New VW gets 60 mpg highway

Looks like diesels may be the answer to better fuel economy:

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/coming-soon-to.html

And who wouldn't enjoy 236 lb ft of torque?!

Virtual fence not working

A virtual fence in Arizona, between the US and Mexico...

After winning a contract for almost $1 billion, Boeing is having trouble getting it to work.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/24/border-patrols-virtual-fence-canceled-for-not-being-as-good-as/#comments

$1 billion... nice money if you can get it!

Google spends $20 per employee each day on food

A small price to day to keep your employees happy, and at work:

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/4/googles_ginormous_food_budget_7530_per_googler

And I hear it's healthy food, too. (Maybe not the sodas. Do they have Red Bull too?)

Victorian PC

It's funny to see an LCD inside a fancy Victorian cabinet:

http://steampunkworkshop.com/victorian-all-one-pc

This guy did a LOT of work on this.

200 mph toy car

It's not really radio controlled, but it sure goes fast!

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=T31juxlQuGA

Determining your baby's sex

If you eat more, you increase your chances of having a boy -- according to this study:

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080422/full/news.2008.769.html?s=news_rss

Formula 1 racing goes "hybrid"

The new Formula 1 race cars will have a 11 lb flywheel to store energy, which can be released later with the push of a button:

http://gas2.org/2008/04/22/formula-1-racing-to-go-hybrid-from-2009-2013/

So it's not like a Prius hybrid with a battery. Less energy storage, less weight.

Pimp my ride

Some amazing body kits on these vans -- amazingly funny:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/highglosshighs/24469638/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/friedtoast/1377558758/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/friedtoast/2130512830/

Windows XP SP3 due on April 29

Looks like SP3 it's almost ready, for all those Vista haters:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207200856

It was RTM's on Apr 21, and is coming to Windows Update and MSDN on April 29th, although won't be automatically installed until June 10, 2008, according to Neowin.

Europe gets power from African sun

For only $400 billion, they could generate enough power for all of Europe plus most of the Middle East and North Africa:

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20080421/solar-power-africa-best-investment-eu-can-make

($400 billion is about the annual US deficit, or the cost of a war in Iraq.)

Evolution: Fact or Fiction

I wonder if this chart is accurate? The USA is 1 spot above the bottom:

http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=060810_evo_rank_02.jpg&cap=A+chart+showing+public+acceptance+of+evolution+in+34+countries.+The+United+States+ranked+near+the+bottom%2C+beat+only+by+Turkey.+Credit%3A+Science

Wacky church in South Carolina

From the "we don't need the facts" department:

http://www.wspa.com/midatlantic/spa/news.apx.-content-articles-SPA-2008-04-20-0005.html

Oppressed by your computer?

This simple program disables your network, so you can get creative stuff done, like work or writing:

http://www.ibiblio.org/fred/freedom/

Amazing Rollercoaster

Whoa, check this out -- in Ohio:

http://www.rense.com/general69/cedar.htm

Climb to 400+ feet, and scream down at 120 mph!

Postal Rates up again!

Wow, postal rates are going up again on May 12th to $0.42. Didn't they just go up last May? I guess they have to pay to gas up their trucks.

So stock up on those "forever" stamps and save a few cents!

http://www.usps.com/prices/

Old USA Today story with a chart of historic prices.

Women are happier than men?

According to this study, yes:

http://www.asanet.org/cs/press/view_news?pressrelease.id=393

One theory (not mentioned in the study) is that men might worry more about current events and world problems.

Also, baby boomers (those age 44-62) are less happy, but happiness does increase with age.

Live longer by not eating

Biologists are working on a drug that doubles the lifespan of yeast cells. Next step, humans?

http://gizmodo.com/381123/scientists-discover-how-to-extend-lifespans-without-starving-yourself
"... starving yourself causes your ribosomes (your cell's protein factories) to mutate, which is what leads to the positive effects"

Rebooting the Internet -- Southpark

Pretty funny:

http://gizmodo.com/381088/how-to-fix-the-internet-according-to-south-park?autoplay=true (45 sec video)

Is that a Linksys BEFSR41 router?! Love it!

It's only software...

From the "how hard could it be" department:

http://codeclimber.blogspot.com/2008/04/all-i-need-is-programmer.html

I also liked the first comment after the article.

Inspiring Speech for the Mainstream Media

Not wacky -- rather, very inspirational. Worth a listen:

http://adage.com/brightcove/single.php?title=1506582278 (6 min audio only)

Excerpt:

"You have the power to turn this country away from cynicism. You have the power to turn this nation away from the hatred and the divisive dialogue that has rendered such a corrosive affect on our body politic. You can lift us up into a more enlightened age."

Contrast this with reactions from last night's presidential debate.

Full Tim Robbins transcript. The audio above covers the last 5 paragraphs.

Mineral absorbs radiation

Could be handy for nuclear waste dumps:

http://russiatoday.ru/scitech/news/23383

They named it Ivanukite. So far, they've only discovered a few grams.

Trapped in elevator for 41 hours

What a way to spend a weekend...

http://disembedded.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/madness-trapped-in-elevator-car-30/
(Scroll down for time lapse video)

He was on an express elevator that stopped halfway down. You can watch the time lapse security video -- even though the security guards didn't.

1 in 350 are on the terrorist watch list

Almost 1 million people are under government surveillance:

http://www.politicallore.com/uncategorized/1-in-every-350-americans-is-considered-a-possible-terrorist/63

Island floats on 250,000 plastic water bottles

It's hard not to be impressed by somebody building an island... twice:

http://ecoble.com/2007/11/18/250000-bottles-amazing-recycled-mexican-island-paradise/

World Geography

Here's a fun quiz game:

http://minijuegos.com/juegos/html/index.php?id=5974

After a few tries, I finished level 5, but only got 18,000 out of 30,000 on level 6.

OK, now I'm at 258,000 points and Level 8, where it started getting really hard.

Eliminate Mosquitos with a Bat House

Tired of being bitten by mosquitoes? Hire a bat to do the work:

http://www.bmagoldcard.org/CurrentPages/BatsBirds.htm

Just build or install a bat house, attract some bats, and let the fun begin. More here:

http://www.batcon.org/home/default.asp

The Next U.S. President

Forget the polls -- Astrology researchers (sponsored by Zodiac vodka of course) have predicted the outcome:

http://intoxicatedzodiac.com/blog/2008/04/03/because-hes-a-leo-obama-will-win/
"ZODIAC researched every major presidential contestant since Washington and Adams in 1789. Statistics were compiled for each of the twelve zodiac signs."

On Gore vs. Bush, even though Gore won the popular vote, his Aries sign prevented hom from winning the office. Bush is a Cancer, unbeatable by Aries.

Swimming with Polar Bears

This seems like a dangerous idea, but...

http://fogonazos.blogspot.com/2006/06/swimming-with-polar-bears.html

up near Ontario, Canada, you can go swimming with polar bears.

Tractor drives on top of train

At first it looks like a trick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4toJA5EXcM

But it's a pretty cool way to load and unload a train, even in the middle of nowhere. It's called the Herzog Cartopper. And it uses electromagnets, which sounds high tech. :-)

Free Paper!

Ha ha:

http://cdn-www.i-am-bored.com/media/FreePaper.jpg

The Truth about Vista UAC

If you've tried Vista, you know about the UAC prompt you get whenever you try to install a program, or even run Regedit.

Here's the scoop from Microsoft, including some stats:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=11464
"88% of Vista users still have UAC enabled"
"66% of Windows sessions don't encounter a UAC prompt"

So to summarize -- it only annoys power users.

Spot the Speed Camera -- a game

Here's a game you can play -- try to spot where the speed trap camera is hidden in these pictures:

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/game.htm

Toys-R-Us discount

Hurry -- on sale now!

http://consumerist.com/378439/this-toys-r-us-discount-is-of-dubious-value

Nanotech repairs spines of paralyzed mice

This is pretty promising:

http://www.technologyreview.com/Nanotech/20534/

The nanofibers create a scaffold upon which nerve fibers can grow.

Funny Looking Green Homes

Definitely not your average cookie-cutter houses:

http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22355/47311-ten-innovative-green-homes

Is Google in your Driveway?

It looks like the Google Streets driver in Pennsylvania was a bit aggressive:

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0407081google1.html
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/0404081google7.html

What's funny is that once the homeowners filed their lawsuits, the pictures of their houses (which they sought to hide) are now making front page headlines.

Cubes and Crayons

Here's an odd but useful mix: Cubes and Crayons. Something for everyone -- work for the parent, play for the kid:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/06/BU5IVUHDJ.DTL

Website and rules:

http://www.cubesandcrayons.com/house_rules.jsp

Picking DVDs to Watch with your Significant Other

This is actually pretty clever -- the 5-1 method:

http://www.themovieblog.com/2008/04/how-to-and-not-to-pick-a-dvd-with-your-girlfriend

Teaching Infants not to Drown

This is pretty amazing. Baby falls into the water, and knows how to recover:

http://divinecaroline.com/article/22111/43396--video--method-toddlers-themselves-drowning

From a company in Phoenix, Arizona, but they're training instructors elsewhere:

http://www.childdrowningprevention.com/

http://www.infantswim.com/home.html

eWaste in China

See where your eWaste ends up. Some impressive pictures:

http://gizmodo.com/376201/chinas-e+waste-problem-poisons-children-destroys-cities
eWaste "made the well water and ground water of Guiyu undrinkable, and has to be trucked in from other villages. The lead poisoning level in children is 69%."

More pics:

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/04/04/guiyu-e-waste-capital-of-china/

And a slideshow:

http://www.china-pix.com/multimedia/guiyu/

Indoor Sundial

I guess this would work:

http://www.ironicsans.com/2008/03/idea_the_bulbdial_clock.html

3rd Grader on New York Subway

Would you let your 9-year-old kid ride the New York Subway alone?

http://www.nysun.com/news/why-i-let-my-9-year-old-ride-subway-alone

This is your brain on Stereo

Some interesting games to play with your brain, to see how it responds to stereo sounds:

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/dn13355-music-special-five-great-auditory-illusions-.html
(long article)

Try these: (with stereo headphones)

Scale Illusion (your brain plays tricks on you)
A skit in amazing stereo (you'll swear it's in your room)

April Fools: Door Lock Chain

Clever:

http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/defendius/

Zip lock bags -- how they work

Here's what a Zip lock bag looks like under a microscope:

http://www.cockeyed.com/science/eyeclops/eyeclops_ziplock.shtml

They used a camera called an Eyeclops, which runs $38 at Amazon. Might be a good gift for the kids.

1040 Tax Filing Tricks

Think of it as a game... the IRS will laugh too:

http://www.comics.com/comics/franknernest/archive/franknernest-20080402.html

New Coffee Machine

The ultimate in efficiency -- coffee delivered directly to where it's needed:

http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20080401.html

The Meaning of Life

Summed up in a 2 minute cartoon video -- pretty accurate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4

As the saying goes, "Childhood should be a journey... not a race."

34 Ways to Annoy People

April Fools Day is over, but if you forgot to annoy someone, here are some ideas:

http://skirsch.com/humor/34_ways.htm

Scientists creating a human-animal hybrid

When scientists get bored... or curious? They're mixing human DNA with cow eggs -- granted with most of the cow DNA stripped out. So far, they've got an embryo to live for 3 days:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080401213900.roisq7h9&show_article=1

Craigslist Hoax -- Man loses horse, lawn mower, more

You may have seen this story last week:

Man's house cleaned out by Craigslist Hoax

While a man was away, people carried away his belongings, including his horse, lawn mower, etc. When the man returned and tried to stop them, they showed him the Craigslist posting, and refused to give him his stuff back!

Anyway, today they caught the hoaxers. They used the hoax as an excuse to rob the man.

Today's Labor Market

This video cracked me up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up0kCKr07kU

Pool Table Dominos

Here's another cool domino trick:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKTurohMpcA&feature=related

4 interconnected pool tables.

Here's another with coins -- not sure how they set that up!