Probably Not His Brightest Move - A contract Unix system administrator admits that he tried to sabotage the California power grid by hammering the safety glass of an emergency power shut-off, then pushing the shut-down button. [more]

D-u-u-u-u-d-e - "Being poor sucks," says Garrett Lisi. "It's hard to figure out the secrets of the universe when you're trying to figure out where you and your girlfriend are going to sleep next month." Despite such mundane concerns as housing, Lisi has drawn up a new model of the universe that some are hailing as the Holy Grail of physics. Not too shabby for a guy who spends most of the year surfing in Hawaii. [more]

Fun with a Cause - I don't know about you, but I'm an absolutely fanatic about word games. That's why I was so excited to learn about Free Rice. For every word you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice to the United Nations to end world hunger. Check it out next time you're looking for a little break from your day. [more]

"Smart Tires" - While technology exists today that senses when the pressure in a tire is low, there's not previously been a way to detect damage directly. All of that could change based on the work of Gary Krutz and a team at Purdue. They've developed a sensing system that can pick up distinct electrical signals in the tire layers, detecting changes that could lead to a flat or reduce wear, such as uneven air pressure. [more]

Traveling is a Hassle - The cost, the lines, getting from gate to gate... Well there may not be solutions for all these problems, but the Personal Rapid Transit system (PRT) being built for Heathrow's Terminal 5 may well solve the transport problem. [more]

Did Someone Say "Killer Robots?" - What's two feet tall, travels ten miles an hour, and spins on a dime? It just may be the face of combat in the future: a robot. Remote-controlled over an encrypted frequency that jams nearby radios and cell phones, it'll blow a ten-inch hole through a steel door with deadly accuracy from 400 meters. Robotex -- the creator -- is financed by angel investors and went from idea to product in six months. "This is the new defense, Silicon Valley-style," says Adam Gettings, a self-taught engineer on the project. "You build only what's necessary, iterate quickly, and keep the price low." [more]

Life in the Funny Papers - A friend of mine has a quote in the signature of her e-mails that always strikes a bittersweet chord with me: Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.' Charles Schulz wasn't talking about the IT Industry when he wrote it, but he might as well have been. Nearly all companies have failed investments in software initiatives--many in the six and seven figure range! The good news is that the leading causes of these failures can be avoided by applying Menlo's High-Tech Anthropology^® practice. Join us for the next FREE 90-minute presentation on January 24th to learn how our approach creates the right software for the right application.

Go Fly a Kite - Two fast-growing German companies have worked together developing a high-tech kite system to pull enormous ships across the oceans. The 132 meter long MV "Beluga SkySails" will make its maiden voyage in January across the Atlantic to Venezuela, up to Boston and back to Europe. It will be pulled by a giant computer-guided 500,000-euro ($725,000) kite tethered to a 15-metre high mast. [more]

Hang Up, Mom! It's the Fuzz! - British motorists caught talking on a handheld mobile phone or sending a text while driving could be jailed under new guidelines. Currently drivers can be charged with careless driving, but the new guidelines call for a charge of dangerous driving, which carries a two-year maximum sentence and an unlimited fine. [more]