Sir, Your Liver Is Ready: Behind the Scenes of Bioprinting | Raw File

SAN DIEGO -– Say goodbye to donor lists and organ shortages. A biotech firm has created a printer that prints veins using a patients’ own cells. The device could potentially create whole organs in the future.“Right now we’re really good at printing blood vessels,” says Ben Shepherd, senior research scientist at regenerative-medicine company Organovo. “We printed 10 this week. We’re still learning how to best condition them to be good, strong blood vessels.”Most organs in the body are filled with veins, so the ability to print vascular tissue is a critical building block for complete organs. The printed veins are about to start testing in animal trials, and eventually go through human clinical trials. If all goes well, in a few years you may be able to replace a vein that has deteriorated due to frequent injections of chemo treatment, for example with custom-printed tissue grown from your own cells.

via Wired

Stop overpaying for your cellular service.

Yes, it’s been while since my last post. Rather than doing the typical cut-and-past an interesting link or video, I thought I’d actually do something useful for once by explaining how to uncover cellular service plan discount that you may possibly be eligible for depending on where you work or where you went to college. Let me first start off by saying that I hate cell phone providers with a passion. I have assigned them to the same circle of hell as cable companies, insurance companies and banks. There’s a special place reserved for those who do business with you in hopes that they can legally overcharge you. But I digress…

Since reading that AT&T is charging even more for their data plans, I’m finally starting to look around to see how much cheaper I can enjoy my mobile standard of living. The awesome news about finally being able to tether your iPhone is overshadowed by the fact that it’s going to cost an extra $30 a month. I only chose AT&T for the iPhone, but with the new options available through Google’s Android OS, I think that I could be convinced to switch carriers if it ends up costing me $50-$60 less a month – especially if I can tether, integrate my Google Voice and not deal with AT&T’s chronic problem with giving me the “call failed” message.

Admittedly, this discovery probably doesn’t apply to most Americans, but if you do happen to work for a large company like American Express or Fidelity (two examples from my personal life) they typically have a corporate discount plan offered through most major cellular phone companies. The easiest way to find out if your company is offered a discount is to enter your corporate e-mail address (ex: billybob@bigpharma.com) on the provider’s web page and see if they offer a discount program.

I’m not working for a big company currently, but since my Alma Mater is a large university and thus a large employer, my .edu e-mail address worked for AT&T and Verizon on my initial try. If you can’t seem to get anywhere, I always say that the proper Google Search has permanently rendered “not knowing where to start” a lame excuse. Try the links below to see if it works for you!

Sprint – Had a 15% discount when I was at BYU. Got a 20% discount working for American Express.
Verizon – Used my BYU e-mail and was offered a 20% discount on service plans, 25% on equipment
AT&T– Had a 20% discount available when I worked at Fidelity. Currently on a 7% discount through BYU.
T-Mobile – Nothing worked for me personally, looks like you’ll have to call them to see if your employer qualifies. Also, a nice alternative is to join the Freelancer’s Union as described in this article, and you automatically qualify for a discount apparently. Some University students or employees may automatically qualify, and I also read that

Soldier in Iraq Loses Home Over $800 Debt | Mother Jones

Capt. Michael Clauer’s homeowners’ association foreclosed on his family’s $300,000 house and sold it for $3,500.

via Soldier in Iraq Loses Home Over $800 Debt | Mother Jones.

World’s best surprise birthday party – Video

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 on Vimeo

Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010

via Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull – May 1st and 2nd, 2010 on Vimeo.

Sia, Mika, Mary J. Blige, & Alicia Keys – all borrowed from the Classics

This is a list of examples of popular songs that are arrangements of, or otherwise make use of, works of classical music. Instrumental pieces are tagged with an uppercase “[I]”, or a lowercase “[i]” for quasi-instrumental including non-lyrics voice samples.

Read the list here

Guess What’s in The Picture [Foodlike Substance]

A) Strawberry ice cream

B) Chicken

C) Plastic foam

D) None of the above

Answer below

What you need to know:

Folks, this is mechanically separated chicken, an invention of the late 20th century. Someone figured out in the 1960’s that meat processors can eek out a few more percent of profit from chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows by scraping the bones 100% clean of meat. This is done by machines, not humans, by passing bones leftover after the initial cutting through a high pressure sieve. The paste you see in the picture above is the result.

This paste goes on to become the main ingredient in many a hot dog, bologna, chicken nuggets, pepperoni, salami, jerky etc…

The industry calls this method AMR – Advanced Meat Recovery.

Rest of the article.

WWII: Inside Hitler’s Bunker – Photo Gallery

In April, 1945, as Russian and German troops fought — savagely, street-by-street — for control of the German capital, it became increasingly clear that the Allies would win the war in Europe. Not long after the two-week battle ended, 33-year-old LIFE photographer William Vandivert was on the scene, photographing Berlin’s devasted landscape. Hundreds of thousands perished in the Battle of Berlin — including untold numbers of civilian men, women, and children — while countless more were left homeless in the ruins. But it was two particular deaths — that of Hitler and his longtime companion and (briefly) wife, Eva Braun — in a sordid underground bunker on April 30, 1945, that truly signaled the end of the Third Reich.

original article at LIFE.

I had no idea LIFE was still in circulation.

The Ironman II promotion you weren’t expecting

Okay… I want a Chinese shovel.

You probably will too after watching this video.