The architecture of the PS5 is finally unveiled by lead system architect Mark Cerny. While the video is very jargon-heavy, it does provide a glimpse into the upcoming Sony console. The promising architecture features and design will seem to provide an improved gaming experience for future titles!
Do you sometimes tap your remote with your palm to make it work? It seems that NASA has taken a similar solution to fix their Mars lander. The InSight lander’s digging probe got stuck on Mars’ soil. After a few attempts to get the digging probe out, NASA had to let the machine hit itself with a shovel, as Futurism details:
NASA expected its probe, dubbed “the mole,” to dig its way through sand-like terrain. But because the Martian soil clumped together, the whole apparatus got stuck in place.
Programming InSight’s robotic arm to land down on the mole was a risky, last-resort maneuver, PopSci reports, because it risked damaging fragile power and communication lines that attached nearby. Thankfully, engineers spent a few months practicing in simulations before they made a real attempt.
image via Popular Science
Jay Ethier told his viewers that his girlfriend had been killed by a drunk driver. Ethier is best known as “ImJayStation” on YouTube, with more than 5 million subscribers. After posting a video announcing his girlfriend’s death, Ethier proceeded to post videos about his “dead girlfriend”. In one video, he tried summoning his deceased girlfriend, Alexia Marano with a Ouija board. However, Marano isn’t dead at all; it was just a ruse to lure in more subscribers, as The Washington Post detailed:
“We thought of the idea — actually I thought about the idea — what if we fake your death and then do a skit on YouTube pranking everybody, saying it was just to gain traction on the Dream Team channel,” Ethier, 29, said after deleting the hoax videos. “First we were going to say she died, then we were going to do a Ouija board video, which I did, then we were going to call her at 3 a.m. and we were going to resurrect her. And get more followers on our Dream Team channel.”
Marano surfaced on Tuesday with a video of her own, “ALEXIA IS ALIVE (truth about ImJaystation).” In it, she alleged that Ethier controlled and isolated her and that she went along with the fake death only out of fear.
“I felt sick to my stomach from the minute he posted it,” she said. “I did not want to play with anybody’s emotions. I don’t think it’s a cool stunt to do.”
“We were going to resurrect her in a coffin, I was going to raise her from the dead. That was going to be the last video, and that was the first video that we actually filmed,” Ethier said. “We went and bought a freaking coffin, guys! This is the coffin we bought for that video.”
He asserted that Marano was plotting to steal his YouTube following and that there is “no chance of us ever getting back together, ever.”
The video ended, like so many others, with an appeal to his fans.
“The good thing about this is that a fake person is out of my life, and now I can finally focus on this channel, the channel that you guys love, and keep making banger videos,” he said. “Thank you guys, so much, for all the love.”
image screenshot via Pop Crave
North Carolina-based graphic designer, illustrator, and web designer Matthew Burt reimagined Disney princesses as modern career women. He put them into professions based on their characters. From Snow White as a leading psychologist to Rapunzel as a neurologist, Burt wanted to show the princesses as strong women, as Insider detailed:
"The Disney princesses have grown to be more than just characters in a movie. They have become icons in modern culture and to many people, they are a source of inspiration," Burt told INSIDER.
"I wanted to create something that others might look up to," he continued. "It's important to show the princesses as strong women because of that influential role they have in society. Everyone should have something that inspires them — especially girls who may want to pursue a career in a traditionally male-dominated field."
image via Insider
Steam has broken its own record of players using the platform. A peak count of 19,728,027 people are using the service, which broke the record of 18,801,944. The number of people on Steam isn’t a big surprise, given with the current situation of the world (COVID-19 outbreak). Most people now have time to visit the platform and play games, as IGN detailed:
Unsurprisingly, this also means that some of Steam’s (and owner Valve’s) most popular games have also set new concurrent players records. Valve’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (also known as CS:GO) managed to peak at 1,007,062 players, while DOTA 2 peaked at 694,829. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has peaked at 525,462 players, while Rainbow Six Siege and Grand Theft Auto Online bring up the rear.
image via wikimedia commons
There are a lot of ways to combat loneliness and boredom while people are on lockdown, and are forced to stay inside their homes for the time being. People easily unwind when they’re having fun with others, and even amidst the quarantine, a whole neighborhood was able to have fun together! Twitter user leonardocarella shared a video of a neighborhood in Italy singing. It seems that distance isn’t a problem when you’re having fun!
image screenshot via Twitter
Musicians such as Coldplay, Yungblud, and Keith Urban are live-streaming performances to help ease people’s boredom due to self-isolation. Coldplay’s Chris Martin played an impromptu set on Instagram Live, and Keith Urban went live with his wife, Nicole Kidman, in the background. Yungblud did an hour-long show from LA, which included a cooking segment and a drinking game, as BBC detailed:
His concert was pulled together in just 72 hours, after his upcoming tour was postponed due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.
The hour-long live-stream also included a cooking segment and a comedy drinking game featuring actress Bella Thorne and rapper Machine Gun Kelly (the beer they chose was, of course, Corona).
The star said he wanted to "give people a bit of positivity, laughter, and emotion" in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic, but it also helped him stay positive.
"Having the opportunity to connect with fans taken away from me wasn't gonna be an option," he told Vulture. "It's a time to not give up and think out of the box - out of bad situations and despair comes incredible art, no matter what form that may be."
image via BBC
With the spread of COVID-19, many governments have implemented quarantine, or have insisted on social distancing. Now that’s a pretty term, and can be very misleading when not properly explained. Social distancing aims to separate everyone enough that infections wouldn’t spread rapidly. The Huffington Post answers some questions that can further explain the concept:
1. Is it OK to take domestic flights?
International travel is pretty much off the table right now, but what if you need to fly domestically for work or personal reasons? Deciding whether or not to go is best approached by asking yourself a few questions, according to Pamela Aaltonen, professor emerita of nursing at Purdue University and past president of the American Public Health Association.
If it’s reasonable to use an alternative means of traveling, such as by car, that would be the preferred option. And if you’re part of a high-risk group ― you’re older in age and/or have a compromised immune system ― or the party you’re traveling to includes a high-risk individual that you don’t want to potentially expose, it’s probably best to call off the trip.
If you must travel, Aaltonen says you should wipe down arm rests, seat back tables, light switches and vent knobs before touching them.
2. Should I stop using public transportation?
If your employer hasn’t instituted a work-from-home policy or you need to get around town to run errands, transportation can be another tricky situation. Public transportation exposes you to many people and germs. But for many people, there is no other option.
“Try to keep as much distance from one another as you can,” Aaltonen said, noting 6 to 10 feet is ideal. It also helps to travel at non-peak hours, if possible. “Minimize touching surfaces on public transportation,” she added. “Carry wipes or hand sanitizer if available (these are in short supply in many areas of the country) and use on frequently touched surfaces if you, too, are going to touch these surfaces.”
And though it might be a tough habit to break, Aaltonen said you shouldn’t shake hands or hug anyone you know along the way.
3. Is it safe to go to the grocery store or pharmacy?
Benjamin said this is a risk-based decision. If you need food or medication, there’s really no getting around it.
However, if you’re over the age of 60 or are immunocompromised, consider having someone run these types of errands for you.
If that’s not a possibility (and you are not under isolation or quarantine, of course), try to go during off-peak hours when fewer people are around.
image via wikimedia commons
Capitalism still won’t let you go, even in times of crisis and tragedy. Some metal sellers use the people’s fear of market turmoil to convince them to buy gold or silver coins. It looks promising, but some would double the price of the precious metals they sell, which will make the buyer poorer. Quartz has more details:
“I think the precious metals and so-called rare coin telemarketers will be feasting on the personal and economic misfortune caused by coronavirus pandemic,” said a former industry insider with many years of experience, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they want to avoid any risk of legal retaliation.
Quartz has seen precious-metals sellers already using the virus as a sales pitch in marketing emails and Facebook ads whose audience, according to data from Facebook’s ad library, was older than 55. We’re not linking to them here because it’s not yet clear which ads may be connected to overpriced coins and which are not. The message is similar: the stock market will crash imminently, other investors are rushing to “safe-haven assets”—so you should, too.
Nevertheless, “If people want to buy bullion, they may want to consider coins or bars that follow the spot prices dollar for dollar,” the industry insider said. Gold spot prices are listed here. “Buy from reputable companies and do your research.”
“Don’t be deceived into buying coins that are overpriced or modern common coins represented to be ‘collectible’ or ‘rare,’ ” the former insider said. “If a salesperson urges you to act quickly, run the other way.”
image via Quartz
Missy Doods is a math teacher who survived the 2005 Red Lake shooting. She is also a school safety advocate trying her best to help prevent continuous violent actions in schools. The Red Lake shooting left 10 people dead, including the shooter. Doods teamed up with Jillian Peterson and James Densley, researchers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, who compiled the most comprehensive database of mass shooters to date to prevent school violence. Vice has the details:
Peterson and Densley found that 95% of mass shooters in schools are suicidal. They believe this finding should reorient the way we approach violence prevention in schools. “If a student says, ‘I’m going to kill everyone tomorrow,’ it’s an automatic police response: expel, suspend... a big, punitive response,” said Densley. “If that same student said, ‘I’m going to kill myself tomorrow,’ we would respond totally differently.”
Look, 2020 hasn’t really started on the good side. Now with the spread of COVID-19, a lot of people have no hopes of having a great year. Some are thinking the end of the world might be near, while some just really want to get over this year and move to the next. We haven’t even reached half of the year! Some however, really took the time and effort to brainstorm about creative ways we can save the planet. Head over to Cracked to see them!
image via wikimedia commons
Charis Tsevis has a self-initiated project dedicated to the upcoming Olympics and Japan. Named Kintsugi 2020, Tsevis created digital mosaics such as the Olympic logo, along with athletes in different sporting events (such as gymnasts and track). The details of the mosaics are bound together by gold lines. This is heavily inspired by the project’s namesake, Kintsugi. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending them together with gold.
image via Plain magazine
Here’s a way to earn $1000: you’ll just have to binge watch 15 hours of the mockumentary The Office. USDish is offering $1,000 to one lucky fan to watch the show, and to also take notes on the common tropes that occur in each episode. Of course the $1000 wouldn’t come that easily, right? USDish wants to understand the frequency of repeating tropes in a sitcom, as Geek.com details:
“We’ll provide you with general guidelines to track your experience, but in true Kelly Kapoor fashion, we also want you to share your unfiltered opinions and reactions on social media.”
If you’re as obsessed with The Office as Michael is with Ryan, apply online by Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m. ET to earn more than $1,000 cold hard cash.
Other benefits include themed swag (which may or may not involve a Dundie award, “World’s Best Boss” mug, Jell-O, and a stapler) as well as a Netflix gift card*.
Add a video submission to boost your chances.
The competition is open only to U.S. residents aged 18 or older; you do not need to be a USDish customer to apply. A winner will be notified within five days of the closing date.
image via USDish
It turns out that when you prolong your slumber by pressing the snooze button, you don’t get to sleep for ten more minutes. It’s actually just for nine minutes. iPhone’s automatic settings are set to only snooze for nine minutes. Isn’t it weird? Why nine minutes when you can just snooze it for exactly ten minutes? There’s a long history behind that, as Reader’s Digest details:
Alarm clocks were introduced to snooze buttons in 1956 with General Electric-Telechron’s Snooz-Alarm, according to Pacific Standard. That model’s snooze lasted nine minutes, but there are a few theories as to why. Speaking of your iPhone, learn these hidden iPhone hacks you never knew about.
Alarm clocks did exist before the snooze function, so there was already a standard gear setup that innovators had to work with. Getting the gear teeth to line up to allow for exactly ten minutes wasn’t possible, so they had to choose between nine minutes and a few seconds or a little bit over ten minutes.
Here’s where the theories start to differ. Some people say reports in the 1950s suggested ten minutes was enough for drowsy people to fall back into deep sleep. That would mean they’d wake up cranky again, so nine minutes was the sweet spot between more time in bed without letting it get out of hand. Getting right up is just one of the morning habits of successful people, by the way.
But the most common theory seems to come down to simplicity. A double-digit snooze would be harder to program than a single-digit one, so designers figured the less complicated design was the way to go.
Later clocks didn’t necessarily follow Snooz-Alarm’s lead (Westclox’s Drowse clock let snoozers choose between five and ten minutes), but other clocks—including iPhone’s alarm app—decided to pay homage to the original nine minutes.
image via wikimedia commons
Rob Kessler captures the intricate details of plants that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Kessler captures incredibly magnified pictures in his Canopy series. The artist uses scanning electron microscopy to get the zoomed in photos, which he then colors by hand. My Modern Met has more details:
Despite his penchant for micrography, Kessler is actually a professor at Central Saint Martins and Chair of Arts, Design & Science at University of the Arts London. His current creative practice is based around the desire for collaboration between artists and scientists. Before producing the Canopy series of micrographs, Kessler worked with botanists at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew to examine the artistic potential of microscopic images of plants. The British artist finds that interdisciplinary art, which exchanges different ideas and perspectives, reflects the modern era.
image via My Modern Met
