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

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Bandai Namco Releases Two New Videos for Ace Combat 7Bandai Namco has been pretty quiet about Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown leading up to its release, but that slightly changed over the weekend. The company quietly released two new videos of a couple planes for you to check out in the game. The first being the Su-57, which they describe as “developed based on the PAK FA Program, this cutting-edge stealth fighter features thrust vectoring nozzles, giving it super maneuverability.” The second is the Arsenal Bird, which all they have to say about it is that it protects the homeland. Ace Combat 7 will be released this week on January 18th on PS4 and Xbox One, and February 1st for PC. Enjoy the videos!

 

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TESLASUIT HAPTIC VR SMART APPAREL

In case you haven’t read it (or seen the movie version), Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One envisions a world where virtual reality is the norm and some people spend their whole lives living in a gaming world thanks to a combination of a VR rig and haptic feedback suits that let you feel the games. And now, we’re one step closer to that becoming a reality thanks to the Teslasuit.

Unveiled at CES, the Teslasuit is being called “the world’s first fully integrated smart clothing apparel,” offering a wide array of developer and gaming-focused technologies built right in. That includes haptic feedback — vibrating sensor pads that can detect when a player is hit in-game, effectively letting players feel the experience — motion capture sensors (for realistic character development), biometric feedback (to track users’ physical response), and even climate control (to keep users cool during extended sessions). Once it’s out of the development stages, the Teslasuit could change the world of video games as we know it — making for perhaps the most technologically advanced total-immersion experiences ever imagined.

MIKA: If this happens in 2019, its not long until we get this

 

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APPLETON ESTATE 30-YEAR-OLD RUM

Appleton Estate is the oldest continuously-run distillery in Jamaica, creating some of the world's best rum for over 265 years. This 30-year-old rum might be their most impressive release to date, last seen in 2008 before selling out immediately. The youngest drop in this offering has been aged for at least three decades, but also includes rums aged for more than 50 years, providing a totally unique sipping experience. Only 4,000 bottles are available across the world, with just 900 of those hitting United States shores.

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You Can Finally Buy A Robot That Will Be Your Friend

Do you find yourself feeling lonely or craving companionship? Have you considered purchasing a machine that could fill that void? No, not that kind of robot. I’m talking about moving, talking, thinking robots that can do things like fetch a cup of coffee and dance with you. This has been a futuristic concept for decades, and that future is finally here. It’s also for sale.

There are a number of so-called companion robots now on the market, and several of them were on display at CES in Las Vegas. Some of these devices are small tabletop gadgets that essentially function like pumped-up Amazon Echos with more moving parts. Others, however, are standing, walking, humanoid robots straight out of an Isaac Asimov story. Companies have different things to say about the varying approaches. Some say that they don’t think people want a robot that looks like a robot. Others want users to interact with machines as if they were people, even though it might seem creepy at first.

The most impressive humanoid robot on display was Walker by the Chinese robotics giant UBTECH. You might know UBTECH its Lego-like Jimu robotics kits that have been on shelves at Apple Stores for the past couple of years. The company also makes a tiny, Alexa-powered humanoid robot called Lynx as well as an adorable little Stormtrooper model. But Walker is the big daddy. Standing nearly five feet tall and weighing in at 170, this real-life android is the size of a human being, and it acts like one, too.

I got to meet Walker at CES, where the hulking robot was performing a reasonably simple demo to show off what it could do around the house. It’s basically a robotic butler with hands that are nimble enough to open doors or pick up objects. It’s also voice-controlled, while its face is a giant touchscreen that responds to commands with cute expressions. So you can say, “Walker, get me a Diet Coke,” and Walker will walk over to the fridge, grab a Diet Coke, and then serve it to you. It works, although Walker did move around pretty slowly. The robot is also practically silent in its movements—not a trace of that cartoonish Mr. Roboto sound.

UBTECH is finalising Walker’s design and says it will go on sale worldwide in 2019. The company hasn’t announced pricing, but I was it would be expensive—perhaps as much as a lower-end new car. When you consider that this machine can do anything from home control to video surveillance to security patrol to friendship, the price tag doesn’t seem too crazy. Imagining a final version that could turn Walker into a caretaker for the elderly or disabled makes the proposition even more appealing. Walker even dances.

As I said, though, some companies are betting their business models on the idea that people don’t want to buy robots that look like people. That’s the basic concept behind Temi, a sort of roving tablet that was initially designed to help the elderly. The production model performs more like a telepresence robot that can also play YouTube videos. Temi will also have Alexa Built-In which means that it really can function like an Echo on wheels.

What’s most impressive about Temi is how it moves around. There are 16 sensors mounted on all sides of the device so that the robot can spot and avoid obstacles as well as recognise people and faces. That means Temi can learn who you are and then follow you around your house, thanks in part to a lidar module mounted on its base. And thanks to a platform behind the touchscreen, you can have Temi deliver small objects like a smartphone or a refreshing beverage to someone else in your home. Temi does not, however, do stairs.

All of these features add up to a curious companion. Temi can’t be your friend the way that Walker can because it’s essentially designed to operate more like a giant smartphone than a person. For that reason, I’m not sure how useful it will be for the average human, unless you’re someone that likes to walk and do video chats at the same time. I can, however, see Temi being great for older people who want to keep in touch with loved ones and might need help carrying small objects around the house.

In stores this year and priced at $2,088, Temi is attainable, too. Heck, it’s practically the same price as the big new iPhone, and the big new iPhone can’t follow you around the house.

At this point, you might be spotting a common thread in these companion robots. They’re great for ageing adults. A company called Intuition Robotics is doubling down on this idea with a tabletop bot called Elli-Q, which also goes on sale this year. Elli-Q is designed to keep elderly people alert and engaged with the world through features like video chat, games, videos, and reminders. This device sets itself apart by being intuitive, as the company’s name suggests. Throughout the day, Elli-Q will prompt the user to do things like drink a glass of water or call a family member. It’s also supposed to sense when the user is annoyed and will stop engaging as much.

Elli-Q’s design is also unique. It looks like a lamp with an LED-powered face. This body moves around much like a head would, and it is cuter than it sounds. Next to the body, there’s a removable tablet that acts as a touchscreen as well as a way to do video chats on the go. These two components are attached to a base that includes a microphone array and speakers. All together, Elli-Q is small enough to fit on a side table but big enough to be a presence in the room.

As with the other robots, I tested out Elli-Q at CES and felt impressed that technology like this is finally real and on the market. I’m not the target audience for Elli-Q, though, so it’s hard for me to say if I’d really like a robot companion like it. But I could certainly see how it might be an interesting gadget for my great aunt, who is 104. She doesn’t own a cell phone and struggles with the buttons on her house phone, so a device she could set on the table and talk to might be useful. The fact that Elli-Q moves, responds, and even initiates conversations or activities seem like it could be even more transformative for folks like her.

I guess that’s what intrigues me most about this new category of robots. As they become more advanced and available, personal companion robots stand a chance to transform the way we live our lives. As I talked the folks making them, many companies compared their companion robots to Rosey, the robot made known for being sassy and doing all the chores in the Jetsons household. Rosey was the subject of the very first episode of The Jetsons, which makes you think. Maybe companion robots are the first step to an ultra-futuristic future. I, for one, would like an android friend.

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See The First Panorama Of The Far Side Of The Moon, Captured By China's Chang'e 4 Lander

The Moon’s far side near its southern pole is a dead, dim place littered with pits and rocks, as the first panoramic image taken by China’s Change’ 4 lander confirms.

Eight days after its historic landing on the far side of the Moon, China’s Chang’e 4 lander captured its first panoramic image. The panorama, a mosaic consisting of 80 individual images, offers a 360-degree view of the lander’s immediate surroundings, showing the jagged horizon line, some small rocks, its partner — the Jade Rabbit 2 lunar rover — and a plethora of small craters.

The entire 360-degree panorama, stitched together from 80 individual images.

Indeed, the surprising number of craters around the landing site will pose “a great challenge” for the lunar rover during future explorations, noted the Xinhua news agency.

Ironically enough, Chang’e 4 landed inside a crater — the Von Karman Carter within the South Pole-Aitken basin, one of the largest documented impact craters in the Solar System. The lander and rover are currently 6000m below the Moon’s sea level, so to speak. Or if you like technical terms, below the common equipotential surface.

A section of the new 360-degree panorama, revealing a bunch of craters.

“The information from the depths of the Moon will be one of our focuses in the exploration,” Li Chunlai, deputy director of the National Astronomical Observatories of China, told Xinhua, adding that, “From the panorama, we can see the probe is surrounded by lots of small craters, which was really thrilling.”

A section of the new 360-degree panorama, showing instruments on Chang’e 4 and a sizable pit on the lunar surface. 

One of the craters close to the lander measures around 19.81m wide (20 meters) and 3.96m deep (4 meters). Mission planners at the China National Space Administration (CNSA) will have to be wary this and other pits as they control the movements of Jade Rabbit 2, also known as Yutu 2.

A section of the new 360-degree panorama, and yet another big crater nearby. 

Images from the surface are being transmitted to a Chinese lunar relay satellite, called Queqiao (meaning Magpie Bridge), which in turn bounced the data back to Earth.

In addition to confirming the reliability of this relay link, CNSA mission controllers have managed to boot up Chang’e 4's instruments and performed “two-way mutual shooting”, in which the lander and probe took photos of each other.

The Chang’e 4 lander, as photographed by the Jade Rabbit 2 lunar rover.

“The image clearly shows the landform of the [moonscape] around the lander and the rover, and the five-star red flag on the two devices is particularly eye-catching,” noted the CNSA in a release.

The Jade Rabbit 2 lunar rover, as photographed by the Chang’e 4 lander. 

Most importantly, Chang’e 4 and Jade Rabbit 2 survived a lunar night, during which the devices were placed in hibernation mode. Back in 2016, the forbearer of Jade Rabbit 2 could not handle the frigid temperatures, expiring shortly after landing. 

The CNSA release described this preliminary stage of the mission as a “complete success” ,saying the mission can now proceed to the scientific exploration stage.

In addition to the new panorama, the CNSA released a video of the Chang’e 4 landing — a video consisting of over 4700 images captured by the lander’s camera, Xinhua reported. Analysis of the video shows that the the lunar dust is quite thick at the landing site, suggesting the “lunar regolith in the region has undergone longer space weathering, which also gives strong evidence of the region being older,” Li told Xinhua.

Together, the lander and rover will collect scientific data about the lunar environment, cosmic radiation, and the effects of solar wind on the Moon’s surface. Scientists are hoping to learn more about the early conditions of the Solar System, and assess the conditions for a future crewed lunar mission.

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Zack Snyder's Next Movie Will Be An 'Epic And Crazy' Zombie Heist For Netflix

What happens when a group of mercenaries attempts to invade a zombie quarantine zone and rob a casino? We don’t know, but Zack Snyder is about to show us.

The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Zack Snyder will follow up Justice League by directing Army of the Dead, which will be financed and distributed through Netflix. Joby Harold, who wrote Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur movie, wrote the script, which had first been set up at Warner Bros. over a decade ago.

As described above, the film is set in Las Vegas during a zombie outbreak, where a group of people sneak into a quarantine zone to rob a casino. “There are no handcuffs on me at all with this one,” Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter. “I thought this was a good palate cleanser to really dig in with both hands and make something fun and epic and crazy and bonkers in the best possible way.”

When last we left Snyder, he had exited the director’s chair on Justice League due to the tragic suicide of his daughter. Joss Whedon then came in to complete the film, which ended up not living up to Warner Bros.’ high standards. Since then, the DC Universe has been in a bit of flux storywise, though its most recent film, Aquaman, has become its highest grossing superhero movie of all time.

For Snyder though, it sounds like he’s ready to move on and get back to his roots, which is huge action, like in 300, and zombies, like in the remake of Dawn of the Dead. “[Army of the Dead] will be the most kick-arse, self-aware—but not in a wink-to-the-camera way—balls-to-the-wall zombie freakshow that anyone has ever seen. No one’s ever let me completely loose [like this],” he said.

Sounds like this time, the Snyder Cut will be the one that hits Netflix.

Snyder and his team will shoot the film this summer with a budget that could be upwards of $US90 ($126) million, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Head there for more details.

This story is breaking...

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Ancient Plants Reveal Arctic Summers Haven't Been This Hot In 115,000 Years

The latest sign of just how screwed the Arctic is: moss that hasn’t seen the light of day in at least 40,000 years is tumbling out of ice caps on Canada’s Baffin Island thanks to increasingly balmy summers. Based on that and other lines of evidence, research published in Nature Communications on Friday suggests that Canadian Arctic summers haven’t been this warm in 115,000 years or more.

Even in the wild world of statistics about how climate change is transforming the Arctic, this one stands out.

“This study indicates that wow, we’re exposing landscapes that are 120,000 years old,” lead study author Simon Pendleton of the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research told Gizmodo. “Our last century of warmth is likely is greater than any century in the last 120,000 years.”

Preserved ancient moss collected from the margin of a retreating ice cap on Baffin Island.

To reach that conclusion, Pendleton and his colleagues relied on Baffin Island’s ice and the bizarre quirks of geography that have allowed it to reveal its secrets. The island is home to deep fjords and high plateaus, the latter of which are covered in ice caps. Ice caps are huge hunks of ice much like glaciers, but there’s one key difference. Where glaciers flow and grind down on the earth beneath them, ice caps are static. That means whatever’s on the ground when they form gets preserved rather than getting ground to dust.

For ages, ice has occupied the plateaus and walls of Baffin Island. In some summers, there would be melt, but in general low temperatures and snow has kept things pretty much at equilibrium. Now, climate change has upset that equilibrium, causing the Arctic to heat up at twice the rate as the rest of the world. That’s led to more summer melt, which has exposed moss and lichen at the margins of the ice caps.

Pendleton and others collected samples from around 30 ice caps and conducted radiocarbon dating to determine their age. The findings show the mosses are at least 40,000 years old (and on a wild side note, some of the mosses have been taken back to labs and brought back to life as Arctic zombie plants).

But here’s the thing: 40,000 years is close to the edge of history you can probe with from radiocarbon dating. It also happens to be smack in the middle of a glacial period. That led Pendleton and his colleagues to scour other records, including nearby ice measurements from Greenland. By cross-referencing with the plants, they show that the area has been covered by ice a lot longer than 40,000 years and that summers of our new climate are likely more blistering than anything in roughly 115,000-120,000 years.

As ice caps recede even further, they could expose even more ancient landscapes. By refining their measurements, scientists can then predict how the Arctic will look as climate change continues to reshape it. Pendleton said even without the radiocarbon dating, it’s clear how rapidly Baffin Island is shifting into a new state. Each year, changes become more visible to the naked eye.

“To be able to see it and walk on the ice cap and understand we’re in a time that’s exposing landscapes that haven’t seen sunlight in possibly 120,000 years, that has a profound effect,” he said.

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See Inside The Newly Renovated King Tut's Tomb

Years of steadily accumulating dust and grime had taken a toll on King Tut’s tomb, but a recently completed restoration project has revitalized the historic chamber, while making much-needed infrastructure improvements to prevent ongoing decay.

It’s been nearly a century since British archaeologist Howard Carter first peered into the Tomb of Tutankhamun. Since then, the site has attracted millions of visitors, which, while great for the Egyptian economy, has not been so great for the chamber itself. Its majestic wall paintings became dim, drab, scuffed, and scratched from all the moisture and kicked-up dust from the ceaseless train of shuffling tourists.

A restored section of the South Wall in King Tut’s tomb. The damage at left was caused by Howard Carter during the tomb’s clearance.

Determined to not let this World Heritage site go to waste, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), in cooperation with Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, embarked on a 10-year project to restore the tomb and introduce much-needed infrastructure improvements. The project, which began in 2009, was completed in the fall of 2018, as reported in a GCI press release.

The 3,350-year-old tomb is located in the Valley of Kings near the Egyptian city of Luxor. Rock-cut steps lead down some 12.19m to four chambers, of which only Tut’s burial chamber is adorned with painted walls. Most of the chamber’s relics were removed after its discovery in 1922, but some artifacts remain, including the quartzite sarcophagus and its granite lid, the gilded wooden coffin exterior, and the man himself, whose mummy is on display in an oxygen-free case.

East wall of the tomb’s burial chamber before restoration.

East wall of the tomb’s burial chamber after restoration.

Intense interest in the tomb has caused problems, however. Dust delivered to the tomb by tourists cast a grey veil over the walls. Concerns emerged that increased levels of carbon dioxide and humidity were stimulating microbial growth, including some worrisome brown splotches on the paintings. Some areas of the chamber exhibited scratch and scuff marks caused by tourists and film crews. The microclimate inside the chamber was also unpleasant for the visiting tourists. The tomb was cramped and crowded, poorly lit, and devoid of helpful signage.

The recently completed restoration project addressed all these issues, while also offering a multi-year plan for the ongoing conservation and management of the site. An added benefit of the project was that it resulted in the most “thorough study of the tomb’s condition since Carter’s time,” according to the GCI. The interdisciplinary restoration team was tasked with learning more about the materials used to paint the walls, the microclimate within the chamber, and the apparent microbial growth on the walls. At the same time, the team had to devise strategies for repairing and restoring the artwork and propose infrastructure upgrades to maintain the interior and improve visitor experience.

New visitor platform in King Tut’s tomb.

“As in all of our collaborative projects, the GCI has taken the long view, with the intent to provide sustainable conservation and site management outcomes,” Neville Agnew, senior principal project specialist at GCI, said in a statement. “This involves systematic planning, documentation, scientific investigation, personnel training and a sensitive approach to treatment.”

Wall paintings conservation work being conducted in the burial chamber of the tomb in spring 2016.

Careful analysis of the wall paintings showed they were in relatively decent condition, but with some flaking and paint loss. This was on account of the damage inflicted by tourists, but also the result of the materials used by the ancient Egyptians, according to GCI. Conservationists carefully removed dust from the paintings, while also removing protective layers applied during previous treatments.

As for the brown patches, they turned out to be a false alarm. An analysis of photos taken of the chamber after its discovery showed the brown splotches were already there. What’s more, a DNA and chemical analysis confirmed the patches as belonging to an expired fungus that no longer threatens the walls. Unfortunately, the fungus penetrated into the paint itself, and it’s not possible to remove these blemishes without damaging the paintings even further.

Wall painting in Tut’s tomb after restoration. 

Mercifully, barriers now restrict access to the wall paintings. The team also added new walkways, a viewing platform, new signs and lights, and an air filtration system to control humidity, carbon dioxide, and dust.

A cool aspect of this project is that, during the 10 years it took to complete, the tomb remained open to visitors. During that time, the tomb was also made available to scientists, including a team from the Polytechnic University of Turin who in 2018 concluded that no secret chamber exists behind Tut’s tomb.

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Man In Florida Discovers 'WWII Hand Grenade,' Drives It To Local Taco Bell

A good thing to do if you ever happen to find a grenade is to immediately call the authorities, as one man has evidently just learned.

A Taco Bell in Ocala, Florida was evacuated on Saturday after a fisherman reportedly stumbled upon a hand grenade while magnet fishing and then drove it to a local Taco Bell, the Ocala Police Department said Saturday. The man was not identified by police, but he had reportedly been magnet fishing in neighbouring Ocklawaha when he discovered the grenade. Police said that after having arrived at the fast food restaurant, he dialed 911.

It’s not clear why he chose to transport it to the Taco Bell before alerting the authorities, but no one was hurt in the incident. The department said that a bomb squad with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office was present “to ensure everyone’s safety.”

“The bomb squad removed the grenade without incident and advised it would be disposed of properly,” the Ocala Police Department said in a statement.

The man reportedly alerted the authorities at around 5 p.m. local time, according to police, at which time the Taco Bell was evacuated. The Ocala Police Department tweeted around 6:45 p.m. that the restaurant had reopened for service.

Interestingly, the cops identified the grenade as “an authentic WWII hand grenade,” though it’s not clear what kind. An image appears to show it could be a U.S. Mk 2 grenade. We reached out to the department for more information and will update this post if we hear back.

Magnet fishing turning up relic weaponry is actually not as uncommon as you might think. The BBC reported last year that bomb squads in the U.K. are “regularly” called to magnet fishing sites where people have turned up even live ammunition. One teen who spoke with the BBC about the hobby told the outlet he’d hauled in guns and even a live grenade while magnet fishing. As the BBC noted and as you have probably surmised, it is for this exact reason that the hobby can be dangerous.

Anyway, if you happen to pull a potentially explosive weapon on your next fishing excursion, definitely just call the police.

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It Took Two Years To Make This Complex Puzzle Box From Scratch, And It'd Take You Even Longer To Solve It

While you’re struggling to toast bread without burning it, metalsmith Seth Gould harnesses heat and fire to turn raw steel into masterful creations like this lock box featuring a complex series of steps that have to be perfectly executed in order to open it.

It took Gould, who was in residency at North Carolina’s Penland School of Craft at the time, almost two years to design, forge, and build “Coffer” from scratch, using iron, steel, brass, and lots and lots of heat. Filmmaker Jesse Beecher documented the process, and watching Gould make everything from bolts to springs from scratch is just as satisfying as watching him painstakingly walk through all the steps involved in actually opening the box.

Gould drew inspiration by studying the creations of lock makers who honed their designs between the 17th and 19th centuries, long before machines automated the process and removed a lot of the art and creativity from the craft. But he didn’t just copy classic designs; he instead used what he learned as a starting point to make the mechanisms inside his Coffer box truly unique, which added to its complexity. An original puzzle is infinitely harder to solve than one based on tricks and techniques often seen before.

Just don’t expect Gould to sell his puzzle box, or expect one to be even remotely affordable if you somehow convince him to make one for you. Two years is a lot of time (and sweat) to put into a creation like this, so maybe just enjoy the video a few more times while you fiddle with a Rubik’s Cube.

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You Can Now Own Drew Struzan's Blade Runner Poster That Was Nearly 40 Years In The Making

Drew Struzan is the name of names when it comes to movie posters and has been for decades. So, in the early ’80s, when he was asked to come up with concepts for a little Ridley Scott movie called Blade Runner, it certainly made sense.

In the end, though, Struzan’s work wasn’t chosen for the film’s release. The studio instead went with John Alvin’s poster (which, to be fair, is pretty amazing too). Twenty years passed, and then Struzan was again approached by Scott, asking if that original work could be used for a re-release.

Struzan agreed, but wanted to update it. The result ended up on the cover of the 2007 release of The Final Cut.

Now, over a decade after that and almost four decades since it was first conceived, you can finally own a limited edition print of Struzan’s work for Blade Runner.

The Bottleneck Gallery has teamed with Struzan, Justin Ishmael, and the Roxy Theatre to release the poster in a timed edition from now through Sunday, January 20 at 11:59 p.m. EST. It’s a 24 x 91cm, 15-colour screenprint, so it’s not cheap ($188 unsigned, $257 if you want Struzan to sign it) — but if you love Blade Runner or Struzan, how can you not spring for this one?

The poster is available at this link. It was also available in a version without the title, but it has already sold out.

For some more details, Struzan tells the story of the poster in his own words on his website.

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I began working on this piece of art way back in 1982 when I was commissioned by the Studio to explore concepts for the poster. I did one colour comprehensive originally and from that made a few alterations as requested by the Studio. In the end, they did not use my design so I never painted the finished illustration.

In 2001, when Ridley Scott was thinking of releasing a new director’s version of the film, I was asked if my original sketch from ‘82 could be used on the cover. It turned out that this was Ridley’s favourite artwork for his film. I went through the usual artist angst, rather than use a comprehensive for the cover, better to use finished art and if I’m going to paint the finish should it be the 20-year-old design or should it be updated. I decided on the latter.

The DVD was produced at long last and this is now the cover (2007).

 

A DVD cover you can own now in the best possible version, that is. Here’s that link again.

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John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum's First Trailer

 

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How Scientists Used A 1906 Photo To Find The Center Of San Francisco's Most Infamous Earthquake

Researchers used a grainy photograph of a toppled train combined with an eyewitness account to analyse the deadly earthquake that struck San Francisco over 110 years ago.

In 1906, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck San Francisco, destroying much of the city and killing as many as 3,000 people, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. But it also gave birth to modern American earthquake science. Now, researchers are trying to understand the quake using cutting-edge techniques—and some old documents.

“It’s important to understand how these larger quakes occurred so we can build safer buildings,” explained Swetha Veeraraghavan, postdoctoral research associate in structural computational science at Idaho National Laboratory. “I think these types of eyewitness accounts really help with this. That’s why I found the problem really cool.”

Scientists have tried analysing old images and eyewitness data before in order to better understand the 1906 quake. Newer earthquake simulations based on more data and better computational power inspired the researchers to take another look at this famous image of a steam locomotive sitting on its side, taken shortly after the quake. They also examined a conductor’s description of the incident. The 1907 account reads:

Quote

At Point Reyes Station at the head of Tomales Bay the 5:15 train for San Francisco was just ready. The conductor had just swung himself on when the train gave a great lurch to the east, followed by another to the west, which threw the whole train on its side. The astonished conductor dropped off as it went over, and at the sight of the falling chimneys and breaking windows of the station, he understood that it was the Temblor. The fireman turned to jump from the engine to the west when the return shock came. He then leaped to the east and borrowing a Kodak he took a picture of the train here presented.

This might sound like meager information with which to reconstruct an earthquake, but it provides more data than you might think. The quake must have been powerful enough to cause the rocking and the tipping of the train. The team simplified the train’s measurements into a long rectangular prism, and simplified the quake to an up-and-down wave motion of the ground. They then used equations devised to describe a rocking rectangular block in response to ground motion to calculate how big the wave must have been in order to tip the train.

Their analysis revealed that the minimum acceleration of the ground required to overturn the train would have been 4 meters per second squared (a little less than half the acceleration of something falling to the Earth in a vacuum), while the minimum velocity would have been 0.5 meters per second, or around 0.49m per second.

On top of their analysis of the train tipping, the researchers were able to estimate the location of the earthquake’s hypocenter — the area where it actually occurred in the Earth below the epicentre on the surface — based on the train’s location and behaviour. While previous models have suggested three locations for a hypocenter, this result reveals that only a hypocenter to the south of Point Reyes, California, would recreate the eastward, then westward tipping of the train, according to the paper published in Seismological Research Letters. This leaves a hypocenter offshore from San Francisco or near the California city of San Juan Bautista, confirming previous estimates.

The paper comes with uncertainties — for example, the researchers didn’t know how much the train weighed, and are using a simplified model to understand what went on.

Still, it confirms a body of research recreating this important quake. And it shows more generally that even in the absence of data, context clues, eyewitness accounts, and photographs can prove important for understanding earthquakes. Veeraraghavan said: “People have even used tombstones or statues that toppled over to estimate the ground motion.”

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Angostura Bitters

The word "cocktail" is tossed around pretty loosely these days, used to describe just about any liquid sum that is greater than its parts. That wasn't always the case. When the term was first coined by a newspaper editor back in 1806, it referred specifically to a beverage comprised of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. Today, we call it an Old Fashioned, and anyone who's ever made one, well, the old-fashioned way, knows it can't be done without Angostura bitters.

But what are Angostura bitters, and how did they earn their place in some of the most classic cocktails on the planet? What's with that label? In the interest of helping you go to the bar smarter, here are five facts worth learning about the best-known bottle of bitters.

Angostura was developed as a cure for upset stomachs.

As is typical in the spirits world, Angostura's place in society pre-dates its spot at the bar. All the way back in 1824, Dr. Johann Siegert—surgeon general for Venezuelan military leader Simón Bolívar—developed the stuff as a medicinal tonic for Bolívar's army. Created from a blend of herbs and spices, it was intended to cure upset stomachs. Originally called Dr. Siegert's Aromatic Bitters, it would later be renamed for the Venezuelan city of Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar) where it was concocted. Operations eventually moved to Trinidad, where it is still produced today.

That label was a mistake.

Besides its bright yellow cap, what really distinguishes a bottle of Angostura bitters is the label: It's too big. As legend goes, once Siegert's sons took over the business from their dad, they set out to market the bitters however they could, which included entering them in a competition. In a scramble to get their product ready for judging, one brother was assigned the task of retrieving bottles, while another went to print labels. Due to a miscommunication or mistake, they ended up with labels too big for their bottles, or bottles too small for their labels. By the time they realized the error, it was too late to correct. Though Angostura lost the competition, a friendly judge suggested the brothers make that label their signature. The advice stuck.

The recipe is a closely guarded secret.

Allegedly, only five people in the entire world know the exact combination of herbs and spices that go into a bottle of Angostura. As the only people with the recipe, they've even made a pact to never fly together or so much as eat together at the same restaurant, should, god forbid, the worst happen, according to VinePair. Guessing how much of this is fact, fiction, or just good marketing is all part of the fun, but it's clear the secret formula is kept close to the chest.

Some people use it as a cooking ingredient.

As anyone who has ever cracked an old cookbook knows, the sixties and seventies were a weird time for food. (Check out this Twitter account for examples.) In 1961, the brand capitalized on some of that weirdness, releasing The Secret of Good Taste: The Angostura Cookbook. From turkey to pies to bean soup, the book suggests a number of ways to incorporate bitters into everyday cooking. Why not?

Wisconsinites drink it by the glass.

There's a bar in the Badger State called Nelsen’s Hall and Bitters Club that serves full shots of Angostura to patrons, a practice that's been kept alive since 1920. It began as a means of skirting the rules of Prohibition—it's simply a medicine for upset stomachs, after all—but as Punch reports, the tradition has lived on, giving Wisconsin the unique distinction of selling more Angostura per capita than any other state.

[guideright]

On 1/29/2019 at 9:15 PM, MIKA27 said:

It Took Two Years To Make This Complex Puzzle Box From Scratch, And It'd Take You Even Longer To Solve It

While you’re struggling to toast bread without burning it, metalsmith Seth Gould harnesses heat and fire to turn raw steel into masterful creations like this lock box featuring a complex series of steps that have to be perfectly executed in order to open it.

It took Gould, who was in residency at North Carolina’s Penland School of Craft at the time, almost two years to design, forge, and build “Coffer” from scratch, using iron, steel, brass, and lots and lots of heat. Filmmaker Jesse Beecher documented the process, and watching Gould make everything from bolts to springs from scratch is just as satisfying as watching him painstakingly walk through all the steps involved in actually opening the box.

Gould drew inspiration by studying the creations of lock makers who honed their designs between the 17th and 19th centuries, long before machines automated the process and removed a lot of the art and creativity from the craft. But he didn’t just copy classic designs; he instead used what he learned as a starting point to make the mechanisms inside his Coffer box truly unique, which added to its complexity. An original puzzle is infinitely harder to solve than one based on tricks and techniques often seen before.

Just don’t expect Gould to sell his puzzle box, or expect one to be even remotely affordable if you somehow convince him to make one for you. Two years is a lot of time (and sweat) to put into a creation like this, so maybe just enjoy the video a few more times while you fiddle with a Rubik’s Cube.

That’s a piece of art and a very cool piece of metalwork. I’m no metalworker but this is amazing. He could make quite the business out of this!

[MIKA27]

Leigh Whannell Will Tackle The Escape From New York Remake

Just when you thought you’d escaped the Escape From New York remake, once again it rears its giant, decapitated Statue of Liberty head.

Fox won the rights to remake the classic 1981 John Carpenter film in 2015 and been looking for the right people to do the job ever since. Alita: Battle Angel director Robert Rodriguez was circling it at one point, but a new person has been dropped inside its walls: Australian Leigh Whannell.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Whannell has been hired to reimagine and write the sequel, with the potential to direct.

Just this week Whannell signed on to remake The Invisible Man for Universal and Blumhouse, so those two projects could be competing for his services. We’ll have to see how it plays out.

Whannell is best known for co-creating the Saw and Insidious franchises with pal James Wan. He made his directorial debut with that franchise’s third instalment, Insidious Chapter 3, and followed it up with last year’s other Venom movie, Upgrade.

Whannell himself confirmed the news on Twitter.

So we know he’s in, though we have no idea when pre-production might happen, or what the next step will be.

The one other piece of information in that report, though, is that “Whannell is kickstarting Escape with a new vision for the project that sources say will retain elements of the original but bring new ideas to the table”.

In his mind, that will help him avoid the failures of similar sci-fi remakes such as Total Recall and RoboCop — remakes you may have erased from your mind, but totally happened.

The question is, will the new Escape From New York join that list? We hope not.

 

[MIKA27]

Wait, Is Idris Elba A Goddamn Supervillain In The Fast And Furious Spinoff?

You know, after the car witchcraft in Fate of the Furious, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. But it seems as though the Fast and Furious franchise’s evolution to blockbuster superheroics has finally happened.

The first trailer for the FF spinoff Hobbs and Shaw dropped today, revealing just what brings together Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs, former Diplomatic Security Service agent turned... car-based vigilante superhero I guess, at this point, and Jason Statham’s former villain turned occasional ally Deckard Shaw.

The answer is Idris Elba.

Who, by the way, is an evil Captain America.

Really? Like, yes, really.

The trailer shows Elba’s mysterious Brixton, dressed up like a cross between his Pacific Rim character and The Winter Soldier, getting operated on by advanced technology while he declares himself not just “human evolution”, but literally also a bulletproof superhuman.

And I don’t think it’s just bluster either, given we see him flinging people about the place and taking hits in his stride that suggest he is indeed some kind of enhanced supersoldier. Who must be stopped by people who drive fancy cars in explosive car-based-heists most of the time.

How long until the Avengers: Endgame of Fast and Furious, where everyone has superpowers now and the cars are also Transformers? And maybe it’s in space?

Marvel and DC have a new superpowered rival in town when Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw hits cinemas August 1.

[MIKA27]

PAGANI HUAYRA CARBO-TRIAX ROADSTER

Pagani has long been at the forefront of innovative supercar breakthroughs — after all, their original Huayra combined some of the best performance and construction implementations in the industry. Keeping on trend with their most recent releases, they’ve once again sent a pulse through the automotive landscape with their newest project, a special-order Carbo-Triax Huayra Roadster that blows the top off of comparable carbon offerings.

Built as a custom order for a client through Pagani Newport Beach, the Acid Green Huayra (fashioned after one of the client’s favorite vehicles, the Porsche 918 Spyder) sports more than a few innovative materials — utilizing a breakthrough composite that has been in development through Pagani called Carbo-Triax HP52. The inclusion of this lightweight material has helped to shave almost 180 pounds off the Roadster’s original weight. A Mercedes Benz AMG V12 powerplant catapults the Huayra into action thanks to its 764-horsepower displacement, and with well over 738 ft-lb of torque, it’s unlikely that you’ll be yearning for more acceleration off the line. The interior of the car can’t be dismissed, either — clad in an intricate green and black trim that compliments the carbon fiber exterior of the car perfectly alongside forged alloy APP wheels, an AMT next-generation seven-speed transmission, and an electronic mechanical differential that contributes to the Huayra’s impeccable performance. While the exact price for the vehicle hasn’t been confirmed, it’s safe to say that the special-order Pagani tipped the scales at around $2,600,000.

 

[MIKA27]

SNOWMAN WORLD GLASS RESORT IN FINLAND

One of the most magical places to escape to is Lapland, Finland, and if you’re heading to the frosty vacation spot, we know the perfect place you can call home for the duration of your stay. Snowman World’s Glass Resort has a collection of luxury igloo-style living spaces inspired by huts of the indigenous Sámi people neighboring Santa Claus Village on the Arctic Circle.

Stay in one of the beautiful glass structures with Scandinavian styling surrounded by a true winter wonderland. Each living space has large windows and a glass ceiling so you can devour the gorgeous views or be sent off to dreamland by watching the Northern Lights. Along with a mini-kitchen, a loft upstairs with a ceiling window, and a living area, you’ll also be able to enjoy a private outdoor spa and a sauna. Savor an appetizing breakfast buffet in the morning and try the delicious three-course dinner at the Ice Restaurant within the resort. And if you need anything during your stay, the staff will be on deck to help you 24/7. Prices start at $600 a night to stay in one of the cozy huts.

[MIKA27]

GORDON & MACPHAIL 1948 SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY

We’ve heard it said that climate, not age, is what makes a noteworthy spirit. But we’ll be damned if we suddenly start believing age has nothing to do with it. Especially considering that the folks at Gordon & MacPhail have just unveiled their oldest Glen Grant Distillery offering ever, a 1948 single malt scotch from their Private Collection.

Just so we’re clear, this single malt is a whopping 70 years old, meaning there are some folks reading this who have grandparents younger than the whisky inside. It’s said to have a fruit-forward nose — boasting notes of vanilla fudge, strawberry, raspberry, and apricot — with a smoky finish mated to subtle flavors with undertones of orange zest and cardamom. And the smoothness is only bolstered by the fact that this spirit was finished in Sherry casks. Of course, if you want to find out what all the fuss is for yourself, you’ll need deep pockets, as this specialty release is selling for $22,545 a bottle.

[MIKA27]

Ressence Type 2

Modern mechanical watchmakers Ressence have presented their latest masterpiece, the first mechanical watch with a smart crown. Ressence Type 2 is the ultimate travel watch, you can use two time zones and switch between them by tapping the dial. It features the brand´s signature curved 45mm case that is 12mm thick and made of anthracite PVD titanium. The unique dial layout features nested orbital discs, and a set of shutters that open when the power is low to allow light to pass through to charge the photovoltaic cells that power the e-Crown. Another notable feature is the watch´s ability to store the time digitally so you´ll never have to adjust it again, even when the watch is not actively used (for over 3 months even). You can put on the watch, tap the crystal and the watch will correct itself to the current time.

[MIKA27]

Luminox Master Carbon Seal

Luminox, the watch brand worn by the Unites States Navy SEALs, amongst other elite forces worldwide, have recently introduced this good-looking limited edition timepiece. The Luminox Master Carbon Seal features a rugged case made of a compound using 40% Carbon in bar form making the case lighter (three times lighter than titanium), more durable, exceedingly hypoallergenic, more scratch resistant than most other materials, and more chemical and heat resistant. Other details include a grey textured dial that features Tritium hands/markers and luminous dots, a uni-directional bezel with grey 60 minute scale, a Swiss Quartz analog movement, and a Sapphire scratch resistant crystal. The limited edition watch comes on a grey NATO style nylon strap, and also includes a black Luminox rubber strap. $725.00

[MIKA27]

Yes, You Should Actually Buy This Fish & Game Cookbook

Steven Rinella’s new cookbook, ‘Meateater: Fish and Game Cookbook,’ is full of helpful information for the hunter and the non-hunter alike.

Every once in a while events coincide with charming resonance. A few weeks ago, as I listened to the firecracker popping of the last rifle shots in the woods around my Virginia farm as hunting season came to an end, I was also given four excellent hindquarters of venison by a friend. If that wasn’t enough of a sign to get me to start cooking, I also received Steven Rinella’s new cookbook Meateater: Fish and Game Cookbook. Never before have two things so intrinsically complimentary arrived at my house with such a suitable soundtrack.

Immediately, I cracked the book and eyed the recipe for smoked ham in Rinella’s section on big game. His take on the process is straightforward—a rest for four or five days in a wet brine of sugar and salt with some seasoning and curing salt, then into the smoker for a very low and slow roast over the course of a day. Perfect.

Of course, the issue of having big joints of deer in your chest freezer is a singular one. It strikes me that if you do hunt (or fish) you probably already know all about Rinella, and you don’t need me to say that he’s good at this stuff. If, for some reason, you haven’t been told that he’s got a new cookbook, here’s the announcement. Go get it. If you take your meat from the wild in any way, you will find helpful techniques on processing and cooking. If you come from a family of hunters, or have done a lot of it, you will find some things about cleaning and gutting and so forth that you might already know. But many readers, I’m sure, will look at his deft division of a leg of venison into four roasts with some surprise. Anyone new to hunting or fishing will find a wealth of solutions to the mysteries upon which they are embarking.

What strikes me about this book, however, is not how helpful it is for hunters. For while there can be no doubt about that—and certainly everything about the book from the subtitle to the pictures of guns and knives and stumps used as cutting boards announces that as its intent—it is to be expected. What is far more interesting is how useful this book is for people who don’t hunt, who don’t have game to process.

We have long ago reversed the proper trust system of food—we trust the supermarket Styrofoam tray more than the plate of game from the outdoors.

What we’ve forgotten along the way is that all meat was once on the hoof, in the water, on the wing—or at least closely resembled its natural cousins. Having forgotten that, we seem to have sacrificed many valuable skills and techniques involved in the transforming of an animal into food. (As well as picking up the nasty habit of only eating the popular parts of an animal and not making use of all the meat—no matter how tedious to prepare.)

What struck me in his pages, is that many of the animals featured may be purchased, and that all of his techniques on processing them were so solid that they would serve well anyone who has stood in front of a cutting board wondering how to section a Perdue chicken. Birds are all essentially shaped the same way, some are longer than others, and they, of course, vary in size. So, if you buy your birds, simply skip the steps about how to pluck the feathers and jump ahead to the knife work.

 

[MIKA27]

Is the Secret to Great Tequila Volcanic Stone?

Tequila distillers are increasingly using the historic tahona wheel to crush agave and influence the flavor of their spirits.

Three hefty men labor to pull toward earth a 10-foot steel axle, which runs upward from a collar, around a post and through a hole in a two-ton wheel made of dark stone.

They exert themselves as if they’re trying to topple a giant. All the while, the stone is pulled in slow circles by a late 1970s John Deere tractor in a pit of volcanic stone, which is filled to calf-height with a damp, tawny-colored pulp. The men’s goal is to coax the stone’s angle from the oblique to the perpendicular, such that it can move to the outer ring of the pit and mash all the cooked agave. The team is just beginning this batch; the whole process will take about two hours.

“This is one of the most inefficient distilleries,” says Carlos Camerana, master distiller here at La Alteña distillery near the Mexican town of Arandas. In fact, his grandfather founded the distillery in 1937. They produce El Tesoro, Tapatio, and Tequila Ocho, among other agave spirits. (El Tesoro is the only one of their brands produced exclusively using this traditional method and is now owned by spirits conglomerate Beam Suntory.) “We like to do things the slow way,” he told me, perhaps superfluously, when I recently visited the facility as a guest of El Tesoro. But even at La Alteña time marches on and soon the men and the tractor will be replaced by a mechanized device to drag the stone wheel around and around.

The stone wheel is called a tahona, and the stone pit is a trapiche. While it sounds like a sequel to the Greek myth about Sisyphus, for generations this combo was about the only way to extract the juice from roasted agave plants, which could then be fermented and distilled into tequila. The wheel-and-pit were typically crafted from locally quarried volcanic stone, then pulled in circles by a burro or two. It was very local and inexpensive. Then technology leapt ahead, and distillers upgraded to the more efficient steel roller mills or diffusers. (The diffuser, which is rarely talked about but is widely used, is an industrial device that essentially cooks and shreds the agave at once, reducing the whole process from several days to one.)

Yet, tequila producers have lately been reverting to the OG tahona wheel, then crowing about their stubborn old-school methods in their marketing material. It’s like Ford announcing that they’ve brought back the Model T, or Apple announcing a new floppy disc drive.

Like El Tesoro, Fortaleza has long used a tahona in making tequila. San Matias now produces a 100-percent tahona tequila, as do Siete Leguas, Suerte, and Olmeca. Patrón may be the most prominent player with 10 tahona wheels, which is more than any other distiller. In 2014, it even released Roca (Spanish for “rock,” cleverly), a tequila made entirely of tahona-crushed agave. (Other Patrón products have always included some tahona-produced spirit, which is typically blended with roller-mill distillate. This is also the case at La Alteña, which has a roller mill used for brands other than El Tesoro.)

Touting tahona production makes sense in an era where both foodies and spirits aficionados often associate the primitive with the authentic, and embrace old-style approaches—pot-stilled, unfiltered, open-vat, wooden fermenters, and, in the case of Jamaican rum, the use of muck pits full of festering ooze.

And it’s more than just marketing. Anyone who has tasted fresh distillate produced by a tahona side-by-side with that from a roller mill knows instantly there’s a difference in flavor. But why?

Tequila producers tend to point out a simple fact when asked this question: the tahona process, despite the use of a two-ton stone, is actually a gentler way to extract juice than a roller miller, and, certainly, less aggressive than a diffuser.

“It’s been explained to me that when it’s shredded [as in a diffuser], fibers and skins are getting ripped apart and it’s releasing more bitter flavors than when gently pressed,” says Chantal Martineau, author of How the Gringos Stole Tequila and co-author of Finding Mezcal. “If you make pesto the way it’s supposed to be made—pounded in a mortar and pestle, it’s creamy and round. If you make it in blender it gets pulverized and has a bitter note.”

Antonio Rodriguez, Patrón Tequila’s director of production, agrees and points out that like the way the agave is roasted, “the tahona method is one of the most important factors for taste” in tequila production.

He adds that it’s not just the slow crushing action of the wheel itself that’s critical, but what happens afterwards. “At Patrón, the most important part of the tahona method is how we keep the remaining fiber for fermentation and distillation,” he says. “This creates the perfect environment to increase the congeners that are responsible for the complexity and sweetness of Patrón tahona tequilas. Roca tequilas exhibit more complexity and slightly less citrus, pepper and fruit than our core line.”

Carlos Camarena at El Tesoro echoes this point, noting that they add bags of agave pulp to both the fermentation tanks and into the pot stills for the first distillation run. He draws on a different food analogy. “It’s like orange juice,” he says. “To me the diffuser is like going to the store and buying a carton of juice. It’s officially orange juice, but it might have artificial color and flavor. That would be like the diffuser tequila. The roller mill is more like going somewhere they are squeezing oranges and you can get fresh orange juice—it could be of a very good quality. What is tahona? It’s like buying the orange, cutting the orange in half, and eating it directly with the juice and pulp in your mouth. There’s more flavor.”

Another factor possibly in play: microbes. Volcanic stones are semi-porous, hard to clean, and can serve as a home to microorganisms, which in theory could make their way into the fermentation process and influence flavors. Camarena doesn’t rule out microbial influence. “I don’t know,” he says. “We’re dealing with microorganisms floating around here, and nothing gets sterilized.”

“Fantasy,” argues Rodriguez. “Here at Patrón, we do an intensive cleaning process from batch to batch. Our yeast and production process are what is responsible for the flavors of Patrón tequila.”

The tahona itself needs to be replaced every decade or so—they simply wear down. One wonders: where does all that stone go? Only one place: into the tequila. While distillation will strip out the actual minerals, trace flavor elements may well survive the process. Camarena agrees that tahona-produced tequila might gain a touch of minerality as the stone wheel gradually erodes in its endless circling of the pit. After all, “it is not the same if you make a salsa with a blender as with a molcajete [a commonly used stone mortar and pestle],” he says. “You have the pulp and the fiber,” he says, “but it somehow has more flavor because of the stone itself.”  

The combination of rounder, fuller flavors, and the imprimatur of authenticity, suggest that more producers may roll out their prehistoric stones in the coming years.

Four years ago, Carmen Villarreal, CEO of Casa San Matias Tequila in Los Altos de Jalisco, 60 miles east of Guadalajara, raided her brand’s museum in celebration of their 130th anniversary of making tequila. (The company is now part of Sazerac Company’s Gemini portfolio.) Her target? The long-disused tahona, which she pulled out of storage and promoted from display object to workhorse. It’s now used again to gradually crush roasted agave to make their San Matias Tahona Tequila.

“It’s back to work again,” says Villarreal.

[MIKA27]

Kirin Home Tap

If Apple designed a beer tap, it would probably look like this. Japanese beverage maker Kirin has introduced a "Home Tap" service that brings this beautifully-designed, compact kegerator into the home. For about $63, the company delivers two 1-liter kegs to your home twice a month. The service has been such a success, that the company had to close registration because they couldn’t keep up with demand. Over 15,000 people have already requested to be notified when registration is open again! Sign us up, we will happily wait.