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Sunday, January 16, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
From Wired Mag blog
I think Imma build one of these.
Gadget Lab Hardware News and Reviews
Earbuds Beat Depression by Shining Lights Into Your Brain
- By Charlie Sorrel
- January 12, 2011 |
- 6:33 am |
- Categories: R&D and Inventions
The concept for the Valkee sounds like the worst kind of snake-oil: It’s a little box that combats the dark blues of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) with bright lights. Nothing new there, except it shines the lights into your head through your ears.
Winter depression, in the form of SAD, has been treated with bright lights since forever. Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, say t’s not the eyes that need the light, it’s the brain. The ear canal is a convenient hole in the head through which to shine light, so the Valkee uses a pair of earbuds to light up the inside of your head, and stimulate photo-sensitive parts of the gray matter.
That’s the theory at least. Tests run at the University of Oulu confirm its efficacy, offering relief to nine out of 10 subjects with a daily 8- to 12-minute dose for four weeks. And not everyone is as skeptical as me. Valkee has received angel investment from such smart people as Esther Dyson and ex-Nokia boss Anssi Vanjoki.
Proper clinical trials are running now, which further inspires confidence. And for those in northern climes, where the winter months can bring nights that last weeks not hours, this 185-euro light box could prove to be a life saver. Available now.
Valkee product page [Valkee via Oh Gizmo!]
See Also:
Also on Wired.com
Friday, January 07, 2011
golem
http://www.archive.org/details/Golem_vs_Dumbeast
A blast from the Past. Still holds up
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A blast from the Past. Still holds up
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Golem, Dumbeast's little pal, his adversary and foe, is an old character from Jewish folklore. He was allegedly created by Rabbi Löwe of Prague back in the 17th century. Apparently, Rabbi Löwe was quite the little Kabbalist in his time, and when the Jews of Prague were threatened with mass eviction or extinction, he decided to use his arcane skills to make an artificial strong man to protect his flock.
The Golem was made from clay in the form of a huge man. Lots of ritual and purification of the soul transpired. When everything was set, an Aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet was placed between the Golem's lips, and he became activated.
Frankenstein's grandfather. The first programmable robot in the history of literature. A paramilitary automaton. Without a soul.
Well, you can just imagine how that's likely to play out. You got your hubris, you got your unleashing of uncontrollable forces, you got your people in the community who figure, okay, this shtarker has saved our homes and our lives, I wonder how he'd do at, like, removing that stump. And re-shingling my roof. And pounding the living crap out of that kid on the next block who made fun of my hat.
So after a little running amok, the Golem gets himself deactivated, and his inert clay body remains to this day in the upper storey of some synagogue in Prague.
The Golem story has been repeated in many forms over the years. In Germany, in 1920, Paul Wegener made the world's first horror movie about the dolomitic antihero. Isaac B Singer covered this material better than I ever could in a children's book. Terry Pratchett's world has golems in it, and in 1996, he wrote an excellent book particularly about one. Currently, there's an insipid comic book series about a modern-day Golem.
Stories about calling up something that you can't put down never seem to have a happy ending.
What might happen if the Golem met Dumbeast? Luckily, I was there with a camera when it all went down.
Monday, January 03, 2011
Catfood that the cats like
Catfood that the cats like, originally uploaded by dumbeast.
The people at Pet Club couldn't have been nicer about allowing me to exchange the bad flavors that I had stupidly stupidly bought for the good stuff.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Tom & Gayle on New Years Day
Betraying the characteristic stunned expressions of Hoppin' John fiends.
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Meg's Big Gift Poster
In the wake of the Air France baggage fubar, Meg drew a magical poster of all the lost goodies, thereby causing everything to suddenly sim-salla-bim manifest just in time for Christmas. Hey, presto!
Baffling BART Filth
What's the deal with all the schmutz? Why does it gather around the perforations? So many questions.
Baffling BART Scribbles
Montgomery Station, on the platform. Who is writing on the baffles? What does it mean?
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