Gadling

Virgin Galactic, the first commercial space "airline" has reportedly declined an offer of $1 Million, to allow the production of the worlds first galactic porn movie.

Regular flights on Virgin Galactic cost $200,000 each, so the offer of $1 Million seems quite generous, but Virgin Galactic politely declined.

Space flights are scheduled to start in late 2009 or early 2010. Virgin plan to offer the trips using 2 aircraft flying out of the Mojave desert. Once the program gets underway, spacecraft will take off from a new space port currently under construction in La Cruces, NM.

Of course, since this is news from Virgin, who are operated by what can only be described as the worlds most experienced marketing guru, the whole thing could also be another of their brilliant gimmicks to generate some free PR. And it seems to be working quite well for them.

If you have $200,000, and would like to fly into space (without taking your clothes off for a movie), then you can hand over a $20,000 deposit and book a trip, there are however already 280 people ahead of you, so it may take a while to get a spot.

Oh my, the bad news about JetBlue staff just keeps piling up.

After the report of a JetBlue Flight attendant harassing a passenger, it is now 2 Jetblue pilots who are in hot water.

The 2 off-duty pilots were in a cab, making their way from an upscale Miami strip club to a local Subway sandwich shop. When they arrived at their destination, they decided that they were too important to pay the $9 cab fare.

Their refusal resulted in a fight with the cab driver, ending with him on the ground with a concussion and a broken right ankle. The incident happened last August and it is not entirely clear from the arrest report why it took the police this long to arrest the 2 pilots.

Of course, this brings me to the most important part of my article; the news reports about this attack seem a little too sensationalist to me. Does it really matter what the profession was of the 2 alleged attackers? Are there professions out there where beating up cab drivers is considered acceptable? (And yes; I realize the irony in this statement, given the fact that I am also writing about it!).

To prove my point; the web page title of the CBS4 article is called "Cabbie Killer Cab". Nobody was killed, and I'm fairly sure these 2 pilots had no intention of killing anyone.

At the end of the article it is made clear that there is, as always, 2 sides to a story. The cab driver apparently has an anger management problem and the attorney for the pilots claims the cab driver used pepper spray before he was attacked. Whichever side of the story turns out to be true, it is a bad idea to refuse paying your local cabbie, and it is a bad idea to use pepper spray on 2 guys trying to find a tasty sandwich.

Back when I was just a Gadling rookie, my first product review was for one of my personal favorites; the Altec-Lansing Orbit MP3 speaker. The Orbit MP3 is a portable speaker for your iPod, mobile phone or other music player.

In the review, I mentioned the MSRP of $29.95 and the Amazon price of just $24.95. Since then, it has dropped another $10 and you can now pick one up for just under $15.

The speaker runs off 3 AAA batteries and has just one control; on or off. The device has a short audio cord that wraps around the unit, and a tiny flat spot for standing the speaker upright.

Despite its small size, it produces a surprisingly loud and clear amount of audio. Of course, since it is just a single speaker, you don't get full stereo sound, but with the excellent volume and quality it produces, most people won't even notice.

You'll find the deal at Amazon.com and members with an Amazon Prime account will get free shipping, others will have to add another $10.01 to their order for the free super saver shipping.

If you have a kid, you'll probably find yourself at the local McDonalds a little more often than you'd want. But this post is not about the joy a Happy Meal can bring a kid, it is about how McDonalds is handling the declining economy.

The photo on the right was shot at my local store, sorry for the crappy quality, I was trying to be as nonchalant as possible when I snapped it.

The text reads "We're introducing the double hamburger with cheese to the dollar menu and are moving the double cheeseburger and the McChicken, both at a new price of $1.19 to the sandwiches section of the menu".

So, naturally I had to ask them what the difference is between a double hamburger with cheese, and a double cheeseburger. The extra 19 cents in a double cheeseburger goes towards ONE slice of cheese.

It is official; the bad economy has finally turned companies completely insane in their quest to squeeze more money out of us.

There is no denying that the Nintendo Wii is a success. It is the only game console that is still challenging to find on store shelves, despite being out since 2006. So it comes as no surprise that some hotels are cashing in on the hype by offering special "Wii packages".

Marriott currently have 5 properties in their portfolio who are offering a special "Wii and you" (groan!) package, which consists of a night in one of their rooms, a Nintendo Wii with 20 built in games, the Wii Fit unit and "a basket of sweet treats delivered upon arrival".

The "Wii and you" amenity adds between $20 and $50 per night to the room rate, which is actually quite decent. Wii freaks will be interested to read that the Marriott Wii unit was specially developed by Nintendo for use in public areas, and does not require the use of game discs, all the games are built into the unit and can be selected using the Wii remote.

Marriott was not the first hotel chain to take advantage of the Wii hype, Several Westin hotels recently introduced the game console as part of their WestinWorkout fitness program, but the Wii and You program from Marriott is the first to bring the Wii into the hotel room itself.

In-room entertainment sure has evolved in recent years, guests are apparently no longer interested in $19 porno flicks and $7 diet cokes from the minibar.

I'm not sure I see myself sitting in a hotel room playing Wii sports, but I do think it could be a great way to keep the kids entertained while mommy and daddy enjoy some adult conversation, so kudos to Marriott for this innovation.

Attention Gadling readers in Mexico; keep your eyes open for a truck carrying 5000 condoms, 800 HIV tests and one 23 foot inflatable banana (wearing a condom).

The truck should stand out in traffic, because the sides are painted with that same banana, which from what I understand, is not a standard factory delivered color.

The Condomovil was parked outside a house in Mexico City, but by morning it was gone. Police have no idea what the motive could be (I can think of several reasons). The value of the stolen truck and its contents is about 200,000 Pesos, a little over $18,000.

The truck has been touring Mexico since 1998, and the project has since handed out over 1.2 million condoms. Unless the Condomovil is found, the project will be canceled which would be quite a blow to the Mexican federal health department.

If I had to make up a fake statistic, I'd say that one in three cars currently has a GPS navigation system. In the past decade, these systems have gone from the ultimate in luxury to just another $100 gadget.

One thing that has not changed however, is the inability of some people to make up their own mind and drive around without using the GPS commands as something other than a mere suggestion.

Here are 5 incidents when a driver let the soothing voice of their GPS unit tell them exactly where to go; without thinking about their next move.

Turn right at the railroad crossing with the approaching train...



A grade crossing in Bedford Hills, NY was the scene of an accident where a driver took a GPS suggested turn, right onto the tracks of the Metro-North railroad.

When the car got stuck, the driver and passengers got out and called 911. Unfortunately, the dispatcher was not able to reach the oncoming train on time, and it struck the car. Nobody was injured but passengers in the train were delayed several hours. An exact same incident occurred earlier this year, also involving a GPS unit.

Via: LoHud.com news and Engadget.com

The Times has a sad story of a young British man who died in his sleep after eating some Chili sauce as part of a dare.

The 33 year old man had prepared the chili sauce using peppers from a family garden, and challenged his brother to see who could eat the concoction.

Before going to bed, he started to have a bad reaction to the sauce, and by morning, he was dead. Toxicology reports are being conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

The "hotness" level of food is determined by the Scoville scale which measures the amount of dilution required until the heat can no longer be detected. At 1,040,000, the Bhut Jolokia Chili is the hottest thing you can find in nature (up to 400 times hotter than your average Jalapeño pepper). When it comes to bottled products, "The Source" is without a doubt the hottest thing you can find (over 7 million Scoville units). Products like this require you to sign a waiver, and they are only used as an ingredient for large batches of food, not as a sauce for pouring on your steak.

For the past couple of years, residents of California have been banned from mounting their GPS unit on the windshield in their car. The law was originally put in place because lawmakers were convinced that the GPS units could interfere with a deploying airbag or obstruct a drivers view.

The new law, which goes into effect on January 1st 2009, was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger and permits windshield mounted GPS units in the lower left and right corners. Units mounted anywhere else will still be considered a violation, and drivers may be ticketed if caught (a $108 fine!).

The law is actually quite specific; GPS units must be mounted in the lower 7 inch corner farthest away from the driver, or in the lower 5 inch corner closest to the driver.

Of course, the new law was backed by some industry groups, including representatives of Californian car dealerships, a consumer rights group and even the California Space Authority who represent GPS satellite makers.

The only other state in the country that still bans the use of GPS units mounted anywhere on the windshield, is Minnesota, who currently have no plans to change the law. Alternatives for mounting your GPS on the windshield include using a self adhesive disk on the dashboard which allows the suction cup on the GPS mount to be attached, or a GPS friction beanbag which sits on the dash.

My daily deal for today is for the Sandisk Sansa 1GB MP3 player. This little player runs off a single AAA battery for up to 19 hours. The device supports your own MP3 files, or subscription based music with the Microsoft "Playsforsure" system. 1GB should be sufficient for about 240 tracks.

At just $6.99 (with $5 for shipping) it is a real bargain, but I do need to point out that it is refurbished, so it will most likely not come in a regular retail box, which makes it slightly less suitable for giving as a gift. The price is right if you just need a cheap player to keep the kids quiet during an upcoming car or plane trip.

The Sandisk Sansa features a built in FM radio, voice recording and a 5 band equilizer.

The player is on sale through "Woot Sellout", which is the Woot.com storefront at shopping.yahoo.com. Simply click that link, and in the middle of the page you'll find the deal. The $5 shipping charge is valid for up to 3 units, so take maximum advantage of the price by ordering multiple players! As always with Woot deals, when they are sold out, they are gone, so don't delay!