Students develop prototype device that translates sign language.  MyVoice, created by University of Houston students, uses sensors to read sign language and translates the motions into audible words. The prototype is handheld with a built in microphone, speaker, soundboard, video camera and monitor. While the end product is beautiful, partly because of its simple nature, the process wasn’t so simple: Each sign involved 200-300 images! High-res

Students develop prototype device that translates sign language. 

MyVoice, created by University of Houston students, uses sensors to read sign language and translates the motions into audible words. The prototype is handheld with a built in microphone, speaker, soundboard, video camera and monitor. While the end product is beautiful, partly because of its simple nature, the process wasn’t so simple: Each sign involved 200-300 images!

Source uh.edu

Introducing WeMo: a family of smart controls for home electronics. 

Ohmygosh, I hope this is as awesome as it seems. Belkin is introducing WeMo: a family of “simple, ingenious products that allow you to control home electronics from anywhere.”  With a free companion app, you can turn on/off devices remotely - or even set a schedule. The possibilities are (almost) endless. I’ve already placed my order.

Source youtube.com

NYC’s Billboards are experiencing technical difficulties.  No, it’s not a power outage from the heat. It’s the work of Jilly Ballistic, a pseudonym for “New York City’s most well-known unknown street and subway artist.” I love the commentary on commercialism, particularly on bad advertising and content. High-res

NYC’s Billboards are experiencing technical difficulties. 

No, it’s not a power outage from the heat. It’s the work of Jilly Ballistic, a pseudonym for “New York City’s most well-known unknown street and subway artist.” I love the commentary on commercialism, particularly on bad advertising and content.

Source theatlanticcities.com

Fast food workers of Reddit tell you what not to eat.  The Reddit chain started with the following question: “Fast food workers of Reddit, what is the one menu option at your employment that you would recommend people never eat? (Because of cooking safety, cleanliness, unhealthy, etc.” You can find the full chain with answers hereor a summary from the Huffington Post here. Hint: Never order chicken nuggets. High-res

Fast food workers of Reddit tell you what not to eat. 

The Reddit chain started with the following question: “Fast food workers of Reddit, what is the one menu option at your employment that you would recommend people never eat? (Because of cooking safety, cleanliness, unhealthy, etc.” You can find the full chain with answers hereor a summary from the Huffington Post here. Hint: Never order chicken nuggets.

Secretary of date: busy pairs hire a romance consultant to plan their couples’ activities. I’m a firm believer in exciting date nights, especially surprise dates. It keeps things fun, frisky and of course shows the other person just how much you care about them when you’re able to pull something amazing off. But sometimes it can be hard to come up with date ideas, especially when you’re surprising someone. My friend Bianca, and her semi-new boyfriend, Aaron, decided to hire a date planner - someone to help with ideas and scheduling. Looking to spice up your love life? A secretary of romance could be right for you… High-res

Secretary of date: busy pairs hire a romance consultant to plan their couples’ activities.

I’m a firm believer in exciting date nights, especially surprise dates. It keeps things fun, frisky and of course shows the other person just how much you care about them when you’re able to pull something amazing off. But sometimes it can be hard to come up with date ideas, especially when you’re surprising someone. My friend Bianca, and her semi-new boyfriend, Aaron, decided to hire a date planner - someone to help with ideas and scheduling. Looking to spice up your love life? A secretary of romance could be right for you…

Is the web driving us mad?  Remember when Jason Russell, creator of KONY 2012, was seen to be pounding his palms into the pavement in the nude near his home in San Diego? Tony Dokoupil writes about Russell’s temporary psychosis and why this may be a result of the web’s major impact on Russell’s mental health - and how it could affect your own. In his own words, “The first good, peer-reviewed research is emerging, and the picture is much gloomier than the trumpet blasts of Web utopians have allowed. The current incarnation of the internet - portable, social, accelerated and all-pervasive - may be making us not dumber or lonelier but more depressed and anxious, prone to obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit disorders, even outright psychotic. Our digitized minds can scan like those of drug addicts, and normal people are breaking down in sad and seemingly new ways.” High-res

Is the web driving us mad? 

Remember when Jason Russell, creator of KONY 2012, was seen to be pounding his palms into the pavement in the nude near his home in San Diego? Tony Dokoupil writes about Russell’s temporary psychosis and why this may be a result of the web’s major impact on Russell’s mental health - and how it could affect your own. In his own words, “The first good, peer-reviewed research is emerging, and the picture is much gloomier than the trumpet blasts of Web utopians have allowed. The current incarnation of the internet - portable, social, accelerated and all-pervasive - may be making us not dumber or lonelier but more depressed and anxious, prone to obsessive-compulsive and attention-deficit disorders, even outright psychotic. Our digitized minds can scan like those of drug addicts, and normal people are breaking down in sad and seemingly new ways.”