Just like it says, Popcorn Shorts is about the kind of things we think are really interesting, but don’t really need a large article to explain them. From the sublime to the ridiculous, check in here for crunchy bits of info you’ll love to munch. By the way, much (but not all) of our delicious Popcorn comes from articles we’ve 
posted on our Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, please stop by and “Like” us and we’ll keep a fairly-constant-but-not-frequent-enough-to-be-annoying stream of these coming to your virtual door!
Finally… Flying cars are here!
How do we know when the Future has finally arrived? It’s not Green Energy, Robot Slaves, or even Warp Drive. The Future means just one thing… Flying Cars. Now, believe it or not, they’re here! UK designer Witold Mielniczek created a RC model car that both flies and drives. Its four propellers spin horizontally inside hubless wheels, allowing it to switch almost seamlessly from zipping along the ground to darting through the air. Mielziczek’s Kickstarter campaign raised $181,542 of its $128,331 goal to build his dream, so you’ll be seeing these buzzing a park near you soon.
Oregon officially agrees… Corporations are not people
Congratulations to our own Oregon State Legislature for becoming the 16th state to pass a resolution demanding a US Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and confirm that CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE! According to the resolution, Congress must propose a constitutional amendment “clarifying the distinction between the rights of natural persons and the rights of corporations” and recognizing “that Congress and state legislatures may regulate all moneys raised and spent for political purposes.” 16 down, 34 to go.
FREE Sellwood concerts started with a bang
Monday night was a perfect night for the first Sellwood Riverfront Park Concert of the year. Nikki Hill, fresh from her performance at the Waterfront Blues Festival, blew away the crowd covering the lawn in our little neighborhood park. The event just gets bigger every year with more food, more vendors, more people, and this year even more music with an added 5th show in August. We’d like to think this was a Sellwood-only thing, but these concerts go on all through the city during the summer. Do yourself a favor, and plan to enjoy AT LEAST one!
Build your own swamp cooler
With the summer heat cranking up, we’ve been cranking up the shop’s swamp coolers; units that use water evaporation rather than refrigeration to cool the air. We use big industrial units because the shop is so big, but we ran across a great design for a DIY version that would be great for a garage, porch, deck, or other small space. It requires minimal electrical skills and the most expensive components are the fans and small pump, and if you’re reasonably geeky you can put one together in an afternoon. Add a solar power unit and you have air conditioning for your yard!
