Monthly Archives: January 2009

Watch The Skies – Orion Visible Tonight

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The constellation Orion will be highly visible in the night sky this week, as the Earth is in optimal position for viewing. SPACE.com tells us why we should care:

As is also the case with the mighty Hercules, the figure of Orion has been associated in virtually all-ancient cultures with great national heroes, warriors, or demigods.  Yet, in contrast to Hercules, who was credited with a detailed series of exploits, Orion seems to us a vague and shadowy figure.

Brew up some hot chocolate and spend a memorable evening with your kids under the mightiest stars of them all. The sky show starts at 9 PM.

Source: Mighty Orion: The Mythology

Mars Rover Gets Glitchy

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roverIs the wife getting on your case for constantly hammering Marvel superheroes and videogames into your child’s cranium? Well have no fear, because that’s where pure science comes in!

The Mars rover named “Spirit” is having some unexpected glitches which are causing NASA to scratch their heads in bewilderment:

Spirit failed to report in to engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., last weekend, prompting a series of diagnostic tests this week to hunt the glitch’s source. The aging Mars rover did not beam home a record of its weekend activities and, more puzzlingly, apparently failed to even record any of its actions on Sunday, mission managers said.

So you can tell your wife it’s science, but you’ll really tell your kids it’s Wall-E, right?

Source: Mars Rover’s Unexpected Behavior Puzzles NASA

Hack the R/C Moon Phase Light

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MDIAG! bought the R/C Moon Phase light from ThinkGeek about a year back, and although we loved the nice glow and surface detail, we wished it represented the current phase of the moon rather than its out-of-the-box timed cycle. Well, so did the folks at imagitronics.org, which has detailed instructions on what it takes (and costs) to make this mod yourself.

I decided that it would be more interesting if the model moon actually reflected the current phase of the moon based on the current date. Using an arduino and a DS1307 realtime clock module from Sparkfun, I was able to make that it do just that. The DS1307 module contains a coin cell battery backup that enables the internal clock to maintain the proper time, even without power, for up to 17 years!

Click the link below for your next project.

Source: Hack the ThinkGeek R/C Moon to display realtime phase changes

[SPOILERS] G.I. Joe and Transformers Sequel News

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Sci-Fi blog io9 has the latest scoop on the G.I. Joe live-action and Transformers sequel movies. First, Yo, Joe!

The toy movie released a bunch of “identification cards,” which include images of characters you haven’t seen before. Wait, there’s a character called The Doctor, but he’s not played by Chrisopher Eccleston?? Way more pics at the link. [Hisstank via Slashfilm]

And now for the next toy you’ll be buying for your little ones, courtesy of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen:

Soon we’ll see our first glimpse of the film during the Superbowl, but some toy fair attendees saw some “animatics” already. And apparently Devastator, the “Constructicon” made out of five construction vehicles, is amazing. “The mixing drum in his chest becomes a massive turbine grinder. It creates a turbine effect, sucking everything in Devastator’s path up, and spitting it out of his back.” (Does that mean Devastator’s superpower is chewing up his enemies and then pooping them?)

Click on the link below to read the full scoop.

Source: Dance With Dragonball, Brace For Star Trek And Put G.I. Joe On Your Lanyard

PSN Video Highlights for January 30th, 2009

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The Official Playstation Blog released its weekly update of video content available now on the Playstation Network. Here are the family-friendly highlights:

  • Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman – From IMDB: “A ruthless destructive vigilante posing as Batwoman is wreaking havoc in Gotham City. While she sets her sights on thwarting Penguin’s evil plans, Batman concentrates on discovering this mysterious imposter’s true identity. But when she’s captured by the vicious Bane, it falls upon the caped crusader to rescue her, defeat Bane and foil the Penguin’s devious plot himself. Written by Jim Harvey (www.toonzone.net)“
  • Anastasia – From 20th Century Fox: “A spellbinding mix of adventure, comedy, romance and music, this acclaimed animated spectacular tells the thrilling story of the lost Russian princess Anastasia and her quest to find her true identity. When the shadow of revolution falls across Russia, the royal family’s youngest daughter barely escape with her life. Years later, Anastasia and a band of heroic companions must battle the evil Rasputin, his sidekick Bartok the bat and a host of ghostly minions in a headlong race to reach Paris, reclaim her rightful destiny and solve the greatest mystery of the 20th century.”

Best part about the PSN video store? Unlike Xbox Live Marketplace, movies can be purchased (in SD only) and transferred to a PSP for portable viewing. MDIAG! says – roadtrip!

Source: PlayStation Network Video Content Update

He-Man Reboot Gets a Director

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MDIAG! was happy it was finally Friday, but we didn’t expect to be THIS happy…

After years of finally washing Dolph Lundgren from our consciousness, news from Variety states the He-Man reboot now has a director:

John Stevenson, one of the directors of Dreamworks’ Kung-Fu Panda, has been tapped to direct the new movie based upon the 1980s Mattel toyline, from a script written by Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li‘s Justin Marks.

Okay, one out of two ain’t bad, although after seeing how well Kung-Fu Panda turned out, we kinda wish this was a CG flick instead of a live-action one. And it’s being produced by Joel Silver as well. Hey, now that Frank Langella is an Oscar nominee for Frost/Nixon, maybe we can get him to return as Skeletor?

Source: Kung-Fu Panda’s Creator To Take On He-Man

The Tale of Despereaux Blu-ray Announced

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Exciting news regarding your favorite mouse! No, not that one. Not that one either. Okay, he’s French, cut him some slack! High-Def Digest reports The Tale of Despereaux is getting a Blu-ray release on March 17:

Exclusive to the Blu-ray are two Bonus View picture-in-picture tracks (live action and animatic), plus the BD-Live-enabled My Scenes Sharing function and another interactive game.

Suggested retail price is $39.98, but of course you can save some money by purchasing from Amazon.com here.

Source: ‘Tale of Despereaux’ Coming to Blu-ray

LeapFrogs’s New Children’s PDA

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Engadget reports from the U.K. Toy Fair a new PDA for children from LeapFrog, called the Text and Learn. Here’s the breakdown:

Here’s what we know about the must-have device of the year: boasting a full QWERTY keyboard, the Text and Learn has a calendar (for learning dates), phonics functions (for learning… phonics) on the keyboard, and games to teach spelling and basic computer skills, as well. There’s also some “texting” — the child can interact with their onscreen buddy/ guide, Scout.

The Text and Learn, although still not officially announced, is expected to be released in August at $30.

Source: LeapFrog intros “smartphone” for your little one

Harry Potter’s Daniel Radcliffe is Aided by Videogames

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Yes, we at MDIAG! finally feel vindicated for all the videogames we played during our youth. And just some more ammo for us to use with our significant others when trying to justify that Wii you just brought home…

Harry Potter himself disclosed in an interview with The Daily Beast he suffers from dysplaxia, a life-long condition which impaires one’s ability to perform fine motor skills. How does he deal with it?

You suffer from dysplaxia—which is a kind of physical dyslexia. Rote physicality is difficult for you to comprehend. How has that affected you as an actor?

I have a very mild form of it. I’ve gotten it mostly under control now. I played a lot of videogames as a kid which really helped it. It basically surfaces as bad coordination. Another example of it is how terrible my handwriting is because I can never quite tell when the pen is going to land on the page.

Source: Dirty Harry