From Santa Monica Studio and creative director Cory Barlog comes a new beginning for one of gaming’s most recognizable icons. Living as a man outside the shadow of the gods, Kratos must adapt to unfamiliar lands, unexpected threats, and a second chance at being a father. Together with his son Atreus, the pair will venture into the brutal Norse wilds and fight to fulfill a deeply personal quest.
Set your phasers to “thrill” with this Nerdist Presents parody that explores classic Star Trek in the style of the pulpy B-movies that influence Quentin Tarantino. With shades of Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, and Inglorious Basterds, “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Trek: Voyage to Vengeance” clips out the bloodiest, punchiest, killingest moments from The Original Series and recuts them in a style that Tarantino would approve of.
A newly published study suggests today’s teens are less happy than some of their predecessors and blames it on social media and the use of smartphones. But the correlation appears much stronger than the causation.
The details come from the Monitoring the Future Study, which surveyed more than a million teens in the 8th, 10th and 12th grades (the school years Americans usually turn 14, 16 and 18 respectively.) Gizmodo notes the same survey has been run regularly since the 1990s and a version only covering the 12th graders goes back to 1976.
The headline figure is a simple average of the participants’ self-reported happiness score of three for “very happy”, two for “pretty happy” and one for “not too happy.” The average score rose for every year of the study until 2012 and then began declining, albeit by a very small proportion.
The study authors suggested the most likely explanation is a dramatic increase in smartphone ownership among teens since 2012, going from a luxury to effectively the norm. They say they then broke down the figures based on the way respondents said they divided their time between “new screen media” such as phone users, “old screen media” (in effect, TV and movie watching) and “non-screen activities” such as socializing and sports.
Generally, the more the balance was in favor of non-screen activities, the higher the self-reported “happiness” scores, along with other measures such as self-esteem. This did have a limit however, with the correlation becoming weaker when you got to teens who spent no time on screens. (And lets be fair, if you’re a teenager today who doesn’t use a phone or watch TV, you’re probably going to be unhappy about it.)
As always in such cases, correlation doesn’t necessarily prove causation. Indeed, in some cases the logic might be completely back to front and instead it could be that teens who are happy and have high self-esteem are inherently more likely to have a good social life and find sports rewarding.
No need to set your time anymore with this atomic color alarm clock from La Crosse Technology, the clock will do it for you. It even features automatic Daylight saving time reset and a USB charging port for you gadgets. Just $27.04 instead of $44.95 today (40% Off!)
Bedside alarm with loaded features including bright multi-color LED with large time digits and brightness control. View current room temperature (F/C) & humidity and their trends. Featured icons include moon phase, web connection, and low/weak battery indicator. AC adapter included for USB charging port to refill battery power in smartphone or other Mobile device.
I haven’t seen many cyberpunk themed ads on television, especially in the 90s, but this British commercial from 1997 for Murphy’s Irish Stout is without doubt the best one I’ve ever seen.
Caply is an ultra small and long lasting wearable action camera that can follow you everywhere you go! Featuring a rugged design, Caply can film up to 5 hours of continous FHD (1920 x 1080) footage, 24 hours of time-lapse recording, and can last up to 120 hours in standby mode. With $130,000 raised so far on an initial funding goal of $30,000, the project has already been successfully funded many times over.
We are now in the age of home automation, and that’s a good thing! Why? Because it leaves you more time to do the things you love doing, rather than tinkering with gadgets, tech and appliances.
Sound far-fetched? Well, it’s not. What if you could set up your AC so it drops the indoor climate to a comfortable temperature when you’re on the way home from work? What if you could set up your lights so they turn on every night at a certain time and then off again, long after you’re in bed? What if you never had to fumble in your pocket or bag for a physical key ever again?
All these scenarios can be solved through the use of modern smart home technology.
In fact, if you play your cards right and choose the appropriate setup, you can outfit every single room in your house with smart technology to make your life better.
Living Room or Kitchen
There are smart refrigerators and smart ovens. There are smart coffee makers and smart toasters. There’s even a smart egg holder that will alert you when you’re low on supply. Honestly, if we covered every single smart appliance or item for your kitchen, we’d be here all day. The same is true of your living room, starting with smart TVs and smart media streamers.
But the best thing you could do for either of these rooms is set up a hub or smart speakers like an Amazon Echo, Google Home or something similar. Why? Let’s delve deeper.
Not every smart speaker is created equal, that much is true, and they all rely on different services. Amazon Echo devices, for example, will order and facilitate shopping lists through Amazon. But for the most part, these devices are on par with one another in terms of functionality, and they do a lot.
You can use them to order new items or supplies, perform a web search, interface with other smart home products like lights or TVs and much more. At a basic level, they’re nothing more than Bluetooth speakers with a built-in personal AI assistant such as Alexa or Siri. So, while yes, you can use them to play your favorite Pandora or Spotify playlist, that’s not all they do. They can do a whole heck of a lot, and that means making your life much more convenient.
Some of the more common devices in this category include:
You could go with a smart soap dispenser or another Bluetooth speaker for entertainment in the shower, but we have a better idea. Why not opt for a heated toilet seat? That’s right — the LumaWarm can help keep your booty nice and toasty while you, well, sit. It even utilizes a Blue LED light to make your bathroom a little more glamorous. There are three different temperature settings to choose from, and it only takes a minute or so to warm up.
No one likes to cozy up in bed only to realize you need to climb out from under those wondrously comfortable covers to turn off a light or close the window blinds. It’s even worse in the winter or during cold weather when you have to freeze your butt off just to interact with a silly fixture.
Cue smart Wi-Fi lighting or smart window blinds and shades. Both are entirely possible to install and affordable to buy. In fact, there are many different kinds of lighting options to choose from, including bulbs all the way to full-featured lamps and light strips.
The C by GE Sol smart light is amazingly capable, with Alexa support, scheduling and voice controls and even a built-in sleep timer. Alternatively, you could opt for a Philips Hue bulb, which can even be controlled to display different colors like pink, orange, yellow and more.
Once again, there’s a lot you could set up in a home office, but we’re going to stick with one of the best and most useful products: smart plugs. They replace or plug into traditional electrical outlets and allow you to automate and remotely control — from a mobile app — any appliance, gadget, light or tech plugged into them.
You could, for instance, turn off your computer hundreds of miles away, after having forgotten you left it on before leaving for vacation. You can also schedule and automate the process, using it to turn on and off lamps or lights.
Spot Treatment — Any Room
Looking to spruce up different areas of your home, such as a particular room or device? Check out some of these ideas, which will boost your home to new, smarter heights!
Smart Lock: Swap out your front or garage door deadbolt for a smart lock. Never use a physical key again, instead opting for a mobile app and your phone. You can even dole out temporary keys to guests and visitors.
Smart Thermostat: Things like Nest or Ecobee allow you to liven up your temperature controls. They learn your habits over time and help you conserve energy and money. Some — like Nest — will even act as a central hub, working with other smart home products.
Smart Video Doorbell: Tired of solicitors coming to your door? Peep hole not giving you enough leeway when answering? A smart video doorbell will allow you to not only see who’s at your door, but also talk with them. Pair it with a smart lock, and you can let them in, even if you’re not home. This is a great way to let guests in if you’re out back grilling or in the pool!
Smart Remote: Believe it or not, there are super smart remotes too, like the Logitech Harmony Elite. They operate as a universal remote, so you can pair them with just about anything, from your TV to your smart home devices.
Every other Monday, our team of blacksmiths and craftsman build some of your favorite weapons, and some weapons that you’ve never seen before. This week, the guys at Baltimore Knife and Sword take on the Shovel Blade from Shovel Knight!
