AUGUST 28, 2005Mike Brown: Everyone, let’s go ahead and get started. It’s noon, and we have a lot of business to cover today.Before we get started, I wanted to very briefly introduce Michael Jackson, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, and my good friend from the old days. So, Michael, welcome to our little operation here.MR. JACKSON: Hi.Mike Brown: Let’s get started immediately. National Hurricane Center, do you want to give us an update?...
In 1957, Mercury Marine founder Carl Kiekhaefer bought a 1,440-acre body of water that he called Lake X. It was perfect for covert testing, close enough to his Orlando headquarters to be convenient, but far enough away to ensure that nobody outside the company would end up there by accident. In 1984, Mercury sold the property to the Kirchman Foundation, a nonprofit conservation group, ostensibly because Mercury’s racing program outgrew the confines of the three-mile lake....
The Russian Army is about to get its first new sniper rifle in decades. The Chukavin sniper rifle, or SVC, replaces the Cold War–era Dragunov SVD. A fully modern rifle, the Chukavin comes in a variety of calibers, with a maximum range of more than 1,600 yards.For decades, the Russian Army has relied on the Dragunov SVD rifle for its sniper and designated marksman duties. Introduced in 1963, the Dragunov is a semi-automatic rifle designed to provide accurate aimed fire....
Aerosols, the millions of solid particles and liquid droplets that exist within the air we breathe, are everywhere. They drift from the Earth’s stratosphere down to the surface and they place a large role in Earth’s climate and on human health—breathing in the wrong ones can be harmful. That’s why NASA has created a map showing global aerosol distribution on August 23, 2018. It’s pretty stunning to look at.Aerosols emerge out of smoke billowing from a wildfire, ash hurtling out of volcano, or even dust blowing in the wind....
Ever spend what feels like forever browsing through Netflix to find the perfect movie to watch? Chances are, you actually didn’t scroll for very long. According to NBC News, the data experts at Netflix have calculated how long its users will spend browsing before they get fed up and quit: just 60 to 90 seconds.Researchers at the company crunched the numbers because they’re trying make Netflix’s recommendation system better. After all, they’re at risk of having users quit out of frustration, boot up rival apps like Hulu, or (gasp!...
In an extreme example of how expensive real estate has gotten in cities globally, a parking spot in Hong Kong has been sold for $664,200.The parking spot comes out to 188 square feet, but it’s new owner Kwan Wai-ming, executive director of Huarong Investment Stock Corp, cares more about the location than the size of the perfectly normal space. It’s his third parking space in a high end apartment building, the Upton....
SpaceX has been trying to launch an SES satellite into geostationary orbit since February 24, but lots of complicating factors keep pushing back that launch. At first it was a problem with the rocket’s liquid oxygen cooling, and then destructively sharp winds in its flight path. But tonight, the company says it’s ready for another go. This will be the fifth total attempt in the past 10 days. View full post on TwitterAs reported by Florida Today, there’s a 90 percent chance the rocket will lift off tonight between 6:35 p....
Developer: Sucker Punch Productions // Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment // Release:March 21, 2014 // Price: $59.99 A Sony PlayStation 4 exclusive, Sucker Punch follows up with the third installment to their franchise called inFamous: Second Son, which smashes together comic books and action movies into its own video game blockbuster. The previous anti-hero Cole MacGrath is replaced by the Native American Delsin Rowe as the series is flung seven years into the future....
The the Turkish capital of Ankara is now home to this giant robot statue, which looms over traffic near a busy highway. The mechanical colossus is the latest oversized symbol of a strange fight in the city that just won’t end.Ankara mayor Melih Gokcek, who has been in power for 21 years, has been in a public fight with members of his own party, his country’s courts, and the court of public opinion over his plan for a giant amusement park to be filled with statues of robots and dinosaurs....
A match is not a particularly complicated tool. It is basically just a lollipop, but with fire. But the process of making them—specifically the process of whipping up that red phosphorus sludge that fizzes to fiery life so pleasantly—is a little more involved than just sticking some wood in there and pulling it out. As this video from the Science Channel explains, the whole process starts with the multistep process of creating that flammable coating, which includes mixing not only liquid and powder, but also capsules of gelatin and silica beads before any of the matchsticks actually get involved....
The U.S. Navy is planning to grow its fleet of warships and it’s not leaving submarines behind. The service plans to accelerate the number of submarines it buys per year while refurbishing older boats to keep them in service longer. The service believes it needs to increase the size of the fleet to meet current mission requirements, including a growing Chinese Navy.The U.S. Navy maintained scores of attack submarines during the Cold War to deter the Soviet Navy....
Media Platforms Design TeamFRANKFURT — Volvo today introduced its ReCharge Concept, a Volvo C30 plug-in hybrid with individual electric wheel motors and batteries that can be recharged via a regular electrical outlet.A three-hour recharge offers a range of 62 miles on battery power alone before the car’s four-cylinder Flexifuel engine is needed to power the car and charge the battery again.“A certain proportion of electrical vehicles will be necessary to meet the CO2 emission demands of the future,” said Magnus Jonsson, Volvo’s senior VP for R&D....
Media Platforms Design TeamIn the wee hours of Monday morning (late on Sunday night on the West Coast), a one-ton robot the size of a Mini Cooper will land on Mars. After the Mars Science Laboratory endures itsseven minutes of terror beginning at 1:31 a.m. Eastern time on August 6, the Curiosity rover begins a primary mission that will last for about 90 Martian days, or sols—but hopefully an overall journey of exploration that lasts for several more years....
Media Platforms Design TeamYou’ve said in the past that IBM’s Jeopardy-playing computer, Watson, isn’t deserving of the term artificial intelligence. Why?Well, artificial intelligence is a slippery term. It could refer to just getting machines to do things that seem intelligent on the surface, such as playing chess well or translating from one language to another on a superficial levelthings that are impressive if you don’t look at the details. In that sense, we’ve already created what some people call artificial intelligence....
Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamFINAL REPORT - August 2008Media Platforms Design TeamThe CX-7 occupies a particularly sweet spot in the crossover continuum. With a 244-hp turbocharged Four, surprisingly communicative steering and a well-tuned suspension, it feels more like a lithe sport sedan than a lumbering SUV. Interior space is on the small end of the scale for this class, yet it has enough room for five, plus luggage. There was some debate among the PM staff as to whether the CX-7 was a tad too cozy, but most found it serviceable for road trips and around-town chores....
First Man starts with a bang, and then it gets deathly quiet. It’s a lot like going to space.Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) pilots an experimental X-15 that is about to fly apart as it approaches the top of the atmosphere at blistering velocity. Chaotic camera cuts and shaky-cam strap the viewer into the cockpit with the flyboy. Then the jet breaks through to calm skies and a view of dazzling blue, the curvature of the Earth on the horizon....
Laguna Beach, Calif.—As Mercedes-Benz’s Dr. Christian Mohrdieck, responsible for fuel-cell development, says of the new B-Class F-Cell, “The most spectacular thing about it is how unspectacular it is.“What he means is that the new fuel-cell-powered electric vehicle is so simple to use and so much like the cars we are accustomed to that one soon stops thinking about the flow of hydrogen and oxygen, the proton-exchange process and all of the sci-fi stuff going on in the compartment below the rear-floor section....
No matter how well you take care of your phone, it’s going to happen. One night you’ll forget to charge, or you’ll wind up out too late and suddenly, battery crisis time. It’s a hassle to care a just-in-case backup battery, but maybe it doesn’t have to be. The Nomad Wallet puts one right in your back pocket. It’s a very simple design. The Nomad Wallet is just a normal wallet with a small battery and integrated Lightning cable in its spine....
Tim Cook brought back “One More Thing” to close out the 2015 WWDC keynote speech, and Apple used the opportunity to finally unveil its long-awaited music service. It is called, not surprisingly, Apple Music.Simply, Apple Music is Cupertino’s play to unite your music-listening experience under one umbrella. All of the music and playlists you already have throughout the Apple Ecosystem will be here. But Apple Music also wants to find new music for you....
Alaina Gassler, a 14-year-old from Pennsylvania, engineered a new fix for car blind spots during a science competition in the eighth grade.After beating out 80,000 other competitors in a nationwide science, technology, engineering and math competition, Gassler took home a grand prize of $25,000.Gassler’s invention more or less makes the front pillars in a vehicle “invisible” so that drivers can see what’s in their blind spot.Over 840,000 of the car crashes that occur on U....
