Something Went Right

This is one of those inspiring videos about a crow that is taking care of and raising an abandoned kitten. Although it’s 7:29 long, it’s worth the time to watch.

Ever wonder if those Smartcars are really safe? My wife does, convinced they are deathtraps. Well… Honey, this video is for you

These Mercedes built cars are becoming very popular in the rest of the world and apparently stand up very well. They will soon be available in the US although some people are bringing them over the border from Canada.

After smashing the car, it moved the 20 ton concrete barrier and the film crew still managed to open the door after the impact. For more on the Smartcar, head over to SmartUSA.

Got GPS? Ever have to look down to see where you should be going? Ever thought of mounting that unit somewhere so that it’s easier to see on the road (and by thieves when you’re parked)?

How about a military style heads up type display?

If you’re still curious, have a look at

Virtual Cable™ which is a unique display for a car navigation system. The driver sees the Virtual Cable™ image through the windshield. It appears as if suspended over the road, similar to a trolley cable. The image is in true 3D and appears to be a natural part of the landscape.

More videos and an overview are available at their web site.

I LOVE it. Get the neighbor’s to sync their Christmas lights, over the Internet, so that you get a cool effect. In fact, head over to their web site and link your own lights if your technical inclined (or have a friend who is ;-)…

Hats off to Kiva Systems for putting together some holiday fun with their robots.

After a long day picking and packing holiday season orders in a warehouse, robots come alive and celebrate the season with dance and music.

Nanosolar, Inc. made their Nanosolar PowerSheets available for sale.

Why is this of note? How about being super cheap, ultra-adaptable, printed on pretty much anything and are forecasted to cost 30 cents per watt when manufactured at scale. Plus, you don’t need glass, silicon layers or special roof top assemblies.

This is huge in that you can print it on rolls, tops of semi-trailer trucks, garages, sides of buildings, pretty much anywhere you want. Popular Science did an amazing review of how this works (link below).

For more on this, check out the New York Times story by John Markoff or the article on the Popular Science web site.

More pictures after the jump…

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No more needles? On man, would I love this if it works…

According to Laguna Hills-based BioMedDevice Limited, gumEase uses no conventional anesthetics, instead relying on cryoanesthesia: basically, the freezer-stored device chills your mouth into numbness. One application of gumEase, which lasts up to 20 minutes, is said to relieve 90% of a patient’s pain within two to three minutes.

The FDA recently certified gumEase as the first cryoanesthetic dental mouthpiece for the US OTC market. It can be used standalone or in conjunction with conventional anesthesia.

It gives dentists an option they didn’t have before", says Tay McClellan, BioMeDevice CTO, "they can manage patient pain easily in a wider range of situations. Now it’s not a problem to have a patient who can’t use drug-based anesthesia."

If you want to see how this works, read their overview.

Remember when James Bond used something like this in Thunderball? A bit of a fantasy? Looks like Jet Pack International has 3 models available that allow for flight times of up to 9 minutes with a 180 Lbs person. Price runs around $200K, but you get training

Check out Jetpack International for more information.

Although the video doesn’t do it justice, have a look at a new ride/swing that drops up to 5 passengers from 150 feet at up to 80 miles per hour.

Unfortunately this is only available in Singapore and New Zealand. Sorry sweetie (my wife loves these things…)

Having lived in the Bay Area myself, I kind of wondered how a program of this size would work (those of you that haven’t visited SF, it tends to get pretty foggy).

However, Mayor Gavin Newsom is promoting a new plan that couples refunds and loans to advance the use of solar power. Under the proposed plan, businesses would be eligible for rebates of up to $10,000 while residents would be eligible for $3,000 to $5,000 discounts off the cost of installing panels.

As far as we know, this is probably the most sweeping program seen on a municipal level and even compared to some on the state level," said Monique Hanis, a spokeswoman for the Washington-based Solar Energy Industries Association.

For more on this story, head over to Yahoo!News to see the story filed by LISA LEFF, Associated Press.