A Shot In The Dark, Or Right On The Mark? DARPA Invents Bullets That Can Hunt You Down

It worked for missiles, and now, it's coming to a .50 caliber...hopefully not anywhere you're on the receiving end of.

According to Business Insider, the United States' Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a bullet that is able to change its own path in flight, like a Super Mario villain come to life.  This would not just account for windage and other riflery considerations, but also could be made to seek out a specific target that has moved or taken cover.

Next up:  military-grade raccoon suits?
(Image courtesy reinodocogumelo.com.)

What?  How?  The bullets use optical sensors embedded in their nosecones, which use in-flight information to determine whether their onboard electronically-operated fins should be deployed to change the projectile's course.

Known as EXACTO, for “Extreme Accuracy Tasked Ordinance”, the project's mission will be “developing more accurate military artillery that will enable greater firing range, minimize the time required to engage with targets, and also help reduce missed shots that can give away the troops’ location.”

That's no excuse to slack on your marksmanship, though.  These new bullets should work well for snipers, but you never know when some good old fashioned-style targeting skills will come to your aid.

Curse the thought of losing any of your high-stakes games of Rifle-Tac-Toe.
(Image courtesy theartoftherifleblog.com.)

Snowed In? Bust Out With The New "Plowz & Mowz" App

'Tis the season to be jolly...and that probably means not having to worry about shoveling the piles of snow away from your door/garage/driveway/upstairs windows (if you live in someplace like Canada.)  Now, a new app can help not only with organizing snowplow providers, but also for cutting your lawn on that beautiful, beautiful day when it becomes springtime again.

You tried.  Now leave it to the pros.
(Image courtesy snowplowtalk.com.)

The Plowz & Mowz apps are straightforward and useful.  Simply schedule a plow or mowing appointment for a desired day with the available providers, then securely set up payments to make sure you don't end up looking like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining."  Realtime updates confirm that it's once again safe to navigate the ski slope that your driveway had become.

Nonprofessional snow shoveling is no joke.
(Image courtesy imgarcade.com.)

The Mowz element also includes leaf removal, just in case you never got a chance to get all that dead stuff off your lawn before the layers of snow fell.  No word on if you can act now and be ready for next spring.

Those who would like to lend their services as a provider of the plow/mow trade can learn more about signing up here.  Best of luck in your battle against the forces of nature!

Now doesn't that feel better?
(Image courtesy whyevolutionistrue.files.wordpress.com.)

Multi-Partnered? Handle All Of Your Hookups With New "Poly Life" App

Is one love not enough for your life?  Do you prefer the company of numerous committed partners despite society saying that such relationships are unrealistic, inappropriate, or greedy?  Now, you can navigate the sexy sea of polyamory with a new app designed to provide simple solutions for keeping your complex love life in line.

If you can't even remember all their names, how are you going to remember whose date night it is?
(Image courtesy blogs.westword.com.)

According to fastcodesign.com, an anonymous developer has created the Poly Life app to focus on two important polyamorous goals:  meeting new people and scheduling when you can sleep with them.  Separate calendars can be created for each partner, and the "relationship manager" feature keeps careful tabs on who you deem an emotional partner, a physical partner, and any variations in between.

"No, don't shoot him with a heart-capturing arrow.  Just shoot him with a 'brain and also those hot biceps'-capturing arrow."
(Image courtesy blogs.ctiypages.com.)

The social networking element of the app is designed to allow poly couples or prospective poly enthusiasts to meet each other and discuss the nature of their lifestyle outside of the judgmental (or jealous) conventional social media outlets.  Shareable to-do lists, group texting options, meetup location ideas, and other important organizational elements are also included.  And with more than one lover, you'll likely need all of them.

The Poly Life is available for iOS, though unfortunately it is not polyamorously compatible with Android as well.  But if you need serious planning for your "polycule" circle of special friends, this is much more efficient than wearing name tags at an orgy.

And in a few years, perhaps you'll be able to use Poly Life to sync all of  your sex robots!
(Image courtesy standard.co.uk.)

Strawberry Trees Forever: New Public, Solar-Powered Cell Chargers In Serbia

We all know and hate the feeling...during a busy day on the town, after using maps, apps, and countless texts on your smartphone, the inescapable dread of watching the battery drop to critical levels sets in.  If you're lucky, you have a charger on you, and can beg some power from a local bartender or the rare unoccupied coffee shop outlet.  But this is the future, and now there's a better way to handle these things.

This is what hitting rock bottom as an "Angry Birds" addict looks like.
(Image courtesy edition.cnn.com.)

Behold, the Strawberry Tree.  According to CNN, the Strawberry Tree is solar-powered public charging station that was developed by Serbian student Milos Milisavljevic, who has an eye for clean technology.  After winning the Verge Accelerate startup competition, the invention has now spread to various cities and towns throughout Serbia.

Entirely solar powered and built from recycled/recyclable materials, the Strawberry Trees contain enough power to continue their charge mission even if it hasn't been sunny in twenty days.  Sixteen USB and wi-fi plugs allow for power for the masses.

You never have to boredly keep an eye on your children playing in the park, ever again!
(Image courtesy inhabitat.com.)

The Strawberry Tree, named for the first fruit of summer, also cares about your well-being.  Its chargers indicate local amounts of air pollution, noise levels, and UV radiation.  Plans in the future could include even more localized environmental data.  Plus, it is there for you in an emergency.  As Milisavljevic says, "Strawberry Tree could have an emergency button which would send a signal to emergency services that you are in danger, and in any kind of a disaster, for example if the power grid is down, the Tree would be the place where you could call for help and get in touch with your loved ones."

The future is for everyone, and now its technology has become a little more helpful to the common person. Just try not to spend a whole nice sunny day in the park messing around on your phone.

Old wonders and new can coexist peacefully in this new future.
(Image courtesy 3fficient.com.)

Space Station Sunday: Here There'll Be Dragons

Happy Sunday, space fans!  It was another successful week for spacefaring, let's see what was up!

Anticipating the arrival of another SpaceX resupply vehicle, the crew worked various tasks to assure the visiting cargo craft would be received safely.  After the fiery explosion of a Virgin Galactic space plane in October, as well as that of a Cygnus resupply vehicle, care was taken to make sure nothing would go wrong on the ISS's end with the SpaceX craft.  The next Dragon launch, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, is slated for December 19th.

Dragonfire in the sky:  another SpaceX resupply capsule is bound for the ISS.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)

While the Dragon launch was originally intended for this Tuesday, it was put on delay without explanation from NASA.  According to wtsp.com,  NASA simply said the delay was "to ensure they do everything possible on the ground to prepare for a successful launch." In their statement, they also readily enthused that, "Both the Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon spacecraft are in good health."

This launch will be the fifth of the twelve from SpaceX, who are under contract for $12.6 billion to complete missions for NASA to the ISS.

What scientific discoveries await?  Stay tuned!
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)

As for other day-to-day (orbit-to-orbit?) tasks, Commander Butch Wilmore conducted spacesuit maintenance to make sure the specialized suits were ready for any prospective EVAs (extravehicular activity.)  He was assisted by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.  Astronaut Cristoforetti, one of the station's newest arrivals, is adjusting well to space life, despite her sense of wonder getting taken for a ride this week when a "UFO" (apparently just the station changing color in the sunlight) caught her attention for an exciting moment.

"Nope, not this time either, it's just the magnetosphere again, Sam.  Sorry."
(Image courtesy Butch Wilmore/NASA.gov, depicting the aurora over the mountains of Montana.)

Astronaut Terry Virts replaced fuel equipment in the Combustion Integrated Rack, so that the astronauts could continue to study the glory of science by setting stuff on fire in microgravity.  He also did maintenance on the electronics that will enable commands to be sent to the upcoming SpaceX Dragon.

Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Alexander Samokutyaev were hard at work in their nation's Zarya module, adding and disinfecting overlay sheets to the area. Russia's first female cosmonaut, Yelena Serova, is still not answering questions about her hair and makeup, preferring instead to work on experiments examining the effects of space radiation on the station. Serova also studied how the sun affects the Earth's atmosphere.

A plethora of medical experiments were also underway, with Cristoforetti wearing an armband to monitor body core temperature over a 24 hour cycle, and several astronauts participating in Ultrasound eye scans to determine how microgravity affects ocular issues.  Cristoforetti also collected saliva and urine samples to stow in the station's freezer for further experimental analysis.

She also pumped some space iron.  Yes, this is what lifting weights in microgravity looks like.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)

That's all for this week, space fans!  Check us out next Sunday for news on the latest Dragon delivery, and more from microgravity!  Watch this space!

And don't think the ISS crew is neglecting the seasonal spirit just because they're in space.  It wouldn't feel like space Christmas without a cool little upside-down tree, and stockings hung by the bulkhead with care.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)

Shoot For The Moon Or Pollute The Moon? New Company Leaves Your Stuff On The Lunar Landscape With "MoonMail"

Thanks to a proposed Mars mission as well as various private ventures, human spaceflight seems poised to have another renaissance again over the coming decades.  Yet one of the great goals of our space endeavors always looms up there, staring at us with its giant moony face.  That's right, the moon itself is still a space goal for some, and now, you can't quite go there...but your stuff can.

According to perfscience.com, the Astrobotic company is developing a "MoonMail" service whereby you can send a capsule full of Earth crap up to what Buzz Aldrin called the "magnificent desolation" of the moon.  The company, which is chasing the $30 million Lunar X Prize from Google, plans to launch in the next two years and are currently seeking Earthling donations for small "capsules."

"This is pretty cool, but I feel like I should have brought my lucky Darth Vader figurine to leave as tribute."
(Image courtesy images.nationalgeographic.com.)

Astrobotic's CEO John Thornton proclaimed, "Today marks the beginning of a new kind of participant on the moon: the individual. MoonMail is a new offering allowing anyone in the world to purchase space on our lander and immortalize their important keepsake on the moon forever."

Just don't plan on sending up a ton of stuff...space space comes at a premium.  With a small (.5 inch) capsule space starting at $460, a .75 inch space at $820, and an inch clocking in at $1,660 (plus added fees for height), you're not going to be able to send grandma's whole urn or too many photos of your ex, so pick something really special.

No, you can't buy a capsule large enough to send yourself, sorry.  We all want to go moon cruising, just wait a while longer.
(Image courtesy hometowndumpsterrental.com.)

A free capsule is being offered as a prize to anyone who can come up with the best idea of something to send via MoonMail.  The deadline for these epic ideas is December 23rd.

The Google Lunar X Prize that Astrobotic seeks is part of a campaign to consider the moon as the "eighth continent" and to explore it accordingly.  The $30 million winner will have to get a robot safely to the moon, move around for 500 meters in any direction, and broadcast back their results.  This is all intended to continue the mission set forth by Americans with the Apollo missions, visiting our galactic neighbor in peace for all mankind.

Well, now, with pieces from all mankind.

There's already a few bits of real estate claimed by the family photos of Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke, but your cheesy selfies could be next!
(Image courtesy hyperallergic.com.)

Your Smartphone Can Act As Your E-ID In Iowa Starting Next Year

Ever been caught without your driver's license and wished you could have some other critical bit of your physical property to cover for you?  Maybe something that you'd be carrying around every day?  Something like, say, your cellphone?

Seems legit.
(Image courtesy gizmodo.com.)

Now, thanks to new legislation in Iowa, drivers will be able to use their smartphones as credible license identification, starting in 2015.  According to theverge.com, the official license app will make your e-ID acceptable for police stops, airport trips, and other instances of age verification.

While it's not known what would happen if one were to lose the battery power to their "ID", or if other states would accept this app as valid, the idea is one that (if successful) could prove to be the forefront of change for many other states.  It's quick, it's easy, and it's usually right there in your pocket or hand anyway.  The only problem is dealing with who might set up fake license sites for the underage...

"It's okay officer, I'm not drunk, really...I puke all the time."
(Image courtesy party411.com.)