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01 Oct 03:38

This year, sea ice records are being set in the Antarctic

by John Timmer
This year's melt is almost identical to last year's, and nothing like the huge loss of ice seen in 2012.

Each year in September, the sea ice at the two poles reach opposite extremes. Early in the month, the Arctic ice bottoms out, reaching its annual minimum. Off of Antarctica, the ice typically reaches its greatest extent toward the end of the month. In recent years, the Arctic sea ice has grabbed the most attention, as its dramatic loss has set records. But this year, most of the drama is occurring down south.

Arctic sea ice, which is largely contained in the closed basin surrounding the North Pole, set a record in 2012, falling well below the previous 2007 record. But last year, although the melting has remained well below the average of the satellite measurements, the loss of ice hasn't been extreme. The same could be said of this year; it's the sixth lowest amount of ice we've seen at this point of the year, but that's nowhere near the record loss we saw in 2012. The ice did shrink enough to open a passage north of Russia, but the Northeast Passage above Canada remained ice-filled.

The ice cover did remain within two standard deviations of the 1981-2010 average, but it's not clear that's all that significant, given that this period includes the second-lowest year on record. But having two years in a row of somewhat moderated melting is probably a sign that the tremendous loss of ice in 2012 has not shifted the Arctic into a trend where ice loss accelerates with each Arctic summer. It also may enable a slight regrowth of some of the thicker, multi-year ice that does not melt as readily.

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29 Sep 19:58

Reddit's Favourite Books : raerth

by hodad
firehose

100. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. (UP:62 | WS:140 | Total:202)

1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. (UP:1443 | WS:2210 | Total:3653)
2. 1984 by George Orwell. (UP:1447 | WS:2090 | Total:3537)
3. Dune by Frank Herbert. (UP:1122 | WS:2140 | Total:3262)
4. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. (UP:967 | WS:1750 | Total:2717)
5. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. (UP:931 | WS:1680 | Total:2611)
6. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. (UP:1031 | WS:1530 | Total:2561)
7. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. (UP:907 | WS:1320 | Total:2227)
8. The Bible by Various. (UP:810 | WS:1230 | Total:2040)
9. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. (UP:603 | WS:1220 | Total:1823)
10. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling. (UP:1169 | WS:560 | Total:1729)
11. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. (UP:610 | WS:1090 | Total:1700)
12. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman. (UP:483 | WS:1130 | Total:1613)
13. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. (UP:473 | WS:1070 | Total:1543)
14. The Foundation Saga by Isaac Asimov. (UP:519 | WS:960 | Total:1479)
15. Neuromancer by William Gibson. (UP:449 | WS:960 | Total:1409)
16. Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. (UP:664 | WS:710 | Total:1374)
17. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. (UP:455 | WS:870 | Total:1325)
18. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. (UP:402 | WS:880 | Total:1282)
19. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. (UP:388 | WS:890 | Total:1278)
20. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. (UP:466 | WS:790 | Total:1256)
21. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. (UP:403 | WS:830 | Total:1233)
22. Godel, Escher, Bach: An eternal golden braid by Douglas Hofstadter. (UP:400 | WS:790 | Total:1190)
23. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tse. (UP:334 | WS:770 | Total:1104)
24. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielwelski. (UP:347 | WS:720 | Total:1067)
25. The Giver by Lois Lowry. (UP:429 | WS:630 | Total:1059)
26. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (UP:264 | WS:680 | Total:944)
27. Animal Farm by George Orwell. (UP:367 | WS:550 | Total:917)
28. A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. (UP:266 | WS:580 | Total:846)
29. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. (UP:254 | WS:550 | Total:804)
30. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. (UP:265 | WS:520 | Total:785)
31. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking. (UP:264 | WS:520 | Total:784)
32. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. (UP:249 | WS:530 | Total:779)
33. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. (UP:212 | WS:560 | Total:772)
34. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. (UP:194 | WS:560 | Total:754)
35. The Stranger by Albert Camus. (UP:197 | WS:550 | Total:747)
36. Various by Dr. Seuss. (UP:235 | WS:500 | Total:735)
37. The Road by Cormac McCarthy. (UP:157 | WS:570 | Total:727)
38. Lord of the Flies by William Golding. (UP:247 | WS:470 | Total:717)
39. The Monster At The End Of This Book by Jon Stone and Michael Smollin. (UP:277 | WS:430 | Total:707)
40. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. (UP:224 | WS:480 | Total:704)
41. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. (UP:241 | WS:460 | Total:701)
42. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick. (UP:270 | WS:390 | Total:660)
43. A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (UP:169 | WS:460 | Total:629)
44. The Art of War by Sun Tzu. (UP:199 | WS:430 | Total:629)
45. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. (UP:228 | WS:390 | Total:618)
46. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. (UP:140 | WS:460 | Total:600)
47. The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. (UP:251 | WS:340 | Total:591)
48. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. (UP:108 | WS:450 | Total:558)
49. The Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights by Various. (UP:178 | WS:370 | Total:548)
50. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. (UP:194 | WS:340 | Total:534)
51. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (UP:169 | WS:340 | Total:509)
52. Odyssey by Homer. (UP:153 | WS:310 | Total:463)
53. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. (UP:173 | WS:280 | Total:453)
54. A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin. (UP:167 | WS:270 | Total:437)
55. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (UP:147 | WS:290 | Total:437)
56. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky. (UP:103 | WS:320 | Total:423)
57. Ringworld by Larry Niven. (UP:193 | WS:220 | Total:413)
58. A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin. (UP:82 | WS:330 | Total:412)
59. The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick. (UP:74 | WS:330 | Total:404)
60. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. (UP:84 | WS:320 | Total:404)
61. Freakonomics by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt. (UP:126 | WS:270 | Total:396)
62. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein. (UP:155 | WS:240 | Total:395)
63. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. (UP:106 | WS:280 | Total:386)
64. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. (UP:143 | WS:230 | Total:373)
65. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. (UP:148 | WS:210 | Total:358)
66. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. (UP:148 | WS:190 | Total:338)
67. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen. (UP:97 | WS:240 | Total:337)
68. Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. (UP:77 | WS:260 | Total:337)
69. Everybody Poops by Tarō Gomi. (UP:118 | WS:200 | Total:318)
70. On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. (UP:118 | WS:190 | Total:308)
71. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X with Alex Haley. (UP:105 | WS:200 | Total:305)
72. John Dies at the End by David Wong. (UP:59 | WS:240 | Total:299)
73. The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. (UP:117 | WS:180 | Total:297)
74. Contact by Carl Sagan. (UP:104 | WS:190 | Total:294)
75. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. (UP:116 | WS:170 | Total:286)
76. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. (UP:121 | WS:160 | Total:281)
77. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. (UP:92 | WS:180 | Total:272)
78. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. (UP:119 | WS:150 | Total:269)
79. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. (UP:55 | WS:210 | Total:265)
80. The Stand by Stephen King. (UP:83 | WS:180 | Total:263)
81. The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. (UP:80 | WS:180 | Total:260)
82. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. (UP:48 | WS:210 | Total:258)
83. Moby Dick by Herman Melville. (UP:55 | WS:200 | Total:255)
84. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. (UP:75 | WS:180 | Total:255)
85. Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer. (UP:75 | WS:180 | Total:255)
86. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky. (UP:129 | WS:120 | Total:249)
87. Asimov's Guide to the Bible by Isaac Asimov. (UP:58 | WS:180 | Total:238)
88. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. (UP:104 | WS:130 | Total:234)
89. Collapse by Jared Diamond. (UP:53 | WS:180 | Total:233)
90. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallave. (UP:53 | WS:180 | Total:233)
91. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. (UP:112 | WS:120 | Total:232)
92. Chaos by James Gleick. (UP:58 | WS:170 | Total:228)
93. American Gods by Neil Gaiman. (UP:46 | WS:180 | Total:226)
94. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein. (UP:103 | WS:120 | Total:223)
95. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime by Mark Haddon. (UP:52 | WS:170 | Total:222)
96. You Can Choose to Be Happy by Tom G. Stevens. (UP:70 | WS:150 | Total:220)
97. The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler. (UP:58 | WS:160 | Total:218)
98. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. (UP:73 | WS:130 | Total:203)
99. Candide by Voltaire. (UP:102 | WS:100 | Total:202)
100. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. (UP:62 | WS:140 | Total:202)

[–]Raerth [vw][S] 273 points274 points275 points * (69 children)

sorry, this has been archived and can no longer be voted on

101 - 200

101. The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. (UP:50 | WS:150 | Total:200)
102. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. (UP:49 | WS:150 | Total:199)
103. The Dark Tower by Stephen King. (UP:67 | WS:130 | Total:197)
104. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. (UP:62 | WS:130 | Total:192)
105. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins. (UP:58 | WS:130 | Total:188)
106. The Making of a Radical by Scott Nearing. (UP:48 | WS:140 | Total:188)
107. The Turner Diaries by Andrew MacDonald. (UP:45 | WS:140 | Total:185)
108. The Scar by China Mieville. (UP:24 | WS:160 | Total:184)
109. Steppenwolf ** by Hermann Hesse. (UP:58 | WS:120 | Total:178)
110. **Going Rogue by Sarah Palin. (UP:51 | WS:120 | Total:171)
111. 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis De Sade. (UP:40 | WS:130 | Total:170)
112. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke. (UP:87 | WS:80 | Total:167)
113. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. (UP:33 | WS:130 | Total:163)
114. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche. (UP:50 | WS:110 | Total:160)
115. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. (UP:37 | WS:120 | Total:157)
116. Naked Lunch by William Burroughs. (UP:25 | WS:130 | Total:155)
117. Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke. (UP:44 | WS:110 | Total:154)
118. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. (UP:34 | WS:120 | Total:154)
119. The Book of Ler by MA Foster. (UP:57 | WS:90 | Total:147)
120. The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. (UP:57 | WS:90 | Total:147)
121. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. (UP:35 | WS:110 | Total:145)
122. Cryptonomicon ** by Neal Stephenson. (UP:24 | WS:120 | Total:144)
123. **Watership Down by Richard Adams. (UP:32 | WS:110 | Total:142)
124. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut. (UP:29 | WS:110 | Total:139)
125. Civilization and Capitalism by Fernand Braudel. (UP:28 | WS:110 | Total:138)
126. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman. (UP:48 | WS:90 | Total:138)
127. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge. (UP:97 | WS:40 | Total:137)
128. The Saga of Seven Suns by Kevin J Anderson. (UP:57 | WS:80 | Total:137)
129. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck . (UP:86 | WS:50 | Total:136)
130. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. (UP:30 | WS:100 | Total:130)
131. The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. (UP:40 | WS:90 | Total:130)
132. The Chomsky Reader by Noam Chomsky. (UP:28 | WS:100 | Total:128)
133. The Panda's Thumb by Stephen Jay Gould. (UP:17 | WS:110 | Total:127)
134. Flatland ** by Edwin Abbot. (UP:36 | WS:90 | Total:126)
135. **On the Road by Jack Kerouac . (UP:36 | WS:90 | Total:126)
136. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. (UP:44 | WS:80 | Total:124)
137. The Classical Style by Charles Rosen. (UP:28 | WS:90 | Total:118)
138. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman. (UP:17 | WS:100 | Total:117)
139. An American Life by Ronald Reagan. (UP:16 | WS:100 | Total:116)
140. Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan. (UP:36 | WS:80 | Total:116)
141. The Little Schemer by Friedman & Felleisen. (UP:36 | WS:80 | Total:116)
142. Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. (UP:24 | WS:90 | Total:114)
143. Black Lamb, Grey Falcon by Rebecca West. (UP:28 | WS:80 | Total:108)
144. Thus Spake Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche. (UP:48 | WS:60 | Total:108)
145. Sandman by Neil Gaiman. (UP:17 | WS:90 | Total:107)
146. The Game by Neil Strauss. (UP:36 | WS:70 | Total:106)
147. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman. (UP:15 | WS:90 | Total:105)
148. Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. (UP:34 | WS:70 | Total:104)
149. Walden by Henry David Thoreau. (UP:24 | WS:80 | Total:104)
150. The Collapse of Complex Societies by Joseph Tainter. (UP:10 | WS:90 | Total:100)
151. Cthulhu Mythos by H.P. Lovecraft. (UP:19 | WS:80 | Total:99)
152. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. (UP:39 | WS:60 | Total:99)
153. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. (UP:26 | WS:70 | Total:96)
154. The Prince of Nothing ** by R. Scott Bakker. (UP:45 | WS:50 | Total:95)
155. **Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. (UP:14 | WS:80 | Total:94)
156. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. (UP:33 | WS:60 | Total:93)
157. The Wasteland by TS Elliot. (UP:19 | WS:70 | Total:89)
158. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. (UP:38 | WS:50 | Total:88)
159. Pi to 5 million places by [kick books]. (UP:26 | WS:60 | Total:86)
160. The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker. (UP:36 | WS:50 | Total:86)
161. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. (UP:33 | WS:50 | Total:83)
162. Guts by Chuck Palahniuk. (UP:21 | WS:60 | Total:81)
163. fear and trembling by Søren Kierkegaard. (UP:20 | WS:60 | Total:80)
164. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. (UP:70 | WS:10 | Total:80)
165. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. (UP:19 | WS:60 | Total:79)
166. Ulysses ** by James Joyce. (UP:29 | WS:50 | Total:79)
167. **Macbeth by Shakespeare. (UP:38 | WS:40 | Total:78)
168. Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. (UP:27 | WS:50 | Total:77)
169. Atheism: The Case Against God by George H. Smith. (UP:36 | WS:40 | Total:76)
170. The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. (UP:16 | WS:60 | Total:76)
171. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway. (UP:25 | WS:50 | Total:75)
172. Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. (UP:13 | WS:60 | Total:73)
173. Women by Charles Bukowski. (UP:13 | WS:60 | Total:73)
174. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. (UP:32 | WS:40 | Total:72)
175. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. (UP:20 | WS:50 | Total:70)
176. How We Die by Sherwin B. Nuland. (UP:19 | WS:50 | Total:69)
177. Philosophical Investigations by Ludwig Wittgenstein. (UP:19 | WS:50 | Total:69)
178. The singularity is near by Ray Kurzweil. (UP:17 | WS:50 | Total:67)
179. The Day of the Trifids by John Wyndham. (UP:16 | WS:50 | Total:66)
180. The Long Walk by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman). (UP:36 | WS:30 | Total:66)
181. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. (UP:18 | WS:40 | Total:58)
182. The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are by Alan Watts. (UP:17 | WS:40 | Total:57)
183. The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. (UP:37 | WS:20 | Total:57)
184. The Elegant Universe by Brian Green. (UP:16 | WS:40 | Total:56)
185. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. (UP:13 | WS:40 | Total:53)
186. Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. (UP:13 | WS:40 | Total:53)
187. King Lear by Shakespeare. (UP:29 | WS:20 | Total:49)
188. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. (UP:28 | WS:20 | Total:48)
189. The Voyage of Argo: The Argonautica by Apollonius of Rhodes. (UP:8 | WS:40 | Total:48)
190. The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson. (UP:37 | WS:10 | Total:47)
191. Nichomachean ethics by Aristotle. (UP:16 | WS:30 | Total:46)
192. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandlla. (UP:15 | WS:30 | Total:45)
193. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. (UP:4 | WS:40 | Total:44)
194. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. (UP:13 | WS:30 | Total:43)
195. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham. (UP:12 | WS:30 | Total:42)
196. The Occult by Colin Wilson. (UP:12 | WS:30 | Total:42)
197. Cosmos by Carl Sagan. (UP:21 | WS:20 | Total:41)
198. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. (UP:31 | WS:10 | Total:41)
199. Hamlet by Shakespeare. (UP:29 | WS:10 | Total:39)
200. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. (UP:28 | WS:10 | Total:38)

Original Source

29 Sep 19:35

FC Santa Claus (!) announcer loses his mind after promotion-winning goal

by Ryan Rosenblatt

FC Santa Claus is the real name of a club and their announcer went absolutely bananas.

FC Santa Claus were a fourth division Finnish club. Were.

That's because this 94th minute goal earned them promotion to the third division. Their announcer may have been excited about it.

What is better, the name FC Santa Claus or the announcer?

On one hand, FC Santa Claus.

On the other hand, he is literally just yelling as loudly as he can and probably hugging everyone can he reach.

But FC Santa Claus.

But you know he is bright red and probably verging on heart attack.

FC Santa Claus.

It was the greatest moment of his life and is the perfect call even if you don't speak Finnish.

Yes.

HT Who Ate All The Pies

29 Sep 19:35

Aiko The Dog Eats All The Cheese, Is Very Sorry

by gguillotte
firehose

video on clickthrough
no god only shiba

The cheese was delicious. Aiko is sorry. Can Aiko have more? Aiko is sorry.
29 Sep 19:34

On Jupiter, You Can See Neon Rain

by Esther Inglis-Arkell

On Jupiter, You Can See Neon Rain

There isn't enough neon on the surface of Jupiter. This rather prosaic fact might point to one of the most spectacular sights in the solar system. Inside Jupiter, it might rain neon streaks.

Read more...








29 Sep 19:33

Let's not overreact to the Cowboys' win over the Saints

by Jeff Gray
firehose

"This is the same Saints team that allowed Matt Ryan to break a franchise record for passing yards in its season opener and followed that up by losing to the _Browns_. In Dallas's only other game this season against a 2013 playoff team, Romo coughed the ball up three times and the 49ers won by two scores. Their other two wins? The lowly Rams and Titans. The cumulative record of the Cowboys' opponents now sits at 5-10."

Yes, Dallas looked great against New Orleans. No, that doesn't mean they're waltzing back into the playoffs.

Listening to the unbridled enthusiasm bubbling out of Big D after the Cowboys' improved to 3-1 with a 38-17 dismantling of the Saints -- yes, those now 1-3 Saints -- you would think the glory days are back. That's right Cowboys fans, a Week 4 win over a vastly under-performing Saints team has just erased three consecutive .500 seasons and four-year playoff drought. Hooray!

"In my time in the NFL this is as complete a unit as I've been a part of," chirped Tony Romo, who followed up a night of tossing touchdowns to teammates (three scoring passes) by tossing them effusive praise.

ESPN Dallas beat writer Todd Archer took it one step further: "The ghosts of Cowboys past -- think Green Bay Packers loss last year, Detroit Lions in 2011 -- were put to bed."

Nobody's taking away from the Boys' impressive offensive showing on Sunday night, or the fact that the team is off to its best start since 2008, but let's not get carried away just yet. This is the same Saints team that allowed Matt Ryan to break a franchise record for passing yards in its season opener and followed that up by losing to the Browns.

In Dallas's only other game this season against a 2013 playoff team, Romo coughed the ball up three times and the 49ers won by two scores. Their other two wins? The lowly Rams and Titans. The cumulative record of the Cowboys' opponents now sits at 5-10.

Romo's lofty claim about his offensive supporting cast does have some bite -- Dez Bryant may be the most talented wide receiver outside of Detroit, DeMarco Murray leads the NFL rushing race by over 150 yards and the offensive line is one of the league's top units -- but it's too early to put them above the 2007 cast that Romo and the Cowboys rode to the NFC East crown. Terrell Owens and Jason Witten both topped 1,000 yards receiving, Marion Barber ran for 975 yards and double-digit touchdowns and three members of the offensive line were named to the Pro Bowl. The offense ranked second in the league in scoring, third in yardage and had seven Pro Bowlers.

We'll need a larger sample size to determine if 2014's version stacks up.

Regardless, offense has never been the problem during the Cowboys' extended postseason absence (in the four year's since their last playoff game, they've ranked no lower than No. 11 in scoring) -- the real question is on defense. That unit was shockingly impressive against Drew Brees and the Saints' prolific attack (holding them out to the end zone for three quarters and forcing three turnovers), but they're still allowing just shy of 380 yards per game and rank 28th in pass defense. Orlando Scandrick's early return from suspension is a boost to the secondary, but that's offset by the loss of Morris Claiborne to a torn patellar tendon, the latest in a string of devastating injuries that have left the defense riddled with question marks.

The Cowboys looked like outright title contenders against the Saints, and if they can consistently play that way for the next 13 weeks, they'll be a lock to reenter the playoffs. But if you've been watching Dallas for the last half-decade, you know that they've been anything but consistent. We need more than four weeks against middling opposition before we declare the Cowboys' era of mediocrity dead and buried.

Don't hang the division title banner just yet, folks.

29 Sep 19:31

There's going to be a Stephon Marbury musical in China

by James Dator

This is the best thing to happen to basketball and acting since "Space Jam."

Billboards, TV commercials, video game covers. These are the things NBA players get as perks of the job. If you're Stephon Marbury and you're playing in China they will make a musical about you, which is way cooler.

"I am Marbury" is set to debut in Bejing and is currently in production. What kind of songs are in a musical called "I am Marbury"? Well, brace yourself, because New Republic gave us a sneak peak, and it's better than we ever could have imagined.

I am Marbury," he intones. "You are Marbury. We are all connected." After each line, a chorus of Chinese actors repeats the sentence in Mandarin. He goes on: "I am a champion. You are a champion. But it was all yesterday. We will never stop working hard. We will never be satisfied. We will always keep moving on."

I AM MARBURY. YOU ARE MARBURY.

Great news everyone! We're all Marbury. We're waiting for a final track list before we get all giddy, but we really hope there's a song called "Starbury Fields Forever."

29 Sep 19:31

Realistic racer Assetto Corsa takes a lap on Rainbow Road

by Earnest Cavalli
Thanks to Italian developer Kunos Simulazioni, racing sim Assetto Corsa features some of the world's most famous race tracks. Now, thanks to a dedicated fan, the game also offers access to Mario Kart staple Rainbow Road. Redditor "N64AC" adapted the...
29 Sep 19:30

bison2winquote: - Avu to Salamander pre-fight, Martial Champion...



bison2winquote:

- Avu to Salamander pre-fight, Martial Champion [hacked] (Konami)

"THEN I’LL TWIST IT."

(arcade - 1993)

29 Sep 19:30

Hear This: Prince’s Dirty Mind saw him enter the ’80s a one-man revolution

by David Anthony

In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week, in honor of Prince’s pair of new albums, we’re picking our favorite songs from the Purple One.

Prince’s pair of ’70s albums may have been the world’s introduction to the Minneapolis R&B phenomenon, but it was Dirty Mind, his first album released in the ’80s, that showed he was a pop sensation strutting toward a breakout. Much like 1979’s Prince, his Purpleness’ third album saw him handling the bulk of the instrumentation, and even as Dirty Mind shifts from funk to R&B to contemporary pop, it’s all united by its maker’s consuming aura.

“When You Were Mine” shows Prince in peak pop form, as a hip-shaking backbeat lays the groundwork for his funky falsetto, after a synth line introduces—and eventually restates—the song ...

29 Sep 19:28

Comcast/TWC merger vote delayed after NY regulators find “deficiencies”

by Jon Brodkin
firehose

all carriers suck forever

they can't even merge in an anti-competitive manner correctly

The New York Public Service Commission has delayed its vote on the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger from October 2 to November 13.

The delay comes as the commission reviews recommendations from the state Division of Consumer Protection's Utility Intervention Unit (UIU). In a filing on August 25 (download link), the UIU described "deficiencies associated with the Companies’ current substandard customer service" and said the merger should not be approved unless certain conditions are imposed. The UIU also said there are "deficiencies" in the companies' petition with the state, "specifically, in the areas of improving the Companies’ service to its New York customers, making universal broadband more affordable, increasing broadband speed, and investing in infrastructure, including ways to remedy those deficiencies."

Conditions proposed to remedy the problems include expanding eligibility for Comcast's low-cost Internet service for poor people, preservation of Time Warner Cable's $14.99-per-month standalone broadband service for all customers regardless of income status, expansion of broadband in rural areas, implementation of a service quality measure, preservation of customer service jobs in New York, and "the creation of two additional voting seats on the Board of Directors of the merged company to represent New York consumer interests."

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29 Sep 19:28

CDC confirms at least 10 cases of virus in Conn - Chron.com

firehose

enterovirus 68


CDC confirms at least 10 cases of virus in Conn
Chron.com
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed three cases of enterovirus 68 from the Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford, bringing the total in the state to at least 10. Yale-New Haven Children's ...

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29 Sep 19:27

A secretive German conglomerate is on a mission to control your breakfast

by Max Nisen
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"Rather than just taking large stakes in big companies (its majority stake in beauty company Coty being the exception), or flipping businesses for a profit, the firm tends to buy companies or brands in their entirety, not just food but also luxury brands like Jimmy Choo and Bally, and run them. Instead of investment managers, it’s led by three high profile CEOs."

"this deal raises its total breakfast and coffee investments to more than $15 billion", including Peet's and Caribou Coffee

A coffee/bagel monolith.

If coffee or a bagel are a frequent part of your breakfast, there’s a good chance that J.A.B. Holding Company (formerly Joh. A. Benckiser), a German conglomerate run on behalf of the four very private multi-billionaire Reimann siblings, will have a hand in your morning meal.

The company announced today that it would buy Einstein Noah (paywall), America’s largest retail bagel chain for about $374 million, on the heels of several large deals that left it in charge of one of the world’s largest global coffee empires.

Einstein Noah is a public company that owns Einstein Bros. Bagels, Noah’s New York Bagels, and Manhattan Bagel. It’s dwarfed by competitors Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, which have entered the bagel game, but remains much larger than any other bagel-only chain. As of July 2014, it had 857 total stores including those that are franchised or licensed. It will be run as a stand-alone company within the conglomerate.

The company’s coffee presence is much more impressive. First came a billion dollar buyout of West Coast favorite Peet’s coffee in late 2012, followed by a $340 million purchase of a majority stake in Caribou Coffee in early 2013. Later that year, the company made a nearly $10 billion megadeal for coffee giant Douwe Egberts. And last year, it paid $5 billion for a majority stake in a company combining Douwe Egberts and Mondelez’s coffee brands into Jacobs Douwe Egberts.

Leaving aside Peet’s and Caribou, R.A.B. controls a company with more than 15% of the coffee retail market by retail value, second only to Nestle. R.A.B. is the largest by retail volume according to last year’s figures (Nestle trumps R.A.B. in the value of coffee sold because of its Nespresso business, which costs more than brewed coffee by volume):

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In Einstein Noah, J.A.B. is taking on something of a challenge. Bagels are now omnipresent, available frozen, at just about any coffee chain, and as part of a fast food breakfast. The company has been struggling somewhat; sales are flat and growth sluggish as it attempts a turnaround plan.

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn, the company’s biggest shareholder, plans to approve the deal.

J.A.B. isn’t a typical investment vehicle. Rather than just taking large stakes in big companies (its majority stake in beauty company Coty being the exception), or flipping businesses for a profit, the firm tends to buy companies or brands in their entirety, not just food but also luxury brands like Jimmy Choo and Bally, and run them. Instead of investment managers, it’s led by three high profile CEOs.

J.A.B. seems to be betting on breakfast as a long term winner, this deal raises its total breakfast and coffee investments to more than $15 billion.

29 Sep 19:26

Art buff, Banksy





Art buff, Banksy

29 Sep 19:25

Newswire: Downton Abbey’s Lady Cora announces U.S. dates with her folk-rock band

by Marah Eakin

Downton Abbey’s mother figure can rock, in a motherly sort of way. Actress Elizabeth McGovern—who plays Lady Cora on the stuffy British drama—has announced a series of U.S. dates with her folk-rock band, Sadie And The Hotheads. Self-described as a group that draws on “a world of musical influences, from ’60s pop to country, esoteric folk to jazz, Celtic to torch songs,” Sadie And The Hotheads have existed as a band since 2007, though they’ve understandably become more popular since Downton launched.

The group’s 10-date tour starts Dec. 4, and all stops are listed below.

Sadie And The Hotheads tour 2014

Dec. 4—Lincoln Theatre—Washington, D.C.
Dec. 5—The Sunoco Performing Theater At Whitaker Center—Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Dec. 6—Concert Hall At New York Society For Ethical Culture—New York, New York
Dec. 7—TBD
Dec. 9—Rams Head On Stage—Annapolis ...

29 Sep 19:25

Liberal Arts Graduate Realizes He’s Already Forgotten 90% Of Human Condition

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY—Saying he could barely recall anything about the inescapable aloneness of individual existence, recent liberal arts graduate Jonathan Snyder confirmed Monday that he had already forgotten roughly 90 percent of the human conditio...






29 Sep 19:18

Forbes releases list of America's wealthiest women - The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com

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"The wealthiest woman on the list is also the richest woman in the world: Christy Walton. The value of the Wal-Mart shares she inherited has increased during the year, pushing her net worth to $38 billion, up from from $35.4 billion a year ago. She is the 6th richest person in the U.S. Christy Walton married into the richest family in the world and inherited her fortune from her late husband, John Walton, who died in a plane crash in 2005. His father Sam started Wal-Mart, now the world’s largest retailer.

The second richest American woman is Christy Walton’s sister-in-law, Alice Walton, who has an estimated net worth $34.9 billion. She ranks number 9 overall on The Forbes 400.

The most noteworthy new woman on this year’s Forbes 400 is 30-year old Elizabeth Holmes, who vaulted herself to No. 110 on the list this year after was revealed this summer that she owns 50% of Theranos, a blood diagnostic company she founded that is valued at $9 billion. She founded Theranos at age 20 with money from her college fund (she dropped out of Stanford University to start the company), and has revolutionized blood test-technology by inventing a way to draw blood and analyze it at a fraction of previous costs. Her $4.5 billion net worth makes her both the youngest, and the richest, self-made female billionaire on the Forbes 400."

Holmes' $4.5 billion is $1.5 billion more than Oprah's, and more than "former eBay EBAY -0.51% CEO, Meg Whitman (#324 with $2 billion). Other self-made women billionaire are; Diane Hendricks (#151, $3.6 billion), Doris Fisher (#167, $3.3 billion), Judy Faulkner (#261, $2.4 billion), Elaine Wynn (#261, $2.4 billion) and Johnelle Hunt (#324, $2 billion)."


ABC News
Forbes releases list of America's wealthiest women
The Times-Picayune - NOLA.com
Walmart on College Drive in Baton Rouge Tuesday, December 18, 2012. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune). Print · Jennifer Larino, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Jennifer Larino, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Times- ...
Forbes 400 richest people in US13WHAM-TV

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29 Sep 18:47

“I would have sometimes four cups of coffee before my first cup...



“I would have sometimes four cups of coffee before my first cup of coffee.” — Steven Wright

29 Sep 18:47

USPS Batman Forever stamps





USPS Batman Forever stamps

29 Sep 18:47

gailsimone: I have been asking Kate Beaton to draw a Red Sonja...



gailsimone:

I have been asking Kate Beaton to draw a Red Sonja cover for the monthly book since issue one. Since she hasn’t done a lot of covers, she was the ONLY female artist we asked who (reluctantly) turned us down.

I think she has agreed to do one if time permits, and she sent this on Twitter to hold us over and I just love it. Kate, you are awesome!

I picked up Red Sonja vol. 1 yesterday and read it cover to cover.  I hadn’t really read the comics when I drew this doodle, but it was a super fun (and violent and all the rest) read!  

29 Sep 18:41

Twin Systems: Starpoint Gemini 2

by Adam Smith
firehose

'from a modern take on Freelancer to a sort of EVE Offline'

ooh. oh shit

By Adam Smith on September 29th, 2014 at 6:00 pm.

This is the year in which I finally fulfilled my childhood dream by becoming an interest following a man who lives on a space station on Twitter. You might think that would be enough hot space action to satisfy my stellar carvings but you’d be wrong. I’ve got a hankering for space dust that’d make George Jung’s eyes as big as saucers. Thank the lord (or the ancient precursor race that seeded this planet) that we are living through a space game renaissance. It’s possible that Elite: Dangerous, once complete, will satisfy all cravings but perhaps some Starpoint Gemini 2 will provide sustenance in the meantime?

Out now, SG 2 is ‘a tactical space simulator with tons of RPG depth’, according to the developers. I’ve seen it described as everything from a modern take on Freelancer to a sort of EVE Offline. The truth is somewhere in the middle of those poles, I believe. You’ll be in control of a single ship but able to capture new vessels (with over seventy types available) once sufficiently wealthy and skilled.

There is a story but, as is often the case, the sandbox is the place to be, even if the tiny little grains of sand have coalesced into planets and stars. There’s a system of stations and planets to explore and the general consensus indicates that there’s plenty of good times to be had. Not quite as exciting as Elite: Dangerous but as fine an alternative to X: Rebirth, expansion or not, as you might hope for.

Tempted to investigate? Or perhaps you’ve already been playing, either in Early Access or since release. My cursor is hovering over the purchase button even now but I’m far too busy to become a space captain for the umpteenth time. It’s back to twitternauts for me.

Iceberg Interactive, Little Green Men, Starpoint Gemini, starpoint gemini 2.

29 Sep 18:39

Golden Tate emerges for fantasy owners in Week 4

by Andrew Fox Miller
firehose

Taters!

Tate was the biggest beneficiary of Calvin Johnson's limited role. We take a look at the fantasy implications.

Someone had to benefit from Calvin Johnson not playing at 100 percent. On Sunday, it was Golden Tate. Tate caught eight of his 10 targets for 116 yards in Sunday's win over the New York Jets. Tate accounted for nearly one third of the team's targets. Johnson played on a limited basis as he nursed an ankle injury. He was on the field for roughly half of the team's offensive snaps and most of the time it was to draw coverage and open up things for players like Tate.

Fantasy impact: Of course it's worth keeping in mind that Tate had his best game as a Detroit Lion while Johnson wasn't fully healthy. It's unlikely that Tate will see his Week 4 numbers on a consistent basis. It's also worth noting that Tate has yet to find the end zone this season. However, he was averaging seven targets a game before Sunday's contest. He's shaping up to be a solid WR3 especially in PPR leagues.

29 Sep 18:38

Rob Ryan: Nobody's doing worse than the Ryan brothers

by Adam Stites
firehose

bye Rob~

The Saints have forced just one turnover and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is facing the heat as a consequence.

The New Orleans Saints were trounced in a Sunday Night Football matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, losing 38-17, and dropping to 1-3 on the season. Much of the team's struggles revolved around an inability to stop the running game of the Cowboys, led by DeMarco Murray.

With just one turnover forced through the first four games and the fourth-most yards allowed, Saints defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has drawn some heat and admitted that it was deserved on Sunday night:

"Right now, man, nobody's doing worse than the Ryan brothers. We might say we are two of the best coaches, and I believe that, and I know that. We're doing everything we can to do it, but we have to do more."

Rob Ryan's brother, New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, has had similar struggles as the Jets have managed to force just two turnovers and rank in the bottom half of the league in points allowed, although they've given up the fourth-fewest yards of total offense.

The issues for the Saints appear to run deeper, as Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons managed to thrash the New Orleans for 445 passing yards and 123 rushing yards in Week 1. While the team had a shaky performance against the Cleveland Browns and a strong one against the Minnesota Vikings in the subsequent weeks, the Saints struggled in all aspects again on Sunday night.

Next up for the Saints are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team that has scored the fourth-fewest points, but had its best offensive performance of the year in Week 4, as the Mike Glennon-led team accumulated 350 yards of offense in a 27-24 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

29 Sep 18:36

Player knocks red card out of referee's hands

by Ryan Rosenblatt
firehose

fuck your penalty

Rejected!

Guingamp have lost six of their first eight matches. They are at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table. They really have nothing to lose, and they probably aren't exactly clear on how football works anyway.

So when the referee tried to send off goalkeeper Mamdoi Samassa, Benjamin Angoua figured, "if he doesn't have the red card, he can't show it."

And it worked!

So the ref recovered the red card and showed the red card. He still gets credit for the block.

HT Fox Soccer

29 Sep 18:36

Barry Bonds is glassing

by Bill Hanstock
firehose

MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN

He sure is.

29 Sep 18:35

Facebook's Atlas: the Platform For Advertisers To Track Your Movements

by samzenpus
firehose

#nevergo

An anonymous reader writes In its most direct challenge to Google yet, Facebook plans to sell ads targeted to its 1.3 billion users when they are elsewhere on the Web. The company is rolling out an updated version of Atlas that will direct ads to people on websites and mobile apps. From the article: "The company said Atlas has been rebuilt 'from the ground up' to cater for today's marketing needs, such as 'reaching people across devices and bridging the gap between online impressions and offline purchases.'"

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29 Sep 18:35

Scientists Seen As Competent But Not Trusted By Americans

by samzenpus
firehose

great

cold fjord writes The Woodrow Wilson School reports, "If scientists want the public to trust their research suggestions, they may want to appear a bit 'warmer,' according to a new review published by Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. The review, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), shows that while Americans view scientists as competent, they are not entirely trusted. This may be because they are not perceived to be friendly or warm. In particular, Americans seem wary of researchers seeking grant funding and do not trust scientists pushing persuasive agendas. Instead, the public leans toward impartiality. 'Scientists have earned the respect of Americans but not necessarily their trust,' said lead author Susan Fiske, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and professor of public affairs. 'But this gap can be filled by showing concern for humanity and the environment. Rather than persuading, scientists may better serve citizens by discussing, teaching and sharing information to convey trustworthy intentions.'"

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29 Sep 18:34

CloudFlare gives Internet a present: free, no-hassle “Universal” SSL

by Sean Gallagher
firehose

hot

In a bid to secure even more of the Internet’s websites through the use of secure connections, San Francisco-based content delivery network and Internet security provider CloudFlare has launched a new free service for both its paying and free customers: automatic Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption for any site, without the need to pay for or configure an encryption certificate.

Called Universal SSL, the service eliminates the need for organizations to deal with a Certificate Authority or configure their own server’s crypto. Instead, if a website is connected through CloudFlare, its owner can set up a certificate through a Web interface in 5 minutes, and it will be automatically deployed within 24 hours—providing the site’s traffic with Transaction Layer Security (TLS) encryption based on an elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA).

In a release, CloudFlare security engineering lead Nick Sullivan said, “The cryptographic systems we’re rolling out as part of Universal SSL are a generation ahead of what is used by even the top Internet giants. These certificates use elliptic curve digital signature algorithm (ECDSA) keys, ensuring all connections with CloudFlare sites have Perfect Forward Secrecy, and they are signed with ECDSA and the highly secure SHA-256 hash function. This is a level of cryptographic security most web administrators literally couldn’t buy.”

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29 Sep 18:34

GitList

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yet another self-hostable GitHub

GitList:

GitList allows you to browse repositories using your favorite browser, viewing files under different revisions, commit history and diffs.

Thanks Marc!

29 Sep 18:33

California cops don’t need warrants to surveil with drones

by David Kravets
firehose

great

Alameda County police in Northern California are inching toward flying camera-equipped drones like this one.

California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation that would have required the police to obtain search warrants to surveil the public with unmanned drones.

Brown, a Democrat facing re-election in November, sided with law enforcement and said the legislation simply granted Californians privacy rights that went too far beyond existing guarantees. Sunday's veto comes as the small drones are becoming increasingly popular with business, hobbyists, and law enforcement.

"This bill prohibits law enforcement from using a drone without obtaining a search warrant, except in limited circumstances," the governor said in his veto message (PDF). "There are undoubtedly circumstances where a warrant is appropriate. The bill's exceptions, however, appear to be too narrow and could impose requirements beyond what is required by either the 4th Amendment or the privacy provisions in the California Constitution."

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