The Firefighter’s Workout

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Firefighters need to stay healthy for themselves and healthy enough to battle vicious fires and save lives. In this New York Times video, they profile the non-profit organization founded by firefighters, 5-5-5 Firefighter Fitness, Inc. whose mission is to reduce cardiac arrests of firefighters by providing daily workouts.

The workout routines aren’t your traditional exercises. In the video, we see how the New Brunswick, NJ fire departments trains. They focus on functional fitness exercises such as stair climbing with a bag of gear, box climbing on the back of the firetruck and other routines to strengthen different body muscles. Some are specific for firefighters such as building grip strength doing a farmer’s carry with 32-gallon foam pails.

Source: The New York Times

A Brief History Of Robotics

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Movies often make robots and robotics so simple that we should arm ourselves for the massive robot revolution.

The only issue, it’s not that simple, and our robotics technology isn’t quite so advanced.

In this episode of SciShow, host Hank Green gives an overview of robotics. He sheds light on how far we have come to create these fast walking and moving robots and their use in automation. Are they self-aware? No, not quite, but he does discuss the challenges of creating these robots because of the complexity of the components (sensors, control input, effectors) working together.

Source: SciShow

The SOAO Daily Ditty: Seam – ‘Berlitz’

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From AllMusic:

Seam began as a trio out of Chapel Hill, NC, with Sooyoung Park (guitars/vocals) and Lexi Mitchell (bass) of Bitch Magnet and Mac McCaughan (drums) of Superchunk. Their first album, Headsparks, released in 1992, was filled with the slow, affecting melodies and vocals that would become their trademark. After the release of that record, McCaughan left the group to pursue Superchunk full time, and the rest of Seam moved headquarters to Chicago. Bob Rising replaced McCaughan and Craig White joined on as an additional guitarist, turning Seam into a quartet. 1993’s The Problem With Me featured this new lineup and slightly more upbeat sounds. Are You Driving Me Crazy, released in 1995, features an entirely new lineup except for Park — the band currently consists of drummer Chris Manfrin, bassist William Shin, and guitarist Reg Shrader — but continues in the line of moody and challenging Seam releases, making their musical quality a constant in an ever-changing band. The Pace Is Glacial followed in 1998.

Via: BVMTValternative

National Geographic’s Photo Of The Day: Catch Of The Day

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National Geographic's Photo Of The Day: Catch Of The Day

From Nat Geo:

Photograph by Yoh Fong Chan, National Geographic Your Shot

“The polar bears were usually playing, sleeping, and sometimes nursing,” writes Your Shot member Yoh Fong Chan of observing the bears in Kaktovik, Alaska. “They were hanging out near the shore during this time of the year, waiting for the sea to freeze before they could go out hunting for seals. On this very rare occasion, this bear came proudly from the horizon with its catch of the day.” Chan, who had long dreamed of photographing polar bears in the wild, says patience and endurance were important. “It was bitterly cold out there. As with most wildlife photography, hours were spent observing and waiting to capture that one special moment.”

Chan’s image was recently featured in Your Shot’s Daily Dozen.

NASA’s Astronomy Picture Of The Day: Enhanced Color Caloris

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NASA’s Astronomy Picture Of The Day: Enhanced Color Caloris

From NASA:

Explanation: The sprawling Caloris basin on Mercury is one of the solar system’s largest impact basins, created during the early history of the solar system by the impact of a large asteroid-sized body.

The multi-featured, fractured basin spans about 1,500 kilometers in this enhanced
color mosaic based on image data from the Mercury-orbiting MESSENGER spacecraft.

Mercury’s youngest large impact basin, Caloris was subsequently filled in by lavas that appear orange in the mosaic. Craters made after the flooding have excavated material from beneath the surface lavas.

Seen as contrasting blue hues, they likely offer a glimpse of the original basin floor material. Analysis of these craters suggests the thickness of the covering volcanic lava to be 2.5-3.5 kilometers. Orange splotches around the basin’s perimeter are thought to be volcanic vents.

Image Credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins Univ. APL, Arizona State U., CIW

In The Short Film, ‘Baxter’ Is A Raccoon That Dislikes Disorganization

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‘Baxter’ is a short film produced by Ty Coyle for his graduate thesis film at The Savannah College of Art and Design. ‘Baxter’ is a fun story about a raccoon that’s obsessed with organization and perfection.

It’s late at night, and Baxter is passing by a candy store observing the items in the window display. He’s happy with what he sees until he peers inside the shop and notices a few things are out of place.

Disturbed by the unsightly vision of disorganized gumballs, Baxter climbs into the store. Once inside, he straightens and organizes the gumballs and other items. Everything is perfect until he sees one little thing slightly out of place.

From the description:

Baxter is my senior thesis film produced at The Savannah College of Art and Design. Baxter the raccoon makes his way into Granny’s Sweet Shop, but upon entering he gets so obsessed with the candy that he creates his own downfall.
Production Link: tycoyle.com/seniorfilm

Source: Ty Coyle
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