Scientists have been able to induce hibernation in mice. Using hydrogen sulphide they were able to slow down the metabolic rate of the mice. Later the mice were brought back using plain oxygen. It’s been speculated that this technology could be used by astronauts on long space flights or as my title suggest just living longer for everyone. If you don’t want to wait just buy a sleep chamber from Aliens , throw in some rotten eggs and you’re good to go.
Archive for the ‘Innovation’ Category
Naptosis
Saturday, April 23rd, 2005Gas Powered Blender
Friday, April 15th, 2005
My roommate Frosty has often joked about how many lawnmowers and weedeaters his dad has laying around. It seems that his dad has decided to take care of the clutter and I, for one, am scared. Yes my friends, a gas powered blender. It has been done before, but you’ve got to respect Greg’s scratch building prowess. Finally you can vaporize ice in mere seconds and with the way the handle bars are mounted it’s gauranteed to make the goofying process far more intimate than usual. By my count this means he still has four more engines in the garage; I don’t know what’s next, but god help us all.
Ski Jacket with iPod Controls
Thursday, April 7th, 2005
I’d be more excited about this ski jacket with fabric iPod controls from Spyder if Burton and Apple hadn’t released one two years earlier. It looks like Spyder managed to bump the jacket price six-fold arriving at $3,000. I guess they do throw in an iPod Photo which means the jacket is only five-times more expensive than the limited edition Burton jacket. I like the soft button technology, but I won’t be foaming at the mouth till someone bothers to integrate a soft bluetooth keyboard into my pants.
Walkers and other nonsense
Tuesday, April 5th, 2005
Doom, doom, doom! No not really. This mech’s guns only fire squishy balls; yes, their first thought was “hey, let’s put guns on it!” Also, calling it a walker is a broad interpretation since it moves like someone using a “walker“. No threat yet, since you could probably take this thing down with a speed-bump. Check out the video of it in action at the site.
Need more wackiness? Check out this Akira scooter mod. What’s not to like? Well, it’s a scooter which means it will only look like Kaneda’s bike, never move like it. Also, windshields are supposed to protect the face, not the crotch.
Finally, Google maps added satellite imagery. It looks really nice if you live in a populated area (not under a cloud), but if you live in the middle of nowhere it just looks like a bruise. Google doesn’t take advantage of the full image resolution either. Head over to Terraserver to zoom in even farther.
Small Spaces Living
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005
wmmna has the story on this self-sufficient minimalist dwelling. Designed for two it generates its own power, collects rainwater for drinking, and has a composting toilet. I like small efficient designs like this and the use of prefrabricated components will make people more likely to adopt new designs. On the other hand, is that a staircase and a ladder? I guess they only need to add a firepole and a tornado slide to get this club house a rockin’.
More Than Human by Ramez Naam
Monday, March 21st, 2005
Holy crap! A book I might actually read. My voracious online reading has displaced my desire to read nonfiction in any other from, but this book looks right up the RobotSkirts alley. Author Ramez Naam’s book More Than Human covers technology that has been developed or is being developed to improve human life and ultimately will lead to posthumans. Link via Gizmodo.
John DeLorean Dies at 80
Sunday, March 20th, 2005
John Z. DeLorean died yesterday of complications from recent stroke. He left GM in 1973 to found the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC). The company released the DMC-12 in 1981. They only produced approx. 8,600 cars before colapsing in 1983 amid scandle. DeLorean was charged for attempting to sell cocaine to save his legitimate buisiness; he was later acquitted. The DMC-12 was a bit of an oddball with its double-y frame, gullwing doors, stainless steel on fiberglass body, and rear mounted Peugeot-Renault-Volvo V6. DeLorean deserves praise for being an entrepreneur in the automotive industry, but with these technical “achievements” I doubt anyone from my generation would know this car if it hadn’t been for Back to the Future.
RobotSkirts inspiration
Thursday, March 17th, 2005
So, here’s the reason I created this blog. The SIGGRAPH 2004 fashion show… what a pile of crap. This, my friends, is not going to get future technology here any faster, let alone get it adopted. I want to promote the good trends in the world of fashion and technology. You know, not “strapping gadgets to people wearing fetish gear” and calling it a revolution. (Oh yeah, check out her watch, that’s where the technology angle comes into the picture) I’m sure the goth/poseur industry will be fine without our help, they are apparently laser cutting vinyl so they can’t be doing too poorly.
Visualizing online auctions
Thursday, March 17th, 2005
Nooface has an interesting article on visualizing online auctions. IBM’s Babble project tries to restore the social cues that online interactions lack. What’s that mean? Not having to use those damn smilies 
This post is mostly to plug Nooface which covers future user interfaces. Computing power and storage is constantly increasing, but without a good interface it wil be frustrating to use. Check out the site for other interesting ideas like Zoomable User Interfaces.
Walking tree harvester
Tuesday, March 15th, 2005
Plustech, a finnish John Deere subsidiary, has developed a walking tree havester. The machine is useful in areas with uneven terrain and where enviromental impact is a concern. Their website has videos of the machine in action. They also produce a simulator for their Timberjack Forest Machine; Sadly, it doesn’t feature pedestrians. I’m just glad we’re taking the first step to building other walking heavy equiptment be they Mechs, Hercs, Gears, Wanzers, Tachikomas, Evas, Cores, CAVs, Megaduces, Walkers…
