With a budget in excess of $600 billion, the pentagon is hard at work researching technology that is sometimes bizarre and out of this world. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA is busy bringing in robotic creations to the pentagon that are craziest at the least. Here is a list of some of the strange robots the pentagon has in mind.

No 7. BigDog

BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot created by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. It was made in 2005 and can haul, climb, and carry its way over rough terrain. Capable of traversing difficult terrains, running at 4 miles per hour, carrying 340 pounds, and climbing a 35 degree incline, BigDog is intended to one day be able to serve as a robotic pack mule to accompany soldiers in terrain too rough for conventional vehicles.

This strange-looking robot is powered by a two-stroke, one-cylinder and 15-HP go-kart engine operating at over 9,000 RPM.

No 6. Nano Hummingbird Drone

Developed by AeroVironmen, the Nano hummingbird drone is built to look like a bird for potential use in spy missions. It is capable of flying at speeds of up to 11 miles per hour, hovering and flying sideways, backward and forward, as well as going clockwise and counterclockwise, by remote control for about eight minutes of sustained flight.

Evidently, the technology needs a lot of polishing before being put to some actual use.

No 5. LittleDog

A quadruped robot designed for research on learning locomotion, the LittleDog’s four legs are each powered by three electric motors and are strong enough for climbing and “dynamic locomotion gaits.”

No 4. RiSE Climbing Robot

RiSE is a robot capable of climbing vertical terrain such as walls, trees and fences. It has “feet with micro-claws” to climb on textured surfaces. It weighs at 4.4 punds and is able to travel at 0.68 miles per hour.

It has six legs, an on-board computer that manages the coordination of these legs and a variety of sensors.

No 3. PetMan

This is a bipedal device constructed for testing chemical protection suits. The technology is basically derived from BigDog with advanced features such as sweating; simulating both human movement mechanics and human physiology to a much realistic extent.

PetMan is capable of walking on a treadmill i.e. walking, doing squats and pumping out push-ups. It also has a phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.

And as Boston Dynamics President Marc Raibert said:

“Places like the Fukushima reactors could be accessed by Petman-like robots (or AlphaDogs), without requiring any human exposure to hazardous materials. Perhaps firefighting inside of buildings or facilities designed for human access, like on board ships designed for human crews.”

Women have a wider pupil diameter than men. Although larger pupils are considered to be more attractive by men, there is no direct evidence to suggest that this is why women have larger pupils. It’s worth to mention that over 500 years ago, women in Italy used plant extracts to dilate their pupils because they believed it would increase their attractiveness.

Research suggests that if you are walking with a cup of coffee, tea or any other liquid, your chances of spilling it are the highest between your 7th and 10th step. It’s pure physics, nothing personal. This is when your coffee movement gains a high enough amplitude to spill over the rim.

Count your steps next time you carry an open cup of coffee in your office corridor.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a new action flick, being made by Korean director Kim Jee-Woon.

In the film, a classical western, aptly titled The Last Stand,Schwarzenegger stars as Sheriff Owens, who, together with his rookie deputies, makes a stand and intercepts a notorious wanted drug kingpin hurtling toward the border at 200 mph. in a specially outfitted car with a hostage and a wild bunch of gang members after a spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy.

(TASS)

ZeroN is the name of the project carried out by Jinha Lee. ZeroN uses magnets, a Kinect visual system (webcam based), plus a special software that enables either the computer to move a steel ball around in space, or a human to just grab it and move it, essentially telling the computer where it should go. It can even remember how it was moved, then repeat the movement automatically.

What if materials could defy gravity, so that we could leave them suspended in mid-air? ZeroN is a physical and digital interaction element that floats and moves in space by computer-controlled magnetic levitation.

How do you allay your parking woes? You could walk or bike to your destination but sometimes, owning acar is just plain necessary. But the lack of parking space can be a huge hassle especially when you need to make multiple stops. Romano Artioli, ex-owner of the Lotus and Bugatti brands, has developed a tiny single-seater eco-friendly car that’s small enough to fit into an office elevator. Measuring just 1 meter in width and 1.5 meters in height, the Volpe weighs only 350 kg and can squeeze itself into the smallest of spaces.

Volpe, world's smallest car

So tiny is the Volpe that it can zip about your workplace and even fit in your office to be charged from your desk. The small car is meant for city commuters and though it doesn’t touch high speeds – just 30 mph max – it’s perfect for congested areas. There’s also not a lot of space for baggage but unless you plan to cram in plenty of goods, the Volpe makes the ideal small city car.

Volpe electric car

Volpe, world's smallest electric car fits in an elevator and can be parked and charged at your work desk.

Artioli worked with coachbuilder Zagato which is responsible for styling limited edition models of Aston Martins. The idea was to design a car that could help ease traffic congestion which is becoming a daily nightmare for commuters.

To further limit its size, Volpe sports scissor doors and a miniature motor that’s street legal as a quadricycle. This means that anyone who’s as young as 16 and has a motorcycle license can drive it. The eco friendly car will sell for about 5,600 pounds and is set to hit European markets by 2013.

The unique car has generated quite a buzz in online forums with many praising it for its aesthetics and functionality. As small as it is, however, it still doesn’t beat the record of the Peel P50 microcar which measures just 54 inches in length and 41 inches in width.

Britain's Got Talent: 28-year-old dancer Razy, originally from Romania, is trying out for Britain's Got Talent with quite a unique act, taking queues from the film The Matrix. With breakdancers being notorious on this show - from Tobias Mead and Aiden Davis to winner George Sampson - has Razy got something special that makes him different?

This Romanian guy comes to the Britain Got Talent show and amazes everybody, especially the judges. Watch and enjoy; if you have seen Matrix you’ll enjoy it even more.

The Japanese are now know for their passion to mechanise every thing. This time they have decided to make a robot that can be put in a hair salon and offer its automatic services to the customers. This robot which has been built by Panasonic is having a trial run in a hair salon.

5. The waitress who got fired because she shaved her hair for charity

Stacey Fearnall, whose father died of cancer, decided to shave her head for a cancer fundraising event. But when she returned to work at Nathaniels restaurant, where she worked as a waiter, she was laid off. The mother of two was told by her boss to go home after she refused to wear a wig. Nathaniels owner and chef Dan Hilliard defended his decision, saying the restaurant has certain standards. He prohibits male staff from wearing earrings and requires employees to keep their hair at a reasonable length. The 36-year-old waitress at Nathaniels restaurant in Owen Sound, Ont., had raised more than $2,700 for the charity Cops for Cancer in exchange for her locks.

4. The woman who was fired for updating her Facebook status

How many times have you updated your Facebook status to say “…is boring at work?” Probably at least once, though statistically that number averages at 3.4 times a week. But can you imagine getting fired for it? Because that’s what happened to Briton teen, Kimberly Swann. She was summarily sacked after her boss learned — via her updated status — that she was “bored at work.” Her boss, meanwhile, says Swann’s admission of boredom revealed that “she just wasn’t happy here” and thus “it wasn’t going to work out.” The question is, why was the boss perusing Facebook on company time? Was he, perhaps, a little bored?

3. The woman who was fired for sending emails in all caps

An Auckland accountant was sacked for sending “confrontational” emails with words in red, in bold and in capital letters. Vicki Walker, who was a financial controller with ProCare Health, was later awarded $17,000 for unfair dismissal, and plans to lodge an appeal for further compensation. ProCare told the authorities Walker – who was fired in December 2007 after two years of employment – had caused disharmony in the workplace by using block capitals, bold typeface and red text in her emails. She had also acted provocatively in seeking to view complaints laid against her by colleagues. But Walker said they talked about a number of emails she had sent, yet used only one in evidence. The email, which advises her team how to fill out staff claim forms, specifies a time and date highlighted in bold red, and a sentence written in capitals and highlighted in bold blue. It reads: “To ensure your staff claim is processed and paid, please do follow the below checklist.”

2. The woman who was fired from McDonald’s because she added a slice of cheese to a hamburger

A waitress was fired after she sold a hamburger to a co-worker who asked for cheese, which she added. The fast-food chain argued this turned the hamburger into a cheeseburger, and so she should have charged more. McDonald’s was ordered to pay the former employee more than 4,200 euros ($5,900; £3,660) for the last five months of her contract. The fast-food chain had argued that the waitress – who was employed at a branch in the northern town of Lemmer – had broken staff rules prohibiting free gifts to family, friends or colleagues. (Link | Via)

1. The Vodafone employee who was fired over a Tweet to T-Mobile

Companies are clearly beginning to take their Twitter communication channel a little more seriously. For one Vodafone Hungary employee, Müller Tamás, this fact has left him unemployed. It all began when T-Mobile had issues with its mobile network in Hungary. The Vodafone competitor was having trouble connecting phone calls and to keep its customers informed, decided to use Twitter. The first tweet said: “Hungary´s T-Mobile network partly down, software to blame”; then another to calm some presumably furious customers saying:

“There will be an official statement (released) about the network problem. Please be patient!”

Tamas, as a member of Vodafone’s marketing staff responsible for the carrier’s Twitter messages, decided it would funny to retweet T-Mobiles tweet with a dash of humor to send it on its way. The tweet said: “OK, give us a ring! RT @tmobilehungary There will be an official statement (released) about the network problem. Please be patient!” Needless to say, Vodafone were not best pleased and quick to issue a statement of their own saying that Vodafone had nothing to do with this reply but it would gladly lend a helping hand to T-Mobile to fix its problem. Vodafone didn’t leave it there either, the company announced that the Twitterer acted without authorization and the remark was inappropriate.

8. Felicia Day – ‘Vi’ from Buffy The Vampire Slayer

7. Jenna Jameson – Ex-Pornstar Extraodrinare

6. Cameron Diaz – Actress

5. Mia Rose – Aspiring Pornstar Extraodirnare

4. Jessica Simpson – Singer And All Around Dumb Blonde

3. Mila Kunis – Actress/Voice Of ‘Meg’ From Family Guy

2. Kate Beckinsale – Actress And All Around Hottie

1. Adrianne Curry – Top Model Winner/Wife Of ‘Peter’ From The Brady Bunch

s-urlz.com/freeiphone4s 

Lowri Dearsley’s three children were all bron at exactly 7:43. The chance of such a thing happening is literally one in millions.

Ella, the eldest, was born at 7.43am on October 10, 2005; Evie, born on Boxing Day 2007 at 7.43pm at the same hospital, Salford Royal; and Harrison was born there, at 7.43am, on January 20, 2011.

It was amazing in the hospital when Harrison was coming because the nurses and the doctors all knew about the time the girls had been born.

‘The doctors had to induce me at 5pm on January 19 and then after 14 hours of labour Harrison was finally on his way.
‘Matt was there and he said “oh my God, I can’t believe this, it’s 7.41.” Two minutes later Harrison was born weighing 8lb 3oz.
‘I was something of a celebrity afterwards, people were all talking about it and I said to a nurse it’s a shame we didn’t have a bet on it.’

via dailymail

There are approximately 750,000 concrete bunkers in Albania, also known as “concrete mushrooms” for their look.

The bunkers were commissioned by the former dictator of Albania, Enver Hoxha. An ally of the Soviet Union and a strong believer in Western invasion, he built these bunkers to protect his country.

Fortunately, there was no invasion and the bunkers weren’t needed. Until today, they remain useless. Or almost useless.

Some people use them as homes for animals and agricultural tools.

Local entrepreneurs transformed some of these bunkers into small shops.

Children use them to play.

Students suggest to transform them into cheap hostels throughout the country.

Teenagers use them to make out.

However, most of the bunkers still remain unused.