Video Babble

I love information...acquiring it, learning it, using it and sharing it. This post is called video babble cuz it's a mix of all types of interesting information.
  
For instance, have you ever wondered what sound looked like? I have. The only time I saw actual sound was on an acid trip back in 1990's. During the trip I could see sound waves and hear colors. Needless to say after that experience... I had to stop doing Acid.  Now here we are 20 years later and it seems I wasn't (really) crazy after all.

Through a technique called Schlieren Flow Visualization which registers changes in air pressure. Mike Hargather, a professor of mechanical engineering at New Mexico Tech, shares what sound waves look like. He shows everything from a human clap to the explosive firing power of an AK 47.

 
Another interesting video I ran across will make you want to drink bottled water exclusively if you live in the United Kingdom. Last week the Drinking Water Inspectorate (they inspect tap water) of the UK found metabolized traces of Cocaine in the drinking water. When I say metabolized, that means the cokes been, inhaled, injected, ingested, smoked, or shot intravenously. Once the body metabolizes the narcotic, the left over coke is urinated out. Trace elements of that pee-pee powder is what inspectors have found in purified tap water.

So in layman's terms... there is so much Cocaine use in the UK that even after a strict purification process they can't remove it from the water supply. To find out more about this weird but fun fact check out the video below. 
 

I saved the best for last. In 1979 a Utah Police officer went undercover to expose the KKK and ends up becoming their leader. That's not the interesting part. What makes this case unbelievable is the cop that infiltrated the KKK was a black man. Wait...did you read that right? Did he just say a black man became the leader of the Klu Klux Klan? Yes he did! The natural question to ask is "how?" That's where the story get's complicated.  For the whole story, check out the link (KKK Infiltrated) and watch the video below. To find out how a black police officer became a Grand Dragon of the KKK.

Cloaking Spray

Man has been fascinated with invisibility since ancient times. 

In Greek mythology, Perseus used a cloak of invisibility to slay the Gorgon Medusa. Back in the era of alchemists before modern science, the quest for invisibility was almost as important as the formula to trans-mutate lead into gold.

Let's just propose for a moment that the information in the video below is true. That fictional characters are describing a real project...currently in development. The industrious (fictional) engineers at the University of Michigan have moved one step closer to achieving that goal. They developed a cloaking spray that once dry, renders any object its sprayed upon almost invisible to the naked eye. Light moves in the size of Nanometres. Once engineers began working on the Nanoparticle scale they could directly interact with light.

These engineers have created a cloaking spray composed of a liquid Nanoparticle solution that bends light. There have been several inventions that bend light to give the illusion of invisibility. Yet none have achieved the level of success as the engineers in Michigan. Their cloaking spray is unique in it's versatility. It can be sprayed, coated, or painted on any surface and make that object... disappear.

This may be science fiction, but it describes advanced nanotechnology...and it's awesome. Curved objects like spheres and bottles work better than straight edged forms, like squares or triangles. When shapes with straight edges are coated with the cloaking spray the edges are visible when it drys. Although this is a minor setback, the team have already successfully coated gloves, clothing, fruit and numerous other objects and materials with success.

The military is funding the project (of course) so they have funding to overcome any problems that may arise. Plans for invisible drones, and reconnaissance vehicles are already on the way. The engineers hope to begin human testing in the next few years. The whole idea makes me think of the movie Hollow Man...imagine that. 

For more information on the cloaking spray (prank...or project in development) and the science behind it, check out the video below. 

Leisure Activities

I just returned from vacation in Spain. If you have never been there...I highly recommend it. Most of the vacation was spent relaxing on the beaches in Salou. The rest of the time I was in Barcelona checking out the tourist attractions. There are a lot of leisure activities in both cities.

Salou is a coastal city with nice beaches and tasty cocktails. The first thing people notice about Salou, is how clean the city is. There's almost no litter on the streets and beaches, which is a stark contrast from the beaches of Barcelona. Salou is split onto two sides a north and south. The north side has clubs, bars, games and a shopping district. The south side is residential, most of the patrons are retirees and home businesses. 

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Salou is Port Aventura. Port Aventura is Spain's version of Disney World. It's a massive amusement park with at least eight roller-coaster rides and other attractions for adults. Aside from the roller-coasters (which am a huge fan of) there were live shows, games, and an Aquapark.

The mascot for Port Aventura was Woody Woodpecker. Everywhere you walk in the park there are statues of Woody. It's interesting that such an obscure character is the mascot for such a big park. Each area of the park had a theme related to a country, such as Mexico, China, Hawaii, Polynesia, Sweden, India, and many more. Workers in the individual areas dress in the attire of their country and food stands serve cuisine from the aforementioned country. Overall the food in the park was tasty but over priced...but the rides were superb.  

The easiest method of travel around Salou are street trains. They look like locomotives from the 1800's but they're much faster. There's three different train lines and the routes are separated by colors red, blue, and green. Each train goes on a different route through the coastal region and they repeat every fifteen minutes. Once you buy a ticket you can stay on that train as long as you desire. If you want to ride a different route you have to purchase another ticket. Aside from Salou they go to cities La Pineda, Terragona, and a few others. If you want to see most of the geography without walking, riding the train is the best way.
 
The nightlife was a mix of cocktail bars and discotheques that played top 40. I didn't like most of the discotheques but the cocktail bars were perfection. Depending on your drinking preference (getting a buzz, getting drunk, or absolutely wasted) they have different sizes available. The largest being a ten liter cocktail of mostly liquor and a tiny bit of fruit juice. I wasn't interested in intoxication but wanted to taste everything. There were several places that had whole menu's for six euros. Pina Colada, Mia Tai, Mojito's, Tequila Sunrise, Daiquiri's and broad spectrum of other cocktails were available for the same price. (It was yummy)  

After running around Salou for a week I took my girlfriend to Barcelona. She had never been there and I wanted to visit an old friend. Barcelona or Barca as the locals call it, feels like a college city to me. There are a lot of monuments, statues, museums, and tourist attractions...aside from the beach. Depending on where you go the food can be good and inexpensive. My woman is vegetarian so we shopped mostly at the La Rambla fruit market. The Ramblas is one of the main shopping districts in Barca. Their fruit market is enormous and has a diverse selection of edibles for every type of diet. 

Major tourist attractions in Barca are the Palace, Barceloneta beach, and the Sagrada de Familia, monument by Gaudi. Sagrada de Familia, is a massive cathedral looking building with cylindrical towers and unusual structure. The architecture reminds of buildings out of Batman's, Gotham City crossed with scenes from "A Nightmare Before Christmas." The beaches are man-made and always crowded. Unlike Salou the beaches in Barca were not clean...and that's putting it mildly. Barceloneta had a cool view, cheap food, and more cigarette butts on the beach than sand.
 
The trip was relaxing and a great way to recharge my battery. Now that I'm back in Amsterdam, its time to catch up on business, painting, and making more music. If you want to see more scenes from the trip check out the pic's below. 

New Muzik

Spring is in the air and the tunes are banging through the speakers.

I've been listening to more music for the last two months. Since I got back from snowboarding at Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic i've been playing catch-up with the business. The benefit to being busy is I get to listen to more music while I work. Most of the time its mixtapes or the Real Hip-Hop Show by my man DJ Modesty. In between that I try listening to new albums, while packing for my trip to Spain in a few days.

The videos below are from artists from across the map, who got flow and delivery. Supastition, is a North Carolina MC who has a lengthy catalog of dope music. Vado, is a Harlem MC that's been putting in work for a minute. He has a series named Slime Flu that recently released the 4th mixtape. CyHi The Prynce, is from the ATL. He has a east coast flow with a southern accent. I like the way he puts together metaphors. His content is militant, modern day, Black Panther music. Then there's veteran R-Kitech, bringing listeners back to the basics. Last is super group The Lox coming with a heavy street anthem for the whole NYC.

3D Print Organs

As you know I've been a fan of 3D printers since their inception. Recently they've went from being machines used by engineers and hobbyist, to become a life saving medical device.

In the last few years scientists have been able to create new skin, eyes, ears, tracheas, bladders, and other body parts by utilizing 3D printing technology. The field is called Bio-printing. Like other forms of 3D printing, Bio-printing lays down multiple layers of organic material (living cells), to form a solid mass of human tissue. This tissue is used to replace damaged skin or any of the other aforementioned body parts.

In the past doctor had to create artificial organs utilizing a scaffolding method combined with living tissue. This method was successful but slow in comparison, 3D-printing technology. Bio-Printing with 3D printers is twice as fast and it utilizes computer-guided precision in printing living tissue. The Bio-Printing field has pushed the boundaries of regenerative medicine. 

The San Diego-based Bio-printing company Organovo is planning to unveil the world's first 3D printed human liver this year. Other companies are racing to be the first to print other organs such as hearts, livers and kidneys. This technology will save thousands of people waiting to die on the transplant list.

Recently a man from Wales named Stephen Power made international headlines when he got into a serious motorcycle accident, which left him disfigured. Half his face was so damaged that he had to hide it behind dark sunglasses. Doctors measured the necessary bones and structure then printed out the parts to rebuild his face with a 3D printer. 

There was a similar case where a man had to remove a tumor from his face and ended up having half his face cut off, leaving a gaping hole. His face was also reconstructed with 3D technology. Watching how Bio-printing works reminds me of the med bay in the movie Elysium. A machine that can rebuild any damaged tissue including bones and organs. Check out their stories below.

Real Cybersex

There's a new device on the market that allows users to have real cybersex in ways that have only been described in science fiction.

The device is named FriXion. Ìt's a teledildonic device combined with consumer robotics  allowing people to have physical interactive sex from across a room, city or continent. Teledildonics are electronic sex toys that can be controlled by a computer to enable the users to reach orgasm. The technology was originally used for remote sex, giving users the physical sensations of touch transmitted over a data link between the participants.

There have been significant advancements in the teledildonics field since the 90's. The company FriXion uses a haptic social network which allows people to interact by touching, stimulating each other, holding hands, kissing, and having full penetrative sex. 

Users can have sex over the internet with someone else across the globe and have real time sensation.
Check out the video below for a demonstration and more information on how the device works.

Animanga: Kingdom

There's not many historical manga stories that hold my attention. Most of the stories are to much like reading a history book with pictures.

The Animanga: Kingdom is a whole different story. I started off by watching a few episodes of the anime...on a recommendation. I liked it after the third. From there I went and read the manga...all 378 chapters of it (binge reading). I can some up the rest of this post with four words "The story is dope!".

Kingdom follows the life of a young peasant boy named Shin as he aspires to become a great general in warring ancient china. The story takes place 245 BC (Before Christ) at a time when western china was broken in to 7 major countries. The lands of Qin, Chu, Zhou, Han, Yan, Wei, and Qi are all battling for domination.

Shin and his best friend Sin Hyo lived in the country of Qin. They planned to enter the army and become generals. Sin Hyo, turned out to be an identical double of the king of Qin. He was taken to the palace and used as a body double for the king. Sin was killed by assassins.

Shin discovers the details of Sins murder from the real king. His name was Sai and his dream was to unify all of western China. To due this he had to conquer all the other countries and Shin decided to help him achieve his goal. Sin died protecting the king and to honor his memory Shin took up his duty.

Aside from being a historical piece it's great action sequences, writing and character development. It reminds me of the writing style of Death Note crossed with One Piece. Where the writing and plot make you feel for the character. The battle scenes are well drawn with incredible detail. The characters fight with classic weapons from their time period. Sword, mace, ax, lance, bow and arrow...etcetera. The weapons aren't high tech but how the characters use them makes them look superhuman.

Each battle moves the story forward as Shin builds his private army the Hi Shin Unit composed of elite fighters and strategist.  At the same time his victories and failures along with the other generals of Qin propel Sai's dream of unifying China forward. If you read battle type manga like Berserk then I definitely recommend Kingdom.

The anime is on the final episode of the second season. There's no doubt in my mind that there will be a third due to its popularity. Below is a snippet from the battle between Shin and a general from the land of Wei named Rinko. Check it out.

Small Balls = Better Daddy

I recently read an article that took an in depth look at male testicle size and childcare.The article theorized that men with smaller balls = better fathers.

A study by Emery university was conducted on a group of 70 men from various ages. The test measured testicular volume, testosterone levels and the subjects interest in childcare. Prior studies have suggested that men with high testosterone were likely to be more party oriented and less into parenting, but until recently there were no studies to prove that hypothesis.

The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences is the first independent study showing a correlation between testicular volume and interest in parenting. By testicular volume I mean "size" and the reason size is important is because the bigger the testicle size the more semen that can be produced, per ejaculation. What this means in layman's terms is that regardless of age, men with large balls have more testosterone in their system and less interest in parenting.

Don't take my words out of context. Just because a man has large testicles, it doesn't mean he will be a bad father. What the study demonstrates is that men with smaller testicles are more invested into being a father. While men with larger testicles are more invested in making the babies. For more information check out the video below.

True Love Tester?

The creative minds of Japanese scientist and a few fashion heads decided to design a bra that won't open unless the woman is supposedly in love.

The new Bra, is being toughed as a "True Love Tester" because it can't be unhooked without the proper emotional response. According to a Human Sexuality Specialist and the former Med School Associate Professor. When a woman is in love her brain produces a hormone called Catecholamine. This hormone is different than any other secretion produced by arousal or excitement. Once it's released into the blood there's an increase in heart rate, pulse and pupil dilation. 

There's a built in sensor on the front of the bra that monitors heart rate and pulse. All the info is sent to a special app. designed for the bra via Bluetooth. The app. then analysis the data and judges ether the woman is truly in love by changes in heart rate over time. The bra will only open when a woman's brain produces high enough levels of Catecholamine.

Call me old fashioned or maybe even a romantic, but I like to believe there's more to love than a combination of hormones and electrical impulses. Although this bra maybe able to read all the aforementioned physical responses it can't calculate the connection between two souls. (That's just my opinion)

Regardless of whether you believe it works or not, the bra is an interesting new piece of technology. To learn more about how the "True Love Tester," works and where you can buy one...watch the video below.

God of War: Ascension

I just finished playing God Of War: Ascension. If you've been following the blog you know I'm a huge fan of the game. I did a review of the series two years ago titled "The complete God of War series" back when I thought it would end as a trilogy.

I'm happy that it didn't and I got to play the new installment of the series. GOW: Ascension, seemed like a prequel to the GOW trilogy. For breaking his blood pact with Ares, Kratos was imprisoned by the three Furies, the guardians of honor and punishment.  First he must escape, then defeat the Furies who hold the threads of his past. 

Like in the previous installments all the creatures are from mythology. Most are from previous games but the developers got creative and added a few new creatures like the Basilisk, and Hecatonchires that boosted the difficulty level. They also changed the character design and some of the attacks of creatures like the Sirens and Medusa.

Aside from the Blades of Chaos, which are Krato's standard ass-kicking weapon. You earn blades from different elements like Fire, Ice, and Lightening which are tailored to defeat particular enemies. The game play was fast paced with good graphics. If you're a fan of the series I definitely recommend playing the game. Below I posted a demo from the game check it out.