Posts

Media Platforms Design TeamIranian Terrorists Stole (or Blew Up) the AirplaneYou can’t blame the United States for hearing about a missing jumbo jet and immediately thinking “terrorism.” Only hours after MH370 went missing, rumors began to circulate that two Iranian nationals aboard the flight had been traveling with stolen passports, as did speculation that these passengers pointed to an Iranian terrorist plot.Now it looks as if they were just two guys traveling with stolen passports....

Small inverter generators are amazing machines. They’re quiet, produce quality power, and don’t cost a fortune. They’re a big hit with campers, tailgaters and even families who need a compact power source during outages. This new one is the Generac iQ2000. We haven’t test run it yet, but we like what we see. It addresses shortcomings with other machines and will likely lead to a new arms race in this product category—with homeowners benefitting....

City officials in Hayward, California are hoping a little snark will get people to follow the law. They’ve set up street signs that crack wise about speeding cars and oblivious pedestrians. Frank Holland, the city’s public information officer, created the signs in an attempt to make people pay attention. “Standard traffic signs often become white noise,” he told the Hayward Daily Review. “We wanted to use humor to get people to take a second look and think....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe New York International Auto Show is less than a week away, and you know what that means: teasers! That’s right, in a digital world where ravenous automotive blogs—including our own on occasion—gobble up any hunks of traffic meat automakers throw ’em, every auto show is now preceded by a flurry of images that provide glimpses of soon-to-be-revealed cars. Fresh off teasing its new Jeep Forward Control concept for the Moab Easter Jeep Safari, Chrysler has already teased the interior of the 2013 SRT Viper and the grille of the 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 for next week’s show....

For just an extra few thousand dollars, women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) could one day choose to have a baby boy with perfect vision, an aptitude for sports and a virtual lock on avoiding colon cancer. Fertility clinics in the U.S. currently offer not only to screen for diseases, but also to choose gender. They are not yet offering any further customization, but that could change as genetic mapping gets faster and easier....

Media Platforms Design TeamPM contributing editor Jeff Wise in the Rotary Air Force 2000. The gyroplane kit costs $45,105.Helicopters and gyroplanes: It’s a contentious family rivalry. Both have spinning rotors and are highly maneuverable at low speed. Gyros were invented in the early 1920s, but ever since helos were introduced in the 1940s, they’ve upstaged their older cousins. The main difference is that gyroplanes are unable to take off and land vertically....

ELECTRICAL TESTING TOOLSThe proper testing tools can make any electrical project a lot easier. Your tool kit should include:Basic volt-ohm meter (aka a multi meter). Serves as an all-in-one tester for checking resistance and voltage. New digital models are available from large home centers and tool outlets.* Neon test light. Can quickly tell you when a circuit or outlet is live.* Noncontact inductive voltage tester. Pen-shaped instrument that beeps and lights up as you move it close to an energized wire, outlet, or terminal screw–sounds exotic and expensive, but it’s not....

As of April 22, 2010, federal law requires that all U.S. contractors be certified to work with lead-based paint in homes, child-care facilities and schools built before 1978. Details of the new RRP (Renovation, Repair and Painting) rule appear in a brochure, “Renovate Right,” which contractors must give homeowners before work begins. The law requires certified renovators to be on-site to ensure that employees follow specific practices to prevent lead contamination....

On October 5, 2009, Toyota announced its largest recall ever, calling back 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus models for an unlikely culprit: the floor mats. According to Toyota, the mats can slip under the throttle pedal, hindering its movement. In the worst case, this could result in a throttle stuck wide-open. If that happens–and let’s face it, who hasn’t been in a car where the mats have slipped under the gas pedal?...

Media Platforms Design TeamAt several spots in our home, I’ve thought aloud, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great to have a seat right here?” And, just as often, “Boy, wouldn’t it be great to have a storage space right here?” Besides the troubling realization that I’m always talking to myself, it became clear that our home needed a convenient spot to sit to remove shoes, and more places to keep things like hats and gloves....

Media Platforms Design TeamA sea kayak can haul a couple of backpacks’ worth of camping gear, fishing tackle, and wine boxes—and without a single pound weighing down your shoulders. The trick to keeping the boat handling well is to place the heaviest items low and centered. “A correctly loaded kayak can actually be more stable than an empty boat,” says Lamar Hudgens, owner of the North Carolina adventure guide service Barrier Island Kayaks....

Media Platforms Design TeamFor a cool $2 million, any human driver would obey traffic laws, merge correctly, stay in their lane, and avoid a crash at a busy intersection. But a robot? Well, that’s a different story. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), announced plans yesterday to hold its thirdGrand Challenge competition on November 3, 2007, giving autonomous ground vehicles the chance to simulate military supply missions on a 60-mile course in a mock city—in fewer than six hours....

Media Platforms Design TeamKevin Durrand in Legion. (Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems)In It’s a Wonderful Life, giving an angel wings was simple: Just ring a bell. But for the visual-effects artists working on Legion, out Jan. 22, it wasn’t that easy. “Usually when you’re working on a visual effect, it happens and then it’s over,” says VFX supervisor Joe Bauer. “But in Legion, the angels’ wings are always there. They don’t just appear at a certain point, and they can’t just hang there....

Media Platforms Design TeamThe Good and the BadA new Pentagon report details the progress and challenges in Afghanistan as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stands on the verge of its 2014 withdrawal. The Congressionally mandated report, 2013 Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, covers October 2012 to March 2013, the first fighting season that saw Afghans take the lead on security against Taliban remnants, al-Qaida operatives, and the slew of criminal and insurgent groups that fight the government....

Media Platforms Design TeamNEW YORK– In a move that shocked the motorcycle industry, Honda has unveiled a custom-style chopper they call the Fury—and it’s coming to a Honda store near you this spring. At first glance the bike boasts the usual chopper cues, but closer inspection reveals modern touches like liquid cooling (note the discreetly placed radiator) and shaft drive, as opposed to a traditional chain or belt. The fork is raked a considerable 38 degrees; for reference, the famous “Captain America” chopper from the film Easy Rider has a 43-degree rake....

Media Platforms Design TeamFor years, the Subaru WRX has been one of the world’s least pretentious performance buys. In either sedan or hatchback trim, the car has presented itself as a conservative economy car. Excepting a conspicuous hood scoop, there really was very little to hint to the fact that the Japanese creation packs a turbocharged flat-four cylinder with a serious punch as well as a world-class all-wheel drive system. Honed from years of experience in the World Rally Championship, the WRX was a prize fighter wrapped in a nun’s habit....

In the winter of 2005, a craft that’s currently in the design phase will fire up its engines on a large reservoir in eastern Washington state and try to crack 400 mph – setting a new water speed record. The boat, the American Challenge, piloted by Russ Wicks, will be unlike any other in history. A product of computer modeling and technology borrowed from the aerospace field, the revolutionary boat will be constructed by a team using the most advanced composites and working under exacting, state-of-the-art conditions....

In August 2013, disappointed by the high-speed-rail system being built through the center of California, Elon Musk released a white paper called Hyperloop Alpha, describing a system of pod-cars shooting through vacuum tubes at nearly 800 mph. The paper ended with a plea for “the community” to work on an “open source transportation concept”—he was too busy, he said, to work on it himself. Here are the key questions that have arisen since....

Media Platforms Design TeamMedia Platforms Design TeamDrill out the old rivets. We used a chunk of wood to keep the control arm out of the way.It started as a clicking noise as you backed out of the drive. Just a mild tap through the steering wheel. Sometimes it’s not even there. But as the mileage builds over the next few weeks, the click gets bigger. Then it starts to morph into a thump as you go over potholes....

3D printing has left the design studio and engineering lab and is headed directly for suburbia, which means people will be putting it to work in their basement or garages, right next to their miter saw. We’re entering the home center era of 3D printing. It does seem kind of strange to think of this sophisticated technology being sold next to lumber, pipes, toilets, and knick-knacks, but there it is: Power tool manufacturer Dremel is selling its $1000 3D printer Idea Builder at The Home Depot....