Category: News

With sales of music games dropping at alarming rates, the savvy game designers at Harmonix (or more likely, the desperate marketers) have decided that in order to revive their flagging franchise, they needed something truly mind-blowing. “I know! How about a keytar?!”

I’m not really sure it’s the best way to go. I mean, the keytar didn’t really work out so well for… anybody. Or itself. It was an oddity in its own time, and is a subject of near-universal mockery. Be aware that the instrument in the following is not a keytar:

This is a keytar:

See where I’m coming from here?

[image from Synthtopia]

This Game Boy soap doesn’t actually play Tetris, but it does wash off the stink of gamersweat. So really, that’s something. [Etsy via Geeky Gadgets] More »










Game Boy – Nintendo – Video Games – Games – Console Platforms

According to a source of ours inside Sprint, the EVO 4G’s $10 premium cost doesn’t seem to cover the Qik video chat capabilities, as previously thought. As you can see in the screenshot below, the service will be cost a $4.99 premium, payable via PayPal. This shot comes straight from training materials that Sprint will be handing out to its employees tomorrow.

The fact that payment is made via PayPal leads us to believe that the extra fee is not being charged by Sprint, but rather by Qik, themselves. We hope to have more details on the matter as soon as they roll in. We may even get some more screenshots to share. In the meantime, if this news is bumming you out, you might want to check out Fring.

Be sure to keep checking AndroidGuys for more updates.

Might We Suggest…

• EVO’s Front-Facing Camera Shows Mirrored Image… Tsk Tsk
  Our buddy Andrew over at Androinica has brought up something rather disturbing about the EVO’s front-facing camera–it shows everything as a mirrored image. This “glitch” shows itself when taking phot…

Self-healing “smart building materials” have the potential to reduce structure repair costs, lower cement-production carbon emissions and even save lives. One barrier that has kept these materials from being commercialized, however, is their potentially labor-intensive and thus expensive production process. Recently, an engineering student from the University of Rhode Island (URI) announced that she has developed a self-healing concrete that would be inexpensive to produce…
Continue Reading Student creates cost-effective self-healing concrete?

Tags: Building and Construction,
Concrete,
Self-healing,
Structure

Related Articles:

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• New bones from old wood
• Waterproof, recyclable concrete – just add Hycrete

EPA recognizes local communities, like Coachella, for their initiatives targeting at clean air.  Coachella began the build-out of its hydrogen infrastructure.  …

…   “SunLine Transit Agency was the first transit agency to own and operate a hydrogen generation and dispensing station, operating five generations of hydrogen buses that utilize the fuel station. With the support of state and federal agencies, SunLine upgraded the hydrogen station to also allow the public and outside fleets to purchase hydrogen 24 hours a day.”   …

Via EPA: Clean Air Initiatives (Link).

Coachella area alternative fueling station.

Filed under: Classics, Auctions, Etc., Technology, Hatchback

When one thinks of advanced technology, the AMC Gremlin rarely (if ever) pops to mind. In fact, these days, unless you happen to be watching re-runs of the first season of True Blood you likely wouldn’t think of the Gremlin under any circumstances. Today’s eBay Motors find is a very special hydrogen-powered Gremlin that we’ve never heard of before.

As the story goes, back in the early 1970s, 64 university teams built cars to compete in the Urban Vehicle Design Challenge, with this machine coming out of the labs at the University of California – Los Angeles. The Gremlin was donated to UCLA by American Motors and Ford provided a 351 Cleveland V8. The UCLA team worked with suppliers such as Hooker, Edelbrock, Union Carbide and none other than Kustom Kar King George Barris to get the supplies needed to convert the V8 to run on hydrogen and get the car competition ready. The Impco-provided hydrogen tanks in the back only gave the Gremlin a 68-mile range, but considering the lack of fuel injection and sophisticated electronics, that’s not bad.

The wanton nostalgics among us aren’t just drawn to the car’s eccentric powertrain, but also to its period-appropriate mustard yellow paint, tire-tread bumpers, vintage Polyglas tires, and a couple of racing buckets that we’d like to mount on swivels and have in the Autoblog Living Room.

Incidentally, the Gremlin ultimately won the competition based on the fact that the steam emanating the from the tailpipe was cleaner than the air going into the carburetor. At this point, there are no bids on the car and it’s not clear if it runs, but we’d stand we-hell back before firing it up for the first time.

[Sources: eBay Motors, Wired]

eBay Find of the Day: Hydrogen-powered 1972 AMC Gremlin by George Barris originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anticipation gave way to celebration today in Harvard Yard as more than 7,000 students graduated during Commencement Day ceremonies. The day was marked with ancient rites and hallowed traditions, with memories and hope for the future. It was a day to spend with family and friends to thank those who supported them in good times and bad, and to finally savor achievements won through hard work and determination.

50 Cent weight loss pictures

50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson made a huge sacrifice for his new movie “Things Fall Apart.”

In general, the MC looked like a linebacker in the NFL, but his starring role in “Things Fall Apart” directed by Mario Van Peebles, a film that was written 50 years ago, made him to cut 54 pounds, to play a college football player who is battling cancer. 50 Cent is on a liquid diet, he runs three times for one hour a day. Curtis used to weight 214 pounds, and now he is an unhealthy 160 pounds, as reported by U.S. Weekly.

It is not uncommon for actors to have this kind of weight loss for film roles. Matt Damon had to be skinny for his role in Courage Under Fire. Will Smith did it for “Seven Pounds” and Christian Bale got to be weak for “The Machinist.” But those were all for major releases. There is no information yet on whether this film will reach theaters or not.

Maybe this role will be important in 50 Cent’s career. As an actor, 50 Cent has played in only a couple of major releases and in other movies that came out directly to DVD. His film debut came in 2005 with the semi-autobiographical “Get Rich or Die Tryin” and in 2008 he starred is the “Righteous Kill” movie.

All his projections indicate that he should stick to his day job, although it seems that he is committed to Hollywood stardom.

50 Cent weight loss pictures

Related posts:

1. 50 Cent Liquid Diet Weight Loss, Curtis Jackson 50 Cent Prepairing for Things Fall Apart Movie
2. 50 Cent Massive Weight Loss Pictures
3. 50 Cent Looking Horrible in New Look

2011 Fisker Karma

Fisker Automotive will be building about 70 to 100 Karma plug-in hybrid sedan this year for testing purposes, a major investor in the company said.

“These will be tested internally, crash tested and used for other testing purposes,” Ray Lane, managing partner at U.S. venture capital fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers told Reuters. “Some of them will be given to customers for testing purposes as well, out in the real road.”

Lane said that Fisker will start mass production of the Karma sedan in February with a planned 15,000 units annually. Fisker also has plans to do a convertible version of the Karma shortly after the sedan hits roads.

Click here for more news on the Fisker Karma.

Refresher: Power comes from Fisker’s Q-DRIVE system, which is made up of two 201-hp electric motors that are powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. That allows the 2010 Karma to travel up to 50 miles without the use of any gasoline. A generator attached to a 260-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter Ecotec direct injection gasoline engine by General Motors provides an extended range of up to 300 miles. 0 to 60 mph comes in 5.8 seconds with a top speed of 125 mph.

2011 Fisker Karma:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Reuters

PLoS Biology has a review of Elements of Evolutionary Genetics up, Evolution Is a Quantitative Science:

But why has evolutionary genetics stood apart from biology’s resolutely qualitative, rather than quantitative, tradition? Most remarkably, while biomechanics employs the laws of physics, and biochemistry is founded on the quantitative science of chemistry, evolutionary genetics is based on axiomatic foundations that are entirely biological, and yet are capable of precise mathematical formulation. The rules of Mendelian genetics, encapsulated by unbiased inheritance and random mating in a diploid genetic system, predict Hardy-Weinberg frequencies, the binomial sampling of gametes in finite populations determines the properties of genetic drift, and, with a Poisson process of mutation, the complex theory of neutral genetic variation can be established on the basis of very simple assumptions.

A few books to get a historical perspective of the origins of modern evolutionary genetics (albeit with a pop gen focus), The Origins of Theoretical Population Genetics, Sewall Wright and Evolutionary Biology and R.A. Fisher: The Life of a Scientist.

An anonymous tipster has confirmed the long-whispered rumors that Amazon will offer a Kindle that isn’t white. A mystery unit, described by our tipster as “exactly like a Kindle DX but black,” was being photographed at a Seattle coffee shop (with a 5D mk II, he or she notes) and Mr/Mrs Tipster had the presence of mind to snap a picture before they put it away.

A quick google suggests that this isn’t the only one out there; a report from only a few days ago describes a black Kindle with no keyboard at all. There is no guarantee this wasn’t an iPad, but it’s intriguing nonetheless. That Amazon is photographing the unit now suggests a final design and an imminent launch. In the next month, even?

New colors don’t necessarily mean new features, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Darth Kindle sported an updated screen, and perhaps more internal memory. A refresh like this (visual and performance-wise) would be a good holdover for people already invested in the Kindle ecosystem.

The Timberwolf deal, infamously tagged a “shitty deal” during the Goldman Sachs Senate hearings, is now at the center of a criminal investigation around the firm, according to the Huffington Post.

Federal prosecutors are focusing on this deal, and its connections to the collapse of the Australian David Mapley’s hedge fund. Supposedly that deal cost Mapley $100 million, and the life of his hedge fund, Basis Yield Alpha Fund.

Mapley has claimed that the Timberwolf deal was a “fraudulent concoction.” He is currently working on an out of court settlement.

Read the full story at The Huffington Post >

Check out the winners and losers from the Goldman Sachs fraud case >

Join the conversation about this story »

Spy Shots: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta

The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta should make its debut later this summer and arrive in dealerships shortly after. However, the popular fuel-sipping Jetta TDI may be delayed until early 2011. A Volkswagen official told the guys over at Inside Line is expected to show up a little late. No reason was provided for the delay.

The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta TDI is expected to carry the same direct-injected 4-cylinder diesel making 140-hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. It will be available with either a 6-speed manual or the company’s DSG dual-clutch transmission.

The new Jetta will get most of its design cues from the Volkswagen New Compact Coupe Hybrid Concept that was unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show.

Spy Shots: 2011 Volkswagen Jetta:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Inside Line

Filed under: Spy Photos, Paris Motor Show, Ford

The Ford Mondeo is due for a mid-cycle refresh for the 2011 model year and all signs point to a debut at the Paris Motor Show this September. But ahead of its big reveal, spy photographers have caught the new Mondeo out in the open, and while the basic shape hasn’t changed, there’s something far more interesting under the hood.

The major stylistic upgrades are up front, where the Mondeo’s fascia picks up a few cues from the Fiesta and the 2012 Focus, including a larger lower grille and slimmer upper section. The front foglamps have been re-shaped and a strip of LED running lamps tie the design into Ford’s B-segment hatch.

At the back, the tailgate gets a subtle re-shaping above the license plate pocket and it appears the lights have been modified under the camo tape. The most important changes will be in the engine compartment, where the Mondeo will get the new 2.0-liter Ecoboost inline-four and the Powershift dual-clutch transmission. Expect all the details to be revealed shortly ahead of the Paris show this fall.

[Source: Secret New Cars]

Spy Shots: 2011 Ford Mondeo coming with 2.0L Ecoboost originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s BMJ week (again) on NCBI ROFL! After the success of our first BMJ week, we decided to devote another week to fun articles from holiday issues of the British Medical Journal. Enjoy!

“Objective: To assess the evidence for a genetic basis to magic. Setting: Harry Potter novels of J K Rowling. Participants: Muggles, witches, wizards, and squibs. Interventions: Limited. Main outcome measures: Family and twin studies, magical ability, and specific magical skills. Results: Magic shows strong evidence of heritability, with familial aggregation and concordance in twins. Evidence suggests magical ability to be a quantitative trait. Specific magical skills, notably being able to speak to snakes, predict the future, and change hair colour, all seem heritable. Conclusions: A multilocus model with a dominant gene for magic might exist, controlled epistatically by one or more loci, possibly recessive in nature. Magical enhancers regulating gene expression may be involved, combined with mutations at specific genes implicated in speech and hair colour such as FOXP2 and MCR1.”

Bonus from the full text:

Glossary

Photo: flickr/Jodi Hebert

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Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: The history of poisoning in the future: lessons from Star Trek.

WTF is NCBI ROFL? Read our FAQ!

Posted by John Byrne at 5:52 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley is upping the ante as he bets against his Philadelphia counterpart on the outcome of the Stanley Cup finals.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, however, is not. Win or lose, Nutter has pledged to volunteer in a community garden within his office of sustainability. Cheesesteaks, Philly’s signature foodstuff, are not on the line.

Daley likes to be known as a "green mayor" too, but he’s setting that aside and bringing it in his finals bet. At a United Center news conference, Daley announced he’s putting up even more Chicago
products than he did during the conference finals against San Jose.

Surrounded by piles of sausages, beer, pizza, candy and other Chicago delicacies during a news conference at the United Center to announce the bet, Daley said the Hawks have increasingly taken on the character of the city.

 

"That’s our motto in Chicago: ‘I will.’ We never, ever give up," Daley said as representatives of the companies donating to the wager stood with him. "And I think that’s what the excitement is all about. It’s all about where they come from, how they accomplish it, such a young team, a mature team, and nothing is ever taken for granted. And what we have behind us here is a group of young entrepreneurs and all types of businesses that are proud to be supporting the Chicago Blackhawks."

 

"It isn’t the big shots or anything, this is all the working metropolitan area of Chicago, and across the country," Daley said. "They look at this team as ‘Hey, this is our team. This is a working team.’"

Among Chicago’s offerings should the Blackhawks lose to the Flyers:

*Three dozen Abundance Bakery red velvet cupcakes



*100 Al’s Beef italian beef sandwiches



*Six boxes of Allen Brothers USDA prime long bone ribeye steaks



*Billy Goat Tavern three dozen double cheeseburgers



*Bobak’s Sausage Co.: 100 Italian sausages and 100 gourmet chicken burgers



*Vienna Beef: 1961 Maxwell Street Polish Sausages and 2010 Chicago style hot dogs



*Terry’s Toffee: 30 pounds of toffee



*The Lyric Opera of Chicago: two tickets to Verdi’s "A Masked Ball," two lyric fleece pullovers and baseball hats



*Chicago Public Library: books by seven Chicago authors, including "The Adventures of Augie March" by Nobel Prize winning author Saul Bellow.

And that’s only a partial list.

Sick of everyone playing with your Android, draining the battery? It’s as bad as the first weeks of the iPhone, somedays. Download the free Fake Battery app, so you have a legitimate excuse not to lend your phone to someone. More »










Android – iPhone – Handhelds – Smartphones – Business