October 22, 2012
In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be identical to each other. Ordinarily, cameras have a sensitivity to light that is a function of time. For example, a one second exposure is an exposure in which the camera image is equally responsive to light over the exposure time of one second. The criterion for determining that something is a double exposure is that the sensitivity goes up and then back down.
The simplest example of a multiple exposure is a double exposure without flash, i.e. two partial exposures are made and then combined into one complete exposure. Some single exposures, such as ‘flash and blur’ use a combination of electronic flash and ambient exposure. Multiple exposures are sometimes used as an artistic visual effect or to create ghostly images (it is frequently used in photographic hoaxes).
Posted in Art, Technology |
2 Comments »
October 22, 2012
The B vitamin complex are a group of 8 water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism. Originally, it was thought they were just different forms of one vitamin (like with Vitamin D, for example).
Later it turned out that they are separate vitamins that often can be found together: Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin) Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Vitamin B7 (Biotin), Vitamin B9 (Folic acid), and Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin). Continue reading →
Posted in Food, Health |
Leave a Comment »
October 22, 2012
The Spice trade refers to the trade between historic civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa, and Europe; spices such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, and turmeric were known, and used for commerce, in the Eastern World well into antiquity.
These spices found their way into the Middle East before the beginning of the Christian Era, where the true sources of these spices was withheld by the traders, and associated with fantastic tales. Continue reading →
Posted in Food, Money, World |
Leave a Comment »
October 22, 2012
Melange [mey-lahnj] from French ‘mélange’ (‘set of diverse elements’) – also called the ‘spice’ – is the name of the fictional drug central to the ‘Dune’ series of science fiction novels by Frank Herbert, and derivative works.
In the series, the most essential and valuable commodity in the universe is melange, a geriatric drug that gives the user a longer life span, greater vitality, and heightened awareness; it can also unlock prescience (foreknowledge of events) in some humans, depending upon the dosage and the consumer’s physiology. This prescience-enhancing property makes safe and accurate interstellar travel possible. Melange comes with a steep price, however: it is addictive, and withdrawal is fatal. Continue reading →
Posted in Drugs, Food, Language |
Leave a Comment »
October 22, 2012
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance primarily used for flavoring coloring or preserving food. Sometimes a spice is used to hide other flavors. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are parts of leafy green plants also used for flavoring or as garnish.
Many spices have antimicrobial properties. This may explain why spices are more commonly used in warmer climates, which have more infectious disease, and why use of spices is especially prominent in meat, which is particularly susceptible to spoiling. A spice may have an extra use, usually medicinal, religious ritual, cosmetics or perfume production, or as a vegetable. For example, turmeric roots are consumed as a vegetable and garlic as an antibiotic. Continue reading →
Posted in Food, Money, World |
Leave a Comment »
October 22, 2012
The Gin Craze was a period in the first half of the 18th century when the consumption of gin increased rapidly in Great Britain, especially in London. Many people overconsumed and the city had a virtual epidemic of extreme drunkenness; this provoked moral outrage and a legislative backlash that some compare to the modern drug wars.
Parliament passed five major Acts, in 1729, 1736, 1743, 1747 and 1751, designed to control the consumption of gin. Though many similar drinks were available, and alcohol consumption was considerable at all levels of society, it was gin (otherwise known as ‘Mother’s Ruin’ or ‘Madam Geneva,’ a misspelling of the original drink called ‘jenever’) which caused the greatest public concern. Continue reading →
Posted in Drugs, Money, Politics |
Leave a Comment »
October 21, 2012
Luminous mind (‘brightly shining citta’) is a term attributed to the Buddha in the ‘Nikayas’ (Bhuddist scripture); the mind is said to be ‘luminous’ whether or not it is tainted by mental defilements.
The statement is given no direct doctrinal explanation in the discourses, but later Buddhist schools explained it using various concepts developed by them. There are two major sects in Buddhism, the older and more conservative Theravada and the larger, more modern Mahyana. Continue reading →
Posted in Philosophy |
Leave a Comment »
October 21, 2012
The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification that defines a software interface between an operating system and platform firmware. UEFI is meant as a replacement for the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) firmware interface, present in all IBM PC-compatible personal computers. In practice, most UEFI images have legacy support for BIOS services.
It can be used to allow remote diagnostics and repair of computers, even without another operating system. The original EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) specification was developed by Intel. Some of its practices and data formats mirror ones from Windows. The BIOS is limited to a 16-bit processor mode and 1 MB of addressable space due to the design being based on the IBM 5150 which used the 16-bit Intel 8088. In comparison, the UEFI processor mode can be either 32-bit (x86-32, ARM) or 64-bit (x86-64 and Itanium).
Continue reading →
Posted in Money, Politics, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
October 21, 2012
A hiccup is a contraction of the diaphragm that may repeat several times per minute. In medicine it is known as ‘synchronous diaphragmatic flutter’ (SDF), or ‘singultus,’ from the Latin ‘singult,’ ‘the act of catching one’s breath while sobbing.’ The hiccup is an involuntary action involving a reflex arc.
Once triggered, the reflex causes a strong contraction of the diaphragm followed about 0.25 seconds later by closure of the vocal cords, which results in the classic hic sound. At the same time, the normal peristalis of the esophagus is suppressed. A bout of hiccups, in general, resolves itself without intervention, although many home remedies are often used to attempt to shorten the duration. Medical treatment is occasionally necessary in cases of chronic hiccups.
Continue reading →
Posted in Health, Science |
1 Comment »
October 21, 2012
Sociocybernetics is an independent chapter of science in sociology based upon Systems Theory (a framework to analyze a group of objects that work in concert to produce some result) and cybernetics (the study of control and communication systems in animals and machines). It also has a basis in Organizational Development (OD) consultancy practice and in Theories of Communication, theories of psychotherapies, and computer sciences. The ‘International Sociological Association’ has a specialist research committee in the area, which publishes the (electronic) ‘Journal of Sociocybernetics.’
The study of society as a system can be traced back to the origin of sociology when the emergent idea of functional differentiation was applied for the first time to society by Auguste Comte. From his viewpoint, the principal feature of modern society was the increased process of system differentiation as a way of dealing with the complexity of the environment. This is accomplished through the creation of subsystems in an effort to copy within a system the difference between it and the environment.
Continue reading →
Posted in Politics, Science, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
October 21, 2012
‘Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age’ is a 2010 non-fiction book by Clay Shirky. The book is an indirect sequel to Shirky’s ‘Here Comes Everybody,’ which covered the impact of social media. The book’s central theme is that people are now learning how to use more constructively the free time afforded to them since the 1940s for creative acts rather than consumptive ones, particularly with the advent of online tools that allow new forms of collaboration.
It goes on to catalog the means and motives behind these new forms of cultural production, as well as key examples. While Shirky acknowledges that the activities that we use our cognitive surplus for may be frivolous (such as creating ‘LOLcats’), the trend as a whole is leading to valuable and influential new forms of human expression. He also asserts that even the most inane forms of creation and sharing are preferable to the hundreds of billions of hours spent consuming television. Continue reading →
Posted in Language, Money, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
October 21, 2012
‘Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations’ is a 2008 book by Clay Shirky, which evaluates the effect of the Internet on modern group dynamics. The author considers examples such as ‘Wikipedia’ and ‘MySpace’ in his analysis, and says his book is about ‘what happens when people are given the tools to do things together, without needing traditional organizational structure.’
The title of the work alludes to ‘HCE,’ a recurring and central figure in James Joyce’s ‘Finnegans Wake.’ In the book, Shirky recounts how social tools such as blogging software like WordPress and Twitter, file sharing platforms like Flickr, and online collaboration platforms like Wikipedia support group conversation and group action in a way that previously could only be achieved through institutions. Continue reading →
Posted in Language, Technology |
Leave a Comment »
The Daily Omnivore 