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Most days I just want to slap John McCain. Every day I’m grateful he’s not the president. Every damn day. Not because he’s a Republican, but because he’s a nasty, mean man with a heart of stone and a hate on for every person who isn’t white, rich and nasty like him. But today, I found myself wishing he’d vaporize on the floor of the Senate. For every person who pays tribute to McCain’s selfless service, blah, blah, blah, I want them to watch this video over and over and over again until they understand what a petty, two-faced liar he is. There’s no question in my mind that Kirk was the instigator to shove a jab at Democrats, given that Kirk now occupies the Senate seat once held by President Obama. Here’s a transcript (h/t Talking Points Memo ) but really, watch the video. Kirk, the most junior member of the Senate asked, ” Did we just win? ” McCain responded, “I think there’s very little doubt that the Majority Leader of the United States Senate would not have taken the action he just took if we didn’t have 41 votes to stop this monstrosity.” Kirk continued, “so for economic conservatives, a 1,924-page bill just died? ” A 1,924-page bill just died ,” McCain responded laughing. TPM doesn’t have the best line where, as he continues to laugh, McCain says he was having “fun” with the earmarks, but it’s in the video. Of course, he fails to state that many of the earmarks were inserted by members of his own party for the sole purpose of entertaining him. To which I fly my middle finger at the screen and find myself trying not to leap through it to grab his chicken neck and shake him like a wet carpet with cat hair attached. Set aside political differences for a minute. What these two men — elected officials who serve at the will of the people — have just done is to LAUGH. LAUGH at us. In our face. Laugh. Giggle, even, about how clever they are at not working while collecting a paycheck. That’s right, not working. If ever there was evidence of an utter lack of good faith, John McCain is the walking embodiment of it. The best revenge, however, is served cold. Therefore, I am looking forward to hearing him rant about the passage of the DADT repeal bill. I hope at least one Senator steps up after it passes and asks if they just ‘won’. It’s not a damn football game. It’s our lives, and our country. No one had better ever again claim McCain is patriotic. He is loyal only unto himself. Here’s a less emotional take on what they did with a better conclusion than I’m capable of making: Senator Tom Coburn has a database of the earmarks that made it into this year’s omnibus – you can see what kinds of projects are funded – things like Army Corps of Engineer projects, funds for Community Colleges, Universities, and other research facilities, foreclosure assistance programs, anti-drug programs, crime prevention programs, vaccine programs, assistance for farmers, green energy projects, medical research, funding for military bases, etc. This is funding that will help keep people in jobs and help innovate at a time when we need to create jobs. So what did Republicans do? They voted against the American people and voted for playing politics – and then they laughed like sociopaths.

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L.A. Noire’s amazing MotionScan facial capture system demonstrated (video)

In gaming, 3D graphics get more powerful, environments get more expansive, enemies get more intelligent, but still facial animations haven’t progressed much since Pac-Man chomped his first power pellet in 1980. Finally, a major breakthrough courtesy of Australian company Depth Analysis. It has developed technology called MotionScan, which enables a high-res 3D recreation of a person’s face — not just capturing bits and pieces of facial animation but their entire head, right down to the hairstyle. It’s getting its first use in next year’s L.A. Noire , a 1940s PS3 and Xbox 360 murder mystery game from Rockstar , and while we don’t know enough about the title to be able to say whether it’s worth plunking down a pre-order now, after watching the video embedded below it’s clear that the bar has been raised. Continue reading L.A. Noire’s amazing MotionScan facial capture system demonstrated (video) L.A. Noire’s amazing MotionScan facial capture system demonstrated (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Palm’s tablet is codenamed ‘Topaz,’ keyboard accessory leaks out

Okay, it’s not exactly the new webOS hardware we’ve been waiting for, but we just got this shot of a Palm Bluetooth keyboard from a trusted source — we’re told it’s an accessory for Palm’s upcoming tablet , which is codenamed “Topaz.” Interestingly, we’re told the keyboard features a Windows key in addition to some webOS-specific keys — we’d guess that HP will sell it for general use as well. As for the Topaz tablet, it’s said to be extremely slick, with no hard buttons on the front and a design that echoes the design of the keyboard — we’re told it’s due out in the first half of 2011, which matches up with what we’ve heard from Palm . We’re also told Palm’s planning a low-end teen phone that’s something like a Pre with no keyboard — it’s codenamed “Castle,” (just like the original Pre and Pixi ) and due to hit Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T. That seems like a likely followup to the Pixi, but what we’re really anxious for is some news on a new high-end phone and the Topaz tablet — we’ll keep digging and let you know. Palm’s tablet is codenamed ‘Topaz,’ keyboard accessory leaks out originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Dungeon Defenders: First Wave brings Unreal Engine to Android this month

Along with Rage HD , Infinity Blade has been one of the titles to really solidify iOS’ position as the leader in mobile gaming right now, but that’s not to say Android isn’t in hot pursuit: besides this Zeus we have on the horizon, Gingerbread improves gaming support on the API level — and now we’re seeing our first Unreal Engine 3-based title make the leap. Dungeon Defenders: First Wave, which just launched on iOS, is coming to Android 2.1 and above on December 23rd bringing with it an online, multiplayer tower defense gaming experience. Of course, one problem these guys have now is that Android hardware is all over the map, so they actually need to publish a long list of minimum requirements — just like PC titles — and in this case you need 512MB of RAM, an 800MHz or better SOC with support for OpenGL ES 2.0, and at least 400MB of free storage. Apart from the myTouch 4G (which has some occasional “stability issues”), most recent mid- to high-end handsets seem to be ready to roll, including “all Tegra 2 based devices” like the Optimus 2X that was just announced. Follow the break for some video action and the full press release. Continue reading Dungeon Defenders: First Wave brings Unreal Engine to Android this month Dungeon Defenders: First Wave brings Unreal Engine to Android this month originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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California Passes Cap & Trade Bill – Creates World’s Second Largest Emission Trading Scheme

photo: Kevin Dooley / Creative Commons The California Air Resources Board yesterday passed a statewide cap and trade bill for greenhouse gas emissions , creating the second-largest emissions trading scheme in the world after Europe’s. A 9-to-1 vote brings into effect what CARB chairman Mary Nichols calls the capstone of… Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Mi Casa Verde Vera review: Home automation, simplified

Home automation and jetpacks are surprisingly similar in that both of these space-age technologies have, for decades, been over promised and under delivered. Who here wouldn’t love to tap a single button when exiting the house to activate the alarm, shut off the lights in the kids’ rooms, lower the thermostat, and lock all the doors? That’s the convenience, the promise left unfilled as we say goodbye to 2010. We live on a planet that still requires humans to manually close the blinds at the end of the day and flip on a light switch some 90 years since the commercial introduction of the incandescent light bulb. How primitive. And it’s downright criminal in ecological and financial terms that we still can’t easily monitor and control the power usage in our homes let alone the trickle or wattage vampired off the individual electrical sockets feeding our greedy horde of household electronics. How is this possible given all the advances we’re seen? Wireless and sensor technology has advanced far beyond what’s required to automate a home. Just look at smartphones, for example, that now ship standard with 3G (and even 4G) data, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS radios in addition to sensors for motion, temperature, moisture, proximity, and even direction. We don’t have the answer to home automation’s dilema — to dig into that topic we’d require a few thousand more words, at least. All we know for sure is that the biggie consumer electronics companies are reluctant to sort it out. As such, dozens of small companies are left to deal with a mess created by an industry incapable of coalescing around a set of interoperable home automation standards. One such company is Mi Casa Verde. A tiny startup that launched its linux-based Vera home automation server back in 2008 with a renewed promise to make home automation setup and control as easy for novices as it is robust for techies and enthusiasts. We’ve been using a recently launched second generation Vera 2 for a few weeks now. Sure, we haven’t quite reached one-button nirvana, but as home automation newbies we’re proud to say that we’ve automated a few helpful in-home lighting situations while skirting the clutches of the Dark Angel sequestered within our fuse box. Better yet, we can control it all from an iPhone — including the Christmas tree. Click through to see how we did it. Gallery: Mi Casa Verde Vera Review Continue reading Mi Casa Verde Vera review: Home automation, simplified Mi Casa Verde Vera review: Home automation, simplified originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Self-sterilizing door handle looks perfect for hypochondriacs, is as real as their ailments

The world of concepts is quite the wonderful place to behold, it’s filled with electric supercars , cameras that only ever need one lens , beautiful BlackBerrys , and now… a self-cleaning door handle. The product of one Choi Bomi’s hyperactive imagination, this gatekeeper continuously sterilizes itself with a UV light, only taking a break when you actually use it. A clandestine switch in the handle’s frame is what toggles the sanitizing illumination on and off, a spark of cleverness that’s earned the design a Red Dot award . That’s great, now who hands out the awards for making economically viable, mass producible devices? Self-sterilizing door handle looks perfect for hypochondriacs, is as real as their ailments originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Researchers Discover Caterpillar Whistles to Ward Off Birds

Image via Live Science video The walnut sphinx caterpillar has a trick up its sleeve — er, side — to keep birds from chomping on it. The clever bug can make an odd whistling sound, which startles birds enough that they usually just leave it alone. Researchers didn’t know how it managed to make this sound, so they set up cameras and began experimenting. The results are rather strange. … Read the full story on TreeHugger

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Yahoo! Messenger and ooVoo Mobile do video chat on Android, but only for a lucky few

Two video chats enter the ring, only one comes out. In this corner it’s ooVoo Mobile, a portable version of the (somewhat) popular desktop video chat application that will let up to six users simultaneously swap bitrate over 3G, 4G, or WiFi — but only if you have an HTC Evo or Samsung Epic . In the other corner it’s Yahoo! Messenger, with version 1.3 adding video calls and similarly limited device support, though this time it’s the myTouch 4G and the Evo getting the nod. So, Android owners, which of these is going to reign supreme? Or, are you going to tap out and stay cozy with Qik ? Hit the Android Market now and place your bets. Continue reading Yahoo! Messenger and ooVoo Mobile do video chat on Android, but only for a lucky few Yahoo! Messenger and ooVoo Mobile do video chat on Android, but only for a lucky few originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 09:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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Pleo RB robosaur now on sale for $469, Christmas now cleared to take place

Worried that your holiday celebrations just wouldn’t be able to take place without an autonomous robotic dinosaur roaming the halls and frightening the grandparents? Fret no more. With under a fortnight to go, Innvo Labs has managed to put the revitalized Pleo RB ( Pleo Reborn , if you must know) on sale, with a stiff $469 getting you a newborn dinosaur with a Li-Polymer battery, a charging cradle and a training leaf. Yeah, a training leaf. Unfortunately, the MSRP here is a fair bit higher than the $350 that Ugobe charged for the original, but at least the price premium does include a tougher hide, a newfangled RFID sensing system and a stronger, longer-lasting battery. And really, who could say no to a smile like that? Continue reading Pleo RB robosaur now on sale for $469, Christmas now cleared to take place Pleo RB robosaur now on sale for $469, Christmas now cleared to take place originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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