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21. MIKHAIL GULYAYEV BORN April 26, 2005, Novosibirsk, Rus. 2022-23 Omsk Jr. POS D HT 5-10 WT 172 SHOOTS L CENTRAL SCOUTING No. 10 (Int’l skaters) AN UNDERSIZED D-MAN who split the year between the KHL, minor-pro and junior, Gulyayev has been described by some scouts as the most purely gifted defenseman in the draft. “He can carry the puck up the ice and be a one-man breakout,” one scout said. “He can make good plays in all zones passing the puck. He’s a very agile skater, but he’s not Cale Makar. He’s somewhere between Cale Makar and Samuel Girard. Nobody’s seen enough of him this year to say which way he leans.” Gulyayev’s stock on draft day is going to be affected by the global situation and the uncertainty surrounding Russian players, but there is no…

Biting the hand that feeds you Stereophile makes a genuine contribution to the audiophile world. The information is useful, and I feel engaged. I was enjoying the April issue until I came to the Re-Tales article, “Continuing Education,” which took away my smile. I’ll illustrate my feelings this way: Imagine you are in your late 60s, and, with money in hand, you walk into a Ferrari dealership. You amble over to a shiny 812 GTS, and a saleswoman immediately walks over to you. During the conversation, she says things like, “Ah, you’re a boomer. Yeah, your generation buys most of our cars, but you won’t be around forever. We need to bring new blood to the brand.” Still pumped up about a Ferrari? That’s how I felt when I read that “Boomers…

Where I live, the police drive some heavy-duty machinery. There’s the odd Ford Taurus hanging in there, but mainly it’s Chevy Tahoes, Dodge Durangos, and Ford Explorers, with a healthy smattering of V-8 Dodge Chargers. One day, while I was day-dreaming about municipal budgets (as I am wont to do), I wondered: Would cops drive something smaller and more efficient if they got to share in the savings from a lower purchase price? And if so, what would that number need to be? If I were a cop, I’d think $1000 could persuade me to drive an Escape patrol car. But I am not a cop—I had to turn in my badge because I play by nobody’s rules but my own—so I asked some police to join me in this…

GENERAL HOSPITAL Zeke Returns Portia’s brother, last seen at her wedding in February, returns to town this week and surprises his sister at work. Says Zeke’s portrayer, Gavin Houston, “The relationship between Zeke and Portia is rooted in love. Sometimes they butt heads, but there’s so much love there and he is very protective of her.” Which Portia very much appreciates, according to Brook Kerr (Portia), who observes, “People have been so angry with her since everything came out at the wedding [about her keeping the secret of Trina’s true paternity], so it’s nice to have someone treat her with that unconditional love and have his support.” Zeke then settles in at the Metro Court and heads upstairs to grab a drink at the pool, where his evening takes an unexpected turn. “He sees…

In the last decade, we have seen sport touring motorcycle offerings decline and the adventure bike market explode. Adventure bikes are touted as the do-anything bike, from canyon carving to off-road excursions. In practice, if you want a good road bike, you need to give up off-road performance. And vice-versa: if you want to favour off-road then you give up paved road performance. Manufacturers have met the demand for street performance by offering 17-inch wheels on some models. This version is okay on light gravel, but not very good once you leave that behind. A dedicated sport touring bike is okay on light gravel too, as long as you take a moderate pace. This past summer on a trip to the Yukon, between road construction and detours, I think I covered more…

To have a lakefront cottage to share with their grown family is a dream come true for these homeowners,” says designer Stephanie Brown. “They’ve been yearning for this for years, and they came to the project ready to share their ideas.” Stephanie took it from there, opening the floor plan to optimize the water and vineyard views, and using salvaged fir to design rustic ceiling beams that look like they’ve been there forever. “We also lined the home in painted shiplap, and everywhere, we added layers of breezy linen and oversized furniture that’s approachable and relaxed,” says the designer. “When you walk in, you instantly decompress.” Open for Viewing Glass walls in the living room open to the outdoors. Inside, big, soft sofas and a huge vintage leather ottoman invite lounging; outside,…

The first time I had heard of it, I was a new rider on a mission to pilot my little cruiser end-to-end on the Trans Canada Highway. En route, I’d met a youngish guy on a KLR fitted with knobby tires and covered in soft bags and grey dirt. “Where are you heading?” I asked. “I’m on my way home, but I’ve been to Deadhorse.” At that point in my fledgling riding career, the idea of navigating a road, most of it dirt, 700 kilometres into the isolation of the Arctic tundra simply did not compute. Now to be straddling an adventure bike and staring down the Dalton Highway seemed surreal. My Alaskan exploration was part of a long-term test ride of Suzuki’s 2022 V-Strom DL650XA. So far it had been a superb choice…

Customer Service And Subscriptions soundandvision@emailcustomerservice.com Call (800) 666-3746 (international calls: 386-447-6383) or write to: Sound & Vision, P.O. Box 420235, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235 Please include your full name, address, and phone number on any inquiries. Summer Strikes Again WELCOME TO SUMMER 2023! At the time of writing, Hollywood writers are on strike. While a brief strike may not have a significant impact, there are concerns that a prolonged strike could be catastrophic for movie theaters that depend on a constant flow of blockbuster releases to remain profitable. The participation of than 11,000 film and television writers marks the first strike of its kind during the streaming era. While it will be felt in today’s entertainment landscape—some TV shows already ended their seasons early—there are almost countless alternatives to movies and scripted TV shows, including gaming, live sports,…

Sometimes going for a ride isn’t about the riding part, and that’s okay. Sometimes going for a ride is more about saying yes to adventure, trying something new, being outdoors, meeting new people, and exploring new places. It has less to do with the type of terrain, the pace of the ride, or even the actual destination, and everything to do with the small, memorable moments created along the way. Sometimes riding is simply the vehicle for something bigger, like community, friendship, and following your bliss. I believe in putting things out to the universe, listening for signs, and following whatever path lights up in front of me. It may sound fluffy, but sometimes just allowing things to unfold works better than carefully planning them. Take my recent big group ride,…

IS AUDIO RESEARCH IN TROUBLE? Jim Austin In late April, rumors began to swirl that Audio Research, one of the most storied brands in hi-fi, would soon be filing for bankruptcy. As is often true with rumors, this one was wrong but contained more than a shred of truth. Audio Research had, in fact, filed weeks before, but not for bankruptcy. The company had filed, rather, for an “assignment for the benefit of creditors,” which is similar to bankruptcy but not quite the same. I’m neither an accountant nor a corporate lawyer, so I defer to online sources that describe “assignment” as a form of “receivership.” As I understand it, in such an arrangement, company assets are signed over to a trust, which is overseen by a third party, in this case Lighthouse…

What is cryotherapy? The term “cryotherapy” refers to treatments using extremely cold temperatures to cool the body’s tissue for therapeutic purposes. The word may invoke images of large cryogenic chambers in clinics or athletes being submerged in large tubs of ice, but there are many ways you can use cryotherapy on a smaller scale from the comfort of your home. This type of cold therapy has been used for thousands of years across many different cultures for its benefits—there are a variety of reasons to try cold therapy. “The cold helps reduce inflammation and calm the skin, while constricting blood vessels,” says Vee Mistry, celebrity esthetician, skin-care specialist and founder of SKINBYVEE, her private facial studio based in Toronto. Mistry believes that cryotherapy is gaining popularity as life returns to normal following…

“My Towels Lose Their Softness and Fluffiness Over Time!” JANIE, NEW YORK CITY Blame these culprits: detergent, bleach, and fabric softener. You shouldn’t be using fabric softener at all with towels, says Patric Richardson, author of Laundry Love. It tends to leave behind a coating that can mess with texture and limit absorption. Bleach can also degrade the quality of your towels. “It’s so rough on fabric. It’s basically sandpaper!” Richardson says. And if you’re using too much detergent—you only need one to two tablespoons for a full load—it won’t rinse out and can start to build up. To remedy your seemingly ruined towels, Richardson suggests just washing them with that prescribed amount of detergent. After three or four cycles, any buildup will naturally slough off, allowing for the return of the fluff.…

No other version of the VW Golf is more emblematic of 1990s style and hues than the Harlequin, a car with a backstory as wild as its quad-color paint job. Diehard VW fans and retro car enthusiasts are familiar with the Harlequin, but the wacky hatchback only recently has enjoyed renewed appreciation. Volkswagen originated the idea for a multicolored car in a 1964 print advertisement. The ad showed off the brand’s year-to-year interchangeable parts, represented by a Beetle with mismatching body panels and fenders. The vision was actualized as a production car in the form of the Europe-only 1995 Mk3 Polo Harlequin hatchback, which wore mishmashed body panels painted Tornado Red, Chagall Blue, Ginster Yellow, and Pistachio Green. Intended as a small batch of 20 cars, consumers expressed enthusiasm for the…

Managing passwords is pain. Tools exist to help (like password managers) but staying on top of them remains dreary work. But a new system for securing accounts is filtering through the web—passkeys. They take away a lot of the burden associated with passwords. You simply need a device capable of serving as an authenticator to set up a passkey, then you’ll use a biometric method on that device (face identification, fingerprint) or a PIN to authorize logins. And after much anticipation, their rollout is starting to pick up steam—as evidenced by this week’s launch of passkey support for Google accounts, right on the eve of World Password Day 2023. Passkeys first started generating buzz last year when Google, Microsoft, and Apple all pledged to adopt them. A form of passwordless sign-in…

The ’90s can conjure thoughts of an automotive dark age full of unsatisfying niche vehicles and evolutionary dead ends. It’s the decade that gave us the Suzuki X-90, after all. But it was also studded with gems, some of which have become bona fide collectibles and some that still await a star turn. 1991–1996 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo The Z32 Z marked a triumphant return to sports car greatness, especially in twin-turbo guise. It looked sleek, and it packed 300 hp and 283 lb-ft of torque, wild numbers for the time. Nissan also included HICAS active rear steering for world-beating handling that helped it snap up our 1990 Import Car of the Year award. While the best examples have slipped slightly, an excellent 300ZX turbo is a $40,000 car as of this…

As sunny weather finally arrived, stars joined royalty in looking blooming marvellous as they toured the Chelsea Flower Show last week. Famous names from the worlds of TV, music and radio all dressed in their summer best as they mingled among the fragrant plants and flowers. Leading the arrivals at the official preview of the annual garden display were royal twins Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer. Newlywed Amelia wore a floaty dress from Zimmermann, while Lady Eliza went for a pink polka-dot outfit by Alessandra Rich. At the Natural Affinity Garden for Aspens, designed to highlight the therapeutic value of nature by helping visitors engage with their senses, musician and DJ Cerys Matthews was reading from her children’s version of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood. WINNING DESIGN Meanwhile, Dame Joanna Lumley, looking stylish…

I love speaking at user group meetings. There aren’t as many Apple user groups out there as there used to be, and these days the meetings are mostly over Zoom, but as someone who mostly speaks with developers, PR people, and media types, it’s refreshing to speak to people who are much more purely enthusiastic about Apple and its platforms. User groups also tend to do a good job of exposing the concerns and pain points of Apple customers who aren’t doing this for a living. It’s a great perspective shift. Last month, I spoke to a group that made it pretty clear what Apple is doing that is making them unhappy. The particular complaints that floated to the top were, I think, instructive about where Apple needs to make changes…

YOUNG AND RESTLESS Sharon’s Mysterious Gift At Crimson Lights, Sharon shows Nick a bottle of champagne that was delivered to her with the unsigned message, “Memories are what life is made of.” Nick takes a closer look and points out something interesting. “When Sharon received the champagne, she was too preoccupied with figuring out who sent it that she didn’t notice a stain on the label,” explains Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith. “Sharon is startled when Nick mentions the stain looks like blood, as it only intensifies the mystery of this random delivery.” Nick admits he’s not a forensic expert, so the stain is probably not really blood. He surmises that it could be a red wine stain from the store it came from. However, when Sharon examines it more closely, she doesn’t…

1. CONNOR BEDARD BORN July 17, 2005, North Vancouver, B.C. 2022-23 Regina POS C HT 5-10 WT 185 SHOOTS R CENTRAL SCOUTING No. 1 (NA skaters) WHEN PRODIGIES ARE identified at an early age, scouts have time to find almost as many warts as assets in their games. But Bedard is so special that the opposite has happened. As excited as people were about him in the past, they’re even more stoked now about seeing what he’ll be able to accomplish in the NHL. “When he came on as a 15-year-old, the only thing you could question a little bit with him was his speed,” one scout said. “He’s rectified that as he’s gotten stronger. Everything about his game is elite. Everybody talks about his shot, but he makes plays. Every night I talk to…

Rumors picked up again recently that a new 15-inch MacBook Air will be Apple’s next major Mac release, possibly at the Worldwide Developers conference, according to Mark Gurman’s latest report. But whether we get it before, during, or after WWDC, this much is true: It will instantly become Apple’s perfect laptop. That may seem like a stretch, but hear me out. Assuming the rumors and our own assumptions are true, the 15-inch MacBook Air will be the ideal laptop for nearly every user, with its combination of size, processing power, and value. The MacBook Air is already Apple’s most popular laptop, and a 15-inch model would be the jewel of the lineup. Here’s why. THE RIGHT SIZE Apple offers MacBooks in four different sizes: 13.3 inches (13-inch MacBook Pro), 13.6 inches (M2 MacBook…

“WHILE IT RETAINS SOME ELEMENTS OF ITS PREVIOUS OUTLINE, IT IS AN ALL-NEW, MODERN TAKE ON THE BATWING FAIRING” Harley-Davidson Launches Two New CVOs “THE ROAD GLIDE’S FRAME-MOUNTED FAIRING RETAINS A SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR “SHARK-NOSE” SILHOUETTE” Harley-Davidson has launched two updated CVO models, both sporting all-new fairing designs. The new models take Harley styling into the future, as the 2023 CVO Road Glide and CVO Street Glide receive the most important styling updates since they were first introduced. The big changes are in the fairing designs, which hadn’t changed much since they were introduced decades ago. The Road Glide’s frame-mounted fairing retains a somewhat familiar “shark-nose” silhouette, but has a more streamlined and aggressive profile. It now sports one wide LED headlight, with the LED turn signals integrated seamlessly into the fairing. The Street Glide fairing,…

Intel’s 11th-gen Rocket Lake chip won’t hit shelves until the end of March, but an unexpectedly early review of a retail Core i7-11700K labels the chip as power-hungry and unable to surpass AMD’s Ryzen 7 5800X in many tests. The review, written by respected CPU expert Dr. Ian Cutress of Anandtech.com, was based on a Core i7-11700K that is presumably one of the hundreds of CPUs accidentally sold a month before launch by a German retailer. Benchmarks of the chip have been making the rounds ever since, but Cutress is the first experienced journalist to publish a review. Cutress stepped carefully in his story, avoiding mention of any information he had already been given by Intel under embargo during regular briefings for the chip. He said he informed Intel that he had the…

As we went about putting together this issue, I couldn’t help but to think about a subsect of cars from the ’90s—cars that are more than deserving of their reputations. The past 10 years might very well go down as the peak hypercar era—the Bugatti Veyron, LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, Aston Martin Valkyrie—but the ’90s were peak supercar. Sure, ’70s (the Lamborghini Countach) and ’80s (still Countach, plus the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 959) supercars were cool, but the high-flying stuff from the ’90s was simply on another level. After what seemed like two decades of general decline, cars suddenly didn’t suck anymore. The Dodge Viper is the first car that comes to mind when I think about ’90s supercars. Before the Viper, it had been forever since Mopar…

General Motors takes way more flak and gets nowhere near enough credit for the GM EV1, the most technologically advanced production vehicle of its time. It pioneered and/or demonstrated myriad features we either take for granted on today’s (electric and gas) cars or still regard as futuristic. And it’s worth remembering the first EV1 was built in 1996, just as another all-aluminum two-seater was rolling out: the Lotus Elise. Notably, that car’s rolling chassis would underpin the Tesla Roadster in 2008. Let’s review some of the EV1’s many innovations. A 137-hp, 110-lb-ft AC induction motor spun the front wheels via a single-speed transaxle. Tesla began with AC induction motors, and there’s been a move toward this motor type as the secondary motor in all-wheel-drive electric vehicles because it presents no drag…

YOUNG AND RESTLESS Nate And Audra Conspire Nate arrives at Audra’s GCAC suite for another clandestine meeting, where he admits that he had a chat with Victor about Nate’s future at Newman Enterprises. “Audra assumes that a conversation like that with Victor couldn’t have gone well,” says Zuleyka Silver (Audra). “She hopes this doesn’t mean that Nate is on shaky ground now at Newman. She asks how bad was it.” On the contrary, Nate happily reports that the discussion was very positive. “Audra is surprised to hear that,” Silver admits. “Nate does say that Victor still grilled him about Victoria, but Nate feels he was able to come across as trustworthy and put some of Victor’s concerns at ease. Nate believes that it went well because he was very up front about his…

GREEN WITH ENVY Whether you love sage, mint, khaki or forest, green is great for bringing nature vibes into your home. It pairs easily with neutral tones like beige, white and grey for a subtle aesthetic, but can be boldened up when combined with warm tones like caramel or burnt orange. Plus, green always looks chic with both light and dark woods. This colour will take your kitchen through the years without going out of style. MAKING WAVES Infuse year-round nautical style into your kitchen decor by opting for very soft washed blue-grey or classic navy cabinetry. Warm up the cool colour by surrounding it with whites, golds and light to medium wood tones and you’ll be left with a modern, luminous result. BLACK MAGIC Charcoal, anthracite and matte black are gaining ground in the…

I had just stepped off my bike to join the rest of my tour group. We had stopped to check out one of the very first iron mills in the United States, and as we were admiring the mill’s amazing flower gardens, I heard an engine scream nearby. Some airhead in our group was having fun burning donuts and roosting in the gravel parking lot. A nearby sign described how the whole area was being maintained by volunteers, some of whom had raked the gravel in the parking lot in artistic swirls — now messed up by that annoying idiot on his bike. You’ve probably been annoyed by the actions of others you’ve ridden with at one time or another. I think the actions of any rider reflect on the…

REFILL AS NECESSARY. MANUFACTURED BY BMW GROUP DO YOU STRUGGLE TO MAKE SENSE OF TODAY’S INFLUX OF HEAVY, ABSURDLY POWERFUL EVS? Does trying to discern one SUV body shape from another induce anxiety and depression? Then you may suffer from transitional automotive disorder. Ask your BMW dealer if the new M2 coupe is right for you. (Side effects may include joyous laughter at extralegal speeds, increased tolerance for g-forces, and cravings for empty, curvy roads.) The second-generation M2’s formulation is simple in that it condenses the workings of the one-size-up M4, one of BMW M’s finest, into a more playful package. At $63,195 to start, it’s also $12,500 less expensive. Based on the redesigned 2-series coupe produced in Mexico, the M2 remains a compact rear-wheel-drive rush of a car with a confining back seat,…

When you turn on your Mac, various apps, add-ons, and invisible background processes start running all by themselves. This is usually what you want, but you may sometimes see items running that you don’t recall adding yourself. Where do they come from? Sometimes these processes and apps can cause problems, and you need to remove them for your Mac to behave normally. And even if there’s not a problem, such items can increase your Mac’s startup time and may decrease performance, you’ll want to make sure your Mac is loading only items that are useful to you. Here’s a quick primer on the various kinds of startup and login items and how to manage them. LOGIN ITEMS MacOS 13 (Venutra) or later: Open System Settings and click General, then click Login Items (1). You’ll…

As the 20th century’s final decade began, Tom Cruise felt the need for speed in a Chevy Lumina, the coolest new music came from Seattle, and NikeTown was the next big thing in retail therapy. The Berlin Wall had fallen, and with it the Soviet Union began its collapse. The Cold War was over. The good guys won. This was, declared political scientist Francis Fukuyama, the end of history. Except it wasn’t. The 1990s would see the usual catalog of war and misery and political intrigue that has plagued humanity since the beginning. It would also see the invention of a technology that would reshape global culture—the world wide web. And it would be the decade that remade the auto industry. For carmakers, the ’90s delivered a decade of unprecedented acquisitions, mergers,…

Venus’ landscape is littered with volcanoes that were clearly active in the past. But less clear is whether any are still erupting in the present. Many researchers have suspected this is the case, citing evidence of lava flows that appear relatively recent. But direct before-and-after evidence of an eruption had not emerged — until researchers found it while combing through archival data from NASA’s Magellan mission, which orbited the planet from Aug. 10, 1990, to Oct. 13, 1994. Robert Herrick, a planetary scientist at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks (UAF), reexamined the over 30-year-old data and presented the findings March 15 at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, held in The Woodlands, Texas, and virtually. The results were published the same day in Science. Herrick compared February 1991 radar imagery…

Jancee Dunn was a 45-year-old mom of a toddler when she first began experiencing symptoms of perimenopause—a racing heartbeat, “crawlingly itchy” dry skin, night sweats so severe she was convinced she’d peed the bed. But despite her years of experience as a health reporter, the bestselling author—along with her doctors—attributed it all to stress. When she missed a few periods, she assumed she was pregnant. “I had it in my head that menopause was for older ladies,” she says, “and I was busy going to Mommy and Me classes with my young child.” Most women reach menopause—confirmed when 12 months have elapsed without a period—between the ages of 40 and 58, but symptoms can begin years earlier. “It’s embarrassing to think of now, but I was so clueless,” says Dunn, now…

The last time Carol Burnett saw Mary Tyler Moore was in 2012, when the two legends of television comedy appeared on a CBS birthday salute to Betty White, who was turning 90. “Mary and I sat and talked,” recalls Burnett. “At one point she said, ‘Don’t you want to do it all over again?’ There was a little bit of a sadness in that. I said, ‘No, been there, done that. We had fun, but I wouldn’t want to go back and try it all over again.’ And she said, ‘No, I just mean, wouldn’t it be wonderful to do it all over again the way we did?’ ” Who could blame Moore for wanting to retrace those golden steps? In the years since she died at age 80 in 2017,…

Those who like to tinker on motorcycles have likely attempted to change a tire or two over the years. I’ll admit I’ve had a few opportunities to change my own as well as friends’ tires, and generally speaking, it isn’t that much fun — especially when dealing with cold or old rubber, both of which make the tire carcass stiff and hard to work with. Equally difficult is a tire with a short sidewall. All of the above means you are going to struggle with tire irons, and there’s a good chance you’ll throw out a few expletives, scratch the rim in a few places and skin a couple of knuckles, no matter how careful you are. I had seen the Rabaconda videos online and I thought the same as everyone…

Big Sur is a major upgrade to macOS, and some people are ready for it. However, if you’ve been running Mojave or an earlier version of macOS to keep 32-bit applications running, you may still be holding back. If you’re otherwise ready to move forward, you have a few options for keeping your Mojave installation active. In each case, I’d recommend starting by making a full disk image backup of your current macOS setup with Disk Utility, SuperDuper!, or Carbon Copy Cloner. In case something goes wrong, you can revert to it or restore from it. Your easiest path is to buy or use a sufficiently large external drive and clone to it directly from your current Mac. This lets you even boot from it in a pinch, so you don’t have a…

BANGLADESH’S PRIME MINISTER, Sheikh Hasina, is the world’s longest-serving female head of government, and one of the most significant of either sex. During two decades in office she has presided over momentous poverty alleviation in her country of 170m, fuelled by average annual GDP growth of 7% for much of that time. The 75-year-old has led her party, the Awami League, to victory in three consecutive polls, and four in all—one more than Indira Gandhi or Margaret Thatcher managed. With an election due early next year, which she is expected to win, The Economist asked her, in an interview in her northern Virginia hotel suite, what ambitions she had left. “I want to make this country a hunger-free, poverty-free developed country,” she says—then abruptly switches tack. “Can you imagine that they…

9. DAVID REINBACHER BORN Oct. 25, 2004, Hohenems, Aut. 2022-23 Kloten POS D HT 6-2 WT 185 SHOOTS R CENTRAL SCOUTING No. 5 (Int’l skaters) THERE ARE SOME scouts who believe Reinbacher’s value will be inflated by the fact 2023 doesn’t look like a strong draft for defensemen. In fact, there’s a chance Reinbacher will be the first blueliner to hear his name called. The Austrian-born defenseman fared well with Kloten in Switzerland this season and has the kind of size and skill set that translate well to the NHL. “There’s really nothing bad in his game,” one scout said. “He’s a good skater, he’s a good puck-mover, he has better than average skill, he has better than average compete, he has really good size. What’s not to like?” Scouts would like to see more offense from…

Though it is just 16 feet wide and 24 feet long, this rural retreat is big on escape-to-the-country charm. “My entire family built it from scratch using salvaged, 150-year-old barnboards and spruce beams,” says the Montreal-based homeowner. The beams’ length dictated the size and shape of the space, which was constructed post-and-beam style, remarkably without the use of any machinery or nails. “My uncle is an engineer and played a key role in building the house, which is like this incredible natural sculpture,” she says. The furnishings, mostly thrifted and antique, layer in a welcoming, lived-in look, and it’s no wonder the owner’s two grown children spend as much time here with her as they can. She says, “Inside and out, it makes us feel calm and relaxed, and worlds…

While Windows users often close down their PCs at the end of the day, those with Macs tend to leave them on indefinitely. Many Mac users engage in this behavior because they want to pick up where they left off, but also because experience has shown them that Macs tend to cope well with this kind of behavior—probably because Apple has designed macOS and Macs to be very efficient in terms of energy use and performance. But is this a good idea? There are three options open to every user when they’ve finished using the computer for the day: Leave it on, put it to sleep or turn it off. Want to know which one to choose? Read on. DO I NEED TO SHUT DOWN MY MAC OR MACBOOK? Over time, processes and…

What is modeling responses Ed.: In an episode of FineScale Modeler Weekly, Tim Kidwell and I addressed the question, “What is modeling?” and we asked viewers and readers to respond. Here’s a sampling of those comments. – Aaron Skinner I just watched your video on “What Qualifies as Modeling” and wanted to say that I couldn’t agree more. At its core, modeling is replication of something real or imagined. Designing parts yourself, whether by hand or for 3D-printing, is just a different level of detail some people use the same way some modelers use aftermarket resin details. 3D-printing is a medium, like all the other materials (PC, PS, wood, PE, resin, etc.) that go into our kits and dioramas and does not inherently affect the definition of what is and isn’t a model.…

At AXPONA, I saw teenage besties cruising rooms together. I saw fashion-conscious 20-somethings listening in sweet spots, and young parents with younger children. Yeah, there were a few gray boomers like me, but only a couple were wearing Hawaiian shirts. AXPONA 2023 vibed like a tribal conference at a sacred pilgrimage site, and I’ve never enjoyed an audio show this much before. I attended AXPONA this year not to write room reports or shore up industry connections. I went to find readers’ faces that I might remember as I sit at home alone writing in my cubby, as I am doing now. When I’ve covered shows in the past, I’ve always been in a hurry, stressed out, sleep-deprived, undernourished, bouncing room to room gathering data and impressions. If a reader approached me…

I have a confession to make, and it will probably shock many of you, so please hold off on the hate mail: I’m not a fan of two-strokes. There, it’s out in the open. I don’t really care for them, and certainly don’t share the affection that many riders have for those smelly buzzers. It’s curious, really, since the first few motorized two wheelers I ever owned were two-strokes. I began riding on a Motobecane moped; my first motorcycle was a CZ250 dirt bike; and my first race bike was a Suzuki RG500. I should therefore enjoy those noisy, smokey motorcycles. Or maybe those are the very reasons I don’t like them. My disdain for two-strokes should be unfounded, really. They are lighter and more powerful than their four-stroke equivalents, and…

→ Break out your American-flag shirt and grab your passport, because NASCAR is headed to France for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The crossover isn’t as strange as it might seem. American sports-car teams have long been vying for glory on the Mulsanne Straight at the famed endurance race, but NASCAR has only been to Le Mans once before. Each year, the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) welcomes a team to Le Mans to participate in the Garage 56 program, an exhibition class created in 2012 to encourage technical innovation. Past G56 racers have run on alternative fuels or featured cockpits equipped for disabled drivers, with two teams from the latter category being the only G56 entries to have ever finished the race. For 2023, the ACO invited NASCAR to…

Bob’s recent book, Earth-Shattering (Little, Brown and Company, 2019), explores the greatest cataclysms that have shaken the universe. → “These stars aren’t really there anymore, are they?” I’ve frequently heard the same question from observatory visitors since 1982, whether at my own observatories, at the Storm King Academy where I taught, at the famous Millbrook School where I gave astro lectures, and elsewhere in these dark mountains of upstate New York. I respect that question, even though the logic behind it isn’t correct. It reveals awareness that light has a finite speed and that we might see an image even if a star no longer exists. But the thinking is wrong because the 6,000 naked-eye stars have an average lifespan of over a billion years apiece, and their images’ travel time to Earth…

HARVARD MAN HANKS Cambridge, Mass., May 25 Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks delivered the commencement address at Harvard University’s 372nd graduation ceremony. “If we do the work, justice and the American way are within our grasp,” said Hanks. The star received a Harvard-branded volleyball—a joking reference to his pal Wilson in the 2000 film Cast Away (inset)—and an honorary doctor of arts degree. “He is already asking to be called doctor!” his wife, Rita Wilson, quipped to People. ROMANTIC WEDDINGS PAR-TEE TIME Scotland, May 25 Harry Styles hit the links at St. Andrews’s famous Old Course ahead of two tour dates in Edinburgh. FOREVER FAMILY May 25 This Is Us alums (from left) Chrissy Metz, Mandy Moore and Susan Kelechi Watson got together for lunch one year after the series finale. Moore captioned her Instagram post: “Reunited with my…

You get faster ports and two drive bays in the OWC miniStack STX hub for Mac mini or Mac Studio. The miniStack STX matches the Mac’s own Thunderbolt 4 bandwidth and its SSD drive bay will support the fastest NVMe M.2 SSDs. By comparison, Satechi’s rival Stand & Hub for Mac mini features 5Gbps USB-C and USB-A ports and slower SATA M.2 SSDs. Combined with the Mac mini’s own roster of ports, with the ministack STX you will have six fast Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB-A ports, plus the mini’s own ethernet and HDMI ports. The OWC miniStack has one upstream Thunderbolt port that connects to the Mac, and three downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports. With Thunderbolt 4, you can create three independent daisy chains with up to five total Thunderbolt…

ROUTE 66 AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE. The Mother Road has long been bypassed by the Interstate Highway System, and most of its once-numerous roadside motels, gas stations, and eateries have vanished beneath the blades of bulldozers. Those that remain generally fall into one of two categories: graffiti-slathered skeletons of their former selves that live on in Instagram infamy or Route 66 memorabilia outfits selling tchotchkes and supplies to infrequent passersby. But the road still has a lot of appeal, especially the more desolate stretches that wander far from the interstate through lonely yet beautiful lands that convey a sense of time travel. These are places where you can see the weather advancing across the countryside as you drive down into the valley to meet it. There are few people…

If you lived through the 1990s, you know it was a fascinating era. From cars to pop culture to politics and more, we can’t come close to reminding you of everything significant that occurred—but we can highlight some of the key cars, moments, and talking points that defined the decade. 1990 • MotorTrend Car of the Year: Lincoln Town Car • MotorTrend Import Car of the Year: Nissan 300ZX • MotorTrend Truck of the Year: Ford Aerostar 4WD • Best Picture: Dances with Wolves • Song of the Year Grammy: “Wind Beneath My Wings” (Bette Midler) New Vehicles and MotorTrend First Drives • Honda Accord (fourth generation) • Dodge Stealth/Mitsubishi 3000GT • Geo Storm • Acura NSX • GMC Syclone • Saturn S-Series Events • Smoking banned on domestic airline flights • Police beating of Rodney King prompts Los Angeles riots • Iraq invades Kuwait, leading to…

The argument broke out after the couple stopped to buy cigarettes at a gas station in Gahanna, Ohio, on an August evening in 2015. Judy Malinowski, a 31-year-old mother of two, and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Michael Slager exchanged heated words before the confrontation quickly turned violent. Captured on a horrifying surveillance video from a nearby bank, Slager stepped away for a moment and returned with a can of gasoline that he poured over Malinowski and then set ablaze with a lighter. Towering flames engulfed her while Slager returned to his truck to retrieve a fire extinguisher that he used to put out the blaze—leaving Malinowski near death. Rushed to a hospital, she was barely recognizable when her mother, Bonnie Bowes, arrived from home and was told by doctors that her…

“The historian,” wrote Frederich Von Schlegel, “is a prophet looking backwards.” We certainly made more than our share of predictions in the ’90s; we were right about some, wrong about others, and downright embarrassed by a few. Here are a half-dozen of our 1990s projections and their eventual outcomes. 1990: Volkswagen Should Bring Back the Beetle In his June 1990 column, MotorTrend editor Jack Nerad recounted a chat with a Volkswagen PR rep who fretted about the company’s sinking market share. Nerad’s suggestion: Bring back the Beetle. “Volkswagen has lost its reputation for low-cost, reliable ‘transportation’ cars to the Japanese and Koreans,” he wrote. The PR man scoffed—surely Nerad didn’t mean the Beetle? “I wasn’t proposing the reintroduction of a several-decades-old model,” Nerad said. “I was suggesting fresh, modern mechanicals under a…

WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORDS MARS ROVER, you probably picture one of the modern rovers like Perseverance or Curiosity: camera-covered, lasertoting, nuclear-powered monster trucks with wheels the size of barrels, trundling across Mars with all the urgency of a Jawa sandcrawler to study rocks and dust. Or, if you’re a little older, you might imagine their predecessors: the smaller, solar-powered twins Spirit and Opportunity, which raced across Barsoom like Labrador puppies on a beach, hopscotching from crater to crater and traversing more hills than the Grand Old Duke of York. But none of those would have been built if it weren’t for the amazing success of a much smaller, much less sophisticated rover named Sojourner, which landed on Mars 26 years ago. Not much bigger than a microwave, it weathered a…

IF AUSTRALIA AND Canada were one economy, this “Ozanada” would be the world’s fifth-largest, bigger than India and just behind Germany. Considering the two in tandem is not as nutty as it seems. Weather aside, they have a remarkable amount in common. Both are vast land masses populated by comparatively few people and dangerous wildlife. Both are (mostly) English-speaking realms of King Charles III. Both export their rich natural resources around the planet. And both are magnets for immigration. Their worlds of business, too, are near-identical. Macquarie, an Australian financial group, is the world’s largest infrastructure-investment manager. Brookfield, a Canadian peer, is the runner-up. Fittingly, Australia has produced a number of top surf-clothing labels, just as Canada has developed a niche in parkas and other winterwear. And, of course, both are…

You might have seen headlines this week about the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra taking so-called “fake” moon pictures. Ever since the S20 Ultra, Samsung has had a feature called Space Zoom that marries its 10X optical zoom with massive digital zoom to reach a combined 100X zoom. In marketing shots, Samsung has shown its phone taking nearly crystal clear pictures of the moon, and users have done the same on a clear night. But a Redditor has proven that Samsung’s incredible Space Zoom is using a bit of trickery. It turns out that when taking pictures of the moon, Samsung’s AI-based Scene Optimizer does a whole lot of heavy lifting to make it look like the moon was photographed with a high-resolution telescope rather than a smartphone. So when someone takes…

WHEN CHINA launched a campaign of economic coercion against Australia in 2020, Communist Party bosses thought they had crushing leverage. The economies of the two countries—resource-rich Australia and commodities-hungry China—were complementary and closely connected. By massively curbing shipments of everything from timber to coal, lobsters, barley and wine, on pretexts including exaggerated concerns about trade practices and pest infestations, China imposed a A$24bn ($16bn) hit on Australia, representing 5.5% of its total annual exports. Yet it did not succumb. And like a surfer surviving a shark attack with no more than a lightly gnawed board, Australia is now emerging from three years of Chinese bullying in remarkably good shape. Its exports briefly suffered under the strictures, then surged—culminating last year in Australia’s biggest-ever trade surplus, equivalent to more than 7% of…

THERESA MAY, a former prime minister, was an underappreciated wordsmith. “Brexit means Brexit” was magisterial in its circularity. “No deal is better than a bad deal” stuck around long after she no longer agreed with it. Of all the phrases she popularised, the most potent was: “There isn’t a Magic Money Tree.” Mrs May’s Magic Money Tree explains why no politician can pledge to spend money without saying exactly where the cash would come from. Rishi Sunak, the Conservative prime minister, has long denied the tree’s existence. When Rachel Reeves became Labour’s shadow chancellor in 2021, she swung an axe at it, too. “I don’t believe there is a Magic Money Tree,” she said in one of her first big interviews after taking the job. No such rules apply when it comes…