Most people enjoy having items on their desks that convey a taste of who they are and what they’re about to visitors. Under those circumstances, could there possibly be a greater flex to show off all of your galactic ambitions than having the entire solar system on exhibit right on your desktop?

Even if you don’t sport Thanos-esque desires for control and power, the Deskspace Planetary System Set is not only an incredibly beautiful collection. It’s also very, very cool.

The set faithfully recreates each of the planets in our solar system, each crafted in a high-quality gemstone that captures the mood and inherent beauty of each celestial body.

Poised on their rectangular walnut wooden stand, all nine planets sit as not only a piece of desk art, but in all their tactile brilliance, enticing onlookers to reach out, touch and truly examine each work.

Each hand-crafted creation is cross-referenced with official NASA satellite images, ensuring the Deskspace artists have engineered scientifically accurate representations of each stunning orb.

From the translucent white Nephrite of Venus, to the royal blue Sodalite representing Earth to the quixotic Tiger’s Eye that makes up Jupiter, each planet is lovingly depicted in all its glory, along with a cleaning cloth to keep each one in its shiniest, most pristine state. By the time you reach the Amazonite that makes up Neptune and the synthetic Cat’s Eye glass used for Pluto, you’ll realize you’ve spent hours just staring at each of these fantastic creations.

Included with the set is also a high-quality book offering up interesting, intriguing, and fun facts about each of the planets in front of you. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/26/behold-this-gorgeous-desktop.html

Hybrid Autonomous Rover – Venus is the next spacecraft scheduled to explore our hellish neighbor, and it will be more like a clock than a computer to survive the conditions.

Jonathan Sauder of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory came up with the idea after past missions' electronics were fried in Venus' atmosphere in less than an hour on the surface. He told BBC Sky at Night:

“Venus and Earth are neighbours in the Solar System, almost equal in size and mass. Both should have received similar amounts of rocks and volatiles from the solar nebula [during their] formation.

“But their evolutionary paths are apparently quite different. The question is why have they become such different worlds?”

Answering that question is why we’re going back because Venus might once have been even more like Earth than it is today.

It’s thought that for much of its early life Venus had liquid water and habitable temperatures on its surface until a runaway greenhouse effect transformed it into the hellscape it is now.

Let's hope it will help Earth avoid the same fate!

Image: NASA Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/26/the-next-venus-rover-will-have.html

Before returning to her mom's home for a few weeks, my daughter taught Electra to sleep in her bed...while I was asleap in mine.

In an effort to maintain the housebreaking while acknowledging and encouraging my daughter's canine liberation efforts and subterfuge, I will be sleeping with the puppy in her room until it can be trusted in mine.

View this post on Instagram

Good morning, I love life! #puppy #salutation #goldenretriever #cute #fuzzy #adorable #dogsofinstagram

A post shared by Electra (@electra___cute) on Jul 26, 2020 at 6:17am PDT

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/26/__trashed-16.html

This apparel company is ON IT. They've shipped a matching mask with each of their tops. This photo was taken in Be’er Sheva, Israel, but I believe that "LOOK" is an American brand. A quick search reveals that match-matchy masks are a popular 2020 fashion trend.

photo by Bruria Efune, used with permission Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/26/trend-matchy-matchy-mask-appa.html

This may sound a bit odd coming from such a tech-heavy haven as Boing Boing, but...have you ever thought about gardening?

Don’t laugh. The groundedness and feeling of accomplishment that comes from growing something that you planted is powerful, particularly in our current situation. There’s a natural beauty in watching another living thing find purchase and grow that just might help you overlook some of the darkness and uncertainty we all now face.

To help get you started, we assembled a handful of gardening, garden and garden-adjacent items that might just aid the flowering of a new hobby. And of course, they’re all at a nice discount off their regular prices because...well, we’ll never not enjoy a good deal.

The Combined Urban and Zen Gardening Mastery Bundle - $19.99; originally $198

If you’re going to garden, then learn to do it right with this two-course bundle. First, Zen Gardening will give you all the basics on how to create your own zen garden to reduce stress, improve your focus, and develop a sense of well-being. Then, Urban Gardening explains planting and maintenance tips for gardens crafted to help provide great foods in tiny urbanized spaces.

Solar Powered Firefly LED Light String - $17.95; originally $89

You can certainly liven up your outdoor garden area with this string of 20 LED firefly bulbs. Powered by solar energy, they actually look like they’re flying as they shine their warm yellow, bright white or even multicolored light bursts all over your yard.

Multi-Function Folding Emergency Shovel - $22.99; originally $59

From digging a hole for a new plant to a camping mainstay to even an emergency dugout tool during the winter months, this folding shovel that comes with its own carrying bag could be just the lifesaving item you need at the right time. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/26/develop-your-green-thumb-with.html

When you hear the brand name Marshall, any music fan instantly conjures a single image: a classic Marshall stack. The amp has been synonymous with live performance since the 60s, with music artists of every stripe lining their stage sets with these thunderous cabinets.

Even when you close your eyes, you can see them. The clean black squares stacked like a wall. Six, eight, 10 across; three, four, even five or more high, each emblazoned with that simple script Marshall logo right in the center.

Marshall amps were created because guitarists wanted more power. And while the need for audio power has never wavered, that power — as well as the Marshall heritage — can be found today in products that can literally fit in your hand like the Marshall Mode EQ Wired Earphones.

Marshall turned all their audio output knowledge inward, creating an in-ear headphone that delivers all the power that personifies the brand, despite their tiny size.

Customized drivers deliver high audio performance with minimal distortion, a well-balanced display boasting clear midrange, extended highs, and deep bass when needed.

Of course, not everyone wants to listen to their music in exactly the same way, which is Mode EQ is true to its name with a pair of different EQ settings, one for warm, bass-heavy listeners, another for brighter, airier fans with an emphasis on the mids and highs.

While music is any headphones’ bread and butter, the Mode EQ doesn’t forget about day-to-day usage either. These buds are outfitted with a built-in mic for receiving phone calls that also includes a remote letting users click once to answer incoming calls or play a song, twice to fast forward,  three times to rewind. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/the-marshall-mode-eq-earbuds-a.html

Racist couple in Marshall, MN wearing swastikas on their mask at Walmart pic.twitter.com/sBgHr6ILC0

 Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) July 25, 2020

It's one step forward and two steps back at the Walmart in Marshall, Minnesota, which enforced the state's new mask mandate but evidently didn't care what's on the masks. As one commenter put it: "If I wear a hoodie into one of stores your security follows me but you are good with this?" Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/walmart-racists-shop-in-nazi-s.html

Yesterday, The New York Times ran an article about how the GOP governor of Arizona's limited response to the pandemic resulted in a "leveling off" of Covid-19 deaths and cases:

As the United States surpasses four million known coronavirus cases, far more than any other country, new outbreaks are sending thousands of seriously ill people to hospitals and driving a new wave of funerals. But there are also initial signs that new infections may be leveling off in some places, including in some of the worst hot spots.

That may be most visible in Arizona.

Only a few weeks ago, Arizona was leading the nation in coronavirus infections per capita, as the virus spread across many Sun Belt states that had opened quickly in late spring. Facing a mounting crisis in June, Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, reversed himself and allowed cities and counties to order residents to wear masks. He also rolled back some earlier reopenings, and directed bars, indoor gyms, water parks and movie theaters to shut down again.

About a month later, the number of patients hospitalized with the virus is starting to decline. As of Friday afternoon, Arizona was the only state where known new daily cases were decreasing, a milestone that reflected, in part, just how dire conditions had been.

But today new cases and deaths in Arizona increased sharply, as you can see by the chart above (from The Washington Post). 3,740 new cases and 144 new deaths (more than any other state including Florida) have been reported today. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/a-day-after-the-ny-times-runs.html

It’s easy to want to section up the world into Android people and iOS people. Android people stick to their Samsungs and their Google Assistants and their freedom of choice while iOS people stick with their iPhones, Siris, and elite standards and never the two groups shall mix.

Of course, the reality is that few of us are entirely bound by brand loyalty. You may have an iPhone and a Galaxy Tab. Or you might have a secret Chrome app trojan horsed over Safari. Or maybe you’re an Android person working in an iOS company. 

In all instances, your gear needs power. Thankfully, this 3-plus footlong Supercord 3-in-1 charging cable has you covered, no matter what device needs the power-up.

Packed with interchangeable Micro USB, USB-C and Lightning connectors, you can plug in up to three different devices at once and get charged, no matter whether it’s an iPhone, an Android or pretty much anything else.

The Supercord is constructed of soft, flexible, braided material that’s been tested to absorb stress with reinforced joints so the cable and your device always stay connected. 

Of course, the true measure of any cable is how quickly and efficiently it delivers a charge -- and while an Apple endorsement for this cross-platform accessory isn’t a be-all, end-all declaration, it’s always to know the Supercord is Apple MFi-certified for high-speed charging up to 12W. The tough, fire-resistant PVC protects the circuit board and chipset inside with a stainless steel connector for a fully optimized power delivery. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/the-3-in-1-supercord-charging.html

It has been announced through a family representative that legendary guitarist Peter Green died peacefully in his sleep last night. He was 73.

Green was a founding member of Fleetwood Mac (first called "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac with Jeremy Spencer") and a celebrated guitar player and songwriter. His spare, tonal, and soulful phrasing made him a guitarist's guitarist who influenced many that came after him.

Green is listed 58th in Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitar players of all time and 50th by Guitar Player^. Green was also a talented songwriter who wrote many classics, including Black Magic Woman, later made popular by Santana, and the early charting Mac singles, Albatross and Man of the World.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/peter-green-original-fleetwoo.html

Flipping through the pages of Los Angeles magazine this morning I came across this advertisement with a photo of a woman in an empty field, transfixed by a slot machine. The advertising copy reads "Welcome to Freedom."

If I saw this in a dystopian science fiction movie I would think it was too over-the-top. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/look-at-this-unintentionally-c.html

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/passengers-clap-as-unmasked-wo.html

Even as something of a Beatlephile, I learned a few things reading this Rolling Stone article from 2018 about The Beatles' most "open-hearted masterpiece," Hey Jude.

Cynthia and Julian thought “Hey Jude” was for them. John heard it as the ballad of John and Yoko. But neither side was wrong — countless people around the world have heard this homily speaking to them. “The movement you need is on your shoulder” — John was so right about that line, and as Paul says, he thinks of John every time he sings that part. “Hey Jude” is a tribute to everything the Beatles loved and respected most about each other. Even George, who plays the most low-profile role in this song, tipped his cap with the na-na-na-na finale of “Isn’t That a Pity,” which you can hear as a viciously cheeky parody, an affectionate tribute or (most likely) both. The pain in “Hey Jude” resonated in 1968, in a world reeling from wars, riots and assassinations. And it’s why it sounds timely as our world keeps getting colder. After more than 50 years, “Hey Jude” remains a source of sustenance in difficult times — a moment when four longtime comrades, clear-eyed adults by now, take a look around at everything that’s broken around them. Yet they still join together to take a sad song and make it better.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/looking-back-on-the-beatles.html

From The Verge:

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is reportedly fighting cellphone carriers over the right to send Americans unsolicited texts. According to Business Insider, the campaign’s lawyers are in active talks with phone companies after a third-party screening tool blocked Trump texts in early July. The campaign alleges that screening the texts amounts to suppressing political speech, while carriers fear allowing them will result in fines for violating anti-spam rules.

The 2020 election has brought a wave of text messages from across the political spectrum, particularly with the pandemic limiting in-person outreach. Many users didn’t opt in to these missives, and it’s unclear whether they violate federal laws meant to curb unwanted texts. The Trump administration, meanwhile, has imposed steeper fines for spammy and illegal robocalls. That’s reportedly put carriers on edge despite Trump’s campaign contending it’s not illegally automating texts.

Naturally, this whole screw-up is being blamed on Jared Kushner, who's supposed to be mediating the campaign's (and/or the President's?) relationships with the major telecom companies.

Trump reportedly clashes with AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile over spam texts [Adi Robertson / The Verge]

Image: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/trump-re-election-campaign-tex.html

When I'm not writing here on BoingBoing (or anywhere else, for that matter), I also play guitar and sing in a rock band called The Roland High Life. Today we announced our new record, Songs About Comic Books and Mid-30s Malaise, and released the first single, which is kind of a Cars / Green Day mashup about ADHD and Hawkeye from the Avengers called "My Life as a Weapon."

I'm pretty proud of the work we did on this, considering that we wrote, engineered, and recorded it all by ourselves in our moms' basements (in fitting with the album theme) over just 2 weekends.

You can watch the lyric video above, or listen to it on your preferred music service.

"Songs About Comic Books and Mid-30s Malaise" by the Roland High Life

Image: Pat Loika / Flickr (CC 2.0) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/listen-my-life-as-a-weapon.html

Back in 2003, I performed at a music festival that included a band called Arrogant Sons of Bitches, who absolutely blew me away with their energy and songwriting. The lead singer, Jeff Rosenstock, went to form a collective (for lack of a better term) called Bomb the Music Industry! and, more recently, has branched off into a solo career.

Rosenstock's last four solo albums (which you can download for free on his website, or purchase through his label) all feel like one continuous outraged chronicle of the modern era. In fitting with Rosenstock's reputation for confessional vitriol-spitting poetry, his latest music video, for the song "Scram!," takes advantage of the coronavirus quarantine to tell a socially distant story with his backing band — in the form of 90s PSAs. This not only fit the subject matter, but also made it easier to shoot.

As Rosenstock explained in a press release:

I started writing “Scram!” after being inspired by the kids from Parkland High standing up to the behemoth that is the gun lobby. The last four years (and let’s be honest, my entire life) have felt like we are up against an unconquerable force of evil that thrives on violence and inequality. It was a rare bright spot to see thousands of people say. ‘Hey, we’re gonna be able to vote in the next election, and we are going to vote you the fuck out.’ It was also inspired by the other side—the politicians and lobbyists who promote regressive policies that perpetuate the consolidation of power to the super rich at the expense of everyone else’s lives—having the audacity to demand “civility” from students who have watched their classmates get murdered and are tired of going to school in fear.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/this-new-music-video-from-jeff.html

Truth in the tabloids is like the weather in New England: constantly changing and rarely to be trusted.

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/25/truth-injustice-and-the-amer.html

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/24/portlanders-excellent-use-of.html

Nearly three-quarters of all the rental properties in the U.S. are owned by private individual investors. And while around two-thirds of all investors were primarily focused on the stock market in 2007, that number is down to just 50 percent now, with many investors, particularly millennials, choosing to invest in real estate instead. Meanwhile, 91 of the 100 top housing markets have seen rent increases over the past year. 

The numbers don’t lie. Even against a backdrop of financial uncertainty, demand for residential and commercial spaces keeps rising and investors are increasingly buying properties to feed that demand.

If that sounds like a lucrative area for you to make some money, it should. But wading into the real estate game without the background is like bringing a knife to a gunfight. You’ll be outmatched quickly. Instead, know the game from all angles with training like The Fundamentals of Real Estate Investment Bundle.

This collection features five courses designed to help even real estate newbies understand what factors investors need to consider in evaluating, purchasing or selling properties. 

Like we said, it’s important to know the lay of the land before you put down a penny, so the training truly begins with the Pre-Investing: Before Investing in Real Estate course. Designed for first-timers, students here learn everything they need to know before making your first investment, from correctly evaluating a property’s value to critical risk factors to watch for to knowing what to charge in rent, this course is a proper introduction to the practice. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/24/if-youve-ever-been-intereste.html

Awesome dad of the year goes to this little stinker's poppa.

“I recorded my son making baby noises, figured out the notes he made, and arranged them into "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.”

Unmute this one: Baby Ryan "Sings" Thunderstruck. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/24/tiny-baby-sings-thunderstruc.html