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

[MIKA27]

China: The woman who lives in a hole

Every day for the past 20 years, Quan Youzhi, 66, has lifted a well lid weighing at least 10kilograms and climbed down 3 meters to spend the night underground.

The woman from Shangqiu, Henan province, does not work on underground facilities. Instead,she calls the deserted underground compartment home.

The compartment is near Lido Park in Beijing's Chaoyang district.

It measures 3 meters by 3 meters and is about 2 meters high. It is filled with rusty pipes that crowd the already small space.

Inside are simple furnishings: a few quilts on a thin mat, some candles, two coats and a broken umbrella.

A washroom in Lido Park offers Quan a place to wash herself and to use the toilet.

"Twenty years," Quan answered when asked the obvious question. "I don't have money".

The space is a good place to live in winter, she said because it's warm.

In the summer, however, she stays above ground because it gets too hot. During heavy rain, Quan moves to a nearby pavilion because her home will be flooded.

Quan said chengguan, urban patrol officers, frequently block off access to her home by welding the lid shut.

"I bought a metal saw and sawed the weld off after they went away," she said.

"I don't want to go back home," Quan said. She has two sons, one in his 40s and single, the other married with two children and in his 30s.

The house she had inhabited in her hometown collapsed, Quan said, adding that her biggest wish is to get enough money to rebuild it.

But Quan makes only about 20 yuan ($3.3) per day collecting bottles. "One hundred bottles can be sold for eight yuan," she said.

"I buy food, which is usually steamed bread, and medicine. So I can save very little," she said that she has high blood pressure and gallstones.

She was once taken to a rescue center but left after only a few days.

Quan's husband, Liu Wancang, 68, lives in a similar compartment nearby, but they seldom communicate.

"He often quarrels with me," Quan said.

On Friday the underground utility compartments were blocked with cement by the local Jiangtai community authority.

Ge Daoshun, a researcher of social policy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it's right for the local government to block those compartments because of the potential safety hazard.

But homeless people such as Quan, who chose to live this way, will only find other similar places to stay, Ge said.

Chen Tao, a professor at China Youth University for Political Sciences, said it's hard for old people with children to get help from the social assistance system because their families are supposed to support them.

Adults who are capable of supporting their parents are obliged by China's Constitution to do so.

But many people like Quan don't get help from families, Chen explained.

Chen said that a professional social worker team should be created to evaluate whether older people need social assistance, instead of only taking into account whether they have relatives.

[MIKA27]

Hasselblad Stellar Special Edition Cameras

While their idea of pricing for a so-called consumer-level camera may leave most nonprofessional photographers scratching their heads (and checking their bank accounts), the Hasselblad Stellar Special Edition Cameras ($3,175) are still something to behold.

With several options available, you can choose a white, black, or orange body, with either a carbon fiber, padouk, or wenge wood grip. Inside they feature the workings of the excellent Sony X100 camera, with a 28-100mm Carl Zeiss zoom lens, a 20-megapixel sensor, a wide ISO range, full HD video capability, and 3.6x optical zoom capability.

[MIKA27]

Finally A Digital Library Of Bizarre Human Bones From The Middle Ages:

A spinal column with fused vertebrae. The bones of a woman with advanced syphilis. Skeletons deformed by rickets and leprosy. A fascinating online library of deformed bones from the Middle Ages goes live today—and while I didn’t even realize such a thing existed,now I can’t imagine living without it. God bless technology.

The Digital Diseases website is run by the Royal College of Surgeons in London. It brings together 3D scans of over 1,600 bone specimens taken from patients with debilitating and disfiguring conditions like rickets and leprosy, and makes them free for the public to browse. Bored on a Monday morning? Gawk at this deformed spinal column or marvel at this alien like skull with an enlarged cranium. In the scientists’ own words, “it does not resemble any known hominid species.” Cool!

This skull from Chichester shows some unusual endocranial bone changes with various levels of destruction.

Macabre as the subject matter may seem at times, the Digital Diseases library represents an impressive marriage of science and technology. Those behind the project used a combination of 3D laser scanning, CT scans and high resolution photography to digitise the specimens. So while access to these bones was previously only available to students and researchers who could travel to the collection and handle the fragile items, the new database is free for the curious public to explore.

It goes live tonight, but try not to stay up all week looking at 3D images of century old bones. You should save at least some energy for the company Christmas party.

This fused spinal column from York is a superb example of advanced ankylosing spondylitis. Not how difficult it is to discern the individual vertebrae.

[MIKA27]

A Better multi-tool Adds a napkin Holder, Spritzer and Flash Drive

Victorinox and Wenger have owned the Swiss army knife industry for decades, but who really needs an orange peeler, corkscrew, or a nail file on their multi-tool? The folks at a Scandinavian company called Clas Ohlson feel the Swiss army knife is due for an upgrade with more useful accessories, so they’ve created the (freakishly huge) Uniquely Useful Tool that includes—among other implements—a flash drive, a magnet, a paper clip, and even a tiny spray bottle.

The only catch? Clas Ohlson has no intentions of producing or selling you its more useful take on the Swiss army knife. Instead, they’ll happily provide you with the blueprints and parts list to build your own. This is a total DIY affair, which also means you can customise it however you want. After all, who says a Swiss army knife can’t have a tiny toothbrush, or a miniature stapler as well?

{Clas Ohlson}

[MIKA27]

Monster Machines: Next-Generation Typhoon Tranche 3 Combat jet makes First Test Flights:

The first-generation Typhoon fighter jets are considered the most advanced multi-role/swing role combat aircraft in operation, and the next-gen Typhoon Tranche 3 models are even more impressive. Taking flight for the first time in a series of test runs, check out this beast of the skies in these majestic videos.

The Tranche 3 update to the Typhoon line doesn’t add much in terms of aeshetics to the fighters, but instead is more of an “under the skin”, futureproofing move. A number of additional panels on the fuselafe now accomodate conformal fuel tanks, allowing the Tranche 3 to fly further and longer than previous iterations. There’s now also room for a new E-Scan system in the nose, with a new internal structure more comfortably housing the electronics tucked away at the tip. MBDA Storm Shadow missiles can now also be accomodated, alongside the Meteor Weapon system. Expect to see 40 of the Tranche 3 craft joining the Royal Air Force in the near future.

[MIKA27]

Moon Lander launch Plans From A Private Company:

Recent mover and shaker Moon Express wants to send a robotic spacecraft to the moon in 2015. CEO Bob Richards says that the MX-1 will use scientific instruments and sensors to study resources that are limited on Earth but “available in infinite quantities in space.”

NPR reports that the coffee table-sized spacecraft, which was announced on Thursday at Autodesk University in Las Vegas, will use solar-power and hydrogen peroxide-based fuel to lower costs. Moon Express is currently trying for a £22 million Lunar X Prize from Google. The company has shown its interest in resources and mining before in its first partnership to build a telescope with the International Lunar Observatory Association to launch the ILO-X telescope to explore the Moon’s south pole by 2015

[MIKA27]

Have We Found the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island?

It's a mystery that has intrigued Americans for centuries: What happened to the lost colonists of North Carolina's Roanoke Island?

The settlers, who arrived in 1587, disappeared in 1590, leaving behind only two clues: the words "Croatoan" carved into a fort's gatepost and "Cro" etched into a tree.

Theories about the disappearance have ranged from an annihilating disease to a violent rampage by local Native American tribes. Previous digs have turned up some information and artifacts from the original colonists but very little about what happened to them.

Until now.

Thanks to technological advances and a cover-up on a map, researchers are getting closer to finding out what happened to the lost colony of Roanoke Island.

What Do We Know?

The lost colonists were the third group of English arrivals on North Carolina’s Roanoke Island, settling near the modern-day town of Manteo.

The first group to arrive, in 1584, came to explore and map the land for future groups. A second group, which arrived in 1585, was charged with a military and scientific mission. But this second group's trip was far from peaceful.

"That's where tensions begin [with the local Native American tribes]," said Clay Swindell of the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, a member of the archaeology team investigating the colony. He says that this second group was driven out in 1586 by local tribes angry that the colonists were taking up good land and resources.

The third group arrived in 1587. Entire families came with children—17 women and 11 children accompanied a party of 90 men.

That meant the group wanted to settle in the New World and was not a military excursion, which would have included only male explorers.

A Map With Secrets

A clue uncovered in a long-forgotten, centuries-old map of the area called "La Virginea Pars"—drawn by the colony's governor John White—kicked off a reexamination of the fate of the lost colonists. An artist and employee of explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, White was later appointed governor of the new lands; he was also the grandfather of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World.

Two patches on the map made Brent Lane of the First Colony Foundation (the group behind the latest archaeological trip and a National Geographic grantee) in Durham, North Carolina, wonder if they might hide something beneath.

Scientists at the British Museum looked into the patches and discovered a tiny red-and-blue symbol. Could it have indicated a fort or a secret emergency location?

"Our best idea is that parts of Raleigh's exploration in North America were a state secret, and the map 'cover-up' was an effort to keep information from the public and from foreign agents," said Eric Klingelhofer of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, a historian and the principal investigator on the project.

Disappearing Act

Most researchers think the colonists likely encountered disease—caused by New World microbes their bodies had never encountered before—or violence.

The research team thinks that when the crisis—whatever that may have been—hit, the colonists split up into smaller groups and dispersed.

"It's a good strategy," he said, explaining that the previous group from 1585 had been ordered to do so if disaster struck. "We don't definitely know that they do, but it's obvious that that's the only way they could have survived. No single Indian tribe or village could have supported them. They would be even larger than some villages—I mean, they were over a hundred people."

The prevailing theory has been that the colonists abandoned Roanoke and traveled 50 miles south to Hatteras Island, which was then known as Croatoan Island. But, Klingelhofer said, what if they went in another direction?

What if some of the colonists traveled west via Albemarle Sound to the mouth of the Chowan River, to a protected inlet occupied by a sympathetic tribe?

Furthermore, archaeologists have identified the nearby site of a small Native American town named Mettaquem, which may have adopted some of the colonists. Klingelhofer said that while researchers don't know much about the Native American town and its inhabitants, its existence has been verified.

"It's a very strategic place, right at the end of Albemarle Sound," he said. "You can go north up the Chowan River to Virginia or west to the Blue Ridge Mountains. They were big trading partners" with other Native American tribes.

After the map's secret was revealed, Klingelhofer, along with the First Colony Foundation, which studies the first attempts at colonization in the New World, proposed a return trip to the area, with a twist. This time, shovels would have 21st-century helpers—magnetometers and ground-penetrating radar (GPR).

Using Modern Technology

Malcolm LeCompte, a research associate at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina, was responsible for the addition of GPR in the archaeological search for what happened to the lost colonists of Roanoke.

The process began earlier this year with a satellite survey of the site.

"What we do is we get the oldest maps we can find—so we can get a historic sense of what was there and what's there now—and orient them," LeCompte said. The point is to compare "what may have been there in the past to what is there now."

Researchers look for similarities between the old maps and the current geography of the area. Once they identify where the spots on the map correspond with today's landscape, a painstaking process of laying out a grid and systematically searching it with their GPR ensues.

The technology emits radio waves into the ground and measures the echo as the signal bounces off of various things buried underground. Essentially, it measures the depth that signals travel before hitting something that causes a measurable bounce back. In other words, signals potentially indicate a hidden object underground.

Metal objects—like the iron cannons that have been found at the site—act like "giant antennas." Graves and coffins are also detectable, because they contain voids with different densities and poorer conductive properties than the surrounding soil.

LeCompte and his colleagues found a previously undetected pattern that may indicate the presence of one or more structures, possibly made of wood, under about three feet (a meter) of soil.

"I don't know if it's one or a group [of structures]," he said, adding that they "could be joined or they could be close together." Perhaps the wood of the structures collapsed over time, leaving impressions in the surrounding soil, LeCompte speculated.

The Museum of the Albemarle's Swindell suggested the use of a proton magnetometer to enable the researchers to double-check their GPR findings. Much more sensitive than a metal detector, the device can spot objects buried about 13 feet (four meters) underground.

The device measures distortions of the Earth's magnetic field due to the presence of various objects buried underground.

"We're looking for anything that affects the local magnetic field," Swindell stressed. "That could be things like burn pits."

Swindell, for his part, thinks there may also be remains of a palisades that would have been used by farmers to keep wild animals away from crops.

The presence of the buried structure and the fence strongly indicate that there was some sort of colonial presence in the area. What complicates the story further is the presence of later colonial sites in the area through the 1700s.

Unfortunately, neither piece of technology has shed light on the role of Native American populations in the area. That's a puzzle that remains to be solved.

It's Complicated

In the days of the Roanoke Colony, relations with the local Native Americans were mixed.

Roanoke was geographically located in the crux of sociopolitical friction between the Secotan—who held sway over Roanoke—and the Chowanoke, who controlled the nearby waterways.

Tensions were especially high between the colonists and the Secotan tribe.

"There is no doubt that there was a lot of hostility," Klingelhofer said. "Not all the tribes were hostile, but some of them were hostile.

They felt imposed upon. There was fighting between [the groups]"—both among the tribes, and between some of the native peoples and the English settlers.

It didn't help that the English attempted to explore the area multiple times. The group that arrived prior to the lost colonists were driven back to England, which meant when the ill-fated third group of colonists showed up, some sour feelings remained.

"It would not surprise me that the Secotan would want to be done and get rid of the English," Swindell said.

Whether groups of Secotan banded together to rid themselves of what they saw as interlopers is anyone's guess, he said.

The area does seem to hold clues to contact between local tribes and European colonists in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The next step in solving this age-old American mystery? "We have to go in and dig some holes, I guess," Swindell said.

[MIKA27]

An Ancient City Is Discovered Underwater. What They Found Will Change History Forever

The city of Heracleion was engulfed underwater 1500 years ago. This grand city had been mentioned by the Greek writer Herodotus, the 5th-century BC historian. He had told a wonderful tale of Helen of Troy, who traveled to Heracleion, then a port of 'great wealth', with her Trojan lover, Paris.

When French marine archaeologist Franck Goddio stumbled upon some relics, it led them to one of the greatest finds of the 21st century; a city underwater. The discovery took place when Goddio had been in search of Napoleon’s warships from the 1798 Battle of the Nile, when he had been defeated by Nelson in these very waters, but to his surprise, he stumbled upon this magnificent discovery.

Here the team retrieves the statue of the god Hapi

More and more statues are brought to surface, still in excellent condition

The discoveries include the colossal statues of the Egyptian goddess Isis, the god Hapi, and an unidentified Egyptian pharaoh, all preserved in excellent condition by their muddy burial shroud. Along with these 16ft statues there are hundreds of smaller statues of Egyptian gods, among them the figures that guarded the temple where Cleopatra who was inaugurated as Queen of the Nile.

Dozens of sarcophagi have also been found, containing the bodies of mummified animals sacrificed to Amun-Gereb, the supreme god of the Egyptians. Many amulets, or religious charms, have been unearthed, too, showing gods such as Isis, Osiris and Horus.

A red granite sculpture of a Ptolemaic queen

A gold vessel, which is a shallow dish used throughout the Hellenistic world for drinking

A bronze statuette of a Pharoah of the 26th dynasty

An ancient lamp is discovered during the search

Here an archaelogist measures the feet of a colossal red granite statue

The god Hapi was the god of the flooding of the Nile, a symbol of abundance and fertility

A 1.9m inscribed pillar, commissioned by Nectanebo I (378-362 BC)

Evidence shows that Heracleion slipped into its watery grave sometime in the 6th or 7th century AD. The discovery of Heracleion will now add depth and detail to our knowledge of the ancient world, because among the discoveries, there are perfectly preserved inscribed pillars decorated with hieroglyphics.

[MIKA27]

Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941 sparked blame game

The successful surprise attack against the naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, by the Japanese Empire shocked America and the people of the Free World.

Yet, there have been any number of conspiracy theories that claim the United States government, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was aware of the pending bombing of the military installation in Hawaii. Similar conspiracy theories surfaced after the terrible terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

In reality however, such conspiracy theories serve primarily to confuse, to distract, and churn distrust of the U.S. government during turbulent times. It also causes Americans to question reality, and wonder whether the U.S. could actually be the cause of such devastation and destruction.

A question like this surfaced not long after the tragedy on December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Even though President Roosevelt went before Congress the very next day to request that the Legislative body declare war on the Empire of Japan, the nation was in a state of shock as it learned of the incredible loss of life in the horrendous “man-made disaster.”

People wanted to know, and more than a few demanded to know, how the mighty United States could be so unprepared for such an insideous attack. And of course, the rumor mill turned and the conspiracy theorists churned out their speculative charges. Some rumors even cast suspicion upon FDR, who was seen as seeking excuses to draw the country into war.

Amidst the rumors, investigations by high ranking government officials, both in the military and the political arena, examined the level of preparedness of the U.S. Military, and especially the nation’s intelligence gathering procedures, prior to the tragedy at Pearl Harbor. In this time, some scandalous rumors circulated that the President, desiring that the U.S. enter the fray, redeployed the U.S. fleet to Pearl Harbor, and intentionally left the installation unguarded as a way of baiting the Japanese militants to take advantage of the opportunity.

Soon after the attack, in December, President Roosevelt appointed a commission headed by U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Owen Roberts (nominated to the Supreme Court by President Hoover) to investigate the incident.

The Roberts Commission, as it was known, was tasked to investigate the tragedy and provide the facts pertaining to the attack. It also seemed to be tasked with assigning blame, as the commission ultimately determined that the commanders at Pearl Harbor, Admiral Kimmel and General Short, were guilty of “dereliction of duty.” Since it was only a fact-finding commission, no legal charges were brought against these two officers. Nevertheless, it was not the end of the blame game, and eventually the entire issue became a political battle, and the question regarding the real cause of this tragedy was ultimately taken up by the U.S. Congress to investigate what the U.S. had done to incite the attack.

The issue was basically dropped until the war ended in 1945. However, in April of the year, Franklin Roosevelt had passed away, and Harry Truman had taken over as President. On August 29, 1945, President Truman released investigation reports from the Army and Navy which actually found officials in Washington, especially former Secretary of State Cordell Hull and U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall, primarily responsible for unpreparedness at Pearl Harbor. Finally, with the war over, Congress took the opportunity to act when the Senate Majority Leader, Alben Barkley, called for a joint investigatory committee to fully investigate the tragedy in December, 1941 and to explore the “contradictions and inconsistencies” in previous reports (as well as possibilities for more blame).

During this Congressional investigation, which persisted from November of 1945 until May of 1946, there was a startling revelation coming from a diary entry of Henry Stimson, U.S. Secretary of War during World War II. Remarks made by FDR which seemed to be speculative inquiry regarding the likelihood of an unannounced attack by the Empire of Japan on the U.S., but caused concern. The entry, admitted as official testimony during the hearings, described a White House “War Council” meeting at which Roosevelt, “brought up the event that we were likely to be attacked perhaps (as soon as) next Monday, for the Japanese are notorious for making an attack without warning, and the question was how we should maneuver them into the position of firing the first shot without allowing too much danger to ourselves… a difficult proposition.”

Admittedly, for this to surface during the Congressional hearings on the Pearl Harbor Attack was a major embarrassment for the Roosevelt Administration. This item has puzzled both critics and defenders of FDR’s foreign policy for quite some time. Definitely, this diary entry of Secretary Stimson did prove to be a “difficult proposition,” as he put it. However, Roosevelt was no longer around to explain his intended meaning. Nevertheless, in addition, the joint committee received testimony from 44 people, including high ranking officials such as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew, former Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, as well as the military commanders involved like Admiral Kimmel and General Short.

Even then, investigating such a horrendous American tragedy, the congressional investigation became quite politically divided. One newspaper headline during the time read: “GOP Senators Say Democrats Block Pearl Harbor Probe.” Although Truman had numerous documents and exhibits released to the committee, it was seemingly overwhelming for the limited time and scope provided for the task. Also, some files related to the attack were never located despite many prior investigations.

Republicans did not trust the chairman, Alben Barkley (Democrat Senate Majority Leader), to reveal all the missing documents. Democrats labeled Republican’s demands for more complete access to material as a move to “dig up something…” to “besmirch the reputation of the Nation’s wartime Commander-in-Chief [FDR].”

The political controversy seemed to center upon President Roosevelt, and one major problem that Republicans had was related to FDR’s prior favoritism of Alben Barkley that had led to his election as Senate majority leader in 1937. To Republicans, his long-standing loyalty to FDR rendered Chairman Barkley incapable of being objective in the Pearl Harbor investigation. Such solid allegiance did catch Democrat attention because Barkley eventually got the nod as Truman’s running mate in 1948. Albeit much time was spent, and despite all efforts, including the political wrangling, eight members of the ten on the committee rejected claims that FDR or his top advisors had “tricked, provoked, incited, cajoled, or coerced Japan” into the Pearl Harbor attack so the U.S. would enter the war.

Incredibly, after over six months, and over 5,000 pages of final report as well as 14,000 pages of printed exhibits, eight members of the committee of ten concluded that, “officers, both in Washington and Hawaii, were fully conscious of the danger from air attack.” The military commands in Hawaii and the Intelligence and War Plans Divisions of the War and Navy Departments made “errors of judgment and not derelictions of duty.” And after all was said and reports finalized, they came to the conclusion that “the ultimate responsibility for the attack and its results rests upon Japan.” And, “the diplomatic policies and actions of the United States provided no justifiable provocation whatever for the attack by Japan on this Nation.”

In reality, on the other side of the world, there existed the government of Japan, which was ripped apart by political strife that made what was happening in the U.S. seem like a mild disagreement between brothers. The nation of Japan had been an ally during World War I, and had become increasingly democratic in the 1920s. However, such changes came with poor timing as the devastating effects of the Great Depression reverberated through the world. While Americans were struggling during the 1930s, the democratic government of Japan also struggled and became increasingly distrusted by the people, and was blamed for the weakened economy. Especially, the Army decided to take clear action to correct the problems associated with democracy.

Unlike the Fascist efforts in Europe aimed at destroying traditional systems of government, the Japanese military sought to restore traditional political control to military leaders. Over time, military leaders rose through the political system to secure more and more power. By 1932, the Japanese Army had gained so much control that the civilian leadership was seen as the primary obstacle to complete control. In that year, nine army officers went to the home of Prime Minister Tsuyoshi Inukai to confront him. Instead of talking after he cordially invited them in, the leader shouted, “No use talking!” He then pulled out his pistol and shot him ala Al Pacino in the Godfather. By 1935, a large faction of army officers attempted an unsuccessful coup. But this period reveals the serious divisions within the government of Japan.

Complete Army control of the Japanese government essentially was accomplished by October of 1941 when the last hope of civilian restraint upon the militarists dissolved as Prime Minister Konoe (also spelled Konoye) resigned. On September 5th, he had submitted to the Emperor a draft of the Japanese Cabinet’s decision the previous day to commit to a course of war with the Allied nations if they resisted Japan’s intended militant domination of most of Southeast Asia. After argument with his chief advisors, Hirohito consented to the decision. Konoe realized that negotiations would not truly permit Japan to pull off such brazen a dominion without war with the West. When he grasped that the Emperor was on board with the militarists, Konoe was isolated, and realized war was inevitable!

On September 6th, the Imperial Conference formalized the decision for war. In September, Japan had decided to prepare for war with the United States - long before the attack was executed. The hollow masquerade of cordial diplomatic negotiations in Washington, D.C., even to the day of the attack, was merely a remnant of Konoe’s weak hopes to avert war. The deceptive charade reveals how deceitful and absolutely determined the militarists were in controlling the Japanese Empire. Essentially it enhanced the element of surprise in the insidious sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

In essence, such deceptive and destructive actions spoke much more loudly than their hollow words. In retrospect, the pattern of destruction could be seen by the world for a long time. Yet in the U.S., “intelligent leaders,” utilizing great time and expense, kept pointing fingers, seeking someone to assign the blame for what a militant government had determined long before bombs starting destroying Americans lives. That in itself, should speak volumes about the differences between the two governments at the time.

[MIKA27]

Apparently People Will Buy Cans Of French Air For $7.50

Money doesn’t grow on trees. You can’t get something for nothing. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Except all of these cliches are apparently false, because Antoine Deblay, a student who lives in southwest France is actually making money selling cans of air from his town.

For €5.50, or about $US7.50, Deblay is shipping 250ml cans of air called “Air de Montcuq” for his hometown. This summer he raised about $US1,000 on KissKissBankBank, a French crowdfunding site, which allowed him to make a website and get the tins/packaging he needed. Deblay told Business Insider that in the first three weeks he received a thousand orders and has already made thousands of dollars with a 60 per cent profit margin.

The appeal of the cans comes from a pun that is inherent in the name of Deblay’s town. Montcuq can be mispronounced “mon cul” or “my arse,” meaning that “Air de Montcuq” can be translated as “the wind of my arse.” Novelty gift? Sure, why not.

Because he apparently is not afraid of taking the whole thing too seriously, Deblay is only selling 10 litres of air per week so he doesn’t put a strain on his supply, and when he hits that limit he puts a warning on the website that orders are done for the week.

Deblay told Business Insider, “Of course I knew it was going to sell, but not so much in so little time!” Of course!

[MIKA27]

Dream Home: A Floating Glass House -- Or Superhero Headquarters

Otto reports that “Dutch firm Paul de Ruiter Architects has won the ARC13 architecture prize for their project Villa Kogelhof,” which is a great excuse to feature this awesome floating house, masterfully photographed by Jeroen Musch.

The house is not only simply beautiful. It’s also carbon neutral, according to DesignBoom:

Protected 25 hectare plot, a popular tourist destination and home to a variety of rare animals and plant life. planning permission for the villa was only granted on the condition that the land was returned to its pre-agricultural state, consequently 71,000 trees have been planted across the vast site.

I can’t think of many things better than living in a house like this in the middle of a protected natural area.

[MIKA27]

You Can Buy The Real Han Solo DL-44 Blaster Used In Star Wars

Do you want to buy a house or a piece of Star Wars history? Would you like a Ferrari or the DL-44 Blaster that Harrison Ford used? A college education or a toy gun? The answer is obvious right? It’s Han Solo’s DL-44 Blaster every time. The blaster pistol made famous by Han Solo is up for auction and it’s expected to fetch more than $US200,000. Let’s pool our money guys.

The gun is non-firing but was used in many scenes featuring Han. Invaluable, where the auction is being hosted, writes:

This non-firing blaster was created for The Empire Strikes Back and was also used in Return of the Jedi. It would have been used in the majority of scenes that feature Han, with the heavier, live-fire weapon being used for close-up shots.

Particularly noteworthy scenes requiring this lighter version are when Darth Vader uses the Force to lasso the blaster out of Han’s hand in Empire, and in Jedi when Han wrestles with a Stormtrooper to regain possession of his blaster during the Rebels’ encounter with Imperial forces on Endor.

There are no bids right now for reasons I don’t understand.

[MIKA27]

This Majestic Nature Time Lapse Will Make You Want To Go Outdoors More

It’s the colours that get you when you’re out in nature. If you live in a city, you’re mostly dealing with drabs of grey speckled with Instagrams of exposed red bricks. If you live in the suburbs, you’ll see manicured lawns, potted trees, stucco and tile roofs until you’re myopic. But if you’re outside, like really outside, you’ll see ballets of pink, golden orgies, blistering diamonds, the honesty of red and mounds of dirt that are baked with life. It’s a wonderful world out there and we don’t see it enough.

As pointed out by Visual News, Andrew Walker took a tour of the western United States in places like Montana and Arizona, temperatures of 100 degrees to -9, elevations of 12,000 feet to 225 feet above sea level to photograph over 15,000 pictures of natural beauty.

[Fuzz]

Apparently People Will Buy Cans Of French Air For $7.50

People who buy this are the same kind of people who have "12345" as the combination on their luggage!

[MIKA27]

People who buy this are the same kind of people who have "12345" as the combination on their luggage!

[MIKA27]

Soldiers Air-Drop Into Kaiju Attack in FirstGodzilla Teaser

For a while now, it seemed like Gareth Edwards was working the longest of cons. For two years – and two San Diego Comic-Cons – the director has been teasing his reboot of Godzilla to much fanboy/fangirl glee. But it was starting to feel like the monster of all monsters would never actually come.

But now, there’s an official trailer (above). Godzilla is finally on the way (it hits theaters May 16 of next year). Unfortunately, there’s not much of the magnificent beast to see in this first teaser – just a few seconds of him letting out a terrifying roar – but the mood an vision of this first trailer is pretty chilling. The trailer starts with a white-knucklingly long air-drop of soldiers (led David Strathairn) onto Godzilla’s attack in what looks like San Francisco (kaiju must love that town, that’s where they went first in Pacific Rim). The clip then cuts back and forth between shots of Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston hurriedly running somewhere and everyone else just generally looking freaked out. It’s a moody, freaky piece – and even though it’s light on monster action at least it’s got some monster action, so we’ll take it.

The trailer comes after a pretty solid build-up for Edwards’ flick, which also stars future Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Elizabeth Olson (Scarlet Witch) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver). There was a viral site that went up just a few days ago and along with it came a few teaser videos and images showing what appear to be traces of monster destruction. Folks have been waiting a long time for this rebirth of the classic Toho creature. Edwards himself acknowledged this at Comic-Con this past summer when he relayed the story that a U.S. customs officer told him “don’t f**k it up” when he was returning from the movie’s shoot in Canada. Here’s hoping he won’t, but it looks like his monster is ready to roar.

[MIKA27]

MTN APPROACH | BACKCOUNTRY SNOWBOARD SYSTEM

If you snowboard, you´ll know about the difficulties when cross-country skiing, moving uphill is a major challenge. Sure you can strap on snowshoes or ride an awkward splitboard, but these are yet to match the feel and ride of traditional boards.

Meet MTNApproach, a system that alleviates this headache, it consists of two foldable skis that easily stow in a specifically designed pack. The skis feature a unique binding designed to fit snowboard boots, and feature permanently affixed climbing skins and cross country-inspired bindings, efficiently reducing fatigue whilst cross-country touring. The MTN Approach system backpack allows the rider to easily carry a board and comes with the bare essentials for backcountry travel, probe, shovel, touring poles and skis.

Available from the MTNApproach online store

[MIKA27]

HARMAN KARDON AURA

Another work of art by Harman Kardon. After presenting the beautiful Nova speakers, Harman Kardon have now revealed the stunning Aura wireless speaker.

Aura is made with premium materials and features a powerful 4.5" subwoofer visible trough the transparent enclosure. It produces 360º omni-directional sound and features built-in Bluetooth and AirPlay for wireless music streaming. The Aura delivers a look and feel you’ll be proud to showcase in your home. Available in white or black.

[MIKA27]

China steps up invisibility research

Scientists in China are developing technology that can make objects "disappear", which could have obvious military applications, it's been reported.

Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post says that the government in Beijing has funded dozens of research teams in the past few years on projects that might make things invisible to the naked eye or electronic sensors. The technology could eventually be used in stealth aircraft, but scientists concede this could be decades away as the technology would require "super materials" that cannot currently be manufactured. Last month, a team from Zhejiang University released a video showing an array of glass panels it had built which rendered some fish and a cat invisible, the newspaper said.

Despite the expectations of a Harry Potter-like cloak, it's likely that by-products of this research will be developed first. South China Morning Post says that one such device from the Zhejiang University researchers will allow weapons and possibly troops to avoid detection by heat or infra-red sensors. China's not the only country researching invisibility. Last month, US physicists said they were investigating a new ultra-thin, electronic system designed to make an object transparent at all angles and over broad bandwidths.

[MIKA27]

Italy: Loud lovers lure eavesdroppers

An amorous Italian couple's love-making became so noisy that a neighbour spread the word locally and even invited his friends to listen in, it's reported.

The story came to light after police were forced to intervene in a row at an apartment block in the northern town of Reggio Emilia, local paper Gazzetta di Reggio reports.

"Their moments of intimacy, perhaps a bit too noisy, aroused the interest of the 'classic' nosy and meddling neighbour," the paper reports. "Not content with listening to the couple's effusions, he spread the word in the local bar and even invited his friends around to eavesdrop," it says.

The story reached its climax when the couple got wind of what their neighbour was doing and confronted him. A heated row ensued and the police were called. The neighbour is being investigated for possible disorderly conduct. The paper describes the tale as like something out of Boccaccio's Decameron, the classic medieval collection of love stories, many of them bawdy.

[MIKA27]

COBRA iRADAR

Just because you have a lead foot, doesn't mean you ought to be spending your life savings on speeding tickets (not to mention all the points you've probably accumulated on your license).

With the Cobra iRadar 900 Atom Radar Detector ($200), you can avoid all that hassle while still taking advantage of the occasional open road. In addition to your typical radar detector functionality — stuff like the ability to detect all radar and laser guns in use — you get the benefit of their easy-to-use iOS app.

Data from other users in the iRadar community compiles into their cloud servers, letting you instantly access information about speed traps on your device. It also plots traffic, red light cameras, and features a convenient car finder on their map-based interface.

[MIKA27]

Spirits of death in a Sea of Trees - Japans Suicide Forest

“I think the way we live in society these days has become more complicated. Face-to-face communication used to be vital, but now we can live our lives being online all day. However, the truth of the matter is, we still need to see each other’s faces, hear their voices, read their expressions, so we can fully understand their emotions. To coexist.”

~Azusa Hayano, Geologist, Park Ranger, and Suicide Patrolman

Aokigahara (青木ヶ原), also known as the Sea of Trees (樹海) or Jukai, is a 14 square mile forest that lies at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Due to the wind-blocking density of the trees and an absence of wildlife, the forest is known for being exceptionally quiet and for the thickness of its trees. It is a twisting network of woody vines, and has a dangerous unevenness of the forest floor. It is rocky, cold, and littered with over 200 underground caves you could fall into accidentally. The forest is full of paradox and contrast. Its historic association with demons in Japanese mythology has long made it a popular place for suicides.

Japan has more than 30,000 suicides a year for over 14 years— one of the highest rates among industrialized nations. On average, someone in Japan dies by his own hand every 15 minutes, usually a man. The Aokigahara Forest is the most common place to commit suicide in Japan, and it is widely thought to be the second most likely site in the world, after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The reasons are complex.

In 1960, Seicho Matsumoto wrote a popular novel called ” Nami no Tō” or “Tower of Wave,” in which a couple commits suicide in Aokigahara Forest. These woods are described as the “perfect place to die” by the author Wataru Tsurumi in the book, “Kanzen Jisatsu Manyuaru “or “The Complete Manual of Suicide.” His best seller has been found next to many bodies in the woods with hanging undoubtedly being the most common method of suicide used in the forest. In addition, Mount Fuji is a revered and sacred site in Japan.

There is also a long, romantic history of honorable suicide in Japan, from the Samurai’s desire to avoid disgrace to the kamikaze pilots of World War II. Suicide is much less stigmatized in Japan than in many Western societies.

What those hoping to take their lives may not consider is the impact the suicides have on the locals and forest workers. In the words of one local man, “It bugs the hell out of me that the area’s famous for being a suicide spot.” In addition, a local police officer said, “I’ve seen plenty of bodies that have been really badly decomposed… There’s nothing beautiful about dying in there.”

The forest workers have it even worse than the police do. The workers must carry the bodies down from the forest to the local station, where they are placed in a special room used specifically to house suicide corpses. Then a forest worker must sleep in the room with the corpse. It is believed that if the corpse is left alone, it is very bad luck for the yurei of the suicide victims. Their spirits are said to scream through the night, and their bodies will move on their own.

There are many stories and legends of Yurei and Oni associated with Aokigahara. Adding to the general foreboding atmosphere, many claim that there is a large, underground, magnetic iron ore deposit that renders compasses, cell phones, and GPS systems useless. It has been said this is one of the reasons so many become lost in the forest never to return.

Aokigahara is linked to ancient demons in Japanese myth and is considered the most haunted location in Japan. Aokigahara has also been dubbed the “Purgatory of Yurei.” Hikers have often seen apparitions as well as heard the howl of Yurei (幽霊) on the wind. These spirits are said to haunt Aokigahara forest in large numbers, particularly between the hours of 2 and 3 am: Japan’s ‘witching hour’ – when the veil between the physical world and the spiritual world is at its thinnest.

The Japanese strongly believe that if a person dies in a sudden, unnatural, or violent manner then the spirit will turn into a Yūrei. They also believe that if the body is not properly buried, or if the person died with strong negative feelings such as depression or rage, then the spirit will also turn into a Yūrei. People committing suicide in Aokigahara forest fit all three criteria.

Some have reported objects moving and seeing shadows amongst the trees. Spiritualists say that the trees themselves are filled with a malevolent energy, accumulated from decades of suicides. They try to prevent you from getting back out. They say if you look hard at the trees, you can see the faces of the dead in the bark. Others believe that evil spirits in the forest put ideas of suicide in people’s heads and will not allow them to leave the forest.

The forest is also said to have been a site for ubasute, literally meaning, “Abandoning an old woman.” During the famines that gripped the area in the 19th century, ubasute was the practice of leaving an ill or elderly family member in the forest to die of exposure, starvation, or dehydration.

In recent years, the local government has stopped publicizing the numbers in an attempt to downplay Aokigahara’s association with suicide. Signs have been put up by the police around the forest with messages like “Your life is a precious gift from your parents,” and “Please consult with the police before you decide to die,” in an attempt to discourage those whose thoughts have turned to suicide. Unfortunately, it shows no sign of decreasing despite government measures to discourage it.

Today, the forest is littered with colored tape used by those on their last trip into the forest, discarded belongings, nooses, and other items used to facilitate the suicides as well as bouquets, signs and pictures left by grieving friends and family members.

“You think you die alone, but that’s not true….Nobody is alone in this world. We have to coexist and take care of each other. That’s how I feel.”~Azusa Hayano, Geologist, Park Ranger, and Suicide Patrolman

[MIKA27]

Canada plans claim that would include North Pole

Canada plans to make a claim to the North Pole in an effort to assert its sovereignty in the resource-rich Arctic, the country's foreign affairs minister said Monday.

John Baird said the government has asked scientists to work on a future submission to the United Nations claiming that the outer limits of the country's continental shelf include the pole, which so far has been claimed by no one.

Canada last week applied to extend its seabed claims in the Atlantic Ocean, including some preliminary Arctic claims, but it wants more time to prepare a claim that would include the pole.

Asserting Canada's rights in the Arctic has been a popular domestic issue for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, though at least one expert on the issue described the planned claim as a long shot.

"We are determined to ensure that all Canadians benefit from the tremendous resources that are to be found in Canada's far north," Baird said.

Countries including the U.S. and Russia are increasingly looking to the Arctic as a source of natural resources and shipping lanes.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the region contains 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 15 percent of oil. If Canada's claim is accepted by the U.N. commission, it would dramatically grow its share.

Countries must submit proposals to the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to request an extension of their nautical borders. Currently, under international law, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the U.S. —the five countries with territories near the Arctic Circle_are allotted 200 nautical miles from their northern coasts.

Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, exclusive claims can be vastly expanded for Arctic nations that prove that their part of the continental shelf extends beyond that zone.

Baird said Canada's submission last week set out the potential outer limits of the country's continental shelf in the Atlantic — a claim of about 1.2 million square kilometers. He said that's roughly the size of Alberta and Saskatchewan combined.

Canada's follow-up submission will include a claim to the Lomonosov Ridge, an undersea mountain range between Ellesmere Island, Canada's most northern land mass, and Russia's east Siberian coast. That claim would extend Canada's claim 200 nautical miles beyond the North Pole.

The submission that Canada filed with the U.N. is essentially a series of undersea co-ordinates that map what the government claims is the country's extended continental shelf.

Baird said it's a mammoth task, and the government needs more time to complete the mapping in the Arctic and get its U.N. submission right.

"That's why we have asked our officials and scientists to do additional and necessary work to ensure that a submission for the full extent of the Continental Shelf in the Arctic includes Canada's claim to the North Pole," he said.

The U.N. submission is also political, said Michael Byers, an expert on Arctic and international law at the University of British Columbia.

"(Harper) does not want to be the prime minister seen publicly as having surrendered the North Pole, even if the scientific facts don't support a Canadian claim," Byers said. "What he's essentially doing here is holding this place, standing up for Canadian sovereignty, while in private he knows full well that position is untenable."

The U.N. submissions do not lead to a binding decision, but lay the groundwork for future country-to-country negotiations over competing territorial claims in the Arctic that could take years to resolve. Just checking the science on a claim likely will take five years, said Rob Huebert, an Arctic expert at the University of Calgary.

Byers said there isn't any particular rush for Canada to stake its claim for the North Pole, pointing out that such claims cover some of the most remote and harshest places on the planet, and commercial exploitation of resources is a long way off.

"We're talking about the center of a large, inhospitable ocean that is in total darkness for three months each year, thousands of miles from any port," he said. "The water in the North Pole is 12,000 feet (3,650 meters) deep and will always be covered by sea ice in the winter. It's not a place where anyone is going to be drilling for oil and gas.

"So it's not about economic stakes, it's about domestic politics."

[MIKA27]

Mysterious smart ring project gives smartwatches the finger

A high-tech ring that promises to replicate many of the features found in the latest crop of smartwatches, but without strapping a brick to your wrist, is now one step closer to reality. Smarty Ring, a project that launched on Indiegogo last month, has blown past its funding goal to produce a ring with a built-in LED screen that ferries information back and forth between a connected smartphone.

Like the Pebble, which garnered more than 100 times as much funding on Kickstarter last year, it can display incoming caller ID, and text messages, along with updates from social networks that have been synced up using a companion app for iOS and Android.

There are also physical control buttons on the side of the ring, which can be used to control apps, including your phone's camera app. Other settings let you turn on some anti-theft features, like a phone alert that goes off if the ring goes beyond a certain distance from its owner.

On paper, the ring does all this through a Bluetooth LE connection, and its creators are promising a rather dubious 24 hour battery life with standard use.

That would be about on par with what Samsung boasts on the much larger (and already released)Samsung Gear smartwatch, which is just the latest in a series of wearables that aim to extend what we do with the devices that are already in our pockets. So far there have been many contenders in that arena, but nothing that's set the world on fire. One thing that could help the Smarty Ring: its creators plan to sell the watch for $275 when it arrives in stores, which is $25 less than Samsung's offering and for something that could more easily be mistaken for jewelry. Early bird buyers can also purchase it sight unseen for $175, or at a discount when bundling either four or 10 of the rings at once, with an estimated delivery of next April.

[MIKA27]

The creators of 'The Matrix' return to sci-fi in this trailer for 'Jupiter Ascending'

The Wachowskis changed science fiction forever when they released The Matrix, and while they've since been able to reach the same levels of spectacle (Speed Racer) and mind-twisting storylines (Cloud Atlas), they haven't put it all together in the same way.

Their newest film is Jupiter Ascending, and it may be the closest thing yet.

Channing Tatum plays Caine, a half-man and half-wolf genetic hybrid who is sent to find Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis), a young woman whose genetic makeup just may place her in line to be the next ruler of the universe. Operatic? Epic? Visually stunning? You bet. We'll have to wait until 2014 to see the movie, but you can check out the trailer above.