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io9 Roundup: July 7, 2011

FINAL JOURNEY | The Space Shuttle Atlantis takes off on its final mission to the final frontier. https://gizmodo.com/lets-light-this-fire-one-more-time-the-space-shuttle-5819426 https://kotaku.com/could-bloodrayne-iii-the-third-reich-be-uwe-bolls-mast-5819114 Could Bloodrayne III: The Third Reich be Uwe Boll’s masterpiece? Vampire Hitler attacks Rayne, the sexy young half-vampire heroine, in a crazy-pants dream sequence from Bloodrayne: The Third Reich. Yes, Uwe Boll’s World War II epic…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Jul 7 '11

This Is NASA’s Secret Seaside Astronaut Hangout Pad

Preparing to plow up into the vacuum of space is no small task. It might even be a little stressful, even to the iron-nerved astro-gods at NASA. So before every launch, they retreat to this house for drinking and wives. The Cape Canaveral house, as Motherboard shows, is nothing fancy—about as spartan as the shuttle…

Space & Spaceflight Sam Biddle Jul 7 '11

The Space Shuttle Has Its Own Theme Song

There’s nothing like a good theme song to give a memorable moment some emotional oomph. It’s only fitting that tomorrows Space Shuttle launch has its own composition created by Bear McCreary, the man behind the Battlestar Galactica theme. The song, Fanfare for STS-135, captures both the “celebration and reflection” of the event says McCreary. It’s…

Space & Spaceflight Kelly Jul 7 '11

Apple Planning a Roaring Good Product Launch on July 14th

A rumor from 9to5Mac suggests Apple may be planning overnight work shifts for store employees on July 13th. During these overnights, associates usually prep the store for a new product launch. If this is true, we may hear the roar of a Lion or the sweet sound of a new MacBook Air next week. [9to5Mac]…

Tech News Kelly Jul 7 '11

A Quarter of All Car Crashes Involve a Gadget

If your smartphone doesn’t kill you with cancer, it might be fated to help crash your car: MSNBC reports that according to a study by the Governors Highway Safety Association, 25% of all car crashes are connected to portable electronics. The study pulled together hundreds of previous papers ob the subject, and concluded that a…

Tech News Sam Biddle Jul 7 '11

Is Facebook Planning an Online Music Service?

It’s a circus with Amazon, Google, Apple and possibly Facebook launching an online music service. Software Engineer Jeff Rose peered into the code of the app required for the new Facebook video chat and discovered a reference to Vibes and a MusicDownloadDialog. Here’s the code he found: if(paramString.equals(“com.facebook.peep”)) return this.window.getMember(“VideoChatPlugin”); if (paramString.equals(“com.facebook.vibes”)) { return this.window.getMember(“MusicDownloadDialog”);…

Social Media Kelly Jul 7 '11

Everything You Need to Know about Torchwood

Torchwood is reborn tomorrow night, as a big-budget co-production with the American cable network Starz. But with three seasons of this British science fiction show already out there, what do you need to know to enjoy it? The short answer is: Absolutely nothing. The new series brings you up to speed pretty easily. But there’s…

Television Charlie Jane Anders Jul 7 '11

DIY Electric Chair Death Trap Lands Sad Idiot in Jail

Andrew Castle’s wife wanted to get a divorce. He didn’t. So he decided to rig up a crude electric chair in his garage, and asked her to sit in it. Warning: everything you’re about to read is terrible. When Castle found out about his wife’s intentions to leave him, he invited her for a “chat”…

Tech News Brian Barrett Jul 7 '11

Apple Blocks Emails for Objectionable Content

Apple has been silently deleting outgoing mail that contains unacceptable words and phrases. What sorts of words and phrases? Good question! Apple won’t say. It definitely doesn’t like political yammering. Shut up, hippies. One email that has repeatedly triggered a silent block on outgoing messages from me.com reads as follows: The authoritarian Governments in Syria,…

Tech News Ryan Tate Jul 7 '11

Is it wrong that the wacky deaths in Final Destination 5 trailer fill us with joy?

Nothing brightens your day better than a Rube Goldbergian death-trap. Especially when it’s being constructed by the ridiculous franchise that is the Final Destination films. So watch the latest trailer for Final Destination 5, and laugh yourself to death! Question. If a kid on a bridge KNOWS the bridge is going to blow up in…

Trailers Meredith Woerner Jul 7 '11

People Are Wearing Watches Now

Watches are things from the olden days that people wore on their wrists. They came after sundials but before electricity. Now people are wearing watches, again. Who knew? Oh the New York Times Style section did, duh. “Right now there is no clearer indication of cool than wearing a watch.” —Some Guy. But don’t just…

Tech News Hamilton Nolan Jul 7 '11

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction goes online for free

You’re soon going to have an awesome new resource for finding out about science fiction — the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, with some 12,000 entries and 3 million words, will be online for free. Would you make use of this sort of resource? Would you still want to buy a copy,…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders Jul 7 '11

Google Maps 5.7 for Android: You Can Finally Use It Offline

To call Google Maps just an app of a day is to do it a disservice. Because it should be app of the day, everyday. It’s earned Lifetime Achievement status. It’s the best app available. And it still gets better. The latest update to Google Maps on Android brings a feature we’ve long been wanting…

Tech News Casey Chan Jul 7 '11

The bizarre mathematical conundrum of Ulam’s Spiral

If there’s anything we learn from math teachers and the Da Vinci Code, it’s that prime numbers are magic. They can do anything, and be anywhere. Including a doodle on a math paper. In the 1960s, a gentleman known as Stanislaw Ulam was making his way through a miserable meeting by doodling on a piece…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Jul 7 '11

A sneak peek at the art-packed weird fiction book you’ll be drooling over soon

Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, who brought you the amazing Steampunk anthologies (among many others), have just released another sumptuous literary and visual treat. And we’ve got a sneak peek at some of the art and table of contents. Image by Greg Broadmore. Here’s the scoop: THE THACKERY T. LAMBSHEAD CABINET OF CURIOSITIES Exhibits, Oddities, Images,…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz Jul 7 '11

This Hybrid Mechanical Freak Is Actually Charming and Useful

The thought of cramming a desk lamp and a speaker into one body seems contrary to all laws of nature and design. A lightbulb?! A driver!? Together? Perversity! But Gem Hsin makes it work—and all powered by USB. The Topaz lamp fits both sound and light into a form that looks natural for both. You’ve…

Tech News Sam Biddle Jul 7 '11

Genetic evidence reveals that polar bears originally came from Ireland

Every polar bear alive today shares a common maternal ancestor, and it isn’t even a bear from the same species. Their mitochondrial DNA reveals a 100,000 year story of interbreeding and hybridization…and the story is far from over. Mitochondrial DNA is passed along exclusively from mothers to their offspring. Because this DNA never mixes with…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 7 '11

Behind the scenes of the final Space Shuttle launch

The very last Space Shuttle launch is scheduled for this weekend. To the men responsible for every detail, that’s like an eternity. NASA Navigation and Flights Control Engineer George W. Hatcher describes those final moments. [Jalopnik] https://jalopnik.com/behind-the-scenes-of-the-final-space-shuttle-launch-5805812

Tech News Apisuper Jul 7 '11

Potentially valuable new microbe found in Nevada hot springs

Proving that everything in Nevada is able to withstand stupefying levels of heat, a newly-discovered microbe from the state is not only able to survive temperatures above boiling, but is also one of the only microbes who can digest cellulose at high temperatures. Researchers discovered the hyperthermophilic microbes, called archaea, in a geothermal pool clocking…

io9 Tim Barribeau Jul 7 '11

io9 Roundup: July 7, 2011

This Is NASA’s Secret Seaside Astronaut Hangout Pad

The Space Shuttle Has Its Own Theme Song

Top Stories: Thursday July 7, 2011

Apple Planning a Roaring Good Product Launch on July 14th

A Quarter of All Car Crashes Involve a Gadget

Is Facebook Planning an Online Music Service?

Everything You Need to Know about Torchwood

DIY Electric Chair Death Trap Lands Sad Idiot in Jail

Apple Blocks Emails for Objectionable Content

Is it wrong that the wacky deaths in Final Destination 5 trailer fill us with joy?

People Are Wearing Watches Now

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction goes online for free

Google Maps 5.7 for Android: You Can Finally Use It Offline

The bizarre mathematical conundrum of Ulam’s Spiral

A sneak peek at the art-packed weird fiction book you’ll be drooling over soon

This Hybrid Mechanical Freak Is Actually Charming and Useful

Genetic evidence reveals that polar bears originally came from Ireland

Behind the scenes of the final Space Shuttle launch

Potentially valuable new microbe found in Nevada hot springs

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