Science Debate!!!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. My internet has been on the fritz, and Comcast had to send someone out twice before they decided that maybe replacing the stupid cable modem was a good idea. Unfortunately, where I live, I can't get anyone else. So anyway, Hillary won Ohio and the Texas primary (Obama probably won the Texas caucus, but the results aren't actually in.) This thing is going to drag on forever, so the least the candidates can do is debate new and interesting things. Enter ScienceDebate 2008, a grassroots effort to get the Democratic and Republican candidates to debate science issues in Philadelphia on April 18. (The Pennsylvania Democratic primary is April 22.) The issues to be debated are divided into three policy areas:... The Environment, Health and Medicine, and Science and Technology Policy. Questions on topics such as climate change (I'm assuming this debate wouldn't include 'clean coal' commercials), population growth, stem cell research, drug patents, science education, and space exploration. Science questions are going to be particularly crucial in deciding where the nation is heading in the next few years in a variety of ways, and I for one would love to see the candidates discuss these policy positions more fully and openly with the public. Maybe we could even get a feel for relative levels of tech savvy/cluelessness. (Hint: If any candidate says "The Google," I will spring my secret trapdoor in the stage floor, just like they do in the cartoons.)

Eco-Friendly Self-Cleaning Kitchen!

I MUST have this thing! The Aion Kitchen concept model uses the plants on top of the unit to make soap to wash dishes...after you PUT THEM IN THE SINK!!! YAY! Wow, I've been sucked in by pretty consumerism appealing to my laziness and my love for plants once again.

'Slippers' for Democracy

Plusea has posted directions on Instructables for how to make improved 'Joy Slippers.' Joy Slippers are footwear-based controllers (the 'joy' comes from 'joysticks') with four embedded analog pressure-sensitive sensors. The current design is wired, but in the comments, Plusea says that she will be making a Bluetooth version soon. Right now, the Joy Slippers' main use is drawing with the feet; however, the possibilities for such controllers are much larger. What if we could teach (or reinforce, during practice) foot positions for dancing or sports with Joy Slipper-like controllers? How about teaching rhythm through the familiar mechanism of the human foot? If manufacture of such controllers became cheaper because of innovation spurred by the DIY experimentation of people like Plusea, it could democratize aspects of training for physical activities. In addition, if Joy Slippers were used to control the movements of characters in popular video games, it could increase fitness levels in many households, much as the Dance Dance Revolution and the Wii have. This is particularly true in areas where parents might not feel safe simply sending their children to "play outside" (although many politicians, secure in their upper-middle-class suburban enclaves, seem to believe in that as the answer to the world's problems.)