Tiffany hopes to regain its sparkle with new owners

New York's famous jewellery brand is changing hands, but will the new owners keep its popular touch?

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'Masturbation photos' prompt Tunisia's #MeToo anger

Outrage over the case involving an MP has led to an outpouring of stories about sexual abuse and harassment

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2DDmGQJ

An Efficient Homemade Wood furnace

For poor [workshop from scratch], winter brings the joy of a cold workshop. Since the building is structurally made from tin, warming up the room is difficult.

Naturally, the solution was to construct a homemade wood furnace. The build starts off with an angle grinder being taken to a compressed air tank. After sawing off the top and sanding down the edges, the builder slices out an opening and welds together some rods into a stand for the center. He then proceeds to weld some external frames for the furnace, as well as a chimney stack, some nifty covers joined by hinges, and a fan/temperature regulator to keep the fire going.

Most of the pieces seem to come from scrap metal lying around the workshop, although the degree to which the entire project comes together is quite smooth. Some filter and spray paint do the trick for cleaning up the furnace and making it look less scrappy. The last step? A stack of wooden logs and a blow torch to start the fun. Outside of the furnace, an LCD screen keeps track of the temperature, giving some feedback and control.

The result is perhaps a too effective at warming up the workshop, but the problem sure is solved!

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Top-end & mid-range phones that got price cuts

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2rIrfGK

Google’s complete email over firing 4 employees

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2L52Pyf

Blog: How BJP is becoming like Cong in graft

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2Y8GF3l

Cambodia's first gay dance company

Khmer dance is being given new meaning by the LGBT community in Cambodia.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/37RRg77

AS Roma: Why did Italian club decide to announce signings alongside missing children?

This summer, Italian club Roma began announcing their transfer signings alongside images of missing children. This is why.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2ONcPx9

Trump’s Intervention in SEALs Case Tests Pentagon’s Tolerance

By BY DAVE PHILIPPS, PETER BAKER, MAGGIE HABERMAN AND HELENE COOPER from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/33zKsrI

Cooking Grease Down a Drain Eyed in Sewage Flood of 300 Homes, Officials Say

By BY NEIL VIGDOR from NYT New York https://ift.tt/33x8V0N

Leonardo DiCaprio Responds to Brazil’s President About Amazon Fires

By BY AIMEE ORTIZ from NYT World https://ift.tt/2rG0CSX

Steve Bruce: Have we underestimated Newcastle manager?

Newcastle fans aren't yet chanting his name, but the noise that greeted his side's equaliser against Manchester City must have sounded as good to Steve Bruce.

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Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari? Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - all you need to know

Many are excited by the prospect of Lewis Hamilton being courted by Ferrari, and he's not ruling out a move. Completely, at least.

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Premier League: Man City will 'fight until the last day' - but can they catch Liverpool?

With Liverpool moving 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League, can defending champions Manchester City really catch them?

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Southampton 2-1 Watford: I suffer for fans, players and owner - Sanchez Flores

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores says he "suffers" for the fans, players and owner after his bottom-of-the-table side's defeat at fellow strugglers Southampton.

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Mikaela Shiffrin Learns a New Way to Win: Without Her Mother as Coach

By BY BILL PENNINGTON from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/35OTySH

Justin Fields Has ‘Heisman Moment’ in Ohio State’s Win Over Michigan

By BY JEFF ARNOLD from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2R4XJpu

A Leak-Prone White House Finally Manages to Keep a Secret

By BY MICHAEL CROWLEY from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2OD7lGl

Florida high school first in world to use synthetic frogs for dissection

J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey is the first school in the world to replace the guts and gore associated with cutting open the slimy amphibians -- with man-made, synthetic, frogs used for dissection labs.

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China due to introduce face scans for mobile users

Beijing wants people to use only real identities online but there is concern over data collection.

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This Week in Security:Malicious Previews, VNC Vulnerabilities, Powerwall, and The 5th Amendment

Malware embedded in office documents has been a popular attack for years. Many of those attacks have been fixed, and essentially all the current attacks are unworkable when a document is opened in protected view. There are ways around this, like putting a notice at the top of a document, requesting that the user turn off protected view. [Curtis Brazzell] has been researching phishing, and how attacks can work around mitigations like protected view. He noticed that one of his booby-trapped documents phoned home before it was opened. How exactly? The preview pane.

The Windows Explorer interface has a built-in preview pane, and it helpfully supports Microsoft Office formats. The problem is that the preview isn’t generated using protected view, at least when previewing Word documents. Generating the preview is enough to trigger loading of remote content, and could feasibly be used to trigger other vulnerabilities. [Curtis] notified Microsoft about the issue, and the response was slightly disappointing. His discovery is officially considered a bug, but not a vulnerability.

VNC Vulnerabilities

Researchers at Kaspersky took a hard look at several VNC implementations, and uncovered a total of 37 CVEs so far. It seems that several VNC projects share a rather old code-base, and it contains a plethora of potential bugs. VNC should be treated similarly to RDP — don’t expose it to the internet, and don’t connect to unknown servers. The protocol wasn’t written with security in mind, and none of the implementations have been sufficiently security hardened.

Examples of flaws include: Checking that a message doesn’t overflow the buffer after having copied it into said buffer. Another code snippet reads a variable length message into a fixed length buffer without any length checks. That particular function was originally written at AT&T labs back in the late 90s, and has been copied into multiple projects since then.

There is a potential downside to open source that is highlighted here. Open source allows poorly written code to spread. This isn’t a knock against open source, but rather a warning to the reader. Just because code or a project uses an OSS license doesn’t mean it’s secure or hi quality code. There are more vulnerabilities still in the process of being fixed, so watch out for the rest of this story.

Powerwall

And since we’re talking about security fails, Tesla’s Powerwall contained a few of them. It’s unclear how many of these have been fixed with firmware updates, but the researchers at Hacker’s Choice just released the results of their testing.

The highlight of of the work is the hard-coded wifi password, set to the unit’s serial number. The problem is that the serial number is a known format: ST0001. “YY” is the year of manufacture. So far, that’s only since 2015, meaning there’s only 5 possible options. “L” is the revision, with only 6 seen in the wild so far. The last 7 digits appear to be a linearly incrementing number, with only numbers between 1000 and 2000 being seen. The real kicker is that the wifi network name appears to contain the last 3 digits of the serial number, giving that information away for free. For those keeping track at home, that means that an attacker trying to connect to a Powerwall’s wifi network has only 30 possible passwords to try, given this best case scenario.

How bad could it be, for an attacker to gain access to a Powerwall’s network? There is a web-based management interface that uses the same password as the wifi. This interface has all sorts of useful functions, like inverting the power sensor logic. This option probably exists to work around a hapless electrician that installed the sensor clamp backwards, but different combinations of inversion lead to various interesting results, like charging the grid when the battery should be charging, or pulling power instead. Another fun option is to change the power output to the home to another country’s standard. Doubling the voltage or changing the power frequency could be disastrous.

While this research was just published, the firmware tested appears to be from late 2017, with multiple updates released since then. Tesla hasn’t published details about security fixes in their firmware releases, so it’s hard to know how many of the problems presented here have been fixed.

Passwords, Freedom, and Self-incrimination

A legal fight has been slowly brewing in the US over the last few years. The central question is this: Does the Constitutionally guaranteed right against self-incrimination apply to passwords? Courts have been testing this issue for years, but so far a case has not come before the US Supreme Court. Prior cases have applied something known as the “Foregone Conclusion Exception”. This essentially means that with a warrant, police can compel an individual to turn over documentation that is known to exist. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court weighed in on the issue recently, and found that the act of giving a password is inherently testimonial, and therefore protected under the 5th amendment.

No person…shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself….

This is yet another case of the difficulty of applying laws and rulings from before the computer revolution. If the password was instead a combination to a safe, it would be easy enough to open that safe through various means, even without the cooperation of the individual. Modern encryption is an entirely different realm, where decryption is impossible without the password. This latest ruling rejects the notion that the forgone conclusion exception can apply to a password. This issue will likely be decided at the US Supreme Court eventually.

We’re running this weekend because of Thanksgiving, but keep your eyes peeled Friday mornings for This Week in Security, and we’ll keep you up to date with these stories and more.

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Football gossip: Sanchez Flores, Pochettino, Rodgers, Howe, Silva, Arteta, Aubameyang, Depay

Watford to sack Sanchez Flores, Pochettino's pay-off clause, Gunners chase Foxes boss, Cherries manager in demand, plus more.

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Freddie Ljungberg 'has Arsenal DNA' - Josh Kroenke

Josh Kroenke says interim boss Freddie Ljungberg "has Arsenal DNA" and that Unai Emery's dismissal had been in the pipeline for several weeks.

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20 tough questions Google asked in job interviews

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2XYTTzL

Mood

By BY CAITLIN LOVINGER from NYT Crosswords & Games https://ift.tt/2OYgVm3

J'khand polls live: Voting underway for 1st phase

The first of the five-phase polling began in 13 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand today. The voting commenced at 7 am and will end at 3 pm. Stay with TOI for live updates:

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2L8bZd9

Transforming India: FDI Lessons from China

In this episode, co-host Pravin Krishna is joined by Rebeccay McGilvery in a conversation with Mary Lovely, Professor of Economics at Syracuse University, on lessons for India from China on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The episode is recorded on the sidelines of the Columbia Summit on Indian Economy, where Professor Lovely presented her ongoing research on the highly successful experience of China on FDI. She highlights the phenomenal contribution that FDI made to manufacturing exports, raising productivity growth of domestic firms and job creation. She goes on to explain the importance of complementary policies such as those relating to labor and land markets to attract foreign investment. Professor Lovely says that going forward India has a huge opportunity to attract more FDI.

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/34ATEx0

Making Your Own Chain Sprockets, The Tidy Way

Chain sprockets are a key drivetrain component in a lot of builds. Unfortunately they can be difficult to source, particularly for those outside the reach of retailers like McMaster-Carr. In such situations, you might consider making your own.

The toothed profile on a chain sprocket can be produced in a simple manner by drawing a base circle, along with a series of circles spaced appropriately for the chain in question. This involves measuring the pitch and roller diameter of the chain. With these measurements in hand, a template can be created to produce the sprocket.

From there a series of holes are drilled to rough out the basic shape of the teeth, before the sprocket is then cut down to its appropriate outer diameter. The finishing work consists of chamfering the sprocket’s thickness, as well as the filing the sharp edges of the teeth for smooth engagement.

It’s a quick and easy method for producing sprockets with well-defined, accurate profiles. We’ve featured other rough and ready methods before, too. Video after the break.

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All the best Black Friday tech deals: Laptops, TVs, headphones, and more

Black Friday weekend is in full swing — because, let's face it, deals don't just last one day anymore. 

We've gone through all the major retailers to scope out the best deals across the tech spectrum and there are some pretty killer deals on laptops, TVs, headphones, smartphones, tablets, and gaming devices. Rather than making you go through pages and pages of deals, we're offering you a condensed list of all of the best ones. We just like you that much.

SEE ALSO: What's the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, anyway?

So, enjoy your shopping holiday, and happy spending! Read more...

Best laptop deals

More about Tech, Laptop, 4k Tv, Black Friday, and Mashable Shopping

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Polling for first phase begins in Jharkhand

The first of the five-phase polling began in 13 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand on Saturday. A total of 37,83,055 electorate, including 18,01,356 women and five third-gender voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the first phase across six districts. The fate of 189 candidates, including 15 women nominees, will be decided in the first phase of the polling.

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/35Opl6p

Seymour Siwoff, Master of Sports Statistics, Is Dead at 99

By BY RICHARD GOLDSTEIN from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2q4R8jP

Jesus manger: Relic to return to Bethlehem in time for Christmas

Christians await the return of the thumb-sized relic, which spent almost 1,400 years in Rome.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/37NXxRm

11 of Our Best Weekend Reads

By BY LAUREN HARD from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2OwMzIu

Rediscovering the forgotten Indian artists of British India

The East India Company commissioned some remarkable artwork from Indian painters in the 18th Century.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2qXyZEX

How BBC's Katy Watson pumped breast milk through polls and protests

Katy Watson covered a turbulent time in South America while still producing a food supply for baby Isadora.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2OXUmhu

How contestant was failed in Spain's Big Brother sex assault case

Carlota Prado had no memory of what had happened until she was shown it in the diary room.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2L6r133

Sham news sites make big bucks from fake views

Websites that copy news stories from legitimate sites are making money from Google and Amazon ads.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2XYX4r0

Priya: India's female comic superhero returns to rescue 'stolen girls'

The fictional female superhero and her pet tiger fight trafficking in the latest Priya Shakti comic.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2qIHrHV

Zurich AG outbids Adani, Dial for Jewar airport

“I’ll be back.” Like neighbouring Austria-born Arnold Schwarzenegger, Flughafen Zurich AG (FZ) said as much while exiting Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), where it had 17% stake, in early 2017. True to its word, it is back here with a bang in less than three years — it is likely to build and operate the Jewar airport.

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/33wwGG7

3 Young People Stabbed on Busy Hague Street, Setting Off Alarm in Dutch City

By BY CHRISTOPHER F. SCHUETZE from NYT World https://ift.tt/2OUYS04

The Nets Win One for Their Culture

By BY SOPAN DEB from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/37T891h

Shmoo Cake, Persians and Spudnuts: Touring Canada’s Regional Cuisine

By BY IAN AUSTEN from NYT World https://ift.tt/35P2Y0q

WBC super featherweight: Andres Gutierrez out of Oscar Valdez bout in Las Vegas

Andres Gutierrez is out of Saturday's WBC super-featherweight world title eliminator against Oscar Valdez after weighing in 11 pounds over the limit.

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Black Friday Deals You Can Still Get On Sale

The savings don't have to end just yet!

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Dub Siren Synth Does It The Old School Way

There’s little that can compare to the sheer obnoxious thrill of mashing the DJ siren when its your turn behind the decks. We’ve certainly been guilty of abusing the privilege at local house parties, and unsurprisingly have not been invited back. If we ever get another shot, though, we’d be glad to have [lonesoulsurfer]’s dub siren at the ready.

This is a build for the old-school purists. There’s no microcontrollers or digital hardware here. The synth relies on two 555 timer ICs as the oscillators and an LM741 op-amp. These parts harken right back to the dawn of the integrated circuit era, and still do a great job in this application. There’s also a cheap reverb/echo module added in to fatten up the sound. It’s all laced up in an old CB radio enclosure, with the classic woodgrain applique doing much to add to the aesthetic.

It’s a build that’s simple enough for the electronics beginner, and would make a great tactile, analog addition to any DJ’s rig. If you need some wubwubs to go with your woowoos, then consider building a Ball of Dub, too.

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Crusaders rugby team retain name following post-mosque attack review

The New Zealand side launched a review after the Christchurch mosque attacks killed 51 people.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/35KOj6M

Dyson to move global HQ to historic Singapore building

The UK company says the old power station will be an "inspiring backdrop" as it shifts to Asia.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2R7dbBD

Tech companies that got highest no of H-1B visas

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2R05Gw7

Sudan crisis: Party of ex-leader Omar al-Bashir dissolved

An oppressive public order law that was used to regulate women's behaviour has also been repealed.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2L4fP7n

Donald Trump visits US troops in Afghanistan for Thanksgiving

The president paid a surprise visit to US soldiers and said the US and the Taliban have been engaged in talks.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/35Ngimj

Fantasy Concoction

By BY DEB AMLEN from NYT Crosswords & Games https://ift.tt/37FTKp8

Sri Lankan President's India visit: Key points

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2ssDGXN

Hacking Transmitters, 1920s Style

The origin of the term “breadboard” comes from an amusing past when wooden bread boards were swiped from kitchens and used as a canvas for radio hobbyists to roll homemade capacitors, inductors, and switches. At a period when commercial electronic components were limited, anything within reach was fair game.

[Andy Flowers], call sign K0SM, recently recreated some early transmitters using the same resources and techniques from the 1920s for the Bruce Kelley 1929 QSO Party. The style of the transmitters are based on [Ralph Hartley]’s oscillator circuit built for Bell Telephone in 1915. Most of the components he uses are from the time period, and one of the tubes he uses is even one of four tubes from the first Transatlantic contact in 1923.

Apart from vacuum tubes (which could be purchased) and meters (which could be scrounged from automobiles) [Flowers] recreated his own ferrite plate and outlet condensers for tuning the antennas. The spiderweb coils may not be as common today, but can be found in older Crosley receivers and use less wire than comparable cylindrical coils.

A number of others features of the transmitters also evoke period nostalgia. The coupling to the antenna can be changed using movable glass rods, although without shielding there are quite a number of factors to account for. A vertical panel in the 1920s style also shows measurements from the filament, plate current, and antenna coupling.

While amature radio has become increasingly high-tech over the last few years, it’s always good to see dedicated individuals keeping the old ways alive; no matter what kind of technology they’re interested in.

[Thanks Mark Erdle for the tip!]

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Why electoral bonds are in controversy again

Electoral bonds that were meant to clean up India's political funding, have been raising a stink... again

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2OuNHMD

Hyderabad vet doc ‘raped’, body set ablaze

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2sk4Uj9

Trump makes surprise trip to Afghanistan

Trump made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to US troops in Afghanistan on Thursday and said he believed Taliban insurgents would agree to a ceasefire in America's longest war. Trump met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and served turkey to some US troops before sitting down to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them.

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2L45ubz

Five online resources to help you start your home loan journey

Buying your first property can feel super liberating but it can also be pretty terrifying. From finance fears to real estate jargon and imposter syndrome, the whole thing can feel overwhelming. Thankfully, the process doesn’t have to be as scary as some might have you believe. With the help of these resources, you’ll be swanning your way through every open house with the confidence of a boomer at an Elton John concert.

Crunch the numbers

It’s probably the most important (and obvious) part of the entire home-buying process, but ensuring you know exactly how much you can borrow is paramount. In an ideal world, you’ll be looking for a home that ticks all the boxes but won’t have you breaking the budget in the process. No one wants to struggle with monthly repayments, which is why deciding to use one of the many available online calculators can be super helpful. You’ll need to know a few details before you start punching in the numbers though, including your loan period, interest rate, your annual net income and monthly expenses. Pop in your info and you’ll be given an amount you should be able to comfortably afford. Read more...

More about Supported, Brand X, Watercooler, and Consumer Tech

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‘I got HIV my first time’

Aged 17 when she was diagnosed with HIV, one woman tells the BBC about living with the virus.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2DwvYOp

7 Killed in Plane Crash in Ontario

By BY MIHIR ZAVERI from NYT World https://ift.tt/35JYjgy

Indian students lured by fake US univ, held

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2DpqoxB

Inside Malaysia's straight edge punk scene

Khai Aziz, lead singer of Second Combat, says convincing people of his no-drink, no-drugs lifestyle is challenging.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2st3frN

The Oculus Go is at its lowest price on Amazon ever for Black Friday

TL;DR: The Oculus Go might just be the best standalone VR headset, and it's on sale for $149 at Amazon — a savings of $50 and a record low price.

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VR headsets in 2019 are like the Wii in 2006. Your cool friend has one and you're always trying to go to their house to play it, but you haven't gotten around to buying your own yet.

This Black Friday is your chance to stake out your own spot in the VR landscape for cheap. You can grab the Oculus Go, potentially the most important VR creation yet, for $149 at Amazon — its lowest price on Amazon ever and $10 cheaper than its Prime Day price.

People tend to stay away from VR headsets for two reasons: Having to connect to a phone or PC is more of a hassle than it's worth, and spending $300+ to do so is a steep investment for the average person. And until the release of the Oculus Go in spring 2018, your options were basically that or the Google Cardboard. Read more...

More about Gaming, Vr Headset, Black Friday, Mashable Shopping, and Oculus Go

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The best Black Friday deals so far: Sales that went live on Thanksgiving

Hope y'all are done with your stuffing and already took your post-turkey nap, because it's go-time.

Black Friday officially kicked off at 5 or 6 pm EST at most retailers, which means the last of those deals that didn't go live early are live now. 

We hope you were wise enough to map out what you want to buy with the ad scans, but if you didn't, we've pulled all the best deals so that you don't have to waste time flipping through deal pages. If you see something on sale, skip the virtual bloodbath and snag yours before other customers catch wind. "Out of stock" notices on doorbusters will happen quickly: Some 4K TVs and Apple Watches at Walmart are already sold out online and are only available for in-store purchase, and the MacBook Air is in and out of stock on Amazon. Read more...

More about Laptop, Black Friday, Kitchen, Mashable Shopping, and Instant Pot

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HDFC Bank unsecured loans cross Rs 1 lakh crore

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2Ov5F1r

Here are all the best Black Friday air fryer deals live now

Best Black Friday air fryer deals live right now:

• Instant Vortex 6-quart — $49 (save $50)

• Ninja 4-quart Air Fryer (AF101) — $69.99 (save $60)

• Ninja Foodi 8-quart pressure cooker and air fryer — $199.99 (list price $279.99)

• Cuisinart Convection Toaster Air Fryer (TOA-60) — $124.99 (save $53.17 plus an extra $20.84 coupon) 

• Bella Pro Series 10.5-quart digital air fryer — $89.99 (list price $149.99)

• Dash Compact 1.2-quart Air Fryer — $39.99 (save $60 plus an extra $10 coupon)

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Last year, the Instant Pot was one of the most popular purchases in over half of the states.

This year, you probably have another trendy kitchen gadget on your list. While pressure cookers are good for speeding up home-cooked meals and mastering difficult recipes like chunky soup or rice, air fryers are a must in all households big on hosting and snacking without feeling like shit about. You'll want that over the holidays. Read more...

More about Cooking, Black Friday, Kitchen, Mashable Shopping, and Air Fryer

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Maltese Businessman Accuses Top Government Officials in Murder of Journalist

By BY REUTERS from NYT World https://ift.tt/2XXpdie

Ice Sculpture Steals Show at U.K. Climate Debate That Boris Johnson Skips

By BY ALAN YUHAS from NYT World https://ift.tt/33raJbC

Vertical Train Hauls Up The Wall

Trains are great for hauling massive amounts of cargo from point A to point B, and occasionally, point C on weekends. But they’re not really known for climbing hills well, and anything vertical is right out. Regardless, [Can Altineller] knows what he wants and set to work, creating the 3D Printed Wall Train.

The first step was to get the train to stick to a vertical surface. This was achieved with the use of neodymium magnets in the train, which are attracted to laser-cut steel plates beneath the plastic tracks. The train itself consists of a custom 3D printed locomotive, outfitted with a motor and step-down gears that drive all four wheels. Said wheels are of a conical shape, and covered with rubber to provide enough grip to overcome gravity. The project is a progression from [Cal]’s earlier four-motor build.

The final result is a charming wall display, with the four-wheel drive train merrily tugging its carriages around the circular course ad infinitum. It’s a fun build, and we’d love to see similar techniques applied to a bigger layout. If this whets your appetite for model railroading, consider building your own turntable, or implementing some fancy sensors. Video after the break.

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When Ranbir confessed he drifted apart from mother

In a throwback interview, Ranbir opened up about how bitterly he was criticised for his much-talked about break-up with actress Deepika Padukone. The ‘Barfi!’ actor also added that he had a rocky relationship with his parents because of that. He stated that he found his mother and him drifting apart.

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2XQIUZ2

A Single-Digit-Micrometer Thickness Wood Speaker

Researchers have created an audio speaker using ultra-thin wood film. The new material demonstrates high tensile strength and increased Young’s modulus, as well as acoustic properties contributing to higher resonance frequency and greater displacement amplitude compared to a commercial polypropylene diaphragm in an audio speaker.

Typically, acoustic membranes have to remain very thin (on the micron scale) and robust in order to allow for a highly sensitive frequency response and vibrational amplitude. Materials made from plastic, metal, ceramic, and carbon have been used by engineers and physicists in an attempt to enhance the quality of sound. While plastic thin films are most commonly manufactured, they have a pretty bad impact on the environment. Meanwhile, metal, ceramic, and carbon-based materials are more expensive and less attractive to manufacturers as a result.

Cellulose-based materials have been making an entrance in acoustics research with their environmentally friendly nature and natural wooden structure. Materials like bagasse, wood fibers, chitin, cotton, bacterial cellulose, and lignocellulose are all contenders for effective alternatives to parts currently produced from plastics.

The process for building the ultra-thin film involved removing lignin and hemicellulose from balsa wood, resulting in a highly porous material. The result is hot pressed for a thickness reduction of 97%. The cellulose nano-fibers remain oriented but more densely packed compared to natural wood. In addition, the fibers required higher energy to be pulled apart while remaining flexible and foldable.

At one point in time, plastics seemed to be the hottest new material, but perhaps wood is making a comeback?

[Thanks Qes for the tip!]

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El encubrimiento fallido del dopaje en Rusia

By BY TARIQ PANJA from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2XRzSea

Was President Zelensky Blackmailed?

Rep. Jim Jordan and his fellow Republicans continue to deny the obvious.

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Utah family terrorised by Hawaii 'extreme stalker'

The suspect kept sending plumbers, drug dealers and prostitutes to his victims' home, police say.

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Can't play second fiddle to spinners now: Umesh

In a pace attack which features a lethal trio in Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav has managed to stay in the scheme of things and has now been making every opportunity count. The recent Test season at home is a testimony to his perseverance and evolution as a fast bowler.

from The Times of India https://ift.tt/2OsDsbE

Amazon's 2019 Black Friday sale is here, and these are the best deals

After a literal month of hype and dozens of teaser deals, Amazon's Black Friday sale has officially started — and if I may quote Michael Scott, "Oh my GOD, okay, it's happening. EVERYBODY STAY CALM."

It's go time, people. And if you want to avoid one of those dreaded "out of stock" banners, you'd better hurry; the site's sales tend to move pretty quickly. 

No pressure, you know.

The last time we checked, there were no less than 1,000 active deals up on Amazon's official Black Friday landing page, and they covered everything from electronics to kids' toys. If you don't feel like scrolling through all of them (fair!), fret not: Below, you'll find a quick rundown of the best bargains that are up for grabs right now.  Read more...

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