Car Thief Gets Nabbed by the Law…While Playing Grand Theft Auto [Crime]

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It could have been worse. He could have been an unlicensed plumber caught with hallucinogenic mushrooms while playing...well, you know.

Down old mangrove way in Florida, our new favorite criminal allegedly stole a 1998 Dodge Durango (for reasons that escape us—a '98 Durango? Really?), which was then found outside a house, miles away. Inside, the suspect was sitting on his couch, playing Grand Theft Auto. He was then, appropriately, charged with grand theft auto (and a few other things, to be fair). You are now encouraged to chuckle. [CNET]


Jacket + Tent + Sleeping Bag = JakPak [Camping]

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Why carry a jack, tent and sleeping bag on your back when all these items can fold into one, wearble 3lb bundle?

The JakPak is a three seasons tent built into a sleeping bag built into a jacket. Constructed of breathable but waterproof urethane coated ripstop nylon/polyester fabric, through the miracles of velcro-secured chambers, the jacket portion of the JakPak can unfurl to the body bag you see in the lead shot—complete with no see um netting and armpit ventilation!

The JakPak will be available this March for $250 and seeks to eliminate homelessness as we know it. [JakPak]


Star Trek Online Captain’s Log #1: A Trek Fan’s Dream [Star Trek]

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Like many of you, many of us are huge Star Trek fans. It not only shaped everyone's view of technology from a young age, it's arguably one of the driving forces of technology today. And now you can live it.

Here's a quick intro to what Star Trek Online is all about. It's about 30 years after the last Next Generation movie. You play an ensign that gets promoted (like new Kirk) to Captain because every officer above him gets killed. It's a hell of a way to climb the rankings, but it leads to you being placed in command of your own starship, but still being green enough to require tutelage into how everything works.

You spend half your time controlling a ship and half the time on the ground with an away team.

The space part

This is by far the more satisfying part. Who hasn't wanted to sit in Picard, Kirk, Scott Bakula or any of the lesser captain's chairs and order people to fire everything? Who can say that they haven't wanted to smoothly say "make it so" and have something—besides your wife giving you dirty looks—happen? This is that.

Although the main philosophies of the Star Trek universe revolve around exploration, and peace, and diplomacy, blowing shit up has always been the reward for sitting through Picard's flute playing. And this is supremely satisfying. Phasers and photon torpedoes fire with the correct sound effects, Klingon cruisers explode with a bass-rattling pppptththhhbbffffooooo, and maneuvering the cruise ship-like vessels feels natural, not clunky.

The ground part

And here is where the developers need more work. The bugs are evident, from the fact that you sometimes materialize on the ground as a starship, or when your away team fails to beam down with you, or when certain mission objectives are gone entirely. The game's still in open beta, which is why we're giving our impressions now, so there's time to get everything in better shape before launch.

On the whole, the ground portion feels like a more Star Trekked version of City of Heroes, which was made by the same developer, Cryptic. It's tolerable (fun, even), but going on away team missions wasn't exactly the funnest part of the show. It's what Picard sent Riker to do while he sipped tea in his ready room.

Next time, on Star Trek..

We'll go more in depth about how the mission structure works, how leveling up/advancing in rank gets you more access to ships, and how closely the game stays to the established Trek "feel" that everyone is used to. Plus, what pre-order bonuses you should get in on.

If you want more coverage, check out Kotaku's Star Trek Online page. We're going to mostly focus on how the game appeals to Star Trek fans, but if you want more info about how the game is as a game, Kotaku's got you covered.


Crazy British Guy Pwns the Pigs

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Darren Pollard gets verbally aggressive with some pigs. He displays a bad attitude, and is impolite. But when gangsters intrude into your yard and try to intimidate you, do they not deserve a bit of a harsh verbal correcting? Wouldn't you still protest even if the intruders weren't jackbooted racketeers?

A 27-Year-Old Apple Tablet Prototype [Apple]

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Meet Bashful, an older brother of the upcoming Apple tablet. Unlike the Newton, this tablet didn't go past prototypes whipped up by an industrial design firm, but at least we have some pictures to sate our curiosity about the device.

Frog Design, the company who created these prototypes along with some for an Apple phone on Steve Jobs' request back in the 1980s, has shared a few images to give us a peek of what could've been an Apple tablet—attachable keyboard, floppy drive, stylus and all:

Despite only being 27 years old, this gadget almost feels like an archeological find in comparison to what we think we might see in the upcoming tablet. Yet for some reason I still can't stop smiling over this look into the past. [Frog Design]


Extreme Hurricanes Predicted

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Models Predict More Intense Hurricanes in the near future . . . .

In a story from the AAAS/Science journal, it’s reported that fewer but fiercer and more-destructive hurricanes will sweep the Atlantic Basin in the 21st century as climate change continues, which is suggested from a new modeling study by U.S. government researchers.   Category 4 and 5 hurricanes may double in number by the end of the 21st century.

“The models seem to be converging,” says tropical meteorologist James Kossin of the National Climate Data Center’s office at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who was not involved in the work. Plenty of uncertainties remain, Kossin notes, but compared with earlier studies, this one “is more credible; …it’s important.”

According to Science, what makes the new study more realistic is its sharper picture of the atmosphere. . . . . The high-resolution models used by the U.S. National Weather Service to forecast hurricane growth and movement …produce a realistic mix of both weak and strong storms, but those models can’t simulate global warming.

More big blows in the greenhouse. Computer simulation of the most intense hurricanes shows an increase from today (top) to a warmer world at the end of the century (bottom).

From the Science podcast this week, scientist Tom Knutson said, “We’re trying to understand how the most intense hurricanes in the Atlantic might change with climate warming in the 21st century, and we use models to do this. And our modeling results suggest that the frequency of these most intense Atlantic hurricanes—the category four and five hurricanes—will double over the course of the 21st century.”

“The group of scientists involved in the most recent research calculates that although the overall number of hurricanes would decline in a warmer world, they would still cause more damage, according to the modeling. Category 3 to 5 hurricanes have accounted for 86% of all U.S. damage despite constituting only 24% of U.S. landfalls, the group notes. That’s because when storms move up from one category to the next, the potential damage roughly doubles. . . . . The researchers note that the new modeling offers no support for claims that global warming has already noticeably affected hurricane activity. In the real world, the number of Atlantic hurricanes observed during the past 25 years has doubled; in the model, global warming would cause a slight decline in the number over the same period. Given that the mid-resolution model used by the group duplicates the observed rising trend, it may be natural. And the group estimates—very roughly—that so far any effect greenhouse warming has had on hurricane intensity should still be unrecognizable amid natural variations in hurricane activity.”

One scientist says the models themselves, so far, are uncertain that the Atlantic warming is actually caused by the greenhouse effect.  He also explains that the models don’t all predict the same thing due to “computer requirements”.  (Climate modeling takes up enormous computer resources and power.)  The Science podcast with this [...]

ColdAvenger Mask Heats and Humidifies The Air You Breathe In [Clothing]

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Designed by a physician and inspired by the US and Canadian militaries, the ColdAvenger not only protects the skin from the elements, it also protects your respiratory system with a removable ventilator.

Made of medical grade biocompatible plastic, the ventilator creates a "micro-climate" by mixing inhaled cold air with exhaled warm moisture to achieve a balance of warmth and humidity to protect the airways from the damaging cold. The simple design does all this while allowing totally free-breathing and keeping moisture off the face. The ColdAvenger's patent-pending ventilation technology keeps temperatures inside the mask 40?- 60?F higher than outside air.

If you work a lot in the outdoors, or you are an avid skier or snowboarder, I would think that $80 wouldn't be too much to pay to avoid that painful feeling you get when your lungs are full of nothing but dry, cold air. [ColdAvenger via ORW]


Larry and Sergey Plan to Dump Google Stock and Give Up Voting Control [Google]

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Google just put out an SEC filing saying founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin plan on dumping some of their holdings of the company's stock.

When they finish selling 5 million shares apiece, they'll still own 15% of the outstanding shares, but their voting power will have dropped below 50%. So they are ceding absolute control of the company.

From the filing:

Larry and Sergey currently hold approximately 57.7 million shares of Class B common stock, which represents approximately 18% of Google's outstanding capital stock and approximately 59% of the voting power of Google's outstanding capital stock.

Under the terms of these Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, and as a part of a five year diversification plan, Larry and Sergey each intend to sell approximately 5 million shares.

If Larry and Sergey complete all the planned sales under these Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, they would continue to collectively own approximately 47.7 million shares, which would represent approximately 15% of Google's outstanding capital stock and approximately 48% of the voting power of Google's outstanding capital stock (assuming no other sales and conversions of Google capital stock occur).


Man to Break Sound Barrier Jumping from Edge of Space [Image Cache]

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This man—looking as badass as Ed Harris in The Right Stuff—is Felix Baumgartner. He actually has The Right Stuff: The cojones to reach the edge of space in a weather balloon. Up to 120,000 feet—and then jump.

Baumgartner will join United States Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger as the only man to jump from near space altitude. Kittinger jumped on August 16, 1960, from the Excelsior III balloon, which at the time was flying at 102,800 feet—that's 19.47 miles or 31 kilometers up in the sky. Compared to Baumgartner, however, Kittinger's suit looks miserable:

In fact, his right glove failed in the descent, and his hand dilated to twice its size. Absolutely crazy.

Hopefully, Baumgartner won't have any of Kittinger's problems. He will jump sometime in 2010, after a few test jumps at lower altitudes, as part of Red Bull's Stratus mission. Kittinger will be assisting Baumgartner from the ground control, while the mission team monitors his position and body state as he plummets down to Earth, surpassing the speed of sound.

I love these nutty people.


Beyond Sexting: The Spectrum of Shameful Text Messaging [Humor]

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For all the talk of sexting, you'd think it was the only kind of text out there. Not so! There's plenty of other ways to message, most of which come with just as much regret:

Becksting:

Texting after one too many fine imported lagers

Sectsting:

Blasts to give your cult to-the-minute updates on Xenu's ETA

Flexting:

A picture message that doubles as an Admit One to the gun show

Anorexting:

Updating your friends on calorie counts and Weight Watchers points

Hexting:

Sending bad juju via SMS

T. Rexting:

Sending out obscure lyrics from 70s glam-rock bands

Dexting:

Sharing your Dexter fan fiction, 160 characters at a time

Treksting:

Spending an hour creating the perfect ASCII Vulcan salute


Study: Uranus & Neptune Have Seas of Diamond—With Diamond Icebergs | 80beats

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neptuneBoth Uranus and Neptune have quirky magnetic poles—they’re located about 60 degrees off the geographic pole rather than very nearby, like ours is. The reason, researchers suggest in a new Nature Physics study, could be that oceans of diamond—yes, oceans of diamond—cover our solar system’s two most distant planets.

The diamond idea isn’t a new one, but it’s a terribly hard question to study because you have to get diamond to melt in the lab to study it, and this experiment was the first to document the pressure and temperature at which that happens. The mineral is notoriously hard, of course, but there’s something more: Diamond doesn’t like to stay diamond when it gets hot. When diamond is heated to extreme temperatures it physically changes, from diamond to graphite. The graphite, and not the diamond, then melts into a liquid. The trick for the scientists was to heat the diamond up while simultaneously stopping it from transforming into graphite [Discovery News].

Doing so required not only extraordinary heat, but also extraordinary pressure. The researchers liquefied the diamond at 40 million times more than the pressure at sea level on Earth. When the pressure fell to only 11 million-times Earth sea level and temperatures dipped to 50,000 degress Celsius, solid chunks of diamond began to appear in the liquid [The Telegraph]. Because diamond is one of those rare liquids, like water, that is less dense as a solid than a liquid, solid diamond “icebergs” could float on to of the diamond seas on Neptune and Uranus.

Both planets have the conditions and the carbon to make this possible; each one is made from up to 10 percent carbon. And all that diamond would explain the out-of-whack magnetic pole, the scientists say. A huge ocean of liquid diamond in the right place could deflect or tilt the magnetic field out of alignment with the rotation of the planet [Discovery News].

Related Content:
80beats: Did Galileo Spot Neptune Two Centuries Before Its “Discovery?”
80beats: The Earth’s Oldest Diamonds May Show Evidence of Earliest Life
Bad Astronomy: A New Ring Around Uranus
Bad Astronomy: Did Herschel See the Rings of Uranus?

Image: NASA


The Greatest Use For AT&T Display Phone [Image Cache]

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Activated display phones in AT&T stores are fun. You can send dirty text messages to strangers or make long-long-long distance calls. What this individual did is far better than any prank though: He donated money to Haiti on AT&T's behalf.

I'm assuming that this person donated $10 at a time by texting HAITI to 90999. Whether AT&T will actually release the funds is uncertain, but kudos on the effort. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take after a few Redditors and visit my local cellphone stores to send a few text messages.

In the meantime, please keep in mind that there are many ways to donate to Haiti aid and that Lifehacker has a great guide on avoiding scams along with plenty of links to help you make sure that your money goes to someone in need. [Reddit—Thanks, Marc!]


Thermo 43i, 43c series Analyzer parts

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I'm looking to find a distributor of Thermo 43i and or 43c parts, namely Flash Lamps. I have not been too impressed with the prices and service from my current thermo rep and wanted to see if anyone knew of any other companies not directly affiliated with thermo that distribute parts for their analy

Astronauts in Space Finally Enter the Intertubes | Discoblog

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nasa-twitterIt’s official. Even people in space are tweeting. NASA announced today that astronaut T.J. Creamer on the International Space Station has become the first person to tweet directly from space, making use of a brand new direct Internet connection. Creamer tweeted: “Hello Twitterverse! We r now LIVE tweeting from the International Space Station — the 1st live tweet from Space! More soon, send your ?s”

Yay. Space tweets. Sweet.

In the past, astronauts could use email and twitter–but they had to relay their messages to ground control in Houston, who then sent them on. But now, thanks to the new system of personal Web access, called the Crew Support LAN, astronauts can take advantage of existing communication links to and from the station and browse the Web directly.

Associated Press reports:

The International Space Station crew can now use an on-board laptop to reach a desktop computer at Mission Control, and thereby browse the Web. This remote Internet access is possible whenever there is a solid high-speed communication link.

So no more going through ground control if astronuats want to update their Facebook status. Which is great for them, as we imagine it must get a little lonely out there in space. If you want to follow what they’re up to on a day-to-day basis, follow their tweets here.

With direct internet access in space, we wonder if the World Wide Web has taken the first step towards becoming the Universe Wide Web. Also, if all the astronauts are online now–who’s manning the ship? Hello!

Related Content:
80beats: “Interplanetary Internet” Will Soon Bring Twitter to the ISS
80beats: NASA Sends First Space-Mails via New “Interplanetary Internet”
80beats: Buzz Aldrin Speaks Out: Forget the Moon, Let’s Head to Mars

Image: Twitter.com


Public Health Authorities: Couch Potato Syndrome Leads to Rickets | Discoblog

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video-game-controllerIs your child practically a vampire? Avoiding the sun, holed up at home, and playing video games non-stop? Two scientists in Britain now suggest there might be link between such inactivity and rickets–a painful bone condition caused by lack of vitamin D, and which is much more common in malnourished children of the developing world.

Researchers Simon Pearce and Tim Cheetham of Newcastle University have published a clinical review in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal blaming the rickets resurgence on our more interior lifestyle. According to The Guardian, Pearce said:

“Vitamin D levels in parts of the population are precarious. The average worker nowadays is in a call center, not out in the field. People tend to stay at home rather than going outside to kick a ball around. They stay at home on computer games.”

The consequent lack of vitamin D (which is produced in skin that’s exposed to moderately strong sunlight) could be the chief cause for the return of rickets in England, with 20 new cases reported each year from Newcastle alone.

But we might not have to unplug the game consoles and toss kids out into the sun. Researchers say that outdoor time could be topped up with a change in diet or vitamin D supplements. They even suggested to the British Department of Health that vitamin D be added to milk to get past picky eaters. (Currently, unlike the U.S., the UK does not add vitamin D to milk.)

Related Content:
DISCOVER: Can Vitamin D Save Your Life?
80beats: Many Toddlers Lack the “Sunshine Vitamin”
80beats: Generation iPod: Young’Uns Spend 53 Hours a Week Consuming Media
DISCOVER: Tanning Beds and Cancer

Image: iStockphoto