Cowboy Who?

’Tis the season for drinking red cocktails and devouring things wrapped in bacon while wearing chunky-knit sweaters. Holiday parties and booze go together like red-nosed reindeer and inferiority complexes. So what do you do if you don’t drink anymore? We all know that only small children, recovering brown-bag drunks, and evangelicals in ankle-length denim skirts choose not to drink. To avoid the questions and concerned faces of your coworkers, friends, and family (who are whispering that maybe you’re actually pregnant at forty-five), here are some suggested ways to turn down that glass of spiked jingle juice:

1. “I’m taking antibiotics”
Scratch your inner thigh to avoid further questions

2. “I’m training for an Ironman and I’m bulking tonight”
Carry a tub of protein powder around the party for an extra distraction

3. “I pre-partied and I’m already loaded”
Knock over a lamp for emphasis

4. "I’m recovering from surgery”
Choose an organ that no one understands and you can probably live without, like the spleen or part of your liver

5. “I’m violently allergic to alcohol”
Wince as you say this as if remembering the last time you drank

6. “I’m chewing a piece of gum and I don’t want to stop”
If you don’t actually have gum in your mouth just chew on your tongue

7. “I’m doing a detox before my next ayahuasca retreat”
Add, “I’d love to tell you about my spiritual journey in great detail…”

8. “I have to check in with my parole officer in a few hours”
In your best Morgan Freeman voice, say, “Some birds aren’t meant to be caged”

9. “I just shit my pants”
Shit your pants

10. “FIRE!”
Run

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
The only really creepy part is the full-sized weeping Statue of Liberty.

Today's News:

If you’re diving into DIY home repairs or building projects, the cost of tools can be prohibitive. That’s when a tool library can come in handy, especially if you’re looking to use a tool once for a specific project or if you’d like to test drive a type of tool before investing in your own. Rather than buying or…

Read more...

The founder of the content subscription site is stepping aside to focus on new endeavours.

Holiday greetings. It is I, Winston George Higgensbooth Sr., real estate tycoon and hater of children and Christmas cookies… or at least that’s what the perky soap-opera star who runs the corner cocoa shop has been telling everyone on Main Street in this close-minded, glitter-choked, fabric-snow-stuffed Hallmark movie town.

In reality, I’ve decked many a hall and “fa"ed many a “la.” My wife used to make incredible gingerbread cookies, which I would mold and shape into staggering gingerbread houses and—better yet—gingerbread multi-family properties.

So why am I a villain? Oh, right, because I believe the most valuable commercial space in town could be used for something more vital than a store solely dedicated to Santa hats. Yeah, I do believe that, and you know what else? I think the growing and diverse community of Pine Creek or Snowy River or whatever-the-fuck would be better served by a thriving city center than a free-standing, dilapidated toy shop.

After spending a few days in this community with my son—who, incidentally, is falling in love with the owner of said toy shop—I feel even more dedicated to my efforts. That toy shop owner barely even opens her business on a normal day. Most afternoons, she’s visiting tree farms and baking sugar cookies with my son. Yesterday they had a snowball fight and nearly kissed in the gazebo. Cool job, lady, but the rest of us have a living to make.

I intend to build a five-story mixed-use complex in the middle of town, thereby making the city center more prosperous and accessible while relieving our strained housing market. But these NIMBY cocoa-snorters would rather that space be used for their favorite Christmas tree lot. Well, sorry kids, there are eleven other months in a year, and people need homes to live in.

Before I was made a widower (in a family tragedy some townspeople cruelly dismiss as my “backstory”), my wife would remind me not to lose sight of the reason for the season. And I agree. Joy, cheer, and togetherness are all very important, but lest we forget on that blessed Christmas night referenced in our carols, baby Jesus needed a room, and the town DIDN’T HAVE ONE.

So screw every single one of you reindeer-clad, ornament-obsessed weirdos who forbid progress because your one month of traditions are more important than creating affordable housing and a functional local economy for everyone year-round. Fuck the cocoa shop lady, and the Santa hat store manager, and that toy store chick. I don’t care how happy she makes my son. She’s a fascistic yuletide narcissist. The only way to solve this housing crisis is to build more ho-ho-ho-HOMES. And no climactic town square singing or Jingle Bell Ball buffoonery will convince me otherwise. Not this time.

I’m buying every Christmas inn from here to Sleighbell Springs and filling them up with families before you can say “auld lang syne.” If that makes me a villain, then I, Winston George Higgensbooth Sr., cordially invite you to kiss my fat, furry, sugarplum ass.

Go to https://expressvpn.com/CINEMASSACRE and find out how you can get 3 months of ExpressVPN free!

This is episode 200 of the Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN), a review of every game published by LJN. This is part 3 of 3, the final part! Making a video game has been harder than the Nerd and even the developer thought. But, while that process rushes to the deadline, the Nerd will review the last batch of LJN games to complete their awful catalog. These being the wrestling and miscellaneous games.

PART 1: https://youtu.be/a9io5dyRvmI
PART 2: https://youtu.be/JvHtXn7uQ6I
PART 3: https://youtu.be/Sqif27k-_Hg

Download the Back to the Future fake NES game made by Sam:
https://files.cinemassacre.com/avgn200/AVGN%20Episode%20200%20-%20Mock%20BTTF%20Game%20by%20Sam%20Beddoes.zip

Sam Beddoes as the Game Designer:
https://freakzonegames.com/
https://twitter.com/FreakZoneGames
(He also did the background music!)
(AND designed the real AVGN video games!!)

End scene music by Andreas Hedlund:
http://www.komposition.se

End credit music by Epic Game Music:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj4v0IU9lTPzpfm0T3NF1hQ
https://twitter.com/epicgamemusic

Written by James Rolfe:
https://twitter.com/cinemassacre

Editing and Producing:
Justin Silverman: http://justysilverman.com
Kieran: https://www.twitch.tv/kieeeeern

Opening Narration by Shane from Rerez:
https://twitter.com/RerezTV
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoFpRCAsKfWAshvLE1bYzdw

For everything else Cinemassacre:
https://cinemassacre.com/

Little disclaimer: This episode was split into 3 parts because it's runtime is over an hour long in total. This made it easier to edit as we go. Also, Episode 200 was not made to sell a video game. The BTTF game you see (made in Unity by Sam) is just a plot device and not a "real" releasable game. Regardless, Sam's Unity files will be put online for free at the end of the 200 saga, next week. However, there is an upcoming 8-Bit NES AVGN game coming late next year, but it is completely unrelated to these episodes. Sorry if anyone was a little confused!

#AngryVideoGameNerd #LJN #AVGN200 #Cinemassacre

Folks may know that when Jonas Salk created the polio vaccine he chose not to patent it, and when asked who owns the patent on it, responded: "Well... the people I would say. There is no patent... Could you patent the sun?"

Whenever people bring this up, patent maximalists -- especially those in the pharma world -- like to come up with all sorts of excuses about how that was "different" somehow. My favorite excuse was that he did this because "the public had funded the vaccine."

Fast forward to today. Moderna, somewhat famously, helped produce one of the very first COVID vaccines using its mRNA technology. It's a great thing (I got two Moderna shots in my own arm as soon as I could). You may have heard a lot about Moderna as well. While the company had been around for a decade, this vaccine is its first product on the actual market. It had been experimenting with mRNA technology, but hadn't actually come out with anything until the COVID vaccine.

But -- and this is the important part -- it was the US government, and by that we mean "the US public," who mostly funded Moderna's COVID vaccine... and it was actually US government employees who did a lot of the important work. At the beginning of the pandemic, the US government gave Moderna $483 million dollars to work on the COVID vaccine. A few months later it gave another $472 million.

Also, Moderna now admits that US government employees were critical to the development of the vaccine:

Moderna acknowledged that scientists at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) played a "substantial role" in developing Moderna's messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine...

So, "the public" funded this vaccine, and the public -- via the government which represents us -- helped do the scientific work necessary to make the vaccine.

But Moderna wants the patent. Indeed, it initially refused to even share the patent with the US government. Last month there was a bit of a legal fight as the NIH did the legal equivalent of asking Moderna "WTF?"

The vaccine grew out of a four-year collaboration between Moderna and the N.I.H., the government’s biomedical research agency — a partnership that was widely hailed when the shot was found to be highly effective. A year ago this month, the government called it the “N.I.H.-Moderna Covid-19 vaccine.”

The agency says three scientists at its Vaccine Research Center — Dr. John R. Mascola, the center’s director; Dr. Barney S. Graham, who recently retired; and Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, who is now at Harvard — worked with Moderna scientists to design the genetic sequence that prompts the vaccine to produce an immune response, and should be named on the “principal patent application.”

Moderna disagrees. In a July filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the company said it had “reached the good-faith determination that these individuals did not co-invent” the component in question. Its application for the patent, which has not yet been issued, names several of its own employees as the sole inventors.

Apparently the NIH and Moderna had been "negotiating" about this when Moderna made that filing. As this went public and people (rightly) started calling Moderna out for this bullshit, Moderna took a half step backwards and claimed that it was willing to share the patent with the US government (and said "Moderna remains the only company to have pledged not to enforce its COVID-19 intellectual property during the pandemic.")

But, it seems like we should go a step further: there's no reason to patent this. I have no problem with Moderna getting plenty of profit for its important role in developing the vaccine. And, it is. The company went from having losses every quarter through last year, to making billions in profit this year. It made over 7 billion in net income (not gross) this year through the first three quarters.

That's not because of its patent. It's because it's producing something that is important to humanity, which governments are more than willing to pay for, and which remain in high demand globally.

So, don't try to hog it. Don't try to hog it from the US government. But don't even try to "share it" with the US government. Share it with everyone. Let the people "own" it by refusing to patent it at all. After all, would you patent the sun?

Hawaii USA
Edelman
1954 revised 3rd printing 1959

This was still in circulation as of this writing. Much like our Alaska book previously featured, this book is woefully out of date. Hawaii became a state in 1959, so this particular edition was updated enough to acknowledge statehood. For the life of me, I cannot understand why this book is still in a public library. I am willing to go out on a limb and say that the Hawaii of 1959 is not the same as Hawaii of 2021. Seriously, why would anyone want a 60 plus year old book on Hawaii?

Just reading this book made me cringe at the discussion of race. The book spends an inordinate amount of time “convincing” us that Hawaii is really American. Hawaii had just become a state, but it still seems like overkill to keep on asserting that Hawaii is indeed American. Perhaps Hawaii and the real Alaskans can put out a sequel called Yes, we are in fact Americans.

Mary

The post Hawaii is really American! appeared first on Awful Library Books.

This post, update: employee is trying to force me to accept a loan I never asked for , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past.

Remember the letter-writer whose cleaner was trying to force her and her spouse to accept a loan they never asked for? Here’s the update.

I wrote in about the employee (my independent contractor cleaner) trying to force me to accept a $500 cash loan I didn’t ask for or indicate I wanted in any way. I already provided an update in the comments of that post: we didn’t keep the money, we were able to insist she take it back that day.

Here’s my further update:

We had to fire her.

Not only was she perpetually late and left early, spent a quarter of her paid time standing around talking (and saying we were being weird/off when we wouldn’t fully engage with her during these rants, when I was supposed to be working/studying), and her quality had gone downhill despite me reminding her certain jobs that needed doing, she also decided to tell our close mutual friends “Jack and Jill” that we said something terrible about them. When Jill reached out to ask “what the hell?” we told her we didn’t say anything about them and we didn’t know what she was talking about, and she said our cleaner, who was also their cleaner, said we “had a problem” with them (which we absolutely did not).

Turns out our friends had newly rented a house from our cleaner, which if I had known in advance, I would have strongly recommended against (I knew they were moving, I just wasn’t sure where). The cleaner was treating them like personal slaves, lying to them, and trying to manipulate them, to the point where Jill was having a breakdown from anxiety. She was using Jill’s high opinion of us to manipulate her.

I was so distraught that my friends thought we’d said terrible things about them that we went to the house that night to talk it over, only finding out once we’d arrived that it was being rented from my cleaner. After we figured out what was going on (with her lying both to them and us), my spouse and I agreed we’d have to fire her and find someone new.

Side note: we told our friends about her trying to force a loan on us, and they said that when she told them the story (because of course she did!), she’d doubled the offer to $1000 which my spouse had exclusively asked her for, he had only refused it because I was home, and then he’d yelled at her about it. No mention of throwing it in the bin, of course!

So that week when the cleaner came to my house, my spouse was prepared to fire her. However, she was in a foul mood and spoiling for a fight, saying we’d disrespected her by going to her house and talking about her behind her back. She said, “This will be my last week, then,” not expecting my husband to agree, which he did. She was expecting him to fall over apologizing and placate her, tell her she was wonderful, our friends were wrong, and that we’d do anything to keep her. She was in a textbook narcissistic rage, and when he wouldn’t play her game, she went running back to Jack and Jill and told them we fired her, that I stood there and swore at her and said her work wasn’t any good (I wasn’t even home?!). My friends called her out on her lies, saying that behavior doesn’t sound like me, and then in retaliation she literally kicked them out of the house they were renting, that they’d only just moved into.

Our friends told my husband what she’d said and done, and he messaged the cleaner saying, “Look, YOU said it was your last week, but just to make it clear, I am terminating our agreement. Do not come back. Have a nice life.”

And then he had to block her because she kept messaging, saying she never said anything about us and sending nonsensical screenshots. Honestly I’m not sure why she valued our opinions so highly, but I suspect it was all a weird game she was upset at losing.

Then, after all that, she backflipped on the whole kicking our friends out of the house, and said they could stay if they did exactly as she said when she said it (including weird cleaning requests, demanding Jill go on walks with her, and telling one of them the other owed her money). Then she went to the house and found out they were packing to move again, and went through their rubbish and opened their mail and started a fight. Then she told our friends that she made up with my spouse and that she had gone to our house and told him “everything” (not nice things) about my friends and said he agreed with everything she said. My friends said to her, that didn’t happen, he’s blocked you, and she had to go away, humiliated that she’s no longer able to manipulate them.

They moved out to a new house. I hired a new cleaner and he showed up on time, did an excellent job, and only spoke when he needed to.

South Park reveals the truth about NFTs. And if you are still confused, StyledSnail posted an explanatory video (below) along with this glossary of terms used:

HODL – Hold on for Dear Life (don't sell or panic when price spikes up or down)

NFTs – Non Fungible Tokens (completely unique one of a kind digital asset)

Moon – When the price has a strong upward trend

Right-click in reference to NFT pictures being screenshotted

Pump-and-dump – artificially raise the price just to sell out and leave

FOMO – Fear of Missing Out (the drive to buy before the price moons)

The Flippening – a possible future event where ethereum overtakes bitcoin as the biggest crypto)

Earlier this fall, Assembly, the gallery representing photographer and photobook artist Alejandro Cartagena, announced via social media that two Texas institutions have made major acquisitions of the artist’s work. Mr. Cartagena may be best known for his ongoing Carpoolers series, which documents Mexican workers who commute for 40-90 minutes from various suburbs to San Pedro, an upper-class suburb in the southwestern corner of the Monterrey Metropolitan area. Photographs from this series have appeared in the New York Times, NPR, and Slate. Two photographs from the series are currently on view in Border, Mapping, Witness, one of the inaugural installations in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s (MFAH) new Kinder building. Ashlyn Davis Burns, Founding Director of Assembly, was instrumental in connecting each of the two Texas institutions with available works matching their interests. 

The MFAH, which has three works by Mr. Cartagena in its collection, has acquired the artist’s maquette archive. Photobook maquettes, or early rough copies of books, provide a unique look into an artist’s process and oftentimes reveal shifts in layout and sequencing of the publications. According to John Evans, Chief of Libraries and Archives, the MFAH’s world-renowned photobook collection was defined by their 2012 acquisition of the Manfred Heiting Book Collection. The museum owns a significant number of maquettes, including Robert Frank’s The Americans, Man Ray’s self-titled 1920 publication, and contemporary works such as Alec Soth’s Sleeping by the Mississippi. 

Evans told Glasstire, “The group of maquettes by Alejandro Cartagena would complement these works by highlighting contemporary bookmaking practices.” The acquisition includes 87 maquettes and 8 posters from 25 book projects that span the artist’s career. In their social media announcement, Assembly stated: “From the original maquette for his debut publication, Suburbia Mexicana (2010), to the first edition maquettes outlining the process of creating his now-iconic work, Carpoolers (2014), to his most recent publication, Suburban Bus (2021), this archive outlines the arc of his photographic career and bookmaking process.”

The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University (TSU) has acquired a complete set of the first editions of Mr. Cartagena’s publications. As a prolific and significant contemporary Mexican photographer examining social, urban, and environmental issues, Mr. Cartagena’s work makes strong connections to many artists in the Wittliff’s Southwestern & Mexican Photography Collection, including Héctor García, Rodrigo Moya, and Mariana Yampolsky. The collection has over 19,000 images, including everything from historical photographs to works by emerging 21st century artists, and boasts the broadest and deepest holdings in documentary photography and photojournalism by Mexican photographers in the U.S. 

The photobooks were of particular interest to both Mark Menjivar, Assistant Professor in TSU’s School of Art and Design, and Jason Reed, Associate Professor of Photography, because they have the potential to be significant teaching tools. Having a suite of the publications offers an opportunity for students to be able to consider the evolution of an artist from his first book to his twentieth. Ms. Burns emphasized this way of thinking by the two professors, telling Glasstire, “…it was really important to us to know that the work would be interacted with by students thinking through their own projects.”

While some of Mr. Cartagena’s books can be found in the Yale University Library and Tate Britain, these acquisitions by Texas institutions are important milestones for the artist as well as for students, researchers, and photobook enthusiasts. Mr. Cartagena told Glasstire that having his work in these collections will allow the opportunity for a greater understanding of his work and process. Additionally, the collections will ensure the safety and longevity of these materials. Mr. Cartagena stated, “[These collections will be] a place where my work can outdo my time in this world.”

The post Two Texas Institutions Acquire Significant Works by Alejandro Cartagena appeared first on Glasstire.

Good morning. Temperatures range from the mid-30s well north of Houston to about 50 degrees right along the coast. Overall, the forecast remains the same, with this being the nadir of temperatures for awhile, and the beginning of a warming trend that will last until … ? That is the question. Certainly we’ll be warm through Christmas Day and the weekend. Perhaps the next front comes by Tuesday or so of next week. More likely, it will be closer to New Year’s Day.

Tuesday

With clear skies and light winds, this morning offers ideal conditions for cold weather, and we’re seeing that across the region. Skies will be sunny today, and this will allow highs to reach about 60 degrees before another cool night. However, as light winds start to return from the south, temperatures will probably be 3 to 5 degrees warmer tonight than Monday night.

Wednesday

Skies should still be mostly sunny on Wednesday, and highs will reach about 70 degrees. Winds will be out of the south at around 5 mph. Lows Wednesday night should be in the 50s across Houston, except for the coast which will be a bit warmer.

Thursday and Friday

The warming trend continues, with a pair of mostly sunny days and highs on Thursday in the mid-70s and approaching 80 degrees on Friday. Overnight lows will be solidly in the 60s.

Christmas Day

Expect more of the same: Saturday should see mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the low 80s. Yule not need a log on the fire, that’s for sure. The good news is that rain chances are basically zero.

Sunday and beyond

Sunday and Monday should see more warm conditions, with partly to mostly sunny skies and high temperatures in the vicinity of 80 degrees. I’d say there’s maybe about a one-in-three chance that a front makes it through around Tuesday, and if not then, a much higher chance a stronger front arrives on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. This front has a chance to drive lows into the 30s in Houston, but since it’s 10 days away we’re basically in the arm-waving portion of the weather forecast.

This post, update: should I leave my family business? , was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.

It’s “where are you now?” month at Ask a Manager, and all December I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past.

Remember the letter-writer trying to decide whether to leave her family business? Here’s the update.

A lot has changed, and a lot has not. Ultimately I’m still with the family construction business and I suspect I will be for the rest of my career.

Two things really hit me after my letter was published. The first being that I didn’t really spell out what I like about my job, which you called me out on. So I gave that some thought. On good days, I love my job because I get to problem solve, either internally or on a project. Often I’m working to understand processes, figure out next steps, facilitate communication and find solutions, and every day is different and full of potential. I also love my company because we’re the type of employer I think all employers should strive to be. We here, yes to make money, but also to allow our employees to have a career that supports them in the unfolding of their lives. Just the other day one of our employees thanked me for this being a wonderful place to work, that has supported her though real health issues, and she said she was glad I was starting to take over the reins as the next generation because she knew I would continue to retain that culture of family. Then just last night I attended an awards ceremony where one of our projects was recognized for the historical restoration of a building that was falling apart. This award winning building is in my neighborhood, it’s a place where my family goes to hang out, where I now take my kids for the winter farmers market. It’s a building that will be part of my larger community for the next 50+ years, and my company did that work. I feel real, deep satisfaction some days. I really like and respect both my father and my brother, who I work with daily. None of that came through in my letter, and it was really helpful to catalog all that good stuff because afterwards the hard stuff I was focusing and wrote you about suddenly loomed less large.

I also have to say thanks to all of the advice that came from the commentariat that really helped me look at my situation differently, specifically I was really taken aback by their accusations of sexism towards my father. I found myself pretty insulted on his behalf, because he is the person who has steadfastly been my champion. We’ve had blunt conversations about the dearth of women in construction and why, and he sees what this industry is like and doesn’t think it should be like this. He wants capable people in places of leadership, including capable women. He believes I have the skills and ability do it. We just haven’t been able to figure out how to get me there/get him to let go.

Ultimately the comments made me realize I was doing a lot of this to myself. I was taking on the HR stuff, I was volunteering to pick up the 401K administration, order the laptops, fix the website, move into the financial side of the company. Long story short, I had to ask if I was being the sexist one by taking on all the administrative tasks that needed doing, when they didn’t feel like actual moves upwards. I personally didn’t need to own any of it, I just kept taking it on because someone needed to. Maybe it was internalized sexism or maybe it was just being bad at delegating, but I finally saw it thanks to you all.

So we’ve since hired a new Office Manager/Director of HR (at my behest) and OMG, yes! This person is worth their weight in gold, and now does, enjoys doing, and does well all of that administrative stuff I had taken on. The new PM who I mentioned in the letter has since started, and I’m training him which mean he’s learning to PM the way I want him to (and has been a great addition to our team). And we’ve also since brought on a Vice President of Marketing and Design, who is potentially going to be our interim CEO instead of me taking the reins directly from my father. This makes a lot of sense in many ways, not least because he has more experience in the industry and with working as an executive, but also because him taking responsibilities from my father is just less fraught.

So, now I’m back to being mostly a Project Manager, which I enjoy and am good at, with flavors of being a manager. I’m still a leader here, I’m on the Board of Directors and get to weigh in on decisions and what direction we head, people seek out my advice and ask me to address issues, and while the immediacy of taking over my father’s role is gone, it’s still very much the long term plan (though the plan is more fuzzy than it was. It’s on the to-do list, don’t worry). In the near term, I need to focus on landing projects so we can pay these new hires that are doing the stuff I don’t want to, which seems like a good trade-off to me.

Overall I’m really proud of the moves I had this company make over the last year, and specifically the last couple months- the hires, the new projects, the changes in roles, and the leadership/accountability structures I’ve put in place. I appreciate the perspective Alison and the commenters gave me; it helped me figure out a way through to the other side during a rough time. Cheers and thanks so much!

Introducing Macrame
Short
1970

It’s been a while since I ran into a macrame book. So I was kind of excited to see this book. Actually, I ended up being a bit disappointed because it wasn’t as awful as I expected. I miss the ridiculous clothing from this book. And this one. And this one too.

This book was more about “look at macrame” rather than how to do macrame. Think of this as a cursory art demo. They have a few examples of clothing and accessories. Nothing that would set the world on fire.

Even in 1970, this probably wasn’t a great public library purchase. I would have been more interested in titles that showed some instruction. Weed it and move on with your life.

Stay groovy,

Mary

The post Introducing Macrame appeared first on Awful Library Books.

New Cyanide and Happiness Comic

New Cyanide and Happiness Comic

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
I was gonna propose someone invent an 'ugly sentiment contest' but then I remembered facebook exists.

Today's News:

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
It later turns out terrible lightning God is a type of troll.

Today's News:

It's getting difficult to like anything. Or rather, it's getting difficult to be a vocal fan of anything. In recent years, every aspect of entertainment has become as polarized as our political discourse. With warring encampments of fans waging flame wars on Reddit and Twitter, declaring yourself an admirer of something—usually science fiction—is tantamount to enlisting for active service. — Read the rest

Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

We asked for your dispatches from the labor market, and boy did we hear back. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Investors and companies are swooping in to buy mobile home parks. They raise fees and rents, and evict people who can't pay — using billions of dollars' worth of low interest, government-backed loans.

(Image credit: Elaine Cromie for NPR)

Union negotiators and company officials have reached another possible deal to end the months-long strike by 1,400 workers — but there are signs of opposition to the agreement.

(Image credit: Josh Funk/AP)

As they count down the hours to the highly anticipated launch of NASA's powerful, $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers hope for the best while fearing the worst.

(Image credit: NASA/Chris Gunn)

New comic!
Today's News:

Theoretically, since I haven't encountered Ronaldo yet, I have no reason to be thinking about any named Ronaldo while playing the game, so I will forget I even read about the Ronaldo spoiler soon, and then when I DO see Ronaldo I won't remember the spoiler ABOUT Ronaldo, and now that I've said "Ronaldo" so many times in a row I will never forget that name or its significance ever again.

If you’ve flashed a new ROM on your device, I’m sure you follow it up by flashing Google apps or a GApps package. That’s mainly because a Custom ROM can be barebones without your usual set of apps that are required to use your phone. However, what if you don’t like Google’s set of apps? Or you just don’t want to be stuck into the Google app ecosystem and want to break out of it? That’s where FOSS apps come into the picture. FOSS stands for Free and Open Source and is essentially a set of apps that are free to use as well as open-source. These can be used as replacements to your usual set of apps like Google dialer, Google messages, YouTube, etc. If this sounds interesting to you, there’s a new website that lets you find and install FOSS alternatives to Google apps in a quick and easy manner.

Un.pixel-fy (also known as Fossapps) is a website created by XDA user wacko1805 that lets you pick and choose what FOSS apps you want to install on your phone and creates a flashable ZIP file that you can install via Magisk. It works on Android 8 and higher and requires you to be running Magisk 20 or higher. If these requirements are satisfied, all you have to do is head over to the website and go through the list of apps under each category. Select the apps you want to install in each category and once done, you just have to click on the Create and Download button. Download the file, copy it to your smartphone, and install it to enjoy using all the FOSS apps you selected!

There are various categories on the website and multiple options under each category to choose from. You can pick from Koler, Emerald Dialer, and Simple Dialer for the phone app, Fenix, Styx, and DuckDuckGo for the browser, F-Droid and Aurora for the app store, NewPipe and Vanced for YouTube, etc. It’s basically a great tool to find free and open source alternatives to Google apps in the fastest way possible!

If you want to break out of the Google ecosystem or your phone doesn’t have support for Google’s GMS core, you can try Fossapps and let us know your experience in the comments below!

The post This website helps you quickly find and install FOSS alternatives to Google apps appeared first on xda-developers.

Good Saturday morning to you. We’re giving you a bonus weekend post to just give you a head’s up about today’s storms possibly packing a little more punch than expected.

Houston set another record high yesterday at 82° at both IAH and Hobby (tied). The atmosphere over Southeast Texas has atmospheric moisture available that is more typical for August or September than December, particularly south of I-10. When you combine that with wintertime meteorological dynamics and a cold front, you can produce some heavy rain and strong storms.

As a result, the Storm Prediction Center has nudged up our storm risk today to “slight,” which is level 2 of 5 on their scale.

As of 8 AM, the main line of storms associated with the cold front is just approaching the Bryan-College Station area. However, there are showers “front running” the main line. Some of those could strengthen as we warm up a couple degrees this morning.

So, for today expect scattered showers and storms to develop in the Greater Houston area between now and 11 AM. Any storms that develop do have the ability to become strong to severe. The main threat from storms today will be strong, gusty winds. Hail is possible south of Houston as well, closer to Matagorda Bay. The tornado threat today appears fairly low, but you can never entirely rule one out in these scenarios. Expect the main rain event to move in around midday, pushing south and east through the afternoon. Conditions should improve after 1 to 3 PM as most of this pushes offshore or into Louisiana.

In addition to the chance of some severe weather, these storms will be capable of producing very heavy rain for a short time. We should see 1 to 2 inches on average, though that may vary a good bit from place to place, with some seeing a bit under an inch perhaps. Regardless, some localized street flooding and areas of ponding are likely today.

Bottom line: Have a way to receive weather warnings today, just to be safe. Storms could be strong to severe, particularly from 10 AM to 2 PM. Heavy rain is likely in spots, and some localized street flooding can’t be ruled out.

The rest of the forecast from Friday is mostly unchanged. We just wanted to re-emphasize the storm risk today. Stay safe, and try to enjoy the day.