Popular Mechanics articles from February 2006

Popular Mechanics archives from February 2006

Portable power keeps you on the go.(Advertisement)
February 1, 2006... Black & Decker's[R] new Powerful Solutions[TM] products are all about the convenience and freedom to roam from the mountaintops to the beaches with reliable power sources anytime, anywhere! Offering the most powerful portable power, these...

Testing hybrid hype.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... THE BACKLASH STARTED WHEN people finally began to do the math. Hybrid sales boomed as gas prices spiked last year. But when people calculated how long it would take to earn back the premium they were paying for the hybrid option, they worried...

Journey to Mars.(LETTER OF THE MONTH)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... When I was growing up in Central America, my friends and I would exchange cards with pictures of the American astronauts. Buzz and Neil were, my heroes, and I see the same look of readiness in Buzz s eyes that I did 36 years ago. As we enter a...

Of the grid.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... I admire the Hewitts for their off-the-grid endeavors ("Living Unplugged," Dec. 2005). There are thousands of homes in this country, including ours, that are off the grid. With heating oil and natural gas prices slated for increases in the near...

Test results.(Letters)(Letter to the Editor)
February 1, 2006... I share your complaints about the uncomfortable seats in the Subaru Outback ("Long-Term Tests," Dec. 2005). Thanks for not sugarcoating your reviews. GARY WEXLER LONG BEACH, NY

Eyeing the unfriendly skies.(Sea-Based X-Band Radar)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The nightmare scenario of an ICBM launched from the Korean peninsula, bound for California, may never become a reality. But the Missile Defense Agency is deploying the enormous. $900 million Sea-Based X-Band Radar, or SBX, just in case. The...

Mean, green third world machine.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... MIT's Media Lab has built a prototype of its much-anticipated $100 laptop, a proposed solution for closing the ever-widening digital divide between poor nations and the industrialized world. The kid-friendly laptop is designed to handle basic...

Pillow squawk.
February 1, 2006... Danish peacekeepers in Nosovo and Iraq are field-testing the MusiCure, a pillow that chirps like a bird and plays music, The aim is to determine the pillow's ability to relieve stress.

Double vision.(Large Binocular Telescope )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... A powerful new telescope on Arizona's Mount Graham has taken its first images, which show NGC 891, a spiral galaxy 24 million light-years away. When it's fully completed (several years from now) the Large Binocular Telescope will use twin...

Super subcompact car.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The world's smallest car has been built in, of all places, Texas. Slightly wider than a DNA strand, the single-molecule car rolls forward when placed on a heated gold surface. Rice University researchers hope to develop tiny vehicles to...

Hands-on cybernetics.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... A prosthetic hand prototype developed by European scientists mimics the sensation of touch. The Cyber-hand uses a new kind of electrode to hard-wire the hand into the user's nervous system, transmitting instructions and sensory data to and from...

Blur begone.(product inventions)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... A camera designed at Stanford University lets you shoot first and focus later. The camera uses a 90,000-microlens array to analyze individual rays of light, allowing digital photos to be refocused after the fact. The technology could be used to...

Time machine.(solar energy to reduce energy bills)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... DESPERATE TIMES call for desperate measures, which is why PM's Energy Fatuity is using solar panels and other alternative energy to rive off the grid ("Living Unplugged" Dec. 2005, page 72). In 1981, PM profiled homeowners who used innovations...

Muscle machine: a new theory could make robotic muscles stronger, more flexible and a thousand times faster than their organic counterparts.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Current robots use electrical motors to walk, run and leap. But a new generation of robots may soon be flexing lifelike muscles made of plastic. These artificial muscles are composed of a polymer grown in a vat of liquid solution. Newly created...

Number theory.(1024GB hard drive planning by Hitachi Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... HITACHI PLANS TO DELIVER A ONE-TERABYTE (1TB)--or 1024GB--hard drive in 2007, Storage capacity has increased exponentially since IBM built the world's first hard drive, the RAMAC, in 1956. The massive RAMAC could store up to 5MB, less than 1...

Get your kicks on route 360.(Nissan's concept car )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The realism of hi-def auto-racing video games is impressive, but for driving enthusiasts, nothing replaces the feel of a real car cockpit. But what if your video game actually was a car--and vice versa? Nissan's Urge concept car is a fully...

Quantum lighting.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Light-Emitting Diode LEDs last longer than traditional light bulbs, but can't emit white light--the closest LEDs can get is blue. Quantum Dots Microscopic nanocrystals that, when excited by light from a blue LED, produce white...

Can a doctor diagnose a heart attack over the phone?(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... In 1998, I field-tested a remote heart-monitoring system on the slopes of Mount Everest. Data collected by the bulky apparatus was transmitted to a base camp, and then relayed via satellite to doctors at Yale University. The NASA-sponsored...

Next-generation small arms: the long and troubled program to replace the M16 has yielded unexpected results--a versatile new assault rifle and a laser-guided grenade launcher.(TECHWATCH)
February 1, 2006... The Army's plan to replace the M16 as the general-issue rifle for the U.S. armed forces was set in motion in the late '80s. But the ambitious result--a hulking assault rifle and integrated grenade launcher called the XM-29--could not meet the...

Let the resolutionary war begin.(Sanyo Xacti HD1 )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Thanks to a pricing nose dive, nearly any average joe can lug an HDTV into his living room. But most hi-def video cameras are still esoteric objects aimed at the wealthy digital elite. So if an average joe wanted to make hi-def home movies,...

Heavy metal herbivore.(UPGRADE: WishList)
February 1, 2006... Hacking off limbs with a lopper can be a real pain. With the Alligator Lopper ($100), a vicious-looking hybrid of a lopper and a chain saw, you can clamp a metal jaw onto your prey and buzz right through it with the 6-in. cutting bar. Since...

MSR Lightning.(UPGRADE: WishList)
February 1, 2006... Any snowshoe can plod across a wintry plain, but to be mountain-worthy a snowshoe must deliver deep-snow flotation and icy-slope traction. The lightweight MSR Lightning ($220) does both job-s, but its special strength is grip, thanks to a...

The midair mouse.(UPGRADE: WishList)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... A wireless mouse is nothing new, but how about a flying mouse? Hold down a button on the Gyrotransport ($199) and it will move the onscreen cursor in whatever direction you tilt the mouse, from up to 100 ft. away. You also can program hand...

A photomat in every home: are the new crop of specialized photo printers worth the money? To find out, we asked an expert panel to weigh in on four options.(Bargain-Bin Inkjet HP Deskjet, Olympus, Choice Epson Stylus )(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... Bargain-Bin Inkjet HP Deskjet 5440 $80 Cost per print: $0.24 Speed: 2 min., 49 sec. per 4 x 6 print Expert opinions: This simple but effective printer produced photos that most of our panel found difficult to distinguish from the $549...

Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote.(UPGRADE: WishList)
February 1, 2006... The demand for clutter-clearing universal remotes has given birth to a strange new category--the high-end universal remote. The Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote ($250) doesn't come cheap, but it features a rechargeable lithium-ion battery...

Baby talk.
February 1, 2006... Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean the neighbors can't pick up your baby monitor's audio signal (probably by accident, but you never know). Which is why the imonitor ($60), the first art-digital baby monitor in the States, operates on a...

Slide showoff.(UPGRADE: WishList)
February 1, 2006... Tablet PCs have always been equal parts nifty and pricey. The TravelMate C 200 Series Convertible Tablet PC ($1399 to $1899] has an even niftier design, at a realistic price. The monitor slides over the keyboard, switching between tablet and...

The faceplant channel.(UPGRADE: WishList)
February 1, 2006... Record your next spill over the handlebars for posterity with the ATC-1000 Action Camera ($120), a hands-free video camera that mounts on a helmet, handlebar or your own body. The footage is standard Webcam quality (15 frames per second at 640...

Pint-size power: some magazines give away 12-piece cookware sets or, if you're lucky, a trip to Hawaii. We're giving away the RC-30 Posi-Track, a track loader made by ASV that's worth $23,134.(WIN THIS!)
February 1, 2006... To make sure the RC 30 is a machine worthy of a PM Sweepstakes giveaway, we put one through its paces on a fencing project. After 10 minutes spent mastering the light touch required by the dual joystick controls, we discovered that despite an...

CJ1101MV Variable Speed Jigsaw ($99).
February 1, 2006... Like a lot of Hitachi tools, the CJ110MV Variable Speed Jigsaw ($99) looks like the mutant offspring of a speed bike and the power tool it actually is. Style and ergonomics aside, this 4.9-pound, 5.8-amp jigsaw is lightweight and powerful. Its...

Orange alert.
February 1, 2006... A well-placed electric space heater can reduce fuel bills, but safety is always a concern. The Ultra Quiet Ceramic Heater with ViziHeat ($60) has orange bars that appear when the grill heats up, and stay visible until the unit has fully cooled...

Risk-averse disc.
February 1, 2006... The polymer coating on Scratch-Less Disc CD-Ns ($13.49 for a spindle of 10 discs) prevents minor scratches, but the real innovation is the elevated inner ring and row of bumps along the disc's outer edge. The new shape adds about 0.5mm of...

Wireless AV.
February 1, 2006... The Pure AM RemoteTV ($500) is the rare wireless gadget that's as simple as it should be, Connect the transmitter to a VCR, DVD prayer or cable box in the riving room, and the receiver to a TV in another room within 350 ft. Now you can watch...

Taming an icy river: hurricanes aren't the only cause of catastrophic flooding. Huge chunks of jamming ice can wreak havoc, too.
February 1, 2006... The flood that hit my hometown of Montpelier, Vt., 14 years ago this March, had a sneaky feel to it. The water didn't come from up the Winooski River, which skirts our downtown; it backpooled quietly into the streets. Spring snowmelt and steady...

So you want to buy a boat: we pick top performers and the coolest gear in boating's most popular classes to maximize your fun afloat.
February 1, 2006... Winter is an exciting time of year for boating enthusiasts. It signals the start of the boat show season--a chance to climb aboard and take a close look at a variety of boats and accessories before you buy. While you're looking, keep in mind...

New game theory: the surprising, fresh science behind the icy tracks, massive leaps and blistering speeds of the Winter Olympics.
February 1, 2006... SPEED SKATING Hard Science of Ice Crystals Forget the 4-minute mile. Shani Davis has skated 1500 meters--the "metric mile," or nearly 5000 ft.--in a world record time of 1:43.33, aver aging more than B2 mph. It's all about glide,...

Hidinq its roots: the newest Lincoln may share its DNA with other Ford family models, but it stands alone as an affordable luxury sedan.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Lincoln could have simply slapped a chrome grille on the Ford Fusion, called it a Zephyr, and stopped. Happily, there's more to the new Lincoln than the real wood interior trim. True, the interior is the car's strongest selling point, with...

No more echo.(Toyota Motor Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Toyota dealers have another incomprehensible name to deal with: Yaris. That's what Toyota has long called its small car--known here as the Echo--everywhere else in the world. With this new model, the Echo name is history. The new sedan is 5 in....

Detroit spy report.(new car design)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... 1. Since Ford has just redone the Explorer, it figures that the Expedition cannot be far behind. And this photo of an Expedition test mule proves that things are right on schedule. >From the looks of this vehicle, and given Ford's timetable,...

Think go-kart.(Lotus Exige)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Racers demanded it: a hardtop version of the Lotus Elise. Called the Exige, it shares Elise's 190-hp 1.8-liter Toyota engine and extruded-aluminum chassis. Weighing barely 2000 pounds, Exige is an amazingly responsive vehicle. Our intense time...

Past portholes.(Buick Lucerne CXS)(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... Roadmaster. Wildcat. Blackhawk. Lucerne. Lucerne? Are you kidding? Is this what it's come to? Yep. That's Buick's new name for its all-new flagship. Even Invicta and Electra offer more emotion. Well maybe that's the point. As nice as Lucerne...

Asia spy report.(new cars)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... 1. Now that there's a brand-new Civic, Honda is working feverishly to ready an all-new CR-V. And our spies within Honda say it will strongly resemble this photo illustration. They also tell us that it shares the new Civic's chassis and...

An ounce of prevention.(ACURA TSX & RL, American Honda Motor Company Inc. Acura's sedans with motor vehicle collision avoidance system)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... With a modest restyling, the 2006 TSX sport sedan boasts an equally modest extra 5 hp and throttle-by-wire. There's also cool stuff like Bluetooth wireless telephone support and Zagat restaurant survey data available in the speeded-up...

Europe spy report.(designing of automobiles)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... 1. A hot wind blows again at Volkswagen, with the revival of the Scirocco sport coupe, named for an African desert breeze. The new car will be front-wheel drive--or maybe all-wheel drive. At least we're sure it's based on VW's Jetta platform,...

New "legal" performance pill hits market: who would have thought a compound developed to help people overcome muscle atrophy would go beyond nitric oxide, beyond so-called "precursors," to become the bodybuilding breakthrough of the decade?(NEW PRODUCT UPDATE)(Novex Biotech's Endothil-CR)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2006... Size * Strength * Musculature In a remarkable turn of events, arguably one of the strangest in the history of athletic performance, an offshoot of research directed to help victims of muscle atrophy has now become an underground cult...

It's 10 pm. Do you know where your identity is? Global identity thieves may know their way around your computer better than you do. Welcome to the scary new world of zombies, RATs, Trojan horses and evil twins.
February 1, 2006... THE BUSTS HAD TO BE TIMED TO THE SECOND. Agents from the Secret Service, operating in tandem with law enforcement officials in Canada, Brazil, Poland, Sweden and several other countries, had been investigating the ShadowCrew crime syndicate for...

Kings of the hill: the sport of hill climbing is simple: race a nitrous-fueled, titanium-paddled snow sled straight up a mountain--without maiming yourself or the fans.(snowmobiling)
February 1, 2006... On this chilly morning in late March there's something different in the Rocky Mountain air of Jackson, Wyo. It's the faint whiff of high-octane exhaust from dozens of revved-up four-stroke engines--rum-rum-rummmmm--and it's coming from the base...

Can't we just blow it up? The world's biggest dam removal will return Washington's Elwha River to its free-flowing state. But the colossal three-year project proves there's a lot more to deconstruction than tons of TNT.(Elwha Dam)
February 1, 2006... "TEARING DOWN THE DAM IS THE EASY PART," says fisheries biologist Brian Winter, gesturing to the 108-ft.-tall, moss-streaked concrete wedge of the Elwha Dam, which plugs a forested river valley on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula. With a...

Fast fixes: 14 shortcut repairs to keep your house in shape--from top to bottom.
February 1, 2006... Whether you live in a renovated Victorian or a modern raised ranch, one thing is certain: Maintenance never stops. Of course, you could hire the local handyman to make repairs and put his kids through college. Or, you can tackle problems when...

Hybrids at the crossroads: sales are growing, but so is the controversy. Do gas/electric hybrid vehicles really deliver on their promises? PM puts hybrid hype to the test.(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... MATT WARD, A TELEVISION WRITER IN LOS ANGELES, bought a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid CVT two years ago. Like most hybrid buyers, he was looking for better gas mileage. He found it but not quite as much as he expected. "I guess I'm mildly disgruntled...

The goods: great products and promotional offers from PM advertisers.
February 1, 2006... CHOOSE YOUR GEAR WISELY From head to toe Wolverine[R] is built for the toughest terrain, the longest days and the harshest conditions. On the job or in the wild, Wolverine has got you covered with the ultimate line of boots, shoes, apparel...

Tapping into the sun: help your country and your wallet--install a solar hot-water heater.
February 1, 2006... It's not glamorous. The principles are simple. It's time-tested and can work virtually anywhere. It could save the United States millions of barrels of oil every year, and it doesn't involve a large investment for each household--from $3000 to...

How your house works: Part 3 of a PM series: framing.
February 1, 2006... It's the 21st century, and we still build with wood. In this country, just about every house begins with a stack of lumber. Add a carpenter or two, and within days that pile of wood expands into a three-dimensional lattice of studs joists...

Oil-fired boiler tuneup.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Recently I had an oil service technician come in for the yearly service of my oil-fired heating system. He serviced the burner, but he didn't remove the chimney pipe and clean it. Nor did he remove the boiler's bonnet and clean the top of the...

Fading fiberglass.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC: Q+A)(fiberglass football stadium bench maintenance)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... I have an old, crimson-colored fiberglass football stadium bench that is starting to fade. What can I use to protect it from further sunlight damage? STEVE ELLIS Euless, TX I contacted The Flood Co. (flood .com) to answer your...

Toilet leaks at base.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC: Q+A)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Our toilets seem to leak around the base where they are attached to the floor. What type of sealant can I use to stop the leak? DONNY DAVIS Auburn, AL First, you have to be sure that what you are seeing is a leak and not merely...

Annual boiler tuneup checklist.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC: Q+A)
February 1, 2006... Here's what your technician should be doing when he services your boiler. VISUAL INSPECTION 1 Check for significant corrosion on the boiler's outer sheetmetal, its cast-iron sections, flue, electrical controls, nearby piping and...

The Laws of extraction.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC: Q+A)(removing damaged fastener)
February 1, 2006... There are many tried-and-true tools for removing a damaged fastener, and we've all used them: the cold chisel hit with a ball-peen hammer, the cat's-paw, the claw hammer, the nail puller and the hacksaw. But sometimes even old favorites don't...

Instant hot water.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC: Q+A)(recirculating pump system)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... The plumbing system in a friend's new house delivers instant hot water. He has a standard water heater plus some extra pipes and a pump. Can an older home be retrofitted to have this system? GEORGE C. REITH Wheeling, WV Your...

Removing soap scum.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC: Q+A)(plastic tub surround's maintenance)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... I have a plastic tub surround. What is the best way to remove soap scum from the surfaces without damaging the finish? I've tried a variety of cleaners and found they are not effective. MILTON E. GLODEK JR. Via E-Mail Your best...

Ice crystals form in attic.(HOMEOWNERS CLINIC: Q+A)(condensation prevention)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... My daughter has ice crystals and condensation forming in the attic on the underside of the roof. She recently had a new shingle roof with a ridge-vent system installed. The soffit panels are perforated for airflow, but under these is a plywood...

Spray painting small parts.(NOW YOU KNOW)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... A simple way to evenly paint a small part such as a knob, handle or bracket without knocking it over is to stick it to a sheet of newspaper. Make a loop of masking tape with the sticky side out. Crease both corners of the tape so it's flat, and...

From golf cart to go-kart.(READER PROJECT: Wesley Cagle: Clear Lake, IA)(mechanical conversion)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... I built this go-kart for my first grandson using a 1958 three-wheel golf cart for the base. I cut and welded the frame to convert it to a four-wheel configuration. First, I removed the front wheel and yoke, and shortened the cart. Then, I...

Troubleshooting antilock braking.(CAR CARE: FUEL INJECTION SUSPENSION ELECTRICAL COOLING SYSTEMS AND MORE FOR SATURDAY MECHANICS)
February 1, 2006... Over the river and through the woods was more dangerous back when cars had crummy bias-ply tires, rear-wheel drive and ordinary brakes. So, tonight you feel confident driving home through several inches of freshly fallen snow after a sumptuous...

Moonshine?(gasoiline for automobile engines)
February 1, 2006... I'm suspicious that the local cut-rate gas station's premium gas isn't what it's represented to be. My BMW seems to run fine on it, but the Check Engine light comes on right after I fill up there. And if I fill up with premium anywhere else,...

Service tips: help from vehicle makers tech bulletins.(seat belts)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Does the seatbelt on your 2000-present Ford, Lincoln or Mercury product retract lazily or not at all when unbuckled? Ford Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 05-16-11 has details on a kit the dealership can install to improve retraction speed....

Roll your own.(EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARD)(E-Z Coil use in maintening hoses)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... There are plenty of vehicles that use heater hoses with wacky bends molded into them, all the better to keep an errant hose from fouling something abusive, like the radiator fan or a red-hot exhaust manifold. Which is fine unless you're in...

Don't touch that dial.(maintenance of automotive sound systems)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Q I have a 2004 Envoy with the standard FM radio and a single-disc CD player. When I went to upgrade the player (with a non-GMC product), I was informed that the radio could not be removed or replaced as it controls the airbags. Is this true?...

High voltage.(AUTO CLINIC: Q+A)(changing cars from 12-volt to 42- to 48-volt systems)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Q Several years ago there was a lot of talk about the possibility of changing cars from 12-volt to 42- to 48-volt systems. Is it still under consideration or was it found to be infeasible? PM is really great for keeping me up-to-date concerning...

What's the delay?(TECH CLINIC)(surround-sound system's maintenance)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Q My surround-sound system has a setting that allows me to set a delay for the rear and center channel speakers. What does this do and how should I use it? A Very carefully. The idea behind speaker delay is to allow the sound from all of...

Screen play.(replacing liquid crystal displays)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Q Can I replace the screen on my laptop computer? A Assuming that the only thing broken is the screen itself, you almost certainly can. But should you? Replacement LCD panels for laptops can be had for between $200 and $600. With the...

Bring your broadband with you.(cellphones to connect to internet)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Q New high-speed data networks are being offered by a number of cellphone carriers. If I subscribe to one of these services, can I use my phone as a modem to hook up my laptop to the network? A It all depends on which carrier you choose....

Back up your iPod.(NEED TO KNOW)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Want to back up your iPod without using iTunes? Connect the iPod to your PC. Open any window and select Folder Options from the Tools menu. In the View tab, check "Show hidden files and folders." Go to My Computer and double-click your iPod....

Watch HDTV on your PC.(high definition television tuner cards installation)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... If you bought a PC with a flat screen in the past few years, chances are you have HDTV-quality resolution. Wouldn't it be great if you could get hi-def TV on your computer cheaply while saving up for that big-screen HDTV? Actually, you can. ...

Too much information.(transfering files from Mac OS X to personal computer)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... Q When I transfer document files on a disk or memory key from a Macintosh computer to a PC, I always see extra files on the disk. What are they--and do I really need them? A In Mac OS X, a small (usually just a few kilobytes) file called...

A closer look: inductive charging.(charging pads)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... What's the big idea? Imagine if your portable electronics could be recharged by just placing them on a charging pad--without plugging in any cords. That's what inductive charging is all about. The technology already exists in electric...

"My boyfriend's secret ... for amazing intimacy!".(READER'S NOTE)(Connection, sexual stimulants)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 1, 2006... I just had to tell your readers about a recent experience I had with my boyfriend. First, let me just say he is a great guy. But, after dating for six months, it seemed he was having confidence issues in AND out of bed. It was having a...

Rescue flight mechanic.(This is My Job)(Christian Kniep)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2006... CHRISTIAN KNIEP, Hollywood, Fla. Years on Job: 4 ALREADY THE WORLD'S busiest air and sea rescue unit, the Coast Guard's Air Station Miami got much, much busier this fall after Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast. Christian Kniep,...