This is nifty: New Scientist reports on new emoticons based off of your actual face:
… Read the restSoftware that contorts an image of a person’s face to express different emotions could enrich text-based internet chat.
The researchers behind the system say it can quickly transform a user’s face to convey any of six emotions, ranging from anger to happiness.
The ongoing outbreak of E. coli in raw spinach is no laughing matter, though it is interesting that the crisis has also fueled discussion of Popeye in the blogosphere. See for yourself (click on image for higher res):
Online-classifieds listings – especially Craigslist – are fiercely disrupting traditional classified advertising models, mainly newspapers. When I hear about this disruption, I rarely think of the gritty, alternative urban weekly papers, like the iconic Village Voice, whose classifieds for decades have brought together buyers and sellers of everything to do with city life.… Read the rest
An interesting story from the New Scientist about macaques (no, not the George Allen sort):
… Read the restMonkeys “imitate with a purpose”, matching their behaviour to others’ as a form of social learning, researchers report.
Such mimicry has previously been seen only in great apes – including humans and chimps – but now Italian researchers have recorded wonderful footage of the phenomenon in newborn rhesus macaques.
Petistic, one of my favorite blogs, points to a BBC report about farmers and language specialists who’ve identified regional accents among cows:
… Read the rest"In small populations such as herds you would encounter identifiable dialectical variations which are most affected by the immediate peer group."
