Trip The Light - Anthony Burchell

 Trip The Light is electronic music constructed from the graves of old electronic equipment.  Some of this equipment can be seen in the electronic museum at Corona Visions Inc. The mastermind behind Trip The Light is San Antonio native Anthony Burchell.

On his facebook he once wrote “I make music with all the junk your parents threw out” - a true recycler. He is a young musician with the creativity of modifying old electronics and making unique sounds with them.

Recently, The San Antonio Current Music Awards voted Anthony Burchell Best Electronic Artist in San Antonio 2012. Burchell is also soon to be featured in an upcoming issue of Backbeat Magazine. His style of music is greatly influenced by a band called Board of Canada that he describes it as giving him a “natural organic feel in a digital world”. 

His live show equipment consists of a 1980’s Radio Shack TANDY color computer routed to a video amplifier, a guitar cab filled with television sets, and other vintage electronics with which he builds his music one layer at a time.

Some layers come from using the Commodore 64 (which competed in the game console against Atari in the 80’s). He is also able to modify the Game Boy using the devices' sound port to create yet another unique sound with inputted codes. Occasionally, Anthony will throw small vocals in with the layers yet no more than a few sentences and never straying away from his sound which he describes as “Spacy”. If you want to check out more of Anthony Burchell and Trip the Light stop by his site at http://tripthelightwonderful.com/

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Nigerias E-Waste

Globally, 20-50 million tons of electronic waste is dumped. Nigeria has become one of the largest dumping grounds of e-waste in the world. According to the National Environmental Management Authority; Nigeria generates 17,000 tons of e-waste annually. (Only the expected number is only to increase. With the countries growth and their e-waste cell phone surge.) Nigeria does not have a proper system of sorting out e-waste, leaving the problem to scavengers. The government does restrict the age of the equipment coming into the country but still face challenges of local dumping.

Everyday 50 Kenyans pass away to a cancer-related disease. Astonishing cases of Kenyan children are faced with kidney disease and the number of diseased is increasing. Electronic waste is among the main causes of cancer including the increase of reproductive health diseases. The rise of cancer cases are due to lack of knowledge on how to handle e-waste and environmental pollution properly. Some metals in electronic waste equipment and the burning of plastics have increased diseases and severe respiratory problems. African countries are becoming aware of their e-waste and the problems associated with it. Hewlett-Packard has partnered with a non government organization to establish an e-waste recycling facility in Kenya, and operate within regulations of international health, safety and environmental standards.

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The Ways of a Game Controller

Game controllers are not just for your game console anymore. Several creative people have hacked game controllers into whatever their heart desires. In a blog by Jean Aws, he describes that he had two of his own projects using the Kinect. His Robotic Mimicry uses the Kinect to interact with machines. It senses his hand in 3d and the data is transferred to the robot which mimics the hand's motions. The other kRC, the Kinect switched places of a typical remote control for a helicopter.

Another interesting use for a game controller is what Tots on Bots team at Ithaca College came up with only using a baby chair, a Wii Balance Board, and a small mobile robot. Sitting in the baby chair the child can lean in any  direction and the Wii Balance Board can sense which direction to move the robot. When the child relaxes the robot stops.

In Moullines's Catalina video, graphics were made using software with the 3d data set from Kinect. Music has been made using the WiiMote and a little hacking. The Kinect has a 3d camera where you can scan or photograph an object for 3d printing.

The data collected can then be 3d printed into a souvenir such as Be our Own Souvenir by Blablalab. The same data can be used by a DSLR camera creating amazing abstract photography.

One other fascinating idea is the use of Playstation Move controllers and custom software. The brains of coders, hackers and designers have given capability of writing with eye movement with their design Playstation Eye was attached to a pair of glasses for tracking. The uses for gaming controllers are endless with a little imagination.

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Full story: http://mylifescoop.com/featured-stories/2012/04/unexpected-uses-for-gaming-controllers.html?page=1

Subway Living Green

Subway.com

Not only are you eating fresh, Subway customers get a high-tech experience with an eco-friendly feel in Indiana. In Kokomo Indiana, a Subway franchise became the states’ first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for its use of technology for saving energy and for its green-building design. Together the franchisee, the Chief Sustainability Officer at Indiana-based real estate development firm, and Huston Electric created the eco-restaurant. The Subway franchise uses a Control14 automation system that allows the building to act and react automatically to fixed commands. The building has installed programmable light switches, thermostats, motion sensors, daylight sensors, and an eGauge energy monitoring device that communicates wirelessly with the system. The exterior lights switch on and off based on opening and closing hours. The bathroom and kitchen lights function based upon occupancy. There are two exterior light level sensors that gather daylight to automatically conserve power. When the sensors reach a certain percentage of light, the dining room lights on the side room will shut off, using only the natural light coming into the dinning room. Thermostats were also programmed to rise or drop automatically based on business hours alongside an in-ceiling ERV air recovery unit. 

An in-ceiling ERV is a fully ducted ventilator designed to ventilate any domestic, commercial or institutional building. It will remove stale air from the indoor air space and replace it with fresh air which has been pre-conditioned to have minimal impact on the indoor air temperature and humidity. Continuously ventilating the indoor space prevents the occurrence of buildup of allergens, mould, dust mites and other chemical pollutants, providing a healthier living and working environment.  A monitor in the lobby displays the Control14 system with the Eragy App in real time, as an educational and informational display for customers to enjoy and disuse. Eragy is a smart energy software application and service that are able to monitor the building’s overall power usage. The Eragy system monitors electrical usage throughout the restaurant so that it can be tracked and accessed remotely. This allows the restaurant staff to recognize projected monthly energy costs sooner, allowing them to make adjustments as needed. Hurrah for fresh food and living green Indiana!

Subway didn’t start in Indiana, they actually have several other eco-stores in North Carolina alone. The eco-restarants building materials where used from sustainable sources and extensive use of recycled products and furnishings such as LED interior and exterior signage, recycled floor tile, high-efficiency Energy Star-rated HVAC system, remote condensing units for refrigeration and ice-making equipment, low flow and flush fixtures in public restrooms, less lighting power and more natural light for customers as well as a recycling collection of post-consumer recyclable waste generated in-store.

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Bjorn's... Just Bjorn's

Have you ever dreamed about having your own personal theater? I had the pleasure of going and seeing my dream in reality at Bjorn’s. I have never seen such a store of audio video home theater before. On Bjorns website it states “Bjorn’s… just Bjorn’s” and they are right, there is nothing quit like it. 

You first walk into an outstanding open show room, displaying all of the best in audio video home theater equipment. There is even a waterfall running down their SunBrite television. (Don’t worry its waterproof and weatherproof) There is several side rooms completely set up in different home style theaters, but there is one that stands out from the rest and Bjorn’s call it “The Ultimate Room”,  I call it heaven for entertainment.

The “Ultimate Room” was designed by Tomlinson Holman aka “TH” in “THX” and Mr. Bjorn himself and neither one leaving anything out. When you open the 600 pound entry door to their home theater, which has the newest entertainment technology known to man; you will start to understand why they choose its name. Upon being greeted, I asked for the Ultimate 3D experience and what I received was so much more. The representative had me sit in the front row in the D-Box chair while he explained the specs of the room.

 The room has a surround sound system that incorporates ten discrete channels of full-range audio system of 14 speakers and including two discrete subwoofer channels for music. With the Audyssey MultEQ system the audio system is calibrated to the acoustics of the room giving every seat “the best seat in the house”.

The flooring was even designed just for the D-Box experience in mind. I have tried the D-Box experience before in a theater but those seats don’t have anything on Bjorn’s D-Box seats. Using their Kaleidescape system, a server and controller system that stores all software digitally with an interactive on-screen user interface, the rep chose a 6 minute clip of Avatar in 3D. I reclined my seat with a touch of a button and begun to move and even at times seemed to float with the scenes of the movie. The screen was able to open and close for different viewing options and with their 3D glasses the movie jumped off the screen. The next clip that was shown to me was from Lord of The Rings, shown just for Bjorn’s D-Box seats. It was a great clip to show the intensity, I honestly felt, I was on the battle field with giant elephants stomping up the ground. The cost of this Ultimate room you may ask, well it’s about the same as an average home in America, only it was designed for no sound to come in or get out.

At Bjorn’s they are more than happy to give demonstrations. It takes about 20 minutes for a demo of the 10.2 channel surround sound system of Tomlinson Holman and between 15-20 minutes for the video system demo. Together the demonstration can be around 30 minutes, they do have quicker versions of the demo but believe me you are going to want to experience the entire 30 minute demonstration. As they say “The Ultimate Room’ Simply amazing.”

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Bjorn's... Just Bjorn's

Tracking Kids to School

Image credit: William Murphy

Skipping school… a lot of children are doing it. You may have even caught your child once or maybe have the memories of when you skipped. But do you really know how often your child has skipped? Several people believe that a pattern of skipping school is often the first sign that a teen is giving up on their education. Current laws demand that parents are notified of school absences, impose fines or even jail for parents of children who skip often. Although when a child has their mind set on skipping they will find a way to hide it from their parents. A city in Brazil may have the ultimate tool to help relieve a parent’s worry of their child skipping. In a Brazilian city, Vitoria da Conquista, 20,000 grade school students are wearing uniforms embedded with radio frequency sensor (RFID) microchips as part of their dress code. RFID is the use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. This device is similar to the ones used for pet trackers. The microchip is embedded either under the school’s coat of arms or in one of the sleeves. The chip provides data to a central computer programmed to send updates to parents about their child’s whereabouts thru text messaging. After 20 minutes of a no-show, parents will receive an alert that their child still has not arrived yet. The city officials hope that all their public school students will use the high-tech shirts in 2013.

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Leaders in San Antonio Recycling

Corona Visions Inc. an e-Steward Enterprise company and TechnoCycle an e-Steward Certified company have join forces in the 30,000 square foot facility located in San Antonio Texas. Both companies carry the “e-Steward logo” which insures your company that you could not be in better hands for all your electronic recycling needs.

Corona Visions Inc and TechnoCycle carry the only global comprehensive shield from the significant threats presented by e-waste pollution, data loss.

Corona Visions Inc. and TechnoCycle are leaders in providing e-waste Enterprise Stewardship Compliance and e-waste certified disposal recycling service. TechnoCycle is certified to the e-Stewards and R2 electronic recycling standards- ensuring industry best practices in Data security, Environmental compliance and Logistical Management.

TechnoCycle also carries the OHSAS 18001 compliance and was certified to ISO 14001, demonstrating high standards in health and safety and environmental compliance.

Corona Visions Inc. and TechnoCycle ensure data security through onsite and offsite data erasure and shredding. Both subscribe the highest standards of environment compliance- no landfill or illegal exports of e-waste and logistical management with a professional team of consultants available to design custom recycling plans to meet end-of-life technology needs for companies of all sizes.

Corona Visions Inc. and TechnoCycle can help your company become Compliance: In the United States now we have over two-dozen states that have adopted e-waste laws, and more laws are being developed at both the state and federal level. The U.S. Federal Electronics Challenge tells it’s partners that by using Stewards recyclers “ you will meet federal requirements to employ environmentally sound practices with respect to disposition of electronic products” E-Stewards Enterprise status means you meet and exceed all state laws and will be well prepared for any forthcoming federal legislation.

Vandell Norwood of Corona Visions Inc and Mike Buckles of TechnoCycle, are committed to provide their customers with the highest standards of secure and responsible disposal of electronic waste.

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