Time lapse sequences of photographs taken by the crew of expeditions 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October, 2011, edited by Michael König.

Time Magazine recently featured a great article on Ray Kurzweil and the Singularity.

Illustrative as the article was, I especially liked the above graphic, which clearly shows how closely past technological changes have adhered to an exponential curve, which is the foundation for Kurzweil’s main argument.

Oddly, it was not included in the online version of the article, so… here it is.

Incredible (Original Wired article)

I remember seeing my first 3D printer at SIGGRAPH in 2002 and thinking to myself “Holy crap, this is going to be huge”. The ability to simply “print out” digitally designed objects in a single pass is already a clear boon to prototyping & manufacturing, but it’s still going to be a while before we have 3d printers atop every desk, ready to create for us whatever part, toy, or mug that we decide to download or create.

However, there are now two companies that are bridging the gap from “3D printing? What’s that?” to a fabricator in every home: Shapeways and Sculpteo allow users to upload virtual objects and order them as physical 3D objects. Additionally, both sites allow modelers to upload & sell their creations to be printed by others. Sculpteo is currently limited to white plastic and a color compound, while Shapeways adds the ability to print in glass and metal, such as the octopus ring on the right.

So to all you modelers out there: Start sellin your models as 3D objects for the world to enjoy…and feel free to send a print to me if you actually start makin some bucks doing this.

I while back I saw the Bodies exhibition, and man, was I blown away! I had examined cadavers once before while at college, but this was a far better experience.
The bodies are expertly dissected and preserved, and coupled with loads of relevant information and interesting facts. Most importantly, they didn’t stink. (All water is chemically replaced with a polymer that essentially makes the specimens rubber while completely preserving them.)
The result is an absolutely amazing show that is both beautiful and informative. (Just wait until you see the circulatory system room: incredible!)
If you have any interest whatsoever in learning about this amazing and beautiful machine that we all posess, be sure to go and check out the Bodies Exhibition.