Special Operations Apps, a software design firm from Wilmington Carolina, aims to change this, with the development of their site-specific camouflage.

The firm has created their camouflage with the use of actual photos of specific sites taken from satellites and other sources, and used to create custom site-specific patterns localised to the terrain. The patterns are then printed directly on their designated garments for the soldier’s use.

The camouflage works better than their normal counterparts because they are created from photos taken at different focal lengths that restricts depth perception, making it harder to see the camouflaged objects. This type of camouflage makes it perfect for Special Operations units who usually have to work at very specific places on their missions.

The team is making the camouflage even more amazing, with applying for a patent on a material that is able to adjust its pattern to its environment. The fabric comprises of a vinyl substrate, a flexible image display and also thermoelectric panels that could modify based on the soldier’s body temperature.

Sounds like something out of science-fiction? At the rate our technology is advancing, I’m not actually that surprised. Lets just hope that this technology is used for good, and not for the worse.

Now, scientists are trying to make the washing of laundry obsolete, with this invention of fabric that is able to clean itself when exposed to sunlight.

The special fabric is invented by two Chinese scientists, Mingce Long and Deyong Wu. The fabric is made up of cotton fibers, that have a coating of titanium dioxide and nitrogen. The titanium dioxide breaks down dirt and is able to kill microbes when exposed to light. It is already being used in kitchen and bathroom tiles and other products.

Previously, self-cleaning fabric has already been invented, but it only works when it is exposed to ultraviolet light. The new fabric is able to do the same thing, but it only needs to be exposed to normal sunlight.

The fabric has successfully been tested, when it is able to remove an orange dye stain when exposed to sunlight. The coating on the fibers is able to stay intact after washing and drying. Of course, washing the fabric would defeat the purpose of it being self-cleaning.

This is a very interesting invention, although I think for the time being I would rather continue doing the laundry. I just can’t imagine the thought of a piece of clothing not having ever been washed!

The Brand Table is a concept application that’s designed to take your order via a mobile device, where your item selection and payment occurs.

Brand Table uses what is known as NFC (near field communication) technology that allows for simplified transactions, data exchange and wireless connections between two devices in close proximity. In the case of the Brand Table, the device would be your phone and circular stickers containing NFC tags that are secured to the tabletop. All you would need to do is to tap your mobile device to the sticker, which will launch a menu and ordering page for the restaurant.

Users can place their orders and even pay through the mobile site, without having to bother with the hassle of waiting in line and ordering from the counter. When the order is ready, your mobile phone would buzz to signal that your order is up.

Check out the video demo here, that uses Google’s Samsung Nexus S.

I do wonder when and if this kind of technology will slowly start to take over the way we pay for everything. The concept does give us a foresight of the future one day, when such technology is more accessible and widespread. Until then, I think I’ll have to suffer through the lines in the food courts.

Now, a stranger fuel is being used to power TOTO‘s Toilet Bike Neo: human excrement.

The Toilet Bike Neo will be touring Japan from Kyushu to Tokyo on its on-board biogas digester. The system works by using an anaerobic bacteria system that converts dead organic matter into a usable fuel consisting mostly of methane. What’s really interesting about the vehicle is that the ‘organic matter’ fueling it is to come directly from its’ rider.

The vehicle consists of a three-wheeled motorcycle, with a replaceable tank behind its seat, which is a toilet. Not only does the vehicle use some pretty strange fuel, it also writes messages in Japanese with LED lights, plays music and talks. So if you thought regular talking Japanese toilets are weird enough, imagine this one mounted on a motorcycle and drivable. There are plenty of topics the toilet bike can chat with you, including fortune-telling, stocks, even the weather!

The national tour around Japan started at the company’s Kitakyushu headquarters. The reason of the tour is to promote the company’s efforts to reduce CO2 emissions within the next six years.

Personally, I think this is some very interesting technology, especially with the usage of human waste a fuel source. I wonder how much ‘fuel’ is actually needed to get the motorcycle going. I think the rider better have a diet rich in fiber or he’ll be going nowhere!

The way that the researchers did this was to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and some complicated computer models to work out how our brains have processed visual data, and then reconstruct the images, or even videos that we have viewed.

View samples of video and the reconstructed neural activity here.

So far the technology can only reconstruct the neural equivalent of what we have seen, but maybe someday soon it will be sophisticated enough to be able to reconstruct whole images and memories.

Imagine the usage of this technology to help those who have neural impairments, such as stroke victims, or those with degenerative neural diseases.

The researchers developed this technique by showing black and white images to participants while imaging their brain with the fMRI. They then compared the original photographs with the brain data, and they were able to build a way to recognise any image from how the brain responded.

This breakthrough paves the way for more amazing reproductions of images we only see inside our heads, such as dreams and memories, perhaps even one’s imagination.

Sounds like some amazing research. Maybe one day we’ll be able to say we uploaded ‘that amazing dream’ we had on YouTube.

The CSS is planned to orbit at about 350km off the surface of the Earth. It would hous seven guests at a time, with four cabins that have huge windows so that the travellers are able to see the Earth turning below. Now that’s an unforgettable view.

Not only is the hotel impressive, getting there is a whole other adventure, with a two day trip aboard a Soyuz rocket. The experience does not come cheap either, as a five-day stay will cost you £100,000 ($165,000), on top of the flight cost of £500,000 ($825,000). You would have to dig deep into your pockets, for a trip to this hotel.

According to the firm, the hotel is going to be ‘far more comfortable’ than that of the ISS. Guests can have proper showers, unlike the sponge baths of the ISS and they will be able to enjoy proper cooked food sent up on the rocket, unlike the freeze-dried tubes of nourishment given to astronauts. Iced tea, mineral water and fruit juices will be available, but alcohol is strictly prohibited. I guess you can’t have that drunk party in space after all.

The hotel is said to be aimed at wealthy individuals and those working for private companies who want to do research in space. Interestingly enough, there is also plans for the hotel to be used as an emergency escape for astronauts on the International Space Station in case of a crisis, instead of bringing them back to Earth.

I’ve always found space travel to be fascinating, but unfortunately, it’s still not affordable enough for the layman just yet. Maybe one day I’ll be able to afford that trip to the sky, but for now, I think I’ll just spend my vacations with both feet on the ground.

I’ve hardly ever posted things about my home country on this blog, so let’s show you something different today. Here’s a popular past-time in Malaysia this time of the year, it’s known as the Ramadan Buffet. Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic calendar when Muslims round the world enter into a period of fasting in the lead up to the Hari Raya. This year I visited Dorsett Regency Hotel in Kuala Lumpur where its Ramadan Buffet has somewhat become an annual pilgrimage in itself for many people.

This is the Salad Bar… colorful, offering a great variety for the health-conscious. Take the prawns to your heart’s content.

The Dessert trays were filled with all sorts of tasty “kuehs”. After a full meal, it was still hard to resist!

One of the key attractions of the Dorsett Regency’s Ramadan Buffet was celebrity chef Jaafar Onn. A multi-talented person, here he is (with local singer Haiza) entertaining guests with songs & comedy. Audience participation is also encouraged… there is a lucky draw if you give them your business card.

Some shots of Dorsett Regency’s Checkers Cafe which was so totally packed out that night. Besides entertaining people, Chef Jaafar also cooked up some of his famous dishes including Nasi Lebaran, Nasi Seri Tanjung, Ayam Mak Dara and Daging Masak Muara.

Other courses included many local Malay favorites and signature dishes. This is definitely a buffet to visit if you are looking for a taste of Malaysiana!

This is something I picked up from the hotel. Nope it’s not a gold bar… but it looked like one and tasted wonderful! I think it was some sort of fruit loaf, I’m usually not a fruit loaf person, but this one was good. Sweet but not overly sweet, great texture and just the thing you need with your hot chocolate before going to bed

The Ramadan Buffet costs RM75.00++ per pax. You can make a booking here.

Gaia’s camera is said to be among the largest of its kind to ever exist, and it is estimated that Gaia will detect 15,000 new alien planets over the course of its mission.

Gaia’s sensors comprise of 106 separate CCD detectors, fitted together over three feet wide to form a giant camera. The system is powerful enough that it can measure the width of a hair from over 600 miles (about 966 Km) away. It is said to be able to spot a dime on the moon from earth!

The spacecraft’s mission spans five years, creating a three dimensional map of our Milky Way galaxy and its thousand million stars or so. Along the way, on average of 250 quasars, 30 brown dwarfs, 10 stars with planets orbiting them, and 10 stars exploding in other galaxies is estimated to be discovered every day.

This just puts into perspective how small and insignificant we are in the universe. I, for one, hope to see how the project will turn out. Perhaps it will be able to find some planets that could potentially carry life. Sure, modern technology will not yet allow us to visit these planets in the modern times, but I think it’s just fascinating to see what our universe has in hold for us. Maybe one day we will have to technology to traverse the stars, but for now, being able to see them is already quite a feat!

Of course, there is one place that has taken on the following and that is the Dundee University in Scotland. The University is now offering a one-year Masters in Comic Studies would be launched by its English department in September 2011.

The program is said to have been build on the “strong local traditions” of the local comic book industry of Dundee. World famous comics like Dennis the Menace, Desperate Dan and the Broons were all born in the city.

The students will be studying script writing and artwork, to enhance their practical skills on the creative side of making comics. At the same time, they will also be learning about the impact of comics on the worlds of art, literature and popular culture. One of the modules will even look at autobiographical comics, while another examines the relationship between international comics cultures.

The degree program will be led by Dr Chris Murray, one of the UK’s leading authorities on comics, and editor of the Studies in Comics journal. He says that employability is aim of the course, as it is with every other postgraduate program out there.

Students who have finished the Masters course can advance onto a PhD in comic studies.

Imagine that, a PhD in comic studies. Definitely not something I would have imagined happening say a decade ago.

Anyone who’s ever watched a decent zombie movie (28 Days Later, anyone?) or played one of those nightmare-inducing zombie games (say, Left 4 Dead), will want this zombie-proof house as their humble abode.

Designers KWK Promes has dubbed the design “The Safe House”, and true to its name, it does seem to be as impenetrable as it sounds. Both to the members of the undead who are out to eat you and also to the living, it seems.

“The most essential item for our clients was acquiring the feeling of maximum security,” states the designers’ website as a summary of the structure. Judging by its design to be able to fold up into itself, by having huge slabs of concrete covering its windows and enterances, I think that the chances of evading a zombie outbreak to be quite high.

The structure has movable walls and its only entrance is located on the second floor. The only way to enter is through a drawbridge. Sounds like the perfect house for defending yourself and your family against the undead, while being able to lavish in this piece of architectural wonder.

Personally I probably wouldn’t be able to afford such a wonder myself, but the design of it does sound like it would work against an army of the undead. Hypothetically speaking, if the undead ever rise, of course.