Adam Clark Estes

Her Review: Loneliness Never Looked So Beautiful (or Futuristic)

On my way to the theater, I asked Siri about the movie Her, and she got confused. “What kind of businesses are you looking for?” Siri replied in her always off-kilter robotic murmur. I barked back some line about Siri being stupid. She cracked some stupid joke. And my phone went back into my pocket.…

This Is What 400,000 Hours of TV News Looks Like

Ever wonder what places get the most attention in American news? The answer is more striking than you might think. This geography of U.S. attention is beautifully illustrated in a new animation that maps the geographic subjects of U.S. television news broadcasts over the span of four-years. It’s kinda sparkly. The stunning visualization was put…

This Algorithm Can Make Pictures of Your Face More Memorable

We all know somebody with one of those faces. You know, the friend who always gets mistaken for someone else. They say, “I know I remember you from somewhere!” But they don’t. Turns out there’s a science to this sort of thing—and it could make your face more memorable. A team of researchers at MIT’s…

This Is the Best Consumer-Ready Iron Man Suit We’ve Ever Seen

Do you like Iron Man? Got $2,000 lying around? You’re in luck, my friend, because the Iron Man Factory is open for business, and they’re selling the best Iron Man suits we’ve ever seen. The only problem is you’ll have to wait, oh, about a year to get yours. https://gizmodo.com/10-diy-iron-man-suits-that-give-tony-stark-a-run-for-hi-486130318 Iron Man Factory is now…

Facebook and Google Are Buying Up the Cables That Carry the Internet

It can get a little bit annoying when people ramble on about how Facebook and Google are taking over the world. They’re just websites! But when those websites start to buy up other things, say, the very cables that connect the people of the world—well that’s actually pretty alarming. It’s also happening. The Wall Street…

15 of the Weirdest Images in the British Library’s New Digital Trove

Digging through the archives of old libraries is a blast. Depending on the library, you’ll find everything from dated architectural drawings to snippets of old children’s books. You can just imagine the treasures to be found in the British Library’s ancient archive. And, now, you don’t even have to get your fingers dusty! The British…

McLaren Is Using Fighter Jet Technology for Wiper-free Windshields

Anyone who’s ever driven in a southern thunderstorm knows that windshield wipers suck. They smear water more than they remove it, and, my God, is that “whip-flick” sound annoying. Well, worry no more. McLaren says it’s doing away with wipers altogether in favor of fighter jet technology that keeps windshields clean. The British supercar company…

Federal Judge Says NSA Phone Spying Is Probably Unconstitutional

A federal judge just ruled the NSA’s widespread collection of phone records is most likely unconstitutional and gave the go ahead for plaintiffs to file a lawsuit. And pending appeal, the judge said that the data collection should be halted. Of course, until that appeal goes through, the NSA will continue spying. The ruling sounds…

Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs Might Have Blasted Life to Mars

The massive asteroid that slammed into Earth some 66 million years ago is often—and understandably—considered a vicious killer. But new research into the cosmic effects of the impact suggest quite the opposite. That deadly asteroid might have actually blasted life throughout the solar system. As a team of researchers argue in the latest issue of…

Okay, Sure, Let’s Watch a Real-Life Laser Gun Destroy Raw Pork

What do you like to do in your free time? Play boardgames? Watch Netflix? Cook quinoa? These are all perfectly normal ways to while away your days—but German hobbyist Patrick Priebe builds laser guns. This is a perfectly awesome way to spend your free time. Priebe’s latest contraption is a 12-pound aluminum laser rifle that…

The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority has posted a fresh set of images showing the progress on the Second Avenue subway being slowly carved out beneath Manhattan—and the photos are amazing. This concrete cavern is the future home of the 72nd Street station. Just add posters. [Flickr]

Sail on Air With This Amazing Two-Masted Ship Kite

Done any swashbuckling lately? Want to try it in the sky? Look no further than this handmade sailing ship kite, which takes flight on sails made of nylon on a ship made of bamboo. It doesn’t get much more elegant than a tall ship floating in the wind. At 26-inches by 28-inches, this kite is…

This mosaic of images taken from 2004 to 2013 the shutter-snapping Cassini spacecraft shows the most detailed look at the famous lakes on the surface of Saturn’s moon, Titan. Thought to be filled with methane and ethane, the lakes are the only areas filled with standing liquid in the entire solar system except, of course,…

Having decided the city needs more public art, Baltimore is currently installing whimsical crosswalks around the city. This giant zipper by artist Paul Bertholet and a hopscotch-inspired piece by Graham Coreil-Allen are already up, and two more creative crosswalks are on the way. Any interesting crosswalks in your town? Drop some pics in the comments.…

Dan Croll Is the Perfect Commuter Crooner

It’s almost time to pack your bag again, tuck some presents under your arm and find your way back to your family. You might take a plane, drive a car or ride a train. Some of you might just walk. But Dan Croll—he takes the Tube. While he’s gearing up to release his first album…

The awesomely weird biological shoes that we will wear in 2050

London-based designer and researcher Shamees Aden has a vision for the future of footwear. It’s a future where shoes are 3D printed out of synthetic biological material that responds to your every step and can regenerate overnight. She’s even made a prototype. Behold the Protocell sneaker. The shoes are customized for the wearers foot so…

Participating in Anonymous DDoS Attack for One Minute = $183,000 Fine

Eric Rosol is not a big-time hacker. However, the Wisconsin man did participate in the 2011 distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that Anonymous unleashed on Koch Industries—for one whole minute. And for that one minute of his life, a judge just decided, Rosol must pay a $183,000 fine. Oh, and two years probation. But…

We’re Being Overprotective of Mars

Mars is a big boy. At 4.5 billion years old, the Red Planet can surely take care of itself by now—but you wouldn’t know it based on the great lengths NASA and friends go to protect it from contamination by Earthly debris. Some astrobiologists think these measures are unnecessary. Cornell’s Alberto G. Fairén and Washington…

NASA’s New Robot Looks Like Iron Man, May Save Your Life One Day

Let’s be honest: Most robots look pretty dumb these days. Whether it’s the little disk-shaped Roomba that cleans your floor or the jumble of rods and wires that builds your car, these machines seem—for lack of a better term—rudimentary. Not the Valkyrie. NASA’s Johnson Space Center just pulled back the curtain on its entry in…

A New York City Transit Map Custom-Made for the Super Bowl

With the Super Bowl now less than two months away—Groundhog Day!—the disparate mass transit organizations around New York City are gearing up for more than 400,000 new visitors. And what do out of towners always need in New York? They need maps. Beautiful, useful maps. For the first time ever, the Metropolitan Transit Authority is…