hearts

This week Dong visits the "Church of All Faiths" and uncovers the "Church of False Advertising."

Eric nerds it up about the WoW: Lich King beta, which is awesome of course. Seriously, how is Blizzard going to keep everyone from re-rolling as a Death Knight? We guess that just means the other classes are due for some serious buffs. We hope so at least.

Last, but not least, Dong explains the proper ways to eat a still-beating heart..not kidding.

To subscribe to this podcast, visit us at our main page and click the link on … Read more

On the show today: Natali Del Conte, Sex and the Second Life, star crossed robotics, beer theft in gay bars, Drank drink - "Slow Your Roll," Cluck the MPAA, and don't forget about our 404-Dark Knight Meetup TONIGHT at 7:15 at the Clearview Chelsea Theater on twenty-third street. Get there early to help us reserve a row! Seriously, if four listeners show up I'm going to throw a temper tantrum, fist pounding on the pavement and all.

Natali Del Conte joins us on today's show to talk about her spot on the Morning Show with Mike and Juliet … Read more

Is "emotional robot" an oxymoron? Not necessarily, say the creators of the Heart Robot.

This robot/puppet, which is made of soft, flexible plastic, appears to breathe, blink, flinch, and clench its fists in response to human encounters. Experts in the diverse fields of robotics, animatronics, street theater, puppetry, and Web design converged to design the bot, which is meant to evoke emotion in those who meet it.

Swathed in white Egyptian cotton, it looks like a slightly forlorn cousin of ET. Its nervous system is made up of five small computers that work together to produce reactions. … Read more

Science decided to recreate the perfect film star. It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

Currently on display at the London Science Museum is a thing, no, a person, no, a perthing called Heart Robot.

Like the finest human diva, Heart Robot responds instantly to coddling, cuddling and the attentions of an ever-loving agent.

Heart Robot has a heart that breathes, a belly that beats and skin that responds to every movement, touch and shriek.

Its visible signs of happiness include limp limbs, lowered eyelids, a slowed heartbeat and relaxed breathing.

(Those of you who think these … Read more

We're not sure how wise it would be to entrust a $14.99 gadget with one's health, but that's the goal of the "Heart Rate Sanitarian Watch" from Giz Fever. To use the "Heart Frequency Check," according to the product description, one need only press a finger to one of the wristwatch's sensors; the same is true of the indelicately named "Fat Check" function. There's also an alarm to keep you from falling asleep on the treadmill.

Prodded by the aging Boomer population, wearable exercise monitors have themselves boomed in recent years. But the obvious discomfort of wearing a monitor against the chest has pushed manufacturers to devise other scenarios--sometimes as far away from the heart as possible in the body's extremities.

The "Mark of Fitness MF-180" exercise monitor is one such example, keeping track of the body's performance through a fingertip. Not only does it measure the heart rate, Red Ferret says, but its built-in LCD will also display goals, calories burned, and recovery rates. All this was integrating into a … Read more

It's kind of curious that a company would send out a press release just to announce the new shape of an LCD, but that's exactly what NEC has done. And not just any shape, mind you, but a heart--and Valentine's Day is 9 months away.

It's actually being touted as another way that LCDs can be configured and used, as Engadget observes, not unlike the circular version we saw last fall. These prototypes are being showcased to exemplify the versatility of the technology, as flexible TFT displays find uses beyond traditional rectangular screens.

One reason … Read more

Usually when clothing and technology intersect, it's for purposes of entertainment or communication, even when physical activity is involved. But the "VitalJacket" made by Portuguese company BioDevices wants the combination to focus on your health.

Rather than rely on cumbersome devices that need to be worn on the arm or strapped to the chest, this smart shirt tracks your heart rate and electrocardiogram levels with built-in technologies. The VitalJacket comes in two versions, according to Coolest-Gadgets: one that stores data on a removable SD card that can be transferred to a computer, and another that features "… Read more

Xinhua and a Zhejiang province news website report on the spread of "Red Heart China" on IM and e-mail platforms.

The Zhejiang News Center link, auto-translated here, says the word is spreading via QQ, a top instant message platform in China.

Hexun.com carries step-by-step instructions in how to inscribe your MSN account with slogans declaring "I love the Olympics" and encouraging them to go on strongly.

This is all part of an extensive reaction to foreign press coverage on the recent events in Tibet. Other websites, including anti-cnn.com, have emerged to point out examples … Read more