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Ben Stewart’s day-to-day blog ramblings from the road.360-degree photos of Bristol, Darlington and Daytona on pages .The Charger’s suspension is compressed flat to the bump stops as it drifts up Darlington’s banking. The steering is getting twitchy and so am I. The passenger side mirror nearly brushes the wall off Turn 1. The next turn comes quicker than I can think. My eyes tell me to hit the brakes, my mind tells me to brace for impact, but I hold the line....

Adapted from Backyard BallisticsHow to Build ItMake the Catapult Frame1. Drill four 1/16-inch pilot holes through the 10-inch frame pieces, with the holes 1¾ inches from each of the four ends and centered vertically.2. Drill a pilot hole into the center of each end of the crossmembers.3. Apply glue to the ends of one crossmember and near the pilot holes on the inside of the 10-inch frame pieces; screw the crossmember into place....

Media Platforms Design Team DETROIT – After a 10-year hiatus, the high performance Taurus returns with a mouth-watering 365-hp twin-turbocharged V6 engine and a slick new suit to match. The SHO joins the redesigned base model for what could be a renaissance of the once best-selling car. While Frank Davis, Ford’s Executive Director of Product Development, calls the SHO, “A sleeper sports sedan,” he’s also quick to point out the efficiency gains of the SHO’s downsized turbo engine....

Media Platforms Design TeamVenus used to be described as a sister planet because it shares a similar size, mass, and composition with Earth. But the similarities end there. Venus’s 900-degree-Fahrenheit temperature, sulfuric acid atmosphere, and overwhelming air pressure (93 times greater than our home planet’s) have ruled out manned missions, leaving scientists with the challenge to develop technology and techniques to withstand such a harsh environment. For more than a half-century scientists have launched a barrage of complex equipment to the second planet from the sun, hoping that the instruments will survive the harsh Venusian climate long enough to transmit data....

What do you do when you know the flooding of your home is imminent, and what happens when the water recedes and you come home? PM’s editors tell you what you need to know about preparation and recovery when it comes to your home, your gadgets and your car.Take The Most Important Stuff FirstAll hard copies of important financial, health, school, insurance, and family information must be packed and ready to go....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe fear of being zapped into next week—or beyond—keeps even some intrepid do-it-yourselfers away from electrical work. Generally speaking, that’s wise, because messing with electricity can be lethal. Yet certain lighting upgrades, such as installing a new chandelier, are safe if you follow some basic precautions and think ahead.Let’s say you have your new chandelier and are ready to start. First, go to the main electrical panel and turn off the flow of electricity to the fixture....

Update: As of Tuesday, June 26, Facebook has pulled the last feature mentioned here, Find Friends Nearby.So many of us are in the same boat. Every time the tech blogs update us on Facebook’s newest changes to its privacy policy/affronts to our dignity, the blood boils and the outrage makes us want to quit. Then, after a tweet and a couple of minutes have gone by, we realize we’re just bluffing ourselves....

We have a nice cedar picnic table and bench set, but the tabletop is weathered and there are food and beer stains. The benches also need to be refinished. Can you give us some tips? Art L., Eden, New YorkThis is pretty straightforward. Begin with an application of an exterior wood cleaner that contains oxalic acid, such as Flood Wood Cleaner. Scrub the tabletop and benches with a coarse synthetic brush, being careful not to score the -surfaces....

Media Platforms Design TeamHere are a few things Katie Spotz can say from experience that most people cannot. Rowing a boat across the Atlantic Ocean is really, really hard. When little fish jump out of the sea and slap you in the face, it doesn’t hurt much. Big fish hurt more. Ocean rowboats are great for rowing but bad for sleeping. Going to the bathroom in a bucket on a rowboat in the middle of the ocean is like riding a bull in a rodeo....

Media Platforms Design TeamAs if those CSI guys weren’t already good enough, they’re now getting help from another cutting-edge profession—engineers at NASA. Developed to better diagnose damages to the space shuttle, the Laser Scaling and Measurement Device for Photographic Imaging (LSMDPI), is a high-tech addition to the typically low-tech tools of the trade. crime scene investigatingThe LSMDPI is a half-pound box that attaches directly to a camera’s tripod. It shoots two lasers from its front, producing a pattern of dots that allows objects in the photograph to be precisely scaled and measured....

If you’ve ever taken a long drive at night and then seen the massacre of bugs that smashed against your car’s front end and windshield, then you know NASA’s pain. The space agency has been testing a variety of materials to find one that will keep bugs off of airplane wings. Now they think they’ve found the secret in the water-repellant properties of the lotus leaf.When bugs meet their untimely demise by smacking into a vehicle, the blood and guts take on an especially sticky quality that makes it hard to remove and creates more drag....

MILWAUKEE SUPER SAWZALL, $229. The Milwaukee Super Sawzall is the undisputed king of recip saws. With an incredible 13-amp motor and 3000-stroke-per-minute orbital cutting action, there’s almost no material too tough for it to handle.MILWAUKEE DEMOLITION BLADE KIT FOR SAWZALL, $30. The Super Sawzall is built to last, but its blades eventually need to be replaced. We picked the bi-metal blades in this variety pack for maximum strength and flexibility.HUSKY SIX-DRAWER TOOL TOWER, $300....

Media Platforms Design TeamRobots versus pirates–it’s not as stupid, or unlikely, as it sounds. Piracy has exploded in the waters near Somalia, where this past week United States warships have fired on two pirate skiffs, and are currently in pursuit of a hijacked Japanese-owned vessel. At least four other ships in the region remain under pirate control, and the problem appears to be going global: The International Maritime Bureau is tracking a 14-percent increase in worldwide pirate attacks this year....

Media Platforms Design TeamForecasting the pace of private spaceflight’s ascent has proven exceedingly difficult. Back in late 2004, when Burt Rutan’s and Paul Allen’s SpaceShipOne won the X-prize by flying into space twice in a two-week period, it looked like perhaps in just a few short years there would be dozens or even hundreds of private citizens experiencing true spaceflight. Seven years later, though, there are still no commercial flights available, and 2011 proved to be a drought year: After the shining success of SpaceX successfully orbiting and recovering its Dragon capsule at the end of 2010, a first for private space, not much really happened this year (aside from a mini-spat with NASA over who gets to decide what about spaceship design)....

Media Platforms Design TeamView full post on YoutubeThe X-47B unmanned aircraft, call sign Salty Dog, made aviation history when it achieved the first directed carrier landing yesterday on the USS George H.W. Bush. So, now what?Study the Data, Especially the Unexpected StuffAll flight tests generate reams of data on the aircraft’s performance. The most valuable information comes when the plane doesn’t behave like it’s supposed to.There was one event during the X-47B test that the team will certainly study: During the third attempted landing, 2 minutes before touchdown and 4 miles aft of the carrier, one of the airplane’s three precision-navigation computers failed....

On June 1, 2011, the Endeavour space shuttle landed back to Kennedy Space Center for the last time. By July, the space shuttle program was officially over, each surviving shuttle ready to find a new home for its retirement years. Atlantis remained at Cape Canaveral; Discovery went to the Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. But Endeavor made its way to the other side of the country, finding its resting place at the California Science Center in Los Angeles the next year....

Media Platforms Design TeamHalloween is looming, but never fear! You can make ghoulish props out of nearly anything in your garage. These creative ideas can transform your front porch into a ghoulish garage or make great props for a murderous mechanic.Tool Chests: If you have a portable tool chest, empty it to make room for a spooky surprise: Leave the lid open just a bit with a fake severed arm hanging out, or have a colony of plastic rats take up residence in a drawer....

Devon Jarvis(Photo by Devon Jarvis)Feathery FrameThe Rca frame and basic hardware weigh less than 1.5 pounds, keeping the bike’s total built weight to about 10 pounds. Tour de France riders must add ballast to hit the race’s 15-pound minimum.Aerodynamic ShapeDrag consumes up to 50 percent of a racer’s energy when he’s in a pack, 90 percent when he’s riding alone. The tubes of the Rca frame are teardrop-shaped in cross section, improving aerodynamics....

Abrasion TestWe put the gloves on mannequin hands and lightly pressed the knuckles, and then the fingers, against a 6-amp belt sander running at 1050 feet per minute for 5 seconds.Mechanix Wear: While the mesh knuckles were obliterated, the only damage to the synthetic fingers was some tiny holes. Wells Lamont: Although the leather had begun to develop sizable holes by the end of the 5 seconds, the gloves stood up to quick brushes against the belt....

Make a Cut-Out Valentine CardMedia Platforms Design TeamNo store-bought card can say what you really mean, so make the card yourself. Cutting the message out by hand with an X-Acto knife might seem like the hardest part, but actually the trick is writing something just snarky enough to be funny without getting slapped. Can’t think of anything to say? Try a Kissing Card instead.Duct-Tape RoseMedia Platforms Design TeamReal roses wilt, drop their petals and need to be cleaned up....