Do you own an iPhone 8? Is it borked? Like REALLY, unusably borked? Good news: There might be a free fix in the cards for you!From The Verge:

You won't find Nick Burbridge's music charting on any Top 20 lists and, to the best of my knowledge, he's never toured extensively, by himself or with his band McDermott's 2 Hours. But his music, once you hear it, is hard to stop listening to. Burbridge sings of the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and those working underground to subvert the status quo. These are protest songs and songs for the working class from the depths of a poet's heart, and its on constant rotation in my home.

Are you one of those people who use your voice a lot? Work, home, a side hustle like a podcast perhaps? If you are, then I've got the candy for you. While searching for chocolate one day, I ran across these Voice Care Throat Lozenges (by the Japanese company Kanro). The Japanese is fine, but I love the English tagline: "Let's Sing in Your Best Voice!". Now I'm like you and just guessed these are like any other cough drop or hard candy. The package tries to tell you differently though. The front boasts that the candies were developed jointly with the Tokyo College of Music (Ongaku Daigaku), and it sounds like they spent a lot of time trying to develop a product that really does do wonders for your throat. The back notes they are for people who “talk a lot, sing a lot, people who want a clean throat or just want to feel refreshed.” [caption id="attachment_657693" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photos by Thersa Matsuura[/caption]Along with various unidentified herbs (the ingredients only mention "herb extract" along with orange, apple, and olive leaf essence), propolis seems to be the special sauce of Voice Care Candy. Propolis, if you don’t know, is sometimes called bee glue, think bee spit mixed with beeswax. It is used by bees to seal small gaps in the hive. Traditionally, it was also used as a medicine to treat cold sores, genital herpes, and mouth pain after surgery, not that there was much evidence showing that it worked for any of those things. Propolis is also sometimes used as a varnish for makers of stringed instruments or even in car wax. All of these examples makes me think that maybe, yes, Voice Care Candy would be good to coat, soothe, and perhaps freshen my throat. I do a little podcasting and mouth noises are the bane of my (and my tech guy's) existence, so I decided to give these a try. I don't want to get too excited yet, but after one recording (post sucking on a Voice Care Candy) my tech guy said, "I don't know what you did but do it again." When I told him what I'd done he told me to buy all the bags of Voice Care Candy. It seems like all those squishy and popping mouth noises were significantly reduced. Again, this is still early in the testing, but I have bought a couple more bags and plan to use them. Oh, and they taste really nice, too! Photos by Thersa Matsuura

Agalmatophilia, a sexual attraction to dolls and other human figures, is nothing new: people have been attracted to and humping dolls for as long as there have been locks on doors – not that the practice needs to be kept a secret. Human sexuality is a weird attic to stumble around in. If your kink hurts no one and leans towards watching wee plastic people get it on, I say it's fair game. Apparently so do a lot of other folks.

Home security cameras give us an extra pair of eyes to keep tabs on our home when we're out and about. But, if you're not smart about which device you use, your camera could turn against you, as hackers can easily tap into your feed if it's not secured. Encrypted against hacking threats, the iPM World HD 360 Degree 1080p Wireless IP Camera watches over your home and keeps hackers from peeping in.In addition to its hacker-resistant design, this WiFi camera gives you 360 degrees of uncompromising coverage that you can view straight from your smartphone. It's small enough to tuck away in tight spaces, and you can rotate it to get the perfect viewing angle via the app. The camera also comes equipped with infrared night vision, so you can even monitor your place when the lights are out.The iPM World HD 360 Degree 1080p Wireless IP Camera usually retails for $129.99, but it's on sale today for $44.99. Plug in the LABORDAY15 coupon code at checkout, and you can save an extra 15% off the sale price.

America, we needed this. Stevie Wonder performs at the funeral of Aretha Franklin, August 31, 2018, in Detroit, Michigan.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LUPQE-y8K0[YouTube Link]https://twitter.com/xeni/status/1035655673705508864Read the lyrics below. Read them.When Stevie performed this at the Queen of Soul's funeral, my beloved and I were watching, yesterday, surrounded by our dogs, mourning her loss along with the world. When he sang the spoken word part, man. Chills.

Remember the stories over the past year or so about mysterious attacks at U.S. embassies harming diplomatic staff and their families? William J. Broad's story in the New York Times today reports that doctors and scientists are now coming to the conclusion that microwave weapon strikes capable of causing “sonic delusions” and brain damage are to blame. (more…)

There’s a gelatinous, slightly chewy, delicious-when-served-chilled dessert in Japan called warabi mochi. It is made from starch, water, and sugar. Simple. The usual way it's served is generously covered in soybean flour and then squirted with some brown sugar syrup.It's interesting to note that the original starch used for making warabi mochi was derived from the bracken plant (a fern-looking thing). However, that method proves a bit time consuming in these days of immediate gratification as it takes 10 kilos (22 lbs) of bracken root to extract a mere 70 grams (2.4 ounces) of starch. These days, other similarly textured starches are being used instead. Think sweet potato starch and tapioca. Now, warabi mochi is often considered a summer treat because it's light and served cold, perfect for hot days when you don't have much of an appetite. You know something else that has become a summer treat in Japan? Chocolate mint everything. It's like you can't find anything chocolate mint flavored until August first and then the chocomint floodgates are opened. I guess it was inevitable that East should meet West and some genius at 7-11 would dream up a chocolate mint warabi mochi dessert. This sounds like a bad idea, but I bought one anyway. I found tucked inside the jelly-like warabi mochi exterior mint whipped cream and loads of chocolate chips. It turns out chocolate mint warabi mochi is amazingly good and it might be only reason I'm sad to see this typhoon-riddled, flood-plagued, heatwave-infested summer end. Photo: Thersa Matsuura

This guy worked for DHS. This is really bad stuff:“Smith responded to a group dinner invitation whose host said his home would be 'judenfrei,' a German word used by the Nazis (...) to describe territory that had been 'cleansed' of Jews. Smith replied, 'They don’t call it Freitag for nothing.” (more…)

In-N-Out, the popular California burger chain, just dropped $25,000 on the California GOP under Donald Trump. (more…)

I've been doing a lot of work with the Raspberry Pi lately for a book my daughter and I are writing, and I'm really liking the inexpensive Raspberry Pi Zero W. It's a nifty little Linux computer that comes with built in WiFi & Bluetooth. This $24 kit comes with a couple of important adapters for the Pi W: a MiniHDMI-to-HDMI adapter and a MicroUSB-to-USB adapter. You will also need an SD card, and HDMI monitor, and a keyboard/mouse. Once you have these, you are minutes away from having a nice little computer setup.

“Do not travel” to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the U.S. State Department warned American citizens in a renewed advisory on Friday. (more…)

A new facial recognition technology screening system will soon be used on some travelers who pass through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). (more…)

Speculating about what the hell is actually happening to the in-game universe, and odd backstory, is a Fortnite fan favorite activity. (more…)

"Today is kind of a sucky day," Village Voice owner Peter Barbey told newspaper staff in a phone call Friday. "Due to, basically, business realities, we're going to stop publishing Village Voice new material.” (more…)

Maxine seems to represent the breed standard well.Thanks, Lana.

Idaho Nazis. I hate Idaho Nazis.These assholes used a mocking dialect and jungle noises while impersonating the Florida democratic candidate for governor, Andrew Gillum, in robocalls made to voters in Tallahassee.Entire thing claims to be funded by some Nazis in Idaho.Via the Tallahassee Democrat:

Philippine dictator Rodrigo Duterte, whom Trump envies and greatly admires for his ruthlessness and cruelty, told people at a public event that his country's rape crisis is the victims' fault. "They say there are many rape cases in Davao," Duterte said. "Well, for as long as there are many beautiful women, there will be many rape cases, too."From The New York Times:

The replies to The American Conservative's exceedingly stupid tweet make for good reading.

Since the 1950s, wildlife departments have airdropped fish from planes to repopulate remote lakes. Above is video shot by Kamas State Fish Hatchery."They kind of flutter down, so they don't impact very hard," said Kamas State Fish Hatchery supervisor Ted Hallows. "They flutter with the water and they do really well."From an article Hallows wrote in Wildlife Review (PDF):Many of the lakes in Utah are excellent places to fish, but you can’t get to them with a truck or a car. The Uinta Mountains alone have more than 650 fishable lakes. The best way to stock many of these valuable fisheries—and sometimes the only way to stock them—is from the air…What used to take the old-time biologists and their pack trains months to stock can now be stocked in a few hours with an airplane. And using an airplane stresses the fish less. That means more of them will survive their fall to the water.More at The Kid Should See This: "Aerial stocking: Utah wildlife departments drop fish into lakes from airplanes"pic.twitter.com/n9By2HusQe— Pattern (@Pattern) August 29, 2018https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGADyfjjuNk

It's legal to have a bank account in the US without being a citizen. But Bank of America has been freezing accounts of people who don't jump through hoops to prove their residency status. It froze the funds of an Iranian Ph.D physics candidate at the University of Miami, because it decided the documentation he'd been providing every six month suddenly wasn't good enough. He couldn't pay rent or credit card bills, even though he had plenty of money in his account. Bank of America is also freezing the funds of US citizens who didn't fill out forms sent to them in the mail.The Sacramento Bee recounts an incident that shows BofA has xenophobic policies dating back at least a couple of years:

The first paragraphs in this Wall Street Journal story about the Tesla CEO's ego problems are absolutely b🔥o🔥n🔥k🔥e🔥r🔥s.

I guess Shark Week is educational. (more…)

Paranormal investigator Christian J. Devaux of Tolland, Connecticut called 911 to report an intruder in his home. While on the phone with the 911 operator, Devaux fired two shots at the intruder. Police finally arrived but found no evidence of a home invader. Devaux claimed it could have been a ghost. From the Journal Inquirer:

Evidently, I have developed a fever. It seems the only solution is a Gene Frenkle Funko Pop. (more…)

In normal life, you open the car door before getting into the car. Operation A happens before operation B. That's the causal order of things. But a new quantum switch weirdly enables two operations to happen simultaneously. From Science News:

In 1982, Michael Jackson wore a snazzy white suit by Hugo Boss on the cover of Thriller. Now, Hugo Boss has reissued the iconic suit in a limited edition of 100 pieces.The contemporary design references the original suit’s silhouette, fabric and details throughout and is entirely designed and made in Germany. Crafted from lightweight twill, the jacket is detailed with an 80s-style three-button cuff, slim notch lapels and iconic internal workmanship. The trousers feature double pleats at the front, also in homage to the original design. Elegant mother-of-pearl buttons complete the suit.It's $1200 and unfortunately does not include that sharp leopard pocket square.The Thriller: Boss x Michael Jackson (via Uncrate)

Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla has spent years trying to block public access to a public beach in California adjacent to property he owns. He's not only tarnished his reputation, but become a focal point for Americans' growing fear that the ultra-rich are buying the country from under our feet.A New York Times profile conducted at his invitation, then, threatens to be its least appealing article since the lavish fluffing it gave Ohio Nazi Tony Hovater. But Nellie Bowles' low-key lighting of the path to the sand is perfect. They shiv him with the headline of the year—"Every Generation Gets the Beach Villain it Deserves"—and she lets his monumental narcissism bleed out underneath it.

There's more to Microsoft Office than meets the eye. From automating tedious tasks in Excel to visualizing data in Access, the Microsoft Office suite gives you the ability to perform some truly impressive feats that are sure to grab the attention of potential employers. The eLearnExcel & eLearnOffice School bundle will show you the ropes and even help certify your skills, all for $49.This collection is divided into two parts. True to its name, eLearnExcel covers all things Excel, like automating spreadsheets with macros and presenting your data through easy-to-read charts and PivotTables. Complete all 29 modules, and you'll earn a CPD-certified diploma to validate your knowledge.Meanwhile, eLearnOffice covers the whole Microsoft Office suite, providing you with bite-sized videos and quizzes to assess and increase your skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Outlook, Access, and Calendar. Plus, eLearnOffice features a Microsoft Skills Score Dashboard, which you can use to track your progress, show off your knowledge, and even link to your resume.A lifetime subscription to the eLearnExcel & eLearnOffice School bundle would normally run you $1,198, but you can sign up today for $49.

USTelecom emailed a 12-page document to Mike Masnick, founder and editor of TechDirt, detailing the talking points to be used by company president Jonathan Spalter in a forthcoming C-SPAN appearance. It was sent in error.

Evan Vucci's incredible photo from last night's Trump rally in Evansville, Indiana, shows the moment one of his volunteers "blocks the lens of a photographer trying to take a photo of a demonstrator." Evan is the AP's chief photographer in Washington, and you can follow him at @evanvucci. Here's the Instagram embed:https://www.instagram.com/p/BnH8WvzHxMv/?taken-by=evanvucci

In Japan when I see the name Blendy, I imagine coffee. Usually I think instant coffee, or some kind of stick thats contents can be stirred into hot water to make a cup of joe in various flavors. Normal flavors like latte, espresso, or farm latte (there really is a farm latte.)Farm latte aside, when I think Blendy, I usually don’t think about anything too outside the box. That changed when the other day a new product caught my eye. Black Lemon Coffee. The catch copy reads: “Ice coffee with a new sensation”. Indeed.Before trying it, I read around the hashtags on Twitter, and it looks like the new bottled beverage has a lot of converts, with some fans saying it’s a cross between coffee and herbal tea, others exclaiming it’s their new summer obsession. Then I tried it. Me? I’m afraid I’m a nope. The taste of Blendy’s Black Limone coffee was exactly how I’d imagined a cup of cold sweet coffee would taste if someone snuck up and squirted lemon in it. Give me coffee or give me tea. Please, don’t give me lemon in my coffee.Photo: Rich Pav

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A couple of years back, the Most Reverend Patrick J. McGrath, Bishop of the Diocese of San Jose, California, wrote an impassioned missive. In his letter, Bishop McGrath acknowledged the Catholic charities working to better the lives of the less fortunate. He emphasized how important it was that Catholics "vote their consciences" on Measure A: a proposal that would see affordable housing in an effort to end homelessness in the area and give struggling families a much-needed helping hand. From The Valley Catholic:

Multiple deaths and many people with serious injuries are reported in a Greyhound bus crash on a freeway in New Mexico, police say. (more…)

Bloomberg:

“I view it as an illegal investigation,” President Donald Trump said today, referring to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. (more…)

I have posted a couple times about my DIY Peloton indoor exercise bike. I recently added weights for the arm and chest exercises. I like them. (more…)

“America is at stage two Islamic Cancer,” says the founder of ACT for America. Why exactly is Thomas Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), speaking at their upcoming event in Washington, D.C.? And he only retired in June. (more…)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkKjkCBCGFsJason Boek swerved his truck in front of an Uber driver at 2 a.m., forced him to pull over, then approached his vehicle while claiming to have a pistol and threatening to shoot. Boek was stalking a woman and under the mistaken impression she was a passenger in the vehicle. The Uber driver, Robert Westlake, pulled his own gun and shot Boek once, killing him.Given the violent threat and the dangerous circumstances, no-one's in trouble: Westlake even performed CPR and called 911, to no avail. But here's the local sheriff to put the unique stamp of Florida on it all:

Did you know that Canadian music icon Neil Young and American mermaid-patch-eyed-movie-psychopath icon Daryl Hannah have been dating since 2014? If not, you'll raise an eyebrow over the fact that all points lead to the fact that the pair recently tied the knot. From The Guardian:

Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister, has released a wide-ranging mandate letter asking Canada's Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, Bill Blair, to "[L]ead an examination of a full ban on handguns and assault weapons in Canada, while not impeding the lawful use of firearms by Canadians."This work would be in support of Canada's upcoming Firearms bill, Bill C-71, and is supported by the city councils of two of Canada's largest cities: Toronto and Montreal, who have recently both passed resolutions asking for an outright ban on handguns.

People make mistakes. They commit crimes. Sometimes they pull their erect dick out and start masturbating in front of female colleagues. Louis C.K. recently performed for the first time since confirming he did exactly that to a number of women over a period of years. Was his return to the stage, as they say in comedy, “too soon?” Outside of legal recourse, how do we deal with perpetrators of sexual misdeeds, abuse, harassment, and assault in the long haul?As the news of his return broke, I could almost hear women across the country face-palming themselves over the fact that he appeared unannounced and unexpectedly in front of an unsuspecting audience who had not given their consent. Social media became a biopsy of the strange cultural crossroads the #MeToo stories have brought us to. But this time there was more of a split across gender lines. The backlash about Louis’ comeback were mostly female voices. The support for him, feeling he’d already paid a fair price, were mostly male voices.Comedian Michael Ian Black tweeted a message addressing the friction to his almost two million followers:"The #MeToo movement is incredibly powerful and important and vital. One next step, among many steps, has to be figuring out a way for the men who are caught up in it to find redemption.”

Trump repeating conspiracy theories does not make them true, Fox NEWS has to repeat them 30 more times.Via Ars Technica:

New York City was vandalized in OpenStreetMap, and as a result renamed as "Jewtropolis" in Snapchat and other applications that ultimately depend on the service for mapping.

Yeah... maybe hold on to your suitcase when you're riding an escalator. Or, better yet, take an elevator if you can.

Last week, New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon boasted of making “one of the largest seizures in the state” after hauling 12 pounds of "fentanyl" from a drug bust. Sadly for McMahon, the state crime lab says it is sugar.

Here's something unusual: a hummingbird feeder that clips onto the brim of a baseball cap.Jeff Driscoll of Dubuque, Iowa makes and sells all kinds of other strange hummingbird feeders, including this one for $13.95. You can see them all over at his Etsy shop, Coppervine Feeders.He writes:

Yesterday, "Weird Al" Yankovic (finally!) got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During his acceptance speech at the ceremony, he had one small, completely reasonable request:

Come November 2, you will have the opportunity to see Orson Welles' final film on Netflix and in select theatres, a work titled The Other Side of the Wind. Netflix purchased the footage in March 2017, nearly 50 years after this "notoriously unfinished" feature began production.