Last night I tore the page from my Sport Diver magazine so I could check out one of their recommended iPad/iPhone apps called Ocean Encounters ($1.99). Of course, I bought it and that led to further connections. First, with another beautiful app called Rooms with a View ($.99) and then to the developer of these and many more, BanzaiLabs. They’re projects are amazing…Photography, Interactive Media, Games, Brain Wave, Voice and Social Media Apps. What a talented group!

“Travel the Oceans of the World with Award-Winning Wildlife Photographer and Author Brandon Cole, exploring the beauty and diversity of earth’s marine life. Featuring 250 stunning images in 25 Galleries, iTunes integration and a Built-in Music Player, Facebook sharing, Map-based Navigation, Slideshow player and a save-as Wallpaper feature.” iTunes

“Discover the most intriguing hotels and exotic lodgings in the world through the lens of Award-Winning Travel Journalist Peter Guttman as he shares the view through the window of hotel rooms ranging from luxurious to adventurous. Rooms With a View is the latest edition of the groundbreaking Beautiful Planet Series…” iTunes

The Nashville Zoo has had it’s ups and downs these past couple of months.

Last month, a giraffe named Savannah died during emergency surgery. “When Savannah went into labor on Sunday morning, we confirmed that the calf had expired and was in a breech position causing complications to the delivery process,” said Zoo Veterinarian Heather Robertson. ~ News Channel 5

This month, Layla joined the Grassmere Zoo!!  Layla is a Reticulated giraffe, known for their distinctive skin pattern and bright orange spots.

Christian Sperka

Compared to her giraffe companions, Layla is smaller in stature – weighing 590 lbs and 9 ft tall, whereas Margarita, a Masai giraffe, weighs 1860 lbs and is 14 ft tall.

“Layla has been a welcome addition to our collection,” said Connie Philipp, director of animal collections at Nashville Zoo. “She is a very spunky and curious. Being hand-raised has made her very interested in what we do all day.” ~  The City Paper

ArchDaily.com is part of my morning blog stop routine.  A wonderful source for imagination and inspiration. Founded in 2008, it has become the site for the latest architectural information for architects and some of us “would be” architects. There’s also a great ArchDaily Facebook page that constantly updates with stunning project photos.

“Architect: Atelier Deshaus (Liu Yichun / Chen Yifeng)
Location: Hongde Rd, Jiading, Shanghai, China

The kindergarten is located in the Jiading new town of the northern suburb in Shanghai, it is neither countryside nor urban in the traditional sense.” ArchDaily

“Architectural photographer Iwan Baan recently shot the Observatory House, designed by Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco and built by architect Tatiana Bilbao in Roca Blanca, Mexico.

The house is inspired on the Jantar Mantar Astronomical Observatory, built in Delhi in 1724.” ArchDaily

One of my favorite (and most innovative) sites is Ponoko, where individuals can easily see their designs become a reality. It’s amazingly for it’s ability to empower the inner design self. Over the last year or so, there has been a real emphasis on 3D printing and, honestly, I only had only the sketchiest idea of what it was all about. This morning’s TEDTalk by Lisa Harouni more than clarified this design/manufacturing revolution. So cool.

“2012 may be the year of 3D printing, when this three-decade-old technology finally becomes accessible and even commonplace. Lisa Harouni gives a useful introduction to this fascinating way of making things — including intricate objects once impossible to create.” TEDTalks

“It’s hard to believe that the writer behind “City Lights”, a lonesome shuffle that gave Ray Price a no. 1 in 1958, also collaborated on “Whiskey Lullaby”, a tragic ballad that made a big impact for Brad Paisley in 2004. Or that the same guy who wrote and recorded the 1961 hit “Po’ Folks”, a homey, sentimental tune, also co-wrote the 2007 George Strait chart-topper “Give It Away”, a blunt, bluesy honky-tonk number.” WPLN

“This double slide in a college in Munich takes riders from the top floor to the patio on the ground floor in a matter of seconds.” weburbanist

“These fun additions are making their way into homes all around the world. Whether it’s a child’s playhouse that is topped off by a quick exit from the second floor to the first or a stuffy den that was just screaming out for a fun feature, slides are becoming surprisingly common in residences.” weburbanist

Yes, I wish I could have learned this way. Maybe I would have paid more attention in physics. (DNA was hard for me to visualize despite Sister Clara’s repeated attempts). This is just the beginning of my attempt to learn about this latest Apple introduction and it’s not without its critics. But what a great start.

“A Multi-Touch textbook on iPad is a gorgeous, full-screen experience full of interactive diagrams, photos, and videos. No longer limited to static pictures to illustrate the text, now students can dive into an image with interactive captions, rotate a 3D object, or have the answer spring to life in a chapter review. They can flip through a book by simply sliding a finger along the bottom of the screen. Highlighting text, taking notes, searching for content,…” Apple

There’s a great feature on today’s NPR Morning Edition about Starbucks…what it’s done to continue it’s phenomenal  growth despite slow economic times. I find their success story fascinating and there is obviously an assortment of inventive and well-founded ideas that we can apply to our own business. What a remarkable company! But what interests me the most is how Starbucks has made itself such a comfortable destination. A welcoming place, where everyone is equal, where no one has the home field advantage; a delightful place to connect. It seems like a great idea for an office.

“To Grow Business, Starbucks Thinks Outside The Cup”
by Wendy Kaufman, NPR Morning Edition

I’ve been reading articles about this new camera everywhere lately. It was named Popular Science’s Innovation of the Year. On Monday, Arnold Kim wrote about an interesting Apple/Steve Jobs connection in his blog post at MacRumors. The new Lytro light-field camera captures an immense amount of information including the directionality of light, color and intensity and allows the photographer to refocus and adjust after the shot has been taken. Here are some amazing examples at the picture gallery on the Lytro site. The Lytro is available now and retails from $400 to $500.

“There’s something about light field photography that’s just magical,” Lytro founder Ren Ng said in a previous interview with Wired.com. “It very much is photography as we’ve known it. It’s what we’ve always seen through cameras — we just had to fix it.” Wired

Talk about uncharted territory… just imagine getting a Stanford education, attending online classes, learning from some of the best professors in the world and your ticket is your computer. For the latest Articial Intelligence class by Professor Sebastian Thrun (you’re gonna love his site!), over 160,000 students from 190+ countries did just that. I’m sure the revolution will go through many iterations, but an open mind might mean we can actually level the playing field for all students.

“Last year, Stanford University computer science professor Sebastian Thrun — also known as the fellow who helped build Google’s self-driving car — got together with a small group of Stanford colleagues and they impulsively decided to open their classes to the world.They would allow anyone, anywhere to attend online, take quizzes, ask questions and even get grades for free.” NPR All Things Considered