Wired

I never would have expected this from the tech gurus over at Wired, but the magazine has deciphered the ingredient list of L'Oréal Sublime Bronze self-tanner ($7.81). It's interesting stuff, if only to see what all of those tongue-twisting chemical names really do. For instance:

Dihydroxy Acetone: The star of the show. This carbohydrate reacts with the skin's amino acids, like arginine, in what chefs call the Maillard reaction (it's what makes cooked foods turn brown). Heat this stuff to body temperature and it produces brown polymers known as melanoidins that bind to the outer layer of the skin (and no deeper).

So that's how it works. And did you know that the same silicone compound that goes into Silly Putty goes into this lotion? I'm oddly fascinated by this parsing of the label. Are you?

Homemaking expert Martha Stewart may not have stripped down like Jenna Fischer for her cover of Wired, but she does get her geek on with a baked-to-perfection Wii cake and by revealing her inner techieness.

Gadget obsessed Martha stays connected with her BlackBerry and Razr (pink perhaps?) and it's no surprise that the super organized Stewart has a "servery," a room with two long white marble counters on either side with lots of plugs, where she keeps her gadgets, charges her cameras and stores batteries. She also attempts to keep wires and "crap" (no lie) to a minimum, opting for iPods in every room with wireless speakers. Here are some more highlights from the interview:

• On the new marthastewart.com re-design: "I'm working on Marthapedia right now, which is my version of Wikipedia. If you know how to take red wine out of a white cloth napkin better than I do, that's good to know. We'll be editing user content, and it won't be as freewheeling as Wikipedia. Because a lot of this — you have to really monitor it."
• What geeks can learn from her: "First of all, they can learn to prioritize, and they can learn how to make things beautiful. It's about using your hands and your mind to make things work better. Whether you're a programmer or a seamstress, it's all about new techniques, simplifying old techniques, and consolidating steps. Making things go faster — but not worse. Better."

Check out Martha's Wii Cake recipe. Want to check out some more yummy and geeky treats? Check out my past edible geek stories.

So what do you think is resting peacefully in that hand in the photo to the left? A jelly fish? Why no, it is a diet pill. When I saw this on WIRED all I could think to say was, to borrow a phrase my buddy Giggle is so fond of - WTF!?

This is a new diet pill, still in the testing phase, that turns into a clear, gelatinous blob the size of a tennis ball to help fill up your stomach. The pill, taken with 2 glasses of water, gives the user a fake-full sensation, like having eaten a "plate full of pasta," but without having to deal with all those unwanted calories. It seems the Italian creators of this "innovative" diet pill were inspired by the increasing size of Americans waistlines when they visited our fair country back in the 1990s.

The pill absorbs the two glasses of water you drink after swallowing it and expands in your stomach. Made of hydrogel, this "water balloon" could produce an effect similar to gastric banding -- without the surgery. The scientists behind the pill said "hydrogel" is made from "biocompatible" material, so the body just flushes it out. The WIRED article did not give any time frame for this flushing process.

The pill may be on the market in both the U.S. and EU later this year depending on how it fares in testing trials.

Is it just me - or does it look an awful lot like a silicone breast implant?

There's another photo and if you want to see it you are just going to have to read more

I guess it only makes sense that budding kitchen mad scientist, Marcel "I was almost Top Chef" Vigneron, would be featured in Wired magazine. They have an online slideshow of three of his creations - The Cyber Egg (which I really want to try, but then again you all know how I feel about eggs), a Potato with Truffle Espuna and Coffee Caviar. And say what you will about Marcel, but you have to admit, it sounds intriguing. - Wired via Chow

In her never-ending Internet savvy, my girl geeksugar has gotten an early look at the April cover of Wired magazine, featuring a very naked Jenna Fischer (aka, Pam on "The Office.") Apparently, the cover story is about the idea of a transparent office, wherein companies share secrets with rivals and blog publicly about their ideas. The cover features an overlay where Jenna is clothed and a second cover with her nearly naked underneath.

This isn't the first naked magazine appearance for Fischer, who stars in the upcoming Will Ferrell movie, Blades of Glory. She also took it all off for Jane magazine last year as part of a fundraiser for children's charities. Who knew Pam was so hot? To see the Jane photo, read more