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Sorry, But the Perfect Lego Brick May Never Be Eco-Friendly

by LorenaLuffman Posted on July 9, 2015

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Everything isn’t awesome. simone mescolini/Shutterstock Legos just click. If you’ve ever played with a competing brand of “interlocking plastic bricks,” you know that Lego’s big advantage is their solidity, their seemingly infinitesimal tolerances that make sure every piece fits just so with every other. The seams turn invisible. The secret to that tight connection (and how painful Legos are to step on): plastic. Specifically, a very tough plastic called ABS, or acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, three polymers derived from petroleum. So last month, Lego announced that it would launch, later this year or next, a Sustainable Materials Centre—100 engineers, chemical engineers, and materials experts all trying to find an eco-friendly replacement for ABS and other ingredients in the company’s toys. Finding those replacements will be tougher than getting a one-by-one piece off a wide base plate. (That’s hard.) ABS is great. It’s precisely moldable; every Lego block has to be identical to others of its type to within 4 microns, from batch to batch, year after year. ABS also takes color well, so a wall of red bricks looks the same across its entire surface. You can print on it, it’s durable—important for a toy that gets passed down through generations—and, most of all, ABS can create what Lego calls good “clutch” power, the ability to stick to other bricks until kids pull them apart. Plus, what does “sustainability” mean in this context? Right now, companies can define that word pretty much however they want. No carbon emissions cutoff exists to qualify a material—and even if one did, it’s notoriously difficult to tally up those emissions. A sustainable material could be renewable or recyclable or both (or neither). Read the rest at Wired.

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Sorry, But the Perfect Lego Brick May Never Be Eco-Friendly

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Sorry, But the Perfect Lego Brick May Never Be Eco-Friendly

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The July Surprise

by Donnie6686 Posted on July 7, 2015

Mother Jones

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Ed Kilgore surveys the Republican primary landscape and throws out a few thoughts about the upcoming first debate on Fox:

Fox will allow only ten participants, chosen by the results of five national polls taken in the week or so before August 4.
Right now, Donald Trump is sucking up all the media oxygen, making it hard for marginal candidates to move up in the polls and avoid being forced into the kiddie debate.
This makes the end of July a critical period for all the C-list candidates.

Here’s Kilgore:

It’s increasingly clear the polling spike marginal candidates need to make the cut needs to happen in late July—not earlier, not later….John Kasich’s scheduled July 21st campaign launch probably couldn’t be timed much better; if he gets a post-announcement bounce, it could bounce him right up into the top ten. For those in the danger zone who have already announced—Perry, Jindal, Santorum, Graham, Fiorina, Pataki and maybe even Christie—the only way to get this sort of bounce is to force one’s way into the news.

So for these candidates, the big strategic question is whether throwing a bomb or three in late July to make the Fox debate cut is worth the long-term risk of self-marginalization. The alternative is to accept a place at the kiddie table “forum” earlier on August 6 and hope media, activists, donors and party elites don’t mentally strike one’s name from the insanely long list of contenders. I’m guessing most of these birds will not want to take that chance. Get ready for some serious gyring and gimbling in late July.

Sounds like fun! I hope they all take Kilgore’s advice. But what kind of bombshell could they drop that would make social media go wild? Discuss in comments, please.

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The July Surprise

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What Is Going On With This Bobby Jindal Announcement Video?

by Lashawnda9136 Posted on June 24, 2015

Mother Jones

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Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal launched his presidential campaign on Wednesday by releasing a video—a very strange video. In it, he and his wife, Supriya, break the news to their three kids that he’ll be spending much of the next six months (at least) in Iowa. What makes it so unusual is that it appears to have been filmed with a camera hidden in a tree. Jindal himself is partially obscured by a large branch. His kids don’t sound particularly excited about their father’s presidential bid. Maybe they’ve seen the polls.

Watch:

(function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)0; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));

I had to tell a few people first. But I want you to be next. I’m running for President of the United States of America. Join me: http://www.bobbyjindal.com/announcement/

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Bobby Jindal on Wednesday, June 24, 2015

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What Is Going On With This Bobby Jindal Announcement Video?

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Rachel Dolezal Sued Howard University for Racial Discrimination

by JacklynHume Posted on June 15, 2015

Mother Jones

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A new report from the Smoking Gun claims Rachel Dolezal—the Spokane woman who has lied for years about being African American— sued Howard University in 2002. According to court documents obtained by the site, Dolezal, who went by Rachel Moore at the time, sued the historically black college by alleging discrimination “based on race, pregnancy, family responsibilities and gender.” From the report:

She alleged that Smith and other school officials improperly blocked her appointment to a teaching assistant post, rejected her application for a post-graduate instructorship, and denied her scholarship aid while she was a student.

The court opinion also noted that Dolezal claimed that the university’s decision to remove some of her artworks from a February 2001 student exhibition was “motivated by a discriminatory purpose to favor African-American students over” her.

Two years later, a judge dismissed the lawsuit.

Earlier on Monday, Dolezal posted a letter on Facebook announcing her resignation as president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the NAACP after the news broke that she had been pretending to be black for many years. The allegations, accompanied by her birth certificate, were made by her biological parents, both of whom are white.

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Rachel Dolezal Sued Howard University for Racial Discrimination

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Woman Alleges Dennis Hastert Sexually Abused Her Brother

by RobertaEbersbac Posted on June 5, 2015

Mother Jones

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On Friday, an Illinois woman alleged in an interview with ABC News that Dennis Hastert sexually abused her late brother while the former House speaker worked as a teacher and wrestling coach at her brother’s high school.

Jolene Reinboldt, who contacted ABC and other news outlets with the same allegations nearly ten years ago, said she first learned about the abuse when her brother, Steve, revealed he was gay eight years after graduating high school in Yorkville, Illinois.

“I asked him, when was your first same sex experience,” she said in the interview. “He just looked at me and said, ‘It was with Dennis Hastert.’ I was stunned.”

Jolene said when she asked why he never told authorities about the abuse, Steve responded, “Who is ever going to believe me?” Steve passed away in 1999 of AIDS.

Last week, Hastert was indicted on federal charges for lying to the FBI and trying to conceal secret payments to cover up “past misconduct.” Soon after, the Los Angeles Times reported the misconduct was “about sex” and large payments to a former male student, identified only as Individual A, to stay silent about the alleged abuse.

Jolene said FBI officials showed up at her house two weeks ago to inform her of Hastert’s imminent indictment and to ask her about Steve.

Friday’s interview marks the first time a possible victim has been publicly named.

Watch the interview below:

ABC News Videos | ABC Entertainment News

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Woman Alleges Dennis Hastert Sexually Abused Her Brother

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This GoPro Video From Inside An F-18 Fighter Jet Is Absolutely Bonkers

by TommyM18obifynm Posted on May 23, 2015

Mother Jones

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ABC News

GoPro videos are cool. Fighter jets (that aren’t the F-35) are cool. GoPro videos from fighter jets are unsurprisingly cool.

This one was featured on ABC News last year but I only discovered it just now courtesy of Nightline producer Meredith Frost on Twitter. (Follow her.)

You should watch it! Or not. I mean, you don’t have to. It takes all sorts to make a world. Maybe you want to leave a comment asking incredulously “why is this news?” Either way, have a great night!

ABC News Videos | ABC Entertainment News

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This GoPro Video From Inside An F-18 Fighter Jet Is Absolutely Bonkers

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Job-Seeker Hillary Clinton Posts Resume on LinkedIn

by PriscillaScott Posted on May 21, 2015

Mother Jones

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Have you heard the news? Hillary Clinton is on the hunt for a new gig.

And in an effort to attract prospective employers, the former secretary of state just joined LinkedIn with her very own profile. She even dressed up her page with an article on how to “jump-start small business.”

Enjoy the imminent deluge of spammy messages, Hillary! Everyone deserves a distraction from “sensitive but unclassified” emails.

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Job-Seeker Hillary Clinton Posts Resume on LinkedIn

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Alaska’s latest crop was once a Soviet military secret

by ToryHollick Posted on May 20, 2015

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All New Square Foot Gardening, Second Edition – Mel Bartholomew

Rapidly increasing in popularity, square foot gardening is the most practical, foolproof way to grow a home garden. That explains why author and gardening innovator Mel Bartholomew has sold more than two million books describing how to become a successful DIY square foot gardener. Now, with the publication of All New Square Foot Gardening, Second […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Marie Kondo

This New York Times best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing. Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles? Japanese cleaning consultant […]

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis – Instaread

PLEASE NOTE: This is a  summary and analysis  of the book and NOT the original book.  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo – A 15-minute Summary & Analysis   Inside this Instaread: Summary of entire book, Introduction to the important people in the book, Key Takeaways and Analysis of the Key Takeaways. […]

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Bonsai – Bonsai Empire, O. Jonker & Sean Coleman

How often do I need to water my Bonsai? Should I prune my tree? Although caring for a Bonsai tree is not nearly as difficult as most people believe, you need to learn about some basic techniques in order to keep your tree thriving. Our beginners guide contains all the essential information you need in […]

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White Dwarf Issue 68: 16th May 2015 – White Dwarf

White Dwarf 68 rolls in on crushing tracks – the Kataphron battle servitors are here, dead flesh, unthinking, automaton minds, and barrel-loads of the Adeptus Mechanicus’s most destructive weaponry. We’ve got a first look in New Releases, Paint Splatter and full rules for using the Kataphron Breachers and Kataphron Destroyers in your games. Elsewhere we’ve […]

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White Dwarf Issue 67: 09th May 2015 – White Dwarf

Conqueror protocols, engaged! White Dwarf 67 strides forth like an automata of death – well, of weekly hobby goodness – but beside it the Kastelan battle robots, the real mindless machines of death and destruction. What are these relics of an age ancient even by the standards of the Imperium? We’ve got the knowledge you’re […]

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A Green and Pleasant Land – Ursula Buchan

SHORTLISTED FOR INSPIRATIONAL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2014 GARDEN MEDIA GUILD AWARDS. The wonderfully evocative story of how Britain’s World War Two gardeners – with great ingenuity, invincible good humour and extraordinary fortitude – dug for victory on home turf. A G reen and Pleasant Land tells the intriguing and inspiring story of […]

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Cupcakes and Cashmere at Home – Emily Schuman

In Cupcakes and Cashmere at Home, Emily Schuman expands on the personal lifestyle advice that her fans loved in her first book and on her popular blog, with a focus on interior design and entertaining at home. The book features never-before-seen content and explores Emily’s accessible design philosophy for decorating and creating a fashionable personal space. […]

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How to Raise the Perfect Dog – Cesar Millan & Melissa Jo Peltier

From the bestselling author and star of National Geographic Channel’s Dog Whisperer , the only resource you’ll need for raising a happy, healthy dog. For the millions of people every year who consider bringing a puppy into their lives–as well as those who have already brought a dog home–Cesar Millan, the preeminent dog behavior expert, […]

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The Art of Raising a Puppy (Revised Edition) – Monks of New Skete

For more than thirty years the Monks of New Skete have been among America’s most trusted authorities on dog training, canine behavior, and the animal/human bond. In their two now-classic bestsellers, How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend and The Art of Raising a Puppy, the Monks draw on their experience as long-time breeders of […]

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Alaska’s latest crop was once a Soviet military secret

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Taylor Swift: "Misogyny Is Ingrained in People From the Time They Are Born"

by SalvatoRech Posted on May 19, 2015

Mother Jones

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According to this year’s “Hot 100” list, an annual inventory in which Maxim‘s editors meticulously rank famous women by level of attractiveness, Taylor Swift is 2015’s reigning queen of female hotness. Rather than use the title to gloat about her declared hotness, Swift used the magazine’s cover to call out the double standards women face everyday and the importance of feminism in her life today: From Maxim:

Honestly, I didn’t have an accurate definition of feminism when I was younger. I didn’t quite see all the ways that feminism is vital to growing up in the world we live in. I think that when I used to say, “Oh, feminism’s not really on my radar,” it was because when I was just seen as a kid, I wasn’t as threatening. I didn’t see myself being held back until I was a woman. Or the double standards in headlines, the double standards in the way stories are told, the double standards in the way things are perceived.

Swift’s interview is especially noteworthy considering in 2012, she shied away from the label to the Daily Beast, telling the news site she didn’t view matters as a “guys versus girls” situation. This was also during a time in which the media unfairly portrayed Swift as something of a pathetic boy chaser—a female singer who used her lyrics to lament about the latest boy who got away.

Since then, she has shattered that image with very real, thoughtful insight into an industry built on sexist frameworks:

A man writing about his feelings from a vulnerable place is brave; a woman writing about her feelings from a vulnerable place is oversharing or whining. Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born. So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it’s just basically another word for equality.

This is what young girls need today. Now, we leave you with her badass new video, “Bad Blood.”

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Taylor Swift: "Misogyny Is Ingrained in People From the Time They Are Born"

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And One Chart to Rule Them All

by ReggieBisdee Posted on May 10, 2015

Mother Jones

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It feels like it’s been weeks since I last created a chart for this blog. I suppose this is because it has been weeks. Today that changes.

Over on the right is the chart that’s controlled my life for the past couple of weeks. That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of others. My potassium level seemed to be of particular concern, for example, but that would make an especially boring chart since it just bounced around between 3.3 and 3.9 the entire time. (They added a bag of IV potassium to my usual daily hydration whenever it fell below 3.6.) Now that I’m home and my IV line is gone, I’m eating more bananas than usual, just to be on the safe side, but that’s about it.

But that was nothing. What really mattered was my white blood count. You can see it on the right. For some reason, the two days of actual chemotherapy are called Day -2 and Day -1, and the day of the stem cell transplant is Day 0. On that day, as you can see, my count was around 6500, which is quite normal. Then, as the Melphalan steamrolled everything in its path, it plummeted to ~0 on days 7 and 8. Bye bye, immune system. Finally, on Day 9, as the transplanted stem cells started to morph into various blood products, my count skyrocketed. By the time I was discharged on Day 14, it was back to normal levels.

Fascinating, no? Especially when it’s in chart form!

Lessee. Any other news? My fatigue is still pretty heavy, and will stay that way for 2-3 weeks. I didn’t realize it would last so long, partly because my doctor waited literally until my discharge date to tell me. But it’s for real. It took me two tries to create this post: one session to create the chart, after which I crashed, and a second session to write the text. Not exactly speed demon blogging. What else? I have a nasty metallic taste in my mouth all this time. It sucks. And I think my hair is finally getting ready to fall out completely. This morning my pillow was covered with tiny little pieces of hair, and it’s pretty obvious where they came from. On the bright side, my appetite is improving. I’m not yet at the stage where I really want to eat, but I’m mostly willing to eat, which is good enough for now. This may be partly due to the fact that I’m wearing one of those seasickness patches behind my ear to fight nausea. It seems to be working.

Oh, and I can now take a nice, normal shower without first having to spend ten minutes trying to bundle up my catheter so it doesn’t get wet. Woohoo!

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And One Chart to Rule Them All

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