GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

When a loved one dies, it is beyond painful. Understandably, people sometimes go to great lengths to preserve the memory of those they loved, and surely everyone who has suffered such a loss sympathizes with this ideology. But can people sometimes go a little too far with it?  Well, that’s up to you to decide, but when the Gorilla heard about this weird phenomenon, he got a bit creeped out. Why? Well because one company is capitalizing on death and bereavement by offering to turn your loved one’s remains into jewelry- specifically a precious diamond. Sure, why not wear your lovely Aunt Theresa right around your neck after she passes? If that’s not a tribute to those you love, what is?  The company, called LifeGem, uses the motto: “Like the memory of a loved one, a diamond lasts forever” and specializes in a patented process of creating diamonds (almost exactly like the real things) made of the carbon remains of your cremated loved one or from the carbon in the hair from your deceased loved one. Creepy? Again, that is for you to decide, but then again, to each his own.  The process is a painstaking one that involves a heating procedure, which heats the carbon in sealed containers called “crucibles” to over 3000 degrees. The idea is to replicate the earth’s natural process of converting carbon to graphite to create a pure diamond. Interesting? Well, yes, extremely, and no, this is not exactly a new concept either.  General Electric first had the patent on this process back in the 1950’s. But present day technology has brought this unique idea to the forefront and has made it a reality for those who wish to keep the memory of their loved one alive forever. It’s really not all that strange if you consider that many cultures in the history of civilization have performed similar bizarre acts when those they loved died.  The Ancient Egyptians, for example, buried their deceased with all of their expensive worldly possessions in a mummification process that was meant to ensure entry into the next life. The ancient Chinese (and modern day as well) believe that you should have a public mourning for a period of 49 days and during different days carry out specific rituals at the grave site, such as burning money and incense. They are also very careful about where they bury their dead and which way the deceased will face in some cases.  Some Native American Indians believe that if you die in your home, your spirit remains there, so many choose to die in hospitals instead. Some also believe that if you lost a limb in life that it must be preserved and replaced after the person has passed in order to be buried whole. Yes, folks it is the Western Civilizations that are considered to be the “abnormal” ones when it comes to their views and perceptions about death.  

So, is it really all that odd to want your Mother’s remains preserved in a beautiful diamond to wear close to your heart? Perhaps not, but the Gorilla isn’t expecting any of his loved ones to go to such extremes. Just bury him in a cool place, with a banana in his hand, and he will be just fine!

It’s happened to all of us. The dreaded cell phone call we needed to make, but didn’t want to. You know what the Gorilla is referring to. That call to your boss to tell him you didn’t make the deadline or that call to your girlfriend to tell her “it’s over.” Or how about the call to that “Chatty Kathy” you work with that has you praying for her voicemail every time you dial her?  Yes, we have all had moments where we just wanted to skip the actual conversation and just leave a message and now a new service called Slydial lets you do just that. The concept of the service is not necessarily a new one. However, unlike similar services that are limited to only others in your network, Slydial actually lets you do this with anyone at anytime in the U.S., and not just another person in your network.  Slydial is simple and easy: Users simply call 267-SlyDial and listen to a short advertisement (or you can pay 15 cents per call to skip this step) and the call is then directed straight to the person’s voicemail. And voila! The awkwardness is avoided altogether (or at least delayed). Recipients still get a notification of a voicemail or in some cases even a missed call. Gavin Macomber, Co-Founder of MobileSphere Ltd., the company behind SlyDial, says that “everybody has gone through the scenario where they’ve called somebody and just hoped they got voicemail so they didn’t have to have a conversation.”  He, like so many of us, believes that SlyDial can come in handy in the business world as well as in our personal lives, and the Gorilla agrees. Not only are conversations sometimes too time-consuming, but yes, they can be terribly awkward as well. But let’s not get too comfortable with this concept folks…after all, it’s not completely foolproof, as sometimes a half ring may actually occur, alerting the receiver that you just called! They may call you back right away, without ever listening to the voicemail you left. Oops! Backfire. God forbid you have to talk with them!   

As convenient as it may be to simply “avoid” actually conversing with others, let’s just be honest here– this behavior sounds remarkably like “cowardice” in a lot of ways! Call it what you will, but it’s an interesting service.

Have you ever wondered if you can get better health information on the Internet than you can from your own physician? Many people rely on the Internet to attempt to diagnose problems that they are having prior to seeing a doctor, and surprisingly, many doctors actually condone this practice. Why? Because some doctors believe that with the limited time they have with patients now, it is tedious to have to sit and go over symptoms, and it is simply too time consuming. They believe that if a patient comes in prepared, after having done their own research online, the patient is more aware of what is ailing them.  Doctors can then get right to making a diagnosis based upon the information about the exact symptoms that the patient is experiencing. Of course there are many doctors who believe just the opposite is true. These physicians believe that often times when people do their own research to try and “self diagnose” they can actually make it more difficult on the doctors who are treating them, by complicating the matter.  But what do you think? The Gorilla knows that if something is ailing him, he can do his own “pre-diagnosis” to narrow it down. That way, you have a precise idea of what is wrong with you prior to seeing the doctor, and you can even make suggestions of what you think it could be based on your online diagnosis. The Internet is a great tool to research medical problems and one woman in the UK found out exactly how good it really is when she used it to diagnose her daughter’s illness when doctors could not find one.  For 6 months, the 16-year-old girl suffered with severe headaches and fatigue. When doctors could not find a diagnosis, the girl’s mother turned to the Internet and found a disease with all of the symptoms her daughter was suffering from- Lymes disease. And when she told the doctor to run the test, they found that it was, in fact, Lymes disease. Without this important information, the girl could have died. Thank God this mother did her “homework!!  So do you think you could do the same thing? Sure you could!  There are several websites dedicated to helping patients pinpoint certain illnesses based upon their symptoms and they can be extremely helpful when patients are faced with a medical problem. WebMD and Healthline, for instance, are sites that let you target the exact area of the body based on whether you are male or female, and along with its “symptom checker,”, helps you narrow down your symptoms. It then gives you all of the possible illnesses based on those symptoms. The result is an idea or several ideas of the direction in which you want your doctor to go. These sites may also be helpful in making you aware of certain treatment options that your doctor may have overlooked or failed to mention. Many patients look to the Internet for alternative treatments to illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and heart problems. Certain search engines can also give patients access to treatment centers and their locations. And don’t think patients are the only ones using the Internet to help research and diagnose medical conditions; physicians often rely on the power of the Internet to help them find valuable information and resources as well.  So should you be doing your own “self-diagnosis,” as well using the Internet? Well, that is entirely up to you, but doctors warn that too much “self-diagnosis” can be dangerous and they say that no matter what the concern is, you should always seek help from a medical professional even if you think you know what is wrong. Yes, online medical help cannot replace actual tests and getting professional help and treatments, but it certainly can be helpful, and that is the whole point of the Internet!

Ever wonder what it would be like to take a flight somewhere and actually be able to use that laptop you lugged aboard for Internet access? You probably know that it’s been in the works for a while now, but now it’s become a reality.  JetBlue will be offering limited email and instant messaging services on some of its flights as early as next week to try and renew efforts to offer in-flight Internet access. The great news is that it will be absolutely free! Wow..something free on an airplane flight in THIS volatile economy? That’s certainly a hard thing to believe!  But before you get too excited, notice what the Gorilla relayed earlier about this announcement; it’s LIMITED Internet access. So what does that mean exactly? Well, to start with, general email attachments and web surfing will not be permitted because of bandwidth constraints. In addition, if you want to use your laptop or handheld device you will have to use services from Yahoo only, which will limit some people, but then again, you could always forward your corporate emails to a Yahoo account, right?  Jet Blue also has a deal with Research in Motion to allow passengers with one of two Blackberry models (which both have WI-FI capabilities) to check personal email and work email as well.  JetBlue plans to debut its new system on an Airbus A320 on Tuesday’s flight from New York to San Francisco. The aircraft has been specially designated “BetaBlue,” as it will be used to test the systems new entertainment services offered through JetBlue’s subsidiary LiveTV. As far as use of the devices during take-off and landing, that has not changed, and JetBlue still requires them to be turned off during take off and landing.  

Glenn Fleishman, editor of the Wi-Fi Networking News site, said he “knew of no commercial airline currently offering such services, though many will debut next year.” But other airlines are expected to follow suit with the use of the Internet, etc. and AMR Corp.’s  American Airlines is expected to do so as early as within the next few months. So is it a good thing even though you may be “limited?” Well, at least it’s a start. Even if you are limited to certain devices, certain options, and using Yahoo services, most people believe that if they can at least access their corporate emails while in flight, that takes care of a lot of issues. And that my friends, limited as it may be, is better than nothing!

It is Monday. You are up and about getting ready for your usual commute to work. On your way out, you look in the mirror by the front door to check your appearance, as you always do. Tie is straight…check! Hair is neat…check! No food in the teeth…check! You are on time- no, you are early, in fact. You think to yourself, “This will be a good day.” Suddenly, just as you are opening your car door- BAM! A flash of light hits you out of nowhere. It happens to you every so often so you are no stranger to its sneakiness, and its brashness. It is a migraine-or at least the familiar beginnings of a migraine and you dread what you know will be the inevitable pain and misery that will surely abound within the hour.  For those of you who don’t know about them, a migraine is not just a bad headache, it is much worse, and unless you have personally experienced one, you cannot imagine just how badly they can hurt. They are painful. They are disruptive. They can sometimes be debilitating. But now, a new device is on the horizon that may just zap the pain away.  A recent study revealed that a device, which delivers a therapy known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, may be just what the doctor ordered. This cool little device sparks a magnetic pulse, that when held against a person’s head, creates an electric current among nerve cells to the brain. In turn, the migraine is disrupted in the “aura” phase, which is experienced by many people at the beginning stages of a migraine and causes visual disturbances and tingling and numbness. A new study, which included over 200 patients, randomly selected some of the patients to use the TMS device and the others to use a “sham” product. Of those who used the TMS device, 39% of the TMS patients were pain-free two hours after treatment, versus 22% of patients using the sham device.  

Dr. Yousef Mohammad, of Ohio State University in Columbus, said “This is very significant. This is a much better response than is achieved with any other method or medication that we have.” If this incredible device becomes available, it means that the misery migraine sufferers have to endure may be soon be a thing of the past. So let’s rewind, shall we? With the TMS device in your pocket, you walk to your car feeling ready for the day, and when the migraine strikes, you whip out your little headache blocker and BAM! Within a short period of time, you are back to Monday morning in great shape and the day isn’t an entire loss. Well, isn’t technology and science a wonderful thing?

Time is THE most valuable commodity. Yes, it is of the essence- and in fact- it is the essence of a life of peacefulness, and low stress. That is if, in fact, you have some to kill. Most of us don’t, and that is why many people are “outsourcing” there lives so to speak. Ever wondered what it would be like to have some of your most tedious errands taken care of for you? Or maybe you have menial tasks, like making plane reservations, or even dinner reservations, but simply don’t have the time to do it. Nowadays you don’t have to be the CEO of a big company or a celebrity to have a personal assistant, no sir.  Today’s personal assistants can be found online in the form of a “virtual assistant” and are relatively affordable for anyone making at least $30,000 per year. The Gorilla heard about this concept and thought “how cool!” Now, you understand, the Gorilla doesn’t want to compare himself to a “celebrity,” but it sure would be nice to have someone at his beck and call, when he needed a little help with those tedious things, such as calling American Express to get that erroneous charge off of his account. You know how long they put you on hold for- right? Well, wouldn’t it be nice to have someone else perform this time-consuming little task for you, so that you could continue to be productive at your workplace?  There are a number of web sites that offer services just like these and much more. They do virtually everything you could imagine from ordering a birthday cake to sending out “thank you” notes on your behalf. Some even have messenger and courier services if a delivery is needed on very short notice. You’d think the prices on services such as these would be simply outrageous, but they are in fact, quite reasonable depending on the need, and which services you plan to use.  For example, one interesting site the Gorilla visited, AskSunday.com, charges about $29 per month for up to 15 “requests.” Another site, GetFriday.com, offers pay-as-you-go and monthly plans in increments of 10 or 15 minutes. The monthly plan starts at around $120 for 10 hours. Not bad, at all! Many working people can afford it-even in this wilted economy. The point is, most of these tasks take up our valuable time, which can make us less productive, and therefore cost us time- which is money. These virtual assistant services seem to counteract that fact, so the cost is completely relative to what you might lose if you had to perform all of these tasks yourself. And the critics agree.  

They say if you look at the type of people who use these sites, they are most likely not going to stop because of inflation. Demand for personal assistants, for businesses and personal reasons, is climbing. According to research firm Evalueserve, which estimated revenue from such sites last year at $250 million, they anticipated it would grow to $2 billion by 2015. Wow! It makes sense in a such a harried world to outsource some of your little day-to-day errands. The Gorilla is a big fan of the virtual assistant and loves the services they provide. (Not to mention- Mrs. Gorilla is currently his personal assistant…so she loves the idea as well!)  It sure gives a whole new meaning to “multi-tasking!”

What if you were paralyzed and unable to walk? One can only imagine how a lifetime spent never being able to walk would affect a person, but now, new technology can let those who are paralyzed walk- at least in the virtual world. Technology is an amazing thing and recently, a 41-year-old paralyzed man used only his brain waves to manipulate a virtual Internet character to take a walk and chat with another person on the popular Second Life web site.

The man, who has suffered paralysis for more than 30 years, can barely move his fingers due to a progressive disease, which affects his muscles, so he has been unable to use a keyboard or a mouse. But a new experiment allowed him to wear special headgear, which contained electrodes that monitored the brain waves related to his hands and legs allowing him to walk and move freely. All he had to do was imagine that he was walking and voila! Walking was exactly what he did! 

Using a microphone he was also able to have a conversation with someone else (another character). The researchers at Japan’s Keio University said that it is the first time that a paralysis patient has succeeded in meeting someone and having a virtual conversation in an Internet virtual world. In addition, Junichi Ushiba, associate professor at the biosciences and informatics department of Keio University’s Faculty of Science and Technology says that researchers are also now studying a system that would let patients create text messages by mentally selecting the letters. ”In the near future, they would be able to stroll through Second Life shopping malls with their brain waves… and click to make a purchase,” Ushiba said. 

Second Life is an increasingly popular virtual world in which people can navigate a character called an avatar (on their own behalf) through a whole world of activities such as social activities and even shopping. It is always tough for those who are rendered immobile due to any kind of debilitating disease or condition, so it is a wonderful innovation that can allow those individuals to at least have the feeling of being able to control their movements- even if it’s just in a virtual world.

It’s summer folks, and you know what that means, right? A little sun, fun, and relaxation are on the way for many who intend to enjoy their vacation time with family friends, or simply alone. Many people will head out to the beach or the lake on the weekends, and that means getting a lot of sun exposure. But before you gas up the Chris Craft or jet skis just remember…put on the sun block, and put it on thick!

Skin cancer is a very real threat; probably more than you know, and the fact of the matter is, like it or not, it is something that any of us who live in the world (and are exposed to any sunlight) are at risk. Surprisingly, it is estimated that over 1 million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States alone this year, and it is believed that of those, approximately 68,000 will be the often-deadly, melanoma. Of those, about 8,000 will result in death. Melanoma is one of the deadliest forms of cancer and if it is not caught in the earliest stages, it is almost always fatal. Currently, there is no cure for the deadly cancer, but recently, a possible breakthrough has scientists and researchers on edge, wondering if a cure is on the horizon. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, conducted a study which was based on an experimental immunotherapy treatment. One man involved in the study had a complete remission after receiving treatment, surprising and exciting researchers who have always believed that immunotherapy is the most promising treatment for late stage melanoma.  The 52-year-old man, who is from Oregon, was given only one year to live before he received the immune-priming treatments, but doctors who conducted the study are reluctant to show their enthusiasm at their success since the man was the only one out of nine patients who had good results. Still, the treatment, reported in Thursday’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, is being counted as the latest in a small series of successes involving immune-priming treatments against deadly skin cancers. And although he had no role in the research, Dr. Darrell Rigel, a dermatology researcher at the New York University Cancer Institute in New York, says “Immunotherapy has become the most promising approach” to late-stage, death-sentence skin cancers.  Although this is extremely good news, the immune-priming experiments have yet to yield a consistent therapy. The therapies, which have a long history behind them (20 years of research to be exact), have focused on souping up a certain kind of immune system cell — the “killer T cells” that envelop and kill foreign agents. But the new research at Hutchinson took a different approach. Scientists here focused instead on specific helper T cells that are adept at locking onto cancer cells and guiding the killer cells to their target. Researchers then drew blood from patients, located the special helper cells and then grew more of them in the laboratory. They then infused roughly 5 billion of the cells back into the patients — without chemotherapy or the other harsh drugs. “It’s a simpler and less toxic approach to melanoma than had been previously employed,” said Dr. Louis Weiner, director of the cancer center at Georgetown University.  The fourth man in the study to be treated was the Oregon man, who was treated in 2005. Two months after, treatment scans revealed no tumors, even though the cancer was in its advanced stages and present in his back, groin and lungs at the time of the treatment. Two years after the treatment, he had no symptoms at all. The good part is, there were no side-effects to the treatment, unlike other cancer therapies. In addition, an analysis showed that his immune system had targeted not only one type of protein target on cancer cells, but two others as well. It is thought that the treatment revved up his immune system’s ability to expand his cancer-fighting ability in new ways. Unfortunately, though, the longer-term effects are not known at this time because the man fell completely out of touch with researchers and has declined any further interviews, making it impossible to follow-up on his progress.  Still, it is inspiring news that we can all be excited about. But the Gorilla wants to warn you- wear that all-important sunscreen because many of us are getting to the age in which the lack of doing so earlier in life is literally biting us in the behind (and in other areas more exposed to the sun!). So have your good ole’ fun in the sun, but do it with sunscreen and a big fat hat on your head!

It seems that Microsoft reigns supreme once again in the “what’s cool in tech” department. Mr. Softie and Harrah’s Entertainment just introduced the coolest new innovation, and the Gorilla can’t wait to try it out for himself. So what is it that has the Gorilla so excited? It’s a high-tech interactive bar table that lets patrons do a number of different things including order custom drinks, watch YouTube videos, play touch screen games, and even flirt (yes flirt) with each other- (although the very married Gorilla probably won’t be using that feature!). 

The table makes it easy for Harrah’s to track its customers’ habits and behaviors, adding to its sophisticated customer rewards program that tracks users’ gambling habits. These cool tables were recently installed in the lounge at the Rio All-Suite hotel and have built-in 30-inch flat screens, which use Microsoft’s surface technology and include custom applications built exclusively for Harrah’s.

The $10,000 units incorporate the program called Mixologists, which lets patrons be the bartender and create custom concoctions of the cocktails and mixers of the users choice. The coolest part of that is that the program can remember what you drank while you were there and remember it the next time you order! Another program lets users watch YouTube videos either by searching or choosing from a list of popular videos. Harrah’s officials announced that they reached a licensing deal with YouTube on Wednesday. The table also includes a program called Flirt, which allows customers sitting at any such table in the lounge see and chat with each other, take and email pictures, and exchange phone numbers. 

Other cool programs let customers play video games and get info about restaurants, shows, etc.  ”Of all the goodies up our sleeves lately, this is one of the most dramatic,” Tim Stanley, chief information officer of Harrah’s, told The Associated Press. “The range of opportunities is fairly limitless.” The Gorilla, for one, is a new fan of this cool technology and he can’t wait to go to Vegas and try it out! Hey… Banana Daiquiris, a little YouTube, and some gambling anyone? Viva Microsoft! Very well done once again.

It’s amusing to think of an elderly group of people playing video games, but if you have frequented a retirement home lately, that is very likely, exactly what you will see. Yes, folks, it’s true. It seems that many older folks are finding that video games are a popular pastime. Specifically, the popular bowling game by Nintendo’s Wii video gaming system. It is not news really that the Japanese electronics giant has been going after the over 50 baby boomer crowd in hopes that they have some post-retirement time on their hands. But, the over 70 crowd?  The games seem to be just as popular with this age demographic as well. What ever happened to shuffleboard anyway? The days of traditional, old-fashioned games, such as Canasta, are numbered as the demand for the popular Wii rises among seniors. The truth is, according to the Entertainment Software Association, 25% of all gamers are actually 55 and older. Wow! Who knew? The Gorilla should not be surprised since his friend’s father (who is around 74) is a big fan of Madden 08′ for Sony’s handheld PSP gaming system. The guy just can’t get enough. But the thought of some of those elderly folks at the rest home, throwing that virtual bowling ball on the Wii system just cracks him up (in a good way!), but that is exactly what is happening.  Elderly folks are having “bowling tournaments” using the game, and if you have ever tried this fun game, you know why. It actually simulates the action of bringing one’s arm back and throwing a bowling ball down an alley. It’s so popular some people say that they can’t put the thing down because they enjoy it that much. I’ve never been into video games,” said 72-year-old Flora Dierbach last week, as her husband took a twirl with the Nintendo Wii’s bowling game, “but this is addictive.” She said residents love the Wii set up in the clubhouse lounge. Interestingly, many grandparents are being taught to play by their grand kids, but in a new twist, some grandparents actually say they are the ones teaching their grandchildren how to use the games!  

Beth Llewelyn is Nintendo’s senior director of corporate communications, and she says making the games user-friendly to the older demographic was always the plan. “People have no fear of picking up a remote control, but they’re hesitant to pick up a video game controller,” Llewelyn said. “So the idea was to make the controller look like a remote control with just a couple of buttons.” Amazingly, since the Wii systems hit stores in November, over 1 million gaming systems have been sold in the U.S. The Gorilla is a huge fan of the Wii and not only is it fun, but it can be great exercise as well, and that is something everyone could use! Happy gaming everyone!