Tonight, I saw Mercury for the first time. Mercury is a hard planet to see, even though it is quite bright, because it's orbit is so close to the sun. The angle Mercury makes with the Earth and the Sun is never more than about 25 degrees and most of the time it is much less. As a result, you can't ever see Mercury during the night but at a couple of times in it's orbit you can see it at either dawn or dusk. Right now, Mercury is close to it's greatest eastern elongation and can be seen low in...
These lovely scarves have different names. I call it the Spiral Ruffle Scarf. It's easy to make and looks great in either a fine or a medium weight yarn. I made mine with softball cotton yarn and size 8 needles. Here are the videos and written directions:
In this article, I'll be showing you how to make a cool visual representation of sound using an old cathode ray tube (CRT) television, a stereo, and a sound source. You'll also need a pair of wire cutters, and a few screwdrivers. To properly understand this project, it's a good idea to learn a little bit about how CRT TVs work. Check out this article on how they work.
This week's challenge will be the final Phone Snap Challenge, so let's make this count, everyone! To close off Phone Snap, we'd like to get a little silly. So start practicing all of your funny faces in the mirror and get those photo editing apps ready! Photograph somebody's funny face with your cell phone—whether it be your own, a family member's, a friend's, or your pet's, and post your very best shot to the Phone Snap community corkboard.
I love this project. It involves fire, projectiles, electricity, and is easy to put together from commonly available parts. This mini cannon fires airsoft pellets, is fueled by alcohol, and is made almost entirely from parts found in a standard BBQ lighter. The total cost is under $5. About half of the BBQ lighters out there have a divide in the gas reservoir which makes them not work for this project. In case you have trouble finding a suitable lighter, the exact one I use in this video is a...
This is the last one I'll post up for this contest. I've already eliminated myself by posting up twice...and now thrice... I'm sorry I can't resist. I'm seeing such amazing pictures and they are reminding me of other pictures I've taken... so thanks everyone. About the picture: This is across the bay from San Francisco on Treasure island which is the island in the middle of the bay bridge. You can see all of downtown San Francisco as well half of the bay bridge to the right and golden gate br...
Portal is game design milestone. Originally only available bundled in with larger cousins Half-Life 2 and Team Fortress 2 in The Orange Box, its creators, Valve Software, changed what first person gameplay could be. It's been a stand alone product for much of the four years since its release, but never an expensive one, usually available for $5 on Steam (also created by Valve). If that barrier to entry was too high for you, or you just never got around to trying it, there are no more excuses....
How to Mix a Simple Grasshopper Drink The Grasshopper is the first cocktail I learned. It is very delicious and refreshing, yet easy to make. This cocktail is a must try to the people who hate the taste of pure liqueur like gin, rum etc.
If you're the proud owner of a Canon EOS DSLR, then you'll be glad to know that you no longer have to use EOS Utility on your computer to enable remote live view shooting with your camera. Now, all you need is your Android equipped smartphone (sorry iPhone users) and a new mobile app called DSLR Controller from Chainfire.
Sitting around thinking about my average sexual performance, I wondered if there were other things in life that were also 30 seconds long. I was extremely relieved that such things were possible! These 30 second movies are the mobile text equivalent to major films or projects. From film to parody to games, it looks like you can really recap everything in half a minute! So stop checking your texts on every red light, give your thumbs a rest and check these out instead!
As of right now, Guinness World Records claims that the highest human flight with a rocket belt is 152 feet, accomplished by Eric Scott in 2004. But they may need to update their records soon thanks to Martin Aircraft Company in New Zealand, whose Martin Jetpack finally showed the world it can fly—really fly.
Food is the meeting place of left and right brainers: Culinary arts call for creativity, but is also deeply rooted in the What, Why and How of basic science—baking powder vs. baking soda, the rising of dough, the falling of a cake, etc. Below, two plays on left brain principles—the Möbius strip and the law of gravity—both executed with right brain flair.
Choosing Draperies for Your Home is as Easy as 1-2-3 Determine the Color Scheme and Pattern
Why is it so satisfying to squash, snap, squeeze and splatter? You know, squashing a juicy grape, snapping a twig, squeezing ketchup out of a packet—perhaps with your fist—or splattering mud across a sidewalk. But all of these actions are child's play next to animators Laura Junger and Xaver Xylophon's Joy of Destruction. The real joy of destruction is illustrated below—we're talking sawing ladies in half, exploding corn into popcorn with dynamite, burning cities, and rolling over statues wit...
San Francisco writer Jimmy Chen over at HTMLGIANT cleverly composited the beloved filmmaker/artist/furniture designer/transcendental meditation expert David Lynch next to the likes of Cy Twombly, Vincent Van Gogh, John Singer Sargent, Roy Lichtenstein, Claude Monet and Katsushika Hokusai.
How far would you go to be resourceful? Early Britons used each others' skulls as drinking cups and bowls. Recently, researcher Silvia Bello found human skulls with the top cut off laying in Gough's Cave, England. Skillful cut marks make it look like fellow humans scraped off the dead skin to clean the bone, and chips around the rim of the skull cup make it look like the edges were evened out for a better drinking experience. Researchers have found other skull cups in France and Germany, but ...
NOTE ONE: I want to ask everyone who reads this to please be patient with the progress of this website - soon it will be filled with goodies for you all to lay eyes on, but at the moment, I'm just piecing it all together for you :)
A group of nano-scientists from the University of Glasgow have created the world's smallest Christmas card, measuring in at 200 micro-meters wide by 290 micro-meters tall. (BTW, a micro-metre is a millionth of a meter, and the width of a human hair is about 100 micro-meters.)
Well, Ol' Man Winter is upon us yet again, blasting us with his icy breath. When I was a kid, I loved wintertime because it meant the prospect of sledding, snowball fights & missed school days in which to enjoy both. Now that I'm 45, however, my attitude toward the season has taken a complete 180-degree turn: I find myself dreading it because of the likelihood of being snowed-in for days on end, and the certainty of being forced to endure the frigid temperatures.
Unbeknownst to the general public, picking a lock can be a very easy process once you get the hang of it (yes, surprising AND frightening). A vibrating lock pick set takes the general ease of picking even further by speeding up the process. Now, with the help of Invent Geek, you can make your own DIY Vibrating lock pick for about a tenth of the price of a manufactured kit.
Live in the future (à la Star Trek, circa 1966) with uiproductions' pneumatic air-powered sliding door:
The New York Times reports on the perks of opting for digital TV antennas vs. paying for cable TV. With the exception of the occasional spotty signal, young viewers are finding antennas are the preferable choice, considering savings add up to half the usual cost for cable TV and internet access.
On November 2nd, the legendary McRib returned to McDonald's across the country. McRib fans rejoiced. BUT, as every true fan already knows, the sandwich will be pulled from the menu again December 5th.
Iron Man. What could be a more fitting song for 1,000,000 volts of electricity? It's the perfect Vegas act, so it's shocking to hear that ArcAttack is yet unsigned. With their high-tech, custom-made music equipment, homemade chain mail suits and... LIGHTNING!... they put on one electrifying performance!
Proposition 23 is the act where they would suspend AB 32, the global warming act of 2006. If proposition 23 is enacted by voter this would pause the porvision of AB 32 until California's unemployment rate drops to a 5.5%. The unemployment rate at this current point is as high as a 12% and has been like that for the exception of 3 times since 1980. supporters call it California Job Anitiative and opponents call it the Dirty Energy Proposition.In this article it states the reason proposition 23...
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24 Tonight one of the worlds most intense directors has a premiere of his new film.
Have someone pretend to be a house salesman who's showing some people around a house. On the outside everything will seem normal but as they walk into the house everything goes mad.
Ginger ale is an American classic, particularly beloved by native Michiganders, home of the popular Vernors Ginger Ale.
Every once in a while you stumble across a HowTo on the internet that seems too good to be true. Magic. This happens to be one of them.
Not only am I ecstatic that my favorite team moved on to the semifinals, but I'm also so excited to see a team that's not Brazil in the semis! Just like supporting the Yankees, rooting for Brazil was like rooting for gravity. No longer.
About a decade ago, Deus Ex came out to rave reviews. Except this guy Tom Chick hated it. And said so, in a pretty blunt manner.
As sports fanatics, we know how central instant replay is in professional sports. The NFL proved it to any non-believer many years ago. Now the rest of the world is playing catch up. Yes, I am pointing my fingers at the FIFA idiots who run the World Cup. (UK was robbed against Germany). And baseball... Selig should apologize to Armando.
I apologize in advance for my Blackberry Tour's shoddy camera, kinda wishing I had a shiny new iPhone 4 at the moment. Anyways back to the show..
My friend from Brooklyn and I went to this free show on Monday. The vocals were crisp and less distorted than on the album. Overall great energy and the crowd was totally feeling it. The crowd was made of the typical mix of big messy hair, plaid, and skinny jean wearing indie kids, along with a few random old guys. My friend said NYC shows are a lot more homogenous and was surprised by how diverse shows in LA are. I was surprised by how many tall guys (lots of guys well over 6'2) were in the ...
Ni no Kuni is a gorgeous hand drawn and animated game coming to the PS3 and Nintendo DS. The story is about Oliver, a 13 year old who has lost his mother. Wishing for her to come back, a magical toy tells him that this might be possible and they set off on a journey in a parallel magical world. In the trailer above, the PS3 is able to almost match the visual quality of the cartoon animations originally made for cut scenes in the DS game.
Think about how many things you truly throw in the trash, and how many times you empty your trash, only to be taken away by the garbage man and out of your sight. Well, the truth is that its not exactly out of your life. Statistics show that on average each person uses 350 trash bags each year, thats 100 billion all together, and the worst part aboput this fact is that it takes up to 500 years for each of the bags to decay. Thats right in your city at your landfill, bags pileing up, polluting...
MS is having an Xbox live sale blowout during E3 week, up to half off in most games! And what's better is that these are actually good games, not the crappy ones!
Having company for cocktails? How about adding a special twist (and yummy conversation piece) to your guests' drinks? These strawberry ice cubes are a delightful way to dress up a drink. They're super-simple to make, and guaranteed to make a splash!Watch video demonstrationYou'll Need:
Two research teams, in Turkey and Iran, both recently discovered an incredibly rare species of bees. Coined the Osmia (Ozbekosima) avoseta bee, the insects use colorful flower petals to create papier-mache cocoons for their offspring.
