Brysonbeal

Scientific American

Stress Linked To Aging Chromosomes

Too much sun, smoking and a poor diet can make us look older. But additional forces are at work aging our cells.? [More]

Superluminal Neutrino Result Caused by Faulty Connection?

A data transmission problem? (Wikipedia/BigRiz) Although still awaiting full confirmation, a breaking news report in Science (and Nature , see below) indicates that the measurement of an apparently faster-than-light travel time for muon-neutrinos generated at CERN and detected at the Gran Sasso laboratory – which hit the world headlines back in September 2011 – may have been due to a problematic physical connection between a fiber-optic cable and an electronics card in a computer. [More]

Could GPS Problems Explain Seemingly Faster-Than-Light Neutrinos?

OPERA apparatus. Credit: CERN One of the biggest stories in science last year was the announcement by a European physics collaboration that neutrinos can seemingly travel faster than light. Most physicists were skeptical of the result , which would upend a well-tested tenet of modern physics namely, that nothing outpaces light. And the researchers on the OPERA experiment that made the measurement were themselves very cautious, stating only that they had found a discrepancy that they could not get rid of. [More]

Being Happy: Social and Natural Factors Are More Important than Money (Especially in Costa Rica)

It’s easy to find an online test that will purportedly tell you how happy you are. But how happy are the people of an entire nation? And which nation’s people are happiest ? That’s hard to measure. So for decades world organizations like the United Nations that concern themselves with improving people’s well-being have used a single proxy for happiness: gross domestic product, or GDP. The loose logic is that as people attain a higher standard of living, they will feel less burdened by basic survival and have greater means for everything from decent food to recreation. [More]

Faster-than-light neutrinos explained?

The detector at the Gran Sasso end of the OPERA experiment. Credit: OPERA The faster-than-light neutrinos seen by the OPERA particle physics experiment last year may have just been explained. By a loose cable. I wish I was joking. [More]

If You're Happy, How You Know It

[More]

New Family of Limbless Amphibians Discovered in India

From Nature magazine. [More]

Our Birth Control Undermines Amphibians

The most common types of ingested birth control contain estrogen. But the hormone doesn't just prevent human babies. It may be lowering numbers of frog babies, too. Because estrogens can travel unaltered through a woman's system, and back into the environment--where they interfere with the courtship of frogs. [More]

$1.3B 'Brain in a Box' Project Faces Skepticism

By M. [More]

Sirtuin Protein Linked to Longevity in Mammals for First Time

By Heidi Ledford of Nature magazine At last, a member of the celebrated sirtuin family of proteins has been shown to extend lifespan in mammals -- although it's not the one that has received the most attention and financial investment. Sirtuin genes and the proteins they encode have intrigued many researchers who study ageing ever since they were first linked to longevity in yeast. [More]

Superconductor Breaks High-Temperature Record

By Zeeya Merali of Nature magazine You just can't keep a good superconductor down. [More]

Men Are Not On Their Way to Extinction After All

By Ewen Callaway of Nature magazine Men can breathe a sigh of relief--their sex-determining chromosomes aren't going anywhere. [More]

Can E-Bikes Displace Cars?

The 21st-century equivalent of the cavalry has come charging in to rescue cities in China and South Asia in their battles against air pollution and global warming. And it's also beginning to help out on the traffic-choked streets in London, New York, S?o Paulo and Los Angeles. [More]

Physicists Raid Tevatron Particle Collider for Parts

By Eugenie Samuel Reich of Nature magazine It is a 4,000-tonne edifice that stands three stories high, chock full of particle detectors, power supplies, electronics and photomultiplier tubes, all layered like a giant onion around a cylindrical magnet. [More]

Experts Tell the Truth about Pot

In the classic 1936 cult film Reefer Madness , well-adjusted high school students who try marijuana suddenly sink into a life of addiction, promiscuity, aggression, academic failure, homicide and mental illness. The movie concludes with the ominous warning that "The dread marijuana may be reaching forth next for your son or daughter ... or yours ... or YOURS!" Newspaper headlines of the day often reflected a similar sentiment. On February 10, 1938, a headline in the Beloit (Wisc.) Daily News read, "Authorities Warn against Spread of Marijuana Habit--Insanity, Degeneracy and Violence Follow Use of Weed." [More]

"Hockey Stick" Scientist Cross-Checks Critics: A Q&A with Michael E. Mann (preview)

Climatologist Michael E. Mann is most famous for what he calls one of the "least interesting" aspects of his work. In the 1990s he used data from tree rings, coral growth bands and ice cores as proxies for ancient temperatures, combining them with modern thermometer readings. This annual record of temperature variations over the past millennium offered insights into natural climate cycles. As an "afterthought," he included a graph of average temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere going back to the 1400s in a 1998 paper (he later extended it to A.D. 1000). That "hockey stick" graph, which shows temperatures bouncing up and down before rapidly rising more recently, became an icon of climate change. [More]

Dual Interpretations: Milky Way's Outer Fringe of Stars Sparks Disagreement

It's well known that the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, a swirl of stars in an extended, many-armed disk . But the structure of the galaxy is far from two-dimensional. Above and below those familiar spiral arms is a lesser-known feature, a spherical swarm of stars that makes up a halo around the disk. [More]

And you can tell everybody, this is your mouse's song

Otherwise titled: Your mouse sounds JUST like his dad! [More]

Surprising Truths about How We Think and Act

As an editor at Scientific American Mind, I get a sneak peak at a menu of surprises about us people, that is that each issue has to offer. As the March/April Mind makes its debut, I wanted to share my favorite brain food from its cognitive kitchen. Here are three not-to-miss messages from its pages. Later this week, I will unveil more of what s in store for readers. [More]

Scientist Says He Lied to Obtain Documents from Climate Skeptic Group

An internationally recognized water and climate change expert admitted yesterday that he lied about his identity to obtain internal funding and strategy documents from the Heartland Institute. [More]

Five-in-One Vaccine Carries Small Risk of Seizure

By Zoë Corbyn of Nature magazine Babies inoculated with a commonly used five-in-one vaccine to protect against a range of potentially lethal childhood diseases face up to a six-fold increased risk of fever-associated seizures on the day they are vaccinated, according to a study of nearly 380,000 Danish children. But both the authors of the study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association and experts in the field stress that parents shouldn't be concerned. [More]

Extinction Looms for Rare Frog Species, Now Down to 1 Individual

And then there was one. The last known Rabb’s fringe-limbed tree frog ( Ecnomiohyla rabborum ) now lives by himself at Zoo Atlanta in Georgia after the zoo euthanized the only other member of its species. The euthanized frog, another male, had been experiencing a “marked decline in health and behavior” according to a Zoo Atlanta news release . Scientists made the decision to end its suffering and preserve its genetic material for future studies. [More]

Fossilized, 'Pompeii' Forest Discovered Under Ash

About 300 million years ago, volcanic ash buried a tropical forest located in what is now Inner Mongolia, much like it did the ancient Roman city of Pompeii. [More]

Smoking Messes Mouth Bacterial Community

It's no secret cigarettes can yellow your teeth. But tobacco smoke has another, unseen effect. It can wipe out the healthy bacteria in your mouth, leaving the field open for pathogenic bugs--like the kind that cause gum disease. So says a study in the journal Infection and Immunity . [Purnima S. Kumar et al., " Tobacco smoking affects bacterial acquisition and colonization in oral biofilms "] [More]

Temblor Rattles New Madrid Earthquake Zone in Missouri

By Bruce Olsen ST. [More]

Alex the Parrot's Posthumous Paper Shows His Mathematical Genius

From Nature magazine [More]

Co-opulation: Sometimes It Takes More Than 2 to Tango [Slide Show]

Dawn Higginson thought it was strange when she learned that some diving beetles produce sperm that fuse together at the head like Siamese twins. But when the postdoctoral researcher from the University of Arizona began asking why such conjugate gametes form, things only got even stranger. The sperm of the diving beetle, which gets its name from its ability to swim underwater, occur in many shapes and forms. Whereas a few species make standard tadpole-shaped swimmers, others generate sperm that stack together like traffic cones to form long, many-tailed filaments. Some species even generate two different types of sperm that work together to navigate through the female's fertilization duct. [More]

King Tides May Help Prepare Californians to Cope with Rising Sea Levels

STINSON BEACH, Calif. -- The Pacific Ocean laps against a seaside property in the small Northern California town. If it comes a foot closer, it will breach the black-painted concrete wall that surrounds the wooden house on three sides. [More]

Staph Turns into Drug-Resistant Superbug on Farms

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/vladacanon Scary antibiotic-resistant infections aren’t just lurking in the hospital anymore. They’re in gyms, at the beach , and increasingly, on the farm. [More]

Transistor Shrunk Down to Scale of Single Phosphorus Atom

Scanning tunnelling microscope image of a silicon surface lithographically prepared for two electrodes and a single transistor atom in the center. Credit: ARC Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication, at UNSW The shift from fragile, bulky vacuum tubes to solid-state transistors paved the way for the information age. And the steady downsizing of transistors has made the devices of the information age ubiquitous, thanks to processors that become smaller, cheaper and faster with each passing year. Now a group of physicists has demonstrated how far that downsizing can proceed by shrinking transistors down to the atomic scale. [More]

Research on Highly Contagious Avian Flu Now Likely to Be Published in a Few Months

By Declan Butler of Nature magazine After weeks of debate, two controversial papers describing forms of the H5N1 avian influenza virus capable of transmitting between mammals should be published in full. [More]

Wild Flower Blooms Again After 30,000 Years on Ice

By Sharon Levy of Nature magazine During the Ice Age, Earth's northern reaches were covered by chilly, arid grasslands roamed by mammoths, woolly rhinoceros and long-horned bison. [More]

Exhausted Writer Discovers First Cave Painting of Yeast

This article is the sixth and probably last article in a minseries of six articles ( see the first , second , third , f ourth and fifth articles here) about civilization, fungus, and alcohol. Very little is known about the beginning of the story of humans and yeast. Did it start in one place? Did it start in many? Did yeast independently colonize human settlements (and beer, wine, sake, bread and the rest)? Or was it one beginning that, with the spread of culture and humans, led to the rest? What is known is that with yeast, things changed. A single species of yeast, one out of thousands, ferments our beer, wine, bread, rum, and even a fairly long list of fermented foods and beverages of which you have never even heard. Because of this species, our cultures changed. Our diets changed. Agriculture arose or changed. Our bodies may even have changed. The yeast, throughout this change, has benefited far more than we have. There are more individual yeast organisms in wineries and breweries in France than there have been humans on Earth. It has been suggested that the differences among human populations in their response to alcohol is, in part, a function of the evolution of some but not all human populations in response to yeast and alcohol. Surprisingly little work has been done on the big questions in the story of yeast and humans. Although, yeast has been one of the best-studied laboratory organisms, the study of its history and tangled relationship with humans is nascent. For all of these reasons, when it came time to conclude this series, although I had said I would write about the story of yeast, I had second thoughts. I was not sure how to conclude. So little is known that the story of yeast and humans from the yeast’s perspective I felt more an urge to go do a study on yeast than to summarize its story. It needed meat, or at least malt. One can only say so many times that much remains to be learned. Instead of writing, I decided yesterday to go with my family to the Dordogne valley in France, not far from where we are now staying in Toulouse ,to explore. The trip, and some good French wine would clear the mind. [More]

Project FeederWatch

A monitoring program for more than 100 bird species that winter in North America [More]

Smile, You're on (Digital) Camera: TASER's New Police Minicam and the Cloud

By Neal Ungerleider TASER, best known for their electric shock guns, has a new product: Tiny, sunglass-mounted cameras that upload live footage from a cop's P.O.V. [More]

Guest Post: End Oil Subsidies? The $4 Billion Question

By now, you have probably heard the call by democrats and environmentalists to end the $4 billion in subsidies for big oil. The five major oil companies that have a significant presence in the United States – Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP and Conoco – are some of the biggest businesses in America, and have some of the highest gross profits of all U.S. Companies. They can probably afford to pay a little bit more in taxes. But does it make sense to repeal the tax breaks for the oil industry? [More]

How Did Human Brains Get to Be so Big?

New research points to an ancient energy tradeoff that meant more fuel for brains, and less fuel for muscles. Human brain [More]

Wasting Away: Can a Gates Foundation-Funded Toilet-Design Initiative End a Foul Practice in the Developing World?

Chances are that if you are reading this, you have a private flush toilet a few steps from your bed. Your commode is more reliable than your mobile connection, and likely will outlast all of your home appliances. Yet huge tracts of the developing world have yet to see so much as a latrine, a situation that facilitates the spread of debilitating or even deadly diarrheal diseases . [More]

Squid Can Fly to Save Energy

Squid can save energy by flying rather than swimming, according to calculations based on high-speed photography. [More]

Mexico and U.S. Sign Cross-Border Deep Water Oil Deal

By Andrew Quinn LOS CABOS, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico and the United States signed an agreement on Monday to help U.S. [More]

Hepatitis C Now Killing More Americans Than HIV

Image courtesy of iStockphoto/sjlocke The number of people who die from HIV-related causes each year in the U.S. is now down to about 12,700 from a peak of more than 50,000 in the mid-1990s thanks to condom education and distribution campaigns, increased testing and improved treatments. But now a different infectious disease is quietly killing even more people than HIV is: Hepatitis C . [More]

Rains Let Loose Land Mines, Shut Peru-Chile Border

LIMA (Reuters) - Flooding rivers in Peru and Chile have ruined houses, displaced people, and turned up something more sinister: land mines, which closed the border between the two countries on Monday. Heavy summer rains, which meteorologists attribute to a series of low pressure systems that originated in the southern Atlantic Ocean this month, have wiped out crops in Peru and swollen rivers in northern Chile. Anti-personnel and anti-tank mines laid around Chile's Lluta river watershed in the 1970s, when tensions ran high between the two countries, have also surfaced, officials said. As a precaution, Chile blew up four mines found by the highway on Monday that links the Peruvian city of Tacna with Arica in Chile. [More]

Warmer Planet Could Be Dominated by Mosquitoes, Ticks, Rodents and Jellyfish

Imagine a planet where jellyfish rule the seas, giant rodents roam the mountains and swarms of insects blur everything in sight. It may sound far-fetched, but enough global warming is likely to change the distribution of wildlife on Earth. While species that are under threat, such as the polar bear , seem to get all the attention, others are beginning to thrive like never before. [More]

Live from Vancouver: Dispatches from the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Fermilab Set to Reveal "Interesting" Higgs Boson Results [More]

5 Kinds of Fungus Discovered to Be Capable of Farming Animals!

This article is the fifth ( see the first , second , third and f ourth articles here) in a miniseries of six articles that will be posted over six days about civilization, fungus, and alcohol. They found themselves, like any first creatures, lost. Without means, they were unable to survive by anything other than what was in the immediate surroundings. They ate what grew. They planted nothing. They never left home. There were many dire moments, until they found the animals. The first time would have been accidental. A young one caught an animal and rode it out somewhere, the way a storybook character might ride a boat down the river and out to sea. [More]

John Glenn Orbited 50 Years Ago Today

"This is Friendship 7 . Have beautiful view of the African Coast." [More]

Polarized Display Sheds Light on Octopus and Cuttlefish Vision-and Camouflage

Image courtesy of Shelby Temple Octopuses are purportedly colorblind, but they can discern one thing that we can’t: polarized light . This extra visual realm might give them a leg (er, arm) up on some of the competition. [More]

The History of the Universe: From Big Bang to Big Blah

After the furies of birth, the mature cosmos now evolves more slowly. Stars will continue to form for as long as another 100 trillion years (about 10,000 times the present age of the universe), which leaves plenty of time for slow-building cosmic phenomena to occur. [More]

John Glenn: The Man Behind the Hero

On March 1, 1962, thousands of people lined New York City s Broadway. Some climbed into an unfinished building to use it as a makeshift grandstand. They all wanted a glimpse of a real life hero. In the back of a car driving slowly down the street sat John Herschel Glenn Jr., smiling and giving onlookers a thumbs up. He looked just like an astronaut should. Nearly five foot ten inches of trained muscle, his receding red hair cut close to his head accented his ruddy face that was freckled from months of running on the beach in Florida. His wife Annie, whom he met when both were toddlers, sat next to him beaming. [More]

When 14 Billion Years Just Isn't Enough Time (preview)

Time's seemingly inexorable march has always provoked interest in, and speculation about, the far future of the cosmos. The usual picture is grim. Five billion years from now the sun will puff itself into a red giant star and swallow the inner solar system before slowly fading to black. But this temporal frame captures only a tiny portion--in fact, an infinitesimal one--of the entire future. As astronomers look ahead, say, "five hundred and seventy-six thousand million years," as humorist Douglas Adams did in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe , they meet a cosmos replete with myriad slow fades to oblivion. By then the accelerating expansion of space will have already carried everything outside our galaxy beyond our view, leaving the night sky ever emptier. Lord Byron captured the prospect of such a celestial wasteland in his 1816 poem "Darkness": "The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars/Did wander darkling in the eternal space." [More]

The Onion, Daily

Little League World Series to Begin Testing Players For Mustaches

Little League World Series to Begin Testing Players For Mustaches

Unsung Heroes: Margerie Hempstead

While watching a young mother struggle with her a child at the local pharmacy, Margerie Hempstead respectfully held herself to a disapproving glare instead of explaining the proper way she would raise a child.

Stockwatch: Bank of America (BAC)

$7.98 (+$.13) (+1.66%) Shares jumped after Bank of America marketing researchers finally found some fees their customers love.

Conversation Successfully Completed Without Single Mention Of Netflix Queue

Conversation Successfully Completed Without Single Mention Of Netflix Queue

MMA Fighter Unfortunately Discovers True Love For First Time On Morning Of Big Fight

TERRE HAUTE, IN—In an unfortunate instance of ill-timing, mixed martial artist Pat Schrode finally discovered the feeling of true, unrequited love Saturday morning just hours before his fight with Kyle Hendrix.

Your Horoscopes - Week Of February 21, 2012

Aries Your belief that nothing can stop you will be tested this week by depression, procrastination, concrete barriers, dysentery, armed gunmen, and the unanimous passage of several laws targeted specifically at stopping you.
Tau...

Opinion: I’m Getting Bitten By The Oscar Bug…AGAIN! (by Jackie Harvey)

For some people, March Madness begins in March, and it's tied to college basketball, but not me!

Woman In Ninth Year Of Letting Boyfriend Down Easy

CHICAGO—Saying she wanted to "end things the right way"?and not leave any painful, unresolved issues lingering between them, area woman Deborah Oster confirmed Wednesday she has been letting boyfriend Greg Norfolk down easy for the pa...

American Voices: Fruit Flies Seek Out Alcohol

An Emory University study published in the journal Current Biology shows that common fruit flies often seek out fermented fruit for nourishment in order to self-medicate against the threat of deadly parasitic wasps.

[video] NewsBlitz: Senate Session Interrupted By Wailing Of Ted Kennedy's Ghost

Ted Kennedy's crying ghost disrupts Congress and a pilot crashes in the Kardashian wilderness, in today's NewsBlitz.

[audio] Ducks Only Interested In Area Man's Bread

Ducks Only Interested In Area Man's Bread

WASHINGTON, DC—Unbeknownst to them, liberal couple Abel Russ and Jessica Scott, both 29, haven't had nonethnic food in nearly two months.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Unbeknownst to them, liberal couple Abel Russ and Jessica Scott, both 29, haven't had nonethnic food in nearly two months.

TV Listings: The Parents

ABC
8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST

After a week of cuddling, homework help, and bedtime stories, which child will go back to the orphanage without a rose?

Disturbed Beltway Sources Report Congress Eerily Cooperative Today

WASHINGTON—According to reports from distressed Capitol Hill sources, members of both houses of Congress were eerily cooperative and agreeable throughout today's legislative session, prompting widespread confusion, fear, and suspicion among politica...

[video] Injured Derrick Rose Will Play Next Game Strapped To Gurney

After another bite of sour fish, Doc struggles to hold down the Jeremy Lin trade, Derrick Rose in a gurney, and the wusses on the Mariners.

Arena Sound Guy Given Cousin's Demo To Play During Timeouts

Arena Sound Guy Given Cousin's Demo To Play During Timeouts

Slideshow: The Week In Pictures

The Week In Pictures

Editorial Cartoon: Royal Welcome

Royal Welcome

Magazine: 'I Killed Myself' One Man's Lost Battle With Alcoholism

'I Killed Myself' One Man's Lost Battle With Alcoholism

American Voices: Pennies, Nickels To Change?

Because they cost more than twice their face value between non-cost-effective raw materials and manufacturing expenses, the Obama administration asked Congress for permission to change the metal composition for the nickel and penny.

[audio] Local Child Amuses Café Patrons—But For How Long?

Local Child Amuses Café Patrons?But For How Long?

OFFERMAN, GA—After realizing she waved good morning to the wrong squirrel, Kiera Boyd recovered by coughing a bit and pretending to fix her hair.

OFFERMAN, GA—After realizing she waved good morning to the wrong squirrel, Kiera Boyd recovered by coughing a bit and pretending to fix her hair.

TV Listings: Oh Fuck, What The Fuck Is That?

Animal
7 p.m. EST/6 p.m. CST

A woman talks about the time she saw what had to be a centipede just sitting there in her bathroom—covered in fur and the size of her fucking arm—but when she came back it was gone and that's even more terrifying.

8-Year-Old Attempts To Break The Sour Barrier

8-Year-Old Attempts To Break The Sour Barrier

Suspicious-Looking Duffel Bag Spotted On Magic Bench Just Glen Davis

ORLANDO—The Orlando Magic were forced to evacuate the Amway Center prior to their game against Milwaukee Friday after team officials called security to investigate a large, suspicious duffel bag that turned out to be forward Glen Davis.

Autodesk 123D

Printing in 3D is now no more complicated than printing photos in Picasa. First you design something in Autodesk 123D (in my case, my first project was a device housing prototype). Then pick "Make" from the menu. You can print your object on your desktop printer, like a Makerbot (moderate quality, now), or you press another button to have it printed (high quality, later) on a commercial printer. Enter your credit card (my prototype, shown here, cost $24) and a week later it's delivered to your house. Wow.

Best of all, 123D is free. This is the future of fabrication.

-- Chris Anderson

Autodesk 123d
Free
Windows-only (OSX support to come)
Available from and produced by Autodesk

Kelty Pathfinder

I've used this kid-carrier backpack from Kelty, called the Pathfinder, nearly every day for the past year. For instance, just today I took a bird-watching hike with my 16-month-old son, Ivan, who loves traveling in the pack. Previous to the Pathfinder I was using an expensive Phil-and-Ted Backpack for a few months, but it was inferior. It is attractive and stylish and it has what seems to be a more comfortable seat for the child, but the adjustments are limited for positioning the child. It's essential when using one of these packs that the kid's weight is well-balanced over the wearer's hips, and not too far back. I find that the Phil and Ted's pack isn't adjustable enough, so that my child becomes cantilevered too far off of my back. In contrast, the Kelty pack's adjustments allow me to place my child in such a way that his weight rests on my hips and doesn't put too much strain on my back and neck.
 
The previously reviewed and recommended Ergo Baby carrier is an outstanding product, if not the best overall child carrier. It's great for wearing young infants in front, and it can—like this Kelty— be used to wear a larger toddler on your back. However, the kid is directly against your back, so any type of serious hiking would be out of the question because it would be too uncomfortable and sweaty. I like to get a workout in while I'm out with my son, and with the heat he generates having him directly on my back would be miserable.
 
Like the other packs in this class, the Pathfinder is designed to balance a lot of weight (up to 44 lbs.), so that it feels comfortable for the wearer and for the child while you are really hiking. The pack itself is lightweight, and comes with a very useful sun/rain canopy. The padding on the back and the positioning of the child both keep my back from getting hot and sweaty. The Pathfinder has two hip pockets accessible while you're wearing the pack, and the main storage compartment that rests behind the kid detaches as a small daypack, diaper bag. 
 
What sets the old Pathfinder apart from the top-of-the-line Ortlieb and Deuter models -- and the current Pathfinder 3.0, Kelty's current top-of-the-line version  --  is simply its low price. Functionally it's the same as, or at least very similar to, the high-end newer models, but with out-of-style colors.
 
You can get these classic packs cheap on eBay because parents receive them as gifts but then never use them. It requires some effort to adjust them properly, and more importantly it's simply hard to carry 32 pounds (my kid + cargo + the pack itself) on your back if you're not used to it, especially hiking uphill or on uneven terrain. So there's an abundance of high-quality inexpensive used backpacks in excellent condition. I bought mine unused for $65 through Craigslist, versus about $275 for the new Pathfinder 3.0.

-- Elon Schoenholz

Kelty Pathfinder 3.0
New from $250-$275

Available from Amazon

Available used from eBay

Manufactured by Kelty

Cloning Your Own Mineral Water

You can start with a carbonation water machine, like a SodaStream, Soda-Club, or the previously reviewed home system, and then you can add minerals to make your own artisan mineral waters. There are several ways to calculate how much mineral you need to add. In general you start with an analysis of your tap water (often provided by your water company), then you get a list of branded mineral waters to imitate, and then use a spreadsheet to figure out how much mineral to add. Of course you can also refine your own personal mix that suits your taste, too. Finding a source for the minerals is a little bit trickier, but I suspect selling such salts will soon become a small cottage business for someone (if you know of a source let me know in the comments.) Right now check out this tutorial which tells you how:

How to Clone Mineral Water, Edible Geography

A spoon full of mineral salts is required for the preparation of 1 liter of San Pellegrino mineral water. Image from Khymos, Mineral waters a la carte

One of the commentors on the Khymos blog noticed that Burton salts, used in beer brewing, and available from supplier like AHS, is very close to the mix of the salts in San Pelligrino mineral water. A quick experiment awaits?

(Has anyone tried more than one off-the-shelf home carbonation machine and would like to recommend the best one?)

-- KK

Katadyn Pocket Microfilter

While bottled water is available in most large towns throughout the world, in many remote locations the water quality is questionable. Even where bottled water is available it seems extremely wasteful to throw away a dozen plastic bottles every day. We used the Katadyn Pocket Microfilter to fill up our own canteens. On a bike trip through SouthEast Asia we were able to avoid purchasing about 20 of those liter bottles of water every day by having the pump. And of course in places without bottled water, this was a life-saver.

The Katadyn Pocket is different from everything else on the market. The first difference is the price. It costs is two-to-three times the price of it's competition! Also, it is not lightweight. And really it's not all that easy to use.

So what's so great about it? Katadyn has been making this filter for decades. It has been used by the Navy Seals and other special forces for years. The aluminum construction makes it very durable.The filter is fully field-cleanable. That means there is no expensive filter cartridge to replace after a month of use. The ceramic cartridge in the Katadyn Pocket has a life of 13,000 gallons or 50,000 liters. So this filter will last for a lifetime of any adventure.

There are a few things that need to be done regularly to keep the filter in good working condition. The pores of the ceramic filter element absorb the contamination and must be scrubbed clean periodically. Generally I give it a light scrubbing after pumping about ten liters of sink water. If the water source is slightly salty or dirty then the element must be scrubbed more frequently. I can tell it needs a cleaning when the filter becomes difficult to pump. When I first began using the filter I would scrub it too often and too hard, removing more of the ceramic coating than necessary. The first filter wore our faster than the 50,000 liter limit and I learned my lesson. Now I am careful to scrub it lightly and evenly so the wear occurs at the outer edges of the filter at the same rate as the center.  Katadyn provides an organic lubricant that is applied to the pump handle at the bottom and the point where the rod enters the pump. While the lubricant is a tiny little tube it seems to last a long time.

-- Richard Ligato

Katadyn Pocket Water Microfilter
$277

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Katadyn

Sample Excerpts:

Filling the water bag in a hotel bathroom in Thailand

Thingiverse

Thingiverse is a swap meet for exchanging digital files for 3D printing of tiny objects, like the stuff for doll houses. You download a file and print out the object using a the previously reviewed Makerbot or 3D printing service. Eventually, the objects will be larger, and the selection larger, and you'll be able to print out complex things. For now, 3D printing is a thrilling hobby, and this exchange site is a real tool for model makers.

-- KK

Gerber Hinderer Rescue Knife

This knife is designed by firefighter Rick Hinderer for the working Firefighter, EMT or Medic. It has a serrated stainless steel blade, a window punch and a foldaway seatbelt cutter. But what tempted me, and what gets used the most, is the built in oxygen tank wrench. It is a deceptively simple slot in the handle, but it has time and again come in handy switching out portable oxygen tanks while on scene. No more sending someone running back to the rig because someone on C-shift forgot to replace the oxygen wrench back in the bag! The over-sized thumb studs make it workable even with bunker gloves on and it comes with a 9-piece kit of screw bits.

-- Jesse Hinds

I've used this knife for two years, and found that it has served me well in all my field work. For me the knife is exceptional because of its appropriate sizing and ergonomic hold. It's easy to use with gloves on. The strap cutter on the back side is excellent and I end up using it a lot. The rubber strip with different tools have been useful for hard to access spaces. It does not replace a multi-tool, but is a great compliment to it.

-- Jason DeJong

Gerber Hinderer Rescue Knife
$62

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Gerber

PacSafe RFID-tec Wallet

Traveling back from Europe last year, I almost missed my plane because I was shopping for a wallet that had a fully closing change-purse (necessary for one and two Euro coins). I bought a very stylish, leather one at the airport for $100, which did not have a bill pocket, only a clip (which itself soon broke).

I replaced it with a more utilitarian PacSafe wallet, and I love it. It has two bill pockets, one that zips closed, as well as a large coin-purse. It has three larger than card-sized pockets as well as three card-slots and a transparent pocket for an ID card.

The material is super-strong nylon and has something sewn-in that blocks RFID signals. It successfully prevents the SF Bay Area touchless transit card Clipper from working while the wallet is closed. I am even more impressed with the construction and the little details like small elastic pockets to hold the zipper-pulls to keep them from jingling and catching on things.

In short, it does what it is supposed to do and does it well.

-- Richard Haven

[Blocking RFID signals is increasingly relevant given the number of credit cards and passports that currently use the technology. Faraday cages and other signal blocking materials can prevent RFID sniffers from accessing sensitive information used in identity theft. --OH]

Pacsafe RFID-Tec 100 RFID-Blocking Bifold Wallet
$26

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Pacsafe

OPI Matte Nail Strengthener

My husband has dry fingernails that are very thin and are prone to breaking. Once we get into the dry season, they start to peel, and he's always biting them off as soon as they start to snag.

There's all sorts of things you can brush onto your nails, but one that I like is from a nail polish company called OPI (that's Oh-Pee-Eye, not "ohpee"). They have a line of nail care products called Nail Envy. They all look like white or beige nail polish (in nail polish bottles), and most of them are designed to be worn underneath or on top of nail color.

There IS one version of Nail Envy, however, that's designed for men. It's called Matte Nail Envy, and as the name implies, it's a nail polish that dries into a matte, non-shiny coating. Now, my husband swears up and down it's shiny--it DOES give your nails a sheen, but I wouldn't call it a shine at all. OPI is sold in most hair and nail salons as well as higher-end stores that sell cosmetics. If you have a store like Sally Beauty Products or ULTA in your neighborhood, they will have it in stock.

If you're embarrassed to walk into a beauty store, you can always write down the product name on a piece of paper, and go to the cashier right away and ask them to get it for you. The nail polish aisle will likely look pretty overwhelming for you. Another option is to simply buy them online.

If you try it, and you agree with my husband that the sheen is too much for you, my suggestion is that you use an extra fine nail sander to buff off the surface a bit.
Another thing you can do is keep some moisturizer on hand, especially when the weather is cold and dry. Just dab a little bit on your fingernail, then pat your finger down at each of your nail beds, and then just lightly rub back and forth. It will keep your nail area moist and less likely to chip and crack.

-- Lani Teshima

OPI Matte Nail Envy Nail Strengthener
$5

Available from Amazon

Manufactured by OPI

Image credit: Montpelier Beauty

Valentine One Radar Detector

I carry a Valentine One radar detector in my day bag. I drive multiple cars, so I can I transfer it from one car to the other, and I use it for rental cars as well. A radar detector may seem a wholly unnecessary item for a law-abiding citizen, but as police departments see their budgets threatened, they have become more active in pulling people over for small infractions such as failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, or even driving just a few miles in excess of the limit. Modern police radar is designed to be kept in standby mode, activated only when the officer points-and-shoots, but in my experience, many police are lazy and leave their radar guns active all the time.

Since I like to know where they are, the Valentine One is the only detector that shows me the direction of a radar source (whether ahead, behind, or either side). It's very expensive at $499, but can easily pay for itself, depending on your driving habits. The after-sale service is remarkable; when my detector's frequency setting drifted after about 8 years, I sent it in and they fixed it and sent it back without charge. They will also upgrade older models for a small fee.

-- Charles Platt

Manufactured by Valentine One

Available from Amazon

QuickFix Mudguard

This mudguard solves the problem of wanting to keep the clean aesthetic of my bike while staying free of mud during rides. In the past I haven't liked to clutter up my bike with permanent mudguards, etc. With the Quickfix Mudguard I can snap it on and off whenever I need it without the use of tools.

When I'm not using it, it folds away into my bag where it takes up no space, and it's really light. It's also easy to wash and simply requires that I take it off and run it under the tap. It's made of polypropolene so it's very hard-wearing while also being strong but flexible at the same time.

-- Helen Wilson

Quickfix Mudguard
$23

Available from Wiggle
Manufactured by Full Windsor

Sample Excerpts:

The Full Windsor Quickfix Mudguard clips onto the bike frame

The Scale of the Universe 2

This is a cool tool for comprehending, appreciating, and demonstrating the scale of our universe. I used to recommend Charles and Ray Eames' classic film, Powers of Ten, as the best way to get a sense of our cosmos. It's still effective, but two bothers have made an on-line portal that blows Powers of Ten away.

Check out The Scale of the Universe 2. It takes a minute to load. Once ready, be prepared to have your horizons stretched. I like the way they pile in the expected and unexpected size examples, which anchor the scale in a refreshing way. The continuous zoom is what makes this device work, rather than the quantum powers of ten of the film. (In fact you can read off the powers of ten in this model as well.) And the fact that you drive the slider. And like anytime you drive, you get a better sense of the place than you do as a mere passenger.

For the first time, I really got a visceral sense of our place in the universe. As many have noted before (but none have explained) we -- our visible bodies -- are located approximately in the middle of the universe's size range. The largest things we know and the smallest things we know are roughly the same magnitude away from us.

And BTW, this app is what electronic "publishing" is really about.

-- KK

Chased By the Light

Chased by the Light

This project is a zen masterpiece. It is also a behavior-modifiying challenge for all digital photographers: Look instead of click.

In the 1990s veteran magazine photographer Jim Brandenbrug gave himself an impossible assignment: "For 90 days between the autumn equinox and winter solstice I would make only one photograph a day. There would be no second exposure, no second chance." A single exposure, a single click per day! He was using film, and he was photographing wildlife, including elusive animals in the north woods in upper Minnesota. Film is unforgiving. For amateur and professional alike getting even an acceptable photo in these conditions with one shot requires relying on the Force. Yet Brandenburg found, or made, one beauty after another. Most mortals would need a hundred shots to get one like these. The 90 images stand strong each on their own, but the complete symphony is one of the most impressive acts of mindfulness I've seen.

(The full set of images were also published in a smaller format in the November 1997 issue of National Geographic.)

Besides the book, there is now an iPad app.

-- KK

Chased by the Light
Jim Brandenburg
1998, 104 pages
$35

Available from Amazon

App $10

Sample Excerpts

I sensed there would be lessons learned. There were, but not always those I had imagined. Some were merely lessons remembered, recapturing things I had forgotten, such as remaining open to chance, and that, in nature, not all beauty is giant in scale. One such lesson occurred on October 15th, the twenty-third day. It was late and I despaired of capturing anything of value. The day was dark and gloomy; my mood reflected the weather. I wandered through the dripping forest all day long. Tired, hungry , and wet, I was near tears. I was mentally beating myself for having passed up several deer portraits and the chance to photograph a playful otter. None of those scenes spoke to me at the time.

But perhaps because I was patient, and perhaps because, as natives do on a vision quest, I had reached my physical limits, I became open to the possibility revealed by a single red maple leaf floating on a dark-water pond. My spirits rose the instant I saw it, and although the day was very late and what little light there had been was fleeing rapidly, I studied the scene from every angle. Finally, unsure of my choice, I made the shot anyway, thankful at least that the long day had ended. Once more I was surprised by the result. The image seems to have a lyrical quality, with a rhythm in the long grass.

Big Bandwidth

To get the most bandwidth these days use cable.

For my home/home office we switched from the fastest internet we could get over the telephone lines to best internet broadband we could afford on a cable modem. This was a big switch for us because we did not have cable. So we had cable hooked up to our house just for the internet. We signed up for Comcast's "Extreme" level of broadband since there can be 5 - 9 people using the line at any one time. The improvement was dramatic.

We now get about 60 Mb/s download and 17 Mb/s upload. This gives me and my assistant in the office and my family of five, plus the relatives downstairs, plus the Netflix and X-Box live connections, plenty of bandwidth to share. We pay about $120 per month for the connection.

It's been running at this level for about a year and we've had very little problems. Someone in the family can be streaming a movie on Netflix while my son plays Battlefield live on the XBox, while I download a software update, while my daughter watches YouTube -- all at the same time with no noticeable delay.

Not having to wait for downloads and being able to zip around on even image-dense web pages is pure joy. Since I spend so much time online, the monthly fee is well-worth it to me, the family, and our little office.

To test the speed of your internet connect use this free website, Speedtest. Here is our snapshot today.

Bluebeam PDF Revu

I've been using the Windows-only Bluebeam PDF Revu professionally for two years. As a PDF reader and markup tool for construction and design professionals, or anyone who works with large format drawings, there is no equal (Bluebeam is not for creating drawings, plans or text documents, but for converting them to PDF and working with them once in this format.). I have gotten our entire office of designers and estimators to switch from printed plans to using Revu with little to no coercion. Even the strongest proponents of paper, those who print their email, have decided to switch to digital plans after seeing how easy and fast Revu really is.

For the light user it provides all the tools you would have on your desk: a scale, pen, highlighter and calculator. This allows you to switch to on-screen takeoff and markup without changing your workflow, making it less scary for some folks. For the more progressive people, you can dig in to the more advanced functionality of the markups list, custom columns with formulas, filtering, scripting, even visual search where you draw a box around something (pictures, text, or both) and it will find the same image elsewhere in the document. The "eXtreme" version even lets you OCR the plans and search the text.

I have found Revu to be better than any other PDF software because of it's ease of use for beginners, advanced features for power users, and its absolute speed of rendering the page on screen. Zooming in and out, and panning in any direction is seamless and smooth with native vector based PDFs (results vary with scanned PDFs). Bluebeam also has an active user community with an online forum with multiple Bluebeam employees contributing to the forum daily.

In addition to being the best PDF tool, it's cheaper than Adobe's own Acrobat Pro. Bringing this tool to my company has saved us thousands by eliminating paper printing and shipping costs, digitizer board costs, and Acrobat costs. Bluebeam PDF Revu is hands down the best and most important piece of software on my computer

-- Mike Pepin

Bluebeam PDF Revu
$179

Bluebam PDF Revu for CAD
$239

Bluebeam PDF Revu eXtreme
$299

Produced by and available from Bluebeam

Sample Excerpts:

A typical working screen in BlueBeam PDF Revu

KUM Pencut

I love scissors. I use them in my kitchen, in the laundry room, at my desk, and throughout my apartment. Yet, I rarely have a pair with me while on the go. Or, at least I rarely had a pair with me until I found the KUM Pencut.

Traditional scissors are potentially hazardous items to throw in a bag (which is why I never used to carry a pair with me). They rarely come with a sheath, and without protection the likelihood of dulling the blades, or accidentally tearing a hole in your bag (or hand) is significant.

The KUM Pencut is an ingeniously designed pair of scissors that masquerades as a pen. When folded the blades are kept hidden beneath a sturdily affixed pen cap. The pen-like form gives the impression that there is nowhere for your fingers to go, but pull the plastic sliders down and two pieces of nylon fold out creating comfortable finger holds.

Outside of being cleverly designed, the scissors are very sharp, while also having full tang blades (which gives the scissors a surprising sturdiness). With the cap on, it's very easy to mistake the scissors for just another pen that I've slipped into a pen-holder in my bag; it also means that it stays in place, and is there when I need it.

The biggest downside to these scissors is the price, but given they're sturdy build and how many conversations they've started I'm confident it's worth it.

-- Oliver Hulland

KUM Pencut
$15

Available from Jet Pens

Manufactured by KUM

Sample Excerpts:

The plastic sliders provide access to the nylon handles.

Intern’s Corner: MAKE Firetruck

In this installment of Intern's Corner, the Make: Labs interns bring our iconic Mercedes hose and ladder truck back to life.

Gogglevision Quadcopter Video

Steve Lodefink sent me this amazing video of a guy flying his quadcopter around his neighborhood using a goggle vision system. He even flies it through his(?)house. What fun!

Rock Out Hands Free with Air Guitar Hero

Biomechanical engineer Robert Armiger and surgical roboticist Carol Reiley, both of Johns Hopkins University, created Air Guitar Hero as a fun rehabilitation exercise for people with amputations. The original version they made was a bit costly, but they wrote up a less expensive DIY version, and shared their build instructions with us on the pages [...]

DIY or Buy: Custom-Fit Earbuds

Collin Cunningham takes a look a pair of commercial earbuds and compares them to a pair he molded himself. DIY or Buy?

Reimagining the Library for the Future @ The New York Public Library

If you want to see 3D printers, tool lending, laser cutters, skill building, entrepreneurial classes and hackspace-like activities visit the NYPL "Join the Conversation" page and send in your comments. You can also email: yourlibrary@nypl.org

Make: Projects – Tiny Wanderer Bump Sensor and “Moth� Behavior

Two Make: Projects teach the Tiny Wanderer robot (from MAKE Volume 29) new tricks: Bump sensor navigation and light-avoiding "Moth" behavior.

Building a Robotic Bee With MEMS 3D Printing

Basically, microscale 3D printing the same way a popup book creates a three-dimensional shape. The Harvard Monolithic Bee is a millimeter-scale flapping wing robotic insect produced using Printed Circuit MEMS (PC-MEMS) techniques. This video describes the manufacturing process, including pop-up book inspired assembly. [via Ponoko]

Ask MAKE: Modding Vacuum Tubes with LEDs

On today's Ask MAKE, a reader writes: "I have a box full of old vacuum tubes and would like to do an LED tube mod but I have no clue as to how to wire, power supplies, etc. Could you help me as far the nitty gritty on making this project work?

In the Maker Shed: Big Bad Beetlebot Kit

Are you looking for a great kit to introduce your children to making? The BeetleBot, available in the Maker Shed, is a simple kit to make a quick and basic obstacle-avoiding robot - no soldering required!

Following the Ten Rules for Maker Businesses

Pete Prodoehl of Milwaukee, WI, who runs a web development company, is branching out into the DIY biz by selling his Button kit, which creates a one-button keyboard used for, among other things, triggering photobooths. Along the way he's blogging his experiences following Chris Anderson's Ten Rules for Maker Businesses: Make a profit. It takes [...]

SquidooCool Blog

The (Even Better) Best Ever Squidoo Advice

On SquidooCool.com I've asked the visitors a few times what they think the best Squidoo advice is, and they always say "make lots of lenses". Why is this? Because there's no better way to learn than through experience. Simple: Build lots of lenses, and see how the experts do it. If you observe the successful [...]

Unbelievable Lens Categories Now Available!

Squidoo has now gone live with their new lens categories… and blimey… there are hundreds of them! You can choose from topics as broad as "Entertainment and Media" and as specific as "History of Atheism and Skepticism". They've done a brilliant job. The hard part for us (if you have a lot of lenses) is [...]

6 Best Places To Bookmark Your Lenses

If I've missed out your favourite bookmarking site, post it below in the comments!  You may even win a cookie. If you want to start getting more visitors to your lenses, this list is a great place to start! Remember. Every time you submit your lens to a bookmarking site make sure you add the [...]

Using Squidoo for Marketing Purposes, or , Some Basic Squidoo Advice

To Internet Marketers, Squidoo is a way to get high rankings in Google. Squidoo has a high page rank, and many backlinks pointing to it, and building pages is a super easy process. If you want to venture into a new niche as an experiment, Squidoo is the way to go. See how easy it [...]

RANT: Squidoo Banned Topics: Is Squidoo Going Too Far?

Be Aware: Before you start a lens on whatever topic you think of, be aware of the Squidoo rules. Squidoo Banned Topics: * MLM * "Get your ex back" * Rude XXX * Ringtones * Dieting and weight loss * Gambling * Pharmaceuticals and drugs * "Medical cures" * Downloading movies, music, and TV shows [...]

Edit Your Lens Sidebars Now!

Squidoo has just gone live with an incredible new feature. They've just announced "sidebar widgets", which means you get even more control over the sidebar of your lenses. We pretty much have modules for our lens sidebars! There are 4 types of widgets: * RSS Widget * Amazon Spotlight * Featured Lenses * Recent Squidcasts [...]

RIP Squidoo Groups

The day we all knew would come has arrived. Squidoo groups are dead and buried, never to be seen again. Weep weep, kinda. WHEN: Just a few days ago, Squidoo converted all groups into regular lenses. You can no longer add your lens to a group, and your existing lenses are no longer members of [...]

The $2000 Lens Challenge

Joe from CaptainSquid is back from many adventures, with a new challenge for himself and anyone who wants to follow along. Joe will attempt to get a brand new lensmaster account from $0 to $2000-per-month, using only the tools available to all lensmasters. So anyone will be able to emulate his success. If you are [...]

#1 Most Important Thing… About Guestbooks

If you've put Guestbook modules on your lenses, and you have 10+ published, you'll be very familiar with the kind of comments I'm talking about here. If a guestbook comment doesn't say anything interesting, and add to the conversation, DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT DELETING IT. Don't think just because someone left you a comment you [...]

Pinging Your Lenses

WHAT IS A PING? Any time you update certain webpages or publish a new blog post or lens, you can send a Ping for it. A Ping is a little signal your new updated page sends to various search engines and directories. A ping is the online equivalent of your new lens running up to [...]

Wired News

A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Feb. 22

Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills.

Ubuntu for Android Turns Your Phone Into a Desktop Computer

Cramming a desktop environment onto a smartphone is a fun project that promises very little actual usefulness. But now Canonical's Ubuntu for Android takes a different approach, surfacing the desktop OS only when it actually makes sense.

Apache Web Server Gets First Facelift in 6 Years

The world's most popular web server just got a facelift. On Tuesday, for the first time in over six years, the Apache Software Foundation unveiled a new version of its eponymous web server, which runs an estimated 398 million sites across the net.

How Many Different Ways Can the Same iPad 3 Rumors Be Reblogged?

We know. You're excited about the iPad 3. We are too. And so is just about everyone else who follows consumer tech hardware. Rumors about Apple's upcoming tablet have been pouring in for months, and we've been following them just like everyone else.

Megaupload CEO Kim Dotcom Granted Bail in New Zealand, But Banned From Net

Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom was freed on bail in New Zealand, pending an extradition hearing to face criminal copyright charges in the States. Dotcom is not, however, allowed to fly, stray far from his mansion or, perhaps worst of all, use the internet.

Intel 'Solar' Chip Nears Light of Day

In September, Intel showed off the Claremont processor, a research prototype so energy-efficient it can run Windows on the power generated by a palm-size solar cell. Now, the company is also using the processor's Near Threshold Voltage technique in memory chips and graphics processors, and the technique's public status has also been upgraded from may-not-see-the-light-of-day to likely-to-turn-up-in-products.

How Patent Battles Threaten the Simple Act of Unlocking a Phone

Unlocking a smartphone is perhaps its most basic function. It's a no-frills feature, but an important one. And yet over the past six months, the simple act of unlocking a phone has grown absurdly controversial.

How the European Internet Rose Up Against ACTA

Apple's iCloud Has Solar Lining

The iPhone Monoculture Is in Your Mind

One mobile web expert argues that while it might seem like the mobile web is all iPhone, it just seems that way. In fact, the problem with the iPhone isn't that it's creating a monoculture around WebKit; the problem is that it's the only phone developers talk about.

NASA Launches Rocket Into Northern Lights

Scientists recently sent a 46-foot rocket sailing through the shimmering green band of energy known as the northern lights.

Small Town Flips for Centuries-Old Sport of Pancake Racing

Pancake racing, the most wonderfully random of all weird sports, is held on Shrove Tuesday and is exactly what its name suggests.

Will Network DNA Sabotage Your Journey to the Cloud?

After more than four years ?in the cloud?, I have come to the conclusion that one of the most difficult challenges for large enterprise customers to overcome on their journey to cloud is the DNA of the network. Fortunately, ?gene therapy? treatments are available which can significant improve the quality of experience and service from any cloud.

Barfipelago: Using Twitter to Fight Virus Outbreak

Norovirus can spread among people very, very fast. But not as fast as Twitter. When an outbreak hit the annual Archipelago journalism conference -- subsequently dubbed "Barfipelago" -- attendees and organizers alike used Twitter to stay on top of the situation.

Slick Web App Slaps Stereotypes by Remixing Toy Commercials

A handy web app called the Gendered Advertising Remixer mashes toy commercials together, tweaking the concept of ?girls? stuff? and ?boys? stuff? ? with often-hilarious results.

Comcast's 'Mini-Hulu Plus' Offers Full TV Seasons to Go for $5/Month

Forget voice, video and internet: When it comes to television, a mix of live, recent and back-catalog video is the real triple play.

Cyborgs, Software Spies and Shadow Wars: Our 5 Years (Un)covering the Hidden Pentagon

I'd like to pretend there was some master plan, that the site you see before you crept out of our skulls fully-formed. But the truth is, when Sharon Weinberger and I launched Danger Room five years ago this week, we were just winging it.

Documentary Film Bear 71 Tags and Tracks Viewers

The documentary Bear 71, which premiered at Sundance, invites its viewers to engage with Banff National Park in an interactive experience that allows its viewers to join the forest's tagged wildlife at the project's temporary home at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art or by way of webcam through the documentary's website.

Will You Trust Cloud Security to a Cloud Service?

ScaleXtreme is aiming to ease concerns about the cloud with today's announcement of what it says is the first cloud-based automation patch management engine that works across public cloud machines, virtual machines and physical servers. But will you trust your security (cloud or not) to a cloud service?

Q&A: Sony's Game Design Chief Talks PlayStation Vita

C-Level: Enterprise, Steak Dinners and Becoming Truly Social

Barnes & Noble Delivers New 8GB Tablet, Disappointing Earnings

The new tablet and price drop are aggressive, revenue-boosting moves coming on the same day as B&N's quarterly earnings report.

Throw a Geek Oscars Party

Forget the red carpet and musical numbers. For geeks, the Oscars are about celebrating the fleeting overlap of technology and filmmaking. Here?s how to stage an Oscar bash for your inner geek.

Not Dead Yet: Moon Still Seismically Active

Earth's moon seems seismically quiet -- its major volcanic and tectonic activity is confined to its distant past. But recent images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal smaller features that have escaped earlier notice.

Bypass Automated Phone Bots

We've all been there before. You find a charge on your cable bill for a pay-per-view movie that you most definitely did not order, and when you call the company to have the charge reversed, you find yourself trapped in the grips of a robot operator. After 30 minutes of waiting, you hang up, pay the damned bill and vow to switch to another cable company. Here are a few strategies for blasting past the robot and getting straight to an honest-to-goodness human the next time you pick up the phone to set something straight.

Hortonworks Teams With Teradata on Hadoop

Hortonworks -- the Yahoo spinoff dedicated to Hadoop -- has joined forces with analytics outfit Terradata to help big businesses make use of the increasingly popular open source data-crunching platform. On Tuesday, the two companies announced that they will offer a reference architecture for building Hadoop clusters, while also helping customers build additional tools atop the platform.

Google Tricks Internet Explorer into Accepting Tracking Cookies, Microsoft Claims

Last week Google was caught bypassing Safari's cookie blocking mechanisms, now Microsoft claims Google is doing something similar to Internet Explorer users. This time, however, Google isn't the only one; it turns out numerous websites bypass IE's cookie protections.

Lord of the Files: How GitHub Tamed Free Software (And More)

GitHub is Facebook for geeks. Instead of uploading videos of your cat, you upload software. Anyone can comment on your code and add to it and build it into something better. The trick is that it decentralizes programming, giving everyone a new kind of control. GitHub has shaken up the way software gets written, making coding a little more anarchic, a little more fun, and a lot more productive.

Magical Long-Exposure Firefly Photos Go Viral

Exclusive: Animators Drop Stop-Motion Creatures Into Jungle Scenes