Kurt Starnes

"The car, set to be unveiled at next month’s Geneva Motor Show, features a top speed of 155 mph, sliding doors, a 360-degree collision detection system, and a cruise control system that can navigate curves under 25 mph. On the green side of things, the plug-in hybrid version of the vehicle offers a lithium-ion battery with a storage capacity of over 10 kWh. The car can run on pure electric power for 18 miles at 75 mph before switching into hybrid mode." - Kurt Starnes

"Chicago-based indie pop quartet Purple Apple is made up of three 12-year-old girls and their 24 year old babysitter on drums… yes, seriously. Though young by any stretch of the imagination, the three 7th grade schoolmates at the core of the band – Olivia, Madi and Nonie – are wise beyond their years and nowhere does this show more than in their songwriting. While most of us were playing tag and trying out for the junior high cheerleading team at age 12, these girls spend their free time writing songs which fantastically capture the complex and sophisticated world around us through eyes not yet tarnished by the cynicism of adulthood." - Kurt Starnes

Did I mention these girls were t w e l v e? I'm still amazed. - Kurt Starnes

"The problem with true three dimensional displays (displays that you can walk around) is that they require pixels to be floating in space. This has been done with lasers and plasma, but such technologies are super expensive and limited in many ways. MIT’s SENSEable City Laboratory in collaboration with ARES Lab (Aerospace Robotics and Embedded Systems Laboratory) has hit upon the idea of creating huge free form three dimensional displays out of individual “smart pixels” made up of micro helicopters carrying LEDs:" - Kurt Starnes

"The process of carving a skateboard takes a bit of time. The piece is carved out of green wood. Which is to say wet, freshly cut wood. Ideally the wood spits its water at you as you carve. I use western red cedar because it is ideal in so many ways. Its light, strong and becomes harder as it ages. It splits easily facilitating carving--but also renders the piece fragile. First it is carved green and carefully hollowed out, then put away to dry. It shrinks radially along the growth rings as it dries. Some material must be left to "true up" or eliminate the distortions caused during drying. When it is dry enough it is finish carved." - Kurt Starnes

"Thankfully abstaining from adding yet another edge to its multi-blade face, the new Gillette Fusion ProGlide ($11) improves on its predecessor in other ways. The blades that are there have been re-engineered to offer thinner, finer edges, and join a new blade stabilizer, streamlined comfort guard, a larger Lubrastrip, an enhanced precision trimmer, a larger, more comfortable handle, and, exclusively on the Power model ($13), a new microcomb that helps guide hairs to the blade, all resulting in a closer, more comfortable shave." - Kurt Starnes

I'm 43 and received the above candles, a bag of chocolates and some boxer shorts with whales on them from my Mom on Valentine's Day. - Kurt Starnes

Derrick: So sorry to hear you lost your Mom. I can't even imagine. I'm sure my Mom would adopt you -- she plays Mom to many of my friends. :-) - Kurt Starnes

"pierre-alexis dumas: ours requires less power at cruising speed than a boat of equal size. its diesel-electric motorisation is the most efficient motorisation out there today, and the surface of the photovoltaic panels, almost 900 square metres, covers part of what’s needed to subsist on the boat! we’re also looking into a telescopic wind-turbine system and a retractable mast with a computer-operated sail measuring over 200 square metres that will produce at least 30 % of the energy used to propel the boat." - Kurt Starnes

BTW, what's the argument for why the US holds on to the Penny? - Kurt Starnes

Seems like there's money to be saved not only from ending the penny, but from not having to account for them. - Kurt Starnes

"The state-funded Center for Medical Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego has confirmed that pot is effective in reducing muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological injuries or illnesses, according to a report issued Wednesday [The New York Times]." - Kurt Starnes

"Overcoming interference from a very active young sun-like star, a group of astronomers were able to find what they determined is the youngest exoplanet yet discovered. BD+20 1790b is 35 million years old (Earth is about 100 times older at 4.5 billion years) and is located about 83 light years away from our planet. Previously, the youngest known exoplanet was about 100 million years old. Studying this planet will help our understanding of planetary evolution." - Kurt Starnes

"Would you feel better if, besides giving you a pill, your doctor also explained some potential benefits? It's quite likely, according to research from placebo effect studies from the past couple of decades. But an international group of researchers, led by Damien Finniss of the University of Sydney Pain Management and Research Institute in Australia, wanted to take a closer look at just how such an approach affects patients—and doctors who might make use of it." - Kurt Starnes

"In a review of recent research, international experts say there is increasing evidence that fake treatments, or placebos, have an actual biological effect in the body. The doctor-patient relationship, plus the expectation of recovery, may sometimes be enough to change a patient's brain, body and behavior, experts write. The review of previous research on placebos was published online Friday in Lancet, the British medical journal. "It's not that placebos or inert substances help," said Linda Blair, a Bath-based psychologist and spokeswoman for the British Psychological Society. Blair was not linked to the research. "It's that people's belief in inert substances help."" - Kurt Starnes

"Invented in 1916 by John Lloyd Wright, the son of legendary architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, these are the classic Lincoln Logs that have engaged generations of budding architects and builders in creative play. While watching the construction of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, John realized that he could incorporate the same "floating cantilever construction" into a toy that would spark a child's interest in architecture. Just like his father's hotel, Lincoln Logs rely on a system of interlocking beams rather than screws and nails. Made from Ponderosa Pine and stained to match the original, children can follow the blueprints to build a log cabin or rely on their own creativity to const ruct countless edifices. The 115-piece set includes logs, slats, roof pieces, and eaves that store neatly in a collector's edition pine box. Ages 3 and up." - Kurt Starnes

"On these Indonesian islands, there's a small marsupial called the paradoxurus, a tree-dwelling animal that is part of the sibet family. Long regarded by the natives as pests, they climb among the coffee trees eating only the ripest, reddest coffee cherries. Who knows who first thought of it, or how or why, but what these animals eat they must also digest and eventually excrete. Some brazen or desparate -- or simply lazy -- local gathered the beans, which come through the digestion process fairly intact, still wrapped in layers of the cherries' mucilage. The enzymes in the animals' stomachs, though, appear to add something unique to the coffee's flavor through fermentation." - Kurt Starnes

Definitely one of those things I don't want to know how it's made. - Todd Hoff

Todd: It's a 100% natural process. - Kurt Starnes

"Today, most folks are convening on Twitter, Facebook and now Google Buzz. This writing will examine the content sharing capabilities of The Big Three social networks — I’ve also included FriendFeed because it offers an excellent example of properly executed sharing features and very nice content presentation. I will not delve into any other issues regarding these networks. The way shared content looks, what information can be conveyed and ease of posting said content is the focus." - Kurt Starnes

Image #1 below of Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, California is the original taken with the iPhone 3G native camera app. The next three were filtered through the CameraBag app. #2 was passed through the Cinema filter, #3 the Mono filter and #4 the Magazine filter. Of all the camera apps I have used, CameraBag remains my favorite. It's simple and the results are usually very nice. There's no example below, but I apply Helga the most. And, I have no affiliation with the developers of this app -- just a happy customer! - Kurt Starnes

"Confirmation of this effect supports the idea that gravity is a manifestation of space-time curvature since the flow of time is no longer constant throughout the universe but varies according to the distribution of massive bodies. Reinforcing the idea of space-time curvature is important in distinguishing between different theories of quantum gravity since there are some versions of string theory matter can respond to something other than the geometry of space-time." - Kurt Starnes

"No longer constant"? That's a terrible way to present it. - Andy Bakun

Physics World's words! I'm an not even an armchair physicist at my best. - Kurt Starnes

Andy: Today I think I understand your point. Taken literally, the phrase you quoted implies that time was constant until the discovery that it wasn't. Perhaps time is quantum mechanical and changes from constant to not constant depending on whether it's observed? :-> - Kurt Starnes

"The most prominent asteroid in the sky is currently yours for the perusing with binoculars -- and perhaps even the naked eye. Tomorrow night, Wednesday, Feb. 17, Vesta, the second most massive object in the asteroid belt, reaches what astronomers like to call "opposition." An asteroid (or planet or comet) is said to be "in opposition" when it is opposite to the sun as seen from Earth. In other words, if you were to stand outside with the sun directly above you at high noon, Vesta would be directly below your feet some 211,980,000 kilometers (131,700,000 miles) away. With Vesta at opposition, the asteroid is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit." - Kurt Starnes

"Inspired by Franco Sbarro's hubless wheels. Hubless wheels work by fixing the rotating parts (brake ring, bearings, hubless rim) onto the outer side of a non-rotating inner ring that attaches to the motorcycle's swingarm or forks. Advantages include decreased unsprung weight, reduced structural stress (no spokes to transmit forces through), increased braking leverage, more accurate steering, reduced vibration and a lower center of gravity." - Kurt Starnes