Video Glasses

Finally this technology is getting closer. I have been waiting for this since they first were developed a number of years ago. It was the same old story, high prices and low quality. Now, we are so close. The only thing missing is that they do not yet support wireless technology. Wouldn't it be nice to eliminate that monitor or TV screen and just wear cool glasses?

Vuzix has updated its line of video eye-wear and is compatible with both 2D and 3D content, the glasses can display an equivalent of up to 75-inch screen as seen from a distance of 10 feet and feature separate focus adjustment for each eye as well as adjustable eye distance and viewing angles. The lenses also come in different colors for the fashion conscious.
 
Weighing approximately 3oz with twin 1280 x 720 LCD, 16 million color displays with 35 degree diagonal field of view and 16:9 / 4:3 aspect ratio. Brightness, contrast, hue and color saturation are adjustable via on-screen controls and eye separation is also adjustable. It even has an adjustable nose bridge for folks that have a nose like mine.

Connectivity options include composite AV cable, component video cable and AV cable for most videophones, portable DVDs, and camcorders, but there's no HDMI input or wireless connectivity. These can also connect to PCs and laptops for game playing with VR head tracking. Using them with a camera is cool for those high, low, or behind shots where you do not have to keep your eye in the viewfinder.

Two rechargeable AA batteries provide up to three hours of video playback and reportedly can be replaced with lithium ion batteries offering up to seven hours. The video-glasses are available now from $169 - $499. I love technology.
http://www.vuzix.com/home/

Moverio is an alternative $770 pair of glasses that sports a 80 inch 3D experience and has a slot for a picture card and plays music. Not quite HD quality, but close. LINK   2012 may be the year for a breakthrough.

What's in a Name, Belsnickel

German for "fur-Nicholas," is a fur-clad Christmas gift-bringer figure in the folklore of southwestern Germany, where my family is originally from. The figure is also preserved in Pennsylvania Dutch communities.

Belsnickel's fur covers his entire body, and he sometimes wears a mask with a long tongue. He is a companion of Saint Nickolas, a bit scary, and visits children at Christmas time to deliver socks or shoes full of candy, cakes, nuts, and fruit, but if the children are not good, they will find coal and/or switches (stick) in their stockings instead. Other traditions had him strewing those goodies on the floor and if an adult bent down to pick up something they were hit on the back from Belsnickel with a switch.

In many places, Belsnickel was a precursor to Santa Claus or St. Nickolas and the popularity in the US faded in the early 1900s. Many of the old traditional Santa equivalents always had coal and a switch for bad kids along with the goodies. Alas, many good life lessons have been replaced with the current - everyone gets everything attitude.

More Robots in our Future

Hon Hai, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and owner of Foxconn, recently announced that it intends to build a robot-making factory and replace 500,000 workers with robots over the next few years.

It already has 10,000 robots busy at work in its factories, and the plan is to increase the number of robots to one million by 2013.

Hon Hai now has about 800,000 employees and a yearly revenue of about $60 billion. The company signed a letter of intent to invest $3.3 billion in robots for its Taiwan factories. He said the robots will increase the production value of Foxconn by about $4 billion over the next three to five years and create about 2,000 new jobs. It plans to build most of the robots itself, due to lack of production speed from some suppliers. Seems like some of the science fiction stories of robots making robots are coming true. The name Singularity leaps to mind.

Russian Dancers

These women may look like robots, but they have just perfected a smooth step. When they join the Berezka Dance Troupe, they are forbidden to tell anyone, including family how the 'floating step' is performed. This video shows off the beauty. Starting at about 1:30 it is really evident. LINK

Cheapskate Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo actively deprived himself of any comfort he saw no need for. He told his workshop assistants and friends that he didn’t care what food tasted like. He knew of no food that was not palatable, and only ate what was cheapest in providing him a balanced diet. He preferred to drink water, but understood the health benefits of wine and drank only the cheapest he could find.

His house was modest and squalid and infested with rats. In the coldest weather, he would simply put on another coat, or go for a jog. He once stated that because he had never been bitten by a flea, the rats did not seem a nuisance to him. He wore the same old dirty clothes, day after day, washing them and himself about twice a month in the nearest river or lake. He wore a pair of shoes until the soles nearly came off. Good thing he treated his art better than himself or we would all be deprived of the beauty.

A Look Back to 1912

How have things changed in the past one hundred years?
New Mexico and Arizona joined the US as 47th and 48th states.

Here is a political quote from that year, "Former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt wins all the Republican primaries, but party bosses beholden to Wall Street block his nomination by the convention."

Here are a few prices from 1912:
Federal spending 690 million dollars
World Series tickets box seat $5 (Bleacher seats 50 cents)
Chevy six cylinder $2,150
gas 7 cents gallon
Loaf of bread 8 cents
Pound of coffee 15 cents
Dozen eggs 22 cents
Pound of butter 35 cents
Milk 12 cents quart
Ham 15 cents pound
Bacon 16 cents pound
Oreo cookies came to market in 1912

Noel

Did you know that "Noel" entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old French noël or naël, which itself is from the Latin nātālis (diēs), and means "day of birth".

Happy New Year

We made it through another one. This coming year should be fun for the politicians and election junkies. Don't forget to pick up 'Unelectum All' before voting. It has some great info to help you with your choice.

Happy Friday

Every man has three characters - that which he exhibits, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.

I know you see that I think I have a need for a Happy Friday!

What's in a Name, Craneberry

That is the original name for the cranberry. It was first named by early European settlers in America who felt the expanding flower, stem, calyx, and petals resembled the neck, head, and bill of a crane. Native Americans used cranberries in a variety of foods, especially for meat, wound medicine, and dye.

Historically, cranberry fruits and leaves were used for a variety of problems, such as wounds, diarrhea, diabetes, stomach ailments, and liver problems. Most notably, cranberry products have been used in the hope of preventing or treating urinary tract infections. The berries are also used as dietary supplements in the form of extracts, capsules, and tablets. Raw cranberries have moderate levels of vitamin C, dietary fiber and the essential dietary mineral, manganese, as well as a balanced profile of other essential micronutrients.

Cranberries are a major commercial crop in certain American states and Canadian provinces. Cranberry sauce is regarded an indispensable part of traditional American and Canadian Thanksgiving menus and some European winter festivals.

In the 1820s cranberries were shipped to Europe and became popular for wild harvesting in the Nordic countries and Russia.

Wisconsin is the leading producer of cranberries, with over half of US production. About 95% of cranberries are processed into products such as juice drinks, sauce, and sweetened dried cranberries. The remaining 5% are sold fresh to consumers.

Phosphenes

This is the name for the lights you see when you close your eyes and press your hands to them. It is kind of like your own personal Christmas lights.

Posh

This is a word that has been around since the late 1800s, but is not used much these days, except for many small businesses which use it in their name. It means smart, elegant, or fashionable, such as posh clothes. It also means upper-class or genteel. It is also an herb.

A common reference is that back when ocean liners were the only way to cross the Atlantic, the preferred staterooms were those that faced “port out and starboard home.” As the ship crossed the North Atlantic, sunlight came into the room from the direction of the equator to the south. In a “posh” room you were on the port side (left) on the way south and east, and the starboard side (right) on the way home. Although this explanation is completely wrong, it makes for a good story.

Google+ is Growing

Google+ growth is accelerating. It has now gone past 62 million users and is adding about 625,000 new users per day. It is predicted to hit 400 million users by end of 2012.

Facebook needs to be concerned. Google+ is easier to use and groups can be separated so you do not need to have all posts seen by all friends. It is also easier to add links, pictures, etc. It also hosts live chats, so if you are planning an event, everyone can be online and conversing at the same time. Kind of like a free 'go-to-meeting'.

Cheeta the Chimp

Old timers who remember Tarzan from the movies will surely remember Cheeta the chimpanzee, who starred in the Tarzan films in the early 1930s. Cheeta died of kidney failure on Christmas Eve, according to the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbour, Florida where he lived. At 80, he was the oldest non-human primate alive, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. He outlived both Johnny Weissmuller, the actor who played Tarzan and owned him, and Maureen O’Sullivan, who played Jane.