Caleb Johnson
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Parents Can Read Bedtime Stories From Abroad With New Site
For a fee of $6.99, 'A Story Before Bed' allows parents to record a video of themselves reading a story from the site's extensive library (from 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' to 'Hansel and Gretel'), and then syncs the video with a digital version of the book onscreen. All you need is a computer, a webcam, and a copy of Adobe's Flash Player. Then, the child (presumably with help from an adult) can log on to the site and have a story read to him or her. It's the perfect way for that grandmother who lives on the West Coast or that dad who's overseas on business to stay in touch with the youngsters. Don't worry that you're too old to figure this out, either. The site's developers, Jackson Fish Market, even offer technical support between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. Pacific Time.
It's not as good as reading 'Where The Wild Things Are' while sitting on the edge of your child's bed, but it's a lot better than the alternative for traveling parents. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have some reading to do. [From: Tech Flash, via Kotkke, via A Story Before Bed]
South Korea Judge Allows Cabbies to Watch TV While Driving
The ruling came as a result of one Seoul driver's challenge of a $507 fine he'd been given for watching TV while driving. Seoul is notorious for its congested streets -- the reason cab drivers installed the screens in the first place. When the government first launched a broadcasting system that beamed to mobile screens in 2005, TV-watching cabbies turned into a phenomenon.
Woman to Stream Her Child's Birth Live on the Web
For some women, giving birth is an intimate experience. But for a 23-year-old Minneapolis mom-to-be, it's a chance to teach and share with the world -- live on the Internet. According to Boston.com, a woman named Lynsee was approached by Moms Like Me, a site that lets women blog about their pregnancies, and asked about filming the birth of her first child and streaming it on the Web. After conferring with her husband, Lynsee, who is a family and consumer science teacher, decided the project would not only be a chance to share her experience with moms all over the world, but also that the footage would make a fine keepsake for her kid. (In case you're wondering, the camera crew has been instructed to keep things clean and tasteful).
If you're interested in watching this "magical" experience, Lynsee's due date is November 19th. The streaming video is available to anybody who visits the Moms Like Me site, but only registered members will be able to post comments and chat during the birth. As the day nears, Lynsee says she isn't having any regrets. "It's the one big moment and the special part and it's what I'm looking forward to sharing with everyone the most," she told Boston.com.
Preview Your Plastic Surgery With iSurgeon
Thinking about a nip here, or a tuck there? If you're not certain that a face lift or lipo is right for you, you might want to test the waters with an iPhone application. According to Reuters, two plastic surgery apps, both aiming to inform surgical candidates about different procedures, have been released in the past month.The first, the Shafer Plastic Surgery App, was launched in October. It hosts a database of more than 1,000 questions and answers that people interested in surgery might ask. If you choose to pay $2.99 for the full version, you can also send the creator, Dr. David Shafer, direct questions about procedures. The second, iSurgeon, is a little creepier. This app, free to download this month, alters photos according to the plastic surgery procedure you select. For example, if you'd like to know what that breast enhancement would look like, simply snap a pic of yourself, select that procedure on the app, and bam. The digital version appears right before your eyes. Creepily easy, sure, but if just one less person ends up looking like Michael Jackson, these apps are successes in our minds. [From: Reuters, via DVICE]
Taser Fired From Grenade Launcher Electrifies Safety Debate
Despite its wares being billed as "non-lethal," we'd rather not find ourselves on the business end of a product from Taser International, which designs weapons that use a strong dose of electricity to incapacitate people. After learning about the company's latest venture, we don't think we'll change our minds any time soon, either.According to New Scientist, Taser is set to deliver prototypes of a new weapon -- the Human Electro-Muscular Incapacitation (HEMI) -- to the Pentagon early next year. The weapon can hit a target that's more than 60 meters away when fired from a standard 40-millimeter grenade launcher. Once the cartridge makes contact with the target, it delivers a powerful electric shock for as long as three minutes or until someone removes it -- which could be quite a while depending on the distance between shooter and target.
Kooky, 'Green' Japanese Electric Bikes Were Ahead of Their Time
These days, everybody's looking for "greener" ways to get around town. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise us to discover that our mom had ditched her SUV for a bicycle. This wasn't the case until fairly recently in the U.S., but the Japanese, ever the technology mavericks, were green when green wasn't cool. Need evidence?
Just check out these bike models from Shukuno Rintendo that Today and ...'Electronic Fog' From Wireless Devices Might Block Study of Space
As our world becomes increasingly wireless, scientists must grapple with the effects of millions of people using devices like cell phones and laptops. After all, there's only so much space on the electromagnetic spectrum. You might not consider it while Googling or browsing Facebook, but that signal you're transmitting could be making it tougher for some scientists to do their jobs. That's why ...Music Pirates Spend More on Tunes Than Non-Pirates, Finds Poll
In their never-ending game of finger pointing, music executives have blamed everyone and everything under the sun for the industry's woes. But after learning about a new study from the U.K., the suits might have one less scapegoat, and a little more cause for concern.
According to the Independent, a new poll commissioned by Demos, a U.K. think tank, found that people who admit to illegally ...Man's Criticism of Actor Stephen Fry Draws the Wrath of Tweeters
These days, more verbal smackdowns take place on Twitter than do at junior high schools. Of course, these might go unnoticed if the people involved weren't, in many cases, celebrities. Some of these "Twitter Wars" are funny, but some feuds get downright nasty. But it's not just celebrity-on-celebrity disputes that are taking place in the Twitterverse. The beauty of the site is the ability for an ...Texting Bus Driver Caught Red-Thumbed by Passenger's Phone Pic
The debate about driving while texting (DWT) is about to hit a fever pitch. If you think people were up in arms about this dangerous habit before, just wait till you hear the latest alarming story. According to the New York Post, a New York City bus driver is being investigated after a passenger snapped a picture of him texting while steering the bus through thick traffic Thursday. Allegedly, the ...
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