Mind Reader

How's it been? Not that you care, but my week has been a pretty good one so far, I've done my stuff on schedule, I've had some fun with fam and friends and in small steps I've start to work out a bit, don't you love it when things happen at your own pace? I honestly like the feeling when you sense you're in control, but then again, I love small surprises from time to time. The other day I was watching TV and there was this show where a dude in a mask unveils the 'magic secrets' for us… don't know if I like it or not, but sure is entertaining.

So, one of the tricks was the mind reader, there're many variations to it, but in the name lies the essence of it, after watching how it was done I was a bit disappointed (not that I believed it was true from the start, but I didn't want to know the person in the audience was actually part of the trick). Guess I didn't want to be told how it was done, though somehow I knew it wasn't 'real'. But being the person I am an obvious question to me was raised… is mind reading possible?

Many people can relate this to telepathy -since by definition you gotta 'read' other's people mind in other to communicate- and dismiss it just as quick. Why do we discard immediately everything that 'seems' impossible to us? Who do we think we are? Do we even have the knowledge to categorize something as can't-do? Well, before you say anything else (bet you haven't said a word, I mean, you're reading) let's have some fun thinking how the our life would be if mind reading was something ordinary.

It'd be like a massive world Instant Messenger! Imagine you're at home alone, no human on sight, but in your mind you have thousands of contacts whose status may be online, offline, away and so on… and that's only the beginning. Then you can access their 'hard drive' (so to speak) and dig in whatever you need (or simply want?), that'd be like facebook with no device… oh no… it'd be so much more than that! We'd be always in touch with our family and friends no matter where they'd be…

Now that we know how different our life would be, I can tell you now how your life will be… sort of the same! It turns out scientist are aware of the possibilities of reading minds and are developing tools to help us achieve this task. Just heard of a fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) brain waves reader of some sort (done by peeps in the MIT) that helps to know, out of a thousand pictures, exactly which one a person is looking. The thing is, the device is HUGE, almost the size of a small room. And also guys from Carnegie Mellon use this technology to achieve simile results. Finally a name that might be familiar to you… Intel (most lightly one of its processors is housed in your computer), they have a Mind Reading Software -don't ask me if is Windows 7, Ubuntu or Snow Leopard compatible- that apparently works.

I know all is very 'beta', but the possibilities are amazing! Maybe our grandsons' grandsons will have a bigger peek of this technology and will have the advantages of mind reading communication… who knows? What I do know is that you're curious about it and can't wait to start reading the minds of your friends (or maybe not just your friends?) You know where to write if you wanna leave a comment, finally here's a last attempt, check out this magic trick on video, hope you like it and hope you keep up with the good week and see you next Monday!

Doctor Toilet

What a weird title for a post! Anyway, I thought by bringing a funny title things could be a bit more interesting… let's see. What's been happening in your life? For me I'm about to celebrate Mom's day with my Grandma and my Mom (whose nickname is actually… Mom). Hope it'd be a nice/calm day, but since public places are crowded I bet it won't be as calm as I expect… what about your plans for Mom's day? Got any?

I actually was thinking what present to give my Mom, I know there're lot's of obvious reasons: shoes, bags, flowers… but I like to move away from the traditional gifts, you know, trying to be original (and, once I'm at it, a good son) and surprise her with a good laugh. Reading different out-of-the-market options I found very funny gadgets, and guess what? I'm gonna share one of those with you all… It might not be the perfect present, but it sure is fun to see in action, I'm talking about a toilet… yes! A mere toilet!

What in Earth could be so special about a single toilet? And remember, we attached the word Doctor before it. I actually can summarize things up a bit if you watched the movie 'The Island' with Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor, I think is the only movie where I've seen something similar. At the very beginning, Ewan wakes up and does what probably 95% of people do when wake up… bathroom time! Nothing to be ashamed, it's how we roll.

Just seconds after doing what people do in the toilet, Ewan is reported his sugar levels, what he ate (whether it was healthy or not) and most important, food recommendations for the day giving his status, all with a nice female voice and all displayed on a screen. One thing I forget to tell you, this movie was supposed to be in the near future (probably they mention the year, but can remember it at the moment). Sweet, right? Well, don't need to wait for the near future, since this happens to be a reality… today!

Well, sort of, like I told you, we haven't seen these toilets go viral, but we might. And again, it might not be the perfect gift for Mom's day… but sure they will find it useful! Just with this device we might know if we have certain deceases, sugar levels, improve our nutrition habits, long story short: to have a healthier and greener life! I don't think it might be the next big thing, but it can provide a great service for a relatively low cost.

There're two fun facts about this toilets, one… the toilet's scientific name: Versatile Interactive Pan (yes! VIP!) VIP is being developed by the bathroom manufacturers Twyford in Cheshire… maybe in 5 years you won't be calling VIP's because they're important… who knows? Two, in the meantime Japan's developing their own version called simply the "Intelligence Toilet" system, its developer company Toto says it can even measure body fat! For 3,500 USD it should greet you every morning and being an iPod altogether if you ask me!

What do you think about this inventions? Think they'd make a good Mom's day present? I sure need to save some money to get a present, maybe not as much as 3,500 (Mom's gifts are priceless) but I'll be hitting the stores with Mom to see what she fancies. In the meantime check out this vid, the first minute is about this fun device… enjoy! So, what's your story? Are you up for the toilet or gonna send her the good ol' fashioned bouquet of fresh flowers? See you all next post and keep on enjoying this day!

Cupidtino… love is in the web

Yeah… as weird as it sounds, love can be found in the least expected place. Yesterday while I was doing my thing on the web -like most of us mortals do- I read a twit about a dates service… not that I don't know of their existence, I mean, is difficult nowadays to go from webpage to webpage and not to find any ads about pretty much anything you can think of, and yes, dates service are on the map big time.

I've never tried one of these myself, is just not the way I roll, but we've all heard all kind of stories related to it, maybe two people started on a chartroom, then they exchanged e-mails and a while later they meet up (cannot stop thinking about that film 'You've got e-mail' with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan). And that's really the inflection point, the moment where they realize if they want to move on to the next level or simply remain as 'someone I met online…'

And there's no magical potion to guarantee success in this endeavor, as most things in life it requires a mixture of things which are both the simplest and most complex of all. Sure it's a good step to start with things in common, but what comes next can't by any means be foreseen but experienced. And that first step is what this new dates web provides… it's name: Cupidtino.

Cupidtino (www.cupidtino.com) is still a private beta -meaning is still not available for general audience- but let me break it down for you, what this website does is to provide an exclusive dates service to Apple product owners… what? Yes… this service is exclusive to people who own any Apple related product, which can be way more than you think. Take the iPod for instance, its market share is a bit over 75%, that means if you find 100 people who own an mp3 player, 75 of them will likely have any iteration of the iPod, so many will qualify for this website.

But fair to say, any Apple product goes, so if you own a Mac, an Apple TV or a brand new iPad you're in the club. And why would you want to be a member of it? Well, apparently Apple fanboys and fangirls have often things in common -according to the creators of Cupidtino-. If you ask me, that might be a bit true, but let's ask this question instead… if you like an iPod (and I honestly dare anyone if you can find a soul who has a really strong argument why he/she wouldn't like one) that doesn't necessarily means you're soul mates… just saying!

I gotta give it to the website name… Cupidtino comes from Cupid (bet you guessed that part) and Cupertino, which happens to be the place where Apple California is located, what name would you pick for this service? I sort of think this name was overthought a lot… what about iLove or iDate? Have you ever had any experience with love online? Maybe a chartroom, facebook, even twitter or good ol' fashion post mail? It'd be awesome to read all your comments you know where! Here I leave you with a really cool interpretation made by FAttY SPiNS  titled Apple Store Love Song... hope you like it!

Cupidtino opens in June, and you can follow it on twitter (@CupidtinoCA). Being an Apple fanboy myself I'm really intrigued how this project will develop. I know I said I don't do dates service websites, and being an Apple service can't be an excuse to blindly jump in… or can it?

Demakes

So… here in Mexico we're great people, always finding the bright side of things (or trying, at least). If not then we build up the bright side from the ground up… living proof of it are the days off we made out of thin air, such as today! That means if you're like the rest of peeps (i.e. not special) then you don't work or study this Monday! If you don, don't worry, you are a special minority. But let's say you have a day off today (if not simply don't go to work today)… what to do? How to spend this 16-18 hours the best possible way?

Well, it turns out I'll be hanging out with some friends from high school playing video games… you can plan whatever your heart desires, read a book, watch a movie, have breakfast in bed, imagination is the limit. Here I come with a great suggestion (if you are ol' school and fancy technology). Bet you have heard of remakes… you know, new versions of old stuff… movies, books, video games, songs, that trend is all around us! Better quality, enhanced graphics, sometimes worse acting… for all tastes. Well, that is not what I want you to know.

Recently I came across an opposite trend… demakes. As you may infer with the remake description and the opposite part, a demake is simply a new version of an old thing, well… made older. Let me put a fair example… let's say you just saw The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and you want to show off how good your blu ray discs look, well, someone can come up and say… Hey! Check this out! My 2010 version of The Lord of the Rings (different footage) recorded on a Betamax film! That is old school!

Demakes may be about anything, but I've looked up a bit and is getting really strong in the video games field, and the best of all, mostly all demaked games are free for download and play in your computer. Ever thought how a Mario game for the Wii would look like if it was played with the power of the almighty NES of the 80's? Or what about your favorite horror games being brought to life in the 8-bit era? If you ask me, I have mixed feelings.

For one, I think it adds something new to the whole scheme, and is like irony, since it may feels like a breath of fresh air playing something a kid born in the 70's would feel so real, but at the same time it looks dated. I gotta be honest, there's something cool about the whole retro stuff: music, clothing, movies, not catch phrases (thank God for that), trends come and go, and then come again, as long as people like it that seems to be the way to go.

What game can I talk to you specifically? I've playing this one called Soundless Mountain, just another way of saying Silent Hill (get it?). Sadly the game isn't finished (maybe has barely 30% of the original levels) but is a great little gem. In order to really find the fun in these is always better to play the original one so you can compare them, is not a requirement but it helps. 

What's your favorite retro trend? Music? Movies? It'd awesome to read your answers, feel free to leave them in the section below… so, what did you do this day off? Give demakes a try and have some 80's fun in this 10's era! See you all in the next post!