AT CES 2019, LG SHOWS OFF A TV YOU CAN ROLL UP LIKE A NEWSPAPER:

At this week’s CES technology expo, LG will be one of many TV makers to show off an impressive lineup of super-duper-high-definition TVs. But there’s one thing that separates LG from the competition.
You can roll up one of LG’s TVs like a newspaper.

The 18-inch display is just one of the concept designs LG will be unveiling, as it attempts to predict the future of television screens. Also on display will be a 55-inch TV that is as thin as a piece of paper and a 65-inch “extreme-curve” set of TVs that bend inwards and outwards.

None of these TV will be sold this year — and it’s possible they may never hit stores. It’s also not totally clear why you’d want to roll up or bend your TV.

Really CNN? This is the 21st century, you know.™ I wouldn’t mind having this in my living room — and/or simply being able to lug the box out to my screened-in porch for movie or Super Bowl night:

LG’s roll-up TV had a very large crowd; it wasn’t easy getting to the front of the line for an unobstructed view.

DON’T FEAR THE MACHINE THAT PASSES THE TURING TEST, FEAR THE MACHINE THAT DELIBERATELY FLUNKS IT: This clever AI hid data from its creators to cheat at its appointed task.

SO IT LOOKS LIKE AOC IS EITHER LYING OR BEING LIED TO:

Funny, that:

Plus:

UPDATE:

BACK TO THE FUTURE: Retro gaming is a popular theme at CES 2019, with several companies exhibiting arcade-style cabinets with familiar names from the ‘80s and ‘90s. Arcade1Up’s cabinet games, which include Pac-Man, Centipede, Space Invaders and others, each include multiple themed games. Mortal Combat, which you will eventually be to able to discern if you stare at the photo below long enough, features the first through the third versions of the game.

THAT’S NICE, BUT HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED OUTRIGHT MONTHS AGO: Broward Sheriff Scott Israel tells staff he’s being suspended over Parkland response.

DELIGHTFULLY PERVERSE INCENTIVES: Missouri holds gun buy-back event, hilarity ensues.

21st CENTURY HEADLINES: Ubtech’s soccer-playing Walker robot has a new pair of arms at CES 2019.

At CES 2018, Ubtech unveiled a robot that could climb stairs and kick a soccer ball. Appropriately, this humanoid bot with legs was named Walker and Ubtech promised to add arms by the time it launched. Consider that promise kept. At CES 2019, the Ubtech Walker is sporting a brand new pair of limbs.

On display in a controlled demo space at the show, the bot can walk around a room while avoiding furniture. It can also grab an umbrella or a glass or water when prompted, bringing it to the host. It’s pretty cool in concept. And by the time its ready, Walker should be able to learn its way around any home and be able to fetch items at your command.

Watching Walker in action, C3PO and Robbie don’t need to lose too much sleep just yet. However, another Ubtech product on display at CES might be ready for the real world much sooner, the Ubtech Ted Cruz, err, Cruzr robot:

Cruzr can be programmed to remember the specific layout of tables in a restaurant. It then uses its circular base with wheels to zip around to customers, who can punch in their orders onto the screen on its face. Cruzr is then smart enough to take that order to the proper person for preparation.

Cruzr will also use Ubtech’s voice recognition software and has movable arms and hands — though they won’t be fit for carrying a hot cup of coffee. As of right now, Cruzr is meant to take orders, not distribute them. The new version offers more detailed interactions on the screen so customers can find what they want to order more easily. The upgraded bot is scheduled to roll out to Cruzr’s original markets in Asia and Europe and launch in the US this year.

#Fightfor15!

THE UNDERSEA WORLD OF AQUATIC DRONES: There are at least two manufacturers promoting aquatic drones at CES. This is the FiFish P3:

This is the Navatics Mito:

Both units have built-in lighting to overcome the underwater murk, are connected to their remote control via a tether, which, assuming it doesn’t break, will likely come in handy finding the unit if its remote stops working. (Been there, done that, recovered the airborne drone from my roof.)

IT’S GOOD TO BE THE NOMENKLATURA: Castro grandson under fire for flaunting decadent lifestyle: yachts, fine dining, luxury suites and more.

THAT’S ONE WELL-BUILT SUV: Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen Drives Off 3rd Floor of Hollywood Parking Garage, Lands on Roof. “The driver, amazingly, survived.”

21st CENTURY FARMING: John Deere is at CES; the showpiece at their booth is a giant semi-autonomous combine:

That’s to say, in order to build a fully autonomous tractor, there are no shortcuts. While a blend of GPS and other location tracking sensors, image sensors, and telematics assist John Deere vehicles to navigate fields today, the company still can’t truly replicate everything a human would see and feel sitting in the tractor cab. The company’s latest commercially-available machine with autonomous features, the S700 combine (a vehicle which harvests grain), can automatically adjust its harvesting equipment based on the condition of the crop it sees—but still gives the farmer sitting in the tractor a camera on the process to make sure it’s happening correctly. Right now all of John Deere’s tractors still require a human to sit inside—a sign that autonomy is a long road even in controlled environments.

Automakers and their partners in Silicon Valley chasing the dream of self-driving cars are similarly learning that there’s a lot more to driving than just seeing the road and minding the cars around you.

* * * * * * * *

Both pursuits have their challenges. John Deere doesn’t need to contend with hundreds of other vehicles on its path, but a collision with other equipment or a misadjusted piece of equipment could mean disaster for an entire season. Cars and trucks carry precious cargo—humans—but benefit from signs, lines, and established infrastructure to help guide cars on the correct paths.

You can get a sense of the size of this beast by the people standing next to it and climbing onboard.

BRUCE BAWER: Big Microphones, Cold Moet: Watching the Golden Globes From Europe.

Hollywood will be pleased to learn that somebody somewhere was watching.

IT SEEMS TO BE DRIVEN BY INCREASING OBESITY: Women beware: Uterine cancer rates are rising.

AT AMAZON, shop the Home Improvement Outlet.

Plus, Winter Savings in Patio Lawn and Garden.

HAROLD DEMSETZ, RIP:  Jonathan Adler discusses this important property rights theorist.

DEBRA HEINE: ‘AOC Owns the Cons’? New Never-Trump Website off to a Shaky Start.

BUT OF COURSE: On 1st day, Gov. Gavin Newson proposes free healthcare for illegal immigrants under 26.

As Adam Baldwin quipped on Twitter, “Free.”

What we need is a sanctuary state for middle class net taxpayers.

NASTY SENATE FIGHT ON ANTI-ISRAEL BDS MOVEMENT: A vote is scheduled for 5:30 PM today in the Senate in Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s first test of 2019. He wants the Senate to vote on a package of proposals, including one that protects state and local officials who boycott the Israel boycotters of the BDS Movement.

But Senate Democrats want to vote first on re-opening the government. One need not agree with them on that point to recognize it’s a legitimate strategy. But they ran into a totally unexpected obstacle, thanks Bernie Sanders and that angry Muslim woman who wants to impeach President Trump. Details here. Updates to come later this evening.

HMM: Study suggests non-surgical treatment preferable for coronary artery disease. As described, I’m not super persuaded here.

DAVID HARSANYI: Yes, Anti-Zionism Is The Same As Anti-Semitism. “In practice, anti-Zionism is the most consequential form of anti-Semitism that exists in the world today.”

Now, of course, merely being critical of the Israeli government isn’t anti-Semitic. No serious person has ever argued otherwise. I’ve never heard any Israeli official or AIPAC spokesman ever claim that Israel is a “stand-in for Jews writ large,” nor have I ever heard an Israeli prime minister profess to speak for all Jews. (We have the ADL for that.) Israel has featured both left-wing and right-wing governments, and like governments in any liberal democracy, its leaders can be corrupt, misguided, or incompetent. Israelis criticize their governments every day.

However, opposing “Zionism” itself — the movement for a Jewish homeland — is to deny the validity of a Jewish claim to a nation altogether. It puts you in league with Hamas and Hezbollah and the mullahs of Iran. The Palestinian Liberation Organization’s 1968 charter states that “Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own; they are citizens of the states to which they belong.” This, it seems, is now also the position of a number of Democrats.

If your goal is to kill as many Jews as possible, it’s smart to start somewhere with large numbers of them.

I’M ENJOYING THIS BUDDY MOVIE: Gorsuch and Sotomayor Join Forces in Defense of Sixth Amendment Rights: It’s not the first time the two justices have teamed up on a criminal justice case.

YOU MIGHT NOT BE INTERESTED IN THE GLEICHSCHALTUNG, BUT THE GLEICHSCHALTUNG IS INTERESTED IN YOU: Red Lobster will no longer advertise on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show after he made controversial comments about women’s pay and immigrants.

THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION’S JAMES CARAFANO: Reviews Cocktails from Hell in The National Interest.