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SpeedyB

Science

The Unusual Suspects

By Posted on 3.3.2009 12 Comments
Obesity is our century's version of the Kennedy assassination: Everybody's got a theory. But even with blame perpetually shifting -- one day it's fast-food corporations, the next it's genetics -- and a $40-billion-a-year diet industry, our waistlines just won't stop expanding.

3.2.2009 at 12:39pm - Comment by SpeedyB

I agree with oracle99. Our ancestors ate food not processed chemicals. A little ChemoFood once in a while is ok. But most of the time try to eat REAL food that came from the ground and butcher. When I see all those commercials saying that there food has this good chemical or this other beneficial stuff added in I laugh, all the good stuff they have artificially pumped into their food is the same stuff you can get naturally in a vegetable.
Science

Totally Tubular

By Brooke Borel Posted on 2.25.2009 5 Comments
Ever since the fish's discovery in 1939, scientists have believed that the tube-shaped eyes of Macropinna microstoma, commonly called the "barreleye," were fixed in place, limiting its vision to whatever was directly overhead. Recent research from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) proves this theory wrong: in reality, this crazy fish can rotate its eyes from an overhead view, which helps it locate prey swimming above, to the front of its face. This helps explain how the fish is able to actually capture the prey with its tiny mouth.

2.26.2009 at 10:09am - Comment by SpeedyB

A fish with a built-in visor thats very cool. Looks like some kind of alien fish.
DIY

Blowing (Up) Hydrogen Bubbles

By Theodore Gray Posted on 4.13.2009 13 Comments
Living in the Midwest, where heating homes with propane is common, I periodically see reports in the local paper that yet another unoccupied house has exploded. They often note that the roof was found in the basement, while the walls were spread some distance into the neighboring fields.

2.20.2009 at 10:25am - Comment by SpeedyB

@ ford2go 1. IF you could drop a match in a propane tank it would not explode, the IF should have been mentioned in the article though. 2. In a leaking furnace the gas slowly seeps out and mixes with the air until it is set off. 3. Propane does the same thing when a leak occurs. The article relates just fine.
Gadgets

The New Amazon Kindle Doesn’t Suck

By Sean Captain Posted on 2.9.2009 8 Comments
Make no mistake about it: The original Kindle ebook reader was an amazing device -- the first ereader to engender feelings of love. Tying a lightweight screen to Amazon's book collection with a free 3G wireless connection was genius, and easily earned our Best of What's New kudos.

2.11.2009 at 09:29am - Comment by SpeedyB

@ Warhammer651 Reading light? I don't think the screen is backlit. Anyway this is cool but Way to expensive. It better read PDFs if not than there is not much point.
Entertainment & Gaming

Make Your Own Game

By Scott Steinberg Posted on 4.2.2009 11 Comments
Developing PC and video games is a crapshoot at best. My own self-published Heavyweight Thunder took a year to build, cost a small fortune, and ultimately tanked with critics. But if Microsoft has its way, literally anyone, regardless of technical know-how, will soon have the opportunity to create jaw-dropping digital diversions.

2.9.2009 at 10:50am - Comment by SpeedyB

I am a Fallout 3 moder and I wonder if it is possible to import models and animations into this? If not than its functionality is decreased a lot. I have used several programs like this and if there is no code or import option than its just a simple toy program. I agree with KaylaKaze.
The Environment

Concepts and Prototypes: Ice Scout

By Posted on 2.4.2009 11 Comments
When you're driving a 4.7-ton truck filled with scientific equipment across a crevasse-strewn Antarctic wasteland, choosing the right path is critical. Deep cracks in the ice, invisible from a distance, can swallow a truck whole. An Antarctic expedition needs an ultra-light scout vehicle to run ahead and find a safe route before the heavy machinery rolls through. That's exactly what the Concept Ice Vehicle (CIV) is built to do.

2.4.2009 at 11:39am - Comment by SpeedyB

That thing would be ridiculously fun to drive! It should have an enclosed cockpit like PhilInYork said, it would make it much safer if you drove into a crevasse, you could wait more comfortably and last longer (especially if you had food and emergency supplies under the seat.
Gadgets

DIY RFID

By Lauren Aaronson Posted on 2.3.2009 4 Comments
Create a business card that automatically places a Skype call when waved near a computer, or a photo that opens an online video of your vacation. A new kit makes it easy to devise your own uses for radio-frequency ID tags, something that previously only programmers could do.

2.4.2009 at 11:21am - Comment by SpeedyB

All we need is wide spread RF readers so that Laptops and Music players with built in RFID Would be very difficult to steal. And of course so that the government can implant chips in our heads for mind control :o Tinfoil hat time :p
Entertainment & Gaming

How to Lose Traffic and Alienate People

By Tom Conlon Posted on 4.2.2009 13 Comments
Whether you want to call it “2.0” or not, the fact is that a better, stronger, faster Web experience is quickly replacing the old one, and there’s a lot out there to be psyched about. But, for every Google Maps, Facebook and Flickr that does (most) everything right, there are a thousand more Web sites out there still clinging to archaic, annoying and even deceptive practices. What the operators of these sites fail to understand is that forcing me to endure these “experiences” is worse than not having a Web site at all.

1.26.2009 at 12:29pm - Comment by SpeedyB

How about those adds that appear and are made to look like a window, and usually shake around flashing. Who makes those? Even more mind boggling who thinks people over the age of 6 would fall for that? They are annoying and distracting and anyone who has even seen a computer before would not fall for them.
Science

Steve Jobs, Sir … May I Take Your Pulse?

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 1.21.2009 3 Comments
Apple announced last week that Steve Jobs was taking a medical leave of absence until June, leaving techies atwitter about the CEO's health. Now researchers argue that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should require companies to disclose the health of CEOs to shareholders. Uncertainty over Jobs' health has already stirred massive speculation and some angry rumor-backlash against news sites and blogs such as Gizmodo. PC World pointed out that the lack of information leaves journalists to rely on contradictory insider accounts and hearsay. SEC regulations already require companies to disclose events and conditions that might affect a company's future or market value, such as financial risks from climate change, executive officer compensation, and uncertainty over liquidity and capital resources.

1.21.2009 at 11:23am - Comment by SpeedyB

We don't need to know the details, most share holders simply want to know if it is serious enough to worry about. They should have a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being illness (like the flu), 5 being minor surgery (like appendicitis) and 10 being serious surgery (like triple bypass).
Gadgets

PopSci.com Giveaway: Win Advanced Lithium Batteries from Energizer

By Posted on 1.21.2009 135 Comments
Leave a comment (any comment) for a chance to win a pack of Advanced Lithium batteries from Energizer. 20 lucky winners will be chosen randomly on January 31, 2009.

1.21.2009 at 10:46am - Comment by SpeedyB

I go through Batteries faster than food ;) And my parents complain about it constantly.