Flying Cars Are Real Now (Back to the Future!)

So, first 1LR reported that Nike has actually made the Air Mag sneakers as seen in Back to the Future II. Now it turns out that flying cars are here! For a mere $279,000 you, too, can own a flying car in 2012! Terrafugia created a car (called the Transition) that transforms into an actual airplane! In the car form, it's small enough to fit into your garage. Of course, you'll need a pilot's license to take in into the sky... what are the odds that you can convince your boss to put in a landing strip at your place of employment?

Do You Remember When Santa Claus, Superman, Captain America, and Ronald McDonald "Liberated" Bulgaria?

Of course you don't. Because it wasn't American pop culture figures who did that. It was Soviet soldiers who overthrew Bulgaria's ruling government. In fact, there was a statue erected to this historical event in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. Recently this statue was "vandalized" but an unknown individual or group. I think the definition of "vandalized" may be "greatly improved." Check it out:

Depicted, from left to right: The Mask, The Joker, Wolverine, Santa Claus, Superman, Ronald McDonald, Captain America, Robin, and Wonder Woman. 

Apparently this all happened in one night. This group is obviously artistically talent and nothing short of sheer genius. Just seeing Santa and Superman carrying guns makes the whole thing worth it. And how does Robin make an appearance but not Batman? 

What was the artist(s) trying to say? "In step with the times," said a cryptic message below the painted statues. Times, indeed...

Geek Gear?: Glow-In-The-Dark Cats

Okay... this one is weird. Scientists have created a cat that glows in the dark. How? They fused monkey genes into a female cat's egg. The monkey genes just happened to be "tagged" with jellyfish genes for a fluorescent protein. So this thing is some hybrid monkey/cat/jellyfish that's super immune to disease? Does anybody have ANY doubt that when humanity is wiped off the face of the planet it won't be because of nuclear war but because we've breed a superior species or supervirus in some lab somewhere?

Anyway, here's the cat. Bow to your new master.

Geek Gear: Air Mags (Back To the Future II Nike Sneakers)

Air Mags as seen in Back to the Future II

Don't you love it when a film is made set in a future year and when we finally get to that year reality is nothing like the movie? Where are the manned flights to Jupiter as depicted in 2001: A Space Odyssey? Well, while that tickles my funny but I enjoy it even more when a movie set in the future actually predicts the future or, even better, shapes the future.

Thus, I present to you: The real world Air-Mags, as made in limited quanity by Nike!

Don't look to get your hands on a set of these, however. Nike only made 1,500 pairs and auctioned them off to raise money for Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's research foundation.

Oh well. Maybe by 2015, the year Back to the Future is primarily set in... I'm no slave to fashion but I've got to say that I'd drop 150 bucks or so on a pair of these bad boys! I wonder if they really auto-lace...

Gamers Trump Scientists - Solve 15 Year Old AIDS Problem in 10 Days

Yeah, you read that title right. Take that, Ph. D. scientists! Gamers rule! on the website Fold.it gamers were tasked with playing a game that is actually decoding complex enzymes. In this case, it was a critical enzyme in AIDS. So apparently scientists, frustrated and desperate for help from any quarter, threw this 15 year old riddle at the gamers. The gamers laughed and said, "No problem." Ten days later the mystery is solved. No biggie for a bunch of min/maxing gamers. Check out the news article here.

So I'm thinking we should go ahead and throw a whole bunch of other problems at gamers as well. Maybe, say, the economy. I'm betting gamers could run the economy pretty well. Or how about peace in the Middle East? I'd say gamers could have both of these problems solved in under a month if you turned them into a real-time game online. Maybe unsolved crimes could be next! And theological conundrums!

No problem or mystery is to great for gamers to solve! I am gamer! Hear me ROAR!

Geek News: 8 Foot Lego Man Washes Ashore

Are you missing an eight foot tall, one hundred pound Lego statue? If so, you might want to contact the authorities in Florida. They have it when they took it off the beach when it washed ashore.

First the Kraken, Now the Yeti

That's right. First 1LR reported here that scientists have found evidence of an ancient kraken's lair here. Now scientists think they've found a Yeti lair in Siberia. Check out the news story here. Here's the photograph of the footprints the scientists found:

Here's my prayer: Please, dear God, let scientists find evidence of an actual dragon, mind flayer, or beholder. That would be AWESOME!

A Real Life Kraken?

Isn't it wonderful when something thought to be fantastical proves to be real? Well, that may be the case with the Kraken. You know the Kraken, don't you? It's essentially an octopus that's big enough to sink an entire ship. Surely a thing of fantasy, right? Well, maybe not. Check out this news article: KRAKEN.

The strangest thing from the article is the arrangement of the ancient shark's vertebrae into what appears to be the image of octopus arms. Does this indicate that this creature was above animal level intelligence?

And what about no fossil record for the creature? Well, the article says that it's quite likely we'll never find any because the only hard part of the creature would have been its beak.

Ain't science cool? I can't wait until they find a dragon skeleton.