Can You Hear It?

Clicking the play button below will produce a tone that is generally only heard by people under the age of 25. It has been used as a deterrent device to keep teenagers from loitering in malls and shops, and sounds similar to a buzzing mosquito. Typically the longer you listen to it, the more annoying it gets.

Sound

WAY COOL

"The Ministry of Defence has awarded £100,000 to a small company that has developed a special substance that hardens immediately on impact.
It is hoped that the shock-absorbing substance will soon be fitted onto the inside of soldiers' helmets reducing in half the kinetic energy of a bullet or piece of shrapnel and hopefully making them impenetrable.
The gel, called d3O locks instantly into a solidified form when it is hit at high impact.
"When moved slowly, the molecules will slip past each other, but in a high-energy impact they will snag and lock together, becoming solid," said Richard Palmer, who invented the gel. "In doing so they absorb energy."
The d3O gel has already expanded into a range of sporting goods and is found in ski gloves, shin guards, ballet shoe pointes and horse-riding equipment. The substance relies on "intelligent molecules" that "shock lock" together to absorb energy and create a solid pad. Once the pressure has gone they return to their normal flexible state.
The gel is stitched into clothing or equipment that is supple until it stiffens into a protective barrier on impact.
If the product is taken on by defence contractors it could be used to reduce the current bulky and restrictive armour used by troops in on the frontline with gel pads inserted into key protective areas.
Mr Palmer said it was the equivalent to comparing "cumbersome" RoboCop to Spiderman with the latter's protection "nimble covert and flexible"."

COOL VW

Ron Patrick - "The car has two engines: the production gasoline engine in the front driving the front wheels and the jet engine in the back. The idea is that you drive around legally on the gasoline engine and when you want to have some fun, you spin up the jet and get on the burner (you can start the jet while driving along on the gasoline engine). The car was built because I wanted the wildest street-legal ride possible. With this project, I was able to use some stuff I learned while getting my fancy engineering degree (I have a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University) to design a street-legal jet car without the distraction of how other people have done it in the past - because no one has. I don't know how fast the car will go and probably never will. The car was built to thrill me, not kill me. That doesn't stop me from the occasional blast on the highway though." His four year $250,000 dream was to put a rocket into his Beetle. I really like this because its not cool in the normal sense of "cool", he did not put it in a some super car. But thats what turns me on about it, he put it in a car with a flower holder on the dashboard. Its just great and i would really like to go for a ride.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq do not equal the USA #1 Oil Importer

"The top sources of US crude oil imports for December were Canada (2.033 million barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1.394 million barrels per day), Mexico (1.126 million barrels per day), Venezuela (1.028 million barrels per day), and Nigeria (0.869 million barrels per day). The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Angola (0.553 million barrels per day), Iraq (0.519 million barrels per day), Ecuador (0.252 million barrels per day), Algeria (0.235 million barrels per day), and Brazil (0.208 million barrels per day). Total crude oil imports averaged 9.419 million barrels per day in December, which is a decrease of (.504) million barrels per day from November 2008."
This is yet another article that i found really interesting and shocking. Every time i think of oil, i am like "o" the war in Iraq, but Iraq is #7 on this list with 519 Thousand Barrels per Day. Also out of the top three two are Mexico and Canada, where we take in 6x the amount per day compared to Iraq. So i am not saying i am supportive of a seeming standstill of a war in the Middle East, but why is it always compared to oil? I guess politics really is something you can't just take at face value without doing your research. Also on another note how is the growing unrest in Mexico going to affect Americans at the pump, i guess will just have to see.

Website

I Love Cafe Bustelo

I discovered Mr. Bustelo during my evacuation for hurricane Katrina, one of the few good things that came out of it. Its not just a normal coffee it what they call expresso and i am in love with it. I have been having no less then two shots a day for five years i sure i am addicted! But truly its so much bolder and less bitter than normal coffee or expresso. I really have trouble going to get coffee from Starbucks when i am out, like this morning, its just not the same.

FoxNews article - "Passengers are angry about being forced to fly on a new Southwest Airlines plane featuring a bikini-clad model, saying it is "soft porn" and is offensive to families.
Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, currently dating actor Leonardo DiCaprio, is pictured lying seductively in a revealing white bikini along the length of the Boeing 737 as part of a promotional deal with Sports Illustrated.

The latest addition to the US-based airline was unveiled this month and is deployed like other aircraft in the fleet, servicing all its routes."

Come on fox and MIddle America don't we have better things to complain about and report on than a SI ad on the side of a plain. One of the passengers ON the plane announced “I would not want to have to watch this plane pull up to the gate traveling with my young child, or mother, grandmother, etc.,” customer Jim Dawson. Well Jim last time i checked there worse images on the cover of magazines at your local convenient store, that are also at eye level of your child. Also the image was on the outside of the plain not on the back of your tray table. Also i cant name the last time i watched or was able to see my plane pull up to the gate. Ok so jim dose have the right to complain but i just do not understand why, i really hope a lawsuit does not come out of this.

DID YOU KNOW! Probably not

This Video is so mind-blowing that i think it explains itself. But truly the only thing i want to say about this video is that i am glad i am in advertising during a time of change because hopefully there will be more of a need for young, fresh technologically advanced people than ever before.

Made For IPod

This is four outlandish but rather cool Made For iPod Products.
#1 is the "Made For iPod Fridge" - "European appliance manufacturer Gorenje debuted a slick new refrigerator that bares the official “Made for iPod” mark. Not only does this slim, monolithic ice box rival the iPod in the looks department, but the two devices actually work together to complement the overall kitchen experience. Like most other iPod compatible docking devices, owners have the option of inserting their iPod Touches or iPhones into the fridge and playing music and video through the unit’s built-in speakers. But the real selling point of this marriage is Gorenje’s Web portal service, iGorenje. Using your home Wi-Fi network, you can essentially control various fridge functions as well as a few other Gorenje appliances using iPod itself." This product is defiantly crazy and outlandish but still one of my favorites.
#2 is "ipod tree of power" - The designer Vivien Muller "solar-powered tree features fifty-four adjustable photovoltaic panels, and while it won’t convert sunlight into sugar, it will provide ample juice for everything from your cellphone to your camera. Beyond being a clever riff on photosynthesis—Muller calls the project Photonsynthes" This One its not one i would buy but shows how Mad For ipod has affected everything even art.
#3 "500XL™ Desk Speakers for ipod" - product description "Sometimes bigger IS really better, specially when it comes to sound. That's why we took a puny pair of earbuds, put them in Fred's highly technical Way Big machine, and created 500XL - it's 500 times the size of the original! How great will these look on your desktop alongside your mp3 player?" This is a Product for 40 bucks that i would definitely buy if i had a need for.
#4 My favorite "iwood" - Iwood is a company in Holland that for the a ridiculous price will carve a single price of wood into a case for your iPhone or ipod. Its a website you really should take a look at and if i had the money id be all over it. website

Street Art

There is some really cool street art on youtube but this is by far one of my favorites! Whenever i think of street art i think, people clamoring for money playing a instrument, or standing still in all gold. Even to the point of people with cans of spray paint creating realy elametery but at the same time creative pieces of art. Altho this Video moved passed that. Its not cheeky, but becomes more of a performance art. I really enjoy the since of time passing the video gives, you along with the people acting with the newly created seen. This one of those things that just makes me want to get out of my room and go find something cool in my world.

Shazam

Shazam is the most useful app and my favorite on the iphone! So how does it work if you have never used it. You hold the device that is on next to a speaker hit "tag", let it listen for ten seconds and wa-la it tells you the name, artist, and album of the song. Tight i know! for a more technical explanation "Shazam's service is built around a patented proprietary pattern recognition technology that can identify recorded audio even under noisy conditions. This song recognition technology enables users to recognize, tag, and interact with any piece of music at the time they hear it. The Shazam service runs on a hosted service platform and is driven by Europe's largest music information database - over 3,200,000 music tracks, metadata and cover art.". Another feature that i love is that it stores the songs afterwords, and gives you the option to download them off of itunes or serch for them on youtube. They have thought of everything. I am almost positive that Apple should be paying Shazam for the amount of money there probably making them.

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

I am from NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana) and i have to say that Jazz Fest is by far my favorite event the city holds. The first Event was held April of 1970 and my first Fest was in 2003. I attended my first Jazz Fest with my step dad and good friend at the time Frank. i can remember sitting on the back side of the main stage listening to sounds of Ben Harper and Jack Johnson, while a Rebirth Brass Ban Marching line weaved its way throe the crowd. i was instantly in love. The Festival is held at the fair Grounds in Mid City of New Orleans, on the area inside the track. In a nut shell it is quintessential NOLA. Its about more than just the music. the cornucopia of people from all around the city and world is what makes it great. while the smells of New Orleans classics like gumbo, poboys, and crawfish monica sent the air. It is truly to me my favorite place in the world and a experience that everyone should have at least once.

Vitamin B6 and milk thistle are what my mom always told me to prevent hangovers, in the same fashion as explained in this video. From first hand experience i can acutely say it works and that my close friends feel the same way as me.

David After Dentist

The first time i saw this video was a few weeks ago it seemed a little wrong, and uncomfortable, yet hilarious! it reminded me of the time that i got my wisdom teeth out and my step dad took me home from the doctor. Im guessing my actions were similar to this kids. What was really funny and shows how much youtube has infected are life is, CNN picked up this story. Their News to me crew did a piece on it, with David and his Dad. His dad makes the point that it was all in good fun and David seems to love the attention. Over all this is just one of the little funny things that gets me throe the rough days of school.

Is Mexico safe for Spring Break

In the last week msnbc reports - "- In Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, the police chief of Mexico's largest border city quit after cartel hitmen started killing police officers and threatened to kill more until he resigned. Police went on high alert, travelling in groups with pistols in their hands.
- In Reynosa, across from McAllen, at least six people died in running battles between soldiers and gunmen armed with grenades and bazookas.
- In the state of Chihuahua, which includes Juarez, gunmen opened fire on the governor's convoy, killing one of his bodyguards and injuring two others." Also the The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory Friday warning of an "increasingly violent" conflict between the government and drug cartels. so what dose this mean for the large number of SMU students including myself traveling to mexico? First off i think you have to be careful no matter where you traveling especially for a holiday like spring break. Perhaps it means listening to the old advice of teachers on field trips and use the buddy system. Or maybe more drastic way of handling a larger group and employing a personal bodyguard / driver. Either way i think being aware of the situation is the most important factor. As for me im going to Port of Vallarta and not driving but rather flying, where there is less unrest. Also i think its good its the talk of the campus, people should be aware and hopefully be educating themselves to make a informed decision on there plans.

Toyota Prius More Harmful than the Hummer?

So this is something i have been wanting to look up on google for a long time, due to people talking about it and Top gear the british car show. One one many articles -
"Building a Toyota Prius causes more environmental damage than a Hummer that is on the road for three times longer than a Prius. As already noted, the Prius is partly driven by a battery which contains nickel. The nickel is mined and smelted at a plant in Sudbury, Ontario. This plant has caused so much environmental damage to the surrounding environment that NASA has used the ‘dead zone’ around the plant to test moon rovers. The area around the plant is devoid of any life for miles.
The plant is the source of all the nickel found in a Prius’ battery and Toyota purchases 1,000 tons annually. Dubbed the Superstack, the plague-factory has spread sulfur dioxide across northern Ontario, becoming every environmentalist’s nightmare. “The acid rain around Sudbury was so bad it destroyed all the plants and the soil slid down off the hillside,” said Canadian Greenpeace energy-coordinator David Martin during an interview with Mail, a British-based newspaper." Also "The Prius costs an average of $3.25 per mile driven over a lifetime of 100,000 miles - the expected lifespan of the Hybrid.
The Hummer, on the other hand, costs a more fiscal $1.95 per mile to put on the road over an expected lifetime of 300,000 miles. That means the Hummer will last three times longer than a Prius and use less combined energy doing it."
This along with so many other articles was just shocking to me. In a nut shell to to the Prius "complex design and manufacturing process, more exotic materials, shorter lifespan, more expensive repair and disposal costs, and batteries, it actually costs more to drive than the Hummer". What shocked me the most is that it cost 50% more to drive than a hummer. Even more so is that the hummer while being a eye source is less harmful to everyone ells as a hole then the Prius. A Prius to me, up to now represented a "green" movement and i just think its a shame how far off from the truth we can actually be persuaded to think. I would really like to send some of the articles i have found to "environmentally friendly" celebs that drive them, an most likely yell at Schwarzenegger about his hummer every time they get the chance. Also don't you get a tax brake for driving a car that gets a certain mpg? Well i guess that just another thing thats not perfect about are government. Well befor this artical i wasent going to go sell my car and get a Prius and now im deffenetly not but i do feel better about driving my VW.