firehose

Marriage is an insane proposal.

New Orleans just loves horrifying mascots.

Deadspin recently alerted us to the fact that the Hornets/Pelicans were in the mascot terror game long before Pierre The Pelican The First stalked the New Orleans sidelines. The King Cake Baby was a special Mardi Gras character and, well, it's almost Mardi Gras again, so he's back and he's EVEN WORSE THAN PIERRE SOMEHOW:

I mean, I just have no words. None. #KingCakeBaby pic.twitter.com/XImGbskCNP

— WWL-TV Sports (@wwltvsports) February 25, 2014

There are children present. Children easily terrified by expressions of vacant, maniacal glee and weird musculature and janky diapers and gnarly crowns. Also, there is me who is easily terrified of those things. This is terrifying.

Someone on the New Orleans special events team wants to hurt us.

Indian Express

Tylenol During Pregnancy Linked to Higher Risk of ADHD TIME Pregnancy is already a fraught time for expectant moms, as more research shows how quickly the foods that women eat, the air they breathe and the compounds to which they are exposed can traverse the placenta and affect their growing child. Now there's ... Study: Acetaminophen in pregnancy linked to ADHDCNN (blog) all 120 news articles »

threeofeight:

It’s 6am and I cannot watch an episode of Voyager without this happening. Thanks for that tumblr ;D WOOO SPACE, YEAH EXPLORATION, HEY LOOK SPACE DUST GUYS GUUUUUYS SPPPPACEEEE.

#bones mentally slides closer to killing his bff #star trek (via therebutforthe)

It’s amazing in retrospect that they even made it through season 3. :)

Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

gameraboy:

Ok then.

Everyone raise your hand if you are even a little surprised…

Thunder Castle (Mattel - Intellivision - 1986) 

requested by j-faye

cat boss - Keio Flying Squadron 

(Victor Entertainment - Sega CD - 1993) 

requested by kyoopa

operafloozy:

You’re already fit, do you have to get more buff for the role? Would you get leaner or put on more muscle? 

Yep, he’s definitely Johnny Storm.

I like the way this guy thinks!

Irish Examiner

'Polio' illness paralyses children in California Irish Examiner A group of children have developed a rare, polio-like syndrome within the past year that quickly paralysed one or more of their arms or legs, researchers in California say. Dr Keith Van Haren of Stanford University says about 20 cases have been identified in ... Polio-like disease appears in California childrenMyrtleBeachOnline.com Polio-like illnesses called a 'rare phenomenon'MyFox Austin Docs Seek Answers Behind Polio-Like Illness Striking Calif. Children610kvnu all 401 news articles »

“New York Sugar Metropolis” is an upcoming participatory art installation in which the public will be invited to help build a sprawling miniature city made of more than 500,000 sugar cubes. The installation will be located at the Sugar Hill building in Harlem and will be built in June 2014 by volunteers, sculptors, and visitors. It will remain on display through July. “New York Sugar Metropolis” is by artists Brendan Jamison and Mark Revels—they’re raising funds for the project on Kickstarter.

Northern Ireland “Sugar Metropolis” installation, 2013. photo via Brendan Jamison

via Skumar’s, My Modern Metropolis

theartofanimation:

Hannah Christenson

Jeff Highsmith of MAKE recently created an elaborate mission control desk, inspired by the NASA Apollo Program, for his son. The desk is topped by a plain surface for homework—when it’s play time, the desk opens to reveal dozens of illuminated push buttons, dials, and digital readouts. Highsmith painstakingly wired the desk so that the buttons trigger sounds, lights, and other actions. Be sure to watch his video to all the way to the end to see it in action.

photos by Jeff Highsmith

Hayao Miyazaki’s last film, The Wind Rises, kicks off with a very literal dream of flight. Our hero, the loosely biographied Dr. Jiro Horikoshi, is here a near-sighted, bright teenager who, unable to become a pilot, longs to become an aeronautic engineer. He dreams he is flying a fantasy craft with bird-like wings and a whooshing hydraulic engine, soaring above the farmlands where he has grown up, and waving to townsfolk below. But his beautiful dream is interrupted by the appearance of a nightmarish ship emblazoned with the Iron Cross, carrying a payload of animal-shaped bombs. This vision, which startles Jiro awake, is a symbol of a world and a life to come, one balanced between incredible feats of ingenuity, and the maladies wrought by history. The Wind Rises shares this polarity. A frequently moving, absolutely stunning piece of animated work, The Wind Rises showcases many of Miyazaki’s visual obsessions, as well as themes that echo throughout his oeuvre. It also contains within its mesmerizing shell a number of questions on the morality of war and technology that, in spit of the great buildup regarding them, remain unanswered. Mild spoilers beyond the cut.

Advocate.com

Measure to block transgender student law fails to make ballot Los Angeles Times SACRAMENTO -- A measure to block California's transgender students rights law failed to qualify for the November ballot Monday, according to the secretary of State's office. The referendum would have repealed a law passed last year that requires school ... Petition drive to put transgender law to California voters comes up shortWashington Times Referendum challenging transgender rights law fails to make ballotSan Francisco Chronicle Transgender rights repeal misses California ballotWashington Post Inland Valley Daily Bulletin all 62 news articles »

via http://www.netvibes.com/privatepage/1

gradientlair:

The powerful ending to Janelle Monae’s (and Erykah Badu’s) song “Q.U.E.E.N.” The acronym: Queer. Untouchables. Emigrants. Excommunicated. Negroid.

All the way back in December, before we said goodbye to Matt Smith in the Christmas special, we reported the rumor that Peter Capaldi's Doctor might be getting a secondary companion in the form of Tom, a Coal Hill School coworker of Clara's who showed up in the anniversary episode. Turns out the rumor was kind of true. Ladies and gents, here's Danny Pink: Coal Hill School teacher and new Doctor Who companion.

adamwarrock:

A free mixtape EP about Magic the Gathering. Go here. 

Tracklisting: 
1. Friday Night Magic
2. Pro Tour
3. Born of the Gods
4. Planeswalkers
5. So Much Mana

Vocals by Adam WarRock, Tribe One, Mikal kHill
Production by Mikal kHill

So it goes like this. Last August, I went to PAX. I played some card games while there. So when Tribe One and I went on our first of three straight tours together, I said to him, “Hey Tribe. Will you teach me how to play Magic?” It seemed like a good idea. Touring is a lot of waiting around, a lot of sitting at a hotel, a lot of mindless boredom. This figured to be a good way to kill some time, and since we’re basically in a new city every day, a good way to incentivize our travel by getting boosters in each new city. I still remember what he said to me. He said, “You have no idea what you’re about to do to yourself.”

Cut to three months later, and I’m utterly obsessed with Magic. It’s bad. I’m talking deckbuilding and buying boosters almost daily, bad. But I love it. It’s the only tabletop game I’ve ever gotten this deep into. So thanks Wizards. For the horrible sickness I am now afflicted with. And the hours and hours of fun.

To satisfy our horrible urges to play, me, Mikal kHill and Tribe One play online with each other, almost nightly, via google hangout. And in a weird way, it’s brought us all closer together. So we obviously had to make a mixtape for you. Hope you enjoy it.

I’ll be doing a bunch of shows in March, around the south and the east coast. Check me out!

Feb. 27-28 – Denton, TX - University of North Texas’s GeeKon (info)

Mar 1 - Oklahoma City – New World Comics 
Mar 2 - Lawrence, KS – TBA
Mar 7 – New Orleans, LA – BSI Comics
Mar 9 – Austin, TX – SXSWi After Party – Hole in the Wall
Mar 11 - Official Showcase – Flamingo Cantina
Mar  13 – Scratched Vinyl Showcase – The Dive Bar
Mar 14 – Nashville, TN – Rick’s Comic City
Mar 15 – Tuscaloosa, AL – Sho’ Nuff Comics
Mar 22 - Durham, NC – Atomic Empire Comics
Mar 28 – Rutgers University Geek Week (link)

jl8comic:

JL8 #156 by Yale Stewart

Based on characters in DC Comics. 

Like the Facebook page here!

Archive

2014 Con Schedule

Twitter

Pick up the first issue of my creator-owned comic here, or merch at the new online store!

——-

I’d like to respectfully dedicate this installment of JL8 to Harold Ramis, who passed away today.

Words can’t describe the impact his comedy had on my life, most notably “Ghostbusters.” 

You’ll be missed, Spengler.

-Yale

Questlandia is a new RPG game that’s up on Kickstarter. In the game, you and your fellow players create the kingdoms that you must then save from societal collapse. The game’s already reached its goal, so it’s stretch goals for 25 days. Source From the campaign: In the game, players take on the role of [...]

Idle Ideas Inc. is running a Kickstarter campaign for Mote, their new virtual tabletop program. Source From the campaign: Our project is a non-profit effort to bring our vision of a Virtual Tabletop community to life. Mote, in a nutshell, is a free and open software development project centered around a Virtual Tabletop built on [...]

Before Hard to be a God was a hit video game, it was a novel by the indispensible Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, adapted into a 1989 film starring Werner Herzog. And now it's been adapted into a new, black-and-white film that looks incredibly grueling and intense.

Read more...

Today's item from the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:

CYCLONE Hx9

(S//SI//FVEY) EGSM (900MGz) macro-class Network-In-a-Box (NIB) system. Uses the existing Typhon GUI and supports the full Typhon feature base and applications.

(S//SI//REL) Operational Restrictions exist for equipment deployment.

(S//SI//REL) Features:

• EGSM 900MHz
• Macro-class (+43dBm)
• 32+Km Range
• Optional Battery Kits
• Highly Mobile and Deployable
• Integrated GPS, MS, & 802.11
• Voice & High-speed Data
• GSM Security & Encryption

(S//SI//REL) Advanced Features:

• GPS -- Supporting Typhon applications
• GSM Handset Module -- Supports auto-configuration and remote command and control features.
• 802.11 -- Supports high speed wireless LAN remote command and control

(S//SI//REL) Enclosure:

• 3.5"H x 8.5"W x 9"D
• Approximately 8 lbs
• Actively cooled for extreme environments

(S//SI//REL) Cyclone Hx9 System Kit:

• Cyclone Hx9 System
• AC/DC power converter
• Antenna to support MS, GPS, WIFI, & RF
• LAN, RF, & USB cables
• Pelican Case
• (Field Kit only) Control Laptop and Accessories

(S//SI//REL) Separately Priced Options:

• 800 WH LiIon Battery Kit

(S//SI//REL) Base Station Router Platform:

• Overlay GSM cellular communications supporting up to 32 Cyclone Mx9 systems providing full mobility and utilizing a VoIP back-haul.
• GPRS data service and associated application

Unit Cost: $70K for two months

Status: Just out of development, first production runs ongoing.

Page, with graphics, is here. General information about TAO and the catalog is here.

In the comments, feel free to discuss how the exploit works, how we might detect it, how it has probably been improved since the catalog entry in 2008, and so on.

Clinkle and its 22-year-old founder, Lucas Duplan, raised about $30 million last year. But the company has yet to release a product, and lots of employees have left.