February, 2010

Decode: Digital Design Sensations is on exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. If you can get there, it will take your breath away, but if you can't get there, I'll share part of the exhibit on display and interacting at the V&A until April 11, 2010: the five winners of the Nokia awards, inventions that demonstrate the capabilities of its N900.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will create the first robot that will enable a human to interact with it through touch, much as they would another human. Last week, MIT commissioned the British company Peratech to develop its next generation tactile robotic skin to accomplish its goal.

Protect yourself from the rain and wind while carrying your sleeping gear on your body. The Sleeping Coat is a very functional design for campers and backpackers.

Yes, there was a time when meditation and yoga were scorned upon as "hippie" or "new age" fads. But over and over again scientific studies have shown that meditation improves everything from heart health to study habits to forgiveness!  Why wouldn't everyone want to learn meditation as a life skill? It  would cut down the cost of medications, hospitalizations, surgeries, therapy needs, medical costs... Heck, everyone would be healthy! And maybe even nicer to each other.

The GoBandit GPSHD improves upon the average sports video by adding GPS-calculated performance data. Now you can prove what you accomplished like never before.

A stylish, technological masterpiece, the Aurora watch is different than any other watch you've ever seen.

The most advanced bicycle that we've ever seen was fittingly designed by a company that specializes in F1 racing car technology. Your Schwinn will never quite look the same again.

Google is calling all aspiring graphic artists and graphic illustrators to submit a home page logo for Google!  Imagine that!  But you have to be a kid; chronologically a kid.

To help make the game of football (soccer) more fair, one design firm envisions an electronic ball with GPS and RFID technology.

The March issue of the peer-reviewed Social Psychology Quarterly, a journal of the American Sociological Association, will contain an article entitled "Why Liberals and Atheists are More Intelligent."  Though certain to cause some outrage, the investigator has collected some statistically significant IQ evidence that supports his theory.

There are exceptions to the rule of course, but we all know men who just don't want to step foot in a store no matter what the reason. Online shopping has transformed the way people shop, and many men (and women) have been relieved to avoid the lines and crowds at malls and big box stores. But even online shopping requires regular orders to be placed for essential items, which is why a new business has decided to accommodate shopaphobic men.

.... TIAs aren't called mini strokes for nothing.  The most common cause of TIA is the very same as the most common cause of stroke: blood clots blocking blood flow to the brain.  The difference is that TIAs usually resolve within minutes or a few hours. The classification of the incident is all a matter of how long the blockage lasts; if the disturbance doesn't clear up within 24 hours, you've had a stroke, not a TIA.

With the recent new release of Super Mario Brothers for the Wii, old video game characters are making a comeback in a big way. Sure, they've been featured over the years in more modern video games, but this one brings people back to why the loved Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and the rest of the gang in the first place. So, it's no surprise that Mario themed accessories are popping up all over either.

This motorcycle helmet is designed to save your scalp.  Not just your scalp, but your brain, because it's your brain that can suffer permanent impairment if you get tossed from a motorcycle.  Now, if you survive such a toss, it's very possible you will suffer Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and/or spinal cord injury.  But this helmet's been 15 years in the making so that it can offer nearly 70 percent more protection against TBI than other motorcycle helmets.

If you're not familiar with Munnys, they're customizable, collectible dolls created by Kidrobot, the cutting edge designer toy and apparel makers that are hot as hot cakes at IHOP.  All of Kidrobot's designs are produced in limited edition; the more famous the Kidrobot design collaborators, the more limited and the more expensive the item.  I'm sure the Munny Lightbotz, by lighting designer and artist Marcus Tremonto, are no exception. 

Peanut allergies are the most common cause of food related death.  Four percent of children are allergic to peanuts and only 20 percent of those children ever outgrow the allergy.  Symptoms of peanut allergy can include rashes, itchy skin, sneezing, teary eyes, vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and swelling.  But severe symptoms may include anaphylactic shock, which can be deadly if not treated immediately.  You don't mess with food allergies.

You probably know about the NCAA, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, but did you know that there is a National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA)?  It has approximately 200 college and university members, and more than 5,000 students at these institutions are on entrepreneurial inventor teams (E-Teams).  Now, 15 of those teams are getting ready for a face-off at the March Madness for the Mind showcase in San Francisco.

Yesterday, I wrote about the Electrolux Design Lab concept for 2050, Heart of the Home.  To give you an idea of how out there Heart of the Home is (and I mean that lovingly), the kitchen's pots and pans are traced into existence with an index finger, and they don't need to be washed or stored, just erased! 

Now, wait until you see what Philips Design has cooked up for 2050! 

The large helmet is the ExAblate 4000, a magnetic resonance guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) device, by Israel's Insightec.  ExAblate 4000 has been tested successfully to isolate and destroy the smallest of tumors in the brain, without affecting the surrounding tissues or bones.  Now, researchers are looking at the technology to do the same with blood clots that can lead to stroke.

While the opening ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics generated a lot of conversation about the unique, patriotic uniforms (including Canada's donation to the 3-man Indian team), it's the Americans that have got everyone talking.

We've all had bad roommates at some time or another; whether it's because your personalities clash in close quarters, they fail to pull their weight with the housework, or they traipse a parade of people through the apartment while you're trying to sleep. Finding a good roommate really takes as much work as matchmaking for a romantic relationship, and that's where Speed Renting comes in.

Jaime Hayón, the Spanish "designer artist," is a spirited, eclectic, imaginative, and extremely talented man, whose works one always delights in seeing.  At this winter's Maison&Objet Paris trade show, Hayón was honored for his work, by being selected as Maison&Objet' Interior Designer of 2010.  I've chosen 12 of Hayón's diversified works to give you an idea of the breadth of his artistry and the many reasons he was chosen as Maison&Objet's Interior Designer of 2010.

If you're looking for a last-minute getaway to surprise your beloved this Valentine's Day, it's not too late to throw something together no matter where you live. Last minute or not, venture to any of the unique themed hotels below and you're sure to have a romantic and memorable time! With hotels worldwide with themes that serve any interest, your loved one will never know that you weren't planning ahead! There's a pretty good chance guys or gals that you'll get lucky, and it won't be a result of questionable lingerie purchases at all.

Apparently the new trend in high(er) education is to combine alcohol with highly-caffeinated energy drinks.  Oh well.  But those in the University of Florida's (UF) College of Public Health and Health Professions took an interest in studying the actual effects of this trend....

Finding that perfect Valentine's Day gift can be quite a hassle.  All to often, girlfriends end up getting something that satisfies their desire to give something "cute" but not really "cool". So, that is why I decided to create this helpful list of  some Valentine's Day gift ideas that can satisfy the need for giving something "cute" but that also can satisfy our need to get something "cool" and perhaps even useful in satisfying the inner geek in most guys.  Check out some of these finds! 

Fanny packs might be the farthest thing from fashionable, but sometimes you've just got to boycott those laws for a night or day out when lugging around a purse just isn't convenient. Fortunately, one creative designer has come up with a moderately more fashionable alternative that won't make you look and feel like a tourist!

Coming up with new and inventive ways to market your business can be a challenge. While social networking and viral marketing online seems to be one of the most effective trends used today, particularly those in competitive industries need to get creative. Sometimes getting creative can cost an arm and a leg, one company keeps things simple.

If you have a cat whose breath, pee, and poo all stink, you'll want to know about Good Bye Odor, an "internal waste deodorizer."   "A what?" you may rightly ask.  Well, this product aims to introduce new enzymes and amino acids to your cat's digestive system so his "effuse" is not offensive.

Though the link between mothers who smoke during pregnancy and babies who succumb to sudden Instant death syndrome (SIDS) has been made, one more piece of research has demonstrated specifically how the smoke impacts the fetus.