There’s a bad moon rising?
Last year, we heard about a new technology to identify individuals based on the pressure signature of their feet on the ground. Now, Japanese scientists at the Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology built a system that can identify an individual by the pressure signature of his or her ass. They’re not, er, resting on their laurels though. There’s work to be done!
Continue reading… “Butt biometrics”
Two new laws proposed by US legislators, the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act, have been attracting a very negative reaction from the web community over the past couple of months, which is today culminating in a day of protests. Aiming to curtail copyright infringement on the web by giving the US government unprecedented new powers, both SOPA and PIPA have been rejected as overreaching and unhelpful laws that cannot coexist with a free and open internet.
A lot of websites (most notably Wikipedia) are going dark today in protest of SOPA.
But the humor site The Oatmeal easily wins for its hilarious GIF about the proposed law. In its own way, it does a better job of explaining what SOPA means than a lot of the serious sites out there.
Here it is after the jump. Watch and laugh…
Today’s Kickstarter Creativity Spotlight focuses on balloon mapping. What the heck is balloon mapping you may ask?
Balloon mapping is sending a camera up on a balloon, snapping photos, and stitching them into a map. Over the past year and a half these fine folks have built a global mapper community and this is your chance to participate in all the excitement…
Continue reading… “Balloon mapping kits by Mathew Lippincott”
Will you become a member?
Pirates and file-sharers, rejoice! The Missionary Church of Kopimism (just say it out loud) has been recognized as a religion in Sweden:
Since 2010 a group of self-confessed pirates have tried to get their beliefs recognized as an official religion in Sweden. After their request was denied several times, the Church of Kopimism – which holds CTRL+C and CTRL+V as sacred symbols – is now approved by the authorities as an official religion. The Church hopes that its official status will remove the legal stigma that surrounds file-sharing.
All around the world file-sharers are being chased by anti-piracy outfits and the authorities, and the situation in Sweden is no different. While copyright holders are often quick to label file-sharers as pirates, there is a large group of people who actually consider copying to be a sacred act…
Space gas has its consequences.
Humans produce two flammable gases: hydrogen and methane. Flammable gases accumulate in an enclosed space and can ignite. Astronauts are humans who spend lots of time in enclosed space. The logic is irrefutable. So, what’s the risk to farting astronauts?
Between 1968 and 1971, researchers Edwin L. Murphy and Doris H. Calloway published three, count ‘em, three studies on flatulence. The 1969 paper was about astronauts and their farts, specifically a study to determine the level of flatulence produced by difference astronaut space diets. Picturing how the study went brings into focus the many indignities astronauts face for their shot at space travel…
Continue reading… “The danger of farting in space”
Good things come to those who stretch
Quote of the Day – “If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?” – – Scott Adams
Continue reading… “Top 10 Photos of the Week”
The death of a beloved pet can be a traumatizing experience, and most people love their pets as they would any other member of their family. But would you pay $50,000 to clone a new version of your beloved pet from the DNA of the deceased? The lady in this clip didn’t hesitate to head over to South Korea, shell out the cash and clone her deceased dog Trouble, and she seems to have no regrets about her decision…
Continue reading… “Woman pays $50k to clone her dog”
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Clumsy medics are at the center of a media storm in Mexico after they drop a human heart being rushed to a transplant patient by police helicopter.
Some of the innovations at CES were basic and if you saw one of them you were going to see 20. Others jumped out and smacked you in the noggin because there were obvious landmark steps in a new direction. The Leonar3Do virtual reality design kit really captured our imagination and kept us thinking all day and night of the possibilities it was capable of…
Continue reading… “World’s first desktop virtual reality design kit – Leonar3Do”
Fertility on the decline, but at what cost?
You probably already know that China has a one child per couple policy, but you might not know how it is enforced or who is granted exceptions to the rule. The answers to these questions can be found over at Mental Floss and they are simply fascinating….
Continue reading… “How China’s One Baby Policy works?”
51 strings and 154 frets if you were wondering.
The Orlando Science Center has added an eight-necked monster to its current exhibit “Guitar: The Instrument That Rocked the World.” Guests can now take a look at Rock Ock, the world’s only fully playable, eight-necked stringed instrument.
It was built by Dan Neafsey of DGN Custom Guitars on commission by the National Guitar Museum, and it was designed by artist Gerard Huerta, who incorporated a ukulele, mandolin, six-string guitar, seven-string guitar, 12-string guitar, baritone, guitar, fretless bass and a standard bass. That makes for a total of 51 strings and 154 frets. It weighs 40 pounds…
Continue reading… “Rock Ock rocks on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on”
Can you see what I see? Can you hear what I hear?
If you have plans to take over the world, you’re going to need a secret lair from which you can run your evil plots. But why waste time and money hollowing out a volcano when there’s already the perfect place for sale in the real estate listings?
The Jamesburg Earth Station was built by NASA in 1968 for receiving transmissions from the Apollo moon landings, then it was used by AT&T for satellite telecommunications. It even played a key role relaying pictures of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Now it can be yours for just under $3 million…
Continue reading… “For sale, one space tracking station worthy of an evil genius”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.