LAS VEGAS — To some men, she might seem like the perfect woman: She’s a willowy 5 feet 7 and 120 pounds. She’ll chat with you endlessly about your interests. And she’ll have sex whenever you please — as long as her battery doesn’t run out.

Meet Roxxxy, who may be the world’s most sophisticated talking female sex robot. For $7,000, she’s all yours.

“She doesn’t vacuum or cook, but she does almost everything else,” said her inventor, Douglas Hines, who unveiled Roxxxy last month at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lifelike dolls, artificial sex organs and sex-chat phone lines have been keeping the lonely company for decades. But Roxxxy takes virtual companionship to a new level.

Powered by a computer under her soft silicone “skin,” she employs voice-recognition and speech-synthesis software to answer questions and carry on conversations. She even comes loaded with five distinct “personalities,” from Frigid Farrah to Wild Wendy, that can be programmed to suit customers’ preferences.

“There’s a tremendous need for this kind of product,” said Hines, a computer scientist and former Bell Labs engineer.

Roxxxy won’t be available for delivery for several months, but Hines is taking pre-orders through his Web site, TrueCompanion.com, where thousands of men have signed up.

“They’re like, ‘I can’t wait to meet her,’ ” Hines said. “It’s almost like the anticipation of a first date.”

Women have inquired about ordering a sex robot, too. Hines says a female sex therapist even contacted him about buying one for her patients.

Roxxxy has been like catnip to talk-show hosts since her debut at AEE, the largest porn-industry convention in the country. In a recent monologue, Jay Leno expressed amazement that a sex robot could carry on lifelike conversations and express realistic emotions.

“Luckily, guys,” he joked, “there’s a button that turns that off.”

SOURCE: CNN

This ancient text has no known title, no known author, and is written in no known language: what does it say and why does it have many astronomy illustrations?

The mysterious book was once bought by an emperor, forgotten on a library shelf, sold for thousands of dollars, and later donated to Yale. Possibly written in the 15th century, the over 200-page volume is known most recently as the Voynich Manuscript, after its (re-)discovery in 1912.

Pictured above is an illustration from the book that appears to be somehow related to the Sun.

The book labels some patches of the sky with unfamiliar constellations. The inability of modern historians of astronomy to understand the origins of these constellations is perhaps dwarfed by the inability of modern code-breakers to understand the book’s text.

If you think you can provide any insight, please participate in a fresh online discussion. The book itself remains in Yale’s rare book collection under catalog number “MS 408.”

SOURCE: Astronomy Picture of the Day

Full Moon names date back to Native Americans, of what is now the northern and eastern United States.

Those tribes of a few hundred years ago kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred.

There were some variations in the moon names, but in general the same ones were current throughout the Algonquin tribes from New England on west to Lake Superior.

Here is a listing of all of the full moon names, as well as the dates and times for 2010. Unless otherwise noted, all times are for the Eastern Time Zone.

Jan. 30, 1:18 a.m. EST – Full Wolf Moon. Amid the zero cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages.  It was also known as the Old Moon or the Moon after Yule.  In some tribes this was the Full Snow Moon; most applied that name to the next moon.

Feb. 28, 11:38 a.m. EST – Full Snow Moon. Usually the heaviest snows fall in this month.  Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some tribes this was the Full Hunger Moon. .

Mar. 29, 10:25 p.m. EDT – Full Worm Moon. In this month the ground softens and the earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of the robins.  The more northern tribes knew this as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signals the end of winter, or the Full Crust Moon because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night.  The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation.

Apr. 28, 8:18 a.m. EDT – Full Pink Moon. The grass pink or wild ground phlox is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring.  Other names were the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and — among coastal tribes — the Full Fish Moon, when the shad come upstream to spawn.

May 27, 7:07 p.m. EDT – Full Flower Moon. Flowers are now abundant everywhere.  It was also known as the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.

Jun. 26, 7:30 a.m. EDT – Full Strawberry Moon. Strawberry picking season peaks during this month.  Europeans called this the Rose Moon.

Jul. 25, 9:37 p.m. EDT – Full Buck Moon, when the new antlers of buck deer push out from their foreheads in coatings of velvety fur.  It was also often called the Full Thunder Moon, thunderstorms being now most frequent.  Sometimes it’s also called the Full Hay Moon.

Aug. 24, 1:05 p.m. EDT – Full Sturgeon Moon, when this large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water like Lake Champlain is most readily caught.  A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because when the moon rises it looks reddish through sultry haze, or the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.

Sep. 23, 5:17 a.m. EDT – Full Harvest Moon. Traditionally, this designation goes to the full moon that occurs closest to the Autumnal (fall) Equinox.  The Harvest Moon usually comes in September, but (on average) once or twice a decade it will fall in early October.  At the peak of the harvest, farmers can work into the night by the light of this moon.

Oct. 22, 9:36 p.m. EDT – Full Hunters’ Moon. With the leaves falling and the deer fattened, it’s now time to hunt.  Since the fields have been reaped, hunters can ride over the stubble, and can more easily see the fox, as well as other animals, which can be caught for a thanksgiving banquet after the harvest.

Nov. 21, 12:27 p.m. EST – Full Beaver Moon. At this point of the year, it’s time to set beaver traps before the swamps freeze to ensure a supply of warm winter furs.  Another interpretation suggests that the name Beaver Full Moon come from the fact that the beavers are now active in their preparation for winter.  It’s also called the Frosty Moon.

Dec. 21, 3:13 a.m. EST – Full Cold Moon. On occasion, this moon was also called the Moon before Yule. December is also the month the winter cold fastens its grip.  Sometimes this moon is referred to as the Full Long Nights Moon and the term “Long Night” Moon is a very appropriate name because the nights are now indeed long and the Moon is above the horizon a long time.

SOURCE: Space.com

U.S. filmmaker Dan Woolley was shooting a video about poverty in Haiti when the earthquake struck. He could have died, but he ultimately survived with the help of an iPhone first-aid app that taught him to treat his wounds.

After being crushed by a pile of rubble, Woolley used his digital SLR to illuminate his surroundings and snap photos of the wreckage in search of a safe place to dwell. He took refuge in an elevator shaft, where he followed instructions from an iPhone first-aid app to fashion a bandage and tourniquet for his leg and to stop the bleeding from his head wound, according to an MSNBC story.

The app even warned Woolley not to fall asleep if he felt he was going into shock, so he set his cellphone’s alarm clock to go off every 20 minutes. Sixty-five hours later, a French rescue team saved him.

“I just saw the walls rippling and just explosive sounds all around me,” said Woolley, recounting the earthquake to MSNBC. “It all happened incredibly fast. David yelled out, ‘It’s an earthquake,’ and we both lunged and everything turned dark.”

Woolley’s incident highlights a large social implication of the iPhone and other similar smartphones. A constant internet connection, coupled with a device supporting a wealth of apps, can potentially transform a person into an all-knowing, always-on being. In Woolley’s case, an iPhone app turned him into an amateur medic to help him survive natural disaster.

Say what you will about the iPhone. This story is incredible.

The app used was Pocket First Aid and CPR. A user review by “Webguydan” reads, “Consulted this app, while trapped under Hotel Montana in Haiti earthquake, to treat excessive bleeding and shock. Helped me stay alive till I was rescued 64 hours later.”

SOURCE:  Wired.com

LONDON — International hotel chain Holiday Inn is offering a trial human bed-warming service at three hotels in Britain this month.

If requested, a willing staff-member at two of the chain’s London hotels and one in the northern English city of Manchester will dress in an all-in-one fleece sleeper suit before slipping between the sheets.

“The new Holiday Inn bed warmers service is a bit like having a giant hot water bottle in your bed,” Holiday Inn spokeswoman Jane Bednall said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

The bed-warmer is equipped with a thermometer to measure the bed’s required temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit).

Holiday Inn said the warmer would be fully dressed and leave the bed before the guest occupied it. They could not confirm if the warmer would shower first, but said hair would be covered.

Florence Eavis, Holiday Inn spokeswoman told Reuters that the “innovative” bed-warming method was a response to Britain’s recent cold weather and marked the launch of 3,200 new Holiday Inns worldwide.

She could not explain why the beds were not being warmed by hot water bottles or electric-blankets, but admitted the human method was quirky.

Holiday Inn is promoting the service with the help of sleep-expert Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Center, who said the idea could help people sleep.

“There’s plenty of scientific evidence to show that sleep starts at the beginning of the night when body temperature starts to drop,” he said. “A warm bed – approximately 20 to 24 Celsius – is a good way to start this process whereas a cold bed would inhibit sleep.”

SOURCE: Reuters

More than three million motorists were involved in accidents during the UK Big Freeze, it has emerged.

This means one-in-ten motorists pranged, scraped or crashed their cars as the UK was hit by the the coldest temperatures in 30 years.

While the average bill for the damage was £320 ($515 US), researchers found one-in-three people failed to leave their details after hitting another vehicle.

However, some of these drivers were traced by the footprints they left in the snow as they ran away from the scene.

A study of 1,000 drivers also found that 30 percent of motorists admit hitting the road without being able to see out of their windscreen properly .

Tim Bailey of Continental Tyres, which carried out the poll, said: “This is a shocking amount of accidents in a two week period and shows how many people are unprepared for driving in these conditions.

“We are not even necessarily past the worst yet, as further snow and ice could yet arrive, bringing yet more hazardous driving conditions.

“The stress of driving in bad weather conditions can lead people to make mistakes, such as driving too closely to the vehicle in front.”

SOURCE: NewsLite.tv

Soldiers on Wednesday detonated the 1,263-pound aerial bomb. Radio station KMXT reports it lost some of its boom after 60 years, but it did go with a bang.

The ordnance was recently donated to the Kodiak Military History Museum by a local resident, but the museum director determined it was more than just an interesting artifact.

Soldiers from the Fort Richardson Explosive Ordnance detail inspected the bomb and determined it still had Dunnite, a highly explosive material also known as “Explosive D.”

They recorded the detonation and salvaged a piece of the “Da Bomb,” as it was known, for display at the museum.

SOURCE: USA Today

Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I’m all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I’m no welcher.

The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth — glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake.

Haven’t you seen “Crossroads”? Or “Damn Yankees”? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there’d be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox — that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it — I’m just saying: Not how I roll.

You’re doing great work, Pat, and I don’t want to clip your wings — just, come on, you’re making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That’s working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

SOURCE: Minneapolis Star Tribune

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — A 36-year-old Wisconsin woman who stripped in front of her children in a drunken attempt to avoid a shoplifting arrest is going to jail.

As part of a plea agreement, Julia E. Laack of Sheboygan pleaded no contest to three charges including retail theft. The Sheboygan Press says she was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail.

Prosecutors say Laack stole beef jerky and a lighter from a convenience store in October. They say when police went to her home she began screaming at three children and told a teenager the incident was his fault.

Laack then stripped to her underwear and told officers they couldn’t arrest her because she would be naked.

SOURCE: KOMO News