The World of 100
There is no doubting the skill of designer Toby Ng. His designs have won him numerous accolades including the Red Dots Awards, International Design Awards, and the Hong Kong International Poster Triennial Awards among others. One of his projects, called World of 100 answers the question: If the world were a village of 100 people, what would its composition be? The answer consists of twenty brilliantly designed posters based on statistics about the population around the world under different classifications. The stats are more powerful because of Ng's illustrations. He uses vibrant, bold colors combined with crisp, clean lines.
“Look,” says Ng, “this is the world we are living in.”
Toby Ng's website
via [Brain Pickings]
Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:00:00 PDT
Homeowner Forecloses on Bank
(Jonathan H. Adler)
It’s hard not to chuckle at this story: Bank of America tries to foreclose on a couple’s house, even though they don’t owe a cent. The couple fights BoA in court, and wins — but then BoA fails to pay the legal fees and court costs. So what does the wronged couple do? Precisely what the bank would have done: They seized the banks assets.
“They’ve ignored our calls, ignored our letters, legally this is the next step to get my clients compensated, ” attorney Todd Allen told CBS.
Sheriff’s deputies, movers, and the Nyergers’ attorney went to the bank and foreclosed on it. The attorney gave instructions to to remove desks, computers, copiers, filing cabinets and any cash in the teller’s drawers.
After about an hour of being locked out of the bank, the bank manager handed the attorney a check for the legal fees.
(Hat tip: Instapundit)
Sat, 04 Jun 2011 12:24:11 PDT
I grow concerned for your craniofacial integrity
I'm going to do it again. You're all about to facepalm once more, just as you did yesterday. By now, you should know this blog and be conscious of the need for deliberation and caution when putting your hand to your face.
I was sent this example of science proving atheism wrong. Perhaps you should gently place your hand on your forehead before you start reading, to forego the possibility of slamming your palm into your face with great force.
So…this clever calculation is contingent on the premise that there has been 6 billion people on the earth for 3 billion years, and, tragically, that every drop everyone drinks stays in their body and disappears when they die. Hey, I've been visiting pubs here in England, and I've noticed that every pint I take in is followed a little later by a pint flowing out to, eventually, the sea. Which has led me to a complementary calculation that similarly disproves atheism.
Let's assume that 6 billion people have been hanging out at the pub every day, and right after last call they stagger to the pisser and evacuate two liters of urine. By that calculation, there ought to be roughly 10 times as much water as we observe on the planet, and we ought to be completely submerged and swimming in pee. We are not, therefore we can conclude that there must be something wrong with my estimates, and since I am an idiot, I will assume that it can't possibly be a failure to recognize an important concept like physiological homeostasis, and must be because one parameter, the length of time, must be fudged by 6 orders of magnitude to fit the innumerate presuppositions of bronze-age goat molesters.
Read the comments on this post...
Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:28:54 PDT
Facebook Places, Foursquare: Social Media's Tiny 2% Impact On Businesses
"What our clients are struggling with is: How big a deal are social media and location-based services, and how much of it is just sound and fury?" says a senior VP of Applied Predictive Technologies, which runs data analytics for Starbucks and Subway.
"You've got your Groupon and Living Social, and your Foursquare and Facebook Places," says Jonathan Marek. "What our clients are struggling with is: How big a deal are social media and location-based services, and how much of it is just sound and fury?"
That's the question on the mind of most every marketer and retailer--and Marek might finally have an answer. Marek is senior VP at at Applied Predictive Technologies (APT), a software company that provides data and analytics to some of the biggest retailers and restaurants in the world, including Starbucks, Staples, Subway, and more. As he explains, APT essentially runs "clinical drug trials for businesses," measuring the incremental impact on sales of everything from traditional ad and social media campaigns to storefront physical remodeling and relocation. Like an FDA trial, the company uses "test and control patients," and a proprietary algorithm to measure campaigns against stores with similar traffic, sales, and characteristics.
Based on new data from APT provided to Fast Company, it's clear that location-based services like Foursquare and Facebook Places have--so far--had a minimal impact on businesses.
"In the tests we've seen, we generally haven't seen much of a lift in performance," Marek says. "There just isn't the reach in these things today to actually be able to drive the level of change in business as you could drive with a successful capital investment."
Marek says APT generally sees a revenue bump in the "2% range" in a successful promotion from services like Facebook Places, Foursquare, Yelp, or Opentable Spotlight. Marek is also skeptical of other foot-traffic drivers like Groupon and Living Social, which have gotten much more attention for their successes (not to mention failures). "You may see a bigger bump in sales from something like Groupon--but only on a temporary basis," he says.
The issue, he continues, is that the economics of Groupon's daily deals just don't have a sustained return, especially for national chains and brands. "When food costs may be running 40% of your sales, and you're going to give a $100 deal for $50--$25 of that going to Groupon--you're then working off $25 for a $100 offering," he says. "While you might get a bump in sales, we wouldn't call that successful unless you were able to see something sustained--and we just haven't seen that yet."
Still, Marek is optimistic about the potential of the services, and points out that there isn't necessarily anything risky for offering a check-in deal through Foursquare or Facebook (unlike a traditional ad campaign, which can cost retailers a lot up-front).
"It's still a pretty nascent space," Marek says. "I don't think anybody has gotten the model right."
Follow Fast Company on Twitter.
Read More: The 10 Most Innovative Web Companies
Wed, 13 Apr 2011 12:25:33 PDT
A workforce of one
Given the realities of today's complex business environment, it is no longer possible to satisfy a workforce with one broad, standard approach to managing talent. A perfect storm of events and trends is pushing organizations to abandon the traditional employment compact along with the one-size-fits-all approach to human resources.
Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:48:49 PDT
Obama internet 'kill switch' proposed
Shared by Michael
Haha what are these guys thinking.
US President Barack Obama would be granted powers to seize control of and even shut down the internet under a new bill that describes the global internet as a US "national asset".
Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:36:14 PDT
PAC-MAN rules!
We've been overwhelmed — but not surprised :) — by the success of our 30th anniversary PAC-MAN doodle. Due to popular demand, we’re making the game permanently available at www.google.com/pacman.
Thanks to NAMCO for helping to make this wonderful collaboration happen. Enjoy!
Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience
Sun, 23 May 2010 13:13:00 PDT
Microsoft: we don't like Flash either
Shared by Michael
Of course, because they want people to use Silverlight
Microsoft joined archrival Apple in criticising Adobe Systems' widely used Flash multimedia software, creating a rare bond among the two computing giants.
Mon, 03 May 2010 17:04:31 PDT
Leading atheists seek Pope's arrest
Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens want Pope held for "crimes against humanity".
Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:29:09 PDT
Obama to limit use of US nuclear weapons
President Barack Obama plans to place new restrictions on the use of atomic weapons as part of a major US nuclear policy overhaul, a senior administration official said.
Mon, 05 Apr 2010 20:14:12 PDT
Rates to keep rising
High resource prices embolden RBA to increase interest rates.
Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:00:01 PDT
How Obama moved in for the kill
For more than a year, Barack Obama was mocked for reaching out to his rivals. It was a sign of weakness, many seasoned Washington-watchers said.
Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:00:01 PDT
What did Hu expect?
No court in China would dare contradict Premier Wen Jiabao's presumption of Hu's guilt. 30 Mar 2010 9:58 AM
Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:58:00 PDT
10 years for Stern Hu
A Chinese court has sentenced Australian Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu to 10 years in prison for corruption and industrial espionage.
Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:42:00 PDT
Westpac slammed for charging interest on interest
The consumer group Choice has condemned Westpac's decision to make customers pay interest on their interest.
Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:20:00 PDT
REVERSE GRAFFITI: South African Artists Tag Walls By Scrubbing Them Clean
Graffiti is one of the most controversial art forms out there since it defaces public property – but what if graffiti artists actually cleaned up the walls they tagged up by etching their sketches into the grime that already exists on them? The delightful process, called reverse graffiti or “scrubbing” isn’t new – we’ve written about it here and here before – but awesome examples of it keep popping up. Case in point: one band of students in Durban, South Africa who’ve been gracing spaces with works of the subversive street art form in their area.
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Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:24:24 PST
Get your Jetpack soon!
it’s been a while since we covered designer Glenn Martin’s super fan pack, which I suppose is, for lack of a better word, a jetpack. Granted, it looks more like the flying pack seen by Quest Aerospace in the first Spider-man movie rather than the jetpack in the Rocketeer, but it can get you off the ground, and quite safely, too.
I believe that I reported last year that these packs were $250,000 each, but that was actually wrong. One of the people on the Martin Jetpack team sent me a comment that the jetpacks were actually 100,000 USD. There is a video after the jump if you want to see more about it.
I believe that only ten jetpacks were produced last year, and I can only imagine that celebrities who have more money than they should could be the only ones that could afford them. A recent update by the Telegraph has revealed that the Martin Aircraft Company is teaming up with an unnamed international aircraft company to make 500 jetpacks a year, for a lower cost of $75,000 each.
Yes, it is a high price, but here’s what you get. First of all, it runs on premium gas, which is much cheaper than jet fuel. Second, it has a 30 mile range at 60 mph with a 8000 foot ceiling. Third, no pilot’s license is required. Fourth, it has a low altitude ballistic parachute, in case you are worried about safety.
So, with 10 jetpacks last year, 500 in the next year, that means Martin has increased its jetpack inventory by 50 times. If it keeps this up, it will take four years to have 3,125,000,000 jet packs, which is enough for about half the planet. So are we looking at an era where everyone will be flying around in a jetpack soon? One can only hope.
Source
Introducing
Foolish Gadgets because not all gadgets are cool
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Get your Jetpack soon! copyright by
Coolest Gadgets ]
Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:13:16 PST
Finding awesome stuff online with Google Reader Play
I use Google Reader a lot — not only to stay on top of the news, but also to find interesting blog posts and articles. I’m always telling my friends about Google Reader, and while some of them love it, others don’t want to take the time to set it up. For those of you who fall into this second category, we’re announcing Google Reader Play, a new product that makes the best stuff in Reader more accessible for everyone. Reader Play is a new way to browse interesting stuff on the web, customized to the topics you’re interested in, with no setup required.
Items in Reader Play are presented one at a time, and images and videos are automatically enlarged to maximize the viewing experience. We use the technology behind Recommended Items in Reader to populate Reader Play with the most interesting content on the web. While you don’t need a Google account to use Reader Play, your experience will be personalized if you sign in. As you browse, you can let us know which items you enjoy by clicking the "like" button, and we'll use that info to show you other content we think you’ll enjoy.
We think Reader Play is a fun way to browse interesting items online that you wouldn’t find otherwise. We designed it especially for people who don’t want to spend time curating their own set of feeds — but folks who already use Reader can easily use it to read their feeds as well. Just click the feed settings menu on any feed in Reader and select “View in Reader Play.” We’re launching Reader Play as an experiment in Google Labs so that we can test it out, get feedback from you and then improve it as quickly as possible. Visit google.com/reader/play to give it a try, and let us know what you think!
Posted by Garrett Wu, Software Engineer
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:17:00 PST
Lend Lease signs $6b Barangaroo contract
Property developer formalises contract with NSW government. 5 Mar 2010 6:41 PM
Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:41:00 PST
St George sorry for banking blooper
St George Bank has apologised for an error that caused other people's transaction details to be sent to more than 40,000 customers.
Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:41:00 PST
