Download all of Wikipedia onto your iPod.

"The New Tourist's Guide to the Milky Way"

More medical benefits of chocolate.

Gmail tips. (Via BBspot.)

Real-life rocket jetpack.

Invention of the day: A true 3-D plasma display.

Most "3D" displays draw pseudo-3D images on a two-dimensional plane by utilizing the human binocular disparity (your eyes are several inches apart, and see a slightly different view). This device creates a true three-dimensional picture with infrared pulse laser light that creates a small dot of plasma (light-emitting ionized gas) in mid-air. Software controls the galvanometric mirrors that aim the laser pulses; any figure can be reproduced.

The display uses one pulse for each "pixel" - the plasma pixel has an emission time of about a nanosecond. The device can create about 100 dots per second, limiting the resolution of the display.

Most science fiction fans immediately think "Help me, Obiwan Kenobi. You're my only hope" when they think about three-dimensional displays that appear in mid-air.

Here's a related story.

National Sex Offender Registry: "Enter an address below to view a map of registered sex offenders near you. By entering this address, you agree to abide by our terms of service."

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You may not like what you see. (Via Linkfilter.)

Australian scientists have grown a human prostate gland from embryonic stem cells. They plan on using this method to study prostate abnormalities.

The study's co-authors, Prue Cowin and Renea Taylor, said their discovery will allow scientists to monitor the progression of the prostate from a normal to a diseased state for the first time.

"We need to study healthy prostate tissue from 15- (to) 25-year-old men to track this process," said Taylor. "Understandably, there is a lack of access to samples from men in this age group, so to have found a way we can have an ongoing supply of prostate tissue is a significant milestone."

"The tissue we've grown behaves as a normal human prostate, so it's the perfect model for testing the different hormones and environmental factors we believe play a role in the onset of prostate disease," said Cowin.

eBay Economics: "Would you rather pay $10 and have free shipping or pay $5 and pay $6 for shipping? Answer: you prefer the latter. Well, at least if you are like most bidders on eBay." More information here.

Can physicists predict stock market crashes?

"On average a new parking space has cost 17 percent more than a new car."

Stansilav Petrov probably saved my life back in 1983. And Diana's. And yours, if you were living in the USA at the time. Here's what he did. (Via Vodkapundit.)

Feel-good story of the weekend: Amazing high-school sports story. Be sure to click through and watch the video.

Senior Jason McElwain had been the manager of the varsity basketball team of Greece Athena High School in Rochester, N.Y.

McElwain, who's autistic, was added to the roster by coach Jim Johnson so he could be given a jersey and get to sit on the bench in the team's last game of the year.

Johnson hoped the situation would even enable him to get McElwain onto the floor a little playing time.

He got the chance, with Greece Athena up by double-digits with four minutes go to.

And, in his first action of the year, McElwain missed his first two shots, but then sank six three-pointers and another shot, for a total of 20 points in three minutes.

Money Hath Its Privileges: Software billionaire Paul Allen is now a heavy contributor to the SETI Project. Hence,

If the SETI Institute ever detects radio signals from an alien civilization, Allen is No. 1 on the list of VIPs to call, says institute astronomer Jill Tarter.

Not a bad return for a $25 million investment!

Invention of the day: Super-repellant plastic. Even drops of honey roll right off.

Rubik's Cube for the blind. (Via Gizmodo.)

Too much free time on your hands? Try working on these One Billion Mazes.

Invention of the day: Long distance pen, used by author Margaret Atwood for tele-autographs.

The classic DigiComp mechanical digital toy computer is now available for purchase again! My parents bought me one when I was in 3rd-grade and it was one of the coolest gifts that I had ever received. (Via Boing Boing.)

Quantum computing story of the day: "Quantum computer works best switched off". Apparently this exploits the so-called "quantum Zeno effect", but I freely admit that I don't understand QM well enough to understand how this works. My favorite passage from the article:

"It is very bizarre that you know your computer has not run but you also know what the answer is," says team member Onur Hosten.

This scheme could have an advantage over straightforward quantum computing. "A non-running computer produces fewer errors," says Hosten.

Here's a related article.