July 30, 2018
Bankruptcy and Broken Wrists
Noa Smith joins the Rock, Paper, Shotgun video team. She promptly jumps the curb, goes into serious debt, and suffers severe carpal tunnel in Bus Simulator 18. SLYT
thx eye
i'm sure this video has been posted before in the ancient past of MetaFilter, but it's possible we might just need, right now, here in 2018, the 20 seconds that is thx eye.
Cannonball Run, Podcast Edition
The fine folks at Stuff You Should know just released a podcast episode [SLPA] about the Cannonball Run, a.k.a. the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. Previously.
“At one point we sold more hint books than copies of the game.”
A short history of automata
A nicely illustrated roundup of self-operating machines, from ancient Greece and China, through the 19th-century Golden Age of Automata, to the 2018 AutomataCon (held in Morristown, NJ). From Collectors Weekly. Lots of great links throughout. And don't miss the "related articles" in the sidebar: Attack of the Vintage Toy Robots, The iPod's 4,000-pound Grandfather, and Not Your Grandma’s Cuckoo: Decapitating, Rat-Eating Clocks of the Black Forest. (Previously.)
Authorities thought 911 call was a hoax
Jambinai
Jambinai are a Korean post-rock band who use a variety of traditional Korean instruments in their songs.
Earlier this year they played at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics with about a hundred hyeungyom players.
When are baseball fans safe to leave the game?
Take This Cheat Sheet To The Ballpark To Decide When To Leave [Five Thirty Eight] “According to our statistical model, based on 2010-2015 regular season inning-by-inning scoring data, you should leave after the sixth inning if the leading team is ahead by four or more runs. There is a less than 5 percent chance that the other team will deliver a miracle comeback. If the run differential exceeds two at the top of the ninth, it’s safe to head to the exits. What about blowouts in the first inning? If your time is that precious — and you’re willing to view the money spent on tickets as a sunk cost — our advice is to rev up your car’s engine if the leading team jumps ahead by six runs or more.”
"Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy"
Born on this day 60 years ago and 200 years ago: Kate Bush and Emily Bronte. Celebrating the birthday of two artistic icons: Kate Bush, who was inspired to write Wuthering Heights without having fully finished reading Emily Brontë’s novel. (This and 59 other unbelievable facts via The Guardian) [more inside]
Another Own Goal From the MTA
Take one typo and leave one schedule supplement and wind up with the latest cock-up from New York City Transit. Or, why an unexpected wall appeared on the express tracks in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, this morning.
Etienne De Crecy, Rhythm Composer
Etienne de Crécy: Motorbass then Superdiscount then Tempovision then Superdiscount 2 then Commercial EPs then The Cube then Superdiscount 3. After EPs 1 / 2 / 3. 2016 Spring Mix then 2016 Summer Mix then 2016 Fall Mix then 2017 Winter Mix then 2017 Spring Mix then 2017 Summer Mix then 2017 Fall Mix then 2018 Spring Mix. House music / French touch / songs for dancing. [more inside]
It Only Makes Her Stronger
Right under his nose
The threat to Holleeder’s life stems from a decision that she made, in 2013, to become the star witness in a mob trial. She agreed to testify against the most notorious criminal in the Netherlands, a man known as De Neus—the Nose, a reference to his most prominent facial feature. This was a risky choice. “Everyone else who has turned on him ended up dead,” she pointed out.
How a notorious gangster was exposed by his own sister.
Forgotten Southern Recipes
From Burgoo to Pear Salad to Slaw Dog Some are very geographically specific, others are just "southern," but they all deserve a resurgence, and many are getting it with the new chefs' versions. Recipes are included. [more inside]
So Unhip Your Bums Fall Off
“I thought: Oh, crap,” he says. “Then I thought: OH CRAP. The DEA is going to come in here, tase me, and confiscate my flying saltshakers.” [more inside]
Follow the New Silk Road
The first part of a series revealing the effects of China's Belt and Road Initiative on cities around the world.
Analysts predict that China’s online retail market will double in size in the next two years.
But in western China, Beijing is using the most modern means available to control its Uighur minority. Tens of thousands have disappeared into re-education camps. (Uighurs previously)
Analysts predict that China’s online retail market will double in size in the next two years.
But in western China, Beijing is using the most modern means available to control its Uighur minority. Tens of thousands have disappeared into re-education camps. (Uighurs previously)
"You got this sort of road side repairs to get through"
Fortyfive years ago the very first (UK) television programme that treated trans people sympathetically rather than as a "problem" and which had them talk about their own experiences was broadcast, thanks in part to David Attenborough. [more inside]
MH370 Safety Investigation Report
The Malaysian Ministry of Transport has issued its 449-page Safety Investigation Report into the disappearance of flight MH370. [more inside]
Steam Direct
Recently, Steam (a digital game storefront owned and operated by Valve) has changed the way that games are published to their platform. Valve eliminated its long-running 'Greenlight' program, which was a voting driven pathway for independent games to get onto Steam given customer interest, and moved to a simpler, fee-based system called 'Steam Direct', which is instead run entirely by Steam moderators and automatic administrative systems. Amid a number of controversies around the decision (summarized below the jump), there are recent reports (link goes directly to a Steam Community page) that a game approved through the 'Direct' initiative was serving as a trojan horse for cryptocurrency mining malware.Eurogamer summarizes the scam in this article. [more inside]
Empire State Elections
New York City DSA endorsed Cynthia Nixon for Governor and Jumaane Williams for Lieutenant Governor following internal argument, Cynthia Nixon Thinks You’re Underestimating Her (NYT) - State Attorney General candidate Zephyr Teachout offered a plan to use antitrust laws against tech companies that exert monopolistic power in the news business. - State Senator Martin Dilan (District 18, Bushwick) is claiming that DSA-endorsed candidate Julia Salazar does not fulfill New York State's residency requirements to run for office - NY’s top election enforcement body has ruled a campaign finance agreement between the Independence Party and now-former members of New York's IDC (previously) to be improper, and demanded that former IDC members return the funds - A breakdown of Zellnor Myrie's bid to replace ex-IDC member Jesse Hamilton (District 20, Crown Heights) - Governor Cuomo told the Stonewall Democratic Club that he never "endorsed or financially supported" any IDC members, despite definitely doing that. The Stonewall Club endorsed him. [more inside]
"Colluding about Russians--I'm not sure that's even a crime."
In the last couple days of U.S. politics:
The New York Times' publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, met with Donald Trump and 'implored him to reconsider his broader attacks on journalism.' Or, as Trump put it, "Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!" [more inside]
keep on menacing
80 years ago today the first issue of a comic, The Beano, was publishing in the UK (well Scotland). It's still going. [more inside]
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