September 30, 2011
Rover Spy Tank
The Rover Spy Tank ($150). Controlled by an app that works with your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, the tank has a camera that streams live video and takes still photos, while a built-in microphone transmits sound back to you. It has a wireless range of up to 200 feet, plus infrared night vision for late night missions.
September 25, 2011
Time For Change & Equality
Saudi King: "Women will be allowed to vote and run for office."
(CNN) -- Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to vote and run for office in future municipal elections, King Abdullah announced Sunday.
In an address on Saudi state TV, the king said women will be allowed to nominate candidates for the next set of municipal elections. Although he did not use the word "vote," allowing women to take part in the nomination process would amount to voting within Saudi Arabia's system.
The country is holding municipal elections Thursday for the only the second time in nearly 50 years. The changes the king announced would go into effect for the next set of elections -- and it is unclear when those might take place.
Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider called the announcement "great news."
"Women's voices will be heard finally," she said. "Now it's time to remove other barriers like not allowing women to drive cars and not being able to function and live a normal life without a male guardian."
The White House also hailed the announcement.
"We welcome Saudi King Abdullah's announcement today that women will serve as full members of the Shura Council in the next session, and will have the right to participate in future elections," it said in a statement. "These reforms recognize the significant contributions women in Saudi Arabia make to their society and will offer them new ways to participate in the decisions that affect their lives and communities." The move, according to the White House, is "an important step forward in expanding the rights of women in Saudi Arabia."
King Abdullah's announcement followed increasing pressure on Saudi Arabia to allow women to vote.
"Since we reject to marginalize the role of women in the Saudi society, in every field of works, according to the (Islamic) Sharia guidelines, and after consultations with many of our scholars, especially those in the senior scholars council, and others, who have expressed the preference for this orientation, and supported this trend, we have decided the following," the king said, according to an English translation of his remarks released by the Saudi government.
First, he announced, women will be allowed to participate in the Shura council, the Consultative Council appointed by the king.
The U.S. State Department says there are already some women on the 150-member Consultative Council. In 2010, "the number of female advisers on the Consultative Council increased from 10 to 13," the U.S. State Department said in its human rights report on Saudi Arabia, citing "local sources."
The king also announced Sunday that, "As of the next session, women will have the right to nominate themselves for membership of Municipal Councils, and also have the right to participate in the nomination of candidates with the Islamic guidelines."
Elections for those councils were held in 2005 for the first time since 1963. Only men were eligible to vote, the U.S. State Department says.
Another set of elections was scheduled for 2009 but was delayed repeatedly -- ultimately being scheduled for this week.
Earlier this year, Saudi women activists wrote the government requesting that women be allowed to vote and be candidates in the municipal elections, according to the U.S. Library of Congress.
Saudi Arabia's "Minister of Municipality and Rural Affairs declared that Saudi women will not be able to either run or vote in this election," the Library of Congress reported on its blog. "According to news reports, the Minister stated that the ban on women's participation is due to the lack of segregated voting facilities."
When election centers opened in April for voters to register, some groups of women turned up and were turned away. It was one of the first public acts of the "Saudi Women Revolution," a movement set up to campaign for the end of Saudi Arabia's discriminatory laws.
In June, a number of Saudi women took to the streets -- in cars -- to demand the right for women to drive and travel freely in the country.
There are no specific traffic laws that make it illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia. However, religious edicts are often interpreted as a prohibition of female drivers. Such edicts also prevent women from opening bank accounts, obtaining passports or even going to school without the presence of a male guardian.
Authorities stopped Manal al Sharif, 32, for driving a car May 21 and detained her the next day. She said she was forced to sign a form promising not to drive again and spent a week in jail. Her case became a rallying cry for women activists.
via CNN
Project Utopia
Designed in an almost perfect square, measuring 100 meters in length and width, the floating palace has 11 decks, multiple helicopter pads and a wet dock in the central atrium. On the top floor will be an observatory with 360-degree views.
Project Utopia is designed to move. Beneath each leg are propellers that can rotate 360 degrees, allowing the floating home to travel, albeit at a snail’s pace. The designers believe the Utopia could house micro nations at sea.
September 23, 2011
September 22, 2011
September 21, 2011
Touch & Go
Burton Mix Master Gloves: Control Your Smartphone With Your Fingertips
Thanks to built-in, wireless audio controls on the back of the left
glove, Burton’s gloves solve the age-old problem of frozen fingers while
adjusting your tunes when either snowboarding, skiing or any oudoor
winter activity. Plug the included module into your iPhone or iPod, and
you can skip or repeat tracks, adjust volume, and stop or start your
music without taking off your gloves or fiddling with zippers.
The Tanning of America
Due to the Release of Steve Stoute's book "The Tanning of America", Steve Stoute *Entrepreneur, Advertising Executive, former Record Executive & Artist Manager* gave a couple of interviews that I find very interesting and important to today's pop cuture. Interviews captured by theLifeFiles and Power105.1
TheLifeFiles iView
iView w/ Power 105.1Fm's Breakfast Club
The Tanning of America is available here.
2011 Maybach 57 S Edition 125
Engine - M275 AMG 60ยบ V12
Power - 462.3 kw / 620 bhp @ 4800 rpmSpecific Output – 103.68 bhp per liter
Torque - 1000 nm / 737.6 ft lbs @ 2000 rpm
Redline – 6050
Setting a Good Example
50 Cent launches his newest campaign 'SK (Street King)' to feed one billion starving people in Africa. Let's all work together and help to successfully achieve this goal!
September 12, 2011
September 11, 2011
Nakahouse / XTEN Architecture
Architect: XTEN Architecture
Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
Project
Team: Monika Haefelfinger, Principal; Austin Kelly, AIA, LEED AP,
Principal; Monika Haefelfinger, Austin Kelly, Scott Utterstrom, Jae
Rodriguez, Qichen Cao, Karin Nelson, Joseph Tran, Karin Von Wyl
General Contractor: NWGC, INC.
Structural Engineer: Axial Engineering Group
Geotech: CY Geotech
Project Year: 2011
Project Area: 2700 sqf
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