A massive boom heard Wednesday night over Puget Sound on the northwestern coast of Washington was most likely an exploding meteor. Or that's what They want us to believe anyway. The American Meteor Society registered a dozen reports. Video above. Keep your eyes on the upper left of the frame.

"The more I read the more inclined I am to believe this was a fireball (which is a meteor that is larger and brighter than normal)," the American Meteor Society's Bob Lunsford said. "I'm certain now that this was a meteoric event."

From KOMONews:

Most meteors' explosions are heard about a minute or two after they explode due to the time it takes the sound to reach the Earth's surface, Lunsford said. Sound travels at 767 mph in standard atmosphere conditions, indicating this fireball exploded some 35 miles away.

"If this was larger than normal then the sound could have originated from a higher altitude. So a delay of 3 minutes is entirely possible," Lunsford said. "Meteors become visible at a height of around 50 miles so your estimate is well within that range."

Lunsford said because there was a boom, it’s very likely there are small, rock-sized pieces of the meteor somewhere on the ground. When a meteor causes a boom, it’s “pretty far down” in the atmosphere.

Read the rest

If you’re an entrepreneur or marketer who hasn’t embraced webinars yet, you probably need to rethink your strategies. Over 60 percent of marketers say they use webinars as a key part of their content marketing strategy — and over 70 percent say it’s the best way to generate high-quality business leads.

Thankfully, one of the silver linings to our new quarantine, work from home lifestyles lately is the explosion of conferencing software and Americans’ newfound enthusiasm for video group meetups. 

Vidthere is one of the services that has considered the needs of large and small groups trying to maintain connections over distance, offering a suite of web-based communication tools that centralizes everything in one easy-to-use place.

Vidthere is a live video platform for everyone, featuring loads of internal communications features as well as options to sell and market directly to customers.

With webinars emerging as a key means to engage customers and sell products, Vidthere gives you all the tools to do that from any location. Vidthere offers the opportunity to deliver live video webinars that are easy for both presenters and users. 

Vidthere is entirely web-based, so users never need to download any software to join a Vidthere session. As for sessions, they combine no-lag high-quality performance with the ability to scale to the size of an audience with no video loss. Plus, every Vidthere meeting or webinar has a powerful chat feature so users can engage easily.

As for presenters, Vidthere events support up to 30 meeting participants and an unlimited number of webinar viewers, with options to support screen sharing, video in video presentation, and a whiteboard mode, a full basket of tools to help contour any presentation just the way you want it. Read the rest

One positive upside of the past two months is how sheltering at home has all but emptied area animal shelters. It’s tough to get solid numbers nationally, but shelters in cities and regions all across America are reporting massive surges in animal adoptions. 

Even the steep increase in Google searches for “adopt a pet,” up a whopping 335 percent in April, proves what we probably all knew anyway — that in times of stress, having a furry friend is a huge comfort for millions.

Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the past two months is there are no trainers available to help whip some of these new family pets, particularly puppies, into shape. From barking and jumping to house training and scratching, The Complete Guide to Puppy and Dog Training Bundle is a full plan for getting the newest member of your family integrated into the house safely and sanely all by yourself.

The collection includes eight courses all geared toward getting a new dog or puppy behaving the right way. And if you’ve ever had any thoughts about starting a dog training business of your own, this coursework is a perfect starting spot.

Puppies: A-Z Guide to Puppy & Dog Training kicks off the learning, explaining the best way to train, teach and socialize your puppy so they grow into a joyful, well balanced, and well-behaved dog. 

Of course, most puppies each have their particular issues, so a handful of courses look more closely at some of the tactics for helping your puppy overcome certain challenging behaviors. Read the rest

Game designer and publisher Dave Gilbert founded Wadjet Eye Games in 2006.  This interview features conversation about point and click adventure games; digital game development, marketing and publishing; and the relationship between art, passion and real world commerce.

Jeffery Klaehn: How did you first become interested in point and click adventure games?

Dave Gilbert: I played King’s Quest at a very impressionable age! I typed the word “jump” and I saw Graham actually jump, and I was so blown away that I’ve been playing them ever since.

JK: You founded Wadjet Eye Games in 2006 to sell your game, The Shivah, commercially, then moved to pursue game design on a full-time basis and released The Blackwell Legacy, the first in what would become a series of five games.  What are your thoughts on these games and on the market then compared to now?

Dave Gilbert: I am Blackwell Legacy’s biggest critic. It was the first game I wrote with the intention of selling commercially – The Shivah was originally freeware, so I don’t count it – and it shows every inch of my inexperience. The gameplay is clunky, the story is told in three giant infodumps, and the main characters weren’t very likable. But that said, I know with absolute certainty that it was the very best game I could have made with the experience, resources and time I had available. So I stand by it.

As for the market, everything is different. Back in 2006, indie games in general were a very new thing. Read the rest

My pal Jake has been taking regular "cigar walks" (as he calls them) here in our lovely island city of Alameda, California. On those walks, he started spotting some creative flyers...

(I saved the best two for last...)

photos by Jake Schaffer, used with permission

Thanks, Susie! Read the rest

I have a love/hate relationship with musical reaction videos. There are kids reacting to heavy metal (or The Beatles), vocal teachers and opera singers reacting to rock vocalists, millennials reacting to classic rock, and on and on. Some of these are quite moving, for instance, a 20-something hearing Zep's "Since I've Been Loving You" for the first time or a vocal teacher reacting to a Black Metal vocalist's cookie monster growl.

In these two videos, Heline, a classical flutist and music teacher, listens to Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson performing "Bouree" at a 1969 concert and then she listens and reacts to a performance from 1976.

I didn't realize that Anderson had only been playing the flute for a year and had no formal training at the time of the 69 video (their first tour). Heline can appreciate his chutzpah in the first performance and the fact that he's only been playing for a year(!), but is perhaps predictably critical of his playing. She is more impressed with what she sees and hears in the 76 performance.

Personally, I always thought his playing was inspired and his playing, vocalizing, singing and playing, and his other stage antics (the goofy one-legged stance) were a perfect example of "the street finding its own uses for things," using technology in ways in which it was never intended. As with all things artistic, your mileage may vary.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

A transit centre in north Edmonton was evacuated for about two hours Saturday morning due to a suspicious package.

Tens of thousands of other crew members have been trapped for weeks aboard dozens of cruise ships around the world -- long after governments and cruise lines negotiated their passengers' disembarkation. Some have gotten ill and died; others have survived but are no longer getting paid.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says three children in the state have now died from a possible complication from the coronavirus involving swollen blood vessels and heart problems.

Canada Post's main plant in Calgary has six confirmed cases of COVID-19. That news was confirmed Friday by Dr. Deena Hinshaw at her daily update.

RCMP say a 50-year-old man died and a 60-year-old man is in hospital following a crash involving a CP Rail train Friday morning.

Cochrane RCMP say charges have been laid against two individuals in connection with an investigation that began with a firearms complaint.

While the birds are is still listed as endangered in Canada and Alberta, the population has experienced a comeback in recent years.

This week: Suddenly, shockingly, it’s Biden’s to lose Dem primary voters abruptly pulled back from socialism Democrats suddenly get a top candidate for #MTSEN President 2020 Super Tuesday: Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar knew they could not win. But they realized they could help Bernie Sanders win if they stayed in the race for Super […]

The post The Briefing, Vol. VIII, Issue 10 appeared first on Conservative Intelligence Briefing.

This week: Sanders’s last gasp Coronavirus threatens to upend election calculus Sessions trails in runoff President 2020 Democrats: The consensus of the pundits is that Joe Biden won Sunday’s (mercifully audience-free) debate on points. But even if Bernie Sanders had laid him out flat, it wouldn’t have been enough to stop the former vice president’s […]

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This week: Biden has won — Sanders just has to admit it Political consequences of coronavirus Congress struggles with how to deal with the plague The world’s news is now clearly dominated by coronavirus. Everything — commerce, social life, and yes, even politics — has been put on hold.  Well, that last bit is not […]

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To our readers: We hope you are safe and well. Please exercise care, especially for the sake of your older loved ones, who are at greater risk if they contract coronavirus. This week: Pelosi loses the week Politics of coronavirus end up surprisingly good for Trump Biden faces his own #MeToo allegation House showdown: There […]

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A very Happy Passover and Easter to all our subscribers. This week: Uncertainties prevent post-pandemic planning Democrats postpone convention Wisconsin supreme court race is on for Tuesday Coronavirus pandemic: Americans are just now getting used to the new realities of social distancing and work (or study) from-home-if-at-all. But what the nation needs next is a […]

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=This week: Blacks, not white socialists, are the Democratic Party’s lifeblood Biden’s campaign is coronavirus’ most prominent victim Behind the story of Wisconsin’s strange, last-minute election drama Sanders: Bernie Sanders failed to build on or improve his 2016 showing in the presidential race for one simple reason: He didn’t win black votes. If you are […]

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This week: Negative coronavirus coverage slightly depressing Trump’s rating U.S. has fared well compared to most developing countries Republicans lose after insisting on Wisconsin vote President 2020 Naturally, coronavirus continues to dominate the national discussion, drowning out any mention or thought of the presidential election. Democratic and media efforts to make President Trump the inventor […]

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This week: Value of COVID ‘lockdowns’ about to be tested. Biden fearful over Trump’s fundraising Kansas GOP panics over crowded primary field President 2020 Coronavirus: In most of America, it really does appear that the coronavirus “curve” has been flattened, as people hoped. Thus, in seeking as swift a return to normalcy as possible, President […]

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May 4, 2020 This week: Biden finally forced to address rape accusation Won’t release his office records The Amash factor President 2020 Joe Biden: News consumers have become deeply fatigued by the coronavirus. Many people just don’t want to read or hear any more about it. It has come to the attention of multiple news […]

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Rafael Nadal insists all players, including Novak Djokovic, will need to take a coronavirus vaccine should one become available.

The Vuelta a Espana organisers have confirmed that a race already rescheduled and shortened would also now cut its foray into neighbouring Portugal from the 2020 itinerary.

Former England opener Alex Hales is confident he has matured as a player and believes he is ready to make a return to international cricket.

It isn’t surprising that former Springbok tighthead Richard Bands is remembered mainly for one bullocking run for the Springboks in Dunedin in 2003.

India top-order batsman Rohit Sharma is hopeful their tour to Australia at the end of 2020 is allowed to proceed.

France defender Samuel Umtiti has picked up a calf injury in just the second session since Barcelona returned to training from the cornonavirus quarantine.

The South African Football Association has confirmed the appointment of advocate Tebogo Motlanthe as new acting CEO.

Former Proteas head coach Ray Jennings is adamant Aiden Markram should be chosen as Faf du Plessis' replacement as captain of the Test team.

NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson says there is still no clarity on the prospects for Test rugby in 2020, but said they will explore every avenue.

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