Anyone who’s seen Japanese comics, cartoon videos or anime art is instantly struck by the common look of the girls - big eyes that, by making the rest of the face look small, add the cuteness and sex appeal prized by many Japanese men.
 

Are books falling out of favor?
It may be about time to dig out that old library card. Hoping to draw back readers, libraries have vastly expanded their lists of digital books, music, and movies that can be downloaded by their patrons to a computer or MP3 player - and it doesn’t cost a cent.

 Apparently loyalty now has a price
In a move that will likely kill the program, American Airlines joins Delta in announcing changes to the frequent-flier program. Changes included new fees and higher mileage requirements for upgrades and free tickets.

 
A lot of people talk about being environmentally friendly, but most of them are all talk. They still drive cars, power their homes with non-renewable energy, and buy products that have large carbon footprints. Where are the people who are serious about living green?

Hey, you didn’t need all that cartilage anyhow.

Here’s an Instructable on how to give yourself elf ears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egAl6sNMaqE

 Welcome to the next evolution of Powerpoint!
OK, so it’s not really a hologram, but it is pretty cool. This project is a combination of a number of technologies. In this video, they are using a multi touch software and combining it with the Musion Eyeliner System.

 
 Best Buy’s Gadget Vending Machine
Check out this Best Buy vending machine spotted in the Dallas/Forth Worth airport, keeping flyers in gadgets and sucking up money like a black hole in a square box.

 The drinks of tomorrow will be packed with a secret ingredient - fun!
Xavier Herit stands before his customers holding a syringe mid-air. But he is not a doctor and it doesn’t contain any medication.
The syringe is filled with strawberry-infused Cointreau and sodium alginate and is part of an arsenal of tools that are pushing Herit’s […]

 
Shopping is becoming more complicated
While some consumers in the US are shopping online to avoid driving, even those visiting stores in person are hitting the Web first.
Eight out of 10 respondents who had recently made consumer electronics purchases in a brick-and-mortar store said they had visited the store’s Website first, according to a May 2008 […]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3HGfIy_zCI

 
A new product from Microsoft Research. The Sphere comes from the same Microsoft Researchers that developed the Surface, aka “PlayTable”.
 

Young men with nuts of steel.

Unicycling - a sport long relegated to clowns and weirdos - have gone hardcore: a small but growing cadre of unicyclists have “ruggidized” (is that a word? It is now!) the whimsical device and created the new sport of Mountain Unicycling or Muni. Video after the jump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WINc1mV-L8Y

Robotic sea bream from the University of Kitakyushu 
Engineers at the University of Kitakyushu have developed an underwater survey robot that looks good enough to eat. “Tai-robot-kun,” a 7-kilogram (15.4 lb) robotic sea bream (red snapper) with a silicone body covered in realistically hand-painted scales, features a unique propulsion system that allows it to move […]

 
Nanosatellites, because small is the new big
Earlier this week we heard that “Cambridge University Spaceflight” would be entering the N-Prize competition. The N-Prize (the “N” stands for “Nanosatellite“) is a competition to stimulate innovation directed towards obtaining cheap access to space. The competition was launched in 2008 by Cambridge biologist Paul H. Dear, and is […]

 Bumper crop of babies last year, even a few cute ones
Data released by the federal government shows a record numbers of infants born in the United States in 2007. The report was released last week by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. It shows 4,315,000 births in 2007, which some demographers say could […]

 
for the die hard environmentalist 
With a philosophical insight, it is generally quoted that we have to leave back our attitude and possessions when we go to grave. I too agree but not completely.

Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey, top, and Biz Stone pose on the roof of their San Francisco offices.
USA Today has a great article on the Twitter phenomenon. Micro-blogging at its finest, it is indeed much more than that.
Twitter has become so popular, so fast, that keeping up with its fast-growing user base is a […]

New Land in the Ocean

Deborah of Life in the Fast Lane wrote a neat mega-post about 45 of the world’s most amazing artificial islands (both real islands and those in planning stages). Take for example, the Federation Island modeled above…

While most of us are adolescently psyched to see the Batman bike in the Dark Knight, we’re aware of the crude reality that even trained stuntmen couldn’t ride the thing without falling off.

 Your brain wants you to be smarter
When it comes to food trends, losing weight is yesterday’s news. Consumers now want food that will give them sharper minds and tighten those wrinkles as well as help them shed a pound or two, a global report found.
Americans are looking to the cuisines of Japan and Western Europe […]

Future sex may be all about getting wired up right
Sex is not just confined to the bedroom anymore, as many women have found a sex haven in the virtual world.
One in five Aussie women have admitted to having a sexual encounter in an internet chatroom, reveals a new survey. Conducted by author Joan […]

This shower makes my shower jealous
It is the enormous scale of the Ecco Charade rain shower head from Fornara Maulini that makes it so totally captivating. This rain shower is so generously sized, it is truly akin to having your own personal cloud for a super drenching downpour at the touch of a button! (Pics)

 
 Images laser etched into fingernails.
The skin-ablation laser tattoo we showed you recently was creepy mainly because burning your naked skin is going to hurt, but this new laser body-mod tackles a safer target, fingernails.

Your child may be destined to become a walking land yacht
With waistlines increasing rapidly around the world, a group of researchers at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine predict that by 2030, almost 58% of the world’s population will be overweight or obese.

 
Bob Winger is that guy on the highway, puttering along in the far right lane.
As Chevrolet Tahoes, Cadillac Escalades and a host of other cars and trucks whip by in the passing lanes, Winger slowly accelerates up to the 60-mph speed limit on Interstate 64 in Newport News. He eases up on the gas a […]

 
Teens are notoriously weird shoppers online
Nearly six out of 10 US teens surveyed have made a purchase online, according to a June 2008 study conducted by OTX and The Intelligence Group. Responding online buying teens said they spent an average of $46 every month, and more than one-quarter spent $50 or more.