STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

[MIKA27]

Can You Find The Sniper Hiding With Camouflage In This Picture?

No? It’s ok, I couldn’t find him either. I tried really hard too but I’d just be a walking dead person by now if I stumbled across this field in real life because the sniper that’s hiding would have no problem mowing me down. He’s super close. No, not there. There.

VICE posted an excellent photo series by photgrapher Simon Menner that even provided tips on where the sniper was located and yet I still couldn’t spot them. For the photo above, Menner says to look at the two boulders in the lower right hand corner. The sniper’s muzzle is supposedly visible. I don’t see ****. I’m dead.

Menner spent some time with the German army and its snipers and saw the snipers hide right in front of him. They’re really really really good at hiding in plain sight. Like really good. Test your Where’s Waldo skills with more pictures of the snipers at VICE and check out Menner’s book about The Stasis, Top Secret, here.

[MIKA27]

Titanfall's Multiplayer Gameplay Looks Incredible

Giant mechs, huge guns and wicked jetpacks: Titanfall is turning out to be way more than just Call of Dutywith robots. Watch this awesome multiplayer footage and tell me I’m wrong.

A few outlets in the US went hands-on with Titanfall in the last week or so. Above is the Joystiq video showing just how the game plays in multiplayer.

There are a few unique elements that actually make Titanfall more than just any other first-person shooter with added robots.

You have two minutes to wait before your Titan mech is “ready” to be deployed into the battle. So does everyone on the other team, but there are ways you can speed it up so that you get the advantage over everyone else. You can earn and use consumable cards to get a strategic advantage over your opponents like a card which shaves 40-seconds off your deployment time. You can also run to the enemy’s spawn point and take out a few AI enemies quickly for a two-second bonus per enemy.

The Titan isn’t just an offensive tool either: you can set it to engage follow mode to track you around the map acting as your heavily-armed escort, or you can set it to stand its ground at a capture point and blow enemies away as they attempt to wrest it from your control.

Titanfall beta signups opened yesterday, and it’s with this new footage coming to light today, it’s going to be the hottest ticket in town.

MIKA: I personally played the Beta over the weekend and I must say, it's fast paced, and absolutely beautiful to look at for next Generation gaming. Good fun. Hope EA fix the server issues as it was often hard to get into a game.

[MIKA27]

Kelud Eruption Kills Three People, Forces 100,000 to Evacuate

The eruption at Kelud (Kelut) has rapidly become another humanitarian crisis for Indonesia.

After the impressive explosive eruption yesterday, over 100,000 people have had to evacuate the region around the volcano in case further explosions occur. The heavy ash fall from the explosion has coated towns and cities (see below) over 100 km from the volcano and lead to injuries and deaths after a roof collapsed at one of the evacuation shelters. Currently, the death toll from the eruption is only 3 (2 from the roof collapse and 1 from ash inhalation), but that number may climb. At least three international airport were closed due to the ash and the plume itself (at least the sulfur dioxide) was still clearly visible in satellite images (see below).

Some people leaving comments on yesterday’s post said they heard the blast of the eruption over 180 km from the volcano and ash was falling upwards of 200 km distant — to the tune of 5 cm! Be sure to check out the discussion of the shockwave from the blast over on the CIMSS Satellite Blog.

The PVMBG has said that they were surprised how quickly the volcano went from having shallow earthquakes to a full-on eruption. Normally, they expect at least 6 hours between the onset of earthquakes before an eruption at Kelud, but in the February 14 eruption, it was only ~2 hours. This meant that implementing the evacuation after raising the alert status was very difficult for Indonesian disaster relief agencies.

Activity at Kelud tends to be punctuated — at least looking at past eruptions — where an explosive event occurs and then the volcano settles. However, it is unclear from any of the reports I’ve seen whether the PVMBG thinks that new eruptions are coming soon. Based on the evacuation that is occurring, my guess is that they think that the volcano will be restless for the foreseeable future. I haven’t seen any news about lahars generated by the eruption so far, but they are a major hazard with any activity at Kelud. Most volcanologists I’ve heard from about the February 14 eruption say it looks to be on scale with the 1990 eruption, which was a VEI 4.

[MIKA27]

Accused Craigslist Killer: I Murdered 22 More

A Pennsylvania woman charged for one murder told a local newspaper she has killed almost two dozen people across the country as part of her involvement in a Satanic cult.

Originally charged along with her newlywed husband for the murder of a man she connected with on Craigslist, Miranda Barbour said in a jailhouse interview that she has killed at least 22 other people from Alaska to North Carolina, and said that if released she would kill again, reports the Associated Press.

The 19-year-old claimed she joined a satanic cult in Alaska at the age of 13 before moving to North Carolina, and said she has killed people in Alaska, Texas, North Carolina and California.

Barbour and her husband Elytte Barbour, 22, admitted Miranda had stabbed the Craigslist victim in the front seat of her car while Elytte held a cord around his neck.

“I feel it is time to get all of this out. I don’t care if people believe me. I just want to get it out,” Barbour told the Daily Item.

[MIKA27]

A Frightening Look At The Lunatic Asylums Of Our Past

Now be honest, have you ever been lazy? Superstitious in any way? Maybe you have asthma? Do you get jealous? Or do you love to read novels? Do you get excited on a Friday afternoon that the weekend is around the corner? Well, if you answered “Yes” to any of those questions (and if you lived in the late 1800s) you’d likely find yourself confined to a lunatic asylum.

It sounds utterly deranged in itself doesn’t it? Yet in an era where modern medicine was still developing, everything it seemed could be cured with a stint in the local mental asylum where you could potentially undergo all manner of nasty, untested, unregulated and invasive surgeries. In some institutions for the criminally insane, electro shock therapy use to be commonplace – a way of ‘resetting’ / frying the human brain.

If you were lucky enough to avoid that particular procedure, the alternative was even worse you could face a lobotomy. The procedure consists of cutting or scraping away most of the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain. This often had a severe effect on the patient’s personality and their ability to function as an independent human being. For example ‘homosexuals’ were often subjected to this practice to make them ‘morally sane’ afterwards.

Count your lucky stars you weren’t born during those dark times….

Reasons For Admission To A Lunatic Asylum In The Late 1800s

Patient in a restraint chair at West Riding Lunatic Asylum, Wakefield

Serbian Psychiatric Hospital

Example of Self-Harm At An Asylum in 1964

The Controversial Pilgram Psychiatric Center Long Island, New York

Sections Of The Brain Encased In Wax

Patients-in-steam-cabinets around 1910

Insane Asylum Cuenca, Spain 1961

17th Century Insanity Mask

Patient Restrained By Warders

[MIKA27]

YODER FRONTIERSMAN SMOKER

With the Yoder Frontiersman Smoker your backyard barbecues, family gatherings, and legendary tailgates will never be quite the same.

The moment you roll this beast of a smoker off your trailer — or out from your garage — conversations will stop, gazes will be drawn, and mouths will begin to water. Weighing in at nearly a ton, this massive cooker will swallow up entire pigs, thanks to its gigantic smoker and dual grilling surfaces. Its fat tires and heavy-duty black rims help support the thing, giving it just the right amount of portability, while a built-in heat management system gives cooks the kind of control they've only ever dreamed of.

[MIKA27]

DOETTLING FORTRESS SAFE

So you've amassed quite the collection of fine timepieces. That's great, but now you need a place to store them where you know they'll be protected.

That's where the Doettling Fortress Safe comes in.

Offering certified security — up to class VdS/EN 5 — this storage solution is ready for direct connection to a burglar alarm, and offers insurance of over $1,000,000. The luxurious box features eight watch winders and a drawer for jewelry in the main compartment, a Spanish cedar-lined humidor for your best cigars, a hygrometer and a barometer, a clock, two extra mini-safes able to hold three watches a piece, and, as a finishing touch, an exterior coated in the finest calfskin.

[MIKA27]

FERRARI CALIFORNIA T

Ferrari have presented their latest masterpiece, the California T.

The beautiful topless grand tourer will be officially presented in Geneva and will surely steal the show. It comes equipped with an 8-cylinder 3.9L turbo engine delivering an impressive 560 hp and 557 pound-feet of torque, and is capable of sprinting from 0-62 miles per hour in a mere 3.6 seconds. The hardtop retracts in only 14 seconds, quickly transforming the stylish coupé into a sleek sophisticated spider.

[MIKA27]

POQUITO WOOD WALLET

Poquito Wood Wallet is a beautiful minimalist wallet that carries all your essentials, cash, cards, even coins. Carved from a solid piece of wood, Poquito features a custom molded elastomer strap, securely holding everything in place. Each wallet is hand polished giving it a smooth finish, and includes 2 rubber straps. Available in a choice of black walnut, white oak, or black cherry.

[MIKA27]

THE FURIES KNIFE SET | BY BASE CAMP X

The Furies by Base Camp X is a smart knife set that exudes rustic charm, a must for all outdoorsmen. The collection of 3 forged high carbon steel knifes comes wrapped in a beautifully hand crafted roll of heavy canvas and oiled leather, an internal flap secures the knifes handles and point pockets hold the knifes blades in place keeping the Furies secure while stowed. The entire set is then bound with two oiled leather straps.

[MIKA27]

Your Next Scuba Destination Is An Entire Drowned City In China

An entire drowned city has become the world’s most mind-boggling scuba-diving attraction. Consider booking a trip to Qiandao Lake, China, where you can wreck-dive a 1,800-year old flooded metropolis.

Lost beneath the rising waters of an artificial lake back in 1959 after the construction of a nearby hydroelectric dam, the city is “approximately the size of 62 football fields,” DesignTAXI reports, and it includes as many as 265 well-preserved stone arches.

Contrary to descriptions on other sites, the city is not “lost” so much as deliberately sacrificed, a Han Dynasty settlement now almost reef-like in appearance, sleeping and slowly fossilizing under more than 100 feet of water.

Like an ancient Chinese variation on J.G. Ballard’s classic novel The Drowned World, the city is now, ironically, a very well-preserved example of Han Dynasty urbanism.

But is this the fate of all coastal metropolises in an age of rising sea levels, to become nothing but picturesque adventure tourism destinations for future travellers, the littoral ruins of a global civilisation reduced to silt-covered backdrops beneath the sea?

If so, at least our ruins will be beautiful.

Book your own trip with Big Blue SCUBA.

[MIKA27]

Master monkey's brain controls sedated 'avatar'

The brain of one monkey has been used to control the movements of another, "avatar", monkey, US scientists report.

Brain scans read the master monkey's mind and were used to electrically stimulate the avatar's spinal cord, resulting in controlled movement.

The team hope the method can be refined to allow paralysed people to regain control of their own body.

The findings, published in Nature Communications, have been described as "a key step forward".

Damage to the spinal cord can stop the flow of information from the brain to the body, leaving people unable to walk or feed themselves.

The researchers are aiming to bridge the damage with machinery.

Match electrical activity

The scientists at Harvard Medical School said they could not justify paralysing a monkey. Instead, two were used - a master monkey and a sedated avatar.

The master had a brain chip implanted that could monitor the activity of up to 100 neurons.

During training, the physical actions of the monkey were matched up with the patterns of electrical activity in the neurons.

The avatar had 36 electrodes implanted in the spinal cord and tests were performed to see how stimulating different combinations of electrodes affected movement.

The two monkeys were then hooked up so that the brain scans in one controlled movements in real time in the other.

The sedated avatar held a joystick, while the master had to think about moving a cursor up or down.

In 98% of tests, the master could correctly control the avatar's arm.

One of the researchers, Dr Ziv Williams, told the BBC: "The goal is to take people with brain stem or spinal cord paralysis and bypass the injury.

"The hope is ultimately to get completely natural movement, I think it's theoretically possible, but it will require an exponential additional effort to get to that point."

He said that giving paralysed people even a small amount of movement could dramatically alter their quality of life.

Reality or science fiction?

The idea of one brain controlling an avatar body is the stuff of blockbuster Hollywood movies.

However, Prof Christopher James, of the University of Warwick, dismissed a future of controlling other people's bodies by thought.

He said: "Some people may be concerned this might mean someone taking over control of someone else's body, but the risk of this is a no-brainer.

"Whilst the control of limbs is sophisticated, it is still rather crude overall, plus of course in an able-bodied person their own control over their limbs remains anyway, so no-one is going to control anyone else's body against their wishes any time soon."

Instead, he said this was "very important research" with "profound" implications "especially for controlling limbs in spinal cord injury, or controlling prosthetic limbs with limb amputees".

Realising that goal will face additional challenges. Moving a cursor up and down is a long way from the dextrous movement needed to drink from a cup.

There are also differences in the muscles of people after paralysis; they tend to become more rigid. And fluctuating blood pressure may make restoring control more challenging.

Prof Bernard Conway, head of biomedical engineering at the University of Strathclyde, said: "The work is a key step forward that demonstrates the potential of brain machine interfaces to be used in restoring purposeful movement to people affected by paralysis.

"However, significant work still remains to be done before this technology will be able to be offered to the people who need it."

[MIKA27]

At Last, Actual Footage From Guardians of the Galaxy

OK, so this clip is only 15 seconds and it’s another one of those teasers for a trailer, but the web now finally has some footage of Guardians of the Galaxy — the long-anticipated (and heretofore very under-wraps) Marvel flick from director James Gunn.

The teaser is mostly just a lot of lingering character shots (hey, it’s Groot and Drax the Destroyer!) with things flying around and blowing up, and there’s only one line of dialogue — Ronan the Accuser (Djimon Hounsou) asking Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), “Who are you?” — but, we gotta say, it looks pretty damn cool. However, it could use some more Rocket Raccoon.

The full trailer for Guardians, complete with an introduction by Pratt, will air tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters Aug. 1.

[MIKA27]

Supersonic Jet Ditches Windows for Massive Live-Streaming Screens

Spike Aerospace is in the midst of building the first supersonic private jet. And when the $80 million S-512 takes off in December 2018, it won’t have something you’d find on every other passenger aircraft: windows.

The Boston-based aerospace firm is taking advantage of recent advances in video recording, live-streaming, and display technology with an interior that replaces the windows with massive, high-def screens. The S-512’s exterior will be lined with tiny cameras sending footage to thin, curved displays lining the interior walls of the fuselage. The result will be an unbroken panoramic view of the outside world. And if passengers want to sleep or distract themselves from ominous rainclouds, they can darken the screen or choose from an assortment of ambient images. But this isn’t just a wiz-bang feature for an eight-figure aircraft.

While windows are essential for keeping claustrophobia in check, they require engineering workarounds that compromise a fuselage’s simple structure. And that goes two-fold for a supersonic aircraft. An airplane is stronger sans windows, which is one of the reasons why planes carrying military personnel or packages fly without them. Putting passenger windows on an airplane requires meticulous construction — the ovular shape, small aperture, and double-pane construction are all there to maintain cabin pressure and resist cracking while flying 500 mph at 35,000 feet.

It would be much simpler and safer to have a smooth-skinned, window-less fuselage, but frequent fliers have become accustomed to a calming view of the clouds and tiny cities during takeoff and landing.

Spike says that in order to hit their performance goals, they’ve planned to go windowless since the beginning. “A few advisers and friends are concerned that there are no windows,” Spike founder Vik Kachoria told WIRED. “But I think that if you give them the screens and give them the visibility, you might be able to get away from that.”

This structural workaround relieves Spike’s craft of the drag and weight issues presented by adding windows, which will, Spike projects, allow the plane to hit a top speed of 1,370 mph (Mach 1.8) while carrying up to 18 passengers.

[MIKA27]

'Don't Be A Glasshole': Google Outs New Guide For Glass Explorers

Glass Explorers are funny people. They’re ok with wearing face computers all day every day, yet some of them get cranky when you try to ask them about it. Google knows this, and now it has drawn up a guide on how not to be a Glasshole.

To make sure that the angry nerds wearing Glass behave themselves, Google has made the guide as simple as it can. The underlying message? Be nice.

The “Do’s” include using the voice commands of Glass so you can do many things at once, using it sparingly so as not to be constantly staring at the top of your vision and asking permission before you take photos or video with your face computer.

The more important “Don’t” list includes stuff like don’t be an idiot and go waterskiing with Glass because you’ll have a bad time, and most importantly, don’t be a Glasshole:

[Don't] Be creepy or rude (aka, a “Glasshole”).

Respect others and if they have questions about Glass don’t get snappy. Be polite and explain what Glass does and remember, a quick demo can go a long way. In places where cell phone cameras aren’t allowed, the same rules will apply to Glass. If you’re asked to turn your phone off, turn Glass off as well. Breaking the rules or being rude will not get businesses excited about Glass and will ruin it for other Explorers.

Basically, don’t be this guy.

[MIKA27]

You Actually Buy This Insane Formula-Style Racer To Use On The Road

So you’re a rich person. Good for you! Time to figure out what to spend that money on. Instead of buying a Formula One team, maybe instead save a few hundred million and buy the BAC MONO instead and own your very own Formula-style car meant for the road.

What’s better is that the steering wheel has everything on it you need to control the whole car, with the US reseller describing it as “video game” like controls. Sweeet.

MIKA: I'm in love!

Don't know how I'd like it here in Australia seeing we have 100 Km/h speed limits!

[MIKA27]

Watch Kate Upton Posing In Zero Gravity In A Bikini Because Science

Sports Illustrated had a wonderful idea: Demonstrate how zero gravity works on muscular and fat body masses by putting Kate Upton in a bikini and taking her in a parabolic flight.

I have to admit that I like her better with gravity.

http://youtu.be/6J85hnXmStw

[MIKA27]

Inside A World War II Bunker Turned Massive Underground Farm

Last week, I posted an article about a project in London that sounds straight up apocalyptic: A massive underground farm inside a 60-year-old bunker, originally built to protect Londoners from Nazi bombs. Now, there's video — and it’s every bit as spooky as you’d think.

The entrepreneurs behind the project, Zero Carbon Food, uploaded a number of videos to their YouTube channel over the past few weeks. Their pitch gives us a glimpse inside the real, completed farm, cloaked in a magenta LED haze:

But what’s really cool? The earlier tour of the prototype farm, shot on a handheld camera as the cameraman descends from street level through a succession of rotting doors and dank chambers, towards an aura of red light where — against all odds — food is growing:

In the 1940s, this bunker protected thousands of Londoners. Seventy years later, it’s going to feed them.

[MIKA27]

This Giant Mechanical Earthworm Is Fixing One City's Poop Problem

Washington DC is overflowing with crap — and not just the sort spewed in US Congress. Rather, its ancient sewage system regularly overflows, sending a literal river of poo into the city’s waterways. Lady Bird is the name of the giant tunnelling machine sent to stop it.

The Washington Post calls this 135m long beast “the most amazing and expensive construction project that no one ever will see“. Its job? To dig out a massive tunnel below downtown Washington over the next five years or more, creating a place for all the overflow sewage to be shunted away from the city’s rivers.

According to the Post, DC has one of the oldest sewage systems in the country — it hasn’t been renovated since the 1800s.

Thirty metres below the city, Lady Bird is now grinding through mud and rock at four inches per minute — making her a speed demon by tunnelling standards, but glacially slow by our own. Her 9m wide front end is covered in a cutter face that’s pushed forward by hydraulic jacks:

These rotate the head, which thus grinds the earth into a paste that’s then passed back through a tube to the end of the machine, where it’s removed.

Behind this giant worm-like machine, huge concrete panels are already being laid down to create the tunnel that will carry the sewage normally relegated to the Potomac and Anacostia rivers:

Of course, what’s a massive city infrastructure project without an anthropomorphic online presence? On DC Water’s website, you can find a profile of Lady Bird written in the first person — including details like her friendship with Mom Chung and Bertha, her tunneling counterparts in San Francisco and Seattle. And, on her Twitter, she tweets sweet messages to her fellow diggers — like congratulations to a Warsaw digger, now retiring after a long job well done.

For Lady Bird though, the job is just beginning.

[MIKA27]

What The Hell Is This Freaky Rabbit Invasion?

http://youtu.be/QwGYeVpaC9g

This video of a rabbit stampede is freaking the hell out of me. They may be inoffensive, but it seems they are about to attack and eat Yu Yu Lam Lam, the woman who’s walking with the bags (which obviously contain food.)

MIKA: Rabbit apocalypse?

[MIKA27]

The Fascinating Story Of How Wolves Changed The Geography Of A National Park

You must watch this fascinating four-minute video on the effects of the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Not only they affected the entire live of the park — increasing the number of species in it! — but actually changed the geography of the park itself, affecting the rivers in a way that positively affected everything.

[MIKA27]

Forensic Artist Reveals The Face For That Skull-Shaped Vodka Bottle

Ever wonder what the face might look like for that skull-shaped Crystal Head vodka bottle? Well, one Scottish forensic scientist recently found out.

Nigel Cockerton typically works on movie sets, but he decided to bring his face-making talents to the iconic vodka bottle. Treating the crystal skull like a real skull, he applied layer after layer of muscle and cartilage until all that was left of the bottle was the neck sticking straight out the top of a drunk, grinning man’s head. Well, the glass teeth are a dead giveaway too.

And, if the resulting face seems hard to believe to you, remember that this is the same forensic process used to create faces for historical figures like King Tut, for studying indigenous human remains, and so much more.

[MIKA27]

COLE-BAR HAMMER

Every DIY master should have one outstanding hammer, meet the Cole-Bar Hammer, this Swiss-army knife of hammers definitely fits the bill. The multi-function Cole-Bar combines 7 tools into 1, a hammer with a full crow bar built in, a demolition tool, an angle measurement tool, a ruler, a socket wrench and nail pliers.

[MIKA27]

HOTEL BIKINI BERLIN

Hotel Bikini Berlin by 25 hours, is Berlin’s newest contemporary upmarket hotel. The hotel showcases cosmopolitan Berlin and has an "urban jungle” theme, celebrating its city-meets-jungle concept with animal themes, vertical planting, hanging plants, and warm natural colors. 25hours Hotel Bikini´s highlight and "place to be” in Berlin is the Roof-top bar on the tenth floor, with breathtaking 360 degree views of the city and the zoo.

[MIKA27]

MCLAREN 650S

Striking a balance between performance on the track and comfort on the road can be a delicate business.

The McLaren 650S does it with style.

Based on the MP4-12C, this sleek sports car is powered by a 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine cranking out 641 horses, and features the company's ProActive Chassis Control system to help you get the most out of each and every one of them. And when you're not in race mode, it boasts plenty of creature comforts, too, like LED headlamps, satellite radio and navigation, Bluetooth, and even an available rear parking camera, something you won't find on their latest F1 ride.