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Thursday March 12, 2009 '


Local


 Redneck Tech
 by Eli Loy


 Interesting Stuff




 The SmartNav 4

 Is it a GPS? Nope. The SmartNav is a new human in-
 terface device that gets rid of your mouse. Designed
 for folks with disabilities, and those who are worried
 about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, the device is actually
 pretty neat.

 How does it work? Well, it's got this reflective dot,
 you see. You place the aforementioned dot on whatev-
 er you want to use as a mouse. The manufacturer
 claims that preferred locations for the dot are, your
 head, hand, hat, glasses, or your microphone boom..
 The SmartNav has a sensor that mounts on your mon-
 itor and tracks the dot. According to the company, the
 imaging device responsible for dot-tracking is high
 enough resolution that it can be set to move your cur-
 sor across the entire monitor with a mere one inch of
 head movement.

 To click, the device has a dwell setting. This will exe-
 cute a click if your cursor hovers over an icon, link,
 etc, for an adjustable period of time. Alternately, you
 can configure buttons on your keyboard to emulate
 mouse clicks, or you can purchase some of their ex-
 tensive line of buttons, and click with your hands or
 feet. You can find out more about this product at:
 www.naturalpoint.com

 A Singing Stone

 The YP-S2 resembles a polished stone. Hence its Peb-
 ble nickname. It is available in several colors: black,
 white, red, green and purple, and marble. The player's
 compact design (measuring 1.7 by 0.7 by 1.6 inches), al-
 lows you to fit it in your pocket or hang it like a pen-
 dant from the its earphones. While looking rather in-
 teresting, the one reviewer did point out that the user
 interface could be improved, somewhat. Due to its sin-
 gle "Smart Button" and a flashing LED, you'll have to
 spend some time reading the manual to learn how to
 operate this suave media player.


 Not Just For Sewing
 Machines Anymore

A new device called the YoGen Max from Easy Energy
allows you to charge up your laptop anywhere in the
world with the power of your foot. If you are at an air-
port with no outlets in sight or on a plane and you
don't mind looking a bit silly and getting weird looks
this could be perfect for you. More importantly this
can keep your laptop going in rural parts of the world
where you won't look silly at all foot pumping your
laptop.

Folded up it is small enough to fit into most laptop
cases and easily go with you anywhere. The YoGen
Max produces 60-80 watts of power when in operation
and when your foot and leg craihp up it can also hold
12 rechargeable AA batteries to keep the power flow-
ing. Easy Energy claims this is enough to keep a typi-
cal laptop going.

This isn't for sale yet, but they say they have a work-
ing protype and are starting to take orders from dis-
tributors. I also don't see any information about how
much this retail for, but hopefully it will be reasonably
affordable. This portable charger could help many
people that need power on the go.

For more information point your browser at:
www.easy-energybiz/yogenmax.html.

 Canadians Can Read Your Mind

 Canadian researchers can now glean simple prefer-


ences from a person's brain by shining near-infrared
light into their skull.

According to a report in the Journal of Neural Engi-
neering, the study demonstrated the ability to decode
a person's preference for one of two drinks with 80
percent accuracy by measuring the intensity of near-
infrared light absorbed in brain tissue, the scientists
said in a statement.

"This is the first system that decodes preference natu-
rally from spontaneous thoughts," says Sheena Luu, a
University of Toronto doctoral student in biomedical
engineering who led the work under the supervision
of Tom Chau, a specialist in pediatric rehab engineer-
ing at the university's Bloorview Kids Rehab center
Near-infrared light has a longer wavelength than visi-
ble light. In the beginning of the study, nine adult vol-
unteers rated eight drinks on a scale of one to five.

Then, wearing a headband fitted with fiber optics that
emit light into the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, the
subjects were shown two drinks on a computer moni-
tor, one after the other, and asked to make a mental de-
cision about which they liked more.

"When your brain is active, the oxygen in your blood
increases and depending on the concentration, it ab-
sorbs more or less light," Luu said. "In some people,
their brains are more active when they don't like
something, and in some people they're more active
when they do like something."

After teaching the computer to recognize the unique
pattern of brain activity associated with preference
for each person, the scientists accurately predicted
which drink the participants liked best around 80 per-
cent of the time.

Other research has suggested brain activity could be
monitored before decisions are made, perhaps with a
mind-reading hat that would predict what we'll do.

The goal of the new research is ultimately to open the
world of choice to children who can't speak or move.

 And Lastly...

 It seems that America is having yet another run on
7.62 X 39mm ammunition. The ammo, used primarily
in Kalashnikov rifles, is almost completely out of
stock. A while back, you could get 1,000 rounds of the
mass produced ammo for around $75.00 + shipping.
Now a 1,000 round case will set you back more than
$200.00, if you can find it at all. On the internet I could
not locate a single 1,000 round case of any brand. Wal-
Mart still has some, though. Their "Always Low Price"
for a box of 20 is over $14.00. Ouch.


 Real Estate Auction

 T AG Suwannee Plantation 9+/- Acres
 were March 13th (@ 2:00pm


 Sells Buyers Choice: Opening Bid $20,000
Open House February 22nd, March 1st and 8th from 1-4pm


Parcel 1" 2. acres Excellent nwy frorntage and river
honlage 1700 sq h commercial DuiIdng wirr 900 sq
II of finished office space, well septic. pooi and nolub
Parcel 2: 2. acres Deeded canal frontage on two
s les Coury road ircrilage Tennis count and storage
sheo
Parcel 3. 2,' acres Deeded canr.al Ifrontage on t,,)
sides County road frontage Aajoins county part. For-
merly funciIoned as a Rv park Block building will re5C
rooms ana laundry area Water well and seplic system
Parcel 4: 2.1- acres D.eeea canal Ironiaoe Inai an.-
velops tie county park A unique proptny mial 14 well
Sulfle for a waler dependent Dusiness canoe
rntalE 6lc I


Directions:
The property is located
across the river from
the Fanning Springs
State park on
Highway 19/98
The Auction Group LLC, PO BOX
548, Sand Springs, OK 74063,
Slacy Lee: (918)906-0016, Web:
theauclongroaplIc.com
FLBroheri 553422


 Calling all Wigglers
 and Walkers

Gainesville, Fla. ---
Crack into spring with the
Florida Museum of Nat-
ural History's "Wigglers
and Walkers" program at
3:30 p.m. March 18 and
April 15. "It's Eggs-cel-
lent" will be a fun-filled,
educational afternoon for
children ages 2-5.

This season, students will
learn about different
types of eggs and the ani-
mals who lay them.
Through arts, crafts and
other activities, young-
sters will discover rep-
tile/amphibian and birds
eggs while exploring the
museum. Activities in-
clude egg painting, make-
your-own turtle and other
take-home projects.

The cost per class for each
adult and child pair is $4
for Florida Museum mem-
bers and $5 for non-mem-
bers. Each additional
child is $1. Pre-registra-
tion is not required, but


GOVERNOR, CABINET
HONOR RESOURCE
MANAGER OF THE YEAR

--DEP Park Biologist awarded
for dedication to protecting
Florida's environment --

TALLAHASSEE Governor
Charlie Crist and the Florida
Cabinet today honored Park
Biologist Charles DuToit of
the Tomoka Basin State
Parks as the 2008 Florida De-
partment of Environmental
Protection (DEP) Jim Steven-
son Resource Manager of the
Year. The award, one of 'the
state's highest environnmen-
tal honors, recognizes Du-
Toit's hard work and commit-
ment to conserving and pro-
tecting Florida's natural re-
sources.



with and teach others makes
him a very valuable member
of the Florida Park Service,"
said DEP Deputy Secretary
for Land and Recreation Bob
Ballard. "The dedication and
hard work demonstrated by
Charlie in his 30 years with
the Florida Park Service
makes him a very deserving
recipient of this honor."

DuToit has served the state
of Florida for nearly 30


"A neednl wedadoeae Ut"


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children must be accom-
panied by an adult. Partic-
ipants should arrive early
to park their strollers and
meet new friends.
For more information,
call (352) 273-2061 or visit
www.flmnh. ufl.edu/educa-
tion/childrens_classes.htm.

The Florida Museum of
Natural History is Florida
's state natural history
museum, dedicated to un-
derstanding, preserving
and interpreting biologi-
cal diversity and cultural
heritage. It is located near
the intersection of South-
west 34th Street and Hull
Road in the University of
Florida Cultural Plaza in
Gainesville Hours are 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Sat-
urday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sun-
day Butterfly Rainforest
admission is $9.50 for
adults ($8 Fla. residents)
and $5 for children ages 3-
12. Prices subject to
change. For more infor-
mation, including direc-
tions and parking, call
(352) 846-2000, or visit ,
www.flmnh.ufl.edu.



years, as both a district and
park biologist. As Park Biol-
ogist at the Tomoka Basin
State Parks, he is charged
with protecting natural and
cultural resources across five
state parks in Flager, Putnam
and Volusia counties, an area
of nearly 10,000 acres. He
successfully coordinated a
multi-agency and multi-part-
ner marsh restoration pro-
ject, securing more than
$372,000 in funding and
restoring more than 770
acres and 16 miles of ditch
over the last five years. He is
also highly involved in the
,parks' exotic plant removal,
prescribed burning, cultural
resource management and
research and monitoring pro-
grams.

"I am honored to have been
selected as Resource NManag.
er of the Year. This award is
especially meaningful to me.
because I was fortunate to
work under Jim Stevenson
for eight years after I was
hired by the Florida State
Parks in 1979." said DuToit.
S"When Jim introduced the
term "The Real Florida' -
now a familiar logo to mil-
lions of state park visitors- it
was a visionary idea unify-
ing the values of Florida's
unique natural resources
and rich cultural heritage.


 352-5.42- 0103
 356-1431





AfPpRbA&- ADGNMN-TS


 27888 US Hwy 19
Old Town 352-542-1111


934 E. Wade Street,
Trenton 352-463-7770


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