bio-beton

Researchers at the Delft University of Technology are engineering a rather brilliant form of self-repairing structural concrete by mixing spores of calcifying (limestone-producing) bacteria into cement paste. Once cracks occur, the oxygen wakens the bacteria and triggers the healing process and after a few weeks the rift is again sealed.
In addition to vastly reducing the cost, the bacteria also leech carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the process.

Forscher von der Delfter Universität der Technologie arbeiten eine ziemlich brillante Form von selbstreparierendem Beton. Sporen von verkalkenden (kalksteinbildenden) Bakterien werden in eine Zementpaste gemischt. Wenn Risse auftreten, wacht der Sauerstoff die Bakterien auf und löst den Heilungsprozess aus und nach einigen Wochen wird der Riss wieder versiegelt. Neben der erheblichen Reduzierung der Kosten, nehmen auch die Bakterien auch Kohlendioxid aus der Atmosphäre.

lido deck

In what seems like a scene from an increasingly more daunting and improbable action, demolition movie, as Super Punch informs, luxury automotive manufacturer Ferrari and a Norwegian cruise-line are teaming up to furnish the Shanghai to Tianjin route with a leviathan of a boat which will have a double-decker race track on board, among other amenities. Would you like this sort of vacation experience?  That’s a far cry certainly from a nice and sedate round of shuffle-board.

i am locutus of borg—resistance is futile

Via Gizmodo’s io9, we learn that a committed Star Trek fan’s vehicle insurance policy has been revoked after receiving complaints that his personalised vanity plates “ASIMIL8” is offensive to aboriginal peoples—despite the fact that it is clearly a reference to the cybernetic, Borg collective being framed by the other Borg catch-phrases “We are the Borg” and “Resistance is Futile.”
At first it might seem that people are being too sensitive, trigger-happy but Canada and the area of Manitoba in particular where the driver (also suspiciously named “Troller”) lives is particularly fraught with a history of indigenous people being forced to give up their culture and way of life and assimilate to the ways of European settlers and could despite the owner’s intent be interpreted as a political dog-whistle.  Canada is also embracing immigration, and those not familiar with the franchise might also be getting mixed messages.  It is better, I think, to err on the side of no offense given nor taken.  What do you think? I certainly hope there’s no broader movement afoot to misappropriate the Borg as a symbol of intolerance—I am confident that the Star Trek community wouldn’t allow that.

foley artists or lyre, lyre pants on fire

Via Marginal Revolution, with just a short voice sample a Canadian start-up company is claiming it can make one with advanced speech synthesising technology appear to say anything.
One could only imagine the nefarious applications quickly outpacing whatever prestige projects or continuity solutions that this service could deliver and thus contributing to the general disdain and distrust for journalism and the tabloidisation of the profession. Being able to quote a source just became a lot more questionable and fraught with doubt, but the potential drawbacks seem to wither compared to their benefits when one indulges in a performance of the eponymous lyrebird of Australia unparalleled mimicry, pitch-perfect for everything from individual human voices to the mechanical recoil of cameras advancing, makes it worthwhile.

arbitration, vendetta

Last week the Turkish diaspora residing in Germany rather incredulously appeared to vote against their self-interests by helping to garner a bald majority in favour of the referendum to imbue the office of the presidency with executive powers.
Ahead of the plebiscite, relations between the two countries strained to the breaking point when German municipalities refused to grant permission for campaign rallies due to concern for public safety. Now that the first resolution has passed an addendum is to follow but this time Germany as a federal republic (not just a venue for a political junket) and as a proponent for human rights would be legally able and morally obligated to block Turkish expatriates from participation in ballots that would involve the reinstatement of capital punishment on German soil—prohibiting set up of voting booths or embassy outreach programmes that would decide this issue that represents a very slippery slope once the recourse is brought back and antithetical to Germany and European Union membership.

worth 1000

Messy Nessy Chic interviews Leipzig transplant and surreal photographer Frank Herfort now capturing the ambiance of post-Soviet public spaces and shares the story behind some of the striking images. This picture gave me the impression of a deleted scene from Twin Peaks and the explanation—while not unsettling—is anything but mundane. Peruse a whole gallery of his works at the links above and discover more jarring juxtapositions that those part of the shot don’t seem to regard as unusually photophilic but are nonetheless content to be part of the composition.

chocolate cake

In a last minute mad dash to at least keep the lights on for a few more days, the US legislature passed what’s known as Continuing Resolution, a stop gap, kicking the can appropriations measure that keeps the American federal government funded for another week.  A few days from now, we’ll be witnessing the same histrionics, except afforded more time for debate that probably translates to neither side finding a point of compromise—and, ironically, the US government will close up shop for Cinco de Mayo over among other items, a border wall. Remember the Alamo—that was some beautiful chocolate cake.  Regardless of the outcome, we are only speaking of funding the government through the end of the fiscal year, 30 September, and after that the stakes get much higher.

nestling or radiological dispersal device

Through a FOIA filing, Paleofuture has obtained an orientation, promotional film that the US Department of Energy issued in 1976 to present ostensibly to Congress members in order to justify their budget item for a little programme called Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) but without revealing too much about their covert operations and techniques, which makes an ideal conversation piece for addressing the horrors and abject anxiety that the public is spared when it comes the daily duties of first responders.
Without peeking behind the arras periodically, one might think that the job of governing is a walk in the park. Run of the mill bomb-threats—in many cases hoaxes or attempts at extortion, suddenly in 1970s America became far more serious and fraught, with the menace of a dirty, nuclear-laced explosive being detonated in a crowded urban area. To this day NEST has maintained a low profile and the times it has been deployed to respond to a terrorist-threat involving nuclear materials have been under-reported and handled discreetly, sparing the public the burden of worry. Read more about the history of dirty bomb threats and watch the video at Paleofuture.