It appears to come directly from the pages of a James Bond novel.  A very unique ink-jet printer cartridge, containing explosive ink, has been patented by the British Ministry of Defence.

The ink is a mixture of very fine aluminum particles, each 1 micrometer in diameter, particles of copper oxide 5 micrometers wide, epoxy varnish and alcohol.   The ink is stable in liquid form, making it safe to print onto conventional paper, but forms an explosive fuse once dry.

An engineer can easily sketch out a printable fuse using computer imaging software, changing the delay in milliseconds by altering the length, thickness and pattern of the line on the paper.

The ink can then be printed between a small strip of metal and a larger patch of explosive ink.  Feeding a current through the metal strip makes it hot enough to ignite the fuse, which burns until it reaches the explosive patch.  This explosion can then trigger the detonation of a much larger amount of explosives.

You will probably see some shady manufacturer doing label printing with one of those secret inkjet coders.  Watch out!  Letter bombs might be coming back into popularity with this new invention.

 Talk about raising the bar on productivity.

According to Merrill Lynch analysts quoted in the Financial Times on Sunday, Sony’s next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console might not make an appearance in key markets this year and could cost the company $900 per unit to produce.

Sony had originally indicated a spring launch for its console in Japan and expected a North American launch in November.  But now, Hitoshi Kuriyama of Merrill Lynch in Japan said there are reports that the PS3 could be delayed by between six and 12 months.

This could be to avoid the steep financial losses Sony would incur trying to subsidize the prices of its unit to avoid low sales.  It looks like Bill and Microsoft will have a huge market share by then with XBox leading the way. 

My guess is that this could be the exit door for Sony and PS to step-out of the industry.

A new weight loss drug that works by blocking a cannabinoid receptor in the brain has had success in helping people lose weight and keep it off, researchers say.  It also seemed to improve other risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

But critics say the study’s methodology may have been flawed, given that almost half of its lazy pot-smoking participants dropped out.

The drug, called rimonabant, appears to help in maintaining a new, lower weight. In the second part of the study, patients who had received active drug in the first year were then re-randomised for another year. Volunteers taking the 20mg dose in the second year were able to keep off the weight that they had lost; those taking the lower dose or the placebo put some weight back on.

Colorado Skiwear Company Spyder, developed racing suits using d3o along the shins and forearms and gave members of the US and Canadian Olympic alpine ski teams the chance to try them out a few months ago. “Now they love it and won’t ski without it,” claims Richard Palmer, CEO of UK-based d3o Labs, which developed the material.

This awesome material exhibits a material property called “strain rate sensitivity”. Which under normal conditions the molecules within the material are weakly bound and can move past each with ease, making the material flexible. But the shock of sudden deformation causes the chemical bonds to strengthen and the moving molecules to lock, turning the material into a more solid, protective shield.

Very cool, soon everyone will be wearing these. I would love to have one of these to protect my sore behind after a day of tobogganing with the kids.

The Binary Watch displays time in binary format.  Using LED lights to indicate hours and minutes, the LED “ON” means 1, and the LED “OFF” means 0. The first row denotes the hours and the second row indicates the minutes.  Simple enough, eh?  I played with this thing for about 20 minutes and never even got close to figuring out what time that watch said.  But for those of you with a rocket science degree, you might have more luck.  Oh and let us not forget; this watch comes with a leather strap, is made from solid stainless steel, and is water resistant to 90 feet.  This watch may not be that much fun but it is more fun that trying to get an FSBO.

You can expect to spend 7 years of your lifetime in the bathroom.  So if you got one of these you can sit on the throne like Royalty!    The Brondell Swash 600 toilet seat is heated, and it washes and dries your bum when you’re done.  It offers a warm-air dryer, temperature-controlled heated seat, remote control, massage, dual nozzle action, and gentle close lid. With this I might spend 15 years of my lifetime in the bathroom!