Rayman Legends For Wii U (Leaked Video Trailer)

By Craig Garcia - If your like me, then you might also be looking forward to the release of Nintendo's Wii U later this year. Aside from a bevy of features the Wii U will also have a NFC chip installed in the controllers... To those in the know, this is a very exciting addition, and for those not familiar with it it will be a surprise I'm sure you'll love. Check out the leaked trailer below for a sneak peak of Rayman Legends.

YouTube Pick Of The Day: BollyWood Horse Chase

By Craig Garcia - Not that long ago I posted a YouTube pick of the day titled 'The best, worst car chase scene ever.' Well today I'm expanding on that with this gem I found on YouTube. This is the bollywood horse chase scene, and it's a very close second for the worst chase scene ever & this actor seems to exude a Jackie Chan / Bruce Willis vibe.... not sure why but I love terrible movies! If you've seen this video before then you know what I'm talking about, and if you haven't.... Lean back, relax and enjoy, my YouTube pick of the day.

Waterfall Hotel Built In Partially Flooded Quarry

Latley I've been reading about tons of new 5 Star hotels popping up all over Asia. From hotels built from retired war ships, to aircraft carriers, but it was this one that especially impressed me. The pictures here may only be a conceptual rendering, but don't let that fool you, construction has already started on the Shimao Intercontinental Hotel being built in an abandoned quarry. 

Robo-Guard Could Soon Patrol A Prison Near You

South Korea has brought the world many innovations in robotics, the latest though seems to have caught my eye and potentially prison wardens the world over.  Let me introduce to you 'Robo-Guard'. This beefy  and robust robot is the worlds first robotic correctional officer.

Transmitting From iPad To Smart Phone Using High Frequency Light

So just as QR codes are becoming common place amongst society, the researchers at MIT's Media Lab are shaking things up again. With their new project codenamed 'NewsFlash' researchers are able to share information / web pages, using high frequency red and green lights to transmit data to a built in camera on another device such as a cell phone or tablet.

Chery's Ant Concept Is Certainly Something New

At today's Auto China Show in Beijing, car maker Chery showed off a very interesting new concept. This is the Ant, and from what I gather it appears to be aimed towards using the intelligent infrastructure proposed by General Motors China in it's EN-V concept. 

While details on this new ride are scarce and hard to come by, photos suggest that it is designed to platoon with other Ants on the highway and consume as little space as possible when parking. This concept is certainly unique and worthwhile for a follow up, check back often and we will see where Chery & General Motors China takes this idea. Additional photos below.

YouTube Pick Of The Day: Cat Wars 2

Today's pick is courtesy of my 2 year old son, he really likes Star Wars and the other day he was watching this video on his tablet. The video itself is pretty good, although I was more impressed that my son found it to be honest.  If you've seen this video before then you know that this is pretty good, and if not then lean back, relax and enjoy my YouTube pick of the day.

Test Flight Of Falcon 9 Rocket A Success

SpaceX's Falcon 9 Rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Florida on Friday, and reached orbit 9 minutes later.  This was the first flight test for the rocket carrying a unmanned mockup of the Dragon crew capsule designed by SpaceX. 

"This has been a good day for SpaceX and a promising development for the US human space flight programme," said Robyn Ringuette of SpaceX during a webcast about the launch. Yesterday SpaceX's CEO Elon Mush said he would consider the flight a success provided it reached orbit, "Even if we prove out just that the first stage functions correctly, I'd still say that's a good day for a test," he said. "It's a great day if both stages work correctly." Well today was certainly a success for the company and it shows promise for future flights with both cargo and crew aboard. 

YouTube Pick Of The Day: Jedi Cat VS Pitbull

The title says it all.

Dark Patches On Mars Made Of Glass

Ever wonder what those dark areas on Mars are? Well according to Briony Horgan & Jim Bell of Arizona State University, these areas are made primarily of Glass.

By analyzing near infrared spectral measurements retrieved by the Mars orbiter named "Express" , these two were able to recognize absorption bands resembling the iron found in volcanic glass here on Earth. The glass is likely in the form of sand sized granules, similar to the glass fields of Iceland and the spectra suggests that these granules are coated with silica-rich 'rinds'. 

Here on Earth rinds cover volcanic glass weathered by water, but how these have formed on Mars is still a mystery. Hogan says that lava from volcanoes interacting with water ice or snow may be a possible source for these rinds, and if true these areas would be prime candidates for sources of Alien life as at one time these would have held chemical rich water. 

The dark glass covered regions on Mars add up to more than 10 million square kilometers or real estate located in the northern lowlands. 

YouTube Pick Of The Day: Warning This Is Not Work Safe At All

This video speaks for itself. I came across this video whilst perusing the internet and thought it was so well done, and so funny that I had no choice but to choose this as my YouTube pick of the day. So if you've seen this, then you already know what I'm talking about, but if you haven't seen this one yet... lean back, relax and enjoy my YouTube pick of the day.

All Eyes On Him: Tupac Resurrected For One Night At Coachella

In case you missed it, over the weekend long deceased rapper Tupac shocked fans by performing at the Coachella music festival. That's right Tupac Shakur... He may have died many years ago, but that's not stopping him from making a holographic appearance in California.

The Tupac hologram was made possible by the impressive skills of AV Concepts and Dr. Dre's company Digital Domain. More than 100,000 fans witnessed the hologram perform 2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted & Hail Mary alongside Snoop Dogg. Don't believe me? Check out this technological marvel yourself in the video below.

End Of An Era: Shuttle Discovery Heads For The Smithsonian

Growing up I used to love watching shuttle launches, either on television or online.  It was awesome to watch those giant rockets blast off and soar into outer space. This is sadly something I will no longer be able to enjoy, and something that I wish I could share with my children. Unfortunately with the decommissioning of the remaining space shuttles, that era of spaceflight is now over as the final shuttle Discovery, heads to Washington to become a museum piece.

Sitting atop of a Boeing 747, Discovery made a low pass (approximately 1500 feet) and wow'd onlookers one final time before she headed towards her final resting place at the Smithsonian Institutes National Air and Space Museum.

As sad as this is, it also is signaling the dawn of a new era in space travel and exploration, making room for Space X, and their reusable spacecraft named 'Dragon'

One Minute Physics: How To Levitate By Vomiting Milk

Today's lesson from One Minute Physics addresses the topic of levitation. More specifically how to levitate by vomiting milk.... I know, it's gross but also entertaining and educational. So without further ado, here is a brief 1 minute video from our friends at New Scientist.

YouTube Pick Of The Day: The Best, Worst Car Chase Scene Ever

I was watching one of my favorite shows the other day (Attack Of The Show) and they showed this hilarious video of the 'Best Worst Car Chase' ever. This immediately became my favorite car chase scene and in today's pick I'll be sharing it with you. So if you've seen this before then you know what I'm talking about, but if you haven't .... lean back, relax and enjoy my YouTube pick of the day!

New Favorite Website Teaches Physics Really Really Fast!

Whilst browsing the inter-tubes I came across the most remarkable website. This site was able to take complicated physics concepts and equations and was able to convey the actual "meat and potatoes" if you will, in a manner which was easy to understand and did so in a very short time frame... a 'physics for dummies' if you will.

This site is an off-shoot of newscientist.com and is titled One Minute Physics. This idea of teaching me complex physics in 1 minute seemed impossible to me at first.. I consider myself a somewhat intelligent person, but I figured it may take someone else more than 1 minute to explain to me in simple terms some of these brain-melting concepts... thankfully I was wrong, and at the same time I also found a new favorite website.

So if you have one more minute of free time, allow me to introduce you to the concept of "Why Einstein Rotated Time" courtesy of our good friends at newscientist.com

 

YouTube Pick Of The Day: Texting Man Almost Runs Into A Bear

While flipping through the TV the other day I came across a news article about a bear walking around in La Crescenta, a neighborhood in southern California and although the story surprized me, I think the man in this video had a much larger shock when he looked up from his cell phone. If you've seen this already, then you know what I'm talking about, and if not lean back relax and enjoy my YouTube pick of the day.

RIM Attempting To Cast Off Doubts Of Products With Blackberry Webisodes

In an attempt to 'pull up' and escape the current free fall its' stock has taken, the Canadian Blackberry maker RIM has decided to launch the "Blackberry Challenge Council".  The purpose of which will be to shed some stereotypes the public has made about Blackberry smart phones.

Using comedy, this council will host contests and create webisodes geared to inform the public about what these handsets can actually do, currently 5 webisodes are planned and will feature MTV and CollegeHumor cast members.

To find out more information on the Blackberry Challenge Council, and how you can enter the contests check out the video below or head right to the website here.

Dubai's Newest Mark On The World

Dubai is well known for it's collection of some of the worlds most amazing and intriguing buildings & architecture. Most of you may already be familiar with 'The Palm', a series of man made islands just off the coast forming a unique and immediately recognizable landmark. What you may not know about is a new chain of man made islands, but this time designers have built the whole world.

That's right this ambitious project allows astronauts or anyone else with enough elevation, to view the entire planet by looking in one location. Well... kinda. What has been built is a collection of man made islands shaped into the continents of the world, sharply named 'The World Islands'. This will eventually consist of 300 islands divided into four sections, private homes, estate homes, dream resorts, and community islands. 

Once again Dubai has made it's mark on the planet, this time by showcasing it.  The photo in this post is courtesy of ESA astronaut André Kuipers, and you can view more of these breath taking photos at the ESA Flickr page.

YouTube Pick Of The Day: Easter Bunny Ruins Easter

This video has all the makings of a holiday made for TV movie. It has colored eggs, children crying and a 6 foot Easter bunny spying through a window. If you've seen this before, then you know what I'm talking about. And if not, lean back, relax and enjoy my YouTube pick of the day.

Charge Your Mobile Device While Walking

All travelers at some point face the inevitable challenge of where to charge your mobile device. Whether it be a cell phone, a laptop or a tablet, sooner or later it's going to need some time spent plugged in. This problem can be extremely difficult to overcome for travelers, as electrical outlets in airports/bus stations are prime real estate, and you don't often see people giving up those coveted seats next to the outlets. 

Coming Soon: Glass Multi Touch Keyboard & Mouse

Remember when you were younger, and saw all those sexy, hi-tech looking keypads & displays on Star Trek? Did you ever think you'd be able to purchase one? Well hopefully in the near future you will! Jason Giddings has been working on a project which would immediately make your gaming keyboard and mouse look like they belonged to a Commodore 64 and not your current PC.

Who Doesn't Love A Little Tactical Bacon?

The end of the world is coming, you know it and I know it. The Only thing we don't know is when, but when it does eventually happen, the only thing you won't have to worry about is your bacon. That's right Tactical Bacon is here to save the day... at least until the expiration date 10yrs down the road. 

I came across this awesome product awhile ago, and sadly after not receiving it for Christmas I decided that not enough people know about the 'pig in a can' which we call Tactical Bacon. This tiny can is packed with meaty goodness, and contains approximately 18 servings of Bacon. If you want your own can of Tactical Bacon you'd best be living in the US (currently not permitted to ship this product outside the US) and head over to Think Geek.com. and be ready to shell out 20 bucks plus shipping. 

Blast Boxers: Protecting What Really Matters

I came across this product a while ago, and during some random internet surfing came across them again over the weekend, immediately I knew it was fate telling me to buy a pair. And why not? 

The Blast Boxers are made of Aramid fabric and kevlar, ensuring that should you be sleep walking through a firing range the only part of you NOT turned into Swiss Cheese would be your crotch.

So if you want to keep your soldier safe, head on over to uncrate.com and pick yourself up a pair of the Blast Boxers for only $95 bucks.

QVC Accidentally Reveals 7 Inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.0 Pricing

It seems the home shopping merchant QVC has jumped the gun a little bit, by launching and then retracting a new pre-order page for Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2.0. The 8GB Wi-Fi only tablet has a 7 inch display,  a perfect sized device for your wife's purse or your hubby's 'man-bag'. 

While the SGT2 (as I'm calling it) has no official release date yet, that didn't stop QVC from slapping a price tag on it. Apparently this micro-tablet will be competitively priced at $309.96... watch out apple, another Android is coming to take a bite of your market share!

While the official release date hasn't been provided, Samsung has stated the release has been intentionally delayed in order to provide Ice Cream Sandwich OS on all new tablets. While we may not know exactly when this will hit the market place at least we know it's cheeper less expensive than an Ipad and most other micro tablets.

Lenovo's ICS, 42 Inch Smart TV Going On Sale In China

Smart TV's seem to be the new fad, and rightfully so. These are not the same types of TV's you were used to growing up, now a days your Smart TV can keep pace with your home computer, and if you haven't upgraded in a little while may actually be more powerful and have more functions too. 

Well now Lenovo is now jumping into the Smart TV business and plans to load the TV with Android's new operating system Ice Cream Sandwich. For those that haven't gotten a OTA update or haven't flashed a new ROM on their Android device to use the ICS operating system, this will blow you away. ICS so far is the pinnacle of Android operating systems, and Lenovo's plan to incorporate it into their new smart TV will bring the 'buttery smoothness' of ICS to the forefront.

Also included with the television will be the standard WiFi connectivity, 42 inch LED display, 1.5Ghz Duo Core processors, and 3D capability. So far Lenovo only plans to release this in China by months' end, however here's hoping we'll see this product available to the rest of the world in the near future. 

Android Open Kang Project Brings Hyper Customization To Your Nav Bar

Engadget - Still dallying at the corner of Custom ROM Road? Then maybe the forthcoming update from Team Kang (AOKP Build 30, no less) will entice you onwards. The preview clip after the break reveals a new level of freedom for the ICS navigation bar, including the ability to add up to five buttons, assign them to apps or actions as you wish, modify their icons and add separate long-press functions. It also gives you the ability to incorporate Nova Launcher actions into the bar, effectively bringing a whole extra layer of customization. Reactions over at RootzWiki range from "I'm crying, this is a beautiful moment" to "I just broke my hand punching a wall," but the latter dude admitted he'd been drinking.

3D Chocolate Printer - Coming Soon

Chocolate lovers rejoice! Although it wasn't ready for Easter, chocolate lovers and confectionery connoisseurs will soon be able to throw out the old 'molded chocolate' treats and instead go with something a little more uplifting.

Choc Edge's delectable 3D dessert printer is almost ready and will be available on Ebay as early as April 10, and has a starting point of just under $4000. This may sound a little rich to some, but to those in the dessert business finding that alternative to molded chocolate is quite the sweet treat.

Okay so candy pun's aside, the printer itself if quite nice. While I cannot justify the price, I can appreciate the plethora of possibilities that the 3D printer brings to the industry. For more information check out ChocEdge's website here.

YouTube Pick Of The Day: The Lamp

I know this was a prank pulled on some innocent lady, but this was a good one! This was new to me, but if you've seen it then you know how funny this is. If not, then lean back, relax, and enjoy my YouTube pick of the day.

Google's Augmented Reality Glasses: Update

The more I learn about these, the more I must have them. Today we get a sneak peak at some of the prototype models, as well as a video depicting how these bad boys will work. These are much more stylish than I originally thought they would be.

Plutonium To Pluto: Russian Nuclear Space Travel Breakthrough

RT News - A ground-breaking Russian nuclear space-travel propulsion system will be ready by 2017 and will power a ship capable of long-haul interplanetary missions by 2025, giving Russia a head start in the outer-space race.

 The megawatt-class nuclear drive will function for up to three years and produce 100-150 kilowatts of energy at normal capacity.

The new project proposes the use of an electric ion propulsion system. The engines exhaust thrust will be generated by an ion flow, which is further accelerated by an electric field. The nuclear reactor will therefore “supply” the necessary amount of electric power without unwanted radioactive contamination of the environment.

Xenon will serve as propellant for the engines.

It is under development at Skolkovo, Russia’s technology innovation hub, whose nuclear cluster head Denis Kovalevich confirmed the breakthrough to Interfax. "At present we are testing several types of fuel and later we will start drafting the design," he said.

While the engine is expected to be fully assembled by 2017 the accompanying craft will not be ready before 2025 former head of Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov, told Interfax.

'Smart Sand' Builds Copies Of Objects

New Scientist - Self-assembling robots have been around for ages, from modules that build themselves into a mechanical snake that can wriggle across the floor, to robotic pieces that automatically stack to build a two-legged walker.

Most of those efforts involved designing modules that would add themselves together, like very smart Legos, using internal electronics and mechanics to self-assemble.

Now Daniela Rus and her student Kyle Gilpin of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have taken new tack. Instead of adding pieces, they first pile the bits together, then shed the parts they don't need to leave the desired shape.

Their "smart sand" is made up of individual grains that are really one centimetre square cubes with microprocessors inside and switchable magnets on four of their six faces which can talk to each other electronically and sense their neighbors.

Angry Goose Attacks Man Going To Work.

Here's a nomination for the YouTube pick of the day that didn't quite make the cut. While it's still a very funny video, it didn't quite have enough to label it as my pick of the day. Either way though, check out the video below and watch this guy go 10 rounds with a goose on his way to work.

Kristi's Shotgun Rainbow

Here's a short video showing you how to make a rainbow with a shotgun.

Flying Car: PAL-V ONE Takes To The Skies

The era of flying cars is here.... well almost. But the Netherlands is looking to bring the future of flight a little closer to reality with the the PAL-V ONE. This new take on an old idea is not only the sexiest concept for a flying car, it's actually a working model. It doesn't have side wings like some other models do, and does comply with all air and road traffic regulations in major markets.

MIT 3D Solar Panels

What do you think about when someone mentions solar panels? Probably those old large and inefficient flat panels mounted on top of homes right? Well the good folks down at MIT are looking to change all that, they've created a new 3-D design which is sure to completely change how we view solar collection technology.

This design is basically solar cubes, or solar towers if you will... and MIT researchers claim the results from structures such as these have "power output ranging from double to more than 20 times that of fixed or flat panels with the same base area."

This is a bold new approach to solar collection and you can find out more information about the concept in the journal Energy and Environmental Science.

YouTube Pick Of The Day: Godzilla Poops In The Bath Tub

Happy Monday everyone, hopefully your day is going better than mine. But just in case you need a pick me up, today's YouTube pick of the day should at least make you smile. There's nothing really outstanding about this video, but it's simplicity was enough to make me burst out laughing in the office. So if you've never seen this, lean back, relax and enjoy my YouTube pick of the day.

Denver Zoo Powered By Poo

The Denver Zoo has come up with a very interesting idea to not only produce electricity but also reduce an estimated 1.5 million pounds of garbage and waste each year. The idea is what I'm calling Poo Power.

 The Zoo purchased a richshaw from Thailand and staff modified it to run on gasified pellets consisting of animal dung and human waste/garbage. The end result, a poo powered rickshaw used to show off how the zoo is going green and reducing energy costs.