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  • Military, Aviation & Space

    QANTAS Airbus A330 gets its wires chewed by dog

    By Posted on 1.23.2009 2 Comments

    QANTAS has grounded one of its Airbus A330s after it was revealed that a dog chewed through thick electrical wiring and panels on the plane. First signs of trouble were during a flight from Auckland to Melbourne on December 7, News.com.au reports. The auxiliary power unit in the rear of the plane was the victim of the dog attack and warning lights in the cockpit of the A330 alerted the pilot to the issue.

    1.23.2009 at 02:55pm - Comment by Nick82

    It was probably initially restrained by that QANTAS mechanic who fudged his qualifications! Lucky this QANTAS plane didn't have a whole in it's cargo hole blow out while in mid-air, or does that only happen near Manila?

  • SciTech

    Britannica goes Wiki

    By Posted on 1.23.2009 1 Comments

    With the growth of Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Britannica has decided that it’s time to join the revolution. Yesterday Jorge Cauz, President of Encyclopedia Britannica, announced that within the next 24 hours users would be able to modify and contribute to the online version of the encyclopedia.

    1.23.2009 at 10:22am - Comment by Nick82

    Gotta agree with Cauz... how the hell does Wikipedia get a better Google rank? Yeah, I know, they get more hits, but really, there is no way Britannica would be less relevant.

  • Entertainment & Gaming

    Best Obama Action Figure Ever Battles Darth Vader, Terrorists, Karaoke

    By Posted on 1.22.2009 2 Comments

    Story from Gizmodo Australia Geezuss. Rollerblading. In spandex. Christ. This is, without a doubt, the best President Obama action figure ever: Fully posable, with facial expressions, interchangeable hands, katanas, 9mm gun, assault rifle, and a lightsaber, among other things:

    1.23.2009 at 10:21am - Comment by Nick82

    What about Biden? I want both so I can have a democratically elected good time. Might pit them up against the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

  • Cars

    F1 Goes Back to the Future

    By Posted on 1.22.2009 2 Comments

    Formula 1: the pinnacle of motorsports, the most advanced cars in the world, the most exciting racing anywhere. In a former life this writer was the editor of the Australian edition of F1 Racing magazine. Now he’s looking at the cars from a slightly different perspective. In terms of design, technology and speed, the new bunch of F1 cars have a lot to be desired. The BMW Sauber F1 team’s side-by-side shots of the 2008 car and the 2009 car graphically illustrate this.

    1.22.2009 at 11:40am - Comment by Nick82

    Been following the car release so far this year. All aside from the new Williams-Toyota look terrible. The new regulations have turned the most technologically advanced cars into little more than toy cars.

  • SciTech

    Steve Jobs, Sir … May I Take Your Pulse?

    By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 1.22.2009 1 Comments

    Apple announced last week that Steve Jobs was taking a medical leave of absence until June, leaving techies atwitter about the CEO's health. Now researchers argue that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should require companies to disclose the health of CEOs to shareholders.

    1.22.2009 at 10:52am - Comment by Nick82

    Geez, it's amazing how much of a fuss people make over Apple. Stocks dived after the announcement was made. But here's the thing, Apple have reported record profits today despite the economic downturn, so really, I bet it will all balance out in the end.

  • Cars

    Evidence That Traffic Tickets Aren’t Just About Road Safety

    By Molika Ashford Posted on 1.22.2009 3 Comments

    If you thought there was no science behind getting a speeding ticket, you’re right, kind of… It’s probably more of a case of economics. In North Carolina, at least, – where researchers examined 96 counties for a report in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Law and Economics – when local government revenue goes down, ticketing goes up. Yes we’ve all said it before: public safety isn’t the only motivation for tickets. (Can’t you just give me a warning, Officer?) But now there is scientific proof of that long held suspicion.

    1.22.2009 at 10:49am - Comment by Nick82

    I'm sure that's what it is like in Australia too. Whether or not you get a ticket or whether you get let off seems to be hugely dependent on what part of the country you are in.

  • Military, Aviation & Space

    Inauguration Day From Space

    By Posted on 1.21.2009 3 Comments

    As promised, here are three stunningly clear satellite images of the tops of some five million heads during today’s inauguration. These images were snapped at 11:19am today by GeoEye-1, the most powerful commercial imaging satellite in the sky, from 423 miles above the trampled grass on the National Mall.

    1.21.2009 at 12:37pm - Comment by Nick82

    Wow. They all look like flies swarming around a dropped paddle pop stick!

  • SciTech

    Staying Healthy Never Felt So Good

    By Posted on 1.21.2009 2 Comments

    Why is it that when you are working hard and multitasking like a superhero, you tend to get sick? A recent study by Sheldon Cohen from Carnegie Mellon University examined the relationship between sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold. The results indicated that there is a direct correlation between how much sleep you get per night and the likelihood that you will be stuck in bed with a rhinovirus after just two weeks of poor sleeping habits.

    1.21.2009 at 10:29am - Comment by Nick82

    Yeah, in theory that's all well and good. But let's be serious. Along with getting my five serves of fruit and two of veg, and then easting cereal, fruit, toast, milk and juice (or so Andrew Gaze would have me believe) for breakfast, then doing half an hour excercise per day, then sleeping a minimum of eight hours, then working a minimum of eight hours, taking an hour to get to work and an hour to get back, when the hell am I supposed to get time to do anything for myself? The fact is, people are worked too hard these days. Who hasn't seen the SMH reports that show Sydney especially is one of the most demanding work forces in the world. I wish I could keep myself text book healthy but it's just not realistic. Since when were we ever meant to sit at a desk for eight hours, five days a week?

  • Gear & Gadgets

    LightLane Ensures Cyclists a Bike Lane Wherever They Go

    By Posted on 1.19.2009 2 Comments

    Story from Gizmodo Australia University students bike it everywhere, I had to bike everywhere when I was at university. You would think a university town would have had designated bike lanes everywhere, but they often don't. That's where the LightLane would've come in handy. Using lasers affixed to your bicycle, the LightLane concept projects a virtual bike lane around you, letting cars around you know their boundaries and making it a little safer for you.

    1.20.2009 at 10:43am - Comment by Nick82

    Cool idea, but I'm guessing it only works at night, when you're probably going to be using a light as well on the front and/or back of the bike. With this as well, that's either a lot of battery power or some serious pedal power you're gonna need to churn up. With the hills around Sydney, I might pass.

  • Gear & Gadgets

    Wireless Woes on Inauguration Day

    By Catherine Schwanke Posted on 1.20.2009 1 Comments

    If you’re planning to be anywhere near D.C. on Tuesday, don’t be surprised to experience some cell phone trouble. Government officials aren’t the only ones bracing for record-breaking crowds in the nation’s capital for president-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration. The wireless industry is also preparing for a possible network overload.

    1.20.2009 at 10:39am - Comment by Nick82

    Sounds a lot like what Telstra customers face on a daily basis!