News gathered 2024-01-22

(date: 2024-01-22 15:30:57)


Harris: Trump is responsible for Supreme Court ending Roe

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

It was a preview of a central reelection argument in a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden, a contest that will be shadowed by the former president’s multiple courtroom trials, including one related to Trump’s role in events that led to the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/harris-trump-is-responsible-for-supreme-court-ending-roe/ Save to Pocket


Review | The Amy Ray Band and Dar Williams Take us on a Musical Journey

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

MLK Day concert in Santa Barbara hits all the right notes.

The post Review | The Amy Ray Band and Dar Williams Take us on a Musical Journey  appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/review-the-amy-ray-band-and-dar-williams-take-us-on-a-musical-journey/ Save to Pocket


Thirteen Productions Currently Filming in SCV

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office released the list of 13 productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, Jan. 22 - Sunday, Jan. 28.

https://scvnews.com/thirteen-productions-currently-filming-in-scv/ Save to Pocket


My Kid Doesn’t Have a Job ― So Why Would They Need ‘Occupational Therapy’?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Three pediatric occupational therapists practicing in Santa Barbara explain how they can help your child.

The post My Kid Doesn’t Have a Job ― So Why Would They Need ‘Occupational Therapy’? appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/my-kid-doesnt-have-a-job-%e2%80%95-so-why-would-they-need-occupational-therapy/ Save to Pocket


Tiny Flying Rainbows

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/tiny-flying-rainbows Save to Pocket


Hyundai’s ‘extremely limited’ matte gold IONIQ 5 Platinum Disney edition on sale for $60K

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

You can now buy Hyundai’s matte gold Disney-themed IONIQ 5 for under $60,000. Designed with Walt Disney Imagineering, the IONIQ 5 Disney100 Platinum Edition is every fan’s dream, and it’s on sale now.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/hyundai-matte-gold-platinum-disney-ioniq-5-sale-60k/ Save to Pocket


SCV Chamber Announces 2023 Business Award Recipients

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce announced Monday its 2023 Business Award Recipients, who are set to be celebrated at the Awards and Installation event on Friday, Feb. 2, hosted at the Hyatt Regency Valencia

https://scvnews.com/scv-chamber-announces-2023-business-award-recipients/ Save to Pocket


The Santa Barbara Zoo Invites Community to Celebrate Annual Snow Leopard Festival

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The Santa Barbara Zoo will be hosting their annual Snow Leopard Festival, where kids can play in the snow alongside their favorite animals, including Kisa the snow leopard.

The post The Santa Barbara Zoo Invites Community to Celebrate Annual Snow Leopard Festival appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/the-santa-barbara-zoo-invites-the-community-to-celebrate-annual-snow-leopard-festival/ Save to Pocket


iOS 17.3 Stands Out from Other OS Updates with Stolen Device Protection

date: 2024-01-22, from: TidBITS blog

Apple has released a large set of operating system updates, including iOS 17.3, iPadOS 17.3, macOS 14.3 Sonoma, watchOS 10.3, tvOS 17.3, HomePod Software 17.3, macOS 13.6.4 Ventura, macOS 12.7.3 Monterey, iOS 16.7.5 and iPadOS 16.7.5, and iOS 15.8.1 and iPadOS 15.8.1. New features include Stolen Device Protection in iOS 17.3 and Apple Music collaborative playlists.

Press Play to hear TidBITS publisher Adam Engst and MacVoices host Chuck Joiner talk to the Long Island Mac User Group about the details around the iPhone 14, Apple Watch Ultra, and other September releases.

https://tidbits.com/2024/01/22/ios-17-3-stands-out-from-other-%ef%a3%bfos-updates-with-stolen-device-protection/ Save to Pocket


Boffins eyeball computer vision costs, find humans are cheaper for oversight chores

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

AI can only automate parts of some jobs, and the kit required is too pricey

Human labor can accomplish some jobs more cheaply than computer vision systems, according to a study led by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/mit_ai_jobs_report/ Save to Pocket


Bookends 14.2.8

date: 2024-01-22, from: TidBITS blog

Bookends icon
Reference management tool adds support for those with an ORCID identifier. ($59.99 new, free update, 111.8 MB, macOS 10.13+)

macOS Hidden Treasures: Quick Look

https://tidbits.com/watchlist/bookends-14-2-8/ Save to Pocket


Bay FC reveals first-ever uniforms, players already feeding off ‘culture and chemistry’

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

A chance to see the roster together for the first time, the Bay FC co-owners hosted a media event on Monday afternoon less than two months before they’re to kick off their inaugural NWSL season at PayPal Park. 

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/bay-fc-reveals-first-ever-uniforms-players-already-feeding-off-culture-and-chemistry/ Save to Pocket


Single-family house sells in Saratoga for $4.2 million

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

The spacious property located in the 19200 block of Harleigh Drive in Saratoga was sold on Jan. 9, 2024. The $4,150,000 purchase price works out to $1,298 per square foot. The house, built in 1967, has an interior space of 3,196 square feet.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/single-family-house-sells-in-saratoga-for-4-2-million/ Save to Pocket


Grizzlies boys’ hoops take down Indians 

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Signal

Key defensive stops in the final minutes of play powered Golden Valley Grizzlies boys’ basketball to victory on Friday.  After a long back-and-forth fourth quarter, Golden Valley pulled away and finished the night with a 73-63 win over the hosting Hart Indians.  The Grizzlies (17-7, 5-3) never trailed in the contest but kept up the […]

The post <strong>Grizzlies boys’ hoops take down Indians</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/grizzlies-boys-hoops-take-down-indians/ Save to Pocket


Two-alarm fire heavily damages home in Oakland’s Montclair district

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

A gas leak is being investigated as a possible cause of a two-alarm fire Saturday night that heavily damaged a house in Oakland’s Montclair district.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/two-alarm-fire-heavily-damages-home-in-oaklands-montclair-district/ Save to Pocket


West Ranch boys’ basketball rolls Saugus  

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Signal

Wildcats boys’ basketball was ready for this one. West Ranch put on a dominating defensive performance in round two with Saugus on Friday.   The Wildcats won their 45th straight Foothill League game, defeating Saugus, 96-70.   Defensive efforts led to tons of transition points, which fueled the Cats (16-7, 9-0) as they put up their season […]

The post <strong>West Ranch boys’ basketball rolls Saugus </strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/west-ranch-boys-basketball-rolls-saugus/ Save to Pocket


Ken Striplin | Valencia Community Center Update

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

As we welcome the new year, I am excited to update our residents on the renovations at the Valencia Community Center located at Summit Park

https://scvnews.com/ken-striplin-valencia-community-center-update/ Save to Pocket


Another Mysterious Roman Dodecahedron Has Been Unearthed in England

date: 2024-01-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine

More than 100 such ancient artifacts have been found throughout Europe, but nobody knows what they are

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/another-of-ancient-romes-mysterious-12-sided-objects-has-been-found-in-england-180983632/ Save to Pocket


Where’s That Ultra Wet Winter We Were Waiting For?

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The LAist

A little more rain and snow would be nice.

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/socal-rain-storm-seasonal-trend Save to Pocket


Saugus girls’ basketball wins sixth straight, downs West Ranch 

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Signal

After a slow start in the first quarter, Saugus Centurions girls’ basketball exploded.   Saugus held the visiting West Ranch Wildcats, who easily dominated the first quarter, without a field goal in the second quarter. The Centurions kept their foot on the gas throughout the contest en route to a 54-38 win over the Wildcats on […]

The post <strong>Saugus girls’ basketball wins sixth straight, downs West Ranch</strong>  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/saugus-girls-basketball-wins-sixth-straight-downs-west-ranch/ Save to Pocket


Connecticut’s home battery storage incentive jumps to up to $16k

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Connecticut’s home battery storage program, Energy Storage Solutions, just doubled its upfront incentive to help homeowners invest in backup power – here’s how it works.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/connecticut-home-battery-storage-incentive-jumps-to-up-to-16k/ Save to Pocket


The Dodger Stadium tour is pretty great and if anything, underpriced

date: 2024-01-22, from: Matt Haughey blog

Last week I was in LA to get some sun after a dismal cold winter in Oregon. I hung out with my aunt and while she’s been a massive Dodgers fan since she was a kid, in the last couple seasons I’ve followed the Dodgers too so I could keep our daily text chain going. …

https://a.wholelottanothing.org/2024/01/22/the-dodger-stadium-tour-is-pretty-great-and-if-anything-underpriced/ Save to Pocket


Tesla Ships Army Of Cybertrucks To China, But Can’t Sell Them

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

Tesla is teasing locals by putting the Cybertruck on display, but confirms that it would be “very difficult” to make road legal.

https://insideevs.com/news/705595/tesla-cybertruck-china-not-sale/ Save to Pocket


Giant, ‘Odd’ Circles of Radio Waves in Space May Finally Have an Explanation

date: 2024-01-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The mystifying orbs could be caused by galactic winds, propelled by a period of rapid star formation and death

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/giant-odd-circles-of-radio-waves-in-space-may-finally-have-an-explanation-180983562/ Save to Pocket


Jan. 23: SUSD Regular Board Meeting

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The regular meeting of the Saugus Union School District Governing Board will take place Tuesday, Jan. 23, with closed session beginning at 5:30 p.m., followed immediately by public session at 6:30 p.m

https://scvnews.com/jan-23-susd-regular-board-meeting/ Save to Pocket


Wall Street Loves Tesla for Its AI and Its Robots — Not for Its Cars

date: 2024-01-22, from: Heatmap News



What makes Tesla, the world’s leading automaker by market cap, so valuable? The obvious answer would be that it sells hundreds of thousands of cars every quarter, for which it can command a tidy premium because of how much the Tesla name is worth. When it rolls out something new — no matter how odd-looking — Tesla fans are willing to put up money for the right to order a vehicle years later. As many of the world’s biggest economies try to transition away from internal combustion, Tesla is as well positioned as anyone to benefit immensely.

But according to one of its biggest boosters on Wall Street, Tesla’s core business of selling electric cars only contributes so much.

“Global EV momentum is stalling,” wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, a longtime Tesla booster, in a research report released Monday. “The market is over-supplied vs. demand. We anticipate Tesla’s 2024 outlook to be cautious on volume and profitability.” He marked down his estimate for Tesla’s 2024 sales to 2.08 million units, compared to his previous estimate of 2.25 million, with profitability falling thanks to the aggressive price cuts the company instituted last year in a bid to juice sales. Then came the thing that really hurt: Jonas also adjusted his price target for Tesla shares down from $380 to $345 — a figure well north of the $212 the shares closed at on Friday, but still a noticeable cut. Tesla shares traded down 1.5% through Monday afternoon.

For any other car company that exclusively sold EVs, this kind of price target shrinkage would be a serious problem. But Jonas doesn’t see Tesla as a car company. Or, at least, not just as a car company.

Of the $345 Jonas thinks a Tesla share is worth, only $75 comes from selling electric vehicles. The rest is largely from businesses that either don’t exist for the company, or else don’t generate meaningful revenue compared to selling cars.

Let’s break this down: In its most recent quarter, Tesla had around $23 billion of total revenues, $19.5 billion of which came from selling cars; $1.5 billion came from its energy business, with the remaining $2 billion coming from “services and other revenue,” which include Tesla’s Supercharging network.

To Jonas, however, Tesla “is both an auto stock + an energy, AI/robotics company,” he wrote, adding that “we believe investors should not ignore the continued developments of Tesla’s other bets.” These include things like turning its cars into something more like software subscriptions, which incur recurring revenues (as Tesla already does with its Full Self Driving software) and a robotaxi network that does not yet exist, but which Jonas projects will have 230,000 vehicles by 2030. There are also projects like the Optimus humanoid robot, which Jonas didn’t put a valuation on but thinks that investors should factor in when considering whether to buy or sell Tesla shares.

To get a sense of the gargantuan scale Jonas tends to operate on, last year he wrote that Dojo, the supercomputer Tesla developed for its automated driving system, could add $500 billion of value to Tesla, even though “it is difficult to explicitly validate the many claims Tesla has made about Dojo’s cost and performance.” He was confident, however, that “Tesla has a chance of bringing forth a competitive customized solution given the company’s innovation track record and capabilities.”

The idea that Tesla can be more than an electric car company — one that sprouts innovative and profitable businesses, whether from robotics or artificial intelligence — stems almost entirely from the fact that Elon Musk runs it. Musk himself is well aware of this. Last week he wrote on X, “I am uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in A.I. & robotics without having ~25% voting control,” which would be about double the voting power he has now. (That voting power, of course, was substantially diluted thanks to selling billions of dollars of Tesla shares to fund his takeover of now-X, then-Twitter.)

While it’s unlikely that Musk would be able to break off the robots and AI initiatives that literally power Tesla, the threat is enough to spook investors given Musk’s obvious willingness to pursue major projects outside of Tesla (e.g. SpaceX) — and the high valuation those projects can get from investors — not to mention the amount of time and energy Musk spends on them.

You can see the implicit value investors place on Tesla’s (and Musks’s) ability to spin up new businesses not just in Tesla’s high stock price and overall valuation — around $650 billion, compared to $270 billion for Toyota and $50 billion for GM, both of which sell many, many more cars— but also in how investors value Tesla’s earnings.

Tesla’s price-to-earnings ratio, which is essentially the stock price divided by the earnings per share, is around 60, comparable to Amazon or the enterprise software company Workday, companies investors buy for their future growth or profit potential derived from selling software on a subscription basis. Plus, there’s a market mania for anything AI related, as one can see with Nvidia, which makes the chips used by many companies with AI products (including Tesla) and has gained several hundred billion dollars in market capitalization in the last year. One can also see this with Microsoft, whose OpenAI stake only gets more valuable, company drama notwithstanding.

Stolid GM, by contrast, trades at four times earnings, while Toyota is around 10.

While some of this difference can be attributed to the higher prices Tesla is able to charge for its vehicles, that can only account for so much — Tesla’s best-selling cars are its lower-end vehicles, and again, it’s been aggressively cutting prices. And while luxury automakers have higher valuations than mass market car companies, Tesla still trades higher than luxury automakers including Porsche, Ferrari, and BMW.

Jonas said in his note that his high valuation for the company “is highly dependent upon Tesla accruing value as an AI enabler,” and that “any change of organizational or legal structure that impedes Tesla’s ability to participate in the development of AI could be detrimental.”

And Jonas isn’t the only analyst who sees a substantial portion of Tesla’s value being made up of something beyond its current electric vehicle business. “A key to our bullish thesis that all AI initiatives be kept within Tesla,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note last week. “If Musk ultimately went down the path to create his own company (separate from Tesla) for his next generation AI projects this would clearly be a big negative for the Tesla story.”

Even if Tesla reports a disappointing outlook for its electric vehicles business with its fourth quarter earnings on Wednesday, expect analysts and investors to be interested in what Tesla isn’t doing yet but could be doing in the future — as long as Musk is still there.

https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/tesla-earnings-ai-elon-musk Save to Pocket


49ers’ Deebo Samuel has no fracture, but status for NFC Championship up in the air

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

49ers’ Deebo Samuel does not have a fractured shoulder, but status vs. Detroit in title game is undetermined.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/49ers-deebo-samuel-has-no-fracture-but-status-for-title-game-not-determined/ Save to Pocket


The World’s Largest Cruise Ship Is a Climate Liability. “Taking a cruise…

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043834-the-worlds-largest-cruise Save to Pocket


Rent Control Wars in Isla Vista

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

As it’s currently modernizing its eviction protections, the City of Santa Barbara is following several other Central Coast cities in considering

The post Rent Control Wars in Isla Vista appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/rent-control-wars-in-isla-vista/ Save to Pocket


Runestone Rejected From the App Store

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Simon B. Støvring: Apple rejected an update to Runestone because its App Store description mentions the app’s price. This text has been included in the description for two years on iOS and for two releases on visionOS. I was inspired by Overcast, which also has a similar text, to add it to my app.[…]We need […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/runestone-rejected-from-the-app-store/ Save to Pocket


Best Mac Monitors and Displays 2024

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Macworld: However, picking a new monitor can be daunting. Not only are there many manufacturers to choose from, but there are also lots of sizes, resolutions, and features to consider–and when we say lots, we mean lots. […] Apple sells displays for its Macs, and you could go with its offerings, but its displays are […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/best-mac-monitors-and-displays-2024/ Save to Pocket


Classical Music and CarPlay

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Joe Rossignol: Apple Music Classical was updated today with what appeared to be CarPlay support, but this was quickly reversed in a follow-up update. How about making classical music work for all users by adding scrolling or smaller fonts? Currently, I can’t even tell which track I’m playing because the unique part of the title […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/classical-music-and-carplay/ Save to Pocket


Big San Jose regional mall is bought by real estate group from Texas and NYC

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Eastridge Center in San Jose, one of the Bay Area’s best-known shopping and restaurant centers, has been bought for more than $100 million.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/san-jose-eastridge-real-estate-retail-store-restaurant-movie-shop-econ/ Save to Pocket


date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

The 49ers are not seeking a new coach, but several coaches with Bay Area ties are being connected to openings

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/nfl-coaching-carousel-david-shaw-interviews-for-gigs-as-do-ex-49ers-harbaugh-slowik/ Save to Pocket


Magnitude 7.1 earthquake rattles western China

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Tremors were felt as far away as the neighboring countries Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the Kazakh capital of Almaty, people left their homes, the Russian news agency Tass reported.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/magnitude-7-1-earthquake-rattles-western-china/ Save to Pocket


Taxpayers and Ratepayers to Be Ripped Off to Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Running Beyond Current Licenses

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

The $1.1 billion federal aid package to support an additional five years of operation of the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant

The post Taxpayers and Ratepayers to Be Ripped Off to Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Running Beyond Current Licenses appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/taxpayers-and-ratepayers-to-be-ripped-off-to-keep-diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-running-beyond-current-licenses/ Save to Pocket


The 2024 Acura ZDX Starts At $64,500, Reservations Are Open

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

The model will arrive at Acura dealerships this spring.

https://insideevs.com/news/705619/2024-acura-zdx-pricing-64500usd/ Save to Pocket


US Supreme Court Lets Border Patrol Cut Razor Wire Installed in Texas

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

washington — A divided Supreme Court on Monday allowed Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire that Texas installed on the U.S.-Mexico border, while a lawsuit over the wire continues.

The justices, by a 5-4 vote, granted an emergency appeal from the Biden administration, which has been in an escalating standoff at the border with Texas and had objected to an appellate ruling in favor of the state.

The concertina wire along roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) of the Rio Grande near the border city of Eagle Pass is part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s broader fight with the administration over immigration enforcement.

Abbott also has authorized installing floating barriers in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass and allowed troopers to arrest and jail thousands of migrants on trespassing charges. The administration also is challenging those actions in federal court.

A federal appeals court last month forced federal agents to stop cutting the concertina wire. Large numbers of migrants have crossed the border at Eagle Pass in recent months.

In court papers, the administration said the wire impedes Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they cross the river and that, in any case, federal immigration law trumps Texas’ own efforts to stem the flow of migrants into the country.

Texas officials have argued that federal agents cut the wire to help groups crossing illegally through the river before taking them in for processing.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor sided with the administration. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas voted with Texas.

No one provided any explanation for their vote.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-supreme-court-lets-border-patrol-cut-razor-wire-installed-in-texas-/7450647.html Save to Pocket


Santa Barbara Countywide Education Job Fairs

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY – The Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) is hosting two education job fairs to help schools and

The post Santa Barbara Countywide Education Job Fairs appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/santa-barbara-countywide-education-job-fairs-2/ Save to Pocket


Santa Barbara Countywide Education Job Fairs

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Schools across the county are hiring! There are job opportunities for everyone in the field of education, both inside and outside the classroom.
Join the journey and find a career that makes a difference.

The post Santa Barbara Countywide Education Job Fairs appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/santa-barbara-countywide-education-job-fairs/ Save to Pocket


Day in Review (January 22–25)

date: 2024-01-22, from: Association of Research Libraries News

Last Updated on January 22, 2024, 4:26 pm ET Sign up to receive the Day in Review by email. Jump to: Tuesday, January 23 | Wednesday, January 24 | Thursday,…

The post Day in Review (January 22–25) appeared first on Association of Research Libraries.

https://www.arl.org/day-in-review/day-in-review-january-22-25/ Save to Pocket


Norman Jewison dies at 97; acclaimed filmmaker directed ‘In the Heat of the Night’ and ‘Moonstruck’

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

The Canadian filmmaker, who had 3 Oscar nominations and an honorary award, also made such movies as “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/norman-jewison-dies-at-97-acclaimed-filmmaker-directed-in-the-heat-of-the-night-and-moonstruck/ Save to Pocket


macOS 14.3

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer, full installer, IPSW): macOS Sonoma 14.3 brings collaborative playlists in Apple Music, so that Apple Music subscribers can create playlists with friends and family members. The software also has an updated AppleCare & Warranty section in Settings that shows coverage for all devices signed in with an Apple ID. […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/macos-14-3/ Save to Pocket


macOS 13.6.4 and macOS 12.7.3

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Apple (full installer): This document describes the security content of macOS Ventura 13.6.4. Apple (full installer): This document describes the security content of macOS Monterey 12.7.3. Previously: macOS 14.3 macOS 13.6.3 and macOS 12.7.2

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/macos-13-6-4-and-macos-12-7-3/ Save to Pocket


iOS 17.3 and iPadOS 17.3

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer): With iOS 17.3, Apple is adding Stolen Device Protection to the iPhone, limiting access to private information just in case someone gets ahold of both your iPhone and your passcode.[…]The update also includes support for AirPlaying content directly to some hotel room TVs, creating collaborative Apple Music playlists with […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/ios-17-3-and-ipados-17-3/ Save to Pocket


watchOS 10.3

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Juli Clover (release notes, security, developer): The watchOS 10.3 update includes a new Unity Bloom watch face to celebrate Black History Month. Plus bug and security fixes. Previously: watchOS 10.2

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/watchos-10-3/ Save to Pocket


tvOS 17.3

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Juli Clover (release notes, security): Apple today released tvOS 17.3, the third major update to the tvOS 17 operating system that came out last September. tvOS 17.3 comes over a month after tvOS 17.2, an update that brought the revamped Apple TV app. […] No new features were found in the tvOS 17.3 beta testing […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/tvos-17-3/ Save to Pocket


audioOS 17.3

date: 2024-01-22, from: Michael Tsai

Juli Clover (release notes): Apple does not specify what’s included in the HomePod 17.3 software, and the generic release notes only say that it brings stability and performance improvements. I saw a regression in that the Home app continued showing that the update was “Installing…” long after it had finished. I had to close and […]

https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/01/22/audioos-17-3/ Save to Pocket


NASA Invites Media to First Intuitive Machines, SpaceX Moon Launch

date: 2024-01-22, from: NASA breaking news

As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, media accreditation is open for Intuitive Machines’ first robotic flight to the Moon’s surface. The robotic deliveries will transport agency science and technology demonstrations to the Moon for the benefit of all. The Intuitive Machines Nova-C lander carrying NASA science and commercial […]

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-first-intuitive-machines-spacex-moon-launch/ Save to Pocket


Tataviam Tribe Releases Strategy for Climate Resiliency

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians released Monday the Tribal Climate Resiliency Plan, a blueprint for addressing climate in tribal territory

https://scvnews.com/tataviam-tribe-releases-strategy-for-climate-resiliency/ Save to Pocket


Wikipedia’s list of cryptids. Includes Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and chupacabras….

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043833-wikipedias-list-of-crypti Save to Pocket


GENERAL RAIN ADVISORY FOR COUNTYWIDE BEACHES ISSUED BY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Due to overnight rainfall, Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services wants to remind residents about potential health risks

The post GENERAL RAIN ADVISORY FOR COUNTYWIDE BEACHES ISSUED BY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SERVICES appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/general-rain-advisory-for-countywide-beaches-issued-by-environmental-health-services-3/ Save to Pocket


AVISO GENERAL DE LLUVIA PARA LAS PLAYAS DE TODO EL CONDADO EMITIDO POR LOS SERVICIOS DE SALUD AMBIENTAL

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Debido a las lluvias durante la noche, los Servicios de Salud Ambiental del Condado de Santa Bárbara quieren

The post AVISO GENERAL DE LLUVIA PARA LAS PLAYAS DE TODO EL CONDADO EMITIDO POR LOS SERVICIOS DE SALUD AMBIENTAL appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/aviso-general-de-lluvia-para-las-playas-de-todo-el-condado-emitido-por-los-servicios-de-salud-ambiental-2/ Save to Pocket


Half Moon Bay: Pilot, fiancée identified as final two victims of plane crash

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Lochie Ferrier, who was flying the single-engine aircraft with another Bay Area couple on board, was set to marry Cassidy Petit in Hawaii next week.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/half-moon-bay-pilot-fiancee-identified-as-final-two-victims-of-plane-crash/ Save to Pocket


CALM Announces New Director of Human Resources

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Santa Barbara, CA. January 2024 – CALM is excited to announce the appointment of Whitney Manning as Director of Human Resources. With more

The post CALM Announces New Director of Human Resources appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/calm-announces-new-director-of-human-resources/ Save to Pocket


Bay Area weather: How much rain did we get?

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Some communities received more than half a foot over the weekend

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/bay-area-weather-how-much-rain-did-we-get-3/ Save to Pocket


NEW NAME; NEW ERA ~ EXCITING FUTURE The Wildling Museum is now the California Nature Art Museum

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Venerable Solvang Mainstay Celebrates the Natural Beauty
and Diversity of the Golden State through Art, Education, and Conservation

The post NEW NAME; NEW ERA ~ EXCITING FUTURE The Wildling Museum is now the California Nature Art Museum appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/new-name-new-era-exciting-future-the-wildling-museum-is-now-the-california-nature-art-museum/ Save to Pocket


Why Are Hyundai’s EVs So Good? And Why Are Toyota’s So Bad?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

A back-to-back test of the Genesis GV70 Electrified and Lexus RZ450e revealed two very different schools of thought when it comes to electrification.

https://insideevs.com/news/705255/hyundai-toyota-battle-ev/ Save to Pocket


CUSD Now Accepting Jene Fielder Scholarship Applications

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

The Castaic Union School District is proud to announce that the Jene Fielder Trust Scholarship Program is now accepting applications

https://scvnews.com/cusd-now-accepting-jene-fielder-scholarship-applications/ Save to Pocket


Before Pizzagate or QAnon, there was the John Birch Society

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Over the decades, the Birch conspiracy grew to encompass the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, public education, the United Nations, the civil rights movement, The Rockefeller Foundation, the space program, the COVID pandemic, the 2020 presidential election and climate-change activism. In short, things the Birchers don’t like.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/before-pizzagate-or-qanon-there-was-the-john-birch-society/ Save to Pocket


Nissan needs to ‘clean out the closet’ to turn around falling sales with new EVs

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Nissan’s CEO needs to clean out his closet, according to his wife. The same goes for the 90-year-old automaker as it transitions to a new era. Nissan is gearing up to reveal a new EV plan as part of a midterm update to turn things around.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/nissan-clean-out-closet-new-ev-plan/ Save to Pocket


French E-Bike Brand Moustache Hits The City With New Mardi 27

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

The Mardi 27 is decked out in all the features that make a capable urban commuter.

https://insideevs.com/news/705475/moustache-mardi27-commuter-ebike-bosch/ Save to Pocket


US heads into post-truth election as platforms shun arbiter role

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Researchers and democracy advocates see risks in how companies are approaching online moderation and election integrity efforts after major shifts in the broader tech industry.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/us-heads-into-post-truth-election-as-platforms-shun-arbiter-role/ Save to Pocket


NHL Draft: Can the Sharks hit a sweet spot with two top-16 picks?

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

San Jose Sharks will be keeping an eye on how Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins do the rest of the season

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/nhl-draft-can-the-sharks-hit-a-sweet-spot-with-two-top-16-picks/ Save to Pocket


Iran ‘Directly Involved’ in Yemen Houthi Rebel Ship Attacks, US Navy Official Says

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

Jerusalem — Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have carried out during Israel’s war against Hamas, the U.S. Navy’s top Mideast commander told The Associated Press on Monday. 

Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy’s 5th Fleet, stopped short of saying Tehran directed individual attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. 

However, Cooper acknowledged that attacks associated with Iran have expanded from previously threatening just the Persian Gulf and its Strait of Hormuz into waters across the wider Middle East. 

“Clearly, the Houthi actions, probably in terms of their attacks on merchant shipping, are the most significant that we’ve seen in two generations,” he told the AP in a telephone interview. “The facts simply are that they’re attacking the international community; thus, the international response I think you’ve seen.” 

Iran’s mission to the United Nations and the Houthi leadership in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, did not respond to a request for comment. However, the Houthis later claimed to have attacked a U.S.-flagged vessel, something that the 5th Fleet dismissed as “patently false.” 

Since November, the Iranian-backed Houthis have launched at least 34 attacks on shipping through the waterways leading up to Egypt’s Suez Canal, a vital route for energy and cargo coming from Asia and the Middle East onward to Europe. 

The Houthis, a Shiite rebel group that’s held Sanaa since 2014 and been at war with a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s exiled government since 2015, link their attacks to the Israel-Hamas war. However, the ships they’ve targeted increasingly have tenuous links to Israel — or none at all. 

In recent days, the U.S. has launched seven rounds of airstrikes on Houthi military sites, targeting air bases under the rebels’ control and suspected missile launch sites. 

However, risks for the global economy remain as many ships continue to bypass that route for a longer trip around Africa’s southern tip. That means lower revenue for Egypt through the Suez Canal, a vital source of hard currency for the country’s troubled economy, as well as higher costs for shipping that could push up global inflation. 

As Cooper took command of the 5th Fleet in 2021, the threat to shipping focused primarily around the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all oil traded passes. A series of attacks blamed on Iran and ship seizures by Tehran followed the collapse of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers. 

In his interview with the AP, the Navy commander acknowledged the threat from Iran’s proxies and that its distribution of weapons extended from the Red Sea out to the far reaches of the Indian Ocean. The U.S. has blamed Iran for recent drone attacks on shipping, and a U.S.-owned cargo vessel came under attack from the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden last week. 

So far, Iran hasn’t become directly involved in fighting either Israel or the U.S. since the war in Gaza began on October 7. However, Cooper maintained Iran had been directly fueling the Houthi attacks on shipping. 

“What I’ll say is Iran is clearly funding, they’re resourcing, they are supplying and they’re providing training,” Cooper said. “They’re obviously very directly involved. There’s no secret there.” 

Cooper described the ship attacks striking the Mideast as the worst since the so-called Tanker War of the 1980s. It culminated in a one-day naval battle between Washington and Tehran, and also saw the U.S. Navy accidentally shoot down an Iranian passenger jet, killing 290 people in 1988. 

Back then, American naval ships escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region. Cooper said authorities had no current plans to reflag ships and escort them past Yemen. 

Instead, the U.S. and its allies employ a “zone defense, and every once and a while we shift to a one-on-one,” he said. 

Cooper’s reference to the tensions from more than three decades ago underlines just how precarious the situation in the wider Mideast has become as worries of a regional conflict over the Israel-Hamas war grow. 

Monday night, Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree, in a recorded address, claimed an attack in the Gulf of Aden on the Ocean Jazz, a U.S.-flagged ship managed by Seabulk, a company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The firm declined to comment when reached by the AP. The Ocean Jazz had been in the Red Sea heading south four days ago, according to tracking data. 

The 5th Fleet issued an online statement dismissing the Houthi claim. 

“The Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists’ report of an alleged successful attack on M/V Ocean Jazz is patently false,” it said. The 5th Fleet “has maintained constant communications with M/V Ocean Jazz throughout its safe transit.” 

Cooper spoke to the AP from the sidelines of a drone conference in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Under his command of the 5th Fleet, the naval force has created Task Force 59, a drone fleet to bolster its patrol of waterways in the region. 

Today, a variety of drones provide the 5th Fleet coverage across about 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers) of Mideast waters that the Navy otherwise wouldn’t have eyes on, Cooper said. That helps its efforts to interdict suspected drug and weapons shipments. 

U.S. forces seized Iranian-made missile parts and other weaponry this month from a ship bound for the Houthis in a raid that saw two Navy SEALs go missing. The U.S. military’s Central Command said Sunday it now believes the SEALs are dead. 

While not directly saying his fleet’s drones played a part in the seizure, Cooper hinted at it. 

“They are specifically designed to conduct interdiction operations,” he said. He added: “There’s no squeaking anything by it.” 

Cooper’s command is set to end in February with the upcoming arrival of Rear Adm. George Wikoff in Bahrain. He noted that the Navy and merchant shippers still face a serious threat from the Houthis as he prepares to leave. 

“What we need is a Houthi decision to stop attacking international merchant ships. Period,” Cooper said.

https://www.voanews.com/a/iran-directly-involved-in-yemen-houthi-rebel-ship-attacks-us-navy-official-says/7450569.html Save to Pocket


Slug slimes aerospace biz AerCap with ransomware, brags about 1TB theft

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Loanbase admits massive loss of customer data to thieves, too

AerCap, the world’s largest aircraft leasing company, has reported a ransomware infection that occurred earlier this month, but claims it hasn’t yet suffered any financial losses yet and all its systems are under control.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/ransomware_aercap_loandepot/ Save to Pocket


The Largest Dam Removal Project in U.S. History Begins Final Stretch, Welcoming Salmon Home

date: 2024-01-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine

After being impeded by dams for more than a century, the Klamath River will be restored to its historic channel this year

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-largest-dam-removal-project-in-us-history-begins-final-stretch-welcoming-salmon-home-180983621/ Save to Pocket


The French Revvie, Part III

date: 2024-01-22, from: Margaret Atwood’s substack

The Wheel of Fortuna turns…

https://margaretatwood.substack.com/p/the-french-revvie-part-iii Save to Pocket


This budget dual-screen laptop has two 14 inch displays and an Intel Alder Lake-N processor

date: 2024-01-22, from: Liliputing

The Topton L14 is a budget 14 inch Windows laptop that sells for around $400 and up and features an Intel N95 chip based on Intel’s Alder Lake-N architecture for low-cost notebooks. But this laptop has a few features that make it unusual for a budget model. It’s available with up to 32GB of RAM and […]

The post This budget dual-screen laptop has two 14 inch displays and an Intel Alder Lake-N processor appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/this-budget-dual-screen-laptop-has-two-14-inch-displays-and-an-intel-alder-lake-n-processor/ Save to Pocket


Picasso and Chagall Paintings Found in Antwerp Basement—14 Years After They Vanished

date: 2024-01-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Police conducted a months-long operation to recover the works, which had been stolen from their owner’s home in 2010

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stolen-picasso-and-chagall-paintings-valued-at-900000-found-in-an-antwerp-basement-180983622/ Save to Pocket


So You Want To Buy One Of Hertz’s Cheap Used Teslas. Should You?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

Ex-rental Hertz Tesla Model 3’s look like a really good deal. Here, we examine a less-than-perfect example to learn what buyers may be in for.

https://insideevs.com/news/705435/hertz-tesla-buying-used-inspection/ Save to Pocket


Subtitling with Aiko

date: 2024-01-22, from: John’s World Wide Wall Display

I’ve mentioned the app Aiko a couple of time. Until now I’d used it to transcribe podcasts to quote. Today noticed that it could export transcriptions as subtitle .srt files and I gave it a couple of wee videos that I had to remove from the Glow Blogs help site to comply with accessibility guidelines. […]

https://johnjohnston.info/blog/subtitling-with-aiko/ Save to Pocket


The Strange Energy of 50th Birthdays

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/the-strange-energy-of-50th-birthdays Save to Pocket


Feds Charge Alleged ‘TLO’ Underground Data Broker

date: 2024-01-22, from: 404 Media Group

In August we revealed the secret weapon hackers can use to dox nearly anyone in America for $15. Now, authorities have targeted at least one of the data sellers.

https://www.404media.co/feds-charge-tlo-data-seller-tloxp/ Save to Pocket


‘The Soil Will Save Us’ | Special Screening of ‘Common Ground’ Documentary about Regenerative Farming

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Laura Dern, Ian Somerhalder, and Jason Momoa were among the crowd of supporters of the new documentary.

The post ‘The Soil Will Save Us’ | Special Screening of ‘Common Ground’ Documentary about Regenerative Farming  appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/the-soil-will-save-us-special-screening-of-common-ground-documentary-about-regenerative-farming/ Save to Pocket


Clinkunbroomer Memorial Blood Drive set for Jan. 29

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Signal

News release   The family of Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, in partnership with the American Red Cross, presents the Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer Memorial Blood Drive on Jan. 29.   Clinkunbroomer was a fourth-generation lawman who joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2015.   “Dedicated to giving back to his community, Deputy […]

The post Clinkunbroomer Memorial Blood Drive set for Jan. 29 appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/clinkunbroomer-memorial-blood-drive-set-for-jan-29/ Save to Pocket


New U.S. Postal Service Stamps Feature Iconic NASA Webb Images

date: 2024-01-22, from: NASA breaking news

The U.S. Postal Service has issued two new Priority Mail stamps celebrating NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the largest, most powerful, and most complex telescope ever put in space. The stamps, issued Jan. 22, feature images of the cosmos captured by Webb since it began its science mission in 2022. Webb is a mission led […]

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/new-u-s-postal-service-stamps-feature-iconic-nasa-webb-images/ Save to Pocket


Wanna run Windows on an M-series Mac? Fine, buy a license, but no baremetal

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Or, you could just rent an expensive Windows VM in the cloud — just a thought, says Redmond

You can now officially run Windows 11 on an M-series Mac. Well, at least as a virtual machine anyway since Microsoft hasn’t seen fit to allow Mac users to run the OS on baremetal just yet.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/microsoft_so_you_want_to/ Save to Pocket


Dixon Health Center marks 2 decades serving CalArts

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Signal

News release  When the 2024 spring semester begins for students at California Institute of the Arts, it will also be the beginning of another year of nearly two decades of health care services provided by Samuel Dixon Family Health Centers at the CalArts Student Health Center, according to a news release from the Dixon center.  […]

The post Dixon Health Center marks 2 decades serving CalArts appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.

https://signalscv.com/2024/01/dixon-health-center-marks-2-decades-serving-calarts/ Save to Pocket


You Can Rent A Tesla Cybertruck On Turo For About $1,000 Per Day. But Should You?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

Reservation holders can see what the EV is like to drive before delivery, but it’s a lot of money for a single day.

https://insideevs.com/news/705502/tesla-cybertruck-turo-1000-usd-per-day/ Save to Pocket


NASA Interns at Johnson’s Rock Yard

date: 2024-01-22, from: NASA breaking news

In this image from May 22, 2023, a NASA intern uses an augmented reality headset to test out heads-up display technology being developed for future Artemis missions. This technology was created as part of the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students, or SUITS, design challenge in which college students from across the country help […]

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-interns-at-johnsons-rock-yard/ Save to Pocket


Tesla Model 3 Performance resfresh spotted in the wild

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

An updated Tesla Model 3 Performance with a refreshed design has been spotted in the wild ahead of the launch.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/tesla-model-3-performance-resfresh-spotted/ Save to Pocket


Dexter Scott King, Son of Martin Luther King Jr., Dies of Cancer at 62

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

Atlanta, Georgia — Dexter Scott King, the younger son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died Monday after battling prostate cancer.

The King Center in Atlanta, which Dexter King served as chairman, said the 62-year-old son of the civil rights icon died at his home in Malibu, California. His wife, Leah Weber King, said in a statement that he died “peacefully in his sleep.”

The third of the Kings’ four children, Dexter King was named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where his father served as a pastor when the Montgomery bus boycott launched him to national prominence in the wake of the 1955 arrest of Rosa Parks.

Dexter King was just 7 years old when his father was assassinated in April 1968 while supporting striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. In his 2004 memoir, Growing Up King, Dexter King recalled his father’s slaying as the end of a carefree childhood.

“Ever since I was seven, I’ve felt I must be formal,” he wrote, adding: “Formality, seriousness, certitude — all these are difficult poses to maintain, even if you’re a person with perfect equilibrium, with all the drama life throws at you.”

As an adult, Dexter King became an attorney and focused on shepherding his father’s legacy and protecting the King family’s intellectual property. In addition to serving as chairman of the King Center, he was also president of the King estate.

In addition to his work with the King Center, Dexter King was known for the striking resemblance he bore to his father. They looked so much alike that the son ended up portraying his famous father in a 2002 TV movie about Parks.

Coretta Scott King died in 2006, followed by the Kings’ oldest child, Yolanda King, in 2007.

“Words cannot express the heartbreak I feel from losing another sibling,” the Rev. Bernice A. King, the youngest of the four, said in a statement.

The oldest King son, Martin Luther King III, said: “The sudden shock is devastating. It is hard to have the right words at a moment like this. We ask for your prayers at this time for the entire King family.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/dexter-scott-king-son-of-martin-luther-king-jr-dies-of-cancer-at-62/7450482.html Save to Pocket


Thing that actually exists: a Doritos nacho cheese-flavored vodka. “The bouquet is…

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043831-thing-that-actually-exist Save to Pocket


Here’s Your First Peek At The Ducati Desmo450 MX Competition Bike

date: 2024-01-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

The 2024 Ducati MX racing schedule spans six race weekends from March through September at tracks across Italy.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705637/ducati-desmo450-mx-schedule-2024/ Save to Pocket


Ellwood: A Love Story

date: 2024-01-22, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

My Life: Memories of love and motherhood on the trail.

The post Ellwood: A Love Story  appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/22/ellwood-a-love-story/ Save to Pocket


CCC trauert um sein Ehrenmitglied winni

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Chaos Computer Club Updates

Sven “winni” Gohdes, Ehrenmitglied des Chaos Computer Clubs zeigte uns mit seiner offenen positiven Art viele große und kleine Dinge, welche das Leben noch lebenswerter machen. Trotz seiner Erkrankung an Muskelschwund war er eine stetige Anlaufquelle für lange gemeinsame Stunden sowohl in großer als auch in kleiner Runde, bei Tee und zur Entspannung. Nun ist er im Januar mit 57 Jahren verstorben und wird uns fehlen.

https://www.ccc.de/de/updates/2024/ccc-trauert-um-sein-ehrenmitglied-winni Save to Pocket


Pitchfork & The Death of the critic

date: 2024-01-22, from: Om Malik blog

The shuttering of the popular music website Pitchfork has led to a eulogy for the critic. Given how we consume media, I would argue that this was inevitable. However, I see things differently — the role of critics is adapting to our new algorithmic reality.

https://om.co/2024/01/22/death-of-the-critic/ Save to Pocket


Cicadas Are Coming: Rare ‘Dual Emergence’ Could Bring One Trillion of the Bugs This Year

date: 2024-01-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine

The 13-year and 17-year broods that will emerge from underground this spring will be appearing together for the first time in 221 years

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cicadas-are-coming-rare-dual-emergence-could-bring-one-trillion-of-the-bugs-this-year-180983635/ Save to Pocket


Aventon Pace 500.3 e-bike hits $1,099 (Save $700), electric water heater at $270, more

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Following up the exclusive $600 discount on the 1,200W Smartravel Electric Bike that is still going, we’re now tracking the best price we have seen on Aventon’s Pace 500.3 Cruiser e-bike at $1,099. It comes joined by the Camplux 18kW Tankless Electric Water Heater at $270 that hasn’t seen a discount in many months. Plus, all of today’s other best new Green Deals.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/aventon-pace-500-3-e-bike-electric-water-heater-more/ Save to Pocket


Election Countdown, 288 Days to Go: ‘Kissing the Ring’

date: 2024-01-22, from: James Fallows, Substack

Rituals of submission in one party, nearly ten months before the nation casts its votes.

https://fallows.substack.com/p/election-countdown-288-days-to-go Save to Pocket


@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-22, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

As some of you know, I like living on the edge hovering around 480 tabs open - and I keep hitting the 500 limit.

Every few days I sacrifice some 50 good boys so I can continue browsing.

Today I discovered you can press this button and choose “new tab group with NN tabs” and it saves all your lovingly curated web pages into a separate group, and you get yourself another space with 500 windows to play.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111801225373880206 Save to Pocket


Daily Deals (1-22-2024)

date: 2024-01-22, from: Liliputing

The Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 (11″) is a 2-in-1 ChromeOS tablet with a FHD+ display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 processor and a detachable keyboard that allows you to use the computer as a laptop or tablet. It also comes with a pressure-sensitive pen. While the Chromebook Duet 3 has a list price of […]

The post Daily Deals (1-22-2024) appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/daily-deals-1-22-2024/ Save to Pocket


Ventura and Monterey Users: Beware Unwanted Sonoma Upgrades

date: 2024-01-22, from: TidBITS blog

Some macOS 13 Ventura and macOS 12 Monterey users are being upgraded to macOS 14 Sonoma after dismissing notifications that encourage an upgrade. It’s a nasty bug, but the TidBITS Talk community has some advice on how to avoid the forced upgrade.

Press Play to hear TidBITS publisher Adam Engst and MacVoices host Chuck Joiner talk to the Long Island Mac User Group about the details around the iPhone 14, Apple Watch Ultra, and other September releases.

https://tidbits.com/2024/01/22/ventura-and-monterey-users-beware-unwanted-sonoma-upgrades/ Save to Pocket


ARTree Seeking Plastic Bottle Caps for Community Art Project

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

ARTree Community Arts Center is pleased to be contributing another community art project to Santa Clarita!

https://scvnews.com/artree-seeking-plastic-bottle-caps-for-community-art-project/ Save to Pocket


The US’s largest solar panel maker is taking over a Peloton factory

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR) has acquired a former Peloton factory in Ohio and has plans to turn it into a distribution center.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/us-largest-solar-panel-maker-peloton-factory/ Save to Pocket


I’m Edgar Allan Poe’s Landlord, and He Will Not Be Getting His…

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043825-im-edgar-allan-poes-landl Save to Pocket


Self-Serve Demo Drives Are Coming To Tesla Destination Charger Locations

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

It’s an interesting idea that might land Tesla some extra sales.

https://insideevs.com/news/705573/tesla-demo-drive-destination-charger/ Save to Pocket


US Supreme Court to Hear Oklahoma Man’s Death Row Appeal

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

Washington — The US Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear the case of an Oklahoma man convicted of murder, whose story has sparked appeals for clemency from Pope Francis and Hollywood stars.

Richard Glossip, 60, had been scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on May 18, but the nation’s highest court put his execution on hold.

The stay came after the Oklahoma attorney general, a Republican, asked the court, in an unusual move, to halt the execution, citing questions about the fairness of his trial.

Following the Supreme Court’s Monday announcement that it would hear Glossip’s appeal, his lawyer John Mills said his team was “grateful” and emphasized that Glossip had “maintained his innocence throughout a quarter century.”

“Mr. Glossip has faced execution nine times, even though the state knew full well that the evidence used to convict him and sentence him to death was false,” Mills said.

Glossip was convicted of the 1997 fatal beating of an Oklahoma City motel owner, but has steadfastly maintained his innocence.

Glossip, who worked at the motel, was found guilty of hiring another motel employee, maintenance man Justin Sneed, who was 19 at the time, to carry out the actual murder.

Glossip was convicted based on the testimony of Sneed, who pleaded guilty and was able to negotiate a life sentence, claiming that his co-worker had masterminded the plot.

Actors Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon and British billionaire Richard Branson have been among the celebrities advocating for Glossip’s life to be spared.

In 2015, when Glossip’s execution also appeared imminent, the representative of Pope Francis in the United States sent a letter on behalf of the pontiff to the then governor of Oklahoma asking that the execution be called off.

His case has also been the subject of a four-episode documentary series titled “Killing Richard Glossip.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-supreme-court-to-hear-oklahoma-man-s-death-row-appeal/7450354.html Save to Pocket


US, Britain, Australia Impose New Sanctions on Hamas

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-britain-australia-impose-new-sanctions-on-hamas-/7450368.html Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Let it A, Let it B, Let it C, Let it D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBsB5Cu-fiE Save to Pocket


NASA Finds Ingenuity After Losing Contact With The Mars Helicopter

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The LAist

The helicopter had stopped communicating with the Perseverance rover during a test flight. Trouble for the overachieving rotorcraft threatened to cut short its otherworldly flight exploration.

https://laist.com/news/nasa-finds-ingenuity-after-losing-contact-with-the-mars-helicopter Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Today’s song: Take me back to Tulsa.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/22.html#a185212 Save to Pocket


Travel app Kayak offers Boeing 737 Max 9 filter after that door plug drama

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Handy feature as FAA expands inspections to 737-900ER aircraft

On Sunday, the US Federal Aviation Administration recommended that air carriers operating Boeing 737-900ER aircraft conduct a visual inspection of mid-exit door plugs to be certain that doors on the aircraft are attached properly.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/travelers_takes_kayaks_filter_function/ Save to Pocket


KAYAK Lets Users Filter Out Boeing 737 Max 9 Flights After Door Blows Off Plane

date: 2024-01-22, from: 404 Media Group

A previously small feature has seen a 15x increase in usage and has been made more powerful and prominent following the 737 Max 9 incident.

https://www.404media.co/kayak-lets-users-filter-out-boeing-737-max-9-flights-after-door-blows-off-plane/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Doc will like this. Right now there are four hits on Goog for typical tech industry mess.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/22.html#a184428 Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

I’ve been writing and talking about the idea of a typical tech industry mess and left out the one I had a hand in creating, SOAP. Started out simple, and over years it turned into a TTIM. Perfect example. Someone should study it, to figure out why Sun, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle et al wanted a protocol for interop and invested years in it, and yet it returned little in the way of interop. I know that XML-RPC is still in use, I imagine that SOAP probably is too, in some form. I wonder how it shook out. On the other hand RSS wasn’t turned into a nightmare, and has become a productive tech industry mess, the most unusual thing ever, a true unicorn.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/22.html#a184055 Save to Pocket


University High Wins L.A. Ocean Sciences Bowl at NASA’s JPL

date: 2024-01-22, from: NASA breaking news

The annual competition aims to help students expand their ocean-related knowledge outside the classroom and to become environmental stewards. University High School of Irvine, California, emerged victorious on Jan. 20 at the Los Angeles regional Ocean Sciences Bowl tournament, which NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has hosted annually since 2000. Eight schools from Los Angeles and […]

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/university-high-wins-l-a-ocean-sciences-bowl-at-nasas-jpl/ Save to Pocket


Caterpillar announces electric nut harvester

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Caterpillar announced plans to further electrify America’s farms by demonstrating a new, first-of-its-kind, 600V battery powered electric field elevator at a nut harvesting operation in California.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/caterpillar-announces-electric-nut-harvester/ Save to Pocket


Porsche is finally unveiling the Macan EV this week, its latest sketches show an early look

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

The all-electric Porsche Macan will finally show its face later this week. Ahead of its official debut, Porsche is teasing the new Macan EV with sketches that preview a “quintessentially Porsche” design.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/porsche-previews-macan-ev-debut/ Save to Pocket


Fake Biden Robo-Call Tells New Hampshire Voters To Stay Home

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — As New Hampshire voters prepared to cast their votes in the state’s first-in-the nation primary Tuesday, a robo-call is circulating in the state urging Democrats to stay home - using a fake audio of U.S. President Joe Biden.  

“It’s important that you save your vote for the November election….voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again,” the call says.

The New Hampshire attorney general, John Formella, announced he is investigating what he called an apparent “unlawful attempt to disrupt the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election and to suppress New Hampshire voters.”

“The Election Law Unit’s investigation is ongoing,” he said.

The audio of the call was provided to Reuters by supporters of a campaign to encourage voters to write in Biden’s name on their ballots. Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said the call was “disinformation” and an attempt to suppress voting.  

Support for Biden’s write-in campaign will be closely-watched amid weak polls for the 81-year-old president, although the results have no bearing on the Democratic Party’s nominating contest.  

The call was first reported by NBC News.  

Biden’s name is not on the ballot Tuesday, because the national Democratic Party made South Carolina their first official primary, ending New Hampshire’s historical status and angering some Democrats there.

In the audio, the Biden “voice” is heard using one of his signature phrases, “What a bunch of malarkey.”

The calls included the personal cell phone number of Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire ballot law commissioner and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair.

Sullivan called the robo-call an attempt at election interference, and requested an investigation. It was not clear how widely the audio call was circulated.  

In a statement, Sullivan said she was made aware of it on Sunday night.

“Multiple people have described receiving a phony voice message created through AI that mimics the voice of President Biden, in an attempt to suppress their participation in the upcoming New Hampshire primary,” she said.

She said the call links back to her personal cell phone number without her permission.

The explosion of generative AI - which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts - in recent months has spurred both excitement about its potential as well as fears it could make some jobs obsolete, upend elections and even possibly overpower humans.

The campaign for former President Donald Trump said it was “absolutely not” involved in the robo-call.  

The campaign for Democrat Dean Phillips, a Minnesota congressman who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, said it was not involved.

The Phillips campaign said it found out about the call from a reporter on Sunday night.

“Any effort to discourage voters is disgraceful and an unacceptable affront to democracy. The potential use of AI to manipulate voters is deeply disturbing,” the Phillips campaign said.

https://www.voanews.com/a/7450337.html Save to Pocket


The Stanley Water Bottle Craze, Explained

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/the-stanley-water-bottle-craze-explained Save to Pocket


After a bleak turn for The Baltimore Sun, independent outlets see a surge in subscribers and attention

date: 2024-01-22, from: Nieman Journalism Lab

The situation at The Baltimore Sun is looking, to borrow the language of one journalist after the newsroom met its new owner, bleak. In the wake of a worrying sale last week bringing the Sun under new ownership, other local outlets are stepping up and seeing support. The news organization best positioned to take on…

https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/01/after-a-bleak-turn-for-the-baltimore-sun-independent-outlets-see-a-surge-in-subscribers-and-attention/ Save to Pocket


Where have all the websites gone?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Chris Coyier blog

This tweet went around: To which Jason Velazquez says: I have good news and bad news. The good news is that websites didn’t go anywhere. […] the bad news— we are the ones who vanished, and I suspect what we really miss are the joys of discovery. There has been a real uptick in I miss the […]

https://chriscoyier.net/2024/01/22/where-have-all-the-websites-gone/ Save to Pocket


OpenAI bans long-shot presidential candidate bot for breaking T&Cs

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Biden’s challenger model shot down despite super PAC support

A ChatGPT-powered bot trained to mimic Congressman Dean Phillips (D-MN) - the long-shot challenger to Joe Biden - is dead before it had a chance to woo voters after OpenAI banned its developer for violating its T&Cs. …

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/openai_presidential_candidate_bot/ Save to Pocket


@IIIF Mastodon feed (date: 2024-01-22, from: IIIF Mastodon feed)

The Call for Proposals for the 2024 IIIF Annual Conference closes on February 6!

The 2024 Conference will be June 4-7 in Los Angeles, CA jointly hosted by UCLA Libraries, Getty, and the IIIF Consortium.

Read more and submit a proposal: bit.ly/24-iiif-cfp

https://glammr.us/@IIIF/111800867815346245 Save to Pocket


Spreadsheets are the best

date: 2024-01-22, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog

Spreadsheets are the best

I want to love Forth and Lisp and Perl and Go and I sort of want to know Rust and Haskell and OCaml and Elixir, but really, the most important electronic computing platform for the largest number people is … spreadsheets.

Formulas and graphs turn these into the multifunctional tool that spread from accounting specialists to financial reporting to project managers planning to household budgets to birthday and wedding guest lists.

If you think about it, spreadsheets for the masses succeeded where Emacs failed. Spreadsheets allow you to build the tools you need. And sure, as a programming professional I have heard my share of horror stories: salary distributions and bonus programs, airport light systems, and many other things that should have used relational databases and REST services and whatever. But people know spreadsheets and use them to solve their problems.

Spreadsheets are underappreciated. Certainly they are underappreciated by programmers, I think.

linked me to the video Pure Functional Programming in Excel by Felienne Hermans where she explains the benefits of spreadsheets for computing.

And I do think that the programming languages I listed failed us in as far as they do not contribute to computers as convivial tools. Most people are not autonomous in their use of computers to solve their problems because they cannot use the languages listed. They must hope for an app to solve their problem. But they can use a spreadsheet to solve their problem!

Emacs was supposed to be the editor for everybody, including non-technical people. It’s just that our current design paradigms optimize for the inexperienced users and penalize experienced users. Users no longer expect Emacs-like tools and Emacs developers don’t expect inexperienced users any more.

We feel it’s OK to feel overwhelmed by Emacs – but many people are expected to navigate the real world in cars, on roads, with complex traffic regulation, other traffic participants and machines we don’t understand. To me, that illustrates a value judgement. On the one hand, cars are a commodity. We no longer have to be an expert in combustion engines to drive one. But we still need to learn how to use the tool. There’s mandatory training, there are professional teachers, there are enforcers of conventions, penalties, there’s financing available if we want to lease a car, and so on. There is a lot of support and training for users of cars and not so much for computers. The expectations are different.

One might want to say that people need the car to get to work and that explains the economic incentives. To this I might reply that when one gets to work the actual work usually involves a computer and instead of using a convivial tool that one has learned and mastered, customized and extended to ones liking, one is forced to work with corporate software that is as boring as it can be.

Except when it comes to spreadsheets. This is where everyday people still can exercise mastery and solve their problems. It’s a tool and not an app.

If we go back far enough, programming languages were designed to let non-technical people solve their problems. COBOL was a programming language for business people. BASIC was a programming language for faculty and students. From this point of view, I’d argue, the programming languages I mentioned are in fact steps away from this goal.

These programming languages solve more specialised problems. These are tools for experts. But in doing this, they moved away from the realm of everyday people using them to solve their problems. These languages fail to make computers into convivial tools.

The ZX Spectrum 48K and the Commodore 64 both booted into BASIC. Sure, that didn’t mean that we knew how to program. Loading and saving stuff from cassette was hard. PEEK and POKE were hard. But the tools to turn the computer into a convivial tool were right there. The computer came with a manual.

My hope, my wish, my expectations are that we can do this and more. We can make it even better! Spreadsheets are the saving grace. We should put spreadsheets front and centre.

The sad reality is, however, that today we buy computers that essentially boot into the app store.

#Programming #Philosophy

https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-01-22-spreadsheets Save to Pocket


@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-22, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

New api just dropped

Perhaps La Terminal should suggest your most epic bash one-liners

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111800832076069977 Save to Pocket


NASA Glenn’s Langley Legacy

date: 2024-01-22, from: NASA breaking news

“[On December 15, 1941] a few shivering, startled Southerners from Langley, the vanguard of those in the Power Plants Division transferring to Cleveland, arrived in the biggest snowstorm in years,” recalled former receptionist Mary Louise Gosney. This vanguard was the first large group of NACA employees to relocate from the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory to […]

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/glenn-history/nasa-glenns-langley-legacy/ Save to Pocket


Looking forward to this one: my pal Nicola Twilley’s book is coming…

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043829-looking-forward-to-this-o Save to Pocket


SCV Water Launches Program to Support Local Businesses

date: 2024-01-22, from: SCV New (TV Station)

SCV Water recently launched its Water Champions program, which focuses on supporting businesses within the SCV Water service area by providing programs and resources to use water efficiently

https://scvnews.com/scv-water-launches-program-to-support-local-businesses/ Save to Pocket


Tech bros are playing God, Catholic Church’s AI priest complains

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Effective altruism blamed for Silicon Valley’s desire to heal humanity’s woes

Billionaire tech bros have a “tendency to play God,” according to one of the Almighty’s representatives on Earth.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/tech_bros_play_god/ Save to Pocket


Hagia Sophia Introduces Entry Fee for Foreign Tourists

date: 2024-01-22, from: Smithsonian Magazine

Worshippers will be able to use a separate entrance to gain free access to the 1,500-year-old landmark in Istanbul

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/tourists-must-now-pay-a-fee-to-visit-the-hagia-sophia-180983627/ Save to Pocket


Moto Guzzi V7 Stone Ten Boosts Power And Torque With An Arrow Exhaust

date: 2024-01-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Special styling and performance package honors the Moto Guzzi Proud Owners Club.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705622/moto-guzzi-v7-stone-ten/ Save to Pocket


ReBoi is a DIY kit for turning a Game Boy Color into a Raspberry Pi-powered retro gaming PC (crowdfunding)

date: 2024-01-22, from: Liliputing

Folks have been stuffing Rasberry Pi computers into Game Boy-inspired cases for years, but the ReBoi kit is designed to make it as easy as possible to use an actual Game Boy Color case. Developer James Sargent designed a custom printed circuit board (PCB) that slips inside a Game Boy Color case as a replacement for the […]

The post ReBoi is a DIY kit for turning a Game Boy Color into a Raspberry Pi-powered retro gaming PC (crowdfunding) appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/reboi-is-a-diy-kit-for-turning-a-game-boy-color-into-a-raspberry-pi-powered-retro-gaming-pc-crowdfunding/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

2017: "Trump was a free man until he took the oath."

http://scripting.com/2017/01/22/trumpWasAFreeMan.html Save to Pocket


Rivian taps ex-Porsche and Apple vet to help with R2, R3 EV platform rollout

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Rivian (RIVN) is adding an industry vet to its team with the launch of its next-gen electric models coming up. With experience at Apple and Porsche, Jonas Reinke joins Rivian to help launch its new EV platforms, including R2 and R3.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/rivian-porsche-apple-vet-r2-r3-evs/ Save to Pocket


Maserati halts development of its electric Quattroporte sedan, its third EV now facing delays

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Local reports out of Europe state that Stellantis-owned luxury automaker Maserati is putting a pin in the development of an all-electric version of its Quattroporte sedan to ensure it can deliver on the performance previously touted by the Italian automaker. Quattroporte now joins Maserati’s two other flagship BEVs in facing delays.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/maserati-halts-development-of-electric-quattroporte-sedan-third-ev-delay/ Save to Pocket


Tesla Drivers Wait 90 Minutes At This New York City Supercharger

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

NYC’s approach to incentivizing EVs for Uber and Lyft drivers faces unintended consequences.

https://insideevs.com/news/705575/tesla-supercharger-nyc-long-lines/ Save to Pocket


Sierra Space bursts full-scale inflatable space habitat module

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Pop goes the test article. As planned

Sierra Space has inflated a full-sized test article of its Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) habitat beyond bursting point to demonstrate how the module might behave in the harsh environment of space.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/sierra_space_bursts_fullscale_inflatable/ Save to Pocket


Let’s focus on the positives!

date: 2024-01-22, from: Marketplace Morning Report

On Monday, we got the latest survey of business conditions from the National Association for Business Economics, and businesses are feeling pretty good these days. More businesses reported positive profit margins, and fewer are anticipating a recession in the coming year. We’ll discuss. Then, we’ll hear about Exxon’s lawsuit to block activist investors’ climate proposals and learn about some of the challenges facing Brazil nut producers in Bolivia.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/lets-focus-on-the-positives Save to Pocket


The $340,000+ Cadillac Celestiq Has Finally Entered Production

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

Cadillac’s flagship EV is hand-built at the GM Global Technical Center in Warren, Ohio.

https://insideevs.com/news/705491/cadillac-celestiq-production-start/ Save to Pocket


EFF adds Street Surveillance Hub so Americans can check who’s checking on them

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘The federal government has almost entirely abdicated its responsibility’

For a country that prides itself on being free, America does seem to have an awful lot of spying going on, as the new Street Surveillance Hub from the Electronic Frontier Foundation shows.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/eff_privacy_atlas/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

How to Steal the Presidential Election. #credible

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/22/opinion/election-president-steal-democracy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Pk0.DB1q.b6WdDPuB0Q8V&smid=url-share Save to Pocket


This might be the cheapest dual-screen laptop yet (Two 10.5 inch displays and Intel Alder Lake-N for under $400)

date: 2024-01-22, from: Liliputing

Lenovo and Asus both have dual-screen notebooks coming out this year, with a second screen positioned where you’d normally find a keyboard. But they’re not exactly cheap, with the upcoming Asus Zenbook Duo expected to sell for $1500 and up, while the new Lenovo Yoga Book 9i will start at $2,000. Chinese PC makers are […]

The post This might be the cheapest dual-screen laptop yet (Two 10.5 inch displays and Intel Alder Lake-N for under $400) appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/this-might-be-the-cheapest-dual-screen-laptop-yet-two-10-5-inch-displays-and-intel-alder-lake-n-for-under-400/ Save to Pocket


New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text

date: 2024-01-22, from: Quanta Magazine

Far from being “stochastic parrots,” the biggest large language models seem to learn enough skills to understand the words they’re processing.

The post New Theory Suggests Chatbots Can Understand Text first appeared on Quanta Magazine

https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-theory-suggests-chatbots-can-understand-text-20240122/ Save to Pocket


Stellantis’ STLA Large Platform Is ‘Most Flexible In Industry’ For Dodge, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Maserati

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

Available in 400-volt and 800-volt BEV architectures, the new platform is destined to power a lot of cars.

https://insideevs.com/news/705528/stellantis-stla-large-platform/ Save to Pocket


Classic SysAdmin: How to Rescue a Non-booting GRUB 2 on Linux - Linux Foundation

date: 2024-01-22, from: Tilde.news

Comments

https://www.linuxfoundation.org/blog/blog/classic-sysadmin-how-to-rescue-a-non-booting-grub-2-on-linux Save to Pocket


Raising Artificial Intelligences Like Children

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/raising-artificial-intelligences-like-children Save to Pocket


Article Spotlight: Experimental trials of species-specific bat flight responses to an ultrasonic deterrent

date: 2024-01-22, from: PeerJ blog

https://peerj.com/blog/post/115284888794/article-spotlight-experimental-trials-of-species-specific-bat-flight-responses-to-an-ultrasonic-deterrent/ Save to Pocket


Will $20 minimum wage crush fast food in California?

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

California is on the cusp of putting the fast-food industry into a curious economic experiment.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/will-20-minimum-wage-crush-fast-food-in-california/ Save to Pocket


Transit Agencies Are Climate Agencies, Too

date: 2024-01-22, from: Heatmap News



Last September, Jeanie Ward-Waller, a deputy director at California’s state transportation department, was called into her supervisor’s office and told she was being removed from her role, no explanation given. But Ward-Waller thinks she knows what happened.

A few weeks earlier, she’d threatened to blow the whistle on the agency for a highway repaving project that she believed was covertly — and illegally — going to widen the road. Under state law, highway expansions require environmental review and public input. It was also exactly the kind of project the agency was supposedly moving away from, according to its climate action plan, which said it would prioritize alternative forms of transit.

“Caltrans leaders believe they are widening highways in the public interest, despite decades of empirical research proving otherwise, and the agency’s own policies requiring solutions that reduce driving,” Ward-Waller wrote in an essay for the San Francisco Chronicle after leaving the agency.

Ward-Waller’s firing riled up climate advocates and sustainable transit proponents, and not just in California. (Multiple people I interviewed for this story mentioned it to me.) State transportation agencies all over the country are stuck in this kind of outdated thinking, critics say. Transportation is the biggest source of emissions in the U.S., and one of the only sectors where emissions grew last year. But most state transportation agencies are still funneling most of their budgets into road expansion projects. Few have taken on addressing climate change as part of their mission.

“State departments of transportation are kind of the next frontier for climate advocacy to conquer,” Justin Balik, the state program director for Evergreen Action told me. “There’s a lot of blue states where the transportation decisions are still divorced from the climate conversation.”

It’s a pivotal moment to change that, Balik argued. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed in 2021, has been sending billions of dollars of flexible funding into states for transportation projects. The Biden administration will also soon begin requiring these agencies to set greenhouse gas reduction targets. Although the targets are non-binding and states won’t be penalized for failing to achieve them, they will have to regularly report on their progress.

States have until February 1 to submit their initial plans to the federal Department of Transportation. So on Monday, climate and clean transportation advocates around the country sent letters to the governors of 22 states urging them to set targets consistent with reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The letters ask officials to consider what’s achievable both through vehicle electrification and by reducing highway expansion.

“Electrification is critical and essential, but it’s not enough, just looking at the math, in terms of how long it’s going to take for the vehicle fleet to turn over,” said Balik. “We need to think about the transportation system holistically and stop digging the hole deeper when we’re making transportation investment decisions.”

He directed me to a report published by the Georgetown Climate Center after the infrastructure law passed. The policy think tank modeled two scenarios, one where about a third of the $600 billion of flexible funding went to highway expansion, and one where states put more toward public transit and road maintenance. It found that the first scenario would increase emissions 1.6% by 2032, compared to business-as-usual, whereas the second would enable deeper emissions cuts — 1.3% more — than would otherwise have been expected with market forces and existing policies.

The reason is an effect called “induced demand,” and it’s at the center of this whole story. When state departments of transportation evaluate projects, they use models that assume building new roads or adding lanes increases the flow of traffic — thereby reducing congestion and reducing emissions. But real-world evidence has shown that expanding highways, especially in dense areas, actually encourages more people to drive — and within a few years, the traffic is just as bad as before.

“They’re vastly overestimating the benefits of expansion projects,” Miguel Moravec, a senior associate at RMI told me. “If the models are not capturing the reality that expanded lanes lead to more traffic, then you can’t really seriously engage with the pollution problem.”

The modeling is a symptom of a more entrenched issue. State Departments of Transportation are big agencies that can have thousands of staff, many of whom have been in their roles for decades. (Caltrans, for example, has more than 22,000 people.) The culture of these offices is built around an old paradigm where the primary metric of performance is to relieve traffic congestion — to help people drive places more quickly and easily.

“There’s a new movement to say, maybe it’s about helping people get to where they need to go efficiently, affordably, and safely,” Matt Frommer, the senior transportation advocate at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, told me. “But that is a really hard shift to make in a giant institution like a state DOT. Because all of the models and all of the policies and funding decision processes have been set up around the old paradigm.”

Even in places where that’s beginning to shift, there are still long-term challenges. California, for example, has had a law on the books for a decade that says the state must assess the impacts of transportation projects by measuring the amount of driving they induce or reduce — not by their effect on congestion. But local advocates like Jamie Pew, a climate advisor at NextGen Policy, say this has failed to move the state meaningfully away from highway expansion.

Ward-Waller’s firing brought long-simmering criticisms of the state’s climate strategy to a boil, he said. “For all of the money that we’re investing in new transit infrastructure, electrification, and green mobility options, as long as we continue to invest in freeway expansion, we’re not going to see the progress in emissions that we need to see.”

There are a few states that are starting to do things differently. Colorado, for example, has seen a significant shift in the way the state approaches transportation projects. In 2021, the state legislature passed a law directing its transportation agency to set regional greenhouse gas reduction targets and incorporate them into project planning. Frommer said the new approach has already resulted in real changes. In 2022, the state scrapped a long-planned highway expansion through downtown Denver after it was found that it would undermine the agency’s targets.

“That freed up hundreds of millions, if not over a billion dollars for other multimodal projects to help enable transit, biking and walking,” said Frommer.

The state that is leading the nation in innovative transportation policy, however, is Minnesota. Like Colorado, it has transportation-specific greenhouse gas targets. But it also has a specific goal to reduce “vehicle miles traveled” — a measure of how much people drive. Last year, lawmakers passed a big transportation package that gave more teeth to these goals, requiring the state’s DOT take them into account in decision making. It also went a step further and said that if the agency moves forward with any projects that induce demand, it has to offset them with additional projects that get people out of their cars.

The new federal rule requiring state transportation departments to report on their progress achieving declining greenhouse gas targets could help nudge more states in this direction. As climate advocates tell me on a weekly basis, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

https://heatmap.news/politics/state-traffic-emissions-bil-targets Save to Pocket


Florida man slams ‘tyranny’ of central bank digital currencies in re-election bid

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Talking points echo those of Ramaswamy and DeSantis as they drop out of the race

A Florida man has chosen the next cultural wars flashpoint he will rally behind in an effort to mobilize the 2024 US presidential electorate: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/trump_cbdc_comments/ Save to Pocket


Florida man touts central bank digital currency conspiracy theory in re-election bid

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Talking points echo those of Ramaswamy and DeSantis as they drop out of the race

A Florida man has chosen the next cultural wars flashpoint he will rally behind in an effort to mobilize the 2024 US presidential electorate: central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/florida_man_touts_cbdc_conspiracy/ Save to Pocket


Jill On Money: Credit card debt resurfaces

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Recent uptick in borrowing damages progress made during pandemic

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/jill-on-money-credit-card-debt-resurfaces/ Save to Pocket


Huge San Jose ranch may be preserved as parklands and nature habitat: new deal

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

A huge ranch in south San Jose could be preserved as open space and a natural habitat as a result of a new real estate deal.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/san-jose-ranch-real-estate-open-space-nature-park-animal-environment/ Save to Pocket


Man fatally shot in East Oakland

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

A suspect is being sought in the fatal shooting Sunday morning of a Brentwood man in East Oakland.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/man-fatally-shot-in-east-oakland-59/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

I re-watched Silver Linings Playbook over the weekend. I love Jennifer Lawrence, and this is a pure JL showcase. But the best moment was stolen by Robert DeNiro who is batshit crazy like most of the characters in the movie when he tells his son in two sentences about our purpose on the planet, which of course is to love Jennifer Lawrence. ❤️

http://scripting.com/2024/01/22.html#a153853 Save to Pocket


Wikimedia’s Pornographers

date: 2024-01-22, from: 404 Media Group

Wikipedia’s highly specific and pedantic editing culture and expansive copyright ethos extends to dick pics and porn.

https://www.404media.co/wikimedias-pornographers/ Save to Pocket


Palworld Gave Bootleg Pikachu a Glock and Sold 5 Million Copies Instantly

date: 2024-01-22, from: 404 Media Group

Palworld is not the Pokémon game of your dreams, but it’s awesome.

https://www.404media.co/palworld-gave-bootleg-pikachu-a-glock-and-sold-5-million-copies-instantly/ Save to Pocket


Bell Labs & Google: bookends of the same sad story?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Om Malik blog

When I finished reading this (must-read) wonderful profile of Bell Labs, the singular most iconic research institution of the modern era, I was left wondering — just because you invent the future, it doesn’t mean you get to enjoy the benefits from it, nor does it guarantee that future generations will remember your contributions. For decades, …

https://om.co/2024/01/22/bell-labs-google-same-sad-story/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

For some reason only now am I realizing the incredible sing-along qualities of Grateful Dead songs like St Stephen or Uncle John’s Band.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/22.html#a153158 Save to Pocket


Burnout epidemic proves there’s too much Rust on the gears of open source

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Spotting and tackling a widespread problem is a challenge

Open source burnout has reared its head once again, this time in relation to the Rust project. However, the issue is not new, nor are the solutions.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/rust_project_burnout/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Why isn’t there a karaoke website where I can sing along with Ripple with the lyrics scrolling by. Could we do it together over the internet? It probably doesn’t exist because of Hollywood tightasses. But surely there must be some uncopyrighted music we could try this. Hey I bet it actually exists. Send me a link.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/22.html#a152906 Save to Pocket


date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Air taxi developer Archer Aviation has announced a new partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which will initiate their mutual research into future advanced air mobility (AAM) applications with what they see as the lynchpin of the new tech’s performance – powerful but safe batteries.

more…

https://dronedj.com/2024/01/22/archer-nasa-link-up-on-future-aam-uses-starts-with-enhanced-battery-capacities/ Save to Pocket


‘You Will Have A Bloodbath’: Stellantis’ Boss Warning On Tesla-Style EV Price Cuts

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

Also on today’s Critical Materials roundup: Japan’s Panasonic mounts a comeback, and EVs return to the Super Bowl.

https://insideevs.com/news/705572/stellantis-tesla-critical-materials/ Save to Pocket


Trump Defamation Damages Trial Suspended Monday

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-planning-to-testify-in-defamation-damages-trial/7450044.html Save to Pocket


Recharge, 2023-2024. “Installation featuring a chair where you can relax and charge…

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043807-recharge-2023-2024-instal Save to Pocket


Elon Musk visits Auschwitz after uproar over antisemitic messages on X

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Musk’s visit at the most notorious site of the horrors of the Holocaust came before a scheduled appearance later Monday at a conference on antisemitism organized by the European Jewish Association in the nearby Polish city of Krakow.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/elon-musk-visits-auschwitz-after-uproar-over-antisemitic-messages-on-x/ Save to Pocket


Acura reveals 2024 ZDX prices, its first all-electric vehicle costs more than the rivals

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Acura’s first EV will begin rolling out in the US this spring. Ahead of its official launch, Acura revealed 2024 ZDX prices will start at $64,500 (plus destination fee). That’s more than the Cadillac Lyriq it’s based on. Is it worth the cost?

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/acura-reveals-2024-zdx-prices-first-all-electric-vehicle/ Save to Pocket


Ford’s New Digital Experience Leans Into Apple CarPlay And Android Auto

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

If you like your Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, you get to keep your Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in Ford’s software future.

https://insideevs.com/news/705467/ford-lincoln-apple-carplay-android/ Save to Pocket


head start

date: 2024-01-22, from: Ayjay blog

The Vikings was the first movie I ever saw — not in a standard movie theater, but some years after its release, at a drive-in. I remember being at once bemused and excited by the rituals of finding a parking place, hanging the speaker over the car door .. and the movie itself? I adored […]

https://blog.ayjay.org/head-start/ Save to Pocket


Ivanti and Juniper Networks accused of bending the rules with CVE assignments

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Critics claim now-fixed vulnerabilities weren’t disclosed, flag up grouping of multiple flaws under one CVE

Critics are accusing major tech companies of not sticking to the rules when it comes to registering vulnerabilities with the appropriate authorities.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/ivanti_and_juniper_networks_criics_unhappy/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Knowledge Management for the win.

https://www.zeldman.com/2024/01/22/knowledge-management-for-the-win/ Save to Pocket


NASA Ames builds the future. What’s next?

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

“We want to invest taxpayer resources in scientific discovery, technology development, and space exploration – not in maintaining infrastructure we no longer need,” said NASA administrator Charles Bolden.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/nasa-ames-builds-the-future-whats-next/ Save to Pocket


Wish You Were Here: Reporting in from Old Town Dubrovnik

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

A reader shares travel tips for visiting Croatia’s most famous city.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/wish-you-were-here-reporting-in-from-old-town-dubrovnik/ Save to Pocket


Top 10 golf resorts in the U.S. include a Northern California jewel

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Golfbreak’s recent list of the top links destinations in the country include several California hot spots.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/top-10-golf-resorts-in-the-u-s-include-a-northern-california-jewel/ Save to Pocket


Heavy rainfall hits Bay Area overnight causing residual impacts to occur according to National Weather Service

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Steady rainfall overnight spilled into Monday morning as the Bay Area woke up to wet roadways ahead of the commuting hours.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/heavy-rainfall-hits-bay-area-overnight-causing-residual-impacts-to-occur-according-to-national-weather-service/ Save to Pocket


Tesla finally releases FSD v12, its last hope for self-driving

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Tesla has finally started releasing its FSD Beta v12 update to customers, which is sort of its last hope to deliver on its self-driving promises.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/tesla-releases-fsd-v12-last-hope-self-driving/ Save to Pocket


China says it will ‘rein in’ the flood of EVs coming our way

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed


Europe and the US say that Chinese EV development is running wild and unchecked and on the verge of overwhelming the global market with, well, EVs the rest of the world can’t compete with. But now China has said it will “rein in” some of its huge EV expansion in response to criticism of “unfair” industrial and trade policies.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/china-says-it-will-rein-in-the-flood-of-evs-coming-our-way/ Save to Pocket


E-Bike Startup Tezeus Goes Big On Tech With New C8 Commuter

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

The C8 gets a carbon frame and intelligent features such as anti-theft and Google Maps integration.

https://insideevs.com/news/705473/tezeus-c8-carbon-electric-ebike/ Save to Pocket


San Jose couple asks: ‘Why does this squirrel keep staring at us?’

date: 2024-01-22, from: San Jose Mercury News

Is it a wildlife spy? A rodent with an ulterior motive? Or is something else going on?

https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/01/22/san-jose-couple-asks-why-does-this-squirrel-keep-staring-at-us/ Save to Pocket


date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

‘Substantial increase in AWS calls’ triggers takedown notice

A plugin and library to permit the control of Haier, Candy, and Hoover appliances recently received takedown requests from Haier Europe’s Security and Governance department.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/haier_plugin_takedown/ Save to Pocket


Propella MINI MAX launched as $899 electric utility bike, finally with a throttle

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Propella has long been known for its eye-catching blue and black commuter e-bikes that prioritize a simple and lightweight design over flashy features and bulky accessories. They’ve also always been pedal assist-only bikes, at least until now. The company has just launched the Propella MINI MAX as a throttle-enabled electric utility bike.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/propella-mini-max-launched-as-899-electric-utility-bike-finally-with-a-throttle/ Save to Pocket


Hyundai’s New Incentive Beats Out The Model 3 As The Cheapest Electric Sedan

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 6 now starts at $36,065, a full $4,565 less than the 2024 Tesla Model 3.

https://insideevs.com/news/705434/hyundai-ioniq-6-7500-incentive/ Save to Pocket


Subway’s data torpedoed by LockBit, ransomware gang claims

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Fast food chain could face a footlong recovery process if allegations are true

The LockBit ransomware gang is claiming an attack on submarine sandwich slinger Subway, alleging it has made off with a platter of data.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/subways_data_toasted_by_lockbit/ Save to Pocket


Hospital out of first line pain medication for laboring moms

date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

Childbirth can be a very painful experience, one that can last hours. That’s why some laboring women turn to pain medication. But on Monday, the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority confirmed that they were out of first line pain medication for…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/hospital-out-of-first-line-pain-medication-for-laboring-moms/article_b5c202b6-b8d0-11ee-a759-730f4ed5f5fd.html Save to Pocket


date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

Child Protective Services has seen an increase in referrals since the COVID-19 pandemic and while officials don’t believe more children are being abused, they did confirm that drug use is a contributing factor in many “if not all cases.”

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/cps-sees-increase-in-referrals-a-number-related-to-drug-use/article_10cdbdc4-b8c4-11ee-b658-9fa08452fe87.html Save to Pocket


Man pleads guilty in cyberstalking case

date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

A man faces five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to his involvement in a cyberstalking investigation.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-pleads-guilty-in-cyberstalking-case/article_beb44504-b8cc-11ee-8935-1f9f0e909af1.html Save to Pocket


OAG files a motion to protect employees from testifying in DPHSS corruption case

date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

Attorney General Douglas Moylan is requesting that his employees not testify about the investigation and prosecution of two Department of Public Health and Social Services officials facing corruption charges.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/oag-files-a-motion-to-protect-employees-from-testifying-in-dphss-corruption-case/article_342abb42-b8be-11ee-ae49-0f87fc3c7b1f.html Save to Pocket


Guam Racing Federation can submit unsolicited proposal for raceway use

date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

It appears that the Guam Racing Federation will be able to submit an unsolicited proposal regarding the use of the former Guam International Raceway in Yigo, property owned by the Chamorro Land Trust Commission.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/guam-racing-federation-can-submit-unsolicited-proposal-for-raceway-use/article_edee1404-b8c1-11ee-b161-e319207d68c2.html Save to Pocket


A bill to eliminate vice mayor position fails to make agenda

date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

Lawmakers on Monday shot down an attempt to add the measure abolishing the Sinajana vice mayor position onto the session agenda, Bill 230-37.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/a-bill-to-eliminate-vice-mayor-position-fails-to-make-agenda/article_4fac024c-b8cb-11ee-a827-bf436872dcda.html Save to Pocket


Exxon’s War on Activist Investors

date: 2024-01-22, from: Heatmap News



Current conditions: An ice storm has snarled traffic in parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma • Rescue teams are working in freezing temperatures to rescue victims of a landslide in China • Half of Australia’s states are under heat warnings.

THE TOP FIVE

  1. Storm Isha slams UK and Europe with hurricane-force winds

Storm Isha battered the United Kingdom and parts of Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rain over the weekend. More than 200,000 homes lost power and hundreds of flights were canceled or rerouted. At one point a tornado watch was issued for the whole of Ireland and parts of Scotland. The storm also hit parts of France and the Netherlands, and about 68,000 customers were without power in Amsterdam. Germany is expected to hit a new wind power record just one month after breaking its previous record in December. The U.K. usually expects up to nine named storms in a year; Isha is the region’s ninth named storm in just five months.

A home flooded by Storm Isha in Carlisle, U.K.Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

  1. Exxon hits climate activist-investors with lawsuit

ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against environmental activists who are using a shareholder resolution to push the oil giant to more aggressively cut its planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The company accused the shareholders from activist-investor groups Follow This and Arjuna Capital of having an “extreme agenda” and wants their proposal removed from the ballot so it cannot be voted on at the annual investor meeting. The lawsuit is “highly unusual,” explained Kevin Crowley at Bloomberg Green, because large companies typically have to appeal to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) if they want to block individual shareholder motions. A legal judgment in Exxon’s favor “could have a chilling effect on shareholder petitions,” said the Financial Times.

Until recently, companies were allowed to exclude shareholder proposals that demanded climate timelines and targets. The SEC nixed this rule in 2021 and since then the number of environmental social shareholder proposals voted on has increased by 125%.

  1. Ford to cut F-150 Lightning production

In case you missed it: Ford is cutting production of its electric pickup truck, the F-150 Lightning, to 1,600 models per week, down from 3,200. The company announced the news late last week, saying it wanted its output to better match market demand. Quartz suggested this was code for “people don’t like electric trucks as much as we thought they did.” And indeed, Ford is ramping up production of its gas-powered Bronco and Raptor vehicles. Kelley Blue Book analysts told the FT that the EV slowdown is real, but followed that up by saying that “the EV market in the U.S. is still growing.” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares urged automakers to avoid triggering a “race to the bottom” by reducing prices to boost sales, and singled out Tesla.

All this push-pull is happening at the same time that the Environmental Protection Agency is trying to firm up stringent new emissions rules that would result in nearly 70% of all new vehicles in 2032 being electric. Major automakers say the rules are unreasonable, Reuters reported, while environmentalists, Democratic lawmakers, and – naturally – Tesla want to see them go ahead.

  1. H2 Green Steel raises $5.17 billion

The company promising to build the world’s first large-scale green steel manufacturing plant has raised $5.17 billion in new funding, bringing its total to about $7 billion. H2 Green Steel is building a plant in Sweden that can make steel using hydrogen produced from renewable electricity, eliminating the need for coal and reducing manufacturing emissions by 95%. The company hopes to have the plant up and running by 2025 and produce 5 million metric tons of green steel by 2030. As Canary Media noted, “that’s just a fraction of the nearly 2 billion metric tons of steel produced globally each year,” but still, the factory “would be a milestone for the push to decarbonize steel.” H2 says it has already sold half the initial yearly volumes of steel it will make. The steelmaking industry produces somewhere between 7% and 9% of global human-caused carbon emissions.

  1. AI could help grocery stores reduce food waste

Grocery stores are reportedly starting to use artificial intelligence to help reduce food waste. The inefficent chore of finding, pricing, and positioning older products takes up a lot of workers’ time, costs supermarkets revenue, and results in wasted food. And since food waste accounts for between 8% and 10% of greenhouse gas emissions, selling more food before it goes bad is an admirable quest. A Danish company called Too Good To Go has developed AI software that can help stores optimize discounts on food items that are nearing their expiration date to improve sales. International supermarket chain SPAR is already using the tool.

THE KICKER

In China, customers who buy luxury EVs sold by BYD brand Yangwang get a special “delivery ceremony” that includes balloons, flowers, and a car key wrapped in a gift box.

https://heatmap.news/climate/exxon-activist-investor-lawsuit Save to Pocket


Hubble Observes an Askew Galaxy Coaxing Star Formation from its Partner

date: 2024-01-22, from: NASA breaking news

Arp 300 consists of two interacting galaxies, UGC 05028 (the smaller face-on spiral galaxy) and UGC 05029 (the larger face-on spiral). Likely due to its gravitational dance with its larger partner, UGC 05028 has an asymmetric, irregular structure, which is not as visible from ground-based telescopes but is quite distinct in this new image from […]

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-observes-an-askew-galaxy-coaxing-star-formation-from-its-partner/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Ford’s new 48-inch digital dashboard is a lot of Android for one car.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/22/24045932/ford-android-screen-display-size-os-apps-gaming-lincoln Save to Pocket


Panasonic cools on idea for third US plant for Tesla batteries

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed


Panasonic, makers of batteries for Tesla in the US, is delaying its plan to build a third battery plant in North America, according to Reuters.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/panasonic-cools-on-idea-for-third-us-plant-for-tesla-batteries/ Save to Pocket


Headline Review: January 22, 2024 Edition

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: One Foot Tsunami

https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/01/22/headline-review-january-22-2024-edition/ Save to Pocket


Yet another headache for Boeing

date: 2024-01-22, from: Marketplace Morning Report

Scrutiny of Boeing planes have grown beyond the 737 Max 9, the aircraft that was thrust into the spotlight following the Alaska Airlines accident earlier this month. The Federal Aviation Administration has urged airlines to inspect some older 737 model with the same door plug designs as the Max 9. We’ll explore what’s at stake. Plus, higher interest rates and the troubled commercial real estate are piling pressure onto regional banks.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/yet-another-headache-for-boeing Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-22, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Will a Trump Trial Happen in Time?

https://politicalwire.com/2024/01/22/will-a-trump-trial-happen-in-time/ Save to Pocket


Politicos demand full list of Fujitsu’s public sector contract wins in wake of Post Office scandal

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Committee wants to know which were awarded without competition and more

British MPs have written to the country’s Treasury to demand details of all public sector contracts with Fujitsu as the Japanese tech supplier struggles in the wake of the Horizon Post Office Scandal.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/uk_lawmakers_ask_treasury_for/ Save to Pocket


People’s CDC COVID-19 Weather Report

date: 2024-01-22, from: Peoples CDC blog

This is the @PeoplesCDC weekly update for January 22, 2024! This Weather Report from the People’s CDC sheds light on the ongoing COVID situation in the US.

https://peoplescdc.org/2024/01/22/peoples-cdc-covid-19-weather-report-66/ Save to Pocket


Keep Your Kid’s Personal Info Off the Internet

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Markup blog

Children start making digital footprints long before they can walk—but parents can help slow the process down

https://themarkup.org/gentle-january/2024/01/22/keep-your-kids-personal-info-off-the-internet Save to Pocket


Hands-on: Ford debuts new in-car digital platform with dual-screen Apple Maps via CarPlay

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Ford today has officially announced its new next-generation in-car infotainment system. While Ford is doubling down on its own native experience, it’s also expanding its commitment to CarPlay.

I had a chance to visit Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan last week for a sneak preview of the new “Ford and Lincoln Digital Experience.” Here’s what you need to know…

more…

https://9to5mac.com/2024/01/22/ford-new-digital-experience-with-carplay/ Save to Pocket


Pluralistic: Boeing, Spirit and Jetblue, a monopoly horror-story (21 Jan 2024)

date: 2024-01-22, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog

Today’s links Boeing, Spirit and Jetblue, a monopoly horror-story: 43 years later, Reagan’s other shoe drops. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Boeing, Spirit and Jetblue, a monopoly horror-story (permalink) Last week, William Young, an 82 year old federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan, blocked the merger of Spirit Airlines and Jetblue. It was a seismic event: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.254267/gov.uscourts.mad.254267.461.0_6.pdf Seismic because the judge’s opinion is full of rhetoric associated with the surging antitrust revival, sneeringly dismissed by corporate apologists as “hipster antitrust.” Young called America’s airlines and “oligopoly,” a situation he blamed on out-of-control mergers. As Matt Stoller writes, this is the first airline merger to be blocked by the DOJ and DOT since deregulation in 1978: https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/antitrust-enforcers-block-the-jetblue The judge wasn’t shy about why he was reviving a pre-Jimmy Carter theory of antitrust: “[the merger] does violence to the core principle of antitrust law, ‘to protect] markets –- and its market participants — from anticompetitive harm.” The legal arguments the judge advances are fascinating and worthy of study: https://twitter.com/johnmarknewman/status/1747343447227519122 But what really caught my eye was David Dayen’s American Prospect article about the judge’s commentary on the state of the aviation industry: https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/01-19-2024-how-boeing-ruined-the-jetblue-spirit-merger/ Why, after all, have Spirit and Jetblue been so ardent in pursuing mergers? Jetblue has had two failed merger attempts with Virgin, and this is the third time they’ve failed in an attempt to merge with Spirit. Spirit, meanwhile, just lost a bid to merge with Frontier. Why are these two airlines so obsessed with combining with each other or any other airline that will have them? As Dayen explains, it’s because US aviation has been consumed by monopoly, hollowed out to the point of near collapse, thanks to neoliberal policies at every part of the aviation supply-chain. For one thing, there’s just not enough pilots, nor enough air-traffic controllers (recall that Reagan’s first major act in office was to destroy the air traffic controller’s union). But even more importantly, there are no more planes. Boeing’s waitlist for airplane delivery stretches to 2029. And Boeing is about to deliver a lot fewer planes, thanks to its disastrous corner-cutting, which grounded a vast global fleet of 737 Max aircraft (again): https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/2024-01-09-boeing-737-max-financial-mindset/ The 737 disaster(s) epitomize the problems of inbred, merger-obsessed capitalism. As Luke Goldstein wrote, the rampant defects in Boeing’s products can be traced to the decision to approve Boeing’s 1997 merger with McDonnell-Douglas, a company helmed by Jack Welch proteges, notorious for cost-cutting at the expense of reliability: https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/2024-01-09-boeing-737-max-financial-mindset/ Boeing veterans describe the merger as the victory of the bean-counters, which led to a company that chases short-term profits over safety and even the viability of its business: https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=213075 After all, the merger turned Boeing into the single largest exporter in America, a company far too big to fail, teeing up tens of billions from Uncle Sucker, who also account for 40% of Boeing’s income: https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/its-time-to-nationalize-and-then The US government is full of ex-Boeing execs, just as Boeing’s executive row is full of ex-US federal aviation regulators. Bill Clinton’s administration oversaw the creation of Boeing’s monopoly in the 1990s, but it was the GOP that rescued Boeing the first time the 737 Maxes started dropping out of the sky. Boeing’s biggest competitor is the state-owned Airbus, a joint venture whose major partners are the governments of France, Spain and Germany – governments that are at least theoretically capable of thinking about the public good, not short-term profits. Boeing’s largest equity stakes are held by the Vanguard Group, Vanguard Group subfiler, Newport Trust Company, and State Street Corporation: https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-01-18-airbus-advantage/ As Matt Stoller says, America has an airline that the public bails out, protects, and subsidizes but has no say over. Boeing has all the costs of public ownership and none of the advantages. It’s the epitome of privatized gains and socialized losses. This is Reagan’s other legacy, besides the disastrous shortage of air-traffic controllers. The religious belief in deregulation – especially deregulation of antitrust enforcement – leads to a deregulated market. It leads to a market that is regulated by monopolists who secretly deliberate, behind closed board-room doors, and are accountable only to their shareholders. These private regulators are unlike government regulators, who are at least nominally bound by obligations to transparency and public accountability. But they share on thing in common with those public regulators: when they fuck up, the public has to pay for their mistakes. It’s a good thing Boeing’s executives are too big to fail, because they fail constantly. Boeing execs who are warned by subcontractors of dangerous defects in their planes order those subcontractors to lie, or lose their contracts: https://www.levernews.com/boeing-supplier-ignored-warnings-of-excessive-amount-of-defects-former-employees-allege/ As a result of Boeing’s mismanagement, America’s only aircraft supplier steadily has lost ground to Airbus, which today enjoys a 2:1 advantage over Boeing. But it’s not just Boeing that’s the weak link aviation. US aviation is a chain entirely composed of weak links. Take jet engines: Pratt & Whitney are Spirit’s major engine supplier, but these engines suck as much as Boeing’s fuselages. Much of Spirit’s fleet is chronically grounded because the engines don’t run. The reason Spirit buys its engines from those loveable goofballs at Pratt & Whitney? The Big Four airlines have bought all the engines for sale from other suppliers, leaving smaller airlines to buy their engines from fat-fingered incompetents. This is why – as Dayen notes – smaller US airlines are so horny for intermarriage. They can’t grow by adding routes, because there are no pilots. Even if they could get pilots, there’d be no slots because there are no air traffic controllers. But even if they could get pilots and slots, there are no planes, because Boeing sucks and Airbus can’t make planes fast enough to supply the airlines that don’t trust Boeing. And even if they could get aircraft, there are no engines because the Big Four aviation cartel cornered the market on working jet engines. Part of Jetblue and Spirit’s pitch was that they hand off the routes that they’d cut after their merger to other small airlines, like Frontier and Allegiant. But Frontier and Allegiant can’t service those routes: they don’t have pilots, slots, planes or engines. Spirit hasn’t been profitable since 2019 and is sitting on $4b in debt. Jetblue was proposing to finance its acquisition with another $3.5b in debt. The resulting airline could only be profitable by sharply cutting routes and massively raising prices, cutting 6.1m seats/year. With a debt:capital ratio of 111%, the company would have no slack and would need a bailout any time anything went wrong. Not coincidentally, the Big Four airlines also have debt:capital ratios of about 100-120%, and they do get bailouts ever time anything goes wrong. As William McGee reminds us, it’s been 14 years since anyone’s started a new US airline: https://twitter.com/WilliamJMcGee/status/1747363491445375072 US aviation is deeply cursed. But Boeing’s self-disassembling aircraft show us why we can’t fix it by allowing mergers: private monopolies, shorn of the discipline of competition and regulation, are extraction machines that turn viable businesses into debt-wracked zombies. This is a subject that’s beautifully illustrated in Dayen’s 2020 book Monopolized, in the chapter on health care: https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/29/fractal-bullshit/#dayenu The US health care system has been in trouble for a long time, but the current nightmare starts with the deregulation of pharma. Pharma companies interbred with one another in a string of incestuous marriages that produced these dysfunctional behemoths that were far better at shifting research costs to governments and squeezing customers than they were at making drugs. The pharma giants gouged hospitals for their products, and in response, hospitals underwent their own cousin-fucking merger orgy, producing regional monopolies that were powerful enough to resist pharma’s price-hikes. But in growing large enough to resist pharma profiteering, the hospitals also became powerful enough to screw over insurers. Insurers then drained their own gene pool by combining with one another until most of us have three or fewer insurers we can sign up with – companies that are both big enough to refuse hospital price-hikes, and to hike premiums on us. Thus monopoly begets monopoly: with health sewn up by monopolies in medical tech, drugs, pharmacy benefit managers, insurance, and hospitals, the only easy targets for goosing profits are people: https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/05/hillrom/#baxter-international This is how you get a US medical system that costs more than any other rich nation’s system to operate, delivers worse outcomes than those other systems, and treats medical workers worse than any other wealthy country. Now, rich people can still buy their way out of this mess, but you have to be very rich indeed to buy your way out of the commercial aviation system. There’s a lot of 1%ers who fly commercial, and they’re feeling the squeeze – and there’s no way they’re leasing their own jets. Stein’s Law holds that “anything that can’t go on forever will eventually stop.” America’s aviation mergers – in airlines, aircraft and engines – have hollowed out the system. The powerful, brittle companies that control aviation have so much power over their workforce that they’ve turned air traffic controller and pilot into jobs that no one wants – and they used their bailout money to buy out the most senior staff’s contracts, sending them to early retirement. Now, I’m with the people who say that most of US aviation should be replaced with high-speed rail, but that’s not why our technocrats and finance barons have gutted aviation. They did it to make a quick buck. A lot of quick bucks. Now the system is literally falling to pieces in midair. Now the system is literally on fire: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/us/miami-boeing-plane-engine-fire.html Which is how you get a Reagan appointed federal judge issuing an opinion that has me punching the air and shouting, “Yes, comrade! To the barricades!” Anything that can’t go on forever will eventually stop. When the system is falling to pieces around you, ideology disintegrates like a 737 Max. (Image: Vitaly Druchenok, CC BY-SA 4.0; Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0; modified) Hey look at this (permalink) Penguin Classics (1984) Triband sweater https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/penguin-classics-1984-triband-sweater (h/t Kottke) The No AI Fraud Act Creates Way More Problems Than It Solves https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/01/no-ai-fraud-act-creates-way-more-problems-it-solves Another Hollywood strike? Musicians union ‘prepared to do whatever it needs’ for AI protections and streaming residuals https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/20/business/musicians-union-streaming-residuals-ai/index.html This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago Vote absentee, avoid Diebold machines http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2004/01/22/avoid_diebold_register_absentee.html #20yrsago Air travel “security” as theater of the absurd https://web.archive.org/web/20040130200202/https://idlewords.com/2004/01/security_as_theater.htm #20yrsago GOP electronically burgled Dems’ computers https://arstechnica.com/uncategorized/2004/01/3327-2/ #20yrsago Milne heirs don’t own Pooh https://web.archive.org/web/20040211100427/http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2004-01/22/11.45.film #20yrsago DVD cartel backs off, EFF wins, DVD keys aren’t “secret” https://www.eff.org/cases/dvdcca-v-bunner-and-dvdcca-v-pavlovich #20yrsago RIP, Whole Earth Review https://web.archive.org/web/20040202031838/https://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000338.html #15yrsago Media helped create the financial meltdown https://web.archive.org/web/20090125204013/http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/23/the_medias_role_in_the_financial_crisis/ #15yrsago Monty Python’s free web video increased DVD sales by 23,000 percent https://mashable.com/archive/youtube-boost-sales #15yrsago National Film Board of Canada puts its archives online, free https://www.nfb.ca/explore-all-films/ #10yrsago Animal Planet’s “nature” shows: whistleblowers detail crimes, animal cruelty, fakery https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/01/animal-abuse-drugs-call-of-the-wildman-animal-planet/ #10yrsago Teach your rooted Android phones to lie to apps about whether it’s rooted https://lifehacker.com/rootcloak-hides-root-access-from-specific-applications-1505596942 #10yrsago Eyes on the Prize, famed civil rights documentary series, is back on DVD and Youtube https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/eyesontheprize/ #10yrsago One Soul: 18 interwoven lives in a graphic novel that pushes the boundaries https://memex.craphound.com/2014/01/22/one-soul-18-interwoven-lives-in-a-graphic-novel-that-pushes-the-boundaries/ #10yrsago Ukraine government sends text to protesters: “Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance” https://memex.craphound.com/2014/01/23/ukraine-government-sends-text-to-protesters-dear-subscriber-you-are-registered-as-a-participant-in-a-mass-disturbance/ #10yrsago What Makes Jo Walton So Great https://www.tor.com/2014/01/21/what-makes-jo-walton-so-great/ #5yrsago After Net Neutrality repeal, Comcast, Charter and Verizon cut investment in their networks https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/01/sorry-ajit-comcast-lowered-cable-investment-despite-net-neutrality-repeal/ #5yrsago Data-broker implicated in bounty-hunters’ access to mobile location data lobbied FCC to fight consent for sharing location data https://www.vice.com/en/article/vbwgw8/zumigo-phone-location-data-sold-lobbied-fcc-consent #5yrsago Limits to trickle-down: Trump’s tax-cut “boom” fizzles https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/23/business/investment-boom-tax-cuts-economy/index.html #5yrsago Corporate America projects giant profits from climate disasters https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-22/muggy-disney-parks-downed-at-t-towers-firms-tally-climate-risk #5yrsago After six days, LA teachers settle their strike, wringing huge concessions out of the school district https://jacobin.com/2019/01/la-teachers-strike-contract-arlene-inouye/ #5yrsago Winners Take All: the Davos Edition (how elites launder looting with phoney philanthropy) https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/22/the-new-elites-phoney-crusade-to-save-the-world-without-changing-anything #5yrsago How a political outsider’s fundraising tool is helping insurgent, working-class Dems mount primary challenges and campaigns https://theintercept.com/2019/01/23/grassroots-analytics-campaign-donations/ #5yrsago Senator Mark Warner’s Stop STUPIDITY Act would protect federal employees’ pay during shutdowns https://www.scribd.com/document/398006535/Stop-the-Shutdowns-Transferring-Unnecessary-Pain-and-Inflicting-Damage-In-The-Coming-Years-Act #5yrsago Republican Arizona lawmaker revives doomed “porn tax” to fund Trump’s doomed border-wall https://www.vice.com/en/article/gyapwj/arizona-porn-blocking-bill-trump-border-wall #5yrsago An annotated bibliography of anarchism in science fiction https://www.anarchysf.com #5yrsago The sad history of Livejournal as a lens for understanding the state of social media today https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/01/the-linux-of-social-media-how-livejournal-pioneered-then-lost-web-blogging/ #5yrsago Teen Vogue explainer: what are “resistance, rebellion, and revolution?” https://www.teenvogue.com/story/resistance-rebellion-revolution-explainer-interviews #5yrsago English and Welsh Ramblers have seven years left to catalogue the nation’s footpaths, or they will be absorbed into private lands https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-the-uk/the-search-for-englands-forgotten-footpaths #5yrsago A list of all the booze in Casablanca (surprisingly long!) https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2019/01/booze-gin-joints-crazy-world/ #1yrago Walking the Plank https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/22/walking-the-plank/ #1yrago Eggflation is just more price-gouging https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/23/cant-make-an-omelet/#keep-calm-and-crack-on Colophon (permalink) Today’s top sources: Currently writing: A Little Brother short story about DIY insulin PLANNING Picks and Shovels, a Martin Hench noir thriller about the heroic era of the PC. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS JAN 2025 The Bezzle, a Martin Hench noir thriller novel about the prison-tech industry. FORTHCOMING TOR BOOKS FEB 2024 Vigilant, Little Brother short story about remote invigilation. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Spill, a Little Brother short story about pipeline protests. FORTHCOMING ON TOR.COM Latest podcast: What kind of bubble is AI? https://craphound.com/news/2024/01/21/what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/ Books & Books (Coral Gables, Florida), Jan 22 https://www.booksandbooks.com/event/in-person-an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/ The Lost Cause at Otherland (Berlin), Jan 28 https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/zusaetzlicher-autor-innenabend-mit-cory-doctorow.html?day=20240128&times=1706466600,1706466600 Marshall McLuhan Lecture 2024 (Berlin), Jan 29 https://transmediale.de/en/2024/event/mcluhan-2024 The Lost Cause at Otherland (Berlin), Jan 30 https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/autor-innenabend-mit-cory-doctorow.html The Bezzle at Third Place Books (Seattle), Feb 26 https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow Tuscon Festival of Books, Mar 9/10 https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/?id=676 Recent appearances: Internet Con (Bullseye) https://www.npr.org/2024/01/19/1197956508/bullseye-with-jesse-thorn-draft-01-19-2024 The Lost Cause (The Writer’s Voice) https://www.writersvoice.net/2024/01/cory-doctorow-the-lost-cause/ What the Future will Bring (Homeless Romantic) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_Vq8qW2A8I Latest books: “The Lost Cause:” a solarpunk novel of hope in the climate emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3007/Pre-Order_Signed_Copies%3A_The_Lost_Cause_HB.html#/) “The Internet Con”: A nonfiction book about interoperability and Big Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Book Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/book/9781804291245). “Red Team Blues”: “A grabby, compulsive thriller that will leave you knowing more about how the world works than you did before.” Tor Books http://redteamblues.com. Signed copies at Dark Delicacies (US): and Forbidden Planet (UK): https://forbiddenplanet.com/385004-red-team-blues-signed-edition-hardcover/. “Chokepoint Capitalism: How to Beat Big Tech, Tame Big Content, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin”, on how to unrig the markets for creative labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com “Attack Surface”: The third Little Brother novel, a standalone technothriller for adults. The Washington Post called it “a political cyberthriller, vigorous, bold and savvy about the limits of revolution and resistance.” Order signed, personalized copies from Dark Delicacies https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1840/Available_Now%3A_Attack_Surface.html “How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism”: an anti-monopoly pamphlet analyzing the true harms of surveillance capitalism and proposing a solution. https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59?sk=f6cd10e54e20a07d4c6d0f3ac011af6b) (signed copies: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2024/Available_Now%3A__How_to_Destroy_Surveillance_Capitalism.html) “Little Brother/Homeland”: A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583; personalized/signed copies here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p1750/July%3A__Little_Brother_%26_Homeland.html “Poesy the Monster Slayer” a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627. Get a personalized, signed copy here: https://www.darkdel.com/store/p2682/Corey_Doctorow%3A_Poesy_the_Monster_Slayer_HB.html#/. Upcoming books: The Bezzle: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books, February 2024 Picks and Shovels: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about the heroic era of the PC, Tor Books, February 2025 Unauthorized Bread: a graphic novel adapted from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, 2025 This work – excluding any serialized fiction – is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. That means you can use it any way you like, including commercially, provided that you attribute it to me, Cory Doctorow, and include a link to pluralistic.net. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quotations and images are not included in this license; they are included either under a limitation or exception to copyright, or on the basis of a separate license. Please exercise caution. How to get Pluralistic: Blog (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): Pluralistic.net Newsletter (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://pluralistic.net/plura-list Mastodon (no ads, tracking, or data-collection): https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic Medium (no ads, paywalled): https://doctorow.medium.com/ Twitter (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://twitter.com/doctorow Tumblr (mass-scale, unrestricted, third-party surveillance and advertising): https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/tagged/pluralistic “When life gives you SARS, you make sarsaparilla” -Joey “Accordion Guy” DeVilla

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/22/anything-that-cant-go-on-forever/ Save to Pocket


Tesco techies and Azure jockeys hit the floor during weekend of outages

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Every little helps. Especially testing and talking to customers

It was a tricky weekend for techies – not only did Microsoft’s Azure Resource Manager fall over across the globe on January 21, 2024, local UK retailing giant Tesco also suffered an outage, cancelling multiple customer deliveries and orders due to “technical difficulties.”…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/a_weekend_of_outages_tesco_azure/ Save to Pocket


Australia axes its “golden visa” scheme for wealthy investors

date: 2024-01-22, from: Marketplace Morning Report

Designed to attract foreign business, Australia’s visa scheme was cut in an immigration overhaul after the government found it was “delivering poor economic outcomes.” Also on the program: A month-long fishing ban comes into force off the French Atlantic coast today. Then we’ll head to Bolivia, the world’s biggest exporter of Brazil nuts. But nut producers there are grappling with volatile prices.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/australia-axes-its-golden-visa-scheme-for-wealthy-investors Save to Pocket


AI Bots on X (Twitter)

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-18, from: Bruce Schneier blog

You can find them by searching for OpenAI chatbot warning messages, like: “I’m sorry, I cannot provide a response as it goes against OpenAI’s use case policy.”

I hadn’t thought about this before: identifying bots by searching for distinctive bot phrases.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/01/ai-bots-on-x-twitter.html Save to Pocket


Netanyahu May Be Standing in the Way of a Two-State Solution. But He’s Far From Alone

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: RAND blog

Opposition to a Palestinian state stretches well beyond the office of Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu. Can American pressure change this?

https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/01/netanyahu-may-be-standing-in-the-way-of-a-two-state-solution.html Save to Pocket


Ford And Lincoln’s Digital Experience Brings Gaming And Streaming To Your Next EV

date: 2024-01-22, from: Inside EVs News

Ford has big plans for software in your car, including a high degree of customization—and making this stuff easy to use for everyone.

https://insideevs.com/news/705464/ford-lincoln-digital-experience-2024/ Save to Pocket


Mystery German chip fab sips on Gradiant’s ultrapure water

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Most advanced semiconductor facility in Europe is being subsidized by Chips Act funding

Water treatment company Gradiant has won a contract to build a plant providing ultrapure water for a chip fabrication facility being constructed in Germany by an unnamed “large semiconductor manufacturer.”…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/german_chip_fab_gradiant/ Save to Pocket


Private conversations in public

date: 2024-01-22, from: Manu - I write blog

I’m currently taking part in Jason’s Letters experiment and I have to say that it’s a lot of fun. As I said to him, writing something that is usually meant to be private knowing that will be published somewhere is a weird feeling.

I like that it offers readers a glimpse into what corresponding with people online looks like. As I wrote many times before, if you want to engage with me, please do write me an email. I read every single one of them and I also try my best to reply to everyone. Sometimes life takes over and I forget but I really do try my best to reply because I believe it’s important to connect with others.

I also believe in kindness, in curiosity, in being open to learn about others and their lives. I love to know what you do, and what you’re passionate about so, again, if you want to make a new connection, please do get in touch.

https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/seUXWAPMJvdiy51Z Save to Pocket


Waymo looks to launch full fleet of robotaxis in Los Angeles

date: 2024-01-22, from: Electrek Feed

Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving unit Waymo is looking to expand its driverless robotaxi service in Los Angeles, where it is currently testing rides. Although, in light of the fallout from Cruise, it might not be smooth sailing.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/22/waymo-looks-to-launch-full-fleet-of-robotaxis-in-la/ Save to Pocket


ICO fines spam slinging financial services biz

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

It’s all very well offering ‘Free Debt Help,’ but recipients were unwilling, says watchdog…

A financial services company that illegally dispatched tens of thousands of spam messages promising to help the recipients magically wipe away their debts is itself now a debtor to the UK’s data regulator.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/ico_fines_spam_slinging_financial/ Save to Pocket


New Hampshire Voters May Surprise in Tuesday’s Primary

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

The small northeastern U.S. state of New Hampshire holds its presidential primary Tuesday. The state, which prides itself on independence and creating havoc, takes on added interest with Sunday’s news that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his campaign, making it a two-person Republican contest. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti is there and explains how the Granite State could turn politics upside-down on Tuesday. VOA footage and video editing by Adam Greenbaum.

https://www.voanews.com/a/new-hampshire-voters-may-surprise-in-tuesday-primary/7449234.html Save to Pocket


@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-01-22, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)

oh no, our city-state lost the battles! just you wait until next season of cosplay war!

https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/111799177999408761 Save to Pocket


Google building datacenter campus on the outskirts of London

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Waltham Cross bit barn part of Alphabet’s plans for ‘future capacity needs’

Google has commenced construction of a $1 billion datacenter complex on the outskirts of London it says is needed to provide a reliable service to Google Cloud customers and users of Google in the UK.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/google_building_datacenter_campus_on/ Save to Pocket


HVNP observes Volcano Awareness Month with community events

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>About 20 people spent their Saturday morning hiking back in time to explore the 5-year-long Maunaulu eruption as part of Volcano Awareness Month at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/hawaii-news/hvnp-observes-volcano-awareness-month-with-community-events/ Save to Pocket


Ron DeSantis ends his struggling presidential bid before New Hampshire and endorses Donald Trump

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>MANCHESTER, N.H. &#8212; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his Republican presidential campaign on Sunday, ending his 2024 White House bid just before the New Hampshire primary while endorsing his bitter rival Donald Trump.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/nation-world-news/ron-desantis-ends-his-struggling-presidential-bid-before-new-hampshire-and-endorses-donald-trump/ Save to Pocket


Expansion in the works for overcrowded Hilo elementary school

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The principal of Ernest Bowen de Silva Elementary School said he&#8217;s hoping that planning and design of a new classroom building for the overcrowded Hilo campus can be completed within a year.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/hawaii-news/expansion-in-the-works-for-overcrowded-hilo-elementary-school/ Save to Pocket


HOVE residents ‘very upset’ over cell tower approval

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The fight over a planned cell tower in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates has ended before it ever began.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/hawaii-news/hove-residents-very-upset-over-cell-tower-approval/ Save to Pocket


Palestinian death toll in Gaza surpasses 25,000 while Israel announces the death of another hostage

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>RAFAH, Gaza Strip &#8212; The Palestinian death toll from the war between Israel and Hamas has soared past 25,000, the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip said Sunday, while Israel announced the death of another hostage and appeared far from achieving its goals of freeing more than 100 others and crushing the militant group.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/nation-world-news/palestinian-death-toll-in-gaza-surpasses-25000-while-israel-announces-the-death-of-another-hostage/ Save to Pocket


Much of US still gripped by arctic weather as Memphis deals with numerous broken water pipes

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. &#8212; Subfreezing conditions and treacherous roadways have contributed to dozens of deaths this month across the U.S., where states as far south as Texas and Florida remain gripped by deadly arctic weather Sunday. But the numbing cold is expected to ease up in the coming days.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/nation-world-news/much-of-us-still-gripped-by-arctic-weather-as-memphis-deals-with-numerous-broken-water-pipes/ Save to Pocket


At least 27 people are reported killed in an attack on Donetsk in Russian-occupied Ukraine

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>KYIV, Ukraine (AP) &#8212; Moscow-installed officials said Ukrainian shelling killed at least 27 people and wounded 25 on Sunday at a market on the outskirts of Donetsk, a &#0010;Russian-occupied city in the eastern part &#0010;of the country.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/nation-world-news/at-least-27-people-are-reported-killed-in-an-attack-on-donetsk-in-russian-occupied-ukraine/ Save to Pocket


Democrats believe abortion will motivate voters in 2024. Will it be enough?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; When Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said recently that he was &#8220;proud&#8221; to have a hand in overturning the abortion protections enshrined in Roe v. Wade, Democratic pollster Celinda Lake took it as a political gift, thinking to herself, &#8220;Oh my God, we just won the election.&#8221;</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/nation-world-news/democrats-believe-abortion-will-motivate-voters-in-2024-will-it-be-enough/ Save to Pocket


North Korea stresses alignment with Russia against US and says Putin could visit at an early date

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>SEOUL, South Korea &#8212; North Korea said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to visit the North at an unspecified &#8220;early date&#8221; as the countries continue to align in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/nation-world-news/north-korea-stresses-alignment-with-russia-against-us-and-says-putin-could-visit-at-an-early-date/ Save to Pocket


Jared Goff throws 2 TD passes, Lions advance to NFC title game with 31-23 win over Buccaneers

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>DETROIT &#8212; Jared Goff is good enough for Detroit, as his coach recently reminded him.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/sports/jared-goff-throws-2-td-passes-lions-advance-to-nfc-title-game-with-31-23-win-over-buccaneers/ Save to Pocket


Kelce scores twice and Chiefs beat Bills 27-24 to advance to face Ravens in AFC championship

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. &#8212; No matter the setting &#8212; Arrowhead Stadium or Orchard Park &#8212; Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs keep finding ways to beat Josh Allen and Buffalo Bills in the playoffs.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/sports/kelce-scores-twice-and-chiefs-beat-bills-27-24-to-advance-to-face-ravens-in-afc-championship/ Save to Pocket


Third time’s a charm: Alker wins 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Championship

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>KA&#8217;UPULEHU-KONA &#8212; Almost everyone knows the common saying of &#8220;third time&#8217;s a charm.&#8221; But for New Zealand PGA TOUR Champions golfer Steven Alker, that motto came to life in West Hawaii over the weekend.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/sports/third-times-a-charm-alker-wins-2024-mitsubishi-electric-championship/ Save to Pocket


NBA roundup: Leonard scores 14 points in 5 minutes, Clippers overcome 18-point deficit to stun Nets 125-114

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>LOS ANGELES (AP) &#8212; After getting outhustled and outshot for three quarters, the Los Angeles Clippers turned into a team possessed.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/sports/nba-roundup-leonard-scores-14-points-in-5-minutes-clippers-overcome-18-point-deficit-to-stun-nets-125-114/ Save to Pocket


Dry January allows us to reboot our lives

date: 2024-01-22, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Dry January is an exercise of abstaining from alcohol for the entirety of the first month of the year. For many, drinking alcohol during the holidays and the weeks leading up to the festive season is commonplace. Social drinking is widely considered a way to lighten the mood and bring people together.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/22/opinion/dry-january-allows-us-to-reboot-our-lives/ Save to Pocket


Trump’s Brownshirts

date: 2024-01-22, from: Robert Reich on Substack

Violence and threats of violence have become inherent to Trumpian politics

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/americas-brownshirts Save to Pocket


10 side quests for the rookie adventurer | #MagPiMonday

date: 2024-01-22, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)

Looking for inspiration? Consider these 10 quests you can undertake to truly begin to master the Raspberry Pi.

The post 10 side quests for the rookie adventurer | #MagPiMonday appeared first on Raspberry Pi.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/10-side-quests-for-the-rookie-adventurer-magpimonday/ Save to Pocket


The Oligarch Exemption For New Business Disclosure Rules

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Lever News

After a multimillion-dollar lobbying blitz, Wall Street firms got themselves exempted from anti-money-laundering requirements being imposed on small businesses.

https://www.levernews.com/the-oligarch-exemption-for-new-business-disclosure-rules/ Save to Pocket


The Post Office systems scandal demands a critical response

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Never let a good crisis go to waste

Opinion  Nine hundred people have had their lives blighted, even destroyed. One of the world’s oldest independent judicial systems has been perverted as a publicly owned company – the Post Office – used prosecutorial powers against postmasters. At the heart of it all is a brutal corporate cover-up of a broken IT system.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/opinion_column/ Save to Pocket


San Agustin out of Public Health, now special assistant for governor

date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

Arthur San Agustin, the man who had been leading the Department of Public Health and Social Services, has retired from the department, the Office of the Governor announced Monday.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/san-agustin-out-of-public-health-now-special-assistant-for-governor/article_16e20dca-b8fe-11ee-86ad-936822ee2db8.html Save to Pocket


Classifieds – January 22, 2024

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The Daily Trojan features Classified advertising in each day’s edition. Here you can read, search, and even print out each day’s edition of the Classifieds.

The post Classifieds – January 22, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/classifieds-january-22-2024/ Save to Pocket


Veeam researching support for VMware alternative Proxmox as backup buyers fret about Broadcom

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Product to protect Oracle virtualization is already on the backup vendor’s roadmap

Exclusive  Backup software vendor Veeam is doing early research on VMware alternative Proxmox, potentially with a view to creating a product to protect data created using the tool.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/veeam_proxmox_oracle_support/ Save to Pocket


Visions & Voices unfolds untold stories

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Performers condemned social injustices in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The post Visions & Voices unfolds untold stories appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/visions-voices-unfolds-untold-stories/ Save to Pocket


Track and field runs away with six wins in Texas

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

USC had a strong showing in College Station at the Ted Nelson Invitational.

The post Track and field runs away with six wins in Texas appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/usc-track-and-field-wins-nelson-invitational/ Save to Pocket


USC’s native landscaping is not actually sustainable

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The University is putting style over substance in its planting efforts.

The post USC’s native landscaping is not actually sustainable appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/uscs-native-landscaping-is-not-actually-sustainable/ Save to Pocket


Accessibility services unreachable, some say

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Professors feel the need to provide students with accommodations themselves.

The post Accessibility services unreachable, some say appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/accessibility-services-unreachable-some-say/ Save to Pocket


‘Saviors’ is Green Day’s newest nostalgic, machine-made mess

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

The band’s latest album is set to bolster their return to fame, but their time has passed.

The post ‘Saviors’ is Green Day’s newest nostalgic, machine-made mess appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/saviors-is-green-days-newest-nostalgic-machine-made-mess/ Save to Pocket


Sports medicine needs rehabilitation

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

More inclusive research could end the plague of knee injuries in women’s sports.

The post Sports medicine needs rehabilitation appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/sports-medicine-needs-rehabilitation/ Save to Pocket


FDA provides smoking gun in pot rescheduling

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Community members discuss the possibility of marijuana reclassification.

The post FDA provides smoking gun in pot rescheduling appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/fda-provides-smoking-gun-in-pot-rescheduling/ Save to Pocket


Trojan Chess Club takes tournament

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

A unique strategy and sense of comradery enabled two teams to claim a first-place prize.

The post Trojan Chess Club takes tournament appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/trojan-chess-club-takes-tournament/ Save to Pocket


Rescheduling cannabis won’t bring justice

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)

Descheduling marijuana is necessary for us to address systemic racial injustices.

The post Rescheduling cannabis won’t bring justice appeared first on Daily Trojan.

https://dailytrojan.com/2024/01/22/rescheduling-cannabis-wont-bring-justice/ Save to Pocket


Poor communication led to complete lack of communication

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Didn’t you fix that? Me? I thought you fixed that!

Who, Me?  Greetings and salutations, mighty reader, and welcome once again to Who, Me? in which Register readers like you share tales of the times your effort to deliver tech support went awry.…

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Blinken Kicks Off Africa Tour Focused on Security, Economic Partnerships

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

State Department — The United States is committed to deepening and strengthening partnerships across Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, kicking off a four-nation tour on the continent to signal Washington’s interests there despite ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Blinken starts his fourth African trip this week, visiting Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Angola. Key priorities include bolstering security partnerships and enhancing health and economic development in the region.

Cabo Verde

In Cabo Verde’s capital, Praia, Blinken held talks Monday with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva and visited the city’s port, Porto da Praia, which received funding for modernization efforts from the U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation. 

“It is extraordinary that Cabo Verde is the first country to complete two Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts, and now you’re starting to build a third one,” said Blinken.

He also congratulated Cabo Verde’s malaria-free certification by the World Health Organization.

Millennium Challenge Compacts are grant agreements designed to fund specific programs that support economic growth.

Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva said Cabo Verde shares values of democracy and good governance with the U.S. in its foreign policy.

“We strongly condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, we condemned the terrorist act of Hamas in Israel, and we defend solutions that make the two states of Israel and Palestine viable. We condemn coup d’etat and changes to constitutional term limits for presidents of the republic that have occurred in Africa.”

Cabo Verde is a small island nation that has a large diaspora in the United States.

The U.S. and Cabo Verde signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation in December 2022, focusing on maritime security.

Soccer match in Ivory Coast

Later Monday, Blinken arrived in Abidjan, the largest city and the economic capital of Cote d’Ivoire, or Ivory Coast.

The chief U.S. diplomat’s trip to West Africa comes as Washington deepens its economic and security partnership in regions where China and Russia have made significant inroads.

Blinken watched a soccer match late Monday at the Chinese-built Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium, where the Ivory Coast, host of the Africa Cup of Nations, played against Equatorial Guinea in what is considered the most important football tournament in Africa.

Blinken’s visit to Ivory Coast is seen as reflecting U.S. interests in its stability and the country’s preparations for the 2025 presidential election. Blinken is scheduled to meet with President Alassane Ouattara on Tuesday. Food security is expected to be high on the agenda during the talks as well as during Blinken’s Tuesday meeting with the African Development Bank in Abidjan.  

The U.S. and international community are concerned about stability in the Sahel sub-region of west Africa following several coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Niger since 2020.

Ivory Coast borders three countries that have experienced coups in recent years: Guinea in September 2021; Mali in both August 2020 and May 2021; and Burkina Faso in January and September of 2022.

The United States plans to provide $45 million in new funding to aid Ivory Coast and its neighbors in preventing conflict and promoting stability amid regional threats. This contribution brings the total U.S. stability-focused assistance in Coastal West Africa to nearly $300 million since 2022.

Regional security talks in Nigeria

Nigeria shares a border with Niger, where the military ousted its elected leader, Mohamed Bazoum, on July 26, 2023, and subsequently scrapped defense agreements with France, its traditional security partner. Bazoum remains under house arrest in Niamey.

In Abuja, Blinken is anticipated to discuss the military coup in Niger, coming just days after the country’s military junta agreed to enhance relations with Russia.

American officials have stated that while the U.S. is open to countries diversifying their partnerships, aligning with nations like Russia could be problematic. They point to the situation in Mali, where rising civilian casualties and security issues have followed Russian paramilitary Wagner Group’s involvement and France’s withdrawal.

The French military withdrawal from the Sahel and the end of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali last December have heightened concerns over regional security.

Nigeria is the largest country by population and economy in sub-Saharan Africa, and the dominant political, economic, and military power in the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS.

The United States is the largest foreign investor in Nigeria, and the U.S. maintains a significant security partnership with Nigeria in its counterterrorism operations against both Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa.

Angola and Luanda Process

In a Monday call, Blinken spoke to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi and discussed the concerns of election observers as well as the need to enhance democratic confidence moving forward.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that they also discussed the crisis in eastern DRC and potential diplomatic solutions.

Following a contentious December election, Tshisekedi, sworn in Saturday for a second term, pledged to unify the country and address conflicts in the east.

Worsening conflicts in eastern Congo have prompted countries in the region to broker two peace initiatives: the so-called Luanda Process and the Nairobi Process, according to Molly Phee, assistant secretary of state for African Affairs.

Increasing tensions between Rwanda and the DRC have led to several alleged attacks by Congolese and Rwandan forces on each other’s territory.

Angola leads the Luanda Process, where Blinken plans to hold talks with Angolan President Joao Lourenco and foreign minister Tete Antonio.

Last week, Blinken met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he reiterated the need for all actors to take concrete steps to ease tensions.

Last November, Avril Haines, the director of U.S. national intelligence, traveled to both Kinshasa and Kigali, meeting with leaders from the two neighboring countries to secure a commitment to de-escalate tensions in eastern DRC.

“We were able to institute a process of weekly check-ins that we undertook through the end of calendar year 2023,” Phee told reporters during a Thursday briefing.

https://www.voanews.com/a/blinken-launching-four-nation-africa-trip/7449686.html Save to Pocket


A Vigil, Then A Dance Party: How Monterey Park Marked A Deadly Shooting

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The LAist

Survivors of the mass shooting danced at a banquet hall after a somber vigil.

https://laist.com/news/vigil-dance-party-how-monterey-park-marked-year-anniversary Save to Pocket


Huawei prepares to split from Android on consumer devices with HarmonyOS Next

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Touts custom kernel that creams Linux, coming soon for devs and later for punters

Huawei last week detailed a major release of its HarmonyOS that will see the Chinese giant break with the Linux ecosystem.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/huawei_harmony_os_next/ Save to Pocket


Energy breakthrough needed to build AGI, says OpenAI boss Altman

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

ALSO: Google’s geometry reasoning breakthrough; Amazon debuts experimental shopping AI

AI In brief  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes that a breakthrough in energy production is required to advance increasingly capable and power-hungry AI models.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/google_deepmind_train_alphageometry_system/ Save to Pocket


NASA lost contact with Mars helicopter Ingenuity, then managed to find it again

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

ESA makes its own discovery: the most water ever found on Mars

NASA regained contact with its Mars helicopter, Ingenuity, on Saturday two days after it lost communication as the vehicle descended from its most recent flight.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/mars_ingenuity_incident_esa_ice/ Save to Pocket


January 21, 2024

date: 2024-01-22, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog

On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision. By a 7–2 vote, the Supreme Court found that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed the right of privacy under its “concept of personal liberty and restrictions upon state action.” This right to privacy, the court said, guarantees a pregnant woman the right to obtain an abortion without restriction in the first trimester of a pregnancy. After that point, the state can regulate abortion, it said, “except when it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother.”

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-21-2024 Save to Pocket


Stanford’s Tara Vanderveer Now Winningest Coach in Major College Basketball

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

STANFORD, Calif. — Tara VanDerveer’s face shined in every corner of Maples Pavilion with that very message. Yes, the Stanford Hall of Famer now stands atop major college basketball as the winningest coach of all time.

“Today was just so wonderful,” VanDerveer said. Even though she had to text her 96-year-old mother, Rita, they’d need to cancel a scheduled bridge game because of all the postgame festivities to celebrate her. “It is a big number and I’m very appreciative of the great players I’ve coached and the great places I’ve been and the attention it’s brought to women’s basketball.”

Just as those who love her so hoped it would turn out, VanDerveer passed former Duke and Army coach Mike Krzyzewski with her 1,203rd career victory at home in Maples when No. 8 Stanford beat Oregon State, 65-56.

And it never fails that VanDerveer always takes a minute to thank everybody for coming to the game, and that includes offering her immense gratitude to the Stanford band. On Sunday, moments after her latest remarkable milestone in a career filled with them, she politely asked the band to stop playing. VanDerveer took the microphone and began with her words of appreciation once more.

“I’m overwhelmed,” she told the crowd. “I’m not usually lost for words but it’s pretty impressive, all these people here, all the former players coming back.”

A head coach since age 24, VanDerveer celebrated with thousands of supporters and a couple dozen former players on hand to cheer her on for yet another triumph in a decorated 45-year career featuring so many memorable accomplishments.

And for a nearly full arena, this was also a chance for fans to show their love to the Hall of Fame coach who has been shining her light on women’s basketball for 4 1/2 decades.

“Tara! Tara!” they yelled in the closing seconds before the celebration began.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Tara VanDerveer, who is already one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of basketball,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “This is yet another milestone to add to an amazing legacy. More important than all the astounding numbers and career accomplishments, she’s positively impacted countless lives as a coach and a mentor. Tara remains a true guardian of our sport.”

A video tribute with messages from everyone from Billie Jean King to Steve Kerr, Dawn Staley and Coach K himself showed on the big screen.

It was tense at times, with VanDerveer standing with arms crossed and pacing the sideline as Kiki Iriafen and her supporting cast made the big plays when it mattered most — including Iriafen’s first 3-pointers. Stanford was missing All-American Cameron Brink because of a lower left leg injury suffered in Friday’s win over Oregon.

“I want to bring attention to the beauty of women’s basketball and the wonderfulness of these players that work so hard,” VanDerveer said. “I’m so jealous because I never got to do what they get to do and I’m able to watch a little girl’s dream play out through them.”

Iriafen contributed a career-high 36 points on 16-for-26 shooting and 11 rebounds and Talana Lepolo 14 points and six assists for the Cardinal (17-2, 6-1 Pac-12). The game drew a near-capacity crowd of 7,022 at Maples Pavilion, which holds 7,233.

VanDerveer improved to 1,203-267 overall and 1,051-216 over 38 seasons at Stanford. A 17-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year with five national Coach of the Year honors, VanDerveer has captured three NCAA titles with Stanford — 1990, ’92 and 2021 — and coached the 1996 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal at the Atlanta Games during a year away from Stanford.

Stanford led 28-22 at the break having shot just 12 of 34 but was willed in the second half as former star players such as Jennifer Azzi, Chiney Ogwumike, Ros Gold-Onwude and Jayne Appel-Marinelli were among those in attendance along with former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice supporting the beloved coach.

“What does it mean to me? It means everything. It’s like your family member getting married or someone had a baby, Coach is making history, we all come back and we celebrate,” Ogwumike said. “It’s just a part of our life now. Showing up for Tara is the same way you show up for a sister, an aunt, a brother. She’s family to all of us.”

VanDerveer received warm ovations at every chance, from the moment she walked out onto the court during pregame warmups and again for introductions. She credited the Beavers for their grace in offering congratulations in the hand-shake line after the final buzzer.

Oregon State coach Scott Rueck credits VanDerveer for elevating the entire conference over the decades.

“The most remarkable thing about her is she’s done it for so long and she’s remained at such a high level of excellence,” Rueck said. “And that’s her preparation, her attention to detail is the separator.”

Azzi offered a sentiment that hundreds of other former VanDerveer players would certainly share: “I got to play for the greatest coach of all-time.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/stanford-s-tara-vanderveer-now-winningest-coach-in-major-college-basketball/7449619.html Save to Pocket


EPA Assessment Shows Almost No Gains in Nitrogen Pollution

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

St. LOUIS — The nation’s rivers and streams remain stubbornly polluted with nutrients that contaminate drinking water and fuel a gigantic dead zone for aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recently released Environmental Protection Agency assessment.

It’s a difficult problem that’s concentrated in agricultural regions that drain into the Mississippi River. More than half of the basin’s miles of rivers and streams were in poor condition for nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer that drains into waterways, the agency found. For decades, federal and state officials have struggled to control farm runoff, the biggest source of nutrient pollution that is not typically federally regulated.

It’s a problem only expected to get harder to control as climate change produces more intense storms that dump rain on the Midwest and South. Those heavy rains flood farm fields, pick up commercial fertilizers and carry them into nearby rivers.

“It’s really worrying that we are clearly not meeting the goals that we’ve set for ourselves,” said Olivia Dorothy, director of river restoration with the conservation group American Rivers.

The assessment is based on samples collected in 2018 and 2019 and it allows experts to compare river conditions from previous rounds of sampling, although different sampling sites were used. It takes years for the agency to compile the results and release the report, which is the most comprehensive assessment of the nation’s river and stream health. Phosphorus levels dipped slightly while nitrogen levels remained almost exactly the same.

About half of all river miles were found to be in poor condition for snails, worms, beetles and other bottom-dwelling species that are an important indicator of biological health of the river. About a third were also rated as having poor conditions for fish based on species diversity.

“Controlling pollution is a big job. It is hard work,” said Tom Wall, director of watershed restoration, assessment and protection division at EPA. “Things are not getting worse, despite the tremendous pressures on our waterways. And we would like to see more progress.”

Water pollution from factories and industry is typically federally regulated. The Biden administration recently proposed toughening regulations on meat and poultry processing plants to reduce pollution, Wall said.

When nutrient pollution flows into the Gulf of Mexico, it spurs growth of bacteria that consume oxygen. That creates a so-called “dead zone,” a vast area where it’s difficult or impossible for marine animals to survive, fluctuating from about the size of Rhode Island to the size of New Jersey, according to Nancy Rabalais, professor of oceanography and wetland studies at Louisiana State University.

That affects the productivity of commercial fisheries and marine life in general, but nutrient pollution is also damaging upstream. Too much nitrate in drinking water can affect how blood carries oxygen, causing human health problems like headaches, nausea and abdominal cramps. It can especially affect infants, sometimes inducing “blue baby syndrome,” which causes the skin to take on a bluish hue.

The EPA established the hypoxia task force in the late 1990s to reduce nutrient pollution and shrink the dead zone, but it relies on voluntary efforts to reduce farm runoff and hasn’t significantly reduced the dead zone.

Anne Schechinger, Midwest director with the Environmental Working Group, said new regulations are needed, not voluntary efforts. She said the Biden administration has done a lot to improve drinking water, but not enough to reduce agricultural runoff.

Methods to prevent runoff include building buffers between farmland and waterways, creating new wetlands to filter pollutants and applying less fertilizer.

It’s a politically fraught issue, especially in major Midwest farming states that significantly contribute to the problem. Many of those states cite their voluntary conservation programs as evidence they’re taking on the problem, yet the new EPA data shows little progress.

Minnesota is one of the few states that has a so-called “buffer law” that requires vegetation to be planted along rivers, streams and public drainage ditches. But because groundwater and surface water are closely connected in much of the Upper Midwest, nutrient pollution can end up leaching underground through farm fields and eventually bypass those buffers, ending up in streams anyway, said Gregory Klinger, who works for the Olmsted County, Minnesota soil and water conservation district.

There should also be a focus on preventing over-fertilizing – about 30% of farmers are still using more than the recommended amounts of fertilizer on their fields, said Brad Carlson, an extension educator with the University of Minnesota who communicates with farmers about nutrient pollution issues.

Martin Larsen, a farmer and conservation technician in southeast Minnesota, said he and other farmers are interested in practices that reduce their nutrient pollution. He’s broken up his typical corn and soybean rotation with oats and medium red clover, the latter a kind of plant that can increase nitrogen levels in the soil naturally. He’s been able to get by with about half as much fertilizer for a corn crop that follows a clover planting as compared to a corn-corn rotation.

Growing oats and red clover as cover crops improves soil, too. But Larsen said it’s difficult for many farmers to plant them when they often rely on an immediate payback for anything they grow. Cover crops are planted on just 5.1% of harvested farmland, according to 2017 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Larsen said since regulations are so unpopular, more should be done to incentivize better practices. For example, he said that could include companies shifting the makeup of feed they use for animals, giving farmers an opening to plant some crops that use less fertilizer. Or government programs that do more to subsidize things like cover crops.

He said that many farmers in his community acknowledge the need to do things differently. “But we also feel very trapped in the system,” he said.

https://www.voanews.com/a/epa-assessment-shows-almost-no-gains-in-nitrogen-pollution/7449614.html Save to Pocket


BreachForums admin ‘Pompourin’ sentenced to 20 years of supervised release

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Also: Another UEFI flaw found; Kaspersky discovers iOS log files actually work; and a few critical vulnerabilities

Infosec in brief  Conor Brian Fitzpatrick – aka “Pompourin,” a former administrator of notorious leak site BreachForums – has been sentenced to 20 years of supervised release.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/infosec_news_roundup/ Save to Pocket


Classic Legends Eyeing Big Expansion For Jawa Yezdi And BSA Brands

date: 2024-01-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Both inside and outside of India, Classic Legends wants to expand its reach to cater to more motorcyclists.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705472/classic-legends-exports-asean-2024/ Save to Pocket


Complaint: Man allegedly set clothes on fire inside apartment

date: 2024-01-22, from: Guam Daily Post

A man allegedly on drugs and under the influence of alcohol is behind bars after he reportedly threatened to harm his wife and burn down their apartment.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/complaint-man-allegedly-set-clothes-on-fire-inside-apartment/article_404b3d46-b802-11ee-9c04-e7cecddae559.html Save to Pocket


Ryvid To Boost Production And Introduce New Models In 2024

date: 2024-01-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

The electric motorcycle specialist is upgrading its manufacturing facility in San Bernardino, California.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705471/ryvid-eyes-big-growth-2024/ Save to Pocket


New Cake Bukk E-Dual-Sport Starts Making Its Way To Eager Customers

date: 2024-01-22, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Full-scale production of the new electric motorcycle is slated for the spring of 2024.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705470/cake-bukk-deliveries-commence-2024/ Save to Pocket


Uncomfortable truth behind CFA strike letter to students

date: 2024-01-22, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)

Imagine you put in the grueling work it takes to graduate. You spend months, even years applying for professorial work to land a part-time lecturer position. You work even harder teaching multiple classes, multiple campuses, and countless students; maybe you even become tenured.   You teach and survive through an unprecedented global pandemic. After all your…

https://sundial.csun.edu/177915/opinions/uncomfortable-truth-behind-cfa-strike-letter-to-students/ Save to Pocket


Reversing the Web-@nywhere Watch: browse fragments of the web on your wrist

date: 2024-01-22, from: OS News

Smartwatches at the turn of the century were a more motley assortment than today’s, with an even wilder range of functionality. If you had a few hundred dollars or so, there were some interesting options, even back then. But if all you had was $85 (in 2024 dollars about $150), you still weren’t left out, because in 2001 you could get the Web-@nywhere (the “Worldwide Web Watch”). Load up the software on your PC and slap it in its little docking station, and you could slurp down about 93K of precious Web data to scroll on the 59×16 screen — 10 characters by 2 characters — to read any time you wanted! That is, of course, if the remote host the watch’s Windows 9x-based client accessed were still up, on which it depended for virtually anything to download and install. Well, I want 95,488 bytes of old smartwatch tiny screen Web on my wrist, darn it. We’re going to reverse-engineer this sucker and write our own system using real live modern Web data. So there! ↫ Old Vintage Computing Research Y’all know the drill by now – I’m a sucker for these kinds of stories. What a great, extremely detailed read, with code to boot.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138413/reversing-the-web-nywhere-watch-browse-fragments-of-the-web-on-your-wrist/ Save to Pocket


Platform tilt: documenting the uneven playing field for an independent browser like Firefox

date: 2024-01-22, from: OS News

This tilt manifests in a variety of ways. For example: making it harder for a user to download and use a different browser, ignoring or resetting a user’s default browser preference, restricting capabilities to the first-party browser, or requiring the use of the first-party browser engine for third-party browsers. For years, Mozilla has engaged in dialog with platform vendors in an effort to address these issues. With renewed public attention and an evolving regulatory environment, we think it’s time to publish these concerns using the same transparent process and tools we use to develop positions on emerging technical standards. So today we’re publishing a new issue tracker where we intend to document the ways in which platforms put Firefox at a disadvantage and engage with the vendors of those platforms to resolve them. ↫ The official Mozilla blog Excellent initative.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138410/platform-tilt-documenting-the-uneven-playing-field-for-an-independent-browser-like-firefox/ Save to Pocket


US Navy Now Says 2 Missing SEALs Are Deceased

date: 2024-01-22, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-navy-now-says-2-missing-seals-are-deceased/7449596.html Save to Pocket


Interview: Haiku developer Waddlesplash

date: 2024-01-22, from: OS News

Haiku developer and community member Waddlesplash shares his insights on the project’s current state, challenges ahead, and hopes for the future. Waddlesplash discusses Haiku’s transition from a niche project to a potential daily driver OS, emphasizing the importance of maintaining momentum and addressing data corruption bugs. ↫ Andrea at Desktop On Fire! Haiku is definitely in a good place at the moment, and there’s some real momentum from outside the project. Yes, it’s even possible to daily-drive Haiku – with caveats, of course – and I hope they can keep this going.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138408/interview-haiku-developer-waddlesplash/ Save to Pocket


What’s that touchscreen in my room?

date: 2024-01-22, from: OS News

Roughly a year ago I moved into my new apartment. One of the reasons I picked this apartment was age of the building. The construction was finished in 2015, which ensured pretty good thermal isolation for winters as well as small nice things like Ethernet ports in each room. However, there was one part of my apartment that was too new and too smart for me. It is obviously a touchscreen of some sort, but there was zero indication as to what it controls. The landlord had no idea what this is. There are no buttons or labels on the thing, just a tiny yellow light to let you know it has the power. ↫ Nikita Lapkov What follows is an investigation into what it is, how to get it working, and, of course, how to hack it and make it more useful.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138406/whats-that-touchscreen-in-my-room/ Save to Pocket


Monday 22 January, 2024

date: 2024-01-22, from: John Naughton’s online diary

Days like this Just an ordinary picture, taken on an ordinary winter Saturday afternoon. I was sitting after lunch brooding on the Financial Times’s coverage of the Post Office scandal (about which I had written the next day’s Observer column), … Continue reading

https://memex.naughtons.org/monday-22-january-2024/39056/ Save to Pocket


Tencent, Meta, alliance reportedly strains over differing VR visions

date: 2024-01-22, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

PLUS: Singapore union tackles Google, Alibaba, layoffs; Thai digital cash plan stalls; AI to consume bulk of APAC IT budgets

Asia In Brief  The alliance struck by Tencent and Meta to bring the latter’s Quest VR hardware to China is reportedly faltering.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/22/apac_tech_news_roundup/ Save to Pocket


2024-01-22: Can GCC use Clang as its assembler?

date: 2024-01-22, from: Brian Robert Callahan blog

How to use LLVM as the assembler for GCC, for FreeBSD and other systems

https://briancallahan.net/blog/20240122.html Save to Pocket


Prague PostgreSQL Developer Day 2024 / Call for Papers & Sponsors

date: 2024-01-22, from: PostgreSQL News

Prague PostgreSQL Developer Day 2024 (P2D2 2024) will be held on June 4 and 5 in Prague, Czech Republic. The conference focuses on topics for PostgreSQL users and developers. For more information about the event, please see the website at https://www.p2d2.cz/

We are now accepting proposals for talks and trainings in both Czech and English. As in previous years, the conference is a single-track event with a mix of talks in Czech and English.

To submit a talk, use this form:

 https://p2d2.cz/call-for-papers

The talk sessions are generally 45 minutes long (but may be shorter if requested) and may be on any PostgreSQL-related topic. We’re also looking for trainings (either half-day or whole-day) for the first day (June 4). To submit a training proposal, use the same form as for regular talks (there’s a field to pick talk/training).

Finally, we are considering to include a session of lightning talks (short talks, five minute each). A separate call for proposals will be made for them during the event.

The submission deadline is March 1 (which is Friday), end of day. Selected speakers will be notified / confirmed shortly afterwards.

The proposals will be considered by committee who will produce a schedule to be published about a month before the event.

All selected speakers will get free entry to the conference (excluding training sessions). We do offer covering travel and accommodations for foreign speakers (generally enough for two nights in a hotel and travel within Europe). If you require assistance with funding to be able to attend, please make a note of this in the submission notes field.

We have also opened our call for sponsors. As usual, we we’ll offer three sponsorship levels - the details are available at:

https://p2d2.cz/rocnik-2024/sponsorship

If you wish to become a sponsor, or have questions/suggestions regarding sponsorship, please contact us at sponsors@p2d2.cz (we’re happy to answer any questions about the event and sponsorship conditions).

We look forward to hearing from you, and seeing you in Prague!

https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/prague-postgresql-developer-day-2024-call-for-papers-sponsors-2792/ Save to Pocket


The Heart of the County

date: 2024-01-21, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Our community has been so fortunate to have Joan Hartmann as our 3rd District County Supervisor.

The post The Heart of the County appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/21/the-heart-of-the-county/ Save to Pocket


The Valencia Community Center – Coming Soon!

date: 2024-01-21, from: City of Santa Clarita

The Valencia Community Center – Coming Soon! By City Manager Ken Striplin As we welcome the new year, I am excited to update our residents on the renovations at the Valencia Community Center located at Summit Park. Last year, the Santa Clarita City Council approved a donation agreement with the YMCA to transfer ownership of […]

The post The Valencia Community Center – Coming Soon! appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.

https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/01/21/the-valencia-community-center-coming-soon/ Save to Pocket


The case for Rust (in the FreeBSD base system)

date: 2024-01-21, from: OS News

FreeBSD is discussing adding Rust to the FreeBSD base system. In a recent thread on src-committers, we discussed the costs and benefits of including Rust code in the FreeBSD base system. To summarize, the cost is that it would double our build times. imp suggested adding an additional step after buildworld for stuff that requires an external toolchain. That would ease the build time pain. The benefit is that some tools would become easier to write, or even become possible. ↫ Warner Losh on the freebsd-hackers mailing list From everything I’ve read and what you, the readers, have told me, someone who isn’t a programmer, languages like Rust really are a big improvement over older languages, and it’s probably not a good idea for a major, important project like FreeBSD to isolate its base system from such progress. Now, I’m not at all qualified to say whether Rust, specifically, is the right choice, but a language like Rust should probably be part of the base system. A big issue is FreeBSD’s architecture support. Rust is not well-supported or even supported at all on all the various platforms FreeBSD supports, which might prove to be a road block for now. That being said, letting barely used ISAs hamper your progress too much might not be a good idea either. Rust has already become a supported language for the development of the Linux kernel.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138401/the-case-for-rust-in-the-freebsd-base-system/ Save to Pocket


@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-21, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Friends, I just poured 3/4ths of this bottle on the bolognese and drank the rest.

It was mind blowing and I have none left.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111796396897259063 Save to Pocket


@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-21, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Even if you are not an engineer, treat yourself to Apple’s WWDC videos on the design and the guidelines to develop for Vision.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111796375626603030 Save to Pocket


‘Mean Girls’ Fetches $11.7M in Second Weekend to Stay No. 1 at US Box Office

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

New York — On a quiet weekend in movie theaters, “Mean Girls” repeated atop the box office with $11.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, while a handful of awards contenders sought to make an impact ahead of Oscar nominations Tuesday.

With a dearth of new releases in cinemas, Paramount Pictures’ Tina Fey-scripted musical “Mean Girls” pushed its two-week total past $50 million, along with $16.2 million internationally. So far, it’s outpacing the tally for the 2004 original “Mean Girls.”

Only one new film debuted in wide release: “I.S.S.,” a modestly budgeted sci-fi thriller starring Ariana DeBose. The film, which speculates what would happen aboard the International Space Station if war broke out between the U.S. and Russia, debuted with $3 million on 2,518 screens for Bleecker Street.

Expectations weren’t high for “I.S.S.,” which drew only so-so reviews and was lightly marketed. Audiences also didn’t like it, giving the film a “C-” CinemaScore.

But even for January, historically a low ebb for moviegoing, it was a sparsely attended weekend, with paltry options on the big screen. The top 10 films collectively accounted for just $51.3 million in box office, according to Comscore.

With a similarly thin release schedule on deck for next weekend, it could be the start of a chastening trend for Hollywood in 2024. Due to production delays caused by last year’s strikes, there are significant holes throughout this year’s movie calendar.

The Jason Statham thriller “The Beekeeper,” from Amazon MGM Studios, remained in second place, grossing $8.5 million in its second weekend to bring its total to $31.1 million. Warner Bros. “Wonka,” six weeks into its smash run in theaters, was third, with $6.4 million in ticket sales. It’s taken in $187.2 million domestically.

Also continuing to leg out was Sony Pictures’ “Anyone But You.” The rom-com starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, crossed $100 million globally in its fifth week of release. It’s the highest grossing R-rated romantic comedy — a genre that has largely migrated to streaming platforms — since 2016’s “Bridget Jones’s Baby.” Domestically, it came in fourth with $5.4 million.

Much of the weekend’s action was in expanding awards contenders.

After a qualifying release in December, Ava DuVernay’s “Origin,” starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the “Caste” author Isabel Wilkerson, launched in 125 theaters and pulled in $875,000 — a strong start for the acclaimed film.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ dark fantasy “Poor Things,” starring Emma Stone, added 820 theaters and grossed $2 million from 1,400 locations. The Searchlight Pictures release, which won the Golden Globe for best comedy-musical, has earned $33.7 million globally in seven weeks of slowly expanding release.

Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction,” starring Jeffrey Wright as a frustrated novelist, expanded to 850 screens and pulled in $1.8 million. “American Fiction,” up to $8 million in six weeks, will look for a boost in Tuesday’s Oscar nominations.

Jonathan Glazer’s Auschwitz film “The Zone of Interest” expanded to 82 screens, grossing $447,684 for A24.

But after a strong launch, another awards contender, “The Color Purple,” has quickly fallen off the radar of moviegoers. Though widely acclaimed and with the backing of producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, the Warner Bros. musical has dropped fast in recent weeks. In its fourth week of release, the Blitz Bazawule-directed film starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks, grossed just $720,000. Its domestic total is $59.3 million, below hopes for the $100-million budgeted film.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

  1. “Mean Girls,” $11.7 million.

  2. “The Beekeeper,” $8.5 million.

  3. “Wonka,” $6.4 million.

  4. “Anyone But You,” $5.4 million.

  5. “Migration,” $5.3 million.

  6. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” $3.7 million.

  7. “I.S.S.,” $3 million.

  8. “Night Swim,” $2.7 million.

  9. “The Boys in the Boat,” $2.5 million.

  10. “Poor Things,” $2 million.

https://www.voanews.com/a/mean-girls-fetches-11-7m-in-second-weekend-to-stay-no-1-at-us-box-office/7449221.html Save to Pocket


In 2024, Genode to focus on multi-monitor, suspend/resume, touchpads, and much more

date: 2024-01-21, from: OS News

Without hesitation, our developer community quickly rallied behind the topic “Sculpt OS usability”, desiring to boost the user experience with respect to multi-monitor usage, convenient interactive UIs for common tasks, profound support for touchpads and touchscreens, tearing-free graphics, low-latency audio, casual on-target debugging, and suspend/resume. The focus on usability notwithstanding, we will steadily continue with the gardening of Genode’s driver landscape, fostering the consistent use of drivers ported from up-to-date Linux kernels, clear-cut ACPI support, and making drivers pluggable. In 2024, we will also promote Genode’s custom (base-hw) microkernel to become the default kernel for Sculpt OS, which is the culmination of a multi-year effort. ↫ Official Genode news post The updated roadmap for 2024 details the goals of the project for the coming current year.

https://www.osnews.com/story/138398/in-2024-genode-to-focus-on-multi-monitor-suspend-resume-touchpads-and-much-more/ Save to Pocket


A ‘Win-Win’: Southern California Conservationists and Fishermen Reach Compromise over Cowcod and Corals

date: 2024-01-21, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Fishing spots in and around the Santa Barbara Channel re-opened after a 20-year closure, but sensitive habitat areas will remain permanently closed.

The post A ‘Win-Win’: Southern California Conservationists and Fishermen Reach Compromise over Cowcod and Corals  appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/21/a-win-win-southern-california-conservationists-and-fishermen-reach-compromise-over-cowcod-and-corals/ Save to Pocket


@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-21, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

Netanyahu never cared about the hostages.

Everybody knew. That Overton window just had to shift until it was palatable

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111796033950218755 Save to Pocket


Trump Poised for Another Republican Presidential Nomination Victory

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-poised-for-another-republican-presidential-nomination-victory/7449188.html Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Gretchen Whitmer pushes Biden to talk more bluntly about abortion.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/21/whitmer-biden-abortion-2024-elections-00136802 Save to Pocket


Concerns Expressed by Disability Community

date: 2024-01-21, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

Concerns expressed in a survey included being overlooked by professionals for needs.

The post Concerns Expressed by Disability Community appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/21/concerns-expressed-by-disability-community/ Save to Pocket


Amazon plots massive cloud expansion in Japan with $15B investment

date: 2024-01-21, updated: 2024-01-21, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)

Land of the rising profit?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to invest 2.3 trillion yen ($15.5 billion) to extend its cloud empire in Japan.…

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/01/21/amazon_japan_datacenter/ Save to Pocket


Ron Desantis, Once Trump’s Biggest Threat, Ends 2024 White House Run

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

Washington — Presidential contender Ron DeSantis, who was once viewed as Republicans’ best shot at moving past Donald Trump, dropped out of the primary race on Sunday, a relatively early exit that underlines the iron grip the former president retains on the party.

DeSantis, 45, endorsed Trump in a video posted to the X social media site.  

DeSantis had been widely seen as a top contender for the 2024 Republican nomination and a natural heir to Trump due to his combative style and deeply conservative views. Early in 2023, he led several head-to-head polls against Trump.  

But the Florida governor’s support has been declining for several months, due to a flawed campaign strategy, his seeming lack of ease with voters on the campaign trail and Trump’s so far unshakeable hold on much of the party’s base.  

The end of DeSantis’ bid means that former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, is now the last Republican in the race with a shot - albeit a long one - of denying Trump the nomination. The winner of the Republican nominating contest will take on President Joe Biden, the likely Democratic nominee, in the general election in November.  

More than 70% of Republicans have a favorable opinion of Trump, according to most opinion polls. That put DeSantis in a position where he had to appeal to voters who still admired Trump, as well as those who passionately disliked him.  

DeSantis failed on both counts. He never successfully articulated to most Trump supporters why he was a better option, while Republicans looking to ditch the former president split their votes among multiple candidates. Haley, in particular, has emerged as the favorite among moderate Republicans as the field has consolidated. Where DeSantis differed from Trump on policy, it was almost always to stake out a more conservative position. He signed a six-week abortion ban in Florida in April, which he eventually embraced on the campaign trail, even as it made some donors and moderate Republicans wary.  

DeSantis opposed additional U.S. military assistance to Ukraine and took punitive actions against the Walt Disney Co. after the company spoke out against Florida legislation that limited discussion of gender and sexuality in classrooms.  

The Disney fight was one that pro-business critics within the party said DeSantis didn’t need to wage.  

While many major donors threw their support behind DeSantis early on, they began to rebel as early as the summer.  

Robert Bigelow, who gave millions to the super PAC fundraising group backing DeSantis, told Reuters in August he was cutting off funding, turned off by the governor’s uncompromising position on abortion.  

Campaign errors  

DeSantis’ troubles began before he ever entered the race.  

In March, when Trump was indicted in New York on charges he conspired to conceal hush money payments to a porn star, the former president received a significant bump in the polls as Republicans rallied around him. Many of them believed Trump’s claims that law enforcement officials were targeting him to keep him out of office.  

Several DeSantis allies say the governor waited too long to become a candidate, finally throwing his hat into the ring in May, more than six months after Trump had done so. That left DeSantis open to blistering attacks by Trump, while the governor himself did little to defend himself, insisting he was not a candidate.  

When DeSantis did formally launch his White House run in May 2023, it was a glitch-filled disaster on Twitter, now known as X, an inauspicious start for a campaign predicated on the governor’s executive competence.  

The campaign then overhired, burning through cash at a rapid rate. DeSantis let go of some 38 staffers in July and ousted his campaign manager in August, sowing a narrative of internal chaos that proved hard to shake.  

He outsourced much of the traditional work of a campaign to an outside super PAC, which can accept donations of unlimited size, but cannot coordinate with the campaign itself.  

The campaign and the PAC, known as Never Back Down, came to distrust one another. A series of back-to-back departures of senior staffers from the PAC in November and December created a sense of turmoil that furthered the narrative that the governor’s campaign was mortally wounded.

https://www.voanews.com/a/ron-desantis-ends-presidential-bid-after-polls-show-him-falling-far-short-of-trump/7449171.html Save to Pocket


DISCMASTER Rises Again

date: 2024-01-21, from: Internet Archive Blog

In October of 2022, the DISCMASTER site arrived, providing amazing semantic search of thousands of shareware and compilation CD-ROMs at the Internet Archive. In the entry written on the blog […]

https://blog.archive.org/2024/01/21/discmaster-rises-again/ Save to Pocket


White House Taking Iran-Backed Attacks on Its Iraq-Based Forces ‘Extremely Seriously’

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/white-house-taking-iran-backed-attacks-on-its-iraq-based-forces-extremely-seriously/7449124.html Save to Pocket


2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV EPA Range, Specs And Pricing Overview

date: 2024-01-21, from: Inside EVs News

In the 4WT version, it has 450 miles of EPA range, which is impressive.

https://insideevs.com/news/705388/2024-chevrolet-silverado-ev-epa-range-specs-pricing/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

Podcast: ActivityPub is a typical tech industry mess. 12 minutes.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/21.html#a194147 Save to Pocket


Week 3, Project 365 Wrap Up

date: 2024-01-21, from: Om Malik blog

I had promised myself that I would go out with my camera and look for images that resonated with me. I wanted to capture the abstraction of San Francisco, especially in areas that are so familiar to me. I used a vintage lens (with an adapter) on a Leica TL camera. It may be considered …

https://om.co/2024/01/21/week-3-project-365-wrap-up/ Save to Pocket


YABMC

date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News

karaokeI apologize in advance for Yet Another Bull Mancuso Comic.

In this adventure Bull Mancuso is a woman, and is an astronaut on the space station, performing experiments on her fellow astronauts. The goal of the experiment is to determine if astronauts can play a new form of basketball that was invented by SpaceXYZ founder Mucky Lonnegan, who is in space with Astronaut Mancuso.

Bull Mancuso in space, experimenting with basketball.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/21/192238.html?title=yabmc Save to Pocket


@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-01-21, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)

The vision hardware looks lovely, but I am more impressed by the depth of the user experience, the guidance to developers, the design system, the operating system and the tooling to support it.

Previous headsets have been cool and exciting (I own pretty much one of each), yet none got this level of necessary scaffolding in place, so the experiences are a mish-mash of half baked ideas.

We finally go from “this is a neat idea” to a viable platform.

https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111795494604486912 Save to Pocket


Platform Tilt: Documenting the Uneven Playing Field for an Independent Browser Like Firefox

date: 2024-01-21, from: Tilde.news

Comments

https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/2024/01/19/platform-tilt/ Save to Pocket


Iveco scores biggest electric bus deal yet

date: 2024-01-21, from: Electrek Feed

Iveco just landed its largest electric bus contract to date, selling more than 400 battery electric city buses and a 10-year service contract to the city of Rome.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/21/iveco-scores-biggest-electric-bus-deal-yet/ Save to Pocket


Smartravel e-motorbike drops to $1,299 (Save $600), Greenworks 20% off electric tool sale, more

date: 2024-01-21, from: Electrek Feed

This Smartravel e-motorbike is seeing an exclusive $600 discount today with our code, dropping the off-road design down to $1,299 with code 9TO5BIKE250. It comes joined by a 20% off Greenworks electric tool sale that applies to a collection of snow blowers and saws. Plus, all of today’s other best new Green Deals.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/21/smartravel-e-motorbike-greenworks-tools/ Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)

I realize that most of the people who read this blog aren’t sports fans, something that I wish were different, because sports, like HBO series, give us a way to talk about complex human relationships in the 21st century that we don’t get any other way to imho. If we all watch Succession, for example, then we know how to talk about the relationship between Shiv and her wimpy husband whose name I now have trouble remembering (later: Tom). (No spoilers as to why he’s significant, and won the Emmy for best supporting dramatic performance.) We all know the scene where they both nailed it. For anyone who has ever loved someone yet had to say goodbye anyway, it reached into your heart, and gave you a way to say to your friends – there! – that’s what I was talking about. Same thing in sports, esp basketball, where you get to know a team a few players at a time, and you get to see them perform in really personal ways. Last night there was a rematch between the Knicks and the Raptors, which was one of those games you don’t ever forget, because of a recent trade where the teams exchanged core players who formed the personality of the teams, playing each other, so we could see in a memorable and visual way what was exchanged. Understand, we loved the players who were traded away. One day they’re our team, and the next day, supposedly they’re the other guys. Impossible to see it that way. The love doesn’t just leave, maybe it never does. But. But now you know that one of the players, a former Great Hope of ours, didn’t pan out, and now it’s nice to see him on the court, fumbling an easy play or missing a shot you think he could’ve gotten, but doing it for the other team. Sadly, we think while he was the more expensive of the two stars the Knicks traded, the other one, the hotshit kid with an attitude is going to be the real thing, a starting point guard of a contender, an opportunity he was unlikely to get with the Knicks. Anyway thanks for listening. Last night’s game was something else. I understand that Niners and Packers fans were emoting in other ways at the same time. I can relate.

http://scripting.com/2024/01/21.html#a162425 Save to Pocket


MINISFORUM S100-N100 is a pocket-sized Alder Lake-N PC with Power over Ethernet support

date: 2024-01-21, from: Liliputing

The MINISFORUM S100-N100 is a tiny computer with an Intel N100 Alder Lake-N processor, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 2.1 storage. Small enough to easily fit in a pocket, the little computer also has a 2.5 GbE Ethernet port and support for PoE (Power over Ethernet), meaning that you can get a high-speed […]

The post MINISFORUM S100-N100 is a pocket-sized Alder Lake-N PC with Power over Ethernet support appeared first on Liliputing.

https://liliputing.com/minisforum-s100-n100-is-a-pocket-sized-alder-lake-n-pc-with-power-over-ethernet-support/ Save to Pocket


Air Jordan Is Finally Deflating by Ross Andersen. “Perhaps footwear just doesn’t…

date: 2024-01-21, updated: 2024-01-21, from: Jason Kittke’s blog

https://kottke.org/24/01/0043823-air-jordan-is-finally-def Save to Pocket


How to get started with Advanced Squad Leader

date: 2024-01-21, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog

How to get started with Advanced Squad Leader

The PDF for Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) rules has 714 pages. How do you even get started?

There are four starter kits (SK):

  1. Regular infantry
  2. Guns
  3. Tanks
  4. Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO)

I didn’t want to take that route and tried to dive straight in but this is not how it works. Start small.

You can get the rules for all four starter kits as a PDF.

Buy the complete rules once you know that you like the game.

For online gaming, you need to download the following:

The VASL site has a section called “Download Scenarios” where you can download setups for many scenarios (without the mission goals). If you load those games, you’ll see messages about all the extensions you’re missing. Often you don’t need them, but feel free to install them.

If you want a physical box of the games, with physical counters, be aware that you must buy Beyond Valor because it has some stuff that gets used in later boxes.

(Earlier: Advanced Squad Leader, 2022.)

#ASL

https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-01-21-getting-started-with-asl Save to Pocket


Non-bike bike gear tested: HoverAir X1 is the cyclists’ drone I’ve been looking for

date: 2024-01-21, from: Electrek Feed

E-bikes are my main form of transportation, and so the right gear can make a big impact on my rides. While I normally review e-bikes themselves, in this series we’re exploring some of the helpful tools, gear, and other devices that can help make living a car-free life easier, more convenient, or just more fun! And the has proven to be an incredible camera for my rides, fitting squarely into the ‘fun and conventient’ category.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/21/non-bike-bike-gear-tested-hoverair-x1-is-the-cyclists-drone-ive-been-looking-for/ Save to Pocket


LEVER WEEKLY: “A Frightening Tale Of Political Influence”

date: 2024-01-21, from: The Lever News

More breaking reporting on the unfolding Boeing debacle, and other news, from The Lever this week.

https://www.levernews.com/lever-weekly-a-frightening-tale-of-political-influence/ Save to Pocket


Classic children’s book ‘The Little Prince’ now in CHamoru language

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

A classic children’s book, “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, has been translated into CHamoru by Pale’ Eric Forbes.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/classic-childrens-book-the-little-prince-now-in-chamoru-language/article_7e87c608-b5c1-11ee-889e-7b176ffb0fd8.html Save to Pocket


UOG students can now earn a degree in forensic chemistry

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

It’s a new year, which means a new degree for some student-chemists, as the University of Guam now offers a forensic chemistry track or concentration, the university announced in a press release.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/uog-students-can-now-earn-a-degree-in-forensic-chemistry/article_bfb4dc96-b5c7-11ee-86ab-eb31f7a5fd86.html Save to Pocket


Clock ticking for effort to abolish the Sinajana vice mayor position

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

The clock is ticking for lawmakers to pass a measure that would eliminate the office of the Sinajana vice mayor, if they wish to avoid spending money on a special election and any issues that might arise from having to…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/clock-ticking-for-effort-to-abolish-the-sinajana-vice-mayor-position/article_ef9ea226-b5e4-11ee-b6df-bbe299b5a29b.html Save to Pocket


Finegayan students get cooler school

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

It appears that speaking up about the sweltering hot classrooms at Finegayan Elementary School has paid off, as the school’s children return to cooler classrooms on Monday.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/finegayan-students-get-cooler-school/article_97b4e792-b7f5-11ee-87be-c3a5b6eb7414.html Save to Pocket


AG dismisses concerns over pay hikes as ‘propaganda’

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

The fiscal year 2024 first-quarter staffing report released recently by the Office of the Attorney General was called into question on social media, as reflected pay increases received by some OAG staffers raised eyebrows, but, according to Attorney General Douglas…

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/ag-dismisses-concerns-over-pay-hikes-as-propaganda/article_5fc676c6-b71d-11ee-8598-8bc366ad46fb.html Save to Pocket


Woman charged with bicycle theft

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

A woman is behind bars accused of stealing a bicycle worth thousands of dollars.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/woman-charged-with-bicycle-theft/article_cabbfd80-b7fd-11ee-aee4-37aefee3057c.html Save to Pocket


Public Health officials to argue for OAG’s disqualification in corruption case

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

Department of Public Health and Social Services officials will be arguing on Monday, Jan. 22, to disqualify the Office of the Attorney General from prosecuting a corruption case.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/public-health-officials-to-argue-for-oags-disqualification-in-corruption-case/article_7d799e52-b662-11ee-8793-cf8556941c32.html Save to Pocket


Download the whole podcast.

date: 2024-01-21, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog

Download the whole podcast.

Feeling evil… Assume that there’s a podcast with a feed and you want to download all the episodes. Like a music show, for example.

First, get the feed, saving it as rss.xml because we’re going to need it in the next statement.

curl -o rss.xml https://musicforprogramming.net/rss.xml

Then, get every enclosure:

for f in $(perl -ne '/<enclosure url="(.*?)"/ && print "$1\n"' rss.xml); do
  curl --continue-at - --remote-name "$f"
done

The –continue-at - option should make it possible to resume downloads at a later stage. curl will skip all the bytes already downloaded, effectively skipping the download. That’s what I’m hoping for, in any case.

The –remote-name option saves the episode under its remote name. This is what most people would expect, I think.

You know how it goes, though: never parse HTML (or XML) using regular expressions. I’m doing it here and it is definitely a bad idea!

I’m also too lazy to install a real XML parser and doing the real thing, so it is what it is.

#Podcasts

https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-01-21-the-whole-podcast Save to Pocket


Brutally Cold Weather Reaching Deep Into Lower United States

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Arctic weather brought more misery to much of the U.S. on Saturday, especially for people unaccustomed to such bitter cold in places like Memphis, Tennessee, where residents were urged to boil water and some had no water at all after freezing temperatures broke water mains across the city. Temperatures weren’t expected to rise until after the weekend.

The bracing cold followed a week of storms blamed for at least 67 deaths around the U.S., many involving hypothermia or road accidents. 

At the Four Way Grill in Memphis, owner Patrice Bates Thompson said the water problems have closed their soul food kitchen for days.

“This is our staple, and this is what basically drives the force of my family financially,” Thompson told Fox-13 Memphis. “We depend on business, and we have been at home.”

So many pipes broke in Memphis that water pressure fell throughout the city. Concerned about possible contamination, Memphis Light, Gas & Water urged its more than 400,000 customers to boil water for drinking or teeth-brushing or use bottled supplies on Saturday while crews worked around the clock to make repairs.

“Our production and treatment of water is working well,” the utility said in an email. “We cannot give restoration estimates until all leaks are identified.”

The utility said more than 100 employees volunteered Saturday to identify breaks, and residents were urged to report leaks in the street, at homes and in unoccupied buildings.

Without water since Thursday morning, Pamela Wells was visited Saturday by a worker who asked whether they had a leak.

“My husband said, ‘How can we have a leak, if we don’t have any water?’” she said.

They had filled a bathtub with water to flush toilets with when they noticed the pressure dropping, Wells said. For everything else they were using a dwindling supply of bottled water until their street became passable on Saturday and friends brought in fresh supplies.

“It’s been a struggle,” she said, recalling how they lost water for a 10-day stretch in December 2022. “You don’t know how long it’ll be out.”

Meanwhile, the Memphis City Council opened seven bottled water distribution stations on Saturday, one in each council district. Two others were operating at fire stations. One had 300 cars lined up when it opened on Saturday, Shelby County Emergency Management Director Brenda Jones said in a telephone interview.

“You have people with absolutely no water, people with low water pressure, and you have the boil water advisory,” she said.

A huge swath of the U.S. was under wind chill advisories, from Montana into central Florida. It was particularly harsh in the Midwest. The wind made it feel like minus 16 degrees (minus 26 Celsius) in Iowa City on Saturday, and overnight wind chills hovered around zero in Oklahoma City, where David Overholser sought shelter at the non-profit Homeless Alliance.

“Being 63 and from Florida originally, I don’t like cold. I can’t handle it,” Overholser told The Oklahoman. “It’s been very, very rough and painful and I just, you know, try to hang on one day, one hour at a time … it’s definitely scary.”

Wind chills dipped to minus 20 Fahrenheit (minus 28 Celsius) early Saturday in Vermont, where the Stowe Mountain Resort urged hardy skiers to “bust out all the stuff you need to hang on the mountain safely, take frequent warm up breaks inside, and keep a close eye on each other for signs of frostbite.”

Ravens fans unaccustomed to such cold in Baltimore bundled up for wind chills near zero (minus 17 Celsius) for Saturday’s playoff against the Houston Texans, but the weekend weather was business as usual in Buffalo, where the Bills called out for more shovelers to finish clearing snow from the stands before Sunday’s big game. Highmark Stadium got smothered by five feet of lake-effect snow in five days. 

Snow tapered in the Northeast after blanketing a large area including Washington and New York City. In New York, aid groups distributed food and clothes near an elementary school Saturday to migrants who bundled up in thick coats and knit caps to ward off the freezing temperatures. 

More snow was coming to West Virginia, where the weather service predicted up to 4 more inches (10 centimeters) Saturday, along with winds gusting to 40 mph (64 kph), driving wind chills down to 20 below zero (minus 29 Celsius).

More lake-effect snow pounded northwestern Indiana Friday into Saturday, creating near white-out conditions near Lake Michigan and making the busy highway corridor in and out of Chicago treacherous. 

“We’re kind of taking a chance — rolling the dice,” Frank Finney told WBBM-TV. Finney and his family were navigating Interstate 94 through Michigan City to La Porte, Indiana.

Tennessee alone recorded 26 deaths, including a 25-year-old man found dead on the floor of a mobile home in Lewisburg after a space heater overturned and turned off, said Bob Johnson, chief deputy for the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.

“There was ice on the walls in there,” Johnson said.

On the West Coast, more freezing rain was forecast Saturday in the Columbia River Gorge and the area was expected to remain near or below freezing through at least Sunday night. Trees and power lines already coated with ice could topple if they get more, the National Weather Service warned.

“Stay safe out there over the next several days as our region tries to thaw out,” the weather service said. “Chunks of falling ice will remain a hazard as well.”

Thousands have been without power since last weekend in parts of Oregon’s Willamette Valley because of storm damage. Despite work by repair crews, about 25,000 customers were without electricity in Oregon on Saturday, according to the website poweroutage.us.

The weather service forecast above-average temperatures across most of the country next week. Meanwhile, not everyone hated the white stuff. 

“It’s fun right now,” Michigan City resident Andrew Smith told WBBM-TV. “We haven’t had this much snow in a minute, and Christmas wasn’t snowy, so it’s fun to do this. I can play with the kids, make snowballs, make a snowman.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/brutally-cold-weather-reaching-deep-into-lower-united-states/7448857.html Save to Pocket


An EGOT for Elton

date: 2024-01-21, from: Dan Rather’s Steady

A Reason To Smile

https://steady.substack.com/p/an-egot-for-elton Save to Pocket


CSU Strike Begins After Talks Between Admin, Faculty Break Down

date: 2024-01-21, updated: 2024-01-22, from: The LAist

The hundreds of thousands of students across 23 campuses won’t have classes.

https://laist.com/news/education/cal-state-faculty-cfa-systemwide-strike Save to Pocket


date: 2024-01-21, updated: 2024-01-21, from: The LAist

Some patrons maintain that The Abbey in West Hollywood is the site of the most disorienting experience of their lives.

https://laist.com/news/a-night-they-cant-remember-at-one-of-the-countrys-most-popular-lgbtq-bars Save to Pocket


The Itzy Bitzy Coffee Shop In El Sereno: Tiny In Size, Mighty In Vibes

date: 2024-01-21, updated: 2024-01-21, from: The LAist

“It’s 8 square feet by 8 square feet,” the owner of the new lil’East Coffee said. It’s standing room only for patrons.

https://laist.com/news/food/the-itzy-bitzy-coffee-shop-in-el-sereno-tiny-in-size-mighty-in-vibes Save to Pocket


Bill casts spotlight on short-term rentals

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The Big Island&#8217;s vacation rental industry could be in for a shakeup this year under a series of new bills to be discussed over the next several months.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/hawaii-news/bill-casts-spotlight-on-short-term-rentals/ Save to Pocket


911 calls from Maui capture pleas for the stranded, the missing and those caught in the fire’s chaos

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The day after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century destroyed a seaside community on Maui, the barrage of 911 calls didn&#8217;t stop: Reports of missing people, stranded family members and confused tourists trapped without food or water lit up the emergency lines every few minutes, interspersed with reports of new fires starting and older ones flaring back up.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/hawaii-news/911-calls-from-maui-capture-pleas-for-the-stranded-the-missing-and-those-caught-in-the-fires-chaos/ Save to Pocket


‘The Wall That Heals’ opens this week

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A weeklong commemoration of the U.S. soldiers who died in the Vietnam War will begin Monday in Hilo.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/hawaii-news/the-wall-that-heals-opens-this-week/ Save to Pocket


‘Enforcement action’ conducted: Camps of homeless and others cleared by county, state

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Hawaii County and the state combined forces Thursday and Friday for a sweep of a homeless encampment at Russell Carroll Mo&#8216;oheau County Park in downtown Hilo.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/hawaii-news/enforcement-action-conducted-camps-of-homeless-and-others-cleared-by-county-state/ Save to Pocket


Brutally cold weather reaching deep into lower United States

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>MEMPHIS, Tenn. &#8212; Arctic weather brought more misery to much of the U.S. on Saturday, especially for people unaccustomed to such bitter cold in places like Memphis, Tennessee, where residents were urged to boil water and some had no water at all after freezing temperatures broke water mains across the city. Temperatures weren&#8217;t expected to rise until after the weekend.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/nation-world-news/brutally-cold-weather-reaching-deep-into-lower-united-states/ Save to Pocket


Bill seeks to ban bike tour groups on certain roads

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Certain North Kohala roads could become off-limits for bicycle tours under a bill intended to improve road safety in the district.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/hawaii-news/bill-seeks-to-ban-bike-tour-groups-on-certain-roads/ Save to Pocket


Israel’s Netanyahu rejects any Palestinian sovereignty in post-war Gaza, rebuffing Biden

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>JERUSALEM &#8212; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that he &#8220;will not compromise on full Israeli control&#8221; over Gaza and that &#8220;this is contrary to a Palestinian state,&#8221; rejecting U.S. President Joe Biden&#8217;s suggestion that creative solutions could bridge wide gaps between the leaders&#8217; views on Palestinian statehood.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/nation-world-news/israels-netanyahu-rejects-any-palestinian-sovereignty-in-post-war-gaza-rebuffing-biden/ Save to Pocket


Judge orders release of ‘Newburgh Four’ defendant and blasts FBI’s role in terror sting

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>A man convicted in a post-9/11 terrorism sting was ordered freed from prison by a judge who criticized the FBI for relying on an &#8220;unsavory&#8221; confidential informant for an agency-invented conspiracy to blow up New York synagogues and shoot down National Guard planes.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/nation-world-news/judge-orders-release-of-newburgh-four-defendant-and-blasts-fbis-role-in-terror-sting/ Save to Pocket


Cats and the great outdoors are a deadly combination

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Do you know where your cats are? If they&#8217;re lounging on their cat tree, batting a toy around the living room or curled up on your lap, great! If they&#8217;re wandering outside, please find them and bring them inside &#8212; before someone gets killed.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/opinion/cats-and-the-great-outdoors-are-a-deadly-combination/ Save to Pocket


Election-year politics threaten Senate border deal as Trump and his allies rally opposition

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; A politically treacherous dynamic is taking hold as negotiators in Congress work to strike a bipartisan deal on the border and immigration, with vocal opposition from the hard right and former President Donald Trump threatening to topple the carefully negotiated compromise.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/nation-world-news/election-year-politics-threaten-senate-border-deal-as-trump-and-his-allies-rally-opposition/ Save to Pocket


Obituaries for January 21

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Paula Thomas Anderson, 79, of Kailua-Kona died Jan. 18 in Kealakekua. Born in Shafter, Calif., she was an administrator for the San Mateo Community College District. Services held. Online condolences: ballardfamilymortuaries.com. Survived by nieces, Sara (Scott) Pierce of Johnstown, Colo., and Kelley Hackett of Avery, Calif.; nephew, Kirt (Claire) Hackett of Ben Lomond, Calif.; grandnieces and grandnephews. Arrangements by Ballard Family Mortuary.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/obituaries/obituaries-for-january-21-9/ Save to Pocket


GOP Speaker Mike Johnson has a House majority in name only. He’s left with daunting choices ahead

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>WASHINGTON &#8212; New Speaker Mike Johnson finds himself leading House Republicans with a majority in name only.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/nation-world-news/gop-speaker-mike-johnson-has-a-house-majority-in-name-only-hes-left-with-daunting-choices-ahead/ Save to Pocket


Your Views for January 21

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Questions regarding&#0010;lack of animal services</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/opinion/your-views-for-january-21-7/ Save to Pocket


Irwin: Everything old is new again

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Two weeks ago we welcomed a new group of students to the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Even though we do not have as many students starting at the campus in spring, we still do what we can to make them welcome, and we have been adding more programming for these mid-year admits every year.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/opinion/irwin-everything-old-is-new-again/ Save to Pocket


Volcano Watch: Upgrades below the surface

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>Technicians at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are constantly engineering, building, deploying, maintaining, troubleshooting, or upgrading equipment and instruments that we use to monitor Hawaii&#8217;s active volcanoes. This week&#8217;s &#8220;Volcano Watch&#8221; article focuses on the installation process of newly upgraded seismometers that are used to detect and locate earthquakes.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/community/volcano-watch-upgrades-below-the-surface/ Save to Pocket


Hilo and Waiakea soccer teams split doubleheader

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p><strong>GIRLS: Waiakea 3 - Hilo 1</strong></p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/sports/hilo-and-waiakea-soccer-teams-split-doubleheader/ Save to Pocket


BIIF hoops: HPA, Waiakea teams sweep opponents

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p><strong>BOYS: KS-HAWAI&#8216;I 57 - &#0010;ST. JOSEPH SCHOOL 23</strong></p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/sports/biif-hoops-hpa-waiakea-teams-sweep-opponents/ Save to Pocket


Christian McCaffrey’s 2nd TD rallies the 49ers to 24-21 playoff win over Jordan Love and the Packers

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>SANTA CLARA, Calif. &#8212; Brock Purdy&#8217;s throws were off-target all night. The San Francisco defense kept giving up big plays. There were even a couple of special teams blunders.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/sports/christian-mccaffreys-2nd-td-rallies-the-49ers-to-24-21-playoff-win-over-jordan-love-and-the-packers/ Save to Pocket


Lamar Jackson and Ravens pull away in the second half to beat Texans 34-10 and reach AFC title game

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>BALTIMORE &#8212; Lamar Jackson had already done plenty of running by the time he reached the end zone in the fourth quarter.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/sports/lamar-jackson-and-ravens-pull-away-in-the-second-half-to-beat-texans-34-10-and-reach-afc-title-game/ Save to Pocket


Carissa Moore announces new chapter away from competitive surfing

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>BANZAI PIPELINE, Oahu &#8212; Five-time World Champion Carissa Moore announced Friday that she will be stepping away from competitive surfing to start a new chapter in her life and career.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/sports/carissa-moore-announces-new-chapter-away-from-competitive-surfing/ Save to Pocket


Surf Soccer wins in Vegas

date: 2024-01-21, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold

            <p>The Hawaii Surf Soccer Club 10G from the Big Island competed in a 16 team division against competition from around the nation during the at the Vegas Cup 2024 over the Martin Luther King weekend in Las Vegas, Nev.</p>
        

https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/01/21/sports/surf-soccer-wins-in-vegas/ Save to Pocket


Sunday caption contest: this way!

date: 2024-01-21, from: Robert Reich on Substack

And last week’s winner

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/sunday-caption-contest-this-way Save to Pocket


Ricky Brabec Claims Victory As the Dakar 2024 Champion

date: 2024-01-21, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News

Brabec’s done it again. The American Honda rider gets his second championship after his 2020 win.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/705451/ricky-brabec-dakar-2024-champion/ Save to Pocket


Today in SCV History (Jan. 21)

date: 2024-01-21, from: SCV New (TV Station)

1914 – Signal newspaper owner-editor Scott Newhall born in San Francisco. [story

https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-12/ Save to Pocket


Experiment Shows Pig Livers Might One Day Be Transplanted to Humans

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/experiment-show-pigs-livers-might-one-day-be-transplanted-to-humans-/7446512.html Save to Pocket


What Would Happen in US Election if Trump or Biden Dropped Out?

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/what-would-happen-in-us-election-if-trump-or-biden-dropped-out-/7444855.html Save to Pocket


What Happens if Biden or Trump Drops Out Before Election Day?

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump seem on track for a rematch in November’s presidential election. But questions about Trump’s legal difficulties and both candidates’ ages lurk in the background. White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara looks at what could happen should one of them be forced to drop out.

https://www.voanews.com/a/what-happens-if-biden-or-trump-drops-out-before-election-day-/7444970.html Save to Pocket


Florida woman uses electric bike to hunt 15-foot snakes in the Everglades

date: 2024-01-21, from: Electrek Feed

Electric bikes have long been popular for hunters due to their ability to reach hard-to-access areas quickly and quietly. But now we’re seeing a rather unique use of e-bikes as a hunting tool: to help take down invasive pythons in the Everglades.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/20/florida-woman-uses-electric-bike-to-hunt-15-foot-snakes-in-the-everglades/ Save to Pocket


Coast360 Federal Credit Union opens new Upper Tumon branch

date: 2024-01-21, from: Guam Daily Post

Banking for Coast360 members has become more convenient with the institution’s new Upper Tumon member center now open, the federal credit union announced in a press release.

https://www.postguam.com/news/local/coast360-federal-credit-union-opens-new-upper-tumon-branch/article_a282a1b2-b7e8-11ee-908f-b3075d361e48.html Save to Pocket


January 20, 2024

date: 2024-01-21, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog

Last night at a rally in New Hampshire, former president Trump repeatedly confused former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is running against him for the Republican presidential nomination, with Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the former speaker of the House.

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-20-2024 Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

His grandpa was a Nazi.

https://bastianallgeier.com/notes/grandpa Save to Pocket


Bull Mancuso comics bonus!

date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News

Let’s do another Bull Mancuso comic strip! In this version Ms Mancuso is a professor at Harvard Law School, teaching a class on contract law. She’s a former Supreme Court clerk and has been considered for a high court appointment herself. She drinks Starbuck’s, which she gets from a store on Mass Ave in Cambridge, just across from the Law School campus. Her students all have tremendous respect for her. Just a few panels of her giving an informative caffeine-enhanced lecture.

I was given two comic strips to choose from, and I went with the first, because it’s closest to what I was thinking of! It looks like a Harvard Law School classroom.

#1

#2

http://scripting.com/2024/01/20/034108.html?title=bullMancusoComicsBonus Save to Pocket


Quick Charge Podcast: January 20, 2024

date: 2024-01-21, from: Electrek Feed

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple PodcastsSpotifyTuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

more…

https://electrek.co/2024/01/20/quick-charge-podcast-january-20-2024/ Save to Pocket


US, China Officials Conclude Meeting on Financial Issues

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

BANGKOK — U.S. and Chinese officials have completed the third meeting of a working group established to cooperate on financial issues, in a step that continues the trend set by the two powers last November to ease tensions. 

Officials from the U.S. Treasury Department met with counterparts in the People’s Bank of China to discuss issues ranging from financial stability to countering money laundering. The delegation also met with Vice Premier He Lifeng while they were in China, according to a statement Friday from the Treasury Department. 

The group also indicated that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would return to China for a visit at some point in the future. She was previously there in July. 

In November, Yellen met with He in San Francisco. Their two-day meeting was seen as paving the way for the later meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping. 

The two sides had agreed to resume cooperation on issues such as curbing fentanyl’s spread, as well as military-to-military communication. While the meeting kept the relationship from getting any worse, it failed to resolve any of the major differences between the two countries. 

There have been longstanding economic issues between China and the U.S. ever since former U.S. President Donald Trump launched a trade war, setting high taxes on a number of Chinese goods.

https://www.voanews.com/a/us-china-officials-conclude-meeting-on-financial-issues/7448775.html Save to Pocket


North Korea Stresses Alignment With Russia Against US

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea said Sunday it has agreed to further strategic and tactical cooperation with Russia to establish a “new multi-polarized international order,” as the two countries work to build a united front in the face of their separate, intensifying tensions with the United States.

In describing North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov in Moscow last week, the North’s Foreign Ministry said Putin also reaffirmed his willingness to visit Pyongyang and said that could come at an “early date.”

North Korea has been actively strengthening its ties with Russia, highlighted by leader Kim Jong Un’s September visit to Russia for a summit with Putin. Kim is trying to break out of diplomatic isolation and strengthen his footing as he navigates a deepening nuclear standoff with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

In a separate statement on Sunday, the North’s Foreign Ministry condemned the U.N. Security Council for calling an emergency meeting over the country’s latest ballistic test, which state media described as a new intermediate-range solid-fuel missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead. The ministry said the test-firing on January 14 was among the country’s regular activities to improve its defense capabilities and that it didn’t pose a threat to its neighbors.

South Korea on Thursday urged the Security Council “to break the silence” over North Korea’s escalating missile tests and threats. Russia and China, both permanent members of the council, have blocked U.S.-led efforts to increase sanctions on North Korea over its recent weapons tests, underscoring a divide deepened over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow has raised international concerns about alleged arms cooperation, in which the North provides Russia with munitions to help prolong its fighting in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for badly needed economic aid and military assistance to help upgrade Kim’s forces. Both Pyongyang and Russia have denied accusations by Washington and Seoul about North Korean arms transfers to Russia.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, in comments published by state media, said Choe and the Russian officials in their meetings expressed a “strong will to further strengthen strategic and tactical cooperation in defending the core interests of the two countries and establishing a new multi-polarized international order.”

Russia expressed “deep thanks” to North Korea for its “full support” over its war on Ukraine, the North Korean ministry said. It said Choe and the Russian officials expressed “serious concern” over the United States’ expanding military cooperation with its Asian allies that they blamed for worsening tensions in the region and threatening North Korea’s sovereignty and security interests.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, after Kim in recent months used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a distraction to ramp up his weapons tests and military demonstrations. The United States, South Korea and Japan have responded by strengthening their combined military exercises, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, and sharpening their deterrence plans built around nuclear-capable U.S. assets.

In the latest tit-for-tat, North Korea on Friday said it conducted a test of a purported nuclear-capable underwater attack drone in response to a combined naval exercise by the United States, South Korea and Japan last week, as it continued to blame its rivals for tensions in the region.

Choe’s visit to Moscow came as Kim continues to use domestic political events to issue provocative threats of nuclear conflict.

At Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament last week, Kim declared that North Korea is abandoning its long-standing goal of a peaceful unification with war-divided rival South Korea and ordered the rewriting of the North’s constitution to cement the South as its most hostile foreign adversary. He accused South Korea of acting as “top-class stooges” of the Americans and repeated a threat that he would use his nukes to annihilate the South if provoked.

Analysts say North Korea could be aiming to diminish South Korea’s voice in the regional nuclear standoff and eventually force direct dealings with Washington as it looks to cement its status as a nuclear weapons state.

https://www.voanews.com/a/north-korea-foreign-minister-ready-to-greet-putin-/7448774.html Save to Pocket


Election-Year Politics Threaten Border Deal as Trump, Allies Rally Opposition

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

washington — A politically treacherous dynamic is taking hold as negotiators in the U.S. Congress work to strike a bipartisan deal on the border and immigration with vocal opposition from the hard right and former U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to topple the carefully negotiated compromise.

Senators are closing in on the details of an agreement on border measures that could unlock Republican support for Ukraine aid. Though they hope to unveil it as soon as next week, the deal is already wobbling, as House Speaker Mike Johnson faces intense pressure from Trump and his House allies to demand more sweeping concessions from Democrats and the White House.

“I do not think we should do a Border Deal, at all, unless we get EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION of Millions & Millions of people,” Trump posted on social media this week.

It’s a familiar political dynamic, one that has repeatedly thwarted attempts to reform U.S. immigration law, including in 2013 when House Republicans sought to pin illegal immigration on a Democratic president and in 2018 when Trump helped sink another bipartisan effort. The path for legislation this time around is further clouded by an election year in which Trump has once again made railing against illegal immigration a central focus of his campaign.

Even though the terms of the policy negotiations have shifted significantly in the Republicans’ direction, skepticism is running high among conservatives, creating a precarious moment that could determine not only the contours of U.S. immigration and border law for years, but the future of Ukraine as it faces dwindling U.S. supplies in its fight against Russia.

U.S. President Joe Biden is pressing lawmakers to say “yes.” During a White House meeting this week with congressional leaders that was meant to underscore how desperately Ukraine needs funding, the president said he was ready for a “big deal on the border.”

The president has reason to want an agreement. The historic number of migrants who have come to the U.S. border with Mexico during Biden’s term is seen as one of the largest political vulnerabilities in his re-election campaign.

During Iowa’s Republican caucuses last week, which Trump won, immigration was a top issue. An AP VoteCast survey found about 9 in 10 caucus-goers backed building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, with about 7 in 10 expressing strong support for the idea.

As asylum seekers have made their way across the country, often by the busloads to Democratic-leaning cities as part of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s program, they have strained the resources and political tolerance of areas that will be vital to Biden’s re-election chances.

“It’s gotten to the point where, in a way, everybody’s back is against the wall,” said Senator Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat. “I’m not talking about politically, I mean, substantively, these are challenges that the country can’t ignore.”

Bennet was joined at the Capitol on Thursday by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, a Democrat who told reporters that the recent influx of migrants has caused “a humanitarian crisis and a fiscal crisis unlike anything we’ve seen in the last 25 years.”

Democrats in Congress are split on the merits of the Senate package. Progressive and Hispanic lawmakers decry changes that would toughen the process for claiming asylum in the United States. Still, many Democrats say that Johnson’s resistance to bipartisan compromise shows that Republicans aren’t serious about solving the problems at the border.

“They basically want to make sure that the situation is as chaotic as possible so that they can win elections in November,” said Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat. “That is their strategy. It’s not a sincere attempt to do something about what’s going on at the border.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, has been strongly making the case for the deal. He’s told fellow Republicans that the border package, which he insisted be paired with Biden’s $110 billion request for war aid for Ukraine, Israel and other national security priorities, is a rare opportunity to get stronger policies through Congress.

The proposal crafted by the Senate would toughen the asylum process with a goal of cutting the number of migrants who come to the southern border to make an asylum claim.

Negotiators have worked on some policies intended to aid immigrants. The plan could include a pathway to citizenship for Afghans who came during the U.S. withdrawal from their country, along with work permits for migrants who enter the asylum system, according to two people familiar with the talks who were granted anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.

But the package will mostly leave out broad immigration changes — such as protections for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally as children — that have been foundational in previous Senate bills.

“It will be by far the most conservative border security bill in four decades,” said Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, the lead Republican negotiator.

Lankford and other Senate Republicans have urged their House colleagues to remain open-minded. They argue that the changes would actually pave the way for Trump to implement his border agenda if he wins the election. Lankford has also said that the legislation would not dramatically reduce the number of migrants at the border for months — a tacit signal that border security could remain a top issue through the election.

Still, Johnson has argued that a hardline House bill, H.R. 2 which passed the chamber in May without a single Democratic vote, is the solution to America’s border woes. It would create a sweeping system intended to bottle up illegal immigration.

Johnson also has made clear that he has been speaking regularly with Trump.

“We’re not playing politics with this,” Johnson said this week. “We’re demanding real, transformative policy change.” 

Even beyond Trump, Johnson is dealing with far-right House members who are furious over his willingness to work with Democrats to pass legislation. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a close Trump ally, has threatened to trigger a motion to oust Johnson if he brings a border bill with Ukraine aid to the House floor.

Greene this week said Trump is backing the House conservatives’ plan because “it brings back all of his strong border policies.” In December, she said that passing bipartisan border legislation would only give Biden an opportunity to tout the legislation on the campaign trail.

“I’ve been telling everyone that President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party,” Greene said. “That decisive victory in Iowa should be the shot across the bow to every single Republican that’s elected.”

Despite the pressure, Johnson signaled some support for the legislative push after a meeting this week at the White House, calling the talks “productive.” But what he does next remains to be seen.

https://www.voanews.com/a/election-year-politics-threaten-senate-border-deal-as-trump-and-his-allies-rally-opposition/7448761.html Save to Pocket


Judge Orders Release of Last ‘Newburgh Four’ Defendant

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

https://www.voanews.com/a/judge-orders-release-of-last-newburgh-four-defendant/7448759.html Save to Pocket


Trump Becomes Indignant in Deposition Video of Civil Fraud Lawsuit

date: 2024-01-21, from: VOA News USA

NEW YORK — Months before Donald Trump’s defiant turn as a witness at his New York civil fraud trial, the former president came face-to-face with the state attorney general who is suing him when he sat for a deposition last year at her Manhattan office.

Video made public Friday of the seven-hour, closed-door session last April shows the Republican presidential front runner’s demeanor going from calm and cool to indignant — at one point ripping Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit against him as a “disgrace” and “a terrible thing.”

Sitting with arms folded, an incredulous Trump complained to the state lawyer questioning him that he was being forced to “justify myself to you” after decades of success building a real estate empire that’s now threatened by the court case.

Trump, who contends James’ lawsuit is part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” was demonstrative from the outset. The video shows him smirking and pouting as the attorney general, a Democrat, introduced herself and told him that she was “committed to a fair and impartial legal process.”

James’ office released the video Friday in response to requests from media outlets under New York’s Freedom of Information Law. Trump’s lawyers previously posted a transcript of his remarks to the trial docket in August.

James’ lawsuit accuses Trump, his company and top executives of defrauding banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth and exaggerating the value of assets on annual financial statements used to secure loans and make deals.

Judge Arthur Engoron, who will decide the case because a jury is not allowed in this type of lawsuit, has said he hopes to have a ruling by the end of January.

Friday’s video is a rare chance for the public at large to see Trump as a witness.

Cameras were not permitted in the courtroom when Trump testified on November 6, nor were they allowed for closing arguments in the case on January 11, where Trump defied the judge and gave a six-minute diatribe after his lawyers spoke.

Here are the highlights from Trump’s videotaped deposition:

‘You don’t have a case’

Telling James and her staff, “you don’t have a case,” Trump insisted the banks she alleges were snookered with lofty valuations suffered no harm, got paid in his deals, and “to this day have no complaints.”

“Do you know the banks made a lot of money?” Trump asked, previewing his later trial testimony. “Do you know I don’t believe I ever got even a default notice and, even during COVID, the banks were all paid. And yet you’re suing on behalf of banks, I guess. It’s crazy. The whole case is crazy.”

Banks “want to do business with me because I’m rich,” Trump told James. “But you know what, they’re petrified to do business because of you.”

Trump complained New York authorities “spend all their time investigating me, instead of stopping violent crime in the streets.”

He said they’d put his recently jailed ex-finance chief Allen Weisselberg “through hell and back” for dodging taxes on company-paid perks.

At a previous deposition in the case, in August 2022, Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions more than 400 times. He said he did so because he was certain his answers would be used as a basis for criminal charges.

Don’t take my word for it

Trump said he never felt his financial statements “would be taken very seriously,” and that people who did business with him were given ample warning not to trust them.

Trump described the statements as “a fairly good compilation of properties” rather than a true representation of their value. Some numbers, he noted, were “guesstimates.”

Trump claimed the statements were mainly for his use, though he conceded financial institutions sometimes asked for them. Even then, he insisted it didn’t matter legally if they were accurate or not, because they came with a disclaimer.

“I have a clause in there that says, ’Don’t believe the statement. Go out and do your own work,” Trump testified. “You’re supposed to pay no credence to what we say whatsoever.”

What’s in a name? $10 billion

Trump estimated that his “brand” alone is worth “maybe $10 billion.”

He called it “the most valuable asset I have” and attributed his political success to the ubiquity of his name and persona.

“I became president because of the brand, OK,” Trump said. “I became president. I think it’s the hottest brand in the world.”

‘Most important job in the world’

After Trump was elected, he put the Trump Organization into a trust overseen by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and longtime finance chief, Weisselberg.

Trump claimed he did so not because it was required but because he wanted to be a “legitimate president” and avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

Plus, Trump said, he was busy solving the world’s problems — like preventing North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un from launching a nuclear attack.

“I considered this the most important job in the world, saving millions of lives,” Trump testified. “I think you would have nuclear holocaust if I didn’t deal with North Korea. I think you would have a nuclear war, if I weren’t elected. And I think you might have a nuclear war now, if you want to know the truth.”

Obstructed view

In one of his more animated moments, Trump urged his inquisitors to look right out the window for a view of his 40 Wall Street office tower — just across the street from James’ office where he testified.

Asked how the building was doing, financially, Trump gestured toward the building with his thumb and answered: “Good. It’s right here. Would you like to see it?”

“I don’t think we’re allowed to open the windows,” state lawyer Kevin Wallace said.

“Open the curtain,” Trump suggested, bobbing his head around waiting for someone to oblige.

“No,” Wallace said.

“Open the curtain, go ahead,” Trump said. “It’s right here. I just looked out the window.”

“Can’t open it?” defense lawyer Clifford Robert asked, after a beat.

“I wouldn’t,” Wallace said.

‘Beautiful’ and ’incredible’

Trump showed off his knack for superlatives, uttering the words “beautiful” and “incredible” 15 times each and “phenomenal” six times as he described his properties.

Trump called his Turnberry, Scotland, golf course “one of the most iconic places in the world,” and the renovated villas at his Doral golf resort near Miami “the most beautiful rooms you’ve ever seen.”

Trump described his 213-acre Seven Springs estate north of New York City as “the greatest house in New York State.”

His golf courses in Aberdeen, Scotland? “Really incredible.” Jupiter, Florida? “An incredible facility.” Just outside Los Angeles? “An incredible property … an unbelievable property … a phenomenal property that fronts on the ocean.”

“I don’t want to sell any of them,” Trump testified. “But if I ever sold them — if I ever put some of these things up for sale — I would get numbers that were staggering.”

He said he could get $1.5 billion for his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and maybe $2.5 billion for Doral.

Trump suggested he could get “a fortune” from the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV golf league for the Turnberry course, a former British Open site.

“There would be people that would do anything to own Doral. There are people that would do anything to own Turnberry or Mar-a-Lago or … Trump Tower or 40 Wall Street,” he added.

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-becomes-indignant-in-deposition-video-of-civil-fraud-lawsuit-/7448757.html Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

OpenAI launches university partnership with Arizona State, allowing use of ChatGPT.

https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2024/01/18/openai-asu-university-partnership-school-arizona-chatgpt Save to Pocket


@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-01-21, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)

Why Sports Illustrated failed.

https://jabberwocking.com/why-sports-illustrated-failed/ Save to Pocket


Good News for Unincorporated Areas

date: 2024-01-21, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News

I am writing to express my enthusiastic support for Supervisor Nelson’s proposal to establish community services districts in unincorporated areas, including Los Alamos.

The post Good News for Unincorporated Areas appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

https://www.independent.com/2024/01/20/good-news-for-unincorporated-areas/ Save to Pocket


Full Circle Weekly News 349

date: 2024-01-21, from: Full Circle Magazine

-The GodotOS project toy:

Credits

https://fullcirclemagazine.org/podcasts/podcast-349/ Save to Pocket