Good Thinking

What does it mean when a parking spot is marked with a wheelchair symbol? If you answered, “It means I can park there as long as I’m going to be quick,” you’re wrong – yet you’re also far from alone. Every day in parking lots all over the world, non-disabled drivers regularly use spaces clearly reserved for the handicapped. They often get away with it, too, unless an attendant happens to check while their vehicle is parked there. Thanks to technology recently developed by New Zealand’s Car Parking Technologies (CPT), however, those attendants could soon be notified the instant that a handicapped spot is improperly occupied. Read More

Paypal co-founder and billionaire Peter Thiel, who is currently the Seasteading Institute's "most generous funder" has continued his commitment to creating floating autonomous states by backing Blueseed. The new initiative hopes to create a floating "entrepreneurship and technology incubator" off the coast of San Francisco, allowing the next generation of creative entrepreneurs to legally develop new technologies without US working visas. Read More

Let's say you had a sweet dessert that you wanted to market specifically to adults. Now to spice things up, let's say you're also a Scooby Doo villain and can't stop wringing your hands over all the "meddling kids" who are going to ruin your campaign trying to steal delicious treats from your intended audience. Well, what can you do about it? Make a vending machine that detects the age of its users and tells any approaching children to get lost? Apparently yes, as Kraft Foods has introduced a new machine that scans a person's face to determine their age and dispenses free samples of their Jell-O Temptations dessert only to adults. Read More

Remember what it was like in the days before the internet, if you were trying to find out something specific? If you wanted know what flounders eat, for instance, you would have to physically go to the library, look up “marine biology” in the card catalogue, find the appropriate books in the stacks, look up “flounder” in their indexes – and even then, you might not find what you were looking for. It was certainly a lot more work than just typing in “flounder diet” on Google. Well, materials research so far has been kind of like that pre-Google era, in that scientists have had to spend months conducting research in order to determine how different compounds will react with one another. With the launch of MIT’s Materials Project website, however, it looks like that could be about to change. Read More

The guys over at Portland, Oregon’s Metrofiets are a pretty talented bunch when it comes to designing cargo bicycles for more than ... well, for more than hauling cargo. Not long ago, they made headlines with their Beer Bike, that incorporates a tap-equipped wooden bar, space and hardware for two kegs, and a rack created specifically for carrying pizza boxes. They’ve also built bikes that have served as a mobile coffee shop, and as a go-anywhere bicycle repair station. Their latest creation, however, is aimed at the world of broadcasting – it’s a two-wheeled human-powered talk show set. Read More

Educational videos available online have huge potential to enrich the classroom experience. There is great content available on practically every subject merely at the click of a button. That said, the same click of a button separates school children from funny cats, silly Internet memes and scantily-clad pop stars. The problem can be easily solved by banning video sharing sites altogether, but that of course means denying the students access to hundreds of thousands of inspiring and informative videos. YouTube apparently knows this, as it decided to introduce a distraction-free version of its platform called YouTube for Schools. Read More

Having taken a look at some highly desirable items that are highly unlikely to find their way under the tree this year with our 2011 list of things you CAN'T have this Christmas, it's time for a look at some of the gear that might represent more realistic shopping options this festive season. There's definitely some items on the list we wouldn't mind receiving ourselves, while others fall into the category of "for the person who has everything" ... either way, there's sure to be something for every technophile in the household. Read More

Here’s a job title that you probably didn’t know existed: Apple Biter. Oh sure, the official term is probably something like “Fruit Evaluation Specialist,” but if you spend your days chomping into apples to assess their taste and crispness, you’re really an Apple Biter. While using panels of such people is a common method of evaluating the quality of apple crops, it can be compromised when those people start to get fatigued. There’s also the not-insignificant fact that panel members could differ in what they consider to be the optimal level of crispness. That’s why Washington State University is looking into using a computerized penetrometer to handle part of the Apple Biters’ duties. Read More

Not everyone can easily click a mouse. Many people with permanent motor disability have difficulties, along with those suffering Repetitive Stress Disorder or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and anyone recovering from hand surgery. Clikka Mouse is innovative "work around" software that addresses the problem and best of all, it's free. Read More