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    • Just in time to kick summer off right, these sizzling tech tools will spice up your backyard barbecue

      For many people, Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have fought for our country, enjoy a nice three-day weekend, and celebrate the unofficial start to summer. But for others — aka my family — Memorial Day sparks a summer-long "battle of the barbecue." (Read that last bit in a professional wrestling announcer's voice for full effect). While I can't give away all of the top dog's prime pit boss secrets, I happen to know first hand that a few high-tech tools and gadgets can make the difference between a ho-hum hamburger and the holy mother of all mouthwatering mega meals.

      iGrilliGrill
      Price: $80
      If you have an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, the iGrill is the easiest and most affordable high-tech way to get your grill on without missing the party. Paired with a free app, this multiple meat thermometer gives you a dashboard gauge of how the cooking is coming along, from as far as 200 feet away. It sends an alarm when you need to check the grill, and helps you cook like a King, even when you're

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    • Is this the world’s most epic marriage proposal?

      Now we've seen our share of geeky marriage proposals in our day, but Isaac Lamb's insanely epic live lip-dub proposal may just be the most epically awesome "she said yes!" story of them all. The Portland actor had his brother sit girlfriend Amy Frankel down in the back of a Honda CRV and put on some headphones, with the purportedly innocent motive of "playing her a song."

      The song that followed was surely far more than Amy was prepared for, as evidenced by the picture-in-picture view of her amazing reaction as Isaac's over-the-top friends and family live lip-dub production unfolded. We're glad she said yes, because anybody who goes to such lengths to craft one of the most unique proposals of all time sure seems like a keeper.

      If you thought that was great, just imagine what it's like to have a computerized reverend preside over a wedding ceremony.

      This article originally appeared on Tecca

      More from Tecca:

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    • You only have until December 21 to see it for yourself... whether the world is ending or not

      We can't get enough of chocolate. Not only does it taste heavenly, it also makes great dresses, vinyls, and apparently, even pyramids. Chocolate and pastry distributor, Qzina Specialty Foods, celebrated its 30th year anniversary this 2012 by building the largest chocolate sculpture ever. At 18,239 pounds, it's more than 7,500 pounds heavier than the previous Guinness World Record record holder. We bet not even the most hardcore chocoholic can make a large enough dent on that thing.

      The humongous choco art is a replica of the Kukulkan pyramid in Chichen Itza, an archeaological site in Yucatán. It measures 6 feet in height and sits on a 3,000-pound, 10 feet x 10 feet base. According to Qzina, it chose to a Mayan theme for the project because the Mayans were the first civilization to realize the awesomeness of cacao beans, and even thought of them as food for the gods.

      If you want to get a glimpse (and perhaps a secret nibble) of this chocolate pyramid, head over to the Qzina Institute

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    • There are a lot of reasons to smile. Some people do it because they're happy. Others smile to express other emotions, such as frustration. Most of us are innately equipped to detect these often subtle differences, but exactly how does the human brain work to interpret a smile? A team of MIT researchers seem to have solved that mystery with the creation of a "smile algorithm" capable of telling real smiles from forced ones.

      The technology was developed after a series of experiments in MIT's famed Media Lab. Subjects were asked to fill out a data form and click submit when they were done. But the submit button was designed to cause frustration by intentionally erasing all the data entered, bring the subjects back to the beginning of the newly blank form. Researchers recorded the forced smiles that subjects naturally displayed, and measured differences between those smiles and genuine ones. The MIT team found, for example, that frustrated smiles tend to develop quickly, while genuine

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    • Your tax dollars are going to fund new and inventive ways to spy on your internet communications

      Most of us are very protective of our email, online banking, and even social networking accounts. We know what a nightmare it can be to get hacked, or just as bad, to have a stranger learn all sorts of personal information about us. But according to a new CNET report, it's not strangers we should be the most worried about eavesdropping on our comings and goings on the net — it's our own government.

      According to the report, the FBI has opened a new $54 million Domestic Communications Assistance Center (DCAC) in Quantico, Virginia. The goal of the DCAC is simple: To develop technology to allow the government to break encryption, eavesdrop on private communications, and even intercept Skype calls. The DCAC also serves to assist federal, local, and state authorities in their digital wiretapping efforts. The center does not perform wiretapping itself; it simply helps other agencies execute their own wiretapping plans.

      Predictably, civil liberties groups are up in arms over the agency —

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