Orange County Choppers Hybrid Motorcycle Test Drive

We took the day recently and drove up to Orange County Choppers in Newburgh, New York to check out the shop, their newest Hybrid electric bike and, weather permitting, get in some riding. 

OCC's showroom and shop facility cover a lot of square footage, and they've got all of the tooling and fabrication facilities I wish I had. After I pried myself loose from the 5-axis CNC mill that was turning out chopper wheels, I got my first glance at the hybrid bike, the mechanicals of which are discussed here.

Popular Mechanics

China tells Web companies to obey controls

BEIJING – In China's first official response to Google's threat to leave the country, the government Thursday said foreign Internet companies are welcome but must obey the law and gave no hint of a possible compromise over Web censorship.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, without mentioning Google by name, said Beijing prohibits e-mail hacking, another issue cited by the company. She was responding to questions about Google at a regular ministry briefing.

Yahoo News

Sending a Text Message to Canada Saved a Woman in Haiti

A Canadian woman trapped under rubble after the recent earthquake in Haiti managed to send out a text message to the Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa, a place nearly 3,000 miles away. And it saved her life.

Once received, the text message was "relayed to Canadian diplomats back in Haiti" who then provided aid in the search for the woman. There's not much more information beyond that, but it's simply good to hear even the tiniest bit of encouraging and happy news in regards to this devastating event—particularly when it shows that a gadget and solid communication between diplomats can save a life.

GIZMODO