My tinnitus has abated dramatically in the last week. It's not gone, nor do I expect it to fully go away, but if it stays at its present level I'll be, if not overjoyed, then at least content.

What made it fade? I don't know for sure, although I think a fortuitous change of medication may have played a role. Of course, it could come back -- but at least now I know it has the potential to go away, whereas before I was afraid I was condemned to a life of incessant noise (as many sufferers are).

Given that the pharmaceutical industry is hauling in big dollars for something called "Restless Leg Syndrome," I can't help but think that the medical establishment can beat tinnitus if it really tried.

It's Marilyn Einstein!

Are They Coming and If So, What Do We Do? (Whitley Strieber)

It is possible that the visitors are about to show up. I am not saying that this will happen, but only that this is a time when it could happen, and there are some indications that it may be about to happen.

The indications are these: First, the large number of UFO sightings around the world, capped most recently by a report that there is an active UFO on the ground in southern Somalia. Is this report true? So far, it has not been possible to follow up, and probably the only way to get confirmation would be from a US military satellite, and we can forget that. Second, the sudden upsurge in official and semi-official statements, with the latest being Gov. Fife Symington's reiteration on Good Morning America this morning that he had seen a UFO.

So, all of the activity and public pronouncement suggest change.

Strieber should know better.

One of the relatively few writers who sometimes seems to grasp the human dynamic of the UFO experience, he nevertheless falls victim to the illusion of incipient disclosure. If the UFO phenomenon has taught us anything, it's that it resolutely eschews open contact; as Terence McKenna noted, we're instead asked to recognize what's already in front of us.

The UFO intelligence may taunt us occasionally -- indeed, it might be doing so now -- but its seeming promises invariably evaporate.

As Strieber concedes at the end of his essay, it's up to us, not the "aliens," to take the next step.

"You may smile at this, but hopefully you'll never forget it."



Yeah, I realize poking fun at Creationists is neither productive nor edifying. But sometimes it's pretty damned hard to resist.

(Hat tip: Boing Boing.)

NTT's eye-tracking system monitors pupil size, blinking

The NTT Group has unveiled technology that analyzes the interest level of TV viewers and web surfers by monitoring their eye movement, pupil size and blinking.

Is it just me or is this reminiscent of the Voight-Kampff test in "Blade Runner"?

Video: Army Flying Saucer

The U.S. Army would like to have a fleet of robotic flying saucers -- and it's given a British company a contract to try to build some UFO-like prototypes.

(Via The Anomalist.)

Noisy damned things.

Wild Hogs

Belgian artist Wim Delvoye has been raising and tattooing pigs at his Art Farm in China for quite some time. Bearing designs ranging from Louis Viutton logos to Walt Disney characters, the live and dead versions of his inked subjects have been showcased worldwide.

Currently, the stuffed and skinned versions of Delvoye's pigs are on view at the Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris until May 12th.

Congratulations to Peter Watts: his harrowing fourth novel, "Blindsight," is a Hugo Award finalist. Although I read "Blindsight" in fitful bursts, it never came close to losing my interest. It's a story the reader inhabits. For my money, "Blindsight" is one of the most intriguing novels of the new millennium. And one of the scariest.

What if Humans were Designed to Last?

In the absence of planned form and designed function, what we have is a living machine that appears well thought out, but which fails when operated beyond its biological warranty period. Some anatomic fixes could make a difference in aging populations: Most men older than age 50 can attest that the prostate gland has the functional plan of an apprentice's first effort rather than the end result of intelligent design. Anyone who understands how time takes its toll on the body and mind, however, will recognize that designing a human body built to last requires far more substantive changes than meddling with simple anatomy.

(Via Betterhumans.)

Roy Batty from "Blade Runner" said it succinctly: "I want more life, fucker."

What have I done? I just (gulp) created a Facebook account! And a group called -- you guessed it -- "Posthuman Blues"!

Anyway, feel free to drop by and say hi.

I just discovered that Steve Erickson, one of my favorite living writers, has a cool website. I'm currently reading "Our Ecstatic Days."

Enigmatic "black triangles" have been seen for a while now, but not until recently have they had a whole blog exclusively devoted to them.

Scientists Say Antarctic Ice Sheet is Thinning

A Texas-sized piece of the Antarctic ice sheet is thinning, possibly due to global warming, and could cause the world's oceans to rise significantly, polar ice experts said on Wednesday.

They said "surprisingly rapid changes" were occurring in Antarctica's Amundsen Sea Embayment, which faces the southern Pacific Ocean, but that more study was needed to know how fast it was melting and how much it could cause the sea level to rise.

I just ran across this at Boing Boing:

Geometric whirlpools revealed

Bizarre geometric shapes that appear at the centre of swirling vortices in planetary atmospheres might be explained by a simple experiment with a bucket of water.

Hmmm . . .

Global Warming Forecasts Creation, Loss of Climate Zones

"We want to identify the regions of the world where climate change will result in climates unlike any today," Williams says. "These are the areas beyond our map."

The most severely affected parts of the world span both heavily populated regions, including the southeastern United States, southeastern Asia and parts of Africa, and known hotspots of biodiversity, such as the Amazonian rainforest and African and South American mountain ranges. The changes predicted by the new study anticipate dramatic ecological shifts, with unknown but probably extensive effects on large segments of the Earth's population.

(Via Unknown Country.)

And lest you think 2100 is reassuringly distant, think again. Hell, I hope to be alive in 2100 -- and with a little genetic tweaking it could happen.

Strange Hexagon Seen on Saturn

One of the most bizarre weather patterns known has been photographed at Saturn, where astronomers have spotted a huge, six-sided feature circling the north pole.

Rather than the normally sinuous cloud structures seen on all planets that have atmospheres, this thing is a hexagon.

Whoah.

Click here for more.

There's a wealth of provocative paranormal-tinged information at Dream's End, including this fascinating post on Whitley Strieber.

(Thanks to Carol for the tip.)

Don't laugh. It's actually better than that Australian alien video that was making the rounds not long ago. (Does anyone speak Finnish?)

(Thanks, Anonymous!)

Paul Kimball writes:

One question that doesn't get asked enough by ufology is this: if the UFOs are extraterrestrial in origin, with all of the advanced technology that this would involve (memo to the ETHers: it isn't as easy as you think it is to travel between the stars), why do they allow themselves to be seen, as surely they must, given their technological prowess?

The fact that the UFO phenomenon is so rampant argues against extraterrestrial origin and favors an intelligence with a penchant for theater. While it's possible to argue that a visiting ET civilization could be staging sightings as part of some sort of long-term social experiment (or even as an acclimatization program), it's at least as tempting to discard the ETH entirely. But the remaining options infringe deeply on our collective sense of self, making the ETH a comforting -- if unwieldy -- recourse.

Genuine ET visitors would probably have little need for the conspicuous maneuvers and trace evidence that form the backbone of the ETH. In the event of alien visitation, it's likely we'd never see objects resembling recognizable craft -- let alone vehicles encumbered with attention-grabbing lights and adorned with portholes.

Our own technological trajectory suggests that a full-scale planetary reconnaissance could be achieved using incredibly small devices. A nanotech "smart dust," for instance, could infiltrate and reap a vast real-time harvest of information -- all without our knowing. As we prepare to use such technologies to study our own planet (and its inhabitants) in ever-increasing detail, we're forced to question prevailing ufological assumptions. While scintillating "spaceships" and irradiated landing sites are certainly cause for wonder and scientific concern, they appear suspiciously mired in the science fantasies of the previous century.





Where are the real alien technologies? Hidden, perhaps, behind the subterfuge of "motherships" that have haunted our skies since at least the 1950s? If a civilization wanted to keep us preoccupied with bogus sightings, the modern UFO spectacle would certainly seem elaborate enough to do the job. But it's difficult to imagine why ETs would bother, in turn suggesting an intelligence much closer to home.

To Jacques Vallee, the answer was a "multiverse" of interpermeable realities: the "ufonauts" engaged our sense of mythology because they hailed from an aspect of space-time ever-so-slightly removed from our own. To John Keel, both UFO displays and "monster" sightings were psychic distractions enforced by an unseen intelligence.

Both ideas, while attractive, ask that we shed the ETH in favor of something with more immediate existential consequences. More damningly (from a research perspective), both the multiverse and Keel's "superspectrum" beg for nothing less than a redefinition of the physical universe.

It's hardly surprising that "mainstream" ufologists greeted such ideas with mixed reactions; after all, the phenomenon had repeatedly demonstrated physical characteristics amenable to empirical science. Ufologists, already burdened by the omnipresent giggle factor, had long since ceased to speculate about the origin and purpose of UFOs in favor of obtaining physical "proof."

In hindsight, perhaps this was the phenomenon's intention all along.

Much ado has been made about former Arizona governor Fife Symington's recent claim to have seen an "inexplicable" object over Phoenix in 1997. While I think it's probably a sincere admission, I doubt it will have any discernible effect on the study of UFOs. Neither does Greg Bishop.

Now scientists create a sheep that's 15% human

Animal rights activists fear that if the cells get mixed together, they could end up with cellular fusion, creating a hybrid which would have the features and characteristics of both man and sheep. But Prof Zanjani said: "Transplanting the cells into foetal sheep at this early stage does not result in fusion at all."

(Via Boing Boing.)

Fifteen percent isn't anything to sneeze at, never mind the lack of human characteristics. I wonder what will happen when we reach 25%? Or 50%? Science fiction writer Paul Di Filippo (with whom I'm honored to appear in the upcoming issue of FLURB) arrives at some playful yet disturbing answers in his short story collection "Ribofunk."

Although I've been unapologetically skeptical of the Singularity, I continue to be fascinated by it. (Maybe that's what it wants . . .) In any case, Blogging the Singularity weighs in as today's featured blog.

The Elephant is Stampeding in the Living Room (Whitley Strieber)

We do not know what this intelligence is. Of course, it could be aliens from another planet or planets, but it could also be something very different. This is a big, immeasurably old and complex universe, consisting largely of what we call 'dark matter' which we have never even detected. In this universe, it may be possible to travel across time. It may be possible to move among very physical realities that coexist in the same space.

In short, what we are seeing could be almost anything. It could be something completely inconceivable to us now. Or it could be that we are the target of attention from another world right here in this universe, and it's all fairly straightforward--if anything about it could be considered straightforward.

I very stupidly alarmed some good friends, online and otherwise, with my last post. I was vague when I should have been explicit, ominous when I should have just explained the situation -- which is less than dramatic.

So here's what's up:

As I've mentioned, I've been bothered by a pronounced case of tinnitus. At times it's been pretty intolerable. I've seen a couple doctors and there's nothing structurally wrong with my ear. Likewise, a CT scan showed no nerve inflammation inside my head -- a distinct relief on one hand, but on the other a kick in the shins because evidently there's nothing they can do. And when you have what sounds for all the world like microphone feedback squalling in your left ear for most of the day you want the doctors to find something wrong so they can fix it. No such luck.



Finally, approaching wit's end, I abruptly stopped taking a medicine I've been taking for nearly half my life in the hope that it was contributing to the sourceless noise. Initially, this seemed to relieve the tinnitus. (In fact, as I write it's the most tolerable it's been in many weeks.) But then I crashed. Not messily, but badly enough to plunge me into a depressive stupor and wrack me with dizzy spells, which I'm still fending off (mostly by sitting down and gulping herbal tea while jamming to Talking Heads MP3s).

I've since reinstated the medicine, which I probably should never have stopped taking in the first place. Hopefully this will allay the dizziness. I suspect my mood will improve as well. And I'm seeking an apartment in downtown Kansas City, so it looks like my grotesquely distended tenure in the suburbs might be winding down -- and that can only be a good thing.

So, aside from the usual sense of existential futility, I'm not doing as bad as I could. And while I'll be taking it relatively easy, I'll more than likely keep blogging; a change of routine is one thing, but masochistically denying myself simple pleasures is another matter.

At least now I'm clear-headed enough to grasp the distinction.

I'm again tentatively putting this blog on hold, this time due to health concerns. I'll return when I have something to say -- and, more importantly, the energy to say it.

Thanks to everyone who's dropped by over the years. Hopefully I can exhume Posthuman Blues in the near-future.

Top Ten Cybernetic Upgrades Everyone Will Want

Transhumanists are philosophers who believe that one day, cybernetic upgrades will be so powerful, elegant, and inexpensive that everyone will want them. This page lists ten major upgrades that I think will be adopted by 2050.

(Via Biosingularity.)

Although this is a fun bit of speculative futurism, I disagree with the statement that "transhumanists are philosophers." While some transhumanists are indeed thinkers, the vast majority are parrots content to sing the praises of the imminent Singularity.

Just as undue fascination with the Extraterrestrial Hypothesis threatens to capsize serious UFO research, inordinate faith in an all-changing technological Singularity poses a formidable if alluring obstacle to the study of the world to come.

France opens secret UFO files covering 50 years

The online archives, which will be updated as new cases are reported, catalogues in minute detail cases ranging from the easily dismissed to a handful that continue to perplex even hard-nosed scientists.

"It is a world first," said Jacques Patenet, the aeronautical engineer who heads the office for the study of "non-identified aerospatial phenomena."

Here's a haunting set of photos originally intended to accompany the release of Natalie Merchant's "Motherland." Soundtrack included.

These Boots Were Made for 22 M.P.H.

Mr. Gordeyev, a specialist in airplane piston engines, sweated it out with everyone else, running laps in lumbering heavy boots in this town in the foothills of the Ural Mountains.

He vowed to find an easier way. Eventually, he found one -- or at least came close. Mr. Gordeyev invented a gasoline-powered boot that looks like pogo sticks that strap to your shins, and they work on the same principle as the air-cushioned basketball shoe.

(Via Gizmag.)

SCOT 'ATTACKED BY SPACESHIP' IS DEAD

Almost 30 years later, police say the case remains open and unsolved.

Bob told officers that he had found the craft - a metal sphere, about 20ft across - in Dechmont Woods, Livingston, West Lothian.

As he approached it, two smaller spheres, each about 3ft wide and with metal spikes sticking from them, dropped down.

He said the smaller spheres rolled towards him and attached themselves to his trousers.

Bob described an acrid smell before collapsing unconscious on the ground.

When he came round 20 minutes later, he said his head was pounding and he was unable to talk or walk.

I don't know what this guy saw. But I'm personally satisfied that he saw something exceptionally strange.

Creature that has not had sex for 100m years

I object to being called a "creature."

(Thanks: The Anomalist.)

Radio SETI take note:

ESA takes steps toward quantum communications

A team of European scientists has proved within an ESA study that the weird quantum effect called entanglement remains intact over a distance of 144 kilometres.

The experiment allows ESA to take a step closer to exploiting entanglement as a way of communicating with satellites with total security.

(Via Centauri Dreams.)

Study details catastrophic impact of nuclear attack on US cities

The study, which the authors said was the most advanced and detailed simulation published in open scientific literature, highlights the inability of the nation's current medical system to handle casualties from a nuclear attack. It also suggests what the authors said are much needed yet relatively simple interventions that could save tens of thousands of lives.

"The likelihood of a nuclear weapon attack in an American city is steadily increasing, and the consequences will be overwhelming" said Cham Dallas, CMADD director and professor in the UGA College of Pharmacy. "So we need to substantially increase our preparation."

Great science fiction pulp illustration by Ron Turner. I particularly like his bulbous space-helmets.

(Thanks: Boing Boing.)

Rudy Rucker and R.U. Sirius discuss the aesthetics of parallel universes (video).

Flood Maps: inundating a virtual coastline near you.

(Hat tip: Blues Tea-Cha.)

Penn & Teller - Masters Of Deception (Greg Bishop)

Taking the sometimes unscientific methods of CSICOP one step further, Penn & Teller (P&T) use their pay-TV pulpit to smear and denigrate those who dare to dabble in the fields of Ufology, cryptozoology, remote viewing, and other arcane areas. To be sure, there are many charlatans, liars, addle-headed believers and worse in these fields of inquiry, and P&T are right to point them out for ridicule.

These magicians have been deceiving people for most of their lives -- it's part of their act and they revel in it. The problem with this attitude is that P&T assume that anyone who is trying to promote or investigate subjects outside the realm of 19th century science is doing the same thing. Like the high-priests of CSICOP, their minds are made up before the study begins.

Here's a stunning VR immersion that simulates standing on the Martian surface. Possibly the next-best thing to telepresence.

(Thanks: Spluch.)

The Monday night YouTube film-fest continues with "Charlie the Unicorn." I think I happened across this gem at Table of Malcontents a while back.

Will a New Study Force Changes in Drug Law?

Indeed, it would be a fine start if Americans could simply begin the sort of rational, thoughtful debate on drug policy that the British seem to be having. If we could manage such a thing, we might start changing illogical and unscientific laws that now lead to more U.S. arrests for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes combined.

Natural Disasters Will Increase - UN Meteorologists

Global warming is likely to bring more tidal waves, floods and hurricanes, leading meteorologists said on Monday.

"What we know is that global warming is very likely to lead in the future to more frequent tidal waves," the secretary general of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) told a news conference ahead of a meeting in Madrid on Monday.

Someday I'll have a website as cool as this.

(Thanks: Aberrant News.)

I just checked Amazon to see where "After the Martian Apocalypse" stood in sales rankings. Here's what I saw:

"Availability: Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this title will be in stock again."

Oh, well. It's time to get a new book published anyway.

Amen, brother.

You know the Singularity is just around the corner when bots start handing out Kleenex.

(Thanks: Communist Robot.)