I find it hard to use tumblr with a blog. Sure tumblr is a great way to find random pics (as I said back in September), but the lack of context is driving me insane. Also every time something is rebloged on tumblr, all the existing tags are lost, thus either encouraging less context or encouraging posts to be recontextualized. (Ha!) I feel compelled to track down the sources to the pictures, to tag them correctly with who drew what, who built that, sometimes even comment on them. However, you it seem very difficult to combine separate posts posts together into a single worthwhile post.
Then again, maybe that’s not the point. Tumblr is for random stuff. It’s for short comments if any. Blogs are for “big” things (where “big” is defined as anything over 120 characters.) Maybe I should just start collecting tumblr stuff together and reblog it here in the vein of Dark Roasted Blend.
Recently, I read some sad news, Carbon Motors has folded. I can’t say I’m surprised. Starting a car company, especially a niche car company is hard. It is sad because E7 concept seemed really thought out, and that’s what I liked about it. I’m a bit disappointed I didn’t write more about Carbon Motors three years ago when they first showed up on my radar. The E7 was was billed as the only purpose built police car in the world. The front seats had cutouts for utility belts and a sucky to blow cool air on the driver’s neck. The rear seats had suicide doors and seatbelts rigged with the latches records the outside so that officers didn’t have to lean over prisoners when securing them in the back. The car also was supposed to come full of gadgets like nightvision cameras and NBE detectors (no doubt to enable police departments to offset the cost of the vehicles through antiterrorism grants).
Apparently getting enough orders and/or bringing the manufacturing cost down for profitability became a problem for Carbon, because they eventually ditched the patrol car, and started shopping around a rather boring paddy wagon.
Sadly, Carbon Motors’s online presence is completely gone, save for the wayback machine.
A salvaged picture of the paddy wagon is after the jump.
Dutch designer and V2_ collaborator, Anouk Wipprecht and Austrian hacker Daniel Schatzmayr (thingiversetwitter) dress features a hexpod perched around the shoulders of wearer, or perhaps it’s a dress with tripod epaulets. Normally the legs simply slowly wave, but when something triggers the proximity (sonar?) sensors, the legs suddenly pull in tight, as if the dress has become scared.
The “Intimacy” clothing line is an on going project about how people reveal themselves to others. The clothes feature panels that can fade from opaque to transparent by applying an electrical current. As Daan Rosengaarde put it in a recent interview, “With some people you want to show more and some people you want to show less. We thought it would make complete sense that the dress would be proactive in that: either you have control or you lose control.” To this end, sensors in the clothing monitor the wearer’s heart rate and turn the dress transparent as the rate increases.
The first version of this dress was designed back in 2009 by Maartje Dijkstra along with V2_Lab. Building on this work, Intimacy 2.0 was designed by Anouk Wipprecht in 2011. Studio Rosengaarde is currently accepting proposals for version 3.0, which will feature men’s suits that turn transparent when the wearer lies.
I’ve been strongly considering making a barbot (a.k.a. a drinkbot), even thought don’t usually drink at home. I haven’t given much thought to its cosmetics, instead I’ve been focusing on mechanics of the bot. I figure, the mechanics will dictate the form, and if one sprinkles enough LEDs on it, can look look fine.
Shortly after Maximilian was born, I decided that he should get a mobile to place over his crib. I knew what theme I wanted. I wanted a space mobile. I looked all over, but couldn’t find any in stores, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to spend 90 bucks on one from Etsy, so I decided to make one myself. Normally, these things are made out felt, but not having a sewing machine, decided make Maximilian’s out of paper.
