First off, I hope everyone who stayed behind in the path of Hurricane Ike is OK this morning. Second, we know what we knew about Ike due in part to the guys, gals and tech shown in these storm chaser photographs. The photo above shows a "Smurf," or the Stepped-Frequency Microwave Radiometer, which has adorned the wings of hurricane hunting WC-130J aircraft since 2007. The device, and the 24/7 missions run by the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, have helped increase the National Hurricane Center's accuracy rate by 30%.

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Call it cliche (or just inevitable), but those sheep-herders down not-quite under have created the ultimate fabric by weaving a synthetic textile fibre called Vectran with ordinary sheep's wool. It's so amazing, its said to withstand blowtorches, dog bites and even knife attacks.

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The folks at Nikon Rumours are puzzling over a new product SKU appearing on inventory lists, a Nikon D60 body only that lists for US$649.99, US$50 more than the standard D60. As you can see in the listings, it's named "Black Gold," utilising all two of Nikon's favourite colours. We don't know what it is, but maybe you do. Frankly, we're kinda just relieved it's not White Gold. [Nikon Rumors]

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Bad news today at the Large Hadron Collider, that big-bang tester everyone's been nervously joking about all week: Some badasses who call themselves the Greek Security Team hacked computers at the facility. In fact, they got in so deep, say reports, that they were "one step away" from cracking into the computer control system of one of the LHC's "detectors." Sounds scary, but it seems that, for scientists, it was more irksome than apocalyptic.

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The latest casualty in Apple's App Store blacklisting is Podcaster. A native app built according to exact SDK specifications, it goes beyond its creator's web-bound streaming-only Podcaster.fm by letting you download and manage podcasts in a nice straightforward interface. Insidious, right? Apple thought so.

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It has been almost a year since we first heard that Novint would add a pistol grip accessory to their 3D Haptic Joystick—but the update has yet to hit the market. Nonetheless, Wired got a chance to play a few FPS games with the add-on and were blown away by the level of feedback and control, saying that it completely changes the experience. Targeting was precise, and each gun used in the game takes on a different recoil intensity—which can sometimes be violent when dealing with high calibre weapons. There is also a steep learning curve with the haptic controls.

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Generally, the government doesn't meddle too much in Amish affairs—it doesn't make them educate children after the eighth grade, for instance, 'cause of the First Amendment and all that. So it's kind of surprising to see many Amish threaten to quit farming in a battle with the government over lojacking their livestock with the Mark of the Beast.

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Yesterday we feasted our eyes on the wristwatch of the great Albert Einstein, today we get a look a personal effect from a celebrity of a very different sort. Behold...Marylin Monroe's typewriter. One has to wonder whether the essence of these icons lives on in these artifacts, and whether or not using them would somehow magically fuse your life with theirs. If I wore Albert Einstein's watch, would I come to a more profound understanding about the universe? If I used Marylin' Monroe's typewriter, would I get the urge to send tear-stained, hysterical love letters to a dead president? Who knows? [Vanity Fair via Geeksugar via Boing Boing Gadgets]

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Tech and the Olympics are a recipe for controversy. Before double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius (right) was finally approved to compete in the Olympics (he failed to qualify, barely), naysayers claimed his carbon-fibre Cheetah blade prostheses gave him an advantage over non-cyborg competitors. And Speedo's LZR suit has been decried for rendering meaningless any world records that came before. But that debate is dropped entirely for the Paralympic Games, which are currently going on in Beijing and as we see in today's Big Picture, is where the sports tech comes out in force.

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If you haven't ditched the good old fashioned wristwatch for the mobile phone clock yet, Philippe Stark would like to reward your loyalty with this beautiful Crystal Clear Watch. While it may not be "clear," the watch does feature a bright red crystal display that looks so good you may be tempted to lick it to see if it tastes like cherries. Not surprisingly, the watch is being sold through Fossil, and the price is a fairly reasonable US$125. [Fossil via Geeky Gadgets via Dvice]

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Who says you need to have a fancy carnival-worthy setup to make cotton candy? In China, they make cotton candy using a simple bike. There's propane underneath the apparatus, heating up the sugar, but then it's all spun around and stretched out by simple pedal power. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like they figured out a way to make fried dough or sausage with onions and peppers using only a bike, so you might still need to go to a fair to get those. [Make]

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Neatorama has put together a good list of 10 basic questions on the Large Hadron Collider. It doesn't answer questions like "Why the heck can't Michael Zeller quote Star Trek correctly?" but it solves others, from why is it called Large Hadron Collider to why is it underground. My favourite, however, is Why is the LHC like a Werewolf?

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At the Let's Rock event this week, Apple pushed the new iPod touch hard (and iPhone too, obviously) as a viable gaming platform. Steve even went so far as to call it the best portable gaming platform out there. Strong words for DS and PSP fans, but the crop of games popping up in the App Store continues to build steam. This week we'll take a look at games both current and upcoming, as well as some other standout favourites as always. Shall we?

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I'm sure all of the iPhone owners out there were chomping at the bit to download the 2.1 update when it hit today. After all, it does claim to fix major problems like call drops, crashes, slow syncing and bad battery life. I've been busy, so I haven't had a chance to install it myself—so help me out with this. How are the individual bug fixes working out for you?

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No doubt about it, this is one bad-ass-looking desk. But the 3Fold from Formtank is more than just a striking visual design—it is also impressive because it was cut and folded from a single sheet of steel using CAD/CAM technology. Formtank bills it as an excellent CEO desk, which is why it takes CEO money to buy one. Constructing your own version starts at around US$7,000. [Formtank via Core77 via Boing Boing]

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It's Friday...finally. Have big plans for the weekend? A big party to go to perhaps? You know, you don't have to wait for the weekend to have fun—you could be partying every day. Not only that, you wouldn't have to waste time planning and getting things set up. Using the following 10 gadgets, you could have a party on demand. That's right—anytime, anywhere. Now all you need is some friends.

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All Evangelion nerds (like me) should know exactly what this Entry Plug is supposed to be: the ride Shinji and Rei have that plugs them (in more ways than one) into a gigantic robot. This USB storage version does NOT allow you to destroy Tokyo while protecting it, but it does keep your files safe while you're commuting to and from work. The only caveat is that these are only 2GB, whereas any self-respecting anime fan would have gone up to 64GB sticks by now. What's all the rest of the space in this drive taken up by? Whininess. [Akiba.Keizai via Dvice]

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If the X-Games aren't quite your speed, Actiga is offering the next best thing (look, we all know that what I said isn't true, but let's roll with it, see where it goes.) Their US$20 Mini-Motion games offer radical finger sports like skateboarding, RC cars, baseball, and futuristic racing games. Each game is embedded in the wicked-awesome controller and compatible with Mac and PC. But even more gnarly, they don't even require a helmet! Totally sweet, dudes! [Actiga via CrunchGear]

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We've already seen Mixview, Zune 3.0's more visual take on a Genius-like auto-generating playlist, as well as some videos showing the new Wi-Fi features like Buy From FM on the device itself. Today some more interface shots of what Microsoft will help turn the Zune guy back have surfaced for you perusal. Like iTunes 8, once you get past the auto-playlisting, it doesn't look like there's too many more drastic changes or revelations over version 2.5. Other than that the Zune team really digs the Hold Steady and TI. Hey, me too!

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One of our readers recently subscribed to Chrysler's Autonet service, essentially a Wi-Fi router for your car that connects to the internet through 3G. And after some use, he's found that it works (he wrote us using the service), but it's still working out some important kinks, like maintaining its EVDO connection and protecting its precious 1GB download cap:

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Not too long ago, I told you about the AirKick Human Catapult, a device designed to fling people into or at bodies of water. There was no video, sadly. Now, we have a video of what appears to be a homemade catapult very similar to AirKick's model, and it looks awesome. Just be sure to turn the volume down on the video before hitting play otherwise you run the risk of getting all aggroed up by the music and punching somebody in the face. [Uberreview via Geekologie]

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It's a new era for political mudslinging. I, for one, can't wait for the instagib republican vs democrat fragfests coming next. McCain may be a war vet, but he's no match for Obama's Covenant Carbine amd 4,000DPI mouse! (On a side note, how hard must it be to run for president these days without email and stuff?) [Valleywag]

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According to Businesweek, HP has been quietly working on two projects aimed at bypassing unpopular features in Vista and possibly competing with Apple down the line. The first involves developing software that modifies Vista to make it easier to use. That much has been confirmed. However, rumour has it that a second "Skunk Works" operation has been going on behind closed doors that has a much loftier goal—building a customised replacement OS based on the Linux platform.

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The lads over at Sound & Vision were among the most fervent to review the Foxl portable, a 14cm speaker with integrated lithium-ion battery, 3.5mm jack and USB-in for US$180. (There's also a Bluetooth version for US$250.) We've seen these tiny speakers before, and they've definitely gotten better over time. But this Foxl unit caught our eye because Sound & Vision simply gushes over the audio quality, comparing it to systems 10 times the price.

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You love America, don't you, boy? Well, then, why ain't you showin' it? These colours don't run! Freedom isn't free! Smoke 'em out of their caves! USA USB! That's the name of this DIY USB device that attaches a lit, flapping flag to your computer. It'll constantly remind you that America is the best and constantly remind everyone around you that you are more patriotic than they are. As a bonus, if you put it in your carry-on luggage, you'll breeze through airport security every single time. Hit the jump for a tears-of-pride-inducing video of this baby in action.

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Using QuickPWN for Windows, you can now follow about 13 not-too-tough steps to be on the leading edge of the iPod touch 2.1 jailbreak curve, if that's your thing. There is a good chance that iTunes 8 won't recognise it though, since it can now detect custom firmwares. So if you've upgraded to 8 you might want to think about holding off until the Dev folks release those iTunes patches. And this isn't an official GUI version, so be warned. No iPhone 2.1 jailbreak yet, but it won't be long. [QuickPWN]

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The Touch-like HTC Opal we saw renderings of earlier this week looks like it definitely exists, according to these leaked shots. Yeah, if you're having a hard time seeing a difference from the original Touch, so are we. We saw some specs too that indicate it's very similar (still no 3G, same processor), but here it is, in the wild. The Touch HD we saw definitely still holds the title of HTC leak-of-the-week, though, and if anything's going to be a true successor to the original Touch, it's that, not the Opal. Another shot post-jump. [Pocketpt.net via Boy Genius]

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Apple's posted the solution for Vista users getting smacked in the face by a BSoD when they connect an iPod to iTunes 8: Uninstall iTunes and Mobile Device Support, restart, and then re-download. Wha? It looks like a crappy driver