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• Super Cyclone Amphan became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal on Monday night• #Amphan is expected to make landfall on Tuesday, May 20• Storm surge of up to 15 feet on anticipated landfall in West Bengal forecast Wednesday In India and Bangladesh, millions of people are trapped in the path of an oncoming super cyclone that is expected to make landfall in under 36 hours.Weather watchers say Super Cyclone Amphan will bring damaging winds and intense rainfall to a densely populated region badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.FOR UPDATED AMPHAN DATA:India Meteorological Department, Ministry of Earth Sciences Government of India1330 UTC Himawari-8 enhanced infrared satellite view of powerful #TropicalCycloneAmphan (#01B) near #India, over the Bay of Bengal.For the latest info on #TropicalCyclone #Amphan please visit JTWC's website at, https://t.co/77AznHtvWC pic.twitter.com/YUtNaYZ41j— NWS OPC (@NWSOPC) May 19, 2020#CycloneAmphanUpdate The Super Cyclonic Storm #Amphan over West-central #BayofBengal moved nearly northwards with a speed of 18 kmph during the past 6 hours & lay centered at 1430 hrs IST today as an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm at latitude 17.0°N & longitude 86.9°E. pic.twitter.com/T32gGpTaOF— MoES GoI (@moesgoi) May 19, 2020Super Cyclone AMPHAN to cross West Bengal – Bangladesh coasts between Digha (West Bengal) and Hatiya Islands (Bangladesh) close to Sundarbans during afternoon to evening of 20th May 2020 with wind speed of 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph. pic.twitter.com/OYRb2BYr8A— India Met. Dept. (@Indiametdept) May 19, 2020From CNN:Super Cyclone Amphan became the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal on Monday night, after intensifying with sustained wind speeds of up to 270 kilometers per hour (165 miles per hours), according to data from the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Read the rest

Welcome to the dystopian future of yesteryear's futurist cyberpunk novels.In this video, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić holds an authoritarian rally for himself, with his political supporters clapping for him in a gigantic clusterfuck of a videoconference display. Wow that's weird.loodilo, next level pic.twitter.com/85i7wE3XdP— Laki Kesh Topalovic (@TopalovicLaki) May 16, 2020“The President of Serbia just held a virtual rally with his supporters clapping via video stream,” tweets Sergej Dojcinovic. “Looks very dystopian and creepy.” The President of Serbia just held a virtual rally with his supporters clapping via video stream. Looks very dystopian and creepy. pic.twitter.com/3O7yuvm9r2— Sergej Dojcinovic (@Serdjosega) May 16, 2020pic.twitter.com/Dg2w9KQAs4— Laki Kesh Topalovic (@TopalovicLaki) May 17, 2020 Read the rest

PUDDLES !!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/TXjpJGW0Jl— ??????? ? ????????? (@ScotsmanGrumpy) May 17, 2020I can assure you without any equivocation or qualification that this dog is not a duck. It was posted to Twitter by Grumpy Scotsman: "Not gonna lie, I spent 10 minutes trying to think of a good relatable sentence to go with it, and decided it wasn’t needed." Read the rest

No malarkey.Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden refers to impeached President Donald Trump as President Tweety in a video message.“Trump is out there tweeting again this morning, I call him President Tweety: 'Reopen the country.' How are we supposed to do that if you're sitting on the money small businesses need in order to stay alive?”Biden made the comments in a video for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Victory Fund..@JoeBiden addressing @AAPIVictoryFund eventOn Trump's call to restart the economy: "Stop tweeting about it! Get the money out to main street now." pic.twitter.com/8bkTCwY1DT— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) May 18, 2020Read more: Joe Biden finally makes up nickname for Trump: ‘President Tweety’ Read the rest

Embedded above is a news segment from 12 News Now in Beaumont, Texas; Jordan James reports from the beach. Parody is dead and death itself.I guess you can say I had an interesting time at the beach ? https://t.co/3LrnoBxyef— Jordan James (@JordanJamesTV) May 19, 2020 Read the rest

Unless you have an RV, spending time in the great outdoors probably means hiking into the wilderness with loads of equipment, setting up a tent, and living off the land. Of course, it’s easier said than done — and seldom as romantic as it seems.Tents are usually only meant for sleeping, and even then, they aren’t always all that comfortable. But if you’d like to create your own portable living space anywhere you roam with most of the comforts of home, then the Carsule Pop-Up Cabin for your car might be just what you’re looking for.At less than 3 feet across when packed, the Carsule pops right out of your trunk and attaches directly to vehicles with a swing-up rear tailgate. Popped fully open and with a couple of key aluminum support rods inserted, the Carsule is like adding a 6 square foot rear room to the back of your hatchback, minivan, MPV, SUV, or station wagon. In fact, one person can get the whole structure in place in about 3 to 5 minutes.The raised door is a key structural support for the Carsule and with ceiling tension lines in place, you won’t get a sagging roof or other structural problems getting in the way of your enjoyment. In addition to 6.5 feet of headroom, the Carsule is waterproof, UV resistant, and with its thick felt carpeting, sturdy enough to withstand the average wear and tear of use.And unlike a confining tent, the Carsule is sided in mesh, providing panoramic views of your surroundings while also promoting air circulation, but keeping out any creepy crawlies. Read the rest

• The Lancet says Trump's letter contains 'factually incorrect' details.Medical journal The Lancet has issued this rapid response to comments made by impeached President Donald Trump in his letter to World Health Organization General Director Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to correct false statements about The Lancet by Trump.In this letter, The Lancet notes that they did not, as Trump falsely said, comment on the coronavirus crisis in late December 2019. Their first reports on the novel coronavirus were in mid-January.Chinese experts took part in its first two reports on COVID-19, the journal says, and Trump is “damaging... efforts to strengthen international cooperation to control this pandemic.”And from Richard Horton, below, the Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet:Dear President Trump - You cite The Lancet in your attack on WHO. Please let me correct the record. The Lancet did not publish any report in early December, 2019, about a virus spreading in Wuhan. The first reports we published were from Chinese scientists on Jan 24, 2020.Dear President Trump - You cite The Lancet in your attack on WHO. Please let me correct the record. The Lancet did not publish any report in early December, 2019, about a virus spreading in Wuhan. The first reports we published were from Chinese scientists on Jan 24, 2020. pic.twitter.com/Vx6mDpZJHx— richard horton (@richardhorton1) May 19, 2020Statement from The Lancet in response to President Donald Trump’s May 18 letter to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization pic.twitter.com/JX8orfpMPB— The Lancet (@TheLancet) May 19, 2020Source: Statement from The Lancet in response to President Donald Trump’s May 18 letter to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization Read the rest

“An Associated Press review of those states found that at least 10 states also share the names of everyone who tests positive.” A review by the Associated Press found that public health officials “in at least two-thirds of U.S. states” are sharing the addresses of people who confirmed to have the coronavirus with first responders. Widespread disclosure of who has tested positive is said to be intended to protect medical workers and first responders from exposure, but the practice sparks concerns involving racial profiling, privacy, and security.At least 10 states share the names of everyone who tests positive, reports the AP:Sharing the information does not violate medical privacy laws, under guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Law enforcement officials say the information helps them take extra precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the coronavirus.But civil liberty and community activists have expressed concerns of potential profiling in African-American and Hispanic communities that already have an uneasy relationship with law enforcement. Some envision the data being forwarded to immigration officials.In Tennessee, the issue has sparked criticism from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who only became aware of the data sharing earlier this month.“The information could actually have a ‘chilling effect’ that keeps those already distrustful of the government from taking the COVID-19 test and possibly accelerate the spread of the disease,” the Tennessee Black Caucus said in a statement earlier this month.Many members of minority communities are employed in industries that require them to show up to work every day, making them more susceptible to the virus — and most in need of the test. Read the rest

LOL, nothing matters.Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has been promoted to a new position is temporarily going to become chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican leaders announced on Tuesday.Rubio is to replace North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, who last week agreed to step aside when federal agents examining sketchy recent stock sales by the senator paid a visit to his home with a warrant to search his cellphone. Friday was Burr’s last day leading the Senate Intelligence Committee, and boy, did the GOP dig deep for his replacement.From the AP:Along with House and Senate leaders and the top Democrat and Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rubio will now have access to some of the highest-level secrets in Congress as part of a small “Gang of Eight” that receives the most sensitive information. A former Republican presidential candidate who eventually endorsed Donald Trump in 2016, he has also worked with Democrats on the panel on its investigation into Russian election interference and other matters.Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the panel, said in a statement Monday that Rubio “has been a great partner on intelligence and national security issues” and he looks forward to working with him. Read more at AP:Rubio steps in to lead Senate Intelligence Committee Read the rest

Somehow, not a surprise. The Florida official who managed the state's public “dashboard” of daily information on COVID-19 infection and deaths says she was removed from her position because she was ordered to censor some of the numbers, and she refused to "manually change data to drum up support for the plan to reopen.”Rebekah Jones says she questions the Department of Health’s commitment to “accessibility and transparency.”The Read the rest

Hirviöt ("monster"), was a 2012 public service announcement from Finland in which the adults have been day drinking. It asks: how different are you drunk? The ad was quite effective, as you can see; there's an article about it at CBS News.A 2009 study found alcohol to be the number one killer of Finnish adults, responsible for 17 percent of all deaths among 15- to 64-year-old men - surpassing heart disease for the first time - and causing more than 10.5 percent of all deaths in adult women, similar to breast cancer rates. Read the rest

In 1957, 14 boys from Monterrey, Mexico, walked into Texas to take part in a game of Little League baseball. What followed surprised and inspired two nations. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Monterrey Industrials and their unlikely path into baseball history.We'll also have dinner for one in Germany and puzzle over a deadly stick.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest

How many of your passwords contain something personal about you? From an important date to a hobby to some memory from your past, those keywords, phrases or moments are indelibly imprinted inside us and instantly come to mind, which is why we invariably use them as part of a password.Even though a security professional would tell you that’s a bad idea, we do it because passwords are intensely personal. That’s why most password management systems are built around securing passwords for just one person: you. But if you need to manage a secure password for business, providing access to sensitive information to multiple employees, yet trying to maintain the tightest possible security, you’ll find many password managers aren’t entirely up to the task. But unlike many of those services, PassCamp Password Manager was built with a focus on team functionality, not individual users.Using that framework, PassCamp spent three years doing extensive user research and reworking interface architecture to create a password system that put security first with a laser focus of efficiency and ease of use for everyone on a given team.With PassCamp, managers can create strong new passwords, then store them in one highly-protected and hacker-proof location. Passwords are zero-knowledge proof, feature end-to-end encryption, and can be shared with customized permissions that can easily add new team members, manage their access, and reset passwords, all with just a few clicks.PassCamp keeps updates from the passwords you’ve shared with others, including edits, shares, and dates of modification, as well as all versions of passwords. Read the rest

I like cooking and have always made most of the family's meals from scratch. Now I'm making even more meals from scratch and recipes sometimes call for ingredients by weight. The absence of protruding buttons on the surface of this digital kitchen scale makes it easy to wipe down. The graduation is 0.1oz/1g, and can weigh things up to 13 lbs. Read the rest

If you've ever wondered when you can call yourself an expert, this is the TEDx Talk for you. Business Growth Strategist, Speaker, and Stand Up Comic David Mitroff shares his story and talks about how, if you're doing the work, you can just start calling yourself an expert. (RED) Read the rest

Mimi and Brownie became close in 1942 while serving as World War II Army nurses. For 74 years, they remained best friends and talked on the phone every single day. Veena Rao of Pop-Up Magazine shares their incredible, and oh-so-sweet, story (get out the tissues).(RED)Becky and Susan, this one's for you!screengrab via Read the rest

Spike Lee's new film Da 5 Bloods tells the story of African-American vets of the Vietnam war who return to the country in the present day to find the remains of their squad leader and seek out a gold treasure they buried in the jungle. The movie—starring Delroy Lindo, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, and Isiah Whitlock, Jr., and Jonathan Majors—premieres on Netflix on June 12. “The United States Armed Forces came close to being torn apart when black soldiers heard that Dr. King was assassinated,” Lee told Vanity Fair in a recent interview. “They also heard that their brothers and sisters were tearing shit up in over 100 cities across America. The tipping point came very close; the black soldiers were getting ready to set it off in Vietnam—and not against the Vietcong either.” Read the rest

Inspired by a tweet from March 2018, Jesús Roldán put together this Antidepressants or Tolkien Character? quiz, and god damn, it's a lot harder than I anticipated. The Council of Elronon was much displeased with my knowledge. Praise be to Narmacil.Cory reported on a similar test a few years back, but Roldán's version features a much more Middle Earthian UI, and boasts a more challenging list of off-brand medications (and their chemical makeups!) and obscure characters glimpsed briefly in The Silmarillion. Despite my poor scoring, I still learned a lot about pharmaceuticals and the glory of Gondor.Antidepressants or Tolkien Character?Image: Public Domain via PxHere Read the rest

If you're in the market for book recommendations to fill up your stay-at-home hours, here's a short list of favorites from Bill Gates. Check out his longer list on his blog, GatesNotes blog. Read the rest

Digital media studio d'strict created "WAVE," a magnificent video art work for the humongous LED screen wrapped around the SM Town building the COEX (Convention & Exhibition Center) in Seoul, Korea. The display is 80.1 meters (263 feet) wide by 20.1 meters (66 feet) high. Below is Samsung's video about the Smart LED screen, installed in 2018: Read the rest

Der (Schw)Einsatz war kein Zufall: Wie dieses Observationsvideo zeigt, waren die borstigen Vierbeiner schon vorher ins Visier unserer Fahnder und Fahnderinnen geraten. pic.twitter.com/nS0jv3HhII— Polizei Berlin (@polizeiberlin) May 17, 2020Yesterday in Berlin police blocked a road in the Zehlendorf district for nearly two dozen wild boar to pass. "Sometimes the wilderness is right on our doorstep," police stated.Especially now.(UPI) Read the rest

From the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum on Facebook:Quarantine has caused everyone to go a little stir-crazy, even the residents of the Kansas City Zoo. So several of the penguins decided to go on a field trip to the Nelson-Atkins, which is still closed, to get a little culture.This isn't the only group of zoo penguins to enjoy an extra-special social excursion while the rest of us are quarantined. But they're certainly the first penguins to prefer the work of Caravaggio to Monet.The Kansas City Zoo also has a penguin cam so you can keep on eye on your favorite tuxedo'd friend when they're not enjoying an afternoon of high culture. Read the rest

South Korean football club apologizes for filling stands with 'sex dolls.’ By Jack Guy and me. #SouthKorea @cnnsport https://t.co/XMkLrxJZut— Sophie Jeong (@sophieyjeong) May 18, 2020In South Korea, the soccer team FC Seoul filled out its empty arena with sex dolls posed as fans. The game was closed to the public due to COVID-19 restrictions. After real fans watching the match online spotted the curious figures, FC Seoul issued an apology and claimed it was an honest mistake and that they hadn't noticed the figures holding up signs with the name of a sex toy company. From CNN:"The female mannequin dressed in a white short sleeve t-shirt, the breast excessively stood out, and the nipples were protruding, but you didn't know they were an adult product?" wrote another fan on Instagram. "You are kidding me."FC Seoul explained that although the dolls were made to look like real people, rather than conventional mannequins, it had checked they were "not at all related to adult products" before agreeing to install them, and had been told they would be mannequins of the kind commonly used to model clothes. Read the rest

Two men wearing watermelons over their heads robbed a Sheetz convenience store in Louisa, Virginia. After asking for community help, police posted they arrested at least one of the melonheads. From the Louisa Police Department Facebook:On May 6, 2020, at 2135 hours, two subjects arrived at the Sheetz in a LIFTED 2006 Black Toyota Tacoma wearing hollowed-out watermelon rinds with holes cut out for the eyes into the store where they proceeded to commit a larceny.UPDATE: an arrest has been made, thank you to the community for all your assistance.Larceny InvestigationThe Town of...Posted by Louisa Police Department- Virginia on Saturday, May 16, 2020 Read the rest

For the last 18 years Bruce Sterling has been writing an unpaid blog called "Beyond the Beyond" for Wired. But now, writes Cory Doctorow, "Beyond the Beyond is done. Wired publisher Conde Nast is in such deep financial trouble that they're realizing minuscule savings like those to be gleaned from shutting down an unpaid blog." Bruce just posted his farewell column at Wired.com:I’m even proud and happy that I managed to spare the readers so much of my own mental compost in this blog. The chosen, curated material that made it on to this blog was maybe one percent of the vast heaps of rubbish I was overturning. I could have stuffed this blog with two hundred times as much “content,” and if I’d lived for two hundred years, I would never have lost interest in my sky-blackening sandstorm of off-the-wall topics. Every day was a gift, and full of grist for the mill.In conclusion, people may wonder “what next” — well, I’m still active, or even hyperactive, on Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, Pinterest, Medium and Ello. But those platforms are not my “weblogs” — they’re social media, or image-sharing sites. I find them cozy mostly because I’m indolent, and they’re not as much work as a weblog. It’s easier to quip about the same-old same-old than it is to explore the frontiers.If I was a young person, and starting over today, I would not experiment with a weblog supported by a West Coast US technology magazine. Instead, I would try something more youthful in spirit, less conventional, more beyond-the-beyond. Read the rest

In the latest edition of The Margins newsletter, Ranjan Roy tells the story of his friend who owns a pizzeria. He charges $24 for a deluxe pizza but, for one reason or another, Doordash lists the pizza for $16. As an experiment, he ordered 10 pizzas from his own pizzeria and had them delivered to a friend's house. Sure enough, a Doordash driver came to his pizzeria and paid $240 for the pizzas.Trade 1We went over the actual costs. Each pizza cost him approximately $7 ($6.50 in ingredients, $0.50 for the box). So if he paid $160 out of pocket plus $70 in expenses to net $240 from Doordash, he just made $10 in pure arbitrage profit. For all that trouble, it wasn't really worth it, but that first experiment did work.My mind, as a combination trader and startup person, instantly had the thought - just run this arbitrage over and over. You could massively even grow your top-line revenue while netting riskless profit, and maybe even get acquired at an inflated valuation :) He told me to chill out. Maybe this is why he runs an "actual business" while I trade options while doing brand consulting and writing newsletters.But we did realize, if you removed the food costs this could get more interesting.Trade 2The order was put in for another 10 pizzas. But this time, he just put in the dough with no toppings (he indicated at the time dough was essentially costless at that scale, though pandemic baking may have changed things). Read the rest

iRaspian is a Linux OS for the Raspberry Pi that looks a lot like the Mac OS X operating system. It also comes with Mac OS 9.2 and Windows 95 emulators. Read the rest

Gizmodo's George Dvorsky compiled a gallery of the weirdest images ever taken on mars and I immediately clicked through to ensure that the squirrel was included. The squirrel (above) was included. Read the rest

Laura Curren, county executive of Nassau County, N.Y., offers some wise tips for playing tennis safely as the pandemic continues. The two key takehomes are "kick but don't touch other people's balls" and "bring your own balls." Read the rest

Kazuki Ikeda shot this video of deers relaxing in a park in Nara, Japan, a city famed for its park full of relaxing deers. [Previously] Read the rest

Harley-Davidson leveraged itself up the eyeballs as its brand tired and its business turned into a maze of protectionism and politics. Then the pandemic hit."Most people blame me, the millennial," says Ryan Kluftinger, introducing a 14-minute, excellently-produced mini documentary. " ... but it wasn't me that let the poisoning happen. That started forty years ago." Read the rest

Richard Simmons gave his heart to the world. It was no small feat to be an energetic & effeminate fitness celebrity in the homophobic ‘80s, and yet he still rose to prominence and encouraged self respect at every size many years before it was cool. Richard’s videos didn’t just have us grapevining for our lives, he encouraged us to get there by loving ourselves.But now that Richard has retired from the limelight to live a well-earned private life and we’ve long since worn out our VHS copies of Sweatin’ To The Oldies, where to turn for that special brand of campy lo-fi cardio? What if you’re not a hardcore exercise fiend trying to get into a titty flex contest with Terry Crews and are instead just looking for a fun way to keep that ass in motion while sheltering in place?Legendary punk singer and Violence Girl author Alice Bag’s “Fit for the Apocalypse” workout videos on YouTube are a good place to start. Each episode is the length of a punk song, which isn’t always enough time for a proper workout but, you know, just stream them all consecutively and jog in place while you scrub through to the action. After years of being punished by crappy club music in every spin class ever, this is the exercise soundtrack you’ve been yearning for. Squat and punch along to cool new punk bands like the Linda Lindas and Amyl & the Sniffers or lunge to classics like The Tissues. Along with standard aerobics moves like the grapevine, get ready for new Alice Bag signature classics like "The Hallelejuah" and the “Tit-sa.” Read the rest

LMFAOOOOOOOO I AM IN TEARS??? pic.twitter.com/UWq0kaBIHT— Teflon Juan, M.S.Ed ?? (@realjaycollins) May 16, 2020In this footage, fear is the mind-killer. Read the rest

In a remarkably short time, drones have infiltrated every facet of life. Even now, in the age of COVID-19, drones are being employed by engaged groups to help enforce social distancing guidelines and help stop the spread of the virus.From business delivery to mapping to videography to pure-and-simple enjoyment flights, drones are everywhere, with over 1.5 million crafts registered with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. And more than two-thirds are recreational drones, just helping enthusiasts take to the skies and enjoy the freedom of flight.Unlike other drones that can require a steep learning curve before you master the stick, the Shift Red Drone is billed as the drone you can fly solo...as in, one-handed, with your thumb serving as your primary flight tool. With the Shift’s unique and intuitive flight controller, you don’t need to use two hands. You just slip your fist around the ergonomically comfortable controller, position your thumb atop the video-game-style joystick and bring the Shift to life. The sensor fusion technology precisely recognizes the drone’s 3D locations and speeds for responsive and dynamic, yet stable flight control.Pilots are even protected with an Emergency Stop function that kicks in once the craft gets out of range, putting the Shift into an automatic hovering mode until it re-connects with the controller.Users can toggle through eight different auto-pilot modes, which make it a lot easier to shoot high definition video or conduct clear and stable real-time streaming video feeds. The Shift’s internal tracking technology keeps the camera focused on your subject as it recognizes movement with gimbal features to smooth out blur when pivoting or tilting. Read the rest

If you’re like many Americans, you’ve probably learned a little something about yourself during our new quarantine lifestyle. One takeaway from our decidedly unusual times probably won’t come as a huge shock...but it turns out that despite all the problems and hassles of our new normal, thousands of people really enjoy the freedom of working from home.That’s fine if you’re got an employer who’s good with it, but if you’re unemployed or looking for a career change at the moment, you might find working from home still isn’t simple. For the most part, finding great remote flexible jobs can be tough and takes a lot of time that you should be working.To alleviate that headache, FlexJobs is an employment service that works to boil down all the best freelance and remote job opportunities out there down to the ones that work best for you. Founded in 2007, FlexJobs has access to more than 30,000 remote, freelance, part-time, and flexible jobs in over 50 career categories, each hand-screened and vetted by FlexJobs’ trained researchers. When a job is added to the site, it’s also accompanied by staff-written job summaries, company descriptions, and other useful information about the business itself. Unlike those shady businesses that require an investment before you get paid or are only trying to find direct sales affiliates, FlexJobs has the 411 on over 40,000 legitimate organizations who hire for remote, freelance, part-time, and flexible schedule positions without the fear of getting scammed.Being a FlexJobs member has other privileges as well, including access to job search checklists, award-winning career content, 1-on-1 career coaching, resumé reviews, expert skills tests, video introductions, and more. Read the rest

Too much happens in a week. Our lives all move so fast that it’s basically impossible to stay on top of everything that crosses our paths over a seven-day period. That’s why we want to give you a do-over. We’ve gathered together 40 killer items, including many at discounts of almost $170, and we’re giving you another shot to pick them up. From your car to your tech to your kitchen to you, there are a bunch of life hacks here to help get your fast-approaching summer started in the right direction.Look goodYou can get the quarantine look under control with The Cut Buddy Beard-Shaping and Hair-Trimming Guide ($11.99; originally $14.99), a Shark Tank winning tool that helps you perfectly trim and shape your hairlines. The Barb 'Xpert by Franck Provost Beard and Moustache Tool ($10.99; originally $15) is a highly sharpened soft-touch pair of mustache scissors that let you easily even out the hair of your mustache and beard, while The Barb 'Xpert by Franck Provost Beard Grooming Shampoo ($14.99; originally $29) is specially developed with a non-greasy feel to cleanse and revitalize all beard types.But if you need to attack on all fronts, this 4-in-1 Men's Electric Razor ($39.99; originally $99.99) can do it all, packing advanced 4D floating technology so the precision blades adapt to the contours of your face, neck, and jawline.Feel goodIf you had a rough night drinking, the DHM Detox Herbal Supplement ($22.99 for a 10-pack; originally $33.99) is a formula of herbal extracts and natural ingredients that helps break up the “hangover feeling” by reducing the negative after-effects, including nausea, brain fog, and headaches. Read the rest

In Search of Tomorrow is slated to be a four-hour-long love letter to the sci-fi films of the 1980s. It is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter and has raised almost $470,000 dollars to date, with 32 hours left to go. It is being produced by the same folks who crowdfunded and produced the documentary on 80s horror films, In Search of Darkness.In Search of Tomorrow will take viewers on a year-by-year deep dive into the many awe-inspiring worlds of ‘80s Sci-Fi movies, breaking down the most iconic and eccentric films you know and love (and many you may have forgotten or missed), and examining the science, technology, and artistry behind the fiction.The completed feature will be more than four hours long and feature insights and anecdotes from an extensive collection of experts and iconic talent, including filmmakers, actors, special-effects and visual effects masters, tech advisors, authors, influencers, and visionaries. Not only will they tell their own stories, but they will share opinions about their own favorite Sci-Fi movies.Learn more of their Kickstarter page.Image: Promotional poster Read the rest

Blogger Dave Strickson has been keeping an up-to-date list of all of the BBC 1 Peel Sessions that are currently available online. There is nearly a thousand sessions of music to date. Some of the artists include David Bowie and The Spiders from Mars, Roxy Music, Joy Division, New Order, The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Smiths, The Fall, Echo & The Bunnymen, Nirvana, Hole, Jack White, Elvis Costello, Cocteau Twins, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, The Wedding Present, The Raincoats, Nick Drake, T-Rex, Buzzcocks, Can, Billy Bragg, Fairport Convention, Pulp, The Breeders, The Fugees, The Kinks, The Specials, The Slits, and Thin Lizzy.[Via Brooklyn Vegan]Image: YouTube Read the rest

The EDC ethos has been around for...well, forever. But it’s entirely possible that you’ve never heard the term EDC before. Of course, the idea that some items are part of your Every Day Carry assortment isn’t new, but in recent years, the thought of each person assembling their own unique version of Batman’s utility belt has taken on new meaning.It’s not enough to just have your keys, an old pocket knife and a few loose slips of paper down at the bottom of your pocket anymore. We’ve each got a bunch of items we’ve got to tote around each day -- so our EDC stuff has to be compact, important, and rugged enough to survive the knock-around world we all find ourselves in.That’s the philosophy behind the Anywhere Tools Everyday Carry Bundle, a 12-in-1 collection of portable, streamlined, and highly functional hand tools that we may not necessarily need every day -- but the day you DO need them, you’ll be really glad they’re there.Anywhere Tools are created by Keyport, a company dedicated to fashioning customizable, modular tech and tool items that all fit within the Anywhere Pocket Clip. Like a Swiss Army knife, the Keyport system is all about solving as many common daily problems as a tightly-packed EDC can solve.Crafted from steel, anodized aluminum and polycarbonate, the modules include a traditional pocket knife; a multi-function tool that serves as a bottle opener, a flathead and Phillips head screwdriver, a cord cutter, or a box opener; a pocket flare featuring a 27-lumen flashlight with a bright front beam and one-of-a-kind lamp mode; and Anywhere Pocket Clips that can hold cash or keep your items secured. Read the rest

AI can't flow, but Biggie somehow has it from beyond the grave. Join the subreddit associated with this channel at https://reddit.com/r/VocalSynthesisThe voice in this video was entirely computer-generated using a text-to-speech model trained on the speech patterns of The Notorious B.I.G. Read the rest

Andrew Cotter, who has found lockdown fame narrating the mundane adventures of his two dogs Olive and Mabel as if they were golfers at the apex of a tense match, went for a walk."No point in shaking yet, you're still in the water." Read the rest

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs said Friday that it will not stop use of hydroxychloroquine, an unproven malaria drug pushed by Trump, on veterans with COVID-19.“VA has not endorsed nor discouraged the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients and has left those decisions to providers and their patients,” the VA told The Associated Press:As of Friday, 11,883 veterans are confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus and 985 have died of COVID-19, according to VA statistics.From The Associated Press:In responses provided to Congress and obtained by The Associated Press, the VA said it never “encouraged or discouraged” its government-run hospitals to use hydroxychloroquine on patients even as President Donald Trump heavily promoted the drug for months without scientific evidence of its effectiveness.Still, it acknowledged that VA Secretary Robert Wilkie had wrongly asserted publicly without evidence that the drug had been shown to benefit younger veterans. The VA, the nation’s largest hospital system, also agreed more study was needed on the drug and suggested its use was now limited to extenuating circumstances, such as last-ditch efforts to save a coronavirus patient’s life.In the first week of May, 17 patients had received the drug for COVID-19, according to VA data obtained by the AP. The department declined to say how many patients had been treated with hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus since January, but a recent analysis of VA hospital data showed that hundreds of veterans had taken it by early April.“VA has not endorsed nor discouraged the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients and has left those decisions to providers and their patients,” the VA said. Read the rest

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that federal and state regulators in the U.S. are preparing to file antitrust lawsuits against Google, saying the company abused its dominance of online search and advertising to crush competition and maximize profit.Both the federal and state investigations are said to be focused on Google’s ad business.The WSJ report cites unidentified people familiar with the probes in a story about the upcoming offensive by the U.S. Justice Department and the attorneys general in several states.From the Associated Press (not paywalled):The Justice Department may file its case as early as this summer while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton may take action in the fall, along with his peers in other states, according to the Journal.U.S. Attorney General William Barr has previously said he hoped to decide whether to pursue an antitrust case against Google by the summer. Texas and other states announced they were looking into Google’s business practices last September.Google acknowledged it has ongoing discussions with the Justice Department and Paxton without elaborating on the nature of the talks. “Our focus is firmly on providing services that help consumers, support thousands of businesses, and enable increased choice and competition,” the company said in a statement.READ MORE: Justice Department, State Attorneys General Likely to Bring Antitrust Lawsuits Against Google [WSJ]Report: Google facing onslaught of antitrust cases in US Read the rest

Tom Nook himself made a special announcement on Twitter Friday. The real-life musicians who play the in-game theme music for Animal Crossings: New Horizons had come together for a virtual performance of it!Best comment: "What do you mean 'The musicians behind the main theme', where is that dog with the guitar?"My reaction to the concert?[Announcement]The musicians behind the main theme of #AnimalCrossing: New Horizons have come together virtually for this special performance! We hope you enjoy it! #ACNH pic.twitter.com/QP8nLbyD1U— Tom Nook (@animalcrossing) May 15, 2020screengrab via Nintendo/YouTube Read the rest

Want to try an interesting little science experiment at home? This looks fun.Alka Seltzer, oil and water in a glass become a lava lamp of sorts.Alka Seltzer, oil and waterLooks like some food coloring may have been involved, too. Read the rest

He's using big boy words today, isn't he.Impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. President Donald Trump is being mocked around the world today for boasting about America's new ‘super duper missile.’Does it go, 'PEW PEW'?Donald Trump bragged about the new "super duper" missile which he says will be 17 times faster than current capabilities.At a Space Force event the President said the US is working on “super duper missiles.”The Pentagon directed questions for clarification to the WH, and Press Sec referred to the President’s comments and back to DOD. A Pentagon spox finally provides an answer? https://t.co/iqb6rb7udD— Sara Cook (@saraecook) May 15, 2020“I call it the super duper missile.”An actual quote by the sitting president of the United States. pic.twitter.com/LqoC589W9k— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) May 15, 2020President Trump teased what he called a new weapon that could attack at such a high speed it would overwhelm an enemy's defenses. "I call it the Super Duper Missile," he said. It wasn't immediately clear what missile the president was describing. https://t.co/zc7qKM8Fta— NPR (@NPR) May 15, 2020 Read the rest

• “Miss Piggy,” “Kermit The Frog,” and all your favorite Muppets will be there.The beloved humans behind The Muppets are gathering for a special live internet broadcast today to honor the late Jim Henson, who died 30 years ago today.TUNE IN, FREE!TODAY, May 16, Saturday, 4pm ET.muppetguystalkiing.com/JimFrank Oz tells Boing Boing:We’ll be answering questions about Jim and his work because that day is the 30th anniversary of Jim'spassing and we just want to talk about him.THE INFO: May 16, Saturday, 4pm ET. It will be live-streamed and free. It’s also going to be a fundraiser for those non-medical hospital workers battling Covid 19. You gotta be there.May 16, Saturday is the 30th anniversary of Jim Henson’s passing. We can’t let this day go by without remembering him. At 4 pm ET the Muppet Guys will be talking about Jim and his work . Go to https://t.co/NOH0VE8aQI. It’ll be live-stream. I think it’ll be worth your time.— Frank Oz (@TheFrankOzJam) May 16, 2020IMAGES courtesy The Jim Henson Company and Disney Read the rest

• In the future, everything will be eaten by Mark ZuckerbergFacebook is acquiring Giphy in a deal valued at roughly $400 million. The GIF-sharing service was valued at ~$600 million in its latest funding round.Giphy will keep its branding and will be integrated with Instagram.Facebook made it official on the Facebook blog.A lot of people in our community already know and love GIPHY. In fact, 50% of GIPHY’s traffic comes from the Facebook family of apps, half of that from Instagram alone. By bringing Instagram and GIPHY together, we can make it easier for people to find the perfect GIFs and stickers in Stories and Direct. Both our services are big supporters of the creator and artist community, and that will continue. Together, we can make it easier for anyone to create and share their work with the world.We’ve used GIPHY’s API for years, not just in Instagram, but in the Facebook app, Messenger and WhatsApp. GIPHY will continue to operate its library (including its global content collection), and we’re looking forward to investing further in its technology and relationships with content and API partners. People will still be able to upload GIFs; developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to GIPHY’s APIs; and GIPHY’s creative community will still be able to create great content.We’re so excited to share some news – GIPHY has been acquired by @Facebook and is joining the @Instagram team! ?Read more here: https://t.co/U6AYQ16cEQ pic.twitter.com/ATjEY1VK3K Read the rest

A criminal hacker group that breached a major entertainment law firm says it will release documents on President Donald Trump if it doesn’t receive $42 million in ransom.The hackers are identified as a known criminal gang. They did not offer proof that they have damaging information about Trump. But they released a large set of stolen files from the law firm, Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks, which are reported to be legitimate by NBC News.The law firm said that Trump is not a client and has never been. A spokesperson for the firm said it wasn't clear which of its clients have been compromised.The group uses ransomware — a type of malicious software — to break into a victim’s networks and encrypt them, demanding a fee to unlock them. If the victim doesn’t pay up, the group slowly leaks out unencrypted versions of files stolen from those networks to prompt payment.The criminal group posted on its blog a threat to publish files related to Trump.“The next person we'll be publishing is Donald Trump. There's an election race going on, and we found a ton of dirty laundry on time,” the group wrote, giving a one-week deadline. “And to you voters, we can let you know that after such a publication, you certainly don't want to see him as president.”Read More:Criminal group that hacked law firm threatens to release Trump documents[NBC News] Read the rest

Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.IMGURian @steenerbeener has been observing this sweet little robin wiggling on her birdie babies in the nest:Our Robin stayed on her nest for most of the day today. She only darts off to get a bite to eat. I think that must mean she has eggs in there, but we can’t see them with this camera angle. She checked on the eggs a couple of times. Lots of that cute wiggling too!Love to see the wiggles.More of those wiggles Read the rest