Author Archives: Carol Edwards

Harry Styles announced an unexpected show in London on Saturday, and one admirable fan was not about to miss out on tickets.

Marta — @perfisadis on Twitter — dashed out of her shower and rushed for the train after Styles tweeted details about the surprise show. (We assume she has notifications turned on for Styles’ tweets, which is the mark of a good fan.) 

She rushed so quickly, in fact, that she failed to remove the towel on her head. And, friends, her journey — which she live-tweeted, of course — will inspire you: Read more…

More about Watercooler, Harry Styles, and Watercooler

So you’ve decided to dump Facebook.

But you’re worried. Worried about missing out, struggling to stay connected, or getting left behind by the almost 2 billion users on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s platform. 

Don’t be. 

It has never before been easier to completely remove Facebook from your life — not missing a single social beat in the process. And when you finally do, you’ll wonder what took you so long in the first place. 

First things first: Hitting “delete”

OK, if you’re going to live without Facebook your first step should be actually deleting your account. Thankfully, it’s not that tricky. Read more…

More about Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, Social Media, and Tech

The ransomware attacks spreading across at least 99 countries on Friday are the type of attack that could one day kill someone. 

That sounds like hyperbole, but this attack froze and disrupted computers inside many National Health Service hospitals in the United Kingdom, and it’s not hard to see how an attack on hospital computer systems affects patient care or, at the very least, forces patients in need to find help elsewhere as hospital staff scramble to get vital systems back online. That type of disruption, combined with a person faced with a life-threatening condition, has the potential to result in the loss of life. Read more…

More about Microsoft, Cybersecurity, Computer, Network, and Hospital

Croc lovers, rejoice: your favorite shoe isn’t just for gardening anymore.

18-year-old runner Benjamin Pachev completed a half-marathon in the rubber shoes last Saturday, vindicating Croc enthusiasts everywhere. His time wasn’t bad, either — 71:53 for a sixteenth place finish.

When interviewed by Fox 59 in Indianapolis, Pachev credited the shoes for his speed, asserting that wearing them is “like having a little fan that’s just streaming over your foot.” 

He did not mention arch support, but, you know … details.

More about Watercooler, Sports, Crocs, and Watercooler

Graduation caps, or “mortarboards,” are annoying to wear and objectively weird looking. But they’re even more annoying when they’re constantly falling off your head.

If you have to wear one, though (okay, they’re a symbol of your hard work and education, so we guess it’s kind of cool), here’s how to keep it on your head. Not permanently, but for the duration of the ceremony.

Good luck out there.

1. Try not to wear the cap too far back on your head.

If possible, the cap should partially cover your forehead. If you angle it too far back, it’s much more likely to tumble off your head during an embrace with your great-aunt.  Read more…

More about Watercooler, Lifestyle, Graduation, Utility, and Watercooler

Everyone has one song that brings them back to those late June evenings when they realized their hormone-fueled high school days were over.

We asked Mashable staffers to share the songs that remind them most of their last days of high school.

(And yes, someone chose Vitamin C, but don’t hold it against him.)

Class of 2000: “Rocks Tonic Juice Magic” – Saves the Day

“Me and my friends were obsessed with Saves the Day’s second record Through Being Cool. We played it on repeat for every road trip and made up our own lyrics for the songs. Just after I graduated, I got an apartment with a friend and we adopted two cats and named them Rocks Tonic and Juice Magic. We were cool.” – Peter Allen Clark, Assistant Viral Content Editor, Clarksville, Indiana Read more…

More about Watercooler, Watercooler, and Pics

Morale at the FBI isn’t so high right now, and it’s not just because of James Comey’s firing, says Stephen Colbert. It’s because of how Trump did it — by sending his private security guard to deliver the news in a manila envelope.

And this “thuggish and humiliating” methodry reminded one senior intelligence official of a particular scene from The Godfather. “I think that was designed to send a message: Cut this shit out, or this will happen to you. This is like horse head in the bed,” he told NBC News.

Comforting! Read more…

More about Watercooler, Donald Trump, Stephen Colbert, James Comey, and Watercooler

Whattup, James Bond? Here’s a new, incredibly dangerous but totally on trend stunt idea for your next film: drone jumping.  

A drone company in Latvia has executed what it calls the “the world’s first drone jump.” Aerones’s 28-propeller drone hoisted a man over a 1,000 feet in the air after which he let go of the drone and coasted a bit before deploying a parachute to set him down safely back on earth. 

Sure, this isn’t exactly edge of your seat stunt work, especially since another guy used a balloon to do the same thing from 18 miles above the planet. But still, it’s easy to see how this kind of drone-assisted sky diving could be used for stealthy military and spy missions in the future. Or maybe (more likely) it’ll become the latest extreme sports craze that’s only slightly more dangerous than parkour and subway car surfing.  Read more…

More about Drones, Stunts, and Tech

Still stubbornly running an ancient version of Windows, despite the security threats? You’re in luck, this time.

The ransomware attack known as WannaCrypt that sent organizations and individual users around the world scrambling for security cover has been addressed by Microsoft, the company behind the most widely used operating system on the planet, with a new software update.  And, to the relief of many holding onto old versions of Windows, the update plays nice with some old school systems, too. 

Late Friday, the company posted an official notice on its site regarding the update as well as general guidance regarding the WannaCrypt attack. The update covers users on Windows XP, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2003 (the attack didn’t target Windows 10, according to Microsoft). Additionally, Microsoft advises users to “use vigilance when opening documents from untrusted or unknown sources.”  Read more…

More about Microsoft, Security, Hackers, Windows, and Hacking