Boing Boing

The Flu (2013) is available as an Amazon Prime streaming movie.From the YouTube description:The Flu is the first ever South Korean disaster film about a viral pandemic. It has been garnering much attention after being voted first place in "Most Anticipated Film" survey conducted by Nate for August with a whopping 47%. The highly anticipated disaster film tells the story of panic, despair, and desperate struggle for survival of a hopeless city that has been quarantined and essentially left for dead after the outbreak of a deadly virus. With its realistic portrayal of the horror and chaos that follows a national scale disaster, "The Flu" may just be the film that will make history in the South Korean disaster film genre. Read the rest

In Oregon, the Newport Police Department posted a message on Facebook (pasted below) urging citizens not to dial 911 when they run out of toilet paper. The reason they posted this is because, yes, people have been they expect stupid people will be calling 911 after running out of toilet paper. (Here's their update that spurred the correction.) image: GorillaSushi (CC BY-SA 2.0) Read the rest

As a parent, you likely start feeling a little guilty whenever you let your kid play video games for too long. Gaming is fun and most kids get completely enraptured, but you inevitably start thinking about all the more enriching and educational ways they could fill those hours spent rampaging through digital worlds and blasting enemies.So how about a compromise? You’ll let them dig deep into cool games on a fun gaming console...but they have to build the whole thing first. And we don’t just mean plugging in controllers and making sure the AC cable is working.The MAKERbuino Educational DIY Game Console is the perfect project for getting game-obsessed kids actually delving deeper into electronics and thinking about exactly how their games actually work. In fact, you may never find a more kid-friendly introduction to a STEM career than giving them the freedom to literally build their own gaming system.Based on Arduino UNO electronics boards, this kit includes all the components and detailed instructions to help inquisitive youngsters or even curious oldsters assemble their very own working handheld gaming device with more than 30 preloaded games.It does require some basic soldering and at least five hours to put together, so it’s best for kids who are tweens or older, but no kid will feel more rewarded than after they’ve actually constructed a gaming device all on their own.Compatible with Arduino expansion modules and programmed in open-source Arduino IDE, the most popular programming environment for makers, the MAKERbuino is ultra-customizable. Read the rest

The folks in Trump's loyalty cult were crowing with I-told-you-so glee when the stock market experienced a relatively puny uptick on Friday. Trump even added his signature to a misleadingly cropped chart of the short-lived rally and sent it to his most embarrassingly spittle-licking sycophants, like Fox News' Lou Dobbs, who could barely contain his excitement over the temporary blip. At the end of Monday's trading day, the Dow had dropped nearly 3,000 points, making Trump's autographed rally look like statistical noise. Read the rest

Get ready to sing. With thousands of other people. Alone at home. That's the idea behind the upcoming Choir! Choir! Choir! Facebook Live event, "Choir!ntine: EPIC Social Distan-Sing-Along!"The experts have spoken and we’re seriously taking their advice that sticking close to home, and limiting exposure to other people will help reduce the spread of the corona virus. At the same time, it’s been sad to have to postpone gigs in Toronto and around the world. But just because we're now in a time of “social distancing”, doesn’t mean we can’t hang out, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do this Tuesday!Presenting: "Choir!ntine" - An EPIC Social Distan-Sing-Along!Starting at 8pm EST, DaBu will broadcast from their living room and everyone is invited to log on and sing with us. And just like our shows, we’ll hang out, share some laughs and hold our C!ommunity close. Whether you've ever come out to Choir! or not, you are invited to join us online.Want to be part of it?First, download the lyrics. You'll be belting out familiar songs like "Lean on Me," Bowie's "Space Oddity." and the Golden Girls' theme, "You've Got a Friend."Second, head to the Choir! Choir! Choir! Facebook page on Tuesday, March 17 (8 p.m. Eastern/5 p.m. Pacific).Third, SING YOUR LITTLE HEART OUT. (Again, home alone.)This Tuesday from 8-9:30pm EST, you are invited to CHOIR!NTINE: AN EPIC SOCIAL DISTANCING SING-A-LONGWhere: https://t.co/m9cfdli0grDownload lyrics here: https://t.co/yRMl7IzXdXThen join our Livestream Tuesday at 8pm! Read the rest

Don't get me wrong — it's fun to be in the audience during a big, zany wrestling match, cheering on the drama both despite and to embrace the kayfabe. But this gloriously bizarre performance art satisfies a very different part of my brain. Read the rest

My favorite thing about joke D&D alignment charts is that I am always, always Chaotic Good. I just can't avoid my nature, and everybody knows it. View this post on Instagram some friendly dos/dontsA post shared by Aiden :) (@aidenarata) on Mar 15, 2020 at 8:53pm PDTLawful Good: washing your hands, social distancing, and forwarding your mom's pandemic advice emails to your friendsNeutral Good: taking loong moody walks by yourself at weird hours of the dayChaotic Good: having a facetime tinder hookup and venmoing your service industry friends what you would have spent at the barLawful Neutral: writing a series of poems/personal essays on what "distance" means to youTrue Neutral: putting aside your manuscript to watch all 543 episodes of choppedChaotic Neutral: adopting a lizardLawful Evil: hoarding hand sanitizer and toilet paperNeutral Evil: exacerbating panic and yelling at people on the internetChaotic Evil: having the privilege and resources to be able to self-isolate and choosing not to because this is America and you feel finevia Aiden Arata on InstagramTop image via Wikimedia Commons / CC 4.0 Read the rest

"Vegas Dave" Oancea is a bit of a celebrity bookie for sports betting; or at least, that's how he's been described by my friends who care about such things. But with so many leagues canceling or postponing games in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis — and in the wake of his own recent legal problems — Vegas Dave is particularly desperate to keep the cash flowing.And that's why he's now offering serious bets on things like curling. Badminton. Cricket? Checkers. Even UNO! (Yes, really) If you're lucky, there could be some bets on spelling bees and hula-hooping, too.$499 CURLING WHALE PLAY OF THE DAY!! ALSO FLIP 100S INTO THOUSANDS ON THE $99 BADMINTON AND CRICKET PACKAGES!!!.CLICK THE LINK IN MY BIO ABOVE 👆AND CASH OUT!!! LETS FUCKING GO!!!! pic.twitter.com/EOC4mxxdeF— Dave Oancea (@itsvegasdave) March 13, 2020Let’s f–king go. Forget about March Madness, forget about the NBA, forget about baseball being delayed for a couple of weeks. I’ve got the curling whale play of the day. I’ve been studying curling all fucking day. Also the $99 badminton package, $99 cricket package.HOW THE FUCK DO I DO IT🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/Reps34R3MX— Dave Oancea (@itsvegasdave) March 13, 2020How the fuck do I do it? Curling whale winner. Badminton package cashes three parlays and the fucking cricket package? Perfect 3-0 clean sweep. Tomorrow, we got archery, checkers, and an UNO tournament. We’re also trying to get into the spelling bee contest, the over/under of every other sport in the world that’s still going on. Read the rest

With many people playing their part to flatten the COVID-19 case curve by staying home, Korg and Moog are doing their part to keep them occupied by giving away free versions of their synthesizer apps.For a limited time Moog’s Minimoog Model D iOS app and Korg’s iKaossilator app for iOS and Android are free to download. I got them both and they are a lot of fun.Image: YouTube Read the rest

The BBC reports that a stag beetle threw his girlfriend from the top of a 25-meter tree. He is alleged to have assaulted number of other a male stag beetles earlier in the day before throwing his partner out of the tree. It's not clear whether or not the female survived the fall. Read the rest

Please enjoy the underground classic "Rabbit Habit" by Steve Peck, who writes:This is an animated cartoon I produced myself in 1975 to show what Bugs, Daffy and Elmer would be doing in Central Park 12 years after WB stopped making Looney Tunes.....I showed it to Tex Avery in 1975 when he was 80 and he loved it and said "I wish I had a job to give you." Showed it to Chuck Jones. He was very conservative and did not like what I had done to his characters and did not offer me a job. (via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

U.S. health officials confirmed on Monday the first human trial testing a potential vaccine to prevent COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.Read about the coronavirus vaccine clinical trial at the NIH website.The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, has been fast-tracking work with biotech company Moderna to develop a vaccine using the current strain of the new coronavirus, reports CNBC: The trial is taking place at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, where COVID-19 cases have surged and authorities have banned mass gatherings. The early-stage, or phase 1, trial will test the vaccine on 45 males and non-pregnant females between the ages of 18 and 55, according to trial details on NIH’s website. As I understand it, this first phase is about determining whether the drug causes harm to humans. Testing the safety of any new drug comes first.Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, last week said that even in the best case scenario, a vaccine isn't likely for at least 12 to 18 months.More from CNBC:He said the potential vaccine by Moderna contains genetic material called messenger RNA, or mRNA, that was produced in a lab. The mRNA is a genetic code that tells cells how to make a protein and was found in the outer coat of the new coronavirus, according to researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute. Read the rest

Major U.S. passenger and cargo airlines say they need more than $50 billion in federal bailout money as the coronavirus pandemic closes businesses and dramatically slows down air travel. A lobbying group that represents 10 U.S. passenger and cargo airlines said Monday that in a worst-case scenario, the airlines will “run out of money completely sometime between June 30 and the end of the year.” More from CNBC:The aid, if received, would be the industry’s first broad bailout since the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. It is also the clearest sign yet of the financial damage coronavirus and the draconian measures governments are taking to stop it are having on American businesses.Airlines for America, which represents carriers including Delta, United, American, and Southwest, recommended passenger carriers immediately receive up to $25 billion in grants to compensate for reduced liquidity and in the medium-term $25 billion in low- or zero-interest loans.More:US airlines seek more than $50 billion in government assistance as coronavirus roils business Read the rest

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena today reports new evidence of accelerating glacier melt in Antarctica. “Observations from 11 satellite missions monitoring the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have revealed that the regions are losing ice six times faster than they were in the 1990s,” reads the NASA JPL announcement. “If the current melting trend continues, the regions will be on track to match the "worst-case" scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of an extra 6.7 inches (17 centimeters) of sea level rise by 2100.” The two regions have lost 6.4 trillion tons of ice in three decades; unabated, this rate of melting could cause flooding that affects hundreds of millions of people by 2100. More from the news announcement:The findings, published online March 12 in the journal Nature from an international team of 89 polar scientists from 50 organizations, are the most comprehensive assessment to date of the changing ice sheets. The Ice Sheet Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise team combined 26 surveys to calculate changes in the mass of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets between 1992 and 2018.The assessment was supported by NASA and the European Space Agency. The surveys used measurements from satellites including NASA's Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite and the joint NASA-German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. Andrew Shepherd at the University of Leeds in England and Erik Ivins at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California led the study.The team calculated that the two ice sheets together lost 81 billion tons per year in the 1990s, compared with 475 billion tons of ice per year in the 2010's - a sixfold increase. Read the rest

The complete abandonment of any leadership whatsoever. That's what we are witnessing in Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic that is now killing Americans at an exponentially increasing rate.“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Donald Trump told state governors on an emergency pandemic conference call.Yes. He said that.From the NYT's live coverage:President Trump told a group of governors Monday morning that they should not wait for the federal government to fill the growing demand for respirators needed to help people diagnosed with coronavirus.“Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves,” Mr. Trump told the governors during the conference call, a recording of which was shared with The New York Times.“We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself.”The suggestion surprised some of the governors, who have been scrambling to contain the outbreak and are increasingly looking to the federal government for help with equipment, personnel and financial aid.Mr. Trump used much of the call to repeat the same upbeat rhetoric he has offered in public, assuring the governors: “We’re going to get it remedied and hopefully very quickly.” I mean, wow.Wow. Read the rest

“We have a simple message for all countries: Test, test, test. Test every suspected case.”“You cannot fight a fire blindfolded, and we cannot stop this pandemic if we don't know who is infected,” The World Health Organization's Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a coronavirus briefing on Monday, as the pandemic continues to shut down cities around the world. Here is the full briefing at the W.H.O's website."We have seen a rapid escalation in social distancing measures, like closing schools and cancelling events and other gatherings,” said Tedros, “But we haven't seen enough escalation in testing, isolation, and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the COVID-19 response.”“The most effective way to prevent infections & save lives is breaking the chains of COVID-19 transmission. To do that, you must test and isolate.”FULL TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS.WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19 - 16 March 2020 16 March 2020Good afternoon everyone.In the past week, we have seen a rapid escalation of cases of COVID-19.More cases and deaths have now been reported in the rest of the world than in China.We have also seen a rapid escalation in social distancing measures, like closing schools and cancelling sporting events and other gatherings.But we have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing – which is the backbone of the response.Social distancing measures can help to reduce transmission and enable health systems to cope.Handwashing and coughing into your elbow can reduce the risk for yourself and others. Read the rest

In 1960 during the early days of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson, who died last month, wrote an article titled "Search for Artificial Stellar Sources of Infrared Radiation" for the journal Science. He posited that "if extraterrestrial intelligent beings exist and have reached a high level of technical development, one by-product of their energy metabolism is likely to be the large-scale conversion of starlight into far-infrared radiation." One way to achieve that, he suggested, was by building an "artificial biosphere surrounding one star." And with that seed, the science fiction (science fact?) idea of an alien megastructure has grown, even making its way onto an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. From Elizabeth Howell's article in Space.com:One of Dyson's daughters sent the physicist a videotape of a 1987 episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" called "Relics," Dyson said. The plot follows a distress call heard by the famous USS Enterprise starship; fans of the series may recall this as a crossover episode with "Star Trek: The Original Series" star Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (played by James Doohan).The crew warps in space to the source of the call and discovers an immense Dyson sphere — which is indeed portrayed as a solid spherical object — surrounding a star. If we were to place this sphere in our own solar system, it would be so large that it would extend almost as far as the orbit of Venus, according to "Star Trek" fan site Memory Alpha. Read the rest

Telepathy. ESP. The ability to communicate thoughts, feelings, or experiences without using our known sensory channels is a timeless superpower. Soon, advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, and computer science will make some kinds of synthetic telepathy possible. Meanwhile though, methods to treat brain disorders through magnetic stimulation of brain circuits could enable crude (or eventually not-so-crude) mind control. National Institutes of Health neuroscientist R. Douglas Fields -- author of Electric Brain: How the New Science of Brainwaves Reads Minds, Tells Us How We Learn, and Helps Us Change for the Better -- wrote a brief essay for Scientific American surveying the present, past, and possible future of this strange field. From Scientific American:Neuroscientist Marcel Just and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University are using fMRI brain imaging to decipher what a person is thinking. By using machine learning to analyze complex patterns of activity in a person’s brain when they think of a specific number or object, read a sentence, experience a particular emotion or learn a new type of information, the researchers can read minds and know the person’s specific thoughts and emotions. “Nothing is more private than a thought,” Just says, but that privacy is no longer sacrosanct.......The prospect of “mind control” frightens many, and brain stimulation to modify behavior and treat mental illness has a sordid history. In the 1970s neuropsychologist Robert Heath at Tulane University inserted electrodes into a homosexual man’s brain to “cure” him of his homosexual nature by stimulating his brain’s pleasure center. Read the rest

French conglomerate LVMH -- owner of Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, and Christian Dior, and other luxury brands -- is converting its perfume production lines to crank out hand sanitizer. And no, they won't be selling high ticket hand sanitizer bottles in their boutiques. "These gels will be delivered free of charge to the health authorities," the company announced. "LVMH will continue to honour this commitment for as long as necessary, in connection with the French health authorities."(BBC)image: Louis Vuitton 200ML Travel Case Read the rest

In this charming video, a hoss enjoys dipping its head beneath the surface of a pond and blowing bubbles like a kid with a milkshake.If you would like to enjoy another clip like this, turn to page G5P_oZFjrb. If you would like this clip ruined for you, turn to page lHytjEj7B9g. Read the rest

In 2014, reddit user u/damburglar posted this abandoned recreation of Edward Hopper's 1942 painting Nighthawks. That it's a plainly-rendered 3D model seems to make it even creepier. [via]Here's one from Maxim Leyzerovich:pic.twitter.com/y2Rd8H6Mxx— Maxim Leyzerovich (@round) March 16, 2020 Read the rest

Thousands of runners participated in a half-marathon in Bath, England this weekend despite warnings from public health experts that it could expose runners to the novel coronavirus. Organizers of the event, which usually attracts crowds of more than 10,000, refused to cancel it despite hundreds of cases in the U.K. and a growing tally of the dead.Bath's MP Wera Hobhouse was among thousands condemning the decision to go ahead.She called for the event to be cancelled saying protecting "the most vulnerable in our city from a further spread of the infection must be the priority". On the Bath half marathon's Facebook page some 1,800 people left comments, with a large number against the decision to go ahead. The newspapers over in the UK are presenting the pandemic as if it were The Blitz, an opportunity to show Wartime Spirit and to enact War Measures and indulge the immortal British boomer fantasy that life there was never better than when the Germans were making the rubble bounce.So we end up with 10,000 people in a slow-moving crowd spending hours grinding their bodies to gasping exhaustion during a viral pandemic, all to show 2019-nCoV What For. Read the rest

Artist and entrepreneurial prankster Danielle Baskin is at it again. This time, Danielle has created a line of cling-on faux stained glass windows that you can slap up on any commercial plane window for inflight prayer and reflection. "Now, isn't that special?," sayeth the Church Lady.She writes on Facebook:Made faux stained glass for plane windows so you can pray during your domestic flights.This is a flexible film that clings to glass. There’s no adhesive, so you can easily take this on and off your window to improve your in-flight prayer experience.It also protects against any germs that might be on windows! It's infinitely washable with soap and water or can be sprayed with disinfectant.Rolls up easily for travel.The windows are available in five sizes (to fit your aircraft of choice) at her Magic Store .See more coverage of Danielle's work on Boing Boing.Images used with permission of the artist Read the rest

Multi-talented musician, artist, and graphic designer, John Bergin, has just released a new Blackmouth recording. Blackmouth is John, his long-time collaborator, Brett Smith, and Jarboe (formerly of Swans). The trio's first album was released in 1999. The current record is a deluxe edition featuring 26 tracks and includes the 1999 recording. Here is the first video from the album.Previous coverage of John Bergin on Boing Boing:John Bergin goes pop-art post-apocalypse in new Wednesday comicMoving Paintings From InsideImage: YouTube Read the rest

I ended up supporting a particular marble, emotionally investing in its success, then being sickeningly disappointed upon its inevitable defeat, by a different marble. They call this "Marbula One" racing, with a marble rally series to go with it. Read the rest

The New York Times has an excellent, harrowing story about Matt and Noah Colvin of Tennessee — two of the many people who have tried to exploit the coronavirus panic for profit. The Colvin Brothers saw the chaos coming, and thought to buy up all of the hand sanitizer they could find. The plan, of course, was to control the supply in anticipation of a growing demand. This way, they could mark the price up and make a hefty profit margin. It's in the nature of our system: greed is smart, and should be rewarded.But online retailers like Amazon (not usually known as the arbiter of a moral marketplace) and eBay got wind of these price-gouging strategies, and decided to do something about it:The next day, Amazon pulled his items and thousands of other listings for sanitizer, wipes and face masks. The company suspended some of the sellers behind the listings and warned many others that if they kept running up prices, they’d lose their accounts. EBay soon followed with even stricter measures, prohibiting any U.S. sales of masks or sanitizer.Now, while millions of people across the country search in vain for hand sanitizer to protect themselves from the spread of the coronavirus, Mr. Colvin is sitting on 17,700 bottles of the stuff with little idea where to sell them.In other words: they punished people for manipulating supply-and-demand in a time of great need, Amazon and eBay by cutting off the suppliers, so they can't sell the supplies they have, which in turn makes the demand grow. Read the rest

But will it make breakfast? The fun starts at the 1:47 mark.(Pee-wee Herman, Geekologie)screenshot via YouTube Read the rest

"It's no worse than the flu!" yells an angry man at a TV news crew in a parking lot. "I don't even blame the chinese!"Facts as they stand: the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has a mortality rate at least 8 times that of flu (South Korea, the lowest at 0.77%) and much higher elsewhere (China, 3.6%), with the curve heavily weighted to seniors and people with underlying health conditions. For example, flu mortality for the elderly is about 1.5%, but COVID-019 mortality for the elderly is in excess of 14%. Coronavirus (COVID-19) is unequivocally worse than flu. Read the rest

Over at Slate, Dan Kois offers an incisive look at the status quo frustrations that have long affected daily American life — and how they're now disappearing, because we're in a crisis. To some people, this will of course conform to their aspirational perspective of the country: that the American system has always been great and good, and the fact that people (and corporations) do good deeds in times of crisis is proof that free market capitalism is perfect and thus good.But what if we always offered paid sick leave to hourly employees? What if the Internet wasn't throttled by providers eager to make another quick buck? What if we never had to deal with the arbitrary airline limits on liquids, just to reinforce the TSA security theatre performance?What if kindness and empathy were the rule, and not the exception?Up until now activists and customers have been meant to believe that the powers that be could never change these policies—it would be too expensive, or too unwieldy, or would simply upset the way things are done. But now, faced suddenly with an environment in which we’re all supposed to at least appear to be focused on the common good, the rule-makers have decided it’s OK to suspend them. It’s a crisis, after all. Everyone’s got to do their part.[…]But it’s also worth asking if we are willing to allow governments and corporations to return to business as usual. When everything’s back to normal, will we accept cities cutting off their poorest residents’ water, or evicting the sick, or throwing someone in jail because they can’t afford to pay a fine? Read the rest

Let's go ahead and assume you never thought you'd own a lamp that can chill a bottle of Albariño. And if that lamp that's also a cooler were also a Bluetooth speaker, it's even less likely the idea crossed your mind, but here we are. The Dutch company Kooduu designed a multifunction accent piece that looks great in any indoor—or outdoor—space and gives your gathering a level of chic ambiance you didn't know was missing.Functioning as an LED lamp with warm yellow illumination, a 10-watt wireless speaker with 180-foot Bluetooth range, and a wine cooler and/or plant stand, the Synergy Pro comes in three sizes (small and medium both hold 1 bottle of wine; large holds 2) and can be mixed or matched however you please to create a focal piece in your room or offer surround sound for your playlist.Yup, you can DIY a whole unexpected sound system in your living room, on your patio, or in your screen house: Through the built-in antenna, each lamp can be coupled to other Kooduu products. The genuine leather handle makes it easy to move around, and the rechargeable battery boasts up to 8 hours of playtime to keep the party going all evening or ensure your sleep cast runs through the night. It can help you chill things out or pump things up, and look like artwork while doing so.Normally starting at $159.99 for the small size, the Kooduu: 3-in-1 Designer Lamp, Speaker & Cooler is available for 10% off when you use the coupon KOODUU10, lowering the final starting price to $143.99. Read the rest

Learning to code can be intimidating. It always takes some time and attention to develop any new skill, but for one with as many approaches as programming, it can be particularly nerve-wracking, especially when you’ve never dipped into those murky waters before.Even if you fall into that absolute beginner category, the package of training in The 2020 Comprehensive Programming Collection offers up some solid primers on the basic languages, tools, and methods for building websites, creating apps and basically becoming a one-person digital content machine.Ask a hiring manager the no. 1 skill they want to see on the resume of an IT job applicant and it’s knowledge of JavaScript. So this collection of nine courses starts with The Complete Beginner's JavaScript Course, introducing you to the basics of this core programming language.While JavaScript serves as the backbone of web page building, it’s also instrumental in creating apps. It’s training that will serve you well in the four bundle courses centered around creating your own working apps. iOS App Development for Beginners and Intro to Java for Android Development will get you familiar with Android Studio and Swift, the two primary platforms for tailoring an app specifically to Android and iOS users.You’ll expand that foundation with Discover React for Web Applications as you use the React JavaScript library for building cool interactive user experiences; and Develop an AR App for the Retail Industry, where you actually build a working augmented reality app that will show you how virtual furniture will look in your very real-world settings. Read the rest

And just like that a star was born—Egg McMuffin Rat #subwaycreatures pic.twitter.com/vCeVirHRUK— Rick (@SubwayCreatures) March 13, 2020He's lovin' it. And I have to say, what's not to love. (That's a rhetorical question.) Read the rest

Out of toilet paper? Incapable of cleaning your butt without it? Got a well-stocked woodworking shop? Make your own from wood pulp! Quilted Northern's funny advert for "artisanal" toilet paper was satire in 2016, but now suggests a quality method for keeping your rear end America-clean during the coronapocalypse.In all seriousness, many of you can clean your butt with the water in the toilet using your hand, which you then wash separately and thoroughly with soap. Or you can do what I do: eat a pound of psyllium husks and graphite dust every morning and poop mysterious gray cylinders. They won't flush, to be sure, but work quite well as control rods in third-generation pressurized heavy water reactors. Hey, it's better than ending up in a no-candu situation. Read the rest

My BFF, Alberto Gaitán, posted this on Facebook.Not medical advice, just a first-person account.This, from a girl from Wuhan who took care of her mother without getting infected herself:https://m.weibo.cn/1260881931/4470252005665688February 10 02:56 from the iPhone editedYesterday morning, I went to the (Wuhan) Union Hospital West Campus for an examination (see the previous blog). CT showed that I did not get the new coronavirus.The attending doctor praised my protection work after knowing that I had taken care of my mother for five days, and ran back and forth in various hospitals in the city for more than ten days without being infected.So today I will tell you how I did it, and I hope to help people like me who have to take care of their sick families.I wore a jacket with a smooth surface. I don't know if it's better. I just think that a smooth surface is easier to take care of, and it's easier to wipe the surface with alcohol. But there is also an article that says it's better to wear down clothes? ? I don't really know.I wore a hoodie inside the jacket, a usual one with a hood. Every day when I go out, I tie my hair first, wrap it with a shower cap, then put on the hood of my sweatshirt, and fasten the girdle of the hood.I wore two masks, with an inner layer of n95 and an outer layer of ordinary medical masks. Read the rest

From The Brick Experiment Channel comes this test: "Let's see how Lego-compatible stainless steel axle deforms or breaks when high torque is applied. The test bench is made using only plastic Lego parts. Enjoy!"Spoiler: the steel piece barely holds form at 5 Newton metres of torque, gives slowly at 9, and twists like warm candy at 15. Read the rest

I wrote An Baile na mBan: a story of mothers, monsters, and war a few years ago for an anthology called Hidden Youth: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History. Originally published by Crossed Genres Publishing, the anthology focused on sci-fi/fantasy stories of adolescent protagonists from historically marginalized communities from before the 1920s. This story was loosely inspired by the tragic discovery of a mass grave at an Irish nunnery for single mothers, and thus involves pretty much all of the horrible things that might relate to that:Set during the Irish War of Independence, An Baile na mBan tells the story of 16-year-old Caoimhe, a Traveller girl who has been paying off her debts to the Catholic Church by working at the nunnery that took her in while she was with child—and by stealing their supplies and selling them on streets. When one of her black market customers takes an interest in Aisling, the young Protestant girl who recently arrived at the home, he offers Caoimhe a chance to reunite with her daughter in exchange for a favor. But the club-footed man isn't all that he seems, and neither are his plans for Aisling's child. Or his stake in the war that rages through the land.In case you aren't familiar with Travellers, they're a distinct ethnic group in Ireland, with their own language and culture that goes back hundreds of years. Unfortunately, they still deal with a lot of discrimination today, because the ladder of oppression is always ugly and complicated. Read the rest

The great thing about living your best life is that it means something different to each individual. So while you may not need new socks or a fishing camera, other people are clamoring for it. To prove the point, we’ve assembled 25 of the best deals we were able to scrounge up this week. Some you’ll probably love. Others, you’ll never need. But while we all don’t covet the same things, we can all share a deep appreciation for a damn good deal.The great outdoorsWith spring almost here, time to consider what you’ll need for getting out and enjoying a quick weekend road trip or just going out for the day and basking in the glory of the land.The STAG Ski, Bike & Base Unit Bundle ($494; originally $549) can cart all your equipment anywhere with a roof-positioned rack set for two 40-pound bikes and four snowboards or up to five pairs of skis.And even the youngest family members can get in some pedal time too with the Brilrider FLIGHT: World's Lightest Balance Bike ($83.95; originally $159), a tough, durable and insanely light two-wheeler that can get kids even as young as 18 months up and riding.With a minimalist look, a bunch of useful pockets and pouches and 100 percent weather-resistant, the VENQUE Explorer Bag ($169.99; originally $199) has enough room to stow just about everything as your A-1 travel companion. And if those adventures involve some angling, the GoFish Cam Wireless Underwater Fishing Camera ($239.99) Read the rest

Here’s a cool factoid about company branding and the importance of iconic imagery that you probably never considered. Brands that do a poor job of branding themselves to the public definitely pay the price. In fact, it’s a literal price...as in, salaries 10 percent higher than their better-branded competitors.Not only does the lack of clear, effective brand identity hurt you with customers, but even prospective employers also end up being dubious that you’re a company that has the goods. So if your branding efforts are at all shaky, you can shore those up right now with a Designs.ai premium plan subscription.As a Designs.ai user, you’ll have access to the full resources of their brand know-how as they craft a company logo for you that’s instantly identifiable and visually compelling. Enter some basic company information, offer a few of your preferences and Designs.ai swings into action, producing loads of potential logo ideas for you in a matter of seconds.From there, Designs.ai’s simple interface makes it easy to start weeding through your options, finding the one you like, then making any color or stylistic tweaks or outright changes to get it looking exactly the way you want.Once you’re locked down your decision, Designs.ai will export your logo into a full array of high resolution, fully scalable file formats so your new company image can be used in any medium, from print and digital to video and beyond. On top of that, a Designs.ai premium plan also entitles you to full mockups of how your new logo will look on a host of promotional merchandise, including everything from hats, jackets and the ever-popular t-shirts to pens, coffee mugs and more. Read the rest

It was 1993. I was working on my book Media Virus, and about to return home to LA from San Francisco, when Timothy Leary called to ask if I could make room for a “friend in need” who needed a ride. That friend turned out to be Genesis P-Orridge. I had known of Gen through his music and reputation alone, and was frankly a little afraid to meet him. If the “coyote” boys I knew in the Temple of Psychick Youth were modeling themselves after him, I could only imagine how fierce Gen might be. But when I pulled into the parking garage where we supposed to meet, and saw the diminutive Genesis P-Orridge standing there with his two gorgeous young daughters and all their suitcases, my perception of him changed entirely. And over the next eight hours, so did my perception of world. Gen had just been quasi-exiled from England after a video he had made for Channel 4 (in which he carried out a mock abortion and ate the fetus), went viral in the tabloids. While Gen was in Thailand, the authorities ransacked his place, seized his archives, and made it clear he was no longer welcome in the UK. So he flew to California instead, essentially homeless, and was feeling pretty out of sorts as we drove. As his two daughters fought in the back, he told me, “If only people realized I was also a regular dad with two kids fighting in the back seat.” The rest may as well have been straight from the tweets of QAnon. Read the rest

White House physician says after an “in-depth discussion” Trump took some form of coronavirus testing, and he’s negative.Impeached U.S. President and noted pathological liar Donald John Trump, after coming into close contact with coronavirus last weekend, has tested negative for the contagion that causes the potentially deadly disease COVID-19, according to his physician who administered a test last night. Seems worth noting that Trump's physician is not an M.D., as is customary, but a doctor of osteopathy. Hope the negative results are and remain true -- and that he remains in good health during the coronavirus pandemic. But there's a long history of false statements to contend with.And lots of weird missing facts and weasel words.No word on when exactly the test was administered, precisely what test... the preliminary one that global epidemiologists and public health experts are using, or the confirming/secondary one? Lots of missing details.Reporting and reactions from journalists and others on Twitter, below.Trump’s #COVIDー19 test is negative: pic.twitter.com/7dgRBlH2JV— Nicholas Wu (@nicholaswu12) March 14, 2020President Trump after coming into close contact with coronavirus last weekend tested negative for the contagion, according to his physician who administered the test last night.— Steve Holland (@steveholland1) March 14, 2020Trump’s test is negative for coronavirus, per memo from White House physician.— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) March 14, 2020Here's our updated story with President Trump's negative test result https://t.co/8FChKwKKUV— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) March 14, 2020TRUMP TEST NEGATIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS. Despite contact with multiple individuals who came back as positive, the president’s physician provided this result. Read the rest

Genesis Breyer P-Orridge -- the pioneering performance artist, musician, and occultist -- died this morning. S/he was 70-years-old. Gen's daughters Caresse and Genesse released the following statement:Dear friends, family and loving supporters,It is with very heavy hearts that we announce thee passing of our beloved father, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge.S/he had been battling leukemia for two and a half years and dropped he/r body early this morning, Saturday March 14th, 2020.S/he will be laid to rest with h/er other half, Jaqueline “Lady Jaye” Breyer who left us in 2007, where they will be re-united.Thank you for your love and support and for respecting our privacy as we are grieving.Caresse & Genesse P-Orridge#s/heisher/eforeverHere's the New York Times obituary: "Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Musician, Artist and Provocateur, Dies at 70"(Image: Seth Tissue, CC BY-SA 2.0, modified) Read the rest

The top security risk to any company’s vital IT systems isn’t hackers or malware. It’s basic, pure and simple human error, according to CompTIA, the industry’s most respected trade association.Even though 75 percent of companies have cybersecurity training for their employees, less than 45 percent say their staff has adequate security expertise. It’s just another reason why the IT pro entrusted with safeguarding all those systems is so vital.CompTIA provides the security certification programs that drive the industry — and you can receive top-level training from premier instructors to pick up a virtual armload of those certifications with The CompTIA Cyber Security Pathway Certification Prep Bundle.In all, this collection features in-depth training in the exact knowledge needed to pass seven different CompTIA security certification exams, an industry-standard accreditation that proves you’re fully versed and up to speed in all the disciplines that matter for an IT security expert.Your training begins with courses in passing IT Fundamentals, then the CompTIA A+ Core 1 and Core 2 exams, the best starting point foundation for anyone with IT career aspirations. From there, the coursework veers solidly into the security realm, including certification prep in CompTIA Security+ covering risk management, identifying threats and how to spot system intrusions; and CompTIA Network+, with all the background needed to manage and secure a thriving business network.Next, CompTIA PenTest+ explains ethical hacking and testing for system vulnerabilities; then CompTIA CySA+ looks at security analytics and how exactly to respond to a cyber incident. Read the rest

I picture this blonde raccoon with a languid, slightly inebriated voice demanding — and promptly receiving — more cherries. Read the rest

A group has been formed on Facebook to help facilitate the open-source development of medical hardware (such as ventilators, filter masks, non-contact door openers, etc) to help fight the global coronavirus pandemic. Here's the statement on their page:COVID19 is currently spreading exponentially, in a mostly unchecked fashion, throughout the world. Infection doubling rates are as high as 2-3 days. Under simplistic models, such unchecked growth means the disease infects most of the world in months. Current statistics indicate that 15-20% of people who get it require hospitalization for respiratory failure for multiple weeks, and often need intense healthcare from medical professionals who are at severe risk treating these highly infectious patients. If infections proceed at their current pace across the globe, we will not have enough supplies like ventilators, respirators, PPE, etc. to meet demand.This group is being formed to evaluate, design, validate, and source the fabrication of open source emergency medical supplies around the world, given a variety of local supply conditions.This is an example of the sorts of projects being shared and discussed there:And this, a 3D printable device for opening door handles without touching them.Here is the link if you have something to contribute and want to join.[H/t Goli Mohammadi]Image: YouTube screengrab Read the rest

Jonathan Frakes, the actor and director associated most strongly with his Star Trek role as bearded lothario William Riker, has many other feathers in his cap. Here he poses some important questions to consider in the twilight of the American republic. Read the rest

Or is it "listen the world burn by"? Either way, some folks are taking their unexpected isolation time at home to make coronavirus-specific playlists. Here are the ones I'm aware of, thanks to in-the-know pals:album/song images via Google search Read the rest

Careers in IT are diverse and varied, but one of the most important is one you may not have ever considered — just how do all those networks and systems and devices get all that power, anyway? The work of a smart, knowledgeable electrical power engineer is how.Armed with the training in The Introductory Electrical Master Class Bundle, students will not only have a better idea about how all of our information systems stay juiced up but how electrical distribution works across buildings, cities and even countries as well as how the impact of new power technologies like solar energy can be applied everywhere.Complete Electric Circuits Course for Electrical Engineering starts at the absolute ground level for beginners, walking learners through the basics of electrical circuits, critical theorems, capacitors, inductors and all the crucial background knowledge any electrical specialist needs before current ever starts flowing.The Complete Electrical Substations for Electrical Engineering course expands that vision, outlining how power is distributed through area substations and all the components that make it happen from circuit breakers and grounding systems to transmission lines and main units.The Complete Electrical Design Engineering Distribution Course starts applying those principles on a broader level, explaining how electrical engineers work out a building’s lighting scheme from wiring to regulating to fixtures. You’ll even use design and drafting software like Autocad and Dialux to start creating digital environments that will be ready to work in the real world.Of course, some structures need more power than others and the electrical requirements for an industrially-heavy machine shop are far different than an average business. Read the rest

Creative writing can be a nerve-racking endeavor. It’s just you, your thoughts and that very, very blank page or word doc. You might have an idea for the story you want to tell, but what form does that story take? A novel? A short story? An article? Maybe even a blog post?Writing your story isn’t as simple as simply writing your story. However, you can start answering those tough questions and steering your creative output in the right direction with the truly massive Ultimate Creative Writing Course Bundle.It’s a 10-course package that includes an almost ridiculously giant 1,500 hours of hands-on training. Yeah, 1,500. That’s over 62 days worth of materials aimed at making you a better writer. Of course, we don’t advise taking it all at once (you’d be mighty tired by the end!), but it’s nice to know how much quality instruction is available to devour at your own pace.After you explore the mindset of professional writers and test yourself out in a variety of creative projects with the introductory Creative Writing course, then you can start digging into a whole universe of writing sub-genres.If you want to write the next Great American Novel, Novel Writing can help you shape plotlines, characters, scenarios and more. If you’re more interested in telling real-world stories, you can flex those muscles and find out what makes for a solid news story with the Freelance Journalism course. Or if you’ve ever had dreams of writing about life on the road, there are a pair of Travel Writing and Travel Blogging courses that can light the way for that pursuit. Read the rest

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland urges you to put your hand on that television set and he, or rather Jesus, will cure you of COVID-19. Amen. Read the rest

In this 1910 film, a housefly perched (glued?) on a matchstick, demonstrates fantastic feats of insect strength and agility. From the British Film Institute:This truly delightful (or singularly repellent) film is the work of Percy Smith, pioneer of a particularly engaging early form of natural filmmaking. 'The Acrobatic Fly' is one of a series of Smith films on similar subjects around this time, and near identical to, though briefer than, a sequence in his 1911 release 'The Strength and Agility of Insects', which also features similarly impressive accomplishments by a scorpion, a flea, a grasshopper and a praying mantis. Viewers might worry about the techniques used to secure such performances, but Smith always insisted that his stars were none the worse for their moment in the spotlight. Learn more about Percy Smith at the British Film Institute's Screenonline site. (via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest