via Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World
The Best Entry-Level Climbing Harnesses

Stan Against Evil’s first season was enjoyable, but it suffered due to its undeniable similarities to Ash vs. Evil Dead. With Ash’s next season still AWOL, Stan stands alone in the cranky-old-dude-fighting-demons zone—and happily, IFC’s horror comedy has finally found its footing in season two.

I watched all of season two and I won’t spoil anything here, but all of the show’s marketing makes it very clear—as if there was ever any doubt to begin with—that Willard’s Mill Sheriff Evie Barret (Janet Varney) escapes the 17th-century clutches of evil Constable Eccles (Randall Newsome) and returns to the present day, with help from former Sheriff Stan Miller (John C. McGinley). But the cliffhanger resolution doesn’t happen right away, and the rescue plot introduces a couple of big themes for the season: time travel and alternate realities, which the show played with in last season’s time-looping finale; and Stan’s continuing grief over the loss of his wife, Claire (Susan Williams), a demon slayer who stealthily kept her husband safe in a town where every sheriff is marked for death. In learning how to rescue Evie, Stan also discovers a way he can go back in time one year to prevent his wife’s death. (It involves a pair of eyeballs plucked from a wraith… plucked-out eyeballs are another theme this season.)

But Stan knows its strengths, and wisely devotes most of its energy to ridiculously silly monster-of-the-week episodes, which kick off with amusing glimpses into the horrible history of Willard’s Mill and then offer up mysteries guided by various monsters. This season, they include a were-pony, a demonic baby, and a smarmy game-show host. The show’s real raison d’être, of course, is the delight in watching McGinley’s salty curmudgeon react not just to random supernatural creatures, but to the world around him. Upon entering an abandoned house with mystical powers: “What the hell is this dump? Smells like an armpit’s asshole.” Directed at an old lady using a walker: “What are you looking at, punk?” An observation that only vaguely relates to his desire to visit the past: “This country ain’t been the same since Evel Knievel died.” You get the sense that McGinley and Stan creator Dana Gould have the best time ever creating Stan’s lines. They are hilarious and weird and off-putting in delightful ways, and do a lot to distract you from what appears to be the show’s biggest problem: Stan Against Evil really, really doesn’t want you to focus too much on its greater mythology.

As fans of season one will recall, the show’s whole premise starts with sinister Constable Eccles, whose witch-burning reign of terror back in the 1690s is the reason every sheriff in Willard’s Mill is destined to die a gruesome death. It makes sense—a legacy of supernatural payback aimed at the top cop, launched by witches with 400 years of built-up bad attitudes. But, Stan did a switcheroo late in season one, revealing that Eccles was the only true witch in town, and he was actually burning innocent people (mostly women) “to add to his coven,” and bolstering his eventual plan to open a portal between the land of the living and the land of the dead.

So what’s the real deal with the curse on the sheriffs? I went back and re-watched parts of season one to try and piece it together; the conclusion I came to is that Stan Against Evil doesn’t want you to scratch your head too much about this stuff. It especially doesn’t want you to wonder why a show with such a breakneck pace (season two has eight episodes that run just over 20 minutes each) would introduce such a complicated backstory in the first place, then barely explore it. The show wants you to have a good goddamn time, and on that front, it delivers with great gusto.

And fortunately, the insane creatures and the zingy one-liners are even enough to distract nitpicky viewers (like me) from being too frustrated. Stan’s other characters get to reveal a few more layers this season—especially Evie, whose status as a divorced single mom gets addressed a lot this season, and not just by Stan the jolly sexist. (When we meet her blowhard ex-husband, Stan takes an immediate liking to him, of course.) We also see some other surprising developments, including Evie’s genuine friendship with Stan’s, ah, uniquely weird daughter Denise (Deborah Baker, Jr.), and Denise’s budding relationship with gravedigger Kevin (Gould). There’s also a new character (played by Denise Boutte) who provides an important link to Claire and her secret life as a supernatural enforcer. It’s still very much all about Stan, but at least most everyone else has things to do other than just react to his antics. There are also some very entertaining guest stars this season, including horror greats Patty McCormack (The Bad Seed herself) and Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator).

Even with all the story strides made in season two—especially the time-and-dimension traveling stuff, a clever way to expand the boundaries of a show that clearly has a pretty teeny budget—there are still a lot of similarities to Ash vs. Evil Dead, a show that has its whole backstory already locked down in a movie trilogy, as well as more money to spend on gallons of stage blood. But if Stan’s acid-tongued antihero is not yet ready to be lifted into the pantheon of horror greats alongside Ash Williams, at least he’s very nearly as fun to watch. And you should watch! Without revealing specifics, season two ends with a hell of a set-up for a potential season three.

Stan Against Evil season two kicks off today, November 1, on IFC.

via Gizmodo
Stan Against Evil Returns With More Demons, More Wisecracks, and a Much Better Sense of Itself

via The Truth About Guns
Question of the Day: If You Trust God Why Do You Need a Gun?

Today, the CIA released a trove of files obtained from Osama bin Laden’s compound when he was killed by US forces in 2011. We knew that bin Laden had some unexpected things on his computer, but we now have a better look at some of the files.

“Today’s release of recovered al-Qa‘ida letters, videos, audio files and other materials provides the opportunity for the American people to gain further insights into the plans and workings of this terrorist organization,” CIA Director Pompeo said in a statement.

“CIA will continue to seek opportunities to share information with the American people consistent with our obligation to protect national security,” Pompeo continued.

Osama bin Laden’s computer had a strange mix of everything from Tom and Jerry animated cartoons and crochet instructional videos to IED and beheading films. For instance, he had one video of the beheading of Jack Hensley, who was a 49-year-old American beheaded in Iraq in 2004. Needless to say, I don’t suggest you Google it.

Bin Laden even had Hollywood movies like Antz, Cars, Heroes of Tomorrow, Chicken Little, Resident Evil, and the 2009 Dreamworks animated 13-minute short, B.O.B.’s Big Break. Is it possible that kids were watching some of these movies in the compound? For sure. But I’d prefer to imagine that one of the worst terrorists of the century actually just had a soft spot for western cartoons.

And if you’re wondering, yes, that first video appears to be the viral classic “Charlie Bit My Finger.”

We have a short list of some of the strangest titles below. You can search the entire list of videos here, and check out the other files that the US found on the agency’s main page.

1. YouTube_-_Charlie_bit_my_finger_-_again__.flv
2. MyEgy.CoM_Street.Fighter.IV.2009.DvDRip.rmvb
3. Existence.of.the.Angels.mp4
4. IMAX_Mysteries_Of_Egypt.rmvb
5. Art_of_Crochet_by_Teresa_-_Baby_Crochet_Sock_Edging.flv
6. How_to_Crochet_a_Basket.flv
7. Crochet_Star_-_Small.flv
8. Stripe_Crochet_Beanie_Cap_Hat.flv
9. Twinkle_Twinkle_Little_Star.flv
10. Tom-jerry17.rm
11. Tom___Jerry_-_091.rmvb
12. MyEgy.Com.By.Dr.MiDo.Jackie.chan.Ep_(26).rmvb
13. Animal_Monkey_Never_Giveup.wmv
14. [MSOMS-ANIME][MCT][534][nooood].mp4
15. MyEgy.Com.Sindbad.By.Dr.MiDo._(28).rmvb
16. MyEgy.CoM.BOBS_BIG_BREAK_DVDRiP_XViD.rmvb
17. The_Pink_Panther_-_014_-_Bully_for_Pink.rmvb
18. Sex_Crimes_and_the_Vatican.wmv
19. BBC.Battlefields.3of4.Bomber.XviD.ahmed_ashour_wa_(dvd4arab).rmvb
20. 3_Welcome_to_the_11th_Dimension.rmvb
21. Colors_Video_for_Kids.flv
22. YouTube_-_Girls_Fight_ضرابة_بنوتات.flv
23. The_New_FAST_Alphabet_-_ABC_Phonics_Chant.flv
24. SynThreeFingerFlick.mpg
25. gomaa_dr_04_Race_To_The_Moon_eibda3.com.rmvb
26. Bubbles.wmv
27. MyEgy.CoM.buzzlightyear.Ep12.By_action2020.rmvb
28. HOssam2010_06__The.Fall.of.Rome__eibda3.com.rmvb
29. 1-2_buckle_my_shoe,alphabet_song.flv
30. gomaa_dr__World.War.I.in.Colour_-_Making.the.Series__eibda3.com.avi
31. Yousry_zero_hour_Mission_impossible_Eibda3.com.rmvb
32. Crochet_5_Puff_Stitch_Cheap_Way.flv
33. Yousry_A_world_of_crime_el3rab_Eibda3.com.rmvb
34. 1_Einstein’s_Dream.rmvb
35. cute_boy_reciting.flv
36. gomaa_dr_03_Race_For_Survival_eibda3.com.rmvb
37. classic_vanilla.flv
38. How.many.Angels.are.there.mp4
39. Star_Rainbow_Crochet_Applique’.flv
40. YouTube_-_The_Art_of_Crochet_by_Teresa_-_Radiant_Crochet_Butterfly.flv
41. [MSOMS-ANIME][MCT][538][nooood].mp4
42. HORSE_DANCE.flv

You can watch the video for SynThreeFingerFlick.mpg below.

via Gizmodo
The 42 Weirdest Movies on Osama bin Laden’s Computer

So if you’ve followed the debate over net neutrality for much of the last decade, you probably remember images like these, purporting to show what the internet might look like if we let broadband duopolies like AT&T or Comcast dictate internet access pricing structure:

And while these mock ups were tongue in cheek, large ISPs have given every indication that this idea of freedom costing extra isn’t too far from their ideal. And abusing a lack of broadband competition to force users to shell out additional funds to access to the content and services of their choice isn’t too far off of what has already happened, whether we’re talking about AT&T’s decision to block Facetime from working unless users shelled out for more expensive plans, or Verizon’s recent decision to charge users $10 more just to avoid arbitrary video throttling.

In Portugal however, there are no net neutrality rules. And ISPs there have already started taking advantage of it in a way that eerily echoes the warnings net neutrality advocates have been making for years. Lisbon-based mobile and fixed broadband provider MEO has been selling broadband service tiers for some time that cap your internet data usage, after which they’re happy to sell you additional buckets of data depending on which types of services you traditionally use:

It’s important to note that capping usage then doling out additional data based on types of content isn’t the same idea as blocking users from accessing parts of the internet unless they pay up, but it’s still detrimental to the health of the internet. As we saw with T-Mobile’s Binge On, these plans are designed to create the illusion of a bargain. But these types of plans not only raise questions about ISP power to dictate which companies and services are whitelisted, but they’re based on a fundamentally incorrect premise that these restrictions are necessary in the first place.

Usage caps and overage fees aren’t based on network or economic realities. They aren’t useful to manage congestion. Their entire function is to creatively drive up costs via arbitrary barriers to entry, after which ISPs convince consumers they’re somehow getting a deal by providing additional data "for free" or "at a discount." ISPs have often falsely tried to equate this as the same thing as 1-800 numbers or free shipping, which is bullshit. All that’s really happening is that internet access is being artificially limited, and users are being forced to pay more money to access the internet as intended.

While people often like to focus on the threat of ISPs blocking access to content, ISPs know that’s a surefire way to earn public scorn. That’s why ISPs have developed a myriad of more creative ways to (ab)use the lack of competition in the space to ill effect, whether that’s imposing arbitrary and unnecessary usage caps and overage fees, exempting an ISPs own services from said caps, or hamstringing competitors elsewhere in the network, as we saw when ISPs began intentionally clogging peering points to drive up costs for streaming competitors and transit operators (interconnection).

With the Trump administration rushing forward with its plan to kill net neutrality here in the States, and a rise in cable’s monopoly over fixed-line broadband, you can expect a whole lot more U.S. broadband pricing and package "creativity" in the not so distant future. That may not involve outright blocking your access to content, but it’s more than likely to involve entirely arbitrary, uncompetitive and harmful limits you’ll be told are somehow necessary and for your own good.

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via Techdirt
Portugal Shows The Internet Why Net Neutrality Is Important

Staff —

Dealmaster: Get a Dell laptop with a Core i5 chip for $550

Plus deals on 4K TVs, Wi-Fi routers, and more.

Ars Staff
– Oct 31, 2017 9:56 pm UTC

Greetings, Arsians! Courtesy of our friends at TechBargains, we have a new round of deals to share. Today’s list is particularly heavy on laptop and TV deals, including a Dell Inspiron 14 with a Core i5 (7th-gen) chip and Nvidia GeForce GPU slashed down to $550.

You can take a peek at the full selection below.

Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Featured

Laptop and desktop computers

HDTVs and home entertainment

Electronics and components

Home and miscellaneous

via Ars Technica
Dealmaster: Get a Dell laptop with a Core i5 chip for $550

I’m going to admit it right now. I’m a Maj Toure fan. I love what he’s doing with his group Black Guns Matter, and not just because the name is a nice play on the name of another famous group that most reading here aren’t fans of. He’s doing some good stuff in America’s cities with regard to the Second Amendment, but he’s branched out from his roots of arming the good people in our inner cities.

That’s not all he’s doing, though. He’s also educating about gun safety.

Guns were allowed in a Philadelphia school this week.

Bright orange replicas used for making holsters were sprinkled throughout the classroom at YESPhilly Accelerated High School last week, with Black Guns Matter founder Maj Toure leading the way.

Toure is a leader in the gun safety movement, and YESPhilly is a nonprofit educational program where youth who’ve dropped out of school can finish their education and discover their talents and dreams.

“I think that they’re living in communities where there is a lot of gun access, without a lot of information, such as how to hold one,” said YESPhilly principal Taylor Frome. “A lot of students need to learn safety, and there would be less gun-related incidents.”

…

“I felt as though Black Guns Matter caught my attention and gave me something I wanted to learn about,” said Dymond King, 18. “I needed this information.”

From what started as a license-to-carry drive, Toure’s organization Black Guns Matter is growing like wildfire.

The Justice Week gun workshop took place in between stops on a 13-city, 50-state tour spreading his message.

Obviously, one of the core things taught was for people to keep their booger hooks off the bang switch, which is important. So few people actually understand how to handle a firearm that accidents happen. Far too often, those accidents can lead to tragedy. Toure’s efforts need to be just the beginning, however. This needs to be a part of the standard curriculum of American schools.

Think about it, many schools will teach students how to drive a car–something that kills far more people than guns but is not a constitutionally protected right–but shudder at the mere thought of educating students how to handle a firearm. Let’s ignore the fact that mishandling car keys won’t result in someone’s death, but mishandling a firearm might.

By teaching students what to do if they encounter a firearm, and not just the “tell an adult” thing but also what to do if you do have it in your hands for some reason, the odds of a negligent discharge become greatly reduced.  They know what to do and, more importantly, they know what not to do.

It’s not an immunization to gun accidents, but that can’t be laid at Toure’s feet. The human factor is still in play and people who have been professionally trained and supposedly know better still screw up, so there’s no reason to believe that the rest of humanity would be any different. However, there’s an important question that needs to be asked. How many lives did Maj Toure save this week?

The truth is, we’ll never know, but I suspect he saves a few.

That’s why we need formal firearms education in schools. To borrow a phrase from the gun control crowd, “If it saves just one child’s life, it’s worth it.”

In this case, it’s true.

The post Black Guns Matter Founder Goes Into Philly School To Teach Gun Safety appeared first on Bearing Arms.

via Bearing Arms
Black Guns Matter Founder Goes Into Philly School To Teach Gun Safety

via MakeUseOf.com
The 3 Best Free OCR Tools to Convert Your Files Back Into Editable Documents

via The Truth About Guns
Kennedy Assassination Document Dump Includes Photo of Oswald’s Mannlicher-Carcano Rifle

 

Tips

How to delete the apps left over after an iTunes 12.7 install to regain storage on macOS or Windows

By Malcolm Owen
Thursday, October 26, 2017, 12:01 pm PT (03:01 pm ET)

Apple’s decision to remove the iOS App Store from iTunes as part of the version 12.7 update controversially took away the ability to download apps to a Mac or PC, but all of the locally-stored apps were kept in place. We show you how to delete these files and free up some storage in the process.

On September 12, Apple issued an update to iTunes for desktop computers that incorporated a number of changes, focusing it more on content than apps. Removing the App Store from iTunes meant users had to manage their downloads and purchases through their iPads and iPhones, instead of through their macOS or Windows desktop.

Despite removing the ability to download apps, Apple chose to keep all downloaded apps intact instead of automatically deleting them, a decision likely to be welcomed by some users. For others, this means that there’s a pile of apps in their Mac or PC’s storage that are taking up valuable disk space, and may be worth deleting.

Apple did not include an option within the iTunes update to delete the apps, so users who want to remove the files will have to do so manually.

But, you may not want to purge just yet…

It is worth noting that users may not necessarily wish to get rid of the files stored in the directory. It is still possible to install signed .ipa files within iTunes 12.7 by dragging and dropping them, but as iTunes can no longer update the files, it is only really of use to those wanting to install older versions of apps.

Apple has also made the enterprise version of iTunes 12.6.3 available to download which retains app management and installation facilities, though this is an unsupported version. While this is meant for business users, Apple advises enterprise customers needing to deploy apps should do so via its Volume Purchase Programs and Apple Configurator on Mac.

If there’s no reason to keep them because loading from the cloud is fine, here’s how to do it.

How to delete the iOS apps stored on a Mac

Go into the Finder on the Mac and access the Music directory. If Music does not appear in the Favorites section to the left, it can be accessed in the majority of cases by selecting the Mac under Devices, then Macintosh HD, Users, and then the relevant user account.

Once inside the Music folder, access the iTunes directory, followed by iTunes Media, and lastly Mobile Applications. The Mobile Applications directory holds all of the apps downloaded to the Mac, listed as .ipa files, with users able to delete either the individual files or the entire directory.

The amount of space the contents of the directory takes up will depend entirely on the user’s downloading habits. One AppleInsider writer had a downloads directory weighing in at 87 gigabytes, while another’s was a smaller but still considerable 11 gigabytes.

How to delete the iOS apps stored on Windows 10

Windows 10 users have to go through a similar process of finding the iTunes directory through File Explorer. Again, though this will vary between installations, but it can usually be found in the user’s Documents directory, within the enclosed Music directory.

The file path within the iTunes directory is the same as for macOS, by accessing iTunes Media and then Mobile Applications. As with macOS, the .ipa files can be deleted individually or the entire directory can be removed.

via AppleInsider
How to delete the apps left over after an iTunes 12.7 install to regain storage on macOS or Windows