If you’ve touched a computer and gotten on-line at least once in the past few years, chances are you’ve used Google Maps to get from point A to point B. Or maybe even just to check oit what a neighborhood to see if it’s worth investing your energy to go there. Now imagine if you could use the internet to see what the inside of buildings looked like. A team from Cal Berkley are making it a reality.
Inventor Lonnie Johnson of NASA and Supersoaker fame is on a clean energy mission. Check out his video where he shows off two inventions that could change the world
A couple kids from MIT make Minority Report’s gloved computer control a reality
Check out the demo below
If you’ve ever wondered about the origins of the term “the Real McCoy” then you are not alone. I’ve often asked people who is McCoy and how long have people being using this phrase? I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the phrase is in reference a famous African American inventor named Elijah McCoy. Mr. McCoy was born in Canada where his parents, former slaves in Kentucky; escaped to via the Underground Railroad. Mr. McCoy’s innate mechanical ability manifested itself throughout his child. Realizing their son’s potential, Mr. McCoy’s parents saved up enough money to send their soon to school in Scotland to study mechanical engineering.
Upon finishing his studies and earning a degree in engineering/mechanics Mr. McCoy returned to the United States settling in Michigan. The situation for African Americans in the US had changed since the days of his parents in part due to the emancipation proclamation, however; Mr. McCoy still found it increasingly difficult to get a job commensurate with his education. Instead of becoming an engineer, hiring managers at Michigan Central Railroad felt a “negro” was better suited to be a train oilman. As a train oilman his job was to lubricate the parts necessary to keep a steam engine going. The problem being that the hot pressured steam was corrosive to the metal parts and needed to be constantly lubricated. Mr. McCoy saw this as an opportunity and in 1872 patented his 1st device, a self-regulating lubricator that made use of the steam pressure in the cylinders to control the valve. A decade later Mr. McCoy’s device was wildly successful and as cheaper knock-offs begin to hit the market people who wanted quality would ask whether or not the lubrication system was in fact the “Real McCoy”. Unfortunately, steam engines were replaced by newer technologies which have overshadowed Mr. McCoy’s contributions, however; the tagline “Real McCoy” endures.
Source: http://www.usi.edu/science/engineering/MISC/emccoy/emccoy.htm
My father works at IBM and he brought the next African American inventor to my attention. Dr. Mark Dean was born in 1957 in the state of Tennessee. At an early age he experienced racism as a result of being one of a few African American students in his elementary school as a result of integration. One salient quote from Dr. Dean that illustrates the mindset at that time is:”one white friend in sixth grade asked if he was really black.” At that time Dr. Dean was puzzled by the question, however; as he reflects on that statement in this comment “That was the problem… The assumption about what blacks could do was tilted.” This bias continues to this day as often the first inclination toward African American students in predominantly Caucasian schools is slanted to their perceived athletic ability and not their intellectual capacity.
Fortunately for me and others employed in the IT field Dr. Dean was not deterred by his early childhood experiences. In 1980 Dr. Dean joined IBM and soon realized that the perceptions of him as a youth had followed him into adulthood as his colleagues were initially weary of who this African American man was and what exactly could he do for IBM. Dr. 
Dean quickly assuaged any doubts his colleagues may have had as he holds three of the original nine patents that provide the foundation on which all PCs are modeled after. Dr. Dean and fellow IBM co-worker Dennis Moeller devised the ISA bus system. The ISA bus system is essentially the precursor to USB/PCI/IDE/ and allowed early computers to interface with peripherals. Dr. Dean continued to work at IBM and his next idea led to the 1st GHz processor in 1998 which performed one billion calculations every second. Dr. Dean continues to push the envelope as an “idea man” who heads IBM’s Almaden Research Center. When asked what the limits of technology are, Dr. Dean aptly replies, “If you can talk about it that means it’s possible.” As someone who’s witnessed a myriad of technological advances in my lifetime, I believe this quote will be spot on for many years to come.
Reference: http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/computer-science/dean_mark.html
Before Oprah became one of the first African American billionaires, Madam C.J. Walker turned a “dream” into a million dollar business venture. Sarah Breedlove aka Madam C.J. Walker was born in Louisiana in 1867. After being widowed in 1887 as a result of a mob lynching, Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter moved to Missouri. While in Missouri the stress of working multiple jobs to make a loving was taking its toll on Madam Walker, in particular she was experiencing hair loss at an alarming rate. According to legend, one night Sarah had the following vision” “big Black man appeared to me and told me what to mix up for my hair. Some of the remedy was grown in Africa, but I sent for it, put it on my scalp, and in a few weeks my hair was coming in faster than it had ever fallen out.” After trying out the homemade brew on herself and then her friends, Madam Walker decided to quit her jobs and start her own business.
In 1906 she married C.J. Walker and between his marketing skills and Madam Walker’s hair products a new business, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company; was formed to mass produce these products. Word spread throughout the black community like wildfire and by 1917 Madam Walker had the largest African-American business in the US. Her accomplishments are numerous as she saw her wealth not as a means to an end, but instead as a way to provide for other African Americans and in particular a way to promote fellow female African American entrepreneurs.
Quick facts:
As the Saints celebrate their Superbowl victory today in New Orleans I thought it appropriate to highlight George Crum. Some may ask, who dat? Well, George Crum is credited with the invention of the potato chips. I’m sure if you were at a Superbowl party like me, there were bowls of chip and dip.
The story goes that George Crum was the head chief at Moon’s Lake House Resort in NY and a hard to please customer constantly complained that Mr. Crum cut his french fries to think. Well, the time this patron came in, Mr. Crum purposely cut the french fries to thin and we he served them the patrons commented on the crispness of the resulting french fries. The popularity of the new french fired potato chips ultimately allowed Mr. Crum to quit his job and open his own restaurant. Thank goodness for rude customers!
