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

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The US Could Run Exclusively On Renewable Energy By 2050

There are many things holding up the US’s move towards renewable energy, but that one thing is not science: We already have all the technology we need to make this happen. A new study claims that a completely clean energy future is possible by 2050, and it plots roadmaps for all 50 states to achieve this goal.

The study, which is published in Energy & Environmental Science, is authored by Mark Z. Jacobson, a civil and environmental engineer who heads up Stanford’s Atmosphere and Energy Program. He’s known for publishing many similar roadmaps for America’s energy future, but this one is the most comprehensive — and useful — because it takes into consideration the unique environmental situations and policy quirks for each state.

Most enticing is this chart where incredible growth in solar and wind energy helps offset the gradual reduction in fossil fuels and nuclear energy. But the overall energy supply needed will also decrease, even with increased demand, due to better energy efficiency.

In that black zone that gets squeezed out: Nuclear power, coal with carbon capture, liquid or solid biofuels, and natural gas. Nope, not even biofuels, argues the study — since “their combustion produces air pollution at rates on the same order as fossil fuels and their lifecycle carbon emissions are highly uncertain.”

The study also proposes appropriate clean technologies for each energy-sucking action in our everyday lives. Vehicular transportation, for example, will rely on hydrogen fuel cells and batteries, while a combination of batteries paired with electrolytic cryogenic hydrogen will power planes. Heating and cooling for air and water in our homes will be provided by electric heat pumps with some solar pre-heating for water (where climate-appropriate). Everyone will have induction ranges for cooking.

While the political benefits are very obvious (no more going to war for oil) it’s not just energy security that the US will gain from this process: The study estimates that moving towards a completely renewable grid will create 3.9 million construction jobs and 2.0 million operation jobs (hopefully a few of those will be the 3.9 million people in conventional energy who will lose their jobs). And the country will also be healthier, since switching away from fossil fuels will help prevent approximately 46,000 premature deaths per year due to air pollution, saving the US billions in health care costs. The average US citizen would personally save about $US260 per year in energy costs (that’s 2013 dollars).

Some of the downsides to this future are addressed in the study, but to be honest there aren’t many: Land-use will have to change dramatically to accommodate all this new energy infrastructure and very large initial investments must be made on behalf of the American public. But the study is essentially correct in its conclusion that a 100 per cent clean energy future is “technically and economically feasible.” Each state’s leadership should take a close look at its roadmap and at least try to explain to its citizens why it’s not happening yet.

[MIKA27]

First Trailer For Mass Effect: Andromeda

It’s sort of Mass Effect and sort of Red Dead Redemption in space. And by that I mean it’s awesome.

It’s going to be interesting to see how faster-than-light travel happens in the new Mass Effect, considering that the end of Mass Effect 3 saw all the relays go boom (although there is some debate on that topic).

The new Mass Effect game will be out at the end of next year.

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Watch Sony's E3 2015 Press Conference Live Right Here!

Here comes another big one: Sony’s PlayStation press conference is about to kick off at E3 2015.

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The US Navy Wants To Buy Zero-Day Security Flaws From You

Identified a security hole in a piece of well-known software? You could alert the maker to keep everyone safe — or you could sell it to the US Navy, which will buy the information from you in order to build software to exploit the hole.

Noted eagle eye and EFF Investigative Researcher Dave Maass happened on an interesting item from earlier this week on FedBizOpps, the site for government agencies to post contracting opportunities. The Navy put up a solicitation explaining that the government wants “access to vulnerability intelligence, exploit reports and operational exploit binaries affecting widely used and relied upon commercial software,” including Microsoft, Adobe, Android, Apple, “and all others.” If that weren’t clear enough, the solicitation explains that “the vendor shall provide the government with a proposed list of available vulnerabilities, 0-day or N-day (no older than 6 months old). . . .The government will select from the supplied list and direct development of exploit binaries.”

Although this solicitation was posted on a publicly accessible site, it seems the Navy didn’t want the attention and pulled it down the day after Dave tweeted about it. (We’ve uploaded the cached copy from Google.) Even so, the fact that the United States government is looking for vendors to sell it software vulnerabilities isn’t news — we’ve known for some time that the government uses software vulnerabilities, sometimes known as zero-days, for offensive intelligence-gathering and espionage. The media has also reported on the government’s purchases of zero-days from outside vendors.

What’s more noteworthy is how little regard the government seems to have for the process of deciding to exploit vulnerabilities. As we’ve explained before, the decision to use a vulnerability for “offensive” purposes rather than disclosing it to the developer is one that prioritises surveillance over the security of millions of users. To its credit, the government has acknowledged that this decision is an extraordinarily important one in every case. It has even reportedly “established a disciplined, rigorous and high-level decision-making process for vulnerability disclosure,” which it calls the Vulnerabilities Equities Process(VEP). The government says the VEP is entirely classified, and EFF is suing to get it released.

We’re sceptical that any VEP that results in the “majority of cases, responsibly disclosing” the vulnerability to the vendor, as White House spokesman Michael Daniels claims, could possibly be consistent with a solicitation such as the one the Navy posted this week. It strikes us as unlikely that the Navy would spend a large sum of money to develop exploits only to turn around and disclose the underlying vulnerabilities back to the vendor. To put it simply, the government is soliciting information about security vulnerabilities no one knows about in products everyone relies on every day — but apparently not to fix them.

The Navy tried to send this particular solicitation down the memory hole, but we’re hopeful that through our FOIA suit, we can shed more light on the conflict between the government’s public statements and its apparent practices surrounding its stockpiling of zero-days.

[MIKA27]

Saturn's Ghostly Outer Ring Is Mind Blowingly Massive

Almost every time we have a look, Saturn seems to become even more incredible. Space rain falls from icy rings into the gas giant’s atmosphere. Two of its moons, Titan and Enceladus, are among the best candidates in our solar system for finding alien life.

The latest revelation? Saturn’s faint, outermost ring is an absolute monster, spanning an area of space roughly 7 thousand times larger than the gas giant itself.

“It’s fascinating that this ring can exist,” astronomer Douglas Hamilton, lead author of a new Nature paper detailing the prodigious ring told Space.com. “We’re told in science that planetary rings are small and close to their parent planets — if they’re too far away from their planets, moons form rather than rings. This discovery just turns that idea on its head — the universe is a more interesting and surprising place than we thought.

First discovered by NASA’s infrared Spitzer Space Telescope in 2009, the ‘Phoebe ring,’ which gets its name from fine, dark dust particles siphoned off Saturn’s Phoebe moon, is a vast and elusive veneer. Originally, we thought the ring extended some 4.8 to 7.7 million miles from Saturn, making it well over 10 times larger than Saturn’s previously titanic E ring — which now looks rather shrimpy by comparison.

The Phoebe ring just got even bigger. In their new study, astronomers report the results of an infrared imaging analysis conducted using NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WISE). According to the latest data, the Phoebe ring actually stretches from somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3.75 to 10.1 million miles from Saturn. And these numbers may be revised upwards yet again, as our ability to detect heat signatures coming off the ring’s fine, dark grains improves.

Regardless, it’s clear at this point that Saturn is utterly swallowed by its rings, and every book, TV show and video game that’s ever depicted the glorious gas giant got it pretty darn wrong.

[MIKA27]

Ghost Recon Wildlands Announced, Is Open-World

The Tom Clancy franchise returns with the ambitious Ghost Recon: Wildlands.

The whole game is playable by yourself or with three friends — the game dynamically scales.

Here’s the setup:

Bolivia has become the largest cocaine producer in the world. The vicious Santa Blanca drug cartel has turned the country into a narco-state, leading to fear, injustice, and violence. The Ghosts, a legendary US Elite Special Operations team, is sent behind enemy lines to wreak havoc and break alliances between the cartel and the corrupted government.

Ghost Recon: Wildlands seems to heavily encourage players to change up how they approach missions. This a departure from the strict, mission-based structure of the other games:

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands gives players unprecedented freedom. Players can engage in the entire game solo or team up with up to three friends in co-op to roam freely in this gigantic playground. Players will have complete flexibility in how they tackle the game’s story, missions and objectives, as well as their approach, whether it’s stealth, distraction, tactical or frontal assault, or a combination of styles. As a member of the Ghosts, players face countless difficult decisions, and those choices have tangible – and often unexpected – consequences for enemies and allies alike creating dynamic and emergent gameplay throughout.

Hey, I’m all for a new take on the shooter. Bring it on.

There’s no release date — or even a target year — attached to Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Like many Ubisoft games that debut at the end of a press conference, we may be waiting a while for this.

[MIKA27]

Five Minutes Of Star Wars: Battlefront Gameplay

Straight outta EA’s E3 press conference, here’s a big chunk of multiplayer gameplay from Star Wars Battlefront, out November 17 for PS4/Xbox One/PC.

Looks pretty rad, don’t you think? EA says this is running on a PS4, captured from a 40-person battle between the Empire and Rebels on the frozen planet of Hoth. “As the Empire, you must accompany AT-AT walkers as they march towards the Rebel base to destroy it. And as a Rebel, you must do everything you can to stop them. “

Don’t miss the special appearance from two iconic Star Wars characters at the end there. Battlefront will let you play as both Luke and Vader, among other characters.

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Sinabung eruption: Thousands flee Indonesia volcano

Thousands of people living close to a volcano in Indonesia have been forced to flee their homes after it began erupting violently.

Mount Sinabung, on the island of Sumatra, became active again in 2010 but there has been more activity since 2 June.

Before 2010, the volcano had been dormant for more than 400 years.

At least 3,000 people living near its slopes have had to leave, including 1,200 on Monday alone.

Scientists worry the volcano could pose more dangers in the coming weeks.

The danger alert for Mount Sinabung is now at its highest level

Pyroclastic flows - surges of hot ash and rock - speed down the side of Mount Sinabung

A close-up of volcanic ash flowing down from Mount Sinabung

Thousands more people are likely to have to flee in the coming days

On Monday, there were at least 28 pyroclastic flows - surges of hot ash and gas that rush down the side of the mountain at high speed.

Gede Suantika, an Indonesian government volcanologist, said there were signs a lava dome was growing on Mount Sinabung.

Lava domes are pile-ups of magma near the vent at the top of a volcano, that have been known to collapse and flow down mountain sides at high speed.

Why are Mount Sinabung's pyroclastic flows so deadly?

The danger alert for Mount Sinabung was raised to its highest level on 2 June. Thousands more people are likely to have to evacuate the area in the coming days, a military commander in Sumatra told AFP.

At least 14 people died when pyroclastic flows from Mount Sinabung struck villages in February last year.

[MIKA27]

Could the Next James Bond Be Black?

In Britain, a beloved institution is facing calls for a radical overhaul. No, not the monarchy, or the House of Lords, or the BBC, or even the unwritten constitution. The pillar of culture currently being agonized over, upon which the nation’s identity rests, is the James Bond franchise, and the question of which actor might next be chosen to play the titular spy. Will Brits finally be ready to cast aside old prejudices and embrace diversity? Might the next 007 be … a redhead?

For several years now, rumor has had it that the next actor to play the hard-drinking, womanizing MI6 agent might be Idris Elba, the London-born actor best known for his roles as Stringer Bell in The Wire and Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Much of this conjecture has manifested in betting offices, as most decisions of national consequence do. Most recently, Elba’s odds at the bookmaker William Hill are 5/2, making him the favorite in a race that also includes theMan of Steel actor Henry Cavill (7/1) and The Walking Dead’s Andrew Lincoln (14/1). But in recent days, odds have shortened considerably on the Homeland and Wolf Hall star Damian Lewis, prompting media speculation that he’s “in the running” to take on the role.

Never mind that the current Bond, Daniel Craig, has a contract that locks him infor another film after the upcoming Spectre. As it always has, the British press treats any rumor about the next 007 with the kind of hysteria usually reserved for the birth of a future king, or the choosing of a new pope. The fictional MI6 spy is still one of the country's most popular exports, hence the handwringing that goes on whenever change is discussed. Any fuss about Lewis’s red hair would echo the outcry Daniel Craig weathered ten years ago as the first strawberry-blonde Bond (promptly silenced by the release of the acclaimed Casino Royale). But with Elba, the debate enters much more sensitive territory, as the franchise’s reactionary fan base wrestles with the possibility that the next 007 might not be white.

There’s no real evidence that Elba will get the job—he’ll be in his mid-to-late 40s by the time the role becomes available, which is a little long in the tooth for a role that typically ends up dominating an actor's career for at least a decade. Elba himself has said the longstanding rumor, which started when Craig touted his suitability for the role, has no viability, but that hasn’t stopped some fans from expressing hope that the next Bond could represent a real departure from Ian Fleming’s original creation. Nor has it stopped celebrities associated with the franchise from airing their opinions on the matter.

Roger Moore, who played James Bond in seven films, reportedly told Paris Matchearlier this year that Bond should be “English-English,” adding, “A few years ago, I said that Cuba Gooding Jr. would make an excellent Bond, but it was a joke!”

Moore disputed Paris-Match's account of the interview on Twitter without clarifying just what he meant, but it's an unfortunately common sentiment (never mind the fact that Elba, who was born in Hackney, is more “English-English” than half the other actors who’ve taken the role). Yaphet Kotto, who played the Bond series’s only black villain in 1973’s Live and Let Die, told The Big Issue that “political correctness be damned,” Bond could never be played by a non-white actor: “He was established by Ian Fleming as a white character, played by white actors. It’s silly. Play 003 or 006 but you cannot be 007.”

The Bond rumor mill has always played out this way: a mix of fairly safe choices (i.e. any British action star of a certain age, a list that right now includes Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender as well as Cavill and Lincoln) and slightly more left-field options. For years, the black actor Colin Salmon, who played a minor role in three Bond films, was floated as a possible successor to Pierce Brosnan by the bookies, a rumor encouraged by Brosnan himself. Again, there was no real evidence that the people in charge of this decision—the producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli—seriously considered Salmon, but the rumor seemed to serve as an intended salve to any complaints about the character’s homogeny. The same debate surrounds the casting process for another beloved British character, Doctor Who: Bookies repeatedly raised hopes for Paterson Joseph, an accomplished black actor, but the new Doctor always ends up being a white guy (David Tennant, Matt Smith, and now Peter Capaldi).

Amid all this, it’s worth remembering that Brits are so touchy about who plays Bond that serious complaints arose about Daniel Craig's casting because of his hair color. Forget that Roger Moore’s sandy mop didn't match Fleming’s description of Bond's black hair; Craig was “the first blonde Bond,” and there was enough uproar over his replacing the more classically handsome Brosnan that a subset of fans swore they would boycott his films. Ten years removed from his casting, the fuss about Craig seems ridiculous, and it’s hard to imagine a public outcry if Lewis really did sign on to the franchise. But the same can’t be said for what could happen if the producers defied change-averse Brits to make a truly bold casting decision.

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Deadly Paradise: Sex, Mayhem, and Murder on the Galapagos Islands

The Galapagos Islands are one of the natural wonders of our planet. Isolated for millions of years, they are so populated by such a vast number of unique, endemic species that their name has become synonymous with places where evolution has progressed in geographic solitude. Indeed, it was here among these scattered remote islands where Charles Darwin made his observations and notes that would lead him to conceive of his theory of evolution. Considering this image of remote, untouched natural beauty and wonder that most people may have of them, the Galapagos Islands are probably the last place where one would expect to find human settlements, yet the islands have attracted permanent human populations since the 1800s. Unfortunately, wherever mankind goes so does the evil of which we are capable and these tranquil tropical islands would become the scene of a scandalous murder mystery that to this day remains unsolved.

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands spread out along the Equator around 906 km (563 mi) west of Ecuador. The islands are most famous for their incredible diversity of both marine and terrestrial life, including the well-known Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) and the marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus). Although humans have known of the islands since they were first recorded in 1535 by the Bishop of Panamá, Fray Tomás de Berlanga, perhaps the most famous visitor to the island was the naturalist Charles Darwin, who spent 5 weeks there during his voyage aboard the Beagle in 1835. Darwin called the Galapagos “that land of craters,” due to their craggy, volcanic nature, and actually spent much time studying the unique geology and volcanic formations of the islands. Darwin would make several important geological discoveries during his stay on the Galapagos, but he is most well-known today for his studies on the wildlife there. Darwin’s observations would lead him to come up with the groundbreaking concept of natural selection as an explanation for evolution, which would ultimately be published in his landmark work, The Origin of Species.

Galapagos Islands

Darwin and his companions were certainly not the only human visitors who had ever been to the Galapagos Islands at the time. From 1807-1809 an Irish sailor by the name of Patrick Watkins was marooned on Floreana Island, making him the first truly permanent human settler of the islands, where he subsisted by hunting, fishing, and growing his own vegetables until he stole a boat from passing whalers and made his escape. In 1818, vast numbers of sperm whales were found to be in the seas of the region, and so the Galapagos became a popular stop over point for whalers, which they called the Offshore Grounds, with several temporary whaling outposts set up on the islands where sailors could send and receive mail, restock on supplies, and carry out repairs on their ships. Many of the islands were perfectly suited to this role, as they offered a relatively flat landscape, plentiful water, and many plants and animals that could be gathered for food.

In addition to using the Galapagos as a launching point to slaughter whales by the hundreds there were other unfortunate environmental consequences of human visitors. One whaleship called the Essex made a stopover on Charles Island, now known as Floreana Island, and the crew went about hunting the endemic giant tortoises for food, something which was unfortunately somewhat of a common practice for visitors passing through at the time. During this particular hunt, some of the crew started a fire that soon blazed out of control, with all of the crew members barely escaping to their ship with their lives. The unchecked fire soon had engulfed much of the island and was so spectacular that its illumination reportedly could be seen on the horizon even after a full day of sailing. It caused such extensive damage that several years later one visitor described Charles Island as still being mostly a blackened, charred wasteland. This was in fact the very same island where Darwin would formulate his theory on evolution years later, so it was able to bounce back somewhat, yet it is thought that many species unique to this one island were likely wiped out in the blaze.

Although humans certainly had a negative impact on the islands and their ecology, these were at first mostly temporary settlements or people just passing through. There was no real attempt to colonize the islands permanently until Ecuador acquired them on 12 February 1832, changing their name to the Archipelago of Ecuador. Permanent settlement began with groups of convicts, who were brought there by the islands’ first governor, General José de Villamil to be put into penal colonies. These convicts were there mostly to separate them far from society, and they eked out sustenance living in their new home. Later that year, the convicts would be joined by artisans and farmers, further increasing the population. These first steps towards colonization would lead to more and more people coming to the islands to set up sugar cane plantations and small villages. This growing amount of human settlement, as well as the ships passing through, had rather disastrous consequences for some of the native wildlife, most notably with the demise of the Floreana subspecies of giant tortoise, which had already gone extinct due to being hunted by settlers and passing whalers by the time Darwin arrived in 1835.

The Galapagos Islands

Settlement of the Galapagos really picked up in the 1920s and 30s, when a wave of settlers from Europe started to arrive, lured by numerous perks and benefits including the right to receive land from the Ecuadorian government, the ability to maintain their citizenship, unlimited fishing and hunting rights, and freedom from taxation for their first 10 years. These perks, as well as the intoxicating allure of this peaceful, tropical locale, proved irresistible to many and the islands experienced a small population boom, with other settlers rushing in from Ecuador and even America. It is here where our story begins to divert from one of the promise of an unfettered quiet life in paradise to one of scandalous betrayal, sex, murder, and the evil of man.

One of these European settlers was a German dentist by the name of Friedrich Ritter, who arrived at Floreana Island in 1929 to elope with a patient named Dore Strauch, with whom he had been having an affair and who was also married. They had escaped to be together unhindered and live a simple life, as well as to get away from the crumbling economy of their native land in the wake of World War I. The two had left everything behind, including their spouses, to start a new life far from the ones they had known, and specifically chose Floreana as it was one of the more remote and sparsely populated islands of the archipelago. Ritter and Strauch set up a modest homestead on the island where they enjoyed a quiet, simple life of growing fruits and vegetables and raising chickens.

It was not long before newspapers caught onto this story of the two star crossed lovers who had escaped to this remote island in the middle of the Pacific to carve out a new, peaceful and tranquil way of life far removed from the hectic pace of civilization. Their life was played up as an idyllic existence and an adventure story, with headlines proclaiming them to be the “Adam and Eve of the Galapagos.” The media coverage made the two celebrities, portraying them as a happy couple who had bravely defied civilization to pursue life on their own terms, and this caught the attention of many who were attracted to such a brave spirit of adventure.

Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch

Although the media portrayed Ritter and Strauch as an adventurous, happy couple, enchanted by their new surroundings, there were certain disturbing facts behind the scenes that they failed to pick up on. First was that the couple had been quite eccentric from the outset, having had all of their teeth removed in order to be able to share a pair of steel dentures before they had even left for the islands. Ritter, who was portrayed as a rugged, romantic hero by the media was actually a strict disciplinarian who advocated a harsh lifestyle of hard, back breaking work, a strict vegetarian diet, and complete lack of any creature comforts. While indeed simple and tranquil, life on the island was certainly not easy. It was marked by brutally hard work and the difficulty of eking out a living on the rocky, windswept volcanic land. Although Strauch was happy to be away from civilization, she once lamented “Ceaseless manual toil dulls the edges of spiritual life.”

Nevertheless, the media coverage enthralled people with its story of leaving civilization behind in pursuit of a new life in paradise, and thus prompted many brave souls to make the trip there. While many of these visitors to Floreana were curiosity seekers there merely to catch a glimpse of the now famous couple and their lifestyle, others went fully expecting to stay to establish their own permanent homesteads. However, many who had envisioned an idyllic, romantic lifestyle in paradise were unprepared for the harsh reality of the hardship of toiling over the volcanic soil and scraping out a living on this speck of sun beaten land in the middle of the ocean bereft of all modern conveniences, and found they were not cut out for it. Many of these disillusioned people left soon after arriving, but some stayed.

One family who chose to stay and brave this new land was that of former soldier Heinz Wittmer, who arrived on the island in 1932 along with his pregnant wife, Margret, and their young son Harry, who was suffering from health problems and was one of the reasons the family had decided to come live amongst nature in the first place. The Wittmer’s were similar to Ritter in that they were independent people who enjoyed the rugged and secluded life of the island, and they set up their own homestead there not far from Ritter’s land. Shortly after their arrival, Margret would give birth to their son Rolf, who was the first Galapagos colonist to have ever been actually born there. This was all much to the chagrin of Ritter. After all, he had come to Forteana specifically to get away from other people, and he was very much a loner who valued his privacy and did not like visitors. He did not appreciate the influx of curiosity seekers, least of all those who intended to stay. Nevertheless, Ritter grudgingly went along with the new family moving in, although contact with the Wittmers was infrequent, with both families coexisting peacefully while keeping mostly to themselves. Both families seemed to like it this way, and life on the island remained quiet and without incident.

Heinz Wittmer and family

Just as a calm sort of truce had settled over the island and Ritter was beginning to grow accustomed to having others around, another group of settlers arrived that would manage to shatter the peaceful life they had built in this faraway land. This new group came in the form of the attractive and eccentric Austrian “Baroness” Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet, along with her two young, handsome lovers, Robert Philippson and Rudolf Lorenz, as well as an Ecuadorian man by the name of Manuel Valdivieso, who tagged along as a hired hand to do all of the hard work while the others basked in paradise. The Baroness quickly set up her own homestead, which she called “Hacienda Paradise,” right next to Wittmer’s and promptly went about shaking up life on the island as much as was humanly possible.

The Baroness was a talkative, flamboyant, highly eccentric character who quickly proved to be the polar opposite of everyone who was living in the area when she arrived. The first most glaring offense was the fact that she had come with two lovers with whom she slept in the same bed and of whom she was not ashamed in the slightest. The Baroness would take strolls hand in hand with both of them, be intimate with them regardless of who might be watching, and engage in sexual relations that were, shall we say, audible in the still, quiet air of the island. An attractive woman, the Baroness tended to go out onto her property scantily clad and sometimes wearing nothing at all. She was also known to walk about the island wearing nothing but silk lingerie, which upset the ultra-conservative Ritter to no end. Additionally, she made up her home with quite a loud, garish décor that was just as flamboyant as she was, in stark contrast to the simple, functional design of the other homesteads.

Another problem was the Baroness’ personality, which proved to be abrasive to those around her, as well as her deceitful actions. Whereas the others were quiet, kept to themselves, and avoided drawing undo attention to themselves, the Baroness was known to wear bright, clashing clothing and roam around the island wearing a pistol and a whip at times. It was also not uncommon for her to snoop around other people’s property or sometimes even sift through their mail looking for juicy tidbits to gossip about. The Baroness would also sometimes covertly acquire gifts that had been left by visitors for the other island residents, and one time several cases of canned milk that had been left for the Whittmer child were found to be in her possession.

The Baroness and her two lovers, Philippson and Lorenze

The Baroness was reportedly an insufferable chatterbox as well, who would tell stories and gossip to anyone within earshot, whether they wanted to listen or not. This included visiting yacht captains, who she would entertain with grandiose tales and also shamelessly flirt with. The Baroness was reportedly so charming and such an unrepentant flirt, in fact, that she is rumored to have seduced the governor of the Galapagos himself and spent several weeks living lavishly at the governor’s home on Chatham Island. The governor was reportedly so enamored with the Baroness that he gave her an additional 4 square miles of land on Forteana along with other gifts. She became popular with many male visitors who passed through, and some yacht captains were known to go out of their way to make a stop at the island just to have a chat, among other things. Her lovers who she had brought to the island with her did not seem to mind any of this, and in fact the two men seemed to be weak-willed and rather terrified of her. This was perhaps understandable since the Baroness was known to have a hot temper, and made people very nervous with the pistol she always seemed to be constantly carrying around with her, which she was known to wave about from time to time when she was particularly angry, as well as the whip which she was known to use judiciously on her lovers when they stepped out of line. There also seemed to be a sadistic streak pulsing under her usual outgoing, friendly demeanor, as she reportedly would shoot animals in the leg for fun and then nurse them back to health.

Such a colorful, interesting and eccentric figure was the Baroness that she became a media sensation, drawing further attention to the island which the other inhabitants did not want, least of all Ritter. While Wittmer seemed to more or less ignore the Baroness, Ritter is said to have absolutely loathed her. Her exploits became steadily bolder, and before long she had declared herself the “Empress of Forteana” and announced her plans to build a grand luxury hotel on her property, much to the horror of Ritter. She was also prone to spreading gossip, much of it untrue, to passing sailors, captains and visitors about the other settlers of the island. Although the Baroness did not really get along particularly well with any of the permanent island inhabitants, the animosity between her and Ritter quickly reached a boiling point and a bitter feud developed between them, with petty conflicts becoming commonplace. Ritter began to accuse the Baroness of stealing his private mail in order to sell it to newspapers, and on several occasions the fiery Baroness threatened Ritter with her pistol. The frictions steadily mounted and the whole situation became a veritable powder keg ready to blow at the slightest misstep. All the while, Wittmer stayed mostly out of it and tried to ignore the situation, leading one visitor to once muse:

When Ritter and the Baroness have broken each other down to the level of the ground, when Paradise and Eden have gone down to smoking Hell, Wittmer will still be sitting outside his little comfortable house, sucking his pipe.

The Galapagos Islands

Adding to the already volatile mix of conflicting personalities on the island were the problems starting to brew within the Baroness’ very own entourage. One of her lovers, Philippson, began to make it a habit of regularly beating and abusing the Baroness’ other, physically smaller lover, Lorenz. The beatings became so severe that Lorenz took too seeking refuge at the Wittmers’ homestead, where he would hide and refuse to come out until someone came for him and took him back to his own home to face more violence. Lorenz was also reported to have lost a shocking amount of weight from being underfed. It is unclear what the catalyst for this new development was, but it is said that the Baroness had decided that she didn’t need Lorenz anymore, and had reduced him to a mere whipping boy and slave to do hard labor on the homestead. Additionally, it is thought that jealousy fueled by the Baroness and her many new lovers on the island had finally eaten away at Philippson, who took it out on the smaller man.

Regardless of the reasons, the abuse and mistreatment towards Lorenz continued and there was not much anyone could do about it. Lorenz eventually became so terrified of the Baroness that he took to living with the Wittmers full time.

Other tensions were igniting around the island as well. Wittmer started to experience domestic turmoil when his wife began to accuse him of having an affair with the charismatic and seductive man-hunting Baroness, largely because he seemed indifferent to all of the offensive or insensitive things she had done. Even Ritter was not exempt from such accusations, as Strauch was convinced that he too was having an affair with the pretty Baroness, despite the fact that he quite publicly despised her.

Additionally, the even-tempered Wittmer, who had until now mostly tolerated the Baroness and her eccentricities, became embroiled in a feud with her as well after one incident pushed him over the edge. The island of Forteana had only one source of fresh drinking water, a single solitary spring that provided water to the whole population. One day, Wittmer found the Baroness bathing and frolicking about within the spring with her lover. This enraged the previously quiet Wittmer, and he threatened to kill them both. In response, the Baroness would go on to steal Ritter’s donkey and set it loose on Wittmer’s vegetable garden. The furious Wittmer then shot and killed the animal with his rifle, and the whole incident sowed conflict, tension and distrust between the two men.

Heinz Wittmer

Just as things were starting to froth to a head, one day in March, 1934, the Baroness and Philippson just disappeared without a trace, leaving behind all of their valuables and personal property. The Wittmers claimed that the Baroness had mentioned their intention to take a visiting yacht to Tahiti for a getaway, but there were several inconsistencies with this story. One was that no one had seen any such yacht come to the island neither the previous night nor the day they had supposedly left. In fact their had been no passing boats in weeks. Additionally, the two lovers had taken no luggage with them whatsoever, and since the Baroness was such a celebrity at the time it seemed odd that there would be no word in the news of her arrival in Tahiti. Indeed, considering her celebrity status it is unlikely that she could have gone anywhere in the world without some degree of media fanfare. The news was quiet, all of their belongings and valuables remained, and the Baroness and Philippson were simply gone without a trace.

Ritter and Strauch became highly suspicious of the whole situation, and suspected foul play. They saw the abused and neglected Lorenz as the most obvious suspect, that he had murdered the two, and were convinced that the Wittmers, with whom Lorenz now lived, were covering for him. This was despite the fact that Ritter had been the one who had shown the most animosity towards the Baroness, thus making him a perfectly reasonable suspect in his own right. This is precisely what the Wittmers responded with when met with Ritter’s accusations, and the relationship between the two couples degenerated as they pointed fingers at each other and accused each other of murder.

During this period of confrontation, paranoia, and distrust, Lorenz quietly and perhaps wisely slipped away aboard a passing boat manned by a Norwegian fisherman headed for San Cristobal Island, where he hoped to then catch a ferry to the mainland. This fishing boat, along with Lorenz and the fisherman, would also mysteriously disappear, and it wasn’t until months later that their desiccated, mummified remains were found baking in the sun on desolate, arid Marchena Island; a volcanic wasteland devoid of any trees or fresh water sources. It was believed that they had experienced engine problems and had been forced to land on the island, where they died of dehydration in the scorching sun.

Marchena Island

Meanwhile, conflict between Ritter and the Wittmers had escalated to the point where there were fights between them nearly every day. Not long after that, in November of 1934, Ritter suddenly and inexplicably came down with botulism while allegedly eating chicken cooked by Strauch. The canned chicken meat had come from chickens that had died after contracting botulism through being fed rotten wild boar meat, but Ritter had known it could be safe to eat if cooked properly. It was all very unusual since Ritter was a strict vegetarian. Mrs. Wittmer would claim that Strauch had been the one to poison him by intentionally undercooking the meat even though she knew it was laced with botulism, and that indeed Ritter himself had told her as much as his health deteriorated, a claim that Strauch vehemently denied. The idea was not exactly farfetched, as Strauch had slowly grown to hate Ritter over the months and the two were known to have epic arguments, but the fact that Ritter was a vegetarian and the heated conflict between Ritter and the Wittmers also pointed to the possibility that they had been the ones to poison him. Strauch would continue to deny having anything to do with Ritter’s death and would leave the island the following year to return to Germany, where she would write a book on her experiences of Floreana called Satan Came to Eden. In the end, only the perpetrator knew for sure and who that was remains a mystery to this day.

The Baroness and Philippson had disappeared without a trace, Lorenz had died, Ritter had suffered a slow, deteriorating, agonizing death of botulism, and Strauch had packed up and left; in the end the Wittmers were the only ones who remained.

Indeed, the Wittmer family would thrive on the island, and would go on to eventually establish a hotel there which is still run by their descendants. The original matriarch of the family, Mrs. Wittmer herself, would later write her own book on her experiences on the island entitled Floreana: A Woman’s Pilgrimage to the Galapagos. A movie was made on the whole affair in 2013 titled “”The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,” which recounts one version of the events based on pieces of home video footage taken by the settlers there, photos, diary entries, stories from visitors to the island and locals, and letters to the settlers’ friends and families.

What happened out there away from the eyes of civilization on this remote, isolated island of the Galapagos all of those years ago? To this day no one knows for sure and considering the conflicting accounts it is likely no one ever will. It is not certain what exactly transpired on the island because most of the information we have on what happened there comes from the books published by Strauch and Wittmer, media accounts, diaries kept by Ritter, Strauch, and the Wittmers, and tales told by various visitors to the island over the years, but much of this information is contradictory or embellished. The most intriguing character in all of this, the Baroness, kept no diary and we have only the accounts of others to piece together a picture of her life on the island and her role in the mayhem.

The Baroness

As for the deaths and disappearances, the bodies of both the Baroness and Philippson have never been found and Mrs. Wittmer would claim to her dying day that the Tahiti story was true, while Strauch stubbornly maintained that she and Ritter were convinced that Lorenz had murdered them with the help of the Wittmers. Dore Strauch and Mrs. Whittmer would also spend the rest of their days accusing each other of murder and denying any involvement in the death of Ritter. Indeed even the deaths of Lorenz and the fisherman remain mysterious, as their bodies were found on a barren speck of rock nowhere near their intended destination of the lush San Cristobal Island. The last living witness to the events, Mrs. Wittmer, who was thus probably the only one alive who knew for sure, spent the rest of her life sticking to her story and mostly refusing to divulge any information at all. Mrs. Wittmer passed away in 2000 at the age of 96, likely taking the secret to the grave with her. To this day, the mystery of what happened on Forteana Island remains unsolved and probably will remain that way.

The idea of leaving civilization behind, of escaping our busy and stressful lives to spirit ourselves away to some tropical paradise where we can live out our days in blissful quiet is an alluring one. Many of us yearn to get away from it all, and some of us even manage to conjure up the courage to actually do it. Yet it seems that no matter how far we may distance ourselves from civilization, no matter how far out into the ocean we go to escape this hectic life for something simpler, there is no escaping our very nature and the potential evil that resides within the human soul.

[MIKA27]

MICROSOFT XBOX ONE ELITE CONTROLLER

When you’re looking for a competitive edge on your opponents, the controller is a good place to start. That’s why Microsoft has teamed up with professional gamers to develop the Xbox One Elite Controller.

Described as “an elite controller for the elite gamer,” this thing was built specifically for competitive gamers. The tech giant has ditched the traditional plastic button pads in favor of premium materials like stainless steel, but it’s the customization abilities that really set this device apart. There four new buttons found on the backside, letting gamers remap them to any configuration they’d like, along with the option dial in trigger sensitivity. All of the mappings will be handled through a standalone app, letting you save your controller preferences in the cloud. You can also swap out physical components including the joystick, buttons and d-pad to further customize your controller. The Xbox One Elite wireless controller will be hitting retail shelves this October with a price of $149. Watch the video below.

[MIKA27]

BOOKER’S BOURBON CENTER CUT BATCH

Booker Noe liked to store his prized barrels in the center of the rackhouse—the 5th floor—because he felt it was there that the temperature and conditions were just right for aging his bourbon. The latest limited release from Booker’s, “The Center Cut,” celebrates the idea, along with Booker Noe’s favorite cut of meat. The robust, uncut and unfiltered bourbon was developed with the help of a round table of tasting experts just like Booker was wont to do around his kitchen table when selecting batches back in the day. Look for The Center Cut on shelves this month.

[MIKA27]

YAMAHA SCORPIO BY THRIVE MOTORCYCLE

After working their magic on the stunning Yamaha XS650, Thrive Motorcycles are back again with an impressive and creative build, based on a 1984 Yamaha Scorpio.

The unusual body is the result of a rough sketch drawn at the briefing with the client, it is made from aluminum to achieve the grey industrial look but to also save precious weight. The eccentric ride was also fitted with Kenda trial tyres, a custom clutch and brake lever, a custom dashboard with indicators and a GPS/phone mount, and some custom switch gear. They also covered the custom-made stainless steel exhaust with a grey exhaust wrap to match the overall look.

[MIKA27]

COBBLESTONE BY MUZO

MUZO´s Cobblestone is a new smart device developed with Linkplay Technology, it aims to provide smart music sharing at your home. Beautifully designed, bringing a zen touch to your home décor, the elegant round stone, turns almost any sound system into a wireless one. You get the usual app that lets you control it, just pair it up with your smart phone and you´re in charge, featuring Airplay and DNLA support you also get an easy transition from the Muzo app onto any other music app, like iTunes. Sound quality is also ensured by the wi-fi connection, which provides a richer sound than when using a Bluetooth system. Muzo Cobblestone is really useful for those of us who have two or more sound systems at home, letting you get rid of all the speaker wires. Its minimal design is sustained by its also simple touch button, play or pause with a single touch, another one and you´ll resume from the recent station it was playing from [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

The Mysterious Wolves of Japan

Wolves are among some of the most beautiful and misunderstood animals on the planet. Long surrounded by an air of mystery, myth, and indeed fear, they prowl the landscape of our world’s pristine wildernesses, and can be found in many far-flung locales throughout our planet. One place that many may not think of when hey think of wolves is Japan, yet here too once roamed a unique and little known species of wolf, the smallest species in the world and one which is relatively unknown even among the Japanese. These wolves experienced a long fall from its status as a divine entity, to become hunted fugitives slaughtered by the hundreds only to turn into a forgotten footnote of Japanese natural history and a sought after cryptid said to still exist in the wilds. Let us take a look at the history and evidence for the continued existence of the enigmatic wolves of Japan.

The commonly thought to be extinct Honshu wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax) was the world’s smallest wolf, standing just a little over a foot at the shoulder. Also known as the Hondo wolf, the yamainu, or “mountain dog,” and the corruption of this word, shamainu, the Honshu wolf did not particularly resemble the grey wolf that most people are familiar with. In addition to the petite size, their bodies were more compact and narrower, with short, wiry hair and a thin, dog-like tail that was rounded at the end almost as if it was bobbed. They were also lower slung, with legs that were shorter in relation to their body length. The Honshu wolf was generally quite dog-like in appearance, and in some ways had characteristics that bore more resemblance to other types of wild canids like jackals or coyotes, and to “pariah” dogs such as dingoes, than to its Siberian wolf ancestors.

Illustration of the Honshu wolf

Although the Honshu wolf is currently most commonly classified as a subspecies of gray wolf, this is open to some debate. There are those who argue that the physical differences present were enough to consider the Honshu wolf as its own species instead of merely a miniaturized grey wolf. For instance Japanese zoologist Yoshinori Imaizumi, former head of animal studies at the National Science Museum and widely recognized as the foremost expert on Japanese wolves, has long held that the Honshu wolf should be given species status. There are even some who have questioned whether the Honshu wolf was a true wolf at all. While the issue of the Honshu wolf’s taxonomical status may not be completely settled, whether a separate species or a subspecies, its story is a long and sad one.

The Honshu wolf was once a fairly common sight throughout its former range of the Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu islands of Japan. Residents of rural mountain farms and fields were well acquainted with the wolves, however the people’s reaction to them was not one of panic or fear. Far from being perceived as the evil or nefarious denizens of the forests that wolves were often depicted as in other parts of the world, the Honshu wolves were highly respected and even revered creatures. The wolves were seen as mountain gods, and this divine nature can be seen in some other names for them such as magami meaning “true god,” and yama no kami, or “mountain god.” These wolves had a powerful image as benign protectors of the forest, which is mirrored in much of the folklore of rural areas concerning them.

The Honshu wolf

This protective role can be seen in stories of the Okuri Ookami, or “Sending wolf” which tell of Honshu wolves keeping travelers safe from harm and guiding the way through the woods, ensuring their safe return home. The wolves were also thought to keep wild boar, deer, and other damaging pests away from crops, ensuring a good harvest. Farmers thought of the wolves as generous benefactors in other ways as well, as the animals would on occasion leave parts of their kills behind, which the farmers would repay with offerings of their own. The wolves were sometimes even said to help the old, poor, and infirm, with stories in some traditions telling of them bestowing wealth or curing sickness.

Even in death the Honshu wolves retained their protective powers. Parts of their bodies such as skulls, pelts, and bones often hung up to ward off evil spirits, and in some cases treated as objects of worship. Even the Honshu wolf’s scientific name, Canis lupus hodophilax, which was assigned by Temminck in 1839, is indicative of its role as a protector. Hodo means “path” or “way” in Greek whereas philax means “guardian,” so we get something like “guardian of the way.” The Japanese went through great lengths to show their respect and appreciation to these wolves. Offerings of food were set out for them to eat, prayers were said to them, and temples and shrines were constructed in their honor. To this day there are Shinto shrines devoted to the Honshu wolf in some areas of Japan. Although the wolves were occasionally hunted if they somehow posed a threat, it was seen as bad luck to do so, and killing one was said to invite divine retribution.

The beginning of the end of the Honshu wolves is largely thought to have been heralded by a rabies epidemic that started in the mid to late 17th century and spread quickly through Japan. There were a large number of dead or sick wolves seen in the wilderness during this time, which is testament to the danger the disease posed. Rabies took a heavy toll on the wolf population of Japan, and had the further effect of negatively shifting people’s already changing perception of the wolves as well.

One of the few remaining preserved specimens of Honshu wolf

Modernization had already brought in new farming techniques and attitudes that did not leave much room for the wolves. New agricultural practices such as increased use of river valleys for farming rather than mountains meant less traditional reliance on the wolves for protecting crops. Increased livestock production also created new tensions between the wolves and the residents they were once seen as protecting, as the wolves were seen as a threat to the animals. Rabies only aggravated these already shifting attitudes. Not only were the wolves seen as vectors of the disease, but the idea of rabid wolves descending from the mountains into their villages sparked in people a growing, newfound fear of the wolves. It began to be seen as acceptable to hunt them, and farmers began to kill wolves when they could, the specter of spiritual retribution all but forgotten. The divine image that the Honshu wolf had held for so long began to crumble as fast as their numbers.

This became the age of the organized wolf hunts. During this time, large mobs of people from all levels of society came together in unity to take to the forests in an angry, bloodthirsty quest to slaughter as many of the wolves as they could possibly find. It must have been quite a sight to see these chaotic, motley groups of hundreds hunters, with farmers armed with whatever weapons they could find marching right alongside regal samurai in a united cause to scour the forests for wolves to kill. These hunts became major events, and over time came to produce fewer and fewer kills until they became more excuses to gather together rather than any expectations to find any more remaining wolves to actually kill. It seemed that the days of the Honshu wolf’s status as mountain gods, and indeed their very existence, were coming to an end.

The final death rattle of the Honshu wolf would come in the early 20th century. In the early 1900s, a zoologist by the name of Malcolm Anderson had come to Japan to collect exotic animal specimens. On January 23, 1905, some village men in Nara prefecture brought in the carcass of a Honshu wolf which they claimed to have shot two days earlier near a woodpile as it chased a deer. The men initially had thrown the carcass away but then had remembered the foreigner collecting specimens in the area, and figured that they could fetch a price for it. They were correct. Anderson purchased the remains and sent them back to London along with the carcasses of other Japanese animals he had collected such as deer, boar, and Japanese serow. This Honshu wolf specimen was taxidermed and put on display in the Museum of Natural History in London where it remains to this day. It was the last of its kind. Or was it?

The date of extinction of the Honshu wolf has long been accepted as 1905, with the death of the specimen killed in Nara prefecture on Honshu island, Japan which the zoologist Anderson had procured. However, did the Honshu wolf survive past this date and thus defy the extinction orthodoxy? In August of 1910, five years after the death of the so-called “last one,” a strange canid was shot and killed at the Matsudaira agricultural station in rural Fukui prefecture. At first the animal was thought to be a feral dog or perhaps even an escaped Korean wolf from a zoo, but the following day zoo staff examined the carcass and refuted this, saying that the animal looked very much like a presumably extinct Honshu wolf. This was a somewhat controversial stance, as many in Japan held firmly to the 1905 extinction date.

The mystery canid killed in 1910

Unfortunately, the preserved carcass of this specimen was destroyed in a fire during the years of the war, leaving merely some photographs and journal entries of the event to go on. For decades, the identity of the mysterious canid killed in 1910 was debated, the identity of the animal made more mysterious by the lack of any physical body to examine. There were many who disagreed with the initial analysis done by the zoo personnel at the time, pointing to perceived physical differences between the photographed animal and the Honshu wolf.

In the early 2000s, Japanese zoologist and wolf expert Yoshinori Imaizumi, former head of animal studies at the National Science Museum, and his colleague Mizuko Yoshiyuki, also of the National Science Museum, did a thorough and detailed analysis of the photographs as well as the journal entries made of the event at the agricultural station. The photograph was meticulously examined and the data on the animal recorded in the journal entries was carefully measured and compared to known information on the Honshu wolf. This was perhaps the most thorough and scientific examination of the event ever done. After careful consideration of the evidence on hand, the two scientists came to the conclusion that the pictured animal was indeed a Honshu wolf. They argued that the physical characteristics of the pictured animal, such as its coloration, the rounded tail, and body dimensions all fit in with the Honshu wolf. The low body weight, which was recorded as 18.75 kg in a journal entry by personnel at the Matsudaira station, also fit in with the known size of Honshu wolves. In addition, no escaped Korean wolves had been reported at the time.

The alleged Honshu wolf killed in 1910

It would appear that the extinction timeline should have been more thoroughly revised in light of these findings, yet debate continues and most widely available information still lists the Honshu wolf as becoming extinct in 1905. Is there a chance that the Honshu wolf survived until 1910? It certainly appears that this may be the case, but what of the wolves’ survival beyond that? Could it have even perhaps survived into the present? Over the years, sightings and circumstantial evidence have suggested that the Honshu wolf may very well have eked out an existence in the mountainous Japanese wilderness. From the early 1900s all the way up until well into the 2000s, alleged Honshu wolf sightings, photos, and even reports of captures or carcasses have continued to pop up from time to time. Let’s look at a few standout cases, although this list is by no means comprehensive.

-In 1934 a group of foresters hunting deer claimed to have come across not one, but a whole pack of Honshu wolves, comprised of 5 or 6 individuals.

-In 1936, a villager on the Kii peninsula claimed to have actually captured a live wolf cub, however the man was reported to have released it back into the wild out of fear the mother wolf would come looking for it.

-The 1940s and 50s saw a sharp increase in wolf sightings. This spate of sightings is thought to be due in part to the huge conscription effort that was going on in Japan in the years around the war. Consequently, a large number of people were leaving the countryside during this time frame, which could have had led to a population boost for the wolves brought on by decreased hunting and increased populations of prey species.

-In 1964, a Mr. Kenji Yanai was mountaineering with his son and a co-worker near Ryogami Mountain when they heard a series of strange howls. Soon after, they came across a lone wolf, which is reported to have studied them for a moment before dashing into the forest, leaving its kill of a small hare behind in its escape.

– In 1966, a photograph was taken of an alleged Honshu wolf by a Hiroshi Yagi on a forest road in Saitama prefecture. The photo was inconclusive, and has been criticized as being a photo of nothing more than a dog.

– In the 70s, there was purportedly a carcass of an apparent Honshu wolf brought in to researchers for study. The body is said to have disappeared and it is unclear of whatever became of it or of any analysis done on it.

-Between the years of 1908 and 1978, Aomori and Oita prefectures were the source of at least 26 separate sighting reports of alleged Honshu wolves.

-In 1998, there was a flap of mystery canid sightings in Chichibu, in the mountains not too far from Tokyo. On many occasions the mysterious canids were seen running through brush, across roads, through yards, and heard yipping or howling. One resident complained that a wolf-like animal had attempted to attack chickens he kept on his rural property.

– On July 8, 2000, a high school principal by the name of Satoshi Nishida photographed an alleged Honshu wolf in Kyushu while he was hiking. The animal photographed was a medium sized canine that was grey and white in color, with orange coloration on its legs as well as behind the ears. A series of photographs were snapped from 10 to 15 feet away before the animal disappeared into thick underbrush. These photographs were compelling to the previously mentioned Japanese zoologist and wolf expert, Yoshinori Imaizumi.

-In 2006, an eyewitness account was relayed to me personally by a Japanese woman who claimed to have seen two of the animals while hiking near her hometown in Wakayama prefecture, which is a hotspot for reported Honshu wold activity. As she was hiking, the woman claimed to have heard a commotion coming from the brush to the side of the trail. The woman said that as she approached, she noticed two animals that she at first took to be Shiba dogs wrestling around in the bushes. However, on closer inspection, she came to the conclusion that something about them looked off, not quite like any type of dog she was familiar with.

The animals seemed to be fighting over the carcass of some small animal, oblivious to her approach. When they noticed the woman, one of the canids darted away with the carcass and was quickly followed by the other.

Photograph of an alleged surviving Honshu wolf taken by Satoshi Nishida

Sightings are not the only evidence on offer. In many areas, alleged wolf tracks have been found, as well as purported wolf hairs and scat. Some shrines also claim to have pelts or other relics gathered from Honshu wolves that died after their supposed extinction date. For instance, in 1994 a shrine in Tottori prefecture was found to possess a wolf specimen that is thought to have possibly died as recently as the 1950s. An alleged wolf pelt was also found in the possession of a man who claimed it was killed sometime in the 70s, although this has not been confirmed. Occasionally wolf howls are reported as well. In 1994, for instance, at least 70 people reported wolf-like howls around the Kii peninsula, an area long considered a major hot spot for Honshu wolf sightings and activity.

So what is the chance that this evidence amounts to anything? Is it possible that Honshu wolves are still roaming the Japanese mountains? The habitat in Japan is certainly able to sustain a population of wolves. Although the population density of Japan is quite high, this data can be misleading. The terrain is largely mountainous and forested, with the bulk of the human population concentrated into major urban centers on the coastal plains. Something like 90% of Japan’s population inhabits only around 10% of the actual land area. Looking at population density statistics on paper does not do justice to just how much rugged, unpopulated wilderness there really is in this island nation.

The forests of Japan abound with abundant prey species, to the point that animals such as deer and wild boar have become serious pests in many areas. The ecosystem would be quite comfortable for a predator such as the Honshu wolf. In fact, the wolf’s biological niche in Japan has never really been filled since its disappearance. Other Japanese predators are geared towards smaller prey, and even the closest thing to the wolves, the raccoon dog, or tanuki, does not prey on the same animals the wolves once did. The Honshu was a keystone predator and as such its apparent disappearance has had a negative effect on the Japanese ecosystem. With the population boom experienced by wild boar and deer, not only is the habitat in Japan suitable for sustaining the wolves, it sorely needs them. It seems at least possible that considering the vast swaths of sparsely populated mountain wilderness, small populations of these wolves could stay adequately hidden from people. While these areas are further encroached upon by urban centers, much of Japan’s wilderness remains remote and an increasing number of people are moving away from rural areas to pursue a different life in the country’s many bustling cities.

Mountains of Wakayama Prefecture, a hotspot for modern Honshu wolf sightings

Regardless of the potential for the habitat to support them, there are still certain problems that we are faced with when reviewing the evidence for the continued survival of the Honshu wolf. Physical evidence allegedly left behind by the wolves has so far been circumstantial at best. Tracks or scat could have been left by feral dogs or even domesticated ones that are allowed to roam. The dogs in many rural areas of Japan are often allowed to wander off into the forests at will, or live in an almost semi-feral state, which could result in canine tracks or droppings far out in the woods.

Attempts at DNA testing conducted on supposed evidence such as hairs or preserved physical evidence have run into problems as well. Mitochondrial DNA testing has failed to clear up the identity of alleged wolf hairs, and DNA testing of preserved evidence such as scraps of pelts or bone have so far produced similarly inconclusive results. Furthermore, obtaining a good sample of Honshu wolf genetic material from the handful of known mounted specimens for comparison has presented its own challenge as the harsh chemicals used in the taxidermy process can produce faulty results. We simply don’t even have a completely reliable, solid sample of Honshu wolf genetic material with which to compare in the first place.

The problem is further compounded by the fact that some Japanese breeds of dog such as the Shiba inu, Akita inu, and Shikoku inu (note that inu simply means “dog” in Japanese) bear a strong physical resemblance to Honshu wolves and the two are thought to be somewhat close, both phenotypically and genetically, to Honshu wolves. This is especially so if hybridization has occurred to any significant degree. The “Pariah” dogs that followed human migrations to Japan during the Jomon period (approximately 8,000 to 200 B.C.), became the basis for most Japanese dog breeds. The Shiba inu, for example, is thought to have changed very little from the hunting dog early Jomon settlers brought with them. It is thought that these Japanese breeds have possibly intermittently interbred with Honshu wolves over the centuries to various degrees depending on who you ask. Intentional interbreeding is not so far fetched, as these early settlers certainly valued certain wolf-like characteristics in their dogs, such as hunting prowess and a strong family bond (pack mentality). Unintentional hybridization also could have occurred. This possible genetic similarity between Japanese dog breeds and Honshu wolf, combined with the already strong genetic plasticity of canines in general, potentially makes it difficult to conclusively prove anything through DNA results.

Shiba inu

Regardless of the specific genetic connections between Japanese dog breeds and the Honshu wolf, the clear and undeniable physical similarities between them certainly could at least have an effect on the credibility of sightings reports. The Shiba inu in some ways look quite a bit like the Honshu wolf, as does the Shikoku inu breed and to a somewhat lesser extent the larger Akita inu. These dog breeds could perhaps be mistaken for the wolves by witnesses under the right conditions. The superficial resemblance between these dog breeds and the Honshu wolf is apparent. It isn’t too hard to imagine someone coming across a feral or wandering specimen of one of these dogs out in the middle of the woods or only fleetingly, and coming to the conclusion that they had seen a wolf. Is it possible that all of the eyewitnesses for modern day Honshu wolf reports are merely seeing dogs?

The reports of wolf howls are a bit harder to dismiss, yet there is the slight possibility that certain dog sounds could be mistaken as being from something like a wolf. The Shiba inu and some other Japanese breeds for example are known to produce high pitched noises and screams rather than barking or typical dog sounds. The Hokkaido inu breed also howls very much like a wolf. Could these have perhaps be misconstrued as “wolf noises” by a startled witness out in the woods? There are no good recordings of Honshu wolf vocalizations, so we are without a basis of comparison and we are left with a compelling mystery. What is producing the howls that people are hearing and claiming to be those of wolves?

There have been attempts to further investigate these alleged wolf howls. In 1995, a team ventured into the wilderness of the Kii peninsula with recordings of howls from Canadian gray wolves with the intent to elicit howls in response from any Honshu wolves that may still be out there. It is totally unknown if the two types of wolves had compatible howls, but it was the best the expedition could come up with. After several nights of continuously blaring the recordings into the mountain wilderness, the team failed to get any answering howls at all. The following year, in 1996, a similar experiment was conducted in Saitama prefecture. The team made meticulous, hi-fidelity recordings of the forest sounds after regular blasting of grey wolf calls, yet close scrutiny of the tapes turned up no hint of answering wolf howls. It would be interesting to see if further experiments of this kind turn up anything, but so far there has been nothing but silence.

In modern times, the hunt for the Honshu wolf has become in a sense similar to that of Australia’s Thylacine, a sort of Holy Grail of Japanese cryptozoology, yet for now if there are any left alive then they remain as elusive as ever. Where are the Honshu wolves?

Are they still out there prowling Japan’s wilderness, or have they been regulated to museums, Shinto wolf shrines, and legends?

Do they still pierce the night with their howls, or are they forever quiet? If we continue to search, will we find wolves, or merely stories and anecdotes of a long vanished animal? The mystery remains.

[MIKA27]

Here's The First Artificial Leg That Can Feel

Artificial limbs have restored powers like standing and walking for those who have lost legs. But not sensation — patients couldn’t feel the ground beneath them. Until now.

For the first time, researchers successfully fit a human with a “sensory enhanced” prosthetic leg that can simulate sensation. That sense of touch not only makes the wearer safer (you’re less likely to fall if you can feel what’s around you), but it also helps stop phantom pains.

To accomplish this, a team led by Dr Hubert Egger at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria relocated a patient’s nerve endings closer to where the prothesis connects, so that the nerve endings connect to stimulators located in the prosthetic leg. These stimulators are in turn connected to six sensors on the sole of the “foot”. When the sensors push against the ground, the stimulation travels to the nerve endings that send messages to the patient’s brain, which gives the artificial leg the sense of feeling.

[MIKA27]

Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight to open Christmas Day

Quentin Tarantino’s 9th film has locked down a festive release date, as The Weinstein Company has announced that The Hateful Eight will open on December 25th in the US. A perfect post-Christmas dinner activity for those hoping to settle their bloated bellies with Tarantino’s signature blend of chewy dialogue and kinetic action.

The Christmas Day opening kickstarts what’s being described as a ‘two-week roadshow’, where the 70MM prints of the movie will be screened around the country at various cities. Tarantino’s personal love of the film format spearheaded the decision, which means many of those lucky enough to catch the flick in that time period can see it as the director intended.

Many movie theaters nationwide are currently retrofitting their equipment - with Tarantino's help - by bringing in old school projectors to screen the mammoth 70MM prints. If you’re unable to make during that fortnight, the film will be rolled out in a digital widespread release on January 8, 2016. There’s no news as yet on an Australian or UK release date.

[MIKA27]

The Man From U.N.C.L.E - Official Trailer

Warner Bros. has unleashed an action-packed second trailer for this summer’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E., a big-screen update of the popular sixties series. Set during the cold war, Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer star as CIA and KGB agents, respectively, who are coerced into teaming up for a special mission to take out an international terrorist organisation.

Should the mysterious sect succeed, the world will become inundated with nuclear weaponry - so it’s up to this odd couple to stop ‘em dead in their tracks. As serious as their objective may be, director Guy Ritchie - who also wrote the script - packs in a lot of levity into this trailer, and plenty of action.

As Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin, Cavill and Hammer are both in their element. Dodging bullets, engaging in a lot of innuendo, and generally making it look all-too-easy being a spy; Ritchie’s penchant for buddy action camaraderie has clearly rubbed off on this pair. Step aside, 007....

Co-starring Hugh Grant, Alicia Vikander and Jared Harris The Man From U.N.C.L.E. arrives in the UK and US on August 14, 2015.

[MIKA27]

China Says Its Artificial Island Project Will Be Done In A Few Days

It’s been more than a year since we first started following China’s project to build artificial islands in contested areas of the South China Sea, setting off what could properly be called a diplomatic **** storm. Today, China reassured the world that it’s almost done, alright?

For the past year, China has been sucking sand up from the ocean floor and piping it onto the shallow reefs of the Spratly islands, also known as the Nansha islands. This is an area of the world that’s hotly contested by a huge number of countries, from the Philippines to Vietnam, and by building infrastructure like airports and military outposts there — reclaiming as much as 2000 acres, according to The New York Times — China is bolstering its own claim.

The move has incited a huge amount of pushback by the countries involved, especially the Philippines, where protesters have rallied against China’s encroachment. That said, China hasn’t stopped — or even really acknowledged — its terraforming project. That changed today, as the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Lu Kang, published a statement calling it “lawful, reasonable and justified.”

Protesters march towards the Chinese Consulate in Manila, Philippines, last week.

What’s more, it’s almost over. The island-building effort “will be completed in the upcoming days,” Lu Kang writes. “After the land reclamation, we will start the building of facilities to meet relevant functional requirements.”

So it’s not so much that China is backing down from the project, but that it’s almost done with the land reclamation part of it. Either way, it’s an amazing example of how infrastructure can be wielded as a weapon when it comes to international relations. Take a look at how the Spratlys have evolved over the past year below.

Here’s what the islands look like naturally. This 2003 photo from NASA shows us a “drowned atoll” called the Union Bank & Reefs, part of the Spratlys.

This June, 2014 photo from the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs shows the reclamation process, whereby sand is dredged up and piled onto existing shallows:

By March of 2015, the Spratly islands were starting to look much more established. Those little black shapes are dredging ships:

A month later, in April, a report from The Center for Strategic and International Studies showed incredible progress around the new islands:

And finally, last month, the AP’s Ritchie B. Tongo gave us our most recent glimpse of the Mischief Reef, another focal point in the Spratlys.

[MIKA27]

Scientists Just Invented The Neural Lace

In the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks, futuristic post-humans install devices on their brains called a “neural lace”. A mesh that grows with your brain, it’s essentially a wireless brain-computer interface. But it’s also a way to program your neurons to release certain chemicals with a thought. And now, there’s a neural lace prototype in real life.

A group of chemists and engineers who work with nanotechnology published a paper this month in Nature Nanotechnology about an ultra-fine mesh that can merge into the brain to create what appears to be a seamless interface between machine and biological circuitry. Called “mesh electronics”, the device is so thin and supple that it can be injected with a needle — they have already tested it on mice, who survived the implantation and are thriving. The researchers describe their device as “syringe-injectable electronics”, and say it has a number of uses, including monitoring brain activity, delivering treatment for degenerative disorders like Parkinson’s, and even enhancing brain capabilities.

Writing about the paper in Smithsonian magazine, Devin Powell says a number of groups are investing in this research, including the military:

[study researcher Charles Lieber’s] backers include Fidelity Biosciences, a venture capital firm interested in new ways to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. The military has also taken an interest, providing support through the U.S. Air Force’s Cyborgcell program, which focuses on small-scale electronics for the “performance enhancement” of cells.

For now, the mice with this electronic mesh are connected by a wire to computer — but in the future, this connection could become wireless. The most amazing part about the mesh is that the mouse brain cells grew around it, forming connections with the wires, essentially welcoming a mechanical component into a biochemical system.

A 3D microscope image of the mesh merging with brain cells

Lieber and his colleagues do hope to begin testing it on humans as soon as possible, though realistically that’s many years off. Still, this could be the beginning of the first true human internet, where brain-to-brain interfaces are possible via injectable electronics that pass your mental traffic through the cloud. What could go wrong?

[MIKA27]

Actor John Hurt Diagnosed With Cancer

Sir John Hurt has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the British actor revealed Tuesday. His condition was caught early, however, and the 75-year-old star says he is “more than optimistic” about the future. “I am continuing to focus on my professional commitments and will shortly be recording Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell (one of life’s small ironies!) for BBC Radio 4,” he said. Hurt is best known for his roles in The Elephant Man, Alien, and the Harry Potter films.

[MIKA27]

LOFOTEN OPERA HOTEL

Yes, you'll eventually be able to book a room there. But the Lofoten Opera Hotel by Snohetta is much more than just a series of boxes with beds. Juxtaposing nicely with the mountains in the distance and the sea nearby, this snake-like 11,000 square-meter building will be home to apartments, a spa, an amphitheater, sea water basins, and a hotel. Currently scheduled to open in Norway in late 2015 — so get your passport ready now.

[MIKA27]

California Lifeguards Get Drone, Instantly Spot 10-12 Great Whites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkPdDs0-eew

Orange County’s Seal Beach is a popular spot for swimmers and surfers, so its lifeguards figured they’d use a camera drone to keep a better eye on them. But what they saw instead was “10 to 12 great white sharks just feet from shore.”

“Sharks are kinda, like, my biggest fear so that’s, like, very daunting for me,” one local told CBS News after seeing this video.

But the lifeguards don’t believe the sharks pose a significant risk. They plan to use the drone to monitor sharks for “aggressive” behaviour, but will keep the beach open while they do.

“If we get bigger sharks or we get sharks that are aggressive, we’re actually going to close the water. But right now, we have sharks that are 5- to 6-feet long, non-aggressive, acting like normal sharks, feeding on bottom fish, doing exactly what we would expect them to do,” said Seal Beach’s chief lifeguard, Joe Bailey. He has posted warning signs to alert visitors to the sharks’ presence.

Great whites aren’t new to SoCal’s waters. They’re frequently spotted by surfers, fishermen and are even occasionally seen leaping out of the water. Despite their presence, they don’t pose much of a risk to people. No fatal shark attacks have ever occurred on an Orange County beach.

[MIKA27]

Russia's Testing A 'Microwave Gun' That Will De-Arm Drones At 10km

A state-owned Russian engineering company has developed, and is now testing, a new kind of super-high-frequency gun that is said to be capable of deactivating unmanned aerial vehicles from 10km away.

Sputnik News claims that a representative from Russia’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation has explained the capabilities — though not the technical features — of the new device. According the spokesperson:

“The new system is equipped with a high-power relativistic generator and reflector antenna, management and control system, and a transmission system which is fixed on the chassis of BUK surface-to-air missile systems. When mounted on a special platform, the ‘microwave gun’ is capable of ensuring perimeter defence at 360 degrees.”

The purpose of the device seems to be to render modern airborne systems — be they drones, fighter jets or high-precision ballistics — incapable, by deactivating on-board radio electronic equipment. It’s suspected the new device will be demonstrated at a forthcoming Military exposition, Army-2015, in the coming days.

[smokum]

My go-to thread. Love this stuff. Thanks Mika27