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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

To turn on the maps go to Featured Content > Rumsey Historical Maps.

Related Google Earth projects and hacks!:

• Google Earth - Link.
• HOW TO GPS Tag Photos: Flickr, Mappr, Google Earth.... - Link.
• HOW TO make Google Earth Movies, for Free! - Link.
• 3D Google Earth - Link.
• Google + Keyhole = Google Earth - Link.
• Add your own 3D data to Google Earth- Link.
• Drawing with Google Earth and a GPS - Link.
• HOW TO - recreate trips with Google Earth, and a GPS - Link.
• Use mologogo with Google Earth (tracking with a phone ... - Link.
• Virtual touring with Google Earth... - Link.
• GeoURL to Google Earth transformation - Link.
• Google Earth Hacks - Link.
• Google Earth - Wonderful world... - Link.
• Rita and Google Earth overlays - Link.
• NYC 3D Prints using OGLE: OpenGLExtractor + Google Earth - Link.
• WiGLE Data to Google Earth (KML File) - Link.
• HOW TO make KML data for Google Earth - Link.
• And more! - Link.

Pictured here, the open source "iTheater".

Related:

• HOW TO - Run Windows Media Center on a Mac - Link.
• Run front row on a Mac mini - Link.
• Make your own Home Theatre Mac - Link.

Book notes:
A gizmo as cool as Roomba just begs to be hacked. Now, with this book and the official ROI specification furnished by iRobot®, you can become the robotic engineer you've always dreamed of being. Build a Bluetooth interface for your Roomba. Turn it into an artist. Install Linux on it and give it a new brain. Some hacks are functional, others are purely fun. All of them let you play with robotics, and not one will void your warranty.

• Build a serial interface tether.
• Set up a Bluetooth® interface.
• Drive Roomba.
• Play with sensors.
• Make it sing.
• Create a Roomba artist.
• Use your Roomba as a mouse.
• Connect Roomba to the Net.
• Wi-Fi your Roomba.
• Replace Roomba's brain.
• Install Roomba-cam.
• Put Linux® on Roomba.
• Features a companion Web site.

• Make a Roomba Serial Interface- Link.
• HOW TO - Roomba Bluetooth Interface- Link.
• Line following Roomba mod- Link.
• Tons of Roomba projects - Link.

Update: Tod wrote in! "Thanks for the mention! Amazon has the old color of the book, it's actually blue. The official site of the book is available at: http://hackingroomba.com/ Watch for new bonus hacks every few weeks or so!"

In San Pedro there is problem. And the problem is transport. We hammer on this point like Sweet Peet on his "product, product, product" mantra, but the movement of goods in and out of the harbor has created a massive air-pollution problem. One application where we see hybrid technology as especially beneficial is in medium-to-heavy-duty, short-haul vehicles that require serious torque to get up and go. Just like the container-bearing trucks that clog the southern terminus of the 710 at practically all hours. Peterbilt (East Bay, represent!) apparently agrees and will be displaying two new vehicles at the Hybrid Truck Users Forum next week in San Diego. (Who knew there was such a gathering?)

We know we've got a tendency to give hybrid drivers much shit, generally because they're ill-informed about what they're paying for and give us cross looks when they see our SUV. But seeing as we've put -- at most -- 200 gallons of gas in it in the last year and they burned far more not using their electric motors on long, single-occupant carpool-lane commutes, screw 'em. We can be self-righteous too, if you haven't noticed. But to us, this heavy-truck-hybrid business is simply brilliant.

According to Peterbilt, their Model 335's diesel will only run for one hour per eight hours of operation. They've also been playing with hydraulic hybrid technology, specifically aimed at the low-speed world of refuse collection. If it works as advertised, get this technology into the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and onto the 710 freeway ASAP. It'd make a world of difference here. Now if we could only do something about the congestion... – Davey G. Johnson

Peterbilt to Introduce Medium-Duty Hybrid Truck for Fuel Savings of 30-40%>a [Green Car Congress]

Related:
Government to Test Hydraulic Hybrid in Garbage Truck [Internal]

Blogger and musician Jake Mandell posts a simple flash test for tone deafness.

The test, which was made while he was working at a music and neuroimaging laboratory, plays two musical phrases back to back, and you have to decide whether they're the same or different. At 77.8%, I have "Excellent musical abilities." I knew I could do it! Let us know if you're a Beethoven or a Barr in the comments. — Adam Pash

Related:

• More POV projects - Link.

LEED is everywhere now, but LEED Platinum is a real challenge- Larry McFarland Architects' Operations Centre for the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, located on the waterfront in Sidney, British Columbia, is Canada's First. It has a shopping list of almost every cool technology available, wrapped in a very attractive wooden package. Ocean based Geothermal heating tops the list, but the rest is impressive as well.

Photo enthusiast web site Photojojo details how to make your own photo mosaic of postcards.

The process looks really simple if you follow the directions, and the resulting postcard mosaic is a great gift idea for a loved one far away. Send your mom a mosaic pic of the grandkids, your long distance lover a nice portrait of you, your stalkee a picture you took of them with a telephoto lens leaving their apartment - you get the idea. Want an even easier way to make your photo's go biggie-size for posters and not postcards? Try the previously-mentioned Rasterbator. — Adam Pash

First of all, I did EVERYTHING I was supposed to except stick around and watch.

Dropped my Elise off to the local Goodyear shop to have new F1G3s installed. My Father-in-law is the service manager and has been for 10 years. He is out on medical leave, but he met me at the shop this morning, because he understands the uniqueness of the car.

I handed them the tire tools and opened the Owner's Manual to the jacking instructions so they would be clear. We went over all the instructions and they assured me I was in good hands.

We left...1 hour later I get a call about the "accident" and that I needed to come down...

WTF!

So this is what I found...

[Lotus Elise Busted Gallery]

It get's better... They said they read the manual, but not to the point where it spoke about the 4-point lift. After the crash, they continued reading. Yipee for me.

The damage is inclusive of the rear clam, front clam, underneath the driver's door, and a nice puncture through the bottom diffuser around the passenger seat area.

fu@K, Sh!+, CR^P! DAMAGE!!!! [EliseTalk]

Related:
Tired and Feathered: Performance Tire Sales Grow, Some Consumers Shocked [internal]

Frank Harmon's Prairie Ridge Ecostation is a simple, screened classroom overlooking a nature reserve, but it also teaches lessons about sustainability, siting, orentation, forms, materials and construction methods. "One of my missions" says Harmon, "is to get people out of their air-conditioned cocoons". Dimensions were chosen to reduced waste- the roof required no cutting at all. Local renewable southern pine is used, deep, overhangs are designed to control the sun, and care was taken to disturb as little of the ground as possible.