8.13.2016

A little August

So much for all those pricey, so-hip pre-torn jeans

Nature World News Imagine a world where your torn clothes could fix themselves without the need to go sew them. Now, it's possible. A team of scientists has created a self-healing textile using a special liquid.

Hey, a little duct tape and it's good to go

USA TODAY Although Greene County canceled the contract for an amusement ride operator after three girls were injured in a Ferris wheel accident, the state of Tennessee cleared the company to move on to four more county fairs this year.

It's so hot in here my chocolate is melting

Going to have to do something about that right away.

Maybe I should take it out for lunch. Somewhere cool.

Awww

The Latest: Clinton says email rules different for Hillary

Poor Hill, people being all mean and stuff. But Big Dawg will save her, never fear. It's always a happy ending at the circus. 

Clinton says it didn't occur to diplomats sending the emails at the time that they should be concerned with records classification.

The former president also says the email server shouldn't be a cause for distrust, and that people in the national security community wouldn't endorse Hillary Clinton's candidacy if it was.

Or unless their bosses explained things sufficiently clearly. 

And anyway, we can always blame it on the Russians.

(Sent from Boston Herald http://goo.gl/7uYsOM)

8.12.2016

I don't think they need any more free housing

Clintons earned $10.6M last year as they release tax return | Chicago Sun-Times

 

August!

It's hot and sweaty and I love it. I think I was born in a swamp—or at least on the swampy side of Indianapolis. Or maybe I'm just old (wait…maybe?). Old guys like it hot. Me too.

It was a really hot day in Paris and…

Delta flight turns around when crew realizes door may be open - NY Daily News
A company spokesman described it as a "possible issue with the aircraft's cargo door latching mechanism." 
http://goo.gl/727yce

Also, did anybody put the cat out?

Is anybody attention, anywhere?

Russian Hackers Reportedly Tried "DC Leaks" Site to Leak Emails Before Moving on to WikiLeaks

Slate Magazine (blog) It's long been speculated that the Russian hackers widely speculated to have swiped tens of thousands of emails from the DNC still had more documents to dump.…

The hackers appear to have had access to emails at George Soros' Open Society foundation for a long as a year. They were also apparently monitoring former U.S. Gen. Philip Breedlove's personal email as far back as 2012, when he was commander of the U.S. European Command and NATO Allied Command Operations.


Banned in France…for wearing too much

Cannes bans full-body 'burkini' swimsuits from beaches

PARIS (AP) - The French resort of Cannes has banned full-body, head-covering swimsuits worn by some Muslim women from its beaches...

Cannes Mayor David Lisnard issued an ordinance forbidding beachwear that doesn't respect "good morals and secularism…"

Read the full story

Sent from AP Mobile. Download now on the App Store or Google Play

Bet on Hillary for a gold medal in the Winter Olympics…for skating

Hillary gets a pass on her pay-to-play shenanigans | New York Post
Looks like Hillary Clinton's getting another pass: The Justice Department reportedly declined to probe the cozy ties and collaboration between the State Department and her family foundation.

This is why we have professors in the first place…

Weak economy is responsible for rampant swoleness: study | New York Post
"In theoretical terms, so-called 'spornosexuality' is an embodied response to material changes brought about by neoliberal austerity."

…Because if we didn't have professors to say things like this nobody… ever… would.

And that would be a shame.

8.11.2016

Imagine our relief

New wireless hack can unlock 100 million Volkswagens

Digital Trends Is your keyless remote safe? Connected cars face increasing threats as new technologies present hackers and thieves with additional ways to access vehicles.…

Neither of the two hacks, which use different methods, do more than let thieves unlock and enter the cars, which of course would enable them to steal the contents. They'd have to use other tricks to start the engine and steal the car.

Imagine the free peanuts

How do you fly 300 Olympic horses to Rio? Business class, of course

Chicago Tribune Australia's Christopher Burton warms up horse Santano II before a horse inspection for the equestrian eventing competition at the Olympic Equestrian Center ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 5, 2016.

But there's a silver lining: It won't eat you



The grimy, black biofilm that's creeping over the Jefferson Memorial


Biofilm, a microbial invasion of uncertain origin, has begrimed the stone surface of one of the nation's most hallowed monuments, and is also on the memorial amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. And it can't be killed.
Read Full Story

[ED NOTE: I posted this when away from home. There was an image but apparently now there's not. Also, I wasn't aware viewing the story requires payment. My bad, times two.

[Still, I'm leaving the post in place because biofilm.]

Reprieved!

Bloomberg Global oil markets will continue to re-balance this year as a pick-up in demand from refiners absorbs record output from several Persian Gulf producers, the International Energy Agency predicted.

"The massive overhang of stocks is also keeping a lid on prices," the IEA said.

Wait. No. What?

Doesn't even use email…


Hack of Democrats' Accounts Was Wider Than Believed, Officials Say - The New York Times
www.nytimes.com

So far, it does not appear that the Russian hackers sought or gained access to any computer systems used by Mr. Trump, who is known to avoid email, officials said.

Read the full story

…is the go-to laugh line these days when depicting someone as impossibly behind the times, technologically inept. Except, maybe not.

Until the government, the political parties, and a whole lot of other big, important organizations (and some small ones, too) start getting their collective cyber security act together, avoiding email for critical messaging just might be the most techno-savvy move there is.

Blaming hackers (and Russians! OMG!) for the dismal state of our current political affairs is a classic case of blaming the messenger. Politicians: If you must cheat, at least have the decency to do it where no one can see.

In case you don't have enough to be confused about this morning


Defining politics: If Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine are "progressive," then the word has lost all meaning
Salon

This article originally appeared in In These Times. What's a progressive, anyway? The term has a long and unruly history, which I'll be getting to. But the common-sense meaning of "progressive" is someone who is pretty darn liberal. In fact, you might even say that it signifies politics that are distinctly to the left of liberal. That, at least, has been the contemporary connotation of the word for as long as I've been following politics. Increasingly these days, the term is being dumbed down… Read the full story


8.10.2016

No wonder! I feel much better now

NATIONAL LAZY DAY – August 10 | National Day Calendar
Today there will not be much information regarding this annually celebrated holiday as we do not feel like doing any research…we choose to be lazy rather than tell you that this holiday is observed each year on August 10th.  The creator and origin of National Lazy Day could not be found.
http://goo.gl/yhS8hc

Sure, why not Libya too?

U.S. Special Operations forces are providing direct, on-the-ground support for the first time in Libya
The troops are coordinating American airstrikes and providing intelligence information to local forces battling to oust the group from a militant stronghold.…

https://goo.gl/mHQifu

Sounds cozy

Many Soldiers, Few Signs, Long Lines: The Rio Games Beyond the TV Screen - The New York Times
There are some 85,000 soldiers stationed across the city, including plenty of them at the Olympic venues. Some carry machine guns and have their fingers on their triggers, the ready-for-trouble mode you associate with guards overseeing a cash drop near a Brinks truck. Some of the soldiers travel in dark green troop transport trucks associated with war-zone invasions.
http://goo.gl/v1ctVu


8.09.2016

Wherein I relinquish my dream of fame, fortune, and some kind, any kind, of fabulous stardom

I spent three hours this morning wending my way about the western part of the state in a series of vehicles, one operated by my sister but the others by the federal government, on my way to an appointment with a certain dermatologist in the city of Worcester when, about 30 minutes from arriving there, I was informed by the newfangled cellular wireless talking thing said appointment was canceled. Immediately the great gears reversed and a contrary chain of conveyances deposited me back home six hours after I'd left, still dermed but not atologized. I expect my agent will call shortly with bad news about my career, probably on that same talking thing.

Maybe I should just turn it off.

8.08.2016

Wait, what?

The Gentrification of the Barbershop | New Republic from New Republic's Tweet

As a sociologist, I find barbershops fascinating because they've also traditionally been places where men spend time with other men, forming close relationships with one another in the absence of women. Many patrons will even stop by daily to simply chat with their barbers, discuss the news or play chess. 

This guy's kidding, right?

Against the wall

You will absolutely want some of this

The Timmy Brothers – Water Makers on Vimeo

Bubbles over Brooklyn

Budweiser truck overturns, spills beer across highway | New York Post
Cases of the "King of Beers" hit the street and scattered cans in every direction. Many of the cans exploded and gallons of brew washed over multiple lanes of traffic and rained down onto the streets below an elevated stretch of the Gowanus Expressway.

Details, details

Fox News Hillary Clinton's jobs record as a New York senator - which her campaign has made a centerpiece of her pitch to voters - is coming under fresh scrutiny...

In the Senate, for instance, Clinton struck up a relationship with Corning – an upstate glass and high-tech product manufacturer. The Post reports that while Clinton helped steer money to Corning through legislation and federal grants, Clinton's efforts did not reverse the economic decline of Steuben County, where Corning is based.

Meanwhile, employees of the company have donated to Clinton's campaign; the company paid $225,500 for her to speak in 2014; the chief executive co-hosted a 2015 fundraiser for her; and the company has given over $100,000 to the Foundation, the Post reported.

Progress

I might run myself

You can vote for Donald Trump or you can vote for a Republican

Fresh batch of Republicans defect to Clinton - POLITICO from POLITICO's Tweet

A former President George W. Bush aide undercut Donald Trump's economic address before it even began Monday, leading the latest batch of Republican defections by casting Hillary Clinton as the best candidate to grow the economy.

Choices are so confusing. 

8.07.2016

On a scale of 1 to 10?

How Serious of a Threat Are Crocodiles?

Surfline.com Surf News 

Maybe this short-circuiting is a thing

Clinton mistakenly refers to Trump as her ‘husband’ | New York Post
"Audible laughs could be heard in the auditorium as Clinton came close to calling Trump her spouse."

The weather app says it's foggy