Ashton Kutcher Buys 500th Ticket for Virgin Galactic Spaceship Ride

 

The 500th paying customer has signed up to ride Virgin Galactic's private spaceship, and that customer is Ashton Kutcher. The actor, currently starring in the CBS TV comedy "Two and a Half Men," will be among the first people to ride Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, which will carry paying customers up to the edge of space and back. "I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him," Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson wrote in a blog post announcing Kutcher's reservation Monday (March 19). "He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself."

 

SpaceShipTwo is a suborbital spaceship built to carry six passengers and two pilots. It is launched from the air using a carrier plane known as WhiteKnightTwo. The brief space trip, which will offer passengers a few minutes of weightlessness and a view of Earth from the blackness of space, costs $200,000 per seat. Virgin Galactic's first SpaceShipTwo vehicle, the VSS Enterprise, and its WhiteKnightTwo mothership have completed a series of manned glide tests. The next step will be for WhiteKnightTwo to carry the space plane up to midair, and then ignite SpaceShipTwo's rocket engines for a powered test flight.

Virgin Galactic officials have said they hope the first customers will ride in 2013 or 2014. The flights will launch and land from the new Spaceport America facility in southern New Mexico. Space.com / MadOne

Assassin's Creed III

MADNESS PREMIERE: Usher - Climax

Mobile Surveillance Hovercraft

An aptly-named startup, Sky Sapience, is building a tethered hovercraft that can loft surveillance machines 164 feet (50 meters) into the air. The 22-pound (10-kilogram) craft, called HoverMast, can carry 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of equipment. Sky Sapience, which is based in Israel, will show its invention at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's conference in Tel Aviv Mar. 20-22.

HoverMast's tether acts as a power cord, bringing electricity in, and as a broadband cable, sending data back down to home base. Its light weight lets users drive it anywhere they like, tethered to the flatbed or roof of a car, truck, unmanned military vehicle or all-terrain vehicle. It can even operate on the move, resisting wind gusts, reported the industry magazine Aviation Week. And it takes just the push of a button to send into the air. For now, Sky Sapience's primary customer is the Israel Ministry of Defense, which asked for a tethered hovering platform two years ago, according to Aviation Week. The company is selling the HoverMast as a military observation, border control and crowd control tool. Because it's tethered, it isn't subject to air control regulations, making it easier for police and homeland security departments to use, Aviation Week reported. 

Sky Sapience will start factory-producing HoverMasts in the fall. Neither Aviation Week nor other reporting websites had any information on how much they would cost. TechNews Daily

Nike Air Yeezy 2 “Cheetah”

With all the hype surrounding the Air Yeezy 2, it’s no surprise that when new images surface, sneaker fanatics go insane. This recently surfaced image of a “Cheetah” Nike Zoom Kobe VII inspired Nike Air Yeezy 2 has caused quite an uproar to say the least. It possesses a mainly purple base with a glow-in-the-dark sole. NiceKicks

Become a Cybercriminal for Only $7

How much cash do you have on you right now? If it's $10, you could spend it on a few snacks, less than a quarter-of-a-tank of gas or maybe an album on iTunes. Or you could enter the shady, soulless world of international cybercrime. A botnet kit called "Aldi Bot" appeared about three weeks ago in underground forums, and has been selling for five Euros (about $7). The kit allows its buyers to join ranks with an existing botnet, a linked network of compromised computers used to carry out large-scale online attacks. Once a buyer enters the name of a command-and-control server — the name comes with the kit — Aldi Bot "can cause a massive glut of malware" by giving people the ability to steal passwords, remotely execute corrupted files and carry out denial-of-service attacks, say researchers at G Data Software.

(The cybercrime tool appears to take its name from the German discount supermarket chain ALDI, but is not linked to the company.) Aldi Bot's code appears based on the Zeus Trojan source code, which was leaked through underground cybercrime markets in May. G Data Software contacted Aldi Bot's creator, who said he provides personal assistance to cybercrime newbies, and even uses TeamViewer, a remote desktop sharing program, to walk wannabe criminals through the process of setting up the exploitation tool.

Offering a malware kit for such an inexpensive price "will draw virtually anyone to the dark side — either for fun or profit," G Data Software wrote. "Script Kiddies can buy this bot with their pocket money, including all updates and support." G Data Software researchers say Aldi Bot is not for sale anymore, but they expect similar (and equally cheap) malware to pop up and take its place. TechNews Daily

adidas adiZero Rose 2.5 “School of Hard Knocks”

The physical play of Murray Park tells a story on the adidas adiZero Rose 2.5 “School of Hard Knocks”. A black and blue upper symbolizes the tough play Derrick Rose came up on with tumbled leather and luxury nubuck adding style and substance. These are available now at Foot Locker. NiceKicks

KICKS ON CELEBS: March 10th, 2012 - Denzel Washington, 9th Wonder, Usain Bolt, Prince Harry, Frank Ocean...

Cassie in the Nike Blazer VNTG Red/White

Jay-Z in the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Black/Pink

Meek Mill in the Air Jordan 10 "Chicago"

Usain Bolt and Prince Harry in the PUMA FAAS 400 Bolt

Curren$y in the Air Jordan 3 "Flip"

9th Wonder with the Nike Air Foamposite One "Galaxy"

Teyana Taylor in the Air Jordan 10 "Chicago"

Denzel Washington in Giorgio Armani Low Top Leather Sneakers

Paul Wall in the Air Jordan 3 Black/Cement

Kanye West in Trussardi 1911 Black Suede Fringe Sneakers

Lil Wayne in the Jordan Son of Mars

Ace Hood in the Jeremy Scott x adidas Bones

Bun B in the Nike Air Foamposite One "Galaxy"

Pooch Hall in the Air Jordan 3 Black/Cement

B.o.B. in the adidas adi Rise Mid

Lil Duval in the Nike LeBron 9 "Mango"

Cee-Lo in the Air Jordan 3 Black/Cement

Terry Crews in the Nike Blazer Black/White

Frank Ocean in the Air Jordan 1 Black/Royal

Victor Cruz in the Air Jordan 5 Black/Silver

Rihanna in the Comme des Garcons x Converse Chuck Taylor

Soulja Boy levitates in the Nike MAG 2011

Smoke DZA in the Nike Air Foamposite One "Galaxy"

Don C in the Air Jordan 4 "Cement"

Air Jordan 9 “Cool Grey” & “Olive” Returning in 2012?

 
A strong possibility of the Air Jordan 9 coming out of retirement. Both the “Cool Grey” and “Olive” makeups are rumored to release, likely during the latter part of the year. Keep ya eye out for these two classics and add them to your collection. MadOne

Kicks On The Hardwood: March 10th, 2012

Derrick Rose shooting in the adidas adiZero Rose 2.5

Quentin Richardson shooting in his black and blue Air Jordan 13 PE

Shannon Brown shooting in the Air Jordan 8.0 "Dark Charcoal"

Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki in the Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 Low and the Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011, respectively

Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard in the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse 2011 and the adidas adiPower Howard 2, respectively

Josh Smith and Jason Maxiell in the adidas adiZero Shadow and the Nike Shox Vision, respectively

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant in the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse 2011 and the Nike Zoom KD IV, respectively

Kobe Bryant in the Nike Zoom Kobe VII (Attack Strong)

Jeremy Lin in the Nike Zoom Hyperdunk 2011 Low

Chris Paul looking for a teammate in the Jordan CP3.V

Ty Lawson laying it up in the Nike LeBron 9 "Galaxy"

Ty Lawson defending in the Nike LeBron 9 "Galaxy" and Jarrett Jack wearing the Nike Zoom KD IV "Blackout"

Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo in the Nike Air Legacy 3 and the Nike Zoom Hyperfuse 2011, respectively

Man Poses As Denny's Manager, Cooks Burger

 

Wearing a maroon tie and with a briefcase in hand, James B. Summers, 52, strolled confidently into a Madison, Wisc., Denny's restaurant ready to start his first day of work as general manager. There was just one problem- he wasn't hired for the job. 

"He claimed he was the new general manager, that he had worked for the restaurant chain for 30-years and was starting his new job - right now," the police report stated. The restaurant's manager, Tracy Brant, suggested perhaps Summers had the wrong restaurant, but the self-appointed general manager refuted the idea. Brant closed the door to her office and called the corporate office while Summers got to work on his first "official" duty- cooking himself a burger and fries. After receiving confirmation from those higher-up on the food chain that Summers was lying, Brant confronted her new faux boss mid-meal and told him that his charade was over.

When police arrived, they found Summers walking away from the restaurant. He told officers there must have been a "paperwork goof-up." He returned to the restaurant so police could hear both sides of the story. Summers' ruse was not a grand slam. Police booked him on charges of fraud, possession of an electric weapon (a stun gun), disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia. As police escorted Summers out of the restaurant, he shouted, "This is why you don't dine and dash, kiddies!" MadOne