Mattalyst

The news: Cosmopolitan's litany of sex tips has been skewered in the past, and rightly so. The magazine's suggestions have ranged from hilarious to strange to downright contrary to the laws of physics. And to Cosmo's credit, it agrees.

The magazine recently put together videos of a couple testing out some of its sex positions in real life. And to really ramp up the awkwardness, they did so in broad daylight in the middle of Manhattan's Columbus Circle. While the situation as a whole is ridiculous, the acrobatics involved demonstrate just how over the top Cosmo's sex advice is, a fact the magazine fully admits.

"We're not going to lie to you. ... Read More

dunpkin:

long headaches and the front bottoms // fall is really here

LovePalz Club is cybersex for the Tinder age: a little creepy, but just what the people want

This Sunday marks Chuck Todd’s one-month anniversary in the anchor chair at Meet the Press. Despite an opening-week ratings spike from his exclusive sit-down interview with President Obama, the Todd-helmed show has settled back into third place behind ABC's This Week and CBS's Face the Nation. This has been frustrating ... More »

A real-life patient now has a fully-implanted mind-controlled robotic prosthetic for the first time. A Swedish truck driver who had his arm amputated over a decade ago became the first to properly get the arm, which is surgically implanted so as to be controlled by his biological nerves and muscles.

That means that he can control the arm in a pretty natural way, with the nerves and muscles sending signals to the prosthetic in order to move it. It's like you'd move your own arm—you don't have to really think about it.

A paper published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine describes the procedure, which took place in January 2013.

While the idea of mind-controlled prosthetics has been around for a little while, and we've even seen prosthetic limbs controlled by the nerves before, the remarkable thing about this prosthetic is how deeply the neuromuscular interfaces are implanted. 

The device is osseointegrated, which means its attached directly to the skeleton. The user doesn't have to wear it all the time, however, as only a titanium implant is actually integrated with the bone, and the arm attaches to that. An advantage to this is that it eliminates the cup-like socket used by conventional arm prostheses, which eliminates a lot of potential discomfort and allows for greater freedom of movement.

Researchers led by Max Ortiz Catalan at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden reported that, over the course of a year in use, their implanted electrodes offered greater control than the more conventional surface electrodes, which are placed on the skin.

The patient wearing his prosthetic arm. Image: Ortiz-Catalan et al., Sci. Trans. Med., 2014

They wrote that the patient has been using the arm in his daily life ever since. No complications were observed over one-year implantation, and all components will remain implanted indefinitely, they added.

There are several advantages to using the implanted control system over comparable surface electrodes. The latter work in much the same way, but theyre prone to issues such as cross-talk, and can be affected by environmental factors like changes in temperature.

That unreliability is obviously irksome to the user, and the patient with the new arm reported a host of benefits. On a purely practical level, he told the researchers that the more refined control he had over the arms grip allowed him to pick up small or fragile objects like eggs.

While the study only includes one patient, which means the researchers cant make too many bold claims about the extent of the systems capabilities just yet, it suggests the potential for prosthetics that are both stably attached to the body and easier to control than ever before.

So far we have shown that the patient has a long-term stable ability to perceive touch in different locations in the missing hand

If that werent exciting enough, theres also the prospect of communication going the other way through the arm—from the prosthetic to the nerves, and on to the brain. According to the authors, by incorporating signal feedthrough mechanisms into the osseointegrated implant system, long-term communication between the artificial limb and implanted neuromuscular interfaces is possible.

This would not only allow for more accurate control but also give the user sensory feedback; he or she could effectively feel with the prosthetic hand.

This is simply incredible.

In a statement, Ortiz Catalan said that this communication between prosthetic limbs and the body had been a the missing link. The results on the sensory feedback aspect of the arm are only preliminary, but seem to be heading in a positive direction. 

So far we have shown that the patient has a long-term stable ability to perceive touch in different locations in the missing hand, he said. Intuitive sensory feedback and control are crucial for interacting with the environment, for example to reliably hold an object despite disturbances or uncertainty.

It's still not as good as the real thing when it comes to human limbs, but it sounds like a pretty strong step closer. And when a prosthetic arm can truly rival its biological equivalent, it won't be much longer until it can surpass it.

The Choosatron is a sort of adventure engine. You can create or download stories with branching paths and use the hardware's built-in buttons and thermal printer to "play" the story.

You read a bit, come to a decision point, make a choice, and then read the consequences. When you reach the end of the story you can keep the paper as a sort of memento of your choices and then play again.

"It all still distills down to the same choice-based gameplay," creator Jerry Belich explained. "It's always easy to play, but people can get as intricate and crazy with the design of their stories as they want. They can share them online and play them with other people online." You can even code very basic images to be included in your story.

It's a...

Continue reading…

Bagrad Badalian

Dorkly has a new "choose your own adventure" type comic that addresses a sticky question. You're on a date with a fan of whatever nerd interest you have, but they aren't nearly as well-versed on that universe as you are. Do you correct a mistaken detail? Do you let it go? How would you finesse this situation without ruining your budding relationship? You can answer the questions as you see fit, or you can skip through each possible page like I did at Dorkly.

They may kill you dead in the movie, but you won’t mind wearing this beautiful version of an Alien facehugger. It was made by deviantArtist fairyfrog from sterling silver with an amber centerpiece and measures 6″ long. She made it as a showpiece without any thought to the cost, but if you’re interested in purchasing it, she notes that it will cost around $1300.

See more pictures after the break.

Thanks to Marion for the tip! Send yours to tips@fashionablygeek.com.

Microsoft’s Project Spark is now available to all. The free-to-play title, which lets players create their very own game, sheds its beta tag with a wealth of new content and a retail disc offering.

Please consider preordering the complete collection from one of many fine online retailers to share with the cat-ladies and lady-cats in your life.

Ebola: The MH370 of diseases? Ebola: Another reason to close the border? Ebola: We're all going to die?Semi-respectable coverage of the Ebola virus could only last so long on cable news. Today, on both CNN and Fox News, it devolved predictably into self-parody as medical experts explained to the networks' ... More »

Fuck You, You Fucking Fuck by Shel Silverstein

One of the perils of doing things differently than your predecessor is that people quickly forget how things used to be. North Korea’s late leader, Kim Jong Il, was a fairly reclusive man, one who seemed more drawn to the tunnels under Pyongyang than the bright lights above. His son and successor Kim Jong Un, by contrast, has been omnipresent in North Korean media since his first ebullient on-site inspection in January 2012. He assesses the output of women’s hosiery and shoes, urges faster mushroom production, gesticulates at goat farms, measures the length of offshore artillery fire, embraces the troops, hugs small children, and welcomes tall, pierced men from abroad. He directs painters and architects, launches missiles, watches lubricant ooze, and enjoys North Korean girl bands with his wife. Clearly, his goal is not just to look at things, but to be looked at.

That’s why it’s so remarkable that the 31-year-old marshal hasn’t been seen in public since cameras captured him smoking cigarettes at a performance of the Moranbong Band on September 3. Speculation about his whereabouts only increased in late September after Reuters’ James Pearson reported that a North Korean propaganda film had shown a hefty Kim Jong Un limping and indicated that he was suffering from “discomfort.” The narrator of the film relayed the news with fulsome gratitude and even seemed to guilt-trip viewers for forcing such an obviously busy man to work so hard. South Korean news outlets have raised the possibility that Kim is recovering from ankle surgery.  

Kim’s prolonged absence, along with reports of what appear to be rather standard restrictions on entering and exiting the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, have fueled rumors of a coup. (One of the most-quoted sources for a variant of this theory, the North Korean poet and defector Jang Jin Sung, argues that the coup actually took place back in December.) But there is no evidence so far of an attack on the Kim family, which has done an extremely thorough job over the past seven decades of eliminating even the hint of internal opposition.

Kim Jong Un hasn’t been wholly incommunicado over the past month. He’s been credited in North Korean media with several pieces of writing: A missive to Bashar al-Assad and a long letter to Youth League workers in Pyongyang emerged in early September, and letters to various communist leaders abroad (including the Chinese) followed. Over the weekend, three top North Korean envoys visited Incheon, South Korea for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games, in the highest-level meeting with South Korean officials in several years. The delegation members refuted rumors that Kim was sick, as has North Korea’s representative in Geneva.

That Hwang Pyong So, a senior military official, led Saturday’s delegation to Incheon has been interpreted by some as confirmation of his great clout in North Korean high politics. Only a year ago, Hwang was but one lonely face in a sea of black-clothed officials when Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, was brutally purged from the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. But he has since risen meteorically. Jang Jin Sung, the North Korean poet-defector, prominently maintains that Hwang is running the show in North Korea via his Organization and Guidance Department (OGD). Jang’s assertions, amplified by news outlets such as CNN and Vice, are extremely dramatic and certainly deserve further investigation. The OGD appears to be a rather mundane apparatus that many communist parties share, though Jang and others with extensive experience inside the regime maintain that in North Korea it is particularly malevolent. But his role with the OGD should not blind us to the fact that Hwang’s other job titles are also quite powerful: vice chair of the National Defense Commission (ostensibly the most powerful institution in the government) and director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army. Moreover, holding various positions within the North Korean government is far from unprecedented, and chair-swapping among elites is common, much like in the Chinese Communist Party. At least thus far, North Korean media has not personally lauded Hwang for his role in the Incheon trip; nary a single image of the journey has been shown on North Korean television or in the Party newspaper.

Kim Jong Un’s main public function, as the object of a totalitarian cult of personality, has been to serve as the face of the regime. He is now unable to fulfill that role, for whatever reason, and the system is insufficiently evolved for an appearance by his wife, or his sister, to do anything except further stoke speculation. All the rumors over the last month may ultimately reveal very little about the North Korean system, which is already known for its secretive and unpredictable modes of operation. But it shows that we share with the North Korean people a tendency to excessively focus on the Kims to the detriment of knowing more about their immediate subordinates, let alone the roles they play in running the country. If North Korea’s young leader doesn’t make a public appearance for the October 10 “Party Foundation Day,” it would send a message: We may soon learn much more about the old officials we rarely notice as we pore over images of Kim Jong Un looking at things, and look right back at him.

This article was originally published at http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/where-is-kim-jong-un/381204/

ghoulnextdoor:

Can you imagine these glorious horrors stalking and slashing down the runway?  I can and it makes for most memorable nightmares. From Alice Auaa 2014-2015 F/W runway during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Japan.

I’d love to see these as designs in a horror game or something else.

Ain’t nothing on

Chickens are getting bigger. A lot bigger. A new study charts the growth of the bird to almost 5 times its size from less than 50 years ago. That change, due mostly to changes in breeding, has brought not only a meatier bird, though, but also one with some new health issues.

Read more...

Six newly identified genetic variations may explain our response to coffee

Damaged by Enys Guerrero ©

Etsy / FB / dA / Tumblr

(Please leave links & credit … Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ)

insanitysjustastateofmind:

tom-sits-like-a-whore:

i-might-be-misha:

tsar-bucks:

georjajayhurrison:

fangks:

christieanne:

I’d be laughing ll the way out the door

do u at least get to see a dick tho

tumblr user fangks asks the real questions

my mother has been there and reports that yes you do get to see the dick and also it’s worth it

i would not be ashamed then

fuck “walk of shame” i’d strut out of the bathroom like yes bitch i just saw a nice dick what have you done with your life

A restaurant my mum used to go to had something like this, except it was a statue with a leaf to lift. One time she was there, and the buzzer went off. And out walked a nun.

ficklefandoms:

I lolled.

Beautiful Chemistry is a new collaboration between Tsinghua University Press and University of Science and Technology of China that seeks to make chemistry more accessible and interesting to the general public. Their first project was the creation of several short films that utilize a 4K UltraHD camera to capture a variety of striking chemical reactions without the usual clutter of test tubes, beakers or lab equipment. I definitely would have paid a bit more attention in chemistry class if we’d had the opportunity to watch some of these. Filmed and edited by Yan Liang.

John Oliver takes on one of the more boring but insidious scandals in Our Republic today: the phenomenon of civil asset forfeiture. That’s when police seize cash, vehicles, or any other property they believe was used in a crime, regardless of whether the stuff’s owner is found guilty of a crime or not.

Typical scenario: A guy who was stopped while traveling from Michigan to California with $2400 in cash to cover the costs of his move and get settled in a new job. Pulled over in Nevada, he was asked if he had any cash in the car, at which point the cops decided he had to be on the way to California to buy drugs with all that filthy money, so they seized it. Oliver exclaims:

Wow! There is so much wrong there, including the fact that any policeman who genuinely believes you need to travel from Michigan to California to purchase drugs needs to be introduced to the concept of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It’s right there!

It’s not just traffic stops, either. There was also a 2008 raid at the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit’s “Funk Night” event, where police seized every vehicle in the parking lot — 44 of them — on the pretext that the Art Institute didn’t have a liquor license, and therefore all cars driven there were participating in a criminal enterprise. Owners had to pay $900 each to get the cars out of impound — except for one poor bastard whose car was stolen from the impound lot. Not mentioned in the last Week Tonight story: the ACLU filed suit, and the raid was determined to be unconstitutional, so there’s that, at least.

If the causes for asset forfeiture are flimsy and ridiculous, the “law enforcement repurposing” of those assets is similarly crazy. For instance, there’s the Massachusetts police department that bought a Zamboni — the DA’s office “could not determine where this machine is located or the law-enforcement purpose it serves.” Oliver acknowledges there may have been a perfectly legitimate use for it: “If you’re robbing a bank and the police pull up in a Zamboni, you’re going to give yourself up out of sheer curiosity.”

It’s jaw-dropping and enraging. Happily, with the resources of HBO on hand, they’re at least able to put together a pretty good promo for a new TV show: Law & Order: Civil Asset Forfeiture Unit, starring Jeff Goldblum.

And also, here, have some outtakes with Jeff Goldblum:

cryptidsandoddities:

Clouds are weird yo.

At the annual William and Mary Supreme Court Preview in September, leading appellate lawyers and journalists speculated on what the Court would do with several pending same-sex marriage cases. The one thing that was agreed was that the Court would not simply deny the petitions for review.

On Monday, at the official start of the October 2014 Term, the Court did exactly that.

As late as this morning, the National Law Journal was hailing the beginning of “a low-key term.” Instead, the term began with global news—and a chaotic scene in the press room reminiscent of the confusion over the Affordable Care Act cases and even Bush v. Gore. Not only was the Court’s decision to deny certiorari in all the same-sex marriage cases a surprising one. Complicating matters was a clerical mistake that led the press office to distribute to reporters a printed list of “orders”—meaning, among other things, denials of cert.—that was missing 33 pages. And the big news was in those 33 pages. A number of reporters went upstairs for oral argument, not knowing that history was being made. (I was one.)

A quick explanation is in order: The Supreme Court does not have to take most cases. It has discretion over most of its jurisdiction. A party who lost a case below may petition the Court for review; the technical term is “writ of certiorari,” or “cert.” for short. It is hornbook law that a denial of cert. has no legal meaning. It doesn’t mean the Court approves of the decision below. It just means the Court doesn’t want to look at the issue now.

So the Court officially gave no hint as to how it would rule when—or, as of today if—the same-sex-marriage issue comes before it. Unofficially, I don’t see how that can be true. I don’t see how today’s decision doesn’t signal that even within the Court, the fight is over.

The reason is this: When cert. is denied, the judgment below becomes final. In every one of the marriage cases below, a federal court of appeals held that the parties before it are entitled to recognition of their marriages, or entitled to be legally married in their state or residence. Laws and state constitutional provisions limiting marriage to “one man and one woman” are void. In each case, either the court of appeals itself or the Supreme Court had “stayed the mandate” pending Supreme Court review. Today those stays began to disappear. They cannot survive.

In the days and weeks ahead, couples will be allowed to marry in their states. In fact, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has announced that marriages can begin in the commonwealth as early as 1 p.m. today.

So two things have changed as of 9:30 this morning, when the orders issued. First, there will soon be thousands of same-sex couples married by order of the courts. And second, the lower-court opinions, which said the Constitution provides a right for same-sex couples to marry, are now the law.

That sounds redundant, but it’s not. As long as cert. was pending, the lower-court opinions were in limbo. Meanwhile the issue is pending in the Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, and 11th Circuits. Any panel in one of those circuits must now confront a huge weight of federal authority affirming same-sex marriage. True, other circuits' decisions are not “binding”; true, the Supreme Court did not give any hint of its position. But that’s still a lot of contrary authority to move against. Any judge writing an opinion that bars same-sex marriage must explain why he or she is ignoring all the previous decisions.

That still could happen. The press has speculated that the Sixth Circuit may soon issue an opinion allowing state bans to stand. The Fifth and 11th are among the most conservative of the circuits. If one of them breaks step, then the Court will have to take that case. And it would seem to most observers that it would be granting to reverse.

The four dissenters in United States v. Windsor—the Defense of Marriage Act case—may have looked around the conference table last week and realized they would never get five votes to overturn the lower courts; that is, that Justice Anthony Kennedy was committed to taking his Windsor opinion to its fullest extent. Such an opinion might not only affirm same-sex marriage; it might hold, as some lower courts have held, that sexual orientation is a “heightened scrutiny” classification, like race or sex. All laws that discriminate against gays and lesbians would be in danger then. Chief Justice John Roberts and his allies may hope that every circuit will come to the same decision, so that gay marriage will become the law without a broad Kennedy opinion upholding the rights of gays in other areas.

No one really knows what is happening on the upper floors of One First St. N.E. This Court is an enigma in many ways. Thus anything is possible.

One thing, however, I will not believe is that this Court will allow thousands of couples nationwide to celebrate marriages, change names, jointly adopt children, become legally one family—and then, in an opinion later in the term, baldly announce that their marriages are in jeopardy or even void.

If the justices were later to decide against same-sex marriages, a number of the states where, in a few days, it will be legal, would be back at the Court asking for reconsideration. That would be, as Lyle Deniston of SCOTUSblog wisely wrote, “an invitation to legal chaos.” Beyond that, it would be an act of cruelty that I hope is beyond any five of the nine human beings who sit on this Court.

This article was originally published at http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/10/The-Same-Sex-Marriage-Fight-Is-Over/381146/