It’s been 17 years since Mazzy Star released an album, and for those of us that used to rely on a Mazzy Star/Portishead playlist to seal the deal it’s been a long, long drought. Now, not only is the reclusive duo set to release Seasons of Your Day, they’re also gearing up for a live tour. Get your oh, so moody mood on by listening to the whole amazing album, but I will personally clock the first fool to bust out a puka shell necklace or Yagi shorts.
[via Pitchfork]
In the year 2183 Earth has been reduced to a cloud of cosmic dust. A space archeologist uses his time-traveling telescope ship to catch a glimpse of our planet in its former glory. A visual feast by VFX artist Wes Ball.
gdenningThe newest internet celebrity cat.
gdenningLook ma, no batteries!
Everyone is online these days. Pretty soon, "everyone" could include inanimate objects like your couch and your car keys.
"Ambient backscatter" might sound like an experimental music genre, but it's actually a groundbreaking method of networking developed by researchers at the University of Washington. Bringing us one step closer to an Internet of Things reality, the technology allows devices to communicate with one another wirelessly and with no batteries. Instead of creating their own signals, ambient backscatter devices essentially freeload off existing signals from radio, TV, cellular, and Wi–Fi networks, which invisibly blanket much of the earth. It's a bit like stealing your neighbor's unlocked Wi–Fi, except on a much grander scale.
Vamsi Talla, one of the University of Washington developers, spoke to Co.Design about the advantages of ambient backscatter. "We started out by looking at the problems faced by today's sensing and computation devices. As an example, use of Wi–Fi on phones or GPS on wearable devices, such as Google Glass, consumes large amounts of power and drains the battery," he says. And traditional radio communication requires the expensive generation of radio signals. Talla's team wanted to explore more power–efficient means of communication, and realized that they could just leverage the wireless signals already surrounding us instead of making more.
"Imagine that you misplace your keys," Talla offers. "The keys can use ambient backscatter to communicate with nearby objects, such as the couch, localize themselves with respect to surrounding objects, and then send the user a text alert."
A video the researchers developed includes an image of a phone receiving a text message from "The Couch." "You left your keys," says the sweet sofa. The video does not include the "Thx luv u Couch xo!" reply from the user.
These battery–free devices can also be embedded in walls for long–term home monitoring. Another important application of ambient backscatter is wearable computing. As the technology requires far less power than, say, Bluetooth or Wi–Fi, it can therefore drastically improve the battery life of wearable devices, and even eliminate the need for batteries altogether. The small sensors would suit the Nike+ system, Jawbone Up, or Fitbit.
"The main challenges here revolve around the fact that we are trying to use uncontrollable, pre–existing signals, which already contain data," said Talla of the team's design hurdles. "However, using our unique communication circuits and protocols, we developed this ultra–low–power technology." The team says ambient backscatter technology should reach the market in the next few years.
    
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gdenningThis looks awesome. Hope I get my invite soon.
"We want to connect people to personalized information at the moment it’s useful," reads the mission statement of Aviate, a replacement launcher for Android available today in private beta. It sounds almost exactly like the tagline of Google Now, and that’s no coincidence — Aviate co-founders Paul Montoy-Wilson and William Choi used to work for Google. While Montoy-Wilson worked for Google Play and Choi worked on search, the two had of course heard of Google Now, their employer’s best effort at predicting what information you’ll need next. But, the duo thought they could do a better job at it.
To the founders of Aviate, you shouldn’t even need to open Google Now. The apps and information you need should already be sitting on...
gdenningWhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!
Australian textbook rental startup Zookal will begin utilizing drones to make its deliveries in Australia next year, with ambitions of bringing the unique, unmanned delivery method to US customers by 2015. The company says this marks the first commercial use of fully automated drones worldwide. It will fulfill deliveries in Sydney using six drones to start, dropping off textbook purchases at an outdoor location of the customer’s choosing. To wipe away any potential privacy or surveillance fears, the drones aren't equipped with cameras. Instead, built-in anti-collision technology keeps them clear of trees, buildings, birds, and other potential obstacles.
Both the location of the user and the drone’s GPS coordinates are transmitted...
THANK YOU
Thank you. This is why I never really pursued higher education although I want it so desperately. This is no way to run a country.
Everyone needs to see this! Germany also has free higher education so long as you make very good grades. As well as the other Nordic countries, Germany has a high tax also. I really wonder why this is such a big deal in America. The rich keep getting richer and the poor, as well as middle class, keep getting poorer.
Pay attention, Canada.
Fucking communists.
For real though, the German example is pretty bunk, because kids who come from families with more money tend to do better in high school, so it’s not exactly opening doors to the poor—it’s just another way of excusing an unequal system with the “if you work hard, you’ll succeed” mantra.
gdenningSo simple. but a brilliant way to prioritize alternatives.
“What?! Don’t everyone know about this?”
There’s some tools and practices that I use on a regular basis that have grown so familiar and accustom to me that I’m almost embarrassed to talk about them. Because I thought that everyone one did it this way. Not seldom it’s just like that too – it’s something that everyone knows and I end up being laughed at. I can take that, since the one person that didn’t hear about it before might have got something new that could help him. And, not to mention, I often end up learning myself in the process.
So… if you know about this practice (that I don’t know the name for, I call it Weighted index) or not; here we go. I’ll start with a story…
[UPDATED] In the comments I got notified that this might be a Decision matrix or even an simplified version of Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Thanks Harry McIntyre for that link.
gdenninglol, that's hilarious.
The ordinarily sober BBC News gave viewers a laugh when news anchor Simon McCoy started his show holding a pack of bond paper, having mistaken it for his iPad. Makes you wonder why he needs an iPad in the first place.
(NSFW) “What is… that?” The atrocity that is Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance didn’t just bum out the folks in New Mexico. It reached the final frontier and devastated Captain Kirk and the rest of the crew of the USS Enterprise.
gdenning"The best space film ever done." - James Cameron
Every time we see more of Gravity, we want to see it even more. With incredible visuals, an amazing sense of realism, and buzzworthy performances, even James Cameron recently called it “The best space film ever done.”
(SPOILERS) Screen Junkies tears Tony Stark and his inexplicably flimsy armored suits a new one in this Honest Trailer for Iron Man 3. Seriously this movie was just as confounding and infuriating as Spider-Man 3.
NASA's Curiosity rover has certainly been a prolific photographer since landing on the surface of Mars little over a year ago. But recently the rover took a rare look skywards to capture an eclipse of the Sun from the Red Planet using its telephoto camera. During the rover's long trip to the base of Mount Sharp, it took a short break to watch as the larger of Mars' two moons, Phobos, quickly passed overhead. The event's known as a ring — or annular — eclipse, with the edges of the Sun poking out from around the moon, and the shot above is a composite of three pictures taken three seconds apart. Phobos is just about 14 miles in diameter and it's only 3,700 miles from the surface, making it roughly 66 times closer than the Moon is to...
gdenningYou know what the problem is with Android phones? Not enough buttons! Ummm...didn't we move away from tons of buttons towards touch screens for a reason?
Android phones nowadays are largely devoid of physical buttons — save for the typical duo of volume and power keys. But Pressy, a Kickstarter project that promises to bring a programmable physical button to nearly any Android device, is challenging the idea that consumers are happy doing everything on a touchscreen. With 45 days left to go, Pressy's creators, Nimrod Back and Boaz Mendel, have raised more than $92,000. Pressy surpassed its stated $40,000 goal in less than 24 hours. To put it simply, Pressy is taking off.
gdenningNot sure I love the song (which is odd because I usually like Phoenix), but this is very cool visually.
Swirling around the garden of the Palace of Versailles at dawn, a drone captured the band Phoenix performing their single "Entertainment" in one stunning take. The band's effortlessly poppy track comes off just as charming as the gardens do amid the sun's golden hour, with huge shadows being thrown out in front of them along the palace's empty grounds. GoPro's high-end Hero3 camera was used for filming, and while there's certainly some amount of shakiness to the footage, it fares well for having never stopped moving. Small RC crafts like the one ostensibly used here have been increasingly picked up by filmmakers and photographers looking to capture breathtaking views — and they can certainly make for one stylish music video.
I’ll be the first to admit it: Mr. Money Mustache is known to indulge in a few luxuries. Hell, I’m doing it right now, with my fingers tapping comfortably on a brushed aluminum keyboard while the letters instantly pop up on the 1920×1080 pixel screen of this feathery “ultrabook” laptop. I’m on the front porch of my luxury house, looking over the hundreds of beautiful plants in the front garden, my belly is comfortably full from a breakfast of espresso with frothed organic milk, almonds, mangoes and avocados. Aren’t I Mr. Fancypants?
No, actually I am not. This stuff isn’t anything to brag about. Although I am enjoying it at the moment, it is actually an indulgence of a weakness, and I had better watch myself, lest I start to depend on this sort of pampering all the time.
When you really look at this fancy picture, I’m sitting around on my ass, consuming stuff. This seated position is bad for my bones and organs. My muscles are atrophying away as the body takes the hint that they are no longer needed. The typing is straining my wrists and nibbling away at the joints, trying to lay the foundation of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The laptop is wearing out and depreciating and the luxury home is tying up close to half a million dollars of precious capital.
In fact, the most rewarding part of this exercise is the fact that I am working to create something – this article for you, for which most of the surrounding luxury is not even necessary.
If I were to get used to all of this, to feel like it were my inalienable right to have it, and become unhappy if I could not have it, I would be pretty much screwed. Because at that point, I would have designed a lifestyle so narrow and delicate, that it could easily be toppled by something as trivial as an economic collapse.
And yet people do this all the time. Most people, even. When you borrow money to buy a consumable product, you are instantly teetering atop the ultimate house of cards. You are getting yourself used to the rare luxury of your new toy, even while you are speeding up the treadmill you have to run upon even to get close enough to use it. This is why I laugh and cry with frustration at the absolute insanity of borrowing money for a car, and the fact that ninety percent of Americans do it.
But it’s not just borrowers that are the fools here. Even those of us with a comfortable ‘stash who can fork over a few thousand dollar bills for the odd treat here and there would be wise to watch ourselves. And yet, here is Mr. Money Mustache talking about his own luxuries. What gives?
In fact, the relatively material-rich lifestyle of the MMM family is one of the primary reasons this blog doesn’t scare everyone off. People say, “Oh yeah, they have a kid, cars, and a nice house – seems like a reasonable lifestyle, I guess we can dip our toes in as well.” For a blog that preaches living a larger life with a smaller footprint, the contradictions are rife.
Fortunately, there is a way to reconcile the ideal and the reality. You can dabble in luxury, without becoming a whining slave to it, just by understanding the concept that luxury is a drug.
Most of us have tried drugs in one form or another, right? Coffee gives you a little boost. Alcohol makes you a bit more silly and friendly. Ibuprofen lowers your swelling and fever and can really cut down the misery of a cold or flu. Marijuana is amazing for bringing out creative ideas and highlighting the texture and humor in life, and the list goes on. But the key to all drugs is that they come with a balance of positive and negative effects. So only a fool would overdose on any of them in a breathless pursuit of their positives, while ignoring the well-documented negatives.
Luxury behaves in exactly the same way. I remember taking a big hit of it on a business trip a while back. I stepped off the plane in an exotic destination and smelled the warm air off the sea as I watched the palm trees and flowers blowing in the wind. A black Lincoln was waiting right at the curb to pick me up. I threw my backpack into the back seat and climbed in, noting the contrast between my sandals and shorts and the black leather seats of this business-oriented car. The driver zoomed me through the city to the luxury hotel while I casually flicked through emails on my phone and watched the skyscrapers roll past.
“I am Mr. Bigshot”, I thought to myself. “I sit in bigass cars, with muscular V-8 engines which waste huge amounts of gas while people drive me around. I sit upon polished strips of sliced-up cows, dyed and stitched together by workers who earn far less than me. When I get to the expensive hotel, I will be presented with an internationally-sourced meal prepared by chefs, and a large private suite, while others bow down and wait and pay me for the priceless solutions I deliver from my powerful mind. THIS is the treatment I deserve! Why have I been taking the bus and riding my bike and setting up tents all these years?”
A scientist could probably measure exactly the rush I was receiving from this drug. All the chemicals that come from the feeling of being powerful, pampered, and getting used to it.
It was fun, but it was an experience to be tucked away and cherished and laughed at, just like being drunk off your gourd in the company of friends or high on any other substance. Because even that one executive pampering was enough to start me idly pondering the option of luxury airport transit on my future trips. Tentatively sorting the list of hotels from “high to low” instead of “low to high”. Chuckling at the dowdy furnishings of the Best Western or cowering away from the heat of a Houston day in August.
And while constant pampering of this level would soon make me flabby and dependent, there are ready examples of even more pampered people further along the scale. Some kings and queens of the past grew so dependent and accustomed to their ornate surroundings that they would imprison or execute any servant that failed to deliver their luxuries exactly as ordered. Some movie stars today add special clauses to their contracts, specifying that they only be sheltered in the top grade of limousine and hotel, and the demand is backed up by threat of whining and legal action. My experience with the Lincoln Town Car and the Marriott would be deemed an upsetting step downwards. “Lincoln! Don’t you know those are made by Ford? .. And the Marriott is a place for middle managers and tourists.. not A-list movie stars such as myself!”
When you wriggle yourself into the narrow nook of luxury, your perspective on the world, and your ability to survive and thrive in it, also constricts dramatically. Like any drug, it can be fun to indulge in occasionally. But to seek to constantly maximize luxury in all areas of your life to the limits of what you can afford? Pure insanity. Just as it would be insane for me to say, “Since I can afford it, I need to start taking drugs for as many of my waking hours as possible. Alternating shots of espresso and fine scotch all day, with hits from the bong every hour on the hour!”
Even more insane is for people with financial problems to seek out luxury and even buy it on credit – exactly like a man with a damaged liver reaching for the bottle of vodka while the surgeons are trying to perform a transplant.
So by all means, if you’re not tough enough to abstain totally, go ahead and dabble in luxury just as you might have some fun with the other bits of naughtiness. Think of it as part of an exploration of the full human experience: many luxury products are, after all, the culmination of the art and science and effort of your fellow humans. But approach it from a position of strength, rather than the whining dependence that most of your fellow rich people develop.
Luxury is best appreciated as a strong and interesting contrast to, rather than the fabric of, your daily life.
gdenningThis seems crazy, but can anyone find a counter example?
Since 1975, every elected B.C. premier has resigned from office. Of the 8 who have served since then (not counting current Premier Christy Clark) only 3 – Rita Johnston, Dan Miller, and Ujjal Dosanjh – escaped this fate, though none of them were actually elected by B.C. voters, and none of them served for more than one year. And finally, the percentage of elected B.C. Premiers involved in a political scandal since 1975 (either during, or after their terms)… is also 100%.
Screen Junkies offers us their latest Honest Trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness.
Honest Trailers – Star Trek Into Darkness (feat. HISHE)
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After leaking ultra-low fidelity images last month, Sony Alpha Rumors has uploaded the first high-resolution photos of Sony's new wireless "lens camera" series. The lens cameras are essentially a lens, a sensor, and all of the accouterments needed to take a photo in a single package, such as an SD card slot and a processor. The cameras will reportedly click onto Android smartphones, and will connect wirelessly to allow the phone's display to work as a viewfinder.
gdenningThis is amazing - I can't believe this isn't on the mainstream news.
