Alarm clock for habitual snoozers

Mr Hastie, 23 - who designed a prototype as part of his degree course in design, manufacture and engineering management - was inspired by his own experience of repeatedly pressing the snooze button on his alarm as many as 20 times rather than getting up. He said: "Alarm clocks are good at waking you - what they are not good at is actually getting you out of bed.

The wall-mounted alarm clock can be switched off only when its user climbs out of bed, stands directly in front and repeats, by pressing coloured buttons, a sequence generated randomly each morning. If the user fails to repeat the sequence swiftly, the alarm will continue to blare until the task is completed correctly.

Research into "sleep inertia" has discovered the pre-frontal cortex - the area of the brain which is responsible for problem-solving, emotion and complex thought - is among those that take longer to operate properly after sleep.

Alarm clock that won't give up

Switch

The worst waste of time is doing something that doesn't make you happy

Laughter..

"Laughter is needed for you to exist. Otherwise, you will commit suicide.

"Now try to understand the mechanism of laughter and how it happens. If I tell a joke, why do you laugh? What makes you laugh. What happens? What is the inner mechanism? If I tell a joke expectation is created. You start expecting. Your mind starts searching for what the end will be. And you cannot conceive the end.

"A joke moves in two dimensions. First it moves in a logical dimension. You can conceive it. If the joke goes on logically to the very end, it will cease to be a joke; there will be no laughter. So suddenly the joke takes a turn and becomes so illogical that you cannot conceive it. And when the joke takes a turn and the result becomes illogical; then the expectation, the tension that was created in you, suddenly explodes. You relax. Laughter comes out.



Osho

US view or World view ?...

Movie: Keeping the Faith

Saw Edward Norton's directorial debut, Keeping the Faith
...found it very interesting especially with the angle of sorta trianglar love story invloving Catholic priest (Edward Norton) and a Jewish rabbi (Ben Stiller)

Historical Sounds in MP3 Format

An interesting selection of 20th century recordings of mostly U.S. politicians and activists as well as some war criminals, Malcom X, Gandhi and others. All in downloadable mp3 format.

The Free Information Society - Historical Sounds in MP3 Format

Frenchman says, "I think," while an American says, "I do."

Read this interesting view of Americans v/s French from the Marketing guru Clotaire Rapaille...

You say that a Frenchman says, "I think," while an American says, "I do." How do you reconcile this immediate gratification impulsiveness with the famous American industriousness?

For an American, if you think too much something is wrong with you. Yet there is this ability to do things, and that's because we learn by making mistakes. I did a lot of research about quality, comparing Americans with the Japanese. Americans don't want to do it right the first time the way the Japanese do. I don't mean consciously, but if I do it right the first time, then what do I do next? What do I learn? In this attitude, there is a lot of wisdom.

When it comes to hard work, in America there is an element that's like obsession. We are obsessed with proving ourselves. We work so hard because you have to make it, to prove who you are. We are in permanent search of identity. That's very American. It's why you have all these self-help books and all the people helping you to discover who you are. You can only discover who you are if you try. And you have to try and try and try and never give up. Always more.

"In America, seduction is dishonest" (from Salon)

Amazing AD from Honda

Amazing AD from Honda -- it sure looks like a lot of creative effort went in...

Honda (UK) - Civic

3D Painted Rooms

Here is some interesting ways to paint your home ;)

3D Painted Rooms

Wishes for a wonderful new year 2006

It has been a interesting year..
some highs, some lows,
but a better one is ahead,
because the new year can be anything
we want it to be.
So as we bid farewell to the old year
and welcome in the new,
let's dare to dream
of all we can accomplish
with a little hard work and dedication.

~~~

Let's pray for peace in the world
and try our best to love each other
a little more
and judge each other a little less.
Let's make a resolution to be
more forgiving and less angry.
Let's focus on our goals
and try to be the best we can be.
And let's never lose faith in
what we can accomplish.

~~~

Happy New Year!
May the New Year
bring you and yours much
happiness and success

Awesome Christmas light display..

This video clip shows home Christmas lights synchronized to flash in time to a musical score, in this case Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Wizard in Winter.

• Work of Carson Williams, a Mason, Ohio, electrical engineer
• Over 25,000 lights that he spent nearly two months and $10,000 to hook up
• To avoid disturbance for neighbors, viewers driving by the house are informed by signs to tune in to a signal broadcast over a low-power FM radio station to hear the musical accompaniment
• Carson's Christmas display proved so popular that it was featured in a Miller Lite beer commercial in December 2005

Here is more info

Seinfeld on why he likes cars..

Seinfeld appearing on CNN talking about why he likes cars...

You are outside,
You are inside,
You are moving,
You are still.

:-)

18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

Some of these tricks seem to be really good..



18 Tricks to Teach Your Body



...but remember they may not all be 'safe'!

Project Paperclip: Dark side of the Moon

An interesting BBC article about how the Nazi scientists provided the US with cutting-edge technology..

Project Paperclip, the US operation which saw von Braun and more than 700 others spirited out of Germany from under the noses of the US's allies. Its aim was simple: "To exploit German scientists for American research and to deny these intellectual resources to the Soviet Union."

Some of the groundbreaking technologies developed in Nazi laboratories:

• Supersonic rockets
• nerve gas
• jet aircraft
• guided missiles
• stealth technology
• hardened armour

Using Gmail as a Notepad

When I first saw this, I thought it was one of those gimmicks where its more work than needed - but, as it turns out I like it...

• Filename is optional. No need to think of a unique filename to save under—just enter your content and go.
• Search all your past files at once. Try that, Notepad!
• Spell-checking on demand.
• Load/save your text files from any computer in the world.
• Cross-platform—you can access it from any make or model of machine, as long as you can get online with a web browser.
• Undo Discard. Ever wish you could retrieve your file after closing it without saving? Now you can.

Here is more info for Using Gmail to...

Just watched -- House of Games

An absorbing psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes and guessing from beginning to end.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet creates a stylish cinematic puzzle of games within games, as con men are joined by a psychologist in creating the perfect caper.

Movies > HOUSE OF GAMES

Personal Chopper

I want one of those..

• Compact single-seat
• Miniature engine of 125cc (8 horse power)
• Two propellers
• Can reach a flying speed of 56 miles per hour
• GEN sells it at 3.6M yen

Read more..

How to Win the Lottery

The lottery is a dream we all have. At some point in time, each one of us has asked ourselves what it would be like to win one million, ten million, or even more money....



How to Win the Lottery

Challenge Vader?

The Sith Sense

London Bombings As Depicted By Google Earth

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC News Online) can claim to be among the first news sites on the Web to have it used for reporting. Its presentation on the London bombings will fly you to the location of the bombings where you can find extra material, including the latest news, plus audio and photos. To see the map, you will need to have Google Earth running on your computer.

London bombings: ABC News Map. 08/07/2005. ABC News Online

Google Earth has topped this experience and gives room for a lot of speculation about what uses people will find for it.