Wednesday 21 May 2014

[Week 11 26.05-01.06] Kitesurfing do not try at home

Kitesurfing do not try at home

Kitesurfing is one of the fastest growing water sports. Its popularity is connected with almost unlimited possibilities, for example: big jumps, and above all the feeling of freedom

This sport is for all who like enjoying an active holiday. There is one condition to become a kitesurfer, you should weigh more than 40 pounds.
A kitesurfing  is not a dangerous sport, due to innovative kites and rescue systems. To fly a kite you needn’t a lot of strength, you can compared it to cycling. To do kitesurfing you do not need to be a "jock" and have strong arms as you mistakenly believe.  You should be  in general good physical coordination.


Before you decided to learn it. Watch a movie. 



This May weekend in Jastarnia I met a girl  who tried to learn kitesurfing by herself. I asked if this was  her first time, she answered “Yes”. I warned her that the weather conditions were not for beginners, because the wind was offshore. Anyway she asked me to help her start the kite. I observed her for a long period of time, but then I went surfing as well. After my 3 hours session, on the beach I found her kite bag. With my friends we tried to find her, after one hour of exploration we decided to alarm MRCK (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre). Until today they haven’t found the girl.
Don’t forget to notify somebody where you swim and when you come back.

After that I decided to warn you and at the same time encourage you  to start adventure with kitesurfing with a kite school. To reduce the risk of injury, sign up for the course! Under the professional instructor learn how to surf with a kite, you will know what equipment is right for you and what whether conditions are optimal for you.
The course is divided into levels: IKO1, IKO2

IKO Level 1 - This step mainly focuses on the study of control of the kite, using safety systems and preparing a kite. You begin with a little kite on the beach, after this with a  normal size kite you learn a "Body dope" – it will help you in a dangerous situation to swim to a board or return to the land.

IKO level 2 - the next step to become an independent kitesurfer. When you finished IKO 1, and you already know how to control the kite and perform the “Body dope” it’s time to try starts swimming with a board. The second level is mostly dedicated to just this skill - learning starts with the board and is about performing short HALS in both directions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1bIA5W96Ls

Questions:
1.      Have you ever tried surfing?
2.      Would you like to try?
3.      How do you imagine kitesurfing?
4.      Do you prefer mountains or sea?

Sources:
Sticky – http://.www.kiteforum.pl
BigJump–http://1.bp.blogspot.com/UH9L5ZLekIc/UL4TElN71I/AAAAAAAABzw/WlKJdqgEOgg/s1600/Joe+Kite+Sweet.jpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJdSnOHArWQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1bIA5W96Ls








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[Week 11 26.05-01.06] The most expensive cars in the world

The most expensive cars in the world



For this car you will be working 206 years! 

For this car you will be working 206 years! 

According to Forbes, the most expensive production car in the world is the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport . This car is equipped with a W16 engine with a power of 1200 hp. In 2010, Bugatti entered the Guinness Book of Records - the car has achieved the highest average pass rate in the world - up to 430.9 km / h. An unusual car must also have an unusual price - as many as 3.5 million $! An average Pole who earns a "national average", which is a little over 3 thousand PLN would have to work continuously for 206 years to be able to afford it.

Another car from the list of most expensive cars in the world is the Swedish Koenigsegg Agera car, which is equipped with a V8 4.7-liter and accelerates in less than 3.1 seconds to "hundreds." Its value is approximately 2 million $, but there are produced 20 such a year .




For the similar price one can  buy the Maybach Landaulet, with a V12 engine with a capacity of 5.9 liters and 600 hp.  This limousine distinguishes the most expensive and luxurious gadgets, such as made of silver and hand polished champagne glasses.

Third The most expensive cars in the world is Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, already available for "only" 1.5 million $

The Last in top 4 is Pagani Zonda R - Price: $ 1,3 million (estimated)
The Pagani Zonda R has a 750-horsepower engine of the Mercedes AMG. Pagani has also a door lifted up and a rounded body. There are only 40 cats produced each year. They are equipped with high-quality carbon-titanium chassis. Compared to the old Zonda, the new model will have 4,000 new parts and Pirelli tires specially developed for the car. Forbes estimates that the car will cost over a million dollars.
Race between Bugatti and Koenigsegg

1. Which car would you choose?
2. Have you ever been driven car like this ?
3. What kind of car do you have ?
4. What kind of car do you dream ?
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Tuesday 20 May 2014

[Week 10] Medical Gadgets

For quite a while, companies in the United States have been competing to create a medical device popular and simple as thermometer or glucometer, yet much more intelligent and useful. One of the founding fathers of this technological boom is Irwin Jacobs, a millionaire who, encouraged by his colleagues - Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, decided to give away a great portion of his income to improve the world. Moreover, Jacobs, a PhD of electrical engineering and the founder of the giant telecommunications company Qualcomm, announced a contest to find the most effective personal wireless device.
10 million dollars await the authors of the best platform that within three days will diagnose 15 diseases in 30 people, without the need for costly hospital examinations and waiting in line to see the specialist. The micro device must also record basic results, such as blood pressure or body temperature, in real time and show useful information if necessary.

Although there are hundreds of interesting prototypes, Jacobs is still waiting for the one. The most known of the submitted projects it Scanadu Scout, a drive you could fit in a hand, which checks levels oxygen in the blood, chest expansion during breathing, body temperature, blood pressure and other activities of our body, combining many devices in one. You just need to touch your forehead with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsfnwIx2His

Another example of such appliances is the Zio XT Patch, a small sticker-device, which may in the future replace the inconvenient holter monitor. The electronic sticker is much lighter; you can wear it longer (up to two weeks) and take a shower with it. It sends real-time data to your mobile phone.

It’s not about creating an impressive gadget, which would bore us after a couple of days – the point is to be able to spot any problems as soon as they appear, to prevent a serious illness. After all, doctors can’t monitor us non-stop.

Supporters of new medical gadgets are convinced that the devices will be widely available in several years. Scientists are sure that consumers are ready for the revolution in medicine. Nowadays, millions of Americans use simple mobile applications such as calorie counters or menstrual cycle monitors. Some doctors, on the other hand, are not so optimistic about the changes that await the industry – they don’t want to share their hard-earned knowledge with machines.

Nowadays, they pay more and more attention to disease prevention in the United States. That’s the role of health care. Interestingly, not patients’ right organizations, but hospitals – such as the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Rochester – take action in raising awareness. They recommend data-bases of diseases and therapies on certain health-related websites, where you can also find examples of questions you should ask the doctor, when experiencing certain symptoms.

Some hospitals plan to recommend medical gadgets to certain patients. They would probably advise such solution to patients at high risk of heart disease, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and diabetes first.

Questions:
Do you self-diagnose using Google?
What is the role of the doctor when patients can self-diagnose using apps, gadgets or internet browsers?
How do you think the future looks like for such appliances? Will they become popular and be used on a daily basis?

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Monday 19 May 2014

[Week 10] Ukraine - what else?

Ukraine, freedom from mafia

World leaders have been scrambled for the past months, nervous about the rising conflict in Ukraine.  Three months, to be lying, 2 years to be honest. But the past weeks have spiraled out of control with domestic war ongoing, many deaths and as defined by the people themselves –a  burning war zone.



There are three basic reasons that led to disorganization, chaos and a military conflict:
  1. Broken promise between the president and citizens. Yanukovych promised to pursue connection with EU by trade as well as to merge Ukraine with EU. In November he denied all of that and refused to sign the treaty.
  2. Everlasting cold war between Russian and Ukraine (generally speaking with the West) for influence over countries in the East still locked in the soviet era. Even though Europe and the US are trying to bring democracy to these regions, it is not in Kremlin’s long term programs. They have a different motive, expand military and economic power. Russia saw a threat to its big military and economic interests in Ukraine. This was the main reason for Russia’s pressure.
  3. Public distress over the government especially latest brutal reaction to street protest (regarding not signing the treaty). These reactions were against what Ukrainians identified themselves with –a  peaceful society.
Ever since 2009 when EU proposed a partnership program with post-soviet countries (including Ukraine) Russia has gone against EU saying that the treaty is working against them. Why? Their Black Sea naval fleet is stationed in Ukraine, a gas pipeline goes through Ukraine to major buyers in EU. Imagine now that as a president, you have to keep everything in balance. Cooperate with EU or Russia? After some time, it was obvious which decision would be made (Russia gave 15 billion $ worth of gas discount).

Now, a bigger issue no one is talking about. Mafia.

This whole thing is not about EU, not about the Schengen Zone nor any other treaties. This whole thing (protests) is against the Ukrainian mafia (which has called themselves a new political power and are making illegal elections).  Funny fact – Yanukovich was twice imprisoned for robbery when he was young J all 

Ukrainian insiders need  help. We all say that we pick a president in elections, well their elections had a huge number of violations (remember counting in Polish elections was made by Russians trololol, well the story is far from the truth, but it is important who counts the votes). Threats of dismissal (I think it’s obvious what it means), forced to take pictures of their votes, brutal treatment of women, connections. Everything went bad.
Now what? Are we on the brink of WWIII?
Questions:
  1. Do you think the Polish government is as corrupted as Ukrainian?
  2. What do you think will be the next big step?
  3. What would you do if it was in fact the beginning of WWIII? 
Links


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[Week 10] Card control


Card control
Watch  a short movie first. Then we’ll talk.

Comments? I thought so. Now a little explanation of how it is done. You won’t believe it…

Magic. Yes, real magic that appears in front of our eyes. No tricks, pure magic.

 Yeah, I’m lying ;)

How it really works? Well, you have to remember a few things:
  1. He stacks the aces exactly, where he wants them to be. Exact spot for each of them.
  2. Doing a couple of riffles. It relies on people thinking. Yeah thinking. You have to realize that riffles don’t really randomize the deck. They in fact preserve most of the order of the cards.
  3. Remember that the aces are spread throughout the deck evenly, each in a group of about 13.
  4. He is very good with cards. Excellent hand control.
  5. He relies on the story telling mechanic to take your attention away from it.

Did you notice how precisely he quarters the deck at the beginning ? It was most stacked. The next step is simple, but complex to pull off, memorize the sequence.
In the beginning it looks something like this:

***Ace******Ace******Ace******Ace***

During the first "shuffling" he takes six from the top of the deck and put them on the bottom like:

Ace******Ace******Ace******Ace******

After that he does an even cut of the deck and a riffle. Now, the two halves of the deck are put together. It creates a set, the aces are now in two pairs touching (he has to be precise enough)

AceAce************AceAce************

He does another even cut and another riffle:

AceAceAceAce************************

Then, the next step he does is to turn half of the deck of the cards face up. It is made so that he can quickly verify if  the Aces are next to each other as well as that they are in one group.
Please notice the cuts he's doing at the end of the trick to reorganize the deck. It is made to put the Aces into places where he wants them to be.

Now a small magic trick for you:




Questions:
  1. Do you think global warming is a major issue nowadays?
  2. Do you think we should take steps to secure climate in the future?
  3. Did you like the trick? Do you any tricks yourself?
Links
L



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[Week 10] Net neutrality - Fast Lanes

Net neutrality – Fast Lanes

The Federal Communications Commission is planning to allow for Internet fast lanes. Is the future of the Internet in jeopardy? Well, it might not be as made up as everyone think it is.
Net neutrality rules have been created in order to ensure Internet Tier 1 and Tier 2 providers treat all data as equal, not improving specific services or cooperating with large companies that might be able to pay $$ for faster connections.
Ever since the United States Court of Appeals for District of Columbia tackled down the net neutrality laws (initially set in 2010), things got worse (Netflix anyone?)
As expected, after outrage of users, the FCC announced that it would try to bring back the Net neutrality by creating new laws. But…. Well they did a thing! Not really what we expected. The new proposal is created around the idea of fast lanes. And as I’ll try to explain below, they do not support the Net neutrality at all.

In a nutshell, FCC is making a goose laying gold eggs. MIT Technology wrote a review of the new FCC proposal putting it in par with the most terrifying Internet law so far. “New” laws would cause venture capital firms to stop funding small startups/home studios with new fast lanes services for media like videos, music and others. Generally speaking, companies that want to have any rational service on their data they would have to pay “ransom” to ISPs (Tier 1 or Tier 2) in the future. As you can imagine, small companies/startups/home studios are going to be impacted the most since they won’t have enough cash flow for such a solution. Now pause for a second and think how bad that is. Do you watch YouTube? How often? Once a week, everyday? How about Vimeo? Spotify? And what if their services become paid? How about all the users or casters/movie creators on YouTube?  They might never come to be simply because they’re not able to secure funding of their projects. How is a little guy supposed to compete with big companies? He’s probably going to be squeezed out of the market by someone who is willing to pay for faster connections.
So now what? Well, thanks to some big companies like Google, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon, Dropbox, Facebook, Kickstarter, Reddit, Twitter, Yahoo, BitTorrent, DuckDuckGo, RedTube, Ebay, Tumblr, 4chan and many, many more wrote an open letter to Chairman Wheeler and Commissioners Clyburn, Rosenworcel, Pai, O’Reilly (hate that guy…).
Open letter from IT Companies to the FCC
Apparently the new set of rules by FCC got hit hard by the Internet users as well, and it appears that they are going to put more work into it (riiiight….)
But just to make sure, one of the providers, NeoCities (offering free and paid Web hosting) made a plan. The Ferengi plan. It is a special FCC-only plan that cost 1000$ per year which removes the 28.8kbps modem throttle to the FCC. As specified by the creator, they are happy to tale Credit Cards, Bitcoin or Dogecoin from the FCC. There is even a simple code on GitHub for everyone to put limitation of the FCC internal IPs:
GitHub Code :)
The war is not lost yet.
Question time:
  1. As some of you probably never heard of this, does it make you feel uncomfortable?
  2. What is your insight into this matter?
  3. Do you think this will affect the average Joe?
  4.  If the Polish ministry proposed such a solution, would you fight and how?
Links

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[Week 10] LEGO

Many people grow out of Lego bricks – even though they develop creativity, they eventually end up in a box in the attic, or go to the younger generation of the family. However, not everybody treats Lego this way. There is a group of people that play with Lego regardless of their age.

They are sometimes called AFoL – Adult Fans of Lego. They not only keep the bricks from their childhood, they expand their collection as well! They store their Lego bricks organized by color or shape, so it’s easier to find the ones you need to build something.

And what do they build? Anything that comes to mind – often they base on real life buildings and machinery. The level of detail is amazing. The AFoLs call it MOC – My Own Creation.

Polish fans prove that a Lego is a great fun for people of all ages. Here are some examples of Lego constructions, ranging from huge and complicated to minimalistic, yet very imaginative.

This Dodge Challenger R/T from 1970 was built ten weeks.
photo by Havoc/Zbudujmy.to
A Soon-To-Be-Demolished Bridge (author: zgrredek). Inspired by an old narrow gauge railway bridge on the river Świder, which is narrower, but longer than the one shown in the picture.

photo by zgreedek/LUGPol.pl
The Ferris Wheel is 86 cm high and 67 cm wide. It needs 30 seconds to reach full speed. It’s because the wheel weighs a lot, the ratchets are loose and the main drive shaft is far from the engine. Overall, the wheel moves smoothly.
See a fully functional mixer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rk0Eq_oAjg
and a model of the Kenworth T900 truck - Australian version. The truck weighs almost 3 kg and is 53 cm long. You have three different trailers ranging from 1,4 to 2,3 kg. It’s propelled by Lego Mindstorms set.
I recommend a documentary about Lego lovers: "AFOL - a blocumentary".

Lego bricks are so deeply rooted in our culture that they are even used in art.
Zbigniew Libera created his controversial work “Concentration Camp” using Lego.
http://www.artbiznes.pl/index.php/lego-zbigniewa-libery-w-zbiorasch-msn/


Questions:
Do you know any nice examples of Lego constructions?
Has anyone of you ever been to Legoland in Denmark?
What do you think about Zbigniew Libera’s Concentration Camp? Does it offend you?
Did you play with Lego as kids and do you have any interesting memories?

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[Week 10] Responsible for food

Have you ever wondered what alternatives for buying food in supermarkets are?
Are you exhausted thinking which “bio” product is really healthy and worth a higher price?
There are some ways to avoid asking yourself these questions.
In some cheap Polish supermarkets on the same shelves where you can buy vegetables or fruits from other countries you can choose Polish products- why it is better to do so? Because supporting Polish farming causes shorter way of transportation, which is good for the environment. Besides, the prices of the products are getting lower when the demand is growing. Another essential reason is the fact the majority of Polish products are simply healthier- especially when you choose seasonal vegetables and fruits. There's no need to grow them with the use of chemistry, when the transportation is shorter.
When you're wondering which fish you should choose not to kill a dolphin you can just check:

I try to do so, and some time ago I also had an opportunity to buy eggs from a farmer who lives near Warsaw. I think it is a great idea to find such solutions. I'm sure that the eggs I'm eating are the best quality and the farmer is happy because of growing incomes. More and more friends are asking me to buy eggs also for them.
There are some food cooperatives in Warsaw, which works like that. People who work for such cooperatives bring food from verified farmers and sell them in Warsaw. The prizes aren't high because these organizations are based on the group's work- nobody takes money for preparing and sharing the food.

For those who have some time and good will there are more options. My friend gave me a self-help book about alternatives for a dominant food system. There are lots of solutions to provide yourself with healthy food . Fashion for growing vegetables on balconies and terraces in big cities is disseminating. It is very popular in Barcelona and Paris.

Questions:

1.What do you do to be a responsible consumer?Please share you ideas.
2.Have you ever heard about food cooperatives or balcony farming, do you think you could join one?
3.Do you feel the difference in taste between healthy food and the one which is full of chemistry?Maybe you have some food-memories from childhood which you'd love to recall?

sources:

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Wednesday 14 May 2014

Week 9: Brain at the gym


What exercises, in your opinion, are the best for your brain? 
I’m  inviting you to read and comment.

To enjoy your efficient brain, you should lead a very active life: both physical and mental.

PHYSICAL EXERCISE


Source

A physical exercise can make us more clever and more efficient in performing various tasks. The movement promotes the formation of new cells in the brain. Evidence from many studies suggests also that a physical activity facilitates neuroplasticity of certain brain structures and as a result cognitive functions [Hötting, Röder, 2013].  What's more – a being active is good for brain functioning at any age. No matter how old you are, by exercising you strengthen  memory, raise your ability to clearly. An additional advantage is the improvement of mood. But remember: to maintain the neuro-cognitive benefits induced by physical exercise, an increase in the cardiovascular fitness level must be maintained.
The most appropriate exercises for the brain are those of low or medium intensity. Experts recommend a half-hour, not too strenuous effort performed three times a week. This could be, for example, marching, walking in the mountains or swimming. The more often and longer we practice, the better. But we should not overdo it. [Lou et all, 2008].  


MENTAL EXERCISE – NEUROBIC

Source

Generally, the rule is one - the most important thing is to surprise the brain, and thereby get it to work. 

Time to break the routine!

Surprise your mind and dress up in a different order, select a different route to work, try to count the steps from the house to the bus. The brain likes to be surprised, thanks to that works better. The simple act of brushing your teeth can be a good exercise for the brain when you brush them by the non-dominant hand. All kinds of puzzle games, board games, card games, crosswords or learning vocabulary in a foreign language are recommended. Also puzzles or mathematical puzzles help. In short, all types of activities that involve processes such as memory, attention and logical thinking are good for your brain.


Source

SLEEPING TIME


SOURCE

Sleep is needed to regenerate certain parts of the body, especially the brain. Lack of sleep for a long time  [Peri, 2013] can reduce your attention and concentration, reaction time. decision-making and memory.
 

And what about the nap?

During the study for the exam, naps have  great influence on the operation of your memory and memory processes. While sleeping there is a consolidation of memory traces, so what you have learned will be strongly preserved in the brain. [Wagner, Born, 2007]. Mental acuity recovered during this rest causes that  assimilation of the material will be a lot easier to  you. “The length of your nap and the type of sleep you get help determine the brain-boosting benefits
  • The 20-minute power nap is good for alertness and motor learning skills like typing and playing the piano
  • Napping for approximately 30 to 60 minutes is good for decision-making skills, such as memorizing vocabulary or recalling directions.
  • 60 to 90 minutes of napping, plays a key role in making new connections in the brain and solving creative problems.” [Soong, 2011]

The optimal nap time is approximately 20 minutes. Our nap should not disturb the rhythm of the day causing problems with sleeping at night. Nap time  can vary depending on your lifestyle, so try different options and decide which is the best for you. 


Did you know?

  • Great historical figures were known for their passion for naps, inter alia Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison and Napoleon Bonaparte.

  • In China, the right to naps is written in the Constitution (but cannot last longer than 30 minutes)

 QUESTION TIME

  1. What is the best gym for the brain
  2. What do you think about the influence of music on our brain? 
  3. Do you nap during the day? How does this affect your brain?



 
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