Clever Motorola Ming8 GPS Advertisements

Creative advertisement campaign from O&M Beijing for Motorola Ming8 GPS.

Ming8. Now with GPS, Thankfully.

Motorola Ming8 GPS: Monks

Motorola Ming8 GPS: Cart

Motorola Ming8 GPS: Chess

Toeloop Chair by Mario Stadelmann

Toeloop Chair, created by a young Swiss designer Mario Stadelmann, is made from two pieces of bent polymer joined at both ends to create a seamless loop.

Modern and Creative Bathtub Designs

Modern bathtubs and creative bathtub designs from all over the world.

Laguna Pearl Wooden Bathtub

Inspired by the beauty of marine woods, dedicated yacht makers create glamorous wooden bathtubs that shine like jewels. [link]

Vascabarca Bathtub

Creative boat shaped bathtub by Antonio Lupi. [link]

Teuco Sorgente Bathtub

Jaw-dropping Sorgente bathtubs straddle the line between extravagant cleanliness and modern art. [link]

LTT Illuminated Bathtub

This illuminated, self standing, polyethylene bathtub is sure to add drama to your bathroom. [link]

Novellini Cristalli Glass Bathtub

A highly unusual material from which to construct a bath – glass gives a clean, minimalist look to the design. [link]

Natural Bathtub [link]

Royal A-512 Whirlpool Bathtub

Fully loaded massage bathtub, with air jet massage, water jet massage, heat pump, and a water-proof LCD monitor with remote. [link]

Foster Bathtub

Modern bathtub designed by Norman Foster. [link]

Jolie Glass Bathtub

Looking like a bright and beautiful glass of cool-aid, the Jolie bathtub is just ready for you to plunge into. [link]

Kali’-Art Bathtubs

Refined design, with great internal livability, distinguished for its contrasting materials and the futuristic purity of its lines. [link]

Leggera Bathtub

Modern bathtub from Ceramica Flaminia designed by Gilda Borgnini. [link]

Overflow Bathtubs

The new bathing experience with overflow bathtub from KÄSCH, feel the sensual pleasure while bathing in harmony with natural surrounding. [link]

Mussel Shell Bathtub

Concrete bathtub from HighTech inspired by nature. [link]

Unique and Creative Knitting Art Creations

Creative and unique knitting art creations from all over the world.

Knitted Ferrari

Lauren Porter knitted a full size replica of a Ferrari because it is instantly recognizable and completely the opposite of what people expect from something that is knitted. [link]

Knitted Lobster [link]

Knitted Street Signs

Knitted covers for selected street signs in Victoria BC. [link]

Knitted iPhone [link]

Knitted Gas Mask

Creative (non-functional) gas-mask hat knitted by Teriyakimoto. [link]

Knitted Breakfast [link]

Knitted Bender from Futurama

Crocheted with dk acrylic yarn, 3mm hook. [link]

Knitted Sushi [link]

Knitted Tank Cover

A knitted tank cover by Marianne Joergensen. [link]

Knitted Mug [link]

Knitted Architecture

German sculptor Annette Streyl uses knitting to transform hard, edgy, rectangular architecture into soft, formless, unpredictable work of art. [link]

Knitted Toilet Paper [link]

Knitted Frog Dissection

Wow your scientist friends and colleagues with the coolness of this piece of knitted art. [link]

Knitted Bicycle [link]

Knitted Cupcake [link]

Are Jupiter and Saturn Brown Dwarfs, Not Planets?

COROT spacecraft approaching a star field that contains brown dwarfs
Image by D Ducros/CNES

Our early science classes taught us the difference between stars and planets, the description and properties of each were clear. Now astronomers have found objects in the Milky Way that are neither planets nor stars. Not confirmed until 1995, brown dwarfs emit very little visible light because nuclear fusion reactions cannot be maintained in their interior. And they are extremely difficult to observe at any wavelength. Above 13X the mass of Jupiter, they do fuse deuterium (’heavy hydrogen’) and that serves to distinguish them from giant, super dense planets. The heaviest brown dwarfs are 65X the mass of Jupiter or heavier and they rapidly ‘burn’ lithium. Find lithium in the spectrum of a super dense ‘object’ and you’ve found a brown dwarf those ‘exotic objects that are the link between massive planets and small stars.

Another remarkable feature of brown dwarfs is their constant radius, they are all about the same diameter as Jupiter. The heaviest brown dwarfs are not larger than the smallest, massive planets, only much denser and therefore much heavier. Distinguishing them from huge planets is difficult because the diameter of all brown dwarfs is about the same. Anything more than 10X the mass of Jupiter is very unlikely to be a planet.

Brown Dwarf flare 1999, 60X Jupiter, 16 light years
Image by NASA Image Archive

The strongest spectral emission of brown dwarfs is in the infrared and that is how present day astronomers study them. Old brown dwarfs will accumulate methane in their atmosphere, a compound often taken to indicate active organic molecule kinetics. Atmospheric temperatures of brown dwarfs range from 2500K to 750K.

A world wide network of observatories that includes one atop the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii participate in brown dwarf and exoplanet research as coordinated by the European Space Agency. There are now hundreds of confirmed brown dwarfs, the nearest of which is only 12 light years away from Earth. There are two confirmed discoveries of planets orbiting brown dwarfs and at least one brown dwarf that orbits a star that also has a Saturn size planet in orbit around it. Analysis of brown dwarf spectra suggests cool, opaque clouds patterns obscuring a hot interior that is stirred by extreme winds. Weather on a brown dwarf would be extremely violent and much worse than Jupiter’s famous storms.

Brown Dwarf and Dust Ring That Will Form Planets
Image by NASA Image Archive

The smallest brown dwarf known is 8X the mass of Jupiter and located 500 light years distant. It is surrounded by a ring of dust and gas and appears to be forming a solar system. If that is confirmed, it will be the smallest object known to have planets in orbit around it. That conclusion would be big news and force revision of current theories and models for planetary systems.

Let’s return to our solar system, where Nemesis is a brown dwarf that is predicted but not confirmed, to orbit our sun. Unless… Although lighter and less dense than typical brown dwarfs, Jupiter and Saturn have sometimes been considered stillborn stars and in some ways fit the definition of a brown dwarf. Both of these ‘giant planets’ emit more heat than they absorb. (Neptune does also.) Following this line of thought, our solar system would contain not only planets orbiting their star, but two brown dwarfs in such orbits as well. The many satellites of Jupiter and Saturn would then be called planets. Thereby re-classified, Jupiter and Saturn would be ‘brown dwarfs’ that have their own solar systems, and in turn be said to orbit a star called the ‘Sun’.

“In beauty and truth, there is multiplicity.”

Sources 1, 2, 3, 4

The shire that keeps getting higher

He tends to thunder or rumble past rather than canter or trot.

But then, nothing Duke the shire horse

does is subtle. He stands at just over 6ft 7in high at the withers, or shoulders – a world record – and weighs more than a ton.

Astonishingly, the five-year-old will continue to grow over the next couple of years, so he could yet put on another inch or two.

Duke – who in equestrian terms is a little over 19.3 hands – was rescued in 2006 when his former owner died suddenly.

He has since become a star attraction at The Horse Refuge in Tenterden, Kent, where his new owners have had to build a special large stable for him. He also needs custom-made rugs and collars.

Carer Sara Ross said: ‘Visitors can’t believe it when they see him. Some joke that he must be crossed with an elephant.

‘He towers over me. I go underneath him rather than around him when I’m with him to save time. When I’m grooming him I have to stand on something.’

Duke eats more than £110 of food each week, receiving two large feeds and a bale-and-a-half of hay in a winter week – more than four times as much as a normal horse.

Despite his formidable presence, Duke’s best friend is Jasper – a Shetland pony.

Timon and Pumbaa [PIC]

Image: © Anup Shah, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009

A very contented looking warthog, with a few grooming maids in attendance, stares into the lens of the camera; giving photographer Anup Shah the perfect picture pose, which won him a finalist place in the Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA) 2008.

We reported recently that Environmental Graffiti is partnering with the SPWA in 2009 and have some more good news, the submission deadline for the Prince’s Rainforest Project (PRP) Award has been moved to the 29 of February (it was previously the end of December), which means you have more time to get come up with some awesome shots.

The PRP Award was created to “better understand the importance of the rainforests to the global climate and to increase awareness of The Prince’s Rainforests Project.”

In 2009, for the first time, wildlife and nature photographers will have the opportunity of putting their images forward for the PRP Award for the best environmental photographer, which is open to both professional and amateur photographers.

“The award seeks images which capture the essence of what the rainforest means to the photographer.”

David de Rothschild, environmentalist and explorer, said in his appeal for images:

“Creative expression through photography is a very powerful tool. It not only has the ability to present the facts and tell stories, but it has the capacity to give insights that can turn reflection into change. The Sony/PRP Awards are an ideal platform to harness creativity to implement change and in turn inspire, educate and engage individuals, communities and industry to take positive action for our planet.”

Image: © Anup Shah, courtesy of Sony World Photography Awards 2009

Environmental responsibility has been a significant part of the Sony ethos for many years, and the partnership between the Sony World Photography Awards and The Prince’s Rainforests Project is part of Sony’s eco programme of initiatives and programmes.

Emily Young, General Manager, Environmental Communications at Sony Europe explains:

“This partnership is all about using photography to raise awareness about the importance of climate change. Photography is the perfect way to communicate the fundamental beauty of our environment, and the importance of preserving it for future generations. We are very excited about the outcome of these awards and in aiding the category winner to document some of the major deforestation areas in the world, and to communicate its impact on overall climate change.”

We look forward to seeing your photos and will feature all winning entries here on Environmental Graffiti!

Geek Graffiti

This is what you get when geeks and graffiti combine – hilarious geek graffiti.

Football Field of Dreams

The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant

The new Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd. (PEL) is a stunning architectural feat perched high above a redwood first. Appearing for all the world like an enormous chrysalis grafted onto a 40-meter-high redwood tree, the project is constructed of plantation poplar slats, redwood balustrading milled at the site, and makes extensive use of natural lighting throughout.

Visit yellowtreehouse.co.nz for ongoing updates, blog, video and still footage with live webcam images.