Extraordinary Humanoid Military Robot Can Climb Stairs, Operate in any Terrain

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For anyone who was relying on being able to escape from a robot simply by climbing stairs, it could be a bone chilling sight.

[US researchers] have revealed astonishing footage of a human-like robot able to walk, jump and run over almost any obstacle in its path.

Eventually it is hoped the technology could be used to create a new breed of robotic soldiers able to operate in any terrain, and robots capable of being sent into dangerous disaster zones deemed impossible for humans to enter.

The amazing robot, called proto-pet, is expected to be one of those competing in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) which was announced today.

The US military funded challenge is for robots who can operate entirely by themselves. Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s a video of the amazing robot in action:

Man Auctions Off Side of His Face for $15,000, Gets Tattooed With Romney Campaign Logo

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Some say that campaign ads are getting just ridiculous. But now it’s taken a turn to the truly bizarre. An Indiana man has auctioned off space on the side of his head, where he tattooed Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign “R” logo in a 5-by-2-inch spot for a bid of $15,000.

Eric Hartsburg posted the eBay listing in August, and told ABC News that he was paid $15,000 by a Republican eBay user, who preferred to remain anonymous, to get the Romney logo permanently inked on the side of his head. Hartsburg, who is an Indiana native, told ABC News that he agreed because the tattoo was something that he could live with.

“I am a registered Republican and a Romney supporter,” Hartsburg said. “I didn’t mind getting this tattoo because it is something that I could live with and it’s something that I believe in.”

He wasn’t so enthusiastic about all of the bids he was offered. Hartsburg, whose fresh ink is only three days old, said that he actually rejected the highest bid because it was “lewd.” His only requirement for bidding on the ‘ad space’ was that it could not be racist or offensive.

Hartsburg says that the whole thing was done as a gag but now he believes his new tat has a purpose. He says he is trying to “educate people on his beliefs.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Judge Sends Naked Picture of Himself to Married Subordinate, Keeps Job (+video)

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Third Circuit Court Judge Wade McCree sent a naked picture of himself to a female court bailiff. Apparently she didn’t mind, but her husband did, so he gave it to us and we gave it to you and now the Michigan Supreme Court has given it back to Judge McCree, publicly censuring him Wednesday for judicial misconduct.

“It’s very rare for a judge to get a slap on the wrist like this unless the judge did something really bad on the bench. So for the Supreme Court to look at this, to review this, and for the judge to agree with it, it’s pretty bad,” said FOX 2 legal analyst Charlie Langton.

“A judge has to set the example for others to follow. I mean, judges are held to a higher standard. There’s integrity in the system of being a judge and this guy didn’t do it.”

Fox 2 News Headlines

Judge McCree wouldn’t come out of his chambers for an interview, but here are a few of the court’s findings. During an interview with yours truly, McCree “conducted himself in a flippant manner and did not give the interview the seriousness he should have. As a result, he brought shame and obloquy to the judiciary. For example, when discussing the digital image of himself, he said, ‘There is no shame in my game.'”

Click on the second video in the player above to watch Charlie LeDuff’s original report.

The Supreme Court also found that the interview and the digital image spread rapidly around the internet and became the subject of jokes and ridicule.

Read more from this story HERE.

A Future Where We’ll Actually Be Able to Download Memories From Our Brains

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It sounds like the stuff of science-fiction and geek ideology, but the ability to download memories may be a full blown reality for the future generations of planet Earth. Science (well, Neuroscience, Neuroengineering, and Optogenetics to be exact) is getting closer and closer to creating a solution for this fascinating prospect.

Just imagine being able to download memories from a favorite holiday or event in your life. You’d be able to store these memories forever and then simply upload them again when you want to reminisce. You’d be able to remember your favorite gig like it was today, not yesterday. It’s pretty awesome stuff, but is it really feasible?

[O]ne genius from MIT named Ed Boyden is developing ways of using light to decode brain patterns and control the activity of neurons. This is the deeply complex world of Optogenetics. Through scouring nature’s wonders, he’s found proteins that convert light into electricity. He can then insert these proteins into neurons via a harmless virus that most of you reading this probably already have. When he flashes light on these neurons, their electrical signalling pathways activate. Ed can then go on to map out these pathways with the help of specially designed computer software. He’s already used this approach to cure analogs of PTSD in mice, and hopes to develop ‘Neuroprosthetics’ in the future, which could help restore neurons to full functionality in conditions such as Alzheimer’s, where neural functionality is lost.

Read more from this story HERE.

NYPD Officer Arrested By FBI Planned to Cook & Eat Women Tracked by Law Enforcement Database

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A city cop with a taste for human flesh was charged Thursday with plotting to kidnap, torture, “slow cook” and eat women he tracked down through law enforcement databases.

Accused cannibal cop Gilberto Valle, 28, was living a double life — a married dad and civil servant who moonlighted as a secret psycho straight out of a James Patterson crime thriller, federal authorities revealed.

Like the diabolical character in Patterson’s made-for-the-big-screen “Alex Cross” novel, Valle is accused of using high-tech surveillance to track would-be victims, even worming his way into their lives while plotting to kidnap, rape and kill them.

He once boasted in an instant message to a depraved ally that his oven was “big enough to fit one of these girls if I folded their legs.”

At his arraignment in Manhattan Federal Court Thursday, prosecutor Hadassa Waxman said it was only a matter of time before Valle acted on his sinister desires.

Read more from this story HERE.

Seen a Threatening Tweet? Alert the Secret Service!

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Twitter users sent more than 6.5 million Tweets during the third presidential debate Monday – and a few of them were death threats against President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Less than 24 hours later, the Secret Service took to Twitter in what the department calls a new tactic to gather information on potential threats against the people they protect.

“To report a tweet that concerns you,” @SecretService wrote Tuesday in its first such Tweet, “call the nearest field office in your state.” The agency posted a similar message Wednesday morning.

The Secret Service wants to be aware of what messages are being disseminated on Twitter as the social networking website grows, said Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan. The Secret Service has been on Twitter for more than a year and has no other social media accounts.

“We’re not an intelligence agency – we’re consumers of information,” Donovan said. “We cast a wide net for information, and that includes law enforcement agencies, federal agencies and the general public.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Man in Devil Mask Robs Store, Shoots Customer, Falls Off Cliff & Has Leg Amputated

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A man officials say went on a crime spree wearing a devil mask is now in custody and hurting like hell.

The man authorities say robbed several businesses in Jefferson and Blount counties in the past two weeks, and shot a man in the process, fell off of a cliff in Remlap. He suffered a broken back and has had one of his legs amputated.

“When he robbed the drug stores I said I hoped we could find him before he hurt someone or got himself killed,” said Jefferson County sheriff’s Chief Deputy Randy Christian. “Well he did hurt someone and almost got himself killed.” [A 53-year-old customer walking into the store just after the holdup was told the store had just been robbed and started to follow the robber. The gunman shot the man, who remains hospitalized with critical injures.]

“He has a long road of medical problems ahead of him and an extended prison stay,” Christian said. “I would like to think that maybe he jumped off of that cliff because of remorse, but I can’t give him that much credit”…

On Saturday, Christian said today, investigators received information from Blount County authorities that a man had fallen from a cliff and been critically injured. He crawled to a nearby home to get help. Lawmen who responded found items in his vehicle that led them to believe he may have been involved in the robberies.

Read more from this story HERE.

90 Year Old Man Sued By Meth User Who Shot Him

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A 90-year-old Greenbrae man who was shot in the head during an alleged burglary has been sued by the alleged burglar.

Samuel Cutrufelli, who was also shot during the incident, claims Jay Leone “negligently shot” him during the confrontation inside Leone’s home.

Cutrufelli, 31, claims Leone caused him “great bodily injury, and other financial damage, including loss of Mr. Cutrufelli’s home, and also the dissolution of Mr. Cutrufelli’s marriage.”

Cutrufelli shot Leone once in the face during the alleged burglary, and Leone returned fire, hitting Cutrufelli several times. Both men were hospitalized for an extended period after the gun battle.

Cutrufelli, whose charges include two counts of attempted murder against Leone, is near the end of his criminal trial. The negligence lawsuit was filed on his behalf by his father and his criminal defense attorney.

Read more from this story HERE.

Worried About Calamity? Here’s a Shelter That Carries the Price Tag of a New Truck

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Paul Seyfried, co-owner of Utah Shelter Systems, says underground structures at Utah Shelter Systems range in size from about 256 to 500 square feet, and they come with ventilation systems, wood-based flooring, bunk beds and a wiring system with light fixtures.

Lights run off of batteries that last two to three weeks, hopefully long enough to get through the worst of a calamity. If the batteries run out, a home generator could be used to recharge them, and generators cost about $1,000.

The cost starts at about $51,800. “We want the price to be about that of a new, well-equipped truck,” Seyfried says. “It sounds like a lot of money, but you sure see a lot of pickup trucks driving around on America’s roads.”

Other options, such as additional bunk beds, dehydrated food and other items to stock the room can be purchased separately, he says.

Consumers generally pay 50% of the shelter’s cost upfront to purchase materials, Seyfried says. It takes about six weeks for a fallout shelter to be built, and at about that point, the client pays the remainder of the money, he says.

Read more from this story HERE.

Elton John Throws $3+ Million Decadent Bash for ‘Husband’ in Las Vegas, LA

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It will be the most over-the-top party of the year — a lavish four-day affair in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, with hot and cold running A-listers and a line-up of performers that could sell out Wembley several times over. At its center will be Sir Elton John, and his consort, David Furnish, who turns 50 on Thursday.

Sir Elton met David Furnish, then an unknown young Canadian advertising executive, in 1993. A friend of Furnish’s had brought him to a dinner party Sir Elton was having at his house in Windsor.

‘As soon as he came through the door, he was the shyest and the most handsome and the sweetest, and he was intelligent and he had a great career,’ said Elton. ‘So the next morning, I thought, “It’s a Sunday morning, he’s been to a party, what is the earliest time I can call him?” And I called him at eleven, and said, “Would you like to have dinner tonight?”’

They had a civil ceremony in 2005.

Sir Elton has said that Furnish ‘saved’ him; when they met the star was a recovering cocaine addict and bulimic and felt that he was inherently unlovable. They send each other love letters every Saturday, and call every morning and evening if they are apart. Furnish runs Rocket Pictures, which recently produced the animated film Gnomeo & Juliet. He is also a hit on London’s social scene, celebrated for his good manners and stock of dynamite gossip.