You use it every day without a second thought, but if you think about it for just a second, QWERTY is really, really weird. Where did something so strangely unintuitive come from? The popular story is that it has to do with typewriter mechanics and jamming prevention, and although that explanation sure is tidy, it’s also probably bullshit.FULL ARTICLE.
Building This Bike Is Almost As Easy as Making a Sandwich
The SandwichBike not only sounds delicious in name, it’s delightfully customizable. It comes to you in the mail, and you assemble it all by yourself. And though that sounds daunting, it’s supposed to be insanely easy. FULL ARTICLE.
ENVIRONMENT
This Shirt Can Be Worn For 100 Days Without Washing, Which Sounds Incredibly Sketchy But Also Awesome
Who even knows. The creators of Wool&Prince are claiming that you can wear their wool button-down shirts for days on end without them wrinkling, smelling or showing any dirt. Frankly, that sounds ridiculous, but maybe? FULL ARTICLE.
TECHNOLOGY
Tesla beefs up service with unconditional battery warranty, valets, and top of the line loaners
Tesla Motors has announced today that they’re beefing up their already very solid warranty and services offerings for the Model S electric car (which apparently has been selling very well). Elon Musk, the company’s CEO, has written a very good blog post explaining all the changes, so rather than paraphrase him, here’s choice excerpts:FULL ARTICLE.
Conscious Business, Crowdfunding and Social Impact Investing
Crowdfunding thought leader Rose Spinelli and Richard Branson Award Winner Shayan Nahrvar, CEO of Raise5.com, were ready to talk about funding in the new capitalism at the Conscious Business Network last week, formal presentations in hand.
Powerpoints were quickly abandoned as they chose instead to offer basic introductions and then quickly begin to answer members’ penetrating questions. “What about the migration of ‘investing solely to make more money’ to investing from both heart and bottom line? FULL ARTICLE.
6 Simple Rituals to Help You Reach Your Potential Everyday
It’s Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. Two San Francisco entrepreneurs are pitching their ventures to potential investors today. They’d both agree that this is one of the most important days of their lives. This is the story of Jane and Joe…
Jane was up until 4 a.m. putting the final touches on her deck. In fact, she spent the entire weekend fixed in her apartment, preparing the presentation. This morning, she woke up late and rushed putting together her most “investor-worthy” attire. She slammed a shot of espresso, grabbed her computer, and ran out the door feeling hungry and tired. She arrived right on time but felt anxious and flustered about the events of the morning. Joe, on the other hand…FULL ARTICLE.
Not Watching the News as a Spiritual Practice
Yesterday morning, on Google+ (my social network of choice) I shared a newspaper article by novelist Rolf Dobelli, called News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier.
The lede of the article is “News is bad for your health. It leads to fear and aggression, and hinders your creativity and ability to think deeply. The solution? Stop consuming it altogether.” That’s the story in a nutshell. FULL ARTICLE.
ENVIRONMENT
Solar Power Accounted for 100% of New Energy on U.S. Grid March 2013
Granted, it was only 44 megawatts. According to the latest data from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), March 2013 was a very special month for the U.S. power grid. For the first time ever, all of the new capacity added during the month came from solar power. Granted, it wasn’t quite an ordinary month for the grid: No other sources added any capacity, and solar officially grew by 44 megawatts, a respectable amount for a single month (that’s more than half a gigawatt annualized). FULL ARTICLE.
Sandwichbike Finally Rolls Out to Market
Le Corbusier once wrote that “creation is a patient search” and for industrial designers before the age of Kickstarter and Indiegogo, it really was- a search for funding, for marketing, for manufacturing capabilities. It can take years. TreeHugger Warren first described the Sandwich Bike in 2006, writing, “Inspired by IKEA, the Sandwich Bike comes flat packed in a cardboard box…”FULL ARTICLE.
HEALTH
How Much Protein Should You Be Eating?
The answer – wait for it – depends on who (and what) you are. Your goals, your age, your activity levels, your size, and your health status all impact how much protein you need. And although individual protein requirements ultimately depend on dozens of variables that we can’t really know, there are some baseline intakes that can serve as a foundation for different groups. Let’s take a look… FULL ARTICLE.
These Wooden Kitchen Knives Look Amazing, But Would You Use Them?
This pair of knives are a concept by FDRL, an Ottawa-based design consultancy. There is absolutely no denying that, resplendent in sleek Maple, they’re beautiful objects—but who the hell would use them?
The guys at FDRL explains that the “knife gives the appearance of being lightweight; however their weight is balanced to ensure that they can be used by any level of chef”. It also claims that the wood is sealed and food safe to allow for easy cleanup. All of which is great!FULL ARTICLE.
Patton Oswalt’s Powerful Boston Marathon Post Inspires on Facebook
Of all the pontificators and pundits reacting online and off, it was comedian Patton Oswalt who perhaps provided the most poignant take on the Boston Marathon bombing Monday afternoon.
In a post to his Facebook page, Oswalt wrote that while violence such as Monday’s tragedy exemplifies the worst of humanity, it’s easy to lose track of the bigger picture. The post reads in part: FULL ARTICLE.
What Will Google Glass Do to Our Brains?
Humanity is about to undertake a bold experiment. If all goes as Google hopes, many of us will be strapping on Google Glasses later this year. The post-PC era in effect since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and the iPad in 2010 could give way to a the wearable computing era prompted by Glass.
Though there’s always a chance that the technology could fail miserably, it could also, as Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst with Forrester Research suggests, be “the next Pinterest plus Amazon plus Facebook plus the iPhone put together.” FULL ARTICLE.
A Facebook Fan Is Worth $174, Researcher Says
A Facebook fan is worth $174 to a brand, up 28% since 2010, according to Syncapse, a social media marketing firm.
Syncapse worked with research firm Hotspex on a survey based on data collected from more than 2,000 U.S. panelists in late January and early February. The study compared Facebook fans and non-fans based and their corresponding product spending, brand loyalty, propensity to recommend, media value, cost of acquisition and brand affinity to arrive at the figure. FULL ARTICLE.
ENVIRONMENT
Clean-up or cover-up? Latest in Exxon oil spill Reveals Big Questions
In the weeks following the rupture of the Exxon Mobil Pegasus pipeline that spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil ( or tar sands diluted bitumen) into a Mayflower, Arkansas neighborhood and lake, the news about the spill was just one depressing story after the next as we learned that wildlife had been oiled, local residents, including children, were becoming sick, contaminated water was pumped into the lake, the media was being intimidated to reduce access and coverage and that Exxon may have known about the spill earlier than they are letting on. FULL ARTICLE.
HEALTH
10 Psychological Hurdles Keeping You From Losing Weight (and How to Overcome Them)
Habits become ingrained in our days and in our brains to the point where it just doesn’t feel right without them. Now, if your habits take the form of regular exercise, eating plants and animals, and getting good sleep, you’re in good shape. If your habits look a little different, you might not be:
The coffee and crueller (stat!) on the way to work. The handful of candy beans every time you pass the candy-loving receptionist’s desk. The nightly six pack. The propensity to plop down on the couch and stay there for hours after work. We’ve all got some bad habits, and depending on their composition, they can disrupt our ability to lose weight. FULL ARTICLE.
Roasted Brussels sprouts with orange butter sauce [Vegetarian]
The mark of a truly great cookbook is one that you pick up and, as you thumb through the pages you notice yourself thinking of every single recipe, “I want to cook that.” That was what happened when I picked up Susie Middleton’s Fast, Fresh & Green cookbook. Often, you scan through a cookbook and find a handful of recipes you want to make, and even fewer you’re actually likely to make. There are precious few that cater so perfectly to your own personal taste and cooking style. For me, that is this veggie-centric cookbook by Middleton.FULL ARTICLE.
As the spring weather fast approaches we see a change of many things . . . The
Weather, People’s Attire, Mother Nature and even our food choices.
But why is that? Is it because we have been locked up inside for the
winter? Or have we been frozen to the bone and now are defrosting? Or
could it be something else that is just drawing us to a higher
vibration?
The changes of the season are not only a physical phenomena, but also
energetic. And it’s very necessary. Spring Energy is transformational – it
awakens the dormant, it blossoms the seedlings and provides the
resources for an abundant summer.
Spring is a time to take the top down or open the sun roof, but it is
also a time to prepare for natural changes in our life. As we begin to
get outside more and begin spending more time amongst the elements –
water, earth etc, we begin to get more connected with nature, we begin
to take in more Vitamin D from the sun and ultimately we begin to
re-connect with a natural energy.
So as you choose what to do this weekend whether it be a hike, bike
ride, taking the dog for an extended walk or maybe even a round of
golf, remember to take the time enjoy the outdoors – take in the
surroundings and all that the outdoors has to offer you.
In taking that time and expressing some gratitude, you will be rewarded
in many ways as your life is filled with the energy of the Spring.
When your life is nothing but trolling and viral videos, having a bad wi-fi connection can be incredibly irritating. Poor loading times, lost connections, and more can put a strain on your time browsing the internet. However, there are some ways to improve your Wi-Fi connection. FULL ARTICLE.
HEALTH
Why Health Integrity Matters, or The Power of Being Honest With Yourself
Today we have infinite possibilities, and we suffer as well as benefit a great deal for it. We have the option of sitting on the couch all weekend watching a Game of Thrones marathon. We have the potential to eat at McDonald’s for thirty days straight. We can buy a pack of cigarettes despite the fact we’re hooked up to an oxygen tank. We can have our doctor up our insulin dosage and buy a large Slurpee or a Krispy Kreme on the way home. We can stress ourselves to our last, pathetic nerve (and adrenal exhaustion) by living on too much work, too little sleep, too much worry, and too many stimulants. We have the choice – and that’s exactly what it is: a choice. Whatever our past, whatever our present condition, however, we are always free to make a different next choice. FULL ARTICLE.
TECHNOLOGY
Top 10 Tech Stories from March
Virtual fences for cows. Projects for Raspberry Pi microcomputers. A teen invents a solution for cleaning up ocean plastic. Charging your cell phone with text messages. These and other awesome stories from March are rounded up here so you can get caught up quickly. FULL ARTICLE.
Cell-ebration! 40 Years of Cell Phone History
Today’s mobile movement is all about efficiency and multitasking. But with the first cellphone in 1973, you could place a phone call and get a workout at the same time. After all, the phone weighed 2.5 pounds.
The cellphone turned 40 on Wednesday, April 3. Its creator, Martin Cooper, 84, placed the first mobile phone call on the streets of New York City — he phoned his rival, Joel Engel, head of research at Bell Labs. You can imagine how cheeky that exchange was. FULL ARTICLE.
QWERTY’s Origin Story Is a Big Fat Lie
Building This Bike Is Almost As Easy as Making a Sandwich
This Shirt Can Be Worn For 100 Days Without Washing, Which Sounds Incredibly Sketchy But Also Awesome
Tesla beefs up service with unconditional battery warranty, valets, and top of the line loaners
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