But the FORM 1 isn't just razzle-dazzle, underneath that outer shell is that self-developed technique for bringing stereolithography to the masses, and seeing it in action is as hypnotic as it is innovative.

ENGADGET: Formlabs FORM 1 high-resolution 3D printer spotted in the wild, we go eyes on (video)

All are self-made, grew up in the outer boroughs of New York City, and can now look back on middle age. (Ray Lamontagne, the chairman of the board of City Center, comes from New Hampshire, but otherwise fits the profile.) During one recent lunch together, the old farts had a contest of sorts to determine who grew up in the most modest circumstances.

NEWYORKER: Madoff��s Curveball

"A lot of outer space hoaxes are really just exercises in wish fulfillment, " says self-proclaimed "hoaxpert" Alex Boese, author of the wide-ranging Museum of Hoaxes: A History of Outrageous Pranks and Deceptions.

FORBES: Psst...Wanna Buy A Star?

Not least of the factors making for dissension among the Indonesian islands has been the ratio at which rice, in which Java is usually self-sufficient, exchanges for the products of the normally rice-deficient outer islands.

ECONOMIST: Bitter pill