firehose

What is wrong with people?

Read on Ars Technica | Comments

Notorious mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger was sentenced Thursday to two consecutive life sentences plus five years for his conviction in a string of murders, as well as racketeering, extortion, money laundering, obstruction of justice and narcotics distribution, during a reign of terror in the 1970s and '80s in South Boston.

submitted by Blainethefirst [link] [27 comments]

xcastleonacloudx:

magnificenthoofbeasts:

rebelsong:

aelynn:

1. Cutting out foam strips

2. Sewing foam strips into tubes

3. ( Not shown; dying tubes yellow ) Covering tubes in beige nylon

4. Cutting wefts from additional wigs

5. Separating sections of the base wig

6. Sew tube to nape of neck

7. Sew all tubes to nape of neck ( aha! )

8. Glue wefts around tubes ( ribbon helps them stay sectioned off )

9. Braid sections, drape around tubes and braid the big braid

10. DECORATE AND YOU’RE DONE!

( Please note that I left out the swearing, crying, binge eating out of frustration, hours worth of combing out tangles, the pile of casualty wig hair and multiple failed attempts at the big braid cause the tubes kept getting tangled amongst each other. )

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

You deserve a fuckin medal for all that hard work can we all just take a moment to slow clap it out for this amazing gal you go sister you’ve managed to do the thing and you did a pretty damn good job

Holy shit

viewoverdennistoun:

queen-kirk:

fivetail:

robinpant:

The Kickstarter Needs You

Sorry to reblog from the source, but I thought the chain of comments was rather unnecessary. All that needs to be said is that this documentary examines gender inequality and how patriarchy contributes negatively to our society.

This is a feminist issue.

And anyone on Tumblr who’s too close-minded to recognize it as such due to a nonsensical blanketed hatred of men’s issues need to re-evaluate their motives.

THESE ARE REAL AND HORRIBLE MALE ISSUES CAUSED BY THE PATRIARCHY. IF YOURE FEMINIST, THESE SHOULD ANGER YOU. IF YOU’RE NOT, HERES ANOTHER REASON TO SUPPORT THE MOVEMENT. 

have I already reblogged this? don’t give a fuck.

Everyone deserves respect. 

“The Record Breaker” is a charming short documentary about Ashrita Furman, an American man who has set more than 400 Guinness world records, and holds the record for holding the most Guinness world records. He has achieved the lofty number through a combination of setting new records and breaking existing ones. He earned his first record in 1979 for performing 27,000 jumping jacks. “The Record Breaker” was created by Brian McGinn.

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

Read 1 remaining paragraphs | Comments

There's been an important breakthrough in the field of ugly Star Wars shirts today, as scientist have announced that the worst, ugliest, most awful Star Wars shirt that could possibly exist in this universe or any other universe has been created — and there's no doubt it will never, ever be topped.

Read more...

LINCOLNSHIRE, IL—With next-generation video game systems such as the Xbox One and the Playstation 4 hitting stores later this month, the console wars got even hotter today as electronics manufacturer Zenith announced the release of its own console, ...

submitted by mycatguinness [link] [50 comments]

This year it feels like everybody simultaneously realized that November starts with N-O. Everywhere I turn (okay, everywhere I turn on Facebook) I see another group of people participating in some ascetic self-challenge. No Sugar November, No Sex November. Ugh, wake me when it's Rocktober.

Obviously the prime offender is No Shave November, where men grow mustaches to raise awareness for... their beer blogs and storytelling shows. Not doing something that takes work is the laziest charitable action I've ever heard. You're not shaving for prostate cancer? That's so impressive! I'm gonna stop doing dishes to raise awareness of osteoporosis.

Personally, I'm participating in No Bullshit Challenges November. So you'll find me shaving whenever the fuck I want to (by which I mean "on a regular basis because I don't hate my wife"). I won't participate in any of those stupid challenges until they're all balanced by a month that starts with Y-E-S. I would participate in Yes Cookies Yesvember. But apparently I'm not Caesar so this is also No Create New Months November for me.

Easily the most obnoxious part of November is the Facebook-specific challenge 30 Days of Gratitude, in which people brag about their lives under the guise of showing gratitude to the universe. Yeah, I'm sure you feel really blessed to have a house with a two-car garage and have married your best friend, but seriously? Keep that to yourself. I'm grateful Facebook allows me to remove people from my news feed without them knowing.

[ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

New York Daily News

Suspected Gunman Arrested at Milwaukee-Area Hospital NBC Chicago Court records show Ashanti Hendricks faced a warrant for felony possession of a firearm, eluding an officer and second-offense drug possession. advertisement. Authorities have issued an all-clear at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee ... Police shoot armed man at Wisconsin Children's HospitalChicago Tribune Man wanted on arrest warrant shot inside Wisconsin children's hospitalFox News Armed suspect in neo-natal unit shot by police at Children's Hospital of WisconsinCBS News WDJT -Danbury News Times -WXOW.com all 109 news articles »

A long-gestating passion project is finally coming to fruition for Don Cheadle, as he will at long last direct and star in a film about jazz legend Miles Davis, which has been in the works since at least 2007. Cheadle stresses that Kill The Trumpet Player will not be a typical biopic, saying it "won't try to give a broad overview of Davis' life and give short shrift to this man's story." Instead, it will focus on an eventful few days at the end of Davis' silent period in the late 1970s, during which he conspired with a Rolling Stone writer to "steal back his music." Ewan McGregor will play that writer, while Zoe Saldana will play Frances Davis, the trumpeter's ex-wife.

Read more

Actress Shirley Mitchell has died, as first reported by TMZ. Mitchell had a career in radio, film, and television that spanned more than 50 years, but she was best known as I Love Lucy’s Marion Strong, a friend of Lucy Ricardo’s who appeared in three episodes. She may not have gotten as much screen time as some of Lucy’s other friends, but Marion has a special place in the show’s history, as she was the one who first set Lucy up with Ricky. And at the age of 94, Mitchell was I Love Lucy’s last surviving adult cast member.

After getting her start on radio soaps, Mitchell made her movie debut in Jamboree (1944), a short musical feature that included performances by country music legend Ernest Tubb. She went on appear on numerous TV series, including The Adventures Of Ozzie And Harriet, Dragnet, Bachelor Father ...

Read more

10. You Feel Fine

	Courtney shared this story from Design*Sponge:
	aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

---

Oh, IKEA, you seductive little temptress, you. This is always how you get me. Right when my wallet is at its emptiest and I’ve reached my absolute spending limit for the week the month eternity. You gotta go and release something AWESOME. As if you weren’t awesome enough already with your cute little duvet covers and Swedish meatballs. Nope—you have to go and one-up yourself and come out with something like your new RANARP lights.

IKEA, you totally have my number. Because these lights? They are all I’ve ever wanted. With beautiful matte-coated bodies, brass [okay, it's painted brass "color"] details, and cloth covered black and white cords (are you hyperventilating yet?), these little lovelies are beyond chic for their rock-bottom price. Did I mention that they start at $19.99? Yeah. In conclusion: IKEA, you are my spirit animal. And reader, get over to IKEA before I beat you to it and buy every single one of these bad boys! —Max

Thanks to Deuce Cities Henhouse for the heads up!

"Artists' income is comparable to other liberal-arts majors," he says. "They do a little better than psychology majors, since counseling and social work is a very low-wage occupation."

An anonymous reader writes "The value of bitcoin has surged through the $400 barrier for the first time, as unprecedented growth sees the virtual currency's value quadruple in just three months. Meanwhile, on 18 November, a Senate subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on virtual currencies like bitcoin and its lesser-known competitors litecoin and altcoin. The hearing comes after a unit of the Treasury Department earlier this year issued guidelines stating virtual currencies should be subject to the same anti-money-laundering laws as traditional currency-transfer businesses like Western Union."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Only three percent of shelters nationwide can accommodate domestic animals, and many refuse to leave them behind.

Take a look: This is deforestation’s footprint from 2000 to 2012, according to a new study of 650,000 high-resolution satellite images.

The world lost the trees on some 2.3 million square kilometers (0.9 million square miles) of land, while trees grew back or were planted on roughly 0.8 million sq km. Here’s what those total land areas would look like in both the US and Europe:

Deforestation at this scale is having a tremendous ecological impact, on both species and climate. From 2000 to 2011, deforestation effectively added 14.5 billion tonnes (16 billion tons) of carbon to the atmosphere, about 13% of the world’s total contribution to climate change.

But good data on worldwide forest loss are hard to come by. Many countries report deforestation on their own soil, but define it in differing ways. In Canada, if a stand of trees is cut down, but the stumps aren’t removed, government scientists do not consider it a loss, because the forest will eventually grow back. A similar definition holds in Indonesia, but not in other countries. This makes it impossible to stitch together a consistent global picture from national figures.

The new deforestation study, led by scientists at the University of Maryland and published online today in the journal Science, uses satellite images to look at the wholesale loss and growth of trees around the world, including clear-cutting to make way for agriculture, logging, and losses from forest fires. And it does it with extreme granularity. The images have a resolution of 30 meters, which means the entire world is divided up into pixels about one eighth the size of a soccer pitch.

Indonesia is catching up with Brazil

The analysis confirms that Brazil, the global capital of deforestation, has had some success in reducing it. From 2004 to 2012, its annual rate of deforestation fell nearly by half, from roughly 40,000 sq km a year to slightly over 25,000. (For this reason, Brazil has the weirdest carbon footprint in the world.)

Meanwhile, Indonesia has been catching up. By 2012, it was cutting down 20,000 sq km of forest a year, nearly the same rate as Brazil, even though Indonesia’s total land mass is less than a quarter of Brazil’s. Here’s an animated gif of forest loss in Indonesia, courtesy of the researchers:

It’s not every day that the mayor of a major city hails the installation of a vending machine. But the automated dispenser that has just debuted in Boston is likely to merit the fanfare.

At a time when bike-sharing programs are among the hottest trends around the world, this machine promises to solve a vexing and potentially dangerous problem by finally letting riders not only check out bicycles from kiosks to commute, ride across town, or sightsee, but also to cheaply rent the helmets they need to protect themselves from traffic.

Short-term bike rental programs have been sprouting in cities across the country since Washington D.C. launched the nation’s first large-scale urban network in 2008, with 34 now in operation—not including countless more on university campuses. That’s just a fraction of the 535 bike-sharing programs worldwide, according to the Earth Policy Institute, which collectively loan out an estimated half-million bicycles in cities, on campuses, and at resorts.

Trouble is, more than four out of five people who borrow bike-share bikes don’t wear helmets, according to a study of cyclists in Washington and Boston by the Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center—increasing by an estimated 88 percent the likelihood that they will suffer head injuries if they’re in an accident, compared to riders who do, the researchers said. But figuring out a way to make helmets easily available has taken years, and even when planners in Boston thought they had it solved, a last-minute glitch caused another two-month delay.

So while the fast-growing bike-share programs may cut down on traffic and emissions, they’ve created another problem: millions of cyclists riding around on city streets worldwide with unprotected heads.

“It’s been a huge frustration,” says Andy Clarke, president of the advocacy organization the League of American Bicyclists. “The beauty of bike-share is that it’s simple, quick and intuitive to grab a bike and ride,” Clarke says. “To worry about whether you can find a helmet or not, it takes the spontaneity out of the process. So it’s been a real hindrance” not having a way to offer helmets easily and cheaply.

In some cities, this has proven more than just an inconvenience. A bike-share program in aggressively green Vancouver was thwarted for years by a British Columbia law requiring cyclists of all ages to wear helmets. In Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia, which also require helmets by law, the bike-share programs were so underused that the government gave away 200 helmets for free.

Hunting for a better solution, planners have toyed with the idea of inflatable helmets, foldable helmets, and rental helmets with plastic liners for each new user. None worked out. What bike-share programs really needed was a vending machine from which users could rent helmets at the same location where they borrowed bikes.

“It was always clear what the solution should be,” says Nicole Freedman, Boston’s bicycle coordinator. So two years ago, Freedman brought that challenge to an MIT class in mechanical engineering.

The obstacles were numerous: helmets are an awkward shape, and hard to stack, and people don’t like putting things on their heads that have previously been on other people’s heads. And while it was possible to sanitize the helmets using intense heat, which requires a lot of energy, Boston’s machines would have only a limited amount of power from solar panels, which they need to run the credit-card scanners.

The toughest obstacle, surprisingly, was figuring out a way for users to return the helmets. An open receptacle on a city street might attract trash. So the designers came up with the idea of putting RFID, or radio-frequency identification chips, in loaner helmets, which activate a door on the machine. They will then be picked up, cleaned, and rented out again.

“Being able to design a low-power, compact dispensing mechanism that could handle the supply of helmets was a major engineering challenge,” says Chris Mills, one of the MIT students who was assigned the project and decided to keep working on it after graduating last year.

“This is the kind of stuff we love to do,” Mills says. “Many, many prototypes were made. Lots of chalk and coffee was consumed.” The designers kept helmets around their workspace, he says, to put on and literally bang their heads against the wall.

The eventual result was the HelmetHub, which was initially planned to be attached to four of Boston’s 130 Hubway bike-share stations where the Beth Israel Deaconess researchers found riders were least likely to wear helmets. Ten more have been ordered, at a cost of more than $10,000 apiece. Each can hold 36 unisize helmets with adjustable straps. A 24-hour rental will cost $2 on a credit card.

Proving just how complicated this was, problems with the credit-card reader caused a two-month delay in the launch, just hours before Boston Mayor Tom Menino was to appear at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the machines in September.

And when what the city says is the nation’s first helmet dispenser finally debuted at Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street this week, the observance was limited to a written statement from the mayor while planners set about using the lone machine to do real-world tests of the technology through the rest of the Boston bicycle season, which ends around Thanskgiving. They’ve already discovered that, in some locations, the return slot in the back of the device may be blocked by walls or fences.

“When you put something on the street, it’s got to work, and it’s got to work from the start,” says Freedman.

Still, says Mills, “There was nothing like this in the world, and now we’re happy to have something that works.” The HelmetHub, echoes Freedman, is “a huge step forward.”

It’s also potentially hugely lucrative. Vancouver has already inspected a prototype, according to that city’s manager of streets activities, Scott Edwards. There has been interest from companies that supply bike-share bikes. And there are applications for the same technology at ski resorts and for mountain-climbing, Clarke says.

“I don’t think there’s been a visible market for it in a way bike-sharing has clearly created,” he says. “But I don’t think I would stop at bikes.”

Mills and Breanna Berry, his fellow MIT graduate and business partner, have found investors and gotten manufacturing advice from Big Belly Solar, a Massachusetts company that makes solar-powered public trash compactors.

“This vending machine idea could be big,” says Jim Sebastian, “active transportation manager” for Washington, D.C., whose Capital Bikeshare program gave bike-sharing its first foothold in the United States just five years ago. “We’re definitely watching the Boston project closely. It could be a big help in getting more helmets on more bike-share users’ heads.”

Original Source

Lana Berry went to a ladies-only football clinic hosted by Rob Gronkowski, and all she got was a tweaked groin, possible concussion, unlimited Gronk-tinis, and a feeling of being condescended to.

Harvard is a real place and a mythical place at the same time, and home to some of the brightest minds in the country. Also, Rob Gronkowski is there.

He's there because Rob Gronkowski can't teach women about football just anywhere. Women are smart creatures, after all, and maybe holding a "Football 101" clinic for women at Harvard feels less condescending than doing it elsewhere? It was not long before I believed it actually might be working.

Upon arrival at #GronkFest2013, I am handed a beautiful baby pink "Rob Gronkowski Football 101 Women's Clinic" t-shirt. We are instructed to wear it over any outerwear we have on. Picture 100 women wearing baby pink long-sleeve t-shirts over hoodies and actual coats, looking like lumpy, stale cotton candy. (It's worse than whatever you're picturing.) We enrollees had received an email earlier in the week telling us, in big bold letters, "GYM SHOES ARE REQUIRED, DO NOT WEAR HEELS," so all of the women wore gym clothes. This is probably unfortunate for those ladies who spent the $99 just to see if they could get Gronk's attention. It might have been difficult to stand out, anyway, as there is a huge array of women, ranging in age and personality, including one woman pregnant with twins and a middle-aged woman with Patriots temporary tattoos on her face.

The event information promised that "Gronk-tinis" would be served, and I made it my first mission to find out what's in that drink. I am greatly disappointed to find out that it's not just four ounces of warm tequila in a martini glass. Raspberry vodka and pomegranate juice? Excuse me bartender, there is no Gronk in my drink. And where is my Percocet-rimmed glass?

On top of the Gronk-tinis, the impressive open bar offers several types of wine, beer, and mixed drinks. Aren't we supposed to do football drills after this? Not important. Keep drinking. I see women polish off four or five Gronk-tinis. There is also a room with a huge spread of catered food, all of it with reasonable calorie counts (for the ladies), but most of the women appear to be sticking to the alcohol. This feels right at an event hosted by Rob Gronkowski.

Finally, the man hosting the event gets on the microphone. He not only leads the women in a "Fired up!" "Yes we are!" chant, but a Gronk chant as well. He informs us that we need to do this when Gronk makes his big entrance. We have practiced now. We are prepared. He warns us that a dance-off with Gronk and his brother Gordy could happen. He tells (warns?) us to work on our dance skills in case we get into a "Gronk sandwich." The women can barely contain their excitement at the thought of this. "If Gronk had the ball, do you think you could tackle him? If you had the ball, would you want Gronk to tackle you?" Help me.

As we learn a little more about the event, I learn that the "fastest girl at camp" gets to hug Gronk. Assuming "fast" refers to running, I am suddenly grateful for my knee problems. We are told repeatedly to "drink up." If you insist.

Some 45 minutes into the event, Rob Gronkowski finally makes his big entrance, in camouflage Zubaz pants, no less. As someone who actually owns a pair of Zubaz, I immediately regret my outfit choice. We do the Gronk chant, as practiced.

Good teamwork, ladies.

Gronk briefly greets the group with some Q&A, starting with "who is the center for the Patriots?" Pffft, like anyone knows that. (Apparently no one does know that.) This segues pretty quickly into a seemingly rehearsed bit that results in the host asking "what is a tight end?" and Gronk turning around, wiggling his butt, and yelling " THIS IS A TIGHT END!" The women go ballistic; I begin to question my life choices. There's really no tequila in this Gronk-tini? How?

"Girls," Gronk asks, "what would you like to be called tonight? Ladies?" At least he's asking.

With the girls/ladies now properly liquored up, we make our way out onto the Harvard football field. That's right, the same Harvard football field where many football greats such as [mumbles] have played. The music is blasting. Listening to Katy Perry gets me all pumped up for the football. Let's football. I'm feeling footbally now.

The event info says that we will be split up into teams and "individual groups will be small to assure that each participant gets maximum instruction from the top football coaches in the Boston area." The "top football coaches in the Boston area" turn out to be football coaches who work for ProCamps, the company running the event. ProCamps is a company that usually only runs events with kids, not inebriated adult women. We are learning from children's coaches. Only the best for us ladies.

We are split up into teams and begin rotating stations between different coaches teaching us "fundamental skills of football." I use the term "teach" very loosely because very little is actually being taught, mostly because there is very little time in which to teach or learn. Gronk comes over to our group and teaches us footwork for passing a football, but mentions nothing about actual throwing technique. Most of the women at this camp can't properly throw a football, and no one is teaching them. That seems like a pretty fundamental football skill, but what do I -- a woman/girl/lady -- know about that? So we go through a myriad of drills, including running, receiving, and kicking. Wait, we don't even get to learn how to GronkSpike^TM? I want my money back.

But at least we get to learn how to tackle. We learn this, awkwardly, on a giant foam dummy that vaguely resembles a big red penis, but that's not really the point. It's time to get physical. (Don't worry, we were required to give our entire medical history and our doctor's contact information upon registering for the event, so you know it's safe.) There's also an athletic trainer on site to dispense medication as needed. I wonder what kind of drugs he has.

Upon my first tackle attempt, the giant foam penis hits back and nails me in the chin, resulting in immediate swelling and bruising. It hurts, but not nearly badly enough to accept drugs from a stranger. One of the women tackles the dummy with her legs, wrapping them around it. She looks around to see if Gronk is watching. He isn't.

Whoever is running the event decides that in order to save time, we will alternate between football drills and taking team photos with Gronk. When it is their turn, women sprint toward Gronk, who is already sitting in a folding chair, in order to be as close to him in the group photo as possible. Some even try to sit on his lap. I am instructed to sit near his legs because I am short. I maintain a safe distance.

And then I hear the familiar sounds of "Teach Me How to Dougie," a song that had permanently etched itself into my brain and probably yours three years ago. But wait... this is not "Teach Me How to Dougie." This is some kind of Rob Gronkowski remix. This is a thing. I begin to wonder if the tackling drills gave me a concussion. This can't be actually happening.

But it is happening. The women have started to dance. Both Gronkowski brothers have joined in. This is what we were warned about. THE DANCE OFF IS HAPPENING. I haven't worked on my moves yet! Wait...is that woman doing the worm? Is this football? How hard did that tackling dummy hit me?

We take a seat. The host asks us to tell him what we've learned today. He brings one of the women up. Her name is Elena. She introduces herself as the "future Mrs. Gronkowski." Naturally, Rob Gronkowski comes up and pretends to propose. She tells us what she learned about tackling: "You get aggressive, you get low, you wrap it up." Words to live by. The women start to joke with Gronk about "always making sure you wrap it up." Just your basic football fundamentals.

It is finally time for a Rob Gronkowski "Instructional Lecture." He teaches us about a play the Patriots do called the "Hooker." Seriously, can someone give me a concussion test?

There are, by now, only two things left for us to do on the football field. A 25-yard dash to see who is the fastest girl in camp, and then an obstacle course. Gronk times the runners himself, calling out the winners.

"Blue shoes!" "Number 87!"

Wait. We're all wearing number 87. The winner of the race not only gets a hug from Rob Gronkowski, but gets to race his brother Gordy. What a lucky lady. The two teams with the fastest times on the obstacle course end up challenging each other in the greatest football test of all: tug of war. I am learning so much.

It's time to head back inside, which is good because my body is now completely numb from the cold. We are rewarded with coffee and donuts. Only a few women actually eat the donuts. Gotta maintain your figure for Gronk, ladies. I hide out in the back with my donuts and my phone charger, trying to regain feeling in my feet, while Gronk and the host begin to give out some awards.

Suddenly, I hear my name called. I have won an award for traveling the furthest. I make my way up to the stage. I feel like a prom queen as Rob Gronkowski places a medal over my head. The medal is a bottle opener. At least it's a good quality one. I can use this.

My legs are covered in turf, my chin is swollen and bruised, I've tweaked my groin while running, I look like a giant cream puff, and I am finally getting my photo opportunity with the Gronkinator. It's a big moment, at least until I take a closer look at the certificate I have been given. It reads: "We truly appreciate your loyalty to Stephen Curry!" The basketball player, Stephen Curry, who is not Rob Gronkowski.

The event finally comes to a close, but not before the women get the opportunity to bid on some Rob Gronkowski autographed items, including his nude photos from ESPN's Body Issue. Definitely a collector's item.

And then it's time to go back to reality. To a world without Gronk-tinis. A world without Rob Gronkowski teaching me how to dougie. A world that feels, suddenly, cold and empty. I will put my Zubaz on when I get home.

I leave the event feeling confused, wondering what just happened and why. Oddly, the fact that this event was run by a company more accustomed to working with young children than adult women is not the most unsettling part of the #GronkFest2013 experience.

That part's harder to explain, but there was the feeling that this event was marketed to a woman who watches sports to get men. Or to ogle athletes. Or to go to events hosted by said athlete, in the hopes of getting a moment of that athlete's attention. I don't think the event runners themselves know quite what kind of person they're marketing at, which left them in a strange position -- trying to find a balance between marketing themselves toward women there to learn more about football and women there to see some GronkButt.

The end result felt bipolar and insincere. Men have struggled to figure out what women want for centuries, so maybe it shouldn't be such a surprise that the sports world is struggling to figure it out. Whether it's offering women makeovers before a baseball game or a boxed set of HBO's Girls on DVD with a basketball ticket, most of these "ladies nights" seem to miss the mark, and reflect that old, overcompensating confusion.

Maybe they'll get it right eventually. Until then, I'll just crack open a beer and watch the game on my own. I have a nice new opener.