rutgers

The U.S. railroad is about to get a minor makeover.

Axion International has won a $15 million contract to make railroad ties made from recycled plastic, the company announced yesterday.

The railroad ties will specifically be made of Recycled Structural Composite (RSC), the signature recycled plastic composite developed by Axion in conjunction with Rutgers University. RSC is a thermoplastic composite produced from 100 percent recycled consumer plastics (such as milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles) and industrial plastic waste.

Axion's deal to provide replacement railroad ties over the next three years is with an unnamed company purported to … Read more

Jeff's back to complete a week of episodes, and although we don't normally condone eating on the air (because it's gross), we'll make an exception for Wilson's favorite treat--Lotte Koala chocolate cookies! Anyone else see the resemblance? On today's episode of The 404 Podcast, we're delving into the bizarre world of Kindlerotica, aka e-reader pR0n; Groupon is offering $60,000 scholarships to any baby parented by a couple that used a Groupon on their first date; Google's new URL shortener Goo.gl; and a blacklist of words that Google considers too nasty to include in its Instant search feature.

Online coupon distributor Groupon just debuted the most ridiculous PR campaign we've seen in awhile--it's offering $60,000 college scholarships to Groupon babies, and here's how it works. To participate, two people must meet through Groupon's dating Web site Grouspawn, agree to go on a date at a restaurant that accepts Groupon coupons, and see what happens from there.

A Groupon baby is only eligible for the $60,000 scholarship prize if it was conceived on the first date, and proof must be obtained in the form of photographic evidence, credit card receipts, or waiter testimonials. Make sense? There are already 166 members on the Grouspawn Date Assistant, so get on it!

As of Wednesday of this week, the most downloaded novel on the Amazon Kindle Webstore was "Compromising Positions" by Jenna Bayley Burke. As you might not have guessed from the subtle wit in its name, "Compromising Positions" is an adult-rated novel that represents the latest trend in Kindlerotica, or e-porn.

Whereas classic romance novels are traditionally targeted at women, this latest genre is definitely written for men and most of the titles read like text out of Penhouse Forum letters. It's disturbing to think that people are actually reading these stories in public, but the problem may be that Amazon is distributing these stories for free, which explains why they keep popping up on the best-seller list.

None of us really get the appeal, and Jeff puts it best when he describes his visual affinity toward the subject matter. In either case, if you want to check it out, another novel called "Office Slave" seems to be a good place to start....but do everyone a favor and stay out of the subway when you read it, OK?

Speaking of dirty birdies, the 2600 just published the Google Blacklist--Words that Google Instant Doesn't Like, and there are a ton of submissions. Google Instant is a new search feature that shows results in real time as you type. It also relies on predictive results that could potentially save you two to five seconds per search, but that opens up the floodgates on certain words that Google deems universally offensive.

So alongside the standard four-letter cusswords and NSFW terms, there's also a heap of ambiguously dirty words like "golden," "lemon," "teen," and an entire section dedicated to variations on the word "dog." Use your imagination, or just check out the entire list, at your own discretion--this is your official NSFW warning!

Oh, Google also unveiled its own URL shortener called Goo.gl. FYI, we spend less time talking about that than it took for you to read the previous sentence.

Have a great weekend everyone!

commentary Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers University student, leaped off the George Washington Bridge last week, apparently committing suicide after learning that his college roommate had video recorded him during a sexual encounter with another man, according to The New York Times.

Because much of the tragedy has played out online and because a computer cam was used to do the recording, some critics are now warning the public of apocalyptic consequences involved with social networking and technology.

"This 'stunt' isn't just a college prank gone bad," wrote Dr. Keith Ablow, for Foxnews.com. "It is … Read more

No doubt, Bootsy Collins put the fun in funk.

All the showmanship aside--the wild costumes and glasses--the guy can play bass. Now, Collins is preparing to go online to share his knowledge about the instrument. On July 1, Collins, 58, is opening up what he says is the world's first "Funk University."

Collins wrote at Thefunkuniversity.com: "This sonic learning institution will be unlike anything before as Professor Collins and the finest bassists in music will unleash an intense curriculum on the Web for intermediate to advanced funk disciples." Musically.com first reported the story. … Read more

Rutger Hauer has seen things you people wouldn't believe.

The Dutch actor, who issued some of the best-known lines in sci-fi history in his role as a murderous artificial life form in Ridley Scott's 1982 film "Blade Runner," has a vision of the future that's laden with technology. He's different than many in Hollywood in that he doesn't think digital technology will destroy filmmaking.

On the contrary; at a time when the major film studios are wringing their hands over online piracy and the growing ease with which pirated movies can be shared … Read more