Indeed, it was quite real, and this video is it. I just hope he finishes before time runs out! [YouTube via Engadget]

The gadgets are separated into categories, and then ripped apart for the valuable or recyclable parts, like glass, steel, aluminum, and more valuable metals like copper and gold. They use a special machine with teeth to separate copper from steel and aluminum, and then magnets to separate the latter two. As expected, the batteries are placed in hazardous waste containers, since they're by far the most environmentally harmful piece of any given gadget, and are shipped to specialized outposts who deal with them.

Factories like this are a big step up from our previous recycling protocol, which was to mail our junk overseas where the restrictions are much more lenient (and harmful). Check out this link for instructions on how to responsibly recycle your dead toys. [Wired]

The view from the Singapore Flyer, which measures 492 feet tall, is supposed to be astounding, and I'm incredibly curious about their crazy observation pods, each of which is air conditioned and holds 28 people. 28 people per 28 pods that suddenly stopped spinning last night after fires broke out in the control room.

The 173 people had to be rappelled down from the capsules, starting from those closest to the bottom. Those who had to wait the longest for rescue efforts were given food, water and methods of relieving themselves. According to commenters at the Straits Times, those at the top received virtually nothing—since it was much harder to communicate with ground crews from about 42-stories up.

This isn't even the first time the Flyer's broken down since it's grand opening eight months ago. It stopped thanks to a braking system malfunction in July, and got stuck earlier this month for five hours (on Dec. 4) due to bad weather. So, Gizmodo readers, I leave it up to you. Assuming they turn it back on before I leave, should I give it a go? I guess if it does break down, we can all look forward to more pictures of me looking uncomfortable. [Straits Times]

NASA scientists won't be sure of their success until the computer proves capable of executing mission-critical commands and/or playing through the entirety of Escape From Monkey Island, but their hopes are high for both possibilities. [NASA via The Register]

Think about if this failure had occurred two weeks after the servicing mission, we had just put two brand new instruments in and thought we extended the lifetime for five, 10 years and this thing failed after the last shuttle mission to Hubble. So in some sense, if this had to happen, it couldn't have happened at a better time.

Now, the astronauts will have to add another task to their long list—replace the command and data relay modules with new ones—which will delay the mission until the beginning of next year. Until then, however, scientists will be able to communicate and get images from Hubble using the backup systems, which are being turned on as I write these lines. This is a delicate procedure because these systems haven't been turned on since the late 1980s, before Hubble was launched. [AP]

Most of what the guys at TechOn realized during the process was observational. For example, the 3mm thickness was achieved by arranging the drive circuit and other parts of the OLED panel at the lower side of the unit. They also noticed that an inordinately large number of radiation sheets were attached on the back side of the mainboard and the unit. In other words, Sony wasn't taking any chances with the heat. Hit the link for the full details. [TechOn and Product Page]