The search engine has collaborated with the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services to add a Google Maps' service that will locate the nearest seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccine programs. Just go to this site and enter your city or postal code. Google says that the project has just started, so there are still locations with no information:

At the moment we have data for locations of flu vaccine directly from 20 states and counting. We are also continuing to add information from chain pharmacies and other providers in all 50 states; today, you'll find results from chains such as Walgreens, CVS and PDX participants, such as Kmart, Duane Reade, WinnDixie and Giant Eagle.

After reading about the many problems with the vaccine in countries like Sweden—where they have top notch healthcare—I think I will pass on this round, thank you very much.

That is sexy. Jammable slurry. Wow, a little hot under the collar here. This really is nuts."

It is really nuts indeed: A shape-shifting robot blob that can squeeze through cracks. Sounds familiar? Of course it does. But clearly, this iRobot and Darpa researchers don't read or watch any Sci-Fi material whatsoever.

In any case, ladies and gentlemen, it has been a pleasure and a privilege writing for you. Now, enjoy the rest of your lives. They won't last much more. [JWZ via Make]

But I did what any geek would do. I regressed into an excited 10 year old, grabbed the camera, and went out to play in the freakish weather. After 5 minutes of constantly clearing my throat, and noticing that my G9 had started to collect dust, I decided it just wasn't worth it. Having been asleep with a window open meant a little dust was also inside. I switched off my main desktop (it's got a big air-intake fan), and fired up a laptop to find out what the hell was going on.

Big winds had swept the dust from Australia's drought-stricken interior, carrying it hundreds of miles to the east coast. Sydney (with a population of 4.3 million) was most affected, but other cities were, too. In terms of air pollution, particle concentration reached a thickness of about 15,000 micrograms per cubic meter—a normal day here has about 10-20.

Comedian Arj Barker (from Flight of the Conchords) Tweeted this pic: "It's like Dune here in Sydney. This is the giant dust storm we had to land in."

Until winds swept the dust to sea mid-afternoon, flights were canceled, Twitter went crazy, MMS traffic spiked 50 percent, and data centers installed air filters…it was interesting to watch how technology intersected with the bizarre weather.

The dust cloud was the worst in 70 years, and it's still unclear if climate change was to blame. But at the very least, I got a dusty taste of life on Mars for the day (well, sort of). [Sydney Morning Herald]

In case you have not been paying attention to the news during the last few days, there's a pandemia going on. A spike of infections of the H1N1 Swine Flu—a mutation of a pork virus that jumped from pigs to humans—happened in the city of Mexico (103 dead already) and it is quickly spreading through the world now, thanks to airline connections.

Reading the map is very simple: We are all going to dieThe pink markers are suspect, the purple markers are confirmed, and deaths don't have a black dot in the marker. The yellow markers are negative, but I don't see any.

Have fun watching. While you can (added another map, which is getting updated faster.)

View 2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map in a larger map

View H1N1 Swine Flu in a larger map

P.S. Stupid Apophis can't reach us in time! Hahahaha. Ha. But it looks like pigs are getting their revenge for all these centuries of crispy bacon and pork buns. [Google Maps]

Bonus post soundtrack:

CNN's article starts out nicely enough, tipping the hat to our beloved super commenter:

"If I'm going to buy something, I want it to count. I want it to last," said Baron, who incidentally goes by "OMG! Ponies!" when he posts comments on Gizmodo, a popular tech and gadget blog.

So, even though he'd like to upgrade his 4½ -year-old HDTV, this cowboy's holding back the reins. And while the latest iPhone was a "must have" for Baron, he said he's "waiting to pull the trigger" on that camera he's been circling. "I just can't go out and spend $400 right now."

But then, when our writer and feature editor Wilson Rothman shows up, it's like he works for Ponies or something:

"What he's telling you is right, but it's only half the story," said Wilson Rothman, feature editor at Gizmodo, the site "OMG! Ponies!" frequents.

I love it. Gizmodo is now known as "the site OMG! Ponies! frequents." You can put that one on your resume, Roth. And Ponies, please, please don't fire me. [CNN Thanks Alex!]

The parallels this movie shares with present day society are worth mentioning, too. We have a crumbling society, a bumbling leader promising to "fight the darkness," and a reliance on technology to make the world go, literally. Plus, there's Bill Murray. And then there are the blackouts, due to the failing generator, that serve as the catalyst to get our protagonists searching for a way out of Ember.

SFGate was impressed, and said so in a glowing review.

"City of Ember" has an emotional impact that goes way beyond a clever metaphor. In an early scene, a chipper young messenger (Saoirse Ronan) is making her way through the town square when the generator stalls again - and this time for longer than ever before. The people are so relieved, and so willing to believe that maybe it won't happen again, that the moment is touching. It's also rather touching that their world is such a pathetic echo of real civilization, that their sky is just a bunch of light bulbs and that their religion has something to do with waiting for "the builders" to return. Yet they want to hold on to what they have.

Oh, and there's also a monster, but we only catch a glimpse of it in the trailer. Perhaps it's Dick Cheney? Ember is basically a secret underground bunker, after all. [SFGate]

• An electromagnetic pulse should be around by 2035, enabling baddies to take down all electronic equipment in a city in one fell swoop.
• Neutron weapons that can destroy human organs without damaging surrounding buildings could be used for "extreme ethnic cleansing in an increasingly populated world." Yeah, that'll be around by 2035 as well.
• Information chips that can be implanted directly into the brain should also be around by 2035.
• The immediate and widespread dissemination of information will enable terrorists and criminal groups to organize "flashmobs," large groups of people that appear to come out of nowhere all at once.

Also: huge class divisions making Marxism more popular, a Middle Eastern population boom, an Islamic war on China, and increased global warming. Now who wants ice cream? –Adam Frucci

Revolution, flashmobs, and brain chips. A grim vision of the future [Guardian via Slashdot]

This device... no, I just can't do it. Let's just stare at this picture and weep for the children.

Photo Page [Sydney Morning Herald]