digg

Join DiggAbout

The Digg Crew wants to hear your thoughts!
Please take our short survey about Digg and potential feature ideas.

See the original image at cnn.com —

Double amputee walks again due to Bluetooth

cnn.com — Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bleill lost both his legs when a bomb exploded under his Humvee while on patrol in Iraq on October 15, 2006. He has 32 pins in his hip and a 6-inch screw holding his pelvis together.

show profanity settings
expand all
  • Bridea, on 01/26/2008, -3/+90War sucks. Using technology to enhance the lives of the unfortunate is awesome.
    • capiCrimm, on 01/26/2008, -2/+18you tell me it's awesome when the cyborgs wage war on us.
      • CheeseburgerBro, on 01/26/2008, -1/+18...Which will lead to advances in medicine. See? It's the circle of life.

        That's nature in a nutshell: cyborgs beget wars beget better cyborgs. The future may not be rosy, but at least it will be shiny.
        • JediSean12, on 01/26/2008, -5/+17I for one, welcome our new Bluetooth-enabled overlords.
          • PathDaemon, on 01/26/2008, -3/+3That's the first time that line has been funny for several years (or so it feels like). Thank you, JediSean12.
          • offsprog, on 01/26/2008, -2/+2Golden
    • Fratz, on 01/26/2008, -0/+8I agree, but it's much better to use technology that can't be broken by cordless phones or wifi. You don't want your legs to be DoSed.
      • salomejones, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4Or logged into by some joker in a coffeeshop. "Hey, why did you kick me?" "I didnt!"
        • Sidzilla, on 01/26/2008, -1/+6I guess that would be the second time he had his legs hacked.

          *ouch* Digg me down.
    • Ultra99, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1Totally agree....would feel alot better if I knew for a fact that some of those billions they're spending on the war was going into providing war victims with the best cutting edge medical technology possible, no expenses spared. What they learn working with soldiers will only trickle down, so to speak, and help the general public in the future. I wish stories like this happened on a much more frequent and regular basis.

      Props to this guy and his girl too, all the best.
      • salomejones, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3Ill bet that billion dollars in hard cash that the pentagon lost a couple of years ago (and has still lost, and has said nothing more about it) would have gone a very long way in buying bluetooth legs for everyone who needs them.
    • salomejones, on 01/26/2008, -3/+2Hes not so unfortunate--he's a graduate of West Point, and therefore went into the war as a man of some means, which is why HE gets to walk again, and thousands of other soldiers who didn't go to West Point and are not men and women of means, get to rot to death in military hospitals all over the country.
      Of course I feel empathy for this young man, one should not be without one's legs, and losing them over a criminal war has got to be pretty sour for him. But he can afford his new legs. Not everyone can.
  • DonJuan, on 01/26/2008, -0/+38SO much cooler than headsets people wear as fashion statements.
  • vernacularninja, on 01/26/2008, -2/+6Absolutely, and it seems from the video that his range of motion is much more comfortable and natural.
    • INTERNETMASTER, on 01/26/2008, -4/+1there's nothing natural about this crap.
      • vernacularninja, on 01/28/2008, -0/+0try reading a bit closer there. More natural being the key.
  • cooldocviper, on 01/26/2008, -1/+96lets hope that no one tries to hack his legs.
    • diggdean, on 01/26/2008, -1/+20"Oh no, it's on 'hummingbird'!"
    • JoeDiggsIt, on 01/26/2008, -0/+19I've honestly thought about doing that to my C-Leg (because it does allow computer access.) How awesome would that be to have an open-source prosthetic leg.
      • PathDaemon, on 01/26/2008, -2/+3Just call the company up and be all like "yo, I'm 1337... think I might be able to get a copy of that debugging software?"

        I'm serious. People are forced to be nicer to amputees, and I'm sure that at least the engineering department would be amused to find someone modding their legs.
      • pzwhite125, on 01/27/2008, -0/+1I'm "running" a knee-bian based distro. I call it Shoebuntu.
    • eyefork, on 01/26/2008, -0/+13Reminiscent of Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, lol. Amazing technology nonetheless
  • Gregorious1978, on 01/26/2008, -7/+5This is awesome!!! Good to see our tax dollars are finally going towards something usefull
  • Error601, on 01/26/2008, -3/+44That's kind of like saying you can drive the car because of the throttle cable. Bluetooth is not even a remotely interesting part of it and should not be in the headline.
    • vernacularninja, on 01/26/2008, -4/+19"Computer chips in each leg send signals to motors in the artificial joints so the knees and ankles move in a coordinated fashion." Not sure how bluetooth is not an interesting part of it, but hey, I'm no expert.
      • putnam, on 01/26/2008, -11/+1.
        • iDiggIt42, on 01/26/2008, -0/+11That was a very well-formulated statement. I particularly liked your closing argument.
      • Fracture98, on 01/26/2008, -2/+14Because Bluetooth is simply the transmission technique. If he had a fibre-optic cable running up one leg and over to the other, would they be saying, "Cable let's man walk! All hail the cable!"
        • thall, on 01/26/2008, -0/+5I for one welcome.... ah forget it.
          • TheSabre, on 01/26/2008, -1/+11No, they wouldn't be saying it because it's grammatically incorrect. They might be saying "Cable lets man walk! All hail the cable!" though.
          • DivisibleByZero, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2I've seen plenty of examples of "them" throwing grammatical correctness aside when saying things, so I doubt it would stop them in this case either.
          • vernacularninja, on 01/28/2008, -0/+0It's amazing how people will find the smallest details to nitpick. Look, the guy can walk again with reasonable level of comfort considering his condition and what he has been through.
    • Fracture98, on 01/26/2008, -1/+4I'm glad someone else thought that. I had a different analogy in mind, but yours is just as good.
    • DJRobX, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3Exactly. This is one of those cases where I think I'd prefer the reliability of a wired network. Failure for the two legs to communicate might give "crash" a whole new meaning.
    • cliffzdude, on 01/26/2008, -2/+5Error601 is spot on. Bluetooth is but a wireless transmission standard. Damn, I remember when Digg was inhabited by techies who knew something so basic.
      99% of all techies reading this headline and the article will scratch their balls and ask "WTF does Bluetooth being the method of RF transmission have to do with this?" The real tech voo-doo is in the design, computational application, and implementation that allows a man with no legs to walk again.
    • shoover, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3How many prothesetics have bluetooth in them these days? This is the first *I've* heard of - that makes the title appropriate.
  • BigManOnCampus, on 01/26/2008, -6/+10He has a hot girlfriend... it's good to see she's sticking with him.
    • wondertwins, on 01/26/2008, -7/+7how the hell is she hot? seriously
      • EXreaction, on 01/26/2008, -3/+16It's digg. Every picture of a woman is labeled as hot by a few people.
      • bingobongony, on 01/26/2008, -4/+7Keep in mind that to Diggers, until her and KEvin broke up anyway, Sarah Lane was considered to be some unapproachable hottie.
    • Picaroon, on 01/26/2008, -1/+8Clearly the next step is bluetooth eye implants.

      *But it is good to see her standing by him instead of sending a dear John.
  • whiteknives, on 01/26/2008, -2/+7I wonder how long the batteries last on a charge.
    • eyefork, on 01/26/2008, -1/+3This model is powered by gasoline
    • JoeDiggsIt, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4The lithium-ion one in mine lasts around 3 days on full charge.
  • Revolution101, on 01/26/2008, -2/+8I’m thinking about getting metal legs. It’s a risky operation, but it’ll be worth it.
    -JP
    • jaredseth, on 01/26/2008, -2/+5But do you know what the civil war was or who invented the helicopter?
      • billbillbilly, on 01/26/2008, -4/+3which civil war?
        or did you think there has only been one civil war in the history of the world??
        • jaredseth, on 02/04/2008, -0/+1Just noticed that no one got the Grandma's Boy ref.
    • timbo458, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2Bet you could really kick some ass with "metal legs"!
  • Dysarthria, on 01/26/2008, -0/+17This gives "pairing" a whole new meaning.
    • bingobongony, on 01/26/2008, -11/+2Are you sure? I just looked it up. It has the same meaning that it had before.
  • JoeDiggsIt, on 01/26/2008, -2/+6Sweet, my C-Leg already has a microprocessor in it, this is a pretty neat advancement.
  • bingobongony, on 01/26/2008, -2/+26It is a good thing they are not made by Verizon. They'd be able to work, but Verizon would disable it unless he paid a fee.
    • aresef, on 01/26/2008, -1/+28And imagine the roaming charges.

      Thank you, I'm here all week.
    • RyeBrye, on 01/26/2008, -0/+9And the fee would be 0.02 cents per mile - but they'd bill him $0.02
  • poontangpirate, on 01/26/2008, -10/+4Al Gore is responsible for this miracle.
  • primehifi, on 01/26/2008, -10/+2Good news: He can walk.
    Bad news: Now he'll get cancer from the bluetooth emissions.
  • MortalynFlux, on 01/26/2008, -1/+13Interesting how he says "we." "We" as in the collective. I, for one, welcome our new cyborg bluetooth overlords.
  • duddy, on 01/26/2008, -8/+6WTF do his legs have to do with his teeth?
    • someone173406, on 01/26/2008, -2/+6Buried for still being in 2004.
    • timbo458, on 01/26/2008, -2/+3Not "teeth" just the single blue "tooth" on his forehead!
    • petebert, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3you guys to check the batterys in your sarcasm detectors.
  • mrzack, on 01/26/2008, -16/+3oh sweet neocon
    how I wish to wrap my hand around your neck
    and strangle you with all my might
    hear the cracklings of your screams for air
    fills me with joy and delight
    as you gasp for your last breath of life
    sweet justice for the middle eastern strife
    your extremist views I abhor
    you stole the 2000 election from al gore
    oh sweet neocon
    I now have to pretend to be canadian
    when I travel to the world cup
    to avoid being blown up!
    oh sweet neocon
    you attacked iraq, and afghanistan
    detailed in you PNAC plan
    you have indebted america beyond reason
    for this you must be shot for treason
    oh sweet neocon, you will one day surely surely pay...
    • Kythas, on 01/26/2008, -2/+3Spoken like a true tolerant, accepting, progressive liberal.
      • mrzack, on 01/26/2008, -8/+3I'm not a liberal you idiot. I'm a Liberaltarian. haha, sucks to be you, still stuck in a left right paradigm. A real conservative isn't a Neo-con. hello anybody home???
        • Ostizzle, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2haha yeah you showed him you are good at the grammar and punctuation and liberaltarians make sense with they talk with question marks????
        • Kythas, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2What's the difference between a liberal and a liberalterian? The 'terian' on the end of the word?

          Your little post reeks of hatred. You should let that go before it eats you up inside.
  • beingdevious, on 01/26/2008, -2/+14dugg for other amputees to have hope. this is awesome.
  • LGod, on 01/26/2008, -1/+14It is good to see a fellow double amp in the news. I hope the best for him, it's damn tough. Personally, I am waiting for bionic, laser, rocket, go go gadget legs.
    • JoeDiggsIt, on 01/26/2008, -1/+3I really admire you doubles, but you wanna know who really pisses me off? BK's who complain.
  • k00k, on 01/26/2008, -0/+5it's just a matter of time before that guy is running around better than before. the 6 million dollar mech-man is not far off.
  • baudbwoy, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2is it me or does it seem like certain things are way behind, its like no one out there can mashup technology as easily as people mashup sites.
  • omer209, on 01/26/2008, -1/+6He looks like a BADASS... sorry I couldn't help myself....
  • Kythas, on 01/26/2008, -0/+10The man lost both legs in Iraq, and wants to "give back" to the community.

    These men inspire me daily. Semper Fi, bro.
  • DinosWillDie13, on 01/26/2008, -2/+4dugg for the colts fan
  • Xiney, on 01/26/2008, -1/+3I can't get over how genuine his smile is. It's great he's got two new bionic legs but I have to say I'd still be pissed off myself, for not having my old legs.
    He's obviously better able to adapt to new situations than I ever would be.
  • nosecohn, on 01/26/2008, -1/+5These are great advancements for amputees, but it strikes me as sad that enough brave Americans are getting their legs blown off in Iraq to support an entire industry developing mechanical replacements.
  • spartan777, on 01/26/2008, -2/+6sadly, hours later it was reported that a passerby playing tetris on their cellphone interfered with his legs, and made him walk into a bed, bath & beyond, from which he never returned.
  • IMA_Sellout, on 01/26/2008, -3/+8In a related story, the Major Lance Cpl was re-commissioned and will return to Iraq in 2 weeks.
  • andrewtheart, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2Can I start a OBEX session next to him and give him some files?
  • kmotiv1, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4Totally awesome.
  • DogGunn, on 01/26/2008, -1/+6Guys, the code to his legs are 0000. Don't play around with them too much, you might cause them to crash.
  • zclone, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1looks expensive....
  • Antixian, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2i'm gonna be an adrian barbobot.
  • Heymann, on 01/26/2008, -0/+4Nice its good to see technology being put to good use and not for the destruction of others.
  • cm32438, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2I've got a 6-inch screw holding my pelvis together...if you know what I mean
  • bragerz, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1dude better stay away from microwaves in use!!
  • eyesmell, on 01/26/2008, -0/+6It seems a bit odd that the reporter in the video is more interested in the fact that its bluetooth, not that the dude is WALKING AGAIN!
    He's starts talking about the fascinating way these legs work, and the reporter be all like "Yea yea, but what we're really talking about here is the same technology in cell phones." I would have giving her a bluetooth bionic kick to the chest.
  • tightscrummy, on 01/26/2008, -4/+2Maybe god doesn't hate amputees so much afterall.
    http://www.whydoesgodhateamputees.com/
    • dildoolielly, on 01/26/2008, -1/+1Science has nothing to do with Bible-God. Deny it all you want but religion and Science are like Oil and Water.
      • tightscrummy, on 01/27/2008, -0/+1Who said anything about science? God never answers the prayers of amputees so he must not like them very much. Or maybe this is just another ironic twist to the "mystery of faith".
  • timbo458, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3I hope he gets some spare batteries before he tries walking home.
  • sfacets, on 01/26/2008, -1/+1Just wait until someone intercepts his BT signal and hacks into his legs ;) muhuhahaha
  • palmdoc, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3I wonder how often he has to recharge his legs?
  • Ultra99, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1Slight irony here...since his legs might have been blown off by a bluetooth equipped mobile phone-trigered IED and now he has bluetooth legs.

    But whatever, that's important is that it looks like he's handling things with aplomb. Takes some super-dooper sized cojones to handle all that and keep on walkin. More powah to you bro! Rezpect!
  • Ultra99, on 01/26/2008, -0/+3What's going on? It seems that Digg's on an inspirational kick today! Is it the new algorithm or do we actually have hearts?

  • santafr0g, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2Amazing; (besides the fact he's currently using canes) if he wore long pants, he has a natural gait and one might not be able to even tell.
  • frozenwookie, on 01/26/2008, -0/+2as good as this sounds, how many people have hacked bluetooth? it would really suck for this guy to be walking around and someone hacked his limbs...
  • daxsymbiont, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1IT'S A MIRACLE

    HAIL THE BLUETOOTH MONSTER.
  • s4g4n, on 01/26/2008, -1/+1Digg has some of the most misinterpreted titles, its not better than those spam adds that say you won free iPod nanos.
  • tetsuwan, on 01/26/2008, -0/+1What? No user-replaceable battery? I'd rather stay in my wheelchair than buy that locked-in solution.
  • Marshallo1, on 01/26/2008, -0/+0They need to add a 'Legs' category on the bluetooth device search menu.
  • dildoolielly, on 01/26/2008, -1/+2Hey, Repukes, you pathetic, self-righteous, cowardly assholes, never forget that a G.I. lost his legs so you could have more "leg room".

    • CaptainLando, on 01/26/2008, -2/+1What a mean thing to say.
      • dildoolielly, on 01/26/2008, -1/+1truth hurts
        • CaptainLando, on 01/27/2008, -1/+1well taking his sacrifice and pushing your own damned agenda is pathetic and cowardly.
          • dildoolielly, on 01/27/2008, -0/+1I have no agenda. I have a problem with lying to our soldier's and their families to fight for your goddam war for oil. Republicans are why we are in this mess and why this traitor, war mongering, awol idiot was elected, TWICE

            You are a Torrie sir! And our forefathers would not hesitate to point you out as such.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 54 of 54 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.