Gecco.89

We all know that Japanese are creative about almost everything they do, but we have do admit it, we really didn’t see this one coming! To transform mundane objects into works of art – that’s one, but to create an entire trend around it, well, that’s a totally different story. For those of you who pay a special interest in this country, you ought to know that in Japan there’s a peculiar obsession with manhole covers. With more than 6.000 artistic manhole covers, Japan is once more one of the most surprising places you’ll ever visit. Passionate about photography, S. Morita started a journey around Japan, looking (down) for artsy manhole covers that pedestrians walk across everyday.

Morita’s photography collection includes a stunning array of colourful “artworks”. Each manhole cover photographed features distinctive details: flowers, trees, birds and other carved symbols that highlight the specificity of a certain municipality/ region. Believe it or not, this phenomenon started almost 35 years ago, when a bureaucrat in the construction ministry suggested municipalities to design their own manhole covers, to simply reduce costs. Since then, the unusual “hysteria” inspires artists to create and stylise beautiful and vivid manhole covers everyday.

You're reading Transforming Mundane Objects into Works of Art: Japanese Manhole Covers originally posted on Freshome.

The post Transforming Mundane Objects into Works of Art: Japanese Manhole Covers appeared first on Freshome.com.

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This week's job of the week on Dezeen Jobs is for concept designers at Danish toy brand Lego. Visit the ad for full details or browse other architecture and design opportunities on Dezeen Jobs.

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Microsoft read the email of Hotmail users without a warrant, in order to catch someone who'd leaked some Microsoft software. When they were caught out, the pointed out that they'd always reserved the right to read Hotmail users' email, and tried to reassure other Hotmail users by saying that they were beefing up the internal process by which they decided whose mail to read and when.

Now, citing the "'post-Snowden era' in which people rightly focus on the ways others use their personal information," the company has announced that it will not read its users' email anymore when investigating theft or copyright violations -- instead, it will refer this sort of thing to the police in future (they still reserve the right to read your Hotmail messages without a court order under other circumstances).

As Techdirt's Mike Masnick points out, this is a most welcome change. The message announcing the change by Brad Smith (General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs) is thoughtful and forthright. It announces a future round-table on the questions raised by the company's snooping that the Electronic Frontier Foundation can participate in.

Smith asks a seemingly rhetorical question: "What is the best way to strike the balance in other circumstances that involve, on the one hand, consumer privacy interests, and on the other hand, protecting people and the security of Internet services they use?" That is indeed a fascinating question, but in the specific case of Hotmail, I feel like it has a pretty obvious answer: change your terms of service so that you promise not to read your customers' email without a court order. Then, if you think there's a situation that warrants invading your customers' privacy, get a court order. This is just basic rule-of-law stuff, and it's the kind of thing you'd hope Microsoft's General Counsel would find obvious.

The fact that the question is being raised casts more light on Microsoft's extensive "Scroogled" campaign, which (rightly) took Google to task for having a business-model that was predicated on harvesting titanic amounts of personal data. The takeaway here is that while Microsoft's business-model (at the moment) is less privacy-invading than Google's, that is not due to any inherent squeamishness about spying on people -- rather, it's just a practical upshot of its longstanding practices.

In part we have thought more about this in the context of other privacy issues that have been so topical during the past year. We’ve entered a “post-Snowden era” in which people rightly focus on the ways others use their personal information. As a company we’ve participated actively in the public discussions about the proper balance between the privacy rights of citizens and the powers of government. We’ve advocated that governments should rely on formal legal processes and the rule of law for surveillance activities.

While our own search was clearly within our legal rights, it seems apparent that we should apply a similar principle and rely on formal legal processes for our own investigations involving people who we suspect are stealing from us. Therefore, rather than inspect the private content of customers ourselves in these instances, we should turn to law enforcement and their legal procedures.

This also has focused our attention on other important questions about the privacy interests of consumers as they use services across the Internet. What is the best way to strike the balance in other circumstances that involve, on the one hand, consumer privacy interests, and on the other hand, protecting people and the security of Internet services they use? It’s an important question across the tech sector. And it’s the type of question we believe would benefit from broader discussion rather than a single company or industry trying to divine the answers by itself.

We’re listening: Additional steps to protect your privacy (via Techdirt)

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Depth and illusion: Translucent Mirrors by Studio Thier&VanDaalen - Double Mirror and Open Mirror - layer mirrors and patterned glass to add new depth and dimension to simple reflection.

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Spring has finally arrived, (unless you live in the North like I do, where it is still cold, and there’s actually a chance of snow later this week!) and this the time when your hair starts to get a little bit confused due to weather changes.

Depending on your hair type, it can tend to get either too oily or too dry. Because of this, it’s important to update your hair care routine with products that will balance out your hair.

Below, I’ve listed the three products that I use to balance out my hair. Read on to learn more about each one:

Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment

$13.50 at Ulta

As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m a huge fan of Macadamia products. This oil treatment is their bestselling product, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a blend of argan oil and macadamia oil, two oils that are incredible for hair.

Okay, it does sound a little weird to add oil to hair (especially if your scalp is naturally oily), but it actually helps to even out the texture and tone of your hair while balancing out the condition of your scalp.

This particular product is especially amazing for dry hair, since it visually repairs split ends and makes your hair look so refreshed. I use this by putting a dime-sized amount in my palm and applying it to the bottom two-thirds of my hair.

Oscar Blandi Dry Conditioner

$25 at Sephora

You’ve probably heard of dry shampoo, but what about dry conditioner? Dry conditioners have started to pop up in stores, and I had to try one. I’m glad I finally did – I’m obsessed!

I love the way it instantly makes your hair soft and manageable without weighing it down at all. It’s sort of weird, because it’s literally a “dry” conditioner, but once you get used to the feeling it’s wonderful.

This one by Oscar Blandi is great, however it is a little pricey. I have not seen any drugstore dry conditioners yet, but I’ll keep an eye out for one! I like to use this after I’ve curled my hair. I just spray it on my curls to make them soft and less defined.

OGX Quenched Sea Mineral Moisture Shampoo

$7.99 at Ulta

Let me preface this by saying that I’m not a huge fan of the Organix haircare line. I find that it tends to dry out my hair, especially the keratin-infused products or the ones made with oil. However, the “Sea Mineral” line is just great!

These products are infused with minerals and vitamins to repair your hair without over-softening or over-conditioning. It’s also sulfate-free, so it’s perfect for colored hair or hair that is brittle.

I also really like the smell of this product. Yes, you shouldn’t judge a product based on scent, but I LOVE this one. I find that a good scent makes a product much more enjoyable to use.

This is perfect for in-between hair because it tends to balance out the dry patches of your hair without over-moisturizing the oily parts. (Does that only happen to me?!) I love using this and the Macadamia oil together.

What do you think?

What are the haircare products that help to balance your hair? Have you tried any of these products? Let me know in the comments!

Submitted by hannahfro

Yuma Kano's Screw :) is a collaborative project with Komuro Manufacturing Co., Ltd. If you're going to make a proprietary screw that is hard to open, you might as well make it fun to look at?

(Want more? See NOTCOT.org and NOTCOT.com)

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Curated by Michael Paul Young

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