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

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OMA IMPERIA SPEAKERS

As much speakers as they are works of art, Oma Imperia Speakers look as impressive as they sound. Penned by industrial designer David D'Imperio, they're built by hand in Pennsylvania using your choice of black walnut, cherry, or ash. The four-way system uses a pair of wooden horns covering 100hz to 20khz, and two rear-loaded subwoofer horns fed by a 21" woofer that covers frequencies from 20hz to 100hz and is powered by its own solid-state amplifier. The result is a system that's entirely time-aligned, American made, and commands attention — it stands over seven feet tall and measures five feet deep, after all — with both its presence and its performance.

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Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Have a TV Show Set in Yet Another Corporate Dystopia

Here’s more proof that corporate-dominated dystopias are the new zombies. Syfy has greenlit a new show being produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. And Incorporated is set in a near future where corporations hold all the power. Which, to be fair, doesn’t sound that much different than the world we live in.

Incorporated already has a full-season order. The show will follow Ben Larson (Sean Teale) in a near future where corporations “have unlimited power”, in which Ben infiltrates a shadowy company to save the woman he loves. I’m not sure why they needed the “near future” descriptor, considering the depressing ways in which corporations influence our current world—but this sounds like a good old fashioned bit of corporate espionage, just with a “20 minutes into the future” twist. Even Dave Howe, Syfy’s president, is in agreement:

The most powerful science fiction holds up a mirror to our world. INCORPORATED is exactly that type of smart, provocative series, delivering a fresh, edge of your seat thriller that challenges notions of the world we live in today.

We’ve seen a number of evil corporations in our big science fiction entertainment (which is of course created by giant corporations) lately. Everything from Person of Interest to Continuum to Black Mirror, to even Orphan Black, has featured megacorps that are more powerful than governments. So maybe Howe is right that this is a way in which science fiction is holding up a mirror to our world?

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One pivotal scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens nearly featured Yoda

In terms of cameos Star Wars: The Force Awakens is jam-packed with 'em. Tons of A-listers and previous franchise stars, such as Simon Pegg, Kevin Smith, Ewan McGregor and Daniel Craig, hid inside costumes or vocal booths for their brief scenes, and that list nearly included Frank Oz as the franchise's stalwart Jedi master. That's right; Yoda was so close to appearing onscreen in the movie.

Yoda's cameo was tipped to occur during that hallucinatory moment when Rey clutches Luke's old lightsaber, and hears the voices of Obi-Wan and Yoda. According to the film's editor, Maryann Brandon, the decision to include the Jedi master came down to the wire.

“There was one point where we were actually thinking of having Yoda in the film, and then we decided not to,” Brandon told Entertainment Tonight at the 66th annual ACE Eddie Awards. “Frank Oz came in for a day and did a whole bunch of Yoda and he was over the moon to do it — and we were tickled pink!” As it turns out, Oz did plenty of vocal work for the film but those newer samples were nixed in favor of using clips from earlier movies. It's probably for the best that Yoda's involvement was kept to a minimum - the film does contain a lot of nods to the earlier trilogy - but who knows about the future? Maybe he'll appear in Episode VIII.

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And On The Topic Of Future Star Wars Films: Colin Trevorrow wants to shoot Episode IX in space and on film

One of the highlights at this year's Sundance Film Festival served up a new tidbit of intel on the future of the Star Wars franchise. Episode IX director Colin Trevorrow participated in a panel alongside Christopher Nolan entitled Power of Story: The Art of Film, in which both filmmakers discussed their preferences for shooting on actual film, instead of digital.

During their chat Trevorrow announced his desire to use film for the upcoming Star Wars sequel. "The only place where I tend to not be able to attach myself entirely to something shot digitally is when it's a period film. There's something in my brain that goes, 'Well, they didn't have video cameras then,' [Film] tends to remind us of our memories, of our childhoods, the way we used to see films."

A period film? Well, they do take place a long time ago, but it's still the first time we've heard a director refer to the sci-fi saga as such. "I could never shoot Star Wars on anything but [film] because it's a period film: It happened a long time ago!"

Episode IX will now follow in the footsteps of its predecessors; JJ Abrams shot The Force Awakens on film, and Rian Johnson's Episode VIII is also being lensed on celluloid. Trevorrow plans to add further realism to the piece by filming it on location: that is, in the far reaches of outer space. "I asked the question, 'Is it possible for us to shoot IMAX film plates in actual space for Star Wars, and I haven't gotten an answer yet, but they've shot IMAX in space!"

If he manages to pull it off, he'd achieve something that Nolan confirms he attempted with Interstellar; integrating real footage from space into a blockbuster movie. As if that weren't costly enough, shooting it on IMAX no less would put a major dent into the budget. Then again, this is a Star Wars movie.

Directed by Colin Trevorrow, and written by Rian Johnson, Star Wars: Episode IX opens on May 24, 2019.

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Plantronics' BackBeat Pro+ Headphones Are Out In Australia Now

Plantronics’ original BackBeat Pro was a great pair of headphones that combined Bluetooth, quality active noise cancelling and an impressively large rechargeable battery. The new BackBeat Pro+, out in Australia now, further refines that idea — and adds a hi-fi wireless USB adapter that turns the headphones into a capable PC headset.

The new BackBeat Pro+ doesn’t change a great deal from the original — it looks nearly identical and has the same 24-hour battery life — but bundles in the new BT600 USB Bluetooth adapter. If you have a Bluetooth Class 1 device — like that BT600 — then you should expect a range of 50 metres wireless connection from the BackBeat Pro+ in otherwise good conditions.

The BackBeat Pro+’s noise cancelling has to be its biggest selling feature — it’s really effective. But if they’re following the same trend as the original, they’ll sound pretty damn good at the same time. Plantronics has a deal with Officeworks to distribute its new noise-cancelling cans.

At $419 they’re not cheap, but you’ll be making an investment in a pair of headphones you can use at home, in the office, and on the commute in between.

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Luxembourg Wants To Be A Global Leader In Asteroid Mining

It’s home to just a half-million people, but Luxembourg is not thinking small when it comes to the future. Earlier today, this tiny European nation announced its intentions to back commercial asteroid-mining ventures, and in so doing, is positioning itself as an international leader in this promising area.

Back in November, President Obama signed the US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act (CSLCA), a move that finally made American asteroid mining fully legal. The document established property rights for distant celestial bodies so that resources, like water and rare metals, can eventually be extracted from them. According to the terms of the CSLCA, the asteroid itself can’t be claimed by a country or company, but it can be exploited for valuable minerals. Asteroid mining isn’t a reality yet, but this important piece of legislation is paving the way.

Now, just three months later, the government of Luxembourg has seized the initiative, announcing today that it plans to support R&D in technologies that will make asteroid mining possible, while also investing directly in related companies. The country is currently eyeing a pair of US firms, Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources (which is partly financed by Larry Page, the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet Inc.). Last year, Planetary Resources sent a spacecraft to the ISS to test technologies that might be used to harvest resources from an asteroid.

Over 13,000 near-Earth asteroids have been catalogued by scientists, many of them containing metals that are rare on Earth, including platinum, iridium, and palladium. These objects also contain water, which could be split into hydrogen and oxygen to make rocket fuel.

As part of Luxembourg’s newly announced project, Jean-Jacques Dordain, former ESA head, was appointed advisor. He told reporters that space mining is no longer science fiction, and that the basic technologies required to land and return materials from asteroids have essentially already been proven.

“Things are moving in the United States and it was high time there was an initiative in Europe, and I am glad the first initiative is coming from Luxembourg,” he said. “It will give no excuse for European investors to go to California.” At the same time, he urged European entrepreneurs to follow the example set by American start-ups.

Luxembourg is no stranger to the tech sector. It’s already home to several vibrant satellite operators, including SES. This latest move shows that it’s willing to take some bold steps to safeguard its economic future.

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'This Is Deeply Disturbing News' Top Scientists Condemn CSIRO Job Cuts

The CSIRO today announced it will cut at least 300 jobs — mostly in the area of climate science, will will effectively cease to operate. — scientists have spoken out against the cuts, outlining what this will mean to the future of climate research in Australia.

Professor Penny Sackett is an Adjunct Professor at the Climate Change Institute, Australian National University and a former Australian Chief Scientist

“I am stunned by reports that CSIRO management no longer thinks measuring and understanding climate change is important, innovative or impactful. Paris did not determine whether or not climate change is happening, scientists who generate and study big data did. The big question now, which underlies all climate adaptation work, is ‘How is the climate changing?'”

“That answer will once again be determined by those scientists who gather climate data and model it. How can it be that our largest national research organisation chooses not to engage, indeed not to lead, the effort in finding the answer to that question?”

Associate Professor Todd Lane is President of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS)

“This is terrible news for climate science in Australia and threatens our ability to predict future climate and the inherent risks. Research at CSIRO is at the core of our climate modelling and monitoring efforts, and is essential for better future climate projections.”

“Climate science is not solved — out to the year 2030 most of the uncertainty in climate projections is due to uncertainty about the ways to represent some physical processes in climate models. We know that the risks associated with extreme weather and climate events increases disproportionately as the globe warms. Cutting funding in this area now doesn’t make any sense.”

Professor Will Steffen is an Emeritus Professor at ANU and a Climate Councillor at the Climate Council of Australia. Will was previously the executive director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP)

“This is deeply disturbing news. The impacts of climate change are already being felt around Australia at an increasing rate, and there is more to come. We absolutely need to know more about the basic operation of the climate system — how it is changing and how best can we respond to the climate change challenge.”

“The health, environmental and economic risks of climate change are just too large to sweep them under the carpet. CSIRO is Australia’s premier research organisation in terms of fundamental climate science, and has built a well-deserved international reputation for world-class science that has contributed much to global understanding of climate change. It takes decades of hard work by dedicated scientists to build up such a reputation. It can be destroyed overnight by senseless actions by those in power.”

“Very regrettably, this seems to be happening.”

Professor Steven Sherwood is co-Director of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales

“Larry Marshall surely has a point about rejuvenating organisations and solving new challenges, but I worry about his statement that there is no further need post-COP21 to understand climate change since we now know it is real.”

“Effective action requires detailed understanding. For example, Marshall speaks of contributing to the proposed agricultural development of the Northern Territory, but we don’t know for how much longer this region will still support agriculture or even human habitation as the Earth keeps warming, nor how much drying (if any) Australia’s existing agricultural regions will experience. The groups that would help provide answers are the ones he says we don’t need any more.”

Dr Paul Durack is a Research Scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US and is a former Visiting Scientist at CSIRO

“I worked at the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric laboratories both in Melbourne (Aspendale) and Hobart during the period 2003-2011. I’m now based in the US as opportunities to undertake world leading research at CSIRO have dwindled over the last decade.”

“This new round of proposed cuts makes a bad situation so much worse, and from the information currently being reported may lead to a key and proud Australian research capacity at CSIRO leaving Australian shores for good.”

Associate Professor Kevin Walsh is an Associate Professor and Reader in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne

“It is with dismay that I read the reports that climate research in the Ocean and Atmosphere section of CSIRO is effectively to cease, due to staff cuts.”

“It is incorrect to say, as CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall has stated, that the climate change science problem is solved, and now all we need to do is figure out what to do about it. No working climate scientist believes that. Also, it is very hard to believe that good decisions will be made on what to do about climate change if CSIRO has little remaining expertise in climate science.”

Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick is a DECRA Research Fellow at the Climate Change Research Centre at The University of New South Wales

“The latest round of job cuts from CSIRO is nothing short of appalling. The climate research work conducted by CSIRO has been pioneering and of global standard. While we know that the climate is changing because of human activity, we have not simply ‘answered’ that question after the Paris agreement — many more questions remain.”

“Like other scientific fields — such as biology, chemistry and medicine — continual research is required to continually improve our methods, understanding and knowledge. Research in any field does not, and cannot stop after an apparent question has been answered.”

“In terms of climate science, much more research needs to be done on furthering our understanding of these changes, monitoring the climate as it does change, and making our climate and weather models more efficient and improving their capabilities. Much of this work was undertaken by CSIRO, and so now a big hole will be left. If we want to properly safeguard our country from climate change, we require ongoing fundamental climate research – we cannot create innovative and effective solutions towards climate change without it.”

Professor Ian Lowe is Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society at Griffith University and President of the Australian Conservation Foundation

“It is always disappointing when science is cut back, especially when we need to be more innovative to overcome the economic problem of falling commodity prices. It is particularly bad when the cuts are in such areas as Oceans & Atmosphere, Land & Water and Manufacturing, as these are critical to our chances of a sustainable future.”

“More worrying than the cuts is the language used by the new CEO. There won’t be scientists sacked, there will be ‘reductions in headcount’! And these aren’t research areas, they are ‘business units’, headed not by top scientists but “business leaders”. The cuts are ‘something that we must do to renew our business’, according to the CEO. The language reveals that the government is trying to sabotage our public science body and turn it into a consulting business.”

Professor Clive Hamilton is Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University

“CSIRO climate scientists are world class and are researching the most decisive factor that will influence the future of the world. To slash their numbers at a time when the urgency of understanding and responding to climate change has never been greater suggests that the Government does not want to hear the facts.”

“At least Mr Abbott was upfront about his denial of climate science. This new phase is more insidious.”

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Peru Straps GoPros To Hungry Vultures To Sniff Out Its Trash Problem

Vultures make me think of that dopey guy from Loony Tunes or crooked-bill predators circling a poor desert rat on the brink of death. But in Peru, the carcass-eating birds will soon be outfitted with cameras so they can help map Lima’s awful trash problem.

Authorities in Lima are attaching GoPro cameras and GPS trackers to the city’s native vulture population in order to create maps of trash distribution in the area. “These carrion-eaters’ natural affinity for dead and decaying things is being turned into a virtue,” The Guardian writes. The project’s called Gallinazo Avisa, or, “Vultures Warn.”

Local zookeepers are recruiting 10 of their finest, most heroically named black vultures to spot common places where citizens are illegally dumping their garbage. The GPS units attached to the birds will add the coordinates of the city’s grosser spots to a live map. Coordinators are also encouraging people to be “vultures on the ground” and to recycle or report illegal dumps by posting pics on Twitter and Facebook.

Lima, a city of 10 million, has been struggling with its garbage problem for years. There are just four landfills in the city, and officials say that a fifth of its garbage ends up in pockets of the town that some citizens have essentially be turned into illegal dumps. And so Lima’s launching the Gallinazo Avisa program very publicly to draw attention to the issue. The vivid promo video even looks like an existentialist New Wave film that escalates into a political thriller. “You don’t want to acknowledge [the garbage problem],” a vulture’s voice warns. “We want to help you. Yes, us.”

Listen to the vultures, Lima. They want to help you.

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How to build a Hyperloop

Over a thousand students flooded Texas A&M last weekend for a piece of Elon Musk's moonshot

On a recent Saturday afternoon, a young aerospace engineer from Cairo University named Samar Abdel Fatta sat at the end of a long hallway of a Texas football stadium trying hard to contain her excitement. Amid a sea of matching university-branded T-shirts and cowboy boots, she was a bit of an anomaly: smart glasses, a neat black blazer, hijab. Behind her was a foam display board covered in diagrams detailing her team’s plan for the Hyperloop, a super-fast, tube-based transportation system popularized by billionaire Elon Musk in 2013.

The display was her reason for traveling over 7,000 miles to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She was there to compete in the first-ever SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Design Competition. And time permitting, she also wanted to visit the NASA Space Center in Houston. “I hope I don’t get lost,” she laughed. After all, it was her first time in the US.

This was the Hyperloop's big coming-out party: over 1,000 students from 120 colleges and 20 countries, all vying to make Musk's dream a reality. If there was skepticism that the Hyperloop would be too expensive, too complicated, or too dangerous to build, it wasn't to be found in Kyle Field. Everyone there was a true believer. Especially the engineers and executives from the Hyperloop startups who were there to bask in purposeful glow, as well as sniff out new talent.

A quick introduction to the Hyperloop: In 2013, Musk published his "alpha paper" which theorized that aerodynamic aluminum capsules filled with passengers or cargo could be propelled through a nearly airless tube at a velocity close to the speed of sound. He called it a "fifth mode of transportation" and argued it could help change the way we live, work, trade, and travel. The most famous scenario he proposed was a trip from LA to San Francisco only taking 30 minutes. Predictably, the idea captured the imaginations of engineers and investors across the world. And last year, Musk’s company SpaceX said that it would sponsor a pod design contest among university students, a precursor to building a full-scale test system.

Day one of the competition was just for the students and judges, as well as a handful of media and a few corporate sponsors. Thousands of student competitors, each wearing matching shirts, spent the day critiquing each other’s work and engaging in team chants. US Secretary Anthony Foxx delivered a keynote address, in which he declared the Hyperloop to be America's next "moonshot." Day two, however, was opened to the public. Old men in suspenders, babies in strollers, and everyone in between filled the cavernous Kyle Field, eager to catch a glimpse of the future of transportation — and also play with the Oculus Rift, Hendo Hoverboard, Tesla Model S, and other high-tech goodies on display.

But Samar Abdel Fatta didn’t have a team shirt, a chant, nor anyone to chant with. She was all by herself — the only member of Cairo University’s Nova Hyperloop Team to secure a visa in time for the competition. But if she was nervous or lonely, she didn’t show it.

"To be honest, I thought I would be in misery," she said. "We don’t know much about the project, and it’s a new idea. However, when I came here, I thought, okay, we are good. We all have similar ideas. Some different concepts. Your mind is working, and you have all the passion now to continue working on the project. It’s a great benefit to be a part of that. You’re part of something big."

Fatta’s starry-eyed optimism was reflected in dozens of conversations I had with students over the weekend. They all saw the Hyperloop as a complex puzzle that appealed to the logical, engineering-obsessed sides of their brains. And they all hoped to be among those teams who would get the chance to build real-life versions of their pods and test them out on Musk’s personal Hyperloop track this summer. But they were also there to change the world.

"The Hyperloop to me means being able to connect cities, making it more efficient than a plane, but as convenient as a train," said Mars Geuze, a member of the Delft University of Technology’s Hyperloop team. "I want people to conveniently be able to travel very long distances, but [by] barely using any energy."

"We have all this dreaming of what the future could look like," he added. "But we’re actually trying to realize it."

Other competitors spoke eloquently of the Hyperloop’s more egalitarian potential features, such as solar panels to both power the system as well as generate electricity for surrounding communities, and an affordable ticket price (some said they thought trips on the Hyperloop should be free) to ensure it wouldn’t become a transit system just for the one percent. They theorized a loop between San Francisco and Los Angeles could be built for a tenth of the price of a high-speed rail system along a similar route, which California has been planning for some time.

Some teams presented full pod designs; others presented just subsystems for propulsion, air levitation, or braking. A team of judges from Texas A&M, SpaceX, and Tesla evaluated each team’s designs on a variety of criteria, but mostly they were looking for the ability (and money) to build real-life versions of their designs. SpaceX is building a test track near its Southern California headquarters, and the winners would get a chance to race their prototypes on it this summer.

The variety of teams was astounding. Mostly it was one team per school, but some universities sent multiple teams — UC-Berkeley and the Rochester Institute of Technology each had three, while Texas A&M sent seven. One team, OpenLoop, was a coalition of six different universities: Cornell University, Harvey Mudd College, University of Michigan, Northeastern University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Princeton University. Some of the teams weren’t even affiliated with any university. rLoop, for example, was a Hyperloop team that formed on Reddit.

"We dubbed ourselves the crowd-sourced engineering think tank," said Brent Lessard, an engineering student from Toronto who serves as project manager for the 140-member rLoop team. "There are times when we’re working on things, and the question arises, ‘Should we be making this available?’ Because this is a competition. But the answer has always resoundingly been yes. We’re putting it out there."

SpaceX said the contest was an opportunity to promote STEM education among students. But it was also an opportunity for all the various startups and corporations who see dollar signs in Musk’s Hyperloop design to get together and check out the competition. Hyperloop Technologies Inc., an LA-based startup building a test track in North Las Vegas, had a photobooth and a raffle to give away BB-8 toys. AECOM, a gigantic global construction firm, brought a virtual reality headset to show off its renderings for the test track it was building for SpaceX. And Arx Pax laid out some copper plates so a select few could test out its Hendo Hoverboard. It also brought a section of translucent tubing to show off its magnetic field architecture technology — a Hyperloop in miniature.

Brogan BamBrogan, the oddly named, mustachioed chief technology officer at Hyperloop Technologies, said he was "blown away" by the student presentations. BamBrogan’s company helped sponsor the competition, offering $150,000 in prize money for the winning teams and a chance to work with real Hyperloop engineers. Meanwhile, his company was full steam ahead with its testing, with plans for its "Kitty Hawk moment" later this year. "Full speed, full scale," he promised.

I asked him about skepticism surrounding the cost and practicality of the Hyperloop — some have referred to it as Musk’s "pipe dream" — but BamBrogan dismissed such criticism. "People expect there to be skepticism, and I think maybe a year or two ago Hyperloop was pitched as a sci-fi fantasy," he said. "But you see companies like ours building real hardware, or all of these engineering students who are some of the smartest minds in the world who are delivering real solutions. No one is calling the Hyperloop a space elevator."

The top awards went mostly to the teams from huge, well-funded schools, like MIT, Delft, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, and UC-Irvine. In total, 22 teams will advance to the next stage, where they will get the chance to build and test their pods for SpaceX. Up to 10 additional teams may be added to the list in the coming weeks, the company said.

Fatta’s team was not among the list of finalists, but her designs won an award for "design concept innovation." And when Musk himself strode out onstage at the very end — a reveal that was totally expected and still managed to be thrilling — Fatta was among those students whom the SpaceX CEO called on to ask a question. She asked whether Musk planned on holding more student competitions in the future. The billionaire industrialist grinned thoughtfully, as if the idea never occurred to him.

"I think the work you guys are doing is going to blow people’s minds," he told Fatta. "Given this level of sophistication, there’s no question we’re going to have another Hyperloop competition. I think it’s only going to get better and better."

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Lord Lucan, Missing Since 1974 Murder, Is Declared Dead (Again)

LONDON — It was a case that riveted the world: In 1974, a dashing British aristocrat and army officer, known for his prowess at backgammon and bridge and his fondness for vodka martinis, powerboats and Aston Martin cars, vanished after the bludgeoned body of his children’s nanny was found in the basement of his family’s house in the affluent Belgravia area of London.

The aristocrat, Richard John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, was declared the killer in 1975. But he was never found, despite an international manhunt led by Scotland Yard; unverified sightings in places as far-flung as Australia, Colombia, India, Paraguay, the United States and New Zealand; and endless conspiracy theories. In the United States, the case has been compared to that of Joseph Force Crater, a New York judge and bon vivant whose 1930 disappearance was never solved.

A British judge declared Lord Lucan dead in 1999, allowing the resolution of certain estate and inheritance matters, but that ruling did not definitively close the issue. Under a law that took effect in 2014, the earl’s son, George Charles Bingham, asked a court to formally issue a death certificate so that he could inherit his father’s title and become the eighth Earl of Lucan.

Lord Lucan on his wedding day in 1963.

A High Court justice, Sarah Asplin, granted Mr. Bingham’s request in London on Wednesday. The proceeding, which attracted significant attention in the British news media, was surprisingly brief for a case with such a notorious and lengthy history.

Justice Asplin’s decision came after Neil Berriman, the son of the nanny, Sandra Rivett, dropped his objection to Mr. Bingham’s petition. Mr. Berriman, who was put up for adoption as an infant, learned that his birth mother had been murdered only after his adoptive mother died. He had said that a death certificate should not be issued because of the possibility, however remote, that Lord Lucan might still be alive. (If he were, he would be 81.)

George Charles Bingham, the son of an aristocrat who disappeared in 1974, leaving a courthouse in London on Wednesday.

The disappearance of Lord Lucan riveted Britain. The country, like the United States, was suffering from high energy prices and a sluggish economy, and its Conservative prime minister, Edward Heath, had just been voted out of office. In 1973, Britain had joined the European Economic Community, a predecessor of the European Union; in 1976, Britain was forced to apply for an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund.

At a time of flux and malaise, the lurid tale of aristocratic impunity astonished the country.

The search for Lord Lucan began on Nov. 7, 1974, after his estranged wife, Veronica Duncan, bleeding from head wounds, burst into a nearby pub and shouted: “He’s in the house! He’s murdered the nanny!”

The couple had separated in 1972, and Lord Lucan had moved out of the house to a home nearby. He had heavy gambling debts and was battling his wife for custody of their three children.

Inside the house, at 46 Lower Belgrave Street, police officers found the body of Ms. Rivett, who was 29; she had been bludgeoned to death with a lead pipe and placed in a canvas mail bag in the basement. It was not clear why Lord Lucan might have killed her, but one theory is that he had mistaken her for his wife.

Soon after, a Ford Corsair that Lord Lucan had borrowed from a friend was found, abandoned and soaked in blood, in Newhaven, East Sussex, southeast of London. An inquest jury declared him the killer in 1975.

When Mr. Berriman, the victim’s son, raised his objections last fall, he asked the British tabloid The Daily Mail, “Why on earth would Lord Lucan’s son want to carry on a title that is linked to a possible murderer?”

But Mr. Berriman and Mr. Bingham, who are months apart in age, appear to have reached a reconciliation in recent months. On Wednesday, they made conciliatory comments in separate remarks to reporters outside the courthouse.

“This has been a complicated case, the murder of Sandra Rivett, my mother,” Mr. Berriman said. “I feel that Mr. Bingham and myself have a great deal in common, and would sooner try to work with the family as against them.”

Mr. Berriman said “the last five years has been a roller-coaster ride of depression and stress,” but struck a conciliatory tone.

“I’d like to congratulate George Bingham on his passion for closure,” he said, adding: “This is closure and a time to move forward for him and his family. I can understand that he wants to move on with his life, but for me this is something, at this moment, cannot happen.”

Mr. Bingham, for his part, expressed compassion for Mr. Berriman’s suffering. He said his father’s fate was a mystery.

“My own personal view — and it was one I took, I think, as an 8-year-old boy — is that he’s unfortunately been dead since that time,” Mr. Bingham said. “In the circumstances, I think it’s quite possible that he saw his life at an end — regardless of guilt or otherwise — of being dragged through the courts and through the media would have destroyed his personal life, his career and the chances of getting custody of his children back. And that may well have pushed the man to end his own life. But I have no idea.”

He added: “To hear that your father is racist, a snob, a poster boy for the aristocracy in the ’70s didn’t sit very well with the rather charming, rather lovely and kind man that I knew. Nevertheless, people, if they leave a party early, get to be speculated about, don’t they?”

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New 'Ghostbusters' Images Have Been Released

The Ghostbusters reboot hits cinemas July 14, and today new images have been released showing stars Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones with Chris Hemsworth as bespectacled receptionist Kevin.

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Here Are All The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 1

On Monday, It's Super bowl time in the United States. Here are all the commercials which will be shown throughout the event.

I've had to break down the segments as I can only post two clips per post.

I’ll try and keep this post updated as more and more roll in over the weekend, so check back regularly.

Audi

Colgate

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 2

Hyundai

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 3

More Hyundai

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 4

MINI

LG

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 5

Pokemon

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows (All 7 Seconds of it!)

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 6

Avocados From Mexico

Budweiser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb2VXVmUga4

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 7

Honda

T-Mobile USA

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

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 8

ShockTop Beer

Heinz

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The 2016 Super Bowl Commercials - Part 9

PETA (NSFW)

MIKA: I'd delete this video purely as it promotes Vegan's but for obvious reasons... I've kept it

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London Is Finally Winning Its War Against The Car

London is a city that was barely designed for horse and cart, let alone the automobile. Cars are still a big part of life in central London, but they’re about to be outnumbered by cyclists.

Transport statistics are normally eye-wateringly dull, but Transport for London’s latest report makes for surprisingly good reading.

The number of cars has been halved in the last 15 years: 137,000 per day were coming in in 2000, compared to 64,000 in 2014.

Even more impressive is the transfer to alternative transport: in the same period, cyclists tripled from 12,000 to 36,000, and the number of rush-hour cyclists is expected to outnumber motorists in a few years.

All this is a welcome and necessary accomplishment for a city that’s seen double-digit population growth over the same period.

With London growing larger and more dense, other transport solutions like trains, buses and bikes are having to grow to meet demand. Increasingly, cars just really aren’t part of the equation for rush-hour London.

[MIKA27]

Matt LeBlanc Joins The 'Top Gear' Team

The Top Gear lineup has had a bit of a shake up since the departure of the problematic Jeremy Clarkson, with the introduction of Chris Evans. Now it has been revealed that Matt LeBlanc will be jumping in the co-host seat.

“As a car nut and a massive fan of Top Gear, I’m honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter,” said LeBlanc. “What a thrill!”

In all of it’s 39 years, Top Gear has never had a non-British host, and producers are anticipating this will create “an explosive cocktail of car-obsessed entertainers and cultural clashes.” Although hopefully not the kind of cultural clashes that have plagued the show in the past.

LeBlanc is no stranger to the Top Gear set — he has been a guest on the show twice, and still ranks #1 in the “reasonably priced car” fast lap challenge.

His appointment is not a huge surprise to fans, as he also presented the Top Gear spin-off The Races.

“Matt’s a lifelong fellow petrolhead and I’m thrilled he’s joining Top Gear,” said co-host Chris Evans. “Acting out our craziest car notions on screen is a dream job and I know we’ll both be debating some epic road trip ideas. We can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to on screen later this year.”

Alan Tyler, the BBC’s Acting Controller for Entertainment Commissioning said “Matt is a class act and a brilliant signing for Top Gear. He is a self-confessed car fanatic with a passion for the programme. I’m really looking forward to watching Chris and Matt bring the all new show to our audiences.”

The revamped Top Gear will be launching on BBC Two in May 2016, appearing on BBC Knowledge in Australia.

BBC has confirmed that “additional Top Gear cast members will be announced shortly”.

[MIKA27]

UN Panel Believes Julian Assange Was 'Unlawfully Detained'

It’s almost four years since Julian Assange took refuge in London’s Ecuadorian embassy. Now, according to the BBC, a UN panel has ruled that he has been “unlawfully detained”.

Assange complained to the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2014 that his living in 27 square metres within the Ecuadorian Embassy was unwarranted and had taken a toll on his health. The BBC now reports that the panel will rule in his favour, though an official announcement hasn’t yet been made. A formal decision will be made public tomorrow.

Assange already has a vision for what he’ll do when the official news arrives. Via the WikiLeaks Twitteraccount, he’s explained that:

Should the UN announce tomorrow that I have lost my case against the United Kingdom and Sweden, I shall exit the embassy at noon on Friday to accept arrest by British police as there is no meaningful prospect of further appeal.

If he wins, as the BBC seems to think?

However, should I prevail and the state parties be found to have acted unlawfully, I expect the immediate return of my passport and the termination of further attempts to arrest me.

Others may beg to differ. The verdict of the panel wouldn’t have any actual influence over what British and Swedish authorities actually do.

London’s police force has already pointed out that a ruling from the UN wouldn’t undermine the European arrest warrant against him, and say he’d still be taken into custody if he were to leave the embassy.

[MIKA27]

The Fluance Wireless Speaker

If you’re not familiar with Fluance, the company makes home audio systems that focus on everything you’d want in a set of high-end speakers: sound quality, performance, construction, style and value. Designed and built by audio lovers with a passion for sound, each Fluance product is so well produced that they’re willing to put their money where their mouth is and offer in home trials, lifetime customer support and a lifetime warranty. Most importantly though, their latest release, Fi70, is a three-way wireless speaker system that is the first of its kind to pack dual 8″ woofers to push the limits on bass driven tracks. Rather than being something you hide in a corner or the ceiling, Fluance focused on making this piece a focal point of any setup. This is one speaker that won’t be upstaged by an Eames chair.

[MIKA27]

The First Commercial for the Return of the DeLorean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjJF5u0Ii_4

When news broke that the DeLorean Motor Company was going to fire up their machines and crank out 300 new vehicles, our dreams of stylish, gull-winged time travel were reignited. As if that wasn’t enough to get us all giddy about the return of one of the most iconic rides of all time, the company has now given us the first commercial about the DeLorean’s return. We’re going to need more than 300 of these.