Evolution of Technology is a jaw-droppingly creative ad on the "evolution" of steampunk robotic dinosaurs to modern androids. It's developed by Scholz&Friends Group for the German electric store Saturn.
Laughing Squid blog has the clip: Link [embedded YouTube]
Previously on Neatorama: Evolution of Tech Logos
How do the things that we buy become things in the first place?
Documentary filmmaker Gary Hustwit (who also did Helvetica - yes, a film about the typeface) takes a look at product designers and their industrial designs his new film, Objectified:
Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
Here's the trailer: Link [embedded YouTube clip] - via Fimoculous
Congratulations to many of our friends in the blogosphere for being the finalists for the 2008 Weblog Awards.
Go forth and vote! (Did I miss anyone?)
Just because you need an emergency tent it doesn't mean that you have to live in an unstylish one. Here's the Accordion reCover Shelter, by designers Matthew Malone, Amanda Goldberg, Jennifer Metcalf and Grant Meacham:
There’s nothing flimsy about the intricate folds of the reCover Shelter, which can sustain a family of four following a disaster for up to a month. As you may suspect, the oversized origami structure can be entirely collapsed into not one, but two different shapes (either horse-shoe or flat) depending on which is easier to transport. Plus, it’s composed of polypropylene, meaning no harmful gases go into the production of the shelter and it is 100% recyclable after use. Set-up takes minutes and only requires one person on deck.
The Accordion reCover Shelter was designed as a first response shelter - “something that could be transported to the site when infrastructures such as roads were unusable”. Once the temporary residence is unfolded, the functional ridges can be used to collect drinking water, and local materials or even ground cover can be used to better insulate the structure and keep harsh weather at bay. As a sustainable and inexpensive solution to an unfortunate situation that seems to arise more and more often these days, the Accordion Shelter provides a quick roof over victim’s heads and lets them start planning immediately for better days to come.
I don't know whether to call this American ingenuity and laziness: behold the Canine Treadmill that lets the dog walk itself indoors. You can set the speed, distance, and incline to give your dog the right amount of exercise.
Can true love last forever? Scientists at Stony Brook University used brain scans to find that indeed, true love can last a lifetime:
Scanning the brains of people who have been together for 20 years, the scientists found that about one in 10 couples still display elements of “limerence”, the psychologists’ term for the obsessive behaviour of new lovers.
They enjoy “intensive companionship and sexual liveliness” but without the anxieties and tensions of early love. They are generous, calm and deeply attached. The scientists call them swans (swans mate for life).
This is good news for the 10%, if not for the remaining 90% gripped by marital fatigue. But Arthur Aron, leader of the researchers, says the majority can learn from the minority. One clue he has found is that the swans share experiences and avoid stress. This may be a symptom rather than a cause, but Aron, 64, and his wife are copying the swans anyway in the hope of enjoying a little limerence themselves.
Scientists have just discovered a new species of iguana that has pink scales and lives on one volcano in the Galapagos Islands:
... scientists have discovered that the "rosada" – or pink – iguana is a species in its own right after comparing its genes with other land iguanas on the Galapagos.
There were also physical differences, besides the striking pink and black-striped colouring. Pink iguanas had flat head scales, unlike other land iguanas, and a thick fatty crest on the back of the neck with small conical scales.
Our weekly collaboration with the What is it? Blog brings us this mysterious object - can you guess what it is for?
Place your guess in the comment section. No prize this week, so you're playing for fame and glory only. Please don't post any URL - let others play.
For more clues, check out the What is it? Blog.
Update 1/9/09 - the answer: An Honor Box or English Tavern Tobacco Box from the mid 1800's, it could have been found in a bar where a patron would insert a coin and push the button to open the lid and, on his honor, take out just enough tobacco to fill his pipe.A new $2 million surveillance project in Texas lets you patrol the US border with Mexico from the comfort of your own home, and report any suspicious activity you see.
The project results in one crime bust in the six week it has been on, but it was a biggie: "virtual deputies" spotted three suspects trying to smuggle 540 pound of marijuana across the border. According to Wired:
The exact location of the cameras is not disclosed, but according to a press release about the project, "a significant number of Texas landowners" requested that the cameras be placed on their property.
More than 21,000 people from several states, including as far away as Ohio, have signed up to be virtual deputies so far. BlueServo claims its web site has received more than 5 million hits, resulting in about 1,000 e-mail reports of suspicious activity. The average camera watcher spends about eight minutes on the site examining video.
What do virtual deputies get in return for their efforts?
Aside from the satisfaction of knowing they've done their part to combat crime, they get the opportunity to become targeted consumers.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/12/2-million-texas.html | Here's the webcam: BlueServo - via Attuworld
Do you think this guy would have trouble with traveling in the United States? Or getting packages delivered by UPS without being billed as a terrorist? Behold a Nihang from the armed Sikh military order - these people really, really like to wear big turbans!
Yes, it'll show you how he puts on the huge turban. Hit play or go to Link [Current] - via growabrain | More Nihangs at Flickr
AFS-1 by Robert Steven Connett
I can't believe it took me this long to find the wonderful artwork of self-taught California artist Robert Connett. His surreal paintings are like a lot like H.R. Geiger's if he had a dollop of humor.
Check it out: Link | Robert's Deviant Art page - via Cliff Pickover's Reality Carnival
Photo: AKIHIRO FURUTA [Flickr]
Sure, many families take family photos, but how many of them take photos like Akihiro Furuta's family? They're like the Rembrandts of family pics! (Well, he is a professional portrait photographer ...)
This one above is the from doggie's birthday, and is one of my favorite in Akihiro's Flickr photosestream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akihirofuruta/ - via BB-Blog, Thanks Marilyn!
Mika and Anna-Lena wanted to elope to Africa to get married where it's warm, but the couple's plan was foiled by police. It's a good thing, too, since the two lovebirds are only five and six years old!
The budding lovebirds, identified as Mika and Anna-Lena, packed bathing costumes, sunglasses and a lilo and headed for the airport. They even had the presence of mind to invite along an official witness - Anna-Lena's seven-year-old sister. [...]
The following morning, as their parents slept, the intrepid trio walked 1km (0.6 miles) to the local tram station at Langenhagen, where they hopped aboard a tram for Hanover central station.
But the group aroused the suspicion of a guard as they waited for a train to the airport, and police were called in.
Officers persuaded the children they would not get far without tickets and money, but consoled them with a free tour of the police station, where they were shortly picked up by relieved parents.
Link - via Blue's News
We've always known that golfers are particularly blind to fashion, but now, it turns out that the sport may also cause hearing loss:
Players who use a new generation of thin-faced titanium drivers to propel the ball further should consider wearing ear plugs, experts advise.
Ear specialists suspect the "sonic boom" the metal club head makes when it strikes the ball damaged the hearing of a 55-year-old golfer they treated. [...]
The doctors trawled the web for reviews of the King Cobra LD club and said they found some interesting comments.
One player reported: "Drives my mates crazy with that distinctive loud 'BANG' sound." Another said: "This is not so much a ting but a sonic boom which resonates across the course!"
The doctors decided to recruit a professional golfer to hit shots with six thin-faced titanium clubs from manufacturers such as King Cobra, Callaway, Nike and Mizuno.
All produced a louder noise than standard thicker stainless steel drivers. The worst offender was the Ping G10 at over 130 decibels.
