Show Notes for TWS085: Information is just Self-Important Data

On the show this week:

• Information Wants To Be Free To Be Forgotten
• Human Mind FTW!
• Self-Important Data (EXTRAS)

This week’s Challenge Question:
What childhood dream invention came true — or you think will come true? Or, what dream invention of today’s kids will come true?
Leave your answer in the comments, send your email to weirdshow[[at]]gmail.com, record your message via the MobaTalk client on the right hand side of Encaffeinated!, leave an answer on Facebook or call in at 206-203-2292.

Full links to all stories covered and many more after the jump!

• Theme Song: Caffeine by Grubspoon from The Podsafe Music Network
• Responses
  • Thanks to: OgreKev, Arkle, Bruce..
  • The Bell’s In The Batfry podcast is a 15-20 minute original comedy podcast primarily written and performed by the wonderfully talented John Bell. I was privileged to submit an idea and a bit of audio for his recent USO show. Check it out!
  • Bruce dropped Ray Kurzweil’s name, so I figured I’d at least include a link.
  • And Bruce also pointed to this link in response to last week’s question: The Future of Business is Social
• Promo!
  • The promo played this week was to the excellent, thought-provoking, listener interactive show, International Detective Dragons From Outer Space.
• Information Wants To Be Free To Be Forgotten
  • The UK MOD releases UFO files. Most people would rather see X-Files 2. – BBC: Files released on UFO sightings
  • Eight files of 200 released, and 200 articles were born. So.. What are we missing? What are we ignoring? – The UK Telegraph: British Government releases UFO files
  • Nick Pope, former sitter at the MOD’s UFO desk says we should dig into the files.. Hmm.. maybe there’s something there.. – The UK Times: If there’s something up there, we want to know
  • EXTRA: It’s like the protein-folding or SETI@HOME screensavers, only in game form. We’ll do anything for a game. This might be a great way to harness otherwise not-quite-so-scientific minds, too. – ScienceDaily: Computer Game’s High Score Could Earn The Nobel Prize In Medicine
  • EXTRA: Gamers, spreading more wisdom through their jacked up reaction speeds.. – New Scientist: Gamers teach search engines how to see
  • He speaks for “the Vatican” about as much as I speak for “Canada”.. Still, good to see a softening of the organization’s stance on the inevitably obvious. – BBC: Vatican says aliens could exist
  • Criticism of how the new Vatican person speaking out on the UFO matters isn’t the first — or the most vocal. No, sillies! But he’s the most *recent*! 🙂 – Herald Tribune: Yet another AP scoop
  • It turns out, it’s just as weird on the *inside*.. – BBC: Platypus genetic code unravelled
  • FOLLOWUP: I know what *really* happened: the lizard man just rubbed dog all over the crime scene, but was actually wearing gloves.. (After all, I’m sure that LM watches CSI..) – Yahoo!/AP: DNA tests exonerate ‘Lizard Man’ in van attack
  • If she could just get over herself, she could be the most useful person in the world (at Trivial Pursuit). – The UK Daily Mail: The woman who can’t forget ANYTHING: Widow has ability – and curse – to perfectly remember every single day of her life
  • EXTRA: It’s the extra service fees that kill you.. Besides, *no one* gets Hubble-grams these days! – The Register: SMS costs more than using Hubble Space Telescope
  • EXTRA: Seems kind of tragic that they see so much and see so little.. But then again: shrimp! Yum… – Yahoo!/Reuters: Shrimp can see beyond the rainbow
  • EXTRA: Listening to TWS can also cause psychedelic reactions. It’s all in how your mind associates things. – BBC: Music ‘can enhance wine taste’
  • EXTRA: I’m sure his parents are totally insane by now, too. – Local6 Florida: 3-Year-Old Has Never Fallen Asleep
  • EXTRA: The Very Rough Guide treatment for the Brits.. – Yahoo!/Reuters: “Self-important and irritating”
  • EXTRA: OMG! ROFLMAO, LOLCOPTER – New Scientist: Instant messaging ‘a linguistic renaissance’ for teens
  • EXTRA: A true sign of the times. And the sign says “Exit”. – Ananova: Driver belts in beer, not boy
• News, From The Future! #31: “Plunged Into Chaos!”
• Human Mind FTW!
  • 50 years ago, the Russian said “Boo!” and we scurried to our labs to create wonderful technology. Why are we doing that now? – New Scientist: Fifty years of DARPA: A surprising history
  • In 50 years of research, you get a few things right.. – New Scientist: Fifty years of DARPA: Hits, misses and ones to watch
  • In 50 years of research, you get a lot of things wrong, too.. Although I think they should have been let to fail on their own; never suggest that something is patently ridiculous — it might end up being ridiculously patentable instead! – New Scientist: Fifty years of DARPA: Hits, misses and ones to watch, part II
  • Rock on, Fusion Man! My hero — a real-life Iron Man! – Fox/AP: Swiss ‘Fusion Man’ Flies Over the Alps With Jet-Propelled Wings
  • But wait.. Did someone predate Fusion Man? Is this the Golden Age version of his modern-day comic book? – Cryptomundo: 1948 “Birdmen” Cases Revisited
  • This is clearly one of the signs of our apocalypse.. Or our doom. – New Scientist: Robot that gives birth helps medics learn
  • Oh, just go bald already! – New Scientist: Surgical robot gives hair transplants a natural look
  • Alright, this might be DARPA’s model (“freedom to fail”) just a little too broadly applied.. – Ananova: £1m to see if a robot can stir soup
  • For that much money they could have had a squad of Flying People! – Ananova: £1m to save non-existent newts
  • Other than the fact that’s a bra, it’s not really that interesting — and it’s not like it’s really “solar-powered”, either. – Ananova: Solar-powered bra
  • The way to get your butt in gear is to get your butt in gear. Kinky. – Ananova: Cheeky way to boost ass-ets
  • There’s something cannibalistic about this — should we be somehow morally quandrous? – New Scientist: ‘Self-digesting’ biofuel plants could ease food crisis
  • EXTRA: By now, it should either have crashed or done a spectacular (and unwitnessed) space ballet plummet. – New Scientist: Mars probe set for nail-biting touchdown
  • EXTRA: We’ve never seen this material before — and we may never see it. (Heh.) – New Scientist: New material may be step towards 3D invisibility cloak
  • EXTRA: I say we study the heck out of it, for one day it may become necessary to change ourselves to make the evolutionary leap. – Yahoo!/AP: Genetically modified human embryo stirs criticism
  • EXTRA: For astroturfing their classroom? I think these kids deserve a medal.. – Ananova: Sixth formers turfed out
• Self-Important Data (EXTRAS)
  • EXTRA: Other animals are often more in touch with their surroundings that humans are, so why is it so incredible that when masses of animals move, it might be a bad sign? – The Observers/France24: Did toads predict the earthquake?
  • EXTRA: Eventually, schoolkids won’t have to remember so much.. But seriously, who decided that “biodiversity” is actually absolutely a good thing? – New Scientist: Global biodiversity slumps 27% in 35 years
  • EXTRA: Turns out they eat because they are afraid of being eaten. Kinda like the way big business works, really.. – BBC: Cannibal theory for locust swarms
  • EXTRA: Sadly, Hex died — not from the operation, but from the *tests*. Oops. – Local10: Kitten Born With Six Legs Dies
  • EXTRA: Whacha gonna do, when these big pythons roll over you!?! Yeah, Brother!! – Fox: Giant Pythons Could Spread Quickly Across South
  • EXTRA: Somewhere along the line, people forgot that wild animals are often dangerous.. *sigh* We live too-sheltered lives.. – Fox/AP: Scientists Investigate Recent Coyote Attacks on Children in California
  • EXTRA: It’s enough to put you off grapes… – BBC: Tarantula found in store grapes
  • EXTRA: It’s enough to put you off mail… – The Times Leader/AP: Giant beetles seized at Pennsylvania post office
  • EXTRA: It’s enough to put you off geckos… – Nortern Territories News: Cook finds gecko in chook egg
  • EXTRA: Big cow. BIG cow! *Quite* the opposite of a cowlet. Cowzilla? Cow Kong? Mmmm… Big Cow == Big Steak! Here, Bessy.. – BBC: Bullock could be record breaker
  • EXTRA: How grass controls the rodent population… – New Scientist: Grass’s secret weapon is a bellyache for rodents
  • EXTRA: Apparently, gravity is as easy to defy vertically as it is horizontally. Funny, doesn’t feel like it to me.. – New Scientist: Climbing is a walk in the park for small primates
  • EXTRA: This is an ex-reference. Bereft of imagination, they attach to brilliance. – Ananova: This parrot is deceased
  • EXTRA: Not for the weak of bladder. Or those hungry for fish. Or restaurants that hunt fish. (Is this some sort of power trip thing?) – Ananova: Row over fish in urinal
  • EXTRA: That sounds like something out of a movie! – The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin: Crystal skull on loan to Claremont shop stolen
  • EXTRA: The Crystal Skulls have always fascinated me. Yes, they are real. No, they are not entirely explained. – Philly.com/AP: Real-life skull worship inspires new ‘Indy’ film
  • EXTRA: Maybe they were just glad she stopped complaining.. And eating.. – Fox News/AP: Kids, Mom Lived With 90-Year-Old’s Corpse for Weeks in Wisconsin
  • EXTRA: The announcer said, “Now, don’t go away, we’ll be right back!” and they interrupted that show with a special bulletin. They never came back, but she never left. – Ananova: Dead woman’s 42 years in front of TV
  • EXTRA: Burying your ashes is like polishing an apple your going to peel. – Yahoo!/AP: Artificial reef near Miami is cemetery, diving attraction
  • EXTRA: Big Brother ruins it for the rest of us. And not just the TV show either.. – New Scientist: Older brothers mean smaller siblings
  • EXTRA: Yes and no; blaming only the fat is like blaming the lake for the oceon’s problems.. – New Scientist: Fat is an environmental issue
  • EXTRA: Biker priest creates biker hearse. This was once shocking or movie-worthy; now it just seems “appropriate”. My, how I’ve gotten jaded. – Ananova: The last ride
  • EXTRA: What a selfish, horrible baby machine! She’s single-handedly bringing about the apocalypse! – Ananova: Mum set for 18th baby
  • EXTRA: Ironically enough, I believe you can both gain resistance and lose resistance to bee stings from prolonged exposure. – Ananova: That’ll bee the day
  • EXTRA: One isn’t awakened by ones own sounds, usually.. Hmm.. – BBC: Boy sleeps on as lightning hits
  • EXTRA: Oh, so it’s not just a fancy new parking scheme? – Ananova: Storm blows car onto roof
  • EXTRA: Now I feel like a really *bad* bowler.. Sheesh! – KCCI: Blind Bowler Scores Perfect Game
  • EXTRA: *handwave* “I’m not the drunk you’re looking for!” – BBC: Drunk ‘Darth Vader’ spared jail
  • EXTRA: After the test, the wedding might have just seemed a little less stressful. The wedding has better homework, however. – Ananova: Bride sits exam in wedding dress
  • EXTRA: He would never have been able to hide that in prison… – The Register: NZ bank robber stashes loot where the sun don’t shine
  • EXTRA: I don’t know whether to salute or smirk.. – Yahoo!/AP: Texas teens tell police they converted skull into bong
  • EXTRA: Note to self: when stealing grapes, don’t rent taxis. – Ananova: Grape thieves thwarted
  • EXTRA: As if *real* dentists weren’t scary enough.. – Ananova: Bogus dentist used DIY tools
  • EXTRA: It’s like a stereotypical redneck versus a pencilneck fight.. – Ananova: Man cuts car in half to thwart clampers
  • EXTRA: Maybe the “rocks” were actually rock-like creatures, gremlins of Aussie stone.. – The Daily Telegraph/The Sunday Telegraph: ‘Sorry’ rocks returned to Uluru
  • EXTRA: Its surveillance got me under pressure.. – New Scientist: Adapted aircon can track movement in the home
  • EXTRA: It was actually a pixellated jaggie problem well known to graphics programmers. – Ananova: Zigzagged path leads blind astray
  • EXTRA: Star Wars: The Wedding. Don’t let Lucas know, or he’ll put it in his next movie. – Ananova: Out of this world wedding
  • EXTRA: Go back in time and make the BBC pay them royalties for this.. – Ananova: Ban for Dr Who knit
  • EXTRA: I’m skeptical if James Randi is even a skeptic. He really just looks like a performer, a glory-hound no better than the charlatans he ridicules.. – PR.com/Skeptiko Podcast: Skeptic, James Randi Breaks-Off Negotiations on DogsThatKnow Experiment
  • EXTRA: Hey! The bible is not childish! There’s blood and murder and vengeance ‘n’ stuff in there! In fact, NEVER LET YOUR CHILDREN READ IT, because as all (foolish) conservatives out there know, simpe exposure to such things DRIVES YOU INSANE. – MSNBC/AP: Einstein letter calls Bible “pretty childish”

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