Lego Robot (link roundup)

Lego robot with jetpack and gun arm by Dan Rubin. Check out his Lego Alien Fleet Lictor's Ship. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Invasion of paper mache pandas. Via these sites.

2. Magnus Larsson wants to build a 6,000km-long wall of artificially solidified sandstone across the Sahara Desert. The wall would be created by injecting bacillus pasteurii, a "microorganism, readily available in marshes and wetlands, [that] solidifies loose sand into sandstone." Concept art here.

3. Barkevious Mingo beat out Iris Macadangdang in the name of the year contest.

4. Floating city sculpture.

*Previously: The Most Pretentious Baby Name Consultant Contest 2007.

*Buy Lego minifigs at eBay.

Ancient Egyptian Anti-Missile System?

This is a photo of the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard complex in Nekoma, North Dakota. It was designed to launch missiles to shoot down Soviet nukes, but was only operational for four months in the 70's. You'll find more information and photos here. Who needs science fiction when the American military actually built an anti-ballistic missile complex that looked like an ancient Egyptian pyramid? Via.

*Previously: Illuminati Pyramid paper toy.

*Buy nuke-related memorabilia at eBay.

If Charles Schulz drew the X-Men (link roundup)

Chris Giarrusso channels Charles Schulz to draw this X-Men/Peanuts mashup. See also, X-Men and Teen Titans vs. Apocalypse and an absolutely darling lil' Doctor Doom. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Mother of dead 21-year-old hopes to harvest his sperm, hire a surrogate, and become a grandma.

2. You can read several of the short stories nominated for 2009 Hugo Awards:

"26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" by Kij Johnson
"Article of Faith" by Mike Resnick
"Evil Robot Monkey" by Mary Robinette Kowal
"From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled" by Michael Swanwick

Via.

3. At Mr. Wong's Laundromat, you'll be able to play flash games to earn money to spend in the DS version of Grand Theft Auto. Also, if you sync your DS to the Rockstar Social Club, you can unlock two missions in Chinatown Wars.

4. Golfer John Daly is currently banned from the PGA tour. But in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, he's selling possessions out of an RV parked across the street from the Augusta golf tournament. Photo here.

*Previously: The golf hole where you have to hit the ball off a cliff.

*Buy plush X-Men at eBay.

Pimp my Recognizer (link roundup)

A blinged-out Recognizer from Tron by David Nicholson. If you'd like the chance to buy it from Threadless, then vote by clicking on the voting widget:



And a few more links:

1. Over at the LA Times, Area 51 workers tell newly declassified tales. For example, test pilot Kenneth Collins had to eject from an experimental plane. Shortly after he landed, three civilians approached him in a pickup truck. The men had the plane's canopy in the truck and offered to drive him to the crash site. Collins told the men to stay away from the wreckage because it included nuclear material. The good samaritans were later tracked down and forced to sign security nondisclosures. The CIA had Collins take "truth serum" and afterward dumped the still groggy pilot at home. His wife thought he was drunk. Read more here, including the explanation for why people thought they were seeing flying saucers (they were more or less right). Via.

2. Bots4Tots teaches kids about robotics through hands-on instruction. You can help out by sponsoring a robot kit here. They're also asking for help in naming their new robot mascot. (I don't think this is part of the Terminator Salvation campaign, but it'd be cool if it was.)

3. The origin of the phrase "steal someone's thunder." Via.

4. Don't forget to enter my Threadless giveaway.

*Previously: Tron Recognizer desktop wallpaper.

*Buy Tron toys at eBay.

Stargate Wedding Cake; Disco-Dancing Cake Toppers

Stargate Wedding Cake. There's more Stargate cakes on display here.

And speaking of weddings,



Disco-dancing wedding cake toppers by Paul Pape, who takes commissions.

*Previously: Manual for assembling an Ikea-branded Stargate.

*Buy Stargate toys at eBay.

Retro Sci-Fi Posters by Bradley W. Schenck

A nature-loving robot, jukebox, and rocket scientist star in a few of the retro sci-fi posters by Bradley W. Schenck on sale here (use the links on the right side of the screen).

*Previously: Retro Star Wars poster.

*Buy ray guns at eBay.

Qualcomm unveils a buzzworthy project

Qualcomm has unveiled a revolutionary new technology to improve digital networks:



That's right, implanting tiny base stations in pigeons. And since pigeons are a little vulnerable, Qualcomm spliced pigeon and wolf DNA to create wolfpigeons:



The wolfpigeons breed like crazy, but Qualcomm has solved that problem with sharkfalcons, which prey on the wolfpigeons:



And coming soon, the top of the chain - - crocodeagles:



You can see some concept art here. Thanks for the excellent tip Jaime Chen.

*Previously: Genpets - - genetically modified pets.

*Buy home DNA kits at Amazon.

Minutemen cosplay (link roundup)

Go here for several photos of these Minutemen cosplayers.

And a few more links:

1. Deanna Marsigliese claims she was never paid for work she did on Coraline.

2. Relatedly, here's advice for avoiding the problem of submitting work to an art show, only to have the gallery refuse to return your work.

3. Man intends to have prosthetic eye equipped with camera.

4. Detroitblog is an excellent source for news on the post-apocalyptic city that is Detroit.

*At Evil Buttons: How to make Coraline cakes; Homemade Coraline doll.

*Buy Coraline Dunks at eBay.

New tiny iPod Shuffle (link roundup)

The new iPod Shuffle is tiny and holds 4gigs of songs for $80 (which seems way overpriced). Best feature is a dedicated power switch. I can't stand begging my iPod to turn off.

And a few more links:

1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle robot.

2. Clearly we are living in a science fiction novel. Iron Chef Cat Cora and her wife Jennifer Cora are both pregnant. They already have two boys. All of the kids are from the same sperm donor. Photo of the happy couple here. Via.

3. Download a South Indian Restaurant Menu Decoder Wallet Card.

4. If you live in Philadelphia, here's a whole bunch of fun stuff to do for less than $10.

*Previously: Pregnant woman told her child will be taken because she is capable of emotional abuse.

*Buy TMNT toys at eBay.

Lego Warhammer 40K Space Marine (and more)

Two Lego creations by Mark Stafford:


Warhammer 40K Space Marine.


Space Pirate Mecha. Via.

*Previously: Video of a real-life Warhammer 40K Rhino crushing cars.

*Buy Games Workshop miniatures at eBay.

Biological sample from Neon Genesis Evangelion (link roundup)

I'm not familiar enough with the anime to understand the reference but this is a biological sample from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Made by Brian Chan.

And a few more links:

1. New sex terms I learned today were "having a treesome" and "retrosexuals."

2. Ted Kennedy and David Patterson's staffs are apparently telling every reporter they can how much Caroline Kennedy sucks.

3. Eating (non-alcoholic) ice cream caused a false positive breathalyzer result.

4. Fun week for CNN reporter Soledad O'Brien. Fox News airs a report that she's heartless for trying to get a dog evicted from her building. And Quincy Jones hits on her during a report.

*Previously: Wolverine/Neon Genesis Evangelion mashup.

*Buy Neon Genesis Evangelion toys at eBay.

Tennis player blasts ballboy in face (link roundup)

Tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro nailed a little kid right in the face at the Australian Open. Still photo of the player consoling the boy here. Via.

And a few more links:

1. Visit Executive Bomb if you need contact information to send a product/service complaint. Via.

2. Real life Portal gun. Via.

3. Bizarre tale of civil war between 4Chan members. Via these sites.

4. Flash mashup of Galaga and Tempest. Via these sites.

*Previously: Portal/Escher mashup.

*Buy companion cubes at eBay.

Alien Trespass

Alien Trespass movie poster:



Here's the trailer:



And here's the official site.

*Previously: The D.N.Alien.

*Buy "Attack of the 'B' Movie Posters" at Amazon.

Flying Lego Car

Flying Lego car by Gorazd Vahen.

*Previously: Ultraman goes for a ride in the big red car.

*Buy Lego minifigs at eBay.

More Christmas links

Christmas desktop icons.




Scientist explains Santa can manage to visit every child in one night by exploiting the space-time continuum. Via.



Christmas Card Making Machine.


Holiday village papercraft. Via.




Christmas tree/Star Destroyer.



Holiday-themed desktop wallpaper roundup at Lifehacker.


Robochristmas. Vote for it at the KFC Christmas decoration contest.


Snow-covered house and Christmas tree papercraft.



How to make a shrinky Santa ornament.


Krampus cards. More designs here. Via.

*See more Christmas links here.

*Buy snowglobes at eBay.

Found metal chicken sculpture

Found metal chicken sculpture by Scottoons.

Here's a few more random links:

1. Mario Puzo wrote the Godfather because he was "tired of being an artist." And he had an ugly encounter with Frank Sinatra due to the Johnny Fontane character. More interesting anecdotes here. Via.


2. Go figure, scientists think space elevators might not be realistic after all. Relatedly, I just learned that AMC is turning Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars into a tv series.


3. Forum thread filled with accusations against Shocker Toys and responses by a Shocker Toys rep. Via.


4. Andre Agassi's former manager (and former close friend) has filed a lawsuit against Steffi Graf, alleging she owes him $50k.


*Previously: Organization against space elevators.

*Buy Marvel Legends toys at eBay.

Starship Troopers miniatures

I guess it's been so long since I saw Starship Troopers that loathing has faded to (very) faint fondness. The Starship Trooper miniatures actually look pretty appealing. There's a surprisingly varied selection on sale at eBay. Via.

*Previously: Mechanical grasshopper.

Hokusai's Great Wave enters The Matrix

This homage to Hokusai's "Great Wave" is apparently called "Wave of the Future." I couldn't find any information on who created it, but there's a very high res version here. Via.

*Previously: Great Wave diorama.

*Buy samurai toys at eBay.

Many-Eyed Space Rhino

This many-eyed space rhino is officially called "Captain Curieyes," and was created by Márcio Luiz de Castro for a design contest at Mojizu. Go here to see his creepy raven.

*Previously: Impressive Spider-Man/Rhino toy photo.

*Buy toy spaceships at eBay.

Space Invaders attend a mission briefing

The Space Invaders attend a mission briefing in this Threadless t-shirt submission by Neil Gregory. You can vote for the design by clicking on the voting widget:



*Previously: Plush Space Invaders.

*Buy toy spaceships at eBay.