Furniture orchard?
Well, grow apples in an apple orchard.
So ... in a furniture orchard ...
By contrast with conventional furniture making, Full Grown, claims its furniture absorbs more carbon than is released into the atmosphere in its production.
Radio Canada
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/288-grow-your-own-furniture-customize-your-city-and-more-1.3100727/why-buy-furniture-when-you-can-just-grow-your-own-1.3100733
Wired
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-04/09/full-grown-furniture
Full Grown company web site
http://fullgrown.co.uk/ / furniture designer Derbyshire unique approach making new pieces grow ground Gavin Munro design designs use trees grown around plastic frames chairs, tables lamps made single piece wood furniture grown ash sycamore hazel crabapple sessile oak royal oak years ready harvest first prototype chair five years to grow pendant lamps Munro's company Full Grown planting trees grow furniture 3,000 trees planted 2.5 acre site production trees planted shoots trained grow around frame shaped piece of furniture chair lamp table frame mirror company's website thicken few years harvested seasoned dries process different conventional methods mass-producing wooden furniture trees grown decades cut into small pieces manufacture method slow creates huge amounts of waste damages environment Full Grown first prototypes chair pendant lamp made from salix viminalis native English willow orders being taken ready-grown bespoke furniture furniture thousands of years history developments production process mechanisation machine machining modernisation Full Grown response 3D printing time of change future objects printed growing trees directly into shape objects more personal elegant durable /
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Saturday, 13 June 2015
watchOS 2 already in the works (update)
Credit: Apple/Mashable
watchOS 2 — second iteration of watchOS for the Apple Watch — will be available in the northern fall (spring in the southern hemisphere).
New features include:
● Time Travel — sorry, not what you think — lets users scroll forward in time to upcoming events & backward to past events, including meetings, weather information & events from third-party apps — sounds remarkably like the time line interface in the new Pebble Time smartwatch
● Nightstand Mode — Digital Crown & side button become snooze & off buttons for the alarm
● Activation Lock, which allows the user to secure the Watch with their Apple ID to prevent a thief from activating it
Access for third party apps to:
● Digital Crown
● Taptic Engine
● heart rate sensor
● new software APIs
Not-so-new feature:
● no third-party watch-faces
http://www.macworld.com.au/news/watchos-2-coming-in-spring-138710/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eNewsletter+Friday+12+June+2015&utm_content=eNewsletter+Friday+12+June+2015+CID_fe859c70ee4976e92d6b495edea9f2f7&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Continue%20reading#.VXqEUVX3_Gc
http://www.technobuffalo.com/videos/apple-watchos-2-hands-on-a-monumental-upgrade/
http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/08/apple-announces-new-version-of-watchos/ / haptic feedback OS operating system smartwatch smart watch Apple previewed watchOS 2 World Wide Developers Conference WWDC 2015 developers program programme programmatically access Digital Crown Taptic Engine heart rate sensor software APIs build new apps updated watchOS 2 new watch faces third-party app information watch face complications new communication capabilities Mail Friends Digital Touch new tools allow developers make apps more robust Strava more accurately track heart rate ride run data from the heart rate sensor accelerometer Insteon customers more precise controls dim lights control temperature Digital Crown Volkswagen owners haptic feedback car door locked watchOS 2 turn your favourite photo new watch face view pictures from your favourite photo album every raise of your wrist new Photo and Photo Album watch faces Time-Lapse watch face choose selection time-lapse videos shot over 24 hours iconic locations New York City London Shanghai new Time Travel feature users scroll Digital Crown events future past upcoming meetings activities temperature week information from third-party apps upcoming flight information latest Apple Watch software new ways to communicate Mail dictation Smart Replies emoji create multiple Friends screens up to 12 friends new friends added Apple Watch Digital Touch draw send sketches multiple colours same canvas more tools for creative sketches Nightstand Mode bedside alarm clock Digital Crown side button snooze off buttons workouts third-party fitness apps all-day Move Exercise goals Siri start specific workouts Activation Lock users secure their Apple Watch Apple ID preventing another user wiping activating device lost or stolen watchOS 2 will be available during the Australian spring free update to Apple Watch requires iPhone 5 iPhone 5c iPhone 5s iPhone 6 iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 8.2 iOS 9 SDK beta including WatchKit for watchOS 2 available immediately iOS Developer Program members /
Friday, 12 June 2015
Sun + seawater + Salicornia —> food + fuel
Sustainable sources exist for most of our energy needs:
● electric vehicles, bicycles, trams & trains for personal transport
● trains for freight
● solar, wind & hydro for domestic & commercial electricity
All of these are available as off-the-shelf solutions.
For commercial airlines, there appears to be no alternative to carbon based liquid fuels. At the moment, this fuel comes from fossil sources.
Biofuel alternatives have a number of problem to overcome if they are to be sustainable: diversion of food supply, arable land & fresh water, plus fossil fuel use in crop production.
ISEAS may be a solution:
Credit: ISEAS/RenewEconomy
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/desert-farms-could-power-flight-with-sunshine-and-seawater-57366
Salicornia — salt tolerant, oil rich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicornia / aviation industry major source greenhouse gas emissions fuel aviation contributed climate change carbon dioxide CO2 improvements in efficiency global aviation emissions expected grow 70% 2020 2005 industry seeking new renewable fuel sources growing biofuels takes up valuable land water grow food grow biofuels land nobody wants using seawater sunlight produce food new project Abu Dhabi Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System ISEAS grow sustainable food aviation fuel desert seawater sunshine transferable similar arid regions around the world project under construction solve biggest environmental problems triple dilemma energy water food problems compound each other each making the others more difficult to resolve wasteful irrigation water limits threatening reductions food production water energy food issues positive relations Sundrop Farms project South Australia abundant sunshine seawater produce electric power fresh water cultivate greenhouse crops tomatoes Sundrop Farms project won substantial financial support global venture capital firm KKR Clean Energy Finance Corporation contract to supply fresh produce supermarket chain Coles Abu Dhabi projectseawater farming salt-tolerant plants mangroves oil-rich Salicornia aquaculture seafood shrimp fish Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium Abu Dhabi partners airline Etihad Airways Masdar Institute of Science and Technology UAE United Arab Republics corporate giants Boeing General Electric UOP Honeywell corporation funding market rapidly scale up securing the biomass complementing associated activities complementary generate a closed loop operation seawater aquaculture ponds fish shrimp varieties grown food wastewater aquaculture rich organic nutrients irrigate salt-tolerant crop Salicornia crop harvested oil extracted seeds aviation biofuel water drained salt tolerant crops mangrove wetland naturally purified carbon sequestered solar energy input drive crop production energy production pumping chart process solving complex problems project solves problem waste disposal fish farming aquaculture channelling organic wastes irrigation fertiliser cultivation Salicornia plants halophytes salt-resistant species seawater grow on arid land project eliminates problem most biofuels water arable land used for food production Abu Dhabi project produces fuel food recycles everything non-arable land current pilot farm entirely closed-loop seawater drawn originally ocean passing various stages fed to mangrove plantations water is filtered through mangroves extracting final nutrients ocean recycled fish farms energy pumping water generated solar array no fossil fuel input backed financially large players Etihad principal airline Masdar Institute S&T corporate giants like Boeing scale up quickly pilot project plant covering 2 hectares 200 ha demonstration scale 140 ha Salicornia cultivation 30 ha aquaculture 20 ha mangrove plantation Australia vast arid areas copious quantities of seawater sunshine ingredients similar solar biofuel food project national air carrier Qantas experimented aviation biofuels national R&D organization CSIRO Australia long experience development agricultural models cope with high salinity levels strong research tradition cultivated West Australia CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity Future Farm Industries CRC lack of continued support project produce food domestic consumption export produce aviation biofuel restore fuel processing value chain domestic export product utilise water promote means halting desertification restoring fertility arid areas /
● electric vehicles, bicycles, trams & trains for personal transport
● trains for freight
● solar, wind & hydro for domestic & commercial electricity
All of these are available as off-the-shelf solutions.
For commercial airlines, there appears to be no alternative to carbon based liquid fuels. At the moment, this fuel comes from fossil sources.
Biofuel alternatives have a number of problem to overcome if they are to be sustainable: diversion of food supply, arable land & fresh water, plus fossil fuel use in crop production.
ISEAS may be a solution:
Credit: ISEAS/RenewEconomy
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/desert-farms-could-power-flight-with-sunshine-and-seawater-57366
Salicornia — salt tolerant, oil rich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicornia / aviation industry major source greenhouse gas emissions fuel aviation contributed climate change carbon dioxide CO2 improvements in efficiency global aviation emissions expected grow 70% 2020 2005 industry seeking new renewable fuel sources growing biofuels takes up valuable land water grow food grow biofuels land nobody wants using seawater sunlight produce food new project Abu Dhabi Integrated Seawater Energy and Agriculture System ISEAS grow sustainable food aviation fuel desert seawater sunshine transferable similar arid regions around the world project under construction solve biggest environmental problems triple dilemma energy water food problems compound each other each making the others more difficult to resolve wasteful irrigation water limits threatening reductions food production water energy food issues positive relations Sundrop Farms project South Australia abundant sunshine seawater produce electric power fresh water cultivate greenhouse crops tomatoes Sundrop Farms project won substantial financial support global venture capital firm KKR Clean Energy Finance Corporation contract to supply fresh produce supermarket chain Coles Abu Dhabi projectseawater farming salt-tolerant plants mangroves oil-rich Salicornia aquaculture seafood shrimp fish Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium Abu Dhabi partners airline Etihad Airways Masdar Institute of Science and Technology UAE United Arab Republics corporate giants Boeing General Electric UOP Honeywell corporation funding market rapidly scale up securing the biomass complementing associated activities complementary generate a closed loop operation seawater aquaculture ponds fish shrimp varieties grown food wastewater aquaculture rich organic nutrients irrigate salt-tolerant crop Salicornia crop harvested oil extracted seeds aviation biofuel water drained salt tolerant crops mangrove wetland naturally purified carbon sequestered solar energy input drive crop production energy production pumping chart process solving complex problems project solves problem waste disposal fish farming aquaculture channelling organic wastes irrigation fertiliser cultivation Salicornia plants halophytes salt-resistant species seawater grow on arid land project eliminates problem most biofuels water arable land used for food production Abu Dhabi project produces fuel food recycles everything non-arable land current pilot farm entirely closed-loop seawater drawn originally ocean passing various stages fed to mangrove plantations water is filtered through mangroves extracting final nutrients ocean recycled fish farms energy pumping water generated solar array no fossil fuel input backed financially large players Etihad principal airline Masdar Institute S&T corporate giants like Boeing scale up quickly pilot project plant covering 2 hectares 200 ha demonstration scale 140 ha Salicornia cultivation 30 ha aquaculture 20 ha mangrove plantation Australia vast arid areas copious quantities of seawater sunshine ingredients similar solar biofuel food project national air carrier Qantas experimented aviation biofuels national R&D organization CSIRO Australia long experience development agricultural models cope with high salinity levels strong research tradition cultivated West Australia CRC for Plant-based Management of Dryland Salinity Future Farm Industries CRC lack of continued support project produce food domestic consumption export produce aviation biofuel restore fuel processing value chain domestic export product utilise water promote means halting desertification restoring fertility arid areas /
Thursday, 11 June 2015
It's that guy from the Internet
Credit: Scott Adams — dilbert.com/
You may not always agree with him, but you have to admire the huge volume of his output — often on both sides of the same argument. And now we know his name — it's Dick, that guy from the Internet.
More insights at:
http://dilbert.com/ / Internet www World Wide Web troll trolling flame war Dick ridiculous angry stuff misinterpret comment absurd absolute attack moron fun the that guy from the Internet famous irrelevant links /
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Babies born in winter are bigger, brighter & more successful
Around the ‘Net, you’ll find headlines like:
Your birth month influences your risk for diseases
https://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/06/09/birth-month-risk-diseases/
Here's how your birth month affects the rest of your life
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-birth-month-matters-2012-7?op=1#january-people-born-this-month-are-statistically-more-likely-to-have-alzheimers-crohns-disease-and-epilepsy-1
Can we see any causal link(s)? One possibility is in-utero exposure to vitamin D, at critical times in embryonic development. When exposed to sunlight, the skin produces vitamin D. Peak vitamin production appears in summer. In this case, the correlation would be with the season, rather than the month — & the same effects in different months in the northern & southern hemispheres:
Babies born in winter are bigger, brighter & more successful
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/babies-born-in-winter-are-bigger-brighter-and-more-successful-523070.html
Season of birth & childhood intelligence: findings from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s cohort study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16953958 / astrology astrologers time of year baby born plots course extensive research seven-year period babies born in winter big bright successful adults summer study scientists Harvard University monitored development boys girls worldwide large seasonal variations weight length height head size mental ability researchers effects pregnant mother growing foetus seasonal variations diet hormones temperature exposure to sunlight viruses infections influence baby's baby American Australian psychiatrists anthropologists Harvard Queensland universities measured children mental motor tests birth eight months four seven years compared summer births born winter significantly longer at birth heavier taller larger head circumference age seven higher scores intelligence exercises IQ intelligence quotient seven winter spring born children heavier taller head circumferences significantly larger summer autumn born children results babies born winter longest winter spring borns birth weighed the most age seven tallest tall taller tallest heavy heavier heaviest researchers work medical journal Schizophrenia Research conclude winter spring babies bigger anthropometric variables smarter neurocognitive variables new study series projects worldwide evaluating effect seasons human health longevity physical intellectual development scientists Germany Germany's Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research people born autumn live longer born in spring ill in old age census data Denmark Austria Australia seasonal link to life expectancy older than 50 Austria adults born between October December lived seven months longer those born between April and June dietary changes seasonal infections phenomenon mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy winter eat fewer vitamins Gabriele Doblhammer scientists research stops breast-feeding starts giving her baby normal solid food solids hot weeks of summer babies prone to infections digestive system season of birth optimist pessimist summer's babies brighter outlook winter-born grumblers American Australian researchers offer explanations differences early years of life theory foetal exposure changing seasonal factors temperature rainfall ultraviolet radiation /
Your birth month influences your risk for diseases
https://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/06/09/birth-month-risk-diseases/
Here's how your birth month affects the rest of your life
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-birth-month-matters-2012-7?op=1#january-people-born-this-month-are-statistically-more-likely-to-have-alzheimers-crohns-disease-and-epilepsy-1
Can we see any causal link(s)? One possibility is in-utero exposure to vitamin D, at critical times in embryonic development. When exposed to sunlight, the skin produces vitamin D. Peak vitamin production appears in summer. In this case, the correlation would be with the season, rather than the month — & the same effects in different months in the northern & southern hemispheres:
Babies born in winter are bigger, brighter & more successful
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/babies-born-in-winter-are-bigger-brighter-and-more-successful-523070.html
Season of birth & childhood intelligence: findings from the Aberdeen children of the 1950s cohort study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16953958 / astrology astrologers time of year baby born plots course extensive research seven-year period babies born in winter big bright successful adults summer study scientists Harvard University monitored development boys girls worldwide large seasonal variations weight length height head size mental ability researchers effects pregnant mother growing foetus seasonal variations diet hormones temperature exposure to sunlight viruses infections influence baby's baby American Australian psychiatrists anthropologists Harvard Queensland universities measured children mental motor tests birth eight months four seven years compared summer births born winter significantly longer at birth heavier taller larger head circumference age seven higher scores intelligence exercises IQ intelligence quotient seven winter spring born children heavier taller head circumferences significantly larger summer autumn born children results babies born winter longest winter spring borns birth weighed the most age seven tallest tall taller tallest heavy heavier heaviest researchers work medical journal Schizophrenia Research conclude winter spring babies bigger anthropometric variables smarter neurocognitive variables new study series projects worldwide evaluating effect seasons human health longevity physical intellectual development scientists Germany Germany's Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research people born autumn live longer born in spring ill in old age census data Denmark Austria Australia seasonal link to life expectancy older than 50 Austria adults born between October December lived seven months longer those born between April and June dietary changes seasonal infections phenomenon mother giving birth in spring spends the last phase of her pregnancy winter eat fewer vitamins Gabriele Doblhammer scientists research stops breast-feeding starts giving her baby normal solid food solids hot weeks of summer babies prone to infections digestive system season of birth optimist pessimist summer's babies brighter outlook winter-born grumblers American Australian researchers offer explanations differences early years of life theory foetal exposure changing seasonal factors temperature rainfall ultraviolet radiation /
Tuesday, 9 June 2015
Reserve Strap for Apple Watch
Credit: Reserve Strap/Digital Trends
With a claimed battery life of 19 hours, a strap with built in battery sounds like a must-have accessory for the Apple Watch. Enter the Reserve Strap, with built-in lithium ion battery & inductive charger.
Video at Funky Space Monkey mentions Kickstarter, but a search at kickstarter.com for “reserve strap” & “reservestrap”, found no matches.
http://www.funkyspacemonkey.com/the-band-that-charges-the-apple-watch-while-you-wear-it-video
http://www.macrumors.com/2015/05/04/reserve-strap-new-design/
http://www.digitaltrends.com/wearables/the-reserve-strap-provides-more-juice-for-your-apple-watch/
Manufacturer’s web site:
http://reservestrap.com/
At $250 on pre-order, this strap will make an expensive watch even more so. $250, will get you a Pebble Time smartwatch, after Kickstarter pre-orders are fulfilled, leave your with $51 in your pocket, & still provide better battery life.
More about Pebble Time:
http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com.au/2015/06/pebble-time-why-cant-all-smartwatches.html / Apple Watch accessory makers Reserve Strap replacement strap Apple Watch charge recharge charges while you wear it aesthetic appeal Apple’s own bands stylish looks battery that lasts Shaky battery life major problems wearable a day’s use out of it at best 400mAh battery power pair of lithium-ion cells LiIon integrated inductive charging cradle between the watch and your wrist technology Apple’s official charger holes cut out smartwatch’s sensors can still operate /
Monday, 8 June 2015
10 worst Android battery hogs
Biggest embarrassment: the number of Google apps
Biggest Samsung embarrassment: the number of Samsung apps
Second biggest Samsung embarrassment: no app from any other Android manufacturer made the list
Many of the Samsung apps can’t be uninstalled. One more reason to root, or move to another manufacturer.
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/06/the-10-worst-android-apps-for-draining-your-smartphones-battery/ / Telstra Shazam Snapchat Flipboard Clean Master Speed Booster Twitter Google Play Music Google Play News Stand TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Chrome Browser Google Security Policy Update Samsung Software Update Beaming Service for Samsung Facebook Messenger WhatsApp Messenger Instagram Samsung Push Service Viber Maps Samsung WatchON On TV battery drain draner draining killer hog run by user run at startup AVG’s AVG latest Android App Report apps draining your smartphone smartphone's battery /
Biggest Samsung embarrassment: the number of Samsung apps
Second biggest Samsung embarrassment: no app from any other Android manufacturer made the list
Many of the Samsung apps can’t be uninstalled. One more reason to root, or move to another manufacturer.
https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/06/the-10-worst-android-apps-for-draining-your-smartphones-battery/ / Telstra Shazam Snapchat Flipboard Clean Master Speed Booster Twitter Google Play Music Google Play News Stand TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Chrome Browser Google Security Policy Update Samsung Software Update Beaming Service for Samsung Facebook Messenger WhatsApp Messenger Instagram Samsung Push Service Viber Maps Samsung WatchON On TV battery drain draner draining killer hog run by user run at startup AVG’s AVG latest Android App Report apps draining your smartphone smartphone's battery /
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