Boing Boing

Senator David Perdue (R-GA) posted a campaign ad featuring an image of his Jewish opponent, Jon Ossoff, digitally manipulated to have a larger nose. Once the timeworn antisemitic stereotype was noticed, he was forced to retract the ad, but Perdue is refusing to apologize for it. Matt Novak summarizes the imbroglio:The photoshopped ad, first reported by Forward, featured photos of Ossoff along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who’s also Jewish, and included text that reads “Democrats are trying to buy Georgia!” along with “Schumer’s SUPER PAC is spending $3 million in Georgia for Jon Ossoff!”The original unedited photo was taken for Reuters by photojournalist Chris Aluka Berry in 2017 after Ossoff lost an election for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District. Perdue’s campaign denied that the edit had been intentional and sought to distance itself from the unnamed designer who made the ad.Purdue claims it was an "accident" caused by a filter, but was unable to explain exactly how that happened.https://twitter.com/ossoff/status/1287907702660829186 Read the rest

Twitter removed two rule-breaking Trump tweets last night. One touted the conspiracy theory that hydroxychloroquine "cures" Covid19 and that Dr. Anthony Fauci suppressed it, whereas the other promoted a story that falsely claimed that a protestor shot dead at a BLM rally had fired the first shots. Beyond the automated notifications at the top of Trump's Twitter feed, the company did not release a statement on the deletions: a new normal, perhaps, as their regularity increases. Read the rest

NBC News has a recent piece on, "the hidden hand that uses money to reform troubled police departments" — essentially, looking at the private industry solutions to public law enforcement problems. It's a worthwhile read if you're interested in police reform like me. While it doesn't go too in-depth, it does provide a glimpse at the ways that the existence (read: threat) of private insurers have helped to mitigate some potential police misconduct … and also how that can totally backfire and end up sapping resources away from a town — especially when the lawsuit and insurance coverage means that offending cops still keep their jobs..For insurers, police reform is about money, not morality. Just as State Farm wants to prevent car crashes, a liability insurer wants to prevent lawsuits.When the customers are police departments, "loss prevention" means teaching police departments how to reduce risk. In the first in-depth study of how insurers affect police, Rappaport surveyed the industry's carrots and sticks, from policy audits to virtual reality use-of-force simulators. Often, insurers educate departments about risky topics like vehicle pursuits and strip searches. Many do site visits and go on ride-alongs, keeping "watch lists" for departments with histories of costly lawsuits, according to the study. Rappaport's favorite example is the insurer that sends representatives incognito to hang out at "cop bars" to observe the police culture."Insurers are clearly affecting the behavior of police departments they insure, for better or for worse," Rappaport said. "They are capable of doing it for the better and sometimes more efficiently than governmental agencies and prosecutors." Read the rest

Everything is awful in this hellscape reality so you may as well enjoy some mustard, relish, and processed meatstuff with your marshmallow-lathered cereal.https://thevulgarchef.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Automatic.mp4Hot Dog Rice Krispies Treat, Hellooooooooo Summer [The Vulgar Chef] Read the rest

YouTuber Greg Stone has an in-depth interview with ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau, who just unveiled his design for his next long-term undersea habitat called Proteus.Greg is a longtime friend of Cousteau, grandson of the famed environmentalist and explorer Jacques Cousteau. Via Greg:Greg Stone spends time with aquanaut Fabien Cousteau, an old friend and dive partner, about his passion for the exploration of the undersea world. From his next underwater habitat Proteus to memories of his previous underwater immersion, Mission 31, Fabien engages us with his unique history being part of the Cousteau legacy. Join us with a candid and interesting conversation between two of the ocean’s biggest advocates.This isn't just some pipe dream. Cousteau lived for 31 days underwater in 2014, breaking his grandfather's 1963 record of 30 days.Image: YouTube / The Sea Has Many Voices Read the rest

This is a pretty cool — and historically important — project from the Boston Public Library!The Boston Public Library's Anti-Slavery collection—one of the largest and most important collections of abolitionist material in the United States—contains roughly 40,000 pieces of correspondence, broadsides, newspapers, pamphlets, books, and memorabilia from the 1830s through the 1870s.[…]We need your help to turn our collection of handwritten correspondence between anti-slavery activists in the 19th century into texts that can be more easily read and researched by students, teachers, historians, and big data applications.It's not paid work, but if you're historically curious, they welcome volunteers to comb through their online archives to help digitize everything line-by-line. It looks like a pretty straight-forward process, although it doesn't work on mobile devices or tablets.Anti-Slavery Manuscripts [Boston Public Library] Read the rest

YouTuber Macrofying zooms in on common objects to the microscopic level. It's fun to guess what each one is before the camera zooms out.Here's a zoom in on a coin, which includes some VFX enhancements:The channel owner made a tongue-in-cheek "making of" video:Image: YouTube / Macrofying Read the rest

It’s bad enough when regular food stuff gets stale after a couple days sitting on your kitchen counter. But when infused edibles start losing their freshness...well, heck, edibles aren’t cheap!If you’re going to do edibles, you may as well do them right, which means having the equipment to make sure your product remains both tasty and appealing while also staying out of the hands of anybody in your household who shouldn’t be partaking.The Herbal Infuser came up with a smart, practical answer to the freshness question with their Mighty Safe Vacuum Vault.Just like a vault stores and protects your valuables, so does the Mighty Safe stand guard over the quality and longevity of your food or herbs. Crafted from stainless steel, this food-grade storage container employs a reusable vacuum seal system that locks in odors and seals in freshness.Just put your product inside this 0.7-liter container, lock on your lid, hit the pump about 20 or 30 times to suck out all the air, and your edibles and herbs will stay fresh for up to 15 days. There’s even a color indicating nipple that lets you know when you’ve got a secure vacuum seal. The Mighty Safe makes it possible to pace yourself without feeling the need to scarf down the whole edible in one sitting so it doesn’t go bad. It also keeps your product safely encased, protected from sunlight and completely out of the way of potentially curious animals or children who might be enticed by unattended cookie or brownie. Read the rest

Impeached president Donald Trump today tweeted an imaginary law that does not exist. Anarchists, Agitators or Protestors who vandalize or damage our Federal Courthouse in Portland, or any Federal Buildings in any of our Cities or States, will be prosecuted under our recently re-enacted Statues & Monuments Act. MINIMUM TEN YEARS IN PRISON. Don’t do it! @DHSgovThere is no such law.It doesn't exist.Complete fiction.Here's the original tweet.Anarchists, Agitators or Protestors who vandalize or damage our Federal Courthouse in Portland, or any Federal Buildings in any of our Cities or States, will be prosecuted under our recently re-enacted Statues & Monuments Act. MINIMUM TEN YEARS IN PRISON. Don’t do it! @DHSgov— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2020 Read the rest

CBD-infused coffee almost sounds like the premise for a bad sitcom episode. But seriously...isn’t it almost comical to consider what happens when the go-go kick of high-octane caffeine slams headlong into the calming, tranquil effects of CBD? The reality is, it actually can be the best of both worlds situation for many CBD coffee fans. A morning cup not only kickstarts the day and propels you along like traditional coffee, but thanks to CBD, without any of the jitters or headaches that some encounter. Plus, you still get all the pain relief, anti-anxiety, and other medicinal advantages that CBD provides. Since it’s definitely worth trying for yourself, you can start with some quality by sampling this Bean and Bud by Allo Rise blend.Made from 100 percent Arabica coffee beans, this combination of elite beans with CBD is an exquisite balancing act. In order to maintain responsible and sustainable practices, Bean and Bud coffees are sourced directly from farmers, who actually use their own unique natural processes to infuse the coffee with industrial CBD without losing the grain’s genuine properties.This African Essential Blend Coffee is rich, yet bold, with notable hints of raspberry and dark chocolate with no artificial flavors or additives. Meanwhile, the 8-ounce bag contains 320 mg of CBD, which many users swear serves as a near miracle elixir, providing relief for anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, body pain, and even a better night’s sleep.If you’re already someone who makes daily Starbucks runs or appreciates the soothing properties of CBD, this Bean and Bud blend might be the perfect way to see how those two worlds work together to help you navigate through your day. Read the rest

Arkansas GOP state senator Jason Rapert previously tweeted about "liberal quacks" who "keep spreading fear" and who are "trying to quarantine the healthy."What do you see here #Arkansas and #America? An empty airport - I see real trouble. Get this nation back to work & stop trying to quarantine the healthy. You liberal quacks keep spreading fear & the nation will be hobbled economically for years. #WAKEUP #COVID19 @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/QqeyeSToOO— Jason Rapert (@jasonrapert) May 16, 2020The infamously anti-gay senator is now posting from the hospital, after coming down with Coronavirus disease. Read the rest

Smartphones have relegated iconic red British telephone boxes to things of the past, but they are being preserved and repurposed. In fact, Yorkshire now has more repurposed boxes than working phone boxes.Via The Yorkshire Post:Across Yorkshire, 410 phone boxes have now been taken over and transformed, into libraries, art galleries, museums and stores, with just 401 still traditionally taking calls.[...] In Stutton near Tadcaster, the decommissioned box was converted into a Christmas card last year, passing on festive messages to neighbours and friends.There is an art gallery in Settle, while York’s oldest phone box on Duncombe Place now houses a defibrillator.This fellow in London works at one turned into Britain's smallest coffee shop:Photo by Mike from Pexels Read the rest

In decades past, logo redesigns were usually worse than the original. But in recent years logo redesigns seem to have gotten a lot better. Case in point, the new logo for the Rangers Football Club. It's bolder and easier to read but retains the overall feel of the original logo. Even Rangers fans are happy with the redesign if the YouTube comments on this video are representative of popular sentiment. Read the rest

I don't use eBay as much as I used to, but one of my daughters uses it frequently to buy and sell Japanese collectibles. So far she hasn't been scammed, but eBay is well known for being full of sleazy cons. This MakeUseOf video quickly goes through 10 Common scams on eBay. The scam that stood out to me was the "buyer claims broken item" scam. It happens when you ship an item, say a Nintendo Switch, to the buyer and the buyer then claims the item is broken, sending a photo to eBay of a different Switch with a broken screen or missing joystick. The way to prevent this scam is to note to the serial number of the item that you are selling. Read the rest

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced that his employees will work from home until at least next July, reports The Wall Street Journal. According to Reuters, "Google had earlier said it would begin reopening more offices globally as early as June this year, but most Google employees would likely work from home until the end of this year." Read the rest

Many videos describing quantum computers try to distill and oversimplify everything. Thoughty's takes its time and gives more historical and theoretical context than most.Because it does take a while to get into the subject, here's a shorter explainer by MIT:Today's computers use bits—a stream of electrical or optical pulses representing 1s or 0s. Everything from your tweets and e-mails to your iTunes songs and YouTube videos are essentially long strings of these binary digits.Quantum computers, on the other hand, use qubits, which are typically subatomic particles such as electrons or photons. Generating and managing qubits is a scientific and engineering challenge. Some companies, such as IBM, Google, and Rigetti Computing, use superconducting circuits cooled to temperatures colder than deep space. Others, like IonQ, trap individual atoms in electromagnetic fields on a silicon chip in ultra-high-vacuum chambers. In both cases, the goal is to isolate the qubits in a controlled quantum state.The processing power possible through these controlled qubits will make today's fastest computers look positively archaic.Image: YouTube / Thoughty2 Read the rest

Ellie Marie Whitby, 19, has come clean about a Bigfoot hoax she staged in the forests around Runcorn, England, southeast of Liverpool. Whitby admitted to shooting a series of videos and uploading them to Bigfoot pages on Facebook. But if she was behind the camera, who was wearing the furry suit? "I’m still not 100% sure how I managed to convince my mum to dress up as Bigfoot and chase me around the woods but she’s quite crazy, like me," Whitby told The Echo newspaper. Now, residents on the town's Facebook page are reporting their sightings of Whitby and her mom!images: Ellie Marie Whitby Read the rest

YouTuber Anton Petrov summarizes the latest research that suggests a fungus found thriving in Chernobyl could be used to block radiation in spacesuits, extraterrestrial structures, and more, based on successful small-scale tests at the International Space Station.The work at the ISS suggests that a 21 cm (~9-inch) layer of fungus could provide complete blockage of cosmic radiation. The good news is that small quantities can be transported, then grown on site. Also, if the fungus shield gets damaged, it can regenerate.Scientists are looking into all kinds of biological substances that can block ionizing radiation, including one produced by humans: melanin.Image: YouTube / Anton Petrov Read the rest

Sinclair Broadcasting, the massively influential right-wing media conglomerate that cleverly buys up TV stations in local markets in order to push conservative propaganda, plans to push a national news segment featuring a video with Judy Mikovits, the woman behind the quickly-popularized but swiftly-debunked Plandemic YouTube conspiracy theory. Media Matters was first to report:Baseless conspiracy theories about the novel coronavirus and Dr. Anthony Fauci, a prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force, found a platform on the new episode of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s America This Week. The episode is available for streaming on Sinclair-owned or -operated television station websites and is set to air on dozens of Sinclair stations over the weekend.Toward the end of his show, host Eric Bolling interviewed Judy Mikovits of the conspiracy theory video Plandemic and her attorney Larry Klayman about their plans to sue Fauci. He introduced the prerecorded interview by referring to her as “an expert in virology” who previously “worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci.”[…]Bolling immediately followed this interview with an interview of Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier to respond to these claims -- despite her own record of misleading audiences about the coronavirus. Saphier labeled those who believe Fauci created the coronavirus as “conspiracy theorists,” saying “it’s highly unlikely” and that she thought “Dr. Fauci in no way, shape, or form has been involved in the manufacturing of this virus.” But in the same breath, she also suggested it’s likely that the virus was “man-made within a laboratory.” Read the rest

Tracy Kiss calls herself a "natural vegan bodybuilder." Which is confusing, because semen is definitely derived from animals. But, Kiss insists, it's also an essential multivitamin that helps keep her in shape — and, perhaps most crucially, boosts her immune system to prevent infection by the novel coronavirus. From The Sun:The personal trainer has also been putting the product on her skin, which she dubs "nature's multivitamin", as part of healthcare routine for more than three years.She reckons it's packed with vitamin C, calcium and magnesium - so is urging people to use semen to keep healthy during the pandemic.Mum-of-two Tracey, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, said: "It isn't for everyone but it is packed full of vitamins and I haven't had a cold or flu ever since drinking it in 2017 - I also put it on my face to clear up my skin."The purity of it is just wonderful."To be clear, there is no scientific evidence to support Kiss's theory. I'm fairly certain there's no evidence to support the idea that semen is vegan friendly, either, but what do I know. Read the rest

Craft Workbench posted a video of a tiny finger-mounted crossbow, proving that it can assassinate a pickle even after being submerged in water. Read the rest

Johnny Harris took on the brain-melting task of truly understanding the argument that the earth is flat, including the modern conspiracy theory that the military guards ice walls circling earth's perimeter. Hoo boy.The truly terrifying stat in the video is that a recent poll found only two in three people age 18-24 have always believed the world is round:Image: YouTube / Johnny Harris Read the rest

In this footage from 1985 Richard Harrison classic Blood Debts, our hero defeats his adversary and we learn that "Mark Collins, age 45, gave himself up to the authorities after the incident. he is currently serving a life sentence".Here's more from Blood Debts, a very good movie:You can buy the VHS on Amazon, and you should, because that is the only format that does the material justice. Read the rest

I bought the Fire TV Stick 4K (very cheap using promo code 4KFIRETV) and it is so much better than the old model we'd been using. It has voice control so you don't have to use the remote to search. one character at a time. for shows and movies. The remote also has on-off and volume switches for the TV, so you can put the TV remote away. It is also much, much faster than the old Fire TV Stick we were using. App and shows load in a fraction of the time. If you have an older Fire TV Stick, this upgrade is well worth getting. Read the rest

While promoting his civil rights graphic novel series March at San Diego Comic Con in 2015, Representative John Lewis took the opportunity to cosplay as himself. He donned an exact replica of what he wore during the historic 1965 "Bloody Sunday" march in Selma: tan trench coat, tie, and backpack. His backpack contained books, an apple, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, just as it did back then, and he led a group of school kids on a march around the convention center. March illustrator Nate Powell confirms that this was all Lewis' idea:"He amazed us by his embrace of the community with comics and fandom, and in seeing way through our own cynicism. [He was] truly the greatest."The real origin story of how Rep. John Lewis became THE hit of Comic-Con.Photo credit: Nate Powell. Read the rest

Three charming centenarians, Cliff Crozier (1915-2020), John Denerley (1914-2018), and Emelia Tereza Harper (1913), share life lessons in this video that's garnered over 18M views since it was first posted in 2016. Love this quote from Emelia: "The longer I stay, the more noisy I shall get." (Nag on the Lake)screengrab via LifeHunters/YouTube Read the rest

Signs posted around Southern California's Big Bear Lake read: ATTENTION CAMPERS: Due to increased Satanic Cult activity in this area, camping is not advised until further notice. SEVERAL PETS HAVE BEEN REPORTEDLY SACRIFICED IN SATANIC RITUALS.” You guess it! The signs are fake. Well, they're real signs but they weren't posted by the US Forest Service.According to Big Bear Lake officials, "no known threats of these types of visitors in the area."Yeah, no KNOWN threats. !!!NATAS LIAH(KCAL9 via Fark) Read the rest

Talk about marching powder... U.S.Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted 21 pounds of cocaine hidden in the arches of boots on their way from Bogota, Colombia to Haverstraw, New York. A drug dog named Betty sniffed out the contraband on a train as it passed through Cincinnati, Ohio. "After examining the package, officers noticed thick arch supports inside the boots," according to Cincinnati.com.The cocaine is apparently worth almost half-a-million dollars. Those boots were made for running.(Thanks Charles Pescovitz!) Read the rest

When you're ready to take a break from doomscrolling, stop and send your scream to Iceland. It will be blasted from a real speaker that has been placed in one of the country's regions. "Scream therapy."You’ve been through a lot this year and it looks like you need the perfect place to let your frustrations out. Somewhere big,vast and untouched. It looks like you need Iceland. Record your scream and we’ll release it in Iceland’s beautiful, wide-open spaces. And when you’re ready, come let it out for real. You’ll feel better, we promise.Thanks, Flint! Read the rest

Fidget spinners are played out. In fact, fidget spinners were played out in 2018. So now, whether we’re absent-mindedly sitting in our home offices, talking on the phone, or just going about your day, we’re all looking for new ways to occupy our hands. From computer users to sportsmen, musicians to golfers to climbers, you never want to overlook the importance of strong and flexible hands, forearms, and fingers. If you’re looking to develop your hand strength and maybe even improve your performance with tasks that require some digit dexterity, the FlexEx Ultimate Hand Exerciser ($9.99, 33 percent off) might be just what you’re looking for.Lightweight and easy to use, the FlexEx slips on to your fingers and offers different levels of resistance to help strengthen and, in some cases, even rehabilitate weakened hands, forearms and fingers. The three-pack includes all three different color-coded FlexEx varieties, each created for different types of hand-strengthening uses so you can gradually improve hand power and dexterity naturally.The Yellow FlexEx offers the lightest tension, a level best suited to those engaged in physical therapy, rehabilitation, or anyone with, particularly weakened hands. Once users feel confident with the effects of that band, they can switch to the Red FlexEx, this time producing medium resistance, allowing anyone to strengthen their hands to produce a better grip, more fluidly play an instrument, or even bolster digits damaged by repetitive stress injuries.Finally, the Blue FlexEx is the strongest resistance band, allowing users to reach a maximum level of hand strength through repeated usage. Read the rest

In 2014 a photographer noticed that one of his photos had been posted to Twitter without his permission. The photo was retweeted by three other people, and Twitter's algorithm cropped out the name of the photographer. The photographer went to court to get the name of the original poster, as well as the 3 people who retweeted the photo. The case ended up in the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the photographer.From The Next Web:As a result, the High Court ordered Twitter to divulge the email addresses of both the original poster and the retweeters. That ruling didn’t sit right with Twitter, which appealed the decision, claiming its users had no control over the cropping algorithm. The argument didn’t fly in court, though.Four out of the five judges involved in yesterday’s decision sided with the photographer. The dissenting judge argued that ruling in favor of the photographer would put the responsibility of complying with image copyrights on the users, which obviously opens a whole new can of worms.It’s unclear what the photographer plans to do with the users’ information, but considering his zeal for legal battles, it won’t be surprising if he follows action against them. The worst bit? The ruling puts Japan’s 45 million residents at legal risk for innocuously reposting images. Read the rest

twitter keeps removing my post showing police brutality in philadelphia yesterday. officers spraying mace point blank in peaceful protesters faces while they sit still and comply. disgusting abuse. please share and retweet.#BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/G7qfsqCqtZ— linds (@d0wnrrrrr) June 2, 2020Philadelphia SWAT officer Richard P. Nicoletti was filmed last month pulling masks off peacefully kneeling protestors and blasting them with pepper spray. He turned himself in today and will likely face charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment, official oppression, and possession of an instrument of crime.From The Inquirer:On June 1, as demonstrators gathered on the highway, Nicoletti could be seen on video dousing three of them with pepper spray as they knelt in the middle of the road.Video showed Nicoletti pulling down the mask of the first woman he sprayed in the face, dousing a second woman at point blank range, then spraying a man in the face several times while also shoving him to the ground.Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and Mayor Jim Kenney described Nicoletti’s actions as unacceptable, and Outlaw said she was “disgusted.”John McNesby, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, said that protesters had created a dangerous situation by entering the highway, and that the union would defend Nicoletti as the department’s disciplinary process played out.Image: Twitter Read the rest

Bobby Duke doesn't let anything stop him from transforming a common river rock into a gorgeous artwork of an iridescent scarab beetle.There's also a point where he X-Actos a sausage link into a meat chain:That alone is worth watching, but the beetle is pretty amazing, too.Image: YouTube / Bobby Duke Arts Read the rest

George Miller is an artist, musician (The Kaisers and The New Piccadillys), and production designer. While on lockdown in Glasgow, Miller created a series of spectacular marionettes of early rock and roll, country, and R&B greats like Johnny Cash, Link Wray, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wanda Jackson, Sister Rosetta, and Bo Diddley. The detail and personality of the marionettes is quite astonishing. Miller loves them too much to sell any. From an interview at Dangerous Minds:I’d been working on a BBC children’s drama for a few weeks (I’m a freelance Production Designer, gawd help me) and as lockdown was approaching, production stopped so I went from super busy to completely idle pretty much overnight.I’d made some marionettes for a video a few years earlier and since then had been toying with the idea of making one of Link Wray but never seemed to have the time, so lockdown seemed the ideal opportunity. I liked the notion of spending time making something that had no ultimate purpose other than self amusement and no deadline for completion. With his outfit made by my partner Ursula, Link turned out pretty satisfactorily but after a few days I got the itch again, so I got to work on Bo Diddley, another guitar favorite of mine. Bo gave me a bit of trouble and the first attempt went in the bin. Realizing I’d tried to rush it, I reverted to lockdown pace, which I’ve employed ever since[...]When the “cast” of puppets grows to 20 or so, I’m planning on making a video showcasing their individual musical styles plus a series of short clips based on the photographs of Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran passing time in the dressing room of the Glasgow Empire theater. Read the rest

You can change the shape of drops and pools of water from rounded to angular by coating the surface where the water collects with a superhydrophobic substance. Check out the cool liquid letters! It would be interesting to use this technique to create a watery animation. (The Action Lab) Read the rest

please enjoy this video of a canterbury cathedral cat stealing the dean's milk during his morning sermon pic.twitter.com/RRIPLQGCQT— queen of bitch island (@kittynouveau) July 20, 2020Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, is delivering online sermons from the garden during the pandemic. 1 Peter 2:2 informs us that newborn babes desire the "milk of the word of God", but Willis's cat is thirsty for the standard stuff.Moreover,Oups !! i deleted my tweet :( here it is again #SecretParty pic.twitter.com/UO0Xxhespj— k0ya (@_vinCy) July 20, 2020 Read the rest

If your company makes it out of this COVID 19-fueled nightmare one day, you may well have the cloud to thank for part of that.A survey found that almost 40 percent of companies have used cloud technology to scale infrastructure to better help them meet demand and control costs brought on by virus-driven changes. Meanwhile, over 75 percent said cloud services were making their work-from-home efforts possible and an overwhelming 92 percent said the cloud was a big part of maintaining their basic day-to-day continuity.Already an exploding tech sector, the cloud is now already driving business operations more than we ever would have expected even six months ago. Those who know the ways of the cloud are set to benefit both professionally and financially in the coming years — and The Complete 2020 Cloud Foundation Certification Bundle is a perfect introduction to how all the pieces work together.As your primer to life as a cloud administrator, this four-course package lays it all out for you, not only covering all the basics of building, managing, securing and growing cloud-based networks, but all the tools and features at your disposal on the three largest cloud service provider platforms.Even a novice to the cloud world can pick up the basics with CompTIA Cloud+ (CV0-002), which runs through all the foundational knowledge, skills, and responsibilities of a certified system admin. With over 12 hours of content, you’ll understand all the latest technologies, how to use cloud resources correctly and how to problem solve networking solutions on our way to CompTIA certification, one of the most important IT credentials you can add to your resume. Read the rest

Ludwig Göransson goes in front of the camera in this moody video of him performing his theme song for The Mandalorian in the studio and out in nature.The Mandalorian is of course best known for The Child (aka "Baby Yoda"), featured in this delightful supercut:Among his many other great scores, Göransson won the Oscar for his Black Panther score, which included the super-cool and ominous Killmonger theme:Image: YouTube / Star Wars Read the rest

With Trump threatening to deploy more agents to other U.S. cities, we should be paying close attention to what's been happening in Portland.Over the weekend I asked a friend up there, one who's been showing up for the protests regularly, what the scene is really like and if she knew what needed to be shared to a wider audience. The main message? Protesters are hoping people outside Portland understand that "this a fight for all of us." She also shared: Having the FEDS here is super scary for the state of our democracy (and a sign that Trump is a bloody fascist). The local cops have also been gassing and beating up protesters here for weeks with no oversight and little provocation. The clashes between protesters and police here on the ground is isolated to a small area and happens late at night — but the threat to our democracy is real and present. The cops — both local and Feds are brutalizing people, mostly young and dis-enfranchized folks like the houseless and mentally ill. They pepper spray and beat them every night. It is scary to see."There is a nationwide call now for solidarity marches on July 25 -- one in most major cities including Oakland," she also wrote.She offered press collective @45thabsurdist as a "real-deal" trusted source, "they're the ones out every night getting gassed." Here's a tweet from them, dated June 26:Here’s what the hell we’re doing & why. Please support folks reporting on the ground. Read the rest

The only dog ever enlisted in the Royal Navy was a Great Dane who befriended the sailors of Cape Town in the 1930s. Given the rank of able seaman, he boosted the morale of British sailors around the world. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of Just Nuisance and his adventures among the sailors who loved him.We'll also examine early concentration camps and puzzle over a weighty fashion.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest

The YouTubers at Squirrel Monkey make videos that imagine what modern tech would look like in the past. Their latest humorously imagines what video conferencing via Zoom would have been like in the late eighties — a real PITA! We've come a long way technology wise since 1988. Squirrel Monkey, previously on BBscreengrab via Squirrel Monkey/YouTube Read the rest

Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 classic gets a moody and modern title sequence in F.D. Lazzari's tribute. Lots of great colseups of tjhe vintage analog tech that was state of the art at the time of filming.The original titles for comparison, which feature a cacophany of sounds as the camera slowly pushes in from a large crowd to the main characters:Fun fact, The Conversation was the best film about audio surveillance until the 1981 film Blow Out, and the reigning champ is the 2006 drama The Lives of Others. OK, maybe not a fact, but certainly an opinion.Image: YouTube / F.D. Lazzari Read the rest

EU designates 750 billion-euro COVID-19 recovery fund to help member states mitigate economic crash

They're having a great time.The cats of Japan-based kagonekoshiro blog are at it again, enjoying Japan's hot summer months by cooling off in the garden with nice crisp lettuce on their furry little kitty heads.Images courtesy kagonekoshiro.com Read the rest

The much-awaited sequel to Ernest Cline's Ready Player One (2012), called Ready Player Two, is available for pre-order. It'll be released on November 24. According to Wikipedia, Cline says the sequel will have a "different story-line involving all of the characters, while still exploring pop culture references like the first book." Read the rest

Spoken Word with Electronics is an audio series delivering to you a two side recording of unusual stories paired with vintage modular electronic soundsHi everyone, welcome back to the show. Pictured above this week is my studio, or the main corner of it. A lot of wonderful noise makers in the room, and the stress of this year has finally started to hit me. A room of equipment like this is very good for moments like this. So this week is about making as loud a noise as possible.Jump in for a fun ride as we turn the studio into the tornado of sound, with leading contributions from Metasonix, Soma Labs Lyra-8 and Pulsar 23, Moog, and Dave Smith and Tom Oberheim's collaboration, the OB-6. Lead vocals by the Landscape HC-TT, a manually controlled tape player.I purposely decided to make these beautiful instruments into as noisy and obnoxious a set of sounds as possible. I think you'll enjoy the stress relieving sound of a thousand oscillators out of tune with one another, going off like 700 springs clanging out of a mattress. Or at least that was the working idea. Really, just a head-cleaner. I call it: My Tribute to July, 2020.SPOKEN WORD WITH ELECTRONICS #19: Odd Times, Loud NoisesConnect with SWWE via Decibel Meter on Bandcamp, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Google Play.Thanks as always, and be well. Stay proud and keep it loud! Read the rest

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 36% of US adults believe false conspiracy theories about COVID-19, such as the one claiming Bill Gates wants to inject people with vaccine medication that contains microchips that will be activated by 5G cell towers.MIT Technology Review interviewed various experts and moderators of Reddit's r/ChangeMyView to find out how you can talk to conspiracy theory believers without wanting to throttle them. The article presents the experts' advice in the form of 10 tips. The tips include treating the conspiracy theorist you are talking to with respect otherwise you will immediately shut down the conversation. Also, if you insist on speaking with a conspiracy theorist do it through a direct message rather than posting on their Facebook wall or publicly on Twitter. It's also good to agree on the kernel of truth that many conspiracy theories contain so you can build trust with your conversation partner.Another tip is to use the "truth sandwich":Use the fact-fallacy-fact approach, a method first proposed by linguist George Lakoff. “State what’s true, debunk the conspiracy theory, and state what’s true again,” Donovan says. For example, if you’re talking to someone who believes the 5G conspiracy theory, you could structure your argument as “Coronavirus is an airborne virus, which means it is passed by sneezing, coughing, or particles. Because viruses are not transmitted via radio waves, coronavirus, which is an airborne virus, can’t be carried by 5G.” It’s repetitive, but it reinforces facts and points out where the conspiracy theory doesn’t work. Read the rest

Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, released in 1988, takes place in 2020. How closely does the 32-year-old depiction of today resemble today? In some ways, very close, says Sam Barsanti in the A.V. Club. One obvious example is that Tokyo was the host city for the 2020 Olympics. But there's more, especially in the "rising tensions in Neo-Tokyo between the haves and have-nots." From his essay:As established over the course of the bike chase, there are rising tensions in Neo-Tokyo between the haves and have-nots—a conflict the film draws attention to with the bikers harassing a corporate office drone in a car and a wealthy couple who are literally sitting with their backs to what’s happening on the streets. There’s also a steadily growing protest happening at the same time as the biker duel, with a quick glimpse of a TV news report mentioning that a “skirmish has broken out between student protestors and riot police.” (Note the familiar lack of blame put on either party for starting the fight; TV news is apparently ineffectual in every reality.) In Akira, it’s legitimately unclear why the protest turns violent; one moment there’s a seemingly peaceful march, the next the protestors are flipping over militaristic police vehicles, while—in a moment of dark humor that is darker and less humorous now—a riot cop launches a tear gas canister directly into someone’s chest.The scene is recognizable even if its causes don’t quite match our circumstances. In our world, protestors are marching against injustice and cops are jumping to lethal force. Read the rest

Since Trump has made such a stink about memorializing historical losers in statue form, the Trump Statue Initiative has decided to take it upon themselves to bestow the same honor on the famously narcissistic 45th President of the United States. As they explain on their website:The Trump Statue Initiative is a way for artists to share their point of view on our 45th President's most notoriously self-serving, narcissistic, and racist moments. And then memorialize his legacy in a way our President can truly relate: Realistic heroic statues. Yeah, unfortunately, statues and monuments are something the big guy is spending a lot of tax payers' dollars protecting right now, while we scramble to find funding to fight surging COVID-19 infections, historic unemployment, and daily racist attacks.We encourage you to join our movement and create special statues of your own, or perhaps vote for one of our pieces you see today to be a permanent installation here in historic Washington DC.Existing installations include "The Poser," located at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC:As well as "The Bunker," conveniently positioned in front of the DC branch of the Trump Hotel: Read the rest

Irish doctor Maitiu O Tuathail got so sick of people claiming that surgical masks cause oxygen deprivation that he put on half a dozen while hooked up to an oxygen meter. Guess what happened?He originally posted on Twitter:Getting asked “Does wearing a face mask lower your oxygen levels” repeatedly by patients today! Based on what they are reading on social media *Face coverings / masks don’t reduce your oxygen levels!* I managed to get six face masks on + it had no effect on my oxygen levels!Of course, the dim bulbs and conspiracy kooks who need to see this won't be convinced, but it's a valiant effort!Image: YouTube / Maitiu O Tuathail via Storyful Read the rest