Just another WordPress site
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:
Code.org, a non-profit that seeks to make coding more accessible, has launched a Star Wars-branded kid JavaScript program that stars Rey and BB-8.
The first tutorial covers JavaScript basics and uses drag-and-drop blocks and an interactive interface where you can watch your code selections play out in real time. The BB-8 drone acts out commands, while Rey provides guidance and Star Wars themes play in the background.
As you advance, pop-up video from engineers who worked on The Force Awakens effects explain more about how the wide world of coding works. It’s meant to provide about an hour’s worth of lessons. An additional forthcoming program promises support in languages beside English as well as availability on smartphone and tablet platforms.
Star Wars: Building a Galaxy with Code is recommended for ages 11+ and definitely seems like a fun way to give kids their first taste of coding. Of course, it has no age limitation. If your first foray into JavaScript is motivated by the desire to send BB-8 on a scrap metal collection adventure, I’m right there with you.
via Gizmodo
Learn How To Code With Star Wars: The Force Awakens Characters
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
Crayola has always been the first name in coloring innovation, so it’s surprising it wasn’t the company behind the recent trend in adult coloring books. But now it’s showing everyone how it’s done with its own line of wonderfully-detailed coloring books targeted at those who are already masters of staying within the lines.
For the grownup colorer who intends to maybe frame and hang their work, the Crayola Color Escapes adult coloring kits feature over-sized 11×17-intricate black and white illustrations by artist Claudia Nice, plus a collection of either colored pencils, fine-line colored markers, or watercolor pencils. There are four of the sets to choose from, including Geometric, Kaleidoscope, Nature, and Garden themes
If you already have plenty of crayons or colored pencils at home, there’s also a collection of four 8×10-inch Crayola coloring books featuring themed illustrations (Folk Art Escapes, Whimsical Escapes, Patterned Escapes, and Elegant Escape) by Terry Runyan, Flora Chang, and other Hallmark artists.
With all the various ‘escapes’ it’s obvious that Crayola is positioning its new coloring book line as a great way for adults to relieve stress, and as a cheaper alternative to seeing a therapist.
Finally, if you’re one of those colorers who churns through pencils like a beaver felling a tree, Crayola will also have packs of colored pencils and colored markers targeted at grownups—although mostly just in terms of their packaging design.
Specific pricing info isn’t available just, but all of these sets will be available in time for the holidays if you’re on the hunt for an easy Secret Santa gift, and don’t feel like giving a can of mixed nuts again. [Crayola]
Toyland: We love toys. Join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
via Gizmodo
Crayola Now Has Its Own Line of Coloring Books For Adults
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.
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
Wow. You thought you were done with new Star Wars trailers after the recent, amazing one we just had? Think again. Disney has released an international cut of the trailer—one that is packed with new shots and dialogue.
The trailer, which you can see below, follows a similar thematic path as the recent teaser, but we get to hear more from Rey and how she’s waiting for her family. We get to see Kylo Ren’s controversial new lightsaber in action. There’s a glimpse of Leia and C-3PO, of gorgeous vistas and alien suns—and then Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata ends the trailer by saying “Hope is not lost today… it is found.” See for yourself!
There is a surprising amount of extra stuff in here, especially considering J.J. Abrams was very insistent on the previous trailer being the last new footage we’d see before the movie released. Naturally, we’ve broken down some of that new content for you into glorious gifs!
Rey checks out the wreckage of a ship on Jakku.
And enquires as to where BB-8—who is owned by Poe Dameron—came from, and teasingly mentions that she knows what it’s like to wait for her family. The question is… who’s the family? Han and Leia, like everyone thinks it is?
The shot of Rey speeding across Jakku is very Luke-and-the-binary-sunset-y, and we love it.
A busy Jakku market, and BB-8 dashes off as it spots something that gets the attention of Rey… and Finn, who’s joined her now! Presumably, BB-8’s seen the First Order making their arrival, as we’ve seen images of Finn and Rey being chased through a similar environment by Stormtroopers.
Speaking of gorgeous shots of alien suns, this one is also spectacular. TIEs at sunset!
Finn and Rey introduce themselves to each other on the Falcon. Wait, they go through all that without knowing each other’s names first?
It’s the Resistance Base! There’s Poe in the background, a brief shot of C-3PO, and PRINCESS GODDAMN LEIA. They look pretty concerned by something.
Leia’s not the only old face we get to see in the trailer. Chewbacca is here, and he’s here to BLOW SHIT UP. Presumably the exploding First Order bridge, which was in the last trailer, is just cut here for effect rather than being Chewie’s actual handiwork, but still.
On a forest world we’ve seen only glimpses of, Rey gets a close encounter with Kylo Ren’s flickering, spitting lightsaber. Careful Kylo, you’ll have someone’s eye out with that thing! There’s a few shots of his lightsaber in this trailer, and we have to say, this crossguard thing has grown on us. It looks menacing and awesome.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out December 18th.
via Gizmodo
Holy Cow, This International Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Has Tons Of New Footage
Statistics about traffic fatalities don’t always have the power to shock most people. Huge numbers–like 373,377, the number of people who died in traffic between 2004 and 2013, for example–are difficult for our brains to really comprehend.
“Most people have seen the statistics about traffic accidents, [but] it’s hard to understand what those numbers mean in the real world,” the data scientist Max Galka recently told Gizmodo over email. That’s why Galka spent weeks compiling millions of records from the US government’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System to create a comprehensive map of every one of those 373,377 people who have died in traffic since 2003. “The purpose of the map is to show these statistics in terms of real people, some of whom may have died in your very neighborhood,” he says.
It’s an awful map; painful to look at for anyone who has been close to one of those almost half-million people–but Galka hopes it’ll help contextualize how large-scale statistics represent real people in real neighborhoods. The individuals are broken down by age and sex, as well as whether they were a passenger or driver, a pedestrian, a cyclist, and so on.
Seen as a whole, the map tends to follow the logic of the interstate system and clusters of cities, But as you drill down into locality, Galka also created tertiary maps that organize the fatalities into causal categories: Deaths caused by speeding, drinking and driving, or distracted driving. “I tried not to interject too much of my own views, but in my opinion, many, if not most, of these accidents were from preventable causes,” Galka says.
Distracted drivers, highlighted in green.
Just like those statistics that don’t quite hit home with most people, warnings about not drinking, texting, or speeding while driving are repeated again and again in our culture–maybe seeing their real effects on a map will help drive them home. You can explore the interactive here.
Contact the author at kelsey@Gizmodo.com.
via Gizmodo
This Data Scientist Made a Map of Every Single US Traffic Death In the Last Decade