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

[MIKA27]

An Army Of Mini Satellites Will Scour Asia For Natural Disasters From Space

Natural disasters seem to be more plentiful and powerful than ever. But an alliance of Asian countries and universities is coming to the rescue. The plan is to launch a flock of small satellites to help monitor destruction as it unfolds on Earth, providing emergency responders with critical information faster than ever.

Japan’s Hokkaido and Tohoku Universities are teaming with a swath of Asian nations for the microsatellite project. Nikkei Asian Review reports that partners include Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Each nation will send a share of the microsatellites to the International Space Station, where they will be sent into orbit from Kibo, the Japanese module aboard the ISS.

The satellites are tiny: 50cm cubes that weigh about 50kg. That’s 5 per cent the size of a typical satellite. These microsatellites will hang at about 500km above Earth, using cameras to photograph Earth’s surface with a resolution of around 3 to 5m.

The researchers hope to have 50 of the satellites in orbit by 2020. It’s no small feat, because they cost around $US2.54 million each. Apparently, it only takes 25 satellites to cover all of Asia, so if we can hit the full 50, this kind of microsatellite technology could be useful to a huge chunk of the world.

[MIKA27]

There's Something Enormous Buried Beneath The East Antarctic Ice Sheet

Every week, we’re bombarded with images of dazzling terrains on Mars and Pluto, but there are still geologic wonders to be discovered right here on Earth. Case in point: a new study suggests there could be a canyon system more than twice as long as the Grand Canyon buried beneath an ice sheet in Antarctica. If confirmed, the frozen chasm would be the world’s longest by a wide margin.

Faint traces of a ravine system stretching across the remote Princess Elizabeth Land in East Antarctica were first spotted by satellite images. A team of geologists then used radio-echo sounding, wherein radio waves are sent through the ice to map the shape of the rock beneath it. The results of this analysis, published recently in the journal Geology, reveal a chain of winding features over 966km long and 0.8km deep buried beneath kilometres of ice.

According to the researchers, the scarred landscape was probably carved out by liquid water long before the ice sheet grew. Satellite images also suggest that the canyon might be connected to a previously undiscovered subglacial lake, one that could cover up to 1243 square kilometres.

“It’s astonishing to think that such large features could have avoided detection for so long,” lead study author Steward Jamieson of Durham University said in a statement.

Astonishing, yes — but not quite confirmed. We won’t know for sure that this canyon really exists until Jamieson’s preliminary results are verified by a comprehensive radio-echo sounding analysis of the entire landscape. That airborne survey is scheduled to take place later this year.

If its existence is confirmed, the canyon system will become the world’s longest, handily stealing the title from Greenland’s Grand Canyon, which covers over 740km. Astonishingly, that canyon wasn’t discovered until 2013, when remote sensing data allowed scientists to peer through thick ice and reconstruct the rugged topography below. If one thing is clear from this recent spate of geologic finds, it’s that the age of discovery is far from over.

Read the full scientific paper at Geology.

[MIKA27]

This Giant Spinning Windmill Of Fireworks Gives A Spectacular Exploding Light Show

The maniac inventor Colin Furze cooked up a truly spectacular thing this time around: he made a giant firework wheel. As in, fireworks are attached to a wheel (not unlike a windmill) which is attached to a truck which is then all lit at once which is then spun around in circles which then explodes beautifully, shooting fireworks in every direction. This spinning firework wheel is so awesome that it proves that there needs to be more advancements in firework technology.

[MIKA27]

American Pilots Forget How To Fly Manually, Says US Department Of Transportation

Don’t read this if you’re about to board an aeroplane. A new report by the US Department of Transportation warns that US pilot training no longer maintains their ability to fly commercial flights manually because of the surfeit of autonomous technology inside the cockpit.

The organisation’s report explains that in cases where technical issues have required pilots to take manual control of their craft, some worrying trends in a lack of ability are evident. From the report:

Advances in aircraft automation have significantly contributed to safety and changed the way airline pilots perform their duties…

While airlines have long used automation safely to improve efficiency and reduce pilot workload, several recent accidents, including the July 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines flight 214, have shown that pilots who typically fly with automation can make errors when confronted with an unexpected event or transitioning to manual flying.

As a result, reliance on automation is a growing concern among industry experts, who have also questioned whether pilots are provided enough training and experience to maintain manual flying proficiency.

The report adds that that the US Federal Aviation Administration “does not have a process to ensure that air carrier pilots are trained to use and monitor automation systems while also maintaining proficiency in manual flight operations”.

It suggests that the Administration should develop new ways to monitor and evaluate pilots in order to assess their manual flying abilities, as well as creating checks to be sure that thorough training is provided to them. Which sound like a great idea.

You can read the full report here.

[MIKA27]

19th Century Shipwreck Discovered By Australians Still Looking For MH370

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 mysteriously disappeared on 8 March 2014 — nearly two years ago, if you can believe it. And while Australian researchers still haven’t found the plane, they recently discovered a shipwreck dating back to the 19th century.

The Australians discovered an anomaly on the floor of the Indian Ocean back in December and deployed an unmanned submarine on January 2 to take high-resolution sonar pictures, like the one you see above. In fact, this is the second 19th century shipwreck discovered by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in the past two years during their efforts to find the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had 239 passengers aboard and is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean somewhere west of Australia. No one is quite sure of the reason for the crash, though a wing segment from the Boeing 777 was finally found washed up on the island of La Réunion back in July of 2015.

We’ll likely never know the name of the newly discovered lonely ship that’s currently slumbering at the bottom of the Indian Ocean. Those kinds of endeavours take time and money, which is currently only being spent on finding MH370. So far, the Australian government has spent over $76 million looking for the plane.

Since the 2014 crash, China, Malaysia and Australia have all agreed to search an area covering roughly 120,000 square kilometres of the Indian Ocean. They have covered about 80,000 square kilometres so far, though Australian officials are somewhat frustrated that they seem to be footing most of the bill.

Authorities say that they will likely give up on the search sometime within the next six months if their efforts continue to fail. But who knows how many 19th century shipwrecks they will find by that time? At the going rate, there’s a good chance they will find at least one more.

[MIKA27]

A Hiker Has Been Found Dead At Russia's Infamous Dyatlov Pass

In 1959 a group of nine hikers were found dead under mysterious circumstances in a remote area of Russia’s Ural Mountains. They were camped on the slopes of Kholat Syakhl on the night they died — a name which translates to “Dead Mountain” in the local Mansi language. Now, almost 60 years later, another hiker has been found dead in the same region, with the weather conditions too poor to allow emergency services to retrieve the body and ascertain exactly what happened.

The Dyatlov Pass incident has become the subject of multiple films, documentaries and investigations over the years, even forming the basis for a recent horror game. It’s also a favourite of online discussion boards, being one of the creepiest cases of unexplained death since the discovery of the Somerton Man.

The name Dyatlov’s Pass refers to Igor Dyatlov, the leader of the group of hikers who were found dead in that area in 1959. When the group didn’t return on the date they were expected, it took search teams almost a week before they found the remains of the campers’ tent on the slopes of Kholat Syakhl. The first mystery was discovered here — the tent was cut open from the inside out, as if whoever was inside had needed to get out in a great hurry. All the hikers’ belongings — even their shoes — had been left inside.

Following barefoot tracks left in the snow, searchers found the first two bodies around the remains of a campfire, dressed only in their underwear. The branches on nearby trees were broken, suggesting the hikers had tried to climb them. Between this spot and the camp, the searchers found the next three corpses, having died in poses suggesting they were trying to return to their tent. The last four hikers weren’t found until more than two months later when they were located further into the forest, buried in a ravine under four meters of snow.

The subsequent autopsies cemented the Dyatlov Pass incident’s place as one of the world’s creepiest unexplained mysteries, given that no one could determine an exact cause of death. Three of the hikers had fatal injuries — one with major skull damage and two with chest fractures — requiring great force to inflict, comparable to that of a car crash according to the doctor who examined them. The strangest thing about these brutal internal injuries was the fact that none of them suffered any soft tissue damage, nor any visible external injuries. The eventual verdict was that the hikers had died from a “a compelling natural force,” and the notes were then sent to a secret file, where they weren’t made available again until 1990.

One of the most common theories is that the hikers were victims of secret government weapons testing, with one witness at the hikers’ funerals claiming the bodies had ‘a deep brown tan’ and some reports claimed that some of the hikers’ clothes turned up high doses of radioactive contamination. Other theories about what caused the hikers’ demise include an avalanche, local wildlife (or even crypto-wildlife like the Yeti), group hysteria or other, more implausible supernatural causes. However, nothing can be confirmed, especially since parts of the case files went missing. This new death is likely to get people talking about the mystery of Dyatlov pass again, however.

Russian news site v-kurse.ru has speculated that the recent body is that of a hermit named Oleg, a 46-year-old man who is known to have been staying in a small shepherd’s hut in the Urals. However emergency services have yet to be able to retrieve the body thanks to extreme weather conditions, so a conclusive identification has yet to be made.

While subsequent news has suggested that the hiking group who found the man’s corpse has since disappeared as well, the official statement clarifies that they have simply continued on the rest of their journey, which they are expected to return from on the 18th of January.

[MIKA27]

Watch John McGuinness Tear Through The Isle Of Man (And Not Die)

17 minutes. That’s the record-winning time it took for motorbike rider John McGuinness to tame this iconic island circuit which lays claim to over 200 rider deaths.

It’s not rocket science to see that the Isle of Man TT race is one of the world’s most dangerous events even for a crazy motorcyclist. There are no speed limits or proper safety barriers, and the roads are a succession of undulating public streets.

This means that one slip up is enough to send a rider into a concrete bollard, the side of a house or a tree at over 300km/h (or a group of spectators if you’d prefer the softer landing).

It’s a long video, but well worth it when you imagine the type of concentration required to accomplish such a feat of human endurance.

[MIKA27]

This Bison Was Struck By Lightning And Emerged Ugly But Alive

If you’re ever in Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, keep an eye out for the ugliest bison alive. That’s not an insult. Taking a direct hit from a lightning bolt and staying alive is something to be proud of.

Sparky first caught the eye of Fish and Wildlife officials in 2013, when Karen Viste-Sparkman saw him standing with a huge bloodied burn wound on his shoulder. Sometimes FWS will intervene if it looks like an animal has been hurt or put in distress by human meddling. However there is no intervention protocol for — depending on your point of view — natural injuries, or bad luck, or angering a vengeful god. Viste-Sparkman figured the animal would die.

That was 2013, and about a week ago, Viste-Sparkman spotted him in a much better condition, physically if not aesthetically. She snapped a picture. Thin and battered-looking, with the healed wound still very visible on his shoulder, the bull was still alive and seemed healthy. FWS officials have taken to calling him “Sparky” and are monitoring him. Sparky was nine when he was hit, and had fathered three calves. Bison live 20 to 25 years, so everyone’s interested to see if he’ll keep chugging along, spreading his lightning-resistant genes to the rest of the herd.

[MIKA27]

Young People Used These Absurd Little Cards To Get Laid In The 19th Century

Victorians loved to communicate via calling card. It was the proper, dignified way to communicate with other people. But wouldn’t you know, young people just had to mess it up. Check out these oh so risque Victorian flirtation cards.

Calling cards came into widespread use in the mid-1800s, when the middle class was trying to acquire a bit of an upper class finish, and when it became feasible for everyone to print up and carry around personalised bits of paper. They lingered for longer than you expect. One woman mentions in a memoirthat her grandmother carried calling cards into the 1940s. The cards could be an elaborate communication device. Folding down different corners of the card let the receiver know when the giver would be in for a visit, or when they would be away. There were mourning cards, cards for different celebrations, and of course dance cards. All of them were a kind of social gauntlet — a formal way of getting acquainted and keeping in touch.

Which makes these so surprising.

These were Victorian flirtation cards. Their collector, Alan Mays, holds them up as an example that Victorians weren’t as uptight as we imagine them to be — especially young ones.

These were a cheeky way to get the attention of a woman which looked perfectly respectable.

Lots of them had little poems on them, like this.

Others were steamier, although with a lot of cheesiness mixed in.

Is it me or does “squeezemburg” sound like a town that treats dermatological conditions?

This one is short and sweet and provides a nice precedent of textspeak. Although why does an oven mitt mean “no”?

Others cards were surprisingly thought out.

It has the usual elaborate language. The chromo tintype on the right implies, of course, that the guy’s rival is an arse. What’s interesting is the Hamlet reference. Hamlet uses the line “Gaze on this picture, then on that,” when he’s upbraiding his mother, Gertrude, for marrying his father’s brother just after his father died. The speech goes on to heap praises on the father and condemn the brother.

And then there’s this:

Gee, thanks. Of the many cards out there, this is the only one that has an implied insult to the woman. It’s proof positive that the concept of “negging” is way older than modern pick-up manuals make it out to be.

A few suggestions for other “neg” cards:

“Dear lady, may I escort you home? I cannot help but notice that you have the bright pink cheeks of a consumptive foundling.”

“What good dress sense you have. Your corset must be the most well-built structure I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re no Victoria, but you have her plumpness, so you’ll do.”

[MIKA27]

Columbia Just Digitised A Bestselling Anatomy Flipbook From The 1600s

People in the past were as interested in how the world worked as we are. Authors and illustrated produced works to cater to that interest — including an incredibly bizarre “flap book” that shows what human insides look like. Now you can look at the whole thing online.

In 1613 Johann Remmelin published a book, Catoptrum Microcosmicum, which became a best-seller for about 150 years. Today, Columbia University published it online. The work, originally in Latin, was translated into several languages. It explained the human body, using movable flaps to take people down through successive layers. The first layer was the person delicately draped in a way that preserved their modesty. The layer of drapery came off first.

After that, Remmelin went under the skin.

This is a 1661 edition, which needed a little work before it could be scanned. The archivists at Columbia had to undo some damage to the book, as several pages had a dark stain that made it difficult to read, and also made the flaps brittle.

They lightened the stain by moistening the pages and applying a suction device to lift away some of the stain particles. Other damage they left alone. Clearly, they decided not to do anything about the female figure’s resplendent moustache.

The book features a female figure and a male figure, both shown from the front and the back. Each figure is drawn with one foot standing on a skull. As you can see in the picture above, the book isn’t short on Bible allusions. The skull has a snake going through it and an apple branch next to it.

In addition to the regular male and female figures, the book takes us inside a pregnant female torso. As you can see in the gif above, it’s the creepiest experience imaginable — made worse by the fact that for an unexplained reason, we get a shot of what can only be termed a crotch-demon before we delve deeper into the anatomy.

Check out the full text here.

[MIKA27]

A Mysterious Mammoth Carcass Could Change Human History

The carcass was remarkably well preserved, but something was clearly wrong. A rounded hole through the interior jugal. Deep incisions along the ribs. Dents in the left scapula. A broken mandible.

This 45,000 year-old mammoth’s life ended violently at the hands of hunters. That wouldn’t be surprising — it’s well known that Pleistocene humans were expert mammoth killers — but for the location. It was excavated from a permafrost embankment at Yenisei bay, a remote spot in central Siberia where a massive river empties into the Arctic Ocean.

That makes this brutalized mammoth the oldest evidence for human expansion into the high Arctic by a wide margin. Its discovery, published today in Science, might push back the timeline for when humans entered the northernmost reaches of the world — including the first entries into North America.

“We [now] know that the eastern Siberia up to its Arctic limits was populated starting at roughly 50,000 years ago,” said Vladimir Pitulko, an archaeologist at the Russian Academy of Sciences and lead author on the study. “This makes our window into the remote part [of the planet] open wider.”

Bones of the ancient beast were first discovered jutting out of a river bank in 2012. The Russian Academy of Sciences deployed an excavation team to study it. That team, led by Pitulko and Alexei Bystrov, soon realised they were looking at something unusual.

“When the frozen block with the carcass arrived in St. Petersburg, I went to the Zoological Museum to look at bones and a tusk,” Pitulko said. “The second bone which I picked up (that was the fifth left rib) had a clear pattern of human impact. Then other injuries were discovered.”

The injuries, Pitulko said, were without a doubt caused by human hunters. And when the archaeologists returned to the scene to collect soil samples for radiocarbon dating, things got really interesting.

Radiocarbon analysis revealed the mammoth was killed 45,000 years ago — in a part of the world where humans weren’t supposed to be living at that time. The closest other evidence of modern humans is from dig sites located over 1,609km south and ten thousand years later.

The discovery challenges our current understanding of early human history. Archaeologists believe that the ability to survive in far northern climates was related to technological advancements, including the widespread adoption of ivory hunting spears. If those advances had already occurred 45,000 years ago, then people could conceivably have crossed the Bering Land Straight into North America around that time. By comparison, our current oldest evidence for humans in North America only dates back about 15,000 years.

But of course, just because people could have migrated to North America doesn’t mean they did. But now that the possibility is on the table, archaeologists may start looking harder. “These findings are bringing more questions than answers,” Pitulko said. But eventually, he predicts, “they are going to change the story of our spread across the planet.”

Read the full scientific paper at Science.

[MIKA27]

PORSCHE DESIGN 911 GT3 SOUNDBAR

Leaving gearheads frothing at the mouth, the talented team at Porsche Design has transformed a 911 exhaust into an incredible sound system.

The rear silencers and twin exhaust from a Porsche 911 GT3 have now become a 200-watt soundbar ready to be showcased in your living space. While this thing looks gorgeous, it’s also packing some serious tech power. The speaker is outfitted with one analogue and two digital inputs along with the ability to pair with your device wirelessly using Bluetooth technology. It’s also equipped with Dolby Digital decoding and DTS TruSurround virtual surround sound, and an intuitive LED display to easily control the soundbar. The brand plans on releasing the speaker this March with a retail price of roughly $3,150. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

Ballantine’s 21 Year Old Signature Oak Edition

Everyone knows that, if you happen to be traveling internationally, you need to check out the Duty Free for tobacco, cologne, chocolate and liquor because you can probably find a sweet deal on a volume purchase. But there are also some exclusive spirits that can only be purchased at “travel retail” locations. The latest Duty Free release is this Ballantine’s 21 Year Old Signature Oak Edition that pays tribute to the cask maturation pioneer George Ballantine, who founded the company. The European oak that the single malt whiskies are aged in prior to blending is said to enhance the flavor notes and the personality of the whisky. Ballantine’s even hooked up with Korean woodworking artist Lee Sam Woong to produce a sculpture that pays homage to the wood that makes whisky great.

[MIKA27]

Inception-Inspired Coffee Table

Stelios Mousarris is a Cyprus-based designer that cut his teeth as a model maker for Fosters and Partners and designer for Duffy London. He’s since struck out on his own, but you can definitely see some of his previous experience shine through in the Wave City Coffee Table that is, quite obviously, inspired by the scene from Inception where the city gets folded onto itself. Made with a combination of wood, steel and 3D printing technology in a way that we probably wouldn’t understand even if Mousarris himself explained it to us, this is one of the coolest coffee tables I’ve ever seen.

[MIKA27]

ROK ESPRESSO MAKER

ROK is a manual, non-electric espresso maker made from beautiful polished, high quality aluminum. Created with traditionalists and espresso enthusiasts in mind, ROK not only looks good but it is also environmentally friendly as the only power required is to heat the water as needed for an espresso. The process is very simple, boil some water, place your favorite coffee in the steel filter/portafilter, and lower the lever arms to brew your tasty espresso. ROK comes with a stainless steel frothier to produce rich milk for lattes, cappuccinos and macchiato, and comes packaged in a modern reusable storage tin, complete with accessories including a tamper/measuring spoon, and detachable double-shot spout. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

2017 MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS

It's not the flagship — that title is reserved for the S-Class — but traditionally Mercedes' E-Class has served as a testbed for innovation, and the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is no exception. The sportier, coupe-inspired body houses a turbocharged four-cylinder producing 241 hp, linked to a nine-speed automatic transmission. It's the only car in its class to offer an air suspension that adjusts automatically to increase comfort, improve fuel economy, and control handling, it has a number of semi-autonomous features that include speed and steering controls, and the Pre-Safe Sound that activates a protective reflex in your inner ear to warn of an impending collision comes standard. The interior features a massive 12.3-inch navigation display, touch-sensitive controls on the steering wheel, LED lighting capable of displaying 64 different colors, luxuries like heated door armrests and center console, and an available Burmester high-end 3D surround sound system with 23 speakers for concert hall-like audio.

[MIKA27]

PUNI ITALIAN MALT WHISKEY

Distilled in South Tyrol at the foot of the Italian alps comes the first Italian single malt whiskey ever. Puni Italian Malt Whiskey comes from Italian distillers who have only been at it since 2012, but are already establishing themselves amongst serious whiskey fans. Two expressions are included in this release — the first — Puni Nova was matured for three years in American bourbon barrels and finished in European oak casks. Puni Alba was matured for two years in Marsala dessert wine casks and one year in Islay casks. Both are available at 43% ABV or 54% ABV and also arrive in these beautiful bottles.

[MIKA27]

FITBIT BLAZE FITNESS WATCH

It's not a full-blown smartwatch, but it's not a thin-client tracker, either. Instead, the Fitbit Blaze Fitness Watch occupies the middle ground. Like many wearables, it offers a touchscreen LCD display, stainless steel case, and an assortment of accessory bands, but it doesn't have an app store, and doesn't try to do everything at once. Instead, it tracks your daily steps, sleep, calories burned, and heart rate, can auto-track activities like basketball, tennis, running, or soccer, and has FitStar integrated for on-screen workouts. Of course, it offers simple notifications, and grabs GPS data from your phone if you have it with you, but unlike most smartwatches, it'll run for five days on a charge.

[MIKA27]

Superman Threatens to End Batman in the First Clip From Batman V Superman

Director Zack Snyder paid a visit to Conan last night, and he brought a clip—the very first from Batman v Superman. Suffice to say, it’s a pretty tense moment between the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight.

The clip appears to be the climax of the first major scuffle between Batman and Superman, which ends with the Batmobile totalled after Bats attempts to slam his Kryptonian foe with it. Suffice to say, it didn’t go well.

This might just be the most threatening Superman’s ever been, considering that this incarnation of the hero has been capable of being pretty brutal. I’m not usually the biggest fan of “Look at how awesome Batman is” moments, but I love that after Superman threatens to destroy him utterly, in the wreck of his own car, Batman is just like “Nah.” It totally works in a way that “Do you bleed?” line hasn’t in the trailers.

Batman v Superman hits theaters March 25th.

[MIKA27]

The LA Gas Leak Is Scarier Than We Thought

Since a gas leak erupted outside LA on October 23rd, over 83,000 metric tons of methane have escaped to the atmosphere, prompting public officials to evacuate the neighbouring community of Porter Ranch. But as a disturbing new analysis shows, a much broader swath of LA is now drowning in methane.

The Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET) is a Cambridge-based nonprofit that’s been shedding light on leaky natural gas infrastructure for years. Last week, HEET sent Boston University Professor Nathan Phillips and Bob Ackley of Gas Safety out to LA to measure pollution in the air surrounding Porter Ranch.

Armed with a laser gas analyser that can sniff out airborne methane with parts-per-billion precision, Phillips and Ackley drove around the LA area measuring methane concentrations for a period of five days. Every time their analyser detected elevated gas levels, it plotted the numbers to Google Earth. The red bars on their maps indicate where they drove, with higher bars corresponding to higher methane concentrations.

While California’s Air and Resources Board has been keeping tabs on the air quality directly above the ruptured well, HEET’s analysis went further, revealing elevated methane levels up to eight miles from the storage site. In a relatively unpolluted area like HEET’s hometown Cambridge, methane concentrations will typically fall between 1.85 and 1.95 ppm. In the region surrounding the Porter Ranch leak, concentrations of the invisible pollutant are two to up to 67 times higher.

This shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise — after all, we’re talking one of the largest methane leaks in history here — but the new data may put added pressure on SoCalGas to expand the gas leak relocation area. So far, the gas company has evacuated over 2,000 residents living within a mile of the leak, who have reported dizziness, nausea, fatigue and other symptoms. Yesterday, Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander called on SoCalGas to extend relocation to adjacent areas in the San Fernando valley.

A zoomed-out view of methane pollution surrounding Porter Ranch, LA, via Home Energy Efficiency Team

The rate of methane leakage from the well has been steadily falling since late November, but SoCalGas says it could take until late February or March for the well to be plugged. The company is in the process drilling a relief well and plans to inject tons of concrete into the ground to seal it — sort of like filling an 2,438m cavity. In the meantime, methane is sure to continue its slow creep across the city.

[MIKA27]

Star Wars Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base - SNL

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) goes undercover as Matt, a radar technician, at Starkiller Base.

[MIKA27]

US Bombing Of ISIS Cash Depot Sends Money Flying Everywhere

Holy crap. Declassified footage of a US bombing of ISIS cash depots has been released and you can see the airstrike that made millions of dollars fly away in a swarm after the explosion. The money spreads all over the place.

CNN writes:

“It was a good strike. And we estimate that it served to deprive ISIL of millions of dollars,” said Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of the U.S. Central Command, using another name for ISIS. “And combined with all of the other strikes that we’ve done on ISIL’s gas and oil production and distribution capabilities and strikes against his economic infrastructure and the various sources of revenue, you can bet that (it) is feeling the strain on his checkbook.”

You can see the full video here on CNN.

[MIKA27]

The Case Of The So-Called Alien Megastructure Just Got Weirder

It’s probably not aliens. Seriously guys, it’s very, very unlikely that it’s aliens. But the weird, flickering star known as KIC 8462852 still isn’t sitting right with astronomers. In fact, it just got a lot weirder.

Ever since KIC 84628532 was spotted in the Kepler Space Telescope’s dataset, astronomers have puzzled over what the heck could be responsible for the star’s logic-defying light curve. Over four years of observational data, KIC 8462852 flickered erratically, its light output sometimes dropping by as much as 20 per cent. That’s highly unusual stellar behaviour, and it can’t be explained by a transiting planet.

Some astronomers proposed that KIC 8462852 might be occluded by a swarm of comets. Others suggested aliens.

Specifically, astronomer Jason Wright tossed out the idea that the star’s weird distortion might be the result of a giant alien construction project — you know, like a Dyson sphere. The idea electrified the citizens of Earth and mobilised a worldwide SETI search for hard evidence of our celestial neighbours. Sadly, two independent searches, for radio signals and laser beams — both of which could indicate a technological society — didn’t pan out. (And remember, we’ve confused inexplicable observations for aliens many, many times before.)

But according to a study just released on arXiv, the comet hypothesis is now falling flat, too, and the mystery of KIC 8462852 has deepened considerably. While Kepler only has a few years of data on the star, astronomer Bradley Schaefer of Louisiana State University decided to look at photographic plates of the sky dating back to the late 19th century. To his amazement, he learned that over the last hundred years, KIC 8462852’s light output has steadily faded by about 19 per cent, something that’s “completely unprecedented for any F-type main sequence star”.

“This presents some trouble for the comet hypothesis,” Tabetha Boyajian, a lead researcher on the team that originally discovered the star, told New Scientist. “We need more data through continuous monitoring to figure out what is going on.”

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine either aliens or natural celestial bodies dampening a star’s light output that much over such a short period of time.

It will be a while yet before we’ve solved the mystery of KIC 8462852. But this is what’s great about scientific discovery. Literally all possible explanations are on the table at this point — and the truth about this tantalising star could be more fascinating than we ever imagined.

[MIKA27]

The Directional Pad On This Retro NES Bluetooth Speaker Really Works

8Bitdo is probably best known for its Bluetooth gaming controllers, including the NES30 that paid homage to Nintendo’s original 8-bit console. But the company is now expanding its catalogue with a new Bluetooth speaker that longtime gamers will find equally hard to resist.

Like the NES30, the 8Bitdo Retro Cube Speaker borrows most of its design elements from the 8-bit NES console — at least the Western version of it. Nintendo might not be so happy about that, but anyone who grew up playing video games in the ’80s is going to want one of these on their desks.

The red speaker grills, reminiscent of the action buttons on the NES’s boxy controllers, are awesome by themselves. But the working four-way directional pad on top of the retro Bluetooth speaker — used to control power, volume and pairing — is the real “shut up and take my money!” feature here.

The $US35 ($50) speaker’s rechargeable battery is good for about eight hours of playtime depending on the volume and type of music you’re streaming to it. And like every other Bluetooth speaker on the market, you can use this one as a hands-free speakerphone, but that’s probably the last reason why you’re going to buy one.

[MIKA27]

2008's Cloverfield Is Getting A Sequel. Here's The Trailer

Yeah, Cloverfield came out all the way back in 2008. It doesn’t feel that long ago, but the records don’t lie. Some might think that’s a little too long to wait for a sequel, but maybe we’re ready for another flick full of shaky-cam jump scares.

Well, that’s what the original Cloverfield was known for, but the sequel, 10 Cloverfield Lane, looks to take a more traditional (and less vertigo-inducing) approach with the camera work.

Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman and directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the new film gives the impression of something less epic and more claustrophobic. Outside of the “everyone dies but one” genre, I believe horror does better when you can get to know the characters and Goodman has proven to be excellent in more serious roles.

Have to say I’m tentatively interested! If you’re keen too, the good news is you won’t have to wait long to see it — 10 Cloverfield Lane hits Australian cinemas on 10 March this year.