As of OGLE 0.3b, it is possible to capture texture coordinates (UV) for vertices that have them. This is enabled by the CaptureTextureCoords flag. Coupled with the fact that GLIntercept writes out to disk images for all the texture maps, this allows you to re-texture your capture in Maya with a little menial labor, eg:

This has tested to work accurately on some applications (World Of Warcraft) but on others it seems to misbehave, so it is disabled by default. I am working with Damian Trebilco, author of GLIntercept, to give OGLE the power to do this image-texture-assigning work automatically. Give it time...

A little plug for the lovely and talented Olia, my all time favorite jewelry designer.
Her site launched today: www.OliaDesigns.com

AnalyGIS and SRC, both of whom work on various tools for studying markets and communities, have teamed up to build a demographic study tool combining Google Maps (surprise) and 2000 US Census data. Click on a spot in the US, then select either basic census information (ethnic distribution, sex parity, and income averages) or housing information (owners vs. renters, housing value, age of units) within one, three and five miles of your target click. You can also enter an address directly.

They describe this as primarily a proof-of-concept exercise, so there's no telling when it will disappear. Still, for those of us who want a better way to access demographic information quickly and visually, this works pretty well. Since it's based on Google Map's public APIs and open access census data, it should also be relatively simple to rebuild should this one go away.

(Thanks, Joe Willemssen!)

(Posted by Jamais Cascio in QuickChanges at 02:24 PM)

Toyota has announced the US pricing of its upcoming Camry hybrid (2007 model year): It will hit the showrooms in May with a base manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $25,900. "The new non-hybrid versions of the all-new 2007 Camry range from a base MSRP of $18,270 for the four-cylinder manual model to a base MSRP of $27,520 for the V6 XLE model." In comparison, the 2006 Toyota Prius hybrid has a MSRP of $21,725, but depending on what options are included by default in the Camry hybrid (hybrids usually come with lots of premium features), a similarly equipped Prius could come relatively close. The Honda Accord hybrid has a MSRP of $31,540. For lots more information and photos of the 2007 Camry hybrid, see the links at the bottom of this post.

We wanted to love the Meatrix II because we adored number one. It is still clever and worth watching, and a great lesson in the dangers of factory farming. It is just not up to the original, we even found it dragged for a few seconds but what a tough act to follow! The Wachowski's couldn't top their first Matrix film either- it is hard to beat a classic. Watch :: The Meatrix II Revolting and be sure also to watch ::Store Wars.

[Link]

Given our penchant for Flickr these days, it will come as no surprise that we are intrigued by the Open Source House. It is the senior thesis of Rahm Rechtschaffen, a student in architecture at Catholic University in Washington DC. The project so far is a little rudimentary, but the premise is interesting:

Open Source House is an experimental architectural design project. The goal is to design a house while making the design process and design documents available to all potential users of the house for comment and contribution. The hope is that the project will produce design ideas that no individual contributor to the project could have produced on their own.

What's interesting is to see the difference between elements that architects design with ( form, scale, ornament/material) and the elements the open-source community will see as primary.

We point you to 15 Best Skylines in the World for two reasons. First, we are encyclopedic compeletists who are easily seduced by pretty pictures and who love lists, even if the lists are willfully incomplete. Second, we live in New York, and are total skyline snobs. Tropolism means tough love begins at home, and my therapist and I are working hard on this issue. In the meantime, we are bewildered. While it may be acceptable by some measures to put Chicago's skyline above New York's, particularly now that we are without a few of our tallest buildings, we want to share our dismay at some of the additions. Seattle (we love Seattle, but it's like the woods with a few buildings, ya know?). Toronto (the CN Tower does not a skyline make). We're just thankful Pittsburgh and Dallas (what, no Albuquerque or Los Angeles?) got pushed below the Honorable Mentions line.

Via SwissMiss

[This is part 3 of a series of guest posts by Siel from Green LA Girl. For more, see part 1 & part 2. -Ed.] If you're Jennifershmoo of Vegan Lunch Box fame, you take the time out to pack a yummy, homemade vegan lunch in a reusable lunch box every day. To the left's her St Patty's day creation.

Most of us are not Jennifershmoo. Which may be why the Natural Products Expo West featured yummies for Treehuggers on the go -- in easily packable, snackable form.

A group of United States-based NGO's and consumers is petitioning the three largest mutual fund companies in the US to consider the financial impacts of global warming. Fidelity, Vanguard, and American Funds recently received petitions and letters asking them to begin addressing the economic risks of climate change by supporting global warming shareholder resolutions filed with U.S. companies. "In 2005, none of the three mutual fund companies supported such resolutions, which typically request that firms disclose the financial risks and opportunities of global warming and describe their strategies for managing those challenges". The strategy is well conceived, because mutual fund companies themselves have no expertise for directly assessing the potential impact. The best they can do is ask the companies they include in their portfolios to provide some insights into how climate change might shape the long range performance of their stock. Just asking the question is step one. Step two is designing a fund based on the collective strength of its members to mitigate climate change. More about the organizing NGO's after the fold.

‘Churn’ is a term used within the interior design industry to describe the replacement of mostly good fixtures and fittings with new stuff. Change for change’s sake, basically. As Leonora recently pointed out the same sort of churn occurs with electrical applicances and white goods. Yet often we are ‘upgrading’ them simply because some small thing doesn’t work quite right. As we demand more from our appliances, their level of complexity increases. And when one tiny link breaks in that complex chain, the whole shebang can stop functioning properly. Then for the sake of one small errant widget we discard an otherwise perfect washing machine, fridge or stereo. (Hopefully an issue the Design for Durability seminar will discuss). R.U.S.Z is an Austrian based Repair and Service venture that believes we don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. It is a remarkable and uplifting story of environmental and social success.

It's finally starting to feel like Spring is here—time to start thinking about sun, fun and of course T-shirts. One of our favs from last year, Star Electric Eighty Eight, just sent us pics of their latest collaboration. Called Pursuit of Happiness the designs were made by Harlem, New York based Jennifer Garcia and her ex-husband Anton Lopez. Drawing from both obvious and more obscure influences, the new line explores both "synthetic happiness and real bliss." Irony is often explicit, like in this one called I'm So Happy, which story book, candy land like scene made up of pills (click to zoom). Pursuit of Happiness will be available here in New York at Zakka and also online at SEEE.US.

Jennifer talks about the process of making the line, which is pictured, after the jump.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, GPS

# You add friends to your Voicemail group, similar to how you added friends to your MySpace or Friendster accounts. You can create multiple groups of people, to separate the people who get certain messages (for example, a "Parents" group).

# You then dial our toll-free number whenever you want to leave a message, enter your PIN, and record a message. If you have multiple groups, you'd also select the group number.

# The message is added to your friends' Social Voicemail boxes. If they have SMS alerts enabled, they are sent a text message letting them know there's a new message for them.

# Your friends check their Social Voicemail by dialing the toll-free number, and get your message.

Eighth Annual Conference - July 22 & 23, 2006

Consciousness Reframed is an international research conference presented by the Planetary Collegium at Plymouth University, concerned with advanced inquiry in the transdisciplinary space between the arts,technology, and the sciences, with consciousness research an integral component of its work.

The more we learn about GRUB, the more we like it. What is it? It's a new book (coming out on April 6th), it's a website, it's a way of living and eating (Take Action!). Co-written by Anna Lappé and Bryant Terry (follow links for bios), the book preaches "healthy, local, sustainable food for all, [...] food that supports community, justice, and sustainability." It combines essays and an exposé of the food industry (with Anna's encounters with industry execs) with "Bryant’s sumptuous menus that include suggested soundtracks to cook and dine by." Anna adds: "We like to think of it as a call-to-arms and a call-to-eat. [...] grub should be universal." GRUB is also going on the road in April and May (see tour dates below) and we hope to be able to get some of the TreeHugger staff to attend on some dates (the event in Seattle on April 20 will be cohosted by Grist Magazine and WorldChanging!). It should be really interesting and we encourage you to go check it out. You can also learn about GrubParties here.

In case you missed the press release, the Friends of the High Line are having a reservations-only groundbreaking on Monday, April 10, 2006, from 12:00 noon - 1:30 PM. Light refreshments will be available at Little West 12th Street between 9th Avenue & Washington Street. And, my favorite caviat from the release "Rain or shine." These are my people.

RSVP to groundbreaking@thehighline.org or (212) 206-9922.

Researchers at the University of Padua in Italy have developed "neuro-chips" in which living brain cells and silicon circuits are coupled together.

The scientists squeezed more than 16,000 electronic transistors and hundreds of capacitors onto a silicon chip just 1 millimeter square in size. They used proteins found in the brain to glue neurons onto the chip. The proteins acted as more than just a simple adhesive.

The proteins allowed the neuro-chip's electronic components and its living cells to communicate with each other. Electrical signals from neurons were recorded using the chip's transistors, while the chip's capacitors were used to stimulate the neurons.

It could still be decades before the technology is advanced enough to treat neurological disorders or create living computers, but in the nearer term, the chips could provide an advanced method of screening drugs for the pharmaceutical industry.

"Pharmaceutical companies could use the chip to test the effect of drugs on neurons, to quickly discover promising avenues of research," explained Stefano Vassanelli.

The researchers are now working on ways to avoid damaging the neurons during stimulation. The team is also exploring the possibility of using a neuron's genetic instructions to control the neuro-chip.

Thanks Beverly!

Via LiveScience, IST. Image.

While in sunny Amsterdam this afternnon, I went to Droog@Home to check their exbition of works by "New British Designers." I had seen most of it twice, once at the Salone del Mobile (Great Brits, last year) and the second time at the Design Museum in London. But it's always a pleasure to take pictures of the very photogenic Sprinkle carpet and Flood lamps by Wokmedia or of Julia Lohmann's cow benches and trippe lights.

What was new to me and made me smile for half an hour was Wokmedia's Knot toilet.

Knot toilet is the result of wondering what happens inside your stomach, inside a toilet or inside a sewer. Knot reflects the "digestion " by contorted pipes which are often hidden inside toilets, in an even more uncovered and twisted way than it would usually look like. It purposes a different kind of aesthetic for toilets, based on showing instead of concealing.

I love computer-themed jewelry for keeping it real and paying homage to the nerd life. AZERTY Objects use selected keyboard characters and turn them into lovely rings. Who knew? Now those tap-tappin' keys can grace your hands, giving you a clever "esc" or "help" whenever you need it.

David Worden let us know that he has completed work on his Disco Bar which we covered earlier. To save his bandwidth, I suggest you watch the video on YouTube.

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...[O]ne person at one point asks why there are ballots of candidate A stacked on top of the ballots of candidate B? Another person then yells at the others to get away from the tables. And that they should stop asking questions!

"Real" Pong! - "Pongmechanik is an absolutely physical game. The game is realized electromechanically, and essentially consists of four elements: A relay computer, the mechanical movement with collision detection, the display and the acoustic components." [via] - Link.

Amazing tiny radio controlled helicopter! - "The 60 mm rotor diameter, 3.3 grams Picoflyer is the smallest size electric powered contra-rotating coaxial-rotor RC helicopter ever built. It is battery powered and it uses the Proxflyer concept to give it inherent stability. It is built to test how small helicopters using the passively stable rotor concept could be." [via] - Link.

Related: Incredibly tiny RC controller helicopters - Link.

google mapping tools

Glen Murphy is a UI engineer at google who also produces software based art work that explores "what isn't, but could be". He says he likes to "computationally connect wonder and reality". His recent project MeHere is a GPS Tracker for Google Maps featuring Google Earth integration and the ability to share your location with other users and applications (eg Greasemonkey scripts). See his precursor project MovinGmap.

The Eyebeam OpenLab is now accepting interns for a number of project areas. Positions are unpaid but receive full named credit for all work completed. All interns will work closely with one or more of the OpenLab's staff or fellows on new or ongoing projects. Interns must be skilled in their project area but more importantly they are eager to learn and take direction from their coworkers in the lab.

We are seeking interns in the following areas:

• Web Development
• 3D Graphics
• 3D Printing/Digital Fabrication
• Graffiti Research Lab
  • Web Development
  • Engineering Technician
• Senior Fellow Cory Arcangel Intern

For more information about the positions and how to apply, please go to http://research.eyebeam.org/internships

Can you handle the power of cute that is Anna Chambers? If you can’t handle the cute, I’m warning you to turn back now. If, after visiting her site, you think you can handle more cute (of the, er, corny variety) then be sure to pick up a stinky new friend via the Burgerlog store and blog and Anna will send you some of her poo in the mail! It’s true!

Click on the glowing objects to choose your own story. If you choose to play tea-time, please don't let the little girl drink draino. By Van Sowerwine.

Several journalists from the San Francisco Chronicle recently attended Howard Rheingold's class on digital media at Stanford. One of them, Alan T. Saracevic, reports about 'old' and 'new' media in "Can't the media all get along?."

Here is a short talk with Howard.

I asked Rheingold what to make of the chasm between old-school media and its upstart rivals. He pointed out that many of his students were Knight Fellows, mainstream media types that were granted a year off, through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, to come to Stanford and study whatever they wanted. Talk about being hoist by your own petard.

But in his inimitable optimism, Rheingold said the feud between old and new was "like a wrestling match. A bit of a phony promotion. Maybe it was true a year or two ago.

"But now there needs to be more involvement between mainstream media and the digital world. If you don't learn from an editor or a newsroom, where do those values of journalism come from?"

"Make those values visible," Rheingold said. For example, he thinks newspapers and other traditional media should explain to their readers exactly how they got that story on the front page. How did they get the documents? How did they get access to the sources?

Source: Alan T. Saracevic, San Francisco Chronicle, March 19, 2006

In a WEB FOCUS feature offered free to the public, NATURE.com’s current issue looks at the 2020 – Future of Computing.
The introduction explains:

In the last two decades advances in computing technology, from processing speed to network capacity and the internet, have revolutionized the way scientists work. From sequencing genomes to monitoring the Earth's climate, many recent scientific advances would not have been possible without a parallel increase in computing power - and with revolutionary technologies such as the quantum computer edging towards reality, what will the relationship between computing and science bring us over the next 15 years?

This Nature web focus combines commentaries from leading scientists and news features analysis from journalists assessing how computing science concepts and techniques may transform mainstream science by 2020.

I seem to be on a clock kick today, but this is one I could really use. Place this alarm under your pillow and the vibrations will wake you up. Yikes, it could be quite a shocker to get buzzed awake in the morning, especially if you're like me and still jump when you put your cell phone on vibrate mode and forget that it's on and wonder what's buzzing in your pocket. But I wouldn't buy it for me. I have the unfortunate experience of being woken up at 4:50 am almost every morning because I can't sleep through my husband's alarm clock when he has to wake up for work. Combine that with my toddler's natural 5:40 am internal wakeup clock and there's just a general lack of sleep in my house.

From MediSave.

Here I sit with my brand new iPod 30 gig video wondering what on earth would I possibly want to watch on a 2X2 screen. I have to let you know up front, the iPod was a gift and I had no intention of buying a device with a screen to begin with. Not one to make waste of a perfectly good piece of technology I strained myself to come up with something that would be worth watching. I perused the Itunes site in search of videos that I might be willing to pay for and only downloaded a paltry few just so I could actually see something on the video screen.

After finding zilch of my favorite band I remembered I had an extensive collection of concert DVD’s right here at home. OK, there was something I would enjoy. So being slightly naïve I popped a DVD into my laptop and plugged in the iPod. There must be a button here somewhere to make the transfer…...hmmmm. After an hour of pushing, prodding and reading my manual I began to realize that what I was trying to do wasn't going to work. That’s when I stumbled across this suite of software that assists you in converting DVD’s into computer files. Once the conversion process is finished you can then convert those newly minted files for use on your iPod. Pure genius for around $40. Now when I travel I can bring along any number of concerts or even movies to entertain myself.

Available at here.

"This is an older video clip (2002), but it still has legs. I have just rediscovered it, and I couldn't stop laughing at it. He recovers like a true pro." Alan

One day I was checking out the Hoover Dam and spotted Shepard Smith from FOX News Channel. So I decided to have some fun.
Thanks Eric G

Instruction video (with a bangin' soundtrack) on "electro-graf" -- a form of graffiti that uses electro-conductive, magnet paint to embed LED display components on walls. Stencilers in this video are also using laser cutters to craft their designs. Neato.

(Note: BoingBoing does not condone the unlawful defacement of property).

Link to YouTube video, via "Instructables." (Thanks, Violet Blue!)

"I found this link through a post about 'Demonstrations of Implicit Knowledge' from Colorado's Cognitive Science comunity on LiveJournal (full disclosure: I am an employee of Six Apart, Ltd., and work on LiveJournal)."
Link (Some other cool demos)

Steve Roberts has been doing technomadics since 1983. You’ll probably remember him from his 580-pound BEHEMOTH bicycle which he was checking his email on in 1991 over satellite. Shacktopus is his latest project. His previous vehicles all had heavily integrated systems, but because of that you couldn’t just grab the communication system and run. Shacktopus is an easy to pack communications platform that contains multiple RF and sensing technology into one device. HF, VHF, UHF, Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular communication are all there plus GPS and environmental sensors. Here’s a block diagram of the device. Now, no matter what vehicle you choose to head off into the wild with you’ll be able to communicate with the rest of the world using one device.

[thanks fbz]
[UPDATE: fixed name]

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TreeHugger has long been a big proponent of biomimicry, so were justifiably excited to see this. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has released a guidebook aimed at further promoting and building biomimicry into design-for-the-environment products. The guidebook, “Better by Design: An Innovation Guide,” [pdf] presents design for environment and biomimicry principles and product case studies that read like a "Best of TH" laundry list: Steelcase's Think chair, Interface Carpets, DesignTex textiles, ENV bike and Biota water, just to name a few. The guide also includes a sample product attribute flow chart, a method for evaluating human health, ecosystem and resource impacts of materials and processes, and a six page checklist of questions to help focus design groups. Very handy for anyone interested in lifecycle analysis, environmental product design and the like. ::Better By Design via ::Sustainable Practices

Our profilic and anonymous tipster brought this strange story to our attention. A month ago, Brooklyn Industries, purveyors of designer T-shirts and apparel, found their retail shopfront windows had been acid etched with the words "Bike Culture Not for Sale". Seems someone took umbrage at their use of home-made bikes to grace the window display. Apparently only individuals are allowed to fabricate ‘mutant bikes’, not businesses. Even if the bikes were there to bring attention to Brooklyn Industries' promotion whereby they'd donate $2 from sales of messenger bags to the non-profit Recycle-a-Bicycle. RAB informs New York kids about bike cycle, and teaches them to make their own bikes - (Holy weird twist, Batman). For a fuller background piece see the original article by Karen Tucker, in the Village Voice, where she interviews various mutant bike gangs, including C.H.U.N.K. 666, for their respective takes on the issue. Oddly C.H.U.N.K. themselves also had a charity auction to sell a mutant bike. (The pic is from their site).

extremely detailed map of the North American Internet backbone including 134,855 routers. the colors represent who each router is registered to: red is Verizon, blue AT&T, yellow Qwest, green is major backbone players like Level 3 & Sprint Nextel, black is the entire cable industry put togethe, & gray is everyone else, from small telecommunications companies to large international players who only have a small presence in the U.S.
this map demonstrates that although AT&T & Verizon own a lot of Internet pipes, they currently do not dominate the Internet infrastructure (yet).
see also opte project & ddos attack visualization.
[cio.com (PDF/1.1MB) & cio.com]

The subject of the future of cooperation and collective action is one that the Institute has been dealing with for a couple years now. Now, several members of the Institute universe have started a new blog on cooperation. Howard Rheingold explains what's going on:

Even a small increase in our understanding of the dynamics of cooperation and collective action could have enormous payoffs in regard to international relations and conflict-resolution, the evolution of economic institutions, and the future of democratic governance and civil society. The cooperation project proposes to catalyze an interdisciplinary study of cooperation and collective action. We do this by compiling and synthesizing current knowledge, mapping the outlines of the emerging field, convening meetings of the best minds in relevant disciplines, and encouraging ongoing discourse, research, and practice.

Jim Benson elaborates:

In this blog we will link to new studies, organizations, or other materials doing interesting work when viewed through the lens of cooperation. We will interview people working in fields that require cooperation. We will also try to synthesize some of this information and put forth some of our own theories.

Our goal for this blog and this study is to make it as open and inclusive as possible. The Cooperation Commons as a group is evolving. We invite anyone to participate through the blog’s comment feature, by blogging themselves and linking back, through e-mail, or however you feel comfortable. Guest bloggers are also welcome.

The project and this blog will be looking resources and developing thought surrounding cooperation phenomena. Cooperation studies are a multidisciplinary field. Objects from the quantum to the mega exhibit certain cooperative properties.

Technorati Tags: cooperation, IFTF