All posts tagged: converted

Is a wool mattress the key to better sleep? Five months in, I’m converted | Sleep

Is a wool mattress the key to better sleep? Five months in, I’m converted | Sleep

The first time I slept on a wool mattress was a revelation. As is so often the case with bed-based Damascene moments, this one happened on holiday. The wool and pocket-sprung mattress in our Lake District hotel room was cosy but breathable even in the height of summer, and it proved far too comfy to leap out of for early morning walks. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Back home, I soothed the post-holiday blues by seeking out wool mattresses to review. First, I tested the Millbrook Wool Luxury 4000, which is excellent but didn’t quite live up to that hallowed Cumbrian memory. Then came this Woolroom Standen Wool mattress, which did – and even nearly toppled the Otty Original Hybrid as best overall in our best mattresses roundup, where I called it “a masterpiece”. Woolroom’s mattress didn’t quite claim the top spot though, mainly because it costs more than many people earn in a month. But its impact on my sleep …

I’ve fully converted to adaptive chargers from fast ones and already feel safer

I’ve fully converted to adaptive chargers from fast ones and already feel safer

Kerry Wan/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Adaptive charging aims to reduce battery wear by keeping charge speeds low. The Anker Nano 45W is the best adaptive charger available. You could get most of the benefits by using a low-power charger for overnight charging. Whether you’re using a cheap $10 charger or something that costs an awful lot more, the modern USB charger is simply an amazing bit of tech. It may look like just a box plugged into a wall outlet with a cable going to another box. But behind the scenes, there’s a lot going on.  The moment you connect a charger to your device — whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or power bank — the charger wakes up, and the two gadgets quickly negotiate the best and safest voltage and current combo to use before getting on with charging. Then, both the charger and the device being charged continuously monitor voltage, current, and temperature to ensure the charging is safe and nothing blows up or …

1966 Ford Mustang converted into a Tesla with working ‘Full Self-Driving’

1966 Ford Mustang converted into a Tesla with working ‘Full Self-Driving’

A Tesla auto parts shop owner in Sacramento spent about $40,000 and two years converting a 1966 Ford Mustang into a fully functional Tesla — complete with the Model 3’s dual-motor drivetrain, 15-inch touchscreen, and working “Full Self-Driving” (Supervised). It’s likely the first non-Tesla vehicle to run FSD, and it achieves 258 Wh/mi — roughly matching the efficiency of an actual Model 3. From Facebook Marketplace find to Tesla-powered classic Yaro Shcherbanyuk, the owner of Calimotive Auto Recycling in Rancho Cordova, California, found the 1966 Mustang on Facebook Marketplace in the summer of 2022. Calimotive specializes in Tesla and Rivian parts, so Shcherbanyuk had access to the components — and the knowledge — needed for an ambitious build. He worked on the project for roughly two years alongside his father Viktor and brother Daniel. The family initially considered fitting the Mustang with a Model S drivetrain, but once the car was stripped down, Shcherbanyuk realized the Model 3 battery was nearly a perfect fit. Advertisement – scroll for more content The team grafted three sections …

MASSIVE 600 ton excavator converted from diesel to electric

MASSIVE 600 ton excavator converted from diesel to electric

In a move the company is calling breakthrough initiative, Lloyds Metals and Energy have successfully converted one of their massive, 650-ton class Liebherr R 996 excavators from diesel power to fully electric for the first time – and it won’t be the last! Long time readers might remember that Liebherr began offering diesel-to-electric conversion options for its ultra massive excavators back in 2024, when the company debuted a converted R 9400 mining excavator at Frotescue’s Christmas Creek mining operation in Western Australia. But, while that program was led by Liebherr itself, this conversion has been executed entirely by Lloyds in-house engineering and technology teams, and involved a complete redesign of the big excavator’s power architecture, control, and safety systems. The company believes that large-scale equipment electrification projects like this will help it to both eliminate of thousands of tons of harmful carbon emissions annually, while also delivering substantial operational cost savings and reduced dependency on diesel. “This landmark achievement, is not just about electrifying a machine,” explains B. Prabhakaran, Managing Director, Lloyds Metals and Energy. …

Book club skeptic? So was Roxane Gay, here’s what ultimately converted her

Book club skeptic? So was Roxane Gay, here’s what ultimately converted her

I was never much of a book club person. While I love reading, one of its greatest pleasures is the way I can immerse myself in the world of a good book, in solitude. Alone. Without any static from the world beyond the story. Book clubs would mean assigned reading, the opinions of others shaping my reading experience, having to socialize, the opposite of solitude. I briefly joined a book club of some work colleagues when I was teaching in rural Illinois, and it was fun, but most of our time was spent gossiping about, well, work. The books were rather secondary, or even tertiary. But I am also a writer, and while reading and writing generally happen in solitude, promoting your writing doesn’t. The first book club I attended as a writer was in Kalamazoo, Mich., where I was invited to a cheery brunch with a local book club while I was on tour for my debut novel, “An Untamed State.” The invitation came from my cousin’s mother-in-law, a vivacious, talkative Michigander who was …

Meet the Americans trading brick-and-mortar homes for converted buses and the open road

Meet the Americans trading brick-and-mortar homes for converted buses and the open road

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Forget the RV. Young people are trading in traditional homes for the yellow school buses many remember from childhood as a way to live both a minimalist lifestyle and avoid the rising cost of owning a home. Known as “skoolies,” the growing trend involves converting decommissioned school buses into full-time living spaces, blending DIY renovation with the flexibility of life on the road. What began as a niche project has gained traction online, with thousands documenting their builds on TikTok, YouTube and Reddit — often framing bus life as a cheaper, freer alternative to homeownership. The rise of skoolie living comes as many Gen Z and millennial Americans face soaring housing costs and limited access to affordable homes, forcing them to search for cheaper, …