How much for the model in the window?

Is this a trend? As i reported a couple months back about Calvin Klein using models in times square to promote its newest pair of slacks or scent with weightless model, now a store in Maine is doing something similar. A lingerie store called Spellbound in Maine is grabbing attention with live models in the window. "It's like a New York thing. It's urban. It's edgy," said Stacy Gervais, owner of Stacy's Hallmark Store and a founder of a downtown merchants group. The move is not without controversy. One local business owner called the live model display morally reprehensible, claiming it's tainting the wholesome business atmosphere on Water Street. I myself find displays fascinating and this one does seem to make quite a lot of sense. The only question is on decency standards. I did not expect to find something like this in Maine. Kudos to the owner for taking a new approach. Time will tell if the town creates a backlash.

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someone hit the airbrakes please

Well im back in Chapel Hill for the holidays. All of a sudden my hectic life comes back down to earth. Ahhh it feels good to be home. Happy Holidays everyone. Don't eat too much turkey, you will pass out.

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the next revolution?

The MIT Media Lab has launched a new research initiative to develop a $100 laptop—a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. To achieve this goal, a new, non-profit association, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been created. The initiative was first announced by Nicholas Negroponte, Lab chairman and co-founder, at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in January 2005.

Encased in rubber and sporting a 500MHz processor, mesh networking capabilities, and four USB ports, the incredible hype behind the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) project only seems to be building

In one Cambodian village where we have been working, there is no electricity, thus the laptop is, among other things, the brightest light source in the home.

Imagine the possibilities if everyone has access to the internet or a computer in their hands?
Start me up

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Lookout

Oh the joys of being the first to know. Dear friends big things are in the works at MFP, my agency. I probably shouldn't put the word out but F all that. We recently created some Sapporo Nike kicks. Jor-1 was the fantastic artist who took an empty canvas and turned it into a masterpiece. We are actively looking for more artists to create their rendition of the Sapporo Can on a sneaker canvas. For more info, email me. Stay tuned for more info as it should be poppin on a website near you in the future. For more details on what im doing with Sapporo visit Designthenight.com after December 1st,
the mothership

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If the Sun Shines in the Desert, Does Anyone See It?

Two Southern California utility companies are planning to develop a pair of sun-powered power plants that they claim will dwarf existing solar facilities and could rival fossil-fuel-driven power plants. Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric are working with Stirling Energy Systems, a Phoenix startup that has paired a large and efficient solar dish with a 200-year-old Stirling engine design. Though Stirling engines have been around for almost two centuries, there have been few efforts in the past to harness the sun to run them, said Stirling Energy Systems CEO Bruce Osborn. Osborn said the Stirling dishes are 30 percent efficient -- 30 percent of the sun's energy is converted into electricity -- which is two to three times as efficient as conventional photovoltaic cells. Someday this could be cheaper than fossil fuels. Good to know someone is using some conventional wisdom.
Burn Baby Burn

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A Cure?

The man who may hold the key to a cure for Aids was urged by doctors last night to come forward for the sake of millions of virus carriers worldwide. The case of Andrew Stimpson, 25, who was diagnosed as HIV-positive in 2002 but found to be clear of the virus in 2003, has stunned the medical world. If doctors can establish why this happened, without treatment, it could benefit the 34.9 million virus carriers worldwide. Mr Stimpson subsequently tried to sue the hospital, believing his initial positive test was inaccurate. But he was told there was no case to answer because both tests were correct. The Trust spokeswoman insisted there was no chance a mistake had crept into the testing system. Mr Stimpson told the Mail on Sunday: "My doctor said 'you've cured yourself, you're fantastic'." "I can't help wondering if I hold the cure for Aids. There are 34.9 million people with HIV and if I have something to contribute, then I am willing and ready to help." The Scotsman, 25, who moved from the Ayrshire village of Skelmorlie, near Largs, to London four years ago, did not take any medication for HIV. The case was important because "inside his immune system is perhaps a key that could allow us to develop some kind of vaccine". The news will bring hope to millions dying of Aids who could benefit if medical scientists discover how Mr Stimpson's medical status changed. Could this be? It would be simply amazing. Supposedly stories come from Africa about vaccines and trials producing these miracle cases. Only time will tell
Miracle?

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Be a TV Star

A sure sign that a trend is real is when someone goes out and produces an "everything you need in a box" solution. M-Audio is doing just that by launching a product called the Podcast Factory, which is simply everything you will ever need to record and create a podcast; a quality microphone, a pre-amp and recording software.
Combine simple affordable enabling technologies like Podcast Factory with the distribution power of a site like iTunes and you might just have an amateur broadcasting revolution on your hands.(thanks influx) Incredidbly simple, content is truly accessible these days. Anyone can reach anywhere via the internet. I have thought about doing this, making Lifefilter a weekly podcast. It could be my 15 minutes to fame.
Hi Mom!

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march of the penguins

The breakup of giant icebergs may have forced minor evolutionary changes in penguins over the past 6,000 years, a new study suggests. The Antarctic iceberg chunks, which break off the continent now and then, are thought to have blocked the swim paths of Adelie penguins returning home to their colonies. Some of the penguins were forced to become immigrants in other colonies, where they established new homes and interbred with the locals. As a result, genetic changes that might otherwise have remained isolated became widespread among the different colonies. The result is what scientist call microevolution. I call it freaking cool. Maybe thats cause im a scientist's kid. Maybe this will show people that global warming is real. Probably not those cats in Washington. :(
chilly willy went elsewhere

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Open Source Tivo

Sometimes ideas are just so simple and so obvious, you have to say why didn't i think of that. Along comes Tape it off the Internet. Tioti, which stands for Tape It Off The Internet, is an idea that was posted up on the web as a bit of a joke - a electronic TV guide for the world - with links to Bit Torrent files and also social applications for P2P discussion and sharing. But the response from the web community was so large, it forced the team behind it to actually go ahead and make it. It contains a global TV guide, Torrent tracking, your favourites and recommendations plus an innovative social layer to hang it off. You want it, we want it, let's build it. WOW. So now you don't even need a television to watch television. You could basically live in the woods, bohemian style, go to your local library, download your Southpark episode, and be blissfully happy. It also demonstrates the power of the internet and community, as the team just carried through its idea due to the clamoring of webizens everywhere. Isn't technologoy grand?
A-Team ReRuns Galore

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Awwwwww how cute

Lifefilter is dedicated to finding you the information in your life that is need to know. Along comes another Lifefilter classic via the Boingers. My pet zombie has "life-like" and realistic zombie features normally seen on the living dead and flash mobs. The site has other costumes and monsters all for sale. Need realistic body parts without the real blood? This is where law and order comes for its corpses, heads, and ankles etc. Check it out. Scare your mom or your neighbor. Everyone will get a good laugh at this hilarious family-friendly item. Bring it on trips to grandma's house. Bring it to the mall. Your zombie can go with you anywhere.

Honey I lost my Ear

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Coming to backyard near you

Royal Caribbean’s has a monster ship forthcoming, the 158,000-ton, 3,600-passenger Freedom of the Seas, which will bellyflop into the ocean in May. Royal Caribbean has cultivated a reputation for sporty cruising for some time, but the Freedom of the Seas raises the stakes with a top-deck attraction called the FlowRider—a 32-by-40-foot pool propped up at a 45-degree angle with a three-inch-thick sheet of water flowing up it at a rate of 30,000 gallons per minute, creating an artificial wave for surfers. Royal Caribbean likes the FlowRider so much that it’s built this Web site around it. It can’t be long before a Royal Caribbean ship has a Ferris wheel. Ok but the real rage is with me and my fellow surfers. The Flowrider is sweet but ouch here goes our culture. We are a fierce tribe to say the least, and this is basically the suburbization of our sport, culture and pride. Though if i was on this ship, I would be rockin this 24/7. Its interesting to see a cruise ship use an attraction like this to generate interest in cruising...Only one person can ride it at a time.....me, id be worrying about doing an air off the ship. i just reallly want this at my house. now thats perfectly acceptable.
surfing the titanic

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