Jun 16 2008 WTF?: Sudoku Addicts Ruin Drug Trial

A drug trial in Australia that's been going on for over three months and already cost taxpayers near $1 million has been halted as a result of jurors playing sudoku puzzles instead of paying attention.

Sydney District Court Judge Peter Zahra cancelled the trial of two men on drugs conspiracy charges after the jury foreperson admitted that four to five jurors had been playing the addictive number sequence game, local media reported.

One juror said the game helped them to pay more attention by keeping their mind busy.

"Some of the evidence is rather drawn out and I find it difficult to maintain my attention the whole time," the juror was quoted saying by the Australian Associated Press.

HA! Seriously, I have the attention span of a goldfish so I can completely understand where that person is coming from. But you can't just go sudokuing it up during a damn trail. That's what the DS and PSP are for.

Sudoku addicts halt drugs trial [yahoonews]

Thanks to Ray, who knows that crossword puzzles are where it's at anyways.

Jun 13 2008 Folding Plane Perfect For Drug Smugglers

Ah yes, another plane for the drug-smuggling readers out there. The ICON A5 is actually a luxury aircraft aimed at rich people that have more money than they know what to do with and don't want to bother going through all the training required for a regular pilot's license.

"We designed it so that people who don't know airplanes know that something has changed," Kirk Hawkins, ICON's chief executive officer, told Popular Mechanics.

What's changed are federal regulations, which created a new form of airplane and a new kind of pilot license that requires less training and no medical check to obtain. The Federal Aviation Administration created the Sport Pilot category in 2004, but only now are players large and small entering this virgin market.

The plane has folding wings so you can store it in a garage, and comes with its own trailer. For safety, it has a parachute that will deploy and float you back to earth safely should you do something stupid while attempting to join the mile-high club. Which, incidentally, I'm a member of. I say alone counts.

A bunch more pictures (including folded wings and cockpit), along with a boring video of the plane's unveiling party, after the jump.

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Mar 18 2008 Robotic BigDog Is Amazingly Lifelike, Scary, Headless, Awesome, Leggy, Strong

This is a new video of Boston Dynamics' incredibly mobile BigDog quadruped robot. The robot has gone through several modifications since its inception, and this is the new-and-improved version. As is evident from the video, the scary little bastard can now climb hills, jump, and carry more than 340 pounds of drugs over the border. Did I mention it looks too much like a real animal? Because it does. And I really did get sad when at 0:35 into the video the guy kicks the shit out of it to show off its self balancing skills. It made me want to punch that guy in the face. You can't just go around kicking robotic animals like that, it's cruel. Robots have feelings too.

UPDATE: It turns out robots don't have feelings after all. Which is actually good news, because I've been wanting to destroy this worthless Roomba for a while now. Take that you non-suctioning piece of crap. *beats with broom handle* HA HA, you can't feel that can you? Nope, because you're just a stupid little robot! *continues the beating, pieces start to break off* Oh my God I think I heard a whimper. *sobs uncontrollably clutching broken robot pieces to bosom*

The old video of the original BigDog after the jump.

Continue Reading " Robotic BigDog Is Amazingly Lifelike, Scary, Headless, Awesome, Leggy, Strong "