This is from the 7th of the month, when our guest blogger and surf gear experimenter Laird Hamilton was out. From his blog, he said a few newcomers were getting thrown up on to the rocks with their jetskis and boards. The waves were 25 foot, as rated in Hawaiian terms, which means 50 feet tall on the face.

These videos were shot using a Canon 5D Mark II, a 70-300mm USM lens and a Zoom H4n & Redhead windscreen. Slow motion was done in Premier CS4, but I can imagine how much better this'll would have looked if the 5D's 60FPS firmware was used. [vimeo via nick bilton]

*They turned out to be overhyped a bit, but the waves were big enough to hold the Eddie Aikau contest in Waimea Bay, which has only been held 7 times in 25 years.

This nausea-inducing iPod can be seen at Art Basel Miami Beach, which runs December 3rd to December 6th and shows a selection from more than 250 worldwide galleries. I'm not sure who's responsible for this great riff on the iPod, but I'll be sure to thank them when the room stops spinning. [Thanks, Buster!]

Pixel Qi's last announced manufacturing date—residue of which still graces their website—was "the second half of 2009." In big, bold type, they've updated the claim: "We are starting mass production of this screen in December 2009," is proudly emblazoned on Pixel Qi's worryingly retro website, while "We totally totally promise this time," a comforting, if slightly desperate adjunct, is not. But this is:

We have begun design of a sub-10 watt HDTV that can be used in hundreds of millions of households that don't have steady, if any, access to electrical power. The typical HDTV uses more than 100 Watts and often draws several hundred watts. We are working on a way to massively lower the power consumption, and significantly lower the price with a target price of $100. Thus this HDTV can run off of battery that can be charged up when the power is on, or charged with a small solar panel, crank, or so forth.

I'm sure there are about a million different applications for a low-power screen tech that displays full-motion color, static e-ink and works in the sunlight, but don't get ahead of yourselves: we haven't seen a single non-prototype device yet. Throw us a bone, guys! And by bone, I mean the name of any hardware partner who's willing to make a product with this screen tech once it starts shipping. [Pixel Qi via Blogeee via Slashgear]

You plug it into your computer and load it up with the vector art of your choosing, hang it up on a string on the surface you want to draw on, and let it do its things. If it's sold as a kit, it'll be a couple hundred bucks and will require a bit of soldering, but it seems like a great way to add some cheap art to the blank wall of your choice. [Muralizer via Make]

Highlights of Android 2.0 revealed in the video are a new contacts setup that's reminiscent of the Hero's integrated contacts—it pulls them in from multiple sources, supports two-way syncing to any backend and has an awesome new feature called Quick Contact that pulls up every possible way to ping somebody when you touch their icon. Quick Contact can be built into any app too.

Seriously, there's all kinds of improvements: Searchable SMS, Exchange support, more in-depth camera controls, a better keyboard with full multitouch, a revamped browser with a better UI and HTML5 support, and it goes on.

On the hard spec side, there's more capable Bluetooth with full 2.1 and new profiles and better support for multiple screen sizes, like WVGA (800x480) & FWVGA (854x480). Oh yeah, and interestingly, it's Verizon Wireless that shows up in the video adding mild credence to some rumors that they might have a temporary window of exclusivity with the new OS. We'll see, but it's seems clear now they're getting it first, at least. Either way, it's hard not to be excited about it Android 2.0. [Android Developers, Thanks everybody!]

Actually, the similarity is not surprising considering that the walking robot was designed by Boston Dynamics—the same company behind BigDog. Petman has been in development for some time now, but this is the first chance we have had to view his human-like stride. The military plans on using it to test out protective clothing for soliders that need to be completely protective and not strain or open up under any sort of human articulated movement. It's capable of crawling, as well as walking at 3.2 MPH.

And like the Big Dog, it can keep its balance when you shove it.

[Danger Room]

As you can see in the video, he's not going to stop being himself, just because Bill Gates is officially out of the picture and the public finally sees Ballmer as the big man up top.

I'm me. And sometimes I'm very ebullient, sometimes I'm less. I think the most important thing is that I need to convey my belief, my optimism, also my views of how we need to improve, to our folks. And I try to do the best job I can and I do it my own way.

Does that mean more YouTube excitement? If it does, you'll surely see it here.

Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions), and then the full uncut interview video on Friday.

Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: "It Doesn't Matter What the Critics Say"
Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?

And in the rare case you hadn't seen the video I'm referring to:

When I asked Ballmer about adding Blu-ray to the Xbox, he said:

Well I don't know if we need to put Blu-ray in there—you'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.

Though he says it with certitude, the timing of any kind of Blu-ray accessory is unclear. Could he have mispoken? Certainly. However, when I asked Xbox spokespeople about Ballmer's revelation, they responded:

Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we're not ready to comment.

Microsoft PR is good — we trust them to say no if they're not making one, and in this case, the best strategy is a "no comment". Which turns out to be a comment.

Of course, his Blu-ray comment may not mean that Microsoft is coming out with an external drive—he may have just been shooting down the idea that the Xbox 360 will ever have an internal Blu-ray drive, by saying that any Blu-ray the Xbox gets would have to be external. On the other hand he did actually say, "You'll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories."

As you can see in our back-and-forth, Ballmer plays his cards close to the chest, but in my sit-down interview with him, he shared a lot. Prior to the Blu-ray business, Ballmer and I talked about Natal, and the excitement that Matt and Mark experienced when they stepped into the chamber back at E3. When I asked him if Natal was Microsoft's attempt to do away with concept of game console generations (thereby prolonging the life of a given platform indefinitely), Ballmer smiled knowingly and said "We'll see."

Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions) over the next day, and then the full uncut interview video on Friday. Video by Mike Short

Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: "It Doesn't Matter What the Critics Say"
Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?

Through a simple program, ABB's precise industrial robots are able to maintain tolerances tighter than 1mm—even at super speeds. As our own Brian Lam noted: "it's like the robot equivalent of chewing bubble gum and patting your head and rubbing your stomach." [ABB via BotJunkie]

I mean, I'm all for science. ALL for it. Can't get enough of it. I'd marry it if i could—really—nd I'm married now. So that means I'd need to ruin my life my getting a divorce, then woo science, then drop all the cash on some destination wedding or something while trying to forget about that story science told me regarding the high school football team, vodka and one of those bottles of green ketchup.

But this mission should have been, like, the most ridiculously awesome thing we've ever seen. We rammed a whole Lunar CRater Observing and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) straight into our closest galactic buddy. And all we got was this stinkin' YouTube clip without the actual impact. (Even MailOnline is sobbing about it.)

NASA has a press conference later today, during which they'll share findings from the mission. It's possible we could get some better media then. And as an entitled taxpayer with a penchant flash and dazzle, I'm certainly hoping so. [LCROSS and YouTube]

Counting up the 629 large, 1074 medium and 4730 mini pancakes that we made on the ChefStack machine, the final number comes to 6433. Good lord, that's alotta pancakes.

Thanks again for those of you who came out to Giz Gallery '09. And for those of you who didn't, may god have mercy on your soul.

Read more about our Giz Gallery 09 here, follow @gizgallery on Twitter and see what else we'll be playing with at the event.And special thanks to Toyota's Prius — without their sponsorship, there would be no Gizmodo Gallery.

Agnel explains that he was simply curious about what sort of tune he could create by transcribing the birds into musical notes. I'm more curious about what would happen if he tried the same with the freckles on someone's back. [Vimeo via Wired]

This isn't the first Obscura Digital creation to catch our eye. We've seen 3D multitouch holograms, crazy building projections and an 8-by-4-foot Missile Command-playing multitouch wall.

The new 18-foot long wall scales across GPUs seamlessly, and automatically splits the workspace for up to 6 users to flick through Hard Rock photo and video memorabilia, with image resolution upwards of 12 megapixels.

Complementing the video tech, an audio system creates a pinpointed local audio experience, so that each user can interact with content without interfering with others.

Man, Microsoft Surface, eat your heart out. [Obscura Digital Blog]

Let's bend history a bit and pretend it is 1948 and a 22-year-old Miles Davis is playing in a small club in suburban New York. He is well known, but not exactly famous yet. You are a jazz fan and have been to the great clubs in New York, Paris, Chicago and some crazy joint in Helsinki. You sit down, the music starts, and you are certain that you hear the future of jazz right there: Different colors, different cadence, the same yet somehow different—modern but still accessible.

That is not the history of Miles Davis—not even close. But that is how I felt when I first tasted the cooking of chef Grant Achatz. I went to Trio restaurant in suburban Chicago for lunch on a Friday, went back the following week for dinner on a Wednesday... then ate there about 15 more times over the next year. Grant was creating at a new level—not only was the food delicious, it was modern, innovative and intellectually stimulating.

In January of 2004 Grant and I spoke about possibly partnering to build a restaurant. When you meet Miles Davis at a young age, you gotta help to build him a world-stage right? If you didn't you would be kicking yourself in the ass for the next 50 years. On May 4th 2004, we held a dinner at my house to introduce the idea to potential investors, an architect and an interior designer. On May 5th 2005 we opened—exactly one year to the date later. My dad used to tell me that when you have a great idea, the world conspires to help you achieve it. It worked a bit like that. In October 2006, Gourmet Magazine named Alinea the Best Restaurant in the US. This year Restaurant Magazine in the UK placed us at # 10 in the world.

If you're wondering about the name, Alinea literally means "off the line." The restaurant's symbol, more commonly known as the pilcrow, indicates the beginning of a new train of thought, or literally a new paragraph. There's a double meaning: On one hand Alinea represents a new train of thought about food, but we are a restaurant, and everything still has to come "off the line."

Grant's background is in the basics and the classics. He grew up cooking in his parents' diner in St. Clair, Michigan, went to the Culinary Institute of America, then learned his haute cuisine chops from the best chef in the land—Thomas Keller. A trip to El Bulli restaurant in Roses, Spain under the direction of chef Ferran Adria let Grant know that you could take classical technique, apply equal measures of whimsy, intelligence, creativity and technology, and transform the dining experience. He spent a few days there, came home, and began to innovate in ways he could not have imagined at the time.

I am not a culinary professional, nor do I have a restaurant background. I have a BA in philosophy, spent my youth programming on a Apple II (including an accounting program for my dad's business that was in use until 1991), and the majority of my professional career trading derivatives and investing in small, mostly web-based tech companies.

We built Alinea to touch all the senses—not only taste. The menu is composed like a symphony or a play, provoking diners, challenging them, and making sure they feel... happy, sad, nostalgia, humor... the full range of human emotion.

Food and technology... not exactly the best of friends lately. With the books Fast Food Nation and Omnivore's Dilemma (both must-reads in my opinion)—and the documentary Food Inc.—there is the sense that anytime technology is applied to food bad things happen. Genetically modified vegetables, cows fed corn and a whole bunch of drugs to allow them to digest it, and whatever keeps a Twinkie around for 50 years—none of that can be good for us, right?

I am here to tell you that innovation when applied to food can be a good thing.... newer can mean better, more plentiful, more delicious. You can apply technology while still being respectful of the ingredients, the environment, and the consumer. It can also help take an ordinary dinner and make it artful. Grant's cuisine questions convention while honoring it. And when necessary, he uses technology and science to achieve new tastes and textures that align with the goal of making the dining experience the best it can possibly be.

Some food critics and foodies apply the "molecular gastronomy" label to the cuisine of Chef Achatz. [His name is pronounced like "rackets", as Wired's Mark McClusky once pointed out.] There is a lot written on that, but we don't like the tag... it seems limiting, short sighted, and in many cases just plain wrong. Much of the time, low tech is good enough—why use a laser to cut something when a knife will do the job just fine? Unfortunately, the molecular gastronomy of today often has more to do with the showmanship than it does with the original goals of the movement. When Herve This coined the term way back in the '80s, he intended for it to be, essentially, the MythBusters of the kitchen, a criticial look at how and why things work.

What the Alinea kitchen does have in common with MG is the desire to question everything, try new techniques, and make the dining experience better all the time. Alinea has a staff of 60+ people committed to that ideal. And those basic goals are much the same as the best products and technologies that are featured on Gizmodo everyday... The difference being, you can eat these.

I hope to show a few examples of what Chef Achatz and the Alinea team of 25 chefs does everyday, how they question and create, and the technological innovators we work with regularly to achieve these goals. We may touch on a few broader topics of concern to everyone who eats. But mostly, we want our Taste Test posts to be exactly like the experience at Alinea—fun and delicious.

Nick and Grant (center two) in the Alinea kitchen:

Nick Kokonas co-founded Alinea with Grant Achatz in 2005, and works with the chef on Alinea-related projects, recruiting innovators to challenge and improve every aspect of the cooking and eating experience. A finance guy and web-oriented angel investor by trade, Kokonas got his start back in his teen years writing business software on an Apple II. You can grab the gorgeous Alinea cookbook here, or just visit Alinea's home page.

Taste Test is our weeklong tribute to the leaps that occur when technology meets cuisine, spanning everything from the historic breakthroughs that made food tastier and safer to the Earl-Grey-friendly replicators we impatiently await in the future.

I was trying to figure out what it was about the Zune HD's TV interface that I was enjoying so much, and then I realized: Unlike every other device of its size and capacity, this thing is a true portable media center. It's not as fast as a fully fledged PC running Windows Media Center, but it is zippy as hell for a pocketable, portable player.

Zune HD goes dark when it's docked, like you see in the gallery. This isn't like an iPod—once docked, it's invisible, the power behind what you watch or listen to. The remote is the key. I bopped around, browsing music, scanning for radio stations (that HD has a few meanings, including an HD radio receiver, so you can see the "what's playing" data and everything) and even watching a short full-screen video on this 60-inch Samsung. The demo Zune only had the one video—I can't wait to see what it's like to fill a 32GB one with great movies and TV episodes.

The only noticeable thing missing from the interface was any online connectivity—you can't download movies to a Zune without a PC anyway, but docked, I am not even sure you can stream music (as you can when carrying a Zune in a Wi-Fi environment). More on that when we review it, naturally.

As we showed you months ago, the player itself takes the PMP user interface to a new level. When you select something, all the screen elements move at different vectors, creating at times a 3D effect, as you can catch up close in the video below. (Pardon the glare, but that's one hazard—for better or worse, it's a shiny shiny screen.)

I don't want to say more—this is not a review, and I won't be the reviewer when we do pass judgment—but let me say that, as someone who's never been terribly excited by past Zunes, this one took me pleasantly by surprise.

[Full Zune HD Coverage on Gizmodo]

On top of the display, we can see a few more of the rumored specs confirmed: LG's in-house Active Flash UI, Wi-Fi, 7.2mbps HSDPA, a-gps, and a 5mp camera with flash all make appearances, and we get a healthy look at the phone's software, glimpsing the onscreen keyboard, browser, Google Maps app, card-based contact system, scheduler and email app.

In terms of usability, the ultrawide screen is the obvious wildcard, but the OS will be a equally—if not more—important factor. In combination with the promise of a multitouch glass capacitive touchscreen, the simulated screen images in the video inspire confidence, exhibiting smoothness, thoughful navigation and an eye-and-finger-friendly UI in most places, although without a proper smartphone OS, the Chocolate will still be a dumbphone at heart.

As for when we'll actually find out if this thing has the wherewithal to match up with its ostentatious wackiness, all we get is a vague "coming soon," which according to previous reports, means August—though it's not clear if that's the official unveiling—which is pretty much ruined now—or the date of actual availability. [LG Chocolate via Engadget]