Coolest Place To Stay And See The Northern Lights

Catching one of nature’s jaw-dropping light shows, the auroras, can be a chilly experience, especially in the northern hemisphere. Away from the distracting city lights and city comforts and into dark, cold wilderness can be a daunting experience for some. So for those of us who would still like to catch a glimpse of the awe-inspiring northern lights, but would prefer to be relatively warm, there is a place out in northern Finland, amongst the reindeer, where you can find a field of igloos. Except the igloos here are not made from snow. Instead, the igloos here are made from glass that might be mistaken for clear transparent ice. This is Hotel Kakslauttanen, where the experience of viewing the northern lights can be done from a comfortable bed in a warm room with a special glass that keeps all the heat in. But the star attraction is the panoramic view of the majestic night sky. And hopefully, from your bed, you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of nature’s light show, the aurora borealis.





The use of snow and ice in the buildings is a large theme at Hotel Kakslauttanen. In addition to the ice igloo, the hotel has other attractions such as a glass teepee for cocktail parties under the northern lights, a snow chapel for services, and this stylish ice lounge. Any guy in a tux here would feel right at home as a penguin.


Oh, and for the record, (most) Canadians do not live in igloos.

9 Amazing & Unusual Printers

Almost everyone that owns a computer system has a printer. Mention the words laserjet, inkjet or even dot matrix and people will understand the reference. The most common usage of these devices is rather dull: to print documents and photographs. But did you know that there are many other unusual applications of printing technology in the production of solar panels, concrete walls and even something as mundane as toasting bread? Here are 9 printers that make your office printer look lame, even if they do use the same technology!


1. Nanoparticle Ink Printer

Nanosolar’s original goal was to mass produce state of the art solar panels, something not really achievable using a standard high vacuum manufacturing process. This process is slow, with a maximum 10 to 30MW capacity per year, and its operational costs are also incredibly high. To overcome these obstacles, Nanosolar created a highly innovative printer to replace the aging technology.

The $1.65 million printer is used to print the thin film solar cells using nanoparticle ink and has an amazing output of 100 feet per minute. With a 1 GW annual capacity, the new tool is said to be twenty times faster than the traditional method and it is far more cost efficient as the high vacuum tool would have cost 10 times more per tool.


2. 3D Printer

Primarily used in prototyping, 3D printing creates a three dimensional model by layering and connecting cross sections of the material based on CAD design. The most common printer used to create these models is an inkjet system. The printer is filled with a fine white powder, either plaster, corn starch or resin, and bonded by an adhesive dispensed by the inkjet heads forming each cross section shape as depicted in the CAD design.

3D printers are generally used to develop prototypes in industries such as architecture, metal works, geospatial and the entertainment industry. This technology has also been used in forensic pathology and palaeontology for the reconstruction of bones, facial features and even fossils.


3. Concrete Printer

Like seeing a naked person running down the street, most people do a double take when they hear of the concrete printer. A concrete printer sounds ludicrous, but it is in fact a reality. Researchers, from the USC Center for Rapid Automated Fabrication Technologies (CRAFT), have taken the 3D printing technology used in constructing three-dimensional solid objects and applied it to printing concrete objects.

The contour crafting equipment outputs neatly trimmed layers of concrete, adding subsequent layers to form the object. Liking it to inkjet printing, the overlaying process is vital to forming the shape but instead of using ink, the machine dispenses concrete. So far CRAFT have managed to create a concrete wall using this technology, but envision that the technology will one day be used to manufacture large scale buildings and infrastructure.


4. Digital Fabrication

Using a technology similar in principle to 3D printers, digital fabrication systems, or fabbers as they are more commonly known, create solid objects based on the inputted design. Often summarised as a small, self contained factory, fabbers are used to make not only prototypes but also the final product.

Fabbers are categorised by their functions. Subtractive fabbers, also called computer-numerically controlled machines, build the models by carving into a solid block of raw material. Additive fabbers are more like traditional 3D printers in that they add layers and mould the material into the correct shape. Formative fabbers apply pressure to the raw material to form the desired shape and hybrid fabbers combine one or more of the other fabber functions.


5. Bioprinter

Perhaps the most ingenious adaptation of inkjet printer technology to date has been that of Professor Makota Nakamura who is using a 3D inkjet printer to eject many thousands of cells per second to form a 3 dimensional biological structure. He has already used the technology, which functions in a similar manner to other 3D printers by building layer upon layer of cells, to make a tube just 1mm in diameter with double walls similar to those found in human blood vessels.

This is only the first step towards his ultimate goal: to build a fully functional human heart using the patient’s own cells. It won’t happen any time soon though, Nakamura says it could take him 20 years before the bioprinter is ready for real world application. The possibilities are, however, incredible.


6. Glass Printer

This revolutionary printer, developed by DIP Tech, a technological partner of Tamglass, is capable of printing directly onto glass. After the design has been captured digitally, the glass printer will print the design onto glass using solvent-based ceramic ink dispensed by the Drop-on-Demand printing heads. The glass is then dried traditionally using air-drying or IR-drying before being fired at the same temperature as screen printing ink which sets the design.

This printer, used for both tempered and laminated glass, is said to bring great benefits to glass manufacturers. It can print up to four colours simultaneously, reducing production time and there is no need to store, clean or maintain screens traditionally used in glass printing. It is so versatile that you can print any design, logo or serial number directly onto glass.


7. Waterfall Printer

It’s surprising that the idea of a waterfall printer took so long to develop, especially when it’s such a small step from jetting out ink to water. The effect, it has to be said, is quite stunning. If you’ve got a spare wad of cash and would like to add some interest to your event or office interior, then a water printer could be what you are looking for.


8. RITI Printer

This is a really unique printer, unlike none other even seen before. Designer Jeon Hwan Ju created a printer that uses coffee or tea dregs instead of ink. Simple to use, all you need to do is load a piece of paper into the RITI printer and then put the coffee or tea dregs into the special ink case on top of the printer. To print you need to move the ink case from left to right in the slot. Once you are finished, just extract the paper from the printer and wash out the ink case.

While it is true that it is’t the optimal printer to use in an office environment as it cannot print as fast as an inkjet, nor is the quality on a par with an inkjet printer, it is, however, incredibly eco-friendly. Aside from that home users will definitely appreciate the reduction in printing costs associated with expensive inkjet cartridges, so it is well worth using it for draft copies of documents.


9. Toaster Printer

This printer would be the perfect gift for any technology junkie, or for the person that has everything. Yes folks, this little device will enable you to print designs, pictures or text onto toasted bread – and it doesn’t even matter if you prefer white or wholemeal bread!

It is suggested that the makers of ZUSE were inspired by the original matrix printers and adapted it to burn 12 x 12 pixel resolution images into toast by marking it line by line, just like a dot matrix printer. While commercially this printer is not of much use, unless you run a restaurant and want to imprint your logo on toast, it is still a fun gimmick to have at home that is sure to make your family smile at the breakfast table in the morning.

Digital printer technology certainly has come a long way since the first dot matrix and laser printers and it seems to be evolving at a rapid pace. The application for this technology is potentially limitless and is proving indispensible to both industry and home users alike.

An Emotional Phone

The more we get hooked to technology and cyberspace, the more we depend on them to reflect our moods and emotional status. One such device of the future is Gaia Phone and it promises to become your Identity. It’s the kinda phone that supports a virtual wall full of pics of contacts in our phonebook and depending upon the strength of your relationship (detected by the number of calls to/from that person); it brightens or fades-out their photo. Not surprisingly, it comes to life with its master’s touch!


A spectacular show of lights, sound and vibrations greet “a best friend’s call, text message, a brother’s new picture upload or status update, or a girlfriend’s presence close by.” As I mentioned earlier, this palm-sized device sports an infinite virtual ‘Wall’, which allows never-ending scrolling, and zooming using multi-touch screen technology. Statuses, pictures, news feeds get updated automatically and inform you via lights and vibrations.

I’m all for these “emotional” gadgets, but somehow nothing can replace a warm, vocal, real life greeting with an emoticon or lights!

Designer: Ahmad Bittar

Japanese Fashion Trend-new low cut

The 10 Most Unusual Places To Set Up Your Office

For many people, the office is synonymous with the mundane. Although offices can be interesting and exciting places, they are rarely unusual, especially if we spend most of our waking lives inside one.

With telecommuting becoming more common and desirable (52% of workers believe that their working life would be less stressful if they worked remotely), we lift the lid on the most extraordinary places in which one might choose to set up a home office.

You’ve heard of the mobile office, but some of these are ridiculous!


Garden Shed

What do you keep in your garden shed: a lawn mower, tools, a broken bike, a jerry can, amateur bomb-making apparatus? How about a home office? It sounds unlikely, but the humble garden shed, favoured by writers in particular, is one of the more common places to find an office these days.

In many ways, the garden shed office is perfect, unless the next-door neighbour’s mowing the lawn or attempting to smoke you out with a bonfire. It’s generally peaceful: free from the distractions of everyday life, with a green and pleasant view.


Hut

The hut office offers similar benefits to the garden shed, except that, due to its smaller size, it can be made to fit into the smallest of gardens, or be located in the most secluded and beautiful spot within a larger garden.

The best example of the hut office is the writing hut of George Bernard Shaw, author of Pygmalion and Androcles and the Lion. His ingenious writing hut was mounted onto a revolving platform, so that his office could be rotated to follow the sun’s daily journey across the sky.


Toilet

From offices with green and pleasant views to one with a brilliant white and altogether unpleasant vista: how about putting your office in the toilet? Before you dismiss this idea as madness, first consider its advantages: the toilet office is very easy to clean, and toilet breaks can become a thing of the past, as conference calls and a plethora of other professional tasks can be managed from the comfort of its pearly throne.

Of course, it has its disadvantages too: it’s hardly an inspiring atmosphere in which to work, and if you live with others, there can be frequent (and often odorous) disruptions.


Air Force One

Air Force One, The US President’s personal plane (in fact, there are two of them, but don’t tell anybody), has 4,000 square feet of floor space, split over three levels. It comes as no major surprise that there is an office space on board. Mr President has his own suite, complete with a large office, accompanying conference rooms and a rather decadent lavatory (which, rather boringly, does not have an office inside).

The plane’s other amenities include a medical suite, with operating theatre and full-time surgeon, two food preparation galleys capable of serving 100 guests, two convertible couches, 85 telephones, 19 televisions, 238 miles of wiring and a treadmill, installed at the request of a Mr George W. Bush.


Submarine

Like the example above, the submarine office is not for everyone, but if you find yourself stranded at sea, underwater for months on-end in a poky steel submersible, you will need an office in which to work. Submarine offices tend to replace desks and tables with floor-to-ceiling walls of screens, buttons, switches and knobs. Paper is seldom used, both because of a submarine’s distinct lack of storage space, and its potential for getting a trifle soggy.


Cardboard Box

When your office is tiny and cramped, it can feel as if you’re working inside a cardboard box. Few people would actively seek out this type of work environment, but Paul Coudamy of the ad agency Beast, decided to build his entire office out of 4cm thick cardboard, to save money and of course, to look cool in the process.

Although a cardboard office can easily be damaged (no spilt cups of tea here please!), it is surprisingly comfortable and light and flexible enough to allow for frequent modifications of the office space.


Yacht

Many people rich enough to own luxury yachts have been born into such immense wealth, that they barely have to work a day in their lives. The remainder of the world’s yacht owners tend to be such seasoned hard workers, that they can’t bear to be away from the office for the length of time it takes to cross the Thames, let alone the Atlantic.

For these workaholics, an office on board their yacht is a necessity, not a luxury. For the man who has everything, Engelmann Inc, of Ketchum, Idaho, build beautiful yacht offices out of solid mahogany and white oak.


Treehouse

Offices should be social spaces. Personal interaction is conducive to a strong, motivated team with common goals and objectives, contributing greatly to organisational efficiency. Some days however, usually following nights of heavy alcohol consumption, you just want to come into work, do your job, and get out as quickly as possible, preferably without talking to (or even making eye contact with) anybody, especially not your nagging boss or the nosey secretary.

For these days, there is the treehouse office, which affords its user solace and solitude. As with the garden shed, it offers beautiful panoramic views to benefit blue-sky thinkers.


Trailer

If you can live in a trailer, as many Americans do, then you can easily work in one. Trailers are frequently used as an office on construction sites the world over, and can be set up in an instant when necessary, such as in a disaster zone.

Companies like Acton Mobile, in Baltimore, USA, lease and sell office trailers, and can build one to order within 6 weeks. Granted, they’re not the most glamorous places to work (compared to a solid mahogany yacht office anyway), but they serve an important purpose and are the most well-used and established of all the unusual offices in this list.


Underground

It’s not only Hollywood baddies like Dr Evil who use underground lairs as the centres of their malevolent operations. Offices exist in nuclear bunkers and many other subterranean locations around the globe. Westminster Council chose to site its £1.25 million CCTV control room under London’s streets, accessible only through a labyrinth of underground corridors beneath Piccadilly Circus.

Images of Londoners going about their daily business, captured by the capital’s share of the UK’s 4.8 million CCTV cameras, are beemed onto walls of plasma screen TVs, to be consumed by controllers and the Police.

Ever feel like you’re being watched? You are… but just possibly, not in your home office.

Milk in new packing, 100% biodegradable‏

Milk in new packing and 100% biodegradable…

Cute Japanese Food

Check out these cute japanese food! They must have taken lots of effort to decorate. It's so "kawaii"!!