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Researchers at MIT have developed a new type of information tag called a Bokode. The tag is 3 millimeters in diameter and can encode information about a product or a venue that can be read by a standard mobile phone camera. The Bokode is a tiny light-emitting diode with a mask and a lens. A camera can read information directly from the front of the tag or from the side.
The creators of the Bokode envision many uses, one of which is interaction with Google Streetview. Information gathered about locations via photos taken by Google vehicles would then be accessible on Google Maps (Jonathan Fildes, "Barcode Replacement Shown Off," News.BBC.co.uk, July 27, 2009).
Recent research in Japan has deter-mined that human beings emit very small levels of visible light. Scientists used extremely sensitive cameras to record the light emissions from male volunteers. "Body glow" was determined to rise and fall through the course of the day. It was lowest at 10 a.m. and highest at 4 p.m. (Charles Choi, "Strange! Humans Glow in Visible Light," LiveScience.com, July 22, 2009).
According to the tests, faces glowed most of all. We have come to know a great deal about biology, but surprising news like this demonstrates that we still have a lot more to learn about the intricacies of God's creative handiwork!
Number of devices intel Corp. estimates will be capable of connecting to TV and video content by 2015.
—"Future Is TV-Shaped, Says Intel," News.BBC.co.uk, Sept.. 25, 2009
Do you know what the first American collegiate sport was? Thinking football? Nope, it was rowing.
The number of people in America today that regularly compete in racing shells (long narrow boats with oars) down rivers and across lakes is 85,000, which is up from 32,000 in 1986. Another 65,000 people row just for fun. Regattas (rowing matches) can draw large crowds. Over 300,000 attend the annual two-day event in Boston, Massachusetts.
Most rowers hit the water by 5:30 in the morning and train several hours a day. They typically don't peak in their abilities until their late 20s. However, lack of coverage by sports television stations has kept the sport from growing in the multibillion-dollar sports industry. Some suspect that rowing is considered too sedate, but community rowing associations hope to keep the sport on the map (Skip Rozin, "Forever Rowing Upstream," The Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2009).
If you were ever overwhelmed by the vast array of TV sets available in appliance stores, things are about to get even more complicated! Executives at Intel predict that TV-capable devices will multiply in number and variety of sizes, so that everyone on the planet will be able to have one or more screens around him or her.
With the increase of television and video viewing done on the Internet, companies are developing TV-like devices that interact with the Internet. However, concerned that consumers don't want to be snowed with televisions as complicated as computers, they are seeking simplicity in design. Adding to the challenge, three-dimensional television is not far off. Samsung and Mitsubishi have already launched 3D TV products, and Sony and Panasonic will follow up next year (Maggie Shiels, "Future Is TV-shaped, Says Intel," News.BBC.co.uk, Sept. 25, 2009).
A Columbia University survey reveals that teenagers who regularly eat dinner with their families have a lower likelihood of developing substance abuse problems. They also tend to get better grades in school. That seems like a pretty easy way to improve performance in class!
Sadly, only half of American teenagers regularly have family dinnertime, which means a lot of young people are missing out on the benefits. Talking over the day's events is key teaching time for parents. A Harvard University study finds that family dinners help children develop their language skills too ("Family Dinner Linked to Better Grades for Teens," ABCnews.go.com, Sept. 13, 2005).
"Teens having family dinners
five or more times a week were 42 percent less likely to drink
alcohol, 59 percent less likely to smoke cigarettes
and 66 percent less likely to try marijuana"
("Family Dinner Linked
to Better Grades for Teens," ABCnews.go.com, Sept. 13, 2005).
A middle school in Colorado has asked parents to not allow their students to wear a certain type of "jelly" bracelet. School administrators learned that certain colors may indicate varying degrees of sexual activity either experienced by or willing to be engaged in by students. However, many female students maintain that the bracelets are merely a fashion statement and have no such connotations (Dan Frosch, "Schools Ban Bracelet Used in Sex Game," The New York Times, Sept. 12, 2009).
Regardless of students' intent, we should keep in mind the biblical principles of maintaining a good reputation and staying above reproach. We should avoid any semblance of condoning or participating in evil, even if that means abstaining from a certain type of apparel.
The Budget of Sugarcreek, Ohio, is a newspaper covering Amish community news around the United States. In a world economy where newspapers are closing up shop because of high prices and Internet competition, The Budget has the opposite problem. Its Amish readers are resisting plans by the publisher to establish an online version of the national paper. These readers and contributors, who by reason of their religious beliefs shun certain technologies, including computers, are not anxious for their contributions to the paper to be available to everyone on the Internet (Meghan Barr, "Amish News Slow, Steady," Associated Press in The Washington Times, Aug. 21, 2009).
Part of a massive 3,700-year-old defensive wall has been uncovered in Jerusalem on the slopes of the Kidron Valley below the City of David. Experts believe it is part of a passage that led to a spring protected by fortifications. The spring, the Gihon, is still in use today.
Excavation director Ronny Reich speculates that there may be further architectural ruins behind the wall. It is believed that ancient Canaanites built the enormous boulder wall, but excavators are at a loss to know how they completed the project and created such straight-sided fortifications (Kevin Flower, "'Massive' Ancient Wall Uncovered in Jerusalem," CNN.com, Sept. 7, 2009).
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