Nuffing.com

Wood decks and stairs are susceptible to rot and water damage. Use lag bolts to raise deck posts and stair risers above footings to prevent water from seeping into the wood.

Use your impact driver to drive 2 1/2” lag bolts into the base of your wood project and leave about 3/4” of an inch of space between the head of the bolt and the wood. This space will keep the wood from soaking up water and also provide an easy way to fine-tune the level of the posts by screwing the lag bolts in or out.

Another way to protect your wood from moisture is to wrap the ends with Blueskin membrane. This self-adhering waterproof membrane provides another layer of protection for your wood which will make it last longer.

Combining these two moisture prevention tips can help extend the life of your deck by years.

Add 10 years to the life of your deck | The Samurai Carpenter (YouTube)

via Lifehacker
Use Lag Bolts to Extend the Life of Your Outdoor Deck 

Inspired by bioluminescent organisms, the DIY biohackers at Grindhouse Wetware have unveiled their latest creation—a magnetically activated, LED-equipped silicone implant.

As Motherboard reports, the Pittsburgh-based biohacking collective performed three implantations in conjunction with a simultaneous operation in Dusseldorf last Saturday. The new light-up device, dubbed the Northstar V1, is about the size of a large coin, making it considerably smaller than an earlier version, the Circadia 1.0 computer chip. The procedure to implant the device required only 15 minutes (gory pictures here), and was performed under strict conditions.

Once implanted and activated, the Northstar device can backlight existing tattoos or mimic bioluminescence. When a magnet is placed on the device, its five LED lights start to blink. After ten seconds, it goes back into sleep mode. The Grindhouse guys think it’ll light up about 10,000 times before the batteries die out and can no longer be recharged. Once this happens the device will have to be surgically removed. (Photo credit: Grindhouse Wetware/Ryan O’Shea)

When Motherboard’s Anna Neifer asked why his team developed the device, Grindhouse Wetware cofounder Tim Cannon said: “You know, people from the biohacking community wanted it. They contacted us because they wanted to light up their tattoos. That’s how we generate our implants, we let the community inspire us.”

(Credit: Grindhouse Wetware/Ryan O’Shea)

The group plans on making the device available next year. Ideally, Grindhouse would like to sell as many as 100 Northstar V1 devices through tattoo studios worldwide.

Looking to the future, Grindhouse has big plans. A future version of the chip could, in addition to its cosmetic functionality, deliver important biometric information to an external device like a phone. Another neat feature will be the ability of the chip to register a person’s hand movements, and wirelessly relay those signals to receiving device. It would serve as a customizable hands-free controller. You’ll never have to say, “Hey Siri” again.

There’s much more at Motherboard.

Email the author at george@gizmodo.com and follow him at @dvorsky. Top image by Grindhouse Wetware/Ryan O’Shea

via Gizmodo
The Latest Trend Among Biohackers Is Implanting LED Lights Beneath Your Skin

It takes decades of experience and hundreds and hundreds of man hours to make a William & Son shotgun. There’s an expert for the barrel, a master to handle the engraving, a wizard to finish it off and many more skilled hands involved in the entire process. We get to see a glimpse of how it’s done in the video below. Steel, wood, art, fire, water—it’s a combination of so much.

SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

via Gizmodo
Video: The incredible 18 month process of making a shotgun

Pocket83 is the tinkerer who showed us a brilliant way to
make your drill press more ergonomic using golf balls. In this more recent
video, he demonstrates some easy, clever hacks to make dry-erase markers more
useful (and you’ll spot the drill press too). Part of the fun is seeing some of the production solutions he uses—check out his simple tube-cutting device, for instance. I also had no idea that
you could cut PVC with string:

via Core77
Dry-Erase Marker Hacks

Google is ignoring everything the Terminator franchise taught us and is releasing "TensorFlow", open-source software that helps computers learn quicker than ever before. The software is a branch of artificial intelligence called "machine learning," tech that has already found a home in Google Search, Google Photos and Gmail. Tech-giants, like Google, Facebook and Amazon are all working with machine learning to better the services that they offer like smart search, ad targeting and product recommendations. Machine learning is now shifting into a complex realm where researchers are creating computer models that can see and even understand what it’s looking at.

Via: The New York Times

Source: Google

via Engadget
Google just released new AI software that can learn faster

For our drill teardown we went with models you can find at your local big box. One drill that definitely doesn’t fit that category is the Nemo Special Ops, aimed "professionals working in special operations and the special forces."

The 18-volt drill is submersible up to 100 meters and coated with salt-water-resistant paint. (Beautiful, logo-free black paint, making this the first modern-day drill I’ve seen that doesn’t look "like a pair of basketball sneakers," as Jimmy DiResta put it.) I’ve never seen anyone drill or drive anything underwater, here’s what that looks like:

Impressive looks aside, I’d never heard of this company, and I’ve no idea if this is the actual drill that say, Navy SEALs reach for. Though at $1,720 a pop, that certainly seems like the military prices that a clueless Senator signs off on.

via Core77
The “Special Ops” Waterproof Drill/Driver

The human realm of Azeroth is on the brink of war against Orcs who attempt to recolonize in the face of extinction. The CGI-heavy Warcraft is a decided departure for director Duncan Jones (Moon, Source Code), and the jury’s still out, given how most video game movies suck.
via The Awesomer
Warcraft (Trailer)

I oppose mandatory firearms training. It violates our Second Amendment protection against government infringement on the right to keep and bear arms. That said, I’ve been impressed with the instruction rammed down my metaphorical throat. Tedious yes, but comprehensive; instructors … Read More

The post Three Things They Don’t Teach You In Your Concealed Carry Class appeared first on The Truth About Guns.

via The Truth About Guns
Three Things They Don’t Teach You In Your Concealed Carry Class