As part of the content for "Ordinary Man," Ozzy Obsourne's most recent record (released January 21, 2020), last night saw the release of this video for the title track. It features Osbourne sitting in a home theater watching a biographical video of his life flashing before him. And we watch Ozzy reacting. The video is unflinching, showing the good, the bad, and the ugly of Osbourne's life and career. We see images of his Birmingham boyhood, lots of Sabbath and solo career stage and publicity shots, moments of sadness (The Osbournes reality TV lows), tragedy and death (band members' plane crash), and out-of-control drinking and drugging. Throughout, Ozzy watches. And smiles, grimaces, smirks, and cries. It's hard not to listen to this song, and watch this video, and not think of Bowie's "Where Are We Now?" from The Next Day and Johnny Cash's "Hurt" video. "Ordinary Man" (the song and video) definitely has that life-arc swan song quality to it. As one YouTube viewer commented, this video is us watching Ozzy reacting to something that might be played at his own funeral. Some might find this morose. I found it moving and sweet. YMMV.The track "Ordinary Man" features Elton John on piano and vocals and Slash on guitar. Guns & Roses bassist, Duff McKagan, plays throughout the record and co-wrote many of its songs.Image: YouTube Read the rest

HD. 4K. LED. Smart sets. It really is a new age for those in the market for a new TV. I mean, could you even have imagined you could affordably bring home a screen over seven feet across even just a few years ago? No, you were probably too busy trying to eke a few more years out of that 24-incher with the rabbit ears.Well then, it’s well past time to step up your game. And the good news is with all the competition in the TV market, you can buy some truly stellar TV models loaded with cool features at a lot less than you’d probably think. On top of that, we’ve also pulled together five TVs with discounts from $40 to $850.LG 86" 4K HDR Smart LED UHD TV with AI ThinQ - $2,149.99; originally $2,999.99Clear off the entire living room wall, because this behemoth is truly massive. Despite this 86-inch monster screen offering a movie theater-esque experience in your home, it’s actually less than 4 inches thick. With 4K ultra-high-definition (UHD) and HDR support, you’ll get epic picture quality here. It’s also sporting LG’s own AI ThinQ system with built-in Google Assistant, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa features, so you can also use your voice to control compatible smart home devices.Pick the VIZIO that’s right for youMeanwhile, VIZIO has four models on sale, all sized to fit your space with each offering full HD and 4K resolution.First, both the 75-inch and 60-inch VIZIO SmartCast E-Series Ultra HDR Home Theater Display come equipped with VIZIO’s SmartCast system, which allows you to browse and launch top apps like Netflix and Hulu right off your big screen so you’ll never be at a loss for something to watch. Read the rest

The Second Amendment is perhaps the most controversial part of the U.S. Bill of Rights. But that's not just because of our grander cultural debate around gun rights and gun violence — it's 'cause the damn thing is such a grammatical clusterfuck.A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.27 words in 4 dependent clauses with no clear anything to link them. It's not clear if the thing that shall not be infringed is the well-regulated militia, or the right of the people to keep and bear arms, or if it's all dependent upon what is or is not necessary to the security of a free State. And anyone can make any one of those arguments, and have evidence to back it up that can't be definitively refuted, either.Over at The Atlantic, James C. Phillips, a Fellow with the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford University, and Josh Blackman, a Constitutional law professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, discuss a novel approach to figuring out what, exactly, the Founding Fathers were actually trying to say: by creating and scanning through a massive database full of more than a billion words culled from formal American and British texts from 1475 to 1800. They specifically searched for instances where phrases such as "bear arms" and "keep arms" were used, and noted the context, the context, and adjacent language that accompanied the phrases to better understand how these terms were actually being used in their historical context. Read the rest

Pictures of Earth by Planetary Spacecraft is, as you have perhaps already surmised, a collection of photos of our homeworld not taken by human beings.The image above comes from NASA's Cassini spacecraft. Earth is the little dot to the top left of Saturn, shining through the rings. Read the rest

Talking smack about bits of your anatomy that you've got no control over. Delighting generations with his clever arrangements and often hilarious, heartfelt lyrics. Showing modern musicians what a showman looks like. These are but a few of the services that Fat Waller has provided to humanity over the years.Image via Wikipedia Commons Read the rest

The world's busy shitting its pants over an impending pandemic, oil production slap-fights and the arse dropping out of the stock market right into the lap of a recession that's just a-waiting in the wings. So, Russia, being Russia, does what Russia does best: fucks with people.Earlier today, I received an emailed statement from your pals and mine at NORAD:NORAD intercepts Russian aircraft entering Air Defense Identification ZonePETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – North American Aerospace Defense Command F-22s, CF-18s, supported by KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft, intercepted two Russian Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft entering the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday, March 9th.The Russian aircraft entered the ADIZ north of Alaska and remained within it for approximately 4 hours. NORAD fighter aircraft escorted the TU-142s for the duration of their time in the ADIZ. The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace over the Beaufort Sea, and came as close as 50 nautical miles to the Alaskan coast. The Russian aircraft did not enter United States or Canadian sovereign airspace.If you're like me, or NORAD, you probably don't dig on unexpected company. So that pair of TU-142s can go ahead and jog on.It's pretty common for Russia to mess with the warships of other countries in international waters, send submarines to scope out undersea communication cables and buzz NATO-aligned nations. They're jerks like that. However, given the freshly rehashed bickering over sovereignty in the Arctic, thanks to global warming's opening up of once frozen shipping lanes and potential oil windfalls, having a pair of their aircraft bop by to say hi feels a little bit pushier than usual. Read the rest

An event titled "Doing Business under Coronavirus" was scheduled, but it turns out that coronavirus has other plans: the conference day has beencanceled due to the spread of the illness. Bloomberg News reports that The Council on Foreign Relations has also nixed the rest of its roundtable agenda for the immediate future.Across the U.S., the spread of the novel virus has so far scuttled more than 50 major corporate events with an estimated attendance of almost 1 million people, according to data collected by Bloomberg News. Read the rest

I've written here before to mention that I perform lengthy sets of Irish folk music around St. Patrick's Day*, and there are quite a few of those popular pub songs that include (well-deserved, IMHO) shout-outs to James Connolly, a stalwart champion of workers' rights who was executed by British soldiers after the 1916 Easter Rising. As I get older, I haven't found myself getting more conservative, like the Boomers told me I would; instead, I find myself realizing more and more that James Connolly was right about a damn lot of things.One of my favorite writings of his — which I find I reference in casual conversation more than I should probably admit — is this piece on the differences between "state monopolies" and "socialism." Originally published in the June 10, 1899 issue of Workers’ Republic, this short essay impressively articulates the differences between centralized government control of a society, and what it means to actually put that ownership into collective public hands.Socialism properly implies above all things the co-operative control by the workers of the machinery of production; without this co-operative control the public ownership by the State is not Socialism – it is only State capitalism. The demands of the middle-class reformers, from the Railway Reform League down, are simply plans to facilitate the business transactions of the capitalist class. State Telephones – to cheapen messages in the interest of the middle class who are the principal users of the telephone system; State Railways – to cheapen carriage of goods in the interest of the middle-class trader; State-construction of piers, docks, etc. Read the rest

In Ashland, Louisiana, a woman has been arrested on drug charges when police decided the $5,000 cash she used to post an inmate’s bail carried the “strong odor of marijuana.” The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office started nosing around Stormy Lynn Parfait, 33, last Friday after she showed up to pay bond for an inmate jailed on drug charges.From the Associated Press:After catching a whiff of the cash, a detective searched her car while she was still at the jail and found nearly $40,000 more inside, along with about 100 Klonopin pills and a food stamp card that wasn’t registered to Parfait, according to the sheriff’s statement.Investigators found hundreds of additional pills and cash as well as marijuana, cocaine and paraphernalia, during a search of Parfait’s home later, news outlets reported. Four unattended children there were turned over to a relative.Parfait was charged with multiple counts of possession with intent to distribute drugs, four counts of illegal use of a controlled drug in the presence of persons under 17, taking contraband to or into a correctional institution and other related charges, authorities said.More at AP:Police jail woman who paid bail with marijuana-scented cash Read the rest

He tried to smuggle an electric drill out of a Walmart in his pants. She faces drug charges. It's a match made in Louisiana.A couple accused of stealing over $1,000 worth of beer from 6 different Target stores over the span of a week was arrested Sunday on theft charges, Baton Rouge sheriff’s office records show.From the Louisiana Advocate:On March 1, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's retail/organized theft division began investigating a series of beer thefts that began on Feb. 24 at the Target store on Siegen Lane and the Target on Millerville Road.Security video shows that the thefts were all committed by the same man and woman, arrest records say. During the store trips, the couple filled their shopping basket with cases of beer, then left the store without paying. From AP:Authorities said the two were arrested Sunday after they attempted to steal additional merchandise from other stores, including a drill that Matthew Forbes tried to smuggle out in his pants at a Walmart, according to WBRZ-TV. Ashley Forbes was also reportedly caught returning items she hadn’t paid for at a Walmart, the station said. The two had been banned from similar stores previously, according to news outlets.The couple was booked into jail on theft charges, and Ashley Forbes also faces drug charges, records show.MUGSHOT: East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Department Read the rest

Not too long ago, if you wanted to get employed as an IT cloud systems expert, that meant learning Amazon Web Services (AWS). That made sense back when Amazon’s market share was nearly double that of all their closest competitors combined.But 2020 is a new day. And while AWS is still the undisputed no. 1 cloud services provider in the world, there’s now little question about who’s a solid — and gaining — no. 2. Microsoft Azure has posted big gains in recent years, including scoring a major win over its rival with a massive $10 billion contract to provide cloud services for the U.S. Department of Defense.While that contract is now tied up in court, it doesn’t diminish Azure’s rapid growth as a respected cloud provider. Right now, you can make sure this new realm is a part of your IT skillset with the training found in The Ultimate Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Prep Courses and Mock Exams Bundle.Microsoft currently offers 11 different certification exams to test a user’s knowledge with Azure. This collection of training and practice tests can get you ready to pass most of them.Whether you’d like to get in as an Azure developer, administrator or architect, coursework will make sure you’re trained in all the right areas while the practice tests get you comfortable with the actual exam.Through dozens of lectures and scenario-based lab exercises, the courses offer a complete overview on all the benefits and considerations of using cloud services from developing data processing to implementing and optimizing data storage solutions to DevOps processes to security to creating secure, scalable, and reliable business technology solutions. Read the rest

Bad night for Bernie Sanders

Everyone in my family has stolen my no-show socks. They have little rubber stripes to keep the socks from slipping off your heel. Interestingly, the photo on the Amazon page shows the socks being work inside out. If you wear them as shown, the rubber stripes will come in contact with your shoe and pull the sock off your heel. I bought six more pair at a great price using discount code 3M4HRN68. Read the rest

Like any machine, your computer sometimes needs a tune-up, and the more you use it, the more likely it needs some TLC. Although, with plenty of rarely-used and obsolete files, tons of cache storage, extensions, and other power-hogs living on the hard drive, it's difficult to know what's safe to touch (i.e., delete) or even where to find things you'd want to get rid of.Instead of taking chances with your all-important laptop or desktop computer, call in some professional help that doesn't actually involve making any calls. With a safe all-in-one solution utility, you can effortlessly run a scan of the disk and browsers to clean things up, manage sensitive files, and boost your CPU's speed and performance. This highly-reviewed offering from MacPaw is available for Mac and PC and will have your machine running like new in no time.CleanMyPC: Junk Cleaner for Windows 7 & HigherCleanMyPC will do exactly what its name implies. It gets rid of junk files, removes malware, keeps the Windows registry clean, shows you all the auto-run items so you can disable them, disables Hibernation mode to save gigabytes, and shreds sensitive files so they can't be recovered. It even scans your browsers to gather online activity for your review.CleanMyPC is available now for $67.99, a savings of 24% on MSRP.CleanMyMac X: Junk Cleaner for Mac 10.10 & HigherThe Mac version of this software is impressive. It frees up to 5 times more disk space, offers 2.5 times more optimized apps, and boasts 4 times faster boot time. Read the rest

An unusual artwork at the Hotline Pink Thrift Shop in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina caught the eye of volunteer Wendy Hawkins. Intrigued, she brought it to a nearby art gallery to see if they could offer any insight. Turns out, the piece is a woodcut print from Salvador Dalí Divine Comedy series of watercolors painted in the 1950s. And the print is signed. While the piece is certainly striking, Dalí authorized countless prints that he signed in his lifetime. Still, the thrift store sold it for $1,200 that they will put to good use. From CNN:[Michael Lewis, executive director of the Outer Banks Hotline, which runs the thrift shops] told CNN he doesn't know who donated the art."We get things donated in the middle of the night and sometimes people just drop off things and leave, so we have no idea who donated it," he said.Lewis said they plan to use the money from the sale to help pay for their shelter for survivors of domestic violence and abuse, anti-bullying efforts and other programs. Read the rest

Harvard University told its 20,000 students not to return to campus after spring break concludes on March 23. They'll be given online classes instead.From MIT Technology Review:Harvard said the move to online classes is meant to avoid large gatherings and close contact between people. The campus will otherwise remain open and operating.The move to online classes follows similar steps by west coast universities, including the University of Washington in Seattle.Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Read the rest

On Friday, police were called to the Union School District in Rimersburg, Pennsylvania after a "known" juvenile allegedly robbed the school cafeteria of a juice box valued at 80 cents.crop of image by Hp.Baumeler (CC BY-SA 4.0) Read the rest

If you were a child of the 80s, you were almost certainly scarred and traumatized by the hero Atreyu's failure to save his beloved horse Artax from the Swamp of Sadness in The Neverending Story.Welp, now some horrible bastards decided to turn this moment into a flower pot set.Recreate one of the most emotionally disturbing movie scenes of the 1980's with our exclusive Neverending figurines. Watch as our young hero desperately tries to save his horse from the sad swamp (your house plant.) Don't worry, the horse survives in the end!I guess there might be some therapeutic value to it if you place the figurines into succulent pots, or some other domestic plant that's difficult to kill. Or if you just have a morbid streak and want to constantly relive the end of your childhood innocence as it stands juxtaposed against brilliance of life. Your mileage may vary, and either way, it can be yours for about 17 bucks.Neverending Story Planter Gnomes [TruffleShuffle] Read the rest

Gougers have until March 15 to resell face mask in Japan. After that they face a fine and imprisonment.From Japan Times:In a prominent example of price-gouging, an assemblyman in Shizuoka Prefecture was revealed to have made ¥8.9 million off of selling packets of 2,000 face masks via online auctions for between ¥30,000 {$300] to ¥170,000 each. He later apologized.The trade ministry official said it was unclear whether the assemblyman, 53-year-old Hiroyuki Morota, could have been charged under the new rule because he runs a trading company and may not be classified as a reseller.Image: Public Domain Read the rest

Buzzfeed has a gallery of photos of popular tourist attractions, trains, and other usually crowded places in Italy, showing how most people are staying home.Here's an alarming thread about what's happening in Italy right now.Photo by Lopez Robin on Unsplash Read the rest

Interested in learning how to set up a pheromone bucket trap to capture some western bean cutworms? This video produced by the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program should help!Image: Yankech gary/Flickr, CC-BY 2.0 Read the rest

William Gibson, a 17-year-old dev from the U.K., created an online generator that produces the NHS's guide to washing your hands properly, but with song lyrics. Some of the more amusing mashups have gone viral on social media: one form of virus helping to fight another.The one above, though, is a hand-made cut from the Reduced Shakespeare Company.Forget singing in Happy Birthday twice: THIS is what you recite to tell you how long to wash your hands. H/t @ninjalampie pic.twitter.com/TjXMZCQbt2— Reduced Shakespeare Company (@reduced) March 3, 2020 Read the rest

Look, I know that it's frigging hard to find hand sanitizer and toilet paper right now, but maybe ease back on the stick before you do anything extreme in the name of avoiding the Coronavirus. It should go without saying that doing a few rails and chugging bleach aren't going to cure much of anything, except, in the right quantities, a severe case of stupid.According to CBS News, claims that garlic, masturbation (I'd be willing to give that one a go), bleach and cocaine have been showing up in bullshit Facebook, Twitter and Instagram posts. It's disinformation that's making a growing international catastrophe that much harder for folks to understand. Worse still, it's in large quantities. Recently, the U.S. State Department discovered that over a three week period, around two million tweets jam-packed full of conspiracy theories and misinformation about the coronavirus were clogging up the internet—that's 7% of all of the content puked out onto the platform during that three week period. Twitter claims they're taking steps to sort out this idiocy, but we all know how effective that is. Facebook and YouTube? Same deal.So yeah, if you're going to listen to anyone on social media blather on about what works and what doesn't when it comes to what'll stem the spread of COVID-19, let it be the World Health Organization's TikTok account.Image via Pixabay Read the rest

Taking care of yourself is certainly trendy, but that doesn't mean everyone is doing it. Or at least, that doesn't mean everyone is doing it in ways that will really, truly care for their mental and physical health. That's where sleep comes in. Quality, quantity, and consistency in your sleep patterns will improve your life in almost every way.Between work, blue light, relationship anxiety, and everyday adulting, our brains are frazzled. Relaxation and restful sleep can be hard to come by, but this feature-packed highly-rated meditation app will help anyone seriously chill out.Relax Melodies is a doctor- and neuropsychologist-recommended sleep and meditation app that combines soothing sounds, bedtime stories, breathing techniques, body-mind exercises, and more to help you overcome insomnia, tinnitus, night-time anxiety, and daily stress. And if you somehow can't find the right audio for your needs, you can create your own, thanks to the very-cool DIY soundscape feature.As recently as 2018 it was the most positively reviewed app in the history of the App Store, currently holding a strong 4.8 stars with over 180k ratings, not to mention the nearly 280k reviews and 4.6 stars in the Google Play store. That's a whole lot of people experiencing the most relaxed nights of their lives.Get half off a lifetime subscription to the beloved Relax Melodies Meditation App for $124.99 and bring some calmness to your day anywhere, anytime from your iOS, watchOS, or Android device. Read the rest

After a severe fever in 1776, Rhode Island farmer's daughter Jemima Wilkinson was reborn as a genderless celestial being who had been sent to warn of the coming Apocalypse. But the general public was too scandalized by the messenger to pay heed to the message. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of the Public Universal Friend and the prejudiced reaction of a newly formed nation.We'll also bid on an immortal piano and puzzle over some Icelandic conceptions.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest

I'm considering buying the Oxygen Solis [Amazon], a tactical EDC ceiling fan, and chanced across the YouTube channel Vintage Fans and More looking for opinions. It's a large collection of surprisingly informative reviews of ceiling fans, visits to fan manufacturers and ceiling fan trade shows, etc., and the creator is up-front about his connections to the trade. He even has the perfect hairstyle for illustrating turbulent air vortices.Vintage Fans & More is a unique place where past and present meet, and where the future is awaited with great anticipation. What began on YouTube as a preservation of yesteryear’s electric fans has grown to encompass not only fans from every era, but also other areas of lighting design and home decor. Expect an unexpected variety; this is a new expansion for VF&M in the greater world of design, spanning decades and bringing them together in one place. Read the rest

For its 35th birthday, the quirky cult classic Pee-wee's Big Adventure is traveling the U.S. on a multi-city tour with its creator, Paul Reubens. As I write this, the Pee-wee's Big Adventure 35th Anniversary Tour with Paul Reubens is about halfway through its now (nearly) sold-out tour and, let me tell you, the fans are bringing it. From handmade costumes, signs, and crafts to decking out their dogs (or kids) and decorating their nails, the amount of creativity folks have been bringing has been incredible to see.I saw the show in San Francisco a little over a week ago and it. was. FANTASTIC. I was buzzing for two days afterward. The great:-- Electric vibe. Our phones were locked in a pouch for the event (not a biggie), which made us all really present. You could practically see the crowd's anticipation in the air;-- I won't spoil the surprise but the special pre- and post- movie footage made my eighties-lovin' heart burst with joy;-- The film absolutely stands the test of time — no question. In some ways, it felt like I was seeing it for the first time, spotting things I had never noticed before;-- It was a real happening. Folks were yelling out lines, singing, and hissing (at antagonist Francis Buxton, of course). much like a screening of Rocky Horror;-- Some fans wore costumes inspired by characters in the Pee-wee universe, everything from Big Adventure to the Playhouse (more on that below);-- Fun selection of merch, including some adorable Big Adventure candy hearts;-- and last, but by no means least, the stories Paul told about the making of the film were terrific and inspiring! Read the rest

What with all the turmoil in markets, I thought it would be useful to repost this reassuring message from President George W. Bush, as broadcast early in the 2008 financial crisis. Read the rest

Pi Day is coming up this Saturday. To celebrate, here's a cool little demo of 3.14 using four pizzas and one circumference of crust.With Pi Day just around the corner, let’s remember what Pi is all about.After washing your hands thoroughly, cut the crust off a pizza pie and lay it across four others. You’ll see that the crust spans a little more than 3 pies. That’s Pi ≈ 3.14.But that’s not all! (Cont’d) pic.twitter.com/xTVbObrPzH— Alex Kontorovich (@AlexKontorovich) March 6, 2020Image: Twitter screengrab Read the rest

A female Komodo dragon named Charlie who lives at the Chattanooga Zoo had three hatchlings without ever having mated. Charlie's hatchlings were born last year but the zoo only recently determined via DNA testing that a male named Kadal who shared her habitat wasn't the father. Indeed, there was no father. Komodo dragons are capable of parthenogenesis, asexual reproduction that's very rare in vertebrates. From CNN:Komodo dragons have evolved to reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically because they mainly live isolated in the wild and become violent when approached, according to the zoo.Parthenogenesis happens when another egg, rather than sperm, fertilizes an egg, according to Scientific American. The biological process of making an egg cell, called oogenesis, typically produces a polar body, which contains a duplicate copy of egg DNA."Normally, this polar body shrivels up and disappears. In the case of the Komodos, though, polar bodies evidently acted as sperm and turned ova into embryos," Scientific American said in 2006 when the first cases of parthenogenesis in Komodo dragons were reported.image: Chattanooga Zoo press release Read the rest

Don't say anything...(r/DeepIntoYouTube, thanks UPSO!) Read the rest

We’re all shooting heaps and heaps of smartphone images and videos. You probably even snapped a picture or captured some footage today. And that media will likely sit there on your phone until you’re startled one day to discover that your storage limit is mere megapixels away.It’s not that backing up your data and clearing space on your device is some hated chore. It’s just a factor that never crosses your mind until you’re reminded.Pred Technologies knows backups aren’t on the top of your to-do list. So they made the TOKK Photo Cube do that thinking for you. The trick here is that the TOKK integrates the backup process with another vital phone responsibility — and this is one you absolutely won’t forget to do: phone charging.The TOKK attaches easily to your phone’s charging cable, so whenever you connect to power up, the backup automatically begins. The Photo Cube copies all your phone data from photos and videos to calendar alerts and contact information. The 64GB memory is spacious enough to soak uploads of new content, then sends you a reminder notification once its microSD memory card is full. After you transfer that data to a more permanent storage option, just pop the TOKK back on and the unit starts backing up again right from where it left off.With TOKK, you’ll not only never be forced into making that rough “Sophie’s Choice” decision about which files to keep and which to delete, but you’ll never accidentally lose something you wanted so desperately wanted to keep ever again. Read the rest

I'd been storing my comics in my parents' attic for the last 40+ years and I just got them all and have been putting them into new plastic bags. I enjoyed Regie Simmons' video on how to bag and board comics, and one thing he recommended was using blue painter's tape instead of scotch tape to seal bags, because it leaves no residue. I ordered some and have been using it to seal the bags. Much better than scotch tape! The scotch tape on my old bags is sticky and gross, and I have to be careful not to get the adhesive on the comics. Amazon has a good price on it right now. Read the rest

That said, the most memorable parts of my 1997 were probably hallucinations.Wikipedia reference for Spice Up Your Life Read the rest

"Reckless Ben" (no relation to Wreckless Eric, as far as I know) and his pal made a 10-part documentary about how they infiltrated the Church of Scientology, started a religion called "Scientology Sucks," and launched a GoFundMe account to project the word "Sucks" on the Scientology building. While they projected the word on the building for a couple of hours on a recent evening, several people who may or may not have been Scientologists approached them on the sidewalk to have discussions with them. The Scientologists tried to block the projector with balloons, and also shine a bright light on the world to wash it out. Then the police came and politely told them they should probably stop, which they eventually did. But then they found out it was legal so they returned and did it again to other Scientology buildings. Read the rest

For professional or personal purposes, your writing should make you look good. Easier said than done for many—yes, even those of us getting paid to write. "Everyone needs an editor," as they say. Why not ensure you always have one, including in your pocket on your smartphone? Nail down your grammar, spelling, style, punctuation, and translation for all your authoring needs with WhiteSmoke's smart web-based writing reviewer.Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Statistical Machine Translation (SMT) technologies, WhiteSmoke not only corrects simple errors but also improves your writing style, tone, and clarity. Because it's web-based, the software can check your words for sentence structure, capitalization, and more from almost any device in almost any format.Rely on it at work or at home to prevent typos in things like emails, reports, and applications as well as identify stylistic errors (including monotony and tenses) and suggest ways to correct them, helping you become a better writer over time. It can also find less-obvious or downright confusing punctuation errors, which may assist you in avoiding them in the future. A cool bonus feature is its ability to translate texts, websites, and more in over 50 languages, so whether you're looking to expand your marketing reach or understand a restaurant menu, you're covered.Get a 5-year subscription to the well-rated WhiteSmoke Grammar Checker Web Plan for $39.99, a savings of 93%. Read the rest

In this CNet piece, Gael Fashingbauer Cooper poses the question: should the "Live Long and Prosper" Vulcan greeting replace handshakes in the coronavirus era?Hell, yes! Let's do this thing. I've also seen the suggestion that we do the Hindu "Namaste" greeting. I like the Vulcan salute much better.One of the things you may not know about the Vulcan greeting is that Leonard Nimoy himself came up with it, based on a secret benediction he had witnessed in Temple as a child. He was not supposed to look. He looked and saw the Rabbis giving the congregation this salute. He later found out that it represents the Hebrew letter, Shin, and that it is an invocation of the Shekhinah, the female aspect of God. When it came time on the set of Star Trek to dream up some Vulcan greeting the first time Spock returns to his home planet, this V gesture was the first thing Nimoy thought of. Here he is telling the story of these origins.It is amazing to realize that, all of these decades, we have been invoking the female aspect of God whenever we flash the Vulcan greeting. I don't know about you, but I think we could use more of such blessings right about now.May you wash your hands (20 seconds, people!), not touch your face, and may you Live Long and Prosper.Image: YouTube Read the rest

There is no treatment for the coronavirus, states the World Health Organization. That hasn't stopped televangelist and felon Jim Bakker from selling a purported cure to the pitiful people who watch his infomercials. Now the New York attorney general has warned Bakker than he can't claim that a concoction called Silver Solution he's peddling will cure coronavirus.From ABC News:During a Feb. 12 episode of the “The Jim Bakker Show,” guest Sherrill Sellman claimed that Silver Solution was able to eliminate some strains of the coronavirus.Asked if the Silver Solution would be effective against the COVID-19 coronavirus, Sellman replied, "Let's say it hasn't been tested on this strain of the coronavirus, but it's been tested on other strains of the coronavirus and it has been able to eliminate it within 12 hours."The attorney general sent Bakker a cease-and-desist order that stated:"Your show’s segment may mislead consumers as to the effectiveness of the Silver Solution product in protecting against the current outbreak. Any representation on the Jim Bakker Show that its Silver Solution products are effective at combating and/or treating the 2019 novel coronavirus violates New York law.”In 2017 Bakker warned that anyone who made fun of him will be punished by God, who will tell them "you sat there and you made fun of Jim Bakker all those years. I warned you." Read the rest

If you want to eat at Sichuan Impression, a small chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, don't show up with a fever (and please don't show up anywhere with a fever!). Since mid-January, the restaurant has stopped customers from entering until they have their temperature taken – with an infrared thermometer to avoid body contact.According to the Los Angeles Times:If someone is running a fever or exhibits other abnormal symptoms, employees help them contact medical services.Those who refuse to have their temperature checked are declined service.“We at Sichuan Impression respect and enjoy having our guests who come from all corners of the world,” the restaurant wrote in a Jan. 26 Instagram post. “Offering you a healthy and safe dining environment is also upheld as our top priority.”For those not wanting to take any chances, Sichuan Impression, which is located in West LA, Alhambra, and Tustin, offers to-go food at a discount. Read the rest

I posted about Reuleaux Triangles in 2017, and here's another video about them. Like a circle, a Reuleaux Triangle is a shape with constant width. In other words, you can rotate a reuleaux triangle in a square with all four sides touching. In this video the Action Lab Man demonstrates Reuleaux Triangles and explains why they aren't good as wheels - they don't have a fixed center of rotation like a circle does. Read the rest

Oogpister beetles are able to shoot formic acid into the eyes and mouth of would-be predators. In this BBC video you can see an oogpister teach a mongoose a painful lesson.We also meet a defenseless lizard that has developed the same marking pattern on the oogpister beetle's shell in order to trick predators into thinking that it, too, can shoot acid from its rear end. So fearsome is the oogpister's reputation, that the lizard even imitates the way the oogpister runs.The video also features a stick insect that "fires bitter tasting oils," and ants that "fire the sort of acid that gives nettles their sting."It concludes with the biggest badass chemical weapon bug of them all: the fearsome bombardier beetle. "It can create a chemical reaction within its body so violent that boiling caustic liquid explodes out of its abdomen." It pulses the jet of acid 500 times a second to keep "its rear end just cool enough to prevent it from being cooked." Read the rest

Here's a good video that shows how the increase in the number of Covid-19 follows an exponential growth curve. Each day, says 3Blue1Brown, the number of coronavirus cases is "between 1.15 and 1.25 of the number of cases the previous day."3Blue1Brown writes: "While this video uses COVID-19 (aka the Coronavirus) as a motivating example, the main goal is simply a math lesson on exponentials and logistic curves. If you're looking for a video more focused on COVID-19 itself, I'd recommend taking a look at this one from Osmosis:" Read the rest

Cat videos. They’re almost like a universal language; even people who don't love cats love cat videos. And what better way to overindulge than with CatVideoFest 2020, coming soon to a theater near you. What started as an experiment at a Minneapolis art center eight years ago quickly grew into an international phenomenon, and it's sweeping the country, with a curated compilation of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless submissions including “sourced animations, music videos, and internet powerhouses.” The first festival was held outdoors in the summer of 2012 and drew a crowd of 10,000!Image: Catvideofest.com Read the rest

With the coronavirus pandemic tanking markets and hammering stocks, wise investors should consider putting their remaining funds in this charming unicorn piggy bank [Amazon], equipped with a 1.5 inch coin slot at the top and a firm but easily-removable stopper underneath.Measuring 6.75 x 4 x 3.5 inches, the unicorn can hold about three dollars in pennies and far more in other denominations, allowing thrifty kids to ride out the apocalypse with plenty of cash for candy, comics and .223 Remington/5.56 NATO ammunition.VANVEVE Lovely Unicorn Piggy Bank for Girls [Amazon] Read the rest

Max Von Sydow is dead at 90. The Swedish-born actor appeared in more than 100 films and TV shows, with famed roles playing chess with death in 1957's The Seventh Seal, dressing down demons in 1973's The Exorcist and dressing up as Ming the Merciless in 1980's Flash Gordon.He was often typecast in Hollywood as the sophisticated villain, which the Associated Press said was down to him being "all and lanky, with sullen blue eyes, a narrow face, pale complexion and a deep and accented speaking voice".But, he once said in an interview: "What I as an actor look for is a variety of parts. It is very boring to be stuck in more or less one type of character." Read the rest

Just because you can do a thing, doesn't mean you should. This rule especially holds true where the removal of radiation safeguards are involved. Read the rest

If you have a photo in need of foliage, fire up Photoshop and generate for a 3D rendered Sakura Cherry Blossom, Redwood, Young Maple, Palm, or nearly three dozen other trees. Just go to Filter Render Tree and let your creativity, er, take root. This curious feature even enables you to tweak the leaf sizes, branch height, and other variables. But what's the story behind this curious feature? From Input:The trees, it turns out, came in response to architectural artists who wanted to be able to drop trees into their work but struggled to smoothly integrate them into the image. Before the tree filter was introduced in 2014, designers would have to cut out a preexisting image of a tree taken at the right angle and then paste it in.“We thought it would be convenient if you could generate customizable trees that fit illustrations,” says Daichi Ito, the technical research artist who developed the tree filter for Adobe. “By ‘fit,’ I mean it doesn’t have a strong style; it’s somewhat realistic, but not photorealistic.”Ito created the project as part of the development of an engine, codenamed Deco, that would help Photoshop create generative patterns. “Daichi came to us and said, ‘I can actually write a bunch of interesting scripts that leverage that Deco engine and allow us to generate all kinds of things,’” recalls Stephen Nielson, director of product management for Photoshop at Adobe. Ito spent a month writing the algorithm that created the generative images. “Generating tree data took me some more time,” he adds. Read the rest

Penalties include fines as high as $500,000 as well as jail time of up to a year.

The CDC created a website to make it easy to keep track of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., but it hasn't been updated in several days and is stuck at the count from late last week, with 11 deaths and 161 infections. In fact, nearly twice this number are dead with more than 500 testing positive.The government (least of all the Trump administration) isn't taking it seriously, but newsmedia is starting to. CNN:Starting today, you will notice that CNN is using the term pandemic to describe the current coronavirus outbreak. It is not a decision we take lightly. While we know it sounds alarming, it should not cause panic. So why now? The World Health Organization hasn't called the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. Nor has the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.But many epidemiologists and public health experts argue the world is already experiencing a pandemic because of the novel coronavirus. There are now over 100,000 cases and over 3,000 deaths attributed to this new virus. In one day last week, the number of new cases outside of China, where the virus originated, was nearly 9 times higher than the number of new cases in China. This virus has found a foothold on every continent except for Antarctica. In several countries, the number of cases continues to climb. Read the rest