Excellent new project book: Creative Projects with Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized Linux computer that costs about $30 (some versions are only $10). Because they are cheap, tiny, and versatile, they are an excellent basis for lots of different projects. Creative Projects with Raspberry Pi (out today!) by Kirsten Kearney and Will Freeman is loaded with build instructions, resources, and pointers to a bunch of cool projects: coffee roasters, weather stations, mobile phones, handheld gaming consoles — 35 in all. The photos are big and clear, and the introduction at the beginning will get Raspberry newbies up to speed.

Continued here:
Excellent new project book: Creative Projects with Raspberry Pi

Watch how hard it is to make a traditional Korean inlaid lacquer box

From collecting seashells for the inlay, harvesting tree sap for the lacquer, to adding the final touches, creating these stunning lacquer boxes in traditional Korean style takes about a year. (more…)

See the article here:
Watch how hard it is to make a traditional Korean inlaid lacquer box

Meet Pepper, Japan’s robot priest that can now conduct funerals

Japan is already known for being at the forefront of humanoid robots that take over traditionally human jobs ( hotel concierge and elderly companions , for instance). Now they can add robot funeral priests to their list. Japan’s telecommunications company SoftBank just unveiled “Pepper,” its robot priest, dressed in Buddhist robes, that can chant Buddhist scriptures, play the drum, and livestream the ceremony for people who can’t attend the funeral in person. The demo took place at Japan’s “Life Ending Industry Expo” in Tokyo last Wednesday. According to The Guardian : The robot was on display on Wednesday at a funeral industry fair, the Life Ending Industry Expo, in Tokyo, shown off by plastic molding maker Nissei Eco. With the average cost of a funeral in Japan reaching in excess of £20,000, according to data from Japan’s Consumer Association in 2008, and human priests costing £1,700, Nissei Eco is looking to undercut the market with Pepper available for just £350 per funeral. Pepper (not a name I’d expect a Buddhist priest to have, but this is a robot we’re talking about after all) has not yet been hired for a real funeral.

See original article:
Meet Pepper, Japan’s robot priest that can now conduct funerals

Wikipedia’s mindblowing timeline of the far future

Wikipedia’s prediction of far-future events really makes me wish I could stick around to see the red supergiant star Antares go supernova in 10,000 years. “The explosion is expected to be easily visible in daylight.” I’m happy I’ll miss the 1km asteroid that’s likely to hit Earth in the next 500,000 years. Looking farther out, the moon Phobos will collide Mars in 50 million years. Anything alive 2.8 billion years from now will need good air conditions because “Earth’s surface temperature, even at the poles,” will be 300 °F. This list “Technological Projects” below is just one of the many different tables in the Wikipedia article:

See more here:
Wikipedia’s mindblowing timeline of the far future

Daddy longlegs drop their limbs to escape predators

In elementary school, I knew a boy who would impress us by pulling the legs off a daddy longlegs and popping the body in his mouth. I think he would appreciate this Deep Look video about how daddy longlegs can drop up to three of its limbs when threatened by a predator and still survive.

See the original article here:
Daddy longlegs drop their limbs to escape predators

Watch hard candies get made on a candy press from 1871

Producing hard candy in bulk still required a lot of skill in Victorian times, as Lofty Pursuits demonstrated by making cinnamon hearts on this hard candy press from 1871. (more…)

Follow this link:
Watch hard candies get made on a candy press from 1871

Watch a quarter million dominoes fall in this delightful game-themed setup

Steve Price and Lily Hevesh set up a massive domino course that includes homages to classic board and video games, and some sections even use game pieces as part of the action. (more…)

Continue Reading:
Watch a quarter million dominoes fall in this delightful game-themed setup

Daniela Forti’s stunning glass jellyfish tables

Italian sculptor Daniela Forti makes gorgeous jellyfish tables from colored glass. Here’s a photo of how she creates the dramatic pieces, drawing out individual globs of glass into long tendrils: (more…)

View the original here:
Daniela Forti’s stunning glass jellyfish tables

Dogs in Navi Mumbai are turning blue

A number of very unusual-looking blue dogs have been spotted in Navi Mumbai, India. Sadly, the cause is industrial waste in the Kasadi river where stray dogs often wade. From the Hindustan Times : A water quality test at Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation found the waste treatment was inadequate. The levels of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) — the concentration of oxygen required to sustain aquatic life — was 80 milligram a litre (mg/L). Levels of chloride, which is toxic, harms vegetation, aquatic life and wildlife, were also high…. “It was shocking to see how the dog’s white fur had turned completely blue,” said Arati Chauhan, resident of Navi Mumbai, who runs the (Navi Mumbai Animal Protection Cell). “We have spotted almost five such dogs here and have asked the pollution control board to act against such industries.” MPCB officials said they had taken cognisance of the complaint. “Allowing the discharge of dye into any water body is illegal. We will take action against the polluters as they are destroying the environment,” said Anil Mohekar, regional officer, MPCB, Navi Mumbai. “We have directed our sub-regional officer to investigate,” he added. Animal rights activists have, however, wondered whether the move comes too late. “We have only spotted blue dogs so far. We do not know if birds, reptiles and other creatures are affected or if they have even died owing to the dye discharged into the air,” said Chauhan.

Originally posted here:
Dogs in Navi Mumbai are turning blue