Paintball has become the perfect way for gadget geeks to unleash their inner Rambo. The latest carbon-dioxide- or compressed-air-powered guns, known as “markers,” have computerized controls and electronic firing mechanisms that can blast out 1,200 balls a minute at speeds of up to 300 feet per second. Add in a quick reloader and a sneaky scope, and your buddies won’t stand a chance.

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AstroTech’s ultra-compact telescope is priced for amateurs, yet it rivals larger, more expensive models. By packing in three glass lenses, it focuses red, green and blue light all at a single point. This eliminates the blurry, bluish halo in two-lens amateur scopes, which focus blue light in a different spot than red and green.

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We reported last week on how feebly powered, fuel-sipping 1990s-vintage hatchbacks have been lighting up the used car market recently due to skyrocketing gas prices. In an interesting twist to this phenomenon, I actually benefited myself somewhat from this hysteria when I had to sell my beloved natural-gas-powered 2006 Honda Civic GX last week on eBay, turning it into one of the smarter investments I made all year.

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It's about time the folks in economy class got some lovin'. For years we've seen the likes of Virgin Atlantic, Emirates Air, and Singapore Airlines pamper their first-class passengers (Virgin calls tham "Upper Class," the snobs) with obscenely luxurious seats that stretch out to full length beds, huge television screens everywhere, fluffy slippers, and smokin' hot flight attendants.

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Last April, we dissected the worlds most advanced fighter jet, the F-35B Lightning II, in the pages of our annual How It Works issue. Now military contractor Lockheed Martin is firing up the jets 40,000-pound-thrust engine (the most powerful ever built for a fighter jet) in preparation for flight tests. The jet can soar at supersonic speeds (1,000 mph) and deflect radar signals, but by the end of the month, pilots are expected to show off its most highly anticipated feature: the ability to stop mid-flight and touch down virtually anywhere.

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digg_url = 'http://digg.com/travel_places/American_Airlines_Own_Pilots_Protest';
I don't know about you, but when airline pilots organize themselves enough to protest their employer's overall poor performance—not, I'd like to point out, merely their crappy pay—that gets my attention. That's precisely what hundreds of American Airlines pilots intend to do tomorrow in nine cities around the country. They'll be demonstrating at major airports to "encourage passengers to help AA employees get management's attention" to fix problems relating to performance and customer service. Specifically, American has the worst on-time performance among network carriers. The pilots are also, naturally, not particularly amused about the nose-gear-wiring fiasco that grounded hundreds of aircraft and caused countless traveler delays last week.

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Rip open a Pleo, get the run down on hybrids, and learn about the military's futuristic flying laser gun as Chuck Cage and the editors of PopSci take a behind-the-scenes tour of the third annual How it Works issue. Learn the stories behind the stories of some of the world's most sophisticated machines.

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By now you've probably heard the strange story of USA 193, the out-of-control military satellite slated to be shot out of the sky this evening. Amidst controversy over the safety and necessity of the mission, the U.S. Navy is planning to launch a $10-million missile from the USS Lake Erie somewhere west of Hawaii as early as 9:30pm EST and take the school-bus-sized sat down.

Launched in December 2006 by the ultra hush-hush National Reconnaissance Organization, the rogue satellite sported a powerful imaging sensor and a central computer that failed almost immediately. Its orbit began to decay, gradually and then suddenly. And when it became clear that the satellite would plummet to Earth this week, the government grew concerned that its 1,000 pounds of onboard fuel would survive the plunge and pose a health risk to anyone who came in contact with the hydrazine gas. That's their side, anyway—and their explanation for preparing three SM3 anti-ballistic missile interceptors to shoot the bugger down from an Aegis destroyer.

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Picking your favorite non-lethal weapon can be tough. I'm partial to the microwave-based Active Denial System that former PopSci editor Eric Adams had the, er, courage to stand in front of a few years ago. (An experience described in detail here.) Or I might give a nod to the paralyzing, hardening foam that momentarily holds down The Hulk in the 2003 movie, and has been used by the U.S. military with mixed results.

But a California company may be developing the real winner, an LED-based flashlight that shoots out incredibly bright pulses of light, and can potentially induce vomiting. The Department of Homeland Security is funding the study, and Penn State will begin testing it this fall at the Institute of Nonlethal Defense Technology. Any volunteers?—Gregory Mone

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It sounds preposterous, and it is—just look at this thing! This striking Volkswagen GTI concept features a host of performance upgrades and some dramatic design modifications to accommodate them. Most notable are the flared wheel wells to house the really big tires, necessary to manage the 650 horsepower being delivered by a six-liter W-12 engine. Zero-to-60 in 3.7 seconds. Top speed: 202 mph. Ferrari F430: dusted. —Eric Adams

Link for more photos [leftlanenews.com]

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In our December 2006 issue, we featured an innovatively designed, biodiesel-powered speedboat called Earthrace that was going to attempt to set an around-the-world nautical speed record of 65 days. Skipper Pete Bethunes intent was to raise awareness of the environmental benefits—and raw power—of biodiesel fuel. That effort came to a tragic end last week when, only nine days into the attempt, Earthrace crashed into a fishing vessel off Guatemala, killing one fisherman and seriously injuring a second (the third member of the boat's crew suffered only minor injuries). Bethune and his crew did everything they could to rescue the fishermen and treat their injuries while the boat limped back to shore, likely saving the lives of the two injured sailors they were able to recover. The mission, of course, was terminated, and the crew remains in Guatemala pending an investigation. For a riveting account of the accident, see Bethune's Captain's blog . —Eric Adams

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The region of Aries before (left) and after (right) the explosion, with the pinpoint of light created clearly visible. Courtesy NASA.

Scientists are in the midst of observing a supernova that's  in the act of exploding. GRB060218 is cooking right now in the constellation Aries. Its quite exciting, but it helps underscore what is to me one of the eeriest aspects of astronomy: the fact that it's essentially looking back in time. GRB060218 is 440 million light-years away. That means this explosion actually happened 440 million years ago and is only now getting to us. This thing started waaay before the Internet. It even preceded the dinosaurs. Back then, all the continents were still shoved together in a giant Pangaea.  Makes you wonder what other amazing—or horrible—things are racing toward us at light speed right now. If, for example, our sun went prematurely bust, we wouldnt know it for a full seven minutes! —Eric Adams

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Writer David Axe, who reported from Iraq for our June feature about networked warfare, has penned an amazing, haunting graphic novel about his experiences covering the war. Illustrated by Steven Olexa, the semi-autobiographical War-Fix follows small-town reporter Axe as he gradually realizes that the war is calling him. With no experience in combat journalism and only scant preparation, he leaves his distraught girlfriend and makes his way to Iraq, where he becomes both a participant and voyeur in the horrifying action that unfolds there. The carnage consumes his consciousness and becomes something like a drug to him—a fix. It's by far the most unique and compelling narrative I've yet seen of this entire dismal affair and an honest, self-effacing personal journey. The black-and-white illustrations are dark, violent and undoubtedly all too real. Amazon link. —Eric Adams

Related:
PopSci's Iraq Tech Report Card

Winning and Losing the First Wired War

Iraq, Science and the Elusive WMD

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Last weekend, during a trip north from Washington, D.C., my family and I pulled into one of the rest stops on the New Jersey Turnpike. While wife and daughter #1 went inside, 18-month-old daughter #2 and I stretched our legs. An older gentleman approached me somewhat sheepishly and asked if I could help him. "I have this rental car," he explained, "and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to open the trunk!" I assumed he was just not particularly car-savvy, but I quickly learned that he was in no way to blame for this. I contorted myself into the car—little Alice hanging on like a koala—and was able to figure out in fairly short order (mainly because I happen to be an auto writer) that the Buick's trunk release was way down low on the door and was part of a two-mode rocker switch that also popped the gas door. The cryptic, practically microscopic icons were barely discernable to my eyes, and probably much harder to grasp for older drivers. There was no trunk-release button on the key fob, making it utterly impossible for him to get into his trunk from the outside and put luggage in. I was perplexed, but the nice man was delighted that I'd helped him. "One more thing—I'm so embarrassed—but I can't find the odometer, either," he pleaded, throwing his hands in the air. It's a useful device, given that this was a rental car and all, and I felt terrible for him. I found the thing on a multifunction display on the center console, nowhere near the speedometer and buried on some tiny, random LCD screen. Lord knows whether or not he was able to operate the radio or the climate-control system. My ever-optimistic hope is that technology makes people's lives easier, no matter how conversant they are with it, but clearly that wasn't the case here. Why would Buick—favored carmaker of grandpas everywhere—make a vehicle that would befuddle this fellow so thoroughly? —Eric Adams

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