Life On the Wicked Stage: Act 2

Google Finds Osama Bin Laden with New Goolgle Earth Feature

No, not really. But hey, the new feature in Google Earth that will allow for real time tracking of people and cars could probably do better in finding OBL than the US has done. I'm sure it will look spooky to all sorts of folks concerned about privacy and the like but hey, Big Brother has been watching for some time and in so many ways, all you can really do is wave. Wait, that's going out to a round of beta testers today.

PopSci.comVia Gizmodo

Hydrokinetic Adjustable Wrench

I don’t climb ladders and do much work with tools in the theatre anymore, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting one of these. The Hydrokinetic Adjustable Wrench lets you work with 23 different sizes of nuts and bolts. It has a liquid core. You open a valve, fit this over the nut or bolt, push what they call the ‘gripper’ and you get a snug fit and can go about your business.

 

Via ThinkGeek

LogMeIn Logs In with Expensive iPhone App

LogMeIn is offering up a new iPhone app called LogMeIn Ignition. They are also upping the ante on what an iPhone app should cost. At a whopping $29.99, it will be interesting to see how many takers they get on this. I’m guessing not many.

That said, LogMeIn offers a number of great features for logging in to a computer remotely and I’m sure it would be a welcome edition to anyone’s iPhone who needs to do that kind of remote logging in.

The high price just proves that Apple needs to figure out a way to let folks test things out before dropping their dough on some of these apps.

Technorati Tags: LogMeIn,Apple,iPhone,App Store

iPhone Photo Helps Grant Applicant

The iPhone camera is one of the weakest parts of the package. There are however a number of apps that try to improve upon the crappy camera and what it is capable of. One of those is Camerabag, which I’ve downloaded and I have to say, it can make a difference in the output.

That said, here’s a story of how Artist Joel Murphy used the iPhone camera and Camerabag to submit a grant application. Apparently he couldn’t get the right picture with real camera but the combo mentioned above did the trick.

Fascinating.

Technorati Tags: iPhone,Camerabag

Twitter as a Terrorist Tool

According to Noah Shachtman on DangerRoom a draft Army intelligence report is circulating among spook-land that says Twitter might become an effective tool for terrorists bent on causing harm. Of course Twitter isn’t the only tool mentioned in the terror toolbox. The study points out cell phones and other hardware and software that used in combination with Twitter could pose threats. The study cites how activists used Twitter in Minneapolis during the Republican Convention this summer.

Of course, from my way of looking at it, using Twitter and/or any other gadget/software/hardware/gizmo is no different than using any other innovation that comes along. The trick, if you’re in the bad guy catching game is to be on top of things before the bad guys are. But then that poses another whole series of questions now, doesn’t it.

Technorati Tags: Twitter,spy,terrorist

Animating Emily

This is both fascinating and also a bit scary. Image Metrics recently showed off its facial animation at SIGGRAPH. At some point we’ll never know when to trust our eyes.

Technorati Tags: Image Metrics

Love This Multi-Tool Pen

Ok, yeah, I’m a geek, and I also really love gadgets like this 13-in-1 multi-tool pen. Someone add this to my Christmas list will you.

In addition to a pen it includes a hole puncher; a stainless steel file; a short cutting blade; a flat screwdriver; a wire sleeve remover/small nail remover; an ear pick; a long cutting blade; a tweezer; a Philips screwdriver; a stainless steel fork and a saw.

I like the idea of the ear pick.

From Firebox.com via Gizmodo

Testing ScribeFree as a Blogging Tool

You can really ignore this post. I'm testing ScribeFire, which is a blogging tool that you can use from within Firefox. We'll see how it works.

Theremin in an Altoids Tin

This is for my buddy Larry Dahlke. Supposedly this is a solar-powered theremin tucked inside an Altoids tin. Curiously strong? I’m guessing so. Read more about it at the Make Blog.

 

Via Engadget

Technorati Tags: theremin,Larry Dahlke

I Want One of These

Just cool. Apparently in the upcoming movie Get Smart, Max uses a souped up Swiss Army knife that contains among other things, a crossbow, a working flamethrower, and a blowgun. I want one. I’m a multi-tool fanatic and think this would be a great addition to my arsenal.

Gizmodo has an interesting run down on this and how the prop was created for the movie. Check it out, and you know what I want on my Christmas list.

Technorati Tags: Get Smart,Swiss Army Knife