Crazy Stuff, Culture, Economy, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues

Children’s Playground Replaced With Brick Wall

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Just another brick in the wall?

When an ageing playground was dismantled by workmen, people living nearby expected new swings, slides and climbing frames. What they ended up with was . . . a brick wall. The old play equipment in Audenshaw’s Shepley Wood Park was taken away two years ago. Town hall chiefs promised to replace it with brand-new facilities.

But when the plug was pulled on government funding last year, the council was forced to think again. Now it has now replaced the equipment – with a wall for kids to kick a ball against. Eileen Pritchard, whose house overlooks the park, said: “We can’t believe what we’re seeing…

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Analysis, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Crazy Stuff, Current Events, Entertainment, Great New Product, Internet, Latest News, Latest Trend, People Making a Difference

Youngest Y Combinator Founders Launch MinoMonsters, The Pokemon Of Social Games

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At age 15, most normal people are going to high school, learning to drive, not listening to their parents, and doing things that they’ll later tell their kids not to do. Josh Buckley is not a normal teenager. At 15, he was selling his first company for just over six figures.

Today, the 18-year-old entrepreneur and angel investor has partnered with 17-year-old engineer Tyler Diaz to co-found MinoMonsters, a social game in which players collect and battle pet monsters.

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Alternative Transportation, Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Historical Perspectives, Latest News, New Viewpoints

Large Hadron Collider Could Be World’s First Time Machine

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The latest concept at what could product time travel.

If the latest theory of Tom Weiler and Chui Man Ho is right, the Large Hadron Collider — the world’s largest atom smasher that started regular operation last year — could be the first machine capable of causing matter to travel backwards in time.

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Analysis, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Internet, Latest News, New Viewpoints

40th Anniversary Of The Computer Virus

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A dreaded word to any computer user.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Creeper, the world’s first computer virus. From Creeper to Stuxnet, the last four decades saw the number of malware instances boom from 1,300 in 1990, to 50,000 in 2000, to over 200 million in 2010.

Besides sheer quantity, viruses, which were originally used as academic proof of concepts, quickly turned into geek pranks, then evolved into cybercriminal tools. By 2005, the virus scene had been monetized, and virtually all viruses were developed with the sole purpose of making money via more or less complex business models…

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Breakthrough Thinking, Globalism, government, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, Latest Trend

U.S. Military Developing False Online Personalities to Counter “Enemy Propaganda”

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The US Central Command (Centcom) has purchased software that creates false online personalities for what it calls “information operations.”

Using the software, one member of the U.S. Military can control up to ten different fake accounts that appear to belong to civilians living in other countries. The government purchased the software from California-based Ntrepid for $2.76 million.

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Architecture, Art, Breakthrough Thinking, Health & Fitness, New Inventions

Hexayurt

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A hexayurt in action.

The hexayurt is an update on Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome and is a sturdy, affordable, easy-to-build temporary shelter. The geometry has been adjusted slightly to make it easier to build domes from materials like plywood, insulation, plastic, cardboard and more. The hexayurts are made from only one kind of triangle: an 8′ x 8′ isosceles triangle, rather than the strangely-shaped triangles which are standard for Fuller-style geodesic domes. They are not strictly geodesic, either, but it doesn’t seem to matter much in practice. The slightly stiff, angular lines look a lot like any other dome.

The most common place to see hexayurts is at Burning Man…

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Analysis, Birth, Health & Fitness, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News

Life Expectancy in the U.S. Sets New Record, Surpasses 78 Years

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Life expectancy at birth rose for babies born in 2009.

U.S. life expectancy has hit another all-time high, rising above 78 years. The estimate of 78 years and 2 months is for a baby born in 2009, and comes from a preliminary report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

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Analysis, Big Problems, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

e-Books Could Lead to a “Reading Divide”

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“If reading becomes dependent on technology that must be purchased, then I think we may see the literacy divide persist and even widen.”

The rapid rise of e-books could lead to a “reading divide” as those unable to afford the new technology are left behind, even as U.S. reading and writing skills decline still further.

 

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Great New Product, Green Friendly, Plant Life, Science & Technology News

PepsiCo Unveils World’s First Plastic Bottle Made Entirely From Plant-based Materials

pepsico plant based bottle

PepsiCo’s 100% plant-based bottle.

Remember the Cola Wars? Get ready for the Bottle Wars. PepsiCo Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a bottle made entirely of plant material, which it says bests the technology of competitor Coca-Cola and reduces its potential carbon footprint.

 

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