I-Odysee!

I’m a big fan of technology ( as you can clearly tell from looking around this blog), but there are occasions when I realize how nothing beats good old human talent. This is something I clearly witnessed just today; I was strolling around downtown, and I noticed a mob around a bunch of crashed cars. I curiously approached the scene of the crime, I noticed two middle-aged man took the center of attention: one was hollering in rage and gesturing vividly, while the other one seemed to be placing a great effort into keeping his temper.

It didn’t take more than a minute of observing the crash site before I realized just what had happened: the loud guy had crashed into the quiet guy while making some crazy stunt. So, he insisted the other guy was responsible for the accident, since he should have steered out of his way (there was PLENTY of room, he kept shouting with full lungs, a fat vein nearly popping out of his forehead). Well, it didn’t take much observation skills – or common sense, for that matter – to tell the angry guy was just trying to bully his way out of paying the damages he’d caused.

I thought the argument would go on forever in tight loops, until suddenly the whole circus came to a quick halt. Someone stepped out from the crowd, identifying himself as a Boston car accident lawyer. It might have been my imagination, but I could swear that his presence was strangely calming, and he exuded a certain authority; one thing I do know for sure: I was positively amazed how effective he was in solving the problem.

He just took the angry guy aside and talked with him quietly for no more than five minutes. When he was finished, the touble-maker was a lot calmer – in fact he looked almost a bit worried ( I wonder what that Boston car accident attorne told him). He just swooped back next to the cards and promptly apologized to the other guy and declared he was willing to pay for the damage. They exchanged all appropriate data, and soon enough the crowd cleared off… the fun was over.

After a while, I was the only one standing there in the sidewalk, and that’s when I started wondering… no matter how impressive technological developments we already have, human engine and creativeness will always find ways of surprising me even further! Which actually is no surprise, once we think that it was human engine that devised all technologies we know… right?

Do you like pearls? I’ve always thought those little orbs were quite fascinating to look at, even more so as they originate in a fascinating way. As you might know, pearls were accidentally invented by nature – or maybe not quite so. Well, pearls do come from oysters (as well as other types of clam), and they’re generated when a speck of sand invades the clam shell. Actually they’re generated just afterwards, in the course of weeks of months; as the clam tries to protect itself from the intrusive grain of sand, it generates layers upon layers of a distinctive shiny coating. As the coating grows bigger and rounder, a pearl is eventually created!

Actual salt water pearls are quite rare, and extremely expensive. This kind of pearl is found occasionally nested in a prize oyster, among millions of other oysters. However, there are also techniques that allow the mass-production of real pearls! This kind of cultured pearl is generated from man-made grafts – and since it’s mass produced, it’s not quite as rare or nearly as expensive as wild pearls.

The thing about salt water pearl grafting is that it’s quite a tricky procedure, which requires high specialization. However, there’s another alternative: fresh water pearls, the very kind which is used to make this pearl necklace or this pearl earring. As the name suggests, these pearls come from freshwater clams such as mussels; the grafting procedure to produce this pearls is relatively simple, and it yiealds a greater volume of pearls.

That’s why freshwater pearl jewelry is relatively unexpensive, but still looks pretty darn good! I’ve been looking around for a video showing the pearl grafting procedure, but I only found this one focusing on salt water pearl grafting. To your enjoyment, here it goes:

For better and worse, technology is now part of our daily life. This is as much true for nerds as for jocks, for ordinary people as well as remarkable people. So when it comes to a James Bond movie, we’ve grown accustomed to being treated with a good deal of technological gadets. I mean, what kind of secret agent can go by without a laser beam watch or a GPS cuff button? Not any serious kind of secret agent, I say!

To make a long story short, This is why many people have been extremely annoyed with the lack of tech in the latest Bond movie. In fact, I’ve just come across this video where they put it best, when expressing their discontent about such a ludicrous decision. Some things really go so well together that we cannot imagine it any other way… and Bond without gadgets is just not the same thing, right?