Trump's brilliant cybersecurity solution is to send things by courier

President-elect Donald Trump has a brilliant solution to our country's cybersecurity problems. 

No, it's not to condemn Russia for hacking the Democratic National Committee. It's turning back the clock to a simpler time, before these newfangled computers messed everything up. 

SEE ALSO: An A-list celeb has finally offered to perform at Trump’s inauguration

Speaking to reporters on Saturday while in Florida to celebrate New Year's Eve, the president-elect, per the press pool report, said:

"It's very important, if you have something really important, write it out and have it delivered by courier, the old fashioned way because I'll tell you what, no computer is safe. I don't care what they say, no computer is safe. I have a boy who's ten years old, he can do anything with a computer. You want something to really go without detection, write it out and have it sent by courier." Read more...

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The heartbreaking story behind Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's gift to his dad

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson won us over this year by dancing in a Pikachu costume and just generally being awesome. 

This Christmas, he outdid himself by buying a car for his dad, Canadian wrestler Rocky Johnson. But it's not the generosity alone that had people all choked up. It's the story Dwayne shared about his father. 

SEE ALSO: Behold, all your favorite viral trends in one viral video

Bought my dad a Christmas gift and surprised him. He's had a hard life. This one felt good. My dad, Rocky Johnson is a minimalist. Always has been. Never asks me for much and over the years his needs are always the barest. Crazy story, my dad's dad died when he was 13yrs old. That Christmas, my dad's mom had her new boyfriend over for Christmas dinner. Her boyfriend got drunk and pissed on the turkey. My dad went outside, got a shovel, drew a line in the snow and said if you cross that line I'll kill you. The drunk crossed it and my dad laid him out cold as a block of ice. Cops were called. They told my dad's mom that when her boyfriend regains consciousness, he's gonna kill your son so one of them has got to go. In front of the entire family, my dad's mom looked at him and said get out. He was 13yrs old and now homeless. That f*cked up true story happened in Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1954. He needed the bare minimum then, just like does now. Over the years, I've moved him into a big home, got him trucks to drive - which he'll literally drive into the ground until I get him something else. Hell, I'll get him anything he wants, but the SOB just won't ask;). Every Christmas, I always think about that story and my dad having every odd stacked against him at 13, but he fought thru it and still made something of himself. Makes me appreciate his struggle and hard work. Also, makes me appreciate the fun times he would beat my ass in the gym so bad when I was 13 and say "If you're gonna throw up, go outside.. and if you're gonna cry, then go home to your mother". I hated it then, but I embrace it now. Made a man outta me. Without pissing on my turkey. 😂👍🏾. Just a small way of saying thank you dad and Merry Christmas! #DwantaClaus🎅🏾 Read more...

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Watch the ball drop in Times Square with this New Year's Eve livestream

It doesn't matter if you're stuck at work, at home sick, or simply don't have the means to join the global party, there's no reason for you to miss the New Year's Eve celebration in New York's Time Square. 

SEE ALSO: Here's how to spend NYE if you want to ring in 2017 twice

Yes, there will be a few New Year's Eve shows broadcasting the festivities from New York City, but if you want the official livestream delivering real-time action, the official Time Square site has what you need.  

Beginning at 6 p.m. ET, the livestream will feature commercial-free backstage looks at the performers, celebrities and the real New Yorkers (and our beloved visitors) as they brave 20-degree temperatures all in the name of ringing in 2017 in the city that never sleeps.  Read more...

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5 VR safety tips to stop you from destroying your home

The new year may be upon us, but many of you are probably still playing with your holiday gifts, one of the most popular of which appears to be VR headsets. 

But if you take a look around social media, you'll notice a surprisingly common story popping up: People are getting so into virtual reality, they're destroying their real-world homes. 

SEE ALSO: Why wireless headsets for Oculus and Vive could be a step backward for VR

Whether it's playing shooter titles like Superhot or athletic titles like The Climb, stories of people smashing their hands into their expensive televisions or computer monitors are becoming the new normal.  Read more...

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No, the power grid in Vermont was not infiltrated by Russian hackers

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Rare nationwide cold snap to ring in the New Year across U.S.

January 2017 will start off unusually cold across the entire lower 48 states, in an unusually expansive and intense cold snap. The frigid weather, with possibly as many as 15 states seeing below-zero Fahrenheit temperatures at times, will start in the Pacific Northwest, northern Plains and Upper Midwest, and then creep eastward like a slow motion weather train wreck.

Temperatures will be 10 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below average for this time of year starting around Jan. 5, with the hardest hit states — North Dakota, Minnesota and Montana — possibly seeing temperatures staying below zero for multiple days next weekend.  Read more...

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Call ‘The Avengers’ in this arcade-style, animated retelling

If they have an army, but you have a Hulk, can you save the world from Loki? Find out in this 8-bit (and 16-bit) reimagining of Joss Whedon's The Avengers as an old video game, inspired by classic action games like Megaman. 

Our CineFix series, 8-bit Cinema, "gamifies" your favorite Hollywood blockbusters into '80s arcade- and NES-inspired animations. 

Subscribe to CineFix for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/cinefix Read more...

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From Bowie to Solange: Here are the top 10 albums of 2016

If you released an album this year and thought you could slide by without bringing your A-Game, well, as Chance the Rapper would put it, "Uhahua!"

2016 was stacked with great music. Many of the world's biggest artist's put out the best work of their careers, legends blessing us with swan-songs that make saying goodbye even rougher and fresh acts achieving household name status in record speed. 

Here are 10 albums that got us through the rough times, stopped the world and reminded us that joy still exists. 

SEE ALSO: Here are the top 11 songs of 2016 Read more...

10. The 1975 - I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It

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'Halloweentown' actors pay tribute to the great Debbie Reynolds

Debbie Reynolds, who died Dec. 28 at the age of 84, will forever be remembered for her role in the 1952 classic film, "Singing in the Rain." But for younger viewers today, she is known as Aggie Cromwell, the wise and magic-loving grandmother in the Disney Halloweentown films. 

The first of this series premiered on television 1998, with the fourth in 2006. 

Reynolds' Halloweentown costars responded to her death on social media and in media interviews this week. 

SEE ALSO: From 'Singin' in the Rain' to 'Halloweentown': A look at Debbie Reynolds' memorable roles

Kimberly J. Brown, who played Reynolds' granddaughter in the films, paid tribute to her TV mom on Facebook: Read more...

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16 incredible quotes from 16 incredible books that got us through 2016

If there is one thing to celebrate from 2016, a year that has been very objectively and very scientifically determined to be a large, blazing garbage fire, it's all of the great books that have been published.

With moving fiction, experimental short stories, heartfelt poetry collections and insightful memoirs, 2016 introduced us all to a bevy of great authors and literature.

SEE ALSO: MashReads Podcast: Here are our favorite books of 2016

It's these authors and words that inspired us, lifted us, commiserated with us, and helped us better understand the world throughout 2016. Which we are thankful for. Because we needed some support to get through this surreal nightmare of a year. Read more...

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Snapchat's 10 most popular lenses of 2016

Snapchat is insanely powerful. Not only has it changed Facebook (for better or worse), it has popularized the term "vomiting rainbow" and transformed selfies. 

Just over a year ago, Snapchat introduced lenses, a feature that recognizes objects such as faces and overlays them with animated filters. It's one of the app's most addictive features in part because the options change daily. 

SEE ALSO: Snapchat pushing for more AR with latest reported purchase

More than 150 million people every day open the app to see what they can become. Everyone from President Barack Obama to Kim Kardashian have sported a flower crown this year.  Read more...

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This VR device promises to make both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive wireless

The virtual reality smorgasbord set to hit CES is just a few days away, but standout companies are already popping up, including one with a unique HMD solution.

Atlanta-based KwikVR is promising a wireless VR headset device that works perfectly with both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift. 

Weighing less than one pound, the device can be attached to your belt and features two USB ports and an HDMI port. The company claims that the device delivers low latency and "guaranteed native resolution" along with 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity. Nevertheless, as I've mentioned recently, tetherless VR headsets sound great until the accident reports start coming in.  Read more...

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Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds to be buried together

Carrie Fisher, the world famous actress best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, will be buried together with her mother, the iconic actress Debbie Reynolds, according to Reynold's son Todd Fisher. 

The two renowned actresses died one day apart, on Dec. 27 and 28. 

A date for the funeral has not been set, but the joint funeral will be private, according to Reynolds' son. The two actresses will be interred at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, where Lucille Ball and other famous celebrities are buried.

SEE ALSO: Star Wars gamers gather to honor Carrie Fisher Read more...

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Ronda Rousey lost her first fight in more than a year in just 48 seconds

After more than a year of anticipation, the fate of the most famous UFC fighter to date, Ronda Rousey, was decided in just 48 seconds on Friday. 

Brazilian fighter Amanda Nunes defended her women's bantamweight champion title by dispatching Rousey with a vicious flurry of strikes in the first round, leaving no doubt about the end of Rousey's long reign as the UFC's top female fighter.  

SEE ALSO: Dana White Explains the UFC's Social Media Choke Hold

The defeat followed weeks of promotional appearances leading up to the fight, during which Rousey refused to address the media and would only stick around long enough for the public to get a glimpse of her newly ripped physique. Her fighting form, deadly serious scowls and complete silence, led many UFC watchers to wonder if the world was about to see a new version of Rousey, one who had learned from her shocking loss at the boxing-centric hands of Holly Holm in November 2015. Read more...

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China announces a 'game-changing' step for elephant conservation

China, the world's largest market for ivory, announced this week that it will shut down its trade in such goods by the end of 2017. This will close down the world's largest commercial ivory market, and could help elephant populations stabilize and recover in Africa.

The decision to close down its domestic commercial elephant ivory trade is being hailed as a potentially transformative step toward protecting Africa's elephants, which are being slaughtered for their valuable tusks that are made of ivory. 

SEE ALSO: The world's fastest land animal is even more threatened than we thought

“This is a game changer for Africa’s elephants,” said Aili Kang, the executive director for Asia at the Wildlife Conservation Society, in a statement. "I am very proud of my country for showing this leadership that will help ensure that elephants have a fighting chance to beat extinction." Read more...

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From Kimye vs. Taylor to Kimye vs. Bette Midler: The best celebrity feuds of 2016

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How to never touch anyone ever again

Physical contact? On one hand, it's a vital form of human communication. On the other, it's terrible.

Touching other people is one of humankind's greatest fallacies. We all know touching people exposes us to germs, maybe diseases and definitely weird sweat, but we do it anyway. This is f*cking ridiculous.

SEE ALSO: 10 very dangerous activities you should avoid at all costs

Well, it's time to slip on your latex gloves and take a stand. Your gross body is your own, and it doesn't have to touch other gross bodies if it doesn't want to.

If you love someone? Stay away from them. If you hate them, please do the same. Here's how. Read more...

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Trump says Happy New Year in the most Trump way

President-elect Donald Trump tweeted his New Year's wishes on Saturday morning, and they do not disappoint. Choosing to steer clear of a neutral, hopeful message for the future, Trump instead sent a tauntingly boastful signal to his enemies.

Presumably the tweet was also directed at his vanquished rival for the presidency, Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote by nearly 3 million but lost in the Electoral College.

SEE ALSO: What we do and don't know about Russia's interference in the presidential election

One person that may not be on Trump's enemies list, but which is on such a roster among most Congressional Republicans as well as President Obama, is Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Read more...

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7 tech resolutions you should make in 2017, and how to keep them

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Can an app change human behavior? This behavioral economics professor is banking on it

Whether personal or professional, change is hard. And the cumulative data is not on our side. 

Take something obviously detrimental, like smoking. A mere 4% to 7% of people successfully quit without the aid of medication or outside help. Even experiencing a traumatic event — like the death of a loved one or being diagnosed with cancer — only leads to a 20% success rate. 

Not to be a killjoy, but as the Washington Post found, roughly 25% of New Year resolutions fall apart within the first two weeks. And even when it comes to our work — where money’s on the line — “70% of [management-led] transformation efforts fail.”  Read more...

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