What to know

http://kotaku.com/lovers-in-a-da…

Humble Indie Bundle 17 brings with it Super Time Force Ultra, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, and Galak-7, along with four other games, some extras, and more to come.

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Kinja Deals has joined Humble Bundle's new affiliate program. You can choose to adjust where your purchase is allocated using the slider.

Xbox One owners looking to build out their game library can purchase a Square Enix title today from Amazon, and get a free backwards-compatible Xbox 360 game code of their choice. You can find the full list of eligible titles to purchase here, and your options for free games (as well as more details about the promotion) at this link.

My picks: Either get the new Deus Ex game with the $12 Prime discount (shown at checkout), or finally get around to playing Life Is Strange.

https://www.amazon.com/Deus-Ex-Mankin…

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Strange-X…

If you like to do your own oil changes, or aren't afraid to tinker on the underside of your car, these inexpensive RhinoRamps are the quickest way to elevate your car. Obviously, they won't help you for tire changes, and they won't give you a ton of clearance, but for quick, basic maintenance, they should get the job done.

If you want a secondary TV for your bedroom, kitchen, or garage, you could do a lot worse than this 32” TCL. Yeah, it's only 720p and 60Hz, but it has Roku's streaming platform built right in, and it's only $150 today, an all-time low. It's not going to be your primary TV, but it's perfectly adequate for certain rooms and situations.

If you've been waiting for a deal on Huawei's excellent-but-expensive Android Wear smart watch, B&H is taking $100 off select models, plus an extra $25 with promo code SMARTW, plus an extra $100 gift card for good measure (on certain models only).

http://reviews.gizmodo.com/huawei-watch-r…

Note: Look for this language on the product listing for the ones eligible for the $100 gift card.

If you've had your eye trained on the svelte new Xbox One S, you can get a 1TB Madden bundle for its standard $350 MSRP (with no tax for most), plus a $50 eBay gift card for good measure. That doesn't really hold a candle to the deals we've seen on the old Xbox One, but it's not bad if you need the new hotness.

Update: Sold out

Cuisinart's 3-in-1 Griddler is one of the most versatile kitchen appliances you can own, and it can be yours today for just $68, complete with a set of waffle iron plates.

http://gear.kinja.com/cuisinarts-gri…

$68 would be a pretty great price for the Griddler on its own, but the waffle iron plates usually sell for $25-$35 by themselves, so this bundle represents a pretty massive discount.

Update: Now it's down to just $65. Even better!

I've probably seen more USB battery packs than 99.9% of people living on this Earth, but I've never seen one like the ZeroLemon ToughJuice before. You get 30,000mAh of juice, five (!) USB ports, including a Quick Charge 2.0 port and a USB-C port, and a ruggedized exterior.

It's niche, and at $70 (with code JUXKCZZ4), it's not exactly cheap, but it truly stands apart in a world of commodity USB battery packs.

https://www.amazon.com/External-ZeroL…

Everyone knows about Roombas, but did you know iRobot made a robotic mop as well? The iRobot Braava Jet has three different modes: Wet mopping, damp sweeping and dry sweeping, and can select the proper one automatically depending on which cleaning pad you attach. You can put it to work on your floors for just $169 today, the best price Amazon's ever listed.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019OH9898/…

Want wireless streaming and handsfree calling in your older car? This $13 dongle receives the Bluetooth signal from your phone, and transmits it to the FM radio station of your choice.

We've seen several deals on Bluetooth car kits in the past, but most require that your car include an AUX jack, whereas this only needs a working FM radio.

Note: The description of the product confusingly contains references to AUX cables, but that's optional. You can use this completely wirelessly, if you so choose.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZICYHVS?…

What's that noise the car's making? It's all the crap rolling around in your trunk. This $24 pop-up organizer will keep everything in its place, and it even comes with a free bonus car cooler, as well as a reflective warning triangle for roadside emergencies.

https://www.amazon.com/MIU-COLOR®-Fol…

Today you can grab a Fitbit Aria smart scale on eBay for just $67, the best price we've ever seen for a non-refurb. It only really makes sense to buy this scale if you own (and regularly use) a Fitbit, but if you do, the Aria sync your weight, BMI, and body fat % to the Fitbit app to track your goals and progress over time.

Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics promises to be an enlightening retrospective on your favorite classic video games. The book will feature overviews of 17 NES titles, interviews and commentary from Nintendo employees, hand-drawn maps, and more goodies when it's released in November

But let's be honest here, the real reason to buy it is the NES cartridge slip case.

Preorders are down to $27 today on Amazon, with preorder price guarantee in case it goes any lower.

https://www.amazon.com/Playing-Power-…

Here's 20% off various chocolates and candies because....Halloween is about two months away? Trump is running for President? Your favorite blog is shutting down? Anyway, enjoy.

Note: Discount shown at checkout.

We see lots of deals these days on the original Philips Hue starter kit, but the second generation set includes a Siri-compatible bridge and brighter bulbs (800 lumens vs. 600), and you can save $20 on it today, with a $50 Best Buy gift card thrown in for good measure. That's easily the best deal we've seen to date.

http://gear.lifehacker.com/how-to-get-sta…

Sony's raising the price of PlayStation Plus to $60 next month, so it might behoove you to stock up on 12 month memberships now, before the change goes into effect.

http://kotaku.com/playstation-pl…

There's almost always a $40 PlayStation Plus deal available through some eBay seller or another, but today, they're all suspiciously missing. We don't know if it's related to the price hike, but you could wait a few days to see if another one pops up. If not, I think it's safe to assume that those days are over.

https://www.amazon.com/1-Year-PlaySta…

If the Kate Spade Surprise Sale isn't up your alley, how about an extra 25% off all sale items at Jack Spade? Use the code OUTOFOFFICE and get up to 75% off some really awesome weekender bags, backpacks, even shirts and wallets. It's not too late to treat yourself.

We keep posting copper string light deals, and you guys keep buying them, so here are four more.

First up, here's a 20' strand from Kohree with a solar panel, so you don't have to plug them in.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016B298S0?…

Next up, here's a pair of 10', USB-powered strands that would work well indoors.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01COLV0I8?…

And finally, here's an extra long 72' solar-powered strand for $13, in two different color temperatures.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019DL5LWI?…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ERBXMZW/…

Between shedding fur on your seats and a seemingly biological need to jump into the front seat while you're passing an 18-wheeler on the freeway, it's no secret that a lot of dogs don't do particularly well in the car. Personally, I put my dog in a collapsible fabric kennel in the backseat, but if you want your pooch to have a little more freedom, this backseat dog cover looks like a perfect solution.

The cover hooks into the headrests on both the front and back seats, creating a kind of loosely enclosed room that will keep your dog safely in the backseat, and her fur a layer removed from your upholstery.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019OFKASI?…

Just when you thought you'd seen it all in the USB battery pack world, this 5,000mAh battery from RAVPower includes a Qi charging pad to power up your phone wirelessly. Sure, that's a little bit of a gimmick, but it does mean you don't have to carry an extra charging cable, and unlike most battery packs, this one can serve a purpose when you aren't traveling.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYAZMU2?…

We rarely see Lightning cables for less than $4 each, so this $16 4-pack is a solid buy if you need some spares.

Fun side note: Apple still sells a single cable for $19.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IBLQ3ZA?…

If you need a little extra push to get out and go for a run, Amazon will sell you a pair of Mizuno Wave Sayonara 3 running shoes for just $45 today. These shoes typically sell for about $60-$70 around the web, and you even get to pick your favorite color; just click through to the product pages to find the color selector.

https://www.amazon.com/Mizuno-Wave-Sa…

https://www.amazon.com/Mizuno-Womens-…

Tech

Power

Duracell Battery Quantum Alkaline AA, 24/Pack | $11 | Staples
ZeroLemon ToughJuice Type C 30000mAh Rugged External Battery+ QC 2.0 | $70 | Amazon | Use code JUXKCZZ4
Inateck 33W 2-Port USB Car Charger with Built in Lightning Cable + 4 feet Micro USB Charging Cable | $8 | Amazon | Use code C2IZCLMP
Seneo 3-Coils Wireless Charger Pad with LED Indicator Light for QI-Enabled Devices | $19 | Amazon | Use code EOWXAN87
Seneo Wireless Charger Qi Wireless Charging Pad for Galaxy S7/S6 All Qi-Enabled Devices | $9 | Amazon | Use code MZGMLBS4

Audio

Monoprice Hi-Fi Over-the-Ear Headphones | $30 | Monoprice
Harman Kardon IE NC Earphones with Active Noise Cancelling | $28 | Harman Kardon
Mpow 2-in-1 FM Transmitter & Receiver | $13 | Amazon | Use code SXZE64FF
Mpow Swift Bluetooth Sports Headphones (3 colors available) | $14 | Amazon | Use code 849RBH2L
iClever BoostRun BTH06 Bluetooth V4.1 Headphones Wireless Stereo In-ear Noise Cancelling Sport Earbuds with IPX4 Sweatproof | $23 | Amazon | Use code L27IPP4E

Home Theater

Computers & Accessories

Samsung 21.5-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor | $80 | Amazon
Keedox USB 3.0 Hub Powered 7-Port with 7 Smart Charging Ports | $20 | Amazon
Homga 2 Pack Cable Organizer Sleeves | $12 | Amazon | Use code HR44LH4W
Texas Instruments TI-89 Titanium Graphing Calculator | $110 | Amazon

PC Parts

Lifestyle

Apparel

Up To 50% Off PUMA Shoes & Clothing | Amazon | Today Only
40% Off Sitewide with No Exclusions at GAP with Code MORE
Factory Cotton Pique Polo CLEARANCE | $12 | JosABank
Cole Haan Tucker Grand Slip-On Chestnut | $45 | 6pm
ASICS Men's GEL-Dedicate 4 Tennis Shoes | $27 | eBay
ASICS Men's GEL-Equation 8 Running Shoes | $33 | eBay

Camping & Outdoors

Nlife Cellphone Waterproof Case Waterproof Pouch Dry Pouch | $3 | Amazon | Use code E3UPHZNI
3 Pack UKCOCO Universal Dry Bag | $7 | Amazon | Use code YRXXB8FL
6-Pack Marshmallow Roasting Sticks Smores Skewers Hot Dog Fork | $8 | Amazon | Use code Q3ATJDB9
Mac Sports Collapsible Folding Outdoor Utility Wagon, Green | $70 | Amazon
Axxonn 32-Inch Alhambra Fire Pit with Cover | $85 | Walmart
Happy Camper Two Person Tent by Wakeman Outdoors | $12 | Amazon
Etekcity Portable Rechargeable LED Camping Lantern, 4400mah USB Power Bank | $16 | Amazon | Use code LQXV9HB7

Fitness

Refurb Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Weight/Body Fat/BMI Digital Smart Scale | $67 | eBay
Thinp Shiatsu Neck Back Foot Kneading Massager with Heat for Home and Office | $40 | Amazon | Use code UA64WKXZ

Media

Movies & TV

The Blues Brothers [Limited Edition] [SteelBook] | $10 | Target
Scarface (Limited Edition) (SteelBook) | $10 | Target
The Big Lebowski [Limited Edition] [SteelBook] | $10 | Target
Carrie | $10 | Amazon
The Evil Dead [SteelBook] | $10 | Best Buy
Will Ferrell: 4 Film Favorites | $10 | Best Buy
I Am Evel Knievel | $7 | Amazon
Scooby Doo and WWE: Curse of the Speed | $14 | Amazon
Batman: The Killing Joke | $12 | Amazon Prime
Mad Men: The Complete Collection | $100 | Best Buy

Books

Preorder The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts | $40 | Amazon
Preorder Playing With Power: Nintendo NES Classics Book | $27 | Amazon
How to Create a Mind: The Secret of Human Thought Revealed Audiobook | $4 | Amazon
Kiss & Make Up [Kindle] | $2 | Amazon

Gaming

PC

PlayStation 4

Grand Kingdom | $36 | Amazon
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection | $20 | Best Buy
Madden NFL 17 | $48 | Amazon

Xbox One

Toys

LEGO Super Heroes Black Panther Pursuit 76047 | $24 | Amazon
U818A WiFi FPV RC Drone with HD Camera | $70 | Amazon | Use code 3AQXBLDY
59 Piece Photo Booth Prop Set | $5 | Amazon | Use Code AAS55UF9
Sportspower 4 pc. Table Tennis Table Set | $100 | Sears

Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more, and don't forget to sign up for our email newsletter. We want your feedback.

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r0B0t: Computers and Robots Don't Count

Copyright has a weird relationship with computers. Sometimes it completely freaks out about them; sometimes it pretends it can't see them at all. The contrast tells us a lot about copyright—and even more about how we relate to new technologies.

Start with the freakout. One thing that computers are good for is making copies—lots of copies. Drag your music folder from your hard drive to your backup Dropbox and congratulations: You've just duplicated thousands of copyrighted songs. If you look up the section of the Copyright Act that sets out what counts as infringement, the very first Thou Shalt Not is “reproduce the copyrighted work.” In theory, Congress could have added some language saying that putting your music in your Dropbox that no one else can access isn't infringement. In practice, well, it's Congress.

Congressional inaction has meant that the problem of explaining why the internet isn't just an infringement machine in need of a good unplugging has been kicked over the courts. (Yes, the courts staffed by judges who call Dropbox “the Dropbox” and “iDrop.”) And in the process of keeping computers legal, the judges who make copyright law have developed some surprisingly broad rules shielding automatically made copies from liability.

Take, for example, the 2009 case A.V. v. iParadigms, in which high schools compelled students to submit their term papers to Turnitin, a plagiarism-detection site. First it compares papers to those already in its database, looking for suspicious similarities; then it stores the paper to compare to future submissions. Four students sued, arguing that these stored copies infringed their copyrights in their papers.

The court disagreed, because of course you shouldn't be able to use copyright to keep your teachers from finding out whether you cheated on your homework. But its reasoning is fascinating. Turnitin, the court held, made a “transformative” use of the papers because its use was “completely unrelated to expressive content.” Turnitin's computers might have copied the papers, but they didn't really read them. The court added, “The archived student works are stored as digital code, and employees of [Turnitin] do not read or review the archived works.”

Courts use similar logic in case after case: It's not infringement if computers “read or review” the new copies, only if people do. Google famously scanned millions of books. Completely legal, four courts have agreed, because it's not as though Google is turning the complete books over to people. “Google Books ... is not a tool to be used to read books,” wrote one judge. In another strand of the litigation, the parties at one point proposed a settlement that would have allowed “non-consumptive” digital humanities research on the scanned books, defined as “research in which computational analysis is performed on one or more Books, but not research in which a researcher reads or displays substantial portions of a Book to understand the intellectual content presented within the Book.” This was fine, in the view of the author and publisher representatives who negotiated the proposed settlement. Computers can do what they want with books as long as no one actually “understand[s]” its “intellectual content.”

This attitude—computers don't count—isn't new, either. A century ago, the cutting edge in artistic robotics was the player piano. The Supreme Court heard a player-piano case in 1908 and held that the paper rolls “read” by the player pianos weren't infringing. The rolls, Justice William Day reasoned, “[c]onvey[] no meaning, then, to the eye of even an expert musician.” Instead, they “form a part of a machine. ... They are a mechanical invention made for the sole purpose of performing tunes mechanically upon a musical instrument.” The anthropocentrism is unmistakable. I've cataloged many different settings where copyright law finds ways to overlook copying as long as no humans are in the loop.

On the one hand, this makes perfect sense. Copyright is designed to encourage human creativity for human audiences. If a book falls in a forest and no one reads it, does it make an infringement? It seems like the only sensible answer is “No harm, no foul.” On the other hand, there's something strange about a rule that tells technologists just to turn the robots loose. It encourages uses that don't have much to do with human aesthetics while discouraging uses that do.

This hands-off approach to robotic readership stands in sharp contrast to copyright's surprisingly obsessive fretting about robotic authorship. We're at the dawn of a golden age of algorithmic authorship. Twitter bots like Olivia Taters and Hottest Startups, simple as they are, are capable of amazing poetry. From Push Button Bertha to Microsoft Songsmith, computer-generated music ranges from beautiful to banal. Special-effects artists and video-game programmers use procedural content generation to make vast imaginary worlds far beyond what any one person could hope to draw or design. And of course spambots and telemarketing robots (and counter-robots) are getting eerily good at mimicking human expression.

If all you knew about copyright was the way it treats computer-generated copies, you might think it would similarly look the other way and ignore computer-generated creativity. But no! No two plays of a video game are the same; the computer produces a new and different sequence of sights and sounds every time through. Copyright doesn't care; video games are still copyrightable. Now, of course they are; it would be ridiculous if you could just completely rip off games, and case after case holds that you can't.

But even as copyright law goes on recognizing copyright in computer-generated works, it can't help obsessively worrying about them with the same kind of nervous energy it gives to monkey selfies and for the same reason: What if there's no author? What if a creative work just popped into existence, without being clearly traceable to the artistic vision of a specific human? What then, buddy?

The funny thing is that just as the player piano roll shows that mechanical copying long predates computers, so does algorithmic creativity. You know what's a device for making art according to rigidly specified algorithmic rules? A spirograph. You know what else is? A Musikalisches Würfelspiel (sometimes apocryphally named for Mozart): a game in which you roll dice to select measures of music to string together into a minuet. Computers are faster and fancier but for the most part not fundamentally different. There's no need to futz around with speculating on whether your iPhone is a copyright-owning “author” of a Temple Run maze, any more than a spirograph is the author of a hypotrochoid drawing. Typically either the programmer or the user or both are authors, and that's good enough.

There will be harder cases of what Bruce Boyden calls “emergent works” that arise out of unpredictable algorithmic interactions. Where neither the programmer nor the user can reasonable foresee what a computer will do, the case for calling either of them an author is weak; they lack the kind of artistic vision copyright is supposed to promote and reward. But what's interesting and tricky about these emergent works is not that they come from computers but that they're unpredictable by anyone involved in their creation.

In an age of police killbots, worrying about whether Bender owns a copyright in his dream about killing all humans may seem a little beside the point. But copyright provides a useful window for thinking about hot-button issues in law and technology, ironically because the stakes are so much lower. There are low-tech precedents for new high-tech puzzles, if we care to see them.

The key is not to treat “computers” or “robots” or “drones” or other new kinds of technologies as unified phenomena we have to figure out all at once but instead to look at the different kinds of ways they operate and can be used. The Dallas bomb robot was under direct police control at all times; it was a tool for safely delivering lethal force from a distance in the same way that a sniper rifle is. The most important issue it raised was the security of its communications channel—because the last thing you want when you strap a pound of C-4 to a robot is for someone else to hijack the controls. That's a very different kind of problem than worrying about delegating life-or-death decisions to algorithms with a limited human presence in the loop. Lumping them together as “lethal robots” obscures more than it reveals; it makes it harder to identify which robots are dangerous and how and harder to figure out what to do about them.

The same is true for copyright, for privacy, for civil rights, and for the dozens of other pressing public policy problems surrounding new technologies. You learn more about augmented reality by thinking about Pokémon Go than vice versa. Technology policy is complicated because the world is complicated.

This article is part of Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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r0B0t: Mr. Robot and Why TV Twists Don't Work Anymore

This article originally appeared in Vulture.

Spoilers ahead for Wednesday night's episode of Mr. Robot.

Well, what do you know? It turns out Elliot, the hacker hero of Mr. Robot, wasn't decompressing away from the internet at his mother's house while attending individual and group therapy and getting to know a half-kindly, half-menacing street criminal named Ray (Craig Robinson). He was actually in prison the whole time! His “mother” is a prison guard. Ray is a fellow inmate who apparently is running some kind of Tor-routed website that lets him deal in drugs, prostitution, and weapons from behind bars.

This is the big twist of Season 2, apparently. The big twist of Season 1 was a variation of the one in Fight Club: The title character (Christian Slater), the crazy-badass visionary renegade who “recruits” Elliot, turned out to be a figment of the hero's imagination, a stylized mental re-creation of his father, a computer salesman who died of leukemia caused by toxic leaks at a plant owned by Evil Corp.

Can we expect a twist, or “twist,” along these lines in every season of Mr. Robot? Because, if so, I might have to stop watching—not because it's devoid of other merits (it's brilliantly directed, photographed, edited, and scored and has a superlative cast), but the insistence on building perceptual tricks like these into the narrative diminishes the show's real and far more substantive virtues.

Series creator Sam Esmail, who wrote or co-wrote most of the episodes and directed all of Season 2, has gone on record repeatedly to say that he's not trying to fool anyone by doing this kind of thing. There are just enough clues dropped from the very beginning so that alert, film-history-conscious viewers have no trouble figuring out each season's structural sleight of hand. That's all true and fair. He's working in a tradition that also includes films like The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, A Beautiful Mind, and, in its own way, The Usual Suspects: You get pretty deep into the film and realize that what you thought was one thing was actually another thing.

I didn't outright predict that the character of Mr. Robot was going to turn out to be a Tyler Durdenstyle hallucination, but I was worrying about it all the way up to the episode where Esmail finally showed his cards—dreading it, really, because the show was so good at constructing a partially subjective universe shaped by Elliot's sardonic narration and star Rami Malek's introverted yet expressive acting, which I still think constitutes the best ongoing performance by a lead actor in a serialized drama. In Season 2, I didn't think Elliot's “detox” might turn out to be a fantastic construction, à la Mr. Robot himself, because it just seemed like too much of an M. Night Shyamalan thing to do, and since Esmail had done that once, drawing more criticism than praise, why would he do it again immediately? (My colleague Abraham Riesman figured it out right away, and as I read his evidence for Elliot's latest fantasy, I felt my heart sink, because if he turned out to be right, it would diminish my respect for a show that's so original and unpredictable in so many other ways.)

I should probably ‘fess up here and admit that I don't watch Mr. Robot, or any other TV series, to test my knowledge of TV tropes and say, “I called it!” whenever I successfully predict where a show's plot might be headed. That particular viewing approach doesn't interest me. I know there's a pretty sizable contingent of people who watch films and TV series mainly to see if they can successfully guess what will happen next—Reddit is a virtual mecca for this sort of viewer—but I've never encouraged that impulse, because it seems to me that it rewards screenwriters who are thinking about their plots and characters on the most superficial level, constructing a puzzle for others to solve and to feel good about having solved; this also encourages some writers to cheat a bit, withholding evidence that might tip their hand early, or just obscuring details and piling twist upon twist and reversal upon reversal until none of the characters make sense anymore as anything but figures in a nonsensical dream.

I'm not saying Esmail is doing that: He dropped enough hints in both seasons that you could figure things out early if you were so inclined. He even salted the dialogue and the scenes themselves with what feel in retrospect like winks or shrugs. After Elliot figured out that Mr. Robot was a hallucination of his dead dad and Darlene was actually his sister, the show played an acoustic version of Fight Club's closing-credits theme, the Pixies' “Where Is My Mind?” In last week's episode, Elliot seems to half-sheepishly apologize to his unseen “friend”—the TV viewer—for the prison twist. “I know what you're thinking. And no, I didn't lie to you. All of this really happened.”

In an interview with my friend Alan Sepinwall, Esmail said that these sorts of techniques are not intended to outsmart anyone but to reflect the hero's “ability to reprogram his life: E Corp was turned into Evil Corp. When we thought about him being in prison, what would be that coping mechanism, this came to mind. The other approach was his relationship to us—to his ‘friend'—and how we left him at the end of the first season. He basically didn't trust us anymore, he felt we were keeping things from him. So we wanted to develop that relationship as well. That was the one approach of, ‘This is what Elliot would do in this situation, to cope with being in prison,' and then the other of keeping it from us because he felt betrayed by us from the first season.”

Fair enough, but that still leaves us with another question, not about Elliot but about Mr. Robot as a work of popular storytelling: Do twists or tricks like these add to the story or detract from it? I'd argue that, in this case, they detract.

What makes Mr. Robot so innovative, audacious, and delightful aren't the narrative overlays of “Is this person real?” or “Is this situation real?” It's the detail and conviction with which Esmail and his actors build this mesmerizing alternate universe, which is essentially our world unfolding along what Abed on Community would call “the darkest timeline.”

Experts have hailed the show as the most accurate portrayal of computer programming, hacking, and the fine points of cybersecurity that TV has ever seen, and it's so good at weaving this crucial material into the characters' lives that you don't need to be an expert yourself to grasp what's going on. The show's mastery of tone—sardonic and satirical but ominous—is just as unusual. Its distrust of both capitalism and the possibility of revolution and reform are unheard of on commercial television, and its alternately idealistic and despairing worldview is so sincere and distressed that you can't just hit it with the usual complaints of hypocrisy (“If it's so anti-Establishment, what's it doing on commercial TV, eh?”) and walk away thinking you've delegitimized Esmail as a political storyteller. The show is at least as good at world-building as Game of Thrones—every episode brings more tidbits about the economic and political effects of the 5/9 hack and makes sure you understand the motivation for, say, blackmailing Evil Corp and then forcing its CFO (Brian Stokes Mitchell) to burn the ransom money in a public park, where the act will be captured on camera phones and uploaded to social media, furthering the idea that the corporation literally has money to burn and that fsociety isn't in this to enrich themselves.

But all this is diminished by the games Esmail plays in presenting Elliot's view of the world. What's the point, ultimately? Why do it at all? And if you're going to do it, why not ‘fess up immediately and let the narrative tension come from juxtaposing reality and “reality” in ways that illuminate the hero's internal struggles? The show seems to be hedging its bets here, arranging the material in a way that suggests we're going to be gobsmacked and mind-effed at some point, while simultaneously building enough signals into the story that if viewers complain that they figured out the twist right away, it's because it was never meant to be a twist. Bear in mind that I'm not saying Esmail shouldn't make the show he wants to make and is making—only that Mr. Robot is devoting an inordinate amount of energy to an aspect of storytelling that's vastly less interesting than the things the tricks are meant to enhance and support.

I wouldn't mind seeing a moratorium on this kind of screenwriting for that very reason: It just never works anymore.

The twist movies of the late 1990s occurred during the last possible cultural moment when a storyteller could do something like that and not have millions of people instantly take to the internet to figure out what was “really” going on. You might figure it out on your own and share your evidence with your friends on a chat board or in the comments section of a blog post, but the phenomenon of literally millions of viewers simultaneously joining forces to stay one step ahead of a storyteller was still about five to 10 years away (depending on which social-media platform you think did more damage to a screenwriter's ability to keep a secret, Facebook or Twitter).

The funny thing is, you often find yourself appreciating the substance of a story more once you've gotten past the adrenaline rush of “What's going on?” and “What's really going on?” and are able to concentrate on the details of characterization, performance, and storytelling. As one personal example of this phenomenon, I offer The Sixth Sense: I accidentally found out the twist before I saw the film when my eye randomly fell on a particular paragraph of an Entertainment Weekly story with a spoiler warning at the top. But I still loved the movie because it painted such a haunting (in every sense) portrait of the human mind's capacity for denial and delusion. At its heart, the film is not merely about a man who had no idea he was dead but a man who refused to accept his fate and was going through the motions of an old life that no longer existed. Most people who saw it for the first time were probably preoccupied with guessing the twist, and if they guessed it early, they might have decided the film was a waste of their time: You promised you were going to be smarter than me, movie, but it turned out I was smarter than you, so I'm disappointed.

Seventeen years on, there are Facebook and Reddit and Twitter threads, video essays and blog posts dedicated to figuring out every last twist and trick that storytellers naïvely hope they're holding in reserve. For some reason—perhaps the social-media-age rush to jump ahead to the next thing—this kind of viewing has become endemic. Whether the topic of discussion is the meaning of the ending of Inception or The Sopranos or the lineage of Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it's guaranteed that somebody (or somebodies) will eventually guess the correct answer or, worse, insist that they've “solved” a work that was meant to be ambiguous and unresolved. The end result of this kind of discussion diverts attention from the deeper values of storytelling and re-centers interest on the hook, or on what viewers mistakenly believe is the hook, of any given tale. Art becomes a math problem, or a gift-wrapped present whose identity can be deduced by shaking the box a little.

Mr. Robot is encouraging this kind of reductive approach to engagement with art, however accidentally. And it's a shame, because the rest of the show is so rich with imagination and meaning that it could probably rivet us if it dropped the gimmicks entirely and just concentrated on doing what it already claims to be doing: telling the story of Elliot and the cruel world that he's trying to destroy and remake. As I've said of other series, including Mad Men, this show is smarter than the people who think they are smarter than the show. But it's not easy to make that case when Esmail is pulling another variation of “it was all a dream.”

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r0B0t: Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Cleaning Machines Might be the Future, if the Unions Allow it

This post originally appeared on Inc.

In September, San Diego robotics startup Brain Corporation will introduce artificial intelligence software that allows giant commercial floor-cleaning machines to navigate autonomously. The follow-up offering it wants to develop may be even more forward-looking: A training and certification program for janitors to operate the machines.

The program, still in early stages of planning, is aimed at helping janitors maximize efficiency and establishing standards and best practices for the use of robots in janitorial work, according to Brain Corporation. The company says it is not aware any other such training program exists.

There's additional incentive for Brain Corp. to offer training options. Buzz around artificial intelligence and robotics technologies has caused concerns about jobs being automated out of existence. It's prudent for Brain Corp. to frame its machine as non-threatening in the eyes of organized labor groups.

“Getting unions on board is essential,” says Brain Corp. vice president of marketing Phil Duffy. “The second you try and cut the union reps out, it's doomed to fail.” The company is not currently speaking with unions directly, however. Instead, customers that contract with union workers are relaying to Brain Corp. how unions may react to the technology and what practices they prefer.

Brain Corp., which started as a research and development contractor for Qualcomm in 2009, installs intelligent systems on existing machines. Its first “autonomy as a service” product is navigation software known as EMMA, for “Enabling Mobile Machine Automation.” Brain Corp plans to expand into automation modules for other devices including additional floor care machines, mobile medical equipment, and industrial forklift trucks.

The EMMA brain module is installed during manufacturing on products built by the startup's manufacturing partners. EMMA will first be in International Cleaning Equipment's RS26 floor scrubber. In addition to guiding movement of the machine, EMMA is designed to learn when to turn the scrubber on and off. Improvements in perception and navigation by EMMA are distributed to all machines that use the module.

CEO Eugene Izhikevich says teaching robots enabled with Brain Corp's AI technology “is like teaching an animal or teaching a child by giving instructions, but very instinctive, very intuitive.” Because it's so intuitive, those training the machines do not necessarily need engineering backgrounds, he says.

In the case of robotics technology geared toward commercial cleaning jobs, Brain Corp. would be wise to try to appeal to two million-member union Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents employees in a variety of labor fields, including janitorial services.

Andrew Stern, former president of SEIU, says the cost of disruption to a business from a union opposing the implementation of automation technology could outweigh benefits such as cost savings. Janitorial services, while critical to maintenance of buildings such as hospitals and apartment buildings, amount to only a small portion of overall operating costs, so possible savings from automation could be fractional, he says.

Stern says there are some U.S. markets where SEIU doesn't have much of a presence. Malls and warehouses in these regions may be ideal places to try out automated floor scrubbers and other robotic equipment without concern for union reaction.

SEIU declined to comment for this story.

Stern notes that Brain Corp. also can benefit from partnering with unions like SEIU because they have training facilities and practices in place that would help with scaling a training program.

While unions tend to be hesitant about automation, they are eager for training programs that can help advance their members' skills, says Daniel Wagner, the director of education, standards, and training for the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA), which reviews and validates training programs. ISSA has been in communication with Brain Corp. about a potential partnership.

“There is always the possibility that we could ask Brain to develop a program for ISSA to administer and manage, but we are not at that point yet,” Wagner says.

In a statement, Brain Corp. said it is also testing its technology at its development partner sites. The trials “will ultimately enable us to develop the best program for integration with the janitorial industry. We plan to launch the training program by mid-2017.”

"Getting unions on board is essential," says Brain Corp. vice president of marketing Phil Duffy. "The second you try and cut the union reps out, it's doomed to fail." The company is not currently speaking with unions directly, however. Instead, customers that contract with union workers are relaying to Brain Corp. how unions may react to the technology and what practices they prefer.

Brain Corp., which started as a research and development contractor for Qualcomm in 2009, installs intelligent systems on existing machines. Its first "autonomy as a service" product is navigation software known as EMMA, for "Enabling Mobile Machine Automation." Brain Corp plans to expand into automation modules for other devices including additional floor care machines, mobile medical equipment, and industrial forklift trucks.

CEO Eugene Izhikevich says teaching robots enabled with Brain Corp's AI technology "is like teaching an animal or teaching a child by giving instructions, but very instinctive, very intuitive." Because it's so intuitive, those training the machines do not necessarily need engineering backgrounds, he says.

Developing a training program

SEIU declined to comment for this story.

Stern notes that Brain Corp. also can benefit from partnering with unions like SEIU because they have training facilities and practices in place that would help with scaling a training program.

"There is always the possibility that we could ask Brain to develop a program for ISSA to administer and manage, but we are not at that point yet," Wagner says.

In a statement, Brain Corp. said it is also testing its technology at its development partner sites. The trials "will ultimately enable us to develop the best program for integration with the janitorial industry. We plan to launch the training program by mid-2017."

Developing a training program

SEIU declined to comment for this story.

Stern notes that Brain Corp. also can benefit from partnering with unions like SEIU because they have training facilities and practices in place that would help with scaling a training program.

"There is always the possibility that we could ask Brain to develop a program for ISSA to administer and manage, but we are not at that point yet," Wagner says.

Developing a training program

SEIU declined to comment for this story.

Stern notes that Brain Corp. also can benefit from partnering with unions like SEIU because they have training facilities and practices in place that would help with scaling a training program.

"There is always the possibility that we could ask Brain to develop a program for ISSA to administer and manage, but we are not at that point yet," Wagner says.

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r0B0t: Read the Original 32-Page Program for Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927)

One of the very first feature-length sci-fi films ever made, Fritz Lang's Metropolis took a daring visual approach for its time, incorporating Bauhaus and Futurist influences in thrillingly designed sets and costumes. Lang's visual language resonated strongly in later decades. The film's rather stunning alchemical-electric transference of a woman's physical traits onto the body of a destructive android—the so-called Maschinenmensch—for example, began a very long trend of female robots in film and television, most of them as dangerous and inscrutable as Lang's. And yet, for all its many imitators, Metropolis continues to deliver surprises. Here, we bring you a new find: a 32-page program distributed at the film's 1927 premier in London and recently re-discovered.

In addition to underwriting almost one hundred years of science fiction film and television tropes, Metropolis has had a very long life in other ways: Inspiring an all-star soundtrack produced by Giorgio Moroder in 1984,with Freddie Mercury, Loverboy, and Adam Ant, and a Kraftwerk album. In 2001, a reconstructed version received a screening at the Berlin Film Festival, and UNESCO's Memory of the World Register added it to their roster. 2002 saw the release of an exceptional Metropolis-inspired anime with the same title. And in 2010 an almost fully restored print of the long-incomplete film—recut from footage found in Argentina in 2008—appeared, adding a little more sophistication and coherence to the simplistic story line.

Even at the film's initial reception, without any missing footage, critics did not warm to its story. For all its intense visual futurism, it has always seemed like a very quaint, naïve tale, struck through with earnest religiosity and inexplicable archaisms. Contemporary reviewers found its narrative of generational and class conflict unconvincing. H.G. Wells—“something of an authority on science fiction”—pronounced it “the silliest film” full of “every possible foolishness, cliché, platitude, and muddlement about mechanical progress and progress in general served up with a sauce of sentimentality that is all its own.” Few were kinder when it came to the story, and despite its overt religious themes, many saw it as Communist propaganda.

Viewed after subsequent events in 20th century Germany, many of the film's scenes appear “disturbingly prescient,” writes the Unaffiliated Critic, such as the vision of a huge industrial machine as Moloch, in which “bald, underfed humans are led in chains to a furnace.” Lang and his wife Thea von Harbau—who wrote the novel, then screenplay—were of course commenting on industrialization, labor conditions, and poverty in Weimar Germany. Metropolis‘s “clear message of classism,” as io9 writes, comes through most clearly in its arresting imagery, like that horrifying, monstrous furnace and the “looming symbol of wealth in the Tower of Babel.”

The visual effects and spectacular set pieces have worked their magic on almost everyone (Wells excluded) who has seen Metropolis. And they remain, for all its silliness, the primary reason for the movie's cultural prevalence. Wired calls it “probably the most influential sci-fi movie in history,” remarking that “a single movie poster from the original release sold for $690,000 seven years ago, and is expected to fetch even more at an auction later this year.”

We now have another artifact from the movie's premiere, this 32-page program, appropriately called “Metropolis” Magazine, that offers a rich feast for audiences, and text at times more interesting than the film's script. (You can view the program in full here.) One imagines had they possessed backlit smart phones, those early moviegoers might have found themselves struggling not to browse their programs while the film screened. But, of course, Metropolis's visual excesses would hold their attention as they still do ours. Its scenes of a futuristic city have always enthralled viewers, filmmakers, and (most) critics, such that Roger Ebert could write of “vast futuristic cities” as a staple of some of the best science fiction in his review of the 21st-century animated Metropolis—“visions… goofy and yet at the same time exhilarating.”

The program really is an astonishing document, a treasure for fans of the film and for scholars. Full of production stills, behind-the-scenes articles and photos, technical minutiae, short columns by the actors, a bio of Thea von Harbau, the “authoress,” excerpts from her novel and screenplay placed side-by-side, and a short article by her. There's a page called “Figures that Speak” that tallies the production costs and cast and crew numbers (including very crude drawings and numbers of “Negroes” and “Chinese”). Lang himself weighs in, laconically, with a breezy introduction followed by a classic silent-era line: “if I cannot succeed in finding expression on the picture, I certainly cannot find it in speech.” Film history agrees, Lang found his expression “on the picture.”

“Only three surviving copies of this program are known to exist,” writes Wired, and one of them, from which these pages come, has gone on sale at the Peter Harrington rare book shop for 2,750 pounds ($4,244)—which seems rather low, given what an original Metropolis poster went for. But markets are fickle, and whatever its current or future price, ”Metropolis” Magazine is invaluable to cineastes. See all 32 pages of the program at Peter Harrington's website.

via Wired

Fritz Lang Tells the Riveting Story of the Day He Met Joseph Goebbels and Then High-Tailed It Out of Germany

Metropolis II: Discover the Amazing, Fritz Lang-Inspired Kinetic Sculpture by Chris Burden

Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness

Read the Original 32-Page Program for Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don't miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooks, Free Audio Books, Free Foreign Language Lessons, and MOOCs.

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r0B0t: When a Roomba Goes Up Against Animal Poop, No One Wins

It is a poignant fact about robots that they are much better than humans at some tasks and hilariously worse at others. Take, for example, the Roomba. The round robotic vacuum keeps floors spotless by working its way in complicated patterns around the home, zipping into corners and around furniture. But put a piece of animal poop in its way, and suddenly it doesn't look so smart. This weekend, when a Roomba in Arkansas ran into a puppy's fresh deposit on the floor, disaster ensued. “If the unthinkable does happen, and your Roomba runs over dog poop, stop it immediately and do not let it continue the cleaning cycle,” Little Rock resident Jesse Newton warned in a viral Facebook post, complete with illustration. “Those awesome wheels, which have a checkered surface for better traction, left 25-foot poop trails all over the house.”

Newton was not alone in experienced what he called “the Pooptastrophe.” A Roomba representative admitted to the Guardian, “Quite honestly, we see this a lot.” In fact, the exact same thing happened a few years ago to my brother- and sister-in-law. Daniel and Margaret are both lawyers, and they live in Texas with their Bichon Frise, Mr. Fluffy. (As Daniel describes the incident, “The robot we bought to act as a surrogate cleaner so we both can have time to pursue our jobs literally covers the house in excrement from our proxy for a child.”) I called Margaret and asked her to walk me through what happened. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Let's start at the beginning. When this happened, how long had you had the Roomba and how long had you had Mr. Fluffy?

Mr. Fluffy predated the Roomba, but I don't remember how long. Both were relatively new to the household. Can I just say, I don't want my 15 minutes of fame and internet posterity to be about this story.

Ha, I'm not going to use your last name. Is just “Margaret” OK?

“Margaret” is fine.

OK, so tell me how you came to acquire the Roomba and how you used it. Would you set it every day before you go to work?

Daniel was really into this idea of getting a Roomba. And it wasn't even a Roomba, it was a generic [version] that was on sale at Costco. He was really into it, and I was like, whatever. So we got the Roomba and he handled setting it up and everything. It [ran] during the day while we were at work. We'd leave for work, and the Roomba and Fluffy would be home alone.

Did it clean things well? Were you happy with it?

I was neutral toward it. Daniel, I think, was happy with it.

How would you describe Fluffy as a dog?

He's mostly couch-bound, and he hates going to the bathroom outside, especially in hot weather. [Reminder: Fluffy lives in Texas.]

So walk me through what happened: You get home that day, what's the first thing you notice?

I was walking into the kitchen, and I looked out into the dining room and there was a brown—almost like a giant crayon, all over the floor. I get down on my hands and knees and rub it with my thumb, and it becomes very clear to me immediately that it is shit, because of the smell. I cannot even tell you, Ruth, the smell. That was the worst part of the entire thing. I'm on my hands and knees and I've just realized my thumb is covered in shit.

That guy's story really resonated with me because it was all over. All, all over. And you saw how inefficient the Roomba was. It was covering its own tracks a lot. It's going over the same area a ton. It's a very efficient poop-smearing thing, but it's not very efficient for cleaning your house. I remember thinking to myself, it's going to be easier to move. And then I spent the next hour-and-a-half scraping up poo trails.

Did you have to clean out the Roomba?

I did not. There was no way I'm cleaning out the Roomba. Daniel can do that if he wants.

Did Fluffy seem aware at all of the hell that he had unleashed?

No. No. No. He's never been aware. Just this last week I ordered a pair of flip-flops and he ate the left flip-flop. I ordered another pair, and fortunately later in the week he ate the right one. But at least I have one pair.

Was Daniel willing to get rid of the Roomba after this happened?

You might have to talk with him about this. I remember the Roomba use being curtailed, but I don't know if it was directly related to this incident. That would be my lawyer response to that. [Daniel: “Yes, that pretty much killed the little robot. Every time I brought it out or referenced it there was an automatic retelling of the incident. ... You should try to ask her this Christmas, ‘Hey—what ever happened to that Roomba?' ” Eventually, they gave it away to friends.]

Who do you blame for this incident?

I blame it on the Roomba, absolutely. Fluffy, he's a dog. That just happens. The Roomba was definitely at fault.

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r0B0t: I Love Dick

When Amazon first started making original series, it had a gimmick: The internet's very own big-box store would put the first episodes of potential series online so viewers could vote on which ones would become full-fledged series. The gambit made the obligatory tech-company gestures at transparency and disruption, but it also reflected the paucity of Amazon's initial series, a batch of pilots that, excepting Alpha House, barely looked professional. When a network is making such larkish TV, it hardly matters what goes and what doesn't. In the few years since, as Amazon has gotten more serious about making television, it has continued to put pilots online early, but viewer response is barely relevant: The network is going to greenlight what it is going to greenlight, apparently having discovered that disrupting the television business sometimes involves doing things the old way.

Earlier this summer, Amazon released pilots for two hourlong series: The Interestings (flawed, but promising; not yet picked up) and The Last Tycoon (very bad; picked up). This week, it is releasing pilots for three half-hour series: Jean-Claude Van Johnson, The Tick, and Jill Soloway's I Love Dick, the headlining act of this trio. Liberally adapted from a beloved cult novel by Chris Kraus, I Love Dick stars Kathryn Hahn as Chris, a stymied filmmaker who travels with her husband Sylvère (Griffin Dunne) to Marfa, Texas—where she, and then they, become infatuated with Dick (Kevin Bacon, smoldering), a macho intellectual and part-time cowboy who runs an institute Sylvère is attending. I Love Dick has potential, but it doesn't need it: Soloway, the creator of Transparent, is Amazon's most important creative asset. If you are a network, you give her what she wants, including another show.

Soloway told New York magazine, in a piece about the show, that she identified with Kraus' choice to use her own name and biography in her work. “I only want to write about somewhat unlikable Jewish women having really inappropriate ideas about life and sex,” Soloway said. I Love Dick delivers on those interests. The pilot reflects many of Soloway's strengths—her naturalistic skill with actors, her ability to capture bourgeois social milieus with a detail (in this case, fluorescent-yellow Birkenstocks), her dedication to exploring gender politics in ways that don't turn her shows into lectures—but it doesn't have the instantaneous hook or heart of Transparent.

I Love Dick, the novel, is epistolary. I Love Dick, the show, is framed by letters Chris has written to Dick. “Dear Dick, every letter is a love letter. It started in New York,” Hahn says in harried voiceover at the start of the show as the block text dramatically appears on an all-red screen. But turning the novel into a TV show takes it out of Kraus' character's head in a way that alters the texture and tone, losing some of the hothouse intensity of the novel. Television does a great close third-person, but it is very hard, if not impossible, for it do first-person, even when using first-person narration. (Recently, Mr. Robot has made some attempts.) With TV, you're always watching from the outside. The world that Chris and Sylvère inhabit in the show automatically feels bigger, more populated, and more concrete than their world in the novel, simply because you can see all the people in the shot that the writing might have ignored. The pilot also introduces characters who are not in the book at all. Also not in the book: Marfa. Soloway decided to set the show there after visiting her girlfriend, the poet Eileen Myles, there, and deciding it would be a good cross-cultural canvas to help broaden the novel's scope.

There are people who have a hard time watching Transparent because they find the Pfeffermans too excruciating. On Transparent, Hahn's Rabbi Raquel, the on-again, off-again love interest of Josh Pfefferman (Jay Duplass), works like aspirin: Raquel is so grounded, so sane that she lessens the pain of watching the Pfeffermans mess up their lives. In I Love Dick, Hahn, fantastic in everything she does, gets to play the headache. Her Chris has a big, blowsy personality: caustic, dramatic, and self-sabotaging. But she has that Pfefferman-esque charisma. When she spots Dick at a party—Kevin Bacon wears a white T-shirt as well as he did in Footloose—and expresses her attraction by jabbering about how remarkable it is that he goes by “Dick” and not Richard or Rick or Richie, her allure is nonetheless plain to see.

In the show's climactic scene, dinner at a restaurant, Dick asks Chris what her movie is about. “It's about a couple, or I would say the woman in the couple, she represents all women, and society's crushing expectations,” she says. “Sounds horrible. Sounds like you're crushed by someone,” Dick replies, before turning to Sylvère and asking if Chris' film is any good. The great thing about Soloway's work is that she herself is both Dick and Chris, a woman interested in society's crushing expectations of women but also talented and funny and wise enough to know you need character and plot and entertainment and complications to tell that story—that you need people, not symbols. You need a blowsy New Yorker who rolls into Marfa in a jumpsuit and neon Birkenstocks with her own unhinged plans about what to do with a lustworthy macho intellectual cowboy named Dick.

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r0B0t: Researchers Are Growing Living Biohybrid Robots That Move Like Animals

This article originally appeared in the Conversation.

Think of a traditional robot and you probably imagine something made from metal and plastic. Such “nuts-and-bolts” robots are made of hard materials. As robots take on more roles beyond the lab, such rigid systems can present safety risks to the people they interact with. For example, if an industrial robot swings into a person, there is the risk of bruises or bone damage.

Researchers are increasingly looking for solutions to make robots softer or more compliant—less like rigid machines, more like animals. With traditional actuators—such as motors—this can mean using air muscles or adding springs in parallel with motors. For example, on a Whegs robot, having a spring between a motor and the wheel leg (Wheg) means that if the robot runs into something (like a person), the spring absorbs some of the energy so the person isn't hurt. The bumper on a Roomba vacuuming robot is another example; it's spring-loaded so the Roomba doesn't damage the things it bumps into.

But there's a growing area of research that's taking a different approach. By combining robotics with tissue engineering, we're starting to build robots powered by living muscle tissue or cells. These devices can be stimulated electrically or with light to make the cells contract to bend their skeletons, causing the robot to swim or crawl. The resulting biobots can move around and are soft like animals. They're safer around people and typically less harmful to the environment they work in than a traditional robot might be. And since, like animals, they need nutrients to power their muscles, not batteries, biohybrid robots tend to be lighter too.

Building a biobot

Researchers fabricate biobots by growing living cells, usually from heart or skeletal muscle of rats or chickens, on scaffolds that are nontoxic to the cells. If the substrate is a polymer, the device created is a biohybrid robot—a hybrid between natural and human-made materials.

If you just place cells on a molded skeleton without any guidance, they wind up in random orientations. That means when researchers apply electricity to make them move, the cells' contraction forces will be applied in all directions, making the device inefficient at best.

So to better harness the cells' power, researchers turn to micropatterning. We stamp or print microscale lines on the skeleton made of substances that the cells prefer to attach to. These lines guide the cells so that as they grow, they align along the printed pattern. With the cells all lined up, researchers can direct how their contraction force is applied to the substrate. So rather than just a mess of firing cells, they can all work in unison to move a leg or fin of the device.

Biohybrid robots inspired by animals

Beyond a wide array of biohybrid robots, researchers have even created some completely organic robots using natural materials, like the collagen in skin, rather than polymers for the body of the device. Some can crawl or swim when stimulated by an electric field. Some take inspiration from medical tissue engineering techniques and use long rectangular arms (or cantilevers) to pull themselves forward.

Others have taken their cues from nature, creating biologically inspired biohybrids. For example, a group led by researchers at California Institute of Technology developed a biohybrid robot inspired by jellyfish. This device, which they call a medusoid, has arms arranged in a circle. Each arm is micropatterned with protein lines so that cells grow in patterns similar to the muscles in a living jellyfish. When the cells contract, the arms bend inwards, propelling the biohybrid robot forward in nutrient-rich liquid.

More recently, researchers have demonstrated how to steer their biohybrid creations. A group at Harvard used genetically modified heart cells to make a biologically inspired manta ray-shaped robot swim. The heart cells were altered to contract in response to specific frequencies of light—one side of the ray had cells that would respond to one frequency, the other side's cells responded to another.

When the researchers shone light on the front of the robot, the cells there contracted and sent electrical signals to the cells further along the manta ray's body. The contraction would propagate down the robot's body, moving the device forward. The researchers could make the robot turn to the right or left by varying the frequency of the light they used. If they shone more light of the frequency the cells on one side would respond to, the contractions on that side of the manta ray would be stronger, allowing the researchers to steer the robot's movement.

Toughening up the biobots

While exciting developments have been made in the field of biohybrid robotics, there's still significant work to be done to get the devices out of the lab. Devices currently have limited lifespans and low force outputs, limiting their speed and ability to complete tasks. Robots made from mammalian or avian cells are very picky about their environmental conditions. For example, the ambient temperature must be near biological body temperature and the cells require regular feeding with nutrient-rich liquid. One possible remedy is to package the devices so that the muscle is protected from the external environment and constantly bathed in nutrients.

Another option is to use more robust cells as actuators. Here at Case Western Reserve University, we've recently begun to investigate this possibility by turning to the hardy marine sea slug Aplysia californica. Since A. californica lives in the intertidal region, it can experience big changes in temperature and environmental salinity over the course of a day. When the tide goes out, the sea slugs can get trapped in tide pools. As the sun beats down, water can evaporate and the temperature will rise. Conversely in the event of rain, the saltiness of the surrounding water can decrease. When the tide eventually comes in, the sea slugs are freed from the tidal pools. Sea slugs have evolved very hardy cells to endure this changeable habitat.

We've been able to use Aplysia tissue to actuate a biohybrid robot, suggesting that we can manufacture tougher biobots using these resilient tissues. The devices are large enough to carry a small payload—approximately 1.5 inches long and one inch wide.

A further challenge in developing biobots is that currently the devices lack any sort of on-board control system. Instead, engineers control them via external electrical fields or light. In order to develop completely autonomous biohybrid devices, we'll need controllers that interface directly with the muscle and provide sensory inputs to the biohybrid robot itself. One possibility is to use neurons or clusters of neurons called ganglia as organic controllers.

That's another reason we're excited about using Aplysia in our lab. This sea slug has been a model system for neurobiology research for decades. A great deal is already known about the relationships between its neural system and its muscles—opening the possibility that we could use its neurons as organic controllers that could tell the robot which way to move and help it perform tasks, such as finding toxins or following a light.

While the field is still in its infancy, researchers envision many intriguing applications for biohybrid robots. For example, our tiny devices using slug tissue could be released as swarms into water supplies or the ocean to seek out toxins or leaking pipes. Due to the biocompatibility of the devices, if they break down or are eaten by wildlife these environmental sensors theoretically wouldn't pose the same threat to the environment traditional nuts-and-bolts robots would.

One day, devices could be fabricated from human cells and used for medical applications. Biobots could provide targeted drug delivery, clean up clots or serve as compliant actuatable stents. By using organic substrates rather than polymers, such stents could be used to strengthen weak blood vessels to prevent aneurysms—and over time the device would be remodeled and integrated into the body. Beyond the small-scale biohybrid robots currently being developed, ongoing research in tissue engineering, such as attempts to grow vascular systems, may open the possibility of growing large-scale robots actuated by muscle.

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r0B0t: This Website Mails Out Physical Greeting Cards for You

At the end of last month, I received seven birthday cards in the mail. The senders were my mom, a friend from high school, my college roommate, an ex from a relationship that ended in 1984, that ex's mom, someone I've been close to since the mid-'80s, and a guy I met for about 20 seconds as I was leaving a 2014 holiday party.

Of course, those weren't the only birthday wishes I received. Other people sent greetings via Facebook, email, Gchat, Slack, and Twitter. I even got an ecard! And while I genuinely appreciated all those salutations, the one that stuck with me the most—the one I'm staring at three weeks later—was the card from the rando. It's made from 100 percent cotton, tree-free paper, and the design is one I'd choose myself: The letters “HBD” are spelled out in colorful cake-topping sprinkles. Inside was a touching sentiment written in a loose cursive script.

To be fair, describing my acquaintanceship with the person who sent the card exclusively in terms of our face-to-face encounters gives a false impression. Gabriel Arana, the sender, is far from a stranger. He's a journalist whose work I admire; our beats overlap; we move in similar social circles; and we often interact on Facebook. We know each other relatively well for people who've never really spent any time together. In other words, we have the kind of modern friendship that doesn't typically involve sending physical cards through the U.S. mail. Which made receiving one from him all the more memorable.

After a couple of minutes spent staring at the card, I started to question a few things: Upon closer inspection, the handwriting on the envelope looked like the robot script familiar from fundraising appeals. Then I asked myself how Gabe knew my postal address. I searched through my email archive and found a delightful note from him, sent back in January 2015. It began, “I apologize for the mass e-mail, but in order to fulfill my dream of sending people birthday and anniversary cards like a fancy society lady, I need your mailing addresses.” There was a link to a site called Postable.com, which I had apparently followed. So that's how he got my postal address: I had given it to him! Sneaky.

Over at Postable, I learned that the site bills itself as “snail mail heaven.” It notes that postal mail seems special and surprising these days precisely because “it's a pain in the ass to send.” We're all familiar with that particular PITA. In the case of a friend's birthday, you have to remember the date, acquire a card, find the time to compose a message—if I've spent money on a card, I generally want to write more than “Happy birthday”—dig up an appropriate stamp, and take it out to the mailbox. Postable claims it was “created to alleviate that ass pain. We make sending seriously stylish snail mail as easy as sending an email. You type it and we handle all the annoying stuff. We print, stuff, stamp, address and mail all of your cards directly to everyone for you.” (It may sound a little like the letter-writing shop where Joaquin Phoenix works in Her, but with Postable, the words are your own.)

My first response was that this is cheating. Then I consulted my to-do list and noticed that four of the items included the words “send card to.” All had been on the list for a couple of weeks. It's possible that I send more cards than most of the people reading this—I came of age before the email era; I grew up in another country so I rarely see childhood friends to catch up in person; and I'm a stationery addict who's always looking for opportunities to use her pens. But it's still surprisingly difficult for me to write and mail the darned things on time.

Postable offers a wide range of cards—in terms of design and occasion—and generally speaking, they're a little cheaper than the ones I typically buy in the chic card shops of Brooklyn. Cards cost $3 each, or $2 each if you send 10 or more, plus the cost of postage. You can choose among several handwriting fonts—I'm dying to use “As If Your Kid Wrote It,” a tribute to the comically inept letter formation of small children—and there are also various type options. The font you choose for your message is also used on the envelope. You can set up automated birthday and anniversary cards—though you have a chance to tweak the message or cancel before it's sent out—or you can send one-off greetings. I imagine the service is particularly useful for people who are planning a big event like a wedding: Having someone—or something—else take care of dozens of save the date cards and invitations would surely save hours of repetitive toil.

But is snail mail still special if the person wishing you well used an online service rather than taking care of all the details themselves? I confess that when I first examined my Postable card, I briefly felt as though I'd been tricked into thinking it was more personal than it really was. I got over that very quickly, though. The Postable URL had been on the back of the card, but I just hadn't paid it much mind—URLs have become so ubiquitous these days, we barely notice them anymore. And the most important thing was that Gabe had put me on his list. It's always the thought that counts, but he'd also spent real money to wish me a happy birthday.

The more I looked at the Postable site, the more tempting it seemed. Soon enough, I was sending an overdue birthday card to a high-school friend in England. I used one of the cursive scripts for my breezy note—a choice I now regret. That isn't my handwriting, so it lends an unnecessarily ersatz tone. If there's nothing shameful about paying someone to send your cards, why not embrace the artificiality and use a typewriter-style font.

Postable won't let me cross off all the “send card to” entries on my to-do list, though. I know that some friends would be insulted by my time-saving automation, and certain occasions, like sympathy cards, demand a more personal touch. But I'll soon be sending out my own mass email to acquire my friends' addresses and birthdays. I feel guilty when birthday cards are late and Christmas cards go out in January, so why not let a website do some of the work?

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r0B0t: Watch What Happens When 100 Metronomes Perform György Ligeti's Controversial Poème Symphonique

A loose association of mid-20th century artists including at times John Cage, Yoko Ono, and Joseph Bueys, the Fluxus group produced a lot of strange performative work and anti-art stunts influenced by similar provocations from earlier Dada artists. The movement's “patron saint,” Martha Schwendener writes at The New York Times, was Marcel Duchamp, whose “idea of art (or life) as a game in which the artist reconfigures the rules is central to Fluxus.” Also central was Duchamp's concept of the “ready-made”—everyday objects turned into objets d'art by means part ritual and part prank.

We can think of the piece above in both registers. György Ligeti's Poème symphonique, a composition involving 100 metronomes and ten operators, fit right in with Fluxus during Ligeti's brief association with them. Written in 1962—and yes, it has a written score—Ligeti's piece “owes much of its success to its presentation as a ridiculous spectacle,” writes composer Jason Charney, who has made a digital recreation. Ligeti provides specific instructions for the performance.

The work is performed by 10 players under the leadership of a conductor . . . Each player operates 10 metronomes . . . The metronomes must be brought onto the stage with a completely run-down clockwork . . . the players wind up the metronomes . . . at a sign from the conductor, all the metronomes are set in motion by the players.

These are followed almost to the letter in the video at the top of the page, with the added bonus of holding the performance in a Gothic church. What does it sound like? A cacophonous racket. A waterfall of typewriters. And yet, believe it or not, something interesting does happen after a while; you become attuned to its internal logic. Patterns emerge and disappear in the reverberation from the church walls: A wave of robot applause, then soothing white noise, then a movement or two of a factory symphony….

“The score,” notes Matt Jolly, who shot the video, “calls for a long silence and then up to an hour of ticking. We decided to shorten this considerably. The metronomes are supposed be fully wound but we had to limit that to 13 turns on average.” The ingenuity of Ligeti's piece far surpasses that of any mere prank, as does the logistical and material demand. The composer fully acknowledged this, providing specifics as to how performers might go about securing their “instruments,” hard to come by in such large quantity even in 1962. (Mechanical metronomes are now all but obsolete.) Charney quotes from Ligeti's helpful suggestions, which include enlisting the services of an “executive council of a city, one or more of the music schools, one or more businesses, one or more private persons….”

I doubt he meant any of this seriously. Dutch Television canceled a planned 1963 broadcast of Poème symphonique from an early performance in the Netherlands. The event included speeches by local politicians and an audience who had no idea what to expect. As you might imagine, they did not react favorably. Like the earlier anti-art Ligeti's idea draws from, he explicitly framed the composition as “a special sort of critique,” whose score is “admittedly rather ironic” and in which he rants vaguely against “all ideologies” and “radicalism and petit-bourgeois attitudes” alike. How seriously he means this is also anyone's guess. And yet, prank or art, people continue to perform the piece, as in the even shorter rendition above, which goes even further in removing the human element by designing a machine to start all the metronomes simultaneously.

Hear the Experimental Music of the Dada Movement: Avant-Garde Sounds from a Century Ago

The Music of Avant-Garde Composer John Cage Now Available in a Free Online Archive

Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness

Watch What Happens When 100 Metronomes Perform György Ligeti's Controversial Poème Symphonique is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don't miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooks, Free Audio Books, Free Foreign Language Lessons, and MOOCs.

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r0B0t: Why Are Today's TV Shows Obsessed with Making Creepy Parodies of Multi-Camera Sitcoms?

There was no way for Mr. Robot's Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) to protect his body after he was immobilized by a savage beating, but on Wednesday night's episode, his mind took refuge in the most nonthreatening environment imaginable: a 1980s sitcom. The first 17 minutes of “Master Slave” fastidiously mimicked the look and feel of a vintage late-20th-century half-hour, with its static, two-dimensional framing and smeary DigiBeta palette.

According to Sam Esmail, who created the show and directed the episode, the idea was that after Ray (Craig Robinson), a still-mysterious figure who runs an online black market frequented by hitmen and human traffickers, had Elliot beaten senseless, Elliot's dissociative personality, Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), took over, and the sitcom was where Elliot waited until it was safe to come out again. But even in the cozy confines of his multi-cam fugue state, Elliot knew something wasn't right. His dad was coughing blood, his mother kept coldcocking his sister — and where the hell was that disembodied laughter coming from?

The runaway viral success of 2014's “Too Many Cooks“ confirmed what many already knew: sitcoms are downright creepy. There's still a substantial appetite for shows in the classic format, filmed on standing sets in front of a studio audience: The Big Bang Theory, which will go into its tenth season this fall, draws in excess of 20 million viewers an episode, and while Netflix doesn't release viewing data, external studies suggested that its Full House reboot was massively popular, certainly enough so for the streaming giant to order another round of episodes. But they're vastly outnumbered by single-camera comedies, which are shot like TV dramas and movies, even on network TV, let alone the rest of the virtual dial. Multi-camera sitcoms are still hugely popular, but they feel like relics.

The idea that there's something ugly hiding under the sitcom's surface only attaches to the last few decades. The Brady Bunch and Happy Days may seem dated, but they feel escapist rather than unsettling. There was Todd Haynes' Dottie Gets Spanked, a 1993 short film that details a young man's erotic fascination with a 1950s sitcom modeled on I Love Lucy, but there's nothing sordid or unnatural about the boy's desire. Compare that to I Love Mallory, the '80s-style sitcom pastiche from Oliver Stone's 1994 movie Natural Born Killers.

I Love Mallory is styled as a standard TV take on suburban family life, All in the Family by way of Married ... with Children: There's a loud-mouthed patriarch, played by Rodney Dangerfield, a submissive mom, a wise-cracking younger brother, and, at the center, teenage Mallory (Juliette Lewis), who will grow up to be an enthusiastic spree killer. But the familiar sitcom argument over a teenage girl's revealing dress quickly turns ugly, and gets uglier still when it becomes clear that the tough-talking dad is sexually abusing his daughter. Stone departs from the visual language of the sitcom, cutting to bludgeoning close-ups of the mother's helpless eyes and the father's hands kneading his daughter's ass, but keeps the laugh track rolling even though no one in the movie's audience is actually laughing. In the forthcoming book The Oliver Stone Experience, Stone tells Matt Zoller Seitz that Mallory and her partner in crime, Mickey, are "the products of a numbed-out civilization," and we know what that civilization's favorite show is.

Mr. Robot's sitcom interlude plays it comparatively straight, at least visually. Even the shot of a man's body after a fatal car accident doesn't violate the medium's language; the tire tracks that run across his body are perfectly defined, as if the makeup artist just finished stenciling them on. For its TV broadcast, the show extended the illusion with a commercial break featuring a vintage Bud Light ad with dogs jumping through a flaming hoop. But Elliot himself wasn't in on the joke: From the opening frame on, he grew increasingly disturbed by his fellow cast mates' inability to recognize what was going on around them, another variation on one of Mr. Robot's core themes: When you alone see the truth, clarity is indistinguishable from madness. Eventually, Elliot's father, who, like Mr. Robot, is played by Christian Slater, had to pull him aside and explain, “Sometimes lies can be useful, Elliot. Sometimes they can protect you.”

That's as true now as is as it was during the heyday of TGIF, but some lies are more effective than others, and the particular version of innocence peddled by '80s and '90s family sitcoms is no longer a comforting fraud. It's more like the going-through-the-motions version of domesticity your parents put on over breakfast after they were up screaming at each other all night. Those lies work for a while, but they can't last forever, and when you look back, you always knew something wasn't right.

Netflix's BoJack Horseman, whose central character is the star of a (fake) popular '90s sitcom called Horsin' Around, is predicated on peeling back the sitcom's facade, and showing the real-life wreckage left in its wake. BoJack himself is a self-loathing mess who can only accept love in the form of applause; his former child co-stars are washed-up nobodies or downward-spiraling drug addicts. The show's third season centers on BoJack's push for a career-redefining Oscar nomination, but the campaign comes at the cost of BoJack admitting that the sitcom whose success is his only significant achievement is anodyne garbage, and it always was. Even the people who once loved the show have given up on it, although it has a new group of fans who enjoy it precisely because it's bad.

On Mr. Robot, Elliot's attempt to take shelter inside a sitcom is doomed from the start, and not even Alf can save it. In the show's first season, he shut out so much of his own past that he didn't even recognize his own sister, but now those memories have come back, and there's no way to call up the good parts of his childhood without remembering the bad ones, too. Contemporary sitcoms have their escapist qualities as well, but they're more likely to mix the bitter with the sweet on a regular basis than confine it to the occasional very special episode. You don't have too look too far beneath the surface of Black-ish to see the trauma of racism, or scour Veep for commentary on our toxic political culture. It's part of the shows' humor, not extrinsic to it.

Many of today's half-hour comedies will seem antiquated in thirty years, as will the vogue for self-consciously downbeat dramas about troubled antiheroes. But laugh-tracked multicamera sitcoms are a distinct art form, and one whose era is likely drawing to a close. Deconstructing them is an easy way to seem superior, but they're easy targets, and hitting them doesn't earn you many points. Three decades from now, TV shows taking shots at sitcoms may seem as dated as the sitcoms themselves.

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r0B0t: Sunday's Best Deals: 4K TV With Roku, Produce Storage, Shark Steam Mop

Your new TV, produce you won't have to throw away, and the steam mop your arsenal is missing are just a few of today's best deals.

Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more.

No need to worry about the quality of the built-in apps on your 4K TV when Roku is built right in. This 2016 model hit a new price low today by $40.

https://www.amazon.com/TCL-55UP130-55…

We're all probably a bit ashamed of the amount of produce we allow to spoil in the fridge, but these Rubbermaid FreshWorks containers use a few neat tricks to extend your food's lifespan, and avoid unnecessary waste.

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First, each FreshWorks product includes a “crisp tray” which elevates the food off the bottom of the container, giving moisture a place to drip, and air enough room to flow. Second and most importantly, the lids feature special filters that regulate the flow of oxygen and CO2 into and out of the containers. All told, Rubbermaid claims keeps food fresh up to 80% longer than store packaging.

It may sounds too good to be true, but customer reviews are fantastic, and Amazon's taking offering a 2-piece set for $17 today, matching an all-time low. If they save just a few batches of arugula or scoops of blueberries that you would have otherwise thrown out, they'll have already paid for themselves.

Even if you've integrated your robot vacuum and Dyson into your regular routine and take your shoes off at the front door, you still need to mop on occasion. This Shark Blast & Scrub Pocket Mop fires concentrated hot water at tough stains, so you'll need less elbow grease to get rid of them. It's also only $60 today.

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By now, you should know that Anker PowerLine Lightning cables are incredibly popular, but did you know there's another tier of cables above them? Anker's PowerLine+ line increases the bend lifespan from 5,000 to 6,000 and adds a nylon braided exterior. Want to see one for yourself? The 3' model is available in red for $13 today, or about two bucks less than usual.

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Hoover's Sweethome-recommended Air Cordless 2-in-1 vacuum acts as both an upright and a hand vacuum, all in a single, sleek, battery-powered package. $105 is within $5 of the best price Amazon's ever listed, so grab one before they're all vacuumed up.

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Just need a hand vacuum? This Bissell is also on sale today.

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If you've ever thought about pulling out your blender to make a smoothie, sauce, or dip, and then held off because you didn't want to clean 3,000 different parts, this deal is for you. The 4.3 star-rated Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender is down to $27 today on Amazon.

The big advantage here is that unlike a traditional blender, you can dip the Smart Stick into whatever container you were already using to hold your ingredients; be it a single-serve cup or a huge mixing bowl. That saves you time, and means fewer dishes to clean up once you're done. Reviewers also say it chops through everything from fruit to ice cubes with no trouble, so it really can be a full blender replacement for most use cases.

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We've already started to see some bundle deals on the new and improved Xbox One S, but this is by far the best one yet.

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Whether you need a restock or want to try something new, you can save 15% on a ton of men's products today (with code LUXBEAUTY), including two of your favorite shaving creams.

Note: This only works on your first “luxe men's beauty purchase” on Amazon.

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If your phone supports Qi wireless charging, $8 is a great price for a charging pad. I recommend stocking up, and scattering these all around your home and office. Just use promo code FJ8ABTSW at checkout to get the discount.

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Amazon's free Prime Pantry shipping promotion seems to be a permanent fixture at this point, but each month brings a new slate of eligible items, and August's have just been revealed.

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As always, just add five of the items on this page to your Prime Pantry box, enter code PANTRYAUG at checkout, and the $6 shipping charge will be waived. Plus, if you happen to have a free Pantry shipping credit from accepting no rush shipping on a previous Amazon order, it should stack, granting you an additional $6 discount.

There are literally hundreds of products available for the promotion, so you should have no trouble finding five that you need. As for the rest of your box, check out this page for every Pantry item that includes an additional coupon.

Tech

Bose - SoundTrue Around-Ear Headphones II (iOS) | $100 | Best Buy
Hisense - 40-Inch LED 1080p HDTV | $180 | eBay
OmniMount OCM On-Wall Cable Management Covers, Set of Three 18-Inch Channels | $22 | Amazon
ASUS ZenBook UX305UA 13.3-Inch Laptop (6th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 10) | $750 | Amazon
LG 34-Inch 21:9 3440 x 1440 UltraWide WQHD IPS LED Lit Monitor | $500 | eBay
Samsung 850 EVO - 250GB - 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD | $90 | Amazon
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Fruitstar (Fs-610-b) Vertical Slow Masticating Juicer | $100 | Amazon
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Crocs Santa Cruz 2 Luxe Mens Loafer | $25 | eBay
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Gaming

Redragon M650 2.4GHz Wireless Gaming Mouse | $8 | Amazon

Media

Preorder Transformers: The Movie (Limited Edition 30th Anniversary Steelbook) | $20 | Amazon
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r0B0t: Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony In Funny Tweets

Funny bikes, little plants, Dame Judi Dench and some insanely scary spiders - the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympic opening ceremony was certainly eventful.

Not that you'd have known it from the rather subdued start...

It's going to be a long night. #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/tsQ9TtbULD
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) August 5, 2016

It began with the beginnings of life itself.

#OpeningCeremony gets going with a recreation of a Russian athlete's urine sample under the microscope. pic.twitter.com/iF85LLeLTG
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) August 5, 2016

And when evolution kicked in people across the world got a little bit scared.

ah lá os zika vírus #OpeningCeremony #CerimoniaDeAbertura #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/04YpWlUXNf
— pedro rafhael (@falarafha) August 5, 2016

Who else was thinking the same thing? #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/eE1TJ2cJ4o
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2016

Just turned on the Olympics, saw giant robot spiders, and NOPE'd back out.
— Matt Silverman (@Matt_Silverman) August 6, 2016

Soon, humanity made an appearance.

#OpeningCeremony THE WHITES HAVE ARRIVED
— blige (@THECAROLDANVERS) August 5, 2016

Here come the Europeans in a dance section called “the arrival of death and syphilis”. #OpeningCeremony
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) August 5, 2016

All of a sudden suburbia sprang from the ground.

Am I the only one who seeing the similarity? #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/GJTKo26bRI
— Tommy McFLY (@TommyMcFLY) August 6, 2016

There were high hopes of who could make a guest appearance.

When Pitbull parachutes out of a helicopter all will be fine #OpeningCeremony
— Chris Stark (@Chris_Stark) August 5, 2016

He must have been disappointed because this happened.

HOLY SHIT GISELE!!!! #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/1UiwGrqi8w
— Purpose Tour Pics (@PurposeTPics) August 5, 2016

Gisele at #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/9tg2PXsTRA
— Declan Cashin (@Tweet_Dec) August 5, 2016

Out of shot, Gisele is still walking. Nobody's told her to stop. She's half way up Sugarloaf mountain. It's all she knows #OpeningCeremony
— innocent drinks (@innocent) August 5, 2016

But then the dancing started!

Shite. #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/lTqajrOanu
— Limmy Live: England (@DaftLimmy) August 5, 2016

Why am I still awake?#Rio2016 #OpeningCeremony
— The Media Blog (@TheMediaTweets) August 5, 2016

But at least the sound quality was good.

Get the same sound quality as the #OpeningCeremony by listening to an iPod through a tin can from a great distance.
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) August 5, 2016

Sound engineer's getting sacked in the morning #OpeningCeremony
— General Boles (@GeneralBoles) August 5, 2016

The sound is shite. It's like what it must sound like living next to Hampden. #OpeningCeremony
— Limmy Live: England (@DaftLimmy) August 5, 2016

In fact Limmy appeared to be even more pissed off than usual at the whole thing.

Shut your eyes and just listen to that shite. #OpeningCeremony
— Limmy Live: England (@DaftLimmy) August 5, 2016

ECHOEY FUCKING SHITE. #OpeningCeremony
— Limmy Live: England (@DaftLimmy) August 5, 2016

But someone seemed to be enjoying it.

'yaaaaas I love this one' #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/gEQj6SlCYc
— General Boles (@GeneralBoles) August 5, 2016

Then there was a touching section on pollution and the climate narrated by none other than Dame Judi Dench.

In my head, Judi Dench narrates every moment of my life #OpeningCeremony
— Declan Cashin (@Tweet_Dec) August 5, 2016

Global warming #OpeningCeremony thought this was about sport #moodkiller
— Dave Readle (@DaveReadle) August 5, 2016

Oh God, we're getting a tedious bilingual lecture on Global Warming at the #OpeningCeremony of the #RioOlympics ...Please, stop it.
— Tunku Varadarajan (@tunkuv) August 5, 2016

look at the dancing and music OH BY THE WAY THE TREES ARE FUCKED AND WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE and now more dancing #OpeningCeremony
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) August 5, 2016

We were only an hour in and it was already proving divisive.

That was one of the best #OpeningCeremony's ever. #posttruthpolitics
— Pokemom (@lilyallen) August 5, 2016

That was the SHITTEST opening ceremony ever #OpeningCeremony
— AR (@aroueno) August 5, 2016

And there was the small matter of when teams would appear in the arena considering Portuguese spelling mixed things up a bit.

Guessing which alphabetical team will come out next is certainly testing my non-existent Portuguese #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016
— Claire Phipps (@Claire_Phipps) August 5, 2016

And in the UK it was already getting late.

Question: are they classing the UK as UK or Great Britain? Just this ceremony is in alphabetical order....and it's 1am... #OpeningCeremony
— Robert Midgley (@RobertMidgley07) August 6, 2016

AND THEN THE TEAMS ARRIVED!!!

Here come Australia #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/blwf7dvYTX
— innocent drinks (@innocent) August 6, 2016

Australia rocking the Thomas Cook holiday rep look #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/x7ZOYYhm40
— General Boles (@GeneralBoles) August 6, 2016

It soon became apparent the commentators were engaged in some kind of fact-off competition with each other.

*doing olympics commentary*
"Ah Bulgaria, A fun fact about Bulgaria"
*checks wikipedia*
"He was the head womble... dammit"#OpeningCeremony
— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) August 6, 2016

#OpeningCeremony #Rio2016 Factoids, tripping off the tongue like lead weights....
— Alastair Stewart (@alstewitn) August 6, 2016

Five fun facts about Andorra. It is bedtime isn't it? #OpeningCeremony
— Jane Merrick (@janemerrick23) August 6, 2016

"Finland. Not land-locked. Thought by many people to be home to Santa Claus, up in the North."#Rio2016 #OpeningCeremony
— The Media Blog (@TheMediaTweets) August 6, 2016

If Wikipedia pulled its website for just ten minutes, this commentary could get quite exciting #OpeningCeremony
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) August 6, 2016

There were a few unexpected entrances.

I'm on my way to the Opening Ceremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/I9ff7CIKpB
— Darth Vader (@DepressedDarth) August 6, 2016

The Empire better win gold or someone is getting force choked #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016
— Darth Vader (@DepressedDarth) August 6, 2016

Delegação da Nova Zelandia #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/nuj7NTOTjK
— Mordomo Olímpico (@mordomoeugenio) August 6, 2016

By now people were tired and realising waiting for all those teams to make an entrance was going to take a long time.

Me waiting for my country's team to make their entrance #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/C3nMJXUCvv
— 9GAG (@9GAG) August 6, 2016

Then we got to “M”.

México? not today #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/3hJpdUWo7T
— hir∆m (@estadohiramico) August 6, 2016

Meanwhile in London...

In case you're wondering, this is what the London 2012 stadium looks like during the Rio 2016 #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/Mu3dYDgPPG
— Francis Whittaker (@frittaker) August 6, 2016

But at least we had things like this to keep us entertained.

NOW THIS IS HOW YOU FLAG BEAR #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/66a5U3i24K
— innocent drinks (@innocent) August 6, 2016

Oh, and those bikes...

So the #OpeningCeremony went with the Saw angle & used the bikes. Still dk what I'm watching. pic.twitter.com/BmIK9oU6iq
— Nick Short (@PoliticalShort) August 6, 2016

As a gay man, I can comfortably say that these bikes are very gay. #OpeningCeremony #Olympics2016 pic.twitter.com/k1OR8bXAgx
— #NeverHillary (@ScottPresler) August 6, 2016

I don't get the bikes. #OpeningCeremony
— Rosemary Barton (@RosieBarton) August 6, 2016

Then for some reason - can't think why - everyone went a bit la la over the Tongan flag bearer.

Current flights been booked by females around the world ✈️ #OpeningCeremony #Olympics2016 #tonga pic.twitter.com/vkfH61Io40
— δεmγ (@Demidinho) August 6, 2016

Me trying to find flights to #Tonga. #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/zQhMT4fVeu
— Jesse (@ncfac) August 6, 2016

Then things took a turn for the weird when it transpired the actual CIA were getting involved.

The best thing about the #OpeningCeremony is that the @CIA has turned it into a massive quiz https://t.co/LgrMEKsm6n
— Chris York (@ChrisDYork) August 6, 2016

Celebrating #Rio2016 #Olympics #OpeningCeremony? We'll be asking poll questions for you to test your world knowledge.
Hint: #WorldFactBook
— CIA (@CIA) August 5, 2016

Of corse what we were all waiting for was the entry of Team GB and whether or not flag bearer Andy Murray was going to carry on with Brit tradition and carry it one-handed, because apparently that's a thing.

Andy Murray looking stoked to be Great Britain's flag-bearer...#OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/XdVbbBSRdS
— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) August 6, 2016

Then it was time for the unveiling of the rings.

And finally, the Olympics rings are revealed... https://t.co/VU4WHfqJNT #OpeningCeremony #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/cFCNOfvUQ1
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) August 6, 2016

Is it just me or do the rings look like they are made of marijuana? #OpeningCeremony
— Sonja Nikcevic (@sonjanik13) August 6, 2016

The honour of lighting the Olympic flame went to...

BREAKING: Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima lights the Olympic cauldron for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 6, 2016

@AP literally who
— inquiett (@inquiett) August 6, 2016

@AP who?
— Bradley Headrick (@HeadrickBradley) August 6, 2016

But at least it looked pretty.

"Give them back their flame."
"No! The Olympics have preempted my favorite shows for the last time" #OpeningCeremony pic.twitter.com/PMVGaD6Us3
— The Simpsons (@Simpsons_tweets) August 5, 2016

Imagine the scenes if Barry Manilow does a live version of Copacabana as the Olympic flame is lit. Stuff of dreams. #OpeningCeremony
— Ollie Heptinstall (@OliHepy) August 5, 2016

Anyway, that was about it.

Wasn't as good as London 2012 though...

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r0B0t: Code Is My Co-pilot

On a balmy Tuesday afternoon in late July, 37-year-old attorney Joshua Neally left work early. He climbed into his new Tesla Model X to drive the 45 minutes from law office in Springfield, Missouri, to his house in Branson, Missouri. He was going home to celebrate his daughter's fourth birthday.

He steered the electric luxury SUV into the gathering rush-hour traffic on Highway 68 and turned on autopilot, a feature unique to Tesla that allows a car to pilot itself—braking, accelerating, steering—for long stretches of freeway driving. It's a feature that has drawn rebukes from rival companies and sparked investigations by federal regulators after a driver named Joshua Brown was killed in a crash in Florida while using it. Although a Tesla with autopilot is not a true self-driving car, the company's technology has become a bellwether for Silicon Valley's ambition to replace human drivers with software.

Neally knew about the Florida crash and the furor that followed. But he had already ordered his Model X after years of waiting and saving, and he was undeterred. When it arrived, he nicknamed it Ender, after the protagonist in the novel Ender's Game. By July 26, after a week of driving the Model X, he had grown to cautiously trust it to handle the bulk of his hilly, curvy, sometimes traffic-y commute. “I'm not a daredevil,” he told me. “I promised my wife I'd always be paying attention.” He doesn't drive hands-free, or play Jenga, or nod off, or watch Harry Potter movies, as Brown may have been doing when he plowed into the trailer of a semi truck. He admits, however, that he sometimes checks email or sends text messages on his phone.

Neally was about 5 miles out of Springfield, near a set of interchanges just beginning to clog with merging vehicles, when he felt something coil and stiffen in his abdomen. At first he thought it was a pulled muscle. But the pain forked upward from his stomach, he said, until it felt like “a steel pole through my chest.” When it refused to subside, Neally remembers calling his wife and agreeing through gasps that he should probably go to the emergency room.

He doesn't remember much of the drive after that.

Doctors in Branson told Neally later that he'd suffered a pulmonary embolism, a potentially fatal obstruction of a blood vessel in his lungs. They told him he was lucky to have survived. If you ask Neally, however, he'll tell you he was lucky to be driving a Tesla. As he writhed in the driver's seat, the vehicle's software negotiated 20-plus highway miles to a hospital just off an exit ramp. He manually steered it into the parking lot and checked himself into the emergency room, where he was promptly treated. By night's end he had recovered enough to go home.

Did autopilot save Neally? It's hard to say. He acknowledges that, in retrospect, it might have been more prudent to pull over and call an ambulance. But the severity of what was happening dawned on him slowly, and by the time it had, he reckoned he could reach the hospital quicker via autopilot than ambulance. He also wonders whether, without autopilot, he might have lost control of the car and in effect become a deadly projectile when those first convulsions struck.

Neally's experience is unusual. It doesn't prove autopilot's worth as a safety feature any more than Brown's death disproves it. Yet Neally's story is the latest of several that have emerged since the Florida crash to paint a fuller picture of autopilot's merits, in addition to its by now highly publicized dangers. These stories provide at least a measure of anecdotal support for Tesla's claims that its own data show autopilot—imperfect as it is—is already significantly safer than the average human driver.

That's going to be a tough sell, though, to the public and regulators alike. Brown's death ignited a backlash that had been brewing since Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced autopilot in a heavily hyped, Steve Jobslike launch event in October 2014. Rival car companies felt from the start that Tesla was rolling out autonomous driving features too aggressively, before the technology was safe enough to earn consumers' trust. The skepticism intensified after Tesla activated the feature last fall, and drivers immediately began posting YouTube videos of themselves abusing it. Tesla calls autopilot a “beta” feature and requires the driver to agree to pay full attention and keep hands on the wheel while it's in use. But, despite some safety checks introduced in January, the car will still drive itself if the driver goes hands-free.

By mid-July, when a second Tesla Model S crashed while on autopilot on an undivided highway in Montana, Tesla had become the subject of three federal investigations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was looking into the cause of the Florida crash. The National Transportation Safety Board was examining whether autonomous driving technology was a hazard to safety. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission opened a probe into claims by Fortune magazine that Musk had failed to disclose the Florida autopilot crash to investors in a timely manner, even as he sold some of his own stock in the company. (Tesla has vehemently disputed the claims.)

It added up to a grim cloud over both the company and self-driving car technology, whose future depends on drivers, bureaucrats, and chest-pounding politicians all agreeing to place human lives in the hands of potentially deadly robots. Even Consumer Reports, which has championed the Tesla Model S as one of the greatest cars ever made, called for Tesla to disable autopilot until the technology became more reliable.

“By marketing their feature as ‘Autopilot,' Tesla gives consumers a false sense of security,” Consumer Reports Vice President Laura MacCleery said. “In the long run, advanced active safety technologies in vehicles could make our roads safer. But today, we're deeply concerned that consumers are being sold a pile of promises about unproven technology.”

I'm among the critics who have suggested, both before and after the furor over Brown's death, that Tesla had implemented and publicized the technology in a potentially perilous way. Despite its name, Tesla's autopilot feature does not give the cars full autonomy, like the concept vehicles made by Google that you might spot tooling around Mountain View, California. The first time I test-drove a Tesla with autopilot, I wrote a review calling it “a safety feature that could be dangerous,” because it encourages drivers to relax while relying on them to take over at a moment's notice. After Brown's death, I wrote that the entire autopilot concept might be flawed.

Yet Tesla insists that calls for it to disable autopilot are shortsighted. In fact, the company argues that the critics have it backward: Given that its internal testing data suggest the feature drives more safely than humans do, Tesla maintains that it would be irresponsible and dangerous not to offer autopilot to its customers.

It's a typically brash stance from a company that has never backed down from a public relations battle, and it's tempting to dismiss it as another example of Musk's hubris. Yet, as usual, Tesla makes a strong case for itself. Pressed to defend autopilot's safety record, the company disclosed to me the process by which it tested and eventually decided to activate the feature to consumers.

First, the company developed the software and tested it in millions of miles' worth of computer simulations, using real-world driving data gathered by the sensors on the company's cars. Next it activated autopilot in about 300 vehicles driven by the company's own testers, who drove it every day and subjected it to challenging circumstances. (Musk was among them.) Then it introduced autopilot “inertly” via software update into the vehicles of existing Tesla drivers for a testing phase that it called “silent external validation.” In this mode, the autopilot software logged and analyzed every move it would have made if active but could not actually control the vehicle. In this way, Tesla gained millions of miles' worth of data on autopilot's performance in consumers' vehicles before it ever took effect. Finally, the company activated the feature for some 900 consumers who volunteered to test it and provide subjective feedback. Throughout the process, Tesla says, it released updates to improve the software, and by the end it was clear to the company that drivers would be safer on the road with autopilot than without it. At that point, Tesla argues, it would have been a disservice to its drivers to keep the feature inactive.

Without taking Tesla's word for it, it's tough to empirically validate Musk's contention that autopilot is already saving a significant number of lives. One confounding factor is that we're less likely to hear about it when something goes right with self-driving features than when something goes wrong. Given that Tesla says it anonymizes its tracking data for customers' privacy, there's no way for the public to know about these close calls unless drivers self-report them, as Neally did to Tesla after his pulmonary embolism. (Neally agreed to tell his story to Slate after I asked the company for real-world examples of autopilot functioning as a critical safety feature.) Even when we do know about these, it's hard to prove the counterfactual that someone would have died if the automation hadn't kicked in.

Still, Neally's case isn't the first in which Tesla safety features appear to have averted catastrophe. In Washington on July 16, a Model S was driving on New York Avenue when a pedestrian stepped in front of it. The car slammed on its own brakes, and no one was hurt. The incident was glossed in headlines as one in which autopilot may have saved a pedestrian's life. That isn't quite accurate, though: Autopilot was turned off at the time, the company told me. It was actually Tesla's automatic emergency braking system that kicked in. That's a safety feature that dozens of other car models already offer and which may come standard in all U.S.-made vehicles by 2022. Tesla deserves credit for implementing it, but not for pioneering it.

In another instance, the dashcam on an Uber driver's Model S captured a scary close call in which a sedan suddenly turned left in front of him, at night, in the rain, with no time to steer around it. Before the driver could react, the Model S braked sharply. It jerked to a stop a few feet from the car, which it otherwise would have plowed into broadside. In that case, it appears that autopilot was in fact engaged.

Meanwhile, the NHTSA has concluded that the fatal Florida crash should not set back efforts to make the roads saver through automation. The auto industry “cannot wait for perfect” to develop and deploy potentially lifesaving technology, NHTSA head Mark Rosekind said.

It's fair to remain skeptical when Musk claims that autopilot would save 500,000 lives a year if it were deployed universally. Unless the company were to release all its testing and tracking data, which it declines to do, we can't possible verify its calculations. One of the few specific figures that the company publicized in its blog post was that autopilot had been safely used in more than 130 million miles of driving before the first fatality, which is a higher ratio of miles to deaths than the U.S. or global averages. But just one more autopilot-related fatality tomorrow would undermine that claim. The math required to demonstrate conclusively that autopilot is safer than human drivers would be more nuanced, examining injury accidents as well as fatalities and controlling for biases such as the recommended use of autopilot predominantly on highways under favorable driving conditions.

What we know at this point is that autopilot can hurt or kill people if used improperly and that it also has the potential to save people. It's also fair to assume that the technology will get safer over time as Tesla and other companies study and learn from its errors. The only question is whether the public can or should tolerate its rare mistakes in the meantime.

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r0B0t: Suicide Squad Fans Who Want to Shut Down Rotten Tomatoes Want The Right Thing for the Wrong Reason

Uproxx reported Wednesday that a possibly tongue-in-cheek petition on Change.org to shut down critic aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes was attracting sincere support from fans of Suicide Squad, who were unhappy about the film's overwhelmingly negative reviews. To be precise, the petition, which now has more than 17,000 signatures, said:

We need this site to be shut down because It's Critics always give The DC Extended Universe movies unjust Bad Reviews, Like

1- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016

2- Suicide Squad 2016

and that Affects people's opinion even if it's a really great movies

There's a lot wrong with this petition, from the idea that Rotten Tomatoes somehow controls the opinion of the critics who didn't like the DC movies to the idea that a bad review should spoil the fun of an individual viewer who likes these films. But I'm shocked to report that I've found common ground with of people who believe that critics care in the slightest about DC vs. Marvel. I, too, think Rotten Tomatoes is a terrible thing for films—and not just Suicide Squad. Not because it “Affects people's opinion even if it's a really great movies,” or even because of problems with the model (a three out of five star rating is marked “fresh,” instead of “mediocre”), but because it uses a model at all. Rotten Tomatoes encourages a math-driven approach to something that is inherently personal and subjective. If your opinion about a work of art can be expressed as a number, it's not a very interesting opinion.

This is not to say that math has no place in writing about art; in fact, critics would greatly benefit from using it more. There's no music without rhythm and harmony, no poetry without meter, no prose without structure. In film, editing, shot composition, and story structure are all well-suited to quantitative criticism, to seeking to answer the question of how a film works or doesn't work. By the same token, we could probably spend more time talking about the qualitative aspects of math: Cantor's diagonalisation proof is a beautiful castle built on air; the Pythagorean theorem's various proofs by rearrangement are so grounded they don't need language at all. Our personal aesthetic and qualitative responses to great works of mathematics, like quantitative formal analysis of great works of art, can help us understand them better. But there's little value in assigning a number to how much we liked them. The interesting questions are “Why?” and “How?,” not “How much?”

There's nothing wrong with the question “Should I see this movie?,” and criticism can definitely help answer it. But the right way to find an answer is to consult one or two critics whose taste you trust, not a thousand critics you don't know. In fact, a review that talks about why and how a film works written by a critic whose tastes are completely different from yours will tell you much more about whether you, personally, might enjoy it than a “fresh” or “rotten” rating. Things don't get better by adding more voices to the din, they get worse. One of the greatest harms aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic do is convincing people that there's value in aggregation to begin with, that by asking enough people the same dumb question, a Rotten Tomato score will approach some mythical asymptote of objectivity. This is the logic that says that one shitty mortgage is a bad investment, but a thousand shitty mortgages are solid gold. Once you buy that, attacking critics whose opinions are “wrong” is an easy step to take. They're out of step with objective reality, as determined by math, so they must have an ulterior motive. The problem with the Rotten Tomatoes petition isn't the goal, it's that the person who wrote it has clearly internalized all the faulty premises the site is based on.

There's a larger argument here about the way aggregate scores dovetail neatly with our technocratic urge for assigning metrics to everything, which inexorably leads toward miserable people crying in their cubicles and collapsing from heatstroke—but it's probably unfair to lay scientific management at the feet of Rotten Tomatoes. Although Taylorism may be a garbage idea from a garbage culture, profit is undeniably quantifiable: artistic value just isn't. And from that initial category error, misery flows like blood from a wound, from fans who are genuinely sad and furious that someone is hurting their film's score to critics who have to deal with their harassment campaigns. Video game companies are even linking compensation to Metacritic scores: It looks like some kind of objective way of measuring the work a developer did; coincidentally, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than sharing profits. And so the loop of bullshit closes: The same internet hordes who attack critics who pan a big game can, correctly, say that those critics are hurting the game's creators financially. (To my knowledge, no critic has asked to be part of any company's human resources system, nor are any of them being paid for writing employee evaluations.) But in the HR spirit, here's some data-driven results-oriented analysis: The New Soviet Man this system produces is not James Agee but Milo Yiannopoulos, quantifying the value of other human beings like a deranged Nazi robot. (Not coincidentally, he's also an internet terrorist who allies himself with actual Nazis.) No thanks.

This is not to say that using Rotten Tomatoes will necessarily turn you into a Nazi. It's an aesthetic choice like any other. You can choose to understand the world around you by boiling down very complicated, personal responses from a wide variety of people to a single number. You can choose to be offended when your own response to something doesn't match the “objective” rating you've conjured out of thin air. But like any aesthetic choice, this too can be qualitatively described. So here's how I, personally, respond to Rotten Tomatoes, a website that assigns aggregate numbers to works of art. It's uninspired. It's boring. It's ugly. You can be on the side of Cogentiva or you can be on the side of Enlightened. I know which one I choose. After all, it's 86-percent fresh.

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r0B0t: I Had to Catch 'Em All

A month ago, I left my job at the San Francisco tech company that bought my advertising startup. I had loved building my company from the ground up, but after six years, I had big plans for my post-acquisition life. I was going to work out. I was going to explore San Francisco. I was going to spend more time with my girlfriend. I was going to meet people outside the startup bubble. I was going to learn something new and immerse myself in it.

It turns out there's an app for almost all of that, and it is Pokémon Go. Since the game's release less than a month ago, players have installed it on mobile devices an estimated 75 million times. Mark Zuckerberg plays Pokémon Go. Justin Bieber, too. While lots of users try the game and drop it, or just play it casually, across the country there's a scene of hardcore players who've gotten truly, deeply hooked. I'm one of them.

For the past three weeks I played Pokémon Go like it was a job. I hunted its cute, cuddly creatures across 80 miles of beaches, parks, sidewalks, and playgrounds in San Francisco and New York. I tracked them on foot, bicycle, car, and pedicab. To my girlfriend's simmering horror, I ran into wild coyotes, was chased off by security guards, and crashed a mysterious 2 a.m. playground gathering. I caught 141 of the 142 Pokémon available in North America.

Which brings me to my final Pokémon.

It's just after midnight on a Sunday and I'm running down Fifth Avenue in New York City, arms pumping, iPhone clutched like a baton. I'm running like a man who doesn't run very often. My shirt is translucent with sweat. I pass Trump Tower. I pass St. Patrick's. I turn onto 47^th. I have 32 seconds left. Two men I've never met shout encouragement and wave toward a growing crowd up the street. “She's over there!” I huff and nod. I reach the throng and raise my phone.

With seconds to spare, I spot her. Time slows. She is big, beautiful, and pink, an ovoid vision with six dreadlocks that sway playfully as she hops back and forth. In her marsupial pouch she holds a gleaming white egg. She smiles at me. I smile back. Chansey. My prey. I am here to catch you. I tap my screen, and we face off: me, a 34-year-old newly unemployed tech entrepreneur with far too much time on his hands; she, a gentle, kindhearted cartoon character who is beloved by children worldwide, lays highly nutritious eggs, and is said to bring happiness to whomever catches her.

I curse when I see her power levels. 1,800 combat points! I feed her a Razz Berry to calm her, stroke my beard, and reach for my black and yellow Ultra Balls, the strongest Pokéballs I have as a Level 23 trainer. I have only three left, and I'm all out of blue Great Balls after hours of farming Omanytes in Midtown earlier in the evening. If I can't capture Chansey in three tries, I'm hosed. I bite my lip and toss the first ball. Swipe. She breaks out of the ball … and then runs off in a wisp of animated smoke.

I kick the curb. A nearby player offers condolences. I shake my head. She only appears two or three times a day in Manhattan, and she escaped.

The hunt must go on.

* * *

I am not a Pokémon guy. I never played the original Nintendo games and never watched the cartoon. Three weeks ago I could only name Pikachu and Jigglypuff, and that's because they were characters in Super Smash Bros. Now I know them all. So how did something seemingly aimed at kids hook me, a grown man?

Initially I was just curious about a game my friends were talking about. When I installed Pokémon Go on my iPhone on July 12 and walked around my block in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, I caught a few tiny brown Pidgeys and gray fuzzy Zubats—the most common Pokémon—and found the game charming but simplistic. It also seemed to freeze and crash a lot. Niantic, the game's developer, had a lot of work to do.

I wasn't hooked. But the next day, a friend bragged about reaching Level 12—and that got me going. I vowed to top him by hitting up a few spots I'd read about on Reddit. My brief outing ballooned into a six-hour trek. I started at the Presidio in the northwest corner of San Francisco and caught Pokémon all the way up the Embarcadero to the Bay Bridge at the eastern edge. The game's “core loop,” or central activity, proved addictive. The more Pokémon I caught, the higher my levels rose, the more dopamine was released in my brain, and the more Pokémon I wanted to catch. Flopping into bed at 3 a.m., I was exhausted and sore but buzzing. I texted my friends to let them know I'd reached Level 18. The game had its cartoon hooks in me.

Eager to widen the gap, the next night a friend and I attended a “Lure Party” at San Francisco State University thrown by a group that calls itself Mystery Island. Lures are in-game objects that attract Pokémon when activated. Groups like Mystery Island had started finding places with lots of them, lighting them up, and spreading the word on Facebook. Unlike college parties I remembered, this one consisted of hundreds of hoodie-clad people roaming, zombielike, in a circuit around campus for hours with their noses in their phones. It was great. My friend and I both caught Kadabra, a yellow humanoid Pokémon that uses a spoon to give people headaches, and he snagged an Onix, a coal-gray snakelike Pokémon with a magnet in its brain that can burrow through the ground at 50 miles per hour.

The next evening I drove out to Beach Chalet, a restaurant known for its wide view of the Pacific Ocean but now also as the best place to catch Pokémon in the Bay Area. No one knows why, but Beach Chalet attracts a wider variety of Pokémon than any other site around, and at higher volumes. A dissonant scene greeted me when I arrived at about 10 p.m. A handful of diners finished their meals inside. A few bonfires were scattered on the beach. Meanwhile more than 100 Pokémon Go players clogged the sidewalks, front stairs, and parking lot outside. The place was overrun. Apparently that's how it had been all week. And no wonder. In three hours, I picked up Ponyta, a majestic fire horse with hooves tougher than diamonds; Porygon, the world's first man-made robot Pokémon able to traverse cyberspace with ease; and several other rare Pokémon, ultimately bring me to Level 20.

At this point, I'd become less of a Pokémon Go player than a Pokémon Go grinder, a video game term for someone who performs low-level repetitive actions over and over again to achieve some larger result. In a classic role-playing game like Final Fantasy, grinding looks like walking your character through a forest back and forth fighting wolves and imps. But in Pokémon Go, a game that uses the real world as its map, it looks like pacing back and forth in the parking lot of a restaurant while diners and management look on disapprovingly.

You'd think game designers would want to avoid grinding. But many designers look for ways to encourage it. As an example: To unlock Pokémon Go's Gyarados, a super-rare blue water dragon, players have to catch 100 Magikarps, common goldfish Pokémon that are terrible at everything. Since even the shorter Pokémon captures take a minute or so, unless a player can find a Gyarados in the wild (very unlikely), the only way to get one is to grind for hours—or usually much longer.

Developers encourage grinding because players either get hooked and put in the time, increasing engagement, or they start looking for ways to speed things up. This opens the door for developers to sell them in-game items for real money that accelerate progress. In Pokémon Go that means buying items like incubators that hatch Pokémon and Lucky Eggs, which double the amount of experience points you earn for 30 minutes. To date I've spent about $100 on Pokémon Go's in-game items. I'm not alone. Experts estimate the game is bringing in $10 million a day from item sales. Grinding, and the avoidance of it, is big business.

* * *

But it still is a grind. Around the time I reached Level 20 I started losing interest in doing things the slow way. It was getting too hard. As you level up in Pokémon Go, you need more and more points to reach the next one. Players refer this to as the “soft cap.” Instead of needing to catch 30 Pidgeys and evolve 10 to level up, I now needed hundreds. Pitting my Pokémon against others in PokéGyms, in-game locations where Pokémon battle to earn coins and score points for your Pokémon team, had proved equally unappealing. Winning battles was just a matter of mindlessly tapping your screen. And why was I supposed to care about being on Team Mystic?

So I did what every entrepreneur does when he hits a roadblock. I pivoted, from leveling up to focusing on catching the 80 or so North American Pokémon I hadn't snagged yet.

But how? The game had initially shipped with a radar feature that told players which Pokémon were nearby and how close they were, but a week after launch it stopped working; as of this week's game update, it's been stripped entirely. Without working radar to collect the rarest Pokémon, I'd have to wait at locations where they were rumored to appear and hope to get lucky. For highly evolved Pokémon like the heavily muscled martial-arts master Machamp and the 5,000 IQ psychic Alakazam, I could catch dozens of their lower forms and evolve them up—but that could take weeks of sitting in my idling car at Beach Chalet.

Fortunately, the internet intervened. While I'd been capturing Pidgeys up and down the Embarcadero, clever developers had reverse-engineered the game, building things on top of it (all in violation of the game's terms of service) and posting them to Reddit. There were data miners, programs that log all the Pokémon that spawn in a given town or city over a period of time so Niantic's algorithms could be analyzed and hopefully cracked. There were bots, programs that play the game on autopilot, catching Pokémon, snagging items, and racking up points. A friend launched a bot on a burner account, fed it the coordinates to the Tate Modern, and went to bed. By morning it had caught hundreds of Pokémon across London and reached Level 15.

But the most important projects were the scanners, programs, websites, and apps that map where Pokémon spawn and how long until they disappear by spoofing player presence at in-game locations and recording what appears. Some argued that using them is cheating, but with the in-game radar broken, they became the only way to see just where Pokémon were hiding.

The answers were sobering. It turns out that while Pokémon appear mostly at random at preset spawn points, the best Pokémon appear much more frequently near the tourist attractions and public spaces common in cities and large metropolitan areas. The scanners broke the illusion that rare Pokémon might appear anywhere at any time and showed rural and suburban players they were getting a raw deal.

On the bright side, the scanners opened up a whole new way to play. I installed one on a private server I SSH into from my phone. I could now actively hunt Pokémon instead of pacing around passively gathering. Thus I kicked off a new routine: Drive to a neighborhood after dark in my trusty 2001 Camry, park, and launch a scan. If it picked up anything good, I'd chart a course in Google Maps and drive to it before the time expired. I was now playing a version of Pokémon Go that looked less like Final Fantasy and more like Grand Theft Auto.

My PokéScanner was super effective. It led me all over San Francisco after dark. It led me around Bernal Heights Park, where I farmed Vulpix with its six gorgeous tails and almost mowed down a wild coyote that darted in front of my car. It led me to Coit Tower where I caught a Lickitung, owner of a 7-foot tongue that sticks to anything, and saw a second coyote jog past me. It led me to the Golden Gate Park lily pond where I caught the dopey Slowpoke in pitch darkness and ran in terror from the sound of something breathing nearby. It led me to Fort Mason to farm blue turtlelike Squirtles in the midst of a J-Pop festival. I had a blast zooming around these places at night, gassing up my car alongside the taxi drivers, scarfing down quesadillas alongside cops, even when I ended up somewhere scary.

A bit after 2 a.m. on Thursday—Day 4 of my new style of gameplay—my scanner showed Pikachu, the iconic yellow electric Pokémon, at Mission Playground with only three minutes left on the clock. I needed to catch three more to evolve one into Raichu, Pikachu's advanced form, so I set off. I arrived in two minutes, pulled into the playground parking area, slammed my brakes and raised my phone. To my delight, there were actually two Pikachu. I caught both. As I basked in my victory, I saw movement in the corner of my eye. I looked up. A dozen men stood in my headlights surrounding my car. I looked at them. They looked at me. They looked unhappy. I gingerly backed out, then sped away. I don't know who they were or why they were hanging out at 2 a.m. in a playground in the heart of Sureño territory, but I didn't want to stick around to find out.

After my week hunting in San Francisco, a work opportunity brought me to New York City. I continued my steady march to a complete Pokédex, though my approach changed. While San Francisco's sprawl promoted a car-centric lone-wolf hunting approach, in Manhattan the serious players congregate in the southeast corner of Central Park and hunt on foot, in packs. This makes for a much more social experience. In the park you'll find players operating free phone-charging stations and others selling discounted drinks and snacks. When someone running a scanner spots a rare Pokémon, like my Chansey, they holler and like clockwork everyone picks up and swarms to that location, traffic be damned.

This collaborative pack-hunter mentality works because Pokémon Go is cleverly designed to never be a zero-sum experience. If a player sees a rare Pokémon like a Blastoise and catches it, she isn't removing it from the game so others can't catch it. Others can all catch it too. This “plenty for everyone” design incentivizes collaboration: sharing nest locations, offering tips to boost scores, and even helping each other get from Point A to Point B.

Last Tuesday night at 2 a.m., I was at the American Museum of Natural History farming Charmander, the lizard Pokémon with a flame tail, with a group I'd just met when one picked up a Dragonite, the rare bright orange dragon, on his scanner on the far east edge of Manhattan. Three of us—me, a Wall Street trader, and a Pizza Hut delivery man—decided to split a cab and go for it. When we got there with seconds to spare and each caught our own Dragonite, it felt like a team victory.

* * *

It's 10:21 p.m. in New York, two nights after my first big miss with Chansey. I am eating a hot dog on 36^th Street when PokéVision picks her up again. Hello, beautiful. She is 14 blocks north at Central Park's southern entrance with 13 minutes on the clock. I toss the dog and hustle to the corner. No taxis anywhere. In desperation I hail a pedicab. As we travel uptown I ask the driver how much it costs. He pauses. “$5 per minute.” I feel like an idiot but can't get too upset since we're making good time up Sixth Avenue. We pull up to the corner and I realize I don't have enough cash to pay and don't have enough time to hit an ATM without losing my shot on Chansey. I tell the driver I need to run across the street for a second “to take a picture” but will be right back. He nods and I slip off to my second date with the pink dream-crusher.

There's a crowd, players who flocked over from the park plaza en masse. I whip out my phone and spot her. Chansey. I let out a whoop when her stats appear. 244 CP. This will be easy. Not willing to risk anything, I feed her a Razz Berry again and reach for my Ultra Balls. This time I'm well-stocked. I wipe a sweaty hand on my jeans and make the first toss. A “Great” hit! The ball opens, emits light, and sucks her in. I raise my fists in triumph and look around for someone, anyone to share the moment with before turning back to the screen … which has frozen. I had run into the dreaded “PokéBall glitch” in which the game freezes randomly after a catch.

With trembling hands I reboot the app and flip to my journal to see if I'd somehow caught her. No Chansey.

* * *

It's been a few days now since I've gone out. That's partly because of the crushing disappointment of twice missing Chansey and partly because I've run low on Pokémon to catch and levels to reach. Much to my girlfriend's relief, my PokéMadness appears to be clearing. Niantic's CEO recently stated he's “not a fan” of the scanner apps, and the company has shut down the most popular ones, like PokéVision. (Mine is safe for now.) It makes sense. What designer likes having his or her design subverted? But roaring around San Francisco in my car at 3 a.m. and biking through an empty Times Square in the wee hours to catch a cartoon monster before he disappears was exhilarating. It let me experience the real world with the heightened awareness and focus that comes from being alone on an urgent mission. Without the scanners or working in-game radar, players will be forced back to gathering whatever Pokémon randomly spring up. It's Niantic's game, and I don't want to sound too grumpy about a thing that's brought me so many fun moments, but I, and many others, will miss being able to play it proactively.

As I come to my senses and return to a regular sleep schedule, it's funny to think that Pokémon Go has, in fact, checked off all the boxes on my post-employment list.

I got exercise: The night I farmed Machop in Midtown on bicycle left me so tired I napped on a bench in Bryant Park before limping back to my hotel. I explored: My girlfriend has long teased me for my lack of knowledge of San Francisco, but after my night crawling I now know where (almost) everything is. (I'm not sure what to think about the fact that it took a video game to prompt this.) And I met people outside my bubble in places like Marina Green, Central Park, and Mission Playground.

But if I'm honest, I did a lot of it for the simple pleasure of going all out at something hard. Maybe, like Walter White, I did it to feel alive. Maybe I did it to fill a startup-shaped void I still have to sort out. I'm pretty sure I worked as hard at this as I did at any single thing in my company. I've yet to catch 'em all, and I'm not sure I ever will, but I'm close.

And I'll be ready. Even now, my Ultra Balls are well-stocked, my spare battery is at 100 percent, and my scanner is running, searching Manhattan for the elusive pink monster who brings happiness to whomever catches her.

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r0B0t: John C. Reilly Is Giving One of the Best Performances in TV Comedy Today

This article originally appeared in Vulture.

From Matthew McConaughey to Rachel McAdams, John Travolta to Jessica Lange, Terrence Howard to Taraji P. Henson, acclaimed actors who travel to television from the big screen tend to bring a lot of attendant hoopla with them—provided their shows air in prime-time, apparently. That's the only reason I can think of that Tony- and Oscar-nominee John C. Reilly isn't regularly showered in praise for what he's been doing on late-night ratings powerhouse Adult Swim on a weekly basis this summer. The star of films ranging from Talladega Nights to We Need to Talk About Kevin, Reilly is anchoring the fourth season of Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule, the bizarre local-news parody from co-creators Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. (The season finale airs tonight at 12:15 a.m.) Reprising a role he developed over five seasons of the pair's Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, he plays Dr. Steve, the semi-functional host of a disastrous human-interest show. And word to the wise, he's delivering one of the best comedic performances on TV.

It starts with the character's look. Reilly's physical appearance has always served him well as an actor. There's something about the combination of his large frame and round, expressive face that makes him look not so much tall as overgrown, like a child stretched to adult proportions. This gives him an air of vulnerability that belies his size; it lends pathos to his dramatic performances, like the sad-sack cop in Magnolia, and a goofball naïveté to his comedic turns, like the fake music legend in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. It's how a guy who's six-foot-two can sing the ode to interpersonal invisibility “Mr. Cellophane” in the film adaptation of Chicago and earn an Oscar nomination, or pair up with the relatively diminutive Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights and come across like a natural sidekick.

In these strictly physical terms alone, Dr. Steve is his magnum opus, the idiot man-child he was born to play. Wearing a brown suit that's at least two sizes too small, teasing his curly hair to fright-wig proportions, twisting his mouth and squinting his eyes to give his face a vibe of permanent confusion, Reilly leans into his quirks as Dr. Steve.

It's the sort of role that demands slapstick with an almost Newtonian certainty, and Reilly never fails to rise, or more accurately fall, to the occasion. Dr. Steve stomps, lurches, and bumbles through every segment; even something as simple as standing still and introducing his latest topic can end in physical havoc, with smashed props and toppled glass-brick sets. This being a Tim and Eric production, the pratfalls often stretch into cringe-comedy territory. In last week's episode alone, Brule tripped on the way to the soundstage and cut his head so badly that his producer stapled the wound shut on camera; he got hit hard enough in the head with a baseball bat during a piñata stunt gone wrong that he vomited from the impact. For a performer equally at home in absurd Judd Apatow comedies and painful Paul Thomas Anderson dramas, the blend of funny-ha-ha and funny-yikes is ideal.

But it's the sense that you're watching a toddler in the body of a large middle-aged man that gives Reilly/Brule his best material. Dr. Steve greets his topics—space, friends, cars, music, eggs—with appropriately childlike wonder and delight, his twinkling eyes and introductory shout of “Let's check it out!” evoking Christmas-morning levels of enthusiasm. He reacts to his guests with a complete lack of guile, whether holding their hands and kissing them on the head or announcing their physical flaws to the world like a child ignoring his mother's advice that it's impolite to point. He'll eat anything put within range of his mouth, from seafood out of a dumpster to MDMA offered by a strip-club owner. The result is often gross-out body-fluid humor that Reilly throws himself into with terrifying commitment; the scene in which he “had to go to the bathroom at both ends” after having too much to drink at a leather bar he mistook for a Hell's Angels hangout is the ne plus ultra of the genre. When he gets hurt, insulted, excluded, or frightened, he cries, sulks, panics, and screams so convincingly you want to go get his parents. (Unfortunately, his mother, Dorris Pringle-Brule-Salahari, is an abusive murderer who kept him caged in the basement as a boy after his fry-cook father skipped town, so that rules that out.)

Then there's his voice, a masterful mangling of pronunciation and grammar that's the character's trademark. Back when Brule was a recurring character on Awesome Show, Reilly played him relatively straight, sounding simply dopey rather than deranged. Once he became the star of his own series, however, his speech pattern took a turn for the weird. He adds unnecessary “r”s to the opening consonants of words: “boats” becomes “broats,” “pirate” becomes “prirate,” “puppets” becomes “pruppets,” and so on. (The bit during an episode on fear where he popped out from behind the set and shouted “Broo!” may be the series' funniest moment.) He's incapable of properly pronouncing anyone's name, and he's often not even in the ballpark; those that begin with “D” are especially taxing on him for some reason, and Davids, Dans, and Dons are invariably mangled into something like Dang or Dong or Drungus. The preposition “of” gets a real workout, most memorably when the Doctor discovers that when it comes to American currency, “one of paper equals four of coin.” And there's a mushmouthed quality to his voice throughout, as if he'd been suddenly awoken from a nap just before the camera started rolling. (The overall effect is so strange and singular that it defuses criticism that the character is some sort of mean-spirited ableist stereotype: No real person on Earth sounds like this.)

And as ill at ease as Brule appears in his man-on-the-street segments, he fits right in to the peculiar public-access world Heidecker and Wareheim have built around him. The VHS-distortion effects, the no-budget graphics and set design, the cast of non-actors playing Brule's fellow Channel 5 employees, the occasional eruptions of Mulholland Drivelevel menace amid the ridiculousness: Dr. Steve's solo show is the Tim & Eric aesthetic in its purest form, at a time when the pair's other ventures (notably their bigger-budget recent series Bedtime Stories) have largely moved away from the deliberately crude, visually noisy look that once defined them. As Reilly's collaborators, they seem determined to rise to his level of calculated madness. I don't think it's an exaggeration to compare this relationship to Sam Esmail and Rami Malek on Mr. Robot or Bryan Fuller and Mads Mikkelsen on Hannibal, in the sense that the look and work of the performer enables the filmmaker to take things farther than they otherwise could. That's the mark of a great performance, no matter how odd it looks, or how late you have to stay up to see it.

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r0B0t: Sunday's Best Deals: Robotic Vacuum, Kindle Ebooks, Lodge Skillet

Samsung's robotic vacuum, Kindle ebooks, and a Lodge skillet lead off Sunday's best deals.

Samsung's powerful robotic vacuum was actually worth it at $1000, so at $600, it's a steal.

http://gizmodo.com/samsung-powerb…

Need a new beach read? Several popular Kindle ebooks are on sale in today's Amazon Gold Box, starting at just $2.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NJTNQ82/…

I know that we espouse the virtues of monochrome laser printers, but if you really need the ability to print in color, Canon's Pixma MX922 is worth your consideration. Carrying a #1 seller badge on Amazon and over 7,000 mostly positive user reviews, this is the rare Inkjet printer that you might not actually hate.

This model sells for $90 pretty consistently, but today, you can snag one for $70.

Escort's Max II is one of the most advanced radar/laser detectors you can buy, and $400 is the best price Amazon's ever offered. If it saves you from a few speeding tickets, it'll have paid for itself.

Everyone should own a cordless hand vacuum for cleaning shelves and car seats, and this Black & Decker has never been cheaper.

https://www.amazon.com/Decker-HNV220B…

Ready to step up to 4K? This 50" Hisense smart TV carries a 4.1 star review average, and is a great value at $500.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XMUU5KU/…

In the past few days, we've seen deals on a Lodge cast iron dutch oven and drop biscuit pan (both of which are still available), but today, it's their 10.5" square skillet that's on sale.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00063RWXE/…

http://gear.kinja.com/bestsellers-lo…

I think this 110 pound barbell set is worth ordering just to see the look on your delivery guy's face when he hauls it to your door.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040XP7NS/…

CAP's doorway chin-up bar is also on sale today for $10.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017O7Q69A/…

Want to join the Fitbit club on the cheap? Woot's selling refurbished Flexes ($50), Charges ($70-$85), and Surges ($145), today only.

Anker's kevlar-wrapped PowerLine cables have been an immediate hit with our readers, and you can upgrade your entire microUSB cable collection today with this $13 6-pack. That's a match for the lowest price ever on this pack, which includes two 1' cables, three 3', and one 6'.

http://bestsellers.kinja.com/bestsellers-an…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015XPU7RC/…

iPhone owners can also grab a 9' (non-PowerLine) Anker Lightning cable for $10.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R4NVPPU/…

The new DJI Phantom 4 sure looks impressive, but for $500 less, you can pick up the still-completely-amazing Phantom 3 Professional today, plus a spare battery, a carrying case, and even a 2TB external hard drive. To put it simply, that's one of the best drone deals we've ever seen.

http://gizmodo.com/dji-phantom-3-…

You'll lose out on features like the (finnicky) accident avoidance, but the camera is still 4K, and it'll last over 20 minutes on a single charge.

Here's everything you need to make fancy-ass drinks at home for just $16. Except, you know, the booze.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LD54OO/…

If you're a student, or know one that will lend you their identity, you can stream every out of market NFL game, plus Red Zone channel and DirecTV Fantasy Zone for just $100 for the full season.

I had this last year, and it made it incredibly easy to watch my Atlanta Falcons piss away a promising start to the season. You can stream on just about any laptop, tablet, smartphone, or game console. When you sign up though, you'll need to supply a valid school, student name, and birthdate, though oddly enough, not a .edu email address.

Just note that you'll only be able to stream out of market games, so you'll need an antenna to watch anything on your local Fox or CBS affiliate, and it won't get you access to nationally televised games on NBC or ESPN.

Summer isn't kind to your wiper blades, so if you've been struggling to see the road through streaks on your windshield, Amazon's offering up a pair of Bosch Insight Blades for just $22 right now. Just pick the two you need, add them to your cart, and the discount should appear automatically. The deal even allows you to mix and match sizes, so you can almost certainly find a combination that will work for your car.

Note: The discount will only work on blades shipped and sold by Amazon directly. No third party sellers.

Tech

Home

Lifestyle

Refurb Fitbits (Various Models) | $50-$145 | Woot
Wilker Survival Kit Emergency SOS Survive Tool Pack | $11 | Amazon
CAP Barbell Regular Grey 110-Pound Weight Set | $90 | Amazon
CAP Doorway Chin Up Bar | $10 | Amazon
ASICS Men's GEL-Zaraca 4 Running Shoes | $30 | eBay
MLB Team-Licensed Men's Polos | $25 | Woot

Gaming

Far Cry Primal | $30 | Amazon

Media

Kindle Ebook Gold Box | Amazon
Star Trek Voyager: Seasons 1-7 [47 Discs] [DVD] | $160 | Best Buy

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r0B0t: Technology Could Lead Humanity to the Promised Land - Or Back to a Desperate Period of Neo-serfdom
If you happened to be on the streets of Pittsburgh on 19 May 2016, you may well have witnessed a black car that looked akin to that driven by superheroes, driving itself. If you are a taxi driver this will be a cause for concern. It was an Uber.

Taxi drivers and their families are not the only ones who should be concerned. Late last year in Baden-Württemberg, a Mercedes lorry was driving itself at 50 miles per hour, along a busy section of motorway. There are 600,000 HGV registered licensed drivers in the UK, 242,200 licensed taxi and private hire vehicles and around 1.8 million people in the expanded logistics workforce. Such ground breaking technologies are just the tip of the iceberg.

The World Economic Forum predicts more than seven million jobs in the world's largest economies will be threatened in the next few years by advances such as robotics and 3D printing.

In the 1970s and 80s, mainframe computers and robots had a huge impact. Since then our manufacturing workforce has fallen by 60 per cent. For those made redundant, this technology was a curse. For the wider economy, it was a blessing. Increased productivity has led to total manufacturing output today being 6 per cent higher over the same period.

Today automation and artificial intelligence are progressing at a speed, scale and force unlike anything we have experienced before. Sooner or later the challenge of human redundancy will have to be reckoned with.

Machines, like Google's DeepMind, are now capable of cognitive functions. Machine learning is likely to be the primary catalyst behind a surge of applications in automation and robotics and a nearly limitless number of specialised applications. When a robot can read a set of accounts, analyse a million emails or phone records, write annual reports, why employ a lawyer, researcher or accountant?

In contrast, the sharing economy may seem quaint by comparison but it is also another significant threat to jobs. Airbnb, for example, now dwarfs even the largest hotel chains but still has under a thousand employees compared with Hilton's 164,000.

Policy needs to meet this challenge head on. Not just the challenge of the loss of jobs but also the fact that the benefits from this tech-driven productivity surge keep accruing to an ever smaller group.

With its perennial trade and budget deficits the UK already has structural issues to contend with in addition to the technological challenge. Fortunately, it also has some big advantages. We have a great science base, a great technological base, a great creative base and a great entrepreneurial base. But just as businesses need to adapt, our government must too.

Firstly, as new jobs replace old jobs, we must equip people with the skills to adapt. Education should be collaborative, research-based, and self-directed; it should relate to real world challenges and have input from employers and trade bodies.

Secondly, entrepreneurialism must be culturally engrained across our whole society and not just at private schools. Unless we encourage more start-ups and new businesses able to work with new technologies, the UK will face certain comparative decline.

Thirdly, governments are going to need new tools, new laws and new ideas to adequately tax the owners of technology. It is not just, or sustainable, for corporate profits to have an ever increasing share of GDP whilst real wages flatline, despite huge gains in economic output. Without adequate tax on the owners of technology and proper investment in education and skills, we are heading back to the world of barons and serfs.

Fourthly, we should develop policies to encourage businesses to stay British. Despite our vibrant start up scene many of the UK's most exciting companies never make it to global status, often because they get acquired by US firms before they get there. British companies that receive state support should guarantee that their company headquarters will remain in the UK, they will pay corporate tax in the UK, their company founders will stay tax domiciled in the UK and their investors will pay tax on gains in the UK.

Finally, embarking on a new industrial policy without a full partnership with trade unions would be folly. For any renaissance in the British economy we are going to need healthy and vibrant trade unions, respected by business with a sense of shared mission, and partnership. To meet this challenge, unions must modernize. Workers today need strong, representative, forward-thinking, pragmatic, unions. Trade unions that see the dangers and opportunities of this digital revolution. In return government should roll back much of the egregious anti-union legislation that has accumulated over the past decades.

The technological changes that we are witnessing are potentially heading for a collision with society as we know it. Not preparing our country adequately will lead society to a very harsh destination.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Technology can lead humanity to the promised land. Less working hours, less disease, improved human efficiency, smarter learning and greater understanding and communication. But unmanaged it could also lead us back to a desperate period of neo-serfdom.

This blog is based on a chapter Simon Franks wrote for the book Changing Work: Progressive ideas for the modern world of work, published this week. Changing Work is the first publication from The Changing Work Centre, an initiative from the Fabian Society and Community which is chaired by Yvette Cooper MP
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r0B0t: Dyson's First Robovac Sucks Up All Your Dirt and Cash

"Dysons — All images: Andrew Liszewski/Gizmodo

You'd think that the first robot vacuum from a company like Dyson, who reinvented the vacuum, fan, and hair dryer, would rival R2-D2 when it came to functionality. But with the 360 Eye, Dyson instead focused on creating a robovac that did one thing very well: cleaning. It delivers as promised, but is that worth $1,000?

The no-frills approach to its robot vacuum is surprising when you consider that Dyson has actually been developing its robovac for close to 18 years now. Before the Eye 360, Dyson created the DC06 which, until recently, has only existed in a handful of leaked photos outside the company.

It cleaned well, but the DC06's size, weight, less-than-amazing battery life, and price tag didn't quite meet the company's expectations. As a result, the DC06 was scrapped, the five working models the company created went into exile, and Dyson's robotics division then spent the next 12 years developing the 360 Eye instead.

As far as form factor goes, small and tall is the best way to describe the 360 Eye. Compared to the Samsung POWERbot VR9000, which could easily play a droid in Star Wars, the 360 Eye looks like a tiny can of cookies. Of all the consumer-level robot vacuums currently on the market, the 360Eye has the smallest footprint, by a longshot, but it also comes at the cost of it being a little on the tall side.

Life is all about trade-offs, and Dyson's engineers decided that being able to squeeze into the small gaps in-between your furniture was more important than being able to squeeze under your couch. As a result, the 360 Eye didn't even come close to fitting under my Ikea couch, but neither could Samsung's POWERbot VR9000, nor a Roomba. I even have trouble squeezing a mop under there, so I feel Dyson's engineers made the right decision by focusing on keeping the 360 Eye's footprint as small as possible.

Instead it allowed the robovac to squeeze into tight areas that I assumed would always have to be cleaned by hand. Will the 360 Eye be able to clean every hard to reach area in your home? No. You'll still need to have a manual vacuum on hand to ensure every last inch of your floors get cleaned. But it should at least be able to autonomously clean the most visible areas, so your friends don't think you're a complete slob.

The 360 Eye's design continues Dyson's unintentional approach of creating appliances that look like science fiction props, with its silvery faux-metal plastic housing and bulging 0.33-liter dust bin on the front. But other than a large button on top that lights up with various patterns to signal what the 360 Eye is currently doing or what it needs (charging, connecting to your Wi-fi network, cleaning, etc.), the only real distinguishing feature atop the robovac is an ominous-looking dome that gives the bot its name.

That dome is a 360-degree camera (looking eerily like HAL 9000's unblinking eye) that feeds a wraparound image of a room to the 360 Eye's processor. You might assume the panoramic camera on top photographs a room's ceiling so the robot can plot its course. But that's not how it works.

The 360 Eye takes a simpler approach to cleaning. Once the robot starts vacuuming it sticks to a five-meter square section of a room that it cleans by spiraling out from the center. Then it moves onto a neighboring square, and so forth, until a room is clean. This makes for more efficient use of its 45-minute run-time.

The 360 Eye's camera can really only see as high as a room's walls, which it photographs up to 30 times per second. Those images are processed by a special algorithm to detect and track distinct corners, like you'd find on tables, windows, or even paintings on a wall, which the robot uses to keep tabs on where it is, where it's been, and what's left to clean.

A simple map of a room is built up as the robovac navigates a space, but is wiped from the bot's memory after a cleaning cycle is complete. This makes it better suited for a home where things are constantly getting moved, creating new obstacles for the robovac to navigate every time it starts cleaning.

The 360 Eye adds extra collision security in the form of infra-red sensors. For the most part, the combination of these two technologies worked seamlessly, and on many occasions I was surprised at how deftly the tiny robovac was able to tightly navigate around table legs and other hard-to-spot obstacles. Collisions did occur from time to time, but thanks to the bot's small form factor, there was barely an impact.

The 360 Eye met its match when cleaning underneath an Ikea chair. It ended up beaching itself on a wooden crossbeam that it didn't see coming. Before I got up to rescue it, the robot just sat there, happily sucking away without moving for about five minutes.

It also had hang ups in dark spaces. On several occasions, while cleaning underneath a piece of furniture it was barely able to squeeze under, the Dyson 360 Eye needed rescuing. Presumably because its 360-degree camera was essentially blinded. The camera is a key part of its ability to navigate a room, and as a result, the robovac won't even turn on if there's not enough light for its camera to work. If you want to schedule it to clean the living room at three in the morning while you're asleep, you'll need to leave some lights on.

Yet these problems could potentially be resolved in future software updates, which the Dyson 360 Eye receives via Wi-Fi. The inclusion of Wi-Fi also allows the 360 Eye to be activated, monitored, and scheduled from the Dyson Link app on iOS or Android devices.

Pairing the app to the 360 Eye was a little tricky, but only because the app looked like it had failed when in reality it had successfully connected to the robovac, and functionality is limited. The most complex thing you can do through the app is schedule the robot to clean throughout the week. It does show you the map of a room it created after a cleaning is complete, so you can see what areas it might have missed. But it feels like a half-feature because you can't then click on the map and direct the robot back to a certain area.

On the underside of the 360 Eye you'll find a pair of metal contacts the robot vacuum uses for charging, its spinning brush bar, and a pair of bright blue rubber tank treads.

They might be more complicated than a simple pair of wheels (more parts means more parts that can break), but the treads also provide better grip since there's more surface area making contact with your floors, and the large teeth improve the 360 Eye's ability to clamber over obstacles, and transition from hard floors to carpeting. They also help the robovac maintain a straighter course—taking the tiny bot smoothly to its tiny charging base, which easily unfolds and sidles up against a wall.

Because it's first and foremost a Dyson vacuum, running off the company's tiny but mighty V2 digital motor, the 360 Eye sucks up dirt and debris as efficiently as any of the company's manual vacuums.

The spinning disks of whiskers used by robots like the Roomba to sweep debris from the edges of the bot inwards don't exist on the 360 Eye. Instead it features the same edge-to-edge brushbar that the company's manual vacs use so that it cleans as close to the edge of a wall as possible. It still leaves about a half-inch gap, but its ability to suck in dirt and debris along walls easily outperformed other robovacs I've tested.

After using the Dyson 360 Eye for some time, I can understand why the company decided to focus on its ability to clean. That's where its competitors have made compromises, which makes no sense for a product that's supposed to save you work and make your life easier. But there are a few features I would like to see added to help justify the 360 Eye's $1,000 price tag.

The ability to manually steer the robot from the app to hit missed spots, or move it to another room, would be helpful. For comparison, Samsung's $1000 PowerBOT VR9000 can follow a red crosshair projected on floors to help it navigate to a specific area. That's a genuinely useful feature—not a gimmick. There's also no way to limit where the Eye 360 is cleaning except for setting up physical obstacles in doorways to keep it contained, and notifications, or an alarm, for when the robot got stuck, would be useful too.

Of all the robot vacuums I've tested, Dyson's 360 Eye is the first that will genuinely clean your floors as well as a manual vacuum cleaner can. That being said, it won't completely eliminate vacuuming from your weekly chore list. It will save you a lot of time, though, which is what Dyson is really selling here for $1,000. The company's first robot vacuum feels a little light on features given the steep price tag, but through software updates and improvements to its app, eventually you could, one day, never need to touch a vacuum ever again.

README

The first robot vacuum that's a vacuum first. Does a very good job at cleaning your floors thanks to solid battery life and a full-width brushbar.
The 360 Eye is a little on the tall side, but it also means it has a small footprint for squeezing into hard to clean areas.
The use of treads instead of wheels lets the 360 Eye easily climb over obstacles or transition between floor surfaces.
Automatic software updates over Wi-fi add functionality and improve performance so you don't have to reach for a USB cable.
At $1,000 you'll have to really hate pushing a vacuum around to buy one.
If you want to schedule a cleaning in the middle of the night, you'll need to leave some lights on.
Lacking a few useful features like the ability to remotely steer it from the app, or set up cleaning zones.

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r0B0t: Here's how a post-coal Appalachia could thrive

original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQXuHdTZ2Ak

Last year, a pair of anthropologists traveled to central Appalachia to talk to locals about the so-called “War on Coal.” They trekked across nine counties in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky, recorded hundreds of conversations, and published the results in a report for the Topos Partnership, a public interest communications firm.

Appalachians told the researchers they want independence, and they believe independence comes from work. Work used to come from coal, but mining jobs are fleeing the region. In the last five years, Kentucky and West Virginia shed 15,000 coal jobs.

“When we have coal, then we have money put into our communities, but when you don't have coal, your coal miners leave. They go places,” said a woman from Logan County, West Virginia. Coal miners could make upwards of $80,000 a year, and they spent their hard-earned dollars at the grocery down the block and the bar around the corner.

As coal departs, Appalachia is being forced to reinvent itself. Amid reports of economic decline are stories of rebirth, of communities reclaiming their independence.

Computer programming

Kentucky tech startup Bit Source is hiring out-of-work coal miners and teaching them to write code.

“The realization I had was that the coal miner, although we think of him as a person who gets dirty and works with his hands, really coal mines today are very sophisticated, and they use a lot of technology, a lot of robotics,” Rusty Justice, the firm's cofounder, told NPR. State officials are working to extend high-speed internet access to the Eastern Kentucky to support more ventures like Bit Source that provide well-paid jobs to coal veterans.

Clean energy and energy efficiency

Analysts say the shift to clean power will create more jobs than it eliminates. Enterprising coal workers are trying to bring a few of those jobs to Appalachia.

Retired Kentucky coal miner Carl Shoupe and his colleagues on the Benham Power Board are spearheading a citywide energy efficiency program. Contractors will make homes more power-thrifty — installing insulation, sealing windows, etc. — and homeowners will pay for the upgrades through a charge on their monthly electric bill. The charge will be less than what customers save on energy.

Shoupe believes communities that once ran on coal can add jobs and save money by investing in energy efficiency. According to a report from Synapse, an energy consulting firm, Kentucky could create more than 28,000 jobs by embracing energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Wine growing

In a region wounded by strip mining and mountaintop removal, some families are trying to heal the earth, transforming depleted mining sites into vineyards.

Virginia's David Lawson built Mountainrose Vineyard on fields that had been strip mined by his grandfathers, according to YES! Magazine. He named wines Jawbone and Pardee after coal seams.

Kentucky's Jack Looney, the son of a coal worker, built Highland Winery on a strip mine. Looney told the Associated Press that grapes grow well on land cleared by mountaintop removal. His wines pay tribute to the region's history with names like Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Coal Miner's Blood.

A culture of pragmatism

Appalachia's future remains tenuous. Coal is dying. Jobs are vanishing. Skilled workers are fleeing the region. But as the Topos report noted, Appalachians are pragmatic. Said a woman from Pike County, Kentucky, “Try something new — if it doesn't work, do something else, you know? Just try till you find what works.”

The biggest challenge may be the loss of identity. Difficult, backbreaking, and dangerous though it was, mining gave Appalachians a sense of purpose. It defined a region as gritty and determined. How do you go from wresting energy from the bowels of the earth to writing code or growing wine?

“I wanted to be a coal miner so bad I could taste it … I wanted to have that pride,” said former Virginia coal miner Nick Mullins in an interview. Mullins came to change with his surroundings. When he was 18, a mining company blew the top off the mountain behind the house where he grew up. He never wanted to mine again.

“What is life unless you can live it?” asked Mullins. “What is a community if it's not there anymore?”

This story was written and produced by Nexus Media.

Filed under: Business & Technology, Climate & Energy, Living

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r0B0t: Why Cats Love Boxes, Great Morning Podcasts, and a Sausage-Grilling Robot

In this week's Brain Buffet, we get to the bottom of why cats love to curl up in boxes or other small spaces, show off a vending machine that dispenses books, look at some podcasts to start your day, and much more.

Welcome to Lifehacker's Monday Brain Buffet, a series where we round up interesting, informative, and thought-provoking podcasts, interviews, articles, and other media that will teach you something new, inspire you, and hopefully start your week off on the right foot.

The Biblio-Mat, a Random Book Vending Machine

When bookstores put those shelves out front or around the side of their stores that advertise books for a dollar or two, people walk right past them and don't even think about it. When you put those same books in a vending machine that you can pop a couple of coins into and get a random book with the luck of the draw, well, suddenly that game aspect of the whole thing makes people flock to it and turns it into an interesting game of chance that's fun to play—and fun to watch. [via YouTube]

How to Make the Most of Your Convention Experience

Summer is here, Comic-Con started this weekend, and other huge conventions aren't far behind! If you're heading out to one, or heading to another major convention of some stripe, you'll need some tips to help you make the most of the experience. Of course, we have some great tips to help you survive, and to stay healthy while you're there, but this piece from Forces of Geek is also full of tips to make the most of your experience, not just survive while you're there. For example, they highlight the “5-2-1 Rule,” which mandates five hours of sleep per night, two full meals a day, and one shower a day—and all of those sound pretty damned important to me.

They also include some tips to avoid the dreaded Concrud, but also some great pointers to surviving the Dealer's Room:

The hard part of a dealers room is not breaking your convention budget. Believe it or not, most dealers are also fans and they know what you're going through. It's rare to see a dealer get pushy about making sales. Most are just happy to see you come by. Speaking as a dealer, even at conventions where my sales are low, I always see a bump in online sales after the event and that's because I know not everyone can buy something that weekend, but because I have good product and am not pushy, people appreciate that, and remember after the event to see what I have available when they do have the bucks to spend.
...
Best day to buy? That depends. If price is your number one concern, then do your shopping on Sunday (or whatever the last day is). The closer it is to the final hour for the dealers room at that event, the more likely you're going to find special clearance sales and offers. Dealers don't want to lug all that stuff back home (or worse… ship it), so many are going to slash some prices. Now, that said… it's a bit of a game. If you see something you want on Saturday, there's no guarantee it will still be there on Sunday—so you take your chances. And if you bought something at full price on Friday, and see it for nearly half price on Sunday, it may seem unfair, but there was always the chance there would not have been any left by Sunday. It's a bit of a gamble.

All in all, if you're headed a big convention—whether it's a comic, sci-fi, anime, or other gathering this summer or fall, it's worth a read to help you prepare. [via Forces of Geek]

The Most Bizarre Exports Around the Globe

Normally I don't include infographics in these roundups, but I love this one—mostly because some of the exports are just truly unique, and others make perfect sense. For example, the UK exports lemon curd to Kenya (which makes sense because Kenya isn't really known for its lemons and lemon curd is delicious) which is really interesting, but also China exports pandas to Canada, which is also really interesting. Almost as interesting as the fact that the US exports beer (specifically Brooklyn Brewery) to Sweden and wolf urine to Japan. [via Mental Floss]

What Are Some of Your Favorite Podcasts to Listen to in the Morning?

We've talked a lot about great podcasts and which ones you should listen to, but this thread at Quora is full of recomendations if you're looking for something to spice up your morning commute, or you're interested in trying something a little different.

http://lifehacker.com/the-best-infor…

There are well over a hundred answers, tons of links, and some great podcasts on topics all over the map. Here's one good answer with an mix of podcasts on various topics:

BBC's From Our Own Correspondent (an in-depth look at the stories behind the top news headlines around the world, told by BBC correspondents, journalists and writers in a captivating storytelling format; hosted by Kate Adie)
Optimize with Brian Johnson (condensed big ideas from the best books on optimal living and micro classes on how to apply these ideas; here's where I get a lot of book recommendations, including most recently Seneca's On the Shortness of Life)
Invisibilia (a show about invisible forces that affect and control human behavior: our ideas, beliefs, and emotions)
Intelligence Squared (the world's leading forum for debate and intelligent discussion; I like the diversity of topics that are covered and that include Brexit, democracy, foreign intervention, capitalism, the art market, contemporary literature, feminism, events in the Middle East)
The Memory Palace (storytelling podcast about events from the past)
Middle East Analysis (podcast on events happening in the Middle East and North Africa regions; the main contributor is international lawyer and political advisor Dr. Harry Hagopian)
This Is Your Life with Michael Hyatt (a podcast dedicated to living a life with more passion, working with greater focus, and pursuing goals that give purpose and meaning to our lives)

Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg, and just a few worth checking out. Seriously, scroll through the full thread—you might find some duds, but all in all there are at least a few you'll either be able to vouch for because you listen to them, or a few you'll want to subscribe to. [via Quora]

Why Cats Love Boxes So Much

Another Mental Floss piece, but I couldn't resist given the subject matter. After all, we all know that cats love boxes, but why? They also love small spaces like sinks and other small containers, but the reasons behind why are all poorly understood—however, you may have predicted the reason why:

Cats, Wilbourn reasons, take comfort in cramped spaces because it makes them feel more secure and dominant. “I think part of it goes back to when they were kittens and inside the womb, feeling safe and comforted. There's a feeling of coziness, being able to do what they want to do, and just feeling untouchable.”
Science has been able to support this theory. Animal behaviorists have studied stress levels in newly arrived shelter cats and found that felines with access to boxes had lower stress levels and faster adjustment periods than those without [PDF]. Even if they're not quite as protected as they think they are—you can pretty much do anything to a cat who is in a box as you could a cat who is outside of one—their perception may be that they're insulating themselves from harm.

Another good theory is that small spaces help cats retain body heat, which explains things like sinks in the summer time and cardboard boxes well, any other time. [via Mental Floss]

The Bratwurst Bot

You might not think a robot could do something that requires finesse like saute up the perfect bratwurst, but you'd be wrong. Not only does it handle the meat like a pro, it turns the sausages to make sure they get that delicious char on all sides, avoids overcooking them entirely (which is more than some people can say), and even serves them up and tells you to enjoy your meal.

I, for one, welcome our new sausage grilling robot masters. [via YouTube]

That's all for this week! If you have thought-provoking stories, interesting podcasts, eye-opening videos, or anything else you think would be perfect for Brain Buffet, share it with us! Email me, leave it as a comment below, or send it over any way you know how.

Title GIF by Nick Criscuolo. Additional photos by Mental Floss and yoppy.

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r0B0t: Today's Best Deals: Timbuk2 Flash Sale, Timex, Solar Lights, Hoover, and More

A great way to exercise at work, Timbuk2 flash sale, Timex watches, a $75 Hoover WindTunnel, and more lead Monday's best deals.

Top Deals

If you're looking for a powerful vacuum that'll suck up all that pet hair, but don't want to spend a fortune, look no further than Amazon's deal on the Hoover WindTunnel 3 Pro Pet. On sale for $75, you not only get a great bagless vacuum, it comes with the Pet Tool Pack, which includes a pet turbo tool, a pet upholstery tool, and a telescopic extension wand.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IT2ISZ0/…

Indochino is your favorite custom clothing company, and this week they're offering Kinja Deals readers their best shirt pricing ever. $279 gets you five shirts with promo code KINJA5. Read more about the deal here.

http://deals.kinja.com/indochinos-bes…

Some of our peers have Melania'd the discount we launched with Indochino back in May, so we can't call it an exclusive anymore. However, it's still the best pricing they've ever offered, so if you missed out last time or want more suits, here's your chance. Read more here.

http://deals.kinja.com/heres-the-best…

If you can't find the time to get to the gym every day, this under-desk elliptical lets you squeeze in some light exercise while you fill out your TPS reports. This typically sells for $170 on Amazon, and today's $100 Gold Box deal is the best price we've ever seen.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SIBYETQ/…

The complete Firefly DVD is still available for an all-time low $13, but if you're ready to chuck physical media out into the black, you can buy the full series (season) for $10 on Amazon and iTunes right now.

https://www.amazon.com/Firefly-Season…

If you want a Big Green Egg charcoal grill, but don't want to cash in your 401(k) to buy one, this Char-Griller alternative is down to an all-time low $288 today, and a great investment for meat lovers everywhere.

The Char-Griller Akorn Kamado Kooker features a 306 square inch cast iron cooking surface (which is most similar to the $829 large Big Green Egg), and traps heat inside a heavily-insulated stainless steel body. Our deal researcher, Corey, owns a BGE, and I asked him about it on Slack:

And I use my BGE for about 70% of meat meals.
Probably 90% during the warm months.
Best Father's Day gift I'll ever get.
Lana jokes that she's the one who benefits most because I cook on it all the time.
Worth the price just for its ability to cook pizza, IMO.
But pork chops, lions, tenderloin are beyond incredible on it.

Obviously, this isn't the “real thing,” but the consensus among Amazon reviewers is that it's at least nearly as good, which sounds like a decent compromise considering it's only about 1/3 of the price, and comes with a stable cart and folding shelves, both of which you'd need to buy separately with the Egg.

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Griller-K…

We see $10 off deals on PlayStation Plus just about every week, but today...are you sitting down? Today, you can save $11.

Running low on digital storage space, or just want to start keeping better backups? Amazon's marked the 2TB WD Elements external drive to $70, which is about as low at that capacity ever gets.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…

Fried foods are delicious. Fried foods will kill you. These are the laws of our cruel existence, and generally-speaking, there's no avoiding them. I'm not going to tell you that cooking foods with this $60 air fryer is healthy, but Chefman claims that it uses 80% less oil than conventional deep frying, resulting in less trans fat in your favorite meals.

https://www.amazon.com/Chefman-RJ38-E…

If you enjoy eating at Chili's, Macaroni Grill, Maggiano's, or On The Border, this discounted Brinker gift card is basically a free entree.

Another huge sale from Timbuk2 brings a ton of their excellent bags down to hard-to-resist levels. Be sure to let us know what you pick up in the comments.

The “midway” colorway of one of your five favorite carry-ons is down to $159.

http://co-op.kinja.com/these-are-your…

A few colors of your favorite messenger bag, the Commute/Command lines, are also discounted.

http://lifehacker.com/five-best-lapt…

Sporting a lower price and a built-in touchscreen, the GoPro Hero4 Silver might actually a better choice than the Hero4 Black for most consumers. Today on GoPro's eBay storefront, you can get a refurb for just $244, the best price we've seen. And since you're purchasing it direct from GoPro, it'll still be backed by a one year warranty.

http://gizmodo.com/gopro-hero4-bl…

The extremely versatile and reliable Timex Ironman watches are under $25 today only on Amazon. Water resistant of up to around 300 feet, take these on a few laps around the pool and cool off during this Heat Dome without worrying about how much time you're spending in the water.

The Logitech G502 was your choice for best gaming mouse (though you don't need to be a gamer to appreciate its benefits), and the upgraded Proteus Spectrum model (which includes fully adjustable backlighting) is on sale for an all-time low $60 today.

http://co-op.kinja.com/most-popular-g…

http://lifehacker.com/improve-your-v…

The marquee spec here is the DPI range of 200-12,000, adjustable on the fly. There are also five easily movable and removable weights, and 11 customizable buttons, along with the classic Logitech dual-mode scroll wheel. Mechanical microswitches and a braided cable are also nice touches.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B019OB663A/…

Update: Sold out.

These cheap LED lights can stick directly into your grass to light a path to your front door, and since they include built-in solar panels, you won't have to run any wires or replace any batteries. $18 for a 2-pack is one of the best deals we've seen on a product like this.

People keep saying that ethernet is dead, but every time we post a good deal on an ethernet switch, they fly off the virtual shelves. This one's so good that it's already somewhat backordered, so log onto Amazon and lock in your order before it's totally unplugged.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LNI5KN0/…

If you've never checked out Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale, you're missing out on some pretty awesome savings. The retailer puts a bunch of Fall and Winter styles on sale way before they go into the stores. Once the sale is over, you'll only be able to get them for full price, so you'd better get on it.

~~The MTA is a dumpster fire.~~ Anything short of Stockholm syndrome and you'll be having a bad time riding the MTA, and that's before taking the heat dome into account. Save on already-discounted uberPOOL rides during commuting hours with the Uber Commute Card.

Here's a stack of terms:

What to know
Redeem by: Wednesday, August 31, 2016
This offer is subject to Terms and Conditions
Your two-week Commute Card period will begin on the day you take your first ride; your first ride must be completed between August 1 and August 31, 2016
Valid Monday through Friday between the hours of 710 AM and 58 PM only. Trips must begin and end in Manhattan below 125th Street. Valid on $5 POOL service only
The total voucher cost includes New York sales tax ($3.91), New York Black Car Fund Fee ($1.07) and the uberPOOL Commute Card ($44.02)
$100 is a comparable retail price; MSRP is based off of two $5 uberPOOL rides per weekday
Offer is final sale; offer cannot be combined with other offers or promotions
Valid for new and existing Uber riders; limit one per person
May be used to obtain the discount stated on the Voucher until the “redeem by” date stated above; after that time, the customer may obtain a full refund of the purchase price of the Voucher by contacting Gilt City's customer service team

Restaurant Week is back with 3-course lunches and dinners for $29 and $42 respectively. It's a great excuse to try some new restaurants, but you can save even more (always) by maximizing your credit card rewards.

Amex is offering up to four $5 credits when you spend $35 or more on restaurant week meals, while Chase Freedom happens to be in the middle of their 5% back on dining rotating quarter. You have to manually activate both these offers.

So where's the threshold? If you value your 5% back on Chase at face value (Ultimate Rewards points are actually worth more or or less depending on how you redeem them), your check needs to exceed $100 to get more from your Chase Freedom, which isn't much of a stretch!

2200mAh is about as small as USB battery packs get, but this one includes a built-in Lightning connector so you can plug it directly into the bottom of your iPhone.

The Shark Navigator Lift-Away is one of your favorite affordable vacuums, and you can get a refurb from Amazon today for $90, or $46 less than buying a new one.

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If your home or apartment doesn't have screen doors installed, this easy-to-install magnetic curtain will achieve the same effect, meaning you can let in some fresh air, while keeping out the bugs.

Everyone needs a kitchen scale, and this $10 model from Etekcity is notable for its detachable bowl design.

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Tool collection seen better days? Everything you see above, plus a carrying case, is on sale for $99 today.

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It's a scientific fact that every outdoor space looks better with copper string lights, and while $30 isn't a particularly low price for a 66' strand with 200 bulbs, this set does include a remote that can power them on and off, and even make them dim, pulse, and strobe on demand.

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You never want to be in a situation where you need a solar and hand crank-powered weather radio with a flashlight and USB port for charging your phone, but you probably should buy it just in case. This one also includes a 130 lumen flashlight, and even an ultrasonic dog whistle.

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If you're still wrestling with a terrible inkjet printer at home, do yourself a solid and pick up the reliable Brother HL-2380DW monochrome laser printer today for just $80 (refurbished) today.

While it doesn't print in color, it more than makes up for that with the ability to spit out 32 pages per minute, duplex printing, and inexpensive toner cartridges that can last for years without being replaced. We've posted a lot of Brother deals in the past, and we've heard nothing but good things from readers about them. Plus, this particular model has a sterling 4.4 star review average on Amazon, a built-in scanner, and AirPrint and Google Cloud Print support, so it should serve you well for years.

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Hopefully you never need a dash cam, but owning one can really save your bacon in the result of an accident. This affordable TaoTronics model has all of the features most people need, and you can score one today for just $63.

That price gets you 1080p recording, night vision, auto on/off, and a g-force sensor to automatically lock your footage in the event of an accident. Now go film some meteors.

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If you still haven't watched Firefly, or just want to own a physical copy for posterity, the complete Blu-ray is down to $13 on Amazon, the best price ever listed. Shiny!

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You've heard of Automatic's smart driving assistant, but if $80-$100 is too rich for your blood, this cheap OBD2 dongle connects to any iPhone or Android device over Wi-Fi, and can fulfill many of the same functions using various third party apps.

https://www.amazon.com/Goliath-Indust…

Tech

Storage

Power

APC Back-UPS 700VA UPS | $60 | Best Buy

Audio

Jawbone MINI JAMBOX Portable Bluetooth Speaker | $50 | Best Buy
Bose SoundTrue Around-Ear Headphones II | $100 | Best Buy

Home Theater

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HP 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop, AMD A10, 6GB, 1TB HDD | $280 | eBay
Apple MacBook Air 13.3" - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 128GB Flash Storage Silver MMGF2LL/A | $800 | Best Buy
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EVGA 80 PLUS 600W ATX 12V/EPS 12V Power Supply | $30 | Best Buy

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Photography

Pinnacle Studio 19 Ultimate - Windows | $50 | Best Buy

Home

Metal Loft Bed, Full | $199 | Amazon
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Philips Norelco Beard & Head trimmer Series 5100 | $40 | Amazon

Camping & Outdoors

Ozark Trail Convertible Camp Bench, 225 lb Capacity | $29 | Walmart
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Movies & TV

Preorder Warcraft 4K Ultra HD | $13 | Target
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PC

Far Cry Primal | $30 | Amazon
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Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Pack | $20 | Amazon

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r0B0t: The Latest Episode of Mr. Robot Was an Extended Homage to Stanley Kubrick

After every episode of Mr. Robot before this past Wednesday night's, I ended up asking myself the same question: Is this TV show ripping off all its cinematic influences in order to combine them into something new, or is it just ripping them off?

But after Wednesday's episode, the series' most referential yet, I'm starting to think that the show is up to more than just nodding toward the giants on whose shoulders it stands. This time, if you connect the dots between the allusions, they begin to form a bigger picture.

A few recappers noted one or two individual Kubrick references in “eps2.1_k3rnel-pan1c.ksd,” but no one seems to have put them all together, revealing how each of the episode's three principal storylines echoes a different Kubrick movie.

Eyes Wide Shut

Let's start with the first Kubrick reference I noticed in the episode:

Angela's storyline begins when E Corp CEO Phillip Price propositions her with a mysterious, vaguely sexual invitation: “Have you ever had dinner at Fidelio's?” Fidelio is the name of Beethoven's only opera, and it derives from the Latin for faithful, but any Kubrick diehard will recognize it first and foremost as the passcode used to get into the secret gatherings in Eyes Wide Shut. Given the nod, it seems like no coincidence that Angela's entrance into the restaurant is soundtracked by a song called “Just Say the Word.”

Angela's plotline also echoes the journey of Tom Cruise's character in Eyes Wide Shut, Dr. Bill Harford, in other ways. Like Harford, Angela finds herself for the first time infiltrating the luxe lives of shadowy men of power. And as with him, what might have seemed like an erotic encounter becomes nothing but creepy. In each case, the protagonist eventually discovers that the powerful men have conspired together to cover up some nefarious deaths.

Dr. Strangelove

While the Angela plotline echoes Eyes Wide Shut, the Dominique DiPierro (Grace Gummer) plotline echoes Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. This is most obvious when we she unearths the poster for F Society's “End of the World Party,” which completely rips off a poster design for Dr. Strangelove, and if you look closely, even bears the subtitle “Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love F Society.”

In fact, her whole plotline in this episode finds her obsessed—and perhaps vaguely attracted to—the end of the world. She attempts to have cybersex with “happyhardonhenry806,” a man whose priapic moniker is reminiscent of Strangelove's own “Buck Turgidson.” When she stops, she asks her Amazon Echo, “Alexa, when is the end of the world?”

The Shining

Elliot's plotline is about being cooped up and going mad, so it's appropriate that it's packed with references to The Shining. The most obvious one is one of Elliot's hallucinations, which shows two twins wearing blue dresses with white ribbons. Interestingly, creator Sam Esmail (who also wrote and directed the episode) also tosses in a third girl wearing Kubrick's favorite color. In fact, there are splashes of the same shade of bright red throughout the episode, which add in a more subliminal way to the Kubrickian feel.

And then there's Elliot's attempt to stay sane and avoid relapse by writing in his notebook, which echoes Jack Torrance's attempts to keep his head and try not to fall off the wagon by working on his manuscript. We were introduced to this coping mechanism in the season premiere, but in this episode it falls apart in rather Shining-esque fashion:

* * *

This is not the first time that Mr. Robot has tipped its cap to Kubrick, of course (nor is Mr. Robot the first TV drama to salute the cinematic master). Esmail has spoken about how he “was doing Kubrick film festivals at my house when I was in high school,” and in an interview with Vulture last year, he spoke about how “one of the biggest influences on the show is Stanley Kubrick in general”:

In terms of Clockwork, the title cards are an inspiration. There are these glasses that I make Darlene [Carly Chaikin] wear that are a little bit of a nod to Lolita. And, actually, it's not a huge spoiler, but there'll be a little bit of a nod to Dr. Strangelove in the season finale that people can look out for.

What does this all add up to? I think it has something to do with another recurring theme in the episode: the F-word.

As Slate TV critic Willa Paskin noted in her smart review of the premiere, the second season of Mr. Robot spends a lot of time critiquing itself. With its repeated idle banter about Seinfeld, its disses directed at NCIS (which, as Paskin points out, airs in reruns on USA), and its harrowing depiction of the sheer sadness of watching Vanderpump Rules, Mr. Robot has more and more become a TV show that doesn't just push the boundaries of television but also draws attention to its limits.

And while regular Slate contributor Sam Adams sees all this episode's bleeped-out F-words as a symptom of the show's juvenile attempts to be subversive, I see them differently: as Mr. Robot's way of highlighting the limits of what you can and can't say on TV.

After all, “eps2.1_k3rnel-pan1c.ksd” doesn't just bleep the F-word, it's largely about censored F-words. Why else would it not only repeat the word so many times but open and close the episode with the origin of the name “F Society”? And soundtrack its main montage with a song by a band called Holy F---? And go out of its way to black out the word on screen, in a manner that makes it look not so much bleeped as redacted?

The episode even includes a (censored) F-word in both its final shot and its final line, with DiPierro looking at the sign on F Society headquarters and exclaiming, “You've gotta be f---ing kidding me.” You can imagine Esmail wanting to write the word into his screenplay and thinking the same thing.

This surprisingly jokey ending also reminds me of another movie that uses the F-word as its final punchline: Eyes Wide Shut. In the movie's closing exchange of dialogue, Nicole Kidman's character tells her husband, “You know, there is something very important we need to do as soon as possible.” When her husband asks, “What's that?” she responds, “Fuck.”

After pulling off the unlikely feat of putting must-watch prestige television on the USA Network, Esmail has been given more creative control than just about anyone else on television. But while he's now free to make the show about as cinematic as he wants, he's still running up against restrictions. After pulling off the nifty trick of changing “Fun Society” to “F Society,” he wants to point out that there's still at least one thing he can't say: “Fuck Society.”

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r0B0t: What's the most eco-friendly material for a 3D printer?

"3D-printer-shutterstock-c"

Q. Dear Umbra,

Is there a way to know and compare the sustainability qualities of 3D printer “inks”?

Guest
Sacramento, California

A. Dearest Guest,

When people of decades past envisioned The Future, I'm fairly certain they pictured a desktop appliance capable of constructing everything from car parts to calzones, right alongside all the jetpacks, spaceships, and friendly robot maids. Even now, the concept sounds so sci-fi: a portable machine that can build pretty much any object we can dream up, layer by ultrathin layer. But The Future is here, my friends — and with it, the same questions of sustainability we should be asking about all of the other technological breakthroughs of modern life. I look forward to writing the inevitable column about jetpack energy efficiency somewhere down the line.

But today, we're looking at 3D printer “inks,” which are really better described as “materials.” There's nothing really inky about the various plastic, metal, ceramic, wood, paper, and other ingredients that get loaded into these printers and then squeezed out into any number of products. The possibilities are seemingly endless: You can even use foods and, wow, biological components like cells and tissues as base materials. So you can see how a question like yours, Guest, quickly becomes “How can you compare the sustainability qualities of … pretty much anything?”

However, I doubt the average person is out in the garage printing ears (paging Dr. Frankenstein, amiright?). Owners of at-home 3D printers are probably sticking to a much narrower range of materials — most likely different sorts of plastic. So let's take a closer look at those options, shall we?

The two most commonly used plastics in the consumer 3D printing world are ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, for the chemistry buffs) and PLA (polylactic acid). Both are known as thermoplastics, which means they can be easily melted down and molded. And environmentally, there's a clear winner here: PLA. That's because it's a bioplastic derived from renewable materials such as corn, sugarcane, or tapioca. PLA is not without its issues, true, but unlike other plastics, it's not based on petroleum and requires less energy to produce. What's more, it's compostable via commercial composting outfits, if not in your own backyard. Also in the plus column: It releases fewer irritating fumes than other plastics when the 3D printer is doing its thing. PLA isn't suitable for every use — it can't handle the highest temperatures, for one — but it's among the greenest choices out there.

ABS isn't exactly an eco-villain, though. It's tough (as anyone who has ever stepped on an errant LEGO brick can attest) and long-lasting, which is better than a less-durable, more-disposable plastic. And though it's a petro-plastic, it's at least recyclable. And there's at least one ABS filament on the market that claims to be biodegradable.

There are a bunch of other plastic options, of course, among them nylon, PET, high-impact polystyrene, polycarbonate, and PVA (polyvinyl alcohol). PVA stands out in this crew because it's water-soluble and biodegradable. PET — the stuff from which our disposable plastic water bottles spring — also shows promise as an eco-friendly material because you might soon be able to recycle your old bottles into printer filament at home.

Beyond plastics, this question really begins to expand. I've seen all kinds of creative non-plastic gizmos popping out the business end of a 3D printer: rings, lamp shades, paper cathedrals, wooden owl figurines, and the list goes on. So rather than droning on about the relative merits of aluminum versus stainless steel versus gold, ceramic, and porcelain, I'll leave you with a framework to evaluate those materials on a case-by-case basis. One, how impactful is the production of the raw material? Is it highly energy-intensive or toxic? Two, how durable is it? Will your creation serve for many years, or is it destined to be a flimsy throwaway? And three, what happens at the end of its useful life? Can this material be easily composted or recycled, or will it end up in the landfill? You'll have to do some research, Guest, but these questions will guide you to the greenest options for whatever project you're cooking up.

In the meantime, I'll be dreaming about the The Future. I do hope it doesn't take too long for the flux capacitor to get here.

Extrudedly,
Umbra

Filed under: Business & Technology, Living

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r0B0t: The Hillary Haters

In 1996, the New Yorker published “Hating Hillary,” Henry Louis Gates' reported piece on the widespread animosity for the thenFirst Lady. “Like horse-racing, Hillary-hating has become one of those national pastimes which unite the élite and the lumpen,” Gates wrote. “[T]here's just something about her that pisses people off,” the renowned Washington hostess Sally Quinn told Gates. “This is the reaction that she elicits from people.”

It might seem as though nothing much has changed in 20 years. Many people disliked Hillary Clinton when she first emerged onto the political scene, and many people dislike her now. She is on track to become the least popular Democratic nominee in modern history, although voters like Donald Trump even less.

But over the last two decades, the something that pisses people off has changed. Speaking to Gates, former Republican speechwriter Peggy Noonan described “an air of apple-cheeked certitude” in Clinton that is “political in its nature and grating in its effects.” Noonan saw in Clinton “an implicit insistence throughout her career that hers were the politics of moral decency and therefore those who opposed her politics were obviously of a lower moral order.”

Noonan's view was a common one. Take, for example, Michael Kelly's 1993 New York Times Magazine profile, mockingly titled “Saint Hillary.” “Since she discovered, at the age of 14, that for people less fortunate than herself the world could be very cruel, Hillary Rodham Clinton has harbored an ambition so large that it can scarcely be grasped,” Kelly wrote. “She would like to make things right. She is 45 now and she knows that the earnest idealisms of a child of the 1960s may strike some people as naive or trite or grandiose. But she holds to them without any apparent sense of irony or inadequacy.” Kelly's piece painted Clinton as a moralist, a meddler, a prig.

Few people dislike Hillary Clinton for being too moralistic anymore. In trying to understand the seemingly eternal phenomenon of Hillary hatred, I've spoken to people all around America who revile her. I've interviewed Trump supporters, conventional conservatives, Bernie Sanders fans, and even a few people who reluctantly voted for Clinton in the Democratic primary but who nevertheless say they can't stand her. Most of them described a venal cynic. Strikingly, the reasons people commonly give for hating Clinton now are almost the exact opposite of the reasons people gave for hating her in the 1990s. Back then, she was a self-righteous ideologue; now she's a corrupt tool of the establishment. Back then, she was too rigid; now she's too flexible. Recently, Morning Consult polled people who don't like Clinton about the reasons for their distaste. Eighty-four percent agreed with the statement “She changes her positions when it's politically convenient.” Eighty-two percent consider her “corrupt.” Motives for loathing Clinton have evolved. But the loathing itself has remained constant.

* * *

Brian Greene is a 49-year-old accountant and financial analyst who lives in the Chicago suburbs. He was a conservative in the 1990s and despised both Clintons. “I thought she was someone who came off as a bit entitled and kind of full of herself,” he says of Hillary. His view then, he says, was that she was “Bill without the charisma.”

Greene became disillusioned with the right due to the Iraq war; he supported Howard Dean in 2004 and now describes himself as a libertarian-ish liberal. Yet while his politics changed, his aversion to Clinton did not. He actually voted for her in the Illinois primary—Sanders, he says, didn't seem like a plausible president. But he did so with a complete lack of enthusiasm. Had the Republicans elevated someone “sane” such as John Kasich, he says, he'd return to the GOP in November. “She strikes me as so programmed and almost robotic,” he says of Hillary. “I don't think her recent move to the left, or being more populist recently, is part of who she is but more of a reaction to Sanders in the race.”

Greene says he'd have preferred to vote for Elizabeth Warren, even though Clinton's more centrist politics are closer to his own. He's not sure that likability should matter to him, but it does. “I like to think it's more about policy and what they do, but for me it's like, do you want to see this person on television for eight years, or four years,” he says. “For better or worse, the president is someone who represents the country and will be part of your life.”

There are certainly people who don't like Clinton because they don't like her record and her proposals. Marcella Aburdene, a 31-year-old market researcher in Washington, D.C., has a Palestinian father and is horrified by what she sees as Clinton's hawkishness and allegiance to Israel. “She is disingenuous and she lies blatantly, but that's what a lot of politicians do,” Aburdene says. “It's definitely more of a policy issue for me.” She plans to vote for the Green Party's Jill Stein in November.

For many, however, resistance to Clinton goes beyond policy. “It's not that I just don't like Hillary's positions,” says Margo Guryan Rosner, a Los Angeles songwriter (her work has been recorded by Julie London, Mama Cass, and Harry Belafonte, among others) and Sanders devotee. “I don't like her.” Like many of the people I spoke to, Rosner's antipathy doesn't follow a precise ideological trajectory. Now 78, she says her negative feelings about Clinton first arose during Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. Rosner says she was especially irritated when, in response to criticism of her work at the Rose Law Firm, Hillary said, “You know, I suppose I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas, but what I decided to do was to fulfill my profession.”

“That bugged me,” says Rosner. “She was putting down regular women, people who stay home and take care of kids and bake cookies.” It's not that Rosner was offended on behalf of housewives; she herself has always had a career. “I just thought it was a stupid comment,” she says. “I don't think she's as smart as most people think she is, or seem to think she is.”

Rosner also makes a fairly standard progressive case against Clinton. “I don't like her support for the Iraq war,” she says. “She didn't support same-sex marriage until it became a popular issue. Her email stuff—she is the only one that would not testify, and I think that's bullshit. I don't like her friendship with Netanyahu. I think they've destroyed the Middle East with Iraq. I don't like that she takes money from big banks. She doesn't support universal health care. For all those reasons. I think she's more a Republican than a Democrat, and I refuse to vote for Republicans, ever.”

All the same, Rosner says she would happily vote for Joe Biden, who also voted for the Iraq war. In the Senate, Biden was known for his deep ties to the credit card industry, and as a presidential candidate, he didn't support universal health insurance. “Yeah, Biden does not have all the positions I would like, but he has a certain kind of humanity that touches me,” she says.

Several of the people I spoke to see Clinton as lacking in humanity. It's not just that they don't like her—they also feel, on some level, that she doesn't like them. “I don't think she has a clue what people in my position need in life and certainly wouldn't stoop to, quote unquote, my level,” says Mindy Gardner, a 49-year-old in Davenport, Iowa, who works in the produce section of a Hy-Vee grocery store. “If I could make her a profit she'd be my best friend, but I can't, so she doesn't know I exist.”

Gardner, who raised two children as a single mother, says she felt vaguely positive about Bill Clinton when he was elected in 1992. In 2008, she supported John McCain, and in this election she's become a passionate Sanders backer. She sees Hillary Clinton as integral to the economic system that has left her struggling. “I've been working since I was 12. It seems like when I was working as a kid, my money went further than it does now as an adult, just trying to feed the kids. I could work 40 hours a week and go live in the Y because that's all you can afford,” she says.

The Clintons, says Gardner, “removed a lot of sanctions against companies and changed a lot of laws so companies could pay their workers less, fight unions, fight health care.” Employment used to come with security and benefits, she says. “That was just common knowledge, all those things you got when you worked your butt off for a company.” Clinton, she believes, had a hand in taking all that away. “Bill and Hillary's friends were all rich, they were the ones who owned all these companies, why not use your power to let everyone in your circle get as rich as humanly possible?”

Several of the policies Clinton has put forth would help Gardner. When I ask her about Clinton's proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 per hour, Gardner says, “I would like to make $12 an hour, that would be nice.” But it almost doesn't matter what Clinton's policies are, because Gardner doesn't trust her to enact any of them. “If she was moving her lips she was probably lying about it,” she says.

* * *

Some who loathe Clinton see her as the living embodiment of avarice and deception. These Clinton haters take at face value every charge Republicans have ever hurled at her, as well as dark accusations that circulate online. They have the most invidious possible explanation for Whitewater, the dubious real estate deal that served as a pretext for endless Republican investigations of the Clintons in the 1990s. (Clinton was never found guilty of any wrongdoing, though one of her business partners, James McDougal, went to prison for fraud in a related case.) Sometimes they believe that Clinton murdered her former law partner, Vince Foster, who committed suicide in 1993. They hold her responsible for the deadly attack on the American outpost in Benghazi, Libya. Peter Schweizer's new book Clinton Cash has convinced them that there was a corrupt nexus between Clinton's State Department, various foreign governments, and the Clinton family's foundation. Most of Schweizer's allegations have either been disproven or shown to be unsubstantiated, but that hasn't stopped Trump from invoking them repeatedly. In his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, he accused Clinton of raking in “millions of dollars trading access and favors to special interests and foreign powers.”

As former New York Times editor-in-chief Jill Abramson wrote, “I would be ‘dead rich,' to adapt an infamous Clinton phrase, if I could bill for all the hours I've spent covering just about every ‘scandal' that has enveloped the Clintons.” After all that investigation, Abramson concluded that Clinton “is fundamentally honest and trustworthy.” But the appearance of perpetual scandal surrounding Clinton can make it seem as if she must be hiding something monstrous, especially to those who are predisposed against her.

“I think that Hillary Clinton is a sociopath, so I think that her main interest is in her pocketbook, and I think that's obvious from looking at the Clinton Foundation,” says Uday Sachdeva, a 22-year-old Trump supporter from Georgia who is about to start medical school.

Sachdeva, the son of Indian Hindu immigrants, produces a podcast about sports and politics with a childhood friend, and he offers a precisely detailed—if hallucinatory—Clinton demonology, like a fantasy-football obsessive spitting out statistics. “There's 47 suspicious deaths around Hillary Clinton. Eleven of them are her personal bodyguards, and you have Bill Clinton's alleged rape victims,” he says. He lists a number of these figures, explaining the dubious circumstances of their demises. Some of the names are familiar, like McDougal, who died of a heart attack in a Texas prison in 1998. Others are more obscure, at least to anyone who hasn't put in hours on conspiracy websites.

“Paula Grober, Clinton's interpreter for the deaf, traveled with Clinton from 1978 to 1992, died in a one-car accident,” Sachdeva says. “There was another one where they found the brakes cut of a motorcycle and he slammed into the back of a truck. That would be Keith Coney.” (According to Clinton conspiracy theorists, Coney, 19, had information about the death of two 17-year-olds who'd witnessed a drug-smuggling operation linked to Bill Clinton.)

“It's just a bunch of suspicious circumstances that all these people were friends of Hillary Clinton,” Sachdeva says. I asked him where he was getting his information, and he listed a number of sources, including Snopes.com—which has indeed reported on rumors about the Clinton body count but only to debunk them. When I mention this, Sachdeva is unfazed. “I have a propensity to think that there's a little bit of fire in the smoke,” he says.

Not all the likely Trump voters I spoke to were quite so febrile, but like Sachdeva, they express a loathing that transcends ideology. Denny Butcher, a 44-year-old Army veteran in Raleigh, North Carolina, thinks Barack Obama's politics are worse than Hillary Clinton's but finds Obama far more personable. “I was against him from the very beginning, because I feel like he is about as left as left can be, until Bernie Sanders came along,” Butcher says of Obama. “He believes the opposite of what I do on almost every issue.” All the same, he says, “If I met Barack Obama on the street, there's a good chance I'd say he's a decent guy. I don't get that feeling from Hillary Clinton. I don't feel like she's a likable person at all. At all. I think she feels like she's above the law, and she's above us peasants.”

Butcher was raised to be a Democrat, and he voted for Bill Clinton in 1992. He's since moved right and voted for Ted Cruz in the North Carolina primary; he plans to vote for Trump in the general. He always disliked Hillary, he says, and his distaste intensified when, as First Lady, she was put in charge of health care reform. “I felt like she's not an elected official and she's trying to take liberties with a position that was an unelected position. I felt like it was not her job to be involved with legislation,” he says.

In Butcher's aversion to what he perceived to be Clinton's sense of entitlement, I started to see how contemporary loathing of Hillary overlaps with the '90s version. Her enemies' caricature of her has flipped from Madame Defarge, Charles Dickens' revolutionary villainess, to Marie Antoinette, symbol of callous aristocracy, but the sense of Clinton's insulting presumption has remained constant.

Aside from Al Gore, whoever Bill Clinton had put in charge of health care reform would have been unelected; presidents make lots of appointments that have legislative consequences. (No one elected Robert F. Kennedy to be John F. Kennedy's attorney general.) To me, at least, it sounded as if Butcher was angry that Hillary had stepped outside the role of a typical First Lady, that she had transgressed certain gender constraints. But like most Hillary haters, Butcher rejects the idea that gender has anything to do with his antipathy. “Not at all,” he says. “Absolutely not. Nope.”

Also like a lot of people who despise Clinton, Butcher finds her invocations of gender infuriating. “I think she's trying to tell people, ‘Vote for me because I'm a woman,' ” he says. “Ignore the fact that I have accomplished practically nothing significant in my whole career in the public eye, but I'm a woman, so vote for me.”

Listening to Butcher brought me back to Rosner. Their politics are very different, but their assessments of Hillary Clinton are strikingly similar. Like Butcher, she's irritated by what she sees as Clinton's gender-based pitch. “She's a grandmother. So am I. Big deal,” Rosner says. Like Butcher, Rosner felt that Clinton had overstepped as First Lady. “She and her husband were putting her right out in front, and she didn't handle herself well,” she says. “She certainly wasn't a Michelle Obama.” Unlike Hillary, says Rosner, Michelle Obama “seems to say the right thing at the right time, and she is very supportive of her husband and her children, even staying in Washington after they leave office so that one of her children doesn't have to switch schools. That's a big deal.” Rosner may be very liberal, but not all our gut reactions are governed by politics.

* * *

It could be that the reasons people give for disliking Clinton have changed simply because she herself has changed. She entered the White House as a brashly self-confident liberal. Early on, some of the president's advisers sought to undermine her plans for health care reform because they were thought to be insufficiently business-friendly; in response, Carl Bernstein, one of her biographers, quotes her snapping at her husband, “You didn't get elected to do Wall Street economics.” Then, after the epic repudiation of the 1994 midterms, in which Republicans won a House majority for the first time since 1952, she overcorrected—becoming too cautious, too compromising, too solicitous of entrenched interests. As she would say during her 2000 Senate campaign, “I now come from the school of small steps.”

In other words, people hated Hillary Clinton for being one sort of person, and in response to that she became another sort of person, who people hated for different reasons. But this doesn't explain why the emotional tenor of the hatred seems so consistent, even as the rationale for it has turned inside out. Perhaps that's because anti-Hillary animus is only partly about what she does. It's also driven by some ineffable quality of charisma, or the lack of it.

No doubt, this quality is gendered; Americans tend not to like ambitious women with loud voices. As Rebecca Traister wrote in her recent New York magazine profile of Clinton, “It's worth asking to what degree charisma, as we have defined it, is a masculine trait. Can a woman appeal to the country in the same way we are used to men doing it?” Elizabeth Warren's forthright authenticity is often favorably contrasted with Clinton's calculated persona, but when Warren was running for Senate against Scott Brown, she was also widely painted as dishonest and unlikable. (According to one poll, even Democrats found Brown more personally appealing.) This fits a broader pattern. Marianne Cooper, a sociologist at Stanford's Clayman Institute for Gender Research and the lead researcher on Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, says that women who are successful in areas that are culturally coded as male are typically seen as “abrasive, conniving, not trustworthy, and selfish.”

What's happening to Clinton, says Cooper, “happens to a lot of women. There are millions of people who will say about another woman: She's really good at her job, I just don't like her. They think they're making an objective evaluation, but when we look at the broader analysis, there is a pattern to the bias.”

Among hardcore Trump supporters, the misogyny often isn't subtle. The Republican National Convention seethed with a visceral, highly personalized, and highly sexualized contempt toward Clinton. Men wore T-shirts that said, “Hillary Sucks but Not Like Monica” on one side and “Trump That Bitch” on the backs. Buttons and bumper stickers read, “Life's a Bitch: Don't Vote For One.” One man wore a Hillary mask and sat behind a giant yellow sign saying “Trump vs. Tramp.” Another, an RNC volunteer, was dressed up like Septa Unella from Game of Thrones and held a naked blowup doll with Clinton's face attached, re-enacting a scene in which Cersei Lannister, a murderous queen, is stripped naked and marched through the streets before jeering throngs. The right-wing fantasy of seeing Clinton degraded and humiliated has rarely been performed so starkly.

Most Americans, however, are not frothing partisans. For many of them, something in addition to sexism is at work in Clinton's unpopularity—some mystery of mass media connection. There's a reason actors do screen tests: Not everyone's charm translates to film and video. For as long as Hillary Clinton has been in public life, people who've met in her person have marveled at how much more likable she is in the flesh than she is on television. “What's remarkable isn't that she can be funny, spontaneous, and mischievous, and has a loud, throaty laugh; what's remarkable is the extent to which she has sequestered her personality from the media,” Gates wrote in 1996.

Twenty years later, Traister discovered a similar disconnect. “The conviction that I was in the presence of a capable, charming politician who inspires tremendous excitement would fade and in fact clash dramatically with the impressions I'd get as soon as I left her circle: of a campaign imperiled, a message muddled, unfavorables scarily high,” she wrote. “To be near her is to feel like the campaign is in steady hands; to be at any distance is to fear for the fate of the republic.”

Republican strategist Katie Packer sees parallels between Clinton and Mitt Romney, for whom Packer served as deputy campaign manager in 2012. “In a lot of ways her weaknesses are very similar to Mitt's weaknesses,” Packer tells me. “She's somebody who is kind of a policy nerd, somebody who is very solution-oriented. She just does not have great people skills. Because of that, whenever something goes wrong, people don't give her the benefit of the doubt. They don't trust her.” Politically, this is a hard dynamic to overcome; Clinton's efforts to appear relatable only make her seem more calculating. “It comes across as stilted and staged and for a purpose, so it defeats the purpose,” says Packer.

The analogy only goes so far, however, because Romney never attracted the amount of venom that Clinton has, either from within or without his party. Which leads us back to gender. Packer is the co-founder of Burning Glass Consulting, an all-female firm that specializes in helping Republican candidates reach female voters. She has spent a lot of time studying how people react to female candidates. “The benefit you get from being a woman running is, No. 1, you're seen as more empathetic, more relatable, having deeper feelings about things, not just approaching things in an unemotional way,” Packer says. “And 2, you're seen as not a typical politician.”

If that's true, it's possible that when a woman approaches politics in a coolly pragmatic way—when she shows herself to be, in many ways, a typical politician—it makes people particularly uncomfortable. If Packer is right, not only is Clinton not behaving the way a woman is supposed to behave; she's not behaving the way a woman politician is supposed to behave. She's not a mama grizzly like Sarah Palin circa 2008 or a brassy dame like former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. “Because she's not very good at these qualities that are viewed as more feminine, she loses the benefit on that front, too,” says Packer.

For Democrats, the silver lining is that Clinton's running against Donald Trump. “I think she won the lottery ticket,” Packer says. According to Packer, there's a way to make independent and moderate Republican women soften toward Hillary Clinton: Go after her husband's infidelity. “One thing that causes them to come to her defense is when they feel like she's being blamed for her husband's bad behavior,” Packer says. Trump has done exactly that, attacking Hillary as an “enabler” of her husband's sexual misdeeds. “The one Republican who is incapable of not bullying her is going to be her opponent,” says Packer. “The one Republican who is incapable of showing any empathy in his own right is going to be her opponent.”

That makes it more likely that many voters will do what Brian Greene did and vote for Clinton despite their distaste. Should that happen, it remains to be seen if Hillary hatred shapes her ability to govern. Cooper thinks it's possible that once she's no longer explicitly competing for power, the widespread public dislike of her might ebb. “When she announces she's running for something, her unfavorability increases,” Cooper says of Clinton. “When she's in a role, her favorability starts to creep up again.” Figures from the Pew Research Center bear this out. Clinton's favorability ratings fell to 49 percent when she was running for Senate in 2000, then went up to 60 percent when she entered office. They've fallen below 50 percent during both presidential campaigns but reached 66 percent when she was secretary of state.

“It may be that the moment she starts to claim more power, it elicits a negative response,” Cooper says. We might soon find out if the same thing happens once the power is hers.

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r0B0t: Always Be Marketing: The New Mantra for Today's TV Shows

This article originally appeared in Vulture.

When Mr. Robot aired its season-one finale last September, USA Network execs were understandably happy about the show's solid ratings, amazing buzz, and clear brand-changing potential. The launch was nothing short of a triumph, particularly in an era when grabbing viewers' attention sometimes seems next to impossible. Until recently, USA might have been content to simply bask in that success for a few months, shifting its focus to other series until the time came to begin hyping last week's season-two premiere. But that's not how it works in the age of on-demand viewership: With audiences trained to consume shows however (and whenever) they want, networks are now promoting their biggest titles year-round, particularly when such series are in their infancy. Indeed, as soon as Robot season one ended, USA was already actively pushing audiences who'd heard the buzz about Robot to binge the show online, while figuring out ways to keep those already hooked thinking about the series up until its return. “You can never stop messaging your franchise,” says Alexandra Shapiro*, executive VP of marketing and digital for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Networks group. “The moment you stop is the moment the fans stop paying attention.”

Networks have different names for the new never-ending marketing. AMC talks about “Live plus 365,” playing off Nielsen's various ratings measurement windows; Shapiro and her USA colleagues call it “the always-on phenomenon.” Whatever the terminology, the consensus in the TV industry is, with apologies to David Mamet, that networks should Always Be Marketing. Rob Sharenow, general manager of Lifetime and A&E, says the evolution in how viewers watch TV is what has prompted this seismic shift in how networks manage their programming assets. “It used to be enough to just say, ‘Okay, Project Runway is coming back. Let's just throw some promos on leading up to the premiere,'” he explains. “Now, it's a more complicated, multilayered, ongoing game to keep your engagement, to keep people consuming it.” Or, as AMC/Sundance chief Charlie Collier puts it, “It's our job to keep shows alive all year long.”

The continuous loop of hype has been particularly aggressive with shows launched in 2015 and early 2016. TBS has kept the spotlight on its Rashida Jones slapstick comedy Angie Tribeca by shortening the window between seasons. Because the network had ordered a second season six months before the show's premiere, TBS was able to have season two on the air just a few months after the weekly run of season one ended. “The awareness of the show was so much higher because season one had just finished airing,” says TBS programming chief Brett Weitz. “We didn't have to work as hard. We didn't have to start from a walk—we were starting from a nice comfortable jog.”

Lifetime leaned into critical accolades as part of its intraseason promotion of UnREAL. Awards voters and even TV journalists were targeted, with the network sending the latter group a “binge-watch survival kit” featuring the full first season of the show on DVD and assorted munchies. While networks and studios have been wooing TV Academy members for years with For Your Consideration campaigns, including journalists and critics is less common. “We were conscious of smart influencers we knew who liked the show,” Sharenow says. “In season one, no one knew what it was. In season two, we already had a lot of critical accolades, and true fans of the show, in the communities we respect. So we went deep with influencers in all the marketing.” The show's Peabody win in April allowed Lifetime to once again cast the show as a major brand departure, just as the network was gearing up its campaign for Emmy nominations. While reviews and awards might not always result in big ratings gains, Sharenow believes they've become far more important in the VOD era. “The role critics and commentators play has been very elevated,” he says. “People want stuff curated, and they want their choices validated.” (Lifetime's year-round marketing of the show has also included the network's first-ever digital spinoff series, The Faith Diaries, which launched in April and featured a key character from season one.)

AMC didn't need to do anything special to get audiences to sample Fear the Walking Dead. The Walking Dead spinoff benefited from being associated with the biggest show on TV among viewers under 50. And yet, per Collier's “Live plus 365” effort, the network made sure to keep audiences engaged with the newbie zombies in between seasons. Once Fear wrapped its shortened six-episode freshman season, AMC had a digital offshoot called Flight 462 ready to go. The roughly 20-minute short was sliced into 16 installments, with a new one airing during commercial breaks of the original's sixth season. A character from 462 then made the transition to Fear when that series returned for season two. The network has also been a leader in using fan-centric platforms such as Comic-Con to help drive year-round interest in The Walking Dead and even Breaking Bad. And while viewers haven't always loved the idea of split seasons, AMC's early decision to serve up single Dead seasons in two distinct chunks was a savvy way of keeping audiences attached to the show for longer period of time (while also allowing late adopters to catch up between half-seasons).

In the case of Mr. Robot, USA made sure (as most networks do these days) to keep the show available on the network's video on demand platform, allowing cable subscribers who'd heard echoes of last summer's drumbeat of praise for the show to catch up. But then, at the start of 2016, it did something unusual: It put together a sort of director's cut of the show for VOD platforms in which episodes ran with unbleeped profanity and unedited adult content, as well as very limited commercials. “We re-pitched the entire season (to viewers) as an almost binge-like experience,” Shapiro says. USA stepped up its marketing of this sort of Robot 1.1, and VOD plays of the show “skyrocketed” in January, she says. Another bump came after the network's aggressive campaign for the Golden Globes paid off with two wins for the show. Shapiro and her team kept the momentum going in March by investing heavily in SXSW, where the show had premiered a year earlier. “We owned the skyline there,” she says, literally speaking: USA transported the show's Coney Island ferris wheel to Austin for the convention, sparking a sizable social-media response.

For executives such as Shapiro, the job of selling TV shows was “a lot easier five, ten years ago,” when marketing efforts were almost entirely focused on driving viewers to a limited linear run—i.e., the rollout of new episodes at a scheduled time each week. While making it clear there's still a “laser focus” on getting (and keeping) linear audiences, “that's no longer our only objective,” Shapiro explains. “We're in the franchise-building business. We're trying to build [series] that are able to have success over a long period of time.”

The move to maintain marketing momentum year-round is being driven mostly by necessity. Huge swaths of the audience are abandoning both live viewing and even DVRs in favor of on-demand platforms, pushing down Nielsen ratings—and thus ad revenue—for both cable and broadcast series. Ongoing marketing serves two purposes: It helps shore up linear ratings by making sure existing fans of a show remain engaged while at the same time allowing networks to woo new audiences more inclined to watch via on-demand platforms. Those digital viewers might not represent as much potential profit as those who still watch on TV, but they're growing in number. And while USA doesn't get paid more in the short-term if Robot gets a ton of streams on Amazon, the network stands to benefit over time as it negotiates future deals for streaming rights.

All of this is a shift from just a few years ago. Some industry insiders draw parallels to the feature film business, where movie studios market tentpole franchises—think Star Wars or any of the Marvel movies—as relentlessly as McDonald's pushes Big Macs. “Television networks … need to become more like studios, reducing their reliance on first-window revenues and reorganizing around longer monetization periods,” AMC/Sundance's Collier wrote earlier this year in an essay posted at Redef.com “This will likely make networks far more platform-agnostic over time and more focused on the duration and sustainability of intellectual property versus the immediate gratification of overnights (or even live+3 or live+7 ratings).”

We're already seeing networks adopt this philosophy of patience in other ways: AMC's Halt and Catch Fire and FX's The Americans are both examples of networks sticking by shows despite multiple seasons of meh ratings. And we're now seeing a similar dynamic play out with aforementioned newbies such as Mr. Robot, UnREAL, and Angie Tribeca. All three have experienced a bit of growth in their second seasons this summer, but nothing dramatic. Just a few years ago, there'd probably be palpable disappointment at USA, Lifetime, and TBS right now that months of aggressive marketing and, in the case of Robot and UnREAL, amazing critical response didn't immediately translate into big Nielsen gains. “You used to judge success of a show based on the first 15 minutes of a premiere,” Shapiro admits. But she insists that's no longer true. “Do we want to see growth in linear? Sure. But no one [platform] defines success.” Indeed, Shapiro notes that while Mr. Robot has never attracted more than a couple million viewers as measured by traditional ratings, internal USA Network research indicates a much broader audience has sampled the series. “To date, we've had over 30 million people and counting consume this franchise. That's a staggering number,” Shapiro says. “That's not a linear Nielsen number. That's a total audience number, when we look at all the legal places people see it. That number is how we keep ourselves motivated. We're in this for the long haul.”

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r0B0t: Today's Best Deals: Inflatable Loungers, Video Games, Battery Packs

Inflatable loungers, Jackery battery packs, and discounted video games lead off Thursday's best deals.

Top Deals

Update: Sold out.

Just because you're outdoors and/or floating on a body of water doesn't mean you can't have something comfortable to sit on. This $38 CloudLounger inflates in seconds, folds down to fit in a small bag, and even comes with a water-resistant Bluetooth speaker. Just note that this is a Gold Box deal, so be sure to pick one up before it floats away. Multiple colors available.

As part of its Black Friday in July sale, Best Buy is offering up $5 gift cards when you purchase $50 in select gift cards to other retailers, or $10 when you buy $100.

Your options here include rarely discounted gift cards from the likes of Netflix, Google Play, and Hulu, so if you were going to spend money on those services anyway, this is a great chance to get an extra cherry on top from Best Buy.

Moosejaw is running a big sale right now on several brands of outdoor apparel, but Smartwool is the one you really want to pay attention to. Smartwool socks and jackets are incredibly popular, but hardly ever see significant discounts.

Even on sale, this stuff still isn't exactly cheap, but this is a great chance to build up your collection if you're a fan.

Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale offers up deals on TVs, computers, and more, but the most exciting discounts are probably on an array of video games and gaming accessories.

Scroll down to the gaming section to find deals on dozens of games, both major consoles, hardcover game guides, amiibo, headsets, and more. Just note that you'll need a free My Best Buy account to get the discounts.

If you're in the market for a home theater audio upgrade, you can pick up a pair of Harman Kardon HKTS 30 satellite speakers for $89 today on Amazon. That's the cheapest they've ever been, and they typically sell for around $200 per pair.

https://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-…

While supplies last (which usually isn't long), Amazon will sell you a sample box full of dog foods and treats for $10, and then give you a $10 credit back on a future pet food purchase. Assuming you use the credit, that's like getting all of the samples for free.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BZV5IQS

And if you missed out over the weekend, the same deal is still available on a $10 Amoretti syrup sample box, plus a $5 Crest oral care box.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GH44C56/…

As part of its Black Friday in July sale, Best Buy is taking $125 off most 9.7" iPad Pros today, bringing the 32GB model down to $475, and the 128GB model down to $625, both all-time lows. The new 9.7" iPad Pro is actually better than the 12.9" model in a number of ways, so if it's been on your wish list, this is a great chance to save some cash.

Note: Unfortunately, the regular .edu discount doesn't seem to stack with this promotion. You'll also need a free My Best Buy account to see the discounts.

You can adjust the color temperature of this LED desk lamp by sliding your finger along its arm, or change the brightness by doing the same on its base. Plus, its brushed aluminum design looks way nicer than most LED desk lamp deals we've seen.

Jackery's newest battery packs include Quick Charge 3.0, and they're offering $8 launch discounts on both the 10,050mAh and 20,100mAh varieties today. Just use promo code THUNDERJ at checkout.

https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Charg…

https://www.amazon.com/Powerful-Jacke…

I know we're all sweating under the heat dome right now, but winter will be back soon enough, and if you plan ahead, you can save big on coats, jackets, vests, and more in Patagonia's 30% off summer sale.

These $6 deals from Andake can support your neck, your back, and your senses while sleeping on a plane. If you have any long trips on the horizon, these are no-brainers.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O8ODHOA/…

Whether you're enticed by the idea of a Bluetooth-connected toothbrush, or just want it to get off your lawn, $85 is a great deal for an Oral-B toothbrush with a pressure sensor, five modes, and compatibility with several different brush heads.

If you want to pair it with your phone to track your brushing habits and learn which parts of your mouth aren't getting enough attention, great! If not, it's still worth buying at this price. Just be sure to clip the $15 coupon.

With an extra 20% off sale items, PUMA's Semi-Annual Sale could score you two pairs of sneakers for the price of one. Apparel, bags and accessories, and workout gear are also included in this extra discount. Just add your choices to your cart, and you should see the discount at checkout automatically.

We see lots of deals on SSD enclosures, but this $5 USB to SATA IIII cable achieves the same ends while showing off the SSD itself, rather than hiding it behind plastic. Obviously, you wouldn't want to go this route if you're throwing the SSD in a bag, but if it's just going to be sitting on your desk, it looks pretty damn cool.

https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Adapte…

http://gear.kinja.com/build-your-own…

We're no strangers to portable car jump starter/USB battery pack combos around these parts, but this new model from Aukey is unique in its ultra-compact, flashlight-like design. In addition to its 12,000mAh USB power bank, it can put out 400 peak amps through a set of included jumper cables, which should be sufficient to start most standard car engines.

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Start…

Running shoes for a reasonable price are usually one of two things. They're either terribly quality or a ridiculous colorway. These Asics GEL-Flux 2 Running Shoes are neither, and they're only $38 on Asics' eBay storefront firght now right now, compared to $50-$70 elsewhere.

We know you guys like Velcro cable ties, but if you're interested in a different option for keeping your wires organized, these neoprene zip-up sleeves are cheaper than we've ever seen before.

https://www.amazon.com/Sumsonic-Neopr…

https://www.amazon.com/VELCRO-Brand-O…

Mpow's extra large motion-sensing solar outdoor lights can illuminate your entire front or back yard, and you can get one for $17, or two for $31 today on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Bright-We…

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B015CAP52U?…

Today only, Amazon's slashing prices on CRKT and Kershaw blades, ranging from tiny folding knives to freakin' machetes. This is a Gold Box deal though, so hurry (but don't run, because knives) over to Amazon to lock in your order.

Unlike smartphone lens add-ons that require a special case or a specific phone model, Mpow's 3-in-1 kit uses a clamp to attach to your device, which means it should work with virtually any smartphone. Once that clip's in place, you get to choose from three different lenses: Fisheye, wide angle, and macro. Several Amazon reviewers have uploaded sample photos and videos, and they look pretty great to my eyes, particularly the close-up macros.

https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Supreme-F…

http://gear.kinja.com/enhance-your-s…

You can seemingly build just about anything with a Raspberry Pi, including your own miniature NES, and here's a great deal on the newest Raspberry Pi 3. The kit comes with everything you need to get started, and will only set you back $57 with promo code D9UXNAIL.

https://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Raspber…

http://lifehacker.com/the-raspberry-…

http://lifehacker.com/5978871/ten-mo…

http://lifehacker.com/build-your-own…

We see a lot of deals on Eneloop AA batteries, but your collection isn't complete without those pesky AAAs. While supplies last, Amazon will sell you a 12-pack for $20, or about $6 less than usual.

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-BK-4…

http://gear.kinja.com/the-best-recha…

Roombas have been bopping around our houses for about a decade now, but the Roomba 980 is the first model that might actually be considered “smart.” It's certainly not cheap at $760 (via Adorama's eBay store), but that's still $140 less than elsewhere, and the best price we've seen.

http://gizmodo.com/this-roomba-ma…

We've seen our fair share of cheap Bluetooth ear buds, but how about on-ears? Mpow's Muze Touch headphones are wireless, foldable, and can run for 12 hours on a charge. That's a heck of a package for $36. Remember, your next phone might not have a headphone jack, so this is as good a time as any to get accustomed to wireless.

https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Foldable-…

As long as its refurbished status and shiny gold finish aren't turn-offs, $100 is a the best price we've ever seen for a Pebble Time Steel.

http://gizmodo.com/pebble-time-st…

This compact RAVPower battery pack can fit in just about any pocket, but still has enough juice to charge your phone about two full times, making it perfect for your next Pokémon Go outing. Plus, it's 2A input allows you to recharge it twice as fast as most comparable battery packs.

https://www.amazon.com/Portable-RAVPo…

For those who don't need a gooseneck kettle for pourover coffee, and aren't willing to spring for the ultimate tea maker, the Cuisinart PerfecTemp is one of the best (and best looking) electric kettles around. It's down to $50 refurbished today, which is the best price we've ever seen. Just be sure to grab yours before this deal boils dry.

Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about cable management, the depths of Amazon toss you a surprise. This magnetic cable clip system includes one magnetic base that you can stick anywhere via its included adhesive, and three magnetic clips that you attach to your most-used cables, allowing them to stick to the base effortlessly.

There are surely less expensive cable holders out there—we post deals on them frequently—but the allure of just dropping your cable onto a magnetic base and knowing that it'll stay put is awfully tempting.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GG8DS6M/…

When it comes to having a corner on the market, nothing really compares to Nike. Use the code KICKS20 to score an extra 20% off already reduced men's and women's clearance items and hop on that sportswear bandwagon.

Away Travel arrived with a perfect set of reasonably-priced luggage for everyone, and they're offering Kinja Deals readers the company's first ever discount. Use promo code KINJA to take $20 off your order, and head over to this post to learn more.

http://deals.kinja.com/heres-the-firs…

If the SD card currently in your camera takes too long to write images, or if it just doesn't offer enough space for your upcoming vacation, this 64GB Sony is a fantastic value at $15.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-Class-Mem…

We've seen lots of deals on flash drives that include microUSB connectors for Android devices, but this one is designed just for iPhone and iPad owners.

Since iOS devices don't let you use microSD cards for extra storage, this could come in handy for offloading your phone's vacation photos if you're running low on space, or storing extra movies and TV shows for long flights. We've seen deals on a few similar products in the past, but $30 for 32GB is the best price we've seen.

https://www.amazon.com/HooToo-Lightni…

Update: Back in stock!

If you want to dip your toes into the world of electric toothbrushes, Philips' entry level Sonicare Essence line is an amazing value at $20. I've been using this brush for years, and I still love it.

You'll have a wait out a short backorder, but just clip the $5 coupon on the page to get the deal. This is easily the best price we've ever seen on any Sonicare brush.

https://www.amazon.com/Mpow-Certified…

While we do see 20% discounts from time to time, a $100 iTunes gift card for $85 is still a solid deal if you pay for Apple Music, iCloud storage, or PokéCoins.

With a few rare exceptions, $4 is about as cheap as Lightning cables ever get, so stock up!

Tech

Best Buy's Black Friday in July Sale Early Access is Now Open to My Best Buy Members (free to join)

Storage

HGST 2TB Touro Mobile Portable External Hard Drive | $80 | Newegg
Inateck USB 3.0 to SATA III Hard Drive Adapter Cable/ Converter for 2.5" SSD or HDD, Adapter for SATA III Hard Drives-Black | $5 | Amazon | Use code R3KCA4K2

Power

CyberPower 825 VA 450 Watts Intelligent LCD UPS Backup and 7 Outlets Surge Protector | $73 | Newegg
Jackery Thunder 10050mAh Portable Battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 | $22 | Amazon | Use code THUNDERJ
Jackery Thunder 20100mAh Portable Battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 | $32 | Amazon | Use code THUNDERJ
DBPOWER Power Strip with 3 socket and 3 USB Charging Ports (White) | $10 | Amazon | Use code UHYAL5WU

Audio

Stage Lights, Rotating Magic Effect Disco Ball Light With Wireless Bluetooth Speaker | $9 | Amazon | Use code SDCOUPON
Inateck Bluetooth 4.1 Wireless Sport Running In-ear Headphones | $18 | Amazon | Use code DTZIRW6V

Home Theater

Sharp 50-Inch LED 1080p Smart HDTV Roku TV | $300 | Best Buy
Samsung 60-Inch LED 2160p Smart 4K Ultra HDTV | $1000 | Best Buy
LG 55-Inch LED 2160p Smart 4K | $700 | Best Buy
VIZIO 50-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart HDTV w/ $200 Gift Card | $550 | Dell
Logitech Harmony Ultimate Home Remote | $180 | Best Buy
VicTsing Digital HDTV Antenna Indoor | $8 | Amazon | Use code 8LNHIZLA
Sumsonic 5-Pack Neoprene Cable Management Organizer Sleeves | $10 | Amazon | Use code KLBFOBU8

Computers & Accessories

AOC 24" LED HD Monitor | $80 | Best Buy
2.4G Wireless Mouse TOMOKO Mobile Optical Mouse | $7 | Amazon | Use Code UHJ9KZPJ
Ricoh SP C250DN Color Wireless Laser Printer 407519 | $70 | Adorama
Samsonite Tectonic PFT Laptop Backpack | $40 | Best Buy

PC Parts

Mobile Devices

Moto X Pure Edition Unlocked Smartphone | $323 | Amazon
$100 iTunes Gift Card (emailed) | $85 | eBay
Targus CityGear mini Tablet Bag | $11 | Amazon | Use Code SKZT47WK
Mpow 3 in 1 Clip-On 180 Degree Supreme Fisheye Lens | $9 | Amazon | Use code HTXJ27KD

Home

CloudLounger w/ Bluetooth Speaker | $38 | Amazon
Honeywell Air Filter 4-Packs are On Sale Today | Home Depot
Dog Food and Treats Sample Box ($9.99 credit with purchase) | $10 | Amazon
Outdoor 2 Person Canopy Swing Glider | $70 | eBay
Safety 1st Easy-Fit Security Gate | $19 | Amazon
LANGRIA Sponge Sleep Eye Mask with Carrying Pouch & Ear Plugs | $6 | Amazon | Use code RUW3EISQ
WINOMO Broom Mop Holder Organizer | $9 | Amazon | Use code HANGER4B
[2-pack] Mpow Super Bright 20 LED Solar Powered Sensor Lighting | $31 | Amazon | Use code HLI2K3TG
Mpow 20 LED Bright Solar light | $17 | Amazon | Use code J39W2P58

Kitchen

Firlar Waiter's Corkscrew Wine Opener - Premium Rosewood All-in-one Corkscrew, Bottle Opener and Foil Cutter | $7 | Amazon | Use code 3IISENGT
SKYROKU 3000g Multifunctional Food Digital Scale | $9 | Amazon | Use code UQ2KND4Q

Tools & Auto

LOFTEK Cell Phone Holder Magnetic Universal Car Cradle | $7 | Amazon | Use code LKDEAL06
AUKEY Portable Jump Starter with 12000mAh External Battery | $57 | Amazon | Use code JSTARTER
Leyaron 2 Pack Car Safety Hammer/Seatbelt Cutter | $8 | Amazon | Use code YKMWSG7E

Lifestyle

Apparel

The North Face Men's Horizon Polo | $20 | Proozy | Use code SUN19
REI Classic Fleece Jacket - Men's | $28 | REI
ASICS Men's GEL-Excite 3 Running Shoes | $28 | Newegg
ASICS Unisex Iyashi Sandals | $10 | eBay

Beauty & Grooming

Rowenta Premium-Care Pro Dryer | $40 | Best Buy
Rowenta Curl Active 1.25" Curling Iron | $50 | Best Buy

Camping & Outdoors

Select CRKT & Kershaw Knives are On Sale Today | Amazon
Ozark Trail 40L Crestone Backpack with Large Main Compartment | $20 | Walmart
Ozark Trail Hiking Backpack Eagle, 40L Capacity | $25 | Walmart
Portable Camping Hammock | $16 | Amazon | Use code GHBQWSX5
Sumsonic Black Safety Ear Muffs Shooters Hearing Protection | $12 | Amazon | Use code AFHOABFB

Media

Movies & TV

Get $5-$10 in Best Buy Gift Card When You Buy $50 or $100 in Select Entertainment Gift Cards | Best Buy
Rick & Morty: Season 1 | $13 | Amazon
Edward Scissorhands | $8 | Amazon
Band of Brothers | $20 | Best Buy
The Pacific | $20 | Best Buy
Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season | $23 | Best Buy
Game of Thrones: The Complete Second Season | $23 | Best Buy
Game of Thrones: The Complete Third Season | $28 | Best Buy
Game of Thrones: The Complete Fourth Season | $28 | Best Buy
Game of Thrones: The Complete Fifth Season | $40 | Best Buy

Books

The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation Audiobook | $6 | Amazon
FREE The Tumor: A Non-Legal Thriller [Kindle] | Amazon
Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire [Kindle] | $2 | Amazon

Gaming

Peripherals

PC

PlayStation 4

Fallout 4 | $25 | Best Buy
Get Last of Us and Ghostbusters 1 & 2 with Purchase of a PS4 Consolde | $350 | Best Buy
The Last of Us Remastered | $15 | Best Buy
Minecraft | $15 | Best Buy
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection | $20 | Best Buy
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below | $20 | Best Buy
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection | $30 | Best Buy
Tearaway: Unfolded - Crafted Edition | $15 | Best Buy
God of War III Remastered | $15 | Best Buy
Far Cry Primal | $40 | Best Buy
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 | $40 | Best Buy
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | $25 | Best Buy
Bloodborne | $15 | Best Buy
Assassin's Creed Syndicate | $20 | Best Buy
Until Dawn | $15 | Best Buy
Ratchet & Clank | $30 | Best Buy
Little Big Planet 3 | $15 | Best Buy
The Order: 1886 | $15 | Best Buy
Helldivers: Super-Earth Ultimate Edition | $15 | Best Buy
Killzone Shadow Fall | $15 | Best Buy

Xbox One

Fallout 4 | $25 | Best Buy
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection | $20 | Best Buy
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 | $40 | Best Buy
Far Cry Primal | $40 | Best Buy
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain | $20 | Best Buy
Assassin's Creed Syndicate | $20 | Best Buy
Tom Clancy's The Division | $40 | Best Buy

Wii U

Super Mario Maker | $30 | Best Buy
Yoshi's Woolly World | $30 | Best Buy
Xenoblade Chronicles X | $30 | Best Buy

3DS

Final Fantasy Explorers | $20 | Best Buy

Toys

Estes Mix-N-Match 50 | $14 | Walmart
Lionel Trains Crayola G-Gauge Freight Set | $51 | Amazon

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r0B0t: Make Genius, Creamy, Scoopable Frozen Yogurt in Three Ingredients (and 20 Minutes) Flat

This post originally appeared on Food52.

Remember when frozen yogurt was just a sweet, low-fat ice cream substitute that we all resented? (The carob chips probably weren't helping.)

To be fair, we didn't know what we wanted our frozen yogurt to be—yet. In digging deeper into our national relationship with froyo, one of the earliest mentions I found was from 1978, when The Country Gentleman advised, “In desserts, the tartness (lactic acid) [of yogurt] can be overcome with honey or fruit.”

It took Pinkberry's world takeover* in 2005** to help us realize how much we love—really, really love—frozen yogurt that actually tastes like yogurt.

That bright, undeniably yogurt-y flavor should have been our first clue. Because, as it turns out, making tart, sweet, creamy, soul-rebirthing-on-a-hot-day frozen yogurt at home is literally as simple as sticking yogurt in an ice cream maker, along with a little salt and a little more sugar.

You can eat it like soft-serve (like Pinkberry) straightaway, but even if you pack it up in the freezer, it will stay creamy and scoopable, not icy or grainy—particularly if you use this formula, developed and stress-tested by Max Falkowitz, and co-author of the forthcoming Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook.***

But how? Why don't you need to make a custard base or outsmart ice crystals with doses of invert sugars and starches, like homemade ice cream recipes typically do?

For one thing, think of frozen yogurt more like a sorbet than an ice cream, as Falkowitz and pastry chefs do: “It illustrates one of the most elegant heuristics about sorbet (and frozen yogurt, despite the dairy, behaves basically like sorbet): You want about 4 parts liquid to 1 part sugar by volume for something scoopable,” he wrote to me. After looking up heuristics, I agreed.

That said, frozen yogurt still holds onto a lot of richness in the form of dairy fat, so it's creamier than sorbet, too. I might even say it has a balance between sparkly-crisp and milky-comforting similar to my my signature ice cream float from second grade—lemon-lime soda over scoops of cookies & cream—but I don't expect you to agree with me.

But the real genius is this: Once you realize that you can put yogurt in the ice cream maker, you can do anything you want! When she first reported on this technique last summer, our own Sarah Jampel flavored hers with Nutella and sprinkled raspberries and chocolate bits on top. Falkowitz developed these six other kinds, including a bizarre and delicious version with dry white wine. Cécile from the blog Royal Chill recently sent me a recipe for her chocolate version, which I also found very easy to eat.

To pre-empt your questions: Don't substitute nonfat yogurt. (Or don't say I didn't warn you.) Yes, you can use Greek yogurt, but you might want to cut it with a little liquid to keep it from being too creamy, like in the white wine version linked above. Yes, you can play around with different sweeteners and mix-ins and infusions. (Max's tips are here.) If you don't have an ice cream maker, do the things that people tell you to do. But also, did you know they cost approximately $50 and will do the stirring for you?

And yes, once you can get going, you can call yourself a frozen yogurt machine. Just not world's first frozen yogurt robot—I'm afraid that's taken.

Max Falkowitz' Best (and Easiest) Frozen Yogurt Recipe
Makes 1 quart

1 quart container (about 3 3/4 cups) full-fat plain yogurt (see note above about substituting for Greek)
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

See the full recipe on Food52.

*There are now Pinkberry stores in 21 countries, including Venezuela and Bahrain.

**Note that this 2007 New York Times Pinkberry exposé was reported by Jennifer Steinhauer, just a couple years before she was writing about Salmon Moqueca and other weeknight diatribes for us!

***Falkowitz would want you to know that credit should be shared with Ethan Frisch, his former co-writer of the ice cream column on Serious Eats. “Ethan's a legitimate 100% genius, in the kitchen and out of it, and when he's not doing NGO work in Afghanistan and Syria he's cooking beautiful elaborate meals in tiny kitchens,” Falkowitz says.

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r0B0t: Why a Key Scene in Mr. Robot Is Scored With Music From the 1974 Thriller The Parallax View

In “Unmask,” the second-season premiere of Mr. Robot, Elliot (Rami Malek) is keeping a tenuous grip on sanity, but he's menaced by intrusive thoughts. His nonexistent alter ego (Christian Slater) keeps turning up uninvited, visiting violence upon Elliot or those who threaten him, so much that it becomes routine. After Mr. Robot blows Elliot's brains out with a handgun, Elliot nonchalantly scribbles in his journal, “He shot me in the head again.”

Mr. Robot, as a show, has porous boundaries, whether it's soaking in current events or regurgitating half-digested chunks of Fight Club. But in “Unmask,” the show latched onto a particularly inspired reference point. As the literally shadowy figures who control the nation's banks addressed Philip Price (Michael Crisfoter), the CEO of the malevolent E Corp, to explain why the country couldn't bail out his beleaguered conglomerate, the only background noise was the faint hum of inside-the-Beltway air conditioning. But as Price rose to his feet, turning the tables on his would-be masters, a musical theme rose to buoy his words: Michael Small's score from the 1974 thriller The Parallax View.

The Parallax View, which was directed by Alan J. Pakula, stars Warren Beatty as a reporter who unearths evidence of a massive conspiracy to assassinate political figures, the work of the sinister Parallax Corporation. It's part of a wave of similarly paranoid thrillers that swept through movie theaters in the 1970s in response to post-1968 disillusionment and the bonafide conspiracy of Watergate: Pakula's All the President's Men, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, Sydney Pollack's Three Days of the Condor, and many more. The influence of the genre in general and The Parallax View in particular on Mr. Robot has been noted many times, but this explicit homage—which Vulture's Matt Zoller Seitz was one of few critics to point out in advance — takes us into a different realm, one where those past movies go from reference points to source material. It's as if they're trying to break through the surface of Mr. Robot, as if the show is being hacked as we're watching it.

In substance, Price's speech is hardly groundbreaking stuff, although it's presented with the pomp and circumstance of a major revelation, recalling New York Times' critic James Poniewozik's deadly observation that watching Mr. Robot can be “like being cornered at a party by a guy who was blown away by this Intercept article he read.” It's staged like a key monologue in 1976's Network, the one where TV network head Ned Beatty explains to would-be revolutionary Howard Beale that “the world is a business.” Price's explanation of how the stock market and the economy work—and why the government has to give his company yet another bailout—is similarly entry-level. “Every day when that market bell rings, we con people into believing in something,” he says. “The American Dream. Family values. Could be Freedom Fries for all I care. It doesn't matter as long as the con works and people buy and sell whatever it is we want them to. If I resign, then any scrap of confidence the public is already clinging on to will be destroyed. And we all know a con doesn't work without the confidence.”

The writing here is Mr. Robot at its worst, regurgitating Econ 101 lessons as if they're closely guarded secrets. (The idea that stocks rise and fall with investor confidence is pretty much a definition of how the market functions.) But Cristofer—who, incidentally, is also a Pulitzer- and Tony-winning playwright —gives it all he's got, biting down on the “con” in “confidence” like it's his last meal. There's a deliberate unnaturalness to his performance, which, coupled with the creeping dread of that borrowed score, throws the whole scene productively off-kilter, making us doubt our eyes as much as Elliot does his.

In the lead-up to the second season, USA has been at pains to stress Mr. Robot's topical relevance, producing an hour-long special stressing the show's realistic depiction of computer hacking techniques and describing the series, somewhat optimistically, as “a cultural phenomenon.” But like the 1970s movies it draws on, the show is far more powerful as a psychological study of madness and obsession than as a pseudo-profound tract with Something Important to Say About Society.

What makes The Parallax View powerful isn't it the notion that Lee Harvey Oswald and Sirhan Sirhan were both part of some ominous plot, but the way Beatty plays a man who sounds crazier the closer he gets to the truth, and the way Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis frame the world in ever-more extreme and alienating ways. It forces us to see things as he does, to take on that feeling of madness. That's what Mr. Robot does best, thanks especially to Rami Malek's captivatingly unnerving performance as Elliot. In Season 2, we're moving outside of Elliot's head, seeing the world as it is and not as he imagines it. (In the first episode, we hear E Corp referred to by its real name, and not “Evil Corp,” Elliot's preferred moniker.) But that's a dangerous place for it to go, since Mr. Robot's version of the real world is a lot less interesting than Elliot's delusion.

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r0B0t: This Year's Emmy Noms Prove Why It's Great That Emmys Have Replaced Ratings as the Industry's Standard-Bearer

In an essay yesterday for the Los Angeles Times, Mary McNamara argued that the Emmy Awards have essentially replaced ratings—what with the splintering of outlets and audiences—as the standard bearer of industry success. Indeed, the Emmys have defined the programming strategies of upstarts like Netflix and Amazon, and they've reformed cable and broadcast networks alike.

This morning's Emmy nominations announcement affirmed this new Emmy-centric business model. USA Network received its first-ever Outstanding Drama Series nomination for its cyberpunk polemic Mr. Robot; Lifetime, formerly (and still largely) a purveyor of fluffy fare not taken seriously by awards-givers, netted a pair of major nominations for its flagship prestige drama UnREAL; and both Netflix and Amazon continued to build on their success with their distinct new half-hour series—Master of None and Catastrophe, respectively—also cracking the field. Even FX's decision to stick with low-rated critical darling The Americans paid off immensely, as its fourth season was slotted into Outstanding Drama Series and netted recognition for both of its lead actors.

The Television Academy is a voting body that, rather notoriously, tends to be averse to change. But the rapidly shifting shape of television is forcing an evolution in what, and who, is being recognized. The Limited Series/TV Movie categories are dominated this year by The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, FX's historical depiction that pays special attention to the complex racial and gender dynamics of the “trial of the century”; other major players include American Crime, John Ridley's provocative tapestry of intolerance in contemporary American life, and Roots, the urgent update on the classic 1977 miniseries. Over on the half-hour side, five of the seven nominees for Outstanding Comedy Series—Transparent, Black-ish, Veep,Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Master of None—center on either women, LGBTQ people or people of color.

In some ways, the story is the same: Game of Thrones only built on its control over the drama field with first-time nominations for Kit Harington and Maisie Williams, and it was once again joined in the top category by past-their-prime veterans Homeland, House of Cards, and the concluded Downton Abbey. And Veep is on top again among comedies. But of more pressing interest is the new crop of series and voices introduced to the ceremony—the future of the Emmys.

Considering the eligible new drama series, voters could have easily gone for HBO's Vinyl (which was abruptly canceled near the end of the voting period) or Showtime's Billions to replace the departed Mad Men (and snubbed Orange Is the New Black). Both represent quality cable television as it's been traditionally defined: anchored by an antihero, exceedingly dark in tone, and of a masculinized aesthetic. Their omissions are especially stark in comparison to the multi-nominated Mr. Robot and UnREAL, whose radical thematic underpinnings—a trippy call for revolution and redistribution in the former's case; a boldly feminist rewiring of tired TV tropes in the latter's—reflect the medium's turn toward a narrower commercial focus and broader artistic license.

Such heightened political aspirations speak volumes about what distributors are looking for in the new media market. American Crime, which this season advocated forthrightly for victims of sexual assault and LGBTQ bullying, was recognized for a second straight year in the Outstanding Limited Series category, and—despite low ratings—is beginning production on a third season set in North Carolina. After a single major nomination last year, ABC's Black-ish fit into Outstanding Comedy Series for its sophomore year on the strength of its powerful, issue-centric episodes, which tackled the use of the N-word and police brutality, among other prescient topics. It also bears noting that a season of television steeped in queer theory and intra-feminist discourse—that'd be Transparent's second season—is among the most cited series this year, with 10 nominations.

But no nominee shows this more clearly than Aziz Ansari. As the campaign season was ramping up, he told the Hollywood Reporter that he'd been initially sure that no network would give him "a show like Master of None. It definitely would have gone to some white guy.” Of course, Netflix—the original pioneer of this new specific programming strategy—did just that. And now, as a Best Comedy Actor nominee, he's the first South-Asian person ever to be nominated for a lead acting Emmy. (In fact, he received four nominations—for acting, writing, directing, and producing Master of None—this year alone.) You can bet that his success, along with that of many others this morning, will continue pushing outlets toward more Emmys—and more voices.

Below is a list of the nominations.

Outstanding Drama Series
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mr. Robot

Outstanding Comedy Series
Black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep

Outstanding Limited Series
American Crime
Fargo
The Night Manager
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Roots

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Laurie Metcalf, Getting On
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Will Forte, Last Man on Earth
William H. Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Bryan Cranston, All the Way
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Idris Elba, Luther
Cuba Gooding Jr., People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Courtney B. Vance, People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series of Movie
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Sarah Paulson, People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

Outstanding Supporting Actress—Drama Series
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Maura Tierney, The Affair
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL

Outstanding Supporting Actor—Comedy Series
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Matt Walsh, Veep
Tony Hale, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actress—Comedy Series
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Allison Janney, Mom
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Judith Light, Transparent
Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actor—Limited Series of Movie
Jesse Plemons, Fargo
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
John Travolta, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
David Schwimmer, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Supporting Actress—Limited Series or Movie
Melissa Leo, All the Way
Regina King, American Crime
Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Hotel
Kathy Bates, Iris
Jean Smart, Fargo
Olivia Colman, The Night Manager

Outstanding TV Movie
A Very Murray Christmas
All the Way
Confirmation
Luther
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

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r0B0t: Emmy Nominations 2016: Benedict Cumberbatch, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston Lead British Stars At TV Awards

Benedict Cumberbatch, Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston are all vying for the same top prize at this year's Emmy Awards, following a strong British showing in today's nominations.

All three will be up for Best Leading Actor in a Limited Series at the ceremony in September, for ‘Sherlock', ‘Luther' and ‘The Night Manager' respectively.

FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS BELOW

Other British nominees include ‘Downton Abbey', with its final series given a nod in the category of Outstanding Drama Series, and for Writing and Directing.

‘The Night Manager' also gets a nod in the Outstanding Limited Series category, with Tom's co-star Hugh Laurie also in the running for Supporting Actor.

‘Luther' and ‘Sherlock' will be competing for honours in the Limited Series category.

‘Game of Thrones' once again takes the lead in these nominations, garnering 23 in total for its sixth series - close behind is the ham-tastic ‘The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story' - a Limited Series that also scooped nominations for cast members Cuba Gooding Jr, Sarah Paulson, David Schwimmer, Courtney B Vance, Sterling K Brown AND, last but not least, John Travolta.

Channel 4 comedy ‘Catastrophe' gets a nod in the Writing category, actor Kit Harrington will be a popular nominee for the role of Jon Snow in ‘Game of Thrones', vying with his own co-star Peter Dinklage, while Maisie Williams also gets a nod.

FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS BELOW

The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on 18 September.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
The Americans
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
Homeland
House Of Cards
Mr. Robot
LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA
Kyle Chandler, Bloodlines
Rami Malek, Mr Robot
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How To Get Away With Murder
Taraji P Henson, Empire
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Keri Russell, The Americans,
Robin Wright, House of Cards
SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Peter Dinklage, Game Of Thrones
Kit Harrington, Game Of Thrones
Michael Kelly, House Of Cards
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Maura Tierney, The Affair
GUEST ACTOR, DRAMA
Max von Sydow, Game of Thrones
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Reg e. Cathey, House Of Cards
Mahershala Ali, House Of Cards
Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan
GUEST ACTRESS, DRAMA
Margo Martindale, The Americans
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
Laurie Metcalf, Horace And Pete
Ellyn Burstyn, House of Cards
Molly Parker, House Of Cards
Allison Janney, Masters Of Sex
WRITING, DRAMA
The Americans
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
The Good Wife
Mr. Robot
UnReal
DIRECTING, DRAMA
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
Homeland
The Knick
Ray Donovan
OUTSTANDING COMEDY
Blackish
Master Of None
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmitt
Veep
LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Masters of None
Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth
William H Macy, Shameless
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Laurie Metcalfe, Getting On
Tracee Ellis Ross, black-ish
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Keegan-Michael Key
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Kate McKinnon, SNL
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Allison Janney, Mom
Judith Light, Transparent
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
GUEST ACTOR, COMEDY
Bob Newhart, The Big Bang Theory
Tracy Morgan, SNL
Larry David, SNL
Badley Whitford, Transparent
Martin Mull, Veep
Peter MacNichol, Veep
GUEST ACTRESS, COMEDY
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Amy Schumer, Saturday Night Live
Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
Laurie Metcalf, The Big Bang Theory
Melora Hardin, Transparent
WRITING, COMEDY
Catastrophe
Master Of None
Silicon Valley
Veep
DIRECTOR, COMEDY
Master Of None
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Veep
OUTSTANDING MOVIE OR SPECIAL
A Very Murray Christmas
All the Way
Confirmation
Luther
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
American Crime
Fargo
The Night Manager
The People v. OJ Simpson
Roots
LEAD ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Kristen Dunst, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Audra McDonald, Billie Holiday: Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Lili Taylor, American Crime
Kerry Washington, Confirmation
LEAD ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Bryan Cranston, All The Way
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Ibris Elba, Luther
Cuba Gooding Jr, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
Courtney B. Vance, The People V OJ Simpson
SUPPORTING ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Jesse Plemmons, Fargo
Bokeem Woodbine, Fargo
Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
David Schwimmer, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
John Travolta, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Allison Janney, Mom
Kate McKinnon, SNL
Judith Light, Transparent
Gabby Hoffmann, Transparent
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
WRITING, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
Fargo
The Night Manager
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
DIRECTING, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
All The Way
Fargo
The Night Manager
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
Portlandia
SNL
OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES
Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Real Time With Bill Maher
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon
WRITING, VARIETY SERIES
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Portlandia
SNL
DIRECTING, VARIETY SERIES
Inside Amy Schumer
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Late Show With James Corden
SNL
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
REALITY COMPETITION
The Amazing Race
American Ninja Warrior
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
The Voice

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r0B0t: Hacking Mr. Robot

Slate and Future Tense are discussing Mr. Robot and the technological world it portrays throughout the show's second season. You can follow this conversation on Future Tense, and Slate Plus members can also listen to Hacking Mr. Robot, a members-only podcast series featuring Lily Hay Newman and Fred Kaplan.

Mr. Robot, which returns Wednesday night for a second season on the USA Network, is a remarkable TV show: funny, edgy, suspenseful, subversive, and a piercing probe of the modern social fabric. In short, it's about a world controlled by computers and the hackers—especially our anti-hero and narrator, a lonely hacker named Elliot Alderson (brilliantly played by Rami Malek), who finds himself the kingpin of a secret society of hackers—plotting to bring down that world, the mainsprings of which only they understand.

At Season 1's fade-out, the hackers, who call themselves Fsociety, launch their massive cyberattack on E Corp., the evil megabank that seems to run the global economy (more on this later), wiping out all its data, erasing the debt of hundreds of millions of people, and thus fomenting revolution.

As the new season opens, the world is in chaos. In one scene, E Corp.'s general counsel walks into her smart home and, suddenly, all the Internet of Things runs amuck: the shower turns scalding hot, the stereo turns blaring loud, lights flash off and on, the burglar alarm's pass code doesn't work. Fsociety has hacked into her home's main computer, and she doesn't know what to do. “It's all inside the walls!” she screams into the phone, when a tech-support staffer advises her to check the wiring. That's the way her smart home was packaged.

What a metaphor for modern life—and only a slight extension of its reality. Nearly all the pieces of our critical infrastructure—banking, transportation, energy, waterworks, government, the military, and of course information technology—are wired into computer networks. With the Internet of Things, so, increasingly, are our appliances and cars. If these systems break down, whether due to a technical flaw or a hacker's keystrokes, most of us don't—and won't—know what to do. In a DARPA-financed experiment last year, a pair of computer specialists, one of whom used to work at the National Security Agency and is now the security chief of Uber's driverless-car program, hacked into a Jeep Cherokee and commandeered its steering wheel, accelerator, brakes, GPS receiver, windshield wipers—everything.

In other words, there's more than a patina of authenticity to Mr. Robot.

Most shows that deal with technology lose their footing when they try to go deep or get detailed. The viewers who know the field roll their eyes in derision; those who don't still sense that something's off. The creators of Mr. Robot—showrunner Sam Esmail and his crew of consultants—get these things, small and large, right. When the characters type commands and codes on their laptops, what we see on their monitors is the real deal: no post-production green-screen gibberish here. In the early part of Season 1, before Elliot joins (or realizes that his schizoid self is leading) the revolution, he hacks his few friends, his boss, and his shrink, as well as a few miscreants (a child pornographer, a drug dealer, and his shrink's philandering boyfriend) whom he blackmails or turns in to the authorities. The techniques he uses to crack their passwords or otherwise gain access to their files are real, time-tested tools. It's so easy for Elliot (and for the many hackers in real life) and so shocking to his victims when they realize how wide-open they've left themselves.

These scenes capture a new power equation in the internet era—the control, by those who have mastered the technology, over the rest of us who blithely plaster everything about ourselves online. In one scene, Elliot phones one of his prey, pretending to be a bank officer (he's already found out where the target banks), and asks, as part of a “security review,” for his address, favorite sports team, and pet's name. From that information, Elliot pieces together the guy's password.

It's often as simple as that. When I was researching my book, Dark Territory: The Secret History of Cyber War, Matt Devost, president and CEO of the cybersecurity firm FusionX, told me about his days running the “red team” in war games that tested the vulnerability of NATO communications systems. In one game, Devost was having a hard time cracking the commanding general's password. So he looked up his biographical sketch on a military website, tried out some of the personal details it cited, and finally hit gold by combining “Rutgers,” where the general's son was attending college, with a two-digit number, which a commercially available random-numbers generator guessed in less than a second.

But what about the show's larger premise: Could a skilled hacker penetrate a megacorporation's computer network; erase all its data; and, as a result, topple the capitalist system—or at least wipe out the debt of the masses? This is where the show goes too far and, in another sense, not far enough.

The irony is that, of all the critical sectors of the American economy, banking and finance are doing pretty well when it comes to cybersecurity. Their entire business, after all, relies on taking your money and earning your trust. They also have a lot of money, which allows them to hire the best engineers to secure their networks. Hackers try to get in all the time, but they rarely succeed, and when they do, they're detected and ejected fairly quickly, and the hole is patched not long after. A major attack, of the sort portrayed in Mr. Robot, is plausible, but its results might not be enduring. (Even if the bank's cybersecurity team couldn't repair the damage, the Department of Homeland Security could send the NSA an official request for technical assistance. And I'm pretty sure that, whatever a backroom of anarchic hackers could do, the elite hackers of the NSA's Tailored Access Operations office could trace and reverse.)

One other feature of the American economy: compared with other industrialized nations, it's decentralized. The cyber-shutdown of a very large bank would send devastating shockwaves across the entire financial system (think Lehman Brothers in 2008), but it wouldn't mean the shutdown of all banks or all bank transactions. Even if hackers jammed or erased Bank of America's data (and its backup files), they wouldn't have touched the data at J.P. Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, or the others. The liberation of every indebted citizen isn't so plausible.

Finally, if there really was a firm as monolithic as E Corp., and if hackers really did freeze its data, the chaos would be a lot wilder. We do catch a glimpse of the disorder in one scene, where a woman, after waiting three days for an appointment, tells a banker that she's paid off her mortgage and presents the papers to prove it; but the banker can't get into the computer and doesn't trust the paperwork because, so she says, a lot of counterfeit documents are out there. But in other scenes, we see normal street traffic, open bodegas, routine commerce—when I suspect that, in fact, there'd be rioting everywhere.

Maybe the larger breakdown will erupt in future episodes.

But the basic syllogism of contemporary life, Mr. Robot gets precisely right: Almost everything is hooked up to the internet; almost everything on the internet can be hacked and thus manipulated or destroyed; therefore, almost everything can be hacked and manipulated or destroyed. Should this dynamic take off, should the potential threats that we read about erupt into actual attacks and breakdowns, then up will be down, down up, and the line between madness and order—the line that Elliot walks more and more precariously as the show progresses—could blur into a haze of indistinction.

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r0B0t: Six Ways Night Owls Can Thrive in a Nine-to-Five Work World

Crack-of-dawn conference calls, breakfast meetings, or even the fact that the office coffee maker is always turned off by noon are just a few examples of how the work world really is designed for early risers. Night owls, on the other hand, flourish on a different timetable.

This post originally appeared on LearnVest.

Night owls typically ride a wave of energy and alertness from afternoon to well into the night, says Robert Matchock, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Penn State Altoona, who researches circadian rhythms in physiology and behavior.

Biological differences between early birds and night owls exist, says Matchock. The hormone melatonin, whose rise makes the body feel less alert, decreases later in the morning for night owls. Night people also have a higher core body temperature in the afternoon, which can be a sign of increased energy at that time, he adds.

http://vitals.lifehacker.com/how-melatonin-…

Most of us aren't extreme early birds or night owls but fall somewhere in the middle of these categories. But the time of day each of us tends to thrive in appears to be partly influenced by genetics. “Morning types wake up relatively early with little ‘sleep inertia,' or grogginess,” he explains. “They have their peak productivity early in the day.” Night types “tend to wake up later in the morning. If they have to get up early, there is generally a more severe sleep inertia,” and they reach higher productivity later in the day.

Unfortunately, you can't redesign the contemporary workday to suit your mole person ways, nor can you rewire the internal clock you were born with. But the good news is that you can still ace your job by doing a little shifting of certain habits and routines. Here's how to tap into your biology—and use a little strategy—to come out on top.

1. Create a Work Cheatsheet the Day Before

If you're a night owl with a day job, you likely arrive at work before your brain is fully alert, fuzzy about what tasks you need to accomplish. Instead of wasting the morning hours in an unproductive haze, create a morning to-do list the afternoon before, when you're energized and focused, suggests Anita Bruzzese, workplace expert and author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy … And How to Avoid Them.

Make it as detailed as possible and prioritize what you need to get done. “Note where you left off, who you need to call, anything you can do to put things in order until your brain clicks on,” Bruzzese says. With a concrete roadmap for your morning, you'll be able to make it through your a.m. lull.

2. Streamline Your Morning Routine

Take a shower, lay out your clothes, pack your briefcase and make your breakfast and lunch the night before the workday. Taking care of these routines can shave an hour off your morning and score you an extra hour of sleep every night. That can lead to dramatic improvements in a.m. reaction time, alertness, mood and productivity, says Matchock.

Though it's not a feasible solution for everyone, you may want to consider moving closer to your workplace, so your commute is only from the bedroom to your home office and you create more opportunity for morning sleep. “I once rented an apartment next door to my office and woke up at 8:30 for a 9 a.m. start time,” says Alexandra Levit, leadership consultant and author of “They Don't Teach Corporate in College. “A commute makes all the difference in terms of how early you actually have to get up.”

3. Do Auto-Pilot Projects First

Not all job responsibilities require the same amount of brain power, says Levit. Night owls should use the a.m. hours for robotic tasks that don't require a lot of thought—like answering certain emails, bookkeeping, expense reports, looking at blogs or websites you follow, posting on LinkedIn and returning calls. When you get the mundane, but necessary, stuff behind you, you'll be primed to do your most productive work once your body and brain have had a chance to kick into gear.

4. Schedule Tougher Tasks During Peak Performance Times

Pair work that requires you to put your thinking cap on—a crucial report, presentation or brainstorming session with your team—with your peak energy windows. For night owls, that means the late afternoon and evening, but there is flexibility.

“Even scheduling difficult tasks during the late morning hours is better than early morning for night owls,” says Matchock. “I recommend the late morning before lunch or the very late afternoon, since there can be a drop in alertness, body temperature and glucose levels after eating a large meal—what we call the postprandial dip—making the early afternoon tricky.”

5. Bring Some Work Home

From 7 to 9 p.m., many night owls are firing on all cylinders. Take advantage your biology by reserving these hours for heavy-lifting tasks. That means taking work home, true, but it's worth it because you'll be more productive than if you tried to accomplish it at 10 a.m., says Elene Cafasso, founder and president of Enerpace, Inc. Executive Coaching in Chicago.

Dedicating one to two hours in the evening to tackle deep-thinking work tasks from home makes sense for a night owl—but put a limit on how late you'll stay up. “Working after midnight when you have to be in the office by 9 a.m. is counterproductive,” says Matchock, and it leads to sleep deprivation. That increases the threat that you won't be able to function at full throttle in the office the next day.

6. Ask for a Later Start Time or Even Work-From-Home Days

Since even an extra hour of shuteye can help a night owl function better in the morning, it may be worth it to see if you can change your work hours from 9 to 5 to 10 to 6. “Rather than fighting biology to match occupational time, we can change occupational time to match biology,” says Matchock.

While not all bosses will be understanding, it's not out of line at most workplaces these days to ask for a slightly different schedule to accommodate personal and family needs. “Sometimes folks request adjusted hours to avoid rush hour traffic or to accommodate child care,” says Cafasso. “What really matters is that you explain how this will help you get your work done more efficiently.”

Even better for a night owl is working from home, she says, even if for just a few days a week, so you have no commute and can take 20-minute power naps (research shows they help boost performance, says Matchock). Depending on your office culture, it can be a reasonable request in today's work environment. “As long as somebody knows how to get a hold of you, your boss might be open to occasional work-from-home days,” Cafasso says.

Six Ways Night Owls Can Thrive in a 9-to-5 Work World | LearnVest

Image via Getty.

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r0B0t: Today's Best Deals: Dash Button Blowout, Better Posture, Smarter Deadbolt

A huge Dash button promotion, a fitness tracker that improves your posture, and keypad-enabled deadbolts lead off Monday's best deals.

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Top Deals

If you're curious about Amazon Dash buttons, there's never been a better time to stick them around your house. As part of a Prime Day countdown promotion, Prime members can purchase all the buttons they want for just $1 each, down from the usual $5. Plus, you'll still get a $5 credit the first time you use it, meaning Amazon's literally paying you to buy household essentials.

Amazon's Second Annual Prime Day Is Tomorrow: Here's Everything You Need To Know

$175 is a fair amount of cash for a single floorstanding speaker, even one that has dual subwoofers built right in, but $175 is the best deal Amazon's ever listed on the Klipsch R-26F by over $100, and it's only half its usual price, meaning you can buy a pair for the price of one.

While you can't control these Schlage deadbolts with your smartphone, the ability to unlock your front door with a passcode is perfect for house sitters or overnight guests, or for just unlocking the door while you're carrying groceries.

$69 is the best price Amazon's ever listed, and you can choose from several different finishes to match your decor. Just note that that is a Gold Box deal, so don't get locked out of these savings.

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The world is full of fitness trackers that can count your steps and estimate calories, but today only, we've found a deal on a wearable device that can also help you improve your posture.

The Lumo Lift is a tiny clip that you attach to your clothing like a Fitbit One, but in addition to counting your steps, distance, and calories burned, it'll also start vibrating whenever you slouch. Assuming you heed its warnings and start sitting or standing up straight, this has the potential to meaningfully improve your life in a way that counting steps might not.

Today only, Prime members can snap one up for just $50, which is $30 less than usual, and a match for the best price we've ever seen.

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Your next TV really should have HDR support, and this 2016 Samsung 4K fits the bill for $590.

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That's still a little expensive (though not too extravagant for a 50" set), but it gets you a great upscaling engine, local dimming, smart apps, Samsung Smart View, and yes, HDR. Today's price is the best we've ever seen, and about $60 less than Amazon's current price (which is itself Amazon's all-time low).

At $180, the FLIR ONE thermal imager is undoubtedly a luxury. But still, it's predator vision for your phone! It also normally sells for $250, and today's extended Lightning deal price is the best Amazon's ever listed.

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French press is your favorite way to make coffee, and it'll be an even more aesthetically pleasing process with this 100% stainless steel press for just $24.

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We've seen less expensive french presses before, but if you prefer this model's shiny and simple design, $24 is a fine price.

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Ready to get swole? Today only, Amazon's offering big discounts on performance nutrition products from the likes of BSN, EAS, Clif, and more, for Prime members only.

Inside, you'll find dozens of powders, shakes, bars, and more in a variety of flavors and formulas. Just note that the big red price listed is not the deal price in most cases. Look a little below that for the Prime price to see what you'll actually pay.

Amazon's virtual shelves are awash in $20 Bluetooth earbuds, but if you're willing to pay a bit more for superior sound quality, Jaybird's Wirecutter-recommended X2 sport earbuds have never been cheaper. Just note that this deal is only available today, and only for Prime members.

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If wall-mounting your TV has been on your to-do list, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better deal on a mount. This model holds TVs up to 55", can extend up to 15" away from the wall, and can swivel and articulate in any direction, all for just $21.

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These $6 deals from Andake can support your neck, your back, and your senses while sleeping on a plane. If you have any long trips on the horizon, these are no-brainers.