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10 Jun 13:51

A closer look at Lenovo's bendy concept phone and tablet

by Chris Velazco
Philip.paulsson

LOL I love that they put in software generated "cracks" in the screen when it bends...

We knew Lenovo's Phab2 Pro and Motorola's Moto Z series were breaking cover today, but the moment that drew the loudest gasps was when a YouTuber bent a phone around her wrist. Lenovo's crazy, flexible devices are incredibly far from being real produ...
10 Jun 01:30

Tinder is helping Brits understand the EU referendum

by Jamie Rigg
Philip.paulsson

Unrelated, but I was at a bar with Bailey yesterday where they had Tinder Thursdays. If you go on Thursday with a Tinder date, and show them your match on your app, you both get your first beer for free!

Nothing gets a Tinder match swooning like a well-informed political debate. Quite fitting, then, that the dating app has added a new, temporary feature for UK users to help them to brush up on EU referendum issues when they've exhausted their daily S...
09 Jun 18:59

Dubai Completes Construction On World’s First Full-Scale Replica Of Dubai

DUBAI—Officials from the Dubai Department of Tourism announced at a press conference Wednesday that construction had been completed on the world’s first full-scale replica of Dubai, a multibillion-dollar investment known as the Dubai Experience built on the outskirts of the city-state. “We are proud to announce that the Dubai Experience is now open, allowing those visiting Dubai to view and explore awe-inspiring, life-size versions of all the iconic buildings and sights they recognize from Dubai,” said Dubai tourism spokesperson Arshad bin Sulayem, adding that the 1,600-square-mile Dubai replica was located “a convenient five-mile drive” from downtown Dubai. “Spend a day taking pictures in front of nearly indistinguishable duplicates of your favorite Dubai landmarks, from the Burj Khalifa, to the Palm Jumeirah islands, to the Ski Dubai alpine facility, before returning to your hotel in Dubai. Or stay the night in one of the many identical hotels in ...

09 Jun 18:59

17 Things You Need If You Actually Can't Live Without Eggs

by Christina Lan
Philip.paulsson

Hahha I love the sumo egg holders!

Take your egg-sperience to the next level.

Andrew Richard / BuzzFeed

worldmarket.com

worldmarket.com


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09 Jun 18:57

Time Warner Cable Internet speeds are “abysmal,” NY AG claims

by Jon Brodkin
Philip.paulsson

Yup. FIOS for the win.

(credit: Getty Images | Dimitri Otis)

Internet speed tests have shown that Time Warner Cable has repeatedly failed to provide the speeds it promises customers, according to a New York state government official. New York has not publicly released any data to back up the claim, but apparently shared the results with the cable company. Charter—TWC's new owner—received a letter demanding improvement yesterday from the New York attorney general's office.

"We recently called on New York customers of major broadband providers to use open-source tools to test the Internet speeds they were experiencing," NY Senior Enforcement Counsel Tim Wu wrote to Charter CEO Tom Rutledge. "The results we received from Time Warner Cable customers were abysmal. Not only did Time Warner Cable fail to achieve the speeds its customers were promised and paid for (which Time Warner Cable blamed on the testing method), it generally performed worse in this regard than other New York broadband providers."

The Washington Post published the full letter and has a related article.

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09 Jun 17:14

Crowd At Trump Rally Realizes They’ve Been Chanting ‘We Are Frightened And Helpless’ For Last Half Hour

TAMPA, FL—Saying they had been so swept up in the excitement of the moment that they hadn’t been paying attention to what they were shouting, the crowd at a Donald Trump rally in Tampa reportedly came to the realization Wednesday that they had been chanting the phrase “We are frightened and helpless” for the past half hour. “Looking back on it now, I guess we all started chanting ‘We’re so, so scared’ as soon as we got into the auditorium, and then when Trump came out onstage, it really picked up and we added the part about feeling completely impotent in the face of change,” said Trump supporter Colby Swanson, 45, who explained that, after thinking back, some attendees had started chanting “Rage is my only outlet” on and off while they were waiting in line to enter the event. “Boy, we were chanting it really loud ...

09 Jun 15:21

There’s a new entry-level Tesla Model S, and it’s even cheaper

by Jonathan M. Gitlin
Philip.paulsson

Software upgrades to unlock hardware that is already there has always kinda pissed me off. Similar to how Intel sells CPUs that you can "unlock" later. Ugh.

On Thursday, Tesla filled the gap in its range with a new entry-level Model S 60. The car starts at $66,000 before tax incentives. Tesla previously discontinued the Model S 70 due to lack of demand, but this new model is several thousand dollars cheaper. Once rebates and gas savings factor in, the company says "the effective cost of owning Model S 60 comes to about $50k."

The Model S 60 gets a 60kWh battery, good for 0-60mph (0-96km/h) in 5.5 seconds and 200 miles of range between charges. It comes with the full suite of driver assists, and if you decide at some point you want more juice, a software upgrade will unlock the battery to 75kWh.

Tesla's approach to selling electric vehicles has been fascinating. Launching straight into the upper end of the market with the Model S was clever, and it laid the groundwork for the Model 3 mass-market follow-up. With the top and bottom ends covered (reminiscent of Shaka Zulu's "Buffalo Horns" strategy perhaps?), Tesla has moved in for the kill at the middle. This new Model S fits nicely between the $35,000 Model 3 and $89,500 Model S 90D, and the price is aimed squarely at buyers of mid-level luxury cars like the A6, 5 Series, and E-Class.

Read on Ars Technica | Comments

09 Jun 13:12

Movie written by algorithm turns out to be hilarious and intense

by Annalee Newitz
Philip.paulsson

Interesting.

Sunspring, a short science fiction movie written entirely by AI, debuted exclusively on Ars in June 2016. (video link)

Ars is excited to be hosting this online debut of Sunspring, a short science fiction film that's not entirely what it seems. It's about three people living in a weird future, possibly on a space station, probably in a love triangle. You know it's the future because H (played with neurotic gravity by Silicon Valley's Thomas Middleditch) is wearing a shiny gold jacket, H2 (Elisabeth Gray) is playing with computers, and C (Humphrey Ker) announces that he has to "go to the skull" before sticking his face into a bunch of green lights. It sounds like your typical sci-fi B-movie, complete with an incoherent plot. Except Sunspring isn't the product of Hollywood hacks—it was written entirely by an AI. To be specific, it was authored by a recurrent neural network called long short-term memory, or LSTM for short. At least, that's what we'd call it. The AI named itself Benjamin.

Knowing that an AI wrote Sunspring makes the movie more fun to watch, especially once you know how the cast and crew put it together. Director Oscar Sharp made the movie for Sci-Fi London, an annual film festival that includes the 48-Hour Film Challenge, where contestants are given a set of prompts (mostly props and lines) that have to appear in a movie they make over the next two days. Sharp's longtime collaborator, Ross Goodwin, is an AI researcher at New York University, and he supplied the movie's AI writer, initially called Jetson. As the cast gathered around a tiny printer, Benjamin spat out the screenplay, complete with almost impossible stage directions like "He is standing in the stars and sitting on the floor." Then Sharp randomly assigned roles to the actors in the room. "As soon as we had a read-through, everyone around the table was laughing their heads off with delight," Sharp told Ars. The actors interpreted the lines as they read, adding tone and body language, and the results are what you see in the movie. Somehow, a slightly garbled series of sentences became a tale of romance and murder, set in a dark future world. It even has its own musical interlude (performed by Andrew and Tiger), with a pop song Benjamin composed after learning from a corpus of 30,000 other pop songs.

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08 Jun 15:23

T-Mobile's new Uncarrier move gives company stock to subscribers

by Chris Velazco
Philip.paulsson

Nice. Anyone thinking of switching? I can refer you!

John Legere has spent basically his entire tenure as T-Mobile CEO sweetening the deal for new and current customers, and today his largesse took a very peculiar form. As part of the newly announced Uncarrier 11 initiative, T-Mobile launched StockUp,...
08 Jun 15:18

Passenger drone gets permission for US flight tests

by Jon Fingas
Don't be surprised if you see a very large, very unusual drone flying through Nevada's skies. The state's Institute for Autonomous Systems has given China's EHang permission to test fly its passenger-toting 184 drone later this year. In addition to...
08 Jun 15:18

This 25-year-old lived for more than a year without a heart

Philip.paulsson

Holy shit!

A 25-year-old has just received a full heart transplant... but not before surviving for more than a year without a human heart inside his body.

Instead, Stan Larkin wore an 'artificial heart' in a backpack 24/7 for 555 days, which pumped blood around his body and kept him alive. The success of the procedure suggests that the device could be used to sustain other patients with total heart failure while they're waiting for a donor.

Back in 2014, Stan became the first patient in Michigan to be discharged with the artificial heart device, which is known as a 'Syncardia'. 

He and his brother Dominique had both been diagnosed as teenagers with familial cardiomyopathy, which is a genetic heart condition that can cause heart failure without any warning - it's one of the leading causes of death in athletes.

After years on the donor waiting list, Stan - and eventually his younger brother Dominique - had their hearts removed and were fitted with the Syncardia device.

"They were both very, very ill when we first met them in our intensive care units," said the surgeon behind the transplant, Jonathan Haft, from the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Centre. "We wanted to get them heart transplants, but we didn't think we had enough time. There's just something about their unique anatomic situation where other technology wasn't going to work."

While other devices such as implantable defibrillators can help with partial heart failure, Syncardia is used when both sides of the heart fail.

Dominique only needed to use the technology for a few weeks before receiving a full heart transplant. But Stan had to wait more than a year, and instead of staying in hospital, he was fitted with the Freedom® portable driver so he could go home in the meantime.

At the time, no one knew how much he'd be able to do with it. The portable device comes in the form of a 6-kg (13.5 pound) backpack that's connected to the patient's vascular system, to keep oxygenated blood pumping around the body. 

It's not the most versatile thing to have on you 24/7, and Stan reported not being able to hold his daughters or give them piggy back rides. But he did manage to continue playing basketball - a total surprise to his doctors.

"This wasn't made for pick-up basketball," said Haft. "Stan pushed the envelope with this technology ... He really thrived on the device."

Stan received his donor heart on 9 May 2016, and has now fully recovered from the procedure. He's shared his story, which he calls an "emotional rollercoaster" with the press to raise awareness about the 5.7 million other Americans living with heart failure, and the need for heart donors. 

"You're heroes to all of us," David J. Pinsky, director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Centre, said of Stan and Dominique. "The fact that you take your story public and allow us to teach others makes a difference. You'll make a difference for a lot of patients. You'll make a difference to the doctors of the future. We thank you for allowing us to share your story and your bravery in sharing it."

08 Jun 15:13

People Are Freaking Out Over This Photo Of A Woman's Weirdly Crossed Legs

by Julia Reinstein

WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING HERE.

The internet is collectively baffled after this photo of a woman crossing her legs in the weirdest way recently went viral on Imgur.

The internet is collectively baffled after this photo of a woman crossing her legs in the weirdest way recently went viral on Imgur.

How is that even humanly possible??? Where are her bones? Are her legs possessed???

Via imgur.com

Everyone was just like NOOOOPE.

Everyone was just like NOOOOPE.


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08 Jun 15:13

This Farmer Convinced His Sheep To Form An Enormous Penis

by Rob Stott

It can be a lonely life on the land. Those long days spent alone in the paddock with only a few animals for company. And as they say, idle hands are the devil's plaything. Which is good, because look what this genius farmer did.

Via youtube.com

This work of art was produced by 45-year-old Hugh Beveridge on his farm at Armatee in central western NSW, Australia.

Beveridge told BuzzFeed News he decided to create the sheep schlong to give himself and his mates "a bit of a giggle".

"They know I’m quite childish," he said.

And how does one create such a large paddock penis? Beveridge says it's easy enough.

"I had the idea, I took the drone out with me, I thought I’d put a fair bit of feed out so they’d have a good munch," he said.

"The ewes we have are close to lambing and we like to keep them full of good tucker so they produce a good lamb. So you’re just trail feeding them, putting oats in a line. They’ll stand in whatever formation you put it out in."

Beveridge estimates the wooly phallus was about 150 metres (500ft) tall, and 100 metres (330ft) wide, and he put the whole thing together freehand - no drawings or maps to guide him.

Once the hard work of laying out the oats was done, Beveridge sent a drone into the air to catch the ram rod in all its glory. Just take a look at this cinematic reveal.

Via youtube.com

For the record, Hugh is quite proud of his handiwork.

"It came out very clearly I thought."

It sure did, Hugh. It sure did.

You can watch the whole masterpiece here. It's worth it for the soundtrack.

youtube.com


08 Jun 11:48

This Fish Trapped Inside A Live Jellyfish Is The Picture Of Instant Regret

by Rob Stott
Philip.paulsson

Hahah that first pic. "I've made a terrible mistake."

In some ways, aren’t we all a fish trapped inside a jellyfish?

Look at this fish trapped inside a slightly larger jellyfish and tell me you haven't been this fish at some point in your life.

Look at this fish trapped inside a slightly larger jellyfish and tell me you haven't been this fish at some point in your life.

Tim Samuel Photography

This snap was taken by Australian photographer Tim Samuel in Byron Bay on the northern coast of NSW.

Samuel told BuzzFeed he's an avid underwater photographer, so when he spotted the little guy about 50 metres from shore, he knew he had to get some photos.

"The ocean has all sorts of weird and wonderful things, but I've never seen anything quite like this. I guess that's why this photo is getting so much attention - it seems to be quite the rarity."

Tim said he and another photographer, Franny Plumridge, followed the fish around for about 20 minutes, and the fish seemed to be the one propelling the jellyfish forward, although they were both a bit wobbly.

"We contemplated setting the little guy free, but ultimately just let nature run it's course," Tim said.

Associate Professor Ian Tibbetts, a fish biologist at the Centre for Marine Science at the University of Queensland, told Australian Geographic the duo seemed quite comfortable with their situation.

Associate Professor Ian Tibbetts, a fish biologist at the Centre for Marine Science at the University of Queensland, told Australian Geographic the duo seemed quite comfortable with their situation.

Tim Samuel Photography

"It's difficult to tell whether disaster has just struck, or whether the fish is happy to be in there," he said.

Tibetts believes the fish is most likely a juvenile trevally, and the jellyfish is probably a type of box jellyfish, which can be among the most poisonous animals on earth.

"Although by the photographer's description of the fish swimming, my guess is that it is probably quite happy to be protected in there," Ian said.


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08 Jun 05:46

Rainbow

Philip.paulsson

LOL @ hovertext

Listen, in a few thousand years you'll invent a game called 'SimCity' which has a 'disaster' button, and then you'll understand.
08 Jun 05:45

~~~~ says FML

by ~~~~
Philip.paulsson

LOL nice move on the bf's part.

Today, my boyfriend added me to his friends' private Whatsapp group, after weeks of asking him to include me in more of his life. It turns out almost all they do is post pictures of their shits and rate them. There is nearly a year's worth of pictures. FML

08 Jun 05:42

Birdly and HTC Vive let you fly like a bird over Manhattan

by Richard Lai
Philip.paulsson

That looks so ridiculous.

Nope, we're not quite done yet with the HTC Vive demos at Computex. In addition to the three VR titles we tried yesterday, there was one more that we managed to hop onto after the show floor cleared. Yes, it was that popular. Birdly is a full-body si...
08 Jun 05:41

Dr. Heimlich Performed The Heimlich Maneuver For The First Time At 96 Years Old

by Tasneem Nashrulla

The inventor of the maneuver used his own life-saving technique for the first time on a woman who was choking on her hamburger.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, the 96-year-old inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, used his own technique for the first time to save a woman who was choking on a piece of hamburger, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Dr. Henry Heimlich, the 96-year-old inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, used his own technique for the first time to save a woman who was choking on a piece of hamburger, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Al Behrman / AP

Heimlich, a resident of a senior living community in Ohio, was sitting next to 87-year-old Patty Ris during dinner on Monday when she began to choke on her hamburger.

Heimlich then performed his maneuver on her and dislodged the piece of meat stuck in her windpipe.

While Heimlich — who invented the technique in the 1970s — had plenty of practice demonstrating the maneuver, Monday was the first time he had ever performed it on someone who was actually choking, he told the Enquirer.

While Heimlich — who invented the technique in the 1970s — had plenty of practice demonstrating the maneuver, Monday was the first time he had ever performed it on someone who was actually choking, he told the Enquirer.

Charles Krupa / AP

Perry Gaines, the maître d' for the Deupree House dining room, said that Ris was having one of her favorite dishes, an open face hamburger, when she began choking.

"I felt like I was on stage," Gaines said in a recorded interview provided to BuzzFeed News. "Everyone stopped eating and everyone was looking at Dr. Heimlich and the maneuver that he was doing. It was totally quiet in the dining room at that time."

While he has performed the maneuver before, Gaines said Monday was the first time "the person who originated it was doing it before my eyes."

"It was almost like history was being made."

As for the hero of the day?


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08 Jun 05:39

2016.06.01

08 Jun 05:39

"Game Of Thrones" Star Kit Harington Says Men Face Sexism In Acting Just Like Women

by Alicia Melville-Smith
Philip.paulsson

Awww they're dating now!

Game Of Thrones actor Kit Harington has said he thinks men in acting face sexism just like women and is tired of being "asked to strip down" in photoshoots.

HBO


In an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, Harington, who plays Jon Snow on the hit show, spoke about feeling demeaned in the entertainment industry, and his love of former co-star Rose Leslie.

“I think there is a double standard. If you said to a girl, ‘Do you like being called a babe?’ and she said, ‘No, not really,’ she’d be absolutely right," Harington said.

Ian Walton / Getty Images

"I like to think of myself as more than a head of hair or a set of looks. It’s demeaning. Yes, in some ways you could argue I’ve been employed for a look I have. But there’s a sexism that happens towards men. There’s definitely a sexism in our industry that happens towards women, and there is towards men as well."

"At some points during photoshoots when I’m asked to strip down, I felt that. If I felt I was being employed just for my looks, I’d stop acting.”

Harington also talked about how he fell in love with former co-star Rose Leslie who played his love interest Ygritte on the show.

HBO

Harington said he fell in love with Leslie during filming in Iceland under the “magical” northern lights. “If you’re already attracted to someone, and then they play your love interest, it becomes very easy to fall in love,” he said. The pair went public with their relationship last month.


Anthony Harvey / Getty Images

You can read the full interview here (but it's behind a paywall).

HBO

LINK: Kit Harington’s Latest Role: Raising Awareness About Learning Disabilities

LINK: Kit Harington Admits He Fell In Love With Rose Leslie During “Game Of Thrones”


08 Jun 05:38

People Are Freaking Out Over This Woman's Rapunzel-Length Hair

by Julia Reinstein

Can you imagine her shower drain though???

Meet Russia native Dashik Gubanova and her ridiculously long hair.

Meet Russia native Dashik Gubanova and her ridiculously long hair.

She's basically Rapunzel in real life.

@dashik_gubanova / Via instagram.com

She hasn't cut her hair since 2003.

She hasn't cut her hair since 2003.

Her goal is to grow it to her toes, at which point she plans on donating it to be made into wigs, she said on Instagram.

@dashik_gubanova / Via instagram.com

Gubanova shares pics of her crazy-long hair on Instagram, where she has more than 120,000 followers.

Gubanova shares pics of her crazy-long hair on Instagram, where she has more than 120,000 followers.

@dashik_gubanova / Via instagram.com

Sometimes, she posts videos showing off how long it actually is.

Sometimes, she posts videos showing off how long it actually is.

LIKE, HOW.

@dashik_gubanova / Via instagram.com


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08 Jun 05:37

Forbes downgrades Theranos from $9B to $800M, says CEO Holmes worth “nothing”

by Beth Mole
Philip.paulsson

LOL good thing I never randomly ran into her and made her fall in love with me (which had been my plan). Now she's worth nothing!

Theranos CEO and founder Elizabeth Holmes. (credit: Max Morse for TechCrunch)

With bunk blood tests and medical equipment, possible federal sanctions, a criminal probe, voided patient reports, and possible class action lawsuits, Theranos has taken quite the hit.

On Wednesday, Forbes put dollar values to that hit. The business magazine reported that the company’s valuation—based on “a dozen venture capitalists, analysts and industry experts”—has been downgraded from its $9 billion estimate 2014 to just $800 million now. And because Forbes’ valuation of Theranos CEO and founder, Elizabeth Holmes, was based solely on her 50 percent stake in the company, their estimate of her net worth dropped from $4.5 billion to “nothing.”

In 2015, Forbes ranked Holmes the number one self-made women in America.

Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

08 Jun 05:35

Musk’s remarks at conference imply Tesla has huge autonomous car advantage

by Jonathan M. Gitlin
Philip.paulsson

I was unaware of these "levels" of autonomy. Cool. Also, I have a feeling Musk is probably closer on his dates than Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes, and Volvo. But that may just be my fanboy showing.

(credit: Mashable)

On Wednesday night Elon Musk grandly told audiences at the Code 2016 conference that we might be living in a simulated universe. That comment has certainly sparked attention, but he said something else that's still got us scratching our collective head: when asked about self-driving cars, Musk said that he considers it a "solved problem," and that "we are probably less than two years away" from safe autonomous driving.

This timeline is consistent with one that he gave Ars in 2015, but the head-scratchy bit is that every other expert we've spoken to thinks true self-driving cars (Level 4 autonomy according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) are at least a decade out. NHTSA defines a level 4 autonomous car as one that "is designed to perform all safety-critical driving functions and monitor roadway conditions for an entire trip. Such a design anticipates that the driver will provide destination or navigation input, but is not expected to be available for control at any time during the trip. This includes both occupied and unoccupied vehicles." Even Google's experimental self-driving cars are classed as Level 3 by the agency.

Autonomous driving experts we've consulted at Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes, and Volvo (all of which have extremely active self-driving research programs) have consistently told us the same thing: it's comparatively easy to make a car drive itself on a highway where every car is going the same direction and there's no pedestrian traffic. But a car that can drive itself through a busy urban interchange—think Manhattan or Mumbai at rush hour—is closer to 2030 than 2020. Even sensor OEM Mobileye, which supplies Tesla with some of its autopilot hardware, won't have its Level 3-ready EyeQ5 system on a chip ready until 2020.

Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

08 Jun 05:31

It Looks Like Taylor Swift And Calvin Harris Have Broken Up

by Sam Stryker
Philip.paulsson

She's back on the market for you, Kev...

If two super-hot millionaires can’t make it work, is there any hope for the rest of us?

Larry Busacca / Getty Images

Jason Merritt / Getty Images

The pair are splitting after 15 months of dating, and according to People, there was "no drama" in the split, but "things just don't work out sometimes."

The pair are splitting after 15 months of dating, and according to People, there was "no drama" in the split, but "things just don't work out sometimes."

HER LEG WAS POPPING IN THIS PICTURE. THAT MEANS IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE TRUE LOVE WTF.

instagram.com


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08 Jun 05:30

VR rowing turns a workout into a vacation

by Nicole Lee
Philip.paulsson

I could get behind this kind of gamifying of my workouts.

Playing VR games can be surprisingly good exercise -- ducking your head behind artificial barriers or waving your arms around to shoot enemy robots can work up a sweat. But what if you wanted a genuine workout? Well, VR fitness appears to be a rising...
08 Jun 05:29

This Company Will Clean And Cook Breakfast For You After You Throw A Party

by Gyan Yankovich
Philip.paulsson

Brilliant.

They’ll even bring a dog for you to cuddle while they pick up your empties and cook you crispy bacon.

Based in Auckland, Morning-After Maids is a company that specialises in post-party cleaning services. They'll also cook your hungover-arse breakfast and bring dogs for you to cuddle while you wait.

Basically, the dream for anyone who has ever hosted a house party.

There are two breakfast options on the menu. One, a classic greasy hangover feed and the other a healthier breakfast with granola and smashed avo options. They'll also do a Macca's run for you if that's what you'd prefer.

There are two breakfast options on the menu. One, a classic greasy hangover feed and the other a healthier breakfast with granola and smashed avo options. They'll also do a Macca's run for you if that's what you'd prefer.

The "clean" breakfast costs $25NZD per head, while the "Diiiiiiirty" menu will cost $20NZD per person. Their cleaning services start at $30NZD per hour.

Morning-After Maids / Via Facebook: morningaftermaids2016

Rebecca Foley and Catherine Ashurst launched Morning-After Maids in early May after seeing a big gap in the market.

Rebecca Foley and Catherine Ashurst launched Morning-After Maids in early May after seeing a big gap in the market.

"Bex was hungover one Sunday morning and it was her turn to do the housework; from there a discussion began. We had a few brainstorming meetings and creative ideas were all thrown together," Catherine told BuzzFeed Life. "Then Morning-After Maids was born."

Instagram: @morningaftermaids


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08 Jun 05:26

“Idiocracy” Writer Says Donald Trump Made The Movie A Reality Faster Than He Ever Imagined

by Ariane Lange
Philip.paulsson

Hahah nice.

Early in the 2016 primary race, comedy screenwriter Etan Cohen began to notice some similarities between the Republican candidate, mendacious former reality star Donald Trump, and Cohen's 2006 movie Idiocracy, which features fictional wrestling champ-turned-president Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho (Terry Crews). Ever since, those similarities have only grown, leading to Cohen and Mike Judge, who wrote and also directed Idiocracy, now working on a series of anti-Trump ads with Crews reprising his role.

The 2006 satire shows a semi-distant future in which the world has been overrun by dummies and, as a result, is falling apart. At first, the parallels to the real primary race were “just a general lizard brain kind of thing: The presidency is all about entertainment value,” Cohen, who also directed and wrote the 2015 comedy Get Hard and co-wrote the 2008 hit comedy Tropic Thunder, told BuzzFeed News over the phone. “Then it started to get, as the year went on, weirdly specific. People pointing out things like, 'Oh, Camacho was a wrestler and Trump was a wrestler.' … It's like, the more things go on, the more it actually seems to be kind of merging in a very specific, eerie way.”

Terry Crews as Idiocracy's President Camacho.

Funny Or Die

Cohen and Judge have always maintained that the movie had a kernel of truth to it, but, Cohen said, “We just thought it would take much, much longer to get to this point.” The film was meant as a satire of the obsession with celebrity and entertainment culture in America. “Obviously, when writing the movie, we knew that that was true about TV and movies and pop culture," he said. "But it was a crazy joke to think that it could be extrapolated to politics. It seems to be happening really rapidly.”

In February, Cohen tweeted, “I never expected #idiocracy to become a documentary.” Soon, The Hill, the Huffington Post, Business Insider, Entertainment Weekly, and the Washington Times, to name a few, turned the tweet into a headline. There's even a Facebook group called "Movement to Classify 'Idiocracy' as Documentary."

“I didn't think anyone would see it,” Cohen said of the tweet, which has since been retweeted more than 3,800 times. “That was just an interesting, eye-opening thing, like, wow, this is just tapping into something that a lot of people are feeling right now.”

After his tweet gained so much traction, Cohen called Judge and they decided to seize the moment and write campaign ads for Camacho satirizing Trump. They plan to shoot the ads after Fox clears the rights with Crews (“There’s only one Camacho,” Cohen said).

Throughout the process, Cohen and Judge have struggled to satirize Trump because he is already so outrageous. “If you're making Idiocracy 2, and you're trying to write whoever's the heir to Camacho, if you put in Trump, it would be too silly to be in a movie,” Cohen explained.

But they worked through it — Cohen felt a call to action, saying these ads are very important to him. “This is what satire is for … to be able to hold up a mirror and say, 'This is crazy,'” he said. “Idiocracy was like that, but this all of a sudden felt like a very immediate need for the true meaning of satire and what it can actually do.”

Donald Trump.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Of course, Idiocracy and Trump's campaign aren’t completely parallel: Under the leadership of President Camacho, crops are watered with a Gatorade-like drink and criminal sentencing options include death by giant drill in a large stadium full of spectators. Trump’s policy proposals include building a very large wall along the U.S.–Mexico border and spending less money on helping people who flee their countries to escape war and persecution. And, while the electorate of Idiocracy votes against their interests for a man who is entertaining but bad at being president, many white Trump supporters are voting for their interests. But Cohen does see some ideological overlaps between the fictional president and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee: “They both seem to be intent on destroying the world. But maybe Camacho more accidentally?”

“The most dangerous contrast to Trump is that Camacho actually realizes he needs advice from other people, and knows that he's not the smartest guy in the room," Cohen continued, noting that he would "definitely" vote for Camacho over Trump. "Also, not a racist.”

08 Jun 05:23

The Arecibo radio telescope is in trouble again

by Jon Fingas
Philip.paulsson

They just need to film another Bond movie there.

Unfortunately, the Arecibo Observatory's iconic radio telescope is facing an uncertain future once again... and there's only a short amount of time for you to have a say in its fate. The National Science Foundation is considering a number of options...
08 Jun 05:20

​Samsung might have bendable, foldable smartphones ready for 2017

by Mat Smith
Bloomberg sources say that Samsung is thinking of introducing phones with bendable screens. In fact, Samsung said that it would have that technology ready by 2017 itself, just a few years ago at its investors conference. However, this goes some way t...
08 Jun 05:19

Swarm brings back Foursquare's real-world perks

by Jon Fingas
Philip.paulsson

Hahah they're slowing realizing how stupid it was to split. Sadly, I think they're past relevant now. And this is coming from someone who still uses Swarm!

Foursquare is continuing its quest to bring back all the things you liked from its old check-in app. Swarm now offers real-life perks depending on where and how often you check in. You'll get a discount if you swing by certain stores, for instance,...