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Federico Barni reviews Zhao Liang's observational documentary and portrait of modern China, 'Behemoth'. NPR reporters and editors annotated Monday night's debate as it happened. Read the final fact check, analysis and context here.
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Online tracking is no longer about "cookies." New technology helps trackers to link online breadcrumbs — including across devices — through browser settings, battery levels and other details.
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Social media giant Snapchat is now Snap, Inc. It's just one of the changes the company is making, as it gets ready to release video-recording sunglasses.
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The U.S. is about to complete its long-planned handover of Internet domain name management to a global non-profit. Republicans argue it's an example of the Obama administration giving up U.S. power.
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When we see someone perform an action in a slow-motion replay, we tend to believe the action had more intentionality behind it. This has implications in sports and in the criminal justice system.
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MJ Reilly posted a photo:
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Just after dawn on Barclay Road
CdL Creative posted a photo:
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Full Text:
A global genetic interaction map is revolutionizing how genes are being studied. A new study, involving University of Minnesota researchers, is no longer looking at genes as loners, but instead as a social network of the body, interacting in groups. The new approach may ultimately change our understanding of the genetic roots of diseases. The map will help scientists predict how genes function in order to understand, and thwart, the culprits behind diseases, with a potential for developing finely-tuned therapies.
Image credit: University of Minnesota
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Full Text:
Though the audience wasn't large, Sarah Valentiner, 12, was a bit nervous about playing her violin. After all, she was performing with a new hand. The creator of her prosthetic hand, Oluseun Taiwo, was nervous too. The Northern Illinois University engineering major, had spent three months perfecting the device, using a 3-D printer to churn out multiple versions to get it just right. Sarah, who was born without a right hand, has been playing the violin for about two years, taking up the instrument after seeing friends enjoy it. For help in overcoming her disability, she and her family first approached the Shriners Club, which provided a functional prosthetic, but one that had limitations. Then her parents discovered e-NABLE a global network of volunteers who are using their 3-D printers, design skills and personal time to create free prosthetic hands for those in need.
Image credit: Courtesy of Northern Illinois University
Kurt Miller N.M. posted a photo:
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Hawaiian Stilt "Ae'o"
Kieran Williams Photography posted a photo:
!["London]("http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5751/29959065035_4efe61c3f7_m.jpg")
A giant sculpture of a human arse, £20,000 in one-pence coins, and an off-the-shelf model train are some of the exhibits competing for this year's Turner Prize.…
pentlandpirate posted a photo:
!["Autumn]("http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8682/29957636085_2f0704705d_m.jpg")
OK, one night in London was more than enough. I prefer my small town life in the north. Back to the dark and the grey. But I'm happy, honest!
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Typically, top design executives report to business-minded CEOs who know far less about design than they do. But that's not the case with Airbnb's VP of design Alex Schleifer, whose bosses are the company founders and Rhode Island School of Design grads, Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky.
Having designers at the helm has allowed Airbnb to recast the traditional role of the designer within their world-conquering start-up. Airbnb provides two career paths, one for those who want to take the management track and another for those who want to continue designing, so they don't have to give up their craft in exchange for a promotion.
Airbnb has also broadened the definition of a product design job by including a variety of problem solvers, from content strategists to translators, under the “design” umbrella. The company's thinking is that the user doesn't see the difference between what is a content strategist and what is a designer, so why should there be a barrier between these departments internally? And, since the company makes a product that is used by essentially everyone, they are open to hiring designers who come from all walks of life (including a former mechanic and modern dancer.)
Schleifer, who joined the company in January 2015, following the company's rebrand, shares the thought process behind Airbnb's methods, what he looks for in new employees, and the biggest mistake designers launching their own company should avoid.
It enriches the design and gives us more empathy as we bring in people with the ability to think through problems with different points of views. Part of what we do when we recruit is to look for potential rather than work experience, and that has served us well. Looking in unconventional places brings unconventional thinkers and those always add to the mix. We design for everyone, and that needs to be represented.
Every time you add different points of views into a design team, things always get better, but that's only as long as you're really hiring people that are good at the craft. Then everything else process, structure, learning tools can be taught. We provide structure. We provide an opportunity to work with a product with millions of users. We provide training. All of that stuff. What we want people to bring to the table is their craft and their ambition.
We try to make things real as quickly as possible here. As much of our development is switching to mobile, it's no longer possible to look at things just in the lens of a flat mock up. You need to test a feature out with motion and real interactions on a real device. You need to bring in data. How does this look once we load a hundred different items into it? How does this look in German? How does this look in Korean?
The way we define “product design” is a little broader. We have traditional product designers, researchers, content strategists, translators, and the people who build the tools because those are all part of product design. Let's look at how we coordinate across functions. My direct peers are the head of product and the head of engineering, so already we have this relationship between product, engineering, and design that is very close [at the top of the company].
We have a powerful design language system we launched in April, which creates a cohesive set of patterns, design guidelines and brand components for everything that we do. Every product follows the same set of rules. Beyond that, we're building much closer connections with the marketing team and the product team. We have shared work spaces so that the marketing team, designers, and the product designers can collaborate. [The consumer] doesn't really see the difference between what is marketing and what is product, so we're becoming more and more adept at doing that [internally].
Some people want to coach and support teams and others want to hone their craft. In both cases, we want to give people opportunities. That being said, in each case, we use the player-coach analogy a lot. We expect managers to be pretty hands-on with their work; it's just the distribution of time they spend on it
The issue that I've seen is that great designers who can be incredibly strong creative leaders, at least designing creative strategy, are sometimes dragged into management because that is a function to progressing in your career. A lot of people who actually should be directing work start managing the operational sides of the team. We want to make sure that people understand that these are two equally important ways to go. On one side, we don't want to lose incredible designers with years of experience that would be better suited to focusing in on their craft, compared to people who want to manage and grow teams. Being a manager is not a promotion. It's a parallel track.
I went through the exercise of thinking of whether or not to become a freelancer and give myself more freedom to work on my own. Then I noticed early on that that wasn't for me. I liked working with teams. Some of my favorite moments are when somebody brings a piece of work to me and we look at it, and the emotional reaction that you get is something that really blows you away. Then you feel that you're a part of that, even in some peripheral fashion.
As a designer, you should be ultimately accountable for the product, for the user experience. But as a project manager, you're accountable for the impact that the product and the features have on the business. It's easy when you're a sole designer building up a company to lose track of any other pieces of work and become enamored with the process of design. Designers might not be especially data aware, not great at setting goals, and be design-biased, which means that other functions like engineering, business development, and research don't feel like they have an equal seat at the table. A true partnership across functions is something that needs to be created.
If you could look back at your career as you've risen through the ranks, and redo one of your big decisions, what would it be?
There were months and years that maybe I lost some of the drive because I was working on projects and for companies that I didn't believe in. We all have to do this as a designer, which is just take a job sometimes. I think it's good training when you're starting out to say yes to everything. However, there's a time when you start to negotiate with yourself about why you're doing that, and something that you fell in love with becomes the worst part of a job because you're using all that creative energy on companies you don't believe in, working with people you might not really like all that much.
It's hard for me to change those decisions because I'm very happy today. I do feel that I could have saved myself a couple of years here and there if I just told myself this is not what I want to be doing. So just make sure that you don't fall out of love with designing something because you are not designing it in ways that enrich you. I know it's a nice problem to have, but it can happen to anyone.
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Shakespeare's first audience had to take him in single plays, as they were conceived and put on. But we have his large body of work, and some plays are cross-referential, especially the plays of dynastic ups and downs around the British crown. The history plays beg for some consideration as a whole, as Barbara Gaines's two-part day-long productions for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater show.![]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fnybooks%2F%7E4%2FyRx-EsGPtYk&width=540&mix=42dfe-culture")
Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. This finding bolsters other Hubble observations suggesting the icy moon erupts with high-altitude water vapor plumes. The observation increases the possibility that missions to Europa may be able to sample Europa's ocean without having to drill through miles of ice.
"Europa's ocean is considered to be one of the most promising places that could potentially harbor life in the solar system," said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. "These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa's subsurface."The plumes are estimated to rise about 125 miles (200 kilometers) before, presumably, raining material back down onto Europa's surface. Europa has a huge global ocean containing twice as much water as Earth's oceans, but it is protected by a layer of extremely cold and hard ice of unknown thickness. The plumes provide a tantalizing opportunity to gather samples originating from under the surface without having to land or drill through the ice.
The team, led by William Sparks of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, observed these finger-like projections while viewing Europa's limb as the moon passed in front of Jupiter.
This is an artist's concept of the moon Europa, at right, with water-ice plumes erupting from its limb at the 7 o'clock position. In the background is Jupiter's orange, volcanic moon Io. Io's shadow appears in the center of Jupiter's face, left. Credit: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)
The original goal of the team's observing proposal was to determine whether Europa has a thin, extended atmosphere, or exosphere. Using the same observing method that detects atmospheres around planets orbiting other stars, the team also realized if there was water vapor venting from Europa's surface, this observation would be an excellent way to see it.
"The atmosphere of an extrasolar planet blocks some of the starlight that is behind it," Sparks explained. "If there is a thin atmosphere around Europa, it has the potential to block some of the light of Jupiter, and we could see it as a silhouette. And so we were looking for absorption features around the limb of Europa as it transited the smooth face of Jupiter."
In 10 separate occurrences spanning 15 months, the team observed Europa passing in front of Jupiter. They saw what could be plumes erupting on three of these occasions.
This work provides supporting evidence for water plumes on Europa. In 2012, a team led by Lorenz Roth of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, detected evidence of water vapor erupting from the frigid south polar region of Europa and reaching more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) into space. Although both teams used Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) instrument, each used a totally independent method to arrive at the same conclusion.
"When we calculate in a completely different way the amount of material that would be needed to create these absorption features, it's pretty similar to what Roth and his team found," Sparks said. "The estimates for the mass are similar, the estimates for the height of the plumes are similar. The latitude of two of the plume candidates we see corresponds to their earlier work."
This composite image includes data from Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, which shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o'clock position off the limb of Jupiter's moon Europa.
But as of yet, the two teams have not simultaneously detected the plumes using their independent techniques. Observations thus far have suggested the plumes could be highly variable, meaning that they may sporadically erupt for some time and then die down. For example, observations by Roth's team within a week of one of the detections by Sparks' team failed to detect any plumes.
If confirmed, Europa would be the second moon in the solar system known to have water vapor plumes. In 2005, NASA's Cassini orbiter detected jets of water vapor and dust spewing off the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
Scientists may use the infrared vision of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2018, to confirm venting or plume activity on Europa. NASA also is formulating a mission to Europa with a payload that could confirm the presence of plumes and study them from close range during multiple flybys.
"Hubble's unique capabilities enabled it to capture these plumes, once again demonstrating Hubble's ability to make observations it was never designed to make," said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "This observation opens up a world of possibilities, and we look forward to future missions—such as the James Webb Space Telescope—to follow-up on this exciting discovery."
The Daily Galaxy via ESA/Hubble Information Center
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Almost 30 years ago Pulp's frontman fell in love with the untrained, obsessive ‘outsider artists'. As he brings them to the Gallery of Everything, he talks about DIY genius and getting lost in Robert Garcet's tunnels
It is early Sunday afternoon, and the northern end of Chiltern Street in London's Marylebone presents an intriguing study in contrasts. On one side of the road, brunch is being served at celebrity hangout the Chiltern Firehouse. A succession of chauffeur-driven cars arrive and disgorge passengers in search of crab-stuffed doughnuts and smoked mackerel with buttered mooli and fried eggs. On the other, someone has set up a trestle table outside a former barber's shop called Mario's the striped pole is still in evidence and is serving cups of tea from an urn, while a gentleman in butler's livery circulates with a tray of rich tea biscuits.
The occasion is the opening of the Gallery of Everything and its inaugural exhibition, Jarvis Cocker's Journeys Into the Outside. The show is based on a 1998 documentary series in which Pulp's erstwhile frontman investigated the world of what is usually called outsider art a contentious term that, since it was coined by writer Roger Cardinal in 1972, has been used to describe everything from art made by people with mental health issues to the work of folk artists. Cocker himself prefers to define it as “art made by people who haven't gone through an art education system”.
He'd made all these tunnels underneath his house. I went down on my own to explore them and got lost
We can all go off on one, can't we? We all know friends who've lost it or got obsessed
Continue reading...Almost 30 years ago Pulp's frontman fell in love with the untrained, obsessive ‘outsider artists'. As he brings them to the Gallery of Everything, he talks about DIY genius and getting lost in Robert Garcet's tunnels
It is early Sunday afternoon, and the northern end of Chiltern Street in London's Marylebone presents an intriguing study in contrasts. On one side of the road, brunch is being served at celebrity hangout the Chiltern Firehouse. A succession of chauffeur-driven cars arrive and disgorge passengers in search of crab-stuffed doughnuts and smoked mackerel with buttered mooli and fried eggs. On the other, someone has set up a trestle table outside a former barber's shop called Mario's the striped pole is still in evidence and is serving cups of tea from an urn, while a gentleman in butler's livery circulates with a tray of rich tea biscuits.
The occasion is the opening of the Gallery of Everything and its inaugural exhibition, Jarvis Cocker's Journeys Into the Outside. The show is based on a 1998 documentary series in which Pulp's erstwhile frontman investigated the world of what is usually called outsider art a contentious term that, since it was coined by writer Roger Cardinal in 1972, has been used to describe everything from art made by people with mental health issues to the work of folk artists. Cocker himself prefers to define it as “art made by people who haven't gone through an art education system”.
He'd made all these tunnels underneath his house. I went down on my own to explore them and got lost
We can all go off on one, can't we? We all know friends who've lost it or got obsessed
Continue reading...Tate Britain, London
With curious junk, lumpy sculptures and a train to nowhere, this year's shortlisted Turner prize artists Michael Dean, Anthea Hamilton, Helen Marten and Josephine Pryde conspire to both baffle and delight
Buttocks and boots and blue skies in June; knife blades and cotton buds and a train going nowhere; concrete and pennies and lives on the edge: this is perhaps the most peculiar and baffling Turner prize show I can remember. I haven't enjoyed being so confounded and perplexed in a long time.
In very different ways Michael Dean, Anthea Hamilton, Helen Marten and Josephine Pryde all create situations and tell stories, via sculpture, photographs and other kinds of images, manufactured objects, the found, the handmade and the borrowed. Impure, porous, unfixed by medium or method, full of curiosity, speculation and whimsy, their art somehow belongs together.
Souls and soles, footwear and flatfish: the mind spins and goes on spinning
Related: Runners but no riders line up for the Turner prize show
Perhaps the train is a metaphor for Britain today, stalled in a siding, as much as art entertainment
Continue reading...Tate Britain, London
With curious junk, lumpy sculptures and a train to nowhere, this year's shortlisted Turner prize artists Michael Dean, Anthea Hamilton, Helen Marten and Josephine Pryde conspire to both baffle and delight
Buttocks and boots and blue skies in June; knife blades and cotton buds and a train going nowhere; concrete and pennies and lives on the edge: this is perhaps the most peculiar and baffling Turner prize show I can remember. I haven't enjoyed being so confounded and perplexed in a long time.
In very different ways Michael Dean, Anthea Hamilton, Helen Marten and Josephine Pryde all create situations and tell stories, via sculpture, photographs and other kinds of images, manufactured objects, the found, the handmade and the borrowed. Impure, porous, unfixed by medium or method, full of curiosity, speculation and whimsy, their art somehow belongs together.
Souls and soles, footwear and flatfish: the mind spins and goes on spinning
Related: Runners but no riders line up for the Turner prize show
Perhaps the train is a metaphor for Britain today, stalled in a siding, as much as art entertainment
Continue reading...![]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F236x%2Fc5%2F03%2F97%2Fc50397aabe5b7fade9f9dfa0359e9e58.jpg&width=540&mix=9f897-pin-images")
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Daily Dozen — Photos -- National Geographic Your Shot ![]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F236x%2Fe1%2F33%2Fe5%2Fe133e532443e58d429eec2e9d7ad3f54.jpg&width=540&mix=9f897-pin-images")
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Neo Hong Kong Series ![]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F236x%2F99%2Fb5%2F25%2F99b5257e88fc485f28aa325577a4af06.jpg&width=540&mix=9f897-pin-images")
Neo Hong Kong Series ![]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F236x%2F1c%2Feb%2F66%2F1ceb663a74f1ec943cbf2918376b52c6.jpg&width=540&mix=9f897-pin-images")
Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, Iceland (© Juan Carlos Muñoz/age fotostock) 2016-09-26 [www.bing.com/search] !["Sam]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F05%2F05151042%2FSam-mug-shot-400x268.jpeg&width=540&mix=22833-design")
“As the chief mechanical engineer of the London & North Eastern Railway, (LNER) Sir Nigel Gresley created two of the world's most famous steam locomotives: Flying Scotsman and Mallard. The latter still holds the world steam speed record of 126mph. Its instantly recognisable, streamlined shape, inspired by the racing cars designed by Gresley's friend, Ettore Bugatti, was revolutionary: it would be fascinating to see its development, and how its creator's engineering skill, eye for line and proportion, imagination and sheer chutzpah came together on paper to produce a British design icon.”
!["Pali]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F07%2F07161038%2Fpali-palavathanan-485x302.jpeg&width=540&mix=22833-design")
“I would be most interested in seeing the inner workings and processes of Italian designer Bruno Munari.
I accidentally stumbled upon Munari's children's books on the bookshelves of my old boss (thanks, Michael). Seduced by the tactile, non-linear approach, I found myself mesmerised by Munari's style, allowing readers to build their own narrative.
Having recently become a father myself I find it frustrating that children's books can be so rigid. I am constantly trying to find more elastic ways of learning. Munari was the master of this.
He once said ‘Keeping the spirit of childhood alive in your life means maintaining a curiosity for knowledge, the joy of understanding, one's will to communicate.' I couldn't put it better myself.”
!["ab_tn_pic"]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26174725%2Fab_tn_pic.jpeg&width=540&mix=22833-design")
“Daniel Libeskind he designs breathtaking, complex, confounding, emotional places. As a young designer in 2001, I had the pleasure of meeting him while working on the launch of Imperial War Museum North in Manchester.
I remember Mr Libeskind talking of dropping a teapot out of his studio window to represent how war and conflict shatters the world, then piecing fragments back together to symbolise his idea behind the building.
It was the first time I could truly see how a big idea could be expressed through bricks and mortar. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up just thinking about it.”
!["heredesignstaff_markpaton_headshot_mcf_web"]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26174854%2FHereDesignStaff_MarkPaton_HeadShot_MCF_WEB1.jpg&width=540&mix=22833-design")
“Yesterday we had a power cut. For a moment everyone in the studio had to consider what could be achieved with paper, pen and conversation. It was an unexpected but pleasant experience. So for that reason, I'd like to see a book that charts the visual history, across all design practices, of the scribble. Something like the sketch equivalent of Shaun Usher's Letters of Note proclaiming the virtues of sometimes badly drawn yet elegant ideas.”
The post Which designer's secret sketches would you love to see? appeared first on Design Week.
!["Astanbul,]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26155741%2FiStock_18367599_LARGE.jpg&width=540&mix=22833-design")
Social media platform Linkedin will soon roll out a redesign of its desktop version in a bid to make the site more “intuitive”.
The redesign aims to bring the desktop website closer to the style of the mobile app, says Linkedin, which was redesigned in December last year.
Linkedin's new website was unveiled at an event in San Francisco. The new design hopes to be “cleaner, simpler and more intuitive”, the company says, and has many features similar to less business-orientated social media platforms such as Facebook.
!["Linkedin]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26155232%2FLinkedIn-new-homepage.png&width=540&mix=22833-design")
The updated homepage sees more emphasis on the news feed. It takes up a central column, and encourages users to post more, with a more prominent box at the top of the page where users can write a status or post an article.
A side box in the top left is now devoted to the user's profile, and the right hand side of the page suggests company and user profiles to follow, as well as trending news and blogs.
The main navigation at the top of the page has also been cleaned up and clarified, including new symbols and explanatory text underneath them such as “Notifications”, with a small, red icon to indicate updates, similar to Facebook. It also enables users to search for jobs more easily, placing this on the main navigation bar too.
!["Linkedin]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26155238%2FLinkedIn-new-profile-connection-view.png&width=540&mix=22833-design")
Profile pages have been neatened up, bunching up all basic profile information at the top of the page, followed by space devoted to the users' posts, then their previous work experience.
!["Linkedin]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26155244%2FMessaging-feed.png&width=540&mix=22833-design")
There is also a new messaging feature. In a similar style to Facebook Messenger, message windows now pop up at the bottom of the screen, providing a quicker way for people to communicate.
!["Linkedin]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26155246%2FMessaging.jpeg&width=540&mix=22833-design")
The new messaging platform has a smart chat bot integrated into it, which will be able to compare users' calendars and help them schedule meetings by suggesting times and places.
Linkedin has also launched its own learning platform, Linkedin Learning, which lets users search for and access relevant training courses.
The company says “this is the largest redesign since Linkedin's inception”. It has not yet confirmed exactly when it will roll out for members but says it will be “soon”, and will begin towards the end of the year.
The post Linkedin reveals redesign of its desktop website appeared first on Design Week.
!["Screen]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26152853%2FScreen-Shot-2016-09-26-at-15.28.19.png&width=540&mix=22833-design")
Social media app Snapchat has ventured into product design by launching a pair of video-taking sunglasses.
Spectacles are a pair of sunglasses with an in-built wireless video camera, capable of shooting short films in a circular, 115-degree format. This is the first time Snapchat has enabled film to be shot at this wide an angle range.
The glasses need to be charged once a day, says Snapchat, and they will be available in three different colours. They will be able to transfer recorded clips directly to the app via bluetooth or wi-fi.
The new 115-degree angle range aims to “capture the human perspective”, says Snapchat and will play full screen on any device with the full field of view.
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Accompanying the product launch is a name change for the company, which will see it become Snap Inc.
An overarching name is now necessary for the brand, Snapchat says, as the app is no longer the company's sole product, and it is branching out by producing other things.
It adds that the new name will help to separate out “boring company information”, from the “fun stuff”, as consumers will search for Snapchat, but those interested in the business of the company can search for Snap Inc.
The company has not yet announced the launch of other physical things, but says that the new name structure will “allow [it] to continue making great new products”.
Snapchat has not yet revealed a launch date, or a price, for Spectacles.
The post Snapchat launches sunglasses which shoot video appeared first on Design Week.
!["Screen]("http://chimpfeedr.com/img/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com%2Fcentaur-wp%2Fdesignweek%2Fprod%2Fcontent%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F09%2F26144635%2FScreen-Shot-2016-09-26-at-14.46.11-658x500.png&width=540&mix=22833-design")
British Home Stores (BHS) will relaunch online this week under the new name of BHS International, with a focus on lighting and home furnishing products.
In June the BHS brand was acquired by the Al Mana Group, which also owns brands such as Zara and United Colours of Benetton.
Initially, 75% of the products available will be made up of the best-selling online products sold by BHS before it went into administration.
This will be followed by kitchen and dining ware and some clothing ranges in coming weeks.
The department store went into administration in April this year, after previous owner of the franchise Sir Philip Green sold the company for £1.
BHS says its new online platform will be “the most customer friendly in the market”. Customers will be able to order and check out in two clicks.
The site has been designed in house by Florence Bryant, according to a BHS spokesperson.
Unlike the old site, customers will be able to log in with one device, such as a mobile and then continue shopping on another such as a laptop or tablet.
The new BHS International is headquartered in London and employs 84 people, many of whom are former employees of the business.
BHS International managing director David Anderson says: “[BHS] had a loyal customer base with around 1.2 million British shoppers who bought from us online, and for our relaunch we have managed to secure many of the products they liked the most.
“In addition to this, we have developed a new specially designed online platform for our UK business…and we were able to recruit the majority of people who worked on the profitable online and international operations of BHS before it went into administration.”
The new site will launch on 29 September.
The post BHS returns as online store with new name appeared first on Design Week.
Pride of Place is helping to secure gay culture's legacy, yet how many people will know what exactly went on in these buildings?
Queer people have traditionally been exiled from the history books. Historical gay figures have been consigned to the closet by the establishment, censored under section 28 and had their “lifestyles” discussed in hushed tones, if at all. But on Friday it was announced that Historic England has teamed up with Leeds Beckett University and community groups nationwide to record and celebrate the places lived, loved, worked and played in by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people over the centuries. As part of the project the homes of Oscar Wilde, Benjamin Britten and Anne Lister are being relisted.
The head of Historic England, Duncan Wilson, said: “Too often, the influence of men and women who helped build our nation has been ignored, underestimated or is simply unknown, because they belonged to minority groups.”
Related: Historic England to relist Oscar Wilde's home and others with gay heritage
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Matt photo3 posted a photo:
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A red panda at Kingussie Wildlife park.
Joe Daniel Price posted a photo:
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Dramatic Sunrise over Tower Bridge, London, England
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Pics and video Images from the Hubble Space Telescope of Jupiter's most intriguing moon, Europa, appear to show plumes of water being ejected from the surface into space.…
August was the biggest month ever for U.S. gasoline consumption. Americans used a staggering 9.7 million barrels per day. That's more than a gallon per day for every U.S. man, woman and child.
The new peak comes as a surprise to many. In 2012, energy expert Daniel Yergin said, "The U.S. has already reached what we can call`peak demand." Many others agreed. The U.S. Department of Energy forecast in 2012 that U.S. gasoline consumption would steadily decline for the foreseeable future.
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This seemed to make sense at the time. U.S. gasoline consumption had declined for five years in a row and, in 2012, was a million barrels per day below its July 2007 peak. Also in August 2012, President Obama had just announced aggressive new fuel economy standards that would push average vehicle fuel economy to 54 miles per gallon.
Fast forward to 2016, and U.S. gasoline consumption has increased steadily four years in a row. We now have a new peak. This dramatic reversal has important consequences for petroleum markets, the environment and the U.S. economy.
How did we get here? There were a number of factors, including the the Great Recession and a spike in gasoline prices at the end of the last decade, which are unlikely to be repeated any time soon. But it should come as no surprise. With incomes increasing again and low gasoline prices, Americans are back to buying big cars and driving more miles than ever before.
The slowdown in U.S. gasoline consumption between 2007 and 2012 occurred during the worst global recession since World War II. The National Bureau of Economic Research dates the Great Recession as beginning December 2007, exactly at the beginning of the slowdown in gasoline consumption. The economy remained anemic, with unemployment above 7 percent through 2013, just about when gasoline consumption started to increase again.
![]("https://62e528761d0685343e1c-f3d1b99a743ffa4142d9d7f1978d9686.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/files/138836/width754/image-20160922-22530-ntux9f.png")
Economists have shown in dozens of studies that there is a robust positive relationship between income and gasoline consumption - when people have more to spend, gasoline usage goes up. During the Great Recession, Americans traded in their vehicles for more fuel-efficient models, and drove fewer miles. But now, as incomes are increasing again, Americans are buying bigger cars and trucks with bigger engines, and driving more total miles.
The other important explanation is gasoline prices. During the first half of 2008, gasoline prices increased sharply. It is hard to remember now, but U.S. gasoline prices peaked during the summer of 2008 above US$4.00 gallon, driven by crude oil prices that had topped out above $140/barrel.
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These $4.00+ prices were short-lived, but gasoline prices nonetheless remained steep during most of 2010 to 2014, before falling sharply during 2014. Indeed, it was these high prices that contributed to the decrease in U.S. gasoline consumption between 2007 and 2012. Demand curves, after all, do slope down. Economists have shown that Americans are getting less sensitive to gasoline prices, but there is still a strong negative relationship between prices and gasoline consumption.
Moreover, since gasoline prices plummeted in the last few months of 2014, Americans have been buying gasoline like crazy. Last year was the biggest year ever for U.S. vehicle sales, with trucks and SUVs leading the charge. This summer Americans took to the roads in record numbers. The U.S. average retail price for gasoline was $2.24 per gallon on August 29, 2016, the lowest Labor Day price in 12 years. No wonder Americans are driving more.
It's hard to make predictions. Still, in retrospect, it seems clear that the years of the Great Recession were highly unusual. For decades U.S. gasoline consumption has gone up and up - driven by rising incomes - and it appears that we are now very much back on that path.
This all illustrates the deep challenge of reducing fossil fuel use in transportation. U.S. electricity generation, in contrast, has become considerably greener over this same period, with enormous declines in U.S. coal consumption. Reducing gasoline consumption is harder, however. The available substitutes, such as electric vehicles and biofuels, are expensive and not necessarily less carbon-intensive. For example, electric vehicles can actually increase overall carbon emissions in states with mostly coal-fired electricity.
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Can new fuel economy standards turn the tide? Perhaps, but the new "footprint"-based rules are yielding smaller fuel economy gains than was expected. With the new rules, the fuel economy target for each vehicle depends on its overall size (i.e., its "footprint"); so as Americans have purchased more trucks, SUVs and other large vehicles, this relaxes the overall stringency of the standard. So, yes, fuel economy has improved, but much less than it would have without this mechanism.
Also, automakers are pushing back hard, arguing that low gasoline prices make the standards too hard to meet. Some lawmakers have raised similar concerns. The EPA's comment window for the standards' midterm review ends Sept. 26, so we will soon have a better idea what the standards will look like moving forward.
Regardless of what happens, fuel economy standards have a fatal flaw that fundamentally limits their effectiveness. They can increase fuel economy, but they don't increase the cost per mile of driving. Americans will drive 3.2 trillion miles in 2016, more miles than ever before. Why wouldn't we? Gas is cheap.
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Lucas Davis, Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
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pentlandpirate posted a photo:
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pentlandpirate posted a photo:
!["London]("http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8467/29950151395_2218ec3152_m.jpg")
On a flat rain washed morning immediately before the brilliant sunrise display that emerged just minutes later
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EnlightenNext was an organization, founded by self-styled guru Andrew Cohen, that aimed to facilitate spiritual awakening. Cohen's most devoted students meditated for hours—at times, months—on end, were often celibate, and lived together. However, what started as an idealistic venture quickly turned into a complicated, often-sinister world that revolved around Cohen. The story of EnlightenNext's rise and fall begs a deeper question: How do well-meaning, intelligent people end up in a cult? In this documentary, The Atlantic talks to former members, as well as Cohen himself, about their stories in order to uncover the life span of a new religious movement that, after 27 years, collapsed nearly overnight.
!["2016-09-26-1474893585-1978222-EATxUNGA084.jpg"]("http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2016-09-26-1474893585-1978222-EATxUNGA084.jpg")
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From your report (22 September) on the endangered New Zealand parrot the kea: “its destructive habits such as … attacking stock and habitually stealing food”. A wild creature has no concept of harm or property, so both “attacking” and “habitually stealing” are demonising anthropomorphism. The kea, like any other predator species, is simply and instinctively taking its share of nature's bounty, the only way it could have survived until now. By any rational criterion, a wild animal is beyond human conceits of blame and responsibility.
Alex Watson
North Nibley, Gloucestershire
• Samuel Gibbs fingers a poor battery as the iPhone 7's big weakness (Technology review, 24 September). This after five hours' music, three hours' browsing, photos, emails, etc. Allowing for seven hours sleep where do, you know, people, fit in?
Bill Steedman
Edinburgh
Related: Snap, crackle and filth let kids eat dirt
Continue reading...Read more: Rob Greenfield, Waste, Waste Management, Sustainable, Sustainability, Green, Trash Me, Outspeak, Environment, Conservation, Eco Living, Green Living, HuffPost Live 321 News
It's starting to feel like my favorite time of year once more—the autumnal equinox took place last week, marking the end of summer and the start of fall across the Northern Hemisphere. Autumn is the season of harvests, festivals, migrations, winter preparations, and of course, spectacular foliage. Across the north, people are just beginning to feel a crisp chill in the evening air, leaves are splashing mountainsides with bright color, apples and pumpkins are being gathered, and animals are on the move. Collected here are some early images from this year's autumn—more will come later as the season unfolds.
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ellieupson posted a photo:
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Green Park, London
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!["2016-09-26-1474906884-983496-IMG_8063.JPG"]("http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2016-09-26-1474906884-983496-IMG_8063.JPG")
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Clean Water Advocate and New York Native Christopher Swain hopes to be the first person in history to swim the entire lengths of the Hudson River, the Gowanus Canal, and Newtown Creek.
The 48-year-old father of two plans to swim more than 130 miles from the easternmost tip of Long Island, to the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. His route includes the entire lengths of Long Island Sound and the East River.
“I was born in New York City. I love the water, and I want it to be safe for swimming every day,” Swain said in an email to National Geographic Voices.
!["FullSizeRender"]("http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/files/2016/09/FullSizeRender-1-600x450.jpg")
“I believe that every waterway in New York should be safe for swimming every day,” Swain explained in a news statement about this venture. “The point of this swim is to call for a permanent end to the illegal dumping of raw sewage into our waterways.”
Swain aims to spend 4-6 hours a day in the water during the 18-20 days that he reckons it will take him to complete this swim. He will be escorted by a safety boat throughout his journey, and he will take occasional days off to spend time with his family, and to make presentations to schools and other organizations. Swain estimates he will reach New York City in early November, possibly sooner if he enjoys favorable ocean conditions.
Throughout his swim, Swain will be collecting water quality data, documenting conditions he finds in photographs and video clips, and monitoring his own physiological parameters like hours of sleep, calories consumed and burned, and heart rate. All of this information will be made available for free to interested teachers in the region. Educators interested in classroom visits are encouraged to contact Swain by email at onehealthyocean@gmail.com.
Swain's swim also serves as a fundraiser for his Campaign For Swimmable Waterways in NY. He plans to post regular updates on his progress.
michael-johnacres posted a photo:
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Big Ben at sunset
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Alex Laurent posted a photo:
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andre adams posted a photo:
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Eric Schlosser, "Command and Control" from Tina Fine on Vimeo.
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Sonoma County, California and Caldas, Colombia are very different communities, yet they share a common threat—climate change.
Both cities have similar ecological landscapes and agricultural resources. Sonoma's wine region is vulnerable to changing rainfall patterns and droughts spurred by warming temperatures; Caldas' coffee fields face devastating floods and landslides.
So they joined forced to tackle their shared problem. Through a USAID program, Sonoma and Caldas experts met in each location for a total of two weeks, identified the best climate data available, determined the risks they face and shared resiliency planning best practices, including engaging farmers and accounting for carbon storage in watersheds. Sonoma shared its climate risk data, and Caldas shared its watershed management planning information, enabling both to learn from the other.
The case of Sonoma and Caldas is a climate resilience success story, but it's a rare one. Communities like them worldwide face the same kinds of problems, but typically lack necessary access to data and guidance to accurately assess risks. Without this information, they can't make infrastructure investment decisions to protect themselves from escalating climate impacts.
Help is on the way. The Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PREP), a public-private partnership launching today, will harness the data revolution to strengthen climate resilience efforts, streamline climate data delivery, and inform researchers and data providers on which climate data are most valuable.
PREP is being launched by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), World Resources Institute (WRI), U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and a network of entities working on climate impact data.
PREP convenes government collaborators, tech companies, civil society and local governments around the world to create more resilient communities through:
Over the next 12 months, we will expand the functionality of the platform. Here's one example of how we envision it will be used:
Imagine a town planner is developing a climate risk assessment in response to growing public concern after a spate of storms and floods. She convenes a team to conduct an assessment using PREP. The team easily accesses data on climate change and variability—such as temperature increases or sea level rise and rainfall projections—and combines them with local data about critical infrastructure and their vulnerabilities, such as roads, housing developments or power plants. The team can then integrate these findings and data points into their own online community dashboard to provide insights into how climate change could impact their specific circumstances, making long-term planning more climate resilient.
Sonoma and Caldas were lucky—thanks to USAID, they found each other to solve climate resilience challenges. But with a rapidly changing climate, we need a way for all communities to understand the risks they face and get resilience planning assistance.
PREP can help connect communities on the front lines of climate change find the information they need. Visit the PREP beta platform to join the growing partnership, and harness the data revolution to make neighborhoods around the world more resilient.
PREP collaborating partners include: Amazon Web Services, CARTO, Descartes Labs, Earth Knowledge, Esri, Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP), Future Earth, Forum One, Google Cloud Platform, Google Earth Engine, Group on Earth Observations, Microsoft, Sonoma County Climate Resilience Team, U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), Vizzuality, The Weather Company (an IBM Business), World Resources Institute
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Read more: Environment, Climate Change, Climate, Climate Impacts, Climate Adaptation, Open Data, White House, Green News
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Check out this stunning aerial view of Lake Hillier, located on Middle Island off the coast of Australia. The lake gets its pink color due to the presence of algae (Dunaliella salina) that produces a photosynthesizing pigment.
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2d3xqMr
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