Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have succeeded in boosting the manual skills of blue-collar droids by developing a robust and dexterous human-sized robotic hand.

press release

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Oh… i found some canned Whale in a small neighborhood grocery here in Osaka

Poor Whales

But to tell you the truth, i am not better than everyone else here… the last time I ate whale was just a few months ago, in the form of whale steak and whale sashimi. I have never had canned whale meat before.

It is very good both grilled like a steak and dipped in soy sauce as frozen sashimi.

Hmm.. and it seems that every time I read a news report about the whaling situation here in Japan I end up getting more and more confused.I keep hearing about how people love to eat whale because it is part of the culinary cultural heritage. Then i read reports that stocks of whale meat in Japan are exploding because not enough people are eating it. I have looked for whale meat at other stores on countless occasions, but you rarely find any, because most stores dont even sell whale.Now i hear that Japan will be buying whale meat from Iceland!

The meat of the first whale caught in Icelandic waters since the North Atlantic nation resumed commercial whaling was destined for consumers in Japan, news reports said Monday.

The roughly 20-metre long fin whale was harpooned Saturday off Iceland’s west coast, and was landed Sunday at a whaling station near Reykjavik.

this kind of thing really makes me wonder just what in the heck is going on here!?!

Using stop motion photorapgy trap-jaw ants have been filmed using their jaws at 66mph and with a force of over 300 times their own bodyweight. Also by biting the ground, the ants hurl themselves upwards when danger looms. The ants are named after their characteristically long jaws, which they use to hurl unfamiliar neighbours from their nests, cripple prey, or deliver a brutal bite to anything they consider a threat.

One of my favorite shows on TV today, next to Dirty Jobs and House, is How it’s Made. This show tells you almost every step on how and object is made from airplanes to toothpicks.

And I found a site with videos of most of the episodes, Check it out!