Business, Marketing, and New Technology
Life Beyond Work
Going To a Concert?
Mar 6th
Going to concerts is one of the most entertaining things you can do! I love the energy of the crowd, and the feeling of being part of something happening. Although I don’t go as often as I used to do, I have found a resource online that makes getting there just a little easier. By going to ACheapSeat. com online, you can find tickets to just about any concert or show you might be interested in, whether you need Avril Lavigne Tickets , or Yanni Tickets , or Jimmy Buffett Tickets . You can find tickets here for Sports Games, like the Chicago Bulls, or if you’d rather, you can go to hear the Trans-Siberian Orchestra . You might even like American Idols Tickets , or if you’re into comedy, they have tickets for Jeff Dunham and Dane Cook.
Because ACheapSeat is a broker for all kinds of shows, concerts, and events all over the country, and because they can do massive amounts of volume, they are able to negotiate for better prices, and get these tickets at a really good rate, which they then pass on to you (us). So if you’re into saving money, this is a good place to start looking.
Much of their business is from repeat customers, so you know they can deliver what they promise, good seats, cheap seats, and tickets to just exactly the show you want to see. They even the stuff that oldie-goldie lovers like me want – Barry Manilow Tickets !
And The (Robot) Winner Is…
Mar 4th
Robovie-PC! The world’s first full-length marathon for robots, at least two legged robots was run recently in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday, February 26, 2011. The marathon was run on a 100-meter indoor track, and the robots began by doing knee bends or greeting visitors by raising their hands. Robovie-PC is humanoid, and looks like a toy, being toy-sized. The race was a full length marathon, and the robots ran round and round the track for a full two days, non stop, for a total of 26.2 miles.
Only one of the competitors was unable to finish the race, and retired after only completing the first lap. But the others ran day and night, all the way. They managed to get up by themselves if they fell, or ran into another robot on the way. For most of the race, Robovie-PC Lite had a comfortable lead, and it looked like he was going to claim the victory, but he suddenly locked up. This gave Robovie-PC, the chance to move ahead and claim first place. Although Robovie-PC Lite managed to return to the race, and ran really fast, he lost the race by a single second. And, that, after having run for a total of 54 hours, 57 minutes and 50 seconds. Then both first and second place winners bowed and waved to the crowd.
OK, My Camera Dates Back to the Jurassic Age, So What?
Mar 4th
I love taking pictures. At holiday gatherings or parties, I consider myself the unofficial keeper of the history. This means that I periodically circle about, capturing images of whatever people are doing at any given time. So, instead of having a scrapbook of endless posed pictures of head shots, you can look through my books and remember what the day actually was like. This was much harder before the advent of digital cameras. And now my task is much easier because there are usually half a dozen people there with cameras and we share photos, so the event is well covered.
What I didn’t know until recently is that my kids cringe when I get my camera out. No, not because they don’t like getting their picture made, and no, not because I ask for poses or patience, but because it’s so old and ancient. While my daughter has a sweet little pink Nikon Coolpix, and my sons’ cameras all look like tiny cigarette lighters, mine is clunky and fat, and all beat up. I had never given a thought to how old it was because I was still in the wow! stage, being amazed at the wonder of being able to take 200 pictures at one event (instead of the usual 36)
Anyway, once they alerted me to the fact that I was embarrassing them, I decided to think about getting a new one. I found a great site online that has just about every camera listed in one spot, called ShopWiki, so I think I’ll cruise on over there and see what kind of camera suits my fancy. By now, I’m sure I’ll be able to find one that slices, and dices, and cooks dinner for me! What a treat! Check back later to see what I got, ok?
Brickify Lets You Lego Your World
Feb 17th
What happens when uber smart techno-geeks go for an outing and end up in the Lego store? Software that converts any image into a Lego version, and gives you the instructions on how to build it. - Brickify!
Add a little fun to your office, make your business logo out of Legos! The Brickify software will take whatever image you give it, and turn it into a Lego version. Now, it doesn’t ever say the word Lego, probably because of legal reasons, but make no mistake, we are talking aobut Legos here. All you have to do is put in the URL of an image, and you’ll end up with not only the image done in little bricks, “brickified” if you will, but you’ll also get the schematic for how to make it, and the inventory you’ll need to get to build it for real. You can modify the scheme with different colors if you wish, and adjust the end product in any way you want.
Ryan Carson,founder of the team that created the software says, “HTML5 technologies made [turning a picture into a brick pattern] relatively easy. We use the canvas to load the user’s image and process the pixels in the image into bricks. We also use the canvas to tile brick images together to form an isometric view of the final production. JQuery helps out with basic manipulation in the UI, and we use Sammy.js and Underscore.js to glue everything together.” Ok, Ryan. If you say so.
As far as I’m concerned- It’s LEGOS!
My Money’s More Well-Traveled Than I Am!
Feb 14th
Ever wonder who had that dollar bill before you did? Or where it will go after it leaves you hands? Well, someone else was wondering the same thing. The founders of WheresGeorge.com have set up a system that tracks U.S. dollar bills wherever they go (as long as someone helps a little with the documentation.) They have found a way to track the movement of those bills ass they criss-cross the country.
Every dollar has a 10 or 11 digit serial code on it that is unique to it alone. To track your bill, go to WheresGeorge and check to see where that particular serial code has been. Now, of course, someone will have to have logged in and entered the information when they had that bill in hand, but if you’re lucky, you’ll have one that’s had it’s travel logged. The odds of this are very much increased if you have found a bill that actually has a “Track me at WheresGeorge.com” stamp on it. Or, you can write this on your own bill, and set it free to circulate, then watch where it goes.
Just for fun, WheresGeorge has a registry of its most traveled bills. They have tracked one bill that has traveled over 5,000 miles and gone to 8 different states. Now, keeping track of dead politicians faces on used paper may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but hey, I don’t get out much.
Rolling Dustball Actually Collects the Dust
Feb 9th
A distant relative to the Roomba, perhaps, there’s a new kid on the dust-cleaning block. Invented by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, the Dustball is a round sphere that resembles a cross between a golf ball, a tumbleweed, and a honeycomb. The designer sees it as an automated way to clean public spaces. It simply rolls itself around the area, picking up dust and debris, and even knows how to find it’s way back to a dock plugged into a wall whenever it needs to be emptied. The two sides of the sphere are honeycombed with latticework, and are attached to each other magnetically. It does require some manual attention, though, to empty the debris. It’s not hard, just pull the two sides apart.
Now, I’ve had some experience with rolling things underfoot, so I’m wondering if having little golf balls rolling randomly around a public place is such a good idea. Stepping on one is a definite hazard, and if the area is large, there would have to be multiple little Dustballs rolling around, increasing the possibility of accidents. Maybe if you made it the size of a beach ball- but then, it could not get under chairs, or tables, or radiators, etc.
I’ve watched the video, and gone to the designers site, but can’t really tell just how big the thing is. I thought it was golf ball size, but this video implies that it is beach ball size.
Hmmm… automatic cleaners are a real good i
idea, but this one might need a little tweaking before enjoying widespread use.
Hope For Those Waiting On Organ Donor Lists
Feb 3rd
Those needing new organs find themselves on waiting lists that number in the thousands. Often, the wait takes years, during which the health of the recipient declines, and the odds of a successful transplant declines with it. There are so many more people needing transplants, and so few organs available, the situation is critical.
However, scientists from the Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego have encouraging news on that front. They reported online in Nature Cell Biology (January 30, 2011) that they have managed to take ordinary skin cells, and “reprogram” them at the cellular level, so that they transform themselves into heart cells. The process only takes a few days to move from skin cells, to beating heat cells.
This has enormous potential in the organ-growing field. As research progresses, there is hope that scientists will be able to take a person’s own skin cells, and grow a new heart for him. There would be no waiting for a donor heart, and just as important, there would be no potential for rejection of the new organ, because it would be of the patient’s own makeup.
Other scientists have converted similar skin cells into nerve cells, so there is hope that this technology will be able to be adapted for other organs as well.
Best Vacuum Ever- Dyson
Jan 17th
Dust. Dust, pollen, and pet hair. It’s everywhere, especially if you live in the South, with trees all around, and with 2 cats and a dog. Growing up, even with pets, I had no awareness of a dusty house, or pet hair everywhere. Then when I found myself with my own home, every day, new dusty surfaces to clean, not one day could go by without seeing it settle. I pondered this for a while, before remembering that my brother had had severe allergies when we were growing up. Hence, my parents had installed super-duper filters on the heating and air-conditioning systems, so that almost all of the offensive stuff was filtered out. Unfortunately I have no such system.
What I do have, however is a Dyson vacuum cleaner. I absolutely love my Dyson. I’ve lived with, tried and tested 4 or 5 of the ‘best” vacuums out there, but none even comes close to the contained tornado that the Dyson has. First time I used it I knew I’d fallen in love. I have one of the older models, the DV-14, and it still runs like a dream. I love the fact that it is so easy to maintain. Each part comes off intuitively, and easily without needing extra tools. It’s so simple to check for blockages (which, by the way very rarely happen) and emptying the dirt is a snap! Just position it over your trash can, put one loop, and it dumps right out. No bags, no backup, no mess.
Even so, I was impressed (once again) when we had a spill of ashes from the downstairs fireplace. Now, ashes are very fine indeed, and even a vacuum cleaner tends to “exhale” dust when it is that fine, or so I thought. Not my Dyson! It cleaned up every speck, with none escaping whatsoever. What a delight! There are very few appliances I’ve had in my life that I can count on like this one. Check it out folks, the very best vacuum out there- made by Dyson.
Graduating Students- Clean up your (FaceBook) Act
Jan 4th
Students are almost unanimously plugged into FaceBook. So are their professors. And to the student’s surprise, so are their potential employees. What used to be just fun and games, a way to share your last weekends party antics, has become an open and available record of your life, and your character.
In a poll from CareerBulders, (that’s already a year old) Forty-five percent of the employers surveyed said that they screen the social media sites of prospective applicants before offering the job. That’s twice as many as the year before, and is increasing all the time.
Now, it is more important than ever to keep your online presence clean. Here are some tips to make sure you make a good impression online.
1- Delete those drunken photos!
2- Make sure that whenever someone tags you in a picture, you get informed, so that you can edit and delete the tag, even if you can’t delete the photo.
3- Refrain from making derogatory statements about…. anyone. Prospective employers looking for someone with a positive attitude will be turned off by any lambasting comments on your part.
4- Make sure there are no references to unsavory activities, illegal or otherwise (you don’t do drugs, do you?
5- Make sure you include pictures of club meetings, and community activities (that, yes, your friends might think are boring) so show that you are active and involved in more than just frat parties.
6- Be sure to include items in your profile that highlights your strengths, your abilities, and your social acumen.
With a little care and attention, your social site can give you a boost into the big bad world out there, instead of tripping you up. Take care.
Not a Single Roll of Kodachrome to be Had, Anywhere
Jan 3rd
WE grew up with it, we didn’t give it much thought- those holiday pictures and the prints they were made of. Yet, the digital revolution has made its mark, and one of its victims is good ol’ Kodachrome film. As of December 30, 2010, Kodachrome is no more. As the demand for processing the film decreased, fewer and fewer businesses offered the service of transforming your negatives into prints, until there was only one place left in the world to get it done, Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas. And now, even they no longer process it.
So it is with the passing of an era. The wonderful color film, that inspired a song in the 1070’S (Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” with its “nice, bright colors”) and even had a state park in Utah named after it, Kodachrome Basin, is now gone forever.
Steve McCurry has been using Kodachrome for over 30 years in his photography work all over the world. When he heard the sad news that the film was to be discontinued, he contacted his friends at Kodak, and asked if he could have the very last roll of film made. This, he used to photograph a village in India with a nomadic culture that itself was disappearing. Then, upon returning home, the very last frame of the very last roll of Kodachrome film was taken- an image of the civil war cemetery in Parsons, Kansas.