Having an IT career means dealing with constant change. There are updates, new security threats and, on occasion, entirely new web platforms to deal with as companies adapt to new demands.

That's why the best asset on an IT resume is diversity, and that's why the Complete 2020 IT Certification Exam Prep Mega Bundle covers a wide range of cloud platforms.

The bundle combines nine courses on four different systems, all taught by some of the most experienced minds in the field. There's four classes alone on Microsoft Azure, allowing you to set up a cloud storage solution for any company, keep it up to date and deal with any structural changes that need to be made along the way.

The courses on Cisco cover everything from simple networking fixes to the protocols you'll need to know for their new CCNA R/S 200-125 exam. A tutorial on CompTIA teaches their security structure back to front. And of course, you'll train in AWS as a Certified Solutions Architect.

The entire bundle is now 97% off the cost of the individual courses at $39. Read the rest

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Allee Willis with psychedelic Fluffernutters

It's never fun to report that someone in our tribe has passed. That's especially true when that person is also someone you know and love.

Allee Willis, Happy Mutant Extraordinaire, died just after 6 p.m. on December 24 of cardiac arrest. She was 72.

My friend Heather was in tears when she phoned me to tell me the news. It was 10:15 p.m. on Christmas Eve. She had just read about Allee's sudden and unexpected death in Variety. We were both shocked and deeply saddened. We pondered together on the call, "How is it possible that she's gone?"

I first met Allee back in the February of 2011. Friends of mine here in Alameda, Jessica and Mel, introduced me to her. "You HAVE to meet her!" they insisted. At that time, a TV show called Clean House was filming the decluttering and redecorating of their home. Their excess stuff was soon to be sold in a televised public sale. Since they are well known for their massive collection of pop culture kitsch and, being the Queen of Kitsch, Allee was compelled to drive up for the sale. And because their house was out of commission for the show's filming, I offered up mine to host a party in Allee's honor, not entirely sure what I was getting myself into or, honestly, grasping the full understanding of who she was. But I was game. I invited a group of local friends, all self-proclaimed kitsch lovers. Read the rest

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Dave Riley, bassist for the influential 1980s Chicago noise-punk band Big Black, has died. He was 59. According to his partner Rachel Brown, he had throat cancer. What a fucking great player, he was. And what a fucking great band. From Rolling Stone:

“Dave was a fantastic musician and a critical part of the Chicago music scene,” (Big Black guitarist Steve) Albini tells Rolling Stone. “He bridged the gap between raw enthusiasm and outstanding musicianship better than anybody else in our peer group and I always admired him for it...”

“When I think about Dave, I think of him onstage, sweating, rolling on his heels, his bass making a rhythmic shrapnel cloud, the densest object in a very heavy construction," Albini wrote in his statement. “Then I think of him after the show, still sweaty but relaxed, easy with his humor and in possession of an impeccably sharp wit, comfortable with himself, comfortable being the hinge-pin of the evening. I miss playing with Dave, and I miss hanging out with him. He was a handful, but like most people we describe that way, he was worth it. Rest easy.”

Below, Big Black (Riley on right):

Read the rest

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In 1926, Oscar Williams of San Diego, California was granted a patent on a toy turtle operated by houseflies buzzing around inside. From patent number US1591905A, "Artificial Animal":

My invention relates to artificial animals with movable limbs and members operated by natural animals or insects and the objects of my invention are: First, to provide an animal of this class which in appearance resembles a natural animal and in which the limbs or members are movable substantially as those of the natural animal; second, to provide an animal of this class in which the limbs and members are pivotally, reliably and reciprocally mounted in the body thereof to obtain a variety of motion of said limbs and members; third, to provide an animal of this class in which the interior of the body portion or the parts containing movable members are made hollow so as to provide ample space for the movement and operation of the natural animals or insects placed within said hollow portion; fourth, to provide an animal of this class in which means are provided to keep the natural animal or insect in the interior thereof in motion and thus provide continuous movement of the said limbs or members; fifth, to provide an animal of this class with a convenient and novel means of entrance and exit of said natural animals or insects; sixth, to provide an animal of this class which is .novelly constructed and seventh, to provide an animal of this class which is very simple and economical of construction, durable, and which will not readily deteriorate or get out of order.

Read the rest

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Yesterday in New York, police spent hours attempting to remove this Honda from the pedestrian lane of the Pulaski Bridge connecting Brooklyn and Queens. Apparently, it was a stolen car and the driver likely escaped through a window.

(ABC7NY) Read the rest

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http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/s6Y1kLlUnXY/love-loss-and-carrie-fisher.html

Embroidery master Rayna created this exquisite hand embroidery of Homer Simpson disappearing into the bushes. This follows on her Lisa Simpson "true crime" embroidery and other fine Simpsons stitchery available at her Etsy shop HermitGirlCreations.

(via Kottke) Read the rest

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Jason Satterlund directed this short film, "Kenobi." Not canon.

Read the rest

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KKR is one of the largest private equity funds in the world. Overdrive is one of the largest e-lending suppliers to the world's libraries, supplying 43,000 libraries in 75 countries.

Now, KKR owns Overdrive, having purchased it for an undisclosed sum. Private equity firms' business model is to buy profitable, productive companies, load them up with debt (paying themselves out of the money that was borrowed), cut costs by slashing wages and degrading the quality of their products and services, then allowing the company to go bust, stiffing the creditors, workers, and suppliers (that is, libraries, publishers and writers).

Gary Price notes, "Worth noting. In 2018, KKR acquired RBMedia/RBDigital and Audiobooks.com providers of audiobooks and other materials to libraries and consumers."

Report: Global Investment Firm KKR to Acquire Overdrive For an Undisclosed Amount [Gary Price/Infodocket] Read the rest

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"Fairytale of New York" is, unequivocally, the best Christmas song. Because it's actually a bleak story about the false veneer of holiday spirit as a metaphor for the soul-crushing deceptions of the so-called "American Dream" that leads people to hatred, drug abuse, and worse … and still returns for one more rousing chorus.

In short, it's perfect. So perfect that you may just want to listen to it over and over and over again. Which is why I put together this Spotify playlist consisting of 99 covers of the song, plus the original version by the Pogues with Kirsty MacColl.

And then — just because 100 wasn't round enough for me — I recorded this quick cover of the song myself, using an Irish Gaelic translation by Fred McCluskey and Ger Maher (which cleverly skirts around that bit of ugly language in the third verse, which makes sense in the context of the fictional story but absolutely shatters any Christmas delusions).

Just, um, don't bother looking up Shane MacGowan's recent birthday performance of the song from the Late Late Show, 'cause it's pretty painful to watch, and not just because of him. Oof.

Image by peelandstick/Flickr Read the rest

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Robbo sez, "As is my wont, I post on social media at this time of year John Lennon & Yoko Ono's Happy Xmas (War Is Over) official YouTube video. It is an anthem for peace and the end of war. This year it has been labelled as "inappropriate content" and requires viewers to sign in to confirm they are 18 years or older. Yes, there are images of war and suffering within the video - but for cryin' out fuckin' loud, YouTube, it's something that deserves and should be seen and heard by everyone, all the damned time - such dumb ass fuckery is going to be the end of our so-called civilization." Read the rest

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T’is the season when the tabloids look into the future to forecast what lies ahead for a scandal-filled 2020 - and when are they ever wrong?

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/3DRbabC3_5E/royal-brawl-in-palace-brad.html

http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/I_T32shiCEY/baylor-university-used-puppets.html

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

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On Tuesday, Colorado Springs police arrested David Wayne Oliver, 65, at a Starbucks for allegedly robbing a nearby bank. After departing the bank with the loot, Oliver apparently started tossing the cash into the air while yelling "Merry Christmas." From Reuters:

(Witness Dion) Pascale said bystanders retrieved some of the money and returned it to the bank as Oliver walked to the Starbucks, sat down and appeared to be waiting for police to arrest him, KKTV reported.

The Denver Post quoted police as saying “thousands of dollars” remained unaccounted for, adding there was no indication Oliver used a weapon in the heist.

Read the rest

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In 1994, Cynsa, a member of the pioneering online community The WELL, thrilled us with her Rectal Foreign Bodies page all about the weird things people have put in their butts as reported by medical professionals tasked with removing the items. Barry Petchesky has continued this important online endeavor with his series of posts "chronicling our country's cavity misadventures." He posted his latest list, drawing from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s database of emergency room visits, over at VICE in a delightful article titled "What Did We Get Stuck in Our Rectums Last Year?." Here is a sample:

• “PATIENT STATES HE STATES SLIPPED IN THE SHOWER AND LANDED ON A METAL AIR FRESHENER CAN AND IT WENT INTO RECTUM” • FOLDING KNIFE • PLASTIC TOY, “ABOUT 6 INCHES LONG” • TOOTHPICK • MATTRESS FOAM • TWO RAZOR BLADES • COAT HANGER, “PATIENT UNSURE HOW IT GOT THERE” • COINS • LIGHT BULB APPLE SAUCE CAN • “ACCIDENTALLY GOT A DILDO LODGED IN RECTUM & CUT THE END OF THE DILDO OFF” • CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT

Still curious? Try this book by three medical doctors: "Stuck Up!: 100 Objects Inserted and Ingested in Places They Shouldn’t Be" Read the rest

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Cities have done a lot to eliminate straws and other forms of plastic waste in recent years. Now isn't it time we start talking about all those pens and pencils we throw away?

Actually, it looks like private enterprise might solve the problem for us if the Omega AXL Inkless Pen catches on.

As the name indicates, the pen is actually inkless. In fact, there's no reservoir for a writing liquid of any kind. The entire business end of the Omega AXL is made from a special metal alloy. As you drag the pen across paper, it leaves trace amounts of the metal behind, leaving a distinct grey line.

The amount of metal is so small, the manufacturers tout that the pen will effectively never need to be replaced. That's obviously good news for the environment moving forward.

As a bonus, the whole thing is sheathed in an anodized aluminum casing, making it physically cool as well as aesthetically.

Right now, the Omega AXL Inkless Pen is a full 25% off the retail price. Read the rest

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MARTY is the name of this 1981 DeLorean that researchers from Stanford’s Dynamic Design Lab customized into a self-driving electric car. Now, Jon Goh and Tushar Goel have augmented MARTY so it's capable of drifting through a complicated driving course with incredible precision. From Stanford:

Conducting research in high-speed, complicated driving conditions like this is a bread-and-butter approach of the Dynamic Design Lab, where mechanical engineer Chris Gerdes and his students steer autonomous cars into challenging driving situations that only the top human drivers can reliably handle. On-board computers measure the car’s response over dozens of runs, and the engineers translate those vehicle dynamics into software that could one day help your car quickly dodge a pedestrian that darts into the road.

Most automated vehicles on the road have been designed to handle simpler cases of driving, such as staying in a lane or maintaining the right distance from other cars.

“We’re trying to develop automated vehicles that can handle emergency maneuvers or slippery surfaces like ice or snow,” Gerdes said. “We’d like to develop automated vehicles that can use all of the friction between the tire and the road to get the car out of harm’s way. We want the car to be able to avoid any accident that’s avoidable within the laws of physics.”

Read the rest

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In the Galapagos Islands, a shoreside crane toppled over while loading a shipping container onto a barge, capsizing the boat and causing a terrible oil spill of hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel. It was Charles Darwin's 1835 studies of the Galapagos Islands's biodiversity that sparked his theory of evolution by natural selection. From ABC News:

(The site of the spill,) San Cristobal Island is one of more than a dozen in the Galapagos, which is home to rare wildlife species and one of the world's most protected natural destinations. The remote islands are roughly 600 miles away from Ecuador, the country that owns them.

Ecuadorean President Len'in Moreno said he declared the state of emergency when the collision first occurred but said the situation was under control as of early Monday.

"Thanks to the timely intervention of several institutions, we have it under control. I am in permanent contact with @normanwray and the COE is activated to watch over the galapague~nos," Moreno said in a tweet translated from Spanish. The COE is Ecuador's Emergency Operations Committee .

Read the rest

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College student Rino Dubokovic has opened a Museum of Hangovers in Zagreb, Croatia. From CNN:

Exhibits include displays of objects people found inexplicably the morning after a boozy night, a room where visitors can test their reflexes after putting on "beer goggles," and an interactive section where they can share their own best and worst hangover experiences.

The gift shop is also tongue-in-cheek, selling a "drunkopoly" board game and bar activities, like darts. Dubokovic, who is from the island of Hvar and studying computer science, tells CNN Travel that the point of the museum isn't to glorify overindulgence. Rather, it's a physical representation of the kinds of chats he had with his friends, where everyone is sharing stories and bonding about things they did in the past.

The city is also home to the Museum of Broken Relationships.

Read the rest

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