BoingBoing

I asked a bot to re-write Ernest Cline's READY PLAYER TWO

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 16:31:44 GMT

It would be an understatement to say that I did not enjoy Ready Player One. Not even a personally-targeted Cory Doctorow reference could save my reading experience from the feeling that I'd been cheated by some ancient demon designed to kill my brain through cheap pandering in an otherwise empty void of masturbatory literary schlock. — Read the rest

Ten horror movies written by Richard Matheson

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 16:31:35 GMT

Last week, I wrote a piece on The Incredible Shrinking Man, which was based on a book by Richard Matheson. Besides writing The Shrinking Man, Matheson wrote such other notable books as I Am Legend, A Stir of Echoes, Hell House, and What Dreams May Come. — Read the rest

Post-Covid McDonalds will surveil your approach and prepare your meal just in time

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 16:15:16 GMT

McDonalds is adapting to the pandemic and anticipating a post-Covid era in which diners overwhelmingly prefer drive-through takeout to dining-in and expect zero-wait service. You will order online and your approach will be tracked via Geofencing so that the fast-food conveyor may serve you instanteously upon arrival. — Read the rest

After election, Zuckerberg flipped "secret switch" to favor credible news outlets there

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 14:13:26 GMT

The Daily Beast, finding the buried lede in a broader New York Times story about Facebook troubles, reports that Mark Zuckerberg restored prominence to credible news outlets after election day by flipping a "secret switch". Though affecting less credible news of all stripes, it overwhelmingly hurts conservative media whose coverage centers on Facebook-friendly conspiracy theories and misinformation. — Read the rest

Nintendo's new Game & Watch hacked to run Doom

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 13:44:02 GMT

Stacksmashing got Doom running on Nintendo's new Super Mario Game & Watch [Amazon]. The classic shooter had to be pared to the bone to run on the retro handheld and is barely playable: it's probably not a hack worth doing yourself. — Read the rest

Black Friday is dropping by early this year for huge savings on 30 great items

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 13:00:45 GMT

For the Black Friday lovers out there, we understand this year is going to be hard for you. All the old rules about scouting doorbuster deals, camping out, and planning your post-Thanksgiving shopping tactics are no more this year.

But don't worry – just because there's no physical doorbusting going on this year doesn't mean you can't be digitally doorbusting with the same gusto. — Read the rest

What Happened on 23rd Street

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 13:00:44 GMT

Fifty-four years before Marilyn Monroe starred in The Seven Year Itch, the same scene of a white dress being blown by an updraft from a sidewalk vent was shown to theater patrons. The 1901 movie was called What Happened on Twenty-third Street, New York City, and it was all of 77 seconds long. — Read the rest

Robot "makes you do push-ups"

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:57:33 GMT

The "pushup robot" makes you do push-ups. See if you can deduce from the above photograph exactly how it does this.

"This robot makes your life harder," writes the apparent creator.

Scotland just became the first country to provide free tampons and pads to all

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:45:19 GMT

In an unprecedented show of support for women's and all vaginal health, Parliament unanimously passed a law this week granting all people legal right to free tampons and pads in schools and other public buildings.

"Period poverty" has made it difficult for some people to access necessary sanitary products, but other circumstance can interfere as well, such as homelessness, abusive relationships, or certain health conditions. — Read the rest

Movie moments that "F***'d Me Up as a kid!"

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:44:51 GMT

Enjoy this brief compendium of horrific moments from movies that kept very young Gen-Xers and Millennials up at night, set perfectly to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now.

Tag yourself: I'm Emil staggering away from the toxic waste tank in Robocop.

Snails can crawl on the underside of water surfaces

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:30:30 GMT

Water has enough surface tension for snails to crawl on while upside down underwater. Laura Hughes writes:

Underwater walking! I found this snail crawling upside down on the water's surface in a small puddle. It's rather incredible if you think about it.

— Read the rest

Video shows man wrestling alligator to save puppy

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:25:19 GMT

Florida man – what can't he do? A nature camera posted near a pond in Estero, Florida, captured the harrowing footage of Richard Willbanks, age 74, straddling an alligator and wrenching its jaws apart in order to save his three-month-old King Charles spaniel puppy, Gunner, who had wandered too close to the water. — Read the rest

How the huge displays at NASA's mission control worked

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:15:50 GMT

You've seen the videos of old-school NASA mission-control from the 1960s, with those huge, wall-sized screens — which displayed bright lines showing the flight path of spacecraft, and flight data.

How the heck did they do that? They didn't have wall-sized LCDs back then. — Read the rest

Create your own fully-rendered CGI fantasy monsters with Google AI

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:10:03 GMT

The Google AI team just launched a new project called Chimera Painter, which uses a model trained on machine learning to transform basic digital Paintings of fantasy creatures into fully rendered CGI monsters.

Or well, kind of.

Here's how Google describes the project:

Chimera Painter is a demo that lets you run wild by drawing out creature shapes that become fully fleshed out by our CreatureGAN machine learning model, which was trained on hundreds of thousands of 2D renders of 3D creature models.

— Read the rest

The United States is the #1 worst G20 nation when it comes to climate change

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:04:20 GMT

The 2020 Climate Transparency Report was released in November 2020 as a collaboration between over a dozen think tanks and nonprofits supported by the World Bank Group. The report examines the climate-friendliness of national policies based on G20 member nations, pulling data from the Greenness of Stimulus Index, Energy Policy Tracker, and other sources to analyze 100 indicators for climate-related adaptation, mitigation, and finance. — Read the rest

Review: Wizard Eye: The Art of Frostgrave

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:03:55 GMT

One of my favorite tabletop miniature skirmish games of the last five years has been Joseph McCullough's Frostgrave. There are many reasons why I love this game of dueling wizards and their minions, but one of the things that instantly endeared me to it was the wonderful artwork of Dmitry and Kate Burmak. — Read the rest

Maker creates a Pikachu from felted wool

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:03:34 GMT

This adorable felted wool Pikachu is a delight to watch being made, and the sound effects on the sped up video are a lot of fun.

Bonus video: hadmade Strawberry Dog!

Image: YouTube / 猫九的羊毛毡 [Cat 9's wool felt]

Before you watch the "Saved By The Bell" reboot, check out "saved by the bell ...

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:00:44 GMT

The new reboot of Saved By The Bell launches on NBC Peacock this week. But you can also check out saved by the bell hooks any time, which takes quotes by the renowned feminist and anti-racist author bell hooks and places them on top of screenshots from Saved By The Bell. — Read the rest

Save an extra 40% on this software that will help troubleshoot your WiFi issues

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 04:00:22 GMT

The Dead Zone isn't just a great Stephen King novel. It's also that unfortunate area in your house where WiFi signals go to die. Dead zones may be caused by actual physical barriers in your home, like a wall or a refrigerator. — Read the rest

Matt Gaetz: Trump should pardon Michael Flynn, and himself

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 03:44:27 GMT

Florida GOP representative Matt Gaetz said tonight on Fox News that outgoing crimelord president Donald Trump should pardon Michael Flynn. He should pardon the Thanksgiving turkey. He should pardon everyone from himself to administration officials to Joe Exotic if he has to.. — Read the rest