Darpa Wants Replacement Arms by 2007. [DefenseTech 4/11/2005 [via Gizmodo 4/11/2005] Darpa, the funds-holding financier of many military project, has put out a "Revolutionizing Prosthetics" challenge to modern prostheticists to build a fake arm with, "enough finesse to pick up a raisin or to write in longhand. It needs to be sensitive enough for the wearer to demonstration to do day-to-day tasks in the dark. And the limb will have to be strong enough to lift 60 pounds at a time. So, basically, what Luke Skywalker gets in Empire Strikes Back, after Darth chops off his hand. Except, researchers won't have a long, long time to get this limb ready. Darpa wants the robo-arm stat -- in four years or less. 4/11/2005 11:06:27 AM    

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How Long Is Your Misperception List? [VARBusiness 3/17/2005] Your decisions could be clouded by misguided ideas. I suggest gathering the team and writing on a whiteboard everything your company collectively believes that, frankly, is not true. They might be as simple as, "We are making gains against our rivals," or "Our processes are better than last year," or even "Our competition is slipping." Or more specific: "Our go-to-market strategy is well-founded," or "There's no way Jim in accounting or Stan in engineering would leave if they got better offers." How long is your misperception list? If it's longer than when you started in this business, you're going the wrong way. 4/11/2005 10:54:18 AM    

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Engineers Redesign Roads to Save Moose - And Squirrel? [Yahoo News 4/11/2005 via Fark] Standing six feet at the shoulder, weighing up to 1,000 pounds, with massive antlers more than five feet across, moose tower over automobiles and have no fear of them. Increasingly the undisputed giants of the northern forest are tangling with traffic as they expand south. But now some traffic engineers around the country are experimenting with redesigning roads to accommodate wandering wildlife and using high tech laser and infrared devices, developed for space exploration and anti-missile systems, to warn motorists when a moose wanders into the road.

"We're investigating ways to manipulate the drivers and also ways to manipulate the animals," said John Perry, a biologist with the Maine Department of Transportation. "And when moose are involved, it might be easier to manipulate the driver."

4/11/2005 9:53:22 AM    

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