bookofjoe

Steampunk Calculator iPhone app: 3 Numbers — by Halle Winkler

If a picture is worth 1,000 words and there are 24 frames of video (close enough for the purpose of this exegesis — don't get your baggies in a twist about the precise number, OK?) per second then the roughly two-and-a-half-minute-long movie up top contains 150 x 24 = 3,600 frames, each a picture.

So you're talking roughly 3.5 million words.

Do the math.

"3 Numbers is a traveler's multicalculator for the iPhone with 6 different utilities, imported for you from a golden age of adventurous journeys."

Bonus: TechnoDolt™-friendly.

Halle Winkler just emailed me from Berlin as follows re: her new App:

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Hello,

Well, it hasn't been ported to the i-wood yet, but I enjoy your site very much and thought you might get a kick out of my App, 3 Numbers.

I don't know if steampunk calculators are precisely up your alley, but it was designed with a lot of love and I do hope you like it.

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I wonder if, for a chunk of the action, Ms. Winkler might consider creating a bookofjoe App....

Could be big.

Real big.

Real soon now.

Thumbprint Chair — by Ron Arad

Included in his current show

at the Timothy Taylor Gallery

in London,

through May 9, 2009.

Sport Stacking

Yet another sport I'd never heard of until this week.

Thank goodness the Wall Street Journal's on it.

Sink Front Safe — Hide in plain sight

Very cool, actually.

I've always been bemused about those two false fronts near my kitchen sink.

Finally, the penny dropped and someone took it to the next level.

From the website:

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Sink Front Tip-Out Trays

Transform your false sink fronts into valuable storage space.

Remove all of those sponges, scrub pads, soap, etc. from your sink tops and hide them in these easily accessible tip-out trays.

Simply remove the false fronts, install the hinges provided and attach the trays.

The 2-inch wide trays are made of high-impact polystyrene.

Each set includes two trays and mounting hardware.

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11" long: $23.95 .

14" long: $24.95.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes — 'Best survival tip I know'

"When you're innocently walking down the street and you hear the noise of men who have drunk too much coming toward you, cross to the other side."

From an interview in the May 2009 issue of Men's Journal magazine with the 65-year-old British adventurer, the first man to reach both the North and South poles by land.

i-wood 3B — Clarke's Third Law* in action

Long story short: Not a splinter group but, rather, the new new thing in telecommunications.

Features like Phone, Mail, Web,

Music, 3B and Touch.

Can your device survive a thousand foot drop?

Didn't think so.

From the website:

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i-wood 3B

 

With our exclusive 3B* technology, fast connection speeds, support for those of us who live in reality, and our all new applications, i-wood is the all-in-one solution you have been looking for.

It will help you redefine your relationships with people by showing them how truly irritating they, and their portable devices, have become.

The All New i-wood with 3B Technology is individually silk screened onto environmentally sustainable bamboo plywood.

Because of this, each i-wood is different and will have minor deviations that are all part of a real analog process.

Specs:

4.5"H x 3"W x 0.25"D.

Natural side cut bamboo plywood.

Printed with speedball water-based ink

3.5" (diagonal) Tactile Touch®™ Display

Rechargeable gyroscope battery

Up to 1 million hours talk time

Operating temperature range: -273.15°C to 390°C

Maximum operating altitude: 100,000,000 ft.

 

Sensors:

Accelerometer

Proximity sensor

Light sensor

Infrared sensor

Sensor sensor for sensing sensers

Sensi Senser

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$10.

These folks are so all over it: they even have an App store up and running, with these Apps: Junk, Tiny Map, Useless Crap, Know-It-All, Meeting Ignore, Fantasy World, Tech Addict, Teleporter, Status Symbol, Garage Door Opener, Death, Timewaster, Beat Down, Boring, Invisibility and Friend-B-Gone.

Bonus: They're all free, the way we like it.

My fave is Teleporter (below).

This device is a perfect example of Clarke's Third Law.*

[via Ray Earhart , who added, "Up your alley? I think I found one!" — sure did, Ray]

Susan Boyle sings 'Cry Me River' — in 1999, ten years before fame struck

From a charity CD made in 1999 of which only 1,000 copies were made.

Here's Laura Coventry's April 16, 2009 Daily Record story with the details.

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Exclusive: Susan Boyle's first ever song release revealed — listen to it here

The Daily Record has uncovered the only CD ever made by Scotland’s singing sensation Susan Boyle.

It emerged last night that Susan, whose "Britain’s Got Talent" triumph has made her an instant superstar, is being lined up for an appearance
on the Oprah Winfrey show which would give her the chance of a number one album in the US.

But the Record can reveal she made her first recording back in 1999, when she sang blues ballad "Cry Me A River" for a charity CD.

Only 1000 copies of the disc were ever produced, but we’ve got hold of the long-forgotten recording and it’s now on our site. A showbiz insider said: “This is a real coup for the Record. The whole world would have wanted to find this.

“People will be scrambling to get their hands on this CD. They will be like gold dust soon.”

Susan, 48, of Blackburn, West Lothian, has gone from obscurity to worldwide fame in less than a week after her amazing "Britain’s Got Talent" debut.

So far, her performance of "I Dreamed A Dream" from "Les Miserables" has attracted more than 16 MILLION hits on YouTube. And yesterday, she was doing the rounds of America’s top morning TV chat shows.

CBS superstar Diane Sawyer interviewed Susan for "The Early Show." And Kathie Lee Gifford, host of NBC’s "Today Show," was so moved by her voice that she burst into tears.

Last night, it emerged that Susan has also been offered the chance to be a guest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

And BGT supremo Simon Cowell reckons that if the appearance goes ahead, it will guarantee that her debut album will top the charts in the States.

It’s all a far cry from 1999, when Susan recorded her track for the charity compilation CD at Whitburn Academy, where X Factor winner Leon Jackson went to school.

The Millennium Celebration disc, which was partly funded by Whitburn Community Council, was the brainchild of local newspaper editor Eddie Anderson.

He launched a search for unsigned acts to take part. And as soon as he heard Susan at the auditions he knew he had found something special.

“I was amazed when she sang,” Eddie said. “It was probably the same reaction as everyone had last Saturday.

“Susan was exactly the same then as she is now. She has a fabulous and unique talent.”

When Susan walked on to the "Britain’s Got Talent" stage, the judges and audience seemed more interested in her appearance than her voice.

Simon, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden rolled their eyes and raised their eyebrows when she told them she wanted to be a Broadway superstar like Elaine Paige.

But their scorn quickly turned to amazement when she started to sing.

Simon grinned as he admitted that Susan’s voice was “extraordinary." Piers told her: “I am giving you the biggest ‘yes’ I have ever given to anybody.”

And Amanda added: “It was a privilege to listen to you.”

In the days that followed, Susan became a YouTube sensation. Even Hollywood A-lister Demi Moore admitted she was moved to tears when she watched her performance.

The bookies have installed Susan as red-hot favourite to win the £100,000 "Britain’s Got Talent" first prize.

But in her live satellite interview with Diane Sawyer yesterday, she was still keeping her feet firmly on the ground. Asked about her newfound stardom, Susan giggled and said: “Most mornings I wake up with a smile. I can’t believe it has happened.”

Susan has lived alone with her cat Pebbles since her mum Bridget died two years ago at the age of 91.

She has admitted that she has never been on a date or even been kissed but she was too shy to discuss her spinster lifestyle on CBS.

“Aaah, no comment,” she said. “I don’t want to talk about that.”

Sawyer asked Susan what she would do with the prize money if she won, but she replied: “Well, it’s just baby steps at the moment, we shall see how things progress.”

Susan wouldn’t rule out having a makeover as part of "Britain’s Got Talent," telling Sawyer: “You’ll have to watch the programme and find out.”

But she did admit there would be no repeat of the dance steps she showed off on Saturday. “That’s it,” she insisted. “Let’s try and keep it ladylike.”

Susan suffered a mild form of brain damage at birth and she admitted to Sawyer that she was bullied when she was younger. “They did a bit,” she said, “but they always do that with someone who is quiet and I tended to be quiet at school.

“Well, they have turned around. They are nice to me now, so we will move on from there.”

Susan said her friends and family were “gobsmacked” by her success.

And when Sawyer asked what she would say to her late parents if she could, she replied: “I would like to say thank you for supporting me over the years, thank you for looking after me and I hope I can make you proud.”

Sawyer replied: “I certainly think you have done that. We cannot wait to see you over in the US.”

Newspapers and websites all over America and beyond have been covering Susan’s story, and hits on the "Britain’s Got Talent" section of the ITV website have soared to more than half a million since Saturday.

But Susan won’t face the judges again until the end of next month, when she’ll find out whether she has made it through to the live shows.

She said this week: “I’m taking it all in my stride and I’m quite relaxed about everything.

“I’ve had lots of kind support from people so far. Some of the things people have said have been marvellous and really lovely.

“I’ve been singing since I was 12 and have just never had this chance before. I’m glad I got the chance now. I’d love to have a musical career but we’ll have to take one step at a time.”

Susan added: “I went on the audition to see how far I could get but the standard is very high.

“You need a lot of hard work and perseverance to make it.

“I think there is room for improvement though.”

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[via caroline]

Portable battery, bulb and fuse tester

Ever finally get around to changing a difficult-to-reach light bulb — getting out the ladder, positioning it amongst brambles and overgrown brush, etc. — only to find out after you've changed the bulb and climbed back down and gone inside that it doesn't work?

Discouraging, isn't it?

That's why this device was invented.

Consider the fun you'll have with the kids, letting them test stuff before you replace it.

Not to mention creating a little side business for yourself: slug it "Hot or Not?" — wait a minute, joe... — and charge people a buck to find out if their emergency batteries and whatnot that have been laying around gathering dust waiting for the big one are still good.

Much better to find out now rather than when an emergency strikes, what?

Look, I'll even give you a slogan at absolutely no additional cost: "Charge!"

Enough already.

From websites:

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Battery, Bulb and Fuse Tester

Test that floodlight bulb before climbing a ladder to install it.

With our handy Battery, Bulb and Fuse Tester you can check nearly every kind of household battery, fuse, and bulb, including most screw, push and bayonet bulbs, all AAA, AA, C, D, 9V and even button cell batteries.

Simulated load test feature checks if battery will work in use.

Testing many types of home and auto fuses is just as easy.

Dual readout measures voltage and capacity.

Tester uses one 9V battery (included).

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$5.85.