mobrec

So
The Guardian recently had an article discussing how Curry spice may protect against cancer . Potentially good news for me, as I make it a point to have some Indian food a least once a week and tend to use at least some turmeric in cooking at home.

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I predict that this sort of thing (Wired: Hearing Aids for the unimpaired) will get increasingly popular as people run out of cosmetic surgery options in their quest to be (at least superficially) 'different' from others (which paradoxically tends to make them gravitate toward some homogeneous ideal).

Perhaps wearable mods are a step along the path to what William Gibson described in Burning Chrome where electronic mods to the human body become commonplace.

So
Not sure how efficient this is as it requires 220 volts to operate (manufacturer lists the output at 31,000 BTU). The brilliant part is that 100% of the heat goes into the room that it is in and it produces water vapor as a side effect so it humidifies the room as well.

So
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Ok, everybody has already heard of/read this book (what can I say, Im slow and don't have many opportunities to read). I thought that there were a great many interesting ideas about how things become adopted/popular. I particularly enjoyed the writing style which I found to be engaging without being chatty.

I also enjoyed the book because it is the sort of thing that helps me in my job, which is largely about trying to make complex things understandable and influencing people to take action on them based on the benefits.

So
This little tidbit seems to be making the rounds on the net:

The designers of some elevators include a hidden feature that is very handy if you're in a hurry or it's a busy time in the building (like check-out time in a hotel). While some elevators require a key, others can be put into “Express” mode by pressing the “Door Close” and “Floor” buttons at the same time. This sweeps the car to the floor of your choice and avoids stops at any other floor.

Elevators that have been tested and worked on: Otis Elevators (All But The Ones Made In 1992), Dover (Model Numbers: EL546 And ELOD862), And Most Desert Elevators(All, But Model Numbers ELD5433 And ELF3655)

I might try this out the next time I am in a high rise building (which isn't too often these days).

Via

So
Came across this nifty site at world66.com that lets you generate a map of the places that you have been (which appear in red on the map) and even the ones that you would like to visit. Mine looks something like this:

It appears that the idea of the site is to allow travelers to add their own commentary and advise on places that they have visited or lived. It will be interesting to see how this evolves.

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It's always been my contention that the gear you have doesn't matter, its what you can do with it that does. This article about an award winning professional photographer who uses so called point and shoot cameras for his pictures rather than a 'big, fast, bulletproof pro SLR' really makes the point.

I get a certain satisfaction out of his current choice of camera, the Olympus c-8080, the same camera that I have (though the results I get are not in the same league as this guy).

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Just in time for the anniversary of the moon landing, it's google moon. Just for fun, go to the Apollo 11 landing site and zoom all the way in to confirm what the moon is really made of...

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Clearly a case of too much time on their hands: a group who as documented the preponderance of time the number 47 has appeared throughout all of the various Star Trek shows.

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This is a quite odd, but somehow compelling piece of eye candy.