Geek In Me

by Darren Murph via engadget.com

The always-imaginative gurus at Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft never cease to amaze, and at this year’s IFA, they’re delivering once more. The so-called “virtual mirror” gives to-be garb buyers an accurate look at what different outfits look like on their person without requiring them to try a single thing on. Granted, shopaholics are apt to detest this thing, but anyone with better things to do than try on four sweaters to see which one makes them look fat should be completely in love. The concept here is far from new, as we’ve seen both virtual makeover machines and fitting room enhancers before. Still, Fraunhofer’s dream of getting you suited up and out of the store in mere minutes is one we’d love to see come true. Just don’t ditch the traditional stalls too soon — we wouldn’t want any kind of worldwide uprising.





by Dan Reilly via switched.com

Have no fear, Apple fans. According to Valleywag tipsters, Steve Jobs remains among the living, albeit still skinny. He’s also taken to parking in handicap spaces, although it’s unknown if he has a proper sticker or not.

Jobs’s health has been a topic of concern this summer since a public appearance where he appeared thin, leading many to speculate that it’s another bout of the pancreatic cancer he had in 2003. One Valleywag tipster ran into him on the sidewalk near his Palo Alto home, calling him “healthy” but “very thin.” So, be our guest and have at this story with wild speculation and irresponsible rumor mongering.





by Darren Murph via engadget.com

Though not quite as bad as toting the GPS module around with you, one particular marijuana farmer had to be mighty embarrassed / wondering what he ever did to deserve such bad luck when a GPS-equipped turtle meandered into his crop. As the story goes, a close friend of the police — a box turtle with no fear of Big Brother — just happened upon a pot stash on US park property. Clearly, Mr. Isiah Johnson (the culprit) was heavily stoned when choosing US land to farm his ganja, and now he’s in custody until he’s “extradited back DC to face drug charges.” And you thought all you had to do was dodge those CCTV cameras…





by Dolores Parker via downloadsquad.com

Look out Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook, Pownce, there’s a new social network on the interwebs soon to take over all chatter channels - it’s Fuelly, the social network devoted to tracking, sharing and comparing gas mileage.

If you engage in small talk at the water cooler about the rising cost of gas prices, and enjoy comparing odometer readings with your friends, Fuelly could be your next favorite social network.

Built over a 2 week period in July, Fuelly was designed so users can track their mileage between fill-ups and compare notes with one another. For added convenience, Fuelly has a mobile version.

Recent activity from the site shows various users either adding a car to their garage, filling up their car, reporting on their best tank ever, or newly joining. You can befriend people based on their car type, gas mileage and odometer checks. Man, this is fun!





by Patricia Mayville-Cox via greendaily.com

A new study out of the University of Copenhagen, as reported by CNN, found that five organically-grown foods contained no more nutrients than their conventionally-grown counterparts. The researchers studied five crops — carrots, kale, peas, apples and potatoes.

But don’t skip those organics just yet! The study did not compare the levels of pesticides or chemicals in conventional versus the organic foods. While the nutrient part of the study is no doubt important, pesticide exposure is a major reason for eating organic food.

As far as the environment, studies remain mixed on whether or not organic farming is better.





by Evan Shamoon via switched.com

In what can only be seen as a triumph for stuffed animals everywhere, a teddy bear was used as a spying device — specifically, a teddy bear with a small video camera positioned inside one of its eyes — and was used to catch a caretaker criminal in Liverpool, England. The plan was put into action by a forensic science graduate (no coincidence there) and her father, who caught his mother’s caretaker stealing from her. Who, it should be noted, was terminally ill with cancer.

The thief, 28 year-old Yvonne Allen, was sentenced to six months in prison.

“We can confirm that a former health care assistant, employed by the Provider arm of Liverpool Primary Care Trust has been arrested and convicted of stealing from a patient,” said Bernie Cuthel, managing director of Liverpool PCT Provider Services. “Following information from the courts that the employee involved was pleading guilty to all charges, an internal disciplinary hearing was held and this person is no longer employed by Liverpool PCT.”

Having marked the bills in her grandmother’s wallet and installed the consumer-grade camera in the teddy’s head, the daughter made sure the evidence was incontrovertible. The convicted has agreed to pay £60 — or roughly $120 — compensation to her victim. Which, to be honest, doesn’t really seem like all that much.