Gadzooki

Britain’s X-Files Released

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One thing that the British are known for is their stiff upper lip – not only that but we’re a nation of complainers. We also like to know things, whether it’s what our government are spending taxes on or indeed, if we’re investigating aliens. On 14th of May, in an unprecedented move, due to a number of Freedom of Information requests the British government has released a large number of papers that reveal how and when UFO sightings have been investigated.

The 160 files – the first eight of which, covering 1978-1987 – throw up no “saucer-in-a-hangar smoking gun” in the skies, apparently. However, the papers, viewable on the National Archives’ website, do show that officials conducted a full investigation into every claimed sighting until the 1980s. The files, one of which is more than 450 pages long, show that since the 1950s thousands of seemingly ordinary people have claimed UFO sightings in this country.

So what does it really tell us? Well, it’s clear from the evidence that the UK had looked at UFO sightings long after the US government had ‘officially’ stopped looking, not that it means very much. There are also some ‘expert witnesses’ in the list – people I’d say who are just as fallible as the rest of us when seeing something that they don’t comprehend.

Whatever the true meaning of these sightings are, these papers make for fascinating reading. I for one will spend the weekend trawling through and trying to make sense of this modern day phenomena with very ancient roots.

Project Virgle

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I think the name sells the concept, eh?  It is naturally a project under the partnership of Google and Virgin companies (owned by Sir Richard Branson).  I’m a bit impressed that Branson has even made a post on Google’s official blog. Yeah, it must be a ghost writer, but who knows!

Let me give you the blurb by Branson:

“Virgle’s goal is simple: the establishment of a permanent human settlement on Mars. Larry Page, Sergey Brin and I feel strongly that contemporary technology is sufficiently advanced to make such an effort both successful and economical, and that it’s high time that humanity moved beyond Earth and began our great, long journey to explore the stars and establish our first lasting foothold on another world.”

This is very typical of visionaries, I know it is years, decades or generations before this may even come to pass.  Branson is being himself, he wanted his DNA on anything branded as “near impossible”. He’s on his way to creating a new tourist spot via a plane prototype to propel the rich and famous for a 2-hour weightless escapade in “almost space”.

I remembered him give an interview on TED Talks months ago, my boss actually said Branson was his hero.  I’ve grown to believe him too.  Grown because I thought he was a joke, a big joke, specially after the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. cameo role.  But he’s driving his stake hard and deep. 

He may be nailed to a stake now and people shouting “witch” all around him.  But as time evolves, he’s making sense.

More blurbs by Branson (I dare you to shout WITCH):

“In the years to come, we’ll be sending up a series of spaceships carrying (along with the supplies and tools needed to build the new colony) what eventually will be hundreds of Mars colonists, or Virgle Pioneers — myself among them. If you think you might want join us (or invest in or otherwise assist this vast venture), I hope you’ll read more here about how Virgle will work, what our brave Pioneers can expect and what the future holds for what just might be the most ambitious adventure in mankind’s long and storied history.

See you on the north side of Kasei Valles! “

Ride Motorized Bike. Save World.

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the_wheel

Teasing folks since 2006 is RevoPower, creators of The Wheel, an after-market addition to your bicycle, enabling you to utilize a small motor to drive forward.

Topping out at around 17mph, and getting approximately 250 miles per gallon, The Wheel has the potential to revolutionize the way people travel.  It’s a great solution for people who only have to commute several miles to work or are looking to run local errands.  Having the option to exercise or automatically coast is very appealing.

The small motor (which gets it’s gas supply from a water bottle-sized tank) creates less carbon dioxide than the equivalent size 4-cycle engine.

The Wheel is expected to be released within the next few months as it undergoes final engineering and testing.

The $600 product will fit most 26″ bikes (that don’t have front disc brakes).  You must be over 16 years old and wearing a helmet to operate.  State laws vary, so check yours out before you sign up.

Help reduce the world’s dependence on oil and remove congestion from crowded roads.

RevoPower, I’m begging you, hook me up with a test version so I can blog to the world about how amazing this product is.

Is The Future Closer Than We Think?

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What I’m referring to is not the latest gadget, but in fact the possibility that the latest scientists at CERN‘s superlab may rip a hole in space and time. Yes, I know, it sounds bizarre and completely incredulous, but it is in fact true.

CERN laboratory has, for a long time, done some of the wildest experiments out there, what with it having a massive particle accelerator and all sorts of other gadgetry. CERN is also the European particle physics centre and home to the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that is going to be switched on later in the year. This will aid scientists in finding out more about the birth of the universe.

Two Russian scientists have spoken out against the initiation of the LHC and what it may accomplish, due to unforeseen possibilities. Amazingly, these include creating that aforementioned rip in the universe that might allow for future generations to revisit the year. 2008, then, could be the beginning of time travel.

New Scientist (a British publication about the sciences) reports that the LHC could create small black holes that open one end of a ‘tunnel’ of sorts. Surely I’m not the only person to think that this is just like a movie!? More to the point, if it could create a hole that future generations could use, what about other species from alien worlds?

Of course, time travel is nothing new in literature, or even imaging what the world of the future may look like. Mellies films looked at this concept (landing on the Moon anyone) and literature such as the seminal The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) look on the subject with some trepidation.

Of course, may people across the globe have something to say about time travel, from philosophers to mathematicians, all looking at various aspects of this form of travel. Of course, the real issue comes in the paradox of time travel – if you could go back and kill your grandfather, how were you born to do this act in the first place?

Dr. Igor Novikov suggests that any action taken to disrupt what had categorically happened in the past would only take effect once the travellers went back to their own time. That would mean you could effectively erase your own existence. Whilst I’m not up on string theory, another line of thought dictates that it your arrival into a previous time (and space) would actually trigger the spawning of another universe, so any actions that you take do not modify your past, but create an alternate one instead.

Pretty mind blowing stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree on that. Of course, movies such as Back To The Future take a more comical look at the idea of space travel, with the characters using the ability to garner money, fame and even high tech gadgetry (a flying train from the Wild West and the future).

I suppose that we really have two other alternatives here. One suggestion is that the past can be viewed but not changed at all. The hole (if created), would allow the people of our future to look back at the past, at 2008 and beyond. This would allow for unprecedented understanding of previous societies – and who knows, they might be able to learn from our mistakes.

From a philosophical point of view, there are a variety of reasons why people are genuinely fixated on the idea of time travel. Is it the idea that you can know your own destiny? The revelation that your destiny is written in stone, or exactly the opposite? The way you could stop yourself from making the mistakes you’d regret in the future?

Whatever the reason, time travel continues to fascinate and disturb us, human beings, into our future, our past and our present. It resonates through our lives as deeply as the concept of life after death. One can only hope though, whatever the result of the CERN experiment that it does no harm and in fact adds to our understanding of the universe.

Across The Universe – In Space

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The Beatles hit (well, quite successful anyway) Across the Universe will be the first song to be beamed directly into space next week, Nasa has announced. The track will be beamed directly through the Deep Space Network on the 40th anniversary of the song being recorded.

The beam of the song (being sent through space) will be aimed at North Star, Polaris, which is approximately 431 light years away from the Earth. That is, by all accounts, quite far away really! Paul McCartney has said that it’s an ‘amazing’ feat.

Interestingly, this isn’t part of the SETI collection of projects but in fact a celebration of 50 years of Nasa. So, what exactly can we expect in the future from the Space Agency?

Well, there’s ongoing surveys of Mars and Saturn, journeys to Mercury and Pluto (unmanned of course) and the Mars 2011 mission. This could actually see people landing on another planet, which by all accounts is set to be a really rather special event.

So, what do I make of this particular song being beamed into space and possibly being picked up? Well, let’s take a look at some of the lyrics:

‘Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind
Possessing and caressing me’

Well, it’s not exactly Romantic classical music now is it? Far from me to denigrate the Beatles but I just have a feeling that ‘greys’ might prefer to hear some Mendelssohn. Maybe that’s just me though. If you were going to beam something into space that might get heard, what would you send? I think it would have to the sound of whale music for me. You can’t go wrong with a bit of Star Trek influenced sci-fi!

A Total Lunar Eclipse : August 28, 2007

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With news of the recent total lunar eclipse, interest in this heavenly phenomenon has spaked anew. Here are the eclipses that had occurred earlier this year and will happen in during the remainder of 2007. Two central solar and two lunar eclipses occur in 2007 as follows:

The eclipse today is a total lunar eclipse so watch out for it, because it would be visible to the naked eye.

The total lunar eclipse of August 28 2007 will be visible over the Americas, the Pacific, eastern Asia, and Australasia.

The penumbral eclipse — the least exciting, and hardest to see part — will begin at 07:52:11 UT and end at 13:22:29 UT. It will be visible from the Americas when it begins around Moonset, the Pacific, and eastern Asia and Australasia as it ends at around Moonrise.

The partial eclipse will begin at 08:50:57 UT and end just over 3½ hours later at 12:23:50 UT, and will be visible from a slightly smaller area. The total eclipse lasts for 1½ hours; it begins at 09:52:00 UT and ends at 11:22:45 UT, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 10:37:22 UT. It is visible over Australasia, far eastern Asia, including Japan, the Pacific, most of North America (apart from the north-east), and western South America.

In the Pacific coast of the US, the total eclipse begins at 02:52:00 PDT and ends at 04:22:45 PDT, with the moment of greatest eclipse at 03:37:22 PDT.

The total eclipse should be a spectacular sight; the Moon will be well within the Earth’s shadow, the umbral magnitude being 1.481, and should be deeply coloured by the Earth’s atmosphere. Don’t miss it!

A lunar eclipse takes place when the Earth is between the sun and the moon so that the Earth’s shadow falls on the moon. As for the QuickStop I’m really waiting for this spectacular event of nature’s wonder. I hope it’s not cloudy tonight!

Programmable Electric Bike

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Programmable Electric Bike

The search for green is “so” in, this days as the quest for the most green invention is coming our way. The search for alternatives as a new zero-emission electric vehicles hits the streets. Now introducing the Zero electric motorbike, pictured above, which is due in 2008.

A configurable bike drive train via the manufacturer and the street version with 16″ tires, or the off-road version which comes with 20″ off-road tires. The bike’s max range is 40 miles, and the max speed is 60 mph. It plugs into a normal 110V/220V outlet, and charges in about three hours. The best thing about it is the programmable “ZBrain” computer, you can tweak the max speed, throttle response, max output current, and more to suit your need for speed and your preferences. The bike connects directly to any Microsoft Windows computer via USB 2.0 cable.

Personalized Riding Experience

ZBrain is an on-board computer system that enables riders to customize their Zero motorcycle to their particular riding style.

ZBrain lets riders create individual profiles specifying preferences for throttle response, maximum speed and maximum current. This feature is particularly useful for new riders who are able to increase the performance of their bikes as their skill increases.

Adapts To All Skill Levels

With key riding parameters available at the click of a mouse, with ZBrain, the same Zero electric motorcycle that is ideal for beginning riders can be turned into a neck-snapping, wheelie-popping monster for the motocross professional.

ZBrain connects with any Microsoft Windows personal computer using a standard USB cable.

check the website for more details : Zero Motorcycles

The Culture Code and Videogames

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Clotaire Rapaille wrote a book called The Culture Code. The eponymous code is “the unconscious meaning we apply to any given thing“. This, naturally enough, includes games. Rapaille’s well-argued theory is that, essentially, we interpret everything not only fro the perspective of an individual and as a member of the human race (Jungian theories of the collective human subconscious plays a part) but also from a national (or racial) perspective).

Naturally this can get extremely confusing if studied too deeply, but we’ll cite a strong example before moving to games. Wedding are held around the world (in fact, Rapaille uses this very subject as one of his examples) but are entirely different depending on location, from the extremely decadent to the religiously austere. In the book, Rapaille uses his knowledge to decode countries and brands – in this latter way assisting marketers and consumer relations, along with consumers themselves (though this is arguable, as marketing is almost always about peddling wants not needs).

In this article, I am going to use Rapaille’s technique to decode games. I’ll look by country of the three biggest markets (Japan, the US and the UK). Lets take a look at what works in which territory, and why. Bearing in mind Rapaille has used this technique for businesses such as Nestle to have very positive effects, it is still nonetheless a social or people based science. This means that at times conclusions can be difficult to place in a qualitative perspective.

Japan

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Insular and traditional, Japan is a country based on order and system. The idea of of a rigid structure and authority is still commonplace. This explains why games – in particular RPG’s with an emphasis on rules and number crunching do so well in the land of the rising sun. However, things are certainly changing, with much more creative types breaking down barriers in the younger generations. This energy results in games such as Katamary Damacy – even globally seen as unique and fresh for the industry. Games such as Okami reach between both worlds, offering a traditional tale with calligraphy on a modern platform. This cultural bridging on a national level offers a fulfilling experience.

America

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The USA is big, bold and brash, with a comparison from Rapaille as that of an ‘adolescent‘. Is this why we see so many violent videogames, or those with a focus o war? Perhaps this national culture understands the difficulties in finding its’ own way so play them out on virtual battlefields. First person shooters such as Halo, Call of Duty and Doom are all American franchises, as well as finding a home in many dvd trays of families there.

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Banana Power Baby!

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Banana PowerAt Gadzooki we think that the biggest tech innovations over the next century will be directly tied to energy. That may be wishful thinking, but we love the prospect of there being a decentralization of energy.

Ultimately there are two goals we’d like to see reached regarding energy innovation. First we’d like to see control of energy put into the hands of the individual citizen! Empower the citizen to create his own (clean) energy. Second, we’d like to see the emergence and dominance of alternative, renewable energy sources.

One of the great things about alternative, renewable energies is that they allow for the development and decentralization of small-footprint plants near the renewable source. As an example, ethanol plants are popping up near large corn farms. One of the benefits of the decentralization of energy is that less energy gets wasted in the transport.

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Radical Innovation: Self-Healing Material

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self-healing materialAt Gadzooki, the thing that drives us the most is excitement about future technology. Sure gadgets are nice, and we love our tech, but deep down, we love innovation and thinking about the future.

Just the other day I encountered one of those few stories that bring me to say “Hey, that just might change our future in radical ways.”

NewScientist reports on a self-healing material that is able to identify the exact location of damage with exquisitely high-resolution. The material uses epoxy sealant to make any minor repairs – think about small cuts on your skin (as opposed to gashes to your tendons). One could imagine this material being used to immediately repair things as diverse as the tires on your car, the pipes in your house or even leaks in the roof.

The epoxy in this self-healing material is located just below the outer polymer surface (the equivalent of a machine’s epidermis). When the polymer surface is penetrated, the epoxy flows into any damage that might occur.

What makes this material even more amazing is the fact that is has embedded circuitry that allows human beings to pinpoint damage that the automated epoxy system can’t fix. Thing about how useful that could be. Say that there is a leak somewhere in your home piping system that no one can locate: a piping system designed with this material would be able to help identify the precise location.

And that just scratches the surface.