Boston Dynamics has invented the most amazing autonomous Robot that they call BigDog which walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. This robot reminds me of a cross between RoboCop and a Star Wars’ Imperial Walker. The BigDog robot runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, and carries a 340 lb load!  They say, and you can hear, that it is powered by a two stroke gas engine and has articulated legs like an animal.  Those legas are controlled by an on-board computer that manages locomotion, servos and sensors.    The BigDog program is funded by DARPA.

Photo Credit: www.2dayblog.com

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Wow, are we having a JFK or Gettysburg Address moment? Obama may have delivered the speech of our lives:

“We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.” Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America’s improbable experiment in democracy. Farmers and scholars; statesmen and patriots who had traveled across an ocean to escape tyranny and persecution finally made real their declaration of independence at a Philadelphia convention that lasted through the spring of 1787…. ” My favorite line - “As such, Reverend Wright’s comments were not only wrong but divisive, divisive at a time when we need unity”

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I have been looking at outsourcing for years for call centers, product customer support and lightweight web development. Now for roughly $5,000 you can rent Indian surrogate mothers. This nominal fee includes agency costs, embryo implantation, and delivery. India has already established itself as an attractive place to conduct this sort of business because the hospitals are good and the costs are low and apparently there are plenty of willing women. In America, by contrast, a complete surrogacy process would cost closer to $50,000.

The leader in this new business wit the Akanksha Clinic at the Kaival hospital in Anand India. The staff at this facility are focused on infertility which boasts a 44% success rate and has a waiting list of more than 1,000 couples. Its created a whole new ecosystem around the service called “reproductive tourism” where hotels, restaurants and excursions are tailored to the donor couples. Lisa Ling who recently produced a piece on Oprah on the service has been taking some heat for her lack of a balanced report on womb outsourcing. I personally have no issue with the the practice for infertile couples but do think its a little scary as I do know a few busy women that probably would have paid the dough rather than going thru pregnancy and delivery. What do you think?

Photo credit: www.scienceclarified.com

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