concepts now and there are proper scientists also debating as to whether a robot could ever feel.
As of autonomous agents, i would consider it to be a step towards creating a HUMANLIKE robot; things like avoiding obstacles are the part of the processes a human brain does. May be we could call it as, what the research now a days is going on about or the designing taking place are very small fragments what a a humanlike robot would be.
I dont know if u r eamiliar with hardcore problems in math eg:combinatorics in those kinds of problems we bvreak it down into parts and proceed and at times what happens is that it becomes extremely tough to relate those minute parts of the solved problem………probably in the near future we might head for this kind of a problem with robots!
Building a machine having learning capacities of a brainmight not be any easy………may be …….but again as i was saying, replicating the various mechanisms rather than the ACTUAL process eg:neuron movements may be to an extent easier. To clarify myself; in say org chem we study various mechanisms rather than the actual attacking of the given compound on the other - simplifying it.
When we are born we are not meant to learn a language in particular, its just that we have the ability to pick up those things cause thats whats there in our surroundings.
When we are born we are not meant to learn a language in particular
no. we aren't born with the ability to walk either. and if you teach a baby to walk like a dog it probably will. none the less a child wants to walk at some point in order to explore the world. the same thing goes for speach. it doesn't matter if you teach a child a language or if you teach it to wave with it's feet and hands but it is born with the desire and ability to comunicate. on the other hand you won't find your kid suddenly communicating by telepathy, simply because we are not born with the ability to do that.
actually, anubis, we know quite good how humans work. the ONLY issue we have is complexity, means, we're not capable of doing the whole work of a human body in realtime (but we can't simulate anything 100% in realtime.. we can only approx).
human life, animal life, plant life. feelings, movement, logic, behaviour, is all very controllable and understandable.
oh, and, it helps to know how feelings work. makes you.. feel bether.. if you feel bad. sort of :D
nature isn't difficult, nor magic. it's very simple, and easy. thats the beauty of it. the very simple rules that exist created the most complex thing any human being, any being at all, can ever be part of. a very impressive thing.
oh, and, about being on par.
i know tons of robots that can beat me, it just depends on what. a robot that 1:1 replaces humans is a dump robot imho. but we have tons of robots today, that are just here to be bether than us, a.k.a. to help us where we can't get a job done nicely.
i don't believe much in human-replacers. more in enhancers, that team up with us.
a robot that 1:1 replaces humans is a dumb robot imho
yeah, who would want a robot complaining about his wages or demanding better social security :)
actually, anubis, we know quite good how humans work.
afaik, they have problems understanding the brains of flys…
the ONLY issue we have is complexity, means, we're not capable of doing the whole work of a human body in realtime
you sound like every part of the brain is SO well understood and that it's just a matter of reaching a certain complexity in our simulation capabilites. bullpies to that !
human life, animal life, plant life. feelings, movement, logic, behaviour, is all very controllable and understandable
i'd like to see your proof for that. just because it seems simple to you doesn't mean it is
all structures are well understood and simple. it's just, they all work together, and influence each other. and this, by today, is, even in case of a fly, out of our control.
thats why we can't understand a fly-brain. not because it's something strange, magic. the rules, with wich it works, we know, we can identify each component exactly, and what the part does. but we can NOT understand, and work with the whole brain at once. we can't get up to that complexity, it's much over our head, and computing-simulation-power.
it's similar to chess, understanding the rules is easy. winning against a master is near to impossible. you know the rules. you _should_ know how to win. why don't you? … same reason we can't really use the knowledge we yet have. thinking on the whole isn't doable. but we can correctly identify each component, and what it does, on it's own.
proof? you know drugs yourself… :D there's tons of proof out there. medicine, sports, all the stuff, that has to do with our body. it's all just about how it reacts on different situations, influences.
we know the human brain about as good as you, and i can program c/c++. quite good, we know about all we need to, and can read all sort of code. the same way, we can read info in a brain today, easily. we can see the "brain-code" of your fly.
but even while we can read source-code, i'm not capable of reading the whole windows XP source, or the full linux source, and simply "go in there, and fix some problems".
and THATS nature. a human body is not billions of lines of code to read. it's sorta billion billions. while we can understand it's behaviour, we can not control that mass at once. not anytime soon.
and i still don't want robots to take our job on being "the dump-ass of the world" :D
and i still don't want robots to take our job on being "the dump-ass of the world"
nah, we do a pretty good job at that.
i guess it doesn't make much sense to debate believes here… so let's
stick to the original topic. ..
robocop : did you ever take a course in cognitive ai ?
actually, i'm not talking much about believes. but i have no links, as i learned that with proof, and books, and such. yeah, i was quite a bit into biology, and the big "what's life?" issue.
i was quite a bit into biology, and the big "what's life?" issue
you can't take science(here biology) as a proof that science(here biology) is valid… science explains only our percieved reality and forms it into thought modells we can understand. this however is no proof at all that there isn't more to reality than the part we can percieve, neither does it proof that we are able to understand all parts of nature as soon as our scientific aproach to nature reaches a certain level of complexity
anubis: though i have not taken a course in cognitive ai , i have read about it
I dont understand how has the discussion moved to biology and stuff. anyway taliking about a capacity of a child to explore the world; the same yearning to learn from the surrounding can be developed into a robot.A baby might not be born with the ability to do particular function but it learns from various actions in the surroundings.Say none of the senses are there; then there wont be any learning;similarly in a robot it will be our job to c that there are openings and there is a programming that takes input and learns.
all structures are well understood and simple. it's just, they all work together, and influence each other.
all structures are being understood they are not yet known. Them working together isnt a problem. Its just about first creating or replicating various actions carried out by a human as simple multiple programs.
Human body is a complicated machine agreed, but it is a Machine. From my point of view creating replicas of all different functions- mechanism like may be tough and also joining them may not be that simple but we could definately have it happen. May be something like triggering a reaction and it continues on its own
the simple rule of math, sience, and logic: until you can prove wrong, and everything hints its right, it is right.
i can be wrong. then again, we can be wrong in EVERYTHING. but in the reality we life, given the 'facts' that we can see on our own, and live with, the human body is a machine.
actually, no, it isn't :D it is a complex reaction. thats all it is. a machine is a "tool that helps to solve a certain task faster, where physically, you, as a human (or other lifeform), are inable to do it. it is built by you".
well.. a human is only a machine in the form that it is produced by you (hehe.. it requires two to produce one human:D), and it will help you to survive longer in the future, do to it's payments in your age. well, it happened to be like that :D but the 'machines' got outa control!
the simple rule of math, sience, and logic: until you can prove wrong, and everything hints its right, it is right.
if humans worked that way, religions would have never existed… face it the world is always only what we believe it to be.
i can be wrong. then again, we can be wrong in EVERYTHING. but in the reality we life, given the 'facts' that we can see on our own
i'm not saying that what science knows about the human body is wrong. probably we are assuming wrong things that might get corrected in the future. so i'm not on the what if science was wrong line. most of the things we invent seem to at least work :) i'm just pointing out that science acts as if it had a wholesome theory about the universe and that everything can get epxressed in a mathematic context, which is not the case. science is just another set of believes we choose to obey and devote our lives to. it's really not that different. the priests of the old days were just replaced by scientists who preach the new religion
every human quest to unriddle the the mysteries of the universe reminds me of the story about that guy who lost his keys and searches them under a light at the side of the street allthough he lost them somewhere completely else. finally someone asks him why he's doing that and he responds : why ? i can see better under the light.
sure we'll find a lot of interesting and absolutely true things under the light. the question is. will we find our keys ?
i don't care about the way sience behaves. i care about how sience works. it works the same way every human explores his life (at least, in child age), and how every human defines his own right and wrong. science only tries to define a global true and false, based on common local impressions on true and false.
if they do this with stupid marketing, and hyping, today, then i can say, who doesn't? nvidia does, intel does, even politics do.
centuries ago, they all hyped in form of being the religious thing itself.. today we try to "sell ideas".
thats just the way of life.
but that doesn't affect what science does. and real scientists are well avare that all rules that science has written down can by tomorrow be defined false. with just one proof.
science never will find a "why". nor will we ever.
it can only detect some normally happening rules, and explain some behaviour based on it.
but the general why will never be answered. well, not by humans by theselfes, at least. possibly one day one will explain that whole to us. but we will not be able to do it ourselfes.
i guess..
Machine is defined as an intricate organization that accomplishes its
goals efficiently. Hence a Human being is a machine.
Science is best studied with experience, it is not rigid it changes from time to time. Its like we discover new things about ourselves everyday.Similarly if we are creating a robot that has various replicated processes of a human then it would also learn new things about the world and itself everyday. Machine learning things about itself might not be possible, if v are the creators of machine then we can keep updating the robot everyday.
I agree it might be possible that everything we know today is wrong.But the fact is it might be wrong if the frame of reference is tomorrow or even attimes yesterday. But when the frame of reference is consideed to be today then it is right.
Getting back to the original topic….of humans and robots. Emotions might be easier to replicate rather than other basic processess; there are studies being done that emotions are directectly related to intelligence. So it is more likely a robot will cry than he probably going around talking to people
Machine is defined as an intricate organization that accomplishes its goals efficiently. Hence a Human being is a machine.
I don't get this logic.. :D
Machine is defined as an intricate organization that accomplishes its goals efficiently. Hence a Human being is a machine
we are not speaking here about the definition of machine. you gave human's the attribute "reproducable" (yeah, i know about the naughty way…) in terms of engeneering and i think that's what's being discussed here
I don't get this logic..
I dont see why you dont get the logic. This might help, here we are sticking to basics of science and technology! :)
Have you ever had a look at www.ai-forum.org. If not, have a look some of the topics and stuff are really interesting!
well.. humans are not made to accomplish a task efficiently. thats what they created robots for:D
i don't know of any task humans are made for. we just exist. and thats the onyl purpose of us
ok, let's just assume it was possible. i don't think anybody would want to build a robot that features actual emotions. maybe one that mimics them so that we feel comfortable talking to it. think about a robot that has emotions, including greed, that decides to get power hungry
I think that it is hard to define Science as a religion. Yes, people some put more faith into it than others, but the core principle of science differs from that of say Christianity.
Science is purely created by the itch man has to understand things, and the facts it puts forward are validated in clear, logical fashion - one would not argue that most plants do not contain chlorophyll. Whereas religions are often the reminants of a once much more powerful control tool eg the great crusades, egyption slavery ect. They often provide 'facts' that do not have any hard evidence and require faith in the true sense of the word.
I think it's not Science's aim to give the answer to the 'why' as that's more in the realm of philosophy than hard facts.
you gave human's the attribute "reproducable" (yeah, i know about the naughty way…) in terms of engeneering and i think that's what's being discussed here
Taking that argument further, from the perspective of early man, a watch wouldn't be reproducable therefore not a machine. If you look at the bigger picture, we will eventually be producable.
I think my main problem with [mainstream] religions is the concept and practical implications of Souls.
Taking that argument further, from the perspective of early man, a watch wouldn't be reproducable therefore not a machine
but it is nevertheless possible to produce a watch by technical means. it's worth a discussion if that applys to humans as well.
I think my main problem with [mainstream] religions is the concept and practical implications of Souls.
what bothers you about it ? the idea that there might be a soul makes my death the most interesting moment in my life :D
but it is nevertheless possible to produce a watch by technical means. it's worth a discussion if that applys to humans as well.
I hate to resort to what really amounts up to a buzzword right now, but the world of nano will hopefully change this :)
what bothers you about it?
It's where it all fits in. Neuroscientiists can open you up, monitor with electrodes and watch stimuli pass between different areas, in the better studied areas they could give us a good idea of where it will go, what is happening. It looks to me as if our decisions are made by our brains - weighing up past knowledge, current stimuli - and then we take action upon the outcome. In my model, there just isn't need nor room for a soul.
Other things that get me is how they come into being? Where does it interface to the brain. Where do they reside (4th spatial dimension). How can a dog or chimp exhibit all the same qualities as us, yet not have a soul? Is god just specist ;) (question mountain today). The notion of a brain being a behemoth of a hardwired neuron soup makes a lot more sense, and doesn't bring up questions that verge on the supernatural. IMHO, Religion has had a long history of opressing and forcing Science (book burning, geocentric universe model, joining brain to testes to transport soul during sex), and this is just one more extravagence.
On the subject of free will, I'm undecided. People's actions never do seem of true free will - if it was so, it'd be very hard to predict anything. I suppose if quantum physics amounts to anything that can give the facility for true randomness in rinteractions inside our brains, but otherwise it's pretty pre-determined.
think about a robot that has emotions, including greed, that decides to get power hungry
Ya when talking of a robot being at par with a human this might also happen. And just the way you deal with people; u deal with a robot in the same way.You are talking of greed and emotions that might make us feel harmed…….i would on the otherhand go to the extent and say that you might even have to console a robot and further u might c a robot consoling another robot. Why dont we feel harmed if a dog wants its own territory, similarly why should it harm us if a robot does become greedy ……u just gat to tackle it in a natural way.
well.. humans are not made to accomplish a task efficiently
okey for your better understanding, A human being an actual machine in the mind (like ordinary machinery), constructed out of mental mass and energy, that has been made by the individual to do work for him, usually having been set up so as to come into operation automatically under certain predetermined circumstances. Also a machine is something that uses mechanical energy to do any task…….we always do specific things is we eat or run or whatever ……in the case of a human being the range of tasks it can do is very big
@Vernor Vinge (1993)
Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended.
Got this quote from here, which might be an interesting read:
And just the way you deal with people; u deal with a robot in the same way
for one a robot can reproduce itself much quicker given the resources
are available to him.
come on you don't really believe that as soon as one robot starts to go postal many humans would object to destroy all robots of his type…
*insert dark matrix vision here*
come on you don't really believe that as soon as one robot starts to go postal many humans would object to destroy all robots of his type…
What exactly are u trying to get at?
What exactly are u trying to get at?
that you wouldn't handle robots the same way you would treat humans. if
a robot killed a human it would always be seen as a flaw in it's design
and most likely all of his kind would be destroyed. when a human kills
somebody in the worst case that one human gets executed but nobody sees
it as a flaw in our own design. robots will never be like humans because
they will remain our creations and we will treat them that way.
i'm sorry… this whole line of argument is already in the what would happen if we could construct robots that have emotions, etc. direction
It's where it all fits in. Neuroscientiists can open you up, monitor with electrodes and watch stimuli pass between different areas, in the better studied areas they could give us a good idea of where it will go, what is happening. It looks to me as if our decisions are made by our brains - weighing up past knowledge, current stimuli - and then we take action upon the outcome. In my model, there just isn't need nor room for a soul.
typical scientific view… you only look at what we can monitor and
conclude that it's the only thing there is to humans. that's exactly
what i meant with the guy only looking under the light for his keys…
for example : nobody today knows how self consciousness works and why we have it and other animals apparently don't. as long as you can't present a valid theory on that, and if you can you can already book your ticket to stockholm, the soul theory (whatever that might be… you don't have to involve gods or magic here) has as much validity as yours.
i don't care about the way sience behaves
good for you that you don't care but i do
i guess my whole point revolves around "self consciousness". i have not much doubt that we will construct robots that can perform all the tasks we do. they will walk, they will talk, etc. but, and that's a big BUT, i have strong doubts that we will construct robots that have reflections about themselves, that are fully aware of themselves. they will remain "soulless" (soul being synonym with self consciousness) machines.
i'm going to reword this.
i agree that humans to a certain extent are information processing machines. since we can reproduce arbitrary logical structures we can assume that the information processing parts of humans are reproducable as well. this however does not imply that every part of a human being can be epxressed as a process of taking data from the outside and producing some output. hence it is nor right to assume that every part of a human being can be artifically reproduced
Let me also try and convey my way of thinking about the self conciousness. What is self conciousness? I would put it as awareness of self when taken in consideration with the surroundings. There are places or times when we are uncomfortable and situations also when we are omfortable……how do these come about ; i believe it happens because there are certain things which we have never come across in our lives and seem extremely new to us …..so we find them uncomfortable. Also it could be explained as when a foreign body enters the private territory or a home zone it is at first always not welcome. This is because of the unawareness.
Now talking of self conciousness as in the gut feeling , there probably there is something inbuilt when we are born. I am not quite able to explain what i mwan to say, but i still believe that i agree that when we r born we have something in us , but it is only the way we r brought up that decides how will we respond to various situations.
Talking about looking for the key under the light; i dont think that it is a problem; as i have said earlier whatever we know about sci. in this discussion about human is true for us today , so if we sometime do discover nwe things we could update the robot.
Now about treating robots ; to an extent i agree with u that we would probably never be able to treat robots like human; but what i mean to say id tht i dont quite agree with it that if a robot makes a mistake it will be the human to blame; cause here we are talking about a robot which learns and grows up like a child and has its own intelligence and emotions. the blaming might be there at the extent of what a parent has to go thru when a child makes a mistake.
Also i still strongly believe tht everything we do or wht happens in our
bodies was a kind of relation with the neuron movements in the brain.
Even the self conciousness part included.
………….only problem that could probablt happen is that there is a possibility of the neuron movement being similar in certain diff circumstances, but that also can be differentiiated as it is not the same thing happening and will be different in some or the other way
I was going thru the laws of robotics, which clearly convey tht a robot has to stay in its limits. Even assuming that a robot like the kind i m saying is made there would be lots of fighting against the society to be done. There would be no guarantee tht a robot will follow its ethics as a human also forgets his own at times. This sounds as if i m contradicting myself. Yes i m!
Till now what we were trying to discuss was more on the technical part ie just whether a robot of that kind can be made or not; we never discussed as to the practical problems faced in such a existance.
Soul: I think u are right in this part a robot might never hae a soul; though it could have its morals or to an extent the ability of self-realisation.
Talking of emoting robots, they exist today and there is good amount of research being done on them………it seems it might take long; but someday robots will able to percieve as well as feel to a decent extent.
One more thing; as u were saying human being itself is a mystery- though what i believe is that when such a robot is created there should be enough space for upgradation in its system then it would be alright.
If such a machine is ever made then the first thing that would have to be done is that we would have to bring the status of a robot higher from what it is now, in the minds of human beings
"we don't know shit about how we work"
This statement is not nessecarily true due to the fact that it is a gross understatement of how little we actually know about how we work.
Since it is like measuring a ruler's lenth by using that same ruler, it is debatable if we can Ever objectivly see what we are and how we work.
reword : compared to the complexity of the brain we know very little
about it. *points at self conciousnes*
strange… i missed that robocop led on this discussion after my last post… oh well… let's get back at it, shall we ? :)
i think a major problem for robots, besides the fact that i'm still in heavy doubt about the pure technical side, is that we, as you pointed out, are heavily dependant on how we were brought up by our parents and our sourrounding. a simple example… it might very well be that our whole conception of taking and giving is based on the taking/giving act we experience in our first days when our mothers feed us (i'm not a psychologist and this is purely hypothetical). a robot will never have access to this kind of knowledge. it maybe won't have a mouth to kiss like we do or won't have hands that are capable of waving good bye. i hope you see what i'm trying to get at.
edit : to the previous poster… thanks for bringing this up again but was that all you had to add to this whole conversation ? in general you shouldn't post in old threads (this time it is ok since the discussion just stopped for no good reason) and if you do it should be something that contributes to the discussion and not just a rehash of something that has already been said before
Since it is like measuring a ruler's lenth by using that same ruler, it is debatable if we can Ever objectivly see what we are and how we work.
It's different if you have more than one ruler :) Or you brake the ruler in half.
I think anubis is right in many ways,
But one thing to consider is:
What if a machine can surpass humans, not by doing all that we do, but by NOT doing all that we do?
For instance if you were unable to program it to feel anger, would that make it less than human, or more? :nervous:
that is totally possible. i'm not saying that we are supperior, just different. look at insects. you could argue that they are far more successful than we are
Yes, it's true, robots I think would behave much more like inscts. No emotions, no 15 minute breaks, just single-minded obsessive focus on accomplishing a certain task. Also [bees for instance] they have much better team work, I guess that's where the term 'Hive-mind' comes from.
However, I do not believe that we will se an AI that has all the intricacies and flaws of the human mind. What I see forthcoming is an AI that can pass the Turing test, but is not actually intellegent. Like the Eliza program, which while not really AI, was built specifically to pass the Turing AI test.
yeah… that's exactly how i see it and it fits the current trend. we try to build robots that mimic us not robots that are like us. like walking… we don't build them with our kind of sense for balance we just build robots that are able to walk, no matter how. same will go for behaviour. only because we will try to build machines that mimic our ways won't mean that they are intelligent
Great thread, many good points, but here's one you missed:
The other day I called Virgin Mobile [a cellphone company here] and the robot that answered the phone was really realistic. Im talking dynamic speaking, inflections, it was the whole enchalada. Top notch answering machine.
Then after going through 10 thousand menus the human came on: Completly monotone, no emotion, did not understand me , I had to repeat myself 10 times. And I realized, I would rather have continued to deal with the machine!
So in a way some of us are already being surpassed by machines! :blink:
True but intelligence is based not on the ability to mimic speach, but on the ability to act appropriately in varied situations. For example, if you were to say into the phone "Let me speak with your boss!" Then the machine would not act appropriately, and would most likely not respond in any way. The human would act appropriately, he may not fulfil your request, and he may stutter a bit and read a pre written response, but this is what you would could expect an intelligent person might do (maybe not a greatly intelligent person)
hehe, It's funny that you say that, I actually did say that to the 'Human'….and he hung up on me :dry:
Needless to say I am the 'Angry Customer' :tongue:
<my 2 cents>
Imho we will be able to reproduce anything that happens in our conscient mind, as we will probably be (if we aren't already) able to analyse that quite detailed. We won't however ever be able to understand our unconscience because it is simply not possible for us to get at that point as it will drive us mad.
</my 2 cents>
Actually many believe that we cannot really reproduce our concious actions without our unconcious thoughts being there. There are many who in fact believe that we cannot properly mimic a brain without actually building a model of it out of pieces that act just exactly like neurons.
People are still looking for better ways, and this certainly does not give much hope for being able to understand what goes on, but they certainly have some good arguments.
Actually in the '90;s they invented an AI that was the intellectual equal to over half of all humans. It was the Furby!!
Look let's face it, most of the people I went to highschool with could not beat out a Giga-pet in a job interview!