Queen Latifah on community and domestic violence


Queen Latifah ruled the charts and now rules the small screen with her daily talk show. But what most people may miss is her strong background in community outreach. Earlier this week, The Queen...

This Infographic Teaches You to Build a Lightsaber

Silly me. I’ve been waiting all my life for a Jedi Master to show up and teach me how to build a lightsaber. Turns out all I needed was this infographic from electronics supplier Newark. Well, it will build you a lightsaber replica, not an actual lightsaber, but it is still awesome.

It just takes a few basic tools and pieces of hardware. Before you know it, you will be swinging away in a saber battle. This is a great way for people who are just getting started with projects like this to build something really cool.

lightsaber newark1 620x5399magnify

Obviously, you can order the electronics you need from Newark. Build it and feel the power of the force!

[via Geekosystem]

Singapore 21: a farewell trip on the world’s longest flight

As of tomorrow, the longest flight in the world will shuttle passengers on a 747-400 from Sydney, Australia to Dallas, Texas. That 15-hour, 25-minute hop on board Qantas 7 may not be the lengthiest in duration, but at 8,578 miles gate to gate, it'll lead the industry in miles flown. For a few more hours, however, Singapore Airlines' decade-long run from Newark, N.J., to Singapore remains the record holder for both time (more than 18 hours) and distance (9,534 miles). It's a journey that's been on the bucket lists of the world's most ambitious aviation enthusiasts since the city-state's namesake airline first launched the service in 2004, and following tonight's final jaunt, this record-setting A340-500 will touch down at Changi Airport for the very last time.

Despite this cheerless loss, it's a spectacular time in the world of aviation. Sure, we don't have our supersonic Concorde replacement just yet, and the Dreamliner rollout was not without significant heartbreak, but the past few years have represented a tremendous period, with banner launches from both Airbus and Boeing that will change the way we fly forever. But as with any category, aircraft manufacturing and design advances also serve to highlight the shortcomings of previous-generation products.

The Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 make massive efficiency boosts a reality, leading gas-guzzling greats like the aging A340-500 to a premature retirement. In this case, the A345's departure from Singapore's fleet represents not only better things to come, but also the loss of a landmark route -- it's an unavoidable compromise, and with the end in sight, I drained my frequent flier account in order to score a ticket, and set out to discover the significance of Singapore Flight 21's retirement.%Gallery-slideshow123017%

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Customer service avatars coming to JFK, La Guardia, Newark airports (video)

Customer service avatars coming to JFK, La Guardia, Newark airports in July

When you're running late, you're weighed-down with DIY in-flight entertainment and your gate number gets switched at the last minute, the last thing you need is a real-life human trying to be helpful. The Port Authority knows that, which is why it's promising to install "computerized, hologram-like avatars" in La Guardia, Newark and JFK terminal buildings by early July. The virtual assistants aren't actually holographic -- judging from the video after the break (courtesy of Transportation Nation), they appear to consist of either projected or LCD video displayed on a vaguely human-shaped static board, although given their reported $250,000 price tag we might (hopefully) be missing something. Oh, and they aren't even interactive, unless you try to push them over.

[Photo Credit: Jim O'Grady/WNYC]

Continue reading Customer service avatars coming to JFK, La Guardia, Newark airports (video)

Customer service avatars coming to JFK, La Guardia, Newark airports (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePANYNJ, Transportation Nation, AP  | Email this | Comments