STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

[Fuzz]

THE ROCKSTAR WHISKY BAR

This just looks like the crap bar furniture that my uncles had back in the 70's.

Not the "Firefly" I thought it was when i read the title

I thought all my Nathan Fillion/Joss Whedon dreams had come true...

*sigh* back to re-runs I guess...

Yep, had the same level of hope and then shattering disappointment....

[MIKA27]

The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Gets A Three-Minute Sneak Peek Trailer

Still not sold on the next Hobbit instalment? Who could blame you after the last one. Get in here and have your mind changed about the franchise with this awesome sneak peek at The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Peter Jackson’s visuals are beautiful as usual, but this next chapter in The Hobbit film series looks like less talk and walk and more sword and action.

The new film features the original cast of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey as well as the arrival of Orlando Bloom playing Legolas and Evangeline Lilly playing Tauriel. Benedict Cumberbatch even makes an appearance as the voice of Smaug the Dragon.

The trailer also now features teasers that the new chapter of the franchise will be in high-frame rate 3D. Here’s hoping we’re a little more used to it now than we were last time.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug arrives in December.

[MIKA27]

China's Finally Fixing Its Pollution Problem -- So It Can Spy On People

There are lots of reasons not to love smog. It stinks. It makes it hard to breathe. It gives children cancer. And, for certain countries, that decreased visibility makes it really hard to spy on your citizens. We’re looking at you, China.

Pollution is so bad in China that the massive network of surveillance cameras that the government’s installed has been rendered useless, according to a new report in the South China Morning Post. That’s a lot of cameras too — 20 million to be precise. In some cities, visibility has dropped to just three metres on bad days, and bad days are happening more and more frequently. The smog is so thick that even infrared cameras aren’t working properly.

It’s so bad that it’s become a national security concern. (How are you going to catch the dissidents terrorists if you can’t see them?)

And so the National Natural Science Foundation funded two separate teams — one civilian, one military — to figure out how to solve this pesky smog problem in the next four years. If you take a step back, it’s sort of an absurd situation. China’s smog problem is so bad that they think it’s rendering women infertile, but only when the spy cameras fail do they think to do something about it.

All things considered, it’s good that China’s finally come around. Let’s hope that they stay focused on the smog problem and don’t get too caught up in trying to invent a camera that can see through smog. Some experts suggest that they might just use radar in the smoggiest areas, but that’s ridiculous. Human beings shouldn’t have to use the same methods that submarines use to see three metres in front of them.

[MIKA27]

This Inflatable Tunnel Plug Stops Floods, Smoke And Gas

After Hurricane Sandy decimated the New York City subway system last year, officials pledged to install new devices to help halt the rising tides — including flood gates and, more intriguingly, a device called a “tunnel plug”.

During a “Sandy Resilience Tour” last week, the MTA unveiled a working prototype of the plug, which was installed earlier this year for testing. The strong inflatable tube deploys from a folded-up wall panel to fill every nook and cranny of the tunnel where it’s installed — halting not only flood waters, but also smoke from fires, gas attacks and other perils.

The plug was designed by a company called ILC Dover, which contracts for the DoD and NASA (their logo is a tiny astronaut). In fact, the super-tough material they use to build the plugs is similar to the stuff they use to make space suits. Originally developed as part of a project for US Homeland Security, these plugs are designed to withstand 12,000kg per square metre using a super-strong pressurised plug with an internal capacity of roughly 130,000 litres, according to a PhysOrg report.

Though it’s unclear whether the MTA plans to deploy the plugs in working subway stations, it seems likely that we’re about to see more of them soon — the NY Daily News reports that ILC Dover is testing a similar tensile “curtain” at the 207 Street subway station in the Bronx. And they won’t just be used in subway stations: similar deployments could stop passage through stairwells, hallways and other spaces.

Take a leisurely jaunt through the comments section on any story about the plugs, and you’ll see a single resounding comment: that thing looks like a giant tampon. Lazy jokes aside, there’s actually a connection: ILC Dover was originally part of a conglomerate International Latex Corporation — which eventually became Playtex. American engineering at work!

[MIKA27]

You Don't Have To Enlist To Tour A 50-Year-Old Sub On Street View

Google Street View is slowly becoming the window to a world that most of us may never get to see in real life. And if you’ve already explored every last nook and cranny of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider via Street View, you can now head on over to the UK and poke around the retired HMS Ocelot; a 50-year-old retired Oberon-class submarine.

There’s no entrance fee, no need to enlist, no physical, and most importantly you don’t have to stay onboard for months at a time.

Of course, you’re welcome to say goodbye to your family and keep exploring the sub until next March if you think it will enhance the authenticity of the experience. Google Maps

[MIKA27]

Scientists Think They Can Cure Alzheimer's With Lasers

Finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease has defied medical researchers for decades now, but a team of scientists just gave us new reason to hope. They’ve discovered a way to zap away the bad proteins that cause diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (aka mad cow) disease — with lasers.

It’s so simple, it’s incredible. The Polish-Swedish team of researchers developed a multi-photon laser technique that can distinguish between healthy proteins and toxic amyloids. Because the healthy proteins are “optically invisible” to the high-powered lasers — and, thus, less likely to be zapped — the scientists think those lasers can be used to detect and remove the bad proteins. It’s a completely new way of thinking about treatment. “Nobody has talked about using only light to treat these diseases until now,” said Piotr Hanczyc at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. “We have found a totally new way of discovering these structures using just laser light.”

Currently, doctors use harmful chemicals to remove amyloid proteins — but that can be harmful to the patient, as well. It’s not the first time doctors have thought about blasting light into patients’ skulls as part of a treatment program. Back in 2008, a British team of researchers came up with a method that used infrared light to stimulate brain cell growth and thus help combat the disease.

However, this new method would actually eradicate the disease altogether, rather than simply treat it.

The timing is just right for a new treatment for Alzheimer’s. In the past few months alone, we’ve come up with several new ways to diagnose the disease. A cure feels like a good next step.

[MIKA27]

UK Retailer To Use Face Scanners At Petrol Pumps For Better Ad Targeting

Pumping petrol at Tesco is about to get a lot more personal, thanks to new ad-targeting software that the supermarket chain is installing at 450 stations in the United Kingdom. The new system will scan consumers’ faces and then feed them customised ads based on their age and gender. No permission necessary!

This is obviously dodgy for privacy reasons, but the advertising company behind the idea is trying to put a positive, futuristic spin on it. “[it's] like something out of Minority Report,” Amscreen CEO Simon Sugar told the press. “This could change the face of British retail and our plans are to expand the screens into as many supermarkets as possible.” Oh good, Minority Report scanners everywhere.

In the face of criticism, however, an Amscreen spokesperson told the AFP that the technology is not only “non-intrusive,” it also “meets with privacy and data protection requirements.” Of course, because the technology is so new — it’s only been around since July — it’s probably safe to assume that the privacy and data protection requirements in question haven’t entirely been worked out. But it’s certainly here to stay.

[MIKA27]

2014 DUCATI MONSTER 1200

Ducati have unveiled a new and updated version of one of their most iconic motorbikes, the Monster 1200. The impressive beast features a superbike-derived 1198 Testastretta 11° DS engine that delivers an impressive 135 horsepower at 8750 rpm and 87 lb-ft of torque at 7250 rpm! It will be also available in a S version that ups the ante to 145 horsepower and 92 lb-ft of torque.

The 2014 Ducati Monster 1200 is listed at $13,495 while the 1200 S comes in at $15,995.

[MIKA27]

HARMAN KARDON NOVA

The new Nova speakers from Harman Kardon deliver both style and substance. Besides astounding looks, Harman Kardon Nova wireless speakers feature Bluetooth connectivity and deliver an impressive audio performance. Developed with attention to the smallest details of acoustics and materials, the Nova speakers feature a beautiful see-through enclosure with exposed turbines for an elegant aesthetic, they contain a 2.0 stereo speaker system with extended bass response, and 40 watts of power. The system is compatible with any device, its combination of analog and optical inputs makes it perfect for use with Roku, HDTV, and Apple TV systems. Quick NFC setup makes it easy to stream music wirelessly over the Harman Kardon Nova system using Bluetooth, and its compact size and shape beg to be showcased with pride. The perfect compliment for any desktop computer.

Available now from Harman Kardan or from Amazon

[MIKA27]

Alderney's 'ghost pig' may be wild boar from France

A wild boar which has been on the loose in Alderney for more than a month is thought to have swum there from the nearby French coast.

The boar found its way into a pig farm on Friday but, when approached, escaped by jumping over a 1m (3ft) stock fence.

Farm owner Tess Woodnutt said she would not have believed the animal could jump so high from a standing start, if she had not seen it with her own eyes.

Islanders have dubbed the boar "ghost pig", as it has only been seen at dusk.

Mrs Woodnutt said she first became aware of the boar on 27 September, when she was on holiday and received a call from a fellow islander saying one of their 40 pigs had escaped.

Her son Jake immediately went to the farm and soon established no pigs were missing.

Potentially dangerous

Steve Shaw, who was Alderney harbour master for 25 years, said he did not believe it would be possible for a wild boar to get to the island by boat without the crew noticing, and he had never heard of a wild boar being found on any vessel.

Some islanders have speculated the animal could be an "iron age pig", which have been farmed on the island.

However, Alan Woodnutt, Tess's husband, said he was certain it was not.

"Iron age pigs are a cross between a wild boar and a Tamworth," he said.

"They look a bit like a wild boar but this animal was not the progeny of an iron age pig."

Mrs Woodnutt said the boar's arrival on the island was a mystery but she had had it confirmed to her by an expert in the UK that a wild boar could swim long distances in open water.

Wild boar are commonly found in Normandy, the coast of which lies seven miles (11km) to the east of Alderney.

Duty Insp Kieran McGrath from Guernsey Police said islanders should contact them if they spotted the animal and should not approach it themselves, as any wild boar could be dangerous when cornered.

[MIKA27]

Mahatma Gandhi's spinning wheel sold for £110,000

A spinning wheel used by Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi while in prison has been sold at auction for about £110,000 ($180,000).

He used it to spin thread and make his own clothes in Pune's Yerwada jail in the early 1930s.

Gandhi gave the wheel to the American Free Methodist missionary Reverend Dr Floyd A Puffer in 1935.

Auctioneers Mullock's said it had been sold to an anonymous phone bidder at Ludlow Racecourse in Shropshire.

Richard Westwood-Brookes from the auction house said the price had "exceeded expectations."

"The guide price for the wheel (between £60,000 ($96,000) and £80,000) was based on what the owner thought they could get, which I initially thought might be a bit high," he said.

"Once the interest started to come in online and on the phones it took its own momentum."

The portable spinning wheel, called a charkha in Hindi, "folds into a bundle about the size of a portable typewriter and has a handle for carrying. When unfolded for use it is operated by turning a small crank which runs the two wheels and spindle of the device", the American monthly Popular Science wrote in 1931.

Gandhi spent time daily on spinning and often described it as a form of meditation.

His artefacts are regularly sold at auctions and are popular with collectors.

In February this year Mullock's set a record with a letter of Gandhi fetching £115,000. In May a collection including his sandals, shawl and other personal effects topped £250,000.

Last year a pair of Gandhi's glasses with a guide price of £10,000 sold for £34,000 at the racecourse.

[MIKA27]

Outlandish Vintage Anti-Communist Posters By US Govt

No country is truly exempt from dabbling in a smattering of propaganda every now and then.

Either to unite a nation, demonise an enemy or convert the public into your line of thinking, deliberately biased media campaigns, controlled by those in power have often proved successful throughout the course of history. Russia used it to rally their nation about the Soviet Space Program, North Korea used gruesome illustrations to warn against the perils of America and The United States itself peddled pro-war posters and even hilarious anti-marijuana ads filled with outlandish claims about Satanic orgies of all things.

So it should come really as no surprise as we unleash this series of misguided US propaganda solely created to paint Russia’s communists as the biggest boogeyman on the planet. Armed with their big bushy beards, an atomic bomb or two and hell bent on corrupting our wives, converting our children and apparently sterilizing our men. Oh and something about ending democracy and ruling the world.

[MIKA27]

The Wild Kids of Woolpit

Woolpit is an ancient English village situated between the Suffolk towns of Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket. And it’s a village with a very strange story attached to it. So the tale goes, back in the 12th Century, a young girl and boy, of strangely green-hued skin, appeared in Woolpit one day, claiming to have come from a magical place called St. Martin’s Land. It was, they said, a place which existed in an atmosphere of permanent twilight, and where the people lived underground, on nothing but green beans. While the story has been relegated by many to the realms of mere myth and folklore, it may not be just that. It might, actually, be much more.

According to the old legend, the two children remained in Woolpit and were ultimately baptized by the villagers, who accepted them as their very own. And although the boy ultimately fell ill and died, the girl did not. She thrived and finally lost her green-tinged skin to normal coloured skin of healthy appearance. She also, somewhat in defiance of the disapproving attitudes of certain members of the village, became, as it was amusingly termed back then, according to the legend, “rather loose and wanton in her conduct.”

That both wild children were reportedly green-skinned and allegedly lived underground in a mysterious locale, has led many to disregard the tale out of hand as one of fairy-based, mythological proportions and nothing else whatsoever. Others have suggested they were nothing less than full-blown extraterrestrials; little green men, perhaps! There is, however, a far more down to earth theory, but one which is no less intriguing and thought-provoking.

The pair may have been suffering from a condition called Hypochromic Anemia, in which the sufferer – as a result of a very poor diet that, in part, affects the color of the red blood-cells – can develop skin of a noticeably green shade. In support of this scenario, Hypochromic Anemia was once known as Chlorosis, a word formulated in the early 1600s by a Montpellier professor of medicine named Jean Varandal. And why did Varandal choose such a name? Simple: It came from the Greek word Chloris, meaning greenish-yellow or pale green.

Therefore, we might very well, and quite justifiably even, conclude that the strange children of Woolpit were definitively wild in nature. And they may certainly have lived poor and strange lives, very possibly deep underground, in a series of caves, or, perhaps, under a thick canopy of dense forest of the type that dominated England at that time. And a poor life may also have meant a very poor diet – hence their strange-looking skin.

Jon Downes is the director of the Center for Fortean Zoology and someone who, in March 2012, I interviewed on this very topic of the green children of Woolpit and the potentially related phenomenon of “feral children.” Jon noted in relation to the controversy, as well as in regard to the bigger issue of legendary “wild men” that…

“I believe that all over the world, at various times – including Britain – there have been people that have regressed back through the layers of society and civilization. In some cases of so-called feral children, they have been found with a fine down of hair all over their bodies. This is something that is quite well known, and is something that can appear in conditions like Anorexia, or where, for whatever reason, a person is very malnourished. They start to develop fine hair on their bodies, under certain circumstances.”

Jon is correct in his words. The hair in question is known as Lanugo Hair. On occasion, when anorexics descend into definitive starvation mode, they may start to develop fine, white hair – typically on their face, back, chest and legs. The reason why it develops is actually quite simple.

As starvation increases to severely dangerous degrees, and as the body starts to lose its precious and much needed supplies of fat, which help insulate the body from the cold, it reacts by provoking the production of Lanugo Hair, as a means to try and compensate and offer the body some degree of warmth. Back to Jon:

“I think it is quite possible that you may have had situations where individuals – in earlier centuries and in Britain and elsewhere – may have been cast out of their village. Maybe they were just mentally ill, but the people of their village were in fear of them, so they were banished to the woods or whatever.

“They may have lived in the wild from then on, eking out primitive existences, and who being malnourished, may have developed fine hair over their bodies that then gets coated and matted with mud and leaves, and suddenly you have legends of wild men. They may have even bred if there were groups of them. Others, like the children of Woolpit, may have developed a green color to their skin.

“And it wouldn’t surprise me at all if, maybe, this led to at least some of the legends of wild men – and children, such as those of Woolpit – in Britain.”

A rational answer to the mystery? It certainly makes sense to me!

[MIKA27]

Samsung: 2014 Phones To Have Twice The Pixels, Folding Displays By 2015

http://youtu.be/g3x-bAWZWPM

The future is slowly arriving, with the advent of phones with radically curved screens — but Samsung isn’t yet content. In fact, the company insists that the displays of its devices will be foldable by 2015.

Speaking at Samsung’s Analyst Day this week, the company announced that it’ll bring fully-foldable screens to the market “some time in 2015″. That kind of bendable display will, apparently, find its way into both normal devices like phones and tablets, as well as the new rash of wearable tech, like the firm’s Galaxy Gear.

The Verge is also reporting that there a plans to dramatically up pixel counts too:

[T]he display category was highlighted by the promise of 560ppi AMOLED panels for phones. Combine that with the 1440p resolution and you get a 5.2-inch handset — the same dimensions as on LG’s 1080p G2, but with 78 per cent more pixels. And if that’s not enough, we’re told to look forward to 4K resolutions — also known as Ultra HD or 3840 x 2160 — in 2015.

Phew. Samsung, it’s fair to say, is usually good to its word with this kind of thing. It’s long been developing flexible screens, and promises made at CESs past have now started to come good of recent times. Whether the kind of foldable tech shown off in the above video will be with us by 2015, though, remains to be seen — but if it pulls it off, it will feel like living in the future

MIKA: Looking forward to the next era of mobile technology. The only issue with that ad, damn Hipster!

[MIKA27]

He Crafted Thor's Mighty Mjölnir, Then Smashed Stuff With It

There are few fictional weapons as mighty as Thor’s hammer Mjölnir. It can harness the power of lightning, drain radioactive energy and knock Iron Man down a peg or two.

This version of the legendary hammer, crafted in honour of Thor: The Dark World by AWE‘s Man At Arms Tony Swatton, may not be able to flatten mountains, but it sure can smash the crap out of a watermelon. Take that, watermelon!

MIKA: Amazing work!!

[MIKA27]

King Tut's Body Spontaneously Combusted Inside Its Sarcophagus

The world’s most famous mummy, King Tutankhamen, may not have had quite the civilised send off that we thought: researchers are now suggesting that a botched mummification process led to his body spontaneously combusting inside its sarcophagus.

A fresh new analysis of King Tut’s remains, using X-ray and CAT scans, reveals that his bones were smashed to pieces prior to death, more brutally than previously suspected. The researchers speculate that it was probably the result of being hit by a chariot.

In fact, it turns out he had broken ribs on its left-hand side, but was also lacking his sternum and heart by the time he made it to his sarcophagus.

If that weren’t bad enough, more analysis also suggests that the mummification procedure didn’t go to plan either, causing his body to spontaneously combust in its resting place. Analysing a small chunk of flesh left from Tut’s body has revealed that the body was definitely burned after his death. But a series of further chemical tests, including some carried out by professional fire investigators, suggest that a combination of oxygen, embalming oils and linen were what caused the fire to occur.

In other words, the mummification process didn’t go to plan — perhaps it was rushed because the body was so badly damaged — which meant that, trapped in the sarcophagus, it was able to spontaneously combust. With a potent mixture of oil and oxygen, a buildup of heat could easily have caused a fire to start, and when the linen caught there’d be nothing to stop it from burning hard and bright.

The new findings are a result of a fresh analysis for a UK TV show, and along with it should come all the gory details of exactly how hid body came to catch fire.

[MIKA27]

The Future Of The US Marines Begins With Fighting Pirates

With sequestration and whatnot, the US Navy is suffering for resources. So it’s getting creative. Creative like launching drones off aircraft carriers? Well, yes, actually — but it gets more exciting than that. The US Marines might soon start fighting pirates.

Foreign Policy reports that the Marine Corps is considering a new strategy of deployment involving ships parked off the coast, in what’s known as the littoral zone. This is made infinitely easier with the advent of the Osprey, an aircraft that can fly like a plane in the air but take off and land like a helicopter. Pirates make a likely target for the new approach. There are a dwindling number of them, and a confrontation would amount to pretty low-intensity combat experience. FP‘s Dan Lamothe describes the shift:

The plan comes as the Marine Corps withdraws thousands of personnel from Afghanistan and realign forces for new missions across the globe, including in Africa. They will do so at a time when there are fewer Navy ships available than there has been in decades, forcing Marines to use the ships available in unconventional ways. In other words: this isn’t the deployment of a single group of Marines; this could be a model for how the entire Corps operates for years to come.

Of course, the Marine Corps is also going to help local governments and security forces to take care of themselves. After all, aspokesman told FP that Africa needs “comprehensive, inter-agency and multi-national approaches and collaboration with industry.” And the Marines are taking a similar approach in other regions, like the Middle East and Caribbean.

If the shift really is as big as FP makes it sound, it could still be quite a while before we see Marines swashbuckling. That is, if we see them swashbuckle at all. Fighting pirates nowadays isn’t quite the same as it used to be.

[MIKA27]

UK Town Replaces Buses With Driverless Pods

It’s happening, folks. The self-driving car phenomenon is finally jumping from the test track onto public roads. And the revolution isn’t just happening in the United States — it’s happening in the UK too.

The small town of Milton-Keynes, just north of London, will soon deploy 100 driverless pods to replace its noisy, pollution-blasting bus system. These so-called Ultra Pods can carry four people plus cargo at a neck-breaking speed of 19km/h on a set track. The battery-powered vehicles are already safely in use on a closed track at London’s Heathrow airport, where there hasn’t been a single safety incident in over two years of use.

The UK is ahead of the curve on this one, but not by much. Nissan says it will start selling a self-driving car by 2020, and companies like Volvo and Mercedes aren’t far behind. But will they look like a family-friendly amusement park ride crossed with a Stormtrooper? Highly doubtful.

[MIKA27]

Arafat Poisoning Report Ambiguous and Inconclusive

Yasser Arafat lived in ambiguity and died under circumstances shrouded in mystery and rumor. Should it come as any great surprise that the outcome of a scientific inquiry into the cause of his demise turns out to be something less than absolute as well?

The forensic examination of the Palestinian leader’s remains were released by his widow, Suha, on Tuesday, and immediately reported by Al Jazeera, the Arab satellite network that last year broke the news that Arafat’s clothes and personal effects contained suspicious traces of polonium-210, the radioactive isotope that killed Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006.

Swiss scientists exhumed Arafat’s body last November and tested his skeleton and grave for telltale evidence of the isotope. The verdict, a full year later: “… the results moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-210.”

Such a moderate word, “moderately.” It isn’t “strongly,” and certainly not “conclusively.” Details of the forensic examination might well encourage belief in the poisoning theory, laid out in table form, pro and con, on page 67 of the 108 page report, and clearly accumulating on the “pro” side. But every page of the PDF posted online carries the watermark of Al Jazeera, a marketing move of dubious value for a news organization that provokes such strong reactions all by itself, and is heavily invested in the story.

Locked-room mysteries are supposed to end with satisfying clarity – an inescapable conclusion put forward by a scrupulously objective investigator to an assembled audience. Arafat’s death was a locked-room mystery thrice over: The contaminated personal effects, according to his wife, “had been stored for eight years in a secured room at the 4th floor of her attorney’s office in Paris,” the forensic report says. His body – its skeleton diagramed in the forensic report – was entombed in a glossy mausoleum guarded by Palestinian sentries in downtown Ramallah since its 2004 interment.

And of course Arafat took ill in a locked room – barricaded in the Ramallah office where he’d spent two years during the Second Intifada besieged by Israeli tanks in the rubble of a nascent but still yet-to-be-born Palestinian state.

If he was poisoned, the question was: who had the ability to slip it into his plate of chicken and rice?

Israel is the answer that leaps to many minds. Within hours of the Al Jazeera report, Palestinian advocates were circulating a “Partial List of Israeli Assassinations of Palestinians.” But spokesmen for the Israeli government have long denied any involvement publicly, and, privately, Israeli security officials have debated the question along with everyone else – not something that happens when, for instance, an Iranian nuclear scientist is rubbed out.

But suspicion also clings to Arafat’s inner circle. It’s a logical suspicion given the crucial question of access to his food – and the Swiss study assumes the polonium was ingested (which the report says might explain why, while he displayed other symptoms consistent with radiation poisoning, his hair did not fall out). Some analysts say the “insider” scenario is supported by the dire political situation at the time – the Palestinian cause was being held hostage with Arafat unbending at its helm, leading his people – many believed – nowhere.

On Tuesday, the abiding intrigue was heightened not only by the Swiss scientists’ report, but also by the way it came to light. Instead of being released by the Palestinian Authority, which had allowed the exhumation of Arafat’s remains, it came out on Jazeera, where his widow declared: “This is the crime of the century.” It made headlines on independent Palestinian outlets, such as Ma’an. But the 9 p.m. newscast of Palestine TV carried not a word. Conspiracy theorists were left to their own devices on the reason why.

“These results should be taken with a few grains of salt,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told The Guardian, which also had a piece of the story. “This story is still as mysterious as it was on day one.”

[MIKA27]

Meet ‘Puddles’ The Sad 7ft Clown With A Golden Voice

Many people have a genuine fear of clowns, or at the very least find them slightly creepy (Can you blame them when this guy is wandering around).

A lot of the bad press or negative vibes associated with clowns was more than likely the result of Stephen King’s horror classic ‘IT’, in which a demonic spirit manifested itself as a clown called Pennywise and kidnapped children. Since then, clowns and wickedness have been inextricably linked – for better or worse.

But that could all be changing, thanks to a new clown on the block.

He’s hard to miss too. Standing 7ft tall is ‘Puddles‘, a clown who might initially widen your eyes and get your heartbeat racing such is his ominous appearance, but actually who possesses the most incredible golden voice.

Imagine that, a singing clown who isn’t just a novelty but a genuine talent.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s his unique cover of LORDE’s ‘Royals’, it’s one of the few cases where the cover could be equal or even better than the original. You be the judge.

[MIKA27]

Could This Be The World’s Oldest Automata Built 240 Years Ago?

Created in the tail end of the 1770s, this unusual robot (and it truly is once you see inside) was created by the watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz along with help from his versatile son Henri-Louis and Jean-Frédéric Leschot.

Born in Switzerland, Pierre Jaquet-Droz was (and to this day still is) considered to be one of the most gifted automata designers in history. He was, in many ways the Sir Jonathan Ive of his time – a visionary designer and master craftsman obsessed with the minutest of details, form and function. But this robot, which he simply called ‘The Writer’ is without question his most complex, impressive and celebrated work.

On the outside, it looks like a simple children’s doll (admittedly a slightly creepy one) but behind the cloth and wood lies an incredible myriad of levers, pins, pivots and rivets which work in unison to allow the boy to write. Isn’t that incredible? It’s estimated there are some 6,000 individual parts that together form the world’s first programmable writing computer.

There’s certainly some debate as to whether ‘The Writer’ truly is the oldest example of a device being programmable by man, the Antikythera mechanism some 2000+ years old was used to calculate different astronomical positions – so it too could claim the prestigious title.

Either way, what isn’t in dispute is the sheer wonder and ingenuity on display in Jaquet-Droz‘s magnificent work. The BBC recently created the documentary Mechanical Marvels: Clockwork Dreams which delves deep into the origins and background of the device, some now 240 years old, but still in perfect working order.

They sure don’t make them like that anymore. Even with today's technology, you can't beat good old fashioned ingenuity. It's not only practical, but simply beautiful.

http://youtu.be/a683OObwLk4

[Fuzz]

He Crafted Thor's Mighty Mjölnir, Then Smashed Stuff With It

Impressive, yet a touch too big. Gallagher might be looking to buy this for his next show, though...

[MIKA27]

Biohazard Lab Makes Real-Life Star Trek Communicator

It’s hard to imagine an environment where instant and clear communication is more critical than in biodefense labs dealing with the most lethal pathogens on Earth. And yet, these facilities, which are few in number and rich in potential nightmares, often require researchers to tap on each other’s shoulders and shout in order to be heard.

It is so difficult for scientists to talk to one another because they work in heavy, cumbersome, noisy suits designed to protect them. Air pumped into these suits hisses at up to 85 decibels, nearly the same noise level produced by a passenger train approaching a station. Also, wireless telecommunication signals don’t move easily through facilities used for handling the worst infectious diseases because they have thick concrete walls, steel doors and special plumbing and ventilation designed to stop absolutely anything from entering or escaping.

Workers in the most highly secure of these labs are reduced to using pen and paper, whiteboards, special computer keyboards with one-inch keys to accommodate double-gloved fingers, walkie-talkies and phones held against the outside of their suits.

“Wearing the suit, behind the 14-inch concrete walls and eight-inch steel doors, I was really struck by how I could feel cut off and in my own world,” says John McCall, director of information technology and telecommunications for Boston University’s new National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories(NEIDL). The facility has not yet begun operating as opponents challenge it in court.

Scientists at NEIDL will work on a wide array of microbes, from those that pose less of a threat to public health to those that cause the world’s scariest infectious diseases. As a result, the lab is designated a biosafety level 4 (BSL4) facility, the highest bio-containment level. People here might handle deadly hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola and Marburg viruses as well as ancient reapers like smallpox.

Biosafety level 3 is scary, too, covering the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome and other potentially epidemic-triggering biological agents. BSL1 and BSL2 facilities store the merely dangerous — E. coli, Chlamydia and the like.

Can you hear me now?

McCall volunteered for training in the same protocols used by disease-lab scientists to see how technology could help them do their jobs. It has given him insights that have resulted in an innovative, inexpensive communication system for these researchers.

His goal is to put researchers one tap away from anyone in the world they need to talk to. As a result, he has built a system that resembles the communicator badges that the crew of the Starship Enterprise tap to talk on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The system McCall has built out of off-the-shelf hardware and software involves:

• Wireless access points
  
• Voice over Internet Protocol telecommunications through Boston University’s wireless infrastructure
  
• A phone server to let the system connect to landlines
  
• Acoustic air-tube earphones
  
• Throat microphones
  
• Boom mics for those not in protection suits
  
• Two-button communicators
  
• Voice-recognition software
  

NEIDL’s communicator badge connects disease lab researchers to each other and the outside world through taps and voice commands

Its core is built on Vocera hardware and software. The firm makes hospital and hospitality hands-free voice-communication products. NEIDL researchers will wear a Vocera lanyard “badge” hanging from their scrub shirt’s pocket. The device’s two buttons open a channel to one person or many other people, and signal to colleagues that they are busy.

The software understands and provides more than 100 voice commands and prompts, and flexibly routes communications. A researcher might tap the call button and say, “Call Dr. Hansen” or “Call Animal Care.” Those being contacted get a prompt saying who is calling and asking if they want to take the call. They can pick up and end the call without touching their badges.

Significantly, a scientist could tap the button and say, “Emergency.”

“That would automatically go to an internal phone line. We’d spin the lab cameras around on you, and we’d have people down there right away,” McCall says.

NEIDL IT director John McCall demonstrates the hands-free communication system that includes an integrated earphone and microphones that pick up speech through the neck.

A line to the outside world

NEIDL researchers can also use the badges to contact field staff outside the facility.

With the eight-badge, $US33,000 communication system, researchers who see something alarming in a tissue sample will be able to use voice commands to convene an ad hoc conference of experts anywhere in the world, including “scientists collecting samples in a bat cave,” he says.

Even communicating quickly and easily with other infectious-disease labs around the world will be a boon to research. Most labs have unique core competencies, and tapping into that knowledge will no longer mean waiting for the next symposium.

It’s difficult to find systems offering flexible one-to-many workgroup communications on the market, says McCall. He says he has found similar software and hardware products, but they are not flexible enough to handle NEIDL’s fluid environment, are too expensive or both.

McCall says his setup continues to evolve. Currently, there is one earphone for each badge, but some people have a difficult time getting information in just one ear. It’s disconcerting for them, he says, so he is experimenting with Apple-style earbuds.

The throat mics, technically called laryngophones, also can be problematic for some. They are designed to pick up the sound a larynx makes by putting the device on shaved skin nearby. But they don’t work as well on some people and particularly on men with thick or fast-growing beards. An air gap degrades the mic’s ability to pick up vocal sounds.

“I’m looking at sonogram gel as a way of keeping air from between the mic and the skin,” he says.

On the horizon, McCall hopes to incorporate a camera and projector in the suit’s headgear to create a head-up display on the face screen that further connects researchers.

[MIKA27]

It Turns Out Backup Batteries Don't Have To Be An Eyesore

If there’s even the slightest risk you won’t have access to an outlet or a powered USB port for 24 hours, you’d better hope you’ve got a backup battery in tow to keep your phone alive. And while function usually trumps form when it comes to external power sources, Incase has decided to overthrow the norm with a couple of backup batteries that are downright lovely.

With bright colour options, a built-in USB charging cable, and an iPad-friendly 2.1 amp USB port, both the Incase 5400 and 2500 will keep you running through a power outage, or a long flight on an antiquated outlet-less plane. Named for the mAH of their internal batteries, the 5400 and 2500 are available now for $US80 and $US60 respectively, meaning there’s no longer a reason to hide your ugly external battery in a bag or pocket while you’re topping off your devices. Incase

[polarbear]

He Crafted Thor's Mighty Mjölnir, Then Smashed Stuff With It

There are few fictional weapons as mighty as Thor’s hammer Mjölnir. It can harness the power of lightning, drain radioactive energy and knock Iron Man down a peg or two.

This version of the legendary hammer, crafted in honour of Thor: The Dark World by AWE‘s Man At Arms Tony Swatton, may not be able to flatten mountains, but it sure can smash the crap out of a watermelon. Take that, watermelon!

MIKA: Amazing work!!

I love this guy!