The Grass is Always Greener...

John Lennon - Illustration by André Carrilho for NYTimes.

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:56:00 -0500

John Lennon - Illustration by André Carrilho for NYTimes.

View the 360 degree panaromic view of Prague here or click the...

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 23:09:00 -0500

View the 360 degree panaromic view of Prague here or click the photo above.

Found on Wired.com :

Exploring a new city is always fun. But if you can’t get there, a gorgeous, zoomable 360-degree view photo can be an acceptable substitute.

360 Cities, a Dutch company, has created a stunning panoramic photo of Prague in the Czech Republic.

“The creation of this image represents my previous five years’ obsession with all things panoramic,” says Jeffrey Martin, founder and CEO of 360 Cities. “If you’re stuck at home over Christmas, feeling humbuggy and don’t feel like hanging out with your family, you can explore Prague instead.”

What makes this panoramic photo interesting to viewers is that you can zoom in and out, move up or down or change your view–much like with Google Street View maps.

The photo has been assembled from 600 shots clicked by a 21-megapixel Canon 5D Mark II camera and a 70-200mm lens, set to 200mm. The camera was mounted on a special robotic device that turned it tiny increments every few hours. The resulting data from the camera was about 40-gigabytes.

The finished Photoshop file is 120 GB. Loading the raw files into a computer and stitching the photo took about a week. Martin used a four year-old Windows PC with two single-core 3 GHz Xeon processors and 8 GB of RAM. He also bought a solid state drive to speed up some tasks.

“The final image exists as a 120 Gigabyte Photoshop large (PSB) file,” says Martin on his blog. It cannot exist as a TIFF or JPEG file because of their size constraints.”

The photo measures 192,000 x 96,000 pixels, or 18.4 billion pixels altogether.

So start exploring Prague. If you zoom in enough, you can even see laundry hanging out to dry in some of the buildings.

Unknown in '99, indispensable now - Newsweek 2010

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:01:54 -0500

Unknown in '99, indispensable now - Newsweek 2010:

My favorites:

#8 Red Bull

#6 Chipotle

#4 DVR

…and I’d add wi-fi to the list.

senseoffender: WTF

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:52:51 -0500

senseoffender:

WTF

One Dazing Decade NEWSWEEK 20/10 marks the first 10 years of the...

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:26:13 -0500

One Dazing Decade

NEWSWEEK 20/10 marks the first 10 years of the new century. What a remarkable show it’s been.

By Devin Gordon

Accidental Celebrities - Newsweek 2010

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 09:01:00 -0500

Accidental Celebrities - Newsweek 2010:

Newsweek.com’s look back on ten people unexpectedly thrust into the public sphere.

Boeing Dreamliner launched today. Take a tour of the interior.

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:09:00 -0500

Boeing Dreamliner launched today. Take a tour of the interior.

Wired Article: DIY Book Scanners Turn Your Books Into Bytes

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:04:55 -0500

Wired Article: DIY Book Scanners Turn Your Books Into Bytes

cutegirlsinglasses: (via fuckyeahskinnybitch)

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:15:00 -0500

cutegirlsinglasses:

(via fuckyeahskinnybitch)

The Ninth Annual Year in Ideas - Magazine - NYTimes.com

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:08:00 -0500

The Ninth Annual Year in Ideas - Magazine - NYTimes.com:

“The most clever, important, silly and just plain weird innovations from all corners of the thinking world.”

“Treelike devices that resemble giant fly swatters would use carbon capture to absorb emissions from vehicles and residences.

1. In one design, the ‘‘trees’’ contain rows of filtration boxes that capture CO2 in the air. 2. An automated process removes the CO2-saturated filtration boxes and lowers them underground. 3. The carbon is removed by an underground cleaning facility and stored elsewhere, while the clean filtration box is returned to its slot in the tree.”

10 Best Sports Gear Innovations | Wired Magazine

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:06:40 -0500

10 Best Sports Gear Innovations | Wired Magazine:

1. The Ping-Pong ball
Until 1900, rubber balls ricocheted around English drawing rooms. James Gibb’s celluloid sphere brought finesse to the game.
2. Golf ball dimples
Golfers always knew that dinged-up balls travel farther: Dents create turbulence, which reduces drag. In 1908, William Taylor patented dimples.
3. The football’s internal valve
In days of yore, an inflation stem stowed under the laces kept you from throwing the pigskin in a spiral. A new internal valve in 1924 allowed the modern game to evolve.
4. Toe-release bindings
While laid up with a broken leg in 1937, ski champ Hjalmar Hvam had a brainstorm: bindings that pop you free! His invention led to an 86 percent drop in tibia fractures.
5. Lena Blackburne rubbing mud
In 1938, a Philadelphia A’s coach found the cure for slippery baseballs: Delaware River muck. Still used before every MLB game, it de-slicks, but doesn’t soften, the ball.
6. The Zamboni
In 1949, Frank Zamboni put a squeegee, a blade, and snow-gathering tanks on a chassis, clearing the way for faster hockey.
7. Soccer cleats
West Germany’s win at the torrential 1954 World Cup was credited to the underdogs’ swappable, screw-in studs, which let them adjust their boots for the state of the pitch.
8. The breakaway rim
After Darryl Dawkins broke two backboards in 22 days in 1979, the NBA adopted a new hoop from an Illinois man who grafted a tractor tiller spring to the rim.
9. Aerobars
At the 1989 Tour de France, Greg LeMond overcame a 50-second deficit to win. His secret: narrow, more aerodynamic handlebars. Though nixed from mass start races, they’re now a staple in time trials and triathlons.
10. The Speedo LZR Racer
Polyurethane panels cut drag by 24 percent, helping Olympic swimmers smash 23 records in Beijing in 2008. Expect a ban soon.

disturbingimages: artgasm: dizil: osqar: (vía...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:30:14 -0500

disturbingimages:

artgasm:

dizil:

osqar:

(vía dandoporculo)

nickmcglynn: This clock does not actually have a man inside but...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:23:00 -0500

nickmcglynn:

This clock does not actually have a man inside but a flatscreen that plays a 24 hour loop of this video.

(via Like Cool)

nevver: Booooom

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:00:10 -0500

nevver:

Booooom

Pics from here. Check out the live video feed here. SURF: 25-30...

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:54:00 -0500

Pics from here.

Check out the live video feed here.

SURF:
25-30 ft.
5-6 times overhead with occasional 40 ft.
and good conditions.

**The Eddie Aikau is ON at Waimea Bay.**

This Morning’s Surf Report: A tad bit smaller and more inconsistent than yesterday but still extra large and potentially dangerous surf rolling in. Surf at Waimea is a bit inconsistent but when the sets do arrive we are seeing large waves in the 25-30 foot face value range with some near 40 footers. Look for the waves to become a bit more consistent and much more hollow as the tide bottoms out later today. The outer reefs are seeing some larger sets as well so use extreme caution if you are entering the water today. Light tradewinds have returned providing ideal side to offshore conditions for country shorelines today.

stalk: jessicat: funnyordie:gregrutter:theradness: fishing...

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:09:23 -0500

stalk:

jessicat:

funnyordie:gregrutter:theradness: fishing bloopers.

This is COMEDY GOLD.

A Creative Universe

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:54:19 -0500

A Creative Universe

KaraokeTube

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:51:59 -0500

KaraokeTube:

unamazing:

Using youtube API and lyrics databases to create on-the-fly karaoke

Virgin Galactic Full Introduction Film

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:41:49 -0500

Virgin Galactic Full Introduction Film

Diagram of the flight path of SpaceShipTwo.

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:07:54 -0500

Diagram of the flight path of SpaceShipTwo.