Observations On . . .

Battle of the Shanzai Kombinis

2011-03-18T18:33:00.001-07:00

Came across these two Shanzai Convenience stores on opposing sides of a busy Nanhui intersection yesterday. I wonder which one dupes more customers?

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Aston Martin Rapide

2011-03-15T18:42:00.001-07:00

See the full gallery on Posterous

Rode into office in this sweet Rapide yesterday. 6.0 liter V12 Nothing like going 200 km/hr on a Chinese road filled with random bikes and scooters.

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The Rotating Street Art Exhibits of Moganshan Lu

2011-01-28T09:47:00.001-08:00

Due to their proximity to and their existence along the sole entry route into the artistic hotspots of M50 artspace, M97 gallery and the other galleries and workshops in this district, the decaying walls along Shanghai's Moganshan Lu get some pretty good street art. The paint is probably 10cm thick in places and changes almost weekly. On a recent afternoon stroll in mid January, I spied the following pieces, including a tribute to the victims of the November Shanghai apartment fire.

See the full gallery on posterous

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Hierarchy of Visual Understanding

2010-12-08T14:05:00.001-08:00

via informationisbeautiful.net

Although this pyramid is simple, the concepts presented as raw data progresses to knowledge and wisodom kind of clicked with me. From the Lovely Information Is Beautiful Blog.

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The Club Is Open: Guided By Voices At Cat's Cradle, 10-22-2010

2010-10-30T18:45:00.001-07:00

Last Friday, I had the great opportunity to witness one of the greatest rock bands of all time, Guided By Voices, on stop 13 of their "Classic Lineup Tour". This band , headed by frontman Robert Pollard, never really attained true commercial success, but even after being disbanded for over 7 years, still has a passionate fan base which is almost Grateful Dead-like in their maniacal devotion. GBV was a prolific outfit, with over 1600 tracks in their arsenal. Most of us in the club knew the words by heart to each of the jems in their 38 song, 2 hour, 3 encore set.

All of the boys in the "Classic Lineup" (Pollard, Guitarist Tobin Sprout, Guitarist Mitch Mitchell, Bassist Greg Demos and Drummer Kevin Fennel) are into their 50's now, but they rocked it and rocked it hard. All of the trademarks of a classic GBV live show (Pollard Leg Kicks, Pollard Mike Swings, Bottle of Jose Cuervo, Bucket of Miller Lites) were in full effect, and I thought the performance was TIGHT.

The Club Is Open. Don't Stop Now, Bob.

White Paper Werewolves / Tractor Rape Chain

Hey Aardvark

Gold Heart Mountaintop Queen Directory / Echoes Myron

Quality of Armor / Don't Stop Now

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Tonight I Had One Of The Best Meals Of My Life (Thus Far)

2010-10-15T16:14:00.001-07:00

I can honestly say that if the meal I had tonight at Restaurant ROSIN was not the best meal I have ever had in my life, it was definitely in my top 5. This Michelin star rated restaurant, located in of all places, the small town of Dorsten Germany, totally blew my mind. They have a unique format, wherein you you order however many courses you want, but they automatically have "intermissions" which they call "Schmackofatz" (Small Special Tastes) which are somewhat of an amuse bouche between each course. Rumor has it that Frank Rosin's grandmother used to roam the dining room in it's original incarnation (ROSIN is in the original building) and sample from her pot to each customer. Every single item on the menu was creatively presented with surprising but delicious combinations of flavors (i.e. goose liver with rose water foam, scallop with vanilla peperonata, cocoa souffle with sea salt ice cream and candied olives) and a very artistic approach.

If you are ever anywhere near Essen or Dusseldorf, this one is worth the drive, trust me.

See the full gallery on posterous

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How do colors affect purchases?

2010-09-06T06:17:00.001-07:00

via blog.kissmetrics.com

This very cool infographic details the many unsuspected ways that color can impact emotion and hence buying behavior. I bet you never knew ???

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The Evolution of the iPod Nano over 7 Generations

2010-09-02T14:19:00.001-07:00

via cultofmac.com

Interesting how the product has had several different directional departures in form factor and how features have been not only added but also taken away.

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Considering Getting A Graduate Degree? Would this Ad Convince You?

2010-08-11T12:00:00.001-07:00

via tiepedia.com

Somehow I do not think that this lead in conveys the essence of "higher learning", but I bet it might have been a pretty successful campaign.

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The History of The Minimum Wage

2010-08-03T12:00:00.001-07:00

via mint.com

This interesting infographic from Mint highlights the history of Minimum Wage progression and the dramatic variation among the states.

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The Top 5 Qualities of Productive Creatives (And How to Identify Them!)

2010-08-03T10:00:00.001-07:00

via the99percent.com

This is a good read with some good tips, slanted at the recruiting and interviewing process, to identify key creative traits in your people.

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: Study: Americans spending more time on Facebook; online gaming overtakes e-mail

2010-08-02T15:00:00.001-07:00

via sfgate.com

This cool infographic illustrates the time allocation of the average american's use of their mobile internet time. I wonder if "Actually Talking On The Phone" is in the "Other" slice????

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Prose Before Hos 2: 'Electricty', Courtesy of Bob Jones University

2010-07-02T19:12:00.001-07:00

via pbh2.blogspot.com

This very scary textbook extract from Bob Jones University spreads falsehoods about electricity and appears to feature "Deb" from Napoleon Dynamite.

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Obama not born in Hawaii, Communist leanings finally confirmed

2010-06-29T04:27:00.001-07:00

via shanghaiist.com

This Shanghaiist story explains how reporters recently used fake ID software to create this Maobama Chinese ID card which is virtually indistinguishable from the original.

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Skim Session At Frenchman's Reef

2010-06-22T19:55:00.001-07:00

A couple of groms were skimming it up at Frenchman's today, some pretty slappable peaks in the shorepound

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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100 Years Of Propaganda: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2010-06-13T07:49:00.001-07:00

via smashingmagazine.com

This is a great retrospective on Propaganda Posters and the carryover they have had onto modern design aesthetic.

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The Staggering Stats on Internet Pornography

2010-06-05T13:08:00.001-07:00

via onlinemba.com

Amazing set of statistics on a pretty lucrative industry.

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Florida DMV Pranks Driver Who Mailed In Her Renewal

2010-05-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

via holykaw.alltop.com

All the more reason why it is highly preferable to brave the lines at DMV to get your license in person, rather than to opt for the mail in renewal.

Wonder if it's Eat Ass Street., Eat Ass Lane, or Eat Ass Court?

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Staggering Deepwater Horizon Spill Infographic

2010-05-04T11:00:00.001-07:00

via flickr.com

This spill will overtake the Exxon Valdez within 50 days at the current rate.

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How Cell Phone Calls Work

2010-05-03T12:13:00.001-07:00

via cellphones.org

If you're an electrical engineer (or even if you're not), you may find this simple infographic explaining what happens every time you make a cell call interesting.

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Latest official factual updates on the Deepwater Horizon Incident from NOAA.GOV

2010-05-02T08:25:00.001-07:00

via response.restoration.noaa.gov

Latest official factual updates on the Deepwater Horizon Incident from NOAA.GOV. Check back frequently for updates. Seems they are trying dispersants below the surface to minimize the plume.

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Foods Gone Too Soon

2010-04-14T23:57:00.001-07:00

via madatoms.com

Anyone remember any/many of these product line extension failures? I pity the poor fool that don't like my cereal!!

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Balance Your Social Media Diet

2010-04-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

via bitrebels.com

This cool infographic suggests a "Recommended Daily Allowance" of social media and how it should be broken up. I like the graphic treatment, not sure I agree on the magnitude or the makeup.

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How To Make A Nicholas Sparks Movie (Why All Chick Flicks Are Identical)

2010-04-07T19:23:00.001-07:00

via cracked.com

The sharp-witted guys at Cracked do a pretty good job here of breaking down this genre. I challenge any of you to refute the formula.

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Monster Engine project recasts kids drawings as realistic paintings

2010-04-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

via thechive.com

Eleven years ago Dave Devries started the Monster Engine project with one single question: What would a child’s drawing look like if it were painted realistically?

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Maximum Gnarl Factor: Photos Of Some Of The Heaviest Waves On The Planet

2010-04-06T13:50:00.001-07:00

via photo.mpora.com

This collection of shots from Shipsterns, the Box, Teahopo, Mavs showcases massively thick lips, double ledging faces, sucked out dry reef beds and the crazy chargers who drop into these beasts. Complete collection at http://photo.mpora.com/surfing/collections/surfing-beasts

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SolarBeat: The Solar System Music Box

2010-03-31T19:55:00.001-07:00

via whitevinyldesign.com

This very cool animation is part infographic, part astronomy lesson, part ambient background noise generator. In any case, it's very cool and informative, and I love IT!! Each planet makes a different chime as a year passes. Please visit the original at White Vinyl Design to get the full legend and planetary year counter..

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How to Spot a Hidden iPad

2010-03-31T06:48:00.001-07:00

via gizmodo.com

This hilarious infographic illustrates many of the things we are likely to see as this device makes it out into the mainstream over the next few months.

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Mile-High Mega Kites Could Pull Giant, Floating Power Plants

2010-03-09T15:04:00.001-08:00

via wired.com

Finally my dream job, commercializing two things I'm passionate about, Wind Energy and Kiteboarding.

Take a huge oceanic catamaran, stick a hydroelectric turbine underneath it, and hitch it to a 6.5 million-square-foot parafoil flying nearly a mile in the air. That’s a Korean research team’s new proposal for generating gigawatts of clean energy.

As the parafoil pulls the boat, seawater would be forced through the turbine, which generates electricity. The 800 megawatts of electricity produced would separate seawater into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis, and the hydrogen would then be stored on-board the ships.

I sure hope that 720,000 meter foil is water relaunchable!!!

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Cool Collection of Photo Overlays: Past & Present

2010-03-08T13:42:00.001-08:00

via dailycognition.com

This is a cool concept with a interesting retro throwback feel. Check out the complete collection at dailycognition.com.

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Stonehenge Beneath the Waters of Lake Michigan???

2010-02-22T10:51:00.001-08:00

via bldgblog.blogspot.com

Mark Holley, a professor of underwater archaeology at Northwestern Michigan University College, discovered a series of stones – some of them arranged in a circle and one of which seemed to show carvings of a mastodon – 40-feet beneath the surface waters of Lake Michigan. If verified, the carvings could be as much as 10,000 years old – coincident with the post-Ice Age presence of both humans and mastodons in the upper midwest.

Fascinating stuff.

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Very Cool Japanese Rice Paddy Crop Art

2010-02-16T04:58:00.001-08:00

via dailymail.co.uk

Stunning crop art has sprung up across rice fields in Japan. But this is no alien creation - the designs have been cleverly planted.

Farmers creating the huge displays use no ink or dye. Instead, different colours of rice plants have been precisely and strategically arranged and grown in the paddy fields.

As summer progresses and the plants shoot up, the detailed artwork begins to emerge.

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Usage Of The Metric System: 2010

2010-02-09T10:41:00.001-08:00

Notice anything interesting here? I wonder who will the the last to cave: Burma, Liberia or the USA?

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Oshkosh M-ATV - Specialty File - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

2010-01-23T08:29:00.001-08:00

via caranddriver.com

This very cool feature from the March 2010 issue of Car and Driver gives a full performance review of the Oshkosh MRAP-ATV, or M-ATV, which is currently being deployed in Afghanistan. My company, AGY, makes material for the composite ballistic armor on the MRAP vehicles, so we are always interested in this kind of feature. This report has a different flavor from the normal defense industry news, so is very cool. There are some great shots of the vehicle being put through its paces at the Aberdeen Testing Grounds.

0-60mph: 32.8 seconds

Standing Quarter Mile 24.5 seconds at 54mph

Price as tested: $1,437,000

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The Unbelievable World of Snowflakes

2010-01-20T12:32:00.001-08:00

via treehugger.com

This amazing collection of photos and brief history of some of the scientists who have dedicated their lives to the study and classification of snowflakes is very interesting. There are 41 major categories of snowflakes, and yes, it is theoretically possible (but highly unlikely) for 2 snowflakes to be identical.

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2009 In One Word

2010-01-04T07:04:00.001-08:00

via npr.org

What one word did over 5000 Facebook and Twitter users use to sum up 2009? This Tag Cloud From Wordle lays out the largest clusters of sentiment. Which major feelings would you have that aren't represented here?

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Picturing the Past Decade: 10 Years x 10 Categories x 2 colors

2009-12-29T15:37:00.001-08:00

via nytimes.com

10 Years, 10 Categories, Black and White Graphics, It's all Very Simple, Isn't It?

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The World According to Americans

2009-12-13T07:24:00.001-08:00

via ritholtz.com

Although hopefully an overstated generalization, this cartoon map sums up many of the flawed and uneducated perspectives of (at least some) Americans. Put together, they do not create a very attractive picture of our country or our people, do they? If you are American, please do your part, especially when dealing with those from other cultures, not to act like a jackass. It reflects poorly on the rest of us.

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Don't Be Afraid To Stand Out From Your Crowd

2009-12-09T11:50:00.001-08:00

I've had this picture on my hard drive for a while; I don't even remember where I got it. Every time I see the thumbnail, I can't help but smile, or even laugh. Best I can tell, it's a legit, non-photoshopped family picture, probably snapped begrudgingly in the portrait studio at a Wal*Mart somewhere in southern Indiana. I can imagine that there is some pretty interesting drama in that family.

But you have to respect the second son. He knows who he is, and he knows who he is not. Despite the conformal pressure in his family unit, he's his own man, and probably always will be. I'm sure he will be an effective leader one day, and I respect his individuality.

Be true to yourself, regardless of who the system tells you you should be. Excel based on your achievements, not based on your appearance. If the system tries to program you for sweater vest and clip on bow-tie but your inner Axl Rose promises organ rejection, you know which way to go . . .

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Falling Artist Suspended In Time

2009-12-03T13:28:00.001-08:00

via guardian.co.uk

Kerry Skarbakka photographs himself falling from trees, jumping off bridges and in the midst of fires – all in the name of art. Inspired by the helplessness he felt after the 9/11 attacks, Kerry's work captures him frozen in a moment of peril. This collection of 13 shots is compelling in it's combination of performance art and "in the moment" photography. I seriously hope he didn't have multiple takes for some of these shots.

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I Love You, Mr. Star Wars

2009-11-26T08:59:00.001-08:00

via videogum.com

Very cool compilation (2 and a half minutes) of quotes in movies where the star says the title of the movie. Would be a fave of Peter Griffin from Family Guy.

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Where Should I Eat? Fast Food Edition (Flowchart)

2009-11-24T10:38:00.001-08:00

via eatingtheroad.wordpress.com

Break it down, make it logical, fill that belly.

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Internet Vices - Facebook is A Vodka/Cranberry,Twitter is Crack Cocaine,

2009-11-24T06:28:00.001-08:00

via patrickmoberg.com

Patrick Molberg has an Interesting comic strip perspective on many things, including the potentially detrimental impacts that our various social media addictions can have on our lives. Funny and spot on in many ways.

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Mind Blowing Hyperrealistic Sculptures

2009-11-20T06:53:00.001-08:00

via webdesignerdepot.com

This collection of "Hyper-Realistic" or "Photo-Realistic" sculptures will blow your mind. Several sculptors are featured in this collection and the level of detail and life-likeness is uncanny.

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China vs the US: Objects In Rear View Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear

2009-11-18T15:51:00.001-08:00

via insidefutures.com

This staggering infographic illustrates on several axes the tremendous shift in global power between China and the US. The trade imbalance and Forex reserves alone are enough to give any US taxpayer or holder of American dollars significant trepidation. How can we maintain a symbiotic global balance between these two important global trading partners with this much shift in the center of gravity?

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50 Very Simple Ways That YOU Can Help the Planet

2009-11-14T05:26:00.001-08:00

via wireandtwine.com

This clean and elegantly designed page from Wire&Twine offers you 50 great tips to help save the planet by living more more greenly on a daily basis. The list covers the whole gamut of simple daily habits from #2 turning off your computers at night to #11printing double-sided (my personal pet peeve) to #17 showering with your partner (another personal fave). I'm sure you are already practicing some or many of these behaviors, but I guarantee you that 60 seconds on this page will give you at least 2 - 3 new green habits, which you can begin practicing this week.

We will prolong the livability of our planet only by mass adoption of basic behavior modifications that have small impacts individually, but massive benefit collectively. Which of these do you commit to adopting, starting today?!?!

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Google Wave: Theory vs Reality

2009-11-13T05:42:00.001-08:00

via i.imgur.com

I am relating to this after craving an invite for weeks and finally getting one last night, but not being able to find anyone to "Wave" with so that I can kick the tires on this potentially cool tool.

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Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light

2009-11-12T06:17:00.001-08:00

via vimeo.com

Tom's videos created from time-lapse photographs are stunning and ethereal. This short (2:38) sequence is from White Mountain in Yosemite and gives you a great panoramic feel for the sky, the Milky Way, the light and the terrain. Utterly Captivating. Please check out all his work at Timescapes.org.

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Stunningly Delicious Models of San Francisco Made of Jell-O

2009-11-09T10:09:00.001-08:00

via mymodernmet.com

Artistic, Jiggly, and Delicious. Very Cool Medium.

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Despicable: Dodge Viper Logo is an Upside-Down Daffy Duck.

2009-11-05T14:18:00.001-08:00

via boingboing.net

If you drive a Dodge Viper and you ever unintentionally roll your car, make sure you roll it back over quickly so that the Warner Brothers lawyers don't come after you for trademark infringement.

Dodge -- You're Despicable!!!

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A Year In The Life Of A Container: Lessons Learned as the Box returns

2009-11-05T05:09:00.001-08:00

via news.bbc.co.uk

This interesting project sponsored by BBC News branded a normal 40ft shipping container (outfitted with GPS transmitter) and followed it's travels around the world for a year. Now back in the UK after more than a year, the detailed stories and informative 90 second videos give a good snapshot of how interconnected the global economies are. Cool idea and interesting project, visit the BBC Box site to learn more about the individual voyages.

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12 of the World's Coolest Packaging Designs

2009-11-03T07:21:00.001-08:00

via fastcompany.com

This collection of 12 cool and innovative packaging designs may give you the idea spark to make your next product ID concept pull away from the pack.

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Totally Amazing Lego Art Sculptures by Nathan Sawaya

2009-11-02T13:18:00.003-08:00

via telegraph.co.uk

This guy quit his day job and amassed a stash of over 1.5 million LEGO blocks to create some very cool sculptures.

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Very Small People In A Very Big World

2009-11-02T13:18:00.001-08:00

via do-while.com

This amazing collection of micro-montages creates tiny human drama in the un-noticed corners of our very large scale urban life. Please visit Do-While to enjoy this very creative collection.

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Schwarzenegger Gives California Legislature The (Subtle) Finger

2009-11-02T13:17:00.007-08:00

via techcrunch.com

On a par with "Marble Cake, Also The Game", you have to really appreciate the thought and planning that went into the Governator's tersely worded rejection of Bill 1176. He, (or some devious member of his admin staff) apparently has a mastery of vocabulary and font kerning that goes beyond that of mere mortals.

I'm big on transparency (and embedded subliminal messaging) in Government. I'm Lovin' It!!

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Confused About Which Religion to Follow? Use This Simple Tool

2009-11-02T13:17:00.005-08:00

I'm sorry, I realize that this flowchart will manage to offend just about anyone who takes it seriously, but it's funny. So don't take it seriously.

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Staggering Photographic Evidence Of Man's Impact On The Ecosystem

2009-11-02T13:17:00.003-08:00

via chrisjordan.com

This gut-wrenching collection of photos from the Midway Atoll documents dead albatross chicks who have been fed plastic trash by their parents. Every day, their parents fly out over the polluted Pacific and bring back colorful plastic, which they think is food. Every year, tens of thousands of albatross die this way on tiny Midway Atoll. Midway is over 2000 miles away from the nearest continent. None of these photos have been manipulated in any way. Protect the ocean, don't throw trash overboard, don't let your trash blow into the ocean. Join the Surfrider foundation if you are not already a member.

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Throw Away Conventional Economics: YouTube’s Bandwidth Bill Is Zero.

2009-11-02T13:17:00.001-08:00

via wired.com

This interesting article from WIRED puts practical context around the arguments made in Chris Anderson's thought provoking book "Free" and explains how Google is leveraging global server farm consolidation and intelligent purchase and subsequent barter of Dark Fiber to make YouTube's bandwidth bill negligible. The macroeconomics you learned in college no longer apply.

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A Global View Of The Housing Bubble

2009-11-02T13:16:00.001-08:00

via mckinseyquarterly.com

This interesting graph from McKinsey highlights the tremendous run up in home prices on inflation adjusted terms over the last 40 years since 1970. This runup reversed abruptly last year, with the US shedding 10% of value and the remainder of the global economies losing in aggregate around 4%. This slide equates to nearly $3.5 trillion dollars of personal wealth evaporation. Considering the immense mortgage leverage overhang on many of these homes and the chance that any appreciation will be slow to come, this global housing bubble will certainly dampen growth in consumption and global economic recovery.

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McSaturation of The Continental United States

2009-11-02T13:15:00.005-08:00

via weathersealed.com

This map uses geolocatiion data to plot the density of the 13,000 US McDonald's franchise locations and color to represent the distance to the nearest outlet. It is interesting to see that the Eastern US is fully saturated and that in many locale's the outlets are nearly right on top of each other. The most McRemote location in the US is in South Dakota, 145miles by car from the nearest Mickey D's.

I'm Lovin' It!!

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1 Million Spiders Make Golden Silk for Rare Cloth | Wired Science

2009-11-02T13:15:00.003-08:00

via wired.com

This interesting article explains how an amazing number of golden orb spiders were collected from telephone poles in Madagascar to produce enough Spider Silk fiber to weave this 11 foot x 4 foot textile.

Spider Silk has higher tensile strength than Kevlar or Steel and over 40% tensile elongation, which would make it an extremely interesting fiber for ballistics, aerospace, and other composites applications.

Unfortunately, over 14,000 spiders are required to generate one ounce of silk. (This fabric weighs over 2.6 pounds, meaning that over 1 million female spiders were silked in the process.) To date no one has been successful at generating a synthetic process which duplicates the transformation which goes in in the spider's spinnerets, where physical force is used to transform liquid protein into solid silk.

I need to get our AGY scientists right on this one!!

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An Amazing Sand Painting Rendition Of The German's WWII Ukraine Invasion

2009-11-02T13:15:00.001-08:00

via fark.com

Kseniya Simonova is a Ukrainian artist who just won Ukraine's version of "America's Got Talent." She uses a giant light box, dramatic music, imagination and "sand painting" skills to interpret Germany's invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII. Her technique and rapid fire impressionism are impressive, and you can see the emotional impact her art had on the audience members.

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Birds on the Wires

2009-11-02T13:14:00.005-08:00

via vimeo.com

Amazingly beautiful music created by transcriptions from patterns of birds "randomly" sitting on wires.

t2nejckd57

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Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule

2009-11-02T13:14:00.003-08:00

via log.scifihifi.com

I came across this posting on Sci-Fi Hi-Fi and it sparked me to ponder my daily scheduling mechanisms.

I'm not sure if Ben's actual schedule was any closer to his planned schedule than mine typically are, but I am impressed by the way he built work / personal life balance, daily planning and reflection into his daily rhythm.

Is your daily schedule "all about work", or does it keep you complete and allow sufficient time for planning and reflection?

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The Longest Way 1.0 - one year / 4646km time lapse walk through China

2009-11-02T13:14:00.001-08:00

via vimeo.com

This guy's story is amazing, and his time lapse video does a great job of cataloging his journey and facial hair development. Please visit Chris Rehage's site thelongestway.com.

Very inspiring.

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The Bear - Amazing Natural Action Film by Jean-Jacques Annaud

2009-11-02T13:11:00.003-08:00

via flixxy.com

This amazing trailer is certain to get your heart pumping. Watch full screen with sound turned up. I'm not sure exactly how it was shot, but it is amazing.

I assumed there were some computer animation techniques used, but upon further research on Wikipedia , it turns out that this film is from 1988!! Wow I will have to hunt this down.

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Nerd Venn Diagram

2009-11-02T13:11:00.001-08:00

via s2.buzzfeed.com

This tells me a lot about myself, more so than Myers Briggs. I guess that I'm a Geek.

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New Ecofriendly Travel Netbook desk

2009-11-02T13:10:00.001-08:00

I spotted this innovative new netbook travel desk in the Detroit Delta Crown Room on my last trip to China and found it somehow oxymoronic.

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