Robotic arm turns man into a cyborg drummer

When Jason Barnes was electrocuted two years ago, he lost the lower half of his right arm, seemingly ending his dreams of being a drummer — but thanks to a new prosthetic he’s able to finally achieve that goal. Barnes initially built his own makeshift device so that he could still drum, but eventually partnered with Georgia Institute of Technology professor Gil Weinberg to build a robotic version. He tried it out for the first time last week, telling New Scientist that “it was pretty awesome.”

Reminds me a little of Fucking Robots Playing the Ace of Spades.

#music

If the “post article” link has vanished, sign out and back in again. That’s a quirk from today’s site maintenance :’(

#tcr

Similar to articles, there’s now an “edit” link to right of the timestamp for comments. Clicking that link will give you the option to change the comment or delete it entirely. That only applies if you’re the author. Or you’re me.

In other news…

#tcr

Alcohol as Escape From Perfectionism

And truth was, believe it or not, I got a lot done when I was drinking. In my alpha dog years—when I was holding down a senior job at a magazine, raising an artistic, athletic young man, giving speeches on the circuit—life was more than full. Alcohol smoothed the switch from one role to the other. It seemed to make life purr. I could juggle a lot. Until, of course, I couldn’t.

That’s the thing about a drinking problem: It’s progressive. But for a long, long time, alcohol can step in as your able partner, providing welcome support—before you want to boot it out.

Sometimes I’m amazed at the amount of work I accomplished during 2010 and 2011, the worst of my drinking career. I would often get up before the sun and work for 3-4 hours before going to work.

These days I can barely pull myself out of bed, even after the fourth snooze.

#alcoholism

Up to 70% off everything but prob doesn’t apply to the website — http://www.sciplus.com/

#photos #sciencesurplus

An Entirely Other Day: The Empathy Vacuum

But we — the majority of us — apparently do not need help remembering to text our significant other. (Or — cough — think we don’t.)

And that’s the difference, isn’t it? What we can imagine ourselves doing, or needing, or wanting. Those people who don’t need the help feel free to judge those who do.

They judge us by our failures and not our desire to improve. They judge us by our tools and not what we can accomplish with them. They judge us by their own standards, without a breath given to the possibility that a different perspective might exist.

Which is pretty much the Internet in a nutshell, isn’t it? Exposed to the entire spectrum of human enthusiasms, it’s basically impossible not to judge. Our empathy overloads and gives up and we sit, staring at the screen aghast, that somebody, somewhere might actually believe that what they’re doing is OK, is acceptable, is even appropriate.

Everybody is somebody else’s monster.

At one time it was easy for me to not think that there’ll be another person on the other side of what I’m writing — be that a text message, an email, a Facebook status update, or a post here…be it a single human reading or a group.

But…I’ve witnessed (and been a party to) careless words smashing through lives though and those kind of hurts can last forever. Some are simply impossible to forget.

#advancedsoul

Drunk poker bet loser gets ridiculous new name

Here’s why you should never get drunk and start placing ridiculous poker bets.

One unfortunate New Zealander found out the hard way after losing a bet which involved his friends choosing him a new name if he lost.

The 22-year-old did lose and is now called Full Metal Havok More Sexy N Intelligent Than Spock And All The Superheroes Combined With Frostnova.

I would never make such a bet and even if I did, I wouldn’t honor it if I lost. But.. his new name isn’t half bad.

President Obama will introduce the series premiere of ‘Cosmos’ on Sunday night

The reboot of Carl Sagan’s classic show Cosmos is coming tomorrow night in a huge international launch, and Fox has announced that the series will kick off with a message from President Obama. The new Cosmos, headlined by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, is a blend of CGI fiction and science that explores the universe and humanity’s role in it. Fox says that Obama’s opening video message “invites a new generation to embrace the spirit of discovery and inspires viewers to explore new frontiers and imagine limitless possibilities for the future.”

I listen to most every podcast episode of StarTalk by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Tune in tonight folks!

In related news.. the Bill Nye, Obama and Neil selfie.

#podcasts #cosmos

If you’re into that kinda thing, here’s the link: /comments/rss/

If you don’t know what that means, it’s for nerdy people like me.

If you’re mildly curious, have a look at what Wikipedia says about RSS.

In other news, there’s a new Quick Tip at the bottom when adding a new post: 2. Posting Links. Following that is how I get the uniform look when linking to other sites.

#tcr

12 Things You Might Not Know About T. rex

The world’s most famous dinosaur is a lot more interesting than many people realize. Some 65 million years after its extinction, Tyrannosaurus rex is still captivating scientists, movie makers, and the general public alike. Here’s some neat stuff you might not know about the “tyrant lizard king.”

#meanwhile #dinos