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Hook the big ones with the Digital Guide to Fishing Knots
If you follow the tips and steps to tying proper knots in this app you won't need to talk about the "one that got away" with your fishing buddies. The Digital Guide to Fishing Knots is an iPad app that costs US$.99 and needs iOS 6.0 or later. The Digital Guide to Fishing Knots' layout makes it easy to follow. The app offers an Introduction that details the various kinds of fishing line available today and advantages and disadvantages of each. You receive seven tips for effective knot tying that apply to all of the knots in the app. You will also find a table of contents listing each of the five basic kinds of knots and then specific knots in each area. Once you select one of the knots, The Digital Guide to Fishing Knots provides step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to tie the knot. These instructions are easy to follow and the drawings make the process very simple. Some of the knots have just three steps while the Double Uni-knot is a six step tying process. On some of the knots you will see a symbol in the upper right corner that says Tap for More Info. A simple tap brings up background information on the specific knot and also for the kind of knot such as a Loop. The app also gives you information on how the knot is best utilized such as joining two lines together or attaching a hook or weight to the line. In the iTunes Store you will find at least a couple of dozen of similar apps on fishing knots. Some are free and some cost a lot more. The Digital Guide to Fishing Knots was prepared by Peter Owen, a British author who has published a number of books on tying knots for fishing and other outdoor activities. Field and Stream Fishing Knots Handbook and the LL Bean Outdoors Knot Handbook were both prepared by Owen so clearly he knows his stuff. Owen only offers twelve knots in his app while some of the others have as many as a hundred. Owen believes his twelve knots will cover just about every situation plus users will find it much easier to learn and perfect twelve knots rather than dozens. Even if you are not a fisherman, The Digital Guide to Fishing Knots, can still come in handy. A a lot of these knots would be useful in camping, sailing, climbing, or just for lashing down things on your car or in your home.
LG Chem develops very flexible cable batteries, may leave mobile devices tied up in knots
The world is no stranger to flexible batteries, but they've almost always had to be made in thin sheets -- that doesn't amount to a long running time if you're powering anything more than a watch. LG Chem has developed a flexible lithium-ion battery that's not just better-suited to our bigger gadgets but could out-do previous bendable energy packs. Researchers found that coating copper wires with nickel-tin and coiling them briefly around a rod results in a hollow anode that behaves like a very strong spring; mating that anode with a lithium-ion cell leads to a battery that works even when it's twisted up in knots. Join multiple packs together, and devices could have lithium-ion batteries that fit many shapes without compromising on their maximum deliverable power. Some hurdles remain to creating a production-grade battery, such as a tendency for the pack to shed a small amount of capacity whenever it's put under enough stress. LG Chem is fully set on turning these cable batteries into shippable technology, however, and could ultimately produce mobile devices and wearables that really do bend to their owners' every whim.
Watch knots spring to life with Animated Knots
Do you want to tie a specialized knot? There's an app for that! Animated Knots isn't particularly polished or overdesigned. Instead, it presents a list of knots that are arranged in categories, such as boating, fishing, and scouting. You tap on a knot, and you see the knot tie itself on screen using stop motion photography. I must admit, it's kind of cool. Not only do you see each stage of the knot formation, but you also get a text accompaniment (which you can pause to read) that explains exactly what you need to do at each stage in order to create the knot. This app gave me flashbacks to summer camp, where I learned to tie a bowline with my eyes closed in under 5 seconds ... and that's a good thing.
iPod cable managment via crochet
All this time I have been trying to avoid getting my iPod headphone cables knotted, but it seems that the key to tangle free headphones is in the knot. At least, if you know crochet or can follow these instructions at Instructables at least. These instructions are bound to delight some, and anger some but I thought it was a rather cool idea.Check it out.
