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GamesArchive for January, 2010
Superfast Bullet Trains Are Finally Coming to the U.S. – “Believe it: Bullet trains are coming. After decades of false starts, planners are finally beginning to make headway on what could become the largest, most complicated infrastructure project ever attempted in the US. The Obama administration got on board with an $8 billion infusion, and [...]
You Asked: Will a gun fire underwater? — George, Tallahassee, Fla. Marshall Brain Answers: If it is a speargun, the answer is yes, as demonstrated here: These guns are powered by rubber straps, making them more like slingshots than a traditional gun. What about a normal handgun, shooting a normal gunpowder-powered bullet? The answer is [...]
Justice and the Killing Fields
by Katie Lambert | January 26, 2010
Looking over this year’s selection at Sundance, I came across “Enemies of the People” in the world documentary category. The co-director of the film, Thet Sambath, is a journalist and survivor of the Khmer Rouge. And what makes this documentary so worthy of note is that he forged a relationship with the infamous Nuon Chea, also known as Brother Number Two, second only to Pol Pot in the regime’s hierarchy.
Cristen and I have been covering tons of interesting topics for the Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast recently — in the last few weeks, we’ve taken on gender differences in infidelity, women in baseball and the importance of birth order on personality (or lack thereof). But today I thought I’d give you a sneak peek at a podcast that’s not up on iTunes yet that happens to be one my new favorites. The topic? Whether or not you should eat a baby’s placenta.
Good question – what are Americans thinking about right now?
by Marshall Brain | January 26, 2010
You see all the stories in the news about health care, unemployment, global warming, AIDS, H1N1, gas prices, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, terrorism, etc. But what do Americans really care about right now? Enter pollsters and statisticians to answer the question: Public’s Priorities for 2010 The top 5 things Americans are thinking about right now are [...]
Last week, I ran out of soap, so I dug up an old bar I stole from a beach condo a couple of summers ago. As soon as I lathered up in the shower, I was overcome by a really happy, carefree feeling. Why? Because the smell of the soap immediately took me back to that long weekend at the beach — not a cloud in the sky for four days straight, perfect sunbathing temperatures (hot, but not too hot), and all of my closest friends around me.
Crazy aircraft #65 – A beautiful personal/business jet
by Marshall Brain | January 26, 2010
Aircraft companies have been building “tubes with wings” for a long time because they are easy to manufacture. The Honda jet is a very modern aircraft, and even it is tube-with-wings: The Smartfish design has not been realized yet, but it looks beautiful on paper. It is not a tube-with-wings: SmartFish Stated advantages include: Long [...]
After taking the tour of the space station in the last post, it is obvious that the space station is a huge and very complex machine. Is there any way to understand how it all works? One way might be to look at the simplest possible space station and build up from there. For example, [...]
Join us today on TechStuff Live as we bring you the latest news and gossip in the tech world. Watch as I slowly lose my marbles due to the rampant rumors and speculation regarding Apple’s press event scheduled for tomorrow (January 27th). We’ll also cover other topics in the news. And don’t miss our special effects extravaganza known as the Tweet of the Week!
You can watch us right here or grab our handy-dandy Facebook application.
How Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) Work – spying with tiny flying robots
by Marshall Brain | January 26, 2010
This video introduces you to the world of tiny flying insect-like robot cameras for spying: The following video talks about some of the problems with creating small flying robots: Here is an MAV that can fly and then walk once it lands: See also: How Spy Flies Will Work
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