Month: October 2015

Posted on

The Navy Is Teaching Celestial Navigation Again as a Backup Plan Against Hackers 

The Navy Is Teaching Celestial Navigation Again as a Backup Plan Against Hackers 

The Naval Academy hasn’t taught midshipmen how to navigate by the stars in nearly 20 years, but it’s reintroducing the old-school approach to maritime travel. Why use a sextant instead of computers and GPS? Worries about ships stranded by cyber-attacks, which have the Navy re-thinking its reliance on tech.

The Capital Gazette talked to Naval Academy employees about the decision to bring back the shuttered program:

“We went away from celestial navigation because computers are great,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ryan Rogers, the deputy chairman of the academy’s Department of Seamanship and Navigation. “The problem is,” he added, “there’s no backup.”

This doesn’t mean that the Navy will suddenly have itself a bunch of Ernest Shackleton types. They’re only getting three hours of celestial navigation training right now—hardly enough to provide a realistic buffer against cyber-attack induced technical difficulties.

Midshipmen started receiving instruction this past summer at the Naval Academy, which is adding more courses. The Class of 2017 will be the first to graduate with the instruction.

[Washington Post | Capital Gazette, h/t Sultana Khan]

Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

via Gizmodo
The Navy Is Teaching Celestial Navigation Again as a Backup Plan Against Hackers 

Posted on

Make Thai Sticky Rice Using a Colander and a Pot

Make Thai Sticky Rice Using a Colander and a Pot

Thai sticky rice (also known as sweet rice or glutinous rice) is a delightfully interactive grain that can be shaped into little balls and scoops that are perfect for dipping. The sticky stuff is usually made with a fancy basket, but you can make it with your colander.

We’ve previously discussed making Thai sticky rice using a spatter guard, but Food 52 argues that a colander is even better. Not only does it hold more rice than a spatter guard, but it’s a much more common kitchen item. (I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a spatter guard.)

Cooking the rice is pretty simple, but the most important part is buying the correct rice. Don’t overthink it, just know that Jasmine rice is not what you’re looking for; look for a rice (preferably a Thai brand like Three Horses) with words like “Thai,” “sweet rice,” and “glutinous rice,” on the packaging.

Once you have purchased the correct rice, grab a pot (with a lid or some foil to cover) and a colander. Any colander will do, just make sure the holes aren’t bigger than the grains, for obvious reasons. Food 52 can walk you through the process in a more detailed manner, but it’s as simple as steaming. Simply fill the pot with water (you want it to be a few inches below the bottom of the colander), set the colander on top of the pot, cover, bring to a boil, lower the heat, and them steam for about fifteen minutes. You now have delicious sticky rice, ready to be dipped in as many delicious sauces as you can make.

The Best Way to Make Thai Sticky Rice (No Fancy Basket Required)|Food 52

Photo by Seba Della y Sole Bossio.


via Lifehacker
Make Thai Sticky Rice Using a Colander and a Pot

Posted on

Scott Rumschlag’s DIY Motor-Free, Height-Adjustable Standing Desk

Though trained as an engineer, Scott Rumschlag quit his engineering office job after less than a year due to his "extreme dislike of sitting all day." Now that he’s switched to building things for a living, it’s unsurprising that he’s built himself an adjustable standing desk.

What is surprising is that Rumschlag’s desk can quickly go from the sitting to standing position without any motor. In place of electricity and gears, he’s incorporated framing nails, sand, and clever design:

Rumschlag has a bunch of videos detailing the desk’s development process here. And at this link he’s selling plans for the design, though at press time he hadn’t yet listed a price.


via Core77
Scott Rumschlag’s DIY Motor-Free, Height-Adjustable Standing Desk

Posted on

The Best Tooth Brushing Method You Were Never Taught

Scrubbing back-and-forth or in circles probably aren’t the best ways to brush—but those are the most popular methods taught to kids and endorsed by toothpaste companies. Dentists, on the other hand, tend to prefer something called the Modified Bass technique.

To brush your teeth this way, angle your brush at the gumline, move it in a circular motion to loosen plaque at and underneath your gums, then sweep the brush away from the gums to remove debris.

Optimal tooth brushing isn’t totally agreed upon: an analysis published in the British Dental Journal found plenty of disagreement about how long, how often, and what techniques were best. Of ten dental associations that recommended a specific technique, six preferred Modified Bass because there is some evidence that it may be better than other methods. That method was rarely taught to children, though, so consider the Modified Bass tooth brushing technique one of the better kept secrets of adulthood.

Brushing Techniques Modified Bass | Columbia College Calgary (Youtube)

Vitals is a new blog from Lifehacker all about health and fitness. Follow us on Twitter here.


via Lifehacker
The Best Tooth Brushing Method You Were Never Taught

Posted on

AngelList To Power The World’s Largest Seed Fund With $400M From Chinese Private Equity Firm

angellist It’s heady amounts of money for heady times. AngelList, the investing platform that has scaled to support $205 million in investments across 650 startups including Uber, is aiming even bigger. One of China’s largest private equity firms is now tapping the platform and the know-how of its angels and syndicates to power a $400 million seed fund called CSC Upshot. The fund will be run… Read More


via TechCrunch
AngelList To Power The World’s Largest Seed Fund With $400M From Chinese Private Equity Firm

Posted on

Latest Lightroom Update Takes Away Multiple Card Import, This is How You Bring It Back

If you are shooting weddings and your workflow involves importing photos from multiple cards simultaneously, you may want to hold with the latest Lightroom CC update. I know of quite a few wedding photographers that use a USB hub and several card readers to unload all their cards simultaneously into lightroom. While this process is not […]

The post Latest Lightroom Update Takes Away Multiple Card Import, This is How You Bring It Back appeared first on DIY Photography.


via DIYPhotography.net -Hacking Photography, One Picture At A Time
Latest Lightroom Update Takes Away Multiple Card Import, This is How You Bring It Back

Posted on

How many people have all the James Bonds killed in all the movies?

A tuxedo, a martini, and a gun. Good looks, charm, and always so impossibly cool. That’s James Bond. Also James Bond: a dude who totally abuses his license to kill and offs a lot of people in his movies. Auralnauts did their always fun kill count and showed all the deaths that all the James Bond have caused.

The final answer: 362 (with 29 killer puns). It’s fun to see the silly kills that have happened throughout the series.

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

via Gizmodo
How many people have all the James Bonds killed in all the movies?

Posted on

Learn to Tie the Versatile “Handcuff Knot” With This Instructional Video

If you’re ever in the unfortunate position of needing to restrain someone, the “handcuff knot” does exactly what it sounds like. This versatile knot can do a few other helpful things too.

This instructional video, from the ITS Tactical YouTube channel, demonstrates how to make an effective restraining knot in a matter of seconds. It’s difficult to describe in words, but the idea is to make two loops in your rope, then cross them and pull the loops through each other. What you have left is two adjustable loops you can use as makeshift handcuffs. This knot can also be used, however, for carrying or dragging game when hunting, and as foot holds when pulling someone up from somewhere or lowering them down. Tying basic knots requires very little expertise, so it’s worth taking a few minutes to learn the ropes.

http://ift.tt/1RwFIro…

How to Tie a Handcuff Knot | YouTube


via Lifehacker
Learn to Tie the Versatile “Handcuff Knot” With This Instructional Video