Water map shows billions at risk of 'water insecurity'

Interesting BBC article about a new study in the Journal Nature, about the fact that 80% of the population of the world live where an adequate supply of fresh water is NOT secure.

About 80% of the world's population lives in areas where the fresh water supply is not secure, according to a new global analysis.
Researchers compiled a composite index of "water threats" that includes issues such as scarcity and pollution.
The most severe threat category encompasses 3.4 billion people.
Writing in the journal Nature, they say that in western countries, conserving water for people through reservoirs and dams works for people, but not nature.
They urge developing countries not to follow the same path.
Instead, they say governments should to invest in water management strategies that combine infrastructure with "natural" options such as safeguarding watersheds, wetlands and flood plains

- BBC Sep 29, 2010

How popular is Apple’s iPhone [Infographic]

Bill Shrink, a "free cost savings tool" did a nice job of putting together an info graphic explaining the world vs. US cell phone market. Interesting to see the difference. Nice site too.

The Secret Powers of Time

Professor Philip Zimbardo (Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University) had a speech about how we perceive time, and the Royal Society of the Arts created a video to go along with, and highlight his talk.

good watch.

good quote on the video:

"you are missing the point. No one is "blaming technology." Zimbardo is just saying that because technology has made people less patient and created a need for kids to create and control, education and family values need to change as well. Technology is wonderful, but education needs to catch up. This lecture is more of an indictment on education and society than on technology"
-@1Beth11

Lego Universe

New MMO game about to come out looks very cool: Lego Universe.

Also noted here. Looks like it will be released in Oct 2010. I wonder if they will enable you to not only build things, but also then buy items you build, like with Lego Digital Designer.

(update:)
Ugh! Looks like it wont be lasting very long.  LEGO announced that they will be shutting down the service at the end of January 2011.  In other news, there is rumored that there might be a new LEGO Minecraft. 

2009 Ig Nobel Prize for Public Health

2009 Ig Nobel Prize for Public Health was awarded to Dr. Elena Bodnar who created the "Emergency Bra".

And in that stream of thought, AMD VP Lislie Sobon, writes "Get a Geek in Five Easy Lessons".

Death & Taxes

How do you explain how much of your taxes go to schools vs. bombs? The numbers are huge and far to complex to understand with a quick explanation. Hence the Death and Taxes Poster. Truly a piece of art. The kind of thing that Edward R. Tufte would highlight as "beautiful evidence".

Can't really do it justice. Just check out their site. They have an app that lets you zoom into the image to get a good idea of what everything is.

Worldmapper

WORLDMAPPER is a site that contains distorted maps that explain different characteristic of the globe. (ie: the map here shows internet usage.)

This website contains 696 maps, with associated information and PDF 'poster' file. Each map relates to a particular subject. Click on the 'Thumbnail Index' which gives thumbnail previews of the maps, 'Map Categories' which is classified to see the choice, or a new option 'A-Z Map Index', and view a map and associated information.

Robert Krulwich of NPR did a quick review of this site, and points out some of it's coolness.

Limited but interesting writeup in wired about Gottlieb Daimler's (as in Daimler and Benz) first "car".

The age of the automobile started exactly 125 years ago when Gottlieb Daimler filed a patent for his revolutionary “riding car,” a two-wheeled machine driven by an internal combustion engine.

The photos of the bike show one hell of an amazing piece of art. Would love to see a DIY doc on this, but unfortunately, its more of a "isn't this neat" article, rather then "lets build something cool' one.

Rubik's Cube

Was feeling a bit retro the other day and got a Rubik's Cube. Having a bit of a hard time figuring out how to solve, as I can't find any good instruction manuals online.
Did find a solver that works very well, but it doesn't do much on teaching you the process.

Well, I guess I can always fall back on a Lego Rubik's Cube solver.

Shoot The Bear!!!

Very clever way to advertise! Let's you "rewrite" the story...


Then again, I know it's some kind of "white out" company, but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you which one...

Clasic Videos....

Some of my favorite videos out there. ...Nothing new, just wanting to link to them.

Troops:
StarWars version of the TV Show Cops.


Sega Saturn:
"Urgent synapse on line two, it's the sphincter."

The Whale:
You know, the what not to do when you find a beached whale...