Posted by admin on Oct 13, 2011 in
geekery,
technology 
Every year thousands of students undertake Ph.D’s. They tend to create rather long and weighty tomes about particular topics, all very well explained, educationally pleasing and generally very VERY detailed. Now as much as it’s great to get recognition from your academic peers it might be nice if the general public (also known as Mum and Dad) had some idea about what you’ve actually spent your time doing, and this is where the ‘Dance Your Ph.D’ contest comes into play.
Essentially, it’s exactly how it sounds- you have a couple of minutes to display the whole of your thesis and forethought behind your PhD in dance. From choreographed balletic pieces to modern dance histrionics, how you perform is up to you, the only rules that exist are that your PhD is in a science related field and that you upload your video to Vimeo (they’re a sponsor).
I think this is a fantastic idea- it makes the fields of science so much more accessible, it allows students to evolve their creative side, and it gives the general public something to watch that entertains and educates. I have a friend who has entered this years contest and suddenly I actually feel attuned to her project, rather than it being something complicated and distant.
There are four categories in total; Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Social Sciences, and all dances are scored on 3 scales; scientific merit, artistic merit, and creative combination of the science and art. You’re also encouraged to fully explain the nature of your project in the description area below your video (in case it’s very off the wall and you need a guiding post). There will be a winner in each category and an overall winner that gets flown to Brussels for the TEDx conference and a nice wad of cash. Read more…
Tags: Dance your PHd, Gonzolabs
Posted by admin on Oct 7, 2011 in
Design and Home,
geekery 
The idea of escaping urban life and going to live in the jungle is not an uncommon dream, but one that rarely gets taken up (think bugs, lack of water etc). Bubble Tree are offering the idea of uncluttered space for those of a more dreamy nature, and their vision of utopia comes with all modern conveniences.
There are two types of ‘bubbles’ you can choose from, the Bubble Room which has a few sheltered areas and the Cristal Bubble which Crystal Maze style allows passers by a 360 degree view of your activities. You get to enjoy an approximately 13 foot living area which encapsulates a sleeping and sitting area and looks something like a plastic igloo. Inflated by an electric turbine, you’ll be protected from the majority of the elements, though a tornado might shake up your home a little. The bubble is coated with a special UV filter that is designed to regulate the temperature and keep you free from bugs and y’know, actual nature. You do get to see what’s going on, but you’ll be protected from the harshness of everyday environment through the lovely bubble screen. Read more…
Tags: Bubble Tree
Posted by admin on Sep 22, 2011 in
geekery,
lists,
technology 
Waiter free bars? Sex doll styled Maitre D’s. Ice cream created wearing safety glasses and lab coats? Sounds futuristic, but all of these restaurants do exist, and I’ve sourced the most fascinating to share with you. Dining should be about more than food- enjoy my guide to the top ten High Tech Restaurants of the world.
Number one: Inamo Restaurant, London
Inamo Restaurant is located in Central London and serves you up sushi with a side helping of gadgetry. Everything about this restaurant had been optimized tech wise, from the iPad they check your reservations on to the touchscreen tables where you can order your food. The touchscreen tables are the most interesting part of the restaurant as they offer you so many things. They’re very pretty to look at, as you can choose what colour the table will be (and change it at whim) as well as whether you want it to be flowers/ stripes etc- design led technological place mats. To adjust the table you use a small circular touchpad in the left hand corner- there are no buttons but by moving your fingers and double tapping you can navigate around.
Essentially theses areas act as a mouse and you use an on table menu to navigate settings. There are games to play- should you WANT to play a game whilst eating and you can use the menu to order cocktails and food to your table. You do get waiter service as well, but this is an addition if you’re hungry and want more- or only want to order digitally. You can also access a webcam that goes into the kitchen to see the chef at work. I was excited about this, but the image is fairly blurry, so it’s not as good as it sounds. The menu also lets you choose your next location, which is cool, so when you leave you know what bar/club you’re retiring too. Read more…
Tags: Chin Chin labs, Eyecandy Sound Lounge, Hajime Robot restaurant, Inamo
Posted by admin on Sep 6, 2011 in
geekery,
style 
I like wrist candy as much as the next lady, but I like to tell the time geek style. This tends to mean complicated binary systems and watches where you actually need a manual to decode the time, but hey, who doesn’t suffer for true geekdom? To make purchasing your next watch a little bit easier I’ve created my top ten geek watch brands- all which offers styles suitable for both men and women. Yes, watches are unisex in general (minus those with unsightly pink sparklies) but women have more delicate wrists so sometimes it’s good to also be catered for. From the big brands such as Tokyoflash to newer makes that are starting to get into geekery, I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible. Get ready to drool…
Ziiiro Watches
This brand may be hard to spell and pronounce (they like you to say Zero) and their main selling point is that their watches lack any hands or obvious time markings at all. The minimalist design does allow you to read the time, but you do so by focusing on the pattern of rings inside the clock face, as the coloured swirls indicate the passing of time. Might be a little trippy to start with, but the simplicity is very attractive and they come in a lot of colour combinations. They were created by Robert Dabi, a German designer, and there are a number of models available.
My favourite is the Ziiiro Mercury (far left) which comes in four colourways. The inner swirl tip denotes the hour and the outer blue swirl is the minutes- and the watch colours will constantly be moving, in a rhythmic, almost ocean like motion. The Ziiro Orbit (bottom right corner) uses a ‘planetary’ display for time, whereby the hour and minutes revolve around each other,the coloured orb representing hours and the white orb displaying the minutes. You kind of get the idea now right- once you’ve got your head around this concept I think you;d really start to enjoy using these pretty timepieces.
Prices start at Euro 129 plus shipping. Read more…
Tags: Black Dice, gadget watch, geek timepiece, geek watch, nerd watch, Nooka, Rebel Swap, Tokyoflash, Ziiiro
Posted by admin on Aug 22, 2011 in
geekery,
lists,
style 
In the last year I’ve become a huge fan of mopeds. This stems from having got one and discovering how free I feel when driving, the fact that traffic is now a game of Tetris rather than an angry throbbing in my temples and feeling the wind whip my hair as I zoom away incredibly liberating. In order to celebrate my love of all things moped/scooter (different names for different countries) I thought I’d do a small celebratory piece on how a moped devotee can bring their enthusiasm for the two wheeled treasure into every aspect of their life.
iScoot Charm Necklace
This pretty necklace is a perfect way to highlight your two wheeled preferences, as well as being sweetly decorative as well. Created in sterling silver it’s a sweet charm that I’d be happy to wear. $38 from Juella Designs
Christmas tree Scooter Ornament
Decorate your tree scooter style with these sweet ornaments. There are a variety of colours to choose from so you can match it to your bike! Read more…
Tags: moped, scooter, vespa necklace
Posted by admin on Aug 18, 2011 in
geekery,
style 
Fashion Week A/W 2011 is looming on the horizon, and I’ve just spotted a great way to ease yourself into the coming month of non stop catwalk collections. Illustrator Yiyung Lu had designed ten fashion icons with embedded QR codes, and this is one of the prettiest-and stylish- QR mash ups I’ve seen. For the uninitiated, a QR (stands for Quick Response) code is a small matrix barcode that can be read by any device with a QR reader. Today most mobile phones are equipped with this capability- and it’s very easy to download a free QR reader from the relevant App store. You open the app, hold your phone over the image, and the QR reader reveals what’s encoded within the QR code- which can be anything from playing a video, to redirecting you to a website.
Yiying Lu has drawn ten people that Meets Obsession Magazine deems the most interesting in fashion, and they range from high profile editor Anna Wintour and Chloe Sevigny to the Olsen twins (make of that what you will) and Dov Charney, CEO of American Apparel. These QR codes will reveal the biographies of those pictured and images of them, letting you brush up on the current ‘Who’s Who‘ of style. Read more…
Tags: QR Anna Wintour, QR fashion, Yiying lu
Posted by admin on Aug 9, 2011 in
geekery 
We’re used to using services such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype on a daily basis. How would these tools appear to people from the future when they read through a history book of the 21st century?
Will they see them as essential as we do, or will they laugh at our primitive technology and basic levels of communication? Here’s a collection of vintage looking posters that cleverly capture what future folk might think of our communications today. I find the images very apt, and like the fact that this is a snippet of what might be one day.
See some more retro posters after the jump.
Read more…
Tags: retro social media, social media world wars
