posted by admin on May 27

Every Olympic Games host seems to think it’s a great idea to have one – so why not the UK?

Infact – they haven’t stopped at just the one – they have created a pair of the little things: Wenlock and Mandeville! 

The story goes (and yes, they have a story) that they were drops of molten metal that fell during a welding activity of one of the stadiums, were welded into ‘toys’ for an appropriately happy family – and then ran off on rainbows to cheer up the whole world!

Apparently, the whole event can’t be televised and promoted by just using the Olympic Games logo or wording – we need these very shiny cycloptic aliens with taxicab lights on their heads to do it instead!

So after nearly 2 years of artistic collaboration and (apparently) 40 focus groups worth of discussion – all in top secret – they were revealed to the nation on a rather slapdash early evening chat show!

As always, the celebrity who has been put in charge of promoting them has plenty to say about the meaning behind this tiny part of one mascot and that tiny part of the other – but to everyone else – they are just 2 cartoon characters!  Whether the bracelets mean so-and-so on the left wrist (heaven forbid they were on the right wrist), or the shape of their feet represent something-or-other, the public probably don’t really mind.

All they care about is the money spent on such a trivial thing when the country is in financial strife as it is.  And they are still reeling after the disastrous and unwelcome original 2012 logo was unveiled – and estimated to have cost around £400,000!

So, the Mascots: Are they fun?  Are they worth the money?  Will they make more people visit the UK and it’s events?

Apparently their main aim is at children - to help the younger generations to relate better to the Games, rather than it being viewed as a more ‘adult’ event – and seeing as millions of kids in the UK will be affected by the Games, the events and the influx of thousands upon thousands of tourists into their towns – I suppose we have got to soften the blow a little bit!

And I suppose as there are 2 of them – you can have a ‘favourite’ one, or just make your parents buy 2 toys instead of just the one!  Great for a pair of novelty slippers!

Well, we need to make some money to pay for the Games, so this wasn’t a bad marketing ploy!

posted by admin on May 9

At last, there is some common sense prevailing across the continent of Europe!

Rather than wondering what number to call in an emergency when travelling through Europe – nearly all the emergency services have got together and agreed to have just the 1 number instead!

People in the UK have always used 999 for all services, whereas France used to use 18 and Romania was 955!  All a bit difficult to remember – but Greece won the title for most confusing!  

In Greece it used to be different for each service: you had to dial 100 for the Police, 166 for Ambulance, 199 for a normal Fire but 191 for a Forest Fire!  The Coast Guard service was 108 and they even had an Anti-Narcotics emergency service available on 109!  Goodness knows how the public coped – let alone the tourists!

So now that’s 27 countries across the continent that all respond to the same 3 digits!  Hopefully getting to a lot more emergencies than before!

And many GSM cell phones are now pre-programmed to re-direct you to the correct number at home – and will let you call it even if their is no sim card in your phone or if you dial 999 for example, instead of entering your pin.  Although it won’t automatically recognise other country’s emergency numbers - if it is added, your phone can be ’trained’ to recognize ’112′ as an emergency number if you are abroad in Europe and work in much the same way. 

GSM phones will realise that you are trying to call an emergency number and give your call priority over the network – meaning that your cell phone will actually work faster in an emergency situation (like if you were injured during a power cut) than someone else who is just trying to call a friend to tell them how dark it is!

Odd Ones Out:
There are seemingly 2 countries who are still not using the 112 number for any of their services (or are not redirecting from the 112 number to their own emergency numbers) – so if you visit Albania or San Marino, you will need to remember their own numbers – and they both have 3 different numbers for the 3 main services!

However, to just be awkward – Kosovo have recently changed their 112 emergency number to 911 instead!  So they are the only country in Europe to use this number – alright for all those visiting Americans I suppose!

Of course, there are still certain services which still have their own specific number, but you can safely call 112 and at least you will get through to an emergency expert who can forward you to the best alternative service rather than leaving you to watch a house burn to the ground!

Happy Holidays!

posted by admin on Apr 16

You will probably be reading this in the sunshine at last - and maybe a little sunburned like me!

We have plenty of articles from our readers this month regarding latest inventions, new products and technology – so lets get straight to it; the first article this April is from Suhani.

This is for all the ladies out there who want to find their best look without using bag after bag of cotton balls! Take a look at the video in this article for a great new software application: Digital Cosmetic Mirror – the future of beauty treatments. It could also be seen as a ‘green’ invention too for all the make-up it could save!

The next article is a nice short summary of some of the newest (and most lifelike) robots that have been invented recently – with a few snaps too, so join Ava Jones for her article on the 10 Real-Life Robots You Won’t Believe Exist!

Staying with technology, Steve Patterson short article brings to my attention the ‘Nook’, a Kindle-like gadget that is apparently kicking up a bit of a storm! So take a quick look at Nook Production Increased to Meet Demand for more info.

For those of you who like to stay at home and enjoy the best home theater systems, then maybe have a look at Steve Faber’s post about the New TiVO Premier XL DVR Gives Even More of Everything.

Health is the issue for Delmy Martin, who lists many gadgets that can help you to eat better, get healthy, keep fit and generally have fun doing it! So take a look at some of the links in 25 Fitness Gadgets that Can Improve Your Health, and maybe try a few yourself!

Whereas Madeleine Begun Kane is becoming distracted by the whole ‘must know’ nature of the internet at the moment – and I have included her little limerick because it sums up what the internet means to a lot of people these days! Feed Needs. Whereas Heather Sanders wants us to learn more about the newest social site, with her The Educator’s Guide to Using Google Buzz.

And finally, the obligatory ‘apps’ post – but this one from Allisin Jonanson has a twist: its not about the iPhone! Take a look at her 25 Essential Android Apps for Science Nuts.

Now, get back out there into the sunshine!

posted by admin on Dec 24

The University of Western Ontario has received a $200,000 grant to find out!

There has long been the idea that sensors in contact lenses could help to identify certain medical conditions including diabetes.  In the latter it could be of use if it kept changing color when sugar levels rise or fall in the body and other conditions could be monitored in a similar way.

There is much debate over whether this is of real use to everyday adults with the condition – and many people have commented that they don’t want other people to know they have an illness by using the color change lenses.  However, there is overwhelming support for it’s use in less able individuals who need home support or other forms of care – as a much better alternative to test needles.

And, it is just in contact lenses at the moment – so a normal sighted individual would have to start wearing plain lenses.  But, as technology advances, this could be moved to other areas of the body which are easy to monitor (it’s tricky to see your own eyes) and easier to apply (have you ever tried to get lenses out of your eyes when you aren’t a lens wearer?).

The Big Idea:
Put simply, the fluid secreted from your tear ducts to moisten your eyes can be analyzed for sugar levels and therefore be used to indicate your blood sugar level.

More technically, the use of extremely small nano-particles embedded into the material of the lens will allow for a chemical reaction with the blood sugars secreted by the body allowing for a color change to occur across the whole surface of the lens.

Therefore, the sufferer does not have to repeatedly test their blood sugar levels with a needle testing kit to make sure they are not about to become gravely ill – they just look in a mirror! 

Obviously, diabetes is just one of many conditions that this technology could benefit, but it is one of the world biggest health issue affecting around 220 million people worldwide according to WHO so this technology could save many lives – as around 500 people a day die of the condition.

Imagine if just a quick glance at your friend could save their life! 

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posted by admin on Dec 10

According to current reports from the US – yes you can…….

Obviously the paper is only a small part of the whole energy source, but could lead the way forward in making energy without mining and disposing of tonnes and tonnes of dangerous and wasteful metals.

Reports from Stanford University suggest that by coating plain copier paper with a carbon and lithium mix could actually power many electrical goods, but research is still in the early stages.

How Is It Done?
Testing so far has allowed for rolled sheets of paper to be painted with a carbon ‘ink’ to form a nanotube structure.  The many inter-connected fibres found in paper could be the key to it’s use – and of course it is bendable, can be folded and manipulated into a whole host of shapes (think origami!) that means it could be better manipulated than many common metals used today and it is much, much, lighter!

Once the structure is prepared, the whole thing is lowered into a lithium solution where electrolytes react to create the electrical current.  Nanotube technology is only small scale at the moment – but with the potential that paper offers, these could be scaled up.

Energy Efficient:
With all the component parts of the battery being one and the same will allow for better energy efficiency as there will be less energy wasted moving it around inside the product – the whole thing is electrical.  I mean, you can even cut the paper in half and it will still work – but at 50% of the output of the original!

They are not currently cost effective though, and paper batteries the size required to power a lightbulb are currently way out of kilter with the cost of other power sources.

But, this small step could lead up to things that noone ever expected – just think of the Internet itself – the technology just ran away with itself!

The Future?
With the potential for larger sizes, and the fact that these batteries can release energy much faster than standard batteries, there is talk of the technology being used to power cars for example – although there has been no actual research into this at the moment.

Similarly there has been talk of pacemakers running on these non-toxic fuel cells – but nothing on paper.

Also, with the structure of paper the same over huge dimensions – it is possible that a whole wall could be painted with the carbon ink and used as an energy store rather than a multitude of smaller devices.  And certain cloths are very similar in structure to paper so could be used as well.

I am not sure that I would want a whole wall or a set of curtains in my home filled with electrical energy, but for factories and other workplaces or vehicles, this could be just the thing!