Surveillant Society

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Our perspectives keep changing.

One aspect of the Egyptian uprising (among the others, most ongoing) that was overpowered by the wild acclamation of social media is something that has been quietly but powerfully changing societal norms over the last decade. It is simply the inclusion, on almost every mobile phone sold, of a digital camera. When 90% of the active population can, at any time, record an event they are witness to, and transmit it to the rest of the world instantly, many rules begin to change.

It’s not new, of course: “citizen journalism” has a long history before mobiles were prevalent, and the growing trend of “you report”-style news and things like Twitter streams in live reporting are as plain as the lens on your phone…

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The Swimming Pool that Turned into a Museum

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Have you ever been to a museum swimming pool?

The city of Lille, France had a beautiful municipal swimming pool. It was an Art Deco masterpiece built between 1927 and 1932 by the architect Albert Baert. But over the years, the support underneath the pool was weakened, and it was declared unsafe in 1985. Instead of abandoning the building, the city undertook an extensive renovation project, turning the facility into a museum called the La Piscine-Musée d’Art et d’Industrie André Diligent. The locals just call it La Piscine…

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Honeywell Schedules first Non-Stop Trans-Atlantic Biofuels flight

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Will biofuels replace standard jet fuel one day?

An important milestone in aviation biofuels: Honeywell has scheduled for today the world’s first trans-Atlantic non-stop jet flight powered by biofuel. Flying between Morristown, New Jersey and Paris will be a Gulfstream corporate jet carrying company executives and powered by a 50-50 blend of aviation biofuel and petroleum.

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Magic mushrooms could have medical benefits, researchers say

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Magic Mushrooms can induce transcendental states.

The hallucinogen in magic mushrooms may no longer just be for hippies seeking a trippy high.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have been studying the effects of psilocybin, a chemical found in some psychedelic mushrooms, that’s credited with inducing transcendental states. Now, they say, they’ve zeroed in on the perfect dosage level to produce transformative mystical and spiritual experiences that offer long-lasting life-changing benefits, while carrying little risk of negative reactions.

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An Entire Power Grid on a 4mm Chip Could Be Solution to Aging Grid

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A powerful solution in a tiny package.

As a national smart grid lumbers forward, researchers are still searching for more immediate solutions to upgrading our aging power grid. A research team from Switzerland’s EPFL Electronics Lab has come up with a chip that can manage power grid network issues as much as 1000x faster than current software. The tiny chip costs just a few dollars to make, but can take in real time information and make subtle changes in energy consumption that can save money and spare electricity big time.

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WindMade: A New Label for Products Built Using at Least 25% Wind Power

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Will companies be impelled to make more of an effort to use clean power if they were publicly recognized for their efforts? The folks behind Windmade are betting they will. Windmade is a new initiative spearheaded by Vestas, the Danish wind company, that will eventually allow companies to place labels on consumer products touting their clean energy commitments. So how, exactly does a company obtain the right to slap a Windmade label on their goods?

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Scientists stabilize antimatter, could lead to starships

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Antimatter is becoming less of an enigma.

It sounds like something out of Star Trek but scientists have been able to trap antimatter for 17 minutes, improving on an experiment last Fall that was able to trap antimatter for merely fractions of seconds…

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The Fort Peck Incident revisited

Missour River flood waters shooting out of Oahe Dam at Pierre, SD.

Back in 1998 Futurist Thomas Frey wrote a paper called “The Fort Peck Incident” which outlined the devastating effects that bursting the massive hydroelectric dam located near Fort Peck would have. His scenario at the time revolved around a terrorist plot performing the deed, but the basic concept of the dam bursting is more relevant today than ever.  However, this time it’s not from a foreign terrorist organization but from Mother Nature herself…

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Mad Libs Creator Leonard B. Stern Dies at 88

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Mad Libs spurred creativity in students for generations.

Mad Libs creator Leonard B. Stern died this week. Obituary writers seized the opportunity to insert blank spaces and [adverb] [noun] [adjective]s in their homages, to mimic the format of Mr. Stern’s famous creation in cheap pursuit of lulz. Mr. Stern was also a prolific, Emmy-winning television writer who would have come up with more original material.

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Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.