Leave A Message, I'm Busy Vaping: New E-Cigarette/Cell Phone Hybrid

As we hurtle towards a fascinating future filled with automation of all ilk, we must be careful that our desires for instant gratification are not surrendered to a ridiculous level of robotics.  Sure, it's nice to have certain things on your phone, like the ability to customize your wake-up routine (complete with kickstarting the coffee pot from bed!), or an app that lets you cuddle with other peoples' dogs, but really...do we need an e-cigarette on there too?  Really?

A fire-free Frankenphone to fill your lungs in between chats.  Oh, technology, you're so crazy.
(Image courtesy ohgizmo.com.)

Moonage Daydream: Is Audi Backing The Next Successful Moon Rover?

It's 2016 and we've only progressed a little bit more into the future, but the prospect of space travel is always pushing further forward.  For instance, one of the better car companies of past and modern times is now helping a team of scientists plot how to put a rover on the moon...you know, for the future.

It's more R2-D2 than R8, but that's still cool.
(Image courtesy theverge.com.)

Slip Into The Past Via Smartphone! New App Pinpoints Old And New Cityscapes To Discover

New York, New York, it's a hell of a town.  That much is obvious.  But in the gleaming city of glass, it can sometimes be difficult to remember the extent of the history that has happened through the many years the Big Apple has grown, fallen, gotten chomped up, and re-budded on the tree of life.  Now, thanks to a new app, you can enjoy some top-shelf time-travel right on your phone.

Yes, Mulberry Street in Chinatown/Little Italy has always been madness.
(Image courtesy ny.curbed.com.)

Space Station Sunday: Spacewalk Specs And Science

Happy Sunday, space fans!  Here's what was up on the International Space Station this week.

New year, new gear:  astronaut Tim Kopra on a spacewalk in December.
Kopra and astronaut Tim Peake will head outside again this week for some
new gear installation and maintenance.
(Image courtesy NASA.gov.)

Shot Through The Art, And You're To Blame: New Tattoo Recognition Software Spots Evildoers By Their Ink

We all know that the encroaching insidiousness of facial recognition technology is getting harder and harder to thwart.  This can be somewhat of a good thing, like when it actually catches criminals or finds your lost dog, but for the average citizen, you can't even skip church without getting compiled into a face database (dataface?) these days.  No matter how much weird makeup you use to try to obscure yourself, there's just too many cameras out in the world attempting to capture your likeness.  Now, the technology has been refined to include the art on your body in addition to your body itself...

Just in case you didn't make it this obvious.
(Image courtesy creativefan.com.)

Finger/Painting: Innovative 3D-Printing Process Allows The Blind To Truly Feel Visual Art

Can you imagine what life would be like were you to lose one of your senses?  What if it was the sense that's so important, it's allowing you to read this right now?  For the blind, all visual artwork used to be abstract.  Until now...

The original and tactile 3D-printed versions of Van Gogh's "Dr Gachet."
Now you can both touch and be touched by art.
(Image courtesy 3dphotoworks.com.)

Va-jamming: New Insertable Music Device Serenades Your Unborn Child

Happy New Years, baby!  Did you get some good partying done to ring in 2016?  Well, if you celebrated so hard that you'll be creating another human around September or so, have we got some rockin' news for you!

You can't shove a Fender Stratocaster up there, but this is the next best thing.
(Image courtesy dailkmail.co.uk.)