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

[MIKA27]

Watch: J.J. Abrams Directs Jimmy Kimmel’s Childhood Comic Book with Ben Affleck & More

Jimmy Kimmel’s 50th birthday was celebrated in grand fashion last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and it wouldn’t be a celebration without Ben Affleck. The Justice League actor has been a longtime friend of Kimmel’s, and while appearing on the show, he revealed that he shot a very special project for Kimmel’s birthday directed by none other than J.J. Abrams. The Star Wars: The Force Awakens filmmaker then came out, and the two explained to Kimmel that they got their hands on a comic book that Kimmel created when he was a kid called The Terrific Ten. And for Kimmels birthday, they turned it into a movie.

Yes indeed, below you can watch the trailer for Jimmy Kimmel’s very own superhero movie, The Terrific Ten. It’s actually a pretty brilliant idea, to get Abrams to come in and put together an adaptation of this kid’s comic book with zero edits. And plenty of familiar faces showed up to fill the roles, including Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Cousin Sal, Jon Hamm, Shaq, Ty Burrell, Billy Crudup, Jake Tapper, Wanda Sykes, and of course, Matt Damon.

Affleck of course is promoting his own superhero movie, Justice League, which hits theaters this Friday. His future as Batman is a little in doubt as the actor recently revealed that he’s looking for a “cool way to segue out” of the role. Indeed superhero roles don’t last forever, but seeing as how Affleck’s Batman was only just introduced one movie ago, his exit is a tad premature. Though maybe he caught the Terrific Ten but and plans on turning this thing into a proper feature film.

The whole thing is pretty delightful, and a welcome dose of silliness in these crazy times.

[MIKA27]

ROGUE DISTILLERS ARE NOW MAKING 10-YEAR-OLD WHISKY IN WEEKS

The fast food phenomena appears to have finally caught up with the world of whisky.

In the past decade the liquor has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks in part to its unique artesian distilling processes defined by region. This premium appeal has led to the creation of a lucrative marketplace played out between major makers from the United Kingdom, the U.S.A and Japan.

With demand for whisky showing no signs of slowing down, innovative players are now also entering the market with their own controversial processes that bend the rules of an age-old tradition – time.

What separates a good single malt whisky from an exemplary one is the time it takes to age and now there are companies claiming to be able to replicate the quality and taste of premium whiskies aged in casks for more than a decade in mere weeks.

Whilst this might be one way to secure whisky supplies in the future, it also raises questions to do with the integrity of the art, whether the taste is really as good as the real thing and the ultimate appeal of “fast whisky”.

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“Created using a patented process of light and heat to speed up the maturation process.”

The companies that claim to have this technology in place includes Lost Spirits, who have won awards for their rums and single malts that have been created using a patented process of light and heat to speed up the maturation process.

Cleveland Whiskey is another distillery championing this process with whiskies and bourbon created from high-pressure stainless steel tanks which mixes the liquor with wood combinations to produce a distinct flavour in just a number of days.

Meanwhile over at Highspire Whiskey the process is more in line with the oldschool ways with an added twist. Wine barrels hold the liquor and are mixed in with oak wood chips to accelerate the maturation process to just four months. Taking things to weird new places is Tuthilltown Spirits which apparently uses music to vibrate the barrels, thus moving things along quicker.

Even one Australian whisky maker is trying their hand at the idea with Tasmania’s Deviant Distillery claiming that their single malt whisky has the “chemical composition and flavour identical to a 10-year-old whisky”.

It might all sound straight-forward in theory but there’s a lot more chemical science going on in the ageing process than just extracting the flavours from oak barrels. According to The Conversation, “chemical reactions create new molecules, many of which are credited with the properties of the longest aged whiskies“.

Currently the innovators in the game are even employing ultrasound to harness the effects of acoustic cavitation – a process which promotes the formation, growth and collapse of microscopic bubbles via a sound field, thus speeding up the ageing process and more importantly, creating the necessary esters that provide spirits with their distinctive notes.

There is a major hurdle though. All of these so-called fast whiskies can’t actually be legally called or sold as ‘whisky’ since they do not meet the regulated minimum ageing process of two years.

And once this naming convention is sorted, there remains just one other major obstacle – convincing consumers on the taste. Just as people frowned upon the idea of recycled drinking water, fast whisky will likely see a similar cold reception in its early days.

Research however indicates that there’s nothing to worry about in the palate department. The Food Safety and Measurement Facility at the University of California, studied the “chemical fingerprint” of 60 American whiskies and found that there were 30 to 50 specific compounds that made up the different tastes of whiskies.

They took this research to Lost Spirit’s offering and even published forensic data which concluded a favourable comparison to a 33-year-old whisky sample. If that’s not enough to convince the most discerning whisky snob, Lost Spirit’s Reactor Aged Islay Whisky also recently took out the “Liquid Gold” standard at the 2018 Jim Murray Whisky Bible.

Based on this observation it would appear that concept of fast whiskies is just beginning to take hold of a centuries old art form. The question is, would you try it?

[MIKA27]

15,000 SCIENTISTS JUST SAID HUMANITY IS PRETTY MUCH DOOMED

Work day got you down? Looking for a mid-week pick-me-up or a respite from the dumpster fire that is 2017?

This isn’t it.

More than 15,000 scientists in 184 countries have issued a dire warning for the future of humanity, saying the continued existence of the species is severely jeopardized by climate change, deforestation, dwindling access to fresh water, species extinctions, and other forms of environmental harm.

The bleak missive, published this week in the journal BioScience, comes 25 years after the Union of Concerned Scientists and more than 1700 independent scientists penned the World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.

The 1992 manifesto called on humankind to curtail environmental destruction and cautioned that “a great change in our stewardship of the Earth and the life on it is required, if vast human misery is to be avoided.” Fundamental changes were imperative, they warned, if humanity was to have any hope of changing its collision course with the natural world.

More than two decades later, the course remains unaltered.

“Since 1992, with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges,” write the authors of this week’s World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice, “and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.”

Catastrophic climate change tops the list of planetary threats. Global average temperatures have increased by more than half a degree Celsius since 1992, while annual carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 62 percent. Other concerning trends include declining access to fresh water, a rising number of ocean dead zones, deforestation, overfishing, rampant agricultural production, and rapid population growth.

And then there’s this: “We have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century.”

With over 15,000 scientists signatories throwing their support behind the second notice, it’s hard not to take a grim view of the future. Time to start saving for that ticket to Mars.

Or is it?

Amidst all that doom and gloom, the authors offer a small glimmer of hope. Reduction in ozone-depleting chemicals and an increase in energy generated from renewable sources show that positive changes can be made, the article notes. The rate of deforestation in some regions has also slowed.

If we wish to continue these positive trends, we must re-examine individual behaviours – such as diminishing our per capita consumption of fossil fuels and meat – and pressure governments take immediate action, the scientists say.

“With a groundswell of organized grassroots efforts, dogged opposition can be overcome and political leaders compelled to do the right thing,” the article concludes. “Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out. We must recognize, in our day-to-day lives and in our governing institutions, that Earth with all its life is our only home.”

[MIKA27]

THE WORLD’S OLDEST WINE HAS JUST BEEN UNEARTHED

In the world of top drops there’s aged wine and then there’s 8,000 year-old wine. Scientists in Georgia have just unearthed the latter in a discovery which details the earliest evidence of grape wine-making amongst human civilisation.

Whilst what little remaining liquid has certainly evaporated from the earthenware jars, researchers were still able to identify residual wine compounds that originated from two sites south of the Georgian capital of Tbilisi from around 5,980 BC.

The jars were most likely for storing wine in these areas as they depicted images of grape clusters and a man dancing. Previously, the oldest evidence of wine-making was credited to pottery dating back 7,000 years which was unearthed in north-western Iran.

According to Stephen Batiuk, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto who helped publish the findings via the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), this latest artefact find is a serious window into the earl days of wine making.

“We believe this is the oldest example of the domestication of a wild-growing Eurasian grapevine solely for the production of wine,” he said.

“Wine is central to civilisation as we know it in the West. As a medicine, social lubricant, mind-altering substance and highly valued commodity, wine became the focus of religious cults, pharmacopoeias, cuisines, economies and society in the ancient Near East.”

One question still boggles the mind though: How did earlier civilisations produce their wine?

According to David Lordkipanidze who is the director of the Georgian National Museum and the man who helped lead the research, wine was made using a similar method to the gvevri process of today. “The grapes are crushed and the fruit, stems and seeds are all fermented together,” he told the BBC.

If drinking wine that’s a little bit less prehistoric sounds like a better idea then check out these cool Australian wines that won’t break the bank.

[MIKA27]

A Man and His Watch

A man has to be careful not to over-accessorize. Too many rings, necklaces, and cuffs and you lose the magic an expertly chosen accessory provides. It’s why we’ve always gone to bat for the most timeless accessory there is: the watch. The men profiled in A Man and His Watch got it right. The 216-page, gorgeously shot hardcover is an ode to iconic watches and the men who wore them. Paul Newman and his Rolex Daytona are profiled, as are JFK and the Omega he wore at his inauguration, Nas and his Patek Philippe, and so many more. From author and watch collector Matt Hranek comes this beautiful coffee table book that’s filled with 76 captivating stories. We will warn you, however. You will want a statement timepiece of your own after you flip through this book.

[MIKA27]

Shinola Canfield Headphone Collection

Shinola is adding to their line of audiophile-focused gear with a range of headphones suited for just about any listening experience. Four styles compose the new line, including The Canfield Over-Ear, The Canfield On-Ear, The Canfield Pro In-Ear Monitor, and The Canfield In-Ear Monitor. It took two years for the team at Shinola to tune, engineer and refine the Canfield Headphone Collection because, like everything else they make, these headphones use high-quality materials, finishes and processes that help create a signature sound that’s rich, warm and expansive. With combinations of stainless steel components, lambskin or top grain leather (depending on the model), these headphones are as comfortable and stylish as the drivers that make them work are powerful. In other words, Shinola hit it out of the park again. The Canfield Over-Ear Headphones and the Canfield On-Ear Headphones are available now with prices starting at $495. The Canfield Pro In-Ear Monitors and Canfield In-Ear Monitors will be released in December with prices starting at $195.

[MIKA27]

SOUTHERN LIGHTS ELECTRIC BELL JAR TABLE LAMP

Handmade in Nashville, Tennessee, this table lamp is an ideal choice for an end table, office desk or just about anywhere in your home. The lamp features a vintage style socket, cream cloth covered cord, and comes with an exposed old-school filament style bulb. The base is made of solid American Walnut and includes a hand silkscreened nameplate.

[MIKA27]

THE OFFICIAL FERRARI OPUS DIAMANTE EDITION

Originally released in 2011, limited to just one copy per country, and priced at $275,000, The Official Ferrari Opus Diamante Edition was the ultimate version of the ultimate book on the legendary automaker. Measuring twenty inches square, it consisted of 852 pages, weighed over 80 pounds, and arrived in a carbon-fiber clamshell case, complete with diamond-encrusted Prancing Horse emblem, white gloves to keep the pages pristine, and the signatures of Scuderia's drivers and the company's chairman at the time. This particular example was sold new to a collector in Belgium, and is estimated to bring in far less than its original asking price.

[MIKA27]

SKYLI TREKKING CABIN

Set along the trails of Iceland, the Skyli Trekking Cabin is a refuge for hikers from the harsh elements. The structure is comprised of four gabled roofs. Although it resembles a tent, this shelter is clad in a steel facade to protect you from the elements. A bright blue color makes it easily visible in the rugged landscape while also paying homage to the architecture of the country's capital. The interior is lined with cross-laminated timber and features enough fold-out beds for up to 15 people, water, power, and even emergency supplies. Beneath each peak, large triangular windows take advantage of the surrounding scenery. Its prefabricated design allows for materials to be easily transported by helicopter. Once they're delivered, the assembly can be completed in as little as a couple days.

 

[MIKA27]

EMIRATES FIRST CLASS SUITE

Emirates unveiled its new first class suites for its Boeing 777 and the amenities surpass most luxury hotels. Inspired by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, each zero-gravity seat is enclosed in its own cabin with floor-to-ceiling sliding doors for complete privacy. Everything from the 32-inch TV screen, lights, and temperature are remote controlled. For those not lucky enough to snag a window seat, each interior room is equipped with its own virtual windows that project the view from outside the aircraft using real-time camera technology.

[MIKA27]

OLD ELK BOURBON

Old Elk bourbon is distilled using malted barley, rye, and corn. These traditional ingredients make up most bourbons, but Old Elk's process is anything but conventional. They use four times more malted barley than most recipes and a slow cut proofing process that helps to enhance the flavor of the finished product. The debut release is bottled at 88 proof and available in Colorado and California.

[MIKA27]

New Intergalactic Discovery Could Be Biggest Supernova Ever

The Earth, the Sun, Andromeda galaxy, they have all been around for as long as you can remember and as long as humanity has been around. So when a new light suddenly shows up in the distance, it's a weird occurrence. But a newly-detected explosion could be one of the weirdest - and it isn't the only one.

An international team of scientists is reporting a new kind of explosion that they can't quite explain, billions of light years away. Maybe it's a supernova. Or maybe it's a star being eaten by a black hole. Or maybe it's something entirely different.

"I'm a supernova person to start with so I got really thrilled that this could be the most energetic supernova ever," Peter Lundqvist from Stockholm University in Sweden told Gizmodo. "But I had second thoughts."

The brightest of the new sources is called PS1-10adi, an outburst of energy a thousand times brighter than a normal supernova near the center of a distant galaxy. It was about as bright as its host galaxy.

This explosion appeared in telescopic surveys of the distance Universe, including Pan-STARRS1 in Hawaii. The researchers followed up with other telescopes and watched the source's light flare, then fade regularly for a thousand days. Typical supernovae dim after around 200 days.

While completing their survey, the researchers found an entire population of explosions just like PS1-10adi. They say these explosions were incorrectly associated with black hole activity at the center of these galaxies, according to the paper published in Nature Astronomy on Monday.

Aside from incredibly bright supernovae, the scientists proposed it could be an entirely new kind of tidal disruption event - an event where a black hole eats a star. Perhaps the high-density environments surrounding supermassive black holes can create the ripe conditions for different kinds of explosions.

But no matter what PS1-10adi is, it's definitely interesting.

[MIKA27]

RED BULL AIR RACE’S YOUNGEST PILOT REVEALS THE SECRET TO CHEATING DEATH IN THE SKY

The Red Bull Air Race has been an integral part of the energy drink’s publicity juggernaut since it first took off back in 2003. As evolution in sport would go, the global air races would eventually attract some of the world’s most fearless flyers in the game.

Mikaël Brageot is one of these men with balls of steel who helms the cockpit for the Breitling Racing Team’s MXS-R, an ultra-agile aerobatic plane with a maximum speed of 426km/h.

As part of the Master Class contingent, it’s Brageot’s job to take on the clock via set slalom courses that involve launching through ‘Air Gates’ at preposterous speeds and angles in order to score style points. The pilot with the most points at the end of the year is crowned the Red Bull Air Race World Champion. Brageot tells us that the notion of danger doesn’t phase him as much as it would a normal civilian.

“I think that when people see it for the first time they think, ‘Wow, these guys are crazy!’ But really it’s not like that. We are well prepared and safety is the highest priority. We are not risk takers but managers of risks.”

Brageot’s flying career began in 1999 when his grandfather took him to the flying club to discover aviation. At the time he just wanted to see if he could fly and become familiar with an aircraft – he discovered he could do more than just  fly.

The 21-year-old was hooked on the primal relationship between man, machine and physics. With no clue or idea about the future possibility, Brageot continued to learn more about the world of aviation and he soon found his way into aerobatics. This was a path that would eventually lead him to the highest form of competition where he’d represent France at the World Aerobatic Championships.

“I don’t really have any scariest moments in the air,” Brageot recalls.

“I always try to keep everything simple and under control, therefore it has prevented me from any scary situations – knock on wood.”

Whilst the sport has given some pilots a daunting dance with death, the Frenchman has flown more than 3,000 hours without an incident or accident and says that he’s hoping to keep it this way. Competing at the highest level of aerobatics isn’t just about dexterity and 20/20 vision. Pilots are essentially athletes with the added talents of physical and mental strength under extreme pressure.

Brageot lists cardio and endurance as a mandatory in a pilot’s CV but also notes that fast reflexes are their main trait and what they routinely train for.

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“A typical person can handle about 5G and will often pass out at 8G from the blood rushing out of their head. We will often fly to 10G.”

Another aspect of air race competition is to be able to deal with the effects of G forces. This lesson takes time and is improved by flying and “pulling G”. For the uninitiated to aerobatics, a G force is the effect of gravity on a body. Pull into a turn at high speed and the G force pins you against a seat under the multiplied effect of gravity.

“We are only allowed as part of the Red Bull Air Race rules to pull up to 12G during the race and it must be for less than 0.6 of a second otherwise we will be given a penalty.”

For reference a typical human can handle about 5G and will often pass out at 8G from the blood rushing out of their head.

“We will often fly to 10G but this is not a level that we will sustain for a long period of time. You will see that the G is higher when we turn around at the end of the track in the vertical turn manoeuvre,” says Brageot.

“It is an art to be pulling good G but not too much that you stall the plane. A lot of this is learned through repeated practice and a certain amount of muscle memory.”

The secrets to flying an aerobatics plane in competition is a bit more convoluted than most would thing. There’s people like sports psychologist involved to help the pilots focus, a state that requires them to be in the sweet spot somewhere between relaxed and hyped up, if there ever was such a place.

“I’ve recently been using meditation as a technique to help me with all of this” laughs Brageot.

Being a one trick pony will get you nowhere at the top level of flying. That’s why Brageot and his team are always looking for ways to get around the track faster than the other pilots. The key to this is a plane that is always in peak condition.

Add to this a technician, a track analyst who uses a matrix program to find the fastest path through the track and a team coordinator to look after logistics and you have a winning formula.

“The rest is under my responsibility,” says Brageot. “There is always something to improve and you hope that during the training you can find the boundaries before the racing starts.”

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“Plenty of hours flying high-performance light aircraft is a must before you can even think of becoming an air race pilot.”

At the end of the day it all comes down to timing if you want to reach the podium of a Red Bull Air Race. Since standardised racing engines were introduced in 2014, all teams have had the same power to weight ratio and this has led to more competitive and closer track times. The aerodynamics is where the teams are allowed to experiment and showcase the engineering prowess.

So what advice does Brageot have for someone wanting to do his job?

“Plenty of hours flying high-performance light aircraft is a must before you can even think of becoming an air race pilot.”

Whether it’s aerobatics or crop spraying, Brageot stresses that candidates need to first gain enough experience to be safe when flying at a low level before they can handle a highly tuned aircraft that is more of an extension of one’s own body. Besides that, there’s the dedication and discipline required to stay in the sport and the mental trait of being able to remain calm and focused under pressure.

“You must never allow yourself to become complacent, which is the rule to stay on the safe side.”

In other words, staying alive is the first part of the job. Going faster is the second.

[MIKA27]

ASSEMBLY: INSIDE THE ZIPPO FACTORY

Tucked in the upper region of northwestern Pennsylvania, hugging the outskirts of the Allegheny National Forest just south of the NY state line is the quintessentially small town of Bradford. The closest major city, Buffalo, resides nearly 78 miles due north making this sleepy yet incredibly charming town a quiet reprieve from today’s urban hustle and bustle. Moreover, alongside its picturesque interior northeastern scenery – painted bright red and orange during the fall months, is another fiery resident that’s held its own as an American legacy brand for 85 years.

Since 1932, the Zippo Manufacturing Company has built American-made windproof lighters for American tobacco enthusiasts, the American military, or anyone interested in keeping a reliable flame at the ready. Everything about the brand is strictly Americana where, even today, each and every one of their 12 million lighters manufactured per year is hand inspected for quality control every step of the way. It’s a miraculous means of wedding both man and machine – enabling Zippo to ship their lighters across the nation and the world with a lifetime guarantee. Interested in seeing the process for yourself? Take a peek inside the Zippo manufacturing plant below.

Like all products, each Zippo lighter begins its life as a concept that’s later designed in conjunction with current trends in the market. These designs are then approved by their seasoned R&D team and pushed into production. From here, the first tangible piece of the puzzle begins with the case fabrication, where Zippo lighter cases are stamped from brass and hinges formed from stainless steel. The two metals are then welded together, buffed and then polished for a perfect shine.

After polishing, the newly formed cases begin the plating step of the process. Here, each of the brass cases are coated in nickel – since chrome doesn’t adhere directly to brass metals. After, each lighter then goes through a series of rinses prior to entering a chrome solution for four minutes. They’re then loaded onto plating racks and removed by hand. On a regular day, Zippo can plate up to 3,400 lighter cases an hour.

A key part of the process at this point is known as the “fit-up” stage. This is where each lighter is matched with the appropriate fittings. Anyone who’s owned a Zippo knows that these fittings are removable – necessary for refilling the lighters with fluid – so it’s at this stage where two key elements of the Zippo lighter become one.

Also, workers at this stage verify a key element of any Zippo lighter – the trademark Zippo “click” you hear when opening the case. Sounds tedious we know, but it’s little details such as this that work to add a level of nostalgia and brand recognition across the board.

In terms of the manufacturing process, what sets Zippo apart from the competition?
Our wide variety of decorating and design processes are unmatched by any other lighter manufacturer. What started as a time consuming engraving and hand-painting process, has evolved into laser engraving and full-photo replication with our color imaging process, with even more innovative decorating techniques on the horizon.

What is it about the Zippo brand that has such high retainment of employees – in some cases 50+ years?
Zippo ownership is deeply committed to their employees and the community of Bradford, PA.  There is a big element of hometown pride at Zippo – it’s an honor to make a product that is recognized and purchased around the world.

How would you define an American legacy brand and what is it about American manufacturing that sets our products above the fray of international competition? 
Zippo has remained true to our roots over the past 85 years…there are some manufacturing process steps, such as buffing the lighter to a mirror shine, and testing for the famous Zippo click, that are still best done by hand by our highly skilled team. As the company continues to diversify, our outdoor and lifestyle products will all align with the heritage and iconic American style Zippo founded with the windproof lighter.

As far as brand diversity is concerned, Zippo – with its seemingly endless collection of various art and engravings on their windproof lighters – is one of the best in the business. And it’s the next step in the process – decoration – that help sets each lighter apart in their own way. In this stage, potential finishes include powder coating, Softtouch design coating, emblems, various engravings, or epoxy and rhinestone inlays.

To achieve these finishes, Zippo lighters are sent through a closed-door color imaging room where a protected machine applies the color design and then moves the customized lighters toward an inspection area. Once again, each lighter is checked by hand to ensure there were no errors made during the decoration process.

After color is applied, these newly decorated lighters are then moved onto the computer engraving stage of the manufacturing process. At this point, lighter cases are either machine or laser engraved utilizing proprietary Zippo technology. A bit illusive in nature, it’s here where your Zippo lighter really comes to life – developing a personality all of its own.

Later, necessary component parts of the lighters such as the wick, flint, cam and spark wheel are added to the newly finished unit. Also, cotton is then placed inside the fuel chamber from the bottom while a felt pad and flint screw round out the lighter insert for full functionality.

The completed lighters are then transported to the packaging area where a warning label is then added before they’re boxed in shipping cartoons that house up to 2,500 lighters at a time. These boxes are then shipped to distributors around the globe – contributing to the 565 million+ lighters ever built and shipped out of the original Bradford, PA facility.

Functioning as familial heirlooms or reliable lifelong everyday carry items, its evident that Zippo lighters are a true testament to American ingenuity and dedication to building quality products right here on our own soil. And while some aspects of the manufacturing process have changed over the years to match demand, it’s evident Zippo isn’t interested in cutting corners in their production – allowing for the quality of their products to speak for themselves.

[MIKA27]

Germany’s New Train Is Basically a Moving Hotel

For the person with a long commute, spare time is always at a premium. Sure the average train is good to get work done on, but what about getting a workout in or catching some z’s? Both can be accomplished when you ride the Ideenzug, a concept from Germany’s state-owned train company. Outfitted with a state-of-the-art gym with digital fitness coaches, sleeping bunks, and TVs that stream news and sports, the train is more like a mobile luxury hotel. Bike storage, a dining car, and other amenities are also included, making this the train we’d most like to chill in whether we are headed to work or just have a free day.

 

[MIKA27]

‘Deadpool 2’ Teaser Trailer

 

[MIKA27]

Here's The New Rampage Trailer

Anyone remember the Rampage game from 1986? It was an arcade game where up to three people could take control of creatures razing buildings and waves of troops. But if you don't remember it, that's fine, because there's now a movie based on the game.

Starring The Rock - because who else? - the Rampage movie features Rock working alongside George, the silverback gorilla who was one of the original characters in the games. George eventually escapes, and there's some brief footage of Lizzie, but fort he most part it's a movie about The Rock saving the world.

The Rock is very quickly becoming The Video Game Actor Guy. Can you imagine him in a '90s FMV game?

[MIKA27]

A Quiet Place Looks Like a Terrifying and Innovative Silent Horror Film

The horror genre has seen some of film's greatest experiments. Horror often offers film directors to chance to bend the rules and break the norms of narrative craft. You can have a claustrophobic thriller taking place within a wide, expansive setting (such as Jaws and Alien). You can create a deadly, unknowable monster that changes its identity, rendering it completely anonymous (like in It Follows). Or you can make terror feel personal and intensely intimate with a found-footage film (The Blair Witch Project remains the ultimate movie to utilize that tactic).

Actor-director John Krasinski continues that tradition with A Quiet Place. Starring alongside his wife Emily Blunt, the couple and their on-screen kids seem like a perfectly happy family—albeit a silent one, with the four of them speaking in sign language, tip-toeing around their home, and exhibiting a total fear of loud noises. But, as the first trailer reveals, they're only very quiet because those loud noises get the attention of an unseen, scary-sounding monster that's hunting them.

I don't know why they don't move. I don't know what happens if they sneeze or fart. But I do know that the whole thing looks tense as hell. A Quiet Place comes out on April 6. 

[MIKA27]

THE IMPOSSIBLE COLLECTION OF GOLF

Part of Assouline's popular Ultimate Collection, The Impossible Collection of Golf celebrates this centuries-old sport with a look at some of its finest and most important courses. From the game's birthplace in Scotland to modern-day spots around the world, it covers 100 courses, past tournament glories and failures to happen on them, and the intricacies that separate them from the rest.

[MIKA27]

PLUM WINE PRESERVER

With the ability to open, chill, pour, and preserve, the Plum wine preserver combines all wine gadgets into one sleek package. Select your bottle and insert it into the device. Inside, a camera scans the label to identify the wine and automatically begin cooling to the ideal temperature. Whether it's a cork or metal cap, a double-cored needle punctures the top. As wine is released, argon gas fills the bottle to help prevent oxidation. A single canister can preserve up to 150 bottles, keeping each one fresh for up to 90 days so when you're ready, a perfect glass of wine is always waiting to be poured.

[GrouchoMarx]

On 15/11/2017 at 12:24 AM, MIKA27 said:

15,000 SCIENTISTS JUST SAID HUMANITY IS PRETTY MUCH DOOMED

 

The other 99.99% of scientists already have their grant money. 

[MIKA27]

The Fukushima Cleanup Is Progressing, But At A Painstaking Pace

Earlier this year, remotely piloted robots transmitted what officials believe was a direct view of melted radioactive fuel inside Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant's destroyed reactors - a major discovery, but one that took a long and painful six years to achieve. In the meantime, the program to clean up the destroyed reactors has seen numerous setbacks and concerns, including delays on Japanese electrical utility Tepco's timetable to begin removing the highly radioactive fuel and continued leakage of small amounts of radioactive substances.

Japanese officials are now hoping that they can convince a sceptical public that the worst of the disaster is over, the New York Times reported, but it's not clear whether it's too late despite the deployment of 7,000 workers and massive resources to return the region to something approaching normal. Per the Times, officials admit the recovery plan -- involving the complete destruction of the plant, rather than simply building a concrete sarcophagus around it as the Russians did in Chernobyl -- will take decades and tens of billions of dollars. Currently, Tepco plans to begin removing waste from one of the three contaminated reactors at the plant by 2021, "though they have yet to choose which one."

"Until now, we didn't know exactly where the fuel was, or what it looked like," Tepco manager Takahiro Kimoto told the Times. "Now that we have seen it, we can make plans to retrieve it."

"They are being very methodical -- too slow, some would say - in making a careful effort to avoid any missteps or nasty surprises," Union of Concerned Scientists nuclear safety director David Lochbaum added. "They want to regain trust. They have learned that trust can be lost much quicker than it can be recovered."

Currently, radiation levels are so high in the ruined facility that it fries robots sent in within a matter of hours, which will necessitate developing a new generation of droids with even higher radiation tolerances. Authorities have built a crane on the roof of one melted-down reactor, unit No. 3, to remove fuel, Phys.org reported, though it will not actually be in use until at least April 2018. Disposal of low level waste such as "rice straw, sludge and ash from waste incineration" has only just begun, the Japan Times wrote. The eventual disposal of more dangerous waste will be much more difficult.

At the same time, criticism of the government's approach is also mounting with concerns it is pressuring residents to return to an area where radiation exposure remains many times the international standard.

[MIKA27]

The Argentine Navy Is Missing An Attack Submarine With 44 Crew On Board

The ARA San Juan, a Argentine Navy diesel-electric attack submarine built in 1983, has been missing since November 15 with a crew of 44 sailors on board, CNN reported.

Per CNN, the vessel was last spotted in the San Jorge Gulf a few hundred miles off the coast of Patagonia while travelling north from a base in Tierra del Fuego to another in Mar del Plata. According to the BBC, NASA has contributed a P-3 explorer aircraft to the search effort, which also involves an Argentine Hercules C-130, destroyer, and two corvettes. On Friday, the U.S. Navy also prepared to contribute a 21-man P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft.

Officials have been unable to find or communicate with the sub, nor have they located any evidence of its position.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi told reporters that "Detection has been difficult despite the quantity of boats and aircraft involved in the search," the BBC wrote. He added that they expect to find it on the surface, due to naval protocols requiring submarines to rise if they experience a technical failure cutting communications.

USNI News reported that the U.S. is "preparing specialised submarine rescue equipment in anticipation of a request from Buenos Aires," including crew members and resources to run missions with the Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System.

[MIKA27]

What It’s Like to Spend 30 Days on the Arctic Tundra

After British-born photographer Martin Hartley’s first visit to the Canadian Arctic in 2002, he vowed never to return. Having already shot in the Himalayas and the Alps, Hartley flew to Resolute Bay — one of the northernmost towns in Canada — confident that he knew what he was getting into.

He brought the wrong gear, only shot 13 photos before his camera equipment failed — and almost died. 

“I hadn’t been to the high Arctic before, so I just assumed that cold was cold,” Hartley says from his home in Bristol, England, as he prepares for another journey to Antarctica. "I was met at the airport by my guide, this character called Gary Guy who was as [cowboy-esque] as you can possibly imagine.”

Guy wanted to check Hartley’s gear before they set off into the white haze of the frozen Arctic Ocean. “I emptied my rucksack and took out all my alpine winter mountaineering clothing, which I thought was absolutely perfect," Hartley recalls. "He looked at the clothing on the floor, then looked at me and said, ‘That’s not going to keep you alive for very long. I’ll go and get you something that will.’ Then he just left.”

Hartley sat alone and reflected on how he got himself into this mess of adventure photography in the first place. It all started on Christmas morning when he was five years old back in the north of England, where it rains 300 days of the year and most people didn't get outside much. His parents bought him an adventure set that included a compass and a plastic camera. “This was back in the days when you had to mail rolls of film to get them developed,” Hartley remembers. “When I got the photos back it was like magic. Going out with a compass and a camera, pretending I was an explorer — it must have collided in my subconscious — and has probably been driving me forward ever since.” Hartley used his dad's old camera and took it everywhere. At 17, he was runner-up in the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards.

And now here he was, in a metal hut 2,000 miles north of Toronto, woefully unprepared. After an hour, Guy returned with new gear: boots that looked fit for a giant, mittens that extended up to the elbows and a parka the likes of which Hartley had never seen before. It was the aptly named Canada Goose Resolute Parka.

Guy checked the weather as Hartley suited up in his new gear. A snowstorm was blowing in. The pair hopped on snowmobiles to meet Hartley’s subject, Pen Hadow, who was preparing for a solo expedition to the North Pole. Twenty minutes into the journey, the storm hit and visibility dropped. They realized their GPS was broken, leaving them to rely on Guy's experience to navigate. By the time they reached Hadow for the shoot, all of the photo equipment had frozen. Hartley ran in circles to get a battery warmed up enough to take a few frames.

Then, the storm fully set in. Winds flung any piece of gear not lashed down into the white oblivion. Snow came in at high speeds from every direction. They needed to head back immediately — sans GPS — and they would need to stick together. But within seconds of departing, Harney and Hadow lost sight of Guy. "We stopped and both started crying," recalls Hartley. "I knew that if we had to be outside overnight, we wouldn’t have feet or hands in the morning. I was absolutely shitting myself.”

It was difficult to see beyond the front of the snowmobile. Suddenly, they recognized a semblance of a track. One direction would take them to Resolute Bay, the other direction would take them deeper north into the Arctic. It came down to a 50-50 shot, and they got lucky. A few hours later, they arrived in Resolute Bay.

The next morning, the weather report came in detailing the storm Hartley had just faced. It had been the coldest day in Resolute Bay for the last 40 years, with a wind-chill at minus 96 Fahrenheit. "I’m pretty sure that without that jacket or those clothes, I would have died,” Hartley says.

In the 15 years since that fateful journey, Hartley has been back more than 25 times and amassed a wealth of knowledge about surviving in the world’s coldest, loneliest places. With winter approaching, he shared a few tips from his time in extreme cold.

Invest in Gear You Can Trust

“Your life depends on your clothing,” Hartley says. His first Canada Goose jacket literally kept him alive and it’s his go-to when the stakes are high. "Every detail is carefully thought through because function has to come before form when you’re looking at polar equipment.”

Hartley remembers one expedition where the fur trim on the hood of his parka was annoying him, so he ripped it off. A few days later, windburn set in. “The fur was doing its job of pushing the wind away from my face,” he says.

Prepare Mentally and Physically

Aside from some light strength work, Hartley says training for expeditions is fairly dull: “You’re out running really slowly because you need to train your body to metabolize fats and carbohydrates efficiently. That’s what your body will be doing when you’re out on the ice: moving slowly and carrying heavy weights. You need to train yourself to be a big, working horse, not a racehorse. People walking their dogs might sometimes be walking faster than you are running, which is off-putting.” Though most of us might not be going for 70-day walks in the cold this winter (hopefully), Hartley has a few mental tricks for anyone who shivers at the thought of the mercury dropping: “When you are cold, don’t think that you’re cold."

Practice by throwing yourself in some frigid water and telling yourself “It’s not cold.” When Hartley needs warm thoughts, his mind goes to “sitting in the pub with a raging fire, my mates and a pint of beer. That’s how I get through a lot of it.”

Have a Purpose

It’s hard to stay positive when you're bored. The lack of stimuli in Arctic environments coupled with the monotony of expeditions (set up tent, walk or ski, set up tent, sleep, repeat) can wear on even the most spirited adventurers. “Photography releases you of all the boredom of polar trips,” Hartley says with a laugh. “There’s always something to do, whereas if you’re navigating or following, there’s not much for your brain to do. There’s always a photograph to be taken, every second of every day. And if there’s nothing to photograph, photograph nothing. That’s a task in itself.”

Savor the Experience

The deep cold isn’t most people’s ideal brush with the great outdoors, but Hartley says the calm and vastness of the Arctic presents itself every now and then, reminding him why he keeps coming back. “You get this ‘Oh my God’ moment, like Mother Nature is injecting this amazing feeling of euphoria," he says. "There’s nowhere else like the Arctic Ocean. It’s not a glacier, it’s not a frozen lake, it’s not an icecap — it’s a frozen ocean and being there with no evidence of humanity around, you really feel completely immersed in nature.”

It’s this close connection to the environment that Hartley channels into his photographs. He argues that it’s impossible to translate the scale or remoteness of the Arctic. “I try really hard to give people the sense of space and isolation," he says. "It’s why in a lot of my pictures, you’ll see a little person in a big place with nothing around, usually struggling or looking tired.”

Over the course of his career, Hartley has watched ice formations change and some even disappear. Slowly, his focus has shifted from adventure, to documenting the
vanishing wonders of the world few get to see. “The more I learn about these places changing and certain ice formations disappearing, the more I want to go back to document it,” Hartley says, his mood suddenly somber as if the gravity and task of his next expedition is setting in. “My main motivator to go back and keep suffering is to capture them before they’re gone forever.”

[MIKA27]

Paul McCartney’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Is Up for Auction

The car you see here has a bit of a storied past. The major reason why it will fetch close to $2 million at Bonham’s is because it was once owned by Paul McCartney. McCartney, who owned the DB5 for six years, put 40,513 miles on it. While it’s changed hands a few times, it eventually ended up in the garage of one-time Top Gear host Chris Evans. The next stop can be your driveway, as the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 hits the auction block on December 2. The first Aston Martin owned by The Beatles legend, this DB5 has seen some work since McCartney drove it around, and as you can tell, it’s as stunning as ever. Beatles fans with deep pockets should prepare their bids.