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Wacky Waving Inflatable Tubes Save Vineyards From Grape-Stealing Birds

The tension between grape growers and hungry birds is at an all-time high. Standard-issue scarecrows have proven ineffective. Air cannons no longer startle. It’s time to call in the secret weapon. Summon the Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men. Yes, The Wall Street Journal reports that vineyard owners have turned to 20-foot-tall gyrating nylon…

This week in tech reads, some bright minds took on the bigger questions that go beyond which apps to downloand and which devices to buy. Here’s a reading list of smart takes for your weekend. Kristen Taylor looks at what we’re saying, intentionally or subliminally, when we name tech after food [Medium] Nicholas Weaver points…

Batman’s rogues gather inside the Joker’s animatronic LEGO funhouse

Paul Hetherington did more than merely build this colorful funhouse lair for the Joker; he also animated so that Poison Ivy’s plants chomp, the Riddler runs his decoder, Penguin and his birds enjoy the Rocket Ride, and Batman and Robin do their best to stop their wicked fun. Hetherington’s contraption won Best in Show at…

Concept art from the Pippi Longstocking movie Hayao Miyazaki never made

In 1971, animators Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata began preproduction on an adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking books, but in the end, were unable to secure Lindgren’s permission. But we can still see Miyazaki’s watercolor concept art of the strongest girl in the world. The Miyazaki and Studio GHIBLI LiveJournal has more concept images…

Jedi Attack in a New LEGO Star Wars, plus a Goonies Reunion on TMNT

This weekend in the world of cartoons we have a rather epic spread for you. We look back at a Thanksgiving Regular Show episode, a new Lego Star Wars special, and a Goonies voice-over reunion on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! The Marvel cartoons (Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. and Avengers Assemble) are off this…

Watch Terminator 2: Judgment Day In Just 60 Killer Seconds

The frantic animation wackos over at 1A4STUDIO are at it again, boiling 137 minutes of Terminator down to just 60 syrupy seconds of gratuitous liquid metal violence. It’s scintillating. https://gizmodo.com/watch-star-wars-episode-iv-distilled-down-to-60-awesom-5995140 True, you’re not going to get quite the expansive destruction of perhaps the world’s greatest demolition derby chase scene through Los Angeles’ concrete flood channels.…

Butterfly Wings Look Completely Crazy Under an Electron Microscope

Destin over at SmarterEveryDay wanted to take an up-close look at the nanostructure of a butterfly’s wing, so he took a few samples to be looked at under a scanning electron microscope. The results are fascinatingly beautiful. Destin and Dr. Robert Simmons at Georgia State University revealed the tiniest details of a butterfly’s wing using…

TWTIT: Tales of Rebellious Stone (NSFW)

The line between genius and madness is a thin one and easily crossed. But is this maniacally-devout sculptor really losing his mind or are his worsening wounds truly a test of his faith? There’s more than one higher power at work in this sexually-charged, psycho-supernatural thriller from Paperbox Creations.

The Sound of Melting Pewter

Few sounds become as routinized as those of one’s own workplace. The process of routinization breeds familiarity, which in turn lends these everyday sounds something akin to transparency. We learn to listen past them, to listen through them, even when they have an intensity that visitors might find distracting, or even annoying. For his new…

Moto G Available For Pre-Order On Amazon, $180 Unlocked

The extremely affordable Moto G is now available for pre-order on Amazon for $180 unlocked. As Gizmodo noted, this handset has a guaranteed upgrade to Android KitKat, and the difference in price between the 8GB and 16GB versions is only $20. Ships out December 4. [Amazon] https://gizmodo.com/the-super-cheap-possibly-rad-moto-g-is-available-way-e-1471844968 We’ll also remind you here that the Moto…

A Roomba For Solar Panels That Keeps the Sun Shining Through

It’s easy to live with a few smudges on your smartphone’s display, but for devices like solar panels that are completely dependent on every last drop of light making it through, cleanliness is a top priority. And when you’ve thousands of solar panels in a field drinking in sunlight, cleaning them all manually isn’t an…

Inside the high-tech fortresses of the super-rich

The mega-rich are building houses with security that far eclipses anything seen in The Purge. Including a 2,500-square-foot ballistics-proof house inside the main house, called the “safe core.” And a helipad on the roof. And infrared detection of anyone approaching, up to 15 km away. Dystopia now! Top image: WSJ Forbes has a pretty hilarious…

The Rubber Band Macro Lens Is Now Stackable For Greater Magnification

When the original version was first revealed, we were amazed at how brilliantly easy the rubber band Easy-Macro made adding an extra lens to any smartphone. But somehow the new version manages to further improve the original design with a better lens that helps protect it from scratches and allows it to be stacked for…

Why Isaac Asimov’s famous dystopia is still relevant today

There’s a must-read piece at Slate on Isaac Asimov’s classic novel The Caves of Steel, part of a trilogy of novels about societies where everybody lives hundreds of years and relies on robots for everything. After a terrific summary, Konstantin Kakaes explains why it’s all still relevant. In a nutshell, Caves of Steel is a…

The Kids’ Trick That’s Actually a Complicated Philosophical Paradox

Ever heard of Opposite Day? I’m guessing you have — during every game of tag in elementary school. It turns out, that this idea isn’t just a way to make other kids miserable. It’s part of a whole category of “exception paradoxes.” If you’ve spent any time at an elementary school, you’ve probably heard of…

Ugh, Who Invited Math To the Rubik’s Cube Party?

The simplicity of the Rubik’s Cube puzzle is what makes it so devilishly difficult to solve at times. It’s just a bunch of colored squares, but getting them to group together can be a life’s pursuit for many people. So who in their right mind thought that taking the Rubik’s Cube formula and adding mathematical…

Now Available: Steelcase’s Smart New Office Chair, Two Fujifilm Cams

While you were busy imitating a real-life GIF of someone continuously stuffing their face with Thanksgiving feast food, Steelcase and Fujifilm were rolling out a few smart new products. Check them out while you languish in the throes of food coma. Steelcase Gesture Most office chairs are built for one thing: sitting upright and hammering…

The new Ghost Rider is ditching his motorcycle for a car

When Ghost Rider drives back into comic stores next year, he won’t be doing it on his iconic bike. Now the skull-headed purveyor of vengeance drives a classic Dodge Charger — don’t worry, the wheels are still on fire. Actually, the driver will also be new — writer Felipe Smith and artist Tradd Moore are…

Saudi government censors science fiction novel. According to Boing Boing, the government of Saudi Arabia is suppressing H W J N by Ibraheem Abbas on the grounds of “blasphemy and devil-worshipping.” The book includes jinni as science-fictional beings, one of whom has a romance with a human.

Our Favorite Android, iOS and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

If you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, no doubt you’re feeling a little overstuffed and loaded down today. Give your smartphone the same feeling by downloading some sweet new apps. And since today is Brown Friday, these apps will give you something to do while you’re warming up the royal throne. https://gizmodo.com/for-retailers-today-really-is-the-shittiest-day-of-the-1472695215 Multi-Platform Updates Showtime Anytime Newly…