Douglas Coupland-created ‘V-Pole’ may take high tech to the streets in Vancouver
To clear its streets of cellphone towers, parking meters, Wi-Fi terminals, streetlights and even community message boards, the city of Vancouver is pushing forward with a scheme to compress all the technologies together into specialized “Vancouver poles” planted throughout the city.
“Meet your inevitable future,” wrote novelist Douglas Coupland, the technology’s creator, in an introductory Tweet.
The device, no larger than a telephone pole, would manage cell signals for multiple carriers, as well as wireless Internet for the surrounding neighbourhood. In-ground pads plugged into the pole would provide inductive charging for parked electric cars. An integrated touch screen would display maps, ads or payment interfaces, and an LED street light would be perched at the top of the pole. (Photo: Martin Tessler/Mathew Bulford; Illustration: Andrew Barr)
Phokasa
by Periapex.
“The joke’s on her…I never told told her where I buried the body.”
One step closer to Skynet.
Everything you have ever said to Siri on your iPhone is sent to Apple, analyzed and stored. Apple reserves the right to share this information with partners and related services as stated on the updated iPhone Terms Of Service.
IBM worries iPhone’s Siri has loose lips (CNN)Our right to personal privacy is shrinking at a scary pace.
TIL (Reddit)
(via scinerds)
![Touché.
thedailywhat:
IMDB Bio of the Day: Much to the Internets’ delight, IMDB writer Jon Hopwood profiled Kim Kardashian in a thoughtful, well-argued roast of an IMDB bio.
Choice highlights:
Kim Kardashian is emblematic of the shallowness of American culture in the first two decades of the new millennium. While some cultural critics call her the prime avatar of the “famous for being famous” faux celebrity crowd, she along with Paris Hilton is a new breed of cat whose celebrity comes from the release of a sex tape and the canny exploitation of the resulting publicity. Like her good friend Miss Hilton (their relationship predates Kim’s “celebrity”, Kardashian is possessed of photogenic good looks but is short of any other discernible talents outside of the bedroom. Both expanded their celebrity by becoming reality TV “stars”.
Porn pioneer Harry Reems has commented how surprised he is at how porn stars like Jenna Jameson are accepted now in mainstream culture. His life was ruined by his participation in porn in its “Golden Years”. As for Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, the release (accidental or not-so-accidental) of boudoir tapes didn’t result in shame but celebration. America like ancient Rome seems to have shuffled off the moral coil of virtue of the Republic and is now enjoying its Imperial self in an orgy of ignominy. It’s always more fun on the toboggan ride down the hill than it was schlepping up it in the first place.
Thankfully, a few screen grabs were snagged before the site was alerted to Hopwood’s shenanigans and took the bio down. Well played, Hopwood.
[uproxx]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m42jy4Q0Hr1qzpwi0o1_500.png)
Touché.
IMDB Bio of the Day: Much to the Internets’ delight, IMDB writer Jon Hopwood profiled Kim Kardashian in a thoughtful, well-argued roast of an IMDB bio.
Choice highlights:
Kim Kardashian is emblematic of the shallowness of American culture in the first two decades of the new millennium. While some cultural critics call her the prime avatar of the “famous for being famous” faux celebrity crowd, she along with Paris Hilton is a new breed of cat whose celebrity comes from the release of a sex tape and the canny exploitation of the resulting publicity. Like her good friend Miss Hilton (their relationship predates Kim’s “celebrity”, Kardashian is possessed of photogenic good looks but is short of any other discernible talents outside of the bedroom. Both expanded their celebrity by becoming reality TV “stars”.
Porn pioneer Harry Reems has commented how surprised he is at how porn stars like Jenna Jameson are accepted now in mainstream culture. His life was ruined by his participation in porn in its “Golden Years”. As for Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, the release (accidental or not-so-accidental) of boudoir tapes didn’t result in shame but celebration. America like ancient Rome seems to have shuffled off the moral coil of virtue of the Republic and is now enjoying its Imperial self in an orgy of ignominy. It’s always more fun on the toboggan ride down the hill than it was schlepping up it in the first place.
Thankfully, a few screen grabs were snagged before the site was alerted to Hopwood’s shenanigans and took the bio down. Well played, Hopwood.
[uproxx]
› Dental fillings that kill bacteria and re-mineralize the tooth
Sounds exciting:
“Scientists using nanotechology at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry have created the first cavity-filling composite that kills harmful bacteria and regenerates tooth structure lost to bacterial decay.”
Canada might soon have a new border — with Denmark.
New proposal would see Hans Island split equally between Canada and Denmark
Canada and Denmark appear close to agreement in their festering territorial dispute over Hans Island, with an amicable plan for both countries to split ownership of the tiny, barren rock in the Arctic being put forward.
A plan to divide the island — a 1.3 square kilometre rock between Canada’s Ellesmere Island and Greenland, a self-governing territory under the Danish crown — through the middle would give Canada a second foreign land border and settle a spat that captured international attention as much for its absurdity as its potential seriousness. (Photo: Wikipedia/HDMS Triton Newsletter)
North Korea doesn’t need to spend this kind of money on a weather satellite. Go to weather.com.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor, responding to North Korea’s claim that they merely intend to put a weather satellite in orbit with its rocket launch. (via officialssay)
Mystery of Human Consciousness Illuminated: Primitive Consciousness Emerges First as You Awaken from Anesthesia
ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2012) — Awakening from anesthesia is often associated with an initial phase of delirious struggle before the full restoration of awareness and orientation to one’s surroundings. Scientists now know why this may occur: primitive consciousness emerges first. Using brain imaging techniques in healthy volunteers, a team of scientists led by Adjunct Professor Harry Scheinin, M.D. from the University of Turku, Turku, Finland in collaboration with investigators from the University of California, Irvine, USA, have now imaged the process of returning consciousness after general anesthesia. The emergence of consciousness was found to be associated with activations of deep, primitive brain structures rather than the evolutionary younger neocortex. These results may represent an important step forward in the scientific explanation of human consciousness.
He who studies medicine without books sails an uncharted sea,
Sir William Osler (via medicalstate)
but he who studies medicine without patients does not go to sea at all.
