No kids, she doesn't think that your iPhone is cool. [via Danger Room]

Quarantine Trailer:

You could also have a refreshing break with a water bottle next to this Dok-Ing Croatian mine-sweeper.

Give the kids a chance to see what it's like to look down the firing sights of a shoulder-launched missile.

Or, better yet, the sights of this gigantic cannon.

Fondly stroke a grenade launcher, perhaps.

Or stand on the business end of some pretty demonic-looking UAVs on their launch sleds.

Plenty more fun to be had over at: [English Russia]

And one gun (it's on the bottom of this shot) is actually a combination of a Nerf N-strike Firefly and a P90 AEG airsoft gun. In other words, the gun is shaped like a Nerf weapon, but it's ever so slightly more likely to blind someone. Nice work, Dan!

"I'll tell you the truth," a criminal complaint quotes an apparently inebriated Keith Walendowski. "I got pissed because my lawn mower wouldn't start, so I got my shotgun and shot it.

"I can do that. It's my lawn mower and my yard, so I can shoot it if I want," Walendowski told police.

…

According to the complaint, Walendowski had been drinking all morning. Around 9:30 a.m., he attempted to start his 21-inch Lawn-Boy - unsuccessfully.

After shooting the mower, he went in his basement, where he was arrested by police, the complaint says.

Police recovered the shotgun, shells, a handgun, rounds for the handgun and a stun gun.

Dick Wagner of Wagner's Garden Mart, 6075 N. Green Bay Ave., said shooting the mower didn't help Walendowski's odds of getting it repaired.

"Anything not factory recommended would void the warranty," he said.

God bless America. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Consumerist]

It really brings suitable meaning to that old "time to die!!" cliché. [littlegun via OhGizmo]

The ST-2 gives exact feedback after every shot, including hit position and a replay of the aiming movement. Results can be saved and kept in a file to record short- and long-term progress. You can even bring your own gun, which can be hooked up to the system's programs. Pricing is on a case by case basis, but you can expect this outfit to cost a pretty penny. Snickering dog not included. [Marksman Training Systems via Born Rich]

Instructions on how to become your own LEGO arms dealer can be found in Hüdepohl's book, LEGO for Adults. The book features construction plans for the two weapons, detailed operating instructions, and a Thriller Automatic mini poster. According to the website, only 1,050 copies of the book were made because of LEGO's rules against using their trademark in connection with guns. So grab the book quick, before you're on the losing end of a LEGO showdown. [Xubor via Boingboing]

The master at work:

[SCAD and Connect Savannah via Uncertain Times via Neatorama]

Called the IMI WAVE, it is a camera mounted next to the gun, soldiers can sit inside and assess the situation from a video control panel that can automatically lock on to targets. Not only is it the only vehicle of its type to have this tech, but it will the risk of soldiers getting hit while standing and firing outside a vehicle. Check out this earlier Discovery Channel clip of the WAVE in action. It's like the best video game ever. [Aviation Week]

It makes sense for the shift, what with Taser not exactly getting great press for its shocking weapons and IEDs being a pretty big problem for troops in Iraq. And by aiming at the base of the windshield of a car, it can short it out without frying it, stalling it but not rendering it undrivable, which would be a big plus for stopping vehicles at checkpoints without completely destroying them. And they should be ready in 5-6 years, which is a pretty quick turnaround for new weapons. Between these and lasers, we're going to be fighting comic book wars in no time flat. [Danger Room]

As soon as the officer draws his weapon, a red laser light on the five-ounce attachment shoots out, although this can be disabled if the cop feels it might put him in danger, for example, if he or she is in a dimly-lit situation. The camera can continue filming whatever is in the gun's path for up to an hour after being drawn.

Senator Adams, who never once used a gun during his 21 years on the beat, reckons the idea could bolster public confidence in the police. "We believe the state of New York can lead the country," he said. "There no longer can be a question mark that lingers after shootings." There is, as I see it, however, one tiny flaw. If the camera can be turned off by the guy on the right end of the gun—ie, the cop— doesn't that make the system open to potential abuse? [Telegraph]

That's what the people from Bloom Automatic promise with their $45 adapter, which will launch golf balls as far as 500 yards, depending on the caliber of the gun. You just have to load a blank bullet, fire, and ducks will fall by the power of your balls. Or get it into the hole from tee box. And make ducks fall along the way. The adapter works in a variety of weapons, form a M1911 Colt pistol to the Russian SKS semi-automatic carbine. Scary looking, yes, but better golf balls than actual bullets.

Air Force Golf's launcher, however, works on compressed air and it looks more friendly in all-white. The developer came up with the idea after his dad had a stroke, "leaving him without the use of both his right arm and leg." He said that a few months later he thought that this was a good way for people with disabilities to "keep enjoying the greatest game ever played," even if it was going to be in a completely different way. [Bloom Automatic and Air Force Golf via UberGizmo]

Not content to stop with home protection, Molavizadeh has expanded his unique and painful approach to crime fighting to the automotive realm. In fact, he has already constructed a system that can deliver a non-lethal electric shock to a car thief via his cellphone. Despite interest from private individuals and local news sources, the Afghan government isn't taking his work seriously—which shows you just how bad the situation is in Afghanistan. This is the kind of dude you keep your eye on. [NPR via Gizmag]

An aluminum tripod base packed with rechargeable batteries supports a gun backed by two CO2 tanks and a 400 round hopper. Streaming 2.4Ghz video to a remote rigged with a display, players can see the battlefield in real time and tilt/pan/shoot accordingly. But you'd never pay its $1959.99 asking price, right? You'd pay way more to upgrade with some of these enticing options.

• 360-degree rotation
• Night Vision
• Zoom Lens
• 1000-round hopper
• LED spotlights
• Real bullets

OK, that last option may not be officially supported. [product via technabob]

Jesús Díaz: How long have you been a LEGO fan?
Will Chapman: I'm 39 now, and I remember getting Lego for birthday presents ever since I was 5 years old. I still remember the surprise of getting my first Technic vehicle as a teen, and being absolutely thrilled with the rack-and-pinion steering system, and holes in the bricks and pegs that allowed for incredible new possibilities. Just before leaving for college, I gave my collection to a neighbor boy, and I don't remember buying another set until after I was married and had my first son...

JD: ... and then it all came back.
WC: Yeah, a few years later, in 1993, I decided to introduce him to Lego when he was 2, and he took to them immediately. His enthusiasm was a real eye-opener, and I realized how much I missed having Lego in my life. I promptly went on a spending spree and bought almost everything I could find on the shelves —including the entire line of Lego 9V trains. My son fell in love with them instantly, and we decided to bring the trains and every brick we owned to a local Model Railroad show in Seattle, where we let all of the attending kids run the trains, and build with our bricks. We brought our Lego trains to the show for a few years after that, each time bringing more and more of our creations, and bringing more and more trains and bricks for the kids to play with.

WC: It was about this time that I posted our experiences on the web, a web that had very few Lego sites at the time, and we attracted many Adult Fans of Lego (AFOLs) to our shows. I met some incredible individuals, and helped inspire them to create the first Lego Train Club, the Pacific Northwest Lego Train Club, the founding members of are still active in the Lego Train scene today. As my older son grew, he stopped playing with Lego trains, and we moved on to building other things while my youngest son has shown renewed interest in everything Lego! We continue to collect a lot of Lego, with vehicles, Technic, robotics, and minifigures dominating our purchases. The Lego is all "Family" Lego, with all of the parts and sets blended into a community collection that fills an entire wall of our Lego room.

JD: So when was the point in which you decided to get into the business of creating weapons for minifigs and military minifigs?
WC: When my youngest son turned 9 in 2006, he became interested in WW2 history and weaponry and wondered where we could find compatible WW2 minifig accessories for our army. I looked and looked and found no one provided them, so we decided to make them ourselves. I have always been interested in 3D design, so we started with a few US and German weapons from WW2 and realized that we might as well make enough parts for everyone that wanted them! And so, BrickArms was born.

JD: Do you have any real weapons yourself?
WC: No. I have never owned a real weapon. I am married, and while my wife tolerates the miniature toy BrickArms, she would never tolerate real firearms of any kind. Honestly, I count myself lucky to have such an understanding spouse as far as the BrickArms are concerned.

JD: I know that LEGO has always been obsessed about the use of weapons in their sets; was that the reason for you to jump in and start doing BrickArms?
WC: Although Lego makes some nice weapons, they did not offer modern ones. When BrickArms was founded in 2006, the most modern weapon available from Lego was a Wild West carbine dating to the 1800's. It just wouldn't work for WW2 and the modern era. Lego had always said they did not like producing modern weapons, and until their licensed Batman series and Star Wars clone series, they had not. Now they do, but they still don't provide the items that my son and I were interested in, and we knew we could make some terrific ones. The only reason BrickArms exists is because Lego does not provide modern, well-designed, minifig-compatible weapons.

JD: Did they (LEGO) contacted you about these creations in any way?
WC: Yes, I have been contacted by the Lego company about BrickArms, but never in any negative way. They were very interested in my custom minifigure designs and weapons designs and per their request, I sent them copies of each one. The company seems to be supportive of anything that promotes Lego with the hobbyists, including AFOLs.

JD: I think the simplification of the real world weapons is amazing. How is the creative process? How do you decide on one weapon or another?
WC: Mostly, Ian (my youngest son) finds a weapon interesting and asks if we could make it. It is that simple. Once he finds one he likes, I study it and I abstract the design into minifig-scale. For some weapons, it is a distinctive stock, while for others it might be the angle of the grip, or the size and shape of the magazine clip. Finally, I study the design and look for as many places as possible for the oversized minifigure hand to grip the weapon, and I scale the proportions accordingly. There are a few dimensions that you absolutely cannot deviate from, and the grip is one of those locations. Each grip must be exact. If it is too small, it will be too loose in the minifig's hand, and will also slip out of any mounting areas on accessories, like gun racks.

JD: How do you actually produce the weapons? What technology do you use?
WC: Once my designs are completed, I check them by placing them in the hand of a virtual minifig in my CAD program. Once everything looks good, I cut small trial injection molds out of aluminum, on my small Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) mill in my garage. After the mold is cut, I inject it with hot ABS plastic—the same plastic Lego uses. I then give it to Ian to play with and if it passes his approval I send the samples to my quality team (super-fans and moderators of the BrickArms Forums) for further evaluation.

Once a design gets the thumbs-up from everyone, I save the design and after I collect enough designs to fill a production mold (10-15), I send it to a professional tooling company to produce a mold from hardened steel. Once the mold is cut, it is sent to an injection molding company to shoot hot ABS into the mold and produce the finished BrickArms parts. The whole process can take up to 12 weeks from start to completion and is definitely not for the faint of heart. It is very important to choose the very best tooling and molding companies, or it will cost you much more than you bargained for in the long run. I chose the best, and products are of very high quality, and can stand up to the scrutiny of hardcore Lego fans.

JD: What about the custom minifigs?
WC: The custom minifigs give my customers something different than the standard offering from Lego, and allows them to buy not only the weapons from a certain period (like WW2), but also minifigs with the uniforms of the period as well. The custom minifigs also help my son create the armies he always wanted. Okay, the armies *I* always wanted! I have my own small decal printer, and I design and produce professional decals for the custom minifigs I create and sell. I also license designs from talented minifig decal designers that I've met on the web, and offer their licensed designs on custom minifigs. I can produce decal designs for soldiers that Lego would never dream of producing—or at least that is what I thought before the Lego released their Indiana Jones series this year, with their Lego German Army soldiers!

JD: Do you sell a lot of these? What's your most popular model?
WC: Custom minifigure accessories are a very small niche market. I do this mostly for the love of designing something that hasn't ever been produced at this scale, and also for the challenges it provides in creating small recognizable designs. So far, the US M4 carbine is very popular along with an Aliens-inspired M41a Sci-Fi blaster. While sales are good, I still have a day job, with BrickArms being run out of my garage. I have a new mold of all new designs that is almost ready for sale. In this mold are some terrific new items that I hope will be even popular than anything else I have offered. I will have an M1 Garand, a Light Machine Gun, bipods and monopods for mounting BrickArms, as well as new sci-fi pistols and rifles and Personal Defense Weapons (PDWs).

[Brickarms via Geekologie]

In its past life, the antenna launcher was instead used to project tennis balls at annoying children / fluffy pets tennis players, but it can now be used to project an aerial up and over a tree, or a similarly lofty position, by wrapping the wire around the tennis ball and taking aim. Finally, you can now tune into your favorite Martian radio station with no fuss, just as long as your aim is a bit better than that guy who follows you around in life, using the urinal before you. [Pneumatic Antenna Launching Systems viaMake]

McRoy, a Fire and Rescue Director for Colleton County Fire Service, didn't notice he had been shot until later, when he spotted a bullet hole in his jacket as he was giving a statement to police. Further inspection revealed the shattered DVD case in his pocket, alongside the remains of the bullet.

"I felt something like being hit in the stomach and assumed it was the percussion from the discharged firearm," said McRoy. "I was saved by a DVD. How lucky can you get?" The DVD, a recording of a show about fire extinguishers, was gifted to him by an employee and only suffered minor damage. [Telegraph]

Plus, the F636HT features a generator that can heat and treat your guns on the go—and the included solution is good can clean up to 1000 guns. Unfortunately, it won't make your guns softer and gentler to the touch nor will it leave your weapons with a fresh lavender scent. Oh, and it costs a whopping $7100. [Sonics Online via Ballerhouse via Uberreview]

The Navy is researching rail guns because they would weigh less than conventional ones, and since they rely on electromagnetics to fire rounds, you wouldn't need a big, dangerous pile of explosives stored in a magazine. All of that means a lighter ship, and a much more deadly ship: a combat-ready rail gun would be able to fire Mach 5 projectiles over 200 miles with pinpoint accuracy, hitting 5 meter targets.

Yesterday's test firing at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division used just some of the potential 32-megajoules the laboratory test gun is capable of, and that's only half the 64-megajoules the Navy is aiming at for the final weapon. Expect even more dramatic videos, sometime soon. [Navy Times and Danger Room]

The Flikr page reads, "Heck, it's Texas, what did you expect?" Nothing less, Texas. Nothing less, whatsoever. [Flickr via Born Rich]

Shooting up to 300 rounds per minute and undeterred by nasty, uneven terrain, Robotex hopes to sell their...Robotex...for $30,000 per unit to the government. And if this concept video proves in any way accurate...let's just say I'll never look at Micky Mouse the same way again. [fortune via inventorspot]