| Vitruvian Mind |
| The Man will burn! |
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Posted on July 28th, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Travel & Leisure, Consumer Products, Science & Technology.
In a relatively average looking hangar out in the hot and dusty Mojave Desert, a team of elite Aerospace engineers have been holed up for four years, building a spaceship. Today they showed the word what they have so far. The ship is called ‘White Knight Two’, and is the mothership of the Virgin Galactic space tourism fleet. The company plans to use their white knight to loft rich tourists some 62 miles above Earth, for a glimpse of space.
The last time there was this level of buzz in the high desert north of Los Angeles was in 2004, when throngs of spectators gathered to witness SpaceShipOne capture the $10 million Ansari X Prize by becoming the first private, manned craft to reach space. It was designed by Rutan and bankrolled by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen. I was there to watch that flight, and I can tell you it was quite something.
SpaceShipOne ushered in a new space age dominated by deep-pocketed entrepreneurs with dreams of making space voyages as mundane as airplane travel. That vision remains unfulfilled, but took a big step today. More than 250 customers have paid $200,000 or put down a deposit for the chance to be one of Virgin Galactic’s first space tourists.
White Knight Two will be the launch pad for SpaceShipTwo, the successor of the original craft. The smaller draft is about the size of a corporate Gulfstream,and capable of carrying six passengers and two pilots. Virgin Galactic declined to set a date for commercial travel, but said the earliest flights to space could be late 2009 or early 2010. The maiden voyage has been reserved for Branson and his family; Virgin Galactic plans to rename the aircraft “Eve” after Branson’s mother, a former glider pilot instructor and flight attendant.
Plans call for White Knight Two to carry SpaceShipTwo 50,000 feet in the air, tucked beneath its single 140-foot wing, before releasing it. SpaceShipTwo will then power its hybrid rocket and climb into space. Before gliding back to Earth, it will use a special “feathering” technique — in which the wings are rotated upward from the fuselage to reduce the heat of re-entry. The 2-1/2-hour trip is expected to include about five minutes of weightlessness.
I’ll tell you, if I had the money, I’d sign up.
Posted on July 21st, 2008 by Myk.
Categories: Travel & Leisure, Consumer Products, Philanthropy & Environment, Business & Finance, Science & Technology, Sports & Health.
From Trendhunter, I give you the fastest boat in the world. Also, the most environmentally friendly. It made me go a big rubbery one as it reminded me of Fight Club, the second best movie of all time after True Romance. TH writes:
The Earth Race boat is a bio-diesel powered boat that runs on human fat and looks like a highly futuristic vessel you’d expect to see on Star Trek.
The inventors of the zero carbon boat intend of breaking the current global speed record, planning to take the boat around the world running purely on fat. It was invented by an enlightened former oil industry engineer from New Zealand who is also an environmentalist. He hopes the project will promote environmental awareness and highlight the fascinating potentials of sustainable resources.
Pete Bethune and two crew members underwent liposuction, gathering a total of 2.5 gallons of excess blubber to power the speed boat. Their fat alone was enough to produce 2 gallons of fuel. He put the lard in motor and says under optimal conditions, the boat could run a successful 9 miles.
This boat is built for speed. While most boats ride over waves in rough seas, the Earth Race boat is built to pierce right through them. He plans on taking a 27,600-mile journey across the world, making the entire journey on 100% biodiesel.
If inventors could find a way to use global muffin tops, saddle bags and beer bellies as energy, these could be revolutionary.
One things for sure—in today’s society, human fat is definitely a renewable resource. So long as the obesity epidemic persists, fueled by pop culture phenomenons like McDonalds, it looks like there will be plenty of fuel to burn.
If we took all the plastic surgeons in LA and Miami and took them to the heartland for a little sucking…we might possible solve all of our energy problems :). Screw $5 gas prices and expensive corn-based ethanol, McDonald’s-generated lipids work too! The update on the boat’s progress is spectacular as well:
Despite being threatened by pirates and having almost been sunk by submerged logs, the Earthrace biodiesel trimaran (powered by recycled human fat) made the fastest trip around the world. This knocks 14 days off the previous record.
Tyler Durden would be more than proud. He would be ecstatic.
Posted on July 17th, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products, Science & Technology.
Spanish scientists have begun work on a new brain-computer interface, or BCI, capable of converting thought into commands that a wheelchair can execute. Enter the “Thought-controlled Robotic Wheelchair”.
They are using non-invasive devices to record the rhythms from the surface of the skull, and then convert signals into basic movements. “You’re not going to be using EEGs to control a robotic arm to play the piano or anything,” says Dawn Taylor, an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, “But you can certainly turn right and left and stop and go using that sort of signal.”
Two 800-MHz Intel computers mounted on the wheelchair will process these readings and send instructions to the wheels. After about a week’s training the software will adapt to patients’ thought patterns for simple commands such as “left” and “right.” The team hopes to use a combination of thought and mapping software to enable more complicated “macro” commands such as “Go to the kitchen.”
A front-mounted laser will work as a sensor, detecting obstacles ahead and changes in the environment, like furniture that has been moved. This is particularly important for people with limited head and neck mobility, as they often cannot clearly see the way ahead, especially at ground level.
The first working prototype is expected in 2008 or early 2009.
Posted on July 7th, 2008 by Bijan.
Categories: Media & Entertainment, Consumer Products, Business & Finance, Science & Technology, Coming Events.
“Scientists Set Sights on Invisibility Cloaks”
Such is the title of an article posted on CNN.com last Tuesday. Did you know that? Apparently, scientists from all over the globe have been experimenting with something called a “Superlens” which, essentially, can make things invisible. A superlens has a negative refractive index, meaning that it refracts light that an object projects in the opposite direction, thereby causing the light waves to cancel each other out and, voila! - renders the object invisible. Check it out for yourself.
Yet ironically, since websites like CNN are more concerned with matters such as “Mini Me’s” sex tape and these damn bikini-touting baristas in Seattle (seriously people, its a bikini. GET OVER IT), we oftentimes miss the truly important things that are happening in the world.
But news media debates aside, the scientific community is largely lost in the obscurity of politics, economics and pop culture. Consider the fact that only two decades ago, the idea of an iPhone would have sounded almost as feasible as, well, an invisibility cloak. Websites like the National Science Foundation provide oceans of information regarding the latest scientific discoveries and upcoming scientific research. It is important to note the vast impact even the most minor scientific innovation can have on society as we know it, and, as gradual as these things seem - they aren’t. So don’t be surprised if you find yourself shopping for jetpacks, teleporters and Beryllium Spheres in the near future. Just watch out for shoplifters - always wearing those pesky cloaks…
Posted on July 1st, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products, Philanthropy & Environment, Business & Finance.
This week Ford Motor reported that its U.S. sales have tumbled 28% from a year ago. Massive drops are also being seen at General Motors and Chrysler. Record high gas prices and rising consumer worries about the economy resulted in the weakest month for auto sales in 16 years.
Demand for Ford SUVs plunged by more than half, and demand for pickups and other trucks fell by more than a third. Even the so-called ‘crossovers’, a sign of strength in the light truck segment until recently, saw sales off 18% from a year earlier, as buyers went searching for more fuel efficient vehicles in the face of record gas prices. Ford announced steep cuts in production of its pickup and other truck models last month and a shift towards more production of cars. It also said it expected to announce plans for further cuts in plants and capacity in the months ahead.
It is clear that they are not makng the cars that people want. This wasn’t exactly a hard one to see coming. The auto industry chose short term profits and blatant greed over long term planning and the the health of the industry.
Maybe they should start making electric cars and increase production of hybrids instead of lying, cheating and robbing the American public blind so that they can keep churning out gas guzzling behemoths. For years, the energy industry and the auto industry have been in cahoots with each other (and in bed with the US Government) to perpetuate the use of machines that churn through oil. They have broken laws and misinformed the public in order to stifle the production of energy efficient vehicles. They have acted with a total disregard for the good of the planet and the good of the nation. And they have made countless hundreds of billions of dollars doing it.
I know it would not be great for the US auto industry to fail, but at the same time, it would send a good lesson to other industries. For the government to bail them out would essentially be saying that what they have done is OK, and that we continue to support their business practices. If anything, any financial aid needs to be tied to very strong, and strictly enforced guidelines. For all of us, perhaps we should think long and hard about our next auto purchase or lease, and be sure to make a decision that we can live with.
Posted on June 11th, 2008 by Mayur.
Categories: Travel & Leisure, Consumer Products, Business & Finance.
The recent US-led credit crunch may be hitting middle-class Americans hard. But one section of the population and the industry that serves them seem almost invigorated by the world’s economic woes – the super-wealthy and the businesses that serve them. A recent article in Newsweek indicated that 80% of the richest Americans – those worth $10 million or more – actually planned to increase their luxury spending this year. You add the moneyed Muscovites, and newly minted Indian and Brazilian billionaires to the mix and its magic!
So as the plebians hoard gasoline, cut-back on air travel and make Walmart their new favorite pastime, here’s what the billionaires are up to these days:
- They are buying products from brands that offer timeless-luxury: Bottega Veneta, Prada and Hermes: At Bottega, first quarter sales were up a staggering 31.5% while Hermes posted an impressive 13% rise.
- They are going bespoke: Mass luxury is now banal. Tom Ford’s made-to-measure suits, which range from $2,900 to $8,600, are going faster than Magnolia’s cupcakes. For a mere $90,000, Cartier’s nose will create a bespoke perfume just for you! Finally, it’s time to upgrade Casey and Bentley’s doghouse. “La Petite Maison” offers intricately detailed canine palaces featuring recessed and exterior lighting for $35,000.
- On holidays, they seek deluxe deprivation: Forget facials, mojitos by the pool and a rubdown. The people who have everything in life are now interested in putting themselves through hell. They will pay $500 to spend a chilly night at the ice hotel in Sweden. And for $3000 per day, Moscow-based Kniazev Event Agency gives the ultrarich a chance to be ordered around by former Marines and Special Forces veterans of the war in Chechnya during a 5 day bootcamp. Genius!
So, what are you waiting for? Buy that canine palace on a credit card. Some savvy bank will find a way to securitize and trade the AAA loan (using the doghouse as collateral…obviously).
Posted on May 19th, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products.
Any of you with a fetish for fashion, a fetish for the freaky, but most of all, a fetish for feet, ought to find this fascinating.
The latest rage in Japanese footwear is a bit of a throwback to the days of the geisha, but today its all about height more then miniaturization. Check out the new goods:
Definitely much more overtly sexual these days, as would be expected. One commonality is that they are about as hard to walk in as the old shoes were - which makes it hard for the girls to move very fast (is, to run away). I suppose the main underlying commonality is that they really suck to wear, but not nearly as much as the old school geisha garb. Look at what these women had to do to themselves:
Posted on May 14th, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products, Business & Finance.
Here’s the scenario… A bad hairy smelly man steals your identity. He ends up in the hospital and pretends to be you. His medical history becomes a part of your MIB identity (Medical Information Bureau). You get in a car accident, show up unconscious and on the medical bureau as having a herion addition and advanced diabetes, and they kill you trying to save you with the wrong method and medicines.
Does this really happen? Not so much. But identity theft is becoming a huge problem, and netting more than $50 billion annually for the crooks and leaving the victims with no end of headaches. With enough information about you, a criminal can get credit cards, cell phones, apartments and, yes, even medical care in your name, leaving you to deal with the collectors and credit bureaus when the perp skips on the bills.
But what exactly is Identity Theft?
Computer Crime
Data theft by spyware, viruses, e-mail and hackers, and during online transactions, accounts for only 12 percent.
Personal Betrayal
Friends, relatives, employees and others who’ve managed to get access to your data account for more than 20 percent
Document Loss
Stolen wallets, checkbooks or credit cards, stolen mail and paper records retrieved from your trash account for 39 percent.
Business Leaks
Consumer files lost or breached in the past six months at ChoicePoint, LexisNexis and elsewhere now top 2.4 mil.
Banks, credit-card companies and data brokers are pushing two basic kinds of identity protection: insurance plans that reimburse you for some out-of-pocket expenses from theft, and credit monitoring services that alert you when certain new information about you pops up at one of the three major credit bureaus. There are also sexed-up versions of monitoring that can come with all sorts of frills. You can spend hours clicking through different Web site offers and promotions just trying to figure out which products are being sold at what prices (from $50 to $500 a year or more) and what all these things are supposed to accomplish.
An American Express telemarketer might tell you that one in four U.S. households has been a victim of ID theft. (The Web site for Equifax puts the number at around 10 million Americans a year, which works out to more than 4 percent of adults.) But these numbers must be based on a very broad definition of identity theft. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, most ID cases are basic credit-card fraud: Someone steals your card or your number and goes shopping. Report such frauds promptly and it’s typically a nuisance at worst: The law limits your costs to $50, and the major card networks offer zero liability.
Another slice of the ID theft pie involves non-credit-card fraud, like someone tapping your bank account. That’s frightening, but credit monitoring can’t detect most of this. You detect it by watching your accounts regularly. The kind of identity theft that’s most dangerous is called new-accounts fraud. That’s when someone actually gets credit cards and other accounts in your name, sullying your credit report as they go. In a year, this happens to a tad fewer than one out of 100 people.
That’s still millions. But most of them end up on the hook for little or none of that debt. Indeed, less than 20 percent of new-account victims surveyed in 2004 reported out-of-pocket financial losses greater than $500.
What you can do:
1) There’s a lot you can do that’s cheap or free. Guard your Social Security number jealously. Read and pay your bills online. Buy a paper shredder for your home. Don’t leave your mail sitting around in the mailbox for very long. Check your credit report at least once every four months by getting the free report you’re entitled to once a year from each of the big three reporting agencies. And if you think you’ve been a victim, place a free 90-day fraud alert with one bureau, which must then notify the others.
2) Sign up for a service that monitors your accounts, and provided some protection. For anywhere from $50-500 a year, you can get various layers of protection. (Be warned, some companies purporting to provide protection are perfidious perps looking to pillage your personal nest egg)
3) Print your name, address, birth date, and Social Security # on a t-shirt and wear it out around town.
Your decision really turns on how much uncertainty you’re willing to live with. I like rolling the dice personally, and if someone wants to steal my identity, they better be ready to help with things like washing my dogs and taking out the trash.
Posted on May 7th, 2008 by Phil.
Categories: Consumer Products, Philanthropy & Environment, Business & Finance.
Yesterday I went to fill up my car at the gas station. The pump stopped automatically at $75, after which I put in a second card to thrown in another $20 worth. Spending $100 on gas for a car is a wild concept if you don’t drive a Mac Truck, but such is the world these days. I don’t drive too often, so I’m not fed up yet, but many people have reached the end of their rope.
The sale of new SUVs and pickup trucks has dropped precipitously in recent months amid soaring gas prices and a weakening economy. SUV sales for the month of April alone fell 32.3% from a year earlier and small car sales rose 18.6%. This fundamental shift comes against a backdrop of relentless gas increases, and growing concerns over the environment and US oil consumption.
“The SUV craze was a bubble and now it is bursting,” said George Hoffer, an economics professor whose research focuses on the automotive industry. “It’s an irrational vehicle. It’ll never come back.” I’m not about to give up my monster truck, but I can see his point.
With stocks of unwanted new SUVs and pickups piling up at dealerships across the country, automakers are offering unprecedented promotions. Incentives for large SUVs, including cash rebates, topped $4,000 in March, or more than double those offered in March 2002 (according to Edmunds.com, which monitors the motor industry).
At the same time, consumers are flooding the market with used SUVs, trying to trade in hulking Hummers for compact Corollas, and getting thousands of dollars less than they would have just a few months ago. In April, the average used SUV took more than 66 days to sell, and sold at a 20% discount from vehicle valuation books, such as Kelley Blue Book (compared to 48 days and a 7.8% discount a year earlier).
The slowdown in the home construction industry has also lowered demand for used SUVs and full-size pickup trucks. Meanwhile, midsize and small domestic 4-cylinder vehicles have fetched higher used prices during this period of high gasoline prices.
The owner of a prominent Mini dealership, said people have been turning in Chevrolet Suburbans for the tiny British car in recent weeks. That same dealership also currently has a one-year waiting list for the coveted Smart Car, an 8-foot-8-inch vehicle that gets more than 40 miles per gallon. The times, they are a changin’.
Posted on May 6th, 2008 by Myk.
Categories: Consumer Products, Philanthropy & Environment, Business & Finance, Science & Technology.
I love innovation, particularly when it’s the reapplication of existing ideas, technologies, and approaches to solve problems in a clever manner. Take something that exists in one place and find some other consumer or industry or country that needs just that. That’s style man. There’s an art to it…it leverages efficiency, and it promotes cross-disciplinary thinking (which is increasingly important in our networked world).
It’s also entirely unlike the sorts of businesses in the Wharton Business Plan Competition–this year a radiopharmaceutial and materials science companies muscled their way to victory through technological advances. Very linear…build to make something better faster cheaper….cool, maybe–but in my opinion boring.
OK so what this post is REALLY about is Urban Outfitters. In PSFK I just saw that they bought a garden center. Huh? Yep, Urban Outfitters is moving from retailer into the service sector. The new business, called Terrain, plans to offer garden design consultation services and building services. Also, within the store will be a cafe offering a menu of fresh locally sourced food that will change with the seasons.
Getting back to the my earlier point about reapplying approaches I think to myself, what does Urban Outfitters have to do with GARDENING? Really, does it makes sense? Well, UO is coool. You walk in and the merchandise is always fantastically displayed (UO NEVER does any advertising the stores themselves are the advertisement). How about making gardening cool? Interesting.
And there’a a market. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that nationally, Americans spend $34 billion on plants, flowers, mowers and garden equipment, according to Bruce Butterfield, organization research director for the National Gardening Association, a nonprofit group for home gardeners. The landscape design, construction and maintenance market is $45 billion, he said.
Here’s the thing. The garden center retail landscape is polarized between local mom and pop nursery’s on one end and big box retailers like Home Depot on the other. Urban Outfitters plans to position Terrain somewhere in between and hopes to become for gardening centers what West Elm and CB2 have done to furniture shopping.
A trendy garden shop for everyone interested in plants (which is a massive market). Fantastic. I only wish that someone from Urban Outfitters, which is in Philly like Wharton, would teach an innovation course there. Not likely, but it would be nice.
