Evaluating Physical Search Results

Eye Candy of the Day: WiFi Networks Visualized

Norwegian designers Timo Armall, Jørn Knutsen, and Einar Sneve Martinussen visually capture invisible WiFi signals by light painting signal strength in long-exposure photographs. The trio set up a four-meter long WiFi-detecting rod with 80 LED bulbs to depict cross-sections through the WiFi networks of various Oslo neighborhoods. Armall says:

News: DIY Video Chat Robot Lets You Be Two Places at Once

Want to keep an eye on your home while on vacation? Terrorize your family pet while at work? A homespun telepresence robot might be just the ticket! Luckily, thanks to shrinking hardware costs and the efforts of renowned hardware hacker Johnny Chung Lee, building a physical avatar has never been easier! Lee's robot has two important parts: an iRobot Create and a lightweight netbook running Skype. Notable extras include a wide-angle lens and a plastic stand to raise the computer to tabletop he...

News: Weston Price Foundation

The Weston Price Foundation is the gold standard for truly good nutrition. Weston Price was a dentist practicing in the 1930s who over the course of many summers visited fourteen different native groups and correlated the health of their teeth to what they were eating. He consistently found that as long as the people ate their traditional whole foods diet, their teeth (and the rest of their bodies) were healthy. When they started eating Westernized foods their dental and overall health deteri...

News: When Will the iPad Be Paper Thin?

Below, designer Chris Woebken's Flicflex isn't a new concept (Woebken displayed it at MOMA in '08), but still amazingly cool. And still not on the consumer market. Watch his paper thin, magazine-like "page turning": "Opening a letter, unfolding it and feeling the texture of the paper is a very tactile experience compared to receiving an e-mail. On top of the content itself, the behavior and micro-interactions adds a level of engagement to the medium. Flicflex explores the possibilities of fut...

Mathematical Beading: Accessories to Thought

Math is unreasonably effective in describing the natural universe. Anyone who's seen Walt Disney's Donald in Mathmagic Land knows this to be so. Well, the axiom works in reverse, too: The physical stuff of the universe can model math right back. And to great effect.

News: Play Kinect today!

Play Kinect at the four Microsoft stores around the US right now! You can even play Dance Central!From 1up:If you're itching to play Kinect, you don't have to wait until it launches this fall. The official Microsoft Store Twitter account tweeted today: "Can't wait to play #Kinect? Try it at #MicrosoftStores nationwide!" The company is using the word "nationwide" a bit loosely, though, since physical Microsoft stores are only in four locations, on or near the west coast. But if you happen to l...

News: Fingerpainting for Baby Cyborgs

Did you ever, as a know-nothing kid, push against your closed eyelids for the pleasure of the resultant light show? LCD bending takes the low-tech fun of physical retinal stimulation and updates it for the 21st century. And, as the title suggests, the end result looks very much like a sort of angelic, fractal-based fingerpainting.

How To: Read your opponent when playing Texas Hold'em

Having a tough time trying to read your opponents in a poker game? In this how to video, Daniel Negreanu, World Series of Poker Champion, teaches you the the physical tells along with betting patterns to help you read your opponents and become a better Texas Hold'em poker player. Rely on your knowledge and your gut, along with some of these tips, and enhance your poker skills in your next game. Read your opponent when playing Texas Hold'em.

How To: Improve your oral presentation skills

The ComCoachVideo Tutorial is an online learning environment designed to help students improve their oral presentation skills. The website contains video clips illustrating effective and ineffective public speaking practices, as well as an interactive feedback component designed to foster students' ability to critically evaluate presentation segments.

How To: Knot a Hermès Scarf in 21 Different Ways

Hermès is all about giving out the free goodies—this week I posted a tutorial for making your own papercraft "Kelly bag" and for years now they've created "knotting cards", a set of DIY illustrations presenting different ways to wear their iconic scarves.

Books: Digital vs. Analog

Since the invention of the printing press, books have been a dominant and iconic paradigm in our culture and throughout the world. During my years in elementary and high school, the digital world was on the rise sparking the conversation: Are Books Obsolete. Over the last year (or 2 at the most) that the term "Book" has started to make the shift from a physical object to the concept of a written work.

News: The Snatch

This prank will take place at any local fast food drive thru, and will require more than one person to complete. You have 2 people following a car wearing gorilla suits when the drive thru attendant hands the bag of food to the customer, you have the first person run up and snatch the bag only to run off and dive into the bushes. You have the 2nd person still waiting behind the car and since the fast food establishment has no other choice, but to re-do the order while the 2nd person in the go...

How To: Dream Vividly And Remember Your Dreams

Dreams may be defined as succession of thought, images or feelings experienced during sleep but they also provide avenue to learn about ourselves, psyche, and about the mysteries of life. Many people have been conditioned to believe that dreams are unreal and illusory, but no matter what we believe the dream world is as real as our waking state.