Sophie Lewis at CBSNews.com: Walmart reports increased sales for tops but not pants
We’ve come full rectangle: Polaroid is reborn out of The Impossible Project
Devin Coldewey at TechCrunch: The Polaroid camera is back, with a sleek new model priced at just $100. But film will cost you $2 per shot!
Love the headline!
Mike Dano on Light Reading: Satellite company OneWeb is reportedly filing for bankruptcy and Elon Musk’s SpaceX could be in trouble as well.
Podcast downloads in the US have fallen about 10%. True crime podcasts are down the most, and comedy podcasts are also hit hard.
Coronavirus Causes Dip in Podcast Listening
Makes sense. Social distancing = fewer people commuting.
I listen to podcasts while walking and doing chores, so my podcast listening duration is unchanged. However, more of my podcasts now are daily news than they were before.
The San Diego City Attorney is seeking an injunction against Instacart
Chris Jennewein at the Times of San Diego:
The San Diego City Attorney’s Office has petitioned an appellate court to reinstate its injunction against grocery delivery company Instacart, which the city alleged misclassified its employees as independent contractors, and now places Instacart‘s workforce at greater risk because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The risk is not just to Instacart workers, but to all the people they come in contact with. They’d literally be carrying infections into people’s homes, along with groceries.
I found this enjoyable both for the colorful expletives and for the many video snippets of random British roads.
How Huawei is dividing Western nations
Scott Bade at TechCrunch: Western countries are split on whether to ban Huawei outright on telco networks, like Australia does, or allow the company to be used cautiously, like Britain.
The US is, of course, calling for a Huawei ban.
Much of the split is geographic. The US and Australia are Pacific powers, with China as a neighbor. For Europe, China is a half a world away.
If war breaks out between the US and China, the US and its more Sino-cautious allies fear their vital networks would be controlled by the enemy. And even in peace, Western nations don’t want to see those vital networks controlled by China.
You can’t chalk this one up to more Trump idiocy. The US started turning up the heat on China under Obama. And a million Uighurs will tell you that China is not a nice country.
Uranus Ejected a Giant Plasma Bubble During Voyager 2’s Visit - The New York Times
Uranus is very farty.
This painting by Rudolf Sieber Lonati was used on the covers of Silber-Grusel-Krimi #213 and Larry Brent #49. Via
1961 cover art by Mitchell Hooks Via
#ayyy Via
Yelp launched GoFundMe campaigns for small businesses without their permission, which is making the small business owners angry.
Fearsome Flush - Real Ghostbusters (Kenner) Via
Steve Ditko. Via
The sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden, explained - Anna North - Vox
Opinion - The Religious Right’s Hostility to Science Is Crippling Our Coronavirus Response
Katherine Stewart at The New York Times: At a time when responsible people are practicing social distancing — if they can — the Religious Right is filling church pews and claiming coronavirus is a liberal conspiracy to remove Trump from office after the Mueller investigation and impeachment failed.
‘White-Collar Quarantine’ Over Virus Spotlights Class Divide
Noam Scheiber, Nelson D. Schwartz and Tiffany Hsu writing at the New York Times:
… a kind of pandemic caste system is rapidly developing: the rich holed up in vacation properties; the middle class marooned at home with restless children; the working class on the front lines of the economy, stretched to the limit by the demands of work and parenting, if there is even work to be had.
I have developed my own modification to the standard hand-washing technique you’ve seen on YouTube and in GIFs, which I believe will be beneficial (although I am not a medical professional):
In addition to turning off the faucets with the towel, to avoid contamination, also use the towel to open the bathroom door and turn out the lights. This further avoids touching contaminated surfaces.
Then go out in the living room and let the dog lick your hand.