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Updated 2026-11-11 13:22
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory releases 62 declassified videos of nuclear weapons tests
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n3uane1UT8It's eschatology in motion: 62 tests carried out between 1945 and 1962, of detonations filmed from up to 50 angles. A total of 210 tests were carried out and this tranche is a good slice of them. (more…)
This political sorting hat will assign you a nice flag
According to Politiscales, a political Myers-Briggs type questionnaire and sorting hat, I'm some kind of happy hippy anarchist with no time for terfs. I often found the questions vague or open to interpretation, so would moderate answers that might be more assertively stated down the pub. It coughed up this nice purple flag, too. I've never seen it before and Google Images doesn't know what it represents, but it's rather suggestive of the sexier regions of the left.
Twitter purges hate groups
Twitter began enforcing new rules against violent and hateful groups and content yesterday; early results suggest that the institutional accounts of extremist parties, groups and media are being closed en-masse, but enforcement aganst individuals and mouthpieces is patchy, especially when it comes to American white nationalists and conspiracy theorists.Twitter announced in October that it planned to take a tougher stance against hate symbols as well as those who posted messages that glorified or condoned violence.It has now said that those who express an affiliation with groups that use or celebrate violence to achieve their aims will be permanently suspended.Hateful imagery - such as the Nazi swastika - can still be posted, but will initially be hidden behind a "sensitive media" warning, that visitors must disable to proceed. However, such content will no longer be allowed on a person's profile page.Those that featured examples will be asked to remove them. Repeat violators will be banned.The share price is up 10% in the hours since, but it's been soaring anyway and Twitter also announced investor-pleasing features this week. Best not fall into the trap of anointing the market as a validator of good ethics.
Superb science fiction story in the form of a list of failed attempts to stave off climate extinction
Debbie Urbanski's story "An Incomplete Timeline of What We Tried" for Motherboard takes the improbable form of a list of failed strategies for coping with the incipient, climate-driven uninhabitability of the Earth, and it works beautifully. (more…)
Here's your chance to win a host of Apple hardware and productivity tools
Perhaps 2017 wasn't your most productive year, but that's okay because the Tim Ferriss Tribe of Mentors Dream Setup Giveaway gives you a chance to make 2018 a year of successful resolutions backed by a trove of productivity-boosting tools. 100 percent free to enter, this giveaway grants you the chance to take home a host of helpful hardware, like a MacBook Pro, iPhone X, and more.Celebrating the release of #1 New York Times best-selling author Tim Ferriss's new book, this giveaway packages together several gear and gadget bundles for three lucky winners. Ferriss is one of the world's leading productivity experts, and he's garnered the secrets of some of the world's most productive and successful people. Enter to win, and you could take home a massive collection of Apple hardware, or one of two productivity-focused bundles of equipment chosen by members of Tim's Tribe of Mentors.Simply sign up to enter for free, and you'll secure your spot in the Tim Ferriss Tribe of Mentors Dream Setup Giveaway.
Firefighters and cops save a horse that fell into a frozen pond
This risky rescue could have gone wrong in a number of ways, but the first responders were able to save a horse that had walked onto thin ice without injuring the horse or themselves. (more…)
Complete tour of the LEGO House in Denmark
The Beyond the Brick channel headed to Billund, Denmark for a superfan's tour of the LEGO House. What's great about this tour is that the host knows the names of many of the builders, and has met a lot of them personally, giving the tour a real insider's feel. (more…)
King Tut exhibition starts its final world tour in Los Angeles (March 2018)
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of discovering the tomb of King Tut, many of the Boy King's artifacts and other ancient Egyptian items will be touring the United States in the new year.Lonely Planet writes:The largest ever international exhibition of ancient Egyptian artefacts from the tomb of its most famous pharaoh will open early next year in Los Angeles. King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh will visit ten different cities as it tours the world starting off on the West Coast of America on 24 March.More than 150 items from Tutankhamun’s tomb will be on display at the California Science Center. The exhibition will be an absolute treat for Egyptologists – both amateur and professional – as never before have so many ancient items associated with King Tut been on display together outside Egypt. Many of the items would have been used by the Boy King himself including golden jewellery, elaborate carvings, sculptures, and ritual antiquities.Forty per cent of the objects will be leaving home for both the first and last time before returning for permanent display in the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is currently under construction.You can first see the exhibit in Los Angeles before it heads to Europe and then to its new permanent home at The Grand Egyptian Museum (which is located near the Pyramids of Giza). Be sure to pre-register for the L.A. exhibit now.https://youtu.be/YTP3pZyzb_UOf course you can't talk about a King Tut without being reminded of Steve Martin's bit on Saturday Night Live in 1978. The now-39-year-old sketch was satire on the Tutankhamun exhibit's popularity when it traveled the US from 1976 to 1979. It has recently come under fire for being racist ("That’s like somebody … making a song just littered with the n-word everywhere") by some Reed College students:https://youtu.be/FYbavuReVF4Biggest ever King Tut exhibition coming to America next yearThanks, Karen!
Matt Damon would like you to congratulate Matt Damon for not being a sexual predator
Matt Damon is missing the point, but I am glad it appears Matt Damon does not hurt other people. Honestly, what a terrible way for Matt Damon to promote Matt Damon's new movie.Via Business Insider:Matt Damon thinks the men in Hollywood who aren't sexual predators should be talked about more.The flood of sexual-misconduct allegations since The New York Times and The New Yorker published bombshell reports in October detailing those against the producer Harvey Weinstein have included some of the biggest names in entertainment, media, and politics.But Damon says not all the men in Hollywood are despicable."We're in this watershed moment, and it's great, but I think one thing that's not being talked about is there are a whole s---load of guys — the preponderance of men I've worked with — who don't do this kind of thing and whose lives aren't going to be affected," Damon told Business Insider while promoting his new movie, "Downsizing," opening in theaters Friday."If I have to sign a sexual-harassment thing, I don't care, I'll sign it," he said. "I would have signed it before. I don't do that, and most of the people I know don't do that."
The Donald Trump droid is live at Disney World's Hall of Presidents
After a series of scandals and rumors, the Hall of Presidents at Walt Disney World has reopened with its Donald Trump robot, which "features the latest advances in technology that enable smoother and more lifelike movements" and "personally recorded remarks exclusively for The Hall of Presidents." (more…)
JCPenney removes racist display in Sioux City
JCPenney, whose name I did not realize no longer contains a space in it, removed a racist display from their Sioux City, Iowa location. Mannequins wore various "Tribe" themed clothing.The decorative use of arrows really ends the need for apologists to try. The additional WINE and BEER shirts make me pretty angry.Via Indian Country Today:The JCPenney at Southern Hills Mall, a shopping mall in Sioux City, Iowa is under fire on social media after Facebook posts including a video and a photo were created by Iowa resident Michelle Free-LaMere. The video posted by Free-LaMere has gone viral having received 51k views within two days of being posted. The video currently stands at 101k views.The posts contain four mannequins wearing different ‘Tribe-themed’ t-shirts that say ‘Tribe Leader,’ ‘Love My Tribe’ and ‘New to the Tribe’ which are standing between additional t-shirts with the phrases ‘Wine Wine Wine’ and ‘Beer Beer Beer.’Comments on social media have been largely negative toward JCPenney.“Just sad and disrespectful,” said Katrina RedOwl from Pasadena, California. Mikki Naranjo from Ignacio, Colorado said she will no longer shop at the store. “That is just disgusting of Management of JCPenney put that display up. I will no longer shop there!”
A dad looks at a year's worth of voice-searches by his five-year-old
https://vimeo.com/245992513Filmmaker Brett Gaylor (previously) realized that Google had saved all the voice-searches his five-year-old had done since he discovered the feature a year ago; in a charming little animated documentary, Brett muses on the ambivalent miracle of a child being able to do research on anything or anything (but while storing all their intellectual history with a giant, creepy multinational company).
UFO IPO-182 – Take me to your dealer: the Pentagon UFO story, crowdfunding, and Blink-182
The New York Times has an article about "Glowing Auras and ‘Black Money’: The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program." $22 million spent on the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, there are 2 declassified released videos that the reader is left to assume is proof of alien visitors (one of the authors of the articles is promoting a UFO book at this time). It has a lot of facts the NYTimes left out like the CEO of the newly formed crowdfunded company via the CROWDFUND ACT, Tom DeLonge. If you’re wondering if it’s that Tom DeLonge, yes! DeLonge was the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the band Blink-182. It was reported that DeLonge allegedly left Blink-182 in 2015 because of aliens and national security. (more…)
When gifts are for the receiver
More Christmas fun with the British middle class! Previously: When gifts are for the giver.
Newly uploaded videos of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and "Rain"
I've not see these videos of The Beatles' " Paperback Writer" and "Rain" before. The quality is great and I love both of these songs, especially Ringo's phenomenal drumming on "Rain."https://youtu.be/cK5G8fPmWeA(Thanks, Mark!)
The Tea Party's baseless claims of IRS discrimination left the agency on life-support, unable to police dark money gushing through "charities"
In 2013, Tea Party activists claimed that they'd been singled out by the IRS for political reasons, and that's why their associated nonprofits were not being approved by the tax agency. In reality, a longrunning investigation found that the IRS was merely incompetent and understaffed, but the Tea Party's tactic of going after the referee rather than the system worked for them: the result was an IRS that has had its resources cut even further, leaving it less -- nor more -- able to evaluate charitable organizations that apply for tax-exempt status. (more…)
How to fix common mistakes in Git
Git is the current commonly accepted form of revision control in the un*x world. If you make a mistake, things can go awfully sideways. Oh Shit, Git! is a guide to fix some common mistakes.
This Burner couple torched a little Burning Man for their 'gender reveal' video
In case you've never heard of gender reveal parties, let me clue you in. It's a celebration for expecting parents, or their guests (or sometimes both), that announces the gender of the child, usually in creative ways. First-year Burners Lainey Deanne and Wesley Robinson of Utah conceived their first child at Burning Man this past summer. So, it makes sense that they would light a miniature model of the Man on fire in their backyard bbq grill as a way to reveal their baby's gender. Most folks use the colors pink or blue in some way to let everyone in on the surprise, but as their mini-Man burnt, a name was uncovered instead (it's difficult to see in the video). Spoiler alert: It's a boy! Baby Isaac J Mike will arrive in May 2018.Congrats to the Robinsons!
Scientist finds shimmering blue moths last seen in 1887
A Polish entomologist has observed and recorded footage of a bee-like moth called the Oriental blue clearwing. (more…)
This is the potato chip grabber
This little faux-gloved hand will pinch chips for you, so your own hands won't get greasy. You don't need it, no one does, but if you have to know, this poorly-reviewed product is available for $4.24 on Amazon.From its description: *NO Grease any more!Just the Way I Like:In common sense,many people like eating snacks like potato crisps while ussing computer.* It directly leads to a very greasy hands and keyboard.* This heavily demage our health and clean imageFrom now on,let Potato Crisp Hand regain our elegant and healthy eating style.* The item designed like a just a hand,can use thumb and forefinger on the hand to control.* when we want to eat crisp,just hold the rod of the hand,push the button,the thumb and the forefinger can be closed and pick up the crisps.* In fact,just like our thumb and forefinger to pick up the crisps.* The unique hold system inside allow to Apply the most appropriate strength on the chips to not let the crisp be broken.* Therefore we got a elegant and healthy eating crisp way.Elegant. Healthy. RIGHT...(Foodiggity, Oh Gizmo!)
Architects designed these groovy cat houses for charity
FixNation is a nonprofit working to reduce the feral cat population. To raise funds, they commissioned cool cat shelters from prominent Los Angeles architecture firms, then auctioned the structures like Flora-Gato in the video for charity. (more…)
Female adolescent macaques practice sex by mounting male deer
Visitors to the Minoo reserve in Japan's Osaka prefecture have long observed female adolescent macaques mounting and humping adult male deer; in a fascinating paper (Sci-Hub open access link) in Archives of Sexual Behavior, three psychology researchers from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, conduct a careful study of these behaviors ("the first quantitative study of heterospecific sexual behavior between a non-human primate and a non-primate species"), and, through a set of naturally occurring experiments, formed an evidence-supported picture of what's going on here. (more…)
Last-minute gifts for Trump-haters
A pass to the national parks ($80); vulva-shaped chocolates ($20; a donation to Planned Parenthood (varies); anything from Patagonia (they're suing Trump); ACLU tees ($28); Cards Against Humanity ($25) and many more items, all in The Guardian's Ultimate gift guide for the Trump-hater in your life. (Thanks, Mom!)
"You Died"
As the father of a five-month old baby and the owner of a copy of Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition, this has been the funniest 11 seconds of 2017.
Next year, the Share Festival's theme is Fr@nkenstein
The annual Share Festival, held in both Turin and Belgrade, features a juried prize for electronic art; this year's theme is "Fr@nkenstein: The Modern Prometheus," and will be judged by an international panel under the direction of Bruce Sterling and Jasmina Tesanovic. (more…)
Rogue One is a movie about internet freedom
Sarah Jeong is right (as usual): Rogue One is about internet freedom, a movie about the struggle to upload a large file under time-constraint in a post-Net-Neutrality dystopia where Dropbox is a distant memory and you can't just email a file to yourself for later reference. (more…)
Merry Mixmas 2017: DJ Riko drops another album of festive mashups
Tis the season (1:12:27). (more…)
Documenting the laughable lies the FCC told at the hearing where it killed Net Neutrality
The FCC is only allowed to change existing policies if they can show evidence of some change in facts, so at yesterday's bomb-threat haunted hearing to destroy Net Neutrality, Trump FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and his Republican colleagues made a pro-forma recitation of the reasons justifying his extreme actions. (more…)
Thank you for being a friend
All of you.
Watch: Cyclist finds nearly dead puppy, works frantically to bring it back to life
This puppy looked so far gone, I don't think most people would have thought they could bring it back to life. But the determined, resourceful cyclist who found the pup did everything right, including cutting off the bottom of a water bottle and then using it as a tube to breath air into the puppy's mouth. The incredible rescue in this video is hard to watch, but seems to have a happy ending – I only wish we could find out how the puppy is doing now.
Off-the-wall Harry Potter chapter created using predictive text
The Harry Potter series has an unusual new chapter and J.K. Rowling didn't write it, machines did.Botnick Studios, a "human-machine creative collective" which describes itself as "a community of writers, artists and developers collaborating with machines to create strange new things," created a predictive keyboard that later penned the unauthorized chapter. By "training" the keyboard on all seven Harry Potter titles, machines were able to write this humorous new work. Harry Potter and the Portrait of what Looked Like a Large Pile of Ash is the fabricated book's title and the faux chapter is called, "The Handsome One."Here's a few quotes from its ghostwritten pages:"Magic: it was something that Harry Potter thought was very good.""Ron's shirt was just as bad as Ron himself.""The pig of Hufflepuff pulsed like a large bullfrog. Dumbledore smiled at it, and placed his hand on its head: 'You are Hagrid now.'""'The password was BEEF WOMEN,' Hermione cried."Read the entire chapter here. Be sure to take a look at Botnick's other work, like this predictive text Thanksgiving dinner video.("BEEF WOMEN" will now be my new password.)
If Santa had a raunchy Netflix comedy special
Hey Santa, 1983 called. Eddie Murphy wants his tight red leather suit back.This Team Coco bit imagines Santa Claus telling off-color jokes for a stand-up comedy special on Netflix called, "Sack Up! Santa Live!" It's so wrong.
Here's everything that's wrong with America's insecure electronic voting machines, and what to do about it
The University of Pennsylvania's Matt Blaze (previously) is a legendary figure in cryptography and security circles; most recently he convened Defcon's Vote Hacking Village where security experts with no particular knowledge of voting machines repeatedly, fatally hacked surplus voting machines of the sort routinely used in US elections. (more…)
Fill your home with Star Wars gear — just in time for The Last Jedi
To celebrate the upcoming release of The Last Jedi, we’re offering a selection of Star Wars-themed interior decorations in the Boing Boing Store for 15% off the usual retail value — all you have to do is enter coupon code GIFTSHOP15 during checkout. Here’s what you can get:3D Mega LampsThese custom-fabricated LED lamps light up the darkness with eye-catching 3D illusions. They’re modeled after a handful of fan-favorite ships and characters, so you can choose one that best matches your digs. If you strongly identify with heroic outlaws like Han and Chewie, you can get one shaped like the iconic Millennium Falcon. Alternatively, anyone who respects the brutal authoritarianism of the empire will die for a 3D Death Star lamp. And for the pacifist droid lovers, we’ve even got one shaped like gravity-defying BB-8. Each one of these 3D Mega Lamps goes for $39.99, but you can take an extra 15% off with code GIFTSHOP15.Star Wars 3D DIY Metal SculpturesGive your office desk some galactic flair with a statue of your favorite Star Wars spacecraft. After choosing which side of the force you’re on, you can put these metal sculptures together yourself. They come in a variety of classic shapes, including X-Wing, TIE Fighter, and Imperial Star Destroyer. Save 15% off our normal $9.99 price when you enter GIFTSHOP15 at checkout.Star Wars ArtThese wall hangings are printed on high-quality 100 lb archival paper, so you can be sure that they’ll last. This artwork is by illustrator Devin Schoeffler, and it depicts memorable scenes from the original trilogy like Luke’s training in the Dagobah system, and the the Empire’s assault on Hoth. These posters are in the Boing Boing Store for $19.99, but you can save an additional 15% with code GIFTSHOP15.
I Can't Breathe: Matt Taibbi's scorching book on the murder of Eric Garner and the system that let the killers get away with it
(more…)
Sean Spicer literally thinks "A Christmas Carol" is a book of Christmas carols
Not only that, but as Randy Michaels quipped, "The most Christmas carols ever gathered in one book. Period." (more…)
SNL writer spies on and 'fart-shames' his friend remotely using a Nest cam
As a safety measure, SNL writer Nick Kocher recently installed a Nest cam in his apartment. He then left town for the weekend, letting his friend Jon Bass crash at his place. (more…)
Ajit Pai makes a "funny" video dismissing Net Neutrality advocates for fringe-right site
Donald Trump's FCC Chairman Ajit Pai made a terrible, unfunny video mocking the tens of millions of Net Neutrality advocates whose comments he has discarded (along with filings from the internet's inventors and leading scientists and engineers). The video was posted to the fringe-right website The Daily Caller. (more…)
Protesters flood the Senate, calling for a delay in voting on the GOP tax plan until new Alabama Senator Doug Jones is seated
When Massachusetts GOP Senator Scott Brown was elected in a 2010 special election, Senate Democrats agreed to delay a key vote on health care reform until he could be seated, so that the vote would be held by elected officials, not the appointed lame duck who was sitting in the seat that Brown was about to occupy. (more…)
The Most Annoying People of 2017, in this week’s tabloids
It’s rare, but once in a while the tabloids just get a story right. While Us magazine bores us with the “most fascinating people of 2017” (Melania Trump? Meghan Markle?) and the National Enquirer tells us “What shocked and rocked in 2017” (branding Hollywood’s sex harassment scandals “Pervnado"), it is the Globe that hits the pitch-perfect end-of-year note with its “50 Most Annoying People of 2017.”Its catalogue of “whiners, losers and lamebrains” is hard to argue with: Kim Kardashian, Bill O’Reilly, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Harvey Weinstein, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow . . . the list goes on. Caitlyn Jenner, Megyn Kelly, Anthony Scaramucci, Johnny Depp . . . there’s ten pages of this, and I’ll bet they could have filled the entire magazine with names if they wanted to.Yet the Globe inexplicably omits the year's unquestionably most annoying person: Donald Trump. It’s another week when the Trump-toadying tabloids become the mouthpiece of the White House, with highly debatable information that appears spoon-fed from the West Wing.“Clintons Rigged Trump Investigation!” screams the grammatically-challenged cover of the Enquirer, which claims to have exposed “Bill & Hillary’s dirty tricks” in loading special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative team with Clinton supporters. But while Mueller’s law firm WilmerHale indeed made contributions to Democrats as the Enquirer alleges, it also made substantial contributions to Republicans, in fact donating almost twice as much to Republicans from 1996 to 2002, though favoring Democrats in recent years.Prince Harry’s betrothed Meghan Markle’s father Tom “won’t live to see wedding,” predicts the Enquirer, based solely on a photo that shows the 73-year-old appearing rather portly. They roll out the standard rent-a-quote doctors to explain the health dangers of being overweight, concluding that Mr. Markle is “eating and smoking himself to early grave.” Obesity carries many risks, it’s true, but it takes the Enquirer team of medically trained psychics to diagnose that Mr. Markle’s demise will come before his daughter’s wedding in May.The Globe doesn’t need psychics, however, when it has a “body language expert” to predict that Big Bang Theory actress Kaley Cuoco’s “upcoming marriage is doomed!” It must be right – you can’t argue with science.The Queen’s “last Christmas” is in ruins, reports the Globe. You might think she’d be happy with a third child on the way for grandson Prince William, and Prince Harry poised to walk down the aisle, but no – the Globe reveals: “It’s malice at the palace like we’ve never seen before,” according to an “insider.” Maybe it's one of the Queen’s Corgis ratting out the Royals again. Apparently the Royals are all at each others’ throats, because they’re just characters in a soap opera, after all.Old houses always need a lot of maintenance, and the White House is no exception. The General Services Administration, which maintains the venerable mansion, recently reported that it has dealt with cockroach infestations, mice and ants, and replaced a toilet seat in the Oval Office bathroom – all routine problems that have plagued the abode for decades, through successive administrations. But that’s enough for the Globe to claim: “Obama family left place a total disaster . . . leaving it a disgusting vermin-infested roach motel."Snopes has noted that President Jimmy Carter battled mice and that First Lady Barbara Bush had a run-in with a rat. President Grover Cleveland’s wife found a giant rat trying to devour her pet canary, and lamented numerous infestations of spiders and cockroaches. Screw history, says the Globe, it’s all the fault of those filthy Obamas.People magazine barely brightens the mood with its innocuously bland cover story on Full House star John Stamos revealing: “I’m Gonna Be a Dad!” When a man realizes at the age of 54 that “I had to do some work on myself first” before considering fatherhood, and admits "I had to straighten up,” it’s not so much a reason for celebration as it is for sadness that it took him so long.Fortunately Us magazine’s crack team of investigative reporters tell us that Jennifer Lopez wore it best (when did we stop calling her J Lo?), that Kate Sackhoff carries eyedrops, decongestant and skin cream in her Chanel bag, and that the stars are just like us: they grocery shop, buy Christmas trees and feed parking meters. But wait! This week Us brings us a rare page of reality: “Stars – They’re NOT like Us!” They ride on yachts, have streets named after them, and fly in private jets. I always had my suspicions that the stars were not like us, but now it’s finally been proven! Thank you, Us magazine.Onwards and downwards . . .
Kentucky lawmaker shoots himself after being accused of molesting teenager
Last night Kentucky Republican state Rep. Dan Johnson drove onto a bridge in Louisville, Kentucky, shot himself inside his car, and died. 24 hours earlier, he had been publicly accused of molesting a teenager in 2013.In 2013, then 17-year-old Maranda Richmond had to ward off a drunk evangelical pastor – Dan Johnson – who kissed her and put his hands underneath her clothes inside a church on New Years Day. Three months later she reported the incident to police, and the Louisville Metro Police Department started but then closed an investigation without charging Johnson.In January of this year pastor Johnson became a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 49th district, but it wasn't until earlier this week that the molestation case was made public with a lengthy report by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting.According to CNN:The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting got its hands on police documents on the alleged sexual assault, and interviewed Richmond, leading to its story on how Johnson allegedly forced himself on her when she was a teenager.On Tuesday, a day after the center published its report, Johnson denied the allegations, saying Richmond was motivated by his political opponents."This allegation concerning this young girl absolutely has no merit," he said. "As a matter of fact, some of this I heard yesterday for the first time as I read the story."...Johnson posted a message on his Facebook page Wednesday evening, saying the accusations "are false" and 'only God knows the truth." The post appears to have been deleted. https://youtu.be/38tqfW9-ncg
Surgeon admits to branding initials onto patients’ livers
Patients of Dr. Simon Bramhall probably weren’t expecting an autograph on their transplanted organs. That didn’t stop the surgeon from signing their livers like Roy Moore on high school yearbook day. Bramhall pleaded guilty to two counts of assault for using an argon beam to burn his initials on two patients’ livers at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2013, according to the BBC. The beam can be used to sketch a non-harmful outline for operation on the livers surface. Bramhall pleaded not guilty to assault causing bodily harm. His initials were originally discovered by another surgeon. Via the BBC: "It was done in the presence of colleagues," he said.His actions were carried out "with a disregard for the feelings of unconscious patients", the prosecutor added.Bramhall resigned after a disciplinary hearing with University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust in May 2014.Image: Alex Nelson
State trooper finds nothing funny about pulling over DeLorean going 88mph
The driver of a DeLorean modded to resemble the version from Back to the Future didn’t impress a Texas state trooper for hitting 88 mph. Mark Shields, who was driving his car to an event, told KHOU he thought the officer was joking when he pulled him over for the time-traveling speed. Shields said the trooper responded by saying he doesn’t “joke” about his job. Shields said the trooper continued to ask about the car and questions related to the movie, but ultimately handed the butthead a ticket. Image: Oto Godfrey and Justin Morton
Nazi blog style guide
Neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer was recently pushed off the web by domain registrars, but can supposedly still be found as a hidden service. And would you know that it has a 17-page style guide? They pay $14.88 a post. The site’s stylistic decisions, the subjects it covers, the specific racial slurs it employs — all are consciously chosen for the purpose of furthering The Daily Stormer’s ultimate goal, which, according to the style guide itself, is “to spread the message of nationalism and anti-Semitism to the masses.” Everything is deliberate. The guide is particularly interested in ways to lend the site’s hyperbolic racial invective a facade of credibility and good faith. Or at the very least, in how to confuse its readers to the point where they can’t tell the difference. The Daily Stormer, for instance, uses block quotes for much the same reason Richard Spencer stuffs himself into vestsHere's some tips on encoding incitements to violence as "joking."
Net Neutrality is only complicated because monopolists are paying to introduce doubt
My op-ed in New Internationalist, ‘Don’t break the 21st century nervous system’, seeks to cut through the needless complexity in the Net Neutrality debate, which is as clear-cut as climate change or the link between smoking and cancer -- and, like those subjects, the complexity is only there because someone paid to introduce it. (more…)
Mirai's creators plead guilty, reveal that they created a DDoS superweapon to get a competitive edge in the Minecraft server industry
Last year, the Mirai botnet harnessed a legion of badly secured internet of things devices and turned them into a denial of service superweapon that brought down critical pieces of internet infrastructure (and even a country), and now its creators have entered guilty pleas to a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act federal case, and explained that they created the whole thing to knock down Minecraft servers that competed with their nascent Minecraft hosting business. (more…)
You can run DSL over wet string
ADSL was a miracle when it debuted, delivering high speeds over old copper, thanks to a protocol that was so adaptable to suboptimal media that it was said it could run "over a piece of wet string." (more…)
Climate change has created massive blooms of ecologically disruptive jellyfish, but luckily they're delicious
I fondly remember the unalloyed joy of eating lionfish tacos in the Caribbean, consuming an invasive species that was wrecking a reef preserve; if you've never experienced a similar pleasure, be on the lookout for "jellyfish crisps" made from the huge blooms of jellyfish that are the result of climate change, whose presence is a nuisance and worse. (more…)
Gawker alumni are crowdfunding to outbid Peter Thiel for control of Gawker's assets
Gawker was bankrupted by Peter Thiel, who secretly backed Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against the network of news, entertainment and gossip sites in an act of petty revenge. (more…)
Sledlegs: shinguards that you can turn into toboggan sleds by dropping to your knees and shoving off
Ever find yourself coming home from an attack-dog training session in heavy armored shinguards and come across a snowy hill and muse, man, if only my shinguards were a leeeetle optimized, I could drop to my knees and slide down that bad boy! (more…)
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