This PulseTech charger, and responsible behavior, has changed my life.I used to kill the batteries in my cars and motorcycles on an almost annual basis. I would intend to ride the bike more, but it'd be rainy. I would keep telling myself to take the Vanagon out but it was parked behind my daily driver. Sometimes I'd park the daily driver behind the Vanagon and just use it... and suddenly two, three or six months had gone by.I bought two of these PulseTech chargers and started rotating between three vehicles. Several times I have even resurrected nearly dead batteries and resurrected ones a battery tester showed as 'bad.'The automatic desulfation feature constantly varies the voltage of the float charge. I believe it works as I am well over 6 years old on both my car batteries and each one still reads 12.8v when I test them. My 44-year-old motorcycle with an 8-year-old battery starts right up on the first press of the button, assuming I remember to turn on the choke.Desulfation may be snake oil as just keeping the batteries topped up should extend their service life dramatically -- but I am bran-loyal to these chargers.I put those little charging pigtails on each battery and swap two chargers between my current fleet of three vehicles.XTREME CHARGE XC100-P - Charge 12V Battery Maintenance Charger Desulfator via Amazon Read the rest

a roast of the 50 state flags pic.twitter.com/syhV8G0Wgh— Matt Buechele (@mattbooshell) January 21, 2020Here's one of the 50 insults Matt Buechele hurled towards the US state flags: "Nevada started this project, meant to finish it later, then they just had to submit it at the last second."Image: Twitter video screengrab Read the rest

A man has been captured on video attempting to jump between platforms at a subway station in Nara City. He has been identified as a Nara City official and faces punishment. pic.twitter.com/hroNYgAxBQ— NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) January 21, 2020NHK World News reports the man in a subway platform jumper video has been identified as a Nara City official and "faces punishment."Image: Twitter video screengrab Read the rest

KFC started running this TV and online ad in Australia a few weeks ago, but they're now apologizing. The ad shows a young woman adjusting her shorts and breasts while checking out her reflection in a car window, until the window rolls down and reveals two young shocked boys staring at her with their mouths open, along with a disapproving mom. After a few moments of silence, the young woman says, "Did someone say KFC?" Then we cut to her enjoying KFC's Zinger Popcorn Box with a bunch of friends.The KFC ad was criticized by The Collective Shout, a group based in Australia. Spokeswoman Melinda Liszewski said: “Ads like this reinforce the false idea that we can’t expect better from boys. It is another manifestation of the "boys will be boys" trope, hampering our ability to challenge sexist ideas which contribute to harmful behavior towards women and girls...The research is solid: attitudes shape behavior. A growing number of reports show how reinforcing of gender stereotypes – including in advertising – contributes to a lesser view of women, resulting in their mistreatment.”To which KFC responded: “We apologize if anyone was offended by our latest commercial. Our intention was not to stereotype women and young boys in a negative light.”Source: The Guardian Read the rest

We’re all guilty of constantly staring at a variety of screens throughout the day. The only problem is that the blue light that’s emitted by most electronics — and even energy-efficient lightbulbs — is notoriously bad for our eyes and, subsequently, our health. Here are three glasses that offer superior protection for your eyes both during the day and at night.1. Swanwick® Crystal Night Swannies: Blue Light Blocking GlassesMSRP: $89 | Sale Price: $75 (15% off)Featuring the latest CR-39 lenses, these prescription-grade glasses deliver unparalleled protection against harmful blue light without affecting the clarity of your vision—all within a supremely stylish and modern design.2. Swanwick® Crystal Day Swannies: Blue Light Blocking GlassesMSRP: $109 | Sale Price: $89 (18% off)Ideal for looking at screens during the day, these glasses block out the most harmful types of blue light while still letting bits of healthy blue light (roughly 450-500nm) in to help keep your regular circadian rhythm in check.3. Swanwick®Classic Night Swannies: Blue Light Blocking GlassesMSRP: $69 | Sale Price: $49 (28% off)With uniquely-tinted CR-39 lenses and a classic design, these glasses will help you optimize your sleep every night by eliminating harmful rays when you’re taking one last look at your devices before you go to sleep.You can't beat free! Get $70+ worth of premium Mac apps for free today!Prices are subject to change. Read the rest

YouTube pranksters are taking credit for interrupting the Snookers Masters Finals with loud farting noises. The group, Trollstation, claims it wasn't a whoopee cushion making the sounds of flatulence but a "fart box" they planted in the arena earlier in the week. The Guardian:Stuart Bingham won the Masters 10-8 but one of the biggest days in the snooker calendar was briefly disrupted by an electronic “whoopee cushion” in the crowd......the perpetrator, who was quickly removed from the venue – but not before a number of fart noises had caused much mirth inside Alexandra Palace."I think it could be someone with a whoopee cushion," Dennis Taylor said on the BBC’s commentary. “Not very funny at all.” View this post on Instagram “ Not very funny “ - he said.. whilst the entire audience was cracking up 😂😂😂 @endrit @bmwjarvoA post shared by Trollstation 🇦🇱🇽🇰🇬🇧 (@trollstation) on Jan 19, 2020 at 8:20am PST View this post on Instagram Full video out now link in @trollstation bio @bmwjarvo 😂A post shared by Trollstation 🇦🇱🇽🇰🇬🇧 (@trollstation) on Jan 19, 2020 at 1:21pm PSTscreengrab via BBC Read the rest

"Pirate", a man let out of jail after serving a four-year sentence, has settled in Redding, California. Police say he has fears for his safety."We are aware that Daniel Selovich (Pirate) is back in Redding," wrote the department on its Facebook page. "He was contacted by officers earlier in the day and is not currently wanted for any crimes."Court documents show Pirate sexually and physically assaulted K.B. up to six times a day from Sept. 26 until Nov. 8. He duct-taped her to him during the night to prevent escape. The woman wasn’t able to go to the bathroom unless Pirate was with her, according to investigators. Pirate tied her to a support beam so she could not move. Pirate told her he would “cut her face off” and at one point placed a knife to her neck, causing her to bleed, KTUU said. On Nov. 8, 2015, a medical group responded and rescued the woman. A grand jury indicted Pirate on four counts of sexual assault in the first degree, two counts of kidnapping, and multiple counts of assault. The case was proceeding to trial until the woman was found dead, at that point, it was dropped, the Associated Press said. Read the rest

I just happened upon this McSweeny's post, Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell, Reimagined for Linguistic Transgressions, by poet and software engineer, John Rauschenberg, that they published a few years ago. What did they miss? Which transgression would you move closer to Lake Cocytus?First Circle (Limbo):AutocorrectHere wander the otherwise virtuous souls who were forced into grievous errors by autocorrect programs. They sit in silent masturbation, only rising once every hour to chant eerie koans such as “ducking auto cat rectal.”Second Circle:The Serial CommaOne half of this circle is populated by souls who are cursed to make arguments that nobody cares about except their own mothers, howling gorgons and the infernal mistresses of hell. The other half are cursed to make arguments that nobody cares about except their own mothers, howling gorgons, and the infernal mistresses of hell. The difference between these two situations seems to matter a lot to both halves. Neither side will listen to you when you suggest that they could avoid this level entirely.And what does he have in the finally circle?Ninth Circle:Literally, the Ninth CircleIt is literally the worst circle ever.[Image: The Fifth Circle, by Stradanus, Public Domain] Read the rest

The China Law Blog (previously) is one of my favorite sources of insight into the secret workings of the businesses that produce the majority of the world's daily-use goods.The latest post, Forced Labor in China: Don’t trust AND verify, is a sobering example: Fred Rocafort describes how even cursory audits of labor practices turn up subcontracting arrangements with forced-labor prisons.The issue is of the moment in part because of the one million-plus prisoners in Xinjiang province who have reported forced labor in Muslim-reeducation concentration camps (they have also reported punitive rape, forced medical experimentation, etc). If Chinese forced labor sickens you -- and it should -- you should also turn your eye to the US prison system, where forced labor is the norm, especially in the private prison industry. A: We are here on behalf of our mutual client, Y Brands. As per the terms of the agreement between your company and Y Brands, we are here to perform an audit. Y Brands has given advance notice to your corporate office. P: Uh, okay. What kind of audit? A: A social compliance audit. Looking at workplace safety and things like that. P: Ah, I see. Please go ahead. Let me know if you have any questions. A: Well, to be honest, this doesn’t look like a factory. I only see a few products here and there, and none of them belong to our client. Where is the production line? P: Oh, we only handle quality control here. Read the rest

You may think you haven't heard The Typewriter, but I bet you have! Wikipedia:The typewriter was modified so that only two keys work to prevent the keys from jamming. According to the composer himself, as well as other musicians, the typewriter part is difficult because of how fast the typing speed is: even professional stenographers cannot do it, and only professional drummers have the necessary wrist flexibility. It has been called one of "the wittiest and most clever pieces in the orchestral repertoire". Author Steve Metcalf has written that "Despite the almost total disappearance of typewriters in everyday life, the statistics show that "The Typewriter" is still a favorite Anderson item." The typewriter is considered a percussion instrument, and the typewriter part is usually performed by a percussionist or drummer, or rarely by the conductorThe claim that the typing speed is too fast for typists is directly quoted here by NPR. Perhaps a reflection of the consistent force required to make loud, satisfying clacks in concert than speed per se? Anyway, I don't believe it.Here's Liberace: Read the rest

Boda Bodas are the ubiquitous motorbike taxis of Nairobi; Boda Boda drivers are in an arms-race to produce the most elaborately decorated motorbikes in order to differentiate themselves from the competition.The Ugandan-Kenyan fashion designer Bobbin Case and the photographer Jan Hoek created new fashion looks for seven Boda Boda drivers that matched their bikes, a venture that was so successful that the drivers kept their outfits and now wear them to work: "The nice thing is that because of their new outfits their income went up, so they really kept on using their costumes. Maybe if you by chance visit Nairobi one of them will be your taxi guy." Boda Boda Madness [Jan Hoek](via Kottke) Read the rest

Major cities in China will undertake a staged withdrawal of single-use plastics between now and 2022, with plastic cutlery and take-out containers going by the end of 2020; disposable plastics no longer offered in hotels by 2022; and postal outlets no longer providing plastic packaging/bags by the end of 2022.China stopped accepting the world's recycling in 2018, after a viral documentary on the living conditions of Chinese recycling workers sparked a mass movement; however, China still produces large amounts of its own plastic waste.As part of a plan to drastically reduce plastic pollution, China's government said the production and sale of disposable foam and plastic tableware, often used for takeout, and single-use plastic straws used in the catering industry will be banned by the end of the year.China to ban single-use plastic bags and straws [Deutsche Welle](via /.) Read the rest

Gordon took an episode of The Price is Right and edited it down to gameplay. The resulting video is an eleven-minutes long blast of pure Price is Right. Price is Right as an Olympic sport.I trimmed a few things like...-Long form product descriptions.-Pandering to the audience for answers.-Wheel spinning animations.-Unnecessary delays. The methodology seems overly aggressive — isn't pandering to the audience the point of the show? — but an interesting deconstruction all the same. Read the rest

This video shows a frisbee rolling—dancing, even—on a frozen lake in Maine. Shea Gunther: "I filmed this while out skating on Great Pond in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The disc moved entirely due to the wind." Read the rest

Today on Oh Joy Sex Toy (previously) guest-artist Alex P Perkins offers us a graphic memoir of her breast reduction surgery in 10th grade, and the way it put her on a journey toward "loving my body for what it is: mine."Perkins's work is a powerful reminder that the graphic form is exceptionally well-suited to memoir and personal storytelling, from Maus to Fun House to Zahra's Paradise.My Breast Reduction [Alex P Perkins/Oh Joy Sex Toy] Read the rest

I’ve written extensively on gun violence, spoken on international TV and radio on the subject, and even pursued a gun license in the strictest city of one of the strictest states in the country. Despite my first-hand experience, the most ardent defenders of the Second Amendment — like those who marched on Richmond, Virginia this weekend to protest "Jim Crow" gun laws — will still tell me things like, “We don’t need more laws! We need to enforce the laws on the books!” or “We can’t stop every shooting because that’s just the price of freedom.” Those same #2A Avengers will of course acknowledge that yeah, okay, maybe NICS has some problems, or maybe those Parkland cops should have done something earlier, and then swiftly retreat back into the same tribalistic mindsets that always prevent human progress.So I wrote this essay, hoping to have a rational conversation. It was originally published on Medium in 2018, but it remains frustratingly relevant, so I'm posting it here.Naming something gives you power over it.That’s the basic idea behind all the magic in every folktale dating back for centuries, from “Rumpelstiltskin” to the Rolling Stones’ “Hope you guessed my name.” Ancient shamans didn’t practice “magic”; they just had knowledge, and names for things like “eye of newt” that no one else could understand. To name something is to know it, and knowledge is power.Think about the relationship between “spelling” and “spells” and you won’t be so surprised that Harry Potter has been all over the gun violence conversations lately, on both the Left and the Right—which makes sense, considering that they have a word you memorize and practice reciting in order to kill people. Read the rest

Writing in Wired, Boing Boing contributor Clive Thompson discusses the rise and rise of "Edge AI" startups that sell lightweight machine-learning classifiers that run on low-powered chips and don't talk to the cloud, meaning that they are privacy respecting and energy efficient.Thompson focuses on Picovoice, which makes a speech-recognition system that has a limited vocabulary and whose per-unit hardware costs are "a few bucks apiece" -- cheap enough that you can embed one in a coffee-maker or a music system so you can voice-control them. They won't banter with you like Alexa, but they can reliably, quickly and cheaply recognize the phrases needed to brew a cup of coffee or cue up a song.Other classifiers also operate on this model -- Xnor.ai, acquired by Apple, makes an image classifier that's so low-powered it can run on the minute voltages given off by houseplants.There are free, open source versions of this technology if you want to get started.But before you get too excited about the energy savings of running AI at the edge instead of in the cloud, remember that the process of generating those models is incredibly energy-intensive, equivalent to the lifetime carbon emissions of five automobiles. What's more, edge AI is speedy. There are no pauses in performance, no milliseconds lost while the device sends your voice request to play Smash Mouth's “All Star” halfway across the continent to Amazon's servers, or to the NSA's sucking maw of thoughtcrime data, or wherever the hell it winds up. Read the rest

French president Emmanuel Macron and impeached but not yet removed U.S. President Donald Trump declare a truce in digital tax dispute, and digital services firms get to breathe a sigh of relief.On Monday, Macron said he and Trump had a “great discussion” over a digital tax planned by Paris, that the two leaders agreed to work together to avoid a rise in tariffs. They're expected to continue negotiations at the OECD on the digital tax in the coming months, reports Reuters,“They agreed to give a chance to negotiations until the end of the year,” a source told the news organization. “During that time period, there won’t be successive tariffs.” Excerpt:France decided in July to apply a 3% levy on revenue from digital services earned in France by firms with revenues of more than 25 million euros ($28 million) in France and 750 million euros worldwide. Washington has threatened to impose taxes on French products in response.French authorities have repeatedly said that any international agreement on digital taxation reached within the OECD would immediately supersede the French tax. Macron and Trump declare a truce in digital tax dispute [reuters.com] Read the rest

Bruce Schneier writes in the New York Times that banning facial recognition (as cities like San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland, Brookline and Somerville have done) is not enough: there are plenty of other ways to automatically recognize people (gait detection, high-resolution photos of hands that reveal fingerprints, voiceprints, etc), and these will all be used for the same purpose that makes facial recognition bad for our world: to sort us into different categories and treat us different based on those categories.Some of these distinctions are easy to imagine: showing different ads on billboards based on who's looking at them, for example. Others are more sinister: targeting us for police interventions, raising the prices, or denying us entry to a place of business.Schneier says that we need to regulate more than facial recognition, we need to regulate recognition itself -- and the data-brokers whose data-sets are used to map recognition data to peoples' identities.Regulating this system means addressing all three steps of the process. A ban on facial recognition won’t make any difference if, in response, surveillance systems switch to identifying people by smartphone MAC addresses. The problem is that we are being identified without our knowledge or consent, and society needs rules about when that is permissible.Similarly, we need rules about how our data can be combined with other data, and then bought and sold without our knowledge or consent. The data broker industry is almost entirely unregulated; there’s only one law — passed in Vermont in 2018 — that requires data brokers to register and explain in broad terms what kind of data they collect. Read the rest

Petition demands recall of 500,000+ cars over alleged defectElectric car maker Tesla said on Monday there was no unintended acceleration in its vehicles, as petition signature-gatherers demanding a federal safety investigation have claimed.From Reuters:On Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it would review the petition and released a redacted version that said “Tesla vehicles experience unintended acceleration at rates far exceeding other cars on the roads.”The petition urged the agency to recall all Tesla vehicles, the Model S, Model X and Model 3, produced beginning in 2013. It cited media reports of crashes attributed to unintended acceleration and complaints filed with NHTSA.More at Reuters:Tesla rebuffs U.S. safety recall petition, says no unintended acceleration in vehicles Read the rest

Sweary historian Eleanor Janega writes on her Going Medieval blog (previously) that there was never a time in medieval Europe when bestiality was socially acceptable, and brings the receipts in the form of eyewatering details on the punishments for having sex with animals.Janega mentions that, of course, any non-procreative sex was doctrinally suspect in the Christian tradition of the day, because sex was what got humankind kicked out of Eden, so the only time you should be getting it on is to make babies, otherwise, you're just celebrating the stuff that makes God angriest.But sex with animals was especially bad for medieval theological authorities, because it was "against nature" in that it "humans are blurring the clear line between themselves, as beings with a consciousness, and animals who are a separate category without the faculties to reason."But here is the kicker – one of the reasons that bestiality is considered so terrible is because animals cannot reason and therefore cannot consent to it. Animals, famously, were not cursed by God for eating forbidden fruit. They are still therefore running around most nakedly. Because of their innocence, they also mostly just have sex for the purposes of procreation. Now, there are some notable exceptions to the whole sex for procreation thing in the animal kingdom, most notably our good friends and group sex enthusiasts the bonobos, but also dolphins and orcas, and all the gay animals, just off the top of my head. Everyone else though? Mostly having sex in order to have babies and not thinking about it at all. Read the rest

An unsecured facial recognition database that contained info on thousands of children from 20 schools in China, half of which are located in historically ethnic Tibetan areas, has been found online.This latest facial-recognition database leak raises new questions about ethnically targeted school surveillance and cybersecurity in China, writes Liza Lin in the Wall Street Journal:The cache was connected to a surveillance system labeled “Safe School Shield” and contained facial-identification and location data, according to Victor Gevers, a researcher at the Dutch nonprofit GDI Foundation, which scans the internet for vulnerabilities and flags them to owners for fixing.Found in the database were these frontal pictures of children in the schools, used to train algorithms to spot them as they passed the #surveillance cameras. pic.twitter.com/HoW2lSCG1H— Liza Lin (@Liz_in_Shanghai) January 20, 2020While gov­ern­ment surveillance is broadly ac­cepted, the use of fa­cial recog­ni­tion and other types of track­ing tech­nolo­gies in schools has proven a flashpoint. https://t.co/Vg5otN0U79— Paul D. Shinkman (@PDShinkman) January 19, 2020That thing where surveillance is invasive and also incompetent. https://t.co/9EuvRWXphZ— Eva (@evacide) January 17, 2020[Paywalled link] Thousands of Chinese Students’ Data Exposed on Internet [via techmeme] Read the rest

Frontier is the bottom-rung of the top-tier of US ISPs, serving customers in 29 states. Despite enjoying monopoly control over its customers' online lives, and despite massive government handouts and a lackadaisical approach to maintenance, and despite out-and-out theft from customers, the company is filing for bankruptcy, having accumulated $16.3b in debt through mismanagement.Ars Technica's Jon Brodkin plausible blames this situation on the increasing irrelevance of Frontier's copper-line infrastructure, massive underinvestment in fiber, and bottom-of-the-barrel customer service.Ideally, the cities whom Frontier will leave in the lurch will replace the company with municipal broadband, the best broadband in America.Frontier Communications failed to properly maintain its telecom network in Minnesota, leading to "frequent and lengthy" phone and Internet outages, an investigation by the state Commerce Department found in January 2019. The investigation led to a settlement. New York state officials are also investigating Frontier over its repeated outages and long repair times.Many Frontier customers in different states have been hit with giant overcharges and cancellation fees, or draconian policies like one requiring customers to pay for router rentals even when they have purchased their own router. (A new US law scheduled to take effect in June 2020 would ban that practice.)Windstream, a telco that offers service in 18 states, filed for bankruptcy in February 2019. Windstream in November 2019 said its latest quarterly revenue was "$1.27 billion compared to $1.38 billion in the same period a year ago."Frontier, an ISP in 29 states, plans to file for bankruptcy [Jon Brodkin/Ars Technica](Image: Evelyn Simak, CC BY-SA, modified) Read the rest

An Alaska family's home surveillance camera recorded a most remarkable video of a moose trapping a man inside the family shed.Curtis Phelps was just trying to take the garbage out, when -- as this video from his Ring home surveillance camera demonstrates -- he got trapped inside the shed by a moose who managed to push his way inside with one antler. “The moose eventually moved on and Phelps escaped after calling his wife, Amy, with his cellphone,” AP reports.“He’s like, let me know when I can get out of the shed,” Amy told a reporter. “I’m stuck in the shed.” She had placed a garbage sack on the front porch and Curtis decided to take it to their locked shed.“He said he walked out and he looked both ways as we always do and nothing was there,” she said. “All he wore was his hat. He had his cellphone, though.”Curtis unlocked the shed, deposited the garbage sack, stepped outside and spotted the moose moving his way — and picking up its pace. He ducked inside and the moose walked up to the door and gently pushed it.The rest of the story is actually super funny, go read the whole thing here:Bull-noser: Camera records moose trapping Alaska man in shed Read the rest

If you were in Idaho and wondering where to score some weed the answer is Oregon.KTVB7:It's no hidden secret that Oregon is seeing higher marijuana sales in counties along their borders with Idaho, but a new report from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis found exactly how much more those counties are selling compared to the statewide average.Oregon counties along the Idaho border have a sales per adult that are 420% above the statewide average, which the report said was something "you cannot make up." Read the rest

Show'em what you got. Read the rest

Never out of my rotation, I love The Wild Tchoupitoulas.This video also serves as a fantastic guide to fashion. Read the rest

On Friday, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton convicted dentist Seth Lookhart of 46 felonies and misdemeanors. You may recall that Lookhart infamously "performed a dental extraction procedure on a sedated patient while riding a hoverboard" and sent the video to his pals. In 2017, the state filed a suit charging Lookhart with "unlawful dental acts." His sentencing is in April. From CNN:In at least one conversation, Lookhart joked that performing oral surgery on a hoverboard was a "new standard of care," the lawsuit said, citing phone records.Lookhart was also charged with medical assistance fraud for billing Medicaid for procedures that were either unnecessary or not properly justified and theft of $25,000 or more by diverting funds from Alaska Dental Arts, among dozens of others.The evidence indicated Lookhart "believed that he could get away with his fraud indefinitely, and that he believed his scheme was foolproof," Judge Wolverton said, according to the Department of Law's news release. That evidence "was often supported, and often in excruciating detail, by Lookhart's own texts, photos and videos." Read the rest

Bull in a China shop? How about an elephant in a South Asian hotel?woke up to a text from my mom about how a wild elephant went into a Sri Lankan hotel and gently wandered around while poking stuff with his trunk pic.twitter.com/C2biQT8C30— Upuli 🇱🇰 (@upidaisy) January 19, 2020 Read the rest

Bickmore Gard-More is a spray-on waterproofing and stain-resistant treatment for hats, leather and suede.I am bald and wear a lot of hats. Hats are even better than glasses for instantly transforming one's look. I have stacks of flat caps, newsboys, and fedoras. Wool, cotton, linen, and suede are all current materials in the line-up. Bickmore Gard-More is the protectant I use on them all.I recently found a beautiful rust-colored suede newsboy at a Goorin Bros sale. I knew that a cap like this could, over the years, become amazing if treated right. The suede protector of choice, in my household, is Bickmore Gard-More. It sprays on very evenly and dries very fast. I have used it on a suede jacket for almost 10 years.Above image shows the suede immediately after drying.After treating the hat I let it dry, and then put it on. You can not smell or see any trace of the Gard-More, however, having been caught in some light rainstorms in the suede jacket, I have no fear this hat will be just fine.I have also used the Gard-More on wool hats, and my leather carry-on duffle bag. Gard-More doesn't change the color of the item, once dried, and simply adds a layer of water and stain resistance.HATS!Bickmore Gard-More Water & Stain Repellent 5.5oz- Leather Protector and Suede Protector Waterproofing Spray Guard for Boots, Shoes, Clothing, Hats, Jackets & More via Amazon Read the rest

Researchers have determined that the above self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh, long thought to have been a fake, was indeed painted by the artist in 1889 while he was suffering from psychosis in a French mental institution. The painting belongs to Norway’s National Museum but is currently on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. From The Art Newspaper:The painting is now linked to a letter in which Van Gogh wrote that he had made a self-portrait which was “an attempt from when I was ill”. The artist had suffered a severe mental attack at the asylum in mid July 1889, when he tried to swallow paints, but by 22 August he had recovered sufficiently to write to his brother Theo, asking that he be allowed access to his painting materials. (Researcher Louis) van Tilborgh argues that the artist made the self-portrait a few days later, before he suffered a minor setback and was ill for a short period at the beginning of September...Eight months earlier Van Gogh had severely mutilated his left ear, which at first glance appears to be the one in the painting. But while working on the self-portrait he would actually (have been) looking at his features in a mirror, in reverse, thereby seeing his intact right ear.However, Van Gogh must surely have realised that those outside the art world would assume that he was depicting his left ear, which had been mutilated. He could have tried to avoid the problem by disguising some of the ear with hair, but he has deliberately and unflinchingly allowed the upper part to remain highly visible, with lighter-coloured paint. Read the rest

The latest iPhone cameras are undeniably impressive, but they’re still no match for a professional camera when it comes to taking clear, wide-angle shots. These six accessories will transform your iPhone into a pro-level camera in seconds, thanks to powerful and easy-to-attach lenses.1. Lemuro 18MM iPhone Wide LensMSRP: $100 | Sale Price: $80 (20% off)Take truly majestic photos with this pocket-sized attachment lens that boasts an 18mm focal length along with a 110-degree field of view. In layman's terms, it helps you shoot better landscapes, portraits, and more.2. Lemuro 60MM Tele Portrait Lens for iPhoneMSRP: $104 | Sale Price: $84 (20% off)Ideal for capturing flawless portrait shots, this lens features a 60mm focal length, 2x optical zoom, and cutting-edge optical technology that delivers unparalleled clarity, so your portraits will be worthy of posting to the 'gram.3. Lemuro 8MM iPhone Fisheye LensMSRP: $99 | Sale Price: $80 (20% off)You'll be happy to have this lens the next time you're standing before a stunning sunset or panorama. With an 8mm focal length and a 238-degree ultra-wide-angle lens, this fisheye attachment allows you to take shots that are 5x wider than what your iPhone can do on its own.4. Lemuro 25MM iPhone Macro LensMSRP: $95 | Sale Price: $76 (20% off)Transform your iPhone into a pocket-sized digital microscope with this incredibly powerful and portable lens that delivers a 22mm focal length and 10x magnification ratio in any environment.5. Lemuro iPhone Photo CaseMSRP: $44 | Sale Price: $35 (20% off)Designed for seamless compatibility with Lemuro lenses, this aluminum case will also protect your iPhone from drops and bumps, and it even supports wireless charging. Read the rest

Last week, Roberto Alvim, gave a speech in his capacity as Brazil's culture minister: backed by a Wagner aria, Alvim gave a speech about reforming Brazilian art that literally plagiarized the words of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's minister of propaganda.After a week of intense pressure, Jair Bolsonaro, the military strongman authoritarian who rules Brazil and has advocated for extrajudicial torture and murder, fired Alvim.Journalist Glenn Greenwald, who lives in Brazil, offers some context for Alvim, who was once a respected theater director but became a far-right religious fanatic.Greenwald points out that it's not a coincidence that a literal Nazi ended up in Bolsonaro's cabinet -- nor is Alvim the only Nazi to be found there.On social media, he has declared himself fighting a “cultural war” in favor of “conservative artists”; denounced one of Brazil’s most beloved actresses, the 90-year-old Fernanda Montenegro, as a “dirty liar” for whom he harbors “contempt”; and attacked the Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa, whose documentary “Edge of Democracy” was just nominated for an Academy Award, as a leftist propagandist disseminating lies.Notably, Alvim was fired only after the embassies of Germany and, far more importantly to Bolsonaro, Israel issued condemnations containing harsh language rare for diplomatic communications. The Israeli Confederation of Brazil said: “Such a person cannot command the culture of our country and must be removed from office immediately.” The German Embassy in Brazil said: “The period of National Socialism is the darkest chapter in German history, bringing infinite suffering to humanity….We oppose any attempt to trivialize or even glorify the era of National Socialism.” Read the rest

Few things in life are more universally dreaded than going to the gym, which is unfortunate since a new year usually means making new resolutions to get in shape.Thankfully, this BodyBoss 2.0: Portable Home Gym has everything you need to burn fat and build muscle in the comfort of your own home.With just a small collection of resistance bands and gear, you’ll be able to do hundreds to go-to gym exercises in virtually any environment. The BodyBoss 2.0 is designed to simulate thousands of dollars worth of gym equipment, so you can tone and sculpt all in the same space and without having to jump from machine to machine.And since the entire fitness package weighs less than 11 pounds, it's easy to take it with you wherever you go.Hit your New Years' fitness goals without dragging yourself to the gym with this BodyBoss 2.0: Portable Home Gym for just $155—45% 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

I wanted an egg sando. It was very, very easy.Been doing my egg sandwiches all wrong 🍳 🥪🤷🏻‍♂️😁✌🏼 pic.twitter.com/iUeHCUIwGp— 🦗🍂🍃The Smokin Grasshopper🍃🍂🦗 (@Grasshopper2049) January 15, 2020 Read the rest

I read and greatly enjoyed Jack Vance's 4-book series, Tales of the Dying Earth last year. Today I wanted to tell my daughter about one of the spells in the book (the Spell of Forlorn Encystment), so I looked it up online. One of the top results Alison Flood's 2011 review of the series in The Guardian. She likes the books for the same reasons I do, describing the stories as "strange, and disturbing, and glowing.""Glowing" is an especially good way to describe Vance's writing. His use of language in enchanting, and it really does feel like his sentences and words are manifesting some kind of spell.From Flood's review:All is recounted in Vance's wonderful, unique prose. Is it possible to be both deadpan and flowery at the same time? I think he pulls this off, to hilarious effect. "These girls seem not to relish the garland of pulchritude," says Guyal of a collection of unattractive women. Cugel, after ditching a former princess into the hands of a brigand (it was his own hopelessness which led to her losing her kingdom), justifies himself angrily. "'The woman is a monomaniac!' he told himself. 'She lacks clarity and perceptiveness; how could I have done else, for her welfare and my own? I am rationality personified; it is unthinking to suggest otherwise.'"There are remnants of ancient civilisations: floating roads and air-cars. There are horrific images galore: a pyramid of screaming flesh half a thousand feet high. And so, so much of these stories can be seen in the work of later authors. Read the rest

Portuguese President makes sure Trump doesn't try that power handshake bullshit on him.😂😂😂pic.twitter.com/KzPC1QUvTu— Bill Maxwell 🌊 #CountryOverParty (@Bill_Maxwell_) January 18, 2020 Be careful! That doughy arm might pop right out of its socket. Read the rest

EVERYONE SHUT UP AND LOOK AT THIS COFFEE ADVERTISEMENT pic.twitter.com/oqpNvBAcXa— dante (@sapphicticated) January 17, 2020 How did Dad rescue those glasses? Read the rest

New York's luxury real-estate market has been in freefall for years, and now the city's super-luxe buildings are sitting empty -- even as property prices in the city remain stubbornly high, prompting 300 New Yorkers to move out of the city every day, and filling the homeless shelters to capacity and beyond.New York -- like most overpriced cities -- has failed to build enough low- and middle-income housing of the sort that people use to live in, and has grossly oversupplied itself with the kinds of safe deposit boxes in the sky that oligarchs use as a form of medium-term asset class, possibly without ever occupying it.The luxurification of cities isn't an accident. When Michael Bloomberg was mayor of New York, he explicitly encouraged "bluelining" -- designating whole regions as luxury-only, aimed at the global super-rich -- saying that he wanted New York City itself to be viewed as a luxury good.The problem with this plan -- apart from it being an inhumane form of ethnic cleansing that chases working people out of our cities -- is that it only works if there are enough global oligarchs chasing these super-luxe condos to keep the market inflated and liquid (oligarchs have viewed luxury property in big cities as being nearly as liquid as cash, because for a time, you could flip them on just a few days' notice). But three of the most important centers of oligarchic capital have dried up: China instituted strict currency controls and its economy is slowing, and Saudi and Russian oligarchs are much less flush than they were when oil prices were at their peaks. Read the rest

Using sheer brute force, a Disneyland guest successfully removed Excalibur, the "sword in the stone," from its anvil in front of the King Arthur Carrousel. It was first reported that the sword was removed as part of a planned refurbishment but then a guest stepped up to share what really happened.WDW News Today:The sword is not removed for refurbishment. My friend Sam broke it last week on the 8th when we went to Disneyland. He literally ripped it out. The staff said that it was really old and that’s why he was able to do so. It was his first time at Disney and he’s a pretty buff dude, I told him if he pulled it out he’d win a prize and he just used brute force I guess lol. It was broken and jagged. The staff said they taped it off so no one would stick their fingers in and cut it on the broken piece left inside.Unfortunately, the poor fellow didn't become King, as legend dictates. And a brand new sword has already been placed in its (freshly polished) anvil in its central Fantasyland spot. See photos of it at WDW News Today.screengrab via Disney's Sword in the Stone Read the rest

If one of your New Year's resolutions is to travel more, you owe it to yourself to learn the language of the place you're visiting. If you're not sure where to start, give these resources a look. From mobile apps to online courses, these products can get you conversant in a new language before you set foot on foreign soil. Read on for details:1. Language Zen–Spanish Language Learning Program: Lifetime SubscriptionMSRP: $500 | Sale Price: $79 (84% off)Learn Spanish twice as effectively with this personal language tutoring platform that adapts to your unique learning habits.2. The Complete Learn French in 30 Days BundleMSRP: $2000 | Sale Price: $19 (99% off)This 10-course bundle will help you learn French language and grammar the easy way, thanks to simple, bite-sized lessons that can be completed in as little as a few minutes.3. The Fast-Track French Language Learning BundleMSRP: $796 | Sale Price: $20 (97% off)Fancy a trip to the City of Lights? With 13 hours of content spread over four in-depth courses, this bundle will teach you how to speak and read one of the world’s most beloved languages.4. HelloTalk VIP: Lifetime SubscriptionMSRP: $230 | Sale Price: $29 (87% off)This best-selling platform lets you learn a new language by speaking directly with native speakers from around the world.5. Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime SubscriptionMSRP: $399 | Sale Price: $159 (60% off)Learn up to 14 new languages with a lifetime subscription to Babbel, which comes with access to over 10,000 hours of high-quality educational content. Read the rest

One of the most frustratingly incredible things about Corporate PR Con Artistry is that even when the chaos magicians behind it reveal their tricks, there are still people who will continue to insist that somehow, this makes the lie even more real. We've seen it before with climate change, and the bullshit connection between vaccines and autism.And now, in a new op-ed from The New York Times, we can see this phenomenon happening in real-time with healthcare. Most rational-thinking people understand that the private healthcare system in America offers no more "choice" than the socialized, single-payer, or other government-subsidized systems in other developed nations. Yet that idea of "choice" — and the fantastical fear-mongering about wait times in Canada — has become a popular talking point with those opposed to healthcare reform. Which is precisely what it was designed to do, by people like Wendell Potter, a former vice president for corporate communications at Cigna. As he writes in the Times:To my everlasting regret, I played a hand in devising this deceptive talking point about choice when I worked in various communications roles for a leading health insurer between 1993 and 2008, ultimately serving as vice president for corporate communications.[…]Those of us who held senior positions for the big insurers knew that one of the huge vulnerabilities of the system is its lack of choice. In the current system, Americans cannot, in fact, pick their own doctors, specialists or hospitals — at least, not without incurring huge “out of network” bills. Read the rest

Anyone who loves biking, skiing, or snowboarding in the great outdoors knows just how difficult it can be to safely transport your gear—especially during extended trips. These three accessories make it easier than ever to securely attach your gear to your car. So if you're planning to embark on a outdoor adventure soon, you'd be wise to check out these options:1. STAG Ski, Bike & Base Unit BundleMSRP: $549 | Sale Price: $494 (10% off)This streamlined rack allows you to attach and carry two bikes along with your ski gear (up to four snowboards or five pairs of skis), thanks to a premium vacuum roof system that offers unparalleled grip strength for all of your equipment.2. STAG Ski & Base Unit BundleMSRP: $379 | Sale Price: $341 (10% off)If you tend to travel a bit lighter when you hit your favorite adventure spots, this simplified rack system has you covered—thanks to premium vacuum cup technology that allows you to securely carry either four snowboards or five pairs of skis.3. STAG Bike & Base Unit BundleMSRP: $379 | Sale Price: $341 (10% off)Ideal for cycling enthusiasts, this premium roof rack can carry up to two bikes with either a 15mm thru axle or a 9mm skewer, and it’s easy to attach the rack to glass, metal, or fiberglass surfaces. Read the rest

Late last year, the nonprofit Internet Society abruptly announced a deal to sell control over the Public Interest Registry (which manages all .ORG domain registrations) to Ethos, a newly created private equity fund capitalized by three politically connected families of Republican billionaires. Under the deal, ISOC would get $1.135B to spend on various projects, and PIR would have to return a profit to their private equity investors.The deal was incredibly fishy. For one thing, Ethos turned out to be staffed with former execs and staffers from ICANN, the body that has the power to bless or halt the sale of PIR -- and these people had come to Ethos after overseeing a highly irregular change in policy that would let PIR hit .ORG domain holders with unlimited price-hikes.Since then, we've learned that the deal to buy PIR will be financed by hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of debt, which PIR will have to make payments on just to keep the lights on -- money it will have to make by somehow radically increasing PIR's revenues.It's not clear how they'll do this, or why it needed doing. .ORG is home to the world's best-established human rights groups and nonprofits, and depending on how Ethos manages PIR, those organizations could see their online presence censored to appease the dictatorial governments they watchdog, or have every visitor to every .ORG tracked and the information sold to the highest bidder.Tomorrow (January 18), I'll be speaking at LA's Crash Space in Culver City, as part of a meeting to organize a mass protest at ICANN headquarters on Friday, January 24th. Read the rest

It seems like AI is everywhere these days, from the voice recognition software in our personal assistants to the ads that pop up seemingly at just the right time. But believe it or not, the field is still in its infancy.That means there's no better time to get in on the ground floor. The Essential AI & Machine Learning Certification Training Bundle is a one-course package that can give you a broad overview of AI's many uses in the modern marketplace and how to implement them.The best place to dive into this four-course master class is with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) Foundation Course. This walkthrough gives you all the terms and concepts that underpin the entire science of AI.Later courses let you get your hands dirty with some coding, as in the data visualization class that focuses on the role of Python in the interpretive side of data analytics. There are also separate courses on computer vision (the programming that lets machines "see" their surroundings) and natural language processing (the science of getting computers to understand speech).The entire package is now available for Boing Boing readers at 93% off the MSRP. Read the rest

It's fascinating to see this round table discussion on The Dick Cavett Show about the assassination of Robert Kennedy. People had the same concerns about gun violence 50 years ago, but the way people talked about it on TV in 1968 is inconceivable today. The panelists were allowed to speak for more that 15 seconds without being interrupted, and the other panelist appeared to be listening to what the others were saying. The panel consisted of actor Robert "Man From U.N.C.L.E." Vaughn (a politically active friend of the Kennedys), NAACP executive director Roy Wilkins, psychiatrist David Abrahamsen (author of "A Study of Lee Harvey Oswald: Psychological Capability of Murder"), and broadcast journalist David Schoenbrun. Read the rest

Whether you own or rent your place, insurance on that home is a necessary hassle - but a new tech-driven company called Lemonade is starting to show that while it might indeed be a necessity, it doesn't have to be a hassle.Here's the way insurance typically works: You pay premiums and hope an accident never happens. If it does, you enter the purgatory of red tape, trying to pry restitution from a company that has little motivation or ability to pay out your claim.Lemonade doesn't work that way. Instead, it utilizes a well-built technology platform and intuitive AI to make signup a breeze. If anything, the process of paying out claims is even easier: You answer a few questions, outline your lost or damaged property through video chat, and get satisfaction almost instantly. Lemonade takes a flat fee from your premiums, so there's no motivation for them to stonewall you when it comes time to file a claim. At the end of each year, they'll even turn a portion of the unclaimed money from those premiums to the charity of your choice.Another great thing about their flat fees? They're super cheap, thanks to Lemonade's low overhead. Fees start at $25 for homeowners' insurance and $5 for renters. Get a quick quote and sign up today. Read the rest

Chicago's Volante (previously) bills itself as "streetwear for superheroes," and I love their clothes. They've just released an addition to their existing canon of Star Trek-themed, cosplay-adjacent clothes: the Picard Sweater, a stretchy knit tribute to Jean-Luc himself, the perfect thing to wear while you're watching Wil Wheaton host "The Ready Room," which airs after every episode. Read the rest

A guy who was waiting for his flight at the airport in Portland wanted more screen display space for his Playstation video game session, so he plugged his PS4 into a public computer screen that was displaying a map of the airport. Airport staff were not amused.Port of Portland spokesperson Kara Simonds told Portland KXL-AM radio that staff at Portland International Airport staff asked the man to stop gaming on the public map display. The man asked if he could finish his game. They said no. The situation resolved peacefully. From the Associated Press:“Apparently it was a very polite and cordial interaction,” Simonds said, calling it “a good reminder of what not to do at the airport.”No word on whether or not the passenger made it to the next level. Read the rest

The massive scale and force of the ongoing bushfires in Australia is hard to comprehend. The number of living creatures killed by flame, smoke, and habitat destruction fires is already staggering, and incomplete. Here is a new video from Reuters with more on a story we've covered here at Boing Boing previously -- NWS workers are dropping vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes from aircraft, to feed displaced wallabies who can't find anything to eat because everything has burned. Video: ReutersPREVIOUSLY on Boing Boing:• Australia fires: Carrots and sweet potatoes dropped from the air to feed starving animals Read the rest