Jacob Appelbaum's 29C3 keynote on the out-of-control surveillance state

Jacob Appelbaum's keynote from 29C3 — last December's Chaos Communications Congress in Hamburg — is a riveting hour on surveillance, freedom, and the wild, criminal lawlessness of the NSA and other spy agencies. Jacob's factual, methodical laying out of the growth of American surveillance is brilliant, terrifying and enraging, and it left me wanting to rush to a barricade. Jacob's insights into how we are coping with the surveillance state and why that needs to change are terrific. Someone make a transcript of this, please.

"Overly attached girlfriend" shares the whole meme backstory Laina Morris shot to fame in 2012 as the "overly attached girlfriend" meme. She shares what happens before, during, and after becoming a mega-meme. Because she was always in on the joke (the look is from a comedy video about Justin Bieber), she never had to go through the "good sport" phase of some other […] READ THE REST

Relaxing channel about hiking alone on gorgeous trails worldwide Kraig Adams makes beautiful and soothing documentaries about his hiking alone on scenic trails, like this 70-mile hike on the Sawtooth Loop Trail in Idaho. With just a touch of quiet music underneath the nature sounds, and the occasional drone shot, these are a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon working. They're great for […] READ THE REST

The best analysis of the racist YouTube channel implosion at 'Bon Appétit' One of the more unexpected racial reckonings in the wake of George Floyd's killing is the collapse of Bon Appétit magazine's YouTube channel. As Jack Saint says in his terrific analysis, "This was a burgeoning giant of online video, and it just completely shit the bed because it couldn't stop being racist." As a palate-cleanser, […] READ THE REST

This tough, weatherproof biometric lock pops open with just your fingerprint Biometric technology is doing more than opening your iPhone. In fact, the process of digitally identifying individuals from physical characteristics like fingerprints is opening up whole new areas of innovation. Earlier this month, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that it would start testing biometric recognition software to process air passengers faster. Meanwhile, the FBI […] READ THE REST

This triple headlamp can beam over 800 yards You can laugh all you want at someone wearing a headlamp when they're out hiking or camping or spelunking. Of course, the only thing sillier than wearing a headlamp is being stuck somewhere in the dark without one. The truth is that emergencies and other situations come up all the time when you're out and […] READ THE REST