We live in interesting times

I feel this must have been said many times before, and yet, why does it appear that we, our generation, always seemingly live in the most interesting of times? Why? I'm not sure if I'm right or not, but I can tell you that in the trial of the Impeachment of Donald Trump, the arguments presented by his defense are the most interesting, strangest, and least anchored in reality I have ever heard. Of particular note is Alan Dershowitz's, who yesterday argued that a quid pro quo cannot...

January 30, 2020

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Doug Dlod

Senators questions begin

The trial in the Impeachment of Donal Trump continues, as opening statements from the prosecution, and the defense, have concluded. The next step in the trial is the questioning phase from Senators. As we discussed before, the questions must be submitted in writing and the jurors, senators, will have 16 hours in which to submit them. Earlier in the week, after Bolton's upcoming book manuscript was leaked, it seemed the possibility of first-hand witnesses, Bolton being one of them, would indeed materialize. On Monday and Tuesday, the issue...

January 29, 2020

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Doug Dlod

Magnets are amazing

Magnets are so amazing, they kept Einstein enthralled in their mystery for many years. How can these "things", with no moving parts, generate forces? Why does that even happen? This post is not about how magnets work. It is about how magnets can help make food easier to cook. Cooking rice can be tricky. If you don't cook it well, you end up with raw rice. If you cook it too slowly, you will have burnt rice. Of course, after some trial and error, everyone figures it out....

January 18, 2020

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Mario Aigoloncet

Games, like life, evolve

Board games have been around since humans settled into civilizations. The oldest known game is from 3500 BC. Most of us are familiar with the game of Life. The contemporary version of the game emerged in the 60s and revolves around paydays and cash to help you succeed in the game. The original version, however, was less cheerful. The original version, released a century prior, in 1860, revolved around the impartation of moral principles. The point of the game was to educate players on the various challenges, successes...

January 15, 2020

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Wen Ruoy

Water-based air compressor?

About a month ago I wrote about a motor-less water pump. Moving water from one location to another has always been important, even more so, uphill. Water is an element we have been trying to harness since we grew out of a single-cell organism. Water gives us life, helps us to cultivate life, and feed life. This is why I found this next video fascinating. What if we could convert, and even store, the energy of water for later use. We often covert the energy of water into...

January 14, 2020

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Tiab James

Are you kidding?

Until the 2016 elections campaign, I knew very little about Trump. Yes, I was aware of his New York real estate business and his TV show (the Apprentice), but I didn't follow him on Twitter, much less read his books. To me, Trump was just another rich guy that sometimes promoted himself by making some odd claims, nothing more. However, with the launch of his campaign, in which he immediately began to assault Mexicans and immigrants alike, I began to take notice. At that point I began to...

January 6, 2020

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Doug Dlod

Human Pozole?

I'm a big fan of Mexican food and seldom miss Taco Tuesdays. This is why I was so surprised to learn about the origins of one of my favorite soups, Pozole. It turns out Pozole is a very ancient soup that originated with the Aztecs and during that era, the meat was not pork or chicken, as we've become accustomed. No, it was the human remains of the captives sacrificed at the Aztec altars. Pozole was a sacred, if even, special soup that one didn't have on a...

January 6, 2020

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Wen Ruoy

Motor-less water pump?

Water is a weird substance. Think about it, unlike most other substances, it expands when it becomes a solid. This is the reason pipes can burst in the winter, and why placing a beer bottle in the freezer is a bad idea. To make things even weirder, it is slippery when it's a solid and not for the reason you'd think. This brings us to a motor-less pump called a hydraulic ram pump. This type of pump does not use a motor, and no, it does not "generate"...

December 18, 2019

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Tiab James

Why is ice slippery?

It is Winter here at headquarters and things are getting icy, and slippery. But why is that? Why is ice slippery. It makes sense that it's cold, but slippery? One of the more common reasons for why ice is slippery is there is a light layer of water atop the ice which makes the surface slippery. But if that is the case, water should be equally slippery, right? It turns out the reason is more at the molecular level. Want to find out more, see the video 🙂

December 17, 2019

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Tiab James

Privacy and anonymity in the 2020s

Privacy is one of those privileges or commodities that we never appreciate until they are gone. I always find it fascinating that our entire world works around this one commodity, electricity, and we never take any time to appreciate its importance; either to protect it or even just to awe. Most of us will think, well, in a blackout, I could just use solar panels to charge my phone and laptop, and get a small stove (if yours is electric) and I'd be good, right? This is all...

December 12, 2019

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Mario Aigoloncet