A Little Here A Little There

The robot on track to be grandmother's little helper
Robot Sitting at Control Panel
Chris Ayres in Coronado Island, California

It has suction cups instead of hands, two sets of tank-tracks instead of feet, and is strong enough to carry an adult up a steep flight of stairs. Meet your grandmother’s new live-in helper: a robot built by an American company that has already pioneered robot vacuum cleaners and robot bomb-diffusers — 2,000 of which are on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The company, iRobot, says it plans to give collectively an extra “one million years of independent living” to elderly people around the world by making live-in robots that could make nursing homes obsolete. The robots — prototypes of which are already being tested — will be able to dispense pills, act as stair-climbing wheelchairs, monitor vital signs, provide live video monitoring, and call for an ambulance in case of an emergency. Just don’t expect much in the way of conversation — or bingo skills, for that matter. Colin Angle, co-founder of iRobot — the company is best known to consumers for its Roomba vacuum cleaning robot — made the claim this week at the industry TedMed conference in Coronado Island, California, attended by everyone from Hollywood celebrities to the senior Obama Administration healthcare adviser Ezekiel Emanuel. The conference comes as the US is desperately trying to find ways to lower the cost of healthcare — a crisis that many fear could worsen dramatically as the country’s 78 million “baby boomers” born after the Second World War turn 65. If lifespans in the West continue to lengthen, many of the baby boomers could need decades of round-the-clock help, yet such care is prohibitively expensive. Mr Angle told the conference that the average cost of institutional living in America was now more than $10,000 (£6,000) a month, or the equivalent of a mortgage on a $2 million home. Yet research shows that three out of four elderly people would rather continue living at home. Living at home is not an option in many cases, however, because adult children are often too busy with their careers or families to look after parents full-time. Even so, said Mr Angle, 22 per cent of Americans currently provide some kind of care that helps their elderly relatives to stay out of nursing homes. “Something has to give,” he said. “Well, what about robots?” Using a cardboard cut-out of his mother as a prop, Mr Angle demonstrated how technology can be used to make caring for elderly relatives easier. For example, if an older relative does not answer a nightly telephone call, a live-in robot can be sent to look for them, using mapping technology, heat sensors, and a live video feed.

Medicine is changing fast, here is an interesting look at the future

Nanotech's Next Development: Making Humans Immortal?

In 30 or 40 years, we'll have microscopic machines traveling through our bodies, repairing damaged cells and organs, effectively wiping out diseases. The nanotechnology will also be used to back up our memories and personalities. In an interview with Computerworld , author and futurist Ray Kurzweil said that anyone alive come 2040 or 2050 could be close to immortal. The quickening advance of nanotechnology means that the human condition will shift into more of a collaboration of man and machine , as nanobots flow through human blood streams and eventually even replace biological blood, he added. That may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but Kurzweil, a member of the Inventor's Hall of Fame and a recipient of the National Medal of Technology, says that research well underway today is leading to a time when a combination of nanotechnology and biotechnology will wipe out cancer, Alzheimer's disease , obesity and diabetes .
It'll also be a time when humans will augment their natural cognitive powers and add years to their lives, Kurzweil said.
"It's radical life extension," Kurzweil said . "The full realization of nanobots will basically eliminate biological disease and aging. I think we'll see widespread use in 20 years of [nanotech] devices that perform certain functions for us. In 30 or 40 years, we will overcome disease and aging. The nanobots will scout out organs and cells that need repairs and simply fix them. It will lead to profound extensions of our health and longevity." Of course, people will still be struck by lightning or hit by a bus, but much more trauma will be repairable. If nanobots swim in, or even replace, biological blood, then wounds could be healed almost instantly. Limbs could be regrown. Backed up memories and personalities could be accessed after a head trauma.
Today, researchers at MIT already are using nanoparticles to deliver killer genes that battle late-stage cancer. The university reported just last month the nano-based treatment killed ovarian cancer, which is considered to be one of the most deadly cancers, in mice.And earlier this year, scientists at the University of London reported using nanotechnology to blast cancer cells in mice with "tumor busting" genes, giving new hope to patients with inoperable tumors. So far, tests have shown that the new technique leaves healthy cells undamaged. With this kind of work going on now, Kurzweil says that by 2024 we'll be adding a year to our life expectancy with every year that passes. "The sense of time will be running in and not running out," he added. "Within 15 years, we will reverse this loss of remaining life expectancy. We will be adding more time than is going by." And in 35 to 40 years, we basically will be immortal, according to the man who wrote The Age of Spiritual Machines and The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology .
Kurzweil also maintains that adding microscopic machines to our bodies won't make us any less human than we are today or were 500 years ago. "The definition of human is that we are the species that goes beyond our limitations and changes who we are," he said. "If that wasn't the case, you and I wouldn't be around because at one point life expectancy was 23. We've extended ourselves in many ways. This is an extension of who we are. Ever since we picked up a stick to reach a higher branch, we've extended who we are through tools. It's the nature of human beings to change who we are." But that doesn't mean there aren't parts of this future that don't worry him. With nanotechnology so advanced that it can travel through our bodies and affect great change on them, come dangers as well as benefits. The nanobots, he explained, will be self-replicating and engineers will have to harness and contain that replication. "You could have some self-replicating nanobot that could create copies of itself... and ultimately, within 90 replications, it could devour the body it's in or all humans if it becomes a non-biological plague," said Kurzweil. "Technology is not a utopia. It's a double-edged sword and always has been since we first had fire."

Sharon Gaudin,

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii is as close to heaven as it gets weather wise, the sun shines year round the temperature never goes much below 60 at night and above 90 during the day. What happens when a visitor overstays or a person who came to Kailua-Kona to work, loses a job and becomes homeless and is considered undesirable, how is he or she handled? Charge the person with a crime and give the person a criminal record.
Here are a few supporting references from the West Hawaii News the local paper.

Alii Drive project could make road safer for pedestrians
by Kim Eaton
West Hawaii Today
keaton@westhawaiitoday.com
Monday, July 6, 2009 9:06 AM HST
The draft environmental assessment for proposed Alii Drive improvements along Oneo Bay in Kailua-Kona was released this week.......
.....The landscape enhancements, particularly the proposed benches fronting Hale Halawai, did raise some concern at both the public meeting and in a letter from former police chief Lawrence Mahuna. Mahuna recommended that all benches for the purpose of resting should be on private property, which would allow property owners to issue trespass warnings to "undesirable" people using the benches.

http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2009/07/06/local/local01.txt


The West Hawaii Article is
Proposed marijuana laws could ease restrictions
One bill would allow some patients to grow small amounts
by Peter Sur
Stephens Media

Sunday, February 15, 2009 7:09 AM HST
HILO -- Several bills that would amend Hawaii's medical marijuana law, and one that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug, are moving through the state Legislature......

From the feedback section.......
mt.view wrote on Feb 16, 2009 9:48 AM:
The marijuana laws are an excellent "tool" for law enforcement to rid the state of undesirables.

URL http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2009/02/15/local/local03.txt

In conclusion, how can it be that the laws are intentionally used to criminalize people who are considered undesirable?

Key Words. Hawaii Police Department Kailua Kona civil rights misconduct FBI election miscarriage justice vacation arrest law homeless

Christmas was sort of like what New Years is supposed to be. Spent Christmas Eve with friends and took what i thought was a short cut back which turned out to be a "long cut"; took a while to get home but it sure was an enjoyable adventure. Hopefully New Years will be like what Christmas was supposed to be. In Hawaii most people let loose with the fireworks, In the stores you can see people lugging around boxes of fireworks taller than they are. the fireworks are lit all at once and the smoke is like a thick fog. Wouldn't want to be anywhere else!. Last week was spent organizing an electronics lab, the centerpiece is an oscilloscope, never thought that I would ever own my own. The calculators nowadays are able to add fractions, and are solar powered, if there isn't enough light to power the calculator you won't be able to see the display! Still hanging in with the XHTML, the electronics sure is a lot more fun, probably because it was all review, Updated Nucserver to the 1.2 ver, it was 0.8 beta. Nuc server is incredible, the latest edition comes with a FTP program installed (filezilla), Oh yeah a New Years Resolution, take a few days off each week from my studies, to find interesting adventures.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/b16cathmusfor.HTM
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"We have been created to love and be loved. There is a way to consider every person you come into contact with as a gift, an opportunity to love in order to become the person you were made to be." This is a quote that I read from an artical on depression it is so awesome! here is the article

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By Genevieve Pollock

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, 26 NOV. 2008 (ZENIT)

Gratitude transforms a negative self-focus into a positive other-focus, strengthening relationships with God and others, says therapist Eric Gudan. Gudan is a senior clinical extern at Alpha Omega Clinic and Counseling Services, and a doctoral candidate at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, a Catholic graduate school of psychology. In this interview, Gudan spoke with ZENIT about his experience and study of how the virtue of gratitude may counteract the effects of depression.

Q: What, from your psychological perspective, defines the virtue of gratitude? What characteristics can be seen in a grateful person?

Gudan: Gratitude is the positive emotional experience resulting from the recognition that another person has given you a benefit. Gratitude is a positive moral affect. In other words, it is a pleasant feeling arising from the good action another has done to you, from judging that it has been good for you. Almost everyone has experienced gratitude and regards it favorably, but some people are more grateful than others. A more grateful individual will experience gratitude toward more people, for more events, more deeply, and for a longer period of time. Multiple studies have shown that gratitude can inspire people to "pay it forward," responding to the gift of a good deed by giving another person the gift of a good deed, in addition to another gift returned to the original benefactor. Thus, a grateful person is sensitive to gifts and goodness in the world. He sees good things around him and it lifts him up, moving him to action for others.

Q: What effect can the virtue of gratitude have on our mental health? What does the lack of gratitude do to our psychology?

Gudan: Studies have shown that most people upon making an expression of gratitude found that it contributed to feeling "extremely happy" or "somewhat happy." A growing number of studies have linked gratitude with higher general feelings of happiness and have found that more grateful persons are more satisfied with life. This includes people who may not necessarily feel grateful, but attempt to arrive at the virtue by mental exercises such as thinking about the gifts that they received. Thus, whenever you feel grateful you are happier, and when you practice gratitude you are happier.

Q: In particular, how can the virtue of gratitude affect the life of someone who struggles with depression?

Gudan: Depression is a complicated thing, an inter-related web of multiple causes and consequences involving genetics, brain chemistry, attitudes, behaviors, and interpersonal relationships. It is difficult for psychologists to distinguish what is the cause and what is the consequence of the various aspects of depression. However, one way of confronting depression is seeing the power that negative attitudes have upon our experience of the world and our relationships, affecting our behaviors and ultimately even our brain chemistry. Depressed persons generally have a negative attitude and are frustrated with all the bad things that are happening to them. They feel like "they just can't get a break, that they just can't get what they want." This negative attitude becomes a filter that focuses and amplifies all the bad things that happen. For some reason, it is far easier for us to remember bad things that have happened to us rather than good things. Depressed persons think that "they are getting a raw deal from life and just don't have the ability to get what they want." Gratitude, on the other hand, is the uplifting feeling resulting from the recognition that another person has done something good for us. Instead of a negative self-focus, gratitude has a positive other-focus. Furthermore, gratitude naturally pushes us to act. Depressed persons have difficulty focusing and mustering the energy to do much of anything.Gratitude helps us to be altruistic, which has multiple positive effects.

Q: Sometimes, a person who is depressed has trouble taking that "first step" toward getting better. What is the "first step" toward the virtue of gratitude?

Gudan: Yes, depression can be like a dark cloud that darkens thought and makes all movements sluggish. Little sparks of gratitude seem insufficient to start a blaze of positive activity in this damp environment. However, I believe gratitude acts in a positive spiral. The depressed person can start by simply attempting to recognize gifts from others in order to begin to feel more grateful. The "fake it 'till you make it" can be very effective. But you asked me about the first step. Gratitude is not a "Pollyanna-ish" rose-colored glass that makes all of our problems go away. The depressed person should not expect that feeling grateful will, overnight, turn around his negative attitudes or habits that his depression has been pushing him into for weeks.First, I would tell someone to take realistic stock of where he is.Yes, life is not as good as you would like. Yes, there are things you don't like about it. But this attitude simply leaves you less motivated and less happy. Would you like to try a different way to look at things? Then, I would propose gratitude exercises, to build the virtue of gratitude by repeated practice. Again, although gratitude will not solve all your problems, it does help you see the problems in perspective as well as hidden resources and benefits. Since the depressed person usually has weak gratitude muscles, it will take some building up to feel gratitude more easily, more often, and more intensely. But it is definitely something we can get better at and will make us happier if we do. Sonja Lyubomirsky, a well-respected researcher on happiness, has theorized that while external circumstances and genetics account for a good portion of our happiness, 40% of our happiness is totally within our control. A first exercise that I would recommend is keeping a gratitude journal every day for a week, and then once a week after that. Simply list three things you are grateful for, and the person responsible. Allow yourself to feel positively because of these little benefits, which could be as small as a chance encounter with an old friend, the beauty of a sunset, or dinner made for you. Another exercise that is particularly powerful is a gratitude visit. Reflect upon someone in your past who has significantly helped you, such as a teacher, whom you have never really explicitly thanked. Then, write that person a letter. For maximum benefit, deliver the letter in person.

Q: Do you think that the virtues are a cure for depression, or any other mental illness?

Gudan: I think that gratitude builds up the resources that help a person out of depression. It should not be seen as a cure for everyone, but it is helpful for anyone. Gratitude improves a person's relationships with the human community and even with God so she can receive strength from others, including another person as well as the divine Person. Furthermore, I believe it improves the person's resiliency so that circumstances that would otherwise start a depression do not overcome him. Tough times will come and the person will not always be euphoric, but gratitude is a personal characteristic that anyone can work on to feel better and be better. A grateful person is more psychologically healthy. Building virtues like gratitude is the psychological equivalent to eating healthier and getting more exercise; character strengths make us psychologically stronger and help us to flourish.

Q: What advice would you give to someone who is feeling "down" in a particular way around the holidays?

Gudan: Sometimes, a person might think she is obliged to feel thankful. Thanksgiving day, for example, may make people feel guilty for not being particularly grateful. The holidays, when everyone seems to be so very happy, may augment the negative focus and push the person to think that he is somehow defective for not being more grateful or happy. While gratitude is a very healthy attitude to increase, I would clarify the emotional from the cognitive components. If you have received a gift but it still does not cheer you up, there is something else going on. You may have other concerns which are preventing you from seeing the gift as good as it is or you may judge that there are strings attached to this gift. Indebtedness, the negative emotion arising from the reception of a gift, is not gratitude. If a person judges that the other gave the gift so that he would be in the benefactor's debt, it is easy to see why that would not cheer up the indebted individual. Sometimes emotions can be so strong as to make it difficult to sort through what is going on in these interpersonal relationships. In these circumstances it sometimes requires the help of a therapist to see relationships as they are. While some people do not give totally altruistically, most people do not give in a completely selfish way, either. It might help to ask: Is there any modicum of generosity that I can look at from this gift I have received? When it is difficult to see any goodness in the action, our faith can help us to see things in a greater perspective. Some saints have been able to feel gratitude toward their persecutors, at times, because the sufferings they endured allowed them to show their love for God. With this perspective then, it can help to consider something like: Is it possible to "reframe" the situation of the person who cut me off in traffic as an opportunity to learn patience? In a more general way, every person that exists is a gift for you. Starting, of course, with you. You did not have to exist, but God chose to give you the gift of life. Any other benefit you may possibly have, including eternal life in heaven, is possible because you have been given existence. Have an attitude of "gift" to see the good things that have been given to you.We have been created to love and be loved. There is a way to consider every person you come into contact with as a gift, an opportunity to love in order to become the person you were made to be. In addition, any love that you have experienced through another person is a gift. Thus, with this attitude, there is always something to be grateful for.

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