Bcstevieb

The world can be a loud, scary, chaotic place. You may need this.

Haburu and their owner are delightful. This video, “Meowsage,” was first published on Apr 27, 2019.

It's making the viral rounds again this week, and any time is a great time to discover Haburu anyway.

They're on Facebook and YouTube.

My hands were extremely tired this time

Some of Haburu's most favorite songs:
- The best lullaby for cat (Meowssage)
- Proud of MEOW
- Brahms' Lullaby for Meow
- Always with MEOW
- Masterpiece Mashup for MEOW
- Piano sheet

Back in January, Google made waves by purchasing “select smartwatch technology” from the Fossil Group. A new report today reveals that the acquisition was for movements used in hybrid watches, and casts some doubt on whether Google will actually leverage it for future first-party products.

more…

The post Report: Google bought Fossil’s hybrid smartwatch tech mixing analog hands and screens appeared first on 9to5Google.

Faber-Castell's been making pencils since 1761 and wants to show-not-tell you about them. Wordless cinematography and a epic soundtrack right out of Hollywood.

Producing 2.3 billion pencils a year and being in the business for over 257 years, Faber-Castell has a sound know-how of how quality pencils are made. Have a look behind the scenes of our manufacturing.

The beauty of this video is the tension between two advertising concepts: "make the industrial process look artisanal" vs "glorify the scale of the industrial process." So you end up with intimately-recorded pencil-scatching noises played comically loud, fighting for attention against Logic Pro's orchestal sample library.

Previously

• Epic glove ad explains benefits of gloves
• Epic chains ad explains benefits of chains

Aren't we all, really, involved in a search party that's desperately hunting to locate ourselves?

I've seen this one making the rounds on Twitter, but The Poke transcribed the news story, in case it's hard to read in the photo above:

Missing woman mystery solved

A group of tourists spent hours Saturday night looking for a missing woman near Iceland’s Eldgja canyon, only to find her among the search party.

The group was travelling through Iceland on a tour bus and stopped near a volcanic canyon.

Soon, there was word of a missing passenger. The woman, who had changed clothes, didn’t recognise the description of herself and joined in the search.

But the search was called off at about 3am when it became clear the missing woman was, in fact, accounted for and searching for herself.

Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so. Today I have a quality indie adventure game themed around running a small-town Sheriff department, a new Slender Man release, and an adorable food-themed puzzle game. So without further ado, here are the most notable games released this week.

18 best new Android games released this week including This Is the Police 2, Slender Man Dark Forest, and inbento was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

A town in Iceland has installed some innovative speed bumps -- a set of painted bars on the road that create the illusion of floating in the air.

As Bored Panda writes:

Not only does the innovative design give foot-travelers the feeling of walking on air, but the 3D painting also gets the attention of drivers, who will be sure to slow down their speed once they spot the seemingly floating ‘zebra stripes.’ Icelandic environmental commissioner Ralf Trylla called for its placement in Ísafjörður after seeing a similar project being carried out in New Delhi, India. With the help of street painting company Vegmálun GÍH, his vision of pedestrian crossing signs became a reality.

I love the concept, but almost wonder if it wouldn't cause some possible accidents on its own, as drivers unfamiliar with the illusion suddenly grind to a halt upon seeing bars apparently floating in the air in the road ahead.

A year ago, the city of Dunkirk in France made its bus system entirely free -- causing a boom in ridership, as well as a drop in car usage.

In the year since, as France 24 notes, an academic study of the system has found ...

... that ridership has spiked over the last year, more than doubling on weekends and increasing by around 60 percent during the week.

More revealing than the simple increase is the way that the free buses are changing residents’ habits. In a town where a large majority of residents (about two-thirds) have typically depended on their cars to get around, half of the 2,000 passengers surveyed by researchers said they take the bus more or much more than before. Of those new users, 48 percent say they regularly use it instead of their cars. Some (approximately 5 percent of the total respondents) even said that they sold their car or decided against buying a second one because of the free buses.

The free buses are also unlocking entirely new activity -- of those new riders, 33% say they're taking new trips they wouldn't have taken before at all. (I gleaned this from reading the academics' preliminary report here, via my rudimentary Canadian French and some Google Translate.)

I'm not surprised it unlocks new demand; if you make something free to jump on and off, you remove not just the sticker price (significant, obviously) but the fiddly little transactional costs (do I have the right change/money/pass on hand right now?), prompting evermore spur-of-the-moment usage.

On top of that is the potent symbolism, as the editor of a city magazine in Dunkirk observes:

It’s become a synonym of freedom,” she says, attracting those who might not otherwise have used public transport. In this largely working-class city, “people of limited means say they’ve rediscovered transport” – a prerequisite to finding a job, maintaining friendships or participating in local arts and culture. But it’s not only disadvantaged or working-class people who take the bus. It is also attracting white-collar workers, students and pensioners, according to Delevoye.

Me, I'd love to see an analysis of the impact on a few other aspects of city life. One is the economic ledger -- i.e. the cost of making the system free, measured against its economic benefits. (I'd imagine that on top of attracting new residents, it'd spur all manner of economic and cultural activity, and improve the efficiency of how people access government services.) The other is the environmental and climate impact; shifting so much travel from cars to buses probably reduces emissions, and I'd love to see how much.

(CC-2.0-licensed photo of a Dunkirk bus courtesy the Flickr stream of harry_nl)

Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous two weeks or so. Today I have a dark theme app for Android 10 users, a beta listing for the Vivaldi browser, and the first regional app launch for the Disney+ streaming service. So without further ado, here are the most notable Android apps released in the last two weeks.

17 new and notable (and 1 WTF) Android apps from the last two weeks including Automatic Dark Theme for Android 10, Vivaldi Browser Beta, and Disney+ (8/31/19 - 9/14/19) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Not only is this the calmest hummingbird I've ever seen, but the bravest as well.

For some reason it really takes a shine to the woman who shot this video. Via her YouTube page:

I watched this little guy flying around, and he sat on the feeder and to my surprise let me get close and then hold him. He stayed for a long time and I wasn't sure if he was scared so I was trying to encourage him to fly away. His friend hovered nearby and makes a few appearances in the video as well.

When she tried to FaceTime her friend her new buddy flew away.

And we love them for it.

“My cat is a dingus,” says IMGURian BasicPumpkinSpice.

“Trying to lick and scratch at the same time.

“His name is Rocky.

“He is 14.”

Aww! Rocky is amazing.

What a cool old cat.

My cat is a dingus

I stepped outside to take this photo of the catnip plants I'm growing. We have three cats and I enjoy giving them a few fresh leaves and watching their stoned antics.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the wonderful Kinokuniya Los Angeles bookstore in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, and came across a photography book called Cats on Catnip by Andrew Marttila. You can see some of the photos from the book on his Instagram account:

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Mar 19, 2019 at 12:01pm PDT

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Mar 22, 2019 at 12:13pm PDT

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Aug 2, 2019 at 8:20pm PDT

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Apr 20, 2019 at 3:21pm PDT

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Sep 7, 2018 at 1:41pm PDT

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Aug 17, 2018 at 3:16pm PDT

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Aug 9, 2018 at 8:52am PDT

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A post shared by Andrew Marttila (@iamthecatphotographer) on Jul 16, 2018 at 11:00am PDT

Here, you need some sweetness.

Look at these amazing affectionate birds.

Enjoy.

Affectionate Blue Parrots

Don't know the source, unfortunately!

Affectionate Blue Parrots

“Can’t I stay with you?”

No?

An incredible moment captured by the good people behind New Zealand's Kaikoura Wildlife Rescue.

View this post on Instagram

Here we repost one of our videos that has been shared widely online This blue penguin adult was found by a member of the public and was then transferred to us by the Department of Conservation. The penguin had a significant head wound and suffered from severe exhaustion due to plastic netting entanglement. After treatment and recovery, this patient was successfully released. We observed this penguin for an hour post-release, watching as it swam strongly out to sea, once past the initial breaking waves. Penguins generally appear wobbly on land, but are in their element under water. Ocean conditions are often rough along New Zealand's coast, with this blue penguin being used to such conditions. Blue penguins are the smallest penguin species in the world, hence the tiny size. The reason this individual was not released near a group of penguins, is that blue penguins are largely solitary at sea, as well as being nocturnal on land. Releases are the positive outcome wildlife rehabilitators hope for Video: Ben Foster #penguin #bluepenguin #penguins #seabirds #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferescue #wildliferehabilitator #helpingwildlife #makingadifference

A post shared by Kaikoura Wildlife Rescue (@kaikourawildliferescue) on Sep 10, 2018 at 2:20am PDT

Here's a good tip for threading a needle, especially if you're traveling and need to reattach a button and the hotel sewing kit doesn't come with a threader: use a toothbrush as shown in this video.

You definitely need some of this cuteness right now.

“My cat Tofu REALLY likes her cheeks rubbed,” says IMGURian kokorifado.

What a well-loved kitty cat.

My cat Tofu REALLY likes her cheeks rubbed.

Maxwell and Finnegan are besties, so when they spot each other on the street, it's sheer exuberance. They've only known each other for a year, but in toddler years that's half a lifetime. Pure joy.

Click here to see the video.

Via ABC News

Image and video: eternalrefuge86/Reddit

Felix the dog got some yogurt today and he's very excited about licking the extra smooshes off his nose.

This dog has a missing/deformed eye, and is obviously well loved and living life excellently.

Scroll down in this IMGUR gallery for the wonderful video by thevaiobandit101.

Felix got some Greek yogurt this morning.

This pair of Indian ring-neck parakeets have a lot to say to each other.

Image: YouTube

It looks like a keyboard. It's warm. It's the perfect way to keep your cat from sitting on your real keyboard. Meet the
"Laptop or keyboard simulating pet bed." Patent 10398125, issued September 3, 2019.

[via @GazEtc]

Welcome to the roundup of the best 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 yearly release for the latest NBA 2K game, a quality port of Tropico 3 from Feral Interactive, and an officially-licensed Fist of the North Star brawler from Sega. So without further ado, here are the most notable games released this week.

24 best new Android games released this week including NBA 2K20, Tropico, and Fist of the North Star was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

This big cat enjoys a belly rub, but gives the camera a big eyeball.

Aww, that little heart-nose!

Don't touch the belly... It's too weird

[via IMGUR]

This is pretty incredible video. Make sure to unmute, and have your speakers or headphones on.

These whale watchers definitely got their trip's worth.

Near miss for whale watchers [Sound on]

[via IMGUR]

LEGO announced the latest addition to its Ultimate Collectors Series today - a massive replica of the Imperial Star Destroyer from Star Wars: A New Hope. Coming in at almost 5000 pieces, the Destroyer is one of the largest sets in the Collectors Series with a large price tag ($700) to match.

Here are the official stats from LEGO:

Build and display an icon of the Galactic Empire – the Devastator. With over 4,700 LEGO® pieces, this Ultimate Collector Series 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer model captures all the authentic details of the starship as it appeared in the opening scene of Star Wars: A New Hope, including swiveling guns, a tilting radar dish, huge engine exhausts, intricate surface detailing and of course a buildable scale version of the Rebels' Tantive IV starship to chase down. This galactic civil war UCS set also includes a display stand with informational fact plaque and 2 Imperial minifigures, making it the perfect LEGO Star Wars collectible for discerning fans.

-Includes Imperial Officer and Imperial Crewmember minifigures.
-The Devastator Imperial Star Destroyer model features swiveling guns, a tilting radar dish, huge engine exhausts and intricate surface detailing.
-Also includes an attachable, buildable scale version Tantive IV starship for added Star Wars: A New Hope authenticity.
-With a display stand with informational fact plaque for the ultimate display piece.
-Also comes with 2 blaster pistol weapons.
-This Ultimate Collector Series set has 4,784 pieces.
-Inspire unforgettable Star Wars: A New Hope moments.
-The perfect LEGO® Star Wars collectible for fans of the Star Wars saga.
-UCS model on display stand measures over 17” (44cm) high, 43” (110cm) long and 26” (66cm) wide, and over 14” (37cm) high without stand.

The Imperial Star Destroyer goes on sale September 18th for LEGO VIPs and on October 1st for everyone else.

Imperial Star Destroyer (LEGO)

Birdspotting looks like the ne plus ultra of walkabout games, putting the player in a remote yet pleasant section of country and handing them a pair of binoculars. It's by Joram van Loenen and Khalil Arafan and they've been working on it since January 2018.

I especially like the implication in the trailer that it should be played at low resolution.

Usually cops use ladders to save stranded kitties from trees (at least that's the myth), but last week they used one in Lake Tahoe, California, to save a baby bear. After one cub stands on its mother's back, trying to open the top of a dumpster to free another cub who is trapped inside (who knew bears were that clever!), a couple of deputies come to the rescue with said ladder. If only all cop stories were this wonderful.

Via Mashable

Journalism is a tough job, especially when they won't pick up the phone!

• Update 1: 2019/09/03 8:56am PDT
  Source: Speed classes will have confusing names

The USB Implementers Forum has published the USB4 specification after months feedback. The new rules, first announced in March, essentially make the latest iteration of the Universal Serial Bus standard almost exactly like Intel's Thunderbolt 3 standard, which the company itself has volunteered for codification.

USB4 will keep the Type-C connector and handle charging based on Power Delivery requirements.

USB4 is official and it's basically just Thunderbolt 3 was written by the awesome team at Android Police.

Autoplaying videos have dominated popular services like Facebook, Instagram, and even Google’s own services. Starting sometime this month, the Google Play Store will start using autoplay for app listing videos.

more…

The post Google Play Store starts autoplaying videos later this month appeared first on 9to5Google.

May your monday be as charming and as thoroughly moistening as this crew of puppies.

Google Maps' Street View is the best in the biz, and although it's been available on Android for years, it was never as well-integrated in the app as it's been on desktop. That's changing now, though — Google has just added a "Street View" layer in the Maps app that makes using the feature a lot easier.

The new layer is pretty intuitive, showing the streets on which Google's Street View cars have ventured with the same bright blue color that is used on desktop.

Google Maps on Android now has a Street View layer was written by the awesome team at Android Police.