Here's What's Awesome: Wind Power Helmets, Crowdsourced Intelligence

Hi. My name is Brady Carlson. My family has been sharing awesome links ever since my great-grandfather, Silas McAwesome, opened up a small stand called "Hey, did you guys hear about this?" in Toledo, Ohio in 1909. Now, a century later, I'm proud to keep this family tradition alive on the Internet, through this column, Here's What's Awesome. I like to think great-granddad would be proud. (I also like to think this great-granddad actually existed.)

Get your wind-powered motor running...
Here's a biker-themed awesome link in honor of Motorcycle Week: a helmet with a built-in wind power generator! Students in Taiwan put together a system of small turbines that gather enough energy to help power a bike's lights, which it does via a Bluetooth device. No reviews yet of the aesthetics of the helmets, though they can't possibly look stranger than foam domes.... can they? [Eco Trees]

Where Google Earth wins CIA certification
Last year we shared an awesome link to a project pulling together photos of North Korea from different sources for an online photo gallery. Turns out there's another project along these lines, and it's incredibly detailed: North Korea Uncovered is a plug-in for Google Earth that displays pretty much everything we know, think, or have a hunch about what and where things are in the Hermit Kingdom, from the Pyongyang Chewing Gum Factory to sites where the country is believed to hold public executions. Again, we may not know everything about North Korea, but efforts like this help share what we do know. [via Poynter Online]

Avoid the intersection two blocks ahead - and look up once in a while
Looking to not get mugged? They have an app for that - Are You Safe for iPhone cross-references crime data with your current location to give you an idea of how safe the neighborhood is. Right now it's only available in three cities; another limitation is that it doesn't help protect you from the urban scourge that is not paying attention to other pedestrians, cars or lampposts while staring at a mobile phone. [Google Maps Mania]

Now it's your turn: share an awesome link in the comments. Do it for great-granddad Silas.

(Photo courtesy Francesco Rachello via Flickr/Creative Commons)