Boing Boing

I'm listening to X's new album, released today on Bandcamp, and it's amazingly good -- loaded with energy and Billy Zoom's mind-warping guitar. It's the original line-up and the band's first album in 35 years. It's called Alphabetland and the cover is by artist Wayne White.From Rolling Stone:In interviews, the band members have expressed mixed emotions about making a new album. All of them except for Zoom said they would want to make a new one in a 2017 Rolling Stone profile of the group.“Families are complicated,” Doe said at the time, carefully choosing his words. “There’s certain … Yeah, I’m not gonna go there.”“It wouldn’t work,” Zoom said. “The chemistry wouldn’t be right. [Some band members] are in different places and stubborn, and I don’t want to go into detail, but it wouldn’t sound like an X record.” The band has yet to explain the change of heart.. Read the rest

Carla ordered these cheap Bic mechanical pencils. I tried one out and I actually like it a lot. The lead diameter is 0.9 mm and it has a number 2 lead inside. It also contains one extra lead in the barrel. A 24-pack sells for about $.25 a pencil. They are supposed to be disposable, but why not buy a bunch of 9 mm lead for cheap and keep using the pencil? You can even get colored leads! Read the rest

After 22 days of being hospitalized with symptoms of COVID-19, and developing pneumonia, singer and counter-cultural icon, Marianne Faithfull, has been released from the hospital. Her official Facebook page writes:We are really happy to say that Marianne has been discharged from hospital today, 22 days after being admitted suffering from the symptoms of Covid-19. She will continue to recuperate in London. Marianne thanks you all for your kind messages of concern which have meant a great deal through what is a such a difficult time for so many. She is also very grateful to all the NHS staff who cared for her at the hospital and, without doubt, saved her life.In celebration, enjoy this tribute song that Marianne wrote upon the passing of her lifelong friend, Anita Richards (Keith's ex)."Forever loving you," Marianne.Image: YouTube Read the rest

Speaking of Gary Numan, I just discovered these basement session videos from 2014 on the YouTubes. I especially like this version of "Are Friends Electric?"There only seems to be three performances available. I assume there are more.Image: YouTube Read the rest

Doctors say the disease caused by the novel coronavirus appears to be causing strokes in young adult patients, some who didn't even know they were infected.If these early reports bear out, it is possible that this could cause the official known toll of the pandemic to be lower than reality -- if patients in their 30s and 40s are dying of stroke, they may not be counted as having died of COVID-19, the thinking goes.From CNN's Maggie Fox:Dr. Thomas Oxley, a neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, and colleagues gave details of five people they treated. All were under the age of 50, and all had either mild symptoms of Covid-19 infection or no symptoms at all."The virus seems to be causing increased clotting in the large arteries, leading to severe stroke," Oxley told CNN."Our report shows a seven-fold increase in incidence of sudden stroke in young patients during the past two weeks. Most of these patients have no past medical history and were at home with either mild symptoms (or in two cases, no symptoms) of Covid," he added."All tested positive. Two of them delayed calling an ambulance."Other doctors have also reported that people are reluctant to call 911 or go to emergency rooms because of the pandemic. It is not common for people so young to have strokes, especially strokes in the large vessels in the brain."For comparison, our service, over the previous 12 months, has treated on average 0.73 Read the rest

You might say she was willing to gamble with their lives.It's been quite a week for politicians saying awful things that reveal how little they care about the human beings they govern. Latest case in point, the mayor of Las Vegas.In this CNN clip with Anderson Cooper, Mayor Carolyn Goodman of Las Vegas, Nevada offers her city as a “control group” -- she says, "we offer to be a control group" (!!!) -- to find out how many people will become infected with coronavirus and die without social distancing.She is a supporter of impeached president Donald Trump, who is pushing states and mayors to lift social distancing guidelines. Trump is also tweeting erratic commands to his armed supporters about liberating states, and it's all very weird.Watch the clip:Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman calls for businesses to reopen, while saying she won't provide social distancing guidelines on how to do so safely."They better figure it out. That's their job. That's not the mayor's job." https://t.co/lx4A6WuB0P pic.twitter.com/fEedR19LYX— CNN (@CNN) April 22, 2020The brouhaha over her televised comments may be for naught -- there are reports she has no such jurisdiction, anyway.The Las Vegas Strip is not in the City of Las Vegas.She is the mayor of the City of Las Vegas, not the Las Vegas Strip.Turns out the mayor has no control over the Las Vegas strip. From @ThisAlexTin: "City of Las Vegas doesn't actually have any jurisdiction over the Las Vegas Strip. Read the rest

• Dr. Rick Bright, head of the agency responsible for vaccines in the Trump administration, released a statement Wednesday that blames political motives for his abrupt reassignment.• "I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science – not politics or cronyism – has to lead the way."WASHINGTON: Dr. Rick Bright, a leading official at the United States Department of Health and Human Services, says he was demoted for fighting efforts to “fund potentially dangerous drugs promoted by those with political connections,” and for opposing hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug touted by Trump as a coronavirus treatment. Bright says he wants an investigation by the Inspector general, and has hired a whistleblower lawyer. Here is the full statement from Bright:"Yesterday, I was removed from my positions as the Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response by the Administration and involuntarily transferred to a more limited and less impactful position at the National Institutes of Health. I believe this transfer was in response to my insistence that the government invest the billions of dollars allocated by Congress to address the COVID-19 pandemic into safe and scientifically vetted solutions, and not in drugs, vaccines and other technologies that lack scientific merit. I am speaking out because to combat this deadly virus, science -- not politics or cronyism -- has to lead the way."I have spent my entire career in vaccine development, in the government with CDC and BARDA and also in the biotechnology industry. Read the rest

Impeached U.S. president Donald Trump says his administration plans to soon reopen the country's national parks and other public lands, with details to be announced on specific sites in coming days.“We will begin to open our national parks and public lands for the American people to enjoy,” Trump announced at an Earth Day event at the White House, offering no further information. Some national parks have actually remained open throughout the whole COVID-19 pandemic, but many have been closed.Here is the White House announcement. We're committed to conserving the wonders of God's creation by protecting our national parks and public lands! pic.twitter.com/0gGl245a7S— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 22, 2020Gotta get some God in there.Here is a statement from Trump's acting secretary of the Interior.President @realDonaldTrump, @VP and I are committed to working with governors and local public health officials to gradually reopen our National Parks in a safe manner for the American people to once again enjoy. #NationalParkWeek pic.twitter.com/MaUObBJtRK— Secretary David Bernhardt (@SecBernhardt) April 22, 2020From Reuters:Representatives for the White House referred questions to the Department of Interior, which oversees public lands, including federal parks.“More details will be provided in the coming days on plans for the reopening of specific parks following guidance from OMB (Office of Management and Budget) and the President’s plan for Opening Up America Again,” representatives for the department said in a statement.Trump’s comment comes as some U.S. states move forward with plans to restart economic activity as soon as this week despite concern from public health officials and others about the potential for a spike in coronavirus cases. Read the rest

On Wednesday, Facebook said it will label posts from popular accounts to reveal their geographic origin, an attempt to limit election-year political misinformation by foreign entities. Often, such accounts attempt to trick the user into believing they are legitimate groups and political parties based in the United States.Today we're beginning to show the location of high-reach Facebook Pages and Instagram accounts on *every post they share.* Really proud of the teams continuing to increase transparency like this. https://t.co/jwFg34bttp pic.twitter.com/w3UdYkQ1NS— Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) April 22, 2020Here is the official announcement from Facebook.More from AP:The new policy will apply to popular pages about elections, entertainment and other topics and will stamp every post they make on Facebook and Instagram with its origin. For instance, an Instagram account targeting U.S. voters but based in Brazil will have every post labeled with “Based in Brazil.” Users then can swipe to find out more information about the account.It’s the social network’s latest attempt to fight election-related misinformation. Russia and other countries have been using social media to try to influence political discourse in the U.S. and elsewhere, often by masquerading as local interest groups.Facebook will initially target pages based outside of the U.S. that reach a large number of people inside the U.S. The labels, the company says, will help people “gauge the reliability and authenticity” of what they see.Read the rest:Facebook to label national origin of popular posts Read the rest

More than 12 government-backed hacker groups are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for digital reconnaissance and espionage, a new report by Google's Threat Analysis Group finds.An excerpt from reporting by Lily Hay Newman at Wired:On Wednesday, Google's Threat Analysis Group published findings about two of the state-sponsored campaigns it's been tracking. One "notable" effort, according to the researchers, targeted US government employees through their personal email accounts with phishing messages posing as coronavirus-related updates from fast food chains. TAG says that some of the emails included coupons or free meal offers framed as pandemic specials, and others promoted malicious links as portals to order food online. If victims clicked the links, they were taken to phishing pages aimed at collecting their Google login credentials. TAG says that Gmail automatically marked the vast majority of these emails as spam and blocked the malicious links."Hackers frequently look at crises as an opportunity, and COVID-19 is no different," TAG director Shane Huntley wrote in a blog post about the findings. "Across Google products, we’re seeing bad actors use COVID-related themes to create urgency so that people respond to phishing attacks and scams.… TAG has specifically identified over a dozen government-backed attacker groups using COVID-19 themes as lure for phishing and malware attempts—trying to get their targets to click malicious links and download files."TAG says it isn't aware of any accounts that were compromised as a result of the fast food campaign, and Google notified all the targeted users with its standard "government-backed attacker" warning. Read the rest

"Beth" is Kiss's biggest hit ever and, interestingly, was co-written and sung by the band's drummer Peter Criss. It's arguably one of the most iconic power ballads of the 1970s. (Full song below.) But what was the song really about? Director Brian Billow shows that there's always two sides to every story. And if there isn't, you can just make one up. "Beth" the film stars Lilli Birdsell as Beth and Steven Olson as Peter.(via Dangerous Minds) Read the rest

A large majority of people surveyed say they are concerned that restrictions on social distancing will be lifted too soon. Even before cities and states issued stay at home orders, people were avoiding restaurants and other crowded places, according to Matthew Iglesias of Vox. There's no reason to think that "reopening" the economy is certainly going to make people think it's OK to mingle in crowds again.This week, governors in states like Florida and Georgia are moving to reopen bowling alleys, nail salons, and dine-in restaurants in an effort to get economic life moving again. And an organized campaign by conservative economic interests is underway to lift restrictions faster in more places.This will be an experiment, of course, but the best available evidence casts doubt on the idea that enough customers will return to make it possible for small businesses to stay viable without additional government assistance.For example, we know customers began abandoning America’s restaurants before they were ordered closed, that the handful of states that have avoided broad lockdown orders are still feeling economic pain, and that huge swaths of the economy that have not been shut down are nonetheless experiencing a precipitous decline in sales.It's also hard to imagine that a lot of people who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic are going to get them back if the economy is "reopened." And it's unlikely people are going to get on planes, take vacations, stay in hotels, or buy cars and other expensive items. Read the rest

Amid the news that hydroxychloroquine is actually more dangerous than beneficial, this video might come in handy when the lawsuits start rolling in.pic.twitter.com/nC4Ve1NBNQ— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) April 21, 2020Hydroxychloroquine, a word that spilled like honey from the lips of her lovers at Fox News, is no longer welcome at the channel. Shunned like a Roger Ailes victim who complained about being assaulted, the chemical has been forgotten by its formerly infatuated swains, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham.Maybe the rift began after those studies came out showing hydroxychloroquine didn't work against coronavirus and in fact caused higher death rates then coronavirus patients who did not take the drug.We'll never know, because Fox News doesn't want to talk about it."Will anyone who breathlessly pitched hydroxychloroquine as a miracle drug show a modicum of regret or even self-awareness over this? Doubtful," tweeted Sam Stein of The Daily Beast. "More likely is they’ll ignore the study entirely."Fox News is past it. Can't we do the same and respect their privacy in this personal matter between former lovers? Read the rest

In 1977, Steve "Woz" Wozniak used a neat hack to bring color to the Apple II computer. According to IEEE Spectrum, the obscure trick, called NTSC artifact color, "allows digital systems without specialized graphics hardware to produce color images by exploiting quirks in how TVs decode analog video signals." That hack later was employed by the IBM PC, Radio Shack TRS-80, and other early home computers. But how did Woz learn about it? Turns out, videogame legend Al Alcorn, inventor of Pong, turned Woz onto the hack. From IEEE Spectrum:Stephen Cass: Analog NTSC televisions generate color by looking at the phase of a signal relative to a reference frequency. So how did you come across this color test tool, and how did it work? Al Alcorn: When I was 13, 14, my neighbor across the street had a television repair shop. I would go down there and at the same time, I had my father sign me up for an RCA correspondence course on radio and television repair. So, by the time I got to Berkeley, I was a journeyman TV repairman and actually paid my way through college through television. In one repair shop, there was a real cheap, sleazy color bar generator [for testing televisions]. And instead of doing color properly by synthesizing the phases and stuff like that, it simply used a crystal that was 3.58 megahertz [the carrier frequency for the color signal] minus 15.750 kilohertz, which was the horizontal scan frequency. So it slipped one phase, 360 degrees, every scan line. Read the rest

YouTuber 3Blue1Brown has started a video series called "lockdown math." In his latest episode he goes over the fundamentals of trigonometry in a way that is accessible and enjoyable. Read the rest

This image shows how a woman's silicone breast implant deflected a bullet fired at close range, likely stopping the slug from killing her. University of Toronto surgeon Giancarlo McEvenue and his colleagues report on this curiouse case in the SAGE medical journal. The shooter was never identified. From CNN:"The bullet wound entry was on the left breast, but the rib fracture was on the right side. The bullet entered the skin on the left side first, and then ricocheted across her sternum into the right breast and broke her rib on the right side," he explained."The implant caused the change in the trajectory of the bullet," he said.The woman suffered a gunshot wound, broken ribs and broken implants, but otherwise was remarkably unscathed."On the left hand side is the heart and lungs -- if the bullet would have gone into the chest, she would have had a much more serious, possibly life-threatening injury," McEvenue added.Here is the full report in SAGE, including graphic images of the surgery: "Life-Saving Silicone Breast Implant After Firearm Injury: Case Report and Treatment Recommendations" Read the rest

Built in the late 1980s, Biosphere 2 is the human habitat in Oracle, Arizona that was meant to help scientists understand how humans might live in space. In 1991, eight people went inside for two years of experimental quarantine inside the vivarium. The premise, and much of what happened, would make for a great JG Ballard novel. Spaceship Earth, a new documentary about Biosphere 2 directed by Matt Wolf, promises to tell the real tale, warts and all. It premieres online May 8. From Neon, the indie studio releasing the film:The [Biosphere 2] experiment was a worldwide phenomenon, chronicling daily existence in the face of life threatening ecological disaster and a growing criticism that it was nothing more than a cult. The bizarre story is both a cautionary tale and a hopeful lesson of how a small group of dreamers can potentially reimagine a new world. Read the rest

These were made by artist Chezka Sunit. And as excited as I am about that new live-action Dune movie, I'm already craving an anime version using this artwork 'cause it's gorgeous. View this post on Instagram Dune Series #5 Paul Atreides of House Atreides. 🏜 I'm planning to do two versions of Paul, this and him being the Muad'Dib of the Fremen. #dune #frankherbert #paul #atreides #digitalart #scifi #artnouveau #artdecoA post shared by Suumum (Chezka Sunit) (@suumum) on Feb 12, 2020 at 12:09pm PST View this post on Instagram Re-upload. The first quality was so bad. Sorry. Dune Series #9 Alia Atreides (St. Alia of the Knife) Thank you for being patient and always supportive of this series, lately I've been swamped with work plus this lockdown is kinda driving me nuts. I miss cycling and hiking. I had a real blast doing this, I love Mongolian, Tibetian, Bedouin, Slavic traditional clothes a lot. I use them for inspiration all the time! Also insects and plants! Hoping everyone is well! ✨💖🗡💖✨ #dune #frankherbert #alia #atreides #fremen #stillsuit #arrakis #digitalart #scifi #artnouveau #artdecoA post shared by Suumum (Chezka Sunit) (@suumum) on Mar 21, 2020 at 10:50am PDT View this post on Instagram Dune Series #8 Reverend Mother Jessica (Jessica Atreides) of the Fremen of Arrakis. 🏺💧🏜 Tough day for most of us (specially if you're from where I'm at), with everything that's been happening lately. All these news surrounding this epidemic, I hope you still have it in you guys to press on for the next weeks/months. Read the rest

Send a message about how you're feeling to this website or read messages others have sent. If there are no messages sent within a 24 hour period, "This website will self destruct." From the explanation:Hi,I’m a website. I’ll be gone soon, and that’s okay.You can send me messages using the form below. If I go 24 hours without receiving a message, I’ll permanently self-destruct, and everything will be wiped from my database.That’s okay though.Until then, let me know how you’re doing. Other people will be able to read what you write, but your name or identity won’t be attached to anything, so feel free to say what’s on your mind.It’s been a rough month.With love,ThisWebsiteWillSelfdestruct (dot) comPS. I don’t collect any data about you other than the text you send me. I don’t believe in tracking people, so no analytics are kept about users. Consider this my privacy policy and terms of service. Read the rest

In this footage, the exhalations of Alpacas catch sunlight to offer the impression of fire hanging in the air. The Alpacas, lost in a moment of quiet scintillation, wonder if they are dragons. Read the rest

We all know it’s a different world out there now than the one where we made New Year’s resolutions and waited for the end of winter just a few months ago. If you weren’t a germaphobe then, it’s likely the onset of COVID-19 has at least made you much more conscious of the spread of dangerous germs and other bacterial contaminants that live in the world around us every day.And if we’re all being honest...it’s probably got you a little freaked out.The only way to combat the spread of harmful germs is to limit exposure, which is why the CleanKey Antimicrobial Brass Hand Tool was invented.The virus that causes COVID-19 can live on common surfaces for several hours or even several days, so the CleanKey helps limit the number of times you have to touch or potentially be infected by a contagious countertop, door handle or push button.The CleanKey barely measures over 3.5 inches long. Yet, by using the CleanKey to press buttons, open doors and pull levels, you reduce your point of contact area with potentially contaminated surfaces.Its ergonomic design slips into your hand comfortably and with the retractable carabiner, it hooks easily to your house keys, purse or other items.The CleanKey also works with touchscreens, allowing you to push buttons or even sign your name safely and without causing any damage to the screen.These days, every little bit of precaution helps — and it could save you from a body-wrecking illness or worse. Read the rest

Bryan Keith took a flight over the airport in Victorville, California, which has become a storage site for jumbo jets grounded for spring and likely summer too.[Victorville is] currently one of the largest airplane parking lots in the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In this video, in coordination with air traffic control (ATC), I fly a dramatic low approach in my Grumman Tiger over the closed runway that is currently home for over 400 unused jets. After that, we fly over the peak bloom of the Antelope VallHe flies over the runways four minutes in. Read the rest

A woman in North Carolina was arrested this week in November 2019 after opening fire on workers maintaining a cellular tower near her home, reports WSOC TV in Charlotte. None of the workers were hit.[The woman] was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after court documents show she fired a a 22 revolver pistol. We can hear the 911 call made from the tower this weekend where a crew of three people were doing work south of Taylorsville.The woman has prevously contacted authorities to inform them of "hearing voices from the tower", says local Sheriff Chris Bowman. Her gun is legally owned.CORRECTION: The incident happened months ago, not last week. Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH Hollingsworth hounds that Lucky Ducky back out to work, but you just know he'll still find a way to win

On the web, security is always critical. But when a company feels its systems have been infiltrated by a hacker or outside force, usually the only recourse is for their IT security team to start the long process of pouring over data logs, building analysis tools and rooting around for unusual behavior.Thankfully, Amazon Web Services is now helping with this laborious task with AWS Detective, a tool available to their users that uses machine learning to automate the entire search for security issues and potential breaches.It’s just another area where the web’s leading cloud services provider is pushing the boundaries of cloud-based systems. If you’ve got IT aspirations or just want to understand how cloud computing really works, The All-Level AWS Cloud Professional Bootcamp can give you the background.Across six courses with more than 30 hours of instruction, new users get a full explanation of AWS operations. Whether you have sights on a career in cloud IT or need to understand how to migrate, oversee and secure your company’s entire IT infrastructure in AWS, this package covers all the basics.The AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification Guide for Beginners gets the fundamentals out of the way, exploring the controls, formatting, and features of the AWS platform. Then AWS Master Class: Databases in the Cloud with AWS RDS and AWS MasterClass: Networking & Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) delve into what it takes to construct these bedrock cloud domains for yourself. And since every company has an app these days, AWS Deployment for Node.js Read the rest

Watch the clip embedded here, featuring a news report on a coronavirus patient broadcast by ABC News 7 in New York City. I apologize for the baity title, but cannot ruin this for you in any way. Not in the figurative sense, but in the quite literal sense. Read the rest

The Yorkshire Museum is issuing "curator battles" to to other museums. Their first salvo is #CreepiestObject. Yup, these and others in the thread, are pretty damn creepy.Our #CreepiestObject has to be this ‘mermaid’... 😱💀🧜‍♀️ #CURATORBATTLE #TroublingTaxidermy pic.twitter.com/GMSosyuqIX— Natural Sciences NMS (@NatSciNMS) April 17, 2020Thanks for thinking of us @HottyCouture and wow, will we be having nightmares tonight with all these #CreepiestObject|s ! Here is the one we just can't hide from you, one of our many creepy gems – our Plague Mask (1650/1750)! #curatorbattle pic.twitter.com/JrMjqAJSIM— Deutsches Historisches Museum (@DHMBerlin) April 17, 2020GUYS we know we have already won. This severed lower leg by Kerry Jameson has sprouted its own legs and a rather beastly head. @COCAYork #RethinkCeramics pic.twitter.com/Ip84aNacUX— York Art Gallery (@YorkArtGallery) April 17, 2020Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, we present .... MC 294No need to thank us, it was honestly our pleasure #CURATORBATTLE #CreepiestObject pic.twitter.com/kgAA2ePMIr— Egham Museum (@EghamMuseum) April 17, 2020[H/t Stacie Votaw]Image: Screengrab Read the rest

In a coronavirus briefing at the White House just now, impeached and manifestly unfit United States President Donald Trump wished North Korea's murderous dictator Kim Jong Un “good luck.” In so doing, Trump expressed greater concern for Kim than he has at any point so far for the nearly 45,000 Americans who have died of COVID-19.It's very curious, isn't it? President of the United States.Said Trump today of the North Korean leader: "I can only say this, I wish him well.""I have a very good relationship with him.".@BretBaier: "North Korea. What can you tell us about the status of Kim Jong-un?"President Trump: "We don't know...I've had a very good relationship with him...I can only say this; I wish him well."Full video here: https://t.co/5xqvbQIhJx pic.twitter.com/MivyWqW0JM— CSPAN (@cspan) April 21, 2020The president wishes Kim Jong Un good luck, following recent reports of a possible health crisis that reportedly placed him in “grave danger.” Asked about Kim Jong Un's condition, Trump says "I've had a very good relationship with him" and claims America would be at war with North Korea is he wasn't elected. He ends by bashing CNN. pic.twitter.com/A14KZlz2r9— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 21, 2020The President says he wishes Kim Jong-un good luck pic.twitter.com/SEzUh4mzA9— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) April 21, 2020Previously on Boing Boing:North Korean leader claimed to be "in grave danger" after heart operationTrump wishing murderous dictator Kim Jong Un well...says they get a long great— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) April 21, 2020TRUMP: I just have to say to Kim Jong Un, I wish him very good luck ... Read the rest

Note: Not actually a great idea to let your cat inside the dishwasher, please don't try this at home.“Places Oliver Shouldn't Be,” a delightful gallery of cat portraits by @lovethecapybara. Oliver has a very lucky human who loves him, and these are some very funny photos of a cat who enjoys being inside cozy little boxy places around the house, or maybe just nestled into a stack of frying pans or whatever.“Saw a post earlier about someone's cat being in the dishwasher licking plates and got shut inside (the cat was ok) and decided to share all the places my cat Oliver goes.”Love it. Check out the whole cute thread on IMGUR.Places Oliver Shouldn't Be Read the rest

U.S. coronavirus deaths reached 45,000 on Tuesday, doubling in a little over a week. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases climbed to more than 800,000, according to a Reuters count of available public health data. From the report:The United States has by far the world’s largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases, almost four times as many as Spain, the country with the second-highest number. Globally, cases topped 2.5 million on Tuesday, with North America accounting for one-third of all cases.Deaths increased by more than 2,600 on Tuesday alone with a few states yet to report.New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan each reported their highest single-day coronavirus-related death tolls on Tuesday - over 800 between the three states. New York state, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, reported 481 new deaths.Coronavirus-related fatalities in the United States hit a peak of 2,806 on April 15, the deadliest single day of the epidemic.U.S. cases were at 809,000, up 23,000.New reported U.S. cases appear to be slowing this week, rising by less than 30,000 a day for the past three days. The United States had a record 35,392 cases on April 4. Read more:U.S. coronavirus deaths top 45,000, doubling in little over a week: Reuters tally Read the rest

“We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time” — CDC director Robert RedfieldWinter is coming. As a number of states rush forward to reopen their economies, Director Robert Redfield of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday a likely second wave of the novel coronavirus will be far more dire, because if it hits in the winter as predicted, it will coincide with onset of flu season.“There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” CDC Director Robert Redfield told the Washington Post today. “And when I’ve said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don’t understand what I mean.”“We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time,” he warned.Excerpt:Having two simultaneous respiratory outbreaks would put unimaginable strain on the health-care system, he said. The first wave of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, has already killed more than 42,000 people across the country. It has overwhelmed hospitals and revealed gaping shortages in test kits, ventilators and protective equipment for health-care workers.In a wide-ranging interview, Redfield said federal and state officials need to use the coming months to prepare for what lies ahead. As stay-at-home orders are lifted, officials need to stress the continued importance of social distancing, he said. They also need to massively scale up their ability to identify the infected through testing and find everyone they interact with through contact tracing. Read the rest

Coronavirus package injects $321 Billion more into SBA relief program

“We immediately disabled the impacted portion of the website, addressed the issue, and relaunched the application portal.”

"There are more important things than living,” said the Lieutenant Governor of the great state of Texas about Americans who are dying of COVID-19.“There are more important things than living ... I don't want to die, nobody wants to die but man we've got to take some risks.”TX Lt Gov Dan Patrick: "There are more important things than living ... I dont want to die, nobody wants to die but man we've got to take some risks" pic.twitter.com/dRTF8Moav4— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) April 21, 2020Got it.important to clarify that when he says "we've got to take some risks" he means you...you've got to take some risks— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) April 21, 2020 Read the rest

SeinWave by AbelardIn recent weeks, I've shared the joy of Seinfeld with my teenage son. To reciprocate, he's been turning me on to the myriad incarnations of vaporwave, vaporfunk, chillwave, and other desktop electronica microgenres of the last decade. Finally, today, he decided the time was right to reveal an unholy hauntological overlap of our interests: "Seinwave" (2015) by Abelard. Listen above. From Abelard:Seinwave is a rework of the iconic slap bass infused pop-click theme of the classic Seinfeld sitcom TV show. Created on a whim, Seinwave holds its own as a funky, danceable track, exploring new melodies, sounds and hooks, whilst retaining the faded sitcom hues and tones that we all remember. Read the rest

As many of us all settle into our new home office situations, there’s a distinct possibility this could be the new status quo for quite some time. A bad chair or a less than ergonomically supportive posture might have been passable when you sat at your home office desk for an hour or two here and there, but now that it’s your home base for 8-plus hours a day, you need to be thinking about long-term comfort as well.If you’ve never experienced carpal tunnel syndrome, it’s very real — and can be very painful. Luckily, using a mouse designed to mitigate that and other awkward work postures like the Sinji Ergonomic Mouse can make that one of the new order concerns that won’t plague your day.Rather than the traditional mouse shape, the Sinji is designed vertically, a patented shape that supports your hand in an upright neutral position, reducing the rotation in your lower arm and makes your whole arm more relaxed. With that kind of support, you avoid the pain and damage that comes from the overextending and twisting that natural mouse movements put on your wrist and forearm.Created for both Mac and PC users, the wireless, battery-operated Sinji also sports adjustable buttons and LED light-emitting edging so you can see in low light situations. It even lets you adjust the speed of your cursor in case you need to speed up or low down your pace.While cars are redesigned every year with more user-friendly features, the old-school mouse design is 40 years old and played out for function, efficiency and user comfort. Read the rest

When I was in junior high school, I joined the Science Fiction Book Club. One of the books I got from the club was an anthology that included several stories by Fredric Brown (who was primarily a mystery writer but occasionally delved into science fiction). Some of Brown's stories in the anthology were a mere page or two, and I loved their humor and surprise endings. As soon as I could, I went to the Boulder Public Library to load up on as much Brown as I could find. It turned out the library had just two of his science fiction novels: Martians, Go Home (1955), and What Mad Universe (1949). They were both terrific.In Martians, Go Home a race of cartoonish little green men invade Earth for the sole purpose of being hideously bothersome pests, behaving very much like Internet trolls and Second Life griefers. (Artist Kelly Freas perfectly captured the personality of the martians in his cover painting for Astounding Science Fiction.) In What Mad Universe a man gets thrown into a parallel universe and has to figure out how to get back home. Both books are semi-parodies of science fiction novels (the protagonists in each novel are science fiction writers), with plenty of Brown's signature wry humor. If you've not read these novels, I highly recommend them both.It wasn't until I was in high school that I scored a copy of The Mind Thing (1961), which is probably my favorite Brown novel, even though it is not as well-known as the other two novels, and could be arguably be classified a horror novel. Read the rest

For tips on making your own sourdough starter, start here!My new pandemic starter has had a couple of weeks to settle down and it is performing pretty much how I would expect.Feeding your starter every day really helps it out. I've been feeding this blob since 3/16. I have reduced the amount I keep going on my counter and only feed 1/4 cup of flour and slightly less than 1/4 cup of water per feeding. This saves me ½ cup a day of precious flour.Feeding the starter twice on bread baking day really increases my chances of turning out a good loaf. I've learned that unlike my former, trusty Muir Beach starter this new Dog Town starter has an hour shorter cycle after feeding for when it is truly ready to be used, but I am figuring it out.You will find many related posts on Sourdough and baking here! Read the rest

"When they were putting a chip in your brain they sunk it deep, didn’t they?"With the help of an insider, Conan O'Brien crashed an online strategy meeting for TIBCO Software in Silicon Valley, surprising its attendees. The late-night host then proceeded to troll the Palo Alto-based company by ruthlessly roasts its CEO, its team members, and its website's corporate doublespeak. Savage! Read the rest

In the 1990s, Australian urologist Helen O'Connell performed the first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on aroused women's clitorises. She found that the clitoris is 10 times larger than most anyone suspected. In this video, science journalist Rachel Gross, who is currently writing a book called Lady Anatomy, shares some medical history and takes us on a tour of the "clitoral complex." "The Clitoris, Uncovered: An Intimate History" (Scientific American) Read the rest

View this post on Instagram 人肉サイコロ作りましたA post shared by doooo (@doooo_cds) on Mar 28, 2020 at 4:00am PDTArtist doooo made this die that looks like like a living eyeball inside a cube of human flesh. View this post on InstagramA post shared by doooo (@doooo_cds) on Apr 6, 2020 at 6:56am PDT Image: Instagram Read the rest

Military.com reports that a study of Chloroquine, the president's favorite quack remedy for Covid-19, didn't just fail to help sufferers. "About 28% who were given hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11% of those getting routine care alone."Researchers analyzed medical records of 368 male veterans hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at Veterans Health Administration medical centers who died or were discharged by April 11. ... Hydroxychloroquine made no difference in the need for a breathing machine, either. Researchers did not track side effects, but noted hints that hydroxychloroquine might have damaged other organs. The drug has long been known to have potentially serious side effects, including altering the heartbeat in a way that could lead to sudden death.A chloroquine study in Brazil was reportedly canceled after 11 patients died.The physicians in Brazil noticed arrhythmia (significant extension of the so-called QT interval) within two to three days in patients receiving the high dose. On the sixth day of the trial, 11 patients died and the phase II trial was stopped immediately. Read the rest

The coronavirus shutdown offers us ample time to conduct the science experiments we never had the time for before. Such as this time-lapse video, which reveals approximately how long it takes for a shitload of mealworms to eat a McDonalds Big Mac and fries. Read the rest

You are probably familiar with these little tile slide puzzles with 15 tiles that slide around in a 4 x 4 grid. The object is to slide the tiles around so that the tiles marked 1 through 15 are arranged in numerical order. The card that comes with the puzzle shows a number of different ways to arrange the numbers, including arranging the tiles in reverse numerical order. In this episode of Numberphile we learned why this particular arrangement is impossible.: YouTube Read the rest

In 1927, Henry Ford decided to build a plantation in the Amazon to supply rubber for his auto company. The result was Fordlandia, an incongruous Midwestern-style town in the tropical rainforest. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the checkered history of Ford's curious project -- and what it revealed about his vision of society.We'll also consider some lifesaving seagulls and puzzle over a false alarm.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest

Coronavirus is like a big stinky onion with yet another layer just revealed: COVID toes. A symptom doctors are finding mostly in young people that causes their toes to swell, turn blue and purple, itch, burn, and become "painful to touch." According to Dr. Ebbing Lautenbach, chief of infectious disease at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine, “This is a manifestation that occurs early on in the disease, meaning, you have this first then you progress. . .Sometimes this might be your first clue that they have COVID when they don’t have any other symptoms.”From USA Today:“COVID toes” in some people can disappear in the course of a week or 10 days, while others progress to respiratory symptoms, he [Dr. Lautenbach] said.Experts say there are two running hypotheses on what could cause “COVID toes." One possible explanation, Ebbing said, could be that there is an inflammatory response more localized to a patient’s foot and toes. Or it could be a clotting of blood vessels.“The short answer is nobody knows,” he said.Dr. Susan Wilcox, chief of critical care for the emergency department at Massachusetts General Hospital, said another condition could also explain “COVID toes.”She saw the purple lesions on her most critically ill COVID patients and believed it was purpura fulminans. This occurs when inflammation from a severe infection causes the body to make micro clots in tiny blood vessels located in the toes, fingers and even nose, she explains.Ebbing warns that if you come down with this symptom, self-quarantine, no matter what your test results are -- COVID toes usually appear in the early stages of COVID-19, when patients are most likely to test false negative. Read the rest

Campus Univers Cascades (CUC) is a French school for stunt performers for film and live experiences. The coaches and students created this wonderful video titled "Fightcovid CUC." Read the rest

Family Affair by Iggy PopToday is Iggy Pop's 73rd birthday! In celebration, he released this cover of Sly & The Family Stone's classic "Family Affair" (1971). Listen above! Who's playing bass? Ah, the name is Bootsy, baby! The great Bill Laswell produced. From Pop's Bandcamp page:“To all Poptimists! [this track] made me feel good and it was good company and I hoped I could put it out and it would be good company for someone else too.”image credit: Aaron Rubin (CC BY-SA 4.0) Read the rest

From the Orphaned Wildlife Center: "To help you pass the time in your quarantine, here is a bear (Jenny) in a swing, not caring about quarantine and being oh-so-zen. Namaste my friends." Read the rest

Literally boing boing, courtesy of security camera footage compiled by police in Adelaide, South Australia. Read the rest