Pedestrian crossing signals featuring female, rather than male, figures, are launched in Zwickau in Germany on a three-month trial.

[Source: BBC News]

Anyone for steamed purple carrots?

Researchers with the US Agricultural Research Service are breeding carrots that come in a palette of flashy colors to entice us to eat our greens.
[Via Popgadget]

Interesting Artwork

Ok, so maybe these paintings are not of Van Gogh standards, but they are still quite interesting. They're not interesting because of the topics or technique, they're intresting because of the medium used... can you guess the medium?
Coffee.
Andy and Angel have been painting with coffee for several years, and have completed hundreds of original artworks. Nearly every person who views the work is amazed that the artwork is painted entirely in coffee - no additives, 100% pure coffee. People have been using coffee as washes for sketches and other shading for some time, but this is the one of the first times where a process is used to gain very dark hues and ranging to subtle lights by using coffee alone.
Check out the website and the online gallery here.
Lol, and as they say, "Pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy the website."

100% Cairo

Ok, it's official!
We're leaving tomorrow at 6:30 AM to Cairo, Egypt.
I'm really, really excited because I love history and sightseeing, and it appears like that's all we're going to do(and what better place to go sightseeing?) Apparently, we're even going to a museum that has Van Gogh's and Renoir's!
What makes the whole trip more appealing is that I'm going with my department at university, and the professors always have very interesting comments about history, art, and architecture. Of course, I'm also going with my friends, so that should also be cool. Our department also includes music and theatre, so trips turn into a giant entertainment feasts.
Should be back home in Amman on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Burst of Colors

Beatriz Milhazes, Acrylic on canvas

Small University

I just discovered that I've been taking a class with Ammar since the beginning of the semester. I still don't know which one of the few guys in that class Ammar is, but maybe I'll find out at that class tomorrow. Lol, what a coincedence :)

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

LOL! Here's the result to a test I found on Nader's blog:


You Are a Snarky Blogger!

You've got a razor sharp wit that bloggers are secretly scared of.
And that's why they read your posts as often as they can!

Take the quiz yourself here.

Aliens Invaded

Sigourney Weaver is planning to take a trip into space and has signed up for a place on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic spacecraft. The first flight for the commercial rocket is scheduled to take place in 2008 and an insider at the company joked: "We'd be delighted to take Sigourney back to visit the aliens." Sigourney isn't the only Hollywood star hoping to get the ride of a lifetime, Star Trek actor William Shatner and Carmen Electra's husband Dave Navarro have both booked a seat as well.
[Source: IMDB]

Anyone up to such a trip?

R.I.P VHS

In a move that marks the beginning of the end for a hugely successful chapter in technology history, Britain's biggest high street electronics retailer Dixons has announced that it's taking VCRs off its shelves for good.

All over the world, the revolutionary VHS (video home system)--which let people record and watch television programs when they wanted rather than at the whim of broadcasters--is in headlong retreat as the DVD (digital versatile disc) takes over.

To add insult to injury, police grudgingly admit that in Britain at least, home burglars don't even bother to take VHS players because new ones now cost so little that no one wants a second-hand model.

Rest in peace VHS.
You were a wonderful chapter in the history of technology and behind so many fun and beautiful moments.
In your support, I'll try to always keep a place for a VHS in my home :)
Until I migrate my wedding video to DVD that is :P

[Via Subzero Blue]

Scary! What's next I wonder?

Dead Sea Pictures

here. I know I always go overboard, but like I said earlier, I'm a very visual person.
These pictures were taken over the last week at Moevenpick Resort Dead Sea, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The Dead Sea by itself is an amazing place, and like I said, I've never been there before, so I found it mind blowing. Swimming in the sea was an amazing experience, and the weather was wonderful there although it was really cold in Amman(going from 1300 kms above sea level(Amman) to 300 kms below sea level in 45 minutes at 100 kms/hour.Hehe, the drive back was terrible with my 1300 CC car!)



The architecture and design of the hotel reminded me of Al-Hamra Palace of Spain. It's basically based on a similar water system that starts in the reception area and runs under the glass floors, down the walls, and into the outside where it flows into a beautiful stream that flows into the pool. The two pictures above are of the stream, and the picture below is where the stream flows into the sand pool:



The sand pool has an infinity edge so that it looks attached to the sea:

Sunset(pool ends where people are swimmung)

Front View

Side View


The architecture of the actual buildings is also amazing, and it portrays the architecture and history of Jordan, which I thought was a wonderful change from modernism and Western style architecture.










Update courtsey of Dad:

"First of all, you went to Dead Sea when you were 2, 3 and 6. We went to the area were Zara Falls end and join the sea, you and your brothers swam there before anyone else did.

The altitude is not 1300 KMs, it is 1300 meter. Altitude of Dead Sea surface is 392 m below level of ocean or other seas."

Thanks :)

Scroll Wheel Nokia

There’s no built-in hard drive to store lots of music or anything, but check out the Neo, Nokia’s new iPod-esque cellphone which has a scroll wheel instead of a regular keypad. Don’t know much else, like when it might come out or what the resolution of the built-in digital camera is, but if we had to guess, we’d wager that you use the scroll wheel to navigate, dial numbers, and write out text messages the same way you would with the Nokia 7280 and its NaviSpinner controller.

[Via Engadget]

It looks really gorgeous right? I really like the color and the design.
Yet the best thing is that Apple are changing the aesthetics of technology. Way to go!

Violence

Now that its clear that General El-Busho will be remain at his throne for another four years, we at Si decided to continue on our earlier thread on the subversion of objects with one that focuses solely on objects that either subverts a violent one by playing with its perceived function or vice versa:



Ever felt like shooting the tube? Well, First up is Onkar Singh Kular’s TV remote that’s shaped like a gun. It was part of an installation titled “The Democratisation of Fame” where he focused on the instant celebrity promised by reality TV.
The installation included “a red carpet; a chair with an angled arm meant to simulate a car door, so the user could practice leaving a limo”.



Not the very friendliest Ice mould, this conceptual piece by a student at Central Sant Martins, is a DIY murder kit with which you could freeze yourself an Ice Knife, and then let it melt after you kill your victim, so that you would leave no fingerprints or weapons at the crime scene. A polystyrene case would keep the knife frozen for up to 24 hours. No word on whether we’d see this soon in Wal-Mart. :D



A modified (non commercial) Hello Kitty bot by a Ms. Katherine. No additional information, but too adorable to ignore.



For those long lost relatives that you hope will remain lost, here’s the perfect gift - Titled “Loved Ones”, Elske van der Putten’s graduation project (via reluct) is a ceramic grenade packaged in a luxury gift box.


And finally,



If Disney ever sold security, they would commission designer Mattias Megyeri who puts a friendly face on safety with his razor wire woven with butterflies, flower-petal security box frames, teddy bear-shaped locks, and bunny-rabbit ears and whiskers for CCTV cameras.

[Via Sensory Impact]

Recycled Tableware

Fifty-Cents is Sara Cihat's creative statement about the importance of recycling and the ability to renew value of unwanted things. She finds used dishes, cleans them, applies new designs and re-fires them. The result is fun, funky and feel-good.

[Via Cool Hunging]

I really love the graphic art feel around these plates!

Shower Timer

"What we do, what we say and how we act, can create a ripple in our community." Ripple make educational products so customers become more aware of their water consumption. An average Australian , for example, uses 400 litres of water each day, which is a heap for the world's...(rest of article here)

[Via Treehugger]

Trip to Cairo

Yay, there's a 95% probability that I'm going to Cairo with school on Thursday. I'm really excited, I've never been to Egypt. Anyone has any idea what kind of clothes I should take?

Back Home From The Dead Sea

Just got back from an extended family trip to the Dead Sea. It was a lot of fun, I'm really, really impressed.
Hehe, they literally transformed it into a piece of heaven :)
I'll post pictures later.

If Roba Was a File Extension...

Took this freaky test I found on Ammar's blog:



.DLL?
"Constantly in danger of bringing down the house?"
I'm not even sure what a .DLL is!
I want to be a JPG :\


Update:
A DLL is "Dynamic Linking Library".
Simply it's a file which contains functions used by many applications, So instead of duplicating the code with each application you install, It's kept in a *central* location which can be accessed and used by all of the applications.
So I'm very useful :P 2al "bringing down the house".
(Thanks Mohammed Sameer!)

When Common Knowledge is Mistaken for Truth

This is a part of a very interesting article on Sabbah's blog:

"Unfortunately, some Arab media proceeds in this propaganda as they instructs their Don’t Say – Say Dictionary to target unsuspecting recipients of the twisted version of the truth. Don’t say “Jewish Settlements” - say “Jewish Villages, Towns, or Communities.” Don’t say “Colonialism” - say “Return to the Homeland.” Don’t say “Palestinian Militants” - say “Palestinian Terrorist.” Don’t say “West Bank” - say “Judea and Samaria.” Don’t say “Resistance” - say “Terrorists, Fundamentalists, Insurgents.” Don’t say “Martyr” - say “Suicide Bombers.” You get the picture?

Sadly, enough Arab bought the lying slogans repeated over and over and over again, such as the American slogan, “Freedom is on the March” which really meant, we will bomb Iraq into submission. These slogans and lies don’t need to make much sense – just repeat them often enough until they sound so familiar they become “common knowledge” and are mistaken for truth."

Read the rest of the article here.

The Stress Watch

The Avidus watch accentuates the way that time seem to pass more quickly or more slowly depending on our mood.

If we are in a hurry, time seems to pass so fast. But when we are relaxed (or bored), it appears to slow down.

Two metal contacts on the watch face measure your stress level. If you're stressed and touch the watch then the hour displayed runs forwards, the more stressed the faster. If you're totally relaxed, the time can even run backwards.

[Via Popgadget]

Damn!
That's one of the most amazing concepts I've ever heard of!
Amazing.

Jordan Wild

I've fallen in love RSCN's Jordan Wild Cafe in Jabal Amman, and not for humanitarian reasons, but rather for the simple ingenuity that they have in their design.
Their use of simple and primary material is very resourceful, and the minimalist approach they used in the design reminds me of the shaker style that you would don’t see much in Amman. I also love the sheer modernity.


Upper balcony.


This material covers the upper balcony, protecting from the sun. It's just gorgeous. I even love the way you can see the rust.


The stairs is one of my favorite things in the building. It's just beautiful, isn't it?


This is the main door's reception area. Excuse the photograph I was actually testing out the camera's different modes capabilities.


When you look up close at the counter in the main door's reception area, you find out that it's made of squished soda cans! And it looks so darn good!


The tables are just as creative as everything else. I love the blast of color, it makes up for the neutrals in the rest of the building.


I know I always go overboard with posting pictures, I'm a very visual person. So just enjoy the clutter...
Everyone should go to this café and slowly digest the little creations they have so skillfully put together to make such an amazing design.
Look at pictures of the café as whole in Mental Mayhem.

Colorstrology

Colorstrology claims that by just being born on a certain day means that there is a color that corresponds to the real you. They even have monthly forecasts and all.
It's an amazing website in terms of design, and the content is very interesting.
Here's my personality according to my birthday:

Very Geeky Chess Set

You’re not seriously going to throw money buying a chess set at a store when you could just make one out of whatever spare 50 ohm BNC, SMA, and N terminators with various BNC, SMA, N, APC7, F, UHF connectors and inter-series adapters you have around the house, are you?

[Via Engadget]

High-Tech Taxi

TouchTaxi have updated cabs in Australia with headrest-mounted touchscreens connected to computers that are connected to the Internet via GPRS and sport GPS receivers (so you can see where you’re at and whether your cabbie is taking you for a ride) and WiFi (if you want to piggyback on the PC’s GPRS connection with your lappy). The obvious internet search, directory, and mapping services will be included, but TouchTaxi have also added a proximity home search service in which users can enter their cellphone number to alert nearby salespeople. When notified, salespeople will automatically get the user’s cellphone number and be able to call with loan rates and nearby available homes. That won’t be annoying at all.

[Via Textually]

Hands up if you think Jordan should invest in such a service. I would also love it if they include a taxi speed watch because they are CRAZY drivers.

Swarms of Pink Locusts Sweep Through Cairo

CAIRO, Egypt - Swarms of pink locusts swept through Cairo on Wednesday that recalled the plague of biblical Egypt, flying high above tall towers and scaring pedestrians who stamped on them or ran for cover.

[Source: Reuters]
[Via: Mental Mayhem, Newswire]

Yuck! The picture is really cool though. We used to get swarmed by huge orange locusts when we lived in Saudi. Although my mother taught us how to hold and play with them when we were really young, there was still nothing worse than realizing that you have been unaware for hours that theres an insect in your cloths.

Virgin Mary Cheese

Internet auction house reverses decision to halt bidding

MIAMI - The Internet auction house eBay Inc. has reversed itself and is allowing bids for half of a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich that its owner says bears the image of the Virgin Mary.

Diana Duyser, of Hollywood, put the sandwich up for sale last week, drawing bids as high as $22,000 before eBay pulled the item Sunday night. The page was viewed almost 100,000 times before being taken down.

An e-mail Duyser received from eBay said the sandwich broke its policy, which "does not allow listings that are intended as jokes." But Duyser, a work-from-home jewelry designer who has bought and sold items on eBay for two years, said the grilled cheese wasn't a joke.

[Source: MSNBC]
[Via: Mental Mayhem, Newswire]

Ring Phone

I really love hearing about young and talented designers, and this design is extremely talented.
24-year old designer Tao Ma won first prize in the Sony Ericsson Phone Concept Design Competition in China. The winning design is a mobile phone encapsulated into a ring. The microphone is placed on a retractable piece of string. You hold your hand up to your ear while talking in it.
I love it.

[Via Core77]

Gap Wildplanet Hoodio

Although I'm not the biggest fan of Gap blahness, they have managed to gain my interest in a product thats anything but blah.
The Gap Wild Planet® hoodio is a radio-powered jacket for kids on the go. It has a built in FM radio, controls on the sleeve and speakers in the hoody(naturally).
Way to go Gap, now make one for the adults please.

LCD TV With DVD Burner, Hard Drive

Oh, wow. Technology is amazing. I think this invention marks the end of VCRs.
Toshiba has created the first LCD TV with a built-in hard drive (for recording TV shows) and DVD burner (for archiving those shows after you run out of space on the hard drive). The RD-17V1, which has a 17-inch screen and 160GB hard drive, will be on sale in Japan next month.
Really, really cool.

Hankering After The Role

Tom Hanks has landed the lead role in the eagerly anticipated movie, The Da Vinci Code. Tom had to beat off stiff competition from the likes of Russell Crowe and George Clooney to play Robert Langdon in the film, which will be directed by Happy Days actor Ron Howard.
The search is now on for an actress suitable to play cryptologist Sophie Neveu, with Audrey Tatou and Virginie Ledoyen leading the field of favourites. Filming will start in Paris next spring, before moving on to London and Scotland.
I think Tom Hanks will be excellent for this role.

[Souce: Ananova]

Being Punished By a Traffic Light

Pleasanton is dealing with speeders on its two-lane commuter road. A camera about 350 feet from the intersection measures speed and tells the signal to go red for 10 seconds if it decides drivers are going a little too fast.
We can look at this in two ways. On one hand, this technology could reduce accidents and train drivers to slow down. On the other, it could simply stoke the flames of road rage, resulting in some seriously annoyed drivers in Pleasanton.

[Via Engadget]

Pepsi Spice

I thought this was a joke when I saw the commercial, because "spicy" was a word that I never thought would be used in association with a soft drink. Even Dr. Pepper, which actually does taste a little spicy, has always avoided saying as much:

PEPSI INTRODUCES SPICY NEW VERSION FOR THE HOLIDAYS
From the very first gifts of frankincense and myrrh to the spice cake we enjoy today, spices and the holidays have always gone together. Food and drink are central to the holiday cheer, making Pepsi Holiday Spice the perfect and fun complement to the celebrations.

[Via Planet Dan]

Hehe, goes so well with the Turkey Soda don't you think? But spice alWAYS beats turkey...

Gobble In A Bottle

In the age of speed, microwave dinners and take-aways are apparently not enough anymore.
The lastest trend: A bottle of turkey soda, which supposedly comes flavored with a hint of gravy. Yuck.
The soda debuted last November and was a surprise hit among consumers (I do hope and pray that consuming was strictly a matter of I dare you, eating is an art!)
Because the turkey and gravy soda sold out last year, Jones Soda Co., maker of the meaty drink, is increasing its supply this year. Hehe, they're also offering more flavors: green bean casserole, mashed potato, cranberry, and fruitcake.
Green bean Casserole?
Hm.....

Pretty Girls Don't Ride The Subway!

They’re not sure whether it was an inside job or the work of some hacker who experienced a little rejection while riding the rails, but somebody hacked into the New York subway computer system and switched one of the electronic signs at the W. 4th Street station to read “PRETTY GIRLS DON’T RIDE THE SUBWAY”. Apparently it was up there for a few hours, too, before MTA workers finally just unplugged the damn thing.

[Via Gothamist, Engadget]