technology
auburn correctional facility
from thomas edison, nikola tesla posted in technology by prof_improbable
Constructed in 1816, Auburn Prison was the site of the first execution by electric chair.
In the War of the Currents, Thomas Edison (promoting DC power) and the team of George Westinghouse/Nikola Tesla (promoting AC power) were constantly trying to win support, projects, and public favor for their respective systems.
Edison was a crafty showman as well as an inventor, and he invented the grisly electric chair as a publicity stunt to promote fear in the public of AC power.
On May 9, 1860, the murderer William Kemmler became the first recipient of the new technology. Although it had been tested successfully on a horse at 1,000 volts, it did not work on Kemmler the first time. So they tried it again at 2,000 volts. The execution room filled with the smell of burnt flesh and singed hair. All total the execution took eight minutes.
In the end, AC power became the standard for electricity. The electric chair is still with us. In case you doubt his intentions, Edison was good enough to film his executions for commercial release.
higher real gymnasium (gymnasium karlovac)
from nikola tesla posted in technology by prof_improbable
A gymnasium is the Croatian equivalent of a U.S. prep school, and the Gymnasium Karlovac (or the Higher Real Gymnasium, as it is sometimes called) can trace its physical construction to 1863, and its educational origins as far back as 1766.
One of the gymnasium's most notable alumnus is Nikola Tesla, who went to school here from 1870 to 1873 (graduating a year early). It was due to his encounters with an inspiring physics professor that Tesla pursued mechanical engineering and invention.
The Gymnasium Karlovac remains in operation to this day.
view full location details...nikola tesla memorial center
from nikola tesla posted in technology by prof_improbable
On July 10, 1856, Nikola Tesla was born in the village of Smiljan, located in the mountainous region of Lika in Croatia (about 6 km northwest of Gospić). The son of a Serbian Orthodox priest and an illiterate mother, Tesla was a subject of the Austrian empire by birth (the area was known as the Croatian Military Frontier of the Austrian Empire at the time). Tesla's family moved to nearby Gospić in 1862.
In 2006, to celebrate the 150th birthday of Tesla, Croatian officials opened a Tesla memorial in the town. Tesla's birth house, the Orthodox Church of St. Peter and Paul, and several other buildings with displays, inventions and exhibits are open to the public.
view full location details...homestead high school
from steve jobs posted in technology by nevereatshreddedwheat
Here's a yearbook photo.
view full location details...steve jobs statue
from steve jobs posted in technology by pete_nice
In the third district of Budapest at Graphisoft Park, a statue of Steve Jobs was unveiled in December of 2011 (just two months after his death).
The statue, created by Hungarian sculptor Erno Toth, features a 6 1/2 foot bronze version of Jobs wearing jeans, turtleneck, round spectacles, and an outstretched hand that kind of looks like an eagle's talon.
Gabor Bojar, the founder of Graphisoft, commissioned the sculpture days after Job's death. Apple had offered support to the architectural software firm, lending Graphisoft cash and computers, since Jobs saw them at a German trade expo in 1984.
View photos of the statue here.