May 27, 2008

Understanding Aging conference and free symposium

On the BarCamp LA list, Chuck Esterbrook wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> You are cordially invited to participate in the scientific conference
> "Understanding Aging: Biomedical and Bioengineering Approaches," which
> will be held from June 27-29, 2008 at UCLA. The conference includes a
> free symposium for the general public on June 27th focused on public
> policy implications of successfully postponing aging. The scientific
> conference, on June 28th and 29th, will be focused on the science and
> technology of aging and its postponement.
>
> Over 20 illustrious speakers are already confirmed. The provisional
> schedule for the conference and online registration are online.
>
> Full details at:
>
> http://www.mfoundation.org/UABBA/
>
> -Chuck

Thanks Chuck! He has promoted similar forums, such as the Life Extension Workshop here in Los Angeles.

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July 14, 2006

Exo-Electric Armor

shock.jpg
Or more simply known as the "No-Contact Jacket", this defensive apparel is designed to pretect women from assault. Anyone who grabs the jacket gets jolted with 80,000 volts while the wearer is safely insulated.
Unlike weapons and sprays, the jacket can't be grabbed from a woman and used against her. And it's not as lethal as a gun.
When charged, the jacket crackles audibly. A pair of slits in the outer lining shows the electric arcs that course across the entire middle layer. It's an impressive display of the jacket's power.

Whiton said the "really evil crackling sound" makes him flinch involuntarily: The shocks he received testing the jacket conditioned him to associate the sound with pain.

[ Link via Wired ]

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September 28, 2004

Collar Computer Patent


Wearable Computer manufacturer, Xybernaut, has encouraged the kludge that is the patent office by patenting a:

"WEARABLE COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT IS INTEGRATED WITH A GARMENT COLLAR".

While I'm not a lawyer, I do think this is a stupid patent since it discourages innovation, isn't revolutionary, and because of the pile of prior art, like nomadic radios, the gumstix computer, or wifi gps cow collars.

Soundbeam.gif

"Wireless earpiece or eye-glass display. A collarmounted near-field transceiver allows connectionto head-mounted peripherals" [[Hewlett-Packard ]


"Computers will be in your collar, so you can whisper when you talk with them and hear without bothering others." [Invisible Computer]


"The general areas we have found to be the mostunobtrusive for wearable objects are: (a) collar area, (b) rearof the upper arm, (c) forearm, (d)rear, side, and frontribcage, (e) waist and hips, (f) thigh, (g) shin, and (h) top ofthe foot." [[Carnegie Mellon University]


"...an MP3 player and a GSM phone, controlled by a unified remote control. The system uses voice command via a microphone hidden in the collar, and retractable earphones extend out from the shoulders for listening to both music and phone calls." [Enter the Cyborg]


[Link from Bryan Hurley on the Wear Hard Mailing List. Thanks Bryan for the scoop! Upper right photo from igargoyle: persistent aware collar. Lower left photo from Nomadic Radio]

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