Archive for July, 2010

MythBusters Talk Comic Book Myths, New Season, at San Diego Comic Con (Video!) – “We sat down with MythBusters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage to talk about comic book and sci-fi-movie myths they’d like to put to the test—and what we can expect from next season. Plus, MythBuster Grant Imahara tells us how he upgraded [...]

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This may or may not be a good place to confess that a fear of heights has kept me from appreciating some amazing views. As I learned last year, though, sometimes all you need to overcome your fear is this: a bigger fear. In my case, that über-scary thing was an adorable, too-expensive handbag, and it sent me straight into Colorado’s Loveland Pass.

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Behold, the Frankencamera. It lets developers, hobbyists and experimenters play with camera components and algorithms to create new things: From the video’s description: Although there has been much interest in computational photography within the research and photography communities, progress has been hampered by the lack of a portable, programmable camera with sufficient image quality and [...]

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Do you drive a hybrid vehicle that feeds you every kind of stat imaginable on your mileage consumption? Or maybe just a run-of-the-mill beater that grudgingly displays your miles per gallon? Either way, you’re interacting with persuasive technology. Even if you opt for public transportation, chances are you’re encountering persuasive technology. And those technologies are trying hard to change the way we consume energy.

Like the term suggests, persuasive technology encompasses anything that aims to change people’s beliefs and behaviors — be it a dashboard display, a smart meter or a video game.

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You Asked:

How is lumber pressure-treated? — Bill, Chipley, Fla.

Marshall Brain Answers…

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You Asked:

Is it true that lowering the pressure in your tires while driving on icy and snowy roads will give you better traction? — Jeremiah, Haskell, Ark.

Marshall Brain Answers…

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TIME magazine deliberately chose the graphic portrait of an Afghan woman whose nose and ears were cut off by an abusive husband in order to drive the message home about the violence many wives and daughters face in the Middle Eastern country. Normally, this type of disturbing image might attract intensive criticism from the media [...]

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This documentary on weight loss opens with this thought:

Every day we are bombarded with advice about new super diets and the latest slimming fads – advice on foods that are supposed to help us shed pounds. And advice on which foods are loaded with calories. And yet losing weight continues to be one of the hardest things we ever attempt. Each year millions of us try to slim down, and fail. So what does work? We’re sticking to the science.

It is a fascinating journey that boils down to 10 things You Need to Know About Losing Weight, all backed up by science…

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Probably nothing characterizes excessive consumption at the American dinner table more than the strange and frequent phenomenon of how being uncomfortably full of food can dampen the sound of a mother’s voice articulating the idea that kids in China would love to have the second helping of dinner on your plate that will soon meet its end in the trash.

Having been raised in the post-Depression consumer era in the United States, I can attest that the portion sizes here in the States tend to be insanely large. Rich and poor alike in the U.S. overindulge at just about every meal; it’s the type and quality of the food, not the quantity, that differs.

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The CH-47 Chinook helicopter has been around for nearly 50 years, but 50 years later it is still an amazing aircraft. Here are a few of the things that make it amazing:

  • Twin 60 foot rotors give the helicopter amazing lift – it can haul up to 28,000 pounds of cargo either inside or attached to exterior hooks.
  • It can carry up to 33 seated passengers, 37 people total with crew. Given it’s cargo rating, you could cram on a lot more people.
  • It has two gas turbine engines producing nearly 4,000 horsepower to drive the rotors.
  • Just over 1,000 gallons of fuel on board give it a range of over 400 miles.
  • Lack of a tail rotor makes it more stable in windy conditions and also allows for a rear cargo ramp.

The rear cargo ramp makes certain things possible that would be impossible for just about any other aircraft. For example, the CH-47 can hover over water and a boat can drive right in for water extraction, like this…

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