Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: entertainment

Panasonic has introduced what may be the first vacuum-panel-insulated refrigerator in the world. The 17.7 ft3 (501 l) NR-F503TE refrigerator-freezer, introduced in late 2008 in Japan, is insulated with Panasonic’s U-VacuaIV vacuum panels that consist of multiple layers of glass fibers and aluminum films sealed into a vacuum panel. The refrigerator-freezer uses 350 kWh per year, according to the company’s Japanese website (about 25% better than the U.S. federal standard). A larger, 21.3 ft3 (603 l) model, the NR-F603T, uses 440 kWh per year. EBN was unable to learn what type of refrigerant is used except that it is “non-CFC.” Whether the product will be introduced in North America is also not known.

Read more | >

Environmental scientists Morgan Page, Michael Angove and Peter Gleick review the scientific validity of scenes from “San Andres,” “2012,” “The Day After Tomorrow,” “Volcano,” “Twister,” “Geostorm,” “The Core,” “Interstellar,” “Sharknado,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Pompeii,” “Noah,” “The Impossible,” “The Happening,” “Hard Rain,” and “Into the Storm”.
Environmental Experts:
Michael Angove — Tsunami Program Manager, NOAA
Dr. Morgan Page — Geophysicist, USGS
Peter Gleick — Hydrologist & Climatologist, Pacific Institute (www.gleick.com)
Tornado Safety info: https://www.weather.gov/safety/tornado
Tsunami Safety info: https://www.weather.gov/safety/tsunami
California Tsunami Safety info: https://www.tsunamizone.org
More about the UN/IOC Tsunami Program here: http://www.ioc-tsunami.org
The Pacific Institute: www.pacinst.com
Can my boat outrun a tsunami?
https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/Documents/Tsunami/Can-my-boat-outrun-a-tsunami.pdf
NOAA’s influence on Twister: https://www.noaa.gov/stories/noaa-tornado-scientists-inspired-twister-creators-20-years-ago

Still haven’t subscribed to Vanity Fair on YouTube? ►► http://bit.ly/2z6Ya9M
ABOUT VANITY FAIR
Arts and entertainment, business and media, politics, and world affairs—Vanity Fair’s features and exclusive videos capture the people, places, and ideas that define modern culture.

Scientists fact check natural disasters in movies | vanity fair.

Read more | >

🏺 That time where it rained for two million years.

Fyodor R.

At the beginning of the Triassic Period, the world was hot, and very dry. But then 234 million years ago, it started to rain and didn €™t stop for two million years. This period of intense rain called the Carnian Pluvial Episode killed of many of the early reptiles and set the stage for the dinosaurs to take over the world.

Read more | >

Facebook’s Developer Circles are local communities designed to help developers learn and grow. For the 2019 Developer Circles Community Challenge, you are invited to build software applications that use at least one of three featured technologies: React360, Spark AR, and/or HTML5 Games. Your software must also fit into one of three categories: Gaming and Entertainment, Productivity and Utility, or Social Good.

Build software using React360, Spark AR, or HTML5 Games to give people the power to connect with friends and family, find communities and grow businesses.

Read more | >

The average North American life – which values gregarious personalities, extroverted social styles, clamorous entertainment, bright lights and big sound – is simply too much for many sensitive people.

“This world is not built for sensitive people. In fact, our world is designed perfectly for those who are detached,” wrote Nicole Hollingshead, a Canadian empowerment blogger, in response to a Quora question about the highly sensitive person (HSP) trait. Her statement illustrates the way that most HSPs feel when comparing themselves to their seemingly unfazed non-HSP peers.

The term highly sensitive person was coined in the 1990s by husband and wife psychologist team Elaine Aron and Arthur Aron. The HSP trait is synonymous with the term sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) and is thought to be genetically determined and present at birth. SPS exists in 15–20 percent of the human population, and has been observed in over 100 nonhuman species.

Read more | >

Square Enix studio Luminous Productions has unveiled a new tech demo called “Back Stage” that shows how it uses ray-tracing tech. The demo is rendered in real-time.

Luminous Productions was established last year and staffed with former Final Fantasy XV staff. The game’s director Hajime Tabata initially headed up the studio. He has since left Square Enix.

As Siliconera points out, this tech demo shows off next-gen possibilities for its in-house Luminous Engine. Here, the real-time ray tracing shows the character’s face and emotions reflected in a realistic way that simply isn’t possible in previous real-time rending tech.

Read more | >

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developing new method to deliver #cancer medication.

An experimental patch designed to deliver cancer medications through the skin showed promise in mice and human skin samples, according to new research presented Sunday at the American Chemical Society conference in California, San Diego.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed the patch to fight melanoma, a deadly but highly treatable form of skin cancer. The patch is less than a centimeter long and coated with a sticky film, which allows it to be applied and removed from the skin in a minute.

The researchers used the device to deliver an antigen in healthy mice and then compared the immune response to treatment methods often used to vaccinate against the flu and measles. The researchers said the patch elicited “a robust antibody response” and “show promise in eliciting a strong immune response in human skin.”

Read more | >

Today, Google has revealed the key details that were conspicuously missing from its March announcement of the new Stadia game streaming service. Namely, what the heck we’re going to be able to play, how much we’ll pay, and when we can get started with the exciting new service — which beams high-end console and PC games to any Chrome web browser, Chromecast Ultra TV dongle or Pixel 3 smartphone from beefy new Google servers.

The short version: Google Stadia will launch in November, in 14 different territories including the US, UK and Canada, with at least 31 games from 21 different publishers, for an initial “Founder’s Edition” price of $130 for a hardware starter kit with three months of premium service, and $10 a month afterwards. There’s a separate free tier coming in 2020.

Pre-orders for the “Founder’s Edition” are now open, and I’ll explain what it is in a tad, but there’s something important you should know first.

Read more | >