International Towel Day — Celebrating the life & work of Douglas Adams

Credit: www.towelday.org/Lemonly

Reminder: International Towel Day, Sunday 25 May, 2014

http://towelday.org/
(Not a site for Canadian welders)

http://www.towel-day.com/en/

A how-to guide:

http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Towel-Day



Credit: Jill Furmanovsky
/ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Towel Day annual celebration 25 25th May tribute late author Douglas Adams 1952-2001 fan fans around universe proudly carry towel his honour I love Douglas Adams get involved help spread the word about Towel Day #towelday tweet blog post in forums share a link in Facebook events event organize Towel Day announce carry a towel where everywhere proudly show world observe observed Towel Day upload picture Facebook Flickr tag ittowelday group video on YouTube Adams author wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul The Meaning of Liff The Deeper Meaning of Liff Last Chance to See stories television series Doctor Who posthumous collection his work unfinished novel published The Salmon of Doubt in 2002 Restaurant at the End of the Universe Adams /

Too fast, too strong, too scary: fastest production bike on the planet will soon be an electric (video)

2012 prototype:



2013 fastest motorcycle at Pike's Peak:




2014 production LS-218:


Credit: Glynn Kerr/Lightning Motorcycles/Gizmag

Why "LS-218"?

Well ... LS is Lightning Sport ... & 218 is miles per hour ...

http://www.gizmag.com/lightning-ls218-unveiled-specs/32142/

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/19/lightning/

Video at Bonneville Salt Flats. Doesn't get much more interesting than the frame shown below: inside of motorcycle fairing, GPS speedometer updating, strip of white salt, blue sky. Despite the title, only makes it to an indicated 216 mph in this run, around the 1 minute mark:



About land speed records: records are the average of two runs, in opposite directions, over a flying mile. Both runs must be completed within one hour. For the LS-218, the average was 215 mph. 218 mph was the top speed during one run. At 215 mph, a mile takes 16.74 seconds. / road vehicle 218 mph 350 km/h top speed motorcycle 200 horsepower torque figures absolute excess Lightning LS-218 fast motorcycle fastest release electric motorcycles motorcycle motor cycle bikes practical range exciting performance electric superbike performance petrolheads biggest fastest meanest bikes roadburning dinosaur bones Lightning LS-218 fastest production bike runaway 20 second victory Pike's Peak production superbike Quail Motorsport Gathering Carmel California superbike battery Lightning specs specifications 218 tested top speed world record fastest production motorcycle liquid cooled 200 horsepower 150 kW 168 lb.ft lb ft pound feet 228 Nm of torque acceleration excess direct drive system lower power modes battery pack options available budget 12 kWh 20 kWh pack maximum range 180 miles 290km 30 minutes top up quick charger standard wall socket 495 lbs224.5 kg running gear absolutely top notch Ohlins Öhlins FGRT forks TTX shock magnesium Marchesini wheels radial Brembo front brakes customer bikes upgraded frame swingarm carbon fiber units save weight unsprung mass dash fully programmable Android touch screen seat customized Glyn Kerr designed custom graphics wrap electric vehicle EV electric street superbikes 2012 prototype electric bikes /

Lytro reveals the 40 megaray professional-grade Illum light field camera (video)

40 megaray sensor? That's not a spelling error. Lytro cameras don't just record position, colour & intensity of light at each point, but direction as well. With this extra information, an image can be refocused after the event.

http://www.gizmag.com/lytro-illum-light-field-camera/31742/ / Lytro consumer oriented light field camera focus re-focus imageform factor low resolution early adopter second generation light field camera Illum US$1,500 Lytro Illum camera devices market capture capturing 2D image light sensor records color intensity direction light ray 3D three dimensional subject adjust focus tilt perspective shift depth of field take taking a photo one inch 40 megaray light field sensor Lytro’s patented microlens array technology sensor millions of rays comparison megapixels equate to roughly 5 megapixels living picturesflattened print printing 2D display 30-250 mm equivalent zoom constant F2 aperture extreme close focus macro capability dual electronic rings zoom focus control angled 4-inch articulating LCD touchscreen 384k dots /

Robotic blocks can morph into any kind of furniture (video)

http://gigaom.com/2014/05/20/robotic-blocks-can-morph-into-any-type-of-furniture/ / room apartment researchers Federal Institute of Technology Switzerland flexible furniture 8.5 inch wide cubes Roombots self assemble self-assemble any shape chairs tables chair table home conference center centre aid people limited mobility able move large piece of furniture program layout bedroom conference room modules do the work project lead Auke Ijspeert robot robots use hooks latch onto holes allowing them to form a larger structure cubes split down the middle each half move independently to turn into wheels attach box complete piece completed furniture and move it research team researchers users will interact interactive Roombot solution draw design room tablet /

MBLOK Memory Cube — one memory for all devices

Credit: KickStarter/Gear Hungry

http://gearhungry.com/2014/05/mblok-memory-cube.html#!OJTcV

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/312927362/mblok-one-memory-for-all-devices-always-by-your-si / solid state storage devices speed durability dropped iPod hard drive flash memory storage manage files across devices MBLOK wood aluminum 256GB Flash memory operates wirelessly 300 hours charge stored files secure secured 128 bit encryption Bluetooth flip down flip-down USB port streaming music movies transferring documents speeds up to 24 Mbit/s megabits mega bits app battery life /

Photos of an NSA “upgrade” factory show Cisco router getting implant

Credit: Ars Technica

You may have read previously on these pages of malware installed in USA manufactured comms equipment by the NSA. More at Ars Techninca:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa-upgrade-factory-show-cisco-router-getting-implant/ / document National Security Agency NSA files released Glenn Greenwald’s book No Place to Hide Tailored Access Operations TAO unit NSA employees intercept servers routers network gear in transit shipped organizations targeted for surveillance install covert implant firmware delivered deliver Trojan horse systems NSA manager most productive operations pre-position access points hard target networks document June 2010 internal newsletter article Access and Target Development department S3261 includes photos NSA employees opening the shipping box Cisco router install installing beacon firmware load station specifically for the task /

New thermoset plastic is easily reduced to its source chemicals & recycled

Credit: John Timmer/Ars Technica

http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/05/new-thermoset-plastic-is-easily-reduced-to-its-source-chemicals-recycled/ / polymers polymer mer break down robust styrofoam container dissolve completely solvent chloroform thermoplastic food delivery containers soft higher temperatures heat melt properties plastics recyclable thermosetting thermosets durable solvents heat auto interior case electronic device robust recycle materials scientists thermoset polymer high temperatures solvent strong acid pH below 2 component molecules reused polymer recycle recycled /