Thursday, February 26, 2015
Photos so perfect they feel unreal
Daniel Cheong loves digital blending—a post-production technique "that manually mixes multiple bracketed exposures in order to obtain the maximum dynamic range" without getting the everything-is-illuminated effect of overcooked HDR. His work is beautiful.
First images of the world's largest airplane
Holy crap, it's real! Behold the first glimpse of Paul Allen's crazy space venture: The largest airplane in history, a 385-foot (117-meter) wingspan beast designed to carry and launch a giant rocket to space, with a combined weigh of 1,200,000 pounds (540,000 kg)! Check out the mind-blowing photos.
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Arcade Games of All Time
Much attention is often lavished upon the vast profits generated by the latest editions of today's biggest franchises. So much so, you'd think that this sort of financial success is something new. Actually, it isn't. Even during the very earliest days of video gaming, there were products that made mountains of money. The difference between now and then, however, is that back in the day, that revenue was earned one quarter at a time.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
The Beginner’s Field Guide to Dim Sum
Nowadays, the term “dim sum” (點心 in written Chinese, and pronounced dian xin in Mandarin) is a meal—usually taken on a weekend morning—that encompasses a vast roster of small dishes selected from carts.
In the beginning, dim sum was a verb that merely meant “to eat a little something.” Cantonese dim sum culture began in tearooms in the latter half of the nineteenth century in the city of Guangzhou, possibly because of the recent ban of opium dens. It spread and gained popularity—especially in nearby Hong Kong.
The sort of dim sum restaurant we’re familiar with today in the West originated in Hong Kong in the mid-1950s. These Hong Kong parlors had areas for banquets and even mah-jongg games and carts pushed by “aunties” (a’sam).
In the beginning, dim sum was a verb that merely meant “to eat a little something.” Cantonese dim sum culture began in tearooms in the latter half of the nineteenth century in the city of Guangzhou, possibly because of the recent ban of opium dens. It spread and gained popularity—especially in nearby Hong Kong.
The sort of dim sum restaurant we’re familiar with today in the West originated in Hong Kong in the mid-1950s. These Hong Kong parlors had areas for banquets and even mah-jongg games and carts pushed by “aunties” (a’sam).
Why do we pick our nose?
Most of us do it, but few of us will admit to it. If we get caught red-handed, we experience shame and regret. And we tend to frown upon others when they do it in public. I'm talking, of course, about reaching up into your nostrils with a finger in an effort to scrape out snot. Is nose-picking really all that bad? How prevalent or bad is it, really? And why (really, why?) would anybody ever decide to see what snot tastes like?
Fascinating photos reveal how they built the SR-71 Blackbird
Built and designed in the 1960s after the A-12 Oxcart, the SR-71 Blackbird is still the fastest, most vanguardist air-breathing airplane in the history of aviation.
These once classified photos reveal how Lockheed built both birds in
secret, in California. They look taken at the Rebel base in Hoth.
The Insane Hanging Bridges That Time Forgot
Today, it's hard to imagine how exciting the 1890s were: The first electrical grids sputtered to life. The first gas-powered car races roared around cities. The first skyscrapers began to climb. As all this progress was blooming across the world, a strange new type of bridge began to spring up across industrial cities in Europe. It looked spider-like, with spindly steel legs that sometimes stretched higher into the sky than the tallest buildings of the day. Webs of cables held up a platform that hung over the water, moving back and forth from shore to shore, shuttling workers across busy waterways and dodging the tall-masted ships that could pass below its long legs.
It was called a transporter bridge, and for a few decades at the turn of the century, it was the epitome of progress and modernism. But today, there are only about a dozen left.
It was called a transporter bridge, and for a few decades at the turn of the century, it was the epitome of progress and modernism. But today, there are only about a dozen left.
The Best Antivirus App for Windows
Windows has more antivirus programs than we can count, and none of them are quite perfect. Right now, we recommend Avast Free Antivirus for the best balance between protection, ease of use, and cost.
Top 10 Lifehacker Posts of All Time
Lifehacker launched exactly ten years ago today (happy birthday to us)! In light of the occasion, let's take a look back at some of the most popular posts we've shared with you this last decade.
This Printer Churns Out Complex Double-Layered Circuit Boards
3D printers are well on their way to eventually creating perfect replicas of almost any object we can imagine, as long as they don't rely on any electronics inside to function. But devices like the new Voltera, a printer that churns out prototypes of complex dual-layer circuit boards, is a sign that this won't always be the case.
AIR: Sin City 10.8K
I'm calling this series of Las Vegas images Sin City, but I might as well have called it Sim City after the popular video game.
It took us 45 minutes to get far enough away from downtown and to an elevation of 10,800 feet in our helicopter - or 8,799 feet above Las Vegas which itself is 2,001 feet above sea level.
Our veteran local pilot, who was wearing an oxygen mask, said he had never seen a view of the city quite like this, and that it was just like flying in the middle of the ocean: total TOTAL darkness.
A sea of black - with an amazing source of light emanating from Vegas and its infamous strip.
It took us 45 minutes to get far enough away from downtown and to an elevation of 10,800 feet in our helicopter - or 8,799 feet above Las Vegas which itself is 2,001 feet above sea level.
Our veteran local pilot, who was wearing an oxygen mask, said he had never seen a view of the city quite like this, and that it was just like flying in the middle of the ocean: total TOTAL darkness.
A sea of black - with an amazing source of light emanating from Vegas and its infamous strip.
Why Living In The Present Is Actually A Terrible Idea
According to researchers from Harvard and Virginia Universities, all of mankind is laboring under a sort of species-wide blind spot. We’re well aware that we’ve changed and evolved as individuals throughout our lives, but we’re almost completely incapable of realizing that in the future, we’ll be changing just as much. This denial of future change is likely a major contributing factor when it comes to making poor decisions that hurt us in the long run, and being aware of it can at least help us make those decisions a little bit better.
Sunday, February 08, 2015
What the Color of Your Snot Really Means
Nasal mucus alone isn’t typically used to diagnose disease, but it can be a helpful tool to determine what’s happening in your nasal passages. Here’s a quick look at just a few of the things the various possible shades of snot might mean for your health.
NASA Is Paying Me $18,000 to Lie in Bed for Three Months
I have been in this bed for three weeks now, and I will be here for seven weeks more. Forty-four days ago, I had my last beer, last cup of coffee, last burrito, last walk around the block, and last bit of sunlight on my skin. It's been 66 days since I've seen my girlfriend. In 64, whatever is left of me can go home.
How I Felt After 70 Days of Lying in Bed for Science
I woke up on December 2, and for the first time in 70 days, I stood up. Or at least I tried to. The nurses wheeled me over to a hospital bed that would be tilted vertically, with blood pressure cuffs hugging my arm and my finger, an ultrasound machine pointing at my heart. Then they told me, with the encouragement that you'd give a toddler learning to walk, to try standing for 15 minutes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)