The Anything Machine Project

Shutting Down

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:03:55 -0400

There’s only so many hours in the day, and so many days in the week. There are plenty of other folks keeping up with the world better than I was, so off you go now:

@Six16
BldgBlog
Ideas are Awesome

You can find me from now on at maljones.com and maljones.tumblr.com.

The Parking Lot as 'Solar Grove'

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:00:00 -0400

The Parking Lot as 'Solar Grove':

“One day early in 2004, Robert Noble, an architect specializing in sustainable design, asked himself why parking lots in the United States weren’t covered in solar panels and used to generate clean energy….” Found on New York Times Green Blog via @rpinchera.

“The Realist: weekly documentation in comics-form of one...

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:00:00 -0400

“The Realist: weekly documentation in comics-form of one family’s search of a home. originally serialized in israeli newspaper calcalist.” The Realist by Asaf Hanuka.

First-Hand Look: One Family's Unforgettable Zero Gravity Holiday

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:06:18 -0400

First-Hand Look: One Family's Unforgettable Zero Gravity Holiday:

“Like many American families across the country, the Stern family of Colorado celebrated the Fourth of July holiday together on Sunday. But instead of a traditional barbecue or picnic, the family took to the skies for a novel weightless daytrip on a Zero Gravity Corporation (Zero-G) aircraft.” Found on Space.

Giant predatory whale named for 'Moby Dick' author

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:08:00 -0400

Giant predatory whale named for 'Moby Dick' author:

“Scientists have discovered an ancient whale whose bite ripped huge chunks of flesh out of other whales about 12 million years ago — and they’ve named it after the author of “Moby Dick.” Found on Yahoo.

“This is a recent interview [Stephen] Fry granted...

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:54:55 -0400

“This is a recent interview [Stephen] Fry granted SPLASHLIFE, a new international youth volunteer/activist organization. It’s titled “What I Wish I’d Known at 18″. Geared toward the concerns of young adults today, his discourse is consistently insightful and reassuring…” Made by Splashlife. Found via Coilhouse.

“Gunkanjima – every urban explorer’s dream. A deserted...

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:42:00 -0400

“Gunkanjima – every urban explorer’s dream. A deserted island of concrete ruins slowly crumbling away off the West coast of Japan. Travellers have long been forbidden to land there and view the secrets within its walls. But with an awesome guide and a little luck, I was able to do just that. Here’s my story.” Found on Gunkanjima

Editor’s Note: Really fascinating piece of photo journalism and exploration.

Japanese Spacecraft Deploys First-Ever Solar Sail

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:21:12 -0400

Japanese Spacecraft Deploys First-Ever Solar Sail:

“The unfurling of a Japanese solar sail, the first demonstration of a new space propulsion technology, went exactly according to plan. According toJAXA’s blog posts and photos from the event, the IKAROS spacecraft’s sail appears to be in place. It’s a big step in its attempt to travel driven only by sunlight.” Found on Wired.

SpaceX Rocket Achieves Earth Orbit on First Flight

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:21:49 -0400

SpaceX Rocket Achieves Earth Orbit on First Flight:

“Space Exploration Technologies launched its Falcon 9 rocket into earth orbit on its inaugural flight today, a key milestone in the startup’s plan to take cargo into space once the last of the retires.

The two stage, 180-foot rocket left the pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at about 2:45 p.m. Eastern. It achieved earth orbit nine minutes later.” Found on Wired.

“Minority Report science adviser and inventor John...

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:25:50 -0400

“Minority Report science adviser and inventor John Underkoffler demos g-speak — the real-life version of the film’s eye-popping, tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface.” Found on TED.

“Two Japanese spacecraft, one headed to Venus and another...

Mon, 31 May 2010 14:28:00 -0400

“Two Japanese spacecraft, one headed to Venus and another limping home from an asteroid, have beamed home snapshots of Earth that reveal our planet in different hues amid a sea of stars.” Found on Space.com.

Flexible Sony Screen Can Be Wrapped Around a Pencil

Thu, 27 May 2010 16:40:31 -0400

Flexible Sony Screen Can Be Wrapped Around a Pencil:

“Forget the iPad, the HP Slate or pretty much any tablet. For true portable big-screen computing we want the roll-up screen that sci-fi has promised us since forever. That dream edges ever closer, and Sony is now helping it along with a flexible display that can be wrapped around a pencil.” Found on Wired.

Atlantis' Final Mission

Fri, 14 May 2010 14:41:23 -0400

Atlantis' Final Mission:

“After almost 25 years and more than 115 million miles, space shuttle Atlantis is down to just one final mission – but it will be going out on a high note. STS-132 will deliver to the International Space Station the Russian Rassvet Mini-Research Module-1, only the second Russian module to ever be carried into space by a space shuttle. It’s a fitting final payload for the orbiter that not only launched the first into space, but also was the first shuttle to dock to the Russian Space Station Mir – in fact, Atlantis was the shuttle behind seven of the 11 shuttle missions to Mir.” Found on nasa.gov.

“In Nature by Numbers, a short movie by Cristobal Vila,...

Wed, 12 May 2010 16:23:04 -0400

“In Nature by Numbers, a short movie by Cristobal Vila, inspired by, well, numbers and nature, Vila animates the natural existence of Fibonacci sequences, the golden ratio, and Delaunay triangulation.” Found on Flowing Data via @six16.

Good and Evil Deeds Stimulate Surprising 'Superpowers'

Tue, 04 May 2010 15:12:11 -0400

Good and Evil Deeds Stimulate Surprising 'Superpowers':

“The mere act of kindness, or one of evil, can boost willpower and physical strength, a new study suggests.

The results, based on three experiments, show that those who performed good deeds, or envisioned themselves acting charitably, were able to hold a weight or squeeze a hand grip significantly longer than those who didn’t perform or think about such deeds.

But evil acts appeared to confer similar and perhaps even greater superpowers.” Found on LiveScience via Newsarama.

Winscape. SHARKS! Found via @scoots.

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:20:10 -0400

Winscape. SHARKS! Found via @scoots.

“…today Popular Science, published by Bonnier and...

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 11:07:32 -0400

“…today Popular Science, published by Bonnier and the largest science+tech magazine in the world, is launching Popular Science+ — the first magazine on the Mag+ platform, and you can get it on the iPad tomorrow.” Found on Berg via Warren Ellis.

Canon Rock by JerryC with Japanese guitarists. (Editor’s...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:38:38 -0500

Canon Rock by JerryC with Japanese guitarists. (Editor’s Note: It’s essential to getting music stuck in my head out of my head).

The LXD at TED 2010. Found at TED.

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:26:00 -0500

The LXD at TED 2010. Found at TED.

Video

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:21:00 -0500