An interesting project in Derbyshire, northern England...
"Bioboffins at the Health and Safety Laboratory in Derbyshire, UK, have developed a robot that can projectile vomit on command
as a tool for studying the spread of the highly infectious norovirus.
Reuters reports that the hyperemetic droid has been dubbed 'Vomiting Larry'
by its creator, researcher Catherine Makison, who describes it as a
'humanoid simulated vomiting system.' The goal of said vomiting system
is to study the reach and dispersion of human vomitus, which is one of
the primary ways that diseases such as norovirus can spread. Norovirus
is a fairly common viral infection that is sometimes known as the
'winter vomiting bug' due to its increased prevalence in the colder
months. Outbreaks are generally triggered when humans ingest
contaminated food or water, but can continue when subsequent people come
in contact with surfaces that have been contaminated by the initial
patient's effluvium."
Around 1970 most of the CA hippies moved up to Oregon because it was beautiful and they could get on welfare and food stamps easy. How did Oregon afford them?
"Facing a $10 billion revenue shortfall for transportation financing,
the Oregon Legislature is expected to consider a bill to require
drivers with a vehicle getting at least 55 miles per gallon of gasoline
to pay a per-mile tax after 2015 to offset the loss in tax revenue for fuel efficient cars at the gas pump,
where the government has traditionally collected money to build and fix
roads. Oregonians currently pay 30 cents per gallon, a tax that is
automatically added at the pump, but as cars become more fuel efficient
and alternative fuel sources are identified, state officials project gas
tax revenue will decline. 'Everybody uses the road, and if some pay and
some don't, then that's an unfair situation that's got to be resolved,'
says Jim Whitty of the Department of Transportation. Opponents of the Oregon proposal say it will hurt a new industry.
'It will be one more obstacle that the industry and auto dealers will
face in convincing consumers to buy these new cars,' says Paul Cosgrove,
a lobbyist for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Other states,
such as Nevada and Washington, are also looking at a per-mile charge and
a Washington law that would charge electric car owners an annual fee
goes into effect in February. Oregon did a pilot study of the mileage tax
(PDF) where participants paid 1.56 cents per mile and got a credit for
any gasoline tax they paid at the pump. Although initial media
portrayals of the system were almost uniformly negative, 91% of test participants preferred the mileage tax to paying gas taxes."
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