Boing Boing

Disney is seeking an Admiral for their Galactic Starcruiser, Halcyon. That means there's an open position for general manager of the Star Wars theme hotel at Walt Disney World, Florida. From the Job Summary:Are you ready to command a Galactic Starcruiser, the Halcyon, where you will take passengers on an adventure to a galaxy far, far, away? Be the first Admiral (GM) to manage this fully immersive, luxury resort, where guests and crew are part of a Star Wars story, including encounters between Resistance forces and the First Order.We are seeking a seasoned hotelier with extensive senior leadership hospitality experience on land or at sea to serve as Resort Manager / Hotel Director. He/she will drive and execute a unique immersive “cruise-like experience” aligned with our Star Wars franchise. This experience will operate as a two-night journey and be the world’s first multi-day immersive adventure. The ideal candidate will have a passion for bringing ideas to life, creativity, value a non-traditional work environment, and balance a traditional hotel experience with immersive entertainment. Read the rest

"To the suspect(s) driving around in a Black Lincoln Navigator stolen from the 700 blk of Rosemead Bl just after 8PM today in uninc #Pasadena: Out of all the bad decisions you have made, at least make one good one & bring back the deceased person & casket inside the Navigator," tweeted the LA County Sheriff's department last night.The suspects have not been identified and are still at large.To the suspect(s) driving around in a Black Lincoln Navigator stolen from the 700 blk of Rosemead Bl just after 8PM today in uninc #Pasadena:Out of all the bad decisions you have made, at least make one good one & bring back the deceased person & casket inside the Navigator. pic.twitter.com/Dvo7u94zL1— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) February 27, 2020Image by Michael Kauer from Pixabay Read the rest

People are tossing old mattresses faster than ever before, thanks to online mattress peddlers who offer easy returns and 100-day guarantees. (It's not surprising -- the last time I visited a brick-and-mortar mattress store it had the same vibe as a sleazy used car joint.) The upshot -- tons of tossed out mattresses clogging landfills and the rise of scammy recyclers who collect filthy, vermin-infested mattresses, give them new covers and resell them as new.The Guardian reports:One scam involves fraudsters posing as reputable mattress recyclers. They set up an official-looking website and start offering their services to residents and businesses. When people bite, the fraudsters collect the mattresses, pick the ones in good condition, replace the outer casing, and then wrap in new covers that often have the logo of a reputable manufacturer on it. These secondhand mattresses are then sold as new. “Some of the mattresses you get from the general public are disgusting,” warns Allsopp. “If you strip the outer polycotton layer off a mattress, underneath it’s just a horror,” Scollick agrees. “That, unsanitised, is going into supposedly brand-new mattresses.”It is easy to fall victim to mattress scammers: a member of Fitzsimons’ own family was duped. “I was agog!” he says. “In spite of all my stories over the dinner table!” A common scam involves a man with a van – often with the name of a reputable firm on the side – who goes door-to-door in residential neighbourhoods. He was meant to be delivering mattresses to a hotel, he’ll say, but there was a problem with the order, and they have surplus, high-quality mattresses. Read the rest

Sure, Jan.

A woman dressed as Cookie Monster was arrested this week after being found overdosed in a car after dropping her daughter off at another person's house.Police found [Monster] wearing the Sesame Street costume slumped over in her idling car behind the home where she had just dropped off her daughter. Narcan was used to revive [Monster]. She was taken to the hospital where she was treated for an apparent heroin overdose. Her friend who alerted police talked with Channel 11 about the scary situation. Read the rest

In our modern world, our usual first approach to combating an oncoming cold is to medicate it into oblivion. Sometimes, that carpet bombing pharmaceutical attack plan can knock out the congestion and discomfort of an illness before it settles in. But there’s always something to be said for trying to put down the effects of a cold or allergy irritation with a more natural, holistic method.As opposed to drug remedies, steam inhalers go at sinus issues with good old fashioned water vapor. You can enjoy the benefits of this time-tested technique with the AVYA Portable Steam Inhaler, which is now over 30 percent off its regular price at just $129.99.Boiled water or saline solution produces a heated steam aerosol that travels deep into the nasal passages, thanks to Avya’s patented technology. The vapors break up congestion, clear sinuses and relieve irritation or inflammation while draining mucus caused by colds, allergies, sinusitis or even the flu.Even if you’re just suffering from nasal or throat discomfort due to cold weather conditions, the AVYA inhaler can help hydrate and moisturize those airways and soothe those sensitive areas with an ancient and safe remedy.Battery-operated and weighing less than 8 ounces, you can use the AVYA anywhere to get breathing relief instantly. The AVYA was backed by a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $344,000 and with a 4.2 out of 5 star Amazon rating, the unit is definitely winning over converts with its simple approach to nasal relief.Of course, the right saline solution can help make a real difference in achieving that relief, so you can also choose from standard AVYA Nasal Saline Solution ($8.99, Read the rest

Chris Pattle's The Simpsons in CSS is exactly as promised: thirteen of the show's characters rendered and animated using style sheets: no javascript or image files to be found. (In Firefox on Windows, you can see some artifacts that hint at how the characters are built from geometric shapes.) Read the rest

Petnet is a $300 internet-of-things pet food bowl. Its network went down and stayed down for a week, leaving some pets to go hungry. The BBC reports that owners are livid and that it's not the first trouble Petnet's had maintaining service.Petnet has two Twitter accounts. The official one has not tweeted since 30 August 2019 but the support account issued four tweets between 14 and 21 February about the problems experienced. In its first tweet it said a "system outage" was affecting second generation devices and asked customers not to switch off their feeder even if it appeared to be offline. ... On 21 February it said smartfeeders were "returning online" and a "system reset" was in progress.The Petnet has dismal reviews on Amazon, where the Wopet is the clear favorite: a plain old automatic feeder, no internet required. PREVIOUSLY: Smart pet food bowl closes when pets overeat. Read the rest

Assembling LEGO's official Star Destroyer kit [Amazon] is no mean feat: it has nearly 4,800 pieces and retails for $700. But Matt Benner, aka TheBrickWiz, went 30,000 better, constructing a collossal Star Wars spaceship to put the fear of Vader into any rebel fool enough to fall into its gravity well. He even made the interior – check out the conference room (below)! Read the rest

In January of 2018, I was hired by the Civic Ensemble of Ithaca, New York to take part in a fascinating playwriting opportunity. The company had started a ReEntry Theatre program in 2015, teaming with state social services to implement a theatre education curriculum to help people dealing with incarceration and substance abuse rehabilitation to transition back into society. In the past, the program participants had written their own monologues and brief scenes, along with learning some improv exercises. But they brought me in to work with those program participants, and all the raw material they'd produce, and turn that into a full-length play—a singular, cohesive vision that was lightly fictionalized but drawn directly from the participants' real experiences dealing with prison and addiction.The result, Streets Like This, had its world premiere in May of 2018. But now the company is re-mounting it at the Cherry Artspace (also in Ithaca) from March 12-22, 2020.Working on this play was a very cool experience. The program participants were all people who had seen a lot of shit, but also had some incredibly deep empathy but for what they and others like them had gone through. Many of them possessed an intuitive understanding of the complex systemic issues that drove them into the desperation — the violence, drugs, sex work, and petty crime — that landed them in prison in the first place. And having been through prison — sometimes more than once — they also had a better understanding of the ways that the system is set up to fail people just like them. Read the rest

Today on "Every Single Expectation of Gradual Fascist Action Under the Trump Administration Has Continued Coming True:"The Department of Justice today announced the creation of a section dedicated to investigating and litigating revocation of naturalization. The Denaturalization Section will join the existing sections within the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation—the District Court Section and the Appellate Section. This move underscores the Department’s commitment to bring justice to terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders, and other fraudsters who illegally obtained naturalization.I generally try to avoid slippery slope arguments as they are a logical fallacy. But this one is particularly concerning. Take it in good faith, and there's still the issue of "de-naturalizing" people from countries like Tibet, or the Kingdom of Fiji, or Czechoslovakia, or the United Arab Republic, or the Catalan Republic — nation-states that technically no longer exist, but from which naturalized US citizens could have possibly emigrated.And then there are the worst-case scenarios: who could trust that the government would limit these cases to terrorists and sex offenders, and who gets to define what constitutes terrorism or a sex offense?This is a dangerous nativist agenda no matter what way you slice it,The Department of Justice Creates Section Dedicated to Denaturalization Cases [US Department of Justice]Image: U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Tracy L. DeMarco / Public Domain, depicting a military spouse becoming a military spouse receiving her naturalized US citizenship on foreign soil. Read the rest

Whether you're managing a political campaign or building a client base, there comes a time when you stop seeing people and start seeing numbers.This doesn't happen suddenly. You shake hands, make calls, and build relationships. And then those relationships disappear into a database of donors or customers as your organization grows. People get brought in to manage those databases, and those databases fragment off into countless little spreadsheets.That's how the people that were once your supporters end up with faceless emails, impersonal calls, and tedious forms that ask for information you already have. And that's how they stop becoming your supporters.That's why services like the one that NationBuilder is providing are more crucial than ever. They allow you to manage your contacts in integrated databases that actually foster communication and allow for on the-fly-customization based on their interests and prior interactions.In other words, it allows you to treat "your people" like people.All of this is done on a website that you can build from the ground up in minutes with NationBuilder's ready-made templates. Plus, NationBuilder sets you up with tools to help you inspire, capture, and seamlessly track actions across your page.NationBuilder also empowers you to maintain real, meaningful connections with your supporters by way of personalized email and text to supporters based on their interests and history with you.They're currently doing a 14-day free trial of NationBuilder, but Boing Boing readers can get a free month after that trial ends. If you're doing any kind of community engagement, it's definitely worth a look. Read the rest

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday confirmed a possible first person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 in California in a patient who is identified as a member of the general public. The individual is a resident of Solano County, CA. They are receiving medical care in Sacramento County, say state officials.The individual suspected of being the first person to-person coronavirus transmission had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual, according to the California Department Of Public Health.NEW: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a possible first case of person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 in California in general public. The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento Co. per State Officials— Andrew Blankstein (@anblanx) February 27, 2020The individual suspected of first possible person to-person Coronavirus transmission had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual per California Dept. Of Public Health— Andrew Blankstein (@anblanx) February 27, 2020Per Governor @GavinNewsom's office: The individual infected with Coronavirus is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County. The individual had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual.— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) February 27, 2020.@CAPublicHealth says the first possible community transmission of coronavirus in California involved an individual who lives in Solano County in the Bay Area. Read the rest

A Korean Air flight attendant has tested positive for coronavirus, and they worked on flights between Seoul and Los Angeles, South Korean media outlets reported on Wednesday afternoon U.S. time.The Korean Air cabin crew member diagnosed with coronavirus today flew home to South Korea from Los Angeles on February 19 https://t.co/ugf1TsmW3s— Steve Lookner (@lookner) February 25, 2020The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Wednesday the crew member worked on a Korean Air KE958 flight from Israel to Incheon, February 15-16. The passengers included a South Korea tour group from which 31 coronavirus cases originated, medical reports say.Other KA routes and flights the employee with coronavirus may have traveled have not yet been identified.SEOUL, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A Korean Air flight attendant who has tested positive for coronavirus had worked on flights between Seoul and Los Angeles, local media reported.— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) February 27, 2020From Reuters:Korean Air has referred all inquiries about the employee’s itinerary to KCDC, as the authority in charge, adding “We will continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our passengers and employees.” #BREAKING: A @KoreanAir flight attendant was diagnosed with #coronavirus shortly after working on a flight to Los Angeles, per South Korean media @ABC7 https://t.co/3qmPdcNFuH— Veronica Miracle (@ABC7Veronica) February 26, 2020 Read the rest

Thank you for reading -- After eight years on Boing Boing, the John Wilcock story will conclude next week! -- From John Wilcock, New York Years, by Ethan Persoff and Scott Marshall -- (See all Boing Boing installments) Read the rest

“The risk to the American people remains very low,” Trump said, flanked by VP Pence and US public health officials.

On Vsauce2, Kevin Lieber explains the mathematical magic that enables mentalists to confound audiences by correctly guessing the number they've picked. Even though I know how it's done, it still confounds me. Read the rest

Writer William Mersey was sent to prison for tax fraud, and spent time at New York City's Rikers Island a few months ago. In this Daily Beast article, he describes what life at Rikers will be like for rapist Harvey Weinstein.I suspect the shock of being found guilty of rape in the third degree and sexual assault in the first degree Monday and immediately cuffed and taken into custody by court officers is what led to the heart palpitations that caused the ambulance transporting him to Rikers to be diverted to the prison ward of Bellevue Hospital. Weinstein, who’d avoided any time behind bars until now, should steel himself; there are more shocks to come once he recovers from his post-conviction fit of the vapors.When I left the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) for Rikers, I was handcuffed, shackled at the ankles, and placed in a tiny, claustrophobic plastic cubicle in the back of a Ford van to bump and bruise my way to the inmate island. He should hope he’s tied to his seat and not given a rough ride like I was.Photo of Rikers Island by U.S. Geological Survey, conversion to PNG by uploader (Herr Satz). - The National Map Seamless Server, layer New York City (Mar 2006), latitude 40.79930093 to 40.78455349, longitude -73.89361276 to -73.86990631.Converted from GeoTIFF to PNG using GIMP., Public Domain, Link | Photo of Harvey Weinstein by Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63418391 Read the rest

Trump's campaign filed a lawsuit against The New York Times today, claiming unspecified "millions" of dollars in damage for a 2019 op-ed, reports CNBC:Among other things, the suit alleges that the newspaper “has engaged in a systematic pattern of bias” against Trump’s campaign, which is designed to damage the campaign’s reputation and cause it to fail.A Times spokesman said, “The Trump Campaign has turned to the courts to try to punish an opinion writer for having an opinion they find unacceptable.”“Fortunately, the law protects the right of Americans to express their judgments and conclusions, especially about events of public importance. We look forward to vindicating that right in this case,” the spokesman said.Photo by Stéphan Valentin on Unsplash Read the rest

Learning to ride a bike is one of those quintessential childhood experiences that's as rewarding as it is scary. Prep your precious babe for success by starting them early with the world's lightest balance bike, the Brilrider FLIGHT.For the uninitiated, balance bikes are no-pedal bicycles that propel forward by pushing off the ground with the feet, a la the Flintstones. Stopping, too, is accomplished by foot, which kids tend to do naturally anyway. (Hands up if you're stopping like that to this day... *raises hand*)They're way easier for a toddler to learn than a traditional bike + training wheels setup, thanks to their uncomplicated design that eliminates intimidation while helping little ones gain confidence and independence as they focus on simply balancing. Most babies can balance by the age of 2, so once they get their road-legs they'll be set for a faster transition to a standard bike, no training wheels required.The incredibly lightweight frame of the Brilrider FLIGHT was designed with children as young as 12 months in mind; made with airplane-grade aluminum, it's tough, durable, and insanely easy to maneuver. That's a bonus for parents, too, since you'll likely be the one hauling it around. Also a bonus? Tool-free assembly and quick-release adjustments of the handlebars and seat.Speaking of the seat, kids benefit from its 11" starting position. This means not only is the Brilrider sized better for learners—allowing for full control and walking of the bike—but even if they were to fall, there's a much shorter distance to the ground. Read the rest

The U.S. military announced late Tuesday that a U.S.-ROK Armed Forces in Korea soldier stationed at Camp Carroll in South Korea has tested positive for coronavirus. A USFK soldier stationed at Camp Carroll tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first time a U.S. service member has tested positive for the virus. We’re implementing all appropriate control measures to protect the force. https://t.co/kkfEIuW7Jb— U.S. Forces Korea (@USForcesKorea) February 26, 2020This is the first time the DoD has confirmed a U.S. service member has tested positive for the virus.From Reuters tonight:South Korea reported 169 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, including a U.S. soldier, as health authorities readied an ambitious plan to test more than 200,000 members of a church hit hardest by the country’s outbreak. The new cases pushed the total tally to 1,146, with the numbers expected to rise as the government widens its testing.Of the new cases, 134 were from Daegu city, where a branch of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has been linked to outbreaks, is located, the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) said.The U.S. military reported its first case of the coronavirus on Wednesday, in a 23-year-old soldier based in Camp Carroll, about 20 km (12.4 miles) from Daegu. The camp is also near a disability centre that has had its own outbreak of the virus. More from Twitter tonight as news breaks.Reuters: U.S. SOLDIER STATIONED IN SOUTH KOREA TESTS POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS - U.S. FORCES IN KOREA— Vincent Lee (@Rover829) February 26, 2020BREAKING: US service member tests positive for coronavirus in South Korea https://t.co/RxedAB8khh Read the rest

It's downright majestic is what it is.Listen to this cockatiel sing the legend of zelda ocarina of time lost woods song, with a bok choy leaf on his birb head. View this post on Instagram Majestic . #cockatiel #cockatiellove #cockatielsofig #cockatielsofinstagram #petsagram #オカメインコ #앵무새 #calopsita #featheredfriends #majestic #trendsetter #leafyboy #bokchoyhat #birb #birbmemes #birdsofinstagramA post shared by Crumpet and Dumpling 🐦 (@crumpetdumpling) on Feb 23, 2020 at 8:23am PST Here's what the original sounded like, in case you don't know.The birb is something else. His name is crumpetdumpling and he has a little Instagram. Read the rest

Designer Harikrishnan's inflatable latex trousers suggest "anatomically impossible" proportions. They're so weird, silly, and so delightful.Follow Harikrishnan on Instagram. View this post on Instagram Let’s put him in a Vase. @joshuajsmall in red and ivory inflatable trousers. 📷 @rayxchung . Special thanks to @supatex for their amazing range of latex. . . . . . . #fashionshow #fashionpost #fashionstyle #fashionstylist #runwayfashion #faahiondaily #fashionweek #outfitinspiration #emergingartist #ootd #faahionforward #mensfashion #mensfashionpost #britishfashioncouncil #igfashion #fashionstatement #fashionstudent #emergingartist #emergingdesigner #styleformen #pfw #londonfashionweek #A post shared by Hari (@harri_ks) on Feb 4, 2020 at 10:00am PST View this post on Instagram Editorial for @pictonmag shot by @yanghanphoto styled by @zzzy.leee makeup @margherita.lascala.makeup hair @kikuchikanae Assistant Lucretia yang Model Isabel @prm_agency . . . . . . . . . . . #editorial #editorialphotography #ootd #ootdfashion #ootdfash #elegant #fashionable #stylish #outfitpost #stylist #fashionblog #dazedfashion #dezeen #dustmagazine #sickymagazine #fashionphotographychannel #vogue #voguemagazine #vogueindia #idmagazine #vmagazine #editorialstyling #jeanpaulgoude #faahionart #toxickidstudio #photozine #formmagazineA post shared by Hari (@harri_ks) on Feb 20, 2020 at 3:02am PST Here's a profile of their work on Dezeen.Excerpt:"I got the idea when I was playing with my dog and I started thinking about how exaggerated objects must look from such a low angle," explained the designer, who goes by the single name Harikrishnan."The thought of him seeing me as a giant figure or not seeing my head at all was intriguing, so I decided to reimagine the people around me through the game of distortion – detached from the stereotypical, pre-determined notions of the human perspective." Read the rest

“Rioters roamed the streets with iron rods and wooden sticks, demanding to know whether people were Hindus or Muslims. Mosques were damaged and shops were set ablaze”

Players of tabletop car combat games like Gaslands, Car Wars, and AutoKill will likely rejoice at the news that Jon Favreau and Seth Green have just signed a deal with Quibi to create Micro Mayhem, a series of stop-motion car combat shorts using die-cast toy cars as the stars.Green is obviously no stranger to the world of stop-motion, having been one of the primary creative voices behind the long-running Cartoon Network series Robot Chicken. He’s also produced stop-motion shows like SuperMansion, Buddy Thunderstruck, and Titan Maximum, and as you can see from the end-credits tags on the videos above, he and his Stoopid Buddy Studios have been hooked up with these guys for years already. While Favreau has typically worked in live-action, he also has some experience with stop-motion, having used it in his 2003 film Elf to recreate the look of Rankin/Bass Christmas classics like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.Several years ago, this video was posted to YouTube. It was likely a floater to prove the concept and to gauge audience reaction.Quibi, which launches on April 6, 2020, is a new mobile-only platform promising daily content at 10 minutes or less.More info on Slashfilm and Deadline.Image: YouTube Read the rest

Happy birthday to the late George Harrison, born Feb 25, 1943. Okay, as he revealed toward the end of his life, he was actually born at 11:50pm on Feb 24, but close enough.Enjoy this video from the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden, 1971. It's his duet with Leon Russell, performing "Beware of Darkness" from Harrison's 1970 record, All Things Must Pass. Words to live by.[H/t Jayme McLellan]Image: YouTube Read the rest

Is it just us, or does it feel like winter hasn’t been as horrendous as usual this year? Well, stats show it’s actually been one of the warmer winters on record so far this year for many eastern U.S. cities in January and February. But, almost on cue, weather experts warn signs of a serious cold snap could be on the way as we head into March.Knowing that this might be a really good time to book a trip to South Palm Beach. Or Las Vegas. Or, heck, anywhere warm. With that in mind, we’ve got a few options.Dollar Flight Club Premium: 1-Yr Subscription - $9 (Originally $69)If you want to maximize your travel budget, you can’t do much better than a year of Dollar Flight Club for just $9. With this subscription service, you’ll get email alerts about the cheapest flight deals as soon as they go live...before everybody else moves in and gobbles them all up. Just set up your account, pick your home airports and wait for the deals. In addition to those spot discounts, Dollar Flight Club premium members also enjoy exclusive weekend warrior flight deals, partner perks and booking support, all in an ad-free experience.Matt's Flights Premium Subscriptions - $25 (Originally $49.99) Airlines make pricing errors all the time. They also slide super-discounted flights on to the schedule with zero notice. Matt’s Flights keeps a sharp eye on all those carrier moves, then loops you in instantly so you can take advantage. Read the rest

In 2007, James Grundy dropped his pants in a pub and exposed his genitals to onlookers. James Grundy is now the Conservative Party member of parliament for Leigh, footage of the incident has been obtained, and it is time to apologize."I apologise for my actions and for any offence caused."Back to basics. Read the rest

This dancer makes gliding seem effortless and might have given Michael Jackson a run for his money.But lest we forget: Read the rest

I've been wanting a Teenage Engineering op-1 for years, but I can't justify paying $1300 for something I might not use a lot. But the Behringer TD-3 synthesizer, at about 1/10th of the price, looks like it's as much fun as the op-1.It's a remake of the Roland TB-303 Bass Line that came out in 1981. According to Wikipedia, the TB-303 "was a commercial failure and was discontinued in 1984. However, cheap second-hand units were adopted by electronic musicians, and its 'squelching' or 'chirping' sound became a foundation of electronic dance music genres such as house and techno [this song being the one that started it all]. It has inspired numerous clones." Read the rest

MetalBallStudios made this animated video that helps you envision the size of various named asteroids by placing them in Manhattan.[via Laughing Squid] Read the rest

If you use Adobe Photoshop, you're likely to know how it differs from Illustrator. But what if you're designing a game – should you use Flash Professional (aka Animate), Flash Builder, or one of their other 50-plus apps? What's the difference between Lightroom and Bridge? What is Scout good for? When YouTuber Humtog last looked, he didn't see a simple explainer guide that answers these types of questions on Adobe's site, so he made this video, which covers 50 apps in 10 minutes. Not a lot of detail, of course, but it can help you sort out which might be best for you and where to take a deeper dive. Read the rest

Snazz up your older model grocery-getter with these skull headlight covers! I have no idea if they are DOT approved but they're sure to turn some craniums. (See what I did there?) Skullspiration writes that they are designed by Est2rad Custom in Watsonville, CA but the eBay search link in the post show products from the Russian Federation so... your mileage may vary.(via Weird Universe) Read the rest

The Smithsonian Institution has just released 2.8 million images (2D and 3D) into the public domain via a new Smithsonian Open Access online platform where anyone can browse and download high-res files. And then reuse them! Or remix them! For whatever! For free! From Smithsonian:Featuring data and material from all 19 Smithsonian museums, nine research centers, libraries, archives and the National Zoo, the new digital depot encourages the public to not just view its contents, but use, reuse and transform them into just about anything they choose—be it a postcard, a beer koozie or a pair of bootie shorts.And this gargantuan data dump is just the beginning. Throughout the rest of 2020, the Smithsonian will be rolling out another 200,000 or so images, with more to come as the Institution continues to digitize its collection of 155 million items and counting...Spanning the arts and humanities to science and engineering, the release compiles artifacts, specimens and datasets from an array of fields onto a single online platform. Noteworthy additions include portraits of Pocahontas and Ida B. Wells, images of Muhammad Ali’s boxing headgear and Amelia Earhart’s record-shattering Lockheed Vega 5B, along with thousands of 3-D models that range in size from a petite Eulaema bee just a couple centimeters in length to the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, estimated at about 29 light-years across.Smithsonian Open Access Read the rest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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