Thunderspace | 3D Thundery Weather
Thunderspace
We often forget how important it is to unwind after a stressful workday, which got us thinking: Can we make an interesting relaxation app? One that is different? One that gives you a new experience? A new way to use your iPhone?
Under the hood, well... You know these unremarkable old cars that look slow? And then the driver hits the gas pedal and you're not sure which one would be faster: That car or a Lambo! “Project Thunderstorm” was like that. It didn’t play some random thunderstorm sounds as most people would expect. It played a thunderstorm recorded in stereoscopic 3D, using a state-of-the-art microphone that had ears and captured the sound exactly the way humans hear — with interaural time and level differences.
Stereoscopic 3D audio for headphones is like 3D video for 3D glasses. You have two ears for the same reason that you have two eyes. So you can see and hear in 3D.
The lightning flashes were the icing on the cake, and boost the immersive effect even further by acting as another cue to the brain that the thunderstorm is real. If you go outside in the evening and relax with Thunderspace, it'll get even more realistic.
The combination with lightning flashes introduced some interesting challenges. How do you define when a lightning flash should occur, and how strong? Since light is a lot faster than sound, it was clear that the flashes had to happen before the thunder. The delay between a lightning flash and the audible thunder sound depends on a lot of factors. Since we had just audio recordings but no video, we had to recreate them on our own, solely based on the audio track. We looked at the energy in the lower frequency spectrum to determine how close and strong a thunder was, and combined that with some imagination to nail each and every lightning flash.
Another challenge was repetition. When you listen to the same recording over and over again, your brain begins to identify repetitive patterns. We took some measures to reduce repetition based on psychoacoustic sound evaluation principles. But of course nothing beats length! Therefore, our thunderstorms are up to 26 minutes long and seamlessly looped.
In a nutshell, we believe we've crafted a novel relaxation app we can be proud of, and which will put a smile on your face after a stressful day.
We often forget how important it is to unwind after a stressful workday, which got us thinking: Can we make an interesting relaxation app? One that is different? One that gives you a new experience? A new way to use your iPhone?
Under the hood, well... You know these unremarkable old cars that look slow? And then the driver hits the gas pedal and you're not sure which one would be faster: That car or a Lambo! “Project Thunderstorm” was like that. It didn’t play some random thunderstorm sounds as most people would expect. It played a thunderstorm recorded in stereoscopic 3D, using a state-of-the-art microphone that had ears and captured the sound exactly the way humans hear — with interaural time and level differences.
Stereoscopic 3D audio for headphones is like 3D video for 3D glasses. You have two ears for the same reason that you have two eyes. So you can see and hear in 3D.
The lightning flashes were the icing on the cake, and boost the immersive effect even further by acting as another cue to the brain that the thunderstorm is real. If you go outside in the evening and relax with Thunderspace, it'll get even more realistic.
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| 8 soundscapes available |
The combination with lightning flashes introduced some interesting challenges. How do you define when a lightning flash should occur, and how strong? Since light is a lot faster than sound, it was clear that the flashes had to happen before the thunder. The delay between a lightning flash and the audible thunder sound depends on a lot of factors. Since we had just audio recordings but no video, we had to recreate them on our own, solely based on the audio track. We looked at the energy in the lower frequency spectrum to determine how close and strong a thunder was, and combined that with some imagination to nail each and every lightning flash.
Another challenge was repetition. When you listen to the same recording over and over again, your brain begins to identify repetitive patterns. We took some measures to reduce repetition based on psychoacoustic sound evaluation principles. But of course nothing beats length! Therefore, our thunderstorms are up to 26 minutes long and seamlessly looped.
In a nutshell, we believe we've crafted a novel relaxation app we can be proud of, and which will put a smile on your face after a stressful day.
iON | The Vampirization of America
Payday
Bob Dobbs’ private sessions 226, 26 December 2009 and 233, 9 January 2010.
Bob, Dr Carolyn Dean and iON talk vampires.
Bob Dobbs’ private sessions 226, 26 December 2009 and 233, 9 January 2010.
Bob, Dr Carolyn Dean and iON talk vampires.
Cutie And The Boxer
Once a rising star in the ‘70s New York art scene, 80-year-old “boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara hopes to reinvigorate his career as he preps for his latest show. His wife, and de facto assistant, Noriko, seeks her own recognition through her “Cutie” illustrations, which depict their chaotic, yet sustained, 40-year marriage.
iON | One Guf
Send Your Very Own Personal Spacecraft to the Moon
Pocket Spacecraft
Now anyone with $300 can send their own personal spacecraft (called Scouts) to the moon. If you want to keep things closer to home, a $150 pledge gets you an Earth Scout that will be released into Earth's atmosphere.
Your Scout is a polyimide disc (a material used for flexible circuit boards, spacesuits and, of particular relevance for this application, high performance solar sails) held taut by a NiTi memory metal hoop that can also double as an antenna. These will be loaded by the thousand into an Interplanetary CubeSat Mothership which will fly to the body of interest, send out the Scouts to explore it, and relay their discoveries back to Earth and amongst each other.
The thinness and lightness allows the packing of thousands per mothership and act as very small solar sails (when coated with a thin metal layer) to move about space, and potentially survive re-entry from orbit to the surface of bodies with suitable atmospheres.
Now anyone with $300 can send their own personal spacecraft (called Scouts) to the moon. If you want to keep things closer to home, a $150 pledge gets you an Earth Scout that will be released into Earth's atmosphere.
Your Scout is a polyimide disc (a material used for flexible circuit boards, spacesuits and, of particular relevance for this application, high performance solar sails) held taut by a NiTi memory metal hoop that can also double as an antenna. These will be loaded by the thousand into an Interplanetary CubeSat Mothership which will fly to the body of interest, send out the Scouts to explore it, and relay their discoveries back to Earth and amongst each other.
The thinness and lightness allows the packing of thousands per mothership and act as very small solar sails (when coated with a thin metal layer) to move about space, and potentially survive re-entry from orbit to the surface of bodies with suitable atmospheres.
You can upload a picture or message which will be printed on your spacecraft. You decide where you would like your Scout to go – load it onto the Earth Scout deck, and soon after it is launched into space, we’ll release it into Earth’s atmosphere to attempt re-entry and recovery from the surface of the planet. Load it onto the Lunar Scout deck and we’ll try to send it to the moon and release it to deorbit to the surface of the moon.
Scouts are solar powered with integrated optical and radio transceivers and can have sensors including a single pixel optical sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor, strain gauges and more. If you are comfortable with Arduino level software development, you can run your own software on Software and Hardware Development Scouts. We’ll provide a web based integrated development environment (IDE) so you can write code, test on a Scout simulator and in a virtual solar system and upload your design to your own Software Development Scout.
Scouts are solar powered with integrated optical and radio transceivers and can have sensors including a single pixel optical sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, temperature sensor, strain gauges and more. If you are comfortable with Arduino level software development, you can run your own software on Software and Hardware Development Scouts. We’ll provide a web based integrated development environment (IDE) so you can write code, test on a Scout simulator and in a virtual solar system and upload your design to your own Software Development Scout.
Domonique Ansel | Cronut Goes Viral
Dominique Ansel Bakery
Half croissant, half doughnut — the Cronut created by Chef Dominique Ansel is taking the world by storm since it’s launch on 10 May 2013.
Half croissant, half doughnut — the Cronut created by Chef Dominique Ansel is taking the world by storm since it’s launch on 10 May 2013.
Cronuts should be eaten right away as they have a very short shelf life. They should not be refrigerated or they will go stale and soggy.
Lines for Cronuts start as early as 2 hours prior to the opening of the bakery and the limit is 2 per person at $5 apiece.
Instagram photos of Cronuts.
Instagram photos of Cronuts.
will.i.am Owns the Trademark to “I AM”
Rolling Stone
Will.i.am is taking legal action against Pharrell Williams over the latter’s new creative brand “i am OTHER”—claiming that he owns the copyright to the phrase “I AM” and that Pharrell’s logo is “confusingly similar,” according to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
In his notice of opposition, will.i.am argues that Pharrell would be using his “i am OTHER” brand on clothing and other items in a manner similar to the goods that bear his own “I AM” logo. “The registration of the mark…is likely to dilute the I AM mark and the WILL.I.AM mark,” the document reads.
“I AM disappointed that Will, a fellow artist, would file a case against me,“ Pharrell says in a statement to RS. “I AM someone who likes to talk things out and, in fact, I attempted to do just that on many occasions. I AM surprised in how this is being handled and I AM confident that Will’s trademark claims will ultimately be found to be as meritless and ridiculous as I do.”
Will.i.am is taking legal action against Pharrell Williams over the latter’s new creative brand “i am OTHER”—claiming that he owns the copyright to the phrase “I AM” and that Pharrell’s logo is “confusingly similar,” according to court documents obtained by Rolling Stone.
In his notice of opposition, will.i.am argues that Pharrell would be using his “i am OTHER” brand on clothing and other items in a manner similar to the goods that bear his own “I AM” logo. “The registration of the mark…is likely to dilute the I AM mark and the WILL.I.AM mark,” the document reads.
“I AM disappointed that Will, a fellow artist, would file a case against me,“ Pharrell says in a statement to RS. “I AM someone who likes to talk things out and, in fact, I attempted to do just that on many occasions. I AM surprised in how this is being handled and I AM confident that Will’s trademark claims will ultimately be found to be as meritless and ridiculous as I do.”
iPad Schools In the Netherlands
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| Photo: Mark Maela/Corbis |
Spiegel
Eleven “Steve Jobs schools” will open in August in the Netherlands. Some 1,000 children aged four to 12 will attend, without notebooks, books or backpacks. Each of them, however, will have his or her own iPad.
There will be no blackboards, chalk or classrooms, homeroom teachers, formal classes, lesson plans, seating charts, pens, teachers teaching from the front of the room, schedules, parent-teacher meetings, grades, recess bells, fixed school days and school vacations. If a child would rather play on his or her iPad instead of learning, it'll be okay. And the children will choose what they wish to learn based on what they happen to be curious about.
The schools will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 on every workday. The children will come and go as they please, as long as they are present during the core period between 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The building will only be closed for Christmas and New Year’s. The children's families will be able to go on vacation when they please, and no child will have to be worried about missing class as a result, since classes in the traditional sense will be nonexistent.
Only in exceptional cases will a teacher direct classes in groups. Normally, the children will learn by calling up a learning app on their iPad—which will be turned into a sort of interactive, multimedia schoolbook—whenever they want.
“The classic chalk-and-blackboard teachers are preparing children for a world that no longer exists.” ~Maurice de Hond
Eleven “Steve Jobs schools” will open in August in the Netherlands. Some 1,000 children aged four to 12 will attend, without notebooks, books or backpacks. Each of them, however, will have his or her own iPad.
There will be no blackboards, chalk or classrooms, homeroom teachers, formal classes, lesson plans, seating charts, pens, teachers teaching from the front of the room, schedules, parent-teacher meetings, grades, recess bells, fixed school days and school vacations. If a child would rather play on his or her iPad instead of learning, it'll be okay. And the children will choose what they wish to learn based on what they happen to be curious about.
The schools will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 on every workday. The children will come and go as they please, as long as they are present during the core period between 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The building will only be closed for Christmas and New Year’s. The children's families will be able to go on vacation when they please, and no child will have to be worried about missing class as a result, since classes in the traditional sense will be nonexistent.
Only in exceptional cases will a teacher direct classes in groups. Normally, the children will learn by calling up a learning app on their iPad—which will be turned into a sort of interactive, multimedia schoolbook—whenever they want.
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| Photo: DPA |
The program is more patient than any person ever could be and turns learning into a game-like experience, partly with the help of amusing noises and animations. In each exercise, the children are corrected the way players are in a computer game. They don’t have to work through entire chapters, as they did in the past. The goal is to enable them to reach the next level in the learning program at their own pace. The teacher’s role is to help them, not as conveyors of knowledge but as learning coaches. “The interaction between the child and the teacher remains the foundation of the lesson,” as Kleinpaste puts it.
As such, the school day never really ends. Pupils are welcome to keep working on their iPads at home, on weekends or on vacation. But as much as the program offers freedom and continuity, it also comes with a substantial monitoring component. The iPad keeps teachers and parents constantly informed about what children are doing, what they have learned and how they are progressing. If a math app is neither enjoyable nor successful, the teacher simply orders another one. The supply of educational programs never runs dry in Apple's online app store.
Arithmetic, reading skills and text comprehension are the core subjects in the elementary school. Good handwriting has been downgraded to a secondary skill, nice for industrious pupils but not truly relevant.
Every six weeks, teachers, children and parents decide together what is to be achieved in the next learning period. To do so, they meet at school or virtually via Skype. The era of the 10-minute parent-teacher meeting once a year is a thing of the past in the Steve Jobs schools.
And when they are not working on iPads, the future principal insists, students at Steve Jobs schools will lead the lives of perfectly normal children. Drawing, building things, playing and physical activity are all part of daily life at the schools.
“It isn’t as if the children will just be sitting in front of a screen here,” Kleinpaste promises.
The initiator of the iPad schools is the well-known Amsterdam public opinion researcher Maurice de Hond, 65, a man with an affinity for digital life. He is proud of the fact that he has known how to program computers since 1965. His daughter Daphne, born in 2009, pointed the way for him.
"At home, Daphne learns naturally, according to her own pace, interactively and using multimedia tools,” says de Hond. Why should she feel “like she’s in a museum” when she’s in school, he asks? The classic chalk-and-blackboard teachers, he adds, “are preparing children for a world that no longer exists.”
As such, the school day never really ends. Pupils are welcome to keep working on their iPads at home, on weekends or on vacation. But as much as the program offers freedom and continuity, it also comes with a substantial monitoring component. The iPad keeps teachers and parents constantly informed about what children are doing, what they have learned and how they are progressing. If a math app is neither enjoyable nor successful, the teacher simply orders another one. The supply of educational programs never runs dry in Apple's online app store.
Arithmetic, reading skills and text comprehension are the core subjects in the elementary school. Good handwriting has been downgraded to a secondary skill, nice for industrious pupils but not truly relevant.
Every six weeks, teachers, children and parents decide together what is to be achieved in the next learning period. To do so, they meet at school or virtually via Skype. The era of the 10-minute parent-teacher meeting once a year is a thing of the past in the Steve Jobs schools.
And when they are not working on iPads, the future principal insists, students at Steve Jobs schools will lead the lives of perfectly normal children. Drawing, building things, playing and physical activity are all part of daily life at the schools.
“It isn’t as if the children will just be sitting in front of a screen here,” Kleinpaste promises.
The initiator of the iPad schools is the well-known Amsterdam public opinion researcher Maurice de Hond, 65, a man with an affinity for digital life. He is proud of the fact that he has known how to program computers since 1965. His daughter Daphne, born in 2009, pointed the way for him.
"At home, Daphne learns naturally, according to her own pace, interactively and using multimedia tools,” says de Hond. Why should she feel “like she’s in a museum” when she’s in school, he asks? The classic chalk-and-blackboard teachers, he adds, “are preparing children for a world that no longer exists.”
Mahali Mzuri
Forbes
Ann Abel
My first impression of Mahali Mzuri, Richard Branson’s new place on the edge of the Maasai Mara National Reservewas, that I’d somehow bumped across the savannah and into a Spielberg set. The terra-cotta-color rooms are ringed by arcing steel girders, and their pointed charcoal-gray roofs poke up like little spacecraft. The sci-fi look ends with the exteriors, though, and inside, they’re a glammed-up take on safari style, as seen through the gimlet eye of a sophisticated and slightly cheeky British designer. The rubber ducky by the claw-foot bathtub, for instance, appears to be wearing Maasai cloth and beaded necklaces. And the “do not disturb” sign is a Maasai spear topped with wildebeest hair.
Ann Abel
My first impression of Mahali Mzuri, Richard Branson’s new place on the edge of the Maasai Mara National Reservewas, that I’d somehow bumped across the savannah and into a Spielberg set. The terra-cotta-color rooms are ringed by arcing steel girders, and their pointed charcoal-gray roofs poke up like little spacecraft. The sci-fi look ends with the exteriors, though, and inside, they’re a glammed-up take on safari style, as seen through the gimlet eye of a sophisticated and slightly cheeky British designer. The rubber ducky by the claw-foot bathtub, for instance, appears to be wearing Maasai cloth and beaded necklaces. And the “do not disturb” sign is a Maasai spear topped with wildebeest hair.
The rooms are fantastically stylish—with rich wood floors and vividly patterned African fabrics above and behind the bed—and practical, with mini refrigerators, reusable glass bottles of filtered water, adequate light, outlets galore, and better plumbing and Wi-Fi than I have at home in New York. Virtually everything is made in Kenya, down to the very comfy mattresses. (And bless them for simply placing pillows of different thicknesses on each bed, instead of presenting a silly pillow menu.)
Wood-frame doors lead into each room and onto its big shaded deck, and that bathtub is smack by two large screened “windows” that offer terrific views over the Motorogi Conservancy (but privacy too). The sleeping area also has more and better “windows” than many conventional tents, and it’s a joy to sleep with the shade flaps open, feeling the night breezes and waking up with the sun.
Breedveld, who is originally from Australia, has a deep background in conservation in East Africa, and that—along with the philanthropic impulses and deep pockets of Richard Branson, who was made an honorary Maasai Elder for his efforts—helps explain why Mahali Mzuri has been a powerful force in creating and supporting the conservancy (a model for other Maasai communities to protect their land and profit from tourism, which Breedveld says may eventually double the size of the Mara). They’re developing a program for guests to visit a nearby village without it becoming a hokey, borderline exploitative “tourist boma” like some others in the region. In the meantime, the gift shop sells beautiful jewelry and home items made by local women’s collectives.
Not only did all this foster excellent community relations, but it also allowed them to hire the best Maasai driver-guides. Game drives are often off-road, and the drivers navigate the rough terrain quite nimbly, while answering questions and telling stories about growing up here. The Land Cruisers are top of the line, uncommonly smooth, quiet, and open (no front windshields) for better views and photo ops. Between drives, there are bush walks into the river valley below, and a good-size swimming pool and a sweet one-room spa for massages and facials using products from the cult South African line Africology.
The pool and spa are nice, but when it comes down to it, “safari” might as well be Swahili for “eating and drinking.” Those pursuits are sublime here. My group was welcomed with 2004 Veuve Cliquot, which flowed freely throughout my preview visit, even turning up once in a granita. On-site gardens supply much of the produce, and the kitchen is run by Tarn’s talented brother Liam, who was previously Branson’s chef at Necker Island in the BVI.
The dining “tent” here is pure glamour, with contemporary lights hanging above, and votive candles flickering on, a long stretch of glass that rests atop a magnificent length of untreated cedar trunk. It’s a fitting setting for big-city-caliber mushroom risotto, homemade tagliatelle with chorizo sauce, chocolate fondant, and New York cheesecake.
But even a bush dinner—which they knew better than to call a “picnic”—was an elaborate affair, with plated French onion soup, a feast of fresh salads and all sorts of grilled meats, and fig sticky pudding for dessert. Dozens of lanterns dotted the ground and dangled from the trees. A group of Maasai sang, danced, and jumped around the fire. It was, like Mahali Mzuri in general, a night of pure joy conjured seemingly out of nothing.
WaterCar
Gizmag
Take a Jeep CJ-8, put a Honda Acura 3.7-liter V6 in the back to provide 305 hp, add a fiberglass hull, retracting wheels, and a jet boat drive and you’ve got the new Panther from WaterCar, which it claims is the world's fastest amphibious car. Capable of doing over 80 mph (127 km/h) on the road and 44 mph (70 km/h) on the water, the Panther is equipped with a long-travel off-road suspension that allows access to less user-friendly lakes.
Take a Jeep CJ-8, put a Honda Acura 3.7-liter V6 in the back to provide 305 hp, add a fiberglass hull, retracting wheels, and a jet boat drive and you’ve got the new Panther from WaterCar, which it claims is the world's fastest amphibious car. Capable of doing over 80 mph (127 km/h) on the road and 44 mph (70 km/h) on the water, the Panther is equipped with a long-travel off-road suspension that allows access to less user-friendly lakes.
Cats Revive Houtong’s Economy
AP
Debby Wu
Houtong used to be one of Taiwan’s most important coal extraction sites, up until the 1970s. Then, oil and electricity took the place of coal when Taiwan’s railroads electrified and oil grew as a power source. The town’s younger residents left for better opportunities elsewhere and the population dwindled from around six thousand inhabitants to a couple of hundred, who struggled to survive.
But their fortunes changed in 2008, when a cat lover who goes by the name “Palin88” organized a series of cat photography events in the mountain town to photograph the town’s many stray cats. He and his friends posted the photos online, and got an overwhelming response from fellow feline enthusiasts.
As they shared the photos on forums and social media sites, Houtong welcomed more and more tourists eager to photograph the cats themselves, or simply watch them roaming through the town. Nowadays, Houtong is known as the Cat Village, or Taiwan’s Cat Mecca.
The hundreds of stray cats who call Houtong their home attract thousands of Taiwanese and international visitors every week, and the locals are cashing out on their popularity. Souvenir shops selling everything from cat-themed mobile dangles to cat-imprinted purses, and food-stalls offering cat-shaped snacks have proven very profitable since Houtong’s feline-induced rebirth. Acknowledging their pivotal role in the miraculous turnaround, villagers have grown very fond of the cats, and are doing everything they can to keep them safe and healthy.
A team of volunteers provides free veterinary care and food, and the community has even set up comfortable cat houses for the furry stars to nap in. Building on the town’s reputation as a cat village, locals have placed a set of cat ears at one end of Houtong and a big tail at the other, and the old town bridge now features an elevated catwalk, allowing the cats to come down from the village to the train station and greet visitors as soon as they set foot off the train.
Debby Wu
Houtong used to be one of Taiwan’s most important coal extraction sites, up until the 1970s. Then, oil and electricity took the place of coal when Taiwan’s railroads electrified and oil grew as a power source. The town’s younger residents left for better opportunities elsewhere and the population dwindled from around six thousand inhabitants to a couple of hundred, who struggled to survive.
But their fortunes changed in 2008, when a cat lover who goes by the name “Palin88” organized a series of cat photography events in the mountain town to photograph the town’s many stray cats. He and his friends posted the photos online, and got an overwhelming response from fellow feline enthusiasts.
As they shared the photos on forums and social media sites, Houtong welcomed more and more tourists eager to photograph the cats themselves, or simply watch them roaming through the town. Nowadays, Houtong is known as the Cat Village, or Taiwan’s Cat Mecca.
The hundreds of stray cats who call Houtong their home attract thousands of Taiwanese and international visitors every week, and the locals are cashing out on their popularity. Souvenir shops selling everything from cat-themed mobile dangles to cat-imprinted purses, and food-stalls offering cat-shaped snacks have proven very profitable since Houtong’s feline-induced rebirth. Acknowledging their pivotal role in the miraculous turnaround, villagers have grown very fond of the cats, and are doing everything they can to keep them safe and healthy.
A team of volunteers provides free veterinary care and food, and the community has even set up comfortable cat houses for the furry stars to nap in. Building on the town’s reputation as a cat village, locals have placed a set of cat ears at one end of Houtong and a big tail at the other, and the old town bridge now features an elevated catwalk, allowing the cats to come down from the village to the train station and greet visitors as soon as they set foot off the train.
Raj Mohan Nair | Immune to Electrocution
Raj Mohan Nair is able to withstand several amps of electricity passing through his body without suffering any bodily harm.
Ciara | I’m Out ft. Nicki Minaj
Ciara’s new track is a call for jilted women to show their former lovers exactly what they're missing and has the ferocious rapping and club-ready thumping to deliver its hell-hath-no-sexy-like-a-woman-scorned message.
J-Pop & The Economy
Forbes
Chem Chambers
Japan is famous for its J-pop bands, where music and Manga meet. The U.S. and the West for all its Justin Beiberisation and Kardashianification simply can’t match Japan for mixing pure fantasy with crystalline escapism and the unexpected.
The country is a complex culture—steeped in humour and irony. While the youths of Western rock want freedom, the punks anarchy, Japanese youth want growth and employment. This is the vibe this J-pop band is plugging into.
So it has not come as too much of a shock to me to discover the Japanese office of ADVFN—which has a stock market information site based in Tokyo—has discovered a J-pop band that considers the performance of the Nikkei as important as their producers performance at the mixing desk.
Called Machikado Keiki , meaning “the street corner economists of Japan,” and also potentially a play on words meaning, “give them cake.” The band is made up of four pretty women lead by 20-year old University student Sakura Yuki.
Part of their sales pitch is that as the economy gets better, their skirts get shorter.
“So when the Nikkei goes below 9,000 we wear long skirts; when it's between 10 and 11,000 we go medium-length, and miniskirts when it’s 11 to 13,000.”
The four young Abenomics devotees dress in giant glittery bow-ties and denim mini-skirts and hand out fliers in Tokyo’s central Akihabara district. When the Nikkei hit 15,000 the band gave out 1,000 cakes and wore French underwear to celebrate.
Chem Chambers
Japan is famous for its J-pop bands, where music and Manga meet. The U.S. and the West for all its Justin Beiberisation and Kardashianification simply can’t match Japan for mixing pure fantasy with crystalline escapism and the unexpected.
The country is a complex culture—steeped in humour and irony. While the youths of Western rock want freedom, the punks anarchy, Japanese youth want growth and employment. This is the vibe this J-pop band is plugging into.
So it has not come as too much of a shock to me to discover the Japanese office of ADVFN—which has a stock market information site based in Tokyo—has discovered a J-pop band that considers the performance of the Nikkei as important as their producers performance at the mixing desk.
Called Machikado Keiki , meaning “the street corner economists of Japan,” and also potentially a play on words meaning, “give them cake.” The band is made up of four pretty women lead by 20-year old University student Sakura Yuki.
Part of their sales pitch is that as the economy gets better, their skirts get shorter.
“So when the Nikkei goes below 9,000 we wear long skirts; when it's between 10 and 11,000 we go medium-length, and miniskirts when it’s 11 to 13,000.”
The four young Abenomics devotees dress in giant glittery bow-ties and denim mini-skirts and hand out fliers in Tokyo’s central Akihabara district. When the Nikkei hit 15,000 the band gave out 1,000 cakes and wore French underwear to celebrate.
15 Year-Old Invents a Flashlight Powered By Human Body Heat
CBC News
A hollow flashlight powered by the heat from a user’s hand, designed by Ann Makosinski, a Grade 10 student at St. Michaels University School in Victoria Canada, has been picked for the finals of the Google Science Fair.
She is one of 15 students from around the world who beat out thousands of entries from more than 100 countries to earn their spot as finalists.
Makosinski has been submitting projects to science fairs since Grade 6, and has been particularly interested in alternative energy.
A hollow flashlight powered by the heat from a user’s hand, designed by Ann Makosinski, a Grade 10 student at St. Michaels University School in Victoria Canada, has been picked for the finals of the Google Science Fair.
She is one of 15 students from around the world who beat out thousands of entries from more than 100 countries to earn their spot as finalists.
“I’m really interested in harvesting surplus energy, energy that surrounds but we never really use.”
Makosinski has been submitting projects to science fairs since Grade 6, and has been particularly interested in alternative energy.
Seoul’s Bridge of Life Offers Free Counseling
Fast Company
Samsung Life Insurance loves you and here is proof.
In South Korea South, suicide is the most common cause of death for people under 40. The country has the second highest rate of suicides in the developed world (after Greenland). And Seoul’s Mapo Bridge (dubbed the Bridge of Death) is a particularly tragic spot. Every year, dozens of people jump to their death.
To do something about this, Cheil Worldwide came up with the ”Bridge of Life“: a light-and-message system that gets people out of themselves, and seeing the essential side of life again. The company claims the suicide rate has fallen 77% on the bridge as a result.
The bridge railing now has an extra section with sensors inside. When people come close, it lights up and displays phrases like
There’s also an image section with photos of happy kids, couples and grandparents, and a nice brass statue showing two friends (one guy is miserable, the other is trying to cheer him up).
Bridge of Life was paid for by Samsung Life Insurance.
Samsung Life Insurance loves you and here is proof.
In South Korea South, suicide is the most common cause of death for people under 40. The country has the second highest rate of suicides in the developed world (after Greenland). And Seoul’s Mapo Bridge (dubbed the Bridge of Death) is a particularly tragic spot. Every year, dozens of people jump to their death.
To do something about this, Cheil Worldwide came up with the ”Bridge of Life“: a light-and-message system that gets people out of themselves, and seeing the essential side of life again. The company claims the suicide rate has fallen 77% on the bridge as a result.
The bridge railing now has an extra section with sensors inside. When people come close, it lights up and displays phrases like
“The best is yet to come,”
“I love you,”
“Did you eat anything?”
“Is there something on your mind?”
“Why don’t we forget everything and go watch a movie?”
There’s also an image section with photos of happy kids, couples and grandparents, and a nice brass statue showing two friends (one guy is miserable, the other is trying to cheer him up).
Bridge of Life was paid for by Samsung Life Insurance.
In The Near Future Your Commercial Airline Flight May Not Have A Pilot On Board
Gizmag
A BAE Systems Jetstream research aircraft flew 500-miles from Preston in Lancashire, England, to Inverness, Scotland and back. This 500-mile (805 km) journey wouldn't be worth noting if it weren't for the small detail that its pilot was not on board, but sitting on the ground in Warton, Lancashire and that the plane did most of the flying itself.
What’s the difference between a Jetstream turned into a UAV and a regular one? The answer is: Not a lot. If you've flown in a modern, long-haul passenger aircraft you've already ridden in what is almost a UAV.
Autopilots have become computerized and incredibly sophisticated. While smaller aircraft may be restricted to simple autopilots to control roll or keep them flying level, larger aircraft have autopilot systems that can control takeoff, ascent, cruising, descent, approach, and landing. In the not too distant future, they will even be able to handle rollouts and taxiing.
This isn’t surprising because autopilots aren’t just a form of mechanical steering. They can control a plane’s throttles, determine its position using GPS, dead reckoning and radio beacons, and balance the plane by automatically pumping fuel from one tank to another. Furthermore, many modern airliners use fly-by-wire systems instead of direct hydraulic linkages. In this set up, the plane’s computers aren't just an adjunct to the pilot, they are an integral part of the controls and, in a sense, the pilot isn’t so much flying the plane as telling the computer what to do. Add in the situational awareness and ability to be directed from the ground that the experimental Jetstream has and you've got a UAV.
A BAE Systems Jetstream research aircraft flew 500-miles from Preston in Lancashire, England, to Inverness, Scotland and back. This 500-mile (805 km) journey wouldn't be worth noting if it weren't for the small detail that its pilot was not on board, but sitting on the ground in Warton, Lancashire and that the plane did most of the flying itself.
What’s the difference between a Jetstream turned into a UAV and a regular one? The answer is: Not a lot. If you've flown in a modern, long-haul passenger aircraft you've already ridden in what is almost a UAV.
Autopilots have become computerized and incredibly sophisticated. While smaller aircraft may be restricted to simple autopilots to control roll or keep them flying level, larger aircraft have autopilot systems that can control takeoff, ascent, cruising, descent, approach, and landing. In the not too distant future, they will even be able to handle rollouts and taxiing.
This isn’t surprising because autopilots aren’t just a form of mechanical steering. They can control a plane’s throttles, determine its position using GPS, dead reckoning and radio beacons, and balance the plane by automatically pumping fuel from one tank to another. Furthermore, many modern airliners use fly-by-wire systems instead of direct hydraulic linkages. In this set up, the plane’s computers aren't just an adjunct to the pilot, they are an integral part of the controls and, in a sense, the pilot isn’t so much flying the plane as telling the computer what to do. Add in the situational awareness and ability to be directed from the ground that the experimental Jetstream has and you've got a UAV.
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