Visit and enjoy the 13th Sumie Exhibition at City Hall in Honolulu

SumieSocHI2015

If you live in Honolulu or visiting Honolulu and would like to see something truly beautiful, do not miss visiting this exhibition.

The Sumie Society of Honolulu is hosting the 13th Exhibition of the works performed by the Sumie enthusiasts under the expert guidance of Sachie Saigusa, a dedicated Sumie Teacher.

Sumie is the ancient art of painting using the simplest of materials (ink brush and black ink on paper) developed in China (Song Dynasty) but became popular in many countries including China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and many other countries in the east. Later enhancements to Sumie has been addition of other colors although not in profusion.

Fashion and 3D Printing

There is a great future for 3D printing in the fashion industry not counting the proliferation of wearables, especially watches such as the Apple Watch the latest to enter this arena.

3D printing goes beyond just the wearables but to make the women in every way desirable with products that could be customized to enhance the beauty. probably sizes XXL, XL,L, M and S will gave way to customizable products and decorations that go on clothes can have completely new look and functionality.

Nanyang Additive Manufacturing Center in Singapore had organized the 2103 Singapore International Fashion 3D Printing competition that showcased many designs. Here is a video produced by the university.



Here is a digitally 3D printed costume jewelry from here:

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/03/18/argos-digital-forming-taking-3d-printed-designer-jewelry-masses/


 

Beauty goes 3D

"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals" -- Albert Einstein.

  The thing women are most concerned is beyond doubt skin. The number of products promising youthful, wrinkle-less screen is proliferating. Skin concerns even beat health concerns and anything that go towards improving skin is of utmost interest to vendors as well as customers.

It is no wonder L'Oreal has made its move to club with a 3D Bio-printing company Organovo. L'Oreal has entered a research collaboration with Organovo in the development of printable skin tissues using the NovoGen bio-printing platform of Organovo.

This is great not-only for L'Oreal but also to do away with animal testing, an item heavy in the development of cosmetic products. This is what L'Oreal is saying about its pro-animal motivations,

"no longer tests on animals any of its products or any of its ingredients, anywhere in the world. Nor does L’Oréal delegate this task to others.”

The company does, however, state that “[a]n exception could only be made if regulatory authorities demanded it for safety or regulatory purposes.” 

In all probability this will go forward as Organovo already has demonstrated its ability to print human liver tissues that can be used for pharmaceutical product testing.

This is a must read article if you are pro-animal:
http://apps.americanbar.org/environ/committees/lawstudents/pdf/mcneal.pdf

P.s: I own a very small number Organovo stocks

Chinese got this right

Hydrogen cars are great but you also need 'hydrogen' charging stations. I dislike cars because they cause congestion and in places like India (in fact in many cities) traffic is a nightmare.

Mass transit can alleviate traffic congestion. At least all electric vehicles can help reduce the automobile created pollution both gaseous and particulate. Hydrogen is even better as many are thinking of going the 'hydrogen way'. Toyota will be the first to market one in USA in 2015 after their initial success in Japan a year or two ago.

Mirai

http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/12/toyotas-hydrogen-powered-car-is-no.html
http://hodentekplus.blogspot.com/2014/12/toyotas-hydrogen-powered-car-coming-
to.html
Since that time they have extended the 'hydrogen' product line to home energy needs.
http://hodentekplus.blogspot.com/2014/12/hydrogen-fuel-cells-powering-cars-and.html

I really believe that addressing mass transit with hydrogen powered vehicles can solve a whole lot of issues.

The Chinese got this right.

Here are some quick facts about the hydrogen powered Chinese tram from an assembly line in Qingdao excerpted from Qingdaonews.com.

• Only hydrogen powered vehicle in the field
• Two years after starting from scratch
• Hydrogen fill up time is like three minutes that gives a run time of 100KM at 70km/hr.
• With existing tram lines once filled can last for 3 round trips
• Reaction temperature in fuel cell is less than 100 deg C and emits only water
• Trams have 60 seats to carry more than 380 passengers

Here is a screen shot from the same source.

 

 

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2015-03/19/content_35110049.htm

The speeds are modest but does it matter if you consider how long it takes to go 3 miles in a car in Mumbai or Bengaluru.
Transitioning from all gas to hybrid was the first step. Going from hybrid to all electric was a great improvement.
http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/07/battery-powered-car-is-history.html
Jumping to hydrogen is the best. For countries under development why wait to go through all these steps, invest in hydrogen.

Now it is time for British Museum to return

 

Well done, Mr. Adams for returning our national heritage. Even small returns like this should lift our spirits and feel after all there are god people with noble hearts.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Australian-PM-Tony-Abbott-returns-11th-century-stolen-idols-to-Modi/articleshow/41807643.cms

Don't you think it is time for the British Museum to match this? I have great respect for the sense of fairness among the majority of the people who inhabit the Isles. Are we going to see this happen in our life time?

While we are thinking of returned objects, should we not take care of the existing museums in India and how poorly they are run?

Many years ago (perhaps 10) when I visited the Salar Jung Museum, I saw a middle school group of children being guided by their teachers.  The photo below is from HyderbadCity360.blogspot.com.

Salarjung_Museum

While the teachers were walking and gossiping I saw the children takin pencil or pen and scratching across the walls some of which were actually part of the exhibit. If this is the level of our 'education', should we not let the good British to take care of our heritage? After all we shared a good 250 or more years with them.

You may also want to visit this link here:
http://www.sciencebuzz.org/blog/should_ancient_artifacts_return_home

 

Proctoring was never easy, now it gets easier

Proctoring is a standard procedure to combat cheating at exams. People cheat at exams all the time, from age 5 or 6 to 70 and over all the way upto you know what (cheating death, no body knows how). Cheating at medical exams for services like the railways and other utilities are not unheard of, even at nuclear reactor schools.
Here is a guide to sure way of cheating.
http://wn.com/how_to_do_cheating_in_exams/video-details

This one from Belgium seems to have applied modern technology to catch the culprits. I like this one compared to keeping exam takers several feet away when the neck stretching becomes to strenuous or there is an absensce of a galleried exam hall. Watch the video

http://on.aol.com/video/school-in-belgium-uses-drone-to-curb-test-cheating-518084684
from this site

 

How to help your child pass an exam?

This post is not about how to help, but how not to 'educate' your child.

In the east beyond 66 degrees (approximately Afghanistan) that includes the populous countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh including China, Japan and Korea) the competition is really tough. Education equates to getting a paying job or entering a prestigious university despite the quality of education (with education becoming a business) being poor except at some limited institutions. The rush to get a degree or pass an examination is ever greater.

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/03/this_student_got_a_perfect_240.html

If the motivation to cheat at an examination in Japan is to get entrance to a prestigious school or university, the motivation in India ranges from passing an examination to get the ‘food card’ to entering a prestigious university and everything in between.

In this atmosphere trying to pass the examination by hook or crook is all but natural, perhaps a human trait not limited to east of 66 degrees but around the globe

Of course there are thriving illegal businesses and organized crime that are behind these examination related scandals and there is a culture of acceptance, so much so politicians turn a blind eye not mentioning the police force. 

In the Indian context this goes to poetic heights. I was amazed to see this photograph in an article by Jamie Campbell which appeared at this site,

Examscam01
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hundreds-arrested-following-indian-exam-cheating-scandal-10125509.html

Here is video related to the the scandal.



It is as well that the politician involved in the scandal resigned - if you cannot look after your son, you cannot look after a state.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150325/nation-current-affairs/article/madhya-pradesh-governor%E2%80%99s-son-accused-multi-crore-exam-scam

Looks like another cleaning job has been lined up for Mr.Modi.

Don't forget to see these Bing images:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=exam%20cheating%20around%20the%20world&FORM=BILH1