Claesson.org

I'm really into whiskey, but I think I'll pass on tasting Gilpin Family Whisky. Why? Because this single malt whiskey is made from urine. Specifically, it's made from the sugar rich urine of elderly diabetics.

Why elderly diabetics? Because "large amounts of sugar are excreted on a daily basis by type-two diabetic patients, especially amongst the upper end of our aging population." That sugar is removed by purifying the urine and then added to the mash stock to accelerate the fermentation process. So yeah, it's filtered and fermented and all that good stuff but dude, it's still piss.

You can't actually buy Gilpin Family Whisky because it's given away as a public health statement. Urine as a display piece, I suppose. Gilpin Family Whisky only takes a couple of weeks to make a batch but Gilpin himself think it's "best if it is left in the bottle for a little while." I wonder why. [Gilpin Family Whisky via BoingBoing via Wired.uk]

Remember as a kid you only wanted one thing at a time? A bike, a doll, a football. Now, we're all caught up wanting everything we see, and a lot of it we don't need. Let's try to want less.

These are all good statements to live by, really. Check the whole set here. [Recovering Lazyholic]

The imitation/knockoff market never ceases to amaze me. This bladeless fan from Abiko is a knockoff version of the Dyson Air Multiplier. But unlike typical cheap imitations, Abiko's version, at $223, is almost as expensive as the real thing.

The Abiko version was spotted at Comex 2010 and by all accounts, works just as well as the Dyson Air Multiplier. In fact, the Abiko bladeless fan even has the same buttons and turns and tilts the same way as the Dyson. Good job on Abiko for knowing how to copy (er, steal) product design, I guess.

One thing I don't get though: why the hell is it still so expensive? If I have enough money to buy a $223 knockoff fan, wouldn't I have enough money for the legit $300 Dyson? [Crave]

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=14669749&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":375,"ratio":0.75,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"vimeo","wrap":true,"agegate":false} ); One things for sure: putting your iPhone 4 inside a Canon SLR isn't as useful as adding a SLR lens to your iPhone. But with this custom-made getup, you won't think about dropping your iPhone every time you hold it up.

And plus you can say your SLR has a "retina display" too! [Aniebres via Engadget]

Xbox 360's IPTV service isn't dead, it's just been sleeping (for a long time). But it might be finally be awaken and headed to AT&T U-Verse if these screenshots of AT&T U-Verse technical support tools are to be believed. Engadget's source also says that Xbox 360 IPTV service is supposedly being tested right now and an official release could be coming in a matter of months. [Engadget]

The SSC Ultimate Aero II, the second generation of America's fastest supercar, looks like a space pod that combines Ferrari angles with Wall-E's Eve curves. It could also be the fastest production car in the world if it reaches 270MPH. [Jalopnik]

A Google TV beta tester leaked a video of Google TV running on the Logitech Revue and it pretty much looks like what we've seen already but just realer. He also shows off the Logitech Revue and its keyboard.

You can control the Revue through a keyboard, any Harmony remote, or through Android phones that can run the Harmony app. The video showcases the basic functions of Google TV (and it seems the guy really likes it) but never really delves into searching.

Honestly, the video doesn't show off much but I'm still really digging Google TV. [Digital Trends via Engadget via CrunchGear]

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/Ouof1OzhL8k&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":400,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube","wrap":true,"agegate":false} ); In the video, Eric Schmidt is caricatured as a creepy ice cream salesman who offers free Google ice cream in exchange for a full body scan. It was funded by ConsumerWatchdog and aired on a jumbotron in Times Square.

The video was made to raise awareness of Google's privacy issues and I guess it sorta succeeded given Google's promise to clear things up. All I know is I'd love to watch a cartoon starring this Evil Genius Eric Schmidt as the bad guy. [Inside Google via Wired]

Turns out, it's really easy to get your entire building to come to your party. Just rename your Wi-Fi network to PARTY SATURDAY NIGHT APT #434 and watch all the tech-savvy folks roll in. [Reddit via BuzzFeed]

The 'tubes are buzzing this AM with Kanye's two-hour Twitterized heart-dump. Pure and honest (?), it was also hard to follow. So I edited it. Lightly. Because even Kanye West needs an editor, and dude, we media aren't so bad.

Man I love Twitter.

I've always been at the mercy of the press, but no more... The media tried to demonize me. They wanted y'all to believe I was a monster in real life so you guys wouldn't listen or buy my music anymore. I feel like they were waiting for the opportunity to go in all the way on me, and when it came, they beat me to a pulp. Even now a lot of articles start their first two paragraphs about how much of an asshole I am.

I accept the idea (ideal) that perception is reality. When I say perception is reality I mean whatever you think is the truth is your truth. Some people's truth is Kanye is racist—It's not my truth, but I do believe it's my Karma... walk with me...

With the help of strong will, a lack of empathy, a li'l alcohol, and extremely distasteful and bad timing, I became George Bush over night. How deep is the scar? I bled hard. Cancelled [a] tour with the number one pop star in the world. Closed the doors of my clothing office. Had to let employees go.

For the first time, I felt the impact of my brash actions. People booed when I would go to concerts and the performer mentioned my name. Remember in Anchor Man when Ron Burgandy cursed on air, and the entire city turned on him? But this wasn't a joke. This was and is my real life.

There are people who don't dislike me... they absolutely hate me! I was chilling with this white girl, having a conversation, and she cut me off and said, ‘Hold up—I thought you didn't like us.' That's when you realize perception is reality.

I've been straying from this subject on Twitter but I have to give it to you guys raw now. If you Google "asshole," my face may very well pop up 2 pages into the search. Some people say, ‘Why worry about the haters?' This is bigger than just the concept of haters. I have a mission in life to bring truth and beauty through my music and the visuals that anchor around it.

The media has successfully diminished the "receptive" audience of (3rd person) KANYE WEST. Taking a 15 second blip, the media have successfully painted the image of the ANGRY BLACK MAN, The King Kong theory. I'm the guy who, at one point, could perform the Justin Timberlake on stage and everyone would be sooo happy that I was there.

People tweeted that they wish I was dead... No listen. They wanted me to die, people. I carry that. I smile and take pictures through that. I wear my scars. It's almost like I have to wear a suit to juxtapose my image. And I won't lie: It works.

I wrote a song for Taylor Swift that's so beautiful, and I want her to have it. If she won't take it then I'll perform it for her. She had nothing to do with my issues with award shows. She had no idea what hit her. She's just a li'l girl with dreams like the rest of us. She deserves the apology more than anyone. Thank you Biz Stone and Evan Williams for creating a platform where we can communicate directly. We're both artists, and the media and managers are trying to get between us. Everyone wants to capitalize off this in some way. I'm ready to get out of my own way. The ego is overdone... like hoodies.

I know there are family members friends and fans that have literally fought for me. There are people who have named their kids after me—can you imagine that next day in school. Even though I don't have kids, I am responsible for those who love and represent me and what they have to deal with on a day to day, defending "The American Psycho."

I watched Justin Timberlake at the Grammies lose every televised award including album of the year, which the Dixie Chicks won. I would have run on stage for Justin that night because Sexy Back (in my mind) was that important, that impactful to our culture.

It's not about race, America. No one in our position ever stands up and says anything anymore. I have given my awards to other groups multiple times on national TV; they never showed that this past year, during the massacre of Kanye.

Who's seen the play Wicked? I've seen it 4 times! Other than loving the music acting and costumes... it's my story! The Wicked Witch of the West basically is so convicted to tell her truth [that] when she does it, she is outcast by society and turned wicked.

With new-found humility, who am I to run on stage? I would never ever again in a million years do that. Sorry to let you down. It is distasteful to cut people off as a general rule. What's the point of dressing tastefully if I'm going to act the complete opposite? Yes I was that guy. A 32 year old child. When I woke up from the crazy nightmare I looked in the mirror and said GROW UP KANYE. I take the responsibility for my actions. I am not a bad person. Even in that moment I was only trying to do good.

But people don't always need my help. Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that. And Taylor and her family, friends, and fans definitely didn't want or need that.

These aren't regular tweets... this is stream of consciousness... I want you guys to know and feel where my head is at... It feels like the movie Heat, when you wanted Deniro to make it... You want the bad guy to make it.

These tweets have no manager, no publicist, no grammar checking [ed: they do now.]... this is raw. Humanity and Empathy are two of the four principles at facebook. Those were the two principles I was missing on that evening.

Why are there so many tweets? Well, this isn't a simple subject. There are layers to this beyond me running on stage. You've got the top layer: Kanye's rude! (If I speak in 3rd person it's because I'm quoting people; sometimes I forget to put [in] the quotations. You know my grammar.) You've got a layer of order... this is how things are supposed to go, this is how it's always been. etc; you've got a layer of-what is [it], reality? You really want this guy to die over an award show? Wooooooow... You've got the Media play... Who benefitted off of the moment? MTV? JAY LENO? BEYONCE? ALL FORMS OF MEDIA? TAYLOR? KANYE WEST? Who gained? Who lost?

Walk with me people... let's break this down for real now. I might get in trouble again. WHO BENEFITED, FOR REAL, PEOPLE? A year later where do we stand?

There's a layer of ‘hey Kanye said what I was thinking.' There's a layer of... Entertainment: We are entertainers and this is only TV, not the War. Why was it made into such a race issue? Taylor loves rap music... I love country music. TAYLOR LOVES RAP MUSIC... I LOVE COUNTRY MUSIC. When I write songs like Heartless, I always say "is this melody good enough to be a country song or a broadway song?"

I've hurt, I've bled, I've learned. I only want to do good. I am passionate. I am human. I am real.

I wish I could meet every hater. I wish I could talk to every hater face to face, and change their opinion of me, one conversation at a time. I wish they all knew how much I really cared about music and pop culture and art and people's feelings. I wish they could accept that I've grown and only want to do good for the world. I want to help as many people as I can. I want to help starting with the music and ending with the smile. I want to win their hearts back so I can continue to bring my take on culture to the masses with a clean opinion.

It starts with this: I'm sorry Taylor.

Nothing was added without brackets. I'm pretty sure I only took out one tweet, and only changed words when they were misspelled or misused (ie, there instead of their). Oh, and I deleted a shit-ton of ellipses. Because Kanye, you may be hip-hop royalty, but you have no idea how to use a set of periods.

Illustration by our contributing illustrator Sam Spratt. Check out Sam's portfolio and become a fan of his Facebook Artist's Page.

It's Labor Day weekend-three days of family obligations and hectic travel! How do you make it bearable? Pick up some new gear, of course. Here are a couple of recent products you could use to enhance your weekend.

Manhattan Gas BBQ Grill:
This might be your last opportunity to grill until the spring, so you might as well make it memorable with a new man-stove. For a mere $512, you can pick up the Manhattan Gas BBQ Grill. It features a wooden counter top, built-in storage, and an "infinitely" adjustable burner, which should mean that you can crank it up hot enough to melt the griddle. Sadly, it just refers to the analog adjustment knob and its lack of presets. Sigh. It's purdy, too, snagging a 2010 Reddot Design Award. [Labamo via Bornrich]

Steak Station:

Your grill's all fired up and it's time to throw on the steaks. But each one of your annoying relatives likes theirs done a different way. You can either mandate that everyone in your back yard eats rare steak, or be accomodating. The Steak Station has four probes that each take an individual measurement of your meat's done-ness. Now, you can make sure every carnivorous man-beast is satisfied with their share, and your wife is pleased with her well done slab of leather. You can pick up the Steak Station for $29.95 on Amazon. [Uncrate and Amazon]

nüvi 3790T:

If you're the type that's directionally challenged, check out Garmin's nüvi 3790T, which was released earlier this summer. It's an in-car personal navigation system that features a capacitive touch 4.3" glass screen, a built-in accelerometer, and 3D terrain views (which could be helpful if you're driving a clunker that has difficulty chugging up steep mountain slopes). It's been getting good reviews, and for the price (a substantial investment of $450), I would hope so. [Garmin via GPS Tracklog]

Kiwi Wifi and Bluetooth:

Gas is still ass-kickingly expensive in most parts of the country, so Kiwi came out with two new apps to help you maximize efficiency on your roadtrips. By plugging into your OBD2 port, Kiwi Wifi (for iDevices) and Bluetooth (for Android) are able to take direct measurements of how your driving affects your gas efficiency. Now you can test out for yourself how much worse speeding down the highway at 95 is for your MPG over hobbling along at the speed limit. [PLX Kiwi]

newVideoPlayer( {"type":"video","player":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/grnkCPxdTdU&hl=en&fs=1&fmt=22","customParams":[],"width":500,"height":400,"ratio":0.824,"flashData":"","embedName":null,"objectId":null,"noEmbed":false,"source":"youtube","wrap":true,"agegate":false} ); 120,000 water balloons, 4,000 happy people, and one very cute song. If the combination of those things doesn't bring a smile to your face, then I don't know what will.

This is the music video for a song called "You Always Make Me Smile" by Kyle Andrews and in it we're seeing an attempt to break the record for the world's biggest water ballon fight. The folks of Guinness World Records still need to approve that claim, but in the meantime this still looks like one happy way to spend the day. [Kyle Andrews]

A Japanese rocket unfurled a 300-metre-long ribbon in space on Monday, testing technology that could one day allow spacecraft to navigate by surfing Earth's magnetic field.

Conventional spacecraft have to burn fuel to manoeuvre in orbit. But the fuel adds weight and cost to the launch and eventually gets used up, limiting the probes' lifetime.

In principle, it is possible to propel an orbiting spacecraft without fuel by using a long piece of metal to interact with the magnetic field surrounding our planet. "You're essentially pushing against the Earth's magnetic field," says Les Johnson of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

On Monday, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched a spacecraft to test the idea.

Called T-Rex, short for Tether Technologies Rocket Experiment, the mission launched from the Uchinoura Space Center in Japan at 2000 GMT (5 am on Tuesday, local time) on a suborbital flight that lasted about 10 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of 309 kilometres.

While in space, the spacecraft unfurled the 300-metre-long "tether" – a 2.5-centimetre-wide metallic ribbon. It also successfully turned on its cathode, a device at one end of the tether designed to expel electrons into space.

The tether was meant to sweep up electrons floating in space and channel them along its length, creating an electric current. It would then expel them into space from the cathode.

In practice, the electric current would interact with Earth's magnetic field to drag the spacecraft to a lower orbit. Using power from solar panels, however, a spacecraft could also drive current in the opposite direction, which would raise its orbit.Impact hazard

It looks like the mission generated a current, which should have produced some thrust, says Johnson. He is a member of the mission team, which is led by Hironori Fujii of the Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Tokyo.

But there is no way to know for sure because the mission was not equipped to measure thrust, Johnson says. It was meant instead to return data on how efficiently the tether collected electrons, to help engineers design future tethers for propulsion. It is not yet clear what data the mission was able to return, Johnson says.

Some previous tether designs have used a thin wire, but these can be severed if hit by fast-moving bits of space debris or micrometeorites. The flat, ribbon-like tether used by T-Rex is less vulnerable to such impacts, which would merely punch a hole in the ribbon rather than break it, says Johnson.Short circuit

Johnson is part of a team planning a mission to demonstrate tether-based propulsion using NASA funds. This mission will have to compete for funding with other advanced technology demonstrations, such as solar sail propulsion, however. If selected, the tether demonstration could be ready to fly in 2013 or 2014, Johnson says.

Tethers have been launched into space before, but with mixed success. One was deployed from the space shuttle in 1996, but broke before it reached its full extent. An investigation determined that a short circuit burned through the tether, Johnson says.

More recently, in 2007, two attempted tether missions went awry. On one, called Multi-Application Survivable Tether (MAST), the tether failed to deploy. On the other, called Young Engineers Satellite 2 (YES2), the tether probably deployed fully but then snapped.

New Scientist reports, explores and interprets the results of human endeavour set in the context of society and culture, providing comprehensive coverage of science and technology news.

Nintendo's Virtual Boy was among the first game consoles to display "true 3D graphics" and a cherished part of many childhoods. It's also the "coolest device" the iFixIt crew has ever taken apart and it's easy to see why.

For those unfamiliar with the Virtual Boy, here are some of the highlights courtesy of iFixIt:

* The Virtual Boy was available in North America for only seven months — from August 14, 1995 until March 2, 1996 — with only 770,000 units sold. Compare that with the Nintendo 64, which sold 32.93 million units over its lifespan.

* Virtual Boy tech specs:
* 20 MHz, 32-bit RISC Processor
* 128 KB dual-port VRAM
* 384 x 224 pixel resolution
* 2-bit monochrome display (black and three shades of red)
* 16-bit stereo sound

* The Neoprene eyepiece completely encompassed the player's field of vision. This not only isolated the player from the rest of the world, but prevented anyone else from seeing what the player was doing. If only the Virtual Boy could play "other" content…

* Games such as Mario's Tennis support the use of the Extension port to hook up two Virtual Boys for multiplayer play. Regrettably, Nintendo never got around to releasing an appropriate cable.

* In order to deliver a full range of motion in a virtual 3-D environment, a method of controlling motion in the z-axis was required. To overcome this hurdle, a second D-pad was added to the controller.

* The modular construction of the Virtual Boy indicates it was designed with repair in mind. A damaged controller port or audio system could be individually replaced rather than having to replace the whole motherboard.

* Each 4-color display unit was manufactured by Reflection Technology Inc., and featured a 1x224 pixel resolution with 32 levels of intensity. The "image" produced by the display is merely a row of red LEDs. Used in conjunction with an oscillating mirror, a full image is produced.

* The mirror oscillates and the LEDs refresh with such speed that the human eye perceives a single image across the view plane.

* To oscillate the mirror, alternating electrical current at high frequency is passed through a copper coil attached to the mirror. A stationary iron core is attached to the display unit, forming a solenoid to produce the motive force needed for oscillation.

* Because the entire image is produced by a single row of LEDs, the refresh rate is incredibly high. The pattern of LEDs displayed changes 19,277 times every second!

See why this is such a treasured gaming artifact now? You can check out more of this old school gadget gore porn over at iFixIt. [iFixIt]

Google has announced that despite Wave's demise as a Google App, its open source code will continue to be developed into a fully-functional application available to anyone with the desire to host it.

Although the application won't retain its Gmail integration, users of "Wave in a Box" will be able to import data from the eventually defunct wave.google.com and still feature threaded conversations. Developers will be able to build on Wave in a Box or use the open source code to repurpose Wave's technology for new, exciting applications.

If you go over to Apple's UK site, you're sure of a big surprise: they're listing the iOS 4.1 software update as being released September 8th. The US site still says "coming soon." [Apple UK]

Starting today, DC area bus stops are being treated with a bit of augmented reality. Smartphone users can get up-to-the-minute status reports and traffic updates for the bus they're waiting for by using a QR reading app. Convenient! [ReadWriteWeb]

I'm not a fan of motorhomes, but I will absolutely say yes to the gloriously naff and shiny Futuria, a luxury trailer that includes bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, a jacuzzi on a 11-foot roof teak-floored terrace, and a car garage:

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The monster was presented on August 27 at the Dusseldorf's Caravan Salon 2010. It also also has a lounge, a bunk, and built-in booming sound system.

If I had $840,000 to spare, I would consider it, as long as they include a Porsche, a Jaguar, and a Mercedes mini-me sport car instead of the super car. [Futuria via BornRich]

Mad Catz has debuted a new line of gaming headsets for the launch of Call of Duty: Spec Ops. Coming in varieties for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC commandos, the headsets feature 5.1 Dolby Digital sound and detachable microphones.

Mad Catz will be selling the console versions in both true or virtual 5.1 setups, for $249 and $199, respectively (the true 5.1 edition come with light-up ear cups!). The PC cousin will offer true 5.1 for $149 (since your existing sound card will be doing the heavy audio lifting). Look for these to arrive in time for the holiday shop fest. [Mad Catz]

Did you know the one of the horse who goes into the Apple Store? Update: For those who thought this was a Photoshop, reader Chris Laseter sent us a close up.

Yes, that looks like a horse's ass indeed. The little pony is real too. Chris tells us more about it: "It is a one-to-one customer's horse that visits the store on the regular. He even rides in the front seat of the woman's van."

[Frank Chimero via Phil Torrone via John Mahoney—Thanks, Chris!]