If you ask most Burning Man attendees what the annual MDMA and enlightenment mecca is about, they'll probably reference one of the Ten Principles laid out a decade ago by cofounder Larry Harvey: "Communal Effort," maybe. "Radical Self-reliance." The vow to "Leave No Trace" in the Nevada desert.

Google is inching along in its plan to "solve" that pesky mortality equation. Calico, the corporation's "life extension center," just revealed a partnership with the pharmaceutical company AbbVie to develop and sell "new drugs targeting diseases associated with old age," reports the Verge.

Baidu, the Chinese search engine, has launched a set of "smart" chopsticks called Kuaisou, which it claims "can detect oils containing unsanitary levels of contamination," as well as PH levels, temperature, and calories. The intelligent utensil is sort of like Vessyl, the magical cup, except for solid food.

Have you ever founded a technology company, but found yourself unable to describe it to others? A website called PitchGrub (?) will generate lines for you to read to potential investors, because you are possibly brain dead.

Yelp has been cleared of an extortion suit. A federal appeals court threw out a lawsuit alleging the user review company forced businesses to buy advertising or have their rankings altered, ruling that the tactic amounts to "hard bargaining." A shareholder lawsuit over similar allegations is ongoing.

Airbnb is the best friend of Hurricane Sandy victims, single mom entrepreneurs trying to make ends meet, and, of course, high-class Manhattan slum lords who reserve the right to search your bags while you sleep.

Last month, it seemed that Google's mysterious barge project was heading to the great scrap heap in the sky. But hopes for the company's floating gadget shop lives on in San Francisco.

Two years ago, tech writer Mat Honan wrote a blockbuster story for Wired, describing how a child got into his iCloud account and briefly ruined his life. You may have heard that the same thing recently happened to some very famous women, almost certainly using the same method. Apple is making it easy for you to be next.

No employee perk in Silicon Valley is as cherished as the gourmet meals dished out in corporate cafeterias. But soon, Google's multimillion dollar chicken tab could come with a tax bill from the IRS.

After facing federal money laundering charges, accused of aiding the notorious Silk Road drug market, bitcoin booster Charlie Shrem is taking a plea bargain. He seems very happy about it.

UberX is temporarily banned across Germany, the New York Times reports. The company says it will keep running in the face of the ban.

Another week, another app designed by the entitled techno-brats of San Francisco, for their entitled friends. Here's Zirx, an app that makes someone else park your car.

There was a moment in recent history when Angry Birds, a smartphone game people play on the toilet, was poised to sweep all of pop culture. There would be Angry Bird theme parks, museums, stuffed animals, and tampons. Now, that dream is dead.

According to the usual anonymous administration sources, Bloomberg is reporting that Megan Smith, VP of Google's shadowy R&D lab, will assume the role of Obama's top tech advisor:

Silicon Valley's top tech firms are infamous for paying their help borderline-poverty wages, including private security. Today, some of Apple's retail and corporate guards protested their low pay at the company's flagship shop in San Francisco.

Former Napster COO Milton Olin Jr. was killed while biking last December when a Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy lost control of his vehicle while using a laptop. Now, the L.A. County District Attorney is declining to bring charges against the deputy, saying there is not enough evidence to prove negligence.

Tech companies across the board are hitting record stock prices, TechCrunch notes, as investors scurry to pump their money into anything remotely related to Silicon Valley. This week, companies such as Apple, Facebook, MobileIron, TubeMogul, and Arista Networks have all hit all-time highs.

Building 15, a gargantuan aerospace structure outside LAX airport, was once used to construct the Spruce Goose. Soon, it might be home to another focal point of hubris, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Cards Against Humanity has supplanted classic games like "snort the adderall" and "kings" as the pastime of choice for the early-20s set. Max Temkin, the card game's creator, is an accused rapist—a charge that's only finally catching up with him.