One man, 100,000 toothpicks, and 35 years: An incredible kinetic sculpture of San Francisco Thirty five years ago I had yet to be born, but artist Scott Weaver had already begun work on this insanely complex kinetic sculpture, Rolling through the Bay, that he continues to modify and expand even today. The elaborate sculpture is comprised of multiple “tours” that move pingpong balls through neighborhoods, historical locations, and iconic symbols of San Francisco, all recreated with a little glue, some toothpicks, and an incredible amount of ingenuity. He admits in the video that there are several toothpick sculptures even larger than his, but none has the unique kinetic components he’s constructed. Via his website Weaver estimates he’s spent over 3,000 hours on the project, and the toothpicks have been sourced from around the world: I have used different brands of toothpicks depending on what I am building. See the sculpture for yourself at the Tinkering Studio through the end of June.
Arduino's co-creator explains electronic circuits for absolute beginners Massimo Banzi is the co-creator and CEO of Arduino. (What's Arduino? It's a fantastic electronics prototyping platform for everyone). Want to learn more? Arduino Video Tutorial 01: Get to know your Tools with Arduino CEO Massimo Banzi (see all the tutorials here) CALLIHOO Writing Helps--Feelings Table Character Feelings You can describe your character's feelings in more exact terms than just "happy" or "sad." Check these lists for the exact nuance to describe your character's intensity of feelings. SF Characters | SF Items | SF Descriptors | SF Places | SF EventsSF Jobs/Occupations | Random Emotions | Emotions List | Intensity of Feelings 15 Incredible Conceptual Designs You Wish Existed Imagine the first person that ate a shrimp. That ugly little creature from the sea ended up to taste so damn good. On the other side, consider the poor guy who first tried some stunningly good looking, bright red, little fruits hanging from bushes only to find out that they were deadly poisonous. It clear that both shrimps and poisonous red berries didn´t have a product test before being exposed to the humans, just like we have today with consumer products. This article gathers a group of 15 useful and enticing conceptual designs that for several reasons may never reach the production stage, but may set a trend and definitely make us wish they really existed. Nike Hindsight by Billy May From the designer’s site: The design of the glasses drew on athletically inspired designs and focused on providing wide protective coverage. ONE folding bicycle by Thomas J. From the designer’s site: ‘One’ provides a real solution to the problems involved with urban transport. Juke Brick by Yon-U Cho
Hand Shadow Illusions Mind Bluff - contents - Quick Links Optical Tricks Genius Teasers Subliminal Mind & Body Fun Special Effects Comics & Graphics More Stuff Astonishing Optical Illusions -- each one different, unique, and fun. Four Squares Problem Day-of-the-Week Anagram Marble-Weighing Problem Ten Words Test Fast Questions The object is to reposition two -- and only two -- sticks so that you have exactly four squares of equal size and no sticks left over. Which day of the week is an anagram for a common noun? A mensa-level brainteaser. What do these ten words have in common? Four simple questions designed to stump you. Speed Panel - Words Hand Shadow Illusions Words are flashed across your consciousness: which ones do you detect, and why? See this stunning display of Hand Shadow Illusions cast upon a wall. Create a Fake Phantom Limb Self-Hypnotic Command Pattern Group Mind Experiment Reaction Time Test Tip-of-the-Tongue state Memory Tracer An Odd Tactile Illusion Is Your Hand Elastic? Left vs. Simple test. Future Odds & Ends
10 Sentences that Can Change Your Life The power of a sentence is tremendous. A single destructive sentence can ruin somebody’s life, make your day, or change your mood. Fortunately, there are some sentences that can give us power to go on. #1 “People aren’t against you; they are for themselves.” #2 “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” #3 “You learn more from failure than from success; don’t let it stop you. #4 “The most dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later” #5 “Go where you’re celebrated, not where you’re tolerated.” #6 “The person that you will spend the most time with in your life is yourself, so you better try to make yourself as interesting as possible.” #7 “If you accept your limitations you go beyond them.” #8 “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. #9 “Everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something” #10 “Comfort is the enemy of achievement.”
The 12 Most Beautiful Castles in Europe For centuries, people have been fascinated with castles. Whether they were home to cruel leaders (such as Count Dracula) or the settings of love stories, the castles always played an important part in European history. Nowadays, they make “guest appearances” in movies or are the perfect place to spend an interesting vacation. There are actually thousands of castles throughout Europe, though many of them are in surprising states of disrepair if they are even recognizable as castles at all. 1 – Château de Chenonceau, France The castle is built on river Cher, offering one of the most beautiful sights as it reflects in the water. The castle is located in the small city of Chenonceaux. >> Read about train travel in France or find out what to eat in Paris 2 – Neuschwanstein, Germany This fairy tale castle doesn’t have a very long history to brag with, but its beauty makes all of us admire it in silence (and without taking photos of the interiors). Does this castle also look familiar?
Things My Father didn’t Teach Me, How to tie a Tie ABOUT ARCHIVE FOLLOW Facebook Twitter Instagram Google+ Ads Via The Deck Things My Father didn’t Teach Me, How to tie a Tie share it 3,740 notes Gun Shoots Criminals With DNA Tags, Marking Them For Later Arrest Riots are a tough nut for law enforcement in part because of the sheer number of people involved--it's impossible to stop and arrest every person involved in a skirmish. That's why cops have some pretty high-tech methods for catching suspects, from facial recognition software to debilitating sonic cannons. But none is as bizarre as this new DNA gun from a UK security firm. The SelectaDNA High Velocity System works like it sounds--it shoots people with pellets containing a unique DNA fingerprint. Unlike rubber-pellet guns, Tasers or tear gas canisters, the technology does not deter or disable the suspect--he or she can get away seemingly unscathed. But later, authorities can track down the suspect and arrest him or her "at a less confrontational time for officers," according to the company. The pellets come in rifle or pistol form, containing 14 pellets per container. Apparently Selectamark (what a name) also makes DNA grease, gel and spray to tag personal belongings or other items.
Think ..."Some time ago I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed a perfect score. The instructor and the student agreed to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected. I read the examination question: The student had answered, "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring the rope up, measuring the length of the rope. The student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! I suggested that the student have another try. In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. "Well," said the student, "there are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. "Fine," I said, "and others?" "Of course.
How Police Interrogation Works" There are "Law & Order" addicts everywhere who think they could get a perp to confess. A little glaring, some getting in the guy's face, a revelation that his fingerprints are all over the murder weapon and voilà! He's recounting his crime. In real life, police interrogation requires more than confidence and creativity (although those qualities do help) -- interrogators are highly trained in the psychological tactics of social influence. Getting someone to confess to a crime is not a simple task, and the fact that detectives sometimes end up with confessions from the innocent testifies to their expertise in psychological manipulation. Police interrogations weren't always so complex. While the Supreme Court had ruled as early as 1897 against involuntary confessions, it was in 1937 that things really started to change. When the case Miranda v.
Biomimetics and Dextrous Manipulation Lab | Main » PerchingHome Perching 1. Vision for Perching UAV A flock of small, unmanned air vehicles flies quietly into a city, maneuvering among the buildings. Small aircraft move quickly and avoid terrain-based obstacles, but use a relatively large amount of power to maintain lift. Sometimes the best place to land is on a wall ... 2. The current work focuses on reducing the challenges involved in landing on vertical surfaces. Hybrid diagram illustrating the various phases of landing. More recently, we have been developing techniques to analyze and exploit funnels in dynamical systems in order to allow for aggressive maneuvers and generally, more robust performances. Real (left) and estimated (right) ROA for a simple perching model. Our work on perching is also a good example of "hybrid locomotion" by combining flying and clinging to walls, which brings out the advantages of both systems. Takeoff from the wall We are investigating new PerchingControllers using the Gumstix platform. 3. (from PerchingPublications) 4.
Personalized medicine eliminates need for drug in 2 children Public release date: 31-Jan-2013 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: William Raillant-Clarkw.raillant-clark@umontreal.ca 514-343-7593University of Montreal This press release is available in French. Using genome-wide analysis, investigators at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Montreal have potentially eliminated a lifetime drug prescription that two children with a previously unknown type of adrenal insufficiency had been receiving for 14 years. Fourteen years ago both children were diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency, a condition that occurs when the adrenal glands do not secrete enough hormones to control sugar and mineral levels in the blood. The physicians did not modify the treatment earlier in the children's lives due to lack of a clear molecular diagnosis hence an imperfect understanding of the disease. Description of the study "The genome analysis allowed us to incriminate the POMC gene. About the study: [ Print | E-mail