CrunchGear

Japan’s Red Cross uses Augmented Reality to get geeks to donate blood (video)
GR DIGITAL III × STUSSY: Ricoh unveils limited edition point-and-shoot camera
Vox amPlug headphone amps
Bag Week: Booq Mamba Shift quick video tour
Scientists study mental orgasms through MRIs
Guy brings whole computer rig into B&N, the world snickers

Japan’s Red Cross uses Augmented Reality to get geeks to donate blood (video)

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 04:00 AM PST

DigitalSignage_japan akiba_nurse_ar

This is one of the reasons why I live in Japan and nowhere else: In order to get more people to donate blood, the Japanese Red Cross Society decided to skip juice and cookies and to go high-tech by using augmented reality-powered digital signage systems [JP] and cute anime characters.

In cooperation with Japan’s Digital Signage Consortium, several digital signage systems made by NEC were set up around Akihabara station (where else?) from December 17-19. Every time passers-by appeared on the screen, they would see their heads and bodies superimposed with the hair of mega-popular virtual idol Miku Hatsune and a sexy nurse outfit.

I’m not really sure if that’s the way to go to actually get people to donate blood, but the whole thing was designed to be a special PR campaign. And it did get a lot of coverage on Japanese otaku blogs over the weekend (too bad I myself couldn’t go).

But here are two videos that show the digital signage systems in action at Akihabara station:

Via Asiajin

GR DIGITAL III × STUSSY: Ricoh unveils limited edition point-and-shoot camera

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 01:22 AM PST

ricoh_stussy

It’s Stussy’s 30th birthday next year, and for some strange reason the fashion company collaborated with Japanese electronics maker Ricoh to celebrate the occasion in the form of a Stussy-branded digital camera [JP]. Technically, Ricoh didn’t change anything in the GR DIGITAL III the Stussy camera is based on (and which was released in August this year), meaning the new exterior design will most likely attract hardcore Stussy fans or camera collectors only.

Spec-wise you still have a 10MP 1/1.7-inch CCD sensor, a 28 mm/F1.9 “GR” lens, 4x digital zoom, ISO sensitivity between 64 and 1,600, a 3-inch LCD display and SD/SDHC/ USB ports. Ricoh replaced the original fonts on the camera with Stussy style fonts and added royal blue as a new color on several buttons and the cap. You can see the camera in its original form below.

ricoh_gr_digital

The Stussy camera will go on sale in Japan in February 2010 (when the fashion brand becomes 30 years old) and will cost $1,100. It’s limited to 500 units only. If you're interested in getting one, i’d suggest you contact import/export specialists Japan Trend Shop, Geek Stuff 4 U or Rinkya.

Vox amPlug headphone amps

Posted: 20 Dec 2009 04:00 PM PST

It’s a well known fact of life that creativity flows better when the sun is down. The best essays are written the night before class, the best coding is done at 2 AM, and the best music is played when everyone else would rather sleep. Unfortunately, that last one can leave some very angry people in it’s wake. Vox’s series of headphone amps allow you to rock out without your neighbors calling the police.

It’s exactly what you’d think it is. Plug the amPlug into your electrified instrument of choice (bass, guitar, eigenharp, whatever), plug your headphones into the amPlug, and enjoy your tiny musical world of your own creation. They come in 6 different flavors, each simulating a different Vox amplifier. Pick from acoustic, metal, bass, and a few lead guitar tones.

There’s also an aux input so you can play along to your favorite rendition of The Final Countdown. They’re powered by 2 AAA batteries, and last about 15 hours. At anywhere between $56 and $64, they make a nice, albeit slightly expensive, stocking stuffer for a guitarist you know.

Bag Week: Booq Mamba Shift quick video tour

Posted: 20 Dec 2009 02:02 PM PST

Since the Mamba Shift just came out this week, I haven’t had time to put it through its paces for a full review. But because Bag Week is coming to an end, I thought I should at least give a quick overview for those looking forward to it.

Scientists study mental orgasms through MRIs

Posted: 20 Dec 2009 09:00 AM PST

Guest columnist Lydia Leavitt writes about sex and, oddly enough, social media. For more information on the latest intimate technology as well as the full interview with Kim Airs, check out 69adget.com.

Click through to read the NSFW article.

Kim Airs speeds into Newark, New Jersey with her leather chaps on, riding her motorcycle decorated with dildos big and small. She’s here to meet Dr. Barry Komisaruk, an Associate Dean and researcher at Rutgers University where he is researching the female orgasm. Kim, a free spirit, founder of Grand Opening, and a Certified Sex Educator (PPLM), waltzes into Dr. Komisaruk’s lab only to be strapped into a MRI machine where she jokes “Oh, it’ll be like a bondage session. Won’t be my first, won’t be my last!” Kim has been chosen to participate in the doctor’s study on the female orgasm because she has a very unconventional talent: this woman can will herself to orgasm. Without toys. Without lube. Without another person. That’s right people, she can do it with her mind alone.

In our interview, Kim describes her unique skill:
I have pretty much always been multi-orgasmic and always thought: why just go for one? Orgasms are some of the best free entertainment one can have! So I had the basics of what it’s all about but never had the formal training until 1995, when I attended my first breath and energy workshop with the beloved (and amazing) Annie Sprinkle. Then I did quite a few workshops with The Body Electric that was a program developed by Annie that combines spirituality and sexuality but without any religious overtones (except maybe a few “Oh God! I’m coming!”s in it). Seriously, it does focus on breath work as well. I was part of the first intensive of the Body Electric for women held over several days in Northern California and when you’re focusing on breathing and moving energy for hours at a time (no kidding), you begin to get the hang of it. It wasn’t until 1997 that I really made all the connections to be able to do this without touching myself and being able to “think off.” I let it flow through me whenever it damn well pleases. It can be if a memory comes back to me and I close my eyes and my body slightly convulses, I usually get flushed in the face and yes, sometimes, people pick up on that when it happens. If I see someone that’s hot, I can pop one off then, too.

And this is exactly the type of woman Dr. Komisaruk, author of The Orgasm Answer Guide, wants to study. Why? Because the doctor is using MRIs to study brain activity during a female’s orgasm in an attempt to isolate the regions active during the big O. Someone who can will themselves off will not have any motor movements to skew the MRI results. During our interview, the doctor describes the female orgasm as a “remarkable phenomena,” explaining that it has been linked to reduced sensitivity to pain as well as increased feelings of joy and happiness…duh. The doctor hopes that by figuring out what’s happening in the brain during orgasm, researchers can use this information to develop better anti-depressants, better pain management drugs, and increase sexual satisfaction.

What the study has revealed thus far is that women who can will themselves to orgasm mentally, experience the same brain activity during orgasm as women who use stimulation to get off. If women can experience the same orgasm from stimulation as they can just through mentally willing it to happen, it proves just how large of a role the brain plays in female orgasm. This got Dr. Komisaruk thinking: if it’s not so much nerve stimulation as it is an action in the brain, can disabled women such as para or quadriplegics with zero sensitivity possibly experience orgasm? The answer is yes. He states that “we have identified a novel functional sensory pathway that conveys sensory activity from the vagina and cervix directly to the brain, bypassing completely the spinal cord.” What that means is that even women with spinal cord injuries who have no feeling in their lower body, have the potential to feel sexual satisfaction. Hooray! By better understanding the orgasm, the doctor hopes that scientists can develop better anti-depressant drugs, better pain management drugs, achieve better sexual satisfaction for the disabled, and BETTER more enhanced sex for the rest of us. Until a time when researchers can definitively explain and utilize the findings from studies such as Dr. Komisaruk’s, men will have to be content knowing that female orgasms are more mental than we ever thought before. Geez, good luck guys. Thankfully, Dr. Komisaruk has just been offered a grant to study the male orgasm.

Guy brings whole computer rig into B&N, the world snickers

Posted: 20 Dec 2009 06:37 AM PST

nuS3W

This dude probably had to get some work done and decided to mooch off of B&N’s free Internet. But seriously? Did he really have to do it in this fashion? I mean, he’s just further advancing the general public’s view of nerds.

Socks with sandles, buddy? That’s it. You’re out of the club. Hand back in your nerd card. [imgur via Reddit]