To my left, a preteen is playing a pirated version of "Halo." To the right, another is playing "World of Warcraft" on what seems to be, but is not, the Internet. In the other room, there's a guy checking his profile on a Cuba-only Facebook knockoff.
Google kicked off a big and important trend when it started reporting diversity data last year. And now Twitter is joining another one that acknowledges that reporting raw data on the issue isn’t enough: The social-media site is following the example set earlier this year by Pinterest and Intel by setting firm goals for the diversity levels it wants to reach by next year.
The goals are modest if they’re judged against the demographics of the overall labor market. But setting and pursuing them is essential for a company that, as of right now, has zero underrepresented minorities on its leadership team in the US. And tech companies that haven’t set goals have seen little change in their employee makeup.
(The company defines underrepresented minorities as any ethnicity other than white or Asian in the US, according to a spokeswoman.)
Here are the company’s goals, in comparison to where they are now. Note that gender numbers are for the company’s worldwide employee base, but ethnicity numbers are for the US only. If Twitter hits its goals, the biggest jump by far will be in the number of underrepresented minorities in leadership positions:
If Portland's not ready to send the legal weed era into your living room, Medford and Eugene are happy to lead the way.
A week after KATU hurriedly pulled back from airing an ad for a marijuana business conference coming to Portland next month—what was heralded as the first pot-related ad on network television—stations in some of the bud-loving burgs to the south apparently have no such qualms.
Local activist and organizer Anthony Johnson reported this week that KMTR in Eugene and KTVL in Medford are running the ad, which is about as anodyne and noncontroversial as you could dream up—particularly in a state that currently allows you grow pot and possess half a pound in your home. See?
Network honchos at KATU initially embraced that ad, but pulled back on August 18, when higher-ups became concerned about the affiliation with cannabis, which is still illegal under federal law.
"While we work to change federal law, it would be more understandable if TV stations would shy away from commercials that advertised a particular marijuana strain or cannabis-infused product," Johnson writes, "but it seems very odd to discriminate against a business that merely wants to help people comply with state law."
Jane Chase, a station manager at KMTR, confirmed the station is running the commercial, but didn't want to go into the specifics of the decision. A call to the station's sales manager hasn't been returned. Officials at KTVL couldn't be reached for comment.
Today, a federal court sentenced a 17-year-old Virginia resident named Ali Shukri Amin to 11 years and four months in prison for supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, commonly known as ISIS. Amin ran the @Amreekiwitness Twitter account, which published pro-ISIS messages to a relatively small following, as well as directing followers how to make Bitcoin donations to the group. In one effort that proved particularly crucial to the prosecution's case, Amin arranged for an ISIS supporter to travel to Syria. All of Amin's efforts were conducted from within the United States, and there's no evidence that he ever took part in violent acts or intended to do so.
ISIS has been more active on social media than previous extremist groups, with a recent Brookings Institute study cataloging no less than 46,000 affiliated Twitter accounts. The State Department has made its own efforts at a counter-extremist Twitter presence, directly engaging with many radical accounts.
"We have lost yet another young person to the allure of extremist ideology focused on hatred."
"Today marks a personal tragedy for the Amin family and the community as we have lost yet another young person to the allure of extremist ideology focused on hatred," said Justice Department official Andrew McCabe in a statement. "Amin’s case serves as a reminder of how persistent and pervasive online radicalization has become. The FBI, through our Joint Terrorism Task Forces, remains dedicated to protecting the United States against the ongoing violent threat posed by ISIL and their supporters."
Whoever was managing the Star Wars Facebook account when this happened: all of our hearts to you. You nailed it with this reply to that really awkward comment.
Some context: the official Star Wars Facebook account posted some really amazing art of my favorite captain and yours, Captain Phasma. Of course, what’s the first comment that shows up? A comment on how they can’t tell if that’s “female armor or not.”
In the immortal words of Frozone’s wife: why do you need to know?
The world doesn’t need more boob armor. This isn’t Rat Queens, you know. I don’t think “the power of the exposed uterus” can repel firepower of that magnitude.
Just yesterday, Betty White took to her Facebook page to share that she’d be joining Bones‘ upcoming 11th season. She’ll be playing a “squintern,” which (in case you didn’t know) is the term for an intern who works under Dr. Brennan, the show’s protagonist.
White will be playing Dr. Beth Mayer, who’s brought on to assist with a murder linked to fantasy football. Which, if you’d look at my latest fantasy draft, you’d know is a thing that totally happens. She’s apparently an amazing forensic anthropologist, so there’s sure to be some great Dr. House-ian competition going on here.
Though, let’s be honest with ourselves: it’s Betty White. Who doesn’t get along with Betty White?
I’m fucking pissing myself.
You know how all of Jupiter’s moons are named after his lovers and affairs?
Yeah. NASA is sending a craft to check up on Jupiter.
You know what the craft is called?
JUNO.
Who’s Juno?
JUPITER’S WIFE.
NASA IS SENDING JUPITER’S WIFE TO CHECK ON JUPITER AND HIS AFFAIRS AND LOVERS.
Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.
Fantasy General [link to GOG page] is a 1996 game best described as Panzer General with Dragonknights and centaurs. Hexes, turn-based warfare and an enormous variety of weird and wonderful units.
I first played Fantasy General around the time of its release. Around fifteen years old, I must still have been stuck in my rebellious ‘wargaming and transport management sim’ phase. I don’t remember the specific qualities of the game in detail but I do remember the thrill of playing a serious strategy game that had been packed with creatures from the RPGs and fantasy novels that formed the other half of my groovy teen years.
The appeal is similar to that of the recent Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon, which is a bolters and all take on Panzer General’s basic setup. Fantasy General’s armies are extensive but well-balanced and the scenarios are tightly designed. Most of them, at any rate. Some of them. Admittedly, I never finished the game back in 1997, or whenever it might have been, because I dropped out of that particular phase when I realised that there was music outside Top of the Pops.
At the time of release, Fantasy General was often dismissed as a reskin of Panzer General but there were alterations to the rules that supported the new setting. Tanks can’t rest for a couple of turns to heal their wounds, for instance, and even Heinz Guderian couldn’t buff his forces with spellcraft. The lack of supply line rules simplifies matters and the game sticks fairly rigidly to a rock-paper-scissors format, which tends to reduce those exotic units to variations on a theme.
It’s a strong theme though and Fantasy General wears it well.
Train Valley [official site] is an exceedingly pleasant game. There are similarities to the minimalist joys of Mini Metro but where that game’s visual design is reminiscent of the Tube map, Train Valley contains beautiful microcosms of different periods and places. I’ve been playing on and off since it launched as an Early Access title and find the combination of puzzling and light management both endearing and panic-inducing. Developers Flazm send word that they’ll shunt the game out of Early Access on September 16th.
Initially, I thought the entire challenge lay in efficient and rapid signal switching to ensure trains reached their destination rapidly and intact. As the miniature maps become more complex, however, balancing resources becomes a necessity. I’ve scuppered my company several times by building a couple of improvised loops to speed along a single train, only to find that there’s no money left to connect a new station further down the line. Incredible that even within the limits of its tiny world, Train Valley is capable of modelling the bureaucratic nightmare of public transport management.
The Rage Room is a special facility at Battle Sport Inc. in Toronto, Ontario where people can relieve their stress, anxiety, and unbridled rage by shattering “breakable items, and unleash an unrelenting wave of destruction!” Finding and booking a time slot for some cost effective anger management is available on their website.
The Battle Sports Rage Room is one of the most cost effective (and unique) alternatives for stress relief. Aristotle believed in the concept of catharsis. Freud also believed that letting out negative feelings reduced aggression. Aggressive sports such as kickboxing are known to relieve stress and leave participants more in control of their emotions and anger. No matter your background or walk of life, everybody is susceptible to anger, and the Rage Room is a great way to manage that anger.
What You Get:
$20 gets you 30 mins in the Rage Room with the following items below and we have a Rage Room Smash Menu for you to check out.
Antonio Banderas—now free of all things Shrek and having satisfied his need for undersea adventures—has embarked on a whole new creative journey. Yahoo! News reports that Banderas has gone back to school to study fashion design. The actor has enrolled at Central Saint Martins in London, whose alums include Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen. We hope someone has told him that the cat boots niche has already been filled.
Banderas is taking a course that has been tailoredto his acting schedule—he’ll wrap up the class before school starts for other students, thereby relieving him of the pressure of picking the right study group. Banderas divulged his plans earlier this year when he told the hosts of a British panel show, Loose Women, that he wanted to study clothing design. He tweeted a picture of himself this week, surrounded by dress forms, and described his second ...
American women still face an uphill battle in the workplace, but there’s one setting in which they have had the upper hand: social media.
But now, men are catching up there. In the past, data from the Pew Research Center found that there were significant gender gaps in US social media use—with a higher proportion of women on the internet using social media. In November 2010, the gap was as high as 15%.
That gap appears to be closing. The center reported Friday that 73% of adult men who are online say that they use social media platforms—not far from the 80% of online women who say that they do so.
Yet, despite the narrowing overall gap, the researchers found that there are still gendered patterns and preferences, which vary by social media platform. The picture-sharing sites Pinterest and Instagram have a larger female user base, as does Facebook; while the discussion forums Reddit, Digg, and Slashdot attract a more male user base. When it comes to Twitter, Tumblr, and LinkedIn, the gender gaps are not as significant.
Super Opinionated.
