Creating a Foot

From this fascinating examination of feet across all species and surfaces, principles of proper foot design are derived and implemented:

Not that Google is Getting Into Phones...

...but here's the genious who's now leading Google's phone project.

An intereting article in the NY Times about Andy Rubin, Google's "resident gadget guru":

A RETINAL scanner emitting a blue glow monitors the entrance to Andy Rubin’s home in the foothills overlooking Silicon Valley. If the scanner recognizes you, the door unlocks automatically. (The system makes it easier to deal with former girlfriends, Mr. Rubin likes to joke. No messy scenes retrieving keys — it’s just a simple database update.)

Those forced to use the doorbell are greeted with another technological marvel: a robotic arm inside the glass foyer grips a mallet and then strikes a large gong. Although Mr. Rubin won’t reveal its cost, it may be one of the world’s most expensive doorbells.

So cool.

Understanding the Brain with Kiki and Boobah

A fascinating talk about the connection between different areas of the brain and various mental abilities, as manifested in patients who suffered different kinds of brain damage:

Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them

A surprising interview on the Freakonomics blog with Philippe Legrain, the author of a new book, Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them, which also won the Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award:

Economists calculate that removing immigration controls could more than double the size of the world economy. Even a small relaxation of immigration controls would yield disproportionately big gains.

More than the economic case, I was impressed by the moral case that Legrain opens the interview with:

I think freedom of movement is one of the most basic human rights, as anyone who is denied it can confirm. It is abhorrent that the rich and the educated are allowed to circulate around the world more or less freely, while the poor are not — causing, in effect, a form of global apartheid. So I think the burden of proof lies with supporters of immigration controls to justify why they think letting people move freely would have such catastrophic consequences. And, frankly, I don’t think they can.

Hear, hear! Read the rest of the interview here.

"Self-aware" Robots

Un-freaking-believable.
I have never seen a machine look more alive.

Wi-Fi T-Shirt

Didn't you always wish you could have a shirt that detected wi-fi networks around it?
Well now, finally, you can:

Here at ThinkGeek we're pretty lazy when it comes to technology. We expect our gadgets to do all the busywork while we focus on the high level important tasks like reading blogs. That's why we hate to have to crack open our laptops just to see if there is any wi-fi internet access about... and keychain wi-fi detectors, we would have to actually remove them from our pockets to look at them. But now thanks to the ingenious ThinkGeek robot monkeys you can display the current wi-fi signal strength to yourself and everyone around you with this stylish Wi-Fi Detector Shirt. The glowing bars on the front of the shirt dynamically change as the surrounding wi-fi signal strength fluctuates. Finally you can get the attention you deserve as others bow to you as their reverential wi-fi god, while geeky chicks swoon at your presence. You can thank us later.

The batteries, apparently, are not included.

Sometimes a Dark Room is Better

I've been writing more on paper these days because of the ever present distractions on my computer. Incoming mail, instant messaging, and just plain toolbars, tabs, and links - are too distracting when I really want to concentrate on the writing.

Yesterday, a friend recommended the DarkRoom editor. DarkRoom, a Windows replication of the Mac's WriteRoom editor, literally darkens the screen - so that the only things visible are your words. You can select the display font, size, and color, as well as the page width. That's it - the rest is completely blank. No toolbars, no popping messages, no menus.

The black screen is a little intimidating at first, true, but once you get into the writing - there is nothing to stop you or hold you back. All you see are your words, and that's all you focus on.

What a joy!

The Space Security/Sanitation Dilemma

I know. I didn't think we're quite there yet also, but according to Space Security Index, a Canadian policy organization, space security and sanitation are issues that governments and businesses need to start taking very seriously.

Some interesting claims in the report:

1. Growing debris from past missions is a threat to spacecrafts. This is an issue that requires clear guidelines to regulate international space-waste management, and there are efforts underway to formulate international laws to deal with the issue.
   
   
2. Investment in civil and commercial uses of space is on the rise, including commercial space travel, but government safety regulations continue to play a major role in this emerging market.
   
   
3. Space Security efforts increased dramatically as nations around the world are investing more in pursuing military space programs. The USA and USSR are still leading the pack in military space development.

Download the Report Here [PDF]