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[ad_1] 1. On track Picture a bobsled course as three sections: a 49-foot segment where athletes get their sleigh moving ahead of the starting line; a 65-to 100-foot portion they use to build up speed after the clock starts; and the remaining 4,000 or so feet down which they ride, twisting and turning, to the finish line. The first few runs of the day are always faster: Each one creates more friction-increasing ruts, upping times. 2. Muscleman A two-person bobsled team includes a pilot, who steers the sleigh, and a brakeman (foreground), who does most of the pushing. This athlete must generate enough force to break the inertia of a 375-pound sled. He needs preconditioned fast-twitch muscles: larger tissue fibers capable of short, sudden exertions. That’s why bobsled scouts often recruit sprinters from track and field or wide receivers from football. 3. The big push When the buzzer rings, the brakeman steps onto the ice, gripping two handles on the sled’s rear. He bends his knees, leans

[ad_1] If you get the urge to revisit that cute photo you posted some time last year, you'll have to scroll through your timeline for what feels like hours to track it back down. Instead, when you share a post on social media, also save it to your phone for safe-keeping. This will not only save your social media hits for posterity, but also make them easier to find if you ever need to rediscover them. In this guide, we focus on saving photos and videos, because text posts are slightly more complicated—the only way to really preserve text from Facebook and Twitter is to download your entire archive (we'll explain how to do this below), and Instagram and Snapchat don't let you save or export your instant messages at all. When it comes to photos and videos, there's a shortcut to make sure they stay on your phone: Originally film them through a dedicated app, which will save them to a gallery. Only then should you open up a social media app to share them. However, there'

[ad_1] On its own, the human body stands zero chance against concrete or lumber. Armed with a sturdy tool, though, we can smash foundations and tear down walls. But don’t be hasty: Picking the wrong implement will supercharge your frustration. Wielding the right one, however, will amplify the power in your physique. These three are ideal choices for grunt-inducing jobs. Best of all, they don’t need plugs or batteries—just muscles. The claw at one end of the Stanley FatMax FuBar Utility Bar is sized to grasp the boards common in wall frames. And the beveled slot at the other makes pulling stubborn nails out of old planks easy, thanks to the leverage you can put on the 30-inch shaft. The wedge-shaped side of the 8-pound Fiskars IsoCore Sledgehammer concentrates force onto a small area, ideal for breaking hard materials like asphalt. The rounded side of the steel head is perfect for busting up wood without sending shrapnel flying everywhere. If Paul Bunyan were real, he’d want the 36-inch

[ad_1] In a New Year telegram to U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia's President Vladimir Putin says a constructive dialogue between the two nations is essential for global stability. The Kremlin said Saturday that Putin emphasized in his Seasons Greetings to Trump that Russia and the U.S. could develop a "pragmatic cooperation aimed at long-term perspective" on the basis of "equality and mutual respect." Putin noted that "the development a constructive Russian-U.S. dialogue is particularly important for strengthening strategic stability in the world and finding the optimal answers to global threats and challenges." Ties between Moscow and Washington sank to a post-Cold War low following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014

[ad_1] Starting New Year's Day, the sale of marijuana for recreational use will be permitted in California, the country's most populous state. What does that mean for air travelers who try to bring small amounts of marijuana with them? That is a conundrum for the state's airports, which are locally owned and operated but are subject to federal law, under which marijuana is an illegal substance. Areas beyond security checkpoints are under federal control. "It's going to be a very gray area," said officer Rob Pedregon, a spokesman for the police force at Los Angeles International Airport, the nation's second busiest airport. "We're still in the state of California," he said. "O

[ad_1] In the music industry of even 10 years ago, it was rare to produce an entire album outside of the studio. The launch of GarageBand 6 in 2010 changed that, ushering in a new type of musician: the bedroom producer. Home studios quickly popularized a do-it-yourself approach to music production. Thanks to advances in mobile technology, these bedroom producers are now shifting from laptops and PCs to smartphones. Whether you're just starting out or you're a seasoned pro, making music on your smartphone might seem like a sweet (and rewarding) deal—but it's no easy feat to figure out which apps will be right for you. Below, we collected a few of our favorites to turn your noodlings into the next big hit. Voice recorders When inspiration strikes—whether you're lucid dreaming or awake—you need to be ready to hit record and lay down a riff. These voice recorder apps should do the trick. Just remember to factor in background noise and your smartphone's speaker quality,

[ad_1] North Korea said Saturday that it will never give up its nuclear weapons as long as the United States and its allies continue their "blackmail and war drills" at its doorstep. The North's official Korean Central News Agency took the oft-repeated stance as it reviewed the country's major nuclear weapons and missile tests this year. North Korea conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date in September and launched three intercontinental ballistic missiles into the sea in July and November, indicating that it is closer than ever to gaining a nuclear arsenal that could viably target the mainland United States. The aggressive tests have led to more international sanctions and pressure on North Korea amid concerns that the window for stopp

[ad_1] Your brain may make New Year's resolutions hard to keep, but that doesn't stop us from promising to improve our lives each December. As 2017 turns into 2018, make sure you don't forget about bettering your digital life as well. What are some good technology habits you could adopt and bad ones you should give up? You don't need to think too hard—we've put together a list of tech-resolution ideas to give you a head start. 1. Keep the fitness tracker on your wrist A fitness tracker can help you bolster that classic resolution, to exercise more. The trouble is, these wearables frequently find their way into drawers within months of purchase. To prevent this from happening, we've collected a few ways you can get more out of your fitness tracker: Rearrange your exercise data in charts and spreadsheets, share your achievements publicly on social media, compete against groups of friends, and more. 2. Back up your data We all know we should back up our data, but

[ad_1] Ronen Zvulun | AFP | Getty Images President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City on May 22, 2017. Israel's transportation minister is pushing ahead with a plan to extend Jerusalem's soon-to-open high speed rail line to the Western Wall, where he wants to name a future station after President Donald Trump. Yisrael Katz's plan involves constructing two underground stations and excavating over two miles of tunnel beneath downtown Jerusalem and its politically and historically sensitive Old City. The Western Wall is the holiest site where Jews can pray. Transportation Ministry spokesman Avner Ovadia says the project is estimated to cost more than $700 million and, if approved, would take four years to complete.

[ad_1] The future is now: Prank-happy hackers can apparently crack into smart speakers to cue up songs and spooky sounds. The vulnerability, identified by security firm Trend Micro in a new case study, exposes user data like device names and email addresses associated with streaming-music services—just enough info to allow for targeted earworm attacks. Disturbingly, the researchers needed only basic Internet-scanning tools to ID target-able devices. The culprit: Crappy home-network security habits. While the Trend Micro team found that some 500 Bose SoundTouch speakers and up to 5,000 Sonos Play:1 and Sonos One systems were exposed to remote hijacking, the exposure could stretch well beyond the specific devices they scrutinized. For the moment, the implications of this vulnerability scarcely go beyond a funny prank, but the research should serve an important reminder to be vigilant about home network security. “It changes very quickly,” says Mark Nunnikhoven, a research director at Tre

[ad_1] Thousands of police officers are calling in sick every day in Puerto Rico, partly to press demands for unpaid overtime pay for hurricane recovery efforts as concerns grow over people's safety in a U.S. territory struggling to restore power. The increase in absences recently prompted Puerto Rico Police Chief Michelle Hernandez to recommend that U.S. National Guard soldiers help fill the temporary vacancies. "We have had an inordinate amount of absences that we haven't seen in years prior," she told The Associated Press, adding that while there has been a drop in major crimes this year, she is concerned that trend could reverse. However, the administration of Gov. Ricardo Rossello on Wednesday rejected the idea of using the National Guard.

[ad_1] D rivers take turn 11 at Circuit of the Americas pretty slowly. It’s tight, and they’ll only hit about 60 miles per hour, depending on the car. Then they’ll charge down the main straight, a three-quarters-of-a-mile descent that lets the right machine clear 200. As I stand in the grandstands before turn 12, a black-and-gold racecar quickly fills my field of view. It’s Texas-hot in Austin today, close to 90 and humid, but the car brings a wind with it. The wind is made of noise. Fans come to Formula One races for this kind of sensory experience. When the series spun up in 1946, following the exhaustive end of World War II, fantastic machines replaced the terrifying cacophony of bombs with the joyful chorus of speed-linked sound. Over the years, millions of fans have swarmed the edges of racetracks to hear F1’s roar. But you don’t just hear an F1 engine. You feel it. As the car flies by the grandstand, the concussive wave emanating from its eight pounding cylinders hits me in my ch

[ad_1] Earlier this month, New Scientist reported that NASA has plans in the works to visit Alpha Centauri. While the plan is reportedly “nebulous,” the space agency hopes to launch something by 2069. Here’s what we know: First things first: Why 2069? The proposed launch date may seem an odd (if rather giggle-worthy) choice. But NASA didn’t just pull this one out of their butts: While setting the agency’s budget back in 2016, Representative John Culberson of Texas called for NASA to send a mission to Alpha Centauri by 2069. He didn’t pull that date out of his butt, either; It’s an homage to the centennial anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Nice. If you feel like you’ve been seeing the number 69 all over your space news as of late, you’re right! New Horizons—the probe that flew past Pluto and is currently delving into the outermost regions of our fair solar system—has a 2019 encounter planned with a mysterious object dubbed MU69. You can find out more about how it wound up wi

[ad_1] A Democratic congressional candidate outside Philadelphia calls the Republican tax overhaul a "cynical bill" that will redistribute wealth upward. One of her counterparts in California dismisses estimates of tax savings for most U.S. households and says the legislation is "just putting money in the pocket of the wealthy." And in Kansas, a Democratic candidate for governor says it's "a recipe for disaster" that signals inevitable cuts to popular programs like Social Security and Medicare. While Republicans celebrate a massive tax overhaul they say will goose the economy and increase workers' take-home pay up and down the income ladder, Democrats are aiming to turn the tax law into a cudgel in next year's fight to retake control of Congress and to dent GOP advantages in statehouses.

[ad_1] Malls are getting makeovers — so much so they might not be called malls anymore, or you might do a double take next time you stroll through one. U.S. retail landlords including Simon Property Group, General Growth Properties, Macerich and Taubman, which own some of the most profitable malls in America, are focused on redeveloping their properties and ditching antiquated occupants in the coming months. To be sure, many of these property owners don't exactly have a choice. As department stores including Sears, Macy's and J.C. Penney fire off store closure announcements and as countless specialty apparel retailers file for bankruptcy with plans to shrink their physical footprints, real estate investment trusts have to find replacements elsewhere, and quick. "We'

[ad_1] Got a yen for film? Good luck getting those pictures developed. Even as analog photography experiences a serious renaissance period, few locations remain to turn that exposed film into pictures. The good news, however, is that developing film at home is pretty easy and extremely fun. It mixes chemistry, art—and probably ruining at least one of your T-shirts. Buying the film For this DIY process, you’ll want to work with black-and-white film. (While you can develop color film at home, this process is much finickier and requires bleach-based chemicals, so it’s a lot less pleasant than the process for developing monochrome images.) Specialty stores may stock the film you want, but the easiest way to shop will be online. Each roll of 35mm black-and-white film can produce 36 pictures and should run you about $5. There’s a chance you’ll totally ruin at least one roll by accident, so buy a couple at a time. I recommend you start with something classic like the Kodak Tri-X ($5.30 from B