Here is a top 10 list of the coolest LEGO contraptions, according to TechEBlog. At the top of the list, is the Hammerhead CD Thrower. Here's a 20 second video of it in action. Of course, you'll also want to check out the 10 strangest LEGO creations.

Scientists at a number of universities, including Brown, along with Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems Corp. have been having a lot of success with tapping brain waves directly to send commands to computer/electronic devices. They've used an implant smaller than an aspirin that sits on top of the brain and reads the person's electrical brain patterns. The subject has been able to control a mouse, play video games and even use a TV remote control. Next step - instant thought transfer.

Given that the price of Sony's PS3 will probably start at $499, $200 more than Microsoft's Xbox 360 and even more than Nintendo's new Wii system, analysts believe that Sony is just giving their competitors a chance to walk all over them.

You can't help it if you need to get the latest gadgets. Well... perhaps it's not quite such a serious medical affliction, but scientists have found a genetic basis for some folks' burning desire to have the latest and greatest. There's even a name for it - neophilia. Apparently, some of us have elevated levels of a cellular enzyme, monoamine oxidase A, and are more in need of stimulation from new things.

Students at Montclair State University in New Jersey are being issued a mandatory cell phone which can also track their location on campus. Obviously, this is not meant to 'cramp their styles', but as a proactive approach to student safety. Also, some universities are dropping their landline services outright due to the proliferation of the cell phone, while others are actually launching their own wireless services and university-branded cell phones. Obviously, there's the question of cell phone reliability particulary in case of emergencies, but the rise of wireless services will soon dump the era of landlines to the sidelines.

Gamepark Holdings, maker of the Linux-based GP2X, recently announced the first GP2X Game & Application Development Contest. They will start accepting submissions starting June 30th and you have a full 3 months (until Sept 30) to get your entry in. Prizes will be awarded to the top 9 entrants; top prize is $5000 plus a full GP2X system. All winners will receive a GP2X system. Winners will be announced on Nov 1 2006.

Scientists at IBM and GA Tech announced recently that they had broken the speed record for silicon-based chips with 500 gigahertz speeds. The 500GHz speed was achieved by cooling the chips to 451 degrees below 0F. That's pretty close to absolute zero. The chips still run at a impressive 350GHz at room temperature.

A US company called MicroChips is currently testing an implantable drug-delivery system. From the Technology Review article, "About the size of an Oreo cookie, the device used in the test consists of a silicon and glass microchip that contains 100 miniature drug reservoirs, each about 50 micrometers wide at the top, plus a battery and electronics controlling drug release, sealed in a titanium case." A perfect application for this device would be diabetics (or others) who need regular injections; we may actually see human trials within 5 years.

Wired is running an article on RFID hacking that has potentially scary implications. Many RFID tags have no encryption and will happily transmit their information in the clear if their active or within range of a reader if their passive emitters. Worse yet is that they can be overwritten. Some interesting scenarios and experiments: snagging the code off of a security badge and replaying it to gain access to a secure building; vandalising library contents by wiping or changing tags on books; changing the prices of items in a grocery or other store; and getting free gas by tweaking the ExxonMobil SpeedPass tags.

I run a gadget blog along with my business partner who recently received a cease and desist letter from Onkyo because we apparently used an image of one of their products in violation of their copyright. Here's our response. What's ironic is that the image actually came from Circuit City's website, not to mention that Onkyo themselves have product images in their online press kits that are (supposedly) publicly available for use. We've removed the image and article, but it was a picture of an Onkyo receiver with a non-negative description. Should bloggers now worry about what they post? Is Google Images violating copyright law?

Technology Review is running an eye-opening article on how biotechnology has advanced to the point where producing bioweapons that were once only possible with the backing of governments with enormous resources is now possible with equipment purchased off eBay. You can now purchase a mini-lab of equipment for less than $10,000. The writer also interviewed a former Soviet bioweaponeer, Serguei Popov, who worked at the Biopreparat, the Soviet agency that secretly developed biological weapons. Popov has since moved to the US and provided a great deal of information on the types of weapons the Soviets were developing.

Boy was I surprised to open up April 2005's edition of MaximumPC magazine to see Michael Brown's comments about MP3's! I had just about given up hope that anyone in a position to be heard by more than a handful of people would say that. I happen to agree with him. I've been holding out on buying a MP3 media player until I get to decide which decoders go into them. Quote: "MP3s don't sound as crisp, as clear, or as faithful to the original performance as music played from CD." Thanks Michael.

Gizmos for Geeks is running an article on the emergence of the new form of media that is Podcasting. From the article, "nearly half of digital-music player owners younger than 29 years old have tried out podcasts and more than 6 million people are listening to a form of communication that emerged only last year."

Popular Science is just chock full of good articles this month. This particular article addresses the question many are afraid to acknowledge is a possibility - can terrorists acquire the raw materials, assemble and then deliver a nuclear bomb? A good read that explains the difficulty in doing all of the above, while pointing out that it is still possible.

What are some of the fastest 'things' in the world? Fastest growing plant? (Bamboo.) Fastest spreading computer virus? (MyDoom.) Fastest roller coaster? (Kingda Ka - a new Six Flags coaster set to open in April in New Jersey.) Popular Science is running just such an article.