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ISS astronauts mimic nature to turn urine into drinking water
Recycling water is key for astronauts on the International Space Station since sending water to the crew is heavy and expensive. The current systems work well and the tech is being used here on Earth in places where clean drinking water is in short supply. In an effort to increase efficiency, astronauts will test a new filtration system from Aquaporin Space Alliance. The so-called AquaMembrane employs nanotechnology and proteins to transform waste water (sweat and urine) into clean drinking water, proteins that regulate water in living things like human kidneys and bamboo shoots. Those aquaporin proteins are situated on a membrane and as water passes through tiny protein tubes, an electrostatic charge stops things like salt from getting through. The water flows continuously from side to side without using extra energy thanks to forward osmosis.
Pokemon had a baby with Attack on Titan and it's awful
Some things we never wanted to see. Some things we never knew we never wanted to see – and Pokemon mashed up with Attack on Titan is one of those things. Ugh. Today's dose of nightmare fuel comes from zsparky on DeviantArt, as spotted by Tiny Cartridge. The only thing creepier than waking up to a face full of Lickitung in the morning would be a face full of grinning Lickitung. Ugh ugh. But, you know what they say: We had to see it, and now you do, too. Sweet dreams, folks. [Image: Beth Emery / zsparky]
38 Studios debt to be partially repaid with bloody sock
In 2004, Curt Schilling ignored his doctor's advice and hobbled to the pitcher's mound with a wounded right ankle to win Game Two of the World Series, clenching the second of four straight victories against the St. Louis Cardinals and proving that the Curse of the Bambino had run its course. The blood-stained sock worn by Schilling on that day is now stuff of Boston legend and had become quite an icon during the series. It seemed to be a piece of memorabilia that Schilling wouldn't dare part with, but his recent business dealings have forced his hand. And foot. If you find yourself in need of a used bloody sock to frame in your sports den, you can start the bidding on February 4th. Schilling hopes to raise at least $100,000 through the auction.
Henry Cavill plays WoW -- Ryan Reynolds doesn't
I was reading my print copy of Entertainment Weekly today, which features their Summer Must List. They listed their Must Dashing Duke as Henry Cavill from The Tudors. Cavill says that World of Warcraft is on his Must List: "It's fairly addictive." In an interview with JustJared.com earlier this year, Cavill said that he also plays Eve Online. As a geekgirl, I say yay to more gamer hunks.In the same issue of EW, their cover boy, Ryan Reynolds discussed his Must List. It included Intervention and Jon & Kate Plus Eight. When asked about his Must Videogame, he said "I don't really play videogames. Is there a way to waste more f-ing time?"I'll field that question, Ryan. Yes, yes there is. Those reality shows that you have spent so much time watching? Yeah, excellent candidates for bigger wastes of time. I watch reality TV, too, but I think that interactive gaming is a much better expenditure of my leisure time. Of course, I'm a bit biased, but I think that if people compared their hours spent watching TV to the hours that gamers spend playing, the numbers would be similar.Now I have to decide: desecrate some flames? Or watch The Deadliest Catch? Regardless of my decision, it won't be watching Van Wilder, but that has nothing to do with Mr. Reynolds' view of gaming.
EVE Evolved: Electronic Warfare, part 3
In the first two parts of this three part guide, I explained the basics of electronic warfare in EVE Online and examined the skills and equipment you'll need as an electronic warfare specialist. In this final section, I tackle the tricky issues of battlefield operations and survival.Survival:An unfortunate fact about being part of a fleet's electronic warfare crew is that you'll almost certainly be a high priority target for your enemies. To make matters worse, specialist electronic warfare ships tend to have very poor defensive capabilities. Fitting any kind of tank on an electronic warfare ship can waste vital module slots and severely impact the performance of your ship. This is particularly true in the case of ECM jamming ships where the low slots should be used for signal distortion amplifiers.What can you do to keep your ship safe on the battlefield and what should you do to help your fleet be victorious? Join me as I answer these questions in a thorough tactical overview of electronic warfare in EVE Online.
EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 2
In part 1 of this guide, I delved into the world of electronic warfare in EVE Online. In this second segment, I examine the skills and equipment you'll need to be an electronic warfare specialist with special regard to ECM jammers, remote sensor dampeners and tracking disruptors. Contrary to popular belief, new pilots with few skillpoints can still be extremely useful in this area of PvP. The entry-level skills and equipment for electronic warfare specialists can be obtained within days of starting the game.Entry-level ships:Although electronic warfare modules can be fitted to any ship, each race has its own set of specialised ships that get bonuses to them. Ranging from cheap expendable frigates up to expensive force recon ships, there are specialist ships for players of all skill levels and in all price ranges. The Caldari race have ships that specialise in ECM jammers, the Gallente specialise in remote sensor dampeners and the Amarr make good use of tracking disruptors and energy neutralisers.Read on as I examine the skills and equipment you'll need to be one of the most effective electronic warfare specialists in EVE.
EVE Evolved: Electronic warfare, part 1
Whether you're taking part in faction warfare, pirating, fighting a dirty corporate war or defending your homeland in 0.0, chances are you'll be engaging in a lot of fleet warfare. Although a lot of newer fleet commanders prefer all fleet members to be in ships that deal a lot of damage, the optimum setup makes better use of a variety of ship types. A strong fleet in EVE Online is typically composed of three main groups. First you have the tacklers who intercept and warp-scramble enemies, then the damage dealers who kill the enemy and finally you have the electronic warfare crew.What is electronic warfare?:Electronic warfare involves the use of modules that debilitate the enemy indirectly rather than attacking them head-on. This includes using target jammers to cause the enemy to lose his active target locks, sensor dampeners to decrease his lock range and energy neutralisers to deplete his capacitor. A good electronic warfare ship has the potential to remove several enemy ships from the battle, cutting the effectiveness of the enemy fleet down significantly. For this reason, a good electronic warfare wing in your fleet can be seen as a force multiplier, allowing your fleet to engage much larger forces and succeed.In the first part of this guide, I cover the basics of electronic warfare in EVE and show just how important this often underused portion of a fleet is.
Entertainment Weekly lists the classic games from the last 25 years
In its historic 1000th issue, Entertainment Weekly made a point to name the new classics of the last 25 years. While EW took everything from movies to tech to task, writers Geoff Keighley, Wook Kim and Gary Eng Walk clawed through the last 25 years of gaming to list the industry's most important releases. Two Xbox-exclusive titles landed in the top 25 of the 50 title list, at number 11 the classic 2001 Xbox launch title Halo: Combat Evolved from Bungie and ranking in at number 20 was Epic's Gears of War.Other strong Xbox released titles on the list included Grand Theft Auto IV (#9), BioShock (#28), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (#30), Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (#38), Psychonauts (#43), Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (#45), Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (#47) and Madden NFL 2005 (#50).What are the most important titles in your gaming life and how do you think this list stacks up as a collection of gaming's new classics in the last 25 years? The full 50 title listing can be found after the jump.
Apple love in the EW Pop Culture Gift Guide
My old buddies at Entertainment Weekly (hi Wook!) have put out a holiday shopping guide with a twist: the concept is "what would you buy for your favorite TV characters?" Unfortunately, only shows currently on the air were eligible, so my dream of sending Buffy Summers the million-candlepower flashlight she SO NEEDED must remain unfulfilled. *sigh*Anyway, the EW crew did include a bit of Apple kit in the gift mix, but perhaps not the item you'd think of first. Shopping for Dr. Christian Troy of the plastic surgery nauseodrama Nip/Tuck, they suggested the black MacBook along with a Slingbox AV as a roaming MD's ideal video combo.So where were the iPods in this gift guide? Absent: not an iPod was featured, not even a Shuffle. There is another DMP from another vendor, in a fetching shade of brown, listed as a gift for The Office's Jim Halpert... but this is the Unofficial Apple Weblog, and we don't need to mention that product again. (Today, anyway.)Update 11:28 am: As noted by several readers, the Jim Halpert (not Halpern) character on The Office already uses an iPod. So, that "other" music player, really not such a great gift for him.
Entertainment Weekly console Thunderdome
Four Entertainment Weekly writers pitted the three consoles against each other Thunderdome style: Three consoles enter, one console leaves. Yeah, we wish it were that cool, but they pretty much did a standard in-depth breakdown of the consoles and what it means to the average Entertainment Weekly reader. Here are the highlights:PS3 -- Other than saying that the machine is gorgeous like Darth Vader, they pretty much go the softer route of the New York Times bashing. If you don't have a HDTV, which is still a majority of people, than you "can't fully appreciate" what the $600 system has to offer. They also say you get what you pay for with the online service which is a "work in progress." They say to resist temptation and wait until there is a "practical" reason to purchase. After all they say about the system it still got a grade of B.Wii -- The B+ rated system gets the grade for every tired reason mentioned in the past. The graphics aren't pretty, "clueless companies trying to shoehorn existing franchises onto a radically different control scheme aren't doing anyone any favors," the wii-mote might get old fast and playing games actually requires you to move. The almost identical ratings for the Wii and PS3 are quite telling. It shows that gamers must truly be divided on what is more important: Tech specs or gameplay?Xbox 360 -- EW likes the 360. "Hands-down your best game console option at the moment." They say it already has some must-buy titles like Gears of War, Ghost Recon, Dead Rising and Viva Piñata for the "family-friendly" set. The gushing over the system continues until it culminates in an A-. They also make sure to say it's in "bountiful supply" now.It'll be nice to revisit this in a year when we can watch some blood be spilled. Giving such close grades to systems seems more like a cop-out. Hopefully by this time next year we'll get a real verdict from EW.
