iPhone microscope mod: just add loupe

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As we know by now, the iPhone is the Chuck Norris of mobiles. But those geniuses over at MAKE have come up with a feature that I’m willing to bet Steve Jobs never thought of: microscope.
Explains member Curiouslee: “The iPhone camera lens is flush with the back of the perfectly flat back of the device making it easy to hold a pocket magnifier loupe in front to convert the camera into a microscope.” Can it also be combined with a telescope for voyeuristic-lawsuitilarity? Only time will tell. [GT]

iPhone camera as microscope (via Makezine)

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"Living goddess" fired for visiting US

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Sajani Shakya was a ten-year old girl, one of the three most-revered Kumari, who are regarded as a living incarnation of divinity by Buddhists and Hindus. Though not permitted to leave Nepal in order to remain pure, Shakya traveled to the US to promote a documentary about Kumari, whereupon her outraged temple elders sacked her. Boing Boing also reports that despite traditions where Kumari live in near-total seclusion, the defrocked goddess has a taste for gadgets, spotted at Silverdocs snapping with her DSLR and shooting with an HD camcorder. [GT]

‘Goddess’ sacked for visiting US

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Carpet Alarm Clock makes you stomp it into silence

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We’ve posted about a lot of alarm clocks over the years here but most of them don’t involve actually stepping on the alarm clock to make it stop shrilling. However, the Carpet Alarm Clock by Sofie Collin and Gustav Lanber is a welcome mat with a functional alarm clock built-in, and it takes weight to shut the thing off once it’s started going. It’ll have to be a fair bit of weight, though, or we’ll just throw the cat at it. [GT]

Carpet Alarm Clock (via CubeMe

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Atari Flashback portable old-school gaming

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The Atari Flashback is a compact package running for 15 hours at a time on 3 AAA batteries, to let you re-experience the huge Atari pixels of yesteryear. Games are uploaded via USB (though it’s not entirely clear how yet) and it has two joystick controller ports so you can even do full head-to-head gaming. Screen resolution is 320X240 and the NTSC versions will have AV out. It’ll also be in the glorious fake oak grain we’ve come to expect from quality Atari-related goods. [GT]

A peek at the Atari Flashback Portable prototype

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More footage of the HRP-3 Promet Mk-II waterproof robot

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We’ve got some new footage of the HRP-3 Promet Mk-II made by Kawada Industries, Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST). Curiously, mainstream media has decided it’s a bit precious and hilarious that this robot is waterproof, but what “waterproof” actually means is it can operate heavy machinery in a serious downpour, which is more than many humans can do. Video after the jump, and a bunch of shots and videos of the HRP-3 Promet Mk-II here. [GT]

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Pop-up Pirate: the USB hub you can stab

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You need a 4-port USB hub; you need to stab things sometimes in the office: you need a Pop-up Pirate 4 port USB hub. It’d make a bit more sense if the Pirate popped up when you plugged in a USB item, but this way is probably easier on your printers. £20. [GT]

Pop-up Pirate 4 port USB hub (via Plastic Bamboo)

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World's smallest solar-powered race car sits in the palm of your hand

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A tad smaller than a typical matchbox car, at 33x22x14 mm, the Select Solar mini solar racer is a no-assembly-required toy that lets you either demonstrate the coolness of solar power in an educational fashion, or play with a little toy car under the pretext of being environmentally responsible. Also works with a strong white light source. £14 after p + p. [GT]

Select Solar mini solar racer

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The FUMP: Funny Music Project

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Top today at the FUMP, Funny Music Project, is Yet Another Stupid Decade – NetHack Turns 20. Backing FUMP is Possible Oscar, Raymond and Scum, Rob Balder, Sudden Death, the great Luke Ski, Tom Smith, and Worm Quartet. You can get free copies of their funny MP3s in 128k, and 192k downloads are either $0.99 each, or $4.99 for a monthly Level 1 subscription. Level 2 subscriptions are $9.99 and get you a CD compilation of the new FUMP tracks every two months. The compilations are otherwise for sale for $9.99. New songs posted Tuesday and Friday. [GT]

The FUMP: Funny Music Project

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Belkin Mouse Trap also snaps shut

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The Belkin Mouse Trap is more of a mouse house, providing a comfy, padded home for when you’ve got to transport your mouse (and possibly a few other USB dongles or chargers). When you’ve arrived, you can snap it open and use it as a mouse pad. It’s also sort of cute, and at only $13 sounds like a worthy addition to your travel wardrobe. [GT]

Belkin Mouse Trap [via Chip Chick]

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"Don't call me artist," says sci-photog Frankel

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“When it’s art, it’s more about the creator, not necessarily the concept in the image,” said Felice Frankel, senior research fellow at the Institute for Innovative Computing at Harvard. Frankel photographs science at the molecular level, to allow researchers clear and vivid images of the substances they work with. “To me the idea is to engage somebody to look at something, and they don’t even know it’s science,” she said. Her first collaborator, Dr. Whitesides of Harvard, says, “her impact on scientific communication has been very large, in the way science talks to science and science talks to the world outside science.” [GT]

Felice Frankel (via NY Times)

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