Did any of us expect the Song of the Summer to come from a completely unknown 20-year-old rapper named Lil Nas X, prominently feature Billy Ray Cyrus, and be based around a sample from Nine Inch Nails? Or that the music video would feature full-on cowboy getups? Or that the decidedly hip-hop track would top not only the country music charts, but also the Billboard Hot 100, where it set the record for longest-running No....
It’s one thing to write about magical or science-fiction concepts like an invisibility cloak, such as the one used by Harry Potter and his wizard friends. It’s another thing entirely to design one in the real world. Creating metamaterials, or artificial materials engineered to have properties not found in naturally occurring materials (like invisibility), is hard work. That’s why a team at the South Korea-based Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) want an AI to handle the challenge....
Jimmy DiResta has made a name for himself crafting beautiful knives and axes and other unique items like this AK-47 guitar. His latest project has him busting out the lathe to shape some customized chess pieces out of brass. Once the models of each piece are shaped and smoothed out, DiResta uses them to make molds that allow him to quickly pump out white and black pieces for play. The entire project takes a bit of time considering he has to repeat the process for each of the six different types of chess piece—the knight requires some particularly impressive band saw work—but here are some highlights for you to enjoy....
Media Platforms Design TeamThe main gun developer for the new Rainbow Six Vegas 2 says Ubisoft’s team “could make it as anally realistic as possible” but that gameplay concerns are paramount.In real life, people rarely want to get into a firefight. But in many video games, particularly military-themed first-person shooters (FPS) like the just-released Rainbow Six Vegas 2, you can’t wait to step into the line of fire. After all, you’re an elite commando, and there’s no way not to fight–no button to press to call your nervous wreck of a wife or go hang out with the kids....
Cervélo has designed one of the first-ever triathlon-specific bicycles, one that features a one-piece carbon fiber frame, aerodynamic brakes, and a fresh shape. It will debut Oct. 8 at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, ridden by 2013 champion Frederick Van Lierde. While advanced racing bicycles are engineered around the newest technologies and supermaterials, this triathlon bike also was built with something decidedly old-fashioned and low-tech in mind: the throwaway round water bottle....
Owner: Kyle SmithLocation: Louisville, KYFound on: SaabnetPurchase Price: $4,500Years owned: FourMy older brother’s first car was a Saab 900. I looked up to him, so when it was time for my first car, I got the same year and model as him: a black 1991 non-turbo 900 that I picked up for $500. Six years later, I gave it to my little brother, and started looking for an SPG. The Special Performance Group was an upgrade from the standard 900 turbo — lower to the ground with more horsepower and the body kit....
The U.S. Air Force has finally received the first of dozens of new aerial refueling tankers, nearly two decades after issuing a requirement for them. The KC-46A Pegasus tanker, built by Boeing, will replace some of the oldest aircraft in USAF inventories, KC-135 Stratotankers more than sixty years old. On January 25, two KC-46A tankers took off from Boeing’s airfield at Everett, Washington, and flew to their new home at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas....
The new stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt is six years late.The ship won’t be ready to perform any missions until September 2021.The ship costs $7.6 billion, or more than half as much as an aircraft carrier, and its two Advanced Gun Systems lack ammunition. The USS Zumwalt, the world’s first stealth warship, won’t be ready for any sort of action until the second half of 2021. The six hundred foot long destroyer is six years late and has racked up a total price tag of $7....
Update 10:58 a.m. EST: The SpaceX Falcon 9 launch was successful and the primary payload, the Paz satellite, was deployed in a low Earth orbit. The two SpaceX internet broadband test satellites were also successfully deployed in orbit. SpaceX did not manage to catch a payload fairing with its Mr. Steven boat, as the fairing fell a few hundred meters away. It remained intact when it splashed down into the ocean....
If you were cloned, would the clone have the same sense of humor as you?It sure would be a time-saver if it did. Imagine how much more productive you’d be if you had someone else to laugh at your own jokes for you. That would free up at least an hour a week for the typical middle-aged dad, who, despite his invariably generous self-appraisal, is deemed by his wife and children to be roughly as humorous as Lenin’s funeral....
The Post Office Says What We All Wish We CouldIn a Jan. 22, 2013 letter sent to both the city of East Cleveland, Ohio, and the company that operates East Cleveland’s photo-enforcement program, Postal Service attorney Jennifer S. Breslin said the Post Office should ignore two school-zone speeding citations and five red-light infractions that postal trucks received in December. “In providing mail service across the country, the Postal Service attempts to work within local and state laws and regulations, when feasible,” wrote Breslin....
Media Platforms Design TeamLive in a home long enough and you’ll eventually have to deal with clogged sinks, dripping faucets, plugged-up toilets and leaky pipes. There’s simply no way to avoid it: plumbing problems happen. However, calling a plumber for each and every repair is impractical, expensive and time-consuming. In most cases, you can fix the problem yourself long before the plumber even calls back to schedule an appointment, but only if you have the right plumbing tools on hand....
Twelve boys and their soccer coach have been found alive after going missing for nine days while trapped in a flooded cave. They were feared dead, but naval special forces have been able to make contact the missing and confirm the health of everyone. The challenge will now be to extract the 13 survivors from their ordeal.Thai Navy SEALS established an underground operation rescue center in their continuing attempts to save the boys and their coach in northern Thailand....
The Gift of GothicMedia Platforms Design Team(Photograph Courtesy of Sandsculpting.com)Despite the forbidding dragon in the foreground, this castle appears to have been sold to a satisfied “Homenet real estate” customer. In fact, the castle was built and “sold” in Cape Town, South Africa to corporate donors as part of a fund-raiser for children’s charities. With its steeply pitched Gothic gables, carved crests and soaring turrets, the castle fetched more than $12,500....
The Afghanistan government wants the United States to redeploy the A-10 Thunderbolt II, affectionately known as the “Warthog," back to the war-torn country. The heavily-armed close air support aircraft with the big, big gun would go back to Afghanistan as part of a U.S. military buildup designed to bolster Afghan forces and destroy Taliban sources of revenue. Earlier this fall, the United States sent 3,500 troops to Afghanistan in an new offensive designed to prop up Afghan forces and destroy drug production facilities that fund the Taliban insurgency....
Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamSUNRISE AT GTMO: Guantanamo Bay, CUBA – The sun rises on Jan. 23, 2010, over a modified Boeing 747 cargo plane (background) while an MH-53 Super Stallion heavy-lift U.S. Navy helicopter sits on the flight line. With Haiti’s one jet-capable airstrip operating well over capacity, Guantanamo Bay Naval Air Station is the major staging point for humanitarian aid bound for Haiti by way of Cuba....
Last week, China landed a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon, something no country has ever done before. In the days since, China’s National Space Administration has released a photo of its lander, and now the agency has released a short video of the landing, which shows the Chang’e-4’s descent: View full post on YoutubeLanding on the Moon’s far side is astronomically more difficult than landing on the near side....
The U.S. Air Force is ordering its first new F-15 Eagle fighter jets in nearly 20 years. The new jets feature fully modern avionics, thanks to Boeing’s contracts providing new Eagles to other countries over the past two decades.A major selling point of the new F-15EX is the fighter’s ability to carry up to 22 air-to-air missiles, far more than the F-35. After nearly twenty years, the U.S. Air Force is buying brand new Eagles to fly alongside the F-22 and F-35 fighters stealth fighters....
Media Platforms Design TeamThe FBI has already begun gathering iris scans, and says it will need to expand its photograph database to ramp up inputs for the NGI system–growth that “could be the basis for our facial recognition,” says an agency official. (Image Courtesy of Lockheed Martin)Ten years ago, if a police department wanted to run a check on a suspect’s fingerprints, someone had to mail an ink-splotched card to the FBI....
Tech improvements these days are usually measured in millimeters instead of milestones. With smartphones you expect a slightly better resolution, maybe some USB-C charging, and added waterproofing is nice, but nothing truly transformative. The same can be said for action cameras, the 2018 Hero, Hero6 Black, Hero5 Black, Session, and so on are all small improvements, but the Hero 7 Black is something much, much bigger.The new top-end GoPro camera, the Hero 7 Black has a feature that will make people pay for the $400 upgrade: inside the otherwise normal looking Hero is a top-notch stabilization system....
