Fine tastings of the week ending Nov 18 (#7)
Tweet1. If someone told you they could transfer power wireless-ly, you might have laughed at them. Not any more, researchers at MIT have figured out a way to transfer power wirelessly over short distances using the well-known principle of resonance. If you are lazy to read the entire BBC report, check out the diagram at the end of the report. It explains the concept succinctly and effectively.
2. How internet pioneer Netflix iterates through the page designs on its site, testing new ideas ultra-frequently makes for a great lesson in UI design. read on. <Via Vamsi Poondla>.
3. Dean & Laura Vandruff have compiled a great list of conversational tactics that people use to cow down others with a provocative title “Conversational Terrorism” <Via Communication Nation>
4. Would hot water freeze first or cold water? If you guessed cold water like I did, you are wrong. Under certain conditions hot water freezes first. This phenomenon which still continues to baffle physicists is called Mpemba Effect after a Tanzanian school student, Erasto Mpemba, who stumbled upon it in the year 1963. The reason we know about this is because Mpemba persisted even after severe rebukes from his physics teacher for arguing about stuff that doesn’t agree with the laws of physics. I came across this article in the Physics World magazine. This article is a great read. Don’t miss it.
5. On a whim Priya Raju picked up the movie Nottinghill from the Brit Council. It turned out to be a cute movie (romantic comedy genre). Both Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts have put in an excellent performance.
6. Got a chance to see the latest Bond movie Casino Royale, one day after it was released in Chennai. Daniel Craig has done a great job. I think he is going to put energy & zeal back into the Bond franchise in a way, probably, only Sean Connery could rival.
I too liked Nottinghill. It’s one liner ‘Surreal but true’ is very nice. Also the fake interview by Hugh Grant is very funnty. And the British(London) accent brings yet another layer of charm.
Wireless energy, resonance…is that what could cause telepathy? (not touching pseudo sciences..but some believe so)
Yeah. i liked the fake interview as well. Hugh Grant seems to naturally “get” comedy. Not sure telepathy has a scientific basis Vamsi. But you make an interesting connection. You have given me food for thought.
From the days of Wi-Fi, I always had longed for wireless power. And it is one joke that ‘resonated’ well with all my clients as well 🙂
To 007, I too liked the new Bond – not sure if he is a bit macho. And one disappointment in the movie was the lack of gadgets (could be because this is Ian Fleming’s first novel)
Thanks Sibu. I too can’t wait for the new wireless power. As for Bond’s gadgets. I guess we will see more in the next one.