firehose

I had not been aware of the story. I just did a search.

Dear Lord.

I’m obviously not up to speed yet, but this article left me cold.

From genocide to Thatcherism, Whovian politics are not as simple as you think.

Now that the U.S. is basically all warred-out, local police are reaping the benefits. A handful of police departments in New York, including Albany, Jefferson, and Nassau counties, are among those who have taken in eighteen-ton armored trucks, complete with machine-gun turrets and bulletproof glass, valued at $500,000 each. You know, just to serve warrants and stuff.

wasbella102:

Goncharova Katherina, Cat which is listening to Bach

In a season of 52 episodes, there are bound to be a few clunkers, and “James” definitely falls on the low end of Adventure Time’s fifth season. The episode begins with a lot of promise, as it shows Finn and Jake dressed in black suits, mourning recent events that have yet to be detailed, and that moody start is the high point of a story that lacks a strong hook. Finn and Jake are grieving over the loss of the titular character—a vanilla wafer sandwich that joins them on an expedition with Princess Bubblegum across the desert ruins of a city seemingly destroyed during the Great Mushroom War—but the episode doesn’t provide many reasons for the audience to be invested in James’ sacrifice.

Despite the brief glimpses into this show’s mythology, “James” feels like an early Adventure Time episode, introducing a new character whose main purpose is to serve the ...

All apologies

The man of tomorrow. (Tor)

Gavin McInnes demonstrates several of his techniques on how to fight a baby, in case you ever find yourself in a deadly situation were you have to do battle with an infant.

via reddit, Daily Picks and Flicks

Are cartwheels good for your knees?

Say what you will about the Miami Heat. But after back-to-back titles and off to an 11-3 start to the 2013-14 season, they still really, really, really, really, really like winning.

Saturday night LeBron busted out his traditional STOMPY DANCE (I still don't know what else to call it) after a game against the Magic. Tonight, his squad beat the Suns, and his post-game interview got interrupted by Dwyane Wade... doin' some cartwheels.

Wheeeee! As a Knicks fan, I don't particularly remember what this feels like.

Sunken Sub: German WWII U-Boat Found Near Indonesia - SPIEGEL ONLINE:

The rusted remains of a Nazi-era submarine have been discovered off the coast of Java, Indonesia. Researchers are looking through the wreckage, which includes human bones and plates with Nazi insignia, for clues that could identify the ship.

From far away, 'Moon,' a project by Ai Weiwei and Olafur Eliasson, looks just like you'd expect it to—round and pale with a few craters here and there. Zoom in and you'll quickly find that the craters are individual pieces of art and words working together to create a moon-like landscape from a distance. As in the previously-seen "Epic Exquisite Corpse," the interactive project is an exercise in what we'll call 'crowdsketching.' The experience begins with a word from the artists:

"Turn nothing into something—make a drawing, make a mark. Connect with others through this space of imagination. Look at other people's drawings and share them with the world. Be part of the growing community to celebrate how creative expression transcends external borders and internal constraints. We are in this world together.

Ideas, wind, and air no one can stop."

A semi-zoomed look at 'Moon'

(more...)

It was during the mid-90s that Christian Blyt designed a piece of plywood to do the impossible: Bend it into a sinusoidal formation, creating a beautiful panel of corrugated wood without any fracturing. This was for his master's thesis in Finland at Alvar Aalto University. Fast-forward 15+ years, and the product has become a full-fledged company. Launched in 2011, Corelam is now used for furniture, panels, doors, sound-proofing, and other things yet to be invented.

We've written about wood movement and warping before, framing it more as a problem to be fixed instead of a brilliant idea to be captured. So how did Blyt figure out how to bend wood so perfectly into such a thin panel (only 2.4 mm thick)?

(more...)

submitted by CosmicGame [link] [17 comments]

Detroit might be looking at Wilson as a potential closer in 2014.

The Detroit Tigers are in "serious" negotiations with free agent reliever Brian Wilson, according to Lynn Henning of The Detroit News. The team might be considering Wilson as a closing option in 2014. Terms of a potential deal have not yet been reported.

After undergoing his second Tommy John surgery in 2012, the 31-year-old Wilson returned in 2013 to throw 13⅔ innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed only one run on eight hits while striking out 13 batters, and then followed up that performance by throwing six scoreless innings in the playoffs. Prior to his time in Los Angeles, Wilson spent seven seasons with the San Francisco Giants, including a four-year span as the team's closer (2008-2011) in which he racked up 163 saves and a 2010 World Series ring.

Despite his injury history and potentially distracting personality, Wilson's resume makes him a good fit for the Tigers. Detroit's bullpen was weak last season, and they stand to lose 2013 closer Joaquin Benoit (free agent) and reliever Jose Veras (option declined). The team has not had serious negotiations with free agent closers Joe Nathan or Grant Balfour, according to Henning. General manager Dave Dombrowski has stated that signing a closer is a priority for the offseason.

More from SB Nation MLB:

• Cardinals sign Peralta: Win now, pay later

• Yankees sign Brian McCann for big short-term gain

• Yankees won’t wait forever on Cano

• Former MLBPA chief Michael Weiner dies | Saying goodbye

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison

Google recently announced that it would start including individual users' names and photos in some ads. This means that if you rate some product positively, your friends may see ads for that product with your name and photo attached—without your knowledge or consent. Meanwhile, Facebook is eliminating a feature that allowed people to retain some portions of their anonymity on its website.

These changes come on the heels of Google's move to explore replacing tracking cookies with something that users have even less control over. Microsoft is doing something similar by developing its own tracking technology.

More generally, lots of companies are evading the "Do Not Track" rules, meant to give users a say in whether companies track them. Turns out the whole "Do Not Track" legislation has been a sham.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that big technology companies are tracking us on the Internet even more aggressively than before.

If these features don't sound particularly beneficial to you, it's because you're not the customer of any of these companies. You're the product, and you're being improved for their actual customers: their advertisers.

This is nothing new. For years, these sites and others have systematically improved their "product" by reducing user privacy. This excellent infographic, for example, illustrates how Facebook has done so over the years.

The "Do Not Track" law serves as a sterling example of how bad things are. When it was proposed, it was supposed to give users the right to demand that Internet companies not track them. Internet companies fought hard against the law, and when it was passed, they fought to ensure that it didn't have any benefit to users. Right now, complying is entirely voluntary, meaning that no Internet company has to follow the law. If a company does, because it wants the PR benefit of seeming to take user privacy seriously, it can still track its users.

Really: if you tell a "Do Not Track"-enabled company that you don't want to be tracked, it will stop showing you personalized ads. But your activity will be tracked -- and your personal information collected, sold and used -- just like everyone else's. It's best to think of it as a "track me in secret" law.

Of course, people don't think of it that way. Most people aren't fully aware of how much of their data is collected by these sites. And, as the "Do Not Track" story illustrates, Internet companies are doing their best to keep it that way.

The result is a world where our most intimate personal details are collected and stored. I used to say that Google has a more intimate picture of what I'm thinking of than my wife does. But that's not far enough: Google has a more intimate picture than I do. The company knows exactly what I am thinking about, how much I am thinking about it, and when I stop thinking about it: all from my Google searches. And it remembers all of that forever.

As the Edward Snowden revelations continue to expose the full extent of the National Security Agency's eavesdropping on the Internet, it has become increasingly obvious how much of that has been enabled by the corporate world's existing eavesdropping on the Internet.

The public/private surveillance partnership is fraying, but it's largely alive and well. The NSA didn't build its eavesdropping system from scratch; it got itself a copy of what the corporate world was already collecting.

There are a lot of reasons why Internet surveillance is so prevalent and pervasive.

One, users like free things, and don't realize how much value they're giving away to get it. We know that "free" is a special price that confuses peoples' thinking.

Google's 2013 third quarter profits were nearly $3 billion; that profit is the difference between how much our privacy is worth and the cost of the services we receive in exchange for it.

Two, Internet companies deliberately make privacy not salient. When you log onto Facebook, you don't think about how much personal information you're revealing to the company; you're chatting with your friends. When you wake up in the morning, you don't think about how you're going to allow a bunch of companies to track you throughout the day; you just put your cell phone in your pocket.

And three, the Internet's winner-takes-all market means that privacy-preserving alternatives have trouble getting off the ground. How many of you know that there is a Google alternative called DuckDuckGo that doesn't track you? Or that you can use cut-out sites to anonymize your Google queries? I have opted out of Facebook, and I know it affects my social life.

There are two types of changes that need to happen in order to fix this. First, there's the market change. We need to become actual customers of these sites so we can use purchasing power to force them to take our privacy seriously. But that's not enough. Because of the market failures surrounding privacy, a second change is needed. We need government regulations that protect our privacy by limiting what these sites can do with our data.

Surveillance is the business model of the Internet -- Al Gore recently called it a "stalker economy.: All major websites run on advertising, and the more personal and targeted that advertising is, the more revenue the site gets for it. As long as we users remain the product, there is minimal incentive for these companies to provide any real privacy.

This essay previously appeared on CNN.com.

This story should get more publicity than it has.

Following the recent BBC debut of "The Day of the Doctor," and continuing the 50th anniversary celebration of all things Doctor Who, comes the November 27 launch of the free-to-play Doctor Who: Legacy.

Available exclusively on iOS and Android, Legacy allows players to build a team of their favorite companions and allies from the extensive history of Doctor Who. You'll use this team to battle the series' most famous enemies and relive the Doctor's greatest moments.

While that premise sounds like the sort of thing a Who fan would adore, keep in mind that not all of the game's content will be available at launch. On debut, the game will cover the most recent two seasons of Doctor Who. From there the development team will work backwards in time to add more content to Doctor Who: Legacy.

Today's announcement mentions that content from season five of the modern Doctor Who series will be available for free at some point near the beginning of 2014. It's currently unknown what price points will be attached to further content releases.

Continue reading Doctor Who: Legacy arrives November 27

Doctor Who: Legacy arrives November 27 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 25 Nov 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

After a flurry of conflicting reports, news emerged Monday night that Seattle cornerback Brandon Browner could be gone for a year after a reported substance abuse violation.

Brandon Browner is facing a one-year suspension for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, according to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter. Browner reportedly appealed the suspension and is awaiting a final ruling.

After conflicting reports, Schefter clarified that the 29-year-old is facing a suspension for a substance abuse violation, not a violation of the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing drugs, as was previously reported by Mike Silver of NFL.com. Browner was suspended four games last season for a violation of performance-enhancing drugs. If the reports are true and his suspension is upheld, Browner would be suspended for the next calendar year and be eligible for reinstatement late next season.

Browner quickly denied the report of a PED violation on Twitter, but has not commented on the most recent report from Schefter. If Browner is suspended, the latest violation would prove to be extremely costly. The Seattle cornerback is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The one-year ban would all but eliminate any interest on the free agent market. He could draw interest once reinstated, but some teams may shy away due to his past and the fact he would be another failed test away from a long-term suspension. At best, Browner would likely be in line for a one-year contract at the veteran minimum. Chris Mortensen reported Browner is not expected to return to Seattle.

He is the second Seattle cornerback to be suspended for a substance abuse violation. Walter Thurmond was suspended for four games and will reportedly drop his appeal and begin serving his suspension this week. The Seahawks will likely search for replacements and have shown interest in free agents Antoine Winfield, Marcus Trufant and Perrish Cox.

More from SB Nation NFL

• NFL Debrief: Seeking consistency and taking the wind

• Takeaways: Underdogs rule NFL Sunday

• NFL playoff picture after Week 12

• Breaking Madden: The return of Tecmo Bo Jackson | More

• NFL Mock Draft: Where does Johnny Football go?

…when we are talking about cup-stealing hobbits and how we all miss Zinda. 

:)

Regardless, I don’t regret today’s discussion at all. I think it’s very interesting to watch, for good and bad. I am always baffled at the deliberate twisting of words and omissions of statements…I don’t get who that benefits. Seems like a huge waste of effort.

BUT!

Let’s just recap.

1) I like guys. I like guys a lot, I think they are grand. I have been fortunate enough to have known many, many guys in my life and career. When I wanted to break into comics, there were many wonderful guys, heroes of mine, who went out of their way to help and make me feel welcome. Like any group, the bad apples do not make me forget the good ones.

2) Being white, straight, cis and male does not mean you have nothing to offer as a writer. But it would be lovely if you reflected that those privileges might give you a step up over others, and it certainly wouldn’t kill us to educate ourselves about people and creators who are not in those groups.

3) There is no one keeping straight white male cis people from the comics industry, come on, for Pete’s sake.

4) Lunchables are gross.

5) I am clearly a terrible and remorseless troll.

Fair enough?

schwit1 writes about the hazards of driving through Ohio in a car with a secret compartment in the trunk. From the article: "Norman Gurley, 30, is facing drug-related charges in Lorain County, Ohio, despite the fact that state troopers did not actually find any drugs in his possession. Ohio passed a law in 2012 making it a felony to alter a vehicle to add a secret compartment with the 'intent' of using it to conceal drugs for trafficking." This is the first person arrested under the strange law.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Deadspin Cheap Bourbons, Ranked | Gizmodo A Fake Slum for Luxury Tourists Who Don't Want to See Real Poverty | Jezebel Morning After Pill Doesn't Work on Women Over 176 Pounds | Kotaku Chinese Store Clerk Gives Zero F**ks About Being Robbed | Defamer Sony Chairman's Assistant Makes 'Well Over' $250,000 A Year

Read more...

Once we started to add connections, we started to see some interesting things. The first one was a couple of days after he hit 50 connections. One of the team pensively interrupted a meeting we were in to say that there “Was someone on the phone wanting to speak to Dalek Caan”. I took the call from an IT products distributor, keen to set up a meeting to get Dalek selling Wireless Access Points. I told him I didn’t know when he was, but the persistent sales person didn’t pick up on the salesperson reference and continued to try and get an appointment. Even cursory research would have shown that Dalek Caan was responsible for destroying his own race entirely. Is that the kind of person you really want selling Access Points for you? Secondly, we saw a lot of people request to connect with Dalek. Hopefully some of the people saw the joke and wanted to connect, and obviously some did, but obviously others didn’t give the Inmails about wanting to sell something, or catch up to discuss growing our business. Of the outbound connection requests, it was good to see some people ignoring the requests, and some people who didn’t get the Doctor Who reference, asking for more information about who Dalek Caan knew them. This is good to see, because far too many people just accepted the request invitation. We noticed it was a lot easier to drive connections with requests to anyone with Sales, Business Development or Channel Development. These people tend to be a lot more outward facing and it seemed to be a lot harder to Connect with people in Finance or other parts of organisations.