November 2009
14 posts
2 tags
Tesla Model S
The Tesla Model S is not the first electric car on the market, but with seating for five and ample cargo space, it may be the most realistic candidate to replace your current gas guzzler. It doesn’t hurt that a quick 45 minute charge (from any power outlet) gets you a range of 300 miles and a top speed of 120mph.
With a price tag set at just under 50k (after a federal tax credit), the Model S...
2 tags
The Lazerian Dog
Lazerian is a UK creative practice operating out of an ex-hat factory. Like me, they use a silhouetted dog in their blog header (theirs, an english pointer named Gerald, doubles as the company logo). Unlike me, they’ve taken Gerald to the next level — creating a 3D paper sculpture from his likeness.
The Lazerian blog has a nice “making of” video which shows the maticulous process of creating a...
3 tags
Butterball Has a Hotline?
If you happen to be preparing a bird on this fine Thanksgiving day, don’t forget that Butterball has a hotline staffed with experts who will answer any turkey-related questions that may arise:
Over the years, the Butterball® Turkey Talk-Line experts have solved some puzzling turkey situations, like which pan to use, what to do when the turkey is on fire, and when to start roasting the turkey so...
2 tags
An Unlikely Aid
The silver-haired black Epeoloides pilosula, a type of bee thought to be extinct, has been rediscovered in a surprising place — a 250-foot-wide power line corridor in Connecticut. The finding has added a new tool to the arsenal of conservationists trying to save certain types of prairie species:
The idea that transmission line corridors or any human-built infrastructure may actually help species...
2 tags
EyeWriter Initiative
The EyeWriter Initiative utilizes affordable hardware to allow ALS patients to express themselves creatively.
Tony Quan is an LA-based graffiti artist known as TEMPTONE who was diagnosed with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2003. Though the disease has left him physically paralyzed, the EyeWriter system enables him to draw graffiti on the computer using only his eyes. His graffiti is then...
2 tags
Playing Monday Afternoon Quarterback
Like a lot of football fans, I have wasted countless moments today thinking about Bill Belichick’s decision to keep his offense on the field for a 4th and 2 try from their own 28 yard line. On one hand, 4th and short tries have something like a 55-60% success rate and a first down essentially ends the game. On the other hand, the likelihood of Peyton Manning going 28 yards in two minutes would...
2 tags
Attack of the Zombie Jellyfish
Turritopsis nutricul, a kind of jellyfish-like hydrozoan, can live forever:
Once it reaches sexual maturity, Turritopsis looks like a tiny, transparent, many-tentacled parachute (only about 5mm in diameter) that floats freely in warm ocean waters. But when times get tough, Turritopsis can turn into a blob, anchor itself to a surface, and undergo a sort of reverse methamorphosis back to its...
1 tag
Book Your Trip Now
A paragliding company in Nepal has trained birds of prey (including eagles, vultures and black kites) to fly alongside its gliders. If the Simpson’s had done something like this in an episode, I’d have accused the writers of giving up.
The Parahawking Tandem flight is the new “must do” activity in Nepal. Parahawking is the art of training bids of prey to fly with paragliders; it was developed...
2 tags
The Ultimate Car Geek Accessory?
It wasn’t long ago that I was writing about a Zipcar iPhone app that allows customers to use their iPhones as a car key fob. Now, you can have that functionality in your own car.
The Viper SmartStart is a car security system with its own iPhone app. For 500 bucks, you can have a system that makes it possible to lock and unlock the doors, start the car remotely, open the trunk or hit the panic...
3 tags
Physics is For the Birds
The $7 billion Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, has been the subject of controversy and debate. There are some who contend that experiments performed using the device (which has a 17 mile circumference) could inadvertently bring about the end of human existence — creating little black holes that suck up the earth.
Personally, I’d be more worried about the device if...
1 tag
Congrats Yankees Fans!
With the addition of Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, the Yankees were a pre-season favorite to win the World Series Title. Sports rarely play out according to script, however, and by mid-May the Yankees looked fairly average at 1 game under 500. Of course, by now, you know how it played out. The Yankees caught fire and were the hands-down best team in baseball after the All Star...
1 tag
How to use an Apostrophe
I really enjoy this illustrated guide on apostrophe use. My grammar could definitely benefit from an entire series of illustrated usage guides.
(via @ThatWhichMatter)
2 tags
Just How Smart Are They?
Marginal Revolution calls attention to an older — but still fantastic —article on Dolphin Intelligence. I was particularly fascinated by Dolphins ability to learn new behaviors and even use tools:
Dolphins can also use tools to solve problems. Scientists have observed a dolphin coaxing a reluctant moray eel out of its crevice by killing a scorpion fish and using its spiny body to poke at the...
2 tags
U.S.S. New York In Manhattan
The U.S.S. New York sailed up the Hudson to a midtown dock this morning. The technologically advanced “amphibious transport dock” will be officially commissioned in Manhattan on Saturday. The New York is named in honor of those who lost their lives in the World Trade Center attacks and has 7.5 tons of steel reclaimed from the Twin Towers in its bow.
Of note for those in the NYC area: The public...