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Bidder buys $1.5 million space date with Leonardo DiCaprio

If you thought $200,000 was a lot to pay for a Virgin Galactic flight to the edge of space, try $1.5 million. Do note, however, that the steep ticket price includes Leo DiCaprio as your travel buddy.

A bidder at a Cannes charity auction agreed to fork out that much for a seat in space beside the star who played flight-mad Howard Hughes in "The Aviator." The money will benefit amfARa Cinema Against AIDS, hosted by amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

The winning bid was made by 37-year-old Vasily Klyukin, a Russian living in Monaco, according to Reuters.

"I want to be a bit daring," Klyukin was quoted as saying. "I will have to give up smoking now for sure!" … Read more

The true shape of the Ring Nebula

Hubble has been doing some interesting work with nebulae recently, it seems. About a month ago, we saw new images of the Horsehead Nebula in the infrared spectrum, revealing new details of the famous gas formation.

The newest nebula to get the fine-detail treatment is the equally famous Ring Nebula. Combining visible-light images from Hubble with infrared data from the ground-based Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona has revealed that the structure of the nebula is more complex than was previously believed. … Read more

Secret 'Twitter garden' reveals itself when you tweet

It's always good to stop and smell the roses, but sometimes you have to tweet to access them.

At least that's how it works with an interactive Internet-connected garden created by the U.K.'s University of Lincoln. Familiar plants greet onlookers, but when they tweet using a specific hashtag, electronic paneled screens dividing the plot into two distinct areas shift to reveal an area containing more exotic foliage.

The garden, called "Digital Capabilities," just won a gold medal at this year's prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which runs through Saturday. But its architects hope to keep it up and blooming as a permanent installation. … Read more

Pac-Mania, alive and well

We missed the official anniversary by a couple of days -- mark the calendar for May 22 -- but let's not close the week without taking a moment to mark Pac-Man's remarkable status as a cultural icon. In the 33 years since the game's creator, Toru Iwatani, saw his invention make it into the market for the first time, Pac-Man has become a reference point in our cultural lexicon, appropriated as a symbol by the likes of professional boxers as well as democracy protesters.

It hardly seemed that would be the outcome given Iwatani's rather modest … Read more

The 404 1,275: Where we give Tony Hale a hand (podcast)

We're very proud to have Tony Hale on the show today. You probably know him as Buster Bluth on "Arrested Development" and most recently as Gary Walsh on "Veep." We get him on Skype today to talk about this weekend's long-anticipated fourth season return of "Arrested" and the moment he learned that Netflix would release all 15 episodes at once.

We'll also go back to the beginning and get the story about the audition process, the steps that led up to creating the Buster character, and the suggestion that perhaps the … Read more

Android 4.3 pops up in the wild after skipping Google I/O

After failing to appear at Google I/O, evidence that Android 4.3 is forthcoming soon has been leaking out slowly. Now, the first photos of the next sweet iteration of the mobile OS running on a device have been spotted. It looks to be a new flavor of Jelly Bean rather than the whole slice of Key Lime Pie.

Photos that appear to show a Nexus 4 running Android 4.3 at the 2013 Thailand Mobile Expo have surfaced on the xdadevelopers forum, home to many an Android leak, hack, and more.… Read more

How to learn the periodic table in 3 minutes

In high school science classes, students are encouraged to memorize the first 20 elements of the periodic table. There are other methods employed at the university level for all 118 -- many students swear by mnemonics.

When it comes to tremendously catchy fun, though, a new song by AsapScience has them all beat. Called simply "The New Periodic Table Song (In Order)," it's a chemical adventure that romps along to a section of "Infernal Galop" (otherwise known as the Can-Can music) from Jacques Offenbach's opera "Orpheus in the Underworld."

It goes, appropriately, at a fast gallop, but listen a few times, and you'll soon find yourself confidently singing along. … Read more

Friday Poll: Are you celebrating Geek Pride Day?

I'm polishing up my "Battlestar Galactica" dog tags. I'm digging out my "Star Trek" insignia and IDIC necklace. I'm getting ready for Geek Pride Day on Saturday.

I'm not the only one getting into this. "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" fans are pulling their favorite towels out of the dryer. Stormtroopers are spit-shining their armor. "Star Wars" cookie cutters are getting pressed into overtime duty. For me, every day is an exercise in geek pride, but I don't mind having a special day to get extra freaky with the geeky.… Read more

Apple cuts prices on reburbished iPad Mini and iPad 4

Those of you eyeing an iPad Mini or fourth-generation iPad can now save a bit more money on refurbished models courtesy of Apple.

As of Friday, Apple is offering 15 percent to 17 percent discounts on all flavors of refurbished units of the iPad Mini and the iPad 4.

The 16GB Wi-Fi-only iPad Mini is selling for $279, 15 percent off the usual price. The 32GB Wi-Fi Mini is available for $359, 16 percent off the full price. And the 64GB Wi-Fi Mini can be had for $439, 17 percent off the regular price.

The 16GB Wi-Fi version of the … Read more