Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Anatomy of casino capitalism
Anatomy of casino capitalism
Jane D'Arista unravels the web of banking confidence schemes
Bio
Jane D'Arista is an economist with the Financial Markets Center in Philomont, VA. She is a Research Associate with the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and author of the masterful study of U.S. financial regulation, The Evolution of U.S. Finance. For more than thirty years, Jane D'Arista has been one of the country's most insightful analysts of financial markets and regulation.
Google Latitude
Google Latitude lets you see your friends on a map on Google Maps for mobile and iGoogle. Use Latitude to plan an impromptu meetup, see that a loved one got home safely, or just stay in touch with friends. www.google.com/latitude
See where your friends are on a map with Google Latitude. Latitude is a new feature for Google Maps for mobile and an iGoogle gadget.
Nature's Most Wicked-Looking Robot, the Bacteriophage
Nature's Most Wicked-Looking Robot, the Bacteriophage
I can't lie; I've been waiting for an excuse to post a picture of a bacteriophage*, the microscopic spider virus that lands on bacteria to inject its own DNA, for a long time. This Cyborg Life gives me an excuse.
Rather than attacking typical plant or animal cells, the bacteriophage uses bacteria as its host for replication. Highly specialized, the bacteriophage lands on a specific part of a specific bacteria, and just like a syringe with legs, injects its genetic material (which is stored in that big bulb on top).
It only takes minutes for viral mRNA to convince bacterial ribosomes to makes its own proteins, transforming the bacteria into a virus factory that, in some circumstances, will literally burst with its own product.
For those who believe that a benevolent supreme being created life, it would be only natural to believe that the bacteriophage was spawned from a equally powerful source of evil.
Of course, Man has long reimagined the bacteriophage as a tool for everything from antibiotic alternatives (see what's called phage therapy, a century old idea) to FDA-approved food sprays. While it's easy to consider nanobots as the future of Man's biological domination, sometimes using the machines that nature has already left lying around is the better bet.
Especially when they're this badass.
[Image 1, 2, 3, 4]
* The lead photo is technically a nano-scale model of a T4 bacteriophage. The gallery has real shots.
This week, Gizmodo is exploring the enhanced human future in a segment we call This Cyborg Life. It's about what happens when we treat our body less as a sacred object and more as what it is: Nature's ultimate machine.
Road Trains: Genius or guaranteed pile-up? – EU Infrastructure — What could possibly go wrong?
Road Trains: Genius or guaranteed pile-up? – EU Infrastructure — What could possibly go wrong?
The European Union has financed a study to look at how grouping vehicles into ‘platoons’ or ‘road trains’ on the continent’s motorways could cut fuel consumption, journey times and congestion.
The quite-frankly bizarre idea sees groups of cars linked together via wireless sensors, with a lead vehicle (driven by a ‘professional driver’ – whatever that means) leading the train. The ‘lead driver’ would monitor the status of the road train, allowing those in the other vehicles to sit back, sleep or read a book whilst they travel along motorways.
The EU’s study will be entirely focused on the system working with wireless sensors and up to eight vehicles ranging from your everyday family cars to buses and trains. In theory, these vehicles could be mixed and matched in a ‘road train’, but I’m not sure I’d want to be in between a truck and a bus with no control.
The preliminary report picked up by the BBC says that ‘road trains’ could cut fuel levels by up to 20 percent presumably due to most vehicles being in the lead’s slipstream.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
A look at one woman's mission to preserve America's barns.
A look at one woman's mission to preserve America's barns.
A look at one woman's mission to preserve America's barns.
A look at one woman's mission to preserve America's barns.
Peter Diamandis' Opening Presentation at X PRIZE's 'incentive2innovate' Conference
At the 'incentive2innovate' (i2i) conference, hosted by the X PRIZE Foundation in partnership with BT Global Services, the John Templeton Foundation and the United Nations Office for Partnerships, Peter Diamandis, Chairman & CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation sets the stage for the i2i Conference and tells the audience about 2 critical innovation tools: 'Open Collaboration' and 'Incentivized Competition'.
For more info: www.incentive2innovate.com
Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) at X PRIZE's 'incentive2innovate' Conference
At the 'incentive2innovate' (i2i) conference, hosted by the X PRIZE Foundation in partnership with BT Global Services, the John Templeton Foundation and the United Nations Office for Partnerships, Reid Hoffman, Founder & CEO of LinkedIn, presented a keynote on the new age of entrepreneurship and why innovation is critical in the current economic climate.
For more info: www.incentive2innovate.com
Laura Karpman: Music as a Vehicle for Change
Laura Karpman: Music as a Vehicle for Change
Momentum and Tides Foundation
A Conversation with GE CEO Jeff Immelt
A Conversation with GE CEO Jeff Immelt
Web 2.0 Summit and O'Reilly Media
Monday, November 09, 2009
Harry Smith विडोस - "A Prairie Home Companion", Garrison Keillor about the history of his show
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Harry Smith speaks with the host and producer of, "A Prairie Home Companion", Garrison Keillor about the history of his show, advice as to how to perform and how it all comes together.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Watch CBS News Videos Online
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Brock String Training Video - Vision Therapy
Complete vision therapy training video for Brock String.
World's largest Pencil
In the last few years Guinness Record holder Ashrita Furman has always surprised us with a special present for his teacher Sri Chinmoy's birthday on August 27th. In 2007 he wanted to break the record of building the world's largest pencil, and he did it with the help of an international group of gifted and brave friends. It is over 76 feet long, weighs 18,000 pounds, represents the volume of 1,900,000 regular pencils and contains 4,500 pounds of graphite. Watch the building and celebration of this unusual record-breaking birthday present in Queens, New York.
Robert Lang folds way-new origami
Robert Lang is a pioneer of the newest kind of origami -- using math and engineering principles to fold mind-blowingly intricate designs that are beautiful and, sometimes, very useful.
Lennart Green does close-up card magic
Like your uncle at a family party, the rumpled Swedish doctor Lennart Green says, "Pick a card, any card." But what he does with those cards is pure magic -- flabbergasting, lightning-fast, how-does-he-do-it? magic.
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