Offbeat posts

Fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation are very familiar with the deep, resounding voice of Patrick Stewart. It’s coarse, like weathered leather, and has a sophistication to the pitch and diction that make it challenging to get right. For co-star Brent Spiner, he can fool (for a time) just about anyone, even Stewart’s wife. Here his is at Comicon, 2011. The video quality is poor but the sound is good enough to hear the expertise associated with the impression. …

It’s no secret that many American family purchases are made or influenced by women. The 80/20 rule, which says that women control 80% of the purchases, is a simplification and exaggeration on the facts, but it’s a good rule to follow simply because it emphasizes the power that moms in a household have over purchases. As mobile and online advertising continue to grow and influence the ways we buy, having an understanding of the female influence is essential. In this infographic, BuySellAds explores “mommy power” in purchases. Click to enlarge. …

Technophopia is not the fear of old dance music. It’s the fear of anything using advanced technologies, particularly computers. It’s not a huge problem – 85%-90% of people taking on a new job have some degree of technophopia – but it’s definitely something that shouldn’t be flamed or even encouraged… …except in this case. We’re still trying to find the origin and context, but it’s enough to make us laugh for now. …

Many companies are going virtual. It’s a natural cost-saving trend that reduces the need for physical space and allows workers to telecommute through the various technologies for collaboration and project management that are conducive for allowing people to work from home. There are distinct advantages and disadvantages. A “less personal” office experience where many or all employees are virtual can hurt employee camaraderie. It can hurt productivity by not allowing for the over-the-shoulder management approach. Some say it helps productivity, eliminating drive times and keeping…

Those who frequent Starbucks have had a quad shot drink before. This is not one of those. Instead, it’s a remote control aircraft that combines the functionality of a helicopter and an airplane. The small company has raised over $37,000 so far, well above its goal of $25,000, and will be funded on September 17th. What makes it special beyond the functionality is the way it was designed. Using open-source hardware and software, they created a unique airframe design that combines the best of both types of flight. By creating a “brain” called Lisa/M that is the size of 3 quarters, they were able to equip…

The promise of the internet 2 decades ago was that it would help to reshape the way we do things. Education has always been considered something that a connected world could do better. In many ways, the dream has been realized, but there’s still so much more to do. From a sheer business perspective, education is a huge market. There are hundreds of companies vying for a spot in the growing digital education field. Most are failing to reach the masses. It’s a hard shield to crack – education has been shrouded behind tradition and stubborn reluctance to change even in light of the potential that computers,…

There are fears in the scientific community about coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and our recent inability to track them properly. CMEs are huge magnetized clouds of electified gas (plasma) that can be as big as 1.5 trillion tons of gas and travel at 3 million mph. If a powerful CME hits the earth’s magnetosphere, it can disrupt salellites, radio communication, and even the electric grid. The head on perspective of tracking CMEs from earth has always offered a challenge. As you’ll see in this video, a combination of new technologies makes it possible to have better understanding of the events. For…

The battle between web designers and web developers has been going on since the establishment of web designers and web developers. It’s like salespeople versus production people. Apple vs Mac. Coke vs Pepsi. They will always be at at each others’ throats. Today, we look at the lighter side of the debate from Wix. It may be comical and somewhat insulting to both (no, most web designers or developers that I know are not afraid of women) but it does bring up an easier-to-understand roundup of perceptions and the differences between each job. Both are crucial to the success of a website. Which is more…

MakerBot, the company that brought us the 3D printer to “democratize manufacturing” has been making the news a lot lately with their clever stunts and interesting business model. Their most recent stunt involves Stephen Colbert, and it’s a doozy. We first looked at 3D printers last month. The technology is astounding, bringing us a step closer to Star Trek replicators. MakerBot and their premier offering, The Thing-O-Matic, tapped Comedy Central’s host and pundit of The Colbert Report to make a replica of his head. In true open source fashion, they put the data collected online, allowing designers…

Investing in technology is always a gamble. It goes up and down, both in the amount of money invested as well as the number of investors themselves. We’ve recently seen a large influx of money being invested that has been replaced by a more recent freeze due to America’s financial woes. That can be expected. What isn’t as expected (and much more alarming) is the increase in the number of employees at the tech companies themselves cashing out their shares. There’s nothing better than inside information. Insider trading may be illegal, but when employees with equity sell of their shares, it’s a sign…