Aug 18 2009 I See You, Little Stuff!: A USB Microscope

Hey guys I'm getting kicked out my hotel (which is fine because it's a shithole and caught fire yesterday) so I have to relocate. I'll be back this afternoon with more posts though, I promise. In the meantime, here's a $130 USB powered microscope.

This week e-Supply Japan announced the EEA-MAN1011, an digital USB microscope to use with a PC. It's powered by a 2Mpix censor manufactured in by Sanyo Japan with a 5x to 150x zoom.

Oh man, I want one. Remember the first time you ever looked at something under a microscope? What was it? Mine was a scab. And no, I didn't eat it afterwards. It's not eating if you swallow something whole!

e-Supply Japan's New USB Microscope [akihabaranews]

Thanks to naas, who once looked at a fingernail clipping under a microscope and never bit his nails again.

May 26 2009 13,500 Pages Of Data Etched On A 3" Disk

The Rosetta Disk is a 3" nickel disk that has been etched with over 13,500 pages of information on how to read and understand the world's languages in case aliens get tired of sticking things up our butts and want to get their learn on. It represents over 1,500 languages and requires a 500x microscope to read a single page. You hear that, aliens -- don't forget your microscopes (read: leave the probes at home).

Hit the jump for a close-up that isn't close enough.

Continue Reading " 13,500 Pages Of Data Etched On A 3" Disk "

Jul 1 2008 Plush Microbes Don't Make VD's Less Scary

After posting yesterday's Plush Particles I got several tips asking to post the microbe versions, so here they are. They've been around for a while so you may have seen them already, and if so let me know before I sleep with you because I don't want to catch any of them. Each of the microbes comes in a 5"-7" option for $8, or you can get a "petri dish" of three mini-ones for $13. There are a ton of different microbes available, not just VD's, and I posted a few more after the jump, along with a link to them all. Oh, and despite it's cute, sunflowery form, you still don't want herpes. Trust my ex-girlfriend.

Hit the jump for more.

Continue Reading " Plush Microbes Don't Make VD's Less Scary "

Jun 2 2008 I'm Still Hungry: World's Smallest Ramen Bowl

Scientists in Japan recently made the world's smallest ramen bowl, with a diameter of only 1/25,000 of an inch. Which, in scientific terminology, makes it invisible except to superheros that got shafted in the cool powers department (unless they can also see through walls, in which case boobs, sweet). The bowl was carved entirely out of nanotubes and was entered in a recent microphotography contest. Now as someone who just recently finished a project on nanotubes and nanotechnology, I know all about these things. Some interesting facts I uncovered during my research: They're made of carbon. They're mad small. Like super-duper small. They put my junk to shame. I hate nanotubes. Nanotubes are stupid.

Microscopic ramen bowl believed to be world's smallest [cnn]

Thanks to Hunter, who holds the competitive eating world record for nano-ramen: five quadtrillion megazillion boobillion bowls

Also thanks to Matt, who's been training hard and might take the title back this year

Mar 11 2008 Uh-Oh: Nanobots To Take Over The World

Dr. Anirban Bandyopadhyah, of the National Institute of Materials Science in Tsukuba, Japan, has developed a chemical "brain" capable of controlling nanobots. This "brain", soon to be known by the few remaining humans not killed in the machine uprising as "Mother Brain" will control the bots responsible for the demise of humanity. The cave dwelling survivors of the apocalypse will regularly pray to Samus Aran that she return in all her hotness and destroy said brain to make the planet safe for humans once more.

Anyway, the two nanometer "brain" is made of 17 molecules of duroquinone, each considered a "logic device" and controlled by a center "control" molecule. By switching the control molecule in the center with a scanning tunneling microscope, the other 16 are switched based on the logical instructions received. There are over four billion combinations of outcome. At least three billion being "We're all going to die", and the other billion being "We're all going to die slowly."

Chemical brain controls nanobots [bbcnews]

Thanks to Justin, who may have to step in for Samus if things get out of hand, for the tip