News: Cats May Drive You Crazy, but They Won't Make You Mentally Ill
Even if your cat drives you a little nuts, don't worry, because a new study says that cats pose no risk to your mental health.
Outdoor Search Results
News: A Rare Disease Outbreak in the Bronx Linked to Eewww Source—Rat Pee
Every year, 100-200 people in the US contract leptospirosis, but usually 50% of the cases occur in Hawaii where outdoor adventurers are exposed to Leptospira bacteria found in freshwater ponds, waterfalls, streams, and mud. That's why it's so alarming that two people in the Bronx have been diagnosed with the disease and a 30-year-old man has died from it.
News: Research Published in mBio Shows How Gut Bacteria Can Help Chubby Dogs Live a Better—& Longer—Life
As fun as it is to see Fido's face light up when you feed him table scraps, American dogs are getting fat. The good news is that research is homing in on nutritional strategies to boost canine capabilities to maintain a healthy weight.
News: Rat Breeders in Illinois Are Just the Latest Victims of Unappreciated Hantaviruses That Infect Humans
A recent pathogen outbreak in Illinois is just one of many outbreaks of an underappreciated, but serious, viral infection passed from rodents to humans. These hantaviruses have been cropping up more frequently in the last decade or so, giving us more reason to clean out our dusty attics, basements, and garages.
How To: Chickpea Liquid Makes a Fantastic Vegan Mayonnaise
We had some friends over for a barbecue a few weeks back. Among other items, this outdoor soirée featured an epic potato salad (bacon, basil, crushed potato chips, pickles—the whole nine yards). And, like many potato salads, ours was made with a hearty amount of mayonnaise.
How To: Holy Crap—Grilled Cheese Is More Than Just a Sandwich
Grilled meat may be a staple of summer barbecues, but grilled cheese should have a place at your outdoor feast as well. I don't mean taking a slice or two of cheese, slapping it between two pieces of bread, and putting it in a pan to create a grilled cheese sandwich. No, I mean literally grilled cheese.
How To: Properly Flambé Without Burning Your Food
Few things in life are as exciting and magical as fire. And setting things on fire while cooking? Well, now you're speaking my language. I'm not talking about grilling, though I do love some outdoor cooking. No, I'm talking about the most badass trick in any cook's arsenal: the flambé.
How To: 10 Clever Ways to Cook Out Without a Grill
Whether it's the start, middle, or end of summer, it's prime-time grilling season. If you find yourself without a grill, however, it may seem as if half your summer plans of swimming by the pool while stuffing hot dogs in your face could be ruined.
How To: 8 Mouthwatering S'Mores Food Hacks for Summer
One of the best things about summertime is that there's lots of outdoor cooking, whether you're on a camping trip or grilling. And what better way to end your meal than with the classic dessert, s'mores?
How To: Repel Mosquitoes Naturally Using Just Plants & Oils
While we've already covered several good ways to tame the itch of a mosquito bite, you're much better off preventing them from biting in the first place than dealing with the itchy aftermath.
How To: Top 12 Hacks for Making Your Gadgets Better with Sugru
Sugru is some pretty versatile stuff. The company's slogan is "Hack things better," and for good reason. It sticks to aluminum, steel, ceramics, glass and plastics, it's waterproof and heat-resistant, and it can be molded into any shape you can imagine. Anything from your kitchen cabinets to your bicycle can be improved with some Sugru and a little creativity, and gadgets are no exception. Here are 10 of the coolest hacks to fix or upgrade your smartphone, tablet, or camera.
How To: Build a Raised Garden Bed Out of Old Pallets!
How to easily build a raised garden bed out of wooden pallets for free! …Well almost free. Building a raised vegetable garden with pallets or reclaimed wood is a really rewarding experience. The garden bed idea out of pallets came about from the fact that l wanted to build a rustic looking raised garden bed. A vegetable garden bed that not only provides delicious food, but looks good at the same time. The recycled wood has come from hardwood timber pallets that have been sourced totally FREE ...
How To: Tired of Paying for Calls & Texts? These 6 Free Apps Can Cut Down Your Cell Phone Bill
Smartphones are great. They help you keep in touch with your loved ones and stay up to date on what's going on in the world. The problem is that like everything else that's useful, they cost money to use, and between calling, texting, and data plans, it can get really expensive.
How To: Make Fire-Starting Char Cloth from a T-Shirt Using a Tuna Can
For this project, I sacrificed some of my kids' clothes and a can of tuna to make some high-quality fire starter! Here's how to make a great batch of char cloth to add to your emergency survival kit.
How To: Start Fires in Style with a Glass Matchjar, Plus 9 More Clever Uses for Mason Jars
Mason jars are a DIYer's best friend, nearly on par with duct tape and paper clips. Why? Because you can use mason jars for so many things besides just canning and drinking, and I'm not talking about other obvious uses like basic storage containers or miniature terrariums. I'm talking about MacGyver-style ingenuity. With a little creativity, the uses for those jars are practically endless.
How To: Stay Safe with This Subtle Personal Alarm & Tracker
Safety means something different to everyone, but everyone wants to feel safe. For many, the best way to feel safe is to have something external that offers that sense of security, whether it's an alarm system, a friend on standby, or just something that helps you feel in control.
News: Adidas & Tooz Reveal More About AR Smartglasses Partnership
The progress Tooz has been making in the smartglasses space has been mostly kept under wraps, but the company is slowly giving us a deeper look at what it has in store for smartglasses wearers.
News: This Virtual Home Sold for $500K as an NFT, Now the Artist Wants to Move It into Augmented Reality
The NFT space is moving so fast that if you're not already engaged, you've probably already missed several history-making events.
How To: 10 Smartphone Camera Gadgets That Can Take Your Social Media Posts to Influencer Level
Whether you're trying to become an influencer or just want to share better photos and videos, the best camera to start with is your smartphone. It is likely the only camera you always have on you and it's probably capable of excellent pictures and video capture. But with a little help, it could definitely be better.
News: The Future of Augmented Reality Mainstream Adoption
What does mainstream augmented reality look like? I'm not talking about the stuff you see in concept videos and science fiction films. No. What does it really look like?
How To: Save Time on Quick Adjustment Edits with Filter 'Looks' in Photoshop Express
Just like Instagram, Photoshop Express for Android and iOS has its own set of filters you can quickly apply to any photo. It's simple, fast, and more customizable than using Instagram's pre-made filters. The options in Photoshop Express allow you to edit and change your filters to be exactly to your liking. Then, you can even save those edits as your own custom filters.
How To: Make Buying Stuff Easier on Instagram with the Checkout Feature
Instagram wants to bridge the gap between advertising and shopping for a more central buying experience. The app has long been a platform for advertisements, with both companies and creators using it as an outlet to link to products, so it's only natural for Instagram to allow users to buy content featured in posts without ever leaving the app.
News: Magic Leap One Teardown Reveals Sophisticated Hardware with Shortish Shelf Life & Low Repairability
One of the primary marketing tactics used by Magic Leap in promoting the Magic Leap One was selling early adopters on the "magic" contained within the device. On Thursday, some of that magic was uncovered as the Magic Leap One was completely disassembled by repair engineers, revealing the delicate innards of the device and detailing how it delivers its augmented reality experiences.
News: Magic Leap Care Center Reveals New Details About Magic Leap One Usage, Sales Practices, & Who Gets to Use It
Now that the Magic Leap One is officially out in the wild, users are already beginning to find out exactly how it works and what it might be useful for in the augmented reality space. But there are still other, more unique questions that remain unanswered.
News: Arizona Woman Dies After Catching Tularemia from Her Dog
On June 11, 2016, an Arizona woman died from what appeared to be several infections, including pneumonia. She likely caught at least one of these from her dog.
News: Rare Raccoon Parasite Causing Blindness & Severe Brain Damage Could Be More Widespread Than We Knew
So cute, so furry, and so chock full of parasites. While raccoons are fun to watch, they are neither friendly nor clean — and they can make you sick in more ways than one.
News You Can Use: Tick-Borne Infection Babesiosis — Symptoms, Sources & Risk
As a part of the already crowded field of diseases transmitted by ticks, you may not know the disease babesiosis, a dangerous infection caused by a parasite that infiltrates blood cells.
How To: Here's How to Compost if You Are an Apartment Dweller
Being a city dweller does not mean you cannot save the planet — or your food scraps. Climate change and resource management are big issues. Composting in any size space is not only possible, but it gives you a chance to reduce greenhouse gasses and reuse food scraps. Right now, about 40% of all food in the US goes to the landfill. In addition to planning meals and using your food in creative ways to reduce the amount that goes to waste, you can compost.
News: Finally! A Way Homeowners Can Control Ticks That Spread Lyme Disease
With a predicated increase in the number of Lyme disease cases in the coming spring season, new research endorses the use of bait boxes to control ticks on the rodents that serve as their hosts.
Rumor Roundup: Andromeda, Pixel & More Coming at Google's Oct. 4 Announcement
Are we about to witness the future of Android OS? Of Google? Of the entire smartphone ecosystem?! Google has just turned 18 today (right?), Android just had its 8th birthday, and the rumor mill is firing on all cylinders in the lead-up to the October 4 launch event where they'll announce their latest hardware and software products.
How To: Find Your Lost Cat
When your cat goes missing, chances are it's just chilling in a cozy spot under the couch, or maybe even hiding from you. So it's okay to not freak out just yet. Cats love to hide as if they're spiders, and even their hiding spots are similar. You can find them in corners, on the refrigerator, and according to my roommate, even the dryer hose is fair game.
How To: Take Better Photos with Your Phone
It's truly amazing how far smartphone camera hardware has come in such a short period of time. It took roughly 5 years to advance the image processing capabilities from a pixelated mess to the crisp and clear photos we can take today. This reaches well beyond the megapixel spec race, since camera modules these days sport vastly improved optics, wider aperture, and even larger pixel sensors that capture more light.
Review: The Qumi Q5 Pocket Projector Is a Solid On-the-Go Media Companion
As someone with a pretty nice TV, I've never found the allure in purchasing a projector. While they're certainly smaller and sleeker than a television, and more portable, they can be pricey and produce a less than stellar image. And who really buys a projector anyways? They're for school, they're for work, they're for theaters, but they're not really for my apartment, right?
How To: 10 Unique & Practical Ways to Repurpose Your Old Hard Disk Drives
At one point in the '90s, about fifty percent of the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo. About fifty percent of the CDs in my home still have that AOL promise of 500 free hours on them. Though they never got me to join their internet service, I did get a lifetime supply of coasters. Thanks to the rise of high-speed internet access and bigger and better hard drives, there's no reason for companies to snail mail any more of those obnoxious plastic discs.
News: How to Watch Japan's Viral 3D Cat Live, and How It All Started in China & South Korea
The most viral internet cat of the moment is a virtual kitty trapped in a billboard in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan.
News: Google & Red Bull TV Premier 'The Last Ascent' with Synced AR Experience That Puts Nature in Your Home
In recent weeks, Google managed to capitalize on the hype surrounding the Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian with an AR app that was not only exclusive to Android but also available only for 5G-equipped devices.
How To: Build an Off-Grid Wi-Fi Voice Communication System with Android & Raspberry Pi
When you don't have a steady cellular signal or immediate Wi-Fi access but need to communicate with others around you, you can set up an off-the-grid voice communications network using a Raspberry Pi and an Android app.
How To: Pick an Antenna for Wi-Fi Hacking
When learning Wi-Fi hacking, picking a compatible Wi-Fi network adapter is the first step to learning to crack Wi-Fi passwords.
Hands-On: Niantic's Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Brings New Magic to the World of Augmented Reality
Can lightning strike twice? Niantic is betting that it can with its latest augmented reality game based on the best-selling multimedia franchise Harry Potter.
News: Oculus Rift Creator Slams Magic Leap One as 'Tragic' & Magic Leap's CEO Quickly Hits Back
Following the launch of the Magic Leap One earlier this month, the device and the company took a few hits from early reviewers. But it turns out those were just love taps compared to the absolute scorched earth acidic screed penned this weekend by someone well credentialed to dissect Magic Leap One: Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey.