Last week, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency handed down stiff penalties for John Stumpf (previously) who was CEO of Wells Fargo during its scandal-haunted decade, during which time it stole from rich people, poor people, veterans, active-service military personnel, homeowners, small businesses, etc, as well as 2,000,000 ordinary customers who had fraudulent accounts opened in their names in order to bleed them of transaction fees, sometimes at the expense of their good credit and even their financial solvency. Under the deal, Stumpf will have to pay $17.5m in fines and cannot ever work in finance again (don't worry, he's still a multi-multi-multi millionaire).The OCC didn't just penalize Stumpf: it has pending cases against most of Wells Fargo's C-suite during the relevant years, and it has published a 100-page report on its investigations, including first-person accounts from bank personnel who were pressured to commit fraud on penalty of losing their jobs and having their names fraudulently entered into an industry-wide blacklist of bank employees who had been caught committing illegal acts.The report reveals both the incredible toll this took on those employees ("I was in the 1991 Gulf War. ... I had less stress in the 1991 Gulf War than working for Wells Fargo") and the clanging bells and flashing red lights that Stumpf and Carrie Tolstedt (previously), another disgraced former Wells Fargo exec, roundly ignored.These warning signs were pretty incredible: after one presentation by Tolstedt downplaying the seriousness of the rot in the bank, a board member cursed her out, calling her reassurances "a piece of shit." Read the rest

It’s no secret that business leaders and project managers require a certain set of skills in order to outpace the competition and increase the overall efficiency of their company or team.The Lean Six Sigma Expert Training Bundle will take your managerial skills to the next level through training that will help you earn some of the most valuable certifications in the lucrative field of project management, and it’s available for over 95% off MSRP today.The four courses in this best-selling bundle will help you reduce waste and innovate better products and services in any business environment.You’ll learn how to embrace the Lean management methodology through training that will teach you how to optimize processes and increase the quality of your output, how to ace the exam for the coveted Lean Six Sigma certification through lessons that focus on complex problem solving, and how to become a Six Sigma Black Belt by learning how to foster better team dynamics.There’s also training that walks you through Minitab—one of the most relied-upon statistical tools used by the world’s most successful managers.Take your business to the next level with the Lean Six Sigma Expert Training Bundle for just $49—over 95% off its usual price. Read the rest

Hexagonal-grid notebooks like Hexanote [Amazon] are marketed toward organic chemistry students and pros; the image here is from the thicker, spiral-bound Benznote. But I'm thinking ... maps. Unfortunately, the paper in all the available offerings is lightweight and probably won't hold marker pigment well, let alone paint. (The big-sheeted dry-erase grids intended specifically for games look like a lot of fun, but aren't what I'm looking for) Is there, to the best of your knowledge, a hexagonal notebook with paper that's 100gm or more? Watercolor paper would be ideal, but I'm not fussy.PREVIOUSLY: Create and print custom gridded paper Read the rest

On April 24, the "live documentary experience" Beastie Boys Story will premiere on Apple TV+. Spike Jonze directs the doc which is based on Mike D and Ad Rock's 2019 memoir and eponymous stage production, according to Consequence of Sound. The first trailer was just released.Beastie Boys blog (Jan. 25):“This is the eighth time I’ve rewritten this thing, the filmmakers kept telling me I was doing it wrong but I’m really feeling this one. Here’s what the film is: Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz of Beastie Boys tell you an intimate, personal story of their band, and their 40 years of friendship together. From the 1980s New York City punk scene, to Fight For Your Right (to Party) and becoming the first hip-hop artists to make a #1 record (Licensed to Ill), through their evolution, which took them to Sabotage, Intergalactic and beyond. Created with their old friend, their former grandfather and collaborator, filmmaker Spike Jonze, the film seamlessly mixes a live stage show and documentary to create a new format, a live documentary. Does that make sense? It’ll make more sense when you see the trailer that the filmmakers haven’t finished editing yet, despite constant badgering. But anyways, I’m not mad. In this film that was shot at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, Mike D and Adrock discuss their evolution as musicians, artists and people, and a whole bunch of other crazy sh!t. Their co-conspirator, musician, activist, inventor, discredited astrophysics professor and my favorite Beastie Boy, Adam Yauch, couldn’t be there that night because he passed away in 2012. Read the rest

Eight "gaming" hotels featuring the Atari brand are to be constructed in the U.S., reports The Verge's Dami Lee. The hotels will feature "gaming playgrounds" and some will have facilities to host e-sports events.Atari will receive 5 percent of hotel revenue, and it received a $600,000 advance for inking the deal. The hotel will be located close to Steve Wozniak’s Woz U university campus in Arizona, which is also associated with the Phoenix-based GSD Group.Meanwhile, the development of the Atari VCS retro console has been reported to be undergoing significant difficulties, with the console’s lead architect claiming that he hadn’t been paid in over six months. If Atari, a gaming company, is having this much trouble with building a game console, it paints a troubling picture of how the hotels will turn out.The thing is, "Atari" is not really a "gaming company" anymore. It's an intellectual property portfolio -- one that been stripped and sold-off over the last few years. "Atari" is a name, a few French lawyers, and a licensing agreement taped to a photocopier. In that respect, this deal is a spectacular success. Read the rest

Delta Airlines received a $50,000 fine after discriminating against three Muslim passengers who were barred from flying despite being cleared by the airline's own security personnel. From the order issued by the Department of Transport, which describes two similar incidents on separate Delta flights:4. We order Delta AirLines, Inc. to provide civil rights training (including cultural sensitivity training)to all flight and cabin crewmembers and all customer service employees involved in these incidents–to the extent that those individuals are and remain active employees of Delta Air Lines, Inc. That training must make clear that, in the absence of a valid safety or security concern, passenger or crew discomfort is not an acceptable basis to deny transportation. ... 5. We order Delta AirLines, Inc. to revise its security and secondary screening protocols to include clear procedures consistent with Federal law to allow passengers to re-board the aircraft after appropriate security personnel determine that the initial security and safety concerns have been eliminated if the aircraft is still at the gate.The fine is tiny but the publicity will hurt. The New York Times reports that one couple was removed from the flight to placate another passenger who said they were "uncomfortable."“They were just kicked off this flight without any explanation,” Ms. Hassan said in an interview on Monday night, adding, “To be treated in this way and be marginalized in this way simply because of your Muslim appearance was disheartening for them.”She said the couple had first complained to the airline, which she characterized as having been dismissive. Read the rest

I'm not the kind of person who possesses the programming or IT knowledge to run my own servers and host my own email. But I can manipulate some things on the internet or on local networks, like how to access the gateway to your router and make some changes in there, even if I don't fully grasp the differences between the ports. I'm also someone who's hyper-attuned to data privacy issues who still enjoys the conveniences of some smart home technology.And that's why I've really been enjoying my Firewalla, a small piece of hardware that you plug into your router to access an app that gives me clear visual command over my network. It's basically a Firewall, VPN, adblocker, and intrusion detection and prevention system all rolled into one. Here's how the company describes it:Firewalla is a smart firewall device that you simply plug into your router. It monitors network traffic and alerts you via an app if one of your devices starts uploading data including who the data is being shared with and what country. There is an option to stop devices from sending data, which could stop their operations as well, but step one is having transparency and knowledge. Firewalla will also block hackers and cyber thieves from being able to breach smart home devices to steal person information.I've always felt pretty confident that I'd securely setup my home network. But there's still that lingering concern that someone may have found their way in to spy on me somehow. Read the rest

A cat prohibited from entering the Tescos grocery store in Thorpe Marriott, England, has defied the ban, reports the BBC. One shopper photographed Pumpkin, a six year-old ginger tom, relaxing on a checkout scanner. The six-year-old cat had been a regular in the Thorpe Marriott branch for well over a year before the shop took action last November, saying "although we love the little ginger cat who visits... a food store isn't the best place for a cat to be, so our colleagues gently encourage him to go out when he tries to come in". A spokesman said it was not really possible for a store to ban a cat and admitted Pumpkin would probably continue his visits. ... Pumpkin's owner Jo Harding often pops to the shop after work and finds her wayward moggy outside. She tells him to "come home for your tea" and he will trot after her.The photo above was posted to Facebook by one Annabel Fields. Pumpkin Harding now has his own Facebook group, should anyone wish to join the rebellion. Read the rest

Tom the Dancing Bug, IN WHICH the Impeachment Trial's Republican Jury Room explodes with 53 Angry Men

The United States has never had a single "official" language. While English is broadly accepted accepted as the common tongue and typically used in schooling as well as government documents, it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. Spanish is also used frequently across the country — but there are a lot more languages than that at play throughout the States.Andy Kiersz and Ivan De Luce at Business Insider crunched some data based on the individual-level responses from the 2017 American Community Survey assembled and published by the Minnesota Population Center's Integrated Public Use Microdata Series program, to find out what other languages are most commonly used in the United States.America as a multilingual nation: "This map shows the most commonly spoken language in every US state, excluding English and Spanish", by Andy Kiersz and Ivan De Luce, Business Insider (1/18/20): (NOTE: I will refer to languages other than English and… https://t.co/VkvPxbYqiC pic.twitter.com/aHYI6QpfLH— Language Log (@LanguageLog) January 23, 2020There are a lot of thought-provoking takeaways from the data as presented here. Some things may seem obvious — there's a lot of French, of course, particularly in Louisiana and the states that border eastern Canada. While I didn't know that Tagalog was as popular in California and Nevada until now, I can't say I'm surprised. The abundance of Haitian Creole in Florida makes sense, too, but its presence in Delaware is much more interesting. As someone with an interest in indigenous tongues after colonization, it's somewhat comforting to see that Ilocano, Aleut-Eskimo, and Dakota/Lakota/Nakota/Sioux languages are all still hanging on. Read the rest

[My EFF colleague Bill Budington has a fantastic report on all the ways that Ring surveils its own customers. Caveat emptor, indeed. -Cory]Ring isn't just a product that allows users to surveil their neighbors. The company also uses it to surveil its customers.An investigation by EFF of the Ring doorbell app for Android found it to be packed with third-party trackers sending out a plethora of customers’ personally identifiable information (PII). Four main analytics and marketing companies were discovered to be receiving information such as the names, private IP addresses, mobile network carriers, persistent identifiers, and sensor data on the devices of paying customers.The danger in sending even small bits of information is that analytics and tracking companies are able to combine these bits together to form a unique picture of the user’s device. This cohesive whole represents a fingerprint that follows the user as they interact with other apps and use their device, in essence providing trackers the ability to spy on what a user is doing in their digital lives and when they are doing it. All this takes place without meaningful user notification or consent and, in most cases, no way to mitigate the damage done. Even when this information is not misused and employed for precisely its stated purpose (in most cases marketing), this can lead to a whole host of social ills.Ring has exhibited a pattern of behavior that attempts to mitigate exposure to criticism and scrutiny while benefiting from the wide array of customer data available to them. Read the rest

A 15th-century cesspit found under Somerset House in London has been lovingly recreated as a 3D model that you can explore in your web browser. [via Londonist]Archaeologists from MOLA also uncovered a number of interesting objects from the pit:"These include a rare 14th century ‘Penn’ floor tile – a decorating material of choice for palaces and monastic sites – pottery drinking vessels and tableware dating from the 14th and 15th centuries, as well as a range of metalwork artefacts including a finger ring, iron spur, belt buckle, bone-handled fork and pendant."Cess not included. But there's lots of other historical architectural delights on Sketchfab. Read the rest

For my latest podcast, I read my Guardian Cities column, "The case for ... cities that aren't dystopian surveillance states," which was the last piece ever commissioned for the section.The Guardian commissioned the piece after reading my Toronto Life blurb about how a "smart city" could be focused on enabling its residents, rather than tracking and manipulating them.In the article, I revisit my 2015 Locus column on the idea of an Internet of Things that treats people "as sensors, not things to be sensed" -- a world where your devices never share your data with anyone else to get recommendations or advice, but rather, where all the inanimate objects stream data about how busy they are and whether they're in good repair, and your device taps into those streams and makes private recommendations, without relaying anything about you or your choices to anyone else. As I've often written, the most important thing about technology isn't what it does, but who it does it to, and who it does it for. The sizzle-reels for "smart cities" always feature a control room where wise technocrats monitor the city and everyone in it -- all I'm asking is that we all get a seat in that control room. It’s a safe bet that the people who make those videos imagine themselves as one of the controllers watching the monitors – not as one of the plebs whose movements are being fed to the cameras that feed the monitors. It’s a safe bet that most of us would like that kind of god’s-eye view into our cities, and with a little tweaking, we could have it. 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

“I design Unnecessary Inventions for fun,” says IMGURian @rightcoastguy, who was challenged by fellow users to make this truly silly and wacky invention. “Meet the SockNoMore.”I like it.I would... sheepishly buy it.I design Unnecessary Inventions for fun, and Imgurian challenged me to make this - meet the SockNoMore. Read the rest

Oh, this gets me right in the feels.This video was originally posted by Jossmar Castillo on Facebook.Lost Dog Saved by Two Drivers Read the rest

The game 'Stardew Valley' inspired these cute cupcakes, made with serious cake icing portrait talent.“Started playing the game again and couldnt resist making some of my favorite characters out of buttercream ☺️,” said IMGURian waywardraspberry.Stardew Valley Cupcakes![via imgur.com] Read the rest

Most streaming fanatics have access to perhaps one or two go-to platforms that they use to binge-watch their favorite shows every night. But there’s always that elusive streaming platform that we secretly crave but never sign up for—leading to bitter nights filled with missed content.So why not enter to win not only a 1-year subscription to the streaming service of your choice but also a free streaming device as well?The Pick Your Streaming Service & Device Giveaway allows you to do just that, and it’s completely free to enter.After you sign up, you’ll automatically be in the running to win one best-selling streaming device—ranging from an Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Google ChromeCast, and more—along with a 1-year subscription to a popular streaming service of your choice (Hulu, Netflix, Showtime, Disney+, or HBO).There’s no hidden cost to enter the contest, and you’ll be notified directly once a winner has been selected.Sign up here today for absolutely free. Read the rest

IMGURian @Sgraceoh shared these phenomenal images of their “Lord of the Rings themed wedding,” and it looks like a good time was had by all.Truly enchanting, and what dedication to design.Our Lord of the Rings themed wedding! Read the rest

In the first couple of days of this time-lapse video, we see flies laying eggs on a dead fish. On the third day, maggots erupt and begin to eat the fish, paying special attention to the eye socket. At this time-frame, and without being able to smell the fish, it's not as gross as you might think.Image: YouTube[via Digg] Read the rest

Some species of sharks have evolved to literally walk along the ocean floor (no, not on land) using their fins as feet. New research Conservation International’s Mark Erdmann and colleagues determined that walking sharks only evolved their unique capability 9 million years ago, "making them the 'youngest' sharks on our planet." Of course, a distinct species usually forms when some members of a species are physically separated from others. So how did that speciation occur in the case of the walking sharks? From an interview with Erdmann at Conservation International:For most of the walking shark species, our findings support the idea that speciation occurred because the populations slowly expanded their range by walking or swimming, then some individuals eventually became isolated by environmental factors such as sea level rise or the formation of large river systems that broke up their habitats. For the four walking shark species found at the Bird’s Head Seascape, we suspect that they actually hitched a ride — on a drifting island...Q: Is there another mystery about walking sharks you hope to solve?From a scientific perspective, there is still so much to learn from walking sharks. We know that the world’s species that exist today are basically the existing “genetic reservoir” (raw genetic material) we have to adapt to global changes. We also know that walking sharks are very resilient to warm water and that they have a tolerance for oxygen deprivation. Any time you have an animal or plant that can survive in these extreme conditions, there is typically something unique about their genes — a “special sauce”. Read the rest

Etsy seller Prochopshop makes foam zombie heads for archery practice. They are only $20! I think I'll get one for crossbow pistol practice. Read the rest

Vermont State Rep. Rebecca White (D-Windsor) introduced legislation in the Vermont House of Representatives that would enable citizens to pick one of six emoji to include on their vehicle's license plates. (Last year, Queensland, Australia also began offering emoji on plates.) The Vermont bill doesn't specify which emoji will be included as choices. From the short form description of bill H.866:This bill proposes to create a new special registration plate with the choice of one of six emojis in addition to the distinctive number assigned by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles or the numerals and letters selected by the registered owner of a vehicle as a vanity plate.(Engadget)Modified image based on original by Jaycarlcooper (CC BY-SA 3.0) Read the rest

David's post about the rise in Google searches for "coronavirus beer," "corona virus beer," and "virus corona beer" in the last few days, brings to mind the sad fate of Ayds.Ayds (pronounced aids) was a popular appetite-suppressant candy from the 1930s-1980s. When public awareness about AIDS grew in the mid-80s, sales of Ayds declined. Eventually Ayds went out of business. From Wikipedia:By the mid-1980s, public awareness of the disease AIDS caused problems for the brand due to the phonetic similarity of names and the fact that the disease caused immense weight loss in patients. While initially sales were not affected, by 1988 the chair of Dep Corporation announced that the company was seeking a new name because sales had dropped as much as 50% due to publicity about the disease.[3] While the product's name was changed to Diet Ayds (Aydslim in Britain), it was eventually withdrawn from the market.(Side note: I like the mod music in the commercial that starts at 1:55) Read the rest

This is what would happen if, when trying to unclog a bathroom pipe, you clumsily tripped over a slipper and spilled the drain cleaner (98% sulfuric acid) onto a roll of toilet paper. I recently posted about another fascinating video that shows sulfuric acid being poured over sugar, which also explains the science behind it, but this toilet paper transformation was too awesome to ignore. Read the rest

As seen in the above Google Trends graph the last few days, there has been a spike in people searching Google for the words corona, beer, and virus. Don't worry, drinking Corona beer does not cause 2019-nCoV. Below are the results mapped onto regions of the world. Read the rest

An MSNBC correspondent hurriedly relating some historical context from basketball legend Kobe Bryant's career stumbled over the name of his team, the LA Lakers. Earlier today, while reporting on the tragic news of Kobe Bryant’s passing, I unfortunately stuttered on air, combining the names of the Knicks and the Lakers to say “Nakers.” Please know I did not & would NEVER use a racist term. I apologize for the confusion this caused.— Alison Morris (@AlisonMorrisNOW) January 26, 2020"Earlier today, while reporting on the tragic news of Kobe Bryant’s passing, I unfortunately stuttered on air, combining the names of the Knicks and the Lakers to say “Nakers.”", wrote Alison Morris. "Please know I did not & would NEVER use a racist term. I apologize for the confusion this caused."That explains the hard R, but not the G. Given that Morris obviously didn't intend to say a racist slur, the usual (and I think more plausible) explanation when this sort of thing happens is that it was a brainfart, admitting the utterance while disclaiming intent and highlighting the weird, mangled manouvers our brains sometimes take under pressure. However, that explanation cops to the bad word lurking in one's neurons, and a Rochester, N.Y., weatherman lost his job recently after such an explanation was offered in his case. So "Nakers" it is. Read the rest

In a prank commenting on bad traffic in Cape Coral, Florida, Paxten Sester and his buddies passed time during a long red light by playing Uno in the middle of the road. Dylan Kjos caught the minute-long gag on video for TikTok and its since gone viral."(After a minute,) we rushed back into the truck, thinking that the light was about to change. And we still sat in the truck for about another minute," Kjos said. According to UPI, "Kjos and his friends said they were aiming to poke fun at the local traffic, which they said is particularly slow during the winter. Read the rest

Deutsche Welle's footage of the empty entrance plaza of Shanghai Disneyland as the PA system broadcasts a message that the park is "temporarily closed" for "prevention and control of the disease outbreak" is indeed "straight out of a Hollywood horror movie," as the caption says. This announcement at Shanghai's Disneyland is straight out of a Hollywood horror movie 😱 pic.twitter.com/cblhbVhvyj— DW News (@dwnews) January 27, 2020(Image: Breathe Healthy, modified; Jeremy Thompson, CC BY, modified) Read the rest

This NSFW visit to Alabama's Talladega Superspeedway is like the "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" of NASCAR. (All Gas No Breaks) Read the rest

@_leilanaatry this! #foryoupage #airpods #seeya #WhatsYourStuf #officelife #makethisviral♬ The Box - Roddy RicchTrade an Airpod with your friend. Pop it in your ear. Use a text-to-speech program like Google Translate to "talk" to your friend across the room during the class, without ever having to open your mouth.I don't know if this is legit, but either way, it's brilliant. Read the rest

Jem may have indeed been both her name and excitement, but the Misfits' songs were better. Read the rest

Home genetics tests purport to tell you what percentage of your ancestry comes from which places, an incoherent, unscientific fraud that perpetuates ridiculous eugenic myths. But that's not all: when you take one of these tests, you nonconsensually opt your family into perpetual, global genetic surveillance (and it's not like they can opt out afterwards by changing their DNA).Lucky for the human race, these companies have run out of suckers. 23andme is laying off 100 people, and business has fallen off a cliff industry wide.It's not clear why consumers stopped buying tests in droves. It could be that the market is tapped out, and there aren't many people left curious to learn what percent French or Nigerian they are, or whether they are at risk for going bald.Others may have concerns about their DNA data staying private, since police have started accessing smaller ancestry databases to carry out genetic manhunts.Ancestry, which maintains the largest database with more than 16 million people, did not answer questions about whether it had seen a sales slowdown. Last year, Ancestry introduced new health offerings in what some analysts saw as a bid spark a "re-testing" market, or coaxing consumers to pay for an additional test. Is the consumer genetics fad over? [MIT Tech Review](via /.) Read the rest

Thanks to a series of progressive movements throughout the United States, more and more states are allowing people to smoke in the great outdoors with absolute freedom. Unfortunately, most pipe-makers have been slow to catch up with this new reality, which leads to avid smokers stuffing a cumbersome glass pipe in their pocket every time they leave the home.The intrepid Genius Pipe offers a supremely stylish and streamlined way to smoke on the go, and it’s available for 35% off its usual price today.Available in a variety of colors, this extremely compact and portable pipe makes it easier than ever to smoke when you’re on the move.Simply use the bowl to store your favorite smoking material and light up whenever you want. This pipe features an anti-scratch finish so you won’t need to worry about keeping it in your pocket with your keys, and it’s easy to toss in your bag or fit in your back pocket without drawing attention.If you’re at least 21, land this travel-friendly pipe today for just $64.95—35% off MSRP. Read the rest

"We thought she was sick, turns out she's just a jerk." That's how the Mitchell County Animal Rescue began the brutally honest adoption announcement for an unsavory cat in their care named Perdita.The Spruce Pine, North Carolina organization continues: Meet Perdita, not for the faint of heart. LIKES: staring into your soul until you feel as if you may never be cheerful again; the song Cat Scratch Fever, the movie Pet Cemetery (Church is her hero), jump scares (her specialty), lurking in dark corners, being queen of her domicile, fooling shelter staff into thinking she's sick (vet agrees...she's just a jerk) DISLIKES: the color pink, kittens (yuk they are so chipper), dogs, children, the Dixie Chicks, Disney movies, Christmas and last but NOT least...HUGS. She's single and ready to be socially awkward with a socially awkward human who understands personal space. FREE ADOPTION ;)If interested please go to www.mitchellcountyanimalrescue.org to fill out an application The News & Observer:Shelter Director Amber Lowery says 4-year-old Perdita came to the shelter on Christmas Eve like the Grinch and quickly asserted dominance...“I’m looking at her right now, and she’s rolling around in her little bed, looking all sweet and cute, but the minute you try to rub her, she slaps you. We thought she was in pain and took her to the vet and he said: ‘No, this cat is just a jerk’.”Since then, the shelter has had to warn visitors that Perdita’s shy, kitten-like attempts to draw passersby to her cage are, in fact, a ruse that will end badly. Read the rest

Last year, the EU adopted the incredibly controversial Copyright Directive (it passed by only five votes, and afterwards 10 MEPs said they'd got confused and pushed the wrong buttons!): now, EU member states have to create rules that require online platforms to filter all user-generated content and block it if it matches a secret, unaccountable blacklist of supposedly copyrighted works; and to allow news sites to veto or charge for links to their articles.But Chris Skidmore, the UK Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, has publicly announced that the UK government has no plans implement the directive, citing time pressure in the runup to and aftermath of Brexit.This doesn't mean that Britons will be spared the ill-considered effects of the directive, though. Much of the pressure to pass the directive came from the UK, with support from giant media monopolies like EMI, well-known performers like Paul McCartney and Debbie Harry, trade unions like the National Union of Journalists (of which I'm a member; when I told their policy person that the rules would allow fraudsters to claim the works of Shakespeare, they told me that their job wasn't to protect Shakespeare, it was to protect news photographers whose images were misappropriated by clickbait sites), and even prominent Labour politicians, who cheered the directive's passage as giving a black eye to US Big Tech companies (and Big Tech will have to pay out a few hundred million euros to comply with the rules, but in exchange, they can be assured that all their smaller EU-based competitors will not be able to afford this and thus be neutralised as competitive threats). Read the rest

French physicist Jean-Pierre Luminet hand-plotted this image of a black hole in 1978, said to be the the first based on data rather than artistic speculation.From Wikipedia:1979 - He created the first "image" of a black hole with an accretion disk using nothing but an early computer, lots of math and India ink, predicting that it could apply to the supermassive massive black hole in the core of the elliptical galaxy M87. In April 2019 the Event Horizon Telescope Consortium provided a spectacular confirmation of Luminet’s predictions by providing the first telescopic image of the shadow of the M87* black hole and of its accretion disk.He used punchcards on an IBM 7040 mainframe to plot elements often ignored in other depictions until recently: the slender photon ring, gravitaional light shifting, and lensing effects. Luminet's own history of black hole visualization is your next stop.The final black and white “photographic” image was obtained from these patterns. However, lacking at the time of an appropriate drawing software, I had to create it by hand. Using numerical data from the computer, I drew directly on negative Canson paper with black India ink, placing dots more densely where the simulation showed more light – a rather painstaking process! Next, I took the negative of my negative to get the positive, the black points becoming white and the white background becoming black. The result, The result converged into a pleasantly organic, asymmetrical form, as visually engaging as it was scientifically revealing. Read the rest

Once again, the FBI is putting pressure on Apple to help them break into the phone of a mass shooter. And once again, Apple has been largely resistant to the effort. Which is good, because a government having control over a private company that gives them secret backdoor access into people's personal technology devices is an authoritarian wet dream waiting to happen.It also doesn't matter anyway because — as Reuters pointed out this week — Apple already buckled under FBI pressure a few years and cancelled their plans to add end-to-end encryption to all iPhone backups in iCloud:The company said it turned over at least some data for 90% of the requests it received [from the FBI]. It turns over data more often in response to secret U.S. intelligence court directives, which sought content from more than 18,000 accounts in the first half of 2019, the most recently reported six-month period.But what if the FBI wants access to someone's locked iPhone, and they haven't backed it up to iCloud? They still don't need Apple's help, because — as with the San Bernardino shooting — there are plenty of third-party companies that can and will gladly solve the problem in exchange for money.From OneZero:Over the past three months, OneZero sent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to over 50 major police departments, sheriffs, and prosecutors around the country asking for information about their use of phone-cracking technology. Hundreds of documents from these agencies reveal that law enforcement in at least 11 states spent over $4 million in the last decade on devices and software designed to get around passwords and access information stored on phones. Read the rest

The Precious. The BBC reports that the coins had to be melted down and reminted after Brexit was delayed.The coins bear the inscription "Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations" and the date of 31 January. Mr [Sajid] Javid had first ordered production of the coins in advance of the UK's original 31 October departure date. But the Brexit delay meant about a million coins had to be melted down and the metal put aside until a new exit date was confirmed. Read the rest

Famed LA Laker shooting guard Kobe Bryant died along with eight others in a helicopter crash Sunday morning. The shocking incident has fans reeling—and trying to figure out what went wrong amid a barrage of speculation, fake news and conspiracy-mongering on Twitter. An eyewitness describes the crash itself: Kobe Bryant helicopter crash witness gives an intelligent and detailed account of what he saw from videos The radar records show the helicopter's flight path, and recordings of air traffic control show communications between the helicopter and controller:A helicopter pilot explains a possible sequence of events. It seems likely the pilot was scud running down the 101 under a low cloud ceiling, then attempted a wide turn through the fog west of Calabasas, only to fly into the hills south of the highway.We are following media reports the Kobe Bryant was among those killed in a crash of an S-76 helicopter near Calabasas, CA this morning. Initial data indicate N72EX is the aircraft involved. Data for N72EX is available at https://t.co/47EEtYA3uP pic.twitter.com/XZSFafHgmU— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 26, 2020Aviation Safety has records on the helicopter and the incident. Read the rest

"What Color is Your Name?" is a website that associates your name, or any name, with blocks of colors. The project's creator, Bernadette Sheridan, has grapheme–color synaesthesia, which means her brain perceives numerals and letters as very specific colors. She explains:...I am terrible at remembering names. I hear the name, but my mind is distracted. In my head, I am calculating the number of letters in the name, and visualizing the colors of each letter. Your name may be Emily, but to me, you’re a bright, happy swath of five letters with an “E” and an “I". When I meet you again later, I may think your name is Emily or Jille or Ellie. Five letters, with an “I” and an “e.”Sheridan also offers, at a reasonable price, your name-color portraits as prints.(Coudal Partners)screengrab via "What Color is Your Name?" Read the rest

Color of Change, a nonprofit founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and dedicated to social justice advocacy, and the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center just completed a new study about representation and messaging in police and crime TV shows. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the results backup the revelations from the Washington Post's 2016 investigative series, "Dragnets, Dirty Harrys, and Dying Hard: 100 years of the police in pop culture" — that police department PR machines have long collaborated with Hollywood executive powers-that-be to utilize TV to influence public perceptions of law enforcement.The report is based a data crunch of 353 episodes from 26 crime-related scripted television shows that aired in the 2017-2018 season. They analyzed the race and gender breakdowns of the writers, showrunners, and consultants involved in the shows, as well as the on-screen representation of criminal justice, persons of interest, and victims. Overall, the study identified 5,400 variable data points across the shows, focusing on such questions:Do crime procedurals and other crime-focused series produced in the U.S. accurately depict the reality of the criminal justice system, accurately depict racial disparities (e.g., racially biased treatment by authorities, the disproportionate targeting of people of color communities, disproportionate punishment or other outcomes based on race) and depict reforms and other solutions for correcting racial disparities in the criminal justice system?If present, do series portray any specific actions or attitudes of criminal justice professionals as directly resulting in those racial disparities? Do they portray any of the routine practices of the criminal justice system as resulting in racial disparities? Read the rest

It’s no secret that when it comes to building your brand online, nothing beats having a powerful and streamlined website. BoxHosting Website Hosting makes it easy to create an extensive online presence with room for 500 domains, 500 10GB email accounts, and unlimited desk space—and you only have to pay $45 for life.In addition to a lifetime of premium web hosting, BoxHosting Website Hosting also gives you unlimited access to an easy-to-use website builder that can be used to create new sites from scratch, and there are plenty of tools and templates that will help you customize your website in order to match the specific needs of your business.This lifetime subscription also ensures super-fast upload and download speeds, along with top-level security features and 24/7 manned data centers that are there to help with any problems you may experience along the way.Treat your business to a lifetime of premium web hosting with a subscription to BoxHosting Website Hosting for just $45—over 90 percent off its usual price.Prices are subject to change.You can't beat free! Get $70+ worth of premium Mac apps for free today! Read the rest

Funko's Baby Yoda looks amazingly cute.I do not know where I am going to put all these damn things.Funko Pop! Star Wars: The Mandalorian - The Child via Amazon Read the rest

There’s never been a better time to work as a web developer—regardless of whether you’re looking to work with a big company or as a solo freelancer. The Essential PHP Coding Bundle will get you up to speed with one of the world’s most popular and powerful web development scripting languages, and it’s currently available for over 90% off its retail price.Through four courses and over 150 lessons, this bundle will introduce you to both the fundamentals and more advanced elements of PHP—an open-source scripting tool that’s widely used in HTML and a variety of go-to web development platforms.After an introduction to the basic terminology of the language, you’ll learn how to create dynamic web pages from scratch, find and fix common scripting errors, incorporate third-party platforms into your builds, and more.There’s also a course that teaches you how to create advanced and easily-maintainable Python applications that can be used on your sites.Add PHP to your web-building toolkit with the Essential PHP Coding Bundle—available for over 90% off MSRP at just $29.99.Prices are subject to change.You can't beat free! Get $70+ worth of premium Mac apps for free today! Read the rest

Kobe Bryant, 41, has died in a helicopter crash. He was 41-years-old. Eight others, including Bryant's 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were killed in the crash in Calabasas, California. From ESPN:A 6-foot, 6-inch small forward with the ability to swing up front and play point or shooting guard, Bryant entered the NBA straight out of high school. In 1996, he became the youngest player in NBA history.He won five NBA titles in his time with the Lakers, as well as two Olympic gold medals playing for the United States. Now fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list, with 33,643 points, Bryant won two NBA Finals MVP awards and one NBA regular-season MVP nod in 2008.A native of Philadelphia, Bryant was selected No. 13 overall in 1996 by the Charlotte Hornets before being traded to the Lakers. He wore both No. 8 and 24 with the Lakers, both of which were retired by the franchise.image credit: Keith Allison (CC BY-SA 2.0)Deputies on scene with @LACOFD regarding aircraft crash. https://t.co/o2xkFluzQm pic.twitter.com/BPGfKS6nFt— LASD Lost Hills Stn. (@LHSLASD) January 26, 2020 Read the rest

There's overwhelming support for clean energy, and the planet is giving us more reasons to invest in renewable power sources with every passing year. Even in the most inhospitable areas, wind and solar can provide a good chunk of our power, if not all of it. So why aren't we all taking advantage of it?As with most things in our society, it takes a good business plan. And Arcadia might just have one.Simply put, they do the legwork of finding renewable energy sources in your area. They then serve as a middleman between you and your existing power company, negotiating prices based on the sources they find and purchasing energy certificates by proxy.Not only will this result in a better environment and more peace of mind on your part, but it can also actually save you money. In many cases, that clean power is cheaper, and Arcadia will pass the savings on to you, letting you know how much you've saved each month and how much of your power bill went to green, planet-wise sources.The more members Arcadia gets, the more collective bargaining power they have. As if you needed a bigger hint, sign up is easy - in a matter of minutes you can have your own account, keep your existing power company and get a $20 Amazon gift card or four standard LED bulbs as a bonus. Read the rest

Is Penis Man a hero or menace to Arizona? pic.twitter.com/FVjKAwMdww— Charles Rahrig (@c_rahrig) January 20, 2020Police have captured the culprit behind the "Penis Man" graffiti tags that, er, popped up in several dozen spots across Tempe and Phoenix, Arizona over the last two months. (News report from December below.) While Penis Man quickly developed a cult following, the cops weren't laughing. On Saturday, Tempe police revealed that they had nabbed Dustin Shomer, "on 16 counts of aggravated criminal damage, 8 counts of criminal damage and one count of criminal trespassing in the first degree." Shomer has since released a statement on the Facebook Unmodded - NEIGHB'rhood Group, as reported in the Phoenix New Times:"I just spent the last 24 hours in Tempe and Phoenix police custody for spraying 'Penis Man,'" Shomer wrote. "They raided my condo and vehicle and swarmed my entire complex in west Phoenix with 25 heavily armed SWAT officers, and pointed a silenced assault rifle in my face."Anyone with any doubt who the bad guys are here ... be certain it is the City of Tempe, City of Phoenix, and police forces valleywide. There is no excuse for pointing an AR-15 in the face of a non-violent offender."Shomer added in further posts that he spent a night at Maricopa County's Fourth Avenue Jail following more than five hours in Tempe police custody, during which time he was giving "nothing to eat."He wrote that he was "told I wouldn't receive medical attention after requesting it, even though it was posted on the wall to ask if desired. Read the rest

At least it isn't Our Sheriff Lobo. Read the rest

Over one week, this $500,000, Naples, Florida home belonging to Jeffrey Leibman, 40, was transformed from boring beige to a wild, multicolored dream house. The grounds and trees have also been, er, brightened up. I think it has great curb appeal! From ABC7News (video below):A Naples homeowners association said it's actually suing the man they believe trashed this house.Right now, management said Leibman is no longer living in the home, and court records show he's due in court this weekend for drug charges.(Thanks to our Florida bureau chief, Charles Pescovitz!) Read the rest