Are you looking to torment a neighbor / random passerby without the messy after-effects of traditional "just plain lethal" weapons? Perhaps you work for a law enforcement agency and you'd like to justify a budget increase by pouring cash into something vaguely futuristic. Or maybe you're a big city mayor with a "tough on crime" stance who'd rather not put any more money in social services. If so, we've found something both painful and cute sounding to add to your shopping list: Laser Energetics ("the total laser technology solutions company!") has just unveiled its new Dazer Laser less-than-lethal light fighting technology line. These bad boys operate at a range of up to 2400 meters (depending on the model), and work by emitting a green laser beam that fans out into a 1 x 8-foot "Dazer Zone." When focused on a person's eyes, his or her vision is temporarily impaired, their balance is effected, and they become overwhelmed by nausea. At the very least, this sounds much better than being microwaved, right?

[Via Test Freaks]

So, we're guessing that at some point in your life you've wondered whether or not your microwave oven has sufficient shielding. Well, we certainly haven't -- but maybe we're the fools for trusting the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. Then again, in Russia they don't even have a "United States Consumer Product Safety Commission" (for obvious reasons). Clearly, someone over there was nagged by the thought that this appliance was scattering radiation where it didn't belong, so he got this bright idea: as microwave ovens operate at 2.45 MHz, and 802.11d WiFi operates on a 2.4 GHz frequency, any netbook placed in a closed microwave should be woefully un-pingable. And you know what? When he placed his netbook in a closed microwave, it couldn't be pinged. Clearly relieved that his microwave oven was amply shielded, the author has one final piece of advice for any of you who might be thinking about conducting this test for yourself: "Don't try to turn your microwave on, while experiment." Action photos after the break.

After JAXA's announcement of space-based solar power for Japan, we've been keeping our eyes peeled for some news of similar projects Stateside. Lo and behold, California's largest energy utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, has agreed to do just that, inking a deal with solar power startup Solaren Corp. The agreement calls for the utility to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity once the company starts beaming power down from Earth orbit beginning in 2016. A solar-power satellite would consist of mirror arrays -- perhaps measuring up to several miles wide -- which would focus sunlight onto photoelectric cells. From there, the electrical power is converted into a microwave beam that is directed downward toward Earth, where it's converted back into electricity and then fed into the grid. According to the company, the system could generate roughly 1.2 to 4.8 gigawatts of power, at a price comparable to that of other renewable energy sources. When asked for a comment, legendary sci-fi jazz composer Sun Ra was more than enthusiastic. "Space is the place," he said.

[Via Fresno Bee]