Death, Insanity, and OnLive’s Technical Support

Remember when I told you about GeekDads? Remember that OnLive console I showed you? Good. Now that we’re up to speed: My OnLive Micro Console died. This is that story. And then some.

I plugged the little guy in on a Friday morning following the procurement of a new game compliments of OnLive’s $5 Fridays sale. Hmm. No lights, no video, no sound, not a single luxury. Lemme double check that power cord. Yep, put it in the audio jack. Oops! Well, that should fix it! Super tech to the res- hmm. Still dead. This thing’s got a button. Lemme push that… Hold that... Hmm. There are buttons on the controller. Maybe those? Nope. How ‘bout if I press the controller button AND the console button at the same time? Hold both? Nothing.

iPhone Case So Gratuitous, So Explicit, So Controversial It Must be Censored

Ya know, I’m starting to think I should just do a weekly feature on insane iPhone 4 cases. Anyhow, Strapya World has revealed, coming mid-September, an iPhone case so gratuitous, so explicit, so controversial that it simply must be censored.

Yes folks, this is the Parental Advisory iPhone 4 Case. Styled after the RIAA warning sticker that would single handedly boost album sales for the following decade, this iPhone case even includes a sticker for you to place wherever censorship is needed. This hard case is available for preorder for $16.50. 2 Live Crew would be proud…

Catching Asteroids for War and Profit

China has shown plans for moving very small asteroids from Near-Earth Asteroid or NEAs orbits into Earth's orbit.  They claim that their intent is to demonstrate the technology for future mining attempts.  These asteroids have tons of precious minerals and metals that could be possibly be mined and transported to the Earth for use in industry. It has also been noted that any smelting operations could be conducted in space thus negating any pollution and also reducing the amount of unwanted material that need be transported to Earth.  These materials could also be used for construction of objects in space and on the moon.  This ability would decrease the cost of launching objects into space and make large scale space operations more practical.  Unfortunately, moving around Asteroids into or near Earth’s orbit could wipe out all life on Earth if the Asteroid is large enough and impacts the Earth.
Mining Asteroids has the potential for vast financial gain.  An Asteroid 1 mile in diameter has been estimated to contain approximately $20 Trillion in industrial and precious metals including Gold, Platinum, Iron, Nickel, Manganese, Palladium, Cobalt, Molybdenum, Osmium, Rhenium, Rhodium, and Ruthenium.  Last year the Japanese  Hayabusa Asteroid probe returned samples that confirmed mineral presence of Magnesium, Iron, Silicon, Calcium, Nickel, Sodium, Aluminum, Titanium, Vanadium, Manganese, Chromium and Oxygen in the form of Pyroxene and Olivine (Peridot).  When these minerals are processed, they hold the ability to create a huge amount of products needed on Earth and in space.  Since Global estimates of mineral production have shown that reserves of Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper, and Tin could be exhausted within 50-60 years these Asteroids may be necessary to continue the economic prosperity of all humanity.

Happy International Bacon Day!

International Bacon Day or Bacon Day is an unofficial observance, often celebrated on the Saturday before US Labor Day (the first Monday of September). Some cultures, however, celebrate on 19th of February, while others celebrate the day on the first Saturday in January after the new year.

Bacon day celebrations typically include social gatherings during which participants create and consume dishes containing bacon, including bacon-themed breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and drinks. Bacon Day gatherings may also include the consumption of soy bacon or turkey bacon. –Wikipedia

Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom! I love bacon!

New Technique For Transporting Organs Will Save Lives

Recently Transmedics has been using a new portable system for keeping organs alive.  This system has been designed for Hearts, Lungs, Kidneys, and Livers to keep them alive and stable for much longer than the organ in a cooler of ice method which has become common.  Transmedics has made a OCS – Organ Care System which pumps donor blood through the live functioning organ, enriches the blood with nutrients and oxygen, keeps the organ at a warm temperature with correct humidity where it’s comfortable and monitors the functioning of the organ.  Hearts beat, Lungs breathe, Kidneys produce urine, and Livers produce bile just as they would in a human.  You can even look in on the organ through the clear plastic case, something that wouldn’t normally be available in the diagnosing of a live, functioning organ. 

This ability to keep the organ alive and functioning during transplant should produce several benefits.  Surgeons should be able to diagnose the organ to make sure that it’s healthy and disease free before transplant.  Typically organs begin to degrade immediately and become too damaged after 4-6 hours in a cooler.  This system will allow organs to travel further and in better condition thus increasing the availability of transplant organs and the success rate of transplantations.  Not only will this help the recipient of the transplanted organ, but will also decrease the number of organs that go unused due to the inability to transport them long distances.

Late Night Leftovers

BG is back home again! This visit went better than the last one. She approves of  the following news:

• CrunchGear has hands on with the long rumored Amazon tablet. Short form: 7”, VERY modified version of Android, no market, $250.
• 16th Animation Kobe Awards from Japan. Winner for Television? Madoka Magica!
• Need a capacitive stylus? iLearn shows how to make one for 10p.
• Google makes their VOIP service free for U.S. military personel.
• Here’s a PBS special on Steampunk:

Review: Crimson: Steam Pirates (iPad) Bungie’s Steampunk Strategy Game Plunders My Heart

Crimson: Steam Pirates is the first release from Bungie Aerospace, a new division of the beloved Halo developer Bungie, created to help small, independent devs launch their mobile and social games. Boy, oh boy, does this first release from developer Harebrained Schemes really float my boat: Turn-based steampunk pirate battleships!

Blue Exorcist Manga Volume 7 Getting 1 Million Copy Printing

ANN is reporting that the popularity of the Blue Exorcist manga in Japan has exploded after the release of the anime. Before the anime premiered, volume 5 got a 140,000 copy printing. When a 260,000 copy printing of volume 6 was released, bookstores complained they did not have enough stock to meet customer demand. All volumes of the manga are now being brought up to speed and volume 7 will get an amazing 1 million copy first printing. This event marks the first time a title from Jump Square has ever been given a 1 million copy printing.

Blue Exorcist follows Rin Okumura, a son of Satan raised by a priest who becomes a magic sword wielding exorcist. Oh, yeah!

The English translation of the manga is available from Viz Manga. Digital copies cost a mere $5 each and the first chapter is available for free. Paper copies can be had from on Amazon at $10 each.

You can check out the subtitled simulcast of the anime for free streaming on Crunchyroll.com or Hulu.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution: The Eyeborg Documentary

To celebrate the launch of their new game Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Square Enix have commissioned Eyeborg to investigate prosthetics, cybernetics and human augmentation and ask: how far are we from the future presented in the game?

Join Rob Spence (AKA Eyeborg), a self proclaimed cyborg who lost an eye and replaced it with a wireless video camera, as he travels around the world to report the real world “augs” available today.

Growing Up Otaku Digest: August 2011

Whether you’re new to the site, a fair-weather friend, or just feel compelled to read every last word we write (Thanks, Mom), GUO’s monthly wrap-up is the best way to get caught up on all the fresh, original content we produce here every day in our ongoing quest to take over entertain the world!