MARS season 2 premiers tonight on Nat Geo

NEWS – I just finished binge-watching the first season of MARS, a 6-episode docudrama streaming from NatGeo TV. If your eyes just glazed over when you read that MARS is a docudrama, please unglaze them right now because this series is really entertaining if you have any interest in sci-fi, space exploration, science, etc. The executive producers of the series are Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, so you know it’s going to be good. It follows the first manned (fictitious) mission to colonize Mars in the year 2033.

The scripted storyline is about how the astronauts survive the trip to the planet on a rocket named Daedalus. It takes us with them on the stressful landing, and onward. Short segments that provide info from a variety of speakers are injected into the episodes from people like Andy Weir author of Martian, Neil Degrasse Tyson, and Elon Musk CEO and lead designer of SpaceX whose mission is to make human life interplanetary, which is what the series MARS is all about.

The 2nd season of MARS picks up in 2042, 5 years after the end of the first season of the series. Six more episodes of the scripted drama and documentary hybrid series offer more stories about how the first explorers of the red planet will cope with the issues of human interaction, contamination, illness, death, natural disasters and even the first baby to be born on MARS.

The second season brings new comments from Elon Musk, Bill Nye, Ellen Stofan, Michio Kaku, and others to round out the 47-minute episodes. Like the first season, the second season is 6 episodes so they are easy to watch one at a time or one after another. I was given early access to the second season episodes and as more characters and storylines are added, the show gets better and better.

What I like most about MARS is that the scripted part of the series is compelling, exciting, and interesting, and the documentary part of the series is just as compelling and interesting. This series is entertaining AND educational in a fun way that will make you want to keep watching.

Check out MARS Season 2 starting November 12, 9/8c on Nat Geo.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

MARS season 2 premiers tonight on Nat Geo originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 12, 2018 at 4:10 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Make perfect rice in your microwave with Sistema

NEWS – My husband can make perfect rice on the stovetop, but I always seem to end up with rice “soup” unless I use a rice cooker.  The problem with the big rice-cooking appliance is that we don’t eat rice very often, but we need to set aside a lot of precious cabinet space in our small kitchen to store that appliance.  We could save a lot of cabinet space by replacing our rice cooker with the Sistema Microwave Rice Cooker.

The rice cooker is made of 100% virgin plastic that is both phthalate- and BPA-free.  It is designed to cook rice, polenta, and couscous in the microwave. The rice steamer minimizes mess in the microwave with a pressure-chamber plate that collects overflow and then drains it back into the base chamber. It also comes with a lid with cool-to-touch, easy-lift tabs and a nonstick rice spoon for serving.  

The Sistema rice cooker is top-rack dishwasher-safe and fridge- and freezer-safe.  It holds 87.2 ounces / 2.6 liters, and measures 8.5″ x 7.7″ x 6.3″.  The Sistema Microwave Rice Cooker is $12.93 at Amazon.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

Make perfect rice in your microwave with Sistema originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 12, 2018 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Now your cooler can have an interior light, just like your home fridge

NEWS – Well, it’s not just like the home fridge, because it’s not activated by opening the door.  The StarBright Cooler Light has LED bulbs and a rechargeable battery.  You turn it on and toss it into your Yeti, Coleman, RTIC, or other coolers of any size.  It’s not mounted to your cooler.  It lays on top of or under the ice in the cooler.  It waterproof, even in up to 6 feet of water.

The StarBright light uses long-life red and white LEDs that are rated for over 36,000 hours of use.  The red lights will protect your night vision, for when you are fishing or star-watching.  It can provide up to 60 hours of white light or up to 31 hours of red light.  The battery recharges with any USB power source in about 5 hours, and an LED gauge shows how much battery life is left.

The StarBright Cooler Light is $22.92 at Amazon.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

Now your cooler can have an interior light, just like your home fridge originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 12, 2018 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Lighten up with the YaYwallet

NEWS – This ultra-slim wallet is barely bigger than the credit and ID cards it’s designed to carry.  The YaYwallets are made of durable polyester woven elastic.  The smooth edges are double-stitched for strength with bonded, fray-resistant nylon thread for smooth edges that protect your pockets or bag.  The wallet is designed to take up only a small amount of room in your pocket or every day kit while holding up to 10 cards.

The YaYwallet is available in a leaf print, multi dot print, or in solid black.

YaYwallets are available for $9.99 at The Container Store.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

Lighten up with the YaYwallet originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 11, 2018 at 8:23 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Folding straws, backpacks, Bluetooth earbuds, and more – Weekly roundup

Hey Gadgeteers, it’s time to make sure you didn’t miss any of our excellent content this week. Here’s a handy list of all of our articles, reviews and news from the past seven days. Enjoy!

ARTICLES

REVIEWS

NEWS

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

Folding straws, backpacks, Bluetooth earbuds, and more – Weekly roundup originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 10, 2018 at 4:30 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.