Check out my new blog at YouDummy[dot]net . I’m blogging there about my Ruby on Rails experiences and other techie type stuff.

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Only in Europe:

In 2007, Opel will launch the Flex-Fix system as an option on its Antara and Corsa models. The system is a retractable two bike rack that slides in-and-out of the bumper.It’s completely concealed and allows users to avoid strapping those bitchy straps everywhere. This needs to be an option on US cars immediately. Write your congress people, or something.

CrunchGear » Blog Archive » Opel Antara Has Retractable Bike Rack

Do they even sell Opel in the US? How can we write congress people on a car that isn’t sold in the US. Oh, should be put this on a Ford? Yeah right! Maybe a Japanese company will take care of making something like this available to us because U.S. car makers are just fucking dumb and never take the initiative to deliver an option like this.

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I know it looks very techie, but really all you have to know is that it makes beer damn cold, damn quick.

This is the future of beer cans.  The Instant Cool Can (I.C. Can™) can chill a beer down to a nice 30° Fahrenheit in under three minutes.

When activated, the all natural desiccant contained within a vacuum draws the heat from the beverage through the evaporator into an insulated heat-sink container. It is this patented vacuum-power which lowers the temperature so dramatically and quickly, leaving the beverage inside cool and refreshing.

It is rumored that Miller will have this on shelves sometime early 2007.  Also, there are vague reports that Heineken has their own version of a self-refrigerating can.  Of course these cans can be used with anything so be prepared to see your favorite energy drink in one of these babies sometime in the near future.  But prepare to pay for the convenience. As if energy drinks weren’t already outrageously expensive.

Find out more about these cans here.

Looking for a new way to power that digital camera?  Urine powered batteries could be your answer. 

Scientists have developed a way to turn pee into electricity. And there’s plenty where that came from, they point out.

Cheap, disposable, and renewable, urine-powered batteries may be the perfect power source for disposable healthcare test kits called biochips, the researchers say.

Ok, so you probably won’t be peeing on anything in your home anytime soon, but it’s still pretty damn krazy.  Urine, so many uses and also good for you.

Read more about urine batteries here.

Sometime this month Sony is releasing their first electronic ink (e-ink) device.  This device is mainly designed for e-books and other electronic publications.  Sony will also roll out a electronic book store much like iTunes for purchasing e-books for use with the device. 

The major advantage the gadget has over PDAs and laptops is its super long battery life.  The only time it actually uses power is when the display changes, such as when turning the page in a book.  They claim that the device will allow you to do 7500 page turns on a single battery charge.

The Sony Reader is estimated to hit the street with a $350 price tag.  I think that this is pretty pricey but like all new devices within a year we should see that come down significantly.  When more competition hits the market I’m hoping these electronic books will get to be under $100.

The e-ink technology is pretty krazy kool. One of the predicted applications using e-ink is a wallpaper that could be changed dynamically.  Could you imagine just pressing a button and watching all the walls in your house change color and/or pattern?  Why stop there?  How about being able to change the color of your car on demand, or even modifying the look of your clothes.  The applications are pretty unlimited.

Read more about e-ink here.

Looks like dailidol was shutdown sometime last week.  The guy who designed the software that logs the frequency of busy signals while voting on American Idol to predict the outcome has taken his site down because of a cease and desist letter issued from Fox. 

Goliath (as they will be known for the purposes of this bulletin) sent this "David" a cease and desist letter yesterday claiming that DialIdol infringes on copyrights they own. I am not sure how they think I infringe and many of the allegations they made in the letter are false but in order to protect myself I am taking DialIdol down while I consult with the appropriate resources.

Goliath is very upset with the entire premise of this web site, particularly the way DialIdol "measures the busy signal" to predict the results. Given this I find it highly unlikely that I can change a few logos/colors/names to satisfy their concerns.

I don’t think he did anything wrong.  Maybe Fox should take their head out of their asses and figure out how to fix the flaw that was so easily discovered by the creator of dialidol instead of flexing their muscles with legal bullshit.

Read my original post about dialidol here.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), whose mission is "to maintain the technological superiority of the U.S. military", is looking to create little hybrid insect robots.

DARPA seeks innovative proposals to develop technology to create insect-cyborgs, possibly enabled by intimately integrating microsystems within insects, during their early stages of metamorphoses. The healing processes from one metamorphic stage to the next stage are expected to yield more reliable bio-electromechanical interface to insects, as compared to adhesively bonded systems to adult insects.

Does anyone else see an issue here?  Does creating insect cyborgs even sound like a good idea?   It sounds more like something that could turn out very bad.  If they plan to use them as weapons, which what other reason would that have for creating them in the first place, it would give a new meaning to the killer bee.

Just in case you might want to jump on Amazon and pick yourself up "How To Survive a Robot Uprising : Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion"