Shared posts

03 Jan 01:54

12/02/2020

by Jennie Breeden

Sometimes you gotta pull out the Clue Wand.

 

03 Jan 01:40

Before and after quarantine

by Matthew Inman
Before and after quarantine

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

View on my website

26 Nov 02:50

steampunktendencies: “Far, far from land” Photographs by Tim...


www.steampunktendencies.com


www.steampunktendencies.com


www.steampunktendencies.com


www.steampunktendencies.com

steampunktendencies:

“Far, far from land”

Photographs by Tim Walker - Model Kristen MacMenamy

26 Nov 02:44

Girls

Amelia talks about girls -- fledgling attractions, childhood memories – and the elation that comes with kissing everyone.


Buy or stream Sylvan Esso’s new album “Free Love” at https://found.ee/SE_FreeLove

29 May 06:44

04/03/2019

by Jennie Breeden

Harassment has nothing to do with attraction. It's about feeling threatened whether the intent is predatory or not.

Sometimes the guy is honestly trying to give an innocent complement with no intention. But when an innocent complement is given by a stranger who is bigger and stronger than you in a situation where you have no escape, it’s hard to take at face value. Just imagine if Godzilla was giving you the same complement. Do you feel threatened?

I saw a womens college basketball player get catcalled once. She smiled and waved. She did not feel threatened because she could definitely kick anyones ass. There was also a show that dressed up moms and walked them by catcallers who were their sons (who didn’t recognize them). If you’re just giving a complement, what’s wrong with saying it to your mom? (the moms smacked the crap out of their sons)

22 Mar 14:11

03/22/2019

by Jennie Breeden
Binaryjesus

Entirely true. I'm doomed.

22 Mar 13:07

Luna 2

The flags were probably vaporized on impact, because we launched it before we had finished figuring out how to land. That makes sense from an engineering standpoint, but also feels like a metaphor.
05 Mar 04:15

Fantasies

05 Mar 03:55

Welding Glass To Metal Is Now Possible Using An Ultrafast Laser System, Researchers Report

by BeauHD
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: Scientists from Heriot-Watt University have welded glass and metal together using an ultrafast laser system, in a breakthrough for the manufacturing industry. Various optical materials such as quartz, borosilicate glass and even sapphire were all successfully welded to metals like aluminum, titanium and stainless steel using the Heriot-Watt laser system, which provides very short, picosecond pulses of infrared light in tracks along the materials to fuse them together. The new process could transform the manufacturing sector and have direct applications in the aerospace, defense, optical technology and even healthcare fields. Professor Duncan Hand, director of the five-university EPSRC Center for Innovative Manufacturing in Laser-based Production Processes based at Heriot-Watt, said: "Traditionally it has been very difficult to weld together dissimilar materials like glass and metal due to their different thermal properties -- the high temperatures and highly different thermal expansions involved cause the glass to shatter. Being able to weld glass and metals together will be a huge step forward in manufacturing and design flexibility." He added: "The parts to be welded are placed in close contact, and the laser is focused through the optical material to provide a very small and highly intense spot at the interface between the two materials -- we achieved megawatt peak power over an area just a few microns across. This creates a microplasma, like a tiny ball of lightning, inside the material, surrounded by a highly-confined melt region. We tested the welds at -50C to 90C and the welds remained intact, so we know they are robust enough to cope with extreme conditions."

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04 Mar 02:56

Catch Up on the Divine Battles of American Gods Season 2 With This Featurette

by Julie Muncy

Let’s face it: there are a lot of gods. Old gods, new gods, sex gods, money gods; the divine pantheon in American Gods is crowded. And as season two of the series gears up to premiere this month, they’re getting ready to go to war.

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04 Mar 02:54

Elon Musk Tweets New Details About Tesla's Model Y Electric SUV

by EditorDavid
"For anyone who thought that there was too much Tesla news this weekend, I've got some bad news for you," writes long-time Slashdot reader Rei, sharing new information gleaned from a series of tweets. "Elon Musk just announced the unveiling of the Model Y SUV on March 14th at Tesla's LA Design Studio." A surprising number of details were revealed, including non-falcon doors, a similar appearance to the Model 3, and pricing about 10% more than a Model 3, with slightly lower range, due to the increased mass and cross section. The unveiling will not include the Tesla pickup truck; that will be later this year. Model Y is to share 75% of its hardware with Model 3 to simplify the development process, with volume production targeted for late 2020, and initial production in early 2020. Musk also stated: "First public Tesla V3.0 Supercharger Station goes live Wed 8pm" (V3 is the much awaited new generation of higher power, cheaper to operate Superchargers). "Personally, I'm most excited by the Tesla Truck," Musk posted on Twitter. "Maybe it will be too futuristic for most people, but I love it."

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03 Mar 00:53

03/01/2019

by Jennie Breeden
03 Mar 00:44

Europe Frightened By US 'Cloud Act', Fearing National Security Risks

by EditorDavid
"A foreign power with possible unbridled access to Europe's data is causing alarm in the region. No, it's not China. It's the U.S.," writes Bloomberg (in an article shared by hackingbear). "As the U.S. pushes ahead with the 'Cloud Act' it enacted about a year ago, Europe is scrambling to curb its reach." Under the act, all U.S. cloud service providers, from Microsoft and IBM to Amazon -- when ordered -- have to provide American authorities with data stored on their servers, regardless of where it's housed. With those providers controlling much of the cloud market in Europe, the act could potentially give the US the right to access information on large swaths of the region's people and companies. The U.S. says the act is aimed at aiding investigations. But some people are drawing parallels between the legislation and the National Intelligence Law that China put in place in 2017 requiring all its organisations and citizens to assist authorities with access to information. The Chinese law, which the US says is a tool for espionage, is cited by President Donald Trump's administration as a reason to avoid doing business with companies like Huawei Technologies. "I don't mean to compare US and Chinese laws, because obviously they aren't the same, but what we see is that on both sides, Chinese and American, there is clearly a push to have extraterritorial access to data," said Ms Laure de la Raudiere, a French lawmaker who co-heads a parliamentary cyber-security and sovereignty group. "This must be a wake up call for Europe to accelerate its own, sovereign offer in the data sector."

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25 Feb 01:55

Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer Joins Showtime's Next Penny Dreadful Series

by Beth Elderkin
Binaryjesus

Penny Dreadful is coming back?!?

She’s going from Westeros to West Hollywood. Showtime has announced that Game of Thrones and Hunger Games star Natalie Dormer will appear in the next chapter of the Penny Dreadful saga, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.

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25 Feb 01:51

Making A Horror Miniseries With a Bunch of Kids Was Maybe a Bad Idea, and More Revelations About IT

by Julie Muncy

Pennywise: The Story of IT asks a number of valuable questions about the classic 1990 IT miniseries. Questions like, is having a bunch of impressionable kids filming a traumatic horror story a bad idea? Turns out, yeah, probably.

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22 Feb 14:07

historyarchaeologyartefacts:Metal corset, 1640,France [960 x...



historyarchaeologyartefacts:

Metal corset, 1640,France [960 x 860]

18 Feb 05:45

'Netflix Classic' Brings the Old-School Netflix Experience to Your Browser

by Emily Price
Image: Pexels

Visiting family during the holidays often means doing a lot of things you don’t typically do at home. For me, one of those things is watching Netflix on my laptop. The room I’m staying in doesn’t have a television, and the living room is too central for me to watch my traditional hour of Netflix before bed without disrupting the masses, and so I’ve started cracking open the MacBook on my nightstand at night to satisfy the fix.

The Netflix Classic extension transforms Netflix into something a bit closer to what it once was. It ditches the hover effects and stops videos from autoplaying. It also remembers who you are, so if you have multiple different profiles tied to your account you won’t have to tell the computer you’re the one watching, not your kids or spouse.

Image: Classic Netflix

It’s not a huge difference from the traditional Netflix experience, but it makes things a little bit nicer.

18 Feb 05:12

Barghest Motive Garmr – the Custom Harley Leaning Reverse Trike

by Paul Crowe
This popped up for sale the other day with a rather unfortunate name, it's called the Barghest Motive Garmr, unfortunate because it's so hard to remember even if you like the concept, but hard to remember name or not, I like what they've done here. Though technical details are sparse, like exactly what Harley they […]
13 Feb 03:21

by (a)lexistwit
09 Feb 05:59

Carbonated Beverage Language Map

There's one person in Missouri who says "carbo bev" who the entire rest of the country HATES.
27 Jan 04:13

Zaggy Starbucks pins are back...

zaggy starbucks pins

…and he's been to Berlin! I've got 12 in stock today.

26 Jan 19:45

Internet Archive

The fact that things like the npm left-pad incident are so rare is oddly reassuring.
26 Jan 19:32

marylibra: Exceptional vase Patinated bronze, gilded silver,...



marylibra:

Exceptional vase

Patinated bronze, gilded silver, silver, enamel and agate

Art Nouveau

Circa 1905

Jules Auguste Habert-Dys

26 Jan 19:31

deborahlutz-blog: Mary Shelley’s dressing case Shelley kept...







deborahlutz-blog:

Mary Shelley’s dressing case

Shelley kept relics of the ones she loved—collecting their hair in folded paper packets and treasuring the objects they used daily. Some of these are still in this case, such as this packet with Byron’s hair. The bracelet pictured here was made from Shelley’s own hair, cut from her corpse. Not here is Percy Bysshe Shelley’s heart, which Edward Trelawny claims he snatched from the fire cremating P.B. Shelley’s remains on the beach at Viareggio. According to family lore, the heart was given to Mary, who stored it in a copy of Adonais, the elegy Percy Bysshe wrote on the death of Keats. Some say she kept this book in her portable desk. I don’t know where her portable desk is, but the heart is said to have been buried with their son and the copy of Adonais is at the Bodleian, as is this dressing case.

http://shelleysghost.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/mary-shelleys-dressing-case?item=225

16 Jan 19:55

Inuhele 2019 Schedule

by Allison Chaffin
10 Jan 23:58

01/06/2019

by Jennie Breeden
10 Jan 23:55

Corner-booth Blog #5 - A Con Job: Tips for convention panel speakers

by Jonathan Chaffin
Binaryjesus

This is a thing I'm doing next month, so I really appreciate the tips.

A Con Job: Tips for convention panel speakers 



You've just been made an expert in something and now people are inviting you to talk to other people at conventions. What do you do?  Grab a mug of your favorite beverage and read on.

Disclaimer - these are just some notes from my own perspective and experience, by no means exhaustive or complete. Hopefully useful and cogent, but I'm not promising anything. This is the exact opposite of an expert opinion.

Really basic 101 type stuff

When you go to Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Pop Culture conventions etc there are usually panels you can sit in to learn more about your favorite topics.  I've had the good fortune to be on a few panels* (usually in a crowd of other folks, usually related to Lovecraft/Cthulhu, fundraising, marketing, or prop-making).

Panels are fun, but they can be stressful for panelists, and the stress can come from some strange directions.  I wanted to run down some of the more common thoughts and observations I've had, on the off chance they are useful to someone about to be on their first convention panel.

  1. So you're going to be on a panel…GREAT! They are fun! REMEMBER THAT! In any setting you can enjoy the atmosphere or you can BE part of the atmosphere.  If you've been asked to be on a panel (or Q&A session, or to speak) it means, first and foremost, the panel organizer (track director or whoever) trusts you to contribute positively to the panel/track/convention. Heady times, my friend!  
  2. Either you are an authority on a subject, were directly involved, have a unique perspective, or are really entertaining in front of a crowd.  Or all of the above.  Let that be your armor against self-consciousness and doubt; the organizer trusts you.  Try and relax and remember that you are there in  front of the crowd to be you; to bring your knowledge and experience and personality to the panel.
  3. Don't let the organizer down.  Here's a handy dandy sub-list that will help you out.

 

WAY BEFORE THE SHOW

  • When you are asked to be on the panel, nail down some specifics if they exist. What tone does the organizer want the panel to have (if any).  
  •  Who will you be on the panel with?  (You can and probably should look up your fellow panelists. This may induce nervousness or an inferiority complex, it may not. Try not to worry about it if it does…see #2 above).  ALSO; remember, you have to speak too! I confess I have gotten too wrapped up and interested in what a co-panelist was saying and missed making a point I intended to add.
  • Who is the audience? Speak to their interests and with language at their level.
  • What does the organizer need/expect from you?  Do you need to prepare a bio?  How long?  Can you/should you promote the panel on your social media sites (hint: almost always yes)?
  • Do you intend to have any advertising collateral to leave in the room (perhaps by a water cooler or table outside?) Is that cool? 
  • Is it cool to have any book/movie/art example etc. that you are currently promoting discretely on the table with you? (Want to feel dumb? Leave yours at home and have everyone else lay their stuff on the table.  I will always carry a Horror In Clay Cthulhu tiki mug with me from now on, just in case).
  • Google the subject of your panel, unless you are an absolute expert on it, and take a few notes, or print out some notes.  It does make one seem a bit more authoritative and helps refresh knowledge.

BEFORE THE PANEL

  • Dress in a manner that feels most comfortable to you and helps bring out the you-ness to the surface. You will present more comfortably if you are comfortable.  I can't make up my mind if showing up in a "Cthulhu Waits Drinking" shirt makes me the guy in the band wearing the band's shirt or not…so I err on the side of marketing and do it anyway. Plus it's comfy.
  • Every day at the event, check in with the schedule/organizer and make sure the panel is still at the same time and location you expect it to be.
  • Have a friend in the audience with a decent camera who can take a few photos.  (You might ask if video is ok, and if so have someone video the panel for you**).
  • Eat something.  I don't mean a turkey dinner, nachos with all the trimmings, and 16 glasses of beer, but don't be preoccupied with being hungry (or with being full).
  • Bring a pad of paper and a pen. Things will occur to you during the panel - it is helpful to be able to jot them down. Also to take notes, or questions you want to answer more fully online later.  

 RIGHT BEFORE THE PANEL

  • Show up early. 
  • Locate the nearest bathroom and use it once or twice before.
  • Don't be nervous.
  • Turn off your cell!
  • Try and meet the moderator before hand.
  • Make sure you have water.
  • Get your fooling with the mic finished early. A non-adjustable table mic stand puts the mic at about a foot off the table.  I'm a tall man with a large belly, so leaning forward to speak into the mic on table makes me feel self conscious, breaks my eye contact with the audience, and compresses my larynx…you may not need to do anything special to talk into a mic, but if you do, think about it in advance.  Will you hold it? Be aware your arm may get tired.  You may want to raise the mic stand/put it up on a stack of books (if so, bring a plain solid block or something).  
  • I personally recommend trying to at least exchange words with the other panelists beforehand, but that may or may not happen.

 DURING THE PANEL

  • HAVE FUN!
  • I've noticed there is a fair amount of "who's turn is it to speak" glancing around when in the front of the room. Sometimes there is a natural order to questions (everyone takes a turn answering) and sometimes there is a moderator handing cues. Try and look for the cues that it is "your turn" to speak, but be aware it is ok to follow up/interject where appropriate - just ALWAYS be respectful of your fellow panelists.  
  • Some people are more comfortable and experienced than others - if that's you, try and engage your fellow panelists a bit - in my experience the BEST panels get a little crosstalk going.   
  • First and foremost a panel should be informative for the audience and interactive with them; that can be a little easier to achieve if the panelists have already set a conversational tone. NEVER devolve to having a conversation at the front of the room that the audience isn't involved in; you'll lose them really fast that way.
  • Don't shout into the mic. Don't swallow it. Certainly don't leap on the table and swing it around by the cord (unless it is a panel on 80's glam metal…then swing away).
  • Try not to obsess over how you did. Like any stage performance, you probably are far more critical of yourself than you should be.  Also, recordings will make you look and sound horrible to yourself.  If you have one take note of how more experienced panel members fielded questions and segued between the question asked and the one they wanted to answer (pretty common I've noticed).  If you don't have an answer you can just say that, or you can do the best you can and skew discussion in a direction you know.
  • Pro Tip - if you have a bonafide authority on the panel and can't recall specifics when asked a question, you can sometimes Tai Chi the situation. Once upon a time (last week) I was on a panel entitled "Cthulhu 101" with Kenneth Hite…who WROTE "Cthulhu 101". When a fellow panelist was asked something about depictions of Cthulhu he started his answer with, "Ken can probably fill in some more detail, but from what I recall, Lovecraft actually DREW Cthulhu in a letter".  He then proceeded to talk about his inspirations and interpretations.  That was a pretty good answer, and created more of a dialogue, because when he finished talking Ken filled in some more detail.

 AFTER THE SHOW

  • Be available if possible.  You want to interact with any audience members.
  •  who want to interact with you, if you have the time. Some people are more available than others. At minimum thank the organizer on the way out, and be aware people might take it ill if you immediately bolt.
  •  About a week after the panel follow up with the organizer and say something like "Hi!  Had a great time on the panel.Wanted to followup....was there any feedback (from you or the audience) relevant to the panel in general or my participation in particular that could help me become a better presenter/panel guest?" 
So those are some of my thoughts after presenting twice on Cthulhu-related panels this year.  It was fun, it was slightly terrifying, it was great exposure, and I've made some great friends.  I've had folks from the audience who were backers of the original Kickstarter come up and say hi!  HOW COOL!  
(As a note, there are some best practices for audiences, the top 3 of which for me are: Be respectful, don't try to lead the discussion from the audience/nitpick excessively, and leave feedback for the organizer).
* Lovecraft Vs. Cthulhu Anachrocon 2013, Cthulhu 101 DragonCon 2013, Alumni engagement, social media and fundraising 2012 Psi Upsilon International Convention, 
**If anyone has video of the Cthulhu 101 panel from DragonCon 2013, I forgot to do this and I'd love to see it.
31 Dec 17:16

12/30/2018

by Jennie Breeden
31 Dec 17:15

The Lethe You Recall, the Better

Binaryjesus

Sounds like a plan

this is a diesel sweeties comic strip

It's time for Torpor Robot's end of year round-up!!

28 Dec 02:19

The Definition of Sanity

this is a diesel sweeties comic strip

We can all agree this was a terrible year, but we learned one important thing.