Bionic Eye

Making a person see again may sound like science fiction especially when combined with bionics but for a few lucky people, science fiction is becoming science fact. The procedure involves implanting 60 electrodes in the retina that stimulate the signals passed to the brain. Special eye glasses pass information from the outside world to the implants. Although crude at best, any form of vision is a welcome breakthrough for those that have received the treatment. See full video at:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/allen-zderad-sees-wife-first-time-decade-after-bionic-eye-n311216

What is Really Causing the Cold?

Low pressure, high pressure, the jet stream, polar vortexes and other atmospheric phenomena play key roles in making unseasonably cold weather appear in areas but to truly understand climate, you need to look at the bigger picture. The 11-year solar cycle as defined by periods of more sunspot activity or less sunspot activity produces warmer years and cooler years. Currently, we are in a cooler 11-year cycle but statistically speaking, it is not unrealistic for the opposite to occur some years.

Approximately once or twice a millennium, the Earth also experiences mini ice ages for reasons we do not yet understand though volcanism, oceanic currents and solar activity are among the various theories proposed. Approximately every one hundred thousand years, a major ice age will also occur and roughly every 23 million years, the greater orbit of the Earth relative to the sun will amplify that effect. Over still greater periods, continental drift is thought to have caused the two most severe ice ages. During the Snowball Earth periods, the planet was literally covered by ice even at the equator. Fortunately, we do not appear to be heading for any of these worst case scenarios anytime soon but climate is far more complex of an issue than most people realize and while "global warming" may be a theory, periodic global cooling is a fact of nature that will likely continue along the same patterns in the future.

Yes the ice is melting at the polar caps but we still do not know what is considered normal melting during inter-glaciation periods and in some areas the ice belt is actually increasing. Despite record cold temperatures occurring in many areas, the bias continues for "global warming" but this conclusion is not shared by all climatologists and elevated CO2 levels in the past due to natural causes may have even triggered colder periods. The truth is, we do not really know what the future will bring but we do know carbon dioxide washes out of the atmosphere with increased precipitation and CO2 and light produce photosynthesis for plants - without which, we wouldn't be here.

Truth be told, carbon dioxide may be a greenhouse gas but compared to sulfur dioxide and other volcanic gases, it has minimal impact. Popular belief is that cars and industrial processes are the leading causes of current greenhouse gas levels but that honor falls on livestock. Through the methane gas they produce, cows are responsible for more greenhouse omissions than any other culprit. Want to be green? Eat less meat! We need to stop kidding ourselves that forcing consumers to buy "green alternative" LED bulbs is going to change climate. The reality here is that these bulbs are manufactured using rare earth minerals from China that would be better used in computing devices while they are still around. Before unintended consequences put us in a worse position, we need to reexamine the effects of green policies that have been based more on conjecture in the past than the evidence actually presented.

Are LED Lights Safe?

LED bulbs may be longer lasting than incandescents but surprisingly, they are far from perfect. Often touted as being environmentally safer than CFL (compact fluorescents) which contain mercury, LED bulbs are apparently not without risks either. "A study published in late 2010 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology found that LEDs contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially dangerous substances." Some low intensity red LED bulbs may contain up to eight times more lead than other LEDs. Fortunately white LEDs tend to be safer though no bulb is completely green.

A particularly scary though possibly less of a concern threat today are blue LED bulbs. Some older style blue LED bulbs may cause retina damage. Are you kidding me? So much for green. To be fair, sometimes these dangers are exaggerated and even California (the kingpins of consumer safety standards), still allows red LEDs. More research needs to be conducted but until then just be aware that unless you want to go back to the Stone Age, technology always carries some risks. For that matter, even cavemen had to contend with the fact that burning wood may release VOCs and other toxic components. According to the EPA, "improperly burned wood contains many chemical substances that are considered harmful such as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), fine particle pollution (ash), and volatile organic compounds (VOC)."

Although it would be nice if we could avoid hazards completely, so far nobody has come up with a perfect solution. In the end, you can only worry about it so much or you will drive yourself crazy. For a great selection of lamps and bulbs, please visit http://www.officesalesusa.com/office-lighting.php.

Staples Goes in for the Kill

While everyone is paying attention to a potential Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, the proposed Staples/Office Depot alliance is deeply troubling to many. Already the biggest office supply dealer, Staples now wants to envelop the #2 spot (Office Depot). The argument for the union stems from the fact that Amazon and other online mega-stores pose significant threat to traditional brick and mortar stationers. On the other hand, giving Staples more power will potentially hurt smaller dealers already feeling the effects of major competitors. While Staples is hardly just a brick and mortar franchise anymore as they are right under Amazon in terms of online market share, Amazon still holds an impressive lead over its competitors. What is your opinion? Should the big office superstores be allowed to keep growing until there is no one left to oppose them or should free enterprise stand without challenge?

Your TV Spying on You

If it wasn't enough that video recording could occur on your PC without your instruction, now apparently your television can't be trusted either. Big brother is alive and doing well on Samsung smart televisions which apparently collect actual voice recordings:

"...capture voice commands and associated texts so that [Samsung] can provide you with Voice Recognition features and evaluate and improve the features."

Even worse comes this news:

"Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition."

This feature can be disabled but there is a caveat:

"While Samsung will not collect your spoken word, Samsung may still collect associated texts and other usage data so that we can evaluate the performance of the feature and improve it."

Are you kidding me? Do you really think consumers will stand for this? When will consumer-electronics manufacturers get the point? This type of sampling should only be done for those who have either volunteered to improve the service or have been paid for their cooperation. It's just another blatant misuse of technology that may require some form of regulation. One would think the tech-industry would be intelligent enough to realize this themselves but apparently there is no limit to their audacity.