Apparently, Greater Manchester is the New Florida during spring break of the United Kingdom. Despite warnings, daily updates to the number of victims of COVID-19 and the threat of steep fines for breaking quarantine or engaging in large public gatherings, an absurd number of Mancunians refuse to do anything to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The local police? They're pissed off.From The BBC:There were 1,132 coronavirus-related breaches reported between 25 March and 7 April, the force said.That included 494 house parties - some with DJs, fireworks and bouncy castles - and 166 street parties.One woman in Bury became the first person in Greater Manchester to be charged under the Coronavirus Act 2020 after police had to repeatedly shut down one of the gatherings.The force, which has released updated figures, also had to deal with 122 different groups gathering to play sports, 173 more gatherings in parks and 112 incidents of anti-social behaviour and public disorder.All of this, of course, is absolutely insane. Not only does this sort of lunacy increase the possibility of infection for anyone in attendance of such bullshit get-togethers, it's also putting police officers in danger of contracting coronavirus, each and every time they have to show up to shut a party down. Also, where the hell do you get a bouncy castle in the middle of a pandemic?Having been safely, if not happily housebound since the end of February, I can't imagine what selfish needs that folks throwing parties and generally ignoring medical advice in the name of maintaining their social lives are thinking. Read the rest

While you're sheltering in place, I hope it's with someone who loves you and makes you feel whole. Read the rest

With workforces scattered, timelines busted and a reign of general uncertainty gripping our world, experienced project managers have never been more valuable. Now that most companies and industries face unprecedented belt-tightening and resource allocations, having a skilled project manager capable of successfully leading major initiatives while staying on time and on budget is an incalculable asset.There’s still room for motivated job seekers to get on board the project management track by mastering the most popular PM methodologies with training like The Project Manager’s Essential Certification Bundle ft. Scrum, Agile and PMP.Across 10 courses featuring more than 26 hours of instruction, students will dive into a complete overview of the entire project management field, examining each of the most popular ways of tackling a project and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of each. Armed with that knowledge, you’ll be able to decide which method works best for each type of project.Agile and its most popular offshoot approach Scrum are known for its fast, flexible structure keyed around incremental advances that are constantly open to change and adaptation. Courses like The Complete Jira Agile Project Management Course, The Complete Agile Scrum Product Owner Masterclass, and Product Management: Agile Requirements Using Product Backlog explore understanding Agile and Scrum terminologies and enacting those principles.Meanwhile, students also dig into PMP methodologies based around the Waterfall approach that puts a much more structured and traditional spin on a well-defined seven project stage model. And there’s complete coverage of Kanban, which seeks to optimize project success by eliminating waste and banishing variations across the project timeline. Read the rest

As much as we’d all like to think otherwise, the reality is there are many out there hurting right now. Furloughs, cutbacks and job losses have left millions of Americans in a tough financial place, for some even far worse off than during the 2008 housing crisis economic downturn.Many of those affected could use something to help get them back on the feet. And if it means a new career with the prospect of new job training, even that new lease on lease needs to come at an absolutely minimal cost.As the Financial Times reports, “Tech companies are still hiring feverishly as they move to take advantage of a world shifting increasingly to digital.” And IT security experts will be a huge portion of that expanded workforce. The Complete Cyber Security Certification Training Bundle not only offers the background to get hired in one of those new positions, but students can even pay the price they want to pay for that training.The package includes nine IT security certification prep courses with more than 100 hours of instruction in areas like ethical hacking, penetration testing, auditing and more.All the biggest IT security acronyms are here in this collection, including training for CISSP, CPEH, CISM, CISA, and CPTE certifications.From generalized training to validate knowledge about the information security and best practices to specialized looks at risk management, cryptography, ID and access management, network, server, and app security and more, this package lines up all the training to be ready to take and pass six different certification exams, including the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) test, issued by the world’s leading cybersecurity and IT security professional organization. Read the rest

How cool is this? The Quarantine Coloring Book is an open art project on Instagram where artists can submit black and white images to be considered for the "book" and all of the uploaded images are available to be downloaded, colored, and then uploaded and tagged so that everyone following the project can see your handiwork. Fun for shut-ins of all ages!The Instagram page is here. You can see all of the colored pages tagged to date here. View this post on Instagram Finished :) Go check out quarantine coloring book! They’re gonna be uploading pages for free, you can color them any way you want! #quarantine #coloring @gerardway @thequarantinecoloringbookA post shared by The_Seal (@that_odd_seal) on Apr 9, 2020 at 10:27pm PDT View this post on Instagram This was fun! The stars reminded me of Keith Haring so I added some more. And the rainbow lettering is my favorite, I like the palette I ended up with. Yes this is my cats account but a human did complete this... please sue me. #thequarantinecoloringbook #TQCB @thequarantinecoloringbook @gerardway @seriouscreep @lolaplusg @prentlerA post shared by nox🌙 (@noxxthecat) on Apr 9, 2020 at 4:30pm PDT View this post on Instagram did this instead of hw 👉👈 #thequarantinecoloringbookA post shared by 🕯 (@overusedpunchline) on Apr 9, 2020 at 6:47pm PDTImage: Screengrab Read the rest

“No. Bull. Shit.”I love this woman.Congresswoman Katie Porter of Orange County, California, speaking with Samantha Bee. 'If you're full of bullshit, I'm coming for you.'For those taking notes at home, here’s a list of things I don’t have time for:1. That.pic.twitter.com/apmGFOnZgz— Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) April 10, 2020 Read the rest

“[D]eaths over the last month dwarf what would be expected from seasonal variations, and look more like a mass casualty event.”

Some centenarians have survived coronavirus

Huh, that's... weird? No?The White House announced today that impeached U.S. President Donald Trump spoke today to Vladimir Putin of Russia. This was their second call in as many days.Putin and Trump “discussed the latest efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and maintain stability in global energy markets. The two leaders also covered critical bilateral and global issues,” says the White House.Source: APWhite House: President Trump spoke today to Vladimir Putin of Russia. This is their second call in as many days.— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) April 10, 2020Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, the White House says. They "discussed the latest efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and maintain stability in global energy markets. The two leaders also covered critical bilateral and global issues" per WH— Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) April 10, 2020I’d previously assumed that the lack of reported Russian cases was due to the strong leadership of Vladimir Putin. But it turns out that the government may have been dishonest and now things are getting bad. https://t.co/4U2y5xr5A1— Isaac Chotiner (@IChotiner) April 10, 2020The Latest: Trump, Putin discuss virus, global energy (from @AP) https://t.co/W7ozIXFtk7— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) April 10, 2020Imagine the ratings Trump could get if he aired his Putin convos live.— JJ MacNab (@jjmacnab) April 10, 2020POTUS at WH coronavirus briefing yesterday: "I just spoke with President Putin, and the King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman, and we had a big talk as to oil production and OPEC and making it so that our industry does well and the oil industry does better than it's doing right now." Read the rest

Google and Apple are working on a joint effort to introduce opt-in Bluetooth-based COVID-19 contact tracing APIs in mid-May for iOS and Android.The companies say the technology will not track the users' location or identity.Contact tracing can help slow the spread of COVID-19 and can be done without compromising user privacy. We’re working with @sundarpichai & @Google to help health officials harness Bluetooth technology in a way that also respects transparency & consent. https://t.co/94XlbmaGZV— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 10, 2020To help public health officials slow the spread of #COVID19, Google & @Apple are working on a contact tracing approach designed with strong controls and protections for user privacy. @tim_cook and I are committed to working together on these efforts.https://t.co/T0j88YBcFu— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) April 10, 2020The idea is to slow the spread of the coronavirus that causes the potentially fatal illness COVID-19 by “allowing users to opt into a system that catalogs other phones they have been near,” Reuters reports:The rare collaboration between the two Silicon Valley companies, whose operating systems power 99% of the world’s smartphones, could accelerate usage of apps that aim to get potentially infected individuals into testing or quarantine more quickly and reliably than existing systems in much of the world.The companies said they started developing technology two weeks ago to allow mobile devices to trade information via Bluetooth connections to alert people when they have been in close proximity with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, the sometimes deadly respiratory disease associated with the novel coronavirus. Read the rest

Nothing says ur-Passover in Pandemic Land like bagels.I received a bag of artisan baking flour. I really wanted to test it out and baking unleavened crackers because of shit that happened a long time ago seems not to respect the gravity of our daily situation.I have improved my bagel recipe over the old one, but it is still fun to read. Also, today I used commercial yeast but you can use sourdough. Simply substitute the yeast, ¼ cup of four and ¼ cup of water for ½ cup of starter.ur-Passover Pandemic BagelsIngredients:3 ½ cups flour1 ½ cups warm water1 packet of active yeast1 ½ tablespoons white sugar1 ½ teaspoons saltBoiling solution:2 tablespoons baking soda1 tablespoon brown sugar1 teaspoon salt8 cups of waterBagel Toppings to taste.In a measuring cup I combined 1 ½ cups of water with the sugar and yeast. I let it sit for 15 minutes. In a bowl I put the flour and salt.I combined all the ingredients all into a big ball. I kneaded it 2-3 minutes and set it aside in a bowl for about 60 minutes on a warm surface.I spread baking soda on some aluminum foil to bake the moisture out of it and evidently up my bagel skin game. I heated it at 300F for the time my dough was rising.After an hour I set the pot of water to boil and separated the dough into balls. Read the rest

Several years ago, I tech edited a book on the Internet of Things. Prior to that, I had not thought that deeply about the complex issues surrounding self-driving cars, except (as a person with severe spinal arthritis) looking forward to owning one in my future. After editing that chapter, I came away with a much greater understanding on the infrastructural changes that will need to happen and the profound moral and legal questions that will need to be addressed before this technology becomes commonplace. My takeaway: I won't be owning an autonomous car in my lifetime. This is technology that is 20 or more years away.In this video, part of Kevin Kelly's The Future Of series, he discusses autonomous cars. His takeaway: the infrastructural changes that will need to happen and the profound moral and legal questions that will need to be addressed mean that self-driving cars will not be commonplace for another 15-20 years. Read the rest

If you own a piece of hardware, you should be able to do whatever the hell you want with it, period. Don't like the color? Paint it. Not enough storage? Upgrade it. Not thrilled with it's operating system? Change it out. Many companies disagree with this. They'll void thew warranties of the things you putter about with. If you're cool with that, then putter away.I do.A couple of weeks ago, I got tired of the way that my accidentally tapping any of a number of keys on my Pomera DM30 would switch my typing, in mid-sentence, into Japanese. So, I changed it: Popping the caps off of all of the culprit keys, I removed their membrane. After the keys were popped back into place, it looked exactly the same as the device I started with, boasting one important difference: it only types in English now. It's a small, successful hardware hack that pays dividends towards my quality of life and productivity when I use my DM30 to churn out text. I've performed similarly simple operations on other hardware in the past: installing a new battery and a larger SSD in my ancient 11" MacBook Air. A New battery and replacement display for my wife's iPhone SE? Yep. They're small wins that have gone a long way towards building my confidence as a tinkerer and, consequentially, make me want to tinker with even more of the shit that I own.Today, I was planning on sharing how easy it was to upgrade my 7th-generation iPod Classic with 256GB of Micro SD storage and a 3,000 mAh battery. Read the rest

I recently re-read Mindhacker: 60 Tips, Tricks, and Games to Take Your Mind to the Next Level, by Ron Hale-Evans and Marty Hale-Evans. It's full of interesting ways to memorize things, think creatively, solve problems, and learn new things.Here's a sample:Hack 36: Role the Mental DiceQuick! You need a way to generate random numbers using just your brain, because you're playing in the pool, driving, falling asleep, or doing something else that makes it difficult to roll physical dice. Maybe you're playing games (board, role-playing, or purely mental) or breaking out of a rut by making decisions randomly. Don't panic – you can use simple math on random words from your surroundings to quickly create random numbers, just about anytime and anywhere.For each of these procedures, you'll need to be able to come up with a short random word, either spontaneously or from the environment. To get one, check nearby signs or reading material, ask a friend or passerby, or do anything similar that seems good to you. You'll also need to know or work out the number value of each letter, corresponding to its place in the alphabet: A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, and so on through Z equals 26.To emulate a 6 sided die, follow this procedure:Find a short word, such as “cat.”Sum the numerical values of the letters in the word: C = 3, A = 1, T = 20, and then 3+1+20 = 24.Calculate the number modulo 09 (see the section “How It Works” for the procedure).If the remainder is a 0, 7, or 8, which will happen one third of the time, discard it and try a new word. Read the rest

Delta sent out an email yesterday to more than 25,000 flight attendants asking them to “please refrain from notifying other crew members on your own” if they test positive from coronavirus. HuffPost got a hold of this email, which also says to employees: “Please do not post on social media (including SkyHub) about your health status.” From HuffPost:“Employees have freedom of speech about their health,” one flight attendant, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being fired, told HuffPost in a text message Thursday night. “No employer can take that away. We have a responsibility to take care of ourselves, our coworkers and everyone we come in contact with.”It’s unclear whether employees who disregard the protocols will face penalties. At least one flight attendant said they received a call from Delta’s human resources department about social media updates they posted about a colleague who is currently on a ventilator in intensive care, but HuffPost could not independently verify the details of the conversation. Delta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday morning. There's also a two-minute audio voicemail, which HuffPost now has, that a flight attendant had received from Delta, which tells the attendant that they “may have been exposed in the last 14 days to a person on your recent rotation who may have had symptoms of COVID-19” but to keep working anyway.More details at HuffPost.Image: by Delta News Hub / Flickr Read the rest

D-Wave Systems opened up free cloud access to its quantum computing resources for researchers responding to COVID-19. They're also enlisting their staff, partners, and customers to help others get up to speed on programming quantum computing for their specific tasks. By taking advantage of quantum weirdness – the ability of quantum bits (qubits) to exist in both a “one” and a “zero” state at the same time – these systems can potentially solve problems that cripple even the fastest of today’s supercomputers. From IEEE Spectrum:Since 2018, D-Wave has offered remote access to quantum computing via its “Leap” quantum cloud computing service. Baratz says an ecosystem of more than 1,000 developers has sprung up to apply Leap’s quantum computing resources to a variety of purposes, including protein folding and financial modeling, and optimizing public transportation routes in Lisbon, Portugal.Then, in February, D-Wave began offering an enhanced quantum computing cloud service (Leap 2) which couples simulated qubits (on a conventional computer) with D-Wave’s actual qubits.“We’ve seen problems being explored in the following areas: 1) the modeling and simulation of the spread of the virus, 2) the scheduling of nurses and other hospital resources, 3) assessing the rate of virus mutation, and 4) the assessment of existing drugs as potential treatments,” Baratz said. “We've heard positive feedback from organizations and developers around the world and are looking forward to their collaboration with our global partners to find potential solutions to COVID-19." Read the rest

My guest on the Cool Tools podcast this week is Thom Dunn, a frequent contributor here at Boing Boing! Read the show notes here.Subscribe to the Cool Tools Show on iTunes | RSS | Transcript | See all the Cool Tools Show posts on a single page Read the rest

Bruce Sterling posted this to his blog, but doesn't say where he came across it. His caption: "All Ages Show – especially you, punk grandpa." Read the rest

As coronavirus cases soar past 4,700 in the Czech Republic, the Eastern European nation’s nude sunbathers are being targeted by authorities for neglecting to cover up their mouths.“Citizens can be without clothes in places designated for this purpose, but they must have their mouths covered and must observe the numbers in which they can go into nature,” said police spokeswoman Markéta Janovská.https://nypost.com/2020/04/07/nudists-warned-by-police-to-cover-up-their-mouths-for-coronavirus/ Read the rest

A fantastic and rare live opportunity to hear the no longer touring Ramsey Lewis.Always in rotation, Lewis is truly one of the greatest.Broadway World:Three time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master Ramsey Lewis will be performing a special live stream concert Saturday April 25th @ 1pm CST! Tickets can be purchased by sending $20 to paypal.me/RamseyELewisJr. Just click on the link and type in the amount ($20). Since it's PayPal it's easy and secure. Once we have received your payment we will send you a Zoom link and password to the live stream concert (you will need the Zoom app and a PayPal account).A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. The Recording Academy and its affiliated charitable foundation MusiCares have established the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help those in the music community affected by the virus pandemic.This will be an extra special event considering that Ramsey is no longer touring. This event will be a look behind the curtain, as it will be live from Ramsey's home, in the room that he practices in and he will be telling the stories behind the hit songs he has made for the past six decades.Sigh, Zoom.Here is a link to a FB video of Ramsey discussing the stream. Read the rest

UK wedding photographer Chris Wallace is on lockdown like so many of us. To keep his creativity alive, he staged and photographed a fantastic LEGO wedding. You can see the photos and Wallace's narration of the nuptials over at Petapixel. It looks more romantic and fun than many real weddings I've attended! Read the rest

A team of anonymous volunteers at MIT are developing a ventilator that can be built for $100, reports SciTech Daily. The MIT Emergency Ventilator (E-Vent) uses a hand-operated plastic resuscitator bag common found in hospitals, and places it in a mechanical system that squeezes the bag automatically.From the E-Vent web site:At the present time, we are producing four sets of material, which we will be releasing and updating on this site in an open-source fashion:Minimum safe ventilator functionality based on clinical guidanceReference hardware design for meeting minimum clinical requirementsReference control strategies and electronics designs and supporting insightsResults from testing in animal modelsWe are releasing this material with the intent to provide those with the ability to make or manufacture ventilators, the tools needed to do so in a manner that seeks to ensure patient safety. Image: MIT Read the rest

9pm PST on the Instagrams! View this post on Instagram Tomorrow Night, April 11th, 9pm. Streaming from here on Instagram Live. Thank You. #almightyOpp #fullkundaliniblowoutA post shared by jeffrey's human persona (@almightyopp) on Apr 10, 2020 at 8:08am PDT Absurdist puppetry and the arcane! Join the almighty Opp for another uplifting Instagram stream.It's OK that it's NOT OK! Read the rest

Right after astronauts Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969, they were brought aboard the USS Hornet (CVS-12) and immediately entered a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) along with a NASA flight surgeon and recovery engineer. See below for a photo of when President Richard Nixon popped by to say hello. (You can visit the USS Hornet and see a prototype MQF!) A few days later, the group arrived at Houston's Johnson Space Center where they were locked down in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) to continue a 21-day quarantine. While inside, the astronauts wrote reports, conducted debriefs, and enjoyed a surprise birthday party for Armstrong who turned 39 in quarantine. According to NASA, "Flight surgeon Dr. William R. Carpentier monitored their health status on a daily basis, and when they showed no signs of any illnesses they were cleared to be released from quarantine."From NASA:On the evening of Aug. 10, MSC Director of Medical Research and Operations Dr. Charles A. Berry opened the door to the LRL’s Crew Reception Area (CRA), and Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins stepped out into the hallway. They were welcomed by MSC Director Robert L. Gilruth, other NASA officials and colleagues, and a swarm of reporters once they stepped outside the building into the hot and muggy Houston night. It was the first time they could freely interact with the outside world since their preflight quarantine began more than a month before. Read the rest

Cory posted about Nitter "an alternative, free/open front-end to Twitter that ad- and tracker-blocks. That's very timely, as Twitter has just unilaterally obliterated all its users' privacy choices, announcing the change with a dialog box whose only button is 'OK.' What if it's not OK?" Here's what Cory's Twitter feed looks like in Nitter. Image: Pluralistic Read the rest

Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of investment firm Social Capital, doesn't think the US should be propping up billionaires and hedge funds during the coronavirus pandemic, but should instead be focused on helping people on Main Street, who "are getting wiped out." The perplexed reaction from this CNBC anchor is fascinating. Read the rest

New Jersey, Connecticut, and Kansas are among the states whose unempoyment systems are being overwhelmed with new claims, and the systems run on old computer language that stopped being taught before many programmers were born. According to a report on CNN Business, "On top of ventilators, face masks and health care workers, you can now add COBOL programmers to the list of what several states urgently need as they battle the coronavirus pandemic.""Despite a dwindling number of COBOL programmers, a 2017 report by Reuters found that there are still 220 billion lines of COBOL in use today. 43% of banking systems are built on COBOL and 95% percent of ATM swipes rely on COBOL code." Read the rest

Starting at $9k and configurable up to $17k or thereabouts, the Dwellito Mini Office is an 8ft square "quiet place to work" (i.e. a shed) that will be delivered to your door. An extension cord is $31 extra, and they'll even include this Dyson fan [Amazon] for another $600.A Mini-Office,Delivered to Your DoorGive yourself a quiet place to work with a mini office next to your home. In 6 to 8 weeks, you could have a pre-built office delivered to your front door, starting at $9,000.A lot of smart people have no idea how much things cost. For those able to, it's a perfect time to learn how to build a she—sorry, a Mini Office: the big box hardware stores are still open, they all sell framing lumber, OSB and plywood sheets, roofing materials and even those big old ultramodern windows and doors, and they'll even rent you a pickup to take it all home for another $30 plus mileage. Read the rest

Even once stay-at-home orders are lifted, it’s likely many of us will be sticking closer to home, at least for a while. And rather than taking the car out of the garage for a 10-minute-or-less drive to the grocery store or the pharmacy, don’t be shocked if you start seeing a lot more short jaunt scooters and electric bikes start springing up around a community near you.The trend toward ecologically responsible, quick hop transportation has been building well before coronavirus. That move figures only to expand as many city dwellers start looking for an alternative to the cramped quarters of most public transit.The Jetson Bolt Compact Electric Bike ($399.99; originally $499.99) can get you out ahead of the curve now. A compact electric scooter with a powerful 250-watt hub motor and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the Bolt can zip you along at about 15 mph for a range of up to 15 miles. If it normally takes about half an hour to walk down to the supermarket, the Bolt can put you at their front door in a breezy 8 minutes or so.The Bolt sports a twist throttle, an LED headlight for evening travel and front and rear disc brakes on the 12-inch tires. In addition to cutting your carbon footprint down to nil, the Bolt also folds conveniently with a collapsible handlebar to move and store easily once you reach your destination. It’s even got a built-in carrying handle to just scoop up your 34-pound baby and tote it into a garage, closet or wherever as you carry out your business. Read the rest

If your sleep has been somewhat troubled recently, you’ve got plenty of company. With so much uncertainty, millions of people everywhere are laying in their beds, wrestling with huge life problems while unsuccessfully trying to also get eight hours of rest...or six...or heck, even 30 minutes.If that hits a little close to home, you may want to look into the app that developers say can actually put people to sleep in only two minutes. That’s a bold claim, but the folks behind the Restly Sleep app have some serious pedigree on their side to back those claims up.In fact, this Product Hunt #1 Product of the Day honoree is scientifically based on secret military tactics endorsed by the U.S. Army and field-tested by American pilots.The app combines male and female voices with different calming sounds that serve as a soothing background soundtrack to help put you to sleep faster. The process is aimed at relaxing both your body and mind and can be customized to help find the relaxation option that works best for you. The sleep timer even dutifully shuts the sounds down when the cycle is finished..of course, it’s well after the two-minute window, so you should be fast asleep by then.Restly also comes with a smart alarm clock feature that calculates when you should go to bed and wake up based on your sleep cycle. By following those guidelines, Restly says you stand the best chance of waking up refreshed and energetic every morning. Read the rest

Aphex Twin will be streaming his 2019 Warehouse Project live show tomorrow (Friday, April 10), complete with interactive visuals and editing from regular collaborator Weirdcore. The set will be broadcast on Warehouse Project’s YouTube page and on Facebook starting at 1 pm (EST) tomorrow (6pm BST).Image: Promo shot Read the rest

My friend Richard Gould introduced me to Bichopalo, a musical instrument sculptor from Valenciana, Spain. One word: Enchanting. Two words: Pico and Verdi, his two pet birds who star in his creations. I needed this today. View this post on Instagram Let me introduce you “THE PLANTYFLUTESIZER”. . . Still in progress, I can’t really tell how many hours, days and months I've spent working on this. The entire structure is a combination of different instruments but the main one is a sort of sequencer with 8 notes limit that can be combinated on different patterns. An electric impulse actives a motor with an arm connected that hits a sensor running a pre-recorded note. There’s a lot to speak about this but on this particular post the real rockstars are my little partners: Pico and Verdi. This two little fellas have been with me from a while, making me laught and giving me incredible presents every single day. It’s incredible how these little creatures can emit such an intense light. If you have pets you know what I mean. They are family, pure unconditional love, no matter what, specially these weird days of quarantine is needed more than ever. . . #synth #synthesizers #modularsynth #eurorack #modular #soundsystem #soundart #soundsculpture #soundscapes #experimental #sound #music #soundsculptures #surrealism #plants #nature #volcakeys #korg #ambientmusic #electronicmusic #electronicmusicproducer #loopmusic #installationart #installationartist #arduino #axolotiA post shared by Bichopalo (@_bichopalo_) on Apr 6, 2020 at 12:33pm PDT View this post on Instagram “Invisible forces” new percussive-aquatic experiment. Check out the full version on my IGTV channel to discover the he rest of the instruments and esoteric tools. Read the rest

All the Disney Parks are closed* but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy two of their most famous flavors: the Dole Whip and churros. Last Sunday, the Disney Parks Blog shared the recipe for Churro Tots, which is based on their in-park, cinnamon-y snack:Crazy fact: Over 5.5 million churros were sold at Disney Parks each year. Not this year but, you know.And, via the Disneyland app, they shared how to make an at-home version of their super-popular tropical treat, the Dole Whip. Full recipe here.*And expect mandatory temperature checks when they re-open.photo via Disney Parks Blog, screengrab via Disneyland app(Deseret News) Read the rest

Two days ago, we lost a musical mastermind whose name few people outside of the music business may know: Hal Willner. Willner was a musical producer on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s and also produced records for Marianne Faithfull, Lou Reed, Bill Frisell, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Laurie Anderson, and others.I fell in love with the quirky brilliance of Hal Willner in the late 1980s through the Lorne Michaels' program, Night Music (originally called Sunday Night). Hosted by Jools Holland and David Sanborn, this weekly music variety show immediately stole my heart (and that of many other music nerds) with its laid back, Devil may care style, its eccentric and staggeringly broad line-up of performers, and the epic jams that ended the shows. Brooklyn Vegan has put together a round-up of 33 of the most epic Night Music episodes and performances. They write:Having John Zorn, Marianne Faithfull and Aaron Neville in the same hour. Just to have all those emotions make sense together.”John Zorn, Marianne Faithfull and Aaron Neville was an actual episode, by the way. Sonic Youth made their national television debut on Night Music — on an episode that also featured Diamanda Galas, the Indigo Girls, Daniel Lanois and Evan Lurie and Marc Ribot (covering The Stooges) — and so did Pixies who were on a S2 episode that also featured Sun Ra, singer-songwriter Syd Straw and dance music producer Arthur Baker.More: Eric Clapton jammed alongside fellow bluesman Robert Cray and Twin Peaks chanteuse Julee Cruise. Read the rest

A new data project from the Washington Post allows you to see how the availability of intensive care beds and mechanical ventilators at your local hospital compares to that of other regions across the country.Look up your zip code or that of your parents or grandparents: How a surge of coronavirus patients could stretch hospital resources in your area Analyzing the critical care resources in this country is a frustrating exercise, as experts like Jeremy Kahn of the Univ. of Pittsburgh will tell you. The most reliable data is years old, and reporting standards vary from state to state.— Amy Brittain (@AmyJBrittain) April 9, 2020As he told me, FedEx can tell you where any package is in the United States at any given moment. But the nation's leading researchers on critical care resources can only give you reliable numbers on ICU beds *from 2017*— Amy Brittain (@AmyJBrittain) April 9, 2020Other experts- like Retsef Levi's of @MITSloan COVID-19 Policy Alliance, sum it the data limitations with a wartime metaphor: “We need to know where our weapons are. We need to coordinate all of that. This is a war.”— Amy Brittain (@AmyJBrittain) April 9, 2020 Read the rest

Uber today announced that it will provide millions of face masks against coronavirus for people who work as drivers or food delivery workers around the world, and that it has begun providing gloves and face masks for its workers in New York City.Uber earlier this month said it would begin shipping disinfecting car spray at no cost to its drivers in the United States. The virus that causes COVID-19 has infected 1.4 million people and killed 85,000 worldwide, with U.S. deaths at 15,700 on Thursday, according to Reuters:The ride-hailing company’s vice president of safety and insurance, Gus Fuldner, in a company blog post also said Uber plans to ship nearly half a million face masks to U.S. drivers located in the cities hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak.The initial face mask order will come from a Chinese company that typically manufactures electronics and now produces ear-loop masks. But Uber will be sourcing face masks from all over the world as a long-term commitment, an Uber spokesman said.Uber said it had shipped its first order of masks to drivers in New York City, the U.S. city with the highest number of infections of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.“We’ve ordered tens of millions more masks and expect them to arrive in other cities and regions around the world in the coming weeks,” the company’s blog post said, adding that supplies were limited with healthcare needs taking a priority.Read more:Uber to give drivers millions of face masks to battle coronavirus[Tina Bellon, reuters.com] Read the rest

Preliminary data released today on the coronavirus outbreak in New York City shows that black and Latino people in the city are dying at twice the rate of white people who contract the virus.“Officials revealed that disparity on Wednesday as they announced that 779 more people in the state had died of the virus, the second straight day that deaths spiked to new highs.”Read more at the New York Times.The preliminary coronavirus death rate is highest for Hispanic people in New York City: nearly 23 people per 100,000. The rates are adjusted for the size and age of the population. pic.twitter.com/gzuyZom2O3— NYT Graphics (@nytgraphics) April 9, 2020Mayor Bill de Blasio said the disparity in coronavirus death rates in New York City reflected longstanding and persistent economic inequalities and differences in access to health care. pic.twitter.com/hv9GTCoeH1— NYT Graphics (@nytgraphics) April 9, 2020The data also shows that people of color and those in New York City's poorest neighborhoods reside at the core of its outbreak, which is the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis in the U.S. pic.twitter.com/tKOBoTIj7j— NYT Graphics (@nytgraphics) April 9, 2020“We are watching, in real time, racial disparities and the pandemic of poverty,” said Michael Blake, an assemblyman from the Bronx whose district overlaps with one of the poorest congressional districts in the country. https://t.co/fElHJFNlvx— NYT Graphics (@nytgraphics) April 9, 2020more: Virus Is Twice as Deadly for Black and Latino People Than Whites in N.Y.C. Read the rest

CNN reports that Vice President Mike Pence's office says it will ban top health officials from appearing on CNN to discuss the novel coronavirus unless the network carries the White House's 2+ hour daily disinformation briefings in full."When you guys cover the briefings with the health officials then you can expect them back on your air," a Pence spokesperson told CNN.From CNN's Oliver Darcy:Pence's office, which is responsible for booking the officials on networks during the pandemic, said it will only allow experts such as Dr. Deborah Birx or Dr. Anthony Fauci to appear on CNN if the network televises the portion of the White House briefings that includes the vice president and other coronavirus task force members.CNN often only broadcasts President Donald Trump's question and answer session, which sometimes includes the health care officials, live on-air.After Trump leaves the podium, CNN frequently cuts out of the White House briefing to discuss and fact-check what the President had said. A CNN executive said that the network usually returns to such programming because of the extensive length of the full briefing that includes Pence, which can run in excess of two hours.CNN did, however, air the vice president's portion of the briefing Wednesday night. Regardless, Pence's office has declined to make the nation's top health care officials available to CNN for the last seven days.(...) Fauci, Birx, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Surgeon General Jerome Adams have all appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox during the last week, despite the fact that the broadcast networks have generally not covered the briefings that have included the vice president and health officials. Read the rest

Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, has been placed in solitary confinement at a federal prison in New York state over what Reuters reports was “a verbal dispute over phone use.”Cohen, who is 53, is U.S. President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney and is serving time for violating campaign finance laws. On Wednesday, Cohen was transferred to a Special Housing Unit (SHU) at Otisville Federal Correctional Institution, an extreme discipline section of the prison, Reuters reports Thursday:Until now, Cohen had been housed in a minimum-security camp at Otisville, which is about 70 miles (110 km) northwest of New York City. One of the sources said Cohen was placed in solitary after another inmate complained about his internet use.“It is my understanding that a verbal dispute over phone use prompted a temporary placement to SHU pending an investigation. I do not however know who prompted the altercation, or if the action taken was factually/ regulatory appropriate,” Cohen’s lawyer, Roger Adler, said in an email to Reuters.A former representative for Cohen, Lanny Davis, declined to comment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said it could not comment on the circumstances of individual inmates.Cohen, who once said he would “take a bullet” for Trump, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 for directing hush payments to pornographic film star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed they had affairs with Trump. Trump has denied having the encounters.Last month, Cohen asked to be released from prison early, citing the coronavirus outbreak and the high risk in prison of contracting COVID-19. Read the rest

I regret to inform you that impeached and clearly nuts U.S. president Donald Trump is at it again. There's a pandemic on, but that won't stop his flamboyant abuse.Here is his latest, from late in the afternoon on Thursday, White House time. The Wall Street Journal always “forgets” to mention that the ratings for the White House Press Briefings are “through the roof” (Monday Night Football, Bachelor Finale, according to @nytimes) & is only way for me to escape the Fake News & get my views across. WSJ is Fake News!What is there to say?God help us. Read the rest

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Boris Johnson is out of intensive care and recovering, reports the BBC, after his close shave with Covid-19. The British Prime Minister made a point of defying medical advice in the early stages of the pandemic, shaking hands and promoting a "carry on" attitude to the deadly virus, and almost paid for it with his life. Yesterday, 881 people died in Britain of the disease, bringing the nation's death toll to nearly 8,000.No 10 said he "has been moved this evening from intensive care back to the ward, where he will receive close monitoring during the early phase of his recovery".A spokesman added: "He is in extremely good spirits."He was taken to hospital on Sunday - 10 days after testing positive - and was moved to intensive care on Monday. Read the rest

The Kinkade Family Foundation turned up this Thomas Kincade unseen masterpiece "Untitled (Toilet Paper)," c. 1978, oil on canvas, 8" x 10, and have issued it as a puzzle and print. The proceeds benefit the New Art Dealers Alliance's (NADA) fund to support galleries impacted by COVID-19. The canvas print is $150.00 unframed and $750 framed. The 100-piece puzzle is $45.00. Read the rest

This is one excited sun conure. Watch as she almost blurs while grooming her beak on this man's "quarantine stubble." Read the rest

This vintage clip of the great Desmond Dekker (1941-2006) performing "Israelites" to a live audience including delightfully dancing mods girls is one minute and 20 seconds of pure infectious joy. Read the rest

Last week David posted about the Aquarium Drunkard music stream and I quickly signed up on Patreon. I also listen to Chilled Cow, a streaming lofi hip hop radio show on YouTube. Those two streams are enough to keep me happy throughout the day, but I just came across another awesome stream: Hollow Earth Radio. Based in Seattle, it's a Low Power FM (LPFM) non-commercial DIY radio station featuring "local music, found sound, paranormal encounters, crank calls, dreams, etc! 24 hours a day!" I need three brains so I can listen to all three at once.Image: Twitter/Hollow Earth Radio Read the rest

With Hollywood shuttered, movie and TV production shut down, red carpet events cancelled and coronavirus keeping celebrities behind closed doors, there’s not a lot of material for the tabloids to be working with this week - but that doesn’t stop them from making it all up.

Introverts were enjoying the lockdown. Suddenly they had no social obligations nor the social anxiety that goes along with declining invitations, canceling them, or attending them. Introverts were reading, gardening, baking, making things, learning languages, sharpening skills, and basking in quietude.The extroverts, however, took note of this new state of affairs and declared it intolerable. Invitations for online gatherings began pouring in and, for introverts, social anxiety is creeping back.From Abby Ohlheiser's article in Technology Review:Calendars that had been cleared by social distancing suddenly refilled as friends, family, and acquaintances made plans to sip “quarantinis” at Zoom happy hours, hold Netflix viewing parties, or just catch up over Google hangouts....Turning down invitations to talk to people during a global pandemic can simultaneously be needed self-care and something that makes you feel like a bad friend. After all, how do you tell your group chat of college friends that you just need a night alone at home when you’re alone at home all the time?“There’s no way you can pass that off as having other plans,” says Jaya Saxena, a staff writer at Eater, who is currently socially distancing with her spouse in her apartment in Queens, New York. “The only excuse is ‘I don’t want to,’ and no one wants to hear that right now.”It was too good to last.Photo by Miguel Teirlinck on Unsplash Read the rest

JB Rhine (1895-1980), the founder of parapsychology, spent the bulk of his career attempting to scientifically investigate ESP, psychokinesis, and clairvoyance at Duke University. While Rhine debunked numerous claims, he also reported on many experiments that he argued were evidence of psi phenomena. In 1952, the US Army consulted with Rhine on their idea to use psychic powers to detect landmines. The psychics weren't people though; they were German Shepherds named Tessie and Binnie. From author Nick Redfern's retelling of the weird tale over at Mysterious Universe:Although Fort Belvoir was the place from where the work was coordinated, the actual tests took place on stretches of quiet California beaches. A contingent of soldiers, Rhine, Binnie and Tessie hit the beach and the work began. The role of the troops was to bury dummy mines (thankfully!) at varying depths in the sand and to see if the dogs could locate them. To begin with, both dogs were kept in the back of a covered, military truck – to ensure that they couldn’t see what was going on at that same stretch of beach. That is, until it was time for the operations to begin.Incredibly, it didn’t take Binnie and Tessie long to find the fake mines. The work progressed and the military was impressed. But, was it all coincidence and random luck? To ensure that wasn’t the case, the Army began to make it more and more difficult for Tessie and Binnie to find the mines. Instead of just burying the bogus mines deep in the sand, they took the devices into the water – to depths of about six or seven feet – and had the pair try and find them. Read the rest

In 2018, Barry Lawrence Ruderman, a rare map dealer from California, bought a folder of documents and blueprints related to the Statue of Liberty. What they didn't realize is that the lot contained almost two dozen original engineering drawings for the Statue produced by Gustav Eiffel's workshop. Ruderman and Alex Clausen, director of Ruderman's gallery, hope to eventually show the drawings at a museum but for now you can inspect scans they posted online. Greg Miller writes in Smithsonian:Berenson thinks the drawings may nail down something that historians have long suspected but not been able to prove: that Bartholdi disregarded Eiffel's engineering plans when it came to the statue's upraised arm, electing to make it thinner and tilted outward for dramatic and aesthetic appeal. Several drawings appear to depict a bulkier shoulder and more vertical arm—a more structurally sound arrangement. But one of these sketches (below) was marked up by an unidentified hand with red ink that tilts the arm outward, as Bartholdi wanted. “This could be evidence for a change in the angle that we ended up with in the real Statue of Liberty,” Berenson says. “It looks like somebody is trying to figure out how to change the angle of the arm without wrecking the support.”The date on that sketch, July 28, 1882, as well as dates on several pages of handwritten calculations and diagrams pertaining to the arm, suggest that this change was made after much of the statue had already been built. “It’s really late in the game,” Berenson says. Read the rest