Mind Set Daily

A twice weekly, and sometimes daily wrap up on the current news of the strange. Every episode will highlight and comment on news stories that have either not made it into the main stream, or just grabbed our attention. An alternate source for your daily news!

A twice weekly, and sometimes daily wrap up on the current news of the strange. Every episode will highlight and comment on news stories that have either not made it into the main stream, or just grabbed our attention. An alternate source for your daily news!

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Company Develops Surveillance Jewelry" When someone thinks of GPS tracking bracelets, court mandated devices or criminals under house arrest typically come to mind, but one company is aiming to break that stigma and bring ubiquitous location monitoring into fashion. Under the guise of providing a convenient, stylish way to “stay safe,” a San Francisco-based company has produced bracelets, key chains, necklaces and hair clips with embeddable GPS sensors targeting women as the primary market, just the latest Orwellian gadget in the campaign to make Big Brother appear fashionable and trendy. News Clip   "The Pentagon Has A Battle Plan Against Zombies" From responses to natural disasters to a catastrophic attack on the homeland, the U.S. military has a plan of action ready to go if either incident occurs. It has also devised an elaborate plan should a zombie apocalypse befall the country, according to a Defense Department document. officials from U.S. Strategic Command used the specter of a planet-wide attack by the walking dead as a training template for how to plan for real-life, large-scale operations, emergencies and catastrophes. Visit the article links and listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Russia to Begin Moon Colonization in 2030" Russia has drafted a program for colonization of the moon, and plans to send the first expeditions to build a permanent lunar base in 2030. "The moon is a space object for the future exploration by terrestrial civilization, and a geopolitical competition for the Moon’s natural resources may begin in the 21st century,” said a report on a potential lunar program prepared by the Russian Academy of Sciences. The program aims to build an inhabited moon base and testing ground by the middle of the century, which would allow mineral extraction on Earth’s only natural satellite. Previous lunar expeditions, which started with the USSR’s Luna program in 1959 and the US landing the first man on the Moon 10 years later, discovered aluminum, iron, titanium, rare earths and other minerals. Now it's up for grabs just think about it... "NSA to Control the Stock Market" An upcoming surveillance hub monitoring all investment transactions in real-time will allow the National Security Agency unparalleled ability to manipulate the stock market. Through the use of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)’s latest database, which keeps investor data in the same centralized location, the NSA could easily capture private, financial data on targeted investors and even influence the stock market as a whole. And it appears that the dragnet database, called the Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System (CARDS), was designed with such vulnerabilities in mind. The database will also make it easier for corporate entities and high frequency traders to rig markets. Further NSA documents from 2010 show that the NSA also targets the transactions of customers of large credit card companies like VISA for surveillance. So the next time you make a move in the stock market you may be trading more than you expected, just think about it... Find out more by listening to this episode and visiting the article links! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Vampire Therapy Could Reverse Aging" Throughout history, cultures across the globe have seeked the properties of youthful blood, with children sacrificed and the blood of young warriors drunk by the victors. Now scientists have found that young blood actually ‘recharges’ the brain, forms new blood vessels and improves memory and learning. In parallel research, scientists at Harvard University also discovered that a ‘youth protein’ which circulates in the blood is responsible for keeping the brain and muscles young and strong.   "Make Yourself Invisible - Company Wants to Make Your DNA Untraceable" BioGenFutures, a new company hopes to bring DNA surveillance back to the forefront. The company just announced a product it calls "Invisible," which attempts to make it harder for authorities to trace left-behind DNA evidence back to people. Not only is the product actually launching to consumers, but they believe solutions of its kind will be commonplace within five years. A previous project by the company focused on how the physical traces we leave behind in everyday spaces — saliva, skin, and hair follicles — can become liabilities if regulations aren't put in place to restrict how that genetic data is mined. This new project "Invisible" expands on that work by imagining a future wherein discrimination based on genetics is an everyday fear. Visit the article links and listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Mysterious robotic plane hits 500 days in space; what's it doing?" A robotic space plane is speeding in low Earth orbit at this very moment. Some say it's a weapon; others, a data-gathering mission. There's one fact most agree on as the plane hits 500 days in space: Its real purpose is a mystery. The Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Space Vehicle, constructed in California, is one-fourth the size of the Endeavour Space Shuttle. The Air Force craft, purely a test vehicle that will never reach production, in part aims to explore reusable space-vehicle technologies. That means the robotic vehicle can land, but no one will say when. What could it be?   "Sweaty Hands? New Fingerprinting Method Takes Pore Prints" Criminals might not get away so easily, thanks to a new fingerprinting method that may be faster and more reliable than traditional methods, researchers say. The method images the sweat pores in a human hand using a polymer that glows fluorescent and changes color when it comes in contact with tiny droplets of water. Only a small fraction of the fingerprint is needed to identify an individual, according to the new study. The sensor technology developed in this study has the potential of serving as a new method for fingerprint analysis and for the clinical diagnosis of malfunctioning sweat pores. Until Next Time... Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Mysterious 'Man-Eating' Holes Appear in Sand Dune" Last summer, 6-year-old Nathan Woessner was walking across the sands of Mount Baldy in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore when he suddenly disappeared into a deep hole. It took a team of rescuers about three hours to pull Woessner to safety from beneath 11 feet of sand and sediment. More holes have appeared in Mount Baldy, forcing officials with the National Park Service (NPS) to close part of the park, located 55 miles southeast of Chicago on the shores of Lake Michigan. But why are these dangerous holes suddenly appearing in the sand dunes? This particular dune has a lot of history. The site was once mined for sand used in the manufacture of glass Mason jars. There are also manmade structures like an old wooden staircase buried beneath the surface of the dune. Historical photographs of the area determine what has changed since the 1930s. Trees and grass that once covered Mount Baldy are now also buried. Researchers say that the age of the materials and the wet conditions during the spring of 2013 may have forced these materials to become unstable, collapsing and creating openings to the surface. "Researchers Track Isolated Amazon Tribe With Google Earth" As you can imagine, it isn't easy to study uncontacted tribes in Amazonia. And the history of western interaction with these tribes is dark indeed, often leading to the destruction of these peoples' way of life. So researchers have come up with a less invasive way of keeping tabs on them: tracking them via Google Earth. In a study published in the American Journal of Human Biology, researchers analyzed satellite images of one particular Amazon village on the border of Brazil and Peru, and calculated that it has fewer than 40 inhabitants. Deforestation, cattle ranching, illegal mining, and outside colonization threaten their existence. There are somewhere between 70 and 100 uncontacted groups in Amazonia. Visit the article links and listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Humans Will Compete with Droids for Jobs by 2040, study claims" By 2040, cabs will be driven by Google robots, shops will become showrooms for online outlets and call centres will be staffed by intelligent droids. That’s the scenario depicted in recent research which suggests robots could be taking over our lives and jobs in less than 30 years.The competition for work caused by a rise in the robots population will see us heading to surgeons for ‘additional processing power for our brains’, they claim. We may also be requesting bionic implants for our hands that will make us able to perform tasks as fast as any machine. Those who take these risks and innovate with their own bodies will be the biggest earners in 2040, they claim. Experts expect the current 37.4 hour working week to increase by a third to 50.5 hours. The gloomy study predicts we will work several ‘micro jobs’ from a desk in our bedroom, and across different time zones. Smarter software and hardware such as wearable devices are already changing the way we communicate and this will continue to develop rapidly.‘But it will also alter the way robots or artificial intelligences interact with us, as call centre workers are replaced by machines that can learn and question.Humans may even feel the need to compete against such artificial intelligences for jobs, as genetic or android technology develops to the extent we can self-improve in the same way as a software upgrade. Just think about it...   "Eyes Over Compton: How Police Spied on a Whole City" In a secret test of mass surveillance technology, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sent a civilian aircraft over Compton, California, capturing high-resolution video of everything that happened inside that 10-square-mile municipality. If it's adopted, Americans can be policed like Iraqis and Afghanis under occupation–and at bargain prices. Many Americans elect their own sheriffs. This is the future if nothing is done to stop them. A sergeant in the L.A. County Sheriff's Department compared the experiment to Big Brother, even though he went ahead with it willingly. Is your city next? Visit the article links and listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Camera in Your Eye" What could be better than Google Glass? Well something that is both cooler and smaller and still eyeball-centric is a patent for a camera-containing contact lens, filed by Google in late 2012. Sensors on the contact lens would detect blinks and respond to commands based on those blinks. The camera sits below the pupil on the contact, so it shouldn't obstruct vision. Because the camera is on the eyeball, it follows the wearer's gaze, potentially recording anything he or she sees, as he or she sees it. This isn't the first time Google has talked about putting a computer on an eyeball. Earlier this year, it announced development of a contact lens that checks tears for blood sugar levels and communicates with insulin pumps. These are just two of Google's contact lens patents; there are at least five more in the works. It is all very eye opening, just think about it...   "Scientists to Test Artificial Blood in Humans" Scientists have found a way to produce human blood, potentially on an industrial scale — thanks to a certain University of Edinburgh professor, Marc Turner, and his program’s funds from the Wellcome Trust. With this new method, scientists hope they’ll produce a sort of “limitless” supply of type-O red blood cells, free of diseases and able to be transfused into any patient. The technique will be tested in live humans for the first time, in a trial running through 2016 or 2017. Visit the article links and listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "DNA Nanobots Deliver Drugs in Living Cockroaches" It's a computer – inside a cockroach. Nano-sized entities made of DNA that are able to perform the same kind of logic operations as a silicon-based computer have been introduced into a living animal. The DNA computers – known as origami robots because they work by folding and unfolding strands of DNA – travel around the insect's body and interact with each other, as well as the insect's cells. When they uncurl, they can dispense drugs carried in their folds.  DNA nanorobots could potentially carry out complex programs that could one day be used to diagnose or treat diseases. "DARPA’s New Biotech Division Wants To Create A Transhuman Future" The Pentagon’s advanced research wing has announced its latest budget — and whoa, does DARPA ever have some ambitious plans for the future. Their new Biotech unit will be harnessing biology for national security, and dealing with everything from stopping plagues to building synthetic soldiers. Until Next Time... Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Yellowstone Animal Exodus" A video with lines of bison and other animals 'fleeing' Yellowstone National Park in the US have raised fears that the supervolcano underneath the park is preparing to erupt, but how much truth — if any — is there to this claim?     "Networks Set to Air Live Moon Landing in 2015" The Science Channel and the Discovery Channel will be teaming up to air a live lunar landing, calling it an “Apollo Moment” for the millennial generation. The networks have teamed with Google Lunar XPRIZE, which is a $30 million competition where teams aim to land an unmanned aircraft on the moon by December 31, 2015. Not only will the networks air the actual landing, but they will air a miniseries that will follow these teams throughout their entire process. Find out more by listening to this episode and visiting the article links. Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Americans Brains Being Fried by Cell Towers?" Exposure to cell phone towers alters brain function in alarming ways, causing a lack of concentration, irritability, difficulty sleeping and lack of appetite. That's the conclusion of a new study just published by the British Medical Journal. The study concluded that the severity of such symptoms directly correlated to cell tower exposure levels. In other words, the closer a person lives to a cell tower, the greater the severity of their symptoms. This was true regardless of race, income level and other demographics. "Noah Movie Controversy" Religious moviegoers are concerned about the film Noah. The isn't an exact retelling of the biblical tale, and this irked religious leaders and commentators enough that a disclaimer was put into Noah. It’s understandably frustrating when a movie fails to faithfully adapt a story from a book. Some things just don’t translate, and modern, flashy films demand a bit more action. Book lovers can be frustrated, but they also have to understand the constraints of filmmaking. But Noah is different. To find out more listen to this episode and click the article links! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "Creepy Staten Island Clown Roaming the Streets" A mysterious clown has been seen lurking on the streets of Staten Island, N.Y., at night over the past week. The "SI Clown," as the costumed creature has been dubbed, bears a striking resemblance to Pennywise, the evil clown in Stephen King's classic horror novel and film "It." Why would a person dress as a clown and freak people out? There are several possible reasons, ranging from a playful prank to a professional clown innocently returning from a kid's birthday party. Yet, according to the New York Post, the SI Clown may be a publicity stunt: It seems that the four people who originally posted photos and videos of the costumed creepster not only know one another, but also have links to the same Staten Island-based company that produces horror films. Coincidence? Could be. just think about it... "Watch Out for iBeacon - Because It's Watching You" Last June, Apple’s senior vice president of software, sneaked something big into his Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. On a slide listing features that would debut in iOS 7, an unfamiliar word appeared: iBeacons. An iBeacon is a small module that makes a spontaneous Bluetooth connection with a nearby smartphone to deliver packets of information. In December, stores, arenas, and other venues began to test the hardware, pushing coupons and other location-based information to customers. Like any technology, iBeacon is not inherently good or bad; it’s how we use it that will make the difference. The trouble is, iBeacon is an all-or-nothing scenario. The only surefire way to turn it off is to turn Bluetooth off altogether—also shutting down the connection to your headset or fitness tracker or smartwatch. But that’s not realistic; we’re attached to Bluetooth. Which means it’s up to individual developers and companies to make the right choices and treat us, our privacy, and our attention with a little respect. Just think about it... Visit the article links and listen to this episode to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "New York uses Toll Tags to Track Motorists" Both the New York City Department of Transportation and Transcom, a traffic management agency, admitted that for nearly 20 years they have been using antennas to connect to E-ZPass toll tags in vehicles driving across more than 3,000 miles of public, non-toll roads, not just in New York but neighboring states as well. “We’re being watched in ways that I think none of us would have imagined,” Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union said recently in an interview. “It’s happening without any public scrutiny, without any decision that’s consistent with checks and balances.” And these surveillance programs aren’t just limited to private vehicles. Last week, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced its plan to install thousands of audio and video recorders on its commuter trains. "Society is Doomed, Scientists Claim" There's never been a shortage of doomsday scenarios. From the dreaded Mayan Apocalypse of 2012 (remember that?) to the havoc wreaked in the movie "The Day After Tomorrow," people have been predicting the end of civilization for as long as there has been a civilization. The trouble is, they're sometimes correct: The Roman Empire fell spectacularly, as did the Mayan civilization, and dozens of other once-mighty kingdoms. But how, exactly, do powerful empires collapse, and why? Researchers now believe they've found an answer, one that has troubling implications for today — because we're clearly on the road to ruin. Listen to this episode and click the article links to find out more! Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate

Topics covered on today's episode of Mind Set Daily "U.S. Quietly Gives Up Control Over The Internet" Recently, the United States announced some very big news. The U.S. government is relinquishing its last official control over the internet. The phrasing chosen by the Department of Commerce announces its intent "to transition key Internet domain name functions to the global multistakeholder community."     "What Will Happen When The ‘Big One’ Hits California?" On Monday, a 4.4 magnitude earthquake threw the city of Los Angeles into a bit of a tizzy. The ground shook, people screamed and news anchors ducked under their desks. But it was just a 4.4 magnitude earthquake. So what would happen if the “Big One” hit California? What would happen if an earthquake hundreds of times more powerful than the one that we saw on Monday hit Los Angeles or San Francisco? So when will the “Big One” strike? “It could be today. It could be 100 years from now.” But what we do know is that the “Ring of Fire” is becoming more active, and the California coastline sits right along it. So this latest California earthquake comes in the context of a lot of other seismic activity worldwide. And without a doubt, the state of California is long overdue for a major earthquake. It is going to occur at some point. Everyone agrees on that. The only question is when it will happen. Until Next Time... Support Mind Set Central Subscribe or donate