Boing Boing

Crazed, cooped up children, tightly-wound parents at their wit's end, lighter fluid, baking soda, and burning sugar -- what could go wrong?Image: YouTube Read the rest

In the age of smart homes, everybody wants to own the house that does everything for itself. Unfortunately, the reality is that creating a smart house usually takes a lot of work. And if you’re trying to turn a previously dumb house into a 21st century web-enabled palace of technology? That’s gonna take even more work.Case in point, you usually have to pretty much be a locksmith if you want to put one of those web-connected smart lock systems on your home. In case you don’t have all those tools of the trade, the Gimdow Peel and Stick Smart Lock is geared for those who want the advantages of a smart lock, but don’t want to disassemble their entire front door to do it.The Gimdow adheres like a vise over your existing American or European style door lock with no modifications to your door or the lock required. The adhesive is reusable and setup should take less than 10 minutes. Once it’s firmly in place, the Gimdow then performs all the tasks you’d expect from a grade-A smart lock.You can get in either through using the Gimdow app on your smartphone or by entering the code on the included wireless keypad posted by your door. It all connects via Bluetooth, so there’s no wiring needed ever. You can even protect your code from prying eyes by entering random numbers around your actual code. Gimdow is smart enough to spot your sequence in all the coverage and open sesame. Read the rest

• Trump intent on "reopening" some U.S. states within weeks, ignoring medical experts and the state's rights the GOP is generally so concerned with. The Washington Post reports today on FEMA and CDC draft plan that enables him to do this. Late on Tuesday, right after we learned that Trump is halting WHO funding even as Americans die by the thousands of coronavirus -- the Washington Post is reporting that the CDC and FEMA have created a plan to reopen America. Impeached and manifestly unfit president President Trump wants a final detailed plan on reopening the country right now, so he can order some states to reopen May 1, officials said. Note: He has no such power, though he falsely claimed to have ultimate authority.It guides state and local governments on how they can ease mitigation efforts and move from drastic restrictions like stay-at-home orders in a phased way to support a safe reopening. CDC and FEMA officials have worked on the public health response for at least the past week, and the resulting document by the two agencies has been discussed at the White House including by members of the coronavirus task force, according to two administration officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.Other agencies and White House officials have drafted similar planning documents, a White House aide said. The version obtained by The Post appears to be an early draft by FEMA and contains granular instructions for a phased reopening of institutions such as schools, child-care facilities, summer camps, parks, faith-based organizations and restaurants. Read the rest

During a coronavirus task force briefing, America learned today that impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. President Donald Trump has just ordered a halt to funding for the World Health Organization. Donald Trump suspends US funding to World Health Org, says the organisation ‘failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable’ #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/u35cy4I3iy— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) April 14, 2020He made this bizarre decision amid growing criticism of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, even from members of his own party.As the world is fighting the Coronavirus pandemic, Trump says the admin is halting US funding to WHO pending a review.— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) April 14, 2020This is such a win for China. https://t.co/v21SKAS4gz— Laura Rosenberger (@rosenbergerlm) April 14, 2020BREAKING: Trump tonight said he would halt funding to the World Health Organization while his administration reviews the group’s response to the coronavirus pandemichttps://t.co/s2MNAysJRf— POLITICO (@politico) April 14, 2020I’ve been trying my best to stick to science and not politics but as a public health professional and an American it makes me ill to see @POTUS cutting funding to @WHO at any time but especially in a pandemic— Marc Lipsitch (@mlipsitch) April 14, 2020Meanwhile: pic.twitter.com/t3xtMUhgZj— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) April 14, 2020 Read the rest

David Bowie's Let's Dance was released 37 years ago today. His 15th studio record, Let's Dance would become his most commercially successful album but it was not well-received by critics and hardcore fans at the time and Bowie himself would end up regretting the record and the tours and albums that followed (Tonight, Never Let Me Down), referring to that time as his "Phil Collins period."I've been a big fan of Rick Beato's YouTube channel for years where he deconstructs iconic tracks and attempts to answer the musical question "What Makes This Song Great?" In this episode, he explains what makes "Let's Dance" great. Although I count myself as a hardcore Bowie fanatic, I've always liked the record for what I thought it was: a great pop dance record. But this Beato breakdown shows some of the underlying musical genius behind even one of Bowie's poppiest confections. Read the rest

Oh, yes this is real. Florida has officially declared WWE pro wrestling shows an 'essential business' that must be allowed to continue to operate during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. “People have been starved for content ... we're watching, like, reruns from the early 2000s,” Florida's Republican and Trump-aligned governor Ron DeSantis said today about his decision to classify live professional wrestling shows as an “essential service” for Floridians during the deadly coronavirus pandemic. Peak Florida Man."People have been starved for content ... we're watching, like, reruns from the early 2000s," Gov. Ron DeSantis says of his bizarre decision to classify live pro wrestling shows as an "essential service" during a deadly pandemic pic.twitter.com/rWeCOJKkh2— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 14, 2020Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deems pro wrestling ‘essential business’ amid statewide stay-at-home orderhttps://t.co/kktQsuGYNW— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) April 14, 2020As most businesses in Florida have been shutdown to help fight the spread of the coronavirus, the state has deemed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) -- a company with past and present links to Pres.Trump -- "essential." https://t.co/VeaafmWfjg— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) April 14, 2020ROH and MLW say wrestling with a national audience being deemed essential in Florida does not mean they'll now be running shows there. https://t.co/tf4mhYoWH0— Pro Wrestling Sheet (@WrestlingSheet) April 14, 2020 Read the rest

To mark last week's release of the new Trolls World Tour movie, Smithsonian's Michelle Delgado tells the origin story of Troll Dolls, from their birth following World War II their modern day big screen revival. The tale begins in Gjøl, Denmark, home to baker Thomas Dam (1915-1989) who could no longer work when the local flour factory went out of business. From Smithsonian:Dam would sit near the fireplace, carving bits of wood while he thought. He often carved funny creatures to entertain his children, and eventually, his wife persuaded him to try selling the figurines. Dam packed up as many as he could carry and traveled to Aalborg, the nearest city, where he planned to knock on doors. He came home empty-handed, having successfully sold them all.As Dam’s figurines found fans in Aalborg, customers began commissioning bigger projects. Before long, Dam became a working sculptor whose reputation eventually exceeded Denmark’s borders. In 1956, a Swedish department store hired him to create a large sculpture of Santa Claus, kicking off the chain of events that nudged Dam to fully embrace toy making.When he finished installing the Santa Claus sculpture, Dam realized that it wasn’t completely visible from the street. He proposed an accompanying window display with a clever design. First, he sculpted tiny figures of Christmas elves—designed in a similar style to his soon-to-be-famous troll dolls—and dismantled a mattress, hiding a spring in each figurine’s body. Next, Dam built a display with a mechanism that lifted and dropped a long piece of wood. Read the rest

“[U.S.] officials are seriously pursuing the possibility that a natural sample of the virus escaped a laboratory.”The question was dismissed as a conspiracy theory in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. But now, some intelligence experts admit they are seriously looking into the possibility that the COVID-19 pandemic might have been touched off by an accident at a research facility in China, various news outlets report. “It’s definitely a real possibility being bandied about at the high levels of the administration,” says one of those quoted experts.Business Insider also reports that intelligence services for the British government are reportedly considering the same possibility. Obligatory reminder:Maybe, but maybe not.We just don't know yet.“After extensive research, scientists in the U.S. and elsewhere have determined that the new strain of the coronavirus discovered in China in December is, as Chinese officials have maintained, of natural origin, but they are taking seriously that its route to human infection may have started in a lab in Wuhan,” writes Yahoo News' Jenna McLaughlin: “It’s absolutely being looked at very closely at the highest levels,” said one intelligence source with knowledge of the investigations. One reason for the suspicion is the lack of information coming from China. Beijing’s quick denials of involvement, and the decision to immediately identify the Wuhan Seafood Market as the source, raised eyebrows among some U.S. intelligence officials.“I find it very funny that China very quickly blamed the market,” said one recently retired intelligence official. Read the rest

Wonder how much of the airlines' hides the government gets to own now.Late on Tuesday, reports are circuating that the major U.S. airlines and impeached president Donald Trump's Republican Treasury Department have reached some sort of loose deal on government aid. A formal announcement and details are expected to come later today, report various news outlets.BREAKING: Major U.S. airlines and Treasury Dept. reach deal in principle on government aid; announcement to come later today - sourceshttps://t.co/CxcP6Ql9O5— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) April 14, 2020 Read the rest

The coronavirus has destroyed America's job market, and there is no immediate relief in sight. This interactive data project from NBC News shows just how devastating the sudden employment losses are, and which US states have been hit the hardest.Excerpt:“I compare it to a natural disaster, a terrorist attack and a financial shock all at once,” said Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. “We've never had this in history.” California was the first state to issue a stay-at-home order and has seen the greatest number of job losses. In a state with an estimated labor force of 19.5 million, 2.2 million Californians have filed unemployment applications since March 14. But the torrent of claims is coming from everywhere. Twenty-one states and territories have seen more than one-in-10 eligible workers file for claims in the last month. Hawaii, Michigan, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania have seen the largest percentage of cuts, with 1-in-6 workers in each of those states losing their jobs.Comparing the weekly claims reported by the Department of Labor to the same period a year ago shows that while job losses have hit every state and territory, the damage has been unique to each region.Go play with the interactive chart and bum yourself out EVEN MORE while you look for a new job:The coronavirus has destroyed the job market in every state[NBC News, Nigel Chiwaya and Jiachuan Wu, April 14, 2020]PHOTO: “Bowery men waiting for bread in bread line,” New York City, Bain Collection Public Domain. Read the rest

“FACEBOOK already paid $238,000 in 2018 to resolve a previous dispute over political advertising in Washington state.”

Been noodling around with a podcast idea for...what, years now? Well, it’s time to get serious, people. There is no time like right now to work out all the logistics of turning your marinating idea into an actual real, profitable podcast.And no, that isn’t a mistake. It could actually be a profitable enterprise. According to Bloomberg, several top podcasts make more than $1 million a year. In fact, The Daily, a podcast created by the New York Times, cleared more than $10 million in advertising in 2018.Sure, you won’t be launching with the prestige and power of journalism’s foremost publication behind you, but with the training in The Start-to-Finish Guide to Launching a Successful Podcast Bundle, you’ll know just how to get your podcast idea off the ground and immediately headed toward a sustainable future.With the nine classes and nearly 40 hours of instruction offered here, your vision can start falling into place. Start Your Own Podcast and The Podcast Masterclass start the conversation about where to begin to record, edit, publish, grow, and monetize a podcast. If you’re worried about the technical side, Podcasting in 24 Hours: Setup, Record & Podcast in 1 Day discusses which equipment you’ll need and Music Production in Logic Pro X: Audio Mixing for Podcasts examines the audio mixing and editing that will make your podcast sing.But people aren’t listening for your technical skills. The Complete Presentation and Public Speaking Course will help polish your delivery as a podcast host; Putting Yourself Out There focuses on ways to inject more of yourself and your authenticity into your shows; and Podcasting 101: How to Interview Your Heroes Online has some tried and true tips for how to land some top-level guests for your growing podcast. Read the rest

The plant is “built around efficiency,” keeping workers in close quarters and making it impossible to social distance, Cargill saysSmithfield Foods, Inc. recently closed a major pork processing plant in South Dakota, after workers were sickened with coronavirus in what has since become an outbreak hotspot. Now, U.S.-owned Cargill is cutting production at one of Canada's biggest beef-packing plants, after several dozen Cargill meat processing workers there were confirmed ill with the new coronavirus.The workers' union says the Cargill plant, which produces patties for McDonald’s restaurants, is now slaughtering 1,500 head of cattle per day, down from around 4,500. From Reuters:The Canadian arm of U.S. agribusiness Cargill temporarily idled its second production shift at High River, Alberta, on Monday, spokesman Daniel Sullivan said.It adds to the list of roughly one dozen North American meat plants that have closed temporarily or cut production due to the pandemic.The move came after workers unsuccessfully asked the plant and two other meat-processing companies in Alberta to close for two weeks amid concerns about their safety, said Tom Hesse, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 401. Thirty-eight workers at the Cargill plant have tested positive for coronavirus, he said.The plant is “built around efficiency,” keeping workers in close quarters and making it impossible to safely operate it under current conditions, Hesse said in an interview.Read More:Cargill reduces beef production at Alberta plant as virus spreads[PHOTO SOURCE, by Gajda-13 at da.wikipedia Read the rest

The Trump-aligned GOP governor of South Dakota resisted the urgent appeal by epidemiologists to issue a “stay-at-home” order. Now the state is home to a COVID-19 outbreak. Ignoring science has consequences.“As governors across the country fell into line in recent weeks, South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem stood firm: There would be no statewide order to stay home,” the Washington Post reports today in a review of what went so wrong in the state.Thanks to the governor's stupidity and science denialism, South Dakota is now home to one of the largest single coronavirus clusters anywhere in the United States, with more than 300 workers at a giant Smithfield ­pork-processing plant now confirmed to be sick with the virus."Edicts to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, Gov. Kristi Noem said, reflected a 'herd mentality.' It was up to individuals — not government — to decide whether 'to exercise their right to work, to worship and to play. Or to even stay at home.'" https://t.co/7iTQo5Uztp— Griff Witte (@griffwitte) April 14, 2020Remember, the *best case* scenario is the drug reduces the symptoms of the disease (and that is far from evident). It does nothing to slow the spread of the virus and can never be a substitute for prevention. https://t.co/JPzUCk3Gga pic.twitter.com/UlcHd57c4T— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) April 14, 2020https://twitter.com/i/events/1250113407744978945 Read the rest

It is the perfect time to revisit this classic from Jason Headley."If you find your mind wandering to other thoughts, don't let it concern you. Just acknowledge that all that shit is fucking bullshit."(Thanks, Kelly Sparks!) Read the rest

deMilked posted a fine selection of the "50 Weirdest Stock Photos You Won’t Be Able To Unsee." Many more at Bored Panda's archival post "177 Completely WTF Stock Photos You Won’t Be Able To Unsee." And for a constant stream, there's always r/WTFStockPhotos!(via Kottke) Read the rest

The RetroFlag GPi Case, which uses a Raspberry Pi Zero, looks very nice. In this video, MakeUseOf gives it a 9/10 score.If the idea of making retro game players using Raspberry Pis appeals to you, I invite you to check out a book I co-wrote this year, called Raspberry Pi Retro Gaming: Build Consoles and Arcade Cabinets to Play Your Favorite Classic Games. Read the rest

The coronavirus pandemic is being seen as a get-out-of-jail free card for imprisoned creeps. Bill Cosby is trying it. So is Michael Cohen and Lee Baca. If Jeffrey Epstein was still alive you know his swarm of lawyers would be trying to spring him, too.The latest imprisoned creep who thinks he's too special to be locked up is Paul Manafort, who is serving 7½-years for "tax evasion, failing to report foreign bank accounts, witness tampering, and engaging in unregistered lobbying for foreign interests," as reported by Politico.“Mr. Manafort is at a high risk of contracting COVID-19 at FCI Loretto due to his age and pre-existing health conditions, and it is imperative that Mr. Manafort be transferred to home confinement immediately in order to minimize the likelihood of Mr. Manafort contracting or spreading the potentially fatal disease,” [Manafort lawyer Kevin] Downing wrote in a letter obtained by Politico.According to The Washington Post, "Federal prosecutors declined to comment on Manafort’s request."Image: By Alexandria Sheriff’s Office - Alexandria, Virginia Detention Center, Public Domain, Link Read the rest

Last week Disney shared its recipe for Dole Whip and Churro Tots. This week, its sharing the recipe for the grilled three-cheese sandwich from Woody’s Lunch Box at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. View this post on Instagram We’re sharing the recipe for the delicious grilled three-cheese 🧀 sandwich from Woody’s Lunch Box at Disney’s Hollywood Studios! Visit the Disney Parks Blog for the full recipe now! #DisneyMagicMoments✨A post shared by Disney Parks Blog (@disneyparksblog) on Apr 11, 2020 at 2:17pm PDTImage: Disney Read the rest

This isn't the first chronological montage showing Trump's bungled response to the covid-19 pandemic, but it's definitely a good one - worth the watch. Read the rest

Jaz and Garry Mott of Victoria, Australia thought it would be nice to share photos of their 2019 vacation with their Facebook friends. Unfortunately, eagle-eyed police officers spotted the photos and assumed that they'd been taken during mandatory stay-at-home orders. According to The Independent the couple was met at their door by police and "were handed fines of AU$1,652 (£840.70) each for 'failure to comply with a direction given to a person in the exercise of a power under an authorisation given under section 199.'"The Motts had trouble convincing the police that they were in error, which is unusual because police are well-know for quickly admitting errors when presented with the facts. In this case however, the police didn't revoke the fine until the story made the local news, after which they quietly returned the money.Image: Facebook Read the rest

The Tate Modern has installed a massive Andy Warhol retrospective exhibition. Unfortunately nobody is allowed in to see it. In this video, Tate curators Gregor Muir and Fiontán Moran take us through the exhibit and "discuss Warhol through the lens of the immigrant story, his LGBTQI identity and concerns with death and religion." Read the rest

Groovin' out trading music with fellow mutants. Xeni suggests: Laisse tomber les filles Read the rest

Lockdowns have improved air quality in major cities around the world, per nitrogen dioxide measurements mapped here by Steven Bernard. Most cities, anyway.Data source: ESA Sentinel 5Data was processed by Descartes Labs showing average pollution levels from Mar 1 to Apr 5 2020, compared with the same period last year.Data was brought into QGIS and styled and then further design work was done in Adobe IllustratorYou can read the full article hereon how Covid-19 has impacted climate change for good and badI wonder if these maps expose a lack of social distancing, continued work travel, etc., that could be correlated to hidden prevalence of the disease. For example, if little has changed in Teheran's and Moscow's NOâ‚‚ output, is that evidence that there's no lockdown and a lot more people are getting it (and dying of it) than they're admitting?Another unusual pattern that differs from other cities: London, where the country/exurbs are markedly less polluted than usual but a small dense area in the center hasn't changed much at all. I made a crude diffed version (below), showing the change in output for each city. Black means no improvement (bear in mind rural areas with little pollution to begin with), green means a little improvement, red means a lot of improvementP.S. Had no idea what a choked hellhole Milan is. Read the rest

When we finally come out of this terrifying situation that the world has found itself embroiled in, the very best we can hope for is to become a better people than we were before COVID-19 struck, forcing us away from one another.We'll have to work for it, but it's achievable. Read the rest

People in Britain are burning down cellphone masts in a panicky reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic, goaded by online trolls and ignorant TV presenters telling them that radio waves, especially at frequences used by 5G, might carry the virus.As futile as it may be, Science Man Dan explains in a few minutes why 5G cannot carry viruses, and is as demonstrably safe as all other low-frequency radio waves floating about.BONUS: the underlying rage here is at cellphones and social media and news and the scraping hollowness of life mediated by technology. Read the rest

Thanks to the coronavirus, international travel is pretty much out of the question. This, however, doesn't mean that you can't take a taste of a huge number of cultures from around the world, without ever leaving your home.Radio Garden is a web service with a visual interface that allows you to tune into a vast variety of radio stations from around the world: Spin the globe, zoom in on the region you're interested in listening in on and choose a radio station. You're in business. During a recent trip to Morocco, I got into the kingdom's music scene, in a big way. Thanks to Radio Garden, I'm able to tune in and discover new sounds, anytime I please. If you're trapped inside and hungry for something to do, give it a try. It'll kill at least a few hours of your time Read the rest

On Tuesday morning, North Korea launched short-range cruise missiles in the country's fifth weapons test this year. So we got that going for us. Which is nice.The barrage of missiles were fired off the waters of North Korea's eastern coast. South Korea's military says this is a show of force on the eve of an important state anniversary in the North, and parliamentary elections in the South.More at Reuters.South Korea says that North Korea has fired several short-range missiles https://t.co/kwYlRdcfkn— Bloomberg (@business) April 14, 2020NEW: North Korea fires missiles from ground and air, the most high-profile among a series of weapons tests that North Korea has conducted recently amid stalled nuclear talks and concerns over a coronavirus outbreak in the country. https://t.co/QrElKDjGvz— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 14, 2020North Korea fires barrage of missiles on eve of founder Kim il-Sung's birthday, South Korea's elections https://t.co/8l6vUKSki5— Jim Clancy (@ClancyReports) April 14, 2020Kim Jong Un fired multiple missiles today ahead of elections in South Korea, @TheJihyeLee reports. North Korea often times its military provocations to coincide with major political events.https://t.co/Mlm28NRmCo— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 14, 2020I should be clear though: nobody really thinks North Korea's missile launch will be a major issue in South Korea's election. It probably won't get very much media attention here.— William Gallo (@GalloVOA) April 14, 2020North Korea Fires Barrage of Missiles From Ground and Air https://t.co/sDkfH3PWZv pic.twitter.com/BPTu3IJfI9— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) April 14, 2020 Read the rest

Covid-19 is short for "coronavirus disease 2019" and is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV2, short for "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2". So we're all set that it's a virus, right? Oh no. British media is proving fertile ground for the idea that Covid-19 is caused or carried by 5G, which is to say, radio waves in the frequency range used by WiFi and cellphones. Here's Eamonn Holmes, a top morning TV presenter, promoting the conspiracy on the show he co-presents. TV presenter Eamonn Holmes is at the centre of a controversy after casting doubt on media outlets that debunk the myth that 5G causes coronavirus."What I don't accept is mainstream media immediately slapping that down as not true when they don't know it's not true," the ITV This Morning host said."It's very easy to say it is not true because it suits the state narrative."... Holmes made the remarks on Monday in a segment with the programme's consumer editor Alice Beer, who said the 5G theory, which has led a number of phone masts to be set alight or vandalised, was "not true and it's incredibly stupid".It's an idea floating somewhere between conspiracy theory, sinophobia (Chinese telecom giant Huawei was recently awarded key 5G infrastructure contracts in the UK) and abject ignorance of everything science has thrown light on in recent centuries concerning illness, electromagnetism and the observable nature of reality.Holmes doesn't believe the conspiracy theories himself, you see -- he's just asking questions, in the form of declarative statements. Read the rest

Despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown that's surrounding us and suffocating every moment of our lives, the GOP-controlled court system in the state of Wisconsin refused to postpone that state's primary election, or to even respect the sudden influx in mail-in ballots from people who didn't want to get exposed to a virus simply for exercising their right to vote.It was a blatant act of voter suppression — a favorite move of the GOP — and a frightening portent of the upcoming November election.Fortunately, those brave voters made sure their voices were made heard: preliminary results show that they successfully kicked out the incumbent conservative Justice Daniel Kelly, voting in the progressive candidate Jill Karofsky. From the Milwaukee Journal Online Sentinel:Karofsky’s victory marked the first time in a dozen years that a Supreme Court challenger beat an incumbent — and just the second time in more than half a century. Her win over Justice Daniel Kelly will shift conservative control of the court from 5-2 to 4-3.Thank you to everyone across Wisconsin who made this victory possible! pic.twitter.com/FkbPjnGsCH— Judge Jill Karofsky (@judgekarofsky) April 14, 2020 Good news is good to see.Liberal Jill Karofsky wins Wisconsin Supreme Court election, defeating conservative justice Daniel Kelly [Patrick Marley / Milwaukee Journal Online Sentinel]Progressive Upsets Conservative Judge After Suppressed Vote in Wisconsin [Ed Kilgore / NY Mag]Image: Wikimedia Commons (CC 4.0) Read the rest

Almost all of us enjoy the idea of having some live plants in our homes. Unfortunately, some of us who would like to think we have a green thumb really only have hands of death when it comes to our unsuspecting flora friends.And the number 1 killer of innocent house plants? Overwatering. Oh, and by the way...the number 2 killer? That would be under-watering. Finding just the right watering sweet spot to keep house plants happy and thriving is often as elusive as trying to keep a leash on the Tiger King. It just isn’t going to happen.The water generating planter known as the Dewplanter was created to take that question right off your hands and, hopefully, keep a few more house plants from meeting a grizzly, desiccated end.After you plant your growth in this 6 x 6.5 x 5.5-inch planting area, the Dewplanter will take care of all your watering duties on its own. The Dewplanter actually works to condense moisture right out of the air, creating clean filtered water that’s used to feed the growth of your plant. You can set the unit to run for various lengths of time, all so you can control the exact amount of water needed to make your plant healthy and well-fed.The Dewplanter works with almost any variety of house plant, although it does work best with low maintenance plants like Chinese evergreens, Asparagus ferns, money plants, African violets, rubber plants and more.Not only does it watch over your plants, but just over the course of its duties, the Dewplanter also doubles as a handy humidifier, helping to balance moisture levels in small humid spaces like a bathroom with precision. Read the rest

Imagine trying to explain to your-January-self how different the world would be in a few short months. That's what YouTuber Julie Nolke imagines doing in this cute video. Read the rest

Wendy Liu grew up deeply enmeshed in technology, writing code for free/open source projects and devouring books by tech luminaries extolling the virtues of running tech startups; after turning down a job offer from Google, Liu helped found an ad-tech company and moved from Montreal to New York City to take her startup to an incubator. As she worked herself into exhaustion to build her product, she had a conversion experience, realizing that she was devoting her life to using tech to extract wealth and agency from others, rather than empowering them. This kicked off a journey that Liu documents in her new book, Abolish Silicon Valley: How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism, a memoir manifesto that's not just charming -- it's inspiring.

I know she doesn't specifically say that these are all emails from Brands™ or PR people — but I think we all know the truth. Either way, that's some beautiful god damn poetry.This poem is called “First lines of emails I’ve received while quarantining.” pic.twitter.com/4keCqPaO63— Jessica Salfia (@jessica_salfia) April 11, 2020Image: John Cummings / Wikimedia Commons (CC 4.0) Read the rest

Attractions Magazine shared this clip of the voice actor behind Disney's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the late Dallas McKennon, talking about recording the gig. Humorously, he looks just as you would expect him to (a ye olde prospector type):The voice from Big Thunder Mountain looks exactly like we expected. Here’s Dal McKennon: pic.twitter.com/M2ifhyX6ez— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) April 7, 2020In his 50-year career, Dal's most-famous acting credit wasn't Big Thunder though. He also voiced Gumby in Art Clokey's The Gumby Show. Check out his other many credits. (Geek Tyrant)lead image via Disney Parks Read the rest

As if the Disney Dole Whip and Churro recipes weren't enough to plump us up in quarantine, now Hilton has offered up their recipe for DoubleTree Inn's famous chocolate chip cookies:For the first time ever, DoubleTree by Hilton is sharing the official bake-at-home recipe for the brand’s beloved and delicious chocolate chip cookie, so at-home bakers can create the warm and comforting treat in their own kitchens. The warm chocolate chip cookie welcome is synonymous with DoubleTree hotels worldwide, and travelers look forward to receiving one, fresh from the oven, upon their arrival. Watch and learn:Full recipe here.photo by L.A. Foodie/Flickr Read the rest

View this post on Instagram I did a Weird Al of Friday I’m in Love because I get sad every Tuesday // #alainalynnemusic #thecureA post shared by ALAINA LYNNE // (@thealainalynne) on Apr 7, 2020 at 5:53pm PDTMy friend Alaina Lynne is a singer-songwriter and a visual artist. She posted this on Instagram the other day and it just … really spoke to my quarantine experience, ya know?Image: Bixentro/Flickr (CC 2.0) Read the rest

Even in their well-stocked pantry of digital goodies, Illustrator might be the most stealthily powerful app that Adobe’s popular Creative Cloud offers. As the go-to platform to create virtually any scalable vector graphic project, its versatility is mostly unmatched, even by its more famous sibling Adobe Photoshop.Of course, learning how to harness all that creative power is another story. While you’ve got a few extra hours to kill these days, now’s a great time to go deep exploring the vast capabilities of this foundational graphic design tool with the training in The Ultimate Adobe Illustrator’s Guidebook Certification Bundle.Whether you’re a CC first timer or just could use some extra practice with everything Illustrator can do, this collection brings together nine courses from some top instructors to explain and explore it all.Four courses here lay the groundwork for beginners, advancing from understanding basics, exploring lines and brushes and using the pen tool to color management, creating vector shapes and typographies and how to do processes like image traces. Using those lessons on some real-world examples like redrawing famous logos will start giving you a firm command of everything Illustrator can do.The training advances from there, helping students tackle increasingly more difficult projects, yet always using actual hands-on training examples to help reinforce the learning.A course like Digital Design Masterclass for Graphic Designers With Adobe goes deep on digital design theory training in icon design, website layout, digitizing sketches, eBook cover design, social media campaign design, and more; while Master Popular Graphic Design Projects gets into specific media for you to create like building your own package designs, digital assets, social media graphics, album art, magazine covers, layout spreads and beyond. Read the rest

Hyoog if true."The President of the United States has the authority to do what the President has the authority to do," President Trump says. He says local government "can't do anything without the approval of the President of the United States." pic.twitter.com/MZsVSM1bcV— joshscampbell (@joshscampbell) April 13, 2020I'm going to put it very simply. The President of the United States has the authority to do what the President has the authority to do. Which is very powerful.Damn if that ain't goin' down in history.In other news, the GOP has continued to remain to surprisingly silent on the issue of states' rights for which they fought so hard to use an excuse for bigotry over the last 250 years.Image: Public Domain via the White House Read the rest

Good news, everyone!One of the side effects of coronavirus lockdown around the world has been the tremendous reduction in pollution level. One can breathe in fresh air. And after ages probably, stars are also visible in the night sky.This is an ideal time to stargaze, given the number of constellations one can easily spot in the night sky without a telescope or even binoculars. Hope you did not miss the giant pink supermoon that recently graced the night sky.You might not want to miss another major celestial event that is going to occur soon: Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and the moon will appear together for three days! April 14, 15, 16.Read the rest at the Indiana Times.Image: YouTube Read the rest

From Just Security:What follows is a comprehensive timeline of major U.S. policy events related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. We’ve focused on the U.S. government’s preparation for a pandemic, tracking warning signals of COVID-19, and public and internal responses when the outbreak hit inside the United States.In our view, the timeline is clear: Like previous administrations, the Trump administration knew for years that a pandemic of this gravity was possible and imminently plausible. Several Trump administration officials raised strong concerns prior to the emergence of COVID-19 and raised alarms once the virus appeared within the United States. While some measures were put in place to prepare the United States for pandemic readiness, many more were dismantled since 2017.In response to COVID-19, the United States was slow to act at a time when each day of inaction mattered most–in terms of both the eventual public health harms as well as the severe economic costs. The President and some of his closest senior officials also disseminated misinformation that left the public less safe and more vulnerable to discounting the severity of the pandemic. When it came time to minimize the loss of life and economic damage, the United States was unnecessarily underprepared, had sacrificed valuable time, and confronted the pandemic with a more mild response than public health experts recommended. These lapses meant that the United States was ultimately forced to make more drastic economic sacrifices to catch up to the severity of the pandemic than would have otherwise been necessary. Read the rest

My daughter and I are enjoying Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but when I read Cecilia D'Agostino's negative review of the smash hit Nintendo title in Wired, I couldn't help but think she has a point. "[T]rapped in an endless cycle of kawaii capitalism," indeed.Animal Crossing: New Horizons is relaxing to me the way a high-end Maui resort may be relaxing—the kind where at-attention employees taxi $20 cocktails to your stinging-hot metal beach chair atop 500 truckloads of stolen white sand. I sit out in the sun, getting more and more intoxicated, but nothing stops the stinging, and the bill just keeps getting steeper.How is it possible to feel so completely unrelaxed in Animal Crossing? I’ve wondered this for hours, pitching my brain against the game’s repetitive dialog, frustrating mechanics, and obsession with debt bondage in search for a lasting dopamine high. And while I’ve enjoyed small, short-lived bursts of joy—a new fish species, a gift dropped from a balloon!—in the end, Animal Crossing has only felt like the grind, charmingly reskinned.Image: Nintendo Read the rest

During a totally unhinged coronavirus briefing that was a verbal abuse session and campaign rally, impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. president Donald Trump said "When somebody is the President of the United States, the authority is total."TRUMP:When somebody's the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that's the way it's gotta be... It's total and the governors know that.That's it, folks. That's the blog post.Nothing matters. Apparently not even The Tenth Amendment (Amendment X) to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights.Nope. Nothing matters now. TRUMP: "When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that's the way it's gotta be. It's total." pic.twitter.com/zIuiBn1Mhw— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 13, 2020Trump: "The President of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The president of the united States calls the shots." pic.twitter.com/wia8r2Fd1g— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 13, 2020President Trump just now: "When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total."Fact Check: That is definitely not true.— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 13, 2020President Trump lays out his view of his own authority here: “When somebody’s the president of the United States, the authority is total. And that’s the way it has to be.”— Eamon Javers (@EamonJavers) April 13, 2020... the president of the united states of america: "the authority is total... Read the rest

'TRUMP TURNS [CORONAVIRUS] BRIEFING INTO PROPAGANDA SESSION'

“'The difference now is the speed with which it spreads, and the denigration of the institutions that we rely on to understand the truth. I think we're in dangerous territory.'”Don't miss the New York Times investigation detailing Russia's decade-long health disinformation campaign against the United States and other Western democracies, using social media and news outlets to sow confusion and hurt institutions. Vladimir Putin's years-long campaign to spread misinformation on public health issues included urging Americans to see vaccines as dangerous.William J. Broad / New York Times:The Russian president has waged his long campaign by means of open media, secretive trolls and shadowy blogs that regularly cast American health officials as patronizing frauds. Of late, new stealth and sophistication have made his handiwork harder to see, track and fight.Even so, the State Department recently accused Russia of using thousands of social media accounts to spread coronavirus misinformation — including a conspiracy theory that the United States engineered the deadly pandemic.The Kremlin’s audience for open disinformation is surprisingly large. The YouTube videos of RT, Russia’s global television network, average one million views per day, “the highest among news outlets,” according to a U.S. intelligence report. Since the founding of the Russian network in 2005, its videos have received more than four billion views, analysts recently concluded.Read more:Putin’s Long War Against American Science For Vladimir Putin, spreading disinformation about coronavirus fits into a long pattern of sowing doubt about science outside of his country. Interesting story by @WilliamJBroad. Read the rest

A class action lawsuit filed against McDonald's corporation claims that women who worked for the fast food franchise in Florida restaurants were subjected to widespread sexual harassment. The lawsuit was filed on Friday in Chicago federal court, and accuses McDonald's of fostering a climate of “severe or pervasive sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, including groping, physical assaults, and sexually-charged verbal comments.”From Reuters:McDonald’s said in a statement that it was committed to ensuring workers were not subject to sexual harassment. “The plaintiffs’ allegations of harassment and retaliation were investigated as soon as they were brought to our attention, and we will likewise investigate the new allegations that they have raised in their complaint,” it said.The plaintiffs, McDonald’s employee Jamelia Fairley and former employee Ashley Reddick, are seeking to represent a class of female employees of Florida’s more than 100 corporate-owned, non-franchise McDonald’s locations. They are asking for $500 million in compensatory damages and additional punitive damages.Fairley and Reddick said in their complaint that McDonald’s failed to provide training to prevent sexual harassment and shuffled serial harassers from one location to another without consequence. “McDonald’s strategy in Florida appears to be: deny, ignore, and punish anyone who complains too loudly, and at times, move harassers from one restaurant to another restaurant, where they have access to and can further harass more women,” they said. Read more at Reuters:McDonald's faces class action over 'pervasive sexual harassment' Read the rest

'The purchased accounts include a victim's email address, password, personal meeting URL, and their HostKey'

There are little lights in this darkness that shine through and make, for a brief moment, the invisible zombie apocalypse seem a bit less horrifying. One of these for me has been Robert Fripp and his wife Toyah cracking themselves (and the internet) up on her twitter channel. Watch them as they play DIY Dancing with the Stars in their kitchen and flit about as pollinating bees in their back garden.And yes, that is Robert Fripp, he of the impeccable 3-piece suits and dour resting face, in a full-on bee costume and sheer black stockings. Nice gams, Bob!Happy #lockdown lunch pic.twitter.com/mQmnGYjC2c— Toyah Willcox (@toyahofficial) April 5, 2020Happy #lockdown #EasterSunday to the world xxxxx #ToyahWillcox #RobertFripp pic.twitter.com/NZBm6yX8mw— Toyah Willcox (@toyahofficial) April 12, 2020The Easter bees are buzzing in an English country garden #lockdown 🐝 💐🐝 #easter #bees #toyahwillcox #robertfripp pic.twitter.com/pYLhy6kUEh— Toyah Willcox (@toyahofficial) April 10, 2020Image: Screengrab Read the rest

Pandemic tourism is all the rage! Take a virtual tour of the tomb of Ramesses VI in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt.نقدم لكم اليوم جولة افتراضية داخل مقبرة الملك رمسيس السادس بوادي الملوك بالأقصر.Today we take you on a virtual tour in the tomb of Ramesses VI in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor. https://t.co/opLKOoreDD#StayHome #StaySafe#ExperienceEgyptFromHome— Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (@TourismandAntiq) April 13, 2020Image: Screengrab Read the rest

For the first time in its 40-year history, Restaurant Depot has opened their doors to the public. The wholesale food service supplier has 135 locations in the United States and it just so happens there is one half a mile away from me. I have long wanted to check out, so, after hearing the news on Thursday night, I was in line first thing Friday morning. The promise of in-stock toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and food -- at wholesale prices -- was just too tempting. Here's some of what I saw in my nearly two-hour shopping excursion. Ok, first, the warehouse is MASSIVE. And it's full of stuff I've never seen sold anywhere else. It makes Costco look like amateur hour.No, really. These are WHOLE GOAT CARCASSES:And a freezer case full of COD LOINS (which I later learned are the "filet mignon" of cod fish):If you need a pallet of Medjool dates, this place has your back:Or maybe "Crab Meat Seafood Specialties" are more your jam:A vat of Bubble Gum Flavored Sno-Cone syrup? No problem!Did you know Chinese food containers were called "Food Pails" in the industry? Neither did I:Here's a list of some of the more everyday items *I* left with, and what they cost:-- 25 lbs. of flour for $7.38-- Enough Clabber Girl baking powder to start a bakery $10.65-- Two gallons of whole milk for $6.26-- Five lbs. of fancy shredded jack and cheddar cheese (enchiladas, yo) for $12.40 Read the rest