The 1939 Smoking Robot is Finally Home

Elektro has a permanent resting place. This is the feel-good story of the day. From Atlas Obscura:

Here he is; I think this might be from the movie "The Middletons go to the World's Fair."

As for the fate of Elektro's dog Sparky, we may never know.

(Picture via Matt Novak's Paleofuture tumblr.)

CRIME The penalty here seems rather difficult to enforce.

Anywhere? You know the guy goes in the basement and shouts BINGO BINGO BINGO just to get it out of his system. Maybe mutters it as he walks around in public, because he's a rebel.

The link is the HuffPo. I tried to go to the Cincinnati story, but I got a car ad. It told me I could continue to the story in 5 seconds. I skipped the ad because I am not going to Cincinnati to buy a car. Then it dumped me on the home page. Forget it.

FOOD HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT BUZZFEED WRITERS NOW WRITE IN CAPS WITHOUT PUNCTUATION ICK YOU GUYS

It's a piece about breakfast cereals. I think they're trying to imitate idiots on Twitter. That's the charitable explanation. Or they're trying to come up with a trademark style that sets Buzzfeed apart from sites enjoyed by adults. Example:

For that to work, it has to be funny. It should also make sense.

It's not bad oatmeal, by the way. And you don't make it in the packet. You pour it in a bowl, and - sorry, this is the internet. YOU POUR IT IN A BOWL BECAUSE REASONS

There.

ARCHITECTURE I remember talking to someone who'd been on a building project in China; he had opened a space in the wall to check some wiring, and everything was a nightmarish tangle, a Medusa coiffure that defied all codes, all logic, all sense of safety. He wasn't willing to extrapolate that all the new shiny skyscrapers had problems, but wouldn't have been surprised if a corner was cut here and there.

Well, the second tallest building in the world might fall over:

Here it is. TImmmmmberrrrrrrr

Not to say American structure are immune from such mistakes.

TECH The Daily Dot's headline is accurate: "How a 'big dongle' joke brought out the worst of the Internet." Which partyou regard as the "worst" may vary. Be prepared; the story has quotes like this: "The forking joke set the stage for the dongle joke."

That it did. Even though the context was inferred incorrectly, and the comment was not intended for the author to hear, the dongle utterance surely meant that young women in tech would be discriminated against, in the future. Right? There's really no other lesson you can take from overhearing someone else's conversation. Read the piece and you'll see what I mean.

The story ends with the usual attack of anonymous nerd-furies screaming things on Twitter and elsewhere; all tech stories that have to do with women pointing out anything ends up like that. So you click something else, and lo, a documentary on male "My Little Pony" fans is being attacked for sexism. Let's listen in.

That would seem to be a problem, were it not for the subject matter. To repeat: Bronies. Male persons who like My Little Pony.

No, it's easy to justify, given that the movie's subject matter is explicitly about males. How can it not fixate on male bronies? That's what the term is about. Bro + ponies = bronies. I know, I know, there are supposedly Female Bronies, older fans, but no one hears the term "Bronies" and doesn't think "older males who watch a show aimed at 12-year-old girls."

We continue:

Well, yes and no. There are guys who like certain types of anime because they are impelled towards the illustrations by some inner tweak. It's the uniforms, the big eyes, the childishness, the long legs, whatever. Also, tentacles. Don't ask. Comics and games are another story; different type of female. Usually exaggerated physiques with aggressive personalities. "My Little Pony" fandom among males is different, because these are, well, ponies, and yes yes it's a clever reimagining of a cloyingly sweet old plastic toy, but c'mon.

Because that's what the documentary is about? It's possible.

TECH Google has launched an Evernote competitor, Keep. Om Malik speaks for many:

If they can shut down Reader, they can shut down Keep some day. After all, Westinghouse built this guy, and they just threw him away when the Fair was done.