Armor Apparel – Your New Favorite Work Pants

Posted by on under nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp, work pants, cable installer, doing projects, knee pads, knee pad, first glance, background story, youtube, heavy weight, gimmick, painters, armor, squares, pockets, flooring, knees, amp, rsquo, demo |

Armor Professional Work Wear makes work pants (mostly for painters) that have additional pockets for knee pads. Sounds like a simple gimmick that you might think, big deal, at first glance. I was lucky enough to demo a pair and was very impressed. The construction of the pants was very solid, material was a heavy weight but still comfortable. The knee pads are flexible squares that simply slide in and out of the knee pockets so it’s very easy to take them out for wearing them around the house and then put them in when it’s time to work. Not to say they are a problem to leave in because you really don’t notice the knee pads just walking around.

The knee pads will not replace a true knee pad for those laying flooring or other such work but for just doing projects around the house or general construction work you wouldn’t believe how they change the way you work. Our shop has concrete floors but when you are wearing these it changes the way you work by allowing you to get down under projects like second nature. I also showed them to a cable installer and he thought they were the greatest invention since sliced bread because in addition to added support, these would help keep his knees from getting muddy/wet outside.

The background story on these pants in also pretty interesting one. It is all about professional painters but I think they are ideal for anyone who has a favorite pair of work pants, which I would bet is everyone who reads coptool.com. Cost is $35 (white) & $40 (tan) per pair. Here is a YouTube on these:

          

Tagi: nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp, work pants, cable installer, doing projects, knee pads, knee pad, first glance, background story, youtube, heavy weight, gimmick, painters, armor, squares, pockets, flooring, knees, amp, rsquo, demo

Boing Boing: TED fellow using nanoparticle paint

Posted by on under morpho butterfly, light travels, iridescence, thin layers, artt, comex, perfect sense, flanders, painters, paints, wings, ted, fellow, colors, images |

Kate Nichols is a painter trained in 15th century Northern Renaissance techniques. But this week she will give a presentation at TED, perhaps the most prestigious big-think technology conference. Her topic? Nanotechnology. It might sound bizarre, but when you listen to the story of Nichols' quest to recreate the brilliant blue iridescence of the Morpho butterfly, her scientific presentation makes perfect sense. Nichols learned painting as painters did in 15th century Flanders: by apprenticing under a master and learning to make her own paints. She became skilled at creating the type of complex colors only possible as light travels through thin layers of oil glaze. But she eventually found that no amount of layering could recreate the complexity she saw in the Morpho butterfly's wings. [More images and more about the artist after the jump]...


Tagi: morpho butterfly, light travels, iridescence, thin layers, artt, comex, perfect sense, flanders, painters, paints, wings, ted, fellow, colors, images