I think this is just what I need in this time of day.
You know that the Earth is getting hotter, and the nice and warm sunshine can be merciless to your skin by inflicting *God forbid* skin cancer. *shivers*
That's why I always carry my trusted umbrella in my bag, and use it EVERYWHERE. I may look uncool or oh-so-granny-like, but one thing I know, it will be even more un-cool if I have skin cancer! :P
So..
This is just what I need. :) A Blunt Umbrella!
You know how the sides of your umbrella can actually "poke" someone in the face? :D Ah, with this cool invention, worry not people, poke no more! And we can keep on using our umbrellas everywhere without worry of hurting other people. :D
Now you know what to do when you're invited to a hip sushi bar. Turns out that I still did few of the things in the "DON'T" list, like mixing the wasabi with the soy sauce :D
It's so amazing and beautiful. It looks like something that comes from a parallel universe totally different from our world today. But it's not. The technology was first discovered around 200 BC; spreading from the Greek to the Arabs and then to the rest of the world. It became popular in Europe on the 13th century.
It reminds me a lot of Lyra Belacqua's Alethiometer (from the Golden Compass, the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials).
So what does this device do?
Basically it tells time. And it features a calendar; it can show you the prayer times (for Muslim); directions for Qibla; and more than 1000 functions in relations to astronomy, astrology, horoscopes, navigation, surveying, etc.
And it runs on mechanical measures only. No battery or electricity whatsoever needed. It's like the greenest super-computer ever! :D How cool is that?!
It made me see things from a totally different point of view. That technology doesn't equals with electricity/ electronics. It means we (the human race) can be superbly advanced in technology, and doesn't necessarily need a single watt of electricity!
And the most beautiful thing is that, to use this device, you have to connect yourself with Nature. The Universe. Because to tell the time using Astrolabe, first you will need know the name and positions of the stars in the sky; as it will correlate with the constellations that already marked in your Astrolabe's plate. It means that you have to take your time, slowing down, look up to the sky, appreciate Nature's beauty, and then it means that you'll need to have a clear & unpolluted sky.
It's a device with highly advanced technology that let us work with Nature instead of protecting ourselves from Nature (the case with some recent "advanced" technologies); which most of the time leave us totally forgetting what and where we're coming from; and merrily destroying the Nature we're supposed to protect along the way. And with that, destroying our own future.
I WANT these pencils. Anybody can do with a little inspiration to get through the day, right? :D
I don’t do drugs. I am drugs - S. Dali Everything you can imagine is real - Pablo Picasso Have no fear of perfection - you’ll never reach it - S. Dali I never read, I just look at the pictures - Andy Warhol All good ideas arrive by chance - Max Ernst
In the rage of e-books and information overflow from the internet, now people (me) are getting more and more selective with hard copies that they bought. And this book, in my opinion, is one of those books worth buying.
I'd buy it for my personal collection, and to appreciate the featured inventors/ designers and honor them for designing something that really works, and made a whole lot of sense too!
This is one of my favorite design, the Playground Fence by Tejo Remy and René Veenhuizen.
The 'Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People' is written by Emily Pilloton, the founder and Executive Director of Project H Design, a global industrial design nonprofit with eight chapters around the world. Current Project H initiatives include water transport and filtration systems in South Africa and India; an educational math playground built for elementary schools in Uganda and North Carolina; a homeless-run design coop in Los Angeles; and design concepts for foster care education and therapy in Austin, Texas.
I went to see some exhibition at the NUS Museum yesterday, and saw this unique "photo spot". :D
A giant letters lined up forming the word "I Was Here", I think it was built to be a photo-spot landmark, and also supporting people's facebook-enhanced narcissistic nature.
As rainy season approaches, Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture has been receiving some unusual precipitation — it’s been raining tadpoles.
According to prefecture officials, tadpoles have reportedly fallen from the sky in two separate towns this month. Although it is not unheard of for waterspouts and strong wind to to pull small fish and animals from water and drop them on land, no foul weather has been observed in the area, leaving residents baffled.
