the (r)evolution has begun!

Monkey starts walking like a human:

A monkey at an Israeli zoo started walking like a human after recovering from a serious illness.

Natasha, a five-year-old macaque at the Safari Park, near Tel Aviv, now walks exclusively on her hind legs.

She almost died of a severe stomach flu but suddenly stabilised and was released from the zoo's clinic. Workers at the zoo say that's when she started walking upright exclusively, reports CBC News. Monkeys usually alternate between upright walking and moving on all fours.

A zoo veterinarian says he's not sure why she has altered her behaviour but says the illness could have caused brain damage. Other than walking upright, the vet says Natasha's behaviour has returned to normal.

How does a company trademark a color?

Cadbury Trademarks The Color Purple, and they're not alone

...a ton of companies have probably trademarked the color yellow - but they only get it for that product. Stanley could trademark yellow screwdrivers, Caterpillar could trademark yellow bulldozers... Given the wide range of products Tiffany sells, and the uniqueness of their shade of blue, Tiffany probably owns that blue for just about any kind of box that jewelry or other gift could come in. All they have to say is, your honor, if your spouse gave you a box that color blue, would you assume it came from Tiffany & Co.?

"trademark" is not a verb. One can "patent" an invention, and thereby acquire certain exclusive rights in the invention. But one can't "trademark" anything. Trademark rights in the USA are acquired by use. One may choose to register the mark with the USPTO, and it's a good idea to do so, but that is optional. There's no such thing as "trademarking." One can register a mark, but the trademark rights have already been created through use.

[Copyrights work the same way. As soon as one creates a work, he or she owns the copyright in the work. Registration is optional, but again a good idea, and indeed necessary if the copyright is to be enforced against infringers].

Companies often claim trademark rights in words, colors , shapes, etc., but that does not means those claims would hold up if tested. One often sees the "TM" or "SM" symbol used next to an alleged mark, but those symbols mean nothing more than that the user claims to own a trademark. The symbol does't even mean that an application to register has been filed. Anyone can put TM or SM on anything they want.

Use of the R-in-a-circle symbol, however, means that the mark has been federally registered (and thus has passed the muster of the USPTO examination process).

kiss the cook?

From bumpinthenightproductions.com:

APRON OF FLESH
$42

Add $5 for U.S. shipping.

making R2-D2 and C-3P0 obsolete

NEDO: EXPO 2005 Aichi Japan Next-generation robot

Some of the various robots to be exhibited:

• reception robot - "ACTROID" is a very human looking robot that can carry on a conversation (with natural gestures such as eye movements and smiling) in four languages. C-3P0 may be fluent in 6 million forms of communication but he can't smile.
• childcare robot - cute little toy-looking robot with face recognition functions, a function to let parents away from home know their children are safe, and it can read a story to children. R2-D2 only spoke in beeps.
• security robot - these human-sized plastic dragons patrol outdoors in groups to check for things like fires. R2 and 3P0 needed handheld communicators to know where each other was.
• cleaning robot - these all-weather robots are equipped with GPS, position recognition and an autonomous moving system using a laser sensor and triangulation. No correlation to the Star Wars droids here, but damn that makes my Roomba jealous.

Reason #273409156 I'm a vegetarian

The E-Z Catch Harvester is a horrific device that uses rapidly rotating brushes to suck living chickens into a contraption that uses high-speed converyer belts to shoot them into pens like a twisted vacuum cleaner. The video clip (clip currently unavailable) clearly illustrates how little concern is given to treating these living creatures as anything other than product.

Position of rotating drums hydraulically adjustable for: various chicken sizes, distance between drums, speed of rotation of the 11.5' rubber fingers and height for house conditions.
...
Operation is simple and reliable. Our unique method of cooping (patent pending) places the chickens in cage using an accelerated belt, reducing the need for pushing by operator and, resulting in improved grade and less operator fatigue.

Superman is a dick!

Superdickery.com - collecting hysterical silver-age comics covers where Superman is acting like... well, a dick.

Brazilian, 125, May Be the Oldest Woman

From Yahoo News:

An elderly woman living in a small, wooden shack in rural southern Brazil could be the world's oldest living woman, according to a Brazilian record-keeping organization.

Maria Olivia da Silva, who recently celebrated her 125th birthday, 'is definitely the oldest living woman in Brazil and possibly in the entire world,' said Iolete Cadari, administrative director of RankBrasil, this country's equivalent to the Guinness World Records.

Da Silva's birth certificate shows that she was born Feb. 28, 1880 in the city of Itapetininga, Sao Paulo state, Cadari said by telephone. She currently lives in the small town of Astorga, some 370 miles west of Sao Paulo in the state of Parana.

Stars take hybrid cars to the red carpet

Who knew Ed Begley, Jr. was so ahead of his time?

Forget the limo, Hollywood stars are taking low emission, Toyota Prius hybrids to the 2005 Academy Awards Sunday as part of Global Green's campaign to raise awareness of environmentally friendly vehicles.

About 15 celebrities including Gwenyth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johanson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robin Williams, Orlando Bloom, Salma Hayek, Charlize Theron, Penelope Cruz, Morgan Freeman, Julie Delpy and Tim Robbins are all pulling up to the red carpet in hybrid cars.

This is the third year Global Green, the American branch of Green Cross International run by Mikhail Gorbachev, asked celebrities to use their status to help the environmental cause.