World's Largest Earthquake-Safe Building: Open for Business in Istanbul

"Istanbul Opens World's Largest Earthquake-Safe Building"
Wired Science (November 20, 2009)

"The world's largest seismically isolated building, the new international terminal at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport, is now complete and open for business.

"Stretching across more than 2 million square feet, the terminal doesn't sit directly on the soil, but rather on more than 300 isolators, bearings that can move side-to-side during an earthquake. The whole building moves as a single unit, which prevents damage from uneven forces acting on the structure.

" 'What an isolation system does is that it enables the building to move through large displacements in unison, and in doing that, you absorb earthquake energy,' said Atila Zekioglu, the engineer at the firm Arup, who designed the building.

"Earthquakes accelerate buildings laterally, whipping them back and forth. Isolators (see photo below) slow down the motion of the building. In the case of the new terminal, the building will only have to withstand one-fifth of the acceleration that it would have had to without the earthquake proofing...."

Designing with earthquakes in mind makes sense in Istanbul. The city is near where the Arabian, African, and Eurasian continental plates come together. The North Anatolian Fault runs about 15 miles south of the city, and since Earth's crust is pretty much constantly in motion, all three plates are sliding against each other.

Not smoothly. Like other fault lines, the ones in Istanbul's neighborhood stick for a while before jerking into a new position. When that happened on August 17, 1999, the city experienced a magnitude 7.4 earthquake 17,000 people stopped living rather abruptly, and billions of dollars' worth of property was damaged or destroyed.

That sort of thing is incentive to build the next set of buildings to ride out big quakes. One of which, the article says, is more likely than not to happen in the next 30 years or so.

The article shows how the new airport terminal is designed to stay more-or-less in place while the ground gets jerked around under it. That way, there will probably be damage - but a much better chance that the building won't collapse, killing whoever is inside.

Background on plate tectonics and continental drift:

• "Earth Science: Plate Tectonics"
  The astronomy & astrophysics program at Washington State University (May 8, 2000 )
  • A plethora of illustrations, and a little text, about continental drift
• "Chapter 2 - PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE US"
  GEOGRAPHY: USA, Alan A. Lew, (2004)
  • Written from an American point of view, as the title says - but also with a
    • Pretty good discussion of continental drift
    • Rather good map showing "Continental Drift in the past 200 million years"
• "Continental drift and climate"
  E. Linacre & B. Geerts, College of Engineering and Applied Science, Atmospheric Science, University of Wyoming (January, 2002)
• "Research Highlights - Jurassic Quiet Zone Deeptow Magnetics"
  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (January 31, 2005)
  • A fascinating article on some of "the oldest surviving ocean crust in the world today"

Metabolic Syndrome, Wii Fit, and Mii

"Metabolic syndrome"
Mayo Clinic

"Definition
"By Mayo Clinic staff

"Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels — that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

"Having just one of these conditions isn't diagnosed as metabolic syndrome, but it does contribute to your risk of serious disease. If more than one of these conditions occur in combination, your risk is even greater...."

How about three out of four? My blood pressure is in the normal range, for the most part, thanks to medication: and my blood sugar levels are getting down, thanks to medication and not-quite-fully-implemented changes in my diet. "Excess body fat around the waist" fits me. I do not think that the "body mass index" should be taken seriously: at least, not for people who aren't extreme ectomorphs. On the other hand, I can see that I've got maybe thirty or forty-plus pounds to lose: quite a bit of that around my waist.

Cholesterol would be an issue - although that's being controlled by medication, too.

How do I feel about having my metabolism kept stable with pharmaceuticals? Well, I'd like to be perfect. But I'm not: and this sure beats having a heart attack or stroke.

While I'm on the tell-all topics, I was (finally) diagnosed with major depression a few years ago - and yet another set of medications has me thinking without a struggle for the first time since I was about twelve. That, I'm elated about. It's amazing, what a person can do when you're not expending so much effort just making the brain work.

And, I'm counting on something that Mayo Clinic section said: "aggressive lifestyle changes can delay or even prevent the development of serious health problems."

Which brings me to the other topic of this post. (I try to avoid more than one topic/post, but these are more closely related than most.)

The Great Wii Fit Conspiracy

I see that Wii Fit ia up to Wii Fit Plus now. What Nintendo says about says about the new software is: "Wii Fit Plus combines fun and fitness into one product. It can change how you exercise, how you balance, and even how you move. Expanding upon the original Wii Fit software, Wii Fit Plus is packed with every feature from Wii Fit—plus new exercises and tools to personalize your exercise routine. If you already have a profile on the original Wii Fit, you can easily transfer it over to Wii Fit Plus."

Sounds like the best thing since sliced bread, doesn't it?

It should: advertising copywriters are supposed to produce compelling copy.

Well, nothing's perfect, and Wii Fit is no exception.

There's the usual set of technical issues. Putting the balance board on a hard, flat surface helps.

"Diary: One Week Playing Wii Fit"
Game|Life, Wired (March 4, 2008)

"Thanks to Game|Life's crack Japanese secret elite beat agents who came to San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference last month, Game|Life finally has its own copy of Wii Fit, the exercise game that Nintendo will launch in the United States on May 19.

"Wii Fit is already tearing up the charts in Japan, where it has sold more than 1 million copies. I expect it to be just as big a hit here — if not more so, since we actually need to lose weight, unlike some other countries I could name...."

"...One day at GDC, I was talking to Nintendo's new executive VP Cammie Dunaway, and she pointed out that the language in the U.S. version of Wii Fit will be softened a bit from the blunt Japanese version: 'It just says, "You're fat!"'

"And that is precisely what the Japanese version of Wii Fit told me mere minutes into the experience. I put in my height (6 feet 1 inch) and stood on the Balance Board. Quicker than you can say "ranch dressing," it told me I was fat. This thing is a genius!..."

I think the Wired review is fairly reasonable, particularly since I agree with the conclusion: "Wii Fit isn't perfect, but the feedback you get from the Balance Board makes it easily the best 'exer-game' yet"

Not everybody sees it that way.

Like just about everything else in the universe, Wii Fit is a conspiracy: in the minds of some.

"The Wii Fit conspiracy"
The University of New Mexico (UNM) - Lobo Lair Message Board » General Discussion » Mens Health (February 16, 2009)

"Can You Game Yourself Thin?

"There's nothing worse than getting ripped off.

"To invest your hard earned money on a product that promises results that aren't delivered.

"That's how millions of new Wii Fit owners are feeling right now, and I don't blame them.

"The Wii Fit is marketed as the latest and greatest way to lose weight and be fit. The specialized Nintendo is supposed to do the job of your gym, your treadmill and even your personal trainer.

"That's a lot of pressure for a video game.

"With all the buzz surrounding the Wii Fit, I decided that some research was in order. What is this Wii Fit, and how is it qualified to get you into the best shape of your life?

"The Wii uses television and a wireless "balance board" that is about two feet wide and half as deep. The board is basically a fancy scale, which measures your weight and detects your equilibrium. To play Wii Fit, you stand on the board and do a series of games that fall into one of four categories: aerobics, balance, strength, and yoga.

"My research did turn up some cases of documented weight loss as a result of Wii Fit play time. In each case the person went from a sedentary lifestyle (basically a couch potato) and saw weight loss after doing the Wii Fit for 30-60 minutes per day.

"Walking for 30-60 minutes per day will give the same results.

"To really understand the purpose of this product I did a search on Shigeru Miyamoto, he's the creator of the Wii Fit.

"What he said may shock you.

" 'I don't think Wii Fit's purpose is to make you fit; what it's actually aiming to do is make you aware of your body,' he said. 'That's why we wanted people to talk with their families about Wii Fit, and become aware of these things together as a group.'..."

Shocking!

The bottom line of this post seems to be: "It's time to call the Wii Fit what it really is: a video game...entertainment, and that's it."

My hat's off to the author of that post: "Veggie Power" didn't claim that Wii Fit was a plot by the shape-shifting space-alien lizard people to control the proletariat's brains with subliminal messages; or that the Illuminati were really behind it; or Big Oil, or whatever.

And I'm pretty sure that a young, fit, college student who works out an hour or so each day, and goes hiking, kayaking, canoeing, skiing, or whitewater rafting when schedules permit, would benefit a great deal from a Wii Fit.

But: a "conspiracy?!"

Me? I'm pushing 60. I've had desk jobs most of my life. I suspect that a combination of genetic predisposition and a childhood spent partly in a cast, studying the ceiling, encouraged my tendency to sit in one place and use my brain. I don't have anything against physical activity: but I hadn't made it a part of what I routinely do.

Until recently.

Remember that "metabolic syndrome" thing? I had a "shazam!" moment a few years ago, when I realized that I couldn't count on the iron constitution I inherited to keep me going.

Nice, normal exercises like climbing and jogging are out: I had my original-equipment hip joints swapped out a few years ago. The replacements are fine: for the first time in my life, I'm walking without pain. But, they don't have the range of motion that standard-issue joints have, and they aren't (quite) as durable. So I can't run or jump. Or climb ladders. Actually, I can: but it's sincerely not a good idea.

I'd been exercising on a treadmill and one of those stationary bikes for some time, when one of my kids bought the system that supports Wii Fit. And, since she lives in this household, I get to use it, too.

The Wii Fit solved the biggest - and virtually the only - major obstacle I had to getting enough exercise: the mind-numbing boredom of going through the same motions, over, and over, and over again, while I fought to keep my brain from jumping out of my skull, screaming for something - anything - to keep it busy.

A television set helps - but the idiot box has its limitations when it comes to intellectual stimulation. Although I can 'think about things' while I exercise, I long ago got used to being able to read, make notes, and use a keyboard while thinking.

I've tried making notes or reading while exercising: it's possible, to a limited extent, on an exercise bike; on a treadmill? Forget it. (It's not a good idea for me to try reading in a car, either. I mean, really not a good idea.)

I won't claim that the Wii Fit is intellectually challenging: but it's a notch or two up from watching a news channel or soaps while exercising.

It's even possible for me to "run" with the Wii Fit. It's got this routine where you hold the remote (it says 'put it in your pocket' - but that isn't the best option for me) and run in place. I know: sounds silly. But the screen shows what your Mii (the Wii Fit avatar) would see in the Wii Fit's virtual world. As the remote senses me moving my arm, it 'runs' the avatar. And, I see the landscape flowing toward me.

It's not a convincing illusion - at all - but there are enough visual references for my visual cortex to tell me that movement is happening. And, while I'm 'running' around the virtual island, I can look at the trees, the other Miis, and miscellaneous scenery. And, surprisingly, that's just enough to keep my eyes from glazing over while I exercise.

"Running?" Yeah: I can't run without putting too much stress on those new joints. Running in place isn't quite the same thing, though. I've got much tighter control over how and where I put down my legs, and there just isn't the impact - literally - that comes with 'really' running. That, I can live with. Besides, I do a lot of the 'running' with waving my arms back and forth - it probably looks ridiculous, but what does the television screen care?

Other parts of Wii Fit are a bit more engaging for me. There's a ski jump (simulated, and probably nothing like the real thing) that requires timing and coordination that's fun to improve on; a sort of roll-the-marbles-through-the-maze game that's as fun as the child's toy that does the same thing.

Aside from undoing the effects of decades behind a desk, I'm learning why people enjoy active games and sports.

That, as I said, I can live with.

Glow-in-the-Dark Flashing Tattoos? Prosthetics With Neural Interfaces? They're Coming

"Implantable Silicon-Silk electronics could mean LED tattoos"
gizmag (November 11, 2009)


(from Rogers/Omenetto, via gizmag, used w/o permission)
"A clear silk film, about one centimeter squared, with six silicon transistors on its surface about to be implanted into a mouse (Photo: Rogers/Omenetto)"

"Tattooing dates back to at least Neolithic times and has experienced a resurgence in popularity in many parts of the world in recent years. Advancements in tattoo pigments and the refinement of tattooing equipment has seen an improvement in the quality of tattoos being produced. Today it's possible to get ink that glows under UV light, but a new technology could see tattoos that emit their own light. Researchers have been able to build thin, flexible silicon electronics on silk substrates that almost completely dissolve inside the body, paving the way for embedded LED tattoos that offer much more than just aesthetic appeal...."

It's "nanotechnology," in one sense, although the things are big enough to see: silicon transistors about a millimeter long and 250 nanometers thick. Before being implanted, they're held in place by a fine silk film, which the body later absorbs.

These days, we can pack quite a bit of circuitry on a chip a millimeter across - so in principle someone could have "EAT AT JOE'S" flashing on the back of his hand, picked out with little LED lights.

Or, more practically, a digital readout of current blood sugar levels. Hey, I might have one of these things in a few years. It would sure beat pricking my fingers a couple times a day.

Or, someone with a prosthetic arm or leg could control it more effectively, with an interface that had the person's nervous system on one side, a set of these little circuits just under - or in - the skin, and matching pickups on the prosthesis.

The American Food and Drug Administration has already approved silk for medical implants - and our bodies aren't likely to react with the gold, silicon, and titanium in the circuitry. The gizmag article doesn't mention it, but I'd think that these gadgets could get energy from our bloodstream, just like our cells do: so you wouldn't have batteries to change.

Researchers at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Tufts University in Medford, MA, and the University of Pennsylvania are developing this technology.

First Credit Cards and Bar Codes, Now This?! It Must be the Apocalypse!!

No, I don't think so. But I think it's likely that an odd lot of seriously freaked-out people from the weird end of the tree-huggers, Bible-thumpers, and other subcultures will be saying silly things about this sort of implant, as the news filters out.

Me? I think that, like all technology from the sharpened stick to DVDs, these implants can be misused. People aren't perfect. But I also think that gadgets like this could be very, very useful in medicine.

And for people who want to display their affection for JOE'S EATS on their hands - or foreheads.

Growing Meat Without Animals: I Wondered How Long This Would Take

"Mad Science? Growing Meat Without Animals"
LiveScience (November 19, 2009)

"Winston Churchill once predicted that it would be possible to grow chicken breasts and wings more efficiently without having to keep an actual chicken. And in fact scientists have since figured out how to grow tiny nuggets of lab meat and say it will one day be possible to produce steaks in vats, sans any livestock.

"Pork chops or burgers cultivated in labs could eliminate contamination problems that regularly generate headlines these days, as well as address environmental concerns that come with industrial livestock farms.

"However, such research opens up strange and perhaps even disturbing possibilities once considered only the realm of science fiction. After all, who knows what kind of meat people might want to grow to eat?..."

You think there are people having conniptions about "genetically engineered" food now? Wait until someone starts growing steaks without cattle.

Actually, I've been wondering why this took so long. Dusting off notes for an unwritten (so far) science fiction story, I noted "steakfruit" - grown on trees, the "fruit" is about the size of a grapefruit - with bovine meat inside. No plant would grow something like that if left to itself.

But seriously: do you think it's just random chance that makes domestic turkeys so much more muscular - and stupider - than their wild counterparts? We've "genetically engineered" the brains out of them, turned their feathers white, and made sure that they'd look like avian Schwarzeneggers (No offense to the California governor: Arnold Schwarzenegger has a mind like a steel trap: but he was also seriously buff in his Conan days).

Some of the arguments that LiveScience gives for developing real-life equivalents of "steakfruit" involve being scared of greenhouse gasses (think "the belching cows of doom"), avoiding animal suffering (they've got a point there - but what about the poor plants?), and cutting down on animal-born ailments, like mad cow disease.

That last actually makes sense - but I'm pretty sure that, if "steakfruit" go on the market, someone in, say, Burbank, would get sick after eating one - and there'd be more fuss about big, bad science. Seriously, I don't think it would take all that long for some microorganism to develop an affinity for muscle tissue grown in plants. Bacteria and viruses mutate and adapt fast. There's even a species of bacteria that lives in hairspray. (May 27, 2009)

And, since that particular species would most likely die out if the brand of hairspray it lives in was discontinued: the producers should be forced to keep making it, or face the wrath of conservationists. Hey, we don't want another endangered species, do we?

Related posts:

• "Tofu Turkeys, Genetically Altered Foods, and the Evil Eye"
  (November 14, 2009)
• "Food, Agriculture, Technology, and City Folks"
  Drifting at the Edge of Time and Space (October 2, 2009)
• "Ten Newly-Discovered Species - Including Bacteria in Hairspray"
  (May 27, 2009)
• "Earth Day 2009: Don't Stop Breathing to Save Earth"
  (April 22, 2009)
• "Agriculture as a Mistake"
  (October 29, 2007)