Monday, April 30, 2012

Commercial space shuttle prototypes fly through wind tunnel testing

Commercial space shuttle prototypes fly through wind tunnel testing

A pair of companies developing their own commercial space shuttles are presumably trying to flatten their hair after some rigorous wind tunnel testing. First up, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos (the guy behind Amazon), which has largely quiet on its efforts to shuttle astronauts to the International Space Station. Its Space Vehicle setup will plump for a biconic shape (seen above), with a flattened side and a split flap. According to Blue Origin's president, Rob Meyerson, the shape allows greater volume than traditional designs, but forgo the "weight penalty" of winged craft. Compared to earlier capsules, the Space Vehicle's shape, with its fuselage flap to generate lift, should also give it better control on re-entry to earth.

Juggling for wind tunnel time, Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser has also been blasted with smoke to test its own air resistance credentials. Its module would lauch from the top of the rocket, and glide (as much as anything that costs this much can) back to earth like NASA's own space shuttles. The Dream Chaser is planning its first flight for this fall. You can check out its more traditional take on the future of space travel after the break -- and decide which of the two you'll want sending your children to the mines.

[Picture credit: Blue Origin, SNC]

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Solidoodle 3D Printer ? Under $500

Come on admit it, you really want one! Well I do anyway, and the field of 3D printers is getting better and cheaper. ?We reported on the Makerbot Thing-o-matic in August last year, a “consumer” 3D printer for $1299 at the time. Well former Makerbot COO Samuel Cervantes now heads up ?Solidoodle?and they’ve just released [...]

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Brian McKnight, P-ssy Song Invited to Porn Awards


WARNING: Adult content ahead...

Brian McKnight appears to have a major hit on his hands, but it's not one you'll be hearing on any Top 40 countdown any time soon.

The singer released a YouTube video this week of himself inside a studio, recording a track titled "If You're Ready to Learn" that includes the lyric: "Let me show you how your pussy works." You really need to listen to it for yourself:

Since going viral, the song has attracted the attention of many adult film company, and McKnight has been invited to perform it live at the AVN Awards, commonly referred to as the Oscars of Porn.

"I don't know what specifically I will do with this track in the future," McKnight told TMZ. "And I don't see myself ever performing it live, but I am flattered that people have embraced it and are having as much fun with it as I am."

Look for "If You're Ready to Learn" to be available on iTunes next week.

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Obama sidesteps bin Laden death, campaign embraces it (reuters)

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Macedon man killed in crash (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

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The Wanted Take Shots At 'Scary' Christina Aguilera

'She's a total bitch,' Tom Parker says of Aguilera, who supposedly snubbed the Wanted during an appearance on 'The Voice.'
By James Montgomery


The Wanted
Photo: Derek Storm/ Splash News

Any diehard fan of the Wanted can surely list innumerable reasons why the rippling, randy group is totally different from any of their Boy Band predecessors — they are British-Irish, they sing about booze, etc — but here's one we've just become aware of: They are totally unafraid of speaking their mind.

That's because, in an interview with New York radio station Now FM, they went off on "The Voice" chair-sitter Christina Aguilera after she gave them a less-than-friendly reception during their appearance on the show last week. And we mean they really went off.

"She's a total bitch," Tom Parker spat. "She might not be a bitch in real life, but to us, she was a total bitch. She just sat there and didn't speak to us. Wouldn't even look at us."

"She was quite rude," Siva Kaneswaran added. "Who does that?"

The Wanted were also asked to compare their interactions with Aguilera on "The Voice" with an earlier meeting with "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez, when Max George planted a kiss on J.Lo and then the boys openly pined for her hand in marriage backstage. And, as you can probably expect, they definitely preferred one experience to the other.

"[Aguilera] was a bit scary, to be honest," George said.

Then, when asked about smooching Lopez, he laughed: "Yeah, well J.Lo's hot, Christina's nothing special."

Snaps all around. It bears mention that perhaps Aguilera was just having a bad night, because following the show, she also caught heat for . At press time, reps for the Wanted (and Aguilera) had yet to respond to MTV News' request for comment on the burgeoning beef, but we suspect we're going to be hearing plenty more from both camps in the days ahead.

Were the Wanted's comments out of line or justified? Leave your comment below!

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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Barely 3 Months Post-Launch, Loyalty App Punchcard Is Live In 15M Locations, Nears Profitability

punchcard-iosThe mobile apps from stealthy loyalty startup Punchcard have only been on the market since February, but the company is now reporting it's close to being cash-flow positive. Like a digital version of paper punchcards which reward repeat customers for their business, Punchcard's app lets customers snap photos of their receipts in exchange for cash payouts or other rewards directly from the merchant. While not a new concept in and of itself, what's interesting about Punchcard is how it's been acquiring its business: it just switched on loyalty programs for millions of locations across the U.S., even if they didn't ask for it.

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5 Takeaways from the Immigration Argument at the Supreme Court (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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Tea Party 2.0: Upgraded for 2012 (CNN)

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