The Awl

Pssst, Wanna Buy A Raptorex Skull?

Dave Bry — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:20:54 +0000

"Sereno, who has conducted extensive fieldwork in the region, says he has visited villages where the fossil trade is the livelihood for the majority of residents... He recalls entering one tunnel in China, guided by candlelight, that was dug by hand about 900 feet into the side of the mountain. 'There were no wood supports or anything. It was so deep in the side of the mountain, it actually went through an entire valley,' he says. 'There is an untold number of people-probably not thousands, but hundreds-that have been buried alive in the course of trying to find these dinosaurs.'"
-Interesting Indiana-Jonesy story in Popular Mechanics about University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno-who discovered the previously unknown raptorex last year (that's the one that's like a mini tyrannosaurus rex)-and the booming international black-market for smuggled dinosaur fossils.

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Imminent Rise of the Robot Helicopter Machines!

Dave Bry — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:40:28 +0000

"With all due respect to truckers, cargo pilots and other professional haulers, transporting goods across vast distances is looking more and more like a waste of our species' time, opposable thumbs and easily bored brains." Popular Mechanics says unmanned aerial vehicles like the Snowgoose Bravo, made by the Canadian company Mmist, should be deployed right away to carry our stuff for us. (You know the guys in Mmist's AV department were pissed when they couldn't get the rights to "Lunatic Fringe" for that video, right?) But, really, wouldn't we just use our opposable thumbs and easily bored brains to tie the robot helicopters to our penises? Also reported in PM: the fact that the Department of Defense has mandated that a third of all military vehicles be autonomous by 2015 and the opinion that, "That's not soon enough." I say, that's probably far too soon, and definitely terrifying!

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A Delightful Article About Something We'd All Rather Not Think About

Dave Bry — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:20:15 +0000

"With a target in mind, the next consideration is body position. To slow your descent, emulate a sky diver. Spread your arms and legs, present your chest to the ground, and arch your back and head upward. This adds friction and helps you maneuver. But don't relax. This is not your landing pose."
-Popular Mechanics' how-to guide for surviving a fall of 35,000 feet after one's plane has exploded includes lots of information you hope you never need (try to smash through a glass skylight or land in a swamp) and awesome accounts of true-life miracles.

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Cordless Drills: Better Just To Look At

Dave Bry — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:35:05 +0000

God bless Popular Mechanics. Here's how they start their latest consumer report, '7 Small Drills Bore It Out: Tool Comparison Test':

"How much cordless drill do you need? Probably not as much as you think."

As much as I think? I have no thoughts at all about how much cordless drill I need. In fact, I'm having a little trouble understanding the question. (Are we talking pounds? Numbers? I need three pounds of cordless drill? I need cordless drill to a factor of seven?) The only time I ever used a cordless drill-one that a contractor once bought, and charged me for, and so then left at my place-I mangled the door to my kid's room so badly, I had to hire a different contractor to come install a new one. I am not to touch machines like that. Why am I reading Popular Mechanics, then? Because they do their thing in a way that's accessible and enjoyable even to ~~stupid sissies~~ those less mechanically inclined. For example, soon enough in the Tool Comparison piece, they've explained that they're testing seven brands of small battery-driven drills in two categories: 1) The number of 2-inch screws each can screw into drywall before giving out. 2) The number of 5/8-inch holes each can bore into a plank of wood before giving out. There's a handy color-coordinated legend to differentiate, and they give a short write-up on each.

And cordless drills are awesome looking! They look more like "Star Trek" phaser guns than pretty much anything else on the planet.

The winner of the test, the Milwaukee M12 2410-20, is particularly handsome, with an snazzy, lightning-bolt logo in a Teutonic font very similar to that of Miller High Life beer.

To my mind, the Miller High Life logo is perhaps the nicest in the history of American marketing design.

Especially if you count the lovely lady tippler sitting in the moon.

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Interesting Bridges Interesting To Look At

Dave Bry — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:40:02 +0000

Bridges are useful for so many things. Crossing rivers for example. Or valleys in the mountains. Or roadways. They can make us laugh. Or cry. Or both. Today, Popular Mechanics shows us interesting words and pictures and videos of 18 of the best bridges in the world.

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Robot Navy Helicopter Breaks The Code Of Streets

Dave Bry — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:48:46 +0000

The Navy is using unmanned robot helicopters to hunt drug smugglers. A Fire Scout helicopter called MQ-8B (apparently, the Navy shops for robots on the Jawa black market), the craft is more advanced than the remote operated drone planes used in Iraq in that it can take off, fly and land without human assistance. "MQ-8B became the first unmanned helo to deploy on a naval anti-narcotics mission when it left port in Florida on Monday aboard the USS McInerney," reports Popular Mechanics, noting that a crew of engineers were on hand "to help the aircraft stay healthy." Hey, MQ-8B. Here's a word to the wise: You know how a nosy robot helicopter can stay healthy? Stop snitching.

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