Is a ‘robotic suitcase’ the next must-have carry-on of the future? - "Hop!" follows behind you like a loyal puppy -

Is a ‘robotic suitcase’ the next must-have carry-on of the future? - "Hop!" follows behind you like a loyal puppy - 



Forget backaches and schelping of luggage.  Now there's a suitcase that you don't have to carry at all.  
Enter the "Hop!"-- robotic luggage that uses the bluetooth technology on your smart phone to allow your bag to follow behind you like a loyal puppy. 
Sadly, the case isn't ready for the retail market just yet. Invented by Spanish native Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, Hop! has been entered for the James Dyson Award, an international student design contest.  Prizes are to be announced later this month, reports the Daily Mail.
But video posted on YouTube shows how the prototype works. 
The phone signal is received by three sensors in the luggage, a microprocessor driving two caterpillar tracks that power the suitcase along. If the signal is lost, the bag vibrate its owner's phone and locks to make itself secure.
Now if it could just pre-board and stow itself.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/10/04/is-robotic-suitcase-next-must-have-carry-on-future/

New Orleans prosecutor arrested after Marijuana Joint falls from his pocket in Court -

New Orleans prosecutor arrested after Marijuana Joint falls from his pocket in Court  - 



A New Orleans city attorney was arrested for possession of marijuana and suspended from his job after a joint tumbled from his pocket in front of police in court.

Jason Cantrell, 43, assistant city attorney, was issued a summons for simple possession of marijuana on Monday afternoon after a marijuana cigarette fell to the floor in Orleans Parish magistrate court, New Orleans Police spokesman Frank Robertson said.

“Jason Cantrell is suspended without pay pending further investigation,” Ryan Berni, a spokesman for New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, said on Wednesday. “He was not acting in his capacity as assistant city attorney when the incident occurred.”

Cantrell’s wife, a candidate for New Orleans City Council, said on her Facebook page that she was “angry, embarrassed and disappointed,” with her husband’s actions.

“I absolutely do not condone his actions,” LaToya Cantrell wrote. “He will accept the legal consequences as the judicial process takes its course.”

She said Jason Cantrell had submitted his resignation, but Berni said no resignation letter had been received.

Cantrell has practiced law in Louisiana for more than 16 years, according to Louisiana State Bar Association. He ran unsuccessfully for juvenile court judge in 2009. He has been with the city since 2009.

Jason Cantrell could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. LaToya Cantrell said she will remain in the race for city council.

Read more - 
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/03/new-orleans-prosecutor-arrested-after-joint-falls-from-his-pocket-in-court

Study suggests drinking 3 or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day increases the risk of vision loss or blindness -

Study suggests drinking 3 or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day increases the risk of vision loss or blindness - 



A new U.S. study suggests drinking three or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day increases the risk of vision loss or blindness.

On the other hand, researchers found regular pop, tea, chocolate or decaffeinated coffee didn't have an impact on sight.

The study looked at two American cohorts, nearly 79,000 women and more than 41,000 men, all over the age of 40. They answered questionnaires about how much java they drink, and researchers looked at their medical records for exfoliation glaucoma — which causes increased eye pressure that could damage the optic nerve and lead to vision loss.

Heavy caffeinated coffee drinkers were found to be at greater risk of developing exfoliation glaucoma than those who don't drink coffee. Researchers found women with a history of the condition have an increased risk.

Dr. Jae Hee Kang, the study's author based at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass., said Scandinavian residents have the highest rates of glaucoma in the world and also drink the most caffeinated coffee. In a previous study, they linked heavy coffee intake with an increased risk of primary open-angle glaucoma.

Kang said further study in more places around the world is needed.

"Because this is the first study to evaluate the association between caffeinated coffee and exfoliation glaucoma in a U.S. population, confirmation of these results in other populations would be needed to lend more credence to the possibility that caffeinated coffee might be a modifiable risk factor for glaucoma," Kang said.

The study was published Thursday in the Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science journal.

Read more - 
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2012/10/04/heavy-coffee-drinkers-at-increased-risk-of-blindess-study