Today is a waiting day. I still wait for the EarJams to be shipped. And I am waiting to get a call from a friend in Boulder. And I am waiting for the Kansas City Star to print the details from last night’s game. So I started wandering around checking out some science links.
Why amble about for science links? Well, part of my job is to identify and categorize distruptive technology trends that we can exploit. So I’ve started to check out some good science blogs. The first place I checked was The Science Blog. Man, is this site cool. I ran across an entry about solar cells being used as retinal implants. Well, CyclingRoo is legally blind. Indeed, I have retinal problems causing much of my troubles. So this entry really caught my attention. Apparently, the field of retinal implants is exploding. The subjects in this test are now able to see light (where none was visible before). Other subjects report that they can read the LED’s on alarm clocks. OK. This isn’t much for most of you. But it is amazing to me. Maybe sometime in my life, I will be able to see. But if not now, then in the eternal. One day, I will see clearly!
I also ran across another great site: The Scientist. While there is way too much to comment upon, I would direct your attention to the notes on stem cells from the spleen. I am not a doctor. Nor do I play one on T.V. But this is really interesting. Apparently, the spleen has been found to be a possible new source for stem cells that produce the Hox11 protein chain. OK. OK. I am as befuddled by this as the next person. But I am heartened that new sources of stem cells may exist beyond embryonic sources. If such stem cell sources can exist until adulthood, maybe we can stop cheapening life by equating it to a harvestable source of scientific collateral.
Finally, I stumbled across CNet’s discussion of Google Maps. The folks at Google really have it going on! I have been impressed by Yahoo! Maps. But this one really rocks. I love the fact that I can mouse around and move the map itself. Oh, the joy of simple pleasures. I can’t wait to see the integration with all the Google search content. This will be amazing. And if there is a disruptive trend to be identified, it is this kind of thing. All of this information will be free (unelss you hate seeing ad copy). Rand-McNally will be struggling against this. Even MapQuest will struggle since they don’t have the content to relate to the maps. Only Yahoo! may be able to keep up.
Whew. There is the fifteen minute roundup for today. Ciao, for now.
-CyclingRoo-
Oh, I forgot one of the most important things! Dana had another good night at basketball. She scored 17. Unfortunately, I don’t know her other stats as they weren’t in the paper. And since I wasn’t there, I couldn’t speak about assists, rebounds, and/or steals. But I know that they won the game. And this was Coach Millard’s 400th career win. Pretty darned good. So Ron has seen 400 wins. He’s celebrated the 10th anniversary of his state championship win. And he is celebrating his 30th year in coaching. Wow. I pray that this brings him some sunshine during an otherwise challenging year. Keep Ron and his wife in your prayers as she is being treated for cancer. May God have mercy on her body and her spirit!