Seeding Labs ~ Nina Dudnik @ IDEAS Boston

Seeding Labs founder Nina Dudnik @ IDEAS Boston 2013!

This I Believe ~ Heinlein's Broadcast Creed...

Thanks to the Heinlein Prize for Accomplishments in Commercial Space Activities for posting the audio and transcript of science fiction grandmaster Robert A Heinlein's broadcast of This I Believe on the Edward R Murrow radio show in 1952...

Religiosity vs Prosperity ~ Economic Correlations

While trawling through references about faith, irrationality, and other mental illnesses, I came across this interesting chart correlating Religiosity vs Prosperity -- measured as percentage of the population who self-describe themselves as a "religious person" plotted versus per capita annual income...

Hack This Book ~ Art of Tinkering's e-Cover!

Check out the Art of Tinkering's conductive ink cover...

"Its cover is printed with a special ink that conducts electricity, allowing readers to make their own circuits right on the book and get in on all the tinkering fun."

Smarty Ring ~ Finger Control of Mobile Apps!

Thanks to DM's Victoria Woolaston for spotting the Smarty Ring, a...

"...stainless steel gadget [which] connects to smartphones via Bluetooth using a dedicated app. Its LED screen lights up each time the wearer gets an email, text message, Facebook and Twitter notifications and phone calls, and the ring can also be used as a remote control."

(Seems too good to be true. I hope this is not merely "design & visualization" exercise and they've actually figured out power management, etc.)

Megacity Logistics ~ Emerging Research @ MIT

MIT colleague Willow Brugh took Prezi notes on CityScience luncheon talk by MIT's Edgar Blanco of the Megacity Logistics Lab about his research on understanding...

"Megacities -- cities with a population of at least 10 million people -- are increasing in both number and size, and their share of world GDP is expected to grow from about 15% to over 20% in a decade. Most of the 31 megacities that currently exist are located in emerging markets. Up until now research on the megacity phenomenon has centered on the urban landscape, people mobility and managing traffic congestion. Based within the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, the Megacity Logistics Lab focuses on understanding and transforming the supply chains that interface with these sprawling urban centers."

Miracle Rising ~ South Africa’s Political Reboot...

The History Channel's Miracle Rising documentary shares how...

"South Africa, against all odds, avoided a civil war, ended apartheid enabling the country to have its first free and fair democratic election. The word ‘Rising’ comes from a comment that Oprah Winfrey made during her interview which was to “rise and transcend to something higher” which is what happened to make this miracle possible. [...] “Also the idea of a “Miracle Rising” is something that is never finished or complete -- but always in process -- is a more accurate way of describing most political situations in that they are always evolving."

The 16th Man ~ Mandela and the Springboks

ESPN's 16th Man documentary... Plus, here's the actual 1995 match...

Generations ~ Germain's Portraits of Families!

Thanks to John Farrier at Neatorama for spotting Julian Germain's Generations series of photographs showing recursive {child + parent} family portraits!

DataViva ~ Visualizing Economic Activity!

MIT Media Lab Professor César Hidalgo and his Macro Connections group colleagues working with the state of Minas Gerais have created DataViva to visualize and help people understand the full richness of Brazilian economic activity.

Remember Pearl ~ Surprise, Failure, & Lessons

Imperial Japan's infamous attack on US forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii 72 years ago today killed thousands and expanded WWII greatly. But it was such a surprise and so devastating largely because of unconcerned, inattentive, and incompetent intelligence, military, and government authorities, much like 9/11 sixty years later. Let that be the ultimate lesson:  visionary leadership, eternal vigilance, and creative ability are all three together paramount for civilization to survive the forces of malice and perfidy and indeed thrive towards human greatness, overcoming the evil irrationalities of colonial imperialism, religious fanaticism, and political collectivism.

Freezing Time ~ DIY 360 Matrix Video Effect!

UD spots Freezing Time!

R.I.P. Madiba ~ Alas Nelson Mandela is Gone...

Sad to hear South Africa's Nelson Mandela has passed away.

World Outside ~ ISS Views Timelapse!

io9's Robert Gonzalez spots The World Outside My Window - Time Lapse of Earth from the ISS by David Peterson & colleagues...

Perfect Mannequins ~ Pro Infirmis Body Doubles!

Thanks to Anna Hodgekiss at the DailyMail for spotting the Pro Infirmis perfect mannequins project!

"A Swiss charity has created mannequins based on the bodies of disabled people in a bid to raise awareness that no one has a perfect body. Pro Infirmis, an organisation for people with disabilities, worked with people suffering from scoliosis (a curved spine), shortened limbs and a woman in a wheelchair. Each had a mannequin made to perfectly reflect their body shape -- which, to their delight, was then displayed in a high street store in Zurich's main shopping street. [...] The aim of the project is to raise awareness of people with disabilities, specifically in the image-obsessed worlds of fashion and retail. [...] Because who is perfect?"

Curing Aging ~ de Grey on Healthy Longevity!

Thanks to Johnny Boston at H+ for spotlighting Galactic Public Archives interview with a genial modern-day Merlin, Dr Aubrey de Grey, on addressing the world's most important problem -- the diseases and ravages of aging -- via Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence or SENS... This is especially important in light of the neo-luddite anti-gerontechnology movement festering in our society, for instance Daniel Callahan's screed in the NYTimes On Dying After Your Time.

More Namba Parks ~ Urban Oasis in Osaka!

Namba Parks is an urban oasis in Osaka, Japan. Built on the old Osaka baseball stadium site and designed by Jon Jerde, NP is an eight level rooftop garden with waterfalls, terraces, etc!

Mobile is Eating the World ~ Ben Evans Vision...

Benedict Evans shares how Mobile is Eating the World...

Surprise Rescue ~ Saved from Sunken Jascon 4!

Thanks to gCaptain's Mike Schuler for spotting the stunning surprise rescue of Nigerian cook Harrison Okene from the sunken tug Jascon 4, which had settled 30m down on the ocean floor after capsizing... And here's the simply amazing experience from the DCN Global diver Nico van Heerden's perspective... Note Nico's squeeky voice probably comes from breathing a helium-oxygen blend and not from getting a "huge fright" from a hand reaching out of the briny gloom! The long recovery period was to avoid the bends decompression sickness. Cook Okene stayed cool despite traumatic circumstances and speed with which things went wrong. This is great illustration of why should never quit and also of need for better imaging and mapping and robo-automation tools to help navigate and understand extreme conditions, including deepwater, sharp edges, etc.

ISON Lives ~ NASA Spots Sungrazing Comet

NASA APOD spots sungrazing Comet ISON!