Monday, July 26, 2010

Why the iPad Hasn't Killed Kindle - Newsweek

Amazon’s Kindle e-reader is a terrific device, but a lot of people, myself included, figured that once Apple’s iPad came out, the poor little Kindle would be toast. The first thing I did at the iPad introduction event was snap a few pictures of a shiny new iPad right next to my Kindle. They came out looking like those pictures where a regular person is standing next to a movie star.

But guess what?

Kindle is a dedicated reading device with all design decisions based around that fact.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Canada Jet Crash: Pilot Brian Bews Survives After Ejecting At Lethbridge Airport

Amazing Footage Of Pilot's Jet Crash Escape

This is incredible, what a narrow escape. For best effect, look at the pictures below the video first then check out the video of the actual crash and ejection.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Logic and Logic In Action

Instead of watching TV or letting the kids play together (without me) today (just how do I fall into "lazy parenting" so easily?), I used some of the techniques that Lori and I learned at the Love and Logic parenting conference we attended last week. Kids want to contribute to the family, they want to be helpful. Find productive stuff for them to do. Last weekend they helped me wash the car. Today I told them to clean their pool. I didn't tell them how, I just let them go at it. On their own they filled a bucket, asked for soap and got the sponges and scrubbed until they were done. Halfway through as I could see them start to lag a bit, I let them know that if they finished the job and did it well they would be rewarded with a treat. They did awesome and we all enjoyed some ice cream after they were finished. The kids attitude and behavior right now is really good and they seem very happy. Of course they are, you say, you gave them ice cream! Yes they enjoyed it, but it isn't just the yummy treat. They feel proud that they helped the family by doing a chore and feel good about themselves that they did a good job.

This isn't rocket science and it seems like common sense. That's why it's called Love and Logic I guess. Check out their web site, there are a ton of good parenting resources.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Friday, July 23, 2010

Absolutely Hilarious Computer Quotes

"If at first you don't succeed; call it version 1.0"

"The Internet: where men are men, women are men, and children are FBI agents."

"Some things Man was never meant to know. For everything else, there's Google."

"unzip; strip; touch; finger; mount; fsck; more; yes; unmount; sleep"  - my daily unix command list

"... one of the main causes of the fall of the Roman Empire was that, lacking zero, they had no way to indicate successful termination of their C programs." - Robert Firth

"If Python is executable pseudocode, then perl is executable line noise."

"The more I C, the less I see."


"To err is human... to really foul up requires the root password."

"After Perl everything else is just assembly language."

"If brute force doesn't solve your problems, then you aren't using enough."

"Life would be so much easier if we only had the source code."


"Unix is user-friendly. It's just very selective about who its friends are."
 
"COBOL programmers understand why women hate periods."

“Programming is like sex, one mistake and you have to support it for the rest of your life.” — Michael Sinz

"There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary, and those who don't."

"640K ought to be enough for anybody." - This is not humorous by itself; but in the context it's a classic by Bill Gates in 1981

Microsoft: "You've got questions. We've got dancing paperclips."

"Microsoft is not the answer. Microsoft is the question. NO is the answer."   - Erik Naggum

"Men are from Mars. Women are from Venus. Computers are from hell."

"SUPERCOMPUTER: what it sounded like before you bought it."

"Windows95: It's like upgrading from Reagan to Bush.

"People say Microsoft paid 14M$ for using the Rolling Stones song 'Start me up' in their commercials. This is wrong. Microsoft payed 14M$ only for a part of the song. For instance, they didn't use the line 'You'll make a grown man cry'."

"I'm not anti-social; I'm just not user friendly"

"A printer consists of three main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light"

"The best accelerator available for a Mac is one that causes it to go at 9.81 m/s2."

"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila"

"1f u c4n r34d th1s u r34lly n33d t0 g37 l41d"

"To go forward, you must backup."

"I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code"

"A Windows user spends 1/3 of his life sleeping, 1/3 working, 1/3 waiting."

"My software never has bugs. It just develops random features."

"Better to be a geek than an idiot."

"Windows isn't a virus, viruses do something."

"Geek's favorite pickup line: Hey, does this rag smell like chloroform? "

"Be nice to geeks when you're in school, you might end-up working for one when you grow-up."

"Difference between a virus and windows ? Viruses rarely fail."

"Evolution is God's way of issuing upgrades."

"The only problem with troubleshooting is that sometimes trouble shoots back."

"It's a little-known fact that the Y1K problem caused the Dark Ages."

"The box said 'Required Windows 95 or better'. So, I installed LINUX."

"Computer are like air conditioners: they stop working when you open windows."

"once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary,
over many a strange and spurious site of 'hot xxx galore'.
While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour,
" 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, "give me back my free hardcore!"
quoth the server, 404."

"Mac users swear by their Mac,
PC users swear at their PC."

"Like car accidents, most hardware problems are due to driver error."

"Dating a girl is just like writing software. Everything's going to work just fine in the testing lab (dating), but as soon as you have contract with a customer (marriage), then your program (life) is going to be facing new situations you never expected. You'll be forced to patch the code (admit you're wrong) and then the code (wife) will just end up all bloated and unmaintainable in the end."


"Real men don't use backups, they post their stuff on a public ftp server and let the rest of the world make copies."  - Linus Torvalds

"There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand trinary, those that don't, and those that confuse it with binary."

"If you give someone a program, you will frustrate them for a day; if you teach them how to program, you will frustrate them for a lifetime."

"It is easier to change the specification to fit the program than vice versa."

"I had a fortune cookie the other day and it said: 'Outlook not so good'. I said: 'Sure, but Microsoft ships it anyway'."

"The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from."

"The term reboot comes from the middle age (before computers). Horses who stopped in mid-stride required a boot to the rear to start again. Thus the term to rear-boot, later abbreviated into reboot."

"Programmers are tools for converting caffeine into code."

 
"The great thing about Object Oriented code is that it can make small, simple problems look like large, complex ones."


"Hacking is like sex. You get in, you get out, and hope that you didn't leave something that can be traced back to you."

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Windows 7 workaround to drag & drop DLLs to GAC - CodeProject

Introduction

I develop in Visual Studio, and I'm switching from XP on my workstation to Window 7 x64. One thing that annoyed me was that I can’t simply drag .NET library DLLs to the assembly folder to install them in the GAC, or select and delete them from the assembly folder to remove them from the GAC, as I had done on Windows XP. When I try to, I get an ‘access denied’ error, even though my domain login is in the Administrators group, and even though I start Windows Explorer with ‘Run as administrator’.

Apparently, Microsoft really wants you to create installation applets to install or remove libraries in the GAC. An alternative is to log on as the actual machine administrator, in which case, drag and drop to the GAC will work.

I like being able to easily add or delete libraries to the GAC on a development workstation, however, so I came up with a work-around to let me do this.

Background

The method is to create .bat command files that use gacutil.exe to add or delete the library, to capture the name of the library when the library file is dragged to the command file, and have the command file run as administrator. Windows 7 doesn’t allow you to set a .bat command file to run as administrator, so a shortcut is created for each command file, and the shortcut is set to run as administrator.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Visual Studio - Where's my gacutil.exe?

Visual Studio - Where's my gacutil.exe?

Looking for the gacutil for your Visual Studio pre and post-build events?

Visual Studio 2005 C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\Bin\
Visual Studio 2008 C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v6.0A\bin\
Visual Studio 2010 C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Windows\v7.0A\bin\

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Baptism, Toy Story 3 and a Car Wash Water Fight (Maybe)

This morning we went to church where Luke switched back to his 3-year old classroom. He had been moved up to the 4-year old room and wasn't ready for the structure and curriculum that came with it. Meanwhile Pastor Mark started a new 2-week series on the importance of baptism for believers. After church we went to San Tan Village and ate at the Food Court. Lori and Emma shared orange chicken from Panda Express, Luke had a Auntie Anne's pretzel with cheese sauce and I had a delicious gyros. After lunch we saw Toy Story 3 in 3D. If there's had been a non-3D one showing at the same time we would have seen that. I personally don't think 3D adds anything to the movie. In fact, it makes the picture less sharp and less vibrant in my opinion. I hope the 3D craze is just a fad. Maybe I'm just and old fart now. Oh, and $37 for movie tickets (2 adult and 2 kids). Dang! Ok rant over, the movie itself was excellent. Pixar managed to make another winner. Toy Story 3 was a great story and had plenty of laughs and excitement for both adults and kids. After the movie we went to Walmart and bought some car wash supplies. The idea is for everybody to get in their bathing suits and wash the car and have a water fight. But right now it is like 140 degrees outside and we really don't want to go out there, water or no water.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Remember When?

Iranian nuclear scientist returns home to a hero's welcome

An Iranian nuclear scientist at the center of a bizarre espionage drama arrived here to a hero's welcome Thursday morning, including a personal greeting from several senior government officials.

Shahram Amiri flashed victory signs to dozens of reporters as he stepped into Imam Khomeini International Airport, and his 7-year-old son broke down in tears as his father held him for the first time since Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia 14 months ago.

He was also greeted by Hassan Qashqavi, a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official, as well as a deputy interior minister and a deputy science minister.

Iran's Arabic-language news channel Al Alam extensively covered the arrival, but it was not shown live on state television, which does not broadcast in the early morning.

Amiri's tale has dominated Iranian media since Monday night, when he surfaced in front of Iran's diplomatic mission in Washington and asked for a ticket back to his homeland. Amiri, 32, told officials that he had been abducted by U.S. intelligence operatives and had spent much of the past year in Tucson being questioned about Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Amiri's reappearance was as mysterious as his disappearance and came just weeks after a series of Internet videos added to the intrigue surrounding the case. In the videos, Amiri claimed alternately to have been kidnapped by the CIA and to have come to this country on his own accord to pursue a PhD.

The case has emerged as a source of embarrassment for both governments. The Obama administration faced the departure of someone whose defection had been considered an intelligence coup. Iran described Amiri's desire to the leave the United States as a setback for American efforts, but Amiri may have compromised the secrecy of Iran's nuclear endeavors.

I have a feeling his "hero's welcome" didn't last long after the cameras were gone. Won't surprise me if he is in an "accident" in the near future after his government is through debriefing him.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

High Expectations = Low Serenity ... Low Expectations = High Serenity

BP: No oil leaking into Gulf from busted well - Yahoo! News

A tightly fitted cap was successfully keeping oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in three months, BP said Thursday. The victory — long awaited by weary residents along the coast — is the most significant milestone yet in BP's effort to control one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.

The news elicited joy mixed with skepticism from wary Gulf Coast residents following months of false starts, setbacks and failed attempts. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's face lit up when he heard the oil flow had stopped.

"That's great. I think a lot of prayers were answered today," said Riley.

The stoppage came 85 days, 16 hours and 25 minutes after the first report April 20 of an explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers and triggered the spill.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Consumer Reports Says iPhone 4 Has Design Flaw - NYTimes.com

On Monday, Consumer Reports, America’s trusted source of product reviews, said it would not recommend the iPhone 4 because of a hardware flaw with its antenna that sometimes resulted in dropped calls. The independent consumer magazine also cast doubt on Apple’s recent explanation that a software bug had caused the widely reported problem. Apple did not return requests for comment.

Consumer Reports did not slap the iPhone 4 with a “don’t buy” warning, which it sometimes issues for shoddy or unsafe products. But it said that because of the design flaw, it would not recommend it as it did the previous version of the iPhone, the 3GS.

The next question is, Will any of Apple’s customers even care?

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Google Maps mobile (text only) page for Driving Directions with Kindle

1. Press the Menu button and select "Experimental" option at the bottom.

2. Click on "Basic Web."

3. At the Web browser page (although it may take you to bookmarks page instead),

the screen may show "Advanced" or "Desktop" at top center as your browsing mode.  However, "Basic mode" will work with these text-only directions and is generally faster than "Advanced" or "Desktop" mode" when you don't need to use the non-Basic mode. (The 'Desktop' word is used by DX's)  You can press Menu/Settings to choose "Basic" if you want, but it's ok either way.

  TIP 1.  If you've been busy on the Kindle, it might be good to press MENU botton, select Settings option here and click on "Clear Cache" to have more memory available for the web-browsing session.  Not necessary though.

Press MENU button to choose "Go to Top" or "Enter URL"

These get you to the top line to type a link or URL

4. TYPE:
maps.google.com/m/directions

5. Five-way to the right until you get "GoTo" and then press down on that.

That should fetch the Google maps text directions page for you.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Create Your Own Cloud of Ebooks with Calibre + Calibre OPDS + Dropbox | Dear Author

Your Own Cloud of Ebooks with Calibre + Calibre OPDS + Dropbox

The big movement seems toward ebooks in the cloud but if you go with Google or Kindle or some other service, you are stuck with their rules of access. You can create your own cloud, however, and control your own library. Further, you can set up your cloud for free using open source programs and a free account at dropbox.

This cloud set up allows you to have access, either by webbrowser or by iPhone/iTouch, to your entire ebook catalog from anywhere you can get internet connection, whether by wifi or cellular access.  The catalog generated is incredibly feature rich.  You can browse your catalog by series, tags, author, title, and most recent additions. You can look up a book on Goodreads or check out the wikipage for an author.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

My New Car: 2009 Ford Fusion SE V6

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Going to the ford dealer to get my explorer appraised and probably buy a car

Finding Kindle Resources - Kindle Ready

Blogkindle

Woman Reading eBook

Blogkindle blog offers daily news about the Kindle, eBooks, E Ink, and other related topics. There are well over 30 categories to search, including such topics as Free Kindle Books, Kindle Accessories, Kindle Thoughts, Kindle Tips and Tricks, and Kindle Applications. There is a very useful Kindle International Coverage Map that shows the strength of wireless coverage for the Kindle around the world. There is also a chart that details by country if there is wireless available, if you can purchase blogs, the typical price of a book, if tax is included, how many books are available under $5.99, and how many total books are available.

Kindle Boards

Kindle Boards is a blog dedicated to all things Kindle. There is a very active user community, and the site boasts over 9,000 registered members and over 1.5 million pageviews a month. The user forum offers many discussions on the Kindle that you can join in or learn from. Topics range from Book Reviews and Recommendations to Kindle Apps to Kindle Reviews. On the website, you can also find tips and tricks for the Kindle and a Top 10 page that shows Kindle-related top-sellers on Amazon. There is also a blog on the site, which discusses the latest Kindle news.

Kindle User’s Guide

This is a handy link to the latest edition of Amazon’s Kindle User’s Guide. It covers how to get started with your Kindle, getting to know Kindle content, reading on your Kindle, searching on your Kindle, the Kindle Store, accessing the web, and Kindle settings. It also includes phone numbers and e-mail address for Kindle support if something goes wrong with your device.

Kindlechat

Kindlechat is a blog that discusses the latest Kindle news. It started in November 2007, not long after Amazon first released the Kindle. It has an extensive archive of topics related to the Kindle. Some of the most popular information found on the site includes ‘How to fill your Kindle for Free,’ ‘An Alternate Kindle Charger,’ ‘How hard is it to return an eBook?,’ and ‘How to skip more than 2 page on a Kindle.’ You can also access a number of Kindle reviews on the site and get help for your Kindle questions on the Kindle Support page.

A Kindle World blog

According to the author of A Kindle World blog, “This blog will explore the capabilities of this device with its immediate access to the entire global Net, through its 24/7 wireless feature. There will be ongoing tutorials and guides for little-known features and latest information on the Kindle and its competitors. Questions are welcome.” You can even have this blog delivered directly to your Kindle.

Kindle Review blog

The ireaderreview blog is dedicated to helping people decide if a Kindle is the right eReader for them and how to make the most out of their Kindle should they decide to buy. You can find numerous reviews on the site as well as handy tips and tricks for the Kindle. There is also a Free Kindle Books section of blog, which provides links to sites where you can find free content for your Kindle.

Amazon Communities and User Reviews

The Amazon site itself is a rich resource for impartial information on the Kindle. There are a number of forums you can join on Amazon to discuss various aspects of the Kindle experience. Just visit Customer Communities on Amazon and search for Kindle. The Kindle Community lists over 18,000 contributors and has thousands of discussions you can join. On the product detail page of both the Kindle and the Kindle DX there are hundreds of reviews of the devices from users themselves. These reviews can be quite helpful in learning the issues people have with the Kindle, as well as the many positive aspects of the device.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Friday, July 9, 2010

Kindle 2 Custom Screensavers

I finally decided to jailbreak my Kindle so I could customize the screensavers. Goodbye dead authors! I accomplished this following these instructions and overall it was pretty straightforward. I'm happy to report that Slartibartfast (my Kindle) suffered no ill effects and I am now enjoying pictures of my family suspended in e-ink whilst the e-reader rests.

I created 20 different sleep screen pictures using shots from our recent summer vacation to Colorado and California processed with Photoshop. Here they are.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Look at you down there. You look like a little evil pepper shaker. (Emperor to Vader during on-ship communication in Robot Chicken)

Untitled

Jailedbreaked my Kindle last night and customized the screensaver pics (no more dead authors) and the fonts

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Obama vs. Arizona: The President is fighting a reckless war that will backfire politically

President Obama's efforts to battle the anti-illegal immigration law in Arizona will not help him politically.

The Obama administration is getting quite the reputation for bucking the wishes of the people. From pushing through an unpopular health care bill to imposing a moratorium on offshore drilling that's costing the already-suffering gulf region precious jobs, it has refused to back down when it comes to the will of the masses.

Now, President Obama's Justice Department has decided to sue the State of Arizona over its new law targeting illegal aliens, when a majority of the public favors the legislation, leaving many to wonder if the increasingly detached White House has gone too far.

The administration says its lawsuit is all about the law; Arizona, it says, is trying to enforce immigration statutes - which is the federal government's job alone.

It's hard to believe from a President who has already shaken the finger of moral disapproval at the bill.

Rather, anyone with basic political sense can see the move for what it is: a purely political maneuver intended to invigorate Hispanic voters - a key piece of the Democratic base - in time for the November elections. Obama is hoping that a bloody judicial showdown on immigration will translate into high turnout for Democrats. And that could be enough to sustain Democratic majorities in Congress.

Don't count on it. For the strategy to work, registered Hispanic voters would need to turn out in droves over what essentially boils down to a nuanced debate between federal versus states' rights.

While some legal Latinos will buy the concern that the bill could lead to racial profiling - an outcome the Arizona law strictly forbids - most likely voters are overwhelmingly against illegal immigration. Even if some find the Arizona law abhorrent, it won't likely be enough to counter the majority of Americans who side with the Grand Canyon State and would favor a similar law in their own states.

According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted May 6 to 9, nearly six in 10 voters favor the Arizona legislation, the broadest support in favor of the requirement that people produce documents verifying their legal status. A whopping 86% of Republicans, 65% of Democrats and 73% of independents back that provision.

When it comes to immigration, most Americans want the border secured first and foremost. But securing the border would take the immediacy of the immigration issue off the table. You see, Obama needs the border as a carrot to pass a larger bill in Congress that gives amnesty.

Think about it. What sounds better: "The Protect Our Borders Now Act" or the "Amnesty for Everyone Bill"? Without serious provisions that address border security, any such legislation is unlikely to pass, particularly if the GOP gains seats in the fall or takes control of the House of Representatives, something Obama is expecting, with the help of Hispanics, not to happen.

And so, in an effort to maintain and expand the Democratic base, Obama risks support within it. A sharp divide among the unions could ensue as it did in 2007 during the last immigration fight if blue-collar workers believe Obama is favoring illegal aliens who take their jobs and refusing to stand up for the suffering American worker.

With unemployment hovering at almost 10%, a bitter battle between two levels of government is unprecedented and unnecessary. Voters want action on the economy, not more federal government overreaching. A very public power struggle between the President and one of the states in the Union is not likely to play well, especially because it's Washington that has dropped the ball when it comes to tackling the out-of-control issue of illegal immigration.

Declaring war on the State of Arizona is one thing. Declaring war on the State of Arizona while the economy is on the verge of bankruptcy and a double-dip recession is another. Restoring jobs and economic and national security should be the President's top concerns. If he doesn't change course, it'll be him who is on trial next in the court of public opinion.

andrea@andreatantaros.com

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Star Wars Uncut

The Uncut Project

Star Wars Uncut is the brainchild of Casey Pugh, a developer dedicated to creating new and fun experiences on the web.

Working as a developer at Vimeo, Casey became interested in using the internet as a tool for crowdsourcing user content.

Star Wars was a natural choice to explore the dynamics of community creation on the web - the response from fans has been overwhelming worldwide and the resulting movie is incredibly fun to watch.

Star Wars Uncut has been featured in documentaries, news features and conferences around the world for its unique appeal - we thank everyone for making it such a special project.

We plan to keep making Uncut movies - check back here for your chance to be part of it.

Very creative site. Star Wars spliced together in 15 second videos filmed by site users.

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze

Full face transplant, with tear ducts, a world first

French doctors have carried out a successful full-face transplant -- eyelids, tear ducts and all -- on a 35-year-old man, the hospital where the operation took place confirmed on Thursday.

Doctors carried out the 12-hour operation June 26 and 27 on a patient -- identified only as "Jerome" -- afflicted with a face-disfiguring genetic disorder.

The head surgeon, Laurent Lantieri, described the surgery as a world first because it included a difficult and unprecedented transplant of tear ducts and eyelids.

A similar procedure carried out in Spain earlier this year replaced most of the face, but not the tear ducts.

Lantieri, who has already performed four other partial or nearly-complete face transplants, told AFP before the operation that reconnecting tear ducts and replacing eyelids was the "extremely challenging."

"My patient is doing well. He is walking, eating, talking. His beard has started to grow back on his new face," said Lantieri, who operated on Jerome at the Creteil Henri-Mondor hospital in the Paris suburbs.

"The first time he looked at himself in the mirror he stuck both thumbs up," he told a local newspaper, the Parisien. "He was waiting for this transplant for two years. He is very happy."

Lantieri's team operated on another patient suffering from the same genetic disorder, a type of neurofibromatosis called Von Recklinghausen's disease, in 2007.

In that case the tumour was so massive and hideous that the man could neither eat or speak properly.

Less then 13 months after the transplant, however, the man was working fulltime and considered himself to be reintegrated into society.

A face transplant involves the removal of the entire face from a corpse, including mouth and eyelids, and grafting it onto the patient. Nerves and blood vessels are connected under a microscope.

"We are the first to have done a full-face transplant including eyelids and tear ducts. I am proud because this has been done in France," Lantieri was quoted as saying.

The surgery required a team of ten people, fewer than for previous cases, he added.

Other doctors have also claimed to have carried out a similar operation.

In April, a 30-strong team at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona said they had conducted a full-face transplant on a young man disfigured in an accident.

There have about a dozen partial or complete face transplants recorded to date, five of them -- including the first, in 2005 -- in France.

In that landmark operation, 38-year-old Isabelle Dinoire received the nose, lips and chin of a donor to replace parts of her face that had been mauled by a dog.

The procedure was conducted by Bernard Devauchelle, a professor of facial surgery at a hospital in Amiens, northern France.

The first face transplant outside France took place in China in 2006 on a patient mauled by a bear. The man died two years later, after he stopped taking medication to prevent his body from rejecting the graft.

In April 2009, Lantieri and his colleagues also claimed another world first for replacing part of the face and both hands of a man in a single operation.

A face transplant is considered one of the toughest surgical tasks. It combines micro-surgery to connect nerves and blood vessels and a high risk of rejection by the recipient's immune system.

"Beyond the grafting itself, these transplants are going to teach us a lot about numerous other areas of such as immunology," Lantieri said.


Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium

Posted via email from Mocha Brain Freeze