Hasta La Gadget!

Elon Musk has made no secret of his ambition to establish a colony on Mars. His private space company, SpaceX, has been working on technology to make that happen. However, the costs associated with the entire endeavor are quite high, but Musk is hopeful that they can be reduced. He is actually aiming to make a trip to Mars cheaper than going to college.

Musk has penned an article that has been published by space technology journal New Space. It’s a 16 page paper that’s available online for free via New Space until next month. Musk has said that changes to the plan highlighted in the article are due as well.

Musk estimates that getting 12 people to Mars to start a colony currently stands at $10 billion per person but he’s hopeful that it can be brought down.

“If we can get the cost of moving to Mars to be roughly equivalent to a median house price in the United States, which is around $200,000, then I think the probability of establishing a self-sustaining civilization is very high,” he writes.

Musk isn’t ruling out this possibility that the cost can be brought down further to under $100,000 which would be cheaper than getting a degree from a private university in the United States.

Musk’s ideas for bringing the costs down include enabling the colony built on Mars to produce propellant for the ships which would ideally be able to fly to Mars and back at least more than once. They would also have the capability of refilling fuel in the orbit.

How soon can all of this happen? “If things go super-well, it might be in the 10-year timeframe, but I do not want to say that is when it will occur,” Musk suggests.

Colonizing Mars (thanks Prof Hubbard for creating this from my talk). Major changes to the plan coming soon. https://t.co/s59qMHUj5O

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2017

Elon Musk Wants To Make A Trip To Mars Cheaper Than College , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Everyone wants a dreamy wedding photo like this, right?

“100+ intoxicated guests, layers of flammable tulle and fire; what could possibly go wrong?” says Kiera of Kiera Blanden Events + Styling.

She has witnessed firsthand what happens when sparkler exits go bad (think: Michael Jackson in that Pepsi commercial – ouch!)

So when I approached Kiera for some info on how to recreate one of the hottest (no pun intended) trends for your wedding, she was happy to share her checklist with Unbridely.

Thanks Kiera!

DOWNLOAD MY SPARKLER FAREWELL CHECKLIST FROM UNBRIDELY

1) Ask your venue first

While some wedding venues are usually pretty happy for your guests to light it up (so to speak..) at the end of the night, there are others that ban the use of sparklers entirely. If your venue has had a bad experience previously or don’t have an outdoor option, the answer might be no.

2) Check with your local fire service about seasonal and daily fire bans

In the U.S. you can check out state fire restrictions at: firerestrictions.us

In Australia, the local Country Fire Service (SA), Rural Fire Service (NSW), Country Fire Authority (VIC), Fire and Emergency Services (QLD), Fire and Rescue Service (NT), Fire Service (TAS), Fire and Rescue (ACT) and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (WA) should be your primary source of information about fire bans.

3) Let your suppliers know what you want

In order to capture the memories of your whimsical sparkler exit forever, your photographer and videographer need to be told well in advance. They can then prepare to be in the right position with the right lens at the right time.

Your photographer might also have past experience and be able to guide you with suggestions about artful and original poses to maximise the moment.

4) Choose ‘Team Sparkle’ carefully

You will need to nominate one sparkler exit helper for every 25 guests or so. And, although it may seem obvious in the cold, hard light of day, keep in mind that you want your most responsible, tea-totalling, designated-driver type family or friends to be on duty when everyone else is tipsy at the end of the evening.

They will be handing out one sparkler to each of your guests (multiple sparklers per person increase the likelihood of burns) and helping them to assemble in a guard of honour formation. Standing approximately 2 metres apart is a good guide – the sparklers held on each side of the path shouldn’t be able to touch. 

When your MC or DJ gives the cue, your helpers will then carefully light your path!

5) Get your kit together

Once you have permission from your venue, it’s okay with the firies, your photographer and videographer are on board and you’ve assembled your crack team, the next step is to make the process virtually foolproof by being prepared. 

You will need:

• long handled (42cm or 70cm) sparklers that have a burn time of around 2-3 minutes – 1 per guest, 
• gas stick firelighters – 1 for each sparkler exit helper,
• buckets of sand to put the burnt sparklers in – approx 1 for every 25 guests (in Kiera’s experience,  venue owners aren’t too thrilled about finding exhausted sparkler handles in their gardens, in the pond, pot plants or on the roof the morning after),
• buckets of water or a hose stretched out and ready to go, and
• if you’re not at a venue (like on a private property in a marquee, for example), have a first aid kit on hand.

6) Delegate and communicate

The quickest and least confusing way to let your guests know where they are needed at the appropriate time is to delegate the responsibility to your MC or DJ. It can also help to have a sign next to or on the container that holds your sparklers and to include the exit time on any programs or wedding day timeline signage. 

Generally, it is best practice for your MC/DJ to ask your guests to:

• put their drinks down first
• ensure that all children are kept well clear of the guard of honour and don’t have access to the gas lighters, and
• hold ‘em high and not across the guard of honour (this protects your hair sprayed ‘do’ or flower crown from getting singed and keeps your photographer/videographer safe from burns). 

And if you’re wearing a veil, make sure that you take it off before you walk through.

Then all that’s left is to enjoy the magic as it unfolds!

DOWNLOAD MY SPARKLER FAREWELL CHECKLIST FROM UNBRIDELY

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Scott Schoettes, Counsel and HIV Project Director at the pioneering LGBTQ legal group Lambda Legal, resigned late last week from the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), along with five other council members, in protest of Donald Trump’s polices  ― or lack of polices ― to combat the HIV epidemic.

On Friday, Schoettes lambasted Trump as callous, a president who “simply does not care,” laying out the reasons for the resignations in a piece on Newsweek.com: 

As advocates for people living with HIV, we have dedicated our lives to combating this disease and no longer feel we can do so effectively within the confines of an advisory body to a president who simply does not care. The Trump Administration has no strategy to address the on-going HIV/AIDS epidemic, seeks zero input from experts to formulate HIV policy, and—most concerning—pushes legislation that will harm people living with HIV and halt or reverse important gains made in the fight against this disease. 

PACHA, created in 1995 during the Clinton administration, advises the Secretary of Health & Human Services, who is now Tom Price, the former Georgia GOP congressman with an abominable anti-LGBTQ voting record. In 2013, Price, on a conference call of far-right activists, responded to a question about the “medical health impact” of the “homosexual agenda” by stating that “the consequences of activity that has been seen as outside the norm are real and must be explored completely and in their entirety prior to moving forward with any social legislation that would alter things.”

Price is now spearheading Trump’s and the GOP’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with Trumpcare, which the Congressional Budge Office estimated would cause 23 million people to lose health care within ten years. This would harm hundreds of thousands of people with HIV across the country as well as many more HIV-negative gay and bisexual men and transgender women at risk who need insurance for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the drug therapy to prevent HIV infection. And any advances to stem the epidemic could be dramatically halted or reversed.

One of the most ominous signs of Price’s and the Trump administration’s lack of concern about HIV is that the website for the Office of AIDS Policy was taken down shortly after Trump took office and has not been replaced ― another reason cited by the six members of PACHA who resigned.

Some activists are wondering why only six members in fact resigned, given all the evidence of this administration’s willful negligence.

“How about the other members of PACHA? Where’s their courage? This should have been a mass protest with ALL members resigning,” wrote prominent, long-time AIDS activist Peter Staley, an early organizer in the groups ACT UP and Treatment Action Group (TAG), which successfully pressured government and drug companies to create life-saving drugs for people with HIV in the ‘90s, on his Facebook page. “It’s very obvious this administration is not going to use PACHA or do ANYTHING around HIV/AIDS. Protest is the ONLY response we have at this point.”

It’s a very important point. Ronald Reagan eventually created a presidential AIDS commission as a fig leaf, using activists to make it seem like he was doing something when in fact precious time was lost while little was done and thousands died. Activists and experts, if they don’t have the ear of the administration and the will from officials for sound HIV policy around treatment and prevention, should not be providing cover, and instead should be embarrassing the Trump administration.

This is a critical time in the epidemic, as the epicenter has shifted from large gay meccas like New York and San Francisco to smaller cities in the South, where HIV continues to disproportionately affect black gay and bisexual men and transgender women, and where efforts at treatment and prevention have always terribly lagged. As Linda Villarosa reported  in a piece for the cover of the New York Times Magazine two weeks ago, “America’s Hidden H.I.V. Epidemic,” a stunning 50 percent of black gay and bisexual men will be infected with HIV over their lifetimes: 

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, using the first comprehensive national estimates of lifetime risk of H.I.V. for several key populations, predicted that if current rates continue, one in two African-American gay and bisexual men will be infected with the virus. That compares with a lifetime risk of one in 99 for all Americans and one in 11 for white gay and bisexual men. To offer more perspective: Swaziland, a tiny African nation, has the world’s highest rate of H.I.V., at 28.8 percent of the population. If gay and bisexual African-American men made up a country, its rate would surpass that of this impoverished African nation — and all other nations.

That’d horrifying ― and unacceptable. With an administration that is literally content to allow people to get sick and die, the only response is to make as much noise as possible, as I’ve noted previously, and point to the callous disregard. Protest takes many forms, and resigning from this administration’s panels and councils ― as expert advisors to the EPA did after the Trump administration dsmissed half of the members of an important science committee  ― sends a powerful message. All of the members of PACHA should follow the brave lead of the six who resigned last week, and speak out loudly about this administration’s brutal policies. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

By Michael Sullivan & Winnie Yang & Tim Barribeau

This post was done in partnership with The Sweethome, a buyer’s guide to the best homewares. When readers choose to buy The Sweethome’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affil…

Sony Pictures will be bringing back Spider-Man to the big screen next month. There’s already a lot of excitement surrounding the reboot, Sphero has released a great new Spider-Man toy and a new PS4-exclusive Spider-Man game is in the pipeline as well. Sony Pictures has now confirmed that it’s going to release a Spider-Man: Homecoming virtual reality experience as well.

This new virtual reality experience from Sony Pictures is based on the Spider-Man: Homecoming movie that’s due to be released worldwide on July 7th. The VR experience will enable viewers to do the iconic suit and take to the street as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. They will also be able to battle with the Vulture in glorious VR.

A reveal trailer for the virtual reality experience has been released and it features Tom Holland, who is playing Peter Parker in the latest reboot of this long-running franchise. Sony Pictures is going to release the Spider-Man: Homecoming virtual reality experience on June 30th. It will be available as a free download for the PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift.

This isn’t the only VR experience that Sony Pictures has been working on. It was recently confirmed that a virtual reality experience based on the hit TV series Breaking Bad is in the pipeline as well.

Spider-Man: Homecoming Virtual Reality Experience Announced , original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.