Flexible armor

Here's something... They have now developed clothing (loose, comfortable, presumably fashionable...) that is infused with a type of silica. It is regular clothing, but when it is struck with force, it stiffens up like armor.

Quoting the website referenced below:
"The silica nanoparticles move around like a liquid under normal conditions, but when struck lock together in a solid lattice-like structure that lasts only as long as the impact."

Of course the military gets this kind of stuff first: tinyurl.com/k2vcq , but it has now moved in the the private sector. First seen in the olympics, worn by downhill skiers: tinyurl.com/9fvea , and now available to the masses as hats: tinyurl.com/2jdrns.

The military say "it may not stop every bullet". What?!? The fact that the stuff to stops ANY bullets blows my mind. Think about the applications! Riding your motorcycle in a long-sleeved shirt. Heck, going to the grocery store in armor. If it's as comfortable as the clothing currently in your closet, why wear anything else?

Ahhhh... the space elevator

Ok, so some of you know my fascination with this little slice of science-future. Due to its potential to change EVERYthing, I truly believe that it will happen. Right now, there are some hurdles, but they're not insurmountable. So what in tarnation am I on about? Basically, here it is. They tie a cord to the surface of the earth and extend it into space with a nice fat counter-weight on it. The spinning of the earth causes centrifugal acceleration that keeps the cord taut. Then we put some sort of climber on the cord, and can deliver things into space. Now, some of you may be asking: "Why on Earth, would we do this?". Well, looking past the obvious fact that it is NOT on Earth, here's an abridged list of good reasons:

We could get things into space without the large G forces currently required.
No need for huge (explosive) fuel tanks.
All power to the climber could be solar generated
Without risk of exploding fuel tanks, much less risk of loosing cargo (and lives).
Once the 'vators get rolling, the price per pound to get cargo into space drops precipitously.

Many many more details here:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator

Solar One, Two, and Tres

So I find this extremely cool. Meet the U.S. Government's entry into solar-thermal. So here's the deal, Solar Two (an extension of its predecessor Solar One), had a collection of 2,493 mirror arrays, or heliostats, that all focus the sun's energy at the central tower. This tower is full of salts that become molten under the glare of all the mirrors. That heat is then used down the line to boil water, turning turbines and generating up to 10 MW of power. Although Solar Two was a success, it was sadly decommissioned in 1999. On the bright side, the technology has gone commercial, and Solar Tres is currently being built in Spain using the technology proven with One and Two. More at: www.solarpaces.org/SOLARTRES.HTM

Do Venus Flytraps Expel Waste?

Ok, so I was curious. Venus Flytraps are carnivorous. So do they expel waste? And of so, how? Well, yes and no. Mostly no. While they do get their nutrients from animals, they don't really eat them. A fly will get trapped in the clutches , and will remain there while the plant has its way with it, and then their carcass is just released from then trap. Here's a photo of an example of said release.