Drogul ascuns !

Toata lumea stie ca muzica poate schimba dispozitia ascultatorului. Cantecele triste te pot face sa plangi, melodiile ritmate dau energie . Insa recent a fost avansata o teorie cel putin ingrijoratoare: muzica poate crea efecte similare drogurilor ilegale. Pare

a fi o idee ridicola, dar unii oameni de stiinta sustin ca o serie de fisiere audio de pe Internet pot induce efecte asemanatoare stupefiantelor.

Teoria nu este foarte noua, mai ales ca, recent, autoritatile italiene trageau un semnal de alarma in ceea ce priveste "cyber-drogurile”, adica o serie de "note halucinogene” care apar pe unele site-uri de Internet sau chiar in cluburi si discoteci. Acum subiectul pare ca devine din ce in ce mai serios, specialistii adresandu-se parintilor, carora li se spune ca accesul la aceasta "muzica halucinogena” este foarte facil, copii neavand nevoie decat de un CD player si niste casti. Conform expertilor, aceste sunete ambientale sunt create sa afecteze undele cerebrale.

Este obligatoriu ca acest tip de muzica se se asculte in casti, pentru ca se emit sunete diferite pentru fiecare ureche in parte. Sunetul se combina in creier si creeaza o noua frecventa, care corespunde cu frecventa undelor cerebrale. Exista diverse frecvente ale acestor unde cerebrale, ele avand legatura cu starea de relaxare sau alerta. Drogurile digitale sincronizeaza aceste unde cu sunetul, ceea ce duce la alterarea starii mentale. Exista, de asemenea, si mai multe tipuri de astfel de droguri digitale, care pot inocula efecte variate.
De exemplu, unii pretind ca prin intermediul acestor sunete se pot dezvolta puteri extrasenzoriale ca telepatia sau telechinestezia. Altii sustin ca pot fi de ajutor, pentru ca pot calma, pot ajuta ascultatorul sa mediteze sau sa scape de diverse stari anxioase etc. Insa majoritatea site-urilor care ofera descarcarea de astfel de fisiere audio sunt sinistre, pentru ca promit efecte similare alcoolului sau marihuanei.


Senzatie de iad
Insa, conform unor reporteri britanici care au facut o ancheta pe acest subiect, exista si site-uri care promit efecte similare drogurilor de clasa A, cum ar fi LSD, heroina etc. sau "doze de natura sexuala”. Se pare ca exista chiar si o promisiune a "simularii Raiului si Iadului”. Multi sunt sceptici in ceea ce priveste efectul real al drogurilor digitale, insa dr. Nicholas Theodore, neurochirurg de la Institutul Neurologic din Phoenix a declarat ca, desi nu exista nici o dovada ca aceste droguri digitale functioneaza, este o certitudine ca preferintele muzicale, de exemplu, sunt o dovada a vulnerabilitatii emotionale a unei persoane. Astfel, cel care incearca aceste droguri (cunoscute sub numele de "idosers” sau "idozers”) e dispus sa incerce si alte stupefiante sau substante interzise.

Dr. Theodore a mai declarat ca aparitia acestui fenomen este un argument in plus ca parintii sa supravegheze navigarea pe Internet a copiilor lor. Companiile care vand pe Internet "drogurile digitale” sustin ca acestea nu sunt periculoase si ca nu afecteaza sanatatea ascultatorilor. Insa daca acestea ofera – dupa cum promit – efecte similare drogurilor ilegale (cum ar fi halucinatiile) efectele pot fi fatale. Mai mult decat atat, acestea pot promova consumul de droguri ilegale, ceea ce pune clar in pericol internautii – mai ales minorii – nesupravegheati de parinti. Specialistii sustin ca parintii trebuie sa inteleaga clar efectul acestei mode, pentru ca este un pas mic de la drogurile digitale la drogurile reale.

         Sursa articol: http://www.pacpac.eu/news/drogul_ascuns/2010-12-06-840#ixzz17vJQdXQZ

Misterioasele Piramide din Romania !

Sona este un sat uitat de lume, asezat pe malul stang al Oltului, in apropiere de Fagaras. Singura deosebire intre Sona si celelalte sate din Tara Fagarasului consta in ciudatele ridicaturi de pamint de la marginea asezarii. Satenii s-au obisnuit cu "guruietii”, numele pe care l-au pus movilelor uriase de pe platoul de langa fostul CAP. Au incercat chiar sa le afle secretele, starniti de cele cateva evenimente spectaculoase ce se petrec in apropierea acestora.
Prin sat se zice ca, daca se pune o lama de ras la o treime de baza, aceasta se ascute singura. Apa asezata in acelasi loc capata proprietati curative, iar carnea nu intra in putrefactie. Curiosi sa afle ce ascund inauntru, localnicii au incercat sa sape in movile, dar n-au fost lasati de autoritati. Nici arheologii chemati de ei n-au reusit inca sa dezlege misterele guruetilor, nefacand altceva decat sa alimenteze imaginatia iubitorilor de mituri.

Legenda Uriasilor

Cele opt movile de pamant sunt asezate pe un deal din apropierea satului. Candva au avut o forma piramidala, dar vantul si ploile le-au erodat. Sunt asezate pe doua linii paralele, la marginea unei terase lungi de aproximativ un kilometru. De departe nu-ti poti da seama de marimea lor, dar, ajuns la baza, te coplesesc. Obisnuiti cu prezenta movilelor, localnicii au incercat totusi de-a lungul anilor sa-si explice ce e cu acei munti de pamint, inalti de 20-30 de metri, ridicati chiar in mijlocul unei terase.
Una dintre cele mai populare legende spune ca, pe vremuri, niste uriasi au venit dinspre muntii Fagaras si au trecut Oltul. Pentru ca s-au umplut de noroi, cind au ajuns pe locul unde se afla piramidele, si-au scuturat incaltarile. Bucatile de pamant au format damburile. Alta legenda spune ca piramidele au fost ridicate de turci. Cand mergeau spre apus, otomanii isi lasau din turbane pamantul adus din Turcia. Chiar daca legendele care circula n-au facut decit sa le stirneasca si mai mult curiozitatea, localnicii n-au indraznit niciodata sa sape si sa vada ce ascund "piramidele” de la marginea satului.
Cercetatori din Basarabia
De-a lungul anilor, din vorba in vorba, povestea guruietilor de la Sona a ajuns si la urechile unor arheologi. La prima vedere, fiind acoperite de vegetatie, piramidele de la Sona pot fi asemuite cu tumulii sub care celtii si scitii isi ingropau capeteniile, impreuna cu un intreg tezaur de arme si podoabe. Cum aceste popoare au trecut si pe teritoriul tarii noastre, prima tendinta a arheologilor a fost sa le identifice cu tumulii. Mai mult, in jurul guruetilor de la Sona, arheologii au gasit ceramica din epoca tirzie a bronzului si din perioada Hallstat, de acum 1.200 de ani.
Printre cei mai pasionati arheologi atrasi de misterul guruietilor de la Sona s-a numarat si profesorul universitar Gavril Budau.
Arheologul a adus aici doi cercetatori basarabeni, care au scris mai multe carti despre daci. Gavril Budau isi aminteste prima impresie cind a urcat pe una dintre movile: "Am vazut gauri de vulpi si pamintul nu era scos in afara, cum stiu eu, ca vinator, ci era cazut inauntru, deci poate exista un gol”. Unul dintre basarabenii veniti sa cerceteze movilele de la Sona este Andrei Vartic. Fizician de formatie, acesta a cercetat aproape toate cetatile dacice din Muntii Orastie. El crede ca piramidele au fost ridicate sau folosite de daci. Arheologii brasoveni sustin insa ca in zona nu au gasit decat putine bucati de ceramica dacica.

Mormantul lui Decebal?

Alte patru piramide asemanatoare exista la marginea unui sat apropiat de Sona, la Halmeag. Acestea, insa, nu sint asa de bine conturate, fiind erodate de vint. Si langa satul Bunesti exista, de asemenea, guruieti. In apropierea lor s-au gasit urme de locuire dacica si o terasa asemanatoare celei de la Sona. Cercetatorul Andrei Vartic spune ca, pe harta, piramidele constituie virful unui triunghi dreptunghic ale carui laturi unesc varful Omu, dupa unii istorici muntele sacru al dacilor, si sanctuarul de la Racos. O ipoteza spectaculoasa a lui Vartic: dupa aranjamentul teraselor din jur, nu este exclus ca piramidele sa adaposteasca mormintul lui Decebal.

         Sursa articol: http://www.pacpac.eu/news/misterioasele_piramide_din_romania_video/2010-12-09-854#ixzz17vCn28g2

B-Boy

http://www.collegehumor.com/videos/playlist:bestvids1232010#1944098

Merry Men Jump and Flip Through London

http://www.collegehumor.com/videos/playlist:bestvids1232010#1944222

Famous movie misquotes

We all have our favourite movie moments, with many of them coming in the shape of classic one-liners. However, some of Hollywood's most famous catchphrases, which have become part of popular culture, are often - after years of Chinese whispers - quite inaccurate.

Showing our very pedantic side, here are some of the lines that people get wrong time and time again.

The Empire Strikes Back
Try talking to a diehard 'Star Wars' fan and then casually throw in that you love the bit in 'The Empire Strikes Back' when Darth Vader says “Luke, I am your father.”
Cue gnashing of the teeth and frustrated wailing that 'You've got it all wrong'.
The line Vader actually utters isn't the one we have all been saying for years. What he actually tells Luke is, "No, I am your father." Which, while making sense during the film, is nowhere near as catchy as the one we all say now.

Wall Street
In the new 'Wall Street' movie, ‘Money Never Sleeps’, Michael Douglas repeats his character's famous catchphrase, 'Greed is good'. A saying that has become so ingrained in popular culture, it's synonymous with financial avarice.
What Gordon Gekko actually says in the 1987 classic is, however, "The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works."

Dirty Harry

Ushering a new kind of cop on the big screen, Clint Eastwood's Harry was an angry, vicious police officer, with a mean line in goading those who crossed his path - case in point, the snarling one-liner that we all know and love, "Do you feel lucky, punk?"
The real quote comes at the end of a long, but awesome, monologue, "Ah, I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinking, 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself in all this excitement. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question, 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?"
You can see why it was shortened.

The Silence of the LambsAnthony Hopkins’s iconic performance has since slipped into parody thanks to endless spoof performances and disappointing sequels.
However, the conversations between Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster's Clarice in 'The Silence of the Lambs' still chill. But one line in particular that gets repeated constantly, was never actually uttered. Instead of the now popular quote, "Hello Clarice”, what he actually says is “Good evening, Clarice”.
He may be a bonkers cannibal but he does have some well-polished manners.
Funnily enough, and like 'Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps', the film's sequel 'Hannibal' would include the often misquoted line thanks to its popularity.

Casablanca
Probably the most famous misquote in movie history, the line "Play it again, Sam” is never uttered in ‘Casablanca’.

The closest you get to it in the film comes from Ingrid Bergman telling the piano player, "Play it Sam, for old times”.
The world-weary Humphrey Bogart also says at one point, "You played it for her, you can play it for me. If she can stand it, I can. Play it!"
However, the line has been used in several films - including the Marx Brothers’ 'A Night in Casablanca' - which led many to believe 'Play it again, Sam' originated from the movie.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
We all know the famous scene - and no doubt the narcissistic ones among us have said it to themselves in the mirror at one point. But the evil Queen doesn't strike up a conversation with her household furniture by saying, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
What she really said was, "Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”.


Star Trek

One of 'Star Trek's most quoted lines was never spoken in either the TV series or the many films. Instead, the closest we ever got to hearing William Shatner's Captain Kirk saying, "Beam me up Scotty", was in 1987's 'Star Trek: The Voyage Home' - which had Kirk saying , "Scotty, beam us up".

Top 10 Conspiracy Theories

1 Dinosauroid-like Alien Reptiles are dominating the World

BBC reporter David Icke claims that humanity is actually under the control of dinosauroid-like alien reptiles who must consume human blood to maintain their human appearance.

"Evidence" for his conspiracy theory goes from Sumerian tablets describing the "Anunnaki" (which he translates as "those who from heaven to earth came"), to the serpent in the Biblical Garden of Eden, to child abuse, fluoridation, and the genealogical connections between the Bush family and the House of Windsor.

Icke theorizes that the reptilians came here from the constellation Draco. Like most conspiracy theories, falsification of Icke's hypotheses is nearly impossible, but Icke continues to sell books and give speaking engagements based on concepts ranging from the New Age to his political opinions.

2. Apollo 11 Moon Landings were faked by NASA
A classic among conspiracy theories, proponents of the Apollo moon landing hoax accusations allege the moon landings never took place, and were faked by NASA with possible CIA support. Enthusiasts of this theory claim that:

The astronauts could not have survived the trip because of exposure to radiation

The photos were altered: the Crosshairs on some photos appear to be behind objects, rather than in front of them where they should be

The quality of the photographs is implausibly high.

There are no stars in any of the photos, and astronauts never report seeing any stars from the capsule windows.

Identical backgrounds in photos that are listed as taken miles apart.

The moon's surface during the daytime is so hot that camera film would have melted.

No blast crater appeared from the landing

The launch rocket produced no visible flame.

The flag placed on the surface by the astronauts flapped despite there being no wind on the Moon.

 3. September 11 was orchestrated by the U. S. government

A number of urban myths, alternative hypotheses and conspiracy theories have been formulated to explain the events of September 11th:

The U.S., Israel or Iraq government orchestrated the attacks themselves.

The Twin Towers fell straight down, at close to free-fall speed. This is a similar characteristic of a controlled demolition. The dust cloud and its make up are considered un-characteristic of a gravity-driven collapse.

It is often pointed out that no steel building before or since the 9-11 attack has collapsed as the result of fire.

The rubble of the Twin Towers smoldered for weeks after the collapse. This claim is meant to point out that steel could only have smoldered as a result of pre-placed explosives.

Some consider photographic evidence of the plane lying on the grounds of the Pentagon to be ambiguous and unconvincing, citing a visual lack of burnt metal, human remains, passenger's luggage or seats.

The Pentagon was struck in a newly renovated, reinforced section. Some speculate this location, the west side of the complex, to be indicative of government involvement, noting it as an attempt to reduce casualties.

Flight 77 was able to fly in the direction of the DC and Pentagon area for approximately 40 minutes without interception. This is thought to be unusual given the Pentagon's close proximity to Andrews Air Force Base.

There are claims that anti-missile batteries at the Pentagon should have intercepted Flight 77.

The FBI confiscated a video, which may have captured the impact, from a nearby gas station attended by Jose Velasquez. This video has not yet been released.

 4. Barcodes are really intended to Control people

Some conspiracy theorists have proposed that barcodes are really intended to serve as means of control by a putative world government, or that they are Satanic in intent.

Mary Stewart Relfe claims in "The New Money System 666" that barcodes secretly encode the number 666 - the Biblical "Number of the Beast".

This theory has been adopted by other fringe figures such as the "oracle" Sollog, who refuses to label any of his books with barcodes on the grounds that "any type of computer numbering systems MANDATED by any government or business is part of the PROPHECY of the BEAST controlling you."

5. Charlemagne never existed, is a fictional character

Phantom time hypothesis is a theory developed by Heribert Illig which suggests that the Early Middle Ages (614–911 CE) never occurred, meaning that all artifacts attributed to this time period were from other times, and all historical figures were outright fabrications.

One consequence of Illig's hypothesis is that Charlemagne never existed but is a fictional character. The vast majority of historians believe this theory to be complete fiction, as all cited evidence can be considered circumstantial.

 6. The Truth is out there, on Area 51

The secretive nature of Area 51 and undoubted connection to classified aircraft research, together with reports of unusual phenomena, have led Area 51 to become a centerpiece of modern UFO and conspiracy theory folklore. Some of the unconventional activities claimed to be underway at Area 51 include:

The storage, examination, and reverse engineering of crashed alien spacecraft (including material supposedly recovered at Roswell), the study of their occupants (living and dead), and the manufacture of aircraft based on alien technology.

Meetings or joint undertakings with extraterrestrials.

The development of exotic energy weapons (for SDI applications or otherwise) or means of weather control.

Activities related to a supposed shadowy world government.

 7.Microsoft sends messages on Wingdings Font

The Wingdings Font included with Windows has a history of controversy. In 1992, only days after the release of Windows 3.1, it was discovered that the character sequence "NYC" in Wingdings was rendered as Skull and crossbones symbol, Star of David, and thumbs up gesture. This could be interpreted as a message of approval of killing Jews, especially those from New York City.

Microsoft strongly denied this was intentional, and insisted that the final arrangement of the glyphs in the font was largely random. Various other combinations of Wingings characters are alleged to have special significance by conspiracy theorists, but these results are likely purely coincidental.

 8. U.S. military caused the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

Popular Arab news services claim the U.S. and Indian militaries deliberately caused the Indian Ocean tsunamis with electromagnetic pulse technology.

Another type of theory bases its claims on oil and gas interests. Others also reason that the technology is at least feasible if not highly probable since research into such technology has been conducted by the military as far back as World War II.

9. The Nazis had a Moon Base

Esoteric Hitlerists and conspiracy theorists interested in Nazi mysticism and World War II have speculated that the Germans landed on the Moon as early as 1942.

According to other theories it is believed that the Nazis had made contact with 'half a dozen' alien races, including the malevolent Reptilians.

 10. Kentucky Fried Chicken makes black men impotent

It is sometimes claimed that the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise is owned by the Ku Klux Klan, and the chicken is laced with a drug that makes only black men impotent.

Ironically, the KFC franchise is actually owned by an African-American.

Xbox Project Natal

Microsoft has been running 'secret' demonstrations of its much-talked about Xbox 360 Project Natal system in London, and naturally TechRadar was there.
The motion control and voice recognition system has been much debated since its unveiling at E3 last year but what's the reality of the user experience as it nears launch? Is it really a game-changer or just another gimmick?
Certainly after just a few minutes playtime with the system, its potential becomes apparent. Project Natal isn't just a Wii-competitor, it's way more interesting. For the first time, users will be able to control their home entertainment with gestures and voice commands, dispensing with a traditional controller altogether.
Microsoft is planning a firmware update that will make the entire Xbox 360 Dashboard navigable using Natal. This rather modest pronouncement has huge implications.
Imagine navigating the Dash with air-swipes of your hand to find your favourite movie download or music track and then verbally instructing the console to play it – without ever needing to resort to a control pad.


Inside Project Natal
The unit comprises an RGB camera, depth sensor and array microphone - all fairly off-the-shelf components. "What we've done is build a proprietary software layer that sits over the top of it and brings it all together," explains Hofto.

Much of the tech originates from research carried out by Microsoft's R&D facility in Cambridge. "Their work in developing Natural User Interface technology is key. It's all about how helping humans work naturally with technology, removing barriers.
"Everything we do with computers, interacting with a mouse and keyboard, that's us speaking the language of the computer; command prompts we have to do in order to communicate with the hardware.
"The Natural User Interface project flips that and helps the computer understand the nature of the human. With Project Natal, it's about the sensor understanding the language of you. The deep tech behind this has been going on for a number of years."

Project Natal games

What's immediately apparent is just how precise the tracking is. Your onscreen avatar authentically mirrors your movement as you jump around in front of the sensor. The sensor tracks your joints and removes the background.
Consequently, lurking interlopers do not confuse the system. The required distance between user and sensor varies depending on what activities are taking place. To play our bat and ball casual game, which requires a fair amount of physical movement, we stood around 3m from the transmitter.
Less active control would require less space. Think of the tracker as a stationary camera; it needs to keep you in the frame as you move left and right.


As you  moves backwards and forwards, the onscreen avatar mimics with astonishing accuracy. Unlike similar Eye-Toy-type products, the RGB camera maps skeletally and apparently understands how human joints work. It can also distinguish colours and it's this which allows it to cut the main subject away from the background.
Significantly, the amount of lag is minimal. The demo bat and ball game is dependant on very fast reaction times, but the system never seemed to struggle to keep up.
We ask if players will get to choose their avatar's body type or does the system need to map your actual shape?
"It would depend on the way the experience is built. This particular demonstration works with a basic male and female template," says Hofto.

[Preview link]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMb0LSsRnWk


Natal updates for existing games
It's unclear at the moment if existing games will receive Natal updates. Certainly Microsoft is concentrating on new fare, and regards Natal as the perfect lure to entice casual gamers from Nintendo's Wii.
"The Xbox 360 is thought of as a hardcore games platform, offering singular experiences. But Natal is a social technology, enabling us to introduce casual games we haven't been able to create before. It will be focused on fun, simple games. We don't know what third party publishers will do with the technology."
Adds Hofto: "All of our publishing partners have had Natal development kits for some time, but we have no idea what these third party publishers are up to. "We're focused on family content, titles that you can jump in and out of."

When can we get it?
Project Natal prices and bundling information are currently unavailable, although we do know that the Project Natal release date is by Christmas 2010. It's pretty evident Project Natal will debut with a number of SKUs. Says the woman from Microsoft: "The important thing to realise is that all existing Xbox 360s are compatible, everyone will be able experience the Natal revolution."