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Well, I’ve been eating for 57 years now, with great gusto, I might add. And I’ve been sensitized to the issue for awhile. I wrote a piece on Monsanto in 1998 about the introduction of genetically-modified crops, and that grew out of my interest in gardening. I’ve been growing food since I was a kid. I got very interested in this new wrinkle while doing a (New York) Times magazine piece. I kind of approached it as a gardener, that whole question of, “Is this a good or bad idea?” And I actually grew some genetically-modified potatoes that I got from Monsanto. But in the course of doing that reporting I went out to Idaho to see these Monsanto products and that was my first acquaintance with larger-scale industrial farming. I had no idea the scale of American farming, how chemical-dependent it had become. And that most people really didn’t know where their french fries or hamburger came from. And that kind of was the beginning.
Michael Pollan (PopTech 2009) on how much of his life he’s spent reading, thinking and writing about food. And more.  (via poptech)

(via poptech)

1,952 notes

utnereader: Since submarines began roaming the depths in World War I, sailors and oceanographers, who use sonar technology to map seafloor topography and identify ocean life, have regularly run into “acoustic ghosts”—inexplicable bodies of movable mass that sometimes rivaled the size of a city. Every time a theory emerged to explain the phenomenon, however, it was quickly shot down. In 2003 scientists aboard a research vessel just south of Long Island, New York, discovered that the UFOs were composed of hundreds of millions of fish—massive gatherings on a scale never before documented. Using low-­frequency sonar technology that penetrated hundreds of miles, they identified a school roughly the size of Manhattan. Keep reading …

utnereader:

Since submarines began roaming the depths in World War I, sailors and oceanographers, who use sonar technology to map seafloor topography and identify ocean life, have regularly run into “acoustic ghosts”—inexplicable bodies of movable mass that sometimes rivaled the size of a city. Every time a theory emerged to explain the phenomenon, however, it was quickly shot down.

In 2003 scientists aboard a research vessel just south of Long Island, New York, discovered that the UFOs were composed of hundreds of millions of fish—massive gatherings on a scale never before documented. Using low-­frequency sonar technology that penetrated hundreds of miles, they identified a school roughly the size of Manhattan.

Keep reading …

5 notes

longhardroadoutofhell: Soy Mamelle  Packaging concept by Russian agency, Kian: “The KIAN brand agency took on the process of naming, formulating acreative brand conception, and creating the package shape. Soy milk“Soy mamelle” is a 100% vegetative product. It is a source of highgrade fiber and calcium, containing no cholesterol and a proven abilityto actually lower cholesterol levels in the human body. The developed conception of the package shape resembled an udder,which presents the first half of the message in that soy milk isidentical to that of a cow. The second part of the message is deliveredvia the colour score and décor of the packaging, which concentrate onthe phytogenesis of the product, creating an image of nature and health. The packaging is developed with two options, individual and familysize. The individual packaging is made out of glass, while the familysize option is made of a natural latex material. The legs of thepackaging are made of special valves and dose systems which allow thecontainer to fill multiple glasses simultaneously by gently squeezingit. In this case, the process of interacting with the packaging becomesmore alive and interesting. This finding has tremendous potential forimprovement of brand identity in POS-materials and nonstandardequipment trading.” A couple more after the jump.

longhardroadoutofhell:

Soy Mamelle

 Packaging concept by Russian agency, Kian:

“The KIAN brand agency took on the process of naming, formulating a
creative brand conception, and creating the package shape. Soy milk
“Soy mamelle” is a 100% vegetative product. It is a source of high
grade fiber and calcium, containing no cholesterol and a proven ability
to actually lower cholesterol levels in the human body.

The developed conception of the package shape resembled an udder,
which presents the first half of the message in that soy milk is
identical to that of a cow. The second part of the message is delivered
via the colour score and décor of the packaging, which concentrate on
the phytogenesis of the product, creating an image of nature and health.

The packaging is developed with two options, individual and family
size. The individual packaging is made out of glass, while the family
size option is made of a natural latex material. The legs of the
packaging are made of special valves and dose systems which allow the
container to fill multiple glasses simultaneously by gently squeezing
it. In this case, the process of interacting with the packaging becomes
more alive and interesting. This finding has tremendous potential for
improvement of brand identity in POS-materials and nonstandard
equipment trading.”

A couple more after the jump.

7 notes

This is the second time this week Hacker News pointed out an old Usenet posting archived on Google Groups that we thought was worth sharing more broadly.

The first one was Tim Berners-Lee announcing the WorldWideWeb application as an alpha release in source and binary form. Back in August 1991.

The best part: This project is experimental and of course comes without any warranty whatsoever. However, it could start a revolution in information access. We are currently using WWW for user support at CERN. We would be very interested in comments from anyone trying WWW, and especially those making other data available, as part of a truly world-wide web.

Usenet gems: the ‘WorldWideWeb app’ launch and a 1984 Microsoft job posting - The Next Web (via thenextweb)

(via thenextweb)