Remember a few months ago, when we talked about the bathroom supply company on a quest to find America’s best restroom—a dubious honor—by polling the internet? Well, today they announced the winner, and somewhat ironically, it recreates nature around those who are answering calls of nature.
Is the buggy matchmaking in Halo: The Master Chief Collection getting you down? Why not wipe away those tears with a slice of pizza? With the new Domino’s Pizza app for Xbox One (only available in the UK, sadly) you can button-press, wave or…
GoPro cameras have come a long way in the last couple of years. Not only are they a lot smaller (my once “slick” HD Hero2 looks enormous compared to the new Hero4), but also the resolution they can record has finally reached full 30 fps 4K. Not…
Stellé Audio is not a strange name to us, as we have seen them introduce the Mini-Clutch Speaker earlier this month. This time around, Stellé Audio is back – albeit with something that is a wee bit more permanent in nature, that in the form of the spanking new Audio Pillar. The Audio Pillar would arrive in a variety of designs just in time for the holiday shopping season, where it will comprise of a couple of wood finishes, namely Chocolate and Caramel Wood, and these will be made available on an exclusive basis over at Neiman Marcus. The exterior might be more luxurious to the eyes and touch, but underneath the hood, you will find a similar cylindrical design and premium sound of the original Stellé Audio Bluetooth wireless speakers.
Needless to say, you do not have anything to worry about when it comes to blending in the Stellé Audio Audio Pillar with your home décor, since natural wood has the tendency to be able to be part of your home’s make up without screaming for attention. The Bluetooth wireless Stellé Audio Pillar is said to fill up the demand of design savvy consumer as it attempts to bridge the gap between music, style and technology, sporting elegant designs which ought to find a place regardless of the surrounding décor without having to compromise on sound quality.
The Stellé Audio Pillar will boast of a unique vortex sound tunnel, 2.1 stereo system, and 3-inch subwoofer which work together in tandem, resulting in the awesome delivery of 360 degrees of room-filling premium music. Not only that, it comes with a 15-hour battery life as well as controls so simple, they can be used every day without batting an eyelid. It will play nice with all Bluetooth-enabled devices, ranging from smartphones to tablets and computers, while doubling up as a speakerphone, too. The asking price? $299 a pop.
Press Release
[ Stellé Audio announces their new Audio Pillar copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
The beauty about hardware and devices these days would be the ability for them to receive firmware upgrades – which means that you will be able to exact better performance as time goes by on the very same piece of hardware, all without having to actually purchase a new device altogether. Having said that, the Samsung SMART Camera NX Mini has just received a spanking new firmware upgrade, which will bump up the version number to 01.08, allowing users of the smart camera to be able to capture the moment in additional fun ways.
The major updates that will be part of this firmware upgrade include the ability to check out the Beauty Effect directly on the display before actual shooting occurs. Apart from that, one is able to adjust the level of brightness as well as softness across 15 levels on display. Those who are interested in picking up this new firmware for a camera that was released in March earlier this year can be found here, where you will head to the NX mini product page before selecting the ‘Support’ menu to download files. Alternatively, one is able to obtain the update via Samsung’s camera connection software that runs on the computer. [Press Release]
Samsung SMART Camera NX Mini Gets Firmware Upgrade , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
I know that robots do have their fair share of advantages when it comes to helping out us humans with our everyday tasks, since they do not complain and neither will they go on strike. In fact, once they are programmed to do whatever we want them to do, they will not go against our wishes – at least not until they achieve their very own level of sentience. Apart from that, robots could very well be the main factor in preventing an industrial crisis, especially in Australia, a country whose geography results in plenty of undesirable key jobs, at least in the eyes of many.
According to Sydney University’s professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems Salah Sukkarieh, “We have a labor shortage in the areas we want them, in agriculture, mining, and other primary industries. Most of the population likes living along the coastline, along the beach.”
Therein lies the problem – with the solution of using robots to actually being sent out, so that they will be able to get the job done wherever humans are averse to do so. For instance, a self-drive fleet comes in handy, offering superior fuel usage, tire life and maintenance costs because there is no reason for one to step on the pedal and burn more fuel than required. It could very well be this reason that Australia happens to be right at the forefront of field robotics.
Robot Trucks Perform Tasks Shunned By Australians , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.
Dull, dirty, and dangerous. Those are the tasks robots are best for, but it also describes jobs with General Electric’s Field Services division, inspecting wind turbines and oil pipelines. So today GE Ventures made its first major strategic investment in robotics through a new partnership with drone hardware, software, and cloud services platform startup Airware.
GE will provide an… Read More
Parrot just dropped the price of high-definition drones. The firm’s Bebop drone will hit stores next month with a starting price of $500. That’s several hundred less than DJI’s entry-level Phantom drone even though it packs the same quality camera and several novel tricks including being controllable from a smartphone or tablet.. The Bebop is a big upgrade from the cheaper… Read More
What do you love about movies? Film magazine Little White Lies presented the question to a handful of actors and directors, and the responses were as varying as they were inspiring. Francis Ford Coppolla said movies are “the most diverse and complete art form,” while Alexander Payne said the medium “transports you to a different time and place and story.” Artists were paired with the film professionals who responded, making for a fascinating collaboration. See why your favorite directors love what they do below, in an excerpt from What I Love About the Movies:
I recently received an email that contained a simple request. Write down my favorite recipe, I was told, and email it to the person at the top of the list. Then delete that person’s name, add my own email address to the bottom of the list, and send the resulting request-for-recipes to 25 friends.
Soon, promised the letter, I’d get 36 recipes!
There was just one problem. I don’t cook. At all. I’m a take-out kind of gal. Yes, I can throw together an amazing salad. But recipes? I hadn’t a single one.
Nor did I want any. Thirty-six recipes turning up in my inbox?
Priceless?? No, more like useless.
Normally I’d just delete the email and go about my business. But I couldn’t. The person who’d sent it to me was my beloved daughter-in-law. For Amy I’m willing to move out of my comfort zone.
Of course, I did try to weasel out of it first.
“You know I don’t cook,” I emailed her. “I haven’t got any recipes.”
“False!” she replied, reminding me that once, years ago, I’d whipped up a terrific batch of matzoh brei for her and my son.
Busted! How do you turn down a DIL who not only includes you in an email that goes out to “friends” but knows you well enough to remember the one and only meal you’ve actually cooked for her?
“Okay, I’m in!” I told her. I wrote down my matzoh brei recipe, then followed the instructions, and sent the recipe-requesting email to 25 friends.
Instantly, I heard back from three of them about why they weren’t going to play. Two were too busy. The third “never participates in these things.”
I couldn’t blame her, of course, since I usually don’t either.
Over the next 24 hours, I heard back from a dozen friends, all writing to tell me why I could count them out. (Although one friend, in turning me down, emailed me her kale smoothie recipe as a kind of consolation prize.)
One thing was becoming very clear. The crowd I run with doesn’t cook. I have friends from all walks of life. Writers. Lawyers. Artists. Accountants. Academics. Social Workers. Syndicated Cartoonists. Rich and poor, young and old, from all over the country. All with one thing in common: they wouldn’t be exchanging any recipes.
“I don’t cook. I live in New York City. I simply don’t see the necessity.”
“Hey thanks but I don’t want to do this.”
“I’m buried in deadlines.”
“My lunch today? Half a can of refried beans and a radish.”
“Why would anyone cook when the taste you want is in a can?”
“Sorry and thanks, but no, not now.”
“Just too busy right now.”
“Sorry Roz, you’ll have to take me off the list, but I hope you have fun with this.”
Obviously, I wasn’t collecting recipes at all! What I was collecting here were excuses.
I could just as well have sent out this email to my friends: Please email me the reason why, even if asked nicely, you wouldn’t even consider sending the first person on this list a recipe.
There was something comforting about it. I had chosen my friends well. These, indeed, were my peeps! And yet, all the adamant turndowns were just a tiny bit disheartening.
It seemed as though 100% of my friends would be sitting this one out.
Then Amy emailed to tell me that Linda, my best pal from college, a woman I hadn’t seen in decades (we’ve recently reconnected on Facebook) had come through with a recipe for a chicken mango dish.
Linda? Really? She was the last person I’d have predicted would come up with a recipe.
In college, the two of us had dinner together almost most nights, and we always had the same thing, a dish we called “Hamburger Surprise,” which consisted of ground meat, scrambled eggs and Colby cheese, mixed together in a skillet, and served with Diet Doctor Pepper.
Occasionally, for a change, we’d dine on deep dish pizza, followed by a hot fudge sundae.
With four years of a diet like that, it’s a wonder we’re both still alive.
Maybe Linda had finally gotten into cooking. Or perhaps she’s just into friendship? Who knows? But I was surprised at how touched I was that she’d come through.
Maybe I should consider moving out of my own comfort zone a little more often? Friendship, perhaps, should occasionally trump temperament? Or convenience?
In the meantime, not that you asked, but here’s my recipe for Matzoh Brei:
Ingredients:
2 pieces of Egg and Onion matzoh
4 large eggs
Salt
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until they are totally mixed. Place both pieces of matzoh on a plate and run VERY hot water over them for maybe 20 seconds so that they’re moist but not drenched. Then throw them into the bowl with the eggs and chop them up with a fork. Thoroughly mix the chopped up matzoh with the eggs. Add salt. Over high heat, heat the butter in a large sauce pan. The minute it starts to sizzle, pour in the MIX and stir until the eggs are as dry as you like eggs to be. Serve with sour cream.
ENJOY!
(This essay first appeared on Zestnow.)
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
