Sorry, Gill...

But I had to copy one of your posts. Gill posted a link to a site called www.bookmooch.com earlier this year. I really didn't pay too much attention to it until he mentioned it to me over lunch a few weeks ago. This is the coolest site!

The concept is this: you post all of your books that you don't want anymore. Then people email you and request them. You mail them the book for free. For every book you mail, you get a point. You then use those points to ask other people to mail you free books. How cool is that??? All you pay is book rate shipping (which is about $3 or $4 per book depending on weight). I've already mailed out 5 books and I have my first one on its way. What a great way to recycle old volumes that would otherwise collect dust on your bookshelves.

Thanks for the tip, Gill!

I want this.

Not sure if I've posted this before, but the prices have dropped and I really want one.

Bodies is Here!

Who wants to go?!

Don't Have Room For a Compost Heap?

Compost in your kitchen!

New Game

It's pretty easy, but fun for a few minutes.

Dog DNA -- Email

Hello Michelle

Thank you for your interest in the MMI Genomics Canine Heritage™ test product. Canine Heritage™ test kits will be available at the end of February. We will send you information to request a sampling kit at that time. Please watch your mailbox for further Canine Heritage™ news over the next few weeks. The cost of the test will be $65 per dog.

Currently, these 38 breeds (listed below) are included in the Canine Heritage™ test.

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Paul

Afghan Hound
Akita
Basenji
Basset Hound
Beagle
Belgian Tervuren
Bernese Mountain Dog
Border Collie
Borzoi
Boxer
Bulldogs
Chihuahua
Chinese Shar-Pei
Chow chow
Cocker Spaniel
Collie
Dachshund
Doberman Pinscher
English Setter
German Shepherd Dog
German Shorthaired Pointer
Golden Retriever
Greyhounds
Italian Greyhound
Labrador Retriever
Mastiff
Miniature Schnauzer
Poodle
Pug
Rottweiler
Saluki
Samoyed
Shetland Sheepdog
Shih Tzu
Siberian Husky
St Bernard
Whippet
Yorkshire Terrier

Dog DNA

Ok, so I've tested myself, my next step is to test Bailey. Once the kit becomes available at the end of the month, poor ol' Bailey is gettin the cheek swab!

http://www.metamorphixinc.com/products3.html

In the News

I subscribe to Popular Science and in reading some of the recent issues today, I found some cool things going on in our technology world...

• Open Source Textbooks: At www.curriki.org, you can register to start reading free, online textbooks. Although it is in its infancy now, this tool may be just the key to saving our schools hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Growing Bladders from DNA: A scientist was able to build a bio-degradable scaffold of a bladder, spray a patient's bladder cells onto the scaffold and presto! A new bladder.
  
• Cure for Asthma: By sticking a tube down a patient's throat and into their lungs, radio frequency signals blast the walls of the lungs to get rid of asthma attacks.
• Katrina-Stopping Nails: By re-engineering the nail, inventors were able to create a nail so strong that the roofs of houses no longer will sheer off in hurricane winds.
• Periodic Table: One of the editors of PopSci spent four years assembling a collection of elements for a real-life periodic table and photographing them. It's kinda cool to look at -- you can even order a poster of the table for your home or office enjoyment!
  
• Censored Hammer: Although not necessary revolutionary, I also read an article about a new hammer called the "FUBAR" which was designed for demolition work. Now tell me, how in the world did Stanley get away with that? I can picture 5 years olds watching their Dads hard at work and asking if they can have a try at the FUBAR.
  

Hapland, Part Three

http://www.foon.co.uk/farcade/hapland3/

Saving the world, one laptop at a time

What a phenominal idea... OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) is a non-profit project that seeks to create a $100 laptop in order to educate the world's poorest children. With money saving ideas like a crank (for power) and no harddrive (USB ports instead), this could not only revolutionize technology, but how we educate.

More here: http://laptop.org/

The ultimate geek toy.

Jamie, since you like RSS so much, this one's for you.

DigiScents

A couple of weeks ago Mike and I were talking about how much smell triggered memory. My sense of smell is so in tune with my past, that it amazes me how much one smell can bring back something long forgotten. For instance, today I was washing some dishes in the sink at work. For some reason, the smell of the water reminded me of my late Grandmother's house in Baltimore. I was immediately catapulted back into her 1950's kitchen with the green countertops and the dishes that my grandfather bought at a local gas station.

I then remembered an article I read many years ago in Popular Science about how this group of scientists developed a digital way to reproduce scent. I tried to find this wonderful machine, but all I could find was a bunch of articles about a company called DigiScents that was making a product called iSmell. The articles were all from 1999 and 2000 -- but I have yet to find the product. It makes me wonder if the company sizzled out due to lack of market?

I did manage to find another company called TriSenx that is actually selling its product. They already have a couple music videos and educational sites that allow you to "smell" the items you see. Pretty cool.

Can you imagine what this technology could do to advertising? Waft a smell of a Big Mac into my living room or actually be able to SMELL the aromas of a cooking show? It would bring a whole new meaning to sporting events when you could smell the sweat and B.O. from the court...