Get You Fresh Genpets!

Fresh Genpets™
created by "Zygote Micro Injection".
I want to know if they are safe to eat?

from the FAQ:

Do Genpets feel pain?
Yes. However the Genpets have limited vocal chords so they will not create a large amount of noise when disturbed.

Avoid Thought Crimes

"Move along, nothing to see here."
Mind control police tape.
via designcrack

Holograms

The last hologram of the man running is the coolest. It is totally all "help me obi wan kanobi your my only hope".

via spinthecat

Drone Control

The issue of control of drones is being hotly debated by the Army and the Airforce. This seems to be part of a bigger on going quest for power and move to a centralized military. While duplication of resources is obviously costly, innovation is clearly fueled by competion.

“If you think it is a young technology, that the Orville and Wilbur Wrights of the 21st century are running around in the UAV marketplace, then as messy as it makes the environment, it is far more strategically important to have lots of players, different patrons behind those players, and to keep stimulating the useful competition of ideas that a useful inter-service rivalry brings.”

— Pierre Chao : Center for Strategic and International Studies on the issue of the Airforce becoming the “executive agent” for drones – unmanned aircraft.

Drones of Iraq will soon be here in the states. Those drones will become AI powered. Air drones will eventually become networked with robots on the ground. Who will control them.

Hasn't anyone watched the Terminator? Once Skynet get's a hold of the contract, it's all over, the rise of the machines will come to pass.

Social Bookmarking

Frozen Smoke To Change the World

More about aerogel from Abul Tahr at Time UK.

Choice quotes:
"..insulated lining in space suits for the first manned mission to Mars, scheduled for 2018"


"one cubic centimetre of aerogel were unravelled it would fill an area the size of a football field."

Product Review: Method "Bloq"

Okay, as a designer using designer products can be intriguing especially when the talent is Karim Rashid. My wife, a big fan of deodorants, turned me onto some body wash that had natural fragrances. I like the outdoors so natural fragrances have always been a hit with me. (We won't go into my mom's foray into Dr.Bronner's) I also started using Method laundry detergent. It was small reasonably priced and I like the fragrance and modern package. (Those giant jugs are so institutional.) Then I found out about cucumber dish and hand soap and was all over that becuase I don't like perfumed oders in my kitchen when I cook. But alas they stopped carrying the olive leaf body wash and released what the call the 'bloq' Yeah it looks like 'blog' so it caught my eye. The fragrance called "beach sage" smells like eucalyptus which I love. So I ponied up- call me a metro sexual corporate consumer- I'm secure as a male and an individual. But that is where the love ends- the freakish little square does not handle well in shower, corners hurt when dropped on toes, and the design of the lid is.. well.. poor. Whilst I am ragging on the design the layout and the lettering seemed to be more about 'look' then legibility. Only read up close. The body wash itself is a thick oily cream much like toothpaste which is hard to smear around your body without most of it going down the drain. But it is quite concentrated and does lather up nicely. I do applaud Rashid and Method for breaking the mold.

"If human nature is to live in the past - to change the world is to change human nature." from Karimanifesto

Happy Birthday To My Wife!

Phillips Ridin Down the Rails of That OLED Train

Just in from Engadget about a new patent using oil and water for OLED screens.

Easy Glider

It appears to be a motorized wheel that drags you along. Which could be pretty fun. But comparisons to Segway? meh. The site has some cool action shots in the Flash worth taking a look at. However, English version not up yet. I can't help thinking it is a Dr. Seuss looking contraption.


via garydarling

The Future of Communication

This video has been around for a while but really helps to understand the future. So many are just catching up.

via techtips

Quote

"recommendation systems can stifle the serendipity of discovery"

Dan Saffer

via neuronwave

71% of Americans favor Vidoe Surveillance

25% oppose it. 4% are so busy paying taxes they don't care. And then ones who cannot spell 'video'.

Hands Free Transporter or Segway?

Uhmm.. I think these folks just retooled some Segways. They seem to be selling them to photographers as a "hands free transporter".

Website says inventor Ulrich Kahlert "Makes people laugh all over the world also because of that he invented the hands free transporter"

DUelarnich KKaamhelnert

Were in ur shuttle swizlin ur scotch

Aviation Week first reported that a special panel studying astronaut health that 'stronauts were allowed to fly even though they were drunk and posed a safety risk. According to the report "Alcohol is freely used in crew quarters."

Jealous girlfriend Nowak arrested for murder plot, space trash, now this? When is Fox going to make a sitcom?

Hacking Your Nervous System

“...Sensory consequence of electromagnetic pulsed emitted by laser induced plasmas,” it described research on activating the nerve cells responsible for sensing unpleasant stimuli: heat, damage, pressure, cold. By selectively stimulating a particular nociceptor, a finely tuned PEP might sensations of say, being burned, frozen or dipped in acid — all without doing the slightest actual harm" from Defensetech

Pain inducing beams of energy. Reminds me of the gom jabbar test in Frank Herbert's "Dune".

via docinthemachine

Endeavour to Polute the Atmo?

So they agonize about it. Then dump it in space, hoping that after a year most of it burns up in the atmosphere. I understand the value of these projects and the fact that our atmo is very very big. But it seems they could take those big budgets and genius Mensa engineers and come up with a way to not pollute. It seems courteous to the other projects.

Read rueters article about the August Endeavour launch.

Serenity takes off into the black...

No! Really. 'Browncoat' Sci-fi movie Serenity fan astronaut Steven R. Swanson takes the DVDs to space on shuttle mission STS-117.

I guess Cory is right about sci-fi being now.

Check out the blog Breaking Atmo.

Ipod Nano Critique

what I like-

small sleek simple user interface, big storage and versatile functions makes this amazing technology out front of most other competition. My Nano interfaced with iTunes is a neat set up. We have come along way from the Sony Walkman.


What I don't like-

• I am tired of constantly upgrading my bulky slow loading iTunes panel. That behemoth needs to be simplified and explained.

• The wheel is sweet but I have often blasted out my ears accidentally when in my shirt pocket my nipple turned it up. Lawsuit.

•1 gig vs. 4 gig and price points are confusing for
those who don't know what that means (as in most of us 1st time Ipod buyers)- in other words I feel ripped off with my 1 gig Nano. (actually 800mb after OS items) By the time I understood the size I couldn't return it or exchange for an upgrade. 240 songs seems like a lot until you start using the device.

• Crazy file management- confusing and unclear DRM- in other words. While it does allow you to authorize up to 5 computers, sharing files between each one is confusing.

• Thank you iPod for making me mental on a daily basis with bouts of untangling chords-and white? Looks cool in the add-but gets really nasty grungy brown and grey quick. I feel really classy when my dirty tangled earphones just drop out of my (oversized?) ears.

• The mini screen is all but worthless at that thumbnail size for images. Using the iPod as a storage device on my PC could be easier as well. (No need for a memory stick though.)

proposals-
Wireless earphones, mini keypad, camera lens. infrared dock. Wood case.


buyers guide:

pony up for the larger 4 gig drive-you will run out of space.

necessary accessories-

•a cover that clips on to belts pants bra etc. and protect the glossy finish ( which scratches way too easily.)

• adapter chords for your home stereo, boom box, and car stereo.

• Use the included chord as a portable way to doc to computers and pony up for one
of the little upright docking units so your $200 investment is laying on the floor by your computer.

Other issues:
• When I booted up my Nano I accidentally hit the wrong button and I was reading Japanese and could not escape hour of tech support research later I reset it.

All in all if you are new to MP3 players don't be fooled to think that other brands are not good. The DRM really hurts the performance of iPods. You almost need two devices. You can pick up a 1 gig MP3 player for 40 bucks with no DRM.

If you are planning on getting an iPhone why bother with an iPod?

China's Weather Modification Program

Our Asian brother's have a dedicated Weather Modification Department that boast of being "the largest artificial weather program in the world" including 30 provinces 32,000 people, 7,100 anti-aircraft guns, 4,991 special rocket launchers and 30-odd aircraft across the country. (And a knife with a very sharp blade.) Isreal and Russia are next inline with their more modestly sized programs. Read more here

Could such a program be used on a barren planet like Mars perhaps? What are the implications of changing the climate of an entire planet?

via drudge