Orange peels. I kid you not… a team from the University of Guadalajara has derived ethanol from the shavings, which apparently add oxygen to fuel, thus helping to neutralize CO2 emissions.
Orange peel: Power source?
In the forty years since Che Guevara was executed, his image has become a global phenomenon.
Or as BBC puts it: “The most reproduced, recycled and ripped off image of the 20th century” (the company seems to be living in the past, lol).
Before we go any further, here’s Alberto Korda’s photograph:
And Jim Fitzpatrick’s reworking:
It’s one of the most recognisable images in existence, even if it’s not necessarily tied to Guevara’s communist ideals. His rebel/revolutionary persona has given it credence, and his death in such mysterious circumstances added to the mythology. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez wears a T-shirt with a small portrait (tis here, bottom right of the search).
The image has also been adapted by religious groups such as the Churches Advertising Network:
Trisha Ziff, the curator of a touring exhibition on the iconography of Che, told BBC:
“There is no other image like it. What other image has been sustained in this way?” asks Trisha Ziff, the curator of a touring exhibition on the iconography of Che.
“Che Guevara has become a brand. And the brand’s logo is the image, which represents change. It has becomes the icon of the outside thinker, at whatever level – whether it is anti-war, pro-green or anti-globalisation,” she says.
Its presence – everywhere from walls in the Palestinian territories to Parisian boutiques – makes it an image that is “out of control”, she adds.
“It has become a corporation, an empire, at this point.”
He has to be spinning in his grave at that last comment. Were his revolution to be more widespread — and it is an icon for indigenous peoples in South America — he might accept this cult status as a useful political and ideological tool. But to call it a corporation? An empire?
Am I missing something?
Japanese firm DoCoMo has developed a mobile phone that can take your pulse, calculate how many calories you’re burning and even if you have bad breath.
The Wellness phone also offers pep talks and can warn when you’re under stress.
From Associated Press:
Hold the phone with outstretched arms, and it turns into a mini body fat calculator. A sensor at the top of the phone takes your pulse from your fingertip.
Worried about bad breath? Use the phone’s breathalyzer. After spokesman Noriaki Tobita blew on a tiny hole on the side of the handset for about three seconds, the screen flashed, “Not too bad.”
The Wellness phone, developed by NTT DoCoMo and Mitsubishi Electric Corp., also asks questions to assesses stress levels and offers advice.
When the busy spokesman answered “Yes” to a series of questions – including “Do you feel lethargic?” and “Do you go to bed after midnight?” – a message appeared on the screen warning he was under a lot of stress.
“Don’t worry, tomorrow’s a fresh new day,” the phone then flashed. “Keep your chin up!”
Sadly, this bundle of goodness is still at the prototype stage and the company doesn’t sell outside of Japan. Wellness also has a network function and can monitor your calorie intake, though this is still at the testing stage.
I’m not sure if I want one because I’d make use of all its gadgets — though let’s face it, the breath one would always be handy LOL — or simply because it’s a cool piece of technology. Either way it’s an indication of where mobile phones and personal tech is going, packing more and more into a smaller package. It seems to offer an MP3 player function as well, which would be great if it had significant memory (is 30gb too greedy to ask for?).
Just wish I could find a picture of the damn thing — it’s not on the DoCoMo website.
Foreign exchange firm Travelex has introduced a currency for interstellar commerce.
From the press release:
It is the first currency of its kind in the universe and has been developed in partnership with a team of scientists from the National Space Centre and the University of Leicester.
They clearly have the inside track if they can be so sure it’s the “first of its kind in the universe”, but it’s fun all the same. 🙂
The Quasi Universal Intergalactic Denomination (QUID — slang for money in Britain and Ireland) is made from plastic and has no sharp edges, which would be lethal in a zero-g environment. Each features the solar system: eight planets around a central sun (poor Pluto; I and more than one million other have not forgotten you).
Here they be:
One quid is worth €8.68, $12.50 or £6.25, with the different colours having different values. The company is planning ahead for when space tourism is commonplace — it has applied to set up the first bureau de change on the moon.
Google had almost 40% of the US online advertising market in the first half of 2007, up from 34.6% for the corresponding period in 2006.
Its ad income was $3.98bn (€2.8bn), a vast increase on the $2.7bn in 2006. However, the overall ad market increased by about $2bn.
Is there no stopping this company? This news might make up for opposition to its takeover of DoubleClick.
Something Awful has a brilliant gallery up at the moment featuring photoshopped versions of classic paintings. I offer two examples here and urge you to go see the rest!
Formerly Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David
