Author: matt

Hour of Code

There’s a concept getting a lot of press these days, the ‘Hour of Code‘.  The idea is to get everyone to learn just a little bit of programming, to help them realize how this is something that anyone could do.  It’s a nice idea, and is true…the coding is just using tools…the trick is the creativity behind it, and that’s something that is not really taught.   The goal is to have 10 million people participate in this…something I think is pretty easily attainable.  Who knows, maybe the next Google or Facebook will get its start during this effort!

Apple’s getting in the act by offering free ‘Hour of Code Youth Workshops‘ at local Apple stores.  You could also check out a new app from Codecademy to help teach basic coding using your iPhone.

The ILIAD Project – crowdsourcing antibiotic research

The ILIAD Project is launching what they describe as the first “Massively Multi-Scientist Open Experiment (MMOW)”, whereby participants will perform experiments at home in an attempt to help identify new antibiotics.  This comes at a time when the world is entering a ‘post anti-biotic era’, where bacteria are evolving resistance to antibiotics faster than we can invent new ones (read this post for more on that).

You can support the ILIAD Project on Indiegogo; they have a ways to go yet to reach their funding goal so please consider helping them out!  Most antibiotics to date have been accidental or lucky discoveries…a project like this has a lot of potential!

Saietta R – electric sports bike

Saietta-R-Agility-GlobalSay hello to a gorgeous piece of technology, the Saietta R, an electric sport bike from Agility Motors in London.  It’s a bit heavy at 485lbs, but its electric motor puts out ~96hp and ~94ft-lb of torque to provide 0-60 times of 3.9 seconds and a range of 70-80 miles.  Its relatively low top speed of 80mph will keep it off the tracks for now, but for average sport bike use, it fits the bill nicely.  Price will be around $23k when it arrives in the US next year.

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