tech


My favorite conference (which is from a list of many) is coming up again April 12-14 2012. This breath-taking conference is the EG Conference (Entertainment Gathering) that gathers in beautiful Monterey CA. I’d be able to write a entire book about why this is the most fascinating gathering I have been to in 10 years, but in simple words, come experience an eclectic gathering filled with mystery, surprise, emotion, connections, and entertainment for a few days in beautiful Monterey…. you will leave imagining the entire world differently, with a different perspective, and a twinkle in your eye again for curiosity, to perhaps create magic.
Come join, this year will be my 4th in a row.  Let me know if you can make it and I’ll be sure to connect. Tickets are almost sold out.

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For those unfamiliar with SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act), you must read and dig into this crazy Act that can and will pretty much screw up any freedom and innovation like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Reddit, etc if it happens. Please sign up to petition against it HERE. Learn more about it from the video above from Chris Hayes.

This blew my mind away. NeverWet is a treatment to makes any surface liquid resistant. It’s a Hydrophobiccoating that repels any liquid, even thick liquids like syrup, paint, ketchup, etc and repels them off any surface (much like you see on plant leaves). Check out the video above and be awed when you see the white shoes come out of the muddy wet pool. Imagine all the crazy magical applications.

They even applied it to an iphone and let it sit under water for an hour and it was fine.  Personally I want to treat all my furniture with this stuff, then treat my car, shoes, rugs, etc…. No word on if it is toxic or not, and the product is expected to be available to consumers in 2012.

“At Ross Nanotechnology, we have developed a super hydrophobic coating that completely repels water and heavy oils. Any object coated with our NeverWet  coating literally cannot be touched by liquid. Any liquid placed on this coating is repelled and simply rolls off without touching the underlying surface. Not only is this amazing to see, but it solves a myriad of problems.”

via NeverWet

awesome!

“Sebastian Schmieg of the Netherlands created this video by feeding a transparent image to Google Image Search and asking it to find similar images, and then taking the top result and feeding it back into the similarity algorithm, 2951 times. It’s a wonderful look at an evolutionary process.”

via boingboing
Search by Image, Recursively, Transparent PNG, #1 (via Kottke)


Some words of wisdom by the one and great Steve Jobs:

“When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you’re life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money.

That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.

Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”

via youtube


My inner geek in robotics and knowledge in the complexities that come along in making a 2 footed robot walk naturally yet alone survive a big shove to the side while maintaining balance has just been remedied by Boston Dynamics demo video of Petman! Watch it here and perhaps be amazed as I was. This is hard stuff, next come the petdog that will run around chasing after a ball and withstand cars and all obstacles only to bring you back your ball with a wagging tail (for balance) and a smile (programmed in).

via youtube. Thanks Chuck Pell!
BostonDynamics


awesome!
“This making of the “Evolution of Games” is an impressive, coordinated and directed masterpiece, and proof that not everything is done inside of a computer.
It’s fun to see the piece come to life while watching the finished piece in the same window. Hooray for handiwork. ”

via brandflakeforbreakfast

Penwald: 4: unison symmetry standing from Tony Orrico on Vimeo.


Some pretty neat work by artist Tony Orrico. Check out his drawings and videos. Or a quick Google Image Search will show you his work.

Tony Orrico is a visual artist, performer, and choreographer. His Penwald Drawings have been presented and exhibited internationally, attracting attention from prominent collectors and institutions.”

Jonathan R. Trappe is a pilot of an unusual aircraft: literally a towering cluster of toy balloons. Didn’t you have this dream, as a child? Just holding onto a cluster of balloons, and floating off into open space? Trappe flies exactly this fantasy aircraft, in manned flight, through open skies.”

via EG