If you’re reading this, your DNA’s likely comprised of 23 pairs of chromosomes. That would make you a human, as well as a potential customer for the at-home DNA testing kits sold by 23andMe. Order and register your kit, send in a tube of your spit, and in upwards of four weeks you’ll get access to genetic information that’ll clue you in about your health and heritage in ways you never thought possible. Or, perhaps, important.

How it’s possible is an explanation best left to the scientists, but why it’s important is best left to you to repeat to as many people as possible: genetic testing will tell you if any children you plan to conceive will be at risk for inherited traits and conditions. And that’s not all. What can DNA testing tell you about such “garden variety” diseases as diabetes? According to 23andMe, “on average, one person in five develops diabetes by age 79. Variations in your DNA tested for by 23andMe might raise your risk to one in three, making your lifestyle choices on factors like exercise and weight control even more critical.” Whether you use this site’s kit or choose to have genetic testing done in a doctor’s office, there’s no debate that that’s news you can use.

Once 23andMe tests your DNA, they store it in their database, allowing you to access your genome or genetic information online. You can also pay to compare your genes with those of others registered with the service, making it a genetic Facebook of sorts, enabling you to potentially find potential living relatives as well as details about who your ancestors were and where they lived.

Whether you spring for the testing or not, watch the site’s Genetics 101 video that’ll re-school you about DNA’s building blocks and help you appreciate that the next time someone tells you that “you have your father’s hair,” what they’re actually saying is “you appear to have inherited a gene or genes from your father that makes a protein that instructs your hair follicle cells to produce hair that curls like your father’s.”

It’s fitting that the creators of free Web app Web 2.0 suicide machine are from the Netherlands. Why? The Netherlands is known for its windmills, among other things, and the phrase “tilting at windmills” from Don Quixote refers to the pursuits of battling imaginary enemies and chasing an impossible dream. And that gets to the heart of what this app is about: It automatically and permanently scrapes your private content, friends, and connections from your social networks in defense of an enemy the founders believe is real, during a process that is far from impossible.

The tangible enemies are the networks themselves that can retain bits of your personal data forever. The intangible enemy is the ability of social networking to disconnect us from real life — hardly a new concern, but one the founders express in urgent tones: “Users are entrapped in a high resolution panoptic prison without walls, accessible from anywhere in the world. We do have a healthy amount of paranoia to think that everyone should have the right to quit her 2.0-ified life by the help of automatized machines.” An amusing but effective video drives their point home.

The way the suicide machine words is fiendishly simple. Decide which social network — Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, or Twitter – you want the app to gut (the accounts themselves are not deleted), give the app that account’s user name and password, and a Flash video pops up enabling you to watch a Moddr script methodically delete tweets and posts, untether connections, and eradicate your account data. The app makers itemize each action so you know precisely what’s happening. As of this writing Facebook was trying to throw up legal and technical roadblocks to stop the app, but the founders have found a workaround, at least on the technical side.

In a post about this app, blogger Lisa Hoover poses a helpful question: “Are you so over social networking that you’re ready to disappear yourself, or do you want to stick around and enjoy the party a little longer?” Only you can answer that, of course. Once the app does its thing, the only data the suicide machine site retains  is “your profile picture, your name and your last words,” which could easily be “I shall return” if you’d like to come back to your abandoned network again someday — perhaps as someone else.

Do you remember the scene from the movie Men in Black in which Will Smith has to erase his background and identity so that he can become a secret agent with Tommy Lee Jones? One of the procedures involved the removal of Smith’s fingerprints.  Smith screamed as the agency quickly burned off his fingerprints with a laser.  Although the procedure seemed a little simplified and futuristic at the time, it isn’t that farfetched in today’s world.  Don’t believe me?  I have proof.  I read an article this month discussing a woman that had her fingerprints switched in order to conceal her true identity and gain entry into Japan.  Officials arrested the Chinese woman and discovered that she had had surgery on her fingers to fool Japanese biometric border checks.  The 27-year old woman, who was deported from Japan in 2007, paid for surgery to remove and switch the fingerprints from her left to right hands.  Several nations, like Japan, use fingerprint scanners to check travelers entering the country, and the surgery would prevent her from getting caught (so she thought).  Lin reportedly entered Japan illegally using someone else’s passport and her new fingerprints. She was originally arrested last month for entering a fake marriage to a Japanese man. After noticing scars on her fingers, police investigated further.  The expensive procedure cost her 1.3 million Yen (about $14,000 US Dollars), not to mention a trip to jail.  Despite the fact that this arrest and the surgery might seem unique, it has actually happened on a number of different occasions.  In fact, eight people have been arrested for altering their fingerprints in order to enter Japan between January and October.  We can only imagine the number of uncaught (or yet to be caught) travelers that have had this surgery performed in other parts of the world.  People will do crazy things to get around the law, but it comes at a high price.

Original Article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/08/fingerprint_surgery/

Are you a hardcore gamer?  Do you need a new enclosure to enhance your gaming experience?  Although buying a new enclosure can often put a heavy burden on your wallet, iBUYPOWER has a great cost-efficient solution.  iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator in gaming PCs, is pleased to announce a Supercase for under $3,000.  Currently they are the only systems integrator to offer the new Thermaltake Level 10 enclosure.  Partnering with BMW Group Designworks USA, the enclosure provides gamers with increased customization, unparalleled aerodynamics, and a revolutionary case design.   Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER, suggests that the company is constantly looking for the best components, cases and peripherals to use in their systems.  The Level 10 system is a great example of iBUYPOWER’s drive to offer gaming rigs that can deliver the performance and looks their customers demand.

Specs of the new system include:

• Intel Core i7 920 Processor
• 6GB of DDR3-122 Memory
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 – 2GB
• 1 TB of storage space
• 128 GB SSD for speedy boot times.

Customers are also able to upgrade the system with a Killer Xeno Gaming Network Card, NZXT Sentry LCD Control Panel, or a LG Blu-ray drive.  Are you interested in purchasing the new system?  It is available now exclusively at “www.iBUYPOWER.com”, starting at $2,499.  If you ask me, it looks like a great bargain.

Original Article: http://gizmodo.com/5422633/thermaltakes-bmw+designed-level-10-supercase-now-available-pre+constructed-for-2499

Did you know that the average Americans consumes over 30 Gigs of content per day?  A recent report published by the University of California, San Diego claims that the average American consumes 34GB of content and 100,000 words a day.  At first glance, this seems a little farfetched considering a full-length DVD is only about 4GB in size.  With further investigation, the conclusion makes more sense.  The report does not suggest that we actually read 100,000 words a day.  Instead it suggests that 100,000 words cross our eyes and ears in a single 24-hour period.  That information comes from a variety of mediums, including the television, radio, Internet, and emails.  What can we learn from this report?  We are hungry (perhaps gluttonous) for information.  As Microsoft’s advertisement for Bing asks, “What has search overload done to us?”

Original Article: http://lifehacker.com/5422504/americans-consume-34gb-of-content-a-day

When someone writes the history of the Internet, Google is going to be the company to remember.  It seems like every year Google is coming out with the next big thing.  In 2000, it was the Google Toolbar.  In 2002, it was Google Labs, and in 2007 it was Google Docs.  Their focus on innovation is simply unmatched.  The newest invention is Google Place Pages, and it will certainly enhance your trip-planning experience.  Rather than having an old-fashioned map that only tells you where a landmark or address is, Google Place Pages provides you with extra pieces of information about that site.  For example, it shows you a street view photo of the address, nearby metro or rail locations, neighborhood dining options, and related web sites or helpful links.  By collecting detailed information about a place, Google Place Pages turns your map into an all-encompassing and easy-to-use travel guide.  Everything you need is in one easy to find and use location:  just click the “view more information” link at the bottom of the summary.  It is that easy!

Do you like Google Earth?  Well, now you can access the same detailed information about a location from Google Place Pages within Google Earth.  This seems like the perfect transition for users to browse the globe in 3D.  I am a huge fan of Google Earth, and this feature just improved the experience tenfold.  I encourage you to check it out for your next vacation.  Trust me; it will make planning your next trip a lot easier.  For a little extra fun with Google Earth, try browsing around and learning about a foreign country, unfamiliar city, or memorizing landmark.  The detail provided from Google, especially the photos, makes you feel like you are actually there.  You can tour the world without ever leaving your computer chair.   You might discover your next dreamy vacation hot spot.  Last night, my browsing took me everywhere from the rain forests of South America and the sub-alpine forests in Yellow Stone National Park to the marvelous canals of Venice and the architectural splendor of the Dubai skyline.  Honestly, you never know what you’ll find.

Original Article: http://mashable.com/2009/12/08/place-pages-google-earth/

This has to be one of the best jobs ever!  “What do you do for a living?” “Oh, I just crash helicopters!”  Unfortunately you are only privileged to this job if you work as a NASA engineer.  Considering the heat and infamy they received for the botched Mars Climate Orbiter mission in 1999 (the satellite crashed into Mars because one team of scientists used metric units while the other team used English units), it does seem a little odd that they still let NASA perform this type of work.  Fortunately for sake of NASA’s reputation, they are actually trying to crash the aircraft for this project.  The goal was to engineer a simulation to test a new crash countermeasure for helicopters.  The simulation required NASA to drop a donated Army MD-500 carrying four crash test dummies (one of which had simulated organs within its torso) from 35 feet in order to determine whether or not attaching a new Kevlar safety cushion to the bottom of the craft would effectively absorb the impact of the crash.  The cushion was originally designed and tested for space flight safety, yet NASA believed that it might have the added benefit of protecting helicopter travelers here on Earth.  To see the results, check out the video.

The helicopter remained relatively intact, including four relatively unharmed test dummies.  Because the cushion did such a great job absorbing the impact, engineers say that they will be able to reuse the helicopter for a crash simulation next year.

Original Article: http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2009-12/nasa-test-new-crash-tech-dropping-helicopter

I am pleased to share with you a technology that puts a “whole new face on the traditional clock”.  I recommend watching the video first, and then reading the rest of the article.  Look closely at the man in the video: he is sketching the hands on the clock.  At the 40 second marker, you will discover that he stuck in a box.  What a horrible nightmare that would be.  The good news for him is that he is not really trapped.  In fact, he wasn’t even present at this technology convention.  Prior to the show, the man was filmed drawing the hands on the clock.  The geniuses behind this marvel of modern technology took the previously shot footage and played it on an LCD clock face.  The clock first appeared at Design Miami, and it continues to amaze crowds.  Despite the jaw dropping response, this clock is extremely impractical for the real world.  The goal of having a clock is to be able quickly glance at it and get the time.  Imagine how annoying it would be if you had to wait on this clock when you needed the time.  Each moment you glanced at the clock, you would have to wait a few seconds for the man to finish drawing the minute hand.  If you add up these lost seconds over the course of a day, you would quickly realize that using this clock would be a disaster, not to mention a complete waste of time.

Although the clock might not be the most practical design for your home or office, you still have to give it a round of applause.  Not only is it a wonderful display of modern technology, it is also the coolest clock I have ever seen!  I hope we can continue to make cool clocks in the future, or at least something that is computer generated.  Given that many of the new smart phones have cooler looking and customizable clocks, I predict that there will be a growing trend towards developing this technology.  Perhaps this clock could work better if they used a CG figure or animated robot painting the hands.  Despite its impractical use in the real world, I have to admit that this is the coolest clock I have ever seen!  Below you will also find links to some other clocks worth seeing.  They might not be as cool as this one, but they are still unlike anything else I have ever seen.

Clock 01: http://laurawentzel.com/happycamper/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Uhrzahl-Cool-Wall-Clock.jpg

Clock 02: http://iconicchic.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/clock.jpg

Clock 03: http://www.gizmora.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/clock.jpg

Originally From: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20091207/clock-face-draws-hands/