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US Oil Set the Change the World

Forget about the rumors of peak oil. The US will change from the world's leading importer of oil to a net exporter and change the world in the process.

A steeper-than-expected rise in US shale oil reserves is about to change the global balance of power between new and existing producers, a report says. Over the next five years, the US will account for a third of new oil supplies, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The US will change from the world's leading importer of oil to a net exporter. Demand for oil from Middle-East oil producers is set to slow as a result. "North America has set off a supply shock that is sending ripples throughout the world," said IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven. The surge in US production will reshape the whole industry, according to the IEA, which made the prediction in its closely-watched bi-annual report examining trends in oil supply and demand over the next five years. The IEA said it expected the US to overtake Russia as the world's biggest gas producer by 2015 and to become "all but self-sufficient" in its energy needs by about 2035.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22524597

Awesome Time Lapse Video by Shawn Malone

This video is a time-lapse compilation cut down to more than 10,000 photo frames equaling 33 scenes of various night sky events from Northern Michigan in 2012. It took a year to shoot in many cold nights, and it took a lot of coffee, a bit tenacity and persistence to get this into a form of coherent electrified cosmic goodness. Night skyscapes multiple northern lights scenes, meteor showers, nebulae, planets -- including Venus and Jupiter setting in spring 2012 -- constellations, the Milky Way, comet Pan-Starrs, nightscapes
over both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan.

Nasa images show sun eruption

Timelapse footage released by the space agency Nasa shows a solar eruption taking place around the edge of the sun. The coronal mass ejection (CME) took place on Wednesday 1 May. The 10 second clip shows events which took place over two and a half hours.

Man wins giant banana but loses life savings

Henry Gribbohm, 30, said he went to a Manchester carnival intent on winning an Xbox Kinect at a game called Tubs of Fun, where contestants win prizes by tossing balls into a tub. He said it seemed easy when he practiced, but the balls kept popping out when he was playing for keeps.

"It's not possible that it wasn't rigged," Gribbohm told CBS Boston

Gribbohm said he spent $300 trying to win double or nothing at the game. He then went home to get another $2,300, which he soon lost.

Good News for Henry...

CollegeHumor.com caught wind of the story, and announced it would buy the dreadlocked banana for the $2,600.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/02/website-offers-2600-for-new-hampshire-mans-dreadlocked-banana-report-says/?test=latestnews

Earth’s core is as hot as the Sun

The core of the Earth is nearly 1,000 degrees hotter than previously thought, making it as fiery as the surface of the sun. Following new experiments, scientists have established that the core temperature is 6,000 C, much higher than the previous estimate of 5,000. Using X-rays to probe into the behaviour of iron crystals, putting samples of iron under extreme pressure, researchers were able to examine how iron crystals melt and form.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2315461/Core-thats-hot-Centre-Earth-1-000-degrees-higher-previously-thought-making-scorching-sun.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Just a Couple Great Acoustic Guitarists

Yahoo spends $30 million on a 17 year's app

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights.

Can a smartphone summarise this article into 100 words? That's the theory that sparked teenage developer Nick D'Aloisio's idea to develop Summly. The iPhone app condenses full-length stories into bitesized nuggets that fit on to the smartphone's screen, using "natural language processing" technology.

Almost 1m downloads later, one internet giant has decided that such brevity is the future of mobile news.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7755d5be-956b-11e2-a4fa-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2OesAbuUr

Oops...Vial of Deadly Virus is Missing

Ok, so everyone can lose track of their car keys and cell phones from time to time but how do you explain this one? It's a vial of an extremely deadly Venezuelan rat virus with no known cure and ... well ... the The Galveston National Laboratory can't find it or maybe lost it somewhere... don't really know. The vial of deadly virus (similar to Ebola) had been stored in a locked freezer within a secure laboratory ... at least that's what authorities thought. But (of course) officials say there's no reason to believe there's a threat to the public.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/galveston-texas-biolab-loses-deadly-guanarito-virus/story?id=18809363#.UVG24Vcz_Ak

Eye Glasses Design Read Emotions

We have color vision for a reason. Scientist Mark Changizi has shown that the human eye is specifically tuned to see blood, and the amount of oxygen in blood, right through the skin. 2AI Labs has designed special eye glasses to help read people’s emotions. These glasses are boost your general perception of health and emotion signals while maintaining full perception of the natural world. They enhance the view of oxygenated blood and blood pooling, and thus amplify the social cues that allow us to perceive emotions more clearly. Because the lenses also enhance detection of what is beneath the skin, they are being tested for medical applications too. They are currently used to help nurses identify veins and amplify trauma and bruising that might be invisible to the naked eye.

http://www.gizmag.com/o2amps-glasses-emotions-color-blindness/26181/

Billboard Design creates Water

An unusual billboard in Peru collects humidity from the surrounding air and converts it into drinkable water. The people behind the innovation claim it can provide water for hundreds of families each month.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21904683

Woman gets ticket for driving 2 mph UNDER speed limit

Maryland woman has gotten a very unusual speeding ticket for driving a mere two miles under the speed limit on Interstate 95.

...the woman, who asked to keep her name anonymous, was driving 63 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone. Police say the reason they ticketed her was that she was driving in the left lane reserved for speedier commuters.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/woman-gets-ticket-driving-2-miles-per-hour-211957738.html

The Moon Mining Rush is On

Space exploration now has a new race, a race to mine the moon of it's precious metals, rare earth, gold, platinum, water, helium 3 (which could be used for nuclear fusion) and other resources. China, Canada, Space X and others are in the race.

Google has offered a $20m grand prize to the first privately-funded company to land a robot on the moon and explore the surface by moving at least 500 metres and send high definition video back to Earth by 2015.

A second-placed team stands to win $5m for completing the same mission, with bonus prizes for travelling more than 5km, finding water and discovering any traces of man's past on the moon, such as the Apollo site.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21682457

Concrete Tent

Need a building fast? How about a tent made of material that has all the elements of concrete, but is flexible enough to be turned into any shape? This technology allows people to erect permanent structures in a fraction of the time needed for traditional building techniques.

Prepared Not Scared

Presented by Nat Geo Channel. Brian Smith has big plans for the end of the world. The father of 12 is preparing for a total collapse of the U.S. monetary system and has stockpiled a year's worth of food on his 47 acres of land.

Big Brother is Watching You

Last week, the Copyright Alert System was officially launched. Created by the recording and film industry, it essentially deputizes copyright holders who stealthily monitor peer-to-peer networks for illegal sharing of movies, TV shows, and music. When they notice material is being illegally shared, they contact the crook's ISP, which in turn will send a warning message to the subscriber. After six strikes, the ISP will do more than spam you; it can choose to slow your access speed, temporarily downgrade you to a lower-tier service, or automatically direct you to a special landing page until you contact them or complete an online education program.

Facebook Paid No Taxes despite record profits

Despite earning more than $1 billion in profits last year, social media juggernaut Facebook paid zilch when it came to federal and state taxes in 2012. In fact, the website will actually be getting a refund totaling $429 million thanks to a tax reduction for executive stock options. In the coming years, Facebook will continue to get monster tax breaks, totaling about $3 billion.

So most working stiffs will have paid more in taxes than facebook. Does that seem right?

Facebook leads to Fight

These days your have to be careful of what you eat, tweet and comment on someone's facebook. Recently an Indiana girl, 16, allegedly droves 60 miles in pickup truck to beat up another girl over Facebook insults. Police in northwestern Indiana say a 16-year-old girl allegedly drove 60 miles to beat up another girl who spread rumors about her on Facebook. The girls' got into a fight and mother pulled the teens apart. The Monticello girl left the scene, but later returned so police arrested her when she came back and drove by the other girl's home again. Maybe she should should have just o "de-friended" her?

E-reader Usage Surges

The popularity of electronic books is increasing in the United States, with nearly one-quarter of American bibliophiles reading e-books, according to a new survey. A recent Pew Research Center study found more Americans readers, ages 16 and older, are embracing e-readers. The number of traditional readers dropped from 72% to 67% from last year, while digital bookworms jumped from 16% to 23%.

E-book readers are well educated. Those most likely to read e-books include those with college or graduate degrees, those who live in households earning more than $75,000, and those whose ages fall between 30 and 49, according to the report. In short, financially successful people tend to be readers – and can afford the devices.

In November 2012, tablet users formed 25% of the e-reader population compared to 19% using dedicated e-readers.

Ecommerce continues to Grow

Consumers spent almost 20% more time on Amazon during Thanksgiving and Black Friday 2012 vs 2011

Driving School for Dogs

A charity in New Zealand is teaching rescued dogs how to drive a car. The canine driving school is aimed at proving how intelligent the animals can be. Monty the giant schnauzer is among the novice drivers who have learned to control the brakes, gears and steering wheel.

Big Design - China to Build the Tallest Building In the World in only 90 Days

According to its engineers, this will be the tallest skyscraper in the world by the end of March of 2013. Its name is Sky City, and its 2,749 feet (838 meters) distributed in 220 floors will grow in just 90 days in Changsha city, by the Xiangjiang river. According to the construction company, the skyscraper will be built in just 90 days at the unbelievable rate of five floors per day using using a new prefabricated modular technology developed by the Broad Sustainable Building company. This process can save millions in building costs. Hopefully US builders will wake up to this new trend.

Good Guys - Good Stuff! Proctor & Gamble's water treatment powder kills 99.99 percent of dangerous viruses and bacteria from water...

Proctor & Gamble's non-profit "Children's Safe Drinking Water Program" has saved over 26,000 lives in poor countries thanks to it's "miracle powder". Dr. Souter, a research scientist, developed a powder which has been verified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as removing 98 percent of arsenic, and 99.99 percent of dangerous viruses and bacteria from water. That's bad news for Vibrio cholerae bacteria, which cause cholera and good news for many.

Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter exceeds 400 million users

Microblogging site Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, reported a pretty dazzling statistic in its third quarter results: it now boasts over 400 million registered users. We can't be sure how many are active, of course, but it's still a vast number considering appeal is localized to the People's Republic.

UN wants to Regulate the Internet

A U.N.-sponsored conference next month in Dubai will propose new regulations and restrictions for the Internet, which will censor free speech, levy tariffs on e-commerce. It's no surprise that one proposal expects the US to cough up $53,000,000,000 so "they" can connect North and South America via a massive new telecom pipeline. The UN is once again proving that they are run by a bunch of anti-US crackpots and should be shut down if at all possible.

10 Most Amazing Buildings In The World

Call them crazy - call them genius - but either way these building designs are super-creative and worth a look.

View: http://www.interiorholic.com/architecture/10-most-amazing-buildings-in-the-world/

Britain's Dumbest Criminal

ANDREW Kellet was branded Britain's Dumbest Criminal after posting 80 videos of himself on YouTube engaged in illegal activities. Clips included one of him driving off from a petrol station without paying at 140mph - he helpfully filmed the car's speedometer - and another of him taking drugs.

In 2008 the Leeds magistrate dealing with his case said: "He handed us the evidence against him on a plate. "If more criminals were as obliging, the city would be even safer."

Woman who drove on sidewalk to pass school bus must wear ‘idiot’ sign

A woman caught on camera driving on a sidewalk to avoid a Cleveland school bus that was unloading children will have to stand at an intersection for two days wearing a sign saying: "Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."

Cure for baldness?

Preliminary trials are now under way to see whether special eyedrops used to treat glaucoma can reverse hair loss in both men and women. Eye drops used to treat glaucoma hold the key to a cure for baldness. Researchers have found bimatoprost, a key ingredient in the Lumigan drug, increases hair growth. The drug is given as eye drops to patients with glaucoma, a condition caused by excess fluid in the eye that leads to vision loss. But it has one marked side effect - it can stimulate the growth of eyelashes. Early findings show that bimatoprost does stimulate growth in human scalp hair follicles and therefore could offer a new approach for treating hair loss disorders.Results from the Phase II clinical trials taking place in the US and Germany should be available before the end of the year.

Scientists convicted for failing to predict earthquake

In a most unusual display of stupidity an Italian court convicted 7 scientists for failing to predict an earthquake correctly. No joke. Among those convicted were some of Italy's most prominent and internationally respected seismologists and geological experts, including Enzo Boschi, former head of the national Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.

Google's Data Centers

For those of us that live on Google it's cool to see a glimpes of Google's data centers which are a picture of design and technology at a large scale. With a set of colorful photos Google has a new website to show off its massive data centers. The photo gallery shows an impressive array of multi-colored piping (for it's data cooling systems) and hardward. The photographer, Connie Zhou's artful pictures manage to frame Google's industrial structures against rural landscapes in such a way that the two opposing concepts--industry and nature--blend into one.

As Google blossomed from its roots in a Silicon Valley garage, company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin worked with other engineers to develop a system to connect low-cost computer servers in a way that would help them realize their ambition to provide a digital roadmap to all of the world's information.

Initially, Google just wanted enough computing power to index all the websites on the Internet and deliver quick responses to search requests. As Google's tentacles extended into other markets, the company had to keep adding more computers to store videos, photos, email and information about their users' preferences.

View Images of Google's Data Center: http://www.google.com/about/datacenters/gallery/#/

Search for Bigfoot by Air

A team of investigators known as the Falcon Project is planning to search for Big Foot (aka Sasquatch) by air using a unique remote controlled 45 ft long helium filled airship they plan on building. Principal investigator on the project will be anthropologist Dr. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University, who has been an active Bigfoot researcher for the past 17 years.

Mounted on the airship will be a gyro-stabilized thermal imaging/infrared/HD video camera, which is being built specifically for the project. The aircraft will also be equipped with carbon dioxide-recognition equipment, to detect the exhalations of animals in the forests beneath it. Barnes hopes to become familiar with the CO2 signatures of common creatures such as bears, so that he won’t get unnecessarily excited by every reading he gets. When something unusual shows up, however, the team will use to the camera’s powerful zoom lens to get a better look at it, while recording the images.

There are a number of serious people looking for the furry footed, evasive creature. Most often it seems people are trying to play pranks to create an internet sensation. Infact a bigfoot impersonator was killed in an accident recently when he was run over by a 15 year old girl. The Montana Highway Patrol said the victim, identified as 44-year-old Randy Lee Tenley, was wearing a military-style ‘Ghillie suit’ and was standing in the right-hand lane of U.S. Highway 93 south of Kalispell when he was hit by the first car Sunday night. Let's hope this new team doesn't get shot out of the sky.

Gross but true - there's Beetlejuice in your Candy

The hard, shiny shells on candies (jelly beans, candy corn, etc.), ice cream toppings and even fruit (notice that shine on your apples?) are often made from bugs that produce shellac, a resin secreted by the lac bug. You may know shellac from its more famous work in varnishes and sealants, but it’s also a mainstay in pill coatings, candy, coffee beans, and even the waxy sheen on apples and other fruits and vegetables. How to avoid it: Leave that candy in the case and grab a veggie brush for your produce—even if it’s organic. (That’s right: shellac can even be used on organic foods.) These waxes can be difficult to remove, so you’ll need to scrub. Shellac comes in several different colors. It is most commonly known for being used to make wood shine and make some foods shiny.

What about red food coloring? Next time you're browsing the supermarket in search of the makings of that night's dinner, pause a moment to read the ingredients labels of your favorite red-colored ingestibles and cosmetics. Chances are, you'll discover a notation for cochineal, carmine, or carminic acid, pigments whose origins might surprise and possibly disgust you. Cochineal and its close cousin carmine (also known as carminic acid) are derived from the crushed carcasses of a particular South and Central American insect. These popular colorants, which today are used to impart a deep red shade to fruit juices, gelatins, candies, shampoos, and more, come from the female Dactylopius coccus, an insect that inhabits a type of cactus known as Opuntia. Dactylopius coccus was the source of a red dye used by Aztecs and Mexican Indians for centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards. Those indigenous peoples would collect cochineal insects, briefly immerse them in hot water to kill the beasties and dissolve the females' waxy coating, and then dry them in the sun. The desiccated insects would then be ground to a fine powder. Starbucks used it for a while until people discovered what was in their drinks.

Tip...maybe scrub a little more of that bug wax off your organic apple? Yes,even organic apples have it...yum? On the flip side... We do eat honey that is made by bees, so eating something from an insect isn’t that strange.

For a list of bugs you might find in your food: http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/sanitation/ucm056174.htm#CHPTA

Dumb Neighbors, Bad Cooks? Or Both?

Authorities say a blaze that displaced dozens of people from a southwest Michigan apartment complex may have been sparked by a resident trying to cook a squirrel with a propane torch. The "cook" apparently planned to eat the squirrel and was burning off its fur when that process went way wrong. He set fire to his deck, then flames spread to the roof destroying eight apartments and damaging others. Dinner was ruined. Moral of the story? Stick to hamburgers.

http://www.9news.com/news/article/293928/188/Squirrel-dinner-prep-maybe-sparked-Michigan-fire-

Wireless Charging - coming to devices in the near Future

Plugging in your mobile phones for a charging is a hassle. If you have multiple devices sometimes you have a pile of adapters you have to sift through to find the one that matches your phone. In the next few years we should see wireless charging become very popular, where you lay any of your phones (or other devices) on or near a wireless charger. This has the potential of eliminating lots of power cords and adapters and even allows for some new types of products - such as wirelessly powered embedded lighting in retail products...this should be a big thing in the near future.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9708468.stm

Texas father pickets school over son’s alleged bullying

Fresh from Afganistan, Randy Duke of Victoria, Texas, walks for a couple of hours each day in front of Cade Middle School carrying a sign that reads "Bullying victims are punished here," reports KHOU. Duke's 14-year-old son, Max, was disciplined for allegedly fighting with a student who had been bullying him for several years and then stomped on a paper airplane his son had made in art class for a special-needs child. His son stood his ground after being pushed first and school officials booted him out. That is not right!

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/texas-father-pickets-school-over-son-alleged-bullying-170805410.html

UK, Japan scientists win Nobel Prize for adult stem cell discovery

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Scientists from Britain and Japan shared a Nobel Prize on Monday for the discovery that adult cells can be transformed back into embryo-like stem cells that may one day regrow tissue in damaged brains, hearts or other organs. John Gurdon, 79, of the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, Britain and Shinya Yamanaka, 50, of Kyoto University in Japan, discovered ways to create tissue that would act like embryonic cells, without the need to collect the cells from embryos.

All of the body starts as stem cells, before developing into tissue like skin, blood, nerves, muscle and bone. The big hope is that stem cells can grow to replace damaged tissue in cases from spinal cord injuries to Parkinson's disease.

http://news.yahoo.com/gurdon-yamanaka-win-nobel-prize-medicine-093830408.html

Repetitive Strain Injuries up with Mobile Devices and Tablets

The small form factor design and portability are wonder ful for moblie devices but the tiny keyboard and more uncomfortable typing associated with these devices can have negative consequences for people who are typing on them alot. laptops and desktops aren't all bad either. There are people who have developed "Blackberry Thumb" and "iPad shoulder" problems - all from repetitive motion injury. Sitting at a desk and using a keyboard and mouse can be bad for the body, that's why there are a range of wrist supports and ergonomic keyboards and chairs designed to prevent repetitive strain injury (RSI). So maybe try using that antique...your laptop with a full range keyboard...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9756391.stm

Wedding Reception Gone Wild

The uncle of the bride died of a heart attack and dozens of people were involved in altercations which led police to arreste three people and at least one man was subdued with a stun gun when 2 wedding parties got into a massive brawl. Police say they don't know what started the brawl, but that alcohol was involved. (No kidding?!)

Migaloo the White Whale

Move over Moby Dick - here's Migaloo. Migaloo, the only documented white humpack whale in the world, who frequents the coast of Australia. The name "Migaloo" is aboriginal for "white fella." Have a look at the most recent sighting...

http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/national/watch/f54db74e_16f6_3dad_82d4_d9dfe4ca8af1/s/

Migaloo even has his own website: http://www.migaloowhale.org/

Designing Trucks - The Future of Semi-trucks

In a world filled with sleek new automobiles this is a super-cool design concept that has much larger intentions. MAN has designed a real head turner which looks to be a serious wake up call for truck manufacturers. The Concept S and Aero Liner combo features an integrated design with a smooth and rounded face that looks like something out of an Aliens sci-fi movie.

Designed to be a truck with the air resistance of a car this futuristic, streamlined semi is expected to improve the fuel economy and range of long haulers by 25 percent. When it costs around $1000 a fill-up - those are serious savings.

Click here to Read more

Cybergeddon - the Movie

A very cool cyber-crime thriller - well done and FREE - online movie worth watching.

http://cybergeddon.yahoo.com/

Global Bacon Crisis

US pork producers have been hit as corn and soy prices have soared following this year's drought. In addition, livestock farmers blame a US government mandate that 10% of the US's fuel supply must come from corn-based ethanol for propping up sky high prices. When farmers can get $40 a bushel for corn for Ethanol it creates too high a price for pig farmers so pig farmers must cut back on herd size and hense we'll see a shortage of bacon with high prices to come. So brace yourself to eat less bacon or get ready to pay up!

Foxconn - Your iPhone's bleak birthplace

Foxconn is a Taiwanese company with massive factories in China with over 1.2 million employed making hi-tech products. It's estimated there are 3000 to 4000 workersbusy 7 days a week working to make Apple's iphones. It's estimated the average hourly wage is $1.78 an hour. Riots, suicides, and a culture of unhappiness roil Foxconn factories, yet people still flock to work there. Foxconn to shut production for a day following a riot that involved 2,000 workers, with 40 hospitalized.

Foxconn facts: http://mashable.com/2012/02/22/foxconn/

The Samsung Galaxy SIII - a awesome mobile phone worthy of the hype

Supersize your phone and enjoy reading and typing, taking photos, etc all with a larger screen and you've got the Samsung 3.

The Samsung Galaxy S III is still one of the top phones on the Android Market and the S3 is easily the most anticipated Android phone of the year. The Samsung Galaxy S3 has a gorgeous 4.8-inch 720p resolution display, a deliciously slim and light casing and a super-powered quad-core engine. It's the Ferrari of the Android circuit so it's very expensive, and Samsung's TouchWiz software isn't always as slick as it could be. But if you're a power-loving Android fan hankering to trouser a monster, look no further. Verizon has a very good deals on this phone you you combine it with their phone/data service.

Reinventing the Light Bulb - a good idea in the making...

There's a new company trying to reinvent the light bulb and it seems like they might be onto something. LIFX is a WiFi enabled, multi-color, energy efficient LED light bulb that you control with your iPhone or Android and they've managed to raise over $1.3 million in funds from donations through www.kickstarter.com.

iPhone 6 - Maps - Where are we anyway?

So the new iPhone 6 is hot - with a larger screen and sharp design but for now If you use Maps alot - you'll hate the iPhone 6 world of maps. Apple loves to trash it's competition so for the new version of the iphone they dumped Google's Map technology for their own which is a major step backward. Search for the Golden Gate Bridge and you'll discover it's 4 miles away from where it actually is. So...if you like maps consider the Samsung Galaxy (Android based) phone...amazing phone - cheaper price - way better maps.

Security Warning - Don't Use Internet Explorer until Microsoft issues patch, security experts warn

If you use Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8 or 9 as your default browser on a Windows PC, security experts are advising you to use a different Web browser until Microsoft patches a critical vulnerability in IE. Microsoft on Monday confirmed that hackers were actively exploiting an IE vulnerability that could allow an attacker to take over your PC. The exploit does not affect users running IE10 on the Windows 8. Microsoft's Internet Explorer makes up about 48.75 percent of active Web browsers worldwide.
Get Google's Chrome Browser - Free

Robots, Robots

DARPA's Quadruped Robot
American ingenuity at work. It's something like a cross between a robot and a pack horse...the (4) Legged Squad Support System (LS3) is a rough-terrain robot developed by Boston Dynamics with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. It is designed to help Marines haul heavy stuff. It can carry 400 lbs of payload and travel 20 miles without refueling..but forget about a surprise attack for now - it's very noisy.

See the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R7ezXBEBE6U

Honda's Robot
Hopping on one foot, pouring a drink, walking backwards in a geeky white suit...it's all in a days work for Honda's human-like Asimo robot.

See the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU93VmFyZbg

Mammoth fragments from Siberia may be clonable

How About Jurassic Park?
Scientists have discovered well-preserved frozen woolly mammoth fragments deep in Siberia that may contain living cells, edging a tad closer to the "Jurassic Park" possibility of cloning a prehistoric animal, the mission's organizer said Tuesday.

Russia's North-Eastern Federal University said an international team of researchers had discovered mammoth hair, soft tissues and bone marrow some 328 feet (100 meters) underground during a summer expedition in the northeastern province of Yakutia. Some scientists believe it's possible to recreate the prehistoric animal if they find living cells in the permafrost.

Interactive gravestones?

If you vist in Poole, England you visit a graveyard which has interactive QR coded stamped into headstones which can provide a information about who is buried beneath your feet. QR codes, are a barcode that can be scanned with smartphones or QR scanners, allow users to pull up information on the internet and are frequently used in advertising and marketing campaigns.

Read More: http://news.yahoo.com/interactive-gravestones-online-tales-life-133458195.html

A COWBOY TOMBSTONE
- Here are the Five Rules for Men to Follow for a Happy Life - attributed to Russell J. Larsen
who had inscribed this on his headstone in Logan, Utah.

FIVE RULES FOR MEN TO FOLLOW FOR A HAPPY LIFE:
1. It's important to have a woman, who helps at home, cooks from time to time, cleans up, and has a job.
2. It's important to have a woman who can make you laugh.
3. It's important to have a woman who you can trust, and doesn't lie to you.
4. It's important to have a woman who is good in bed, and likes to be with you.
5. It's very, very important that these four women do not know each other or you could end up dead like me.

The Power of the Sun - Solar Flares

A solar flare is basically an explosion on the surface of the sun ranging from minutes to hours in length. Large flares can release enough energy to power the entire United States for a million years. NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory captured a solar flare, caused by the collapse of a filament , which stretched more than 500,000 miles into space.

The sun is massive. 1,000,000 earths could fit into the size of our sun and with a surface temperature of around 10,000 degrees forget about the "impact" of human caused global warming...the sun is the bad boy that heats us up this rock.

New Tech Coming to your Home Soon? Light Bulbs deliver your Internet...

Wireless technology which could transform your everyday LED lighting fixtures (ie light bulbs) into powerful internet connections. The basic principle of Li-Fi is this: visible light has 10,000 times as broad a spectrum as the radio frequencies which Wi-Fi uses, allowing for much more bandwidth, once tapped. A side effect of Li-Fi is that your power cord immediately becomes your data stream, so if you have power, you have Internet. The only infrastructure is an equipped lightbulb.

Skydiver survives 13,000ft drop as parachute fails

A skydiver whose parachute failed to open miraculously survived the 13,000ft fall - after a muddy bog saved his fall....Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Dunne said: "Those last 1,000 feet it was like 'here we go, this is it'. It wasn't nice. But that said, it was a one in a million accident and a one in a million save.

Chemical in many antibacterial soaps linked with impaired muscle function

Many hand sanitizers have a chemical called "Triclosan" which a recent study revealed that exposure to triclosan is linked with muscle function impairments in humans and mice, as well as slowing the swimming of fish. By reducing contractions in both cardiac and skeletal muscles, the chemical has the potential to contribute to heart disease and heart failure. Researchers found found that the chemical greatly interfered with the muscles’ ability to contract when stimulated. Good news is that most people are able to metabolize triclosan quickly so that it is readily excreted through urine. But a portion of the population does not metabolize the compound as quickly, and the chemical can remain active in the blood for a longer period of time.

More Taxes for You...Congress proposes a major Online Shopping Tax - watch out for the "Marketplace Fairness Act"

The Fat cats and Knuckleheads in our government can't wait to get their slimy hands on more of your money. There's growing bipartisan support in Congress for legislation to require big online retailers to collect taxes no matter where you shop. Yep, Congress is considering a bill that could result in a sales tax of five-to-ten percent on purchases made via the Internet. Don't ya love it? Not!

A bill in Congress would make collection of online sales taxes a standard practice. Collectively, the states are estimated to collect some $23 billion dollars from taxpayers. Seems like all government does is take more of our money every year and squander it with the abandon of a drunk sailor coming into port with his paycheck in hand. U.S. consumers spent more than $200 billion shopping online last year and a government that can't control it's spending habits wants more of your money.

So instead of raising taxes on their own voters, they want their allies in Washington to pass a new law that would allow state politicians to tax people who could never vote against them: out-of-state business owners. Call this legislation what it is: A nationally-mandated Internet tax on small business. It's anything but fair.

-The bill expands the role of government
-The bill increases your taxes
-The bill threatens to suppress internet entrepreneurship
-Freedom has made the internet a center for efficiency and an unrivaled marketplace for goods, not government regulation.

Call your Senators today, and tell them to OPPOSE the Main Street Fairness Act!

Stop the Internet Sales Tax: http://www.conservativecrusader.com/action_items/stop-the-internet-sales-tax

Plug-In Hybrid Retrofit Kit designed for mileage savings

A couple of clever guys may have out-smarted the entire car industry with their clever invention.

Ouya Nabs $8.6 Million in Kickstarter Funds

Wow...the power of the web is in full force on this one. The Android-based Ouya game console raised nearly $8.6 million in user donations from the donatioin website - Kickstarter.com. Ouya plans on developing a sub-$100, Android-powered video game console that offers free-to-play titles - and now - thanks to the power of the web and online donations, they're off to the races. Initially, it looked to raise $950,000 in 30 days, but by the end of day one, it had surpassed $1 million. Ouya will also feature content from InTune, iHeartRadio and Vevo, as well as gaming firms Square Enix and OnLive.

Great Values on the Web

SkyFM
Want music at your computer - Free? SkyFM delivers a wide range of music all for Free. The free version of their service does have a infrequent commercials interruptions. But if you want to avoid commercials completely they offer you a Premium service at a slim price $4.99 a month.

Pandora
Pandora provides a very innovative music platform (the Music Genome Project) which tries to "read your mind" and provides automated music recommendations which can be surprisingly accurate. It also provides both FREE and Commercial Free versions. I like the fact that there some interesting information is sometimes provided about the various artists you are listening to.

NetFlix
Netflix is still the best deal on the planet. I'm referring mostly to the streaming service, which gives you unlimited access to a mammoth library of movies and TV shows. Commercial-free movies and TV shows. All for eight bucks a month!

SugarSync
Cloud storage is a must nowadays, whether it's for backing up critical documents or syncing data between all your devices. Dropbox is the perennial favorite, but I prefer SugarSync for one simple reason: it lets me share or sync any folder I want, not just those I drag into a "sync umbrella." What's more, SugarSync's freebie account gives you 5GB of storage to play with, versus just 2GB from Dropbox.

Tunein.com
Tunein.com offers a great collection of online radio stations.
--- jazz - http://tunein.com/radio/Jazz-91-911-s32163/
--- country - http://tunein.com/radio/The-Wolf-995-s34685/

Retailers Can Now Track Shoppers' Eye Movements

Vastly improved "retina-tracking" technology in the past few years is helping elite retailers to track retinas to get a true fix on where people are looking, for how long and how often. Companies like Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever PLC and Kimberly-Clark Corp. are combining three-dimensional computer simulations of product designs and store layouts with eye-tracking technology. And that, in turn, is helping them roll out new products faster and come up with designs and shelf layouts that boost sales.

Windows Phone 7 - Looks Very Cool Choice for Business Users

Windows Phone 8 will be coming - this FALL. But Windows phone 7.8 is available for legacy devices. Windows phones are very powerful phones with great features at a great price. Windows does have 100,000 apps available but if you spend most of your time playing games on your mobile phone - buy an iphone.

However, if you're a business CEO - this is a phone you should seriously consider.

Google Nexus 7 Tablet - Affordable and Hot

The Nexus 7's quad-core Tegra 3 processor delivers fast performance and a beautiful and responsive 1280x800 screen. Also, it's comfortable to hold and Android 4.1 brings a surplus of welcome additions. At only $200, the Nexus 7 is a steal. With a beautiful screen, fast performance, a comfortable design, and overall great media options, the Nexus 7 is easily the best 7-inch tablet available and one of the top tablets on the market.

YouTube Spends $100 million to transform it's image.

YouTube is undergoing a major transformation - trying to turn a profit and capture viewers. You do not have to be a big studio to produce good-looking content and you do not have to be a big broadcaster to get that content into people's living rooms - you just use the internet.

NEED A NEW JOB? How about a becoming a Crocodile ‘Response Agent’?

A new part-time job in the Florida Keys offers the chance to wrangle a toothy reptile that can grow to 15 feet and weigh a ton. Response agents are listed as part-time state employees with the job paying $25 per hour on an as-needed basis. Having access to a boat and truck would be helpful...

Robot finger outperforms humans in identifying textures

A tactile sensor developed by researchers at the University of California’s Viterbi School of Engineering was built to mimic a human fingertip and can outperform humans in identifying a wide range of materials, offering potential use for the technology in robotics and prostheses. Performance of 99.6% in correctly discriminating pairs of similar textures was found to exceed human capabilities.

6 ways Microsoft's Surface may be better than an iPad

When Microsoft unveiled the Surface tablet (actually a pair of them) Monday, the software company clearly had one ultimate goal: to make a tablet that's better than the iPad.

Keyboard - Hmmm...finally a tablet with a keyboard! Duh... we've been waiting for that no-brainer for years.

Power - The Windows Pro model will run on an i5 Intel processor and come with up to 128 gigabytes of internal memory (the iPad currently goes up to 64).

Size - First, its display screen is 10.6 inches, almost a full inch bigger than the iPad's. And the company says it's optimized to have essentially the same dimensions as a movie screen. There are 2 versions - the "Pro" (which will run Photoshop and other MS apps) - runs about 2 lbs.

More Ports - Both versions of the Surface come with two USB ports (2.0 on the RT and a faster 3.0 on the Windows Pro). The lack of ports has been one of the few persistent compaints about the iPad.

Plays Well with Others - The Xbox SmartGlass feature, which Microsoft rolled out at this month's E3 video gaming expo, will work with the iPad and Android tablets. It will connect a smartphone or tablet with the Xbox, which in turn will be connected with the television.

PRICE? Still waiting to find out... but how about a cheaper price than iPad?

SURFACE SPECS: Windows 8 Pro

Intel 22 nm Ivy Bridge chipset
Weight: 903 g (31.8 oz)
Thickness: 13.5 mm (0.53 in)
Battery: 42 Wh
Connections: microSDXC, USB 3.0, Micro DisplayPort, 2X Wifi Antennae
Included in purchase: Pen with Palm Block, Touch Cover, Type Cover
Case details: VaporMg case and stand
Memory: 64 GB, 128 GB

Vacuum Tube Transport for Travel

Need to get somewhere fast? The Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT) could revolutionise the way we travel in the future. Using airless and frictionless vacuum tubes, passengers would travel in enclosed pods at speeds of up to 4,000mph. Travel from New York to California in 45 minutes. Dubbed "space travel on Earth," the new tech combines the idea of maglev — trains that are suspended by magnets — with vacuum tubes.

The unusual travel tech has proven successful in a laboratory setting, but has yet to make its way into the real world. The biggest barrier to the technology is, predictably, the cost. A 350mph local system would cost about $2 million per mile to install. Once built, however, the system would cost very little to operate.

World record ! Surfing a 90 ft wave in Nazare, Portugal

A Bone to pick - Who owns the Tyrannosaurus?

A Texas auction company that sold the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus bataar - a smaller Asian cousin of the Tyrannosaurus rex for more than $1 million to an undisclosed buyer. Mongolia claim's it's theirs. The Tyrannosaurus bataar was apparently discovered in 1946 but unearthed from the western Gobi Desert in Mongolia somewhere between 1995 and 2005. Mongolia says it's theirs and the US government sues the auction house.

(A million dollars is a lot of "bones" to loose...someone's not going to be happy.)

++ UPDATE: Fossil dealer's guilty plea ends $1 million dinosaur dispute Florida man admits smuggling; celebrated skeleton to be returned to Mongolia.

The $1.05 million, a deal that was suspended pending the outcome of litigation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50307137/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.UNzldXcZ98E