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Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which contribute to acid rain, are emitted by cars and coal plants, but NOx is also created by lightning. Helping to isolate the effect of emissions, researchers have made the first direct measurements of lightning-related NOx at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing at Camp Blanding, Fla. Rockets trailing 2300 ft. of copper wire were fired into thunderclouds, triggering lightning. Along with conducting pure science, the center researches products such as surge protectors....

Media Platforms Design TeamWhen Universal Studios decided to celebrate its centennial by restoring its signature films, they started with the one that made millions afraid to go into the water: . A new Blu-ray of the 1975 film, fully restored for the first time ever, hits shelves August 14. (Universal is also restoring and rereleasing 12 other movies including , , , and some of the classic monster movies.) JawsTo Kill a MockingbirdE....

Media Platforms Design TeamFINAL REPORT - February 2009Media Platforms Design TeamAll things–including comfortable, reliable things with heated leather, XM radio and separate driver, passenger and rear-seat climate controls–must come to an end. It’s time to part with the Hyundai Veracruz after a year in which it made good on its promise to set a new bar for the marque and compete with (if not quite equal) the Lexus RXÂ 350. From the start, we appreciated the interior details, which include easy-to-use controls and adjustable pedals....

A drone carrying a grenade infiltrated an ammunition dump in Ukraine, setting off an explosion that caused an astounding billion dollars worth of damage. The incident points to the growing use of drones in wartime, particularly off the shelf civilian products harnessed to conduct sabotage and other attacks.Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service, the SBU, believes that a drone carrying a Russian thermite hand grenade caused a series of titanic explosions at Balakliya, a military base in Eastern Ukraine....

Media Platforms Design Team(Photo Credit: Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official library has announced the creation of a Russian alternative to Wikipedia. His administration said the site doesn’t provide “detailed or sufficient” information about his country.It’s not exactly a surprise that Putin doesn’t like the open, user-edited encyclopedia, given that Russia’s media landscape is riddled with state-sanctioned television stations and newspapers as well as propaganda websites promoting a positive view of the country....

Media Platforms Design TeamIt’s no secret we’re fans of the Scion FR-S, the boxer-engined sister car to Subaru’s BRZ. But if there’s one thing we’d wish for either of the rear-drive sports cars, it’s a tad more oomph from their 2.0-liter flat fours.If Scion’s annual Tuner Challenge is the automotive equivalent of tea leaves for future product, these three one-off creations are harbingers that the spunky 2+2 will someday be supercharged....

Some called it the Superstorm; others, the Storm of the Century. Both names were well-earned. When three independent weather patterns converged in the Gulf of Mexico in March of 1993, the resulting storm system caused three days of crippling snow, whirling seas, coastal flooding, blizzards, tornadoes and bone-chilling cold. The amount of snow and rain that fell during the storm was almost biblical – 44 million acre-feet – “comparable to 40 days flow on the Mississippi River at New Orleans,” according to a National Climatic Data Center report....

Neither one is quite George Jetson’s jet pack, but these two new ultralight helicopters are about as bare-bones as a flying machine can get: an engine to spin two sets of rotor blades, and a chair hanging underneath. The key to the AirScooter II and the Gen H-4 is mounting two blades on the same axis and rotating them in opposite directions to counteract each other’s torque, eliminating the need for a tail rotor....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe Super Falcon submersible uses its inverted wings to move through water like a plane through air.Ten in the morning is a late start for the Super Falcon. For the past two days I’ve strolled down to the pier at dawn, just as the fog begins to roll off Monterey Bay, to watch as crewmen peel back a collapsible garage to reveal the winged submersible and prepare it for the water....

The Office of Naval Research has awarded Raytheon a year-long contract to develop the preliminary design of a 100 kilowatt experimental Free Electron Laser (FEL) for naval warships. A FEL uses superconducting electron accelerators to produce high-power laser beams that could target cruise missiles, airplanes or boats. FEL operators can adjust the laser’s wavelength by adjusting the energy of the electrons in the accelerator, something conventional lasers can’t do. This allows them to be used on ships without suffering disturbances from the water vapor-rich environment....

UPDATE, February 25: Here’s a video of the bird’s new beak-to-be, via Audobon.View full post on YoutubeFebruary 11: A toucan whose beak was severely damaged in January has received an outpouring of support, enough that four companies have stepped forward to build him a fancy new 3D printed beak. The Costa Rican bird, Grecia, was attacked by a group of young people and has had to be hand-fed since. Now a group of 3D printing services in that country are volunteering to create a new beak for the bird....

Media Platforms Design TeamToolsHome TheaterMedia Platforms Design TeamOutdoorsGaming (with more of our favorites, only for the web)Media Platforms Design TeamPlayStation 3WiiCamerasHomeGadgetsMedia Platforms Design TeamHP Photosmart A716 Compact Photo Printer $199 /// With 4GB of memory, a 2.5-in. display, a carrying handle and an optional $70 battery, this photo printer takes the PC out of the equation. It reads nearly every kind of memory card, and creates border-less prints at up to 5 x 7 in....

Count me among the one-third of users who ditch their fitness tracker within the first few months. Every model I’ve tried needed to be to charged regularly, the matte gray or black casing ruined any attempt at looking clean and natty, and, especially with the light up models, wearing one usually drew the wrong kind of attention. Fitbits and the Jawbone UP let the world know, like a to-go cup of kale juice or a Crossfit t-shirt, that you take your body very seriously....

Media Platforms Design TeamUPDATE, Friday morning: that the satellite’s descent has slowed. As a result, it may not re-enter until Friday night or early Saturday, and the delay means that there is now a slim chance debris could land in the U.S. That possibility was discounted earlier when UARS was descending faster.NASA says todayUPDATE, Thurday: As we get closer to UARS’ return, the predictions are getting more detailed. NASA now says it expects the satellite to enter the atmosphere Friday afternoon Eastern time, and that it won’t fall over the continental U....

Media Platforms Design Team(Photographs by Philip Friedman/Studio D)You drink coffee from a paper cup or ceramic mug at your own risk—spill your drink while commuting, and the results can be messy, if not devastating. So when it comes to serious spill-proofing and all-day heat retention, stainless-steel travel mugs are the gold standard. We tested three new models to see how well they hold heat and stand up to spills.The Mugs>The TestsHEAT RETENTIONWe filled each mug with boiling 212-degree water and then measured the temperature after an hour at room temperature....

Media Platforms Design Team border=“1” cellspacing=“2” cellpadding=“0”>MATERIALS LIST–FENCEKeyNo.Size and description (use)A23/4 x 5 x 36" cedar (post face)B23/4 x 3-1/2 x 36" cedar (post side)C11-1/2 x 7 x 7" cedar (cap)D41/2 x 1-1/4 x 6" cedar (molding)E73/4 x 2-1/2 x 31" cedar (picket)F63/4 x 2-1/2 x 41-1/2" cedar (rail)G23/4 x 2-3/4 x 31" cedar (stile)H13/4 x 3-1/4 x 43" cedar (cap rail)I23/4 x 5-1/8 x 24-5/8" cedar (curved rail)J43/4 x 2-1/2 x 7-1/8" cedar (end rail)K41/4 x 1 x 3-1/2" cedar (spline)L123/4 x 2-1/2 x 28-7/16" cedar (picket)L223/4 x 2-1/2 x 29-3/8" cedar (picket)L323/4 x 2-1/2 x 31" cedar (picket)M43/4 x 2-1/2 x 36" cedar (rail)N63/4 x 2-1/2 x 3" cedar (blocking)O23/4 x 2-1/4 x 31" cedar (stile)P121-1/2 x 2-3/4 x 5" cedar (curved cap)P223/4 x 2-3/4 x 13-5/8" cedar (cap end)P313/4 x 2-3/4 x 13-5/8" cedar (cap)Q2Hinge (Stanley No....

MORE NEW ANALYSIS FROM COMIC-CON 2008* ANALYSIS: Zack Snyder on the Future of Comic-Book MoviesSAN DIEGO – The geeks have their work cut out for them next year. This was, after all, the first time that Comic-Con’s annual fanboy enthusiasm was overtaken by a bunch of screaming tweens. On at least two separate panels here this weekend, presenters pulled the old summer-camp routine, asking one section of Hall H (the 6,500-seat presentation room where fans line up for hours to get an early taste of anticipated future releases) to out-cheer the other half....

PM west coast editor Ben Stewart drove a brand-new Corvette Z06 from Los Angeles to New York this week, in search of America’s best driving roads.After yesterday’s road rally through the Appalachian Mountains, nothing on today’s all-highway, 460-mile snooze-a-thon grand finale could even begin to raise our pulse–or so we thought. One more rather unwelcome road adventure awaited us today.We haven’t really mentioned weather yet, but we’ve had amazing luck on this trip....

Ever since the dawn of the solid state electronics, vacuum tubes have taken a backseat role in device engineering. But DARPA wants to develop next generation vacuum tube electronics that prove the technology is far, far from dead. DARPAs’s new Innovative Vacuum Electronic Science and Technology (INVEST) program will try to develop more swift and precise vacuum tube technology. Much like their solid state brethren, vacuum tubes have become smaller while improving in performance; vacuum tubes the size of light bulbs are a thing of the past....

During his keynote address at last year’s MacWorld expo, Steve Jobs pulled out of his pocket a palm-size pill that’s given the tech world a mobile gadget hangover ever since. From that moment all the way through last week’s Consumer Electronics Show and up until this week’s MacWorld, we’ve seen the debuts of new MP3 players, cellphones and everything in between. But not a single one has really managed to turn a single head....