Nature webcam network Explore.org curates a fantastic collection of countless live cams from around the world organized into categories like Africa, bears, oceans, dogs, animal sanctuaries, and "zen cams." They also provide short descriptions of what you're seeing when you teleport around the world. Above, one viewer's screenshot of the Northern Lights Cam (live view below) streaming from the Churchill Northern Studies Center in Manitoba, Canada.
Not to be confused with the band the Mountain Goats (who should also take over more small Welsh towns), these hoofed mammals stormed the streets of Llandudno. While the 20,000 people in this seaside town stayed indoors to avoid the coronavirus, the goats saw an opportunity to reclaim the land as their own — to which I say, frolic, you glorious beasts, and may you continue to reign long after this is over.
Mountain goats of Great Orme hit Llandudno – in pictures [Peter Byrne / The Guardian]
This is exactly how I've felt while cooped in my house these last few weeks and yes I mean "exactly."
The 2-minute film was created by AJ Jeffries, a 3D illustrator and animator based in Norwich in the UK. The only description or explanation given for it is this: "A horse struggles to exist." That feels like it's vague or underselling, after watching this mesmerizing cartoon several times over, I think it's actually perfect.
Horse [AJ Jeffries / Vimeo]
With the world in turmoil right now, today is not the ideal time for jokes, pranks, and frivolity usually associated with April 1. That being said, US-resident Dani Payson could be forgiven for thinking that someone was yanking her chain this morning.
Payson (who uses the handle Andrea Marie on Twitter) operates a store on Australia-founded print-on-demand site RedBubble. She’s currently selling printed mugs, shower curtains and phone cases – plus t-shirts, of course. Visitors to her page today, however, will discover a notable omission – the removal of a photograph of the world-famous Copenhagen statue The Little Mermaid.
According to Payson, she took the photograph herself with her own DSLR camera during a visit to Denmark and uploaded it to RedBubble so that people could have it printed to an item of their choice. Given the subject matter, the photograph is similar in many respects to thousands of others online, as this image of the listing shows.
The problem for her is that the listing has now been deleted by RedBubble following a takedown request by a rightsholder.
“We’re sorry, but we had to remove some of your artwork from the RedBubble marketplace because it may contain material that violates someone’s rights,” RedBubble told the entrepreneur. “We identified this material in your artwork based on guidance provided to us by the owner of those rights.”
The owner of the rights in question was none other than Disney Enterprises, Inc. The basis for the movie giant’s claim is that Payson’s image depicts one of its “Disney Princesses”.
“Because Disney likes to show how evil they can be they’re trying to remove my personal photos from the internet of this statue stating they own it,” Payson complained this morning.
The claim is laughable, of course. Not only is Payson the copyright holder of the image in question, but the subject matter is a statue that is 107-years-old, is not animated, and is not owned by Disney. Only adding to the ridiculous mix are several other awkward facts.
The statue was unveiled in Copenhagen to celebrate the fairy tale ‘The Little Mermaid’ that was published in Denmark by Hans Christian Andersen on April 7, 1837 – almost 183 years ago. Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ was released in 1989 and is actually based on the original story by the Danish author.
It’s noteworthy that despite claiming the rights to an image that has nothing to do with them, Disney paid absolutely nothing to Hans Christian Andersen for his story because his book fell into the public domain long ago. The same is true for Disney’s ‘Frozen’, which is based on Anderson’s ‘Ice Queen’.
These movies, based on someone else’s work, have together made hundreds of millions of dollars and will be vigorously protected, by Disney, for decades to come. This is the basis upon which Disney took down the RedBubble listing, which was probably actioned following a basic and bungled keyword search.
April Fools…..
Drom: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, torrent sites and more. We also have an annual VPN review.
I often find that relaxing with a calming game after a long day is extremely helpful for keeping my head screwed on straight, especially during such stressful times. This is why I've personally hand-selected a bunch of puzzle games that are great for decompressing at the end of the day. So if you're looking for some of the chillest puzzlers currently available on Android, this roundup is for you. Of course, like most of my roundups, I've thrown in a few lesser-known titles to forgo many of the games you would find in similar lists around the web, in the hope that you may discover a few gems, and I've listed them all by price to make discovery easier.
Read More25 of the most relaxing puzzle games for Android phones and tablets was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
In an unscheduled break from Covid, here's a corvid ruining a cat's day.
Nine Inch Nails released two new albums today, Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts. They are follow-ups to 2008 Ghosts I-IV. [via Christian Eede at The Quietus]
TWO DIFFERENT RECORDS FOR TWO DIFFERENT MINDSETS. DOWNLOAD NOW FOR FREE. STAY SAFE!
Rosie and the Originals' "Angel Baby" (1960) is a classic doo wop ballad, beloved (and covered) by John Lennon. Lennon was a fan of the flipside of that record too, "Give Me Love," but only because it's wonderfully awful. From Jonathan Cott's book Days That I Remember: Spending Time with John Lennon & Yoko Ono:
"This is really one of the greatest strange records,” [Lennon] remarked. “It's all just out of beat, and everyone misses it. The A side was the hit, 'Angel Baby'— which is one of my favorite songs — and they knocked off the B side in ten minutes. I'm always talking Yoko's ear off, telling her about these songs, saying, 'Look, this is this! This is this... and this... and this!'"
(via r/ObscureMedia)
If I lived in Japan, I'd totally buy whatever cat food is being shilled in this (surprisingly suspenseful) "Cats and Domino" video. Bravo to the folks behind it!
screengrab via Cat Navi Desk/YouTube
Thanks, Julie!
Above, watch the first episode of Cats, biologist, naturalist and TV presenter Roger Tabor's wonderful BBC documentary series from 1991 that explores the history of the house cat around the world.
And a bonus below, Tabor's 2011 short "The Secret Life of Cats: Report and Documentary":
(via r/ObscureMedia)
Behold Stella, exemplifying the canine propensity to barrel headlong into piles of leaves.
I’ll just leaf this right here... Stella’s BEST LEAF JUMPS OF ALL TIME!
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous three weeks or so. Today I have a new browser from Xiaomi, a new preview version of Microsoft's Remote Desktop app, and a security-conscious Yahoo search engine that utilizes Microsoft's Bing. So without further ado, here are all of the notable Android apps released in the last three weeks.
Read More13 new and notable Android apps and live wallpapers from the last three weeks including Mi Browser, Microsoft Remote Desktop, and Yahoo OneSearch (2/22/20 - 3/14/20) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
In this segment of Curiosity Show we are presented with an illusion involving two playing cards. In just a couple of minutes we get an entertaining lesson in art history, perspective, and vision.
In this video, posted by Kentfield Kennels Labrador Retrievers, a number of puppies are observed to coalesce within a single medium-sized bucket.
Though it appears the puppies are becoming more organized over time, the outcome in fact reflects the lowest energy state for the puppies. If too much energy (flops, boops, snoots, mlems) were introduced to the local system, the puppies would continue to bounce around randomly. Their coming to rest in parallel and orthogonal repose within the bucket, though apparently a complex and ordered result, in fact represents increased entropy within the available thermodynamic envelope and its approach to a maximum value at equilibrium.
PREVIOUSLY: How to organize nails.
Google is now making it even easier for people in the UK to get accurate, detailed information from the National Health Service (NHS) by integrating results directly in Search.
The post Google now integrates official NHS information directly in Search in the UK appeared first on 9to5Google.
Here two otters, Kotaro or Hana, enjoy a nice combing courtesy of their human.
There is a calendar featuring them, but it's sold out. Don't buy a real one.
Kotaro (male) DOB 11/10/2017
He has a scar on his tail bitten by another otter when he was babyHana (female) DOB 11/24/2018
I use Google translate
Please correct me if I'm wrong
Welcome to the roundup of the new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have the surprise release of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, a puzzle-based Harvest Moon title, and an enjoyable take on the British game show Countdown from the developer behind Chessplode. So without further ado, here are the more notable Android games released during the week of March 2nd, 2020.
Read More19 new Android games from the week of March 2, 2020 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
"Cute otters," promises Britain's public broadcaster, "Intimately filmed by spy cameras."
Spy Otter quietly films the most intimate views of otters using tools and caring for their young. Animatronic spy creatures go undercover to explore the world of animal intelligence and reveal their use of tools, self-medication, culture and subterfuge.
In lieu of an official unveiling at MWC 2020, TCL has today showcased a couple of crazy “rollable” and triple folding prototype Android devices.
The post TCL unveils crazy ‘rollable’ and tri-fold Android prototype devices appeared first on 9to5Google.
The 2020 election. Coronavirus. The long, slow death rattle of human decency. Screw it all, Tom & Jerry's on the tube.
This purrito cat is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and she is a Ragdoll/British Short mixed Munchkin Female who was adopted 3 years ago.
Follow @Littlemunchiepooky on Instagram.
View this post on InstagramPooky Burrito! . . For any licensing requests please contact liscensing@break.com
A post shared by Pooky the Munchkin (@littlemunchiepooky) on
[via r/Purrito]
Our cat has become SUPER clingy now that we both work from home. We had to improvise... from r/aww
One of my cats follows me around waiting for me to sit so he can fall asleep in my lap. I should make one of these to keep him happy while I'm standing.
Image: Reddit
Jim Browning (previously at Boing Boing) turned the tables on another scamming outfit. But this isn't just a video showing a savvy user wasting a scammer's time: he gained access to the criminals' computers and even their office CCTV system. The result is incredible footage of them at work, trying to scam Jim while he records them with their own security setup. Jim also downloaded 70,000 recordings of scam calls archived by the outfit.
When a scammer connected to my PC, I was able to reverse their connection and discover that they had CCTV. You're going to see the most detailed exposé of a tech support scam ever seen on YouTube. The company were called Faremart.com - A travel agency in Delhi who use their buildings and VOIP telephony to run various scams. They are one of hundreds of scam call centres in India and this one group will make over $3 million per year with scams.
Browning shared his work with the BBC, which made a documentary based on it -- the trailer is embedded below. The BBC claims what Browning did was illegal hacking. Given that the scammers demanded he access their network in hopes of victimizing him through that connection, I think the BBC could do a better job of explaining the legal basis of that claim and especially the likelihood of Browning being prosecuted.
Welcome to our roundup of the new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have the official launch of Valve's auto chess title, the Western release of a Dragon Quest gacha game, the soft launch of Electronic Arts' tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies 3, and the arrival of LEGO's free-to-play hero brawler. So without further ado, here are the more notable Android games released during the week of February 24th, 2020.
Read More25 new Android games from the week of February 24, 2020 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
In 1983, Cyndi Lauper transformed Robert Hazard's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" into a new wave pop anthem that Gillian G. Gaar described as a "strong feminist statement", an "anthem of female solidarity," and a "playful romp celebrating female camaraderie" in her book She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll (2002). Above, listen to Lauper belt it out in the isolated vocal track from the recording session.
Also worth a listen, the original "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" as sung Hazard.
(via /r/ObscureMedia)
In the 1920s, Frederick Banting, one of the scientists who co-discovered insulin (and won a Nobel Prize for it) said, “Insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world.” He and the other scientists sold the patent for making insulin to the University of Toronto for $3.
And yet today, this drug, which is needed to keep millions of people with diabetes alive, costs 700% more than it did two decades ago and many people can no longer afford it. What happened? It comes down to two reasons: a "lack of pricing regulations and lack of competition," says James Dinneen in his article, "There’s No Excuse for the Insulin Crisis."
There's no law stopping the three major insulin manufacturers (Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi) from charging whatever they want for the drugs they make. And since diabetics will die without it, insulin makers gouge them for all their worth. So why isn't there a low-cost generic version? The manufacturers came up with a clever way to stop that from happening.
From the article:
That lack of competition isn’t an accident. Though the original patents for most of the insulin formulations on the market expired years ago, the big three insulin manufacturers have extended their monopolies by patenting incremental changes to their products and manufacturing processes. Those patents can then be used to tie-up potential generic competitors in long, costly legal battles. In addition, they have been shielded from competition from generics by stringent federal regulations around “biologics” like insulin, which is a complex molecule produced by living cells. These make it more challenging for generic insulins to enter the market.
(Image: Alan Levine, CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
Public Domain Dedication)
You are what you drive, according to a couple of recent studies. And if you drive a flashy expensive car, there's a high chance it's because you are a self-centered gentleman who is "argumentative, stubborn, disagreeable and unempathetic." In other words, an asshole. Not only that, but for every $1,000 more you spend on a car, the chance you'll stop for a pedestrian goes down by 3%.
According to CNN:
Researchers from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas speculated that the expensive car owners "felt a sense of superiority over other road users" and were less able to empathize with lowly sidewalk-dwellers.
They came to this conclusion after asking volunteers to cross a sidewalk hundreds of times, filming and analyzing the responses by car drivers...
The best predictor of whether a car would stop was its cost, researchers discovered. "Disengagement and a lower ability to interpret thoughts and feelings of others along with feelings of entitlement and narcissism may lead to a lack of empathy for pedestrians" among costly car owners, they theorized in the study.
This study isn't the first of its kind. Another similar study by the University of Helsinki, found that "Audi and BMW drivers seemed much more likely to ignore traffic regulations and drive recklessly," according to their newsletter.
“I had noticed that the ones most likely to run a red light, not give way to pedestrians and generally drive recklessly and too fast were often the ones driving fast German cars,” says [John] Lönnqvist of the University of Helsinki’s Swedish School of Social Science...
“But we also found that those whose personality was deemed more disagreeable were more drawn to high-status cars. These are people who often see themselves as superior and are keen to display this to others.”
This doesn't mean that you are a BMW-driving asshole. Lucky for you, the Helsinki study also found a category of expensive car drivers who are conscientious.
One of the more unexpected results was that another personality type is also drawn to high-status cars: the conscientious. People with this type of personality are, as a rule, respectable, ambitious, reliable and well-organised. They take care of themselves and their health and often perform well at work.
“The link is presumably explained by the importance they attach to high quality. All makes of car have a specific image, and by driving a reliable car they are sending out the message that they themselves are reliable,” Lönnqvist explains.
Image: PickPik
How does an owl's tail help it fly? To better see the role of the tail in raptor aerodynamics, researchers at the UK's Royal Veterinary College recorded birds of prey flying through clouds of tiny helium bubbles. According to the science journal Nature, analyzing the swirling motion of the bubbles enabled the scientists to discover "a new way in which birds use their tail to provide lift and so reduce drag while gliding... Their findings could provide a new way to improve the efficiency of small gliding aircraft."
More: "High aerodynamic lift from the tail reduces drag in gliding raptors" (Journal of Experimental Biology)
