Vanessa L. Miyazato

Designed by Adam Pickard, 3D Printed by Shapeways.
So you are riding on your bicycle and you need to bust the cap off of your beverage but you don’t have access to a bottle opener? A regular dilemma now solved with the Road Popper by Adam Pickard for only $40.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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PETA has got to be the stupidest and most useless organization in existence. What exactly do they promote except nude celebrities? Do they actually do anything beyond collect money and then display ads?

So what happened with that whole pet store fire in Queens last week? The Daily News has some more intel, noting that firefighters cut through the closed metal rolldown gates of the shop to get to the animals, who were banging against their cages trying to escape. (Reportedly those types of metal gates will be a thing of the past starting early next year.) The store was not equipped with a sprinkler system, which is oddly not required under law.

While many of the small birds died due to their small lungs, 30 cats and dogs, as well as gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs and a gecko were all rescued from U.S. Pet Discounts. PETA emailed us this morning to let us know they sent store owner Donald Dalessio a letter asking him to turn the store into an adoption center for homelss animals, should he decide to reopen. The letter also points out that many pet stores treat their animals like supplies, and don't provide adequate space or care for the furry friends.

While it's doubtful Dalessio will rebuild to open a non-profit storefront, PETA has offered a little (like, very little) bit of incentive. They tell us they've "offered to place celebrity pro-adoption posters, which feature The Hills star Audrina Patridge and Twilight star Kellan Lutz, on reconstruction scaffolding and to promote the store to the group's thousands of supporters in the New York metropolitan area." (Their full letter is after the jump.)

Dear Mr. Dalessio:

I am writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, including thousands in New York City, to offer a suggestion as you recover from the recent fire that took the lives of so many animals. With all due respect, your current business model, by selling dogs and cats, contributes to the companion animal overpopulation crisis. So perhaps now you could seize the opportunity to start anew and be a part of the solution instead. You would build enormous goodwill if you decided to stop selling animals, to work instead with local animal shelters to bring in animals for adoption, and to make your profits by selling supplies. This would be a win-win situation—profitable and popular.

Progressive pet businesses have come to realize that the public values ethical business practices, and that caring consumers increasingly realize that every time an animal is sold in a pet store, an animal in a shelter loses the chance to fill the available space in that home. Every year, animal shelters must euthanize 3 to 4 million dogs and cats—many of whom are healthy and have wonderful temperaments—simply because no one has come to adopt them. You might say that for every animal who is bought from a pet store, another leaves an animal shelter in a body bag.

PETA's undercover investigations, among others, have revealed that pet-shop animal suppliers often keep animals in filthy conditions, fail to supply them with adequate food and water, and fail to provide them with needed veterinary care.

You can help end the companion animal overpopulation crisis and pet-supplier abuse by switching to adoptions. It would be an ethical business solution. If you make the switch, PETA will provide free pro-adoption posters featuring The Hills star Audrina Patridge and Twilight star Kellan Lutz (attached) to place on your scaffolding as you rebuild and inside your business once it's operational, if you would like that. And we will tell all our thousands of members in New York City that they can visit you for supplies.

Please contact me if you would like additional input in making this lifesaving transition.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman

Executive Vice President

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This is why I am afraid of wearing skirts on the subway. This happened to me! When I went to the cops and pointed at the guy, they both looked at me and said "um, what? who?" and watched the guy run into a building. The guy wore a suit and had his camera in a briefcase. And then nice guys wonder why women here act so stuck up on the street. Blame these a-holes for ruining it for the nice guys - not us for being defensive.

A man was arrested on a Queens-bound subway for allegedly trying to take some upskirt footage yesterday morning. According to the Post, "José Gil, 39, was aboard a No. 7 train as it approached the Main Street station at 7:30 a.m. yesterday. He placed a gym bag on the floor at the feet of a 16-year-old girl who was wearing a skirt, cops said. The teen noticed a lens sticking out from the bag's open zipper." The girl found a transit cop at the next station. Gil was charged with unlawful surveillance of a minor. Two years ago, a man was arrested at Grand Central for placing a bag—which had a camera inside it—under women's skirts on the escalators.

Oh, man, it’s just like one of those treacle-soaked romantic comedies: When one couple found themselves stranded in Dubai due to a pesky case of volcanic ash, they improvised and got married anyway… via Skype.

Brit Sean Murtagh, 24, and 30-year-old Aussie Natalie Mead almost missed their wedding day after their plane was grounded in the wake of recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland. Instead of despairing over lack of church, minister and multi-tiered butter cream cake with tiny bride and groom on top, the two scraped together the nicest clothes they could find and joined fellow passengers in a celebration that featured balloons and cake — courtesy of the airport. They shared the festivities with friends at home via webcam.

Caroline Black, who ran the shindig from London, told The Sydney Morning Herald: “It was just like any other wedding except the bride and groom weren’t there.”

Technology has certainly come in handy in the aftermath of the volcano — Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg used his iPad to run things back home while grounded in the U.S., and many turned to Skype to handle calls and workflow while stranded.

“We have seen an increase in the past few days in terms of video-calling because of the [flight disruption] situation,” a Skype spokesman told the paper. “I’ve heard of executives stuck in the U.S. on the way back to London running their companies via Skype.”

Have you heard of anyone else using tech in a creative way while waiting for the volcano-induced travel delays to subside? Let us know in the comments.

[img credit: The Sydney Morning Herald]

Tags: Iceland, Skype, volcano, web video

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Oh, right by my office! I might go check it out.

For twelve hours tomorrow, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., a mock bank robbery will be staged for the filming of a movie. So if you see some hold-up action happening over on Reade Street between Centre Street and Broadway in Manhattan, it's probably not real. The notification we received states: "Included in the simulated activity will be law enforcement and emergency response vehicles and actors dressed as law enforcement. NYPD will be on site." Seems like a good time to revisit this scene.

For twelve hours tomorrow, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., a mock bank robbery will be staged for the filming of a movie. So if you see some hold-up action happening over on Reade Street between Centre Street and Broadway in Manhattan, it's probably not real. The notification we received states: "Included in the simulated activity will be law enforcement and emergency response vehicles and actors dressed as law enforcement. NYPD will be on site." Seems like a good time to revisit this scene.

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And because of this, I keep information off of Facebook now. You can find me there - but it's really only a way to get in touch with me.

Today, alongside Community Pages and new Interests section, Facebook is also making some changes to its privacy controls. Facebook and confusing privacy settings have long gone hand in hand, which really isn’t a surprise given the huge amount of connections and data sharing that the site keeps track of. And, to Facebook’s credit, the site continuously iterates on its Privacy control panel to try to make it easier to use. Today though, Facebook has launched a new privacy section that may leave users scratching their heads.

It’s called “Friends, Tags, and Connections.” In short, this section is about the data on Facebook that you can’t actually control. You can make it harder to find, and even hide it from your profile, but you can’t remove it entirely.

Here’s how Facebook explains this:

Friends, Tags and Connections covers information and content that’s shared between you and others on Facebook. This includes relationships (shared between you and the person you’re in the relationship with), interests, and photos you’re tagged in. These settings let you control who sees this information on your actual profile. However, it may still be visible in other places unless you remove it from your profile itself.

Content included under this section includes friends, family members, relationships, photos you’ve been tagged in, your current city and hometown, and ‘Things I like’ (formerly known as Fan Pages). If you think about it, it makes sense — whenever you’re somehow associated with a piece of content, be it through a friend connection or a photo tag, it’s possible that someone will discover that content through your friend’s profile, even if it isn’t on yours. In fact, many of these settings have existed for years, just under different portions of Facebook’s privacy panel, so it’s a good thing that Facebook is pointing out that they can’t actually be hidden.

But that doesn’t mean people are going to understand what Facebook is talking about when it says things like “These settings only control the information people can see on your profile. This information, such as your Pages and list of friends, is still public, so it could appear elsewhere…“

Today, alongside Community Pages and a revamped Interests section, Facebook is also making some changes to its privacy controls. Facebook and confusing privacy settings have long gone hand in hand, which really isn’t a surprise given the huge amount of connections and data sharing that the site keeps track of. To Facebook’s credit, the site continuously iterates on its Privacy control panel to try to make it easier to use. Today though, Facebook has launched a new privacy section that may leave users scratching their heads.

It’s called “Friends, Tags, and Connections.” In short, this section is about the data on Facebook that you can’t actually control. You can make it harder to find, and even hide it from your profile, but you can’t remove it entirely.

Here’s how Facebook explains this:

Friends, Tags and Connections covers information and content that’s shared between you and others on Facebook. This includes relationships (shared between you and the person you’re in the relationship with), interests, and photos you’re tagged in. These settings let you control who sees this information on your actual profile. However, it may still be visible in other places unless you remove it from your profile itself.

Content included under this section includes friends, family members, relationships, photos you’ve been tagged in, your current city and hometown, and ‘Things I like’ (formerly known as Fan Pages). If you think about it, it makes sense — whenever you’re somehow associated with a piece of content, be it through a friend connection or a photo tag, it’s possible that someone will discover that content through your friend’s profile, even if it isn’t on yours. In fact, many of these settings have existed for years, just under different portions of Facebook’s privacy panel, so it’s a good thing that Facebook is pointing out that they can’t actually be hidden.

But that doesn’t mean people are going to understand what Facebook is talking about when it says things like “These settings only control the information people can see on your profile. This information, such as your Pages and list of friends, is still public, so it could appear elsewhere…“

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Stories like this make me laugh . . . as long as nobody got hurt.

In one of the more inane attempts at viral marketing, a man in New Zealand was almost shot by police as he roamed the streets of Auckland scaring the bejeezus out of bystanders with his toy gun.

It was all a stunt to promote the New Zealand release of Splinter Cell Conviction, the latest in the Tom Clancy-approved series of Splinter Cell games from Ubisoft.

In the game, you play as Sam Fisher, a disgraced former NSA secret agent who lurks in the shadows and specializes in performing spot-on headshots on whatever unlucky evil goon gets between him and his target.

So the marketing company hired to promote the game thought that sending a dude covered in bandages and brandishing a fake weapon into Auckland's popular Viaduct Basin area would be a good idea. It wasn't.

According to reports, over two dozen people contacted the police after spotting the stunt. The cops arrived and quickly drew their real guns on the man with the fake one.

"It was just marketing gone wrong," said a rep for the marketing company in what could be categorized as a huge understatement. The company also claims that they subcontracted out this stunt to another marketer and that they were unaware a gun would be used.

Splinter Cell Stunt Almost Gets Someone Shot [Kotaku]

In one of the more inane attempts at viral marketing, a man in New Zealand was almost shot by police as he roamed the streets of Auckland scaring the bejeezus out of bystanders with his toy gun.

It was all a stunt to promote the New Zealand release of Splinter Cell Conviction, the latest in the Tom Clancy-approved series of Splinter Cell games from Ubisoft.

In the game, you play as Sam Fisher, a disgraced former NSA secret agent who lurks in the shadows and specializes in performing spot-on headshots on whatever unlucky evil goon gets between him and his target.

So the marketing company hired to promote the game thought that sending a dude covered in bandages and brandishing a fake weapon into Auckland's popular Viaduct Basin area would be a good idea. It wasn't.

According to reports, over two dozen people contacted the police after spotting the stunt. The cops arrived and quickly drew their real guns on the man with the fake one.

"It was just marketing gone wrong," said a rep for the marketing company in what could be categorized as a huge understatement. The company also claims that they subcontracted out this stunt to another marketer and that they were unaware a gun would be used.

Splinter Cell Stunt Almost Gets Someone Shot [Kotaku]

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What a great organization!

Operation Fairy Dust is a New York based charity dedicated to providing prom dresses, shoes and jewelry to girls who may not be able to afford them otherwise. Yesterday they held their ninth annual dress giveaway in Brooklyn's Borough Hall, where girls from all over the city flocked to find their perfect outfit from dresses donated by designers like Oscar de la Renta. Volunteer Crystal Johnson told WCBS about the importance of prom night in a young girls life. "You wait for your prom day because you want to feel like Cinderella, and when your mom can't buy you a prom dress, it really shatters your dreams."

Over 1,700 teenage girls were escorted by their schools to the event. One girl said it really meant a lot to her, considering her financial situation. Frank Sinatra high school student Weronika Slotwinska works four days a week at a bakery, and began living with her boyfriend and paying rent after her mother died last December. "This was really needed considering my personal situation," she told the Post after choosing a dress from David's Bridal. It would also seem that the dress donated by Kim Kardashian would be one of the first to go, but OFP vice president Rashia Bell's questioned whether the strapless teal mini dress was age appropriate. Surely it couldn't have been as bad as these?

Operation Fairy Dust is a New York based charity dedicated to providing prom dresses, shoes and jewelry to girls who may not be able to afford them otherwise. Yesterday they held their ninth annual dress giveaway in Brooklyn's Borough Hall, where girls from all over the city flocked to find their perfect outfit from dresses donated by designers like Oscar de la Renta. Volunteer Crystal Johnson told WCBS about the importance of prom night in a young girls life. "You wait for your prom day because you want to feel like Cinderella, and when your mom can't buy you a prom dress, it really shatters your dreams."

Over 1,700 teenage girls were escorted by their schools to the event. One girl said it really meant a lot to her, considering her financial situation. Frank Sinatra high school student Weronika Slotwinska works four days a week at a bakery, and began living with her boyfriend and paying rent after her mother died last December. "This was really needed considering my personal situation," she told the Post after choosing a dress from David's Bridal. It would also seem that the dress donated by Kim Kardashian would be one of the first to go, but OFP vice president Rashia Bell's questioned whether the strapless teal mini dress was age appropriate. Surely it couldn't have been as bad as these?

(via strake, switchedblog)

This Google cheat sheet is fantastic!

juliasegal:nickmaynard:retconpunch:

thedailywhat:

Kasey McMahon: “Connected”

Life-size self-portrait constructed using steel, spools of Cat5, and an assortment of other data cables.

[notcot.]

bringmethathorizon:

thedailywhat:

TfD.

The Hitler meme examines the take down of the Hitler meme.

Google is the Giant.

Oh, so that’s how u print on an ipad!

Why do this?  Mozilla is in unique position.  We’re a global community with more than 350 million people around the world using the Firefox Web browser.  While we are careful to ensure the data we collect and metrics we track are fairly limited, we feel compelled to share and evangelize the little wisdom we’re able to extract from our numbers.

Some key insights from this report include:

• Looking across several sources of market share data, Firefox’s worldwide share appears close to 30%.
• Usage/Adoption of Firefox this quarter grew most dramatically in Russia.
• Where do people get the earliest start to their day?  Hawaii, Wyoming, and Maine.  And the latest start?  New York.
• People in South America and Antarctica are passionate about personalizing their browser.
• In one usage study, we found one person having more than 600 tabs open at one time.  (This last insight comes from Test Pilot, Mozilla Labs’ platform for opt-in participation in studies and experiments.)

Twitter is awesome … William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy say hello to one another via Tweet and the world rejoices.

As part of that effort, today we’re including a new signal in our search ranking algorithms: site speed. Site speed reflects how quickly a website responds to web requests.

“Say what?” Said the recession.

Google is hiring! Dust off your resumes and start prepping for their famous questions from hell!

The Web Crash of 2007 … “I want to CTRL+ALT+DELETE myself.”

Good job Google!

Now when one searches for most suicide related search terms on Google.com, they’ll see the suicide prevention hotline at the top of their search results. The number doesn’t come up if you search for “should I commit suicide” - it does it you search for “how to commit suicide.” 

Bing’s top result was for this truly horrifying article: The god awful image he choose, the provocative title that doesn’t reflect anything in the actual article, the actual copy of the article that is depressing and belittling to a person who is truly suffering and looking for help online (“Suicide is the act of taking one’s life, but I think it’s suicide not to live our life to the fullest of our abilities and potential”), and the lack of any information on how to get real help.

We started with a list of the 100,000 most used words in the English language. We checked to see which were registered as .Com or .Net. These ones are still available. The full list of 35,000+ available one word .Com and .Net domains can be found here.

Android App: CabSense

From their website:

CabSense uses data from the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission and other sources to help New Yorkers and visitors to the Big Apple find the best nearby street corners to hail an open cab based on the day of the week, the time, and their current location.