The B.O.N.D. (Build of Notorious Deterrents) Bike is a bicycle that comes equipped for many commuting situations. Should you encounter heavy snow, the rear tracks and forward skis will propel you forward when your tires lose traction. An ejector seat and a flamethrower mounted into the handlebars helps the rider address interpersonal conflicts. The bicycle is not available for sale, but it will go on public display at a bike show in London next week.
The late fashion designer Alexander McQueen once designed high heeled shoes modeled after the movie Alien. They were a one-off production so, sadly, you won't be able to buy a pair and wear them to work.
Apparently there's a growing subculture of people who reenact scenes -- including replica clothing and vehicles -- from the 1979 Mel Gibson movie Mad Max. Fans are getting together in the California desert next month for a big meet-up called "Wasteland Weekend". From the official description:
Join the hundreds of fans coming from all over the the United States (and beyond) to gather in the Southern California desert. Set up camp at our wasteland compound, surrounded by specially-built sets. Costumes are required and post-apocalyptic campsites and vehicles are encouraged. Live for three days in a world pulled straight out of the Mad Max movies, beyond the grip of so-called civilization.
Top DJs from all over will provide the soundtrack, fire dancers and bonfires will light up the night, and modified vehicles will shake the earth with their engines.
The immediate source for this post is Snopes, but I've snooped around some other sources. As a result, I'm reasonably sure that this story is true.
Alexander Courage wrote the orchestral theme to Star Trek (above video). Under the provisions of his contract, he was owed royalties every time that theme was run or re-run.
Gene Roddenberry, creator of the show, exercised an option to write the lyrics for that song, even though he had no intention of recording or performing them. This action cut Courage's payment in half -- which was Roddenberry's intention.
So, without further ado, here are the lyrics:
Beyond The rim of the star-light My love Is wand'ring in star-flight I know He'll find in star-clustered reaches Love, Strange love a star woman teaches. I know His journey ends never His star trek Will go on forever. But tell him While he wanders his starry sea Remember, remember me
Verbal directions given by GPS navigation systems can be hard to hear in a noisy car. That's why researchers at the University of Utah are developing a navigation system that communicates driving directions through a tactile interface:
The researchers say they don't want their results to encourage dangerous and distracted driving by cell phone users. Instead, they hope the study will point to new touch-based directional devices to help motorists and hearing-impaired people drive more safely. The same technology also could help blind pedestrians with a cane that provides directional cues to the person's thumb.
"It has the potential of being a safer way of doing what's already being done – delivering information that people are already getting with in-car GPS navigation systems," says the study's lead author, William Provancher, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah.
Link via Popular Science | Photos: Nate Medeiros-Ward/William Provancher, University of Utah
Eduard Khil, the 70's era Russian singer who became an Internet sensation several months ago, finally made a public performance. Here he is singing (lip synching) his trademark song when...Darth Vader, a gorilla, and Snow White show up. It gets weird pretty quickly.
Flickr user MrsWoman knitted this wig that will make any man look cool, like The King. Sadly, she doesn't provide any instructions on how to make your own. But at her site, you can examine similar crafts that she's made.
The Levytator is a free-form escalator that can bend and curve as needed by architects. It operates on one continuous loop, so there's no need for redundant conveyors moving in opposite directions:
Unlike traditional designs, where redundant steps move underneath those in use, the Levytator utilises a continuous loop of curved modules, which can follow any path upwards, flatten and straighten out, and descend once more, all with passengers onboard.
The system can be arranged in any configuration – as a DNA-esque double helix in a science museum, for example – and also offers several practical advantages at a cost that is similar to a conventional unit.
Leaf carving involves cutting away at a leaf until it reveals an image. This is a craft practiced by Nature's Art, a studio in Hengshui, China. At the link, you can view several other examples as well as instructions on how to make your own.
http://www.longal-craft.com/leaf-carving-art.html via Make | Photo: Nature's Art
Artist Serena Malyon used Photoshop to add a tilt-shift photographic element to sixteen works of Vincent Van Gogh. Her images give the impression that viewers are looking miniatures. Link via DudeCraft | Artist's deviantART Profile
In 1919, after the close of World War I, Germany was assessed 226 billion marks in reparations payments against its foes. On Sunday, that nation will pay its final installment of this bill:
The final payment of £59.5 million, writes off the crippling debt that was the price for one world war and laid the foundations for another.[...]
"On Sunday the last bill is due and the First World War finally, financially at least, terminates for Germany," said Bild, the country's biggest selling newspaper.
Most of the money goes to private individuals, pension funds and corporations holding debenture bonds as agreed under the Treaty of Versailles, where Germany was made to sign the 'war guilt' clause, accepting blame for the war.
The Cube is a new skyscraper in Birmingham, UK, that contains a parking garage. Drive your car inside, stop, and get out. Lifts will carry and shift your car around to an open slot. So there's no need to go driving around looking for an available space. At the link, you can watch a BBC video of the machine in action.
Craig Smith modified his car to look like it had Borg (that's a Star Trek species) implants:
My wife went to visit family this weekend. So left by myself, something geek-like is bound to happen. I started cutting and forming plastic sheets, assembling doo-dads and modifying my car. The result is a car where "...resistance is futile." Completed? Heck no. There is a lot of fender left and a lot of car beyond that. Don't worry, items are SECURELY fastened with brackets and screws. Last thing I want is my nanites attacking the car behind me.
It sort of looks like Seven of Nine's ocular implant, don't you think?
Link | Images: Craig Smith and Paramount, respectively
Raytheon, a US defense contractor, has made great strides in developing effective exoskeletons. Its new model, the XOS 2, recently went on public display in Salt Lake City. Dave Freeman of CrunchGear was there for the demo:
Sarcos has been working with automation for years (including the fountain at the Bellagio), and the XOS2 uses hydraulics to enable a wearer to lift massive amounts of weight without feeling the strain. More importantly, the person wearing the suit can lift these weights repetitively without feeling the strain. The XOS 2 has a quite impressive 17:1 lifting ratio, so when the person wearing the suit lifts 170 pounds, they only need to exert enough force to lift 10 pounds.
At the link, you can watch two videos of the XOS 2 in action.
The Estonian start-up company Fits.me has designed a mannequin that can alter its shape so that it can try on clothes for you. The design is being marketed to online clothing retailers because they can't offer customers the opportunity to try on clothes personally:
All told, the robot is capable of replicating 2,000 body shapes. When a retailer signs up with Fits.me, they first send in their clothes. Each size is placed on the robot, which then cycles through all the body shapes it knows. (Think of the scene at the end of Terminator 2, when the T-1000 is being melted down.) While that's going on, a camera is taking pictures of each permutation. This photographic log is then stored in an online database. Once you go online and type your measurements into the retailer's site, it calls up the photo corresponding to your precise body type and clothing size.