How Twitter saved the day

There aren’t many fairy stories that start at 6pm on a Tuesday evening in Sydney. Even fewer have no mention of dragons, pumpkins or enchanted apples. But this is a new fable, a truly modern tale for the Twitter and social media non-believers. A fairytale 2.0 if you will — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Delicious In Purgatory

On December 16 Yahoo accidentally told the world they were shutting down popular bookmarking site Delicious. They fired most or all of the Delicious staff. Then they untold that story, saying they intended to sell it off and that the press got it all wrong.

Ok great. So how’s that sale process going?

Not so well, according to a handful of interested buyers I’ve spoken with. I know of five companies and venture firms that have reached out to Yahoo to talk about buying Delicious. Three of them have confirmed to me that Yahoo either hasn’t responded, or hasn’t responded with any serious level of engagement. According to one source, Yahoo has told people that they are planning on starting a sale process in mid-January — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Beat Pack / Studio LOOP

In past 60 years, as information technology progressively changed, in Japan, our housing industry has rapidly adjusted to it. This forced adjustment to our society has caused a transformation of our traditional lifestyle, and housing space has been often talked by nLDK; n (number of private rooms) L (living) D (dining) K (kitchen). The concept of nLDK is to describe how much value your house has. The spatial flexibility and relationship (private and public) among n, L, D, and K are separated and lost, and as a result, function started to walk alone.

Our proposal to these two houses, WITH and BEAT are to try to re-consider and re-organize a quality of relationship of nLDK to re-adjust to a current and a future lifestyle — via ArchDaily

Angular Momentum Montre a Guichet Guilloche in Titanium

The renowned Swiss watchmaker has updated its Angular Momentum Montre a Guichet Guilloche line with a model in titanium.

As the original model, this feather-light version is presented in a 39.5 mm case, which is now made of titanium.

Angular Momentum Montre a Guichet Guilloche hand-wound watch in Titanium (gold medallion)

Instead of a usual sapphire crystal, the watch is equipped with a 925 sterling silver Medallion a Guichet cover with a psychedelic Guilloche Soleil Inca a la Main finishing.

Since the sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% of other metals, the medallion is available in four colors of gold, silver, Rhodium and even purple Ruthenium — via World Watch Review

Etched Floor Decor: 5 Engineered Wood Flooring Patterns

Some prefer the raw texture of hand-scraped hardwood floors, while others want the modern look (and low costs) of laminate wood flooring. These patterned wooden planks provide artistic relief somewhere in between – an honest contemporary take on classic material and installation approaches.

This decorative flooring series from Mafi provides a fresh take on manufactured floors, etching designs that range from abstract floral patterns to playfully embossed stick figures — via Dornob

Dussert Tri Zone DW400 Limited Edition GMT

To mark its fifth anniversary, the young Swiss brand Dussert has offered its new hybrid-powered Dussert Tri Zone DW400 limited edition GMT watch.

While the main time zone display is driven by the Soprod A10BV automatic caliber, two other time zones are powered by a pair of Swiss made ETA E01.701 quartz movements — via World Watch Review

Rietveld Schroder House / Gerrit Rietveld

Still as visionary and eccentric as it was when it was built in the 1920s, the Schroder House by Gerrit Rietveld continues to impress architects and interior designers with its innovative solutions to prominent design questions of its time.

The flexibility of the interior spaces and the obviously planar quality of the house both give it an edge that makes it distinguishable and unique on every level — via ArchDaily

Europe’s First Music Hotel

Billed as Europe’s first hotel, Nhow Berlin, boasts a state-of-the-art recording studio and guitars on the room service menu. The interior’s surreal setting, designed by Karim Rashid, is combined with the seemingly physics-defying architecture. This setting serves as the perfect catalyst for late-night jam sessions and impromptu DJ sets — via Jetsetta

Student-made device could bring clean water to the world

Right now there is a massive worldwide shortage of clean drinking water. People in countries like Bangladesh, Azerbaijan, Madagascar, and Haiti only have access to the dirtiest water in the world. But students from the University of Washington may have come up with a solution, and all it will cost is $3.40 each.

The students, Chin Jung Cheng, Charlie Matlack, Penny Huang, and Jacqueline Linnes, took on a challenge put forth by the Bolivia-based nonprofit group, Fundación SODIS to develop a method of providing clean drinking water to those who currently lack it. — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Christie’s 2010 Watch Sales Highest Ever at $91 Million

Christie’s wrapped up a record-breaking year for fine timepieces, realizing $91.2 million in total sales – the highest annual total ever for the the global auction house. Patek Philippe dominated the results, capturing each of the year’s top 10 positions for wristwatch sales. In all, five Pateks sold for more than $1 million apiece. Look inside for images of the top sellers, and a list of Christie’s Top 10 for 2010 — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The battle of Towton: Nasty, brutish and not that short

In a letter sent nine days after the battle George Neville, the then chancellor of England, wrote that 28,000 men died that day, a figure in accord with a letter sent by Edward to his mother. England’s total population at the time is thought not to have exceeded 3m people. George Goodwin, who has written a book on Towton to coincide with the battle’s 550th anniversary in 2011, reckons as many as 75,000 men, perhaps 10% of the country’s fighting-age population, took the field that day — via redwolf.newsvine.com