Fucking Google. Trying to download the Voice and Video Chat plug in to use my Google Voice number to answer calls, and they completely neutered it. It won't download for me, no matter what browser I use.
"Is there anything more embarrassing than only realizing there's a slight wrinkle in your tie once you get to work? What will your co-workers think, that you actually wear your clothing? Oh, the horror. Thankfully, you can avoid that nightmare with this compact pocket-sized iron that eradicates wrinkles like a hair straightener."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"sciencehabit writes "If you are one of the 20% of healthy adults who struggle with basic arithmetic, simple tasks like splitting the dinner bill can be excruciating. Now, a new study suggests that a gentle, painless electrical current applied to the brain can boost math performance for up to 6 months. Researchers don't fully understand how it works, however, and there could be side effects." We've covered various other potential benefits to having your brain shocked."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"When we last saw master bladesmith Tony Swatton, he made a fully functional axe modeled after Gimli's from The Lord of the Rings. Most recently, he created a battle-ready version of the bat'leth, a sword from Star Trek. Qapla'! His tempered steel sword is ready to sever Jem'Hadar heads. At the link, you can watch a video of Mr. Swatton making the sword. Be sure to watch until the end, which shows his assistants attacking targets with the bat'leth."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"Face it, some days you feel like a kind and gentle Dorothy and some days you feel like the mean wicked witch. Now you can have an accessory that quietly expresses the darker side of your split personality with the Don't Make Me Release the Flying Monkeys Bangle from the NeatoShop. This beautiful bracelet is hand carved, inked, and polished. It is inscribed with the text "Don't make me release the flying monkeys." The bangle comes with a handsome embroidered gift pouch. Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Jewelry and fantastic Wizard Of Oz items."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"This seems a bit counter-intuitive, but a new study has shown that marijuana protects people from the emotional pain of being socially excluded. Previous studies have shown that over-the-counter medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen) reduce both physical and social pain. Because Tylenol affects cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors in the brain, a research team led by Timothy Deckman conducted a four-part study to find out if marijuana does the same."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"The diet can wait until...well, let's not kid ourselves. Sarah J. Gim used already made glazed donuts and slow churn ice cream to make the sandwiches. She froze them, then dipped them in melted chocolate and served them to undoubtedly thankful people. You can find process photos and her recipe at the link."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"Kristen sez, "The DoomBuggies website has released a version of the Haunted Mansion Corridor of Doors wallpaper in fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap, and according to the DoomBuggies facebook page, it's the same graphic that has been used by Disney. 'This is created from the same artwork that we created for Disney's official Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary CD box set and CD insert,' according to Jeff Baham, the owner of DoomBuggies.com.""
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"Is Yahoo trying to acquire Tumblr? Earlier today, All Things D reported that the two companies were in "serious" talks about some kind of deal, and now Adweek is saying that Yahoo is looking to do a straight-up acquisition. The deal could reach as high as $1 billion, say Adweek’s sources, putting it in the same league as Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram last year. Yahoo has been working to capture younger users — the same 18- to 24-year-olds that make up Tumblr’s core user base. Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman recently noted that one of the company’s challenges has been its aging demographic, writes All Things D. Since taking control of Yahoo, CEO Marissa Mayer has pursued a string of acquisitions, including Summly, Astrid, Jybe, and others. In addition to the failed Dailymotion acquisition, the company has also been rumored to be looking at Hulu, although Mayer has previously said that the company is shopping for smaller targets valued in the $100 million range."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
1 Billion is the new go to number for purchases.
- Me
Given their track record with Flickr, Upcoming and other purchases, maybe they better concentrate on cleaning up their backyard first.
- Spidra Webster
why, when they can cover everyone else's yards with carcasses and dog poop too?
- Joe "Bad Guts" Silence
That's a little unfair, in my opinion. The company has had no direction since Yang took over back in 2007, until Marissa Mayer got there. Thompson may have had a chance, but he didn't have a CS degree. Through the changes they've made in the last year and the purchases they've made or attempted to make, they're trying to become a powerhouse media company.
- Jimminy IS Everybody
I guess it kind of depends on how the merger is done. Would Tumblr be allowed to thrive as its own thing, but with some integration into Yahoo, like Flickr (well, hopefully doing better than Flickr)? Or would Tumblr be strip-mined to build stuff elsewhere at Yahoo, more like Facebook's acquisition of Friendfeed? Also, will Tumblr make Yahoo seem cool, or will Yahoo make Tumblr seem stodgy? I don't think the answers are clear-cut.
- John (bird whisperer)
Yahoo could turn it into something like Google+! Um, no. If true, I may move my tumblr to Wordpress.
- Yo Joe. No, go slow.
John, with such a large size, it would be most likely to go with the Flickr route. You don't can big companies, especially at $1B cost; at that point you're not buying the technology or staff. The better FB parallel would be Instragram.
- Jimminy IS Everybody
NOOOOOOOOOOO... Oh, wait. John said that already. KHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN!!!
- Steven Perez
from Android
"The revocation means that CCI’s articles of organization are void, most likely because the company forgot to file the proper paperwork or pay its fees. “If entity’s status is revoked then articles of incorporation / organization shall be void and all powers conferred upon such entity are declared inoperative, and, in the case of a foreign entity, the certificate of foreign registration shall be revoked and all powers conferred hereunder shall be inoperative,” the DCRA explains. Unfortunately for the CCI, the DCRA doesn’t have a strike based system and the company is now facing civil penalties and fines. It appears that company status was revoked last year which means that other businesses now have the option to take over the name. That would be quite an embarrassment, to say the least, and also presents an opportunity to scammers. “When a Washington DC corporation is revoked by the DCRA, its name is reserved and protected until December 31st of the year the corporation is revoked. After December 31st, other business entities may use the corporations name,” the DCRA explains on its website."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"Many were disappointed by Google’s decision to forgo hardware announcements—there was a developer Galaxy S4—at its I/O conference this week. But that doesn’t mean something significant isn’t coming. According to a new DigiTimes report, the search giant is aiming for a July release for its Nexus 7 refresh, corroborating a report from last month. Rumors as recently as last week suggested the device would arrive with a faster processor, and earlier reports claimed the device would come with a sharper screen. DigiTimes doesn’t share any details regarding specs, or price, but the publication’s report gives us an idea of when to expect the tablet to hit. Not that the current Nexus 7 is bad. But a refresh, especially with the impending iPad mini 2 inbound, would certainly be nice. Further outing the imminent arrival of a Nexus 7 successor is a quick—maybe accidental—glimpse in Google’s own Hangouts video. In the video, the camera very quickly shows what appears to be a Nexus 7, only it has...
more...
- Me
from Bookmarklet
The one thing I was looking forward to yesterday, was the next Nexus 7 update. :( Well at least it is sooner than the apple hardware updates.
- Me
"The problem with driving the same route, day after day, is that it becomes easy for commuters to stop paying attention. They know the route so well that they subconsciously tune out, ignoring signage both static and electronic, even when the latter is flashing danger warnings in big, orange letters. Needless to say this can have deadly consequences, and the authorities in charge of Australia's Sydney Harbor Tunnel decided to do something about it after the following incident: "We had a fire in the tunnel," explains Harbor Tunnel GM Bob Allen, "motorists ignored the warning lights and signs and continued driving towards the fire. These drivers exposed themselves to smoke and toxic fumes from the fire and then to compound the situation they turned around (in a one way tunnel) and drove back out of the tunnel against incoming traffic." Through a government-led R&D program, Tunnel administrators were able to contact Laservision, a creative technology firm that designs architectural...
more...
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"Dear Myles - I am sorry it took me so very long to respond to your letter. I really like your idea. If we had guns that shot chocolate, not only would our country be safer, it would be happier. People love chocolate. You are a good boy, Joe Biden"
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"Proving once and for all that there is no Kickstarter project so silly that people won't throw money at it, funny New Yorker Kurt Braunohler was able to successfully raise nearly $7,000 for his campaign to write funny words in the sky."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"While no where near as physically exhausting as the Canoe boat races, the ‘it’s a small world’ rubber duck race has gained its own cast member allure in the 5 years its been running. Cast members sponsor and decorate their ducks and then race them for a good cause. The event takes place early in the morning while the park is still closed to guests. The 2013 edition raised more than $1800 for Make-A-Wish Orange County and the Inland Empire. The winning ‘duck design’ is a very impressive take on Maleficent dragon."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"Back in October, Alexis wrote a piece asking what rights do we have with regard to the air above our property. Walk onto someone's lawn and you're trespassing; fly over it in a helicopter and you're in the clear -- "the air is a public highway," the Supreme Court declared in 1946. But what about the in-between space? Does the availability of unmanned aerial vehicles (aka drones, aka UAVs) throw a wrench in the old legal understandings? Well, here's where the rubber meets the road for this abstract line of questioning. The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog is reporting a complaint it received from a resident in the Miller Park neighborhood."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
I'm wondering not only how the state's privacy laws about filming (illegal without consent where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a bathroom, highly walled yard or inside of their clothing) as well as air-rights will play a role.
- Jennifer Dittrich
There is a story out of Tribeca concerning a photographer who shot random images of his neighbors and is selling the prints. No faces visible. Reporters are suggesting a civil suit may be the way to stop this behavior.
- Janet:#TeamMonique
from FFHound!
Janet, they might be right, but the privacy laws are so all over the place. I know that here, at least, up until a few years ago, taking upskirt video in public was considered marginally legal. It isn't anymore, but it took a criminal case to bring that to light.
- Jennifer Dittrich
"Men’s brawn may be an indicator of their attitudes on economic redistribution, a new study finds. Research published Wednesday in Psychological Science finds that men with strong upper-bodies tend to be more opposed to economic redistribution than their weak armed counter parts."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
I'm trying to think of the earliest games I played that were set in space. Most were third person shooters, I think. Galaxian, Galaga, Asteroids, Zaxxon, Defender. Oh, Star Raiders was first person. I loved that game. But one of my all-time favorite space-based games was M.U.L.E. which didn't feature a single missile or laser.
Asteroids/Star Wars arcade game was the 1st for me
- Me
4X games like Master of Orion have always been good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki.... They just were a lot deeper and somewhat realistic. Maybe one of the reasons Eve Online has been so popular.
- Rodfather
Galaxy on Fire 2 on the iPad is actually pretty fun for that type of game.
- Rodfather
Oh, yeah, I totally forgot about the original Star Wars game.
- Victor Ganata
Yeah, the original Star Wars game in the arcade was one of the best. The controls were awesome.
- Rodfather
Oh, yeah, I played MOO a *lot*. I was never very good though. I was always more interested in exploration and discovery instead of blazing through the tech tree and conquering the galaxy.
- Victor Ganata
One game that I heard a lot about but never played was Elite.
- Victor Ganata
I played Eve Online for a bit and it was actually pretty relaxing to mine asteroids.
- Rodfather
The computer nerds in late 80s/early 90s loved Elite.
- Rodfather
Why would it be a killer? Is it free? Can you download your music and store them on your device for when you don't have internet? Do they promise not to track and monetize your listening habits?
- Tinfoil 2.0
The fact that the very first use cases that most people commonly cite for Google Glass are the facilitation of literally anti-social behavior is revealing, I think. (1) They allow you to continually access the Internet without looking like you're not paying attention (2) They allow you to photograph and record people without their consent.
I mean, I can totally see some surgeons wearing Google Glass so they can catch the playoff game while doing their twentieth T&A or hernia repair for the day. This would be a *perfect* use case.
- Victor Ganata
Yep, given it's the distraction of attention that's dangerous, it will be interesting to see how the legal aspects develop. If you get in accident with glass on are you automatically assumed to be at fault?
- Todd Hoff
I always find it odd, because for me those are not what I'd really like it for, but I can see how that's what people would think of first. I don't want to interact with people with it on, but I'd love to watch a sporting match with a HUD or use it as a hands-free lookup when I'm on a nature walk (rather than pulling out my phone or a book.) I wouldn't even necessarily want it on the...
more...
- Jennifer Dittrich
I think it's a question between incremental improvement versus previously-unavailable features. There's no way to look at your smartphone while talking with someone without looking like a total jerk. And pulling out your smartphone to take non-consensual pics is *way* more obvious than simply shifting your gaze, even if Google Glasses are hard to miss. All the other use cases may be improvements—perhaps significantly so—but you can still perform those functions with regular smartphones.
- Victor Ganata
OTOH, if Google Glass takes off, it will probably force cell phone carriers to increase their bandwidth and coverage.
- Victor Ganata
The other frequently cited use case—hands-free Internet access while performing some other task—is probably not that great of an idea if that other task happens to be something like driving or performing abdominal surgery.
- Victor Ganata
The things I'd want from it are: 1. Face/name recognition (because I forget names a lot), 2. Real-time 3D directions (subtly highlighting the correct direction).
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
from iPhone
Stephen, I understand your first one. But as someone who does not want to have his face in commercial facial recognition databases (it's probably hopeless in the medium term for government databases), I wish there was a way to truly opt out of being captured, stored, and aggregated like that.
- Tinfoil 2.0
Yeah, that makes sense, Tinny. I'd prefer it if my glasses only recognized the people I knew and had taught the glasses to recognize myself directly, and didn't share without explicit permission from the person being captured. But I'm not sure if that's how it will work or not.
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
from iPhone
Tinfoil, you might not have a choice soon with recent reports from the Gov and new immigration bill.
- Me
Wow, those use cases are completely lacking in vision for what augmented reality technologies can be used for.
- Scoble, Alex Scoble
Can be used for != What they'll be used for. The Internet can be used for many things... I would put forward the bulk would still be updating social media and porn.
- Johnny
from iPhone
...and people who are becoming increasingly reliant on GPS-maps because they are decreasingly able to navigate IRL on their own.
- Tinfoil 2.0
The flip side. Barry watching porn in my meeting
- Johnny
from iPhone
...I've never seen anyone THAT excited about my power point before.... ;)
- WarLord
(2) They allow you to photograph and record people without their consent. << The upside for this IF everyone uses this gadget is that everyone is a "monitor" and a "witness" to anything out of the ordinary, like crimes, secret conspiracies, wonders of the world, etc. It is a double edged sword.
- SophiaAnne88
If you need to reach high, Thorin's 6'2"... =)
- Andrew C (✓)
Thorion would be better at fighting off orcs and wargs, so if I expect those on my unexpected journey, I pick him.
- Stephen Mack #TeamMomo
from iPhone
But Tyrion always travels with bodyguards, so they can take care of the orcs and wargs.
- Betsy #TeamMonique
Tyrion (who autocorrect wanted to change to Fusion) b/c he would be more entertaining. He'd also be pervier, though, so there's that.
- Katy S
from iPhone
"A deadly new strain of Coronavirus, a SARS-like respiratory virus, has now spread to France, where it has infected at least two people. But it gets even more exciting. After the French health ministry's confirmation of the second infection, the World Health Organization announced that it's likely that the virus can be passed person-to-person."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
"It's the "Arrested Development" trailer you've been waiting for! Above, check out the first look at the upcoming fourth season, premiering on Netflix on Sunday, May 26. The "Arrested Development" trailer features more than one bird, awkward cousin romantic tension, illusions (not magic tricks), Buster (Tony Hale) enjoying juice and of course Lucille (Jessica Walter) yelling. All 15 episodes of the revived series will be available to stream at once. In addition to Hale and Walter, "Arrested Development" Season 4 features the rest of the main cast -- Jason Bateman, Alia Shawkat, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, David Cross, Michael Cera and Jeffrey Tambor -- as well as many returning guest stars, including Mae Whitman, Judy Greer, Liza Minnelli and Carl Weathers."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
AKA the countdown until I finally sign up for Netflix.
- Andrew C (✓)
"Last December, astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first song in space aboard the International Space Station, and he's back today with the first music video from space: a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." Hadfield is set to return home to Earth in a Soyuz craft on the morning of May 14th, after a prolific mission in space filled with science, singing, and sharing on Twitter. The video features Hadfield moving throughout the ISS with his guitar, with some impressive vocals to boot — between the setting and the sound, it's a performance that does Bowie justice."
- Me
from Bookmarklet
Yeah, this was really nice to see. NASA seems to do so little to make human space travel look fun and appealing. I mean they have a lot of scientific, photographic, educational and even inspirational content, but it's all so... square. This guy is fucking cool as hell, you know? Except for that mustache, but he gets a pass for that. :D
- Adrian