You won't believe what's hiding inside this former beauty queen's stomach

 

Here's a hint: it's another part of her body. As in, it was once attached to her person elsewhere, only to be removed and tucked away inside her belly for safekeeping. Give up? It's her skull. Her skull! In her stomach! How amazing is that? But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The abdomen in question belongs to former "Mrs. Idaho" Jamie Hilton. Back in June, Hilton was involved in a devastating accident, and had to undergo emergency brain surgery. In the process, her doctors removed 25% of her skull so that her severely swollen brain would have room to return to its normal size. Fully intending to reattach the skull fragment later, Hilton's doctors stowed it away inside her stomach, where her body would keep it nourished until she was ready to have it reattached. In the weeks ahead, Hilton recovered marvelously, all while missing a full quarter of her skull. She wore a helmet to help prevent further injury. By mid-July, Hilton's swelling had subsided enough for doctors to remove the fragment from her abdomen and put it back in place with the aid of some titanium screws and plates. It's been over two months since her second surgery, and she seems to be doing incredibly well, telling the New York Post that the only lasting effect seems to have been a change in her tastebuds and the loss of her sense of smell. As for her head, it's back to its normal shape, albeit with a pretty awesome-looking scar. And we're willing to bet it will be barely noticeable once her hair grows back in. You can read more about Hilton's remarkable healing process over on her blog, where she and her husband have catalogued the entire ordeal. For more information on the surgery that Hilton had performed (decompressive hemicraniectomy), check out this post by Bradley Voit, who wrote about the procedure in detail when Congresswoman Gabby Giffords had it performed back in January 2011. [Jamie Hilton via NY Post] All images via Hilton's blog source: www.io9.com

 

 

 

LG G Watch R vs. Asus ZenWatch: In pictures

 

Gizmag takes a hands-on look at the LG G Watch R (left) and Asus ZenWatch (Photo: Will Shanklin/Gizmag.com) Image Gallery (57 images) LG and Asus made two of the best-looking smartwatches of 2014. Let's take a quick look at the two fashionable Android Wear watches, the LG G Watch R and Asus ZenWatch. If you want a smartwatch that hits a nice balance between fashion and function, then we recommend these two, along with the Moto 360, as your best picks this year. We've already talked at length about these three, but we have a few more thoughts, as well as plenty of shots in our image gallery, about how these two specifically compare. Both watches have luxury watch-inspired designs and could, from a distance, pass for standard timepieces. The G Watch R is still the only Android Wear watch you can buy with a fully round screen (the Moto 360 has a little sliver cut-out at the bottom), and it's one of the LG watch's biggest draws. The diving watch-inspired dial around its bezels might draw some polarizing reactions, but it's grown on me. It also helps that some of LG's clock faces are tailor-made to complement it. Screen shape is a big part of your decision, but screen size shouldn't be. Though the watches have different diagonal measurements, never mind that: screen area, a more telling measurement, has them at pretty much the exact same size. Both watches ship with leather bands, and are swappable with standard 22 mm bands. The G Watch R's default black band is more neutral, while the tan-colored band on the ZenWatch becomes a more eye-catching part of its aesthetic. Apart from the stark contrast in styles, these two are very close to being the same watch. Both have long battery life, and you can leave their always-on clock face settings on and still last a full day with room to spare. Both have smooth performance, and run the exact same Android Wear software (you can check out Gizmag's Android Wear review for more on that). Asus threw in a couple of optional companion apps that give you a few extra features. Most of these are easily duplicated by third-party Play Store apps, like a flashlight, compass and "leave my phone unlocked when the watch is near" feature (don't turn that on: it kills the ZenWatch's otherwise great battery life). The ZenWatch Wellness app does add a useful nudge feature, inspired by Jawbone trackers: you can set it to vibrate your wrist if you've been sitting still for too long. The ZenWatch's heart rate sensor is also (oddly) located on its front bezels. The G Watch R measures your pulse using your wrist, so you don't have to do anything but try to hold still. On the ZenWatch, you have to put two fingers on the watch's bezels (like you're making a peace sign) to get a reading. The ZenWatch can also use your heart rate to assign a "relaxation score." I didn't find this to be any more useful than a straightforward heart rate measurement, but your mileage could vary. The only other big difference is price. The G Watch R is going to cost you an extra US$100 (LG's watch costs $300, next to $200 for the ZenWatch), so even if you like the G Watch's look a little better, you'll want to ask yourself if you like it "$100 better." For a closer look at these two, we invite you to thumb through our image gallery. And for more on the watches themselves, you can hit up Gizmag's individual reviews of the G Watch R and Asus ZenWatch.

 

 

BMW techs using Google Glass in pre-series vehicle tests

 

Google Glass is being used in a pilot program to evaluate pre-series vehicles Image Gallery (7 images) Google Glass has had some bad press of late, with users called some very unkind names and some industry analysts calling it this decade's Segway, but BMW has some love for the wearable head-mounted display. At its plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, BMW is running a pilot program to see how Google Glass can improve the quality control of its pre-series vehicles as they make the transition from prototype to full production. Pre-series cars are a vital link in modern car manufacturing. Cars that begin life as eye-catching concepts and then go on to become working prototypes still have a major hurdle before they're ready to be sold to the public. That's where pre-series cars come in. These are essentially production prototypes that are put together in a production-like setting to see if the design is capable of being reliably and economically mass produced instead of handmade in a machine shop. It's a vital step because building the pre-series cars can uncover all manner of flaws that wouldn't have been apparent until the car went into production. The problem is, evaluating the pre-series cars requires a lot of communication between the quality testers and the design engineers to determine how the cars are deviating from plan. This is especially tricky because the problems are often vague and difficult to explain. As a result, BMW says written reports and photographs are less than adequate in roughly one out of four cases. What BMW hopes is that by using a wearable technology like Google Glass, it will be possible to show rather than tell what is wrong. The idea is that the device will use a background video mode to record video feeds in two-minute segments, which can be permanently stored at the press of a button for later reference and discussion between the quality testers and design engineers instead of relying on handwritten notes or similar methods. In addition, the technology allows testers to remain with the vehicle and to sign off on a test using voice control. The pilot program is part of BMW's 4.0 campaign to introduce new technologies to support planning and production. The company says that so far the trial, which can involve between 10 and 25 individual tests for each car depending on its equipment package, have proven so promising that it is considering using the system in the final assembly of series vehicles. Source: BMW