Ai Pioppi - Fairground in a forest

Submitted by Dave Blair on Fri, 10/18/2013 - 16:48

"Hidden among the trees of an Italian forest, Bruno has been building swings, slides, seesaws, gyroscopes and roller-coasters for the last forty years. They are his passion and a way to attract clients to Ai Pioppi, the restaurant he runs with his family. Throughout this short documentary, his hand-powered toys move alongside his thoughts about existence and death; and why he spent more than half of his life creating rides."

AI PIOPPI from Fabrica on Vimeo.

Stafford Beer & Chile - Project Cybersyn

Submitted by Dave Blair on Wed, 09/11/2013 - 01:01

In the early 70s, and way ahead of it's time, cybernetics expert Stafford Beer created an information network in Chile which fed into a mainframe to detect and predict problems in the economy.

Known as Project Cybersyn, the network was quickly adapted during the US attempts to undermine the current democratically elected president. It then enabled Chile to function during lorry driver strikes by managing the routes and positions of available trucks.

Just as the network was expanding and becoming fully formed it was doomed by the coup carried out by Pinochet. The network and control room being destroyed soon after he took power.

Today these ideas are being realised as big data and smart cities.

Click here (damninteresting.com)

MI6 - Licolnshire Poacher

Submitted by Dave Blair on Fri, 09/06/2013 - 21:35

Listen to the recording of a reported (by kernelmag.com) MI6 telephone system for spies to receive encrypted messages.

In the past this was done in part by sending the information via a radio signal from Cyprus allegedly run by the British Secret Intelligence Service. It was known as the "Licolnshire Poacher" and ran from the 70s until a few years ago.

The service is apparently now run on a telephone number.

Click here for original article

Russian radio signal UVB-76

Submitted by Dave Blair on Fri, 09/06/2013 - 21:27

A mysterious Russian radio signal at 4625kHz has been broadcasting since the 70s. Mostly it consists of a intermittent buzzing noise, but a 2-3 times a decade it stops and a voice can be heard. These interruptions have included '"Command 135 initiated", a playing of Swan Lake, and some overheard background conversations.

Possible explanations are that it's a simple emergency transmission frequency, or it could be part of Russia's "dead man switch", which automatically fires off nukes if Russia is otherwise crippled. It's also been postulated that it could be part of a system for measuring changes in the ionsphere:

Click here

Living like 1986

Submitted by Dave Blair on Fri, 09/06/2013 - 16:45

A Canadian family have decided to live like it's 1986 for a year. Disturbed by his son's constant playing on a tablet and unwillingness to go outside, Blair McMillan decided to revert back to 1986, moving to an 80s house, disallowing the use of modern technology and growing a mullet and moustache.

Click here

How to delete your online accounts

Submitted by Dave Blair on Tue, 08/27/2013 - 16:19

justdelete.me is a new web site created to help with the fury that can be experienced while trying to figure out how to delete your account from popular websites.

The sites are colour coded to show how difficult it is to delete your account. Clicking on the site shows you how to delete your account.

Some of the hardest (or impossible) sites are listed as: Amazon, iTunes, Skype and Spotify.

justdelete.me

Stolen pie.

Submitted by Dave Blair on Mon, 07/29/2013 - 15:44