virginia

Those who were planning road trips in West Virginia were worried.

Especially those who were included in Google's list of eminent and lucky people who would be the explorers of Google's wonderful, breakthrough (and possibly insane) eyeglasses known as Google Glass.

For a Republican legislator had proposed a bill -- after reading just one Technically Incorrect post -- that would ban anyone in the state from wearing Google's glasses and driving.

Gary. G. Howell explained very cogently that he was not against the invention, but that he feared it would be just as distracting as texting. And … Read more

Dabbling in politics can bring troubling consequences.

So here at Technically Incorrect, we prefer to keep our distance, because, from a distance, our laughter can still be heard quite well.

However, I received a curious message last night from Gary G. Howell, a Republican in the West Virginia Legislature.

It read: "Your article on Google Glass prompted this bill."

The only bills I'd ever previously inspired were $20 ones accompanied by the words: "Here's money for a taxi. Get out of here."

So I wondered what sort of bill this could be. It transpires that West Virginia has decided to think proactively about Google Glass.

This bill seeks to make it illegal to drive while "using a wearable computer with head mounted display." … Read more

One lane of Interstate 79 in West Virginia was closed down on Sunday for a tragic spill of Lego bricks. The bricks scattered across the highway, no doubt giving drivers traumatic flashbacks to the last time they stepped on a Lego brick in bare feet.

As hazardous as Legos are to unshod humans, they also pose a potential risk to vehicles. They may not be able to puncture a tire, but I imagine Legos could be pretty slippery, especially in the damp, cold conditions at the time. The only thing worse than a bunch of loose Legos on an interstate would be a bunch of wet, half-frozen loose Legos.… Read more

Two members of a group that wanted to be known for being first to release the latest Hollywood films to the Web were sentenced to prison today, the U.S. government says.

Willie Lambert, 57, of Pittston, Pa., was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $449,514 in restitution, according to a press release from Neil MacBride, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. MacBride is also the man who's pressing a separate criminal copyright case against MegaUpload founder Kim DotCom.

Sean Lovelady, a co-defendant from … Read more

Filling in for a Justin Yu who thinks his air conditioner got him sick is the wild card Joey Kaminksi, a man who can apparently talk about -- in painfully great detail -- tipping etiquette in and around New York City. We love Joey for his tangential speaking habits, but also because he lends us his unique skew on the important matters of the day -- that and the fact that he brought us a Google Nexus 7 tablet for us to play with.

Do you have a game plan if you ever left your phone behind in a cab? Our producer Ariel Nunez tells the tale of such a predicament. Does Ariel get the phone back? Or is he forced to plop down $500 on a new device in addition to non-defective shorts?

The 404 crew also dishes out the dirt that saw multiple Web sites and services go down over the weekend including enormous time-suckers Netflix, Instagram, and Pinterest. How did planet Earth go 45 minutes without commenting on a sepia-filtered photo of your dessert? Find out inside!

Make sure you start your holiday week on the right foot by listening to these stories and so much more on today's show! … Read more

While you might be enjoying eating various confections of bunny this weekend, IBM's CEO, Virginia Rometty, has to wear casual business attire and mix with men for whom she is an unwelcome species.

For Rometty's company, you see, sponsors the U.S. Masters. The U.S. Masters tournament is played at the charming Augusta National Golf Club. And the Augusta National Golf Club hasn't -- as far as we know-- invited Rometty to join.

It's not that Augusta has anything against IBM's fine CEOs. The last four have all been offered club membership. It's … Read more

It seems like the U.S. Navy is getting all the cool toys these days. Hot on the heels of the Saffir humanoid firefighting robot, comes Robojelly.

Robojelly may sound like the business half of a sandwich for Cylons, but it's actually a robotic jellyfish.

If we accept the premise that robots are inherently cool, we have to extrapolate that underwater robots based on gelatinous sea creatures are extra cool. Robojelly is the nickname for a project under development by The University of Texas at Dallas and Alex Villanueva at Virginia Tech for the Office of Naval Research.… Read more

Queue up The Village People doing "In the Navy." Then follow it up with "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. Next, throw in Hendrix doing "Fire." Put it all together, and you'll have the perfect soundtrack for the Navy's new humanoid firefighting robot, named Saffir.

Saffir stands for "shipboard autonomous firefighting robot." I could just stop here and let that description be enough awesomeness for one day, but there's more.

This humanoid robot comes from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. It is designed to fit through the cramped passageways of Navy ships, interact with the sailors onboard, and fight fires with cool features like the ability to throw PEAT grenades. No, not that kind of peat. We're talking "propelled extinguishing agent technology."… Read more

The type of gun responsible for severely injuring former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, killing 32 people in the Virginia Tech massacre, and murdering rapper Tupac Shakur was a Glock pistol.

Now, these pistols are the top guns of choice for criminals and police alike in the U.S., according to Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Paul Barrett.

In a new book called "Glock: The Rise of America's Gun," Barrett details how Glock handguns managed to surpass other manufacturers' guns, like Smith & Wesson, by using unique, simple, and low-cost technology.

"Police departments were amazed when they took their … Read more