Category: Technology
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My Brain on Art-O-Mat®
It’s more fun than Pez and more addictive than crack. I nearly lost my mind when I stepped into District Taco and spotted the Art-O-Mat® against the wall. It’s a refurbished cigarette machine, but instead of vending cancer sticks, it dispatches micro art pieces for five bucks a hit. Of course, I immediately started plugging it with money and pulling the… Read more
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Cruising in My Neighbours’ Amphicar
It’s a car! It’s a boat! It’s a 1964 Amphicar looking for adventure on the Rideau River at Burritt’s Rapids. And it’s better than a dog for meeting people. Read more
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A Luddite Wife, Her Techie Husband and the Nest
Being the loving, thoughtful, sensitive, unselfish, supportive – not to mention smart and beautiful – wife that I am, I bought Husband a Nest programmable thermostat last Father’s Day. High on his list of wants, but non-existent on mine, I caved to the (arguably gratuitous) technology purchase because gift-giving is about the other person and… Read more
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Exit the Television
We haven’t had a television in our house for a very long time. One day I got fed-up trying to place the family room furniture in a conversation-friendly layout that also permitted television viewing. So I called up a friend who drove over and drove away with our set, bound for a Community Living group… Read more
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The Mystic Music of Everyday Household Objects
Most people think ‘utilitarian’ when they see everyday objects like a trash bin or a plain white china side plate lying around their house. But musician/artist/composer/sound designer Diego Stocco observes these objects and hears music. Animate or inanimate, everything around his house – including the tree in his backyard – are potential instruments to create exceptional… Read more
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The Houseplants Are Calling Me
I don’t know whether to laugh or be filled with dread, but a group of science students at NYU have come up with BotaniCalls, a monitoring system that enables your houseplants to ring you up when they need a drink. Kind of like your friends do, but without the stellar company, human interaction and demand… Read more
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Mr. Toilet’s Big Squat
A funny, bold short film about Mr. Toilet, a social entrepreneur who, as his nickname suggests, has issues with poop. Jack Sim most specifically has a problem with 40% of the world’s population not having access to toilets in their homes and communities. No toilets = contaminated drinking water = unnecessary death and suffering. His… Read more
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Living in the Shelter of Robots
It’s kind of like a mirror we hold up to ourselves. Whatever robots turn out to be, will largely be a function of us and the decisions we make. – Mark Rowlands, D.Phil. Professor of Philosophy, University of Miami from Honda’s Living With Robots Part of the fascination of robots is just that. It’s just… Read more
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Spying On Your Neighbours
There are all kinds of miraculous way, via the internet, to find out about our neighbours without ever having to actually speak to them in person. We can be envious and vindictive about their choices in housing, work, children, political contributions, and land values from the shadowy corner of TechnologyLand. Read more