bookofjoe

BehindTheMedspeak: The rise of robotic exoskeletons

Long the stuff of science fiction, reality has finally caught up with fantasy.

This year marks the entrance of not one, not two but three different approaches to the enhanced function space.

At long last, wheelchair users will rise up and walk among us.

Rex the Robotic Exoskeleton (top) from Rex Bionics is currently available in New Zealand and will be released internationally next year.

ReWalk (below)

from Argo Medical Technologies is slated for international release this year.

HAL (below)

from Cyberdyne is currently available in Japan for individuals with muscle weakness and those with disabilities due to spinal cord injury or stroke.

The company which twigs soonest that this technology has limitless potential in the non-handicapped, recreational space will succeed behind its wildest expectations.

[via NewDisability]

Sushi Roller

Designed

by

German studio 

Osko+Deichmann,

it was part

of the

Kitchen Ecology Exhibition

in Los Angeles

in June, 2009.

[via designboom and Milena]

Edgar Mueller, Street Art Master

Looks

like

the

great

Julian Beever

has

got

a rival.

Mueller's

3-D street art

is remarkable —

and that's

an understatement.

[via Diana McLellan]

Rug with Integrated Cushions

By Paola Lenti.

$1,980 to $5,530.

Apply within.

[via Rima Suqi and the New York Times]

Helpful Hints from joeeze: Which are better, bagged carrots or those with green tops attached?

From the latest issue (September/October 2010) of Cook's Illustrated:

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Carrots sold with their feathery green leaves still attached are typically less than three weeks old, the point at which the greens begin to wilt after harvest. Bagged carrots, on the other hand, may sit in storage for up to six months before they reach the supermarket.

We sampled both types of carrots raw, steamed, and sautéed. In each case, tasters thought the green-top carrots had a "deeper carrot flavor," but the bagged carrots, though one-dimensional in flavor, were "undeniably sweeter." It seemed obvious why the fresh carrots tasted richer, but we wondered why the bagged carrots were sweeter. Our science editor enlightened us, explaining that certain root vegetables, including carrots and potatoes, sweeten over time when refrigerated because the cool environment encourages the conversion of starch to glucose. As the bagged carrots waited in refrigerated storage for delivery, their sweetness increased.

You'll typically pay more for carrots with their tops attached, about $1.79 per pound compared with $1.29 for bagged carrots. But we think it's worth a little extra for better carrot flavor.

Metaphys Memo Pad

Canvas fabric wrapped over cardboard binding.

Off-white paper sheets are glue-bound.  

Notebook size: 6.5 x 10.5 x 0.8 cm.

Faint dotted grid lined paper.

$10.50.

Rubik's Cube iPhone App

From How-To Geek News: "For the 30th anniversary of the Rubik’s Cube, they’ve decided to officially take it digital, with a new iPhone app that lets you play on the phone, or even use the camera to solve your real cube."

"They’ve got 2×2, 3×3, and even 5×5 cubes to play, a 3-D mode that appears to require glasses, and it helps teach you to solve the cube… but the most interesting feature is that you can use your iPhone camera to solve your physical Rubik’s cube no matter how jumbled up it is."

iPhone 4 users benefit from an extra feature: flick your wrist and the Rubik's Cube rotates.

$2.99.

Grassy Lawn Charging Station

"Hide your cable rat's nest with scenic grass."

$24.99.