posted by admin on Jul 31

3D Movies are back again – but this time they are better…..

We all remember the old red and green 3D cardboard glasses we used to love in the 80′s – you know the one’s they gave away free for the Jaws film and every other cereal carton as well!!!

The ones where you couldn’t really see the true colours of the film or any real details at all – and if you tilted your head to one side – you would see everything in double rather than 3-dimensional!

Well, they are a thing of the past – the new 3D specs are circularly polarising and don’t create any double imaging – just great movie footage! And no more of that whole ‘something jumping into your lap’ in these new movies – they are designed to be great movies with that extra depth – literally.

What’s changed?
Well, basically the whole thing. Thanks to Lenny Lipton and colleagues who invented what they are calling ‘Real D’ – there has been a revolution in filming that has allowed for this re-surge of 3D mania. By using separate cameras to film the left eye and right eye frames, the perception of depth is hugely enhanced and isn’t affect by head tilt – and they won’t make you feel sick either!!!

The resulting image is one of amazingly seamless 3-dimensional footage – allowing you to see even the very back of the screen for action. And this first action/adventure film with real people has just hit our screens – Journey To The Center Of The Earth 3D with Brendan Fraser from ‘The Mummy’ fame.

In 2005 it was used in the animated ‘Chicken Little’ and in 2007 by the amazing fantasy ‘Beowulf’. Both were filmed in 3D using this new technique by Lucasfilm, but can also be viewed in the usual 2D. Basically, there are not a lot of cinemas across the states that can show this type of film, so producers want to make sure that everyone can still enjoy the movie without the special effects and enjoy it all the same.

The Future?
Apparently George Lucas is hoping to use this technology in his next Star Wars movies, and Steven Spielberg is planning to use this in his DreamWorks Animations from 2009.

It is also already being used to film further movies including ‘Avatar’ by Oscar winning James Cameron who say that this type of production can ‘immerse you in a scene’ and will greatly enhance your sense of participation.

Image using 3D technology to film a thriller – I mean we already get scared thinking there is someone around the corner – but what if they jump round it in 3D!!!!

Now that would be one scary movie……..
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posted by admin on Jul 27

I found a new club that is VERY exclusive…….

It’s not altogether eco-friendly either – but WOW – what a club to be a member of in my book!! 

I absolutely love traveling – however, I am very, very, very short of the membership criteria – about 75 countries short to be honest!

How Do You Join?
Well – as it’s title suggests – you need to have visited 100 countries or more!  In addition there is a Silver Membership for 150+ and Gold Membership for and amazing 250+ countries visited!

The special award for visiting over 300+ countries went to a Mrs C Kloner from NY this year!!!!  Well done to her…..

In perspective – there are 6 ‘countries’ in North America (Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Prince Edward Islands, St Pierre + Miquelon and the US itself) only 7 in Central America, 13 in South America and 29 in the Caribbean – so even if you went to them all, you would still be 45 countries short!!!  Europe has 67 in total – so a train ride around that continent will top up your numbers……

Why??
Well, the club first started in Los Angeles in 1954 by a travel group and has grown in leaps and bounds ever since – there are now 317 currently listed on the site and thousands of members.

The club holds meeting across the globe as discusses all sorts of travel-related topics and locations, and has much information on their site to help with information and maps for all the countries they list as being ‘valid’.

If you have only been to 75 countries – don’t worry!  They will let you attend any of their meetings that haven’t been ‘sold out’ to full members!!

Are You Over 100+ Countries???
After filling out their membership form, and proving your claim, you only need to pay $100 to join and $50 yearly dues thereafter ($60 if non-US). Or just use their site to read up about countries: Travelers Century Club

So, all I need to do is travel to another 50 countries and I might got to sit in on the next meeting!!!

How about you??

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posted by admin on Jul 24

The Exoskeleton is here!!!!!!

No, that’s not the name of the baddie after new Spiderman – it the name of a revolutionary new piece of equipment that could help to improve logistics in difficult areas, and help save lives (and time).

Basically, it is worn by a human being over their clothes (hence the name exo-skeleton) and enhances their muscular ability as the hydraulic motors within the suit react to the body’s current movements – amplifying their effect.

Using this technique it has been reported that the wearer can easily lift around 90kg weights repeatedly without tiring at all.

Who thought of that?
The Research and Development department of Raytheon Sarcos in Salt Lake City started this ball rolling, and are now looking to improve it for use in the military – allowing soldiers to fix heavy machinery in the field and carry supplies or survivors out of danger and maybe over long distances.

President of Raytheon Sarcos also speculates that if these seem as useful as is hoped, they will be commercially available in the near future – they just need to develop a mobile and efficient power source for the suits outside of the labs……….

The future…..
It is quoted by BBC Focus that not only will these be in production later this year – but they are also considering a ‘flying’ version, where a small motor and gliding device are added to the suit…….

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posted by admin on Jul 21

Need a hand getting started – read on……

Just a few tips here to get you on your way to inventing the product of your dreams….

1) Keep Schtum – don’t tell a soul unless you want your idea stolen of a friend of a friend.  You may casually mention your idea to a friend who thinks it’s great – next thing you know they are telling their friend who tell their friend who happens to work for a large firm…….. 

2) Is It Already Out There? – It’s possible your idea has already been thought of and is in production – possibly with different uses – so make sure it has it’s niche before wasting any more time. 

 3) Do We Need It? – Before you spend any money on it make sure it’s something that people actually want you to invent – if it’s so obvious that you can’t believe no-one else has thought of it – maybe they have – and gave up…..

4) Can You Make It? – People won’t invest money into a project they can’t visualise – make sure you have drawings and a prototype if possible……

5) Can Someone Else??- Make sure that if you can’t make it yourself but you think a larger corporation can – you can trust them.  They may just send you away and make it themselves! 

6) Get Your Patent ASAP! – Don’t hang around thinking whether your latest invention is important enough before giving up or speaking to others about it – make sure it is all yours!!!

7) Get a Lawyer on Your Side – All patent lawyers can help to make sure that you cover all eventualities with you invention and to help protect it from others – most offer a free introductory session to get you started.

Understand the Patenting Process – Once things start moving – make sure you know what every one else is talking about and what your rights are – don’t rely on other people to lead you through the process – make sure you know every step yourself…..

9) Slogan or Brand-name Protection – Get to grips with Trademarking laws and how to get and maintain Registered trademarks for you product names or slogans – same goes for possible web page domains and other companies already using the same or a similar name/slogan.

10) Have Fun!!!! – There seem little point in following your invention through if you are fraught with concerns and worries.  If you get the right support and understand the process involved for yourself, you will feel more in control – you will feel as though this was the best thing since sliced bread.  If you don’t really care what happens – why invent things in the first place????

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posted by admin on Jul 18

Just a quick note to mention the champion…..

It had clearly been an almost worrying challenge to begin with that whithered away almost as soon as we got excited – but Blu-Ray is the definite champ.

What Does This Mean?
Well, for us ordinary people it just means that we don’t have to worry any more about which technology we can waste our money on – as we have only one contender left standing!

Unlike those embarrassed consumers trying to get rid of their Beta-max video player and associated ‘unusable anywhere else cassettes’ – we can now go out and buy the latest Blu-Ray player and know that it will keep us up with the Jones’ until the next ‘latest invention’ comes along to wow us.

Therefore – we are buying something that it currently ‘the best there is’ and we only need to upgrade when there are greater advances that are to our advantage – we don’t have to buy another product (almost exactly the same as our current DVD player) just because the world decided that they were going to stop making any more hardware or software for us.

Remember all those 1970′s dad’s who hid their 8 track players and jumbo cassettes in the garage thinking they had best hold on to them – they might be worth something in the future.  But they weren’t – there had been no 8 Track ‘revival’ just as the HD DVD has no future now.

What are you waiting for?
Go out and complete your home cinema system with a top-of-the-range DVD player to wire up to your new streamer in the lounge for all you could ever dream of!!

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