Tag: Saved for Later

It’s no secret that Gizmodo loves Milky Way time-lapses. They’re an awe-inspiring fixture on the internet we can’t help but highlight. But astrophotographer (jealous of that job title) Ian Norman wants to transform us from just casual observers into active creators.

Published on his lovely website, Lonely Speck, Norman describes step-by-step what any aspiring astrophotographer must do to create the internet gold that us space geeks love. Norman lists several resources including websites that hunt down locations with little to no light pollution, mobile star guides to help locate the Milky Way, and specific camera settings to make sure you capture everything perfectly.

Norman also spends nearly half the video hand-holding you through post-production in Lightroom and After Effects, showing how to stitch hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of images together into one fluid video. This isn’t a tutorial for the slightly curious. You will, at the very least, need to make a serious equipment investment if you want professional results, but you can stem some cost by just going the fixed camera route instead of the motion time-lapse described by Norman. Either way, the end results seem satisfying, and it’s also a great excuse to get out in the wilderness, even if you’re not the hiking type (like me.) If you happen to be in the more amateur category and all this required equipment has you spooked, take a look at Norman’s detailed guide on how to snap your first pic of the galaxy.

And in case you needed more convincing, here’s a great, trippy example of a Milky Way time-lapse over Everest posted on Vimeo just yesterday. Pretty cool, right? [Lonely Speck via PetaPixel]

second video via Alex Rivest/Vimeo

via Gizmodo
Learn How to Make Milky Way Time-Lapses in About 20 Minutes

If you’re making a dish with lots of eggs (custard, quiche), cracking one at a time isn’t efficient. Crack two at a time with some smashing and bashing.

We’ve covered how to crack an egg with one hand, but over at food blog Serious Eats they’ve added another cracking tip. Take an egg in each hand and crack them on the side of the bowl at the same time. It takes some getting used to. If you crack too hard, you’ll get eggshell in the bowl (we’ve got a fix for that, though). A sharp focused tap is what you need to get the job done.

How to Crack Eggs Like a Badass | Serious Eats

via Lifehacker
Double Down on Egg Cracking with the “Smash and Bash” Method

I still get the chills when I re-read Brian Shul’s account of his flight against enemy SAM batteries over Lybia. Imagine yourself tightly packed inside that amazing retro-futuristic SR-71 Blackbird cockpit with the alarms sounding off. This cool 360-degree virtual reality view will help.

Expand and pinch to zoom the images (only works on desktop browsers.)

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SPLOID is delicious brain candy. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

via Gizmodo
Amazing ultra-high definition photo of the SR-71 Blackbird cockpit

Want to know how all the complex systems work in your car? Turn to these fantastic videos made by the carmakers themselves.

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10.) How Drum Brakes Work, From Chevy

Chevrolet produced many of these great instructional films in the 1930s. This one explains how drum brakes work with fantastic visual aids.

Suggested By: ranwhenparked

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9.) Jeep Explains When And How 4WD Works

This video is specific to Jeep’s Selec-Trac system on the Liberty, but is still a great explainer for how four-wheel drive works and when to use it.

Suggested By: Boombayadda

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8.) How Differentials Work, From Chevy

Want to know why your car needs a differential and how that differential works? Once again, we turn to the great videos from Chevrolet produced by the Jam Handy Organization back in the 1930s.

Suggested By: Raphael Orlove

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7.) How To Heel-Toe With Ayrton Senna & Honda

I don’t believe this video was intended to be instructional but any serious driver can certainly learn a thing or two watching Ayrton Senna thrash an NSX-R around Suzuka. Whoever decided to mount a foot camera to the NSX deserves a trophy.

Suggested By: Chris_K_F

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6.) How Suspension Works, From Chevy

This list has been heavy on 1930s Chevrolet videos, but there’s a very good reason for that. As always, great visuals are employed in showing how the springs and shocks in your car absorb the bumps in the road.

Suggested By: Jonee

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5.) How Automatic Transmissions Work

This video was produced by the Department of Defense which, I know, isn’t really what you’d call a carmaker. They were, however, a major driving force in the development of automatic transmissions. I simply couldn’t not include this video that explains the mystery of how they work. Spoiler alert: it’s not wizardry!

Suggested By: The Transporter

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4.) How Dual Clutch Transmissions Work, From Volvo

Dual clutch transmissions are becoming an increasingly large part of the automotive world, so this short, sweet video from Volvo Trucks is both excellent and timely. I’d imagine Porsche’s PDK explanation video would be 4 hours, not 40 seconds like this one.

Suggested By: Lumpy44

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3.) Studebaker Tells You Why Disc Brakes Are Better

Don’t know the difference between drum and disc brakes? You will within 7 seconds of this excellent video from Studebaker. As if you needed any more reason to want a Lark.

Suggested By: My X-type is too a real Jaguar

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2.) How Rotary Engines Work, From Mazda

Who else but Mazda to tell you how a Wankel Rotary engine works? Even if a Rotary isn’t really better than internal combustion as Mazda says, this is video is well worth your time.

Suggested By: DartzIRL

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1.) Carroll Shelby & Co. Teach You How To Race

Is there any better instructional video than Carroll Shelby, Ken Miles, Pete Brock, and Dan Gurney teaching you how to race? Add in Willow Springs Raceway as well as a Cobra, a Mustang GT350, and an early GT40 and you’ve got the best instructional video a carmaker has ever made.

Suggested By: schrodingers

Welcome back to Answers of the Day – our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day’s Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It’s by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!

Top Photo Credit: Volvo Trucks via YouTube

via Gizmodo
Ten Videos That Explain How Cars Work

The red-hot nickel ball is our all-time favorite destroyer of basically anything on the planet, transforming everything from Velveeta to Peeps into sticky, bubbling cauldrons of processed-chemical goo. Now the ball is rolling in the other direction with a liquid nitrogen-cooled nickel ball that’s up to all sorts of fun.

First watch the super-cooled nickel ball take a swim in a hot tub, followed by a plunge in a cold bath. I don’t want to spoil it, but the super-cooled nickel ball is full of surprises!

Now watch as the super-cooled nickel ball is dipped into honey:

At first it’s hard to see exactly what’s going to happen, but the end result is pretty amazing. We can’t wait to see what other tricks can be performed with cold balls. [CarsandWater]

via Gizmodo
Super-Cooled Nickel Ball Is Even Better Than Red Hot Nickel Ball

If you’re not one to break the rules when it comes to your entertainment, the Motion Picture Association of America has created an official site for finding out where you can watch, buy, or stream movies and TV shows legally.

The site is similar to Can I Stream It, but also includes theaters that you can find new movies at, a huge selection of TV shows and the channels you can find them on, and tells you where you can buy the movie or show if it’s not on any streaming services. Additionally, WhereToWatch is ad-free and lets you set alert notifications for when the content you’re interested becomes available from your preferred provider. There is no app, but the site is designed to work on any sized device. The site is still in beta, so there might be a few hiccups, but you can check it out at the link below.

WhereToWatch Beta | WhereToWatch

via Lifehacker
WhereToWatch Shows You Where You Can Watch Movies and TV Shows Legally

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day, the U.S. holiday where we Yanks honor the members of our military, past and present (and get our annual Band of Brothers fix on TV). The timing of the holiday is based on Armistice Day’s 11-11-11—that’s the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, which in 1918 marked the official cessation of World War I hostilities.

Commissioned to design a Veteran’s Day memorial for Anthem, Arizona, Phoenix-based artist Renee Palmer Jones took heed of both the "11" timing and the Arizona sun. As she writes:

At precisely 11:11 a.m., each year on 11-11, the sun aligns through the elliptical holes in each of the five marble pillars (each representing a branch of the the U.S. military) in order to perfectly illuminate a round mosaic inlaid into the bricks; that of the Great Seal of the United States. The symbolism of the five pillars standing in formation in order to protect the United States and to complete the solar illumination is representative of U.S. military personnel working together in all regards, in the security and defense of American citizens.

The project was designed by Palmer Jones, engineered by Jim Martin Oscar Oliden and Steve Rusch and constructed by the Haydon Building Corporation.

(more…)
via Core77
Brilliant Monument Design Casts Perfect Solar Spotlight Once a Year

via kottke.org
The Great War