Nokia Patents the Vibrating Haptic-Tattoo to Help You Feel Who’s Calling

On April 11, 2012April 11, 2012 By A.P.In Cell Phone, Communication, Haptic Feedback, Haptic Tattoo, Human Behavior, Inventions, Nokia, Science, Technology, The Future, Vibrating TattooLeave a comment

Nokia is said to be working on new technology that would allow tattoos with ferromagnetic ink to vibrate when the tattooed person recieves a phone call. Via Unwired View:

“Nokia wants to take haptic feedback to a level you haven’t previously encountered. Haptic tech is employed, for example, when your phone vibrates as you type on its touchscreen. Haptics deal with appealing to your sense of touch by applying forces or vibrations to your skin. Which is exactly what Nokia wants to do, proposing the application of tattoos with ferromagnetic inks, that will vibrate based on commands from your phone.

In the first described embodiment of the patent, you’d wear a sort of material that’s attachable to the skin. On your forearm, for example. This material can do two things: detect a magnetic field, and emit a vibration. The material could be paired with a phone, for example, like Bluetooth accessories are paired to electronics. The phone, however, would have to be capable of emitting varying magnetic fields.

So then, for example, when someone calls that phone, it will send out a specific magnetic field. The material will detect that, and will start vibrating in a certain pattern. That pattern could be different according to who’s calling, or it could be different according to what exactly is happening on the phone (a phone call, text message, and so on). For this to work, the phone would have to send out a different magnetic field for each action, because the material would associate a different type of vibration with each kind of magnetic field it detects. The vibrations would happen by magnetically manipulating the material.

The tattoo would be applied using ferromagnetic inks. The ink material would first be exposed to high temperatures to demagnetize it. Then the tattoo would be applied. You’ll apparently be able to choose the actual image you want as the tattoo. The procedure is identical to that of getting a ‘normal’ tattoo – only the ink is special.

After the tattoo has been applied, you’ll need to magnetize it. That means bringing the tattooed area in the close proximity of an external magnet, and going ‘several times over this magnet to magnetize the image material again.’ The tattoo will then have enhanced sensitivity towards external alternating magnet fields, and will basically function the same way the aforementioned material attached to your skin did.”‘

http://www.altpress.com/news/entry/haptic_tattoos_may_soon_help_you_feel_whos_calling

Onlookers jeered as man was beaten, stripped and robbed in Baltimore

On April 10, 2012April 10, 2012 By A.P.In Baltimore, Crime, Empathy, Human Behavior, Violence2 Comments

Onlookers laughed and did nothing to help as a man was beaten, stripped and robbed on the street in Baltimore.

The attack, which police say happened on March 18 after St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, was captured by at least two cameras. Video of it went viral.

“Not only did they rob him, but they attempted to strip him of his dignity. They tore his clothes off; they mocked him. That behavior just will not be tolerated,” said Detective Nicole Monroe with the Baltimore police.

Police say they have identified one suspect, but have made no arrests.

They are not releasing the victim’s identity except to say he was a 31-year-old man from Arlington, Virginia.

The victim was on the way to his hotel from a downtown Baltimore club when he was attacked, according to a police report. The man had been drinking. He told police he couldn’t recall exactly what happened, but the videos fill in the blanks.

In them, a man is seen standing, unsteadily, against a row of mailboxes. A crowd starts to gather and women dance suggestively against him. Someone notices his watch and a hand seems to grab something from one of the man’s front pockets.

He pursues the supposed thief and is punched in the face. The man falls over backward and his head hits the sidewalk so hard it can be heard on the video.

“Smackdown!” someone yells.

His pockets are rifled and his clothes pulled off. Some people can be heard laughing. No one comes to his aid.

According to the police report, the man lost his Tag Heuer watch, which he valued at $1,300, his iPhone and car key.

CNN showed video of the attack to a number of people in Baltimore to gauge their response.

“That’s pretty sad,” said Finley George of Virginia, who was visiting the city with family. “I mean he obviously didn’t do anything to anybody. They just got up on him and started beating him.”

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/09/us/maryland-beating/index.html

Autism may be linked to obesity during pregnancy

On April 10, 2012April 10, 2012 By A.P.In autism, Diabetes, Food, Health, Human Behavior, Obesity, PregnancyLeave a comment

Obesity during pregnancy may increase chances for having a child with autism, provocative new research suggests.

It’s among the first studies linking the two, and though it doesn’t prove obesity causes autism, the authors say their results raise public health concerns because of the high level of obesity in this country.

Study women who were obese during pregnancy were about 67 percent more likely than normal-weight women to have autistic children. They also faced double the risk of having children with other developmental delays.

On average, women face a 1 in 88 chance of having a child with autism; the results suggest that obesity during pregnancy would increase that to a 1 in 53 chance, the authors said.

The study was released online Monday in Pediatrics.

Since more than one-third of U.S. women of child-bearing age are obese, the results are potentially worrisome and add yet another incentive for maintaining a normal weight, said researcher Paula Krakowiak, a study co-author and scientist at the University of California, Davis.

Previous research has linked obesity during pregnancy with stillbirths, preterm births and some birth defects.

Dr. Daniel Coury, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, said the results “raise quite a concern.”

He noted that U.S. autism rates have increased along with obesity rates and said the research suggests that may be more than a coincidence.

More research is needed to confirm the results. But if mothers’ obesity is truly related to autism, it would be only one of many contributing factors, said Coury, who was not involved in the study.

Genetics has been linked to autism, and scientists are examining whether mothers’ illnesses and use of certain medicines during pregnancy might also play a role.

The study involved about 1,000 California children, ages 2 to 5. Nearly 700 had autism or other developmental delays, and 315 did not have those problems.

Mothers were asked about their health. Medical records were available for more than half the women and confirmed their conditions. It’s not clear how mothers’ obesity might affect fetal development, but the authors offer some theories.

Obesity, generally about 35 pounds overweight, is linked with inflammation and sometimes elevated levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar and inflammation-related substances in a mother’s blood may reach the fetus and damage the developing brain, Krakowiak said.

The study lacks information on blood tests during pregnancy. There’s also no information on women’s diets and other habits during pregnancy that might have influenced fetal development.

There were no racial, ethnic, education or health insurance differences among mothers of autistic kids and those with unaffected children that might have influenced the results, the researchers said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-04-09/Autism-obesity-pregnancy/54126558/1

Dating Websites to Help You Find Your ‘Doomsday Partner’

On April 9, 2012 By A.P.In Doomsday Partner, Global Economic Collapse, Global Warming, Human Behavior, Relationships, The FutureLeave a comment

Does your partner roll their eyes at your drums of water and cache of gas masks? Do you long for someone to share the last adrenaline-filled months before the apocalypse, as predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar? Look no further than Survivalist Singles, PrepperDats or Kwink, new dating sites specifically for those preparing for life after the world comes crashing down. You can look for fellow members of a post-apocalyptic tribal commune that scavenges the land in a marauding band, or that perfect partner who is savvy about water filtration, yet strong enough to protect your young from said scavenging hordes. And even if the Mayans were wrong about 2012, or your conspiracy theories don’t pan out, at least you’ll be dating someone who shares your interests. Your crazy, crazy interests.

http://now.msn.com/now/0408-dating-sites-apocalypse.aspx

Men nailed to crosses in Philippines Good Friday ritual

On April 6, 2012April 6, 2012 By A.P.In Christianity, Crucifixtion, Crucify, Easter, Good Friday, Human Behavior, Philippines, ReligionLeave a comment

At least 24 Filipinos were nailed to crosses to re-enact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a Good Friday rite rejected by Catholic church leaders but witnessed by throngs of believers and thousands of tourists.

Ruben Enaje, a 50-year-old sign painter, screamed in pain as villagers dressed as Roman centurions hammered four-inch stainless steel nails through his palms and set him aloft on a cross under a brutal sun for a few minutes in San Pedro Cutud village in Pampanga province.

Twenty-three other Filipino men were nailed to crosses in the rice-growing province, officials said.

It was Enaje’s 25th crucifixion. He says surviving nearly unscathed when he fell from a three-story building in 1985 prompted him to undergo the annual ordeal. Aside from thanking God, Enaje now prays for more painting jobs.

“Not a bone in my body was broken when I fell from that building,” Enaje said. “It was a miracle.”

“Now, I’m praying for good health and more clients,” Enaje told The Associated Press.

Ahead of the cross nailings, throngs of penitents walked several miles through village streets and beat their bare backs with sharp bamboo sticks and pieces of wood, sometimes splashing spectators with blood. Some participants opened cuts in the penitents’ backs using broken glass to ensure the ritual was sufficiently bloody.

The gory spectacle reflects the Philippines’ unique brand of Catholicism, which merges church traditions with folk superstitions. Many of the mostly impoverished penitents undergo the ritual to atone for sins, pray for the sick or a better life and give thanks for what they believe were God-given miracles.

The most number of crucifixions were staged beside a rice field in San Pedro Cutud, where 15 men were nailed to crosses three at a time on a dusty mound as more than 30,000 people, including three European ambassadors, watched and snapped pictures. An ambulance stood by and more than 20 tourists fainted or became dizzy in the heat, officials said.

Amid the festive air — villagers peddled bottled water, food and religious items everywhere — police and marshals kept order. Some displayed banners with a reminder: “Silence please and take care of your belongings.”

Foreigners have been banned from taking part after an Australian comic was nailed to a cross under a false name a few years ago near Pampanga. Authorities also believe that a Japanese man sought to be crucified as part of a porn film in 1996, tourism officer Ching Pangilinan said.

“They made a mockery out of a local tradition,” she said.

PhotoBlog: Penitents nailed to crosses in Philippine ritual

Church leaders in the Philippines, Asia’s largest predominantly Roman Catholic nation, have frowned on the Easter week rituals, saying Filipinos can show their deep faith without hurting themselves.

Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, based in Iloilo province, said the crucifixions and self-flagellations are an “imperfect imitation with doubtful theological and social significance,” adding that only Jesus Christ’s death saved mankind.

Pampanga Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said the bloody rites reflect the church’s failure to fully educate many Filipinos on Christian tenets.

Enaje and the other penitents said the church should respect their belief.

“When I’m up there on the cross, I feel very close to God,” Enaje said. “We grew up with this tradition and nothing can stop us.”

Red Cross officials urged devotees to consider other forms of penance, including donating blood, and expressed concern over possible health problems such as infection, heat stroke, blood loss and even death from the beating.

San Pedro Cutud village leader Remigio dela Cruz said no penitent has experienced any major health problem since the cross nailings began there in the 1950s. The nails are soaked in alcohol for as long as a year and then sprinkled with holy water before use, he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42721319/ns/world_news-asiapacific/#.T32gg442GRA

Update: Mirlande Wilson States She Lost Winning Lottery Ticket

On April 6, 2012 By A.P.In Gambling, Lottery, Marlinda Wilson, McDonald's, Mirlande WilsonLeave a comment

Mirlande Wilson, who this week said she may have hit the record Mega Millions jackpot, told a Washington news station Thursday that she has lost the ticket.
WRC-TV is reporting that Wilson said, “I misplaced it. I cannot tell you where the ticket is for my safety and my kids’ safety, but I wish I could find it and get this thing over [with].”

She could not immediately be reached for comment.

That’s one valuable slip of paper. The record-breaking jackpot in the drawing March 30 reached $656 million, worth $105 million in a cash payout to whomever purchased the winning ticket at a Baltimore County 7-Eleven.

Wilson also told the TV station that a report that she hid the ticket at the McDonald’s in Milford Mills was bogus.

“I don’t know where they get the story from. How am I going to have the ticket and hide it behind the McFlurry machine?” Wilson said.

Thanks to ‘Da Brayn’ for updating this story for the It’s Interesting community.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-mega-millions-lottery-20120406,0,7808126.story

Next Great Depression? MIT researchers predict ‘global economic collapse’ by 2030

On April 5, 2012April 4, 2012 By A.P.In Climate Change, Global Economic Collapse, Global Warming, Government, MIT, The Future, Wealth and PowerLeave a comment

A new study from researchers at Jay W. Forrester’s institute at MIT says that the world could suffer from “global economic collapse” and “precipitous population decline” if people continue to consume the world’s resources at the current pace.

Smithsonian Magazine writes that Australian physicist Graham Turner says “the world is on track for disaster” and that current evidence coincides with a famous, and in some quarters, infamous, academic report from 1972 entitled, “The Limits to Growth.”

Produced for a group called The Club of Rome, the study’s researchers created a computing model to forecast different scenarios based on the current models of population growth and global resource consumption. The study also took into account different levels of agricultural productivity, birth control and environmental protection efforts. Twelve million copies of the report were produced and distributed in 37 different languages.

Most of the computer scenarios found population and economic growth continuing at a steady rate until about 2030. But without “drastic measures for environmental protection,” the scenarios predict the likelihood of a population and economic crash.

However, the study said “unlimited economic growth” is still possible if world governments enact policies and invest in green technologies that help limit the expansion of our ecological footprint.

The Smithsonian notes that several experts strongly objected to “The Limit of Growth’s” findings, including the late Yale economist Henry Wallich, who for 12 years served as a governor of the Federal Research Board and was its chief international economics expert. At the time, Wallich said attempting to regulate economic growth would be equal to “consigning billions to permanent poverty.”

Turner says that perhaps the most startling find from the study is that the results of the computer scenarios were nearly identical to those predicted in similar computer scenarios used as the basis for “The Limits to Growth.”

“There is a very clear warning bell being rung here,” Turner said. “We are not on a sustainable trajectory.”

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/next-great-depression-mit-researchers-predict-global-economic-190352944.html

Thanks to Ray Gaudette for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

Marlinda Wilson Claims Her Winning Mega-Millions Lottery Ticket is Hidden Inside McDonald’s

On April 4, 2012 By A.P.In Gambling, Lottery, Marlinda Wilson, McDonald's, Mega MillionsLeave a comment

One of the three Mega Millions jackpot winners says her winning ticket remains stashed away inside the Baltimore McDonald’s where she works. But some of Marlinde Wilson’s co-workers think she is telling a Big Lie.

“I left my ticket there, and it’s somewhere safe that only I know about,” Wilson told the New York Post. “I’m waiting for things to calm down so I can go back to McDonald’s and get it. The people [at McDonald’s] are too excited. I want their heads to cool down before I go back.”

Wilson claims to have purchased one of the three winning Mega Millions lottery tickets. The three winners will each receive a share of the record-breaking $640 million jackpot. If Wilson’s story is true, that would mean a $105 million ticket (after taxes) is stashed away somewhere inside the fast food restaurant.

Wilson’s co-workers appear to be split in their opinion of her but all who have spoken to the media seem to share some animosity toward the Haiti native. Some of Wilson’s colleagues say she is attempting to cheat them out of what should be shared winnings from a pool of lotto tickets 14 of the McDonald’s employees purchased together.

And Wilson’s manager, identified only as “Layla” by the Post, says she thinks Wilson isn’t telling the truth about hiding the ticket inside the McDonald’s. “That’s impossible. She didn’t come back here” after she purchased the ticket, Layla said.

CBS News has also raised questions about whether or not Wilson actually purchased one of the three winning tickets. Mega Millions officials say they do not know who actually purchased the ticket. They have only been able to confirm that the winning ticket was in fact purchased at a Baltimore 7-Eleven just four hours before the winning numbers were announced.

The Post also raises some question’s about Wilson’s character, noting she has a Facebook page under the alias Sheila Paraison, on which she says she will donate her winnings to relief efforts in Haiti.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/mega-millions-winners-says-ticket-still-hidden-inside-160453864.html;_ylt=Av0bxgEA2k7kk7bfHcbI8_ASH9EA;_ylu=X3oDMTFobWc1czNjBG1pdANCbG9nIEJvZHkEcG9zAzcEc2VjA01lZGlhQmxvZ0JvZHlUZW1wQXNzZW1ibHk-;_ylg=X3oDMTNlbzM5NnQwBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDMTBjYTU3ZDktZmU0OS0zZDNiLTlkNTctMjI2ZTU5YTNkNTc2BHBzdGNhdANvcmlnaW5hbHN8dGhlc2lkZXNob3cEcHQDc3RvcnlwYWdlBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Parents in shock as priest displays gay porn images

On April 3, 2012 By A.P.In Pornography, Religion, sexuality, TechnologyLeave a comment

A PRIEST has denied knowing how gay porn images appeared on a screen during a presentation he was giving to parents of children preparing for First Communion.

Fr Martin McVeigh was setting up the PowerPoint display when the explicit sex scenes flashed up on the screen.

He was about to give a talk to the parents of First Communicants but abandoned the presentation after the pornographic images appeared.

One of those present said the pictures appeared on the screen after the priest put a USB memory stick into the computer at St Mary’s School in Pomeroy, Co Tyrone.

“There were plenty of shocked faces. There’s a lot of parents very angry about it.”

School principal Sean Devlin is understood to have contacted the Armagh diocese about the incident, which is being investigated by the diocese child protection office.

The Church authorities also went to the police, who said no crime had been committed.

The Archdiocese of Armagh has refused to say whether Fr McVeigh has been suspended from duties or had restrictions imposed on his position while the investigation is under way.

The priest himself insists the pornographic images can be “legitimately explained”.

He told the Ulster Herald newspaper he had no knowledge of how the images appeared on the computer.

A statement from Cardinal Sean Brady said: “The archdiocese immediately sought the advice of the PSNI who indicated that on the basis of the evidence available no crime had been committed.”

A spokeswoman for the Council of Catholic Maintained Schools said they were aware that the principal of the school “immediately referred this matter to the diocesan authorities in accordance with the diocesan safeguarding procedures”.

An emergency meeting was held in the parish last night.

http://www.herald.ie/news/parents-in-shock-as-priest-displays-gay-porn-images-3066704.html

Thanks to Kedmobee for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.

Kansas Man Struck By Lightning Hours After Buying Lottery Tickets

On April 2, 2012April 2, 2012 By A.P.In Accidents, Gambling, Lottery, Struck by LightningLeave a comment

A Kansas man was struck by lightning hours after buying three Mega Millions lottery tickets, proving in real life the old saying that a gambler is more likely to be struck down from the sky than win the jackpot.

Bill Isles, 48, bought three tickets in the record $656 million lottery Thursday at a Wichita, Kan., grocery store.

On the way to his car, Isles said he commented to a friend: “I’ve got a better chance of getting struck by lightning” than winning the lottery.

Later at about 9:30 p.m., Isles was standing in the back yard of his Wichita duplex, when he saw a flash and heard a boom — lightning.

“It threw me to the ground quivering,” Isles said in a telephone interview on Saturday. “It kind of scrambled my brain and gave me an irregular heartbeat.”

Isles, a volunteer weather spotter for the National Weather Service, had his portable ham radio with him because he was checking the skies for storm activity. He crawled on the ground to get the radio, which had been thrown from his hand.

Isles had been talking to other spotters on the radio and called in about the lightning strike. One of the spotters, a local television station intern, called 911. Isles was taken by ambulance to a hospital and kept overnight for observation.

Isles said doctors wanted to make sure his heartbeat was back to normal. He suffered no burns or other physical effects from the strike, which he said could have been worse because his yard has a power line pole and wires overhead.

“But for the grace of God, I would have been dead,” Isles said. “It was not a direct strike.”

Isles said he had someone buy him 10 more tickets to the Mega Millions lottery on Friday night. While one of the three winning tickets was sold in Kansas, Isles was not a winner.

Officials of the Mega Millions lottery, which had the largest prize in U.S. history, said that the odds of winning lottery were about 176 million to one. Americans have a much higher chance of being struck by lightning, at 775,000 to one over the course of a year, depending on the part of the country and the season, according to the National Weather Service.

Isles, who is out of work after being laid off last June by a furniture store, said he did once win $2,000 in the lottery and will keep playing.

“The next time I will use the radio while sitting in the car,” he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46915119/ns/us_news-weird_news/

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