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07 Apr 18:02

Milwaukee Packout – Airtight?

by Ryan
Chris M

These are pretty neat. I have one thin one for electrical stuff, but I got Ridgid brand for everything else. they all snap together. Pretty neat stuff for storing screws and whatnot.

So… I’ve been thinking about tool storage in a tropical environment. One idea I had was to create drawers out of airtight cases – something similar to a pelican case, but more affordable. And then, I ran across a Milwaukee Packout at Home Depot.

I know these are crazy popular, but I’ve never paid much attention to them as I’ve never needed their brand of portability. As such, I was unaware that they featured a rubber gasket. Seeing that (about fifteen minutes ago in the big box store) made me think that at 1 atmosphere, the Packout might actually be air tight.

So now I sit in my truck, waiting on my daughter to finish up softball practice, and wonder – any of you fellas done any experimenting with these things? Are they worth a damn?

22 Feb 15:02

Trio of 1969 Chevy Camaros Saved From Rotting in a Field

by Alex Kierstein
Chris M

"saved" ....

We all love our barn finds, but barn found cars are the lucky ones. After all, the name implies that they are at least under some sort of cover. More tragic are the field-found cars that have been out languishing in the weather. Now, in a sunny, dry place like Arizona, that’s not as bad, but other areas of the country are a lot harder on these forgotten muscle cars. This story is about three 1969 Chevy Camaros that were recently saved from a scrapyard in Lovely, Kentucky.

Hundreds of cars were slowly dissolving in this yard. Sadly, the owner had passed away, so it was left to his widow to clear it all out. Cody Belcher was looking for some projects, specifically Camaros, so he was the proverbial right guy at the right place at the right time.

As Belcher told us, “We moved 14 cars to get the convertible out and another six cars to get the other two ’69s out to trucks.” The place was full of cars, trucks, vans, and all sorts of stuff, much of it stacked three high.

As he continued, “The convertible and orange hardtop are both RS cars, and the blue Camaro is a base model. We plan on restoring the orange [RS] for my father as a surprise birthday gift, and we’re currently undecided on the other two cars. Both Rally Sports were originally orange with white interiors. All three Camaro[s] are rough but still buildable.” As a bonus, they even got some free shrubbery.

Belcher was focused on the Camaros, but he told us there was a bunch of Mopar stuff including ’Cudas, Roadrunners, and Darts on the lot. Sadly, many looked too far gone to be saved.

If you look closely, you can see a few really cool cars in these images. There were even some super cool vans that caught our attention and a pretty uncommon AMC Eagle SX/4!

We’re pretty happy that these three Camaro barn finds will be saved, and we’re hopeful that other gearheads will scoop up anything else there that can be saved, too.

 

The post Trio of 1969 Chevy Camaros Saved From Rotting in a Field appeared first on MotorTrend.

18 Jan 15:10

Bungie's Halo Player Files Archive Is Going Offline Next Month

by Matt Purslow
Chris M

better go and take a walk down memory lane because it's going away soon.

Bungie has announced that it will close its Halo archive in February, which will mean player stats, screenshots, and files from the developer’s Halo games will be gone forever. Detailed as part of the studio’s weekly update blog post, Bungie explained that on February 9 the halo.bungie.net website will be taken offline permanently. Player stats, files, and screenshots from Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST, and Reach are currently stored on the website, although those archives have not been updated in almost nine years. For the best part of a decade, the website has effectively been in stasis, acting as a memorial for Bungie’s pre-Destiny years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/07/07/bungie-25-years-in-25-seconds"] Players now have until February 9 to save their stats and files, should they wish. Bungie notes that this only applies to player data; news articles, forums, and groups from the Halo-era were imported into the current Bungie.net website in 2013, and so will remain online. Bungie’s current long-term project is, of course, Destiny. You can see what we made of its latest expansion in our Destiny 2: Beyond Light review, and catch up with the latest developments in our Fireteam Chat podcast. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 
18 Jan 15:08

Xbox Canada Reveals One-of-a-Kind 'Canadian Tuxedo' Controller

by Wesley LeBlanc
Chris M

....

If you've ever stopped yourself while using your Xbox Series X to wonder why your controller doesn't have more denim on it, Xbox Canada is making the controller for you. Xbox has created some unique controller designs like the Sea of Thieves Xbox One controller or the new Pulse Red Xbox Series X controller announced this week, but Xbox Canada's new one-of-a-kind Canadian Tuxedo variant is truly a sight to behold. Featuring belt buckles, two small pockets, and denim all over, this controller is perfect for that Canadian in your life who loves a denim jacket paired with some denim jeans. Or for Justin Timberlake in 2001. As you can see in the Tweet above, it doesn't seem this controller is actually real beyond the single one that exists in the photo. Maybe a Ryan Gosling or Ryan Reynolds endorsement can make this dream controller a reality. The fun didn't stop with this tweet, though, as Xbox Canada decided to get "punny" in the replies to the tweet. When the Walmart Canada Gaming Twitter chimed in to say that the Canadian Tuxedo controller might be an all-time great, Xbox Canada replied "I guess you can say making great controllers is in our jeans." It didn't stop there though, as you can see in the follow up tweets below. When Xbox social marketing manager, Graeme Boyd, chimed in to say he was obsessed with the little pockets, Xbox Canada said they knew he'd be "riveted" with this design. It's clear Xbox Canada is a fan of this denim-covered controller and the puns it can make about it, but something tells us this controller will remain just a tweet. For more controllers, check out this breakdown of the best Xbox controllers and then check out this PlayStation 5 DualSense controller reimagining from the internet. Check out the official IGN wiki guide for all of the special edition Nintendo Switch Joy-Con released so far after that. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes
29 Sep 13:03

Cyberpunk 2077 Environment Designer Explains How His Team Built Night City

by Esra Krabbe
Chris M

graphics looks pretty solid. I know that's a render, but still. If the graphics are close to this, it looks pretty neat.

During a Cyberpunk 2077 livestream at Tokyo Game Show 2020, Hiroshi Sakakibara, Environment City Coordinator at CD Projekt Red, shed some light on the design behind the game’s principal location, Night City. Sakakibara is responsible for the visual appearance of Night City as part of the Environment Art team at CDPR, which he said is a somewhat large team of dozens of people that builds the game equivalent of what would be sets and props in a movie. The team is subdivided into three smaller groups – the quest location team which is in charge of creating locations for quests together with the game designers, a team that creates smaller scale items, like furniture and garbage cans, that dot the environments, and the city team led by Sakakibara, which brings Night City to life by designing the streets, buildings and more that you will see in this vibrant city. When asked for his favorite spot in Night City, Sakakibara said that while just picking one location is difficult, his favorite area would have to be Japantown, an area that can be reached by crossing the canal from Retro China, the area in which protagonist V resides. “Japantown is a vibrant downtown area with many towering buildings, and while walking through the narrow alleys in the area these skyscrapers make it feel like you are walking through a futuristic valley,” he said. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/cyberpunk-2077-night-city-wire-episode-3"] According to Sakakibara, entering one of the skyscrapers in the area and then randomly getting off the elevator halfway, and walking the stairs from there is a truly dynamic experience. “You will see details like terrace seating, kiosks and other shops, people hanging out their clothes, somebody sitting at a balcony, a drone carrying goods and more.” Sakakibara said that looking down at the streets or up at the little bit of sky you can see between the skyscrapers is an enthralling experience which will make players realize that they have truly come to a cyberpunk mega city. But what is it that makes cyberpunk such a unique genre? Sakakibara said that Cyberpunk 2077’s director Adam Badowski repeatedly reminded the team that “an environment filled with things that look futuristic is not cyberpunk, but simply science fiction”. What makes the cyberpunk style special is how it combines retro and futuristic aspects. “For example, you could have a run down building with an old wooden door, but an LED light might be attached to that door, which could be a part of a high-tech security system,” he said. “Or maybe an old-fashioned diner could have a modern device that allows its customers to make orders.” According to Sakakibara, the team has mixed futuristic elements together with more familiar aspects in order to create an atmosphere that could only be described as cyberpunk. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cyberpunk-2077-25-new-night-city-images&captions=true"] As for inspiration sources, Sakakibara mentioned that since Night City is located in California, the team looked at cities in California, especially their suburbs. Blade Runner, which Sakakibara called “the bible of all cyberpunk”, has been another obvious source of inspiration, while he mentioned the team has also learned from Japanese anime and manga in the genre, such as Akira and the Ghost in the Shell series. Regarding Night City’s buildings, Brutalist architecture, an architectural style that uses bricks and concrete which emerged in the 1950s, has played an important role in creating Night City as well. The rough and violent style of Brutalist architecture was something that the team saw as a good match with Night City’s suppressed nature, since the city is ruled by a mega corporation. Sakakibara said that “all the artists have put their everything into each single street and building you can see in Night City, so I hope you will enjoy exploring everything the city has to offer”. We don’t have much longer to wait – Cyberpunk 2077 releases on November 19 2019 for consoles and PC. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN Japan. Follow him on Twitter here.
21 Sep 19:19

Cyberpunk 2077's Story Will Be Shorter Than The Witcher 3's

by Adam Bankhurst
Chris M

Did you say you were going to get Cyberpunk, Aaron?

CD Projekt Red has said that Cyberpunk 2077's campaign will be shorter than The Witcher 3's because a lot of people didn't end up finishing the whole story. On the post-show of the third Cyberpunk 2077 Night City Wire (as clipped by ResetEra user Saucycarpdog), senior quest designer Patrick K. Mills discussed how the campaign for Cyberpunk 2077 will be slightly shorter than The Witcher 3 because, even though a lot of people got very far in the game, not as many made it all the way to the end. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/18/cyberpunk-2077-night-city-wire-episode-3"] "The difference between a completionist run and a main story run... we do know that the main story run in Cyberpunk 2077 is slightly shorter than The Witcher 3 because we got a lot of complaints about Witcher 3’s main story just being too long," Mills said. "Looking at the metrics, you see tremendous numbers of people played through that game really far, but never made it to the end. We want you to see the full story, so we did shorten the main story, but we have lots to do, and in terms of a completionist campaign, I just don’t have that number." According to How Long To Beat, The Witcher 3's main story takes an average of 51.5 hours to complete, while a completionist run can take around 172 hours. While the main campaign may be slightly shorter than The Witcher 3's, Cyberpunk 2077 will be receiving free DLC alongside paid expansions just like the third Witcher game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cyberpunk-2077-25-new-night-city-images&captions=true"] Cyberpunk 2077 will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia on November 19, 2020. It will also be arriving on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X with a free 'more robust' upgrade in 2021. Until then, it will be playable via backward compatibility. For more on Cyberpunk 2077, check out the recently revealed PC specs, new location screenshots and gang images, and read our hands-on preview after playing the game for 4 hours. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/25/cyberpunk-2077-hands-on-what-we-think-after-4-hours-in-night-city"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
21 Sep 18:21

Microsoft's Bethesda Dilemma: Will Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom Go Xbox Exclusive?

by Joe Skrebels
Chris M

I seriously doubt it. Bethesda is all about milking that cash cow of multiple platforms.

After seeing the news that Microsoft plans to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5 billion, the first question uttered by most (well, after “What the f**k?”) was: “Wait, is The Elder Scrolls 6 an Xbox exclusive now?” Officially, that’s a firm “no comment” from Bethesda right now, while head of Xbox Phil Spencer told Bloomberg that Bethesda games would appear on non-Xbox consoles on a “case by case basis”. Behind the scenes, it might present the sternest test of head of Xbox Phil Spencer’s philosophy of openness so far. The case for making Bethesda’s games exclusive is obvious – players have consistently made the case that PlayStation has had the better exclusives for at least the last generation, building a stable of mega-hits that have undoubtedly had an effect on the huge success of PS5 preorders. Until today, Microsoft had little more than a delayed Halo, some untested new franchises, and hazily release-dated Forza and Fable games. Now, should it be deemed the right approach, Xbox could also have The Elder Scrolls 6, the much discussed Starfield (even if we don’t actually know what it is), future installments of Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein and more. It’s not a coincidence that the news came the day for Xbox Series X and S preorders opened. By classic games industry logic, making all of these games exclusive to Xbox is something of a no-brainer. These are some of the biggest franchises in the world, and locking them into Microsoft’s hardware would likely make them an enormous amount of money, potentially even tipping the balance of the upcoming new generation. The thing is, recently, Phil Spencer hasn’t been espousing classic games industry logic. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] “I find it completely counter to what gaming is about to say that part of that is to lock people away from being able to experience [exclusive] games”, he told GamesIndustry earlier this year. “Or to force someone to buy my specific device on the day that I want them to go buy it, in order to partake in what gaming is about. Gaming is bigger than any one device.” At the time, Spencer was explaining his philosophy for why new Xbox Game Studios games would appear on Xbox One, the Xbox Series X, in many cases the PC, and, as we know now, the Xbox Series S. But those words might echo a little louder now. Is there a chance Xbox will allow the Bethesda games it will soon own to be released on competing consoles? I’d say the signs are there. Quite apart from the fact that Xbox has already said it will honour the timed PS5 exclusivity for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, and that past Xbox exclusives have already begun popping up on Switch, Bethesda itself has potentially been hinting at the idea today. In a blog post, Bethesda Game Studios executive producer Todd Howard never quite said that the company’s games would remain multi-platform, but got pretty close: "Like our original partnership [with Xbox for Morrowind], this one is about more than one system or one screen. We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone - regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen size, the controller, or your ability to even use one." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/01/interview-head-of-xbox-phil-spencer-unlocked-437"] This could, of course, be referring to Xbox’s existing openness - its multi-generational release structure for games, and new cloud streaming services. Like the existing Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft might be imparting a philosophy of making games that will work on as many devices as possible, as long as they’re controlled by Microsoft in some way. Except there’s also the chance that, unlike Microsoft’s other recent acquisitions, Bethesda will be sitting outside of the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. While a Microsoft press release made clear that Bethesda’s 8 studios were being added to its stable of 15 existing developers, it avoided using the Xbox Game Studios term. On top of that, Bethesda SVP of global marketing Pete Hines said, "We’re still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we’ve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us." I’ve asked Microsoft for clarification on that language, but the issue of publishing is an interesting one. On its own website, Xbox lists games by its other studios, such as Playground Games or Ninja Theory, as being published specifically by Xbox Game Studios. If Bethesda will be publishing its own games after the acquisition, it could imply that the company will continue to create games for all platforms possible. So why would Microsoft allow such a thing? It might be as simple an answer as basic maths. At their largest, Bethesda’s games are legitimate phenomena. The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has sold more than 30 million copies, a feat achieved in part because it’s been sold across so many platforms that it’s become a self-fulfilling meme. If Xbox takes a cut on every copy of the game sold (as it does with Minecraft copies sold on PS4), it might simply make more financial sense to release it across all possible platforms, no matter how many more consoles shifted by putting The Elder Scrolls 6 behind an Xbox-shaped wall. Minecraft is a good analogue in general here – a game simply too big to be removed from competitor platforms after Microsoft bought it. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/xbox-series-sx-video-montage"] In fact, Xbox could still benefit beyond the simple sales cut. It’s already confirmed that future Bethesda games will arrive at launch on Xbox Game Pass – to be able to tell customers that they can grab a Game Pass subscription to play all of Bethesda’s games, or pay a possible $70 for a single one of its games on PS5 is still a weighty move. To some, foregoing exclusivity might even come across as a gesture of goodwill, an opportunity for Xbox to look like the good guy, while PlayStation locks its best products away. The deciding factor, potentially, could come down to appearances. Does Phil Spencer want to look like the man that bought Bethesda but gave their games to everyone, or does he make Xbox into a newfound powerhouse of exclusives? They’re both strong looks, depending on who you talk to – seeing which he chooses will be one of the upcoming generation’s most fascinating moments. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
21 Sep 18:20

Xbox to Buy Bethesda

by Joe Skrebels
Chris M

This could be good or it can be bad. Just like it may or may not rain today, but still. They didn't go so well with Halo, at least not the native players. The way Bethesda has been going with their storylines and lackluster controls, maybe Microsoft can improve on that.

Update: Bloomberg's Jason Schreier and Dina Bass report that Phil Spencer has said Microsoft will honour the PS5 exclusivity agreed for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, and future Bethesda games will appear on Xbox, PC, and other consoles on a "case by case basis". [poilib element="accentDivider"] Xbox has announced that it plans to acquire ZeniMax Media, and with it Bethesda Softworks, creators and publishers of The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Doom, Dishonored, Quake, Starfield and more. Announced by Head of Xbox Phil Spencer in an Xbox Wire post today, Microsoft will acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion – 3 times the $2.5 billion it paid for Mojang and Minecraft in 2014 – and the formal purchase is expected to close in the second half of 2021. The deal includes ZeniMax Media as a whole, Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios. In a blog post, Bethesda SVP of global marketing Pete Hines said, "We’re still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we’ve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us." The move, Hines explains, is because Microsoft "access to resources that will make us a better publisher and developer." [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=4f452f10-4aac-48b5-8c46-5cf1c391cc35"] It's unclear whether Bethesda will be considered a part of, or separate to, the existing Xbox Game Studios fold. IGN asked Bethesda for clarification on that, and the effect on its in-development games – including Starfield's intended platforms, and the timed PlayStation exclusivity for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo – but was told that there would be no comment beyond the existing statements given today. Bethesda Game Studios executive producer Todd Howard wrote his own blog post about the benefits of the acquisition, pointing to the company's long association with Xbox, starting with porting Morrowind to Microsoft's first console. He says that Xbox Series S and X, "are optimized for the vast worlds we love to create, with generational leaps not just in graphics, but CPU and data streaming as well. It’s lead to our largest engine overhaul since Oblivion, with all new technologies powering our first new IP in 25 years, Starfield, as well as The Elder Scrolls VI." While avoiding any specifics, Todd Howard also alluded to the idea of exclusives indicating, perhaps that Bethesda would not be limited to the Xbox ecosystem: "Like our original partnership, this one is about more than one system or one screen. We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone - regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen size, the controller, or your ability to even use one." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] Xbox also says it "will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC." A press release added that Bethesda’s future games will be added, at launch, into Xbox Game Pass on Xbox or PC. It's perhaps not a coincidence that the announcement comes the day before Xbox Series X and S preorders open. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
17 Sep 21:07

Xbox Series S Game Sizes Will Be Smaller Than on Series X

by Bo Moore
Chris M

you still getting the X, Aaron?

Game install sizes are bigger than ever, so it’s not unreasonable to be worried about the storage capacity of the all-digital Xbox Series S. The lesser next-gen Xbox has a 512GB SSD, compared to a full 1TB on the more powerful Xbox Series X, however one saving grace is that game sizes will be smaller on the Series S. In an interview with IGN, Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald confirmed that game install sizes will be approximately 30% smaller on the Series S than on the Series X. This is due to the reduced resolution texture packages needed for games on the Series S, which will be targeting 1440p resolution instead of 4K on the Series X. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] “With a performance target of 1440p at 60 fps, our expectation is that developers will not ship their highest level mipmaps to Xbox Series S, which will reduce the size of the games,” Ronald said. “Ultimately the controls in the developer's hands. We've had this technology for a while that allows developers to intelligently choose which assets to install on which device they're playing on. So the flexibility is in the developers’ hands to make sure the right assets are there.” In the interview, Ronald also discussed how the Xbox Series S’s lower power won’t limit developers. Xbox Series X and Series S preorders go live on September 22. [poilib element="accentDivider"]
17 Sep 20:07

No, Bungie and Microsoft Are NOT Getting Remarried

by Ryan McCaffrey
Chris M

might be a good thing...

We discuss the rumors of Microsoft trying to buy Bungie again (which Bungie quickly and sternly refuted), the leaked Xbox Series S presentation that never got to air, the backwards compatibility capabilities of the Xbox Series S, our disappointment about the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with Geoff Keighley, the creator and host of The Game Awards: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/25/geoff-keighley-talks-game-awards-hideo-kojima-xbox-vs-ps5-and-more-ign-unfiltered-53"] It's already been an incredibly fun year of Xbox coverage, and the best is yet to come. Join us! Oh, and feel free to leave us a video Loot Box question below using Yappa and you might be featured on an upcoming episode! [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
17 Sep 20:07

Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed VR Games Announced for Oculus

by Matt T.M. Kim
Chris M

I can imagine how terrible I would be at this game with VR. I was never good at the sneak games, even though they were fun concepts.

Ubisoft announced two new VR games based on Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell, respectively, during today’s Facebook Connect event. Facebook Connect is the new name for the company’s annual Oculus VR showcase. As previously rumored, Ubisoft confirmed that it is developing two new VR games based on its popular stealth franchises. Ubisoft Red Storm VP Elizabeth Loverso announced the news on Facebook’s virtual stage to introduce the “made-for-VR” titles. Ubisoft News Ubisoft talked about its early history with VR including titles like Star Trek Bridge Crew, and how Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell VR will be made from the ground up exclusively for Oculus VR platforms. Ubisoft Red Storm, the company division focused on Tom Clancy games, will lead development for both Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed VR, with additional support from Ubisoft Reflections, Ubisoft Dusseldorf, and Ubisoft Mumbai. No other details such as release date or gameplay were revealed. Also, check out IGN's review for the newly announced Oculus Quest 2. You can also catch Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher as an Operative in Rainbow Six Siege. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.
01 Sep 19:39

Tiny Shed Shop

by Ryan
Chris M

PRETTY NEAT. 8 X 6.. .. IS JUST A TAD BIT SMALL. BUT IF IT WAS FOR ONE SPECIFIC PURPOSE, IT MIGHT WORK. LIKE A PIPE SHOT OR KNIFE MAKING, FLY TIEING. STILL THE ORGANIZATION IS KILLER IN THIS PLACE.

This is old… and many of you have probably already seen it, but this tiny little shop is inspirational as hell…

11 Aug 21:29

BioShock 4 Seemingly Won't Take Place in Rapture or Columbia

by Wesley LeBlanc
Chris M

That feel of the first bio shock will never be felt again. The plane crash, taking the elevator to rapture, the scenery, music, the sheer terror of the big daddy groan. Such a great game.

The next Bioshock may not be taking place in previous settings Rapture or Columbia, if recent job listings are any indication. GameByte originally reported Monday that the studio behind the next BioShock game, Cloud Chamber, has several job listings that seem to hint at what the team is looking to do with the next game in the series. The listings ask for experience with Unreal Engine 4 and experience in scripted cinematic sequences, amongst other things. The listings also mention a "new and fantastical world." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=next-gen-buzzwords-explained&captions=true"] "We want you to help us breathe life into a new and fantastical world," several job listings read. "Together, we will set the stage for a stunning narrative and systems-driven experience." The latter part is par for the course of BioShock but the former is what indicates a shift away from Rapture or Columbia, considering the team is specifically looking for people to breath life into a "new" world. A senior cinematic artist job listing mentions "Wes Anderson-like precision and panache in your camera positioning and movements" and the ability to "create and implement systemic, in-game, scripted cinematic sequences." The listings seem to indicate, as you'd expect, that the game will indeed be a first-person shooter like the BioShocks that came before it. "Develop an FPS combat paradigm that is accessible, satisfying, and allows for a high degree of player expression and experimentation within a highly reactive world," a principal combat designer job listing reads. "Look beyond direct conflict, accommodate various play-styles and design encounters that can be resolved through player ingenuity." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/29/the-first-18-minutes-of-bioshock-remastered-gameplay-on-nintendo-switch"] There are a few other details to gleam from these Cloud Chamber job listings. A senior cinematic animator job listing requires a "good understanding of anatomy and caricature" and "exceptional skill in animating the human bipedal figure, organic forms, quadrupedal, and mechanical objects." While the listings seem to indicate the series won't be returning to Rapture or Columbia, the environment-related job listings don't reveal much else. The listings ask for experience with specific software and programs but don't hint at what kind of environment we can expect in the studio's BioShock game. There is a chance that these job listings are for a separate project, however - while all of the job listings make clear that the company is making a new BioShock game, one entry for a senior world designer is looking for someone to work on an "unannounced AAA first-person action game". It's unclear whether the role has been open since before BioShock 4 was confirmed and its description hasn't been updated accordingly, or if Cloud Chamber is beginning work on another game simultaneously. If this news about the next BioShock game has you wanting to jump back into the series where it began, be sure to use our interactive BioShock map to find every collectible, Big Daddy, Little Sister, and more. Be sure to couple that with our BioShock walkthrough, which will help you ensure that you don't miss a beat during your playthrough. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the sourcing for the story, as GameByte had originally spotted and reported on the job listing. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes, where you'll see him talk often about how much he loves the BioShock series.
27 Jul 13:22

Halo Infinite's Campaign Has 2-Player Local Split Screen, 4-Player Online

by Adam Bankhurst
Chris M

2 person split......How the hell did we ever play with 4 person split screen on some of our TV's? I think we played 4 person on Aaron's TV in his room one time. Even that thing was larger for it's time, but tiny for today's standards. I remember 4 person on my TV upstairs at my parent's house. 2 person just sounds too much now.

343 Industries has confirmed that Halo Infinite's campaign will support 2-player local split screen, and up to 4 players online. Jerry Hook, head of design at 343 Industries, took to Twitter to clarify that, while Halo Infinite will support 4-player split screen online, those playing locally will only be able to do so with one other person. This news follows Halo Infinite's reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase, where fans of the franchise that began in 2001 got their first look at the newest campaign. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/halo-infinite-9-minutes-of-campaign-gameplay"] This newest entry will make Halo open world, with upgrades to discover and new weapons to find. Furthermore, Halo Infinite will be the platform for new Halo experiences for the foreseeable future, so don't expect a Halo Infinite 2/Halo 7 in the near future. Halo Infinite takes place after the ending of Halo 5, with a rampant Cortana missing and Master Chief adrift in space. For those new to the series, Halo Infinite is meant to be a great starting point for new fans, but those who know the Halo lore will be rewarded. Halo Infinite led the Xbox Game Showcase that also revealed a new Fable, State of Decay 3, Forza Motorsport, Obsidian's Avowed, and much more. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=halo-infinite-xbox-games-showcase-gameplay-reveal-screenshots&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
27 Jul 13:21

Super Mario 64 Source Code Leak May Confirm Luigi Was Planned to Be Playable

by Adam Bankhurst
Chris M

pretty neat. I like playing Luigi anyways.

A recent leak of Nintendo source code has potentially revealed some long-kept development secrets of some of our favorite Nintendo classics, including that Luigi was planned to be playable in Super Mario 64. Luigi's possible inclusion in Super Mario 64 was part of a much larger leak of Nintendo data on such games as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Star Fox 2, Super Mario Kart, and more. As reported by VGC, there was an early build of Super Mario 64 called "Ultra 64 Mario Brothers" and it contains files that reference Luigi. Modders have taken these files and have begun recreating Mario's brother and the results are pretty great. First up is an image from @CometMedal with Luigi's head on Mario's body, which could also have been a horror game in some alternate universe. Luigi Head@SpangleZeKankle then shared the completed model of what Luigi would have looked like in Super Mario 64. SPangleThis isn't the first time we've heard that Luigi was going to be playable in Super Mario 64, as Shigeru Miyamoto had previously stated that Nintendo was planning on including him in a "Mario Bros. style minigame, but because most users probably only have that one controller when they first buy their N64, for that reason (and others) we decided not to." Luigi being planned for Super Mario 64 was only one small part of the leak. Other users have found an early Kokiri Forest and Deku Tree from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a prototype for Yoshi, uncompressed audio from the original "Do a Barrel Roll" line from Star Fox 64, and so much more. This search for Luigi has been going on since Super Mario 64 was released in 1996. In fact, we even posted a $100 reward for anyone who could find Luigi in the N64 launch game. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/30/top-10-console-launch-games-ever"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
27 Jul 12:23

Halo Infinite Multiplayer Is Not Delayed, Devs Say

by Adam Bankhurst
Chris M

"Furthermore, Halo Infinite is meant to be the start of a "platform for the future" for Halo games. This means there most likely won't be a Halo Infinite 2/Halo 7 of sorts for quite some time, and that Halo Infinite is "the start of the next ten years for Halo." That doesn't mean it will be a live service game, but there will be new story experiences told through this new game."

New seasonal DLC for a game... that's very creative of you 343 Industries........

Following rumors that Halo Infinite's multiplayer would not be ready by its launch in Holiday 2020, 343 Industries has spoken up and said that is not true. Brian Jarrard, Halo's community director at 343 Industries, took to Twitter to clear up any confusion that Halo Infinite's multiplayer was delayed, saying "nothing to see here folks, this is not true." This rumor followed the gameplay reveal of Halo Infinite's campaign during the Xbox Games Showcase. 343 did not show any multiplayer and said that reveal would be coming at a later date, which is when the rumors began. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/23/halo-infinite-9-minutes-of-campaign-gameplay"] Halo Infinite's reveal gave fans of the series that began in 2001 a look at the future of Halo and Master Chief, showcasing the games open world that will encourage exploration. Halo Infinite, according to studio head Chris Lee and associate creative director Paul Crocker, will also be a great starting point for new fans. While Halo lore knowledge will be rewarded, this new entry ditches the numbering scheme and is more of a "spiritual reboot." Furthermore, Halo Infinite is meant to be the start of a "platform for the future" for Halo games. This means there most likely won't be a Halo Infinite 2/Halo 7 of sorts for quite some time, and that Halo Infinite is "the start of the next ten years for Halo." That doesn't mean it will be a live service game, but there will be new story experiences told through this new game. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=halo-infinite-xbox-games-showcase-gameplay-reveal-screenshots&captions=true"] For more on Halo Infinite, be sure to check out more details on its story and villain, how the most recent demo was a work-in-progress build running on a PC as powerful as the Xbox Series X, and how Halo Infinite's planned public beta testing may not end up happening. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who really hopes 343 brings back the Hunt The Truth podcast for Halo Infinite. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
27 Jul 12:14

Every Game Announced for the Xbox Series X So Far

by Miranda Sanchez
Chris M

Even Battlefield 6 has them a strong woman on the cover art now.

Keep track of every exclusive and non-exclusive coming to the Xbox Series X with this list.
27 Jul 12:07

South Dakota: Images of the Mount Rushmore State (30 photos)

Chris M

It would be nice to visit there. Looks like a lot of beautiful places.

South Dakota is the fifth-smallest state by population in the U.S., with approximately 885,000 residents living in its 77,000 square miles. From the Black Hills and the Badlands, across the plains to Sioux Falls, here are a few glimpses of the landscape of South Dakota and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.

This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.

A view of eroded rock formations within Badlands National Park in southwestern South Dakota ( Ashwin Karanth / Shutterstock)
15 Jul 15:17

Why You Should Become a Sun Worshipper

by Brett and Kate McKay

Man reading newspaper and enjoying sunlight.

With our archives now 3,500+ articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Sunday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. This article was originally published in July 2020.

Have you had a depressing and demoralizing few weeks, or years? One of the best ways I’ve found to shake off the blues is to stand on the side of the shallow end of my pool, my arms folded on the deck, my back facing the sun. As the rays absorb into my skin, stress melts away and calming, almost-euphoric vibes percolate through my brain. It feels like my body is a battery that the sun is literally recharging.

You’ve probably had this experience whilst soaking up some rays too. And yet for a lot of folks, it’s an experience they can’t unequivocally enjoy, that’s tinged with some guilt. Sure, lying out in the sun feels good in the moment, but so does smoking a cigarette. We’ve been taught that sun exposure is bad for you — that it causes skin cancer and should be avoided as much as possible. 

While sun exposure does indeed carry some dangers, we have arguably taken its risk too far. In all the warnings about the sun, the fact that its rays boost both mental and physical health in some very significant ways — and our ancient instinct as to the truth of this — has gotten lost. A restoration of our relationship with the great fiery ball in the sky is in order.

Peoples in every civilization around the world, from Mexico and India to Egypt and Germany, once worshipped the sun as part of their religion. While you need not bend a literal knee to the life-giving star at the center of our solar system, you ought to consider making sunbathing a part of your daily ablutions, turning the catching of rays into a regular ritual, putting the sun back in Sunday.

How Soaking in Sunlight for Health Fell Out of Favor

Man laying on the ground for absorbing sunlight.

As the most democratic resource on the planet, an inextinguishable source of warmth and light, and the celestial power which gives life to everything on earth, humans have quite naturally always been drawn to the sun, and have attributed health and healing properties to its rays for millennia. 

The ancient Egyptians thought if you exposed your balding head to the sun, it would help hair regrow. The Greek physician Hippocrates recommended sunbathing for its healthifying effects, and many aristocratic Greeks and Romans had solariums in their homes to partake in this solar therapy. 

In the 19th and 20th centuries, doctors used the vitamin D-generating effect of sunlight to effectively treat and prevent tuberculosis, as well as rickets, which became a bone-weakening scourge in some countries as urbanized children began to spend less time outside. Up through the middle of the 20th century, sanitariums and health resorts utilized sunbathing and UV lamps to treat all kinds of ailments, as well as to simply increase the wellness of the already hale and hearty.  

Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, however, solar rays began to be associated with danger and death. Starting in the 1960s, dermatologists began sounding the alarm on the link between sunlight and skin cancer. Campaigns began in the United States to get people to reduce the time they spent in the sun, and to slather on sunscreen whenever they were going to be spending a significant amount of time exposed to its rays. 

By the end of the 20th century, dermatologists began to recommend that people not only put on sunscreen if they were going to the beach, but to apply it every day as a matter of course because, the thinking went, even a little bit of sun is potentially cancer-causing. Plus, the sun makes your skin look old, and who wants to look old? Daily moisturizers began to be made with built-in sunscreen to protect faces from even the kind of incidental sun exposure one might get while driving to work or walking in and out of a grocery store. 

In recent years, however, some scientists and dermatologists have begun to question the accepted wisdom around avoiding the sun. Their research is showing that there’s much we stand to lose in terms of health and vitality by excessively avoiding sunlight and blocking its rays with sunscreen when we do go out. In fact, many of these health experts are arguing that too little sun may actually kill more people than too much sun. Journalist Rowan Jacobsen highlights a few of these renegade dermatologists in a thoroughly interesting article he wrote for Outside Magazine called “Is Sunscreen the New Margarine?

After I read that article last year, it kickstarted my own research journey into understanding the relationship between sunlight and health. Thanks to my research, I’ve made getting sun a regular part of my lifestyle. Here’s why you might consider doing likewise. 

The Anatomy of Sunlight

To understand the effects of sunlight, you need to understand its composition because the different elements of sunlight influence different things in our bodies. 

Ultraviolet radiation. Sunlight is composed of three types of ultraviolet radiation: A (UVA), B (UVB), and C (UVC). UVA and UVB have the greatest effect on human physiology and we’ll be talking about them throughout this article.

Visible light. This is the light you can see with your naked eye and that when cast through a prism makes that Pink Floyd ROYGBIV rainbow on the wall. Different parts of the visible light spectrum, like blue light, influence our sleep cycle. 

Infrared radiation. Infrared is invisible to the naked eye. While there are studies that show infrared radiation can be used for health treatments, I didn’t come across any research that pointed to this component of sunlight as being beneficial. 

The Health Benefits of Sunlight

Man holding a cup and enjoying sunlight.

Sunlight Increases Vitamin D Levels 

If you’ve spent any time reading health books or blogs, you know that sunlight allows our bodies to make vitamin D. Particularly, it’s the UVB rays in sunlight that kickstart vitamin D synthesis: your skin contains cholesterol, and when UVB strikes this epidermal cholesterol, a chemical reaction begins which turns it into vitamin D. 

Vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin. It’s a prohormone (a precursor to a hormone) that the body uses to make all its hormones from insulin to testosterone.

Because of its integral role in hormonal health, low levels of vitamin D have been associated with a bevy of health issues, including:

  • Depression
  • Osteoporosis
  • Cancer
  • Low testosterone
  • Diabetes
  • Cardiac disease
  • Stroke

It’s hard to get sufficient vitamin D from diet alone, as it’s only found in a few foods, like fatty fish. You could get vitamin D from an oral supplement rather than from the sun, but the latter source beats the former for several reasons: 1) The sun is free. 2) While it’s possible to dangerously overdose on supplemental vitamin D, it’s not possible to overdose on the version your body makes from the sun, as it shuts down the conversion process once it has enough. 3) As we’ll explain below, while vitamin D itself is associated with positive health outcomes, the vitamin, apart from sunlight, may not in fact always be the operative factor in catalyzing these benefits.

Is It the Vitamin D or the Sunlight?

Because we spend less time outdoors than previous generations and we’re using more sunscreen, 43% of Americans have a vitamin D deficiency. Consequently, during the past few decades, many doctors and health experts have recommended that Americans take an oral vitamin D supplement. Up until a few years ago, I popped one myself every morning. 

But then I started reading studies that showed vitamin D supplementation actually doesn’t do much for health. 

For example, our bodies need vitamin D to absorb calcium and mineralize our bones, which makes them denser and stronger. Yet a 2018 study showed that vitamin D supplementation didn’t do anything to improve bone health. 

Some studies have shown an association between low vitamin D levels and increased risk of cancer, cardiac disease, and stroke. But the results of one of the largest and most rigorous studies of vitamin D ever conducted, in which the trial’s 25,871 participants received high doses of the vitamin for five years, found that it had no impact on these conditions. 

So what’s going on here? If low levels of vitamin D are associated with poor health outcomes, increasing vitamin D levels through supplementation should improve health, right?

Some researchers are starting to make the case that we’ve confused causation with correlation on this issue. Instead of vitamin D being directly linked to improved health outcomes, it may be that sunlight itself is the thing that’s providing all of those health benefits, while someone’s level of vitamin D is just a marker that they’re getting a sufficient amount of sunlight. 

It may seem like a surprising theory, but below we’ll highlight research which shows that many of the health benefits we associate with vitamin D are more likely caused by the other health-improving effects of sunlight. So that again, vitamin D may just be a sign that you’re getting enough sun to trigger those other beneficial reactions.

This isn’t to say there are zero health benefits that are directly influenced by vitamin D alone. But what these studies suggest is that we should look deeper into claims saying that increasing vitamin D intake, particularly via an oral supplement, will necessarily lead to direct health improvements.

Sunlight May Reduce Incidences of Some Cancers

While sunlight is one of the biggest contributing factors to skin cancer (more on that below), studies have shown that getting adequate amounts of sunlight is associated with lower incidences of many other types of cancer, including prostate cancer, colon cancer, and leukemia

The research suggests that sunlight’s role in preventing cancer has mainly to do with vitamin D (though the complex correlation/causation issue is of course in play, since again, oral supplementation with vitamin D does not seem to affect the incidence of the disease). 

While it’s impossible to completely eliminate the chances of being diagnosed with cancer, eating right, exercising, and getting some sun can help mitigate the risk. 

Sunlight Decreases Blood Pressure

Scientists who have researched cardiovascular disease have noticed that rates of high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease correlate with how near or far you are from the Earth’s equator: the closer you live to the equator, the more your chances of suffering from cardiovascular disease go down; the further you live from the equator, the more your chances go up.

The research suggests that this dynamic has something to do with sunlight. The closer you are to the equator, the more direct sunlight you get; the further you are, the less you get.

So how exactly does sunlight impact your cardiovascular system? 

Dermatologist Richard Weller has recently discovered a biological pathway that allows our body to create a substance called nitric oxide. When nitric oxide gets into your bloodstream it dilates blood vessels and causes blood pressure to drop. Our body happens to keep a huge store of nitric oxide in our skin. 

And what causes our skin to release those nitric oxide reserves into our bloodstream? 

Sunlight. Particularly, the UVA portion of sunlight. 

This finding suggests that getting regular exposure to sunlight can help prevent or reduce the incidences of an array of cardiovascular diseases. In fact, research is coming out that shows that sunbathers have less incidences of heart problems than people who spend more time indoors. For example, Pelle Lindqvist, a Swedish health researcher who has studied the sunbathing habits of 30,000 Swedish women for the past 20 years, found that rates of blood clots went down significantly among women who spent more time in the sun, particularly during the winter.

More research on this biological mechanism is needed, but the findings so far are promising. In addition to eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise, getting enough sun may be an important part of a heart-healthy lifestyle.

Sunlight May Reduce Insulin Resistance

Type-2 diabetes has increased significantly among Westerners for the past several decades and is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. When you get type-2 diabetes, your body’s cells become resistant to insulin. Insulin is the hormone that tells your cells to open up and let glucose in so the cells can get energy. If your cells become resistant to insulin, they stop opening up for glucose, causing blood sugar to spike to unhealthy levels in your bloodstream. This can cause myriad health problems, including kidney failure, heart disease, blindness, and blocked blood vessels (which can lead to tissue death, which can lead to limb amputation).

A healthy diet, exercise, and sleep can go a long way in preventing and managing diabetes. But research suggests that sunlight may play a role in preventing insulin resistance too. 

Multiple studies have found that people who get more sunlight have lower blood sugar levels. A metaanalysis of all these studies produced moderate evidence that sun exposure can reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes. 

So what is it about sunlight that helps with blood sugar levels? 

The original hypothesis was that since sunlight increases levels of vitamin D and people with healthy levels of vitamin D had less incidences of diabetes and pre-diabetes, then there is something about vitamin D that helps keep blood sugar in check. 

But then studies started coming out that vitamin D supplementation didn’t do much for blood sugar levels, meaning there may not be a connection between the vitamin and diabetes after all. 

Now researchers are exploring whether there’s something about sunlight, apart from vitamin D, that helps with blood glucose. We still have no leads on this, but it will be interesting to see what the research uncovers.

In the meantime, catch some rays to keep diabetes at bay.

Sunlight Strengthens Immune Function

Want to get sick less? Get more sun.

Sunlight appears to strengthen immune function in two ways. First, it creates vitamin D, and countless studies have shown that vitamin D plays an important role in immune function. Of particular relevance in our current time, research suggests that vitamin D may help reduce both the risk of infection and the severity of symptoms from COVID-19.

The second way that sunlight boosts the body’s ability to fight infection is by enhancing the performance of our T-cells. T-cells attach to invading viruses and bacteria and render them harmless. Sunlight helps our T-cells mobilize faster by stimulating hydrogen peroxide production — which is what causes our T-cells to move to an infection in the body.

While getting plenty of sun won’t completely eliminate the chances of you getting sick, the research suggests that it can definitely help you stay healthy and better fight off the infections you do get.

Besides strengthening the immune system to fight foreign invaders, sunlight can kill viruses and bacteria that sit on surfaces, preventing them from getting into your body in the first place. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” is not only a metaphorical maxim but a literal truth: UVR has been shown to kill viruses like the flu and COVID-19, as well as bacteria like anthrax, e.coli, and tuberculosis. 

Sunlight can also help with autoimmune diseases.

Sometimes the immune system goes haywire and instead of attacking foreign invaders, it attacks normal parts of the body, resulting in chronic, unhealthy inflammation. The result is an autoimmune disease. Rheumatoid arthritis, MS, and inflammatory bowel disease are a few examples of autoimmune diseases. 

Some research suggests that frequent sun exposure can reduce the chances of getting an autoimmune disease. For example, studies have shown that individuals living further away from the equator have an increased chance of being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease compared to individuals living closer to the equator. 

For some individuals who have already been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, sunlight can help keep their immune system in balance thanks to its vitamin D and T-cell boosting properties.

It should be noted, however, that some autoimmune diseases, like lupus, result in photosensitivity, which can make being out in the sun unpleasant and painful. So if you have an autoimmune disease, talk to your doctor before you try some sun therapy. 

Sunlight Reduces Myopia

When someone has myopia, also known as near-sightedness, they can see things that are close clearly, but have a difficult time seeing things which are far away. 

Myopia has been increasing among children across the world. China has seen the most dramatic rise in this disorder: 60 years ago, 10-20% of young Chinese people were myopic; today, close to 90% are. 

While the rise in myopia hasn’t been as great in the United States, it’s up 25% compared to 40 years ago. 

Technology is the most obvious suspect in this rise; with kids today spending so much of their time staring at screens a few inches away from their faces, an increase in near-sightedness seems inevitable.  

But research is emerging that it’s not the screens themselves that’s causing myopia, it’s the lack of sunlight children are experiencing . . . because they’re indoors staring at their screens.

When sunlight hits your eye, dopamine is produced in your eye which helps prevent the eyeball from elongating. Elongation of the eyeball is what causes the refraction issue that leads to myopia. It also appears that nitric oxide — which, you’ll remember, sunlight also boosts — plays a role in inhibiting elongation of the eyeball as well. 

Now that health officials are starting to understand the connection between myopia and sunlight, China is seeking to reduce the number of young people who get the disorder by making it a policy that kids get outside more during the school day. No matter where you reside, you needn’t wait for a government mandate to get outdoors and stop spending all your time tunneling inside like a mole.

Shirtless man and a kid sitting in front of ocean.

Sunlight Improves Mood

We typically associate sunny days with happiness and feeling groovy. That’s because sunlight kickstarts the production of a whole host of feel-good chemicals in our brains. Scientists in Australia have found that sun exposure increases levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays a big role in positive moods and staving off depression. 

Sunlight also increases levels of dopamine in our brains which heightens our sense of motivation, excitement, and drive. 

Finally, sunlight releases endorphins — mood-boosters that can make us feel practically high and euphoric. 

Since getting sun requires being outside, and being outside is also associated with a bunch of mood-enhancing effects, sun + nature = a super cocktail of positive vibes.

So if you’re feeling down, get outdoors and soak up some sun. 

Sunlight Improves Sleep

Your body’s circadian rhythm is like an internal clock that governs when you feel awake and when you feel tired. The primary factor that influences this clock is light. Exposure to light, especially the blue light which is part of sunlight’s visible spectrum, suppresses the hormone melatonin and increases attention and alertness; light basically tells the body: “Hey, I better perk up because it’s daytime.” When natural light dissipates after the sun sets, melatonin increases as the body winds down in preparation for sleep. The sunlight-mimicking blue light that’s emitted from electronic devices can disrupt this process, which is why doctors recommend limiting your exposure to it at night. 

But if you really want to optimize your sleep, you need to do more than avoid blue light in the evening; you need to make sure you get plenty of sunlight during the day, too. Sunlight exposure in the morning and throughout the day ensures that you maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle. For example, studies have shown that office workers who get more sun during the day via windows in their workplace, tend to sleep better at night compared to people who work in windowless rooms; one imagines the effect would be even greater for those who are exposed to sunlight directly.  

But Doesn’t Sun Exposure Cause Skin Cancer?

“Alright,” you might be saying, “so there are some health benefits to sun exposure. But sunlight is the main cause of skin cancer. Cancer is deadly so it makes sense to avoid direct sun exposure and slather on sunscreen every day.”

Yes, it is true that sunlight causes skin cancer. But as Rowan Jacobsen notes in his article about sunscreen, “several different diseases are lumped together under the term ‘skin cancer.’”

Two types of skin cancers are actually pretty common, but rarely deadly: basal-cell carcinomas and squamous-cell carcinomas. They can be removed with surgery or sometimes right at the dermatologist’s office. The cure rate for basal-cell carcinomas is 97% to 99%; the cure rate for squamous-cell carcinomas is between 92% and 97%. 

The type of skin cancer you have to worry about is melanoma. Unlike the more benign types of skin cancers, melanoma is more likely to spread to other parts of the body which makes it more deadly. For example, the 5-year survival rate for melanoma that’s spread to the lymph nodes is 64%. If it spreads to more distant parts of the body (like the liver, kidneys, etc), the 5-year survival rate plummets to 24.8%. 

So yeah, melanoma is deadly. You don’t want to get melanoma. 

But it’s also rare. Melanoma only accounts for 1% of new skin cancers. White people are the most likely to get it with a still-low 2.6% lifetime risk. Darker skin contains more melanin, which acts as a natural protection to sun damage and lowers the risk of getting melanoma even further. Hispanics have a .6% lifetime risk of getting melanoma; for African-Americans, it’s .1%.

When people feel freaked out about sunlight and skin cancer, it’s often because they’re conflating the commonness of benign skin cancers with the deadliness of melanoma. They think “skin cancer is common, and it’s frequently deadly, so I better become a Boo Radley and never see the light of day again without slathering on sunscreen.” The reality is that skin cancer is common, but rarely deadly.

Not only is melanoma rare, it counterintuitively strikes more people who work indoors than people who work outdoors. One study found that men who work outdoors have about half the risk of melanoma as men who work indoors. 

Why would that be the case? One working theory is that as you spend more time outdoors, your body adapts and creates melanin that protects your skin from melanoma. People who spend most of their time indoors and then blast their body with sun every now and then don’t have that protective melanin, which increases their risk of getting melanoma.

So oddly, avoiding the sun may actually increase your chances of getting the more deadly type of skin cancer. Go figure. 

Understanding the benefits and risks of sun exposure is causing some dermatologists to do some cost-benefit analysis when it comes to the advice they give patients about sunlight and sunscreen. 

For example, dermatologist Richard Weller argues that while it is true that sunlight is one of the major contributing factors to skin cancer, this has to be balanced with research that shows that it provides an enormous benefit to cardiac health. 

More people die of cardiac disease than skin cancer. In fact, for every one person who dies of skin cancer, 100 die of cardiac disease. 

If sunlight rarely kills people by causing skin cancer, but can help improve cardiac health, wouldn’t it make sense to encourage people to get more sunlight?

The trick to this cost-benefit calculus is to figure out how much sun you need in order to get the benefits while mitigating the very real risk of skin cancer.

So How Much Sunlight Do You Need? 

Smiling man laying along a bike.

Well, it depends on how pasty or swarthy you are.

The more melanin you have, the more sunlight you need to get the benefits from the sun’s rays; the less melanin you have, the less amount of sun exposure you need.

So lighter-skinned people need less sun exposure; darker-skinned people need more.

This is important to point out because for the past few decades many dermatologists have been giving blanket, one-size-fits-all advice on avoiding sun exposure and using sunscreen that doesn’t take skin color into consideration. 

As mentioned above, melanin acts a natural protection against sun damage and sunburns, so that people with darker, more melanin-rich skin have a smaller risk of getting skin cancer compared to people with fairer skin. Telling people of color, who need more sunlight, to put on sunscreen and to avoid the sun like fair-skinned people may be one of the many factors which contribute to the divergent health outcomes between black Americans and white Americans. So keep that in mind if you’re darker skinned.

Beyond the skin color consideration, there aren’t hard rules about how much sun you need for health. Even among the scientists and dermatologists who are open to the idea that sun exposure without sunscreen is beneficial, there’s a split as to what constitutes an optimal dose of it. 

One group argues that as long as you don’t burn, you’ll be fine. That gives a lot of leeway to the individual and requires people to be vigilant about how their skin is doing in the sun.

Another group offers a more conservative recommendation and suggests that people only get 10 minutes of sun a day on 35% of exposed skin without sunblock. 

Whatever recommendation you take, there’s a consensus around avoiding sunburns at all costs. Nothing good comes from getting sunburned. 

Three persons sitting on a chair and taking sunbath.

A few other things to keep in mind as you figure out how much un-screened sun to soak in: During the summer, you’ll need to spend less time in the sun as you get more direct rays. 10 to 20 minutes is usually all that’s needed. In the winter, you’ll need to spend more time, up to an hour. 

UV index is highest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., so you can get all the sun you need in just a few minutes if you do your sunbathing then. Outside of those times, you’ll need to spend longer to get the benefits of the sunlight. Again, it’s hard to give exact times. Just don’t burn.  

The Sunlight Institute recommends that you gradually increase sun exposure so your body can adapt. As your skin is exposed to more sunlight, it will produce more melanin and you’ll develop a tan, which will allow you to stay in the sun longer. Start off with a few minutes each day and gradually increase the time. 

If you have a skin color that doesn’t tan, i.e., you’re very fair skinned and tend to go straight from white to red, you likely won’t be able to increase your exposure. Just get a few minutes each day before putting on sunscreen and/or clothes to protect your skin. 

If you’re darker skinned, you can start off spending more time in the sun than lighter-skinned people. But while sun damage and sunburns are less likely to happen to people with darker skin, they’re still possible and you’ll still want to watch that you don’t get too much exposure. 

No matter the color of your skin, when you’re going to be exposed to sunlight beyond the modest amounts recommended above, you should wear sunscreen, hats, clothing, etc., and avoid baking directly in the sun for too long. It can’t be reiterated too much that while sunlight promotes health in limited doses, excessive exposure, and the skin damage and sunburns which result, still remain deleterious and dangerous. 

Getting Sun When There’s Not Much Sun

Couple enjoying sunbath in snow.

Getting sun during the summer is pretty easy. But what do you do during the winter if you live in an area that doesn’t get much light?

During the year’s cold, gray months, make an effort to get outside as much as you can when the sun is out. The easiest way to do that is to simply take a walk. Put on your coat and scarf and walk for 15 minutes a couple of times a day. Of course, you’re only getting sun on your face/scalp when you’re all bundled up, so if it’s not too frigid and you can tough it out, try taking a stroll in a t-shirt.

But what if you live in an area that’s perennially overcast during the winter, even during the day?

Well, you might consider visiting a tanning salon. Tanning beds/booths have been much maligned in the past few decades, with news stories comparing a visit to one with smoking a pack of cigarettes. 

There’s truth to these warnings: the frequent and prolonged use of tanning booths can indeed significantly increase your risk of skin cancer. 

But research has shown that (when used judiciously) tanning booths that emit 95% UVA rays and 5% UVB rays (roughly the same makeup as natural sunlight) can also provide many of the same health-boosting benefits as natural sun exposure. (Some tanning beds don’t emit any UVBs; look for those that do.)

The key is to just be smart about using them. Go a few times a month and keep your sessions short. Start off with the least amount of time and gradually increase from there. 

A few years ago, we had a December and January here in Tulsa, OK that was particularly cold and gray. I was feeling pretty bummed out and just super fatigued. I tried all of my usual tricks to leash the black dog, but nothing worked. Kate, who had also read Jacobsen’s article, suggested I go lie in a tanning bed for a few minutes, something that I, who’s already fairly swarthy as is, had never done in my entire life and never imagined myself doing.

“No way. Do I look like Pauly D. to you?”

“You probably need some sun and you’re not getting any with how the weather has been these past few months. Just give it a shot. You’ll only lose a few minutes of your life,” Kate countered.

I happened to have a membership at a nearby 10 Gym (not to work out, but just so I could use their sauna). The gym had tanning booths available, so I drove over there and signed up for a five minute session in one. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t feel pretty good afterwards. So good, I tanned about once a week for the rest of the winter. My blahs and fatigue subsequently abated. 

All hail the healing properties of UV radiation!

Humans have oriented themselves towards the light and power of the mighty sun since time immemorial. If you’ve been feeling sickly, fatigued, and downcast, you may need to step into the temple of the outdoors, shed your shirt, raise your pallid arms to the sky, and become something of a sun worshipper yourself.
______________________________

Sources

Here Comes the Sun by Steve Jones

Embrace the Sun by Marc Sorenson

“Is Sunscreen the New Margarine?” by Rowan Jacobson

The post Why You Should Become a Sun Worshipper appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

15 Jul 13:59

The Ford Bronco Makes Its Glorious Return

After a quarter-century hiatus, the most hardcore SUV ever is officially back. Can the new beasts in the 2021 Bronco lineup live up to their predecessor’s reputation?

14 Jul 20:54

71374 Nintendo Entertainment System officially revealed!

by CapnRex101
Chris M

pretty neat.

71374 Nintendo Entertainment System officially revealed!

After yesterday's teaser, LEGO has announced another result of their partnership with Nintendo!

71374 Nintendo Entertainment System, 2646 pieces

US $229.99, CA $299.99, DE €229.99, UK £209.99, FR €229.99, DK 1799DKK

Available from the 1st of August, with no VIP early access.

Recreate the Nintendo Entertainment System in LEGO style!

Do you love video games? Did you play Super Mario Bros. back in the day? Or do you just enjoy a hands-on, creative activity in your spare time? If so, this nostalgic LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System (71374) model kit is perfect for you.

Authentic and interactive

The brick-built NES is packed with realistic details, including an opening slot for the Game Pak with a locking function and a controller with a connecting cable and plug. The console comes with a buildable retro TV, featuring a flat 8-bit Mario figure on the scrolling screen, plus an action brick to scan with LEGO Mario (figure not included; find in the LEGO Super Mario Starter Course set – 71360) so he reacts to the on-screen enemies, obstacles and power-ups just like in the Super Mario Bros. game.

Continue reading »

© 2020 Brickset.com. Republication prohibited without prior permission.

14 Jul 13:41

Tennessee: Images of the Volunteer State (35 photos)

Chris M

It does have a lot of beautiful places.

Tennessee is the 16th most populous state in the nation, home to more than 6.8 million people. The landscape ranges from the Appalachian Mountains in the east to the Mississippi River, which makes up its western border. From Memphis to the Great Smoky Mountains, here are a few glimpses of the landscape of Tennessee and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.

This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.

Thunderstorms pass over spring colors in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, seen from Morton Overlook in eastern Tennessee. ( Dave Allen Photography / Shutterstock)
09 Jul 15:55

Ex-Bungie Exec Says Activision Deal Was 'Bad From the Start', Destiny Nearly Went to Microsoft

by Jordan Oloman
Ex-Bungie board member and composer Marty O'Donnell has given his take on the Destiny deal Bungie had with Activision - which lasted from 2010 to 2019 - calling it "bad from the start." In an interview with Halo Youtuber HiddenXperia, O'Donnell explained that he was part of the board of directors who made the initial decision back in 2010, but that it wasn't "a marriage made in heaven." "We knew it was a risk right from the get-go, and then it turned out to be exactly as we thought it was going to be," O'Donnell explained. "Everybody who no longer works for Bungie is gonna say, 'Yeah, it was bad from the start.'" He added that those still at Bungie who say that the partnership worked are being "political". "That's BS," he explains. "There are so many scripted answers out there that I hear." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/01/10/bungie-splits-with-activision-will-keep-destiny-rights"] Later in the interview O'Donnell shares an anecdote about a dinner with Activision executives before the partnership deal had been signed. During the dinner, O'Donnell says he was talking to the Activision CFO about a saying, "Be nice to the goose," (with Bungie being the goose laying golden eggs for Activision). According to O'Donnell, the CFO told him that he liked the analogy, "but sometimes there's nothing like a good Foie Gras" (the controversial food made by force-feeding geese before slaughter). "I get a chill even telling that story," says O'Donnell, "the red flag went off." Bungie split from Activision in January 2019 after a nearly ten-year partnership that produced Destiny and Destiny 2, allowing Bungie to retain full publishing rights for the franchise. O'Donnell himself was fired without cause from Bungie in 2014, and successfully sued the company for damages. In the interview, he puts that firing down to his problems with Activision's control over the Destiny IP: "The reason why we went with Activision was not just the money, but it was because as part of the contract, they didn't own the IP," something that O'Donnell explains was non-negotiable after the developer's famous separation from Microsoft. He claims that, despite the terms of that agreement, Activision was allowed to mould the IP due to the actions of Bungie leadership. "Activision not only didn't have the legal right to mess with the IP, but the only way they would be prevented from messing with the IP is if all the leadership at Bungie said you can't mess with the IP. And that's not what happened. And that's why they fired me," O'Donnell told HiddenXperia. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/08/21/destiny-2-launch-trailer"] Interestingly, O'Donnell adds that other publishers were in the running to partner with Bungie during this process, but none of them would allow Bungie to retain the IP as Activision did. In fact, O'Donnell mentioned that Bungie "almost went back to Microsoft" after becoming independent from its former owner in 2007. Destiny 2 is now entirely self-published, and will be coming to Xbox Series X and PS5. In other Bungie news, the studio's new IP will apparently be "comedic" and feature "whimsical characters" according to a job listing. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
09 Jul 14:59

Meet the “Boss,” the Original Ford Bronco Raptor from 1969

by Alexander Stoklosa

Googling things sometimes turns up more than just search results. Take Wes Eisenschenk’s discovery of a long lost, incredibly rare 1969 Ford Bronco prototype, which came up after he plugged the rig’s serial number into Google in 2016. As he puts it: “There it was, the missing 1969 Ford Boss Bronco prototype, in an expired eBay listing.” The internet had dredged up what amounts to a 40 years too early Ford Bronco Raptor ideated at the peak of the muscle-car era.

What Is a Boss Bronco?

A Boss Bronco? Yes, Ford built a prototype high-performance Boss Bronco 4×4 in 1969 at its legendary clandestine enterprise Kar-Kraft. The burly SUV featured a blueprinted 1969 Mustang Shelby GT 350 engine, a Hi-Po C4 automatic transmission, and 4.11 limited-slip gears front and rear, among other truly muscular details. Somehow, the one-of-one Boss Bronco survived under the radar for more than 40 years in fantastic original condition.

Wes, who uncovered the Boss Bronco, is an editor at CarTech, the publisher behind the book, Kar-Kraft: Race Cars, Prototypes and Muscle Cars of Ford’s Special Vehicles Activity Program,” by Charlie Henry. Research for this book dredged up the VIN for the Boss Bronco prototype, which was built to prove the concept of a production high-performance Bronco for then-Ford president Bunkie Knudsen, who with his cohort from General Motors, Larry Shinoda, was largely responsible for Ford’s original Boss Mustang program of 1969–1971.

In production trim, the Bronco’s largest engine in 1969 was a 302. Kar-Kraft installed a warmed-over 351 Windsor. It wasn’t a full Boss V-8, but a performance motor from the 1969 Shelby GT 350.

The original team at Kar-Kraft started with a specially equipped 1969 Bronco Sport, sent to them directly from the Ford assembly line. It was equipped with a 302 V-8, 4.11 gears, a limited-slip diff, and—likely as no coincidence—it was finished in a rare-for-the-year coat of Empire paint—a shade of yellow that was known to be Knudsen’s favorite color. After all, nothing is sacred when looking to have a prototype approved by the Boss’s boss!

To make sure this project—originally referred to as simply the “Special Bronco” in internal documents—was everything a high-performance Bronco should be, Kar-Kraft called in Bill Stroppe to oversee the build. Stroppe, who was running Ford’s off-road racing team, certainly had more than enough experience to know what it would take to build a righteous Bronco. After all, he’d fielded a team of the things to Baja off-road victories for Ford.

The Boss Bronco parked outside Ford Styling in 1969. The Bronco had been repainted years ago, and current owner Colin Comer used this photo when re-applying the hockey-stick stripe and Boss Bronco decals to calculate their correct dimensions.

Among the modifications chosen by the Kar-Kraft team and Stroppe for the Special Bronco (which was soon re-named the Boss Bronco, ostensibly to tie it in with Ford’s existing line of Boss cars), was additional horsepower. Out went the 302 V-8 and in came a 1969 GT 350 210-S-code 351 four-barrel Windsor motor, although the one provided for the Boss Bronco by Ford was also balanced and blueprinted, much as the allegedly “bone stock” engines used for magazine road test cars were said to be back in the day. The V-8 exhaled through a true dual exhaust with glasspack mufflers. Backing up this warmed-over 351 Windsor was a custom Kar-Kraft-fabricated adapter that allowed a Hi-Po C4 automatic transmission to be fitted; it would be the first automatic transmission Ford put in a Bronco.

Stroppe dual shocks were installed at all four corners to help keep the big 15-inch chrome wheels and 10-15LT Gates Commando tires on the ground when the going got rough. Inside, a Stroppe padded steering wheel, Stroppe roll bar, and a Mustang shifter for the C4 were installed, along with custom upholstered panels and aluminum trim to finish the inside of the rear quarter-panels and tailgate for a more upscale look. The rear wheel wells were cut—sorry, first-gen Bronco fans!—and Stroppe fender flares installed for the needed tire clearance, a Cougar Eliminator hood scoop bolted on, and finally, the Boss Mustang-style black hockey-stick stripes with “BOSS BRONCO” lettering were applied.

The finished package was quite impressive. It clearly not only looked the part but performed it, too. Again, the format was not dissimilar to the Ford F-150 Raptor of today—as well as the expected Raptor-fied Bronco model, which will join the revived Bronco lineup sometime soon.

. . . And Why Aren’t There More of Them?

Lee Iacocca famously fired Knudsen before a production Boss Bronco could get off the ground and live up to its promise. Afterward, inventory sheets show Kar-Kraft was supposed to crush the one and only Boss Bronco prototype. Somehow, it escaped. Exactly how is still unknown, but experts suspect it was simply sold to an employee when Kar-Kraft was liquidated in late 1970.

No matter how the Bronco made it into the wild, Wes was the extremely lucky soul who found the Boss Bronco decades later. The muscle truck had sold outside of eBay (remember, the listing had expired by the time Wes happened upon it), so Wes searched and found the ultimate buyer, a man in Washington State, who agreed to sell the Bronco for a nice profit. Wes then posted a picture of the rare prototype on an internet forum looking for further info on it. That’s when Colin Comer saw it.

Colin owns Colin’s Classic Automobiles in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also a diehard Ford and Shelby authority and collector and has authored numerous books on the subject. He and Wes had worked together at another publishing company, which is how they became friends.

“As soon as I saw Wes’ post on the Boss Bronco, I immediately emailed him and said I had to have it,” Colin said. “Being a huge Ford muscle guy, as well as a long-time early Bronco owner, how could I not? I had no idea the Boss Bronco had survived. To me, it is one of the ultimate early Broncos. Plus the Kar-Kraft and Stroppe connection is just so cool. I didn’t get much sleep until I convinced my buddy Wes to sell it to me! Once we arrived at a deal, I had to sell my Holman-Moody-built 1969 Bronco to help fund the Boss, but I have no regrets.”

Colin was clearly ecstatic to find himself the owner of a significant Ford prototype built at Kar-Kraft.

“The truck was painted once but otherwise untouched. There is zero rust anywhere, which is very rare for an early Bronco. It still has all of its original finishes underneath. It has the original Kar-Kraft-installed Mustang shifter for the C4 automatic and the fabricated transmission adaptor they made, and still had the original engine with its original 210-S tag. Everything down to the original carburetor and original prototype dual exhaust is still on the truck. It shows 60,000 miles and 47 years of use, but it is—amazingly—all there. And that’s what matters.”

Colin compared original Ford photos of the truck from Kar-Kraft to find the SUV’s original hockey-stick stripe dimensions had been changed slightly during its repaint, and the Boss Bronco decals were long gone. Most likely, Kar-Kraft pulled those off before selling the truck to disguise its prototype status.

Colin calculated the original stripe dimensions using the 1969 factory photos and by finding remnants of the originals in the door jambs, then re-sprayed the stripes correctly. He then had a new set of Boss Bronco decals made to return the truck to its original prototype appearance. The Boss Bronco, now out of hiding, sees frequent use by Colin, who has already added a few thousand miles to its odometer. He believes it’s a shame the Boss Bronco never made it to production, as it “would have been a big hit” in 1969, “much like the Ford Raptor is today.”


1969 Ford Boss Bronco Specifications

  • Owned by: Colin Comer
  • Engine: 290-hp 351-ci 210-S Windsor V-8
  • Transmission: C4 3-speed automatic
  • Axles: Dana 30 front, Ford 9-inch rear with 4.11 gears and limited-slip
  • Interior: White vinyl bucket seat
  • Wheels: 15×10 custom
  • Tires: 32×11.50R15LT BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2
  • Special parts: Shelby GT 350 210-S engine; C4 transmission with Mustang shifter; special paint, stripes, and decals; Stroppe roll bar, dual shocks, and fender flares; Cougar Eliminator hood scoop; custom wheels

This story originally appeared in Hot Rod in March 2018.

The post Meet the “Boss,” the Original Ford Bronco Raptor from 1969 appeared first on MotorTrend.

08 Jul 19:50

Sunday Firesides: Secure Your Base

by Brett and Kate McKay
Chris M

are your base belong to us?

In the novel Moonraker, Ian Fleming writes that in rigorously preparing for another dangerous and uncertain mission, James Bond “had achieved Clausewitz’s first principle. He had made his base secure.”

Fleming’s paraphrase of the famous war strategist’s philosophy is worth adopting not only by military generals, or secret agents, but ordinary citizens as well.

Securing your base means establishing a self-sustaining, shock-resistant “headquarters” that is well-defended against disruptions from external forces.

The foundation of a secure base begins with good health; life is invariably more precarious when one is not physically strong and resilient.

Because debt enslaves, so that what is “yours” is not your own, financial independence further stabilizes your footing.

Skills of all kinds, whether mechanical, domestic, or combative, allow you to rely less on others and more on yourself. Though security doesn’t equal complete self-reliance; tight relationships with family and friends solidify your base too.

Business owners should avoid “entangling alliances”; partnerships, no matter how apparently promising, rarely work out. This includes “partnering” with the overlords of social media, who, with a tiny tweak of their algorithms, can destabilize an entrepreneur’s entire enterprise.

Finally, a secure base requires secure beliefs. While philosophic and political positions can and should evolve over time, they should not be so unexamined, so lacking in well-studied context, that every current of change knocks you into an incapacitating stupor of confusion and cognitive dissonance. You should know why you believe what you believe.

The purpose of creating this kind of personal garrison isn’t to passively retreat from the theater of life; rather, it is to create a fortification from which to better launch your offensive operations.

As one of 007’s worthy antagonists explains: “Mister Bond, power is sovereignty. Clausewitz’s first principle was to have a secure base. From there one proceeds to freedom of action.” 

The post Sunday Firesides: Secure Your Base appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

08 Jul 19:49

The 5 Best James Bond Books

by Brett & Kate McKay
Chris M

I need to read more. Maybe one of these books could hold my attention.

Bond, James Bond.

Many in the younger generations likely know this most famous fictional secret agent from the 26 films in which the character has appeared, particularly as played by Daniel Craig over the last decade and a half. But of course, Bond was originally birthed from the pen of Ian Fleming. And the literary Bond is far superior to the cinematic one.

Fleming’s Bond, who he said “was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during [WWII],” is a more human figure and less the near-superhero Jason Bourne type. He almost never employs gadgets, doesn’t engage in parkour-requiring gymnastics or even very many hand-to-hand fights, and almost invariably gets captured, and thoroughly pummeled, by his enemies. His ultimate escape and triumph typically comes down less to his use of technology or strength than his wits — his keen powers of observation, his wide variety of skills, his savoir faire.

The superiority of the Bond books over the Bond films lies in the space Fleming has to detail these qualities. While the author never delves all that much into the inner life of 007 or the other characters he interacts with, Fleming is a master of describing externals, bringing to life his stories’ rich backdrops, offering compelling technical details drawn from his own experience as a Naval Intelligence Officer during the war, and somehow making all of Bond’s idiosyncrasies and personal habits — from how he dresses to what he eats for breakfast — feel like interesting and noteworthy facts. Fleming’s gift is in creating a character we know is incomparably cool, without ever saying so explicitly.

The books, though hardly high literature, also contain, if you pay attention a surprising number of subtle philosophical tidbits: musings on good and evil, the will to survive, and the desire to live life to the hilt (we’ll highlight some of these later).

Before his death at age 53, Fleming wrote 12 Bond novels and 2 short story collections over the course of the 1950s and 60s. (Products of their time, they’re full of outmoded takes on things like gender and race, and not for the easily offended.) Each of these thrillers possess the quintessential James Bond-ian hallmarks: plenty of action, adventure, and suspense conveyed in Fleming’s forceful, driving style; some combination of fast cars and exotic locales; ridiculously implausible plotlines that Fleming somehow manages to make feel entirely possible; and beautiful women (though the Bond girls in the books aren’t lightweight eye candy; almost to a one they’re independent types who eschew make-up, boast athletic physiques, and sometimes come to the rescue of their tough-but-protective lover, who, for his part, falls much harder for them than might be imagined from his playboy reputation). None of the tales are truly terrible; as Fleming observed, “the great thing is that each one of the books seems to have been a favourite with one or other section of the public and none has yet been completely damned.”

But some of the novels are a cut above the rest. The following are the five best, in ascending order; as all the stories are fairly self-contained, you can pick up any of them without having previously read any of the others.

5. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Generally speaking, the first seven Bond books represent the better half of the series. Written in the 1950s, the deepening shadows of the Cold War provide atmospheric weight to these early stories which find Bond directly and indirectly battling the agents of SMERSH, a fictionalized version of a real-life Soviet counterintelligence organization which operates under the motto “Death to Spies!”

After Goldfinger, SMERSH is disbanded, and Bond’s nemesis over the next three novels becomes Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his apolitical criminal organization, Spectre. Bond’s battles with this ring of international gangsters just aren’t as satisfying as those against murderous commies . . . with the exception of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

As we’ll see in other picks in this list, Fleming is at his best when Bond is stuck in closed quarters, wherein something is happening other than what is presented, and he must discover what’s really going on beneath the polite façade. Here those quarters are a Swiss ski resort, which also contains a research clinic run by a disguised Blofed, who is purportedly working to cure a gaggle of beautiful farm girls of their allergies. The plot is one of Fleming’s most preposterous, but with an exciting ski chase, ample demonstrations of Bond’s athleticism and intellect, a greater showcasing of his deeper side, and his one and only marriage, it’s a wonderfully compelling page-turner.

4. Casino Royale

The book that started it all and introduced the world to Commander James Bond, agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service and member of the Royal Naval Reserve. Here we first learn of Bond’s signature martini (which he names the “Vesper”), his prowess in gambling, and his skills as a secret agent (which include techniques for detecting whether someone’s been snooping in your room). Bond must beat and bankrupt Le Chiffre — the paymaster for a SMERSH-controlled trade union — in a high-stakes games of baccarat. But once he does, the story isn’t over: there are still two more twists to come, as the novel moves through essentially three acts and several emotional ups and downs.

3. From Russia With Love

Fleming thought that From Russia With Love was possibly his best novel, and John F. Kennedy listed it as one of his ten favorite books.

This novel draws much of its strength from the unique structure of the plot: rather than starting the book from Bond’s perspective, the first ten chapters focus on the machinations of SMERSH and its plan to assassinate 007 using psychopathic agent Donovan “Red” Grant. When Bond finally enters the scene in the eleventh chapter, the reader knows that when he’s assigned to bring back to England an apparent defector in the form of a beautiful female corporal from Soviet Army Intelligence, he’s falling into a trap, but the details of how that trap will unfold, and when Bond will figure out the real score, remain suspensefully unknown. That this unfolding takes place onboard the thoroughly romantic, drama-heightening confines of the Orient Express, adds to the deliciousness of the story.

With the ending, Fleming leaves Bond’s fate hanging (as Arthur Conan did with Sherlock’s in “The Final Problem”). Feeling burnt out, the real-life author was unsure if he would write any more Bond novels after this one. Luckily, he caught a second wind, and From Russia With Love became only the mid-point of his 12-novel career.

2. Dr. No

Dr. No was not the best reviewed of the Bond books, and there’s plenty to criticize here: The plot is arguably Fleming’s most ridiculous, centering on an evil genius who is plotting world domination from an underground lair built beneath an island that functions as a guano mine; it’s the kind of set-up that launched the Austin Powers satirizations. The Bond girl is particularly unbelievable — an orphaned, shell-diving, sort of child of the wild. And there’s a particularly strong streak of an element that was present to varying degrees throughout the Bond series: sadomasochism.

And yet . . . somehow it works. One gets to see down-and-dirty, outdoor survivalist Bond who leaves behind the suit and cocktails to paddle to the island and explore its swamps. And learning exactly what the villainous Dr. No is up to, including why he’s imprisoned Bond in what seems to be a luxury spa, is gripping. A highlight of the book is a debate between Dr. No and Bond on the nature of power, in which the villain argues for the importance of securing your base.

1. Moonraker

Hands down the best Bond book (and far different than the movie of the same name).

Moonraker includes details of Bond’s day-to day personal and work routines when he isn’t on an assignment (which only occur every few months — alas, even 007 had to do paperwork sometimes).

In most of Fleming’s books, 007 knows who the bad guy is from the start, and pursues this enemy to far-flung parts of the world (the Secret Service doesn’t operate domestically). In Moonraker, however, Bond stays within the borders of England to keep bad guys away from Hugo Drax, a successful industrialist and national hero with a mysterious background who seems to be an eminently good guy. Or is he? Bond has his doubts after he memorably discovers that Drax cheats at cards. Nonetheless, Bond is pledged to protect the powerful rocket Drax has built for the ostensible purpose of defending England from her enemies. Again, the confines of the missile-building base where Bond is stationed work to the narrative’s benefit, and of all the novels in the series, this story most unfolds in the manner of a classic detective tale. Suspense builds as Bond sifts through clues and slowly discovers that Drax may not be who he says he is. Even when you see the twist coming, it’s still delicious.

The post The 5 Best James Bond Books appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

23 Jun 17:19

Not-To-Miss AutoCAD Ribbon Tips

by Frank Mayfield
Chris M

Ribbons!!!!!!!! Ribbons everywhere!!!!

The AutoCAD Ribbon interface has been with us for over a decade now, and it continues to evolve and get better with each release. There are a few tricks up its sleeve that I’d like to talk about today.

Right-Click Is Your Friend

If you right-click in the empty area to the right of your tools, you’ll get a pop-up menu with some handy functionality. First, you can easily control what you see in your Tool Palette from here.

To quickly display all the tools in a group, click on Tool Palette Group, then the group of tools you want to see.

Here, I’m selecting the Parametric Design group. Once selected, you can then display them in your Tool Palette by selecting the Show Related Tool Palette Group from the pop-up menu.

Parametric Design Group Tools AutoCAD Ribbon

The next couple of tools help you control the content you see in the Ribbon.

Expand the Show Tabs flyout menu, and you can choose to see just those tabs that are important to you.

Show Tabs flyout menu AutoCAD Ribbon

Below that is the Show Panels flyout. Unlike the Show Tabs menu, this one only affects the current tab. Again, you can turn on or off that tab’s panels to match your personal workflow.

Note: Although I’ve shown Show Tabs and Show Panels from the larger, empty space menu, you can right-click anywhere on the Ribbon in AutoCAD to access them—even from right on top of a command!

Show Panel AutoCAD Ribbon

Be a Panel Dragger

If you find yourself having to constantly switch tabs to get to your favorite group of commands, you might want to learn how to become a panel dragger. You see, the AutoCAD Ribbon Panels don’t have to stay in place and you can learn how to customize the Ribbon.

Let’s take the example of dragging the often-used Modify panel to be a floating panel elsewhere. They don’t have to stay within the interface either…put them on another monitor if you like. (Yes, that means you can “float” more than one).

Once you’ve dragged them away, hovering your cursor anywhere on the panel will display the left and right edges. The left side is just a bar that allows easy access for moving the panel.

The right side though, has two important functions. Note the tiny icons in the corner. The bottom one will change the orientation of the panel (horizontal vs. vertical). That can be handy, but it’s the one above it that is more important. Clicking it will return the panel to its previous position on the Ribbon.

drag panel AutoCAD Ribbon

You Do You

The Ribbon in AutoCAD has come a long way since it was introduced in AutoCAD 2009, and I quickly became a fan. Not only is it an incredibly efficient way to organize and access your tools, but like most interface elements in AutoCAD, it’s customizable to your workflow.

So now that you know these new Ribbon tricks, go ahead and drag a panel off or right-click to change or improve your workflow. You may be glad you did.

The post Not-To-Miss AutoCAD Ribbon Tips appeared first on AutoCAD Blog.

23 Jun 15:50

This Owl Is Not What It Seems

by Kevin Kelly
Chris M

ha! pretty neat.

09 Jun 15:50

Whoops, the Real Space Force May Lose Its Trademark to the Fake One

Chris M

https://www.thewrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/space-1.gif

this is such a Sh*t show. Not the actual netflix show; I haven't seen that. but all the rest of it.

Turns out the U.S. military is pretty lax with logos.

08 Jun 18:15

Alabama: Images of the Yellowhammer State (33 photos)

Chris M

NEAT PICS. I WANT TO GO TO THE HUNTSVILLE SPACE MUSEUM SOON.

Nearly 5 million people live in Alabama, which takes its nickname from its state bird, the yellowhammer. The terrain of Alabama ranges from mountains in the north, to rolling hills and gentle plains sloping toward Mobile and the Gulf Coast in the southwest. Below are a few glimpses of the landscape of Alabama and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.

This photo story is part of Fifty, a collection of images from each of the United States.

A view from the Rock Garden on Cheaha Mountain in Cheaha State Park. Cheaha Mountain is the highest point in Alabama, reaching an elevation of 2,413 feet (735 meters). ( Jeffrey M. Frank / Shutterstock)