Most Popular Features and Essays of 2015

Here were our best features and essays in 2015. Being Poor Is Too Expensive Some think that being poor is simple. You dont have enough money to buy a lot of stuff, so youre forced to buy less stuff. But thats not really how it works. It actually costsmoreto be poor. Youre like the invisible behind-the-scenes worker who is only noticed when something breaksand then youre blamed for it. We needed a way to hook people in, but no one seemed interested....

December 30, 2015 · 3 min · 452 words · Brian Winters

The Aukey Magnetic Car Mount is A Dead Simple Phone Mount For Any Car

The Aukey magnetic car mount handles the task flawlessly. TheAukey magnetic car dock($7) is a deceptively simple gadget. The dock itself is a small, flat circle, with four firm prongs sticking off the back. you’re free to slide it onto the slats of any standard air conditioner vent. Simply place your phone on the pad and your phone stays in place. As a side note: while magnets are harmless to modern smartphones (how neat is that?...

December 30, 2015 · 3 min · 438 words · Brent Roman

The Ice of Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, remains covered with ice for almost five months a year. Every winter as the temperature plummets below zero, the surface of the worlds largest freshwater lake freezes. When other rivers and lakes froze long before in the year, Baikal still resists ice formation. Its cold waves break against the shore and decorate the seaboard rocks with icy patterns. The ice on average is about a meter thick allowing cars and trucks to be easily driven over....

December 30, 2015 · 1 min · 180 words · Anna Moore

Career Spotlight: What I Do as a 911 Dispatcher

I am currently a 911 dispatcher and have been for a little over a year now. What drove you to choose your career path? Im glad I found out before I got too serious about the schooling. How did you go about getting your job? What kind of education and experience did you need? What kinds of things do you do beyond what most people see? Is there a lot of down time between calls?...

December 29, 2015 · 4 min · 735 words · Tyler Clark

How to Be a Five-Star Uber or Lyft Passenger

And a bad rating can make grabbing a ride a lot harder in the future. When you are ready to set your pickup location, think about things from the drivers point of view. Morales suggests you walk around the corner and choose a location that will avoid a possible accident or ticket. Also, dont keep your driver on the edge of their seat by withholding your destination until they arrive....

December 29, 2015 · 2 min · 414 words · Grant Cooke

Learning to Pick Locks Taught Me How Crappy Door Locks Really Are

About a month ago, I picked upa training lockpick set. Ive always been curious about how lock picking works and how difficult it really is. However, understanding how locks work isnt the same as keeping them safe. And protecting against a lock pick isnt the same as securing your home. It was almost a challenge. You want the keys to this lock? Youll have to pick it first. To my surprise, I had the lock open inside of five minutes....

December 29, 2015 · 4 min · 714 words · Tamara Duncan

The Hall of Mosses

Aside from the charming mosses, it also offers the chance to see wildlife. The trail is accessible year-round. Photo credit:John Walker/Flickr Photo credit:Tjflex2/Flickr Sources:Wikipedia/www.nps.gov

December 29, 2015 · 1 min · 24 words · Russell Owens

The Painted Cliffs of Maria Island

The beautifully patterned sandstone rocks of Painted Cliffs are one of Maria islands most popular attraction. The Painted Cliffs are located at the end of Hopground beach. Maria, located at the highest point of Maria island.

December 29, 2015 · 1 min · 36 words · Daniel Abbott

Yanweizhou Wetland Park, China

The problem though was that these spaces were underutilized because of the locations poor accessibility. In addition, most of the wetland was fragmented and damaged by sand quarrying. The project has given the city a new identity and is now acclaimed as its most poetic landscape. The park recently won the World Landscape of the Year prize in the World Architecture Festival 2015. All photographs courtesy of Turenscape Sources:www.turenscape.com/Dezeen

December 29, 2015 · 1 min · 69 words · Sonya Castro

How to Be a Good Listener When Someone Needs to Vent

you should probably make the people you care about feel comfortable, understood, and validated. Everyone needs to let off a little steam every once in awhile, and people love a good listener. Once it seems like everyone is comfortable, feel free to kick things off. If you are the cause, youve now shown initiative and have the power to fix it. If not, follow up with questions in the realm of Are you upset about something?...

December 28, 2015 · 3 min · 549 words · Vanessa Holt

How to Level Up Your Tabletop Role-Playing Games

Not only are tabletop role-playing games likeDungeons & DragonsandFATEa blast to play,they can actually improve your life. Chris Chinns aptly namedSame Page Toolwill make things easier for everyone. you might also supplement that withAdam Drays excellent list of issues to be discussed. Nothing is more aggravating than starting an exciting campaign and never continuing it because such things were never coordinated. They may eventually shift into first-person, but for now, its better they remain comfortable....

December 28, 2015 · 2 min · 400 words · Paul Shea

Iceland’s Most Beautiful Waterfalls

Iceland is often called the land of waterfalls. Indeed, there are literally hundreds of these natural beauties all over the country. From the powerful Dettifoss to the majestic Svartifoss, they are the countrys most recognizable attraction. Being located between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean, Icelands climate is influenced by both. These streams of the water fall over numerous ridges in this volcanic island creating innumerable waterfalls. While all of them are majestic, there are some that are favorites among tourists....

December 28, 2015 · 2 min · 289 words · Mathew Smith

The Best Nintendo 64 Emulator for Windows

If you want to relive the games of your childhood, an emulator is a decent way to go. If you prefer to download Project64 from a site without said warning, you canget version 1.6 from Jabosoft. No emulator is perfect. In fact, most of them are fairly inaccurate, and plenty of games are still unplayable. As such, theres no one true best Nintendo 64 emulator. Some games may work best with Jabos Direct3D8 video plugin, which comes packaged with Project64....

December 28, 2015 · 2 min · 283 words · Jennifer Bailey