As the drought in Southern California continues for a fourth punishing year, depleting groundwater reserves and demanding large-scale restrictions on usage, residents are regularly forced to confront the more unsustainable aspects of contemporary American life. For many, that means swapping their natural lawn for a simulated version.
Oculus VR recommends spec for their first consumer model PC-based Oculus Rift headset. These are the bits and pieces of PC power you’ll need to run the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset – or what’s recommended to run the machine, at least. If you’ve got a PC with less processing power than what you’re about to see here, turn back … Continue reading
The few and the proud Windows Phone users working with Windows Phone 10 Technical Preview have an update today. This update includes several boosts to services like Universal Office Apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. They also have updates to the Xbox app. If you have an Xbox One, you’ll have plenty more services to access as of this … Continue reading
Were you bummed when Fox announced it cancelled The Mindy Project after three seasons? Fret not, Hulu announced today that it’s picking up the series, starting with a 26-episode fourth season. The show, named for star Mindy Kaling, already streams on…
A new app, billed as the “Tinder of Real Estate”, is allowing homebuyers in the UK to shop for a new home the same way they shop for new partners: by swiping. It’s called Knocker and was recently created by a pair of programmers at the Ignite100 acce…
Back in 2010 we heard about how the late Sir Terry Pratchett made his own sword using a bit of iron from a meteorite. The blade of this katana on the other hand was made entirely from a meteorite. It’s called the Tentetsutou (天鉄刀), which translates to Sword of Heaven. Yep, this is going to read like a wiki page for a JRPG item.
The renowned blacksmith Yoshindo Yoshiwara crafted the katana using fragments from Gibeon, an iron-alloy meteorite that landed near a town in Namibia after which it was named. Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT) made this video about Tentetsutou. Sadly it’s all in Japanese, but you can get glimpses of the katana at 2:34 and 7:18.
According to Namibia 1-on-1, in the late 1830s British explorer Sir James Alexander saw locals using Gibeon’s pieces to make tools and weapons. Alexander sent samples back to London, where it was verified that the rock came from space.
You can see the rest of Gibeon at the Post Street Mall in Namibia, while Tentetsutou is on permanent display at CIT’s exhibit at the Skytree tower in Tokyo, Japan. Cool story, sword! I bet it teaches you a badass special move if you use it 255 times.
千葉工業大学が東京スカイツリータウンで展示している、鉄の隕石で作られた日本刀「天鉄刀」。4億5千万年前にアフリカに落ちた鉄隕石「ギベオン」を使ったんだって。これを装備してスカイツリー頂上のラスボスを倒しに行くんですね。 pic.twitter.com/xpVdflYi5M
— ザン・ウー (@Zan_Woo) May 10, 2015
Let’s end on this note by Twitter user Zan_Woo, who says he’s going to take the Sword of Heaven, climb the Skytree and defeat the final boss at the top of the tower. Legend of Zan Woo: Let Us Climb Together. Coming to Nintendo 5DS in 2030.
[via Chibi Institute of Technology & RocketNews24 via Nerdist]
Purdue University has become the first public institution of higher education to adopt a free speech policy called the “Chicago principles,” condemning the suppression of views no matter how “offensive, unwise, immoral, or wrong-headed” they may be.
The board of trustees passed a measure endorsing those principles on Friday. Purdue President Mitch Daniels plans to address some of the same points in his remarks at the Indiana university’s commencement ceremony this weekend.
The Chicago principles were crafted and approved at the University of Chicago in January and has since been adopted by the faculty at Princeton University.
The free speech principles caught Daniel’s eye when they were first released, he told The Huffington Post, and he saw the potential for them to spread to other campuses. He called officials at Chicago to ask permission to copy their statement.
“We didn’t see how we could improve on the language,” Daniels said. “That captures what we think is right here.”
The Committee on Freedom of Expression, a faculty group at the University of Chicago, was organized in July 2014 following what the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) dubbed “disinvitation season” that spring, when student activists across the country attempted to block or un-invite controversial commencement speakers.
Then in November, students at the University of California, Berkeley, attempted to block Bill Maher from speaking at their winter commencement over his past comments about Muslims. Such an irony, the TV host couldn’t help but note. Exactly 50 years earlier, Berkeley had been the home of the Free Speech Movement.
The Purdue policy states, “It is for the individual members of the University community, not for the University as an institution, to make those judgments for themselves, and to act on those judgments not by seeking to suppress speech, but by openly and vigorously contesting the ideas that they oppose.” Nearly identical language appears in the Chicago version.
“We looked at it, our trustees looked at it. We said, you know, this says exactly what needs to be said. We’re going to protect all kinds of speech, including the kind we think is ridiculous and completely wrong, and we’re going to insist everybody else respect — at least on our campus — people’s right to be heard,” Daniels said.
Asked how he would respond if students attempted to un-invite a speaker at Purdue, Daniels answered, “I would politely tell them, ‘Thank you for your advice, but no, we’re not that kind of place.'”
University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey R. Stone, who chaired the free speech committee, said there was “consensus pretty much from the beginning on the basic principles” of the statement. Stone is excited to see other schools adopting the same ideas, especially in light of recent speech debates on campus.
“My own personal view is that the level of intolerance for controversial views on college campuses is much greater than at any time in my memory and that it is most unfortunate,” Stone said. “College is a time to learn to deal with challenging, unsettling, and even offensive and hateful ideas. In the real world, we are inevitably confronted with these ideas, and college should prepare our graduates to know how to respond to such ideas courageously, effectively and persuasively.”
Greg Lukianoff, president of FIRE, said that much of his career has been spent defending free speech against higher education administrators. But over the last two-and-a-half years, he said, “the language policing” started coming more from the students.
“It’s really distressing to me and disappointing to me because I enjoy defending students,” Lukianoff said.
He can’t say what caused the change and hesitates to attribute it to social media, but he did concede the Internet has made it easier for students to interact only within “echo chambers” where they feel comfortable.
“You end up having people who are less prepared to deal with general, fundamental debate,” Lukianoff said. Moreover, he expects to see battles over expression “get worse because so many other things are getting better,” freeing people to give speech issues more prominence.
Purdue also plans to overhaul particular policies flagged by FIRE as potentially violating the First Amendment.
Both the Chicago and Purdue statements instruct community members to “not obstruct or otherwise interfere” with an opponent’s speech, but leave open the possibility for the university to restrict defamation, genuine threats, harassment that “unjustifiably invades” privacy or “expression that violates the law.”
“As we’ve said before, a university violates its special mission if it fails to protect free and open debate,” Purdue trustees chair Thomas Spurgeon said in a statement. “No one can expect his views to be free from vigorous challenge, but all must feel completely safe in speaking out.”
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Two Colorado brothers now have a beautiful way to remember their late father, all thanks to a selfless man with a huge sense of compassion.
Sam Brownlee, a Weld County Sheriff’s deputy, was killed in the line of duty a few years ago, 9 News reported. His sons, Tanner and Chase, wanted to have their late father’s patrol car which was being auctioned off for charity, according to KMGH. On Wednesday night, Tanner attended the auction, but was outbid by a man named Steve Wells.
Wells, a local rancher, surprised Tanner by immediately handing the keys over.
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3”; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
Posted by Weld County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Stephen Wells giving Tanner Brownlee the keys to Sam Brownlee’s patrol car.
“Tanner, here is your car, ” Wells, who won the $12,500-value car for $60,000, told the tearful young man, according to KMGH.
Tanner, who was 15 years old when his father died, was committed to winning the car and even set up a GoFundMe account to help him do so. The vehicle was a huge part of the late deputy’s memory.
“This is kind of the end of Sam’s legacy here. It’s the last tangible thing we have that he was connected to,” Sheriff Steve Reams said, according to KMGH.
While at the auction, which was held to benefit the organization Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), the devoted son had lost hope when the bids began getting higher and higher, according to CBS News. He told KMGH that if he was outbid, he hoped that someone would be generous enough to give the car to him and his brother.
Luckily, Wells was.
The gesture, Tanner said, really struck a chord with him.
“This is just so huge,” Tanner told CBS. “I mean, me and my dad built a fence and stuff, but having something I can use, and drive around that he drove around — it just means a lot.”
The brothers drove home in their father’s car after the auction — exactly what Tanner had been hoping to do that day, CBS reported.
Like Us On Facebook
Follow Us On Twitter
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
“Sure, I can roll over. No problem,” the hedgehog in this video probably thought to itself. Little did he know it was going to take just about everything he had to flip that chubby little body over.
The little guy was brought into the HART Wildlife Rescue facility in Alton, Hampshire, in the U.K. last fall. He was underweight and had parasites. He spent the winter at the rescue center putting on some weight and recuperating before he was released back into the wild this spring.
We wish you luck, Mr. Hedgehog, and many more days on your feet.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Where you lead, we will follow, Luke and Lorelai, because we hardcore ship your relaysh. On the anniversary of the final “Gilmore Girls” episode on May 15, 2007, The Huffington Post took a look back at one of the early ’00s most tantalizing on-screen romances.
True will-they won’t-they believers known the most exciting TV romance moments are often in the slow build-up before a couple gets together, or the quiet, tender exchanges that remind viewers why the characters fit together so well.
So while we’re huge fans of the big, iconic scenes in Luke and Lorelai’s relationship — the dance at Liz’s wedding, the kiss at the Dragonfly Inn, the spontaneous diner proposal — we wanted to commemorate some of the more underrated exchanges from their long, tumultuous, amazing, anxiety-provoking, very romantic affair.
Read on for our picks of the 10 best Luke-Lorelai moments that we cannot let fade into obscurity.
<img alt ="lukelrelaidinergif"src="http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/lukelorelaidinergif.gif"width="570"
1. Lorelai helps Luke paint the diner: Season 1, Episode 14, “That Damn Donna Reed”
“Gilmore Girls” devotees often remember “Forgiveness and Stuff — a.k.a the Santa Burger episode — as the defining Luke-Lorelai hour in “Gilmore Girls” Season 1. Luke brings Lorelai to the hospital after her Dad has a heart attack, wherein Emily tells Luke, after he says he and her daughter are just friends: “You’re idiots. The both of you.” (Yeah.) But this other Season 1 installment, “That Damn Donna Reed,” could basically be renamed OMG THERES AN EXTREME CONNECTION BETWEEN LUKE AND LORELAI AND EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT. After a season full of building tension, both Sookie and Emily comment on the blatant chemistry between Luke and Lorelai in this episode, naming twice in one hour what is so many times only hinted at. The Lorelai-Luke mentions would be fodder enough for all the shippers crying their way through their building tension, but the show throws even more scraps to the hungry dogs with a scene in which Lorelai visits Luke’s diner after hours. She shows him some paint color options, he opens up to her about his Dad, and the two end up crouched behind the counter looking at a spot on the wall where Luke’s dad once wrote a hardware order. The two have an intense stare-into-each-others’-eyes moment that gets interrupted by Taylor and his town members posse banging on the door. When they leave, Luke remains crouched very close behind Lorelai, seemingly trying to keep the heat of their stare moment alive. Then she says “I should go.”
Everyone watching is like “WHY!?!?!?” and at the end of the episode, Christopher rolls into town on his motorcycle. Basically a metaphor for Luke and Lorelai’s entire future relationship.
2. Rachel leaves Luke because he loves Lorelai: Season 1, Episode 21, “Love, Daisies and Troubadours”
Luke’s girlfriends all eventually pick up on the fact that Lorelai is his true love. In this Season 1 episode, Rachel leaves Luke because she can tell he and Lorelai aren’t “just friends,” as he claims. (It’s his, like, favorite line.) Lorelei’s boyfriend at the time, Max, also picks up on a vibe between her and Luke when he sees them together later, but she too says it’s nothing. The denial on both Luke and Lorelai’s parts — in this episode and at many points throughout the series — is truly masterful.
3. Lorelai has Luke “forever”: Season 2, Episode 9, “Run Away, Little Boy”
Years before marriage was on the table for Luke and Lorelai, the two solidified their forever-importance to each other in a little exchange in Season 2. After her breakup with Max, Lorelai goes on a casual date with a business school classmate, who Stars Hollow revels to discover is quite a few years her junior. Luke’s prods about her young date err more on the side of mean than funny, and the very-much-in-denial Lorelai wonders about his ‘tude problems to Sookie. Sookie, who has been a Luke-Lorelai proponent from the early days, spells it out for Lorelai: Luke is into her, he watches her date literally everyone but him and it sucks. Lorelai isn’t necessarily buying it, but when she goes back to the diner, she makes sure Luke knows what he means to her:
LORELAI: I don’t have very many people in my life who are in my life permanently forever. They will always be there for me. I will always be there for them, you know? There’s Rory, and Sookie, and this town and … you. I mean, at least I think I’ve got –“
LUKE: You do.
LORELAI: Good. Just checking
The glossy eye contact going on between these two is, once again, too insane.
4. Lorelai and Luke talk about meeting “the right person”: Season 3, Episode 7, “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?”
The “Gilmore Girls” dance marathon episode is a huge turning point in the Dean-Jess-Rory love triangle. Dean publicly breaks up with Rory, instigating a series of events that leads to her new Bad Boy (and Good Chemistry) relationship. With all the younger generation drama going on — poor Shane, really — viewers may not recall the heart string-pulling moment that happens between Luke and Lorelai as he fixes her shoe on the bleachers. Kids are the topic of the evening after Jackson tells Sookie he wants “four in four,” and Luke clarifies here to Lorelai that he isn’t as anti-children as he may have seemed earlier. Luke and Lorelai both admit they’d consider having kids if they met the right person. Then they kind of glance at each other and it’s just like … hello, you guys are each others’ persons.
5. Lorelai tells Luke about her pregnancy dream: Season 3, Episode 17, ” A Tale of Poes and Fire”
The dream Lorelai has in the Season 3 opener is an important part of the “Gilmore Girls” cannon — in it, she’s married to Luke and pregnant with his twins, long before the two every actually even kiss in real life. (Also, Rory’s analysis is that it means Lorelai’s secretly in love with Luke. Which, on point.) But less appreciated is the episode later in the season when Lorelai tells Luke about the dream. When The Independence Inn burns down, Lorelai lends her house to displaced guests and crashes for the night at Luke’s. He does not tell his girlfriend Nicole this when she calls, because Lorelai has become a sore point in their relationship. Luke and Lorelai aren’t looking at each other as she tells him the details of the dream, but when she mentions that they were married, they both grin in their separate beds. Lorelai stops herself as she’s about to tell him about the kiss — but we can guess his smile at that revelation would have been PRETTY GIGANTIC.
6. Lorelai doesn’t want Luke to move: Season 4, Episode 11, “In the Clamor and the Clangor”
The church bells in Stars Hollow are once again functioning, and Lorelai discovers Luke moved in with his girlfriend Nicole three weeks ago and never told her. When the bells begin to be a true scourge on the innocent town peoples’ ears, Luke and Lorelai sneak into the church to break them. On the way, Lorelai goes up with Luke to his old apartment to grab his toolbox, and can tell from the lived-in space that he isn’t spending too much time at his supposedly new place. At the church, she confronts him about it, leading him to ask why she cares whether or not he moved:
LUKE: How much adjusting did you have to do? Nothing’s changed! I still see you everyday, I still cook your food, I still serve your coffee. What do you care?
LORELAI: I care.
LUKE: Why?
LORELAI: Because I don’t want you to move.
LUKE: Why? Why don’t you want me to move?
At this point, the Reverend walks in, effectively ending their conversation. We never get to hear exactly how Lorelai would spin the fact that she wants Luke to just be around the corner. But the moment is powerful.
<img alt ="yourenotfailinggif"src=" http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/yourenotfailinggif.gif"width="570"
7. Luke comforts Lorelai during her breakdown: Season 4, Episode 14, “The Incredible Shrinking Lorelais”
Luke and Lorelai’s diner banter is, obviously, a true life force of the show. But their meatier emotional moments — especially in the period before they get together — are an equally vital indicator of their potential as a couple. In this episode, Lorelai is flailing as preparations for the Dragonfly Inn begin to spiral. She breaks down to Luke, crying into his chest that she is failing. He tells her she’s not failing, and is generally a solid shoulder to cry on. It’s a great reminder that even though Luke can be a real grump machine, he can actually handle emotional situations and be there for Lorelai when she needs support.
8. Luke comes running after Lorelai’s voicemail: Season 5, Episode 14, “Say Something”
After Luke breaks up with Lorelai in Season 5, she leaves him a devastated voicemail asking him to come over. Realizing mid-way through that she’s crossing a line, she hangs up and runs to Luke’s place to steal the answering machine tape before he hears it. When she gets back home, she finds Luke frantically scanning the place for her. He’d heard the voicemail before she nabbed it and rushed over. Even when they were broken up, Luke’s heart always beats for his OTP Lorelai G.
9. Luke is patient with Lorelai about setting a wedding date: Season 6, Episode 3, “The UnGraduate”
Luke and Lorelai are engaged, but there is still no wedding date on the calendar. Sookie pushes Lorelai to set a date, thinking the lack of plans stem from a fear of commitment. But in a vulnerable moment later with Luke, Lorelai reveals her true hesitation about setting the date is because she wants to wait until she makes up from her fight with Rory. Luke totally gets it because he totally gets Lorelai, and jumps right on board like the super supportive romantic partner of everyone’s dreams. Cool!
10. Luke steps in during Lorelai crisis: Season 6, Episode 8, “Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out”
Another example of Luke totally getting Lorelai, and Lauren Graham totally getting HOW TO ROCK AT ACTING. During Lorelai and Rory’s infamous, horrible not-speaking-to-each-other time, Lorelai’s dog Paul Anka gets sick. Luke finds Lorelai in the rocking chair in Rory’s room near where Paul Anka is lying, where she’s been all night. She’s teary-eyed, and as she talks about her worry about Paul Anka, it’s clear she’s actually talking about what’s going on with Rory:
LORELAI: I did this wrong. I did this all wrong. How could I have let this happen? How did I not see it coming? How didn’t I step in and do something, and why can’t I fix these things? … I’m a bad mother!
Luke reassures her she’s not a bad mother, and calls Sookie to let her know Lorelai will be late to work so she can get some sleep. It’s a totally heartbreaking “Gilmore Girls” moment — talk about SOBS — and another perfect example of successful emotional support.
Happy anniversary “Gilmore Girls.” Luke and Lorelai forever!!!
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
