Amusing: Eternahug stores ashes in huggable form

The "Eternahug" is a plush container for the ashes of cremated loved ones. Is it just me, or is there something vaguely disturbing about this. Found on "Improbable Research"

Yep, it's official: This blog is family friendly

And so is my facebook account.

But my wife's journal (ms_danson) is rated as Restricted.

Interesting, considering I'm preparing an entry on sex toys with which to stuff your stocking.

Amusing: genetics of magic

A recent study published in the British Journal of Medicine discusses the genes that appear to control for magic. They report that FOXP2 and MCR1 may be involved, based on long-term study involving muggles, witches, wizards and squibs as documented by J.K. Rowling. Follow the link to the BMJ website to read the full paper in either HTML or PDF form. Found on "Greg Laden's Blog", courtesy of ScienceBlogs.

Art: Nature's Little Helpers by Patricia Piccinini

Nature's Little Helpers by Patricia Piccinini Found on MAKE Magazine Blog

Gadgets: Lens for stereoscopic images

The 3D Cap is a lens that splits an image to generate a stereoscopic image. For those who don't know what a stereoscopic image is, it consists of two images of the same scene, slightly offset from each other to represent the view from each eye.

Tech: Robot planes refueling on power lines

The US Air Force are planning to build robotic planes that "refuel" by attaching themselves to power lines. They even plan to have them retract their wings so that the drones appear to be debris.

Tech: US building biometric database

The FBI is planning to construct the largest biometric database in the world, at a cost of only $1 billion dollars. The Next Generation Identification system will consist of face, fingerprint, and palm print data collected from a range of sources including information contributed by private companies during routine employee security checks.

Tech: Aptera electric car

Remember the Aptera? Their makers claim they can get 300 miles per gallon with this vehicle that they intend to submit to the Automotive X-Prize. Follow the link to see a video of the car in action, as well as how it is constructed. Found on Engadget.

Gadgets: Brass knuckle coffee cup

For people who are REALLY serious about needing a cup of coffee. The brass knuckle coffee cup.