Turkmenistan plans to put out the flames at the "Gates of Hell," a giant natural gas crater in the middle of the Karakum desert that has been burning continuously for over 50 years.
After pulling late hours in my school machine shop for a few years, I couldn’t help but wonder, who measures the measurement tools? How did they come to be? I’d heard anecdotes from other students and engineers while they inspected my freshly machined parts, but these stories were one-offs. What I wanted was a tale of industrial precision from start to finish. Years later, I found it.
The story of precision, as told by Simon Winchester, is captured in The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World. Published in 2018, Winchester’s overview stretches as far back to the Antikythera mechanism and brings us to present day silicon wafer manufacturing. Of course, this isn’t a chronology of all-things made precisely. Instead, it’s a romp through engineering highlights that hallmark either a certain level of precision manufacturing or a particular way of thinking with repercussions for the future.
Structurally, every chapter follows an increasing order of magnitude in tolerance, what was built, and the implications. I’ll confess that the book only loosely follows this organizational structure. While the first part of the book sticks to the formula pretty closely when discussing tolerances for mechanical components, the later chapters seek out tighter numbers by deviating into precision manufacturing of jet engines, lenses, time-keeping devices, and silicon wafers.
Something I’m particularly fond of is how Winchester manages to tie his history of precision into the everyday engineer’s understanding of the subject. I’m sure plenty of our readers will have heard about James Watt, creator of the steam engine. But I’d bet that most of us probably don’t know about John “Iron-Mad” Wilkinson, the machinist who could hold a tight enough tolerance machining iron to bore pistons for Wat] that could actually form an airtight seal. And while plenty of folks will know Thomas Jefferson as a former United States president, they might not know that it was his Francophilia that brought the French creation of interchangeable parts to the United States. The book does this over and over, either shedding light on unfamiliar figures, like Henry Royce and Carl Johansson, shedding new light on familiar figures, like Eli Whitney, or tying the history of machinists together to show how one directly influenced the other.
For capturing a historical piece of non-fiction on what might seem like a dry topic, Winchester does a fantastic job of putting you right back into the moment when history was being made. You’ll can feel the anxiety of a middle-aged Joseph Whitworth, as he prepares to watch Queen Victoria fire his Whitworth Rifle at a target 400 yards away to inaugurate Great Britain’s first National Rifle Association meeting. You’ll be ready to shed a tear at the first successful test flight of early jet-engine powered aircraft. (Unsurprisingly, war plays a big role in making things precisely.) I’ll also mention that this book captures an outstanding retelling of the launch, failure, repair, and eventual success of the Hubble Space Telescope–all while highlighting the precision instrument that failed and dictated such an extravagant repair in the first place. (I mean, who doesn’t appreciate a good hotfix story–in space?)
If you’re curious for some bed-time stories of machinists, scientists, and engineers making things to higher-and-higher standards, you’re in for a treat.
OSAKA, Japan — Wearable tech fanatics rejoice: a high-tech patch that monitors the heart and other health metrics — and never needs charging — has been created by Japanese scientists. The ultra-thin wearable monitors vital signs and is equipped with tiny generators so it never runs out of juice. Wearable technology and smart sensors have…
The study found that wildfires are not only increasing in frequency, but also persisting longer and affecting a larger geographic extent across the country.
Hearty or healthy? You maybe crave both kinds of food in January. But we’ve got you covered with great recipes from Steven’s vast collection of smoked and grilled foods. (Check out this article for tips on winter grilling.) You’ll not only eat well, no matter which recipe or recipes you pick, but you’ll get some fresh air to boot. Happy New Year!
Is it any surprise that one of our favorite parts of the pig goes exceedingly well with bourbon? This infusion, inspired by a cocktail Steven once enjoyed at Terzo Piano at the Chicago Institute of Art (now temporarily closed), is a perfect libation to sip in front of a blazing fire. Gild the lily by garnishing it with a crisp strip of smoky bacon. Extra points if the bacon is home-cured and smoked! Great as the foundation of a worthy Manhattan or Old-Fashioned.
Super Bowl Sunday’s just a few weeks away, so you’ll want to practice your wing game. Perfect for the heat-seekers in your crowd, we’ve been told these spicy wings were inspired by the incendiary hot sauce-doused fried chicken made by a Nashville woman to punish her philandering boyfriend when he returned from an assignation. The plan backfired, however, when the cad raved about the heat level. Take a look at one of our favorite hot sauces.
One of the secrets to successful winter grilling is to select foods that take just minutes to cook. This beefy-tasting cut, called onglet in France, certainly qualifies, as it’s seared quickly over a hot fire and served with a tangy, creamy sauce that can be prepared on the stovetop and rewarmed when needed. A cocktail made with the Bacon-Infused Bourbon above would be a nice prelude. But a bottle of your favorite red wine would really make the meal special.
Despite the strong pull of comfort food during the dark, sometimes blustery days of January, there are times when the memories of holiday indulgences compel us to eat lighter foods, dubbed “healthy-ish” by the food press. Lower in fat and cholesterol than ground beef, ground turkey burgers don’t scrimp on flavor. For a lower-carb version, skip the bun and serve with tomatoes, guacamole, lettuce, and onion.
Does your family observe “Taco Tuesdays?” If so, give your tacos a makeover by serving sushi-grade tuna. Served on corn tortillas (fresh, if you can find them), and garnished with finely shredded cabbage, homemade pico de gallo, and a bright-tasting cilantro lime sauce, these tacos are fit for company. And you’ll spend just minutes at the grill.
There are three secrets to great corn bread: the cornmeal itself, the milk or buttermilk, and the flavorings. The cornmeal most guys reach for is the coarse gritty yellow stuff sold in cardboard containers at the supermarket. Pleasant enough, but you’ll get far superior results with small batch, stone-ground, pale yellow or white cornmeal from an artisanal gristmill in New England or the South. (Steven’s favorites include Haldeman Mills, Gray’s Grist Mill, and Kenyon’s Grist Mill. Most recipes call for milk, but you’ll get a more complex flavor if you use part milk and part buttermilk, or even half-and-half and buttermilk. As for the flavorings, Steven prefers the ingredients he uses to remedy any dry or bland food: P (pepper Jack cheese), B (bacon), and J (jalapeños). No jelly needed.
America’s obsession with mac ‘n cheese goes back centuries; founding father and serious foodie Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing the dish after a diplomatic trip to France. Many of us, of course, grew up on the luridly orange version that came (and still comes) in a blue box. But for a mac ‘n cheese epiphany, try Steven’s version. It features grilled chiles (poblanos and bell peppers), onions, chiles, and a rich made-from-scratch smoked cheese sauce. In a cast iron skillet. It’s then topped with bread crumbs and smoked. Though the casserole takes a bit of time, the vegetables can be grilled in advance.
Citrus fruits are at their peak in the winter months, and burnt oranges with a sugar-and-rosemary crust is one of Steven’s simplest recipes, adapted from one of his favorite barbecue books, Seven Fires by Argentinean celebrity chef Francis Mallmann. But the flavors and texture—bitter, sweet, fruity, floral, herbal, and smoothly creamy—are supremely intense and complex. The amount of smoke involved makes this a dish you definitely don’t want to do indoors.
This is a restored Lamborghini 5C TL tractor that was built in the 1960s. Owning this would make you the envy of all the guys down at the co-op! If you're not a gearhead, you might be surprised to know that Lambourgini built tractors before the company ever built cars.
Ferruccio Lamborghini grew up on the family vineyard and was always fascinated by farm machinery. After World War II he designed tractors that would get Italy back in its feet again. He became so wealthy that he could afford nice sports cars, which eventually included Ferraris. But as an engineer, he wasn't happy with his Ferrari, and let the company founder, Enzo Ferrari, know about it.
He took his grievances to Enzo Ferrari and the two famously head-strong men had a wild argument over it – the result being that Ferruccio started his own car company to show Enzo how it should be done.
The two companies remain each other’s greatest rivals to this day.
While Lamborghini's name became forever associated with luxury sports cars, he continued to build tractors into the 1970s. Read about Lambourgini and his tractors at Silodrome. -via Fark
Get the details of this particular model at the auction listing. Bidding will close on January 10.
At Hackaday’s Minnesota office, we appreciate central heat and hot coffee because the outdoor temperature is sub-zero in Celsius and Fahrenheit. Not everyone here has such amenities, and families living in tents could use heater help. If you live somewhere inhospitably cold and have the resources (time being the most crucial), please consider building and donating alcohol jet burners.
Alcohol burners like these are great for tents because if they tip over, they self-extinguish. You can fill them with 70% rubbing alcohol and they’ll heat a small space, and if running on denatured alcohol, they can be used to cook with. They won’t do you much good outdoors unless you have significant wind protection, as the tiny jet is likely to blow out. The first time you light one, you must heat the coil with a lighter or another heater to vaporize incoming fuel, then it can sustain itself by wicking fluid up from the reservoir jar. Relighting after a tip or accidental gust only takes a spark since the copper is already hot.
If you came for a hack, note how they fill the small tubes with salt funneled through a condiment cap before bending them. Sure, there are springy pipe bending tools, but who doesn’t already have salt and tape? Keeping humans warm is crucial, but heating metal takes a different approach.
Heater Bloc's Guide for Building the Copper Coil Alcohol Heater and Safety Enclosure is now available! Please share this zine with anyone interested in instructions on how to build a tent-safe alcohol heater. https://t.co/iv5xKd93jo
In the 21st century, Americans mostly buy and drive cars with automatic transmissions. That's not the case in the United Kingdom, where more cars with manual transmissions were bought every year up until 2020. And even today, automatics are barely ahead in sales. That's because in the UK, everyone, or let's say almost everyone, learns to drive using a manual transmission.
See, when a teenager goes to take the test for a driver's license, the car they use for the test determines what kind of license they receive (if they pass the test). If you use an automatic vehicle, you get a license to drive automatic vehicles only. If you use a car with a manual transmission and pass, you get a license for either kind of car. If you get a restricted license for automatic only and then decide later that you want an unrestricted license, you have to take the test over again with a manual transmission.
The UK has a bit fewer than a million people with automatic-only licenses, and almost 40 million with licenses for both types of transmissions. There is a bit of a stigma attached to the automatic-only license. Read more about the way the UK drives at Jalopnik.
Third-party cookies have long been a staple of any digital advertising diet, but it’s been a rough year for ad tech’s favorite guilty pleasure:
In April, Apple pushed an update that opted users out of ad-tracking by default.
Last January, Google announced plans to ban 3rd-party cookies on Chrome by 2022 (which it later pushed to 2023).
This week, Brave — a privacy-focused browser that blocks 3rd-party cookies — reported it now has 50m+ monthly active users.
What’s it all mean?
Clearly, consumers are starting to take privacy more seriously, but the end of 3rd-party cookies should benefit advertisers, too.
Why? Because the data isn’t that great to begin with.
While studying one set of 3rd-party data, Forrester Research found that gender was only correct 50% of the time, and it was the most accurate category in the sample.
Searching for a file on your computer is a whole lot easier than digging through a pile of papers, yet it’s far from being a perfect system. Lately, it’s been hit or miss for me. There was the time my mom asked for a vacation photo that neither of us remembered the specific date of. The time my boss asked for a document for a project we’d archived. The time I needed to pull up home insurance information but the company’s website was down. The time … you get the picture.
Everybody has fantasized about hitting the jackpot at some point in their life. Whether you scour the ocean floor looking for sunken treasure, love sports betting or casinos, or even just play the lottery, everybody harbors a small flicker of hope that one day they can win big and change their lives for the better. […]
The joy of gin is that you can use a number of different mixers for simple, delicious drinks. Here are the top mixers you should have on hand for gin cocktails.
