Virtual tour of Africa's heritage
By Mohammed Allie
BBC News, Cape Town
Africans will soon be able to take an online tour of the continent's
major world heritage sites like Great Zimbabwe, the rock-hewn St
Giyorgis church at Lalibella in Ethiopia and the great mosque of
Djenne in Mali.
http://tinyurl.com/8ywbp
A Camera That Has It All? Well, Almost
This month, for example, Sony has begun shipping a $1,000 digital
camera, the R1, that shatters a longstanding law of digital
photography. Understanding its significance requires reading four of
the techiest paragraphs you'll read all day, but it's worth the slog.
http://tinyurl.com/akz6n
Report: Syria wants peace talks resumed President Assad seeking to
renew negotiations in bid to deflect international pressure over
killing of former Lebanese prime minister, British paper says
Ynetnews Syria is seeking to renew peace negotiations with Israel,
in a bid to head off international sanctions over its role in the
assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, British
newspaper The Guardian reported on Thursday.
http://tinyurl.com/bvah8
Still owe on your student loan?
Government can tap into Social Security benefits to settle debt, high
court says
http://tinyurl.com/dgczz
NEC’s paper thin, rapid recharge batteries, “ORB”
NEC has debuted some ultra-thin and flexible quick charging batteries
named ORB, for Organic Radical Battery. We’re having a hard time
deciding what is the coolest part about these; their 0.3mm thickness
that allows them to be flexible, or the fact that they can be
recharged in about 30 seconds. The organic radical materials inside
the battery are in an “electrolyte-permeated gel state,” which is
supposedly about halfway between a solid and a liquid. This helps
ions make a smooth move (no, the other one), reducing resistance,
allowing the batteries to charge faster. 1 square centimeter will
give you about 1 miliwatt hour. That’s not enough to power your
laptop, but according to NEC, one recharge of this battery allows an
active RFID tag to transmit tens of thousands of signals. NEC plans
on further developing the technology so it can one day be used in IC
cards, RFID tags, electronic paper, wearable computers, and other
such technologies stepping up to the plate in the coming decade.
http://tinyurl.com/76gyf
RSStroom Reader concept prints up toilet paper news
The next time you’ve got to spend some quality alone time on the
throne, make sure you’ve got an RSStroom Reader handy to print you
up some multi-use news items. We can’t quite tell if it’s
outputting some two-ply quilted feeds, or if it plans to keep us up
to date with that generic single-ply brand, but with wireless
connectivity, RSS 2.0/Atom compatibility, and a browser based control
panel, it should get the job done. Sure, this gag isn’t for reals,
but c’mon, you know you want one.
http://tinyurl.com/7dpp7
Domino’s to sell one-of-a-kind “Ultimate Man Cave Couch”
”The Ultimate Man Cave Couch” is something we’d imagine seeing
in Hammacher Schlemmer or Neiman Marcus around the holidays, but
instead the one-of-a-kind, $30,000 shrine to sloth is available
exclusively from Domino’s Pizza
http://tinyurl.com/daha3
IntelliScaner Kitchen Companion 100 keeps track of groceries
IntelliScanner — which developed the Wine Collector 150 we peeped a
while ago — now has a version of the Bluetooth barcode scanner for
folks who would rather keep track of less intoxicating substances.
The Kitchen Companion 100 is the same basic scanner, but adds a
database of over 300,000 grocery items, along with nutrition data
from the USDA. Scanned info can be downloaded to a PC, Mac, PDA or
cellphone, letting you compile detailed grocery lists. At $279 (a USB
version is $179), it seems a bit steep for a tool to help you figure
out how much peanut butter you need to buy, though it could come in
handy for big families that have massive shopping lists — and lots
of kids who can do the scanning, database analysis and list
production while you kick back with the output from the Wine Collector.
http://tinyurl.com/9q6gk
Flash Nuclear Power Plant Simulator, Today's Time Waster
Ever wanted to "drive" a nuclear power plant? Here's your chance.
It's a Flash-based simulator of a nuclear power plant. The online
version is free, but there are downloadable versions and a PocketPC
version, for fission on-the-go. It's fun, if a little creepy. Let's
face it, there's nothing too exciting about the interface of your
typical nuclear power plant. Except what could happen if you pull a
Homer and fall asleep at the wheel... For you advanced operators,
check out SIMULA-C.
http://tinyurl.com/a7pv4
Windows Live Local to offer 45-degree bird's-eye landscapes
CNET News.com has some info about Windows Live Local, a new mapping
service from Microsoft based on Virtual Earth and poised compete
directly with Google Local. Microsoft will be one-upping the
satellite views we've grown accustomed to by providing 45-degree
bird's-eye photos taken by Microsoft's fleet of supersonic spy planes
a company called Pictometry's low-flying planes. They're launching
with photo coverage of about one-fourth of the U.S., and the service
will "enable users to create customized maps by adding user-created
pushpins, as well as annotate maps and share local search information
with others," and integrates with MSN Messenger so that multiple
users can "simultaneously view and interact with the same map." A
beta of Windows Live Local will be unveilled tomorrow, though no word
on whether it will be a public or "managed" beta.
http://tinyurl.com/7qzxq
A Flash blizzard on your webcam
The Flash experts are really taking Flash 8's new features and
running with them, as evidenced by gSkinner's Webcam Snowstorm. It's
a Flash experiment that takes video from your webcam and superimposes
a snowstorm on it. The cool part is that the snow interacts with
whatever's on your webcam in real-time, so the snowflakes will pile
up on your shoulders, for example, and you can brush them away with
your hand.
http://tinyurl.com/b7k6y
USPTO Unable to Find Top Ten Patent Holders
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday December 07, @11:10PM
from the powdered-water dept.
lelitsch writes "So a journalist tries to interview the top ten
patent holders in the US. As he finds out, neither the USPTO, nor the
patent processing companies are able to identify them. Even more
surprisingly, "America's greatest inventor is apparently an obscure
guy in Japan who makes stuff most people can't comprehend. And the
nation's greatest native inventor seems to be a man who has come up
with 100 different ways to make a flower pot.""
http://tinyurl.com/awdca
NASA Seeks Help Carrying Cargo Into Space
Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday December 07, @08:55PM
from the that's-a-lot-of-stamps dept.
Dotnaught writes "NASA wants to outsource space missions to the
private sector. The government space agency on Tuesday announced the
establishment of the Commercial Crew/Cargo Project Office at the
Johnson Space Center as part of the Exploration Systems Mission
Directorate. The objective is to "create a market environment in
which commercial space transportation services are available to
Government and private sector customers." Proposals are due February
10, 2006."
http://tinyurl.com/9r3jj
The StreetSurfer – like a bicycle, except very different
December 8, 2005 “The bicycle has effectively been the same since
the safety bicycle evolved from the Penny farthing more than a
century ago”, says Mark Palmer, chief evangelist of the
StreetSurfer, “and we figured it was about time to take the next
step.” Interestingly, those who have ridden the StreetSurfer tend to
agree that it is not just very different to the bicycle, but
significantly better in several key aspects – steering, cornering,
front wheel tracking and the general feel which is more akin to
surfing or snowboarding than a BMX or mountain bike – and more than
capable of creating its own following and a dedicated street culture.
The four-wheeled front foot of the StreetSurfer offers significantly
more traction than a bike tyre and the dynamics of the bike are
flowing like surfing. Suspension is equally unconventional, being
comprised of polymers which activate on impact. Limited supplies will
be available of the StreetSurfer prior to Christmas.
http://tinyurl.com/957ea
YOU HAVE TO SEE THE PICS OF THESE THINGS!
iant jellyfish destroying Asian fisheries
Giant, 450lb jellyfish are plaguing the fisheries of China, South
Korea and Japan, killing fish, breaking nets, and poisoning the catch.

They are 6ft wide and weigh 450lb (200kg), with countless poisonous
tentacles, they have drifted across the void to terrorise the people
of Japan. Vast armadas of the slimy horrors have cut off the
country’s food supply. As soon as one is killed more appear to take
its place...
In the meantime locals are making the best of it — rather than just
complaining about jellyfish they are eating them.
Jellyfish are an unusual ingredient of Japanese cuisine but are much
more prized in China. Coastal communities are doing their best to
promote jellyfish as a novelty food, sold dried and salted.
http://tinyurl.com/by7z8
New Gawker media site: The Consumerist
The Consumerist is a new blog that exposes retail scammers, poorly
engineered products, and lousy customer service. Gawker chief Nick
Denton says it's "a shopping site, with the Gawker signature, of
bitterness and frustration. Think Consumer Reports, if written by
someone who's been on hold for an hour with customer service in
Bangalore." I love it. Link
http://tinyurl.com/cbwsq
Ships power into faster future
From the deck of the world's largest container ship, Tracey Logan
asks how tomorrow's vessels will compare with the ocean-going
behemoths of today in the BBC World Service's Discovery programme.
The current expansion in world trade, particularly trade with China,
is causing a rethink of the way goods are transported across the
world's oceans. Almost all goods traded worldwide travel by sea, and
experts predict that trade will triple by the year 2020. This will
require bigger ships, faster ships and greener ships. Professor
Chris Hodge, chairman of next year's World Maritime Technology
Conference in London, explained the driving forces behind the search
for new shipping technologies. "Shipping is already huge. Perhaps
90% of the world's trade goes by sea and it's only going to
increase," he said. "Perhaps we'll see doubling of world shipping in
our lifetime. The needs of the environment, the need to reduce
manpower and costs, all present technological challenges."
http://tinyurl.com/92v6t
Skil 5-1/2" Saw
Nimble small circular saw

The vast majority of wood that people cut is 1-1/2" thick or thinner.
So, why use an oversized cumbersome heavy weight 7-1/4" saw? The
light weight and small size of the 5-1/2" Skil HD5510 saw improves
accuracy, dexterity, safety and reduces fatigue.
Couple the Skil 5-1/2" Circular Saw with the 95100 rip fence
accessory and you can cut long even thin strips of wood, vastly
easier than is possible with a table saw. The old adage applies, it
is much easier to bring the tool the work, than the work to the tool.
-- Bruce Hallman
Skil HD5510 5-1/2 " Circular Saw
$98
Available from Amazon
Amazon
Rip fence
Amazon
AgriSeek
Online agriculture marketplace
Buy from the producer, sell your own. Just about anything
'agricultural'; llamas, cotton, flower seeds, bean seeds, farms, farm
trucks (or trucks in general), bulk wine, employment ops, whew. I
found this site while looking for a cacao plant to buy. Some fellow
is selling his here. There's sort of an online list that's updated
when anyone puts something on the list.
http://tinyurl.com/7e7qn
Tree2mydoor — Give the Gift that Gives
‘Tis the season for gift giving. But there are some gifts that just
keep on giving, long after you have passed them over. Plant a tree,
and for decades, if not centuries, it gives shade, habitat, oxygen,
carbon sequestering, a sustaining water table and much more. Even in
it’s afterlife it can yield up quality building materials, fuel,
mulch, and eventually even soil. (Is it any wonder we like hugging
the things?) Tree2mydoor reckon they are so great, they’ll deliver
planting-ready trees directly to happy recipients. Cut flowers might
be aesthetically pleasing, but for say £22 you could be giving an Oak
tree, which if nothing else, will provide cool, beautiful, dappled
light on a hot, globally warmed day. If you do have to give flowers
consider their containers of native wildflowers. And they also offer
corporate promotion packs as well. (Could this foretell the demise of
the monogrammed golf ball? Oh, please, may it be true.) Currently
just in the UK, Tree2mydoor want to stretch their limbs into
“mainland Europe, North America (USA and Canada) as well as
Australia and New Zealand.” ::Tree2mydoor
http://tinyurl.com/amre4
Are VCs Screwed?
Sometimes when you play provocateur people lie down and agree, which
can be a little disconcerting, as a moderator discovered in a recent
panel at Harvard on the future of venture capital. He said that the
industry was screwed, and the assembled VCs nodded sagely: [Harvard
Business School] professor Bill Sahlman threw down the gauntlet at a
discussion on technology venture investing at the 11th annual
Cyberposium conference held at Harvard Business School on November
19. As an industry, he suggested, venture capital has little to
recommend it. "In the future, I see a median rate of return of zero
or less," stated Sahlman, observing that the top thirty venture-
backed firms contributed 50 percent to 70 percent of distributions in
the industry in the past ten to fifteen years. With so much global
liquidity, he added, it will become even more difficult to earn a
respectable rate of return as too many dollars chase too few
opportunities. "What's going to prove me wrong?" he asked a panel of
venture capitalists. At first, Sahlman found little resistance to
his gloomy forecast. "You're right in the aggregate," conceded Stan
Reiss (HBS MBA '00), a general partner at Matrix Ventures. "We're in
the lottery business—but we know we're in the lottery business.
http://tinyurl.com/cmftv
No comments:
Post a Comment