TRENDSPOTTER: 3D PRINTING TO CHANGE THE FACE OF MANUFACTURING

 

PrintDescribed as a development which is potentially "bigger than the internet", the emerging field of 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing) potentially promises the creation of everything from food to car components, all at the touch of a button. Unlike traditional manufacturing processes which strip away material to create an object, 3D printers - or 'fabricators' - use an additive process in which material is progressively added to the object being constructed, building it from the ground up, so to speak. The technology is already used in a range of industries for both building prototypes and manufacturing some components but experts say the uses so far are only scratching the surface of what could be built (one project currently on the drawing board is the building of an entire house using a 3D fabricator; another the printing of moon bases).

     DAVID ADAMS takes a quick look at the emerging technology of 3D printing... | more...|

FOR PREVIOUS TRENDSPOTTERS, CLICK HERE

Spotted a new trend? Send an email to trendspotter@sightmagazine.com.au

 

ORIGINS: THE NATION'S CAPITAL TURNS 100

 

CanberraAustralia's capital city, Canberra, this month celebrated 100 years since its official founding. But what are its origins?

     Canberra was born out of the need for the new Federation of Australia - created in 1901 when six separate British colonies on the continent of Australia united in the formation of a new nation - to have an official capital city.

     While eyes initially turned to the existing state capitals of Sydney and Melbourne, it was soon realised that neither would be acceptable to the inhabitants of the other. And so a compromise was reached - Melbourne would serve as the temporary capital until a new city was built, located between Melbourne and its northern neighbour Sydney.

    DAVID ADAMS gives a brief overview of the founding of Australia's capital city, Canberra...  | more...|

FOR MORE OF ORIGINS CLICK HERE...

 

SIGHT HELPDESK: "HAVE YOU RESTARTED YOUR COMPUTER?"

 

IT Consultant"Have you restarted your computer?”
      The phrase can make the most patient of computer users cringe, but it is the one that is used the most. In fact, a British sitcom called The IT Crowd was created in which one of the lines frequently used was "Have you tried turning it off and back on again?"

     It added comedic value to the series, however, while working on a busy service desk, I heard it being used like clockwork; usually around one minute into the call. The caller had just explained their problem and with the regularity of a Swiss timepiece, the question would be asked: “Have you restarted your computer?”
      And the conversation would continue: “No, no I haven’t.”
  “Well if you could do that and call us back if the problem persists,” the call taker would say. For the inexperienced staff, you could hear the desperation in their voices that the caller would do exactly that. They’d hope the caller got someone else next time.

      Despite being the butt of many jokes, ALAN TAYLOR says advice relating to restarting the computer is often a good place to start when addressing problems... | more...|

FOR MORE OF SIGHT'S HELPDESK CLICK HERE...

 

SIGNIFICANT SIGHTS: SEEING GOD'S HAND AT WORK AMID THE VASTNESS OF THE DUNES

 

Sand dune“It’s like visiting a different country, except we haven’t left Australia,” said my wife as she approached the beach. It wasn’t the beach that grabbed her attention. It was the kilometres of sand dunes that met the horizon far into the distance.

      I couldn’t help thinking the same as we walked towards the pre-arranged meeting place. There were four-wheel drive vehicles, as can be expected on sand dunes. But it was the camels walking over the dunes which gave the impression that we could have been in the Middle East.

     The camels were just part of the scene though. The sky was a picture-perfect blue, contrasting sharply with the light golden sand. A cool breeze made the afternoon comfortable. I remember thanking God for His beautiful creation, wondering how it could have been any better when He first formed it. It was a moment of peace.

     ALAN TAYLOR writes about a trip to the beach on the New South Wales central coast...  | more...|


FOR MORE OF SIGNIFICANT SIGHTS OR TO HAVE YOUR SAY CLICK HERE...

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HEALTH INSIGHT: A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION ALTERNATIVE

 

Bicycle on beachAnother year ended recently and very few of us finished the “to do list” that we had with a “finish this before Christmas” deadline. And now another year has started and your only New Year’s Resolution was that you don’t make New Year’s Resolutions! It has become taboo to make a commitment to eat better, exercise more, get a health problem checked and fixed, or to take some action steps toward a life goal: Why? Because we don’t end up doing it...

     The actual problem is the size of the resolutions: “I’m going to lose 10kgs”, “I’m going to stop smoking”, “I’m going to run a half marathon”, “I’m going to pay off all my debts” and so on. One of my favourite sayings/clichés is; “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!” What this means is that the only way to reach big goals is to take small steps. And the only way to achieve big resolutions is to make small choices.

     Do you realise that at numerous moments in the day you are making choices: When your alarm goes off in the morning, you could get straight out of bed and do some stretches or go for a walk; or you could press the snooze button and stay in bed till the last possible minute. You could prepare and pack a healthy lunch; or you could watch a bit of the morning show and get greasy takeaway lunch.

     In the return of Sight's health column, Dr NICK HODGSON looks at an alternative to those already forgotten New Year's resolutions...  | more...|

    

FOR MORE OF HEALTH INSIGHT CLICK HERE...


 

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THEY SAID IT

 

 

"This is a long journey and there is still much more to be done. The displacement of people, the violence directed towards them, needs to stop."

 

- US President Barack Obama speaking to Burma's President Thein Sein during the latter's visit to the White House this week - the first such visit in almost 50 years (as quoted on www.washingtonpost.com on 21st May, 2013). For more of They Said It, follow the link...  | more... |

 

 

 

THIS WEEK ON THE WEB

 

 

16th May, 2013

Writing in Eureka Street, Frank Brennan explains why it is time Australia committed to negotiating final maritime boundaries with East Timor. You can read the article here...


For previous 'This week on the web'... | more... |

Sight now has a Pinterest page where you can see some of our images. To see it, head here...

 

 

 

MUSINGS   

 

 

YOUTH...

23rd May, 2013

PAUL CLARK

Haven’t times changed since we were young? These days our young people face relentless pressure to abuse alcohol, drugs, sex; you name it!
We are seeing a generation grow up in a vacuum of values where violence is all too common.
This is no time to sit on your hands. If we want our children to grow up as healthy, responsible adults, we must give them safe, healthy communities to be a part of; where they can develop the internal strength of character to see them through.

Musings is a regularly updated, column featuring short snippets reflecting on daily life from a Christian perspective...  | more... |

 

 

 

THE WORD EXPLAINED

 

 Wordle

Theology

Christendom

Bishop


| more... |

 

 

 

BLOGS

 

 

INSECTS ON THE MENU?; A 'SPACE ODDITY'; BACK FROM THE DEAD; AND, A FOUR-YEAR-OLD MAYOR...

Insects already form part of the diet of an estimated two billion people but they may well be on even more menus in the future as experts look to alternative means of feeding people. The Food and Agriculture Organisation says that insects (and there are about a million known species) could provide a "readily available source of nutritious and protein-rich food".

DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life... | more... |


THOUSANDS OF EASTERN ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS JAM STREETS FOR 'HOLY FIRE' CEREMONY...
While Roman Catholics and Protestants in Israel and across the world celebrated Easter Sunday on 31st March this year, for hundreds of millions of Eastern Orthodox in Russia, Ukraine, Greece, the Holy Land and elsewhere the highlight of Easter 2013 came on Saturday, 4th May, when tens of thousands of the faithful packed Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher to witness the Holy Fire ceremony marking the resurrection of the Christian messiah.

GIL ZOHAR, of Travelujah, reports...  | more... |


MEMORIAL TO QUAKER SERVICE INAUGURATED AT UK'S NATIONAL ARBORETUM...
A memorial to Quaker service opened at the National Arboretum at Alrewas near Lichfield on 20th April. It commemorates the work of the Friends Ambulance Unit and Friends Relief Service during World War II.

The Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) was an independent body led by Quakers but open to all. During the Second World War over 1,300 men and women served in 25 countries, building a record of goodwill and positive service.

A report from Ekklesia... | more... |


IT'S EASTER AND A CHANGE OF SEASON...

It's Easter week and I'm watching that delicious softness in the autumn atmosphere start to blur the sharpness of summer down here in southern Victoria. The dry grass in the paddocks has the colour and look of a grommie's* surf-bleached hair - all oaten white and fly away, the sunrises pastel soft and the shadows at the end of the day are long in the golden light before slow sunset. Summer crowds recede and Easter tides increase.
 It's back! ANN WOJCZUK's blog about life, the universe and possibly everything...
  | more... |

 

EVERYTHING IS RELATIONAL...

Over the last year or so I've been realising how everything in life is related to our relationships, whether we realise it or not. All of our interactions are either constructive or destructive for our relating. That's why life is so difficult. I thought of saying during a sermon once that life is easy until you have to relate to someone! It is for this reason that doing our best to get our relationships to work is the most important thing we can do with our lives.

 NILS VON KALM'S blog on faith, life and how it all might fit together...  | more... |

 

OUT OF AFRICA: TAKING YOUR BLESSINGS FOR GRANTED...

I have been thinking a lot lately about how blessed I was living in Australia. Sadly much of that blessing was in a sense ‘lost on me’ because I didn’t see it for what it was. The longer I live here the more I realise the day-to-day difficulties people face in the majority of the world. I am amazed that people are able to keep their hope when so many things seem so difficult.

Things I have always taken for granted - access to water, nutritious food and good medical assistance - are, at times, just not available here. I am horrified at the number of times people come back from our local medical clinic saying that there is no medicine or even occasionally no doctor.

LENA JOHNSTONE's blog about life in Malawi, Africa, where she works with the Mphatso Children's Foundation... | more... |

 

THE STOREROOM: HOW TO ABOLISH SLAVERY? GUEST POST BY THE APOSTLE PAUL...
From Paul a servant of Christ Jesus, and Richard his brother.

So, as I wrote, my hope was that in the homes of the Church in Ephesus the relationships between slaves and masters would be transformed.

Also, I left Timothy in Ephesus and wrote this to him: “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers – and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me.”

Emphasis is mine. Well, actually, the whole thing is mine.

RICHARD THOMAS' sometimes weird and sometimes wonderful 'storeroom' of ideas... | more... |

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