Sunday 21 July 2013
Saturday 20 July 2013
10 history’s most fascinating photos
10 history’s most fascinating photos
The Statue of Liberty surrounded by scaffolding as workers complete the final stages in Paris. Circa 1885
A Royal Air Force pilot getting a haircut during a break between missions, Britain, 1942.
Bob Marley on the beach with Miss World 1976 Cindy Breakspear, mother of Damien Marley.
A napalm attack near U.S. troops on patrol in South Vietnam, circa 1966.
Ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore recording the music of a Blackfoot chief onto a phonograph, 1916.
Fritz, a television celebrity bulldog, is shaved by a Californian barber. April, 1961.
A female Lebanese fighter, 1982.
Chester E. Macduffee next to his newly patented, 250 kilo diving suit, 1911.
Benjamin, the last Tasmanian Tiger, at Beaumaris Zoo, 1933.
Charlie Chaplin without makeup.
Wednesday 10 July 2013
Data Center: Google shows how similar his bowels
The world's number one Internet search began to photograph the interior of its data centers and delivers the result on a dedicated website. These pictures can be measured, at least visually, the excess of a company claiming nothing less than to be the Internet. Notes, however, the approach of pure communication operation for the company, which reveals nothing other than the aesthetic dimensions of its equipment, eg extremely power hungry.
How many know what it is like, physically, Internet? To do this, Google has decided to expose to the world what he described as "inside Internet" , the bowels of the beast: its Data Centers. Through a series of high-quality photos and a map of Maps, the Mountain View company shows what look like, finally, its infrastructure. This unique journey into the heart of the network of networks has the merit of giving a face to the gigantism of this company.And incidentally, to visualize where its stored many of our data. Berkeley, South Carolina, Lenoir, NC, Mayes, Oklahoma Bluffs, Iowa, The Dalles, Oregon, Douglas, Georgia , Hamina, Finland and Saint-Ghislain, Belgium: This is the list of sites Google has chosen to photograph. High security areas in which the company essentially reveal the aesthetic dimension, and some aspects of the business are being present. Sites in Hong Kong and Singapore will be added soon. Note that for each of these data centers, Google spends at least $ 600 million. One of the most demanding in this regard.
It does not take less to feed the appetite of the company. Its search engine index 20 billion pages per day to meet 3.3 billion daily queries and 40,000 per second. But that's not all. Google is also 425 million users of its Gmail, each with a storage space of 10 GB, or 4.25 "Eo" ( exa bytes ). The company also has 250 million members on the Google+ social network. Also add 500 million users of mobile operating system Android home in September, against 400 million in June. Much data that require huge storage capacity, and operations that require high computing power. Not to mention the wealth of information collected on the Internet, the war chest of the company. video side, YouTube counts 800 million users who spend 4 billion hours watching videos each month in October, against 3 billion in May. They also send 72 hours of video per minute to 1.3 billion videos are hosted while in February. According to WordStream, in May, the advertising agency DoubleClick, which Google describes as its " cornerstone "posted 180 billion ads per month, targeting 90% of Internet users. What makes Google the world's number one online advertising. Will provide very robust revenue: $ 12.2 billion in sales in the second quarter (+35% yoy), 69% and 27% through AdWords with AdSense. In exchange, Google weighs 244 billion dollars . We could add services such as Maps and Street View or Google Books ...
...and power consumption equally gigantic
But what brings one hand, costs a lot of each other. These super datacenters consume a lot of electricity - 1.5% of the world's electricity is used by data centers, including those of Google. In addition to these requirements, the servers must dissipate the tremendous amount of heat, with highs of 120 degrees through cooling by air and water. That is why they are often installed in cooler regions and windswept, near streams. Google rarely communicates the energy consumed. In 2009, however, The Guardianlearned that the Data Center Dalles consumed 103 MW, as well as the English city of Newcastle. Google has also located next to a hydroelectric dam capable of delivering 1.8 GW. A study provided early September in Oregon - - fiscally advantageous and highly prized by IT companies to store their data Statedata centers consume 10% of electricity in the region in 2030 (against 1.4 GW this 355 MW year) is enough to power 240,000 homes. According to physicist at Harvard University, Alex Wissner-Gross,quoted in Le Monde , when a user performs two queries on the search engine Google, would generate 14 grams carbon emissions, equivalent to the energy borrowed a kettle! Based on this study, 100 billion monthly searches would be responsible, alone, of 8400 tons of greenhouse gases emitted in one year.
...and power consumption equally gigantic
But what brings one hand, costs a lot of each other. These super datacenters consume a lot of electricity - 1.5% of the world's electricity is used by data centers, including those of Google. In addition to these requirements, the servers must dissipate the tremendous amount of heat, with highs of 120 degrees through cooling by air and water. That is why they are often installed in cooler regions and windswept, near streams. Google rarely communicates the energy consumed. In 2009, however, The Guardianlearned that the Data Center Dalles consumed 103 MW, as well as the English city of Newcastle. Google has also located next to a hydroelectric dam capable of delivering 1.8 GW. A study provided early September in Oregon - - fiscally advantageous and highly prized by IT companies to store their data Statedata centers consume 10% of electricity in the region in 2030 (against 1.4 GW this 355 MW year) is enough to power 240,000 homes. According to physicist at Harvard University, Alex Wissner-Gross,quoted in Le Monde , when a user performs two queries on the search engine Google, would generate 14 grams carbon emissions, equivalent to the energy borrowed a kettle! Based on this study, 100 billion monthly searches would be responsible, alone, of 8400 tons of greenhouse gases emitted in one year.
Tuesday 9 July 2013
3Doodler: The World's First 3D Printing Pen
It's a pen that can draw in the air! 3Doodler is the 3D printing pen you can hold in your hand. Lift your imagination off the page!
The latest model 3Doodler
3Doodler works on almost any surface, including plastic, allowing users to personalize items such as iPhone cases, or anything else they feel like 3Doodling on. 3Doodler can even be used for minor repair work.
What is it?
Have you ever just wished you could lift your pen off the paper and see your drawing become a real three dimensional object? Well now you can!
3Doodler is the world’s first and only 3D Printing Pen. Using ABS plastic (the material used by many 3D printers), 3Doodler draws in the air or on surfaces. It’s compact and easy to use, and requires no software or computers. You just plug it into a power socket and can start drawing anything within minutes.The latest model 3Doodler
Oh, and it’s also the most affordable way to 3D print… by a looong way! With 3Doodler we’re making fun 3D creation accessible to everyone.
How does it work?
If you can scribble, trace or wave a finger in the air you can use a 3Doodler.
As 3Doodler draws, it extrudes heated plastic, which quickly cools and solidifies into a strong stable structure. This allows you to build an infinite variety of shapes and items with ease! Most people will instantly be able to trace objects on paper, and after only a few hours of practice you will be able to make far more intricate objects.
3Doodler is a brand new way of creating objects and artistic works. Whether you are an artist, hobbyist or 3D printing fanatic, we can’t wait to see what you 3Doodle!
What can I make with 3Doodler?
There are many ways 3Doodler can be used. 3Doodles can be created as flat forms and peeled off a piece of paper, as freestyle 3D objects, or in separate parts, ready to be joined together using the 3Doodler. The creative opportunities are endless, including:
- Basic 3D shapes and 3D models
- Jewellery, pendants and hanging ornaments
- Decorative art and fridge magnets
- Personalization of everyday objects (iPhone cases, laptops, pens, etc.)
- A mini Eiffel Tower or a soccer pitch for your Lego men
- And much much more…
3Doodler works on almost any surface, including plastic, allowing users to personalize items such as iPhone cases, or anything else they feel like 3Doodling on. 3Doodler can even be used for minor repair work.
3Doodler "stencils"
We’re particularly excited about 3Doodler "stencils" - sophisticated print-out stencil kits to help you create awesome objects (like our Eiffel Tower). We'll be making these available online for everyone. Simply print it out, 3Doodle each part according to the stencil and then join them with your 3Doodler. As time goes by we, and the 3Doodler community, will be able to create hundreds (maybe thousands) of stencil kits that can easily be emailed and shared with friends. We’ll be hosting these on our website, the3Doodler.com, for anyone to download and use for free.
We’re looking forward to seeing what people create and supporting 3Doodler communities everywhere.
The Sellers of Etsy Special
We're collaborating with some fantastic sellers on Etsy, all wire artists, to showcase how 3Doodler can be used to create beautiful objects and pieces of art. We're thrilled to be working with Bud Bullivant, Ruth Jensen (Sparkflight), Nakisha and Ele McKay to bring our vision to life.
Bud and Ruth will be creating a limited edition run of the first professional 3Doodles (see the Seller on Etsy Special Reward above). The ideas are already flowing, and we'll be working together to bring you a truly unique 3Doodle creation from these top artists. The expected size of the 3Doodle is approximately 4 x 2 inches. It will be beautifully boxed and shipped by August.
Nakisha will be producing an exclusive template for anyone ordering a 3Doodler. Created especially for you, the template will showcase 3Doodler's capabilities and allow you to make your very own artist-designed 3Doodles. And we'll be announcing a special collaboration with Ele shortly.
Nakisha will be producing an exclusive template for anyone ordering a 3Doodler. Created especially for you, the template will showcase 3Doodler's capabilities and allow you to make your very own artist-designed 3Doodles. And we'll be announcing a special collaboration with Ele shortly.
More to come on all of this in an Update! Bud, Ruth, Nakisha, Ele, we're truly grateful for your support!
3Doodler Components & Accessories:
The pen: The 3Doodler pen is 180mm by 24mm. The pen weighs less than 200 grams or 7 ounces (the weight of a typical apple), although the exact weight will depend on the final shell specifications once in production. And we are using a universal power supply, so provided you have the correct adapter for your country, 3Doodler will work just fine on 110v or 240v.
The evolution of 3Doodler
3Doodler is not a toy for children (it's recommended for ages 12+). While the plastic extruded from 3Doodler is safe to touch once it has left the pen, the pen itself has a metal tip that can get as hot as 270C. There is no reason for any user to touch the tip while in use, but safety comes first, and we are creating a video series that will explain how to use the 3Doodler, covering off the different techniques and safety precautions necessary.
The Ink (i.e. ABS/PLA plastic): The 3Doodler uses 3mm ABS or PLA plastic as its "ink" - just like a 3D printer. Each 3Doodler backed on Kickstarter comes with at least one bag of plastic; each bag will contain ten 1ft strands of plastic; and each 1 ft strand produces approximately 11 ft of 3Doodling fun... yes, you read that right, a foot of plastic goes a very long way in the 3Doodler.
Some suitably attractive photos of ABS plastic
ABS is one of the most common plastics around. It's used in most of the plastic stuff around you. PLA is what we call a "bioplastic". It's made from corn, is biodegradable and has a lower melting temperature than ABS. We are offering both choices as each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
We plan to offer plastic sold in strands (making it easy to switch colours and create different styles), but 3Doodler-compatible plastic is also available in 1kg spools from between $30 to $55 from a variety of sources... such as here, here, here, here, and here. And for some stunning PLA have a look here. This is no ink cartridge model!
Fun Fact: The average 1kg spool of 3mm ABS contains approximately 360-370 feet of plastic. That's approximately 3,960-4,070 feet of 3Doodling, or 3 Empire State Buildings with enough to spare for several more weeks of doodling.
The Future of 3Doodling: We have a ton of ideas for add-ons and accessories that will make 3Doodler even cooler, more useful, fun, and generally awesomer (is that a word?). We hope that the 3Doodler will be a big success so that we can share all our ideas and offer you even more 3Doodling fun...
We have a lot we want to tell you about 3Doodler, so we’ve created an extensive FAQ to answer all of your questions. And we’re on standby to respond to any other queries you may have!
*The 3Doodler was created at the Artisans Asylum in Boston. The whole team would like to thank the Artisans Asylum for their help and support. Without hacker-spaces like this, projects such as 3Doodler could not happen.
Risks and challenges
We've been working on 3Doodler for almost a year and had initially intended to launch in December 2012. We held back so that we could ensure the prototype worked perfectly (check out the video, it does!) and so that we could speak to more factories (and make related visits to Hong Kong and China). Comfortable that we can deliver this, we’re now launching 3Doodler!
Below are a couple of the main challenges we will tackle:
Choice of Factory: As with any physical item there are a number of challenges to getting it right. We have been part of numerous projects that have made it through development, into the factory production phase, and then into consumer hands. While our experiences have helped prepare us to avoid major pitfalls, we have been very selective in our choice of factory, choosing a partner that we know we can work with and that is perfect for our needs. They are large enough to scale 3Doodler, but without being so big that we'll be lost amidst the shop floor, and they have a great development team. We also intend to spend a large amount of time in person at the factory.
Quality Control: Good QC is a major focus of ours. The quantity of orders on Kickstarter will help determine how we handle this. If we receive orders for under 1000 units, we will hand test each and every 3Doodler ourselves at 3Doodler HQ in Boston. If we received over 1000 orders we will carry out all QC in situ at the factory, with the assistance of dedicated QC personnel, and with relayed video footage of each 3Doodler going through testing.
Quality Control: Good QC is a major focus of ours. The quantity of orders on Kickstarter will help determine how we handle this. If we receive orders for under 1000 units, we will hand test each and every 3Doodler ourselves at 3Doodler HQ in Boston. If we received over 1000 orders we will carry out all QC in situ at the factory, with the assistance of dedicated QC personnel, and with relayed video footage of each 3Doodler going through testing.
Friday 5 July 2013
Smallest Waist in the World
Smallest Waist in the World
We doubt many of you even thought that there is a record for this. But there is, so we present you the with the smallest waist in the worldon a living person.
World’s smallest waist measures 21 inches (53.35 cm) un-corseted, but when corseted her waist is as small as 15 inches (38.1 cm). That is about the same size as a regular jar of mayonnaise. She is a corset enthusiast, owns more than 100 of them and wears them through the most of the day.
Cathie insists that, despite being a very thin 75-year-old, she is perfectly healthy. “I do everything that I want to do. I eat fairly small meals but I prefer that at my age anyway. I find it tricky sitting in low chairs and sometimes in restaurants I have to sit on the high chairs at the bar,” she says.
10 Most Extreme Body Parts
1.Cathie Jung: World's Smallest Waist --15 inches
2. Svetlana Pankratova: World's Longest Legs --more than 4 feet long
Russian woman Svetlana Pankratova has, according to Guinness World Records, the longest legs of any woman in the world. While she is not the world's tallest woman, her legs are 132 centimetres (4 ft 4 in) long. Because her upper body is of much more typical dimensions, she is 196 centimetres (6 ft 5 in) tall. She has also very large feet, size 13 (US) / 46 (EU), making shopping for shoes difficult. From 1992 to 1995, Pankratova played women's basketball in the USA, and on 2008 she appeared in Trafalgar Square in London on September 16, 2008 with He Pingping, the smallest man in the world, to promote the 2009 edition of the Guinness World Records.
3. Vivian Wheeler: World's Longest Female Beard --11 inches
With the longest hair in her beard measuring 11 inches - 27.9 cm., Vivian Wheeler of Illinois is blessed with having the longest beard for a female. Her father insisted she start shaving at the age of 7, but since 1993 Vivian Wheeler has not, letting her beard grow.
4. Lui Hua: World's Largest Hand --his left thumb is 10.2 inches long
Chinese man Lui Hua suffers from a rare condition known as macrodactyly. When he was hospitalized in Shanghai on July 2007, his left thumb measured 10.2 inches and his index finger measured close to 12. On July 20 surgeons undertook a seven-hour operation to reduce the size of Liu's fingers and thumb. Doctors removed 11 pounds of flesh and bone in the procedure. A second surgery is scheduled to take place.
5.Annika Irmler: World's Longest Female Tongue --2.7 inches
German schoolgirl Annika Irmler has licked her way into the Guinness Book of Records with her whopping seven centimetre tongue. The twelve-year-old from Tangstedt, near Hamburg, can lick the ice cream from the bottom of a cornet - while her friends have to use their fingers.
6.Lee Redmond: World's Longest Fingernails --until she lost them on a car crash
Lee Redmond, a woman from Utah who has not cut her nails since 1979, had grown and carefully manicured them to reach a total length of 8.65 m (28 ft 4.5 in), and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's longest fingernails. Sadly, on February, 2009, she lost them in a car crash.
7.Radhakant Baijpai: World's Longest Ear Hair --almost than 10 inches long
Indian grocer Radhakant Baijpai certainly has a goal in life: make sure that he has the longest ear hair in the world. Radhakant was crowned the official Guinness world record holder for the longest ear hair back in 2003, when his aural fronds were an already-impressive 13.2cm long. But that didn't stop him pursuing his goal of ever-longer hair on his ears. After several more years of carefully cultivating and caring for the ear-hair, Radhakant's tufts now stretch an astonishing 25cm. He is now waiting for Guinness adjudicators to confirm that he has set a new high, hairy bar for his chosen field.
8.Mehmet Ozyurek: World's Longest Nose --4.5 inches
Mehmet Ozyurek, born in Turkey in 1949, has been confirmed as having the world's longest nose. His nose measured 4.5 inches (8.8 cm) when it was last measured on July 06, 2007. He currently lives in Artvin, Turkey.
9.Boy with record 31 fingers and toes to have surgery
The 6-year-old boy, from the city of Shenyang in China’s northeastern Liaoning province, has a total of 31 fingers and toes – 16 toes, and 15 fingers (although one of those fingers is incomplete, being a fork at the end of the right thumb.) Three fingers on each hand are fused together.That beats the current world record of 25, held jointly by two Indian children, Pranamya Menaria and Devendra Harne, who both have 12 fingers and 13 toes.
Most commonly, the extra digits appear on the little finger side of the hand – but this boy appears to have the much rarer condition of central polydactyly, in which the middle fingers and toes are duplicated.
10.Frank Ames: World’s Longest Eyebrow Hair --3.7 inches long
Frank Ames of Saranac in New York earned his place in the Guinness Book of World Records with a pair of bushy brows measuring 9.6cm. He decided to go for the title on 2003, only to discover it didn't exist. After calling officials, he set up and claimed the hairy new record. "I don't know why it grows like that, it just always has," he told reporters.
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