Solar power just got a boost.
Google isn’t the only one investing in solar power. The U.S. Department of Energy has just announced new conditional loan guarantees that should inject about $2 billion into two large-scale solar thermal projects…
Continue reading… “DOE Awards $2 Billion loans to double concentrating Solar Capacity in the US”
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…
When Chinese children are born in America, they automatically become U.S. citizens.
An increasing number of well-off Chinese women are going to the United States to give birth to their children. Having an American passport can certainly be beneficial, it can also be more of a hassle than one might expect.
Continue reading… “‘Born in the USA’ – More chinese women traveling to U.S. to give birth”
Boys as young as 10 are turning to bulimia to lose weight.
An increasing number of young boys are making themselves sick after eating to avoid being bullied about their weight, despite the condition traditionally being associated with girls, according to doctors.
Researchers discovered several small regions in online addicts’ brains shrunk.
There are more internet and gaming addicts in China than in any other country. China also conducts more research on the issue than anyone. Chinese researchers think that excessive gaming and internet use can permanently alter brain function, according to a new study.
Continue reading… “Addictive internet use rewires the brain: study”
ATM detects lies
Russia’s biggest retail bank has invented an ATM machine with a built-in lie detector in order to curb the growing menace of consumer credit fraud. The ATM can easily pass off as a part of KGB’s ultra- modern and secretive operational tool. Other than the rather unusual inclusion of a passport scanner, fingerprint recorder and a 3-dimensional facial recognition, the machine is equipped with advanced voice-analysis software.
Continue reading… “New ATM with built-in lie detector to curb consumer credit fraud”
Watching reality shows like “Jersey Shore” might influence your smarts more than you realize.
Fans of mindless reality shows like “Jersey Shore” should take note. Watching something dumb might make you dumber according to new research. You are what you watch.
Continue reading… “Watching mindless reality shows can make you dumber”
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…
Continue reading… “The Swimming Pool that Turned into a Museum”
Coins with QR codes. Far Out!
The Dutch Royal Mint in Utrecht is celebrating its 100th anniversary by releasing silver 5€ and gold 10€ coins. It has been reported that they include functional QR codes and are legal tender in the Eurozone…
Continue reading… “Euro Coins with QR Codes are Legal Tender”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Two hundred years ago, the most stable jobs involved the needs of a community and the work of a skilled craftsman to meet those needs. People holding jobs such as cobblers, blacksmiths, chandlers, and butchers found themselves in high demand.
The discovery raises the prospects of drugs, lotions or shampoos that raise levels of wnt – and restore white or grey hair to its natural color.
Scientists have got to the root of grey hair – paving the way for locks that retain the luster of their youth well into old age.
Continue reading… “Scientists discover protein to restore grey hair to it’s original color”
The guts of a retired Boeing 747 jumbo jet rests in the hills of Malibu, California. These parts aren’t just strewn around in the hills of Malibu. They have been constructed into the “Wing House,” which, as you can see, is aptly named: the roofs used to be wings. (Pics)
Continue reading… “The Wing House – an amazing recycled 747 airplane house”