Carbon Based

Daily Bread

A showcase of things we've done, things we like and other random rantings...

25.7.06

Recursive Thinking

A major new exhibition of mechanical puzzles is set to open next week at the Lilly Library at Indiana University. On display are many world-class examples of mathematical and physics-based puzzles. Apparently, in puritanical New England, the Sabbath was considered so sacred that one was not permitted any sort of entertainment, (games, dancing, music, or visiting friends) but creative types were able to find no mention in the bible regarding puzzles, and hence, a great tradition of puzzle solving evolved in that part of the US and provided an in-road to the rest of the country for a plethora of puzzles brought over from the Orient.

"Of all the puzzles on display, one of the most challenging was a deceptively simple-looking toy called Chinese rings. Its solution requires what mathematicians call a recursive sequence of moves.

The Chinese rings example in the library exhibition is particularly finely made. A set of rings are threaded over a long, thin loop with wires attached to each ring, tethering it below. Each ring can be taken off the loop or put back on only if the one next to it is on but the others farther down the chain are off. The goal is to get all the rings off.

According to legend, the puzzle was invented in the second century by a Chinese general who gave it to his wife to keep her busy while he was away at war. Logically, the puzzle is closely related to the Towers of Hanoi problem, which requires one to move a tower of increasingly smaller blocks from one peg to another.

In recursive puzzles like these, as the number of rings (or blocks) increases, the number of moves required to solve the puzzle increases exponentially.

Chinese rings make the problem tangible, and reveal in a hands-on fashion the exponential growth entailed. There are typically nine rings in a classic set of Chinese rings; if a player makes no mistakes, the puzzle requires 341 moves to solve.

But at the exhibit, there is a version with 65 rings. A perfect solution in that case would take 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 moves. Assuming one move every second, that would be 56 billion years, or four times the age of the universe."

As the White Queen said to to Alice "the more one practices, the better one gets at believing in impossible things." The more time I spend on this earth, the more true that sentiment becomes.

For more info on Chinese rings - http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/C/Chinese_rings.html

posted by marcus farage at 17:09 0 comments


21.7.06

Green(er) Car

not for those with light wallets, this puppy will set you back some 80 grand US, and thats not even till they start making them- but they will.

its made by a silicon valley firm called Tesla Motors, its called the Tesla Roadster, and creativity is not their strong point; every single part of the operation (save for management) was outsourced to industry that allready does, makes or made the various parts. 100% lithium ion powered, the car runs on laptop batteries, no internal combustion engine, 250 mile range, 1-2 cents per mile, 3.5 hour charge via standard wall socket.

body is designed and made by Lotus (notice its resemblance to an Exige or Elise), while all the rest of the parts (stereo, interior, dash, etc) are off-the-shelf from foreign (aka chinese) producers.

it will be interesting to see how the 4 door measures up, when it comes out in 2008; also built for economy but (obviously) heavier and not as air-slimy.
posted by carlito sway at 08:07 0 comments


Word of the Day: and a good one at that!

Rube Goldberg • \ROOB-GOALD-berg\ • adjective
: accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply; also : characterized by such complex means

Example sentence:
"We had to devise equipment constantly and have it jerry-built with Rube Goldberg contraptions." (Ralph Morse, Air & Space Smithsonian, June/July 1989)

Did you know?
Reuben Lucius Goldberg was a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist who satirized the technology of modern times. He was best known for his cartoons of complicated, ramshackle contraptions that performed simple tasks in ludicrously complex ways. His cartoon character Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, for example, invented an automatic stamp licker. The contraption involved a robot that would dump a can of ants onto upturned stamps and a starving anteater that would then lick up the ants, moistening the stamps. Long before Goldberg died in 1970, his name had become associated with unnecessarily complicated contraptions and procedures.
posted by marcus farage at 05:08 2 comments


20.7.06

Quote of the Day, Commentary

"Technology: noun, the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes."

pressed for value, author John Thackara asks how much of the technology that we have actualy helps us, or, more importantly, adds value to our condition. in his book In The Bubble, he asks what our life would be like if we removed all technology from it; without stretching it much- and given the above oxford definition- i can imagine that everything man made is technology. so this means that technology and design have an intrinsic relationship (as everything man made has to be, as some point, designed as well). although he by no means is a proponent of a "technology-free" life, thackara puts forth the idea that more social concern should be integrated at the design (creation) level of technology, with an interesting 10 power laws of innovation, based on the coralary between knowledge, its product, design and its product, technology.

here are some interesting ones:

Power Law 1: Don’t think “new product” - think social value.

Power Law 2: Think social value before “tech”.

Power Law 3: Enable human agency. Design people into situations, not out of them.

Power Law 4: Use, not own. Possession is old paradigm.

Power Law 7: Don’t start from zero. Re-mix what's already out there."


(the image is of a entry level worksman utility bicycle- single speed, coaster brake and folding frame. designed to be small light and effective, this is your basic efficient bicycle. these low end styles start at about $100 USD brand new- the entry level brompton (the cadillac of the folding biycle world) starts at $1200 usd. and since were on the subject, this has to be the coolest trike ive ever seen- cool enough that id would almost get one, and find a purpose for it later!)
posted by carlito sway at 07:41 4 comments


19.7.06

Quote of the Day

"The chief obstacle to a woman's success is that she can never have a wife. Just reflect what a wife does for an artist."

-Anna Massey Lea Merritt, a woman artist who married her male mentor. Written in 1900.
posted by marcus farage at 05:36 1 comments


13.7.06

BP's Cheese Slips Off Their Cracker

sent by marcos:

this photo really floored me. it is one of BP's most advanced offshore drilling rigs right after the Gulf Coast hurricanes struck last fall. apparently, they were just bearly able to salvage the one billion dollar structure for mere hundreds of millions in repairs!!!

what a stroke of luck... haha
posted by carlito sway at 09:27 1 comments


12.7.06

Hydrogen Powered Pass Time


http://www.horizonfuelcell.com

hydrogen powered remote control electric cars. although not very practical for anything but enjoyment, this little sucker has potential to do a lot more than that. think about our active astronauts today; they probly had toy rockets that did little more than look cool and perhaps were even powered by little solid fueled engines, launching them a good 300 feet up.

thats why this is so cool: kids today (or some of them) will grow up understanding the importance of hydrogen power (vs petro-chem fuel), and will be the ones that make it happen. just like us and computers- we expect them in our lives.
posted by carlito sway at 13:38 2 comments


11.7.06

Graphic Novels; Ghoulish Blood, and Ghoulish Guts.

after many a discussion on 'from hell'- spawning the name of our cat-to-be, dr. gull- and 'the watchmen' - because we all live in "the watchouse," that makes us, we figure, the watchmen- flatmate nick lent me "tiempos finales, volume 1." the attached files is one of the panes, scanned, cropped and sized for a desktop. i recommend 'tiempos finales' for those of you whom are mature enough to read graphic novels.

samhiti.com
posted by carlito sway at 17:42 0 comments


9.7.06

Quote of the Day

"While society is run by insane people, for insane objectives, Im liable to be put away- as insane- for expressing that."

-John Lennon
posted by carlito sway at 07:05 0 comments


7.7.06

More Quotes of the Day

"In both the United States and the United Kingdom, the more money you make and the more education you have, the more you drink."

-Malcolm Gladwell, reacting to an interesting study done on the relative national healths of the US vs the UK, from http://gladwell.typepad.com/gladwellcom/ ... ahhh, yet another amazing gladwellian factoid.

"Laws are established in opposition to stories. In a criminal trial, we take a complicated narrative of cause and effect and match it to a simple, impersonal code: first-degree murder, or second-degree murder, or manslaughter. The impersonality of codes is what makes the law fair. But it is also what can make the legal system so painful for victims, who find no room for their voices and their anger and their experiences.

Codes punish, but they cannot heal."

-Malcolm Gladwell, for The New Yorker, paraphrasing Charles Tilly's new novel, "Why?"

read more here.
posted by carlito sway at 11:04 1 comments


Distilled Inspiration

one of my inspirations for this thesis- william mcdonough- has a very nice website, covering most all of his writings, and architectural work. he, along with michael braungart, are co-authors of "cradle to cradle," the epicenter of my inspiration. although not as powerfull, he has an article online that sort of summates his points from cradle to cradle:

http://www.mcdonough.com/writings/buildings_like_trees.htm

if you liked that, check out more on
http://www.mcdonough.com and
http://www.mcdonough.com/cradle_to_cradle.htm

word to your respective mothers.
posted by carlito sway at 09:30 0 comments


Quote of the Day

"There have been several unsuccessful initial attempts at film adaptations of Neuromancer, with drafts of scripts written by British director Chris Cunningham and Chuck Russel. None of these projects have come to fruition, though William Gibson has stated that he thinks Chris Cunningham is the only director who has a chance of doing the movie right.

-on William gibson, author of Neuromancer, via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromancer
posted by carlito sway at 06:32 1 comments


6.7.06

Quote of the Day

"And a few years before [Marcel] Duchamp had even reached the age of reason, she was formulating the ideas for the art project that would be her life: utter liberation from convention, irrationality over all.

- taken from an article in the new york times, describing the latest "Daughters of Da Da" show at MoMA, the subject, "The Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven." i just liked that her choice for irrationalism. interesting.
posted by carlito sway at 08:07 1 comments


4.7.06

Christians Hate Anything Metal / Pop (CHAMP)

here is a folder of images that suddenly appeared on my desktop (undoubtedly gifted from someone close by...) its a 6 page comic on what happens when good christians go bad! (aka, rock music)








posted by carlito sway at 10:01 1 comments


3.7.06

Nature Holds Our Answers Close To Her Breast

heres a lengthy quote i got from here.

"The next design revolution will grow out of ecology. Ecological design will borrow from the teachings of such ecosystems as the forest or the coral reef. It will provide the intellectual framework for practical alternatives to the planet-destroying processes that dominate today's cultures.

I have been fortunate to be able to work in some of the Earth's great bioregions. Each has had something to teach. From the forests of north-eastern North America I have learned the meaning of soils, how they form and their central role as mediators between the plant, mineral and microbial realms. From the Great Plains has come the lesson of relationships that have developed between the different plant groups and their root systems and, equally important, the symbiotic and synergistic relationship among grazing animals, their predators and the plant life. Seen as a whole they are as a one.

From tropical rainforests I have learned the importance of light in its many filtered dimensions and of the significance of nutrients tied up in a diversity of living forms. Mangrove swamps too are unique ecosystems, having evolved where sea and land meet in a dynamic and abrupt transition. Here soil, sea and mangroves interact to build detritus-based food chains that are remarkably productive, the influence of which extends far beyond the coastal rim. Their natural history could be a template for new ways of growing foods.

The sea grass communities have taught me about biofiltration, sediment building, and food chain orchestration. These great ocean nurseries are the most significant models of design for waste treatment and purification and for the ecological culture of aquatic foods. The deserts of the world in all their starkness provide a slow-motion view of relationships between plants, soil, animals, climate and season. These brittle environments let us see ecological strategies that remain hidden in wetter and more robust regions.

The coral reefs, located in some of the ocean's most nutrient-poor waters, show a vast diversity of colourful life. That they can do so much with so little is a testimony to ecological design which emphasizes rapid exchanges and sharing resources and space. The fragile look of many corals is illusory. It camouflages the fact that huge coastal storms crash down upon them relentlessly. Their structures are brilliant at dissipating the enormous energy from ocean breakers. Coral reef architecture is without peer."
posted by carlito sway at 10:33 0 comments


Carbon Based Wallpaper

for those who would like to theme their desktop something different for this week (cuz we all know we can never stand anything more than a week), heres some OFFICIAL carbon based wallpaper...


enjoy!
posted by carlito sway at 08:34 0 comments


2.7.06

Quote of the Day

"The large print giveth, the small print taketh away."

-Tom Waits
posted by carlito sway at 08:18 0 comments


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