Technology is all about making things smaller, and to that end, right now they’re working on making the smallest things possible. Nanotechnology is the science of making robots that aren’t much bigger than a molecule, and there are lots of reasons for doing it, the biggest being because we fucking can.

Imagine sending a million microscopic machines into a person’s bloodstream programmed to attack a tumor, or shoot the AIDS virus with tiny little phasers. Imagine swarms of little cleaning droids mopping up the pollution in our rivers, or tiny manufacturing droids that can build anything we want, in seconds, molecule-by-molecule.

The big problem is, of course, how you actually build trillions of these little bastards. Simple: you teach them to replicate like cells, using materials from the environment.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

K. Eric Drexler, one of the founding fathers of the whole nanotechnology concept, came up with a number of spine-chillingly plausible doomsday scenarios. The problem is our nanobots would be like cellular terminators, much more advanced than any of the pansy-ass creations nature invented. They could out-compete organic life overnight, obliterating it in a frenzy of Darwinism.

Taken to its extreme, we have the scenario affectionately known as the gray goo problem, which speculates the machines would simply start replicating out of control until everything in existence is just a mass of tiny, scuttling robots, which scientists imagine would look like a pile of gray slop floating through the void.

So, Basically It’s Like…

Imagine you meet a magical leprechaun. For a bargain price, he offers to fix up the your house and add an extra room. So you take him home, and he proceeds to eat your house and shit out a hundred and forty more leprechans, which promptly murder you.

How Long Have We Got?

Scientists excitedly assure us that we will have a fully operational murderous death-swarm within twenty years, maybe even as soon as 2010. Right now they’re trying to build something called a fabricator, which from our reading is some kind of indestructible robot swarm-queen built out of diamond, who will give birth to trillions of nanomachines and command them to consume all in their path.

Risk Level: 10

Basically the only thing that will save us from getting transformed into globulets of grey goo in a few years will be if the Large Hadron Collider kills us first.

You already know that drinking wheatgrass juice is healthy, but did you know that wheatgrass juice and juice in general is becoming very popular? The Next Big Thing? One of the top 10 new business trends for the new century as reported by Entrepreneur Magazine? Soon, juice joints will be popping up everywhere like Starbucks coffee shops. “We grow our own wheatgrass,” is the claim to fame of Jugo Juice, a chain of juice bars in Canada. The brains behind Jugo Juice, two former Starbucks baristas, spotted the trend and plan to market this Next Big Thing to the same gourmet coffee-swilling crowd that bought the last Big Thing. “Will it be mocha latte grande today or rhubarb wheatgrass?”

Making a big thing about juice won’t be cheap though. Did you expect it to be? A wheatgrass concoction can cost $5.00 and more. But don’t despair if you are one of those unfortunates on a budget or where a juice joint hasn’t popped yet. You can grow and juice wheatgrass at home. It’s easy and inexpensive.

What you will need to get started:

Wheat. Wheat is that cereal grain that we do so much with already: flour, bread, pasta, sprouts, and cake. You can grow grass with it too. Wheatgrass grows from whole wheat “berries.” Organic, hard red winter wheat berries that haven’t been treated with chemicals or oxygen absorbers are the best wheat berries to use for growing wheatgrass. The berry is really a seed, alive but dormant, so it needs oxygen in storage. 4,000-year-old wheat from Egyptian tombs has been known to grow so it probably doesn’t need very much oxygen. Health food stores and natural food co-ops where you can buy in bulk are the best bet for finding the wheat berries. Clerks might not know if the wheat has been treated. Buy it and try it anyway: just get started.

Trays. Wheatgrass will grow in only an inch of soil so you don’t need a large garden area. Thick rigid plastic trays like cafeteria trays or photographic processing trays are good. Cafeteria trays are usually about 10” X 14” and this is a convenient size to work with. Plant nursery seedling trays are another option. Just about anything is worth a try: metal snack trays, pyrex baking dishes, anything that will hold an inch or two of soil. Cardboard is not recommended though. It falls apart after only one use and can be a watering mess. Restaurant suppliers and second hand stores are good sources for trays.

Soil. A good soil mixture for the trays is 50% organic compost or potting soil and 50% peat moss. Mix it thoroughly, breaking up clumps and add a couple of teaspoons of rock dust, dolomite or greensand per tray (optional). If you are a gardener you probably already have a favorite seed starter mix and this will work too. It is best not to use outdoor garden soil because of the bugs and stray weed seeds.

Water. Untreated well water is the best water to use but difficult to obtain for most of us. If your water is heavily chlorinated (can you smell it?) use filtered water or let it set in an open container 24 hours to let the chlorine gas off. A mister bottle and a watering can with a sprinkler head will be handy.

Grow the Grass

1) Soak the wheat berries for 12 hours or overnight. Use one cup of wheat berries per (cafeteria) tray and enough water to cover the berries by about 1-2 inches. Cover or put in a dark place. In hot weather the berries can start to ferment in this amount of time. They will be bubbly, foamy and maybe even smell. If this happens, you can throw them out and start over or plant them anyway. They might grow; wheat seems forgiving of mistakes like these.

2) Plant the wheat berries. Prepare the trays by spreading the soil mixture about 1-2 inches deep or however much the tray will hold. In shallow trays like cafeteria trays, make a trough around the edge and mound the soil slightly in the center. This keeps the water in the trays and prevents overflow accidents. Water the soil well with the mister and spread the soaked wheat berries in a single layer. They can touch but should not be on top of each other. Cover with a thin layer of soil as thin as you can make it. Cover the tray with another tray or several layers of dampened newspaper and plastic over all. Place in a dark cool place.

3) The wheat berries germinate and sprout. For the first 3-5 days uncover the trays daily for fresh air. Check for mold and wipe it off if you find it. Check for moisture and water with the mister if it seems dry. Cover and put the tray back in the cool dark place. You should be seeing roots and sprouts in this timeframe. After 5 days, if there are no sprouts and/or lots of mold, you may have bad seeds or soaked them too long or overwatered or had too much heat for germination.

4) When the sprouts are 1 inch tall, uncover and mist with a dilute liquid seaweed supplement. This supplement step is optional but worth it if you have the seaweed available. Continue to keep the trays uncovered, in indirect sunlight until the blades of grass have grown to 8-10” tall. This may take another week. They need water everyday. Use the sprinkler can for the main watering and mist later if they look wilty. Use the seaweed only in the first days, otherwise the juice may taste like seaweed. Turn the trays if the grass begins to lean in one direction.

Juice the Grass

You will need a serrated knife or pair of scissors, several bowls, shotglasses, measuring cups and a juicer.

Juicers are manual hand-cranked or electric. Electric juicers should be low rpm (not over 50 rpm) because high speed oxidizes the grass and the grass fibers bind. Don’t even try to use a blender. Electric juicers are the only expensive part of this whole process. An electric juicer will pay for itself though if you consider all those $5.00 juice drinks at the juice bar. Hand-cranked models are cheaper but you have to do some work to get your juice.

1) Harvest the wheatgrass with scissors or a knife. Hold a bunch of wheatgrass in one hand and cut as close to the soil as possible with the other hand. Have a bowl handy. The grass is so pretty, green and vibrant. You may not want to cut it but do it anyway.

2) Get the juicer out. You will need a bowl to catch the expelled pulp and shotglasses or measuring cups to hold the juice. Feed the grass into the hopper and either crank or let electricity do the work. Soon a dark green liquid will come out with the pulp coming out separately. The pulp can be run through the juicer again. A light green foam comes out as well making a head on the juice.

3) Clean the juicer right away. It is difficult to clean if left too long.

4) After harvest you have a tray full of grass stubble. There are plenty of things to do with it. Continue to water it and get a second growth to juice again. It is a good addition to compost bins and worm bins. Break the mat of roots and soil into pieces before adding to the bin. You can also feed it to chickens. They love pecking out the berry and getting some fresh greens at the same time. Take the mat of roots, soil and grass stubble out in one piece for the chickens.

Use the Juice

The juice should be used within 30 minutes of harvest and juicing. It starts breaking down and goes bad within 12 hours.

Drink it for a morning energizer, for detoxifying and cleansing. Instead of a vitamin pill from a factory or processing plant drink 1-2 ounces of wheatgrass juice for your vitamins, minerals, enzymes, protein and chlorophyll. You probably won’t be drinking it for the taste. Some people have a hard time getting it down the hatch. One trick is to hold your breath and put a piece of parsley in your mouth. Just think how healthy it is too. That should help. The taste is very grassy (surprise) but has a sweet finish.

Drink it as part of a fast. Wheatgrass juice is an excellent super nutritional addition to a fasting program. Always drink plenty of water while fasting.

Wheatgrass juice can be used in enemas and rectal implants for rapid cleansing. Juice can be used in douches as well.

The expelled pulp and juice can be used in first aid poultices applied to sunburned skin, rashes, boils and cuts.

Wheatgrass juice has cosmetic uses. Use it as a hair conditioner and scalp treatment. Gargle with it for fresh breath and gum health.

Give yourself a facial with wheatgrass juice. First cleanse and steam the skin to open pores. Then apply undiluted fresh juice to the skin with cottonballs. Relax for 5 minutes and rinse.

Take a bath in wheatgrass juice. Usually wheatgrass juice is used undiluted or straight, but for this application diluted is the way to go. Pour a few ounces into the bathwater and make a teabag of pulp to hang.

Throw a wheatgrass party. It is best to invite a mix of people: people who know about wheatgrass but have never tried it and old hands. Introducing people to wheatgrass juice is great entertainment.

Green beer. Instead of using food coloring to make green beer for St. Patrick’s Day, use wheatgrass juice. It doesn’t take much to turn beer a beautiful green color. It’s much healthier than food coloring.

Finally, get in on the new business trend and start your own wheatgrass juice business.

BEIJING (Reuters) - At least eight American blogger-activists and several other foreigners have been detained in Beijing as the government intensifies a crackdown on pro-Tibetan protests in the home stretch of the Olympics, rights groups said on Wednesday.

Students for a Free Tibet earlier said authorities detained five self-styled “citizen journalists” who were in Beijing to promote Tibetan freedom on Tuesday. The New York-based group said activist-artist James Powderly had also been nabbed.

Later on Wednesday, the group said four more protesters, including two Americans and a British national, were also detained after unfurling a Tibetan flag outside the National Stadium, or “Bird’s Nest.”

The Beijing Olympics have not been dogged by the widespread demonstrations that authorities had feared. Several protesters advocating for Tibet independence have nonetheless managed to breach tight security, in one case hanging a “Free Tibet” banner outside the headquarters of the state broadcaster.

China is particularly sensitive to criticism of its rule in Tibet, the far-western region Communist troops entered in 1950.

“In relation to foreigners holding demonstrations in Beijing in support of Tibet independence, competent authorities have the right to handle these things according to law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference on Wednesday.

“I’d also like to emphasize that in China, activities that support Tibet independence will be strongly condemned by the Chinese people and will not be welcomed.”

A psychiatrist was conducting a group therapy session with four young Mothers and their small children.’You all have obsessions,’ he observed.

To the first mother, Mary, he said, ‘You are obsessed with eating. You’ve even named your daughter Candy.’

He turned to the second Mom, Ann: ‘Your obsession is with money. Again, it manifests itself in your child’s name, Penny.’

He turned to the third Mom, Joyce: ‘Your obsession is alcohol. This too shows itself in your child’s name, Brandy.’

At this point, the fourth mother, Kathy, quietly got up, took her little boy by the hand and whispered, ‘Come on, Dick, we’re leaving. Your brothers Peter and Willy are waiting for us.”

Brachial Stun, Throat Cut.

This technique relies on complete mental stunning to enable the soldier to cut the sentry’s throat, severing the trachea and carotid arteries. Death results within 5 to 20 seconds. Some sounds are emitted from the exposed trachea, but the throat can be cut before the sentry can recover from the effect of the stunning strike and cry out. The soldier silently approaches to within striking range of the sentry (Figure 7-1, Step 1). The soldier strikes the side of the sentry’s neck with the knife butt or a hammer fist strike (Figure 7-1, Step 2), which completely stuns the sentry for three to seven seconds. He then uses his body weight to direct the sentry’s body to sink in one direction and uses his other hand to twist the sentry’s head to the side, deeply cutting the throat across the front in the opposite direction (Figure 7-1, Step 3). He executes the entire length of the blade in a slicing motion. The sentry’s sinking body provides most of the force–not the soldier’s upper-arm strength.

Pressure Points

During medium-range combat, punches and strikes are usually short because of the close distance between fighters. Power is generated by using the entire body mass in motion behind all punches and strikes. a. Hands as Weapons. A knowledge of hand-to-hand combat fighting provides the fighter another means to accomplish his mission. Hands can become deadly weapons when used by a skilled fighter.

(1) Punch to solar plexus. The defender uses this punch for close-in fighting when the opponent rushes or tries to grab him. The defender puts his full weight and force behind the punch and strikes his opponent in the solar plexus ,knocking the breath out of his lungs. The defender can then follow-up with a knee to the groin, or he can use other disabling blows to vital areas.

(2) Thumb strike to throat. The defender uses the thumb strike to the throat as an effective technique when an opponent is rushing him or trying to grab him. The defender thrusts his right arm and thumb out and strikes his opponent in the throat-larynx area while holding his left hand high for protection. He can follow up with a disabling blow to his opponent’s vital areas.

(3) Thumb strike to shoulder joint. The opponent rushes the defender and tries to grab him. The defender strikes the opponent’s shoulder joint or upper pectoral muscle with his fist or thumb. This technique is painful and renders the opponent’s arm numb. The defender then follows up with a disabling movement.

(4) Hammer-fit strike to face.
The opponent rushes the
defender. The defender counters
by rotating his body in the
direction of his opponent and by
striking him in the temple, ear, or
face. The defender
follows up with kicks to the groin
or hand strikes to his opponent’s
other vital areas.

(5) Hammer-fist strike to side
of neck. The defender catches his
opponent off guard, rotates at the
waist to generate power, and
strikes his opponent on the side of
the neck (carotid artery)
with his hand
clenched into a fist. This strike
can cause muscle spasms at the
least and may knock his opponent
unconscious.

(6) Hammer fist to pectoral
muscle. When the opponent tries
to grapple with the defender, the
defender counters by forcefully
striking his opponent in the
pectoral muscle .
This blow stuns the opponent, and
the defender immediately follows
up with a disabling blow to a vital
area of his opponent’s body.

(7) Hook punch to solar plexus
or floating ribs. The opponent
tries to wrestle the defender to the
ground. The defender counters
with a short hook punch to his
opponent’s solar plexus or floating
ribs . A sharply
delivered blow can puncture or
collapse a lung. The defender
then follows up with a combination
of blows to his opponent’s vital
areas.

(8) Uppercut to chin. The
defender steps between his
opponent’s arms and strikes with an
uppercut punch to the
chin or jaw. The defender then
follows up with blows to his
opponent’s vital areas.

(9) Knife-hand strike to side of
neck. The defender executes a
knife-hand strike to the side of his
opponent’s neck the
same way as the hammer-fist strike
except he uses the edge of his striking hand.

(10) Knife-hand strike to radial nerve. The opponent tries to strike the
defender with a punch. The defender counters by striking his opponent on
the top of the forearm just below the elbow (radial nerve) and
uses a follow-up technique to disable his opponent.

(11) Palm-heel strike to chin. The opponent tries to surprise the defender
by lunging at him. The defender quickly counters by striking his opponent
with a palm-heel strike to the chin using maximum force.
Gönderen guncelfilm zaman: 08:16 0 yorum
STRIKING PRINCIPLES
STRIKING PRINCIPLES

Effective striking with the weapons of the body to the opponent’s vital points
is essential for a victorious outcome in a hand-to-hand struggle. A soldier
must be able to employ the principles of effective striking if he is to emerge
as the survivor in a fight to the death.

a. Attitude.

Proper mental attitude is of primary importance in the
soldier’s ability to strike an opponent. In hand-to-hand combat, the soldier
must have the attitude that he will defeat the enemy and complete the mission,
no matter what. In a fight to the death, the soldier must have the frame of
mind to survive above all else; the prospect of losing cannot enter his mind.
He must commit himself to hit the opponent continuously with whatever it
takes to drive him to the ground or end his resistance. A memory aid is,
“Thump him and dump him!”
b. Fluid Shock Wave.

A strike should be delivered so that the target is hit
and the weapon remains on the impact site for at least a tenth of a second. This
imparts all of the kinetic energy of the strike into the target area, producing
a fluid shock wave that travels into the affected tissue and causes maximum
damage. It is imperative that all strikes to vital points and nerve motor points are
delivered with this principle in mind. The memory aid is, “Hit and stick!”
c. Target Selection.

Strikes should be targeted at the opponent’s vital
points and nerve motor points. The results of effective strikes to vital points
are discussed in paragraph 4-1. Strikes to nerve motor points cause
temporary mental stunning and muscle motor dysfunction to the affected
areas of the body. Mental stunning results when the brain is momentarily
disoriented by overstimulation from too much input—for example, a strike
to a major nerve. The stunning completely disables an opponent for three to
seven seconds and allows the soldier to finish off the opponent, gain total
control of the situation, or make his escape. Sometimes, such a strike causes
unconsciousness. A successful strike to a nerve motor center also renders the
affected body part immovable by causing muscle spasms and dysfunction due
to nerve overload.
(1) Jugular notch pressure point. Located at the base of the neck just
above the breastbone; pressure to this notch can distract and take away his
balance. Pressure from fingers jabbed into the notch incurs intense pain that
causes an the opponent to withdraw from the pressure involuntarily.
(2) Suprascapular nerve motor point. This nerve is located where the
trapezius muscle joins the side of the neck. A strike to this point causes
intense pain, temporary dysfunction of the affected arm and hand, and mental
stunning for three to seven seconds. The strike should be a downward
knife-hand or hammer-fist strike from behind.
(3) Brachial plexus origin. This nerve motor center is on the side of the
neck. It is probably the most reliable place to strike someone to stun them.
Any part of the hand or arm may be applied—the palm heel, back of the hand,
knife hand, ridge hand, hammer fist, thumb tip, or the forearm. A proper
strike to the brachial plexus origin causes—

* Intense pain.
* Complete cessation of motor activity.
* Temporary dysfunction of the affected arm.
* Mental stunning for three to seven seconds.
* Possible unconsciousness.

(4) Brachial plexus clavicle notch pressure point. This center is behind the
collarbone in a hollow about halfway between the breastbone and the
shoulder joint. The strike should be delivered with a small-impact weapon
or the tip of the thumb to create high-level mental stunning and dysfunction
of the affected arm.
(5) Brachial plexus tie-in motor point. Located on the front of the shoulder
joint, a strike to this point can cause the arm to be ineffective. Multiple strikes
may be necessary to ensure total dysfunction of the arm and hand.
(6) Stellate ganglion. The ganglion is at the top of the pectoral muscle
centered above the nipple. A severe strike to this center can cause high-level
stunning, respiratory dysfunction, and possible unconsciousness. A straight
punch or hammer fist should be used to cause spasms in the nerves affecting
the heart and respiratory systems.
(7) Cervical vertebrae. Located at the base of the skull, a strike to this
particular vertebrae can cause unconsciousness or possibly death. The
harder the strike, the more likely death will occur.
(8) Radial nerve motor point. This nerve motor point is on top of the
forearm just below the elbow. Strikes to this point can create dysfunction of
the affected arm and hand. The radial nerve should be struck with the
hammer fist or the forearm bones or with an impact weapon, if available.
Striking the radial nerve can be especially useful when disarming an opponent
armed with a knife or other weapon.
(9) Median nerve motor point. This nerve motor point is on the inside of
the forearm at the base of the wrist, just above the heel of the hand. Striking
this center produces similar effects to striking the radial nerve, although it is
not as accessible as the radial nerve.
(10) Sciatic nerve. A sciatic nerve is just above each buttock, but below
the belt line. A substantial strike to this nerve can disable both legs and
possibly cause respiratory failure. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the
body besides the spinal cord. Striking it can affect the entire body, especially
if an impact weapon is used.
(11) Femoral nerve. This nerve is in the center of the inside of the thigh;
striking the femoral nerve can cause temporary motor dysfunction of the
affected leg, high-intensity pain, and mental stunning for three to seven
seconds. The knee is best to use to strike the femoral nerve.
(12) Common peroneal nerve motor point. The peroneal nerve is on the
outside of the thigh about four fingers above the knee. A severe strike to this
center can cause collapse of the affected leg and high-intensity pain, as well
as mental stunning for three to seven seconds. This highly accessible point is
an effective way to drop an opponent quickly. This point should be struck
with a knee, shin kick, or impact weapon.