Mural Being Composed By DALeast

DALeast - Discount Evolution (full version) from Jeff Coles Smith

Fun Time! FARTY TOWELS (Fawlty Towers) in LEGOS!

Look here if you don't believe me.

DeepFlight Dragon Personal Submarine

You know you've always wanted your own submarine for those really secret offshore missions.

Now you can have one for only $1.2m! I'll just dig that out of the couch! For more on this tech, head over to DeepFlight.

Tangible Orchestra: Navigate, Arrange, And Experience Electronic Music In Public Spaces

Tangible Orchestra from Picaroon.

Travel Photo of the Week

Hawai'i - photo by Charles Laquidara

Hoverbike Update

It's in testing with a robot rider.

Stanford Scientists Develop Water Splitter That Runs On AAA Battery

One of the greatest problems facing humanity is finding a fuel source that doesn't end up choking the planet with carbon and killing us.

News from Stanford University is that scientists there have developed a cheap device that uses an AAA battery to split water into hydrogen and oxygen and the hydrogen gas from this device could be used to power fuel cells in zero-emissions vehicles.

In the video below, Stanford scientist Hongjie Dai discusses the process and technology behind it.

Voyager 2 Encounter With Triton

Fun Time! Casey Neistat's Wildly Functional Studio!

For more information, click HERE.

Teenager Invents Device That Makes Clean Energy AND Fresh Water!

What with yesterday's post, it seems like everyone is getting into the clean-water-make-energy act. 17 year-old Australian student Cynthia Lam, has built the H2Pro – a portable photocatalytic electricity generation and water Purification unit that makes both clean water and energy.

“The entire process only needs titania and light — no additional power source is required. However, hydrogen production is generally low since photoexcited electrons tend to fall back to the hole (i.e. photoinduced electron-hole combination.) Fortunately, it can be overcome by adding reductants, while some organic pollutants serve such purpose. Hence, I propose to combine the two mechanisms together to enhance the yield and lower the cost of hydrogen generation, meanwhile efficient water purification can also be achieved.”

Here's some video from her on this exceptional achievement.

Using Algae To Make Clean Water, Fertilizer And Diesel Fuel

From the New York Times comes news that Algae Systems, a company from Nevada, is working on a
technology that uses algae to make diesel fuel while also making clean water and fertilizer. If the technology works, it will also remove more carbon from the atmosphere than added when burning the fuel it makes.

If successful, this could go quite a way to solving the algae problems the world has been experiencing.

Travel Photo of the Week

Nice, France

Open Source, 3D-Printed AirEnergy3D Wind Turbines

The AirEnergy3D is an open source, 3D-printed, portable wind turbine prototype expected to be able to generate up to 300 watts of power. Designed to be assembled and disassembled without tools, it will be compact enough to be taken on camping trips and anywhere there is a breeze and no access to the electric grid.

Most of the parts can be 3D printed and those that are not are provided in the basic kit along with assembly instructions.

Of course, there is a Kickstarter campaign.

Disney Simplifies Animatronics With Software And 3D Printable Parts

This video shows some of the research Disney has been doing with Columbia University to simplify animatronic mechanisms. With the aid of this software users can create an object, design the desired movement path, and then automatically reduce the amount of motors required to create that movement.

You can learn more on the Disney website and download the full study, Computational Design of Linkage-Based Characters, to see the complete process. This should be of special interest to puppet builders and puppeteers.

Three Treehouses Linked By Bridges

These treehouses were designed by architect Peter Bahouth. The are linked by bridges and are intended to be a kind of fort for grown ups. Found on Colossal.

Fun Time! Teenage Slang Explained By Clueless Adults!

A LEGO Cyborg Arm

Dave "Diavo" Voltaggio has built himself a functional robotic arm from LEGOS.

Kevin Breel: Confessions Of A Depressed Comic

Travel Photo of the Week

Lisbon Riviera, Algarve, Madeira

Thanks For Making Us Laugh, Wish You Could've Stayed

You Are Now Less Dumb

You are probably a participant in and victim of "pluralistic ignorance". What is that you ask? Pluralistic ignorance is the erroneous belief that the majority of humanity is acting in a way that matches its internal philosophies, and that you are one of a small number of people who feel differently, when in reality the majority probably agrees with you on the inside but is afraid to admit it outright or act on that belief.

Never fear, there is help. David McRaney (who authored another great self-help book "You Are Not So Smart") has delivered another keen observation on the human condition and how we might rise above it, "You Are Now Less Dumb". Here's a quote from the book on our situation.

"Your kind seems the absolute pinnacle of what evolution can produce, maybe even the apex and final beautiful result of the universe unfolding itself. It is a delectable idea to entertain. Even before we had roller skates and Salvador Dalí, it was a conviction in which great thinkers liked to wallow. Of course, as soon as you settle into that thought, you’ll accidentally send an e-mail to your boss meant for your proctologist, or you’ll read a news story about how hot dog-stuffed pizza is now the most popular food in the country. It’s always true that whenever you look at the human condition and get a case of the smugs, a nice heaping helping of ridiculousness plops in your lap and remedies the matter."

He goes on to lay out a framework of our intellectual foibles when it comes to fooling ourselves. The greatest obstruction? Ourselves.

"Anxiety over being ostracized, over being an outsider, has driven the behavior of billions for millions of years."

I won't ruin the rest of it for you, but if you believe there's safety in numbers, you need to read this book.

3D Sculptural Paintings By Shintaro Ohata

Found on Colossal.

Fun Time! The Cast Of "The Lion King" Perform On The NY Subway!

Architecture Student In China Builds 75 Sq. Ft. Tiny House

A Chinese architecture student got fed up with his dorm room, so he built his own 75 sq. ft. house, complete with washer and dryer, kitchen and bathroom,

Looks really cozy to me. Oh and it has a patio, too.



More pictures HERE.

The Making Of "Nufonia Must Fall Live"

Travel Photo of the Week

Bali

Wing-Suiters Over NYC

A Minimalist, Modular, Easily Transportable Cabin

Seelenkiste (Soulbox) is a minimalist cabin with a modular design that allows it to be easily transported. It is intended as a retreat and “research station” for people seeking escape from everyday life. The cabin features two floors with a downstairs eating area and an upstairs living space, and a bed between the two floors.

This looks like the perfect thing to take to Burning Man. Take six or so and you've created your own suburb.

Super Fun Time Sunday Bonus!! Best Dad Ever Builds Spaceship For His Two Sons!!

For more, click HERE!

Fun Time! Marilyn Myller: Styrofoam Puppets, Stop-Motion Animation, Long-Exposures, How Can It Get Better?!?!

Disobedient Objects: The Role Of Objects In Social Movements

“Disobedient Objects” is a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on the role of objects in social movements since the late 1970s. As part of the exhibition, the museum has released downloadable guides on how to make improvised tools used by protesters. Below is one, a guide to making a mask to avoid tear gas. Happy occupying.