The graphic is titled ‘How people is science see each other’ and its goal is to humorously depict perception within the confines of academe. We never realized professor’s thought undergrounds were Megan Fox-sexy. Then again, we might be missing the point. The self-image of technicians are golden though. Hint: a timeless action hero sums up the glory of being an indestructible lab wizard.

The confessed creator of this graphic wanted to refreshingly convey the rigid hierarchy that dominates most institutions of higher learning. The result is amusing, to say the least. Chuck Norris is just too much of a mega-meme to get tired of.

Here’s a compelling question for the readers. No prizes except bragging rights. The question is: In what country and what city did PhDs originate?

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By ‘conquer’ is meant a full fledged but otherwise benign mission to the Red Planet scheduled in the near future. A short while ago the Mars 500 simulation got featured here in the spotlight. Mars 500 is basically six guys living in the confines of a ‘spacehsip’ for 500 days. The whole point is to see how well (or worse) humans are going to fare on the long trip to mars.

Mars 500 is already winding down with just weeks to go before it’s over. In the meantime, a spokesman for the European Space Agency (ESA) declared that Russia will remain a vital partner on the next great planetary mission. The announcement was made earlier this week outside Moscow during the MAKS 2011 airshow where all sorts of cool aircraft were flown.

As for the date of when a mars mission will go live—that’s anyone’s guess. At the rate we’re going, neither Europe or fiscally-strapped U.S.A. Are in the ... Read more »

Take note that we carefully chose the perfect word to describe this delicate (and 100% theoretical) operation. What a team of physicists from Tsinghua University plan to do is launch a small solar-sail powered spacecraft to intercept the asteroid and smash it off course. The tiny details involving such a hair-raising operation are still vague, which is understandable. For starters, who’ll build the spaceship?

In a scenario not very different but far less exciting than the Michael Bay helmed ‘Armageddon’ a rather large asteroid is hurtling toward our grubby little planet. Named Apophis, the asteroid has the dubious honor of being a planet killer. And yes, when it hits us, everything goes up in flames, flaming rocks, and molten lava. Basically an infernal mess that’s righteous punishment for all the evil our miserable race has perpetrated since the first monkey bashed his brethren ... Read more »

You should be glad it doesn’t crush human skulls. But that’s in the near future, when the War has begun. Anyway, for now they’re just cans. Long story short, high tech firm Florida Robotics built Dr. R.E. Cycler to educate the youth about the recycling process. What the Dr. does is pretty visceral; each time it’s fed/given a can, it literally crushes it. Awed onlookers can then watch the scrap aluminum collect in what passes for Dr. R.E. Cycler’s stomach. Or they can pose for Facebook pics.

The Dr. came to be after local waste management requested that Florida Robotics develop an entertaining yet educational diversion for the younger set that would impart a positive message. So far, judging by the pictorial evidence Dr. R.E. Cycler is doing great. We just wish it had a cooler name. Dr. R.E. Cycler? How come real life robots are never as sexy as the ones we imagine? Crushing aluminum can ... Read more »

Ozaki have unveiled a rather unique iPhone charger and speaker dock called the iSuppli Gramo. The design for the compact speaker dock has been taken from the old gramophone record players of the last century.

The iSuppli Gramo can either be used with or without power. But if you need to charge your iPhone or would like to use the integrated amplified speaker features of the docking station you will need  a power connection.

The iSuppli Gramo is a one-piece design and is available in either black, white or red and is now available to purchase from the Audiocubes website for $70.

Source: ... Read more »

If you are an avid Portal 2 fan you will be pleased to know that Valve has confirmed their new Portal 2 DLC content hasn’t been delayed and will be arriving around the middle of September.

The new Portal 2 DLC add-on pack which was first announced in April will include new maps, leader boards, and challenge modes for single and multiplayer options.

The DLC was initially expected for a summer release but in an interview with the Kotaku website, Valve’s Doug Lombardi  says that the September launch is still technically summer.

When the new Portal 2 DLC finally lands it September it will be free to download.

Source: Kotaku

This unique speaker design created by Thomas Laenner has been inspired by a tree stump and can either be wall mounted or comes in a table top version as well.

The wall mounted version of the stump speaker has been designed to appear as if it were a cut tree growing out the wall. With a small branch acting asa stand for your smartphone or music player.

The desktop stump speaker includes  a discrete circular control disc which both acts as an on and off button and adjusts the volume. It equipped with 2 x four inch speakers but does not have a dock like the wall mounted version just a simply 3.5 mm line in connection.

Unfortunately the design created by Laenner is just a concept at the moment, but it would be great to see such an innovative design make the jump to production.

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iFixit well know for dismantling the very best gadgets around and uncovering their inner secrets. Has today announced that they are launching a new project designed to make technical documentation and how-to’s easily available within a cloud based Wiki-like environment.

The new site is currently in its beta development stages iFixit are looking to launch the new service in the Fall. The name Dozuki comes from a Japanese saw used to make very precise cuts.

iFixit explain:

"The technical documentation industry is huge and the software that’s out there now is pretty old,” – "You have lots of service manuals for your tools, but they’re in legacy PDF,” – "You could put them online, and use them as the start of an online community and maybe your tool manuals are just the start — you encourage your customers to share how ... Read more »

If you are one of those people that is always dropping and breaking their phone, or you are just looking for something a little more rugged than the standard run of the mill phones on the market.

Gresso has a new super rugged phone called the Gresso Extreme X3 which is capable of with standing the pressure from a 1 tonne weigh, surviving 7m drops on to concrete and can withstand temperatures between -50 and +60° С.

Due to its extreme ruggedness the Gresso Extreme X3 has been awarded the International IP67 certificate, and the Guinness Book of World Records has included the handset in their records as the first of its kind which can remain underwater at a depth of 5 meters for 1 hour. As you would expect being so waterproof  the Gresso Extreme X3 is also dust and moisture protec ... Read more »

Google has today added a new weather layer to its Google Maps service, making it even easier to see the weather

conditions and temperatures around the globe. To view the new weather layer on Google Maps, move your mouse to

the top right hand corner of Google Maps and select the new weather layer from the list of options.

Once enabled by clicking on one of the city weather icons, a forecast for the next four days will be revealed together

with extra information on the current humidity and wind conditions. Watch a quick video by Google showing their new

weather layer in action after the jump.

The new layer also allows you to tweak the wind speed units choosing between Mph/KMph/Mps and either F or C

temperature. You can also enable or disable the cloud graphics that appe ... Read more »

Whether EA’s Origin is just a show of strength to open up a new revenue stream by prying DLC from Steam’s clutches or an earnest attempt at chipping away a few flakes off Valve’s granite foothold in the PC digital delivery market, the relationship between the two companies is growing… tense. Valve bossman Gabe Newell, however, seems to believe there’s still hope for a reconciliation, despite Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3 not putting in a Steam appearance.

"I think with any developer, the onus is on us to show them we have value, that we’re creating a set of services and capabilities and bringing an audience to them,” he said. "We want to do a good job showing EA that we have value on Steam. We’ll try to work hard with them.” Oh, there’s no doubt in our minds Valve and EA will be working each other hard.

Source ... Read more »

All that thought Blizzard was putting into a console incarnation of the world’s poorliest categorized action game with RPG elements? Nothing, compared to the push it’s going to get from now on. Gamescom, home of a million revelations and all of them about video games, can add another notch to it belt.

"Today, we’re trying to build the best console team at Blizzard. We’re looking for programmers, designers and artists who think their dream job would be to bring Diablo to the console.” Know who that is, talking? That’s Diablo III lead designer Josh Mosqueira and he doesn’t sound like he’s taking any prisoners on this. Also, Blizzard, while you’re at it, why not a team to polish off that Ghost code you’ve got kicking around seeing how you’re in a fan fantasy fulfilling mood and everything.

Source ... Read more »