cyloninthesky

Art Lebedev's Transparentius eliminates opacity, improves road safety

2009-12-23T11:17:00.000+07:00

Kudos where it's due: not many design houses use tanks in their illustrations of a new road safety concept. Transparentius, as with most good ideas, is remarkably simple -- you jack a camera onto the front of a truck, or lorry as they're known in some places, and then project that image onto the back of your hulking transporter. The effect of this is to render the truck figuratively transparent for the driver behind, who is enriched with a lot more information about what lies on the road ahead. No word on how the rear projection is achieved or how sunlight glare is overcome, but knowing Art Lebedev, you can bet both challenges are solved in the most unaffordable fashion possible. Anyhow, now that you've got the idea, we're throwing this one over to you dear mod-loving friends -- can you build this without remortgaging the house?

Human-Powered Monorail Flies Through the Skies

2009-11-29T22:09:00.001+07:00

What could be more fun than gliding along on an eco-chic bicycle? How about shooting through the skies in a pedal-powered monorail capsule! A bunch of entrepreneuring New Zealanders has created just such a human-powered monorail system, known as the Shweeb. Their creation does double duty, acting not just as an innovative transportation system, but also an amusement ride. Are our cities the next step?

Read the rest of Schweeb: Human-Powered Monorail Flies Through the Skies

Mobile Evolution by Kyle Bean

2009-11-19T14:14:00.001+07:00

If you enjoy Russian matryoshka dolls, you’ll enjoy this creation by UK-based designer Kyle Bean. It shows the evolution of mobile phones from the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X to the Apple iPhone.

http://www.kylebean.co.uk

Underwater River in Mexico (4 pics + video)

2009-11-19T14:03:00.001+07:00

"If you are a professional diver you should visit Cenote Angelita, Mexico.
There's some kind of cave. When you go deeper than 30 meters the water is fresh, deeper than 60 - it's salty.
And then you see a river underneath, with trees and leaves.
But of course, it's not a real river.
It's just a layer of hydrogen sulphide.
But it looks amazing.

Awesome Medical Gifs by Christine Ericsdotter

2009-11-19T14:02:00.001+07:00

See the rest of this really great series right aroud the corner on >>> HUNDERTMARK<<<

Twitter’s New Headquarters in San Francisco

2009-11-19T14:01:00.001+07:00

For those of you who follow us on Twitter ( you can follow us on Twitter here – @freshome) this might be an interesting post because Twitter moved into a new, much larger office in San Francisco. The space, which was previously Bebo’s SF office, is right around the corner from their old one. The space was decorated by a few members of the Twitter team with a number of Twitter-themed elements like birds and @ symbols. The space is simple and clean, but I think that you should check out some of the pictures that were posted to the web by Twitter employees below and say what you think about the new offices in a comment below. – Photos via Twitter Flickr Account

This is a post from the Twitter’s New Headquarters in San Francisco

The Evolution of the Coca-Cola Contour Bottle

2009-11-19T14:01:00.000+07:00

This month marks the 94th anniversary of the iconic Coca-Cola coutour bottle. Now, a treasured hallmark, this single shape of packaging has achieved iconic status since its creation in 1915. The Coca-Cola logo itself is the single most recognizable brand in the world.

The first bottle was designed in 1915 by the Root Glass Company. The bottle designer, Earl R. Dean and his team decided to base the bottle design on the soda's two ingredients, the coca leaf or the kola nut. Dean couldn't find any photographs of either, but became inspired by the cocoa pod, and transformed the shape of the pod into a bottle:

The 1915 Coke Bottle: A prototype of the first contour bottle developed by Root Glass Company in 1915. The prototype never made it to production since its middle diameter was larger than its base, making it unstable on conveyor belts.

See the evolution of the contour bottle from 1916 to today, after the jump.

Dean sketched out the design of the bottle, and it was approved for moulding in only 24 hours. A prototype was made, and the bottle received a patent in November 1915. The prototype never actually made it into production because its middle diameter was larger than its base, making it unstable on conveyor belts.

Dean solved this issue by decreasing the bottle's middle diameter, and today's contour shape was born:

The 1916 Coke Bottle: The patent was renewed on December 25th, 1923, thus creating the 'Christmas' bottle. The bottle has become very popular among collectors. On the base plate, most of these bottles bear the name of the city where they were first filled.

The 1957 Coke Bottle: In 1957 The Coca-Cola Company decided to eliminate the traditional embossing of its trademark on the bottle, and replaced it with Coca-Cola in white Applied Color Labeling (ACL). In 1960 the bottle was registered as a trademark, becoming only the second package in history to be trademarked.

The 1961 Coke Bottle: As the ACL process became more sophisticated, a two color, full wrap label was developed. The white Coca-Cola trademark on a red background gave the bottle a very colorful appeal. This two color version was used predominately in the international markets. 1961 also marked the 75th anniversary for Coca-Cola.

Variations of this bottle, and the embossed bottle, were used up all the way until the introduction of the plastic bottle in 1994.

The classic glass bottle is still available in some areas around the world.

1994 Plastic Bottle: In 1994 Coca-Cola introduced the 20oz plastic contour bottle, the Coca-Cola bottle we know today.

2007 Aluminum Contour Bottles: In 2008, Coca-Cola introduced a contour aluminum can to select markets, designed by Turner Duckworth.

2008 2L Contour Bottle: In 2008, Coca-Cola introduced a 2L contour bottle to select markets.

Todays Plastic Coke Bottle

The Full Coke Lineup in 2008

YouTube begins streaming 1080p insecurities next week (update: 1080p video!)

2009-11-19T00:55:00.000+07:00

Ready to have your imperfect complexions scrutinized by every anonymous coward on the Internet? You'd better 'cause YouTube has announced the move from 720p to 1080p video streaming to make use of those cheap, Full HD camcorders flooding the market. Now puff up that keyboard courage -- the ruthless bashing of your peers is set to begin next week.

Update: 1080p sample video posted after the break.

Continue reading YouTube begins streaming 1080p insecurities next week (update: 1080p video!)

Mother Of The Year :: SonnyRadio.com :: Feel Better About Being Alive!

2009-11-19T00:41:00.000+07:00

Mother Of The Year :: SonnyRadio.com :: Feel Better About Being Alive!: "

via http://www.sonnyradio.com/motheroftheyear.htm

stephen wiltshire draws manhattan skyline from memory

2009-10-29T13:54:00.000+07:00

stephen wiltshire drawing the manhattan skyline

image © stephen wiltshire

british artist stephen wiltshire is currently attempting to draw the manhattan skyline
from memory. since monday october 26th wiltshire began filling in an 18 foot canvas
at the pratt institute, brooklyn. the drawing is expected to be complete by friday.

you can follow his progress through the live webcam here.

wiltshire diagnosed with autism at the age of three displays an unusually powerful

photographic memory that he has applied to rendering cityscapes. he can look at the subject
of his drawing once and reproduce it accurately with photographic detail, down to the exact
number of columns or windows on a building. he memorizes their shapes, locations
and the architecture.

having completed cityscapes of some of the world’s most iconic cities - london, tokyo,
hong kong, rome, madrid, frankfurt, dubai, and jerusalem, the new york panorama marks
wiltshire’s last cityscape. after this piece is complete, he said he will pursue drawing
individual buildings.

image © stephen wiltshire

image © stephen wiltshire

Felice Varini's town-sized illusion

2009-10-29T13:41:00.000+07:00

The buildings in the town of Vercorin in the Swiss Alps contribute to an impressive piece by Felice Varini, called Cercle et suite d'éclats. The pattern was projected on the town from the vantage point, then traced and painted. Photographs from the same spot in daylight make the town look flat, almost like a postcard. What I'd like to know is how he got the town to go along with it; I could see an easily-repainted suburb in the States being convinced, but this quaint (and much older) town in Switzerland seems like a much bigger challenge. Don't miss the panorama picture on Varini's site. [via Core77]

the truth about the dinosaurs.

2009-10-26T17:03:00.002+07:00

the truth about the dinosaurs.

henrique oliveira

2009-10-26T17:00:00.000+07:00

artist henrique oliveira has made a few small blog runs already but his work is too incredible to pass up, especially on before & after day when we celebrate the idea of turning something old into something new and beautiful. henrique reuses old and peeling wood and turns them into these incredible curving, undulating installations. i am dying to see these in person, but in the meantime, i can’t think of a prettier piece of eye-candy for thursday morning. via mandr.

Obama Official First Family Portrait Released [Picture Perfect]

2009-10-25T02:43:00.002+07:00

Two things: 1. These people are ridiculously good-looking. 2. How happy are you that photographer Annie Leibovitz didn't turn the shot into a Photoshop of Horrors? [The Official White House Photostream]

WALL·E is a PC, EVE is a Mac - Fubiz™

2009-10-25T02:43:00.000+07:00

WALL·E is a PC, EVE is a Mac - Fubiz™: "

via http://www.fubiz.net/blog/index.php?2008/04/13/2092-walle-is-a-pc-eve-is-a-mac

Bicycle Exhaust that Plants Flowers

2009-10-25T02:42:00.000+07:00

The Bloom device is meant to be a subversive and inspirational tool for our concrete jungles. Similar to the tuft of a dandelion as the wind carries the seedling, we propose a way of dispersing seedlings with bubbles and bicycling. Seeds are co-mingled with a bubble mixture and upon pedaling to your destination , you release the floating seeds which land in cracks and crevices throughout the city streets. Over time, the seeds grow into flowers and plants to create a green “fringe” to our sidewalks and streets.

Learn more at Power to Pedal at Design 21

Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China

2009-10-23T19:03:00.000+07:00

[QQ] October 14, 2009, the 30^th annual awards ceremony of the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund took place at the Asia Society in New York City. Lu Guang (卢广) from People’s Republic of China won the $30,000 W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his documentary project “Pollution in China.”

Lu Guang (卢广), freelancer photographer, started as an amateur photographer in 1980. He was a factory worker, later started his own photo studio and advertising agency. August of 1993 he returned to post-graduate studies at the Central Arts and Design Academy in Beijing (now is the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University). During graduate school, he studied, traveled all over the country and carved out a career, became the “dark horse” of the photographer circle in Beijing. Skilled at social documentary photography, his insightful, creative and artistic work often focused on “social phenomena and people living at the bottom of society”, attracted the attentions of the national photography circle and the media. Many of his award winning works focused on social issues like, “gold rush in the west”, “drug girl”, “small coal pit”, “HIV village”, “the Grand Canal”, “development of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway” and so on.

1. “At the junction of Ningxia province and Inner Mongolia province, I saw a tall chimney puffing out golden smoke covering the blue sky, large tracts of the grassland have become industrial waste dumps; unbearable foul smell made people want to cough; Surging industrial sewage flowed into the Yellow River…”

- Lu Guang

2. Chemical waste from Jiangsu Taixing Chemical Industrial District (江苏泰兴化工园区) dumped on top of the Yangtze River bank. May 15, 2009

3. Fan Jai Zhuang in Anyang City, Henan province, (河南安阳市范家庄) there is only one wall separating this village from the steelmaking furnaces. The villagers live in this heavily polluted environment where the village is under the iron rain every day. March 24, 2008

4. Industrial sewage of Zhejiang Xiaoshan Industrial District (浙江萧山化工园区) eventually flowed into Qiantang River. April 24, 2009

5. Henan Anyang iron and steel plant’s (河南安阳钢铁厂) sewage flowed into Anyang River. March 25, 2008

6. Guiyu, Guangdong province, (广东省贵屿镇) rivers and reservoirs have been contaminated, the villager is washing in a seriously polluted pond. November 25, 2005

7. Shizuishan Industrial district in Ningxia province (宁夏石嘴山湖滨工业园区), the tall chimneys spitted out smoke and dust. Residents took preventive measure for the falling dust from the sky when going outside. April 22, 2006

8. In the Yellow Sea coastline, countless sewage pipes buried in the beach and even extending into the deep sea. April 28, 2008

9. In Ma’anshan, Anhui province (安徽马鞍山), along the Yangtze River there are many small-scaled Iron selection factories and plastic processing plants. Large amounts of sewage discharged into the Yangtze River June 18, 2009

10. In Inner Mongolia there were 2 “black dragons” from the Lasengmiao Power Plant (内蒙古拉僧庙发电厂) covering the nearby villages. July 26, 2005

11. Jiangsu province Changshu City Fluorine Chemical industry land sewage treatment plant (江苏省常熟市氟化学工业园污水处理厂) was responsible for collection and processing of the industrial sewage. However they did not, the sewage pipe was extended 1500 meters under the Yangtze River and releasing the sewage there. 2009 June 11

12. Soil by Yangtze River, was polluted by Anhui Province Ma’anshan Chemical Industrial District (安徽省马鞍山化工园区). June 26, 2009

13. Large amount of the industrial wastewater flowed to Yellow River from Inner Mongolia Lasengmiao Industrial District (内蒙古拉僧庙工业园区) every day. July 26, 2005

14. A Large amount of the chemical wastewater discharged into Yangtze River from Zhenjiang Titanium mill (镇江市钛粉厂) every day. Less than 1,000 meters away downstream is where the water department of Danyang City gets its water from. June 10, 2009

15. In Haimen city, Jiangsu province Chemical Industrial District sewage treatment Plant (江苏省海门市化工园区污水处理厂) discharged wastewater into Yangtze River. June 5, 2009

16. Hebei Province Shexian Tianjin Iron and steel plant (河北省涉县天津钢铁厂) is a heavily polluting company. Company scale is still growing, seriously affecting the lives of local residents. March 18, 2008

17. Longmen town in Hanchen city, Shaanxi Province (陕西省韩城市龙门镇) has large-scaled industrial development. Environment is very seriously polluted there. April 8, 2008

18. There are over 100 chemical plants in Jiangsu province coastal industry district. (江苏滨海头罾沿海化工园区) Some of them discharge wastewater into the ocean; some heavily contaminated sewage is stored in 5 “Sewage Temporary Pools”. During the 2 high tides in every month, the sewage then gets discharged into the ocean with the tides. June 20, 2008

19. Jiangxi Province Hu Ko County Chemical Industry district (江西省胡口县化工园区) is by the Yangtze River. Chemical factory landfill the Yangtze River bank to expand the scale of the factory without authorization.

20. Anhui Province Cihu Chemical Industry District (安徽省慈湖化工园区) built a underground pipe to discharge wastewater into the Yangtze River. The wastewater sometimes is black, gray, dark red, or yellow, wastewater from different chemical factories has different colors. June 18, 2009

21. Shanxi Province is the most polluted areas of China. It is also the province with the highest rate of birth defects. This loving farmer couple adopted 17 disabled children. April 15, 2009

“In Some areas of China people’s lives were threatened because of the environmental pollution. Residents suffering from all kinds of obscured diseases, the cancer villages, increase of deformed babies, these were the results of sacrificing environment and blindly seeking economical gain.”

- Lu Guang

22. Elder shepherd by the Yellow River cannot stand the smell. April 23, 2006

23. 15-year-old boy from Tianshui, Gansu Province (甘肃天水), dropped out of the school after 2^nd grade, followed his parents to Heilonggui (黑龙贵) Industrial District. He earns 16 yuan a day. April 8, 2005

24. Inner Mongolia province Heilonggui (黑龙贵) Industrial District, the couple who worked at the Plaster Kiln and just got home. March 22, 2007

25. Villagers from Kang village in Linfen City, Shanxi Province (山西省临汾市下康村) due to long-term consumption of the polluted water contaminated by industrial waste, there were 50 people who have cancer and cerebral thrombosis. 64-year-old Wang Baosheng got ill since 2003, he has fester all over his body so he cannot go to bed and lying face down on the edge of the bed each day. July 10, 2005

26. Breathing in large amount of dust into the lungs, people gets sick after working there for 1-2 years. Most of these migrant workers come from area of poverty. April 10, 2005

27. Zhangqiao village by the Hong River in Wugang City, Henan Province (河南省舞钢市洪河边的张桥村), a 45-year-old woman Sun Xiaojun (孙晓军) could not move her feet and hands since 4 years ago. The numerous hospital treatments were not effective. April 7, 2009

28. Zhaozhuang village by the Hong River in Wugang City, Henan province (河南省舞钢市洪河边的赵庄村), 66-year-old Zhao Bingkun suffering from esophageal cancer since 2004, after the second surgery, treatment cost already have reached over 200,000 yuan. His condition is in late stage, he is having fever everyday, waiting for death. April 7, 2009

29. Zhaozhuang village by the Hong River in Wugang City, Henan province (洪河边的河南省西平县张于庄村), Gao Wanshun’s (高万顺) wife died of cancer. Now he lives in poverty. April 3, 2009

30. Linfen City in Shanxi province (山西临汾市) is seriously polluted area. Farmers after working in the cotton fields for 2 hours are filled with coal ashes. September 24 2007

31. Salt factory worker in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province (江苏连云港) said angrily, “when the wind blowing towards our side, the foul smell from the chemical factories is unbearable. There is even more poison gas at night." July 19, 2008

32. People form Fanjiazhuang (范家庄) are ready to submit a complain filled with their fingerprints, to seek compensation for pollution damages. March 19, 2008

33. In Shanxi Province there are a lot of charitable nursing homes, to help disabled infants abandoned by their parents. April 14, 2009

34. Liujiawan village by the Hong River in Wugang City, Henan province (河南省舞钢市洪河边的刘家湾村), 13 year old Yang Xiao in November 2008 was ill with obscure disease. She was saved by the donation of the villagers. When the grandmother saw the old village chief came to visit his granddaughter, she kneeled on the ground holding granddaughter’s hand. April 19, 2009

35. The oldest is 9, not going to school. The youngest is less than 2 years old. They lived in severely polluted area. They hands and faces were always dirty. April 10, 2005

36. Mazhuang village by the Hong River in Wugang City, Henan province, (河南省舞钢市洪河边的马庄村) 58-year-old Ma Haipeng (马海朋) was suffering from stomach cancer since 2006 and could not work in the field. He must take medicine every day, otherwise it is too painful. April 6, 2009

37. Every year, a lot of deficiency babies in Shanxi Province were abandoned. Kong Zhenlan (孔贞兰) in Qi town (祁县) who was making a living by recycling trash adopted 25 abandoned children. April 14, 2009

38. Xuanwei (宣威) in Yunnan province is a cancer village. Every year there are more than 20 people die of cancer. 11-year-old student Xu Li (徐丽) is suffering from bone cancer. May 8, 2007

39. In Shexian Village, Hebei Province, (河北省涉县固新村) the existing cancer patients are more than 50 people and more than 20 cancer patients die each year. March 18, 2008

40. Zhangyuzhuan village by the Hong River in Xiping county, Henan province, (河南省西平县洪河边的张于庄村) 22-year-old Zhu Xiaoyan (朱小燕) had a tumor in her stomach in 2007. She died after number of hospital treatments on July 2008. 4-year-old girl with her grandfather came to mother’s tomb. April 2009 2

original source: Fengniao

Eyelashes are old, now it's eye 'LED' lashes

2009-10-23T19:02:00.000+07:00

All you hot chicks out there, here’s a low down on the latest in thing in eye fashion. Now, spare yourself from the muss of those messy eyelash extensions and don these new fangled “LED eyelashes”, which will never let you crave for attention. Be it a nightclub, a rave or an all freak-out party at some friends’, you’ll be as conspicuous as the “statue of liberty” amidst all party animals. Speaking so, did I mention the real cool part? You can DIY one for yourself with any color LED or even multiple colored LEDs. So, you can now say to your archrival, “My LED is more vibrant than yours.”

This LED eyelash getup by Soomi Park is pretty neat, and uses a set of headphones to house the tilt sensor and other electronics. A little spirit gum goes a long way for affixing things to your face!

Scope further for a cool pic and video.

CR's incredible dissolving bag

2009-10-23T18:56:00.000+07:00

Newsstand copies of the November issue of CR come in a revolutionary new bag that simply dissolves in hot water. No waste. No landfill.

Anyone buying their copy of CR on the newsstand this month will find that the issue comes in a transparent bag bearing the words 'This bag dissolves in water'. And it does.

We are the first magazine anywhere to trial a new packaging material called harmless-dissolve which was created in the UK by Cyberpac. Here's what you do:

1, Take the magazine out of the bag

2, Cut off the sealing strip - the glue of the strip is biodegradeable but will not dissolve in water

3, Place the bag in a receptacle filled with hot water (60+ degrees recommended by manufacturer)

The clear plastic dissolves into the water almost immediately

The printed area takes a little longer to break down - here's ours after about a minute

After a couple of minutes, the printed area has broken down sufficiently for it to disintegrate when rubbed between finger and thumb – it's a bit gunky and sticky but washes off straightaway

4, Pour the residue down the drain

We are assured that any residue is perfectly harmless. Apparently you can even drink it - we tried, it tastes horrible, so we wouldn't recommend this.

A quick sluice around with water clears up any remaining residue both in the sink and in the receptacle.

CR is working with Cyberpac on a range of experimental packaging solutions. Subscribers received our September issue in an envelope that could be re-used as a binder for our Monograph series (see here), while in October we gave subscribers one of six static prints of images from the Photography Annual (see here).

Why do a bag at all? We needed to bag this month's issue on the newsstand because it contains a free CMYK colour guide from Heidelberg. Rather than using a traditional polybag, we tried this. If subscribers would like one of the colour guides, please contact aminah.marshall@centaur.co.uk and we will send you one.

Subscriber issues come in regular, non-dissolvable, packaging this month - next month, though, we have something special for you.

UPDATE
More details from Cyberpac on how it works, also in the comments below: 'The hot water is just to show you the biodegradability at speed. You don't need to boil it, just chuck it on the compost heap! We use this to package fish food as it dissolves in the water releasing the bait.

'Harmless-Dissolve is made from a hydro-degradable substrate which is 5 times stronger than normal polythene. It is a readily biodegradable, water soluble polymer which completely biodegrades in a composting environment, in a dishwasher or in a washing machine. It has no harmful residues and will biodegrade into naturally occuring substances - the bugs love it.

'It's non-toxic and is degraded by micro-organisms, moulds and yeasts. These organisms can occur in both artificial environments, such as anaerobic digesters, activated sewage sludge and composts and natural environments such as aquatic systems and soil. The micro-organisms use Harmless-Dissolve as a food source by producing a variety of enzymes that are capable of reacting with it. In the end the bag becomes carbon dioxide, water and biomass.' More here

If you'd like to know more about harmless-dissolve, please contact Will Anderson at Cyberpac, willanderson@cyberpac.co.uk

Tonight’s gonna be a good night

2009-10-23T18:47:00.000+07:00

I wonder who will be having a good good night tonight…

How to sell bricks

2009-10-23T18:46:00.000+07:00

Did you know the brick business is a tough business? Competition is always strong, so if you want to be King of Bricks you have to come up with a special way of advertising your bricks. And we all know the best way of marketing your product: use women! So bring on the girls who sell bricks! Interested in getting a couple of thousand A quality bricks now?

Stop Motion Tattoo

2009-10-23T18:45:00.000+07:00

Dabe Allen would really like to be the owner of a sleeve of ink. Preferrably containing nerdy images. Every time he travels to Toledo he pays Tony Touch a visit to complete the art on his body. And the beauty of this was captured in stop motion, which makes it looks like the tattoo creates itself.

10,000 Filipino people live in a cemetery

2009-10-23T18:44:00.001+07:00

10,000 people with nowhere else to go, so they live in a cemetery in northern Manila

The 10 Worst Dating Service Videos Ever

2009-10-23T18:44:00.000+07:00

In this new day and age, internet dating is accepted and even commonplace.

Hell I met my wife on Jdate. But let’s not forget that before the days of meeting people online there were both print ads and the ever so classic video dating service.

ReelDirector App Adds Surprisingly Capable Video Editing To The iPhone 3GS

2009-10-22T11:58:00.001+07:00

By Andrew Liszewski

Being able to trim clips was a nice addition to the iPhone 3GS’ video recording capabilities, but sometimes you just want to do a bit more before sending your videos off to YouTube for the world to judge them. Now before the original iPhone was released there were rumors that a stripped down version of Final Cut Pro might be secretly included, but that never came to fruition. But the ReelDirector app from Nexvio looks like a pretty decent alternative.

It lets you do everything from adding titles and credits, to editing and re-arranging clips on a timeline, to adding transitions, but what better way than a video to show you what a video editing app is really capable of?

ReelDirector is available on the App Store right now for a mere $7.99.

[ ReelDirector ] VIA [ Twitter @steverubel ]