BIONIC HANDS – part 2: Motion control presents the ‘Utah arm’!

BIONIC HANDS – Motion Control developed: the ‘Utah Arm’! Motion Control, Inc., is the leading U.S. manufacturer of myoelectric and externally powered prosthetic arm systems. In 1981 they presented the ‘Utah Arm’ – this was the premier myoelectric arm for above elbow amputees, which became one of the first commercially available examples of a bionic hand. Since then they haved presented in 1987 and 2004 revised versions: In 1987 the Utah Arm 2 (U2) was released with entirely re-engineered electronics that made the Utah Arm the most durable and dependable myoelectric arm available for a long time. In 2004 they presented the Utah Arm 3 (U3), including microprocessor technology with a Computer Interface that allows the prosthetist or wearer to fine-tune the adjustments to achieve maximum performance. SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • BIONIC HANDS: From Luke Skywalker to Time’s 2008 best inventions! • 2007: A new milestone for the bionic hand! • Bionic Hands – part 1: Star Wars! • RAPHaEl – the air powered robotic hand! • The ‘Alien hand syndrome’: scary stories of brain damage!

Handy Christmas gift ideas + the ‘Palm Reading TOP 10′!

Handy Christmas Gift ideas + Hand Reading TOP 10 This year’s TOP 10 ‘handy’ Christmas gift suggestions are featured with a compilation of the 10 most recommended books in the ‘Palmistry books TOP 100′, a few very interesting books about other aspects of the human hand, and last but not least… a few very funny ‘handy’ or ‘tasty’ gadgets, such as the famous and delicious ‘Antwerpse Handjes’! Are you still looking for ideas for this Santa Claus & Xmas holiday season? Maybe you should check out this year’s products that were carefully selected on the basis of quality & popularity (e.g. expert ratings, Amazon sales rank + customer ratings)! Check out the 2009 ideas: • 10 Most recommended books in the ‘Palmistry books TOP 100′! • 10 Fascinating books about hands! • 8 Funny gadgets related to hands! Illustrations: a few of the 2009 Christmas gift recommendations.

Charles Darwin – ‘the Godfather of evolution’ – had the long pointer finger!

CHARLES DARWIN HAD THE LONG FOREFINGER! Charles Darwin’s voyage of the HMS Beagle (1831-1836) is known as the most important journey around the world ever made. For, during that the famous trip Darwin gained knowledge and insights that has changed the perception of human kind about the image of life on Earth dramatically. On September 1, 2009 the “clipper Stad Amsterdam” left on a trip around the world, in the wake of Charles Darwin (1809-1882). During the 2009 journey researchers investigate many aspects of Darwin’s work and life. Evolutionary psychology professor Bram Buunk – who is involved in finger length research – studied Darwin’s finger length! Jealousy in Montevideo: Men and women have different reasons for jealousy, Buunk discovered in the seventies. Men are jealous because they do not want their female fertilized by another man – a genetic cuckoo – and for the dissemination of its genes on to run. Women are jealous because they do not want their husband’s attention spread over several partners, but exclusively focuses on her and her children. Bram Buunk and his colleagues have discovered a link between the susceptibility to become jealousy, and the ratio of the length of index fingers and ring fingers. The story is now more or less known: if the index finger (a.k.a. the ‘pointer finger’ or ‘forefinger’) is relatively longer than the ring finger, the individual, regardless of sexe, has sort of a ‘female character’. Conversely, human males usually have a relatively long ring finger, usually the ring finger is longer than the index finger (while in human females the both fingers often have the same length). The link could be traced back to an evolutionary coincidence. For, the same chemical cocktail during the embryonic development of the brains in the direction of the correct gender sends, plays a role in cutting the fingers of the hand embryonic plate. Buunk also studied Darwin’s fingers: “During a conversation about Buunk’s finger research, we realized that we could apply this theory to Darwin, and sure enough, a few photos, including the one in which he poses with his son William, you can see his hand with a relatively very long forefinger.” [see: the photos above]. “Another image that was found by a cameraman on the internet, confirms the idea that Charles Darwin had the long forefinger – which makes his a ‘female-typical man’.” “The conclusion is obvious: Charles Darwin was a man with a strong feminine disposition! That may explain a lot: his gentleness, his highly developed social and diplomatic skills, his easy survival during the cooperation with Fitzroy – who was known to be a ‘difficult’ man (likely, a man with a long ring finger), his care for his family, and his concern for the consequences of the publication of his ‘theory of evolution’ on society in general and the welfare of his family in particular.” SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • Beagle 2009 report: Charles Darwin had the long pointer finger! • Five things that your 5 fingers can tell you! • Evolutionary hand analysis! • A secret your finger length reveals! • How to measure the 2D:4D digit ratio!

H1N1 FLU PREVENTION – When to use a alcohol based hand sanitizer?

A hand sanitizer is an excellent alternative to hand washing when soap & water are not available!

About H1N1 Prevention & hand hygiene! Alcohol-based hand sanitizers — which don’t require water — are an excellent alternative to hand washing, when soap and water aren’t available. A hand sanitizer is actually MORE effective than soap and water in killing bacteria and viruses that cause disease! For, organisms cannot develop resistance to alcohol, and commercially prepared hand sanitizers contain ingredients that help prevent skin dryness.

But one should be aware that not all hand sanitizers are created with likewise substances. Some “waterless” hand sanitizers do not contain any alcohol. In general one should use only the alcohol-based products. The American CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends choosing products that contain at least 60 percent alcohol. This is how to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer: • 1 – Apply 1/2 teaspoon of the product to the palm of your hand. • 2 – Rub your hands together, covering all surfaces of your hands, until they’re dry. NOTICE:If your hands are visibly dirty, however, wash with soap and water, if available, rather than a sanitizer!!! SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING: • ‘Hand hygiene’: a starting point for H1N1 flu prevention! • About health, hands & ‘hand hygiene’! • Did you know that warm air dryers increase bacteria on hands? • Hand facts on hand hygiene! PICTURE: How a hand sanitizer works!

An ode to the hands of composer & virtuose pianist Frédéric Chopin!

Left hand cast of Frédéric Chopin – the famous polish composer & virtuose pianist! In 1888 a small monument was erected to the memory of the Frédéric Chopin at Wasswan. Portraits and medallions of Chopin were executed by Ary Scheffer and Eugène Delacroix, and by the sculptors Bary and Clésinger. A distinguished English amateur thus records his impressions of Chopin’s style of pianoforte-playing compared with those of other masters: “His technical characteristics may be broadly indicated as negation of bravura, absolute perfection of fingerplay, and of the legatissimo touch, on which no other pianist has ever so entirely leant, to the exclusion of that high relief and point which the modern German school, after the examples of Liszt and Thalberg, has so effectively developed. It is in these feature that we must recognize that Grundverschiedenheit (fundamental difference) which according to Felix Mendelssohn distinguished Chopin’s playing from that of these masters, and in no less degree from the example and teaching of Moscheles…” “Imagine a delicate man of extreme refinement of mien and manner, sitting at the piano and playing with no sway of the body and scarcely any movement of the arms, depending entirely upon his narrow feminine hands and slender fingers.” “The wide arpeggios in the left hand, maintained in a continuous stream of tone by the strict legato and fine and constant use of the damper-pedal, formed a harmonious substructure for a wonderfully poetic cantabile. His delicate pianissimo, the ever-changing modifications of tone and time (tempo rubato) were of indescribable effect. Even in energetic passages he scarcely ever exceeded an ordinary mezzoforte. His playing as a whole was unique in its kind, and no traditions of it can remain, for there is no school of Chopin the pianist, for the obvious reason that he could never be regarded as a public player, and his best pupils were nearly all amateurs.” Portrait + hand casts of Frédéric Chopin. SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER READING: • Music is in the fingers! • Music & sports talent revealed by finger length measurement • Finger length moderates the impact of an agressive music video! • Portrait of the Michael Jackson’s delicate hands!