Karaoke began in Kobe, Japan around the 1970’s (and many of us wish it had stopped there, too!) It spread like wildfire around the world, giving everyone their five minutes of drunken, microphone-toting fame. Those of us who sing love it because we love the stage. Those who don’t sing love it because there’s bound to be some good entertainment especially if the singing is really, really, bad. The karaoke market has grown astronomically and it’s now a worldwide hobby, of sorts.

There are dozens of toys out there marketed to those who love to hear themselves sing! Each new piece of karaoke equipment is a must-have for the target audience. Popular movie soundtracks are instantly sapped of lead vocals and rushed to the karaoke market for all the teens. Naturally, then, follow the microphones, stereo systems, television attachments, etc, that go with a good “rig.”

Video games are marketed to a more discriminating crowd of teens+ that test one’s ability to follow notes and stay in tune, much to the amusement of others. Even American Idol has a Karaoke video game with accessories! So the karaoke craze continues to burn a trail and now heads into the realm of cyberspace. Visit a little place called midomi to see what this is all about. (Think of notes: Do, re, mi.. that’s where the site gets its name.)

At this site, in beta version for a couple years now, up and coming “artists” such as yourself can post their vocals to any song as long as they have a microphone and the internet. First, you use your mic to hum or sing a few bars of a song you like. The search engine uses your voice to choose several songs it “thinks” you’re looking for. This part can be a little iffy, but there’s also your basic manual keyword box if you’d prefer to use it instead.

Once you’ve found a song, you can listen to the original recording, hear users that have tried it themselves, or record your own rendition. The super cool part about this is you can build a fan base, get comments, and share your favorites with others via Facebook. The site does a pretty good job of updating ratings and providing listeners with a sample of top recordings, most commented, featured, etc.

This site has infinite possibilities as well as, you can imagine, some drawbacks. First of all, the site is international, so you never know with what accent you might hear your favorite tune. This can be pleasant, or in most of my experiences, horribly, horribly bad. International accents are beautiful, don’t get me wrong. I just wouldn’t attempt a song in any other language but my own, and with good reason. Regardless of your preference, however, the community is there for everyone and the good, the bad, and the “what were they thinking?” are just as free to post as anyone else. The rating system does help weed out the less savory samples, and there are many incredibly talented people to listen to out there.

Final analysis: It’s a nifty site to tool around on for a bit, especially if you really can sing. I don’t see it rivaling MySpace any time soon, but there isn’t any real competition out there for a site like this, so the sky’s the limit. Check it out, sing a few tunes, and see what kind of comments you get. You just might be the next cyber karaoke e-star!

While the project has been a long time coming, from ideas originated while computers were still mammoth-like objects that took up a whole room, no one can say the project comes too late. The goal of OLPC is a timely one: to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment, and express themselves. The project features a $200 laptop with a bright screen for easy readability in direct sunlight and pencil-sharpener inspired crank to recharge its high efficiency battery. As far as software, although Microsoft and Apple both tried to provide versions of their operating systems to OLPC, ultimately they required too many resources and a “lite” version of the open-source system Linux was used.

One of the coolest features of this laptop, called the XO, is that despite its miniscule power requirements, it includes a networking technology that “meshes” each computer together, connecting every child in a village to each other, as well as to any Internet connection that might be available, such as a satellite link or cellular connection. This link can connect XOs up to a third of a mile away! The camera also has a video camera and built-in speakers and can be run in black-and-white or color modes.

Since its inception, OLPC has seen its fair share of supporters and critics. Many say: Why develop countries of foreign nations when children here at home are without technology? A Birmingham, AL mayoral advisor, Bob McKenna, announced recently they were providing every K-8 student in the city with an XO for use in schools. With instances like this, a gray line is being drawn about who can have one, where they can have them, and what they can do with them (some laptops have been reportedly used to access pornographic websites. To make matters worse, a Nigerian firm’s recent patent infringement lawsuit of $20M puts the kibosh on the units being sold there. It seems that what began as a “Good Samaritan” project to spread education to parts of the world with little or no technology might wind up being tangled up in the almighty dollar. You’re going to want to stay tuned to the development of this project. In the meantime, check out Ebay where you can buy them for yourself or your own children… just don’t ask where they came from!

Children are certainly not exempt from this frightening trend. Skateboards, bicycles and roller blades are replaced by go-carts and Segways. Traditional children’s toys requiring self-propulsion like the pogo stick and the bicycle now have motorized counterparts. Pocket bikes and mini-bikes take the leg work out of riding a bicycle. A little bit less than watered down motorcycles, these bikes require no more caloric expenditure than it takes to turn the wheel to park in front of your favorite ice cream shop.

A team of Harvard economists blames technological advances for obesity, but not in the way that you might think. They proposed a theory that new and varied convenience foods are the culprit. It’s no longer necessary to dig up a few potatoes to make mashed potatoes, just open the box of flakes and stir with some water. Fewer calories are spent to make the meal. Along the same lines, advances in commercial transportation allow these items to make it to our grocery store shelf faster than ever.

The popularity of the Segway shows that Americans are more than comfortable letting machines move them around. Sales of Segways reportedly increase 50% year over year.

Do all advances in personal transportation make us fatter? Some improvements are keeping the physical activity in, like the Trikke for example, a 3-wheeled cambering vehicle that relies on good old-fashioned leg power. It works much like a scooter or bicycle, with better balance and control, and can be propelled without touching the ground.

Ultimate Explorer

Could robots ever be equals amongst humans? It’s a topic that’s been brought to discussion over the last several decades, with films like I, Robot, A.I. and Centennial Man whose plots in one form or another all center around the humanity of robots.

While Hollywood’s vision of robotics doesn’t quite line up with the practical versions in existence now, built by students of physics and electronics, there is one thing on which both types of experts can agree. Robots are coming.

Far from the polished, life-like robots of the silver screen, pulleys, gears, pins, sensors, wheels, and blocks that look a bit like Legos are the foundation for modern robotics. Still, robots have been designed that can do some pretty neat tricks. Some robots can travel to a specific coordinate, even moving to manipulate obstacles in their path. Robots can make coffee, bartend, help with the house cleaning, dance (alright, so they aren’t winning any awards), follow directions, and plenty more.

The science of robotics is becoming more accessible as well. There are basic sets that children can put together, just like model cars or other do-it-yourself educational toys. Many high schools now host robotics clubs that work toward a specific goal as a team, building and programming robots.

The Japanese, long considered the front runners in the robotics movement, have announced that researchers at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology have completed a robotic exoskeleton for farmers. This innovation comes as a proposed solution to the problems of aging Japanese farmers who lose much of their productivity as their manual labor abilities diminish. The robotic suit will be mass produced at a cost of around 200,000 Yen.

Robots are currently in use in the form of nanosensors, space exploration vehicles, and high-tech toys. The every day use of robotics is still a long way off, but scientists are approaching this inevitability step-by-step every single day. Want to try your hand at building your own automaton? Check out Lego’s Mindstorms line. As technology improves, robots are able to accomplish more and more intricate tasks. Their motions are more life-like and mimic natural movement patterns. Better sensors allow them to collect more precise information to be processed and used in their tasks. Some scientists believe that in the distant future, robots may be capable of reason. Until then, you’ll have to settle for innovations a piece at a time, like those of WT-4, the robot capable of simulating human speech!

So what is the Flip? A while back, it was known as the “Point and Shoot” camera. With the new name, it received new features and software to up its already high coolness factor. Two of these features are extra battery power and better video quality than the original. (Naturally, we all headed outside early Christmas morning see what the gadget could do with outdoor footage. The difference in quality was noticeable, but not enough to really matter.)

There are two versions of this cam: the $125 version captures 30 minutes of video, while for a mere $40 more you can get the 60-minute version. I highly recommend forking over the extra; what if a UFO hovers into view on the 31^st minute? Both versions are sleek and sexy, about the size of the classic iPod, and just as light-weight. It’s a real “bare bones” approach to buttons.

A flip-up USB connector is one of the best features, allowing instant transfer of your video to your computer without fussing with cables. By far one of sweetest additions to the “classic” model is the software installed in the Flip. A plug-and-play type interface prompts you through a dialog that allows for posting the video straight to YouTube and AOL Video. And we all know that’s the real reason you wanted the Flip in the first place, right?

In a “don’t wanna miss a thing” world, the Flip is a necessity! You don’t need to find that just-right light, take a picture with your camera phone, or fiddle with complicated buttons and endless settings. It’s sweet and simple and definitely on the list for my birthday!

Decoys work extremely well…just ask a duck! These inexpensive products are called Diversion Safes. They won’t protect your cash and valuables from fire but they do an excellent job guarding against theft. Put the odds in your favor as burglars usually spend less than 10 minutes in a victim’s home and they only have time to check the most obvious places for your valuables. And according to police statistics, the shaving cream or brake fluid can are seldom targeted.

With a diversion can safe everything can be hidden in plain view. Many of these security products are re-manufactured from original containers that look like ordinary household products such as canned food, can drinks and even home household cleaners. Of course the diversion safe idea has been around for a long time (remember the hollowed out book?), but what’s cool about the new generation of products is their realism. Weighted to feel full, with a seamless screw off top or bottom, these products are very easy for a thief to overlook. Items that look like an ordinary book, wall clock, CD case, VHF Video cassette, leftover food container also work just as well as a Diversion Safes. Our favorite is a common electrical wall outlet. And if you have kids, you know they can find anything! Not anymore!

Diversion Safes are the perfect places to hide your mobile phone, credit card, car keys and house keys. Staying at a hotel without a room safe? The maid is probably not interested in your can of Cruex jock itch spray! Whether you are in your car, camping, at the beach, or away on business, use one of these handy gadgets to protect your personal items.

Never worry about being locked out of your house again. Other Diversion Safes allow you or family members to get inside a locked house by hiding a spare key inside a fake rock, outdoor thermometer or in a small fake sprinkler head.

It may not be a whole lot of comfort to walk into the house and find it ransacked, but at least your grandmother’s jewelry and the antique Rolex your dad gave you won’t be gone!

Gasoline alone is a little more than 70 times as expensive as gas in the United States. And with the economy of India as it is, the majority of the population can’t afford a can of gas, let alone the car that goes with it. Needless to say, mass transit or “pedal power” has been the way to get around for quite some time.

Imagine, though, if there were a way for a sizeable percentage of the almost one billion people to be able to afford a car. What would that mean for the economy? The average household? Employment rates? The environment? These are some of the many issues dredged up by the introduction of the TATA Nano, an extremely cheap vehicle unveiled in India at the New Delhi Auto Expo.

Later this year, these cars will roll out of the factory ready for consumers in the mainstream Indian population. This four-door, five-seater (if you really squeeze in) hatchback is in the shape of a kidney bean, small in front and wider in back. This helps cut wind shear and allows for cheaper engines. Part of the cost-cutting measures involved questions such as: “Is it necessary to have four brake pads, or can we get by with three?” and “Do we really need [insert car part here]?” It certainly has none of the luxuries Americans seem to require such as a radio, air conditioning, or power windows and steering. However, as one Indian man put it, “it’s faster than a bicycle!” This is the sentiment many Indians may be sharing as they consider the ramifications of adding a vehicle to their household.

But they’re not the only ones considering the cost. Critics of the vehicle are concerned with its impact on the environment. They worry the car could burden already-crowded streets and add enormous amounts of air and noise pollution in the atmosphere, creating an “environmental nightmare.”

Hopefully, with projected pollution levels more than quadrupling in the next 30 years, Indian officials will consider ways to offset the impact. If India’s population continues to increase exponentially, though, that’s certainly a lot of trees to plant. Still, chairman Ratan Tata insists the Nano will release less pollution than motorcycles, meet safety standards, and pass emission standards. And at 50 miles to the gallon, few are thinking about the environmental impact, and instead see the opportunity to trade two wheels for four. But does it really matter if a car gets 50 miles to the gallon when millions of them eventually are added to the roads of India and beyond?

Course Description:

In our increasingly modern and even luxurious world, why aren’t wealth and success translating into greater happiness? Depression rates in the United States are currently eight times higher than they were during the Great Depression, and that’s just one measure of our society’s mental health. Positive Psychology is an emerging branch in social psychology that attempts to answer this paradox. Researchers in this field are also investigating whether there is a way of living and thinking that can lead not only to increased happiness, but also to a longer, healthier life. Whereas traditional psychology explores the abnormally bad or merely the average, positive psychology looks at the “growing tip” of the curve-the most happy and the most successful-to figure out what can be learned from them. This lecture examines the latest research and discoveries in the field, and explores some of the techniques that incorporate positive psychology and can lead to increased happiness and health.

Shawn Achor is the winner of over a dozen distinguished teaching awards at Harvard University. Indeed, Achor is the Head Teaching Fellow for the most popular course at Harvard, Positive Psychology, which is led by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar. Over 1,000 students a semester have signed up for the course. Beyond Positive Psychology, Achor has taught in four academic departments at Harvard, including courses in Psychology of Leadership, Personality Psychology and Business, and Human Sexuality. After receiving his BA from Harvard in English and earning a Masters from Harvard Divinity School in Christian and Buddhist Ethics, Achor has synthesized his understanding of rhetoric, religion and ethics into the field of psychology, where he is currently finishing his PhD in social psychology at Tufts. Indeed part of Achor’s interest in positive psychology stems from the fact that studies have shown many of Harvard’s undergrads suffer, at one time or another, from depression while at school. As a freshman advisor and proctor on the Harvard campus, Achor has seen this experience firsthand.

I share this information with you for a few reasons. One, when you hear this man speak, it’s impossible NOT to get excited. He’s so authentic and enthusiastic and utterly darling in his passion for helping people understand the power they have to BE happy. And he truly cares. It shines from him like a halo; he is as inspiring as he is informative. The studies they’ve conducted thus far are truly astonishing and the results of those studies will really make you rethink those moments when you’re miserable. The fact is, we CAN control our lives by readjusting how we think. The brain is actually ‘elastic’ and can be rewired! The idea of this just blew me away!

When you received an energy (heating) bill last winter, were you afraid to open it? Granted that we have a home with a lot of really big windows, but we saw energy bills last winter in the hundreds of dollars. Your bill probably wasn’t that bad but I’m guessing that it was a lot higher than you would have liked.

The good news is that there are some inexpensive things you can do to cut that cost. Here are 10 of them.

1. If you have a fireplace, be sure to keep the damper closed. You can lose up to 5 percent of your heat if your damper is open when the fireplace is not in use.

2. Keep your furnace filter clean. Replace it at least once a month during heating season. This alone can cut your heating costs by as much as 5 percent.

3. Be sure to keep inside doors open to improve heat circulation. This will help the efficiency of your heating system.

4. Lower the setting on your thermostat. If you can reduce your daytime indoor thermostat temperature from 72 to 68 degrees, you should save about 5 per- cent during the heating season.

5. If your hot water pipes and water heater are warm to the touch, insulate them. This will reduce heat loss and water heating costs.

6. Every minute you cut from your shower saves three gallons of water and the energy required to heat it.

7. Install compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. Over the life of just one of these bulbs, you’ll save about $15. Use just a handful of these around your home and you could notice a difference in your energy bill.

8. Motion detectors put light where you want it, when you want it, for brief periods of time. They provide safety and security for you and your property, but require much less energy since they are on only when you need them.

9.Be sure to check for cold air leaks at doors and windows. If you have a question as to whether or not they are leaking cold air, light a match and hold it at the bottom of the window or door. You should be able to see very quickly if there is a draft.

10. Apply weather stripping around any doors that are leaking air, and caulk around all your windows. Weather stripping can be purchased from just about any hardware store, as well as stores like Home Deport and Lowe’s.

There’s no doubt that the IPhone was on a lot of Christmas wish lists this year. The IPhone is highly innovative and much sought-after for its multimedia functionality, but the IPhone is also incredibly expensive with a $500 price tag and a required expensive monthly AT&T contract. Enter the IClone, or the IPhone Clone, also known as the CECT P168.

With the IPhone you are forced to contract with AT&T for your wireless service. If you want anywhere near 1,000 minutes, you’ll be paying over $100 per month for your service.

There is a way around both the initial price of an IPhone and the costs of the expensive AT&T plan. It’s called the IClone, The Iphone Clone or the CECT P168 (called “the real thing” by Popular Science) - and it looks amazingly identical to the IPhone and offers ALL of the features of an IPhone plus bonus, additional features like extra speakers and a removable battery, plus it allows you to use whatever participating carrier you like (even your current provider). Popular Science Magazine dubbed the IClone CECT P168 “the real thing” because the IClone CECT P168 performs amazingly well, is 1/4 the price of an iPhone and even has bonus features that the iPhone doesn’t include. (The aforementioned the ability to operate on two different networks at once, SIX speakers, and a removable, renewable battery.) Seeing both phones side by side makes the IClone CECT 168 an easy sell.

Better still, the IClone CECT P168 runs well under $200. This means you can actually get yourself, your kid or loved one all of the features of the IPhone - the touch screen, the ability to surf the web or watch videos, and the MP3 capabilities we all want, without worrying about the credit card bill coming or without having to threaten your kid’s life if they lose the IClone. Basically, anything you can do with the IPhone, you can also do with the IClone CECT P168 - AND you can remove the battery and operate on two Sim cards. Take the significant money ($400) you save and do something nice for yourself or your family.

You don’t need to buy or install any software for the IClone P168. The phone will automatically recognize your network, phone book, personal settings and phone book. Additional standard features on the CECT P168 are:

Ring tones Type: Polyphonic (64 channels), Monophonic, True Tones, MP3;

Music player: Support MP3 player, with mp3, midi, and wav format;

Movie player: Support 3GP/MP4 movie player with full-screen;

Camera function: Camera with 1.3MP, 1024*1280 pixels, video (QCIF);

Memory Type: Support T-FLASH arbitrary expansion slot (256mb TF card included);

Interface: USB;

Vibrate: Yes;

Internet Browser;

Bluetooth;

Java 2.0;

Handwriting Recognition;

Messaging: SMS, MMS;

Cell phone Directory: iPhone Book Memory supports 300 records;

Supports Caller Ringing / Caller Video Player;

Game: Two games built in + downloadable;

Calculator/world time/stopwatch;

Unit Conversion/Currency Conversion/Calendar;

Stand-by time: Up to 150h;

Talk time: 180min–300min;

and

Supports: English (Default), Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Arabic.

(You can get an English Manual on Ebay for about $3.00)

There are a few sketchy overseas vendors of the CECT P168, but I strongly recommend getting your IClone CECT P168 on eBay, because EBay offers pay pal fraud protection, the protection of the feedback system, and the competition on EBay ensures you get the lowest price. EBay’s feedback system allows you to actually see buyer comments about the seller so you will know how many happy customers the seller has. Nearly all of the CECT P168 feedback is positive. You can also contact previous buyers to see if they are enjoying their IClone.

If you’re not a current Ebay member, it is quick, easy and free to sign up. And unlike overseas vendors, Ebay is safe, secure and protected.

With features and specifications amazingly similar to the IPhone at under ¼ of the price, the IClone is a great way to try out the Phone’s features while waiting for the price of the IPhone to trickle down. It’s also a way to give your kids (or yourself) the technology they are hungry for at a fraction of the price.