Media Platforms Design TeamParts-maker Magna International and Russian bank Sperbank had a deal in place to buy Opel, with agreements with the German government and labor union to complete the purchase. But GM, citing its reluctance to part with its European unit, said on Tuesday Nov. 3 that the often money-losing operation was key to its strategy of building more fuel-efficient small cars for North America as well as other continents....
Old-growth wood–typically, Douglas fir, oak and maple–has higher density and fewer defects than new wood, and often comes in lengths of 12 ft. or more, which you won’t find at a big-box store. Salvaging it from an old home takes time but saves money; boards wider than the standard 2 1/4-in. strips are particularly valuable.Step 1Media Platforms Design TeamPry up the first few boards to give yourself room to work. Alternatively, use a circular saw with a carbide-tooth blade to make a plunge cut along the length of the sacrificial board and use a pry bar to tear it out....
Media Platforms Design TeamResearchers have found that sharks seeking the source of an odor in the water employ a more complex navigation mechanism than previously thought, and the finding has important implications for future designs of biologically inspired odor-detecting underwater robots.Sharks, like most fish, have two nostrils—one on each side of the head. Up to this point, scientists believed that when a shark moves through an odor plume, it makes steering decisions based primarily on differences in the concentration of the smell....
At the National Press Club in Washington today, businessman and private space traveler Dennis Tito officially announced his plans to fund a private, nonprofit effort to launch the first human mission to the Red Planet, called Inspiration Mars. To take advantage of an alignment of Earth and Mars that happens once every 15 years and would allow the shortest possible travel time possible between the planets, the mission seeks to launch on January 5, 2018....
Media Platforms Design TeamThe shell from an M777 lightweight howitzer leaps out of the barrel at half a mile per second and doesn’t slow much during flight. The 3-foot-long round, aimed at a piece of desert earth labeled Gays Pass-13 (GP-13), won’t give up its kinetic energy without a fight. It gouges the rocky ground of the Mojave Desert before exploding in a spout of brown dust and black smoke. Artillery impacts are commonplace here at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at 29 Palms, Calif....
The steaming pile of fail that was the Battleship movie evidently didn’t dissuade Hollywood from adapting beloved board games to the big screen. Deadline reports that Gail Katz, producer of The Perfect Storm and Air Force One, has acquired the film rights to Klaus Teuber’s “The Settlers of Catan.““I’ve been wanting to see an adaptation of the game for years, ever since my Catan-obsessed college-aged kids introduced me to it,” Katz reportedly said in a statement....
Media Platforms Design TeamFor a pivotal fight scene between Bonecrusher (left) and Optimus Prime, the layout team at Industrial Light & Magic used custom software to track a CGI version of the film camera (top). To continue with real-time, on-the-fly transformations, animators work with lower-resolution renders (middle) and coordinate with the creature development team to match up machinery and slot the digital wizardry back into the final cut (bottom).More than 750 parts stretching a half-mile long....
In the latest attempt to offer free internet to disgruntled New York commuters, waste management company Bigbelly is teaming up with the city’s Downtown Alliance to install Wi-Fi transmitters in hundreds of its garbage cans all around the city. Of course, this isn’t the first time Bigbelly has experimented with smart technology on its garbage bins. The company has already fitted many of its cans with solar panels and sensors that detect how full or rank they are, and transmit that information to garbage collectors, making the overall collection process more efficient....
Media Platforms Design TeamToday brought a victory for smartphone users—and for taking things literally. The Federal Trade Commission ordered carrier TracFone to pay $40 million to customers whose “unlimited” data was, in fact, limited. Since 2009, the FTC found, TracFone—the country’s largest prepaid carrier —either throttled speeds once customers with supposedly unlimited plans reached a certain limit, or it cut off data service entirely.You might remember that Verizon’s plan to throttle data, which the carrier eventually dropped,was supposedly an effort to cut down on network congestion....
Media Platforms Design TeamA while back, I wrote a piece here on As part of my research, I went hunting lionfish with dive operators Nat Robb and Artemis “Art” Hintze off Grand Cayman, and then lunched on lionfish carpaccio. It was delicious.dealing with invasive species by eating them.Lionfish are native to the Indian Ocean, but they stowed away in ship ballasts, came to the Caribbean, and now they’re an invasive species, covering reefs with their spiny selves and displacing native species....
Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamMORE BREAKING NEWS FROM THE 2008 L.A. AUTO SHOW• 2008 LA AUTO SHOW: All of Our Updates and Analysis in One Place Now we can officially strike one car off the “cool cars we can’t get in the U.S.” list: Nissan’s Cube has been unveiled here at the L.A. Auto Show, and we predict the boxy B-car should be a big hit among trend-chasers that warmed to out-of-the-norm designs like the 2008 Scion xB and the 2008 Smart Fortwo....
Media Platforms Design Team LOS ANGELES — Nissan has been getting a lot of attention this week for an impressive $115 million commitment to next-generation battery factories on its way toward developing an electric car for the United States by 2010. But it started spreading another marketing campaign nearly 20 years ago: “There’s no such thing as a four-door sports car. It’s just a dream … right?” If you don’t remember those 1990 “4DSC” ads for the Maxima, remember this: The 2009 model might just be the closest yet to that dream come true, at least for a front-drive sedan....
Media Platforms Design TeamIn a world of pre-fab homes and made-to-order furniture, it’s sometimes easy to forget the simple joys of making something from scratch. So, in the spirit of Father’s Day, we scoured the PM archives for fun projects that fathers and sons can build together using everyday materials. We even re-uploaded the old—but still timeless—plans so you can print ’em out for pops. 1. Wind-up Steamboat /// Download Plans Here!...
View full post on TwitterA 25-foot deep sinkhole forced Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to close one of its major runways this morning. Inspectors from the Federal Aviation Authority discovered the sinkhole between runway 18L and a taxiway, which is located west of Terminals B and D, where American Eagle and international airlines are located, reports the Star-Telegram.Luckily, the sinkhole didn’t swallow a runway. Instead, it’s located in a grassy area between the taxiway and the runway called a “safety area....
This past August, then-candidate Barack Obama proposed a 10-year, $150 billion energy plan that included an ambitious deadline: one million plug-in hybrids on the road in the United States by 2015. Of course, that was before gas prices plummeted to historic lows, before the mortgage implosion in September, and before the Detroit Three appeared before Congress, hat in hand. But even if President-elect Obama can overcome a raft of financial obstacles, the million plug-in plan or any other attempt to dramatically increase the nation’s fleet of hybrids, plug-ins and all-electric vehicles could face an unexpected roadblock–too much political will, and not enough batteries....
CERN isn’t content with just having the largest particle accelerator in the world. It has other projects on its horizon, like protecting future space travelers from deadly cosmic radiation. Cosmic rays are one of the gravest threats space agencies have to contend with for any future Mars exploration. Space is a harsh environment full of radiation that’s damaging to life like us. While it didn’t prevent a short-duration spaceflight like the Apollo missions to the moon, sending humans beyond the Earth-Moon system will require us to do a lot more to protect them....
Media Platforms Design TeamA romp on an empty back road with the right car can deliver a double shot of high-performance fun. When the chemistry is just right, the driver melds into one harmonious bond with the hardware. Yet the cognitive man-machine mashup isn’t the exclusive domain of the six-figure sports car. There are plenty of inexpensive rides that deliver a hardcore mission–with little fluff. We gathered six of the newest cheap speed machines and divided them into three groups based on driveline....
Media Platforms Design Team(Photograph by Derek Berg) Thanks to General Tools for supporting Popular Mechanics and FIRST Robotics, a program founded by inventor Dean Kamen, which brings competitive, real-world engineering to high school students. Popular Mechanics was on deck with a booth at the New York Regional Competition March 8, 2009, where students found time between robotic bouts to enter a raffle for machinist kits by General Tools & Instruments. Building robots from the ground up requires the students to have a well-stocked toolkit....
Media Platforms Design TeamThe sun may be setting on corn-based ethanol as Detroit revs up with cellulosic ethanol concept cars and tech investments. (Photograph by Getty Images)DETROIT – There’s been a lot of talk about ethanol lately, most of it not very positive. But you wouldn’t know it from the E85 buzz here at the show.Most of the backlash comes from the simple fact that corn-based ethanol production doesn’t make sense financially–the numbers just don’t add up....
Media Platforms Design TeamToday, Honda announced support for Apple’s Siri in the upcoming 2013 Honda Accord, Acura RDX, and ILX as a dealer-installed option. Using an Apple device that’s Siri-enabled (iPhone 4S and 5, third and fourth-gen iPads, iPad Mini, and fifth-gen iPod Touch), users can connect via Bluetooth to make and receive calls, hear emails and texts read aloud, and send replies via voice.Adopting Apple’s famed voice-controlled assistant to add “eye-free” functionality to infotainment systems is nothing new to the auto industry....
