TED Talk of the month: Born to run

(click on the image to watch my TED Talk of the month: Born to Run)

I totally agree with Christopher: Barefoot is better. Nothing is more comforting than comming home and taking your shoes off.

Another thing that I agree on is, we were born to run, or at least to move. Excercise should be such an important part of our lives, and of our health. If you missed it, watch Dr. Mike Evans’ video “What is the single best thing you can do for your health” here.

However, I don’t agree with running barefoot for long distances, at least it’s not for me. I’ve tried it, and I also have tried minimum support sports shoes, and I ended up getting hurt.

But, hey, to each its own. Try, and choose whatever suits you best, but run, or walk, or swim, or go to the gym. Move!

TED Talk of the Month: Amos Winter – The all-terrain wheelchair

Click on the image to see the TED Talk of the Month – Amos Winter

Amazing and inspiring!

Amos Winter is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He is the Director of the Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Lab, which focuses on the marriage of mechanical design theory and user-centered product design to create simple, elegant technological solutions for use in highly constrained environments. His research interests include design for emerging markets and developing countries, biomimetic design, fluid/solid/granular mechanics, biomechanics, and the design of ocean systems. Prof. Winter is the principal inventor of the Leveraged Freedom Chair (LFC), an all-terrain wheelchair designed for developing countries that was a winner of a 2010 R&D 100 award and was named one of the Wall Street Journal’s top innovations in 2011. His Ph.D. work focused on adapting the burrowing mechanisms of razor clams to create compact, low power, and reversible burrowing systems for subsea applications such as anchoring, oil recovery, and cable installation. Prof. Winter is a founder of Global Research Innovation and Technology (GRIT). He was the recipient of the 2010 Tufts University Young Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, the 2010 MIT School of Engineering Graduate Student Extraordinary Teaching and Mentoring Award, and the 2012 ASME/Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal.

Click here to visit Amos’ website at http://web.mit.edu/awinter/www/

What did you think?

Is Daylight Saving Time worth it?

Now that we are comming off Daylight Saving Time, and into standard time, maybe it is time to ask once again, did we gain anything?

There is no right answer, in fact, there is more discussion about the matter than ever. To put things in perspective, we must know that the man who proposed the idea, George Hudson, did it in 1895, and he proposed it so he could have more time to expand his insect collection. The first country to adopt it was Germany 20 years later, and they did it, not to save electricty, but for war reasons. In time, more countries have adopted the idea in hopes of saving electricity, but it hasn’t always worked.
My son showed me this video that explains Daylight Saving Time and its benefits (or lack of), and I found it very interesting. After seeing it, you can make your own decision. As for myself, just as I have since childhood, I continue to oppose it.

When the time comes to move our clocks ahead in 2013, I will post the video again, if it is still available.

After seeing it, what is your opinnion? Does it work? Is it worth it? Leave your comments.

To watch Daylight Saving Time Explained click here.

How to travel to Mars

I can’t help myself, I really like sciencie. Here is a short video of the mission that sent the rover that is exploring Mars. Have an enjoyable scientific Saturday.

How to travel to Mars