The U.S Defense Dept. is to
equip drones with chemical weapons & smart tech. Independent of human
control, they will be able to hunt in swarms & crash into targets.
9 Human-to-human brain
interface
Experiments have seen a human
control another via the internet.
Shaun White Finishes Fourth In Sochi Halfpipe Final, Missing Medal And Historic Three-Peat
The third time did not remain charmed for Shaun White.
The U.S. snowboarding superstar failed in his bid to win an unprecedented third straight Olympic gold medal in the men's halfpipe. White, 27, fell during his first run and failed to post a winning score in his second at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in Sochi on Tuesday. With the 11 other finalists watching, White took the last run of the evening, knowing that he needed to top Iouri Podladtchikov's score of 94.75 to become the first American man to win three gold medals in the same event at the Winter Olympics. Instead of a third-straight gold medal, White left the much-maligned Sochi halfpipe with a fourth-place finish and a score of 90.25.
The night belonged to Switzerland's Podladtchikov, perhaps better known as I-Pod. The 25-year-old Russian-born snowboarder held on to win gold thanks to a signature trick -- the YOLO flip -- that essentially includes two flips, two 360-degree turns and 1440 degrees of spin. He landed it for the first time at X Games Tignes in March 2013, according to ESPN. A pair of snowboarders from Japan finished second and third beyond Podladtchikov, with 15-year-old Ayumu Hirano posting a score of 93.50 andTaku Hiraoka earning a 92.25 from the judges.
CLICK HERE for complete men's halfpipe final results
I-Pod's innovative trick proved to be the key to his success as well as the downfall of White, who failed to cleanly land it during his final runs.
"I'm disappointed," White said after his stunning defeat, via The Associated Press. "I hate the fact I nailed it in practice, but it happens. It's hard to be consistent."
Before receiving his gold medal, I-Pod received an embrace from the famous snowboarder he had just unseated.
White, the red-haired California native once dubbed "The Flying Tomato" for his array of gravity-defying tricks, had previously won gold in the men's halfpipe event at the 2006 Turin Games and the 2010 Vancouver Games. In order to focus on his bid for a historic Olympic three-peat in the halfpipe, White pulled out of the debut slopestyle event after arriving in Sochi.
White's troubles in the final began midway through his first run when he landed on the edge of the wall and skidded down into the halfpipe. With another stumble costing him points as well, White's score of 35.00 ranked 11th out of 12 after each finalist's first runs were completed.
Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
The only boarder to score worse than White in the first run was Gregory Bretz (21.75), also representing the United States. The third American to reach the final wasDanny Davis (53.00), he ranked seventh after his first run, also stumbling on his first attempt. Both Bretz and Davis would stumble again in their second runs. White's second run was cleaner than his first but he skidded on the landing of his third jump -- his attempt at the YOLO -- and didn't finish strong.
"We let America down," Davis would say, via Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, after the contingent of U.S. men failed to medal in the halfpipe for the first time since the event was added to the Olympic program in 1998. "Sorry, America."
The condition of the halfpipe had been a point of contention during training and the struggles of the highly-touted U.S. snowboarders in the final -- all six runs, none clean -- suggest they never got comfortable on it.
"It's a bummer to show up to an event like the Olympics and not have the quality of the halfpipe match the quality of the riders," Davis had said after a practice on Monday.
LeBron James will once again not take part in the NBA's official dunk contest
LeBron James is not going to participate in the NBA's Slam Dunk contest at the All-Star Game but he put on a little dunk show of his own Monday in Phoenix according to The Arizona Republic.
Following the team's practice today, James started to show off his unique dunking skills which led to his teammates even filming the event. In the video below from Sports360AZ.com, James can be seen slamming home what would likely be high ranking dunks in the official contest.
Last season, it became something of a normal routine to see James and his teammates taking flight in pregame warm-ups with highlight reel worthy dunks. Each would go and try and outdo the previous guy with James garnering most of the attention. Those sessions even led to Magic Johnson offering a million dollars if James would participate in the official contest. James had said he was mulling it over at the time according to ESPNbut ultimately elected not to participate.
The NBA's Slam Dunk contest will take place on February 15th.
Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him.
However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should.
Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.
Alcon Entertainment presents “Transcendence,” starring Oscar® nominee Johnny Depp (“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “Finding Neverland,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films), Paul Bettany (“The Da Vinci Code,” “A Beautiful Mind”), Rebecca Hall (“The Town,” “The Prestige”), Kate Mara (“House of Cards,” “Shooter”), Cillian Murphy (“Inception,” “The Dark Knight Rises”), Clifton Collins, Jr. (“Star Trek,” “Pacific Rim”) and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby,” the “Dark Knight” movies).
“Transcendence” marks the feature film directorial debut of Oscar®-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister (“Inception,” the “Dark Knight” movies). Pfister directed the movie from a screenplay by Jack Paglen. Oscar® nominees Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson (“The Blind Side”) are producing the film with Kate Cohen, Marisa Polvino, Annie Marter, David Valdes, and Aaron Ryder.
Pfister’s behind-the-scenes collaborators include director of photography Jess Hall (“Brideshead Revisited”), production designer Chris Seagers (“X-Men: First Class”), Oscar-nominated editor David Rosenbloom (“The Insider”), costume designer George L. Little (“Zero Dark Thirty”), and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Nathan McGuinness (“Master and Commander”). The music is composed by Mychael Danna, who won an Oscar® for his score for “Life of Pi.”
Opening nationwide on April 17, 2014, “Transcendence” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images
