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

[MIKA27]

How Elon Musk could recover rockets with balloons — just not the party kind

On Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk warned his Twitter followers that he had an idea that was “gonna sound crazy:” his company might use a “giant party balloon” to recover the upper stage of its Falcon 9 rocket from orbit.

How could a party balloon help SpaceX bring back a rocket that’s traveling thousands of miles per hour through space? Well, Musk has made bizarre SpaceX decrees before, which have later become reality: The company did launch his Tesla into deep space, after all.

And this balloon concept does have a history: for decades, NASA and other researchers have studied how to use inflatable structures to slow down spacecraft leaving orbit. Balloons are a lightweight tool that can change the shape and density of a spacecraft quickly, altering how that vehicle tumbles to Earth. A balloon can act like a big space brake and provide shielding from the enormous amount of heat a spacecraft experiences when plunging through the atmosphere. “It’s like when a Soyuz capsule is coming home,” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at Harvard and spaceflight expert, tells The Verge. “It needs a heat shield.”

Balloons have their own challenges. They can be hard to stabilize when falling through the sky, and they must be made of extra rigid, durable materials to survive. So, not exactly a party balloon, but one made to withstand incredibly high temperatures and rushing winds. But this approach could let SpaceX recover the last big piece of its Falcon 9 rocket intact.

An artistic rendering of an inflatable heat shield that NASA was testing

SpaceX has already mastered how to bring back most of its Falcon 9 rocket after launch. The vehicle’s first stage — or the 14-story body of the rocket that contains most of the engines and fuel — can return to a ground landing pad or a floating drone ship after takeoff. Once it starts to fall back to Earth, the stage reignites its engines a few times to control its descent. This slows the rocket down enough so that it can land upright on a flat surface.

But the second stage of the Falcon 9 — the top of the rocket that carries the payload into orbit — is way more difficult to recover. This part of the rocket travels much faster than the bottom portion of the vehicle. The Falcon 9’s first stage can reach up to 5,000 miles per hour before it breaks away and returns to Earth. But the second stage stays in space throughout the flight; to drop off a satellite in low Earth orbit, for instance, the second stage has to reach up to 17,000 miles per hour.

So whenever a second stage falls back to our planet, it’s coming in fast — and hot. The faster you descend, the more heating you experience. The upper stage may be as much as 27 times hotter than the first stage, according to Dave Akin, an aerospace engineer at the University of Maryland. (And if you look at the engines of a landed Falcon 9 first stage, they do get pretty charred.) The extreme temperature that the second stage experiences causes portions of the rocket to melt, and ultimately the whole thing breaks apart.

The first stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lands using its engines 

Musk is looking for a way to slow the rocket without the vehicle getting too hot. Or at least that’s what his tweet indicated to Quinn Kupec, a sophomore aerospace major at the University of Maryland, who is working on high altitude balloons and heat shield technology. Kupec saw the balloon tweet and understood what Musk needed. “I thought, ‘An inflatable structure? That kind of sounds like a deployable heat shield,’” Kupec tells The Verge, referring to the technology he’s testing. He responded to Musk on Twitter. Musk replied, “Yeah, exactly! Would be great to hear your thoughts. We’re going to try a few approaches.”

It’s possible that SpaceX could deploy an inflatable balloon at the base of the upper stage, according to Kupec, providing a large shield between the rocket and the atmosphere. This would make the stage bigger at the bottom, and that could help spread all of the intense heat over a larger area. Thus the heat would be less concentrated.

But the big thing that a balloon can do is change how the second stage is affected by air resistance. Objects that are big in shape but lightweight for their size have a harder time overcoming air resistance, so they fall much more slowly. You can see this when you drop a piece of paper and bowling ball from the same height. The paper falls at a leisurely pace because it’s less dense and gets caught up in the air more easily.

The balloon, deployed at the bottom of the upper stage, could turn the rocket into more of a piece of paper than a bowling ball. That means the stage will start slowing down much more rapidly when it hits the upper atmosphere, so there are lower temperatures surrounding your spacecraft. “If I can come in with more area — if I get bigger and flatter — I’ll decelerate sooner and higher,” Akin, who is also Kupec’s teacher, tells The Verge. “And that will be less heat when I get down into the denser atmosphere.”

Now, a balloon isn’t totally necessary to do the trick. What the rocket needs is some kind of lightweight material that can be deployed quickly to change the shape of a spacecraft. Balloons are good for that because you just need a thin material and air to fill them up fast. But a lightweight upside-down umbrella could also provide a similar affect, something that Kupec and his team have tested out.

And it’s not just the University of Maryland that has looked into this, either. NASA has also tested out inflatable heat shields with programs like the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, or HIAD, and the Inflatable Re-entry Vehicle Experiment, or IRVE. And in 2000, Russia attempted to return the upper stage of a rocket from orbit using an inflatable heat shield. No one knows if it worked; the vehicle was never found.

But inflatable heat shields can get unwieldy when falling from high heights. At slower speeds, subsonic ones, the vehicle can become unstable. “It wants to flip over,” says Kupec. That’s not what engineers want, though. One way to fix this could be to deploy a balloon that completely engulfs the vehicle, turning it into a big beach ball instead.

It also may be tough for SpaceX to catch the inflated rocket on the way down. The vehicle could use its engine to land, like the first stage does. But the second stage’s engine is designed to work in space, not inside the atmosphere, so it may not be effective for that. Musk did indicate that SpaceX may try to catch the upper stage, with a “bouncy castle.” However, the company has been struggling with catching objects: SpaceX has been trying to catch part of the Falcon 9’s nose cone, using a boat with a giant net. Those efforts haven’t been successful yet, and catching a big inflated ball may be even more difficult than that. “The question is how controllable is it on the way down,” says McDowell.

It’ll be interesting to see what SpaceX comes up with (and what exactly Musk means by bouncy castle). Since Musk said the company would try different options, we may see multiple types of balloon-like structures on the Falcon 9. It just depends on what can be installed on the rocket for the lowest cost. “I’m sure he’s looking for a system that’s simple and lightweight,” says Akin. “Anything you carry all the way to orbit is payload you don’t get paid to carry.”

 

[MIKA27]

THE MURAKA UNDERWATER HOTEL

Darling it’s better, down where it’s wetter, under the sea. But don’t just take it from me–or The Little Mermaid–simply take a look at this one-of-a-kind underwater hotel room, by Conrad Hotels and Resorts.

Called “Muraka”–which means “coral” in Dhivehi, the language spoken in the Maldives–this submarine suite anchors itself 16 feet below the ocean surface. Equipped with a king-sized bedroom, a living room area, a bathroom, and even a second floor, this glimmering sea-villa is reminiscent of an Atlantean palace. If you choose to shell out the $50,000 a night that Conrad Hotels charges for such an amenity, you will be submerged in a glass-walled enclosure, swathed by the kaleidoscopic ocean. Your wallpaper will be the schools of vibrant fish that swim past. When the lights go out, your night sky will be the phosphorescent and biolumescent aquatic life, glowing like stars overhead. Chief architect of the underwater enclosure Ahmed Saleem designed “Muraka” with relaxation and solitude in mind–and the possibility of scoping a completely new perspective of the Maldives. Touting itself as the first hotel of its kind, this vacation residence is in a league of its own.

 

[MIKA27]

The World’s Rarest Steak Just Went on Sale in the U.S.

We’ve checked a number of these steak houses off our bucket list and are quite proud of it, but there is one steak that alludes us. Olive Wagyu. Olive Wagyu is known as the rarest beef in the world and is prized for its insane marbling. That fat content and quality comes from the fact that the cows chowed down on spent olives from olive oil production. The result is a piece of beef with extraordinary softness. Even in Japan—where the beef originates—it’s hard to come by.

Now, for the first time, a company is making Olive Wagyu directly available to the United States.

Crowd Cow worked for a year to form the relationships necessary to offer the prized meat here in America. The tricky part? Existing Crowd Cow customers get first dibs on the Olive Wagyu, so you should consider signing up and making a purchase for the best shot at scoring some. Any that isn’t sold to existing customers will go on sale to the public the next day. It’s basically a Supreme drop, so make sure you’re ready.

 

[MIKA27]

CIGAR FACTORY STORYTELLERS

In 1865, a Cuban cigar factory owner came up with the idea to have someone read to his workers as they rolled cigars, as an in-house education program. The idea caught on with other factories, and the tradition continues to this day.

[MIKA27]

The Fantastic Final Deadpool 2 Trailer Introduces The Full X-Force Roster

The last trailer for Deadpool 2 namedropped the infamous black ops X-Team, X-Force. Now, we get to meet the actual members of the team as Wade Wilson goes on a mission against his longtime time-hopping frenemy.

The trailer gives us a clearer picture of what the actual plot of the film is -- Deadpool forming a team of mercenaries and mutants to protect a mysterious kid (Hunt for the Wilderpeople's Julian Dennison) from the arrival of a hardass cyborg from the future, Thanos.

Wait, sorry, Cable. We mean Cable. And yes, this trailer totally makes that joke too.

But yes, we get way better looks at the X-Force itself here, as well as its, let's say lax recruitment standards. We get a lot more of luck-altering mutant Domino (Zazie Beetz) in action, as well as confirmations of comics characters Bedlam and Shatterstar. And we also get the most remarkable addition to the team: Peter, a random dude. God bless Peter, who will inevitably die a horrible, horrible death in this movie at some point. Or maybe the joke will be that he lives?

Deadpool 2 hits theatres May 18.

 

[MIKA27]

Diamonds Packed Inside Rare Meteorite Offer Clues To A Destroyed Planet

Back in 2008, an 80-ton meteor exploded over the Nubian Desert of Sudan, showering the region with hundreds of tiny rocks. New research suggests the diamonds packed inside these meteorites could have only formed within a planetary body the size of Mercury or Mars - a planet that no longer exists.

It's called the Almahata Sitta meteorite, and it's providing the first tangible evidence that a proto-planetary body existed during the early stages of our Solar System, according to new research published this week in Nature Communications. This nascent planet, somewhere between the size of Mercury and Mars, smashed into another planetary body - we don't know which one - creating a massive debris field that seeded the Solar System with the pieces to build other larger, rocky planets. Like Earth.

The evidence for this hypothesis comes from a rare type of meteorite called a ureilite. These rocks account for less than 1 per cent of all meteorites that land on Earth. Ureilites are packed with tiny diamonds, the largest of which are only the width of a human hair. Like diamonds that form on Earth, these exotic minerals are the product of intense pressure and temperature - conditions that are found deep inside our planet.

Microscopic image showing the inside of one of the diamonds found within a fragment of the Almahata Sitta meteorite. Graphite appears in grey, and inclusions in yellow.

Astronomers have suspected the existence of a long-lost protoplanet for decades, but it's been difficult to prove. And in fact, the leading hypothesis for our Moon's origin is that a proto-planet struck the Earth when it was still a baby. What's more, computer simulations of early planet formation have also predicted the presence of these large "embryotic" planetary bodies during the first 10 million years of the Solar System's existence. But physical proof has been lacking.

Now, Farhang Nabiei from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), the lead author of the new study, is arguing that ureilites are the potential remnants of a lost proto-planet.

Inclusions inside the diamond.

Nabiei's team used three different microscopes, including a transmission electron microscope, to study the bits of material, called inclusions, that got trapped within the Almahata Sitta meteorite's diamonds after it formed. The physical, chemical, and mineral composition of the diamonds suggest they formed at pressures around 20 gigapascals. That kind of pressure can only exist inside a planetary body with masses in the Mercury-to-Mars size range. What's more, the diamonds, though small, are too big to have formed following an impact with Earth.

"This study provides convincing evidence that the ureilite parent body was one such large 'lost' planet before it was destroyed by collisions," conclude the researchers in their new study.

Cool, right? The vision of a Mars-sized object smashing into an object of equal size boggles the imagination. But as this new study points out, the early Solar System was a very dramatic and tumultuous place.

[MIKA27]

Halloween Gets a New Very Johnny Cash-esque Poster

Halloween is returning to theaters this October, and today we got our first official look at Michael Myers himself, thanks to the teaser poster for the film. Feast your eyes on the new version of the Myers mask!

So much to unpack here. Is the film just titled Halloween? Is this supposed to look like the cover to the Johnny Cash album? Seriously — it looks like Michael is about to break out into his version of ‘Hurt’. I love the old-school font and colors on the release date. I think the ever-so-slight peek at his eye is a great touch, and the mask looks incredible. Some fans are going to hate all of the aging and cracks formed on it, probably because it will remind them of the not-so-great Rob Zombie films. Here is your reminder, fans: this film takes place 40 years after the original.

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Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

With them ignoring everything after the original, there are so many places this film can go. Very little is actually known about the story right now, we do know that Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, and that her daughter is played by Judy Greer. Greer’s daughter will be played by Andi Matichak. Also in the film are Miles Robbins, Dylan Arnold, Virginia Gardner, and Drew Scheid. Also retuning is the original Shape himself Nick Castle. The film is directed by David Gordon Green, and he also co-wrote the script with Danny McBride.

I hope we get at least a teaser trailer soon. Hearing that iconic John Carpenter theme… there is almost nothing like it. He is also back as a producer and providing the score. Here, look at this awesome pic from behind the scenes on the set of Halloween II, because it is amazing:

Dick Warlock as Michael Myers with John Carpenter on the set of Halloween II. (Photo: Kim Gottlieb-Walker)

Halloween opens in theaters on October 19th.

[MIKA27]

AIRLINES CHECK THEIR ENGINES FOR THE FLAW THAT HIT SOUTHWEST FLIGHT 1380

The National transportation Safety Board will likely take more than a year to determine what caused the catastrophic failure of an engine on Southwest Flight 1380, rupturing the cabin and killing a passenger. No surprise, then, that nobody’s waiting for the final verdict to try to stop it from happening again.

The NTSB says the engine failed after one of the blades that make up the fan at the front of the CMF56-7B engine sheared off, at 32,500 feet. Investigators found signs of metal fatigue in the blade’s stumpy remains. Here, “fatigue” essentially means weakening—a possible result of subjecting metal alloys to the extreme temperatures and heavy loads that come with every flight. The regular expansion and contraction of the metal can exaggerate the smallest defects, like micro fractures, to the point where they become dangerous.

So the CMF56-7B, made by CFM International (a joint venture between Safran and General Electric) and bolted to 6,700 planes around the world, is getting a lot of extra attention. Southwest crews will spend the next 30 days inspecting hundreds of its CFM engines, according to Reuters. And the Federal Aviation Administration says it will issue an airworthiness directive within the next two weeks, requiring all airlines run an ultrasonic inspection of all 24 fan blades on every CFM56-7B they use, after it has been through a certain number of takeoff and landing cycles.

The ultrasonic bit is important, since the fatigue on the blown engine was on the interior of the snapped blade, according to the NTSB, where it would have been hard to spot in a visual inspection.

Much like a doctor inspecting an expectant mother, technicians go back and forth over each blade with a hand-held sensor, pulsing ultrasonic waves through the metal, looking for defects. The results don’t came back as an image, but more like an EKG graph, says Antonios Kontsos, an expert in structural fatigue and failure detection at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Cracks in the metal show up as an abnormal signal. It’s laborious, time-consuming, and the best way to see inside these all-important metals.

The FAA and NTSB are already investigating another Southwest flight, in August 2016, where this type of engine failed in midair. The plane made an emergency landing in Pensacola, Florida, without injuries. Afterward, the FAA proposed voluntary airworthiness inspections for the CMF56-7B. This time around, it’s making them mandatory.

Still, modern jet engines are a paragon of reliability. Failures—ie, In-flight Engine Shutdowns—cause less than 3 percent of flight diversions. That’s largely because airlines have robust inspection and maintenance programs. As engines cost up to $30 million and are the main thing keeping air between the plane and the ground, they’re worth looking after. KLM, for example, says the CF6-80E, which powers its Airbus A330s, needs major maintenance about every 7,300 takeoff and landing cycles, and minor maintenance every 200 to 400 cycles.

At Delta’s Atlanta maintenance facility—which is the size of 47 football fields—techs dismantle entire engines. They clean and inspect every part, from the albatross-like fan blades to the tiny component inside the fuel injector. It takes them 50 to 80 days to do that, replacing the worn out bits and putting everything back together. They then haul the refreshed engine into a bunker-like concrete cell, where they run it at speed to verify it is indeed good as new. Only then do they bolt the thing back onto a jet wing and let it return to work.

Long before they get to fly, new engine types go through a bruising array of tests—ingesting water, ice, sand from all over the world, and dead chickens. And when they are in service, airlines collect reams of data on vibration, temperature, and speed, hoping to spot problems before they become catastrophic.

In the future, a new generation of ultrasound and infrared sensors, built into the engines, could detect structural defects before they present any danger at all. “It would be a paradigm shift, integrating diagnostics and prognostics,” says Kontsos, who is working with military and commercial operators to develop such systems. “You could infer the engine health as you fly or operate the device.”

As with all such aviation advances, it will be years, at a minimum, before such sensors can make their way onto real, people-packed airplanes. Until then, we’ll have to rely on the men and women building—and rebuilding—those engines to keep us in the air.

 

[MIKA27]

Wandrd Hexad Duffel

For those of us who simply love to wander off, whether it’s commuting for the day, road tripping for the weekend or taking a flight for a long vacation, the Wandrd Hexad Duffel is quite the item to keep your gear organized, accessible and easily carried, plus you’ll do it in style. This duffel bag differs from its competitors because there was some real thought put into it by the three founding brothers of the Wandrd company. The whole bag is made from rugged materials such as tarpaulin and high resistance nylon that will endure a lifetime of use, plus, the moulded nylon backpanel ensures great comfort while carrying it on your back. The backstraps are also designed in a smart way, you can carry it tote style, or you can quickly remove them and stash them away in a dedicated pocket. You also get multiple organizing possibilities, such as RFID pockets for your important documents, waterproof and mesh pockets, some of them with direct access, no need to open the entire bag. Choose from two different capacities from 45 to 60 ltrs. 

[MIKA27]

WHITCRAFT SERVICES BMW GS 001 MOTORCYCLE

BMW's GS series pioneered the on/off-road dual-sport motorcycle. Whitcraft Services' 001 takes the R1150GS and breaks it down into its most basic components while adding a ton of rugged style. Removing all unnecessary bodywork, the 001 evokes the air-cooled BMW classics and the hand-tooled leather seat is a work of art itself. Custom wiring and gauges add to the clean lines and the handmade tank is a modern interpretation of the original BMW "toaster" tank. The 001 goes as good as it looks and is ready for adventure, on- or off-road.

[MIKA27]

TRUFF HOT SAUCE

Using a curated blend of ripe chili peppers, organic agave nectar, savory spices, and an infusion of black truffle oil from Northern Italy, Truff Hot Sauce has a flavor profile that is elegant and complex. The sauce is rich and robust, with a hint of sweetness and medium heat and is packaged in a handsome 6-ounce bottle finished with a black truffle inspired diamond-shaped cap.

 

[MIKA27]

Going to the Top of the World for Whisky

We edge in past the heavy iron doors, along the tunnels, ghosts whispering over our shoulders. Ahead, a red light shines on oscillators, hot lines, and silent ticker tape machines. Soiled uniforms hang limp from hooks. A Perspex map in the control room shows the rugged coast we’ve just traveled.

We’re in the haunted passageways of an abandoned NATO base in Norway’s sliver of the Arctic Circle. This was part of Germany’s impenetrable Lyngen Line during the Second World War and was speedily expanded into the NATO’s northern line of defense against the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War.

“We’re not quite sure what to do with it,” admits Colin Houston, Aurora Spirits U.K. managing director. Ideas come out of the red-lit gloom, “warehousing? Tasting events? Murder mysteries? Avant-garde music festivals?” The last (mine) doesn’t go over too well—despite Norway’s rightful claim to be a hotbed of such activities.

Wandering around an ex-military base may seem odd. Wandering around one in the Arctic Circle with a distillery next to it is truly unique. Then again, nothing about Aurora is your standard whisky distillery story. This is the literally the most northern distillery in the world.

As such, it’s not the easiest place to reach. My flight from Oslo to Tromsø was delayed, which meant I missed the last ferry of the day to the end of the earth. Instead, the firm’s co-founder Hans-Olav Eriksen picked me up at the airport. “It’s the long way round,” he said. “About two hours… depending on how fast I drive.” He grins in a slightly manic fashion and we head off into the dark night over snow and ice at an alarming rate. I channel my inner Viking, settle back and listen to the saga of how he fell in love with single malt whisky and proceeded to spend most of his savings on Scotch. This all happened without telling his wife. (This last detail would become a recurring theme during our conversation.)

A trip to Islay, the small island off the west coast of Scotland that boasts an inordinate number of distilleries, confirmed his plan to make whisky with a group of like-minded individuals, in, of all places, the Arctic. Built in 2014, the distillery building is sleekly modern with a clean functional production space.

Distiller Gjermund Stensrud was the former master brewer at Tromsø’s Mack Brewery and the whisky’s wash is made, to his specs, at their new plant from quick-growing Finnish barley. After a week-long fermentation, 8,500 liters of the so-called distiller’s beer are trucked to the distillery and distilled in seven or eight batches in a Kuthe Still.

“The pot sits inside a water bath,” Stensrud explains, “and because there’s no direct heat, there’s no burning, allowing you to capture the sweetness and give more copper contact to help remove heavy elements… You’ve seen this stuff before. Let’s just try some.”

Another old iron door creaks open, revealing a warehouse with quarter casks, some barrels and a range of casks that previously held sherry, Sauternes and Madeira.

At six months, the spirit has all the cleanliness you expect from this type of still along with a hint of cereal and an intense, if light, fruitiness and a herbal, almost heathery, element. A peated variant (made with Scottish barley) shows a hint of menthol, with a nutty, wood smoke element and again that herby, heathery sweetness on the mid palate. This liquor is definitely one to watch.

Later that night there’s a flicker of green in the sky above us as we sit, hats on, in our own warm water bath drinking cold beer. Lots of cold beer. The aurora pulses into life, ribboning across the heavens, as the Norse gods’ Bivröst travels along the pathway between earth and Asgard.

“This Jacuzzi is the boardroom,” says Tor Petter Christensen, who, at this particular moment, isn’t exactly dressed like your conventional CEO. “This is where all of the decisions and ideas are formed.” As the conversation meanders, it turns out that the distillery was only one of Hans-Olav Eriksen’s projects. He’d already formed the Arctic activity company Lyngsfjord Adventure, and built its base, Camp Tamok. There will soon also be a bar and then, probably, a hotel in Tromsø. As ever, his long-suffering wife was the last to know.

While the whisky rests Aurora has launched three spirits under the Bivröst brand: a vodka that is flavored with local berries, a gin and an excellent aquavit. Stensrud is also experimenting with other spirits, including a frankly incredible one made from sea kelp.

“The distillery made sense when I visited Scotland,” Eriksen says. “I saw the way in which whisky is part of the hospitality industry there. I thought, we have to do the same here and make Northern Norway a destination with quality tourist offerings. To show our culture.” That’s where Colin Houston came in. He had 25 years of experience in hospitality in Scotland, as a hotelier and then in charge of quality assurance for tourism organization Visit Scotland.

We chat on. At one point, Tor Petter, who is a keen scuba diver, (yes, in the Arctic), suggests aging casks in the fjord. Eriksen suggests we go down and dip our toes in the frigid water. We resist and instead continue talking about their hopes for the distillery. “It’s telling people of the culture here, what being North Norwegian is,” says Petter. “You know,” he says while he raises his can towards me, “we are very similar to you Scots.”

“Yes,” calls out Eriksen, “we have a dark sense of humor!”

Aurora isn’t even the first Arctic whisky. That honor belongs to Myken. I first met its founders Roar Larsen and Trude Tokle back in 2013. “We’re building a distillery on an island, in the Arctic” was their opening gambit. That sure got my attention, especially when they then told me that Myken is 20 miles off the coast, which is a 90-minute sail on the speediest of boats.

Larsen and Tokle fell in love with the place after being stormbound for five days there while on a sailing trip. They ended up staying for a year with their family and began to think of ways to revitalize an economy, which was wholly reliant on summer visitors like themselves. The Myken archipelago used to support 50 people. In recent years, this went down to half a dozen. How many are there now? “15, and we’ll be moving there permanently once the kids have finished school,” answers Tokle, when we meet up in Tromsø.

We continue chatting. “Did I say 15?” she interjects. “Sorry! I was including a cat!” Island life. Gotta love it.

They weren’t exactly coming in as beginners. Larsen was chief scientist at Trondheim’s Sintef Institute, specializing in hydrates and working on desalination (hold that thought) and so knew his way around the principles of distillation. In 2014, they converted an old fish factory into a distillery. In went fat-bellied pot stills made by Hoa in Spain, looking like old Moorish alembics, and a desalination plant. As there’s not a bountiful supply of fresh water on this rocky outcrop, Larsen used his expertise to use seawater for mashing and condensing. Might that explain the mineral edge to the new, three-year-old whisky? It is fresh, lightly fruity and sweet with a rounded, fleshier mid-palate than the Aurora. The distillery’s peated version shows even greater promise. With talks starting with a farmer on the mainland about growing barley for them and casks coming from pioneering Swedish cooper Johan Thorslund, Myken is well set.

The next day, I squeeze the throttle of the snowmobile and race over the tundra into the frozen horizon. It’s silent except for the cough of a ptarmigan and the faint cries of huskies. Spindly beeches grow like ink scratches on a white page. A blank canvas, a place of opportunity. Why not make whisky here?

Don’t call them mad, because we are the mad ones for thinking whisky couldn’t, or even more arrogantly shouldn’t, be distilled in the Arctic.

The key isn’t the ‘why?’, but the ‘how?’ and not just in production, but the manner in which it syncs with local Norse and Sami cultures, and their different foods, fruits and even types of smoke. I remember one of my 4 AM Bivröst-induced suggestions of suspending a smoked reindeer heart in the still to make a Norse version of the Mexican mezcal pechuga, whose production usually involves a chicken breast. Like the sound festival idea it sank without trace. Maybe rightly, but these questions surely have to be asked.

Whisky is about more than just saying, “we are the most northerly, or from the most remote island. That has to be followed with, “… and therefore…” leading into the reasons for choosing site, the impact of climate, wood types, smokes, condensing and warehouse temperature, and how the location influences the mindset and the culture.

In this place where winter days are a permanent rainbow of pink and gold, and nights are lit by the Bivröst, there is a sense that nothing is impossible. A place for practical dreamers, bringing in a new life to the Arctic.

[BlackFriar]

On 4/18/2018 at 11:16 PM, MIKA27 said:

Put a Whisky Pilgrimage to Scotland in Your Summer Travel Plans

For fans of peaty, flavorful whisky, Islay is the Scottish isle where the magic happens. Currently home to eight active distilleries, from Ardmore to Laphroaig, Scotch heads worldwide make their way to the rolling, lush landscape to collect dram by dram of their favorite stuff. Very soon, they'll have another reason to visit: Ardnahoe, the island's newest distillery.

Set to open in May 2018, Ardnahoe will be the first new distillery on the island since Kilchoman opened its doors in 2005. (Before that, it had been 124 years since anybody new opened shop.)

The geography of each distillery and the methods used within all have a dramatic effect on the flavor and profile of the Scotch they produce, and Ardnahoe—which brought along Jim McEwan, the former master distiller of Bruichladdich, to create the stuff—will certainly make a welcome addition to the island's whisky legacy.

Before it opens, the distillery is offering serious Scotch lovers the opportunity to purchase a cask of Ardnahoe's first output. Order forms are available now, and are expected to be fulfilled in June. Inaugural casks are limited, so get your orders in now while supplies last.

A group of friends and I rented out the cottage at Ardbeg during the first week of September 2017 and toured all of the distilleries on Islay. What a blast!

[MIKA27]

Relive These Scientists' Year Inside A Simulated Mars On A Hawaiian Volcano With This New Podcast

An igloo-looking habitat sits on a volcano's rocky soil. Six astronauts have been living there isolated for months, doing geologic field work. It takes around 20 minutes for any message to travel between the habitat and Earth.

Except the habitat is on Earth - it's the Hawai'i Space Exploration Analogue and Simulation (HI-SEAS), sitting 2500m above the sea on Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano. NASA and the University of Hawai'i built the habitat in order to simulate what a long-term mission to Mars might be like. A new podcast from Gimlet called The Habitat will cover one team's year-long journey into HI-SEAS as they work together and get to know one another.

"HI-SEAS is like a snow globe," host Lynn Levy told Gizmodo. "It's this world that contains a full social structure, miniature dramas and miniature discoveries all happening in this one place. It's really cool."

While the scientists have goals and perform experiments on Hawai'i's faux Mars, they themselves are the experimental subjects. The project's scientists hope to understand how people cope with a long isolated period, how they complete tasks as a team, and what kind of crew composition will work best together, according to a NASA release. After all, if you're stuck on Mars for several years with only a few other people, it won't help if you hate them.

HI-SEAS' first mission began in April 2013, and its sixth began this past February. This most recent mission was halted after a crew member went to a hospital. The Habitat covers the year-long HI-SEAS IV mission. Levy gave each crewmember an audio recorder and would offer prompts via email for them to answer in an audio diary.

There are all sorts of surprises, both funny and tragic. For example, French crew member Cyprien Verseux learned of the 2015 Paris Terror attacks while living at HI-SEAS.

Ultimately, it's a space story located firmly on terrestrial soil. "It's a tiny story about six people," said Levy, "and it touches on this big human idea: Going to space."

You can listen to a preview here. The podcast debuts today.

 

[MIKA27]

WWII Sub Rumoured To Have Taken Top Nazis To South America Found Off Danish Coast

In the dying days of World War II, a German sub was reportedly sunk near the Danish coast, but the wreck was never found, leading to speculation that high-ranking Nazi officials - even possibly Adolf Hitler himself - used the high-tech vessel to escape to South America. A museum in Denmark has finally found the missing U-boat, ending this 73-year-old mystery.

The German submarine was discovered under 123m of water earlier this month by an expedition from the Sea War Museum Jutland. Radar scans of the seafloor taken from the survey ship Viña show the U-boat U-3523 - an advanced Type XXI submarine - resting in an extraordinary position, with its tail-end sticking out from a hole at practically a 45 degree angle.

This is now the ninth German sub discovered by the Sea War Museum along the Danish coast, in addition to three British subs. In total, the museum has discovered 450 wrecks in the North Sea and in the Skagerrak Strait between Norway, Sweden, and the Jutland peninsula of Denmark.

According to the British navy, a B24 Liberator sunk the U-3523 on 6 May 1945 using depth charges, which are underwater explosives dropped from above. Given the timing of the incident, the U-boat was likely not on patrol, but on the run. The sinking happened a day after Nazi forces surrendered in Denmark, and just two days before the war officially ended in Europe. Fifty-three German sailors were killed in the incident, assuming its standard contingent was on board.

The U-3523 was found in the Skagerrak Strait some 16.6km northeast of Skagen. The pilot of the B24 Liberator reported a location 2km away, which may explain why the sub eluded discovery for so many years. Its unorthodox position on the seafloor may have had something to do with it as well.

Despite the British navy's report of the sinking, the inability to locate the wreck fuelled speculation that the submarine had managed to escape. Conspiracy theorists suggested the sub contained a hoard of gold, and that high ranking Nazi officers, including Hitler, made their way to Argentina.

Much of this speculation had to do with the nature of the sub itself. The German Type XXI U-boat was the Kriegsmarine's most advanced sub, and the first capable of making an extended trans-Atlantic voyage without having to resurface. Hence the unsubstantiated rumours.

After the war, Britain, France, the United States and the Soviet Union seized a number of Type XXI U-boats for study. This directly led to the development of the Soviet Whisky class sub, which were active during the Cold War. The Germans produced 118 of these vessels, but only two entered active service, and none ever saw battle. Only one XXI remains in existence, and it's on display at the harbour outside the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven.

It's unlikely the U-3523 contains gold or the bodies of top Nazi officials, but we'll probably never know. As a war grave, the sub is protected from intrusive investigations. What's more, its position on the seafloor will make further study very difficult, even for a remotely operated vehicle.

 

[MIKA27]

This Gene-Editing Breakthrough Could Provide Hyper-Specific Cancer Diagnoses

Ever since researchers first discovered that bacterial immune systems could be hijacked to selectively change DNA in living creatures, CRISPR gene-editing technology has been limited by the boundaries of the cell wall. CRISPR allows scientists to cut and paste little bits of DNA, swapping out even single letters of DNA to correct disease-causing genetic mutations. But - at least until now - all of that cutting and pasting has gone on inside cells.

A study published Thursday in the CRISPR Journal shows how scientists at Christiana Care Health System's Gene Editing Institute in Delaware released CRISPR from behind the barricade of the cell wall. They were able to quickly make multiple changes to genetic code by extracting DNA from human cells and putting it into a test tube, where a protein called Cpf1 cut into the DNA and cleared the way for CRISPR to make edits.

But why would you want to do such a thing? Previous CRISPR tools limit gene-editing to short snippets of DNA within one single gene. Extracting the DNA from the cell could allow for more edits at one time.

In the more immediate term, the study authors said, this could have value in diagnosing cancer, replicating exact genetic mutations found in the tumours of individual cancer patients and identifying exactly what kind of cancer a patient has in order to develop a targeted treatment. The researchers are already working on commercialising such a diagnostic tool.

More significantly, though, the new technique could also pave the way for new gene-editing technologies that allow for removing and replacing entire faulty genes, not just little snippets of DNA. That could greatly expand the usefulness of CRISPR. At the moment, while the technology has shown great promise to cure diseases like sickle cell anemia, which is caused by a single-letter mutation, more complex diseases have seemed out of reach. This new technology could eventually change that.

But the breakthrough also speaks to the breadth of CRISPR technologies that have arrived in labs over the past year. The new tool relies on an enzyme known as Cpf1, rather than Cas9, the enzyme typically paired with the CRISPR system to cut up DNA. Discoveries of new CRISPR enzymes have helped to create a litany of new potential uses for the technology. For example, while Cas9 results in blunt ends when it slices through DNA, Cpf1 creates sticky ends that make it better suited for the removing larger chunks of genetic code.

The ability to edit outside of the cell, researchers said, could also reveal more about the mystery of how CRISPR actually works to modify the genome.

Recently, working with different enzymes has led to breakthroughs including editing the epigenome instead of making changes to DNA itself and using CRISPR to diagnose disease.

Such studies point to the power and potential of CRISPR -- not just as a tool for altering the genome, but as a multifunctional powerhouse with uses we haven't even yet imagined.

[MIKA27]

The New Venom Trailer Is Here

Tom Hardy is just straight up brilliant, isn't he?

Also starring Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze and Reid Scott, and Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Venom hits the big screen October 5.

[MIKA27]

INFINITI Is Adding A Touch Of Luxury To Electric Cars

INFINITI Motor Company has just announced that it's going to have a crack at the electric car market. And why not? Who doesn't love a bit of style with their sustainability?

Inspired by the QI Inspiration concept car that was revealed at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year, INFINITI plans on rolling out its own electrified automobile over the next five years. These models will be built in China and is one of five new models that will be manufactured between now and 2023.

"The Q Inspiration concept car takes the traditional sedan architecture to its next stage of evolution," said Karim Habib, INFINITI executive design director.

"A shift towards smarter, more compact and less intrusive powertrains; we were able to create an alternative form with flowing gestures, more engaging in character and more enriching in experience."

An offshoot of Nissan, it's not entirely surprising that INFINITI is getting in on the electric car game, particularly as the Nissan Leaf has been in production since 2010. I'm personally itching to see how this one turns out.

[MIKA27]

THE MACALLAN 1926 DUO SMASHES RECORD AS THE MOST EXPENSIVE WHISKY EVER SOLD

We last brought you news about two extremely coveted bottles of The Macallan 1926 single malt whiskies heading to auction in May at Bonhams Hong Kong.

Well overnight Dubai Airport retailer Le Clos beat them to it, selling two of those exact same bottles for a record-breaking US$1.2 million.

The rare bottles which were snapped up by an international businessman consists of The Macallan Peter Blake 1926 60-Year-Old and The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60-Year-Old.

Bottled in 1986 as just 24 examples (12 for the Blake and 12 for the Adami), the dynamic duo of the whisky world features vintage labelling designed by acclaimed pop artists Peter Blake and Valerio Adami.

Blake himself is the man credited for creating the Beatles’ album cover for Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band whilst Adami is renowned for his abstract images using bold black lines.

When it comes to any premium whisky cracking the magic US$1 million mark, experts like Martin Eber of drinks publication Time for Whisky says that it all comes down to rarity.

“Whilst age and provenance definitely has a lot to do with it – 60-year-old is ancient in whisky terms – The Macallan is sometimes seen as the pinnacle of Scotch, especially their bottlings released from the 1960s to 1990s.”

“The main thing driving the incredible price is that these bottles were limited to 12 pieces, so it’s extremely rare for them to become available. They were also distilled in the 1920s, and you don’t see a lot of whiskies from that far back these days.”

Retailer Le Clos said that the original sale of the bottles went for £20,000 whilst the last official sale of an individual bottle went for US$75,000 via an auction at Christie’s.

For now at least Le Clos are the world record holders for the most expensive whisky ever sold. We’ll keep you all posted on what price the bottles at Bonhams fetch on May 18.

[MIKA27]

Tabasco Diamond Reserve Hot Sauce

Fans of heat, it’s time to celebrate. Tabasco is turning 150 years old. Don’t worry, it’s still just as lively. To celebrate, the brand just released a special 150th Anniversary Diamond Reserve Red Sauce and it’s packaged inside what looks to be a tiny champagne bottle. Only the finest peppers were used in the creation of this limited condiment, meaning color, texture, and taste are all kicked up a notch. That’s good news for your heat-craving taste buds. After aging for fifteen years, the peppers were mixed with sparkling white wine vinegar for a nuanced tasted that brings complexity to any dish. You can purchase a bottle now and celebrate a hot sauce milestone. 

[MIKA27]

AL CAPONE'S MIAMI MANSION

You don't have to be a notorious crime boss to own Al Capone's Miami Mansion, but you do have to get paid like one. Formally known as 93 Palm, this 36,000 square foot estate was occupied by the gangster from 1928 until his death nearly 20 years later. The property sits on the waterfront of the exclusive Palm Island neighborhood and was restored to its former prohibition glory a few years ago. The compound consists of seven bedrooms and five baths spread throughout the main villa, a guest house, and pool cabana all overlooking a 60,000-gallon swimming pool and views of Biscayne Bay. For an added sense of security, the entire compound is protected by a 7-foot wall. $15 MIL

[scap99]

5 hours ago, MIKA27 said:

Tabasco Diamond Reserve Hot Sauce

Fans of heat, it’s time to celebrate. Tabasco is turning 150 years old. Don’t worry, it’s still just as lively. To celebrate, the brand just released a special 150th Anniversary Diamond Reserve Red Sauce and it’s packaged inside what looks to be a tiny champagne bottle. Only the finest peppers were used in the creation of this limited condiment, meaning color, texture, and taste are all kicked up a notch. That’s good news for your heat-craving taste buds. After aging for fifteen years, the peppers were mixed with sparkling white wine vinegar for a nuanced tasted that brings complexity to any dish. You can purchase a bottle now and celebrate a hot sauce milestone. 

 

Saw this on the local news the other day.  My OCD was melting down...

[MIKA27]

43-Year-Old Spider, Believed To Be The World's Oldest, Dies In Western Australia

If you have a phobia of spiders, you probably take some (very small) comfort in the fact most don't live beyond the three-year mark. Unless, of course, it's a trapdoor called "Number 16", living in WA's North Bungulla Reserve, in which case the darn thing made it to 43. Yes, forty-three.

The spider, of the Giaus Villosus variety, was part of a "long-term population study", according to a press release from Curtin University.

Started all the way back in 1974 by Australia's own "Lady of Spiders", Barbara York Main, the resulting research can be found in a new paper, published in the journal Pacific Conservation Biology.

What might one learn from studying a spider well into its twilight years? The paper's lead author, Leanda Mason, explains:

Quote

"To our knowledge this is the oldest spider ever recorded, and her significant life has allowed us to further investigate the trapdoor spider’s behaviour and population dynamics ... Through Barbara’s detailed research, we were able to determine that the extensive life span of the trapdoor spider is due to their life-history traits, including how they live in uncleared, native bushland, their sedentary nature and low metabolisms."

I know a lot of you won't be shedding many tears for Australia's most elderly (and now deceased) arachnid, but we can all agree nature is a constant source of amazement — even if it's waving one of its eight legs at you, screaming for you to get off its lawn.

[MIKA27]

HAN SOLO’S RETURN OF THE JEDI BLASTER

It’s an age old question, of the same gravity as those perennial koans: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Who shot first, Han Solo, or Greedo? The controversy in the cantina has divided Star Wars fans for decades. Now, you can own the blaster that ignited the debate over the space-pilot’s scruples – Han Solo’s hero blaster from Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Known as the DL-44 in the Star Wars universe, this particular blaster was actually wielded on set by Harrison Ford, and in scenes that are cemented in film history (like Han Solo in carbonite). A “hero” prop doesn’t just describe an item used by a heroic character. The term designates a prop endowed with intricate and essential details, so that it can be shown up close on camera without exposing the illusion. Almost as iconic as the lightsabers brandished by the Jedi, Han’s blaster is omnipresent throughout the films, taking down stormtroopers like bowling pins, and even being momentarily threatening the asthmatic Sith Lord himself. The hero blaster will be auctioned off in Las Vegas on June 23 and has a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $500,000. Happy bidding – may the force be with you.

 

[MIKA27]

Charcoal Companion Stovetop Smoker

The forecast doesn’t call for warm temps and sunshine every day, which means smoking some ribs or a nice brisket isn’t always in the cards. For foul weather cooking there’s the Charcoal Companion, a stovetop device that allows you to smoke food indoors right on your stovetop. Compatible with most stovetops, the Charcoal Companion reaches 400°F so you’re smoking and cooking at the same time, infusing whatever’s under the hood with that delicious, distinctive taste. All you do is flip on a burner, fill the base with InstaSmoke, and place the food you want to smoke under the domed lid. Beautiful forecast not required. $98