Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Donald J. Trump gives you instructions for how you can beat the coronavirus, the Trump way.

When a plane is in trouble, the pilots dump all its its fuel before making an emergency landing. This is controversial; though fuel usually dissipates before reaching ground, it's a dangerous pollutant all the same and sometimes it gets dumped close enough to humans that it puts them at risk. This 1984 film, of a test of jet fuel formulated to resist igniting, shows why pilots dump it. NASA and the FAA loaded a retired training jet with test dummies, then remote-piloted it to a crash landing in the Mojave desert. It comes down rough but stays in one piece as it plows through earthworks and obstacles. If it were out of gas, chances of everyone surviving would be good. But with a full tank?Spoiler: the fuel ignites. As one commenter puts it, "proponents of antimisting kerosene did not have a great day."The test went generally according to plan, and produced a spectacular fireball that required more than an hour to extinguish. The FAA concluded that about one-quarter of the passengers would have survived, that the antimisting kerosene test fuel did not sufficiently reduce the risk of fire, and that several changes to equipment in the passenger compartment of aircraft were needed. Read the rest

The Internet Archives' VHS Vault isn't new, but since the beginning of the year it's been refreshed with hundreds of new uploads, reports LifeHacker.So what kind of gems will you find in the VHS Vault? The clips, shows and films run the gamut from instructional videos, to documentaries, to children’s programs, to workout videos. Want to watch the 1935 film version of Les Misérables? It’s on there. Want to work out with Traci Lords? Your wish is the VHS Vault’s command. Want to watch every single episode of Salute Your Shorts? Get ready to spend some quality time with Budnick, Dina and Ug Lee. How about an introduction to Windows 95 with Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry? Yes, that exists, and it’s on there, too.Image: Internet Archive Read the rest

If you've run out of binge-watching fodder, here's a handy list of the 55 new movies and series Netflix is streaming this month. Standouts for me include Season 3 of Ozark, The Decline, and the limited series Self Made. BGR has the full list of March releases.Image: Netflix Read the rest

Watching these clips from The Dick Cavett Show has become an obsession of mine lately. I daresay he's a better talk show host than anyone plying the trade today, with the possible exception of Colbert. In this episode, Cavett interviews the grandiose surrealist Salvador Dali, who brings along his "pet" anteater and handles the frightened beast somewhat roughly, plopping it in the lap of actress of an astonished Lillian Gish (after which it hides behind Satchel Paige). He then goes on to lecture Ms. Gish about the pronunciation of "butterfly" in a way that can only be described as obnoxious. Cavett, sensing an interview that's headed off the rails, warns Dali: "Watch yourself." Dali launches into a spiel about English as "foggy and imprecise" language, to which Cavett says, "I think I'll talk to the anteater now."Image: YouTube Read the rest

In today's hyper-competitive business world, generating leads and converting them into a viable business is a vital numbers game that can be the difference between your operation scaling and stagnating. Unfortunately, leads are becoming more and more expensive to generate, meaning any mishandled or dropped leads can have a huge negative impact on your bottom line.Communication is key. Staying aligned with leads, current clients, former clients, and your entire sales team is exceedingly difficult given how many communication mediums there are these days. Between the phone, email, webchats, and more, it's easier than ever to forget to follow up by simply misplacing where the original conversation took place.That's where amoCRM shines. By centralizing each customer's communications (be it on Skype, Instagram, email etc.) into their own lead profile on the platform, this customer relationship manager (CRM) helps you keep track of all of your past communications and continue ongoing conversations without switching apps. This way, you can chat with your leads on their platform of choice, and gain quick access to all of your conversations without closing apps or switching platforms.With the power of unified communications, your sales team is empowered to solve problems, not navigate through them. Retain and convert leads like never before with amoCRM. Right now, you can register for an extended 30 day trial through this link. Read the rest

"Just to be abundantly clear," CNN reassures us, "There is no link between the virus and the beer."5W Public Relations said that 38% of Americans wouldn't buy Corona "under any circumstances" because of the outbreak, and another 14% said they wouldn't order a Corona in public. The survey encompasses polling from 737 beer drinkers in the United States.In another survey conducted by YouGov, the firm found consumers' intent to purchase Corona fell to its lowest level in two years. The survey also showed that Corona's buzz score, a metric that that measures favorability, has dropped significantly since the beginning of the year. UPDATE: CNN was bamboozed by a vaguely-worded press release. [h/t Hank Green] The press release was crafted to portray anyone who would never drink Corona as being scared of the virus.OK, this sounded deeply dubious to me, so I went to the source, which is a PRESS RELEASE that reads like an ad for the PR company: https://t.co/dnkEK1UAd0The survey says 38% of people wouldn't drink Corona...not that they wouldn't drink Corona "because of the virus." https://t.co/wavLy6ANEC pic.twitter.com/liKkwHAI2N— Hank Green (Going to Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan!) (@hankgreen) February 28, 2020As of today, 83,577 people are diagnosed as having it, with nearly 3,000 dead. Coronavirus, that is, not Corona. Read the rest

Clearview, the shady facial-recognition firm with links to law-enforcement and alt-right internet trolls, reports that its entire client list has been stolen.In the notification, which The Daily Beast reviewed, the startup Clearview AI disclosed to its customers that an intruder “gained unauthorized access” to its list of customers, to the number of user accounts those customers had set up, and to the number of searches its customers have conducted. The notification said the company’s servers were not breached and that there was “no compromise of Clearview’s systems or network.” The company also said it fixed the vulnerability and that the intruder did not obtain any law-enforcement agencies’ search histories. Not a good look for any security company--especially one that prides itself on scraping private information from Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the web, irrespective of whether they're permitted to, and repackaging it for government and the police to identify and track individuals through surveillance. Read the rest

Matt Round's Death Roulette is a game that randomly selects for you one of the many deaths recorded in 17th-century London. In the week of July 11th, 1665 you died fromImposthume(swelling or abscess)The use of scans of the actual records is very effective! Read up on the death searchers. Read the rest

Facebook is reportedly considering making it just a wee bit clearer that pro-Bloomberg political campaign posts come from paid staffers on Michael Bloomberg's political campaign. Yes, 2020 is bonkers. Facebook is considering ways to show when a paid campaign staffer shares a political post on the site, reports Julia Boorstin at CNBC. “This comes after Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg’s campaign said it was paying staffers to post on social media on its behalf.”Oh.Excerpt from CNBC on Friday:Facebook is concerned about a lack of transparency in how Mike Bloomberg’s field organizers are using the platform to advocate for his presidential campaign, without identifying that they work for him, according to a source at the company. The source said Facebook is considering taking steps to make it clearer that the people posting messages of support are paid employees.Facebook has taken a range of steps to improve transparency around political advertising since the Cambridge Analytica scandal in March 2018. A New York Times report revealed that the political consulting firm improperly obtained information about Facebook users, then used that information to target political ads supporting Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.Among other changes, Facebook now tags all political and issue ads, keeps a library of them and has built an interactive database of all political and issue ad purchases.Read more:Facebook is considering making clearer that pro-Bloomberg posts come from paid staffers[Published Fri, Feb 21 202011:14 AM EST] Read the rest

I was on Cape Cod this past weekend — specifically, the town of Eastham, which is way up by the wrist and fairly desolate in winter. What I didn't know at the time was that Janet Uhlar, one of the juror's from Whitey Bulger's trial, was right around the corner from me the whole time. Along with the collection of handwritten letters she'd received from him between 2014 and his totally suspicious prison death in 2018.NBC News just published a piece about Uhlar and her relationship with Bulger, and how she came to regret her decision to convict him on racketeering charges and 11 counts of murder.Uhlar started writing Bulger, she said, because she was troubled by the fact that much of the evidence against him came through testimony by former criminal associates who were also killers and had received reduced sentences in exchange for testifying against their former partner in crime."When I left the trial, I had more questions," she said.After Bulger started returning her letters, Uhlar noticed he often dated them with the time he had started writing in his tight cursive style. "He always seemed to be writing at 1, 2 or 3 in the morning, and when I asked him why, he said it was because of the hallucinations," Uhlar said.Uhlar knew, of course, about Whitey's reputation as a notoriously brutal mobster. And she knew that the FBI had enabled his behavior. Her uncertainty and regret had nothing to do with whether Bulger had actually killed people, either — that's a universally accepted fact at this point. Read the rest

In Florida, sheriff's officials say a trail of pill bottles stolen from a Florida pharmacy led detectives to a home where they encountered two men who matched descriptions of robbers seen on surveillance video.The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office says the two men and a third accomplice robbed a CVS in Clearwater, Florida at about 5 in the morning on New Year’s Day. They waved guns at employees and tied up several of them with zip ties, say authorities.The Tampa Bay Times reports that the trio stole 10,000 pills containing the opioids hydrocodone and oxycodone, with a street value of about $320,000. From the AP:But they left behind some obvious clues. First, the surveillance video captured the men and a white Chrysler 200 fleeing the scene. And apparently the men emptied pills from bottles, which they tossed out the window as they drove home, the newspaper reported.Detectives followed the trail of pill bottles to a home where they found two of the men, sheriff’s officials said.Investigators said the three men had planned the robbery, even staking the location out the day before, the Times reported. Detectives saw one of the men casing the store in the surveillance video they reviewed, officials said.The two men — Christopher Rachell Jr., 19, and David Dobbins, 19 — were arrested Jan. 1. They also matched the descriptions of the robbers seen inside the store, detectives said. Read the rest

Sure, this absolutely passes the corruption smell test. Everything is fine. Trump and his klepto-regime are (of course) supporting Oracle's Larry Ellison in his Supreme Court fight with Google. The same day the same Larry Ellison hosted a massive fundraiser for Trump in California.From reporting by Malathi Nayak at Bloomberg News:The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, boosting Oracle Corp.’s bid to collect more than $8 billion in royalties for Google’s use of copyrighted programming code in the Android operating system.The administration weighed in on the high-stakes case on the same day that President Donald Trump attended a re-election campaign fundraiser in California hosted by Oracle’s co-founder, billionaire Larry Ellison.Ellison hosted a golf outing and photos with Trump. The event cost a minimum of $100,000 per couple to attend, with a higher ticket price of $250,000 for those who wanted to participate in a policy roundtable with the president, the Palm Springs Desert Sun reported.read more:Trump Backs Supporter Larry Ellison in Court Fight With Google[ Malathi Nayak, February 19, 2020] Read the rest

"Justify My Love" is a 1990 trip-hop tune by Lenny Kravitz and Ingrid Chavez with spoken vocals by Madonna and soulful humming and moaning by Kravitz. Someone mixed a version of the track sans Madonna and with Kravitz's backing vocals brought to the forefront. The above sounds like a compelling piece of "outsider pop," as described by bil-sabab on r/ObscureMedia. image: transformation of chrisweger's original photo (CC BY-SA 2.0) Read the rest

At a Croydon, New Hampshire town meeting, the government unexpectedly decided to disband its one-person police force and lay off the only officer, chief of police Richard Lee, who had held the position for 20 years."Out of nowhere the selectboard made a motion to disband the police department," Lee said. "I was told at that point that I had to turn my cruiser keys in, and supply them with my badges, uniform and (other equipment) immediately."So he stripped down to his underwear and walked out.From CNN:Lee says someone called his wife, who caught up to him and drove him the rest of the way home.Russell Edwards, the board's chairman, confirmed the vote to CNN and told CNN affiliate WPTZ the board's vote to dissolve the Croydon Police Department was "a well thought out decision ... and we have many issues to decide on what we have to do so this is as much of (a) comment we're going to give at this point...."(Lee) says it's been a contentious relationship since 2016 when a new board took over, with arguments over budgets and tickets. Read the rest

On our app you can filter out anybody who thinks climate change is Fake News.— OkCupid (@okcupid) January 14, 2020OKCupid recently announced it's letting its users avoid dating people who are in denial about the science of climate change. From Gizmodo:On some level, it makes sense that people feel a sense of connection over shared interests. But it’s telling that climate change is becoming one of those things in addition to the standard walks on the beach and all that.“In my experience, people are finding that it’s really difficult to have an intimate relationship unless there’s a really deep alignment on how we’re relating to the issue,” Renee Lertzman, a psychologist who specializes in the melancholic psychological responses to environmental crises, told Earther. “That doesn’t mean you have to feel exactly the same way or engage on exactly the same level, but what really matters is that how you feel about it is actually okay with your partner.” Read the rest

Writing for The New York Times, Randall Monroe (creator of the xkcd comic) looks into the world's worst smell. It turns out that there is no universal agreement, but a strong contender for the title is something called U.S. Government Standard Bathroom Malodor, "a substance that was designed to mimic the scent of military field latrines, in order to test cleaning products."Another contender was accidentally cooked up one day by Derek Lowe, an industrial chemist:Dr. Lowe said that the worst thing he’d ever smelled in his career as a chemist arose when he inadvertently combined dimethyl sulfide (think farts) with some silicon he was putting through a reaction called a Peterson olefination. Neither odor would smell great on its own, but combined they produced something transcendently foul. “It smelled like what you’d imagine the exhaust of a U.F.O. to smell like,” he said. “It was spectacularly weird and horrible.”By Cornischong at lb.wikipedia - Own workTransferred from lb.wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, Link Read the rest

Wendi Williams, a passenger on an American Airlines flight, says she is complaining to the FBI about a man who had been sitting behind her and continuously punching her seat because she had reclined it. Williams says when she called a flight attendant about the puncher, the attendant sympathized with the puncher and gave him free alcohol because his seat was unable to recline.Williams recounted the incident in a series of tweets, starting with: "After much consideration, and exhausting every opportunity for American Airlines to do the right thing, I’ve decided to share my assault, from the passenger behind me, and the further threats, from an American Airline flight attendant. She offered him a complimentary cocktail!”When the FA came. She rolled her eyes at me and said, “What?” She then told him it was tight back there and gave him rum! She told me I had to delete the video! It’s against the law to video on a plane. I asked her name & She gave me a Passenger Disturbance Notice! https://t.co/zRwy5JYr9s— wendi (@steelersfanOG) February 8, 2020After much consideration, and exhausting every opportunity for #AmericanAirlines to do the right thing, I’ve decided to share my assault, from the passenger behind me, and the further threats, from an American Airline flight attendant. She offered him a complimentary cocktail!— wendi (@steelersfanOG) February 8, 2020Here's the video:This video has the internet legitimately divided .Dude is in the last seat on the plane. Seat doesn’t recline.Hers does. Read the rest

The GSMA says it has canceled Mobile World Congress after the coronavirus made it “impossible” to hold the event.The world's biggest phone show, MWC 2020, is no longer taking place this year. GSMA CEO John Hoffman says in this statement that the coronavirus outbreak made it “impossible” to hold the event, which was scheduled to open in Barcelona on February 24. “With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event. The Host City Parties respect and understand this decision. The GSMA and the Host City Parties will continue to be working in unison and supporting each other for MWC Barcelona 2021 and future editions. Our sympathies at this time are with those affected in China, and all around the world.”Mobile World Congress has been cancelled, without the government declaring a health emergency. The conference's insurers are going to have a long week of it.— Iain Thomson (@iainthomson) February 12, 2020The impact here is on the city of Barcelona (hotels, venues, restaurants etc.) and travel budgets for companies and attendees (and what they may affect - airlines?). In terms of meetings and deals that would get done there, I think those can get re-scheduled pretty easily. https://t.co/p46sjPXY0l— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) February 12, 2020MWC cancelled - massive economic blow to Barcelona and mobile industry https://t.co/KaPeCNvzFW Read the rest

Researchers from Texas A&M say they have found a quick, cheap, and accurate way for law enforcement agents to differentiate pot and hemp – using lasers.In a study released last month, Texas AgriLife researchers Dmitry Kurouski and Lee Sanchez claim their new laser testing method is a better way for law enforcement to figure out whether a substance they've seized is cannabis or non-psychoactive hemp.Lasers, how do they work? From Austin NPR affiliate KUTR:Put simply, a laser from a spectrometer hits a substance and then maps it out on graph. A substance without THC maps differently than one that contains it, providing a near-instant readout of whether a substance violates the state ban on substances with more than 0.3%-concentration of THC or whether it's legal hemp.Kurouski says the device, which is about the size of a lunchbox, could be used by law enforcement with astounding accuracy during traffic stops or at crime scenes."The accuracy is 100%," he said. "[Meaning] we can differentiate between hemp and cannabis, and that's really remarkable."Kurouski says the scanner could also identify different strains of cannabis. The device could help hemp-growers who may be hassled by law enforcement, he said, citing an Amarillo case in which a man was arrested for hauling marijuana then was let go when his cargo proved to be hemp in lab tests.Even in the best case scenario, his experimental laser scanner is at least a few years away from field use, Kurouski says. Sounds cool, for non-police uses even. Read the rest

BREAKING NEWS: High level Department of Justice officials are intervening to try to shorten Roger Stone’s still-unannounced prison sentence, multiple news agencies report on Tuesday.The Department of Justice is backing away from its sentencing recommendation of between seven to nine years in prison for Trump confidant Roger Stone, a department official told the AP.Impeached president Donald John Trump called that proposed prison sentence for his dirty-tricks-doer pal “unfair.”As Mark wrote about earlier today on Boing Boing, Trump tweeted just this morning that the case against Stone was a “miscarriage of justice.”Here we are, America.Say farewell to the rule of law.From AP:The Justice Department will take the extraordinary step of lowering the recommended prison time for Roger Stone, an ally of President Donald Trump, a federal official said Tuesday, just hours after the president condemned the recommended sentence as “very horrible and unfair.”The official said there was no contact with the White House before the decision was made to lower the sentence recommendation. He spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the decision. The person would not say what the new recommendation would be.On Monday night, prosecutors had recommended Stone serve seven to nine years behind bars after being convicted of charges including lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstructing the House investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to tip the 2016 election.READ MORE: Feds back away from Stone sentencing proposal[Reporting by MICHAEL BALSAMO, ASSOCIATED PRESS]Previous Boing Boing posts on Roger Stone's wild ride. Read the rest

A federal judge has approved T-Mobile's $26.5 billion takeover of Sprint.Long opposed by consumer advocates, the mega-merger will combine America's 3rd and 4th-largest wireless carriers.In the decision filed Tuesday, Judge Victor Marrero wrote, “The resulting stalemate leaves the Court lacking sufficiently impartial and objective ground on which to rely in basing a sound forecast of the likely competitive effects of a merger.”From CNBC:The ruling clears one of the final hurdles for the deal, which still can’t close until the California Public Utilities Commission approves the transaction.Attorneys general from New York, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and D.C. originally brought the lawsuit to block the deal following approval from the Justice Department of Federal Communications Commission. The states had argued that combining the No. 3 and No. 4 U.S. carriers would limit competition and result in higher prices for consumers. The companies had argued their merger would help them compete against top players AT&T and Verizon and advance efforts to build a nationwide 5G network.T-Mobile and Sprint agreed to certain concessions to the government before the agencies cleared the deal. The companies told the FCC they would deploy a 5G network covering 97% of the U.S. population within three years of closing the deal. Sprint also agreed to sell Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and other prepaid phone businesses, as well as some of its wireless spectrum to Dish Network for $5 billion before gaining approval from the Justice Department. Read the rest

The San Antonio Zoo in Texas has a special offer for Valentine's Day. For $25 it will name a pre-frozen rodent after your ex and feed it to snake, reports WNEM News.If your ex isn't worth $25, you can name a cockroach ("sourced from professional roach breeders") for $5 and the zoo will feed it to another hungry animal.From WNEM:Even if you (or your exes) don't live in Texas, you can still participate in this "feeding frenzy" because the zoo will be live-streaming the event on Facebook.You must submit the first name of your ex on the zoo's website by Feb. 13.(Image: jo.sau, CC-BY-2.0, modified) Read the rest

French video artist Thomas Blanchard created "Mini Planets" by mixing paint, oil, inks, and soap to stunning effect. It reminds me of the psychedelic alternate universes manifested in the 1960s liquid light shows. Blanchard writes:The visual compositions have been created out of paint, oil, inks and soap. All videos were filmed in 8K with the RED Helium camera with 100 mm L macro lens Canon and MPE 60 mm macro lens Canon. The editing of the video is in 4K.(via Petapixel) Read the rest

First, take a look at this 1895 short movie "L'Arrivée d'un Train à la Ciotat" ("Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat," from the Lumière Brothers. This film was upscaled to 4K and 60 frames per second using a variety of neural networks and other enhancement techniques. The result can be seen in the video below:The Spot has an article about how it was done:[YouTuber Denis Shiryaev] used a mix of neural networks from Gigapixel AI and a technique called depth-aware video frame interpolation to not only upscale the resolution of the video, but also increase its frame rate to something that looks a lot smoother to the human eye. Read the rest

Sarah Gailey is one of science fiction's great new talents and their 2019 debut novel Magic for Liars was incredibly strong; now they're back with Upright Women Wanted, a feminist, genderqueer science fiction western novel about gun-toting roving librarians who are secretly the heart of an antifascist resistance.In an America fallen to authoritarian, theocratic barbarism, young Esther is forced to watch as her father -- headman of their small town -- hangs her secret lover Beatriz for possession of a seditious pamphlet, while she is hungrily watched by the idiot man whom her father has promised to marry her to.Esther runs away, stowing away in the librarians' wagon as they pull out of town. The librarians are permitted to travel across the country, distributing Authorized Materials that have been approved by the nation's censorship board as serving the patriotic ends of a country mired in endless war. But when Esther reveals herself two days later, she discovers that the librarians aren't merely romantic emissaries of the all-powerful state: they are the couriers of a secret revolutionary movement dedicated to destroying the theocratic, patriarchical state. The librarians -- and their resistance friends -- are gun-toting and sharp-shooting. They're hard as nails and queer as fuck, and while they sympathize with Esther and her impossible situation, it's not clear that they can afford to carry her, or even let her live.What follows is a hard-bitten, fast-paced western, full of gunfights, love under the stars, heroism, cowardice, and genderqueer librarianship. Read the rest

Mike Palliotet (previously) cleans another revolting, darkly shiny diner carpet with his incredibly satisfying high-end steam cleaning equipment.“We live in a primitive time, don’t we, Will? Neither savage nor wise. Any rational society would either ban carpet in diners or let me take my dog in there.” — Hannibal Lecter. Read the rest

One of the coolest, most impressive games I was introduced to last year was Wild in the Streets, a free-rules punk, goth, and metal miniatures skirmisher from Slow Death Games. Slow Death has upped the ante on awesome with their latest project, Star Breach. Like WITS, this "multiverse" narrative-style skirmish game has free and simple downloadable rules [PDF] and is miniatures agnostic. In this play-through video, Gaminggeek discusses his quest for the perfect sci-fi skirmish rules and explains why he thinks Star Breach fits the bill. He ends up giving the game a 9 out of 10. I have yet to play the game, but I love the straightforward approach to the rules and the ability to play games within the worlds of 40K, Star Wars: Legion, Deadzone, Necromunda, Kill Team, etc, using an alternative rules set. Anyone familiar with these sci-fi universes will recognize "the Hive," "Legions of Mankind," "the Resistance," "the Dark Path," and other thinly-veiled versions of factions found in other popular sci-fi games.Star Breach is currently on Kickstarter with a softcover rulebook and sets of special StarBreach dice. You can use regular d6 dice (it's a 2d6-based system), but the official dice are worth it. Read the rest

According to an article on Deadline, Spike Lee has signed on to direct a film adaption of David Byrne's Broadway hit, American Utopia.Oscar winner Spike Lee has signed on to direct a filmed version of the acclaimed Broadway show David Byrne’s American Utopia. Participant adds another title to its portfolio of films meant to engage positive social change, as it will be lead financier and executive producer for the project. It is financing the film with River Road Entertainment and Warner Music Group....Said Byrne: “Pinch me. This couldn’t have worked out better for this project. Spike Lee directing and Participant producing — two socially engaged teams, well, three if you count us in the band, coming together in what I feel will be something moving, important, and unlike anything anyone has seen before.”Read the rest on Deadline. Read the rest

For the owner of an anxious dog, coming home to a stray poop or a shredded pillow after a long day at work may be annoying, but that’s actually on the low end of potential problems. Some dogs get so upset by the boredom, loneliness and stress of being on their own that they end up doing some real damage, like demolishing rooms or chomping their way through wooden doors and even drywall as a way of expressing their upset feelings.These dogs need to chill. Relax My Dog is a streaming service that can lay the mellow all over even the most keyed-up pooches. Right now, a two-year subscription to this doggie pacifier is available for $39.99, over half off the regular price.Before you laugh, this is not some fly-by-night money grab. Backed by over seven years of research, Relax My Dog has actually proven to help 87 percent of its canine viewers, accounting for more than 10 million dogs in over 100 countries.Just stream it to your home TV or connected iOS or Android device and the steady unlimited stream of looped content video and music will help put any dog of virtually any breed at ease. Also as with humans, not all music works for all situations, which is why you’ll find playlists tailored to specific canine demographics or incidents, like music for puppies, for grooming time, for combatting loud noises and fireworks, or just music for sleeping and general relaxation.A Relax My Dog 2-year subscription is usually $84, but with the current deal, it’s available now for just $39.99 Read the rest

The US government provides federal funds to states to help with disaster relief. This much hasn't changed under the Trump administration. In fact, in 2018, Ben Carson's Department of Housing and Urban Development launched a new program rewarding $28 billion dollars in financial support relating to natural disasters.Curiously, that press release was taken down a few days after the New York Times reported on it — specifically, on its favoritism towards red states that still won't formally admit that climate change exists:The money is distributed according to a formula benefiting states most affected by disasters in 2015, 2016 and 2017. That formula favors Republican-leaning states along the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts, which were hit particularly hard during that period.Texas is in line for more than $4 billion, the most of any state. The next largest sums go to Louisiana ($1.2 billion), Florida ($633 million), North Carolina ($168 million) and South Carolina ($158 million), all of which voted Republican in the 2016 presidential election.The other states getting funding are West Virginia, Missouri, Georgia and California, the only state getting money that voted Democratic in the presidential race of 2016.Of course, these states have to submit proposals explaining why they need these funds. According to the Times, the proposal from Texas refers to things like “changing coastal conditions,” while South Carolina says that three major storms in four years have caused “destabilizing effects and unpredictability.” But none of them actually, explicitly mention climate change — except for Louisiana, in an appendix reference on the final page. Read the rest

Artist and scholar on DIY culture and technology, Garnet Hertz, has a new piece opening up at York University, Gales Gallery, Toronto tonight. The piece, entitled "Experiments in Surveillance Capitalism: Device for Calling the Department of Homeland Security" is part of the exhibition "Disruptive Design & Digital Fabrication."This system uses custom electronics to programmatically speak search terms into a seance-like ring of a dozen Google Home smart speakers. The system searches for controversial search terms that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are reported to monitor. The idea is that these "red flag" keyword Google searches will attract the attention of the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, or CSIS. This system plays with the fear that individuals have about privacy with contemporary smart devices. Related to this, in Canada there have been recent concerns about Huawei's ties to the Chinese government in regard to 5G network infrastructure — but it is worth also considering how companies like Google collect, synthesize, and sell our private information.Here is the concept art for a larger version of the piece. The image above is of the scaled-down version which is part of the Gales Gallery show opening tonight. Read the rest

Nothing says "I love you" more than a greeting card featuring a indefatigable, tube-crawling plumber with a shroom-habit. Get this Hallmark Nintendo Super Mario Valentine's Day Card for Significant Other on Amazon for just . Read the rest

We’ve all got our hands full. And we’re not talking about tight schedules, full task lists and other assorted day-to-day hassles of life here. No, we’re talking literally. With keys, papers, purses, and wallets, devices like smartphones, cameras, laptops and tablets, not to mention all that hyper-specific stuff each of us needs every day, our hands are absolutely, completely, 100-percent chock full all the time.Thankfully, Incase probably already has a bag tailored to even your highly individualized utility belt of necessities. We’ve assembled the full roster of Incase bags and backpacks they’ve got on sale now at up to 74 percent off so you can find the one that speaks to your jam-packed life.Incase Drone & Camera Bags - $49.99 (Originally $199.95)Did you know there are bags with special compartments made just for drones? Incase’s Drone Collection bag features padded spots for your flying robot, your assorted cameras, and controllers, even a cushioned back panel to store a 15-inch MacBook to keep all your drone gear or photography equipment in one highly mobile place.Incase Camera Pro Pack - $99.99 (Originally $219.95)Camera lenses ain’t cheap — and this spacious 21-inch durable 840D abrasion-resistant nylon camera bag has room to keep a full-frame DSLR with an attached lens cozy and protected. Of course, it also features loads of extra pockets for memory cards and all the other attachments a true photog needs.Incase DSLR Sling Pack (Navy or Anthracite) - $57.95 (Originally $89.95)Sling packs are perfect for more compact, on-the-go needs. Read the rest

Australia sits on a fast-moving tectonic plate and is drifting north several inches a year. As its GPS coordinates haven't been updated since 1994, the discrepancy has grown to six feet and has begun causing trouble. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the continent's location is being fixed.On January 1, the Victorian and NSW governments updated the coordinates of every road, property and geographical feature in their states, essentially moving the south-eastern seaboard 1.8 metres north-east overnight. Official government road maps and property boundaries will now line up perfectly with GPS location data.“The real importance with data is it all lines up. Roads, people's property boundaries all line up,” says Ms Underwood. It will take some time for companies like Google to pick up and implement the new data. But when they do, you will enjoy slightly more accurate satellite navigation. Read the rest

Here’s the Context pic.twitter.com/06tBlNkMV5— ★Lil Chu★ (@LilChuSSB) February 2, 2020 A high schooler who played the intro music for PornHub videos received am immediate raucous response from his fellow students. The person who tweeted the video said the young man was suspended. Read the rest

It costs $1 in bitcoin to receive an in-game life on the SatoshiQuest Minecraft server. From there, you can start looking for bitcoin treasure (equal to 90% of the money collected from all the players) hidden within the blocky simulated world.From Coindesk:The first round of SatoshiQuest began on Jan. 26 and the game resets once treasure has been found. The server checks the bitcoin spot price every 15 minutes, automatically updating the participation fee to keep it at $1.The project is open source, with the code available on GitHub.Ninety percent of total game fees go towards the treasury address, with the remaining 10 percent going towards developer costs. After finding the treasure, winners receive 85 percent of the balance, while the remaining 5 percent is kept the wallet until the next round. The reward is only paid out if the treasury wallet balance exceeds the transaction fee.[via Super Punch]Image by allinonemovie from Pixabay Read the rest

This is the Tubmarine, a wood-burning hot tub. According to the company, the tub takes less than two hours to heat up and comfortably seats four adults. It's built from sustainably-sourced Kebony timber, 80% recycled stainless steel, and outfitted with a Kirami wood-fired water heater from Finland. The starting price is £15,450.00 (US$20,070). If you prefer a classic 1970s style tub though, Kirami has those for sale at around $4,000. Read the rest

A man was kicked off an American Airlines flight Thursday after putting on a gas mask and refusing to remove it. Other passengers began to "panic", according to reports, and the flight was delayed an hour until he was kicked off.Joseph Say posted a photo of the masked man on Twitter. Mr Say said he initially thought the gas mask was related to the new coronavirus, which has killed 259 people in China."But then I noticed it didn't have the filter, so that didn't really make sense," he added. "What we heard from the lady sitting next to him was he said he wanted to make a statement. I don't know what the statement was," Mr Say said. @AmericanAir , Just FYI flight 2212 to Houston was delayed an hour because you let this guy on the plane wearing a gas mask. This then panicked people on the plane and we had to wait for him to be escorted off. @abc13houston @KHOU @HoustonChron @KPRC2 @FOX26Houston #trainbetter pic.twitter.com/mZkWea606d— Joseph D S❄️ (@ThePlatypusesTX) January 31, 2020 Read the rest

As part of the Nepal government's new tourism campaign, officials commissioned more than 100 huge yeti statues designed by Ang Tsherin Sherpa to be painted by various artists and placed around the world to build excitement about visiting the region. A very fun idea but many people in Nepal don't think the statue looks anything like their beloved beast. From the BBC:"In folk tales, the yeti has been described as a big monkey-like creature," Ram Kumar Pandey (author of several books about the yeti) tells the BBC. "However, the recent logo depicts it as a sumo wrestler. This does not at all match with the mythical character that has been described in many folk tales...""I did not make yeti's sketch by reading any book," (yeti statue designer Ang Tsherin Sherpa) explains. "On the basis of stories that I heard in my childhood, and having Lord Buddha at the back of my mind, I made the design."There was, however, at least one more practical reason behind his choice: Sherpa says he did not make it furry as depicted in yeti-related literature in order "to make it easier to paint". Read the rest

Now that Viagra is available over the counter in some parts of the world or is easily available online with or without a prescription, many young men without erectile dysfunction are using it recreationally. This episode of Vice High Society looks into the trend, hosted by a "healthy 24-year-old man" who takes Viagra. Read the rest

Last October, two Amazon employees -- Maren Costa (UX designer) and Jamie Kowalski (software engineer) spoke on the record to the Washington Post about their employer's complicity in the climate crisis, including the provision of cloud computing services to energy company in search of new sources of fossil fuels.Amazon threatened to fire them. Rather than shutting up, the two employees recruited fellow members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice to publish 357 on-the-record, attributed condemnations of Amazon's climate policies from current Amazon tech workers.It's the latest installment in the tech worker uprising in which tech workers are realizing that the high demand for their skills and massive talent shortage gives them incredible leverage over their employers. Tech workers are a critical part of the fight for a better world, because they can both hold their employers to account and provide accurate assessments of the culture, choices and decisions that feed into our current tech landscape. “Amazon’s main principle is Customer Obsession, it is time to broaden it and get obsessed with Humanity. Collaborating all together we can save our Planet. With great power comes great responsibility — Amazon should make drastic changes in the way it operates, shift company goals and values to be an example for other corporations. Amazon’s order of 100,000 electric vans is the right move for our supply chain’s future and is also a step in the right direction that sends a signal to the market to help the transition to clean technology. Well done! Read the rest

In 2002 Nintendo released Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for GameCube. One of the great things about the title (which was not well received when it first came out but is now rated highly in the Zelda pantheon) it its pioneering use of cel shading - a stylistic technique to add shading to 3D graphics to make them look less realistic (in a bad way) and more cartoony (in a good way). Even Breath of the Wild puts the cel shading aesthetic to good use.In the 14-minute video, "How The Wind Waker Defined Cel Shading," Michael "Jasper" Ashworth goes into interesting detail about how Nintendo "was able to pull off cel shading at a time when nobody else was able to."If you are at all interested in 3D graphics, and the history of video games and how they were made, Jasper's video channel is a must-watch. My 16-year-old daughter told me about him a while back. He only has about 30k subscribers, and he deserves 100 times that number, given the quality of his work. Read the rest

Wine has been in the historical record since 6000BCE, American ingenuity "improved" it. Read the rest

My God, it's full of stars!To create this unprecedented view of the Milky Way, ESO combined thousands of individual images from VISTA, taken through three different infrared filters, into a single monumental mosaic. These data form part of the VVV public survey and have been used to study a much larger number of individual stars in the central parts of the Milky Way than ever before. Because VISTA has a camera sensitive to infrared light it can see through much of the dust blocking the view for optical telescopes. The results are truly mesmerizing!More info here. See a zoomable version of the image here.Image: ESO/VVV Survey/D. Minniti (CC BY 4.0) Read the rest

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking to ban emotional support animals from airplane cabins, reports Roll Call. Under the proposed rule, only specially trained dogs that assist disabled people would be permitted on planes.From Roll Call:The rule comes amid a spate of high-profile stories of airplane passengers trying to bring support animals, including miniature horses, capuchin monkeys and peacocks, on airplanes. Airlines facing such menageries had little specific guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration."Airlines want all passengers and crew to have a safe and comfortable flying experience, and we are confident the proposed rule will go a long way in ensuring a safer and healthier experience for everyone," said Nicholas E. Calio, CEO of Airlines for America, a trade association.Cats, rats, capuchin monkeys and any animal other than a dog would not qualify as a service animal under the rule, which would limit the number of service animals a passenger can bring to two. Read the rest

Cities across the US have been holding gun buyback programs since at least 1974. Most of these events have been organized by local police departments, who typically offer between $50 and $250 in cash or gift cards in exchange for a turned-in firearm with no questions asked.The Episcopal congregation at the Church of the Holy Cross in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania tried their hands at a similar program on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, largely inspired by a double homicide that occurred in front of the church in November 2019. Church leaders had planned to remain available all throughout the afternoon, offering $100 per gun.In the first 40 minutes, more than 50 people showed up, and the church ran out of the $5,000 they had budgeted for the event.Many gun advocate argue that events like these are nothing more than symbolic acts of virtue-signalling that ultimately make no real impact on curbing gun violence. And statistically speaking, they're probably right. But that shouldn't diminish the hope, inspiration, and community building that can be derived from such events.That's why the Church of the Holy Cross is planning to hold another similar event soon. If you do want to donate to the cause to help buy back more guns, you can send money directly to the church at 7507 Kelly Street in Pittsburgh; unfortunately, they don't take donations online.With so many guns turned in, Pittsburgh buyback program runs out of money in 40 minutes [WPXI]Image via Frankie Leon/Flickr Read the rest

Bees are big business. Almonds are in big demand as a cash crop in California, ever the more so as the almond milk trend grows. Growers use bees to pollinate the trees. The bees are already challenged enough as it is -- now there are bee stealing criminals who drive around stealing them. One such theft happened in Northern California on Friday, the Oregon-based beekeeper whose bees were stolen says.“It’s hard enough keeping the bees alive without someone stealing them. It’s frustrating,” Potts told KCRA-TV.From KCRA-TV's video interview with the beekeeper, who says the theft represents about a third of the bees in his operation:In his 15 years of business, this is the first time someone has swiped his hives. Potts estimates the theft will cost him about $44,000 in lost revenue.“I would like to catch them, and I think a lot of the beekeepers out here, they’re looking for them too,” he said.Potts said the theft impacts more than just him. “This affects the farmer, too, because there’s going to be a shortage of bees,” he said. “Luckily, I have enough to cover what I did, or what we lost. But it affects the farmer, and it affects the farmers all the way in Oregon and Washington because of the loss of the bees.”[via AP] Read the rest

Blokus Duo is a fun strategy game for two people. Players take turns placing their tiles on a grid, making sure the tile touches another of the same color on a corner only. When no more tiles can be placed, the player with the fewest remaining pieces wins. Amazon has the game on sale now for Read the rest

Spring doesn't officially start until March, but you might want to start your spring cleaning a little early in the office supply closet. You're going to need the extra space.HP is holding a massive "Back to Business" sale on a vast array of its gear. And when we say "gear," we're not talking about a few outdated printers and some toner. You can expect to take up to 62% off everything from high-end ZBook Workstations to premium laptops and printersGiven HP's profile in the modern office, that's a big deal. There's hardly a workspace that doesn't use at least some of their tech if not a whole suite of laptops, printers, and monitors, all synced up and doing the heavy lifting for your workload, day after day.Whether you're managing the hardware for a company or just your own business at home, this might be just the right time to replace or upgrade that equipment. We're seeing deals like $750 off an HP Pavilion 15Z Touch laptop, equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 processor and 256 GB of SSD storage. Other laptops include an HP 340S G7 Notebook, fully customizable with a 14" screen for just over $435. For laptops especially, you won't find these prices again for a long time.There's also a number of printers on deep discount. For light desktop duty, you can get the HP Envy 5055 - easy to set up and capable of printing 10 pages per minute. That one is more than 50% off. Read the rest