WebProNews

Tag: Amsterdam

  • AI Used to Restore Rembrandt’s The Night Watch

    AI Used to Restore Rembrandt’s The Night Watch

    Artificial intelligence has crossed another milestone, being used to restore Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Night Watch.

    The Night Watch was created in 1642, but was trimmed on all four sides in 1715. Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum has used AI to restore the missing pieces, using an early copy as the source, according to BBC News.

    “The Night Watch as it is displayed in the Rijksmuseum is etched into our collective memory. Thanks to this reconstruction, we can now see that the composition as it was painted by Rembrandt was even more dynamic,” Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits said.

    “It is wonderful to be able to now see with our own eyes The Night Watch as Rembrandt intended it to be seen.”

    The project is yet another example of the transformative effect AI can have on a wide range of industries.

  • Miley Cyrus Postpones US Tour Dates Due to Illness

    Miley Cyrus officially postponed the remaining dates on the U.S. leg of her Bangerz tour on Friday.

    The announcement on Cyrus’ website read as follows:

    “All remaining U.S. dates on the Miley Cyrus Bangerz tour have been postponed. Miley is continuing to recover from the severe allergic reaction she suffered on April 15. Existing tickets will be honored on the new dates, which include previously cancelled and postponed dates.”

    The postponed shows have been rescheduled for the first two weeks in August. Cyrus also added shows in Pittsburgh (on August 4) and Chicago (on August 14.)

    According to the announcement, the European leg of the tour will proceed as planned. It kicks off May 2 in Amsterdam.

    Cyrus ended up in the hospital in Kansas City last week, forcing her to cancel her show there at the last minute.

    “Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz tour date scheduled for tonight, April 15, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City has been cancelled. Cyrus has been hospitalized for a severe allergic reaction to antibiotics and has been placed on medical rest by her doctors. She will not be able to perform as scheduled,” her website stated.

    Representatives of the controversial singer explained that Cyrus was prescribed the antibiotic Cephalexin for a sinus infection she came down with in North Carolina. Cyrus suffered an “extreme allergic reaction” to the antibiotic.

    “This type of extreme reaction can last from five to 27 days in these types of cases,” the statement said. “She will remain hospitalized and is under a doctor’s care until we see some improvement in her condition …”

    The Bangerz tour kicked off February 14 in Vancouver. The spate of health-related cancellations started with Cyrus’ April 7 Charlotte, NC show.

    Bangerz released in October 2013, debuting in the number one spot on the Billboard 200. In February the album went platinum with over 1 million copies sold.

    Image via Miley Cyrus, Twitter

  • Smart Car Tipping Started in Amsterdam

    If you have ever been in traffic near a Smart car, you know how nervous they can make you. It’s almost like a bicycle or even a pedestrian. They zip along, passing cars when they can, acting like other cars. But you just can’t shake the feeling that you could roll over one like an empty can of Mountain Dew.

    Well, you wouldn’t be far from it. The cars only weigh about 2,000 lbs., which means it’s not all that tough to tip one over. A recent spate of vandal attacks in San Francisco has grabbed headlines by doing just that. We reported here earlier about a handful of the Smart cars being tipped over, some on their sides, others on the hood or even just standing up on the back.

    But it turns out that tipping Smart cars is not a new thing, and it didn’t start in the United States.

    Back in 2009, a fad called “Smart tossing” took off in Amsterdam. Smart cars are small enough to park sideways in some areas where most cars would have to parallel park. So some Smart car drivers were backing into spaces along the canals in Amsterdam. Fun-loving youths out looking for trouble would them flip the cars directly into the canal.

    There is a low guard rail that runs along the canals, but Smart cars are light enough to allow vandals to lift them and toss them into the water.

    Back in 2009, “an employee of Smart Center Amsterdam confirmed the company has recently been confronted with it ‘a number of times.’”

    The Dutch site reported that other small vehicles were also targets for tossing or tipping. Some of these are vehicles designed for handicapped persons.

    “In an urban version of cow tipping, yobs apparently derive fun from tipping over these types of vehicles.”

    A “yob” is a slang phrase for what we in the States might call a “hoodlum”. It is the word “boy” spelled backward.

    Image via YouTube

  • Anne Frank’s Marbles To Go On Display

    The Anne Frank House Museum has just recovered another item special to Anne Frank, and it went on display Wednesday.

    Not long before Anne and her family went into hiding from the Nazis in 1942, Anne gave some toys – a tin of marbles, a tea set and a book – to a non-Jewish neighbor to keep safe.

    That neighbor, Toosje Kupers, originally offered the items to Anne’s father Otto, the only family member to survive the Holocaust, after the war ended. He told her she could keep them. She has kept all of those items ever since. It was only last year when Toosje, 83, was moving that she thought to tell the museum about the tin of marbles.

    Teresien da Silva, head of collections at the Anne Frank House museum, told CNN, “She discovered she had the marbles somewhere at home in the attic. She immediately contacted us….We were thrilled that the marbles survived and had been kept. She decided to give everything to the Anne Frank House – the book, the tea set and the marbles.”

    “Anne gave these to her friend for safe-keeping. She kept them for when Anne returned, but Anne did not return,” da Silva added.

    Toosje recalls that when Anne gave her the items she said, “‘I’m worried about my marbles, because I’m scared they might fall into the wrong hands. Could you keep them for me for a little while?’”

    The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam took to their official Twitter account to post a photo of the tin and marbles.

    The tin of marbles will be part of The Second World War in 100 Objects exhibition in Rotterdam.

    “So many people know about Anne Frank because of the diary, which was written under such unusual circumstances. (But) the marbles are a reminder that she was just a little girl,” said da Silva.

    The book, which Anne received on her 13th birthday, and tea set Anne gave to Toosje have already been on display at the Anne Frank House Museum.

    “We decided to present the marbles for the first time in Rotterdam. For children during that time, marbles were a treasure. They worked very hard to win them,” said da Silva.

    With this rediscovered item of Anne’s going on display, many took to Twitter to post their favorite Anne Frank quote.

    Image via YouTube.

  • The First 3D Printed House Will Be Built In Amsterdam

    Back in 2012, two technologies emerged that promised to build homes in less than 24 hours using a 3D printer. Since then, both Contour Crafting and 3D concrete printing have made progress, but not enough to print a house in a day. Now the Netherlands is going to take a crack at it with a publicly funded project called 3D Print Canal House.

    3ders reports that DUS Architects intends to build the first 3D printed home in Amsterdam this year. The company will be taking advantage of the 400-year-old tradition of building canal houses to prove that 3D printed housing is not only possible, but financially feasible.

    As you would expect, the 3D printer being used in the construction is one of the largest yet. The custom-made 3D printer has an enormous build volume of 2x2x3.5 meters. Canal houses are typically tall buildings to withstand flooding from the canals they’re built so close to so the 3.5 meter height of the printer ensures that rooms will be at least 11 feet tall. The 3D printer will be able to print 6x6x11 foot rooms that will then be assembled into a house.

    Of course, a large build volume is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to successfully 3D printing a house. The material has to be strong enough to stand on its own as its built. DUS Architects won’t say what kind of material they’re using yet, but it’s reportedly a sustainable material built by adhesives company Henkel.

    To help support the project, Amsterdam will allow the public to observe the 3D printer as it makes the house as part of what it calls the Construction Expo starting March 1. There will be an admission fee which the city will use to fund the project in the long term.

    Here’s a video of the 3D printer:

    3D Print Canal House from DUS Architects on Vimeo.

    Image via DUS Architects/YouTube

  • Amsterdam Alcoholics Are Given Beer to Clean Streets

    Amsterdam Alcoholics Are Given Beer to Clean Streets

    Getting paid in beer might sound like a pretty sweet deal for some of us, but many are questioning Amsterdam’s new program that gives alcoholics beer to clean the streets. As odd as this sounds, Amsterdam officials say these people are actually consuming less alcohol per day now thanks to the program.

    The homeless people who participate in this government-funded street cleaning program are given five cans of lager, half a packet of rolling tobacco and the equivalence of around $11 USD per shift to clean the streets. They are also given a hot lunch. The officials are pretty strict about when these people can consume their beer–they are allowed two beers before work, two at lunch and one after their shift is over. Beer before and during work? It’s easy to see why some people question the program. (But wouldn’t most of us like to get on board for that?)

    Since many people are questioning Amsterdam’s “pay alcoholics beer to work” policy, the leader of this group, Gerrie Holterman, addressed the concerns. “This group of chronic alcoholics was causing a nuisance in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark: fights, noise, disagreeable comments to women,” she said. “The aim is to keep them occupied, to get them doing something so they no longer cause trouble at the park. They’re no longer in the park, they drink less, they eat better and they have something to keep them busy during the day. Heroin addicts can go to shooting galleries, so why shouldn’t we also give people beer?”

    Do you think Amsterdam’s program that gives alcoholics beer to clean streets is a good idea? Respond below.

    Even though Holterman says the Amsterdam alcoholics are consuming less alcohol now thanks to the program, one participant disagrees. “I don’t think that we drink less. When we leave here, we go to the supermarket and transform the €10 we earned into beers,” a man identified as “Frank” said.

    Fortunately, most of the other men in the program have a different perspective. Other participants applaud the program because it provides “structure” and they drink light beer that has a reduced alcohol content. Also, one man says that since he’s put in a hard day of work, he doesn’t really want to drink in the evening.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • Amsterdam Alcoholics Paid with You Guessed it-Beer

    Amsterdam has taken the old adage, “If you can’t beat them, join them,” and ran with it. In order to ensure that the streets of Amsterdam are clean, officials have hired alcoholics to clean the streets, and decidedly chosen a rather unconventional method to pay the workers. After putting in a day of hard work, the men who have been hired will receive the standard expected payment of 10 euros, which is close to $13.

    However, that is not all. The men will also receive half of a packet of rolling tobacco in addition to the coveted five cans of beer. The beer will be distributed in segments throughout the day as a means to continually encourage the work. Two cans will be given at the beginning of the day while two cans will be reserved for the lunch period. The fifth can of beer will be distributed after the full day of work has been completed. Not bad for a hard day’s work!

    Though the decision to employ such a method may seem cavalier, the underlying principle behind the effort took much consideration. According to the head of the Rainbow Foundation project, Gerrie Holterman, there is a methodical society-benefiting purpose for instigating such a plan, which she shared with AFP. “This group of chronic alcoholics was causing a nuisance in Amsterdam’s Oosterpark: fights, noise, disagreeable comments to women. The aim is to keep them occupied, to get them doing something so they no longer cause trouble at the park,” Holterman said.

    Frank, one of the men signed on to participate in the project, explained why such an idea could potentially have positive results. “Lots of us haven’t had any structure in our lives for years, we just don’t know what it is, and so this is good for us. When we leave here, we go to the supermarket and transform the 10 euros we earned into beers.”

    The program is sponsored by the government as well as public donations, and sure has gotten the public talking.

    [Image Via Wikimedia Commons]

  • iPhone 5 Prank Is Perhaps Most Wasteful Joke Ever

    People in Amsterdam are less than happy with a group of funny guys who decided to conduct a social experiment involving the coveted iPhone 5.

    The phone, which won’t be released there until Friday, has already garnered a bit of madness here in the states, where Apple mania is everywhere you look at the news of an updated product. Amsterdam is no different, with people so intent to own the product that this joke just seems cruel. Not to mention wasteful.

    Apparently, when an iPhone is glued to the sidewalk, people will display every emotion in the gamut while trying to claim it.

    Actually, the prank doesn’t prove anything about the greed of an Apple fan, because any number of those people could have been trying to scoop it up before it got stepped on to try and find the owner. It happens, right?

  • A Guy Glues The iPhone 5 To The Ground, Hilarity Ensues

    The iPhone 5 is now available at retailers in select countries around the world. Unfortunately, some countries will be getting their iPhone 5 next week instead of today. One of those countries is the Netherlands, but a team from iPhone5.nl got their hands on the device a week early. So, what does a person do with the first iPhone 5 in the Netherlands? You play a prank on the busiest street in Amsterdam.

    Here’s how the prank went down: They applied super glue to the face of the iPhone 5. They then stuck it to the center of the road on one of the busiest foot traffic areas in the city. Hundreds of people were bound to come upon it, and they would obviously try to snatch it away before anybody else can. The super glue makes sure that doesn’t happen.

    Despite ruining the first iPhone 5 in the country, it’s definitely one hell of a prank and marketing stunt. It reminds me of Yahoo’s crazy talking mailbox from earlier this year that gave away free prizes to random people. Both stunts received some great reactions that would be right at home on Candid Camera.

    The Phone5.nl team should recreate this prank in a large American city like New York or Los Angeles. The people were respectful in the Netherlands and waited their turns to lift the phone off the pavement. It would create absolute chaos in a large American city and possibly lead to some hilarious hijinks.

    [h/t: The Next Web]