Boing Boing

Today, Hong Kongers are staging a general strike, the latest peak in a series of escalating protests over democratic reforms in the face of increased pressure from Beijing and its autocrat-for-life, Xi Jinping. Writing in the London Review of Books, Chaohua Wang -- an exiled leader of the pro-democratic student uprising that was crushed with the 1989 massacre in Tiananmen Square -- provides a history of the pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong, showing how the Tiananmen massacre only hardened the resolve of the surviving activists, and how that spirit has been nurtured in Hong Kong, with successive waves of protesters adapting their tactics to survive the increasingly brutal suppression that Beijing has visited upon Hong Kong.It's a vital piece of historical context, illuminating the long history that has led to this moment, while also demonstrating just how brave, smart, principled and resourceful today's strikers have been. It shows the lessons that Hong Kong's pro-mainland puppet regime were too arrogant to learn, and explains how Beijing has been caught flat-footed by the uprising.The protests have not diminished over the last two months. They have instead become ever more confrontational, vis à vis the police, the Hong Kong government and even the central government’s liaison office. Yet public support has not waned. There is a silent consensus that the not-yet-named protest movement is a collective vote of no confidence in Beijing. Beijing must understand this, more or less, but it has not acknowledged as much. Its first press conference on the current situation in Hong Kong was given by the Hong Kong Macau Office of the State Council in Beijing on 29 July. Read the rest

It's as if the Dog of Wisdom and Hi Stranger had a puppy together. I'd like to credit the genius who created this, but can't find the source.Previously: Do not watch Hi Stranger while high. Read the rest

I've been back in Canada since May and I am certain I am losing my mind. It's a certainty that takes hold of me, every year.We come home because we have to. As Canadians, we can only stay in the Untied States for a maximum of six months at a time. This past year, we stayed just shy of five months in the United States and, another two, down in Mexico. We drove back across the Canadian border with a few days left to spare. This dates-in-da-States wiggle room is important as I sometimes have to head south for work. I'd rather not get into dutch with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Being back in Canada for half the year is , a must if we want to hold on to our sweet-ass socialized medical care (which we totally do.) and for my wife to return to work. While she's a certified dive instructor, she also loves the land-locked gig she works for half of the year. We also come home because we want to. I have few friends and work remotely. Disappointment and distrust have left me happy in the small company of my partner, our pooch and a few well-chosen friends that I seldom see. My missus? Not so much. Community is important to her. Her sister's family—now my family—means the world to her. Reacquainting herself with her people, each year, brings her a happiness that I try hard to understand. I love to see her light up around her friends. Read the rest

It is, evidently, not a nice job. But you do get to be alone, if that's your thing, with The Inventory, boxing things all day. This eBay seller gets into the nitty gritty of how he sources and sells individual items and it's surprisingly interesting how much the garage sale trash gets (Damaged Oakleys, $20) -- and how little the cool vintage items (Real Pyrex carafe, $5). Raiding the rear alleys of strip malls for free boxes is an clever and maybe obvious hack, but watching him sift through those recycling dumpsters gave me a whiff of some pretty grim work. If he did his groceries on Amazon, he'd have an endless supply. Read the rest

The summer of movies that Séamus willing to pay to see in an actual pay-forty-bucks-for-a-small-popcorn movie theater continues!Bettina Perut and Iván Osnovikoff spent two years hanging out at the oldest skate park in Santiago, Chile, looking to gain a window into the lives of the folks who congregated their to skate their days away. The documentary they came away with, however, is arguably one million times better. They framed their film through the lives of two stray dogs, Football and Chola, that call the skate park home.Sadly, I live in oil and cowboy country, just now. I'll likely have to wait to watch it once it hits DVD. Read the rest

If there's one piece of gear that's essential for both outdoor trailblazers and urban homeowners, it's a good flashlight. And since it doesn't take much more dough to go the extra mile, you might as well get a great one. Here are eight super-durable flashlights and versatile lanterns that will make sure you're never in the dark. So much for the boogeyman.Bell + Howell Taclight Flashlight & Lantern BundleThe lantern can be folded down to the size of a smartphone, and the flashlight features five distinct modes, including a strobe effect that can stun potential attackers. Both are water-resistant, and together make a kit that's a lifesaver for any camp. Pick up the Bell + Howell Taclight Flashlight & Lantern Bundle for $25.99, a full 67% off the MSRP.1Tac Professional Grade Tactical FlashlightThis portable unit puts out a big shine: Up to 1200 lumens, or 20% more light than a standard XML T6 LED. And durability? Not only is it waterproofed to an I65 rating, but it'll also still work whether that water is freezing cold or boiling hot. Get this 1Tac Professional Grade Tactical Flashlight for $47.99, a 14% discount off the list price.1TAC TC1200 Tactical Flashlight KitGoing off the grid or awhile? 1Tac's survival guide includes the TC1200, plus a wall charger, car adaptor, portable rechargeable battery, and emergency holster. Basically, everything you need to keep your path lit no matter where you walk. The 1TAC TC1200 Tactical Flashlight Kit is now $79.99, more than 10% off the original price. Read the rest

When Hawai'i-born Kamaka Dias joined the Peace Corps, he completely shaved his head and facial hair off. Then, during his two years serving in Madagascar, he just let it all grow out. No trims, no shaves, nothing. He's home now and has put together this fun and clever video showing his hair growing back in over those two years abroad. He writes: 1. I didn't touch my hair or facial hair at all for 2 years after I shaved it all off. Saved a lot on shaving cream and haircuts!2. This was filmed in Madagascar; the fourth largest island in the world with some of the kindest people you'll ever meet.3. Some highlights of my service: I taught English to about 500 middle and high schoolers during my two years and raised $3,000 to buy 11 computers for my community among other things. Also cooked a lot of pancakes and pooped in a hole.4. Most of the shots were taken during the school breaks and weekends proving that it is possible to work hard and play even harder ;p ...(Likecool) Read the rest

Some medieval mystics did not bathe as part of a self-scourging ritual, and some medieval sources warned against "excessive" bathing (by which they meant, "patronizing co-ed bathhouses where orgies took place" not "avoiding getting clean"), and some non-medieval, 16th and 18th century doctors warned that bathing was bad for you, but they weren't medieval. Medieval people bathed.In an exasperated and delightfully sweary and very informative piece, Dr Eleanor Janega, the medivalist behind the Going Medieval blog ("It exists to explain the medieval influences on the every day world, and hopefully to get people through the every day grind of life in late stage capitalism") enumerates the luxuriant bathing culture of medieval Europe, from peasants to lords, who used soap and deodorant, scented their water, and patronized bathhouses that are European analogs to Japan's glorious onsens.You, my gentle readers may have picked up on something here, and that is that our girls the sex workers be showing right TF up in the public baths. This meant that whether or not you admitted them made the difference between whether you were keeping a bathhouse or a brothel. Here in London, of course the Stews in Southwark were essentially brothels where you could also have a bath (and were largely owned by the Bishop of Winchester (as you do). Having said that, there were plenty of people who went to bathhouses just to go to bathhouses and by 1292 in Paris, there were at least 26 running that could give you just a bath.[4] Medieval people related to this very much as we do having a spa day, and medieval bathhouses often included steam baths along with big wooden tubs where you could sit down and enjoy a meal. Read the rest

At least 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire in a Dayton nightclub early Sunday, targeting revelers in the Ohio city's Oregon Historic District. 26 more victims were reportedly injured. The shooter was shot dead by police within a minute.The incident came only hours after a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas which left at least 20 people dead.It also took place less than a week after three people were killed and 15 injured at a food festival in California.Mayor Whaley ... said it was the 250th mass shooting in the US this year. But the Gun Violence Archive, which categorises mass shootings as four or more people shot or killed (excluding the shooter), said there have in fact been 251. Read the rest

Everybody thinks they know their dog and it's true that you probably share a unique bond with your pet if they've been a part of the family for any length of time. But even though the way you nurture them is important, there are aspects of nature that you can't control.That's why serious pet owners have been going the extra mile with a DNA test like the Embark Dog DNA Test Kit.DNA tests for your dog? It might sound weird if you only know the science from baby-daddy reveals on tabloid talk shows. But these tests can actually help avoid drama with your dog.With Embark, all you do is take a swab from your dog's cheek and send it in for testing. When your lab results come back, you'll know your dog's exact breed and ancestry from a database of more than 250 breeds. That can tell you a lot about your best friend, from his or her predilections to disease to base personality traits. Embark can even help you discover and connect with your dogs living relatives if they're on the extensive family tree that gets created.One of the most popular kits out there, the Embark Dog DNA Test Kit is now $174.99, a 12% discount off the list price.You can also go with the DNA My Dog Breed Identification Test, which is a more medically-focused version.Just take the test, and in two weeks after sending your sample away you'll know all the fun stuff: Breed mix, personality traits and the like. Read the rest

At least 19 people were killed after a gunman opened fire in an El Paso Walmart on Saturday, targeting back-to-school shoppers. Forty more victims were reportedly injured. The shooter was taken into custody, unharmed.The first reports of a shooting emerged at about 11:00 local time (18:00 GMT).Police said the Walmart was "at capacity" with shoppers buying back-to-school supplies at the time of the attack.He said the suspect was a white male in his 20s. No officers had fired their weapons in apprehending him, he added.Twitter's summary of events:- The Associated Press says hospitals are treating 22 victims- Texas AG Ken Paxton says there are "between probably 15 and 20 deaths"- El Paso police say a white male in his 20s is in custody- Situation is no longer active and is transitioning to a crime scene Read the rest

I do most of my reading on a Kindle, but I also read a lot of print books, and I need a way to read them without disturbing Carla when I routinely wake up in the middle of the night. I use a small clip-on reading light like this one. I don't have this particular model but it has good reviews on Amazon and is on sale for just Read the rest

From a long thread documenting which workers are prepared to walk out on Monday for the general strike in support of the pro-independence movement: the news that Hong Kong Disneyland workers organized by the Hong Kong Disneyland Trade Union will be among the strikers.Who's the leader of the cult of personality?M-A-O T-S-E dash T-U-N-GMao Tse-Tung!Mu Sho Chi!Mao Tse-Tung!Cho En-Lai!Forever let us hold our banners high! High! High!Come along and sing the songAnd join the bureaucracyM-A-O T-S-E dash T-U-N-G!Hong Kong Disneyland cast members are going on a strike on Monday https://t.co/cYoYAPojvH— Yenni Kwok (@yennikwok) August 3, 2019(Image: Arun, CC BY-SA, modified; @maree_jun)Lots of protests planned in #HongKong. Some photos from today's rallies with participants holding #大雄's cartoon posters showing #守护未来 (protecting the future). #HongKongProtests pic.twitter.com/wHqIg6s2wX— Maree Ma (@maree_jun) August 3, 2019 Read the rest

Yesterday, I wrote about science publishing profiteer Elsevier's legal threats against Citationsy, in which the company claimed that the mere act of linking to Sci-Hub (an illegal open-access portal) was itself illegal.You'll never guess what happens next.Elsevier's own journals turn out to be full of links to Sci-Hub.It's also not hard to understand this. You see, the researchers who write the papers that Elsevier publishes are scientists, not private-equity-backed looter/profiteers, so they are more interested in science and scholarship than ensuring that Elsevier continues to rake in billions. And since Elsevier doesn't pay for any of the work it publishes, it's hard for them to exert pressure to end this practice.Now, in theory, the referees, peer reviewers, editorial boards and advisors for each journal could lay down the law on this stuff and ban links -- but they're also all volunteers who are not paid a dime by Elsevier.The reality is that scholarly publishing corporations contribute virtually nothing to scholarship (that's a peer-reviewed, empirical finding -- not a statement of opinion). Indeed, they are so lax and inattentive, with so much of their efforts focused on rent-seeking, that they don't even notice when they themselves violate their own signature policies.Clearly, given that this is supposedly a corporate priority, Elsevier do not very seriously check their own site and publications for links to infringing material, despite these endless “lists of what publishers do” that they trot out every time they come in for criticism. Some of these links provide direct hyperlinks to illegally and freely access the work of other publishers and Elsevier seem to be facilitating this. Read the rest

Anton Hecht writes, "Slime Tango is a new game, the cello is optional. It is an inversion of tug of war, as here the players work together, while going apart. So is also an inversion of dance where people are close. The slime is stretched while following the dance steps, till it touches the floor, or breaks. This one is on the streets of Farlington in the UK." Read the rest

On September 26, 1983, the USSR's missile early warning defense system mistook the sun's reflection off a cloud bank for five inbound US Minuteman ICBMs and began to flash the LAUNCH warning at the Soviet Union's missile command: Stanislav Petrov, the missile commander on duty, ignored the computer warning and forestalled a nuclear war that could have effectively ended human civilization.After the Cold War, Petrov would receive a number of commendations for saving the world. He was honored at the United Nations, received the Dresden Peace Prize, and was profiled in the documentary The Man Who Saved the World. “I was just at the right place at the right time,” he told the filmmakers. He died in May 2017, at the age of 77. Two new books about the Petrov incident and other nuclear close calls in 1983 (related to the NATO exercise Able Archer) came out just this year: Taylor Downing’s 1983 and Marc Ambinder’s The Brink.And for Petrov Day, 2018, the Future of Life Institute gave a $50,000 prize to Petrov’s daughter, Elena.Her brother, Petrov’s son Dmitry, missed the ceremony because of visa delays. “That a guy can’t get a visa to visit the city his dad saved from nuclear annihilation is emblematic of how frosty US-Russian relations have gotten, which increases the risk of accidental nuclear war,” Max Tegmark, an MIT professor and cofounder of the Future of Life Institute, commented in a statement.35 years ago today, one man saved us from world-ending nuclear war [Dylan Matthews/Vox](Thanks, J9c! Read the rest

7 years ago, I posted Cookiewaits's video mashup of Cookie Monster performing Tom Waits's "God's Away on Business," but I somehow missed that Cookiewaits followed it up the next year with this brilliant mashup for "Hell Broke Luce," which is something of a favorite around these parts. If that's your bag, don't miss the Sesame Street gang performing the Beasties' "Sabotage."(Thanks, Richard Callaghan!) Read the rest

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is not the first state to sue Purdue Pharma, members of the Sackler family (who own the company), and other board members for their role in deliberately seeking to addict people to their powerful opioid Oxycontin, but unlike other states, Massachusetts is conducting the suit in the public eye, targeting a court judgment rather than a quiet settlement with an accompanying gag-order.That means that we're able to see the evidence the state Attorney General is entering (evidence from other cases is also available, thanks to leakers who violated the court's seal).Part of that evidence is Assistant Attorney General Sydenham Alexander III's statement that a single addict made $200,000 in profits for the company, and that Purdue deliberately pursued this kind of patient because their addictions were so very profitable to the company.The Sackler family's takings from the opioid crisis has made them richer than the Rockefellers.Purdue's lawyers disclaimed the company's centrality to the opioid crisis, calling it a "dangerous misconception."Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s lawsuit, originally filed in June of last year, claims the Sacklers and other Purdue board members are personally liable for damages. The eight members of the Sackler family named as defendants in the suit, and five Purdue directors who are not Sacklers, also want Sanders to dismiss the claims against them on jurisdictional grounds.In court Friday, their lawyer, Gregory P. Joseph, said there is no evidence of misconduct occurring in the state and no proof his clients approved drug-marketing plans for the Massachusetts market. Read the rest

When big companies need to manage their data, they turn to Microsoft platforms. Want to walk confidently among those server stacks? These training bundles are a great way to learn those platforms quickly and thoroughly. Whether you're looking for an IT job with stability or upward mobility, it's all crucial knowledge.The Microsoft PowerShell Certification BundleSmart system admins use Powershell to automate their daily tasks, and this bundle shows you how to use it to its maximum potential. Pick up the Microsoft PowerShell Certification Bundle for $19.Microsoft Programming Certification Training BundleThis all-in-one course lets you pull back the curtain on Microsoft's .NET framework and Azure cloud computing system, allowing you to program and maintain complex infrastructures for any company. The Microsoft Programming Certification Training Bundle is now $49.The Complete Microsoft Access Lifetime BundleDatabase management just got a lot easier with this structured walkthrough on Access, from simple templates to advanced macros. Get the Complete Microsoft Access Lifetime Bundle for $19.99 now.The Ultimate Microsoft Project Bundle: Lifetime AccessWith this software, any big project can get streamlined a lot easier. And after completing this 2-course bundle, you can be the project manager who steers things along. Get lifetime access to the Ultimate Microsoft Project Bundle for $19.99.The MCSA SQL Server Certification Training BundleGood server management is crucial to keep any company humming. These two master classes on SQL give you the necessary skills to install, maintain and protect server systems against outside threats and interior snafus. Read the rest

See below. Yes, the U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual refers to residents of Hawaii as "Hawaii residents." This change occurred last year thanks to Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) who pushed for clarification that not everyone who lives in Hawaii is a Native Hawaiian. After about a dozen arguments about what to call residents of certain states, I finally googled and found the U.S. Government Publishing Office Style Manual. Have fun with this, twitter. pic.twitter.com/H8bugwOH2j— Natalie Jackson (@nataliemj10) July 31, 2019 Read the rest

A surefire way to tell if someone is a liar and/or ignorant about science is if they say a scientific theory is "only a theory," like it's a guess or a hypothesis and not a factual framework. That's exactly what Florida's new Board of Education chairman, a citrus farmer named Andy Tuck, said about the theory of evolution when he was the vice-chairman:"As a person of faith, I strongly oppose any study of evolution as fact at all. I’m purely in favor of it staying a theory and only a theory. I won’t support any evolution being taught as fact at all in any of our schools.”Tuck was appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott. Read the rest

Police unions have systematized and perfected the process of ensuring impunity for crooked cops, ensuring that even the most violent, lying, thieving, racist, authoritarian cops can stay on the force; at the same time, apologists for police violence and corruption tell us not to blame the whole force for the bad deeds of a few rotten apples.Rotten apples spoil the barrel, though. In The network structure of police misconduct, a new Northwestern University study that analyzed 8 years worth of misconduct reports relating to more than 8,000 Chicago police officers, a trio of researchers from sociology, law and policy fields show that corruption is contagious, and that crooked cops create "misconduct networks" that initiate new officers into corrupt ways.The defenders of the cops are right about one thing, though: most cops don't attract civilian complaints -- "the modal number of civilian complaints is zero and average is something like 1.3"... but 3% of cops account for 27% of all complaints.The dirty cop is likely to be male, between 25 and 45. 76% of cops who attract complaints are partnered with cops who are also named in the complaint. Cops who are paired with rookies are much less likely to engage in misconduct.To reduce police corruption, the researchers recommend "mixed race" pairings of cops in high-crime areas, and more cops from "underrepresented groups."This study set out to examine some of the possible factors associated with police misconduct in Chicago. Broadly, our results can be grouped into four key claims. Read the rest

James Nolan Gandy is a maker/artist who has created beautiful drawing machines that create incredible, multi-spirographic abstract images. Though the machines automate much of the process, Gandy decides when to pause their operation and swap out stylii and change the settings. (via Kottke) Read the rest

Remember Perceptics, the Border Patrol contractor whose facial recognition database was hacked, along with hundreds of gigs' worth of internal files? In that trove of files were emails that reveal that Perceptics's lobbyist was operating as a kind of unpaid, uncredited speech-writer for Rep. Chuck Fleischmann [R-TN], a border-control hardliner who has devoted substantial energy to promoting the use of companies like Perceptics to defend America against a nonexistent "border emergency."Fleishmann's advocacy has created a tax-funded bonanza for beltway bandits like Perceptics, who are much better at making old white people afraid of Central American people than then are at making secure intranets.Rep. Chuck Fleischmann often strikes a Trumpian tone on border security, stoking fears during television appearances and on social media about a caravan of Central American migrants, and repeating the president’s pledge to build a wall to prevent unauthorized immigration.In April 2018, during an appropriations committee hearing, the Tennessee Republican took a more subdued and technical approach to immigration issues when quizzing then-Customs and Border Protection chief Kevin McAleenan. Fleischmann, looking down to read from a paper in front of him, wanted to know if McAleenan was on schedule to implement an upgrade of license plate reader technology at the border, as mandated by a previous appropriations bill.McAleenan thanked the committee for its support and pledged continued work to upgrade LPR technology along the border.A few days after the exchange, a lobbyist representing Perceptics, a tech company that sold state-of-the-art LPR cameras and technology to the government, emailed her team to confirm that Fleischmann had “asked about CBP’s plan to modernize its LPRs as we asked his office to do,” along with a link to a video clip of the hearing. Read the rest

Back in the early 2000s, cheap plug & play videogame consoles became ubiquitous. I remember spotting them for sale everywhere from toy stores to Walgreens. Self-contained systems, they integrated one or many games instead of allowing users to swap in cartridges or CDs. Today, Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation shares the deep and geeky history of plug & play as a launching point for his research on the TV Guide Quizmaster, "something so rare it might not even exist." Below are a few bits from the thread. See the whole thing on Twitter!In the early 2000s, a new toy category gained popularity in the United States: the "plug & play" video game console. You probably remember seeing a lot of these! The Jakks Pacific stuff was probably the most prolific. pic.twitter.com/BSjmG5PkiX— Frank Cifaldi the Last (@frankcifaldi) August 1, 2019 Why were there NES games in these things? Well:- In the 90s, Chinese manufacturers cloned the NES and put all of its components on one chip- These were used in all kinds of applications: cloned systems, plug & plays with pirated games, even educational computers! pic.twitter.com/deAFgUwDG9— Frank Cifaldi the Last (@frankcifaldi) August 1, 2019 Read the rest

When airline seatback entertainment systems started to come bundled with little webcams, airlines were quick to disavow their usage, promising that the cameras were only installed for potential future videoconferncing or gaming apps, and not to allow the crew or airline to spy on passengers in their seats.Enter Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, the country's flagship airline, which has just amended its privacy policy to reveal that it is recording its passengers as they fly, as well as gathering data on how individual passengers spend time in airport terminals, and even brokered data on their use of rivals' hotel and airplane loyalty programs.But don't worry, the company promises it will take "commercially reasonable" cybersecurity measures to keep all that data from leaking. Separately and in unrelated news, Cathay Pacific insists that it was using "commerically reasonable" measures when it suffered the fucking massive data breach it suffered last year (up to 9.4 million customers affected!). So I'm sure it'll be fine.According to a new report from Forbes, the Hong Kong flag carrier has amended its official personal data collection policy to allow the airline to compile a database with detailed information on passengers’ use of in-flight entertainment systems (IFE) – including, but not limited to, images recorded by seatback cameras, customers’ activities at airport terminals and even data obtained about membership activity in competing hotel and airline loyalty programs. The airline further says that the collected data will be possessed by the company for “as long as necessary.”The airline is also making clear that its best efforts to protect intimate details about passengers is far from foolproof, calling its cybersecurity measures “commercially reasonable.” In November, company executives were called out by Hong Kong lawmakers who accused the airline of misleading the public about the seriousness of a massive data breach which may have compromised the personal information of as many as 9.4 million customers. Read the rest

I stay in hotels quite a bit, and these silicone putty earplugs are the best ones I've found for muffling noise. My ear canals don't work well with those cylindrical foam plugs. They leave an air gap. These silicone earplugs form a perfect seal, and they don't penetrate my ear canal at all. They are the only earplugs that feel comfortable for me. I've also found them useful when I use an air blower or an angle grinder. They cost for a 12-pack on Amazon. Read the rest

Reviewing the CraftSynth 2.0 for Engadget, Terrence O'Brien calls the small synthesizer "fun and a little bit flimsy."It's strange to hold Modal Electronics' CraftSynth 2.0 in your hands knowing what's underneath the hood. It's unassuming, and frankly, it feels kinda flimsy. Once you plug it into a decent set of headphones or speakers, though, it comes alive. The fact that these sounds come out of something that weighs just 12.5 ounces when loaded with three double-A batteries is amazing.Image: Modal Electronics Read the rest

After Therese Kozlowsk of Macomb County, Michigan filed for divorce from Brian Kozlowski, he secretly put sleeping pills in her coffee on a regular basis. When Therese felt suspiciously sick, she put hidden cameras in the kitchen and caught Brian on video. In court for the crime, Brian pleaded no contest, but he was only sentenced to spend 60 weekend days in jail. The Macomb County Prosecutors called the sentence a "slap in the face" to Therese and will appeal. From ABC News:"He put eight sleeping pills into that coffee pot every single day for weeks. An adult dosage according to the packaging is one. I was being hunted by a dangerous predator, but in this nightmare the predator was Brian," Therese Kozlowski told the court Thursday. “I believe this was attempted murder. Once Brian realized he lost me and there was no getting me to stay in this unhealthy marriage, his goal was to eliminate me...""You shouldn't be able to commit at 15 year-felony by poisoning someone and only have to serve weekends," Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith said. "It's unbelievable to me."image: "Cup of Coffee" by Julius Schorzman (CC BY-SA 2.0) Read the rest

100,000 stars has apparently been around for years, but I loved how much fun it makes zooming in and out of the Milky Way and checking out nearby stars. I could name a half-dozen recent video games that attempt this exact UI and don't do it as well! They should update it with all the lovely planets we've found since 2012. Read the rest

The Decoy Effect is a simple but powerful trick that marketers use to influence you to buy something that is bigger or more expensive than you need or want. I fall for this every time I go to the movies and think I'm going to buy the medium popcorn but end up getting the large because it costs just a few cents more. The medium popcorn is the decoy that nudges you to buy the large. But social psychologists have also studied the Decoy Effect outside retail environments. From the BBC News:The decoy effect might also influence our voting in elections, and recruitment decisions. In these kinds of situations, the “decoy” may appear by accident rather than having been deliberately placed in the selection, but if you do come across two candidates who are similar, but one is slightly superior to the other, it will heighten your regard for them compared to the other competitors...On a more positive note, scientists in the UK have also started to consider whether the decoy effect might be used to encourage people to make healthier life choices. Christian Von Wagner, a reader in behavioural science and health at University College London, for instance, recently explored people’s intentions to undergo a vital – but unpleasant – screening for colorectal cancer. He found that given the choice between arranging an appointment for the screening or not having the procedure at all, many people chose not to go. But if he also presented them with a third option – an appointment at a less convenient hospital with a longer waiting time, ie, the decoy – the uptake was greater. Read the rest

Mining the results of public records requests relating to Amazon's secret deals with local law enforcement to promote its Ring surveillance doorbells (more than 200 agencies!) continue to bear fruit.Yesterday, it was the news that these deals gave Amazon PR a veto over public statements about the program, and banned cops from disclosing that they were being given free merch and other incentives to recommend Amazon's products.Now, further reporting from Gizmodo reveals that Amazon's deals also include realtime access to the 911 system, so that Amazon can repackage 911 alerts as "alerts" that are pushed out through the "Neighbors" app. The app is intended for use with Ring surveillance doorbells, but can also stand alone, and allows people to form a kind of curtain-twitchers' alliance with others nearby to combine their (often unfounded) suspicions of (often brown-skinned) passers-by with footage and stills from their home surveillance devices, and then discuss them in a forum that is like Facebook for frightened people.The problem is that crime is in steady decline, and even the most motivated, toxic pecksniffs can't really manufacture enough content to make Neighbors into a compelling proposition. The agreements between police and Amazon give Neighbors access to information provided to 911 operators and fed into the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, which can include extremely sensitive information ("names, phone numbers, addresses, medical conditions and potentially other types of personally identifiable information, including, in some instances, GPS coordinates"). The internal docs show that Amazon's "Neighbors News team" processes this data and turns it to "alerts" that are pushed to Neighbors users, based on their proximity to the incidents, for crimes from eight categories: "burglary, vehicle break-in and theft, robbery, shots fired, shootings, stabbing, hostage, and arson," as well as "residential, commercial, and structure fires, as well as explosions."In some territories, 911 calls are matters of public record, but these are in the minority. Read the rest

This outstanding 1982 TV commercial makes me want to play my son's collection of vintage Atari 2600 games. Except, of course, for Pac-Man. Read the rest

Everything in this restored film about Tokyo is interesting -- the street celebrations, the sporting events, the children's swordplay drill -- but the standout is listening to Japanese ambassador Hiroshi Saito talk about the country's desire to remain on good terms with the United States. Image: YouTube Read the rest

This tiny "soft" robot, just 3cm long, zips along at 20 of its body lengths per second. It can also carry heavy things, like peanuts in the shell, but that slows it down a bit. And amazingly, you can step on it and it won't die. Over at IEEE Spectrum, Ivan Ackerman writes about the little robot developed by researchers from Tsinghua University and UC Berkeley:It takes a scanning electron microscope to actually see what the robot is made of—a thermoplastic layer is sandwiched by palladium-gold electrodes, bonded with adhesive silicone to a structural plastic at the bottom. When an AC voltage (as low as 8 volts but typically about 60 volts) is run through the electrodes, the thermoplastic extends and contracts, causing the robot’s back to flex and the little “foot” to shuffle...The researchers also put together a prototype with two legs instead of one, which was able to demonstrate a potentially faster galloping gait by spending more time in the air. They suggest that robots like these could be used for “environmental exploration, structural inspection, information reconnaissance, and disaster relief,” which are the sorts of things that you suggest that your robot could be used for when you really have no idea what it could be used for. But this work is certainly impressive, with speed and robustness that are largely unmatched by other soft robots. An untethered version seems possible due to the relatively low voltages required to drive the robot, and if they can put some peanut-sized sensors on there as well, practical applications might actually be forthcoming sometime soon. Read the rest

Making a solar hot-dog oven is a science fair standby, but JohnW539's CNC-milled Sundogger Instructable really digs into the classroom portion, drawing on the creator's experience as a physics/astronomy/computer science prof at Middle Tennessee State University.Detailed scientific measurements have show that a typical hot dog has a diameter of about 1 inch of about 2.5 cm. This gives us a hot dog radius of about 1.25 cm. (Precision measurements of hot dogs put this number at 2.726 cm in diameter - but your actual hot dog diameter may vary.) The volume of a hot dog - or anything - is its length times its cross sectional area. The cross sectional area is going to be A = Pi times the radius squared. This means that every linear centimeter of the hot dog has a volume of (1.25 x 1.25 x 3.14) = 5ish cubic cm.The mass of any object is the density times the volume. According to the manufacturer of the hot dogs I used, each dog has a mass of 57 grams. With the length of the hot dog measured at about 12 cm, this gives us a volume of about 4.8 grams per hot dog cm. This estimate puts the typical hot dog density just below 1 grams per cubic cm.Combining these energy input per centimeter and the mass per centimeter, we find that we have 117 / 4.8 = 24 calories of energy per gram being added to the hot dog every minute. Thus in every second, we get enough energy to raise the hot dog temperature about 24 degrees Celsius every minute when it's internal temperature is about 20C. Read the rest

In the late 19th century, the Austro-Hungarian empire built a network of carrier-pigeon post-offices throughout its territory: today, Bosnia has but a single (nonfunctional) pigeon post office remaining, in the southeastern town of Trebinje.Writing in Balkan Insights, Mladen Lakic describes the site -- now a museum -- and its history, including a failed attempt to revive the pigeon post.The post office lies on the right bank of the Trebisnjica river, in the old town, or Kastel, near the Sahat kula – the clock tower – another famous symbol of Trebinje.Nowadays, it belongs to the Museum of Herzegovina, an institution run by the local authorities, and the trained avian messengers are long gone.Some would like to see them back at work. “There was an initiative to keep pigeons once again, as part of the museum attraction, but for some reason it failed, even though it would be nice to see something like that, now, when even regular letters are becoming part of history,” Vulesevic noted.But the museum does its best to keep their memory alive. In February, it ran a workshop for local children of Trebinje where they explained the history of these winged letter carriers.You’ve Got Mail: Bosnia’s Last Pigeon Post Office [Mladen Lakic/Balkan Insight](via Beyond the Beyond)(Image: Slobodan Vulesevic) Read the rest

Writing in Wired, political scientist Henry Farrell points out what should be obvious: we're going to pay for climate change (that is, either we're going to rebuild the cities smashed by weather and take care of the people whose lives are ruined, or we're going to pay to cope with the ensuing refugee crisis), so the question isn't "how can we possibly pay for climate change?" but rather, "Will the people who profited from pumping CO2 into the atmosphere pay, or will their victims be left on the hook for their greed and recklessness?"The public treasury will be on the hook for cleaning up cities and remediating human wreckage, no matter what we do, so the only real question is, do we fill the treasury by taking money from the people who just tried to live their lives in an impossible situation, or do we fill it by taking money from the tiny number of ultra-wealthy people who made their riches by setting things up so that just living our lives destroyed the planet?This fight has already started to play out. Fossil fuel interests are rich, politically influential, and well organized. They are able not only to pay for lobbyists in Washington, DC, but to organize an entire political movement at the state level. The Koch-funded “grassroots” organization Americans for Prosperity pushes to protect fossil fuel interests in individual states. The group has become intimately intertwined with the Republican party.The interests on the other side are broader, less well organized, and less influential. Read the rest

Jurors found that Katy Perry's Dark Horse "improperly copied" an earlier song titled Joyful Noise by Flame, a Christian rap artist.The case focused on the notes and beats of the song, not its lyrics or recording, and the questions suggested that Perry might be off the hook.But in a decision that left many in the courtroom surprised, jurors found all six songwriters and all four corporations that released and distributed the songs were liable, including Perry and Sarah Hudson, who wrote only the song’s words, and Juicy J, who only wrote the rap he provided for the song. ...Gray’s attorneys argued that the beat and instrumental line featured through nearly half of “Dark Horse” are substantially similar to those of “Joyful Noise.” Gray wrote the song with his co-plaintiffs Emanuel Lambert and Chike Ojukwu.Here's Joyful Noise:Here's Dark Horse. The infringement begins 18 seconds in.Though the distinctive, whining 8-note loop was the matter at hand, jurors found all involved in the song to be infringers, irrespective of their role in its production. You might say they did the RICO. It surely can't have helped Perry that both songs start with a guy shouting "y'all know what this is". Even if it didn't factor into the legal analysis, her song is showing up to court unshaven, without a necktie, and smirking at the judge.It's nonetheless a a disturbing outcome, writes Vox.But Charlie Harding of the Vox podcast Switched on Pop explains that the striking similarities should be free to use by both artists, despite their similarities. Read the rest

Bellowphone made a unique organ and now demonstrates it in action: "the sound of my most recent skweeze-ball instrument, with a song from Mozart's Magic Flute." Read the rest

Ooh, this is awesome. Activists have made a free font called Gerry that is made from the shapes of gerrymandered congressional districts. They encourage you to use it to write your representative.It's here. GERRY. A font created by your congressional districts. Log on to https://t.co/WkuVp7oDpu and use the font to tell congress how happy you are that your vote doesn't matter. pic.twitter.com/j9U5W7qmTz— Gerry (@UglyGerry) July 23, 2019The Next Web:The font’s creators, Ben Doessel and James Lee, made it to raise awareness and provide a method for disenfranchised voters to protest partisan gerrymandering. The duo, in a press release provided to the media, stated:"After seeing how janky our Illinois 4th district had become, we became interested in this issue. We noticed our district’s vague, but shaky U-shape, then after seeing other letters on the map, the idea hit us, let’s create a typeface so our districts can become digital graffiti that voters and politicians can’t ignore."For those unfamiliar with gerrymandering, it’s the process by which US voting districts use increasingly nonsensical borders to disenfranchise voters and limit who they can vote for by party lines instead of geography.(The Week)Thanks, Veek!screenshot via UglyGerry.com Read the rest

So, for National Mustard Day (August 3), French's thought to make mustard-flavored ice cream. They're selling their horrible concoction for a limited time on both coasts:To celebrate National Mustard Day on the West Coast, Coolhaus’s location in Culver City, CA will have the ice cream available on August 2-4 and August 9-11. On the East Coast, New Yorkers can look for the French’s Mustard Ice Cream truck on August 1 and 2, before making its way out to the Hamptons on August 3...August 2Madison Square ParkBrooklyn Heights (DUMBO)August 3Main Street HamptonsEast Hampton Main Beach on Ocean Ave.Or, you can make your own. Because, why not? French's leads the way: Read the rest

King of the Hill is "The greatest anime of the late 90s," writes Gamblor on YouTube. QED. Read the rest

Attention humans: The robots are taking over. The good news is, they're taking over the household chores. Robot vacuums have come a long way in terms of technology in the last decade or two. Not only are they a huge time-saver, but some of them are also downright fun to watch. Here's a roundup of some of our favorite deals on our favorite robo-cleaners.ECOVACS DEEBOT 901 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner (Refurbished)Not every home is the same, but the DEEBOT 901 has solutions for nearly any floor plan. You can draw cleaning maps and assign jobs from the ECOVACS app on your phone, or just direct the bot to clean by voice command and let its Smart Navi Mapping technology do the rest. Get a refurbished ECOVACS DEEBOT 901 Robotic Vacuum Cleaner for $249.99, half off the retail price.ECOVACS Deebot Robot Vacuum Cleaner & Canister Vacuum StationWhen it comes to tidy floors, it's OK to be a bit of a control freak sometimes. This cleaning duo includes ECOVAC's flagship robot and its smart mapping features for vacuuming wide areas, but the charging station also has a standard canister vacuum for those tight areas that need a personal touch. Pick up the ECOVACS Deebot Robot Vacuum Cleaner & Canister Vacuum Station for $439.99, a full 44% off the list price.iRobot Roomba 805 Robotic Vacuum (Certified Refurbished)iRobot has had a long time to perfect their pioneering Roomba units, and it shows in this model. iAdapt Responsive Navigation lets it deftly navigate around or under obstacles and its Dirt Detect technology can actually seek out areas with a high concentration of dirt. Read the rest

This video of a dog groomer deftly nurturing a bond of trust with a dog who's feeling very hostile, very defensive, and very much like biting and barking -- wow, it's something to behold. She's so talented. Not sure where the original video came from, or who the woman in the video is. There's a lot to learn from this short clip, however, if you have to interact with dogs you don't know.Here's the video clip in full.The way this talented groomer creates trust with this dog.[via IMGUR] Read the rest

It's hot everywhere, even in Burträsk, Sweden, where this very strange human-dog-mutant enjoys cooling down with a slice of watermelon. Piece by piece, the Labrador Retriever appears to lift the juicy fruit to its mouth with their owner's hands.The video was filmed on a hot day in Burträsk on July 24, 2019.Hey, they're not the only dog who appears to feel very comfortable around watermelons and video cameras."Nobody cared who I was until I put on the mask..." Read the rest

Here's a fun card trick video that shows you “How To Flick a Card Boomerang.”“Prepare to be Whelmed,” says Max Maher.Here's the complete video:How To Flick a Card Boomerang. Prepare to be WhelmedAnd here's a fun behind-the scenes companion clip.Here's another fun card-related video from Max's YouTube channel. [via IMGUR] Read the rest

Nary a curse word in the neighborhood. Read the rest

Those with coulrophobia are advised to avoid Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas during their upcoming "clown-only" screenings of IT: Chapter Two. Back in 2017, they had clown-only screenings of IT at two theaters so based on that fun, they've expanded the extravaganza to 17 locations across the country.According to Alamo Drafthouse, guests are “encouraged to come dressed as a clown – the wig, the makeup, the oversized pants and suspenders, the blood-curdling makeup — and sit through this coulrophobia-inducing fright fest with a theater full of fellow clowns.”What could possibly go wrong. Read the rest