Gizmodo: bigpicture

Smile! Somali Pirates Have Seized Your Container Ship!

John Mahoney — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:00:00 EDT

Judging by the smiles all around on both the MV Faina's Ukrainian crew and the pirates themselves, maybe getting your container ship hijacked in the Gulf of Aden isn't so horrible after all!

Things get a little less lighthearted when you realize that the Faina was filled with Soviet T-72 tanks that may have been bound for the shitstorm that is Southern Sudan. A ransom was parachuted down the Faina's decks in a cargo container (which is the ransom delivery method of choice), and the pirates escaped.

The Big Picture today has this and many, many more photos of Somali pirates, detailing what is one of the more fascinating stories around right now. Even more fascinating when you consider who all is making money from this old-world meets new-world banditry. [Big Picture, image: HO/AFP/Getty Images]

Paralympics: The Games Where Bionic Athletes Reign

John Mahoney — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Tech and the Olympics are a recipe for controversy. Before double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius (right) was finally approved to compete in the Olympics (he failed to qualify, barely), naysayers claimed his carbon-fiber Cheetah blade prostheses gave him an advantage over non-cyborg competitors. And Speedo's LZR suit has been decried for rendering meaningless any world records that came before. But that debate is dropped entirely for the Paralympic Games, which are currently going on in Beijing and as we see in today's Big Picture, is where the sports tech comes out in force.

Prosthethics tech is where some of our baddest engineers are working today, from Dean Kamen's Luke Skywalker arm to the Cheetah itself, which is one of the first prosthetic legs to allow near-natural sprinting. But beyond that, tech aids large and small are what helps level (and then raise) the playing field of the Paralympics. Whether it's super-aerodynamic sprinting wheelchairs as advanced and light as any Olympic road cycle, or simple mods to make things possible in sports where they wouldn't be for disabled athletes under normal circumstances.

More great pics as always over at: [Big Picture]

The Tech Inside Olympic Fencers' Amazing Future-Warrior LED Helmets

John Mahoney — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:45:00 EDT

Continuing in its tradition of offering up exactly what we want, Boston.com's Big Picture blog has a ton of fantastic shots from the fencing action this week in Beijing, with the duelers' silvery lamé space suits and crazy blinking helmets on full display. I want one to wear, whether I'm making toast (flying crumb protection) or sequencing dance beats in a giant pyramid (extra rock action). But why all the fancy lights?

Basically, the future helmets only get busted out during big time Olympic competitions for, unsurprisingly, the aesthetics. They simply display the exact same signal that's been showing up on the scorer's desk for decades using the same type of electrical system, says Giz fan Michael from fencing supply kings fencing.net. A simple open-closed circuit detects a charge from the weapon, and sends a signal to the scorekeeper indicating a hit. The systems for the individual swords (foil, epee, saber, etc) vary slightly in terms of which body parts count, and what constitutes a "hit," but all use the same basic setup. The LEDs on the mask help the referee make quicker scoring calls and allow the duelers to know when a hit has been made instantly. Sort of a shame that they're aren't actually T1000-style heads-up displays or something, but hey, they get an important job done better than in the past.
The system used to require tethers snaking back behind the fencers, but now a cigarette-pack sized transmitter handles the whole thing wirelessly.
So back to the original statement. I want one. What would you do with your fencing future helmet? I'm seeing some crazy hacking potential in those LEDs.

Check out Big Picture for tons more shots. [Big Picture - Thanks, Michael!]