I recently moved into an apartment complex in Dallas, Texas, built in the 1980s. When I first saw the place, the abundance of natural light that filtered through the unit’s south and west-facing windows drew me in. I could envision the houseplants I’d place near each one. I’ve come to realize those windows can be as much of a nuisance as they are an asset. This past February, temperatures in Dallas plunged well below normal for a couple of days....

In his remarks, Obama noted that the pipeline had taken on an outsized role in politics, with some groups proclaiming that it would be an economic “silver bullet” and others prophesying environmental cataclysms should the process go through. As Popular Science showed in our February 2015 issue, neither position is entirely true. Obama said that the State Department led by Secretary of State John Kerry officially rejected the pipeline today for three main reasons....

TW: We are fascinated with Bitcoin because it is the first iteration of money that’s actually built for the Internet, by the same type of engineers who built the Internet itself. CW: It sends payments over protocols, the same way we send data and voice today. TW: With just a cellphone and a Bitcoin address, you now have a bank account. You have a way to accept payment. You have a way to store value that isn’t your mattress....

Smoke from the Camp Fire that started in Paradise in Northern California has caused nearly the entire Bay Area as well as parts of the Central Valley to experience dangerous drops in air quality. Southern California’s Woolsey fire is causing similar smoke cascades throughout the region. While we don’t know all the health effects of smoke inhalation, researchers do know that certain populations are at a higher risk, and that everyone can take precautions: Most importantly, stay indoors....

Thync bills itself first and foremost as a neuroscience company. Its sole product—slated for release later this year—is a smartphone-controlled wearable device that will allow the user to actively alter his or her brain’s electrical state through transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The big idea: give users active influence over their brain chemistries, and therefore their moods, their anxiety, and even their mental productivity—an app that can conjure feeling of calm and tranquility or dial up a user’s attention and focus on demand....

As the saying goes: If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Tomorrow, Boeing will attempt to re-launch its Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2), the second uncrewed flight for the aerospace company’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft, to the International Space Station, following its delay last summer. The trip will test the spacecraft’s ability to get to and from the ISS safely—which will be a major feat after past tests encountered a slew of technical complications Boeing has experienced since the project’s inception....

The National Pest Managment Association recently issued their predictions for which types of pestilence will visit the United States this spring and summer. Their Bug Barometer predicts the state of the bugs, rodents and other irritants for five regions across the country. It turns out this winter’s split personality will lead to some strong divergences in pests. Out on the West Coast, a warm winter and spring is likely going to result in pests emerging earlier, with large amounts of ticks and ants predicted....

We’re currently at the peak of hurricane season. Tropical Storm Humberto would be the 8th named storm of the year. For now, it’s referred to as “Potential Tropical Cyclone 9” or PTC9. According to the NHC, the incoming storm’s path will cut through the northwestern archipelago of the Bahamas, an area completely devastated by Dorian just two weeks ago. While significant storm surge isn’t expected in the area, dangerous wind and heavy rain are expected by Friday....

Chambers and Reinish, who were living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at the time, had no clue how to construct a mobile home. So they spent two months learning woodworking, wiring, and other essential skills from the Internet. A three-month build kicked off with little more than a 4-by-8-foot utility trailer topped with a plywood box, which served as the caravan’s rolling foundation. Wooden boards made up the lower interior walls, and oak arches completed a bare-bones frame for the roof....

The same goes for any other functionality that keeps my mouse gathering dust. Google Chrome’s search engine management is one of them. If you use this browser, you have probably noticed that the most popular search engine on the internet is built right into the address bar—type whatever you want to know, hit return, and you’ll see pages of Google results. How to set up new search engines on Google Chrome Ironically, setting up the features that will allow you to keep your hands on your keyboard requires you to use your mouse....

The spread of COVID-19 has us all full of questions—especially when it comes to traveling. If you’ve been looking forward to a summer trip, wondering if you should stick to your plans or not, now might be the time to make some decisions. The fees and conditions associated with canceling and rescheduling have changed dramatically in the last few weeks, but travelers have the upper hand right now. The TL;DR answer to your travel questions is that, for now—and it’s essential to understand nobody knows exactly how long “now” is going to be—you should definitely avoid any non-essential travel....

But, uh, how detailed, exactly? Scientists have been playing off that idea, tweeting the TMI parts of their methods with the hashtag #OverlyHonestMethods. Here are some classics: AND: Many more are collected in this Storify from Beckie Port: View the story “#overlyhonestmethods” on Storify The Node

It’s brought out so many different products and companies to choose from. With all the options, it may be difficult to know how to pick the best delta 8 THC brand for you and your needs. There are gummies, cartridges, and tinctures, and oils out there ready to be picked. But it’s important to find a reputable brand with a great quality product before considering any purchases. If you are new to delta 8 and don’t care to smoke it, using a tincture can be the best way to start....

But the reality is that you have to really know what you’re doing to unlock the true power of platforms like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. The road is long, and constant upgrades will require you to stay up to date with new tools and functions. Still, everyone needs to start somewhere, so here are three basic spreadsheet tricks for beginners, whether you prefer Microsoft’s suite or Google’s collaborative nature....

Materials Calcium chloride ice-melt pelletsWaterTwo ziploc bags of different sizes Instructions Fill a large ziplock bag one quarter of the way full with calcium chloride ice-melt pellets (available at most hardware stores). Fill a smaller ziplock bag halfway with water, close tight, and place inside the first bag. Squeeze the smaller bag until it breaks open, to create a heat-producing reaction that will last 20 to 60 minutes. Originally posted by Justin DiPlacido on Instructables....

WellPaper The free WellPaper is developed by OnePlus, but isn’t just for OnePlus phones—any Android handset can run it. It’s called WellPaper because it looks out for your wellbeing, turning the wallpaper on your device into an ever-changing backdrop that tells you how often you’re accessing your phone and what you’re doing when you do. To change your wallpaper on Android, open Settings, then pick Display, Styles and wallpapers, and Wallpaper....

But after a relentless two-year pandemic, political strife, and overall instability, reuniting with your family can be… a lot. Preparing yourself mentally and emotionally for the festivities to come can make for holidays filled with joy and delicious food, as opposed to bickering and passive aggression. The current health crisis has hit us all pretty hard. And we’re all carrying trauma whether or not we’ve been diagnosed with a mental health condition, says Frank Anderson, a psychiatrist and author of Transcending Trauma: Healing Complex PTSD With Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy....

With more 700 cases of measles across the United States, this outbreak is the worst the country has faced in decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been cases reported in 22 states, with the largest outbreaks centered in New York and Washington state. Felice Adler-Shohet, M.D., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, chalks up the outbreak up to laws that allow parents to send unvaccinated children to schools, among other issues....

From saving words that you’ve looked up in the dictionary to adding custom fonts, knowing every last detail of what your Kobo e-reader is capable of can enhance your experience in myriad ways. While reading an e-book, pressing and holding will bring up the definition of the word you’ve selected, and enable you to add a note or mark a highlight in the same place. The same trick also works when you’re browsing through the Home and My Books screens....