firehose

In a recent episode of Earth Unplugged by BBC Earth Productions, animal nerd Sam Hume and camera geek Simon Baxter capture slow motion footage of Shaolin Warriors performing extremely fast acrobatics. We previously wrote about Sam and Simon’s super slow motion videos showing a barn owl attacking its prey, a Northern Goshawk attacking water balloons, and wet animals shaking.

via Tested

KHOU

Weather Journal: Humidity Persists Wall Street Journal Humid weather continues on Tuesday night, leading to severe weather across the region. Those threats dissipate during the day on Wednesday, but unsettled weather is still in the cards for the wrap of the week. A frontal boundary remains parked just north of ... Tornado warning issued for southwestern corner of Mass.Boston.com Severe storms include possible twister in CopakeAlbany Times Union Tornado warning issued for Berkshire CountyBoston Herald CNN -Boston Globe -Northern Virginia Daily all 365 news articles »

China has $3.4 trillion in foreign currency reserves, and they appear to be burning a hole in the central bank’s proverbial pocket. Or at least that’s what you might conclude from the fact that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the steward of China’s foreign reserves, just quietly opened a new office in New York.

Getting out of Treasurys

Actually, SAFE already has an office in New York. But that one’s for buying US Treasurys, in which more than $1 trillion in reserves are parked. As the Wall Street Journal reports (paywall), SAFE is worried that when the Federal Reserve eventually scales back its program of quantitative easing—i.e., buying safe assets like government bonds—their value will fall. Here’s China’s investment in US government debt as a rough proportion of its total reserves:

As you can see, that blue part has been leveling off for a while now—in fact, China slipped behind Japan as the biggest foreign investor in US government debt in March. But all the same, SAFE holds a not-insubstantial 7%-8% of outstanding US government debt, and if it starts selling it, that could deal a blow to demand, especially if the Fed starts retreating too.

What will SAFE buy instead?

The WSJ reports that the new operation will focus on investing in real estate, private equity and other US assets. SAFE has recently been diversifying into Japanese stocks and European assets. It also just bought $1.6 billion worth of property and utilities (link in Chinese) in London and Manchester. In the past, SAFE also bought stakes in Australia-New Zealand Bank, BP and Total, reported ChinaStakes in 2010.

And it’s not exactly a stranger to the US market. SAFE has been shoveling cash into US hedge funds and investment firms like BlackRock and Bridgewater Associates since as early as 2005, said ChinaStakes. But Derek Scissors, an economist at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC, estimates SAFE’s non-bond investments in US assets to be $4.5 billion, paltry compared to the $567 billion SAFE currently manages, according to SWF Institute. With this new office, that investment share could grow a lot.

Wait, does this mean China won’t be the “US’s banker” any more?

Um, it never was.

That’s because China has to invest in Treasurys. In order to make exports cheaper and to transfer wealth toward businesses and the state, the Chinese government has suppressed the yuan’s value. But it also kept its capital account closed, in order to avoid the likes of George Soros or other menaces to Asian currency values. The only way to pull off both has been to suck up dollars used to buy Chinese goods or invest in Chinese assets.

Do that for a decade or so, et voila—$3.4 trillion! It’s not as wonderful as it sounds, though. It’s proven hard to protect the value of those holdings, and one of the only markets big, safe and liquid enough has been US Treasurys. This latest development really just means SAFE has exhausted the possibilities of that option.

the Xbox One must have the new Kinect sensor plugged in at all times in order to run, said Microsoft representatives in a Q&A about the console.

Store arbitrary data with your 1TB Flickr cloud drive by encoding any file as a PNG. This is mostly a proof of concept right now. Don't do anything beyond tinkering with it yet.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Three former Ford Motor Co. executives have been charged with crimes against humanity in Argentina for allegedly targeting union workers for kidnapping and torture after the country's 1976 military coup. All three men are in their 80s now, and their case is part of a new wave of prosecutions focusing on corporate support for the dictators who ran Argentina from 1976-1983.

Some cities have a litter problem, some suffer from high crime rates. And then you have Dubai, which for the last several years has been facing the unusual problem of high end sports cars being abandoned and left to gather thick layers of dust at airport car parks and on the roadside across the city.

If our planet's increasingly extreme weather isn't caused by man-made climate change, then it stands to reason that it's actually caused by man-made supervillains using government technology to take American Freedoms with superstorms like Monday's mile-wide monster tornadoes.

Writer and novelist Neil Gaiman and Amber Benson of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame have teamed up to star in a new vampire movie called, Blood Kiss. Kickstarted by ST:TNG and Emmy-winning writer Michael Reaves, Blood Kiss is a film noir vampire movie set in Golden Age Hollywood. Of his acting debut Gaiman says, "I'm willing to pretend that the prospect of acting doesn't terrify me in order to help Michael Reaves make his film." The trio have agreed to take a break from the blood and answer any questions you have about the new project or their past work. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one per post.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Petcube is a small, four-inch aluminum cube that allows users to watch, talk, and play with their pets remotely using a smartphone app. The device is equipped with a 720p video camera, a remote-controlled low-intensity laser pointer, a microphone, and speakers that can all be accessed via smartphone. The Petcube isn’t yet available for pre-order, but is expected to be available this fall. Those who are interested in the product can sign up to be notified when it’s available for order at the Petcube website.

images via Petcube

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

Microsoft's reveal of its next-gen console, the Xbox One, was high on broad entertainment apps such as Skype, interactive programming, media management and Kinect-powered features. Games saw a smaller showing, with two new announcements and a trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts. Indie games got an even smaller nod - that is, none at all.

E3 is right around the corner, with the Microsoft conference on June 10. Maybe that's where all of the Xbox One games are hiding, along with the console's indie plan. We asked a handful of indie developers what Microsoft's presentation today said to them specifically, and what they want to see at E3. Below we have responses from Rami Ismail of Ridiculous Fishing fame, Octodad's Philip Tibitoski, DLC Quest's Ben Kane, Charlie Murder's James Silva, Retro City Rampage's Brian Provinciano and Fez's Phil Fish.

Continue reading Microsoft's message to indies with Xbox One: 'It was sort of weird'

Microsoft's message to indies with Xbox One: 'It was sort of weird' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ashlynwhat:

Need this now.

ABC News

The 50th Super Bowl Goes to San Francisco Bay Area ABC News The 50th Super Bowl will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area and the NFL championship will go to Houston the following year. Team owners voted Tuesday for the 49ers' new stadium as host of the 2016 game. That facility in Santa Clara, Calif., is due to ... NFL awards Super Bowls to Bay Area and Houston - USA TodayUSA TODAY San Francisco and Houston awarded 2016 and 207 Super BowlsReuters Super Bowl cities announced: Santa Clara to host big game in 2016San Jose Mercury News Wall Street Journal -New York Times -MiamiHerald.com all 191 news articles »

WASHINGTON—Citing a succession of tragedies that have darkened the majority of 2013, including the Boston Marathon bombing, the Bangladeshi garment building collapse, and yesterday’s Oklahoma tornado, media outlets across the nation confirmed ...

The Xbox One's connection to the cloud can alter a game's Achievements in response to player behavior, Microsoft has revealed at its ongoing unveiling event in Redmond. Dan Greenawalt, Creative Director at Forza developer Turn 10 Studios, cited the "I took an arrow to the knee" meme as an example of how game makers might hinge their extrinsic rewards on post-launch reactions.

The meme began with The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, in which droves of melancholic guards told the same story about an old injury.

To extrapolate from Greenawalt's comment, it seems Microsoft is keen to further distance itself from the idea of the game as a static disc. Xbox 360 games had their Achievement lists extended with significant title updates and downloadable expansions, but the Xbox One is expected to update the rewards list more fluidly. Game creators may use Achievements to encourage comical or topical behavior, or use them to educate players if they're missing certain features or secrets.

Xbox One can update Achievements in response to player behavior originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 16:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VISTA, CA—Following the devastating tornado in Oklahoma this week that killed dozens of residents and displaced many more, U.S.

Apple CEO Tim Cook was questioned by lawmakers today, following a congressional report that showed how the company used a complex web of offshore subsidiaries to keep the IRS from taxing at least $74 billion of its earnings over the past four years.

When one of the bros has clearly not done the reading, but feels the need to mansplain it to you anyway

When postmodernists try to explain neoliberalism

Politico

IRS's Lerner Will Invoke Constitutional Right to Silence Businessweek Lois Lerner, the mid-level Internal Revenue Service official at the center of a controversy over the agency's scrutiny of small-government groups, will invoke her constitutional right not to testify before Congress, according to a letter from her lawyer. “She has not ... IRS Official Will Decline to Testify Before House PanelNew York Times IRS official will refuse to answer questions at US House hearingReuters Top IRS official to invoke 5th Amendment, decline to testify at House hearingFox News NBCNews.com -Los Angeles Times -New York Magazine all 59 news articles »

#SFH @Toby

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Grapes of wrath: 210 Freeway woes to continue until 10 a.m.

Original Source

Not gonna lie. We’re big fans of the whole digital revolution thingy, because it means you give us monies to read our blog. Also, too, porn on the internet is so much easier to get than having to steal our dad’s copy of Hustler from between the mattress and the boxspring. We are not in love with all of the digital enterprising though no we are not! Self- or quasi-self published ebooks can often be a blight upon humanity and dear god now they’ve given us a sexytime book about Michele Bachmann and we think we want to die.

Michele Bachmann was the muse for a new romance novel called Fires of Siberia, to be published June 1, about a fiery presidential candidate who tries to bone up on her foreign policy credentials only to get stuck in the wilderness with a sexy stranger. “Inspired by the life of Tea Party leader and Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Fires of Siberia is an old-fashioned bodice ripper romance that brings the heat for the 2013 summer beach reading season,” touts publisher Badlands Unlimited.

The only place that this would be “summer beach reading” is if one were summering in hell. Would you like a brief explanation of the plot, courtesy of the press release? Of course you would not, but we don’t care!

Presidential candidate Danielle Powers, full of firebrand pluck and red state sex appeal, has the country in a tizzy. But on an international tour to beef up her foreign policy experience, disaster ensues—her plane explodes over Siberia. Miraculously, Danielle survives, along with one other passenger—a mysterious stranger named Steadman Bass. Trapped in a wilderness of snow and ice, the two begin a journey that pushes Danielle to the brink. There she must confront her deepest self and choose between civilization and a wild, primitive ecstasy.

Oh dear god make it stop. While we have often fantasized that Bachmann end up stranded in Siberia, those fantasies have never included her doing the sex with anyone, and especially not someone with the improbable name of Steadman Bass. “Steadman Bass” sounds like the made-up name of a sideman in a blues band, rather than the made-up name of someone who will make the beast with two backs with the most terrifying person we can imagine. Can this get worse OF COURSE IT CAN because here is an excerpt from the actual book:

They shook hands, and Danielle felt the hot vitality of his blood. His hand was surging with warmth. His fingers were weathered like a workman’s, but his touch betrayed a grace and kindness his face otherwise kept guarded. She wanted to stay fastened to him, so essential was the heat.

In case it is not amply clear, were yr Wonkette stranded in Siberia with Michele Bachmann we would forgo body heat and crawl across the tundra and die rather than have sex with Michele Bachmann because sweet Jesus no.

Wonkipinos, please consider giving a little bit extra to Wonkette this month because the Editrix is going to need it to pay our sure-to-be-considerable therapy bills we incur from thinking about sexy Michele Bachmann.

[The Atlantic]

The Guardian

Iran election: Rafsanjani blocked from running for president The Guardian Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the leading opposition-backed candidate in Iran's presidential election, was disqualified on Tuesday from standing in a blow to those hoping for significant change when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leaves office. Iranian state-run ... Iran removes potential wild-card candidatesNewsday Rafsanjani barred from Iran presidential fieldLivemint Rafsanjani and Mashaei barred from Iran presidency pollBBC News Los Angeles Times -New York Times -Washington Post all 235 news articles »

Lucas123 writes "U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass) is pushing a bill that would require all U.S. handgun manufacturers to include 'personalization technology' in their weapons. Tierney said he got the idea for The Personalized Handgun Safety Act of 2013 from the latest James Bond film, Skyfall. In it Bond escapes death when his handgun, which is equipped with technology that recognizes his fingerprints, becomes inoperable when a bad guy picks it up. 'This technology, however, isn't just for the movies — it's a reality,' Tierney said. Tierney pointed to a myriad of cases where the smart gun tech could prevent children from being harmed or killed in firearms accidents. Jim Wallace, executive director of the Massachusetts Gun Owners Action League, the official state association of the NRA, said he knows of no gun owners who would want smart gun technology on their weapons. Wallace said any technology that may impede the proper function of a weapon is a problem. He pointed to the fact that any integrated processor technology would also require a battery of some kind, which could pose a system failure if it lost power."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Once more, it appears, Fredric Wertham may have been right.

For the latest evidence, look no further than a Philadelphia preschool, which has purportedly banned “wrestling, Super Hero play, and Monster games,” because they’re resulting in injury.

Reddit user Oremar posted a May 17 letter (below) brought home by his son that states, “Recently it has come to our attention that the imaginations of our preschool children are becoming dangerously overactive causing injuries within our pre-k community. Although we encourage creative thinking and imaginary play, we do not promote out [sic] children hurting one another. Wrestling, Super Hero play, and Monster games will not be permitted here at [name redacted]. In addition, please monitor the different media that your children may view. The re-enactment of televisions [sic] shows/movies are being done during active paly [sic] times in school.”

Or, in the words of the parent, “So my son came home and told me make-believe was not allowed at school anymore.”

When ROBOT 6 contacted the preschool this afternoon, an employee said she was unable to verify the letter, referring us instead to the facility’s director, who was unavailable.