While cool and probably the inspiration for the Lockheed HULC this is not the unit.

Lockheed Martin Wednesday said it was moving forward with lab-testing of its latest generation mechanical exo-skeleton for soldiers.

Like something out of the movie Aliens or any other of a number of Sci-Fi plots, the HULC unit is a “hydraulic-powered anthropomorphic exoskeleton that provides users with the ability to carry loads of up to 200 lbs for extended periods of time and over all terrains.”

“Its flexible design allows for deep squats, crawls and upper-body lifting. There is no joystick or other control mechanism. The exoskeleton senses what users want to do and where they want to go. It augments their ability, strength and endurance. An onboard micro-computer ensures the exoskeleton moves in concert with the individual.”

Lockheed said this next generation of units largely increased the HULC’s reliability and performance. The battery-powered units saw upgrades to environmental packaging and sealing to better protect the electronics from the elements and battlefield hazards.

But don’t worry, soldiers won’t be the only ones able to wield a hydraulic exo-skeleton. Lockheed said it plans to create models for use in industrial, and (although I’m not sure how) medical applications.

The real HULC

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Consumer electronics giant Sony said Monday it would no longer make its iconic Walkman, and I immediately thought of Eddy Grant and Thomas Dolby.

Songs by those two pop stars — “Electric Avenue” and “She Blinded Me with Science,” respectively — were in heavy rotation the spring of 1983, when I received a Walkman for my birthday and fired up the headphones for a walk to a nearby baseball field for a pickup game. Yes, the fact that I was walking to play pickup baseball ages me, I know. And yes, I remember these details. That’s because I’m a supreme music geek and not at all ashamed to admit it.

What I remember about that day is not just the portability of the listening experience, but the quality of the sound that was being piped into my ears. Grant’s “Oy!” and what sounded like a revving motorcycle kicking off what would become an unlikely hit for the reggae performer. And the layered synthesizers and electronic drums of Dolby’s novelty hit. Cassettes never sounded so good.

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Here’s a rundown of this week’s five most-read business stories at thedailyrecord.com. It’s heavy on real estate, with some gambling thrown in — come to think of it, real estate is pretty much a gamble these days, right?

1. Listings pulled for more than 100 foreclosed homes in Maryland

Ben Mook reveals that 109 properties, most listed by government-sponsored mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, were switched from foreclosure sales to temporarily off-the-market status over two days earlier this week. “It’s just another speed bump in the road to recovery, I guess,” one real estate agent said. (*Subscription required)

2. Construction of Fairfield power plant to begin in December

Energy Answers International will start construction of a $1 billion, waste-fueled power plant in December and begin selling electricity in late 2013. Those involved with the development of the 140-megawatt plant on East Patapsco Avenue said they hope it will be the cornerstone of new industrial development on a 90-acre site that used to produce agricultural chemicals, Nick Sohr reports.

3. Deal for Chesapeake Restaurant approved

The restaurant, a long-vacant landmark at 1701 N. Charles St., had been the focal point of a bitter controversy over ownership for the past five years, Melody Simmons reports. Legend has it that city residents got their first taste of a tender grilled steak and tangy Caesar salad at the restaurant in the 193Os.

4. Perryville slots casino takes in $2 million in first four days

Hollywood Casino Perryville opened Sept. 27 with little more than 12 hours notice, and despite the last-minute decision to open early, easily outperformed state expectations, state officials told Nick Sohr.

5. Baltimore real estate shows signs of thaw

Despite figures from the third quarter of 2010 that show a historically high vacancy rate of 18 percent in Baltimore’s downtown business district, some experts tell Melody Simmons the worst of the frozen real estate market is over.

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Frustrated with your Internet service provider? Towson University has an app for that.

The school announced on Friday the creation of the Maryland Broadband Map, which allows users to see what kind of Internet access is available at different locations around the state. Input an address, or click on a spot on the map, and it will spit out the types of access there and the providers that you can pay to get it.

Users can also find out how fast their internet connections actually are with the speed test.

“By engaging the greater community in achieving Maryland’s goal for statewide broadband service availability, the interactive map will help more of the state’s citizens enjoy the enormous advantages of access to information, services, and opportunities for economic growth,” said Dyan Brasington, Towson’s vice president for economic and community outreach.

For instance, dropping The Daily Record’s digits (11 E. Saratoga) into the tool shows five types of connections — DSL, fiber optic, mobile wireless, satellite and “other copper wireline,” which just doesn’t sound as cool as satellite or fiber. There are 16 ISP’s available to serve up web access to that address, from At&T to XO Communications.

Much of downtown has similar options, and many areas around the state have at least a half dozen ISP’s beyond the big guys like Comcast and Verizon. But the farther from I-95 you travel, the slimmer the pickings get. Residents of the town of Accident, Garrett County, for example, have to choose between cable and satellite hook-ups offered by four providers.

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The days of the residential White Pages delivered to doorsteps across the state would appear to be numbered.

Verizon, the largest landline telecommunications provider in Maryland, is seeking permission from the state’s Public Service Commission to change how it delivers the residential White Pages in all counties except Garrett and Dorchester. If approved, the only way to get the White Pages delivered would be to go to Verizon’s website and request it.

Otherwise, searchable white and yellow, residential and commercial listings are also available on the site. Or, customers can download a copy for use on computers or handheld devices.

The Public Service Commission will be taking comments through the end of the month. And, the commission will discuss the matter at a meeting on Dec. 8.

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San Diego is known for its weather, its zoo and its fish tacos. The California city also wants to be known for cybersecurity.

And, as reported recently by CNET News, (hat tip: the @g1440 Twitter feed) a two-year-old San Diego Chamber of Commerce push to make the city synonymous with being safe online has morphed into a new awareness campaign pegged to National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

There could be some marketing lessons in here for Baltimore and Maryland officials, who see the Old Line State as ideally positioned to become a national cybersecurity hub. After all, the National Security Agency is based in Fort Meade. And on Tuesday the University of Maryland launched the Maryland Cybersecurity Center at its flagship College Park campus to connect the region’s federal and private sector cyber warriors.

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With apologies to Jerry Maguire, the feel-good banking mantra of the day might be described as help us help you.

Or, to borrow another cliche, no pain no gain.

Bank of America offered fresh evidence Tuesday of how shifting its consumer banking strategy away from penalties and fees would hit its bottom line. The new strategy will be “less about selling products and more about deepening relationships with clients,” CEO Brian E. Moynihan told CNBC in an interview pegged to the bank’s third-quarter earnings report.

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Government-sponsored mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have outlined a plan to combat any deficiencies they might encounter during the foreclosure process.

“The country’s housing finance system remains fragile and I intend to maintain our focus on addressing this issue in a manner that is fair to delinquent households, but also fair to servicers, mortgage investors, neighborhoods and most of all, is in the best interest of taxpayers and housing markets,” Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco said in a statement announcing the plan.

The FHFA released the plan as the “robo-signing” scandal continues to grow. The FHFA is the regulator and conservator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the regulator of the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. Fannie and Freddie provide more than $5.9 trillion for domestic mortgage markets and financial institutions.

The plan, which seems pretty straightforward, is:

1. Verify the process: Review the process and procedures and make sure they’re legal.
2. Remediate any problems
3. Refer suspicion of fraudulent activity
4. Avoid delays: “In the absence of identified process problems, foreclosures on mortgages for which the borrower has stopped payment, and for which foreclosure alternatives have been unsuccessful, should proceed without delay. Delays in foreclosures add cost and other burdens for communities, investors, and taxpayers,” the agency wrote.

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It’s been one week since a New York Times report on the Tribune Co. and its corporate culture hit newsstands and the Web and the story is still generating chatter — locally and nationally, online and in print.

The story generated local interest for obvious reasons: Tribune Co. owns the Baltimore Sun, and its takeover of the daily paper and other prestigious media properties in January 2008, and its subsequent bankruptcy filing, have been closely monitored.

More titillating than its “financial hubris,” however, is the New York Times’ account of “sexual innuendo, poisonous workplace banter and profane invective” at the Chicago-based company. Call it Senior Executives Gone Wild (allegedly — said senior executives have denied much of the bad behavior recounted in the story, and board members say the stand behind Tribune management and their leadership of the company).

Three different people mentioned the story to me at last week’s “TechNite” celebration, I guess because I work in media and so the assumption was I would naturally be interested in any corporate shenanigans at The Sun’s parent company. And I suppose I am to an extent, in an I-can’t-believe-what-I’m-reading sort of way.

(Posting pictures of your office poker party on Facebook? Really? Plus, there’s the unintentional comedy of a corporate memo containing the phrase, “News and Information is the NEW Rock n Roll.”)

What I’m more interested in, though, is the whole notion of corporate culture.

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Next Friday, the first step in the renovation of the storied Senator Theatre will take place when it will start showing movies again, starting with the new release “Red.”

The Senator last showed a movie in July after the new owners took over and announced plans to renovate the art-deco theater. James “Buzz” Cusack, who also owns the Charles Theatre, and his daughter Kathleen are the Senator’s new operators after being selected by city officials to run the theater. The city bought the financially troubled Senator for $800,000 at a foreclosure auction in July 2009.

A planned $1.6 million upgrade of the facility will add a 120-seat theater as well as upgrade the seats in the existing theater. The Senator will also add two restaurants. The Cusacks plan to reveal specifics about their plans at a community meeting at the theater on Thursday night.

Kathleen Cusack said the renovation would begin next year since the plans have to go back before city agencies for approval.

“It’s still going to look much the same as it has, nothing too major has been done in the past six weeks,” she said. “We’ve been doing some cosmetic work, but we’re really in the design and development phase right now.”

She said the hope is to have work done, excluding the new theater, in about nine months.

And, until renovation work begins in full, the theater will remain open starting with the Oct. 15 premiere of “Red,” the Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman action movie adapted from a DC Comic. The box office will open at 1 p.m. on Friday, and general admission tickets will be $9.

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