Interactive Music, or Audience Influenced Scores

Would be fun for my next party.

"...Freeman is creating a work in which a restless audience is very literally part of the music. Listeners and musicians are encouraged to wander around the performance space during the concert, while digital cameras track their motion.

Those movements are fed into a software simulation, and Freeman's algorithms, using parameters such as distance from performers, speed and "sheepiness," use the data to dynamically create a score on Pocket PCs attached to the musicians' instruments. Wave a hand, or run around the room, and you'll almost immediately hear the results.

"It's part inspired by a cocktail party, and part by a dance club environment," Freeman said. "Even in part by a multiplayer game, where people are in competition to influence the music by convincing people to follow them."

Much easier than having the audience learn a musical instrument. Makes me really want to get that theremin now though. What other instruments can you play without actually touching it?

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/music/news/2007/04/concert_score

Foster's beer cell battery

Australia's University of Queensland, along with Foster's beer's Yatala brewery, have joined to test out a microbial fuel cell to generate electicity.

"The fuel cell is essentially a battery in which bacteria consume water-soluble brewing waste such as sugar, starch and alcohol.

The battery produces electricity plus clean water, said Prof. Jurg Keller, the university's wastewater expert.

The complex technology harnesses the chemical energy that the bacteria releases from the organic material, converting it into electrical energy.

"It's not going to make an enormous amount of power - its primarily a waste water treatment that has the added benefit of creating electricity," Keller said. "

The predict the 660 gallon fuel cell will produce 2 kilowatts of power. Definitely a guilt lowering idea, but I wonder how much it actually costs in terms of resources?

http://www.physorg.com/news97341527.html

Soup as a diet aid?

Apparently, having a low calorie bowl of soup at the beginning of your meal, before your main course, is being purported to help you lose weight.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University "found those who had broth before their main reduced the total calorie intake of their meal by a fifth, compared with those who just had the main meal. "

Soup details: "low-calorie, broth-based soups that are about 100 to 150 calories per serving."

Seems like a silly study, since this makes such intuitive sense. Soup fills you up volume wise, without much caloric density.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/dietfitness.html?in_article_id=452198&in_page_id=1798

Decrypting the frozen music of Rosslyn Chapel

Too cool. Cymatics in action. Reminds me of the exploratorium, the exhibit where you pour sand on the thin metal plate, then run a violin bow (or saw) across the side, and make pretty patterns from the sand vibrations.

"A father and son who became fascinated by symbols carved into the chapel's arches say they have deciphered a musical score encrypted in them. Thomas Mitchell, a 75-year-old musician and ex-Royal Air Force code breaker, and his composer and pianist son Stuart, described the piece as "frozen music."

Stuart Mitchell said he and his father were intrigued by 13 intricately carved angel musicians on the arches of the chapel and by 213 carved cubes depicting geometric-type patterns.

Years of research led the Mitchells to an ancient musical system called cymatics, or Chladni patterns, which are formed by sound waves at specific pitches.
The two men matched each of the patterns on the carved cubes to a Chladni pitch, and were able finally to unlock the melody."

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL014372920070501

Artwork titled "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0"

The collage itself is generated from: http://metaatem.net/words/09%20F9%2011%2002%209D%2074%20E3%205B%20D8%2041%2056%20C5%2063%2056%2088%20C0, via flickr photos.




"This is some nice artwork/photo collage inspired by the HD-DVD processing key you can use to decrypt and play most HD-DVD movies in Linux. "

From: http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/05/artwork_titled_09_f9_11_0.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

Yes, Marijuana really does trigger psychotic symptoms

This has been common knowledge for some time already, but it's definitely helpful to have actual research to back it up.

"New findings on marijuana's damaging effect on the brain show the drug triggers temporary psychotic symptoms in some people, including hallucinations and paranoid delusions, doctors say.
One compound, cannabidiol, or CBD, made people more relaxed. But even small doses of another component, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, produced temporary psychotic symptoms in people, including hallucinations and paranoid delusions, doctors said."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/30/international/i145725D41.DTL&feed=rss.news

Wind Farms on Highways?

Here's a couple cool ideas:

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/04/30/highway-wind-power/

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/04/30/student-designs-highway-power/