Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Georgia's new site for canceling voter registrations exposed the personal info needed to cancel such registrations

AP:

Georgia election officials are encouraging people to use a state website to cancel voter registrations when someone moves out of state or dies, a nod to Republican concerns that there are invalid registrations on the rolls.

But Monday’s rollout of the site by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was marred by a glitch that allowed people to access a voter’s date of birth, driver’s license number and last four numbers of a Social Security number. That’s the same information needed to verify a person’s identity and allow a registration to be canceled.

This robot is expected to install solar panels much faster and more cheaply than people could




NYT:

Demand for solar power is expected to grow astronomically over the next decade thanks to the plummeting costs of panels, hundreds of billions of dollars in federal subsidies and growing interest from tech companies in securing carbon-free electricity for their data centers. By some estimates, the country will need 475,000 solar workers by 2033, nearly double today’s number. Yet 44 percent of solar companies already say it is “very difficult” to find qualified workers, according to one recent survey.

It can be especially hard to recruit construction workers for large solar arrays, which are often located in remote desert areas. The job involves lifting and installing hundreds of panels per day, each one weighing 60 pounds or more, in places where temperatures can reach in excess of 110 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 43 Celsius.

...

After months of testing, AES will put Maximo to work in the California desert later this year to help install panels at the largest solar-plus-battery project under construction, meant to help power Amazon data centers. If all goes well, the company aims to build hundreds of similar A.I.-powered robots.

The marketing deal with The Rock and the United Football League was allegedly "so catastrophic, it led to a projected loss of 38 enlistments"

Military News:

From the beginning, Army staff warned against a partnership with the UFL -- or the XFL and USFL, the two minor football leagues that would eventually form the UFL through a merger. Service officials said the financial burden was way too high and viewership was too low, and even the most optimistic estimation showed the partnership would not yield many recruits.

...

Gen Z has almost completely moved away from traditional television and is significantly less interested in sports compared to other generations -- 33% of Gen Zers do not watch live sports compared to 22% of Millennials, according to a 2022 Morning Consult poll.

But part of the Army's marketing strategy is also reaching parents and older people who may be in a potential recruit's orbit

New Humble Bundle featuring the Lego video games

Steam scores displayed, and I guess they really dropped the ball with Lego Movie 2.

Marvel Legends Colossus (Deadpool movie) up for preorder

at the BBTS.


Today's news and jokes









@sunisalee_

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTSSSS 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

♬ original sound - findgodye




("Tokyo silver medalist MyKayla Skinner apologizes for criticizing non-Simone Biles members of Team USA")

I didn't realize the Argentinian President and Vice President attacked those who criticized the Argentinian players for their incredible offensive song

From a long opinion piece at New Lines about racism in Argentina:

When the secretary of sports suggested in an interview that the players could apologize, he was promptly fired from his position by order of President Javier Milei, who asserted that no one could dictate “what to do or say to the world champion and two-time American champion players.”

Vice President Victoria Villarruel went a step further, turning the incident into a fervent nationalist and anticolonialist appeal in a post on X (formerly Twitter), which remains on her account @VickyVillarruel: “Argentina is a sovereign and free country. We have never had colonies or second-class citizens. We have never imposed our way of life on anyone. And we will not tolerate anyone doing it to us. Argentina was built with the sweat and courage of the Indigenous people, Europeans, Creoles and Black people like Remedios del Valle, Sergeant Cabral and Bernardo de Monteagudo. No colonialist country will intimidate us with a song on the pitch or by confronting the truths they refuse to admit. Stop pretending to be outraged, hypocrites. Enzo, I support you; Lionel Messi, thanks for everything! Argentinians, always hold your head high! Viva the Argentineness!”

That same night, the president’s sister rushed to the French Embassy to apologize for the vice president’s remarks. 

Some clever uniforms based on college football bowl games









Lego dragon inspired by the peacock mantis shrimp

Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Kim Ye-ji fan art







Every time Starbucks pressures you to buy an olive oil-infused drink, think of this

Semafor:

Surrounded by centuries-old olive oil trees just outside the small Sicilian town of Partanna, Howard Schultz made a bold prediction: “People are going to add a tablespoon of Partanna extra-virgin olive oil into their drink,” the then-CEO of Starbucks said last year. “I’m sure of it.”

The drink, called an Oleato, isn’t just Schultz’s brainchild. It’s also a side investment.

Starbucks buys all of its olive oil from that plantation in Partanna, whose controlling family sold a 19% stake to Schultz in 2023, according to US and Italian corporate filings and people familiar with the matter. Starbucks paid the company, now named Partanna after its Sicilian hometown, $26.5 million between October 2022 and September 2023.

Funny cover for Fantastic Four #26




(Easily my favorite version of the Fantastic Four was the Future Foundation era when Doom was braindamaged and up to shenanigans with Valeria. Hope the movies capture that eventually.)

A look at the new location, character and cosmetics coming to the fun mobile game Star Wars Hunters

The second season of the game starts tomorrow I believe, but the new Vader's castle location is already playable. (Fun game to play if you have small blocks of free time--no need to pay for anything, and no ads. Playing for free, I unlocked all free characters easily, and advanced quite far in the rankings by joining random ranked matches and using touch controls on an iphone SE. I'm "BigChallenges"--email me if you send me an invite.)




New clearance sale at the BBTS

Here's the landing page. There's a lot of Marvel Legends for 50% off or more.

Exclusive Street Fighter II Ken in White Gi figure available for preorder

One of the Jada Toys super-articulated figures, exclusive to Entertainment Earth.

Today's news and jokes







(Link)

People paid to walk with billboards strapped to their shoulders

Some fun Metal Gear-themed goods







Monday, July 29, 2024

Far-right lawmakers and protesters broke into an Israeli detention camp to try to disrupt efforts by the military police to investigate soldiers’ reported abuse of prisoners

CNN:

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier in a statement that its Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) was formally looking into the “suspected substantial abuse of a detainee” at the shadowy base, where prisoners from Gaza have allegedly been held under extreme conditions.

...

“The break-in at the Sde Teiman Base is extremely serious and against the law,” ... the IDF’s Chief of the General Staff, said in a statement Monday, adding that the military was “working to restore order at the base.”

When you ask your male friends to narrate your makeup application tiktkok

@usergraceykim

Grwm 💋💋💋

♬ original sound - usergraceykim

Faux notebook sketch cover for Ultimate X-Men #7

New Humble Bundle features Lego books

Starts at $1 for "Tiny Lego Wonders" and "The Art of Lego Scale Modeling"

New Simpsons figures up for preorder, including UV light-activated vampire Mr. Burns

Amazon has new listings. The description of vampire Mr. Burns:
OFFICIALLY LICENSED: The Simpsons Premium Vampire Mr. Burns action figure stands 5" tall, accurately capturing his animated look and feel. 
POSEABLE: Vampire Mr. Burns features 10 points of articulation for dynamic poses and play. 
COLOR CHANGE ACTION: Vampire Mr. Burns’ face and hands change color with UV light exposure, adding an undeadly vampire element to playtime. 
JUMP SCARE ACTION: Slide the button on Vampire Mr. Burns coffin to make him pop up and rise from the dead, delivering an unexpected thrill during play.

Today's news and jokes



This is a fun idea--which are the the single best comics drawn by every artist?

Some suggestions for Jim Lee, Walt Simonson, and more

(I don't have any immediate suggestions other than boring picks like Windsor Smith's Wounded Wolf, but I will say that I've recently really enjoyed everything I can find drawn by Paul Gulacy--he really elevates material like Eternal Warrior #36 (it feels like a Cannon Film). There's various comics illustrated by him available in the free Hoopla app.) 

(Also, digitally restored/updated comics ruin the original art.)

(Thanks to the Hoopla app, without wasting money, I've read a lot of recent comics by award-nominated creators that I really hated.) 

Sunday, July 28, 2024

The winner of the archery gold medal had to be determined by examining the target with a magnifying glass



"The score was tied in the final after regulation, forcing a shoot-off. The score appeared to be tied again after the shoot-off, until an official checked with the magnifying glass."

Rugby star Ilona Maher talks about BMI

She and her "piston-like fend" are dominant:









and she's funny:

@ilonamaher Moves were made @paris2024 #olympicvilla ♬ original sound - Ilona Maher



and here she is responding to someone guessing her BMI:






And here's another great example of how foolish it is to judge your body by weighing yourself:

@mallorykingfitness

Reposting this oldie from 2022. I’m 4 months in on my 2nd recomp phase and I’m so stoked!!

♬ TOO SWEET X RIVERS BY ALTÉGO - ALTÉGO




And speaking of: