I've never been a fan of the Zombie Apocalypse narrative. Who needs the fictitious afflicted undead in order to feel insecure in their relationship to resources and humanity? Not this guy. Instead, I get my social-framework-challenging kicks by thinking about real societal failings and foibles. Modern ruins, abandoned buildings and the aftermath of economic or political hubris are great stand-ins if you need your neck hairs lifted by something a little more believable than actors done up with gray facepaint and bloodshot eyes. The most recent addition to my real world 'creep canon': zombie satellites.

Zombie satellites are closer to what they sound like than you might think (and not too far off from the recurring theories about MH370 either, but let's not go there). These satellites are inactive but still mobile, abandoned by their creators to wander the galaxy. Sometimes their abandonment is due to mysterious "illness"—a glitch or immobilizing malfunction. Sometimes they are simply casualties of their own technical limitations, their aging hardware no longer able to communicate with the indifferent world advancing below.

Here are a few of my favorite examples of space-bound technological zombies and our ongoing relationships with them.

Fitting that SkyCorp HQ is an abandoned Macdonald's? I vote yes.

ISEE-3, the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3, has spent 36 years in space and 17 years abandoned. Originally used to view solar activity between the sun and earth, the little craft was later redirected to visit the tail of Comet Giacobini-Zinner. Charted by the satellite's flight director, the redirection enraged solar scientists who accused him of stealing their satellite, to which he responded that he was "just borrowing it" and would return it eventually. Seems legit. Since the Giacobini-Zinner visit, ISEE-3 has been looping through the solar system on a 30 year course that would bring it (yes, eventually) back in striking distance of our moon. It's still on track and still transmitting, but, in the meantime, the old transmitters for communicating with the little guy were literally thrown out.

We all know the movie trope of the hired assassin up on a rooftop, calmly removing his sniper rifle from a foam-padded case and assembling it with practiced ease. The man is an experienced professional with years of marksmanship training and thus, an important asset to whatever organization hired him.

In real life that assassin's work would be drying up. Because a Texas-based company called TrackingPoint is selling "the world's first Precision-Guided Firearm (PGF)," a de facto sniper rifle that aims itself, removing even the need for the joystick action we saw in the last sniper rifle we looked at, and is reportedly good for accuracy at a range of 1,200 yards. The PGF's built-in aiming system essentially means there's no expertise required, and you can throw any yokel up onto that rooftop without needing to wire $2 mil into The Jackal's Swiss bank account.

As you saw in the video, the company is targeting (no pun intended) hunters rather than hired killers. "As a sport hunter and professional marksman, I see the TrackingPoint technology as an excellent way to ensure more ethical harvesting of game," one customer said in a press release, with the "more ethical" referring to the ability to execute single-shot kills as opposed to dragging the affair out.

As a slight upgrade from the time-honored coin flip, Magic 8-Balls are great for tossing your decision-making to the wind with a few shakes of the proverbial 'crystal' ball. After all, the gnomic globe is the modern-day incarnation of the Oracle at Delphi, who never failed the Ancient Greeks, right? But seeing as it's merely a quirky plaything, advice-seeking designers might prefer a more understated source of cryptic clichés. Thankfully, the folks at Charleston, SC-based agency Fuzzco have come up with an alternative, at least for the indecisive graphic designers among us: Meet your new favorite DnD-inspired doodad, the Pocket Art Director.

Regardless of how micro- or macro- your manager may be, we can all relate to those instances in which we'd prefer to avoid having to actually interact (shudder) with a flighty and/or imperious taskmaster. The Pocket Art Director offers much-needed guidance with the flick of a wrist—the 20-sided Platonic solid offers an uncannily close approximation of a bona fide AD (or client), a quasi-literal crapshoot for a few words of predictably banal feedback on your design direction.

While TrackingPoint released their self-aiming PGF rifle just last year, a slightly similar, if less deadly, consumer-level technology has been available for quite some time. For years, paintball enthusiasts have been hacking together self-targeting paintball sentry guns, which not only track targets, but light them up without you needing to bother to pull the trigger. In this video from several years ago, a nice, frosty bottle of beer is placed on a table. Joe is across the yard and he's thirsty. The only thing standing between Joe and the beer is a paintball gun in Auto Sentry mode:

Of course, the real question on everyone's mind is if this system can stop an intruder using multiple trampolines in your backyard:

Brands are like people. They have personality. Lifestyle Design (LSD) is a fashion forward design studio that delivers intense newness to the market. They offer their clients holistic branding expertise that lead their partner brands to financial success. Event better - this is a laid back company that boasts a fun and energetic environment, as well as a portfolio of great products and services. If you're looking to escape the rat-race, this could be the perfect job for you.

Lifestyledesign is looking for cool, super talented, highly fashionable, keenly aware, detail driven Senior Industrial Designer to become a part of our diverse and creative team. The ideal candidate should have the ability to visualize coolness with ease and communicate ideas beautifully through crafted and emotionally engaging presentations utilizing 2D and 3D CAD. Don't let this opportunity pass you by - Apply Now.

For those of us with an unambiguous interest in The Past, the archives of British Pathe are nigh on gold. The century old company has its roots in the development of both motion film and the newsreel, and had stake in news and film from 1896 through the 1970s. As a result they've been there to cover some of the most crucial, terrifying and inspiring historical moments of the 20th century. Their archive is entirely digitized and available online, most notably on YouTube, where you can browse over 85,000 of their original film segments for free. Most also feature original commentary, clarifying and historically situating moments many of us have only heard about. Titanic footage? Nazi rally? Fatal suffragette political demonstrations? Early Schwarzenegger show reels? They've got it all.

While the vast majority of footage features newsworthy social or political subjects, matters of culture and humor are certainly included too. As counterbalance to the playlist of Days That Shook the World, consider perhaps 20th Century Hair, or The World Cup. For video art dabblers, history wonks, and folks who enjoy feeling like they were born at a better (or worse) time in history, this is an especially good rabbit hole.

As an introduction to the breadth and specificity of their archive, here are a few choice samples of technological inventions British Pathe found it worthwhile to cover.

A Bond-worthy, spike filled "security" valise:

Photo by Ira Lippke

Tonight at Curiosity Club photographer Arthur Hitchcock will describe his incredible journey (literal and figurative) across the US in his talk The Walk.

In 2011, Arthur left his family home in Southern California to walk across the United States to Augusta, ME in honor and memory of his parents, Mike & Janet Hitchcock. He dedicated his efforts to raising funds & awareness for breast cancer research in memory of his mother. The trip lasted a total of 175 days, just over 4100 miles, and took him through 17 states. The trip is documented as one of the fastest recorded in contemporary history. His daily treks often lasted over 15 hours, and ranged from 20-62 miles. His closest friend Anthony Felix provided support throughout the near 6 months of travel; and followed Arthur in a truck carrying supplies. This lecture will highlight some important details about the trip, as well as Arthur's photographic/artistic process. Arthur will be utilizing an interactive map, clips from his short documentary, and photos from his journey to help tell his story.

A second generation photographer, Arthur first developed a passion for photography through the extensive work of his late Father. Studying 10,000+ slides of his Father's and spending countless hours in a traditional darkroom has formed Arthur's specific approach & perspective. He was born in the Midwest and spent his formative years in Long Beach, California. From an early age, he was exposed to extensive travel both domestically & internationally. As a result, Hitchcock has made a life centered around adapting to new environments & seeking adventure. Arthur's works consistently with both digital & analog technology, often blending traditional large format/35mm techniques with modern processing. He works full-time as a freelance photographer and is based in Portland, OR.

Tonight at 6 PST! Stop by the Hand-Eye Supply shop, or tune in online.

Portrait by Lera Moiseeva

This is the latest installment of our Core77 Questionnaire. Previously, we talked to Albert Chu of Otaat.

Name:Luca Nichetto

Occupation: Designer

Location: I have two studios, one in Stockholm and another in Venice. So I have two teams and I travel back and forth. Normally I spend two weeks in Venice, two weeks in Stockholm and then one week who knows where.

Current projects: I'm working on a new sofa family for a Danish brand, as well as creating a new furniture collection with De La Espada. We showed several of the De La Espada pieces in New York last May, and we'll show the complete collection in Paris in 2015. I'm also working with several other clients that I've had long-time relationships with, including Foscarini and some Scandinavian brands.

Mission: Right now, I really like to think about design as not only a way to make products and to create profit, but also as a nice platform for creating community. Whether it's a small object or a big architectural project, after the idea has come up from your mind, you immediately start to have other people involved in it. And these people involve other people, so it quite quickly becomes a small community that's working based on your idea. And this means that design is a really good tool from a social point of view, because it can create work and opportunity, and also help people have beautiful things around them.

Above and below: the Elysia lounge chair, part of Nichetto's new furniture collection for De La Espada

Also new for De La Espada, the Stanley sofa and Laurel tables

When did you decide that you wanted to be a designer? To be honest, I didn't decide. I grew up in Murano, a small island close to Venice famous for the production of glass. From when I was a kid, this super-creative environment was normal for me. And I was lucky to have a good talent in drawing, so the natural step was to study in art school to design glass. After school I started to design some pieces in glass, but without the idea that this was a job, to be a designer. Then I met the art director of Salviati, a famous brand in Murano, and he asked me if I wanted to design something for them. I designed a series of vases that quite soon became best sellers for the brand. After that, I started to look around, thinking about what I want to do, and it was a natural step to work on lighting. So I started to work with Foscarini, and in 2003 I designed a lamp called O-Space that gave me the opportunity to make some money and to run my first small studio, and also to be recognized by other brands. There was a company from the furniture industry that approached me, and I started to think about what I was. And I discovered that I was just starting a career as a designer.

Education: I studied at the Institute of Art in Venice, and after that I studied industrial design at the University Institute of Architecture of Venice.

First design job: The vases that I mentioned before. Their name is Millebolle; I designed them in 2000 for Salviati.

Who is your design hero? I have many design heroes. I really love design; I'm addicted, in a way, to the process. Because design, in my opinion, is not only about making objects but it's also a kind of philosophy. So my heroes change depending on the time of my life. There are moments when I greatly enjoy the Scandinavian masters like Jacobsen or Wegner. Other moments I'm really into Castiglioni or Magistretti or Sottsass. And other moments I love the Eameses and Saarinen. It's really difficult for me to say I have one hero.

Torei side tables for Cassina

I never thought anything could be done to speed up bathroom lines. But a company called Tooshlights is claiming that their product can speed the process of getting people into stalls by up to 50%. The product, an overhead light that turns either red or green, does not cause one to pee or poop faster, but simply lets those waiting know when a stall is available.

"Currently, over 66% of the time there are vacant stalls in public restrooms that guests are not aware of," the company claims. "Patrons would have to look under the door, peek through the cracks or even trying opening the door just to see if it was in use or not." (When in doubt, I prefer to just kick the door in and apologize if it turns out to be occupied, but to each his own.)

"Can you describe what just happened in there? Take us through the second half: What was going through your head?"

What's not clear is how the sensor works. If a stall is empty but the door is closed, will that provide a false positive? Toilet sensors frequently misfire, and I wonder if Tooshlights can be similarly inaccurate.

It's unfortunate that we can't all take in the swirling blues and greens of the large bodies of water that make up 70 percent of the Earth's surface in person—by scientists' best estimates, we've explored less than five percent of the depths. Yet the azure expanse has long been a source of inspiration for artists and designers, and Ben Young's handmade glass sculptures capture the essence of the seas with the "frozen in time/space" feel of Umberto Boccioni's "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space." The almost childlike simplicity of his work belies the painstaking process behind the evocative three-dimensional illustrations.

The work ranges from a seashore scene featuring a lighthouse and water-bashed rock formations to more abstract wave columns pitted with airy chasms. The attention-grabbing sculptures are all the more impressive because the Sydney-based designer crafts them entirely by hand. In a world where each week brings a new 3D-printed whattchamacallit to the novelty-hungry blogosphere, it's refreshing to discover something that boasts the precision of today's technology but is actually made by hand. Looking at the glass-cut waves, it's easy to assume that the intricate peaks and troughs come alive with help from modern tech, but Young assures us that it's all done with a few glass-cutting tools and a whole lot of mind power. "There's not a computer or machine involved in the whole process," he says.

Check out this video to hear Young talk about his creative process (it includes a lot of surfing and skateboarding—which might explain his intimate grasp on nature's curves):

The automobile industry may be on the cusp of a radical shift as a generation of would-be car owners opt for the comfort and convenience of car- and bike-share-enabled cities, but motorsport remains a source of inspiration and delight. Artist and designer Gerry Judah may well have one of the sweetest gigs in the industry—besides, of course, designing performance vehicles themselves—the Calcutta-born, London-based artist and designer has created bespoke large-scale installations for the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the past decade and a half.

2009: Audi

Founded in 1993, the FOS is an annual three-day festival that focuses on a hill climb on the grounds of the Goodwood House in West Sussex, England. The 2014 event took place this past weekend, from June 26–29, when the historic estate once again hosted a sold-out crowd of 150,000 attendees; Judah's monuments, which showcase racecars of a selected automaker, have been a veritable centerpiece of the Festival of Speed since 1997. According to Judah:

Way back in the eighties, in order to supplement my sculptures, I used to build sets for many photographers. One of them was Charles Settrington who later became the Earl of March [who resides in Goodwood andd founded the event]. Many years later in 1997, he approached me to build a triumphal arch to suspend a Ferrari F1 car as a central display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. From then on, we established a good working relationship based on challenge and trust which has led to where we are now.

Mercedes-Benz is the featured marque this time around, joining Porsche, Audi, Jaguar and Renault as two-time honorees; previous editions have also featured the likes of Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Alfa Romeo, etc. The arch traces the paths of two speedsters—a and the late-model F1 W04—as they travel in opposite directions, the late-model F1 W04 ascending from front lawn as a 1934 Mercedes-Benz W25 begins its descent from the apex of a stylized contrail rising from behind the house. Engineered by Capita and fabricated by Littlehampton Welding, the 90-meter-long,160-ton parabola is an extruded triangular volume that neatly tapers at the ends. Here's the making-of video, as well as a few glamour shots of past installations:

By now, it seems like the conceit of a 'home of the future' has existed for as long as we've taken residence in permanent structures, and while subsistence cultures certainly didn't fret over replacing HVAC filters, our domestic life perpetually bears the promise of being easier or more comfortable. But even as sci-fi films offer tantalizing glimpses into a swipeable, location-aware near-future, the app-enabled abode has proven to be an elusive dream as we once again crank up our noisy old air conditioners, much as we did with barely adequate space heaters just four months ago.

Well that's the case here in New York City, but for those of you who live outside the endemic constraints of shady landlords and co-op boards—and even for those of us who do, to some extent—the fabled smart home may be appreciably closer to becoming a reality with the launch of a new collection of products on Monday, July 7, thanks to a new free app called Wink and your local Home Depot.

It's not a retail partnership in the traditional sense: Wink is a software ecosystem for other networked devices and appliances. It relies on a single piece of hardware, a pointedly nondescript white box that will likely gather dust alongside your modem and router—plugged in, of course, but scarcely touched after initial setup—since the entire interface is accessed via smartphone. Several Wink-enabled products will work without the hub, which facilitates networked communications for less deeply integrated products; compatibility is clearly indicated by labels on the packaging.

Nor is it a 'collection' so much as the launch of the app and 60 compatible products from 15 well-known brands from 'household names' such as GE—who have partnered with Wink's parent company Quirky to produce a series of networked products—and first mover Phillips to smart sprinkler startup Rachio and tech darlings Dropcam. So too does the selection run the gamut from entry-level light bulbs (GE & Quirky have developed one for $15) to more advanced products such as motorized curtains, deadbolts and garage doors. (Both the Wink Hub and the products will also be available via Amazon, though the displays at Home Depot will drive awareness and in-store sales.)

Cool update in a running techno-anthropological mystery: A sizable stash of quipu have been found in Peru. Quipu are systems of knotted, colored strings believed to be the Incan Empire's method of recording numeric information. Despite existing as a large and complex culture for centuries, no clear record of Incan written language has ever been found. To be clear, the Incan Empire was the largest pre-colombian civilization in the Americas, with a tightly structured monarchy, a footprint of over two million square miles and upwards of 12 million citizens. In addition to participating in large scale trade and governance, it appears that the Empire's growth was largely supported by a labor tax—a type of mandated tribute in the form of work done for the state. Not a small undertaking to organize. Bureaucracies, as a rule, depend on written communication and documentation to keep the wheels of state turning, and quipu may provide clues.

Having overlapped with Spain's invasion of the Americas, many basic facts about Incan government and society were wiped out by material conquest and cultural erasure. Quipu in particular were destroyed intentionally as "idolatrous," and only a few hundred have survived. Similarly, knowledge of the quipu methodology was enthusiastically stamped out. They were used longer in more remote areas, but as the Spanish conquest spread all use was eventually eradicated. This is tragic for obvious human suffering reasons, but also for the hit to our historical understanding of a seemingly divergent system of communication. The Inca were (to the best of our knowledge) the largest empire to never develop written language, which challenges deep assumptions about the nature of a complex society.

Phones are continually getting smaller—the paper-clip sized phone that Derek uses in Zoolander was more than a joke, it was prescient.

But phone size and design are finally hitting a wall—the technology required simply can't get much smaller. (Well, at least until the quantum computer becomes a common reality.) However, Apple is forging a way to make the "hearing" part of a phone nearly invisible. How? By linking up with hearing aids.

Apple developed the Bluetooth protocol for hearing aids last year and this allows streaming audio and data delivered to the hearing aid. Here is the initial benefit for those already using hearing aids: ReSound and Starkey—makers of hearing aids—are using the iPhone as a platform that allows users to have some kind of an interface for the protheses.

Photo by Christopher Schwarz & John Hoffman's Lost Art Press

Behind the Berrybrook School in Duxbury, Massachusetts, stands an old beat-up shed. Teachers were using it for overflow storage in 2012 when Michael Burrey, a restoration carpenter working on a project at the school, came across the building. Inside, looking past the scattered toys and tricycles, he recognized the space for what it was: A woodworking shop. An extremely old one that predated electricity, judging by the "1789" painted on a roof beam and the remains of a treadle-powered lathe.

Photo by Christopher Schwarz & John Hoffman's Lost Art Press

Photo by Jeffrey E. Klee, Architectural Historian of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

"All the benches were there," Burrey told The Boston Globe. More giveaways as to the structure's purpose: "The way the benches are in relation to the windows, how the light comes in to light an area, the location of the tool racks on the walls."

Photo by Christopher Schwarz & John Hoffman's Lost Art Press

As we millenials increasingly flock to cities and learn to make the most of modest floor plans, we often find ourselves looking for space-saving storage solutions—it's no surprise that this multi-purpose furniture post remains popular to this day. Hidden storage is great and all, but what about a furniture design that can easily be taken apart and out of the picture when it's not in use? Since she graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 2011, furniture designer Renate Nederpel has explored various projects in unconventional materials, but one piece in particular stands out when it comes to working with a limited amount of space.

"Pop-Up Linen" is a full-size wardrobe that will house your attire and look good doing it. But the real wow factor lies in its construction: Thanks to its origami-esque construction method, the textile compartment folds completely flat. Pinewood legs slide into the wardrobe's body while cross bars within the paneled interior add structure and support to the otherwise flexible design.

This short, wordless documentary about 'putter'—short for scissor putter-togetherer—Cliff Denton has been making rounds today and it's easy to see why. Filmmaker Shaun Bloodworth does a nice job of capturing Denton's attention to detail with this visually poetic treatment of the dying art—founded over a century ago in 1902, Ernest Wright & Sons has been producing handcrafted shears for five generations and is among the last scissors-makers of its kind.

Fun fact: Denton is shown making pairs of Turton kitchen scissors, presumably named after scissor manufacturer Frank Turton, also of Sheffield, which is widely regarded for its cutlery. From what little information I was able to find on the internet, the design—which has a distinctive built-in bottle opener—has remained unchanged since 1987 (though it likely originates prior to that date).

GIF via Colossal

And in case you missed it, check out the full story behind Fiskars' now-iconic orange-handled scissors, after some 70+ years of making them the old-fashioned way.

Via Kottke

As of just a couple weeks ago, it looks like electric motorcycles are going big time... or, specifically, like Harley-Davidson is making a move into the future of transportation with the recently unveiled LiveWire prototype. Indeed, its styling is closer to a streetbike than Harley's iconic Super Glide or Softail, but beyond the fact that its jet-engine screech sounds more like a sounds like a podracer than a V-Twin, we'll leave it to the hardcore bike guys to provide feedback, as some of them have in the forum thread.

Although Harley has sent the prototype on national tour for test rides and feedback from the H-D community, the Milwaukee stalwarts are careful to note (in the unembeddable introduction video, linked above) that there is no production timetable at this early stage. Nevertheless, it's worth mentioning that cult favs Mission reportedly consulted on this moonshot (as they say) for the 111-year-old brand, and we'll certainly be looking forward to new developments for the LiveWire.

Head over to the discussion boards for an informal competitive review of the electric motorcycle space and design-related commentary (including plenty of eye candy); specs, tour dates and more, via another forum.

One of the best parts about skipping town for an exotic vacation is the anticipation of spending time in warmer (or cooler) weather. But what if experiencing that part of the getaway was simply a matter of pointing to a spot on a small, tech-enabled globe (a semi-sphere, if you will)? Just imagine: You could enjoy that ocean breeze without the rigmarole of Airbnb. Well, look no further than the Air Globe, a conceptual design by National Taipei University of Technology Master Degree Student Pei-Chih Deng, currently a contender in the Electrolux Design Lab competition. The premise is that the user can choose a geographical location on the globe and experience its climate within the comfort and convenience of his or her humble abode.

The device simulates the ambiance of one's destination by collecting real-time data on the temperature, humidity levels, smells and even the sounds of the area. The region's geographical information, weather and name show up on the display for easy reference. Hence the tagline: "Bringing sunny Miami to your rainy Monday"—because no matter where you live, we all know how snowy/blustery/humid/monsoon-y Mondays go.

Images via Gestalten

Erik Spiekermann is a living legend when it comes to typography—in Gary Hustwit's Helvetica, he memorably acknowledged that typefaces were "his friends"—who is among the last generation of graphic designers who got their start by typesetting by hand. On the occasion of the forthcoming publication of a new book, Hello, I Am Erik, Gestalten is pleased to present Spiekermann's kind of ode to the letterpress in a new short film.

There are two differences between what we do here and what we've done on screen; I'll start with the physical. Everything you touch and put in the machine, afterwards you have to clean it up and put it back again, put it on the shelf or the rack... You have to touch everything—you have to think about it, you have to plan a little more, and whatever you do is fairly permanent.

...your material influences you... that's the philosophical divergence. You can't just have any idea—you basically have a rough idea and then you start working, and then the material shapes your idea.

...I look at my drawer and I know what I have... whereas on my computer, I have Photoshop; I can do images that didn't exist before...