Would You Let Someone Advertise on Your House if They Paid Your Mortgage?

Like the 2011 version of selling your forehead to an online casino company wielding a painful tattoo needle, Adzookie's offering to pay your mortgage for as long as you can put up with advertising their eyesore-inducing logo.

Although the US mobile advertiser hasn't started painting anyone's houses just yet, according to Adzookie's CEO they've been inundated with requests—over 1,000 of them so far. Applicants must "like" Adzookie on Facebook first (which might suggest this is all one big publicity stunt—never!), and they do have several other caveats:

"You must own your home. It cannot be rented or leased. We'll paint the entire outside of the house, minus the roof, the windows and any awnings. Painting will take approximately 3 - 5 days. Your house must remain painted for at least three months and may be extended up to a year. If, for any reason, you decide to cancel after three months or if we cancel the agreement with you, we'll repaint your house back to the original colors."

I'm glad they're offering to repaint the house afterwards—given how much a job like that can cost, it'd almost be enough to make the homeowner beg on the doorsteps of Adzookie again.

 

 

Bluetrek Carbon Headset

The Bluetrek Carbon has hit the FCC, showing off a carbon fiber boom and construction said to create an exceedingly light result. It's clear to see that the stalk there is actual carbon, with the body of the thing being barely wider than a micro-USB port, it shouldn't look to gaudy hanging out of your head. There's no mention of price or availability.

 

 

Finally, Bacon Cologne!

No longer do you have to dribble bacon down your chin to get a hint of pig on your throat—perfumers Fargginay have invented bacon cologne which has a mix of 11 essential oils in both the Gold (citrus) and Classic (spicy maple) variants, which cost $36 each.

 

 

Samsung's 3D TV Experience Is Getting Cheaper

As the battle between active and passive 3D glasses display technology heats up, Samsung has responded by announcing its cheapest pair of active shutter 3D glasses will cost $50 (previously $130) beginning May 1st. Additionally, all of its 3D-capable 2011 HDTVs will come with two pairs of glasses packed in, unless the purchase is eligible for the Megamind/Shrek starter kit that already comes with them. This move comes just as FPR-based displays from LG, Vizio, Toshiba and Philips hit the marketplace.  

 

 

One Use Soap

The thinking behind the concept is that every time you wish to wash your hands, you simply break off a piece of the soap brick, to avoid contaminating the rest of the bar. Of course, it's not likely as hygienic as a liquid soap dispenser.

 

 

These Bike Inner Tubes Wince When Punctured, and Then Self-Seal

Michelin's developed new bike inner tube tech to cut down on the devastation a puncture brings when you're out riding. The Protek Max tubes contain a sealant which sees punctures compress and then self-seal, meaning you can hop back on that bike instantly.

The surface of the inner tube is actually visibly different to traditional tubes, with little raised bumps that stop them from twisting. They also aid the self-healing process, by making the rubber compress (as opposed to expanding.) The air pressure theoretically should close the hole, with the inbuilt sealant then locking them up.

On sale now, they cost around $9 in two different sizes.

 

 

Carbon Nanotubes Used To Detect Cancer Cells

Cancer's not slowing its march to ruining as many lives as it possibly can, so it's always pleasing to hear of any new developments that act as hurdles. The latest in the world of disease-prevention comes fromHarvard University, where researches have created a dime-sized carbon nanotube forest (read: lots of nanotubes, like those shown above) that can be used to trap cancer cells when blood passes through. A few years back, Mehmet Toner, a biomedical engineering professor at Harvard, created a device similar to the nano-forest that was less effective because silicon was used instead of carbon tubes. Today, Toner has teamed up with Brian Wardle, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, who together have redesigned the original microfluid device to work eight times more efficiently than its predecessor. The carbon nanotubes make diagnosis a fair bit simpler, largely because of the antibodies attached to them that help trap cancer cells as they pass through -- something that's being tailored to work with HIV as well. Things are starting to look moderately promising for cancer-stricken individuals, as hospitals have already began using the original device to detect malignant cells and ultimately prevent them from spreading -- here's hoping it's qualified for mass adoption sooner rather than later.

 

 

This USB Cartridge Could Turn Your Analog Camera Digital

Photographers who want to go digital but can't bring themselves to get rid of their analog cameras have something to lust for. RE35 understands your plight and has come up with a digital cartridge than fits into any 35mm camera.

The RE-35 cartridge has a pull-out sensor, instead of film, that records your images in the cartridge's built-in memory. The cartridge connects to your PC or Mac via USB so you can transfer images and charge the cartridge.

 

 

A Checkerboard Home For the Elderly

Designed by the architecture firm Aires Mateus in Alcácer do Sal, Portugal, this has got to be one of the coolest looking places you could ever hope your grandparents would live.

The project is based on a attentive reading of the life of a very specific kind of community, a sort of a micro-society with its own rules. It is a program, somewhere in between a hotel and a hospital, that seeks to comprehend and reinterpret the combination social/private, answering to the needs of a social life, and at the same time of solitude. Independents unities aggregate into a unique body, whose design is expressive and clear. The reduct mobility of those who will live in the building suggests that any displacement should be an emotive and variable experience. The distance between the independent units is measured and drawn to turn the idea of path into life, and its time into form.

 

 

Panasonic's First Rewriteable 100GB BD-RE XL Discs Launch Later This Month

For those stuck between the flexibility of HDD storage and the archiving ease of BDXLs Panasonic is finally ready to bridge the gap with its new triple layer BD-RE XL discs, set to arrive April 15th in Japan. Being the first rewriteable BDXL is the LM-BE100J's claim to fame, which works out since the 10,000 yen ($118 US) asking price means buying two is probably out of the question. The latest burners from Pioneer and Buffalo already support the new discs, owners of other hardware may want to double check their spec sheets before ordering.

 

 

Audi Teams Up with Renovo to Produce Yet Another Jaw-Dropping Wooden Bicycle

Renovo, no stranger to beautifully-crafted wooden bicycles, has partnered up with Audi, maker of beautiful automobiles, to create another sweet looking series of wooden bicycles.

Called the Audi Duo City, Sport and Road, the bikes are certainly pricey at $6,530, $7,350 and $7,460 respectively, but if you know anything about Renovo or Audi this shouldn't be much of a surprise.

Another distinction between models, besides price, is that the City and Sport have an 8-gear setup for city riding, while the Road is a 20-speed racer with thinner tires and a sleeker, more aggressive profile.

 

 

Hands-Free Faucets Actually Grosser Without You Having to Touch Them

Talk about irony. According to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, hands-free faucets have a significantly higher chance of playing home to bacteria like Legionella spp., which causes Legionnaire's Disease.

The reason is hands-free faucets have more components than traditional ones, and bacteria was found to thrive in these parts in particular.

The findings fly in the face of why hands-free faucets are popular, and in one isolated case they've actually caused the esteemed Johns Hopkins University to remove them from their clinical areas.

As far as everyday use in public restrooms countrywide is concerned, everyone can keep waving their hands under these magical faucets without worry. The Johns Hopkins officials have assured everyone that we have little to worry about—it's the clinics and other sterile environments that need to take notice.

 

 

Sony CEO Mentions He's Supplying Cameras To Apple

Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer reported that his company is producing cameras for the next batch of iPhones and iPads during a public interview with the Wall Street Journal. Traditionally, Apple's sourced its sensors from OmniVision, including the delightfully backside-illuminated 5 megapixel CMOS unit you'll find in the iPhone 4, but since Sony too has BSI tech and OmniVision has reportedly encountered delays, your next portable Apple product might house a Sony Exmor R sensor. Mind you, that may not end up actually happening, because of the context in which Sir Howard revealed the news -- according to 9 to 5 Mac, he said that the factory producing sensors for Apple was affected by the Japanese tsunami. Oh well.

Apple Facing Possible iPod Battery Shortages After Japan Quake

While electronics companies have seemingly avoided major issues with component shortages in the wake of the Japan earthquake, Apple may have to deal with a threat from an unexpected source: Kureha Corp., a niche producer of polymers for lithium-ion batteries.

Apple isn't the only company facing potential issues either. Kureha has a 70% market share for this particular polymer, and market researchers expect other companies to face shortages as well.

 

 

Nanogenerators Produce Electricity While You Dance

Dr. Zhong Lin Wang of theGeorgia Institute of Technology has reported that he and his team of Einsteins constructed nanogenerators with enough energy to potentially power LCDs, LEDs and laser diodes by moving your various limbs. These micro-powerhouses -- strands of piezoelectric zinc oxide, 1 / 500 the width of a single hair strand -- can generate electrical charges when flexed or strained. 

Wang and his team of researchers shoved a collection of their nanogenerators into a chip 1 / 4 the size of a stamp, stacked five of them on top of one another and can pinch the stack between their fingers to generate the output of two standard AA batteries -- around 3 volts. Imagine how convenient to charge your phone in your pocket sans the bulky battery add-ons. And that's only one application of this technology. 

Wrex Titanium Pocket Wrench

If you fear landing in an emergency situation requiring you to loosen nuts and bolts on the go, consider the Wrex Titanium Pocket Wrench.

Not only is the gadget conveniently sized, it packs an ultra sharp blade attached to the wrench's jaw, a wire stripping hole, a double-ended driver bit, a 1/4-inch hex bit driver with o-ring, and a bottle opener. Expect to pay $179 when it hits stores in early May.

 

 

Arctic Ozone Levels Dropped By As Much As Half In The Past Year

Check out the stark difference between these two satellite images, taken on March 19, 2010 and March 19, 2011. The left image shows much more ozone (in red) over the Arctic than the right image. What's happened?

These maps come from NASA's Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), aboard theAura satellite. The two images tell a stark tale of rapid ozone depletion. OMI uses a spectrometer that measures the amount of sunlight scattered by Earth's atmosphere and surface, which gives a sense of how much ozone exists at different levels, including the stratosphere.

In mid-March, scientists from the Alfred Wegener Institute reported that Arctic ozone levels had been cut in half towards the end of winter, based on data from 30 ozone-sounding stations around the region.

The good news is, Arctic ozone levels fluctuate from year to year, and ozone "holes" don't form as consistently as they do in the Antarctic. It remains to be seen whether this ozone depletion will actually lead to increases in the intensity of ultraviolet radiation in the Arctic.

But still, the question of why ozone levels dropped so starkly this year remains, and nobody has a good answer. There are still a lot of ozone-depleting chemicals like CFCs in the atmosphere, despite their regulation by the Montreal Protocol. It'll take a long time for the concentration of these chlorines to decline, because these chemicals have a long lifespan. And the process of ozone depletion is intensified when the stratosphere is especially cold, which has been the case in recent weeks.

 

 

Netflix Beefing Up Service Center In Preparation For Global Launch

It's no secret that Netflix has grand plans to expand its global footprint that now feeds media to some 20 million North American subscribers. Hell, the company was boasting of the "significant dollars" allocated to its 2011 international expansion plans just four months ago. Notably, Netflix's customer service call center in Hillsboro Oregon is gearing up to expand its scope of operations beyond North America.

Two new job postings for a Training Supervisor and Quality Assurance Analyst both mention the need to prepare for "rapid" international expansion and "will support a specific country / region outside of North America." The Training Supervisor is being hired specifically to educate customer service reps in preparation for that future international growth. Neflix is looking for fluency in English in addition to Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian and European), and Spanish (Latin American and European), leaving things pretty wide open with regard to the countries targeted for initial launch.

This Year's Hottest Pocket Mirror is Also a USB 3.0 Multi-Format Card Reader

We always knew that the worlds of technology and popular culture were on a collision course of epic proportions, and if this isn't proof... well, you might say that proof simply doesn't exist. Brando has an identity crisis that Charlie Sheen would simply salivate over, but if we had to guess, we'd surmise that a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed card reader -- complete with support for CompactFlash, SDXC and M2 cards -- does a lot more #winning with a mirror slapped onto the side. Pre-order yours today for the tidy sum of $25.

The World’s Largest Wooden Structure Now Open For Business

The Metropol Parasol, located in Seville, Spain, just opened its doors to the public and is the world's largest wooden structure. Some pragmatically-minded city planners originally wanted to build a parking garage on the site, then they discovered some artifacts of archaeological significance and opted to build a museum/shopping center instead.

From the looks of it, the roof is the best part—you can actually go up there and check out views of the entire city.