Not using mathematics in photography, but photographing mathematics, or rather taking pictures of mathematical formulas, which is what artist Justen Mullins does. Inspired by the beauty and sometimes the ugliness of mathematical equations, Justen creates limited edition prints of these equations. This particular picture named Let There Be Light is based on Maxwell's equation.

Sometimes, a set of equations can take your breath away. Maxwell’s equations are a case in point. They represent one of the crowning achievements in physics and are prized not just for their power but also their beauty, symmetry and elegance.

Their symmetry, in particular, has influenced generations of physicists to the extent that many developments in fundamental physics are built on the notion of symmetry.

The equations show respectively: how electric charges produce electric fields; that magnetic monopoles cannot exist; how moving charges produce magnetic fields and how changing magnetic fields produce electric fields.

These equations have a solution that takes the form of a wave. The wave in question turns out to be light.

[Seen in New Scientist]

I've always had a fascination for words and their meaning in different languages, so when I saw this book at the airport in Perth, I had to buy it. In Other Words written by C.J.Moore and beautifully illustrated by Neil Packer, explores the world of so called untranslatable words, or at least words that have complex meaning that don't map easily to other words. Of course this is written from the English speaking point of view so it doesn't really cover some of the english words that are difficult to translate in other languages, but it definitely kept me entertained during the 5 hour flight from Perth to Sydney.

Here's a few of my favorites:

Yoko meshi [yoh-koh mesh-ee] (noun)
How Japanese define the peculiar stress of speaking a foreign language. Translates to "boiled rice horizontal" or "a meal eaten sideways".

Saudade [sow-dah-day] (noun)
A uniquely Portuguese yearning for something that doesn't and probably can't exists, not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness.

Litost [lee-tosst] (noun)
A Czech word defined by Milan Kundera as "a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one's own misery".

Razbliuto [ros-blee-oo-toe] (noun)
Only the Russians would have a word to express "the melancholie of a love lost", the feeling you have towards a person you used to love but no longer feel the same way about.

Lagom [lag-ohm] (adverb, adjective, noun)
If a single word can summarize the Swedish culture and psyche it would be Lagom which means an undefined state between extremes "not too much, not too little, but just right".

Ilunga [ee-lun-ga] (noun)
From the Tshiluba language in the Republic of Congo, describes a person that is ready to forgive any transgression a first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time.

Interestingly enough, I didn't find any of the proposed words in French or Italian (both languages that I speak fluently) particularly interesting or untranslatable. Possibly because they all evoke a precise mental picture and that I would probably use different expressions when speaking english and I wouldn't necessarely try to transpose the concepts directly anyway.

Similar books in the strange and mostly untranslatable words vein include They Have a Word For It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words and Phrases by Howard Rheingold, or The Meaning of Tingo: And Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World by Adam Jacot de Boinod.

Other language books, or rather books about the languages that I would also recommend would be A Mouthful of Air by Anthony Burgess. A very interesting  exploration of language and languages by the author of A Clockwork Orange. There is another book, but while I can remember to cover perfectly, I can't possibly think of the author or title, or even the person I loaned it to... it was very interesting in that it traced the origins of simple words and how words would travel from one culture to another.

One of the things I miss about our current apartment is the lack of a fireplace. The Riviera Fireplace from Safretti can be hanged on a wall like a painting, and doesn't need a flu because it burns an alcohol based bio-fuel which doesn't need to be vented outside. I was looking at another model from EcoSmart Fire, but I have to say that I like the design of the Safretti range better.

The Riviera decorative fireplaces are designed by Jort Mercuur and are available in various models. Safretti can also make customised models in a specific size on request. The Riviera decorative fireplaces are part of a complete range of stainless steel stylish elements designed by Safretti for use both inside and outside.

This would be a great replacement for my current fireplace solution, which consists of playing the Fireplace DVD on the flat-screen and setting a couple of candles on the coffee table for the actual warmth.

[via MocoLoco]

According the Chinese Calendar, today is the first day of the Year of the Dog, but probably the last year of the robot dog.

Possibly because of the humiliating beating it got in the past few years from all sides, including Microsoft (XBox) and Apple (how could Sony miss the next walkman revolution that was the iPod?) and in an attempt to rescue its shareholder's value (SNE has lost more than 50% of its value in the last 5 years) Sony has appointed its first non-Japanese CEO and is now starting to cut down anything that it doesn't see as a core business value...

Unfortunately this means that the futuristic entertainment robot division was cancelled, making the ERS-7M3 the last generation of Aibo Robot Dogs. This is too bad, because the Aibo was finally starting to live up to its promises, with WiFi access, speech recognition, and the ability to return to its charging station when the batteries are low, making it more of an autonomous agent than an expensive toy you have to pick up in the middle of the living room to recharge.

This move confirms that Sony is no longer acts like a Japanese company, since it comes at a time when Japanese research in robotics and personal robots is stronger than ever.

Google's new help desk entry on censoring its search results was modified this morning to read the following, as a followup to its decision to widely censor results from Google.cn the chinese portal entrance:

Does Google censor search results?
It is Google's policy not to censor search results. However, in response to local laws, regulations, or policies, we may do so. When we remove search results for these reasons, we display a notice on our search results pages. Please note: For some older removals (before March 2005), we may not show a notice at this time.

This same page as it was was written before the company went public, and stock option fever started corrupting its ideals used to read as follow:

Does Google censor search results?
Google does not censor results for any search terms. The order and content of our result is completely automated; we do not manipulate our search results by hand. We believe strongly in allowing the democracy of the web to determine the inclusion and ranking of sites in our search results.

Here's an example of image results from both Google.com and Google.cn on a search for Tiananmen Square. The familiar image of the university student in front of the tanks is missing from the Chinese version of the site. Granted, the Tiannanmen Square is a popular local place, so I can understand that there might be several more relevant images, like the ones where happy people go fly a kite, but the little tank incident is nowhere to be found.

Part of the pleasure of salt is adding a last little pinch on your plate, often more for the ritual than the taste. With its pink flakes that you crush between your fingers before you sprinkle them on your meal, Murray River Salt Flakes make adding that last pinch even more enjoyable. Also I find that you end up using less salt overall which is probably as well.

The Murray River is the greatest of Australia's rivers. The source of the Murray River water is the snowy Australian Alps. Salt is a natural feature in many Australian landscapes. The Murray-Darling Basin’s low rainfall and high evaporation have combined to concentrate salt in the groundwater. This salt is produced naturally from the underground brines in the Murray Darling Basin. A red pigment, carotene, is secreted from the salt tolerant algae. The underground saline waters have been laying dormant for thousands of years. By utilizing these waters the environment is improved and a beautiful salt is produced.

Thankfully if we return to California, you can order it online from SaltWorks.

Clear Blue Hawaii makes this completely transparent foldable kayak designed by Murray Broom. The Napali only weights 10Kg and folds into a small bag for travelling.

The Napali is supported by a high-tech, durable and corrosion-resistant internal Carbon Kevlar frame system that comes equipped with a transparent military-grade Urethane skin, keeping the weight at a minimum. The leading-edge innovation allows the kayak to fold up small enough to fit into a hiking backpack, yet still offer the endless possibilities for discovery that transparent kayaks give. This makes the Napali the ideal kayak for long-distance touring, backcountry kayaking and vacational travels that require easy transport

I can just imagine how it must feel to see yourself glide on top of the water inside an almost completely transparent kayak. You can buy the Napali online for just under $5000 USD. Clear Blue Hawaii also makes a transparent two people kayak, but with a hard shell which makes it a lot less transportable.

The Napali would have been perfect yesterday for our little visit to Rottnest Island in Western Australia. Get on the ferry with a little backpack, then unfold it to explore waters that are pretty much just like the picture above.

Created by Fred Rieben, the Southern Cross and Boomerang flag is an attempt to re-design the Australian flag without the Union Jack, and to integrate the rich history of the aboriginal natives.

A wonderful feature of the Ozflag design is that when hung indoors, i.e. vertically, it represents the setting cross over the blue sea, a golden beach and green bush in the foreground. From this image we get the OzFLAG chant: "Sky, Sea — Beach, Bush"
Since the cross is always in the south, the south stand starts the chant - "Sky, Sea" in tenor. The north stand responds in bass - "Beach, Bush" . This chant echoes back and forth across the stadium three times. Then all together, "AUSTRALIA".

Born American but living in Perth for the last 20 years, Fred Rieben has been touring all of Australia to drum up support for his design, and was trying to wave the flag from the Sydney Bridge today, but apparently got told to fold his flag because he was preventing people from seeing the sights. You can read about his adventures in TravelBlog including his fears of monarchist conspiracies.

Meanwhile, Natasha and I decided to go spend the Australia Day weekend in Perth and Fremantle, which is where this post is written from. As they say here: "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!" Have a great Australia Day, Mate.

It looks like conductive fabrics are finally out of the lab and starting to be used in practical applications. The Eleksen Smart Fabric Keyboard is a laptop sized keyboard layout that can be rolled-up for travelling, based on the company's smart fabric called ElekTex. Eleksen is also planning to tap into the ever-growing iPod accessory market with a line of jackets featuring an embedded control surface on the sleeves. The great thing about their conductive fabric is that it's fully washable.

I can't help wondering what it would feel like to type on that keyboard, and I'm sure I'm not the only one which is why the iPod jacket is already on sale, but not the squishy keyboard.

Fafi has been using the street as her canvas, first in Toulouse, then thru her travels in Montreal, Mexico, Los Angeles, Tokyo. Over the years, Fafi's style has evolved, and the fafinettes have become more fashion conscious, but still very coquines! You can also see more of her work in her book Love and Fafiness.

Fafi is currently exhibiting some of her more mobile artworks as part of a group exhibition in San Francisco: After Modern Gallery from December 10^th to January 28^th.

Japanese artist Sashiko Kodama creates kinetic sculptures using the magnetic properties of Ferrofluids. Originally invented by NASA, this black oily liquid contains suspended magnetic particles, which means that it changes shape in proximity of a strong magnetic field. More techno-babble about Ferrofluids can be found on the Ferrotec website:

A ferrofluid is a stable colloidal suspension of sub-domain magnetic particles in a liquid carrier. The particles, which have an average size of about 100Å (10nm), are coated with a stabilizing dispersing agent (surfactant) which prevents particle agglomeration even when a strong magnetic field gradient is applied to the ferrofluid. The surfactant must be matched to the carrier type and must overcome the attractive van der Waals and magnetic forces between the particles. The colloid and thermal stabilities, crucial to many applications, are greatly influenced by the choice of the surfactant. A typical ferrofluid may contain by volume 5% magnetic solid, 10% surfactant and 85% carrier.

Sashiko-San has a series of amazing movies of his sculptures, but if you want to play with ferrofluids yourself, you can buy some for about $30 for 100ml at Educational Innovation.

I found these fantastic children's book while browsing a second-hand bookstore in Sydney. Both were written in 1944 and 1945 based on a successful Australian episodic radio program. From the front cover of Tuckonie's Warrior Friend:

In response to many requests from children who listen to "The Search for the Golden Boomerang" Radio serial, George Edwards has pleasure in presenting a further series of "Golden Boomerang" adventures in book form. Peggy, Tuckonie and their friends join in sending greetings to listeners and readers all over Australia.
Tuckonie's Warrior Friend is written by Miss Lorna Bingham of George Edwards Players, who also write the script of the Radio serial, "The Search for the Golden Boomerang".

These children stories, featuring Tuckonie the Aboriginal boy, Peggy the pretty little blonde Aussie girl, offer a surprisingly positive (and perhaps somewhat romanticized) view of the Aboriginal lifestyle and their relationship with white Australia.