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

[MIKA27]

Obviously, the author is not a comics fan. There is no such thing as "civilised" when you put a DC fan against a Marvel fan.

Kinda like Star Trek and Star Wars fans...

[MIKA27]

Ancient Cannibals Smothered Their Meals In Bone-Staining Spices

We know that, over history, humans have eaten each other. But we now know more about how ancient cannibals liked to dine: They spent lots of time prepping elaborate feasts with actual recipes calling for exotic ingredients.

Over 2,000 years ago, people living around Mexico City grilled or boiled other humans, seasoning the cooked meat with chillis and brilliantly coloured spices that stained the victims’ bones.

The gastronomic revelation is outlined in a new study, which was just published in the journal Archaeometry. The research team looked at the remains of 18 people (men, women, and children) at Tlatelcomila, an archaeological site near Mexico’s capital. The tiny bone fragments dated to around 700 to 500 B.C., and left cut marks and fractures that hinted at cannibalism. But they were also tinted red and yellow. The team thought this was weird. So, they wanted to figure out how the man-eaters prepared their food.

After a ton of forensic investigation, they found answers.

First, shortly after the time of death, the meat juices congregated around some bones and slightly diffused into them. This gave the bones a red colour, suggesting their meat was grilled.

But why were some yellow? The team deduced that the meat on those bones boiled in low heat with vibrant, colourful ingredients: spices like saffron-ish annatto and the mole sauce component pipián, as well as chilli peppers. Those spices contain pigments that can not only dye clothing, but bone, too.

The study is a big deal because it gives us a peek into an ancient cannibal’s cookbook, suggesting the flesh-nibblers in the region used the same recipes to prepare humans as they did other food in Mesoamerica.

MIKA: Human Tacos...?

[MIKA27]

Deadly Airbag Recall Reaches Australia, Almost 500,000 Cars Affected So Far

One of the world’s largest car safety recalls is on, after a Japanese manufacturer found that some of its airbags have a tendency to spray metal shrapnel when deployed. The recall has now hit Australia, with almost 500,000 cars from various manufacturers already affected.

The airbags come out of Japanese parts manufacturer, Takata. The airbag fault means that they have the potential to spray deadly metal shrapnel when deployed in a crash. The dangerous deployment risk is the result of moisture getting into the airbag module during the manufacturing process.

Cars from Toyota, Chrysler, Honda and Nissan are all currently being recalled in Australia.

Here are the cars affected at the time of writing:

• Chrysler 300C sedan 2006 to 2007
• Honda Jazz 2004 to 2009
• Honda Accord Euro 2004 to 2007
• Honda CR-V 2002 to 2008
• Honda Civic 2004 to 2005
• Nissan N16 Pulsar
• Nissan D22 Navara
• Nissan Y61 Patrol
• Nissan T30 X-TRAIL
• Nissan A33 Maxima
• Toyota Echo 2003 to 2005
• Toyota RAV4 2003 to 2005
• Toyota Corolla 2003 to 2007
• Toyota Yaris 2005 to 2007
• Toyota Avensis 2003 to 2007

Updates are being posted on the Australian Government’s recalls page.

34 million vehicles are being recalled worldwide; up from 14 million when the recall kicked off in the US in December 2014. It was reported at the time that at least 139 people had been injured, while others had died as a result of the shrapnel-bomb airbags.

[MIKA27]

This 55-Inch LG Display Peels Off The Wall Like A Poster

LG consistently produces impressive screens, and this one is no exception. The 55-inch OLED panel is just 0.97 millimetres thick, and can be removed from its magnetic wall mounting like a poster.

The screen, shown off at an LG even in South Korea on Tuesday, weighs just 4.1 pounds. It’s clearly much, much skinner than existing OLED displays, which suggests that the bulk of the electronics are actually lurking somewhere else — perhaps in the magnetic mounting fastened to the wall.

Unsurprisingly, there’s absolutely no word on whether or not this panel might see commercial production. Instead, it’s likely just a a chance for LG to show off its current state-of-the-art. Indeed, even if it was on sale, it would prove inaccessible for most — not least because it uses an OLED panel, which remains impressive but eye-wateringly expensive.

[MIKA27]

California Pipeline Spill Dumps 21,000 Gallons of Oil into the Pacific Ocean

About 21,000 gallons of oil leaked onto Refugio State Beach and into the Pacific Ocean near Santa Barbara, California on Tuesday from a pipeline owned by the Houston-based company Plains All America Pipeline (PAAP).

Citing US Coast Guard sources, the Associated Press reported that the 24-inch onshore pipe broke, dumping oil into a storm drain and coastal waters, creating two oil slicks that currently span 9 miles. Refugio State Beach and El Capitan State Beach were closed to allow authorities to begin a cleanup operation, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Photos from local news site Noozhawk showed oil-coated animals.

"5,000 gallons of oil were removed from the ocean and beach by Wednesday morning," the site reported.

Kira Redmond, executive director of Channelkeeper, a local environmental watchdog group, expressed concern about the impact on water quality and marine life.

"We will be out on the water to investigate the extent and impacts of the spill, monitor the containment efforts, keep the public updated, provide any assistance we can with the clean-up, and ultimately ensure that the responsible party cleans up the oil that has marred our precious beaches, ocean, and marine life," Redmond said in a statement.

PAAP did not respond to VICE News' request for information on the age and accident history of the pipeline.

The Western States Petroleum Association, an industry group, said in a statement that it is "always concerned when accidents like this happen."

"Once the incident is contained and thoroughly cleaned up," the group said, "[state and federal agencies] will review the facts surrounding this incident and apply what they learn to prevent future accidents."

[MIKA27]

LINKA SMART BIKE LOCK

Bikes are stolen on a regular basis. In fact there are over a million reported bike thefts each and every year. LINKA looks to help lower this number, with what they’re calling the world’s first auto-unlocking smart bike lock.

Rather than tether your bike to an existing stationary object, LINKA uses a 9mm hardened square steel ring to immobilize your bike with the push of a button (you can also connect LINKA to a chain or existing U-lock as well). If a potential thief attempts to run off with your bike, there’s a built-in accelerometer that sounds a 100 dB siren along with sending a tamper alert to your phone. The lock wirelessly works with your smartphone, unlocking automatically as you approach your bike. And if you decide not to bring your phone along (or have a dead battery), there’s also the option to use a 4-digit pass code to gain instant access. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

USB CHARGEDOUBLER

Every year our smartphones become more powerful, and much faster. The problem is that battery life hasn’t quite kept up with this rapid development, meaning dead batteries are all too common. While preventing a dead battery is nearly impossible, the USB ChargeDoubler decreases your charge time 200%, getting you back to business in no time.

Available for iPhone, Windows and Android powered mobile devices, this magnetic USB cable easily snaps to your keyring, ensuring you never leave home without it. The Data Protected Charging blocks out hackers and malware when using charging through an unknown USB socket or while connected to a public network, allowing you to recharge your phone virtually anywhere. The designers are rapidly approaching their goal on IndieGoGo, and plan to sell the USB ChargeDoubler for $12 when it arrives at retailers later this year. [Purchase]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqAbISoAEzo

[MIKA27]

THE WATCH WALLET BY DISCOMMON GOODS

When it comes to traveling with your timepieces, you want something that not only protects your investments, but also looks good while doing so. Discommon Goods has you covered with their Watch Wallet.

Built by hand in the USA, this travel wallet is absolutely gorgeous. Born from back-to-back trips across the globe, it features a waxed Italian leather exterior available in your choice of either Tobacco Brown or Wolf Grey, while a tweed interior provides the prefect finishing touch. As we mentioned before though, protection is just as important as aesthetics, which is why the entire wallet is lined with 3mm D30 foam, designed to stiffen and absorb energy on every impact. The wallet securely holds 2 watches, and has space for your passport and other misc items like cards/cash. Each color is available in limited quantities and retails for $380 through the brand’s online store. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

AUDEMARS PIGUET X MICHAEL SCHUMACHER ROYAL OAK LAPTIMER WATCH

It's not just a chronograph. It's not just a split-second chronograph. The Audemars Piguet x Michael Schumacher Royal Oak Laptimer Watch is the world's first mechanical chronograph with the ability to compare two consecutive laps at once while preserving flyback functionality. It can measure lap times down to an eighth of a second, thanks to the new, 413-part Caliber 2923 movement that took years of development, uses no fewer than three column wheels, and has a power reserve of 80 hours. It's all encased in a 44mm forged carbon case, with a titanium bezel and back, pushpieces crafted from ceramic and pink gold, and an open black dial with black inner bezel. Limited to 221 pieces.

[MIKA27]

BLADE & BOW 22 YEAR BOURBON

If there's any magic left at the old Stitzel-Weller distillery in Kentucky, then the folks at Diageo are ready to harvest it. The historic distillery that produced the Pappy Van Winkle line for so long was closed in 1992, but whiskey like Blade & Bow 22-Year-Old Bourbon utilize some of the last remaining stock, blended with other fine bourbon, to complete this brand new release. Named after the two parts of a skeleton key, Blade and Bow took home the double gold at the San Francisco Spirits Competition and is a tribute to the famous distillery that changed the way we think about Kentucky Straight Bourbon.

[Fuzz]

USB CHARGEDOUBLER

While preventing a dead battery is nearly impossible, the USB ChargeDoubler increases your charge time 200%, getting you back to business in no time.

Hang on. Increases my charge time by 200%?!

So what used to take me 30mins to charge my phone, will now take 90mins, using this cable?!

[MIKA27]

Hang on. Increases my charge time by 200%?!

So what used to take me 30mins to charge my phone, will now take 90mins, using this cable?!

Come on Fuzz.... where'd you pull that out of?

[Fuzz]

Come on Fuzz.... where'd you pull that out of?

Come on, if they said it could decrease my charge time by 200%, I'd be all for it! No more need to charge my battery ever again!!

[MIKA27]

Dwayne Johnson talks Fast & Furious spin-off

With Fast & Furious 7 having stormed the box office, it was no surprise when Universal confirmed that there will be an eight film in the series along in 2017. Dwayne Johnson has now confirmed that he will be returning for the next film, while also hinting that a Hobbs spin-off could yet be on the cards.

“Of course,” said Johnson, “It can’t go on without Hobbs.” Meanwhile, the prospect of a spin-off continues to loom large…

“We all are interested in it,” says Johnson. “I just had a big conversation with the studio. So we’ll see. I still think for me personally we’ve created a little bit of space for him in 7 and the gauge is set for what the audience will want. That’s my take on it, you know, but a lot of other people have to have input.” Fast & Furious 8 will open on 14 April 2017.

[bugg4672]

DRIVE A TANK

Ever dreamt about driving a tank? At Drive A Tank you can! In fact, its the only place in America where civilians can drive actual military vehicles. The company has several packages on offer where you can go on a rampage, drive one of their several tanks, fire historic and modern machine guns, plow through a mobile home, and even crush cars! "Drive A Tank"recently acquired two pieces of American WWII history - the Quad 50 cal gun truck and the Sherman Easy 8 tank, like the model used by Brad Pitt in the hit movie "Fury".

OMG yes, Id love to drive one of those threw a building and fire it at cars.....no not cars giant propane tanks. Oh God that would be awesome. While smoking a cigar like John Belushi in the movie 1941 LMAO.

[bugg4672]

Dwayne Johnson talks Fast & Furious spin-off

With Fast & Furious 7 having stormed the box office, it was no surprise when Universal confirmed that there will be an eight film in the series along in 2017. Dwayne Johnson has now confirmed that he will be returning for the next film, while also hinting that a Hobbs spin-off could yet be on the cards.

“Of course,” said Johnson, “It can’t go on without Hobbs.” Meanwhile, the prospect of a spin-off continues to loom large…

“We all are interested in it,” says Johnson. “I just had a big conversation with the studio. So we’ll see. I still think for me personally we’ve created a little bit of space for him in 7 and the gauge is set for what the audience will want. That’s my take on it, you know, but a lot of other people have to have input.” Fast & Furious 8 will open on 14 April 2017.

Dont know about another F&F but The Rock has done some great movies in his short career, it would be very interesting to see what they come up with for him as Hobbs outside of the F&F franchise. Would also rather see a Hobbs spin off as a weekly 1 hour show not a movie.

[MIKA27]

These Ridiculously Detailed Aerial Photos Of London Are So Stunning

The weather isn’t great, the pubs close too early and the food is often better in other cities. Nevertheless, London is one of the most popular capitals of the world. Photographer Vincent LaForet took these amazing aerial shots of London and seeing the city overhead like this reminds you why that is.

The buildings may be old and the streets may be confusing when you’re down low but boy, it looks great from above.

Click on the magnifying glass to zoom and see these images up close at full screen because the detail is absolutely phenomenal. It’s the only way to do them justice.

The full set of Vincent’s London photos can be seen here on Storehouse. You can also sign up to pre-order a book on Vincent’s Air series here. The entire Air Series in Europe is sponsored by G-Technology.”

Vincent Laforetis a director, photographer, and a pioneer in tilt-shift, aerial photography, and in HD DSLR cameras for shooting film. He won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his images of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s conflicts after 9/11, plus three prizes at the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Vanity Fair, The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, Life and many other national and international publications have commissioned his service.

[bugg4672]

Incredible, see that's not pictures that's ART.

[MIKA27]

This 'Kettle' Rod Is A Brilliant Energy-Saving Way To Make Tea

Do you use an electric kettle to make tea? Then you’re using way too much water and too much power heating an overfilled vessel. But! We found this cool new Kickstarter project that saves energy and looks sleek in a kitchen.

It kinda looks like a thick, chic Frisbee, and it’s a pretty ingenious idea. Instead of heating a big kettle, you plop your mug on the device, and heat only the amount of liquid you’ll drink right then and there. This saves water and energy, since smaller amounts of water (or whatever) is heated at a time.

It’s called Miito, and it describes itself as “the sustainable alternative to the electric kettle.” It’s already raised over $US340,000 — more than double its goal.

The Kickstarter page quotes sustainability strategist Leyla Acaroglu’s TED Talk: “One day of extra energy use [from overfilling electric kettles] is enough to light all the streetlights in England for a night.”

You can also use it to warm up bowls of soup, glasses of milk, mugs of hot chocolate, whatever. Here’s how it works: Put your filled tea cup on the small induction patch on the “kettle,” which is entirely cool to the touch. Slip in an induction rod. The induction patch heats the rod, boiling the liquid from within.

It sounds like the device won’t be wireless, at least at first, which is kind of a bummer. But if it means nuking stale coffee won’t involve a loud microwave caked with sauce stains, we’re all for it. Take my money and start heating my single serving of English breakfast, please.

[Duxnutz]

Deadly Airbag Recall Reaches Australia, Almost 500,000 Cars Affected So Far

One of the world’s largest car safety recalls is on, after a Japanese manufacturer found that some of its airbags have a tendency to spray metal shrapnel when deployed. The recall has now hit Australia, with almost 500,000 cars from various manufacturers already affected.

The airbags come out of Japanese parts manufacturer, Takata. The airbag fault means that they have the potential to spray deadly metal shrapnel when deployed in a crash. The dangerous deployment risk is the result of moisture getting into the airbag module during the manufacturing process.

Cars from Toyota, Chrysler, Honda and Nissan are all currently being recalled in Australia.

Here are the cars affected at the time of writing:

• Chrysler 300C sedan 2006 to 2007

• Honda Jazz 2004 to 2009

• Honda Accord Euro 2004 to 2007

• Honda CR-V 2002 to 2008

• Honda Civic 2004 to 2005

• Nissan N16 Pulsar

• Nissan D22 Navara

• Nissan Y61 Patrol

• Nissan T30 X-TRAIL

• Nissan A33 Maxima

• Toyota Echo 2003 to 2005

• Toyota RAV4 2003 to 2005

• Toyota Corolla 2003 to 2007

• Toyota Yaris 2005 to 2007

• Toyota Avensis 2003 to 2007

Updates are being posted on the Australian Government’s recalls page.

34 million vehicles are being recalled worldwide; up from 14 million when the recall kicked off in the US in December 2014. It was reported at the time that at least 139 people had been injured, while others had died as a result of the shrapnel-bomb airbags.

Hey I've got one of those cars! That sucks.... Dodgy bastards!

[LordAnubis]

I don't understand what that airbag gif is trying to portray. Is it supposed to just be a useless gif or what?Can anyone please shed light on this?

[MIKA27]

I don't understand what that airbag gif is trying to portray. Is it supposed to just be a useless gif or what?Can anyone please shed light on this?

Isn't that the air bag module demonstrating (Rather badly) an impact to set off the faulty device?

[MIKA27]

This Insane Luxury Hotel Will Help Transform Mecca Into Disneyland

Mecca — the ancient holy city that’s been the site of Islamic pilgrimages for millennia — is being turned into Disneyland. Helping complete its transformation? This 600m-tall hotel, which will tower over the city like a desert fortress on steroids, projecting a dazzling green laser show at night.

Four helipads cluster around the massive crown of what will become the world’s largest hotel. The monstrosity, which opens its doors in 2017, will boast 10,000 bedrooms and seventy restaurants, five floors devoted exclusively to the Saudi royal family, a bus station, a shopping mall, and a ballroom. It will be everything my Sim Tower-loving childhood self dreamed of.

Except it’s happening in real life, and defacing one of the world’s most historic cities in the process.

The mega-structure is to be located roughly 1.6km south of the Grand Mosque in the Manafia district. It’s being funded by the Saudi Minister of Finance and designed by the construction conglomerate Dar Al-Handasah. While Saudi Arabia’s rulers are clearly in full support of the project (after all, it is coming out of their royal bank accounts and if you missed it, contains five floors devoted entirely to them), folks interested in protecting the heritage of Saudi Arabia’s holy cities don’t have many kind words to say about it. As Irfan Al-Alawi, director of the UK-based Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, told The Guardian:

“The city is turning into Mecca-hattan. Everything has been swept away to make way for the incessant march of luxury hotels, which are destroying the sanctity of the place and pricing normal pilgrims out.

These are the last days of Mecca. The pilgrimage is supposed to be a spartan, simple rite of passage, but it has turned into an experience closer to Las Vegas, which most pilgrims simply can’t afford.”

According to The Guardian, the city of Mecca receives some two million pilgrims for the annual Hajj, but now, that holy trip is overshadowed by the visitation of roughly 20 million tourists, who bring the city over nine billion US dollars annually. If you’d like to see Mecca as a semblance of its former self, visit sooner rather than later — the Grand Mosque is already eclipsed by a gargantuan clock tower, the house of the prophet’s first wife was levelled to make way for public bathrooms, another historic building is now the site of a Hilton hotel, and downtown is filling up with Starbucks coffee shops.

On the other hand — gender-segregated Disneyland!

[MIKA27]

Genetic Engineers Are Building A Biological Kill Switch

The fear of genetically-modified creatures escaping from the lab is the basis for a thousand sci-fi stories, but it’s also a legitimate concern. That’s why genetic engineers are inventing kill switches, or genetically-encoded suicide triggers, for GMOs they want to keep contained. Here’s how they work.

Why we need kill switches

When we talk about GMOs now, we usually mean genetically modified food: corn, soybeans, canola, extra-crisp apples. While GM crops have occasionally spread into the wild, plants are, relatively speaking, easy to contain.

But what about a GM mosquito that can fly away? Or microscopic GM bacteria oozing through the ground? Once such organisms escape, there’s really no going back. And these aren’t far-fetched scenarios. Scientists are already investigating ways to mobilise GM bacteria to clean up toxic spills. And the mosquito scenario is already happening — we’ve been using sterile GM mosquitoes to stop the spread of dengue fever. What we don’t want is an unintended ecological disaster, as GM organisms and their genes spread through the environment.

What’s to stop it? A kill switch, or a piece of genetic code that kills the GM organism when its job is done. Kill switches have already been developed to confine lab-made GMOs to the lab. But if we’re going to purposely release GMOs into the wild, we’ll need more sophisticated kill switches. And they are coming.

Get ‘em hooked on a lab chemical

A kill switch is basically a lethal piece of genetic code that be easily switched on or off. The trigger could be a change in the environment, such as heat or cell density. The most common strategy, though, is basically chemical dependence: Feed the GMO a lab chemical that it can’t get in the wild. Then make the GMO’s life dependent on it. If the GMO escapes into the outside world, it dies without its chemical.

We’re already using this kind of kill switch right now. Genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are used to fight dengue fever. The company Oxitec has experimented with releasing these mosquitoes, which need tetracycline to survive. Tetracycline is better known as an antibiotic, but it plays very different role for these modified mosquitoes.

Oxitec has inserted in its mosquitoes a genetic sequence that includes a protein called tTa, or tetracycline transactivator. The genetic sequence is engineered in such a way that once tTa is activated, it causes the cell to keep making more and more of the protein — leading to the runway production of tTA. tTa then gunks up the cellular machinery, eventually killing the mosquito.

Tetracycline acts like an antidote to tTA. Oxitec raises male mosquitoes with the tTA and feeds them tetracycline. Once released into the wild, they die without the antibiotic — but not before mating and passing the tTa genes off to offspring that can’t live without tetracycline either. It’s pretty ingenious.

What’s still missing: The tTa system might work with mosquitoes, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution to GMOs. That’s especially true for GM bacteria, which might be the wiliest of them all.

For one, bacteria evolve very quickly, in part because they have the special ability to suck up DNA they encounter in the environment. A kill switch that relies on, say, a GM bacteria’s inability to metabolise a single vital nutrient might be easily foiled if it picks up that relevant gene. This also means that killing a GM bacteria might not be enough to prevent its genes from spreading. If its modified DNA sticks around, other bacteria in the environment might pick it up.

That’s why this year, scientists have suggested two new strategies. They both still involve a chemical trigger, but they add another piece to the puzzle.

Synthetic amino acids

One strategy takes synthetic nutrients one step further to synthetic amino acids, the very molecules that are the building blocks of proteins. Earlier this year, scientists announced they were able to create E. colithat take up synthetic amino acids by actually modifying translation, the process by which our cells read the genetic code of RNA to make proteins.

Translation usually works like this. Every three letters of RNA makes up a codon, which corresponds to one of the 20 amino acids that make up proteins. Codons are redundant, so that more than one codon can code for the same amino acid. There are also three stop codons (UAG, UAA, UGA) that all signal the end of a protein. Scientists took one of these stop codons (UAG) and assigned it to a 21st amino acid — a synthetic one. Then they redesigned essential proteins in the cell to include this synthetic amino acid. Take away this synthetic amino acid, and the cell can no longer survive. It also can’t as readily pass on its genes to other bacteria, since this tinkers with the very process of making proteins.

Self-destructing DNA

This week, scientists announced a new type of kill switch that kills the genetically modified organism (GMO) and erases its modified genes. It uses CRISPR, a hot new tool in molecular biology right now. The CRISPR system has an enzyme that cuts target DNA very precisely.

In a new study, scientists specially engineered E. coli with genes for CRISPR that only become active in the presence of a sugar called arabinose. Once the bacteria sense arabinose, the CRISPR machinery comes alive, chewing up DNA to kill the cell. Its CRISPR system can also be tweaked to erase man-made DNA sequences, keeping them out of the environment and also keep them secret in case of, you now, trade secrets.

In the cases of both synthetic amino acids and self-destructing DNA, the recent studies are proofs of concept, and it will be years before the technology is ready for primetime. But scientists are definitely thinking about how to contain genetically modified organisms. More sophisticated GMOs are coming, and we’ll need more sophisticated ways to contain them.

[MIKA27]

Two Hours Of Thunderstorm Siege Made Budapest An Electrifying City

Hungarian photographer Zoltán Vanik captured this stunning panoramic image of Budapest, enlightened by dozens of lightning bolts during a severe thunderstorm a few days ago.

I asked Zoltán how he managed to create this captivating scene. He used the following gear and settings: Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70 f 2.8 lens, ISO 200, f:9, 13-second exposures — except for the correct exposition of the Parliament building, which was shot at a four-second shutter speed. The final composition was made of 61 different exposures, adjusted in Photoshop Lightroom and finally merged into a single image.

Colour temperature, saturation, and contrast changes were the finishing touches. The final image you see includes approximately two hours worth of thunderstorm.