8 Ingenious Ways To Split Wood (Without An Ax)

Off The Grid News: 8 Ingenious Off-Grid Ways To Split Wood (Without An Ax)

I’ve had a pile of firewood sitting in the backyard for a while — actually for a few years. This pile was made up of branches that I’d cut off our various trees, either because the branches were dead or I needed to cut back branches of the trees because they were spreading too far. Regardless of the reason, there was a stack of tree limbs that needed to be dealt with.

Finally, though, I got around to building a firewood rack, so that I’d have a place to put all of that wood. Setting the rack beside the garden shed, I started stocking it. So far so good. Some logs had to be cut to length, “bucking” them for firewood, but that wasn’t much of an issue, either. The problem came when I tried to split them.

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CSN Editor: I am sold on all 8 of them.

Growing Fears That This Year's El Nino Will Lead To Hunger In Africa

El Nino has contributed to making 2015 the warmest year on record and will continue to influence in 2016

BBC: Worries grow over humanitarian impacts of 'strongest El Nino'

The strongest El Nino on record is likely to increase the threat of hunger and disease for tens of millions of people in 2016 aid agencies say.

The weather phenomenon is set to exacerbate droughts in some areas while increasing flooding in others.

Some of the worst impacts are likely in Africa with food shortages expected to peak in February.

Regions including the Caribbean, Central and South America will also be hit in the next six months.

This periodic weather event, which tends to drive up global temperatures and disturb weather patterns, has helped push 2015 into the record books as the world's warmest year.

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CSN Editor: Another example on how interconnected the world's weather systems are.

Here Comes Google Glass 2.0

IBTimes: 'Glassholes' Rejoice: Google Glass Is Back In Sleeker, Foldable Form

It’s a new year for Google Glass, the ubiquitous computer headset everyone thought was a flop. Google has filed for new equipment authorization by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The filing, submitted in May but only recently made available on the FCC’s website, indicates that a new version of Google Glass is coming soon, this time with a few new features.

The “Enterprise Edition,” of Google Glass appears to be foldable, sleeker, has improved internal hardware, and a larger prism (the clear rectangle that displays the information and images). Here are some of the prototype images.

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CSN Editor: if at first you do not succeed .... try .... try .... try again.

More News On The Comeback Of Google Glass

How Google Is Learning From Past Mistakes With New Version of Glass -- ABC News
Google Glass Redux: High-Tech Wearable Gets Ready for Business -- Live Science
Google Glass version 2: New photos appear in FCC filing -- PC World
This is Google Glass: Enterprise Edition in the flesh [Gallery] -- 9to5Google
Next Generation of Google Glass Aimed at Enterprise Users -- Top Tech News
Here's a first look at the new foldable Google Glass for the workplace -- Verge
Google Glass making a comeback? -- SF Chronicle/L.A. Times
Google Glass is still a bad idea -- Gizmodo

The Early Inhabitants Of Ireland Came From Beyond The Black Sea

BBC: Ancient DNA sheds light on Irish origins

Scientists have sequenced the first ancient human genomes from Ireland, shedding light on the genesis of Celtic populations.

The genome is the instruction booklet for building a human, comprising three billion paired DNA "letters".

The work shows that early Irish farmers were similar to southern Europeans.

Genetic patterns then changed dramatically in the Bronze Age - as newcomers from the eastern periphery of Europe settled in the Atlantic region.

Details of the work, by geneticists from Trinity College Dublin and archaeologists from Queen's University Belfast are published in the journal PNAS.

More News On Gene Testing that Reveals That Irelands First Inhabitants Were From The Black Sea And The Middle East

Irish Genome Sequenced, Revealing Early Celtic Origins -- Nature World News
Secrets of 5,200-year-old Irish woman, 4,000-year-old men revealed in genome project -- Irish Central
Ancient Irish genome reveals a massive migration from the east -- Washington Post
Irish have roots in the Middle East and Black Sea, scientists discover -- Independent.ie
From The Middle East To Meath: Early Settlers Came To Ireland From Beyond The Black Sea -- Yahoo News
Ancient DNA Traces Irish Roots To Mass Migrations -- Forbes
First Sequences of Ancient Irish Human Genomes Support Mass Migration History -- Genome Web

U.S. Marine Corps Cancels Robotic Dog/Mule Project

Washington Times: Marines shelve Google’s $42M robot ‘AlphaDogs’ because they are too noisy

Marines will not be using robotic mules called “AlphaDogs” any time soon because the machines were deemed too noisy to be useful in a combat situation.

Boston Dynamics, the robotics company owned by Google’s parent Alphabet, has been working with DARPA, the Pentagon’s research division, to build the robots designed to carry supplies for troops.

The AlphaDog robots, also called the Legged Squad Support System (LS3), were designed to carry up to 400 pounds and provide much-needed relief for soldiers, Military.com reported.

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CSN Editor: I concur .... it was too noisy.

More News On The U.S. Marine Corps Cancels Robotic Dog/Mule Project

Marine Corps Shelves Futuristic Robo-Mule Due to Noise Concerns -- Military.com
U.S. Marine Corps rules out robotic dog, mule -- UPI
Robot Mule Put Out to Pasture by Marine Corps -- NBC
Noisy Robotic Mule Sidelined by Marines -- VOA
Hee-Haw! DARPA’s noisy robotic ‘pack mule’ mothballed over fears it could spill the beans -- RT
The Marines Are Shelving Their Robot Dogs -- Inverse
The US Marines won’t be using Google’s robot dogs because they fail a pretty basic test -- Quartz
US military says robotic pack mules are too noisy to use -- Verge
US Marine Corps doesn’t want Google’s ‘Alpha Dog’ LS3 robots because they’re too loud -- Digital Trends
AlphaDog Robot Sidelined by the Marines Because It’s Way Too Noisy -- Epoch Times
Marines’ LS3 robotic mule is too loud for real-world combat -- Ars Technica
U.S. Military Puts Down Its Robot Mule for Being Too Loud -- Popular Mechanics

3-D Printing Is About To Cause Major Disruptions In Global Trade

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

T.X. Hammes, War On The Rocks: 3-D Printing Will Disrupt The World In Ways We can barely Imagine

In the last few years, additive manufacturing, also known as 3-D printing, has transformed from an interesting hobby to an industry producing a wide range of products. It is on the path to causing major disruptions in global trade — and changing the international security environment. The explosion of additive manufacturing means it is virtually impossible to provide an up-to-date list of materials that can be printed, but a recent top ten list includes: metals, such as stainless, bronze, steel, gold, nickel steel, aluminum, and titanium; carbon fiber and nano-tubes; stem cells; ceramics; and food. Researchers are exploring the application of 3-D printing to fields from agriculture and biology to design and manufacturing. MIT developed a $7,000 multi-material printer than can print ten materials in the same object during a single fabrication process. As businesses learn to use these multi-material printers, the range of products they will be able to print will expand exponentially.

CSN Editor: An excellent summary on how 3D printing will revolutionize the world.