Sunday 31 December 2017

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II Floats Free in Space


On Feb. 7, 1984, during the Space Shuttle Challenger’s STS-41B mission, NASA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II makes the first, untethered, free flight spacewalk in the Manned Maneuvering Unit.

Saturday 30 December 2017

Remembering Colo, The world's first gorilla born in captivity 1956–2017


December 22 is a very special day. It was the day the first gorilla was born in a zoo in 1956. I have worked in the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Congo Expedition region since 2001 and have celebrated many birthdays with Colo. It was always a very exciting day with much anticipation. Over the years, the party grew bigger and bigger with lots of colorful paper chains and presents—not a lot of presents, but enough to open and then toss aside if nothing of interest was inside. Some of her favorite items were tomatoes, heads of iceberg lettuce and clementines that she would carefully and gently stand on to squish open. And, of course, a coconut—always a coconut. Colo lived to pass the milestone of celebrating her 60th birthday, which also earned her the distinction of being the oldest gorilla in human care. While we continue to miss her, today we honor Colo and her legacy that lives on through her daughter, grandkids and great grandkids. – Mandi, Congo Expedition Keeper

Friday 29 December 2017

How a Fluorescent Lamp Turns On


I was always vague on how a fluorescent lamp worked, so I did some research!

Thursday 28 December 2017

Sharpening a $1 knife with $300 Whetstone


Sharpening a $1 knife with $300 Whetstone

Monday 25 December 2017

25 Years of Christmas


Every year, our dad would tape us coming down the stairs. This is a compilation of all the videos I could find. Relatives and pets grow up and disappear, and new extended family members appear in their place.

Bird Imitates Zipper Noise



Budgies are masters of mimicry. Not only do they imitate human voices, but they also imitate household sounds. For the first couple of years we had Kiwi, his cage was near a coat closet, so he heard coats zipping up every morning. It wasn't until a couple years later that we realized the noise he was making was actually a zipper noise! Now, you can make a zipper noise and he will repeat it back. It's incredible!

Sunday 24 December 2017

SpaceX IridiumNEXT Rocket Over Los Angeles 12/22/17


SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Vandenberg AFB with a set of 10 IridiumNEXT satellites.

Saturday 23 December 2017

Primitive Technology: Pottery and Stove


I made some pottery from the clay in the new area to see how well it performed. A large bank of clay was exposed by the side of the creek. I dug it out using a digging stick and took it back to the hut. Small sticks and stones were picked out of the clay and the whole mass was mixed to make sure there were no dry lumps. When this was done the clay was then left next to the fire to dry slightly so that it became a stiff workable material to form pots from. No further processing was done to the clay.

Saturday 16 December 2017

Friday 15 December 2017

Thursday 14 December 2017

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Brave Student Stops Active Shooter on Campus


My hat is off to Jon Meis, the student security guard who stopped this active killer on his campus! Excellent Active Self Protection to protect himself and every student on campus that day.

Tuesday 12 December 2017

I Won't Wear A Jacket


If you don't wear a jacket in the winter, it means you're cool.

Monday 11 December 2017

Surprised my wife with a cat for an early Christmas present, she cried for an hour


MianBao the Cat (formerly Snow White) got her new home in Seattle yesterday.

My wife has been wanting a cat for many years, ever since being forced to leave her previous cat with her sister to go off to AmeriCorps. I've never owned a cat, and always distrusted them. Having a few family members with allergy issues didn't help.

But this year for Christmas, I finally caved. I snuck away to Portland for the day, and brought back this 5 year old (more mellow!) Bengal (hypoallergenic!) and surprised my wife at the door.


Sunday 10 December 2017

Incredible: This Innovative CPR Dummy Comes With A Second Dummy That Audibly Mourns Its Dead Son


For anyone who has ever taken a CPR class, you know that the training can feel more than a little basic. That may not be the case for much longer, though, because this incredible new CPR dummy is revolutionizing medical education with a totally new and groundbreaking feature: It comes with a second dummy that audibly mourns its dead son.


Saturday 9 December 2017

Cheese Expert Guesses Cheap vs Expensive Cheeses


Epicurious challenged cheese expert and noted author Liz Thorpe to guess which one of two cheeses was more expensive. Liz breaks down cheap vs expensive parmesan cheese, goat cheese, gruyère cheese, feta cheese, and blue cheese. For each round of cheap cheese vs expensive cheese, Liz visually analyzed, smelled, then executed a taste test before guessing which cheese cost more. Once the prices were revealed, Thorpe explained why a specific cheese making process costs more and dives into the specifics of how to make the different cheeses.

Friday 8 December 2017

Thursday 7 December 2017

The Tai Chi Family


I'm living in a Tai Chi school in the Chinese mountains. It feels like I'm on a TV show...

Tuesday 5 December 2017

Running With Epilepsy


Katie Cooke is a 20-year-old competitive runner from Dublin. Due to an aggressive form of epilepsy, she experiences up to 14 seizures a day. Despite her condition, Cooke hasn’t let anything stand in the way of her love for running. With the help of her neurologist, who doubles as her running partner, Cooke is never steered off course. With each seizure, she is able to bounce back and keep on going.

Monday 4 December 2017

Rally driver plays DiRT Rally


Professional rally driver and former Australian Junior National Rally Champion Will Orders driving the Bidno Moorland stage in DiRT Rally. (FAQs below)

Competition: Win Medici: Masters of Florence on DVD

Medici: Masters of Florence is out on DVD on December 11th and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on DVD to give away courtesy of Acorn Media.

Synopsis:
The House of Medici, one of the most powerful Florentine families and bankers to the pope, are in turmoil. After head of the Bank of Medici, Giovanni (Hoffman), is mysteriously poisoned, his son Cosimo (Madden) must take control.

Harbouring the dangerous secret that his father was murdered, Cosimo must fight to protect all his family has worked so hard to attain. As head of the Signoria, with attacks coming from all sides and war looming, he needs to decide whether to side with the nobility, as Giovanni would have done, or to step out from his father’s shadow.

You can buy this from Amazon UK using the following link that opens in a new window.
Medici: Masters of Florence [DVD] [2017]


COMPETITION CLOSED

Send you name, address and of course the answer to competition@tviscool.com


Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 08-18-17
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Sunday 3 December 2017

First Techno (Kraftwerk 1970)


This concert at the "carussel of the youth"  from 1970 is the earliest existing concert video of these electronic pioneers. The band was just created this year and could be seen in the original setup.

Saturday 2 December 2017

Kurt Russell destroys 145 year old Martin guitar in "The Hateful Eight"


Kurt Russell accidentally destroys an antique 1870 Martin acoustic guitar in The Hateful Eight. They were supposed to switch it out for a double. That didn’t happen. The actress here knows it’s the antique and her reaction is genuine.

Friday 1 December 2017

Erykah Badu Phone Down Handmade Moments cover


Handmade Moments covering Erykah Badu's "Phone Down" in their beloved bread truck "Gary"!