Random charts - infographics

 

Source: See the Most Captivating Infographics of the Last Century

Amazon Echo - first look

 

Sprung for an Amazon Echo and remote... Unboxed, completed the easy set-up in under ten minutes...

 

Added the Kasa skill to have it control my TP-Link lights; added the Samsung SmartThings skill to get voice control of my other lights and (limited) voice control of my Sonos system... Enjoying it so far.

Amazon Echo Reviews:
Amazon echo review - c|net
Echo reviews on amazon.com
Amazon Echo review - Engadget
Amazon Echo review: The sequel
The Amazon Echo Review - Tools and Toys
How to use the Amazon Echo and why you should get one
The Echo from Amazon Brims with Groundbreaking Promise
One year after Alexa: Amazon's Echo has found a small but smart niche
Amazon Echo Adds 1,000 New Feature, making It Even More Amazing

Amazon Echo Forums:
Amazon Echo Forum
Amazon Echo - Android Forums
Amazon Echo Discussion
Amazon Echo - Universal Devices

Mental health break

Click to enlarge:

 

Source: Astronaut - A journey to space (video)

DF Type 40 - first look

 Want a slightly different watch? Try the Division Furtive Type 40!

 

When you first open it it is "dead," but hold the back up to a bright light source and it comes to life! 

 

At this point it is at the default time setting (10:10) as indicated by the orange lights... You then need to go to the "Set Watch" section of their web site and follow the instructions. These  consist of first tapping the watch face to get it ready to program, followed by holding the back of the watch up to your computer monitor as it flashes black and white and sets the time...

 

 

Pretty cool...

Also vapor?

The July 24th, 2013 blog entry 'And the answer... (AI watch)' noted that this was vaporware (with a heavy sigh of regret). Well, we have another cool-looking watch, the RIST watch, that has the same flavor as the defunct AI watch. Alas, is this one also mere vapor?

Random charts - microbial dark matter

Source: Insights into the phylogeny and coding potential of microbial dark matter

Random picture - "transportation culture"

Click to enlarge

Source: The Beetle Sphere: An Actual 1953 VW Beetle Formed into a Perfect Sphere by Ichwan Noor The artist's explanation...

Random picture - big data

Source: Where The Internet Lives: Take a look inside Google's high-tech data centers

Random chart - medical manga

Source: Tranexamic acid manga offers comic relief for medics

Mental health break...

Les Masques - limited edition set of watches with masks from countries from different continents (Mexico, Japan, Papua New Guinea, and The Gabon) by Vacheron Constatin... Exquisite! You have to visit the site.

Amazing new species...

From National Geographic, some pictures of new species discovered the Greater Mekong River region in the last ten years....

Cool macro photos

Wired magazine held a macro photo competition and selected the top ten. Click on the post header or here to go to the slide show (the first picture is an extreme close-up of a gecko's eye...)

... and some more that didn't make the top ten can be seen here.