Designer Builds Functional Sound System from 5,000 Recycled Beer Cans

Japanese designer Yuri Suzuki teamed up with Mathew Kneebone to create an incredible beer can sound system for Red Stripe’s “Make Something Out of Nothing” project.

Suzuki and Kneebone were commissioned by Red Stripe, Jamaica’s most popular beer, to use their talents and create a work that reflects Jamaican DIY culture. The two came up with a sound system inspired by the towering, bass-driven sound systems that started out in the ghettos of Kingston and nowadays provide the rhythm of Jamaica street life. Because they can’t get their hands on expensive materials needed to build sound systems, Jamaican reggae groups often have to improvise and make them from scratch, using all kinds of stuff that doesn’t usually serve as components. This inspired the artistic duo to create their own DIY sound system from recycled Red Stripe beer cans.

Most of the 5,000 tin cans used for the project were collected from this year’s Notting Hill Carnival. The final piece, which measures 2.5 meters high and 2.5 meters across, has speakers hidden inside the cans as well as a can microphone. Jamaican singer/songwriter Gappy Ranks tested the DIY can sound system and was impressed with the sound quality and the design of the musical structure. LINK, Via: Youtube

BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM)

The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a submerged submarine. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures and acquisitions, is now made by Raytheon. Some Tomahawks were also manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.

There have been several variants of the BGM-109 Tomahawk employing various types of warheads. The operational versions include the unitary conventional land attack TLAM-C, the bomblet-dispensing land attack TLAM-D, the nuclear land attack TLAM-A and TLAM-N, and the Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile (TASM). Ground Launch Cruise Missiles (GLCM) and their truck-like launch vehicles were destroyed to comply with the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

The Block III TLAMs that entered service in 1993 can fly farther and use Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to strike more precisely. Block IV TLAMs have a better Digital Scene Matching Area Correlator (DSMAC) system as well as improved turbojet engines. The WR-402 engine provided the new BLK III with a throttle control, allowing in-flight speed changes. This engine also provided better fuel economy. The Block IV Phase II TLAMs have better deep-strike capabilities and are equipped with a real-time targeting system for striking moving targets. LINK: Youtube

Track Robots

Mobile robotic video playback system created for a video post production company in NYC back in 2000. Robots were powered and traveled on a cieling mounted track. We used a busway from Universal Electric Corp. This is an analog to digital conversion as the only digital copy got corrupted. LINK: Youtube

Time-Lapse Video of Asteroid Discoveries for the Past 30 Years

(Video Link)
This time-lapse video by YouTube user szyzyg shows asteroids in our solar system as they have been discovered since 1980:

Notice now the pattern of discovery follows the Earth around its orbit, most discoveries are made in the region directly opposite the Sun. You’ll also notice some clusters of discoveries on the line between Earth and Jupiter, these are the result of surveys looking for Jovian moons. Similar clusters of discoveries can be tied to the other outer planets, but those are not visible in this video.

As the video moves into the mid 1990’s we see much higher discovery rates as automated sky scanning systems come online. Most of the surveys are imaging the sky directly opposite the sun and you’ll see a region of high discovery rates aligned in this manner.

At the beginning of 2010 a new discovery pattern becomes evident, with discovery zones in a line perpendicular to the Sun-Earth vector. These new observations are the result of the WISE (Widefield Infrared Survey Explorer) which is a space mission that’s tasked with imaging the entire sky in infrared wavelengths.

Astronomers have so far found about half a million minor planets in our solar system.

Via: Popular Science, Via: Neatorama

Hybrid Rickshaw in Nepal "Easy Rider, Ricksaw in Nepal"

Big drum on top of rickshaw rotates as rickshaw moves
forward. It observes wind and supports driver to move forward

According to the driver: He has came up with this hybrid system with drums that assist rickshaw driver to move forward. In addition, it has feature that make driver easy to cycle. This built by professor from next town. LINK: Youtube

How The Alphabet Was Born

“An alphabetic writing system uses fewer than 30 signs, and people need only a few relatively simple reading rules that associate these signs with sounds. This great invention had far-reaching social and cultural implications. With the alphabet, writing broke out of the ‘golden cage’ of the professional scribal world. Writing was no longer their monopoly. When many more members of society could learn to read (and write), access to information and knowledge was no longer as limited as it had been. Alphabetic writing eventually gave many more people control over their lives and enabled larger segments of the population to take a more active role in the cultural and administrative affairs of their respective societies. But how was it done?… Time to find out!” w/ photos. LINK

My Solar System

This application will give you a lesson in how difficult it is to control the universe. Select how many planets you want and adjust their orbits and other parameters. Then set it in motion and watch your planets crash into each other or fly off into deep space. With some practice, you might get a real system going. Link -Via: J-Walk Blog, Via: Neatorama

The Rings Of The Earth

How would the Earth look like if it had a ring system like Saturn?
A 3D Studio Max animation. LINK: Presurfer, Via: Youtube

Bloomframe Disappearing Balcony

Bloomframe is an innovative window that transforms into a balcony at the touch of a button.

Engineered by Hurks, this modern balcony consists of tough all-weather materials and controlled by a smooth electronic system. LINK, Via: Youtube

VPlay from Microsoft Research

VPlay is an interactive system based on a Microsoft Surface that is being developed over at Microsoft Research Cambridge. In short, it allows one or multiple users to manipulate video in real time. VPlay is designed for VJing (live video mixing) and achieves the real-time aspect by using digital objects that represent video clips, effects, and mixers. Users can then use simple touch gestures to move them around and arrange them while looking at the resulting ever-changing video output. Over the weekend, I found a video that shows off VPlay quite extensively. LINK, Via: Youtube