2000: Special hard rocking mix by X-Bobo Recorded live @ Le Paresseux, Geneva. (117 min) Re-run at 0600 Thursday 30th. On The CBS

2000: CBS at the Movies: Special movie hour. 2100: Cosmic Space XLIII (Due to last weeks fuck up last week's show but now in full) On The CBS

2100: Brand new Rundfunkmuziek episode from Gabbo On The CBS

Tonite 2100 CET Lawrence Sim OST action from Ok Coolex! On The CBS

1200-1300: Peter Rijswijk 1300-1500: John de Bruin On The CBS

2200 CET Monday Aug 6th. On The CBS

Show 2 is now online and available for streaming.Click Here to get the new show featuring DJ 3000.

Olam Qatan is a spiritual books and world music store in Emek Refaim St, Jerusalem, Israel. I spoke briefly with it's owner Ya'qub ibn Yusuf, who explained some of the music and books available in his store. Sounds like there's a fusion of East meets West happening in Israel and Turkey, which is really interesting to hear. It's great to speak with Independant store owners - their passion for music & books is contagious and it's great to discover new sounds and genres.

If you can't make it personally to the store, take a look at their website, http://olamqatan.com/. From September (2007) the music will be available to preview online. The Articles and About Us sections are of particular interest as they explain more about the store and it's history. They used to run classes after hours, at the "Olam Qatan School" at the store, where people could hear lectures, attend workshops and listen to concert performances. Now the store is branching out to publishing books and spreading the word of the local music releases and performers. So if you're not familiar with Israeli, Turkish and Middle Eastern sounds, check them out.

The videos below are of Ya'qub ibn Yusuf, the store owner, explaining the music & books that can be found in the store. He also gives a brief summary of independent music in the region today which is interesting to hear. And he gives plenty of recommendations if you're looking for some sounds to listen to or books to read.

There are 3 videos discussing music and some of the music releases, and one discussing the books.

(I had to lower the video quality slightly to make the file sizes more managable so apologies for the quality of the video. I have higher res versions)

You can find out more about these books & music albums by visiting the Olam Qatan website or emailing info@olamqatan.com

video part 1 : music

video part 2 : music

video part 3 : music

video part 4 : books

Man arrested by the man on arson charges at Burning Man for burning the man, need I say more?

Geeky Wedding Cakes

click here and here and here
via greg.org
.

I was fortunate to witness Melbourne electronic sound/visual composer Robin Fox's laser show in Sydney at the Now Now festival last year … I also own his earlier Oscilloscope frenzy dvd "Backscatter." The oscilloscope work still really intrigues me the most. So turn up the sound and dim the lights!

A list of the names of the gangs of London, August 2007

1. Brent
Church Road Thugs
Cricklewood (SLK)
Thugs of Stone Bridge
Acorn Man Dem
Walthamstow/DMX
NW Untouchable
SK-Hood
Church Road Man Dem
St Ralph’s Soldiers
Greenhill Yout Dem
Out to Terrorise (OTT)
Harsh-Don Man Dem
9 Mill Kids (9MK)
Shakespeare Youts
Westside/Red Crew
Stonebridge Man Dem
Ministry of Darkness
Willesden Green Boys
Araly Yardies (elders)
Lock City
The Copeland Boys
Mus Luv
GP Crew (Grahame Park)

2. West London
Westbourne Park Man Dem
South Acton Boys
Queen Caroline Estate
Ladbroke Grove Man Dem
Latimer Road Man Dem
Kensal Town Man Dem
Queens Park Man Dem
Edwardes Wood Boys
Bush Man Dem
Becklow Man Dem
West Kensington Estate
Cromer Street Boys
Bhatts
Kanaks
Holy Smokes
Tooti Nungs
MDP (Murder Dem Pussies)
DGD (Deadly Gash Dem)

3. Camden
Born Sick Gang
Centric Gang
Cromer Street Massive
Denton Boys
Drumond Street Posse
NW1 Boyz (Combo Gang)
Peckwater Gang
WC1 Gang

4. Enfield
N9 Chopstiks Gang
Red Brick Gang
Shanksville (aka Tanners End Lane Gang)
Little Devils
NorthSide Chuggy Chix
Chosen Soldiers
South Man Syndicate
Boydems Most Wanted
EMD Enfield Boys
TFA Tottanham Boys
Tiverton Boys

5. Newham
Beckton Man Dem
JC Boys
Blackwater Man Dem
Forest Gate Man Dem
Paki Panthers
Tamil Tigers
African Devilz
Plaistow Man Dem
Ama Tugz
Stratford Man Dem
Jeeperz
East Ham Boys

6. Waltham Forest
Beaumont Crew
Chingford Hall Man Dem
Boundary Boys
Hatch Man Dem
Chingford Hall Boys
Beaumont Man Dem
Piff City Bangers (Bang Bang Smash)
Leytonstone Man Dem
Oliver Close Crew
Priory Court Boys
Get Money Daily
Barrier Youts
Cathall Boys
Walnut Road Crew
Senyahs Walthamstow
Tamils
Walthamstow Boys

7. Hackney
E9 Bang Bang (They have lots of Google)
Haggerston Fields Combined
Holly Street Boys
Hoxton Boys
London Fields
Pembury Estate
Love of Money Crew
Hackney Posse
Springfield Crew
Manor House Crew
August Town Crew
Bombacilar
Legends of Stokie (LOS)
Sea & Mother Square Boys
Tap Dem Crew
Well Street Boys
Yardie Bunch Crew
DNA Boys
L.or.D
Grim Beats Crew
Brick Lane Massive
Cannon Street Rd Posse
Shadwell Massive
Stepney Posse
Bengal Tigers
Bethnal Green Somalians
Devon Road Kruisers
E3 Massive
Elton Man Dem
Bartlett Park
Limehouse Massive
Wilehouse Man Dem
Remand Crew

8. Westminster
Queens Crescent
Abbey Road Man Dem (SLK)
Lisson Man Dem

9. Haringey
G-Money
N dot22
Wood Green Mob

10. Lewisham
Brockley Man Dem
Young Brockley Manz
Catford Wildcat
D-Block
Ghetto Boyz
SYD
Blues (Bromley)
Greens (Lewisham)

11. Merton/Wandsworth
Prime Time Soliders
Battersea Marsh Boys
All Over Everywhere
Surrey Lane Man Dem
Terror Zone
Winstanrey Boys
Digging Deep Graves
B-Town
South Man Syndicate (SMS)
Pink Ladies/Chicks
Wandsworth Man Dem
Menacing Kids
Wandsworth terror Zone
Gypset
Raynes Park Crew
ENS/YNS
Spray Can Army
No Remorse Shown
Stick em Up Kidz
Young Stick em Up Kidz
Tooting Gang
UGS (United Griffin Squad)
Y-UGS (Young United Griffin Squad)
Muslim Boys
Croydon/Jaffna Boys

12. Lambeth
Young Thugs for life
Tulse Hill Man Dem
Peel Dem Crew
Clapham Park Dread
Dipset Muslim
Brixton Yard Manz
S Unit
Cartel Crew
G Street
Murder Zone
Alligator Crew
Myatts Field Posse
Rema Crew
Stockwell Man Dem
Hanna Town
Streatham Man Dem
Muslim Boys
South Man Syndicate
Bloodset Muslims
Superstar Gang
SMN Heathset
Southmandem
Mash Force
VMD
Herne Hill Man Dem
28s
Junction Boys

13. Harrow
SHE (South Harrow Elite)
Cheez Gang
The t Side
Harrow Boys
Arylali Gang
Pinner Massive
Game Over
MOD (Ministry of Darkness)
Stm
Bad Boys
No Tolerance

14. Southwark
Peckam Boys - Camden Estate
Peckham Boys - North Peckham Estate
Mash Force
Circle Boys & Dulwich Boys
Kennel Hill
Gloucester Grove Estate
Gold Smith Estate
Gold Smth Estate
Bermondsey Boys
Firehouse Crew
Wolly Road Manz & OTB

15. Hillingdon
NN (Nasty Niggers)
Risky Boys (Northolt)
AK47 Gang
Bombing Unit1
DTU (Don’t Touch Us)
Section 18 Crew
DK (Destroy Kids)
WDM (West Drayton Boys)
AK (Academemic Kids)
Hillingdon Hard Core

16. Croydon
DSNCrew
Dem Twisted Soldiers
Gypsett
Terror Zone
Till Death Youths
Thornton Heath Man Dem
Pange Man Dem
Norwood Youts
Dark Side Ninjas / Younger DSN

17. Bromley
On Top of the Rest
Albaboys Fatal
Assassins
The Bloody Alboz
Greens (Lewisham)
Greazy Kamp
Blues (Bromley)
Penge Massive
Block Kids
Kidz da Hood

18 Greenwich/Bexley
Woolwich Boys
Younger RA
Ferrier Youts
KSB (Kis Spray Bro)
Cherry Youts
PDot
Plumstead Manz
Woolwich Manz
T-Block
RA Gang

From a double page spread in The Evening Standard.

Those of you with good reading habits will remember Judge Dred in 2000AD and the ‘Block Mania’ stories. It looks like more of Brian Bolland’s madness is leaking into reality.

There is an exhibition on populations in cities at the Tate Modern; this year, 50% of all people on the earth will be living in cities. As this trend continues and people from different places coalesce into self contained cesspools in Megacities, you are going to see more ‘Block Mania’ outbreaks as people turn to gangs for identity, protection and a way to make a living.

And in case you didn’t know, ‘Man Dem’ means:

“Man Dem is the term used for a group of friends or homies. This term originated from the carribean but found its way to the streets of the uk where it is widely used.

I’m going to link man dem.”

Urban Dictionary

So we can say, “Big up BLOGDIAL Man Dem!”

Oh, and they forgot the hideous, perfidious and insidious gang ‘The Knights of 30 St Mary Axe’.

As you can see, some of these gangs and gang members have Bebo, Myspace and YouTube spots where they boast their hardness. Some of those links are priceless.

Here's one for all the Graphic Designers out there. What these records share is that they're at the perimeter of the fringes of Post-Punk, although I suppose any band that cuts an entire LPs worth of material makes some kind of deliberate mark on posterity. However they fall into two camps which are demarcated with crystalline clarity by the record's cover art.

The Red Crayola: Micro-chips & Fish (1979)
Glaxo Babies: Nine Months to the Disco (1980)
The Lemon Kittens: The Big Dentist (1981)

These three could be crudely described as belonging to the hippy-end of Post-Punk. Red Crayola's Mayo Thompson is somewhat like Kim Fowley, a character who seems to transcend geography and history. He/They started off with 1966's "The Parable of Arable Land", signed to International Artists, the same label as The Thirteenth Floor Elevators. The Glaxo Babies, hairy Bristolian Pop Group-a-likes. The Lemon Kittens, perhaps owing to Karl Blake's Prog-inflected Jazz roots also have a shabby, unfocussed quality which makes me think they're closet hippies.

But look at the sleeves, you wouldn't have to listen to the records to guess. Danielle Dax's very amateur drawing of a shrine, the pig-Pollock splurge of "Nine Months to the Disco", Mayo's scruffy theory-heavy collage of postcards. I mean, they're all charming period-pieces but/and delightfully inept, pritt-sticked together on the table in the squat's kitchen. And this motif of the square "frame" on all their covers, s'like deconstruction innit, like a picture frame innit.

Bernard Szajner: Brute Reason (1983)
Paul Haig: Big Blue World (1984)
Eric Random: Time-Splice (1982)
Spherical Objects: Further Ellipses (1980)

Then look at this lot. Again, very peripheral, but kind of cool to boot. They're all resolutely "embracing the future", or at the least their immediate present. The Szajner is quite excellent, his best, tart cold-wave. Howard Devoto does the vocals but he doesn't sound so irritatingly mannered like he does on the Magazine records. Paul Haig, the Josef K guy solo on Disques de Crepuscule, is obliquely chasing the Human League's tail- I reckon they thought this could have been a hit, but b'jesus it's awful. Eric Random's "Time-Splice" must be one of the last attempts at the time to embrace PIL's legacy- to empty out the music rather than inflect it with New Wave Pop. There's a pre-echo of Acid House to the disc, the shots of the band on the rear even look like they're fresh from their own warehouse party. Spherical Object's "Further Ellipses", even though it hails from 1980, like the music of the Diagram Brothers is at that uncomfortable juncture at which Post-Punk bleeds into Indie. Next stop That Petrol Emotion and The Membranes. Notable for the disastrously bad vocals of Steve Solamar. Not hairy, "disciplined", not hippies.

The sleeves are like a parody of Factory's, but where Peter Saville made materials really count for Joy Division, the creamy almost fluffy hard-card of "Closer", the slickly micro-corrugation of the cover of "Unknown Pleasures"- whoever did these sleeves was definitely after the same look for cheap and we all know what Saville's sleeves cost Tony Wilson! But with just the poised font, a cropped photo (two video-stills here, tres moderne), flat colour and nothing else to back it up? It's certainly Minimal lads.

James Randerson, science correspondent
Tuesday August 21, 2007

Police used a remote-controlled spy drone to watch crowds at the V festival at the weekend, the first time the technology has been used at a major public event.

The 70cm-wide flying surveillance device, fitted with high-resolution still and colour video cameras as well as infrared night vision capability, was used to keep tabs on people thought to be acting suspiciously in car parks and to gather intelligence on individuals in the crowd.

Staffordshire police said the drone’s images did not lead directly to any arrests, but one reason for using it had been to deter would-be thieves. It was not flown over the main arena because of fears that a crash might cause injuries.

The battery-operated drone’s four carbon-fibre rotors are so quiet they cannot be heard from the ground once it is higher than 50 metres, and at 100 metres up it cannot be seen with the naked eye. It can fly 500 metres high, but the Civil Aviation Authority has set an operating limit of 120 metres. The vehicle, which takes off vertically, can be flown even when out of sight, because it beams images back to video goggles worn by the operator.

[…]

Guardian

The idiot who wrote this failed to ask this crucial question:

How can a drone that a criminal doesnt know is watching, deter that crimninal? The very fact that it is silent means that it cannot frighten off or deter anyone.

The rationale (false reasoning) used to justify CCTV is that it acts as a deterrent because criminals can see the cameras.

Is there not a single person at the Guardian with a working brain cell, that has the guts to rubbish this garbage?

…and this is from a SCIENCE writer.

In 1997, the time of the first pressing of The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations, we really had no idea about how it would go down or how best to get it into the public view. We took every opportunity to try and get the word out about it, including the following.

Around the corner from THESE Records (who were distributing TCP) in Lambeth Road, is the Imperial War Museum, who were running an exhibition entitled The Secret War which is, “…the UK’s only permanent exhibition devoted to UK espionage”.

Naturally, we thought that the Imperial War Museum might like to stock some ‘SOR’ copies of TCP, as it dovetails nicely with the exhibition. All we would have to do is show it to them, and they should be sold on the idea.

‘SOR’ means ‘Sale Or Return’ - this is how it works. We deliver a box of seven or fourteen copies of TCP, they put them on display in the shop. If they sell, they pay us, if they do not sell, they return them to us. There is no money up front, no security deposit, no account needed; we trust them to pay us, and there is no risk to them whatsoever.

We delivered a sample copy to them with a letter about TCP. You can imagine how we laughed when we received this reply from The Imperial War Museum Shop.

Now, the paranoid would say that someone made a phone call and nixed TCP being stocked. The cynical would say, “they just didn’t get it”, and others will say, “It is just as stated”. Either way, it struck us as rather bizarre that something as germane to a comprehensive espionage exhibition as TCP is, an exhibition featuring amongst other things, ENIGMA machines, short wave radios, spy equipment of all sorts etc would be dismissed in this very odd way. One listen to TCP should have been enough to convince them to stock it. The idea of TCP seems very dry on the surface, but the fact of it is very different. Once you listen to it, it is instantly clear that TCP is the polar opposite of a remote and inaccessible, ’specialised’ release.

Which of the above three reasons do you think stopped them from stocking TCP?

Tony Wilson; NME 31 May 1986 [photo credit: A.J. Barratt]

Tony Wilson died Friday August 10th. He created and ran Factory Records - one of the greatest, most inspiring record labels ever. I have every Factory Record ever released, and loved and still love the majority of them. He was also a great producer. A man of impeccable taste, true imagination, inspiration, insight and intuition. When we speak of real people, we are talking about the likes of Tony Wilson.

What a privilege it was to be at the receiving end of such greatness.

Ladies and gentlemen…that is how it was done.

From Bruce Schneier’s Cryptgram:

In this otherwise lopsided article about security cameras, this one quote stands out:

“But Steve Swain, who served for years with the London Metropolitan Police and its counter-terror operations, doubts the power of cameras to deter crime.

“‘I don’t know of a single incident where CCTV has actually been used to spot, apprehend or detain offenders in the act,’ he said, referring to the London system. Swain now works for Control Risk, an international security firm.

“Asked about their role in possibly stopping acts of terror, he said pointedly: ‘The presence of CCTV is irrelevant for those who want to sacrifice their lives to carry out a terrorist act.’ ”

And:

“Swain does believe the cameras have great value in investigation work. He also said they are necessary to reassure the public that law enforcement is being aggressive.

“‘You need to do this piece of theater so that if the terrorists are looking at you, they can see that you’ve got some measures in place,’ he said. ”

Did you get that? Swain doesn’t believe that cameras deter crime, but he wants cities to spend millions on them so that the terrorists “can see that you’ve got some measures in place.”

Anyone have any idea why we’re better off doing this than other things that may actually deter crime and terrorism?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/08/01/nyc.surveillance/index.html

And once again, for the thousandth time.

incredible technique to identifying seams in images and modify only the boring parts [via] 

Filed under: Culture, Sony PSP

A Tennessee man who was kidnapped and tortured for nine days in a motel managed to escape thanks in part to the Sony PSP.

According to an FBI report obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel, one of the two assailants had given the other a hand-held video game that he played "virtually all day that day and much of the night." (GamePolitics later confirmed from an FBI filing that it was a PSP.) The victim loosened his bindings while the kidnapper played and, when the he had fallen asleep, used the opportunity to escape.

Both men have been arrested in connection to the incident; there is an investigation as to the mens' involvement in similar cases.

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Brass Goggles points us to the work of Andy Aaron, who crafts very steampunky, work-worn "antique calculators." Too bad there isn't more info on his site about how he makes them. They obviously contain modern electronics. As someone points out in Brass Goggles comments, he needs to do one with a nixie tube display.

Aaron Adding Machines - [via] Link

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We're very pleased to introduce you to Rebecca Cittadini, who earlier this summer joined Eyebeam's staff as the Web, Design and Marketing Manager.

When Rebecca was eight she ran away from home to sit on an iridescent beach to watch a myriad of the sail boats go by. Since then, she has been obsessed with the speed of light, Philip K Dick, and slot machines.
In the rare moments when she's not brewing strong espresso, she likes to relax to some pink noise and a fair game of iChing.

selected big chill 07 videos

Of course I had to reblog the first contribution from the creator of YouTubeDoubler. Soon we will take over the world. -Jefferson

Remember how hard you tried to get into your parents' liquor cabinet on prom night? Well, fast-forward 10 years to when your toddler locked you out of the house and wouldn't let you back in. Moral of the story: You never know when being able to pick a lock can come in handy. Gunslot, a firearm forum, has a detailed tutorial that demonstrates how to pick a lock (ironic, I know). It's no easy feat, but according to Gunslot, you should be able to pick five pin locks (shown above) with relative ease after casually practicing for 3 to 5 days. For more lock-picking fun, check out the Locksport International guide to picking locks.

According to New York Magazine, A New Yorker born in 2004 can now expect to live 78.6 years, nine months longer than the average American will. The traditional ways of dying young in New York (homicide, AIDS, and drugs) continue to decline, but so does cancer and heart disease. One reason: people not only walk, they walk fast, faster than anywhere else in the country. “Walking speed absolutely reflects health status,” [epedemiologist Eleanor] Simonsick says. So when you irritatedly blow past a trio of ambling visitors from Ohio or Iowa on the subway platform, you’re not just being an obnoxious New Yorker. You’re demonstrating that you’re going to outlive them—and enjoy better health ...

On Everything by Pall Thayer - “I’ve set up another CodeChat page for the visualization applet for my piece On Everything. Setup and installation took all of about 1.5 minutes following the installation guide that comes with CodeChat’s source. I hope that others here who are creating code-based artwork will also use the CodeChat system to open-source and generate theoretical discussion for their own code.”

On Everything generates a real-time audio/visual presentation of everything by appropriating material being shared by the worldwide public in the form of shared images and diaries. The source material is endless, thus the work goes on forever. Material is synthesized, mixed and, ultimately, abstracted, to allow for varied interpretation. “On Everything” knows nothing of the content of these materials. It reflects everything while reflecting on nothing. That is up to the viewer.

Windows/Mac/Linux: The $1000 price tag attached to Microsoft Project Pro got you down? Cross platform open source app OpenProj comes to the rescue. OpenProj markets itself as a complete replacement for Microsoft Project and boasts complete integration with existing Project files and Primavera.

OpenProj shares the industry's most advanced scheduling engine with Project-ON-Demand and has Gantt Charts, Network Diagrams (PERT Charts), WBS and RBS charts, Earned Value costing and more. There is literally no time or effort involved in switching to OpenProj and your teams can manage projects in Linux, Unix, Mac or Windows for free.

OpenProj is simple enough for students and small businesses and advanced enough for major corporations. It's a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Tortillas in Mexico. Beer. Popcorn. Now Gummy bears are under threat as the price of glucose rose 30%. Der Spiegel warns that if crops continue to be more lucrative as biofuels than foodstuffs, then gummy bears could soon become a candy only the rich can afford. "We're going to maintain current prices through the end of the year," Marco Alfter, a spokesman for Bonn-based gummy bear-maker Haribo, told SPIEGEL. But afterwards, the golden bears could get more expensive. "The ...

43folders : Google Documents API Released - I wonder what kind of Quicksilver plug-in you could cook up with this.

Tags : apis google quicksilver

Wow, the knife.hand.chop.bot is my new favorite bot. The best part of the video is the laser dot that appears on the person's hand before it starts its chopping -

5VOLTCORE is about to build a self-fulfilling cybernetic system, that plays with the senses and perceptions of the User and the sensors and the processes of the Machine.

The Robot is equipped with a knife that the Machine uses to s(t)imulate the test of courage - a kind of game known as "Mumblety-Peg". The User puts his/her hand into the Machine and starts the knife game at the push of a button. The knife starts to hit the space between the fingers, first slowly then continually getting faster. The Machine knows where to chop by receiving signals of a sensor that guides the knife to the place between the fingers.

Electric contacts are mounted on the support block of the Machine, where the hand is situated. These contacts are activated as soon as the first "nervous sweat" appears that turns the skin into a conductor. Subsequently the computer becomes disturbed by the electric current that is now transmitted via the skin.

This has two effects: on the one hand, sounds are generated by the closure of the contacts (circuit bending) that can either be interpreted as warning or act as an additional source of stress. On the other hand, they can have an effect on the position of the knife which is controlled by the computer and thereby hurt the potential perpetrator of the disturbance.

knife.hand.chop.bot - Link.
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Filed under: Cellphones

 

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

jkottke : Billionaire casino owner and art collector Steve Wynn accidentally put his elbow through a $140 million Picasso while gesturing in talking about the painting - Billionaire casino owner and art collector Steve Wynn accidentally put his elbow through a $140 million Picasso while gesturing in talking about the painting. Update: Nora Ephron was present at the accidental violation of Ms. Marie-Therese Walter by Wynn

Ever imagined a self-contained, energy-efficient, solar powered city to live in? Well, the blueprints are complete. The X-Seed 4000 is the tallest building ever fully envisioned, and with its eco-focused internal environment certainly provides a very interesting discussion for Inhabitat.

The X-Seed 4000 proposed 4000metre (13,123 foot) height, 6 kilometre wide sea-base, and 800 floor capacity could accommodate five hundred thousand to one million inhabitants. Designed by Taisei Construction Corporation, as an “intelligent building” the super-futuristically-named X-Seed 4000 would maintain light, temperature, and air pressure in response to changing external weather conditions. Because it has already been fully designed using materials available today, the structure could, in principle, be built, although it would likely cost several hundred billion dollars, if not more. Because the structure would weigh so much, it could only be built on the sea if present-day construction materials were used.

Unlike conventional skyscrapers, the X-Seed 4000 would be required to actively protect its occupants from considerable air pressure gradations and weather fluctuations along its massive elevation. Its design calls for the use of solar power to maintain internal environmental conditions. Some estimate that the cost to construct the X-Seed 4000 structure may be somewhere between US$300-900 billion, in current dollars. However, I will not be surprised to eventually see this built in Tokyo, Japan.

Michael of Accelerating Future concludes his thoughts on the design:

The X-Seed 4000 sounds an awful lot like an arcology, that is, ecological piece of architecture that would contain its own dependent ecosystem as well as human housing. In the long run, as buildings grow to such huge sizes that they become cities unto themselves, the integration of plants and animals will be essential for the preservation of human sanity and basic aesthetics. Eventually the Earth’s surface could become entirely covered in such structures.

a network diagram which documents every instance of the phrase "is the new" encountered from various sources in 2005. it is intended to map the iterations of a peculiarly common marketing and literary device. (luckily, "awake is the new sleep").

[link: thediagram.com|via TomC]

see also visuwords graphical dictionary & javascript visual wordnet

smallfries writes "The network neutrality debate has raged on in the States for some time now. Now broadband providers in the UK have banded together to threaten the BBC, who plans to provide programming over 'their' networks. The BBC is being asked to cough up to pay for bandwidth charges, otherwise traffic shaping will be used to limit access to the iPlayer. 'As more consumers access and post video content on the internet - using sites such as YouTube - the ability of ISPs to cope with the amount of data being sent across their networks is coming under increasing strain, even without TV broadcasters moving on to the web. Analysts believe that ISPs will be forced to place stringent caps on consumers' internet use and raise prices to curb usage. Attempts have been made by players in the industry to form a united front against the BBC by asking the Internet Service Providers' Association to lead the campaign on the iPlayer issue. However, to date, no single voice for the industry has emerged. ' I thought that the monthly fee we pay already was to cover access ... but maybe it only covers the final mile and they need to be paid twice to cover the rest of the journey."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Anyone who IRCs regularly know of a few distinct personalities that irritate to the core. It's almost as if there is a nest somewhere making sure that the supply of lost AOLers, obnoxious 13 year olds and elitist know nothings don't run out. No matter how many you try to kick/ban off the planet.

Above is a picture of “Wild Fire Beats!”, an instrument made in our last MIDI Scrapyard Challenge workshop on Friday in Evanston, IL. This one was made from an old CD burner that was modded to play different tones when it opened and closed along with the little “drummer” guy bouncing around with a motor attached to a counter-weight attached to his back! Overall some really nice instruments made in the workshop! See all the documentation on the main site.

October 21, 2007

The Largest Free Cycling Event in New York City

• Choose a 25- or 40-mile route
• Every skill level welcome
• Neighborhoods, historic districts, waterfronts and more
• Free bike helmets for first 100 kids
• Lunch & power snacks on the house
• Tour de Bronx jazz festival at the end of the ride

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Today in Germany the Hacker Tool Law goes into effect. With the official name of Paragraph 202C it states that it is illegal to possess, use, produce, or distribute a "hacker tool".

In theory, law enforcement could come and arrest everyone here at Chaos Communications Camp. A group of hackers gathered in solidarity to protest this law. Hackers in Germany have been protesting the making of this law for the past year and are stunned that it passed and has gone into effect.

The term "hacker tool" is left vague. Nmap or other network monitoring system could fall into this category. Software likeKismac, a wifi detection software, closed down today. Phenoelit, a hacker group, also closed down shop and saying goodbye to Germany.

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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Believe it or not, booking a hotel in space may become a reality sooner rather than later, and if things go as planned, the Galactic Suite will actually be welcoming in guests sans gravity in just five short years. Folks who make the trip will be able to "see the sun rise 15 times a day and use Velcro suits to crawl around their rooms by sticking themselves to the walls," and while spas with floating water sure sounds like something we'd be interested in, the nightly fees are quite literally out of this world. How much? Try $4 million for a three-day stay -- better bring your camera, eh?

[Via PCWorld, image courtesy of MSNBC]

 

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