A Roberto C. Madruga Update

During the week of February 1st through 7th, I will be taking a vacation. On the 3rd, I will be going to Charlottesville to have a consultation at UVA with a neurosurgeon regarding a possible upcoming surgery. This surgery would be to fix the CSF leak that might have caused my spinal meningitis in October 2009. I will update everyone after I find out if and when I need this surgery. =========================
When Evolve Happy returns on Monday, February 8th, there will be some new features:

Monday - I Took This Photo...
In this feature, I'll showcase the photographs that did not make any of my portfolios.
Tuesday - Older Muffins
One of my favorite things is randomness and "Older Muffins" is my way of injecting it into Evolve Happy.
Friday - Artist of the Week
"Artist of the Week" is the oldest feature on Evolve Happy and it's returning in all its glory.
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Other features include:
EH Interview
Occasionally, I have the opportunity to interview some really wonderful people.
EHMIX
On the first Tuesday of every month, I will post a SEAMLESS mix.
I Hate Metal
I'll showcase a musical act that I love and want to share with the rest of the world.
We Eat Neon
Any food related posts to help me live out my dream of giving up any artistic endeavors and becoming a food blogger.
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Hope everyone has a great week and I'll see you on the 8th!
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How to Train the Aging Brain

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"Educators say that, for adults, one way to nudge neurons in the right direction is to challenge the very assumptions they have worked so hard to accumulate while young. With a brain already full of well-connected pathways, adult learners should “jiggle their synapses a bit” by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own, says Dr. Taylor, who is 66.

Teaching new facts should not be the focus of adult education, she says. Instead, continued brain development and a richer form of learning may require that you 'bump up against people and ideas' that are different. In a history class, that might mean reading multiple viewpoints, and then prying open brain networks by reflecting on how what was learned has changed your view of the world." read article in its' entirety

Related: Where Did the Time Go? Do Not Ask the Brain

Chrysler Unveils the "Smart Windshield"

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Oddly enough, I had a conversation about this exact concept and then came across the article. This is going to be a great development in automotive history and I can't wait. It may not be the safest thing, but it still looks awesome.
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"Chrysler wants to turn your car into a rolling WiFi hotspot where you check your Facebook profile, upload pictures to Flickr, and eventually be part of a nationwide traffic-control network.

The UConnect Web system Chrysler will unveil Thursday -- and introduce next year -- marks the start of the dot-car era and puts Chrysler in front of BMW in their race to bring wireless internet access to your dashboard. Most of the other automakers, not to mention Microsoft, are right behind them, and there's a push to bring some standards to the hardware." read article in its entirety
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thanks next nature

Pixel Featured on Stuff On My Cat

In April 2009, Valerie took this fantastic photo of Pixel in a brown paper bag and I submitted it to the popular site, Stuff On My Cat. Recently, we received an email that he would be featured on the site today. So take a little look and leave some comments to support Pixel!

So far, he's received a couple comments, but this is the best one: "nice resolution for a 1(mega cute) pixel photo"
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Stuff On My Cat

Humble TV Presents Homunculus

Homunculus from HUMBLE TV on Vimeo.
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"Humble is proud to present, Homunculus, the first of an annual series of experimental films by our in-house directing collaborative, Hydra. Conceived of and directed by Sam Stephens, Homunculus is a dark and twisted fable of spontaneous generation and untrammeled id. Taking its title from the Latin word for "Little Human", the piece is an associative mashup between the two concepts behind the word: The first being middle-age alchemical beliefs that "little men" could be spontaneous generated from dead or decaying matter. The second being Carl Jung's usage as a personification of pure id. These ideas, combined with our love of Dutch still life's "beautiful decay," sowed the seeds for this unique little monster of a film." - Humble TV
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Humble TV have a website. Imagine that.
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thanks who killed bambi (via derek_)

Music Created by Learning Computer Getting Better

The idea that artistic creation is possibly not limited to humanity is incredible. I can't wait to hear Emily Howell's album, which is scheduled to be released soon by Centaur Records.
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"Like many composers, Emily Howell has her own unique style that she refines constantly. She’ll listen to what critics have to say about her work and then try to write music that is good enough to silence those critiques. Aiming for musical perfection is a very human endeavor, but Emily Howell isn’t a human composer at all. She is a computer program designed by composer, programmer, and author David Cope." read article in its entirety

Older Muffins 478513

BauBike = Super Awesome!!!

"This bike is like a geometrical equation that I want to ride," said my wife, Valerie. Recently, I've been searching for a bike to purchase and no other bike can compete with this bike's awesomeness.
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"The BauBike is inspired by Bauhaus design. It is constructed around the geometric shape of the square and the equilateral triangle. The design is stripped down to clean lines and raw material.

The open-end piece above the back wheel, offers the possibility to customize the function of the bike to whatever need you may have. The different accessories can be placed in the tube and can easily be changed if needed." - BauBike Website
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Related: Contrail – Biking Community Tool

Lauren McCarthy's "Happiness Hat"

Lauren McCarthy's "Happiness Hat" is one of my favorite things that I've come across. It's one of those amazing projects that I discovered a while ago, but completely forgot to post about. McCarthy is one of the most unique artists I've seen recently; she has other inventive ideas and creations, so don't forget to explore her site.

"An enclosed bend sensor attaches to the cheek and measures smile size, a servo motor moves a metal spike into the head inversely proportional to the degree of smile. Through repeated use of this conditioning device you can train your brain to smile all the time. The device runs on Arduino." - Lauren McCarthy's Website / Vimeo
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happiness hat from Lauren McCarthy on Vimeo.
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Rethinking Artificial Intelligence

Here's an article about the Mind Machine Project, a collaboration whose eventual goal is to create intelligent machines... "whatever that means." I don't know that I actually have to point this out, but we're all alive at a very exciting time in human history.

"The field of artificial-intelligence research (AI), founded more than 50 years ago, seems to many researchers to have spent much of that time wandering in the wilderness, swapping hugely ambitious goals for a relatively modest set of actual accomplishments. Now, some of the pioneers of the field, joined by later generations of thinkers, are gearing up for a massive 'do-over' of the whole idea.

This time, they are determined to get it right — and, with the advantages of hindsight, experience, the rapid growth of new technologies and insights from the new field of computational neuroscience, they think they have a good shot at it." read article in its entirety (MIT)