Brainwave Controllers

SH found these whilst having an amble through the recesses of the internet the other day.

I reckon they could step beyond Kinect and Wii by making the brain the controller rather than the body.

More importantly they are also being developed so that paralysed patients are able to control sensors, computers and the like without having to commit to complex surgery inside the skull.

Now there is a realistic possibility of the technology becoming more commonplace allowing people with reduced mobility and those with muscular conditions to improve their quality of life.

Aeroplane Concepts

The following are a number of aeroplane concepts developed by companies such as Eads, Aerion and Airbus. These concepts could be the future of long distance travelling - though will they match the luxury of Concord?

Watersking World Speed Record Broken, with a Helicopter

A Mexican man Fernando Reina Iglesias recently set a new world record for barefoot water skiing. The bar is now set at a rather amazing 153mph, breaking the previous record set by an American, Scott Pellaton of 135mph in 1989.

Catch the video after the jump, this article was originally reported on by The Telegraph website. Good work sir, you crazy crazy man.

Sandcastles

As it Summer here in the UK, SH thought it would be a good idea to find some of the best sandcastles and sand sculptures from around the world. Here are three for your enjoyment.

Homemade Atomic Reactor

Maybe it's because I have a hangover that feels like a bear is scooping out my brains and aliens are doing intrusive tests on what remains of me but this amuses me somewhat.

A Swedish man, Richard Handl has attempted to create his own nuclear reactor in his own home. He acquired the materials on the internet and said he had hoped he might split an atom. (See one of the images he posted on the web of his efforts below)

The authorities got onto his fiendish plot when he contacted the Swedish radiation authority to check if what he was doing was legal. What is clear is that the police have stopped a supervillain in the making. Holy Macceroni, maybe the police raid was accompanied by some crazy graphics of words like BAM!!! WHAM!!!! SMACK!!!! TWOOOH!!!

We will never know but the whole caper might just as well have involved Roger Moore aggressively seducing the nearest lady whilst making 1970's innuendo to a bald apparently headless man who strokes his bejewlled pussy...cat.

Schleeh Design

These paper structures are the work of Schleeh Design founded by Colin Schleeh and Rachael Schwarz in 2001. Schleeh was born in Montreal in 1955 and is the son of Sculptor Hans Schleeh.

Schleeh Design create a range of limited edition pieces and accessories as well as making these damn interesting note pads.

Film of the Week : American Physco

The Beach Boys have never been this disturbing, one of Christian Bale's finest cinema pieces. Also staring 30 Seconds to Mars Jared Leto notably also in Fight Club. The story flaunts disturbingly with concepts of a blend insanity and metro-sexuality. However Ill let you be the judge of the film, a truly brilliant picture and well worth watching, enjoy the trailer.

Rocket Jet Engine Trucks

BIG TRUCK! BIG ENGINES! THATS ALL!

Freshwater Factory Skyscraper

The Freshwater Factory Skyscraper recieved a special mention at the 2010 eVolo Skyscraper Competition.

It was designed by the Design Crew for Architecture.

The tower is made of circular tanks filled with brackish water. These tanks are sheltered in spherical greenhouses. Tidal powered pumps bring the water up the structure. The structure would create its own fresh water to be used for irigation on surrounding arable land.

Film of The Week: Being John Malkovich

This weeks film of the week is Being John Malkevich (1999). It stars: John Malkevich, John Cusack and Cameron Diaz and is directed by Spike Jonze.

A pupeteer is drawn into a strange love quintet with his wife, a co worker and John Malkevich when he stumbles upon a mysterious door that allows a person to be inside John Malkevich's head for 15 minutes.

A thoughly strange film that enjoyed strong popularity on its release and endures today as something of a cult film.

Seascraper Concept

I found this whilst researching yesterday's post. This is a concept design looking at the reapplication of oil rigs as sustainable living spaces.

This design by Young Wan Kim, Sue Hwan Kwun, Jun Young Park and Joong Ha Park recently recieved an honourable mention at the 2011 eVolo Skyscraper competition.

The structure also through a process of distillation would make its own drinking water.

Nam June Paik Bridge: Seoul

This is a concept for a bridge planned for Seoul. It is based on the work of the artist Nam June Paik.

The 1080m megastructure would a multi use structure; acting as but not limited to a park, meeting space, shopping centre and museum.

As well as adding new green space to the city, the whole bridge would be covered with solar panels so generating its own energy.

Cheap Car Modifications

I was looking for a follow up post to my Hummer post of a few weeks ago and I admit I failed to find anything that I could honestly one up those beasts with.

Therefore I present to you a one downing. There is more chance of winning the Gadget show prize than getting these monsters insured I feel.

Kylie Minogue Bear-ly Legal

Comedy post alert! My attention was drawn to this the other day. Apparently this image has been banned from Facebook for being inappropriate. At SH we have no such rules so enjoy its crudeness.

The picture was taken during a recent performance by Ms Minogue at London's G-A-Y Nightclub.

An email was sent out by Facebook saying: "We do not allow photos that contain nudity, drug use or violence."

Quite how this image fits into that description we are not sure. Unless Facebook are saying that Kylie or Mr Bear are naked, shooting up or attacking one another - maybe the latter? Even that seems to be tenuous justification.

Anyway enjoy the image and let us know what you think of this below in the comments box.

Deadmau5 4x4=12 Animation

I bought this album the other day and have been playing it in the SH office constantly since. It is a very good album if you like that sort of stuff.

However I am not writing this to sell Deadmau5's new album. The package I bought also came with this piece of animation which I would like to draw your attention too.

It is available through I-Tunes' LP application and came free with the album and is the intro sequence when you load the album up in LP.

I hope you enjoy this. Comment below.

Suzanne Lee: Grow your own clothes

Every now and then someone just comes out with something unbelievably cool on TED this is one such thing. This is just a brilliant and forward thinking approach to a counter industrialist approach to life. Watch as Suzanne explains the practicality, benefits and problems with growing your own clothes, although your bath may look like something out of Wanted for a while.

Hummer!

This isn't the first and it probably won't be our last Hummer post so sit back, relax and enjoy SH have provided you with all the Hummer you will need today.

Also check out the 2006 Superbowl Hummer advert at SH we reckon its one of the best car ads we have ever seen. Comment below.

Spiral

This is a French television series currently in Season 3 on BBC 4 in the UK. Spiral (Encrenages)is a drama following the often dark happenings, murder and corruption in the lives of the police and public prosecutors offices in Paris.

You can catch this now on BBC I - Player if you are in the UK. You will like this if you like Spooks.

Itunes U

This is a service we at SH have only just become aware of. It basically allows access to a range of lectures and video series from various major Universities and Colleges around the world on a range of topics.

Oh and as far as we can tell it is free.

Bye Bye Spotify

Statement from Spotify:
Upcoming changes to Spotify Free/Open
April 14, 2011, 09:20

Spotify’s aim from the very beginning was to make music on-demand available to all. To give you the power to listen to, discover, share and manage your music the way you want to - simpler, faster, better - while making sure the artists whose music we all love continue to see the benefits as we grow.

Making Spotify available to millions across Europe has seen the service become incredibly popular. People are listening to more music and from a wider range of artists than ever before, and are giving up on piracy, which is exactly what we hoped would happen.

So it’s vital that we continue offering an on-demand free service to you and millions more like you, but to make that possible we have to put some limits in place going forward.

Here’s how the changes will work:

* New Spotify users will be able to enjoy our unrivalled free service as it is today for the first 6 months.
* As of May 1st, any user who signed up to the free service on or before November 1st 2010 will be able to play each track for free up to a total of 5 times. Users who signed up after the beginning of November will see these changes applied 6 months after the time they set up their Spotify account.
* Additionally, total listening time for free users will be limited to 10 hours per month after the first 6 months. That’s equivalent to around 200 tracks or 20 albums.

The changes we’re having to make will mainly affect heavier Spotify Free and Open users, as most of you use Spotify to discover music – on average over 50 new tracks per month, even after a year. Plus, the average user won’t reach the limit on plays for 7 out of 10 tracks, after a year of using Spotify. For those of you using Spotify to find new tracks to enjoy and share with friends, these changes shouldn’t get in the way of you doing that. Rest assured that we’ll continue to bring you the biggest and most diverse music catalogue available.

For anyone who thinks they might reach these limits, we hope you’ll consider checking out our Unlimited and Premium services, neither of which will be affected, plus we have a 7-day free trial for Spotify Premium that we’d love you to try. Throughout May, we’ll also have a pretty nice 30-day free trial for Spotify Premium – more details on that in the next few days.

Above all, this means we can continue making Spotify available to all in the long-term. We’ll be bringing out some awesome new features as well as significant improvements over the coming months, which will make the Spotify experience even better.

Thanks so much, as ever, for your unbelievable support and I hope to come back with some exciting news in the next few weeks.

Daniel

Well thanks 'Daniel from Spotify' for that. As avid fans of the Spotify Free services we see this again as another attempt by Spotify to force us all into paid up membership. Another good service laid to waste by capitalist greed? Watch this space!