Listen closely and you’ll hear the sound of Glenn Beck frothing at the mouth. What’s today’s reason? Well, on Tuesday, President Obama was in Indonesia(!), where he expressed the need to “build trust” with Muslim societies(!!) such as his host country, which he once called home as a child.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. officials are scrambling to explain a possible missile launch off the coast of Los Angeles, but a day after a vapor trail was caught on tape the incident remains a mystery, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday. The apparent missile launch was caught on tape by a KCBS news helicopter on Monday evening….
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We knew there was more viral video goodness to be had with Kinect than lots and lots and lots of little green dots . And here you have it: people the world o’er punching each other, falling into things, and just generally making making asses of themselves by paying more attention to the TV than whatever objects might exist in the physical world that surrounds them. And you wondered why commercials for the device all featured players in very, very large rooms! Check out a couple of our faves after the break, and be sure to sound off in the comments if you have any of your own. Continue reading Shocker! Clumsy Kinect players make for entertaining viral videos Shocker! Clumsy Kinect players make for entertaining viral videos originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Which infraction gets you a felony charge – throwing yogurt or waving a gun at somebody ? Virginia State Police are investigating a case of road rage involving two drivers — one armed with a gun and one with armed with a carton of yogurt. A Toyota Rav4 cut off a Lexus on Interstate 95 in Quantico Friday afternoon, said police spokesman Sgt. F.L. Tyler. After that, the driver of the Lexus started to tailgate the Toyota, and the Toyota driver responded by tapping on his brakes. At some point, the driver of the Lexus pulled up and threw a container of yogurt at the Toyota. That’s when the driver of the Toyota displayed a small caliber handgun. Both drivers dialed #77 to report each other and stayed on the line with the dispatcher, who directed them to exit the highway in Massaponoax, Tyler said. Trooper J.C. Jeanty interviewed the two drivers and arrested them both. Mark Flannery, who was driving the Toyota, was charged with reckless driving and brandishing a firearm, a misdemeanor. Gerald Williams, who was driving the Lexus, faces a felony charge for “throwing a missile at a vehicle.” If you throw yogurt at somebody could we describe that as a culture clash?
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Read the original: Today on Planet 100: A Rally to Defend Climate Science (Video)
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Image: io9 Think You Can Write? Give It a Try! Sadly, we can’t run lab experiments with the planet (or at least, we shouldn’t ). There’s no control group to be sure of how certain thing would unfold in this or that situation. But we do have this very useful simulator between our ears that allows us to run thought experiments, and these experiments are most valuable when they are shared with others so that they too can think about the problem and then come up with a better way to approach it, or at least be more aware of it. All of this to say that
Continue reading …Flexible metamaterial could make your next invisibility cloak rather more comfortable
November 9, 2010 No Comment
Metamaterials have a lot of potential future applications, but only one of them really gets our geeky senses tingling: invisibility cloaks. Previous theoretical examples we’ve seen were built upon rigid silicon substrates, meaning they’d be about as comfortable to wear as a motherboard jacket with ISA sleeves. But, a new material at the University of St. Andrews has been created that offers similar light-bending properties in a flexible package, crafted by the formation of a membrane upon a release layer, etching microscopic gold bars upon it, and then removing the release layer to have just the blingy membrane left behind. It can be tuned to bend various wavelengths, with the team having success working at wavelengths as short as 620nm — you know, red. If there’s one problem it’s the size of the thing, with current prototypes measuring just 5 x 8mm, but it is said to be “scalable to industrial levels,” meaning next-year’s Harry Potter costume could be the best one ever. Flexible metamaterial could make your next invisibility cloak rather more comfortable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Former President George W. Bush has kicked off his book tour with a signing about a mile from his Dallas house. At least 1000 people, including some who waited overnight, joined a long line to have Bush sign “Decision Points” on Tuesday, the day it was r
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Ah, the beautiful, ever-useful jailbreak and the developers that make it worthwhile. It’s already unlocked the magic of FaceTime over 3G , and now it’s making FaceTime capable with any old iPhone 3GS handset (thanks to the iPhoneIslam Team, who did the heavy lifting). Of course, lacking a front facing camera, the resulting video chat might be a little short on faces , but the functionality certainly isn’t hurting anybody. Right, Apple? Hit up the app on Cydia and start streaming to your heart’s content, and if you’re wary there’s a demo video after the break. [Thanks, Moe] FaceIt-3GS brings FaceTime to your jailbroken 3GS originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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A conservative Muslim government minister admits he shook hands with first lady Michelle Obama in welcoming her to Indonesia but says it wasn’t his choice. Footage on YouTube shows otherwise, sparking a debate that has lit the blogosphere. (Nov. 9)
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