Items of Interest

CSS Flexbox

#149
I'm a bit late to the CSS3 party here but CSS Tricks have a great visual tutorial on CSS Flexbox and the various layout options available in flexbox. Don't forget to use CanIUse to check browser support though, and here's a handy CSS prefix generator for that cross-browser support (and see some extra steps are here for Safari).
Web Dev

One Size Doesn't Fit All

#148
This is a fascinating article that every man should read. An edited extract of Caroline Criado-Perez's book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men was published in The Guardian this week. Example after example of everyday things that we all take for granted which are inherently biased towards men in their design shocked me.
Design
Life

Heat Camouflage

#148
Research published by The American Chemical Society shows that aerogel film coated with polyethylene glycol and a waterproof layer acts as an effective invisibility cloak to infrared detectors. The relatively inexpensive coated material effectively absorbs heat but releases it slowly over time, making it less visible.
Innovation
Science

Walk In Their Shoes

#148
One of Seth Godin's blog posts this week really hit home with me. Seth talks about how the emotion filled arguments on important issues between two sides rarely result in anything constructive. Seeing things from other peoples point of view is how you can work to change the narrative, the position or the issue. This works at all levels, from people to nations. This is how the momentous Good Friday Agreement was ratified by all sides. This is not how Brexit has been executed.
Life
Motivation

Real Time Hidden Acoustic Signals

#148
Researchers in China and the U.S. have created a system for receiving hidden data in audio signals using smartphone microphones. The Dolphin system uses commercial off the shelf (COTS) smartphones to detect, error correct and decode hidden data transmitted in audio within an 8 meter distance and up to an angle of 90 degrees. Transmission of sport stats data via stadium speakers without the need for internet connectivity is one possible implementation of this mass transmission system.
Audio
Innovation
Tech

Big Dunc on The Irish Language

#147
Former Munster player Duncan Casey, now at Grenoble, has an excellent piece in The Irish Examiner this week about how being abroad has made him appreciate the Irish language more. He describes his experiences with his Pacific Island team-mates at Grenoble, some of whom grew up in New Zealand, but all of whom are fluent in their respective island languages.
Life

Pages