Weapons of Mass Destruction

 

Terrible weapons

 

Weapons of Mass Destruction, a Visual Perspective.
Although the term, WMD, has become a part of our daily lexicon, it remains very much an abstraction for most of us. This series of images offers a retrospective look at some of these weapons. Most of my subjects are drawn from the Cold War period during which there was a very real threat to the survival of civilization itself. The last sixty years has seen a frenzied tango between strategy and technology that has left us with the chilling array of doomsday machines seen here.

Piadas ao frigir dos ovos.

 

Dois advogados estavam caçando quando já dentro da selva um tigre os surpreende e sem condições de reagir, um deles começou imediatamente a tirar os sapatos.
Por que está tirando os sapatos? Pergunta o outro.
Descalço eu posso correr mais rápido, respondeu ele.
Que bobagem ! Não importa o quanto você possa correr, nunca vai conseguir correr mais do que o tigre !
Eu não preciso correr mais do que o tigre, só tenho que correr mais que você.

Top 10 Reasons to Visit Brazil

 

By Patricia Ribeiro

What are the top 10 reasons to visit Brazil? Brazil is a country of great natural beauty. Dazzling beaches and rainforests are a few of the superlative attractions that await visitors. Brazil is also home to a people of great ethnic and cultural diversity, whose heritage is expressed in vibrant art and celebrations, historical cities and bustling urban centers. Here are some of the main reasons to visit Brazil.

1. Brazil Beaches

More than 2,000 beaches stretch along Brazil's shoreline and more than 1,000 islands dot the Atlantic Ocean within the country's limits. While many of them are densely populated, many are preserved ecological sanctuaries.

 

2. Amazing Landscapes & Ecosystems

The Amazon River and Rainforest and Iguaçu Falls are the most famous natural attractions in a country that has 62 National Parks and hundreds of conservation units. Brazil holds several records for its wildlife numbers and diversity. As one of the responses to the urgent need to preserve seriously endangered natural treasures, ecotourism and responsible travel initiatives are on the rise, making it possible for more travelers to enjoy Brazil in a sustainable way and opening up perspectives for local communities.

 

3. Cities and Towns

The vast majority of the Brazilian population lives in cities and towns. Take a dip into everyday life in Brazil by visiting colonial towns such as Ouro Preto and the daringly designed country's capital, Brasília - both Unesco World Heritage sites; megapolitan Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo; charming coastal and mountain towns.

 

4. Brazilian Culture

For hundreds of years, Brazilian culture has been in the making by people with a very diverse ethnic and cultural heritage. A glorious mix of contributions is imprinted in the culture that generated easily recognizable expressions such as bossa nova, capoeira, and the yellow soccer jersey. Strong cultural resilience sustains, for example, the efforts of indigenous peoples and African-Brazilians as they reaffirm their sense of identity through strife. And it's safe to say that the people who have created Brazil are, as a rule, friendly to foreign tourists.

 

5. Celebrations & Events

Yes, we have Carnival. And because it's a countrywide celebration, up-and-coming cities are gradually drawing more attention as options to leaders Rio, Salvador, Recife and Olinda.

However, there's much more to the Brazilian calendar. For example, many international travelers have discovered that Reveillon, the Brazilian New Year, is as much fun as Carnival. Here's a sample of the diversity of Brazil's festivals and events:

 

6. Brazilian Cuisine

From open fire pits tended in the open fields of Rio Grande do Sul by gaúchos, the South American cowboys, to upscale restaurants abroad, barbecue is one of the trends that have brought international attention to Brazilian food.

More than ever in Brazil, typical dishes share the culinary scene with a growing team of great chefs who are writing a whole new chapter in Brazilian dining. One of the best ways to get in touch with this diversity is through one of Brazil's many food festivals, such as:

• Brasil Sabor, the largest culinary festival in Brazil
• Comida di Buteco, the annual Belo Horizonte Bar Food Contest

 

7. Travel-Friendly Weather

Not all the time, not everywhere. And weather is definitely a very personal issue. But in Brazil, the right planning can improve your year-round chances of finding a place where the sky is blue and the temperature invites you to be outdoors. Northeastern coastal cities like Fortaleza have about 300 days of sunshine a year. Fall and winter travel in a great part of Brazil is delightful, with cool sunrises, a general shedding of sweaters during unbeliavably bright sunny days and clear, chilly nights that are perfect for cuddling by the fireplace.

 

8. Brazil's Hotels

In recent years, the hotel industry in Brazil has taken great strides. Major hotel chains are investing confidently in a market that also benefits from local initiatives. There is an increase in the number of both upscale hotels and quality budget accommodations.

 

9. Tourism is a Priority to Brazil

Brazil has a Ministry of Tourism and state and city administrations are investing as seriously in the area as the private sector. That translates into better roads, more jobs, an improvement of community life, and many other benefits that are turning Brazil into a more desirable destination than ever.

10. Brazil is a Gateway to South America

Brazil has awesome neighbors. Make it your hub to some of the greatest attractions in South America, such as:Buenos Aires, The Andes, Patagonia, Machu Pichu.

 

Shreddies underwear filters your farts

 

Shreddies underwear, available for both men and women, filters flatulence

 

Most of us break wind from time to time; it's a natural function of a healthy body. It's just a shame that farts generally smell bad enough that people will keep their distance if they suspect you've dropped one. The answer to this problem may lie in the material used in your underwear, with a technology used in chemical warfare suits providing the solution.

This is according to Shreddies (no relation to the cereal), a British underwear manufacturer which now does a "flatulence-filtering" range of underpants for men and women. Aimed at anyone suffering from excessive flatulence, but particularly at people with digestive disorders such as IBS and Crohn's disease, this new line of Shreddies could stop you gassing everyone in close proximity.

The Shreddies filter out farts thanks to an activated carbon back panel made from Zorflex. This material is highly porous, so (the company claims) the odor vapors from the farts become trapped and neutralized before they reach the olfactory glands of any innocent bystanders in close proximity to the offending flatulence.

We've already seen a similar product named 4SKINS, while the same technology can be found in the Better Marriage Blanket. Still, you can never have too much protection against the menace of smelly emissions.

Both the men's and women's Shreddies come in a range of different styles and start at US$40 and $30 respectively ... which is surely a small price to pay for the pleasure of farting without fear.

Source: Shreddies via New York Daily News

AA-12 combat shotgun

 

April 3, 2009 Assault rifles are all well and good, but when you really need to tear a person to pieces, nothing fills the air with metal quite like a combat shotgun. And for those times when a regular combat shotgun isn't generating enough flying body parts, connoisseurs turn to what must be the most outrageously devastating hand-held anti-personnel murder machine in existence: the Atchisson Assault Shotgun, or AA-12. Fully automatic and drum-fed, the AA-12 fires five 12-gauge shotgun shells per second, with extreme reliability and so little recoil that strong men can shoot it Arnie-style with one hand. And if that hail of hot buckshot isn't enough to make both shooter and target need a change of underpants, consider this: it has been developed in conjunction with the FRAG-12 - a new type of shotgun cartridge in which each round is a small, flighted high explosive or fragmentation grenade accurate up to 175 metres.

This staggering weapon was first developed by Maxwell Atchisson during the Vietnam war in 1972. He later sold the patent to Military Police Systems, inc, and weapons designer Jerry Baber spent the next 18 years perfecting the machine.

Baber's modifications included changing the AA-12 from blowback- to gas-operated with a locked breech. When the bolt flies back after firing to cycle another round, around 80% of what would normally be felt as recoil is absorbed by a proprietary gas system. A recoil spring grabs another 10%, leaving the final recoil a remarkable 10% of the normal recoil for a 12-gauge round - so you can point the AA-12 at a target and unload the full magazine without significant loss of accuracy.

Baber says the AA-12's aerospace-grade stainless steel body is self-cleaning and it self-lubricates with carbon from the shells' detonation. His personal AA-12 has fired upwards of 9,000 rounds without ever being cleaned or lubricated, without any plastic fouling from the shotgun shells, locking or jamming - issues which have plagued other combat shotguns like the Benelli M1014. Baber believes this is because the AA-12 is the first gun designed from the ground up to be a combat shotgun, rather than an adaptation of a hunting or target shooting gun. It will thrive in the sandy, urban battlefields of today's antiterrorist war theater.

Ammunition

You've got the option to load the AA-12 with either an 8-round box magazine or a 20-round tommy gun-style drum - but it's largely inconsequential in automatic mode as the 20-round drum takes only 4 seconds to expire if you hold the trigger down. That's a lot of ouch.

Being a standard 12-gauge shotgun, the AA-12 is compatible with a fairly wide variety of shells - but the one that's got our attention is the FRAG-12.

Designed and made in Britain by the Experimental Cartridge Company, Ltd and Action Manufacturing, Inc, the FRAG-12 is a standard 3-inch 12-gauge cartridge case and propellant, that fires a small warhead and fuse assembly that arms itself 3 meters out of the muzzle and explodes on impact thereafter. Small stabilizing fins pop out when the warhead leaves the muzzle, spinning the projectile and giving it an awesome 175-meter effective range.

FRAG-12 rounds are available in plain high explosive (HE), high explosive fragmenting anti-personnel (HE-FA) and high explosive armour-piercing (HE-PA) varieties, each designed to mince foes in different locations and situations. The frag grenade, for example, can be put through the window of a house from 100 metres away, and will explode with a burst radius of up to nine feet. Send a dozen in there, and there'll be very little left when the troops go knocking on the door.

Military Potential

Defense Review reports that troops in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars apparently complaining that their M4A1 carbines and other 5.56x45mm assault rifles aren't scaring the 'bad guys' or stopping them in their tracks fast enough. The bullets are simply zipping through the skinny insurgents and failing to drop them without multiple hits.

This would simply not be an issue with the tremendous firepower of the AA-12. 12-gauge shells do a heck of a lot of damage to a person when fired one at a time - let alone high explosive 12-gauge mini-grenades fired at a ruthless 5 per second. The AA-12 will be an exceptionally effective ground force weapon, as well as an asset of extreme intimidation.

The U.S. Marine Corps has test-fired the weapon, as have various international military and government organizations. Armed Forces Journal reports that most who get a chance to fire the thing come away absolutely convinced that there's little that can come close to the AA-12 as a close quarters weapon. When it hits the market, this killing machine will be in high demand.

 

Samsung unveils Galaxy Gear 2, Galaxy Gear 2 Neo smartwatches

 

 

Samsung jumped the gun on Mobile World Congress by announcing the Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear 2 Neo smartwatches

Getting out ahead of Monday's expected Galaxy S5 announcement, Samsung came out of the gates at Mobile World Congress with the reveal of the company's latest smartwatches, the Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear 2 Neo.

If you were expecting a major cosmetic makeover or a long list of new features in the new Gears, you're probably going to be a little disappointed. As you can see above, the new watches retain the same general design scheme as the original Gear. The biggest difference is on the inside: the new Gears ditch Android for Samsung's own Tizen OS. Apparently Tizen is friendly with long battery life, as the new Gears are now estimated to last two to three days, with typical use (the original lasted about a day).

The Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo are nearly identical, save for the lack of a camera on the Neo, which also helps to make the Neo 19 percent lighter than its camera-laden counterpart. That camera also got an update, as it's now living on the watch's main body, rather than on its strap (as it was in the original Gear).

Both wearable devices have some health tracking apps thrown in, including a heart rate sensor, pedometer, and downloadable sleep and stress tracking apps.

No word yet from Samsung on pricing, but we do know that the new Gears are going to roll out worldwide starting in April. Will that be later than the Galaxy S5? Check back on Monday, as we're sure to find out.

Source: Samsung

 

The Rise of Temporality in Business

 

 

Temporality has long been a sound business strategy because of its proven ability to make consumers feel as though they have to act as fast as possible before a seemingly amazing opportunity slips away. We often find phrases like "for a limited time only," "three for the price of one through Labor Day weekend," and "check out our summer blowout sale" plastered with exclamation points framing the facades of retail stores. In the online world, Sevenly, SnapChat, and woot.com are three other great examples of temporality-as-business-strategy.

All this aside, here is the thing that is kind of blowing my mind right now: Dong Nguyen, the creator of popular app, Flappy Bird, may have accidentally created a whole new chapter in the evolution of “temporal business models” the moment he announced on Twitter that he would be removing the Blockbuster app from the app store due to how complex the fame has made his life. Minutes proceeding the app's effective suicide letter, blog posts chanting the stupidity of the app’s creator, even death threats, have been overwhelming the internet for the past week, but is Nguyen’s action to eliminate the app actually a dumb move? Or is it the smartest move in the history of iOs apps? Based entirely on my own healthy speculation, I want to put my money on the latter.

Here is something we all know: the life cycle of a viral video or a popular game is pretty short-lived. Within days, a video that once topped the charts, or a game that once obsessively consumed a user’s life, becomes “so last week.” Speaking generally, popular apps, especially ones developed by indie developers as opposed to massive corporations, almost always have 15 minutes of fame before we all collectively decide to move on to the next one. Largely, perhaps, this is due to the lack of resources to keep something alive and in the public eye for the long run. (Above is a chart I just doodled to illustrate this life span in regards to potential revenue and volume of downloads).

Now, what happened with Flappy Bird the other day was so incredibly puzzling because the moment Nguyen hit the 15th minute of fame, Flappy Bird was all of a sudden granted a 16th minute. Why? The public announcement of the game’s impending removal from the app store went just as viral as the game itself did about a week prior. As you can imagine, this immediately sparked a new rush of downloads for the game.

What I am interested in here with this whole situation is the idea that an app, something we’ve all taken for granted as something that is just kind of always there for us to download and enjoy, is all of a sudden made temporary. I am also interested in how this may point toward an entirely new business strategy for the world of game developers thanks to a couple of harsh realities that are associated with building long-term awareness and success in the app market:

1.     The moment a game gains traction and an audience, a whole lot of work is necessary to keep it alive. This means quitting day jobs, hiring a team, consistently responding to issues users are having, building updates, etc. This adds up to a ton of overhead and responsibility that can be very emotionally and personally draining for an indie app developer.

2.     If you don’t really know what you are doing, or if you don’t have a substantial amount of resources, more often than not, an investment can very quickly go negative thanks to the unbelievably short attention span of app consumers as well as the rate at which new games are revealed. It is a tough industry to stay competitive in, to say the least, especially if you are not one of the “big guys.”

Here is another chart I just doodled to illustrate why I think that the idea of pulling Flappy Bird out of the market place the moment it became popular was an amazingly smart move, financially:

As this chart is speculating in comparison to the chart I showed earlier, it is possible that the sort of painfully slow process of acquiring new users over the months that follow an app’s initial viral popularity can be accomplished within 22 hours, without any added cost or commitment for the developer. The best part? The moment the app is removed, it can still drive daily ad revenue from the existing user base, and it can still be a popular household name, all without the need for future updates or customer relations (both of which cost a significant amount of money).

Let’s talk about this. So, what do you think? Can a public announcement of an app’s removal, like those “limited time only” signs inspire consumers to actually download much faster? I would love to hear thoughts on this concept in the comments section below. Do you think more apps will live a life of planned obsolescence inspired by Flappy Bird? Is that ethical or fair to the user? Do you think this kind of concept could negatively effect the rate of job creation in the tech industry? What would happen if other popular products that we use daily started to disappear with just 22 hours of notice? As a side note, my high score on Flappy Bird is 97 - how about you?

How To Build a 400 Square Foot Solar Powered Off Grid Cabin for $2,000

 

The Mind Unleashed

on 21 December, 2013 at 22:46

How to build a nice small cabin powered by solar panels. Lamar Alexander built this cute little 400 square foot cabin for approximately $2000, and powers it with a 570 watt solar and wind power system. The whole system is very inexpensive, and the best part is he is mortgage free. Very cool little cabin. I’d be proud to build something like this myself and call it home.

“This cabin is 14×14 with a full loft and approximately 400 square feet of living space. Downstairs is Kitchen, Bathroom, Dining and Living area. Upstairs is a large Bedroom and Office. There is enough room for 6 people to sleep comfortably. Power system is 580 watts Solar electric and 400 Watts wind power which powers a 12 volt fridge, lights, water pump, TV’s, laptop and many gadgets. Heat source can be propane or wood stove. Toilet is composting or a septic tank system…

http://www.simplesolarhomesteading.com

To get directions, go to:

offgridworld.com