Category Archives: Blog

The Captain Marvel marketing team is back on the nostalgia hype train with the release of five “Magic Eye” posters. 

These 3D optical illusions were first made popular through the Magic Eye book series known to pretty much any ’90s kid with a library card, and now continue to haunt those of us who could never see their hidden secrets in the first place.

The pictures’ colorful, abstract patterns are supposed to reveal hidden images when stared at long enough, but personally they make me feel like Star-Lord at the end of Infinity War – that is to say, a disappointment to every living being on this planet including and especially myself. Read more…

More about Marvel, Illusion, Brie Larson, Captain Marvel, and Posters

Last year when Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi got behind the wheel to understand life as a driver for his ride-hailing company, he failed miserably. And it was all filmed. After Lyft filed to go public Friday, we learned that like its competitor, ride-hailing executives also gave rides on its platform in the past two years. 

While disclosing executive pay, Lyft shared that in 2017 and 2018 some of the executives, like the co-founders, executive vice president, and chief operating officer “provided rides to riders…in a similar manner as other drivers.” While we don’t know how they fared making turns and following app directions, we do know that they earned the company a dismal amount from these rides: less than $300 each year.  Read more…

More about Uber, Ipo, Lyft, Ride Hailing Apps, and Tech

Look, we get it. Robots are here and they’re totally awesome and everything. But do they have to be so goddamn cocky about it? 

MIT’s new backflipping “mini cheetah robot” is the latest addition to a long line of electronic showoffs reminding us that we’ll never be as agile as something cooked up in a lab. 

“At only 20 pounds the limber quadruped can bend and swing its legs wide, enabling it to walk either right side up or upside down,” writes MIT — definitely not rubbing it in that we can’t walk upside down — in a description of the Feb. 28 video.  Read more…

More about Robots, Tech, and Other

The Democratic field in 2020 got a little more crowded — and someone is finally putting climate change center stage.

Washington governor Jay Inslee announced on Friday that he will seek the Democratic nomination for president. But what really sets Inslee apart is his  commitment to being the climate change candidate. In fact, Inslee seems to be the first major candidate in U.S. history to make climate change his main platform for running. 

The main mission statement on Inslee’s campaign website is all about climate change, but it also illustrates how it can affect a large range of other issues, including the economy and national security. Read more…

More about Science, Culture, Climate Change, 2020 Presidential Election, and Jay Inslee

Tesla made a big announcement Thursday about a Tesla Model 3 electric car that starts at $35,000, but other new options popped up on the Tesla website under the Autopilot section, like the semi-autonomous driving feature.

Full self-driving mode was pulled as an option back in October, but now it’s back as a rebranded “Navigate on Autopilot” package with “future features coming later this year.” As of today, there are two Autopilot packages. The first is just called Autopilot and gives the car auto-steering and advanced cruise control. The basic version is $3,000 to include upfront. 

Then there’s the package option called “Full Self-Driving Capability.” As Tesla CEO Elon Musk explained in a press call Thursday afternoon, it’s “feature complete,” but that doesn’t mean you can use all those features. It still is the more advanced Navigate on Autopilot, which allows the car to drive mostly on its own (with you still at the wheel and paying attention) on highways only.  Read more…

More about Tesla, Autopilot, Autonomous Vehicles, Tech, and Transportation

Sure, you can ramble around Wild Appalachia scrounging in crates for old dusty beers in Fallout 76, but what if you could brew your own?

Bethesda has announced the arrival of a new brewing and distilling feature for the online multiplayer game, which for the first time ever allows you to craft your own booze.

From March 12, as part of Bethesda’s new roadmap additions, players will be able to become “the Wasteland’s premiere bartender” with the help of Appalachia’s biggest boozehound of a robot, Biv, who’ll teach you to craft illicit Nukashine using the shiny new brewing station. Read more…

More about Alcohol, Bethesda, Fallout 76, Entertainment, and Gaming

When life gives you lemons, make sure to squeeze all that lemon juice straight into your eyes and then rage about it on Twitter.

That seems to be the thinking of scores of TikTok users who, on Feb. 27, found themselves suddenly locked out of the looping video app following the company’s FTC-inspired effort to temporarily suspend accounts belonging to people under the age of 13. 

What no one appears to have first considered, however, is the fact that some now-exiled users entered fake birthdays when creating their accounts — meaning many of those suspended accounts belong to actual adults. 

Or, if not adults, at least not kids.  Read more…

More about Tiktok, Tech, and Social Media Companies

Bad news, Amazon Prime addicts: the company is no longer selling its Dash buttons.

As of today, the company will no longer sell the magical plastic buttons that let you summon refills of laundry detergent, paper towels, and Trojan condoms at will. The company will, however, continue to support existing buttons.

If you’re bummed about that, it appears that Alexa may be largely to blame for Amazon’s decision. In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said “we’ve seen customers increasingly using programs like Alexa Shopping, which provides a hands free shopping experience, and Subscribe & Save, which lets customers automatically receive their favorite items every month. Read more…

More about Tech, Gadgets, Amazon, Dash Buttons, and Tech

Whether it’s Lil Debbie shilling out relationship advice or Sunny D igniting a conversation about depression, contemporary brand Twitter can be a depressing and dark place. 

Nothing feels more cynical than when a brand appropriates the standardized millennial voice — ironic, detached, dejected — and uses it to hock their emulsified meat products and drinkable corn syrups. There’s no commitment to justice here, there’s just marketing. So I’d love to call for a mass ban of corporations from Twitter, with one exception: Dr. Bronner’s, one of the country’s most popular organic, fair trade soap producers. Read more…

More about Brands, Culture, Brand Twitter, Dr. Bronner S, and Culture

The “budget-friendly” Tesla Model 3 promised by Elon Musk for years is finally here. 

The Tesla CEO teased the announcement Wednesday in a cryptic tweet. Now we finally know the big news: Tesla just made a for-real $35,000 Tesla Model 3 available. On its website, Tesla is pushing the car as $24,450 after tax and gas savings. Before the new $35,000 model was announced, the cheapest Tesla was $42,000. 

The $35,000 car has 220-mile range and will include an all-glass roof. The standard version previously came with a metal roof. Read more…

More about Tesla, Model 3, Electric Vehicles, Tech, and Elon Musk