Bras: the new energy source

Cups o’ energy
An acquaintance once told me that he was going to get his Ph.D. at a prestigious institution of higher education in the study of female mammary glands, or breasts. Turns out that there are many researchers studying, on a professional level, what many of us unprofessional males study on a hormonal level.

A consultant for sports companies and a former professor of exercise science, along with colleagues, compiled data that show that a low-support D-cup bra can travel as much as 35 inches up and down during exercise. If this bra was made of nanowires, which convert friction into an electrical charge, they could conceivably produce enough juice to run an iPod or cell phone. According to a Slate article by Adrienne So, the fabric is cheap to produce and surprisingly efficient. Have to keep an eye on that technology.

The Beatles in the 21st century
Technology-embracing Baby Boomers who are unhappy they can’t find Beatles MP3s at the iTunes store might soon be turning to their Guitar Hero- or Rock Band-playing kids to hear the Fab Four’s tunes.

In an attempt to widen the video-game market beyond pimply faced teenaged boys, both Activision and MTV Games are in negotiations with the owners of The Beatles catalogue EMI and Apple Corp. Though Beatles songs have been licensed to such shows as American Idol, the collection has notoriously been slow to go digital. With 20 million units of Guitar Hero in homes and more than 3 million copies of Rock Band sold, this deal could easily go well into the millions of dollars.

sell phones?
Sprint is cutting out the middlemen in the entertainment business and turning straight to the viral markets (that is you) for product placement of one of its new phones. The telecom company is offering 20 Washingtons to the first 1,000 people who feature the Sprint Instinct in a YouTube clip, with a grand prize of $10,000. www.instinctthephone.com

Another reason to sleep in class
I stumbled across the Livescribe paper-based computing platform called the Pulse Smartpen. You have to check out the demo video. This computerized paper (kinda?) with voice-recording pen is incredible. It can record a lecture as you take notes, and when you tap on your notes a couple of days later while trying to remember exactly what it was you wrote, the pen plays back the voice recording at the time you wrote the note. Crazy. And that is just the beginning. Livescribe claims it will cost less than $200. Check out the concept animations on the site as well: www.livescribe.com

Wacky Web site of the week
Yet another site in the “what do I do at work when I don’t feel like working?” department. This one encourages contributors to scan the contents of their pockets along with their faces to share with the Face Your Pockets Project community. Contribute or just gawk: faceyourpockets.com