Anton's posterous

Thoughts on Design, Life and Startups

Amazing Glass Sign Art, A Short Documentary Worth Viewing

From using gold leaf and sandblasters to cutting intricate designs and letters in glass, Danny Cooke's short documentary film on David A. Smith shows the amazing craftsmanship involved in creating ornamental glass signage. The film also touches on the rich history of beautiful gilded windows and sign writing from the turn of the century. Before watching this film I knew very little about the process behind making decorative signs in glass. 

What is the purpose of life? Narayanan Krishnan has an answer.

Narayanan Krishnan was a bright, young, award-winning chef with a five-star hotel group, short-listed for an elite job in Switzerland. But a quick family visit home before heading to Europe changed everything.

"I saw a very old man eating his own human waste for food," Krishnan said. "It really hurt me so much. I was literally shocked for a second. After that, I started feeding that man and decided this is what I should do the rest of my lifetime."

Krishnan was visiting a temple in the south Indian city of Madurai in 2002 when he saw the man under a bridge. Haunted by the image, Krishnan quit his job within the week and returned home for good, convinced of his new destiny.

"That spark and that inspiration is a driving force still inside me as a flame -- to serve all the mentally ill destitutes and people who cannot take care of themselves," Krishnan said.

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_3BEwpv0dM

Narayanan-krishnan-1

The 2010 TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster

I must admit tht I really like the look of this specialized version of the Roadster.

(download)

 From Tesla Motors Website:

 "Pioneering luxury Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer and electric carmaker Tesla Motors have teamed up in a worldwide partnership as the iconic Swiss brand celebrates its 150th anniversary.

On display at the Geneva Motor Show is the 2010 TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster. This one-of-a-kind collector's car includes a unique interior by Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, incorporating TAG Heuer avant-garde design elements and a specially designed center console due to host TAG Heuer’s cutting edge concept watch, to be revealed in Basel on March 18.

This car also features a TAG Heuer Meridiist mobile phone as well as a one-fifth second Heuer Limited Edition Stopwatch. This Swiss-made timepiece with mechanical movement pays tribute to the 1860 founding of the company and evoques the mythic revival of the brand's vintage stopwatches."

 More photos available here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/picturegalleries/7368788/In-pictures-the-2010-Geneva-Motor-Show-part-2.html

 

A cool interview with Sachin & Gary, the co-founders of Posterous

The first thing that I learned is that it is proncounced like 'pah-sterous', as in preposterous. I always used 'poe-sterous' as in creating a blog post.

I love the dedication these guys have to keeping things simple, straightforward and really built on the user's experience. It's a smart approach that many software developers find difficult to put into practice.

And what about money? Well it looks like these guys are the kings of the concept of a Lean Startup. Four guys working everyday on product with what seems like very few, but well chosen investors, ie Guy Kawasaki.

Posterous: easy, fast blogging with photos, video and MP3s

Firerift is an Awesome New Web App

(download)

I'm really impressed with Firerift which is a new CMS / Blogging / Gallery / You Name It web application for creating easy to update websites.
In their own words:

"Firerift is a completely new breed of CMS created for web developers to empower their creativity. Welcome to the wonderful world of Content Management without template restrictions!

Please head on over to www.firerift.com to check out screencasts, screenshots, features, a demo, docs and more! I hope you find Firerift to be an amazing tool to add to your design/development arsenal."

I'd like to see Firerift add a list of reliable hosts (with minimum package information) to their website as this would be my first question before getting started.

Also of note is Buildor/Lite which offer another really innovative approach to editing websites.

In their own words:

"So you've got a great website but no way of updating its content? Buildor/Lite "unlocks" your pages (by creating a copy) and makes the text and images editable with NO technical knowledge and NO prior setup." http://buildorlite.com

Buildor / Lite: unlock your web pages and start editing! from james law on Vimeo.

 

Has Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression?

The Great American Bubble Machine
Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression.In Rolling Stone Issue 1082-83, Matt Taibbi takes on “the Wall Street Bubble Mafia” ? investment bank Goldman Sachs. The piece has generated controversy, with Goldman Sachs firing back that Taibbi’s piece is “an hysterical compilation of conspiracy theories” and a spokesman adding, “We reject the assertion that we are inflators of bubbles and profiteers in busts, and we are painfully conscious of the importance in being a force for good.” Taibbi shot back: “Goldman has its alumni pushing its views from the pulpit of the U.S. Treasury, the NYSE, the World Bank, and numerous other important posts; it also has former players fronting major TV shows. They have the ear of the president if they want it.” Here, now, are excerpts from Matt Taibbi’s piece and video of Taibbi exploring the key issues.

Via: http://reckon.ws/word/the-great-american-bubble-machine.htm

German government: 1 million electric cars by 2020

(download)

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet aims Wednesday to finalize a plan that envisions one million electric cars zipping along the nation's famed autobahns by 2020.

The plan calls for "financial incentives" starting in 2012 to support the sale of electric cars. Specifics on the finances are to be discussed in the next legislature period in the fall.

"The program is aimed at having a positive impact on investment decisions, give producers security and support the sale of electric cars," according to a copy of the plan, obtained by The Associated Press.

More > http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gRgr3LFL7x8ILPYa9wrD92B6uhwwD9A5U6I01

Pictured above: Tesla Model S, Aptera Electric Car

----------------------------------------

I strongly believe that we as a nation need to set the same goal, the only difference being that we would need to add another 3 million to that number to make a difference. It no longer makes sense to send billions of dollars a year overseas just to fuel our oil addiction.

Setting a goal for all cars getting 35 mpg is great, but why not just leapfrog that and go to 150 plus?

 
Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
  
​