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

[MIKA27]

At Mercedes, Humans Take Robots' Jobs

The future looks bleak for humans who like working, and car factories are the most clichéd example of efficient robots replacing fat unionised humans. Unless the factory in question is Mercedes, which has recently replaced some machines with good old-fashioned people.

According to a Bloomberg report, Mercedes is on a trend of replacing fixed robots either with humans, or smaller, more flexible machines. The problems are being caused by the array of options on the new S-Class — four different hub caps and various trim options confused the poor robots, but are no match for our opposable thumbs and high-resolution eyeballs.

The problems aren’t specifically caused by the machines moving too slowly — it’s the time taken to adjust and retool between slightly different production runs that is proving too difficult.

One car maker slightly reducing its reliance on automated production is not the reversal of a global trend, and doom-and-gloom surrounding half of all current jobs being automated in decades isn’t over yet. But it’s also a timely reminder that as good as robots get, they have got a long way to go to beat the human machine.

[MIKA27]

The CIA Wanted To Kill Fidel Castro By Giving Him A Diving Suit Laced With Tuberculosis

It’s no secret that the US government wanted to kill Fidel Castro many times over the years. But there’s a crazy story about a possible CIA assassination attempt that I’d never heard before: Giving Castro a diving suit that would be contaminated with tuberculosis.

The National Security Archive has a new post about lawyer James Donovan, the real life figure depicted by Tom Hanks in the movie Bridge of Spies. After the Cuban missile crisis in October of 1962, Donovan engaged in secret negotiations with Castro.

Under the direction of Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Donovan was trying to secure the release of over 1100 prisoners held by Cuba after the CIA had screwed up the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Donovan was meeting with Castro during the first half of 1963. And one April 1963 trip gave the CIA an opportunity to present Castro with a rather unique gift: Tuberculosis. Donovan had planned to give Castro a diving suit as a gift since both men liked to go diving. But a lawyer at the CIA, Milan Miskovsky, warned Donovan that some people at the agency might try to tamper with it.

From the National Security Archive:

But the most sinister episode came when a team of CIA officers decided that they could use Donovan’s unique access to Castro to assassinate the Cuban leader. The declassified CIA history mentions only in a footnote on page 137 that “at some point during Donovan’s negotiations with Castro” several officials in the covert operations division “devised a plan to have Donovan be the unwitting purveyor of a diving suit and breathing apparatus, respectively contaminated with Madura foot fungus and tuberculosis bacteria, as a gift for Castro.” The plot was shelved after Miskovsky alerted Donovan to secure the diving suit he had already obtained for Castro to prevent any tampering and contamination by the “executive action” side of the CIA.

The truly devious part, aside from the assassination of a world leader, was perhaps that Donovan would have no idea he would be carrying a diving suit laced with TB. It all sounds like something out of another Hollywood movie called The Chairman, which was released in 1969. In that film, Gregory Peck plays a spy who meets Mao Zedong but has no idea that the chip implanted in his body is an explosive device meant to kill Mao.

The CIA never had the opportunity to go through with their plan to contaminate Castro’s diving suit with TB, but there were plenty of other plans. Donovan did indeed go diving with Castro in April of 1963, as you can see from the photo above, but the gifted diving suit wasn’t laced with anything.

In the early 1960s, the US military drafted some terrifying ideas to invade Cuba under false pretences. So it’s no surprise that the American military and intelligence establishment wanted Castro dead. But just when you think there aren’t any more stories to uncover about Cold War Cuba, you get one about CIA snorkels.

History is weird.

[MIKA27]

J.J. Abrams Warns 10 Cloverfield Lane Is Not Cloverfield 2

When the trailer for the new movie 10 Cloverfield Lane was released, it was impossible not to imagine it was a sequel to 2008’s Cloverfield. Why else use that title? Well, the film’s producer J.J. Abrams has something to say about that. “It’s not Cloverfield 2,” he said.

Speaking to Fandango, Abrams did his best to clear up this common misconception. “This movie is very purposefully not called Cloverfield 2, because it’s not Cloverfield 2,” Abrams explained. “The association is clear and there are multiple connections — and there is a bigger idea at play for us with these movies and this connection.”

Don’t believe him? There’s more.

The story of this movie — and it came to us originally as a spec that was very different in a lot of ways and an unrelated thing altogether — is definitely about different kinds of monsters. And while the Cloverfield monster isn’t in this movie, there’s a new monster and there’s something else that happens, but I don’t want to ruin the ending.

“The Cloverfield monster isn’t in this movie.” That’s worth reiterating. Whether these other monsters that Abrams mentions are literal, like in the first movie, or something more symbolic, we’ll have to wait and see.

So will we ever see a real Cloverfield 2, complete with that crazy monster? Abrams said while there had been lots of talk about making a second Cloverfield movie after the first film’s release, he and the filmmakers could never quite get the right idea. And now, with much bigger movies like Godzilla and Pacific Rim out there, he feels it’s probably past its time. But he doesn’t rule out other movies with “Cloverfield” in the title.

“A larger franchise or anthology would suggest multiple movies, and we’re just focusing on this, which is the second of two,” Abrams told Fandango. “But I will say that there is something larger at play that if we’re lucky enough to get to do I think could result in something pretty cool.”

[MIKA27]

Meet The Other Mutant Almost Certain To Debut In Deadpool 2

When people pick up the first appearance of Deadpool, New Mutants #98, sometimes they forget two other characters got introduced at the same time. They were Gideon and Domino. Gideon never quite caught on, but Domino did, and now it seems she may be showing up alongside Wade in Deadpool 2.

Minor spoilers follow.

Heroic Hollywood is reporting that Domino will join Deadpool and Cable (revealed by DP himself in the film’s end credits) in the sequel, which is currently being written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. This makes sense for a bunch of reasons.

When comic readers first met Domino, she wasn’t actually Domino at all. She was a character named Copycat, a shape-shifter who had captured the real Domino and was posing as her. Here’s the kicker: In the comics, Copycat was actually Vanessa, Deadpool’s girlfriend, played by Morena Baccarin in the movie. The real Domino is a woman named Neena Thurman who was experimented on and given the ability to manipulate luck, which comes in handy when you’re a gun-toting assassin.

So will Morena Baccarin’s Vanessa gain shapeshifting powers? And if so, will she masquerade as Domino? We don’t know. We just know it’s likely she’ll be in the movie, and she’ll make a worthy adversary (and eventually ally) for Deadpool and Cable if this is all building to an X-Force movie.

[MIKA27]

After Years Of Turmoil, A Legendary Steam Engine Rolls Again

After undergoing a decade-long restoration that cost $US5.86 million, the Flying Scotsman, the most famous British locomotive in history, has been brought back to life. The legend rolls again.

The 21.34m-long, 100-tonne machine was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley, one of Britain’s most famous steam locomotive engineers. It ran long-distance express trips from 1923 to 1963, setting speed records along the way. After 3,341,000km in service at the London and North Eastern Railway, the locomotive was bought by rich guy Alan Pegler, who paid a complete overhaul in 1968. Over the next few decades the locomotive toured the United States, Canada and Australia. This is her story in the US:

In 1969 Flying Scotsman headed for America. The first year tour broke even, but the second lost money. To try to balance the books Pegler arranged for the train to travel to San Francisco. Trading was good but sponsorship didn’t materialise. Alan Pegler was forced into bankruptcy and for now at least, Scotsman was stranded in the USA. However, in 1973 Flying Scotsman was brought back to the UK after William McAlpine heard about the situation in the USA and promptly put together a rescue plan.

Because of the owners’ financial problems, the Scotsman was nearly sold abroad in 2004. After a national campaign, the train was bought by the National Railway Museum in York, which embarked on second restoration effort in 2006. The Flying Scotsman did a test run for the first time in ten years on January 8, before making its inaugural trip from London Kings Cross Station to York on February 25. The legend will be exhibited at the National Railway Museum, between the upcoming events on the tracks around in Great Britain.

The Flying Scotsman at Kings Cross Station on 25 February 2016 in London, England.

The Flying Scotsman passes the Emirates Stadium on the East Coast Mainline in Holloway on 25 February 2016 in London, England.

Heritage painter Teriann O’Connor, aged 21, who is part of the Heritage painting team, applies primer ready for the the Flying Scotsmans green livery at the National Railway Museum in York, ahead of its official return to steam. 17 February 2016 in York, England.

Heritage painter Mike O’Connor paints engine number 60103 onto the side of the Flying Scotsman’s cab, at the National Railway Museum in York, ahead of its official return to steam next week. 17 February 2016 in York, England.

The Flying Scotsman hauls the Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express over the Ribblehead Viaduct on 6 February 2016 in Kendal, England. The Flying Scotsman is doing its first hauls since undergoing a $US5.6 million, decade-long restoration.

4 August 1934: At King’s Cross, London, Pacific type locomotives No 2795 Call Boy (after winner of 1927 Derby) of Haymarket shed is pulling the Flying Scotsman. On the left of it is No 2598 Blenheim (after winner of 1930 Derby) pulling the Junior Scotsman. There is a good example of a four-way point in the foreground.

The aftermath of the Goswick rail crash near Goswick in Northumberland, 27 October 1947. The Flying Scotsman from Edinburgh to London derailed, killing 28 people.

1 January 1968: The Flying Scotsman on display at King’s Cross station, London.

18 January 1933: The Flying Scotsman on a misty day.

[MIKA27]

CDC Confirms Zika In Nine US Pregnancies

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed Zika infections in nine pregnant women in the United States, all of whom contracted the virus while travelling. Three babies have already been born — one with a brain defect.

Earlier today, the CDC said that of the nine cases of US pregnant travellers infected with Zika, one delivered a child with birth defects, though the exact details were not disclosed. In the other cases, two miscarried, two opted for abortions and three resulted in live births. The two current pregnancies are continuing without known complications. The CDC is also investigating ten other possible cases.

Zika is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, but it can also spread through sexual contact. The new report suggests that sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously assumed.

“We did not expect to see these brain abnormalities in this small case series of US pregnant travellers,”noted the CDC’s Denise Jamieson in a conference call. “So it is unexpected and greater than what we would have expected.”

The nine women had travelled to places where Zika infections are currently active, including American Samoa, Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Samoa.

Earlier this week, the CDC said it was investigating 14 reports of Zika that may have been sexually transmitted, including to several pregnant women. Yesterday, a report in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases described a case in which traces of the Zika virus was discovered in a stillborn infant with almost no brain tissue, indicating that it can led to more severe brain damage than microcephaly.

Zika has yet to be confirmed as the cause of microcephaly, but it’s looking increasingly likely.

[MIKA27]

This Is How Fast A Little Landslide Turns Into A Full-On Cataclysm

Londa and Bret Edwards were clearing debris from Idaho’s Highway 14 when things took a serious turn.

Within the span of a few minutes 9 (It gets wild at 1:52 mark), all hell breaks loose, with huge boulders and trees tumbling down onto the only road in or out of Elk City, Idaho, leaving the town’s residents stranded and without power. The landslide was later declared a disaster by officials and it will cost an estimated $US1.5 million to clear the 6m deep pile of rubble blocking Highway 14. A small forest path has been cleared for limited use while the larger cleanup takes place. Thankfully, Londa, Bret and the other Idaho Transportation Department workers present were not injured.

[MIKA27]

Guillermo Del Toro's Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Adaptation Is Finally Moving Forward Again

It has been ages since we heard about Guillermo Del Toro’s adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the iconic children’s horror novel trilogy by Alvin Schwartz. But there’s finally more news, and it’s good stuff: Lego Movie writers Dan and Kevin Hageman have been tapped to write the script.

The Hageman brothers (who are also developing a script for Ninjago spinoff film in the wake of the success of The Lego Movie) replace previous writer John August. Del Toro is still potentially going direct the film as well as produce it — one of many, many projects he’s rumoured and confirmed to be attached to at the moment (although now we know directing Pacific Rim 2 isn’t one of those).

[MIKA27]

The Seven Samurai Looks Glorious In 4K

Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai is over sixty years old. Film prints have become worse for the wear, which is why movie studio Toho is going back and restoring the picture in 4K, making it more beautiful than ever.

NHK and AV Watch report that Toho converted the film’s nearly 30,000 frames into digital data and then painstakingly gone back through frame by frame to restore the image quality and convert the movie to 4K.

Unrestored image.

Restored.

The goal is to get the restored version as close as possible to a pristine version of the original film print, removing as many scratches and grime as possible by replacing parts of damaged frames with sections from clean ones.

Original film prints are being used for the restoration and not the original negative. The reason, AV Watch explains, is that Toho doesn’t know where the negative is. The shooting film was highly combustible, so it’s possible the negative might have even been discarded.

The image on the left is prior to restoration. The image on the right is post restoration.

The film prints, however, had deteriorated to the point where certain scenes turned white-ish. Thanks to the restoration, they are now back to the rich black and white that Kurosawa originally intended. The film’s sound and voice tracks are also being cleaned up.

Notice how faded the film print has become.

The restored image.

Teruyo Nogami, who worked with Kurosawa as his script supervisor, is overseeing the restoration and thinks if the deceased filmmaker could see the restoration, he would be delighted.

The image on the left has not been restored. The image on the right has.

The restored Seven Samurai will open at Japanese theatres across the country this October. Kurosawa’s classic Ikiru is also getting a 4K restoration.

[MIKA27]

New Data on the Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs

We know that the 6-mile-wide asteroid that hit the Earth over 65 million years ago at Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula killed the large dinosaurs and immediately changed history from the Cretaceous Period to the Paleogene Period. However, geologists could not tell what impact the impact had at its ground zero – the Gulf of Mexico – because the data found from deep drilling and seismic tests there was fiercely protected by the oil industry. Until now.

The story of this important historical data, as told in a new paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, begins in 1991 when David Kring of the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston discovered and named the Chicxulub impact site. Kring knew that there were massive amounts of drilling data around the impact site because the Gulf of Mexico is covered with oil rigs. However, the oil industry blocked all access to the data because … it’s business, baby.

Over 20 years later, researchers led by Jason Sanford, an exploration geologist for Chevron, were finally able to obtain data from 408 wells drilled 35,000 feet into the seafloor (50,000 feet below sea level) and seismic data from that area. From this, they were able to recreate what happened in the Gulf of Mexico after that massive impact.

The drilling data showed that 48,000 cubic miles of sediment buried the area from the Yucatán to the Caribbean in hundreds of feet of debris in just a matter of days, completely changing the layout of the floor of the Gulf. At the point of impact, the researchers found hundreds of feet of sand, gravel and boulders that were drawn to the site by landslides, tsunamis, falling debris and earthquakes from as far away as Texas and Florida.

Analysis of the data helped the team determine that the energy released upon impact was equivalent to one hundred terratons of TNT or a billion times more powerful than the first atomic bomb. The next largest similar flow of debris is the Nuuanu Landslide from the Koolau Volcano on the island of Oahu, which the Chicxulub sediment dwarfs by two orders of magnitude.

The greatest event in 65 million years has finally been quantified and no oil profits were hurt in the making of this study.

[MIKA27]

Cactus Tongue Bike Hanger

The Cactus Tongue Bike Hanger lets you hang your bike on the wall with style. Made from stainless steel and leather, the Cactus Tongue combines strength and timeless looks that will fit with any decor. You can hang your prized possession and showcase it horizontally by its crossbar, or vertically by the handlebar or seat post. Its very compact and really well designed, ideal if you live in a flat or dont have access to outside space.

[MIKA27]

JEFFERSON'S OCEAN CASK STRENGTH BOURBON

While most bourbons sit in a warehouse aging through seasons and temperature changes, the folks at Jefferson's wanted to take their barrels to sea. That's right,Jefferson's Ocean Cask Strength Bourbon set sail in an oceanic research vessel and stopped in five continents while crossing the equator four times. It's had a handful of releases already, but this is the first time it's been bottled at cask strength. With the whiskey moving constantly, aging is sped up, resulting in a truly unique dram at an ABV that's sure to set you afloat.

[MIKA27]

The Bugatti Chiron Is The World's Newest, Fastest Car

420 kilometres per hour. With the speed limiter enabled. That’s the official top speed of the new Bugatti Chiron, newly the world’s fastest and most powerful production car — with 1480bhp, or 1103kW, courtesy of its redeveloped Veyron-grade, quad-turbocharged, 8.0-litre W16 engine. Oh, and it costs 2.4 million Euros.

The new Chiron has been revealed just before the opening of the Geneva Motor Show; along with that 1103kW, there’s 1600Nm of torque spread over the massive range of 2000 to 6000rpm. That limited top speed is apparently to protect the tyres from massive degradation, but Bugatti says that the car’s gearing and power give it a theoretical Vmax of 460-odd kilometres per hour. 0-100? Less than 2.5 seconds.

[MIKA27]

San Francisco Still Owes Steve Jobs $174 For Overpaid Parking Tickets

It turns out Steve Jobs’ legacy isn’t all rounded corners and chamfered edges: he also (accidentally) bequeathed the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority $US174 in overpaid parking fines. He’s not alone — the SFMTA is trying to return $US6 million in overpaid fines dating back to 1995.

According to NBC, the SFMTA had chronic problems from 1995 to 2012 with drivers overpaying fines, leading to $US6 million in overpaid revenue. The agency is trying to return that money (without interest), which has led it to post the names and plate numbers of everyone who’s owed money on its site.

Notable among the list are Steve Jobs, owed $US174 for four overpaid tickets, and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, $US510 for four tickets. If they don’t claim their money by March 3, it all gets absorbed into the SFMTA budget. The agency hasn’t said how they’re preventing abuse of the reclaim process, but with the names, amounts and plates available online, at least one person is going to try and get Jobs’ leftover cash.

[MIKA27]

Stephen Chow's Crazy Mermaid Adventure Just Became China's All-Time Box Office Ruler

Sorry, Episode VII. The biggest box office smash in Chinese history is The Mermaid, the latest film from Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer). An environmentalist tale with a harsh message about humans exploiting the oceans and mistreating other life forms, The Mermaid has made an estimated $US431 million in two weeks.

In The Mermaid, a good-hearted mermaid named Shan (Yun Lin) goes on a mission to seduce and then kill Lin Xuan (Chao Dng), a human industrialist who has been polluting and destroying the oceans. Her half-octopus uncle (with the awesome tentacles, as seen in the trailer above) is spurring her on, but of course Shan and Lin Xuan fall in love.

If you haven’t even heard of The Mermaid, that’s not too surprising. According to the New York Times, this film has gotten a very quiet release in the United States, because Chow is following his recent trend of directing without being out in front of the camera. And the distributor believed that American audiences aren’t interested in a Stephen Chow film unless it has Chow’s own antics front and center. That’s too bad, because, according to the Times, this is a darn fun movie:

The Mermaid is no ordinary fantastical rom-com though, encompassing as it does weaponised sea urchins, incredibly delicious roasted chickens, man-octopus self-mutilation and other comic oddities. The slapstick is incredible, but that’s only one aspect of the movie’s spectacular humour: The relentlessly absurdist scene in which Liu Xuan tries to convince two police officers that he was kidnapped by a mermaid is probably the funniest thing that will play on a screen this year, and maybe next.

Last I checked, The Mermaid was actually playing at a small number of theatres in Australia. I hope I manage to see it before it’s gone.

[MIKA27]

If Batman V Superman Is Half As Good As This 'Deleted Scene', We're In Good Shape

Yesterday was supposed to be all about the Oscars on Jimmy Kimmel Live but, really, it was all about Batman v Superman. The host had Ben Affleck on to talk about the movie, premiered a new clip and showed this special “deleted scene” from the film.

This, of course, was not an actual “deleted scene”, but instead a skit based on a scene from the trailer. In the actual movie, Bruce Wayne arrives at a Lex Luthor benefit and is interviewed by Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. This recreation inserts Kimmel into the proceedings with Batman v Superman stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and even Jesse Eisenberg. Make sure you stay until the end for a surprise guest!

[MIKA27]

Sam Raimi's Going To Start World War III (The Movie, Not The Global Conflict)

Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi’s has chosen his next project: an adaptation of George Friedman’s best-selling nonfiction book The Next 100 Years, which posits where the world may head over the next century. The movie version will be titled World War III, so suffice it to say we’re apparently not heading for a happy ending.

The movie will be fiction, of course, but it’s an interesting choice for Raimi, who generally chooses horror (Evil Dead), action (Spider-Man) and/or slightly sinister whimsy (Oz the Great and Powerful) over realism or politics. Admittedly, hidden among the more banal predictions — such as increased skirmishes on the US/Mexico border and the decline of China as a global superpower — are somewhat more imaginative ideas. Turkey and Japan having a “space war” in 2050 is particularly interesting.

I’ve got a hunch that’s the sort of element that drew Raimi to the project. Now, we’ll see if it’s enough to keep him interested enough to stick with it instead of moving to yet another production.

[MIKA27]

MOTORCYCLE BIVOUAC

Motorcycles and adventure have gone hand in hand ever since the first man bolted an engine to a bicycle. In the years since, the cross country motorcycle trip has become a rite of passage for many – and some do it on an annual basis.

Of course, when you’re going to take your motorcycle across a continent you need shelter, and preferably shelter that’s going to roll up into the smallest possible package. This Motorcycle Bivouac by Exposed has been designed by a team in Switzerland to use your bike as part of the structure, it also keeps the motorcycle’s seat covered.

Each Bivouac is made from water-proof Cordura®, and it ships with aluminium poles and pegs, a carry bag and a leather brace that allows you to mount it to your handlebars or rear luggage space.

[MIKA27]

Tarantula Venom May Provide the Next New Pain Drug

The bite of the Peruvian green velvet tarantula (Thrixopelma pruriens) delivers a venom designed to quickly shut down many of its victim’s major body functions at once. As we’ve seen in the U.S. when states try to accomplish the same thing in lethal injections for executions, it’s not easy to do. Perhaps tarantula venom can teach us how to save people rather than kill them. That’s what researchers at the University of Queensland in Brisbane have done by isolating a peptide toxin that can be used to develop a high-potency, non-addictive pain reliever.

In a study to be presented at this week’s Biophysical Society’s 60th Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, the researchers will discuss their work with the ProTx-II molecule, which was identified in 2014 as a possible painkiller in the Peruvian green velvet tarantula’s venom. That was the easy part. The new challenge was to determine how the peptide identified pain receptors, interacted with them and shut them down without affecting any others.

The scientists used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify the structure of the ProTx-II molecule. They then used surface plasmon resonance, fluorescence and molecular simulations to track the action between ProTx-II cells and neuronal (nerve) cells.

What they found was that the key is in the NaV 1.7, a pain receptor located directly on the cell membrane. ProTx-II is attracted to the neuronal cell membrane, where it is then properly oriented before increasing its concentration of painkiller and then attaching to the membrane at the location of the NaV 1.7.

This is the first time researchers have looked at the neuronal cell membrane as a tool for precisely delivering a toxin. The knowledge of its role will help develop a synthetic version of ProTx-II with fewer side effects than opioids and less chance for addiction or developing a resistance to it.

Let’s hope this doesn’t result in the demise of too many Peruvian green velvet tarantulas, which are already smart enough to trick most humans by actually living in Chile.

[MIKA27]

2016 LAMBORGHINI CENTENARIO

Whelp, looks like anyone interested in celebrating the 100th birthday of Lamborghini founder Ferruccio Lamborghini has shown up to the party a little too late. Their tribute model, the Lamborghini Centenario, has already sold out of their 20 coupes and 20 roadsters before production.

Each limited edition hypercar features the most powerful engine ever build by the company, which is saying a lot considering the manufacturer. We’re talking a 770-hp naturally aspirated V12 that will get you from 0-62 in 2.8 seconds and achieve a top speed of a casual 217 mph. Not only does the engine pack a punch but the design enables this monster to slice through the air like a knife through butter, thanks to a combination of ducts and air intakes throughout the all carbon fiber body. Each edition can also be specified to any color based on their customized program, though this tidbit doesn’t matter much anymore since all available editions are now reserved. Priced at $1.9 million. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

ROGUE COLD BREW IPA

Rogue, the beer brewer out of Southern Oregon has just teamed up with indie-coffee giant Stumptown to release something pretty unique – a coffee IPA. Coffee is no stranger to beer, especially when it comes to porters or stouts, but this is not something you see every day.

What recommends this IPA isn’t so much any set of subtle flavors as it is a surprisingly seamless transition from one very distinct and strong flavor to another. With an ABV of 7.5 percent, and an IBU of 82, the tasting notes on this bottle includes a strong coffee flavor with a hop punch. Rogue is retailing these in 22oz bottles and on draft, and recommends pairing them with either doughnuts or pork. We’re already sold, and if this sounds good to you – you can pick up a bottle for just $10. [Purchase]

[MIKA27]

9 Coffees You Need to Drink at Least Once

Here’s the thing… I hate coffee snobs as much as the next guy (Then again I am one!), but we love coffee. To us, it’s more than a cup of bitter black liquid; it’s an experience. There are few things more therapeutic than some solitary reading with a cup of coffee and a good book. There’s nothing more refreshing than the steam rising off a cup of coffee, brewed over an early morning campfire in the mountains. There’s no faster way to kick-start us into gear for a busy day or some serious work than a cup of the strong stuff. More often than not, how we’re drinking the stuff is just as important as what we’re drinking. Here are 9 coffees you need to drink before you die: (FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR OWN RECOMMENDATIONS)

Irish Coffee – The Buena Vista Cafe

San Francisco, California

Irish coffee from a San Francisco coffee shop (with a Spanish name, no less!)? What’s so special about it? Jack Koeppler, then-owner of Buena Vista, spent a painstaking amount of time and effort perfecting the perfect Irish coffee in 1952, which has since become what The Buena Vista is known for.

Coffee Soda – Coffee Supreme

Auckland, New Zealand

We’ll keep this one short and sweet. Coffee Supreme teamed up with their neighbors at Six Barrel Soda Co. to come up with a coffee soda syrup that mixes the best of both worlds. Add a tablespoon to sparkling water or milk, and prepare to taste something we’ve all dreamed about, but never thought could happen.

The Sant’Eustachio’s Gran Caffe – Sant’Eustachio Il Caffe

Rome, Italy

You can teach an Italian about many things. Algebra, rock and roll music, tandum bicycles—all things Italians probably don’t know from birth. A nose for good coffee, however, to Italians, is damn near genetics. The Sant’Eustachio Il Caffe, located in the heart of Rome, is one of the premiere coffee shops in the entire world. Its famous blend (so famous that it’s even available on Amazon) is an absolute masterpiece. The 100 percent Arabica beans are slowly roasted over wood and prepared in-house with great care, where they are ground and served up to customers all over the world. The Gran Caffe—just a large cup of the coffee—is perhaps one of the most exquisite coffee experiences in the world.

Sunrise Espresso – Truth Coffee

Cape Town, South Africa

Orange juice and espresso? We know what you’re thinking—blegh! Comprised of a double shot of the house-roasted espresso, pepped up with a shot of fresh-squeezed orange juice, it’s this shop’s staple, and Cape Town locals and tourists flock to Truth Coffee headquarters to get a taste. Don’t knock it ‘til ya try it!

Classic Black Coffee – Barista Parlor

Nashville, Tennessee

An old auto garage converted to a sleek, modern, open-space coffee shop? Coffee crafted with care and tact, from beans roasted in-house and sourced from local coffee famers? Yes. YES. Couple all that with incredible traditional southern cuisine and all the down-home hospitality you can handle, and you have Barista Parlor. The award-winning brew here is that unlike any other because, from start to finish, it’s uniquely their own.

Kopi Luwak – Verlet Cafes & Thes

Paris, France

You didn’t think we’d write a list of the best coffee in the world and not include a cup of Kopi Luwak, did you? This extremely rare and exceptionally spendy brew is—we **** you not—made from the partially digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by a cat (the Asian palm civet, to be exact). We dare say a cup of the stuff is worth every penny, and from this century-old coffee shop in the heart of Paris, you’re assured the best of the best. If cat poop isn’t your thing, this shop is famous for carrying rare and iconic coffees from regions all over the world, including Burma, Indonesia, The Congo, Ethiopa, Australia, Hawaii, Colombia (duh), Nicaragua and a ton of others.

Latte – Drop Coffee Roasters

Stockholm, Sweden

Listen… Normally, we wouldn’t really care about latte art. Hearts, trees, more hearts, a dragon—cool, bro. But the crew at Drop Coffee really turns coffee into visual masterpieces. Additionally, the coffee beans are sourced from ethical farmers in Volivia, Kenya, and Rwanda, and roasted in-house by people who understand that good coffee is an experience.

Iced Cappuccino – Omotesando Koffee

Tokyo, Japan

Omotesando Koffee is a Japanese specialty coffee staple, in one of the most popular (and for good reason) travel destinations in the entire world. There’s nothing like an iced cappuccino from Omotesando Koffee, which is located in a more off-the-beaten-path area of the country, between Omotesando and Gaienmae, in a residential home that was converted into a coffee shop.

Unfortunately, Omotesando Koffee closed a few months back, so you’ll have to wait and see if another location opens up.

Melange Viennese Coffee – Café Central

Vienna, Austria

Chandeliers, marble pillars, cathedral ceilings and more apple strudel than you can shake a stick at, Central Café is—by far—the most ornate coffee shop on our list, and maybe in the entire world. But this isn’t a list about the best marble pillars in the world, it’s a list about coffee. And luckily, Café Central’s Melange, a Viennese specialty drink modeled after the popular cappuccino, is their signature drink, and tastes as good as their décor looks. Plus, it’s a great way to wash down some of the shop’s world-famous apple strudel.

Have you any other's you can add to this list?

[MIKA27]

Knog Is Reinventing the Bike Bell

In early 2003, Knog was born as an Australian lighting and cycling accessories brand that was determined to create well-designed, cycling-focused products. Long before that, 1877 to be exact, the first bike bell was patented. Specific options for the bike bell have changed, but by and large they’ve all been domed monstrosities that are functionally ugly. Thanks to Knog’s latest creation, Oi, that’s no longer the case.

The Oi bell is designed around its traditional placement on the handlebar and skips the large, domed shape you’re familiar with in favor of something minimal and clean. Available in aluminum options with brushed, brass, copper or black, or a titanium finish, Oi rings out with a firm and fast strike that balances volume, longevity of sound and multiple pitches. This might be the first bell cool enough for your bike.

[MIKA27]

Pinetti Wine Rack

At first glance, the Pinetti Wine Rack looks like any other ordinary wine rack, but if you take a closer look, the wine bottles vanish whilst stored inside the rack! The clever optical-illusion is the brainchild of illusionist and magician Tony Potter whom has turned his passion to woodworking. The clever invention is an interesting conversation piece and is bound to make your friends believe they’re already drunk. Unfortunately, like all magic tricks, the explanation behind this illusion is a secret, you´ll probably have to order one to figure it out.

[MIKA27]

Marshall Major II Bluetooth

Iconic brand Marshall have cut the cord and added Bluetooth to their popular Major Headphone set. The new wireless Major II Bluetooth headphones keep the same stylish look and stay true to its classic design, but now feature a battery life (30+ hours play time) that puts the competition to shame. They also feature CD-like streaming quality thanks to Bluetooth aptX technology, a built-in microphone for taking calls wirelessly, and an analog control knob on the left earcup which allows listeners to play, pause and shuffle tracks, and adjust volume.