awards

Nicole, Bonnie, and I got some great news last week when we learned that our very excellent listeners had nominated Dialed In for the Best Mobile Phone Podcast in the Podcast Awards. Winners are chosen by listeners so you can click through to the Podcast Awards Web site and vote for us. And while you're at it, Buzz Out Loud could use your support for the Best Video Podcast. You can vote once a day between now and November 30. Thanks for your support!

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Projects that turn slaughterhouse waste into energy and fertilizer, and zinc oxide from fuel cells into fertilizer, as well as programs to fortify rice with nutrients, feed Indian children, and boost wages for artisans were honored Thursday night at the Tech Awards for technology benefiting humanity.

Established in 2001, the Tech Awards recognize 15 laureates in the categories of education, equality, environment, biosciences economic development, and health. One laureate in each category receives a $50,000 cash prize. The winners were announced at a ceremony at which Al Gore, former U.S. vice president and Nobel Peace … Read more

Over this past weekend (October 2-4) the Silverstone raceway hosted the Britcar 500 race, a 6 hour race featuring European super sports cars slugging it out endurance style. I've tried to be patient and unfortunately I've found scant video worthy of this event to post up on this blog. However, in the process of looking for video for the Britcar 500 I stumbled upon this great clip about preparing a street car for a 24 hour Britcar endurance race, courtesy of those blokes on BBC's Top Gear.

Top Gear is an Emmy award-winning show produced in Britain … Read more

Popular Mechanics magazine on Thursday will unveil its fifth-annual Breakthrough Award winners, an august collection of designers and products that could do much more than their share to change the world for the better.

From famous inventors like Dean Kamen to a flying car for the Third World to bacteria-powered batteries--and much in-between--the awards are meant to highlight technologies that will shape the way people around the world live and how they interact with everyday products.

Each year, the magazine's editors scour the country for a worthy group of winners, and this year, in the end, Popular Mechanics settled on one leadership award winner, one next-generation honoree, eight Breakthrough innovators and 10 Breakthrough products.

"In all cases, there's a really practical application that we see coming about," said Jerry Beilinson, the magazine's deputy editor, "so these aren't theoretical scientific applications. (They're going to) change the world and have a really positive aspect on people's lives."

Beilinson said that after five years of identifying technological breakthrough products and innovators, certain themes have emerged in the editors' preferences. Among the most important, he said, is alternative energy and products and designers that push that category forward.

"If I look back (at the last few years of doing the awards), we looked at aviation and we looked at medicine," he said. "But over the last few years, I think the things that have been clear themes that we've been looking at that have emerged (are) alternative energy and appropriate technologies for the developing world."

And while the themes can be forward-looking, the individual awards celebrate a "moment in time," he said.

"We're sort of picking the moment at which it's become real, and passed the threshold and seems like its worthy of an award," Beilinson said. "But most of these kinds of things do take some time to develop."

For this year's Breakthrough Leadership award, Popular Mechanics honored Dean Kamen, an inventor with more than 440 patents who may be best known for creating the incredible but commercially disappointing Segway personal transporter. … Read more

This week the Annals of Improbable Research hosted its 19th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony. As CNET News' Elinor Mills wrote, this year was no less ignoble than the previous 18, with such delightful discoveries as applications for panda poo and observations from a lifetime of knuckle cracking.

Except for one award: the gas mask bra, which, while ridiculous and hilarious at face value, has far more going on below the, er, neckline.

Elena Bodnar, who lives in Chicago, got her start as a scientist in Ukraine, when she witnessed the devastating effects of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster … Read more

Have you ever worried that knuckle cracking will give you arthritis or wondered why pregnant women don't tip over? Me too.

Research into those topics--as well as studies finding that diamonds could be created from tequila and giant panda feces are good for composting--received Ig Nobel Prizes in a ceremony on Thursday night at Harvard University.

The prizes, awarded to scientific achievements that "cannot and should not be reproduced," are presented in the week before the real Nobel prizes are announced and are sponsored by the science humor magazine "Annals of Improbable Research."

A Thousand … Read more

And so again it comes down to 15 cars and 10 trucks, each vying for the title of 2010 North American Car/Truck of the Year. This year's lists have been leaked early, courtesy of a juror at The Car Connection. Check them out below:

2010 NA Car of the Year Finalists: • BMW 335d* • Buick LaCrosse • Cadillac CTS* • Chevrolet Camaro • Ford Fusion/Fusion Hybrid* • Ford Taurus* • Honda Insight* • Kia Soul • Mazda3/MazdaSpeed3 • Mercedes-Benz E-Class • Porsche Panamera • Subaru Legacy • Suzuki Kizashi • Toyota Prius* • Volkswagen Golf/GTI

2010 NA Truck of the Year Finalists: • Acura ZDX • Audi Q5 • Cadillac SRX • Chevrolet … Read more

Some have blamed the cognac. Others think he's just a little left of loopy.

But Kanye West certainly got them going on Twitter when he wandered on stage to upstage country singer Taylor Swift as she accepted the Best Female Video award at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

West embarrassed himself by grabbing Swift's mic and making a rather creepy mess of his self image. Should you wonder what caused West's bizarre behavior, well, it appears he was upset that Beyonce didn't win. If only he'd waited till the end of the ceremony, … Read more

Fresh from San Francisco where she was covering last week's Apple announcements, Natali Del Conte joins us on the today's pop-culture-y episode.

Of course, the big Twitter and Facebook news of the day is Kanye West's unwelcome outburst at last night's MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) show. The producer slash performer just can't seem to keep his head above water. In case you haven't heard, Kanye rudely interrupted Taylor Swift's award acceptance speech to announce that Beyonce should have won for her "Single Ladies" video. Whether that's true or not (some of us think it is), the millions of Tweets and status updates indicate that the public isn't on his side, despite his half-hearted apology that someone should probably post on this Web site.

Speaking of celebrity freak-outs, Serena Williams has her own apologizing to do, but this time it's to a line woman who became the object of her public outburst after a call was made in Serena's error. The charitable Williams, albeit unsatisfied with the result of the match, managed to keep her composure and must have thought the woman looked a little hungry, because she offered to feed her a tennis ball down the esophagus. She politely declined the meal. Watch the disaster unfold.

Finally, we do actually have some good news to report today: Captain EO is making its triumphant return to Disneyland! Even though the classic 80s movie has already made its way to YouTube, watching it on a computer doesn't even compare to wearing those cheesy pink 3D glasses and watching it in a giant theater with all the physical effects. We're not sure what changes are in store for the film, but rest assured that you'll be the first to know once we get more info.

Unfortunately, no Calls from the Public segment today because, well, we didn't get any! None that were good, anyway. So give us a call and tell us how much you like/love/hate/despise the show. You know how it works- call 1-866-404-CNET and you might get played on the air. We also accept e-mail submissions (preferably of you holding a 404 sign or something) like the one we received from our buddies Ammi and Samri in Sweden over the weekend. Send 'em our way at the404(at)CNET[dot]com.