Technology is a fascinating arena as it’s constantly evolving with new and exciting products being released all the time. Many people think that high tech products don’t actually affect them on a day to day basis (unless they’re awaiting the iPhone 5) but there’s actually a lot of stuff that’s getting released that has a direct impact on your health and wellbeing. Many of the newest discoveries can actually enable an easier healthier lifestyle, so I’m eager to share some of the most exciting new ways that technology is moving into the field of health and beauty.
Laser Hair Removal using Sound Waves
Laser hair removal has gained popularity and affordability in the last few years, but it’s still a slightly uncomfortable procedure which involves lots of zapping and messy gels being used. Clinogen Laboratories has developed a new way of doing this using a product called the Epil Sonic which uses sound waves to identify and destroy the hair root.
It’s not a perfect treatment as to channel the sound energy down the hair shaft you do need to use a ‘probe’ which might be uncomfortable, but the sonic power of the soundwaves is able to disable the hair follicle and lead to a reduction of hair growth in the chosen areas. Sound energy coupled with static causes no trauma to the surrounding skin and over a period of 6-8 months can lead to a serious reduction in hair growth.
Due to the nature of this treatment you can treat all areas-even those considered particularly tender- without burning or pigmentation. Whats really exciting is that the Epil Sonic treatment doesn’t target melanin like normal laser treatments, so you can actually treat ALL hair colours including grey, white and red air as well as tanned skin (which would normally burn). FYI, shouting won’t work- you have to go and actually use the Epil Sonic machines for the right frequency. Check them out here.
Perfect Sizing in the fitting room with Fits.me
I love shopping online but I find it frustrating that I need to order an outfit in two or three sizes to make sure that it will fit perfectly. I can blame the fact that companies use different sizing, or I can use the FitBot to enable a perfect fit every time. The Fitbot is a robotic mannequin that comprises of a series of shifting mechanical muscles that adjust based on your measurements. How it works is that websites that are enabled with the Fits.me technology will accept your measurements and you can get an idea of how an item of clothing will hang on your exact physical shape. Read more…
ReCaptcha codes are one of those necessary evils that inhabit everyday life, as filling them in for security reasons equates to emptying the bins or picking up dry cleaning- useful and important, but hardly fun. If you’re anything like me you may have even uttered a curse word or two as the lovely ReCaptcha code popped up onto the screen, as sometimes the words they give you are so faded and hard to decipher that you feel like you’re decoding some ancient text.
Perhaps it will make you feel a little better if you know that’s actually the truth and your squinty eyed keyboard stabbing at the latest frustrating ReCaptcha code actually IS DECODING an ancient text. Seriously.
So, how did this come about, and what does interpreting those ReCaptcha scrawls actually mean?
Well, we know why we use these codes- it’s so we don’t end up spammed with adverts for Nubian princes and cheap designer deals, and that we can securely login to our social networks when we’re travelling. The text you see when you enter is very distorted and it has been proven that humans can decipher this way better than computers can, so you’re unlikely to have a spambot filling in your email for you (1 point to humans!).
However, the strange pieces of text that we actually decode (estimated at around 200 million Captchas a day worldwide) actually have a benefit to us. All our hard work (collectively) adds up to around 150,000 hours of work a day and reCaptcha has utilized this to help digitize books. Yes, by effectively crowd sourcing a whole lot of Captcha codes worldwide, you are helping translate old books and make them available to the public in a recognizable format. Read more…
It’s well documented that I’m a massive fan of eReaders, but I still have a place in my heart for the humble paperback novel. Occasionally a book comes along that makes you think that eReaders don’t deserve their acclaim, as though you might be able to get a video onto a Kindle Fire (if it’s ever in the UK) you certainly couldn’t created a 3D wonderland such as abc3D by Marion Bataille.
Educational AND a work of art! Bataille has created a beautifully styled pop up book that teaches children the alphabet in a clever and innovative way and the attention to detail is amazing. It really takes the notion of pop up books to a whole new level and I love how seamlessly the letters flow into eachother.
The red, white and black colour palette is striking and gives the book a sense of maturity, whilst still being suitable for a younger audience and she has even made the cover lenticular, for added coffee table nous.
London is home to many keen cyclists and the advent of Boris Bikes (nicknamed after the mayor of London for non UK readers) in the capital has seen more and more people take up this sport. It’s a cheap convenient way to traverse central London, but the enjoyment levels of this activity do suffer with the vagaries of the British weather. It’s lovely to take a sunlit cycle ride on a nice day, less so when it’s sleeting so hard you feel like your face is being violated by Edward Scissorhands. Could Uberhood be the answer?
Uberhood is an umbrella designed for the bicycle which easily clips onto the handlebar and is meant to give you cover whilst you cycle. It comes in a a variety of colours and they say it’s suitable for both ‘blazing sun and driving rain’. Sadly, we only get to see it pictured on someone trying it out in the blazing sun (see video and picture) so we have no way of knowing if this could withstand rain, as I feel the ‘first umbrella for the bike’ might have some serious flaws if anything stronger than a sprinkle were to fall on it.
Nice concept, just not sure they really deliver on the execution. When they get it right, I’d like to see it on every Boris Bike, till then it looks like we’ll stick to buses and the tube when it’s really wet. $79 from Uberhood
Though it can often seem like a one way stream, blogging is far more complex than that- every blog post I write is researched and involves checking sources online and speaking to people- and in return, I get comments and respond to them. Through researching what I write I end up on a lot of different blogs- some science, some lifestyle and through this all I get a general picture of what other people are writing and thinking about. Problem is, for every blog that contains poorly placed graphics and bad spelling I’ll find one amazingly lucid and eloquent one written buy a fourteen year old with photographic skills which are far more advanced then mine.
For every event I go to or party I discuss someone else will have been to a better one in a cuter outfit doing something zanier- and I get serious green faced blog envy. My flat is a not a showroom, I haven’t dusted in a long-time and my photos aren’t arranged in cutesy artistic spreads on the wall- they’re placed wherever I managed to find some Blu tac. My life is not a showcase of aspirations, it’s comprised of mundane things like getting Boots Advantage points and moaning about excess Easyjet charges. My real life doesn’t compare to all these whimsical day in the life blogs, and don’t even get me started on ‘Outfit of the day’ posts as sites like Chictiopia and LookBook lead to massive feelings of inadequacy.
When you add to this the amount of blogs which enormously emotionally over share, you’re bound to feel a little bit stressed whenever you venture online.
Think of it this way-when I read certain blogs I expect certain things. I love the twee cat stories, boyfriend drama, casual sex flings and then- bam. A bloggers mother dies, their dad gets cancer,they try BDSM, all fine and above board for you to write about should you wish to, but when it’s very out of tone with your blog* it throws me. I don’t know what to do. My light reading has unexpectedly had a heavy veneer placed over it and though I want to comment I’m out of my depth. You own the blog- you can put whatever you wish on it, but as a reader it sometimes feel like you’ve overblogged- shared too much with the anonymous public and we don’t know what to do. I cried over someone’s blog post last week- in context**-and though that was understandable, I don’t want that to happen when I’m expecting a discussion on the merits of tea cosies versus towels (note: I don’t actually care about this topic). Read more…
Rock Paper Scissors is a game many people are familiar with. It’s used to solve arguments, make decisions and while away time whilst waiting for the bus. The more talented lucky may argue that there’s a stratgey to performing well at this game, and the lack of any props other than ones own body makes it universally acceptable. This humble game has moved beyond mere decision making and is now celebrated worldwide, with heats held in different countries, where only those with a fist of steel can win the coveted title of Rock Paper Scissors Champion. The UK Rock Paper Scissors Championship took place last week on the 22nd October 2011 and over 200 people gathered to try and gain a UK ranking in this sport. I decided to try my hand at gaining the trophy and this is my tale…
Training
Athletes warm up before games, so I embarked on some serious finger exercises. I practised moving my fingers to my thumb very quickly and used some stress balls to really help release the tension in my hand. I also practised a deadpan stare in the mirror- flat eyes, no smile- you’ll never know what’s coming next…
Strategy
To ensure I had the utmost advantage in my Rock Paper Scissors UK Championship event, I researched the sport thoroughly. I discovered that those in the know call it RPS or Roshambo (slightly less of a mouthful) and that it dates back to the Chinese Dynasty in 206 BCE (well, according to Wiki anyways) and that it has been used in court to settle a case (seriously). In terms of strategy there seemed to be dissenting points however- no one could tell me exactly what combo of rock paper scissors would always win. I learnt that three stones in a row is called an ‘Avalanche’ and this is commonly favoured by men, so I might have an advantage doing this version as a lady. It’s also reported that men traditionally open with stone, whilst women prefer paper- interesting. There’s also the notion of gambits- such as PPSPP which can be used to throw someone off guard. A traditional tournament game consists of two people over a table with a Referee in the middle. They call 1,2,3 and on 3 you open your palm. If you both have the same you repeat- and on and on till there’s a best of three win. Read more…
New Era is known for their caps, producing approximately 35 million per year, and they supply all the Major League baseball teams. New Era Introducing is their global way of nurturing new talent with a competition based around created a statement using the New Era 59FIFTY caps as the starting point. They’ve just announced the inner of this years competition and there are some pretty amazing New Era hats to feast your eyes on.
Entrants came from all over the world, as the participating countries were the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Sweden, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. Students from all these nations have spent the last few months creating unusual hat designs, and now the judges have finally chosen a winner.
To be honest, I think every entrant is a winner, and not in a ‘it’s the taking part that counts’, soppy way, but more, ‘would you look at the talent these kids have?’. Two of my favourite designs are featured above, a cute teddy bear cap, designed by UK artist Matt Saunders and a geek chic typewriter hat created by Spanish artist Pol.
