Japanese in Istanbul / Maras Dondurmasi / Turkish Ice Cream

The Best Funny & Amazing Moments

Crazy Landing

Human landscapes in SW Florida

A couple weeks ago, I was listening to a story by NPR's Planet Money team about "Toxie" a toxic asset they had purchased to follow and help tell the story of the recent financial meltdown. One of the mortgages in Toxie was on a home bought for investment in Bradenton, Florida, and the team took a look at housing in the area. Many homes there are empty and have been for years. Huge developments sit partially completed among densely built up neighborhoods and swampland. A guest stated that there were "enough housing lots in Charlotte County to last for more than 100 years". Boom and bust residential development has drastically affected parts of southwest Florida for decades now, and I spent some time (with the help of Google Earth), looking around the area. With permission from the fine folks at Google, here are a few glimpses at development in southwest Florida.

1. A section of a partially built residential project with only two houses in place, near Fort Myers, Florida. Map. (© Google)
2. A strip of houses in a neighborhood southeast of Fort Myers, Florida. Map, Street View. (© Google)

50 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For

As we prepare to give thanks for our delicious Thanksgiving meals (and impending food comas), let's not forget to pay tribute to the wonderful developers who bring us our favorite free apps.

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Earlier this week we asked you to share the free apps you're most thankful for, and you came through with thousands of votes for apps covering the desktop, mobile phone, and devices in between. With a little spreadsheet magic and a few choices of our own, we bring you the top 50 free apps we're all most thankful for. Whether you're celebrating the holiday or not, it's a great list of free software that ought to make for some gluttonous downloading. The popular apps are some of the more obvious, however, so be sure to look further down the list for new free software you may not yet know about. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

The 50 Free Apps We're Most Thankful For

1. Dropbox

See also: Dropbox Syncs and Backs Up Files Between Computers Instantaneously, The Cleverest Ways to Use Dropbox That You're Not Using, and Create a Highly Organized, Synchronized Home Folder with Dropbox

2. VLC (Video Lan Client)

See also: Master Your Digital Media with VLC, Set a Video as Your Wallpaper with VLC, and VLC 1.0 Records Video from DVDs

3. Google Chrome

See also: The Power User's Guide to Google Chrome, 2009 Edition, Create Your Own Google Chrome Themes, How and Why Chrome Is Overtaking Firefox Among Power Users, and Top 10 Must-Have Browser Extensions

4. Firefox

See also: Power User's Guide to Firefox 3, Top 10 Firefox 3.5 Features, and Top 10 Must-Have Browser Extensions

5. Opera

See also: Opera 11 Beta Introduces Tab Stacking for Customized Grouping, Opera 11 Alpha Brings Chrome-Like Extensions to the Speedy Browser, and Top 10 Must-Have Browser Extensions

6. Google Apps

See also: Trick Out Google Apps for Your Domain, Seven Easy Ways to Integrate Your Google AppsCollaborate with Co-Workers Using Google Apps Team Edition, A First Look at Google Voice,Top 10 Clever Google Voice Tricks, and Turn Gmail Into Your Ultimate GTD Inbox

7. Simplenote and Notational Velocity

See also: The Holy Grail of Ubiquitous Plain-Text Capture, Simplenote Offers Synchronized Notes on iPhones-And Now It's Free, and mNote Syncs Your Simplenote Notes with Android Phones

8. CCleaner

See also: CCleaner 2.0 Decrapifies Your PC, Run CCleaner on a Schedule to Keep Your PC Crap-Free, and CCleaner Enhancer Makes CCleaner Even Better, Now Cleans 270 New Apps

9. uTorrent

See also: uTorrent 3.0 Alpha Adds Web Interface Support for iPad, Android and How to Boost Your BitTorrent Speed and Privacy

10. Transmission

See also: Manage Your BitTorrent Downloads with Transmission and Transmission 2.0 Adds a Whole Lot of Stability to the Popular BitTorrent Client

11. sabnzbd+

See also: How to Get Started with Usenet in Three Simple Steps

12. Open Office

See also: A First Look at OpenOffice.org 3.0, OpenOffice.org 3.2 Improves Startup Times, Office 2007 Compatibility, and OpenOffice.org 3.1's Usability Tweaks

13. Skype

See also: our full Skype coverage

14. Evernote

See also: Expand Your Brain with Evernote and Clever Uses for Evernote

15. GIMP

See also: Is GIMP better than Photoshop?, Tweak GIMP to be More Like Photoshop, and Cartoonify Photos with the GIMP

16. KeePass

See also: Best Password Manager: KeePass and Eight Best KeePass Plug-Ins to Master Your Passwords

17. LastPass

See also: The Intermediate Guide to Mastering Passwords with LastPas

18. 7zip

See also: Hive Five Winner for Best File Compression Tool: 7-Zip

19. ImgBurn

See also: Download of the Day: ImgBurn (Windows), Hive Five Winner for Best CD and DVD Burning Tool: ImgBurn, and Turn Your PC into a DVD Ripping Monster

20. Microsoft Security Essentials

See also: Microsoft Security Essentials Ranks as Best-Performing Free Antivirus and Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft's Security Tools Are Good Enough

21. AutoHotkey

See also: Automate Windows with AutoHotkey, Turn Any Action into a Keyboard Shortcut, and The Best Time-Saving AutoHotkey Tricks You Should Be Using

22. Pandora

See also: Best Music Discovery Service: Pandora, Discover new music with Pandora, and How to access Pandora from outside the U.S.

23. FileZilla

See also: Hive Five Winner for Best FTP Client: FileZilla, FTP File Transfer Across Platforms with Filezilla 3.0, and Build a Home FTP Server with FileZilla

24. TrueCrypt

See also: Best File Encryption Tool: TrueCrypt and Geek to Live: Encrypt your data

25. Handbrake

See also: Best DVD-Ripping Tool: Handbrake, Rip DVDs to Friendlier Formats with HandBrake, and Calculate the Perfect Handbrake Video Encoding Settings for Your Device

26. VirtualBox

See also: The Beginner's Guide to Creating Virtual Machines with VirtualBox and How to Run Mac OS X in VirtualBox on Windows

27. Audacity

See also: Digitize and Clean Your Analog Audio Collection with Audacity, Learn how to use Audacity for podcasting, and Remove Vocals from MP3s with Audacity

28. Paint.NET

See also: Download of the Day: Paint.NET 3 (Windows), Pinta Brings Paint.NET's Just-Enough Image Editing to Every Computer, and Basic image editing with Paint.NET

29. iTunes

See also: Geek to Live: iTunes power tips, Install iTunes Without the Extra Bloat, The 23 Best iTunes Add-ons, and our full iTunes coverage

30. Thunderbird

See also: our full Thunderbird coverage and Backing up Gmail with Thunderbird

31. Foobar2000

See also: Hack Attack: Roll your own killer audio player with foobar2000 and Screenshot Tour: The beautiful and varied world of foobar2000

32. Pidgin

See also: Chat Across IM Platforms with Pidgin 2.4, Ten Must-Have Plug-ins to Power Up Pidgin, and Use Dropbox to Sync Your Pidgin Profile Across Multiple PCs

33. Adium

See also: our full Adium coverage

34. avast!

See also: Avast Free Antivirus 5.0 Adds Behavior Monitor, Heuristics Engine, and Improved Performance and Free anti-virus roundup

35. TeamViewer

See also: Download of the Day: TeamViewer (Windows) and TeamViewer Arrives on Android for Small-Screen Remote Control and Tech Support

36. TweetDeck

See also: Best Twitter Client: TweetDeck, TweetDeck Offers Features Twitter Lacks, and Use Evernote with TweetDeck for Better Twitter Memory

37. Launchy

See also: Integrate Everything Search Tool and Launchy, Take Launchy beyond application launching, and Screenshot Tour: Tweaking Launchy

38. Quicksilver

See also: Hack Attack: A beginner's guide to Quicksilver and Top 10 Quicksilver Plug-ins

39. Instapaper

See also: Battle of the Bookmark-and-Read-Later Apps: Instapaper vs. Read It Later

40. ReadItLater

See also: Battle of the Bookmark-and-Read-Later Apps: Instapaper vs. Read It Later

41. XBMC

See also: Build a Silent, Standalone XBMC Media Center On the Cheap, Turbo Charge Your New XBMC Installation, Transform Your Classic Xbox into a Killer Media Center, and Turn Your XBMC Media Center into a Video Game Console

42. PuTTY

See also: Put PuTTY in the Tray with PuTTY Tray, Add Tabs to PuTTY with PuTTY Connection Manager, and KiTTY Adds Session Saving, Portability, and More to PuTTY

43. Cyberduck

See also: FTP for Free with Cyberduck and Cyberduck FTP Client Updates with Google Docs Support, New S3 Features

44. Perian

See also: Perian Makes Nearly Every Video Playable in QuickTime

45. XAMPP

See also: Run Your Personal Wikipedia from a USB Stick

46. Windows Live Essentials

See also: First Look at Windows Live Essentials Beta's New Social Features and Lifehacker Faceoff: iLife '11 vs. Live Essentials 2011

47. Winamp

See also: Manage your music with Winamp and Control Winamp Remotely from Any Browser

48. TeraCopy

See also: Speed up file copying with TeraCopy and Hive Five Winner for Best Alternative File Copier: TeraCopy

49. Eclipse

See also: Tips for Using Eclipse Effectively

50. MediaMonkey

See also: MediaMonkey 3.2 Syncs with More Devices, Adds Auto Folder Watching

And that's the list! Items on this year's list garnered a minimum of ten votes (with a few exceptions), with popular apps pulling in far more. Dropbox took the lead with 137 votes, followed by VLC and 109, and Firefox 97. Happy downloading, and happy Thanksgiving!

Haiti, ten months later

It has now been nearly ten months since the devastating January earthquake struck Haiti, reducing Port-au-Prince to rubble and claiming over 300,000 lives. In the time since, Haiti's government, the United Nations, and many other aid agencies have struggled just to keep the population healthy and fed as it tries get back on its feet. Recent weeks have seen an outbreak of cholera, which has killed more than 300 people. The cholera strain is not native to Haiti, and reportedly matches strains found in South Asia, placing suspicion on U.N. personnel from that area who were stationed nearby. Some 1.3 million people are still crammed into thousands of makeshift camps dotted around the capital, leaving them vulnerable to both disease outbreaks and the elements - of particular concern as Tropical Storm Tomas now approaches, and may grow to Hurricane strength by landfall on Friday
1. A rooster stands on the roof of an abandoned aircraft in a camp set up for Jan. 12 earthquake victims on an abandoned air strip in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
2. A wider view of a tent city set up for earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Wednesday, September 29th, 2010. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

MAN SLEEPS IN A RUNNING TURBINE

obviously he is not in danger

True Faith - New Order (HQ Audio)

photos from Afghanistan, October, 2010

Shafiqa, 14, waits for treatment at a free specialized clinic for leishmaniasis supported by World Health Organization (WHO) October 26, 2010 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by a parasite transmitted by a tiny sandfly that can lead to severe scarring, often on the face. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images).
A Muslim man prays as German Bundeswehr soldiers patrol high ground overlooking the city on October 9, 2010 in Feyzabad, Afghanistan. (Miguel Villagran/Getty Images). .

nutshot violent skateboard

heavy cars are not always safe!!!

look this interesting video evaluate if heavy cars are safe or not!

I told you... they exist...

Dual disasters in Indonesia

Indonesia was rocked by two separate disasters earlier - a 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on Monday that swept onto the Mentawai Island chain in western Indonesia, and less than 24 hours later and a few hundred miles away, Mount Merapi erupted multiple times, unleashing searing pyroclastic flows that destroyed villages and blanketed the countryside in ash. Rescue personnel are only now reaching some of the more remote areas, but as of this writing, it is estimated that nearly 300 people were killed by the tsunami, and at least 30 died near Mount Merapi. Collected here are early photos from the dual disasters, and the rescue and recovery efforts just underway.

1. A man wears a face mask as ash from the erupting Mount Merapi volcano blankets a street, at Kaliurang village in Sleman, on October 26, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Thousands have been ordered to evacuate as Mount Merapi, which last erupted in 2006, began to emit plumes of smoke and clouds of ash. (Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)

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2. This aerial photo shows a damaged building in a village flattened by Monday's earthquake triggered tsunami on Pagai island, West Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Rare Dragon/Shark Found In Japan

France on strike

Weeks of strikes, protests and demonstrations have brought much of France to a standstill as workers, students and others voice their strong opposition to a government proposal to raise the age for a minimum pension from 60 to 62. A quarter of the nation's gas stations were out of fuel, hundreds of flights were canceled, long lines formed at gas stations and train services in many regions were cut in half. Protesters blockaded Marseille's airport, Lady Gaga canceled concerts in Paris and rioting youths attacked police in Lyon. The unpopular bill is edging closer to becoming law as the French Senate is preparing to vote on it today. Collected here are recent images of the unrest around France. Update: Pension reform bill just now passed by French senate.




1. A man holds a placard which reads "Listen to the public's rage" during a demonstration in front of the French Senate in Paris October 20, 2010. French trade unions kept up their resistance on Wednesday to an unpopular pension reform due for a final vote in the Senate this week. (REUTERS/Charles Platiau)
2. People march during a protest in Marseille, southern France, Saturday Oct. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

HAARP... creating earthquakes, tornadoes and so on...

haarp at work

Lufdesign

The artificial cables all around us create a more dark and cold environment. The Leaf tie takes the cables and wraps the cables while bringing life to a dull area. It serves the dual purpose of design and efficiency.









The Leaf tie is easy to use. It is simply used in the same manner as the cable-tie. All you have to do is wrap the Leaf Tie around the loose cables. The design of the Leaf tie makes the cables look like wrapped twigs. For young children or people that live in the city that tire from the artificially modern environment, the Leaf tie can for a short while let them experience a hint of nature.

















The profits made from this product are used to benefit causes for ecology campaign.

Fork and Cream sauce

Most computer peripherals used today are connected by cables. These cables are difficult to place in an orderly manner and tend to entwine with one another. The weight of the cables forces the lines to fall to the ground.





The Fork is a product that takes an everyday USB or mouse cable and transforms the appearance. Picture a messy plate of spaghetti neatly twisted onto a fork placed above a layer of cream sauce right before it is ready to be eaten. The Fork creates a similar picture with any cable. However, the white iPod and iPhone cables look exceptionally well with this product.





The Fork is a product that lets us reminisce into the past of our early childhood days. Through this product, a simple cable can allow us to imagine a fun-filled picture like the spaghetti previously mentioned. The creative and fun design can enhance further the imaginative minds of children.



The greater part of the profits of this products selling are used to contribute for save the starving children.


"Buy One, Feed a Child!

With each item purchased, 'Save the Children' will be able to provide one meal for a child in hunger."

FlyingStick

Just like a toy propeller, we make ‘Flying STICK’ flying by our hands.
We put the ‘Flying STICK’ between the palm of the hand and rub our hands, then ‘Flying STICK’ flies in the sky with the spin.
Most people who see the flying ‘Flying STICK’ want to catch the ‘Flying STICK’.
So they probably run and jump to catch it.
‘Flying STICK’ has a camera at the bottom of the body.
It can take a picture through being in the sky.
‘Flying STICK’ continuous takes a photograph from beginning to fly to landing in hand.
We discover our pure and natural smile using the ‘Flying STICK’.







People usually get stiff when they take pictures.
‘CHEESE’ or ‘3,2,,,,,1’ make people more and more stiff but ‘Flying STICK’ doesn’t need to have any signs.
‘Flying STICK’ continuous takes a photograph through being in the sky.
People can’t touch the ‘Flying STICK’ when it is on the air, namely ‘Flying STICK’ takes a picture by itself.
People can’t know when the shutter is pressed.
They just run and jump to hold the ‘Flying STICK’.
At that moment, we can get the most natural pictures.


Find your natural and pure childhood by the Flying STICK.
:->

DustPan+Bin

The Tidy Way To Be Messy
: By morphing the function of the DustPan+Bin with that of the trash-can, a new hybrid is born: this DustPan+Bin that has a function, even when not in use, to put waste as a trashcan.





This DustPan+Bin seem like just DustPan, but it’s not only a DustPan but also trash can. It would be easier to sweep waste and dust. when you finish sweeping a room clean, you just turn the bottom of “Triangle” at an angle of 90 degrees





It will be a trash can. Maybe your sweeping is too so quit being lazy and you empty the trash bin already!.

ECord

ECORD is a compound word of Economy and Electric cord which has significance of ‘Eco-Design’.
ECORD protects environment by efficiently reducing energy waste due to the ‘Standby Power’. ECORD is designed environment-friendly, and is competitive product with its function and quality.



If there is a leaking tap, anyone would like to close it. In the same way, if there is leaking electric power, anyone would like to cut it off. However, unfortunately, we do not even notice the leaking, or wasted energy due to standby power, because we cannot see, or hear it.

An ordinary electric cord that we can see everyday is simply regarded as a connecting device for transferring electric power.
It seems to have no particular function and just left on the floor.
However electric cord has been, and will be necessary for carrying electric power for a long time.
Invention of ECORD is started from the idea to utilize the PVC-covered surface of electric cord by implementing some clever technology to feedback users with information about such as power waste, overload.





ECORD makes users aware of their standby power waste by display current flow, and therefore helps them to cut down the leak.

ECORD has a patterned new composition on its PVC covering. This composition stays invisible, but appears when the specific range (From 1 to 15W) of current is provided. If there is any loss due to standby power, the pattern (or any graphics made of the composition) appears on the ECORD surface, therefore users are easily able to notice it. Any information of unusual current, such as overload can be provided in the same way.

Using ECORD in not merely using electric cord, but saving environment, and further, saving the earth by reducing energy consumption.



Many countries are trying to cut down the standby power by encouraging people to pull out their plug, or turn off multi-tab, which is very inconvenient, and even bothersome. However, if any electric device is plugged on, energy waste due to standby power will be continued.
To eliminate this inconvenience, ECORD is equipped on-off switch on it plug.

Tinkling

We call it the Wind-bell, which hanging under the roof of building and roof tile. This Wind-bell is made with a small still bell with a pendulum in it. When the wind blows, the wind swing the bell and rings with a clear sound. We exchange a bunch of data and emails every day. I would like to express the flow of data which represent the all new future life style.







Among the many figures in Korean the Wind-bell is made after fishes which are swimming in blue sea.
The clear sound of Wind-bell with the gentle breeze makes people satisfy their desires to feel the nature.
We are living in the flood of data.

My design concept is as follows;
Wind: Data flow
Wind that swings the Wind-bell: Data or message that related to the users
Sound of Wind-bell : Transmission of feedback to the users



There are emerging desires to feel like living in the nature even in man-made living space.
Rather than messages from cold digital equipment, people more want the message from the equipment that enables them to feel the aroma of nature nostalgia.

Beyond presenting the simple informant, the aroma of nature can be felt between PC and user.

The pendulum of Wind-bell rings with clear sound and gives the message that the user has just received the email.
The body of Wind-bell shows the name of sender and the summarized message.

When someone sees the Youtube video clip and he or she posted a reply, then the sound of Wind-bell is heard and the Wind-bell appear on the screen.
The data flow that related to the user is transmitted with a clear sound by swinging Wind-bell, not with a digital sound.





The new flow of information is like an air current. By this unilateral or bilateral air current, people can escape from the digitalized information and fulfill the desire to be out of civilization.

The more the digital technology develops quickly, the more people look for the analogue factors. Thus, it is important to make the living space as similar to nature.

The representation of Wind-bell transforms the monotonous PC and digital information into romantic information which contain the naturalism.

Incense

Incense on strut.
Designed to remind user of memory of smell.



Communications
Beyond time and place.



Cebit 2006_Join the Vision a list of exhibits

SaverClip

Saverclip induce people not to waste electricity by showing Electromagnetic Fields (which is detected by safer clip) on its display, in that way people can recognize the amount of electricity being wasted.





Safer clip is charged by electromagnetic fields, that come from the electric wire plug, and Its display shows the amount of the power needed for the each devices. When the devices are off, safer clip displays standby-power being wasted and induce them to stop wasting it.

What is standby power?
POwer consumed by an appliance when switched off or while not performing its primary purpose. It means 5-12% of residential electricity in most countries.
By using Safer Clip we coould reduce use of power and as consequence we could reduce CO2 emissions by 1,5% - that is 361.770 tons per year.
Safer Clip on its display shows the amount of the power needed for each device. When the devices are off, Safer Clip displays standby power being wasted and induce them to stop wasting it.



Its display shows the amount of the power needed for the each devices. When the devices are off, safer clip displays standby-power being wasted and induce them to stop wasting it.

Anybody wants to turn off the water when they see leaking water from a tap. Like this, what will you do when you see the wasting power?