Australia has long stood as the only developed country without an 18+ rating for video games. That's about to change. The dubious distinction has led Australia to outlaw various games, such as the recent  Mortal Kombat, forcing gamers to import copies.  The lack of an adult rating has also caused a trend to classify normally adult games under the age 15 rating.

Now, their federal government has issued an ultimatum giving the states and territories till July to negotiate a new 18+ rating, aimed at preserving the integrity of the 15 rating while opening up new markets for adults.

"We're the only country that allows tens and tens of games to be used by minors that are only used by adults overseas," he told ABC Television.

"We're becoming the laughing stock of the developed world."

Google has announced that it will launch a new social network called Google Circles at its conference in May. Social networking has long been a deficient spot in Google's portfolio and with Facebook's rise, they leave themselves in a vulnerable position where Facebook may begin offering searches from within Facebook itself.

I know this may sound like a crazy suggestion, but sometimes I wish Google wouldn't place their name in front of every new endeavor. While banking on their name will probably guarantee some usage, a truly original name seems more likely to become a #1 brand. At some point, the label "Google" is going to develop the same generic stigma as the word "Acme".

I want to spotlight this TED video, not for what the speaker is talking about, but because of the methodology he's using to arrive at his conclusions. This man is Deb Roy, an MIT researcher who wanted to study how his newborn son learned language. So, he placed near-constant video cameras all throughout his home. As a result, he was able to extract in incredible detail the evolution of words that his son learned to speak.

That's definitely a fascinating subject and I highly recommend this video for learning about that.

However, what I really want to highlight is simply the amazing power of the methodology he's using. We live in a society where our lives are increasingly recorded. I can think of probably 100 different applications for his technology, both good and bad. It kind of blows your mind how much insight can be pulled from ...

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Okay, I know everyone is sick of hearing about Charlie Sheen everywhere, but this video is literally full of win...or as Sheen would say "Winning!"  

An inventive YouTuber satirizes Charlie Sheen's interviews by "songifying" them.

It hit me...Charlie Sheen is kind of like a real-life Barney Stinson.

If you're dating a special lady who is "pear-shaped"...well no longer! She is now considered a "Matisse". By renaming female body types, women's advocates hope to banish negative stereotypes associated with using fruit.

The new system uses the names of famous artists who idolized women.

I'm all for it, but a drawback to such names is they don't actually describe in visual terms what women's bodies look like. Such simplicity seems necessary for adoption by the mass population.

Like if a man buys lingerie, the sales rep might ask "Is your wife a Matisse?" and he'll be like, "Huh?" and then she'll be forced to explain, "It means pear-shaped."

On the other hand, using the old masters successfully conveys a sense of appreciation.

Here is their new system:

Pear-shaped = "Matisse"

Apple-shaped - "Ruben"

Full Bust/Bottom - "Rembrandt"

Slim = "Da Vinci"

Athletic = "Raphael"

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The U.S. Army has assigned the 1st female combatives instructor to Fort Benning. Standing at 5 foot, 7 inches, Spc. Teddra Rodriguez finds her shorter height and lower weight to be an advantage and instructs male soldiers not to underestimate women. While dispelling stereotypes among the men, she firmly instructs them never to hold back when training with an American female soldier. Women soldiers need to know if her techniques can truly save their lives, and they can't do that if the men hold back.

Teddra Rodriguez - Photo by Kristin Molinaro 

Welcome to the 21st century era of instant, where a little notoriety can go a long way in extending your reach into society. Over the last day, Charlie Sheen has gained 1 million Twitter followers over the course of one day, 600,000 of them in a span of 8 hours.  In his first tweet, Sheen posted a picture of himself with porn star Bree Olsen holding up chocolate milk and a naked juice.

In a story worthy of Indiana Jones, a team of German archaeologists have finally decoded the ancient "Dresden Codex", a Mayan book originating from the 11th century. The team, led by Mayan expert Joachim Rittsteig, used  the new information to pinpoint the theoretical location of the Mayan capital of Atlan, submerged under Lake Izabal, the largest lake in Guatemala. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 666 BC. Lost along with the city were 2,156 gold tablets upon which the ancient civilization recorded their laws.

Joachim Rittsteig has dedicated most of his life to translating the codex and we wish him the best of luck. The Dresden Codex contains most of what we know today of the lost Mayan civilization. The last chapter describes the apocalypse which it says will take place December 12th, 2012.

A new Facebook app went online Monday allowing "Friends" to chat en masse in Hollywood Square fashion.  The new mass chatting program claims to be a more civilized version of Chatroulete. The app requires no download, only a login to Facebook.

If you're curious about SocialEyes, you may explore the app at SocialEyes.com or apps.facebook.com/socialeyes.

Readers might remember back in February 2001 when the world watched in horror as Islamic religious fanatics dynamited two colossal Buddha statues that had stood for over 15 centuries. Known as the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the statues originally were seen by the Taliban as a source of tourist income until a campaign by hardline clerics led to their destruction.

Since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, researchers from Europe and Japan have poured into the region, scouring for as many of the statue fragments as possible, some weighing up to 2 tons each. In theory, they now believe they can reassemble the smaller Buddha, which had stood 38 meters tall. All that stands in the way, of course, is money and local politics/culture. Another possibility they're considering is transporting the pieces to Germany for reconstruction.

While the destruction of these ancient statues was truly tragic, there have been ...

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A long time ago I had a debate with a friend in college. He was a cynic who believed the internet dumbed people down and corrupted their use of the English language. I took the position that the Internet taught hordes of children to read in the first place and at a far younger age. While Internet grammar is far from perfect, its a commonly accepted notion that the best way to learn how to write is simply to read a lot.  

The above memory passed through my mind as I read this article on Fox Sci-Tech. Walden University conducted a poll of 1,000 K-12 teachers and discovered that only 60% of them sporadically used technology. Only 22% reported being frequent users. 

The relentless barrage of technology...Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, iPhones, Skype have provided children one thing many teachers have trouble supplying...motivation to learn.

Because technology delivers immediate ...

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I couldn't stop lol'ing at this video. Some mischievous guy with After Effects has a bit too much time on his hands. Alas, too bad we all can't be wandering around with lightsabers.

Yep, let's not forget the little quotation marks. 

Love him or hate him...and apparently most of you love him... the 38 year-old rapper Eminem has become the most "Liked" person on Facebook, boasting 28.88 million likes and gaining half a million each day. The late great Michael Jackson still has more likes. Eminem ranks as the #1 living person on Facebook. Lady Gaga is close behind with 28.87 likes. However, she's the most popular person on Twitter, boasting 5 million more followers than Eminem.

Much of Eminem's recent popularity stems from his buzz from the Grammys.

Narv turned me onto this really cool Japanese stageplay. Enjoy

USA Today has a neat demo of Microsoft Labs' latest avatar software. Currently, they can only create a head, but Microsoft's Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie states they intend to give us full-body avatars in the near future. In particular, there's a high buzz floating around Microsoft about the Kinect and the great impact its having for researchers all around the world. They see the Kinect as a primary motion and voice activated controller for the home.  For instance, the Kinect already allows you to Pause/Play movies routed to your TV through Xbox Live with voice commands.

I suppose when your country has nearly 2 billion people it's possible to find enough of any kind of people to create a huge online community. The controversial website Xeixe.com boasts a membership of over 700 Chinese women who carry on extra-marital affairs with married men in order to earn their livings. The women share their experiences and best practices to maximize money gained from the cheating husband. In fact, their numbers are so numerous that these Chinese mistresses have decided to hold an annual festival every March 3rd starting this year.

The mistresses attempt to respond to all their recent press coverage here.

Here's an amusing look back in time by Popular Science magazine which summarizes 10 paranoid fears of humanity back in the 20th century.  Among humanity's freakouts include:

1) Destroyed by the dreaded death ray.

2) The Earth will spontaneously explode.

3) A doomsday device will be invented.

4) The Sun will grow too cold causing an ice age.

5) A wandering star will destroy our solar system.

6) The Sun will grow too hot causing us to burn up.

7) A comet could collide with the Earth.

8) Nuclear war armageddon.

9) Man will poison the oceans, causing the world to die.

10) The Moon could collide with the Earth.

New services offered by BreakupNotifier.com and BreakUpAlert.com will send you an e-mail whenever a woman or man that you're interested in changes their Relationship Status on Facebook to "Single."  TechCrunch has the lowdown.

An Egyptian couple felt so thankful to Facebook for its role in the recent toppling of the dictator Mubarak that they literally named their newborn baby daughter "Facebook".

I'm actually not surprised. We live in a tech age.  Back in the 60's parents named their kids "Summer" and "Harmony". What actually does surprise me is that no one yet has named their baby "Pwn", "L33t", "LoL, or "Rofl".

Maybe I could be the first...as a middle name. Don't tell the wife.

Smartphones apps that enable credit card use have blossomed in a huge way partly due to Square, a company created by one of Twitter's founders Jack Dorsey.  Earlier in January, we covered this topic, describing this new shopping trend as it sprouted up here and there. 

General media coverage since January has pushed the new credit card apps more into the public awareness...and its taken off. 

Square reports that 100,000 people signed up to use their app from October to December...3 months. Then, in January alone 65,000 people signed.  Square's COO Keith Rabois aims for the company to process $1 billion dollars in transactions throughout 2011.