Tag: weblinks

Tennessee high school students build robotic hand for classmate | Tennessee | The Guardian

I don’t often share individual links via this blog, but I came across this story and, well, it was just nice to come across something positive for a change, so I thought I’d share.  What an awesome real-world problem for young students to tackle.  I hope more schools come across this and search for more ways to get their students involved in problem solving like this, might go a long way toward a more accessible world.

 

Tennessee high school students build robotic hand for classmate | Tennessee | The Guardian:

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In memory of Titanic, some interesting resources that bring events to life.

So today is the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and as such, I thought I’d share a few rather interesting resources. One often overlooked aspect of the Titanic are the actions portrayed by her radio operators. Using Morse code, these brave folks not only did their absolute best to message the world that help was needed, but were daily engaged in handling lots of traffic to and from passengers. The BBC did a really neat documentary, “The Titanic, in Her own Words” on the radio operators. Using speech synthesizers to read out many of the Morse code messages recorded on this fateful night, you can’t help, but get an idea of just how chaotic things must have been. You can listen to this fascinating documentary here.

There is also a Twitter stream, @TitanicRealtime, which is tweeting what events might have been like from a first person point of view. I’m watching these tweets as I write this post and have to say, it really helps bring this horrific event to life in a way that only social media can.

I hope you enjoy these resources and find them as interesting as I do.

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“Ship My Pants,” only the best commercial ever!

This Kmart commercial has got to be the best commercial ever.

Direct link to Youtube video

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Do blind people hallucinate on LSD? « Mind Hacks

Do blind people hallucinate on LSD? « Mind Hacks

I confess, I’ve always wondered about this, although not enough to actually try it. You’d think one of my druggy blind friends could have provided me some insight here, but alas, they’ve let me down. Thanks to @seeingwithsound , I now know the answer.
http://mindhacks.com/2009/11/18/do-blind-people-hallucinate-on-lsd/

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Ivee Voice Activated Alarm Clock from ThinkGeek

A talking clock that can be set with your voice? First there was Moshi, and now there’s Ivee. In my opinion, Ivee’s voice is much clearer than that of the Moshi clock; check out this Youtube video. Want more info about the clock itself? Check out the Ivee web site.

ThinkGeekQuickies)

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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Can anyone in space hear you scream? Scientists try to find out |

Can anyone in space hear you scream? Scientists try to find out |

OK, the big question I have here is: why? Also, isn’t space a vacuum and wouldn’t that prevent a scream from being heard, regardless of how loud or awful it might be?

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57541797-71/can-anyone-in-space-hear-you-scream-scientists-try-to-find-out/

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Braille is Not a Language | BrailleWorks Blog

Braille is Not a Language | BrailleWorks Blog

A great description of what Braille *is* and more important, what it is not. If Braille is something you’re curious about, this is worth a read.

http://www.brailleworks.com/blog/index.php/braille-is-not-a-language/

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How much data will Skype use on my phone?

How much data will Skype use on my phone?

As I’m on a very limited data plan, I’ve been hesitant to try Skype over 3G until I could figure out approximately how much of my limited data, Skype might actually use. The following article, shared by Skype Support, answers this question very well.

https://support.skype.com/en/faq/FA10853/how-much-data-will-skype-use-on-my-mobile-phone

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Passing gas is an art and science – Salon.com

Passing gas is an art and science – Salon.com

To my surprise, this article is not only interesting, but dare I say informative?

http://www.salon.com/2012/08/23/passing_gas_is_an_art_and_science/

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Blue Microphones Tiki a thumbdrive-sized mic for mobile recording

Blue Microphones Tiki a thumbdrive-sized mic for mobile recording

Although I’m certainly no audio professional, Blue Microphones have always sounded pretty good to me. Based on its specifications, I’m wondering how this new model will compare to the Blue Snowflake, this certainly seems more convenient for mobile recording.