Category: Cool Stuff

The latest laser news

So here’s the latest handy laser news. And this one is a cool technology that I think I can improve with a simple suggestion. Read on and find out how I would make this better.

Cascase, a specialist in anti-terrorism laser technology, yesterday said it had signed a licensing deal with French telecomms giant Alcatel that could reap revenues in the “tens of millions” of pounds for the Scottish company.

The Strathclyde University spin-out has developed a laser-based system for detecting drugs, explosives and hazardous compounds in the air, and the deal with Alcatel is regarded as a major milestone in getting its anti-terrorism products to market.

I suspect that right away, any regular reader of my site knows the way to improve this technology. Mount the frikkin’ laser detection device on the head of a frikkin’ shark. If the sensor goes off when a traveller passes the detection checkpoint, CHOMP goes the shark. Problem solved, threat averted, and the cost of prosecuting folks carrying illegal compounds on flights goes way down. Sure, the shark might occasionally CHOMP an innocent due to a false positive, but I look at that as an R&D issue – besides, it keeps feeding costs down, too.

[tags]The latest laser news, Laser technology is always improved with frikkin’ sharks[/tags]

Batteries with built-in USB charger

(via TechEBlog)

When you carry around rechargeable batteries, you typically have to carry around a recharger, too. And none of us ever really want to carry the charger. So someone came up with the perfect battery for those of us who always seem to travel with a laptop – batteries with a built-in USB plug for recharging.

aa_usb_cell.jpg

These AA batteries are currently set to ship in the next few days in the UK. In the future, AAA, C, D, phone charger cells, and 9 volt sizes should be available.

[tags]Rechargeable batteries with built in USB plug[/tags]

Play Midway arcade classics online

Play some of Midway’s old arcade games online via Shockwave.  Ten games are available, such as Tapper and Spyhunter.  Also available is Sinistar, often considered one of the hardest arcade games out (up there with Ghosts ‘n Goblins, I believe).

[tags]Play Midway arcade classics online, Shockwave versions of Midway arcade classics available online[/tags]

PlayStation 1 emulator for the PSP

(via Engadget)

What’s a hacker going to do with a new gadget? The thing to do now-a-days seems to be either try to get Linux to run on it or get an emulator to run on it. In the case of the PSP, a hacker going by the name Yoshihiro has released a beta of PSX-P, a PlayStation 1 emulator for the PSP. There’s even a YouTube video showing off the emulator. So the hacking community has apparently beaten Sony to the punch on releasing a PS1 emulator for the PSP.

Now for the bad news on this. Some research on the released binary have shown that PSX-P is based on the PCSX emulator, which has been released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). While this means the software can be used for a derivative work like PSX-P, it also means that PSX-P cannot legally be released without also making the source code available as well. Furthermore, PSX-P also contains code from P.E.Op.S. and SDL, two other GPLed software packages. This means that you might have trouble finding the PSX-P binary until source is released, as many people in the emulator community believe strongly in the GPL and will not provide software based on GPL code until the source for the derivative software is also provided.

Additionally, the emulator currently only runs about 10 frames per second. So more tuning and tweaking will be necessary to get this to at least 30 FPS, with even higher framerates desireable to allow for more complex games which might otherwise slow down too much to be playable. And finally, you’ll need to track down SCPH1001.BIN, the PS1 BIOS, in order to use the emulator. To actually play a game, once you have the BIOS you will need to rip your PS1 CD to an ISO image to put on a memory stick.

So there are some obstacles to using this emulator, assuming you can track it down. But if you get it, you can be the first geek on your block playing all the cool PS1 titles on your PSP.

[tags]PlayStation 1 emulator for PSP, Play your PS1 games on your PSP[/tags]

Radar activated speed bumps

(via TechEBlog)

How do you slow peopleradar_1_clip.jpg down without disrupting the travel of those obeying the speed limit? You create speed bumps that pop up only when someone is speeding.

Speed bumps do a good job of penalizing non-speeders as much as speeders, and they typically force drivers to travel well below the speed limit. With that in mind, inventor Gwyn Harvey came up with a radar-activated speed bump design that would only deploy to slow drivers traveling at an unreasonable speed.


Sounds like just the thing for many neighborhoods. Of course, they cost more than traditional speed bumps.

[tags]Radar activated speed bumps, Slow down or the speed bumps will get you[/tags]

New Tesla statue in Niagara Falls

(via boingboing)

tesla-coil-discharge-med.jpgFirst, let me say that there is absolutely no evidence to support the conjecture that if one were to approach and touch this statue, massive balls of lightning would shoot forth from statue to the person approaching. Absolutely no evidence, folks.

That out of the way, what a nice way to honor the man who lit the world – a statue in memory of Nikola Tesla was recently (July 9, 2006) unveiled in Queen Victoria Park, Niagara Falls. Sure, most folks will see it and have no idea who he is, but my readers are smarter than the average bear, I am certain. So next time you visit Niagara Falls (on the .ca side, please, as no equivalent statue yet exists state-side), drop by and say hello to ol’ Nikki.

teslastatue-med.jpgNikola Tesla designed the first hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls, New York which started producing electrical power in 1895. This was the beginning of the electrification of the United States and the rest of the world. Today, Tesla’s AC electricity is lighting and powering the globe. Nikola Tesla is the genius who lit the world.

Now, the inventor of alternating current has a permanent tribute overlooking the Horseshoe Falls at Niagara Falls, Canadian side.


Pictures of the unveiling and a bit of the backstory on Tesla’s importance in Niagara Falls on the Tesla Society’s page about the unveiling.

[tags]Tesla statue, Tesla memorial statue[/tags]

BG4G guys find evidence of Oblivion expansion

Hey, let’s pick a new web site for me to link to. How about By Gamers for Gamers? There-in, we find an author who tried to get to the bottom of the whole “No announced Oblivion expansion” bit from Bethesda. And what is it that he found? Well, maybe there is no Knights of the White Stallion expansion coming, but there was another rumored expansion name, and he found a little something about that one.

After seeing a random comment from the web, it sparked a little bit of curiousity in me. Some people were saying that the Expansion was “Knights Of The White Stallion” others were sayting it was “Knights Of The Nine”. I decided to do a little digging of my own. First place I hit, was the US Trademark & Patent office.

First I searched for Bethesda. They did NOT file a trademark for either of the speculated titles. Next I searched for the speculated titles. “Knights Of The White Stallion” turned up nothing. On the other hand, “Knights Of The Nine” DID turn up something

[tags]Oblivion expansion investigation, Is there an Oblivion expansion coming?[/tags]

Land-shark ho!!!1

Isn’t this a tasty little bit of evolution?  Scientists have discovered a new species of shark that walks on its fins.

Scientists combing through undersea wonders off Indonesia’s Papua province said today they had discovered dozens of new species, including a shark that walks on its fins and a shrimp that looks like a praying mantis.

. . .

Erdmann, an American, and his team claim to have discovered 52 new species, including 24 new types of fish, 20 new kinds of coral and eight new species of shrimp.

Among the highlights were an epaulette shark that walks on its fins, a praying mantis-like shrimp and scores of reef-building corals, he said.

That old SNL sketch doesn’t seem so wacky now, does it?

[tags]Land-shark ahead, Shark found that walks on fins[/tags]

Great – now we all have to check out real estate in Franklin, TN

(via Engadget)

We all want fatter digital pipes for a lower cost, right? I mean, all the normal people. I know there are people who think it is acceptable to live mostly off-line, but I like to think of them as moderately to significantly insane. So ignoring those wackos, can we all agree that Franklin, TN is starting to look more interesting than we would have every guessed?

A few weeks ago, Brent Ware took his teenage son on a trip around the world to meet with international clients.

Ware, CEO of Tenvera Inc., said his son was shocked at the technological advantages other parts of the world – especially the Far East – have over the United States. Ware wants to cut that advantage down for Americans with a fiber-optic home networking system that could change the way people all over the world live, entertain and work in their homes.

Tenvera is a Franklin-based company beginning production this month of System 5 technology. Also known as Fiber in the Home (FITH), it takes fiber-optic networking to its final destination: the home.

And Tenvera is working with builders in its hometown to get more fiber in more houses. And I want some of that. Guess I need to find work in the Nashville area, get the wife to find work there, sell the house, move, and enjoy big fat bandwidth numbers.

[tags]Fiber to the home in Franklin TN, Tenvera testing fiber to the home[/tags]