tornado
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Amazon told lawmakers it wouldn’t build warehouse storm shelters
Amazon responded to three Democratic lawmakers who asked for it to build storm shelters after a December 2021 tornado killed six workers at an Illinois warehouse.
Amazon avoids fines and other penalties in Illinois warehouse collapse
Amazon won't face fines and other penalties following the collapse of an Illinois warehouse that killed six workers during a tornado.
Amazon sued by family of employee killed in Illinois tornado warehouse collapse
Amazon is being sued by the family of delivery driver Austin McEwan who died in the Edwardsville, Illinois warehouse struck by a tornado last month.
Democrats press Amazon for details on tornado warehouse deaths
A group of 20 senators and House representatives are seeking answers from the company.
The Weather Channel's mixed reality tornado lesson was actually fun
This morning, The Weather Channel debuted the first of its upcoming slate of immersive, mixed reality (IMR) content that's meant to let "viewers truly see the weather like never before". In this segment, meteorologist Jim Cantore explained the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale that's used to categorize tornadoes. Throughout the 7-minute segment, he dodged faux flying debris and falling cars, making the segment seem not only more relatable, but also entertaining.
Forecast data model warns you of tornadoes hours in advance
Meteorologists usually only issue warnings for tornadoes when they're imminent, which gives you precious little time to take cover -- the American average is just 13 minutes. NOAA researchers may soon give you much more time to get to safety, though. They recently conducted the first practical test of a new model, Warn on Forecast, that gives you up to 3 hours' notice. The technique merges radar, satellite and surface data into a highly detailed prediction model. When you make frequent-enough predictions (every 15 to 20 minutes), you can tell when incoming weather patterns are very likely to trigger warnings.
ICYMI: Tornado simulators and cranial cracking robo-surgeons
Today on In Case You Missed It: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are leveraging 20,000-core supercomputers to model the inner workings of supercells in hopes of finding out why some storms unleash tornadoes while others do not. In all, the simulation relied on nearly two billion individual data points. We also take a look at a sure-handed robotic surgeon developed at the University of Bern in Switzerland that's designed to drill tiny holes in your skull. See, in order to install a cochlear implant, doctors need to cut a small hole in your skull but the location is packed with facial and taste nerves. One wrong move and the operation can do more harm than good. But with this robo-surgeon on call, doctors can drill more deftly. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Wrong house gets torn down based on a Google Maps error
We've seen our share of GPS-guided mishaps, but what happened to the owners of a Texas duplex is particularly heartbreaking. Their house was torn down by mistake (no, this isn't the first time that's happened, it's not even the first time in Texas) after it was damaged by a tornado, and the demolition company apparently blames Google Maps for the error. They lived at 7601 Calypso Dr., and as you can see below, on Google Maps it lists the same location for that address as it shows for 7601 Cousteau Dr. --the home a block away that was supposed to be demolished. (At the time of this writing, both Apple Maps and Mapquest have what appears to be the correct listing for 7601 Cousteau Dr.)
A 1,000-foot high wall might be the key to saving the midwest from tornados
A towering, 50-meter thick wall may sound like the fevered dream of isolationists bent on border control, but it just might be the solution to the midwest's tornado problems. University of Drextel physicist Rongjia Tao reckons that a trio of 1,000-foot high, 165-foot "great walls" could mitigate the worst natural weather of Tornado Alley -- a loosely defined area that spans several states with high tornado risk. Tao compared Tornado Alley to a geographically similar area in China and concluded that the midwest suffered from more tornados primarily because it doesn't have east-west mountain ranges to weaken or block the weather patterns that form them. Now he's proposing that we build some.
This kids blanket can stop a bullet
Throughout the history of blankets, hiding behind one to escape the boogeyman has been a largely pointless tactic. Now, however, an Oklahoma company has developed a blanket that'll protect you against fictional monsters as well as the very real dangers of tornado damage and 9mm bullets. Inspired by a tragedy where 24 people died at an elementary school that didn't have a tornado shelter, Steve Walker hassled other locals to come up with a solution. A materials scientist suggested making large pads out of Dyneema, a super-thick polyethylene that's meant to be tougher than Kevlar, that kids could hide under during tornados or incidents of gun violence. The company admits that the blankets don't come cheap, since they'll cost $1,000 per child, but it's still significantly cheaper than trying to find the cash to build a shelter for every school in the state.
La Crosse 810-163TWR tornado alert radio eyes-on
Live in Tornado Alley? Just generally afraid of being swept away by a cyclone? You may want to cast those eyes in the general direction of the La Crosse 810-163TWR weather alert radio. The walkie-talkie-like device is up to all of the NOAA standards, tuning you in to national weather alerts. You can set an alarm on the gadget that'll turn radio alerts on any time there's a national disaster. New this time out is a devoted tornado button. Click that and it will only trigger when faced with that specific disaster. The device is due out in April and should you around $50. Sadly the unit present here at CES was just a dummy, so if there are any tornadoes in the area, we're all out of luck. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
EVE Evolved: Everything there is to know about Crucible
This summer's lackluster Incarna expansion and the ensuing microtransaction drama took a massive toll on EVE Online's player community and development staff. Players were quitting in droves, and CCP eventually had to lay off 20% of its staff worldwide. Two years of half-implemented expansions, broken features, and "first steps" that were never iterated on left players begging for a content-heavy expansion like Apocrypha or those released in EVE's early years. EVE is known for being practically a new game every six months, but since the blockbuster Apocrypha expansion, daily life in New Eden hasn't changed much at all. To pull things back from the brink, CCP refocused development on EVE Online and gave developers a free pass to work on hundreds of small features and improvements. The company began flooding us with details on new ships, graphical updates, new gameplay mechanics, and desperately needed balance tweaks, and we loved every bit of it. Although it's mostly small features and gameplay tweaks, the Crucible expansion feels like a genuine rebirth for EVE Online. The types of changes made show that CCP knows exactly what players want from EVE and that the company is now willing to deliver it. With CCP's renewed focus on internet spaceships, the Crucible expansion feels like the start of a new era in the sandbox. In this week's EVE Evolved, I pull together everything there is to know about the Crucible expansion that went live this week, from its turbulent origins to the awesome features and PvP updates it contains.
EVE dev video shows work on engine trails, custom ship skins and more
If you're a fan of EVE Online, I apologise in advance for the funny looks you get when you jump out of your seat yelling "HELL YES!" while watching the latest In Development video. In this second part of CCP Games' new video devblog series, CCP Guard takes a live hand grenade into EVE Online's art department to show us just what's going on behind the scenes. We've already seen the impressive nebula effects and new Raven model due for release in the winter expansion, and today CCP showed off some massive shadow improvements, but those upcoming additions pale in comparison to what's planned for after the winter period. The latest In Development video shows that CCP is currently working on engine trails, custom ship skins, a new cyno effect, a new warp tunnel, and graphical upgrades for every single ship in the game. It's a tall order, one that's unlikely to be fulfilled in the winter expansion despite developers' recent laser focus on delivering new features. The video gives a sneak peek at the models for the Amarr and Caldari tier 3 battlecruisers, which were selected from fan-submitted entries to last year's design contest in a similar manner to the already revealed Minmatar Tornado and Gallente Talos. Read on to find out why custom ship skins are more work to implement than most of us realise and to watch the new video in HD.
New EVE video devblog series shows off revamped nebulae
With CCP Games' recent refocusing on in-space content for EVE Online, developers on the floor have been working harder than ever to bring us shiny new toys for the winter expansion. We've already heard that the player-designed Tornado would be released as part of a new tier of gun-heavy battlecruisers, and CCP has gone on to show off the Gallente design also hand-picked from contest submissions. This week's absolute flood of good news for EVE Online players continues with the first of a new video devblog series shot at CCP's Reykjavik headquarters -- the development hub for EVE. Part 1 of this look at the art department shows off the incredible new nebula graphics we'll be getting as part of the expansion, and hints at the development of a new model for the popular Caldari Raven. The Raven update is part of what Art Manager Benjamin Bohn calls the V3 project, a project that has brought us the new Scorpion model and will continue to deliver revamps of old ships. Skip past the cut to watch the first in this new video devblog series. Note to viewers: The presenter is in fact carrying a microphone and not a live hand grenade.
EVE dev blog talks new Minmatar battlecruiser
More good news for EVE Online fans just showed up on the sci-fi sandbox game's official website. It turns out that CCP wasn't kidding when it said it has shifted its focus back to internet spaceships. The latest EVE dev blog features a couple of images of the new Minmatar Tornado battlecruiser as well as a bit of verbiage confirming that CCP will be announcing the ship's factional counterparts in the coming weeks. And yes, we did say battlecruiser, since CCP has thought better of its original plan to release the Tornado as a battleship. "When reviewing the armadas of existing ships we came to the conclusion that it would make much more sense to add another tier of battlecruisers instead of a fourth battleship tier, and that the accessibility of BC skills would mean more of these ships might be in the hands of younger, brasher pilots. That means more pew pew pew overall," CCP Guard writes.
Charity Alert: The Speed Gamers marathon Star Wars games to benefit tornado victims
The 2011 tornado season has been one of the deadliest in recorded history, with hundreds dead and thousands of lives irrevocably changed across the face of the south-east. Over 1,100 confirmed tornadoes have been recorded so far, and the official season hasn't even ended yet. The Speed Gamers, never ones to rest on their laurels, are once again pledging hundreds of hours of their lives to continuous, charitable gaming. From right now through July 18, TSG will be plowing through a that's-no-moon-sized pile of 25-plus Star Wars games, from Rogue Squadron to Lego Star Wars and everything in-between. That's 168 hours of gaming, with 100 percent of donations going to Direct Relief International. The group aims to raise $30,000 in total, which would bring their lifetime charitable contributions to over $300,000. Hit the source link to find out how you can help, and also how much Jar-Jar Binks someone can take before all of their internal organs shut down. [Thanks Cody!]
AT&T does right by weather-impacted iPad owner
Sadly, the south central US has been hit with a powerful cluster of tornadoes today, and scores of communities have been affected. Tuscaloosa, AL has been particularly hard hit, with several fatalities, scores of injuries and thousands of structures and vehicles damaged. While the human and fiscal cost of today's storms has yet to be calculated, in one small way AT&T helped to ease the challenge for a TUAW reader. Adam T. wrote in to say that his home in Huntsville, AL is likely to be without power for several days, meaning that his internet connectivity is also going to be knocked out. He planned to use his 3G iPad to keep track of weather alerts and emergency information, but realized that he was rapidly going to overflow his 250 MB data plan. Adam called AT&T customer service to explain the situation and request a data plan upgrade to the 2 GB plan. To his surprise, the service rep gave him the bump to the 2 GB plan at no charge. A small gesture in the scheme of today's events, perhaps, but one that Adam appreciated -- and so do we.
Arduino, iPod touch turns an LCD into a browser-based sketch pad (video)
Of all the Arduino projects we've seen 'round here, this is certainly one of them! Using nothing but a Graphics LCD, an Arduino, and a WebSocket server he wrote using Python / Tornado, this young engineer created a system that allows him to connect to the server with his iPod touch (or any browser, we suppose -- although he's apparently only tested this with Chrome on his desktop PC) and draw a design on the web browser. In turn, his movements are recreated on the LCD. Pretty mean feat, if you ask us. If you'd like to marvel at his code -- or even try it out for yourself -- hit up the source link. If not, be sure to at least check out the thing in action. Video after the break.
Phone glitch lets Kansas residents set off tornado alarms by misdialing
Sounds like fun, no? Find the super-secret phone number that triggers a citywide tornado alarm, dial it up, and watch as Hutchinson, Kansas goes berserk. That's essentially what happened this past week, when an AT&T "software glitch" caused the security systems surrounding the tornado lines to vanish. When the system operates correctly, these sensitive phone numbers can only receive calls from three specific phones; if and when those phones call, alarms are set off to warn residents of impending danger. Due to this here "glitch," all phone numbers were able to dial in, which led to a smattering of false alarms when locals misdialed and accidentally rang the tornado hotlines. Thankfully for everyone involved, the issues have since been fixed, but there's been no word on whether these folks were simply trying to guess Dorothy's unlisted digits.
PS3's Torne digital TV tuner / DVR adapter gets 2.00 software update next month
Japan hasn't had a lot of time to get used to the PlayStation 3's Torne digital TV tuner since it launched in March, but it's already getting an update which will add a few more DVR features to improve the experience. Coming in June, v2.00 will enable MPEG-4 AVC compression to squeeze HDTV recordings by as much as 3x their original size as opposed to just copying the original MPEG-2 stream even while playing a game, plus the ability to start watching a program and fast forward/reverse while it's still recording and update the user's PSN status. The free update will be issued in June, until then Torne fans can argue with European and Australian PlayTV owners about whether or not their new features are better than Facebook integration while the U.S. sits out like the ginger kid of a previous marriage it is. %Gallery-93375%
