Tag: var-current

30 years of graffiti layers taken from a wall in The Netherlands

Enjoy Paul De Graaf’s gallery depicting the sedimentary layers deposited by 30 years of graffiti on a wall in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. It’s a Graffiti Hall of Fame in the city of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. What started as a 70’s Hippie cult place, became a center of music and art in the early 80’s. One of the first places where it was legal to smoke cannabis. It still a Music studio and Graffiti Hall of fame. The building is surrounded by walls that are all spray painted from top to bottom.

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30 years of graffiti layers taken from a wall in The Netherlands

How EFF cracked printers’ "hidden dots" code in 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izMGMsIZK4U NSA whistleblower Reality Winner may have been caught thanks to a hidden pattern of dots that color printers bury in every page they print, as an assistance to law enforcement agencies. (more…)

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How EFF cracked printers’ "hidden dots" code in 2005

Our brains tell us to avoid people who are sick, even when they don’t show obvious symptoms

People tend to avoid sick people, even if they don’t consciously now that they are sick, according to a new study published in PNAS. Snip: In the perpetual race between evolving organisms and pathogens, the human immune system has evolved to reduce the harm of infections. As part of such a system, avoidance of contagious individuals would increase biological fitness. The present study shows that we can detect both facial and olfactory cues of sickness in others just hours after experimental activation of their immune system. The study further demonstrates that multisensory integration of these olfactory and visual sickness cues is a crucial mechanism for how we detect and socially evaluate sick individuals. Thus, by motivating the avoidance of sick conspecifics, olfactory–visual cues, both in isolation and integrated, may be important parts of circuits handling imminent threats of contagion. David DiSalvo from Forbes has more : Researchers injected one group of people with a harmless bacteria that triggers an immune response for a few hours, causing mild fever and fatigue, but without any really obvious signs of being sick… The researchers exposed the smell samples, photos and videos to another group of people, along with the same set of samples from healthy people… The brain scans showed a signaling effect cutting across the senses when someone looked at a photo or video of a sick person, along with being exposed to the smell samples. The overall effect is a multi-sense brain alarm telling us that someone is sick and should be avoided.

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Our brains tell us to avoid people who are sick, even when they don’t show obvious symptoms

Clever snap-on USB charger faceplate for normal US/Canadian power receptacles

I’m intrigued by this cleverly designed USB charger faceplate for US/Canadian power receptacles: you unscrew your existing faceplate, insert this one into the receptable so that its USB charger leads make contact with the screws on the sides of the receptacle, and screw it back in, and in theory, you now have two power outlets and two USB charger outlets. (more…)

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Clever snap-on USB charger faceplate for normal US/Canadian power receptacles

These shoes are made of pineapple leaves

The inedible green leaves left behind during pineapple harvesting contain fibers that can be transformed into goods traditionally made from leather, including shoes, bags, and other leather accessories. Pinatex has details. (more…)

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These shoes are made of pineapple leaves

The Conjuring Arts Research Center: Manhattan’s hidden library of magic

Atlas Obscura discloses a secret library, The Conjuring Arts Research Center , established to preserve the secrets of magic! The not-for-profit organization was established in 2003, “dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of magic and its allied arts.” It was started by William Kalush, who developed a love of magic from the card tricks shown to him by his father, a Marine wounded in World War II. This love of card magic turned to a love of collecting magic books, which now form a wondrous collection of over 15,000 books—some dating to over 600 years old—housed in this hidden location. “I like early books that no one else has ever seen”, Kalush says, sitting in a high-backed, ornately carved wooden chair that wouldn’t look out of place with a wizard sitting on it. “Books of performances pieces, card secrets, many that are unique.” Browsing through the shelves stacked with all things conjuring, you will find obscure books on sleight-of-hand techniques, mentalism, deceptive gambling, the history of magic, and the mysterious secrets of card tricks. One book is the seminal The Expert At the Card Table, which appeared in 1902, written by an S. W. Erdnase. It’s one of the most detailed collections of sleight-of-hand techniques and card sharping, a book so iconic and well-studied within magic circles it is known as “the Bible.” Appropriately enough, S. W. Erdnase was a pseudonym. The real identity of the writer has remained a century-old mystery.

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The Conjuring Arts Research Center: Manhattan’s hidden library of magic

Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved ‘Totoro’ will be focus of Studio Ghibli theme park set to open in 2020

Japan’s iconic animation Studio Ghibli, co-founded by anime director Hayao Miyazaki, is developing a ‘My Neighbor Totoro’ theme park. (more…)

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Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved ‘Totoro’ will be focus of Studio Ghibli theme park set to open in 2020

Controversy over DNA sequencing of 90 Egyptian mummies

One of the most hotly-contested fields of genetics revolves around the genetic lineage of ancient Egyptians. A new study of 90 Pre-Ptolemaic, Ptolemaic, and Roman mummies raises as many questions as it answers. (more…)

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Controversy over DNA sequencing of 90 Egyptian mummies

Tabletop Audio: ambient loops for your RPGs

“Role-players, boardgamers, writers, coders, artists, graphic designers, teachers, house-cleaners, lucid dreamers, gym-rats, distance runners, commuters” can enjoy over 100 ambient atmospheric loops with names like “Orbital Promenade,” “Lunar Outpost,” “Testing Chamber” and so on. (more…)

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Tabletop Audio: ambient loops for your RPGs