The head of Iran's coronavirus government task force who urged the public not to freak out about the epidemic while coughing and sweating profusely has tested positive for the illness himself, authorities said Tuesday. New cases of COVID-19 originating in Iran are now rapidly popping up across the Middle East.The coughing and heavily sweating Iraj Harirchi told journalists at a televised news conference in Tehran only one day ago that “the situation is almost stable in the country.”Coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people around the world, and has led to an estimated 2,700 deaths, mostly in China. From the Associated Press:Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour confirmed Harirchi had the virus. Harirchi himself posted an online video saying he had it and that he had quarantined himself at his home. He promised that authorities would bring the virus under control.“I wanted to tell you that, rest assured that with efforts of your servants at the Health Ministry ... and backed by you people, the government and all elements of the establishment, we will be victorious in our combat against this virus within the next few weeks,” Harirchi said.On Monday, however, he had offered a far different assessment while repeatedly wiping his brow while standing beside government spokesman Ali Rabiei.“Currently the situation is almost stable in the country and we could manage to minimize the problem,” Harirchi said. He also said that “quarantines belong to the Stone Age.”The World Health Organization named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it. Read the rest

In Switzerland today, a 70-year old man tested positive for the coronavirus in the southern canton of Ticino, right next to the border with Italy, say Swiss health authorities. This is the first case of COVID-19 in Switzerland, and authorities say the man was likely exposed in Italy. “The infected person was in Italy about ten days ago and participated in an event near Milano,” the Swiss health ministry said in a statement.From Reuters:Officials told a media conference it was not clear at which event the man had been infected. People the man had been in contact with were currently being identified and put in quarantine for 14 days.Europe’s biggest outbreak is currently in Italy, with more than 280 infections and seven deaths. It began spreading on Tuesday from its origins in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, to central Tuscany, the coastal region of Liguria and Sicily in the south. Iran's coronavirus death toll is now at 16, the highest number of deaths from the outbreak outside China. Dozens of nations, including South Korea and Italy, are stepping up emergency measures to try and slow the global spread of coronavirus.More:Coronavirus isolates Iran, strains South Korea, Italy Read the rest

Wriggles & Robins's "Max's Journey to the Moon" is a delightful stop motion animation created from 600 pancakes. They released it today in celebration of National Pancake Day, aka Shrove Tuesday. Read the rest

A woman who was heavily intoxicated was arrested on a Saturday flight from Frankfurt to Washington, D.C., after she tried to smoke a cigarette in the plane bathroom, and blurted out that her whole family was recently killed in a car accident, none of which was true, say federal prosecutors.Dana Mustafa threatened to “stab everyone on the plane. Then kill myself,” while handcuffed on the flight to from Germany to Dulles International Airport, authorities claim.“What’s the point of living?” she is recorded as saying.A half-empty liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found in her purse.Excerpt:From the Washington Post:She made her first appearance in Alexandria federal court Monday afternoon, charged with assaulting an officer. She does not yet have an attorney.Mustafa first attracted attention on the evening United Airlines flight when she set off the smoke detector in the lavatory, according to court records. Flight attendants told her she could not smoke on the plane and took her back to her seat.She was crying loudly and smelled of alcohol, according to the criminal complaint, and told the flight staff that she was flying home to see her family but that they had just been killed by a drunk driver. She punched the television monitor in front of her seat and threw a coin at the bulkhead, according to prosecutors.Read more:Woman drunkenly threatened to ‘stab everyone’ on flight to D.C., falsely claimed family tragedy, prosecutors say[washingtonpost.com]PHOTO: Dana Mustafa was arrested on a flight to Dulles International Airport from Germany on Saturday night, after authorities say she drunkenly threatened to stab everyone on board. Read the rest

As we enter the teen years it appears I have lost my ability to pick the most awesome presents.I fail to understand how a Lava Lamp is more exciting than a machete. It is likely more affordable.Regardless, I am not going to force the kid to play with a machete. Enjoy your lamp!Schylling 2121-4002 Pink/Purple 14.5" Classic Motion Lava(r) Lamp Silver, 20-Ounce via Amazon Read the rest

Covid-19 is a lab-concocted version of the common cold that's been weaponized to make Trump look bad, says Rush Limbaugh.From HuffPost:Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh claimed on his show Monday that the potentially lethal coronavirus afflicting several countries is nothing more than a “common cold” blown out of proportion by the media to take down President Donald Trump ― even as he also asserted it was a “bioweapon” created by China in a laboratory.“It looks like the coronavirus is being weaponized as yet another element to bring down Donald Trump,” Limbaugh said at the start of his lengthy, misinformation-filled rant.“Now, I want to tell you the truth about the coronavirus. ... I’m dead right on this. The coronavirus is the common cold, folks.”Image: by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, modified, Link Read the rest

In the 1870s, new farmsteads on the American plains were beset by enormous swarms of grasshoppers sweeping eastward from the Rocky Mountains. The insects were a disaster for vulnerable farmers, attacking in enormous numbers and devouring everything before them. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the grasshopper plagues and the settlers' struggles against them.We'll also delve into urban legends and puzzle over some vanishing children.Show notesPlease support us on Patreon! Read the rest

In Reader's Digest, Megan Kennett writes about the time a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent at JFK asked her if she was bringing any fresh fruit or vegetables into the country. Instead of truthfully answering "no" she said told the agent she had gotten rid of a smashed banana and that's why her suitcase might smell like a banana. As soon as she said that, "the agent stood up, took my passport, and then started to walk away, looking at me only once to say, 'Follow me.' That was it. No explanation, no going back."She was taken to a holding room:The banana police then brought me to what I like to call “agriculture jail,” which is a holding room for the USDA. Here, as with the agent, no one spoke to me or explained what was happening—or gave me back my passport... After a while, an agent behind the desk called my name and handed me my passport. “Can you tell me what’s going on?” I inquired. “Take your bags to the secondary agriculture check,” was the reply. So, that was a “no.”Kennett was finally cleared to go when a more thorough search revealed that she was not in possession of a banana. But she says she was added to a watch list of banana smugglers and every time she traveled for the next year she and her family were escorted to “agriculture jail” and sent through secondary screening.Photo by Alberto Bigoni on Unsplash Read the rest

While mobile devices are all but essential and the center of so many individual universes these days, find one person who loves their wireless plan with that type of passion.Check around. We’ll wait…Didn’t find anybody, did you? That’s because most wireless plans are designed for the convenience of the provider and will nickel-and-dime you into the poor house if you step outside their terms of service.Instead, you can dump service plans and contracts entirely with a prepaid six-month Tello Value talk, text and data plan. You can get one now for just $49, over 40 percent off the regular price.With a Tello plan, you can make and receive unlimited calls and texts across Sprint’s nationwide 4G LTE network. You can even call Canada, Mexico or China with your minutes and Tello will even throw in a free hotspot. You’ll also get up to 2GB per month of data — and if you go over your limit, you’ll automatically kick over to unlimited 2G data service with no extra charges.If you want international calling or texting, you can add a Pay As You Go feature. And after six months, you can upgrade or downgrade your plan as needed.It’s worth it just to be out from under the yoke of an expensive, restrictive service plan. Regularly $84, you can get it right now for just $49 with this offer. Read the rest

Boing Boing pal and best-selling urban fantasy author, Richard Kadrey, posted this video to Twitter and said to watch it. When Richard tells you to do something, you do it. Watch this (with the sound on) and you will see why. Incredibly beautiful and awe-inspiring.Incredible 😮 pic.twitter.com/PFDbVWPIvc— Blade City (@BladeCityKnives) February 21, 2020The dancer is a Taiwanese man who goes by the name of Titos Firedancer. You can see more of his sword dancing videos on his Facebook and Instagram pages.Image: Screegrab Read the rest

Behold the chipsteak, here presented in an extremist British incarnation but also popular in the United States until about that time. Perhaps it's time for a chipsteak renaissance? Meet Major Stuart Benest (1915-2002), proprietor of the Benest supermarket in Millbrook, Jersey, U.K. in the late 1970s, who offers a very convincing argument. He's a Monty Python character brought to life and quite wonderful.From 1977, here's a very special Benest's of Millbrook advert. What makes it special and different to the rest? Well, the owner of arguably the most famous Channel Island voice ever, makes an in-vision appearance.So spend the next minute in the company of Major Benest and his dulcet tones, as he gleefully showcases the type of grub you could have enjoyed on a Channel Island table in 1977. All made under relentless supervision...If you enjoyed this ad, you're in luck: there's an entire mini-documentary about the supermarket and its incredible booming-voiced advertisements. Read the rest

A tourist filming deer in Nara, Japan, captured footage of one taking exception to a little girl nearby. The girl is pursued until she falls over. The deer, having prevailed, does not press its advantage.BONUS: Below, a stag chases a man around a tree in a London park. Eventually, the man realizes his only hope is to climb the tree. Read the rest

Actor Matthew Lillard, who stars as Shaggy in the 2000s-era Scooby Doo movies and various animated shows since, explains how he mastered the character's raspy voice. Read the rest

From the Welcome to Twin Peaks fan site:Always eager for fun on social media, Kyle MacLachlan today (Feb 24) decided to launch his brand new TikTok account in the most Twin Peaks way ever. At exactly 11:30 AM (Pacific Time) on Twin Peaks Day, the actor shared a video of him reenacting FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper’s arrival in town at the very same time, only 31 years later with a few more grey hairs. This time, he’s not behind the wheel of his 1981 Dodge Diplomat… but on his exercise bike in front of a hand-painted cardboard backdrop full of Douglas firs. Yes, they’re really something. @kyle_maclachlan Diane, it’s 11:30 am, February 24th. Entering the town of #TwinPeaks…and TikTok.Tag me in your duets today and I’ll share some of my favorites 🌲☕️🚗 ♬ original sound - kyle_maclachlan With his first TikTok video, the actor is inviting Twin Peaks fans on the popular short-form video-sharing platform to share their duets using Coop’s famous opening monologue for a chance to get featured. There’s a Laura Palmer wrapped in plastic and a number of fans holding a damn fine cup of coffee, but so far, this duet by @withdropsofjupiter as Audrey Horne in the backseat takes the cake! @withdropsofjupiter #duet with kyle_maclachlan Audrey’s a little restless... are we there yet, Agent Cooper? 🌲🌲🌲 #twinpeaks #twinpeaksday #FrostedFeelings #fyp #coop ♬ original sound - kyle_maclachlan Read the full post here. Read the rest

"This innovative cane includes a built-in speakers, voice assistance, Google Maps, a Bluetooth system that makes syncing to other devices possible, and high-end sensors that alerts the user through vibrations when above-chest-level obstacles are within proximity--something a regular cane cannot provide."Read the rest here.Image: WeWALK Facebook Page Read the rest

In the early days of the web, everyone wanted a .com domain for their site. As a result, all the good ones got snapped up. But .com no longer has the cachet it once did. In fact, many new businesses and individuals are opting for other top-level domain extensions. One of the most memorable is the .tech extension. It's short, it's memorable, and most importantly, it resonates very well with the field of technology. For example, a website on .tech clearly calls out that the website is about technology There are tons of great names on .tech available now, and you owe it to your company to at least check for your dream brand. Right now, you can save on your next domain for your next big idea with $7.99 for 1 year (down from $49.99), $24.99 for 3 years (down from $149.97) and $39.99 for 5 years (down from $249.95).Start searching for the perfect domain extension here and get your .tech site online today. Read the rest

[UPDATE: CNN reports "Harvey Weinstein was taken to New York's Bellevue Hospital Monday night after feeling chest pains and having heart palpitations and high blood pressure on his way to Rikers Island, his attorney Donna Rotunno said."]Serial rapist Harvey Weinstein is behind bars, according to this NBC News report. The rapist did not take his walker with him. The rapist will be sentenced on March 11.Image: YouTube Read the rest

This morning, I launched a new series of posts that I'm going to be writing on Adafruit on the history of cyberpunk science fiction and how it has evolved, how it has influenced culture and technology, what it got right (and wrong) about the near future in its fictional speculations.In 1992, I wrote a post on The Well BBS entitled “Is there a cyberpunk movement?” The post was an attempt at summarizing what cyberpunk was, both as a literary genre, and how its depictions of near-future worlds were imploding onto the present of early 90s high-tech nerd culture (hackers, gamers, industrial/electronic music, tech artists, and cyberpunk zine publishers).Apparently, the post struck a nerve as it quickly spread beyond the confines of The Well, was dubbed a “cyberpunk manifesto,” and ended up in the pages of Mondo 2000 magazine, Rudy Rucker and Mondo 2000’s book The User’s Guide to the New Edge, and as lyrics on Billy Idol’s 1993 record, Cyberpunk (but those are all stories to be told here later in the series).The text of my post is a little dated, but here’s the gist of what I was trying to encapsulate:* In a cyberpunk world, global megacorporations are more powerful than governments.* Individual hackers and “high-tech low lifes” can wield disproportionate amounts of power within cyberspace and beyond.* The new “stage” for the human drama has shifted from the “real world” to a virtual one, one inside our networks and our minds. The new frontiers for human society–technology, art, culture, and warfare– have moved into cyberspace. Read the rest

12,000 years of civilisation and humanity has only just invented the spaghetti bolognese scissorspic.twitter.com/QNQsswQ944— James Felton (@JimMFelton) February 21, 2020While the fellow above has impressive technique, we must recognize the great Buster Keaton who blazed the trail for all of us 100 years ago. From The Cook (1918): Read the rest

Lawyers have their legalese. Academics have their own intra-academialogical post-linguistic theories. And it was only before the MBAs joined the fray with their own self-important syntax. If you've ever been in the sleek office setting of a start-up or some tech-savvy corporation, you've heard it. You may have even picked up on its tics to help you sound smarter, too; after all, that's how it works.Molly Young has a great new piece at Vulture about this phenomenon, which she has coined "Garbage Language." Her article is full of insight not only into the ways that we do and don't communicate, but also how that reflects the other issues inherent in these kinds of office cultures:[G]arbage language works because garbage is what we produce mindlessly in the course of our days and because it smells horrible and looks ugly and we don’t think about it except when we’re saying that it’s bad, as I am right now.But unlike garbage, which we contain in wastebaskets and landfills, the hideous nature of these words — their facility to warp and impede communication — is also their purpose. Garbage language permeates the ways we think of our jobs and shapes our identities as workers. It is obvious that the point is concealment; it is less obvious what so many of us are trying to hide.[…]When we adopt words that connect us to a larger project — that simultaneously fold us into an institutional organism and insist on that institution’s worthiness — it is easier to pretend that our jobs are more interesting than they seem. Read the rest

Back in November, I shared a piece about the "Real Media Salaries Spreadsheet" that was started by one of my colleagues and publicized the incomes of more than a thousand people working in media.Now the New York Times has published a great new piece about this movement, on the breakdown of the taboos around pay transparency:Open discussions of pay lay bare some of the basic contradictions that govern so many workplaces, which claim to embrace their workers like family while insisting, all the while, on professionalism and discretion. They are communities whose members care about one another and yet also know that their respective right to belong is based on their utility, perceived or actual. To ask a co-worker her salary — especially one who has worked at an institution for years — opens up deeper, unsettling questions. How valued are you in this community? Are you more valued than I am, or beyond what I perceive as your worth? Or have you undervalued yourself, been timid, clueless, exploited?The article does a fair job of approaching the issue from different differences, including the social and professional comfort involved with even trying to change the expectations around salary secrecy, and the actual data that reveals what happens when money matters are aired out in the open:[U]sing data from a happiness survey that has been conducted in Norway since 1985 … Perez-Truglia found that the newfound accessibility of other people’s pay led to a significant increase in the happiness gap: Higher-income earners were happier than they were before the information was widely available, and lower-income workers were less happy. Read the rest

In some weird alternate fantasy universe, this song would to taught to school children so that they could memorize their Hermetic fundamentals.Image: YouTube Read the rest

My friend Mark Casale and I were talking about Captain Beefheart last night (as we are often want to do) and were yucking it up over the surreal late-night TV commercial for the Beef's 1970 record, Lick My Decals Off, Baby (which I posted about last month).This prompted Mark to ask me if I'd ever seen the bizarre promo video for Cat Steven's 1976 song, Banapple Gas. I'd never even heard of the song. It was a track on Steven's ninth studio record, Numbers. Numbers was composed as a concept album, subtitled "A Pythagorean Theory Tale."[Numbers] was based on a fictional planet in a far-off galaxy named Polygor. The album included a booklet with excerpts from a planned book of the same name written by Chris Bryant and Allan Scott. The booklet features pen-and-ink illustrations drawn by Stevens.The concept of the album is a fantastic spiritual musical which is set on the planet Polygor. In the story there is a castle with a number machine. This machine exists to fulfill the sole purpose of the planet – to disperse numbers to the rest of the universe: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 (but notably not 0). The nine inhabitants of Polygor, the Polygons, are Monad, Dupey, Trezlar, Cubis, Qizlo, Hexidor, Septo, Octav, and Novim. As the last lines of the book say, they "followed a life of routine that had existed for as long as any could remember. ... It was, therefore, all the more shocking when on an ordinary day things first started to go wrong." Read the rest

Well, that's good. We can all rest easy now.Tweeted impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. President Donald Trump just now:The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!Yeah. No.Previously today:The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummetted more than 1,000 points as news of a spreading coronavirus outbreak suggests wider coming damage to the global economy. These are literally the people in charge of our government’s response to #COVID19. This is a verified account, not a parody. He is the Acting Deputy Secretary of DHS. #TheBestPeople https://t.co/YxVlH5a9Em— David Hobby (@strobist) February 24, 2020Dow fell 1,032 points on Monday; worst day in 2 years. https://t.co/qOP7f0zQGF— Dan Berman (@DHBerman) February 24, 2020Trump eliminated a position called Senior Director of Global Health Security. That person used to work in the NSC to coordinate responses to global health emergencies and potential pandemics.— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) February 24, 2020FYI: This map from ⁦⁦@JHUSystems⁩ is 100% free to use to track the spread of #NovelCoronavirus #COVIDー19 worldwide. Just in case that comes up... https://t.co/9j6o2X7ToD— Laura Santhanam (@LauraSanthanam) February 24, 2020For weeks I’ve been saying that WH “happy talk” on #COVIDー19 #Coronarivus would keep up the markets for only so long; happy tweets can’t stop the virus: only a well run and sharp response can https://t.co/Tgu25muwbo Read the rest

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummetted more than 1,000 points as news of a spreading coronavirus outbreak suggests wider coming damage to the global economy. Today's stock market drop was the worst for the Dow in two years, and wiped out all gains so far in 2020. From AP:Nervous investors scrambled for safety, loading up on gold, U.S. government bonds and other safe-harbor assets. The price of oil fell sharply on expectations that demand for energy would tumble. The Dow lost 1,031 points, or 3.6%, to 27,960. The S&P 500 fell 111, or 3.4%, to 3,225. The Nasdaq fell 355, or 3.7%, to 9,221. (...) Technology companies were among the worst hit by the sell-off. Apple, which depends on China for a lot of business, slid 3.4%. Microsoft dropped 2.6%. Banks were also big losers. JPMorgan Chase fell 2.1% and Bank of America slid 4.4%. Related Boing Boing posts from earlier today:• How coronavirus impacts climate change and the US housing market• The stock market is plunging today, but two things are up: the price of gold, and weed use among seniors Read the rest

Italy today confirmed over 150 cases of the disease.

Italy coronavirus deaths now stand at 7, with 220 people infected. Italian villages are now on lockdown in Europe's worst flare-up of COVID-19.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today says word “pandemic” does not yet fit the facts.“We must focus on containment while preparing for a potential pandemic,” he told reporters in Geneva, and says the world is not yet seeing an uncontained spread or large-scale deaths.The epidemic in China peaked between Jan. 23 and Feb. 2 and has been declining since, the WHO said.Dr. Mike Ryan, head of WHO’s emergencies program, told reporters it was still possible to contain the virus and that it might appear each year like the flu.“The virus may settle down into an endemic pattern of transmission, into a seasonal pattern of transmission, or it could accelerate into a full-blown global pandemic,” he said in Geneva on Monday. “And at this point, it is not possible to say which of those realities is going to happen.” The outbreak has spread beyond China's Hubei province to at least 29 countries or territories, with two dozen confirmed deaths, according to a Reuters tally.Read more:Coronavirus kills seventh person in Italy, pandemic fears grip Wall Street [reuters]If true, this revelation by Conte ("mismanagement of security 'protocols' in one hospital") can maybe justify the astonishing outbreak and rapid death toll of #Coronavirus in Northern Italy. Hospitals and GPs surgeries are the perfect scenarios for the virus to spread (and kill).— Antonello Guerrera (@antoguerrera) February 24, 2020Coronavirus halts 'Mission: Impossible 7' filming in Venice, Italy https://t.co/pSw8XUC4dH Read the rest

Twentieth Century Flicks is the world's oldest surviving video rental store. The offer 20,000 films (yes, many on VHS too) and even have screening rooms. This shop embodies much of what I miss about how I experienced media growing up before the dark times... Before the modern Web. Be kind, rewind.Directed by Arthur Cauty.Previously on Boing Boing:• "Only one Blockbuster Video Store left standing" Read the rest

Gerald Corrigan, 74, went outside his house at midnight to check his satellite dish after the TV signal failed. It was a trap: he was shot in the dark with a crossbow bolt, which punctured internal organs and led to his death three weeks later from sepsis. His killer was Terence Whall, 39, convicted today of Corrigan's murder.Police suspected Whall, a local with a crossbow collection, but had no evidence to tie him to the crime. How was he caught? His partner's car was mysteriously torched, which led police to contact its manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, which sent them its backed-up telematics records.The vehicle was driven to Corrigan's house the day before the killing, then to a nearby beach, then back to Whall's residence. On the day itself, the car was driven to the beach an hour before the attack. It was next started about 12 minutes after it.The system recorded the trunk being opened and closed twice, before and after Corrigan was shot.Image: Family photo (handout) / Crown Prosecution Service Read the rest

Researchers discover a potential new way in which diet influences aging-related diseases.

A lot of roleplaying gamers who are used to playing in "theater of the mind" mode (with nothing more than pencil, paper, dice, and vivid imaginations) are often intimidated by the idea of switching over to miniatures and terrain-based gaming. The idea of acquiring and painting the minis, building a gaming board, and making a bunch of terrain and props can be an overwhelming prospect. All of this "dungeon crafting" really is a hobby unto itself for many of us [raises hand].So, I really like these projects on Dungeon Craft. Basically, you build a stone floor on top of a lazy Susan using insulation foam and some simple walls, doors, and other dungeon furnishings (also out of foam). Your main tool is a gel pen that you use to simply draw/carve the stones into the foam.You don't need to create a complete dungeons and all of the furnishings to do mini-based RPGs. All you need is this little, moveable theater-in-the-round stage that you can change up with each encounter you're looking to represent to your players. Image: YouTube Read the rest

How does an owl's tail help it fly? To better see the role of the tail in raptor aerodynamics, researchers at the UK's Royal Veterinary College recorded birds of prey flying through clouds of tiny helium bubbles. According to the science journal Nature, analyzing the swirling motion of the bubbles enabled the scientists to discover "a new way in which birds use their tail to provide lift and so reduce drag while gliding... Their findings could provide a new way to improve the efficiency of small gliding aircraft."More: "High aerodynamic lift from the tail reduces drag in gliding raptors" (Journal of Experimental Biology) Read the rest

Baby Yoda brought the internet together, its adorableness somehow overpowering the divisive animosity that has otherwise ruled over this pre-post-apocalyptic era.And now the Army's branded the Child onto the cannon of an M1 Abrams tank.https://twitter.com/USArmy/status/1230357926289846272/photo/1You can re-appropriate the Punisher all you'd like, but please leave our sweet Baby Yoda out of it. In the famous words of Baby Yoda's older counterpart, "Wars not make one great."We salute the Army crew that named their tank 'Baby Yoda' [Jared Keller / Task and Purpose]Image: U.S. Army by PFC. Daniel Alkana Read the rest

The great Katherine Johnson, one of the legendary African-American mathematicians who were essential to the Apollo 11 moon landing, has died at age 101. You'll recall that Johnson, who worked at NASA’s Flight Research Division for more than three decades, was the central character in the film Hidden Figures. From the New York Times:Mrs. Johnson was one of several hundred rigorously educated, supremely capable yet largely unheralded women who, well before the modern feminist movement, worked as NASA mathematicians.But it was not only her sex that kept her long marginalized and long unsung: Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, a West Virginia native who began her scientific career in the age of Jim Crow, was also African-American.In old age, Mrs. Johnson became the most celebrated of the small cadre of black women — perhaps three dozen — who at midcentury served as mathematicians for the space agency and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, proclaiming, “Katherine G. Johnson refused to be limited by society’s expectations of her gender and race while expanding the boundaries of humanity’s reach.”In 2017, NASA dedicated a building in her honor, the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility, at its Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.More: Katherine Johnson (NASA) Read the rest

In balmy Edmonton, a woman was arrested for liberating a package from a front porch. Watch the exciting police action on YouTube!Image: YouTube Read the rest

Back in September, a Hyundai Glovis cargo ship capsized off the coast of Georgia. The 665-foot ship, called the Golden Ray, tipped over in St. Simons Sound, Georgia but fortunately every crew member was rescued. The ship was holding around 4,000 US-made automobiles that are now quite waterlogged. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and other organizations are orchestrating environmental protection measures and disassembling the vessel to remove it in pieces via barge. This week, the St. Simons Sound Incident Response Unified Company will begin constructing an "environmental protection barrier" that includes "large floating containment barrier to help contain surface pollutants, as well as large netting to contain subsurface debris."The Unified Command used LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology to create 3D images of inaccessible areas inside the vessel.Follow the situation here: St. Simons Sound Responseimage: Georgia Department of Natural Resources (photo release) Read the rest

The Manhattan Institute issued a report that reveals that a year of middle class wages no longer pays for major household expenditures.From The Washington Post:Lead author Oren Cass distills it as follows: “In 1985, the typical male worker could cover a family of four’s major expenditures (housing, health care, transportation, education) on 30 weeks of salary,” he wrote on Twitter last week. “By 2018 it took 53 weeks. Which is a problem, there being 52 weeks in a year.”Image: Washington Post Read the rest

Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, was today convicted of of assaulting two women in New York. After six weeks of testimony, Weinstein was convicted of forcing oral sex on Miriam Haley in his New York City apartment in 2006 and raping Jessica Mann at a Manhattan hotel in 2013. But he was acquitted on two counts of predatory sexual assault in connection to Annabella Sciorra's claim he attacked her in her apartment in 1993. Jurors were deadlocked over the weekend on those more serious charges and returned the mixed verdict after 26 hours of deliberation.Weinstein, who presented himself in court using a walker for the duration of the trial, was immediately surrounded by court officers as the guilty counts were announced, according to wire reports. Weinstein maintained that the encounters were consensual. Read the rest

Earlier this month, the United States Copyright Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization co-sponsored a symposium titled Copyright in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. The purpose of the symposium was to examine "how the creative community currently is using artificial intelligence (AI) to create original works," and "what level of human input is sufficient for the resulting work to be eligible for copyright protection," among other topics.In his article for The Scholarly Kitchen, Todd A Carpenter read the discussion threads in WIPO's public consultation and learned that the court decision regarding the famous monkey selfie of 2011 could steer copyright law regarding works created by artificial intelligence.In 2011, a nature photographer left his camera on a tripod and an endangered Celebes crested macaques, intrigued by its reflection in the lens snapped perhaps hundreds of pictures of itself. One of those photos ended up promoted by the photographer and it ended up in the British press. Other sites, such as Wikipedia and Techdirt reproduced the photo on their sites, that the photographer and PETA eventually perused in court to seek compensation as violation of copyright. Whether the photographer could assert copyright in the photograph was eventually dismissed by the Ninth Circuit court of appeals in 2018.In the Copyright Office’s Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, released on 22 December, 2014, the Office stated that, “only works created by a human can be copyrighted under United States law, which excludes photographs and artwork created by animals or by machines without human intervention” and furthermore, “Because copyright law is limited to ‘original intellectual conceptions of the author,’ the [copyright] office will refuse to register a claim if it determines that a human being did not create the work. Read the rest

Laura Kampf made this cool looking plywood chair with a storage space for books. She says she'll upload plans for making one of your own soon.If you like videos of people making things, I highly recommend Laura's YouTube channel. She makes a new thing every week, such as a cargo bike, a bike trailer for her dog, and a solar food dehydrator. I don't know how she does it!Image: YouTube Read the rest

Trail runner Joseph Oldendorf badly injured himself on the Duckabush River Trail in the Olympic National Park, Washington. His tibia detached, Oldendorf was unable to walk. He was wearing lightweight running clothes and it was literally freezing outside. He had a cell phone but there was no service. So he crawled. For eight hours. From CNN:At 12:45 a.m. on Saturday, he realized his phone had a signal because he received a text message.He called 911 and kept crawling, (a Jefferson County Search and Rescue) release said.Oldendorf told the station that he tried lying down to wait, but he was too cold and believed that if he didn't keep moving he could die. Thoughts of his family kept him going, he said...A crew from the Brinnon Fire Department along with Jefferson Search and Rescue volunteers responded and started up the trail to find the injured runner. A Jefferson County Sheriff's deputy managed coordination and communication at the trailhead, said.The runner was located by his voice five to six miles from the spot where he was injured, the release said. image: "View from the helicopter as the basket was lowered to retrieve the subject" (courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard) Read the rest

In 1981, Tony Hawk, age 13, appeared on the Captain Kangaroo TV program shredding at the legendary Del Mar Skate Ranch in Southern California.(via r/ObscureMedia) Read the rest

Despite legalization in 11 states and decriminalization in 15 more, marijuana-based products are still an often tough sell with many Americans. While the psychoactive THC portion of the plant remains controversial, the medicinal impact of the non-altering component of cannibis, CBD, is widely hailed.Many portions of those claims still await medical verification, but for those who swear by CBD, you can try it for yourself with these Holiday CBD Premium CBD Gummies. Right now, a bottle is available for just $32.99, almost 20 percent off the retail price.Made from sustainable and organically grown hemp and containing absolutely zero THC, each of these 20 tasty gummies pack 10 mg of CBD and all its benefits without any of marijuana’s mood-altering side-effects.As a warning, you should be aware that these gummies are only available to those 18 or older; are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease; and should only be used as a dietary supplement after consultation with a doctor.Regularly $39.99, a bottle of Holiday CBD Premium CBD Gummies are now $8 off, just $32. Read the rest

Japan is increasingly obsessed with capybaras, the best rodent and very likely the best animal of all time. Accordingly, there's a plush toy craze to go with it: behold Kapibara-san. No animal is complete without its own cute character in Japan—and capybaras have Kapibara-san (link in Japanese). By one estimate, over 5,000 items (link in Japanese) now bear the face of the character, which was launched in 2005. According to Kapibara-san’s owner, toy giant Bandai, capybaras are known for their ”happy, natural, and easygoing lifestyle” and loved for their healing effect on humans.The photo above was posted by Tryworks. Kapibara-San are available on Amazon, but eBay has better deals.【TRYWORKSより】春ですね～カピバラさんたちもお花見を楽しんでいるようです♪ pic.twitter.com/d9ICZc6QjO— カピバラさん【公式】 (@FROM_TRYWORKS) April 7, 2017かわいい〜💓うちのカピバラさんもお花見楽しんでます🌸✨ pic.twitter.com/OqxXNNES61— 🎀風間りぃ🎀 (@kazamarii) April 7, 2017If you like flying capybaras, you’ll love capybaras taking a yuzu hot bath. (Very popular in Japan.) pic.twitter.com/lu0Mtn5TZL— 🩸Hirondelle🦷 (@realHirondelle) February 24, 2020 Read the rest

This image, posted by the 1912 Progressive Party, offers a stark illustration of how commonplace universal healthcare -- i.e. "Medicare for All" -- is in the developed world and even beyond it. It struck me that not having effective healthcare is seen as an aspect of American Exceptionalism, where the lack of something other people enjoy becomes a uniquely American virtue: faith in the generosity of insurance companies. Read the rest

Clint Eastwood, the actor, director and famous conservative interlocutor with empty chairs, has denounced President Trump's lack of gentility and offered his support to Mike Bloomberg in the 2020 elections. The casual endorsement came at the end of a wide-ranging interview for the Wall Street Journal.As for the domestic political scene, Mr. Eastwood seems disheartened. “The politics has gotten so ornery,” he says, hunching his shoulders in resignation. He approves of “certain things that Trump’s done” but wishes the president would act “in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names. I would personally like for him to not bring himself to that level.” As he drives me back to my hotel, he expresses an affinity for another former mayor: “The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there.”Amazing that people think the story here is "Clintwood becomes a Democrat" not "Bloomberg still a Republican" Read the rest

Thanks to TripAdvisor reviews for a hole in a wall, the architectural feature has become the fourth-most popular tourist destination in Ilkeston, a town in Derbyshire, England.The hole reassures users of a nearby NatWest bank ATM that no-one is hiding behind the wall to rob them, but its absurdity and questionable utility resulted in dozens of spoof write-ups on the site, which has temporarily suspended reviews for what one visitor described as a 'national treasure.'Tongue-in-cheek comments for the "NatWest hole" first started appearing in December 2018. By awarding the wall top marks, users were able to propel it above well-known locations in and around Ilkeston, including Bennerley Viaduct. Among 40 new comments added this weekend, one said: "Made my sixth visit to this attraction last week, always worth the nine-hour drive, every time has felt like the first." Read the rest

Mad Mike Hughes just launched himself in a self-made steam-powered rocket and crash landed. Very likely did not survive. #MadMike #MadMikeHughes pic.twitter.com/svtviTEi8f— Justin Chapman (@justindchapman) February 22, 2020Daredevil and flat-earther "Mad" Mike Hughes, 64, died Saturday when his steam-powered rocket crashed after a short flight over the Californian desert. Footage of the self-made craft shows its parachute deploying immediately after lift-off and being destroyed by its wake, leaving it with nothing to slow its descent.A flat-earther, Hughes planned to go high enough to see the curvature of the earth with his own eyes. The launch was being filmed for the so-called "Science Channel", which has come in for heavy criticism for encouraging Hughes' risky stunts.With the help of his partner Waldo Stakes, Hughes was trying to reach an altitude of 5,000ft (1,525m) while riding his steam-powered rocket, according to Space.com. In the video of the launch, a parachute can be seen trailing behind the rocket, apparently deployed too early, seconds after take-off. In a tweet, the Science Channel said Hughes had died pursuing his dream. Read the rest

Anderson Cooper hasn't been this pissed off since Hurricane Katrina.On Friday, Cooper interviewed newly-sprung Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois who had a 14-year prison sentence commuted by Celebrity Apprentice host Donald Trump. In 2011, Blago was found guilty of federal corruption charges related to then-President Obama's vacant senate seat.During his time in prison, Blago got woke. Comparing himself to fellow "political prisoner" Nelson Mandela, he railed against criminal injustice and the thousands of Americans waiting for clemency.Cooper was NOT having it.In which @AndersonCooper calls actual "bullshit" on Blagojevich in fiery interview pic.twitter.com/8oorGogs7s— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) February 22, 2020Oh, and here's proof that we're living in the worst timeline. One of these people is now the leader of the free world and the other is the new Mandela.Thinking about the time Donald Trump scolded Rod Blagojevich on the Celebrity Apprentice over inaccurate Harry Potter facts and inadequate Harry Potter research pic.twitter.com/rx7PH7qP4I— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) August 8, 2019Image by United States Marshals Service - http://www.thesmokinggun.com/mugshots/celebrity/politics/rod-blagojevich, Public Domain, Link Read the rest

“Why is Chris Matthews on this air talking about the victory [of] Bernie Sanders, who had kin murdered in the Holocaust, analogizing it to the Nazi conquest of France?” asked Anand Giridharadas of his fellow MSNBC colleague when he appeared on MSNBC’s AM Joy.From The Daily Beast:Matthews’ latest remarks have led to progressives calling on MSNBC to fire the veteran host. The Hardball anchor isn’t the only one who has found himself in hot water over his anti-Bernie rhetoric. MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson faced swift and loud backlash after he dismissed the “island of misfit black girls” who supported Sanders. Read the rest