Category Archives: Blog

The Rock is too pure for this world. 

Dwayne Johnson — or as he called himself in an Instagram post on Monday, Dwanta Claus — gave his stunt double a new truck when he returned after suffering an injury on set. Tanoai Reed, who’s also Jonhson’s cousin, thought he was about to shoot a behind the scenes clip when he was surprised with the truck. 

“The truth is, he’s been an incredible partner and brother to me,” Johnson said in the clip. “I wanna say I love you, I thank you, and enjoy your new truck.” 

Reed was pretty hyped about the gift.  Read more…

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It can be as simple (and stinky) as forgetting leftovers in the back seat, or as tragic and terrifying as leaving a pet or young child sitting in the back while a car heats up in the summer sun. That’s where Nissan’s “smart” alert system comes in.

Nissan’s rear door alert — or RDA — system was first introduced in the Nissan Pathfinder last year. The recently patented technology triggers the horn and a message display through door sensors alerting drivers to check the back seat after the car is parked if the back door was opened before the ride started. The tech was filed as an “activity monitoring apparatus.” Read more…

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A federal judge temporarily blocked the release of blueprints for 3D-printed guns on Tuesday, only a day before they were supposed to be made public. 

Defense Distributed reached a settlement with the U.S. State Department last month which would’ve allowed it to release blueprints for guns — including AR-15-like rifles — that could be downloaded and built with the help of 3D printers. 

But then eight states filed a last-minute lawsuit to stop the release of the information. Judge Robert S. Lasnik in Seattle agreed with the state attorneys general that the release of Defense Distributed’s files would cause “a likelihood of irreparable harm,” according to the New York Times. Read more…

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Some spoilers for Mission: Impossible – Fallout ahead.

The Mission: Impossible series is one of the rare cinematic universes that doesn’t put too much stock in its own continuity. 

The only common cast members in all six films are Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames. The movies rarely reference events that happened previously in the timeline. There are blessedly few Easter eggs sprinkled in. 

And it’s that previous lack of dedication to worldbuilding that makes Mission: Impossible – Fallout such a different and interesting installment in the franchise.

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When Dietland premiered on AMC, its cutting perspective on women’s media and the overarching violence of the patriarchy made for an off-kilter, important-seeming entry into the summer TV lineup. 

Over the course of the first season, protagonist Plum Kettle was truly put through the wringer as a plus-size woman whose desire to fit conventional beauty standards led her deeper down a rabbit hole of self-loathing, revelation, terrorism, murder, and yes, hallucinated bestiality in that one episode with the tiger-man.

But in the show’s season finale, which tries to tie Plum’s character development with the changes that have occurred in her world, the show’s message remains muddled and contradictory, with few heroes and even fewer reasons to believe that clarity is coming somewhere down the line.  Read more…

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The drone known as the DJI Mavic Pro has aged well since 2016 — but guess what: There are two successors on the horizon.

Argos UK, a British catalog retailer, recently published a listing revealing two unreleased DJI Mavic Pro successors: the Mavic 2 Zoom and Mavic 2 Pro. Twitter user @Chromonian found the advertisement and shared it. 

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There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Or a free Echo Spot.

Amazon has cancelled the orders of customers after the white version of the smart speaker was temporarily listed on its website for zero dollars, down from the regular price of $129.

As TechCrunch notes, the black version of the device was listed for $99, a deal comparative to its usual asking price. But of course, you can’t beat a free Echo Spot.

Predictably, the free Echo Spot sold out quickly, leaving those who had “bought” one to hope that Amazon didn’t pick up on the error. Read more…

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Uber’s self-driving truck program feels like it just took off, but after a court trial and several major leadership changes, it’s been a long road to a dead-end announced Monday. 

Back in 2016, Uber acquired Otto — former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski’s self-driving truck startup — and Uber’s self-driving truck program was born. Then Levandowski was sued for taking trade secrets from Google and bringing them to Uber in the acquisition. That was mainly about the LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) laser and sensor technology that uses light to help the autonomous vehicles “see” the road and world around them.  Read more…

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Sometimes good things really do last.

Former president Barack Obama and vice president Joe Biden grabbed a quick and casual bite for lunch in Georgetown on Monday — and the libs were in love with the idea that the two still chill. Honestly, most people in D.C. were just looking for any form of distraction.

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WhatsApp is rolling out a new feature that brings its features up to par with other major messaging apps: group video calls.

The app is now starting to add group video calling to its iOS and Android app, the company announced Monday.

WhatsApp has supported video calling since 2016, but calls were, until now, limited to two participants. With the latest change, the app is upping its support to four total participants.

That’s a fairly modest increase, particularly compared to other services. Facebook Messenger supports group video calls of up to 50, while Snapchat supports 16 participants. Apple’s FaceTime will work with up to 32 people when iOS 12 launches later this year. Read more…

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