According to researchers, stay-at-home orders in the US and around the globe are helping those working from home grab an extra 15 minutes of sleep per night. For college students, it’s even up to 30 extra minutes each night.

Meeting your quality sleep threshold is actually one of the greatest indicators of your overall health. For those who find themselves struggling, the Restflix Restful Sleep Streaming Service might just present a path for solving those problems.

Restflix is just what it sounds like — it’s Netflix for sleep. They offer over 20 personalized video channels full of meditative music, bedtime stories, soothing sounds, and restful images to help users fall asleep faster and get a deeper, more restful sleep.

The Restflix formula centers on using binaural beats, an approach that brings together two slightly different sound frequencies that your brain interprets as a single new frequency tone.

The Restflix videos utilizing the binaural beat method can then alter the brain’s degree of arousal, with almost three out of four subjects experiencing higher levels of melatonin, the brain chemical that regulates your sleep.

Through guided meditations, bedtime stories, and peaceful and serene natural views and sounds, Restflix can reshape your sleep habits and stave off insomnia, ill-effects of sleep disorders like weight gain, memory and cognition issues, a weakened immune system, and heart disease, among others. 

Just launched last month, you can watch Restflix now on bedroom TV or mobile device via  Google Play, Roku, Apple TV, and other streaming options. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/02/restflix-thinks-its-cracked.html

Businesses used to thrive on the instincts of entrepreneurs. Guile, moxie, and a conviction to trust the gut was often the driving force behind a business’s biggest successes.

Today, there’s too much on the line to leave anything to chance, including betting your future on a whim. Instead, the stat-heads have taken over, data analysts who can break down every scrap of available information, tell you what it means and give you the clearest path to success. They can’t make business a sure thing, but data analytics might just be the closest thing to a sure thing most businesses ever see.

The Exclusive Business Analysis Certification Bundle with Jeremy Achenbrenner is the training that just might help data analytics make sense to you and even put you in a position to get hired as a highly paid statistical mastermind.

This eight-course, 38-hour package of training is led by Jerry Aschenbrenner, a business analyst who’s plied his craft in a variety of industries, including everything from health care and communications to financial services, and food and beverages. Holder of a 4.5 out of 5-star rating from reviews offered by nearly 166,000 of his students, Aschenbrenner is the guide who can make the numbers clear and examine to you what to do with them to drive our business forward.

Your introduction begins with Business Analysis Fundamentals, a beginner-friendly guide to basic elements that drive any business analyst’s career. Learn what a Business Analyst does, understand the project methodology, and make the case to properly launch an impactful business project. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/learn-data-analysis-with-this.html

We’ve all dealt with paint cans — and keeping all those metal buckets full of sloshing paint from turning into a giant mess is pretty close to impossible. But you stand a better chance of finishing your project without the entire room looking like a Jackson Pollock painting with the help of the ingeniously simple Grip Drips Paint Can Rim Cover.

The Grip Drips is a low-density polyethylene ring that easily slips over the rim of any standard open U.S. one gallon paint can.

The ring’s primary job is a simple one, keeping the rim of the can from filling with paint. That protection not only helps keep paint from dripping around the edges of the can, but more importantly, maintains a clean-edged seal when the lid is replaced, ensuring your paint remains fresh, secure, and untainted until the can is reopened.

With the Grip Drips in place, you can get a better handle on a full can while still being able to easily pour paint from the can into a pan or use it as a firm edge to help scrape excess paint off your brush. 

And while figuring out where to set your brush down always turns into an issue when it’s loaded with paint, the Grip Drips also features a magnetic brush holder that snaps on and holds your brush in place for a moment without leaving a mess behind.

Once you’re done painting, the Grip Drips slips right off and the acetone-free ring can be washed with simple soap and water so it’s always ready for your next painting project. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/heres-a-startlingly-simple.html

According to the World Energy Council, the typical American home slurps down about 11,700 kWh of electricity per year. That’s over three times the average global household consumption, far outdistancing  from France (6,400 kWh), the UK (4,600 kWh), and China (1,300 kWh).

Somebody’s gotta pay for all that power -- and often, it’s you, our dear American Homeowner. And with summer here, economic uncertainty, and the need to cut costs more critical than ever, those monthly power bills can be pricey.

But what many homeowners and renters don’t realize is that in several states, you actually have some real control over how much you spend for energy -- and even how that power is produced.

Arcadia is your weapon for leveling the playing field. It's a technology platform that matches your energy use to renewable energy sources like solar and wind. It even helps those states with open power markets look for better energy rates that can save you money on your monthly power costs while helping to save the planet. And unlike solar installation or other green energy routes, no one needs to come to your home. It all works through your existing power bill, so you don’t even need to call your power company.

After opening your free Arcadia account and linking your current power provider, just enter your ZIP code and Arcadia will show you what clean energy options are available in your area. That could include matching your power usage with wind energy, looking for a better energy rate, or joining a nearby community solar project. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/this-is-how-you-keep-your-ener.html

The "chef" making rice in this BBC video should probably appear before The Hague for crimes against food. Luckily, Uncle Roger (aka comedian Nigel Ng of Rice To Meet You) is here to set her straight.

In his most recent video, the 50-year-old goes on Tinder to fill the hole in his heart. HIYA!

Image: YouTube / mrnigelng Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/uncle-roger-relentlessly-roast.html

This parody ad from Juice Media might as well be the real thing. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/parody-trump-2020-ad-too-close.html

A Florida minor was charged Friday with 30 felonies relating to last month's Twitter "hack" that got top Twitter accounts blurting out a crude bitcoin scam.

Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren filed 30 felony charges against the teen this week for “scamming people across America” in connection with the Twitter hack that happened on July 15. The charges he’s facing include one count of organized fraud, 17 counts of communications fraud, one count of fraudulent use of personal information with over $100,000 or 30 or more victims, 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information and one count of access to computer or electronic device without authority.

Hillsborough County Jail records show Clark was booked into jail shortly after 6:30 a.m. Friday.

Warren’s office says the scheme to defraud “stole the identities of prominent people” and “posted messages in their names directing victims to send Bitcoin” to accounts that were associated with the Tampa teen. According to the state attorney, the scheme reaped more than $100,000 in Bitcoin in just one day.

President Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Elon Musk were among the accounts taken over in the heist. Twitter reported that the intrusion was accomplished by social engineering and access to employee accounts with administrative credentials. Two accomplices were named as 22-year-old Nima “Rolex” Fazeli, of Orlando, Florida, and 19-year-old Mason “Chaewon” Sheppard of Bognor Regis, England, both also in custody but as yet uncharged. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/tampa-teen-arrested-over-twitt.html

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump last night declared that he would ban the social media site Tik Tok.

“As far as TikTok is concerned we’re banning them from the United States,” Trump said, calling the action a “severance.”

Trump did not specify whether he will act through an executive order, or another method. such as a designation, according to NBC News.

“Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that,” Trump said.

Microsoft is negotiating to buy Chinese-owned Tik Tok, which would fill a social-media hole in the tech giant's lineup of consumer offerings. But commentators think Trump is mostly just upset that the platform is an explosively-growing social media platform that will not supplicate to him as Twitter and Facebook have.

does anyone really think this has to do with china and isn’t because of the stories about the “tik tok kids” supposedly sabotaging trump’s tulsa rally https://t.co/yEuPVfbrNC

 my pal andy (@andylevy) August 1, 2020

Vox recently gamed out how Trump might accomplish a "ban" on Tik Tok, but the experts consulted found it an unlikely scenario.

To really take TikTok off Americans’ phones, the government would have to do something like make Apple and Google sever their ties with ByteDance (along with any other Chinese app makers). Getting removed from the iOS App Store and Google Play Store would vastly reduce TikTok’s appeal, even if you could still access it through a sideloaded app or website. Apple, in particular, keeps tight control over iOS devices; its App Store policy is so restrictive that it’s spurred antitrust lawsuits.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/trump-says-hell-ban-tik-tok.html

If you ever dropped a quarter into a Space Invaders game, you’ve likely fantasized about having your own arcade cabinet in your house. Of course, you likely thought better of it for several reasons, including the idea that a giant cabinet dedicated to just one game isn’t very practical.  

Polycade understands the urge though very, very well. So what if they could make you a home arcade machine that played all of your favorite classics, plus the biggest hits of today? And what if it was packed with top-of-the-line equipment and controls? And it was less than half the size of a bulky old cabinet?

At a sticker price of $3,899, the Polycade Home Plug and Play Mounted Arcade is definitely pricey, but once you factor in the cost of modern gaming platforms and games as well as the Polycade’s versatility, the economics don’t feel quite so impossible anymore.

Professionally mounted in your home, it actually feels like having an ATM on the wall of your house -- except this super-slim gaming system can play literally thousands of your favorite arcade and home platform games right out of the box.

With a 27-inch screen running a gaming-grade PC using a customized, optimized version of Steam as its interface, you can download new games from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s with ease and start playing. From Pac Man to Street Fighter and thousands more, all your favorite games for the NES, SNES, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx16, and more are all here. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/the-polycade-home-is-the-arcad.html

Transparency about police disciplinary investigations has been hard to achieve, often blocked by powerful unions. ProPublica has sped up the process in New York by circumventing a judge's order and publishing thousands of formerly secret discipline records.

A federal judge barred The City of New York and its Civilian Complaint Review Board from releasing the data, issue similar restrictions to the New York Civil Liberties Union. Since ProPublica was not named, they published what others could not. Via their announcement:

The database lists active-duty officers who’ve had at least one allegation against them substantiated by the CCRB: That’s about 4,000 officers out of the NYPD’s 36,000-member force.

Unions for city police officers, firefighters and corrections officers have sued New York City to stop the disclosure of most of these and other disciplinary records. The unions objected to the release of any cases other than “proven and final disciplinary matters.” That would exclude the vast majority of complaints against officers.

Photo by Jiarong Deng from Pexels Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/08/01/a-judge-blocked-release-of-nyp.html

Most of us have a love-hate relationship with banks. Okay, it’s actually probably more like a tolerate-hate relationship. We understand their role in holding and securing our money so we don’t have to stuff it in a mattress somewhere. But we don’t trust the bank not to gouge us on fees whenever they can. And we certainly don’t trust MegaCorp X to be a responsible steward of our funds to make the world a better place.

For example, the four biggest global backers of fossil fuels are all U.S banks^1.. So if you have money with any of those institutions, you’re tacitly endorsing those practices, whether you agree with them or not.

If that doesn’t sit well with you, you may want to consider an alternative, like Aspiration's Spend and Save account.

Aspiration isn’t a bank. They’re a hybrid check and save cash management account that offers you an alternative to traditional banking services and protections of one of those institutions, but with a conscience you can feel good about backing.

When you open an Aspiration Spend and Save account and deposit money, you get a debit card linked to your new FDIC-insured² cash accounts with all the buying power of a financial/cash account -- but you decide how much their services should cost you. Their policy is that they trust customers to “Pay What is Fair,” even if that means zero on their basic monthly banking services. 

Of course, if fair to you is $7 a month for their Aspiration Plus service, you get features like up to 1.00% APY interest³ on your savings and no fees at over 55,000+ free in-network Allpoint ATMs, and carbon offsets for when you drive. Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/are-your-deposits-quietly-fund.html

WATCH THE SPLASHDOWN EVENT LIVE HERE, the SpaceX video embed in this post will go live with pre-event content sometime before 7pm EDT on Saturday August 1.

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are about to make the first splashdown return in 45 years.

“SpaceX and NASA are targeting 7:34 p.m. EDT on Saturday, August 1 for Crew Dragon and the two astronauts to depart the orbiting laboratory and return to Earth,” tweeted SpaceX late Friday evening.

From SpaceX, here is the timeline for NASA and SpaceX to return Crew Dragon Endeavour this weekend.

From the SpaceX announcement about the highly anticipated space event:

On Saturday, May 30, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched Crew Dragon’s second demonstration (Demo-2) mission from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the next day Crew Dragon autonomously docked to the International Space Station. This test flight with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board the Dragon spacecraft returned human spaceflight to the United States.

SpaceX and NASA are now targeting 7:34 p.m. EDT on Saturday, August 1 for Crew Dragon to autonomously undock from the Space Station, with the two astronauts aboard the spacecraft, and return to Earth.

Approximately 19 hours later, after jettisoning its trunk and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, Dragon will splash down at one of seven targeted water landing sites off the coast of Florida at 2:42 p.m. EDT on Sunday, August 2.

The Demo-2 mission is the final major milestone for SpaceX’s human spaceflight system to be certified by NASA for operational crew missions to and from the International Space Station.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/astronauts-prepare-for-rare-sp.html

“Grace,” the Black teen girl in Michigan who was detained because the school said she was not doing her online coursework, is to be released from detention “IMMEDIATELY.”

The Michigan Court of Appeals issued the order late on Friday, and mom picked Grace up shortly thereafter.

“We are elated. We are so happy for Grace to be going home. It is amazing that she is going to be able to sleep at home tonight.”

-- Grace's attorney, commenting on the Court of Appeals decision today.

BREAKING: “Grace,” the Michigan teen who was detained for not doing her online coursework, is to be released from detention “IMMEDIATELY,” according to an order from the Michigan Court of Appeals that I just received. pic.twitter.com/R3WdkK1tVp

 Jodi Cohen (@Jodiscohen) July 31, 2020

Wow, that was fast! Within two hours of the court order, Grace's mother arrived at Children's Village to get Grace. The teenager had her bags packed and was ready to go. They quickly left and were emotional and happy, according to her lawyers.

 Jodi Cohen (@Jodiscohen) July 31, 2020

Go read the full story at ProPublica by Jodi S. Cohen.

And here's her original report at ProPublica: A Teenager Didn’t Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention.

Michigan mom sentenced to 7 days in jail for not following court order to vaccinate her children

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/black-michigan-teen-detained-f.html

Yikes.

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/tenant-decapitated-landlord-wi.html

“Dzhokhar will spend his remaining days locked up in prison, with the only matter remaining being whether he will die by execution,”

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/boston-marathon-bombers-dea.html

'My resignation is due to disagreements over certain editorial content published by the Company’s news outlets and certain other strategic decisions.'

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/james-murdoch-resigns-from-new.html

I found this video absolutely mesmerizing. It in, a primitive tech enthusiast from the Pacific Northwest fashions some beautiful and lethal- and effective-looking arrowheads, knives, and tools using ground and polished slate.

As he points out in the lengthy video description, he doesn't have access to the more superior, knappable flint in his area, so he learned the technique for grinding and polishing slate which has been used by indigenous people in that area and around the world for ages. It is astounding what you can make with a piece of slate, water and grinding sand, and a world of patience and time.

Trigger warning: A skinned chicken was shot through with arrows and cut up with slate knives in the making of this video.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/making-arrowheads-knives-and.html

Alanis, I feel ya, mama. You're trying to get some work done and your kiddo wants your attention. Though trying to hold your cutie while performing a song from your new album on the Fallon show maybe wasn't the greatest idea... or was it?!

(Digg) Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/alanis-morissettes-daughter.html

What's not to love about this gallery of images from the 1966 World Science Fiction Convention in Cleveland, OH? The cameras may have acquired color and the cosplay may have become a bit more sophisticated, but the spirit of the players seems to have remained unchanged.

These images were taken by the late photographer, and sci-fi mega-fan, Jay Kay Klein. You can see the massive collection of Klein's photos and papers of science fiction fandom on the Calisphere website.

Image: Composite of images from the Jay Kay Klein collection, via Cosplay Central Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/cosplay-at-a-1966-science-fict.html

A Boing Boing reader said this video by Juice Media is better than what The Lincoln Project is doing. I agree -- it's scarier and more entertaining than the Lincoln Project's videos. However, I think Juice Media's videos and the Lincoln Project videos are geared toward different audiences. The video above is designed to convert unlikely voters into Biden voters, while the Lincoln Project videos are for an audience of one, with a goal to demoralize and destabilize him.

Juice media is an Australian organization, and here's what they had to say about this video:

We've had so many Americans begging us to make an Honest Government Ad for their government. So we decided to give it a go. I hope we did your shit government justice. It almost makes ours feel benign by comparison. Despite the levity, we're genuinely concerned about what's happening in your country and we hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe. I hope this doesn’t come across as “FoReIgN InTeRfeReNcE!” If it does, well… let’s call it even... the US Government has been interfering with our shit here ever since 1975, when it helped to oust our Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. But on a more serious note: even though we're all the way down here in Australia, the result of this election will impact everyone on earth. In terms of climate action alone, this could be the most important election of our lifetimes. So I figure it's one of those all hands on deck, let's lend a hand to our friends in the USA - kind of thing.

Read the rest

https://boingboing.net/2020/07/31/this-devastating-video-encapsu.html