Botanicalls is an ongoing collaborative project about communication between plants and people started by 4 former graduate students of NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. Last fall (September 2008), Kati London (one of those 4 former graduate students) participated in an Ignite show, Pecha Kucha styled presentations, in NYC.

TikaTok was begun by two mothers with the goal of encouraging their children as well as children everywhere to channel their imaginations and creativity into stories that then can be published and shared with friends and family.

I absolutely love the concept as well as how the concept is working in the TikaTok community. Children make relationships and associations of ideas that grown-ups with our practical rational minds (if you drop something gravity will difinitely cause it fall) would never come up with.

Of the books I’ve previewed on the site, I’d say The Great Puddin’ Tater , a story about a Siamese Kitten who turns into a superhero at night, is my current favorite. I mean really, how do you beat a superhero kitten.

photos from TikaTok.com

Blurb Website

Blog vs. Book. Tagable vs. Tangible, Dynamic vs. Analog.

It isn’t as hard or as impossible as it may seem…Blurb (an online publisher), allows you to slurp (upload/import) content from your blog and then translate it into a multi page book. The online publisher provides free software called BookSmart (crossplatform mac/pc) as well as several tutorial videos to help in the designing/publishing/printing of your book! AND if that weren’t enough Blurb provides a “Share, Promote, Sell” service where you can make your book available for other people to purchase.

BookSmart Application

SOMETHING TO TAKE NOTE OF:
One thing to take note of is that BookSmart only can slurp blog feeds/entries from Blogger, Live Journal, Typepad, and WordPress.com blogs. This means if you have a WordPress Platform Blog (like we do here at Gamil) that is not hosted at WordPress.com, you cannot slurp your blog content into BookSmart for the layout/publishing. BooHoo. SO BLURB… Is an update to BookSmart Coming for all us other Wordpress Users?

POSSIBLE WORK-AROUND FOR WP USERS?:
I haven’t tried this so I don’t know if it will work…but I assume If you have a WP platform blog, it may be possible to export your .xml file then import it into one of the supported Blog Platforms?

Blurb Bookstore

That all said, I am definitely impressed with Blurb. Not only do they have the Blog to Book publishing, BookSmart also has Various (70+) page layout templates for Portfolios, Photobooks, Wedding Books, Guestbooks, Cookbooks, Yearbooks, Journals, Text & photos, Text only, and Poetry Books. Making it easy for any novice to jump in and create a book.

If using a Template isn’t for you and you want a book designer to design your book? Well Blurb has a created a directory of designers (BlurbNation) to help you create your entire book from cover-to-cover, write and proofread copy, design pages and organize your content, scan, edit, and restore photos, artwork, and more,
provide creative services you haven’t even thought of yet. WOW.

all photos from Blurb.com

We use macs in our office. The relationship used to be all love/love, but I have to admit some love/hate developing. Just when I think I know where Apple is going, I experience a personality change and there is yet another video standard.

The standard for a good long while in video equipment was S Video, and Apple accommodated this for a while.

mini VGA (iBook)

Mini Display Port

Then there’s DVI – like the Micro DVI used in Macbook Air

But that’s different than Mini DVI

Now that’s different than DVI. You have to get an adaptor to scale up to fit almost all of the video stuff on the market.

There are at least two standards Apple is using here. The DVI-D is digital only, while DVI-I can do both analog or digital. Apple equipment comes with one or the other and they do not work together. I’ve gotten burned buying the wrong adaptor. Some standard huh?

More amazing is how much it looks like (but won’t fit) the G4’s Apple Display Connector.

It’s surprising they haven’t picked up on the whole industry move to HDMI

Of course as Apple keeps changing its mind, one thing remains constant – PC’s good ol’ VGA

Really, do it. It’s amazing, even if it has no street views yet.

NASA and Arizona State University have joined forces to compile unbelievable images of Mars.  It includes beautifully colored elevation maps as well as visible and infrared views. Google Earth 5.0 now features Earth, Sky and Mars options with 3D terrain views. Not to mention Google Ocean with complete with trips below the surface. Wow!

via Cool Hunting

It’s like a tale from Worst-Case Scenario:

It’s cold out but the only way to warm up is to have someone let you in the house. No one can hear you knocking in your deluxe faux fur mittens.

You whip out your iphone and try to call your friends inside but the touch screen won’t pick up any of your touches. What should you do: keep your hands warm or make the call hoping to warm up afterwards?

If you said ditch the faux fur and use your Dots ipod gloves, you’re warmest of all.

Thanks Q!

The pain reliever, Motrin, lost a major bonding opportunity by poking fun at new moms who use baby slings and other “close to the body” carriers. A new online and magazine ad was pulled Monday with an apology on their home page due to thousands and thousands of twitter comments by outraged moms and blogs around the world analyzing the intent of the ad. From there, the big guys then had to pay attention and report on it as well. Check out Advertising Age article on it.

Designed by Taxi to possibly follow (or knock off) the look and humor of “The Baby Owner’s Manual,” the ad, instead sounds like a snide and snarky “I’m too cool to be a mom, but I do have a baby,” woman who generally looks down on the very idea of bonding or closeness. One line in the ad even uses the “s” word, the one word definition of cynicism: “Supposedly it’s a real bonding experience…”

I’d bet too that Motrin has incured the ire of every baby carrier brand out there, as the ad is flat out insulting to them. We all know many many ergonomic studies are done, safety studies and R&D development in order to design baby slings and alleviate or reduce fatigue and pain from repetitive hours of carrying a baby (a wriggling extra 10-20lbs) each day. The ad negates that honest intention and declares the slings themselves as the reason for back pain.

And, yes, Mom’s are “supposedly” a huge market. But the ad could only appeal to that niche market segment, as motherhood is everything to mothers but not really an empathetic or understood state of being for others. So the only people who truly understand the ad are pissed off. AND, the ad was supposed to coincide with International baby wearing month! Now that’s funny.

Ultimately, it’s an interesting study— what makes sense to a design team might not hit the target market the same way. And the incredible power of social media will amplify the resulting consumer tantrum to a level that makes the ad agency wish they’d never left the house.

NC State’s Centennial Campus will house NSF’s Engineering Research Center for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management Systems (FREEDM) Systems Center. The center is supported by an initial 5 year $18.5 million grant from NSF with an additional $10 million in institutional support and industry membership fees. This is a global partnership with over 65 utility companies, electrical equipment manufacturers, alternative energy start-ups and other established and emerging firms.

The center will work to develop technology for an energy ‘smart grid’ that stores and distributes energy produced from alternative energy sources such as wind farms, solar panels, fuel cells, and other energy sources.
Found on treehugger.com
Image from FREEDM Center website.