Is there any question that Artificial Intelligence, or “AI”, is going to play a huge role in the future? The short answer is no- it’s already playing a large part today, so let’s delve into this new tech and look at how it is benefiting the energy sector and what we can expect to see from this AI phenomenon in the not so distant future.
Have you had complete or partial dentures put in recently? If so, you’re probably still getting used to them.
Dentures can rejuvenate a person’s smile and give them a huge boost in confidence, especially if they’re between the ages of 40 and 60. However, it can take days or weeks for people to get used to their new dentures. This is particularly true when it comes to eating food.
If you recently got a pair of dentures from Koster Denture Clinic or any other denturist clinic, you should use the tips and tricks mentioned below.
Although you may be tempted to bite into something crunchy, like an apple or piece of candy, you need to take things slowly. If you try to chew too aggressively too soon, you can potentially damage the dentures and your gums (which is the last thing that you want).
To keep your dentures and gums in good condition, you should stick to liquid-based foods for a couple of days. Some examples include:
By eating these foods, you’ll be able to keep your energy levels up without harming your mouth.
Most people have the habit of chewing with one side of their mouth. Regardless of if it’s the left or right side, this is a bad idea if you’ve recently had dentures put in.
When you chew with one side of your mouth, you are over-working that particular part of your dentures. This can cause them to shift or fall out of place.
Instead of chewing with one side of your mouth, you should make the effort to take smaller bites and chew with both sides of your mouth.
Many people like to snack on sticky treats like taffy and caramel. Although these treats are delicious, they can do some serious damage to your new dentures.
Sticky foods tend to get trapped in the crevasses of your dentures. If the food particles aren’t removed promptly, you can end up getting a serious infection.
If you can’t stay away from your favorite sticky snacks, then you need to thoroughly clean your dentures afterwards. This will ensure that your gums and mouth stay healthy.
People all around the world like to start the day with a piping-hot cup of coffee. Not only does this drink warm you up, but it can also give you a much-needed boost of energy in the morning.
However, if you’ve recently had new dentures put in, you need to be careful around hot beverages, like coffee and tea. Modern dentures have powerful insulating properties, which makes it difficult for people to sense the heat level of a beverage (until the damage has been done).
Before taking a big gulp, you should test the hot beverage beforehand by taking a small sip. This will ensure that you won’t burn your mouth or throat.
Every day, the weather affects our activities, plans and routines. But not just THE weather; specifically, it is the weather here and now that matters. The only way to stay on top of Mother Nature is to know the weather right here at home, not the weather from a generic weather app based on data at the airport or some other remote location. If you do anything outside – garden, golf, drive, hike, bike, boat, play, entertain – you’ll do it better if you know in advance what the weather is going to do. Besides giving you hyper-local, real-time weather data, a home weather station gives you the opportunity to help keep your community prepared by sharing your data. It gives you a way to learn about weather and maintain weather records. It allows you to know exactly when a particular condition reaches a critical level, and to know what is happening at home from anywhere you are. And if you are a weather geek, it offers ways to analyze, understand, study and share this fascinating and ever-changing part of our lives.
Davis Instruments, a recognized leader in precision weather instruments for consumer and commercial marketplaces. Used by meteorologists, farmers, industry professionals and hobbyists, Davis’ Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Vue weather stations have become trusted, integral tools thanks to their renowned accuracy and durability.
Benefits of the bundles:
Vantage Vue and WeatherLink Live Bundle with Console (6120), $595
Bundle a Vantage Vue weather station and WeatherLink Live for the best in weather accuracy, reliability, and access. Self-contained, easy-to-install system provides accurate, reliable data. Includes outdoor sensor array and console. Comes bundled with a WeatherLink Live to stream your data live, effortlessly, to any smart device in your LAN and to the WeatherLink Cloud via Wi-Fi (or Ethernet). Solar-powered sensor suite sends data to both the console and the WeatherLink Live via powerful, long-range radio (up to 1000 feet/300 meters). Access, analyze and share your data on the console, on your smartphone with the free WeatherLink app or on WeatherLink.com. The system sets up quickly and easily: you’ll be seeing data within minutes of opening the box. Mounting pole and tripod available separately.
Check out the holiday special at davisinstruments.com
Vantage Vue and WeatherLink Live Bundle (6110), $465
Bundle a Vantage Vue weather station and WeatherLink Live for the best in weather accuracy, reliability, and access. Self-contained, easy-to-install system provides accurate, reliable data. Includes outdoor sensor array. Comes bundled with a WeatherLink Live to stream your data live, effortlessly, to any smart device in your LAN and to the WeatherLink Cloud via Wi-Fi (or Ethernet). Solar-powered sensor suite sends data to the WeatherLink Live via powerful, long-range radio (up to 1000 feet/300 meters). Access, analyze and share your data, on your smartphone with the free WeatherLink app or on WeatherLink.com. The system sets up quickly and easily: you’ll be seeing data within minutes of opening the box. Mounting pole and tripod available separately.
Check out the special davisinstruments.com
Vantage Vue Review
This year’s 2019 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi GP is almost here! Have you ever wondered how the cars make it to the race? It’s a logistical miracle. Custom containers. Hydraulic platforms. Modified cargo jet airliners and much, much more. If you’re a fan of F1 races you may have wondered how your favorite team manages to travel all around the globe in order to make it to the circuit safely on time. Some teams save money by using cargo ships and traveling via sea. Sometimes, they are required to complete this entire process from start to finish in only 48 hours!
Take a look at this nifty infographic from our friends at storagecentres.co.uk to learn more and have another level of appreciation for this incredible sport.
Advances in technology and miniaturization continue to disrupt marketplaces with the latest 360 degree camera release from Wunder. With a zingy and boastful advertising claim: “be a professional director with one tap” you know there’s going to be amazing design and features inside. 
For starters, this compact camera that looks great, works surprisingly well as a standalone device without the need to be connected to a smartphone or a PC. Other cameras need to share the workload with a connected device in order to use all of their functions- not at all convenient when you are an aspiring movie maker “in the field” and trying to keep your setup light and manageable.
Thankfully, the Wunder C1 has a large on board viewing screen and navigation buttons with menus that work well and make sense making it the ideal ‘all in one’ solution and ‘stand alone device’. If you prefer using your phone as a controller the Wunder app can be downloaded for free for Android and iOS.
Live Stream to Facebook and YouTube
With the C1, it is now possible to live stream to Facebook or Youtube (2176×1088@60fps) in 360 degrees by 360 degrees. This powerful camera connects to the web on its own (802.11 b/g/n 2.4GHz/5GHz) while performing real time ‘in camera stitching’. Weighing in at only 95g and with a small profile of 109mm x 45mm x 35mm be prepared to be amazed.
Video Quality
Each camera is individually tuned for color consistency and the 7 element lens paired with dual ISP assures accurate white balance and natural exposure. Even the body of the phone itself was carefully designed and manufactured with human ergonomics in mind. This assures comfortable one handed operation while shooting. The form/function factor extends to the small baseline module which facilitates perfectly stitched images.
Incredibly Smart Features
Do you like to capture and share action scenes? Shaky, dizzying footage often results with small, handheld video cameras but not when using the Wunder360. High tech computer technology borrowed from the movie industry results in automatically stabilized video that is sharper and smoother than other cameras. Speaking of dizzying footage, an out of focus video can really ruin the capturing of an important moment. The C1 uses processing power to track objects smartly- and to keep the focus of your attention in the center for the frame. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
Discover More About The Wunder360
Find out about all of the impressive C1 features and order your camera here.
Geek Stuff
Lincoln is one of America’s all-time classic luxury automakers, but the manufacturer has also been praised for making vehicles which respond to the needs of today. So it’s natural, then, that anybody who wants a glimpse into the best cars on today’s markets takes a look at Lincoln.
Let’s see what’s going on with the 2020 Lincoln Aviator, a mid-size luxury SUV that shuttles everybody around in safety and unmatched style.
The Lincoln Aviator lets you choose from different powertrain options, so it’s easy to get all the power you need or want. The standard Twin-Turbocharged 3.0L V6 engine generates 400 horsepower and is good for 415 lb.-ft of torque. This should be more than enough, but in case it isn’t, the Grand Touring Aviator utilizes a battery-powered electric motor paired with the Twin-Turbocharged engine for a total of 494 horsepower and a killer 630 lb.-ft. of torque.
If you drive into Colony Lincoln today and find the Aviator you need, you’ll drive out with a much more powerful vehicle!
One look at the Lincoln Aviator is enough to know you’re not looking at a normal SUV. This luxury mid-size SUV has even more trimmings than other comparable vehicles — this is a three-row SUV designed to indulge everyone inside the car, both drivers and passengers.
Rich features like Savannah leather, premium suede cloth and special woods communicate to everybody that this is a very special vehicle. The level of detail combined with an attitude that never cuts corners on luxury will genuinely thrill everybody who comes across it.
Whether you’re carpooling all the kids or you’d like to keep yourself comfortable, connected and entertained on a solo drive, the Aviator has everything you need. The available Perfect Position Seat with Active Motion conforms to your back, and takes comfort to another level.
Advanced safety features are bundled together in the available Co-Pilot360™ Plus package, which includes Evasive Steering Assist, Reverse Brake Assist, Active Park Assist Plus and Adaptive Cruise Control with Traffic Jam Assist, and too many more to name.
The Heads-Up Display puts essential information the driver needs right on the windshield, so you don’t need to take your eyes off the road. There are even features to take all the stress and worry out of parking.
Lincoln and the sound engineers at Revel Audio teamed up to create a 28-speaker system that will make your favourite music sound better than ever. The car itself is a 4G LGE Wi-Fi hotspot, which makes it possible for you and all your passengers to keep connected to friends and family, as well as remain occupied during long drives.
If you’re looking for some of the highest accomplishments in luxury vehicle manufacturing, check out the latest Lincoln Aviator. For a beautiful ride that keeps you, your passengers and everybody on the road safer, comfortable, and even entertained, the Lincoln Aviator is representative of the best vehicles made today.
Technology, including online technology, never stands still. There’s always something new or at least a different way to use it. Making the most of technology does require an expert touch. When you choose to seek out help from some of the best SEOs in Toronto, like Mike Zhmudikov, you position your online presence to more easily connect with your target audience. Here are some examples of how current and emerging technology is enhancing how you make and maintain those connections.
The factors that you should include in all of your SEO campaign strategies are more varied than they were 10 or 15 years ago. These days, there are many more ways to tell your story online and attract people who really want to hear that story. Making use of all those approaches improves the odds of broadening your reach.
For example, the prudent use of social media allows you to reach more people. Images included with the posts make a difference. You’ll also find that embedding videos in posts, or at least linking to them, also attract attention. Don’t overlook the potential of using text advertising to go along with email campaigns. Look at each way to engage consumers and identify the ones that resonate with your target audience. You may be surprised at how many avenues are actually open to you.
Information in any form must not only be accurate. It also needs to be delivered quickly and in forms that consumers readily digest. That means optimizing your mobile site so everything loads quickly. The same is true for your traditional website.
Remember that attention spans are not what they were a generation ago. Today’s audience requires quick and accurate returns to their queries. If your pages lag, some will move on in disgust and never come back. By contrast, if you offer relevant data that loads without a long wait time, you have a good chance of making a new connection.
You want to make information easier for users to share. When they come across your great social media feed and especially like a specific post, ensure they can share it with ease. Use widgets to ensure site visitors can share your pages on the most popular social media sites. You want your text or email ad to be easy to share with others. Today’s technology makes sharing a task that requires no more than one or two steps. Tap into that and you’re poised to reach more people.
When people think of customer support, their minds rightly move toward taking care of existing customers. That’s certainly the primary focus. What is sometimes overlooked is that potential customers are likely to contact support teams before they reach out to sales and marketing personnel. You can benefit from this by using technology to acknowledge their queries and then move them over to those who can onboard them as customers.
In order to do this, use technology to make reaching your customer support team easy. Along with voice and email, do make use of real-time messaging. While it can be automated up to a point, auto-attendants can only accomplish so much. Ultimately, you want actual people who review queries and step into the conversation.
How would technology help increase your brand recognition, online reputation, and motivate more consumers to turn to you? Only an expert can provide specifics. Work with someone who understands technology, SEO, and other elements of contemporary online strategies. You can bet that the investment of time and resources will be worth it.
What happened when Katya Eames, a 16 year old female dropped out of High School and joined the tech world by enrolling in a coding school?
Joe Eames, her father, is a successful programmer. He believes in empowering youth and females, through technology. He got his daughter involved in some basic exposure to programming and web development. The more she got involved, the more empowered she felt.
Katya was selected to speak at one of the largest recent gatherings of web developers, ng-conf. Following, she attended an event where she taught Governor Herbert of Utah how to code. Katya will complete her high school requirements using an online high school.
What are the thoughts of a high school age female about dropping out of school to attend DevMountain, a coding school in Utah?
What I think was missing from my high school experience was the ability to actually learn, and to try new things and grow at your own pace. It seemed less like they wanted you to learn, and more like they wanted you to pass tests.
It was. In high school it was easy for me to not pay much attention and do my assignments at the last minute but still get relatively good grades. Then at DevMountain, I had to manage myself and had no grades to try and earn. It was definitely very different from high school.
He was really important in my decision because he was an example of how successful I can be doing something I love, and he was really supportive of me choosing to do it though it’s not the normal way to go about getting an education.
I haven’t started yet, but from what I’ve seen and heard from friends who do online schooling, it seems to be much more my speed than traditional public schooling.
Definitely. You should explore your options as much as you can in high school, even if it doesn’t seem like something you would like. You never know when you’ll discover something you seem to have a natural talent/understanding for, or something that excites you that you never thought to pay attention to (or especially something you thought only those of the opposite sex are supposed to do).
I do. Those in my generation, and the younger Millennials, have grown up with technology always nearby. We know how to use it and we understand newer technology easier than others. Everyone in my generation has ideas on how to make our world better for us and our siblings and our future children. Programming and computer sciences, along with the other sciences, are great ways for us to advance the world in the direction we want it to go.
I have started making an income, not solely on my programming, but also on my unique views as someone who wants to know what they want to do in life at a young age in has taken a very untraditional route to pursue that career. As of now I am in the market for smaller projects while I finish school and continue learning.
Some of them were worried first about my sudden decision to drop out of school in the middle of my junior year, but now they’re all very supportive of me and think it’s really cool that I’m able to pursue what I want to do. (though they all have the same complaint of missing me at school.)
They need to be willing to push themselves and manage their own time. They also need to be able to be critiqued regularly by those who are more experienced than them and know that most, if not all, critiques are done with good intentions. You need to be willing to continue learning. Technology is always changing, and so the languages we use to program that technology have to constantly adapt. You never know everything there is to know when you’re a programmer.
About DevMountain
DevMountain started in 2013 in Utah. With over 300 graduates, two campuses, and six course offerings, DevMountain is the largest coding/technology school in the Intermountain West, and one of the highest rated coding schools in the United States.
Supplemental- Could Amazon’s AWS Lambda signal a new future for ‘automated coding’?
Have things changed in the past 5 years? Take a look at this article from 2014 and let us know via the comments section below.
In the summer of 2007, Mike Lazardis, co-founder of BlackBerry, got an iPhone to check what’s inside. He pried it open and was shocked on what he saw: BlackBerry wasn’t competing with a phone, he thought, it was competing against a Mac. Lazardis was recalling that moment in an interview with The Globe and Mail, hinting about the months leading to the fall of RIM.
Such is the iPhone’s disruptive story: it put the computer in our phones and made them smart. Suddenly, we could buy and play music in our phones, surf the net via wifi, run desktop-like OS, and, the best defining factor of a smartphone, download apps. We do all that without a keypad (to BlackBerry’s shock). No, Apple didn’t invent these technologies, it innovated them. Over a decade earlier, IBM had Simon, the world’s first smartphone.
In the infographic prepared by our creative team we highlighted the key features in each iPhone launch since the first generation phone came out in 2007. Some features are truly innovative (A series chip, Siri, App Store) and some are unabashed embellishments.
So what’s in store for future iPhones? We can get some clues from Apple patents registered with the U.S. Trademark and Office. Apple is developing an audio jack to double as a headphone jack, plus an audio transducer that doesn’t need a grille to emit sound. That means future iPhones can be totally enclosed or water-proofed. Another patent talks about combining motion analyzer, scenery analyzer, and lockout mechanism to detect if you’re driving and disable Messages Apps. With the increasing text-induced car accidents, expect this feature sooner than later.
Yet another patent indicates that Apple is cooking an intelligent Home Page that brings up the app you need for specific scenarios like when you need to show an electronic ticket in an airport or an e-coupon at a counter. The patent uses location-based signals and tracks user data patterns like calendars, emails, notes, etc. to predict when to bring up the app.
But let’s not talk about the future; rather, let’s see what iPhone users want today. For the Silo, Alex Hillsberg.
Supplemental- Are Apple products made ethically?
In May 2019, the Trump administration filed criminal charges against Huawei for stealing technology calling the firm an espionage threat. The U.S. is asking other countries to follow suit.
Lawrence Ward is a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney in international business focusing on U.S. national security law, CFIUS, and international trade compliance law and licensing. Of the news he says:
“In sanctioning Huawei , the Trump Administration took an escalated step in its trade war with China and in the race to take the technological lead with respect to 5G. That action means U.S. tech companies can no longer supply Huawei or any of its 70 affiliated entities worldwide once they are officially added to the Entity List.
Additionally, foreign companies can no longer supply U.S.-origin parts and components to those entities and certain foreign-made parts and components that incorporate U.S.-origin parts and components may not be able to be supplied either.
Although in recent years Huawei has only sourced between 10 and 20% of its parts and components from U.S. companies, there is speculation that these parts and components – chips, processors, and OS software – are critical to Huawei’s product offerings and business.
China has threatened retaliatory sanctions that could impact U.S. telecom and tech companies. Not only will these new sanctions present a compliance challenge to U.S. companies but the sanctions will also create unique business challenges as U.S. companies will need to more carefully screen overseas R&D partners to snuff out connections to Huawei,” Ward says. For the Silo, Laura Kelley.
One of the many ways the Internet is driving the global economy is through digital payments, making it easy for consumers to buy just about anything from anywhere. VisaNet is the largest payment processing network in the world, connecting 2.4 billion credit cards at 36 million locations across 200 countries.
Mendon, Utah – Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI) has received Phase I funding from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Ground Vehicles Systems Center (formerly TARDEC) to improve the way heavy vehicles stop while operating autonomously.
“Bringing large autonomous vehicles to a safe stop in varying environments can be challenging,” said Jeff Ferrin, CTO of ASI. “Having additional funding from the Army to further develop this technology will help us make autonomous vehicles safer, which is always our number-one priority.”
The objective of the Army in awarding this grant is to develop and demonstrate a system that can be operated remotely and considers both the dynamics of the vehicle, as well as the environment, to optimally and safely bring a large ground vehicle to a complete stop despite the terrain.
“ASI has been working on terrain characterization with the Army since 2014,” said Ferrin. “This project will use similar technology to make sure the vehicle is aware of the terrain around it. This model of the terrain will then be used by the vehicle to ensure a safer stop is completed.”
A significant focus of this intelligent urgent stop initiative is machine learning. This improved technology will continuously monitor the interaction between a vehicle and its surroundings and update the internal model that is used to properly halt the vehicle. This process will allow the vehicle to learn and adapt as the terrain and environment change.
As the advanced solution is developed, tested and proven, it can be used by ASI’s autonomous vehicles across all the company’s multiple industries, including agriculture, automotive, construction haulage, mining, facility robotics and more.
According to Ferrin, “The system can be used with any drive-by-wire vehicle. It will interface with the brakes and steering to bring the vehicle to a safe, controlled stop.”
Details of the Phase I stage awarded to ASI include development of a concept design using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) sensors to perform safe deceleration of a large ground vehicle. A concept design report and performance analysis report are required deliverables before Phase II can be awarded. For the Silo, Brandon Taylor.
About ASI
Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI) is a world leader in industrial vehicle automation. ASI serves clients across the world in the mining, agriculture, automotive, government, and manufacturing industries with remote control, teleoperation, and fully automated solutions from its headquarters and 100-acre proving ground in northern Utah.
So many of my clients bring interesting cases to me, everyone is different and so therefore interesting in their own way. But one case that stands out was a client who had “misophonia” – which meant that she experienced a heightened feeling of anxiety or “fight or flight response” in response to certain sounds – mainly that of other people eating. It was becoming difficult even eating around her family. This was a case for hypnotherapy.
With just two sessions we completely solved the problem, We went back in time to her childhood where the problem began – with just a very innocent situation (she didn’t really remember this consciously) but her subconscious mind had held onto it and certain sounds still triggered anxiety. And rather than getting better over time, it was getting worse. Going back to that event, in a safe and controlled way, meant that the problem was resolved almost immediately.
What I described above is known as regression hypnotherapy. It’s all about going back in time to where the problem was first triggered. When people have problematic emotions which are being repeatedly triggered, such as panic, anxiety, depression, etc. , it is usually because something happened which wasn’t fully processed at the time and then the subconscious mind holds onto that feeling, thinking that it’s protecting you.
Once you go back to it, and process the “memory” properly (I say memory in inverted commas because often we don’t remember the event consciously, but it’s stored away in our subconscious which is like a giant library). So once we go back to the original event the subconscious is able to understand that it’s over now and releases the emotion. It is extremely powerful and cathartic. There is more information about regression hypnotherapy in my blog post here: http://www.synergy-wellbeing.com/category/regression/
Are there any preparations required before embarking on hypnotherapy?
Not really. I often recommend that people don’t drink a lot of caffeine before a session because this triggers the fight / flight response – which is the opposite to the relaxation response – so it can interfere with the session a little and make it harder to relax. But other than that, no. Someone who meditates or is good at visualization will generally find they go into hypnosis a lot more quickly, but everyone can be hypnotized. We’re in a state of hypnosis when we watch the television!
I would love to help someone who feels that they are “over–sensitive” – and I would prefer to call it “highly sensitive” myself – because their sensitivities could relate back to childhood and things they are subconsciously holding onto which distressed them. Regression hypnotherapy can help to release the memories trapped in the subconscious so that those emotions are not triggered so readily or inappropriately in the future. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is also an excellent technique which I teach my clients a lot – and this can used as a self help tool whenever needed too, on a daily basis even!
How can we enable our subconscious to let go of bad feelings?
There is a technique which I use myself a lot, and also teach people about. It’s called mindfulness. The sad thing is that we are often told “don’t get upset / don’t cry, etc.” so we learn to push our feelings down – we suppress them. Another word for suppression is depression. So we can easily become depressed when we suppress our true feelings. One of the beautiful things that mindfulness teaches us is to be present as much as possible to our experience. So if you’re feeling angry, or hurt, for example, it’s much better to allow yourself to “feel” that feeling.
Contrary to popular belief, this doesn’t make it feel worse, it actually really helps! So, next time you’re feeling bad – ask yourself “how am I feeling? What does that feel like? Where do I feel that in my body?” – really acknowledge it. And – hey presto! The feeling seriously diminishes or disappears altogether! Our feelings just want to be listened to, to be heard. So once we do this, they are satisfied and they settle back down.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is something else I practice, and this is wonderful for allowing us to let go of negative emotions. It is also known as the “tapping technique” and more information can be found on my website. For the Silo, Liz Davies Clinical Hypnotherapist and EFT Practitioner.
Next to our children, our pets are some of the most important members of our families. We do everything we can to make sure both our kids and pets are safe, but eventually kids can shoulder some of the burden themselves. But when “Spot” runs off, we can’t expect him to tell the nice neighbor that finds him that he has a medical condition, or who his veterinarian or owner is.
Though your pet will never learn to talk, there is a way to provide whoever finds your lost -or injured- pet with the information they need to offer aid. A new ‘wareable’ technology, MyEndlessID Pet, gives veterinarians and good samaritans all of the information they need to render aid in an emergency.
“Even the best trained pets might head off on an adventure sometime,” said Gustavo Rubacha, one of MyEndlessID Pet’s inventors. Worse still, Rubacha notes, is that from time to time those ‘adventures’ can result in injuries, sometimes serious. “We believe that it’s important to prepare for these emergencies ahead of time and that’s why we created MyEndlessID Pet.”
MyEndlessID Pet jams the latest Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology into a tag small enough to hang from a pet’s collar. Utilizing the same tech that until now has only seen mass deployment in payment systems like Apple Pay and Google Wallet, the NFC tag will emit radio waves to any capable smart phone held close to it, providing vital information about your pet with just a tap.
When the device is activated, pet owners receive immediate alerts by text, email and a phone call, along with a geolocation of where their pet is located when the tag is activated. Most importantly though, MyEndlessID Pet provides rescuers and veterinarians instant access to vital medical information that could save an animal’s life in an emergency.
Vital information including medical conditions, medications, vaccinations, allergies, medical history and veterinarian history, insurance information, and more are all instantly available with the simple tap of any modern smartphone.
Unlike an implanted microchip, MyEndlessID Pet does not require special equipment beyond a smartphone to work, and priced at $20USD it is far more affordable than a vet visit to have a device implanted. And unlike recently introduced ‘smart collars’ – MyEndlessID Pet never requires charging or battery changes.
MyEndlessID Pet is also water resistant, allowing it to withstand whatever mischief your pet might wander into, while continuing to deliver critical information when someone comes to help your pet get out of whatever mess he or she has found himself in. For the Silo, Timothy Williams.
Coming to Kickstarter April 18th. Meet the designers, makers, musicians and their instruments and learn how they have shaped the world of electronic music. Richly illustrated with a unique collection of sketches, photos and graphics and with a foreword by electronic music visionary Jean-Michel Jarre.
The book’s essence is to celebrate innovative interface designs, provide a categorization of gear and explore the functional, artistic, philosophical and aesthetic world of user interfaces in the context of making and performing of electronic music.
Featuring exclusive interviews with: Roger Linn, Dave Smith, Keith McMillen, Richard Devine, Suzanne Ciani, Olivier Gillet, Ean Golden, Brian Crabtree, Matt Moldover, Axel Hartmann, Dorit Chrysler, DiViNCi, Skinnerbox, Native Instruments, Ableton, Teenage Engineering, Roland, Elektron and many more.
A wide range of landmark pieces of equipment is featured along with chapters on design principles, interface elements, visualization of sound and instrument and controller concepts such as grids, touch and modular. PUSH TURN MOVE is the very first of its kind in both scope and depth. Please sign up on www.pushturnmove.com or follow along on http://fb.me/pushturnmove/
PUSH TURN MOVE is written by friend of The Silo- Danish designer, author and electronic musician Kim Bjørn and edited by Mike Metlay, editor at Recording Magazine and Paul Nagle, reviewer at Sound on Sound Magazine.
Audiences in today’s world are increasingly consuming information on the internet in visual and interactive ways. Every industry is exploring ways to transform and present content on video. What does this mean for learners around the globe?
“Being able to translate your story into over 120 languages is increasingly important in a global world.” – Anurag Dwivedi
Anurag Dwivedi is one of the founders of the Rocketium video platform. He believes everyone has important stories to tell. What limits the story-tellers is not having a platform that makes storytelling “easy to create and easy to consume.” The Rocketium platform is unique in that it allows teams of creators to work collaboratively on video projects in one innovative space. The company has automated the majority of the time-consuming tasks of the video creation process. For example, some of the Rocketium product features include one-click styling, automatic resizing of videos in different aspect ratios for different social platforms, and automatic translation of any content into over 120 languages. In addition, the platform provides advanced controls for styling and sequence timing for users. This enables creators to customize styles in a way which Dwivedi claims no other video creation platform can provide. Further, Rocketium creators have an online customer service team ready to support users’ production questions at any point in the process. Anurag Dwivedi from Rocketium talks further about how his company is giving anyone, anywhere in the world, the tools to tell important stories:
“I think the mindset that some of us can write a script but cannot produce an audio-visual version of it is a roadblock for many young creators.” – Anurag Dwivedi
What do you think sets Rocketium apart from the other video creation platforms?
Rocketium offers an end-to-end video creation suite that we believe no other product like it can offer. We’re enabling our users to scale video production efficiently by providing simple tools for the writers and marketers to create templates, and automation to generate videos in large volumes. The goal is to enable storytellers to work either individually or in teams with anyone, anywhere in the world. Hence, all the features you need for a collaborative process, such as being able to assign videos to members of your team, or discuss creative issues in real time, or share content via social media platforms, are built into our system. We’ve broken down the massive job of video production and distribution into simple steps so that everything from writing a script to developing it, to editing and finally publishing on the internet are all on the same platform. And, of course, being able to translate your story into over 120 languages is increasingly important in a global world.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for an absolute beginner, a teacher or a student who wants to tell a video story?
Video making is often considered a daunting task — something that only experienced video editors and designers can do. Rocketium has made the video creation process less intimidating and also faster. We have broken down the process into simple steps. We offer creators a versatile selection of themes and templates. There are numerous options for video styling available to the user. Our process in some ways is similar to mini-blogging, i.e. the user is writing stories in a shorter format and then adding still images or video clips. Your job as the storyteller is to use our tools to create the most impactful video story you can without worrying about the design or styling aspect of video making.
How is telling a video story different from telling a text story?
I personally believe there is no difference if you have the right tools. I think the mindset that some of us can write a script but cannot produce an audio-visual version of it is a roadblock for many young creators. Visuals improve and enhance any story that’s ever been written. The impact of a visual story is exponentially greater than that of a text story because visuals contain a lot more information in a sequence of frames and that leaves a lasting impression on the mind. Additionally, adding music and special effects to text always builds a deeper emotional connection between your story and its audience.
As creators develop more and more videos, they learn about the creative process and they get better at leveraging the resources on the platform.” – Anurag Dwivedi
Let’s talk about video creation as a learning process. What specific skills are nurtured in this process and why do you think they are important?
We present video creation as a learning journey which trains creators how to portray their story through a combination of words, images and music. As creators develop more and more videos, they learn about the creative process and they get better at leveraging the resources on the platform. For example, what color palette will you select to evoke the right emotion for this portion of your story, or what style of music will generate the mood you’re looking for? Users ultimately develop and expand their creative skill sets while supported by the tools on the platform.
Is Rocketium designed for all wannabe video producers? How would you describe your target audience?
We believe there is no one-fits-all solution for video creation. Our product offers global access to anyone who wants to produce a story on video. We have simplified the production process but there is plenty of space for users to develop their own creative and communication skills. Not everyone is destined to become the next Steven Spielberg, but we have built a comprehensive tool that allows anyone to try. And we believe that to flourish in the 21st century, learners need to be able to use tools like ours to enhance their communication skills.
How else do you see the democratization of visual production impacting our society generally?
There is no doubt that dissemination of information is becoming easier as the world is more connected through smart devices. Anyone can now tell stories and distribute them on the internet. Two things we need to be wary about. First are the duplication issues and the relevance of content. The second is the accuracy and truthfulness of content. Fake news is a global issue which we need to tackle as a global society. I believe this is where educators can help.
“We believe that to flourish in the 21st century, learners need to be able to use tools like ours to enhance their communication skills.” – Anurag Dwivedi
Look into the future — where do you see Rocketium 5 or 10 years from now?
We continue to explore the possibilities of creative learning tools for various scenarios. Ten years from now, I see Rocketium as a platform employed in all applications — education, entertainment, lifestyle, sales, marketing, etc. We are happy to be the backend engine for the creation and distribution of any form of interactive and visual content, by anyone and for everyone, from individuals to global enterprises. For the Silo, C.M. Rubin.
C. M. Rubin and Anurag Dwivedi
The Global Search for Education Community Page
C. M. Rubin is the author of two widely read online series for which she received a 2011 Upton Sinclair award, “The Global Search for Education” and “How Will We Read?” She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice in Wonderland, is the publisher of CMRubinWorld and is a Disruptor Foundation Fellow.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
We tend think of cyborgs as something from the type of ‘horrible future’ depicted in video games and science fiction movies. At least I do, but every once in a while I come across something that reminds me that I am already living in that future. Hate crime against cyborgs may seem like bad fiction, but it has already happened.
Waaay back in 2012 Toronto cyborg, Steve Mann, claims he was assaulted in a Paris McDonald’s just for wearing his EyeTap. Mann is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Toronto. He is known as the father of wearable computing and is the inventor of the EyeTap, among other things. The EyeTap is an assistive device that can enhance visual information for people who are visually impaired, but can also superimpose extra information on top of the visual scene. For instance, it can overlay infrared heat signatures, measurements, or statistics.
Mann states he was confronted about his EyeTap while in line to order but was left alone after he showed the employee his doctor’s note (something Mann always travels with) which explains exactly what the device is for and why Mann wears it. After eating Mann was surrounded and manhandled by several McDonald’s employees who were concerned that he was filming trade secrets. The employees tore up his doctor’s note and tried to rip off the EyeTap device. However, the EyeTap does not come off without special tools: it cannot just be removed. Although the EyeTap was damaged in the altercation, it managed to capture footage of the employees who assaulted Mann, who was upset but essentially uninjured. McDonald’s consistently denied any wrongdoing in this case despite these images.
But this is just a one-off event right? I suspect that is not the case. In a very real sense, cyborgs are already here. More and more people are turning to the sort of assistive devices that blur the line between human and machine. If you think about it, a cyborg is what you get when you enhance human abilities by adding mechanical elements.
Imagine a deaf person. After a lifetime of being deaf, he gets a cochlear implant allowing him to hear for the first time. His natural abilities have been extended using technology. Another person has a pacemaker that allows her heart to beat in a regular rhythm. Her natural abilities have been extended with technology. Sure, it is not laser hands or a Wi-Fi connection to the hive mind, but it is real and fits the definition.
The Cyborg Handbook estimates that ten percent of Americans qualify as cyborgs in a technical sense. That’s the thing about the future: we are so used to living in it; we forget to be impressed by it. There are also, however, a handful of people who would be considered cyborgs in the traditional sense.
For instance, Steve Mann himself is generally considered a cyborg. Neil Harbisson, artist and cyborg activist is the first person to be legally recognized as a cyborg. Born colour-blind, Harbisson created a head mounted device which turns colour frequencies into sound. He later had a version of this device implanted directly into his skull. With his “Eyeborg” implant Harbisson can now hear colours even into the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum.
Just as more people get closer to being proper cyborgs, more people are starting to push back against what they see as a harmful trend. Stop the Cyborgs is a real group dedicated to preventing a future where privacy is impossible, where we in fact have no expectation of privacy, where surveillance is normalized. It is difficult to argue with that, none of us regular people want to create an Orwellian surveillance state on purpose.
Their second point of contention is much more problematic. Stop the Cyborgs wants to ban or restrict wearable computing devices that can record and upload data, just as an increasing number of people are turning to such devices to manage their tasks of everyday living. They argue that wearable technology blurs the line between human and machine, with the implication of course, that this is a bad thing. They do make a limited exception for people using ‘assistive devices’ as long as the device itself and the data it gathers remain in the sole possession of the individual.
But how do they, and more importantly, how do you determine that on a daily basis? This ‘cyborgs are bad’ mindset is going to lead in a bad direction. With the widespread release of Google Glass this past spring, we are only going to see more integration of people with their computing devices. As the price goes down, a greater number of people are going to adopt wearable technologies.
Stop the Cyborgs seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the introduction of Google Glass, which threatens to normalize an always-on type of surveillance. They even go so far as to suggest that we cannot know if cyborgs are in control of their own implants, or even of their own bodies. But the actual threat is probably much less serious than that.
First, we are already at the point where we could be filmed at any time. Nearly everyone has a video camera in their phone, and most of us are recorded by closed circuit security cameras all day long as we go about our business. If we assume that every person wearing an assistive device is some sort of covert-ops tool of the state, things are going to get ugly very quickly. For instance, Stop the Cyborgs just released a new device called Cyborg Un Plug that prevents cyborgs in your vicinity from connecting with the hive mind, er, internet and uploading video or audio data.
Second, as Steve Mann points out, these cameras can be used by regular people to keep a record of the doings of the state and its agents, like the police. Mann calls this ‘sousveillance’ which essentially means watching from below. Recording and sharing the events of everyday life can allow people to share their personal experiences with others, can provide an alibi when there is alleged wrongdoing, and can make it easier to make power-holders accountable for their actions. These are the real trends to watch for as wearable computing becomes more common. For the Silo, Cathy Greentree.
Supplemental:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/profiles/steve-mann-my-augmediated-life
With Cars becoming more like smartphones nowadays, we thought we’d take a look at the growing concern of Car hacking, a phenomenon that’s sending chill up motorists’ and manufacturers’ spines across the globe, more efficiently than any air-conditioning unit could ever do.
However, perhaps even more importantly, we’ll tell you what the world’s governing agencies are doing to help eradicate car hacking and what YOU can do to prevent your car from being hacked. For the Silo, Louis S. Dixon and our friends at Select Car Leasing UK.
When looking for a dentist, we look for the most experienced – more so in the highly specialized field of holistic dentistry. Clients travel from as far as Europe and Africa to have Dr. David Villarreal remove old ‘silver’ fillings and their damaging effects on health. While he has removed 20,000 in his 30-year career, it’s his methods that are so sought after.
You might have heard that mercury in your “silver fillings” could be harmful to your health, but that’s not all that could be slowly killing you!
Any dental material in your mouth that is not compatible with your particular body chemistry is likely to be suppressing and stressing your immune system. The suppression of the immune system can lead to a host of illnesses from frequent colds to autoimmune diseases to far worse conditions.
“Traditional medical practitioners and the public at large do not realize that what occurs in the mouth doesn’t end at the neck. The mouth is the gateway to our overall health and impacts nearly every aspect of the body.” says Villarreal, a leading spokesman for bio-compatible dentistry.
Villarreal employs a procedure that ensures there is a perfect match between your filling material and individual body chemistry. Performing a blood compatibility evaluation, he pinpoints the right material and offers dozens of different aesthetically pleasing composites – whichever works best to maintain optimum health and help heal the immune system.
Villarreal’s practice, BioDental Healing in Newbury Park, CA, is also renowned for the strict bio-protective protocols that he employs in removing silver amalgam fillings with mercury in them. Amalgam fillings contain 50% mercury, which is the most toxic, non-radioactive element on Earth—more toxic than lead, arsenic or cadmium, according to scientists. Studies show that mercury—heavy metal poisoning–has been linked to Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Lupus, Parkinson’s, arthritis and many other auto immune diseases, not always apparent until many years after the filling is applied. Removing them can be dangerous to all parties when particles are released into the air. Most European countries banned mercury fillings nearly 40 years ago.
Villarreal employs a host of procedures that protect everyone in the process. The doctor and his team don special protective gear including gas mask, gloves and contamination-free coverings, and the patient is provided complete draping and protective eye wear. Using extra protective covering in the patient’s mouth and a suction system that ensures all significant mercury particles are contained – they take it a step further by using an ionizer in the room and a mercury separator that ensures none gets into water systems or oceans (and which is periodically cleared by the EPA for proper disposal).
A naturopathic doctor is on hand to administer intravenous vitamin C in order to help pull the heavy metals out of the system so they can exit the body as waste. The vitamin C also offsets any possible negative health consequences or withdrawal symptoms that may arise from the extraction of the heavy metals from the system. “This is called Ozone dentistry,” says Villarreal, “We’re purifying and sterilizing the tooth so it can be filled with a more healthful alternative. But it’s important to note that there are many white fillings that also have heavy metals in them.”
People come from as far away as Europe and South Africa to have their mercury fillings removed by Villarreal in a non-toxic and environmentally safe way. He has removed more than 20,000 in his 30-year career. Filling removal accounts for 75% of his practice.
“But what gives me the most satisfaction is that people report back that they have seen significant overall health benefits and often the elimination of specific conditions that they didn’t perceive were related to their teeth at all,” says Villarreal. “Physicians and dentists have been using mercury for more than 200 years. But we are way past old fashioned dentistry. Today, we have the ability to ensure more than oral health with bio-compatible materials and practices.” For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
Supplemental-
Ancient “fish eating” Mercury contamination discovered http://www.archaeology.org/issues/110-1311/trenches/1387-denmark-medieval-cemetery-mercury-in-soil
“When the viewer looks down, they’ll see their arms are branches, their body is the trunk, and when they move, the tree moves too.” – Winslow Porter
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality Markets are expected to reach US$162 billion by 2020. How can schools use virtual reality to make learning more engaging?
Most of us don’t live in a rainforest but we do know that they are in great danger. Classrooms are looking for ways to help young learners better understand the deforestation crisis, for which we urgently need to find global solutions. What if it were possible to have first-hand experience on how we as humans are contributing to the extinction of trees?
Tree is a hyper-realistic VR experience that transforms the audience into a living and breathing rainforest tree. The viewer can see and feel the tree’s growth from a seedling into its fullest form and witness its fate firsthand. In a collaboration between MIT Media Lab and filmmakers Milica Zec and Winslow Porter, a fully immersive virtual reality story about a tree was created. The film has been presented to date at over 70 conferences and film festivals (including Sundance and Tribeca).
The Global Search for Education welcomed Winslow Porter to talk about the reality of deforestation and how Treecan help.
People often develop a personal connection to the tree after viewing the experience.” – Winslow Porter
Winslow, what motivated you to tell this story? How did you come up with the idea?
Everything started with our first project, Giant, in which we depicted an innocent family trapped in a war-zone. Giant speaks about the destruction humans do to each other, and we wanted to continue in our second piece with how humans destroy nature. That is how the idea of Tree was born. We wanted to shift the perspective of the audience and place them in the position of nature, so that they can witness firsthand how we as humans contribute to deforestation.
What does the VR experience really add to our viewing experience in this story? Are we missing something if we don’t see this movie in VR?
In our piece, we use VR as a tool to transform the viewer into a living and breathing tree. When the viewer looks down, they’ll see their arms are branches, their body is the trunk, and when they move, the tree moves too. We use multi-sensory elements so the viewer feels the growth from a tiny seed underground, to the tallest tree in the rainforest. We use a Subpac – essentially a backpack with bass speakers in it – to vibrate along with the piece, simulating the feeling of growing and expanding. The viewer can also smell the soil and the rainforest, sense the change in temperature and feel the wind on their face when they reach their tallest height. As of now, we believe that VR is the only medium that allows us to closely replicate what it is like to be a tree.
How do people react during and after the Tree experience? What kind of emotional connection is evoked?
So far, we have brought Tree to over 70 festivals and conferences and witnessed thousands of people from across the globe take off the headset. Most people have a very emotional reaction to the piece, strongly identifying with the tree. There is no language in the piece, just the sounds of nature, which creates a universal story that anyone can relate to. After the experience, people have a stronger understanding of the deforestation happening all around the world. People often develop a personal connection to the tree after viewing the experience.
“At the end of the experience, we give each viewer the seed of the tree they just embodied with the message “take this seed as a reminder to keep our forests standing.” – Winslow Porter
Climate Change and the Environment are timely topics. In what ways do you believe Tree can add to our understanding of these issues? How would it be different from traditional ways we learn about The environment and climate change?
Since most of us do not live inside of a rainforest, it’s difficult to imagine what is really happening. Tree brings you into that environment and shifts a viewer’s perspective to shed light on a topic that many people haven’t really thought about before. We partnered with the Rainforest Alliance, which helped us remain scientifically accurate while creating the project, and also provided us with a lot of knowledge about deforestation. People often come out of the headset asking what they can do to help, so at the end of the experience, we give each viewer the seed of the tree they just embodied with the message “take this seed as a reminder to keep our forests standing.” We link them to our website and the Rainforest Alliance, so they can discover the many different ways they can help.
What can you tell us about your next project, Rainforest? What’s the story and what’s the inspiration?
Rainforest is a mixed reality game. In Tree, we focused on a singular rainforest tree, when in reality there are many plants and animals that inhabit those forests. We want to educate people on this entire wonderous world that is being threatened by extinction. To do that, we wanted to bring the actual scale rainforest into the player’s room. Rainforest allows people to play in the environment, and through entertainment and fun they can discover and learn about all the life within. They will also learn about the dangers that rainforests are facing and actively participate in the preservation of those ecosystems.
“With VR, the screen is no longer just across from us, but all around us, and viewers have the ability to be a part of the piece they are viewing.” – Winslow Porter
The global VR market is growing rapidly. As the technology improves in the next 5 years or so, what do you believe are the additional benefits for storytellers/creators as well as entertainment consumers? What are the challenges?
With VR, the screen is no longer just across from us, but all around us, and viewers have the ability to be a part of the piece they are viewing. We’re breaking the boundaries and making entertainment more visceral and real, no matter where people are. Instead of watching movies on a TV screen, the movie can be playing all around someone, even inside their home. The viewer is getting the opportunity to become a participant in these pieces and decide on where the story should go, and how it should progress. The biggest challenge is that although we’re developing these projects with ground-breaking technology, not everything is ready for mass consumption, however, that time is coming very soon. For the Silo, David Wine/CMRubinWorld.
C M Rubin and Winslow Porter
Acupuncture, a word that literally means, “puncture with needle”, has been practiced around the world for over 2500 years. The historical origins of acupuncture are rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and one of key fundamental is the intrinsic balance of energy or “qi” within the body. The best way to visualize this balance is by looking at the well-known yin yang symbol.
Yin [According to urbandictionary.com ying-yang is an erroneous spelling CP] and yang are found everywhere in nature, as complementary opposites, neither exist without the other. Humans are always in a dynamic balance, and optimal health requires the body to be able to adapt to various internal and external changes. Illness arises when this balance is disrupted, and homeostasis is now longer intact.
Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners found they were able to access the vital energy of the body through the insertion of acupuncture needles into points along the 12 different energetic meridians within the body. These “points of insertion” or “where the needle goes” have been developed over many years of pattern recognition and diagnosis. The goal of acupuncture is to restore normal functions by stimulating certain points on the meridians to restore the body’s flow of energy.
Contemporary evidence- based medicine looks to understand the acupuncture from the reductionist perspective focusing on determining the mechanism of the concern, and diagnosing a neurological dysfunction in the individual. This new type of clinical knowledge has made acupuncture increasingly popular within the western medicine.
Physiotherapists and chiropractors commonly use acupuncture for musculoskeletal problems. This type of acupunctures needling induce a chain of events that results in the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones resulting in widespread and measurable effects on pain, and tissue healing.
In addition, clinical studies have demonstrated efficacy [the capacity to produce an effect ] for treatment of irritable bowel disorder, insomnia, fertility and support with assisted conception.
While the use of acupuncture has been increasing in popularity, it is important to continue to respect the vast amount of clinical knowledge Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture point indications are based in.
Naturopathic Doctors are a wealth of knowledge regarding use of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture. We are trained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine background, but embrace the modern scientific explanations of acupuncture to treat a variety of conditions. Training for Naturopathic Doctors incorporates understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine, clinical case taking, and hands on clinical practice utilizing various acupuncture needling techniques. For the Silo, Ashley Beeton ND.
Zylia, the Poland-based manufacturer of audio recording technologies, will host a workshop on 3D/360 music production and sound design during GameSoundCon 2018, today and tomorrow at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Zylia co-founder and CTO Tomasz Żernicki will lead the workshop, focusing on the use of third-order Ambisonics spherical microphone arrays, such as that in the innovative new ZYLIA ZM-1, to capture a 3D full-sphere audio scene for gaming or ambient sound production.
“Use of a spherical microphone array to enable single-device capture of a full sound scene with high spatial resolution is a recent and significant advance in audio recording technology — and one that opens the door to 3D audio production opportunities for both professionals and amateurs,” said Żernicki. “We’re excited to be sharing this technology with GameSoundCon 2018 attendees and to be providing them with useful techniques for capturing 3D sound in Ambisonics format and for working with live sound in VR applications.”
During the Zylia GameSoundCon workshop, Żernicki will demonstrate how just one spherical microphone array can record an entire 3D sound scene and then separate the recording’s individual sound sources for multitrack editing in post production. The numerous physical microphone capsules within the spherical array effectively enable users to work with software-controlled virtual microphones with adjustable direction and spatial characteristics. By isolating particular sounds, cutting out interesting areas of the sound space, and zooming in on particular sound objects, this kind of sound representation allows for soundscape modification in post production and simplifies ambient or Foley sound preparation.
Żernicki will explain how sound recorded by third-order Ambisonics spherical microphone array can be converted into the Ambisonics format and used in 360-degree movies — particularly virtual reality content on Facebook 360, YouTube 360, or game engines — in which listeners can rotate the whole sound scene. He also will discuss usage of 360 sound with the combination of binaural or surround loudspeaker reproduction.
As an audio expert, Żernicki focuses his professional interest on 360/VR music production, spatial sound processing, and recording. He holds doctorates in electrical and electronic engineering, and he takes an active role in the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) standardization committee. He also has made significant contributions to audio compression standards such as MPEG-D USAC and MPEG-H 3D Audio.
GameSoundCon is dedicated to game music, sound design, and virtual reality audio. Throughout the conference, Żernicki and other Zylia experts will be on hand to discuss 3D/360 sound applications, as well as the company’s ZYLIA ZM-1 spherical microphone array, ZYLIA Studio PRO VST/AU plugin, and ZYLIA Ambisonics Converter.
Supplemental- Mark Mothersbaugh (DEVO) on making music for games.
The Brant Community Charity Airshow is a little gem for aviation buffs and each year, on the Wednesday before the Labor Day Weekend, fans have a chance to see and hear something unexpected either in the sky or up close on the ground. This time around I decided to walk to the eastern limit of the ground space- I hadn’t expected to find one of my personal favorites – the de Havilland Vampire Jet Fighter.
Ramona Ostrander explained what makes this World War 2 era jet (the Vampire first flew in 1944) so special.
For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
Here in Canada, you may not have heard of Edifier but take note- their state-of-the art manufacturing facilities in China produce 8 million units every year for home, consumer electronics and PC multimedia applications. Edifier specializes in premium sound systems that showcase technological innovation and design elegance while keeping prices amazingly low.
Normally if you are spending just $100 on a set of speakers you expect to be left desiring better quality. Let’s take a closer look at our review pair that arrived safely in a well packaged box. The Edifier R1280T are an affordable, entry-level set of bookshelf speakers that deliver clear and balanced sound at low or high volumes. For only $124.99CDN including free shipping to Canada these speakers set a new standard for affordable quality.
The speakers have a 102mm (4-inch) bass driver and a calibrated, flared bass reflex port augmented by a 13mm silk dome tweeter for a total output of 42W RMS (21W each speaker). An optional front cover can be removed to expose the speaker components allowing for a sleek look or a more exposed techie aesthetic. Use them with a television, computer, or other device, they sound great on any surface because of the design team’s passion for sound and for quality.
Edifier’s uncompromised design elegance is recognized internationally by prestigious design awards. Some of their designs are winners of the Red Dot Design Award, the iF Product Design Award and the CES Design & Engineering Showcase Honours.
— Anthony Wilkinson, Managing Director, Edifier International Limited
R1280T powered bookshelf speakers lets you connect to multiple audio devices using the dual RCA inputs. By looking at the back panel you can easily tell one of these is a passive speaker and one is an active speaker. The active speaker has two inputs located on the back. These inputs are perfect for RCA to RCA or RCA to AUX connections. Connect them to a PC, laptop, tablet, phone or record player. The speakers are connected to each other via regular speaker wire (included along with a generous variety of cables to ensure you enjoy your music from most devices right out of the box- if you require digital connections or bluetooth Edifier make a larger model).
Some overseas manufacturers of electronics have been questioned about their environmental impacts and strategies but refreshingly, Edifier are committed to best operating practices.
For environmentally conscious, budget minded individuals looking for a solid entry level speaker with the convenience of remote control and easy hook-up you can’t go wrong choosing the R1280T. Highly recommended.
We spent several days and evenings having fun with these speakers in a small bedroom Laserdisc and projector bookshelf setup. The sound quality was quite nice, dialogue was easy to understand and stereo soundtracks came to life, even with a noisy air conditioner running and the fan noise from the projector.
The speakers will most likely benefit from a break in period as new drivers tend to have a slight compression effect that is alleviated as the speaker suspension is stretched from playing source material. These speakers fit nicely onto the shelf and were easy to position and operate, we were pleasantly surprised by the handy mini remote control that arrived with batteries included. For darker watching conditions we left the front grilles in place but would be happy to remove them and show off the nicely designed faux woodgrain cabinet sides in brighter conditions. Highly recommended…
For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
TORONTO, June, 2018 /CNW/ – The Royal Canadian Mint has created a truly out-of-this-world collectible by adding a genuine meteorite fragment to limited edition silver coins marking the 150th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. This vividly illustrated coin, unveiled at a special ceremony in Toronto attended by RASC officials and former Canadian astronaut Dave Williams. It is available for purchase as of today.
“One hundred and fifty years of research, education and discovery by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is an engaging story to share with Canadians,” said Sandra Hanington, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. “It is only fitting that RASC’s many scientific achievements be recognized on a vividly coloured coin, which breaks barriers of its own by featuring a shard of a real meteorite.”
Designed by Canadian artist Alexandra Lefort, the reverse design of this coin features a deep space vista enhanced by engraved textural details and full colour. Prominent design elements include the Eagle Nebula and its pillars of interstellar gas and dust, which are known as the Pillars of Creation. Also featured are the Moon, the Andromeda Galaxy (nearest to our own) and a blazing meteorite, enhanced by a genuine iron meteorite fragment from the Campo del Cielo meteorite field.
“The RSAC is excited to be celebrating our 150th anniversary with the issuance of a coin that symbolically depicts the important contributions of Canadian astronomers,” said Randy Attwood, executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.
The 2018 $20 Fine Silver Coin – 150th Anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has a limited mintage of 5,500 and retails for $149.95CDN. It can be ordered by contacting the Mint at 1-800-267-1871 in Canada, 1-800-268-6468 in the US, or online at www.mint.ca. Please mention The Silo when calling. The coin will also soon be available at the Royal Canadian Mint’s boutiques in Ottawa and Winnipeg, as well as through the Mint’s global network of dealers and distributors, including participating Canada Post outlets.
About the Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada’s circulation coins. An ISO 9001 certified company the Mint is recognized as one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, offering a wide range of specialized, high quality coinage products and related services on an international scale. For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit. www.mint.ca
Toronto, ON — White Shark Fintech, Inc. (the “Company”) a revolutionary free artificial intelligence based trading platform that flourishes in volatility and allows its users to better control their assets, including crypto-currencies, launched recently across Canada. A popular tool among young traders looking for simple ways to buy and sell crypto-currencies, the app has created a waiting list to manage user demand.
The free-to-use app takes speculation out of trading by employing high performance algorithms that signal a user when markets for particular securities, including cryptos, are likely “over bought” or “over sold”. With White Shark users no longer have to guess or rely on self proclaimed experts about the price at which they buy or sell cryptos and other securities.
“Fintech companies, like White Shark, that engage millennials have earned multi billion dollar valuations. With the growing hunt for millennial assets and engagement with other apps, we decided to make the White Shark experience fun, empowering and engaging – regardless of where they hold their assets.” said founder and chairman Marc Wade, “White Shark is truly a user experience company engaging millennials in the capital markets when and where they want.”
“White Shark is a game changer.” White Shark app enthusiast Ryan Kesler of the Anaheim Ducks explains. “It’s so easy and fun to use. Buying and selling crypto has become part of my daily routine. There’s no guess work in making money – the accuracy of the algo trading is the only way to go.”
White Shark’s machine learning algorithms compile market data trends and price book movements into 4 gauges that work together to signal market movements. The app provides the user the ability to respond to changes in market conditions before other traditional indicators.
Now users no longer have to trade blind. Gdax (Coinbase), with over 11.9 million users, is one of the exchanges that can be connected to White Shark.
“So called “experts” have been making speculative and incorrect calls on bitcoin and other cryptos for too long.” Said CEO Stuart Shanus
“Our free trading app isn’t based on speculation. It’s based on mathematical models and machine learning algorithms – and it should be the go-to app for investors whether they are buying and selling crypto-currencies, fiat currencies or equities.”
Investors using the White Shark app connect their preferred broker account including tCoinbase (gdax) , Kraken, Bitfinex, Poloniex and Hitbtc. For the Silo, Amy Saunders.
About White Shark
White Shark is a revolutionary free artificial intelligence based trading app that pairs investors with real time artificial intelligence (AI) to increase returns and mitigate risks. White Shark’s high performance algorithms have been used for 17 years by professional traders who have achieved exceptional returns.
“You pay your money, as the saying goes, and you take your chances.” says Falkowitz, CEO of Area 1 Security. “More and more these days, it seems like this ‘policy’ is the rule rather than the exception, in everything from health care insurance to the commuter parking lot. Even though you’ve paid for the product or service, no one’s really responsible for some reason when you suffer damages while consuming whatever it is you bought. Or worse yet, you somehow find that whatever you bought doesn’t really do what you bought it for. And there’s an asterisk somewhere in the fine print to explain why. Unfortunately, nowhere is this more prevalent than in today’s cybersecurity industry.”
Despite the billions spent on cybersecurity we continue to suffer the most debilitating and expensive breaches imaginable, and some that cannot be imagined under any circumstances. Yet experts predict the worst is still to come. Cybercrime has moved from data theft and website defacement to a trajectory that includes data manipulation, data loss and eventually, if something is not done to change the economics of being a bad guy on the internet, threats to the stability of society itself.
“Cybersecurity companies seem to be content to collect their millions with the caveat that they can’t really offer protection in exchange,” continues Falkowitz. “Their customers likewise collect mountains of data on their customers and are appropriately contrite when that data is stolen or misused but the apology is not accompanied by compensation. Even the government can’t protect itself, or its citizens even if they’re attacked by another nation-state.”
The excuses and the explanations are familiar: Cybersecurity is too complicated. Hackers are too clever. Attacks are unprecedented.
“Nonsense. Every bit of it.” says Falkowitz. “Cybersecurity is no more complicated than hundreds of other things we do routinely, from sending astronauts into space or open heart surgery. Hackers are human, just more persistent about how to fool the rest of us. And attacks are based on the same tried and true methods—phishing—they’ve been using for decades.”
Oren J. Falkowitz is the co-founder and CEO of Silicon Valley’s Area 1 Security. Oren held senior positions at the NSA and United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) where he focused on Computer Network Operations & Big Data and is a predominant cybersecurity industry thought-leader committed to keeping high-level national security conversations relevant. For the Silo, by Jennifer Vickery.
Supplemental- What exactly is phishing?
Original vinyl recordings of popular music provide a rich source of data to supplement other historical research. Vintage recordings and associated liner notes provide details about the chronologic, geographic, biographic, and artistic elements that contribute to an understanding of music, music technology, and popular culture of the time.
Information derived from a study of vinyl music recordings can fortify and supplement their forms of research in popular culture, artists, and music.
[Did you know that many early recordings of the Moog synthesizer went uncredited? The Beatles used a modular Moog synthesizer for featured tracks on their Abbey Road LP]
Click here to read the rest of Thom Holme’s essay on your device.
