Found on [BoingBoing]

Love the text on this toy box:

-Game Attention
Do not play outdoors during thunderstorms
- Handsome appearance
modern techniques
radio control
- Flat out most
Let me passing through the fine time with you

The result is incredible. Look for a huge foldout of the image in the October issue of National Geographic, and here’s a video of Nichols talking about the process of capturing the image. Click on “More” to see a version of the final image.

[NPR via Gizmodo]

After you finish getting fleeced making unwise bets at the robotic air hockey table, you can move on to losing more money to a robot at the pool table. This project from the computer Vision lab in Queens University consists of an impressive combination of an overhead gantry robot and vision system that is already at a “better-than-amateur level”. It is named “Deep Green“, after the IBM Deep Blue chess playing computer. As it is sure to only improve over time, not only would it be unwise to bet against this robotic pool shark, but I would stay out of the way while it lines up its shot also. Another very cool branch of this project is an “augmented reality” pool system that allows you to line up you shots with real time laser projections that predict where your ball will roll and rebound. Looks awesome, though there is already some grumbling about it being “cheating”. Mute the sound and watch the video for a demonstration, it is particularly cool how the robot racks up the balls in perfect formation, without the use of a rack.

Deep Green

[Gizmodo] [TechCrunch]

Well, okay, maybe there are some problems a Banana can’t solve, but over at re-nest they mark a few off the list with their post on “7 Ways To Re-Use a Banana Peel“.  They claim that Banana peels are not only good for shining shoes and plant leaves (wouldn’t that attract fruit flies?) but can also be used for relieving discomfort from itches and burns (although one commenter strongly disagrees with using them on burns). One can also tape a banana peel (now that sounds convenient!) over splinters and warts and the enzymes will help remove and heal them. They leave out the obvious old standbys like tripping up people chasing you. I honestly don’t know what to make of the supposed curative powers of the enzymes in banana peels, but what the heck, I am willing to give it a try the next time I get a mosquito bite or splinter.

Re-Nest [via LifeHacker]
(Image: Flickr user butler.corey licensed for use under Creative Commons)

“A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space”

I have just finished reading Larklight by Philip Reeve,  a fun space adventure intended for Young Adult readers. I shared this book with my 11 year old son B and we both enjoyed it. It is the middle of the 19th century and Sir Isaac Newton has not only figured out the properties of gravity, but has also used alchemy to discover the secret of the “chemical wedding” in an alembic chamber that can be used to power ships to other planets. Now the British Empire rules not only the Earth, but the other planets in the solar system as well. Art and his sister Myrtle are forced to flee their home, “Larklight”, in orbit of the moon when they are invaded by giant space spiders. They embark on a grand adventure, teaming up with a young space pirate Jack Havock and his band of alien misfits, to not only fight the spiders, but also save the planet earth and in the process learn great secrets about the origins of our solar system.
I though this was going to be an “alternative history” type of story with the main pretense being that space travel was invented during the Victorian era, but it turned out to have a twist in that line as it is written from a sensibility of that time period as well. The ships, which resemble wooden sailing ships more than rockets (and use canvas wings along with their engines),  do not travel in “space” but in the “aether” where the “air is thin” and numerous forms of wildlife, including space fish (or Ichthyomorphs), whales and giant squid roam. There are mushroom people and giant moths on the moon and, of course, canals on Mars. The combination of advanced technology in a victorian setting can not help but have a bit of “steampunk” feel to it, but I would not really apply that overused term to this book.
A fun romp for 11-15 year-olds, or adults with a sense of whimsy looking for a light read.

After busting my back shoveling Minnesota snow for the last 12 years I finally broke down and bought a used snowblower this summer. But my old Snapper 10hp blower is just doesn’t seem as mighty after seeing the above photo of Klimov VK-1 engines from Mig-15 jets mounted on the front of trucks to clear snow from airport runways in Russia. Now that’s a snowblower! I wonder how my neighbors would feel about one of these in the driveway?

And here is a Mig-17 powered ice melting machine:

I would think you would have to be careful not to torch the whole plane with one of those beasts.

[Gizmodo via TechEBlog]

For the last several months we have been experiencing a terrible smell from our stove whenever we broiled food in the oven. An odd, not food like smell, more like burning insulation or plastic or something. It was barely noticeable when we just baked, but once the top elements got really hot for broiling, the odor got nasty. We opened windows and turned on fans, but it would linger in the whole house for hours. We cleaned the oven, we cleaned under the stove burners, no change. The other day we finally decided to tear into it and figure out what was going on.

We pulled the plug, moved it out from the wall and started taking out screws. Top element removed, connections looked fine, no charring or loose wires. Took off the door, removed back panels, found some greasy dirt, but nothing that looked like it was burning. After taking the stove top and head unit completely off we spotted a few mouse droppings in the bit of fiberglass insulation exposed under the edges of the pan which separates the stove from the oven. I started wondering if mice had moved in to the insulation, then met their hot demise. I found it interesting that the pan was held on with Torx screws which seemed to imply that it was not supposed to removed. I dug out my Torx driver, removed the screws, and cautiously lifted, afraid of what I might find. As it came up we saw a dark brown area on the otherwise light yellow insulation and knew we were on the right track. We slowly peeled back the insulation, afraid that any moment a horror movie worthy charred remains of a dead mouse would be revealed, but instead there were dark pea sized pellets? Whaa? those look like – no it couldn’t be – rabbit droppings??

While my mind churned for a moment trying to grasp what I was seeing, BRB suddenly spoke the answer – Cat Food! Yes, there were not rabbits nesting in the stove (whew, I hate it when that happens), but rather mice had stashed a winter’s worth of cat food pellets in a hollowed out area in the fiberglass insulation, and then the pellets had baked and burned when the top of the oven got hot enough. We proceeded to carefully perform a pelletectomy surgical procedure with gloves, scissors and vacuum cleaner. We managed to remove the food and the damaged insulation, but were left with a big hole in the insulation exposing the top of the oven compartment.

We left everything torn apart all over the kitchen and drove to the appliance store to find out how to get replacement fiberglass. The service man did not seem to even offer to sell us some, but agreed with our suggestion that it would be easy to scavenge a piece from a dead oven. We drove over to their appliance graveyard where things were piled up for recycling. Unfortunately they had just sent out a big group of ovens, but there was one stove top that had a few strips of insulation in it – just enough to fill the hole, and its bright white color made it look like surgical gauze, to complete the surgery metaphor.

After reassembling the whole mess, we  seem to have solved the problem, and tested it / celebrated by baking some muffins. And now we know not to try to bake a cat food hot dish for the cat. Like revenge, cat food is a dish best served cold.