Author Archives: Carol Edwards

The Fourth of July is around the corner and you know what that means: Colossal sales on all of the usually expensive things like TVs, laptops, and mattresses.

Oh yeah, and I guess fireworks and cookouts and whatever also happen.

But we’re most excited about upgrading every room in the house and saving a ton of money while doing it. Now that sets off fireworks in my heart.

Find mattress sales at stores like Macy’s and Mattress Firm (this one from Beautyrest is almost $2,000 off), save up to $900 on smart 4K TVs from Samsung and VIZIO or up to $300 on laptops from Apple or Dell, plus massive store-wide sales from Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. Read more…

More about Tech, Fourth Of July, Smart Tvs, Mashable Shopping, and Shopping Electronics

An electric vehicle is the perfect space for a car singalong. 

Belting out a Journey classic from the passenger seat goes hand-in-hand with an electric vehicle, mostly because the cars are super quiet, thanks to those emission-free battery-powered motors. Everyone can hear and appreciate your lyrical skills. Or your passion that makes up for those skills.

To show off how otherwise silent their rides are, clean energy company Fortum, which runs a charging network in the Nordic area with more than 2,000 electric car charger stations, is offering free trips in an electric shuttle — the BMW i3 — at the Finnish music festival Ruisrock next weekend.  Read more…

More about Electric Vehicles, Clean Energy, Finland, Charging Stations, and Tech

Nanette seems more like the name of an elderly Shih Tzu than a groundbreaking comedy special. But Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix hour is indeed called Nanette — and it is a radical tour de force that calls out some of standup comedy’s worst shortcomings.

Stand-up has always been a dog-eat-dog world. From set stealers to hecklers, the obstacles facing the most privileged of comedians is substantial, and the underrepresented have it even worse. 

Gadsby’s hour is a profound breakdown of the disadvantages she has faced as a gay woman—not just in comedy, but in life. During the course of her special, she concludes that for her own well-being, she ought to quit comedy. At the center of her argument is a fundamental flaw in the “rules” of self-deprecation. Read more…

More about Netflix Original, Stand Up Comedy, Hannah Gadsby, Nanette, and Entertainment

Every year on the Fourth of July, America celebrates its independence with annual traditions like barbecues, picnics, fireworks — and mattress sales.

That’s great news, because after a long day of barbecuing in the sun and staying up late scrolling through the hellhole that is Twitter watching fireworks, crawling into bed is the only thing we want to do. 

Here’s our list of the best mattress deals for July Fourth. Among the top, we have to mention our latest obsession — Casper. This bed-in-a-box takes both convenience and comfort to a new level, and we’re not just talking about the $125-$225 you can save with their Fourth of July deal. Read more…

More about Casper, Nectar, Mashable Shopping, Mattress Sale, and Lifestyle

In 1989, park rangers first spotted Bear 410 as a small cub. 

Since then, she often returns to the banks of the salmon-filled river where she grew up. And again, nearly 30 years later, this old, remarkable bear has come back, claiming her status as the Brooks River’s oldest known bear. 

“Each year she returns, I’m more amazed,” said Mike Fitz, a former Katmai park ranger who reports on the bear cam for explore.org. “The competition and risks don’t get any easier for her, but she continues to survive and make a living.” Read more…

More about Science, Bears, National Park Service, Bearcam, and Katmai National Park

It’s time for your vacation, and you know what that means: Get the heck out of here! But wait. You haven’t booked a flight anywhere. Or maybe you’ve just returned from a big trip, and need to plan a quick weekend getaway to ease the re-entry pain. 

Just because you’ve got a tight budget or are looking last minute doesn’t mean you can’t travel. Quite the contrary, actually. Some of the best deals out there come to those who wait — or those who have flexible travel dates, or are open to a wide range of destinations. The world is your affordable oyster, as long as you know where to look!  Read more…

More about Travel, Mashable Shopping, Lifestyle, Work Life, and Transportation

People are sending a warning to a senator whose stance on protecting abortion rights isn’t strong enough for them.

On Wednesday, after U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, Republican Senator Susan Collins said she views Roe v. Wade — the ruling that ensures nation-wide abortion access — as “settled law.” 

“It’s clearly precedent,” she said on Wednesday when asked about her stance on protecting abortion laws. “I always look for judges who respect precedent.”

But on Thursday, her commitment to upholding Roe v. Wade seemed shaky. Her spokeswoman Annie Clark told the Portland Press Herald that Collins “always looks at their judicial temperament” and “respect for precedent” when evaluating judges, and then clarified that the senator “does not apply ideological litmus tests” to nominees.  Read more…

More about Twitter, Activism, Culture, and Web Culture

As news of a fatal mass shooting at a community newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland surfaced, the online conversation quickly turned to President Trump’s reputation for inciting violence against the press. 

At least five people were killed in the horrific shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom on Thursday. While the shooter’s motive hasn’t been confirmed by police, he has sent social media threats to the newsroom before — the latest were sent yesterday, according to authorities. And top of mind for many was Trump’s tendency to villainize reporters.

More about Media, Trump, Gun Control, Culture, and Web Culture

In this day and age, you know you’re not meant to leave your baggage unattended in airports. Especially if there’s a cute rabbit inside.

The bomb squad of the Australian Federal Police was called to Adelaide Airport on Wednesday after a pink Lorna Jane bag was left unattended in a female toilet.

But instead of holding dangerous items, the bag contained a young male dwarf rabbit wearing a red harness and no identification. Police called in rescue officers from the RSPCA, who took in the animal for safety.

“This is the first job of this kind that I’ve come across in my 26 years of service with RSPCA,” rescue officer Van Loenen said in a statement online. Read more…

More about Australia, Animals, Airport, Rabbit, and Culture

Having trouble choosing a selfie mask? Just cry directly into the camera.

A newly public patent shows Facebook is eyeing tech that automatically chooses an animated selfie based on your current emotional state.

The patent filing, which was filed in 2016 but made public on Thursday, outlines a system for “identifying an emotion” and “selecting, based on the emotion, a mask from a set of masks.” A “mask” is Facebook’s preferred term for the selfie filters that add animations to your face. 

Instead of having to manually select a mask that fits your current mood, as you do now, Facebook’s emotion-detecting software would be able to automatically select one based on what it detects in the image. If the app detects “happiness, for example, it could bring up ‘a mask named ‘happy panda,'” Facebook writes in the filing. “[While] the emotion ‘surprise’ [maps] to a mask named ‘surprised eyes,’ the emotion ‘anger’ to a mask named ‘angry bird,’ and the emotion ‘sadness’ to a mask named ‘gushing tears’.” Read more…

More about Tech, Facebook, Artificial Intelligence, Social Media Companies, and Tech