Through the Looking-Glass and What I Found There

02 February 2009 @ 01:57 pm

In England and Wales, the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 comes into force this month. Said act is a reaction to the murder by strangulation of Jane Longhurst by Graham Coutts, whom frequented violent necrophilia and strangulation internet porn sites. The act illegalizes extreme pornography, defined as extreme images, still or moving, produced soley or principally sexual arousal, with extreme images defined as "grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character" and "it portrays, in an explicit and realistic way an act which threatens a person's life". While films given official classification by government are exempt, printed documents aren't.

The Coroners and Justice Bill, a complimentary act, intends to ban possession of any image involving sexual activity and children, with "child" criteria being the conveyed impression of child status.

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20 November 2008 @ 06:19 pm

Reference

It's a stab at less science fiction and experimental prose for me. Reusing Blade Runner feels slightly skanky.
( Reference )

Current Plastic: angry

Tired

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18 November 2008 @ 08:47 am

Of Abnormal Behavior Criteria

At least two must be met for a clinical psychologist to diagnose abnormality.

1.Is the behavior unusual, such as experiencing severe panic when faced with a stranger of geing severely depressed in the absence of any stressful life situations?

2. Does the behavior go against social norms?

3. Does the behavior cause the person significant subjective discomfort?

4. Is the behavior maladaptive?

5. Does the behavior cause the person to be dangerous to self or others, as in the case of someone who tries to commit suicide or attacks other people without reason?

At least three reduce my confidence in psychologists.

Coming semi soon: Reference

Current Plastic: stressed

Tired

Current Music: Fire That Burns-Charles Manson

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12 November 2008 @ 01:59 pm

Of Intelligence, Memory, and Handedness Regarding Pedophilia

( Of Intelligence, Memory, and Handedness Regarding Pedophilia )

Current Plastic: angry

Sleepy

Current Music: My Pyramid-Ganstagrass

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31 October 2008 @ 10:20 pm

Of Puppet Strings

It seems the brain encompasses everything that is "humanity", potentially meaning a "person" is simply a function requiring input. The behavioral changes a "person" undergoes during hunger or sickness. However, artificial induction is starting to fruit. Strong electrical fields can stimulated the brain resulting in hallucinations, muscle fire, and other neural problems.

Low intensity ultrasound can be used to stimulate brain circuits and can potentially be used to cure post traumatic stress disorders, traumatic brain injury, alzheimer's, depression, bipolar disorder, epilepsy, and drug addiction. This same stimulation has the potential as input for inducing hallucinations or memories.

Of potentially equal interest, the molecular mechanism for how memory deletion occurs without damaging brain cells has been slightly revealed while studying a protien found only in the brain. In tests, mice induced into having an abundance of said protien lost all memories regarding experiments prior to tweaking.

Excluding a few minor factors regarding potential party attraction, major differences between conservative and liberal brains haven't been found. I wonder if the concept of belief targeted chemical weapons is absurd. Imagine spraying a country, knowing only people who think like you will live. Alternatively, imagine spraying a country, knowing everyone will live, thinking like you and remembering nothing else.

Links: http://www.physorg.com/news144495604.html http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20081022/hl_hsn/scientistserasespecificmemoriesinmice (purposely reposted)

Current Plastic: angry

angry

Current Music: The Good Soldier-NIN

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23 October 2008 @ 06:23 pm

Good Little Boy

I may combine the four into a short story.

( Good Little Boy )

Side note: Memory editing, "animate"/"inanimate" line's blurring.
Links: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20081022/hl_hsn/scientistserasespecificmemoriesinmice http://www.rifters.com/real/articles/Science_Single-SpeciesEcosystem.pdf

Current Plastic: irritated

Sleepy

Current Music: The Great Destroyer-NIN

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07 October 2008 @ 01:24 pm

Of Smart Gels

Information adaptation's about humanity's sole survival quality, requiring large quantities of neurons, each capable of processing input. A 100 billion or so clumped together, forms a system capable of pattern recognition and learning via "parallel" thought. Neurons can be grown outside of the brain on certain materials. If certain charges are applied, neuron growth halts but doesn't damage.

This paste or gel can be spread across multi electrode array where electrodes pick up the cultured neurons' signals. These smart gels can learn to drive simple robots and pilot flight simulations in huricane mimiking conditions. To my knowledge, only rat brain cells have been used in these processes.

Current tests are being done to teach smart gels to control power grids by recognizing certain signals and reacting accordingly. Should tests prove positive, Mexico, Brazil, China, Nigeria, Singapore and South Africa intend experimental implementation. They hope BIANNS or biologically inspired artificial neural networks can eventually be used to control traffic-control systems and global financial networks. Smart gels or "head cheese" were implemented in Watt's Rifter's trilogy with whimsical results.

Laugh, but don't cry to me when intelligent gun packing chimps are at the front, smart gel driven killbots at the side, and T. Gondii's at the back door. I'll have already taped guns to my hands and infected myself.

Sidenote: Spider mecha (http://www.stupidvideos.com/video/animals/Giant_Spiders/#200879)

Links:
http://www.physorg.com/news142181929.html, http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/rise_of_the_bio_brained_robots

Current Plastic:

pessimistic

Current Music: Showin Me Love- Ganstagrass

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22 September 2008 @ 01:23 pm

Albatross from My Father

( Albatross from My Father )

Current Plastic: angry

angry

Current Music: Riot-Wyclef Jean/Serge Tankian

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09 September 2008 @ 09:10 am

Of Water Bears

Tardigrada, known as water bears are a common macroscopic inveretabrate. When in hibernation, it can survive temperature ranges between 300 and -240 degrees fahrenheit and pressures from deep sea to vacuums. During this point its metabolism drops to 1/10,000 of active rate. The water bear's enviromental range makes it one of the hardiest species on the planet.
Last September, a Tardigrada population was brought aboard the Foton M-3 satellite. While in hibernation, their container was purposefully fully exposed to the vacuum of space and cosmic/solar radiation. Most died. Most of the remaining were unable to wake. Once awake, said survivors were able to repair their damaged DNA. The control group on earth exposed only to cosmic radiation fully recovered and reproduced at rates close to unexposed groups. While water bears cannot survive actively in either situation, should the fully exposed group mate, the next generation should be interesting.

Side Note: Synthetic biology, morality pills, *real* pokemon (only $900million)
Link: http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/invertebrate-as.html
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/biologists-on-t.html?npu=1&mbid=yhp
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/gandhi-pills-ps.html
http://www.tokyomango.com/tokyo_mango/2008/09/real-live-pokem.html

Current Plastic:

impressed

Current Music: Chop Suey- Richard Cheese

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14 August 2008 @ 09:03 am

Of Aggression

     Aggression is used to gain control of scarce or likely to become scarce necessities. Since aggression is a density dependant factor (causing population density decrease, deathrate increase, and birthrate decrease), and many species already have density dependent factors in place such as disease and predators, many species are prevented from large scale aggression. Statistically, humans aren't excessively aggressive compared to hyenas, lions, ants, and langur monkeys.
     Innateness measures a trait's probable developement in all enviroments. Because species aggression is among a complex scale of possible behavioral spectra and not a widespread unitary instinct, satisfactory general characterizations aren't found, producing subjective personified causations like the classical discharge model (Frued/Lorenz).
     If true, war substitutes such as combative sports and aggressive tattooing would decrease during war with social blood lust satisfied. However, Richard G. Sipe's culture pattern model of violent aggression as realization of potential enhanced by learning connects war substitute increase with evolutionary theory as a structured predictable pattern of interaction between genes and enviroment; causes being biological predisposition, requirement of present enviroment, and accidental details contributing to semi auto-catalytic cultural drift. Evolution wise, the biological predisposition for "us v.s. them" personality makes sense especially prior to "rational" thought driven cultural processes. Economically defensible territoriality explains alot, but it's nothing compared to a Yonomamo warrior's quote.

" We are tired of fighting. We don't want to kill anymore. But others are treacherous and cannot be trusted"

Side Note: Rat brain robots can drive robots and girls on the pill pick crappy guys http://www.livescience.com/culture/080812-contraceptive-smell.html

http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/rise_of_the_bio_brained_robots

COMING SOON: Good Little Boy

Current Plastic: cranky

paranoid

Current Music: Carolina Drama- The Racontuers

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