Nobody is happy about the current state of our COVID-ravaged education system. With a new school year fast approaching, plans for teaching students still in flux, and political in-fighting driving more fear and confusion about whether or not to re-open campuses, teachers and parents are concerned. 

Meanwhile, most kids are just fine with spending less time in a classroom. Of course, let’s see if they still feel that way when they’re unemployed at 25 because of all the education they missed while dodging the virus . Heck, even missing out on all the extracurriculars is chock full of missed opportunities.

No matter what happens, kids need to stay engaged, stimulated, and entertained -- so we pulled together 35 great deals on educational and fun ways you can make sure your child is still pushing themselves and their learning during all this time cooped up inside.

Robotics DIY Robotic Art Kit for Ages 6 to 9 - $44.99; originally $69

Robotics and art may not seem like natural learning partners, but this introductory STEM learning kit includes 10 projects that meld the worlds of artistry and technical achievement seamlessly. From a spin art machine to a drawing robot to a confetti cannon, kids learn the basics of robotics simply and safely using electronic building blocks and craft materials.

Dancebot Dancing Robot - $49.99; originally $79

He’s an amazingly cute little dancing robot, but he’s more than a toy. The Kickstarter-funded Dancebot interprets audio to work out his own unique moves to the rhythm and tempo of a given song, plus he works as a Bluetooth speaker to play music, read audiobooks and more. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/08/these-35-items-can-help-your-k.html

President Donald Trump's hand-picked Postmaster General Louis DeJoy launched a major overhaul of the U.S. postal mail service. Among the changes, the two top executives overseeing day-to-day operations have been let go and replaced with DeJoy's new picks, according to a reorganization memo released Friday.

“The shake-up came as congressional Democrats called for an investigation of DeJoy and the cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery and ensnared ballots in recent primary elections,” reports the Washington Post:

Twenty-three postal executives were reassigned or displaced, the new organizational chart shows. Analysts say the structure centralizes power around DeJoy, a former logistics executive and major ally of President Trump, and de-emphasizes decades of institutional postal knowledge. All told, 33 staffers included in the old postal hierarchy either kept their jobs or were reassigned in the restructuring, with five more staffers joining the leadership from other roles.

The reshuffling threatens to heighten tensions between postal officials and lawmakers, who are troubled by delivery delays — the Postal Service banned employees from working overtime and making extra trips to deliver mail — and wary of the Trump administration’s influence on the Postal Service as the coronavirus pandemic rages and November’s election draws near.

It also adds another layer to DeJoy’s disputes with Democratic leaders, who have pushed him to rescind the cost-cutting directives that have caused days-long backlogs and steady the Postal Service in the run-up to the election. DeJoy clashed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.),

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/trump-vs-the-u-s-postal-serv.html

Creating a fantasy world for a video or role-playing game is tough enough. In addition to all the game framework and functionality that goes into a build of any size, creators invariably sweat over the most minute details of every weapon, outfit, or other distinctive objects in their game. 

Even if your game is set in a fantastical world, every item your characters interact with has to be centered in realism, looking and functioning as it would in a real-life setting, requiring hours and hours and hours of work to get everything just right.

Of course, if you’re going to spend that much time and effort designing and building a complete digital world, it’s smart to try to shave off as much time as possible. That’s where a package like this 600+ Fantasy RPG Game Icons and Assets Bundle can be an incredible time-saver and anxiety reducer.

Created by the makers at Super Game Asset, this collection is a treasure trove of game creation bits and pieces, loads of sprites, weapons, armors and other game props that add a level of grandeur and style to your games, all without the usual hours of time spent in their creation.

The entire package is sectioned into eight different categories, offering a host of different icon options to match your specific game-building needs. And each icon comes as a fully layered working PSD file, so you can go in and customize and tweak any item you want to use. 

If your RPG, board game, graphics, or even your website designs need a hyper-stylized sword or hammer, it’s here. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/this-collection-of-top-quality.html

We get it. You don’t have to go to the office anymore. That’s no excuse for letting your grooming go positively feral.

We’re not saying you need to be GQ cover model-ready every Monday through Friday. But at least put in some effort to keep yourself relatively trimmed, clean, and on point. Even if you aren’t representing on Zoom calls, there are at least people in your day to day life that deserve to see you trying, right?

To help, we’ve pulled together 10 different shavers and personal groomers, each at savings of up to 66 percent off, that tell everyone that, yes, you haven’t given up and you’re still fighting the good fight. Trust us...everyone will thank you for it.

The Cut Buddy: Beard-Shaping & Hair-Trimming Guide - $11.99; originally $14

Trimming your own beard and hair can get pretty scary, but this Shark Tank winning tool is all about perfectly trimming and shaping your various hairlines. Whether its beard contouring or mustache styling, this hair stencil keeps all the lines firm and clean top to bottom.

Nose and Ear Hair Trimmer - $13.99; originally $41

The nose and ear hair have to go...so the durable, sharp steel blades in this clipper shear down those unsightly hairs, while the micro-vacuum inside casually pulls all the clippings into an easy to clean chamber for disposal. It also won’t irritate your skin or feel like hairs are being plucked because...ouch.

Modrn Man 2-Step Cosmetic Systems - $26.95; originally $37

You might be getting older, but with this anti-aging solution, you at least don’t have to look it. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/quarantine-is-no-excuse-to-loo.html

With everybody cooped up inside right now, it’s no surprise that many houses are starting to get a little bit...well, funky. Yeah...they smell.

With everybody running around and sweating and working and cooking and everything else, odors get trapped inside your home. And don’t even get us started on what happens when litter boxes and other pet smells get factored into the mix. Battling this new onslaught, there’s only so much that air fresheners and scented oils can do to combat the funk.

As with any war, new opponents breed new weapons — and VentiFresh thinks they’ve come up with the next generation odor eliminator in the form of the VentiFresh Eco.

On its surface, the VentiFresh looks like an air purifier, but a look under the hood shows an entirely different set of rules in play for this desktop-sized portable device. While most purifiers use filters to trap dirty particles in the air, the VentiFresh uses photocatalyst technology, the same methods used by NASA aboard the International Space Station.

The VentiFresh draws in foul air and uses a natural photocatalyst process to actually break down odor and organic compounds into CO2 and water. Air also gets run through UV-C rays to eradicate and sterilize any airborne microorganisms, viruses, or other pathogens. So the VentiFresh not only eliminates bad smells but actually decomposes anything harmful that might find its way into your air.

The VentiFresh is chemical-free, eco-friendly, requires no maintenance, and at 2 inches high and weighing less than 3 ounces, is so lightweight and portable that it can even live inside your gym bag to help combat that foulest of foul environments. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/the-ventifresh-eco-is-a-next-g.html

This small frying pan from Carote has a natural stone non-stick coating that makes it excellent for cooking eggs or frying meat. It's very easy to clean. People on Amazon love this pan and it's cheap.. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/good-deal-on-this-8-inch-non-s.html

Expect to see ‘National Enquirer’ readers driving around in Rolls Royces and hopping private jets to their private islands.

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/chinas-secret-war-on-americ.html

Good news everybody! After close to five months, the U.S. Department of State has rescinded its "Do Not Travel Advisory". The Level four travel warning, which was pushed out last March, warned Americans to stay the hell within their borders because the rest of the world was waaaaaaay too full of COVID-19 for anyone to risk travelling abroad. Now, it's totally cool with them for folks to leave the United States, if they want to.

From the U.S. Department of State:

On August 6, in close coordination with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of State lifted the Global Level 4 Health Advisory.  The Global Advisory, initially put in place on March 19, 2020, advised U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19.

With health and safety conditions improving in some countries and potentially deteriorating in others, the Department is returning to our previous system of country-specific levels of travel advice (with Levels from 1-4 depending on country-specific conditions), in order to give travelers detailed and actionable information to make informed travel decisions.  This will also provide U.S. citizens more detailed information about the current status in each country.  We continue to recommend U.S. citizens exercise caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.

Awesome... provided where you want to wander is on the list of nations interested in seeing Americans within their borders. Right now, the said list is pretty limited. However, many of the locales willing to allow U.S. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/department-of-state-says-trave.html

In this 2019 footage, patrons ouside the Grand Central Market in Los Angeles argue with some skateboarding kids. Though the youngsters aren't belligerent, a heavily-built man lunches at them, punching one youngster in the face. He punches another boy who tries to reason with him, and then a third. Bystanders do nothing to stop him attacking the children, including a man wearing a security guard costume. After the third punch, however, one of the kids whacks him in the head with a skateboard, and the crowd loses its mind.

Here's the full video:

Here's the footage. pic.twitter.com/CKJjwAKYdU

 Rob Beschizza (@Beschizza) August 7, 2020

Media coverage of the incident was steered by the bystanders' behavior. The Daily Mail, absolutely scandalized, cast the man as the victim under the headline "Teenager slams his skateboard over a man's head." His punches were "served" in response to provocation; their response a "forceful" attack.

I wondered why this was going viral only now, a year later, and then it struck me: young people retaliating with shocking finality to unchecked abuse is going to be the story of the decade. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/young-people-retaliate-with-sh.html

A while back I posted a link to a Kickstarter campaign for Orangered's notebook called the BetterBook, which has an aspect ratio that matches a smartphone's. It turns out the BetterBook looks an awful lot like Studio Neat's Panobook, which was launched a few years ago. Core77 interviewed Dan Provost, co-founder of Studio Neat, to find out how he is dealing with being knocked off:

Has Studio Neat ever been knocked off before? If so, what were the circumstances and resolution, if any?

Yep, many times, to varying degrees. Sometimes it is a literal copy, down to the packaging. Sometimes it is something that is heavily "inspired" by something we have made. In the early days we would attempt to contact the guilty party, but we more or less ignore them these days.

In this age of trolls, a pro-BetterBook troll would say, "Well, they added a new feature with the black border for easier scanning. So I don't think it's a knock-off." What would you say to that?

Well, we actually do firmly believe that "everything is a remix." It is impossible to design in a vacuum; every new product or idea is undoubtedly influenced and inspired by things that have existed before. That's certainly true for Panobook. Where it gets uncomfortable is moving from "inspired" territory to "copied." But we are not in a position to litigate that, nor do we have much interest in that.

I emailed Orangered three days ago to get their side of the story, but they haven't responded. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/how-a-design-company-is-dealin.html

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/what-is-granfer-tom-saying.html

On August 6th, the US State Department issued a warning for US citizens considering traveling to New Zealand, because the country has 23 active cases of COVID-19. Currently, the United States has over 2 million active cases, and in any case, New Zealand isn't eager to allow rat-licking Americans to invade their pristine island nation (unless you have a couple of million dollars to buy citizenship, that is).

[via New Zealand Herald] Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/us-issues-new-zealand-travel-w.html

Director Rob Savage got a reaction out of his friends last April with a jump-scare prank on Zoom. He told them he'd been hearing things in his attic, and, with them on the call, decided to investigate with a knife. The prank went so well, it inspired him to write and direct the long short film (under an hour) Host, which is now streaming on Shudder.

I’ve been hearing strange noises from my attic, so I called a few friends and went to investigate… pic.twitter.com/CxmJAf44ob

 Rob Savage (@DirRobSavage) April 21, 2020

From Mashable:

Host’s premise revolves around a group of friends meeting up on Zoom to stay in touch while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. One of the friends, the uptight but justified Hayley (Haley Bishop), sets up the meeting as an “online seance,” calling in a medium to provide some low-key thrills for her friends. The seance goes about as well as any seance goes in a horror movie, though Host is far from typical in its brilliance and unique execution.

Though Host takes place on a computer screen, it feels different from previous attempts at laptop horror because its principal photography actually took place using the devices used by the characters. In an interview with SF Chronicle, director Rob Savage explained that he got Zoom’s permission to use their software in the film, taught the actors how to set up spooky effects with fishing wire, and directed their performances over video chat. His authentic approach seeps into Host’s final product, making its quality all the more impressive.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/watch-this-zoom-prank-inspire.html

The quality of fake Rolexes has reached the point where people who want a real Rolex should buy a real Rolex and a fake one and keep the real one in a safe.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/video-explores-three-reasons-w.html

I've been watching this live feed of Main Street in Sturgis South Dakota, home of the famous annual motorcycle congregation. The street is already filled with parked motorcycles, and I have not seen anyone wearing a mask yet. It will be interesting to visit this live feed from time to time over the weekend as more people pour in.

From Chron:

"This is a huge, foolish mistake to make to host the rally this year," Sturgis resident Linda Chaplin warned city counselors earlier this summer, as a debate raged, according to the AP. "The government of Sturgis needs to care most for its citizens."

"My grandma is absolutely terrified because she has diabetes and is in her 80s and has lupus," another resident told CNN. "If she gets it, it's a death sentence."

But the spectacle in South Dakota's Black Hills is hugely important to the local economy, bringing in $1.3 million in city and state tax revenue last year, according to the Argus Leader. A mayor's letter overviewing Sturgis describes how the city "comes alive" with half a million visitors during a typical August rally, suddenly transformed into "the largest community in the state" with concerts and races.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/watch-a-live-feed-as-250000-b.html

Like a toddler who only wants the toy that the other kid is playing with, this dog only wants food that the other dog (er, human) is eating. But, with just a bit of reverse psychology, said human gets his pooch to relish its doggie meal. Watch this simple trick. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/if-your-dog-only-wants-human-f.html

Enjoy watching this dramatic encounter in Halibut Cove, Alaska, where an otter frantically heads for a boat in hopes of escaping a pursuing orca.

Eventually, the otter jumps up onto the transom of John’s vessel moments before the whale arrives at the surface just feet away. John, 37, revealed a game of cat-and-mouse followed, with the otter hopping back into the water in an attempt to get away, only for the orca to chase it back up again three or four times. His fellow captain, Chantrelle Major, also filmed the moment from her vessel nearby, with the orca then circling John’s boat in search of the otter. Eventually, once the orca had distanced itself from the boat, John, working with Coldwater Alaska, an exploration company providing boat trips in the area, headed for his next pickup in Halibut Cove Lagoon and when at a safe distance the otter plunged safely into the water. John later discovered the orca, ID number AT163, was the largest in its pod.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/otter-hauls-self-onto-boat-to.html

Everything old is new again (also see). Folks, there's going to be a Knight Rider feature film! (Sadly, I think we can assume David Hasselhoff will not star.)

Deadline:

Spyglass Media Group has teamed with Atomic Monster’s James Wan and Michael Clear to develop a film based on the 1980s classic action series Knight Rider. TJ Fixman, a former video game writer, is adapting the screenplay.

Created by Glen A. Larson, Knight Rider first aired on NBC from 1982-1986 and boosted David Hasselhoff’s career. It’s about a high-tech car named KITT that assists the mysterious crime-fighting driver Michael Knight (Hasselhoff).

...Plot details for this latest installment are being kept under wraps but we hear it will be a present-day take that will maintain the anti-establishment tone of the original.

"Anti-establishment tone"? Tell me more.

Just for fun, here's the show's original intro:

Now for a giggle, watch Michael Knight (played by the Hoff, of course) flip out when he hears KITT's voice for the first time:

"There's no need for increased volume"

Of course the Internet has already figured out the film locale for that scene.

KNIGHT RIDER MOVIE, YES!

screengrab via YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/a-knight-rider-movie-is-happen.html

A Florida man was charged Thursday with battery after demanding a child remove his mask and spitting in his face when he refused to, police say. The incident happened at a restaurant in Treasure Island, Fla., and reportedly concluded with the man saying "You now have coronavirus" to the child and being subdued by staff.

According to his arrest affidavit, Copenhaver was described as "intoxicated" and was not wearing shoes. They said he approached the worker in a "threatening manner and attempted to strike him twice."

The same worker took "physical control" of Copenhaver, walked him outside the restaurant, and held him to the ground until officers arrived, police said.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/man-charged-after-spitting-in.html

This is terrific. Dallas Taylor, the host of the podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz, learns the origin story of Netflix's "ta-dum" sound (aka "sonic logo") from its creators.

Mashable:

In an episode dedicated solely to this sound, Netflix VP of Product Todd Yellin starts out by revealing that it's actually called "ta-dum" internally. Yellin is a former filmmaker with an affinity for sound design, and he led the process of creating the ta-dum: Something immediately sonically tied to the experience of watching Netflix.

...Yellin enlisted Academy Award-winning sound designer Lon Bender for the project, giving him descriptors that conceptualize this sound: Tension, release, quirky, and more. Bender came up with 20-30 sound effects in different styles. For a long time, the frontrunner was close to the current ta-dum, but also included a goat noise.

(Digg)

image via Twenty Thousand Hertz Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/07/ta-dum-how-the-netflix-sound.html