Barack Obama's $3 Million Overhead Projector (49)
share
digg
by
John Herrman (314)
on
Gizmodo (6938)
3 days, 18 hours
ago
permalink
During the last Presidential debate, John McCain delivered this line about his opponent with withering contempt: [Obama] voted for nearly a billion dollars in pork barrel earmark projects, including, by the way, $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in Chicago, Illinois. I'm already tired of hearing these guys talk, but that caught my ear. A $3 million dollar projector? What does that even look like? Gearlog did some digging and found out ...
-
Justin said:
I really thought Obama should have thrown this remark back in McCain's face. Three million dollars small potatoes and education, especially science education, should be one of the FIRST things we're spending tax dollars on.
-
cbsmith said:
Two thoughts:1) It seems likely to me that $3 million for a top quality planetarium projector is a great deal.2) Why have it earmarked just for Chicago? Why not have a fund for planetariums, rather than just one specific one, which is selected by means of politics rather than some kind of objective criteria? That's the trouble I have in earmarks: not that what the money is spent on wasteful things (which happens, but far less often than people think), but that the criteria for where and on whom it is spent is highly arbitrary and inevitably NOT in the nation's best interests.
-
lance said:
This is an awesome "overhead projector" wish we had these things in high school and college...oh wait, there is one at the planetarium, but I don't think it was as fancy as this!
Gigabyte M912X hack makes a smarter, cheaper Modbook (5)
share
digg
by
Samuel Axon (91)
on
Engadget (5215)
3 days, 23 hours
ago
permalink
Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs A fellow named Stuart Lowe installed Leopard on his Gigabyte M912X netbook / tablet hybrid, and we like the results. Though this isn't the first Mac tablet hack, it's a tightly wrapped little package: the interface seems smooth with either fingers or a stylus, and Inkwell's onscreen keyboard allows complete functionality when the computer is folded into its slate configuration. Much of the necessary software functionality existed in Leopard already, ...
USB webmail notifier lights up your life when you've got mail (19)
share
digg
by
Tim Stevens (200)
on
Engadget (5215)
6 days, 10 hours
ago
permalink
Filed under: Peripherals The reams and reams of spam found with every check of our inboxes here at Engadget HQ have quashed the surge of emotions we used to experience when that new-mail notifier started blinking. So, we went looking for something to help get our e-mail groove back, and we've found it: the USB webmail notifier. It's a little box with the iconic envelope design on the front that lights up in green, blue, ...
-
JR A said:
Not bad but a wifi or bluetooth version would be much better.
-
Ben said:
Nick--Can haz?
Livestation Brings Streaming TV to All Platforms [Featured Download] (28)
share
digg
by
Kevin Purdy (3548)
on
Lifehacker (12740)
6 days, 13 hours
ago
permalink
Windows/Mac/Linux (all platforms): Livestation, the previously invite-only streaming television player, has released its free desktop client for all platforms. The app cites an available 1,275 channels, but the majority are—how should we say—not essential viewing. Still, there's live CNN, BBC, NBC News, Bloomberg, and a smattering of local stations. The full-screen "carousel" view is pretty slick, as is reducing the player to a corner and having it always stay on top. After creating your account, ...
Screenshot Tour: Picasa 3 Beta's New Features (49)
share
digg
by
Kevin Purdy (3548)
on
Lifehacker (12740)
6 days, 16 hours
ago
permalink
Windows/Linux: Picasa, Google's photo management tool, has quietly announced a new beta that adds basic movie editing, fuller syncing to Web Albums, and many other features and changes. Actually, the biggest change in the new Picasa isn't in the software itself—it's a new "quick view" utility, which replaces the basic double-click viewing tool in Windows with a Picasa-friendly, drop-cloth-style window. Five new collage styles have also been added to the offerings, and Picasa's new "Move ...
Five Best Media Converters [Hive Five] (26)
share
digg
by
Adam Pash (4598)
on
Lifehacker (12740)
1 week
ago
permalink
We've all been there: you've downloaded an episode of your favorite TV show to watch on your commute or stream to your living room, but the file you downloaded isn't supported on the device you want to use it with. Once a significant obstacle to enjoying your media anywhere, this problem is easily solved by any number of free media converters. On Wednesday we asked you to share your favorite media converters, and today we're ...
Create a Secret Data Stash with a Fake Phonejack [Weekend Project] (18)
share
digg
by
Jason Fitzpatrick (730)
on
Lifehacker (12740)
1 week
ago
permalink
While not as grandiose as having your own secret bookshelf door, constructing a hidden USB data stash won't take a whole weekend and involve a table saw. At the DIY website Instructables there is a step by step tutorial on hiding your data behind a phone jack plate. By wiring a USB cord to the phone plate and making a USB cord with a phone jack terminal at one end, you'll be able to access ...
Create a Secret Data Stash with a Fake Phonejack [Weekend Project] (47)
share
digg
by
Jason Fitzpatrick (730)
on
Lifehacker (12740)
1 week
ago
permalink
While not as grandiose as having your own secret bookshelf door, constructing a hidden USB data stash won't take a whole weekend and involve a table saw. At the DIY website Instructables there is a step by step tutorial on hiding your data behind a phone jack plate. By wiring a USB cord to the phone plate and making a USB cord with a phone jack terminal at one end, you'll be able to access ...
-
Jason said:
Hey, that's really cool! I'm not sure why I'd do it.. but it's pretty cool!
-
Ryan said:
very cool
-
Jeffrey said:
that's sweet!
-
Pete said:
When you're feeling like a secret agent.
-
ScrewTheMan.com said:
USB via phonejack is a cool idea!
-
Jeremy said:
This is absurdly awesome.
The Beer-Filled USB Drive (18)
share
digg
by
Dan Nosowitz (186)
on
Gizmodo (6938)
1 week, 1 day
ago
permalink
Gadgets like this Beer-Filled USB Flash Drive really make me question the basics. More than my first-year university philosophy class did, anyway. Existential angst, the downfall of western civilization, and "customizable floaties" after the jump. Is capitalism really that great, if it leads to beer-filled USB flash drives with "optional customizable floating objects" inside? Should we Americans really be that pleased with our free speech, if it means I get emails from people who make ...
-
Lionel Riem said:
I dare anyone try to take a plane with this thing. I wonder how it looks like in x-ray :)
The Week in iPhone Apps: Fresh Fring and Other Diversions (11)
share
digg
by
John Mahoney (420)
on
Gizmodo: Top (108)
1 week, 2 days
ago
permalink
Lots of news to catch up on this week from the App Store. So come have a look, iPhone folks, at what you may have missed on Giz this week, in addition to a few of our picks for new apps of the last seven days as always. We're excited first and foremost that Fring, a great multi-service IM and VoIP app, has just made it into the App Store (not even in the search ...
DIY Butcher Block Knife Slot [Weekend Project] (2)
share
digg
by
Adam Pash (4598)
on
Lifehacker (12740)
1 week, 2 days
ago
permalink
Weblog Ikea Hacker demonstrates a simple but inventive idea for carving a knife slot in an Ikea butcher-block island. The method: simply cut a slot with a circular saw, stick in a few knives, and call it a day. Surely a bit more finesse could go into this idea to hold the knives at more attention—for example, single slots for each knife would be more attractive (though you'd need to ditch the circular saw for ...
100 skills everyone should know... (10)
share
digg
by
Phillip Torrone (539)
on
MAKE Magazine (1381)
1 week, 2 days
ago
permalink
Popular Mechanics has a quiz, a list and videos of 100 skills everyone should know, the article says "men" but as I went through the list I know more women who can do more of the skills than men, so I'm going to suggest they call it "100 skills everyone should know"... check it out, see how you do. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Online | Digg this!
Preface: I had originally planned to not post this call for (1)
share
digg
by
noreply@blogger.com (Mistress Matisse) (4)
on
Mistress Matisse's Journal (6)
1 week, 2 days
ago
permalink
Preface: I had originally planned to not post this call for opinions on this blog, because I wanted to solicit answers from more narrowly-focused groups of BDSM-identified people. But frankly, I'm not getting any takers! Everyone seems to be voting for for Obama. It would be interesting to think that all the kinky people in the world are Democrats, but I happen to know that ain't so. I am personally acquainted with some very kinky ...
Hubris, Thy Name Is Jenny McCarthy (1)
share
digg
by
Steven Novella (16)
on
NeuroLogica Blog (8)
1 week, 3 days
ago
permalink
There are many words I could attach to the dangerous freakshow that is Jenny McCarthy - self-made advocate for the pseudoscientific notion that there is a link between vaccines and autism: deluded, self-righteous, irrational, the Mayor of Wooville, etc. But I am always interested in the process that gets people to their profound confusion. I believe at the core of Jenny McCarthy’s tragic crusade is an utter lack of humility. Her lack of humility also ...
