Forget those GPS graves in the jungle we brought you a few weeks ago, because in the future what we’re really going to do is pour—yes pour—our loved ones down the drain with the help of some lye and an iron coffin contraption from BioSafe Engineering. The last hurdle, as always, will be to overcome the yuck factor many people experience when they realize this really does mean turning mom and pops into coffee syrup.
The lye (alkaline hydrolysis) process is as old as dirt, and until the enterprising chaps at BioSafe molded it into a human-sized coffin, farmers used it to dissolve dead animals like Charlotte the spider to save on burial, cremation or other environmentally unsound disposal costs. It was only recently engineers got the stones to apply the technique to humans.
The process […] uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.
Before you break out the checkbook, remember that the option isn’t on Funeral Home checklists just yet, and US lawmakers are predictably against legalizing the practice in all 50 states (Minnesota and New Hampshire are the only states where lye burials are technically legal).
Even so, the mortuary pubs are already singing lye’s praises. “It’s not often that a truly game-changing technology comes along in the funeral service,” said a source in the newsletter Funeral Service Insider. “But we might have gotten a hold of one.”
On an editorial note, I’m pretty sure the geeky jokes will write themselves in regard to this new way of dealing with death, but I’ll get things started anyway. SLURM! [The Associated Press]
Not that there was any doubt that OLED is on its way to larger sizes (hasn’t it been since like 2005?), but Japanese firm Sumitomo Chemical announced its plans to produce 40-inch OLED panels for HDTVs some time in 2009, meaning Sumitomo-based TVs could hit the market in 2009 or 2010. Samsung’s old-skool 40-inch OLED HDTV prototype shown above for scale.
When I look at the classic Nintendo Zapper I think of my younger days as a screaming, hot-headed 8-bit gamer, but not Fluffypants. No siree. The enterprising DIY lamp artist looked at the orange and gray plastic and saw a lamp. A few hours and one fabricated cardboard NES cartridge stand later, that laughing dog was back in action, ready to haunt my dreams once again. If this model played the level intro music I’d be tempted to break out the glue gun, but for now I’ll just marvel at its brilliance from afar. [Craftster via Boing Boing Gadgets]
The vanity-saturated life of a Gizmodo writer means no scars, visible or otherwise, so this breakthrough procedure for appendicitis is a godsend for those among us who still have the vestigial organ. According to doctors who performed the operation in San Diego, a flexible tube is used to thread miniature surgical instruments down the patient’s throat into their stomach. At that point, the fun begins—unless you’re an appendix, of course.
Once the tools are safely inserted into the patient’s gut, a tiny incision is made in the stomach wall to get at the appendix. The inflamed appendix is cut away, grabbed by one of the mini-tools, and bagged in a special mesh pouch. The organ is then pulled back into the stomach and out of the mouth.
The benefits of this new procedure go beyond aesthetic, as pioneering patient and ex-Marine Jeff Scholtz confirmed in a post-op interview. “They told me to take it easy but I felt great. I was eating pizza and doing situps three days later,” Scholtz said.
That’s right, no week-long downtime or months of low-intensity activity, and no more huge scars from huge incisions. No hernias or infection either, said Santiago Horgan, of the University of San Diego Medical Center. Doctors say this is the way forward for other procedures, and I’m inclined to agree, so long as we keep the colonoscopy relegated to the rear where it belongs. [Daily Mail]
Oddly enough, the far-fetched proposal is apt to be accepted. Circuit City has reportedly solicited the services of Goldman Sachs to help “negotiate a deal,” which will essentially put the troubled electronics retailer in the hands of someone else. As it stands, Blockbuster looks to be the most interested in picking up the pieces, with billionaire Carl Icahn (Blockbuster’s largest shareholder) agreeing to finance the get-together. Of course, it looks as if Blockbuster may be the only outfit interested. Not like that’s any surprise, however, as Best Buy itself is having to look to Europe to boost revenues with US consumer spending off from where it once was. The real question here is whether a Circuit City-Blockbuster combo would be the perfect concoction to turn things around for both flagging firms, or will we find that two sinking ships actually do go down faster when anchored to one another?
An alert AVS forum member posted a cryptic note entitled “Samsung first to lower prices!” I wondered if maybe the member wasn’t referring to the Dealzmodo-tastic flat-panel price war that HD Guru Gary Merson predicted. Sure enough, when I cross checked Samsung’s most recent MAP pricing on the 5 Series LCDs (a.k.a. 550) with their list prices on Best Buy’s website, I could totally spot the $200 price drops that were discussed on AVS. But if the price war is really on, other prices will be dropping. I am only one man, while you, dear readers, are the Giz army—if you spot any other noteworthy MAP or MSRP price drops on TVs now or in the coming days, comment here, or send a note to our tips line. I smell blood, but unlike on Alien Vs. Predator, no matter who wins this war, humanity wins too. [AVS Forum; Best Buy]
For scale, the Pandora crew set up a semi-working unit next to a Nintendo DS and flipped the switch. As you’ll see, the demo isn’t too impressive, but there’s clearly some promise here. Video after the break — be prepared for the usual two minute preamble where nothing really happens.
Owners of yesteryear Apple products (and consumer advocates) had a pretty solid week. Friday it came to light that more than two million 2001-era PowerBook owners could be eligible for refunds between $25 and $75 in a class-action settlement (which is set for final approval on September 8th) over faulty, sometimes even sparking power adapters. But that’s not all: Apple is also offering up $45 credits to any Canadian iPod owner that bought before June 24th, 2004 as part of a class-action suit claiming Apple misrepresented the advertised battery life of the players.
Read - Power adapters Read - Canadian iPods [sub req’d]
Macgruber, Saturday Night Live’s Macgyver parody, defuses bomb after bomb while dealing with some family issues. This clip is from last night’s episode with guest Shia LaBeuof. Bonus points for naming that gadget that falls out of the backpack? Looks like some sort of pink…oh God. Video:
Forget those GPS graves in the jungle we brought you a few weeks ago, because in the future what we’re really going to do is pour—yes pour—our loved ones down the drain with the help of some lye and an iron coffin contraption from BioSafe Engineering. The last hurdle, as always, will be to overcome the yuck factor many people experience when they realize this really does mean turning mom and pops into coffee syrup.
When I look at the classic Nintendo Zapper I think of my younger days as a screaming, hot-headed 8-bit gamer, but not Fluffypants. No siree. The enterprising DIY lamp artist looked at the orange and gray plastic and saw a lamp. A few hours and one fabricated cardboard NES cartridge stand later, that laughing dog was back in action, ready to haunt my dreams once again. If this model played the level intro music I’d be tempted to break out the glue gun, but for now I’ll just marvel at its brilliance from afar. [
The vanity-saturated life of a Gizmodo writer means no scars, visible or otherwise, so this breakthrough procedure for appendicitis is a godsend for those among us who still have the vestigial organ. According to doctors who performed the operation in San Diego, a flexible tube is used to thread miniature surgical instruments down the patient’s throat into their stomach. At that point, the fun begins—unless you’re an appendix, of course.
An alert AVS forum member posted a cryptic note entitled “Samsung first to lower prices!” I wondered if maybe the member wasn’t referring to the Dealzmodo-tastic flat-panel price war that 
David Pogue has a quick video review of Livescribe’s Pulse Smartpen that does a very good job of illustrating the concept. Worth watching on top of 
Owners of yesteryear Apple products (and consumer advocates) had a pretty solid week. Friday it came to light that more than two million 2001-era PowerBook owners could be eligible for refunds between $25 and $75 in a class-action settlement (which is set for final approval on September 8th) over faulty, sometimes even sparking power adapters. But that’s not all: Apple is also offering up $45 credits to any Canadian iPod owner that bought before June 24th, 2004 as part of a class-action suit claiming Apple misrepresented the advertised battery life of the players.
Macgruber, Saturday Night Live’s