The robots will love this latest Gotye cover song

By Kurt Schlosser, TODAY

We're big fans of clever people making music out of unorthodox devices. Even if you think you've heard Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know" one too many times, give it a listen via this new viral video.

YouTube user bd594 has attracted 1.4 million views on a video showcasing his deft understanding of technology and music. His page description reads: Experiments in music, electronics, robotics and high voltage circuits combined.

The video description goes into nerdy detail about the devices making the music -- there's an HP scanner providing the "vocals" and audio channels are fed into an oscilloscope. Two hard drives are used as drums and cymbal. A xylophone does the job it was intended to do. bd594 even thanks an electronics-parts store in Toronto for great deals on hard-to-find items.

Gotye's hit song made its own catchy impact this summer thanks to repeated radio play and clever covers online. The viral storm played off the original song's simple lyrics and own visually compelling video. Remember five people on one guitar? How about this one?-- "The Star Wars That I Used to Know"? And because kids in cars doing just about anything gets our attention, we loved these two.

"This is how they will amuse themselves when the humans are gone," reads one YouTube comment on the above video. Considering the attention the video has already received, we humans aren't waiting for the machines.

More news on viral videos:

Source: http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/10/02/14181137-gotye-song-gets-a-technological-twist-for-latest-clever-cover?lite

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Sorry, Microsoft: Android and iOS are still the only operating systems that matter

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the ABC kidZ: "Rock of Ages" comes to DVD! {Movie Review}

The smash-hit Broadway musical, Rock of Ages,?made it?to the big screen, and now it's making it's way to Best Buy on October 9th! Be sure to head over to Best Buy next week to grab your DVD copy of this movie. "Rock of Ages" is about a small town girl named Sherrie who meets a city boy named Drew on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.? The romantic narrative moves along with the?help of songs that, if you grew up in the 80's, will be very familiar to you!

My Review:

Thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures and Best Buy, I was given the chance to have a private in-home screening of this movie.

?

What did I think??

This fun film is filled with memorable music from bands such as Def Leppard, Foreigner, Journey, Poison, REO Speedwagon, Twisted Sister, and more! As a young child of the 80's, I grew up listening to this music so it impacted me greatly and I could relate to the emotions of the characters. Speaking of the characters, they?are a long line of big names such as Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Oscar? nominee Paul Giamatti, Academy Award? winner Catherine Zeta- Jones, Malin Akerman, R&B queen Mary J. Blige, Oscar? nominee Alec Baldwin, and Oscar? nominee Tom Cruise. These big stars didn't disappoint and their performances made the movie even more memorable.?Since this is a family-friendly site, I must note that this movie does have some questionable scenes. However, one thing that is noticeably lacking is foul language, which I appreciated.?If you have the right expectations,?and you love big hair and rock?'n' roll then I?highly recommend you pick up a copy of this film at Best Buy!

Disclaimer: This reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free in exchange for this post.

Source: http://theabckidz.blogspot.com/2012/09/rock-of-ages-comes-to-dvd-movie-review.html

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Medal of Honor Recipient Sgt. Dakota Meyer, USMC (Ret.) Raises $1 Million to Educate the Children of Marines

CHICAGO, Oct. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --?On October 3, Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant Dakota Meyer, USMC (Ret.) will be in Chicago, Illinois to meet the 12 students who have received scholarships to attend college this year thanks to the Dakota Meyer Scholarship Initiative. In partnership with the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, Sgt. Meyer has raised $1,000,000 and is renewing his Challenge to America to match his efforts and raise an additional $1,000,000 to educate the children of wounded Marine and Navy Corpsmen through college graduation.

The Dakota Meyer Scholarship Initiative allows Americans to help wounded Marines from all conflicts, especially those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sgt. Meyer's initiative is part of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation's 50-year history of honoring Marines by educating their children, and a testament to the support that has come from the military community since the Scholarship Foundation was founded. Since 1962, the Scholarship Foundation has awarded nearly 30,000 scholarships valued at over $70,000,000. This year, close to 2,000 students will receive more than $6,000,000 in vocational and post secondary scholarships.

The funds that Sgt. Meyer has raised to date have been used to create endowed scholarships in the name of the Marines, Navy Corpsman and Afghani soldiers who served with Sgt. Meyer. Each scholarship will be awarded annually in perpetuity, with the help of a strong response to Sgt. Meyer's Challenge to America.

"With the Dakota Meyer Scholarship Initiative I wanted to honor my comrades, those who put themselves in harm's way to protect their country and the families whose hardships continue when a wounded Marine comes home from combat," said Sgt. Meyer. "The students who have received scholarships to attend college this year through my initiative are not only deserving of the help, but have proved that they will go on to do great things. The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation empowers students to beat the odds, graduate with competitive degrees and become the next generation of American leaders."

Sgt. Meyer's renewal of his Challenge to America coincides with the release of his memoir Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle of the Afghan War, which details the heroic efforts at the Battle of Ganjigal that earned Sgt. Meyer the first Medal of Honor awarded to a living Marine in three decades.

"Sgt. Meyer showed unparalleled bravery in Afghanistan and continues to fight for what he believes in. His determination to help his fellow Marines and make college a reality for their children is inspiring. The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is lucky to have a partner who understands the challenges that Marine families face, particularly when a parent has been wounded in combat, and confronts those challenges head-on," said Margaret Davis, President and CEO of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation.

Like Sgt. Meyer, the parents of Dakota Meyer Scholarship recipients have demonstrated the utmost bravery and selflessness in service to their country. Hayley and Jordan Barber both received scholarships in honor of their father, Master Sergeant John T. Barber, USMC (Ret.), who served for 20 years and was wounded in Iraq. Master Sgt. Barber received numerous shrapnel wounds while positioning members of his platoon to return enemy fire.

"Like most military families, my life has been shaped by both the absence and the presence of my father, a proud Marine. I hear his stories and know he has sacrificed, and like many who have served, he has faced unique challenges including long separations and being wounded, from which he is physically healed but carries scars that we will never see," said Hayley Barber, who studies nursing at Coastal Carolina Community College.????????????????????????????????????

To help Sgt. Meyer raise an additional $1,000,000 to educate the children of wounded Marines, go to http://www.dakotameyer.com/.

About the Foundation: Celebrating its 50th year, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships to U.S. military families. Since inception, the Foundation has provided more than 30,000 scholarships valued at over $70,000,000 to Marine Corps children whose parents have been killed or wounded in combat or have demonstrated financial need. The Scholarship Foundation has a four-star Charity Navigator rating. For more information on the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation please visit http://www.mcsf.org/.

Contact:
Eugenia R. Gardner, Director, Communications & Investor Relations
Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation
(703) 549-0060
eugenia.gardner@mcsf.org

SOURCE Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/medal-honor-recipient-sgt-dakota-meyer-usmc-ret-150000783.html

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Navy aims to turn seawater into jet fuel

9 hrs.

John Roach

The U.S. Navy may need to look no further than the water around its ships to produce jet fuel, according to a program underway at its research laboratory.

The technology would free the Navy from the logistical and economic challenges of refueling ships underway.?

In 2011, for example, nearly 600 million gallons of fuel were transferred to Navy vessels at sea from oil tankers. The challenges of doing this are risky in stormy weather, more so while engaged in battle.

Add in volatile fossil fuel prices that are projected to trend higher in the future, and producing your own while underway begins to make sense, according to the Navy.

The technology involves extracting carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas from seawater and then using catalysts to convert them into a class of jet fuel called J-5 that meets Navy safety specifications.

J-5 has been proposed as the energy source for all Navy operations, including fighter jets as well as shipboard boilers, diesels?and marine gas turbines.

This can all be done for between $3 to $6 per gallon, according to a feasibility study published in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.?

?This cost includes capital costs, operation and maintenance, and electrical generation cost for synthesizing the fuel,? Heather Willauer, the study's?lead author at the Naval Research Laboratory, told NBC News in an email.

The largest capital- and energy-intensive part of the process, she noted, is the hydrogen production, which ?requires nearly 60 percent of the amount of energy that would be stored in the liquid hydrocarbon fuel.?

The team elaborates in the paper that the ?though the energy balance is unfavorable, electricity cannot and never will be able to fuel jet turbines.?

The electricity to produce the fuel would come from either ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) technology or onboard nuclear power technologies.?

More technical details on the process are available in a press release and the?Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy.?

?The technology may be ready for testing at sea in 8 to 10 years, depending on funding,? Willauer noted.

Another renewable energy effort already underway at the Navy involving the use of drop-in biofuels to help gain energy independence has met strong political resistance, especially because?the experimental fuels cost $27 per gallon to produce.?

At $3 to $6 per gallon, perhaps turning seawater into jet fuel is more politically salable. Time will tell.

? via Clean Technica?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/navy-aims-turn-seawater-jet-fuel-6206723

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Afghan bombing kills 3 NATO troops, translator

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? NATO forces in Afghanistan say that a bombing in the country's east has killed 3 international service members and their translator.

Coalition spokesman Maj. Adam Wojack says the attack happened on Monday morning. He declined to provide further details, saying the alliance is still gathering information about the incident.

Afghan officials said there was a suicide bombing against a joint Afghan-international patrol in Khost province in the east early Monday that killed three civilians but did not provide details on military casualties.

It was not immediately clear if the Afghans were talking about the same incident.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-bombing-kills-3-nato-troops-translator-062729522.html

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NFL refs approve deal, ready for Sunday games

NFL head linesman Tom Stabile, left, and referee Ed Hochuli arrive at an Irving, Texas hotel Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Officials started arriving Friday to discuss and vote on an agreement reached with the league late Wednesday. Some planned to fly directly to their assigned cities for Sunday's game. The deal must be ratified by 51 percent of the union's 121 members. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)

NFL head linesman Tom Stabile, left, and referee Ed Hochuli arrive at an Irving, Texas hotel Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. Officials started arriving Friday to discuss and vote on an agreement reached with the league late Wednesday. Some planned to fly directly to their assigned cities for Sunday's game. The deal must be ratified by 51 percent of the union's 121 members. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)

IRVING, Texas (AP) ? NFL officials ended their labor dispute with the league by approving a new eight-year contract with a 112-5 vote Saturday, then hustled off to the airport to get to work.

Next stop, stadiums around the country.

And, the officials hope, anonymity.

"The last Super Bowl that I worked, when we got in the locker room, I said, 'You know, the best thing about this game, nobody will remember who refereed this game,'" said Scott Green, president of the referees' association. "That's how we like to work."

The vote ended a labor spat that created three weeks of increasingly chaotic games run by replacement officials who drew criticism of everyone from the average fan to President Barack Obama.

"It was pretty much 'Come on in and vote,'" Green said. "We're going to talk football now. We're going to stop talking about CBAs and lockouts and now we're going to talk about rules and video and getting ourselves ready to work football games."

They may get ovations similar to the one bestowed on the crew that worked Thursday's Cleveland-Baltimore game with the tentative deal in place.

The referees met for about an hour and a half Friday night to go over the contract, then gathered for another 30 minutes Saturday morning before approving the contract.

"We are obviously pleased to hear it," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Because they were aware of the financial parameters, most of the discussion by the referees involved non-economic issues such as year-round work and developmental squads, said Tim Millis, the association's executive director.

The deal came together quickly this week after an increasing chorus of complaints became impossible to ignore when a disputed touchdown call on the final play gave the Seattle Seahawks a victory over the Green Bay Packers on national television Monday night.

Many thought the ruling of a Seattle touchdown instead of a Green Bay interception was botched, and the labor dispute drew public comments from Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

By late Wednesday, the sides had a contract calling for refs' salaries to increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019. The current defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials through the 2016 season or until the official earns 20 years' service.

The defined benefit plan will then be frozen. Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires, and for all officials beginning in 2017, through a defined contribution.

Beginning with the 2013 season, the NFL will have the option to hire a number of officials to work year-round. The NFL also can retain additional officials for training and development and assign those officials to work games. The number of additional officials will be determined by the league.

The officials that worked Thursday's Ravens-Browns game were cheered from the moment they walked onto the field. The difference between the regular crew and replacements was clear. The officials kept the game in control, curtailing the chippy play and choppy pace that had marred the first three weeks of the regular season.

"I think the thing we're most proud of is the lesson that we all learned," Green said. "If you're going to be in a professional league, you've got top-notch coaches, you need professional officials as well."

___

Online: http://bigstory.ap.org/NFL-Pro32 and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-09-29-Refs%20Return/id-11609a7af2d44cf4af1c1ee4c372fad3

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