Biorock till the break of dawn!

Prof. Wolf Hilbertz had a dream. That dream was to save coral reefs from the ravages of pollution and industrial development. Working with his colleague, marine biologist Dr. Thomas J. Goreau, they struggled to find a means to assist with the regrowth of endangered reefs. Biorock was the fruit of these efforts.

Biorock is really just argonite. Argonite is a polymorph of calcite (calcium carbonate). Calcite is an essential ingredient in cement and mortar. We use mine it as limestone and use it across the global. Due to the incredible strength of Biorock compared to structural concrete, as a building material it could potentially shift our approach to building construction on a global scale. Additionally, the means by producing Biorock uses a high volume of CO2. Approximately 1kg of Biorock uses up to 6 tonnes of CO2. Needless to say, this innovation presents itself as a an exciting and worthwhile venture.

For more information on this incredible discovery check out http://www.globalcoral.org/.

- JM

A Quantum Leap In Quantum Computing

Good news to all those who dream of the possibilities tomorrow's computers may hold! A few good physicists have managed to create a nano-scale light emitter which could possibly lead to new photonic components. While still quite some distance from application, this is a groundbreaking development. For more details, check this article from Physorg.com.

If that wasn't enough, these guys also managed to increase the efficiency of their calculation methods dramatically. The result, needless to say, is a win situation for their continued research and future development. It really is exciting to witness the creation of a technology with equal or greater potential than the development of electronics. I only hope that we are able to see it applied in a way that will make the world a better place. There is much power in technology, and it is our responsibility to wield it properly.

(Canada) Internet surveillance act aims to protect children, critics question privacy ethics

Steven Harper is likely still recoiling from the barrage of criticism his 'Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act'. According to CBC News, "Section 17 of the 'Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act' outlines 'exceptional circumstances' under which 'any police officer' can ask an ISP to turn over personal client information."

Needless to say this is a very scary reality we are being faced with. The fact that this is being proposed initially as a means to combat internet pedophiles clearly shows that Mr. Harper is trying to sell this to the public by packaging it as something in our better interests. Clearly we need to safeguard children from abuse in any form, however this proposed act is not the way.

If the government is willing to work alongside the public and internet service providers, perhaps new innovative methods may be developed to achieve a solution that is in the best interest of the law-abiding public. Until that happens I am officially against government internet spying. If you feel the same way, please take a moment to sign this online petition and let your voice be part of the collective!

- JM

How to get angry

Today I realized that a surefire way to raise my temper in record time is by reading some of the comments people leave on Youtube. You won't find them on every video, but should the video be related to any sort of controversial topic, rest assured you will find the comment section thick with ignorance and blatant antagonism.

Some of you may think that this sort of behavior is trivial. It is just harmless internet trolling is it not? I would like you to consider the following. Imagine an extremist with a bias towards an issue that is based on ignorance and lack of educated considerations. That person jumps onto the internet and posts his extremist views for all the public to view. Those with polarized views immediately respond with slanderous exclamations rather than constructive debate. The poster responds with equal or exceeding hostility, and the exchange continues until total collapse or eventual admin banning. Does the original poster have a better or worse outlook on issues now? Does the poster leave his anger and frustration with his online writing? No. We just as much from the internet as we put in, and unfortunately it is difficult to control exactly what we extract.

Perhaps many people retain a sort of 'What happens on the internet stays on the internet' perspective. As you all know, the internet provides us with an identity screen of sorts. People tend to become much braver without fear of being identified ('Invisible Man', 1952). Perhaps this is something that we need to reconsider. Whether we like it or not, the internet is becoming a much more complex entity than anyone could have ever predicted. I prefer to view the internet (and all forms of communication) as an extension of ourselves. The internet's greatest strength is it's ability to connect people. If there was a standard approach to identifying those who use it, maybe we would have less outrageous and extremist behavior online.

Even while writing this, a part of my mind is screaming, 'What about privacy?!'. That would be a huge issue also. After all, internet privacy is what stops a lot of the flaming in online forums from spilling out into the streets. It is definitely a complicated issue, but one which I think will need to be addressed in the near future. In the meantime, for my own sake, I think I'll watch less foreign policy and public rights debates and more videos of cute kittens.

- JM

Triple-mode Transistors!

It never ceases to amaze me how fast computing technology progresses. Today I began to ponder the possibility of a multi-mode transistor and sure enough there are already researchers working on this. Researchers at Rice University have been investigating the possibilities of a triple-mode transistor since 2010. This article from www.physorg.com provides more details on the research.

Implementing this type of triple-mode transistor into computer science could result in a quantum leap for memory capacity and storage!

- JM

Hail to the swarm!

Well that settles it. I think I will be building a few of these in the near future! Imagine having a few hundred of these lit up with LED's in the dark!

This demonstration was carried out by a team of researchers at the GRASP Lab with the University of Pennsylvania. The vehicles were developed by KMel Robotics. For more information and videos check out this Youtube channel.

- JM