'We're Going to Be in the Hudson'

Here is the audio recording of the conversations between the Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III and air traffic control.

And now...The Christian Bale Soundboard

This website contains individually sampled sound bites of every sentence uttered by Mr. Bale during his infamous rant on the set of Terminator Salvation.

It has it all, from the timeless "I wanna fucking kick your fucking ass!" to the classic "I'm gonna go–do you want me to go trash your fucking lights?!" to the playful "Oooooh good for you!"

It's fun for everyone!

Apple teams up with Adobe for iPhone Flash at long last

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen has revealed that Apple and Adobe are "collaborating" on making Flash a reality on the iPhone, citing the technical challenge it presents. What's clear is that with all this work to do, it doesn't seem they're going the watered-down Flash Lite route. Naturally, there's no word on when this will hit. That, however, will be a sweet, sweet day.

Google Earth Fills Its Watery Gaps

A Google Earth view of Maui, Hawaii, from Lanai Island. The ocean images on Google Earth will soon undergo a significant upgrade.


Two and a half years ago, the software engineers behind Google Earth, the searchable online replica of the planet, were poised to fill an enormous data gap, adding the two-thirds of the globe that is covered by water in reality and was blue, and blank, online.

But until then all of the existing features on Google Earth — mountains, valleys, cities, plains, ice sheets — were built through programming from an elevation of zero up.

“We had this arbitrary distinction that if it was below sea level it didn’t count,” recalled John Hanke, the Internet entrepreneur who co-created the progenitor of Google Earth, called Keyhole, and moved to Google when the company bought his company in 2004.

That oversight had to be fixed before the months and months of new programming and data collection could culminate in the creation of simulated oceans. On Monday, the ocean images will undergo the most significant of several upgrades to Google Earth, with the new version downloadable free at earth.google.com, according to the company.

A Leap for Teleporting, Between Ions Feet Apart

Without quite the drama of Alexander Graham Bell calling out, “Mr. Watson, come here!” or the charm of the original “Star Trek” television show, scientists have nonetheless achieved a milestone in communication: teleporting the quantum identity of one atom to another a few feet away.

The contraption is a Rube Goldberg-esque mix of vacuum chambers, fiber optics, lasers and semitransparent beam splitters in a laboratory at the Joint Quantum Institute in Maryland.

Even in the far future, “Star Trek” transporters will probably remain a fantasy, but the mechanism could form an important component in new types of communication and computing.

Quantum teleportation depends on entanglement, one of the strangest of the many strange aspects of quantum mechanics. Two particles can become “entangled” into a single entity, and a change in one instantaneously changes the other even if it is far away.

Previously, physicists have shown that they could use teleportation to transfer information from one photon to another or between nearby atoms. In the new research, the scientists used light to transfer quantum information between two well-separated atoms.

Fleet Foxes Hate Major Labels

After reports circulated that the Fleet Foxes had signed with Virgin, Foxes frontman Robin Pecknold put up a MySpace blog post to stomp them down in the most unambiguous possible manner:

"So, I went to the (truly insane and heart-swelling) Dept of Eagles show at Neumo's tonight (sang along and bought a Tee) and a couple people said something about hearing we signed to Virgin Records and they are reissuing a 'special edition' of the CD LP. This is false. I think a Seattle Weekly blog post started this fire, which I will now extinguish, with this statement - 'Fleet Foxes will never, ever, under no circumstances, from now until the world chokes on gas fumes, sign to a major label. This includes all subsidiaries or permutations thereunder. Till we die.'

"I just don't see the point. Most major labels seem anti-music. We've pursued no such deal with Virgin (or been pursued to my knowledge, I think it was just a bit of news they reported) and would be idiots to be unhappy with our fam of label folks. It is true though that all copies of the CD LP will now include a free copy of the EP (like it is currently with the vinyl), but that's not a 'special limited edition,' it'll be that way in perpetuity, no extra cost or packaging change.

"That's all! Also I cut all my hair off."

“My Aircraft”

I know everyone is familiar with the extraordinary story of the Miracle on the Hudson, but this is a very engaging depiction of the events the man behind the wheel took to land the bird safely that day. Worth the read.

Telling Food Allergies From False Alarms

Doctors say that misdiagnosed food allergies appear to be on the rise, and countless families are needlessly avoiding certain foods and spending hundreds of dollars on costly nonallergenic supplements.

In extreme cases, misdiagnosed allergies have put children at risk for malnutrition. And avoiding food in the mistaken fear of allergy may be making the overall problem worse — by making children more sensitive to certain foods when they finally do eat them.

Trial Begins for HIV Gene Therapy

Gene therapy that could immunize people against the most common type of HIV is ready to be tested on humans.

Recruiting for the trial began Tuesday, and the first people to receive the experimental treatment will be HIV patients with drug-resistance problems.

"We do have good treatments for HIV. That has been one of the most successful stories of the last 20 years in medicine," said Pablo Tebas, an infectious disease expert at the University of Pennsylvania.

"However, over time, if the medications are not taken properly, individuals develop resistance to the HIV treatments, so they tend to have more limited therapeutic options."

Since the discovery that a small portion of people who are exposed to HIV do not get infected, scientists have been working to discover the secret to those people's resistance and how to make others resistant as well.

It turns out that most people have a gene called CCR5, which makes them vulnerable to HIV infections. The naturally resistant people have mutant CCR5 genes that inhibit HIV.

Previously, scientists found that by cutting the CCR5 gene out of white blood cells involved in the immune response known as T-cells, they could protect a tube full of human cells from the virus. The gene editing technique relies on proteins called zinc finger nucleases that can delete any gene from a living cell.

In theory, zinc finger nucleases could give that immunity to anyone.

The procedure is simple: Take some healthy T-cells out of an HIV patient, clip out their CCR5 genes, grow more of these clipped T-cells in a dish, and then put them back in the patient.

"In this first study we will re-infuse approximately 10 billion of these cells back into the participants, and we will see if it is safe and if those cells inhibit HIV replication in vivo," said Tebas. "We know they do in the test tube."

Flight Of The Conchords announce North American tour

Tampa, FL Tampa Bay PAC (April 6)
Coral Gables, FL. U of M Bank United Center (7)
Orlando, FL UCF Arena (8)
Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium (10)
Atlanta, GA Fox Theater (11)
Washington, D.C. DAR Constitution Hall (13)
New York, NY Radio City Music Hall (14,15)
Boston, MA Agganis Arena (17)
Philadelphia, PA Tower Theater (18)
Kent, OH Kent State University (19)
Toronto, ON Massey Hall (21, 22)
Detroit, MI Fox Theater (24)
Bloomington, IN IU Auditorium (25)
Madison, WI Overture Center (26)
Chicago, IL Arie Crown Theater (28)
St. Louis, MI Fox Theater (30)
Milwaukee, WI Riverside Theater (May 2)
Minneapolis, MN Northrop Auditorium (3)
Dallas, TX Nokia Theater (5)
Houston, TX Jones Hall (6)
Austin, TX Texas Bass Concert Hall (7)
Vancouver, BC Center for the Performing Arts (10)
Seattle, WA Paramount Theater (11, 12)
Portland, OR Schnitzer Hall (14)
Morrison, CO Red Rocks (16)
Salt Lake City, UT Abravanel Hall (17)
Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theater (19)
San Diego, CA RIMAC Arena (20)
Santa Barbara, CA County Bowl (22)
Las Vegas, CA The Joint (23)
Los Angeles, CA Greek Theater (24)
Berkeley, CA Community Theater (25)

Transfer of Mother’s Cells Molds Baby’s Immunity

Researchers have long wondered how pregnant women might shape their fetuses’ development — by protecting them against later disease, perhaps, or instilling an appreciation of Mozart.

Now a group in California has discovered a surprising new mechanism by which women train their fetuses’ budding immune systems: the mother’s cells slip across the placenta, enter the fetus’s body and teach it to treat these cells as its own.

A crucial task of the developing immune system is to learn to distinguish between foreign substances and the self. It is tricky: the system must respond to outside threats but not overreact to harmless stimuli or the body’s own tissues.

The new findings show “how Mom is helping to tune that whole system early on,” said William J. Burlingham, an immunologist at the University of Wisconsin, who is not connected with the research. “It’s a major advance, very new and very exciting.”

The work could have relevance to research on topics as diverse as organ transplantation, mother-to-child transmission of H.I.V. and autoimmune disorders like Type 1 diabetes.

“It points the way to a huge range of biologically significant questions that are worth exploring,” Dr. Burlingham said.

Spinal Tap recording new material

Spinal Tap are set to hit the studio to record new material.

The spoof metal band, the subject of 1984 "mockumentary" 'This Is Spinal Tap', will release new music via download later this year followed by physical releases.

Band member Derek Smalls (aka actor Harry Shearer) told BBC Radio 5live: "It'll be for download as well as on conventional media later this year."

He went on to give details about which songs would be likely to be released.

"We've never recorded the song we did at Live Earth [at Wembley Stadium in 2007], 'Warmer Than Hell'," he said. "I think they [Spinal Tap] are trying to revisit their old success.

"Not that they were ever popular, maybe in their own universe. We'll do a song called 'Gimme Some More Money', probably with some dubious results."

TV on the Radio to Rock "Saturday Night Live"

This Saturday, February 7th, you can see TV on the Radio on TV.

That is all.

Gmail Adds Tasks to iPhone, Mobile Browsers

One of Gmail's most popular add-on features, the Tasks list, has arrived on your web-enabled mobile device.

If you have an iPhone, an Android phone or any other mobile with a real web browser, just surf to http://gmail.com/tasks and you'll see the new mobile interface.

You can check off completed tasks, add new tasks or delete old ones. You can assign notes to tasks. You can also manage multiple task lists, so you can keep work and personal tasks separate. Any changes you make in the mobile interface are synced to your Tasks list in Gmail.

Garbage-powered garbage truck now making its way across merry England

Up in Huddersfield they've just unleashed a three-and-a-half ton Smith Edison Ford Transit garbage truck that tools around, picking up garbage, hauls it to a nearby Energy from Waste power station and recycling center which then burns the 'bage to make electricity for the next day's route.

The garbage also produces about 10 megawatts of excess electricity per day which is dumped into the grid for added fun. The truck's got a top speed of about 50 miles per hour, and is apparently so quiet that the locals fear it could be dangerous to unsuspecting pedestrians.

Those in charge of San Francisco's garbage trucks really need to look into this. Not that I don't love waking up to them eight times a night, but, um, wait, yes I do.

Vice Squad

Carrying around The Beach to look more literary is like carrying around Jack Chick Tracts to look more like a holy man.

Stuff White People Like - #61 Bicycles

A good place to find white people on a Saturday is at a Bike Shop. Bike shops are almost entirely staffed and patronized by white people!

But not all white people love bicycles in the same way, there is much diversity. First up, we have the younger urban white folks who absolutely love their fixed gear bicycles. These are seen all over college towns, Silverlake in LA, Williamsburg in Brooklyn, Queen West in Toronto, and Victoria, British Columbia. Fixed gear bicycles meet a lot of requirements for white person acceptance. They can be made from older (i.e. vintage) bicycles, thus allowing the rider to have a unique bike that is unlikely to be ridden by anyone else in town. They are also easily customizable with expensive things Aerospoke rims, Phil Wood Hubs, and Nitto Parts. The combination of rare bicycles and expensive parts makes it easy for white people to judge other white people on the quality and originality of their bicycles. This is important in determining if someone is or isn’t cooler than you.

White people also like Mountain Bikes because it lets them be in nature. It’s really not more complicated than that.

And finally, they love expensive Road Bikes and the accompanying spandex uniforms. This enables them to ride long distances and wear really tight clothes without any social stigmas. These types of riders will spend upwards of $5,000 on a bicycle and up to $400 on accessories, but will not ride to work. Perhaps because they cannot wear the spandex. It is important that you never question why someone needs a $5000 bicycle since the answer is always “performance.”

For the most part, these rules have been unisex. But there is a special category of bicycles that appeal far more to white women, the European city bike (pictured). White women have a lot of fantasies about idealized lives, and one of them is living in Europe and riding around an old city on one of these bikes. They dream about waking up and riding to a little cafe, then visiting bakeries and cheese shops and finally riding home to prepare a fancy meal for their friends who will all eat under a canopy with white Christmas lights. This information can be used to help gain the trust/admiration of a white woman, especially if you can pull off a lie about how your mother told you about how she used to do all of these things when she was younger.

And of course, it goes without saying that white people who ride bikes like to talk about how they are saving the earth. If you know a person who rides to work, you should take them aside and say “Hey, thanks. Sincerely, The Earth.” Then give a thumbs up. That white person will ride home on a cloud.

Fail of the Day

And without further adieu...may I present the Christian Bale losing his sh*t remix.

Click here for an equally amazing remix of the already amazing rant from Patrick Bateman himself.

Christian Bale loses his sh*t on the set of Terminator Salvation. This is...spectacular.

Vice Squad

Suicide is wrong because it’s hard on your family and friends, but giving up and just subsisting for another 30 years is actually a lot more selfish.

Stuff White People Like - #60 Toyota Prius

Over the years, white people have gone through a number of official cars. In the 1980s it was the Saab and the Volvo. By the 1990s it was the Volkswagen Jetta or a Subaru 4WD stastion wagon. But these days, there is only one car for white people. One car that defines all that they love: the Toyota Prius.

The Prius might be the most perfect white product ever. It’s expensive, gives the idea that you are helping the environment, and requires no commitment/changes other than money.

The Toyota Prius gets 45 miles per gallon. That’s right, you can drive 45 miles and burn only one gallon of gasoline. So somehow, through marketing or perception, the Prius lets people think that driving their car is GOOD for the environment.

It’s a pretty sweet deal for white people. You can buy a car, continue to drive to work and Barak Obama rallies and feel like you are helping the environment!

Some white people decide to pull the ultimate move. Prius, Apple Sticker on the back, iPod rocking, and Democratic Candidate bumper sticker. Unstoppable!

There are a few ways you can use this to your advantage. If you are carpooling to an event or party you can always say “can we take your Prius? my car doesn’t get good mileage and I feel guilty driving it.” And bam! Free ride!

Also, if you see a white person in a Prius you can say “wow, that’s great to see that you’re doing something for the earth.” The white person will feel very good about themselves and offer to drive you home, to Ikea, or drop you off at 80s night.

Fail of the Day