“One of the most important things is not to be intimated,” says David Kassel, owner of ILevel, an art placement and picture-hanging service in Manhattan. “Remember that you’re not doing anything structural or permanent. Any holes you put in the walls are completely cosmetic; any ‘error’ that you make can be fixed. There is no right and wrong.” And when it comes to aesthetics, Bevil Conway, PhD, a neuroscientist who studies vision and color—and is an artist himself—says that what people consider “pleasing” to the eye is almost entirely cultural, not biological....

For instance, you could set a routine up so that, when you say “Alexa, good morning,” your lights turn on and that morning-motivation playlist starts blaring from the speakers. Or an iPhone user might say “Siri, I’m going home” to trigger a shortcut that sends an update to a family member in a text message, pulls up navigation directions in Apple Maps, and tells the smart thermostat to start heating up the house....

Pursuing inbox zero can feel like fighting a losing battle every day. Even as you attempt to tackle your email backlog, more messages continue zooming in. But what if you did a complete reset? Instead of sorting that dusty archive, you could just delete it in one fell swoop. How many emails do you need to keep around, anyway? It’s great to hold on to a project outline from your boss and the first love note from your future spouse, but hundreds of meaningless alerts and updates surround these significant messages....

You’re organizing your notes on the computer or chatting with friends on your smartphone when the app crashes. You open it back up, only for the program to shut down again. When an app starts acting like this, it’s a huge inconvenience. But there’s good news: Fixing crashing apps isn’t too difficult, whether you’re on Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key steps you should take to make everything run smoothly again....

Let that sink in for a moment. Pepper spray, along with tear gas, is one of the most common weapons in police departments’ crowd control arsenals. It was frequently used against protesters during the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, and it’s in the news once again as law enforcement across the country respond to the demonstrations against racism and police brutality sparked by the police killing of George Floyd....

It seems like it’s been 84 years since planning a party started with finding a venue, but the pandemic has shown us there are other ways to celebrate birthdays, milestones, or just the simple fact of existence. Now, using whatever video conferencing app your heart prefers, you can see your friends from the comfort and safety of your home, and party like it’s 1999. Depending on what you’re celebrating, the people you’re inviting, and what you’re in the mood for, these tips will help you throw an absolute digital rager, even if face-to-face chit-chat isn’t on the agenda....

Staying logged into your favorite apps and services usually makes sense—you really don’t want to be entering your password every single time you check Twitter. The problem is that having your apps unlocked makes it easier for someone who picks up one of your devices to get into your accounts. If you suspect an unauthorized person is poking around your digital life—whether it’s a remote hacker working from a data breach or a relative borrowing your Netflix password—take back control by quickly logging out of all open sessions except for the one you’re in....

Sometimes motorcycle gear goes a little overboard in the looks department. Sometimes it goes a lot overboard, actually, unless you’re heavy into sci-fi or dystopian future fashion. While there’s no arguing with the fact that being visible on the road is a good thing, there’s plenty of us out there who want something a little more subtle than dissonant neon color schemes or chromed exterior armor plates. If you’re a mohawk-wearing, stormtrooper-boot-stompin’ rider with a cape and tassels, this article isn’t for you....

As globalized agriculture becomes increasingly vulnerable to plant pathogens, a group of plant pathologists argue that the world needs to do more to head off emerging plant pandemics like this. “Diseases are becoming more severe as the climate changes,” says Jean Ristaino, director of the emerging plant disease research group at North Carolina State University, and the commentary’s lead author. “But then, our food supply needs to increase to serve a growing population, and one way to increase food production is to decrease the amount of disease....

Eco-resorts are generally defined by commitment to a carbon-zero existence and preserving its surrounding environment. The word “resort” connotes luxury, and many claim to provide luxury sustainably. These locales have been cropping up in recent years as environmental consciousness becomes more mainstream. Hotel chains like Hilton Worldwide make public commitments to more sustainable efforts, like accelerated adoption of renewable energy, cutting down on single-use plastics, and trying more efficient laundry machines....

I visited the remaining 10 before I turned 22, checking that item off my bucket list, and now, I’m reliving the experience as my husband and toddler cross states off their lists. They’re at 35 and 15, respectively. What does it mean to “visit” all 50 states? That’s up to you to decide, but you’ll definitely run into a lot of people with lots of opinions about it. The debate always centers around questions such as whether or not it counts if you don’t spend the night, if you only drive through a state, or if you just have a long layover....

Plug in a TV tuner Network channels, including NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, PBS, and local stations, air for free. All you need to watch them is an antenna to catch the broadcasts and a device to share them with your computer. The latter, called a TV tuner, can come in the form of a dongle or a larger box that plugs into any spare USB port. Tuners come with bundled software that helps you navigate....

Analyzing both new and archival data from the newly mended Hubble Space Telescope, scientists realized that previous assumptions about Ganymede’s atmosphere were incorrect. Back in 1998, NASA researchers took UV images of the moon’s atmosphere, which revealed ribbons of electrified gas known as auroral bands. Scientists at that time attributed the patterns to oxygen. Cut to 20 years later: Researchers now know that Ganymede’s atmosphere contains much less oxygen than previously thought....

The controlled environment in which this windy city comes to life has a hefty price tag — $7 million — and is the first of its kind. The abused model home is not made of straw or sticks or brick, but is a two-story, four-bedroom home measuring 1,900 square feet, typical of houses in the region. For mobility, it is enclosed in a hangar that can run on tracks. During tests, the surrounding framework is rigged up with 60 “pressure boxes” that bring on the pressure, through large hoses that are able to suck and blow in a manner that mimics a wind force....

As global temperatures rise and precipitation rates grow more extreme, bumble bees are likely to have trouble adapting to their environments. Additionally, expected heatwaves and droughts will create super dry environments, which could harm the flowers that the insects depend on for food. European bumble bee survival rates fell by an average of 17 percent between 1975 and 2000, while North American ones dropped by about 46 percent over the same period, according to the recent research published this week in Science....

The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center shows the storm potentially making landfall somewhere along the North Carolina coast as a category four hurricane. Intense hurricanes like Florence typically make landfall closer to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. If current forecasts hold true, this hurricane will be devastating for coastal communities in its path. Sustained winds of 130 MPH or greater (with higher gusts) would damage or destroy homes and businesses, significantly damage power grids, and possibly leave some areas unrecognizable....

The eastern Pacific hurricane season is churning out storms in abundance this year. Rosa is the tenth hurricane to form in this part of the world this season, and it’s the first storm to significantly threaten the Mexican coast. Rosa grew into a major hurricane on Thursday afternoon, taking advantage of warm water, moist air, and low wind shear in the environment around it. Weather models have been strikingly consistent, with the trough picking up the hurricane and moving it toward Mexico and the United States....

Each year, poachers traffic thousands of tons of illegal wildlife products through the world’s biggest ports. Detector dogs like the ones I work with are among the most effective means of finding that contraband. Trained canines can sniff out minuscule amounts of ivory, rhino horn, tiger bone, and other illegal products with greater than 90 percent accuracy. But these amazing canine workers will push themselves too hard if you let them....

IBM’s #HackAHairdryer campaign was well intentioned; it wanted to promote women already in STEM careers and encourage young women to go into them. Unfortunately in trying to fight gender stereotypes, IBM propagated one. The above screenshotted tweet led to a page featuring “26 innovations by 26 innovative women,” with the hope it will inspire women to pursue careers in tech fields, or more specifically tech fields at IBM. Like any advertising campaign though, the wrong hashtag can cause immense public backlash....

Montes and his colleagues at architecture firm AI SpaceFactory are in a ­cavernous exhibition hall near Peoria, Illinois, to show NASA how astronauts could use 3D printing and Martian materials to make houses on the Red Planet. After spending the better part of 30 hours watching their custom-built printer squirt out a chocolate-colored domicile called “Marsha,” they have just minutes before the agency calls time in its 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge....