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

[MIKA27]

LUM-TEC DSPTCH COMBAT B25

DSPTCH and Lum-Tec have teamed up once again for another watch collaboration, the result is this special edition Combat B25 watch. The military-styled watch features a solid stainless steel case with a sleek matte black dial that features Lum-Tec´s trademark MDV luminescent coating on the hands and hour marks. Powered by a Japanese made Miyota OS20J movement, the limited-edition watch comes with two premium nylon straps with matching hardware.

[MIKA27]

BOLLINGER SPECTRE 2009 CHAMPAGNE

Using a cuvée from only the best grapes, the Bollinger Spectre 2009 Champagne is a drink inspired by and sure to be a favorite of James Bond himself. Bollinger has been featured in Bond films since 1979, and Spectre will be the 14th time that 007 has made it his champagne of choice. To celebrate, this limited bottle features embossed silver 007 branding and comes in a sleek black cool-box designed to mimic the gun grip on Bond's Walther PPK, while the bottle is kept cold for up to two hours en route to your next secret mission.

[MIKA27]

BOSE SOUNDTOUCH 10 SPEAKER

Don't let its size fool you. The Bose SoundTouch 10 Speaker packs big sound and a well-rounded feature set into a diminutive package. Standing less than 8.5 inches tall, it uses a new 2.5 inch Unidome speaker that, paired with the company's digital signal processing, produces surprisingly full sound. It also has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi built-in, the latter of which gives you instant access to streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, and lets the speaker hook up with other SoundTouch units in your house wirelessly — giving you the ability to build a whole-house system that includes home theater systems, soundbars, standalone units, and even outdoor speakers.

[MIKA27]

Michigan Farmer Uncovers Rare, Near-Complete Woolly Mammoth Fossil In Field

While digging in his field on Monday, Michigan farmer James Bristle found what he thought was ordinary debris in his field. After digging further, he discovered that what he had found wasn’t a fence post, but bones from a Woolly Mammoth.

After the discovery, Bristle contacted the University of Michigan, who arrived to excavate the skeleton, according to Ann Arbor News. According to Daniel Fisher, the director of the Museum of Paleontology at the University, the animal was “an adult male, probably in its forties at the time of its death, probably lived between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago.”

He went on to say that the animal skeleton was incomplete and discovered in what had been a pond: their hypothesis is the mammoth was partially eaten and stored for later. There’s evidence of human activity: stone tools were found on the site, the way the animal’s bones were discovered, and three boulders found next to each other, which they think was used to anchor the remains in place.

This was also a rare find: According to the University of Michigan, over 300 mastodons have been uncovered over the years in the state, but in the same time, only 30 woolly mammoths have been recovered. Moreover, this one was particularly complete, even as it was missing some pieces.

Bristle discovered the fossil while excavating the land for a lift station for a natural gas line, and gave the excavation team a day to complete their work. The fossil has since been recovered and will now undergo further study.

[MIKA27]

MacGyver is returning to TV with a reboot from Furious 7 director James Wan

The TV studios just keep the reboots coming. CBS is working on bringing MacGyver back to television, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly. This won't be your parents' MacGyver however; Furious 7 director James Wan is set to executive produce the series, and he's on board to develop what's sure to be an explosive pilot episode. The show hasn't yet been ordered to series, but CBS has committed to at least making the pilot.

Oh, and expect MacGyver to be a bit less scruffy than his ’80s incarnation: the rebooted series will follow a 20-something version of the quick-on-his-toes action star. The official description for the show says this greener MacGyver "gets recruited into a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening."

The TV studios just keep the reboots coming. CBS is working on bringing MacGyver back to television, according to The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly. This won't be your parents' MacGyver however; Furious 7 director James Wan is set to executive produce the series, and he's on board to develop what's sure to be an explosive pilot episode. The show hasn't yet been ordered to series, but CBS has committed to at least making the pilot.

Oh, and expect MacGyver to be a bit less scruffy than his ’80s incarnation: the rebooted series will follow a 20-something version of the quick-on-his-toes action star. The official description for the show says this greener MacGyver "gets recruited into a clandestine organization where he uses his knack for solving problems in unconventional ways to help prevent disasters from happening."

[MIKA27]

Has Nefertiti Been Buried In King Tut's Tomb All This Time?

Egyptian antiquities authorities are convinced by a British Egyptologist’s claim that Neferititi’s tomb is concealed behind Tut’s and want to begin using radar and thermal imaging in the investigation.

British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves caused a stir in August when he published a paper hypothesizing that Queen Nefertiti’s burial place was hidden within Tut’s tomb. Nefertiti was likely Tut’s mother or stepmother and one of the most powerful women in Ancient Egypt. As her burial place has never been confirmed, it is considered a holy grail for archaeologists. Reeves had studied images of Tut’s fabled tomb and theorised that it contained hidden passages and chambers.

At a recent news conference in Cairo last week, Reeves reiterated that high-resolution scans show passages to two hidden chambers. He remains convinced that Nefertiti’s final resting place will be discovered therein, which fits neatly with the longstanding mystery of why Tutankhamun’s tomb was smaller than expected for a pharaoh — Reeves believes the tomb was originally Nefertiti’s, then made to accommodate Tut when he died at 19.

Egyptian authorities are now betting on Reeves’ theory, and confirm that radar studies of Tut’s tomb will begin in the next few months. The Telegraph quotes Egyptian Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty, who is understandably excited: “If it is true, we are facing a discovery that would overshadow the discovery of Tutankhamun himself. This would be the most important discovery of the 21st century.” Finding Nefertiti’s chamber would be a huge boon for Egypt and no doubt spur a new worldwide interest in Egyptian archaeology, as Howard Carter’s 1922 discovery of King Tut’s tomb sparked a mania for the subject.

Some archaeologists remain unconvinced by Reeves, believing that Nefertiti’s mummy has already been found or suggesting that the hidden chambers could be storerooms or contain other remains of people close to Tut. At the moment, however, speculation that Nefertiti lies in hidden state is spurring the advancement of the project and the application of advanced investigative tech, so in a few months we should hear back on what they find.

Let’s hope the explorers are taking all cautions against the dreaded mummy’s curse that was said to strike Carter’s expedition. It might have been overhyped media fiction to sell newspapers, but hey, you never know. Maybe Nefertiti would rather remain undisturbed, wherever she is.

[MIKA27]

UNSW's Silicon Quantum Logic Gate Brings Quantum Computing One Step Closer

Quantum computing is a devilishly complex pursuit and one of the main problems is that it demands exotic materials to create its equally exotic circuitry. Now a team of researchers has managed to create the world’s first quantum logic gate in faithful old silicon.

Engineers from the University of New South Wales have developed a device that allows two quantum bits — known as qubits — to communicate with each other. That ability, achieved in silicon, could make a practical quantum computer a reality.

In whatever device you’re using to read this, data is stored as binary bits which assume a state of 0 or 1. In a quantum computer, qubits can assume a state of 0, 1, or both states at once. The qubit’s ability to be both at once in theory allows a quantum computer to perform many computations in parallel, making it incredibly fast.

The problem is that a usable quantum computer needs to be able to perform operations not just within a single qubit but between two. Such dual-bit processes can be used to create what are known as logic gates: simple computational units that take two input values and provide a new output based on a simple rule. In the past such systems have been achieved with qubits — but only using circuitry made from exotic materials.

It’s proven impossible to achieve the same feat on silicon. “The logic qubit state is encoded on the spin of a single electron,” explains Andrew Dzurak, who led the research. “One key issue is that in order to perform logic between two electron spin qubits, the electrons need to be very close to each other, typically within 20-40 nanometres, and this coupling needs to be highly controllable. This has proved very difficult because of the small scales.”

Old dog, new tricks

Now, his team has borrowed concepts from existing transistors to make it possible for two silicon-based qubits to reliably communicate with each other. To do that, they have essentially taken transistors that aren’t dissimilar to those used in your computer or smartphone and reconfigured them so that each one has only one electron associated with it. Because the state of a quantum bit can be defined by the spin on a single electron, that essentially turns each transistor into a qubit. In a paper published in Nature, the team shows that they can use metal electrodes on the transistors to control the qubits and have them interact with each other.

“A key breakthrough was finding that we could address each qubit independently, just by controlling the voltage on a metal gate electrode above it,” explains Dzurak. “That really simplifies operation of both one- and two-qubit logic.”

Artists impression of a full-scale silicon quantum computer processor, with thousands of individual qubits.

The fact that the team has been able to create this kind of quantum circuitry on silicon is a major advance — mainly because the world of computing is already set up in silicon. The team reckons that because its approach essentially repurposes existing technology, it should be possible to create a full-scale quantum chip far sooner using this approach than any other existing technology could manage.

That’s not to say that it will be trivial, though. “There is still a lot of engineering to be done, to achieve the wiring layouts required to do the read and write operations on thousands or millions of CMOS qubits,” explains Dzurak. “While we can borrow a huge amount from CMOS chip design, we’ll have to re-engineer aspects of it, in close collaboration with manufacturers and CMOS chip designers.” Regardless, he reckons that “a chip with between tens and hundreds of CMOS qubits could be made in the next 5 years,” if there’s enough investment in place.

Indeed, taking the technique from the science lab to a working, large-scale chip will require some considerable engineering. That’s why his lab plans to work closely with chip manufacturers and designers to build working prototypes with tens of working qubits. “The lessons learned from that stage… would determine exactly how much longer it would be to produce a chip that would have solve problems that outperform existing computers.,” says Dzurak.

[MIKA27]

Live Streamer Sets House On Fire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_orOT3Prwg

What did you get up to this long weekend? It probable can’t compete with one Japanese man who tried to light a cigarette and ended up burning down part of a house. The worst bit is his casual efforts to put it out.

Skip to 4:50 for the start of the fire shenanigans.

The real question is, why does he have so much paper and cardboard around?

The robotic sounding voice (according to the Reddit comments) is commentators (via text to speech) on the live stream telling him useful things like to call the fire brigade, use a fire extinguisher, or even just to look behind where the fire is spready.

Reddit sleuths also suggest that the reason why his box of matches goes up in flames is that it’s a metal match lighter that had leaked fuel.

The sad side is that apparently 30% of the house burnt down and four people suffered injuries, but all survived.

[MIKA27]

The Ancient Greek Cave of Mysteries

Greece, with its picturesque scenery and long, fabled history has become a magnet for tourists looking for a peek into the wonders of the past. Particularly in Athens, one of the world’s oldest cities and often referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, one can find such legendary historical locations as the Acropolis of Athens, with its Parthenon, among countless other ancient ruins dotting the cityscape and surrounding countryside. Yet among this rich tapestry of history, there are other more enigmatic places that seem to be largely unknown to the droves of visitors who pour into Athens every year, which while relatively little known nevertheless are heavily wreathed in history and indeed weirdness. One such mysterious location can be found just to the north of Athens, and is a place at once steeped in history and high strangeness, dripping with tales of the paranormal, UFOs, and secret government conspiracies.

On the outskirts of Athens, Greece, located on the craggy south-western slope of Mt. Penteli and surrounded by ominous looking pine forests, is a bizarre cave mostly unknown to tourists, but very well-entrenched in the history of the area and also cloaked in mystery, folklore, and superstition, which is officially known as Penteli Cave, but also variously called Ntavelis’s Cave and the Davelis Cave. The cave is located within an ancient quarry from which was taken the marble used in the construction of such legendary structures as the Parthenon and Acropolis, which was moved down the mountain via carts and pulleys whose tracks can still be seen, along with the ancient road that once was used to reach it. It was in fact this excavation of precious marble that uncovered the entrance to the cave in the 5th century.

The Cave of Penteli

The mouth of the Penteli Cave seems mundane and innocuous enough, but penetrate into its cold dark recesses and it becomes clear that this is much more than it appears. The cave proper is 60 m long, 40 m wide, and 20 m high, and branches off into an impressive and intricate network of tunnels that snake deep underground, one of which leads up to a subterranean pond of water, and another that leads down into abysmal blackness that has long been claimed since ancient times to be the road to Hell itself. The finding of such a vast cave and tunnel network within the quarry must have been enough to inspire awe into the people of the time, and indeed the cave became a revered place which would go on to weave a rather colorful history. The cave was once a Panaipolion, a place of worship for followers of the Greek goat-like god Pan, who was considered to be the patron of shepherds, and many artifacts depicting Pan surrounded by nymphs have been found within the numerous passages here. There are also many small niches carved into the rock of the walls that are thought to have been for the purpose of displaying idols, statues, and offerings to Pan. There is also a hollow in one of the walls bearing a small pool of water for unknown purposes.

The cave went on to become a favored hideout for marauding cutthroat thieves, a haunt for mountain hermits, and a shelter for nomad monks and other holy people, some of whose remains have been found buried under the floor. In around the 11th century, two byzantine chapels were carved directly into the rock at its entrance which are rather unusual in the fact that they are interconnected, converging as one church within two sanctums and are said to be dedicated to Saint Spyridon and Saint Nicolas. The smaller of the chapels contains glyphs and engravings thought to have been produced by the anchorites, and there is a mural in the larger one depicting Michael Akominatos, the last Greek archbishop of Athens. Beyond these chapels lies the cave proper, with various passages that meander through the inky darkness past vast halls and impressive stalagmite formations.

Chapel within the Cave of Penteli

One of the most popular historical legends concerning the cave came in the 19th century, when the notorious outlaw Davelis set his sights on it as a mountain hideout. Davelis at the time was considered to be an almost Robin Hood-like figure who was well-known for stealing from the rich and affluent. He and his band of robbers utilized the cave as a hideaway and it was said that the infamously womanizing brigand started an affair with a French noblewoman, the Duchess of Plakentia, who lived down the mountain in the Old Penteli village, or the modern Palaia Penteli community. Legend has it that a series of tunnels led all the way down through the mountain to a secret meeting place where the robber could meet his lover in secrecy, as well as to the nearby Pentelikon Monastery, and it is also said that a good amount of Davelis’ loot was hidden down within the remote corners of the cave where it remains to this day. Davelis’ reign of terror upon his wealthy high society targets would end when he was hunted down and killed near Mount Parnassos and his head paraded about on a stick in the Syntagma Square. It is the name of this legendary robber that gives the cave one of it nicknames, the Davelis Cave.

There is certainly a lot of interesting history surrounding the Davelis Cave, but perhaps even more intriguing is the amount of strange phenomena that has long been associated with it. Since its first discovery there have been bizarre tales spinning around the cave and its surroundings. Glowing orbs, strange creatures, and shadowy, mist-like human figures were often spotted prowling about in the darkness, and there has always been an intense sense of disorientation and dread that descends upon all who enter, as well as an indescribable thrumming atmosphere as a place of power, and indeed it is this palpable, thick mystical aura that is said to have made the cave such a magnet for monks and other religious groups. In the 19th century, visitors to the cave often told of hearing the ghostly sounds of music, talking, and laughter emanating from the depths of the caverns here. In more modern times, the area has become somewhat of a UFO hotspot, with numerous mysterious lights and orbs spotted flitting above it or within it. Cases of missing time and panic attacks have long been common here, as well as sudden blackouts or aberrant changes of behavior. There are also numerous reports of goat-like apparitions which appear to only vanish into thin air when approached, as well as the seemingly ever present humanoid shadow figures and even bipedal cat-like creatures. Attempts to photograph such strangeness is frustratingly confounded by the tendency for cameras and other electrical equipment to stop working when in the vicinity of the cave, or produce images of spectral shapes or orbs and streaks that were not present when the photos were taken. Other phenomena often reported from the area are magnetic and gravitational anomalies such as water flowing uphill or, in the case of one 200 m long road on the other side of the mountain, cars inexplicably rolling up inclines.

In the late 1960s, the various weird happenings circling the Cave of Penteli caused an intense interest from the paranormal community, and the area became a mecca for those looking into unexplained mysteries, including the famed investigator George Balanos, who in 1982 would later go on to write perhaps the most extensive compendium of the cave’s mysteries, The Riddle of Penteli, and subsequently bring the oddities of the cave to the mainstream consciousness. In 1977, there was a series of very odd occurrences reported from the surrounding craggy slopes of Mt. Penteli. In mid-April of 1977, a husband and wife allegedly spotted a car inexplicably perched upon an inaccessible rocky outcropping near the cave where no car could have possibly driven to. For three days in a row the couple returned to the location to see if it was still there and it was. When they climbed up to where the car was, they noticed that it was totally intact, displaying none of the damage that would normally be expected on a car trying to drive over the hostile rocky landscape, and in the snow surrounding the rocks were found a series of unusual large footprints which were oval shaped, about a meter long, and meandered up over rocks and even vertical surfaces where no human being would be able to walk. When the wife went to peek into a cavity in the rocks behind some bushes, she allegedly started screaming wildly and claimed that she had seen a hideous white creature of some sort which was 60 cm tall and sported two huge, luminous oval-shaped eyes. Although the husband did not see it, he did notice the bushes shake as if an animal were hidden behind them, and the panicked couple hastily left the scene. When the couple once again cautiously returned to the area a few days later out of curiosity, the car was reportedly still there and the husband claimed to see a huge, dark sphere apparently fashioned of thick black smoke spinning at a high speed emerge from the abandoned car. He would later claim that during the incident, which lasted for just a second, he had felt as though something were trying to enter or invade his mind.

Indeed 1977 would turn out to be a strange year for the area, and marks when the cave was suddenly closed to the public in what has perhaps led to one of the most inexplicable mysteries surrounding it. It was at this time that the whole area was cordoned off and some sort of top secret project was launched within the cave system by parties that remain nebulous, but which are believed to be some sort of secret government agency from an as yet named country. Bulldozers and other heavy machinery were brought in and dynamite was used to blast into the cave to apparently expand the tunnel system already in place and penetrate even further into the mountainside. It was a highly unusual thing to happen at such an archeologically and historically important site, but during this time the area was heavily patrolled by guards who forbade anyone from coming anywhere near it, and local authorities claimed that the project was under military jurisdiction. Bizarrely, it seemed as if there was nothing actually being built, but rather just an attempt to expand the cave system or otherwise delve deeper into the mountainside. All through this clandestine digging swirled rumors of who was responsible, with rumors pointing at everyone from NATO, to the United States, to the Greek government itself, but there was never any official admission as to who was behind it all.

Leading down into the Cave of Penteli

Of course this thick veil of secrecy led to a plethora of conspiracy theories involving the somewhat sinister cave excavations, and speculation ran rampant. Theories ranged from the Greek government looking to exploit the caves for national defense reasons to the construction of some kind of nuclear weapon storage facility, a nuclear bunker, a secret scientific experiment facility, or some sort of radar or telecommunications base, but no one knew for sure. When the Greek government was approached by concerned citizens complaining about the potential damage to such a historically important site, the government merely stated that it was work involved with “national security,” which only further stoked the fires of conspiracy and mystery whirling about the whole project.

Quite a few more far out conspiracy theories started to be flung about as well, including the idea that there was some mysterious magnetic channel connecting the cave to a base in Langley, West Virginia, and that the cave was being used in tandem with two other American military telecommunications installations in the region for some sort of top-secret research, perhaps something to do with an archeological find, the purported mystical qualities of the mountain, or even UFOs or research into opening inter-dimensional portals.

Although this secret excavation work was already odd enough as it was, the real strangeness came in 1983, when the whole project just suddenly halted before it was even apparently finished. Digging just suddenly stopped, and the heavy machinery and personnel were moved out, leaving only the barbed wire fences behind. Of course it would not be long before interested parties started sneaking past the now unguarded fences to take a look inside. It became immediately obvious that the digging had caused irreparable damage to the churches and other spots of archeological importance within the cave system, and numerous new tunnels and concrete walls had been constructed, some of them only half completed. It was found that some tunnels that had been recently carved into the rock led to dead ends and that still other passages, including naturally formed tunnels of the cave system, had been blocked off and sealed for unknown reasons. There was also some heavy digging machinery within the cave that had just been abandoned where it lie, as well as a cache of drugs used for the treatment of cancer.

Even more bizarrely were footprints that were pressed into concrete that seemed to lead up to a dead end and simply stopped, with no indication of the person who had made them turning around to go back. It was also found that the entrance of the cave was pervaded by a large amount of ozone, and some of the remaining tire tracks of various vehicles seemed to lead over rough terrain and slopes too steep for any known vehicle to be able to feasibly navigate, yet there they were. Creepily, at one point during all of this exploration of the cave in the wake of the government’s departure, it was reported that a doll once appeared up on a perilous cliff on the nearby mountainside and when someone climbed up to remove it, a seemingly identical doll was found in the same spot the next day. Over the years, it has been rumored that occult groups and Satanists use the abandoned caves for rituals and even animal sacrifices, evidenced by several slaughtered dogs found within the caves as well as a large amount of graffiti featuring occult imagery and the remnants of “black magic rituals.” In 1990, mysterious construction seemed once again ready to resume in the cave, but this time, the Greek Ministry of Culture intervened to put a stop to it before it could begin.

In recent years, the Cave of Penteli is still a spot that draws curiosity seekers and paranormal investigators from all over the world, yet its isolated mountainous location and lack of a modern road leading to it make it only accessible by a long trek over rocky terrain, allowing it to remain mostly free of casual tourists. Nevertheless, the cave has seen quite a bit of abuse over the years. Garbage litters the floor and the entrance, and there is a lot of vandalism and graffiti, including various messages etched into the rock walls by past visitors. A massive forest fire in July 1995 that spread throughout much of Mt. Penteli has reduced much of the surrounding pine forest to black, skeletal shapes that only add to the sinister quality that even now hangs in the air here. It is rather sad that such an ancient and potentially important archeological site has been so neglected and damaged, but its remote location has made preserving it difficult. The cave remains a place known for its many strange phenomena and weird history more than anything else, and is certainly a stop to make for anyone looking for a peek at something different and off the beaten path while in Greece.

[MIKA27]

FORCITE ALPINE SMART HELMET

One of the best aspects of snow sports is the gorgeous view you get standing at the top of a snow-covered mountain. With the newly introduced Forcite Alpine helmet, sharing those views with your friends and family adds to the thrill.

It’s the first smart helmet geared for snow sports-enthusiasts. Sure, it protects your head, but it also has a 4K action camera, a helmet-to-helmet communication system, and advanced sensors that track your altitude, lines, and more. After you record any footage, you can instantaneously share it on social media, allowing you to quickly become the envy of your friends. The helmet also tracks top speed and max airtime, which you’re able to view on the smartphone app. A Bluetooth headset is included inside of each helmet, allowing users to listen to music and make phone calls with the simple push of a button, without having to worry about damaging an expensive pair of headphones. It’s available now to early backers on Kickstarter for $649. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

SAVER EMERGENCY BREATH SYSTEM

When a fire breaks out, we all know that there is a very limited amount of time before you’re unable to catch your breath. Now, the Saver Emergency Breath System is setting out to give you just a bit more time.

This revolutionary design helps with personal fire protection by adding five minutes of breathing, thus giving you an extra five minutes to exit the burning building. It activates in just five seconds, and once it’s activated, it uses a three filter system to remove smoke, dust, carbon monoxide and toxic gases. The device also comes with a light designed to be seen through even the darkest smoke, as well as an alarm that will allow firefighters to find their way to you. It’s available now for $70. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

PORSCHE CAYMAN BLACK EDITION

Porsche have finally given the Black Edition treatment to their Cayman model, and it looks spectacular. Styled in all-black gloss paint, and black leather interior, the special edition Porsche Cayman Black Edition offers upgrades such as a Sport Design steering wheel, 20-inch Carrera Classic wheels, bi-xenon headlamps with the Porsche Dynamic Lighting System, navigation, heated seats, and an upgraded stereo. Available from January 2016 starting at $60,195, or $6,600 more than the standard Cayman.

[MIKA27]

ANCHOR BIG LEAF MAPLE BEER

There's nothing wrong with tipping back a few hard ciders during the fall season, but if you'd rather stick with beer, Big Leaf Maple from Anchor Brewing is as festive as it gets. Inspired by a tree native to California, Big Leaf Maple is a balanced red ale brewed using two caramel malts, pale malts, three additions of Nelson Sauvin hops, and a hint of maple syrup. Available while the leaves are changing, but typically gone by the time they hit the ground.

[MIKA27]

OLLOCLIP MACRO PRO PHONE LENS

The iPhone's cameras are great. Make them even better with the Olloclip Macro Pro Phone Lens.

Unlike the company's original 4-in-1, which mixes in both fisheye and wide-angle lenses, this model is all about the closeups, with options for 7x, 14x or 21x magnification that lets you make pleasing photos of even the smallest subjects. Just slide it over the top of your iPhone, fire up your favorite camera app, and go. The six element optics provide better depth of field and less distortion, the included InstaFocus hoods help diffuse light, and the pocket-friendly size means its easy to pack along.

[MIKA27]

Yale Just Released 170,000 Incredible Photos of Depression-Era America

The photos taken by Farm Security Administration photographers in the 1930s are some of the most iconic images in American history. We’re all familiar with some of the snapshots of craggy-faced farmers, but unseen photos in government archives tell a more complex story of a struggling country. Yale just released a terrific database of 170,000 of them.

The wonderfully smooth design of Yale’s so-called Photogrammer is a pleasure to browse. It’s just a map of the United States where each county is clickable. Simply find the area you want to explore, just as you might on Google Maps, and the interactive database will show you photos spanning from 1935 to 1945. That means you get a glimpse of everything from Depression recovery to war preparations. You can also sort by photographer, including legends like Dorothy Lange and Walker Evans.

Here’s a selection of what the archive has to offer. But honestly, you should just spend the rest of your afternoon browsing around the whole country. The images tell both a woeful history of America in its hardest moments, as well a the inspirational recovery.

[MIKA27]

Memory loss breakthrough: New implant can reverse Alzheimer's damage

Scientists have developed an electronic implant to help brains damaged by Alzheimer’s retain memories.

They hope it will be used to take over certain areas of diseased brains to help “translate” a short-term memory into a permanent one.

The implant has been developed at the University of Southern California and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre over a decade.

The project is funded by the US military as a way of helping injured soldiers overcome memory loss.

An elderly woman undergoes testing for Alzheimer's and memory loss

But researchers say the astonishing technology could also help to treat brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Project head Ted Berger said the device is already being tried out on humans.

Speaking at the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society conference in Milan, he said: “It’s like being able to translate from Spanish to French without being able to understand either language.”

News of the research prompted excitement among campaigners.

Dr Clare Walton, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “A prosthetic memory device is a very exciting prospect, but it has taken decades of research to get this far and there are still many unknowns that need to be worked out by the scientists.

Brain scans of a patient with Alzheimers show the damaged areas of the brain

“It’s encouraging to see these cutting edge technologies being applied to help people affected by memory loss, but this isn’t something that people with dementia can expect to be readily available in the next decade.

“If this device is developed further and successfully tested in humans, it could prove to be an effective treatment for some of the symptoms of dementia. However, it will not cure or slow down the progression of the condition.”

Alzheimer’s causes the brain to degenerate and the damage interferes with the formation of new long-term memories while old ones survive.

The new US technology has already been tested on nine people with epilepsy who had electrodes implanted in their brains to treat chronic seizures.

Researchers read the electrical signals created in the patients’ brains as they conducted simple tasks.

News of the breakthrough will by welcomed by families caring for relatives suffering with the diseas

The results were then used to create a computer program which could predict with 90 per cent accuracy how the signals would be translated.

Being able to predict brain signals will allow the scientists to design a device which can support or replace the functions of a damaged section.

The next step will be to send the translated signal back into the brain of a patient with damage to their hippocampus – the memory centre – in the hope that this will bypass the trouble spot and form accurate long-term memories.

It is the first time scientists anywhere in the world have used computers to manipulate memory signals directly in the human brain.

Researchers have previously implanted devices so paralysed people can move false arms and their own limbs.

[FireDigger]

Kung Fury - Full Movie

Kung Fury is an over-the-top 80’s (Set) action comedy that was crowd funded through Kickstarter.

During an unfortunate series of events a friend of Kung Fury is assasinated by the most dangerous kung fu master criminal of all time; Adolf Hitler, a.k.a Kung Führer. Kung Fury decides to travel back in time, to Nazi Germany, in order to kill Hitler and end the Nazi empire once and for all.

The campaign that was launched in December 2013 was backed by more than 17 000 people who together gave more than $630,000.00

MIKA: Nostalgia overload!!!!

Nice find Mika, thanks!

[MIKA27]

Luc Besson And FIA Have Made A Nail Biting Child Road Safety Film

Shot on location in South Africa and Paris, France, the short film shows the risks that some kids are faced with every day, no matter where in the world they live.

Save Kids Lives is trying to raise awareness for road safety for young people, as it’s already the number one killer of people between 15 – 29 and soon could be for younger kids too.

Luc Besson is a French film director, screenwriter and producer and the man behind big films such as Lucy, The Fifth Element, Taken and La Femme Nikita.

FIA is the International Automobile Federation and governs most racing events.

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Newly-Discovered, Ancient Humans Were Tree-Climbers Who Walked And Used Tools

Last month in South Africa, scientists announced the discovery of a new group of early humans calledHomo naledi. Now an analysis shows that this hominin had hands capable of both tree climbing and tool use, plus feet that were adapted for walking upright.

The remains of the extinct hominin were discovered in the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave system back in 2013. The fossils of at least 15 individuals — totaling 1,550 skeletal pieces — have since been excavated from the cave. In the ensuing paper, published in the science journal E-Life, the 47 co-authors proposed that the bones represent an entirely new species of the genus Homo. It’s way too early to tell if modern humans are descended from this species, but it’s clear we share a common ancestor.

H. naledi has a body and stature similar to Australopithecus — a small, extinct hominin that emerged some 4 million years ago in eastern Africa. But H. naledi also has a skull shape reminiscent of early Homospecies. It probably weighed about 45kg, and stood nearly five feet tall. The remains have yet to be properly dated, but preliminary estimates place H. naledi at about 2.5 million to 3 million years ago. That said, some experts say more work is need to determine if all the remains belong to a single species, and until dating has been completed, the complete significance of this discovery cannot truly be known.

In an effort to paint a clear picture of the newly-discovered species, two separate papers released today in Nature describe the foot and hand of Homo naledi. Together, the studies strongly indicate that these ancient hominids were capable of both tree climbing and walking as their primary mode of movement — while also exhibiting the capacity for fine hand and finger movements.

Walking Upright Like Modern Humans

In the first paper, co-authored by CUNY anthropologist William Harcourt-Smith and colleagues, H. naledi‘s foot was described from 107 distinct foot elements found in the Denaldi Chamber, including a well preserved adult right foot. Analysis shows that H. naledi and modern humans share much in common, including the capacity for standing and walking on two feet. In terms of differences, the ancient foot featured more curved toe bones, or proximal phalanges.

Digital reconstruction of the H. naledi foot (Image credit: W. E. H. Harcourt-Smith et al., 2015/Nature)

“Homo naledi feet are like yours and mine in so many ways, it is easier to just point out the subtle differences,” DeSilva told Gizmodo. “The heel appears to be a bit less robust than ours, the arch is a tad flatter, and the toes are a bit more curved. Other than those relatively minor differences, Homo naledi had the most human-like foot of any known early humans except for Neanderthals. Based on the foot, and anatomies of the leg and knee, we can tell that Homo naledi walked a lot like humans do today.”

What’s more, the Naledi foot featured a strength and load capacity similar to modern humans, but distinct from chimpanzees — again, another clue that this species was, in the words of the researchers, “capable of efficient weight transfer through to a terrestrial substrate,” i.e. bipedalism.

The Dinaledi foot exhibits some of the most refined bi-pedal features ever seen in the hominin fossil record. As the researchers write in their study:

Although there are members of the genus Homo known with primitive feet and relatively small brains (H. floresiensis) and with derived feet and larger brains than H. naledi (for example, early H. erectus), H. naledi is the first known hominin with this combination of such derived feet and legs with a small brain size.

What’s more, and like Lucy — the famous Australopithecus afarensis specimen — H. naledi‘s pelvis was more outward flaring, allowing for more leverage in walking.

Hands for Climbing and Tool Using

The hand of H. naledi was analysed by lead author Tracey Kivell and colleagues. Her team looked at nearly 150 different points, including a nearly complete adult right hand (it was missing a wrist bone). The researchers say the hand exhibits features never seen before in a human fossil.

Analysis of the wrist bones and thumb indicate that these ancient humans featured a powerful grip and were capable of precise manual manipulation required for the use of stone tools.

The paper’s abstract summarises the researcher’s findings rather nicely:

This hand reveals a long, robust thumb and [an evolved] wrist morphology that is shared with Neandertals and modern humans, and considered adaptive for intensified manual manipulation. However, the finger bones are longer and more curved than in most australopiths, indicating frequent use of the hand during life for strong grasping during locomotor climbing and suspension. These markedly curved digits in combination with an otherwise human-like wrist and palm indicate a significant degree of climbing, despite the derived nature of many aspects of the hand and other regions of the postcranial skeleton in H. naledi.

This mix of seemingly ancient and modern features demonstrates that H. naledi‘s hand was specialised for both complex tool-use activities and climbing.

“The tool-using features of the H. naledi hand in combination with its small brain size has interesting implications for what cognitive requirements might be needed to make and use tools, and, depending on the age of these fossils, who might have made the stone tools that we find in South Africa,” noted Kivell in a release.

Missing Link?

These findings are quite intriguing, so it’s natural to wonder if H. naledi represents some kind of “missing link” in the fossil record. DeSilva says we need to refrain from using such language.

“The ‘missing link’ concept is based on an old and misguided idea that humans evolved from apes as we know them today and the resulting expectation that fossils would reveal a half-human, half-ape ancestor,” he told Gizmodo. “But, that is not how evolution works! Apes have evolved, too.”

DeSilva says that, instead of evolving from chimpanzees, we know that humans and chimpanzees share a common ancestor that was neither human nor chimpanzee.

“We now have thousands of fossils of early human ancestors and extinct relatives, and this growing human fossil record reveals species like Homo naledi that have different combinations of ape-like and human-like anatomies, but I’d never call Homo naledi half-human and half-ape,” he says. “Our evolutionary history has been much more complicated, and interesting, than that.”

[MIKA27]

Microsoft's Crazy HoloLens AR Will Be $3000 For Developers, Next Year

Microsoft just blew us (and some virtual robots) away with a demo of its HoloLens ‘mixed reality’ gaming system. The good news? Those spider robots are just virtual. The bad: HoloLens still isn’t available for consumers.

Starting today, Microsoft is taking applications for developers who want to get their hands on a HoloLens set. If you’re cool enough for Microsoft, you’ll have to pay $US3000 for the privilege of playing with a glitchy first-gen piece of equipment. But on the other hand: wearable holograms!

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You Can Now Buy Mattel's Awesomely Affordable Google-Powered VR Headset

Virtual reality headsets are the future we were promised, but it’s unclear if they will just end up being toys for rich people. However, with a little help from Google, Mattel is resurrecting the classic View-Master for VR.

Kids are going to love this. Borrowing from the design of the original View Master, the sturdy headset combines the power of a smartphone with some clever augmented and virtual reality tricks. The phone snaps into the headset which includes a hole for the phone’s camera to see what’s in front of it as well as a little orange lever on the side for simple controls. For now, Mattel is selling “Experience Packs” in the form of classic View-Master disks. You download the proper app and then scan the NFC-enabled experience pack with your phone. Once you put on the headset, the disk comes alive and invites you to explore the virtual world.

That’s fun enough, and we can surely expect to come out with all kinds of content from its toy empire. However, it’s also cool to see a cheap VR headset with all the capabilities of Google Cardboard without actually being made of flimsy cardboard. The future is here, though it looks like you’ll have to grab the future from US-based suppliers for the time being.

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Plug And Play Energy Storage Could Offer More Flexibility Than The Telsa Powerwall

Over in South Australia, the power networks are working with Enphase Energy to trial another new distributed energy storage system. Compared to Tesla’s Powerwall (and some other existing battery storage), the system promises to be more flexible and has a smart management system – but at what cost?

The stand out difference is that the Enphase system has opted for a much smaller capacity battery – just 1.2 kWh (vs 7 kWh for the Powerwall). That sounds too small to be much use, but the Enphase batteries can be ganged up together to work as a larger battery.

This actually has an advantage over the Powerwall, where adding in an extra battery is a significant investment that is hard to adjust to a home’s individual power draw. Instead of being able to up the capacity bit by bit, you need to add an entire 7 kWh module.

The downside to the modular system is that it will likely always be more expensive to buy 5 or 6 batteries vs 1, to get the same capacity. This could be offset by lower install costs, as each unit is smaller and lighter and can be put into place by one person. It also allows homes to easily upgrade their storage capacity down the track.

Right now Enphase estimates that the system could cost $1150 per kWh, but that does not include installation and is only for volume partners. In comparison, the Powerwall costs around $600 per kWh – based on a $3000 US purchase price, and current exchange rates.

The $1150 per kWh figure is problematic, as (depending where you live) power costs around $0.25 a kWh (though whether this will increase or decrease in the future is hard to know). Assuming a free charging source (solar) and no install costs, it would take almost 13 year of operation just to give the same cost per kWh as buying the power from a utility.

Enphase suggest that two battery cycles are a day is possible, which essentially reaches the break even point in half the time – but how well that works in the real world remains to be seen. Factoring in all the costs and efficiency losses then the system is unlikely to pay for itself in 20 years, yet alone it’s 10 year rated battery life.

Of course battery storage technology is about more than just the pure financials for an end customer, so we will be very interested to see the results of the tests. One application could be the power utilities offering the units at a subsided cost, as it could lessen their own operating costs by helping to handle peak loads.

What Enphase is doing is not exactly ground breaking – existing lead acid systems have a similar modular setup. But by combining Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and some smart tech, Enphase could have a solid system that makes upgrades ‘plug and play’.

Enphase also promises a 96% round trip efficiency, compared to the Powerwalls 92%. While the overall system efficiency, as well as battery capacity degradation is just as important, extra efficiency savings can help offset a higher cost.

Of course the true cost and subsequent savings won’t be known until there is an actual installed price for the system. We did some preliminary calculations for Powerwall, and pending an exact sale price here in Australia, the numbers don’t yet stack up for it either – at least from a purely financial perspective.

The Enphase system also has the Envoy S Wi-Fi connected smart power management system, which will let users monitor and control their power use from an app for best efficiency.

Just like other storage systems, the key points are better load management, especially with solar, as well as offsetting power bills with cheaper stored energy.

South Australia in particular has a lot of solar (25% of homes), but most of that electricity is generated outside of the peak draw time. The result is that the power stations can be throttled back during the day as solar takes over, but it needs to running full bore for the evening surge in power use.

With battery storage, some of that solar power can be saved and used to handle part of the evening peak. This puts less load on the power stations and electricity delivery infrastructure.

Right now the electrical distribution system has to be powerful and robust to ensure it can handle the peak load every day. With a distributed battery system, the peak load can be covered, meaning the power system only needs to cover the average load.

Helping start the shift to distributed energy storage systems is the Powerwall, which will be first available here in Australia. [Enphase]

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This Jet Display Is Like Watching A Reflection In A Lake

No matter how many times you see fighter jets get too close to things, it’s still terrifying to witness.

Here, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds perform during a rehearsal on September 18th before the 2015 Joint Base Andrews Air Show at Joint Base Andrews. Don’t worry: they didn’t crash.

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Turn Your Sketchy Nighttime Bike Ride Into A Blaze Of Glory With Revolights

Night biking is one of my favourite activities. But you know what’s even more fun? Not getting hit by careless drivers who fail to remember that bikers, too, sometimes have somewhere to be after dark. You’ve gotta have good lights, but taillights are passé. It’s time to step up your game. It’s time for Revolights.

The Revolights system consists of four rings of LEDs — two white and two red — that mount to your front and back tires. The weather-resistant lights, which are available for 27” and 26” road and commuter bike wheels, are powered by a set of USB-rechargeable lithium ion batteries, bracket-mounted to the front and rear hub. A built-in accelerometer tracks your speed and alerts your back light to flash as you slow down, in a first-of-its-kind bicycle brake light.

The nights are getting shorter, but for just $280, you can start commuting home right now in a worry-free blaze of glory. There’s a shipping calculator on its website, and getting these sent to Australia will run you about $80 extra. [Revolights]

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This Startup Wants To Plant One Billion Trees A Year Using Drones

Deforestation downs 10 billion trees around the globe annually. Replanting trees by hand is slow, expensive, and barely puts a dent in reversing the damage. But one startup wants to use drones that can reforest our increasingly tree-strapped Earth, on a big enough scale to replace slow and expensive hired humans.

The small company, called BioCarbon Engineering, says unmanned aerial vehicles are a great way of covering ravaged woodlands with seedlings that can repopulate the area’s tree population. Around the world, forests and jungles are still being leveled due to lumber overproduction, strip surface mining, urban expansion, and land use for agriculture.

But UK-based BioCarbon, founded by former NASA engineer Lauren Fletcher, has a plan: Use fixed-wing drones to map the topography of the land, as well as the nutrients and biodiversity. That info is put into a machine-learning algorithm to generate a “precision planting platform,” says Susan Graham, head of engineering at BioCarbon.

Then, that info is uploaded into a multi-rotor, planting drone, which flies up to 10 feet above the ground, and fires a seed pod at a pre-determined position so that you can increase the survival rate. Graham calls it “precision forestry,” and can help use drones as a tool for reforestation teams or farmers. “Instead of having a spade, they will have a drone,” she says.

Remote areas or difficult terrain where sending humans can be expensive or messy. “Drones are a tool and you use them when it’s the right location and for the right reason,” CEO Fletcher says. “It doesn’t mean replacement.” It allows humans to be freed up and do something more productive — one of the things folks who think robots won’t steal our jobs often say. Drones and robots won’t replace us, but will simply complement the human task force.

Last week, the team presented at United Nations Headquarters in New York at the Solutions Summit as one of 14 winning startups that were invited to the conference, which brought together innovators that want to address the 70-year-old global body’s list of Sustainable Development Goals. Next, BioCarbon is eyeing expansion, and already has a commitment from a plantation in South Africa to plant trees.

Graham says trying out the service in many types of locations is key: If they can test in different conditions or environments, they will learn more about how to deal with different soils and species — not to mention cultures. Their ultimate goal is to plant a billion trees a year.