Who cares about the Tokyo Olympics, when a 60-foot walking RX-78-2 robot is going to be stomping around nearby Yokohama in October? It will have 24 degrees of motion and will weigh 25 tons, according to New Atlas. It sounds pretty impressive, and the video above makes it seem cool, but Yoshiyuki Tomino, who created Gundam in the late 1970s, has some harsh words for the project: "It's boring. It rubs me the wrong way ... It's just not interesting ... It feels like they're going backwards, trying to reproduce a 40-year-old original."

Image: YouTube Read the rest

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I've often wondered what kind of blackmail has got Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, et al running so scared that they now don't even try to hide their mindless, sycophantic kneeling before King Trump. But, according to Salon, the answer is much simpler than blackmail – it's about what it's almost always about: money, or in this case, campaign contributions.

Apparently, Trump's lawyers donated thousands to the GOP senate puppets. For instance, in 2017, Kenneth Starr donated $2,700 to Lindsey Graham and $2,800 to Mitch McConnell in 2019. From Salon:

Starr, who lamented that "we are living in … the age of impeachment" during the trial on Monday and accused Democrats of waging a "domestic war," gave $2,800 to McConnell in July 2019, according to CFPR.

Ray, who wanted to indict Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair but now claims Trump has been vindicated by the transcript of his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, contributed the maximum $5,600 to McConnell in September 2019, according to the report.

The contributions came months before McConnell bragged to Fox News host Sean Hannity that he would be in "total coordination with the White House counsel's office and the people who are representing the president in the well of the Senate."

"Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with the White House counsel," he said. "There will be no difference between the president's position and our position as to how to handle this."

Read more details at Salon.

Image: Liz West / Flickr Read the rest

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And you thought you felt full. Check out this female tsetse fly push out a larva fat with its momma's milk. From Deep Look:

Mammalian moms aren’t the only ones to deliver babies and feed them milk. Tsetse flies, the insects best known for transmitting sleeping sickness, do it too.

(UC Davis medical entomologist Geoff Attardo) is trying to understand in detail the unusual way in which these flies reproduce in order to find new ways to combat the disease, which has a crippling effect on a huge swath of Africa.

When it’s time to give birth, a female tsetse fly takes less than a minute to push out a squiggly yellowish larva almost as big as itself...

“There’s too much coming out of it to be able to fit inside,” (Attardo) recalled thinking. “The fact that they can do it eight times in their lifetime is kind of amazing to me.”

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/NLUkm6Bg7Wc/watch-a-tsetse-fly-birth-a-sho.html

Order says data collected ‘could be valuable to foreign entities’

The United States Interior Department today introduced a no-fly rule that covers pretty much all Chinese drones, and all unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) made with Chinese parts, with some narrow exceptions. The big fear is espionage.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said he decided to issue the order after investigating the potential security risks from drones manufactured in China, or with parts made in China.

“In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said his department will grant exceptions for tracking wildfires by air and for emergencies where human safety or property damage are at risk, such as search-and-rescue operations,” reports Katy Stech Ferek at the Wall Street Journal.

They're making exceptions for training flights and such, also.

The new policy, which will be issued in an order Wednesday, follows the temporary grounding of the department’s drone fleet last year amid rising concerns that the devices could be used for espionage. Interior officials have acknowledged that all of the department’s roughly 800 drones are made in China or with Chinese parts.

(...)The department order doesn’t mention China by name but instead directs department officials to favor domestically made drones out of concerns information collected by aerial drones could be “valuable to foreign entities, organizations and governments.”

Since the temporary ban was imposed last year, some Interior workers have complained that it has weakened their ability to survey erosion, monitor endangered species and inspect dams.

READ MORE: Interior Department Adopts Restrictions Aimed at Chinese Drones [wsj.com] Read the rest

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The Kremlin says Russian president Putin "has no view" on a proposal to change his title to "Supreme Leader," reports US News and World Report. The title is one of a number being considered by a commission formed after Putin announced his desire to change the Russian constitution. From the article:

"There are... some very curious proposals among those put forward. For instance, they proposed renaming the position of head of state to 'Supreme leader'," Pavel Krasheninnikov, the government commission's co-chair, told the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government newspaper.

When asked about the idea on Wednesday, the Kremlin was non-committal, calling it a "new initiative" and one of various proposals that may or may not be implemented.

"Right now all this is at the discussion stage," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "President Putin has no view on this."

Image by Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, Link Read the rest

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While newspaper delivery driver, Vince Cocoroch, is on his route at 2am in Victoria, BC, Canada, he notices the side of a restaurant on fire. He calls the fire department, but rather than wait for the firetrucks to arrive, he jumps out of his car and puts out the fire himself (3:06), getting a little burned in the process.

According to Times Colonist, the paper he has been delivering since 1997:

Cocoroch phoned 911 to report the fire because the flames were starting to spread from the plastic sign to the structure itself.

“I didn’t know if I would be able to put it out or not. I know they have to call their guys and it takes a little while before they get there,” said Cocoroch.

After making the emergency call, he grabbed a rag and started beating out the flames.

“I got a little burned from it,” he said.

“When I was pounding on the fire, the plastic sign was splattering.”

Video of the fire was captured by the dash cam on Cocoroch’s delivery truck. Appropriately, it's titled Right Place - Right Time.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/vdMH9q18bzk/man-delivering-newspapers-noti.html

I'm glad I subscribed to The Curiosity Show on YouTube. It features segments for 1990s Australian TV for young people, and is full of DIY science demonstrations, brain teasers, tricks, and optical illusions. In this clip, the hosts demonstrate a fun card trick you can make at home.

By the way, if making trick cards interests you, I wrote a book about it a few years ago, called Trick Decks.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

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Knewz has a stark spot-color design (I've decided to call it Drudge Custard, but I like it!) and a completely nauseating name. It's a pure aggregator, too -- just links to other people's sites -- even though it's from the News Corp stable.

“Knewz is unique in that readers can, at a single glance, see multiple sources. It is not egregious aggregation but generous aggregation. There are mastheads from across the political and regional spectrum, and premium publishers will not be relegated in the rankings,” said Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp.

Knewz.com works by combining cutting edge, proprietary artificial intelligence with experienced editors. The technology constantly scans hundreds of real news sources, and editors curate a selection of headlines that provide a broad perspective on stories of the day.

Aggregation is a fundamentally good thing. I hope it does well and helps revive the web as a good place to go to find out what's in the kn... sorry, the news. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/iZMHkopfI-4/theres-a-new-news-aggregator.html

Amazon is dumping Parker Jotters for only $8.99 today, less than half the usual price.

It's a basic, good ballpoint pen in a sleek metal casing that will last forever and is something of a cult favorite among EDC types, not least because it's "tactical" without broadcasting itself as a pointy six-inch metal stabber. It's even Bond-approved: GoldenEye saw the superspy issued a weaponized example by Q.

Q-Branch supplies Bond with a Parker Jotter pen that is a C4 grenade: three clicks arms the four-second fuse, another three disarms it. A classic pen, still widely available.

The ones Amazon are selling don't come with plastic explosives.

Parker Jotter [Amazon] Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/5Lavr4I5OQM/great-deal-on-the-parker-jotte.html

You don’t need to be a climate scientist in order to know that the Earth is in serious trouble, but the good news is that you also don’t need to necessarily make any drastic changes to your lifestyle in order to do your part to help.

This nOcean Wearable Reusable Silicone Straw will help you reduce your plastic usage so you can help save the planet a few sips at a time, and it’s currently available for 20% off its usual price.

This reusable, medical-grade straw reduces single-use plastic pollution and doubles as a stylish bracelet to boot.

Available in three unique color combinations, the nOcean straw is made from sanitary silicone and surgical steel—meaning it's made to last even after extended periods of use without degrading.

Its smooth metal tip makes for a uniquely comfortable and satisfying drinking experience, and when you’re not using it you can simply transform the straw into a sleek bracelet in order to ensure that you have your go-to straw wherever you go.

Do your part for the environment while rocking a stylish bracelet that doubles as an eco-friendly straw. The nOcean Wearable Reusable Silicone Straw is available for just $15.99 today. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/hmivKNviiP0/save-the-planet-one-sip-at-a-t.html

In 1979, construction concluded on the Awhatukee House of the Future, a $1.2m model home in the new Phoenix suburb of Ahwatukee Village, co-built with input from Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Associated Architects and equipped with 10 networked Motorola processors that retailed for $30,000.

The Awhatukee house was ambitious in both its architecture and automation, partially buried to adapt to the Phoenix climate, and striking in its exterior (The Haunted Closet says it "looks something like the star-child offspring of a mid-century modern church and an inter-dimensional spacecraft" -- it even had a conversation pit!

The systems were very impressive too, beginning with passive solar water-heating but extending to "Tuke" (short for Awhatukee), the automation system that could actuate windows, doors and blinds, and optimize temperature by analyzing energy use. Terminals in the main rooms allowed access to local messages and recipes, and could fetch banking information from your bank.

Tuke used a voice synth that made it sound like Wargames's WOPR, and could recite jokes and nursery rhymes.

The house was filled with CCTVs and motion sensors and had a keyless entry system controlled by a numeric keypad.

No one bought the house, though. From 1980-1984, it was a $3 tourist attraction, with 250,000 visitors over the years -- it finally sold and became a private residence in 1984.

The Haunted Closet has fantastic photos and backstory on the Awhatukee House, including details of its appearance on the TV show "That's Incredible."

It was conceived as a "shining home of dreams", an "experimental living laboratory and testing ground", a "magnificent prism of Man's dreams" where the ideas of tomorrow are experienced today.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/cWZqNACNlrw/white-cyberelephant.html

Burbank librarian Sarah McKinley Oakes (previously) also nannies for a six year old whose parents are French Stewart -- from Third Rock from the Sun -- and the actor Vanessa Claire Smith. Smith and Oakes have a friendly, normal relationship, but when it comes to French Stewart, things are awesomely weird.

As Oakes describes it, her relationship with French Stewart is defined by "trash talk, sarcasm, and my (probably fake) attempts to steal his money" -- with a healthy dollop of pranking.

Enter Stewart's unwise admission that he is frightened of dolls ("pediophobia"). Oakes seized on this and turned it to her advantage, slowly but surely terrorizing Stewart with a series of horror-doll-themed pranks, each more fiendish than the last, each demonstrating that when it comes to comprehensive, well-planned pranks, you should not fuck with a librarian.

Then I started posting pictures to his Facebook page, almost every day.

I had the doll study a map showing how to get from where I live in Burbank to his house in West Hollywood.

I showed the doll reading a book about haunted dolls (I work at a library, when I’m not a nanny)

This doll has a bloody stump where her hand should be, making it clear that she’s written this note in her own blood, that she got by cutting off her hand.

To establish that there was not just one but several dolls, I had them gather to watch French on an episode of NCIS.

For a week or so, the main doll (I elected her president of the dolls) worked at breaking into his house, eventually succeeding.

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/CyZxmwgx0Kc/hotel-california.html

Baycon is a large, regional science fiction convention that's been serving the Bay Area for 38 years; I attended several times when I lived in San Francisco and this year I was tickled to be invited to attend as Author Guest of Honor. The event is May 22-25 (Memorial Day Weekend) at the San Mateo Airport San Francisco Marriott (at Hwy 92 & 101 in San Mateo, CA). The convention is one of the best regional cons I've ever attended, with an outstanding mix of fannish activities (boffer swords! flint-knapping! multiple warring Klingon clades!), literary panels, and panels on tech, politics and other subjects salient to the Bay Area. I'm so pleased to be invited and I'm looking forward to seeing you there! Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/AH2K0AhDmMI/memorial-day-wknd.html

Now in its second year, a UC Berkeley basic life skills class has become so popular that it's had to turn 200 wannabe adults away. The eight-week pass/no pass course teaches young people how to be more responsible and grown-up, ie. how to "adult." They learn how to budget for food, do taxes, manage relationships, and more.

KTVU:

Other areas include fitness, nutrition and mental health.

"Self-care, self-love and sleep," [instructor Belle] Lau continued.

Many students admit they struggle making the transition to self-reliance in college.

"It's harder to budget when you're not living at home because you have a lot more expenses," said Lauren Frailey, 19, an economics major.

"I'm excited to learn how to manage my time better and that will definitely help me manage my stress as well."

The class was launched by Lau and a fellow biology major Jenny Zhou.

Now juniors, when they arrived at U.C. Berkeley from out-of-state, they felt lost without family nearby to rely on.

"We can only call them on the phone if we need help, but that only goes so far," said Lau.

(Image: Eli Christman , CC-BY, unmodified) Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/cKwAKRLzf70/college-course-on-adulting.html

I'm a huge fan of the Song Exploder podcast, which brings musicians to talk about the process that went into writing and recording their hit songs. Even if you're not a fan of a particular artist or song, each episode is still a digestible and insightful look into different creative processes (and they're usually less than 30 minutes long, too).

One of the more recent episodes features Dan Wilson of the band Semisonic discussing their hit "Closing Time," which helped rocket him to fame as a co-writer for songs by such as artists as Taylor Swift, Adele, John Legend, the Dixie Chicks, and others.

But that song holds a special place in his heart for another reason: the birth of his daughter.

I had heard part of this story previously on the Art of Process podcast with Aimee Mann and Ted Leo — how the song was not, in fact, about a bar, but was actually about a child being born. But for the Song Exploder segment, Wilson goes even more in-depth into the delightfully literal inspiration for the song; his deliberate attention towards double entendre in lyric-writing to let the listener to draw their own conclusions; and the various ways the song intertwined with the complicated first year of his daughter's life.

Maybe the story behind the song just hit me different this time, as I'm both coming out of the recording studio with my own band, and looking ahead to starting to my own family. But it's an inspiring, tear-jerker of an episode. Read the rest

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/7H8UtEvst9k/semisonics-closing-time.html

In 1896, Norwegian immigrant Helga Estby faced the foreclosure of her family's Washington farm. To pay the debt she accepted a wager to walk across the United States within seven months. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll follow her daring bid to win the prize, and its surprising consequence.

We'll also toast Edgar Allan Poe and puzzle over a perplexing train.

Show notes

Please support us on Patreon! Read the rest

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"Overlooked" is a series of belated obituaries in New York Times for people of note who were overlooked at the time of their passing. Their most recent "overlooked no more" subject is Judee Sill.

Judee Sill was a 70s singer-songwriter, the first artist signed to David Geffen's Asylum Records. During her short-lived career in the early-to-mid 70s, Sill received little attention or airplay. While other singer-songwriters of the time sang about personal relationships and political protest, Sill's ethereal music explored themes of rapture, redemption, spiritual love, occult themes, and the deeper meanings of it all.

Sill's life was as troubled as her work was complex and under the radar. She was a juvenile delinquent, a junkie, and a prostitute for a time. Judee Sill died in 1979 of a drug overdose which was likely a suicide.

While she was not widely recognized during her lifetime, her music has had a significant impact on many modern artists and that influence only continues to grow. Liz Phair, Shawn Colvin, Greta Gerwig, XTC's Andy Partridge, and Warren Zevon have all cited her as an inspiration.

Read the rest of the obit here.

[H/t Jenny Hart]

Image: YouTube Read the rest

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I loved last year's All Tree from former Black Metalist Kvohst (aka Mat McNerney) and his folkier project, Hexvessel. The band has been described as "dark folk," "psychedelic forest folk," and "occult folk." Think of them as a somewhat more melodic and accessible Current 93.

On "Demian," the first single and video from their forthcoming record, Kindred (coming in April), they build the video around clips from Jean Cocteau's groundbreaking 1930 surrealist film, Blood of a Poet.

Bonus track: The hauntingly beautiful "Old Tree" from the band's 2019 release, All Tree.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

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Someone I know buys fake Rolex watches from a maker who shoots detailed videos of the fake watches and emails them to potential customers. The phonies sell for about $450. I'm not a watch expert nor a watch collector, so I can't vouch for the quality of the knock-offs, but the care that goes into the videos is impressive. Anyway, here's a video in which an expert compares a $4,000 Omega Seamaster Diver 300M with an incredibly impressive knock-off costing 1/10th the price. Only when you zoom way in to see the minute details do the differences become apparent.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

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When it comes to conquering that resolution list and hitting all of your goals in 2020, nothing is more important than getting a great night’s sleep every night so you can wake up feeling refreshed and extra productive.

The CarbonIce: 7-in-1 Bacteria Protection & Cooling Pillow will help you do just that, and right now it’s available for over 20% off its usual price.

This Kickstarter favorite gives you a supremely comfortable pillow that protects against bacteria while using Active-Air technology in order to keep you cool throughout the night.

With an ergonomic design that aligns the spine and relieves pain in your neck and shoulders, this compact pillow is made from a combination of soft memory foam, firm memory foam, CarbonIce and Graphene—which naturally keeps you warm during cold nights and cool during hot nights.

You’ll even be able to compress the pillow and cram it in your bag to ensure you get the best sleep possible when you’re away from your bed.

Treat yourself to better sleep in 2020 with the best-selling CarbonIce: 7-in-1 Bacteria Protection & Cooling Pillow for just $99.99—over 20% off MSRP. Read the rest

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