An Investigation Into the Psyche of the Minnesota Cyclist

Augsburg College From Above

Got the chance to snap this picture from the 8th floor lobby of Urness right as the snow fell a few weeks ago.

(c) 2014 Bill Berger

Snake Skin Chronicles Part 2

(c) Bill Berger 2014

When Life Gives You Rattlesnake, Sew it on to Your Shoes

A few weeks ago, my coworker Gabe came up to me and offered me a proposition. The bag of pretzels in his lunch in exchange for me taking the haunted rattlesnake skin his grandpa gave him off his hands. After making him explain two more times just to be sure I understood, I was the proud owner of a supposedly haunted reptilian skin. Unsure of what to do with it, it sat on my desk until I had the idea of sewing it to some old shoes I have. Shown below is a photo I shot of the end result.

Hand sewn with clothing thread and a needle, I'm not sure how well they will hold up with actual use. In the future if I ever attempt something like this again, I'll probably use a leather punch and thicker waxed string to sew the skin to the shoe.

(c) Bill Berger 2014

The World's First Social Telepresence

Don't worry, I had no idea what it meant at first either. After scrolling through the company's crowdfunding page I begin to piece it together. Omnipresenz, a Barcelona based start up company wants to create a system that will "guide the actions of a real human avatar located anywhere in the world" all while you sit comfortably on your MacBook. Essentially, a camera is mounted to a person, somewhere in the world, and someone else can watch and control that human avatar via the real time video and audio they send you. Users can simply observe a foreign land, or they can control the avatar to a certain degree of their bidding. Good deeds such as buying a stranger some food or getting a dog a treat are available as long as the users vote on it first. With the introduction of cheaper electronics and worldwide connectivity comes new enterprises and experiences. What are your thoughts on avatar services such as this one?

Local Spotlight: Permute Clothing

With their motto listed as "a changing clothing company", locally known clothing Permute Clothing has been hard at work over the past few years churning out streetwear that doesn't generally follow the norm. Permute's heavy use of social media has benefied them greatly in solidifying their spot in the Twin Cities streetwear scene. Headed by Saint Paul natives Max May and Matt Muraoka, I got the chance to sit down with May before the snow fell and got to ask him a few questions about their endeavor.

Max May (c) 2014 Bill Berger

Bill: First off, thanks for sitting down with me.

Max: No problem, glad to be here.

B: What was Permute's inception like? How did you get to the point you're at now?

M: Well, we were all friends in high school at Central and got to all be part of a screen printing class. With all of us interested in street fashion and printing on clothing, it just sort of fell into place that we started a clothing company. We pooled all the extra money we had and produced our first line in 2011 which consisted of three designs.

B: What do you think is your best selling product?

M: Hmm, I'd have to say sweatshirts or warm hats. We've done everything from baseball hats, posters, t-shirts, patches, and everything along the way, and sweatshirts are definitely our best selling item. Makes sense with the Minnesota winters I suppose.

B: How has the use of social media and technology in general affected your business?

Handsewn Turtlenecks (c) 2014 Bill Berger

M: Oh, it's hugely beneficial. We're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, you name it. There's nothing like randomly getting retweeted or a shoutout from a dude in Italy or something to really make you realize how connected we all are. We also have an online store that Matt wrote the code for and everything.

B: What are your plans for Permute's future?

M: Nothing too concrete, the online store I mentioned earlier was the big project we were looking to finish. With that, we have a more stable platform to host and promote our work.

Max in Colorado this Fall (c) 2014 Bill Berger

GPS Enabled SmartWallet is The Coolest Thing You Will Probably Still Manage to Lose

As if there weren't already enough "smart" things to buy in today's world, the company StreetSmart is now gunning for your wallet. Their recently released, aptly named SmartWallet is the next in a long line of advances in mobile technology. Containing a 1000mAh backup battery, Lightning or micro-USB phone chargers, and GPS locator, the wallet boasts a handful of features with the ability to save almost any night out on the town from disaster. Lose the phone? Make your phone chirp with a button on the wallet. Lose the wallet? Your phone beeps when you leave it and can guide you back to within 50 meters. Lose your friend who doesn't have a SmartWallet? You're on your own. For more info, check out the companies website HERE.

SmartWallet: The World's Smartest Wallet from StreetSmart Brand on Vimeo.

Hubbard Broadcasting Acquires 16 New Stations in Minnesota

Hubbard Broadcasting, the Saint Paul based television and radio broadcasting corporation, recently announced they would purchase 16 radio stations from the Omni Broadcasting Company. Only adding to their expansive broadcasting locations as far away as New Mexico, the new stations would bring broadcasting to the Alexandria, Bemidji, Brainerd and Wadena markets in rural Minnesota. An added cherry on top, Hubbard Broadcasting claims the acquisition will bring in 100 new employees without any personnel changes to the existing stations. For more information, check out the press release on the company's website.

http://corporate.hubbardradio.com/press-room/

Bi-Annual Saint Paul Art Crawl Creates Spring Beauty

In real estate, they say it’s always about location. If you were to tell someone in the late 1970’s that the abandoned and dilapidated warehouse district in Lowertown, Saint Paul was the location destined to become the thriving hub of of the cities art scene, you would have been hard pressed to find someone who agreed with you.

By means of a 10 million dollar grant by the mcknight foundation, the Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation got to work on revitalizing the area. Instead of demolition and new buildings, the LRC choose to renovate the inside of the historical buildings, most of which were built by Prestigious Saint Paul architects.

First appearing in 1991, the Saint Paul Art Crawl now includes over 300 artists in the Lowertown District who open their studios and creations up to the public for an entire weekend. From a spraypainted hot tub made out of a dumpster, to illustrious oil paintings of far away lands, the art crawl is extremely open as to what can be included in the art show. The food, drink, and most importantly, the often quirky residents of the buildings create a relaxed and fun atmosphere that is different from most stuffy art showings. The spring art crawl is April 24th, 25th, and 26th with more information being found on the official website, stpaulartcrawl.org

Auto-Lacing Shoes Appear on Kickstarter; Back to The Future Fans Rejoice

A small Canadian company is taking to crowd fundraising site Kickstarter to bring their new auto-lacing system to the world. Accurately named "Powerlace" Frederick Labbe & The Powerteam hope to raise $650,000 in order to produce the shoes, which will be released for $175 in the United States. Their first effort, the "P-Ones" use a non-electric system that uses the weight your body exerts on the shoes to tighten the laces. The moment you step into the shoes, your heel compresses and spins a concealed disc that is connected by wires to the laces, which in turn, tightens them.

To find out more information on The Powerteam's ambitious project, check out their Kickstarter page here: P-One Kickstarter

© Frederick Labbe & The Powerteam

Goodbye Metrodome: New Vikings Stadium Underway

© www.hksinc.com

After 32 years of housing countless games, The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome is in the process of being torn down to make room for the new multi purpose, 38 acre behemoth known simply as "The New Vikings Stadium" Bringing on 20 local companies as design subcontractors for the interior and exterior, this only adds to the more than 200 Minnesota businesses working on the project. Boasting impressive stats, the stadium's project manager locally operated Mortenson Construction, strides to reuse or recycle all they can from the old stadium. Over 240,000 pounds of cast iron and 150,000 pounds of plastic have been recycled from the retired seats alone!

Utilizing the largest transparent roof in the nation, 100 foot high pivoting glass doors, and two of the largest video boards in the NFL, the new Vikings stadium is certainly not making a small entrance. At over a billion dollars, hopefully this new stadium will bring the Vikings another Super Bowl win.

Concrete "Streetdome" Breaks The Mould in Danish Skateparks

With the collaboration of design teams CEBRA and Glifberg + Lykke comes the “Streetdome” a 1,500 square meter dome surrounded by a 4,500 square meter skatepark located on the waterfront in Haderslev, Denmark. A progressive symbol for the future, the creators of Streetdome aim to "create inclusion - inclusion through a variety of offers, activities, networks and especially through good cooperation between institutions and stakeholders." Whether those stakeholders wears suits or knee pads, Streetdome's community support and rigorous standard of quality are sure to put any worries at ease.

(c) Glifberg + Lykke

For more information, check out Glifberg + Lykke's website

http://glifberglykke.com/news.html

Startup Smartzer Collects $400,000 to Make Fashion Videos Shoppable

UK based startup company Smartzer, recently pulled in almost half a million dollars in investments to create a video tagging service that would allow viewers of fashion runway videos to shop the looks as they view them. Recently developed motion tracking software allows the company to "tag" certain items with a link that takes you to an online website that sells the item.

As seen in the included photograph, interactive elements laid over video allows viewers to click individual items to get more info or add to a cart. Designed to be used in store or on a retailers' website, and still a long way from being finished, we'll just have to wait and see if it's of any use. Check out their website HERE to see for yourself.

(c) Smartzer 2013

Above The Waves: Modscape's Ambitious "Cliff House"

Modscape, a company specializing in prefabricated houses, has unveiled a new design aimed at residences living in "extreme coastal locations". By extreme, they mean smack dab on the side of a cliff above the ocean, extreme.

What are your thoughts? Would you live here?

http://modscape.com.au/cliff-house-by-modscape-concept/

© Modscape

Why Didn't I Have Linkitz as a Kid?

LINKITZ, a new wearable toy by MIT computer science graduate Lyssa Neel, aim to give kids an age-appropriate programming tool that will proliferate their interest in technology. Comprised of electronic blocks that blink and vibrate, the toys can be switched around to change how they behave with each other. While they are just toys and the company doesn't seem to have an evil take over the world agenda, early introduction with the included programming guide could bring a lot of joy to all the MIT hopefuls out there. Would you buy these for your kid?

(c) Linkitz 2014