Here is a list of things that can also power the Texas Instruments micro controller: Aardvarks, ants, apples, Avril Lavine, Breadfruit, baguettes, Brussel sprouts, Bark, Batteries, Coneys, Carpet, Cats, Crumbs, Crap, Dams (beaver or man-made), Droids, Energy, Flies, Fruit (any kind), Fire, F-words, Fusion reactors, Grenades, Gum, Guilt imposed on you by your ex, Hedgehogs, hemroids, hockey players, Ion engines, Jack in the box food, kinetic energy, killer bees, linen, locomotives, morose code, melons, Montgomery Burns, name calling, nebula, noogies, and anything you can find in a grocery store or McDonald's.

The following dissertation on the eye is lifted from Chapter VI, Volume 2 of The Quest for Right, a 7-book series on origins based on physical science:

Difficulties of the Theory. Although the eye is chosen as the category to be entertained, the investigation could have chosen any one of a hundred other theories promoted in On the Origin of Species. The relative point is that, if the eye had evolved through fine graduations or modifications, the proof must lie with numerous intermediate fossilized specimens which could be laid down in a gradual continuum so as to show the development of the eye from its first appearance as a tiny break or opening in the bones of the skull to the development of a full blown socket or orbit. Nothing else will suffice, as the fossil record is all inclusive.

Darwin penned: “LONG before having arrived at this part of my work, a crowd of difficulties will have occurred to the reader. Some of them are so grave that to this day I can never reflect on them without being staggered; but, to the best of my judgment, the greater number are only apparent, and those that are real are not, I think, fatal to my theory.” In other words, if one is to believe in evolution, he/she has to disregard the facts; specifically, the indisputable assertion that all species are well defined in the fossil record.

Darwin continued: “These difficulties and objections may be classed under the following heads [that is, distinct topics or categories]: …why, if species have descended from other species by insensibly fine gradations, do we not everywhere see innumerable transitional forms [in the fossil record]? Why is not all nature in confusion instead of the species being, as we see them, well defined? …In looking for the gradations by which an organ in any species has been perfected [for example, the eye], we ought to look exclusively to its lineal ancestors [found only in the fossil record]; but this is scarcely ever possible, and we are forced in each case to look to species of the same group, that is to the collateral [parallel] descendants from the same original parent-form, in order to see what gradations are possible, and for the chance of some gradations having been transmitted from the earlier stages of descent, in an unaltered or little altered condition.”

Unable to find a transitional species; for instance, discovering a tiny break in the skull of any one of the several thousand species, which transitioned through minute variations to a full blown socket for the eye, Darwin looked to parallel descendents: a horse descending from a tapir, etc.

By Darwin’s own admission, geologists had not been unable to uncover a transitional species: “Amongst existing Vertebrata, we find but a small amount of gradation in the structure of the eye, and from fossil species we can learn nothing on this head [the subject of the evolution of the eye]. In this great class we should probably have to descend far beneath the lowest known fossiliferous [containing fossils] stratum to discover the earlier stages, by which the eye has been perfected…

He [the reader] who will go thus far, if he find on finishing this treatise that large bodies of facts, otherwise inexplicable, can be explained by the theory of descent, ought not to hesitate to go further, and to admit that a structure even as perfect as the eye of an eagle might be formed by natural selection, although in this case he does not know any of the transitional grades [as supported by the fossil record]. His reason ought to conquer his imagination [that is, belief in a Creator]; though I have felt the difficulty far too keenly to be surprised at any degree of hesitation in extending the principle of natural selection to such startling lengths.

If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find out no such case...”

It is a fact that Darwin attempted to overcome legitimate objections to his theory by doing a song and dance; that is, an elaborate explanation intended to mislead the reader and throw him/her off the path of the truth. For instance, instead of Darwin elaborating on how the eye could have been perfected while leaving no trace in the fossil record, he immediately began rambling about: the larva of the dragon-fly, the fish Cobites, fish with gills, swimbladder in fishes, branchiae and dorsal scales of Annelids, wings and wing-covers of insects, Pedunculated cirripedes, Balanidae or sessile cirripedes, neuter insects, rays, electric organs in fish, tail of the giraffe, the tail as the organ of locomotion in most aquatic animals, green woodpeckers, trailing bamboo, naked head on the skin of a vulture, savages, webbed feet of the upland goose, seal, sting of the bee, etc. The introduction of trivia, thrown up to block a difficult question, was a familiar song and dance routine throughout The Origin.

Darwin depended on the fact that, after taking two dozen or so detours of unrelated, yet, interesting tidbits of information the reader will have forgotten the head or category at hand. Said tidbits were also introduced in an attempt to prove that his wisdom could be trusted even above that of the Creator. And lest you have forgotten the head category at hand, it is mainly this: numerous intermediate fossil specimens must be discovered and laid down in a gradual continuum so as to show the development of the eye from its first appearance as a tiny break or opening in the bones of the skull to the development of a full blown socket or orbit. Anything less would be unacceptable.

In Chapter X: On The Geological Succession of Organic Beings, Darwin attempted to justify the lack of “numberless transitional links” found in the “same great formation.” The naturalist lamented that the lack of missing links to prove his theory was owing to an “extremely imperfect” fossil record:

1. that only a small portion of the globe has been geologically explored with care;
2. that only certain classes of organic beings have been largely preserved in a fossil state;
3. that the number both of specimens and of species, preserved in our museums, is absolutely as nothing compared with the incalculable number of generations which must have passed away even during a single formation.”

Not desiring to be outmaneuvered by the Creator, Darwin attempted to interplay other theories to shore up his theory of evolution. For example, he called upon the important part that migration must have played as the various species escaped supposedly "oscillating continents" which arose from the depths of the sea only to sink again. In Darwin’s mind, vast continents bobbed up in down in the oceans, sinking and, thus, causing mass migrations and covering any transitional links with sediment. The drowned continents then bobbed back to the top to start the process all over again. In a final attempt at one-upmanship, Darwin supposed that the damaging missing links, which must number in the billions, may "lie buried under the ocean." Why else could they not be found in the fossil record to support his theory?

An arrogant Darwin showed his true colors when he suggested that the reader ought to strive to cast down a belief in a Creator and accept his theory even if there was no proof. Darwin had done just that; he had cast God and religion from his mind, stating that “it was as difficult to cast down as "for a monkey to throw off its instinctive fear and hatred of a snake."

In summary, Darwin conceded that the fossil record of the time, the ultimate guide by which the theory of protracted graduation was to be judged, was adverse to his concept, but not without just cause: it was simply the result of an "imperfect," or incomplete, record. Darwin used the term “imperfect” as a crutch over a dozen times—one grows weary of reading it. Darwin's only hope of vindication was that one day intermediate links would be discovered.

Note: Every fossilized skull that has ever been unearthed possessed sockets for the eyes; there is no exception. Any trip to a museum proves the point.

EVE Online is about the only game I consistently play right now.

Some older favorites:

Neverwinter Nights and Expansion packs (One of the best game experiences ever especially Hordes of Underdark, NWN 2 was disappointing)

Sacred (This was like Diablo set in a larger open world, I actually finished this game 3 times)

Counter-Strike 1.3 (after that and Source it wasn't the same at all - The AK47 was so awesome in this version)

Quake 1, 2, 3. - Bots, Multiplayer and gibs. Nuff said.

Unreal Tournament (The original is still the best, UT3 was a huge consoley disappointment)

Freelancer 1 & 2 (Anyone remember pulling GTVA space patrols in a nebula? It was my own personal BSG)

Transport Tycoon Deluxe (Laying roads, train tracks, air and sea transport routes, was never so much fun, Locomotion was a huge disappointment)

Jagged Alliance 1 & 2 (Squad control mercs! Ivan Dolvich was hilarious)

Ivan Dolvich: You do not speak Russian? Ah, I miss days when Russia was at war with everybody.
Ivan Dolvich: [Speaking Russian; after killing an enemy in a rather brutal way] And that's why my nephew is an alcoholic.
Ivan Dolvich: [Speaking Russian; upon finding a weapon he likes] If I keep quiet, I will be able to keep it for myself!

Soldner (Like a JA clone set in a pulpish WW2 setting)

UFO: Alien Unknown (Oh my god this game was so scary, especially when you started getting Psiattacks from the aliens, still unrivaled today, even though countless companies tried direct copies, I didn't really like X-Com because of the underwater setting)

Heroes of Might & Magic 3 (I loved the 2D graphics, the newer 3D one isn't as magical nor did it have near the amount of units/artifacts/heroes as HMM3)

Rise of Nations (This was really one of the best and most enjoyable RTS games I ever played)

Total Annihilation (Visceral, primal RTS combat with robots, Supreme Commander lost that magic touch)

Morrowind (Oblivion was good but not as good as Morrowind which had more of an open ended feel, and not as consoley based as Oblivion)

I would say my favorite genre is FPS, though so far all am looking forward to is Fallout 3 and Jagged Alliance 3/3D/4 (if it ever makes it), I was looking forward to a shooter that was said to cover all the weapons from the 20th to 21st centuries following a familial history but I forgot the name, it had a really cool trailer too.

Nah. No lab coat. I'm book-ridden. I'm trying to pull a lecture out of my ... er thin air.. right now...It's the end of the quarter and my motivation is low.



In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Oh...I see. Well, do you get to wear one of those cool lab coats, or is it only German automotive engineers who wear those?

In reply to this comment by oxdottir:
Yeah, I am an engineer, but not the kind with the cool hat.


In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Engineering sounds cool. Are you an engineer? Sweet! I always wanted to drive one of those big locomotives.

In reply to this comment by oxdottir:
I was probably going to go for something boring like Engineering. Yeah. Just 18 more. But at this rate, I'm going to have to beg every one...


In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Whoa, you're almost diamond! Have any channel ideas in mind? Don't even bother trying for a 2 Girls 1 Cup channel. Dag already shot that one down. Damn him.

Yeah, I am an engineer, but not the kind with the cool hat.


In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Engineering sounds cool. Are you an engineer? Sweet! I always wanted to drive one of those big locomotives.

In reply to this comment by oxdottir:
I was probably going to go for something boring like Engineering. Yeah. Just 18 more. But at this rate, I'm going to have to beg every one...


In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Whoa, you're almost diamond! Have any channel ideas in mind? Don't even bother trying for a 2 Girls 1 Cup channel. Dag already shot that one down. Damn him.

I can't see an advantage from having a foot like ours, compared to monkey-feet-hands. Yet somehow, small mutations such as straighter feet took place, and selective breeding led to our feet the way they are.

Well I wrote an extensive paper on "the selective pressures leading to bipedalism in the genus Homo", and trust me, there area lot of reasons why our hands and feet are more differentiated than other primates.

For the bulk of its evolution, humanity has been a fairly nomadic, hunter-gatherer race. Mainly, you can't walk upright very well or have a smoothly operating human knee if you also have an opposable big toe. Morphology facilitating bipedal locomotion conferred a number of survival and sexual selection advantages to a primitive human. Mainly:

1. Bipedal locomotion is more energy efficient than any other locomotor pattern... humans have better endurance for long voyages by foot than any other species, including horses, large cats, etc..
2. Walking upright exposes less skin surface area to UV rays
3. Walking upright allows the focussed use of the hands to carry things, protect young, gather food, etc..
4. Walking upright allows a greater field of vision and viewing distance, which is better for hunting as well as defending the tribe.

And so on...

so is the ideal way to move here, a quadraped with springy planks in the middle? many insects use this kind of locomotion, particularly treehoppers. i think there might be some vertebrates too, maybe a lizard? can't remember

i love the blind watchmaker syndrome - it appears that what originally looked like the 4 limbs turned out not to be the means of locomotion at all.

Impressive, but not unstoppable.

I don't think those dogs were built for the midwest. If the snow is deep enough, they bascally have the same locomotion as a penguin.

I was part of the NGO movement in Uni and after working to promote the MDGs I have come to the conclusion that it is nothing but empty feel good rhetoric put together by nations that really couldn't care less whether or not the actual goals will be met.

All steam and no locomotion.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'train, bangkook, Thailand' to 'train, bangkok, Thailand, locomotive, market, village, poor, real estate, transform' - edited by lucky760

The train with video camera on board ran the red signal on account of the signal going back to red as the train approached it... as the engineer was not expecting the signal to go back in front of his train it takes time to react and.. (as we see...) for the train to stop..

The reason signal was at red was because the other train (the train this train collides with) ran a red signal and because of this that will automatically put the first signal we see back to red to prevent an accident... unfortunately the first train did not stop in time and appears to clip the leading locomotive of the second stationary train...

(it's very difficult to stop a train.. when the engineer has done all he can.. he's just along for the ride... having no control of the train.. he's basically deciding when is the best time jump clear... hoping that he does not impale himself on any lineside equipment or wrap himself round a signal post..)

the train with the video camera on board had the right of way.. hence the position of the switch and the signal before the switch... the second train caused the accident...

I hope this clears up any misunderstanding...

Cheers
David

I worked as an intern at General Electric's Transportation division. I got to do some destructive testing of locomotives - shorting out high-power circuits, causing big booms and lots of smoke. And several times it looked like we would hit some idiot in a car trying to cross the tracks at the last minute. But I never got to run two locomotives into each other head on!

It's great how you can hear the jet turbine wind down. All that power and no way to put in on the tracks.

Can't they just back the thing up using one of the read locomotives?