Wow. This is just the sort of thing I wish I had on my many camping trips as a child or for my Spring time excursions to Fairmount Park.

Scientists in Seattle are making a laser gun that can lock on to moving targets. The laser gun is intended to go after mosquitoes, especially those that are carrying malaria. About 1 million people die per year from malaria carried by mosquitoes. It is big problem caused by a small creature.

The laser is called weapon of mosquito destruction (WMD). The design was assisted by Lowell Wood, an astrophysicist that worked on the original Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) proposed by Ronal Reagan in 1983. The SDI was also code named “Star Wars.”

The laser detects the audio frequency created by the beating of mosquito wings. A computer detects the audio and triggers the laser to shoot the mosquito’s wings off. The mosquito then plops to the ground and doesn’t make it to their prey. Bill Gates is one of the investors in this project.

This laser could kill billions of mosquitoes every night.

Hell freaking yeah. Once this is launched, I hope they make a hand held device. Read the whole story over at Pulse 2. So awesome.

Mosquito Laser via Reddit

Meet Thaís Jussim, a 26 year old cosplayer from Brazil. Her glorious looking costume only cost her $350, and is lit up by over seventy battery powered LEDs. Far, surely this is your kinda gal.


According to Jussim, the suit weighs in at about 23 pounds. Her next project? Zero Suit Samus. *swoon!*


I put a couple pictures in the gallery below, but you can scope out the rest of the images on her Deviant Art page. Try not to fall in love, guys.

Samus Cosplayer via Kotaku

I dunno about you, but I love me some Google Street View. Somehow they manage to capture the strangest things on camera. Staged or not, there is no denying the hilarity that appears on the map. Like our own Urban Cowboys, or Pittsburgh’s ‘mighty’ warriors.

Asylum has assembled a hysterical gallery of Google Street View screen shots that are certainly worth a look. Flip through and a have a laugh.

Best of Google Street View @ Asylum

This past weekend, me and some friends braved a trip down to The Riverview in Philadelphia to catch Watchmen. Aside from parents committing seriously epic parenting fails by bringing toddlers with them to the film, we had a great time. Not only did we see an outstanding piece of cinema, but we got to catch the new Star Trek trailer on the big screen.

I really can’t even begin to explain how excited I am for the new Star Trek film. Simon Pegg as Scotty? Eric Bana as a Romulan?! Freaking awesome.

I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a Trekkie. I never read the novels, bought any action figures, or owned a replica tricorder. But I did grow up watching the William Shatner era Star Trek films on television for years, and always caught the Patrick Stewart flicks in the movie theaters. There’s something about epic space adventures that has always captivated me.

The movie drops on May 8th, and the Star Trek exhibit opens up at the Franklin here in Philly around the same time. We’re excited about paying a visit to the exhibit when it opens, and not just because we’ll get to hang with Peter Ha. Though that is a part of it.

Anyone else as excited as we are? May looks to be one fun month for geeks in Philadelphia.

Star Trek Trailer via I Watch Stuff

Star Trek Exhibit in Philadelphia via Crunchgear

WHAT?!

Recently the Pennsylvania House of Representatives held a hearing regarding how to target violent video games. They suggested…

… putting a 5% tax on violent game sales, with those funds being allocated to parental education programs. Another suggests withholding tax incentives from companies that make violent video games.

Our pals at Joystiq have the full story, plus a video from the proceedings. They note that the meeting was exploratory, and mostly a lot of talk.

But still, listen Pennsylvania. Geekadelphia’s ad revenue? It really isn’t that high. Please don’t start taxing our violent video games. Cause really, that’s all we play. Except for Ben. He sure does love those Ubisoft Imagine Party Babyz! games. He’ll be just fine.

Video Game Tax Suggested in PA via Joystiq

No words. Amazing.

Kid Plays Cantina on Harp via Monkey Review

Ah, Birdo. You confused the hell out of us in Super Mario 2, and would continue to do so long into future games. Super Mario Advance. Super Mario RPG. Mario Party. Etc. What are you? Leeloo over at Sprite Stitch wonders the same thing.

Being a fan of… sprite stitching, I whipped this up on Oscar night for my boyfriend, who enjoys playing as Birdo in Mario Kart Wii. Birdo is bizarre, and it really freaks us all out. We make fun of him for it (and I make dirty jokes about Birdo) constantly.

Because seriously: w. t. f.

Just for kicks, go check out the Birdo Wiki page on the Super Mario Wiki. They mention all the games he/she has appeared in, and the character’s interesting back story. Birdo wanted to be a super star? Really? Who knew!

WTF Birdo Stitch via Sprite Stitch

Apparently millions of people have seen this. Me? Nope.

The Escape From City 17 short film series is an adaptation based on the Half Life computer game saga by Valve Corporation. Originally envisioned as a project to test out numerous post production techniques, as well as a spec commercial, it ballooned into a multi part series.

Filmed guerrilla style with no money, no time, no crew, no script, the first two episodes were made from beginning to end on a budget of $500.

A budget of $500?! Seriously? The special effects and CGI are so good!

Thanks for the tip, Matt!

Escape From City 17 @ YouTube

So, my best friend and I had a little DIY nerd fun on Friday. When everyone else was in line to see Watchmen, we were making this:

The Batcake was a gift for my friend Dustin‘s 30th birthday. I mean, what other way to celebrate your third decade then the way you would have in third grade? That’s what we thought, anyway.

We concocted it, in it’s entirety, in about 3 hours; it was made from a regular cake mix and was tinted with yellow/ black icing and pixiesticks. The Batcake was lined with Lemon Heads, a gummy cheeseburger and snowcone, and then was adorned with little plastic policemen from the dollar store.

We had so much fun making this, we’d love to do another. Requests, anyone?

Seriously, just look at their adorable faces! Clearly ready for the bludgeoning of so many zombies’ undead, less-than-adorable faces. We know, we know: It’s been a few months since Left 4 Dead dropped on your 360/PC and you’ve been wondering if you’ll ever pick it up again. What with teh Hayloez and Street Fighter IV, you’ve got so much on you plate as it is! But seriously, picture this: A Left 4 Dead PC mod with nothing but park rangers coming after you and you’re in a group of adorable bears, swinging spike-lined pic-uh-nic baskets over your heads and throwing molotovs full of skin-melting honey. PERFECT!

Steam modding community, you orders are clear. Get on it!

[Via Hellforge]

I’ve been waiting for this.  The first Michael Bay’d Transfomers Movie delivered Peter Cullen to rabid G1 fans.  He triumphantly reprised the voice of  Optimus Prime, but we were left wondering, “what happened to the classic banter between him and Megatron?”  Fans were generally OK with having Hugo Weaving voice this sinister rival, with such credits as Agent Smith, V, and Elrond…but it wasn’t the Megatron we remember from the 80′s. It just wasn’t Frank Welker.

Don’t get me wrong, because I’m not hating on Weaving. In fact I’m all about hearing him  snarl through a destructive metallic grill.  It’s just not the same, and everyone knew it.

With Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen being released this summer we’re only a few months away from seeing my favorite Decepticon (Soundwave) take the big screen.  Michael Bay just recently said in his official message board that he wanted to pursue Frank Welker for the voice of Soundwave in this film.  Is there enough time to do this?  If that’s the case, it might mean that Soundwave doesn’t have very much dialogue involved.

If you didn’t already know, Frank Welker also voiced many characters in the original Transformers series, including the original Soundwave…so this is a very appropriate choice in my opinion.

Hopefully we see a lot of Soundwave, especially if it is voiced by Welker.  I won’t mind that he isn’t Megatron in this movie (we’ve already been told Megatron won’t be making a comeback) I just wish Welker had more involvement sooner!

via SciFi Wire

The talented people at Wink and Hello Viking have recently been held responsible for producing this Facebook app that calculates your personal carbon footprint so that all your friends can see how badly you abuse our natural resources, or how green you really are.

I chose to post this because it’s pretty awesome that PriceWaterhouseCoopers (the first professional US firm to announce carbon reduction efforts) has been really open minded about using social communities and geeky design firms to push their initiatives.

The app is designed well, functions almost seamlessly (I only encountered one bug) and does a good job of illustrating a rough estimate of your carbon footprint.  Now, it could be better, because it doesn’t ask whether you’re a vegetarian or carnivore.  This distinction makes a huge difference because of how much energy goes into processing meat products, but it’s a step in the right direction.  Hopefully more companies will follow… and this weekend I promise to eat less bacon.

via Wink Sundries Section