Name: Jeff KirkhamPatent No.: 9,168,044Patent: Multi-Use Cleat: An easy-to-use tourniquet that stops blood flow with elasticity, like a rubber band wrapped repeatedly around a finger. I was Special Forces—a Green Beret, but I’m retired now. In Special Forces we go into areas and we train and advise the host country’s forces. I’ve done that all over the world. So when we were in Afghanistan, a big part of that training cycle was medical....
Media Platforms Design TeamNeal Stephenson stands firmly in the ranks of the greatest science-fiction writers, but his career continues to defy that easy label. The distant realms in his books range from the far future to the distant past, but many of the themes he presents are common to all his books. In Stephenson’s world, information is power, and individuals with enough brains, foresight and firepower to use it can ride its transformational might like a surfer on a wave....
Media Platforms Design TeamI never thought I’d go off-roading in New York City, but that’s what I found myself doing on a sunny Wednesday afternoon on Randall’s Island, that stretch of land in the East River between Manhattan and Queens and below the Bronx. Better yet, if I had gone on Tuesday, I could have gone off-roading with David Alan Grier of “In Living Color” fame. Apparently he’s a big fan of recreational off-highway vehicles....
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the North Korean military to prepare nuclear weapons for use in a pre-emptive attack at any time according to North Korea’s state-owned news agency KCNA on Friday. Kim emphasized “the need to get the nuclear warheads deployed for national defence always on standby so as to be fired any moment.“The aggressive statement follows the imposition of strict new U.N. sanctions drafted by the United States and China, in part as a reaction to North Korea’s test of an “H-bomb of justice” earlier this year, a weapon which may or may not actually be a hydrogen bomb....
If you look at the South China Sea on a map, then it might seem inevitable that this 1.4 million square miles of water would become a territorial quagmire.Bordered by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and other nations, the area includes the busiest sea lanes in the world—about a third of the world shipping passes through every year, with cargo valued around $3 trillion. With evidence pointing to huge oil and gas reserves, all of the surrounding countries want a piece of the pie....
Star Trek is finally awakening from slumber and entering a boom era. Ever since the demise of Enterprise in 2005, Trek fans have had only J.J. Abrams’ movies and decades-old TV reruns to keep them going. But now CBS wants to have a Star Trek show running “all year round” on CBS All-Access, the company says, and early rumors about the potential series are painting a promising picture for the future for Star Trek....
Stealth technology, having revolutionized air warfare, is set to enter the world of ground combat in a big way. On the battlefield of the future, the widespread ability to kill tanks and call down tank-killing firepower makes a tank’s ability to stay undetected the key to survival—and to victory. So future tanks will become more difficult for enemies to detect, playing a cat and mouse game with their opponents by reducing their acoustic, radar, and infrared signatures....
The automotive industry is bracing for its biggest engineering challenge in decades. The pending changes to federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations call for a stunning 5 percent increase in fuel economy per year, culminating in a fleet average of 54.5 mpg by 2025. Common sense—and a fair amount of industry experts—would indicate that cars are about to get smaller, or at the very least stop getting bigger, and that SUVs will continue their steady decline in popularity....
Star TrekThe next time you want to grab a vesper martini with a Vulcan or pour yourself a holodeck Harvey Wallbanger, reach for a bottle of Ten Forward. That’s right: There is now an officially licensed Star Trek: The Next Generation vodka made by Silver Screen Bottling Company and named for Guinan’s bar on the USS Enterprise-D.The best thing about this novelty booze is clearly the bottle. Its type and graphics are an homage to the LCARS computer system seen on all the terminals and pads used throughout the show....
Media Platforms Design TeamRedmond, Wash.—At Microsoft’s Xbox Campus today, the company gave a first look at its next-generation console, the Xbox One, which is coming out later this year (obviously in time for Christmas). Microsoft clearly noticed the drubbing Sony got a few months ago when that company unveiled the PlayStation 4 without showing off any hardware and learned a lesson. Xbox hardware was definitely shown today: a rectangular vented box with glossy black panels accompanied by a new Kinect that will come standard with the console, and a controller that looks very much like the existing one....
Before actors like Adam West, Michael Keaton, and Christian Bale played Batman, there was Camazotz, an ancient Mayan deity who was part-man and part-bat. Camazotz might’ve been inspired by an ancient species of vampire bat that the Mayan Kʼicheʼ people of Guatemala may have seen attacking and drinking the blood of larger animals (and possibly humans).Batman has existed in our lives for 80 years, first appearing in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, but Batman’s roots actually go much deeper....
The United States Navy, seeking to lock in savings on some very expensive ships, inked a deal in late January ordering two new nuclear-powered aircraft carriers at once. The carriers, including the next USS Enterprise, will start entering service in 2028. One question: What to name the unnamed carrier?Late last week the U.S. Navy officially signed the paperwork ordering two new Ford-class aircraft carriers, the USS Enterprise (CVN-80) and yet-unnamed carrier (CVN-81)....
Mike Fobes originally wanted a new Harley. He hadn’t had a street bike since before his kids were born and now they were nearly grown. But his wife would not abide it. Rather than get into a drawn-out argument, he relented. He wouldn’t buy a motorcycle. But he never said he wouldn’t build one. And as a further concession to his wife’s safety concerns, he decided he wouldn’t even build a bike....
A new, rapid fire light cannon could find its way onto U.S. Army armored vehicles. The BAE Systems 40-millimeter cannon system is proposed as one way to give increased firepower to existing vehicles, giving them the ability to engage threats big and small. The cannon is considerably more lethal than the chain guns and heavy machine guns it is meant to replace.The new cannon system is designed to fit on armored vehicles such as the M2 Bradley, Stryker combat vehicle, and any future vehicle that arises from the U....
The W76-2 warhead is a new, low-yield nuclear weaponThe Pentagon believes other countries—especially Russia—could use low-yield nukes early in a conflict, so it needs its own.The W76-2 has an explosive yield of 10 kilotons, or 10,000 tons of TNT, or less. The Pentagon reaffirmed its determination to field a new nuclear weapon designed to allow the U.S. to match Russian and Chinese nukes on the battlefield. In an interview with Seapower magazine, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood stated that the nukes are necessary to counter Russian plans to use low-yield nuclear weapons early in a conflict, frightening its enemies into a ceasefire....
A team of engineers from Scotland and Ukraine have developed what they call an “autophage” rocket that would consume its own structure as it hurtles into space. While this would be a poor choice for human spaceflight, it could present a cheaper alternative for small satellites.The autophage engine designed by engineers from Glasgow University and Oles Honchar Dnipro National University would eat a propellant rod comprised of solid fuel on the outside and oxidizer on the inside that would also function as the rocket’s “body....
Media Platforms Design Team1. Rake or blow leaves into long, narrow windrows. Resistance to movement increases dramatically with size, so don’t make gigantic leaf piles.2. When you’re done with power equipment that you plan to reuse the next day, move its choke to the Start position. If it has a rocker or toggle ignition switch, set it to On; that prevents you from accidentally flooding a machine by pull-starting it without its proper settings engaged (not uncommon when you’re sore, tired and in a hurry the next day)....
A technician for Air India died Wednesday when he was pulled into a running jet engine at the Mumbai airport. The accident occurred when Air India flight 619 from Mumbai to Hyderabad was rolling back and preparing for departure. “An Air India technician died in a mishap during pushback of flight AI 619; the incident is being investigated,” Air India spokesperson Ashwani Lohani told the Hindustan Times. “We are deeply saddened and regret the tragic incident at Mumbai airport....
A “blazar” is a supermassive black hole at the center of a faraway galaxy that’s shooting energetic jets toward Earth.Scientists noticed one at the same time they detected a neutrino, a whispy particle that’s one of the hardest things in the universe to find.The discovery, besides being super cool, could fill in the picture of what’s happening around a black hole.In September 2017, a lonely ephemeral particle on a 4.6-billion-light-year journey made a pit stop while passing through Antarctica....
Media Platforms Design TeamIf the carbon dioxide spewing from the coal-fired power plants serving the Northeast’s densely populated cities could be permanently stored, residents there could collectively reduce their carbon footprint—or at least feel a little less guilty when they leave the lights on. And they might be able to stash it right under their feet.Scientists at Columbia University and elsewhere are busy trying to figure out how to inject and securely trap massive amounts of wasted CO2 in the huge geologic formation known as the Newark Basin that sits right underneath New Jersey, including part of the New York metropolitan area....
