NYPD testing “rumble” sirens

“Police forces in the US are piloting a new kind of police car. Not only does it make a sound and flash its lights when speeding to an emergency it also rumbles, shaking the ground up to 200 feet away giving pedestrians and other drivers advance notice to MOVE!!! The technology is currently being tested in New York.”

How technology is changing the future of dressing rooms, ink, paper and more [videos]

These short videos explain the direction of new technologies and how they’ll affect the following products/industries…

The future of concierges [Microsoft Surface technology]

The future of dressing rooms [Responsive Mirrors]

The future of ink [Electronic Ink]

The future of paper [Photo-Grey technology]

The future of sticky notes [Quickies - Digital pens]

and more…

(8) Toxic personalities

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

On the link below, you’ll find definitions of eight toxic personality types and why to avoid them:

1. Manipulating Mary
2. Narcissist Nancy
3. Debbie Downers
4. Judgmental Jims
5. Dream Killing Keiths
6. Insincere Illissas
7. Disrespectful Dannys
8. Never Enough Nellies

Link

__________

The smell of space as described by Julie Payette, Canadian astronaut [video]

Image via Wikipedia

Since I don’t have cable, I wouldn’t have had the chance to see this remarkable video if it weren’t for the Internet…  Canadian astronaut, Julie Payette, describes her day in orbit and what space smells like!

Video

Images of Atlantis and Hubble crossing the Sun [photos]

There are so many angles in which to introduce the following pictures: astronomical marvels, one-of-a-kind photography, measurement comparisons–the list goes on.  I can’t decide.  I just want to share these photos of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope crossing in front of the sun.  Note the size comparisons!!!

Notice the spot in the lower left-hand corner

Closer inspection of the shuttle

The top of Atlantis and Hubble

Photo credits: NASA/Thierry Legault | www.astrophoto.fr

Click here to see full photos and read detailed explanations.

Astronaut sends first twitter from space

Image by loomingy1 via Flickr

A NASA astronaut sent the first Twitter message from space with a post going up on the micro-blogging site at about 4:30 p.m. EDT today. The tweet came in the space shuttle Atlantis’ first full day in space on a mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.

“From orbit: Launch was awesome!! I am feeling great, working hard, & enjoying the magnificent views, the adventure of a lifetime has begun!” wrote Massimino, who has been Twittering about his mission training for the past month.

NASA’s Atlantis craft blasted off Monday afternoon and reached orbit within 9 minutes. With the fiery liftoff, the seven-astronaut crew began its 11-day mission to repair and upgrade the Hubble telescope, which is orbiting about 350 miles above Earth. The shuttle mission — the last one going to the Hubble — is expected to give the orbiter at least another five years of life, according to the space agency.

Read more

There’s just no end to where the next tweet will come from!

State-of-the-art German garage [photos]

Taken in Munich.

Upload your picture and see yourself 50 lbs lighter

Would you like to see what you’d look like after losing 10-50 pounds?  With one click and in just a few seconds, this generator automatically detects your body shape and removes up to 50 lbs.  Just upload a  photo.

[WeightMirror]

Kwikset Smart Scan Deadbolt [product]

Image via Wikipedia

Palm prints, retinal/iris prints, and now fingerprints.  The lock looks below the surface of the skin using radio frequency scanning, picking up the landmarks of your subdermal print.  That means your finger doesn’t have to be clean or dry.  It retails for about $200.

Kwikset

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NEWS: US Army awards researchers to develop “thought helmets”

At the moment I’m developing “thought knots” from trying to wrap my understanding around all the possibilities emerging from the hi-tech research that’s trying to hack into our brains–and those of animals (see my post link below).

Now, the US Army is trying to use “thought helmets” to transmit brain waves which would be translated into words in other soldiers’ headphones.

The US Army has recently awarded a five-year $4 million contract to researchers from the University of California at Irvine (led by UCI´s Mike D´Zmura), Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Maryland to study the concept.

Because the brain is a complex system and generates such large amounts of data, researchers must also make improvements in computing power. Soldiers will also have to be trained to think “loudly” to make it easier for the system to pick out their words from the brain´s background noise. Also, every individual´s EEG signals are a little different, so users and computers will have to be calibrated so that computers recognize each person´s unique mental pattern.

Read more here

* See my related post on dream research [Link]

Hi-tech research may hack human dreams

Would you like people to see what’s on your mind?  A neuroscientist, Yukiyasu Kamitani, has successfully displayed images from the human brain from scratch (see sources below).

I tell you, I’ve had spectacular dreams that I wish I could recall.  This technology would give new meaning to the ‘dream catcher’ concept.

When it’s all said and done, man can plan inventions but there is only one who knows the minds and hearts of man: God Almighty [Ps139:2].

Source

Related article:

Researchers at University of California use technology to see how cats view the world [Link]

Newsmap: A visual treemap of daily news

Newsmap is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator. A treemap visualization algorithm helps display the enormous amount of information gathered by the aggregator. Treemaps are traditionally space-constrained visualizations of information. Newsmap’s objective takes that goal a step further and provides a tool to divide information into quickly recognizable bands which, when presented together, reveal underlying patterns in news reporting across cultures and within news segments in constant change around the globe.

This is a great way to see the news!  Check it out here.

[technology] Next generation 911

Image via Wikipedia

In a few years, you could be able to send photos of a purse-snatcher caught in the act or photos of a vehicle accident to 911. It’s all part of what’s called Next Generation 911, and 911 districts in the Houston area are gearing up for it.

Basically, what it means is that you could use any communication device from anywhere to reach 911.”

Full story

Q: Have you ever had to dial 911 on your cell phone?  What was the emergency?

Internet has an expiry date

The date for the Lord’s return has been predicted numerous times–and failed.  The date for the Y2K disaster came–and failed.  Now, according to this article, the expiry date for the internet is 3:14am, January 19, 2038.

I am technically challenged so I don’t know if it’s possible or not.  When I first read it, my heart sank, my fear-flushed face started perspiring, and my fingernails were chewed down to their roots (it would have made a good comic book cartoon).  Then I consoled myself by thinking that even if it’s true, that’s 30 years from now.  Surely the bugs will be worked out.

That led me to reflect on how dependent I am on the internet for a lot of things: research, social life, relationships, communication, etc.

How dependent are you on the internet?  For research: would you take the time to research things at a library?  For calculations: could you do basic math equations on paper?  For communicating: would you write letters?  Of course, I’m assuming there will still be libraries, paper, postal services, etc.  I have so many questions that I’m developing ‘thought knots.’

It’s your turn.  An internet-free world.  Is it possible?