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Scary Ass Weapons
patriotism
Over the past three years, according to the Washington Post, the Air Force has asked to pull $16.2 million from counter-terrorism funds to build "comfort capsules," sealed rooms installed in large military planes decked out with beds, a couch, 37-inch flat-screen monitor, and other amenities "to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule." The Project on Government Oversight says that these capsules actually have "no special communications or work capabilities beyond those already available for top officials." And yes, they already have two high-end add-ons for top brass, as well 100 special VIP planes. But they don't have swiveling leather chairs custom-designed by top generals.
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Air Force Wants to Use Millions in Anti-Terrorism Funds to Build Luxury "Comfort Capsules"
Over the past three years, according to the Washington Post, the Air Force has asked to pull $16.2 million from counter-terrorism funds to build "comfort capsules," sealed rooms installed in large military planes decked out with beds, a couch, 37-inch flat-screen monitor, and other amenities "to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule." The Project on Government Oversight says that these capsules actually have "no special communications or work capabilities beyond those already available for top officials." And yes, they already have two high-end add-ons for top brass, as well 100 special VIP planes. But they don't have swiveling leather chairs custom-designed by top generals.
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web tools
HealthMap Gives Lowdown on Disease Outbreaks, Could Save Lives
Scientists are using the power of the web to track and find real disease outbreaks. Every hour, HealthMap, an infectious disease-tracking website, feeds off of news, public health list serves, and the World Health Organization's online pages to survey the spread of infections. With help from Google, the program has identified 95 percent of all disease outbreaks, sometimes days before the WHO or international disease control agencies can announce them. More »
asus eee pc 1000h
Eee PC 1000H Price Drops, Now $549
Looks like Asus listened to us when we complained about the price of their biggest and best Eee PC yet, the Eee PC 1000H. It's been on sale for less than a week, but Newegg's already dropped the price by $100. In case that was the only thing preventing you from taking a bite out of Eee, go pick it up now for $549. [Mobile Stylus]
batman
One of the many exciting aspects of The Dark Knight is how the movie incorporated IMAX shots. Friends who watched the film have called the shots absolutely stunning and incredibly immersive; another reason why this is the Best. Movie. Ever. Having yet to see it, I can only sigh wistfully and aggregate information on how it was done. Popular Mechanics has a great write-up of the challenges in shooting with an IMAX camera, including a behind-the-scenes video on how the action came together.
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Behind the IMAX in The Dark Knight
One of the many exciting aspects of The Dark Knight is how the movie incorporated IMAX shots. Friends who watched the film have called the shots absolutely stunning and incredibly immersive; another reason why this is the Best. Movie. Ever. Having yet to see it, I can only sigh wistfully and aggregate information on how it was done. Popular Mechanics has a great write-up of the challenges in shooting with an IMAX camera, including a behind-the-scenes video on how the action came together.
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diy
Build Your Own Electric Motorcycle for $3000
For DIYers with a lot more technical know-how than cash, an Instructables user has put up a really interesting tutorial on building an electric motorcycle using just $3000. The vehicle has a 70mph top speed, but can only go about 10 miles before it needs to be recharged. It's great for a quick trip to the store, if you don't make any unexpected stops along the way. With gas prices being what they are, you should probably try to make it so everything you would normally need to get to is less than 10 miles away anyhow. [Instructables via Uberreview]
fcc
FCC Asked to Get Carriers to Hurry Up Local Number Portability Already
With all the advances in technology we've had over the last couple of decades, you'd think that something as simple as changing your land line number into a cellular one would take hours at most. At least Congress does, and its now urging the FCC to put rules in place that will speed up local number portability processing. More »
concept
Cryptex Phone Concept Makes Calls a Puzzling Experience
Sometimes I pick up my phone and say to myself “Gee, this communication device just isn't cryptic enough. It's too user friendly and not enough like a puzzle out of the Da Vinci Code.” Apparently designer Marc Schömann was listening in, because he's now created a baton style mobile that forces you to twist sections of it to make calls. More »
robots
Robots of the Future Will Show Empathy, Be Good Listeners
European researchers are developing a software that will give robots the power to learn when a person is sad, happy or angry. The Feelix Growing project is putting together simple robots that can detect different parameters—facial expressions, voice and proximity—to determine emotional states. The aim of the project is to develop a robot that can serve humans with special needs, such as the ill and the elderly. Using adaptable neural networks, the robot can learn the correct way to respond to people's emotions from experience. More »
toys
Bandai Smart Berry to Train Next Generation of Female Executives
Little girls in Japan will get their chance today to act out their fantasies of being American corporate tools, thanks to Bandai's new mobile communicator “Smart Berry” toy, which kind of looks like a Mylo done up in pastel colors. The Smart Berry includes a touchscreen LCD panel measuring roughly 2 inches by 1.4 inches, a slide- out keyboard, and Wi-Fi capabilities for email, chat and online games. More »
crash landings
These photos, taken from a Flickr set, show what appears to be some sort of crashed spacecraft in London's Potters Field. They offer no explanation as to what's going on over there across the pond. Do any of you know what this is? Movie shoot? Publicity stunt? Photoshoppery? Actual alien invasion? Let's hear your guesses, both educated and uneducated, in the comments. Update: It's an ad for a new car. Boo.
[Flickr via NotCot]
What the Hell is Going On in Potters Field?
These photos, taken from a Flickr set, show what appears to be some sort of crashed spacecraft in London's Potters Field. They offer no explanation as to what's going on over there across the pond. Do any of you know what this is? Movie shoot? Publicity stunt? Photoshoppery? Actual alien invasion? Let's hear your guesses, both educated and uneducated, in the comments. Update: It's an ad for a new car. Boo. [Flickr via NotCot]
shirts
Band Geek Hero Shirts Proclaim You King of the Keytar
Guitarists may get all the chicks, but some of us loudly and proudly played less popular instruments and heck, we ought to get a chance to be a hero too! While I plead with Harmonix to include the noble Euphonium in their next music game, you other band geeks can show solidarity with your instrument of choice by wearing it on your shirt. Torsopants has a crazy collection of Guitar Hero parodies for almost every musical player out there. Banjo Hero? Kazoo Hero? Didgeridoo Hero? All yours for $19 plus shipping. [Torsopants via Boingboing]
batman
Paper-craft Batmobile Recreates Tumbler From The Dark Knight
Despite wanting desperately to watch The Dark Knight, I still haven't gotten a chance to rush out to my nearest movie theater and bask myself in the two-or-so-hours of nerdgasmic delight I know is waiting for me. So as the stellar reviews pour in from the papers and from friends, I need to find creative ways to scratch that Batman itch. Like papercraft! Here's an amazing Batmobile Tumbler design created by paper model expert Claudio. With hundreds of individual pieces, I bet this thing will distract me until my man in shining (black rubber) armor whisks me off to the cinema. [Technabob] More »
dealzmodo
15.4-Inch Toshiba Satellite Notebook On Sale For $398
Let's say that you did have some disposable income at some point in time, but it happened to turn into a spankin' new iPhone 3G right before you realized Junior desperately needed a new computer for the school year. Don't worry, Gizmodo's here to help make up for your bad parenting without throwing you deeper into debt: Starting Sunday at 8am, Wal-Mart will be selling a 15.4-inch Toshiba Satellite notebook with an Intel Celeron processor for $398. The Toshiba will be decked out with 2GB RAM, a 120GB hard drive, CD-RW and Windows Vista Premium. [Check Out Blog]
10:00 AM on Sat Jul 19 2008
By Elaine Chow
12,848 views,
58 comments
Latest by n/a: @ezman: ah yes thats exactly what i meant and i think that toshiba laptops are great! the only improvement they could make is to offer a linux model... more »
oscar pistorius
Double-Amputee on Cheetah Blades Fails to Qualify For the Olympics
Oscar Pistorius, double-amputee with carbon-fiber "cheetah" blades, failed to qualify for the Olympics. He just missed the needed time in the 400 meter of 45.55 seconds, though it should be noted he posted a new personal best of 46.25. [New Scientist Tech, via Engadget]
intel
Forty Years Of Intel: Interactive Timeline
This week marks the 40th anniversary of Intel, the people who likely made the CPU in your computer. To mark the occasion, the people at PC Magazine have put together a pretty comprehensive timeline showing every major generation of Intel processor from the first one to the current Core 2 Quad and Atom series processors. We've all used them at some point in our lives, and I remember my first Intel processor was a Pentium II running at a blazing 233MHz. I loved that laptop. What was your first Intel processor? Or which was your favorite? [PC Mag]
iphone apps
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D is a Mario Kart-like 3D racer with Crash Bandicoot at the wheel instead of the chubby Brooklyn plumber. You unlock new characters as you collect items, but the controls are pretty much standard for iPhone racing games. The one thing we noticed is that the default calibration is off, leading Crash to always veer left at the neutral point even when we started up the game with the phone on a desk. This means we needed to tilt the phone slightly to the right to go straight. For $9.99, we expect better. [iTunes Link and iPhone App Review Marathon]
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D is a Mario Kart-like 3D racer with Crash Bandicoot at the wheel instead of the chubby Brooklyn plumber. You unlock new characters as you collect items, but the controls are pretty much standard for iPhone racing games. The one thing we noticed is that the default calibration is off, leading Crash to always veer left at the neutral point even when we started up the game with the phone on a desk. This means we needed to tilt the phone slightly to the right to go straight. For $9.99, we expect better. [iTunes Link and iPhone App Review Marathon]
wii
