David Lidsky's Blog, page 3190
August 19, 2014
Diets, Baby Joggers, Antichrist: The Rich And Poor Have Distinct Search Habits
At least according to a new (depressing) analysis from the New York Times.
Cataloging Google's most popular search terms offers fascinating windows into the zeitgeist, but those analyses are usually big, splashy end-of-year affairs that typically include the word "Bieber."
Find This Energy Company Its Newest Executive, Get A $100,000 Reward
Recruiters are getting ditched in favor of crowdsourced hires that double as good publicity.
Know any high-level executives in the solar business? You could be in the running for a $100,000 reward. All you have to do is provide a name.
Rabbit: A Free Video Chat That Makes It Easy To Watch Netflix With Friends
The redesigned, lightweight service launches today.
When Rabbit, a video chat application that lets far-flung friends watch Netflix and YouTube together over the Internet, debuted last year, it was plagued by a not-insignificant problem that snowballed into something mission critical: It was Mac-only.
4 Apps That Get You Lost, So You Can Have Actual Experiences
Why is technology always about efficiency? These apps introduce a little something unexpected in your day and get you to really take in your surroundings.
Wanting to map the "psychogeography" of Paris in the 1940s, the Situationists--a prominent art collective at the time--came up with the concept of a dérive: "an unplanned tour through an urban landscape directed entirely by the feelings evoked in the individual by their surroundings." The idea was a response to rampant capitalism, as the artists saw it, which was leading people to live ever more routine lives, walking the same walks every day, and never following their senses. The concept was a way of reconnecting with the city, and understanding how certain areas evoked certain feelings in the individual.
How You Get Hooked On Coffee
And how to break the habit
About a decade ago, a pair of researchers taught a computer to make a cup of coffee. Over a series of lessons, the machine learned to execute specific coffee-related actions in response to certain coffee-related cues. When the computer processed a cup with clear liquid, for instance, it knew to target an instant-coffee packet; when it registered a cup with brown liquid near a torn packet, it was time to reach for a spoon. The sequence continued all the way through adding cream, scooping sugar, and taking a sip.
August 18, 2014
The Multimillion Dollar Quest To Brew the Perfect Cup Of Coffee
Coffee crusaders, backed by caffeine-buzzed venture capitalists, are taking aim at Starbucks with a $7 cup of joe. And you might even consider buying it.
On a Thursday morning in May, a man and a woman roll into a midtown Manhattan office with two James Bond-looking suitcases.
August 15, 2014
Are These Baby-Shaped Pears Creepy Or Adorable?
Chinese company Fruit Mould lets you grow pears shaped like fat, sleeping infants, in case that's your thing.
Have you ever been eating a pear and thought it could be improved by being shaped like a fat, sleeping baby? Well, if so, you're in luck: Suzhou, China-based company Fruit Mould makes plastic baby-shaped molds that it fits around budding pears, so that once big and ripe, the fruits resemble little yellow cherubs hanging from a tree. It also make molds for creating tiny, juicy Buddhas, in case you've always had an urge to bite into the Enlightened One's potbelly.
"Hands Up, Don't Shoot" and Growing Power of Protest Memes
Iconic images can now be a group activity--which is just what their creators want.
This past Wednesday, Ikenna Ikeotuonye, the VP of Howard University Student Association, was leading a scheduled meeting for upperclassmen who had volunteered to move incoming freshmen into their dorms. Disturbed by the police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old named Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Ikeotuonye felt moved to make a statement. He explained the circumstances of Brown's death to the assembled group, including reports that Brown had been shot with his hands raised in the air, and then, after asking anyone who objected to leave the room, took a photo of the group with their arms in the same "don't shoot" posture.
Why Intel And The Michael J. Fox Foundation Are Teaming Up To Create Wearable Tech For Parkinson's
The same technology behind Fitbits and smartwatches could make life much easier for those with Parkinson's disease.
The quantified-self movement--and the idea of wearing fitness sensors such as the Fitbit--are good for more than just building exercise regimes. They also holds potential for improving the quality of life of Parkinson's patients.
Watch The Trailer For Björk's Epic New Documentary
The Icelandic artist's trailer for the documentary about her epic 2011 Biophilia tour is full of trippy nature footage galore.
Icelandic pop goddess Björk's 2011 tour for her eighth studio album Biophilia was a pyrotechnic, multi-sensory performance featuring Tesla coils, a pendulum harp, a gold lamé-clad women's choir, a hybrid gamelan-celesta, and--if that all wasn't enough--the singer strutting around in a massive orange wig.
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