Sunless Earth

What would happen to the Earth if the Sun suddenly switched off?

—Many, many readers

This is probably the single most popular question submitted to What If.

Part of why I haven’t answered it is that it's been answered already. A Google search for what if the Sun went out turns up a lot of excellent articles thoroughly analyzing the situation.

However, since my recent articles on sunsets, the rate of submission of this question has risen even further, so I’ve decided to do my best to answer it.

If the Sun went out ...

We won’t worry about exactly how it happens. We'll just assume we figured out a way to fast-forward the Sun through its evolution so that it becomes a cold, inert sphere. What would the consequences be for us here on Earth?

Let's look at a few:

Reduced risk of solar flares: In 1859, a massive solar flare and geomagnetic storm hit the Earth.^[1] Magnetic storms induce electric currents in wires. Unfortunately for us, by 1859 we had wrapped the Earth in telegraph wires. The storm caused powerful currents in those wires, knocking out communications and in some cases causing telegraph equipment to catch fire.^[2]

Since 1859, we've wrapped the Earth in a lot more wires. If the 1859 storm hit us today, the Department of Homeland Security estimates the economic damage to the US alone would be several trillion dollars^[3]—more than every hurricane which has ever hit the US combined.^[4] If the Sun went out, this threat would be eliminated.

Improved satellite service: When a communications satellite passes in front of the Sun, the Sun can drown out the satellite's radio signal, causing an interruption in service.^[5] Deactivating the Sun would solve this problem.

Better astronomy: Without the Sun, ground-based observatories would be able to operate around the clock. The cooler air would create less atmospheric noise, which would reduce the load on adaptive optics systems and allow for sharper images.

Stable dust: Without sunlight, there would be no Poynting–Robertson drag, which means we would finally be able to place dust into a stable orbit around the Sun without the orbits decaying. I’m not sure whether anyone wants to do that, but you never know.

Reduced infrastructure costs: The Department of Transportation estimates that it would cost $20 billion per year over the next 20 years to repair and maintain all US bridges.^[6] Most US bridges are over water; without the Sun, we could save money by simply driving on a strip of asphalt laid across the ice.

Cheaper trade: Time zones make trade more expensive; it's harder to do business with someone if their office hours don't overlap with yours.^[7] If the Sun went out, it would eliminate the need for time zones, allowing us to switch to UTC and give a boost to the global economy.

Safer Children: According to the North Dakota Department of Health, babies younger than six months should be kept out of direct sunlight.^[8] Without sunlight, our children would be safer.

Safer combat pilots: Many people sneeze when exposed to bright sunlight. The reasons for this reflex are unknown, and it may pose a danger to fighter pilots during flight.^[9] If the Sun went dark, it would mitigate this danger to our pilots.

Safer parsnip: Wild parsnip is a surprisingly nasty plant. Its leaves contain chemicals called furocoumarins, which can be absorbed by human skin without causing symptoms ... at first. However, when the skin is then exposed to sunlight (even days or weeks later), the furocoumarins cause a nasty chemical burn. This is called phytophotodermatitis.^[10] A darkened Sun would liberate us from the parsnip threat.

In conclusion, if the Sun went out, we would see a variety of benefits across many areas of our lives.

Are there any downsides to this scenario?

We would all freeze and die.

Amazon has finally launched its flagship Amazon.com business in India, after the site quietly went live in the country, although it is only selling books at this point. The new launch takes the main Amazon.com marketplace to ten countries worldwide, but questions remain.

There is a small cloud of uncertainty around this launch as there has been no announcement published on Amazon’s media center, as you’d expect from a laucnh into such a significant country. The press release section on Amazon India site says “Press Release [sic] will be published soon”, but there are a series of infographic-come-press-releases which appear to confirm the launch.

An excerpt of one is below:

Chiefly, it is unclear whether Amazon has managed to overcome long-standing regulatory hurdles which have thus far prevented it from setting up shop in the country.

Amazon launched Junglee, a site that aggregates deals from online retailers in India, last year as an experiment to test the water in India while rules dictating that foreign firms cannot sell goods online keep its full service out. Authorities in India did relax regulations for physical retailers — rules now allow overseas firms to hold a 51 percent stake in multi-brand retailers, or a full 100 percent share of single-brand retailers — but there’s been no announcement that this has changed for Web-based firms.

The US company has been pressing officials to allow it to enter India. Amazon Global Vice-President Paul E. Misener met with country’s Commerce Minister Anand Sharma in February to put the issue on the agenda. Misener said the meeting covered “all kinds of issues” and that the firm is “trying to find a better way to serve our Indian customers, both sellers and buyers” — but there’s been no indication that the barriers Amazon faces in India have been lifted, which makes this Amazon.in launch all the more curious.

To date, local firm Flipkart has dominated the e-commerce market in India, but the country potential has also caught the eye of another global giant: eBay. The US firm invested in Flipkart rival Snapdeal earlier this year. That deal was confirmed this week, as eBay revealed it has also partnered three-year-old Snapdeal for sales.

The timing of that news, a day before Amazon.in’s launch, is almost certainly related, but yet it isn’t clear how (or even if) Amazon received the green light to launch.

It could be that the company has struck an agreement to sell only books, initially, which give it the opportunity to state the case for allowing overseas Internet retailers into India. Or there may have been changes around ownership models, that allow it to partner with a local firm — although no such arrangement is listed on its site.

Either way, the new site appears legitimate, and it could be the start of a wave of international e-commerce firms entering the India market. Although Internet penetration is sub-10 percent (but growing), the population of more than one billion makes it a lucrative market.

We reached out to Amazon to get answers to the questions raised in this post, and will relay any responses that we’re given.

More excerpts of infographics confirming the launch are below:

Headline image via soumit/Flickr

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

Kiss curtains, blinds and shades goodbye - smart glass is not just an Xbox enhancement. Smart glass technology is evolving and faster than ever. It can shade rooms on demand, making them transparent and reduce thermal gain … all just by flipping a switch or even turning a key in a door.

There are various methods employed to make the transition, but one of the most fascinating involves low-power electrochromatic devices that can be activated in a variety of clever ways.

Essentially, a current is passed through the window panel to turn it from transparent to translucent then back again – the voltage does not need to be sustained in between.

Aside from micro-blinds and mechanical smart windows, other variants on this technology include suspended-particle devices, which can be finely-tuned to allow in (and block out) desired levels of light, heat and glare.

Applications to date include commercial windows and doors in places ranging from private skyscraper offices and public restrooms to hospital rooms high-speed trains. Smart glass can also be found in luxury sunroofs, meeting spaces, projection screens and television studio surfaces. As it becomes easier and cheaper to produce, the applications are limitless (above images by Sebastian Terfloth).

---

---

[ By WebUrbanist in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]

4gifs:

Making chains

rachel shared this story from Born Of An Atom Bomb.

---

Moss Graffiti: A How To Guide

Alien Astronomers

Let's assume there's life on the the nearest habitable exoplanet and that they have technology comparable to ours. If they looked at our star right now, what would they see?

—Chuck H.

Answer:

Let’s try a more complete answer. We’ll start with ...

Radio transmissions

Contact popularized the idea of aliens listening in on our transmissions. Sadly, the odds are against it.

Here’s the problem: Space is big. Really big.^[1]

You can work through the physics of interstellar radio attenuation, but the problem is captured pretty well by considering the economics of the situation: If your TV signals are getting to another star, you’re losing money. Powering a transmitter is expensive, and creatures on other stars aren’t buying the products in the TV commercials that pay your electricity bill.

The full picture is more complicated, but the bottom line is that as our technology has advanced, less of our radio traffic has been leaking out into space. We’re closing down the giant transmitting antennas and switching to cable and fiber and tightly-focused cell-tower networks.^[2] 

While our TV signals may have been detectable—with great effort—for a while,^[3] that window is closing. In the late 20th century, when we were using TV and radio to scream into the void at the top of our lungs, the signal probably faded to undetectability after a few light-years.^[4] The potentially habitable exoplanets we’ve spotted so far are dozens of light-years away, so the odds are they aren’t currently repeating our catchphrases.

But TV and radio transmissions still weren’t Earth’s most powerful radio signal. They were outshone by the beams from early-warning radar.^[4]

Early-warning radar, a product of the Cold War, consisted of a bunch of ground and airborne stations scattered around the Arctic. These stations swept the atmosphere with powerful radar beams 24/7, often bouncing them off the ionosphere, and people obsessively monitored the echos for any hints of enemy movement. (I wasn’t alive during most of this period, but from what I hear, the mood was a little tense.)

These radar transmissions leaked into space, and could probably be picked up by nearby exoplanets^[5] if they happened to be listening when the beam swept over their part of the sky. But the same march of technological progress that made the TV broadcast towers obsolete has had the same effect on early-warning radar. Today’s systems—where they exist at all—are much quieter, and may eventually be replaced completely by new technology.

Earth’s most powerful radio signal is the beam from the Arecibo telescope. This massive dish in Puerto Rico can function as a radar transmitter, bouncing a signal off nearby targets like Mercury and the asteroid belt. It’s essentially a flashlight which we shine on planets to see them better. (This is just as crazy as it sounds.)

But it transmits only occasionally, and in a narrow beam. If an exoplanet happened to be caught in the beam, and they were lucky enough to be pointing a receiving antenna at our corner of the sky at the time, all they would pick up would be a brief pulse of radio energy, then silence.

So hypothetical aliens looking at Earth probably wouldn’t pick us up with radio antennas.

But there’s also ...

Visible light

This is more promising.  The Sun is really bright^{[citation needed]} and its light illuminates the Earth.^{[citation needed]} Some of that light is reflected back into space as “Earthshine”. Some of it skims close to our planet and passes through our atmosphere before continuing on to the stars. Both of these effects could potentially be detected from an exoplanet.^[4][6]

They wouldn’t tell you anything about humans directly, but if you watched the Earth for long enough, you could figure out a lot about our atmosphere from the reflectivity. You could probably figure out what our water cycle looked like, and our oxygen-rich atmosphere would give you a hint that something weird was going on.

So in the end, the clearest signal from Earth might not be from us at all. It might be from the algae that have been terraforming the planet—and altering the signals we send into space—for billions of years.

Of course, if we wanted to send a clearer signal, we could. A radio transmission has the problem that they have to be paying attention when it arrives.

Instead, we could make them pay attention. With ion drives, nuclear pulse propulsion, or just clever use of gravitational slingshots, we could probably send a probe out of the Solar System fast enough to reach a given nearby star in a few dozen millennia. If we can figure out how to make a guidance system that survives the trip (which would be tough) we could use it to steer toward any inhabited planet.

To land safely, we’d have to slow down. But slowing down takes even more fuel. And, hey, the whole point of this was for them to notice us, right?

So maybe if those aliens looked toward our Solar System, this is what they’d see:

jordanorsomething:

CRYING

Last year I featured a number of amazing gifs from Istanbul-based artist Erdal Inci (previously) who clones sections of video to create hypnotic animated loops. His work has since popped up all over the web and will soon find its way into a gallery space. Above are some of his latest clips depicting numerous copies of Inci himself parading through the frame like a cloned robot army, though he also flashlights to create even more complex effects. If you happen to be in Italy you can catch his work firsthand at Action Gallery in Milano on May 25 and in Naples on May 30.

Just over a year ago, we wrote a post on why men should read more fiction. I asked readers to suggest their favorite pieces of manly fiction in the comments so I could create a master “AoM Fiction for Men” list. We got a really good response, and we finally finished compiling the suggestions into a list. If you’re looking for some ideas on what to read this summer, check it out. The list has a nice mix of genres so you’re bound to find something that suits your tastes. I’ve added several of them to my own “to-read” list. If you have any more recommendations for books you think an AoM Man would enjoy, please share them in the comments, and we’ll add them to the master list. Enjoy!

	American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Shadow Moon tries to rebuild his life after being released from prison, but gets caught up in a showdown between the old gods who came over to America with the country’s early immigrants and the new gods “of credit card and freeway, of Internet and telephone, of radio and hospital and television, gods of plastic and of beeper and of neon.” Musings about the role of technology in modern life and the meaning of death, set in the real and mythical American landscape.
	Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. This long novel leaps between the story of a secret WWII Allied unit who try to keep the Nazis from discovering they have cracked their Enigma code, and the cryptanalysts’ grandchildren who seek to create a secure data haven in the modern age, and discover a far-reaching conspiracy in the process.
	A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Readers said that the Princess of Mars is much, much better than the blockbuster movie-version flop John Carter. This book is the first in the Barsoom series, consisting of ten novels, the first five of which, it should be noted, are available for free at Project Gutenberg. This sci-fi adventure is said to have inspired some of the science fiction greats like Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, and others.
	Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. This historical novel is a fictionalized account of real-life Samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi as he seeks to master not only the Way of the Sword, but the path to honorable, spirited manliness. Musashi is famous in Japan for being a master swordsman and also writing the philosophy/tactical work, The Book of Five Rings, which is still studied today.
	The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. This book received a ton of accolades when it was published in 2011, including being named in the NY Times Top Ten of the Year and Amazon’s Best Book of the Year. USA Today said this about it: “The Art of Fielding belongs in the upper echelon of anybody’s league, in this case alongside Bernard Malamud’s The Natural, Scott Lasser’s Battle Creek, and W.P. Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe.” I read this book earlier this year and really enjoyed it. It’s a coming-of-age story with baseball serving as the backdrop. One of the better modern novels I’ve read in a long time.
	Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. This well-known fantasy favorite was unsurprisingly recommended numerous times by readers. Follow Frodo Baggins and his trustworthy friend Samwise Gamgee and learn about friendship, loyalty, dedication to a good cause, and many other manly virtues. You’ll also find one of the wisest characters in literature in Gandalf. J.R.R. Tolkien had one of the greatest imaginations of his time and created an entire LOTR universe, complete with new languages, maps of various lands, and even histories of how these lands came to be. If you’re interested in some of the Middle-earth back story, get your hands on The Silmarillion.
	From Here to Eternity by James Jones. I read From Here to Eternity this year at my father-in-law’s suggestion. One of the best war novels I’ve read. The movie adaptation from 1953 happens to have made it onto our Top 100 Movies list, so be sure to check that out as well. Set in Hawaii, the novel is loosely based on author James Jones’ own experiences.
	Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. This is a behemoth of a book, coming in at over half a million words, but from what people say, the effort is well worth it. Wallace took the title from a line in Hamlet (another work that all men should read), and although he committed suicide in 2008, has lately become regarded as one of the more influential writers of the latter part of the 20th century. As this is his magnum opus, it’s a great place to start.
	The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré. le Carré is considered the greatest spy novelist of all time. Check out his most lauded work and what is often called the greatest spy novel of all time, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. This particular novel was influential in informing the public about common Cold War espionage practices. Whereas James Bond novels and movies romanticize the world of spies, le Carre gives us brutal realism.
	Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Many readers suggested checking out the work of Sir Walter Scott, who James Bowman called “the man who did the most to resuscitate honor for the modern era.” This work from 1820 is a great adventure story set in medieval times and deals with knighthood and chivalry. We also see appearances from Knights Templar and Robin Hood (Locksley, in this novel). What fella doesn’t want to read about that? Available for free as an ebook.
	Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. This book was recommended to me by small town advocate, Uncle Buzz. Turned out to be one of my favorite books of all time. A book about the life and unrequited love of a rural barber named Jayber Crow. From his barber chair, he learns about listening, community, life’s tough questions, and much more. The book really made me want to move to the country to become a barber.
	World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. This popular book is a fictional account of the zombie war, told from the point of view of a journalist who is conducting interviews many years later. It’s not so much blood and gore, but about the political and sociological ramifications of such a catastrophe. It’s set as a series of interviews, so it somewhat lacks a cohesive plot, but it’s still riveting. I’ve also heard the audio version of this is fantastic. You’ll want to read/listen to it before this summer’s release of the film version starring Brad Pitt.
	The Aubrey/Maturin Series by Patrick O’Brian. Reader Tom Smedely said this of the 20+ volume series: “Patrick O’Brian’s novels probe the mysteries of manliness. 20+ volumes starting with Master and Commander take us into a lost world of wooden ships and iron men. Even a patriotic American will find himself grieving the setbacks of the British navy during the War of 1812!” Even more awesome is that the series closely follows the heroics of real-life captain Thomas Cochrane.
	Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. One of the best novels on what it means to get in touch with your inner Wild Man. The narrator is a young intellectual who is in love with his books. After a stinging encounter, he decides to leave his books behind for a while, and do some self-discovery. You’ll be dancing and shouting “Opa!” like Zorba by the end.
	All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren. This 1947 Pulitzer winner is one of the best pieces of political fiction ever written. It’s loosely based on the career of Louisiana governor Huey P. Long. Interestingly enough, the author said it was “never meant to be a book about politics.” Indeed, there are larger lessons about humanity to be learned, and this is a great example of how hubris can destroy a man.
	Independent People by Halldór Laxness. Reader Jordan explains this pick: “Iceland’s Laxness won the Nobel Prize in Literature the year after another great manly fiction writer, Hemingway. Independent People is his most important work about an Icelandic farmer who strives to be his own independent man when all else is against him. Laxness’ prose captures the harsh beauty of the Icelandic way of life and poetically blends myth and reality in this moving epic.”
	Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison. You’ve seen the movie, now read the novella that it’s based on. Here’s what dannyb278 had to say about Harrison: “Nobody writes better concerning the 20th century male. Ignore the movie, the novella Legends of the Fall is one of the greatest works in modern American Fiction.”
	Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. I kicked off 2012 by reading this classic Western. It’s a new favorite of mine, and I can’t wait to read it again in a few years. Another Pulitzer winner here, this is the third installment of the Lonesome Dove series of four novels (although the first published). This story of some retired cattle drivers carries lots of insight on what it means to be a man (look for a post in the future on that very theme!).
	Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This oft-suggested sci-fi classic is supposedly one of the funniest books ever written. It’s been on my to-read list for while. Think I’ll get to it next. This wildly successful franchise includes six novels, video games, stage acts, TV series, movies, comic books, etc. Must have somethin’ going for it!
	Masters of Rome Series by Colleen McCullough. If you’re a Roman history buff, reader Evan M. suggests checking out the Masters of Rome series. It chronicles the end of the Roman empire and the lives and careers of Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Pompeius Magnus, and Gaius Julius Caesar. There are seven books in the series.
	For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. Naturally, several readers suggested “anything by Hemingway.” If you’ve never read Hemingway, start with For Whom the Bell Tolls. In the novel, we follow the experiences of a young American dynamiter in the Spanish Civil War. Much of it is pulled from Hemingway’s own experiences as a journalist reporting on the war.
	A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Thanks to HBO, many gents are now discovering this series. A Game of Thrones is the first of the five-part series (with more coming) which is a classic fantasy epic set in a world invented by Martin. The series is known for killing off main characters to keep you on your toes.
	Blood Meridian or The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Lots of commenters said, “Anything by Cormac McCarthy,” and I couldn’t agree more. Blood Meridian explores the violence between Native Americans and the white settlers in the 19th century, while The Road follows a father and son as they walk through a post-apocalyptic America. Both terrifying and touching — one of the only books that has ever made me cry.
	What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver. This collection of short stories by Raymond Carver center on uneducated, seemingly normal American people. They have problems, and they aren’t all shiny and polished. His writing is often compared to Hemingway’s in its simplistic style. Anything compared to Papa is good enough for me!
	Raise a Holler by Jason Stuart. If you’re a Southern gent, Nick suggests Raise a Holler. According to Jedidiah Ayers, “It’s, more or less, The Hobbit re-imagined as a series of southern-fried crime misadventures.”
	Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett. While it’s a young adult fantasy series, several people suggested the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. Its 39 novels will keep you busy for a very long time, and there are supposedly more to come. As the title suggests, this world is a flat disc that is set upon the backs of four elephants. The books often focus and speak to a specific theme, such as religion, business, current events, etc. They also parody many common elements and cliches of fantasy and sci-fi literature.
	The Plot Against America and American Pastoral by Philip Roth. Reader Hal said, “Philip Roth is good and comes with the added benefit that you can then say you have read Philip Roth. The Plot Against America is a good way in.” American Pastoral won a Pulitzer for its portrayal of life in the Lyndon Johnson years, and The Plot Against America is an alternate history novel in which FDR is defeated by Charles Lindbergh in the 1940 election.
	The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. Reader Caleb S. suggested anything by Graham Greene. “He is a twentieth-century writer of novels and short stories, and his works are filled with men faced with complex moral conflicts. All of his novels are both entertaining and literary, which is a rarity these days, and perfect for someone looking to begin a fiction-reading habit.” Check out The Power and the Glory, which deals with the power struggle between the Roman Catholic church and the Mexican government, to get started with Mr. Greene.
	The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. Several readers suggested Raymond Chandler. If you like detective stories, you can’t go wrong with this master of the genre, who is praised as being the most lyrical of crime writers, as well as having some of the best dialogue in the genre. The Big Sleep (his first) is a favorite of mine.
	The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. My favorite of all time. Read it again (yes, I’ll assume you’ve already read it at least once) before you go see DiCaprio take on the iconic role of Jay Gatsby at the movies. We learn about the fallacy of the American dream in this short 1920s classic.
	Deadwood by Pete Dexter. Marc has something in common with my dad. They both recommend western author Pete Dexter’s Deadwood, a fictional narrative of Wild Bill’s last days.
	Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. Reader Tom G. likes sci-fi writer Robert Heinlein. “His characters have, in a very large part, defined what I conceptualize ‘manliness’ to be.” If you’re a man who likes to think deep, Tom suggests Stranger in a Strange Land. It’s considered to be essential sci-fi, and tells the story of a Martian human who comes to Earth in early adulthood.
	Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Several recommendations for Ender’s Game. I finally got around to reading it this year. It’s a kid’s book, but it tackles some pretty adult themes. Another sci-fi classic, this novel is set during Earth’s future, when kids are trained for battle in preparation for an expected attack. It is still suggested reading in many military organizations, and has ballooned into a series of 12 novels and 12 short stories.
	David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Dickens had several votes, and is widely considered the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. That means you should read his works. You can’t go wrong with David Copperfield, which Dickens himself called his favorite. It’s a semi-autobiographical work that tells the life story of a boy who grows up in poverty in London, but escapes his miserable childhood to be become a successful novelist. Available free as an ebook.
	Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. A fictional account of the Spartan 300. Manly. This book is a military favorite and is taught at West Point, the Naval Academy, VMI, and Marine Corps Basic School. If those guys read it, so should you.
	Southern Victory Series by Harry Turtledove. Gabe recommended alternate history writer Harry Turtledove. Find out what would have happened had the South won the Civil War, all the way through 1940, in the eleven novels of the Southern Victory Series. Hint: The world is a very different place; your globe would not have the same boundaries.
	Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling. Hearty recommendations for anything by Rudyard Kipling, author of the manliest poem ever written, “If.” Most people suggested starting off with Kipling’s Captains Courageous. The story tells of a wealthy young boy’s transition to manhood after being saved from drowning by a fishing boat in the North Atlantic. Fun Fact: This novel was written while Kipling was living in Vermont, which is our favorite vacation spot. Free as an ebook.
	Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. An insomniac finds relief in a secret club. No explanation needed for this one. If you’ve seen the movie, it’s time to read the book. It’s also interesting to note the author’s intent in writing: “…bookstores were full of books like The Joy Luck Club and The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and How to Make an American Quilt. These were all novels that presented a social model for women to be together. But there was no novel that presented a new social model for men to share their lives.”
	Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky. Reader Jake Warner suggested Russian post-apocalyptic novel Metro 2033: “It’s a bit hard to find in English, but Dmitry Glukhovsky’s Metro 2033 is an excellent post-apocalyptic novel.” The name comes from survivors of a nuclear holocaust retreating to metro train tunnels, in which they begin their new way of life. The book has spawned a very popular video game as well.
	Water Music by T.C. Boyle. Water Music follows the wild adventures of Ned Rise, thief and whoremaster, and Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer, through London’s seamy gutters and Scotland’s scenic highlands, to their grand meeting in the heart of darkest Africa. Sounds good.
	The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith. Kent said everyone should check out the The Rediscovery of Man, a collection of sci-fi short stories by Cordwainer Smith. “His science fiction explores the nature of humanity after mankind has spread out among the stars and begun to diverge.”
	His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Grumpy Typewriter (fantastic pseudonym, by the way) is a fan of the His Dark Materials trilogy. You’ve probably seen the movie the book inspired, The Golden Compass. Grumpy Typewriter says the books are much better. Always are, always are. The epic trilogy is a coming of age story of two kids who travel through a series of alternate universes, and is said to be a re-telling and repudiation of John Milton’s classic, Paradise Lost.
	Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Several readers suggested anything by Joseph Conrad. ”He speaks to the masculine in all of us to some extent,” said commenter Graham. If you’ve already read Heart of Darkness, try reading Lord Jim. There are also expanded versions of Heart of Darkness based on Conrad’s notes if you just can’t get enough. Conrad’s works are available free as ebooks.
	A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor. A few suggested Flannery O’Connor, a female author known for her Southern Gothic style. Her stories are pretty raw and highlight complex ethical and moral questions. For a good sampling of her work, pick up the collection of her short stories entitled, A Good Man Is Hard to Find.
	The Sportswriter by Richard Ford. This is a novel about a failed novelist turned sportswriter who experiences an existential crisis after the death of his son. Its sequel, Independence Day, won a Pulitzer, and there is also a third installment.
	Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. You might be surprised, but several readers suggested Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. LG, a ninth-grade English teacher, said this about the book: “Although all of Austen’s novels are great, I think Pride and Prejudice especially is worth a man’s time to read for its examples of good, noble, self-sacrificing men from every social class, as well as its counter-examples. On the ‘bad guy’ side, you’ve got a womanizing manipulator, a father who shirks his duties and lives to regret it, a pompous moral weakling, and a man whose arrogance blinds him to his own faults.” If you still think Austen is too girly for your tastes, Chris suggests Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
	The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. Several recommendations for Hammett’s Sam Spade detective novels. Couldn’t agree more. Start off with The Maltese Falcon. If you need convincing, the New York Times calls Hammett the dean of the school of detective fiction.
	Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. A book that begins with a boxing match and explores what it means to be an independent man when you feel pushed to conform to others’ stereotypes and expectations.
	Dune by Frank Herbert. Several readers suggested books by Frank Herbert for those who love sci-fi. Dune is a good place to start. Set in the far future, the Dune universe finds planets controlled by individual noble houses. The story focuses on the Atreides family as they gain control of a planet with a very valuable commodity. Although not confirmed, it is said to be the bestselling novel of all time in its genre. Like many sci-fi series, prequels and sequels have been added both by Herbert and others for a total of well over 20 novels.
	The Richard Hannay Series by John Buchan. Trev recommended the Richard Hannay series. “They were written during and about WWI and are great adventure stories.” There are five novels that star Richard Hannay, the first three of which are available for free as ebooks.
	The Stand by Stephen King. Lots of people suggested Stephen King, and The Stand got several recommendations. Find a more recent, uncut version. At first publishing, King’s editor forced him to cut nearly 400 pages. You’re getting into a 1,200-page book, but seeing the literal fight of good vs. evil in post-apocalyptic America is well worth it. His non-horror books are good too (e.g. The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption).
	The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl. A novel about a young lawyer who tries to solve the mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s death. All of Pearl’s novels deal with some kind of literary mystery. So if you like classic literature and modern mysteries, his works will be a win-win.
	The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. If you like learning about the Civil War, then you can’t go wrong with The Killer Angels. You’ll get to experience the Battle of Gettysburg from the point of view of General Lee. General Norman Schwarzkopf called it “the best and most realistic historical novel about war that I have ever read.”
	Call of the Wild by Jack London. Lots of hearty recommendations for Jack London. He wrote some pretty manly stuff, and his life is just as interesting as his prose. You probably read The Call of the Wild in middle school, but it won’t hurt to read it again. Also try White Fang and The Sea-Wolf. All of London’s works are available for free in the public domain.
	The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson. “The Lottery” is one of the most haunting things you’ll ever read, and a must-read as perhaps the most well-known short story in American literature.
	The Professional by W.C. Heinz. A book about boxing that’s more than a book about boxing. It’s considered one of the greatest sports novels ever written. Ernest Hemingway himself said it was “the only good novel I’ve ever read about a fighter, and an excellent novel in its own right.”
	The Jack Reacher Series by Lee Child. If you like thrillers, several readers suggested the Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. Reacher is an ex-MP and drifts around the country with not much more than his heavy-duty boots and a pack. There are currently 17 novels, with another due out this summer.
	Moby-Dick by Herman Melville. A story about the perils of obsession. I think men relate to this book so much because we have a tendency to put up the blinders like old Ahab. It’s also frequently referenced in culture, and is regarded as one of the great novels of all time. For those reasons alone you should have this book in your bank of cultural knowledge.
	Hondo by Louis L’Amour. Several suggested “anything by L’Amour.” The man cranked out Western novels like a machine. Granted, his books aren’t Pulitzer material, but they’re definitely enjoyable and pretty darn manly. Great for road trips. Hondo is one of L’Amour’s most well-known novels. But with over 100 other works, you can stay busy for a good long while.
	The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell. James recommends the Warlord Chronicles. It’s a trilogy about how King Arthur became a great warlord of Britain, and eventually brought peace and unity to the nation as they battled other foreign armies.
	The Leopard and the Cliff by Wallace Breem. Alex said this about The Leopard and the Cliff: “It’s about a British soldier in turn-of-the-century Afghanistan. Duty, honor, loyalty, courage under fire — powerful stuff that’s about as manly as you can get.”
	A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving. Apparently this book inspired the movie Simon Birch. Our narrator is set in the present and telling the story of his childhood with his best friend, Owen Meany, as they grew up in New Hampshire. We also get themes of religion, social justice, and fate. Not too shabby. Irving also wrote The Cider House Rules, which turned into another popular movie.
	The Corps Series by W.E.B Griffin. Several suggested The Corps series, which includes 10 novels for your indulgence. It follows a tight-knit cast of Marines in the WWII and Korean War years. As would be expected of a series about the marines, the ideas of sacrifice, honor, and brotherhood come through in a major way.
	Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. For you Christian gents, Randy recommends Safely Home. It’s about the friendship between two Harvard roommates, one American and one Chinese, who reconnect in present-day China after 20 years. 100% of the proceeds for his books go towards missions work.
	The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Alexandre Dumas got a manly vote of confidence from several commenters. The Count of Monte Cristo is a good place to start. It’s an adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness. At around 1,500 pages, prepare yourself.
	One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It’s about a single day of a prisoner in a 1950s Soviet labor camp. It was a major literary event in Russia, as it opened people’s eyes to the horror of Stalinist camps in a way that had never been so openly done before.
	The Rigante Series by David Gemmell. If you like fantasy, Jamie suggests checking out the Rigante series. It includes four novels published between 1999 and 2002. One reviewer on Amazon describes it perfectly: “The main characters are typical Gemmell: passionate, resourceful and proud. Full of revenge and destiny, envy and greed. Gemmell’s plots often revolve around simple passions and motivations. Not one dimensional, but just driven by basic human nature.”
	Magician by Raymond E. Feist. Mark Sweeny said this about Magician: “The best fictional read I had had is Magician by Raymond E. Feist. It was recommended to me by a chance conversation with the man sitting next to me on a long flight from the U.K. to America. I took a chance and read it, and I was not disappointed. I don’t think you will be either. Go on, take a chance!” The story is about Pug, an orphan boy who becomes the apprentice of a magician. As aliens invade their world, Pug gets caught up in the battle. This novel is the first part of a trilogy, and is often published in two parts: Magician: Apprentice and Magician: Master.
	The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Lots of recommendations for Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov seemed to be the most suggested novel to start off with. Its Amazon description says it better than I can: “Three brothers, involved in the brutal murder of their despicable father, find their lives irrevocably altered as they are driven by intense, uncontrollable emotions of rage and revenge.” This was Dostoevsky’s final novel, and was intended to be an epic series, but he died four months after publication.
	King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard. Several said, “Anything by Haggard.” He was one of the best adventure writers of all-time. King Solomon’s Mines is a classic. Tromp through Africa and find, as the title suggests, King Solomon’s fabled treasure. Haggard supposedly wrote this piece over the course of just a few months because of a wager with his brother. Available free as an ebook.
	Day of War by Cliff Graham. Day of War is a fictional account of King David’s epic battles that are recorded in the Bible in 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11. I read this a few months ago and enjoyed it.
	Sword of Honour Trilogy by Evelyn Waugh. Joe Bones had this to say about the Sword of Honour trilogy: “I cannot recommend Evelyn Waugh enough. His Sword of Honour trilogy is a complex, insightful and hilarious study of a man’s motivations in war. It is solidly rooted in the temporal but illustrated by the spiritual. It also features an exploding portable toilet and a one-armed Brigadier with an eye patch…”
	The Complete Chronicles of Conan by Robert E. Howard. thserry likes the Chronicles of Conan. “Most people write off Conan as being a silly Arnold movie, however, the original stories are masterpieces. The stories consist of everything from short 3-page (‘Frost Giant’s Daughter’) stories to full novels (Hour of the Dragon). My favorite of all the stories is ‘The Tower of the Elephant.’ Beautiful works, and life lessons on being your own man.”
	Joe Ledger Series by Jonathan Maberry. If you like zombies, and plenty of people do these days, you’ll like the Joe Ledger series. Start off with Patient Zero. The series currently has four installments, with three more planned through 2015.
	The Trilogy by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Harland likes anything by Henryk Sienkiewicz. “His works, especially The Trilogy, are fantastic novels of pride, repentance, honor, and epic love stories all set in the time when Poland was a democracy and set upon from outside powers.” Available free as ebooks.
	Heaven Has No Favorites by Erich Maria Remarque. A novel by the same guy who wrote All Quiet on the Western Front. It’s a story of passion and love with the backdrop of automobile racing.
	Mitch Rapp Series by Vince Flynn. The Mitch Rapp series follows a CIA assassin who focuses on thwarting Middle Eastern terrorist attacks on the U.S. Like Jack Bauer, Rapp is often willing to take extreme measures that go beyond allowable protocol. There are currently 14 Mitch Rapp novels.
	Shane by Jack Shaefer. Gary recommended anything by Jack Shaefer for those who like Westerns. Shane is good novel to start off with, and focuses on a mysterious gunslinger who arrives into town to help out a group of homesteaders in 19th century Wyoming. It’s a classic struggle for land and honor in the wide open expanses of the west. A great film too.
	Sum of All Fears by Tom Clancy. Several commenters recommended anything by Tom Clancy. You’ve probably seen the movies and played the video games based off his work. It’s about time you read the novels. Great summertime reading. The Sum of All Fears is about a 20-year-old lost nuclear warhead that gets reconstructed by terrorists and set to be detonated at the Super Bowl. Can hero Jack Ryan save the day? You’ll have to find out yourself.
	The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. A few suggested The Scarlet Pimpernel. It’s about a disguised superhero living in the aftermath of the French Revolution. This novel inspired the masked superhero genre and ultimately led to the likes of Zorro and Batman. Available for free as an ebook.
	2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke. Lots of recommendations for the works of sci-fi great Arthur C. Clarke. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a classic (and a darn good movie). The movie and book were created in conjunction, with the book actually being released after the movie. A manned spacecraft is sent to Saturn to investigate an ancient mystery. The crew, however, must deal with the self-aware HAL 9000 robot in order to achieve their goals. Themes of technological dependency, nuclear war, and space exploration in general are heavy here.
	The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Journey with a young man through Egypt who is searching for treasure. Ultimately, the treasure he’s seeking ends up being much more valuable than gold. Learn about accomplishing your greatest dreams and how gold isn’t as valuable as it may seem. This allegorical tale has been translated into over 50 languages, a rarity.
	The Bourne Trilogy by Robert Ludlum. Jason Bourne is about as manly as it comes on the screen. He’s even more so in the books. The action and intrigue never stops as Jason Bourne tries to figure out who he is, and why several different groups of people are trying to eliminate him. That’s a recipe for great reading. The series started with three novels, but has been continued on by a new author with an additional seven novels. I’ve only read the originals, so I can’t vouch for the new ones.
	Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. SG from the AoM community has this to say about it: “Read it in High School and I have gone back to it over the years. It is about surviving a nuclear war in the late 50s, based on what was out there then and what was ‘known.’ It is a good book even if some of it looks dated now. The hero really becomes a man in the course of leading his family, and later the town.”
	Robert Langdon Series by Dan Brown. Several recommendations for this uber-popular and also controversial series of books. Langdon is a professor who ends up in some ancient mysteries, mostly involving religious themes. The Da Vinci Code is the most well known, but start with Angels & Demons, the first of the series. The fourth novel, Inferno, came out this month and revolves around Dante’s Inferno.
	Early Autumn by Robert Parker. This one got a couple recommendations. A detective is charged with looking after a boy who is mired in a custody battle. We see what a true mentorship can look like, and how important role models are for children. There’s some detective stuff in there as well.
	Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper. This pentalogy is best known for its second installment, The Last of the Mohicans, which takes place during the French and Indian War in which France and Great Britain battle for control of the North American colonies. Available for free as ebooks.
	Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. The movie that won three Oscars pales in comparison to the book that spawned it. All of Crichton’s novels are known for their heavy scientific research that often make the outlandish seem possible. Crichton, sadly, died much too young and won’t be able to give us any more novels. Start with Jurassic Park (which has some wild twists and turns that you don’t see in the movies) and read all of his other novels as well, which range from Viking lore to global warming.
	The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. A young boy is taken by his father into an old library of forgotten and lost-in-time books that have been preserved by a select few. The young boy is allowed to select one book and take care of it for life. You get a story within a story as you also get to read parts of the book the boy selected.
	Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis. Lewis is more well-known for The Chronicles of Narnia, but I’ve always heard rave reviews about his Space Trilogy, where he takes a stab at sci-fi. Jump from Mars, to Venus, and back to Earth again. One reviewer likened it to a combination of Tolkien (for creating an imagined reality) and Stephen King’s The Stand (for its portrayal of good vs. evil). Not too shabby!
	The Four Feathers by A.E.W. Mason. Learn about redemption when a young, cowardly soldier quits the army but redeems himself through acts of courage. As with any good adventure novel, there’s also a gal involved. Available for free as an ebook.
	High Country by Willard Wyman. A good friend told me this about it: “High Country takes readers back in history to a time when men could still explore the mysteries of America’s rich natural lands. The story follows the life Ty Hardin, who learns the trade of packing in the Montana Rockies from a seasoned mentor, and in the process, evolves from boy to man. This book is for any man who appreciates the tradition of hard work, exploration, and enjoys stories of America’s expansion into The West.”
	Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. This is the first part of Follett’s epic Century Trilogy. Winter of the World came out last year, with the third installment slated for 2014. At 1,000 pages each, it’s quite a ride. Fall of Giants starts in pre-WWI Europe and takes us all the way through the war while following a cast of unrelated characters who end up crossing paths in various ways. Beyond being just entertaining fiction, you get a real history lesson of World War I, and how folks from each side were likely feeling. Great read.
	Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. Another spot-on recommendation from Uncle Buzz and a personal favorite of both Kate and I. When 11-year-old Rube’s older brother goes on the lam, Rube and his father and sister set out in search of him and must decide what to do when they find him. Full of clever references to historical and literary characters, and beautifully and almost magically written, the book touches on faith, family, and fatherhood and will stay with you for a long time after you read it.

Funny Or Die, creators of the awful iSteve film we recently reviewed, released a new trailer for their terrible movie today. The trailer features quotes from various reviews of the horrible waste of time, including a choice tidbit from your friends here at 9to5Mac: “Do not watch this movie.”

While we recommend viewing the trailer for a quick chuckle at the reviews, we should point out that under no circumstances do we recommend watching the full version of iSteve.

We do however recommend reading our full review for a complete run-down of why it’s the worst thing we have ever seen.

“An ode to the journey of ó on a shipping label” found at http://i.imgur.com/4J7Il0m.jpg, via @shyhoof.

The May edition of what’s new for web designers and developers includes new web apps, jQuery plugins and JavaScript resources, educational resources, wireframing kits, image tools, Photoshop extensions, web development tools, coding resources, and some really great new fonts.

Many of the resources below are free or very low cost, and are sure to be useful to a lot of designers and developers out there.

As always, if we’ve missed something you think should have been included, please let us know in the comments. And if you have an app or other resource you’d like to see included next month, tweet it to @cameron_chapman for consideration.

LayoutIt!

LayoutIt! simplifies building your front-end code with Bootstrap, complete with a drag-and-drop interface. You get high-quality HTML5 code starting from any of their basic templates.

 

Flat UI Colors

Building a flat UI? Flat UI Colors is a tiny app that makes it easy to grab the colors from Flat UI for your project.

 

Hood.ie

Hood.ie is a platform for quickly building web apps. It’s for frontend-only web apps, and uses an open-source library that’s as simple as jQuery.

 

Little Nimbus

Little Nimbus offers robust web hosting plans starting at just $.99/month. They offer instant activation, CPanel and PHP, and 99.95% uptime. Plus, there’s a 7-day money-back guarantee.

 

Resemble.js

Resemble.js is an HTML5 canvas and JavaScript app that analyzes and compares images. Just drag and drop images into the app and it will highlight their diferences.

 

MixItUp

MixItUp is a CSS3 and jQuery filtering and sorting plugin. It uses jQuery to show, hid, or re-position your elements, and CSS3 for smooth animated transitions. It’s free for person and commercial use.

 

Web Colour Data

Web Colour Data makes it simple to pull color data from any URL, complete with charts showing the prevalence of each color used.

 

Userium

Userium is an interactive usability checklist that includes categories for user experience, the site’s homepage, accessibility, navigation, links, search, and more.

 

WireKit

WireKit is a set of Photoshop shape layers for wireframing iPhone apps that comes in two unique styles, each of which has over 60 common UI elements.

 

Creative Market Photoshop Extension

The Creative Market Photoshop Extension makes it possible to browse, search, and buy Creative Market assets right from inside Photoshop.

 

The Productivity Manifesto

The Productivity Manifesto is a free ebook filled with tips for becoming way more productive. Just sign up for the free newsletter for a link to download the PDF.

 

Froont

Froont is a visual responsive design app with a drag and drop interface. It runs in your browser and even lets you share fully functional HTML and CSS with your developer instead of static images.

 

Billy Madipsum

Billy Madipsum is a lorem ipsum generator that generates random Billy Madison quotes rather than the standard Latin. All you have to do is choose the number of words or characters and click “Call the zoo!”

 

Nanoc

Nanoc is a static site builder that works for building everything from a small personal site to a large corporate site. It even works for blogs.

 

Ruhoh

Ruhoh is a static blogging platform built on a number of existing technologies. It uses Markdown for writing, Mustache for templating, Git for file management, and more. It’s open source and can be hosted or self-hosted.

 

TowTruck

TowTruck, from Mozilla Labs, makes it easy to collaborate on your website in real-time. It’s implemented in JavaScript, and works with existing web pages.

 

Perspective Mockups

Perspective Mockups is a set of Photoshop actions for creating more interesting mockups for presenting your ideas. The results are, apparently, crisp and unique.

 

Scope

Scope is an easy way to create a web-based version of any email to share with others. It’s free and can be used with any webmail.

 

Packery

Packery is a bin-packing layout library that can be used for a variety of layout types, including masonry-style layouts as well as more meticulous layouts (and even ridiculous ones).

 

Wired 1.0

Wired 1.0 is a wireframe kit for Sketch that also comes in .png and .eps for use with other programs.

 

Designer School

Designer School is a regularly-updated online course that teaches more than just the basics of web development. You can join the mailing list for updates, or just check the website.

 

Slid.es

Slid.es is free online presentation creator that makes it easy to share your work. There are some premium paid features, too, including private decks, offline presentations, and more.

 

Shame.css

Shame.css is a special stylesheet reserved just for your CSS hacks, quick fixes, and questionable code, so you can keep it out of your main codebase and hopefully isolate and fix it easier.

 

Gallery

Gallery is a pure CSS image gallery that doesn’t use a single script. It even offers autoplay and comes in prefixed and unprefixed build versions.

 

Magnific Popup

Magnific Popup is a free responsive jQuery lightbox that focuses on performance and user experience. It’s light and includes retina display support.

 

Ghost

Ghost is a free, open source, simple blogging platform. It puts the focus squarely on publishing and your content.

 

LivIcons

LivIcons is an animated icon pack that includes both animated and static images. It uses brand new animation methods, and of course they’re scalable and customizable.

 

Cylburn (name your price)

Cylburn, from Lost Type Co-Op, is a semi-connected script font based structurally on Roundhand, but with a pointed brush and restrained tension.

 

Fairview (name your price)

Fairview is a condensed sans serif that comes complete with small cap alternates. It was inspired by 20th century industrial typography.

 

Style Script ($69)

Style Script is an upright script type family with a variety of looks ranging from casual to formal. It includes over 1275 glyphs, with eight weights and styles.

 

Trend Hand Made ($19)

Trend Hand Made is a layered font with a basis in sans and slab fonts. It comes in over twenty weights and styles, for a huge variety of design possibilities.

 

Benito ($20)

Benito is a proportional, geometric woodtype-style font family in six styles with italics.

 

Tomahawk (free)

Tomahawk is a free display typeface that’s free for personal use. It includes standard Latin characters, as well as a selection of Norwegian characters.

 

Valkyrie (free)

Valkyrie is a free type family designed for fashion brands and designers. It’s a set of serif fonts with geometric elements in a modern style.

 

Red Dawn (free)

Red Dawn is a free typeface based on camping and trailblazing marks. It’s an all caps display font, with a very bold look.

 

Agilis (free)

Agilis is a stylized serif typeface that includes 394 glyphs, ligatures, and automatic arrows.

 

Idealist Sans (free)

Idealist Sans is a free type family that includes regular and light weights. It was designed by Elena Kowalski.

 

Know of a new app or resource that should have been included but wasn’t? Let us know in the comments.

MEGA Android Bundle: Templates, Icons & more – only $18!

Source

ISS Music Video

Is this the most expensive music video ever?

—Various Youtube commenters

For starters, a big welcome home to Chris Hadfield, who returned to Earth last night after a memorable stint as commander of the International Space Station.

Commander Hadfield’s video performance of Space Oddity was an instant hit, and prompted many commenters to ask whether it should count as the most expensive music video ever made.

At a total lifetime cost in the neighborhood of \$150 billion ^[1], the International Space Station is one of the world’s most expensive megaprojects. (The exact cost is hard to pin down, since the countries contributing don’t all handle their finances the same way.)

By comparison, the most expensive music videos have production budgets in the range of a few million dollars. If Commander Hadfield’s video gets the ISS’s entire \$150 billion price tag, then it must be tens of thousands of times more expensive than the runner-up, right?

Not so fast.

The ISS is expensive, but there have been music videos set against an even more expensive backdrop.

At a cost of roughly \$400 billion, the US Eisenhower Interstate Highway System is probably the most expensive peacetime public works project in the history of mankind. If we’re including the entire ISS in the cost of Commander Hadfield’s video, any video shot on the American highway system should get the cost of the highway system added to its total.

By that measure, the commander’s video would lose to U2’s Last Night on Earth, which was filmed on a section of I-670 in Missouri,^[2] and therefore cost more than the ISS and the Moon landing program combined.

In both cases, the comparison doesn’t really make sense; both the ISS and the US highway system are used for things other than making music videos.^{[citation needed]} Instead, let’s look at some other ways we could calculate the cost of Hadfield’s video.

If you spread out the ISS’s price tag across all the astronaut-hours spent on board, you come up with about \$7.5 million per person per day, or roughly \$90 per second.^[3] That sounds like a lot, but at that rate, the five-and-a-half-minute video only runs about \$30,000. Given that the video has probably done more for space industry than millions in public outreach, that’s a good deal.

Hadfield’s son confirmed that Hadfield shot the video himself with no help from other astronauts, so even if we assume he spent several hours setting it up and recording it, we don’t come close to the \$7 million cost of the video Michael and Janet Jackson made for Scream.

And the truth is, this isn’t a very good way to calculate costs either. Presumably, Commander Hadfield isn’t busy commanding things 24/7. He has some free time, and it’s no skin off anyone’s back how he spends it (assuming his hobby isn’t drilling holes in walls). It’s hard to argue that shooting the video cost anyone \$90/second when he was going to be up there floating around anyway.

Alternately, we could look at how much Commander Hadfield was paid to make the video. As a Canadian astronaut, his salary is somewhere between \$145,200 and \$171,000 CAD.^[4] Astronaut work hours are a little atypical, but if we assume that in the long run he’s on the job 40 hours a week, that works out to \$85/hour. By that measure, the cost of the video was \$7.84. Not 7.84 million; 7 dollars and 84 cents (\$7.76 US).

And then there’s the guitar.

While it’s hard to argue that the entire cost of the ISS counts toward the video, we could at least include the cost to launch the guitar. The Larrivée Parlor acoustic guitar in the video went up years ago on the Space Shuttle, and astronauts have been playing it ever since.^[5] Given that launch costs at the time were between \$20,000 and \$30,000 per pound, the cost to send up the guitar was probably in the neighborhood of \$75,000.

While that’s far from the most anyone’s paid for a guitar,^[6] it’s certainly a lot of money. And if playing music helps the astronauts relax and keep from going crazy while they’re crammed together in a tin can for months at a time, it’s probably a worthwhile investment.

Of course, this plan could backfire.

Now we all know ‘infomercials’ are designed to do two things, 1. Relate to your problem 2. Offer you a product that will solve it. The trouble is despite their best efforts to be compelling many of their products are either utterly useless to verging on the pointless. Yet for every 100 people that roll their eyes and change the channel, 1 person will pick up the phone and order an item which when it finally arrives, they will instantly regret.

To highlight just how ridiculous infomericals have become, here’s a series of 22 unliley scenarios they’ve created – all with the sole of aim of selling you a product for only 4 easy payments and a free set of cheap kitchen knives. Do let us know your favs! And own up, have you ever bought any from the shopping channel?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

ENJOYED IT? SHARE IT!

Submitted by: Unknown

Tagged: wisdom , graffiti , hacked irl , g rated , win Share on Facebook

lilbumps:

#90sproblems

We love cheatsheets as one can refer to them and make quick amendments to better our skills. Since many loved our last compilation of cheatsheet for designers, we’ve decided to compile another set of cheatsheets, this time for photographers.

Amateur photographers, and even pros can easily benefit from these cheatsheets as it is a resource for fresh and new ideas. We’ve scoured the Web and have found a wide variety of cheatsheets covering various aspects of photography and catering to the many levels of skills and interest of anyone who calls themselves a photographer.

Most of the pictures you see here are cropped for a nice fit, so remember to click on the links to check out the entire cheatsheet or infographic. Some of them are really long and can give you a ton of worthwhile information that you really can’t do without.

Recommended Reading: Five Vital Black & White Photography Tips

Focal Lengths

Manual Photography

3 Ways to Affect Depth of Field

What Your Camera Captures At Every Lens’ Focal Length

Photography Cheatsheet

3 Elements of Exposure

Color Temperature Scale

F-Stop Chart

Lighting Modifiers

Portrait Lighting

Portrait Lighting For Home Studio

Nikon vs Canon: Shooting Modes

Nikon Metering Mode

Reading The Nikon Viewfinder

Portrait And Posing Ideas

How To Read A Histogram

Portrait Cropping Guide

More Photography Resources

Here are more (but wordy) resources to help in certain photography situations. The following also includes keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture together with a few other cheatsheets for certain DSLR models.

10 Rules of Photography

Wedding Photography Cheatsheet

Family Portrait Cheatsheet

Landscape Photography Cheatsheet

Action Photography Cheatsheet

Macro Photography Cheatsheet

Photographer Rights

Best Shutter Speeds For Every Situation

Adobe Lightroom Keyboard Shortcuts – Windows & Mac

Apple Aperture Keyboard Shortcuts

Canon Memory Card Compatibility

It can backfire quickly.

Being Snobby On Facebook is a post from: The Inquisitr

Minimalism is a style of design that reduces the amount of distractions to allow us to enjoy and focus on the main message of a piece of art. This minimalism trend is nothing new. Some of us have already applied it to our daily lives. There are a number of Lifehack articles tthat show you how to apply minimalism in your life. Now, we have created a list of awesome minimalist wallpapers that helps you to apply zen to your desktop. Declutter your desktop and enjoy the beauty of simplicity!

Click on the image to download a wallpaper sized image.

A Clock Work Orange

Yes We Can

3D glasses

Grass Cubes

Flying Bee

Colored Dots

Water Drop

Switch

Cat

Umbrella

I Scream

Tiger in the dark

Earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.

Evolution of Mac

Ubuntu Colored

Evolution of Disk

 

Don’t Stop Believing

 

Diving

 

Minimal City

Rain Rain Go Away

Cloudy

 

Tomorrow is a Brand New Day

Classic Video Games

 

Minimal

Stay Positive

Pill

Heaven and Hell

Designer

Raspberry

Colored Giraffes

Opinion != Fact

Banana

Appleman

Birds on a Wire

Chameleon

Mosquito

Design is Just Making Things Line Up

Visualizer

Minimal Art

Loch Ness Monster

Rings of Fire

Lion

Space

Lighthouse

I Love Guitar

Falling Rabit

Flying Bee

TRON

Tram

Environmentalist

Falling Stars

Undersea

Colored Line Light

Cat in the Dark

Sunset

Hot-air Ballon

White Tiger

Cloud

Frozen Lake

Addicted

Chess

Seasons

Steam Pug

Illustration

Deer?

Hazard Symbol

Rainbow

Queen

Photo Frames

Believe

Lizard

I Like You

Ideas

Falling

Coffee

Jellyfish

Balloon

I am Minimal

Dandelion

Oracle

Pencil

Fire

Hardworking Giraffe

Creative Socket

Devil

One my Love

Gadgets

Crystal-ball

Minimal Rainbow

Buddy

Hourglass

Lego

Apple

Kite

Vortex

Reflection

Cog

Cassette tape

Dandelion Leaves

Direction

50 different desktop wallpaper designs for you to choose from: The 50 Best Desktop Wallpapers for 2013

The post 100 Awesome Minimalist Wallpapers appeared first on Lifehack.

Sigma has announced the 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art lens for APS-C DSLRs - the world's first constant F1.8 zoom. The lens covers a 27-52.5mm equivalent range, and will be available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts. As yet there is no announcement of a recommended price. The lens will offer the depth-of-field equivalent of a constant F2.7 on full-frame, and allow the use of lower ISO settings in low light, which may under-cut the need for some photographers to change formats.

Ghosts of War (Los fantasmas de la guerra), es una espectacular serie de imágenes creadas por la historiadora Holandesa Jo Hedwig Teeuwisse, en las que combina imágenes reales de la segunda guerra mundial con las de hoy en día.

“Trato de hacer que la gente pueda darse cuenta de que la historia está a nuestro alrededor. Que donde usted vive, trabaja o va a la escuela, alguna vez las personas lucharon, murieron o simplemente experimentaron un tipo de vida diferente. Somos historia, la historia nos es, ”

Jo trabaja con las auténticas fotografías de la segunda guerra mundial y pasa gran parte de su tiempo buscando los mismos lugares para fotografiarlos. Luego superpone ambas imágenes de cada lugar en photoshop. El resultado: impactantes imágenes del pasado que se entrelazan con nuestro presente.

jQuery has a wonderful community of programmers that create incredible things. However, it may become difficult to sift through everything that is released and find the gems that are absolute must-haves. This is why, in this post, you will find a collection of 50 new jQuery plugins and JavaScript libraries that, when applied with good measure, can make your sites a joy to use. The plugins are organized into categories for easier browsing. Enjoy!

Dialogs

The browser’s built-in dialogs are easy to use but are ugly and non-customizable. If you want your application to look sharp and professional, you will have to part with the loathed default look. The plugins in this section can substitute the built-in dialogs and can be readily customized.

1. Alertify.js

Alertify (github) is small library for presenting beautiful dialog windows and notifications. It is easy to customize with CSS, has a simple API and doesn’t depend on third party libraries (but plays nicely with them). To use it, include the js file and call the methods of the global alertify object:

// alert dialog
alertify.alert("Message");

// confirm dialog
alertify.confirm("Message", function (e) {
    if (e) {
        // user clicked "ok"
    } else {
        // user clicked "cancel"
    }
});

2. jQuery Avgrund

jQuery Avgrund (github) is another cool dialog solution. It is not as feature-rich as alertify, but it has the Wow! factor that your web app needs. The dialog is shown with an impressive animation that brings it into focus, while blurring and darkening the background.

Forms

Forms are tedious and boring. Everyone hates filling them. It is even a bigger deal if no client-side validation is present and we are forced to enter the data a second time. The plugins in this section attempt to make things better by enhancing your forms with useful functionality.

3. iCheck

iCheck (github) is a jQuery plugin that enhances your form controls. It is perfectly customizable, works on mobile and comes with beautiful flat-style skins. To use it, include the js and css files in your page, and convert all your radio and checkboxes with a few lines of jQuery.

$(document).ready(function(){
	$('input').iCheck({
		checkboxClass: 'icheckbox_minimal',
		radioClass: 'iradio_minimal'
	});
});

4. Long Press

Long Press is a jQuery plugin that eases the writing of accented or rare characters. Holding down a key while typing will bring a bar with alternative characters that you can use. The plugin also has a github page.

5. jQuery File Upload

jQuery File Upload (github) is a widget with multiple file selection, drag&drop support, progress bars and preview images. It supports cross-domain, chunked and resumable file uploads and client-side image resizing. Works with any server-side platform (PHP, Python, Ruby on Rails, Java, Node.js, Go etc.) and is easy to embed into your application thanks to a number of hooks and callbacks.

6. Complexify

Complexify (github) is a jQuery plugin that aims to assess how complex passwords are. You can use it in signup forms to present a percentage to users (like we did in this tutorial). With this plugin you can force passwords to contain a combination of upper/lowercase letters, numbers, special symbols and more. I should note that this is purely a client-side solution, which means that it can be circumvented. This is why you should also check the password complexity on the server side.

7. jQuery Knob

jQuery Knob (github) is a plugin for turning input elements into touchable jQuery dials. It is built using canvas, and is fully customizable by setting data attributes on the inputs like this:

<input class="knob" data-width="150" data-cursor=true data-fgColor="#222222" data-thickness="0.3" value="29">

The dials can be controlled using the mouse (click and drag; mousewheel), the keyboard, and by using touch on mobile devices.

8. Pickadate.js

Pickadate.js (github) is a jQuery plugin that creates a responsive and mobile friendly date selection widget. It is very easy to use and can be customized with CSS. To use it, include the js file and the stylesheet, and call the plugin on your input element:

$('.datepicker').pickadate();

The plugin takes lots of options which you can find in the docs.

9. Chosen

Chosen (github) is a powerful widget which converts a select input into a searchable dropdown list. It is easy to customize with CSS, and you can hook your own code thanks to a number of callbacks. The plugin also updates the original element (which is hidden) so that submitting it as a part of a form or reading it with JS will give you the correct result.

10. Fancy Input

Fancy Input (github) is a jQuery plugin that makes entering or deleting text in a textboox uber cool. It uses CSS3 animations to achieve the effect. To use it, simply include the JS file after jQuery, and call the plugin:

$('div :input').fancyInput();

11. Typeahead.js

Typeahead (github) is a fast autocomplete library by twitter. It is inspired by twitter.com’s search box and is full of features. It displays suggestions as users type, and shows the top suggestion as a hint. The plugin works with hardcoded data as well as remote data, and rate-limits network requests to lighten the load.

12. Parsley.js

Parsley.js (github) is an unobtrusive form validation library. It lets you validate form fields without having to write a single line of JavaScript. Instead, you have to place data attributes in the input fields that you need to be validated, and Parsley handles the rest. The library works with either jQuery or Zepto and is less than 800 lines long.

Page scrolling and Parallax

Single page websites that feature a parallax scrolling effect are popular these days. They will probably stay in fashion for some time, as they are perfect for sites with low information density and lots of photos – marketing sites, portfolios and more. These plugins aim to make them easier to develop.

13. Windows

Windows (github) is a plugin that lets you build single page websites with sections that take up the whole screens. The plugin gives you callbacks that are called when new sections come into visibility and handles snapping, so you can easily extend it with custom navigation menus or more. Here is an example:

$('.window').windows({
    snapping: true,
    snapSpeed: 500,
    snapInterval: 1100,
    onScroll: function(scrollPos){
        // scrollPos:Number
    },
    onSnapComplete: function($el){
        // after window ($el) snaps into place
    },
    onWindowEnter: function($el){
        // when new window ($el) enters viewport
    }
});

14. Cool Kitten

Cook Kitten (github) is a responsive framework for parallax scrolling websites. It organizes the sections of your site into slides and uses the jQuery Waypoints plugin to detect when they come into visibility, which causes the navigation menu to get updated.

15. Sticky

Sticky (github) is a jQuery plugin that gives you the ability to make any element on your page always stay visible when scrolling the page. This can come handy in your single-page website to present a sticky navigation menu or sharing bar. It is straightforward to use, the only option you may pass is a top offset:

$("#sticker").sticky({topSpacing:0});

16. Super Scrollorama

Super Scrollorama (github) is a jQuery plugin for cool scroll animations. It lets you define tweens and animations that are triggered when an element comes into view, or on specific scroll points.

$(document).ready(function() {
  var controller = $.superscrollorama();
  controller.addTween('#fade',
    TweenMax.from($('#fade'), .5, {css:{opacity:0}}));
});

17. Stellar.js

Stellar.js (github) is a jQuery plugin that provides parallax scrolling effects to any scrolling element. It looks for any parallax backgrounds or elements within the specified element, and repositions them when the element scrolls. You can control the scroll speed of the elements by using data attributes for a true parallax effect. To trigger the plugin, simply call it on your root element (or on window):

$('#main').stellar();

18. Scrollpath

Scrollpath (github) is another scrolling plugin, but what it gives you that the previous plugin does not, is the ability to define your own custom scroll path. The plugin uses canvas flavored syntax for drawing paths, using the methods moveTo, lineTo and arc. To help with getting the path right, a canvas overlay with the path can be enabled when initializing the plugin.

Text effects

There has been a huge improvement in web typography in the last few years. From just a handful of web-safe fonts that we could use not long ago, we now can embed custom fonts and enhance them with CSS3. The plugins in this section give you a great deal of control over text.

19. Textillate.js

Textillate.js (github) is a jQuery plugin that combines the power of animate.css and lettering.js, to apply advanced animations on text elements. The animations are CSS3 based, which makes them smooth even on mobile devices. There is a large number of effects to choose from.

20. Arctext.js

Arctext.js (demo) is a jQuery plugin that lets you arrange each letter of a text element along a curved path. Based on lettering.js, it calculates the right rotation of each letter and distributes the letters equally across the imaginary arc of the given radius, and applies the proper CSS3 rotation.

21. Bacon

Bacon (githug) is a jQuery plugin that allows you to wrap text around a bezier curve or a line. This gives you a great deal of typographic control, and as illustrated by the plugin’s home page, the ability to put bacon strips in the middle of your designs (finally!).

22. Lettering.js

Lettering.js (github) is a simple but effective jQuery plugin for better web typography. What it does, is split the textual content of an element into individual spans with ordinal .char# classes, so you can style each letter individually.

23. jQuery Shuffle Letters

jQuery Shuffle Letters (demo) is one of our experiments. It creates an interesting effect that randomizes the content of a text element. Here is how to use it:

// Shuffle the container with custom text
$('h1').shuffleLetters({
	"text": "show this text!" // optional
});

The text parameter is optional – if it is missing, the plugin will take the content of the element.

24. FitText.js

FitText.js (github) is a jQuery plugin for inflating web type. It automatically scales the text of an element to take up the full width of its container. This makes the layout responsive and looking sharp on any device.

Grids

The plugins in this section make it easy to organize content into grids. They calculate the best way to pack your items densely and align them in real time.

25. Gridster.js

Gridster.js (github) is a jQuery plugin that allows building intuitive draggable layouts from elements spanning multiple columns. You can even dynamically add and remove elements from the grid. Dragging an element causes the others to rearrange and free up place for it, which can be great for user-controlled layouts and dashboards.

26. Freetile

Freetile (github) is a plugin for jQuery that enables the organization of webpage content in an efficient, dynamic and responsive layout. It can be applied to a container element and it will attempt to arrange it’s children in a layout that makes optimal use of screen space, by “packing” them in a tight arrangement.

27. Stalactite

Stalactite (github) is a library that packs page content depending on the available space. It takes a lazy approach and sorts the elements sequentially with the scrolling of the page, which makes for an interesting effect.

Custom scrollbars

Something that we have all wanted to do in one point or another is to customize the appearance of the default browser scrollbars. Some browsers allow this, but it doesn’t work everywhere. The two plugins below make that possible.

28. nanoScroller.js

nanoScroller.js (github) is a jQuery plugin that offers a simplistic way of implementing Mac OS X Lion-styled scrollbars for your website. It uses minimal HTML markup and utilizes native scrolling. The plugin works on iPad, iPhone, and some Android Tablets.

29. jQuery Custom Content Scroller

jQuery Custom Content Scroller (github) is a custom scrollbar plugin that’s fully customizable with CSS. Features vertical/horizontal scrolling, mouse-wheel support (via the jQuery mousewheel plugin), scrolling buttons, scroll inertia with easing, auto-adjustable scrollbar length, nested scrollbars, scroll-to functionality, user defined callbacks and more.

Backgrounds

Full screen backgrounds are another popular design trend. The plugins listed here aim to make it easier to set a single image, a gallery or even a video as a background.

30. Tubular.js

Tubular.js is a jQuery plugin that lets you set a YouTube video as your page background. Just attach it to your page wrapper element, set some options, and you’re on your way:

$('#wrapper').tubular({videoId: '0Bmhjf0rKe8'});

The plugin also supports controlling the video with play/pause, setting the volume and more.

31. Backstretch

Backstretch (github) is a simple jQuery plugin that allows you to add a dynamically-resized, slideshow-capable background image to any page or element. It will stretch any image to fit the page or block-level element, and will automatically resize as the window or element size changes. Images are fetched after your page is loaded, so your users won’t have to wait for the (often large) image to download before using your site. For the curious, and those that don’t want to use plugins, there is also a technique that can set a full screen background image purely with CSS.

32. Supersized

Supersized (github) is an advanced full screen background plugin for jQuery. With it, you can show a set of photos as a slideshow that takes the full width and height of the page. This makes it perfect for photography sites, portfolios, or event sites. The plugin comes with lots of options, supports multiple transition effects and can be extended with custom themes.

Galleries and image effects

The plugins listed here aim to enhance the way visitors browse images on your site, and let you apply interesting effects that will make your galleries stand out.

33. jQuery TouchTouch

jQuery TouchTouch (demo) is a plugin we released last year that aims to be simple to use and to work on mobile devices. It uses CSS transitions to make animations smoother, and preloads images dynamically. Also, it can be completely restyled by modifying a single CSS file.

34. iPicture

iPicture is a jQuery plugin that can create interactive image walkthroughs. It can overlay tooltips and hints on top of the image, and presents rich content like HTML, photos and videos. It is easy to integrate into your site and can be customized and extended with CSS.

35. Adipoli jQuery Image Hover Plugin

Adipoli (demo) is a jQuery plugin for creating stylish image hover effects. With it, you can turn images black and white, apply popout, slice and box transitions. To use the plugin, you only need to include the necessary files and define the start and hover effects:

$('#image1').adipoli({
    'startEffect' : 'normal',
    'hoverEffect' : 'popout'
});

This makes it the perfect addition to your gallery or portfolio page.

36. Swipebox

Swipebox (github) is a lightbox plugin that supports desktop, mobile devices and tablet browsers. It understands swipe gestures and keyboard navigaton and is retina-ready. To enable it, include the plugin JS/CSS files, and add the swipebox class to the images that you want to show in a lightbox:

<a href="big/image.jpg" title="My Caption">
	<img src="small/image.jpg" alt="image">
</a>

Like the rest of the plugins in this collection, it can be customized entirely with CSS.

37. TiltShift.js

TiltShift.js (github) is a neat plugin that replicates the tilt-shift effect (which causes real-life object to appear as miniatures) using CSS3 image filters. The bad news is that this only works on Chrome and Safari at the moment, but support should gradually land in other browsers as well.

38. Threesixty.js

Threesixty.js (github) is a jQuery plugin that creates draggable 360 degree views. You have to provide the plugin with the path to a collection of images of your product (shot from different angles) and Threesixty.js will assemble them into a interactive view. You can drag or use the arrow keys to explore the object from different angles.

39. Swipe.js

Swipe.js (github) is another responsive slider. What makes it stand apart is that it is specifically targeted at touch devices. This allows it to not only understand gestures, but to also react to touch similarly to a native application. It has resistant bounds and  scroll prevention and is compatible with browsers from IE7 onward.

40. CamanJS

CamanJS (github) is a powerful image manipulation library, built on top of the canvas element. With it, you can manipulate the pixels of an image and achieve an almost Photoshop-like control. If you can remember, this is the library we used a few months ago to build a web app with filters similar to Instagram.

41. SpectragramJS

Spectragram (github) is a jQuery plugin that aims to make working with the Instagram API easier. It can fetch user feeds, popular photos, photos with specific tags and more.

Misc

This section holds plugins and libraries that don’t belong in the other categories but are worth the look.

42. jQuery Countdown

jQuery Countdown (demo) is a jQuery plugin that shows the remaining days, hours, minutes and seconds to an event, and updates the remaining time with an animation every second. It is easy to use – include the plugin JS and CSS files, and trigger it on document ready:

$('#countdown').countdown({
    timestamp   : new Date(2015, 0, 3) // January 3rd, 2015
}

The countdown will be presented in the #countdown div.

43. List.js

List.js (github) is a library that enhances a plain HTML list with features for searching, sorting and filtering the items inside it. You can add, edit and remove items dynamically. List.js is standalone and doesn’t depend on jQuery or other libraries to work.

44. jQuery PointPoint

jQuery PointPoint (demo) is a plugin that helps you draw users’ attention to a specific part of the page. It presents a small arrow next to the mouse cursor. This can be useful for pointing to missed form fields, buttons that need to be pressed, or validation errors that need to be scrolled into view.

45. Social Feed

Social Feed (github) is a jQuery plugin that presents a feed of the latest public updates on your social accounts. It has a clean design that is built using a template, which you can easily customize.

46. Hook.js

Hook.js (github) is an interesting experiment that brings the “pull to refresh” feature you often see in mobile apps, to the web. You can use this to update your mobile site with new content, fetch new posts and more.

47. jQuery PercentageLoader

PercentageLoader (bitbucket) is a jQuery plugin for displaying a progress widget in more visually striking way than the ubiquitous horizontal progress bar / textual counter. It makes use of HTML5 canvas for a rich graphical appearance with only a 10kb (minified) javascript file necessary, using vectors rather than images so can be easily deployed at various sizes.

48. Chart.js

Chart.js (github) is a new charting library that uses the HTML5 canvas element and provides fallbacks for IE7/8. The library supports 6 chart types that are animated and fully customizable. Chart.js doesn’t have any dependencies and is less than 5kb in size. Say goodbye to flash!

49. Tooltipster

Tooltipster (github) is a powerful jQuery plugin for displaying tooltips. It works on desktop and mobile browsers, gives you full control over the contents of the tooltips and supports a number of callback functions so you can hook it into your application. If you need something even more lightweght that doesn’t use JS at all, you can give a try to hint.css.

50. Toolbar.js

Toolbar.js (github) is a jQuery plugin that lets you display a neat pop-up menu. You can choose the actions and icons that are presented in the menu and listen for events. This is perfect for making more of the limited space of a mobile web app interface.

51. gmaps.js

gmaps.js (github) is such a useful library that I decided to include it in addition to the 50 plugins above. Gmaps is a powerful library that makes working with Google Maps a great deal easier. You can place markers, listen for events, set the coordinates, zoom level and more, all with a fluid jQuery-like syntax. This is like a breath of fresh air compared to the regular maps JS API, and I highly recommend it.

It’s a wrap!

You know of a cool plugin that deserves to be in this list? Share it in the comment section!