Jeff and Justin with Dong- Wilson not included
(Credit: Joseph Kaminski)After multiple cancellations and attempts to get him on the show, Mr. Ngo is finally in the 404 studio in New York! We're excited to pick his brain on all the new advancements in the CNET labs, but we get sidetracked by the most random conversations. Dong and I have a special relationship (don't go there): Dong was actually the first person I met when I first started working at CNET! In fact, you could consider him my printer mentor! Thanks, Dong.
Since we have Dong in the hot seat, we take this opportunity to pick his brain about his experiences coming to America from Vietnam. As you can imagine, it took the young Dong awhile to adjust to our idioms and figures of speech, which he illustrates beautifully in a cheeky story involving an attractive blond woman and a big, yellow Hummer.
In addition, Dong surprises us all and tell us that it was actually Michael Jackson who inspired him to learn English! I can just imagine little Dong saying "Who is the Man in the Mirror and why are we asking him to change his ways?"
Believe it or not, we finally arrive at an actual news story in the second half of the show. This one is about a Japanese teddy bear robot nurse named RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) meant to transport the elderly and handicapped in its creepy outstretched arms. Has anyone noticed that it looks a lot like a certain bear meme?
Either way, we all take issue with the fact that the bear can only hold up to 134 pounds in its foam-padded paws! Clearly this robot ain't picking any Americans up anytime soon. I think we actually have babies that weigh more than that.
Big thanks goes out to Paul Ramsay for inviting us to last night's hypnotism show at the Julliard Academy. It was tons of fun--who knew a group of kids could Riverdance so well!? Maybe you can help Jeff through his knife phobia! If you're not familiar with Paul's work, be sure to check out his appearance on our show. Also, head over to the Inside CNET Labs Podcast to catch more of Dong Ngo's crazy antics.
EPISODE 418
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EPISODE 104 |
Hottest solar-powered sports car ever
http://dvice.com/archives/2008/08/seat_brisa_the.php
Solar ice maker
http://dvice.com/archives/2008/08/solar_icemaker.php
Xbox 360 coin-up arcade
http://gizmodo.com/5042961/xbox-360-goes-coin+op
Logitech Squeezebox Boom: The ultimate Wi-Fi radio?
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10027437-1.html
Nikon D90: The hotness
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10026094-1.html
PinkWatch:
LG to join the UMPC bandwagon with the Netbook X110
http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2008/08/lg_to_join_the.html
It’s about time
Chococlock delivers chocolate every hour
http://www.mystichackers.com/1054.html
Why didn’t I think of that?
GE Profile frontload washers & dryers
http://www.uncrate.com/men/home/appliances/ge-profile-frontload-washers-dryers/
Kill me
The Fuggit by Fuggis Hilton, Part II: The actual box of fake hair
http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/go_fug_yourself/2008/08/the_fuggit_by_fuggis_hilton_part_ii.html
A propos (of) nothing
Kinesio Tex Tape
http://www.uncrate.com/men/body/health-fitness/kinesio-tex-tape/
What the hell!?
Teddy Bear USB drive is a headless horror
http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/27/teddy-bear-usb-drive.html
(Credit:
Pink Tentacle)
If you think GPS breathalyzer devices are intrusive, you'll love this next item from Japan. Engineers at iXs Research are developing a talking teddy bear that serves as an in-car navigation system, giving directions while sniffing out any alcohol on your breath with a sensor embedded in its neck, asking "You haven't been drinking, have you?"
As if that weren't irritating enough, this backseat-driving teddy also has sensors designed to detect reckless driving, such as sudden braking and acceleration ("Watch out!"). And as a "bonus," according to Pink Tentacle, the bear will give information about landmarks in the vicinity when his head is patted. We don't know whether to be annoyed or creeped out.
(Credit:
Prada)
Here's how to ruin a thing of beauty. Find a Prada phone, one of the most gorgeous handsets we've seen, and attach a scruffy miniature teddy bear to it. Worse yet, dress the little sap in some tiny Prada label too, then charge nearly $100 for it.
That pretty much sums up this line of phone straps marketed by the design house, as seen on Chip Chick. And believe it or not, the teddy pictured here actually isn't nearly as hideous as some of the others in the "Mobile Trick Quirinos" line, such as those clad in pink, red, and white.
Why Prada chose to do this, especially after coming out with some lust-worthy accessories immediately after launching its phone, is beyond us. Then again, we've never understood high-end designer labels; the closest we've ever gotten to them is the new arrivals at Ross.
(Credit:
EMS Labs)
A couple of months ago for Halloween, we bestowed the completely made-up Demented Genius Award upon the Evil Mad Scientists Laboratory, in recognition of the modification of a Lego man by sticking an LED in it. This created a disturbing modern version of Ichabod Crane's nemesis, the Headless Horseman.
Today we present the second Demented Genius Award to Evosapien member Nocturnal and his alter ego, who prefers to go unnamed. We were able to confirm that it's Mr. Nocturnal, and not Ms. Nocturnal, who took WowWee's popular Robosapien toy, gutted a teddy bear, and merged the two in an unholy union. He has thoughtfully published circuitry diagrams to whet the appetite of budding demented geniuses, and from the looks of it, he may even publish detailed how-tos someday.
Obviously, this kind of modding voids your warranty, and Robosapien may sue you for character defamation when he finds out that you've commandeered him to slaughter children's playthings, but other than that, it's just good, clean, wrong-in-the-head fun. Thanks to SlashGear for the heads-up.
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