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Tech News
How an Old Biosphere Project Could Help Build a Better Climate Model
We only have a fragmented understanding of the complex interactions that go on in the dirt as water flows past soil and microbes. To gain fresh insight into the hydrologic processes that make life on land possible, the University of Arizona has built a trio of massive, man-made hillside labs. Just recently, the $200 million … Continued
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Tech News
The Stoner Channel: Good Driving, Bad Driving, and a Homicidal Monkey with Magical Poo
The US Attorney General Would Like to Remind Everyone that Holding Is Still a Crime If you’re reading this, congratulations, it is now legal to smoke pot in Washington under state law. Feel free to light up as you see fit—just not on federal land. The Attorney General’s office issued jthis statement earlier today, The … Continued
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Tech News
The Stoner Channel: Celebrity Space Endorsements, Every Movie from 2012, and Macklemore on NPR
I Just Wanna – Rob & Nino MoreFrames Animation of Eerie, PA shows us that it’s not the frames per second that’s important, but the content of the cells. Here’s their latest project, a Space Opera set to the tunes of Rob & Nino. [Cartoon Brew] Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson Would Like You to … Continued
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Tech News
Japan’s Eco Cycle Stows Bikes in a Quake-Proof Underground Storage Cylinder
Roughly 90 percent of Tokyo’s 13.1 million residents commute to work each day by rail, with a third of those riding their bikes on the “last mile” to and from the train station. The result: as many as 3.5 million bikes left illegally parked on city streets every day, crowding already packed sidewalks and exposing … Continued
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Tech News
This Convertible Sleeping Bag Thinks It’s a Giant Hoodie
The worst part of camping—having to leave your sleeping bag’s warm embrace for late night latrine trips. But with the Poler Napsack, you’ll never have to take it off again, even after you return to civilization. The Napsack is a 50 degree-rated sleeping bag with a microfiber body. What sets it apart from other bags, … Continued
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Tech News
The Stoner Channel: Epic Bass, Asshole Cats, and Cloned Herbs
Further Up Yonder This inspirational short film from NASA (edited by Giacomo Sardelli) illustrates why the ISS is so damn important to the future of the human race. [Buzzfeed] DAT BASS The bass in this video is too damn high. How to Clone Your Shrubbery Propagating pot plants is surprisingly simple, as this video from … Continued
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Tech News
What Is Big Data?
The human race produces 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day—far too much to crunch using conventional desktop applications. Mining this mountain of data for nuggets usable information is one of the biggest challenges facing modern society. But a new generation of analytic tools are helping us control the phenomenon that’s becoming commonly known as … Continued
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Tech News
The Science Behind the Simplest Type of Solar Power
Garden hoses are the devil. They lay there, quietly baking in the hot summer sun, just waiting for some dumb schmuck to come along and try to take a sip—then BAM! A faceful of scalding hot water. However, this painful phenomenon is not without benefits—hoses turn into miniature geysers thanks to solar thermal energy (STE), … Continued
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Tech NewsApple
How to Spread Your Music Across the Web
Cloud storage has transformed the way digital music collectors access their media. But with so many competing hosting services, which should you choose? How about: All of them. Here’s how to sync your music collection throughout the cloud. iTunes Apple’s supplemented its ubiquitous media management program in 2011 with iCloud, a 20,000 track music locker. … Continued
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Tech News
The Stoner Channel: The World’s Biggest Binger, Snowblind Puppets, and the Finka Palmalera Challenge
Jimmy Kimmel’s Finka Palmalera Challenge With Starbucks’ recent announcement that it will soon carry a $7 cup of coffee made from a rare breed of caffinated bean, Jimmy Kimmel took to the streets to see if people could actually tell the difference. Boy could they ever. You’re Going to Need a Hand Lighting the World’s … Continued
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Tech NewsDesign
A Dozen Short Buses You Wouldn’t Make Jokes About
The gleaming 40-foot behemouths that shuttle suburban American kids to school and back are useless on the crowded streets of Delhi. Throughout the developing world kids get to their daily lessons by any means possible—trike, rickshaw, even ox cart. Our friends at Oobject have assembled 12 of the coolest home brew tike transports. When you’re … Continued
David Galbraith - Oobject.com -
Reviews
Panasonic ST50 Plasma Television Review: Good Picture, Great Value
Dropping two grandon a high-end television simply isn’t possible for most households. Does that mean you should suffer with some $100 off-brand Fony set. No way. As Panasonic’s second-best option in plasma reminds us that even if you can’t get the VT50 you want, you can still go for the ST50 you need. What Is … Continued
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Tech News
This 41-Channel Hyperspectral Camera Will Look Deep in the Heart of the Aurora Borealis
Auroras, which occur when charged solar particles pass through the thermosphere, are more than just polar eye candy—they offer tantalizing clues about the inner workings of our planet’s relationship with its nearest star. Problem is, modern cameras can’t provide the data granularity needed to view them properly without be outfitted with specialized optical filters. Otherwise, … Continued
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Tech News
The Stoner Channel: Robotic Revenge, Hammer Bongs, and NPH’s Fevered Puppet Dreams
Dark Vessel – Rocky Curby This tale of murder, revenge, and general mechanical mayhem is set in Waxahachi, TX which, coincidentally, is just across the border from Mom’s Friendly Bender Production Facility in Mexico. The Binger Doubles as a Hammer The guys over at G-SPOT Bongs are so confident in the construction of their borosilicate … Continued
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Tech News
This Future-Proofing Torture Test Puts Next-Gen Materials Through the Wringer
Our gadgets sure have it rough. Between change-filled pockets, waist-high falls onto concrete, and dunks in the toilet bowl, gadget surfaces need to be tougher and more resilient than ever. To develop the next generation of durable surfaces, materials scientists rely on specialized torture testing equipment like the Bruker Universal Mechanical Tester to put prototype … Continued
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Tech News
The Stoner Channel: Armored Pipes, Smart Stash Boxes, and Idiot-Proof Lighter Storage
PSA: Marijuana Is Fun and Enjoyable and Therefore Is the Devil Oh god, people smoking pot, dancing, and generally enjoying themselves. THE HORROR. [Buzzfeed] The Bowl Band Keeps Lighters Handy When Not in Your Hands Lighters have an uncanny ability to disappear the second you take your eyes off of them. Down the couch cushions, … Continued
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Tech News
The World’s Fastest Train Will Float on a Cushion of Electromagnetism
The fastest train in America, the Amtrak Acela line running from Boston and DC tops out at 110MPH. Sure, that’s way faster than taking a Greyhound, but pathetically pokey compared to the 311MPH bullet of the Mag-Lev train currently being developed by Japan’s JR Tokai. Dubbed the Series L0, this prototype commuter train will reportedly … Continued
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Tech News
The Stoner Channel: 2000 Miles of Red, Zero G Goldfish, and Stratospheric Cats
Take a 2000 Mile Tour Through the Southwest’s “Grand Circle” This gorgeous time lapse features shots of the desolate beauty of Utah and Arizona. Filmed earlier this month, the video includes scenes from Arches National Park, Monument Valley, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Antelope Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, Mesa Verde, Natural Bridges, Canyonlands, and Grand … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Could an Explosion Really Knock You Over Like in the Movies?
Sure, explosions in cinema are great—they propel cars over otherwise impassable chasms and give heroes something to resolutely walk away from. In real life, explosions of any appreciable size are terrifyingly deadly. This is what really happens when you’re too close to the blast. High explosives like pipe bombs and artillery shells operate on a … Continued
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Tech News
Eagle-Eyed Argus II: An Artificial Retina That Reads For the Blind
The advent of cochlear implants in the 1970s and ocular implants in the early 2000s revolutionized hearing and vision loss treatment by circumventing damaged organs with digital prostheses that directly stimulated neural pathways. But these devices have been poor substitutes for the real thing. That is, until now. For those of us with functioning vision, … Continued