It’s going to take more than a bunch of posies to make up for this one. The Canadian branch of 1-800-FLOWERS revealed in a filing with the California attorney general’s office that malware on its website had siphoned off customers’ credit cards over a four-year period. Four years. Let that sink in. The company said […]
View More Credit card stealing malware on Canada’s 1-800-FLOWERS website went undetected for four yearsCategory: California
ACLU asks court to release a secret order forcing Facebook to wiretap Messenger
Earlier this year, the U.S. government tried to force Facebook to secretly recode its Messenger app to allow the feds to listen into an encrypted, real-time voice call on suspected members associated with the notorious MS-13 gang. It was only when reporters revealed that when Facebook declined, the feds pushed the court to hold the […]
View More ACLU asks court to release a secret order forcing Facebook to wiretap MessengerLogitech is reportedly offering $2.2 billion to bring Plantronics headsets into its hardware empire
Logitech, the manufacturer best known for its computing peripherals like keyboards and web cameras, is in talks to buy Plantronics, a maker of bluetooth-enabled headsets, according to Reuters. The company is reportedly offering as much as $2.2 billion for Plantronics, according to the Reuters report, in what would be Logitech’s biggest acquisition to date. Driving the […]
View More Logitech is reportedly offering $2.2 billion to bring Plantronics headsets into its hardware empireNew U.S. report says that climate change could cost nearly $500 billion per year by 2090
A new report from the U.S. government on the impacts of climate change on society indicates that unless action is taken, climatological events could cost the country nearly half a trillion dollars annually by 2090. The National Climate Assessment is a congressionally mandated report on the impacts of climate change and was culled from the work […]
View More New U.S. report says that climate change could cost nearly $500 billion per year by 2090How a quiet California town protects itself against today’s megafires
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F886730%2F0a1bcb53-5b2b-4e7b-a8a6-8da213b26a67.JPG)
In the early hours of December 16, 2017, hot embers began raining down on the Southern California town of Montecito.
Ominous, orange flames soon appeared on hills above the wooded community as the infamous Thomas Fire, burning for nearly two weeks at that point, lunged over the ridge and pushed into the enclave below.
The odds weighed in the fire’s favor: The winds picked up overnight, blowing 65 mph gusts in the direction of hundreds and hundreds of homes.
But when the smoke and ash finally settled, the fire had lost — for the most part, anyhow.
“They thought for sure that they were going to lose 400 or 500 homes — instead they only lost seven,” Crystal Kolden, a fire scientist at the University of Idaho and former wildland firefighter, said in an interview. Read more…
More about Science, California, Global Warming, Extreme Weather, and Climate Change
Inboard opens general availability of its premium electric scooter
Inboard, the startup that sells a range of electric scooters and skateboards, has just opened sales of its first premium scooter — just in time for the holiday season. The company has already sold 285 of the scooters in a private pre-sale, with 80 percent of the orders coming from the United States and 35 […]
View More Inboard opens general availability of its premium electric scooterVirgin Orbit successfully takes its 747 flying launchpad out for a spin
In the next step on its path to getting its low earth orbit payload launch system up and running, Virgin Orbit successfully took its LauncherOne system out for a spin with an actual rocket attached under its wing. The company’s specially modified 747-400 carried a 70-foot-long rocket as part of a test flight proving that […]
View More Virgin Orbit successfully takes its 747 flying launchpad out for a spinFinns troll Trump with photos of themselves raking leaves
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F885174%2F43b61dd3-264a-46aa-b812-79cb4f4074d1.jpg)
Donald Trump’s comment about raking leaves has left some Finns scratching their heads.
It comes after a visit to the fire-ravaged Paradise in California on Saturday, where Trump suggested people could be cleaning up leaves to prevent blazes.
“You look at other countries where they do it differently and it’s a whole different story. I was with the President of Finland and he said we are a forest nation. He called it a forest nation,” Trump told reporters.
“And they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don’t have any problem.” Read more…
More about California, Culture, Trump, Finland, and California Wildfires
View More Finns troll Trump with photos of themselves raking leavesA leaky database of SMS text messages exposed password resets and two-factor codes
A security lapse has exposed a massive database containing tens of millions of text messages, including password reset links, two-factor codes, shipping notifications and more. The exposed server belongs to Voxox (formerly Telcentris), a San Diego, Calif.-based communications company. The server wasn’t protected with a password, allowing anyone who knew where to look to peek […]
View More A leaky database of SMS text messages exposed password resets and two-factor codesWatch California’s powerful, relentless winds stoke the state’s fires
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fstory%2Fthumbnail%2F84103%2F0c00b1ed-7f40-43cf-b71b-beddea29e34f.png)
Relentless Santa Ana winds are whipping fire over dry California land
San Bernardino County firefighters captured footage of relentless Santa Ana gusts driving a new blaze over the parched California terrain. Read more…More about Climate, Weather, California, Forest, and Fire
View More Relentless Santa Ana winds are whipping fire over dry California landStephen Colbert slams Donald Trump’s tweet blaming wildfires on ‘poor’ forest management
/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fstory%2Fthumbnail%2F84030%2F2e8d006e-f65f-4b21-bf3b-da8293ccd08a.jpg)
The deadliest wildfire in California history has ravaged the town of Paradise, claiming the lives of at least 42 people.
Stephen Colbert talked about the President’s response to these wildfires — and the contrast to that of most . “I’m gonna start out tonight by saying to the people of California, our thoughts are with you because the golden state is being ravaged by three deadly wildfires in Malibu and northern California,” said Colbert. “There’s been a tragic loss of life and an unprecedented loss of property.”
“At a time like this, it’s hard to know the right thing to say. But for the wrong thing to say, let’s check the president’s Twitter feed,” he added. Read more…
More about California, Donald Trump, Stephen Colbert, California Wildfires, and Culture
View More Stephen Colbert slams Donald Trump’s tweet blaming wildfires on ‘poor’ forest management