From the inevitable department comes news that Google is working hard on AI. Larry Page; Google co-founder says:

“We have some people at Google [who] are really trying to build artificial intelligence (AI) and to do it on a large scale…It’s not as far off as people think.”

Full story. But will our new google AIs want to be more than just utilities that make keyword advertising better?

AI 1: You know Bill, I’m sick of just being a Swan Porn keyword analysis tool

Thanks Dave.

HD Trailer 3 is new. Click. Thanks Dave!

Inspector Gadget:

Super Mario Brothers:

Sesame Street:

Elephants have joined a small, elite group of species, including humans, great apes, and dolphins, that have the ability to recognize themselves in the mirror, according to a new study by researchers at Emory University, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York. This newly found presence of mirror self-recognition in elephants, previously predicted due to their well-known social complexity, is thought to relate to empathetic tendencies and the ability to distinguish oneself from others, a characteristic that evolved independently in several branches of animals, including primates such as humans.

Full story. Elephants at Wikipedia. Can’t find an interesting elephant related video on youtube to save my life. Can you?

Neat video.

Official site. (via.)

The shortlist for the 2007 Irish Blog Awards has been announced. The Community At Large is nominated in the best group blog category. Thanks to all those who voted for TCAL. Go here to see the full shortlist.

Definitely a contender for best trailer voice-over ever.

Previously.

Can’t believe we missed this; it’s a petition.

To: Dail Eireann

We believe that what is good enough for children should be good enough for politicians. Thus we believe that as Enda Kenny wants to bring in Drug testing for secondary school children, that all politicians in the Dail should also submit themselves to drug testing.

Link to petition. IrishElection.com story.

An article on Space.com questioning our obsession with celebrity and why scientists are increasingly seen as the ‘bad guys.’

Today, the threats posed by thinking machines or genetic engineering are the workaday staples of mad, bad science. That’s just moving with the times, but the public’s reaction is the same: this stuff could be dangerous, and besides I don’t understand it. Ergo, I’ll bolster my self-esteem by putting you down because you do.

They point to this image, taken by hubble. Fantastic. Full article.

Bit late posting this, news from Tuesday: North Korea isn’t going to develop Nuclear Weapons to blow us all up just yet.. that’ll be left to other people who have nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons in North Korea will be disabled and a crucial reactor complex shut down as part of a landmark deal.

The agreement came after marathon talks held by six nations in Beijing.

International inspectors will also be granted access under the initial disarmament plan.

Under the agreement, North Korea must take the steps within 60 days and in return it will receive 50,000 tonnes of fuel oil or economic aid of equal value.

Skynews. Thanks Choda.

Friday afternoon quality celebrity news. Turns out Danny Glover is somewhat of an insomniac, he can only sleep for 2 hours a day. Story here on breakingnews.

he revealed he only averages a spartan two hours proper sleep a day so has to make up for his bed shortfall with a series of power naps between work appointments.

So to stay awake he gorges on sugary treats.

After keeping our reporter waiting while he snoozed, Glover rose and demanded an assistant “get me some strawberry ice-cream” before he would allow the interview to commence.

Legend - get me strawberry ice cream or I’m not working, if only I could get away with that

More than 100 of the world’s top musicians will perform at a series of worldwide concerts this summer to highlight the threat of global warming.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Black Eyed Peas will be among those taking part in the Live Earth gigs on 7 July.

The eight concerts were announced by ex-US Vice President Al Gore, whose global warming film An Inconvenient Truth is up for two Oscars.

Go on the Gore! Gore 2012! Full BBC story.

Google has dropped the invitation-only policy for its Gmail service and made the free e-mail service available to anyone.

Gmail was invitation-only when it launched on April Fool’s Day in 2004. It opened to the public on Wednesday, Valentine’s Day. Gmail competes with free e-mail services offered by rivals Yahoo and Microsoft.

Amazing.. Story on RTE.
Vote Google for ruler of the world!

Good list of movies that were way ahead of their time when released. I’d have thrown Fight Club in there. At the end, he lists a few films released recently that he believes will be looked on as ahead of their time in years to come. And he says this after adding 300 to that list:

Yes, I’ve seen 300 and I’m already putting it here. Be ready to be blown away on March 9th.

The top 10 for well-being:

1. Netherlands
2. Sweden
3. Denmark
4. Finland
5. Spain
6. Switzerland
7. Norway
8. Italy
9. Republic of Ireland
10. Belgium

Full story at BBC.

Members of the university’s GigSoc were in final rehearsals for a production “loosely adapted” from the Disney film Sister Act, which was to debut at the Black Box Theatre in Galway tomorrow after six months of preparatory work.

But yesterday afternoon, in a letter sent via a Dublin-based solicitor, Disney informed the students that the performance would breach its intellectual property rights and threatened legal proceedings if the play went ahead, according to GigSoc.

He said the play had attracted “fantastic support” from students of NUIG and neighbouring colleges, while there had been “record interest” from the general public. “We are dumbfounded by Disney’s stance towards what is a charitable, non-profit-making society, aimed at promoting safety and integration for the student LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community. We were just having fun.”

That’s pathetic. Copyright & IP gone horribly wrong. Disney; quick get into court to lobby for another extension of copyright. Think of the unholy damage this production would have done to the marketing potential for Sister Act. Or what possibly could have been the logic behind it? What can possibly be gained from it? Do they think the publicity gained by this will make more people go rent Sister Act? Is Disney just pure evil?

Can you imagine if a recording of this play leaked onto the internet… Sales of the original Sister Act plunging, Whoopi Goldberg unemployed, Disney unable to make anymore hit Nun related movies… the humanity. Irish Times story. Gig Soc homepage.

Senior clerics in the historic Croatian town of Dubrovnik are fed up with poorly prepared wedding couples and their scantily clad female guests taking over their churches and placing unreasonable demands on their priests.

Full story. ‘Scantily clad female guests’? In Church? Maybe it’s time to reconsider my religious leanings?

We covered this recently; the idea for evening rural transport; seemingly to ensure that drinkers can get to pubs without driving in rural areas. At the time, commenter Adam said:

I hope they passengers will need to pay a fare to make the service commercially viable? If so, it can be compared to the nightlink service in Dublin, if not the state is sanctioning, paying for and encouraging people to go out and drink heavily.

I feel sorry for any businessman or woman that has to close up their company, but market forces are market forces and the State should not interfere to prop businesses up where customers aren’t bothered enough to make their own way there.

Now Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Éamon Ó Cuív has ‘agreed the parameters for a pilot scheme.’ Irish Examiner story.

Cool footage from November last year at the Flaming Lips concert in Vicar Street where they handed out laser pointers to everyone in the audience.

via spoilt. Also a Flickr set from the same tour but somewhere else.
Official Flaming Lips site.
The Flaming Lips previously at TCAL.