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Origins of Fortune Cookie was America?

Here’s a funny video proving that Fortune Cookies are in fact, from America itself.  It’s funny but maybe Fortune Cookies were invented by the Chinese Americans to lure more customers.  Go to China, they don’t even know what a Fortune Cookie is.

But I can understand that, they have Chinese food in Korea that they don’t have in America, it’s called Korean-Chinese food.  Fortune Cookies are definitely American-Chinese food, speaking of which, there’s all these non-authentic Chinese food chains popping up. (and yes, they taste horrible to an authentic Asian mouth.)

Clearly not. They are arguably more American (by way of Japan), judging by the way that people in China react to fortune cookies — with a mixture of confusion and amusement. As part of research for my book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, I went around China handing out fortune cookies to random people (my bellhop, people on the street, vendors) and recorded their reactions.

Often times, they would put the cookies in their mouth, and then be surprised when they found a piece of paper either in their mouth or in a cookie.

via bb, nytimes

DIY WoW Treadmill Hack!

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Check out these guys (Yes, the pink and green hair are wigs) who made a WoW (World of Warcraft) Treadmill.

I remember when WoW first came out, it was cool but took way long to play so I gave up early on it.  Well, honestly, I rather hit golf balls than play video games.

(But yes, get me started and I will probably wind up on the top of gamers list and also have to go to Gamerholics Anonymous)

“We bought extremely cheap manual treadmills off of Amazon and decided to sense their speed with a mouse rather than trying to hook into the treadmill’s output with some sort of analog interface. I wrote a quick script in GlovePIE to calculate the maximum speed my mouse could track. It’s a nice MX Revolution, but I could only get it to track a little over 4mph. If we were going to run at 12mph on the treadmill, a mouse wouldn’t be able to keep up. We decided to use a bicycle tire pushed against the treadmill to reduce the speed the mouse would have to track. Eli used a 26″ tire and tried to get the sensor about 1.8 inches from the axle so we could make sure to get the full range of speeds. I wrote another script in GlovePIE to convert the mouse speed to “w” pulses. So the faster we ran on the treadmill, the faster and longer the “w” would be pressed.”

via hackedgadgets, crazy kids

I do admit to daily organization of my SVIDEO and audio cables to hook up my PC to my HDTV for online movies but here’s a new Wireless USB to VGA Kit from IOGear that will let you clone a monitor to another without the wires.

IOGEAR to Debut Industry-First Wireless USB to VGA Kit that Streams PC Content to An Alternate In-Room Display

Allows users to view spreadsheets and photos wirelessly on a larger screen

Irvine, CA – August 25, 2008 – Consumers who desire a simple way to view content on a bigger screen can now extend or clone their desktop to their HDTV or projector and enjoy increased visibility by utilizing IOGEAR’s Wireless USB to VGA Kit, certified by the USB Implementers Forum. The product is the first of its kind to receive certification in the US, which guarantees that a device is backward- and forward-compliant with previous and future USB technology.

The Wireless USB to VGA Kit provides HD video streaming between a PC and TV or projector up to 720p within a 30-foot in-room range. Users can edit grids and documents, view photos or browse the Internet on their HDTV’s big screen, without any cable clutter. Consumers can also utilize a TV’s picture-in-picture function to multitask, such as watching a football game while viewing a Fantasy Football grid on the same screen. The Kit consists of one Wireless USB adapter to connect to a laptop or desktop and one wireless VGA adapter to plug into a VGA display.

The product is an ideal solution for surfaces that are difficult to wire, such as marble and fireplaces. By communicating between devices wirelessly and eliminating material waste, the Wireless USB to VGA Kit is an eco-conscious choice for users who want an environmentally-friendly way to streamline entertainment and work spaces.

“At IOGEAR, we strive to bring the most innovative products to market to meet the demands of consumers,” said Miranda Su, executive vice president of IOGEAR. “Our new Wireless USB to VGA Kit eliminates the hassle of multiple tangled wires, providing wireless communication between popular home and office devices.”

The Wireless USB to VGA Kit is compatible with Windows XP 32-bit (Service Pack 2) or Vista (32-/64-bit) operating systems. The product will be available in September 2008 for $229.95 (MSRP) from all major catalog and online resellers, as well as select retail outlets.

via engadget

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Kip Kay from Makezine shows you how to hack a “Toilet Paper Launcher”.

Of course, this is probably illegal if you launch TPs at your neighbors house but it might be a great way to cover your friend’s house with lots of Toilet Paper at graduation or his/her birthday.

via make

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Check out this cool Ganzbot that can talk.  The Ganzbot can also read Twitter posts and show emotion.

This funny little robot has eyes, eyebrows and a mouth and will verbally read your latest Twitter status to you. It uses an Arduino Decima to control the head actions and receives the latest Twitter status information over USB from a host computer.

For those who don’t know, Twitter is a micro blogging tool where users announce what they’re doing with 140 characters or less. You can also send the robot something to say directly from the command line with a few Ganzbot moods to choose from.

via make, mozmonkey

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Here’s a great idea for watching movies while driving using the iPhone.  Of course, if you get in an accident while doing so, don’t blame me.  I only told you that you “could”, but not that you “should” do that.

Now, it might be a good idea to use GoogleMaps on that dashboard if you don’t want to watch movies but drive efficiently to your destination.

Why don’t I feel better because he usually only uses his headset in one ear “so that I can hear the traffic and whatnot?”

via popgadget, bookofjoe

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Here’s a really cool PC Case mod, a DIY on how to make mirror-finish PC Case surface.

Spray paint your PC case and give it a mirror finish.
You won’t need expensive painting equipment and supplies.
You’ll find most of the products I used at hardware and
automotive stores.

3M Perfect It III Compounds and 3M Imperial Hand Glaze is usually sold in Autobody Supply Stores, but I’ve linked them to an online resource.
I prefer using carnauba type car wax, but any automotive wax will work fine.
Regardless of wax used, you must allow paint to cure for at least 30 days before applying wax.

via make, core77, DIY Page

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Check out this cool DIY on how to make your own USB Laser air purifier.  I guess lasers can clean the air  pretty good huh?

I’d like to see this DIY with green lasers though, maybe that will be even more powerful.

Laser can refresh your air by kill the bad bacteria and fungus in the air.You can make a cool lamp too. All with the usb power.

via wonderhowto

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I have once played golf with one of the executives at AMD and he was telling me that future of computer chips are in organic chips sorta similar to human brain.

Well, here’s one of the first signs of that, a robot controlled by rat brain!

The robot’s biological brain is made up of cultured neurons which are placed onto a multi electrode array (MEA). The MEA is a dish with approximately 60 electrodes which pick up the electrical signals generated by the cells. This is then used to drive the movement of the robot. Every time the robot nears an object, signals are directed to stimulate the brain by means of the electrodes. In response, the brain’s output is used to drive the wheels of the robot, left and right, so that it moves around in an attempt to avoid hitting objects. The robot has no additional control from a human or a computer, its sole means of control is from its own brain.

via ohgizmo