This is pretty neat! Using the principle of the old Zoetropes, this guy built his own 3D discs and rotated them with turntables.
In March 2007 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London we hosted an evening of animation related events which I took as an opportunity to make some more examples of my Phonographantasmascope, an extension of the Zoetrope principle.
It is all live action and works by using the shutter speed of the camera rather than the rather irritating stroboscope methods other 3D Zoetropes use.
The music is "In the Lost and Found" by Elliot Smith. (via Arbroath)
Imagine living in a place where your view changes constantly! The Rotating Technology Tower Company plans to build skyscrapers with floors that will rotate independently of each other. It's not just for looks; the rotation will generate power. David Fisher is the architect behind the idea.
"Today's life is dynamic, so the space we are living in should be dynamic as well," Mr Fisher said.
"Buildings will follow the rhythms of nature. They will change direction and shape from spring to summer, from sunrise to sunset, and adjust themselves to the weather. Buildings will be alive."
The rotating floors will be made up from prefabricated apartments that spin around a concrete core.
Owners who buy an entire floor will be able to voice activate rotation commands to choose their view, Mr Fisher said at the launch in New York.
The towers are expected to generate enough electricity for themselves and other nearby buildings from solar panels and up to 79 wind turbines fitted horizontally between each floor.
However, questions remain, How will the rotation be powered? And how will plumbing and other utilities be provided to apartments? I tried the company's website, but didn't find the answers. Two such buildings are planned for Dubai and Moscow, to be completed in 2010. Link -via Unique Daily
The Silver Swan is an automaton built in 1773. Now housed at the Bowes Museum, it finds and eats a fish every day at noon and 3PM.
The swan is life-size and is controlled by three separate clockwork mechanisms. The Silver Swan rests on a stream made of twisted glass rods interspersed with silver fish. When the mechanism is wound up, the glass rods rotate, the music begins, and the Swan twists its head to the left and right and appears to preen its back. It then appears to sight a fish in the water below and bends down to catch it, which it then swallows as the music stops and it resumes its upright position. This performance lasts approximately 40 seconds.
I wonder if the robots being built now will still work in 235 years. http://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/collections/swan/ -via Metafilter
Lego’s newest and coolest set is a 3,800 piece diorama of the Death Star from Star Wars. It builds 14 scenes and comes with 21 mini-figs. The finished size is 16 inches tall. You can pre-order this set beginning July 1st, and it will be in stores in September. The price is $399.99. Gizmodo has more details. Link
The cola wars of the late 20th century were waged with as much strategy, secrecy, and technology as many conventional wars. When Coke was threatened by the Pepsi Challenge, they responded ten years later with Merchandise 7X-100, which we came to know as New Coke. It was the first major formula change since 1903, when cocaine was taken out of the recipe. Although tests showed that people liked the taste of New Coke, the product fell flat on its face. The original Coke formula, new relabeled Coke Classic, returned to the shelves only 79 days after New Coke was introduced.
Coca-Cola then became, and has since remained, the most profitable soft drink in the world. The "marketing blunder of the century" was so successful, in fact, that some people are convinced that New Coke Was an Inside Job– a delicately engineered gambit to revitalize the brand. As Coca-Cola president Donald Keough put it, "Some critics will say Coca-Cola made a marketing mistake. Some cynics will say we planned the whole thing. The truth is we are not that dumb and we are not that smart." Coca-Cola truthers have also suggested that New Coke was a disposable facade intended to mask the transition from sugar to HFCS.
There are several psychological explanations for the failure of New Coke, which are explored in this article at Damn Interesting. Link
Any Dr. Who fan should check out the Dalek Project. See Daleks of all kinds, learn how to build your own Dalek, and network with other Dalek fans.
We like Daleks, here at Project Dalek. We like them a lot. We want more Daleks in this world. We don't really care what size they are - scale models or full-size Daleks. We don't care if they are 'real' or CG renders. So long as they are Daleks we are happy.
Are you ready to take the plunge and create a Dalek of your very own? If so, Project Dalek is the place for you. Project Dalek is the home of the 'Dalek Builder's Workshop Manual', the Dalek builder's bible. It contains everything you need to know about how to construct a full size Dalek of your very own.
We also have Dalek plans for every major Dalek variant. These are free to download, once you have become part of the Project.
The folks at My Home and Verizon Vios gutted a Teddy Ruxpin and modded it to Twitter. You can listen to your Twitter feeds just by listening to the bear! But the best part is that this particular bear will be sold on eBay to benefit the Homeless Children’s Education Fund. It’s easier than making your own. http://2pointhome.com/teddy to Twittering Teddy. Link to eBay auction. -via YesButNoButYes
If you can afford to ride around a golf course in your own cart, you can afford to make it look the way you want. In some places, it’s legal for these electric carts to cruise the neighborhood, and you don’t have to gas up! Jalopnik has seven golf cart mods that will put a smile on your face. Link -via Fark
NASA has just a little bit more information. Some bright material that was photographed four days ago has disappeared, leading scientists to believe it was ice that vaporized when exposed.
"It must be ice," said Phoenix Principal Investigator Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson. "These little clumps completely disappearing over the course of a few days, that is perfect evidence that it's ice. There had been some question whether the bright material was salt. Salt can't do that."
The chunks were left at the bottom of a trench informally called "Dodo-Goldilocks" when Phoenix's Robotic Arm enlarged that trench on June 15, during the 20th Martian day, or sol, since landing. Several were gone when Phoenix looked at the trench early today, on Sol 24.
There will be a press conference Friday at 1PM EDT with more details. Link
Update: Wired has the two photographs in gif form so you can see the difference. http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/06/mars-phoenix-tw.html
The post entitled New Meaningful Life Of Famous Logos shows various logos in their natural habitats. Watch for the bonus goofy discussion after the gymnastics picture. Link -via Dump Trumpet
A “mind-boggling” crop circle has been spotted in a barley field in Wiltshire, England. The design is a code that represents the first ten digits of pi.
Michael Reed, an astrophysicist, said: "The tenth digit has even been correctly rounded up. The little dot near the centre is the decimal point.
"The code is based on 10 angular segments with the radial jumps being the indicator of each segment.
"Starting at the centre and counting the number of one-tenth segments in each section contained by the change in radius clearly shows the values of the first 10 digits in the value of pi."
It doesn’t seem so “mind-boggling” to me. I should think that math geeks would be exactly the sort of people to join a crop circle maker group. Link -via Digg
Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest is the home of the Hungarian Agricultural Museum. It’s also the home of hundreds of antlers.
Hundreds of antlers, horns, hooves, and fur. Stuffed birds and mounted bears. Cutlery with horn handles carved into foxes. Antler broaches, antler chandeliers, and antler chairs. It is known as “The Hall of Hunting.” With beautiful vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows, along with the fact that the Agricultaral Museum is often empty, this top floor feels like the church of a long lost deer deity. Echoed footsteps and hushed whispers lend a quiet respect to these relics of the hunt.
One example of taxidermy art that stands out from the rest is two deer heads mounted together with their antlers entangled. Curious Expeditions has the story behind the museum and the antlers. Link
