smidgy

Lightning at Snail Speed

2008-08-08T11:36:55+02:00

Have you ever seen lightning in slow motion? Here's what it looks like.

From Wheelchair to Walking

2008-07-22T11:11:44+02:00

ReWalk is an Israeli-developed quasi-robotic ambulation system developed by ARGO Medical Technologies that provides a viable, upright day-to-day alternative to wheelchair users. The wearable upright mobility system was specially designed for individuals with lower-limb disabilities. By restoring upright mobility, the developers say, ReWalk delivers benefits on the health, economic, and societal levels.

"What we want to do is have the person wake up in the morning, put on clothes, put on the ReWalk, go to work and go throughout the day, wearing it," Dr. Amit Goffer PhD, founder and director of Argo, and ReWalk's developer, tells ISRAEL21c

Radiohead Music Video

2008-07-15T12:05:01+02:00

Radiohead's music video of its song "House of Cards" was shot entirely without the use of cameras or lights. Instead, two different types of laser imaging techniques were used to produce some pretty mesmerizing images.

View the clip and see how it was done:

From Google code:

No cameras or lights were used. Instead two technologies were used to capture 3D images: Geometric Informatics and Velodyne LIDAR. Geometric Informatics scanning systems produce structured light to capture 3D images at close proximity, while a Velodyne Lidar system that uses multiple lasers is used to capture large environments such as landscapes. In this video, 64 lasers rotating and shooting in a 360 degree radius 900 times per minute produced all the exterior scenes.
Watch the making-of video to learn about how the video was made and the various technologies that were used to capture and render 3D data.

Battersea Power Station

2008-07-06T10:29:00+02:00

Link: First picture of £4billion glass tower that could save - but dwarf - Battersea Power Station
| Mail Online.

A £4billion masterplan to save Battersea Power Station before it collapses was unveiled today.

The project includes a 1,000ft-high glass tower - taller than Canary Wharf - next to the instantly recognisable brick landmark.

There will be more than 3,000 homes, shopping malls, a boutique hotel and a "green" office quarter.

The plans also call for a new spur off the Northern Line to link the power station site to the Underground network.

The Da Vinci Apartment

2008-07-01T11:56:00+02:00

If Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code were to design his dream apartment, this would be it. At first glance this New York City luxury pad is impressive enough, what with its Central Park views and custom made rare wood furniture.

But concealed within all the pricey decor is a smorgasboard of games, hidden treasures, encrypted messages and more. Even cooler, the apartment comes with its own book and soundtrack, all serving the purpose of solving a series of puzzles of increasing complexity. This quote from the New York Times Article gives some idea of the madness involved:

In any case, the finale involved, in part, removing decorative door knockers from two hallway panels, which fit together to make a crank, which in turn opened hidden panels in a credenza in the dining room, which displayed multiple keys and keyholes, which, when the correct ones were used, yielded drawers containing acrylic letters and a table-size cloth imprinted with the beginnings of a crossword puzzle, the answers to which led to one of the rectangular panels lining the tiny den, which concealed a chamfered magnetic cube, which could be used to open the 24 remaining panels, revealing, in large type, the poem written by Mr. Klinsky. (There is other stuff in there, too, but a more detailed explanation might drive a reader crazy.)

Link: Mystery on Fifth Avenue

How to Prepare Quick, Cheap and Healthy Food

2008-06-22T10:15:00+02:00

Photo: Andrey Armyagov

Whether you're a cash-strapped student or a parent needing to feed a family, this article has some good advice on how to prepare healthy meals without exploding your budget or spending half a day cooking.

From the article:

I made various efforts to cook things, but it was mostly prepackaged and unhealthy fare. My diet often consisted of boxed macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, Campbell’s Chunky soup, and whatever packaged food was on sale at the store. While such fare is fine on occasion, it’s not exactly the backbone of a healthy diet over the long haul.

Yet I still yearned to eat healthy and to eat cheap at home. I wanted to be able to cook something up in the corner of that apartment while watching a movie with my friends there, spending just $0.50 or so on my own food prep while they spent several dollars on take out. I wanted to be able to make something reasonably healthy and nutritious for just pennies at two in the morning while studying for exams.

Now that I’ve got a better grasp on food preparation, I now see that there were many opportunities to do just that. Here are seven starter ideas for preparing healthy and cheap meals with very little equipment. I’m assuming that all you have are just a tiny fridge, a hot plate that can generate enough heat to cook on, a single pan, a plate, a bowl, eating utensils, a source of water, and a knife to cut with. Nothing else - you could have this equipment in the corner of a dorm room.

Via Lifehacker

11 Light Saber Movies Not Produced by George Lucas

2008-06-22T09:52:18+02:00

Marky Mark takes the force to the extremities (above) plus ten other brilliantly executed film clips re-mixed with Jedi sprinklings.

Via Boing Boing

Jurassic Park Dreams

2008-06-15T09:16:33+02:00

Photo: Mail Online

Jurassic Park comes true: How scientists are bringing dinosaurs back to life with the help of the humble chicken | Mail Online.

Deep inside the dusty university store room, three scientists struggle to lift a huge fossilised bone. It is from the leg of a dinosaur.

For many years, this chunky specimen has languished cryptically on a shelf.

Interesting but useless — a forgotten relic of a lost age.

Now, with hammer and chisel poised, the academics from Montana State University in America gather round.

They are about to shatter this rare vestige of the past.

Why would they do such a thing?

The answer is that they believe that this single fragment of a beast which stalked the earth untold millions of years ago could hold the key which will unlock the secrets of the dinosaurs.

Extraordinarily, they contend that it could lead to a real life Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs are once again unleashed on the world by scientists.

Lake Huron Hit By Iceman

2008-06-14T11:42:03+02:00

A very frozen Lake Huron

iPhone Meets IR-909 Beat Maker

2008-06-10T10:30:00+02:00

IR-909 brings old school beatmaking to the iPhone:

Back in 1984, Roland released the TR-909 drum machine as a successor to their legendary 808. Over the years, the 909 became one of the most influential and widely-used instruments in the history of electronic music, right up there with the Minimoog and the AKAI MPC sampler.

Now you can pick up IR-909, a free iPhone / iPod Touch version of the 909 over at roventskij.net. It has the 909's 16-step sequencer, eight drum sounds, and four pattern storage.