Amazing Inventions "Must See"

The Forty-Fruit Tree

Sam Van Aken is an art professor at Syracuse University who grew up on a family farm in Reading, Pennsylvania.He wanted to create an art project using an orchard as his canvas and blossoming trees as his paint.

However, he couldn't get funding for his idea so he decided instead to scale it down to one tree.

Van Aken started his research on creating a multi-blossoming tree by studying grafting. "I had seen grafting when I was a kid and it was something that I was always fascinated with," he said.

He quickly discovered that there were a wide variety of stone fruits such as peaches, apricots, nectarines and cherries, that were inter-compatible with each other, which meant they could possibly grow on the same tree.

The grafting technigue to do this is called chip grafting. You take a sliver of a branch with a bud from one tree and insert into an incision of your working tree.

By grafting different varieties of buds, Van Aken hoped to sculpt how and when the tree would blossom and when it would grow various kinds of fruit.

When he started looking for different varieties of buds he could use - he discovered another problem - they're hard to find.

Because of the commercialization of food production many varieties of stone fruit, among other foods, are not grown because they don't have a viable shelf life for transportation and storage.

But this doesn't mean these varieties taste bad. Quite the contrary, "These varieties are so rich in their taste," says Van Aken, "The plums that I love are the greengage plums and they came to the United States from England, but were actually in France before that."

Fortunately, Van Aken found an orchard that had hundreds of varieties of stone fruit. It belonged to the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York.

This was a facility established by the New York State Legislature in 1880 to conduct agricultural science research. Since 1923 it has been operated by Cornell University and has preserved hundreds of native and antique stone fruit varieties.

With buds in hand, Van Aken began grafting a plum tree with 40 varieties of stone fruit, a process that takes about five years before the buds grow into branches.

Forty-fruit trees can be found at selected museums, private collections and community centers in the United States. Since the fruits grow and ripen at different times of the year, the forty-fruit continually yields fruit from July to October.

Van Aken is growing a forty-fruit orchard in Portland, Maine, where he plans to allow the public to purchase the fruit harvests.

Sources: ted.com/tedx; treeof40fruit.com Photo/Image Credits: Sam Van Aken, Ronald Feldman Fine Art

Amazing Inventions: The First Digital Camera

Steven Sasson, an electrical engineer with Eastman Kodak Company, invented the digital camera.

The problem with conventional cameras was that they required images to be processed on non-reusable photographic film.

Sasson's digital camera stored images electronically in a reusable storage medium, which at the time was a tape cassette.

In December 1975, Sasson took his first digital picture. He also predicted that it would take two decades before digital photography technology would evolve to replace film photography.

Sasson was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by United States President Barack Obama. It is the most prestigious award granted by the US government to inventors.

In the three-minute interview below, Steven explains how he invented the digital camera and displays his original prototype. He also talks about a key factor in developing any inventive idea.

Amazing Inventions: The Phantom Flex

The Phantom® Flex is a high speed digital camera that uses high speed electronic "digital" imaging to record motion that is too fast for conventional cameras to perceive.

The patented technology captures high resolution images at thousands of frame rates per second with no blurring or distortion.

It allows moving targets to stay in-frame longer so more of an event can be captured. The technology was originally developed by Vision Research for motion analysis and it's still used or that purpose, however, it has been widely used in the television and motion picture industry.

This slow-motion technology is a crucial element in the production of 3D movies.

In fact, Vision Research won an Emmy® for Technical Engineering from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Four employees of Vision Research, Radu Corlan, Petru Pop, Andy Jantzen and Richard Toftness also received Academy Awards® from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.

The Phantom also won the IABN (International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers) Design and Innovation Award, as well as the Best of What's New Award from Popular Science magazine. Below are a few examples of this technology.

Source: visionresearch.com

Amazing Inventions: A Face Lift Without Surgery

A wrap is soaked with sterile saline and applied to the face. Then cold air is blown over the wrap to freeze the underlying fat cells. This is done without damaging the skin or surrounding tissues.

The photos on the right show the face lift before and after the procedure.

There is no pain medication or recovery time required because there are no needles, drugs, knifes, lasers or suction used in this process.

This non surgical face lift technology is known as cryolipolysis™ (cold lipolysis), which means the breakdown of fat by freezing.

The Food and Drug Administration approved this procedure in September, 2010 as a cooling technology for eliminating fat cells without harming the skin.

Thousands have already received this non surgical face lift procedure. The average cost is about $1500 to $3,000.

This technology was licensed to Zeltiq, a medical device company that develops and distributes medical inventions for non-intrusive cosmetic improvements.

Venture capital was provided by Advanced Technology Ventures, Frazier Healthcare Venture, Venrock and Aisling Capital.

Read related article on tissue regeneration.

Source: msnbc.com global.coolsculpting.com

PATENTS & PROTOTYPING 

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Awesome site > http://www.inventor-strategies.com/amazing-inventions.html

Recreational dating: have fun finding what you want in a relationship

Not all dating has to be a search for “The One.” Recreational dating—dating just for fun—serves a very important role. You may not be ready for a committed relationship for a number of reasons, and just want to have a good time. Especially if you recently ended a long-term relationship, just doing some recreational dating is a great idea. Besides, as you play the field, you might stumble on your perfect partner.

Do

• be honest
• set a time limit
• break it off when problems start
• honor your own boundaries
• use it as an opportunity to learn about yourself

Don't

• be exclusive
• let sex get in the way

• assume compatibility and having fun mean a long-term relationship will work
• slide into a permanent relationship—make a conscious choice

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Be clear that you are not ready for a committed relationship and just want to have some fun, and be sure that your ‘dating companion’ feels the same way. Even though it may feel a bit awkward at first, if you are not clear about your intentions, you may find yourself in an even more uncomfortable position.

What if your date thinks this is about being “a couple” and has developed romantic feelings for you, and you don’t feel that way? You will be faced with having to say things that will be hurtful, or even having to end a relationship that could be a good friendship.

When you are honest right up front you can just enjoy the time together and not worry about assumptions the other person is making about where this relationship is going. You might change your mind along the way—and be honest about that if it happens. 

Do set a time limit

There are two reasons to do this:

First, the longer a casual dating relationship goes on, the more your friends and family are likely to think you are in a serious relationship. That’s great if you have made a conscious decision that your once-casual date now has a lot of potential, and you are thinking about making a commitment. But, if you’re not, this long-term casual dating relationship is probably sending the wrong message.

Second, if you get complacent, you might miss “The One” because you aren’t paying attention. 

Do break it off when problems start

Why in the world would you want to invest time and energy in saving a relationship that doesn’t have a chance of being the right one for you? It’s time to move on. No one needs that kind of drama for no good reason! Acknowledge that it was fun while it lasted and it served its purpose. No hard feelings—especially if you were honest up front.

Do honor your own boundaries

As you embark on your quest to have a good time, decide what you are and are not willing to do. Is casual sex okay with you? If not, be clear about that and don’t compromise. Do you intend to date others if a good opportunity comes along? What do you expect your ‘dating companion’ to do? Communicate that both ways.

How much time do you want to spend together? Cohabitating should be out of the question even if sharing the rent sounds like a good financial decision. That really is a commitment and can feel a lot like a divorce when it ends.

Do use it as an opportunity to learn about yourself

Recreational dating is a great way to practice both your social skills and your relationship skills. If you mess up, heck—it was a learning experience.

This is a great time to work on writing down your requirements and needs in a relationship. Just thinking about them isn’t good enough. Have you ever thought you had a very clear idea about something until you tried to write it down and then it became a bit squishy? Writing your relationship requirements down is very important if you want to find a healthy relationship.

A good relationship coach is trained to help you get really clear about what you need for a relationship to really work for you. Working with a relationship coach can be invaluable for your future. 

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Don't

Do not be exclusive

Recreational dating is all about meeting different people. Ideally, you will be dating two or three people at the same time. However, that isn’t always possible just because of the current supply of eligible candidates.

But even if you are dating only one person at the moment, you should make it clear that this is not an exclusive relationship. That leaves you free to date someone else who appears in your world. Who knows, he or she just might be the person you’ve been searching for. What a tragedy if you miss her or him because you were exclusively dating someone who you were really just having fun with.

Do not let sex get in the way

Having sex can be a trap—especially for women. We often focus on the chemistry under the covers and interpret good sex as love. It’s easy to think of sex as a kind of compatibility test – if the sex is good then the relationship will be good as well.

Women especially can become emotionally attached to her sex partner and begin to think she is in a kind of committed relationship as soon as you have sex. Understand that a relationship needs more than great sex to thrive. 

Do not assume compatibility and having fun mean a long-term relationship will work

So often we think that if you are having fun together and are getting along well, you are compatible and a committed relationship will work. The truth is—the process and criteria for choosing a recreational relationship are very different from choosing a Life Partner.

In a successful long-term relationship you definitely need to feel compatible, but there is much more to it. You have to be compatible on many more levels than having fun and getting along in a dating relationship. And there are issues in addition to compatibility that you both must be aligned on for it to work.
 

Do not slide into a permanent relationship—make a conscious choice

Things are going so well. You are having a ball and the sex is great. Terrific! Enjoy it!

As the weeks and months pass, you become a couple and are very emotionally entwined. That sure feels good!

Rather than just letting momentum carry you along this pleasant stream, stop for a moment and make a conscious choice. Look at all of the aspects of a long-term relationship that are important to you. Are all the important things there in this relationship? Are you making any excuses about behavior or beliefs?

A really big mistake couples make is not talking about all of the aspects of their possible life together and their assumptions about it: a couple who had been married for five years were living their idyllic life—until he said he wanted to start their family and she said she never intended to have a family. They are divorced now.

Talking through your expectations and consciously deciding that you are compatible on all levels is critical to a happy long-term relationship.

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Summary

Dating just for fun is a great strategy. Just be clear about what you want and communicate it to your dating partner. Use that time to learn about yourself and what you want in a relationship, and be sure you make a conscious choice before moving into a more committed relationship.

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More expert advice about Dating

• Best practices on surviving and being successful in online dating
• How to ask a girl out on a first date
• Relationship advice for successfully dating a recovering addict
• What to do if you find out the person you are dating is married
• Warning signs that the man you are dating is not right for you

Photo Credits: #31434609 - Leisure © Deklofenak - Fotolia.com; Check Man, Cross Man and Jump Man © ioannis kounadeas - Fotolia.com

*The conflict typically being is that men speak with their mouths as women listen with their hearts.

*The HTML was a little jacked on this post yet the info dictated it was worth publishing.

6 Ways to Get a Tech Job Without a Tech Degree

Aaron Shapiro is CEO of Huge, a global digital agency based in Brooklyn, and author of Users Not Customers. He has spent more than a decade as a technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist and management consultant.

Jobs in tech are stronger than ever. In 2011,Amazon hired 22,500 people, bringing its workforce up to 56,200, and Google hired 8,000 people — more than ever in a single year. The technology sector is booming, and while not all of these jobs require an engineering degree, getting a gig can be harder than getting into an Ivy League school. Competition between businesses is too steep for firms to hire those who aren’t qualified, and demand for these positions is greater than the skills that exist in the marketplace.

Incredible job opportunities exist, if you know how to get them. Yet, college students are still earning educations for jobs that technology will eliminate in the next decade, and people without backgrounds in technology are stuck in unemployment or at the dead-end of a long career, hoping their field will be revived before their luck runs out. But none of these people are actually stuck.

You can transition to the tech world, if you’re willing to put in a little work. Here are six steps that will help you get there.

1. Learn How the Web Works

I’m consistently amazed at the number of businesspeople who have no concept of where a website comes from. There’s no need to be an expert coder, unless you’re an aspiring engineer, but you should know enough about technology to make informed business decisions about it.

I taught myself how to code in the mid-‘90s after leading an e-greeting card site that could have been successful but didn’t have the technology to scale with demand — I never wanted to be stuck like that again. Similarly, Instagram founder Kevin Systrom taught himself to code at night while working in marketing, possibly inspiring a new generation of business guys learning to program.

The first thing anyone should do is learn HTML and maybe even some JavaScript. Codecademyand W3Schools are two great places to start. Or pick up a newbie book from Amazon.

2. Start With a Digital Job in Your Current Company

Without any digital experience, landing a job at a tech company will be tough. Get an advantage by going after low-hanging opportunities.

Many non-tech companies, like the one you probably work for, are desperate for help building an effective presence on the web. If you can be of service, you’ll not only gain valuable experience, but you’ll also be likely to have the chance to make a real impact. This way, you can show up for your first interview at that desirable tech firm with a success story behind you.

3. Knock on the Door of a Disrupter

A friend of mine used to be a salesperson for radio, a dying industry facing myriad high-tech competitors. And, as happens in these situations, he got laid off. But rather than fighting for one of the last jobs in his native field, he went after a gig selling ads for Pandora. They liked that he knew the radio industry and hired him.

One of the easiest ways to get into tech is to go after a job at a startup that’s looking to disrupt the industry in which you’ve spent your career.

4. Position Yourself as an Innovator

The technology space is all about innovation. Working for a scrappy disruptor or the digital department of your current company will surely give you the chance to be a pioneer. But if these roles are inaccessible, you should demonstrate your inventive and courageous side within your present role by starting a new department, devising and implementing a fresh strategy or producing a cutting-edge marketing product. It’s advantageous if technology is inherent in these accomplishments, but not necessary.

5. Accept that You’re Not as Senior as You Think You Are

Just because you’re an art director for print doesn’t mean you’re qualified to be an art director in digital. Just because you’ve managed significant client relationships doesn’t mean you’re qualified to manage client services at a tech firm.

Individuals switching industries need to start with a more junior role. When I meet fairly senior people whom I’d be interested in hiring, I ask if they would start as a project manager and not a single person has ever taken me up on that offer. Invest time to learn the business and the pay cut won’t have to last long.

6. Become a Thought Leader

It takes some creativity, charm, smarts and nerve, but you can become an industry thought leader before you even have a job in the industry. JD Beebe, a young copywriter, creative and entrepreneur, is a good example. He made his way into the agency world by starting a Paper.lionline newspaper called Ad Agency Thought Sauce that aggregated links from ad agency tweets. Agencies saw him re-sharing their links, and this functioned as a constant series of soft introductions.

If social media acrobatics aren’t your thing, you can still build a profile for yourself as an expert by sharing your point of view on industry issues. Do it in-person, at industry events andMeetups, and digitally through Facebook, Twitter and comments on relevant articles — maybe even this one.

How did you transition to a job in tech? Let us know in the comments.

Social Media Job Listings

Every week we post a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we publish a huge range of job listings, we've selected some of the top social media job opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!

• Website Coordinator at the Parkinson's Disease Foundation in New York City
• Digital Content Manager at Ogilvy & Mather in Chicago
• Social Outreach Manager at Awesomeness TV in Los Angeles