December 1, 2010
The NatureMill is an automated, indoor composter. Powered by about 10 watts of electricity per month, it heats and mixes food scraps every four hours. Steady aeration and low heat accelerates the composting process; it takes two to the three weeks to convert waste into usable soil.
Natural compost cultures consume waste quickly, without odors. They produce a mild aroma like sourdough, mushrooms, or straw. Sawdust and baking soda reduce acidity, and a fan draws air into the machine, providing oxygen to the cultures. A powerful carbon filter removes any lingering odors. The NatureMill Pro costs $399. Maximum input is 120 lbs. per month. Bones and peach and avocado pits will not compost in a NatureMill, and acidic foods like citrus, tomatoes, and grapes will only compost in limited quantities.
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November 11, 2010
The Eames [eemz] Lounge Chair, officially titled Eames Lounge (670) and Ottoman (671), were released in 1956 after years of development by designers Charles and Ray Eames for the Herman Miller furniture company. It was the first chair the Eames designed for a high-end market. They are made of molded plywood and leather, and examples of these furnishings are part of the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. They are prized for comfort, aesthetics, and for the pioneering use of new materials and manufacturing methods.
There is a decent used market for these chairs. Some collectors are willing to pay high prices for earlier chairs made with Brazilian Rosewood veneer, which is no longer available due to a worldwide embargo since 1992. Prices for original rosewood chairs have recently reached as much as $7,000 in auction. A new Eames Lounge Chair and ottoman starts at $3,200 for a Herman Miller model. In 2006, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the chair, Herman Miller released models using a sustainable Palisander Rosewood veneer.
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November 4, 2010
The Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was one of the first programmable drum machines. Introduced by the Roland Corporation in early 1980, it was originally manufactured for use as a tool for studio musicians to create demos. Like earlier Roland drum machines, it does not sound very much like a real drum kit.
One of the machine’s earliest mainstream hits in the United States was on Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing.’ A TR-808 was also David Byrne’s sole accompaniment (apart from his acoustic guitar) at the beginning of ‘Stop Making Sense.’
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November 3, 2010
The DARPA PowerSwim program is developing a human-powered swimming device for use by combat and reconnaissance swimmers. The device uses the same oscillating foil approach to swimming that is exhibited by many fish and aquatic birds. This propulsion approach is more than 80-percent efficient in conversion of human motions to forward propulsion. Typical recreational swim fins are no more than 15-percent efficient in their conversion of human exertion to propulsive power, and freestyle swimming converts only 3-percent.
Posted in Technology, War |
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October 12, 2010
Choco Taco is a brand of dessert food resembling a taco, consisting of a taco shell-like waffle cone, reduced-fat vanilla ice cream, artificially flavored fudge, peanuts, and a milk chocolate coating. The product was invented in Philadelphia in the 1980s by the Jack and Jill Ice Cream Company, but was introduced nationwide by Good Humor-Breyers in 1996 as ‘America’s coolest taco,’ at the Supermarket Industry Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
The ‘Choco Taco’ is marketed under both the Good Humor and Klondike brands. Both brands are owned by the same ice cream conglomerate, Good Humor-Breyers, a unit of Unilever, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1998, Unilever introduced the Choco Taco to Italy with the name Taco Algida.
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September 19, 2010
The Original Whizzinator is a product intended to fraudulently defeat drug tests. The Whizzinator comes as a kit complete with dried urine and syringe, heater packs (to keep the urine at body temperature), a false penis (available in several skin tones including white, tan, latino, brown, and black) and an instruction manual. The company also offered a female version of the Whizzinator, called ‘Number One.’
The device received media coverage in 2005 after Onterrio Smith, a former Minnesota Vikings running back, was caught with one at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, which resulted in his suspension. Actor Tom Sizemore was also caught with a Whizzinator that year. In 2008, federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh won a 19-count indictment against Puck Technology, maker of the Whizzinator, and its owners for fraud and selling drug paraphernalia. As of 2011, the Whizzinator-XXX is being marketed by Alternative Lifestyle Systems for $139.95 through ‘High Times’ magazine as a strap-on ‘wet sex simulator’ containing ‘synthetic urine,’ ostensibly for synthetic watersports activity.
Posted in Drugs, Politics, Sex |
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September 13, 2010
Washlet is a registered trademark of Japanese toilet industry giant TOTO, referring to electric toilets with bidet functions. The first toilet with an integrated bidet was produced in the United States in 1964. The age of the high-tech toilet in Japan started in 1980 with the introduction of the Washlet G Series by Toto, and since then the product name washlet has been used to refer to all types of Japanese high-tech toilets. As of 2002, almost half of all private homes in Japan have such a toilet, exceeding the number of households with a personal computer.
While the toilet looks like a Western-style toilet at first glance, there are numerous additional features—such as blow dryer, seat heating, massage options, water jet adjustments, automatic lid opening, automatic flushing, wireless control panel, room heating and air conditioning for the room—included either as part of the toilet or in the seat. Recently, researchers have added medical sensors into these toilets, which can measure the blood sugar based on the urine, and also measure the pulse, blood pressure, and the body fat content of the user.
Posted in Health, Technology, World |
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September 12, 2010
Sriracha [sir-rotch-ah] is a Thai hot sauce named after the seaside city of Si Racha, in the Chonburi Province of central Thailand, where it was first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants. It is a paste of chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Sriracha was popularized in America by Huy Fong Foods, and is known as rooster sauce or cock sauce, due to the rooster featured on its label.
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July 22, 2010
Golden rice is a variety of rice produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of pro-vitamin A in the edible parts of rice. The scientific details of the rice were first published in Science in 2000. Golden rice was developed as a fortified food to be used in areas where there is a shortage of dietary vitamin A. In 2005 Syngenta, a biotechnology company announced a new variety called Golden Rice 2 which produces up to 23 times more beta-carotene than the original variety.
Neither variety is currently available for human consumption. Although golden rice was developed as a humanitarian tool, it has met with significant opposition from environmental and anti-globalization activists.
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July 20, 2010
Platypus is a brand of water bottles made by Cascade Designs. Compared to a hard bottle of equal volume, they weigh 80% less and take up a mere one fifth of the space when empty. The bottles can be frozen and used as ice packs or boiled to sterilize their contents.
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July 11, 2010
PF Flyers are a brand of athletic shoes first produced by BF Goodrich in 1937.
New Balance bought the rights to the brand in 2001 (which had been dormant) and resurrected it in 2003. They are very similar to Chuck Taylor All-Stars, which were first manufactured by Converse in 1917.
Posted in Games, Money |
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