TL;DR

Richard LawlerFeb 17, 2023

Cows, weed, and scams.

A Ponzi scheme that has nothing to do with the blockchain? How quaint.

Reva Joyce Stachniw, 71, of Galesburg, Illinois, and Ron Throgmartin, 59, of Buford, Georgia, along with a co-conspirator, ran a Ponzi scheme by fraudulently representing to victims that their investments were backed by short-term investments in Stachniw and Throgmartin’s cattle and marijuana businesses.
The victim-investors gave the conspirators money based on false promises that their investments would be used for legitimate activities related to those businesses. In actuality, the funds were used to pay earlier investors.

Two Individuals Sentenced for Multimillion-Dollar Cattle-Trading

[Department of Justice]

Jess WeatherbedFeb 17, 2023

Birds aren’t real.

Satirical conspiracy theories aside, stuffed birds really are being turned into drones for surveillance purposes.

A team of researchers designed the “ornithopters” to resemble a flying bird in hopes they can be used to stealthily study wildlife — and maybe spy on people and foreign militaries. The team acknowledged to New Scientist that it should “look into research policies for dealing with dead birds before getting more ambitious,” though.

Jess WeatherbedFeb 13, 2023

What is this, a 3D printer for ants?

Not quite, but this miniature resin printer created by My N Mi is surprisingly fully-functional and capable of producing delicate, detailed prints despite measuring just 18 x 31 x 41 millimeters (seen via The Awesomer).

That’s about the right size for a typical dollhouse FYI, and it’s giving me the same vibes as those addictive miniature-cooking videos.

Jess WeatherbedFeb 1, 2023

Do you happen to own a 20-year-old forum for sex workers?

The community over at Stripperweb has questions for the forum’s anonymous owner after a banner appeared last week announcing that, for reasons unknown, it would be shutting down on February 1st.

Described as the “Holy Grail of strippers’ knowledge,” some sex workers are offering to buy the site, while others have swiftly learned Python in order to preserve the forum’s vast resources and history.

Jess WeatherbedJan 27, 2023

AP apologizes for “the French” faux pas.

Yeah, but what about “the college-educated” bastards?

Jess WeatherbedJan 25, 2023

Even scrollbars can trigger nostalgia these days.

Coder Sébastien Matos has created an interactive webpage that faithfully recreates the scrollbars of various operating systems from the last 30 years (seen via Creative Bloq). Which is your favorite? I’m now hunting for extensions to give my scrollbars an updated (or retro) look.

Jess WeatherbedJan 20, 2023

A Massachusetts school hasn’t been able to turn its lights off for over a year.

When software controlling the decade-old “green lighting system” at Minnechaug Regional High failed in August 2021, the lights permanently stuck in their default “on” position, and the school couldn’t track down the original installer’s new owners to fix it.

Now, the issue should finally be resolved over the February break after upgrades, including a new server, control boards, and, yes, a remote override switch.

The lights have been on at a Massachusetts school for over a year because no one can turn them off

[NBC News]

Richard LawlerJan 7, 2023

The best $7.74 I ever spent.

Was on a Superior Court Clerk’s Office records request (PDF) for theft charges against this guy who allegedly decided Office Space was a good inspiration for a real crime.

The cops say he edited code on an e-commerce site’s checkout basket to redirect shipping fees on some orders to his personal account. And what did he do with the money?

When asked where the money now is, he stated it was “gone.” He clarified that he had used the money to invest in stock options, particularly GameStop stock options, and reiterated that all the money was now gone.

Software engineer allegedly stole $300K from an e-commerce site by copying Office Space

Jess Weatherbed

Jan 6

Mitchell ClarkJan 2, 2023

An easy resolution to clean up your inbox.

When my friend told me about his New Year’s resolution, I immediately decided to join him: every time he gets a marketing email he doesn’t want, he takes a few seconds to unsubscribe from it.

For the past few days, we’ve been like Legolas and Gimli comparing how many lists we’re no longer on. I know that the spam will inevitably creep back throughout the year, but for the next few months it’s going to be a lot easier to keep my inbox clean.

If you’re looking for a resolution, maybe join us and give this a try.

Some New Year’s resolutions that won’t end up in your pile of shame

Elizabeth Lopatto

Dec 26

Cameron FaulknerDec 28, 2022

The sights, sounds, and BSoDs of retail.

A lot of things are powered by computers, even retail signage. It’s an easy thing to forget, that is, until they stop working as intended. I adore seeing glitchy displays and kiosks at stores. I especially love seeing the many, many people who walk by them, not seeming to notice or care.

I hope you saw at least one sign that was on the fritz during your holiday travels. If you have a particularly good one to share, send a pic to my email: cameron.faulkner@theverge.com

Photo by Cameron Faulkner

Some New Year’s resolutions that won’t end up in your pile of shame

Elizabeth LopattoDec 26, 2022

Sean HollisterDec 23, 2022

LG has achieved the perfect press release.

Is this real life? Is this just parody? I can’t stop giggling either way. Not even ChatGPT can say this little with this many words. My favorite line:

“Cho ended his talk by reminding everyone at LG that the future will be determined by the way we think and act now, which is, ultimately, to prepare for the future.” Oh we will, LG, we will.

A real Jabberwocky moment, this.

LG CEO William Cho Shares Focus for the Future

[LG NEWSROOM]

Cameron FaulknerDec 16, 2022

When to see a man about a horse during Avatar: The Way of the Water: a guide.

Avatar: The Way of the Water is only showing in theaters, meaning you can’t hit pause like you can at home to run to the restroom. Thankfully, Polygon wrote this spoiler-light guide on when during the three-hour “very wet” movie you can excuse yourself without missing out on vital movie moments.

As it turns out, you can skip...quite a bit of it.

The best moments to pee during Avatar: The Way of Water, ranked

[Polygon]

Richard LawlerDec 15, 2022

Ripping off AIM away messages is the best feature Instagram has added in a long, long time.

If you’re old enough to remember the words “via Hiptop,” then you’ll recognize that instead of being tweet-like, the new Instagram Notes feature takes inspiration from Twitter’s predecessor — AOL Instant Messenger away messages.

The pop-up statuses are hidden away (for now) in the Instagram messages window, but for the Elder Millennial / Young Gen X generation, it’s a return to the days of flirting via vague but also specifically targeted song lyrics.

Richard LawlerDec 15, 2022

This yule log is more appropriate for Halloween than the holidays.

If the Elf on the Shelf isn’t enough to keep the kids in line, this Yule log tied to the horror movie Smile should be a serviceable reminder that someone is creepily watching to see who’s been naughty or nice.

(If you prefer a stable heart rate over jump scares, there are always other Yule log options like this one from Hades, five hours of Darth Vader’s burning corpse, or a relaxing 45 minutes with Nick Offerman.)

Seeing other people’s AI art is like hearing other people’s dreams

Adi RobertsonDec 12, 2022

Richard LawlerNov 30, 2022

What’s your oldest piece of tech?

We asked folks here at The Verge about what old electronics they have lying around, and some (or all) of the answers might surprise you.

When was the last time you saw a Moviola?

Thomas RickerOct 28, 2022

Adidas is releasing a meme sneaker of Homer backing into bush.

This Adidas x Simpsons collaboration is also the shoe I’d release if I had a former business partner like Ye.

Scorn’s slithering spookiness is only slightly scary

Ash ParrishOct 21, 2022

Barbara KrasnoffOct 20, 2022

A smart home can also be a really scary home.

The Verge smart home reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy describes how she makes her home into a truly fantastic horror house to impress the local trick-or-treaters, and tells you how you can do it too.