News gathered 2024-02-15
(date: 2024-02-15 09:56:49)
Enhanced attention-related alertness following right anterior insular cortex neurofeedback training
date: 2024-02-16, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Popovova, Jeanette; Mazloum, Reza; Macauda, Gianluca; Stämpfli, Philipp; Vuilleumier, Patrik; Frühholz, Sascha; Scharnowski, Frank; Menon, Vinod; Michels, Lars
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/657634 Save to Pocket
Antioch appoints first civilian police oversight commission
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
New volunteer board’s role will be largely advisory, making recommendations on policies, encouraging open communications between police and residents.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/antioch-appoints-first-civilian-police-oversight-commission/ Save to Pocket
2.24.24: Plunge for a Purpose With the Starfish Connection
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
A Community Cold Plunge at Leadbetter Beach in Support of People Plunging Through Life’s Most Difficult Moments
The post 2.24.24: Plunge for a Purpose With the Starfish Connection appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/15/2-24-24-plunge-for-a-purpose-with-the-starfish-connection/ Save to Pocket
Health incident leads to fatal one-car wreck on Highway 24
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The wreck happened about 6:55 p.m.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/health-incident-leads-to-fatal-one-car-wreck-on-highway-24/ Save to Pocket
Why SF Giants decided to end Reggie Crawford’s two-way path
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Francisco’s 2022 first-round pick explains why he is (mostly) putting down the bat to focus on what he can do with his left arm.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/why-sf-giants-decided-to-end-reggie-crawfords-two-way-path/ Save to Pocket
The hottest new programming language is English! Or maybe not.
date: 2024-02-15, from: Gary Marcus blog
Programming in English might not be all its cracked up to be.
https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/the-hottest-new-programming-language Save to Pocket
Broadcom moves to reassure VMware users as rivals smell an opportunity
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
‘They want a closed shop,’ claims service provider
Broadcom and Google have announced a license portability scheme for biz customers to run VMware workloads on Google Cloud. Broadcom is also trying to reassure VMware partners and users that all the changes are for the best, as rivals circle to scoop up any defectors.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/broadcom_moves_to_reassure_vmware/ Save to Pocket
Local Hero, Merlot Division
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Paul Giamatti, of Santa Ynez Valley-based ‘Sideways’ fame, gets his SBIFF spotlight, and screenings go deep diving, and into an Australian psychological walkabout
The post Local Hero, Merlot Division appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/15/local-hero-merlot-division/ Save to Pocket
Parisian police were going to close the bouquinistes (booksellers) along the Seine…
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043983-parisian-police-were-goin Save to Pocket
A Journey Through the Silver Screen
date: 2024-02-15, from: City of Santa Clarita
A Journey Through the Silver Screen By Mayor Cameron Smyth Dating back to the early 20th century, Santa Clarita has stood as a favored filming destination with silent movie productions seeking the region’s scenic backdrop for their films. The vast expanses of rugged mountains, sprawling ranches and iconic canyons provided filmmakers with a versatile canvas […]
The post A Journey Through the Silver Screen appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/02/15/a-journey-through-the-silver-screen/ Save to Pocket
Jennifer Lopez to support new album with long-awaited concert tour
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Here’s how to get tickets to see Jennifer Lopez in concert at Chase Center in San Francisco, Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/jennifer-lopez-to-support-new-album-with-long-awaited-concert-tour/ Save to Pocket
Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz raise $4.7 billion to build 4 new gigafactories
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
In a huge push to give European automakers a fighting chance over China in the EV sector, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz have raised nearly €4.4 billion to build four new EV gigafactories across the European Union in the coming years.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/stellantis-and-mercedes-benz-raise-4-7-billion-to-build-4-new-gigafactories/ Save to Pocket
Rivian R2: Here’s A Shadowy First Look
date: 2024-02-15, from: Inside EVs News
Surprise! It looks like a Rivian.
https://insideevs.com/news/708836/rivian-r2-teaser-released/ Save to Pocket
Creating a GPT Assistant That Writes Pipeline Tests
date: 2024-02-15, from: Jonudell blog
Here’s the latest installment in the series on working with LLMS: Creating a GPT Assistant That Writes Pipeline Tests. Once you get the hang of writing these tests, it’s mostly boilerplate, so I figured my team of assistants could help. I recruited Cody, GitHub Copilot, and Unblocked — with varying degrees of success. Then I … Continue reading Creating a GPT Assistant That Writes Pipeline Tests
https://blog.jonudell.net/2024/02/15/creating-a-gpt-assistant-that-writes-pipeline-tests/ Save to Pocket
Rivian teases first look at R2 as reservation site goes live, deposits start at $100
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
Rivian is giving us our first look at the more affordable R2 EV. The Rivian R2 will be officially revealed in three weeks. Ahead of its debut, Rivian opened the R2 website, sharing reservations will start at $100.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/rivian-teases-first-look-r2-deposits-start-100/ Save to Pocket
LEVER TIME: Amazon Is Afraid Of Its New Union Organizers
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Lever News
The Lever speaks with two organizers involved in unionizing one of Amazon’s biggest warehouses.
https://www.levernews.com/lever-time-amazon-is-afraid-of-its-new-union-organizers/ Save to Pocket
Intuitive Machines IM-1 heading for Moon on SpaceX rocket
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Taking Disaster Recovery as a Service to lunar extremes
NASA is taking another crack at a commercial mission to the Moon with the launch of the Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission this morning.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/intuitive_machines_im1_moon/ Save to Pocket
Oracle women fought 7 years for equity, only to win just an extra paycheck or two
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The discrimination case against Oracle was the first in the industry to win class-action status, a milestone never achieved in similar fights against Microsoft and Twitter — and which was taken away from the Oracle employees in 2022 by a California state judge.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/oracle-women-fought-7-years-for-equity-only-to-win-just-an-extra-paycheck-or-two/ Save to Pocket
Truck Explosion Critically Injures LA Firefighters, 2 Are In Critical Condition
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The LAist
Officials say at least seven firefighters were injured while responding to a truck fire in Wilmington.
https://laist.com/news/firefighters-hospitalized-after-truck-explosion-in-wilmington Save to Pocket
The 13 Worst Bike Lanes in the World. Includes examples of “paint…
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043981-the-13-worst-bike-lanes Save to Pocket
Slimbook Manjaro is a gaming laptop built for gaming
date: 2024-02-15, from: Liliputing
Linux hasn’t always been a great platform for PC gaming, but over the past few years it’s become a pretty viable alternative to Windows thanks to Valve’s Proton software, among other things. Not only does Proton allow Windows games to run on Linux handhelds like the Steam Deck, but the open source software can run […]
The post Slimbook Manjaro is a gaming laptop built for gaming appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/slimbook-manjaro-is-a-gaming-laptop-built-for-gaming/ Save to Pocket
University of Michigan Sells Recordings of Study Groups and Office Hours to Train AI
date: 2024-02-15, from: 404 Media Group
The data is being offered for tens of thousands of dollars to outside third-parties. It is unclear if the speakers provided informed consent.
https://www.404media.co/university-of-michigan-sells-recordings-of-study-groups-and-office-hours-to-train-ai/ Save to Pocket
This nonprofit is using virtual reality to train Ukrainian journalists to cover the war safely
date: 2024-02-15, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
Before February 2022, Halyna Yakushko was a lifestyle correspondent for a daily show at Ukrainian broadcaster 1+1. “I was doing reports about fashion, Eurovision, and celebrities. I had never been in a conflict zone before,” she says. Yakushko is now a freelancer working with regional, national and international broadcasters, including Radio Liberty, BBC Ukraine, and CBC. In early…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/this-nonprofit-is-using-virtual-reality-to-train-ukrainian-journalists-to-cover-the-war-safely/ Save to Pocket
Election Countdown, 264 Days to Go: Fuzzy Talk About ‘Fuzzy Memory’
date: 2024-02-15, from: James Fallows, Substack
There’s still a chance for the press to sharpen up. A good time to start would be now.
https://fallows.substack.com/p/election-countdown-264-days-to-go Save to Pocket
Great Apes Love to Tease, Poke and Pester, Suggesting the Urge to Annoy Is Millions of Years Old
date: 2024-02-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The desire to get a rise out of others is a 13-million-year-old trait humans and great apes share with a common ancestor, new research suggests
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/great-apes-love-to-tease-poke-and-pester-suggesting-the-urge-to-annoy-is-millions-of-years-old-180983791/ Save to Pocket
Worried about the impending demise of Windows 10? Google wants you to give ChromeOS Flex a try
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Hello, Mr. Frying Pan, meet Mr. Fire
Google has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Microsoft’s plans to render millions of Windows 10 PCs obsolete in 2025 by urging users to pop on a copy of ChromeOS Flex instead.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/worried_about_windows_10s_impending/ Save to Pocket
GM’s Super Cruise Now Works On 750,000 Miles Of Roads
date: 2024-02-15, from: Inside EVs News
The update nearly doubled the number of highway miles in North America where users can drive hands-free.
https://insideevs.com/news/708783/gm-super-cruise-update-2024/ Save to Pocket
Sacramento Looks to Ban New Gas Stations
date: 2024-02-15, from: Inside EVs News
Plus, Ford calls Chinese EVs a “colossal” threat and the U.S. issued $135 Million in EV tax credits so far in 2024.
https://insideevs.com/news/708798/sacramento-california-gas-critical-materials/ Save to Pocket
Unfolding the Mysteries of Polygonal Billiards
date: 2024-02-15, from: Quanta Magazine
The surprisingly subtle geometry of a familiar game shows how quickly math gets complicated.The post Unfolding the Mysteries of Polygonal Billiards first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-mysterious-math-of-billiards-tables-20240215/ Save to Pocket
Lenovo developed a concept laptop with a transparent display (leaks)
date: 2024-02-15, from: Liliputing
Companies have been showing off transparent OLED display technology for more than a decade. But 2024 might be the year when it finally breaks through to the mainstream. LG’s big-screen TV with a transparent display was one of the most buzzworthy products announced at CES this year. And now it looks like Lenovo plans to […]
The post Lenovo developed a concept laptop with a transparent display (leaks) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/lenovo-developed-a-concept-laptop-with-a-transparent-display-leaks/ Save to Pocket
Larry Magid: High school students debate tech issues
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Knowing how to understand all sides of an issue can help you be more effective and more civil
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/larry-magid-high-school-students-debate-tech-issues/ Save to Pocket
High school wrestling: Top storylines for NCS and CCS championships
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The top storylines going into this weekend’s CCS and NCS tournaments.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/high-school-wrestling-top-storylines-for-ncs-and-ccs-championships/ Save to Pocket
Kia EV9 Has Ample Room Inside And Decent Handling, Says Consumer Reports
date: 2024-02-15, from: Inside EVs News
CR’s early owner’s review of the electric three-row SUV also points out some annoying things.
https://insideevs.com/news/708727/kia-ev9-owner-review-consumer-reports-video/ Save to Pocket
I am a relative NYT crossword n00b, so I just found out…
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043979-i-am-a-relative-nyt Save to Pocket
A message from our sponsors: New Book coming!
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: Charlie’s Diary
(You probably expected this announcement a while ago …) I’ve just signed a new two book deal with my publishers, Tor.com publishing in the USA/Canada and Orbit in the UK/rest of world, and the book I’m talking about here and…
http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2024/02/a-message-from-our-sponsors-ne.html Save to Pocket
Consumers backed off a bit in January
date: 2024-02-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Turns out, we weren’t very spendy in the first month of the year. In January, retail sales were down 0.8% — more than many economists expected. It’s an indicator that consumers are feeling weary of high prices and becoming more value-oriented. We’ll discuss. Also on the show: Express, once a mainstay of every mall, could soon file for bankruptcy. Then, college endowments see big returns thanks to solid stock market gains.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/consumers-backed-off-a-bit-in-january Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
I could make the left-bar navigation more like the iPad, and then drill down into the different areas, like @simsaens suggested.
This would be two steps:
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111936299645766237 Save to Pocket
2 LA firefighters in critical condition, others injured after truck explosion in Wilmington
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The cause of the fire and subsequent explosion were unclear.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/2-la-firefighters-in-critical-condition-others-injured-after-truck-explosion-in-wilmington/ Save to Pocket
Santa Clara-based Nvidia is now worth more than Alphabet, one day after surpassing Amazon
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Wall Street’s favorite artificial intelligence darling is continuing to swell to staggering heights.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/nvidia-is-now-worth-more-than-alphabet-one-day-after-surpassing-amazon/ Save to Pocket
Judge Sets March Trial Date in Donald Trump’s New York Hush-Money Case
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
New York — A New York judge says former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said Thursday that he made the decision after speaking with the judge in Trump’s now-delayed federal election interference case in the nation’s capital.
Trump entered the courthouse shortly before 9 a.m.
It was Trump’s first return visit to court in the New York criminal case since that historic indictment made him the first ex-president charged with a crime. Since then, he has also been indicted in Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C. In recent weeks, he’s blended campaign events with court appearances, attending on Monday a closed hearing in a Florida case charging him with hoarding classified records.
Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has taken steps in recent weeks to prepare for a trial.
Over the past year, Trump has lashed out at Merchan as a “Trump-hating judge,” asked him to step down from the case and sought to move the case from state court to federal court, all to no avail. Merchan has acknowledged making several small donations to Democrats, including $15 to Trump’s rival Joe Biden, but said he’s certain of his “ability to be fair and impartial.”
Thursday’s proceeding was part of a busy, overlapping stretch of legal activity for the Republican presidential front-runner, who has increasingly made his court involvement part of his political campaign.
The recent postponement of a March 4 trial date in Trump’s Washington, D.C. election interference case removed a major hurdle to starting the New York case on time.
Just as the New York hearing got underway, a judge in Atlanta is set to hear arguments Thursday over whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from Trump’s Georgia election interference case because of a “personal relationship” with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired for the case.
Trump is also awaiting a decision, possibly as early as Friday, in a New York civil fraud case that threatens to upend his real estate empire. If the judge rules against Trump, who is accused of inflating his wealth to defraud banks, insurers and others, he could be on the hook for millions of dollars in penalties among other sanctions.
https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-arrives-for-court-hearing-on-hush-money-criminal-case-/7488797.html Save to Pocket
Zoom stomps critical privilege escalation bug plus 6 other flaws
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
All desktop and mobile apps vulnerable to at least one of the vulnerabilities
Video conferencing giant Zoom today opened up about a fresh batch of security vulnerabilities affecting its products, including a critical privilege escalation flaw.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/zoom_privilege_escalation/ Save to Pocket
Tesla is now accounting for ‘battery age’ in its range calculation
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla is now starting to account for “battery age” in its estimated range calculation for its electric vehicles.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/tesla-accounting-battery-age-range-calculation/ Save to Pocket
Love Stamps? Love Stamps!
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/love-stamps-love-stamps Save to Pocket
Los Gatos council sets financial prudence, safety, traffic as 2-year priorities
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Part of town’s budget process for upcoming fiscal year.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/15/los-gatos-council-sets-financial-prudence-safety-traffic-as-2-year-priorities/ Save to Pocket
BYD secures license deal with Ford and GM supplier to use its LFP battery packs for EVs
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
Leading global EV maker BYD is making big moves to stay on top of the market. Its latest deal gives Ford and GM supplier BorgWarner rights to its BYD Blade battery packs.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/byd-signs-deal-ford-gm-supplier-use-lfp-battery-packs/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
I could not get a segmented picker to show up, but I can abuse the Navigation Titlebar and show a menu selector there.
And when tapping on it, it would show some of the other destinations:
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111936107356319953 Save to Pocket
Tesla Cybertruck Owners Report ‘Rust Spots.’ Here’s How To Remove Them
date: 2024-02-15, from: Inside EVs News
You might even have these rather cheap products at home right now, which makes the task even easier.
https://insideevs.com/news/708546/how-to-clean-tesla-cybertruck-stainless-steel-body/ Save to Pocket
NASA Experiment Sheds Light on Highly Charged Moon Dust
date: 2024-02-15, from: NASA breaking news
Researchers are studying data from a recent suborbital flight test to better understand lunar regolith, or Moon dust, and its potentially damaging effects as NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the lunar surface under the Artemis campaign. The experiment, developed jointly by NASA and the University of Central Florida, sheds light on how these […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/kennedy/nasa-experiment-sheds-light-on-highly-charged-moon-dust/ Save to Pocket
Run a Nostr Relay as Tor Hidden Service on OpenBSD
date: 2024-02-15, from: mrusme blog
Let’s set up and run our own “private Twitter” on Nostr, a simple, open protocol that enables truly censorship-resistant publishing on the web!
https://xn–gckvb8fzb.com/run-a-nostr-relay-as-tor-hidden-service-on-openbsd/ Save to Pocket
Why Vote for Joan Hartmann?
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
It is because Joan is an exceptional leader who demonstrates daily her character, honesty and truthfulness.
The post Why Vote for Joan Hartmann? appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/15/why-vote-for-joan-hartmann/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-15, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Ok, this is my next victim, and I am struggling with how to reorganize this.
The tab-bar along the top switches modes.
I could either replicate the tabs at the top, and switch the content inside, or use a 3-pane navigation view (but it does seem a little odd to have two levels of trees).
Here is one possible option (needs two screenshots to show the effect):
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111936059502908086 Save to Pocket
Microsoft ‘retires’ Azure IoT Central in platform rethink
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
After March, devs won’t be able to create new application resources, in 2027 the system will be shut down
Exclusive Without warning, Microsoft has decided to retire a key plank of its Azure IoT platform, leaving developers currently building systems high and dry.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/microsoft_retires_azure_iot_central/ Save to Pocket
I love the cover of Stephen & Evie Colbert’s new cookbook, Does…
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043977-i-love-the-cover-of Save to Pocket
McCandless, Unplugged
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/15/mccandless-unplugged/ Save to Pocket
More Money, More Heat Pumps
date: 2024-02-15, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: A storm lurking off the coast of Australia could soon become a tropical cyclone • Bangkok’s 11 million workers have been told to stay home today to avoid harmful air pollution • Washington, D.C., could see up to four inches of snow this weekend – or none at all.
THE TOP FIVE
- Americans are buying 675 EVs a day with the help of the IRA
Car sellers sold more than 25,000 tax credit-eligible electric vehicles between January 1 and February 6, according to new Treasury data. That’s an average of more than 675 EVs sold at a government-sponsored discount per day, Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo calculated. To put that in perspective, about 1.08 million cars were sold in total in the month of January, according to Cox Automotive, or about 34,840 per day. So the tax credit-supported EVs were only about 2% of the total cars sold. But 25,000 discounted EVs is nothing to scoff at considering that fewer models are eligible now than last year. Also, the Treasury said it has paid approximately $135 million in advance payments to dealers for about 19,000 of the EVs sold this year. “So even with fewer options available, buyers are still taking advantage of the new instant rebate and finding vehicles that work for them,” Pontecorvo said.
- DoE funnels more money into heat pump manufacturing
The Department of Energy (DoE) yesterday announced it was making an additional $63 million available to speed up the adoption of residential heat pumps across the country. This is on top of the $169 million in federal funding announced in November of last year. The goal is to boost manufacturing of heat pump systems, but with this new influx of cash, it seems the DoE also wants to wake Americans up to the benefits of using a heat pump to heat and cool water. Its announcement notes that heat pump water heaters can be up to three times more energy efficient than conventional water heaters. “Basically, the federal funding is aiming to nix the use of gas in a home wherever possible,” wrote Matt Simon at Wired. Ali Zaidi, assistant to the president and national climate adviser, told Simon that “we’re really seeing, I think, a sea change across the country in terms of how people heat and cool their homes.” Data shows that in 2023, heat pumps outsold furnaces for the second year in a row.
- Google to help map methane leaks
Google is teaming up with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to help track methane emissions from space. The MethaneSAT – a satellite developed specifically to monitor methane emissions – will launch into orbit next month. Google will use artificial intelligence to create a map of oil and gas infrastructure locations across the world. “Once we have that map, then we can overlay methane data,” said Yael Maguire, head of Google’s Geo Sustainability team. This will offer a “far better understanding of the types of machinery that contributes most to methane leaks.”
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that’s far more warming than carbon dioxide. But it breaks down in the atmosphere more quickly that CO2, so slashing it is seen as “one of the cheapest, fastest ways to curb global warming in the short term,” explained Bloomberg. Fossil fuel operations tend to dramatically underreport their methane releases, so the hope is that more transparency about emissions will encourage reduction efforts from producers, but reductions “can increase costs in the short term and slow output,” Bloomberg noted.
- India eyes IEA membership
India wants to take its relationship with one of the world’s leading energy authorities to the next level. The country has applied to become a full member of the International Energy Agency (IEA), joining 31 other member countries, and ministers are deciding whether or not to say yes. India is already an “association country,” but full membership would boost its role in tackling climate change. It could also help the IEA “strengthen cooperation in Asia to stabilize energy supplies,” as the region emerges as a key source of new global energy consumption, The Nikkei reported. The IEA noted that energy demand is expected to grow more in India than in any other country over the next 30 years. “The world cannot plan for its energy future without India at the table,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
- Researchers unveil lab-grown pink ‘beef rice’
The latest development in the enduring quest to create a meat substitute that people will actually eat is “beef rice.” Yes, you read that right. Researchers in South Korea have grown rice grains in a lab that contain cow muscle and fat cells. The beef rice is pink, firm, and high in protein and fat. Unlike some other meat alternatives, it uses ingredients that are widely available, affordable, and have a lower carbon footprint per gram of protein than beef, leading its creators to declare it “a novel food ingredient that can overcome humanity’s food crisis.” But the proof will be in the (rice) pudding: “A critical test is around public appetite for these sorts of lab-developed foods,” Neil Ward, an agri-food and climate specialist and professor at the University of East Anglia, told CNN.
THE KICKER
America’s 16,000 golf courses soak up 1.5 billion gallons of water per day.
Editor’s note: This article has been changed to correct the number of EVs Americans are buying each day.
https://heatmap.news/climate/heat-pump-funding-doe Save to Pocket
NASA Artemis Science, First Intuitive Machines Flight Head to Moon
date: 2024-02-15, from: NASA breaking news
A suite of NASA science instruments and technology demonstrations is on the way to our nearest celestial neighbor for the benefit of humanity. Through this flight to the Moon, they will provide insights into the lunar surface environment and test technologies for future landers and Artemis astronauts. At 1:05 a.m. EST on Thursday, Intuitive Machines’ […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-artemis-science-first-intuitive-machines-flight-head-to-moon/ Save to Pocket
New DYU T1 Is A Folding Magnesium E-Bike From China
date: 2024-02-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Compact, lightweight, and affordable – is this the ultimate urban commuter?
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708718/dyu-t1-electric-folding-bike/ Save to Pocket
How Did Altruism Evolve?
date: 2024-02-15, from: Quanta Magazine
If evolution favors the survival of the fittest, where did the impulse to help others come from? Host Janna Levin speaks with Stephanie Preston, a neuropsychologist who studies the biology of altruism.The post How Did Altruism Evolve? first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-did-altruism-evolve-20240215/ Save to Pocket
Cybercriminals are stealing Face ID scans to break into mobile banking accounts
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Deepfake-enabled attacks against Android and iOS users are netting criminals serious cash
Cybercriminals are targeting iOS users with malware that steals Face ID scans to break into and pilfer money from bank accounts – thought to be a world first.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/cybercriminals_stealing_face_id/ Save to Pocket
Lucid Motors cuts thousands off 2024 Air prices and adds new charging, maintenance perks
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
With its second all-electric model hitting the market this year, Lucid Motors wants to ensure consumers don’t forget about its flagship sedan – the Air. Having just launched its 2024 Air models a couple of months ago, slashing prices, Lucid has lowered its MSRPs once again, incentivizing potential customers with additional charging and maintenance bonuses as well.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/lucid-motors-cuts-thousands-off-2024-air-prices-adds-charging-perks/ Save to Pocket
Temporary power procurement bill draws concern from senators
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A bill seeking to facilitate the smooth procurement of temporary power on Guam drew concerns from lawmakers Thursday, due to broad waivers of certain procurement requirements contained in the bill. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the measure won’t move forward,…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/temporary-power-procurement-bill-draws-concern-from-senators/article_c4554632-cb93-11ee-9266-4769825bddc6.html Save to Pocket
GDOE maintains accreditation for the next 6 years
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Department of Education has succeeded in maintaining national accreditation despite the many challenges it faces.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gdoe-maintains-accreditation-for-the-next-6-years/article_594420ec-cbbc-11ee-9b93-f329fc5a2e7c.html Save to Pocket
Bird celebration this weekend
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
The University of Guam is inviting nature enthusiasts to flock together for the 3rd Annual Migratory Bird Celebration this coming weekend, the university announced recently in a press release.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/bird-celebration-this-weekend/article_5d27bf86-ca25-11ee-aa3d-6325ccad49d5.html Save to Pocket
Ko’ko’ Road Race brings back half-marathon event in 2024
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
In tune with the Hafa Adai spirit, the Ko’ko’ Road Race brings together runners from all walks of life, according to the Guam Visitors Bureau.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/koko-road-race-brings-back-half-marathon-event-in-2024/article_273fc256-cba1-11ee-8d6b-77c0489e14e0.html Save to Pocket
Vehicular homicide case dismissed, OAG expected to reindict suspect
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A vehicular homicide case stemming from a July 2023 traffic crash was dismissed without prejudice.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/vehicular-homicide-case-dismissed-oag-expected-to-reindict-suspect/article_8c8478fe-caee-11ee-a9f6-bb7034250457.html Save to Pocket
Police seek man for questioning in robbery and assault complaint
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Police Department has published a wanted flyer for Joseph Christopher Mendiola, who is sought for questioning regarding a complaint of robbery and assault that allegedly occurred in the Tumon area.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/police-seek-man-for-questioning-in-robbery-and-assault-complaint/article_2a1ccf8c-cba6-11ee-a0f6-ab5ecf42fded.html Save to Pocket
August trial set for tourist shooting case
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
The man accused of being the getaway driver in a fatal shooting and robbery of a Korean tourist last month is scheduled to go to trial in August.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/august-trial-set-for-tourist-shooting-case/article_b0397e62-cba6-11ee-a3ce-4f1edddf0175.html Save to Pocket
Father, son to take deferred plea for December 2022 teen assault
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A father and son accused of assaulting a 17-year-old boy are going to accept a deferred plea from the Office of the Attorney General.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/father-son-to-take-deferred-plea-for-december-2022-teen-assault/article_0a2e21ba-cbad-11ee-991d-4f3c271e31cd.html Save to Pocket
Manenggon concentration camp site up for national recognition
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
The site of the Manenggon concentration camp in Yona could gain national recognition as a historic landmark, and while one nonprofit group believes the site should be given the distinction, the group’s members also share concern about the potential impact…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/manenggon-concentration-camp-site-up-for-national-recognition/article_af86ec02-cbb5-11ee-9c6c-539b296bedcd.html Save to Pocket
2 men being sought by police suspected of robbery, shooting
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A woman is in critical condition after allegedly being shot and robbed by two male suspects at Thai Thai Restaurant in Tamuning.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/2-men-being-sought-by-police-suspected-of-robbery-shooting/article_c1fb58f4-cbac-11ee-bf7d-cb4d623ca7a9.html Save to Pocket
The Lucid Air Pure Just Got A $7,500 Price Cut
date: 2024-02-15, from: Inside EVs News
It may not qualify for a $7,500 credit from the federal government, but Lucid’s covering the gap.
https://insideevs.com/news/708712/lucid-air-pure-price-cut/ Save to Pocket
What Does a Solar Eclipse on Mars Look Like? New, Breathtaking Images, Caught by NASA’s Perseverance Rover, Give Us an Idea
date: 2024-02-15, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The robot recently observed each of the Red Planet’s moons passing across the sun in the Martian sky
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-does-solar-eclipse-mars-look-like-new-breathtaking-images-caught-nasa-perseverance-rover-idea-180983795/ Save to Pocket
Tax credits are good, but on-the-spot tax credits are really killing it
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
The new year rolled out a new plan where EV shoppers could get on-the-spot tax rebates when purchasing a new electric vehicle, with auto dealers then handling the paperwork and waiting to get reimbursed by the government. The US government says it has already paid out $135 million to auto dealers that signed up for the program so far this year.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/tax-credits-are-good-but-on-the-spot-tax-credits-are-really-killing-it/ Save to Pocket
Cisco cuts 5% of workforce amid cautious enterprise spending
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
$800M charge facing network giant as customers work way through existing inventory
Networking goliath Cisco has finally confirmed talk from earlier in the week that it is laying off thousands of staff, reflecting the cautious outlook that management are seeing in customers’ spending projections.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/cisco_to_cut_5_of/ Save to Pocket
Triumph Eyeing Triumphant Run In 2024 Daytona 200 With PHR Performance Team
date: 2024-02-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Peter Hickman and Richard Cooper will be piloting two Triumph Street Triple RS bikes race-prepped with the support of Triumph.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708717/triumph-returns-daytona-200-phr-performance/ Save to Pocket
Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall Facing Fresh Scrutiny Over Staffing, Safety
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The LAist
A state board will take up whether the 26-acre facility in Downey is suitable to hold incarcerated youths after L.A. County’s scramble last year to transfer hundreds of them there from other facilities in a span of roughly two months.
https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/la-county-los-padrinos-juvenile-hall-safety-staffing Save to Pocket
L.A. Is Changing How It Scores “Vulnerability” of Unhoused People
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Markup blog
An investigation by The Markup sparked demands for answers
https://themarkup.org/impact/2024/02/15/l-a-is-changing-how-it-scores-vulnerability-of-unhoused-people Save to Pocket
It Was 33 Years Ago Today: Happy Birthday Lemmings
date: 2024-02-15, from: Tilde.news
https://scottishgames.net/2024/02/14/it-was-33-years-ago-today-happy-birthday-lemmings/ Save to Pocket
What student loan forgiveness means for your taxes
date: 2024-02-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Since President Joe Biden took office, more than 3.6 million people have had their federal loans forgiven in full. But what’s that mean for your tax bill? While you don’t have to worry about federal taxes, state taxes could be another story. We’ll provide a helpful explainer. Plus, consumers complain about high prices but spend anyway, and that’s helping turn shoppers on to off brands.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/what-student-loan-forgiveness-means-for-your-taxes Save to Pocket
The U.K. and Japan in recession
date: 2024-02-15, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Japan’s economy unexpectedly shrank for the second quarter in a row last year, meaning the country has slipped into recession and lost its spot as the world’s third largest economy. Meanwhile, the U.K. also fell into recession during the final three months of last year. Plus, thousands of vehicles shipped by Volkswagen have been held up at U.S. ports over a Chinese-made component.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/the-u-k-and-japan-in-recession Save to Pocket
Introducing Sirota’s Signals
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Lever News
Paid subscribers get a new weekly dose of must-read stories, missed nuggets, and fun-but-worthwhile distractions.
https://www.levernews.com/introducing-sirotas-signals/ Save to Pocket
IT body proposes that AI pros get leashed and licensed to uphold ethics
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Set up a register and strike them off for bad behavior
Creating a register of licensed AI professionals to uphold ethical standards and securing whistleblowing channels to call out bad management are two policies that could prevent a Post Office-style scandal.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/bcs_ai_register_ethics/ Save to Pocket
On the Insecurity of Software Bloat
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-13, from: Bruce Schneier blog
Good essay on software bloat and the insecurities it causes.
The world ships too much code, most of it by third parties, sometimes unintended, most of it uninspected. Because of this, there is a huge attack surface full of mediocre code. Efforts are ongoing to improve the quality of code itself, but many exploits are due to logic fails, and less progress has been made scanning for those. Meanwhile, great strides could be made by paring down just how much code we expose to the world. This will increase time to market for products, but legislation is around the corner that should force vendors to take security more seriously…
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/on-the-insecurity-of-software-bloat.html Save to Pocket
Final Honors for a Fallen Hero
date: 2024-02-15, from: Dan Rather’s Steady
At a hillside cemetery near the central Texas town of Gatesville, Sergeant Richard Rudd was finally laid to rest, nearly 80 years after he was killed in action. Attendance at the burial last December was light, as the late infantryman had few close relatives. The Army Honor Guard presented Rudd’s grand-niece with a folded flag and spoke the words repeated at countless military memorials: “On behalf of the president of the United States, the United States Army, and a grateful nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service.”
https://steady.substack.com/p/final-honors-for-a-fallen-hero Save to Pocket
2024 Triumph Tiger 1200 Explorer Range Gets Minor But Key Updates
date: 2024-02-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
A host of small improvements add up to greater rider comfort in the saddle, says the house of Hinckley.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708716/2024-triumph-tiger-1200-range/ Save to Pocket
GM nearly doubles its map of Super Cruise hands-free driving routes in North America
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
General Motors (GM) has once again expanded its maps of routes that enable Super Cruise hands-free driving in North America. The American automaker now operates the largest hands-free driving network now that it has nearly doubled the mileage of available routes on the continent.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/gm-nearly-doubles-map-super-cruise-hands-free-driving-routes-north-america/ Save to Pocket
Supporting learners with programming tasks through AI-generated Parson’s Problems
date: 2024-02-15, from: Raspberry Pi (.org)
The use of generative AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) in education is now common among young people (see data from the UK’s Ofcom regulator). As a computing educator or researcher, you might wonder what impact generative AI tools will have on how young people learn programming. In our latest research seminar, Barbara Ericson and Xinying Hou…
The post Supporting learners with programming tasks through AI-generated Parson’s Problems appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/supporting-learners-with-programming-tasks-through-ai-generated-parsons-problems/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Mozilla downsizes as it refocuses on Firefox and AI: Read the memo.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/13/mozilla-downsizes-as-it-refocuses-on-firefox-and-ai-read-the-memo/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-15, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
The life of an NBA beat writer.
https://hoopshype.com/2024/02/15/the-life-of-an-nba-beat-writer/ Save to Pocket
Twilio reminds users that Authy Desktop apps die next month – not in August
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
‘This is an excellent way to piss off thousands of developers’
End of life for the Authy Desktop authentication app is scheduled for March 19, rather than the August 2024 date previously announced.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/twilio_authy_eol/ Save to Pocket
Watch out: New Jersey bill to require all e-bike riders to register, get insurance
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
It’s been a rough week for anyone who enjoys the freedom of riding e-bikes without undue state-applied hassle and burden. The latest news sure to disappoint electric bike riders and proponents of reduced car usage comes from the Garden State, where a pending New Jersey bill seeks to require e-bike riders to register their bikes and carry liability insurance.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/watch-out-new-jersey-bill-to-require-all-e-bike-riders-to-register-get-insurance/ Save to Pocket
UK Cabinet Office hits pause on £9M Microsoft deal
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Google Workspace hangout extended indefinitely
The UK’s Cabinet Office has paused its migration away from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365, after ditching the current contract it signed with the Redmond headquartered biz last spring.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/cabinet_office_microsoft/ Save to Pocket
Spot the King of Planets: Observe Jupiter
date: 2024-02-15, from: NASA breaking news
Jupiter is easy to observe, and well-documented by astronomers. Learn more about the King of the Planets in February’s mid-month article!
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/skywatching/night-sky-network/spot-the-king-of-planets-observe-jupiter/ Save to Pocket
This major US city wants to ban new gas stations
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
Sacramento, capital city of the EV-loving Golden State, is the latest city proposing to ban new gas stations or upgrading existing stations, unless of course you’re adding electric vehicle charging.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/15/this-major-us-city-wants-to-ban-new-gas-stations/ Save to Pocket
Russia’s advances on space-based nuclear weapon alarm the US
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — The United States has informed Congress and its allies in Europe about Russian advances on a new, space-based nuclear weapon designed to threaten America’s extensive satellite network, according to current and former officials briefed on the matter.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/nation-world-news/russias-advances-on-space-based-nuclear-weapon-alarm-the-us/ Save to Pocket
At least 8 children among 22 hit by gunfire at end of Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade; 1 person killed
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Eight children were among 22 people hit by gunfire in a shooting at the end of Wednesday’s parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, authorities said, as terrified fans ran for cover and yet another high-profile public event was marred by gun violence. One person was killed, a mother of two identified by her radio station as a DJ.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/nation-world-news/at-least-8-children-among-22-hit-by-gunfire-at-end-of-chiefs-super-bowl-parade-1-person-killed/ Save to Pocket
Retrial ends in Kona hotel beating case
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Two defendants originally convicted of the attempted murder of a security guard at the Kona Seaside Hotel are free after a jury found them guilty of lesser offenses in a retrial that concluded Wednesday.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/hawaii-news/retrial-ends-in-kona-hotel-beating-case/ Save to Pocket
Owner of Discount Fabric Warehouse chain dies at 65
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Businessman. Outdoorsman. Visionary. Philanthropist.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/hawaii-news/owner-of-discount-fabric-warehouse-chain-dies-at-65/ Save to Pocket
Pot legalization bill advances
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>An bill that would legalize the recreational use of cannabis by adults 21 and over cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/hawaii-news/pot-legalization-bill-advances/ Save to Pocket
Legislature tackles artificial intelligence
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>As artificial intelligence grows more advanced, state lawmakers are pushing to regulate the controversial technology in Hawaii.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/hawaii-news/legislature-tackles-artificial-intelligence/ Save to Pocket
Flowers, chocolates and flash mobs: Valentine’s Day celebrations around the world
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Flowers, chocolates, handwritten cards — and flash mobs.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/nation-world-news/flowers-chocolates-and-flash-mobs-valentines-day-celebrations-around-the-world/ Save to Pocket
SpaceX postpones launch of Intuitive Machines moon mission
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Another month, another try at the moon .</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/nation-world-news/spacex-postpones-launch-of-intuitive-machines-moon-mission/ Save to Pocket
Trump’s bombast on NATO invites Russian aggression
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Given that Donald Trump talks trash about a range of issues, it’s tempting to discount the rant in which he suggested that as president he would encourage Russia to attack NATO allies who were “delinquent” in their financial obligations.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/opinion/trumps-bombast-on-nato-invites-russian-aggression/ Save to Pocket
Some worry California proposition to tackle homelessness would worsen the problem
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>OROVILLE, Calif. — Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging voters to approve a ballot initiative that he says is needed to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis, a change social providers say would threaten programs that keep people from becoming homeless in the first place.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/nation-world-news/some-worry-california-proposition-to-tackle-homelessness-would-worsen-the-problem/ Save to Pocket
HVNP shares Buffalo Soldiers video for Black History Month
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Most visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park never set foot on Mauna Loa Trail.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/community/hvnp-shares-buffalo-soldiers-video-for-black-history-month/ Save to Pocket
Two Big Isle educators among 21 honored for earning national teaching certification
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The state Department of Education is celebrating 21 teachers statewide who have earned their National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification — a recognition for meeting the highest standards for teaching.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/community/two-big-isle-educators-among-21-honored-for-earning-national-teaching-certification/ Save to Pocket
Public encouraged to attend wastewater meetings
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Hawaii County Department of Environmental Management has announced the development of an Integrated Wastewater Management Plan aimed at providing a comprehensive strategy for cesspool conversions and sewer infrastructure projects across the region.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/community/public-encouraged-to-attend-wastewater-meetings/ Save to Pocket
Your Views for February 15
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Time to implement
ranked choice voting</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/opinion/your-views-for-february-15-7/ Save to Pocket
I stopped drinking and built the life I always wanted. Why was I still so anxious?
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>After a wildly successful drinking career, I finally retired 11 years ago. I’d love to say that it was a considered decision after mature reflections and conversations with loved ones. But no. After yet another solo drinking spree, I woke up fully clothed on the cold hard tiles of my bathroom floor. Mornings like this had led to weeks of sobriety before. But this day, it felt different, and as I vowed never to self-medicate again, I knew I was done for good.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/opinion/i-stopped-drinking-and-built-the-life-i-always-wanted-why-was-i-still-so-anxious/ Save to Pocket
At least 6 US states are considering tougher penalties for killing police dogs
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Lawmakers in at least six states, including Hawaii, are considering longer prison sentences or bigger fines for harming or killing police dogs, and the idea has bipartisan support despite questions about how the animals are used and a fraught history.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/hawaii-news/at-least-6-us-states-are-considering-tougher-penalties-for-killing-police-dogs/ Save to Pocket
Hawaiian Electric keeps profit up, seeks financing as Maui wildfire costs loom
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaii’s largest electrical utility is maintaining financial stability in the face of still-growing legal claims and recovery expenses from the Aug. 8 Maui wildfire disaster. Hawaiian Electric on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter and full-year net income in 2023 topping figures in 2022, which helped its parent company achieve strong but reduced profit in the same comparable periods.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/hawaii-news/hawaiian-electric-keeps-profit-up-seeks-financing-as-maui-wildfire-costs-loom/ Save to Pocket
Israel-Hezbollah tensions rise after rocket barrage from Lebanon
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah intensified on Wednesday when Israeli towns and an army base came under what appeared to be the fiercest attacks from Lebanon since the confrontation began four months ago.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/nation-world-news/israel-hezbollah-tensions-rise-after-rocket-barrage-from-lebanon/ Save to Pocket
The 49ers fire defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after their Super Bowl loss
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Wednesday, three days after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/sports/the-49ers-fire-defensive-coordinator-steve-wilks-after-their-super-bowl-loss/ Save to Pocket
Dave Reardon: Great QBs need to be ‘plus-1s,’ Miano says
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Rich Miano’s football career was nearly all on the defensive side of the ball.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/sports/dave-reardon-great-qbs-need-to-be-plus-1s-miano-says/ Save to Pocket
Vulcans rake in weekly awards
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In the past couple of days, multiple UH-Hilo athletes and teams have earned regional and conference recognitions.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/sports/vulcans-rake-in-weekly-awards/ Save to Pocket
Big Dog scholarship applications open
date: 2024-02-15, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Applications for 2024 Wayne “Big Dog” Joseph Scholarship — which will award four Big Island student athletes $1,500 each — are now open online.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/15/sports/big-dog-scholarship-applications-open/ Save to Pocket
Max Morgan | The Corruption Rolls On
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
Here are key takeaways from the special counsel’s investigation of the Joe Biden classified documents scandal: Biden could not remember when he was vice president. He could not remember, within years, when his son, Beau, died and he referred to the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico. Last week he told us he […]
The post Max Morgan | The Corruption Rolls On appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/max-morgan-the-corruption-rolls-on/ Save to Pocket
Bill Spaniel | Reconciling Trump and Veterans
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
I periodically receive emails from Rep. Mike Garcia touting his efforts to improve the lives of military personnel and veterans as well as honoring those who serve our country. For example, his Feb. 9 email includes information about his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in support of military pay increases, an obituary of […]
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https://signalscv.com/2024/02/bill-spaniel-reconciling-trump-and-veterans/ Save to Pocket
Thomas Oatway | This Is a Stable Genius?
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
I see that Donald Trump accused Nikki Haley of not taking care of security at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And repeated it four times. He also stated that he ran against Barack Obama. And described the heads of Hungary, North Korea and Russia as “strong and smart.” Trump brags about “acing” a cognitive […]
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Peak Campervanning
date: 2024-02-15, from: Status-Q blog
At the end of November, I popped up to the Derbyshire Peak District for a weekend, and posted some photos here. At the time, I mentioned that I had taken some video footage too, and I finally got around to editing it into something watchable, at least by those who enjoy amateur travelogues. 🙂 (Direct Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/02/15/11963/ Save to Pocket
HP CEO pay for 2023 = 270,315 printer cartridges
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Reg metrics show Enrique Lores is worth a lot of ink
The Reg family would like to extend our condolences to HP CEO Enrique Lores after his headline financial compensation package for 2023 declined more than 7 percent year-on-year to $19.46 million.…
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Cameron Smyth | A Journey Through the Silver Screen
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
Dating back to the early 20th century, Santa Clarita has stood as a favored filming destination with silent movie productions seeking the region’s scenic backdrop for their films. The vast expanses of rugged mountains, sprawling ranches and iconic canyons provided filmmakers with a versatile canvas for their storytelling. Stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Harry Carey […]
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https://signalscv.com/2024/02/cameron-smyth-a-journey-through-the-silver-screen/ Save to Pocket
A few interesting Open Source-based projects
date: 2024-02-15, from: Status-Q blog
Spotted these recently and thought they looked good: AirGradient – “We design professional, accurate and long-lasting air quality monitors that are open-source and open-hardware so that you have full control on how you want to use the monitor.” Meshtastic – long-range, low-power, low-bandwidth, off-grid, decentralised mesh networks, based on LoRa radios. Plausible – an alternative Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/02/15/11961/ Save to Pocket
The Really Big Picture
date: 2024-02-15, from: Robert Reich on Substack
Sometimes a single very big picture is worth many thousands of words
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-really-big-picture Save to Pocket
Beyond the pale?
date: 2024-02-15, from: Status-Q blog
Today, online, I saw one unsavoury character described as “so bad that even Meta blocked him”. In the past, one might have said something similar of Twitter, but it doesn’t really work now… and not because Twitter has started being responsible about blocking people!
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/02/15/11959/ Save to Pocket
Classifieds – February 15, 2024
date: 2024-02-15, 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 – February 15, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
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Miscreants turn to ad tech to measure malware metrics
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Now that’s what you call dual-use tech
Cyber baddies have turned to ad networks to measure malware deployment and to avoid detection, according to HP Wolf Security.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/malware_pdf_wolf_security/ Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Feb. 15)
date: 2024-02-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1939 – Los Angeles premiere of John Ford’s “Stagecoach;” approx. 7 seconds shot in SCV. [Watch Clip
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-feb-15/ Save to Pocket
‘How Is Everybody Doing?’
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Become a better listener to connect with those you’re close to.
The post ‘How Is Everybody Doing?’ appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
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Choosing a major is a major decision
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
We deserve the chance to explore all that USC offers before settling on a major.
The post Choosing a major is a major decision appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/15/choosing-a-major-is-a-major-decision/ Save to Pocket
Cole Palmer: Chelsea’s last great hope
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
After joining the club with little pro experience to his name, Palmer has blitzed his competition.
The post Cole Palmer: Chelsea’s last great hope appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/15/cole-palmer-chelseas-last-great-hope/ Save to Pocket
Baseball faces formidable tests this season
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC will travel for its home games amid construction at Dedeaux Field this season.
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Council District 9 spending is among the highest in LA
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The city’s revenues exceeded expenditures by $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2022 compared to $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2023.
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The king is dead; long live Prince
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Artist is somehow consistently among the greats and, still, underrated.
The post The king is dead; long live Prince appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/15/the-king-is-dead-long-live-prince/ Save to Pocket
Revenge Royale: Women’s basketball travels to Oregon
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojans have not had much success with both Oregon schools on the road.
The post Revenge Royale: Women’s basketball travels to Oregon appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/15/201232/ Save to Pocket
Student Health tables for Wellness Week
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Students took advantage of free narcan and heard about other Wellness Week events.
The post Student Health tables for Wellness Week appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/15/student-health-tables-for-wellness-week/ Save to Pocket
You’re voting for the management, not the man
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
In the midst of even more upsetting news regarding our presidential candidates, it’s important to remember the administrations they’ll bring with them in 2025.
The post You’re voting for the management, not the man appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/15/youre-voting-for-the-management-not-the-man/ Save to Pocket
Warner Bros. promotes spring lineup
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
A studio day spotlighted four well-loved television programs on Tuesday.
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Volkswagen Cars Blocked By US Customs Over Part From China
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
Berlin — German automaker Volkswagen said Wednesday several of its models had been refused entry into the United States, after it emerged that a Chinese-made component may have breached labor laws.
“We are working to rectify a delay in delivering certain Volkswagen Group vehicles from ports to dealers due to a customs issue,” Volkswagen said in a statement.
The trouble related to a “small electronic component,” which was “in the process of being replaced,” Volkswagen said.
The part, said to be from “western China,” was found to be in breach of U.S. anti-forced labor laws, according to the Financial Times, which reported the news first. The Financial Times said Porsche, Bentley and Audi models were affected.
According to the report, Volkswagen was not aware of the origin of the part, having sourced it from a supplier.
The German auto group was made aware of the issue by a supplier and notified U.S. authorities, per the report.
Volkswagen said it “takes allegations of infringements of human rights very seriously, both within the company and in the supply chain.”
“As soon as we received information of allegations regarding one of our sub-suppliers, we have been investigating the matter,” the group said.
The United States has banned most imports from Xinjiang, in western China, unless companies offer verifiable proof that production did not involve forced labor.
Rights campaigners have for years accused Beijing of a brutal crackdown against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, including through forced labor and detention camps. Beijing denies the allegations of abuse.
The issue of forced labor is acutely sensitive for Volkswagen, which has long been plagued by questions over its factory in the region, operated by its local partner SAIC.
Earlier on Wednesday, Volkswagen said it was discussing the future of its activities in China’s troubled Xinjiang province, after the Handelsblatt daily reported that forced labor may have been used to build a test track in Turpan, Xinjiang.
VW said it had seen no evidence of human rights violations in connection with the project but that it would likewise investigate any new information that came to light.
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European Court of Human Rights declares backdoored encryption is illegal
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Surprising third-act twist as Russian case means more freedom for all
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that laws requiring crippled encryption and extensive data retention violate the European Convention on Human Rights – a decision that may derail European data surveillance legislation known as Chat Control.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/echr_backdoor_encryption/ Save to Pocket
Private US Moon Lander Launched Half Century After Last Apollo Lunar Mission
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — A moon lander built by Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines was launched from Florida early Thursday on a mission to conduct the first U.S. lunar touchdown in more than a half century and the first by a privately owned spacecraft.
The company’s Nova-C lander, dubbed Odysseus, lifted off shortly after 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) atop a Falcon 9 rocket flown by Elon Musk’ SpaceX from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
A live NASA-SpaceX online video feed showed the two-stage, 25-story rocket roaring off the launch pad and streaking into the dark sky over Florida’s Atlantic coast, trailed by a fiery yellowish plume of exhaust.
The launch, previously set for Wednesday morning, was postponed for 24 hours because of irregular temperatures detected in liquid methane used in the lander’s propulsion system. SpaceX said the issue was later resolved.
Although considered an Intuitive Machines mission, the IM-1 flight is carrying six NASA payloads of instruments designed to gather data about the lunar environment ahead of NASA’s planned return of astronauts to the moon later this decade.
Thursday’s launch came a month after the lunar lander of another private firm, Astrobotic Technology, suffered a propulsion system leak on its way to the moon shortly after being placed in orbit on January 8 by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket making its debut flight.
The failure of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander, which was also flying NASA payloads to the moon, marked the third time a private company had been unable to achieve a “soft landing” on the lunar surface, following ill-fated efforts by companies from Israel and Japan.
Those mishaps illustrated the risks NASA faces in leaning more heavily on the commercial sector than it had in the past to realize its spaceflight goals.
Plans call for Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C vehicle, a hexagonal cylinder with four legs, to reach its destination after about a weeklong flight on February 22 for a landing at crater Malapert A near the moon’s south pole.
If successful, the flight would represent the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a U.S. spacecraft since the final Apollo crewed moon mission in 1972, and the first by a private company.
The feat also would mark the first journey to the lunar surface under NASA’s Artemis moon program, as the U.S. races to return astronauts to Earth’s natural satellite before China lands its own crewed spacecraft there.
IM-1 is the latest test of NASA’s strategy of paying for the use of spacecraft built and owned by private companies to slash the cost of the Artemis missions, envisioned as precursors to human exploration of Mars.
By contrast, during the Apollo era, NASA bought rockets and other technology from the private sector, but owned and operated them itself.
NASA announced last month that it was delaying its target date for a first crewed Artemis moon landing from 2025 to late 2026, while China has said it was aiming for 2030.
Small landers such as Nova-C are expected to get there first, carrying instruments to closely survey the lunar landscape, its resources and potential hazards. Odysseus will focus on space weather interactions with the moon’s surface, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies and navigation.
Intuitive Machine’s IM-2 mission is scheduled to land at the lunar south pole in 2024, followed by an IM-3 mission later in the year with several small rovers.
Last month, Japan became the fifth country to place a lander on the moon, with its space agency JAXA achieving an unusually precise “pinpoint” touchdown of its SLIM probe last month. Last year, India became the fourth nation to land on the moon, after Russia failed in an attempt the same month.
The United States, the former Soviet Union and China are the only other countries that have carried out successful soft lunar touchdowns. China scored a world first in 2019 by achieving the first landing on the far side of the moon.
https://www.voanews.com/a/private-us-moon-lander-launched-half-century-after-last-apollo-lunar-mission-/7488476.html Save to Pocket
WATSON picks up slack on Mars for SHERLOC as Perseverance gadgets show age
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The curious incident of the instrument cover on the Red Planet rover
NASA’s Perseverance is having trouble with one of its instruments – which could mean the rover will no longer be able to zap rocks with its laser.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/perseverance_instrument_issues/ Save to Pocket
WTF is ‘deployment phasing’? One reason Cisco revenue just went backwards, is what
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Splunk deal may close early, but AI is a way off turning into a money fountain. Meanwhile, Cisco waits for you to finish projects
Cisco has delivered mixed news to investors after its customers yet again struggled to deploy products they’ve already acquired.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/cisco_q2_2024/ Save to Pocket
‘Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground’ Covers Some Lesser-Known Ground of Our 34th President’s Life
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
This off-Broadway hit comes to Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre.
The post ‘Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground’ Covers Some Lesser-Known Ground of Our 34th President’s Life appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/eisenhower-this-piece-of-ground-covers-some-lesser-known-ground-of-our-34th-presidents-life/ Save to Pocket
Santa Barbara Wedding Resource Guide 2024
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Married S.B. photographers renew their vows, three unique S.B. wedding stories, and technology trends for your big day.
The post Santa Barbara Wedding Resource Guide 2024 appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/santa-barbara-wedding-resource-guide-2024/ Save to Pocket
Embracing the Future of Weddings with New Tech Trends
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Embracing the future with new tech wedding trends.
The post Embracing the Future of Weddings with New Tech Trends appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/embracing-the-future-of-weddings-with-new-tech-trends/ Save to Pocket
Shutterbugs Celebrate Their Love, Again
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
In-demand wedding photography pros James and Jess renew their vows 10 years later.
The post Shutterbugs Celebrate Their Love, Again appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/shutterbugs-celebrate-their-love-again/ Save to Pocket
Santa Barbara Couples Recount Their Unique Nuptials
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara couples tell the story of a surprise ceremony, a unique venue, and two weddings at the same time.
The post Santa Barbara Couples Recount Their Unique Nuptials appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/sb-couple-stories/ Save to Pocket
2024 Santa Barbara Wedding Listings
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Married S.B. photographers renew their vows, three unique S.B. wedding stories, and technology trends for your big day.
The post 2024 Santa Barbara Wedding Listings appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/wedding-guide-listings/ Save to Pocket
Report from Amid a Strong SBIFF
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The 39th Santa Barbara International Film Festival is in a healthy stride at mid-point, running through Saturday.
The post Report from Amid a Strong SBIFF appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/report-from-amid-a-strong-sbiff/ Save to Pocket
bouchon’s Quarter-Century of Santa Barbara Wine Country Cuisine
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Veteran proprietor Mitchell Sjerven reflects on restaurant longevity.
The post bouchon’s Quarter-Century of Santa Barbara Wine Country Cuisine appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/bouchons-quarter-century-of-santa-barbara-wine-country-cuisine/ Save to Pocket
Paging Anthony Wagner
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Whose hair do you gotta muss around here to get a mental-health treatment facility in Santa Barbara?
The post Paging Anthony Wagner appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/14/518043/ Save to Pocket
Three injured in West San Jose apartment fire
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The blaze broke out Wednesday morning in the 1100 block of Oakmont Drive.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/three-injured-in-west-san-jose-apartment-fire/ Save to Pocket
North Korea running malware-laden gambling websites as-a-service
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
$5k a month for the site. $3k for tech support. Infection with malware and funding a despot? Priceless
North Korea’s latest money-making venture is the production and sale of gambling websites that come pre-infected with malware, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS).…
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2024 Yamaha MT-15 Adds Vibrant Life To The Naked Bike Party
date: 2024-02-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The compact and lightweight naked streetfighter has been refreshed in Thailand.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708714/2024-yamaha-mt15-new-colors-thailand/ Save to Pocket
Barrie Logan, professor who impacted Pierce community for decades, dies at 83
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
Longtime chemistry professor and former Academic Senate President Barrie Logan died on Jan. 2. He was 83. Logan leaves behind a transformative legacy at Pierce
The post Barrie Logan, professor who impacted Pierce community for decades, dies at 83 appeared first on The Roundup.
https://theroundupnews.com/2024/02/14/barrie-logan-professor-who-impacted-pierce-community-for-decades-dies-at-83/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=barrie-logan-professor-who-impacted-pierce-community-for-decades-dies-at-83 Save to Pocket
Santa Barbara Unified Teachers Bang the Drum for Better Pay
date: 2024-02-15, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Tuesday’s massive march was the Santa Barbara Teachers Association’s largest action to date.
The post Santa Barbara Unified Teachers Bang the Drum for Better Pay appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
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CCS basketball playoffs 2024: The matchups are set. Here’s what to know
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Archbishop Mitty girls, Archbishop Riordan boys roar into Open Division pool play after dominant regular seasons. Will anyone challenge them in the section’s top division?
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/ccs-basketball-playoffs-2024-the-matchups-are-set-heres-what-to-know/ Save to Pocket
US Officials Push Back After Lawmaker Sounds Alarm on Security Threat
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
Washington — The White House along with other top officials are seeking to reassure the American public after a key lawmaker sounded alarms about a “serious national security threat” facing the United States.
In an unusual move that caught some of his fellow lawmakers by surprise, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee publicly called on President Joe Biden to declassify intelligence on the unnamed threat so that the American public and its allies could formulate a response.
Republican Representative Mike Turner declined to elaborate. But in an email Turner reportedly sent to colleagues, shared on social media by various news outlets, he described the danger as a “foreign military destabilizing capability.”
Several media outlets, quoting U.S. officials, reported late Wednesday that the threat involves a new Russian space-based capability.
But a U.S. official, speaking to VOA on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the intelligence, said that while the danger is significant, it is not imminent.
“The threat described does not involve an active capability that has been deployed,” the official said.
The White House also sought to downplay concerns, noting it was already set to brief lawmakers on some of the details Thursday.
“I’m confident that President Biden, in the decisions that he is taking, is going to ensure the security of the American people going forward,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“We believe that we can and will and are protecting the national security of the United States,” Sullivan told reporters, adding he was surprised that Turner took his concerns public since they were scheduled to meet for a classified briefing Thursday.
Sullivan also defended the decision not to make the threat intelligence public, pointing both to concerns about protecting U.S. “sources and methods,” and the president’s willingness to declassify intelligence in the past.
“You definitely are not going to find an unwillingness to do that when it’s in our national security interests to do so,” he said. “This administration has gone further and, in more creative, more strategic ways, dealt with the declassification of intelligence in the national interest of the United States than any administration in history.”
Some key lawmakers also pushed back.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes, called the threat “a significant one” but “not a cause for panic.”
“As to whether more can be declassified about this issue, that is a worthwhile discussion,” he added in a statement. “But it is not a discussion to be had in public.”
The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee likewise sought to allay concerns.
The committee “has the intelligence in question and has been rigorously tracking this issue from the start,” Democratic Chairman Mark Warner and Republican Vice Chairman Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“We continue to take this matter seriously and are discussing an appropriate response with the administration,” they added. “In the meantime, we must be cautious about potentially disclosing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson separately told reporters multiple times there is “no need for public alarm.”
“I want to assure the American people,” Johnson said. “We just want to assure everyone steady hands are at the wheel. We’re working on it and there’s no need for alarm.”
VOA’s Patsy Widakuswara and Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-officials-push-back-after-lawmaker-sounds-alarm-on-security-threat/7488429.html Save to Pocket
In pursuit of artificial general intelligence, Meta adds Broadcom boss Hock Tan to its board
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Zuck needs silicon smarts – and the energy experience of a former Enron exec
Social networking company Meta has appointed Broadcom CEO Hock Tan to its board and added energy entrepreneur John Arnold too.…
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‘The Big I Do’ turns 2
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
What better way to celebrate love on Valentine’s Day, than to commemorate the start of a new union with a forever partner? The city of Santa Clarita helped seven couples do just that, as they tied the knot in the city’s second annual “The Big I Do.” The lucky couples included: Michael Leroy Humber and […]
The post <strong>‘The Big I Do’ turns 2</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/the-big-i-do-turns-2/ Save to Pocket
Kahkonen shines, but Sharks shut out by stingy Winnipeg Jets
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen made 39 saves, including 16 in the second period, but the San Jose Sharks were unable to generate any offense against the stingy Winnipeg Jets
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/kahkonen-shines-but-sharks-shut-out-by-stingy-winnipeg-jets/ Save to Pocket
Quick Charge Podcast: February 14, 2024
date: 2024-02-15, from: Electrek Feed
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/quick-charge-podcast-february-14-2024/ Save to Pocket
February 14, 2024
date: 2024-02-15, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
I am at home for a short break, and Buddy and I have spent the day taking it easy, a plan I intend to continue for the next several hours. But rather than posting a picture and taking the night off, I am reposting one of my favorite pieces ever because of what it says about love, loss, humanity… and history.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-14-2024 Save to Pocket
SCV Human Trafficking Task Force visits hotels on V-Day
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
The Santa Clarita Valley Human Trafficking Task Force sought to spread love and care on Valentine’s Day with a gift for local hotels and motels — information to protect against and raise awareness about victims the group is trying to help. The task force Wednesday was looking to support recent laws aimed at trafficking adults […]
The post SCV Human Trafficking Task Force visits hotels on V-Day appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/scv-human-trafficking-task-force-visits-hotels-on-v-day/ Save to Pocket
‘Scandal-plagued’ data broker tracked visits to ‘600 Planned Parenthood locations’
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Anti-abortion group said to have used that monitoring to push ad campaign
A pro-life group was able to specifically target visitors to nearly 600 Planned Parenthood facilities in 48 states in America with anti-abortion ads using location data from a broker called Near Intelligence, according to US Senator Ron Wyden.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/data_broker_location_abortion/ Save to Pocket
Castaic boys’ basketball headed to CIF semis, routs Godinez
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
The first-ever playoff game in Castaic High School’s gym brought countless memories as the Coyotes ran wild against the visiting Godinez Fundamental Grizzlies. Castaic punched its ticket to the CIF Division 5AA semifinals as well as the state tournament, after beating Godinez, 93-63, snapping the Grizzlies’ 15-game win streak. The Coyotes (17-14) played relentless defense […]
The post <strong>Castaic boys’ basketball headed to CIF semis, routs Godinez</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/castaic-boys-basketball-headed-to-cif-semis-routs-godinez/ Save to Pocket
Having impeached Mayorkas, House member heads for the exit
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Shortly after announcing that he would not be running for reelection, Green told CNN that he had “accomplished” all that he “promised he would accomplish.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/having-impeached-mayorkas-house-member-heads-for-the-exit/ Save to Pocket
Cemex sues State Water Board over permit for Santa Clara River
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
A company looking to build the largest mine in North America just east of Santa Clarita is suing the State Water Board in its latest attempt to get a permit needed to use the Santa Clara River in its plans to extract 56 million tons of sand and gravel from Soledad Canyon. The lawsuit means […]
The post <strong>Cemex sues State Water Board over permit for Santa Clara River </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/cemex-sues-state-water-board-over-permit-for-santa-clara-river/ Save to Pocket
Two charged with murder in recent Antioch double shooting
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Lonnie Decker and Steven Kelly have been charged with murder and attempted murder in the Jan. 23 shooting.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/two-charged-with-murder-in-recent-antioch-double-shooting/ Save to Pocket
Slack adds AI to help users cope with chat overload
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Summarizes threads you just can’t keep up with and beefs up search
After nearly a year of testing, Salesforce-owned Slack has launched some generative AI features that may help enterprise users search, summarize, and ask questions about information in their conversations.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/slack_adds_ai/ Save to Pocket
March 6: Fifth Annual Health, Wellness Forum Focuses on AI
date: 2024-02-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce announced the details of its highly anticipated Fifth Annual Health & Wellness Forum, slated to take place on Wednesday, March 6, at 8 a.m
https://scvnews.com/mar-6-5th-annual-health-wellness-forum-focuses-on-artificial-intelligence/ Save to Pocket
Special Counsel Asks Supreme Court to Let Trump’s 2020 Election Case Go to Trial
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
washington — Special counsel Jack Smith urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to let former President Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case proceed to trial without further delay.
Prosecutors were responding to a Trump team request from earlier in the week asking for a continued pause in the case as the court considers whether to take up the question of whether the former president is immune from prosecution for official acts in the White House. Two lower courts have overwhelmingly rejected that position, prompting Trump to ask the high court to intervene.
The case — one of four criminal prosecutions confronting Trump — has reached a critical juncture, with the Supreme Court’s next step capable of helping determine whether Trump stands trial this year in Washington or whether the proceedings are going to be postponed by weeks or months of additional arguments.
The trial date, already postponed once by Trump’s immunity appeal, is of paramount importance to both sides. Prosecutors are looking to bring Trump to trial this year while defense lawyers have been seeking delays in his criminal cases. If Trump were to be elected with the case pending, he could presumably use his authority as head of the executive branch to order the Justice Department to dismiss it or could potentially seek to pardon himself.
Rapid response
Reflecting their desire to proceed quickly, prosecutors responded to Trump’s appeal within two days even though the court had given them until next Tuesday.
Though their filing does not explicitly mention the upcoming November election or Trump’s status as the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, prosecutors described the case as having “unique national importance” and said that “delay in the resolution of these charges threatens to frustrate the public interest in a speedy and fair verdict.”
“The national interest in resolving those charges without further delay is compelling,” they wrote.
Smith’s team charged Trump in August with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including by participating in a scheme to disrupt the counting of electoral votes in the run-up to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, when his supporters stormed the building in a violent clash with police.
“The charged crimes strike at the heart of our democracy. A president’s alleged criminal scheme to overturn an election and thwart the peaceful transfer of power to his successor should be the last place to recognize a novel form of absolute immunity from federal criminal law,” they wrote.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that he is shielded from prosecution for acts that fell within his official duties as president — a legally untested argument since no other former president has been indicted.
The trial judge and then a federal appeals court rejected those arguments, with a three-judge appeals panel last week saying, “We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter.”
The proceedings have been effectively frozen by Trump’s immunity appeal, with U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan canceling a March 4 trial date while the appeals court considered the matter. No new date has been set.
Further delays possible
Trump’s appeal and request for the Supreme Court to get involved could cause further delays depending on what the justices decide. In December, Smith and his team had urged the justices to take up and decide the immunity issue, even before the appeals court weighed in. But the court declined.
The Supreme Court’s options include rejecting the emergency appeal, which would enable Chutkan to restart the trial proceedings in Washington’s federal court. The court also could extend the delay while it hears arguments on the immunity issue. In that event, the schedule the justices set could determine how soon a trial might begin, if indeed they agree with lower-court rulings that Trump is not immune from prosecution.
On Wednesday, prosecutors urged the court to reject Trump’s petition to hear the case, saying that lower-court opinions rejecting immunity for the former president “underscore how remote the possibility is that this Court will agree with his unprecedented legal position.”
But if the court does want to decide the matter, Smith said, the justices should hear arguments in March and issue a final ruling by late June.
Prosecutors also pushed back against Trump’s argument that allowing the case to proceed could chill future presidents’ actions for fear they could be criminally charged once they leave office and open the door to politically motivated cases against former commanders-in-chief.
“That dystopian vision runs contrary to the checks and balances built into our institutions and the framework of the Constitution,” they wrote. “Those guardrails ensure that the legal process for determining criminal liability will not be captive to ‘political forces,’ as applicant forecasts.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/special-counsel-asks-supreme-court-to-let-trump-s-2020-election-case-go-to-trial-/7488369.html Save to Pocket
City leaders discuss proposed laws, frustration
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
The Santa Clarita City Council Legislative Committee had a certain “Law & Order” theme to its agenda Tuesday, with all eight items connected to criminal justice reforms Sacramento lawmakers are considering during the current legislative term. The city’s Legislative Committee, composed of Councilman Jason Gibbs and Mayor Cameron Smyth, meets on an as-needed basis to discuss […]
The post <strong>City leaders discuss proposed laws, frustration</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/city-leaders-discuss-proposed-laws-frustration/ Save to Pocket
Apple Pushes Back On Right To Repair Bill Due To Parts Pairing
date: 2024-02-15, from: Tilde.news
https://hackaday.com/2024/02/14/apple-pushes-back-on-right-to-repair-bill-due-to-parts-pairing/ Save to Pocket
Two men being sought by police suspected of Tamuning robbery, shooting
date: 2024-02-15, from: Guam Daily Post
A woman is in critical condition after allegedly being shot and robbed by two male suspects at Thai Thai Restaurant in Tamuning.
https://www.postguam.com/news/two-men-being-sought-by-police-suspected-of-tamuning-robbery-shooting/article_3bbaecf8-cb9f-11ee-8f48-5b5aca932872.html Save to Pocket
Blinken Heads to Munich Security Conference Amid US Foreign Aid Showdown
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Albania and then to Germany this week for the Munich Security Conference. Among issues he will likely face in Europe is the stalling of military aid to Ukraine in the U.S. House and former President Donald Trump’s comments threatening to abandon some NATO allies if he is reelected. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
https://www.voanews.com/a/blinken-heads-to-munich-security-conference-amid-us-foreign-aid-showdown/7488357.html Save to Pocket
They all scream for Handel’s
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting for the new Stevenson Ranch location on Feb. 8, treating the first 50 guests to free ice cream for a year. The Stevenson Ranch Handel’s store is the largest walk-up parlor for the brand, covering 2,800 square feet. It will offer local and […]
The post <strong>They all scream for Handel’s </strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/they-all-scream-for-handels/ Save to Pocket
CCS basketball playoffs 2024: Boys, girls first-round schedule
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Central Coast Section basketball playoffs begin this weekend across six divisions, including Open.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/ccs-basketball-playoffs-2024-boys-girls-first-round-schedule/ Save to Pocket
DA: Morgan Hill man stole $2.3m using phony business opportunities to entice investors
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
The thefts happened between January 2016 and December 2022, prosecutors allege.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/da-morgan-hill-man-stole-2-3m-using-phony-business-opportunities-to-entice-investors/ Save to Pocket
Momentum Builds in Efforts to Seize Russian Assets for Ukraine
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/momentum-builds-in-efforts-to-seize-russian-assets-for-ukraine-/7488319.html Save to Pocket
Updating Microsoft Secure Boot keys
date: 2024-02-15, from: OS News
Microsoft, in collaboration with our ecosystem partners, is preparing to roll out replacement certificates that’ll set new Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Certificate Authorities (CAs) trust anchors in Secure Boot for the future. Look out for Secure Boot database updates rolling out in phases to add trust for the new database (DB) and Key Exchange Key (KEK) certificates. This new DB update is available as an optional servicing update for all Secure Boot enabled devices from February 13, 2024. ↫ SochiOgbuanya This update will replace the Windows 8-era certificates, set to expire in 2026, with new ones.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138591/updating-microsoft-secure-boot-keys/ Save to Pocket
Ukraine Group Talks Support as Kyiv Says it Sunk Another Russian Warship
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hosted a virtual meeting with allies on Wednesday to discuss support for Ukraine as the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion nears. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has the latest.
https://www.voanews.com/a/ukraine-group-talks-support-as-kyiv-says-it-sunk-another-russian-warship/7488338.html Save to Pocket
2024 King Of The Baggers To Race At COTA During MotoGP Round
date: 2024-02-15, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
This marks the first time the King Of The Baggers will be witnessed by an international audience.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708713/2024-kotb-cota-motogp-announcement/ Save to Pocket
North Hollywood woman arrested on suspicion of vandalism
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
A North Hollywood woman was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of vandalism after allegedly throwing rocks at a vehicle, according to Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials. Deputies were called to the 26400 block of Bouquet Canyon Road, near Shadow Valley Lane, on Tuesday at around 11:45 a.m. for a report of a woman throwing rocks […]
The post <strong>North Hollywood woman arrested on suspicion of vandalism</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/north-hollywood-woman-arrested-on-suspicion-of-vandalism/ Save to Pocket
The text file that runs the internet
date: 2024-02-15, from: OS News
The robots.txt file governs a give and take; AI feels to many like all take and no give. But there’s now so much money in AI, and the technological state of the art is changing so fast that many site owners can’t keep up. And the fundamental agreement behind robots.txt, and the web as a whole — which for so long amounted to “everybody just be cool” — may not be able to keep up either. ↫ David Pierce for The Verge Another thing “AI” does not respect.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138589/the-text-file-that-runs-the-internet/ Save to Pocket
Quilter’s AI design service nabs $10M to make circuit board design easier
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Claims what took weeks to do by hand, machine learning can do in hours
On Tuesday AI startup Quilter picked up $10 million in series-A funding to use a combination of machine learning and high-performance computing (HPC) to make designing printed circuit boards a less grueling and manual experience.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/quilters_ai_platform/ Save to Pocket
Virtual SoundBlaster for HDA
date: 2024-02-15, from: FreeDOS News
VSBHDA provides SoundBlaster emulation for HDA (and AC97/SBLive). It is Japheth’s fork of crazii’s SBEMU driver. This one works with an unmodified HDPMI32i, making it compatible with HX. VSBHDA supports HDA (Intel’s High Definition Audio), Intel ICH / nForce, VIA VT82C686, VT8233/35/37, and VIA VT82C686, VT8233/35/37. It emulates SoundBlaster 1.0, 2.0, Pro, Pro2, 16 in 8-bit, 16-bit, mono, stereo, and high-speed modes. Version 1.1 is now available from VSBHDA on GitHub.
https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/news/2024/02/virtual-soundblaster-for-hda/ Save to Pocket
Updated Debug/X
date: 2024-02-15, from: FreeDOS News
Debug/X is a package of debuggers by Japheth, and includes Debug (like
MS-DOS DEBUG), DebugX (an extended version), and additional variants
like DebugXv, DebugXg, DebugB or DebugR that are useful in certain
cases. Japheth recently released a new Debug/X collection; version 2.02
fixes S command (position display was corrupted in
v2.00-v2.01). You can download the new version at
Debug/X
v2.02 or get the source code from the [Debug/X
GitHub]https://github.com/Baron-von-Riedesel/DOS-debug).
https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/news/2024/02/updated-debugx/ Save to Pocket
Letters: Extra officers | Broad experience | Utility tax | CO2 capture | Age, wisdom | Showing hypocrisy
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
East Bay Times Letters to the Editor for Feb. 15, 2024
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/letters-1610/ Save to Pocket
Storm-Related Tax Relief Available for Property Owners
date: 2024-02-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang is reminding property owners that property tax relief is available for those suffering damage from the recent torrent of storms
https://scvnews.com/storm-related-tax-relief-available-for-property-owners/ Save to Pocket
JEMM 5.84
date: 2024-02-15, from: FreeDOS News
JEMM is an “Expanded Memory Manager” (EMM) based on EMM386. Japheth updated JEMM with a few fixes: + Simulate_IO() no longer calls trap handler + int 67h, ax=5B01h will return error code A3h if checksum invalid + QPIEMU: new JLM that partly implements QEMM’s API + JEMMDBG: removed from binary package. You can find it at the JEMM GitHub, or more directly from the JEMM 5.84 release.
https://sourceforge.net/p/freedos/news/2024/02/jemm-584/ Save to Pocket
Migrant Crossings at US-Mexico Border Fall by Half in January; What’s Next?
date: 2024-02-15, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/migrant-crossings-at-us-mexico-border-fall-by-half-in-january/7488309.html Save to Pocket
Schiavo bill seeks to increase transparency on transportation investments
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
News release Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, has announced the introduction of the Transportation Accountability Act, Assembly Bill 2086, which will create needed transparency and accountability in California’s transportation investments, paving the way for a more efficient and equitable transportation system, according to a news release from the assemblywoman’s office. The Greenlining Institute and TransForm […]
The post Schiavo bill seeks to increase transparency on transportation investments appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/schiavo-bill-seeks-to-increase-transparency-on-transportation-investments/ Save to Pocket
Moderation is the Key to Health Eating Habits, According to CSUN Prof
date: 2024-02-15, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Moderation is the key to sustaining healthy eating habits through the holiday season and into the new year, according to Brittany Allison, an assistant professor of food science at California State University, Northridge.
https://scvnews.com/moderation-is-the-key-to-health-eating-habits-according-to-csun-prof/ Save to Pocket
OpenAI shuts down China, Russia, Iran, N Korea accounts caught doing naughty things
date: 2024-02-15, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
You don’t need us to craft phishing emails or write malware, super-lab sniffs
OpenAI has shut down five accounts it asserts were used by government agents to generate phishing emails and malicious software scripts as well as research ways to evade malware detection.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/15/openai_microsoft_spying/ Save to Pocket
Iran blames sabotage for natural gas pipeline explosion
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
In the past, Arab separatists in southwestern Iran have claimed attacks against oil pipelines. However, attacks elsewhere in Iran against such infrastructure are rare.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/iran-blames-sabotage-for-natural-gas-pipeline-explosion/ Save to Pocket
WEWIL Collaborative to host online workshop
date: 2024-02-15, from: The Signal
News release WeWil Collaborative, a local organization that seeks to empower women with professional development, growth, and connections through workshops and community, is scheduled Feb. 23 to host an online workshop featuring internationally acclaimed photographer Vivien Killilea. The workshop, “Mastering Your Business Through Authenticity and an Open Mind,” draws from Killilea’s experiences across diverse cultures, […]
The post WEWIL Collaborative to host online workshop appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/wewil-collaborative-to-host-online-workshop/ Save to Pocket
Letters: BART cost | ‘Affordable’ housing | Savings tax | Elect Kumar | Sweeten pay
date: 2024-02-15, from: San Jose Mercury News
Mercury News Letters to the Editor for Feb. 15, 2024
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/14/letters-1609/ Save to Pocket
Three-dimensional modelling of cavitation bubble collapse using non-orthogonal multiple-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method
date: 2024-02-15, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Peng, Haonan; Fei, Linlin; He, Xiaolong; Carmeliet, Jan; Churakov, Sergey V.; Prasianakis, Nikolaos I.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/657636 Save to Pocket
Programming the SunFounder GalaxyRVR Mars Rover
date: 2024-02-14, from: Stephen Smith’s blog
Introduction Last time, we gave our initial review of the SunFounder GalaxyRVR Mars Rover, this time we’ll look at how to program it. Unlike SunFounder’s PiCar or PiDog which are powered by Raspberry Pis, the GalaxyRVR has an Arduino Uno as its brain. This means writing the program in Arduino C rather than Python. It […]
https://smist08.wordpress.com/2024/02/14/programming-the-sunfounder-galaxyrvr-mars-rover/ Save to Pocket
American Cancer Society See’s Candies Fundraiser
date: 2024-02-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Santa Clarita Valley Relay For Life of the American Cancer Society invites you to join their online Spring FUNdraiser with See’s Candies treats from now through Mar.ch
https://scvnews.com/mar-18-american-cancer-society-sees-candies-fundraiser/ Save to Pocket
Newhallywood Silent Film Festival set for this weekend
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Signal
News release Residents have the opportunity to explore the early days of silent cinema and some of the most iconic movies ever created at the 2024 Newhallywood Silent Film Festival, featuring classic films and more at various venues this weekend in Old Town Newhall. The city of Santa Clarita is hosting the festival Friday through […]
The post Newhallywood Silent Film Festival set for this weekend appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/newhallywood-silent-film-festival-set-for-this-weekend/ Save to Pocket
US Sanctions Iran Central Bank Subsidiary, Says It Violated Export Rules
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
washington — The U.S. on Wednesday sanctioned three people and four firms — across Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey — for allegedly helping to export goods and technology purchased from U.S. companies to Iran and the nation’s central bank.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the procurement network transferred U.S. technology for use by Iran’s Central Bank in violation of U.S. export restrictions and sanctions.
Some of the materials acquired by the Central Bank of Iran were items classified as “information security items subject to national security and anti-terrorism controls” by the Commerce Department, Treasury said.
Included in the sanctions package was Informatics Services Corp., an Iranian subsidiary of Iran’s Central Bank that most recently developed the Central Bank Digital Currency platform for the bank; a UAE-based front company, which acquired U.S. tech for the Central Bank of Iran and the front company’s CEO; and a Turkey-based affiliate firm that also made purchases that ended up in Iran.
“The Central Bank of Iran has played a critical role in providing financial support to” Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the militant group Hezbollah, said Treasury Undersecretary Brian E. Nelson, adding that they were the “two key actors intent on further destabilizing the Middle East.”
“The United States will continue to use all available means to disrupt the Iranian regime’s illicit attempts to procure sensitive U.S. technology and critical inputs,” he said.
The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-sanctions-iran-central-bank-subsidiary-says-it-violated-export-rules/7487936.html Save to Pocket
Want To Have A Say In The Future Of LA’s Trees? Here’s How
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The LAist
The region’s first holistic urban tree management plans are in the works.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/la-city-county-urban-forest-plan Save to Pocket
LA Street Vendors Trial Postponed: What Comes Next
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The LAist
Trial is postponed as plaintiffs hope to reach a settlement with the city of Los Angeles over “no-vending” zones
https://laist.com/news/street-vendors-trial-postponed Save to Pocket
These LA-Area Couples Celebrated Valentine’s Day By Getting Married
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The LAist
For one couple, it’s an easy date to remember. For another, it’s the wedding after a NASCAR proposal.
https://laist.com/news/valentines-day-la-couples-marry Save to Pocket
The Marshall Star for February 14, 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
Marshall Chief Scientist Provides Valuable Insight into NASA Moonquake Study By Jonathan Deal The Moon holds clues to the evolution of Earth, the planets, and the Sun, and a new NASA-funded study is helping scientists better understand some of the mysteries beneath the surface of our nearest cosmic neighbor. The co-author of that study is […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-for-february-14-2024/ Save to Pocket
‘The Woman in the Castello’ Takes Center Stage in One Story One City Program
date: 2024-02-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Santa Clarita Public Library proudly unveils this year’s chosen masterpiece for the One Story One City program , ‘The Woman in the Castello’ by Kelsey James
https://scvnews.com/the-woman-in-the-castello-takes-center-stage-in-santa-claritas-one-story-one-city-program/ Save to Pocket
Uncle Sam Is Helping Americans Buy 675 Electric Cars a Day
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heatmap News
Earlier this week, I was thinking to myself, how are we going to know
how many people are actually taking advantage of the tax credits in the
Inflation Reduction Act?
When I put the question out on Twitter — I mean, X — I heard from Sam Hughes, a researcher inside the Treasury who pointed me to a section of the department’s website that contains data on tax credits by year. The problem is, it hasn’t been updated since 2020. But then today, as if to answer my prayers, I received a taste of the data I was looking for in my inbox.
A Treasury official shared that the IRS has received notices from car sellers indicating they sold more than 25,000 tax credit-eligible vehicles between January 1 and February 6. That’s an average of more than 675 EVs sold at a government-sponsored discount per day.
To put that in perspective, about 1.08 million cars were sold in total in the month of January, according to Cox Automotive, or about 34,840 per day. So the tax credit-supported EVs were only about 2% of the total cars sold.
But 25,000 discounted EVs is nothing to scoff at — especially since starting January 1, two big changes were made to the tax credit that made it both harder and easier for Americans to get them.
First, new rules that limit what countries the components in eligible EVs are allowed to come from had the effect of disqualifying a lot of EVs from the tax credit. As of today, only 22 models from Chevy, Ford, Rivian, Tesla, and Volkswagen qualify, according to the Department of Energy. Last year, there were 35 models.
But at the same time, car buyers were given the option to transfer the tax credit to their dealer at the point of sale. That meant the dealer could take the $7,500 discount for new EVs, or $4,000 for used EVs, directly off the price of the car. Buyers no longer have to worry about whether or not they will owe $7,500 in taxes at the end of the year, or wait around for their tax return, to get that money back.
The Treasury said it has paid approximately $135 million in advance payments to dealers for about 19,000 of the EVs sold this year.
So even with fewer options available, buyers are still taking advantage of the new instant rebate and finding vehicles that work for them. The vast majority of the EVs sold — more than 22,000 — were new cars, while just over 3,000 were used EVs.
One disheartening stat included in the data is that some 11,000 dealerships have registered with the IRS to sell tax credit-eligible vehicles. As of last year, there were just over 16,800 dealerships in the country, according to the National Automobile Dealerships Association, so that means only about 65% of dealerships can offer customers the EV tax credit. Many dealers are not yet on board with the electric revolution. They take longer to sell and require less maintenance, cutting into profits.
The Treasury official said the department was trying to increase registrations via trade association partners, webinars, and conferences.
This smidgeon of data is not enough to assess how well the tax credits are working, and I hope that after tax day, the agency releases similar information about how many people claimed other IRA-related tax credits last year.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/how-many-evs-ira Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-14, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Godot on iPad, part 6: It's time for some Menu Game Theory.
https://blog.la-terminal.net/its-time-for-some-menu-game-theory/
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111932255969332873 Save to Pocket
China’s Economic Woes May Give US Chance to Pressure North Korea, Some Experts Say
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
Washington — Some Asia experts are calling for tough new economic sanctions on China, arguing that the nation’s economic downturn makes it particularly vulnerable to pressure to crack down on North Korea’s ability to make and launder money for its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
Other analysts argue the opposite, saying new sanctions now would make Beijing less receptive to U.S. efforts to get it to help curb Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
“Beijing is worried that a long or deep recession would lead to political unrest,” and “that worry gives Washington greater leverage over Beijing — leverage that it didn’t have during the period of strong Chinese economic growth,” said Joshua Stanton, an attorney based in Washington, D.C., who helped draft the Sanctions and Policy Enforcement Act in 2016.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted in a report last month that China’s economy will slow from 5.2% GDP growth in 2023 to 4.6% this year, further declining into 4.1% in 2025.
China’s manufacturing activities contracted for the fourth consecutive month in January and the country is further troubled by soaring debt in the property market and local governments.
In an email to VOA last Friday, Stanton said the Biden administration should “increase pressure on a central government that fears any regional recession” and “designate canneries and sweatshops that employ North Korean labor.”
Chinese factories are known to employ North Korean laborers and label products they manufactured as made in China. Approximately 3,000 North Koreans working illegally in China staged a violent protest in January over unpaid wages, according to Reuters, citing South Korea’s intelligence agency.
In 2017, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution urging countries to repatriate all North Korean workers by December 2019 to curb Pyongyang’s ability to make income abroad that supports its weapons programs. North Korean workers remit most of their overseas earnings to the regime.
Stanton argued that Washington should also “apply enhanced scrutiny to local bank branches in Chinese cities” that launder money for North Korea. “China always promises to cooperate if we don’t sanction its banks, but it always breaks those promises,” he said.
China been tightening regulations on its banks that deal with Russia recently in response to strengthened U.S. sanctions on financial institutions that work with the Russian military.
Anthony Ruggiero, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, dismissed the Biden administration’s current North Korea sanctions as “weak and ineffective.”
“The administration should target North Korea’s revenue generation and Russian and Chinese banks, entities, and individuals aiding Pyongyang’s sanctions evasion,” he said.
David Asher, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said North Korea still works “largely via China” to finance and acquire high-technology products for its military and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.
Asher, who oversaw the disruption of North Korea’s illegal trading and WMD networks during the George W. Bush administration, said last Saturday via email that there is a “robust” criminal sector in China, “especially Macao and Hong Kong, where North Korean elites continue to launder money including billions of dollars generated via cybercrime.”
But other experts are warning against sanctioning China, especially when its economy is slowing, and the U.S. is trying to get Beijing’s help to curb to North Korea’s missile launches.
“You can twist the knob on China and try to enforce more pain in return for its support on North Korea,” said Ken Gause, senior adversary analytics specialist at the Center for Naval Analyses, in a telephone interview on Friday.
“But that will blow up in your face because then, China would see us actively trying to harm China to get it to do something on North Korea.”
He continued, “China will not react very well to that, and we could actually make the situation much worse.”
He added that “the only way sanctions would work” is when there are “overlapping U.S. and Chinese strategic equities.”
Gary Samore, former White House coordinator for arms control and WMD during the Obama administration, agreed during a telephone interview on Monday that the Biden administration may be concerned that sanctioning Chinese entities would make Beijing “less likely to cooperate on diplomatic efforts.”
Samore, who is currently professor of the practice of politics at Brandeis University, added that even if some Chinese entities stopped doing business with North Korea because of sanctions, there could be other Chinese entities that would be willing to work with North Korea.
https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-economic-woes-may-give-us-chance-to-pressure-north-korea/7487858.html Save to Pocket
Flame Burns Out on NASA’s Long-Running Spacecraft Fire Experiment
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
NASA recently concluded the final mission of its Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment, or Saffire, putting a blazing end to an eight-year series of investigations that provided insights into fire’s behavior in space. The final experiment, Saffire-VI, launched to the International Space Station in August 2023 and concluded its mission on Jan. 9, when the Northrop […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/flame-burns-out-on-nasas-long-running-spacecraft-fire-experiment/ Save to Pocket
Suzuki USA Issues Stop Sale Order On 2024 GSX-8Rs Due To Chain Issue
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Certain bikes may have had drive chains installed that were not properly riveted.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708710/2024-suzuki-gsx8r-chain-recall/ Save to Pocket
Date set for for epic Amazon-FTC antitrust showdown
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Lina Khan may not even be in charge of watchdog by time case gets to trial, if it even goes that far
The FTC’s antitrust case against Amazon is headed to trial, though not anytime soon, with a federal judge scheduling it to begin on October 13, 2026. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/amazon_ftc_antitrust/ Save to Pocket
Marcia Mayeda: WeRateDogs,15/10 Foundation Partner with DACC
date: 2024-02-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
One of my favorite sites on social media is the site called WeRateDogs. WeRateDogs asks pet owners to send photos of their dogs, then posts selected photos with humorous comments
https://scvnews.com/marcia-mayeda-weratedogs15-10-foundation-partner-with-dacc/ Save to Pocket
Ken Burns Turns His Lens to Leonardo da Vinci
date: 2024-02-14, from: Smithsonian Magazine
An upcoming two-part documentary will be the filmmaker’s first foray into a non-American subject matter
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ken-burns-newest-documentary-delves-into-the-life-of-leonardo-da-vinci-180983792/ Save to Pocket
Copper Wire Thefts In LA Have Skyrocketed, Affecting Rail Crossings And Internet Access. Now The City’s Creating A Taskforce
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The LAist
The L.A. City Council voted to establish an LAPD task force and a reward program to encourage people to report the crimes.
https://laist.com/news/criminal-justice/la-city-council-copper-wire-thefts Save to Pocket
Ford ‘better get going on EVs,’ or it will lose out to cheaper Chinese electric cars
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Are cheaper Chinese EVs a “colossal strategic threat” poised to enter the US market? Marin Gjaja, chief operating officer for Ford’s EV unit, believes they could put them out of business.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/ford-better-get-going-or-lose-to-cheaper-chinese-evs/ Save to Pocket
Here’s how to take the sting out of the cost of installing a heat pump
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Heat pump installation has to become more affordable to make adoption more compelling in the US, but in the meantime, there are ways to mitigate that cost.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/heres-how-to-take-the-sting-out-of-the-cost-of-installing-a-heat-pump/ Save to Pocket
CDC Considers Dropping Five-Day Covid Isolation Guideline
date: 2024-02-14, from: Smithsonian Magazine
While no official decision has been made, symptomatic patients might be able to stop isolating if they are fever-free for 24 hours and are beginning to feel better under the proposed change
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cdc-considers-dropping-five-day-covid-isolation-guideline-180983794/ Save to Pocket
Cabel Sasser bought some acetate records recorded by a jazz band loosely…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043976-cabel-sasser-bought-some- Save to Pocket
Is Geothermal About to Become the Solar of the 2020s?
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heatmap News
Fervo Energy is getting a lot better at drilling holes. According to data presented this week at Stanford University, it took the company 71 days to drill a geothermal well back in 2022. But last year in Utah, Fervo was able to get drilling down to 21 days, despite those wells being over 2,000 feet deeper. That has reduced drilling time by 70%.
Fervo is a buzzy, well-funded, and well-connected startup out of Houston that drills wells to produce enhanced geothermal energy, a clean source of power derived from heat beneath the Earth’s surface. But whereas traditional geothermal means tapping into hot water or steam underground, Fervo drills as deep as 9,000 feet down to access hot rocks, which are far more ubiquitous, and then pumps water into them, potentially unlocking many more areas for this kind of power generation.
This week’s announcement follows a pilot project last year where the company was actually able to produce electricity. Now the challenge is producing that electricity at scale — and that requires drilling faster.
Already its new timeline is translating in dramatic cost reductions, the company says, from $9.4 million to $4.8 million per well. For its Utah site, where it might need to drill 29 wells, back-of-the-envelope math suggests that could translate into up to $130 million in savings.
“The biggest expense in drilling is time it takes to drill. The easiest way to reduce drilling costs is to drill faster,” Fervo’s co-founder and chief executive Tim Latimer told me.
Latimer’s big idea behind Fervo is not just a conceptual one about how to generate geothermal power in areas that don’t produce steam or very hot water on their own, but also about how to apply the steady improvement and cost reductions seen in the oil and gas industry to non-carbon emitting power generation that can be available 24 hours a day.
“Oil and gas drilling has become incredibly much more efficient. That’s what drove the shale revolution. We were excited about 45-day wells and now you’ll see fields where people drill wells in 10 days or less,” Latimer told me.
Some of the improvement Fervo has achieved is due to porting over specific pieces of technology from the shale industry, like polycrystalline diamond compact drillbits and using them on the harder granite that Fervo drills. “Taking something that unlocked the shale revolution and making it work for hard rock was our whole thesis,” Latimer said. And there’s just been the steady improvements that come through experience and automation. Latimer described how they figured out a standardized, automated way to pick up and set down the drill bit so that the bit isn’t damaged when drilling starts up again.
“When we think about Fervo, a lot of the things we think about is not [how to] narrowly cut costs for one well, but ‘how do we create a system where you simplify well design and make its more standardized.’”
The idea is that there can be a “learning curve” with drilling geothermal wells, dropping costs over time. “We think geothermal will be on the end of that spectrum like solar or LEDs or battery that benefits from a learning curve because we figured out a way to standardize,” Latimer said. “Fervo is a learning curve company.”
These learning curves haven’t just been seen in fracking, but famously in green energy as well, especially standardized technology like solar panels, whose costs reductions consistently outpace expert forecasts. On the flip side, other forms of emission-free power, namely nuclear power, seem to be getting more expensive over time.
Fervo has also been capturing attention — and dollars — across the green energy community because of a specific type of power that enhanced geothermal could provide: 24 hour generation.
Other forms of non-carbon-emitting energy, particularly solar and wind, only generate power either at specific times or day (when it’s sunny) or when the weather is a certain way (windy). With enough transmission and batteries, these types of intermittent generation could power substantially more of the grid than they do today, but they can’t do it all — at least while keeping costs under control.
The need for 24/7 clean power has only been amplified by the Treasury Department’s proposed rules on green hydrogen, which would make hydrogen producers prove they’re using non-carbon-emitting energy for their operations in order to qualify for subsidies.
Latimer said Fervo’s inbox “blew up” after the proposed rules went out. “We’re every hydrogen tech’s favorite supplier now,” he said. But he noted that Fervo’s appeal was by no means limited to green hydrogen.
“Round-the-clock reliable electricity that doesn’t come with carbon emissions is not a hard sell, it just has to be a cost structure that makes sense.”
Fervo’s work is especially attractive to technology companies, who have long been pioneers in procuring green energy and are now interested in being able to get it 24/7. Fervo’s Nevada projects are contracted to provide power to Google’s data centers and other infrastructure throughout the state.
While Latimer would not say what Fervo’s current costs are, he did say that for it to be competitive, it would have to get down to around $100 per megawatt-hour, about where traditional geothermal — where steam or very hot water that’s already present underground is brought to the surface — is now. The Department of Energy’s goal is to reduce enhanced geothermal costs by around 90 percent to $45 per megawatt hour by 2025. “The results show we’re on the path to already being able to provide economic projects even at that market rate,” Latimer said.
And Fervo is continuing to get attention — and dollars — from the federal government. The Department of Energy announced Tuesday that Fervo was one of three companies — the other two being Chevron and Mazama — that would receive grants for their geothermal work.
https://heatmap.news/economy/fervo-energy-tim-latimer-drilling-costs Save to Pocket
Democrats, Republicans Hold Black History Month Events With Eye on November Election
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Black History Month, often a time to recognize the contributions of African Americans in U.S. history, was marked in the nation’s capital this week with a focus on present divides and the November election when Black turnout will be integral to the outcome.
At the White House, the Biden administration on Tuesday hosted more than two dozen family members of civil rights icons and major historical figures for a gala celebrating Black history. Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance where she praised the families and recounted the administration’s commitment to Black communities.
A few hours later, Republicans held a reception in Washington’s U Street neighborhood, a key part of Black history in the city, to celebrate former GOP (Republican) officials and activists who have engaged Black voters.
The White House has taken Black History Month as an opportunity to highlight the administration’s efforts on priorities such as education, voting rights and jobs. Republicans see a chance to win more votes from a core Democratic constituency, noting President Joe Biden’s lower popularity with Black adults and the criticism he has taken for inflation and his handling of the border.
Biden’s approval rating among Black adults was 42% in a January poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, a substantial drop from the first year of his presidency.
Democrats are spotlighting Biden’s support with civil rights stalwarts and lambasting Republicans for enacting policies restricting how educators discuss race and history in the classroom.
“We know that those who don’t remember their history are doomed to repeat it,” said Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, to the families assembled at the White House. Sewell represents Selma, Alabama, where white police beat Black civil rights marchers in 1965 on a day remembered today as “Bloody Sunday.”
“At a time when extremists seek to erase our history and roll back our progress, we should take a lesson from our foremothers and forefathers,” she said.
Republicans held their own Black History Month celebration later that evening with about 100 people.
“As RNC Chair, I have made it a mission to reach out to communities and voters that we have ignored as a party,” said Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel during Tuesday night’s event. “Black voters are going to make history this November because they’re going to vote Republican at the highest level we’ve ever seen,” McDaniel predicted to applause from the audience.
The RNC intends to expand its number of community outreach centers in Black communities after the GOP primary concludes. The party has been optimistic about its chances to improve its poor margins with Black voters since Republicans made slight inroads with them in the 2022 midterm elections.
But the party’s current focus on issues like the teaching of race and history may risk mobilizing Black voters against the GOP. Republican officials in at least a dozen states have enacted policies that regulate how educators discuss topics including race, history and gender in the classroom.
“This moment in time is evidence that our history is unbannable, that teaching it is core to our progress, and that Black history is American history,” Nevada Rep. Steve Horsford, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, told the White House crowd.
The Biden campaign dismissed GOP Black voter outreach as insincere and noted that former President Donald Trump, the current front-runner for the GOP nomination, had dinner in 2022 with Nick Fuentes, a Holocaust-denying white nationalist.
“In Donald Trump’s Republican Party, celebrating Black History Month means teaching kids that slavery benefited Black people, papering over slavery as the cause of the Civil War and sharing well-done steaks doused in ketchup with white supremacists at Mar-a-Lago,” said Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler. “I’m sure they’ll serve up plenty of the same at their little event.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, the Biden campaign rolled out new ads targeting Black voters by highlighting the administration’s investments in historically Black colleges and universities as well as the number of Black officeholders appointed by Biden, including Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. And the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday unveiled digital ads targeting HBCUs in battleground states that touts Biden’s record on student debt.
Democrats point to record-low Black unemployment, policies capping the cost of insulin and Biden’s cancellation of about $137 billion in student loan debt as policies they hope will boost support among Black voters. And party officials and strategists stress that its emphasis on Black voters extends beyond a single month of events.
Biden also moved to increase Black political power when he upended precedent to place South Carolina and its substantial Black population first in the party’s primary calendar. South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, a veteran of the Civil Rights movement and a close Biden ally, co-chairs the president’s reelection campaign.
According to some of the assembled Republican activists on Tuesday night, many of whom are Black, the GOP simply lacked the sustained efforts needed to court more Black voters. Quenton Jordan, a Republican activist who won an award at the event, said that the GOP is now “putting forth an effort to capture the Black vote where in previous years, that just wasn’t the case.”
“I remember when we had a greater pool,” said Ken Blackwell, a former Ohio Republican secretary of state who received an award at the reception. “That’s why this is important. To reengage, to give our narrative and give them a choice. But first, we’ve got to show up.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/democrats-republicans-hold-black-history-month-events-with-eye-on-november-election-/7487828.html Save to Pocket
The 2024 Ypsilon Is Lancia’s First New Car In 13 Years
date: 2024-02-14, from: Inside EVs News
The troubled Italian brand signals rebirth with its first-ever EV.
https://insideevs.com/news/708706/2024-lancia-ypsilon-ev/ Save to Pocket
1 Person Killed, Children Among 22 Shot at Kansas City Super Bowl Parade
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
kansas city, missouri — Eight children were among 22 people hit by gunfire in a shooting at the end of Wednesday’s parade to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, authorities said. One person was killed, identified by her radio station as a DJ.
Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves detailed the shooting’s toll at a news conference and said three people had been taken into custody.
“I’m angry at what happened today. The people who came to this celebration should expect a safe environment,” Graves said. Police did not immediately release details about the people taken into custody or about a possible motive for the shootings. She said firearms had been recovered, but not what kind of weapons were used.
“There’s a lot of work ahead. This is just the beginning stages,” she said. “All of that is being actively investigated.”
It was the latest sports celebration in the U.S. to be marred by gun violence. A shooting injured several people last year in downtown Denver after the Nuggets’ NBA championship, and gunfire erupted last year at a parking lot near the Texas Rangers’ World Series championship parade.
Radio station KKFI said in a Facebook post Wednesday evening that DJ Lisa Lopez, host of “Taste of Tejano,” was killed in the shooting.
“This senseless act has taken a beautiful person from her family and this KC community,” KKFI said in a statement.
The shooting outside Union Station happened despite more than 800 police officers who were in the building and around the area, including on top of nearby buildings, said Mayor Quinton Lucas, who attended with his wife and mother and had to run for cover when gunfire broke out.
“I think that’s something that all of us who are parents, who are just regular people living each day, have to decide what we wish to do about,” Lucas said. “Parades, rallies, schools, movies. It seems like almost nothing is safe.”
Kansas City has long struggled with gun violence, and in 2020 it was among nine cities targeted by the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to crack down on violent crime. In 2023 the city matched a record with 182 homicides, most of which involved guns.
Lucas has joined with mayors across the country in calling for new laws to reduce gun violence, including mandating universal background checks.
Lisa Money, a resident of the city, was trying to gather some confetti near the end of the parade when she heard somebody yell, “Down, down, everybody down!”
At first Money thought somebody might be joking. Then she saw a SWAT team jumping over a nearby fence.
“I can’t believe it really happened. Who in their right mind would do something like this? This is supposed to be a day of celebration for everybody in the city and the surrounding area,” she said.
Kevin Sanders, 53, of Lenexa, Kansas, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers and then people started running. After that initial flurry, calm returned, and he didn’t think much of it. But 10 minutes later, ambulances started showing up.
University Health spokeswoman Nancy Lewis said the hospital was treating eight gunshot victims. Two were in critical condition and six were in stable condition, she said. The hospital also was treating four people for other injuries resulting from the chaos after the shooting, Lewis said.
Lisa Augustine, spokesperson for Children’s Mercy Kansas City, said the hospital was treating 12 patients from the rally, including 11 children, some of whom suffered gunshot wounds.
St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City received one gunshot patient in critical condition and three walk-ins with injuries that were not life-threatening, spokesperson Laurel Gifford said.
Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said that he was with coach Andy Reid and other coaches and staff members at the time of the shooting, and that the team was on buses and returning to Arrowhead Stadium.
“We are truly saddened by the senseless act of violence that occurred outside of Union Station at the conclusion of today’s parade and rally,” the team said in a statement.
Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Parson and first lady Teresa Parson were at the parade during the gunfire but were unhurt.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and will continue to receive updates, a White House spokesperson said. White House officials were in touch with state and local leaders, and federal law enforcement was on the scene supporting local counterparts.
https://www.voanews.com/a/shots-fired-near-super-bowl-champs-parade-several-injured-official-says/7487815.html Save to Pocket
China’s Volt Typhoon spies broke into emergency network of ‘large’ US city
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Jeez, not now, Xi. Can’t you see we’ve got an election and Ukraine and Gaza and cost of living and layoffs and …
The Chinese government’s Volt Typhoon spy team has apparently already compromised a large US city’s emergency services network and has been spotted snooping around America’s telecommunications’ providers as well.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/volt_typhoon_emergency_network/ Save to Pocket
April 20: MHF Announces New Twists in Annual Walk for Children’s Cancer
date: 2024-02-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Michael Hoefflin Foundation is committed to supporting children and families affected by cancer, is thrilled to announce its much-anticipated Annual Walk for Children’s Cancer on Saturday, Apr. 20 at Central Park
https://scvnews.com/apr-20-michael-hoefflin-foundation-announces-exciting-new-twists-in-the-upcoming-annual-walk-for-childrens-cancer/ Save to Pocket
Andy Weir’s The Martian was released in bookstores ten years ago. To…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043975-andy-weirs-the-martian-wa Save to Pocket
From Mac OS X 10.2 to macOS 10.15 – pt 2
date: 2024-02-14, from: Tilde.news
https://www.geeklan.co.uk/?p=3307 Save to Pocket
Oregon just got its first offshore wind energy areas with 2.4 GW of potential
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
In a first, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has finalized two offshore wind energy areas (WEAs) off Oregon’s coast.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/oregon-offshore-wind-energy-areas/ Save to Pocket
French Government’s €100-A-Month EV Leasing Plan Falls Victim To Its Own Success
date: 2024-02-14, from: Inside EVs News
Demand far outstripped supply after an affordable EV leasing program received an overwhelming response.
https://insideevs.com/news/708703/france-electric-car-100-leasing-program/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-14, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
For those of you that don’t believe me that my thermostat is playing back music:
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111931743778809179 Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-14, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
On my quest to drop the top-level Godot menu and replace it with native Menus, the menu on the left, has been replace with the menu on the right.
New Scene incorporates both New Scene and New Inherited Scene in one UI. And Open handles all four cases of opening things (three quick-opens and one file open).
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111931717367397647 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Why walking around in public with Vision Pro makes no sense.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/why-walking-around-in-public-with-vision-pro-makes-no-sense/ Save to Pocket
Climate Activists Stage Protest in Front of Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’
date: 2024-02-14, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Two men taped images of flooding in Tuscany to the Renaissance painting’s protective glass
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/climate-activists-stage-protest-in-front-of-botticellis-birth-of-venus-180983797/ Save to Pocket
Key US Lawmaker Warns of ‘Serious National Security Threat’
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
Washington — A top U.S. lawmaker is sounding an alarm about a potentially significant threat to the country’s security, publicly calling on President Joe Biden to declassify intelligence so that the American public and its allies can formulate a response.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Republican Representative Mike Turner, issued a statement Tuesday warning of a “serious national security threat.”
Turner’s statement did not elaborate on the threat, but noted he has requested that the president share the information more quickly and more widely.
A copy of an email Turner reportedly sent to colleagues, shared on social media by various news outlets, described the danger as a “foreign military destabilizing capability.”
Still, the White House on Wednesday sought to downplay Turner’s concerns.
“I’m confident that President Biden, in the decisions that he is taking, is going to ensure the security of the American people going forward,” said White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
“We believe that we can and will and are protecting the national security of the United States,” Sullivan told reporters, adding he was surprised that Turner took his concerns public since they were scheduled to meet for a classified briefing Thursday.
Sullivan also defended the decision not to make the threat intelligence public, pointing both to concerns about protecting U.S. “sources and methods,” and the president’s willingness to declassify intelligence in the past.
“You definitely are not going to find an unwillingness to do that when it’s in our national security interests to do so,” he said. “This administration has gone further and, in more creative, more strategic ways, dealt with the declassification of intelligence in the national interest of the United States than any administration in history.”
Some key lawmakers also pushed back.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes, called the threat “a significant one” but “not a cause for panic.”
“As to whether more can be declassified about this issue, that is a worthwhile discussion,” he added. “But it is not a discussion to be had in public.”
The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee likewise sought to allay concerns.
The committee “has the intelligence in question and has been rigorously tracking this issue from the start,” Democratic Chairman Mark Warner and Republican Vice Chairman Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“We continue to take this matter seriously and are discussing an appropriate response with the administration,” they added. “In the meantime, we must be cautious about potentially disclosing sources and methods that may be key to preserving a range of options for U.S. action.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson separately told reporters multiple times there is “no need for public alarm.”
“I want to assure the American people,” Johnson said. “We just want to assure everyone steady hands are at the wheel. We’re working on it and there’s no need for alarm.”
VOA’s Katherine Gypson conributed to this report.
https://www.voanews.com/a/key-us-lawmaker-warns-of-serious-national-security-threat-/7487748.html Save to Pocket
AI won’t take our jobs and it might even save the middle class
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
MIT economist argues AI can moderate the inequalities of the Information Age
The future described in OpenAI’s mission statement, in which autonomous systems “outperform humans at most economically valuable work,” sounds like a hellscape to MIT economics professor David Autor.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/ai_wont_take_our_jobs/ Save to Pocket
Research Finds Homo Sapiens Were in Europe Years Before Neanderthals Disappeared
date: 2024-02-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
California State University, Northridge anthropologist Hélène Rougier of bones first excavated by archaeologists in Germany in the 1930s has contributed to the discovery that modern humans reached northwest Europe more than 45,000 years ago
https://scvnews.com/csun-profs-research-finds-evidence-homo-sapiens-were-in-northwest-europe-more-than-45000-years-ago-years-before-neanderthals-disappeared/ Save to Pocket
Ford Software Engineer reveals easter egg found in Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
If you drive a Ford EV, you can use this newly revealed easter egg to impress your loved ones this Valentine’s Day.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/ford-easter-egg-mustang-mach-e-f-150-lightning/ Save to Pocket
The founder of Bob’s Red Mill grain company sounds like an interesting…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043973-the-founder-of-bobs-red Save to Pocket
Since it is Ash Wednesday …
date: 2024-02-14, from: Logic Matters blog
The post Since it is Ash Wednesday … appeared first on Logic Matters.
https://www.logicmatters.net/2024/02/14/since-it-is-ash-wednesday/ Save to Pocket
@IIIF Mastodon feed (date: 2024-02-14, from: IIIF Mastodon feed)
Registration for the 2024 IIIF Annual Conference is now open! A link to the registration portal, along with event and travel details, is available on the IIIF website: bit.ly/iiif-LA
https://glammr.us/@IIIF/111931575730108193 Save to Pocket
Tesla Model 3 Long Range Gets Second Price Hike This Month
date: 2024-02-14, from: Inside EVs News
And you’ll have to wait longer to get it.
https://insideevs.com/news/708689/tesla-model3-lr-more-expensive/ Save to Pocket
Moving to Windows 11 is so easy! You just need to buy a PC that supports it!
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
New Start Menu is a ‘game changer’ claims relentlessly cheerful vid
Microsoft is again releasing a video to entice more Windows 10 users to make the leap to the brave new world of Windows 11, with market share figures indicating the majority of customers are still reluctant to do so.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/microsoft_windows_11_plea/ Save to Pocket
Swift Collections 1.1
date: 2024-02-14, from: Michael Tsai
Karoy Lorentey (Mastodon): This feature release adds a number of new data structure implementations, along with minor changes to existing constructs.[…]Heap implements a min-max heap, backed by a native array.BitSet and BitArray are two alternate representations of a bitmap type, backed by dynamically allocated storage.TreeSet and TreeDictionary are hashed collections implementing Compressed Hash-Array Mapped Prefix […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/14/swift-collections-1-1/ Save to Pocket
Mail and Preview Working Together
date: 2024-02-14, from: Michael Tsai
Wade Tregaskis: …after I’d filled out a form PDF that was emailed to me. It had exactly the option I wanted first and foremost, to send the completed PDF back to the sender. Sure, manually digging up the completed PDF from disk and dragging it into a Mail Compose [Reply] window isn’t hard, but it […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/14/mail-and-preview-working-together/ Save to Pocket
The iMessage Halo Effect
date: 2024-02-14, from: Michael Tsai
John Siracusa: The iMessage service is not so good that it makes the iPhone more attractive to customers. It’s the iPhone that makes iMessage attractive. The iPhone gives iMessage its cachet, not the other way around. […] Today, it still feels like the iPhone is carrying iMessage. Anecdotally, both my teenage children have iPhones, but […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/14/the-imessage-halo-effect/ Save to Pocket
Fraudulent Kimi App
date: 2024-02-14, from: Michael Tsai
Wes Davis: There’s a vision testing app called Kimi sitting at number eight in the Apple iOS App Store’s trending list of free entertainment apps right now (and number 46 overall for free apps!). But it’s not an app for testing your eyesight, at least not unless you consider watching pirated movies on your smartphone […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/14/fraudulent-kimi-app/ Save to Pocket
Tesla Full Self-Driving Beta saved me once and tried to kill me twice
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
I have been driving with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta for about two years now, and during that time, it saved me once and tried to kill me twice.
How should I feel about that?
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/tesla-full-self-driving-beta-saved-me-once-tried-to-kill-me-twice/ Save to Pocket
E-quipment highlight: Bobcat E10e excavates under St. Jerome’s in Naples
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Because it doesn’t have tailpipe emissions that can harm people and contaminate the air in enclosed spaces, electric equipment has the ability to get work done where the cost of conventional diesel or propane can’t be justified. In this case, we’re not talking about financial cost, but cultural cost – in this case, at the St. Jerome Monumental Complex in Naples, where Bobcat is putting its E10e electric mini excavator to work exploring the historic landmark.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/e-quipment-highlight-bobcat-e10e-excavates-under-st-jeromes-in-naples/ Save to Pocket
Vintage Typologies
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/vintage-typologies Save to Pocket
US Homeland Security Chief’s Impeachment Trial to Start in Two Weeks
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-mayorkas-impeachment-trial-to-start-in-two-weeks-/7487641.html Save to Pocket
Battle Of The Hollywood Censors
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Lever News
While politicians, military brass, and Chinese officials jockey to control the content of Hollywood blockbusters, experts say no one is looking out for the filmmakers themselves.
https://www.levernews.com/battle-of-the-hollywood-censors/ Save to Pocket
Mark Zuckerberg on Vision Pro
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3TkhmivNzt Save to Pocket
From Forward Presence to Forward Defense: NATO’s Defense of the Baltics
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: RAND blog
The Baltic states remain vulnerable to a potential Russian military attack due to their geography. They are watching closely as NATO begins pivoting its posture of deterrence by punishment to deterrence by denial.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/02/from-forward-presence-to-forward-defense-natos-defense.html Save to Pocket
NIU BQI-C3 Pro e-bike now $1,500, take up to $1,250 off Greenworks electric riding mowers, and more
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Headlining today’s top deals is the NIU BQI-C3 e-bike, which drops down to $1,500 from its usual $2,200 going rate. It comes joined by a Greenworks pre-season special on two electric riding lawn mowers, as well as this Anker 256Wh power station at its all-time low of $170. 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.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/niu-bqi-c3-pro-e-bike-greemworks-riding-mowers-more/ Save to Pocket
Scarbo SV Rover revealed as ‘first street-legal’ electric hypertruck with 1,000 hp
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
California-based Scarbo Vintage revealed the SV Rover, an ultra-rugged off-road monster of a vehicle. Dubbed the “world’s first street-legal hypertruck,” the SV Rover packs over 1,000 hp in all-electric form.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/scarbo-sv-rover-revealed-first-street-legal-electric-hypertruck/ Save to Pocket
Experts Recreate Looming 43-Foot-Tall Statue of Constantine Using 3D Modeling
date: 2024-02-14, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Although only fragments of the 1,700-year-old colossus remain, experts hope to paint a fuller picture for the public with a new installation at Rome’s Capitoline Museums
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/experts-reimagine-a-massive-43-foot-statue-of-constantine-using-3d-modeling-180983777/ Save to Pocket
Thousands of US, UK Delivery, Ride-Hailing Drivers Stop Work on Valentine’s Day
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/thousands-of-us-uk-delivery-ride-hailing-drivers-stop-work-on-valentine-s-day/7487593.html Save to Pocket
I’ll Be Back in Eastertide
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ayjay blog
https://blog.ayjay.org/ill-be-back-in-eastertide/ Save to Pocket
US Air Force’s new cyber, IT skill recruitment plan: Bring back warrant officer ranks
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Officer pay, limited command duties and writing ‘code for your country’
Skilled IT professionals considering a career change have a new option, as the US Air Force is reintroducing warrant officer ranks exclusively “within the cyber and information technology professions.” …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/us_air_forces_new_cyber/ Save to Pocket
“Nobody solves media except temporarily”: Four indie media owners on money, sustainability, and “making cooler, weirder things”
date: 2024-02-14, from: Nieman Journalism Lab
It’s been a rough start to the new year for the news industry, between layoffs, shutdowns, sales, and strikes at news organizations across the United States. But even in the most chaotic times, there are bright spots cropping up that inform communities and celebrate the craft of writing and storytelling. A new podcast, Never Post,…
https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/02/nobody-solves-media-except-temporarily-four-indie-media-owners-on-money-sustainability-and-making-cooler-weirder-things/ Save to Pocket
Kids playing football are doing the “Brexit tackle”, which means taking out…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043972-kids-playing-football-are Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Warriors reportedly tried to unite LeBron James and Stephen Curry at NBA trade deadline. That would have been amazing. Flush both teams out of the system in one move. It's about time.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/feb/14/golden-state-warriors-lebron-james-trade-los-angeles-lakers-reports-nba-trade-deadline Save to Pocket
The Purple Tomato
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/14/the-purple-tomato/ Save to Pocket
February 13, 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-13-2024-29c Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Ocasio-Cortez Gives Full Support to Biden.
https://politicalwire.com/2024/02/14/ocasio-cortez-throws-full-support-to-biden/ Save to Pocket
How Finland Approaches Its New NATO Role Is a Key Decision for the New President
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: RAND blog
Finland’s presidential election is complete, and Alexander Stubb is the winner. As the president holds executive power to set foreign and security policy, as well as commanding the military, NATO countries are watching closely to see which course their newfound ally will chart.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2024/02/how-finland-approaches-its-new-nato-role-is-a-key-decision.html Save to Pocket
Authy Desktop to Reach End-of-Life on 19 March 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: TidBITS blog
Twilio, the company behind the Authy two-factor authentication apps, has announced that Authy Desktop for the Mac will reach end-of-life next month. It might be a good excuse to switch to a full-fledged password manager that also supports 2FA codes.
https://tidbits.com/2024/02/14/authy-desktop-to-reach-end-of-life-on-19-march-2024/ Save to Pocket
The CDC is considering changing its recommendation about how long to isolate…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043971-the-cdc-is-considering-ch Save to Pocket
Press Release: Keep COVID isolation
date: 2024-02-14, from: Peoples CDC blog
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 CONTACT: peoplescdc@gmail.com Experts oppose CDC proposal to cut COVID isolation time Express Concern CDC is caving to business at cost of public safety The People’s CDC, a watchdog group of public health experts and patient and disability advocates, condemned the US CDC’s announced plan to eliminate guidelines specifying… Continue reading Press Release: Keep COVID isolation
https://peoplescdc.org/2024/02/14/press-release-keep-covid-isolation/ Save to Pocket
A Floridian Sunset
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
A NASA photographer captured the sunset on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, near the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The iconic building, completed in 1966 and currently used for assembly of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket for Artemis missions, is still the only building in which rockets were assembled […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/a-floridian-sunset/ Save to Pocket
“The Woman in the Castello” Takes Center Stage in Santa Clarita’s One Story One City Program This March!
date: 2024-02-14, from: City of Santa Clarita
‘THE WOMAN IN THE CASTELLO’ TAKES CENTER STAGE IN SANTA CLARITA’S ONE STORY ONE CITY PROGRAM THIS MARCH! Get a copy of the book at any Santa Clarita Public Library Branch The Santa Clarita Public Library proudly unveils this year’s chosen masterpiece for the One Story One City program – ‘The Woman in the Castello’ […]
The post “The Woman in the Castello” Takes Center Stage in Santa Clarita’s One Story One City Program This March! appeared first on City of Santa Clarita.
https://santaclarita.gov/blog/2024/02/14/the-woman-in-the-castello-takes-center-stage-in-santa-claritas-one-story-one-city-program-this-march/ Save to Pocket
Prudential Financial finds cybercrims lurking inside its IT systems
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Some company admin and customers data exposed, but bad guys were there for ‘only’ a day
Prudential Financial, the second largest life insurance company in the US and eight largest worldwide, is dealing with a digital break-in that exposed some internal company and customer records to a criminal group.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/prudential_financial_finds_cybercrims_lurking/ Save to Pocket
Biden Is on TikTok Despite Security Concerns
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
In an effort to connect to younger voters, the Biden campaign has joined TikTok. But while many users have welcomed the move, security experts and even legislators have expressed disapproval amid long-standing privacy concerns surrounding the use of the Chinese-owned app. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has details from Washington.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-is-on-tiktok-despite-security-concerns/7487429.html Save to Pocket
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: Bruce Schneier blog
This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak:
- I’m speaking at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2024 in Munich, Germany, on Friday, February 16, 2024.
- I’m giving a keynote on “AI and Trust” at Generative AI, Free Speech, & Public Discourse. The symposium will be held at Columbia University in New York City and online, at 3 PM ET on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
- I’m speaking (remotely) on “AI, Trust and Democracy” at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, USA, at noon ET on February 20, 2024. The talk is part of the 2023-2024 Beyond the Web Speaker Series, presented by The Ostrom Workshop and Hamilton Lugar School…
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/upcoming-speaking-engagements-34.html Save to Pocket
Rivian (RIVN) makes another key hire ahead of R2 launch, this time from Meta
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
After hiring former Porsche and Apple executives, Rivian (RIVN) has made another key hire ahead of the launch of its new R2 electric models.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/rivian-rivn-another-key-hire-r2-launch/ Save to Pocket
This single-board computer has a 5.5 inch touchscreen display
date: 2024-02-14, from: Liliputing
Most so-called single-board computers feature a processor, memory, and other core features soldered directly to the mainboard. But if you want to actually use the computers, you typically have to plug in a few more things like a keyboard, mouse, and display. That’s not an issue with UUGear’s Vivid Unit, because this single-board PC comes with […]
The post This single-board computer has a 5.5 inch touchscreen display appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/this-single-board-computer-has-a-5-5-inch-touchscreen-display/ Save to Pocket
NASA Telescopes Find New Clues About Mysterious Deep Space Signals
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
Using two of the agency’s X-ray telescopes, researchers were able to zoom in on a dead star’s erratic behavior as it released a bright, brief burst of radio waves. What’s causing mysterious bursts of radio waves from deep space? Astronomers may be a step closer to providing one answer to that question. Two NASA X-ray […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/nustar/nasa-telescopes-find-new-clues-about-mysterious-deep-space-signals/ Save to Pocket
Waymo services driverless car software after Phoenix truck collision
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Alphabet owned autonomous vehicle biz files voluntary recall report
Self-driving car company Waymo – a subsidiary of Google owner Alphabet – has voluntarily filed a recall report after one of its vehicles collided with a truck in Pheonix.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/waymo_files_recall_after_pheonix/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-14, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Sometimes I accidentally stream music to the thermostat:
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111930760438887418 Save to Pocket
Has Offshore Wind Finally Hit Rock Bottom?
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heatmap News
It has been a catastrophic 12 months for offshore wind in the United
States. Several large projects have been canceled along the
Mid-Atlantic, and Orsted, the world’s largest offshore wind developer,
has laid off hundreds of employees and canceled its dividend. Is the
industry dying?
Maybe it’s actually about to turn a corner. In this episode, Jesse Jenkins, an energy systems expert and professor at Princeton University, and I discuss the future of the sector, and Jesse tries to convince me that the industry is about to bounce back.
Subscribe to “Shift Key” and find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also add the show’s RSS feed to your podcast app to follow us directly.
Here’s an excerpt of our conversation:
Robinson Meyer: Make a case to me about why offshore wind … like 2023 was the catastrophic year for offshore wind, and now it’s going to come back.
Jesse Jenkins: Yeah, that’s a great question.
I mean, I think it is worth pausing and noting that offshore wind in the United States was already pretty expensive, and is now even more expensive. So I think the contracts that New Jersey signed, for example, which are 20-year, basically fixed price contracts — they got to go up at 2% per year, which is what we thought inflation would be, but now is maybe not where it will be over the next few years, but basically fixed long term contracts — were in the $80 to $90 per megawatt-hour range, which itself is roughly double the wholesale electricity cost in the region. So we’re basically paying for twice as much for wind energy as we would pay for natural gas or coal fired power in the regional electricity mix. And that’s after a federal subsidy knocks off 30% of the upfront cost.
That sounds like a lot, right? And I think it’s fair to say that the costs that are going to be signed in the new auctions that are happening now are going to be up or above $100 per megawatt hour. So, just the interest rates alone … You know, the Fed raised interest rates by over 5% from March 2022 to August 2023. That 5 percentage point increase in the cost of capital would raise the levelized cost, or average cost of electricity alone, by about a third for any of these projects. So it’s a huge cost escalator. And of course, the underlying cost of building the projects went up by about 65%. That’s way faster, about three times faster than consumer goods went up. We all know about how much more expensive it is to buy milk or bread or fill up at the gas pump. So, that’s the case for seeing this as, you know, the bear case — that these projects are now really expensive, and maybe they’re more expensive than we’re willing to pay.
On the other hand, I think there’s three reasons that, basically every state is still committed to building out offshore wind despite those cost increases. One is that is an historic, once in a generation macro inflationary cycle, a global pandemic with all of the supply chain disruptions that came with that, followed by a war in Europe and all of the impacts on energy costs that that brought about, you know, etc., these are really unique circumstances. And so those should be behind us, right?
Hopefully we can then get back on a trajectory of building out this new industry across the region, including the supply chains and the expertise in the transmission infrastructure undersea, to bring the wind onshore. That will steadily drive down the cost. And the reason to be optimistic about that is we have seen that in Europe, right? The wind industry did follow a very significant cost decline trajectory over the 15 years or so from its birth to now, in Europe. And we’re just going to have to pay a lot of those costs here because that learning and the experience in the infrastructure and the workforce isn’t really translatable.
The second reason is just there’s not a lot of alternatives for these states. Yes, electricity is structurally more expensive in Europe. It’s also structurally more expensive all along the eastern coast because we have high population density, population centers. There’s … these are very dense populated centers close to the coast, without access to the really good wind and solar resources that we see in the U.S. interior or the West. And so what are we going to do? Are we going to continue to burn fossil fuels? That would be the cheapest thing to do in the near term, but of course has lots of long term implications, including accelerating climate change. And all of these states have committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Virginia, New Jersey, York, Massachusetts, etc. have these 100% clean energy commitments.
The full transcript is available here.
This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by Advanced Energy United, KORE Power, and Yale …
Advanced Energy United educates, engages, and advocates for policies that allow our member companies to compete to power our economy with 100% clean energy, working with decision makers and energy market regulators to achieve this goal. Together, we are united in our mission to accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy in America. Learn more at advancedenergyunited.org/heatmap
KORE Power provides the commercial, industrial, and utility markets with functional solutions that advance the clean energy transition worldwide. KORE Power’s technology and manufacturing capabilities provide direct access to next generation battery cells, energy storage systems that scale to grid+, EV power & infrastructure, and intuitive asset management to unlock energy strategies across a myriad of applications. Explore more at korepower.com — the future of clean energy is here.
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Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.
https://heatmap.news/podcast/shift-key-episode-two-offshore-wind Save to Pocket
Transcript: Has Offshore Wind Finally Hit Rock Bottom?
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heatmap News
This is a transcript of episode two of Shift Key: Has Offshore Wind Finally Hit Rock Bottom?
Robinson Meyer: Hi, I’m Rob Meyer. I’m the founding executive editor of Heatmap News, and you are listening to Shift Key, a new podcast about climate change and the shift away from fossil fuels from Heatmap. My co-host, Jenkins: will join us in a second and we’ll get on with the show. But first, a word from our sponsor.
[AD BREAK]
Meyer: Hello, my name is Robinson Meyer. I’m the founding executive editor of Heatmap News.
Jesse Jenkins: And I’m Jesse Jenkins, a professor at Princeton University and an expert in energy systems and climate policy.
Meyer: And you are listening to Shift Key, a new podcast about climate change and the shift away from fossil fuels, from Heatmap News. On today’s episode, we’re going to talk about what exactly is happening in the offshore wind industry. Is it hurt? Is it dying? Is it —has
Jenkins: Has it hit rock bottom?
Meyer: Has it hit rock bottom? Is it very depressed? What’s happening? And of course, we’ll share our upshifts and downshifts from the week, and I will get better at pronouncing it.
Let’s get into it. Jesse, last year was, I think it’s fair to say, a pretty catastrophic year for offshore wind, especially in the United States. That was capped last week when Orsted, which is the world’s largest offshore wind developer, announced that it was cutting 800 jobs, a little less than 10% of its workforce, and suspending its dividend — it’s not going to pay anything to investors — and it was also exiting from a number of European markets, including Norway, Portugal and Spain. And not only that, but it has cut down its kind of internal target for how much offshore wind it wants to build by 2030. It had once hoped to build 50 gigawatts. Now it’s going to go closer to 35 to 38. And what’s interesting is that Orsted, you know, not profitable last year. But that was like, entirely driven by the U.S. So it would have made $2 billion in profit last year, but it took $5 billion in impairment charges — like it would have been profitable, except for its U.S. business. And its U.S. business took it as a firm from like $2 billion in the black to $3 billion in the red.
So, Jesse, let’s just start with, I think, getting listeners up to speed. What projects did Orsted cancel in the United States last year?
Jenkins: Yes. So they actually canceled several, most recently, a pair of projects that had sold contracts to Maryland. That followed a pair of projects in New Jersey, and another that would serve New York State. So I think it’s five projects in total and a couple phases of the same project in New Jersey. And those projects all were under long term contracts with state entities. And we’ll talk a lot more about the role of the states in driving the offshore wind industry here in the Atlantic states, but they basically sign long term, you know, purchase agreements with the states to buy power at a fixed price with, you know, a set escalation schedule. And they did that many years ago or, you know, before the pandemic, before the significant surge in inflation, the cost of goods that rose over the last few years — and then, just as importantly, before the increase in interest rates that the Federal Reserve used to try to combat that inflation.
And so you combine those two things, and it’s really a double whammy. The cost of cement and steel and concrete and labor and all of the specialty equipment they need to build these offshore wind projects is skyrocketing at the exact same time that the finance costs, the mortgage they have to take out to build these projects, is going up. And all that meant that they couldn’t honor their contracts and that, you know, it’s notable that they pulled out because in each of these cases, they had to incur several hundred million dollars of penalties for voiding the contracts with the state. So it’s not just the money they sunk into the projects that may not be complete, but it’s also very significant financial penalties for walking away.
Meyer: And how did they explain why they needed to … What did they blame?
Jenkins: I think it’s three issues that they have consistently pointed to. We talked about two already. One is the cost of goods and labor, going up with inflation. The second is interest rates, which have a huge impact on these projects. They’re almost all upfront cost, right, with some operation and maintenance over time, but no fuel costs. So once you get these wind farms up and running, they’re more or less free. But you got to take out a big mortgage, right? Just like you do when you buy a house. And you got to pay that back over time. And so the interest rate that you strike for those financing costs is a big determinant of how much you can afford to sell your power at and still make a profit.
And then the third factor is a peculiar one, which is the absence of very specialized ships that are used to install these giant wind turbines. And they really don’t exist in the U.S. because we’re just starting to build our industry here. The industry in Europe that has been, you know, going for several decades in the North Sea has a number of these vessels, you know, they’re in use there. We could bring them here, but we have this law called the Jones Act, which requires any vessel that is leaving a U.S. port for another U.S. destination to be a U.S. built and U.S. crewed ship, and we just don’t have any of those yet. There’s one coming soon. But that is a real challenge logistically for any of these projects.
Meyer: And let’s just, I think, as a final point, before we go into the discussion further, why is offshore wind, like, important at all? Why, as people who want to solve climate change, should we care at all about how specific offshore wind projects off the coast of New Jersey or Maryland or Rhode Island are going?
Jenkins: Yeah, I think for I mean, a couple reasons. One is that this is a big new industry that we’re trying to kind of give birth to in the region. These were some of the first large scale wind farms. Every 3,000 megawatts of wind power out there is roughly enough to supply the annual electricity needs of about a million households. So that’s a big sized city just in New York State alone, projects that were canceled by Orsted and Equinor totaled about 3 GW. So that’s enough energy for like, Queens, you know, one of the entire boroughs, right? So these are big deals in terms of the amount of supply they’re going to provide and the the local economic impact.
And so I think for the region at least — I mean, if you’re in Wyoming, you probably don’t care too much about what’s going on in the Atlantic. But all up and down the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine, states have made a real significant commitment to offshore wind, to be a major contributor to their local electricity mix and help them meet clean energy and climate goals. And, you know, and their megaprojects are big, you know, large-scale efforts, billion-dollar projects, you know, millions of households worth of energy and lots of jobs and local economic investment. And so when a project like that fails, you know, it’s kind of a big deal for the local economy, for the politics around it, for our progress towards our clean energy goals. And it’s a potential setback in our clean energy transition.
Meyer: There’s also — It’s economically important, but there’s also technical, I think what an electricity engineer would call resource related reasons why we want offshore wind. Is this right? Like it fits into the grid in a very useful way. Am I wrong about this?
Jenkins: Yeah, actually, I was just teaching a lecture on wind power to my students today, and we took a look at the Global Wind Atlas, which we can drop in the show notes. And what you can really see quite clearly is that the onshore wind potential in the Atlantic area is really quite poor. We don’t really have good locations to build wind power in Virginia or New York, near the coast at least, or in New Jersey at all. But the wind resource offshore is very good.
Wind speeds, you know, can move across the ocean. It’s very flat.
There’s nothing that gets in the way. And you get a lot of frequent,
wind patterns driven by the difference in temperature between the ocean
and the land. So there’s all these localized effects that tend to
produce a lot of energy in the morning, in the evening and overnight
when it’s cooling off. And these are nice complements to solar power
that produces mostly during the day. And you know, you can’t run your
entire grid on one variable renewable resource, or even two. But having
offshore wind complementary, you know, which is complementary to solar,
and also to sometimes onshore wind patterns further inland that, you
know, are separated from the ocean can really help you smooth out the
variability that you have to deal with, make it easier for energy
storage and, and flexible demand and more dispatchable generators to
kind of fill in the gaps around it.
And there’s just really not a lot of other options in these states. Like, you know, if you want to have economic development and meet your clean energy goals with resources in your state, there’s just not a lot of other options. You can, you know, build solar, you can build nuclear power plants, or you can do offshore wind. Those are kind of your options for the Atlantic states, at least those without, you know, the large interior territories that New York has.
Meyer: So I want to come back to some of the like resource questions in a second. I will say, this is all very interesting — well, let me think about how I want to pitch this. I understand offshore wind being technically important, right? I understand how it fits into the solar mix. I understand it’s good economic development.
I found last year to be fairly … I wouldn’t say radicalizing, but I will say I kind of came out of last year being like, I don’t know if I see it anymore. Like I did start to feel like, man, is offshore wind more of a like, is it going to succeed exclusively in Europe and China, where there is more willingness to have a working coast, where electricity, especially in Europe, is just structurally more expensive? And so this technique, this way of generating electricity, kind of fits into their mix better. And so, what I’m going to ask you to do is just argue to me, like make a case for why that’s wrong. Make a case to me about why offshore wind … like 2023 was the catastrophic year for offshore wind, and now it’s going to come back.
Jenkins: Yeah, that’s a great question. I mean, I think it is worth pausing and noting that offshore wind in the United States was already pretty expensive, and is now even more expensive. So I think the contracts that New Jersey signed, for example, which are 20-year, you know, basically fixed price contracts — they got to go up at 2% per year, which is, you know, what we thought inflation would be, but now is maybe not where it will be over the next few years, but basically fixed long term contracts — were in the $80 to $90 per megawatt-hour range, which itself is roughly double the wholesale electricity cost in the region. So we’re, you know, we’re basically paying for, you know, twice as much for wind energy as we would pay for natural gas or coal fired power in the regional electricity mix. And that’s after a federal subsidy knocks off 30% of the upfront cost.
That sounds like a lot, right? And I think it’s fair to say that the costs that are going to be signed in the new auctions that are happening now are going to be up or above $100 per megawatt hour. So, you know, they, you know, just the interest rates alone. You know, the Fed raised interest rates by over 5% from March 2022 to August 2023. That 5 percentage point increase in the cost of capital would raise the levelized cost, or average cost of electricity alone, by about a third for any of these projects. So it’s a huge cost escalator. And of course, the underlying cost of building the projects went up by about 65%. That’s way faster, about three times faster than consumer goods went up. So, you know, we all know about how much more expensive it is to buy milk or bread or fill up at the gas pump. So, you know, that’s the case for seeing this as, you know, the bear case — that these projects are now really expensive, and maybe they’re more expensive than we’re willing to pay.
On the other hand, I think there’s three reasons that, basically every state is still committed to building out offshore wind despite those cost increases. One is that is a, you know, a historic, once in a generation macro inflationary cycle, a global pandemic with all of the supply chain disruptions that came with that, followed by a war in Europe and all of the impacts on energy costs that that, you know, brought about, you know, etc., these are really unique circumstances. You know, and so those should be behind us, right? Hopefully we can then get back on a trajectory of building out this new industry across the region, including the supply chains and the expertise in the transmission infrastructure undersea, to bring the wind onshore. That will steadily drive down the cost. And the reason to be optimistic about that is we have seen that in Europe, right? The wind industry did follow a very significant cost decline trajectory over the, you know, 15 years or so from its birth to now, in Europe. And we’re just going to have to pay a lot of those costs here because that learning and the experience in the infrastructure and the workforce isn’t really translatable.
The second reason is just there’s not a lot of alternatives for these states. You know, yes, electricity is structurally more expensive in Europe. It’s also structurally more expensive all along the eastern coast because we have high population density, population centers. There’s … these are very dense populated centers close to the coast, without access to the really good wind and solar resources that we see in the U.S. interior or the West. And so what are we going to do? Are we going to continue to burn fossil fuels? That would be the cheapest thing to do in the near term, but of course has lots of long term implications, including accelerating climate change. And all of these states have committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Virginia, New Jersey, York, Massachusetts, etc. have these 100% clean energy commitments.
Meyer: Assuming those states have this durable interest in decarbonization, in some ways, like, offshore wind has to have hit rock bottom, is part of what I’m hearing. Because there are just no other options. So they could go through this tear-your-hair out frustration loop, where they go try to build more solar, and then they go try to build more nuclear, and maybe those don’t work, so then they find themselves back where they began with offshore wind. But like, even with that, they’re still going to need offshore wind. So can you just get us up to speed on, like, what’s the good news in offshore wind, I guess?
Jenkins: Yeah. And I think this is the evidence that the states are going to stay committed and are moving forward, and that we probably have hit rock bottom. So, you know, yes, the news in November and December and early January was dominated by all these cancellations. And it wasn’t just Orsted. There were others up and down the Atlantic coast. But if we look at just, you know, New York and New Jersey, there’s similar stories in other states. You know, New York State has a goal of building 9,000 MW or 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035. Again, that’s about enough, to power 3 million households. So they had a third-round contract towards the end of last year. At that point, they had contracted for about 8.3 of those 9 GW, so they were kind of almost there. Then we had these cancellations: Orsted’s, Sunrise Wind and Equinor’s Empire I and II that lost about 3 GW of that. So now they’re back to about 5 GW of the nine. New York just closed another accelerated auction. And if that, you know, contracts another roughly 3 or 4 GW, like the last round, that would get them their full pipeline of nine gigawatts of projects. And again, they have until 2035 to bring those online. So it’s sort of like, you know, three steps forward, two steps back in the near term here, but they’re continuing to move forward. We could still hit those goals.
What’s going to happen is that the buildout trajectory is going to get pushed back by a couple of years, and even some of those canceled projects could have a second lease on life because they are going to be rebid into these subsequent auctions. And we think we saw that, actually, with Orsted re-bidding one of their projects into New York’s recent auction in January, and we don’t know if they’ll win that round of auction. They have to beat out other competitive bids from other developers. That’s good. They tried to get New York to just single, to bilaterally renegotiate their existing contract and give them more money. And New York and New Jersey, you know, basically, and Massachusetts, all said no to those requests from developers. They said, look, a contract’s not worth anything if we sign it and you agree to a price and then you come back later and ask for more money. So if you want more money, you’re going to have to go out and, you know, pay the fine for not honor your contract and then rebid, and, and beat out everybody else. And if you can’t beat everybody else, that’s not in the interest of the state. So they really held the line against all of the requests from the developers to try to, you know, inflate their contracts. But some of those projects will come back in this next round. We’ll just come back at a higher price and probably a couple of years delayed.
Meyer: Let’s zoom out for a second. So we’ve been talking about the Atlantic a lot, partially I think, because you and I, listeners will discover, have a shared interest in New Jersey.
Jenkins: That’s right.
Meyer: Me, having grown up in New Jersey and you currently living in New Jersey. Let’s zoom out from New Jersey for a second. Much of the Atlantic coast is not a working shoreline in, I think, ways that parts of, say, Northern Europe are a working shoreline. But we do have working shoreline in the country. And that’s not to say that like people on the coast don’t work. It’s just like.
Jenkins: It’s a lot of tourism.
Meyer: It’s a lot of tourism. It’s a very tourism dependent industry. And so anything like these wind farms, they’re going to be close enough to be seen from the shore. They were not going to be very big, but they were going to be close enough to be seen from the shore. And you really, when you’re there, you don’t see a lot of other light industrial activities from the shore. We do have a working coastline in the U.S., though. It’s the Gulf Coast. And so why are we not like filling the Gulf Coast with offshore wind farms?
Jenkins: There’s really two main reasons why that didn’t happen. One is physics and the second is politics — I think we’ll keep coming back to those two as consistent themes in the show, physics and politics. But the first is just that, unlike the Jersey Shore or New York, you know, coastline or Virginia, where we really don’t have good wind resources onshore, Texas has an incredible wind resource onshore, including even the coastal regions quite close to the shoreline. And also the Gulf Coast, wind speeds are not as high, although it does suffer hurricanes. The average wind speeds are not as consistently high as they are in the Atlantic because it is a gulf. It’s, you know, it’s not a big open expanse of ocean the way the Atlantic is. And so the dominant wind patterns are not quite so strong. So the differential, the sort of benefit that you get from going offshore is really quite modest, if anything, in the Gulf versus a good onshore wind site. And of course, anytime you’re building in a marine environment where you have to deal with the corrosive nature of the ocean and the damaging destruction of storms and the cost of servicing and equipping, and, you know, working on wind farms and deep offshore, that’s going to be a lot more expensive. So unless you’re getting a lot more energy out of that project than you would on land, it just simply doesn’t make sense to build offshore. So that’s the kind of physics and economics.
Of course, the second reason — we talked already about the commitment to decarbonization that all of those states in the Atlantic exhibit, which is really driving the ship, so to speak. Texas, clearly, Mississippi, Louisiana, they clearly don’t have the same kind of commitment, at least at this point, to those goals. And we should say that’s really important because the Inflation Reduction Act provides significant long term tax credits for offshore wind and solar and, you know, onshore wind and all kinds of other clean electricity sources. And while those tax credits have been enough to make solar and wind onshore quite economically attractive in deep red states, right — you know, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, all over the place are building huge amounts of onshore wind and solar just based on the economics, not because of their climate or green credentials — that’s just not true for offshore wind. The tax credits alone, again, they still leave offshore wind about twice the cost of wholesale energy. And so they’re just not going to move forward without a state level commitment. And that’s really lacking in the Gulf Coast region as well.
Meyer: That’s really interesting.
[AD BREAK]
So I want to ask — there’s like a point that keeps coming up again and again here that is, like, the states play a major role. And I do think this is interesting. From a larger policy like to kind of zoom out a bit and kind of look at this as a policy question. Normally when we think about states playing a role in climate policy, there’s like one jewel, there’s like one big star when we talk about state level climate policy, and that’s California. And that’s because California, and this is not where, I’m not talking about the electricity system here. I’m talking about kind of the whole emissions picture. California has a special carve out under the law, under the Clean Air Act — like it’s written into the text that Congress passed, that California can set higher standards for certain pollutants than the rest of the country, and that any other state can join into its standards. And California does do that for a number of pollutants, including right now for carbon dioxide. I think right now about 13, 12 or 13 states sign on to its standards.
But other than that, other than California having these special powers to, like, regulate the vehicle fleet and various other things, we don’t talk about — at least I don’t think about states as being major players at the level of shaping what their resource mix looks like. Is that because I, is that because I just don’t know things? Or is that like, is that because I’m ignorant? Or is that because there is something kind of unique and interesting about offshore wind, or maybe unique and interesting about where state’s decarbonization goals are going to have to take governments?
Jenkins: I think in some ways it’s sort of a back to the future kind of thing. Yeah, I guess it changes who’s, like, who’s in the driver’s seat, right? Historically, we had vertically integrated monopoly utilities, and in much of the country that’s still the case, like in the Southeast and much of the West. But in about, you know, 60% of the country, fairly recently, like around 2000, in early 2000s, we basically restructured the markets to say, you know what, for at least generation and wholesale large power plants, and maybe also for retail sales, like who signs you up as a customer and, you know, does your billing and provide some other services, we’re going to open that part of it up to competition, and we’ll keep the wires part the network utility because that makes sense. But we’ll let the generators all compete with each other. And now the market is in the driver’s seat. And what does the market build an enormous amount of natural gas.
Meyer: I was gonna say, the market the market falls over itself to build natural gas. Yeah. The market goes to sleep and wakes up, and it’s just surrounded by extra natural gas plants that it made while it was sleeping.
Jenkins: Yeah. And bankruptcies.
Meyer: And bankruptcies. Yes. Exactly. Yeah.
Jenkins: So the wisdom of the market overbuilt a huge amount of gas in an attempt to get regulated utilities for to stop overbuilding a huge amount of nuclear and coal plants. That’s a cycle we went through. And then states, again, around similar times, like, start to get more and more concerned about climate change and clean energy and reducing their exposure to what, at that point, we talked about in the last episode, were increasing natural gas prices right in the early, in the mid 2000s. And they say, you know what, we should actually take a little bit more of a hand here and shape how the market works. And they still did it in a relatively hands off way through what are known as renewable portfolio standards.
So these are basically laws that say to the utility, okay, you get to, you know, the market can shape the mix, but you have to buy a certain amount of your electricity from clean resources or a certain qualifying renewable resources. But you decide: offshore wind, onshore wind, solar, whatever. And then what changed, really, is these resource-specific procurements that we’re now seeing. And wind is the most salient, but also we’re seeing procurements of utility-scale solar in certain states.
And actually, I think the most, the most interesting one is, is the recent law passed in North Carolina by the legislature, which is basically like a resource plan in law. You know, build this many megawatts of this shut down this many megawatts of coal, build these many megawatts of offshore wind, 50% of that the utility gets to own, this much has to go to market. It’s like the legislature taking the driver’s seat now and writing through law what they want the resource mix to look like. And that’s, I think, the thing that has shifted, right. It’s the legislature driving resource procurement. And that is, that is new.
Meyer: And I think there is, like, a “Just when I got out, they pulled me back in” aspect to all of this, I think. Where, it seemed like, for reasons having to do with broader ideas floating around about how markets were smart and how what often seemed like the very corrupt nature of the kind of state regulatory and monopoly utility interface that these, you know, the states were very corrupted by the utilities, the utilities were very corrupted by the state. But I guess what I’m saying is that there was this move toward markets, and that since then, and then even with the RPS, as you said, there’s still this kind of market technology neutral, well, we’re open to all kinds of portfolios. And what we’re discovering is for reasons that mostly, I think have to do with physics, you wind up — states kind of wound up right back where they started, where it’s like, okay, well, now we’re actually. it’s just easier if we plan this.
Jenkins: I do think there’s still I mean, I think there’s some of that, I think. I think there’s a lot more politics going on here. I would shade into the story.
Meyer: By all means, yes.
Jenkins: Yes. There is some local opposition to offshore wind. There is a lot of economic, salience or political salience to being able to say to some of the working shoreline communities — which we did have long ago, right? And being able to go there and say, we’re going to build a $500 million revitalization of the port of New Bedford in Massachusetts or New London in Connecticut or Staten Island in New York or Brooklyn, where they’re building these terminals and drive a huge amount of employment and investment and revitalization in these communities. That’s why the politics of offshore wind is so attractive.
Also, because the components are so big and because the state is shaping it, they can add these riders about local benefits in manufacturing. A lot of the manufactured components for these turbines are also coming from the area. So there’s the steel piles you have to drive into the ground, called monopiles. The towers, the blades, the turbines, they’re all getting built in New York and New Jersey and Virginia and elsewhere, and creating manufacturing jobs in communities that were previously depressed. And, you know, politicians can go to ribbon cuttings and point to their legislation and say, we did this right.
So I think that’s a big piece of why the legislatures are so attracted to offshore wind, is it does create a lot of jobs and a lot of investment and a lot of local manufacturing activity. And I think that’s part of why the legislature has basically decided we’re willing to pay a lot more for offshore wind than we would be for, say, a transmission line to wind in a state inland is that it might be a lot cheaper.
Meyer: Is that a good thing? I mean, I guess I just —
Jenkins: Yeah, I don’t you —
Meyer: You know me, like, I love industrial policy blah blah blah. However, I will say when you look across the U.S. and you look at projects that have been considered to be drivers of economic development in a direct way instead of an indirect way, by which I mean, like when you look at these big public projects where some of the stated top line benefits of these projects are like, creates many jobs, creates, helps three dozen small businesses. You don’t … it’s not exactly a record that like covers itself in glory. Like, you know, California high speed rail remains unbuilt. But the director, you know, like people involved with California high speed rail, sometimes they’re like, well, it’s actually been very successful because we’ve supported all these jobs and we’ve supported all these businesses. And it’s like, still, you know, this, all this economic activity. But of course, the thing hasn’t been built yet, actually doing the thing that we wanted to do, which is move people quickly from L.A. to San Francisco. Is it good that we’re looking at that? Legislatures look at offshore wind and they’re like, oh, look at all those jobs in it rather than like … yeah, yeah.
Jenkins: Yeah. I mean, let me go on the record and say, I am not a fan of resource planning by the state legislatures. I mean, I think that, you know, as a deliberative democracy, you know, democratic body or representative body, right? They have a role in representing the combined stakeholder interests. But, you know, when it comes to, when it comes to making energy policy, we all know that there are certain stakeholders who have a lot more access and a lot more influence in, you know, state legislatures than others, and are likely to sort of shift things in certain directions. And so what I have counseled — and I’ve been asked to advise state legislatures and, and policymakers in a number of contexts. And what I have advised is to say, look, you are balancing real goals here, right there. There are several different objectives we’re trying to achieve. Right? We want to reach a cleaner energy mix because we’re trying to combat climate change and reduce air pollution and improve environmental justice, and all those goals. So we want a clean mix, but also, I’m sure we’ll do an episode on this later, the electricity sector has to play a much bigger role in powering our lives in a cleaner future, right?
Meyer: Load must go up.
Jenkins: Electric cars and other industries … Yeah, yeah, there just has to be a lot more electricity generated, period, to electrify so many different things, from EVs to heat pumps to industry. Yeah. And if you do that, you know, not putting aside, you know, so that even from the climate concern, you have to worry yourself about affordability of this transition, as well. If you make electricity prices two or three times more expensive, that’s going to make it a lot harder to electrify all those industries. And it’s going to make, you know, energy costs for low income and fixed income residents go up and, you know, there’s justice implications of that. It’s going to make your small businesses and competitive businesses or businesses and competitive industries less competitive, you know, with other states. So there’s an affordability concern that’s always front and center in these conversations. And then there’s this economic development concern.
Obviously, state legislatures are historically interested in driving economic investment and in development in their state. That’s a big part of what they do. And so you’re balancing these three things, right. You know, affordability, clean energy and climate goals and in-state economic development. And I have simply recommended that you focus on the ends and not the means. So if those are your goals, let’s write into the law that you know, we’re going to have X percent clean energy and we want y percentage of that to be in state because of economic development goals. And we want to put a cost containment provision in here that says we won’t build those offshore wind or those in-state projects if it costs more than Z, because that’s how much we’re willing to pay for that insane development. And then go let the utilities or a state agency contract for whatever the cheapest way is to meet that goal, right, to maintain your affordability goals. And maybe that’s offshore wind in certain places, and maybe it’s not.
Meyer: I’m going to really mangle this concept because it is not exactly creative to describe this, but there was a Hungarian anthropologist and political economist named Karl Polanyi. It’s also a name I’m probably not saying correctly. Yeah, I’m choosing to pronounce his name like he’s a Chicago guy. Karl Polanyi, you know, down by Wabash.
Jenkins: He’s a good guy, he’s got the pizza shop.
Meyer: He, he, he has this idea of fictitious commodities, which are kind of things that you have to treat as a commodity to make the whole system work, to make the whole economy work, but are not themselves commodities. They don’t really work like actual commodities. And his big three examples are land, labor and money. He was writing during the 1940s, but it feels like electricity is one of them. I’m like, I’m, I’m adapting this idea to a situation that was not designed to apply to, but it does feel kind of like to describe the whole nature of how we think about electricity, which is this extremely important thing that mostly remains kind of mired in technical discussion, but nonetheless makes the whole world work.
Jenkins: Yeah, no that sounds about right. And I think that describes sort of the pendulum swinging back and forth. And so, you know, where I, where I do think we have opportunity here is to say, look, we have public objectives. We can, we know that these are high upfront cost, you know, capital intensive projects that once you build them, are just going to produce cheap energy for a long period of time. Right? Their marginal costs are low, and so the cost of capital is really important, and the cost to build the project is really important. Right. Those are the two determinants of how much a wind farm is going to cost. So we can use long term public contracts to drive down the cost of capital by basically guaranteeing revenue to developers so that the risk is low and they can get a low-cost loan from a bank and build the project. That’s what we’re doing with all these procurements at the state level. And we can use competitive forces like auctions to ensure that the cheapest projects are the ones we’re going to buy. And I just think we should open that up from offshore wind specifically, or rooftop solar specifically to whatever resources are built in the state that can meet our climate goals and deliver some economic development benefits at the lowest cost. And so it’s just a question of like, how do you define that market goal and harness those competitive dynamics to deliver the public policy goals? That’s what the auctions are doing.
Meyer: That’s kind of like in some ways, related to this change that is going to happen and how the Inflation Reduction Act conducts its subsidies, right? Which is since the 1980s, we’ve been in a situation where, like, we, the U.S. tax code incentivizes certain types of technology. And then starting in 2025, I believe the U.S. tax code will just incentivize all kinds of zero carbon electricity instead of calling out certain technology. It’s just saying, however you can do it, we’re going to pay you the subsidy. Yeah.
Jenkins: And also layering on a couple of other economic development objectives. Right. You have to meet prevailing wage and you have to it if you build domestic content, you get more money. And if you build energy in communities that we want to help transition, you get more money. So yeah, it’s an interesting example of that where you’re sort of layering these multiple objectives on, but still relying on the market to go deliver the lowest cost, most competitive ways to do that.
[AD BREAK]
Meyer: Let’s do downshifts first because I think we should end on an upshift.
Jenkins: That sounds good. Let’s end on the up note. So my downshift, speaking of utilities and regulation, and actually tying back to last episode winners and losers from trade, my downshift is a recent report by the Energy and Policy Institute, which is a public interest watchdog that keeps an eye on state utility regulation, on how a number of monopoly utilities, particularly those in the Southeast, where they are still vertically integrated, so they still own transmission and generation, have been routinely pushing back against efforts to build more long distance transmission, and also to organize into larger regional markets that can, you know, expand the footprint of trade across a wider area — something that’s happened in all of the competitive markets in the state and the country — in order to basically protect their turf, right? So customers in their territories would benefit from access to cheaper resources further away, and the transmission lines that could bring that power to those customers. But the utilities in these areas make their money, like most utilities, by investing capital and getting a return on those investments. And they don’t get money in somebody else’s generator. And this is an area where unless the state regulators are really acting in the public interest and leaning in here and making sure that the utility is not kind of basically abusing its control of the network to act as a monopoly, then there’s every economic incentive for the state or for the there’s every economic incentive for the utility to do that. And that’s exactly what we should expect.
Meyer: My downshift is, so we’re coming up on the first anniversary of Heatmap — that’s not my downshift.
Jenkins: It’s been that bad, huh, Rob?
Meyer: I’m very excited about that! No, no, no, my downshift is, it turns out that, as Neel Dhanesha wrote for Heatmap today, Heatmap’s first 12 months in existence more or less co-existed with the first 12 months where the Earth was 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperature. So from February 2023 through January 2024, the average global temperature was 1.5 degrees C higher than what we think of as kind of the 19th century baseline. And that’s according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU climate data service. Now, I should say that just because we’ve had this 12-month period where temperatures were more than 1.5 C above the pre-industrial average, does not mean we have passed the so-called 1.5 C threshold, which also, we should be clear, is not a physical thing. It’s more kind of like a construct. It’s a political construct that we use to talk about when climate change starts to get very bad. So we have not passed that threshold. It is not a point of no return.
Jenkins: But it is nonetheless an ominous signpost.
Meyer: It is nonetheless an ominous sign. And of course, we pass it this year because because of El Niño, which has caused additional atmospheric warming on top of what we’re observing with climate change. But it is nonetheless, exactly, an ominous signpost.
Jenkins: Well, my, my upshift is on heat pumps, so maybe that’s why you named it Heatmap, too. Yeah. My upshift today is, is about heat pumps. Heat pumps are a magical device that allow you to move way more heat around with small amounts of electricity through the magic of the thermodynamic cycle.
Meyer: We should do an episode where you just explain how heat pumps work.
Jenkins: Magical gnomes.
Meyer: Like, how does the thermos know whether to keep the liquid hot or cold?
Jenkins: Yeah. So heat pumps are magic. There are like, 300% to 500% efficient, effectively, because you can use a little bit of electricity to move, you know, two, three, or five times as much heat around. And so that makes them a really great way to both improve energy efficiency and shift from burning fossil fuels in our basement, in furnaces, oil or gas boilers or furnaces to a clean electricity source. So that reduces air pollution. And of course, if we can produce all that electricity with clean resources, we’ve helped decarbonize home heating. So it’s a central technology in any decarbonization and environmental justice strategy, I should say, because it’s a big source of air pollution. And so my upshift is from Michael Thomas, who writes a newsletter called Distilled and is active on Twitter and shared a great thread today compiling some data on recent heat pump trends in the U.S., where he found that heat pumps have been outselling gas furnaces for the last two years in a row, in 2022 and 2023. And that I thought, most interestingly, the share of homes in the U.S. with heat pumps has gone up in 48 of 50 states over the last decade, and the most rapid progress has been driven by states that have recently taken policy action to try to accelerate adoption of heat pumps.
Maine is probably the most exciting story. They basically doubled their heat pump adoption rate in just two years. And if they kept that up, that’s crazy to hit. Yeah, and they’re actually on track to hit, yeah, to get heat pumps in every home in Maine by 2050. And there’s a reason for Maine to do this: because Maine is not on the natural gas system. So there, people in Maine are mostly heating with fuel oil and propane, which has gotten incredibly expensive over the last few years, and obviously does that periodically because of all those ups and downs and global oil prices that we mentioned on the last episode. So, yeah, Maine is an interesting case. It’s cold. A lot of people don’t think heat pumps can work in cold climates. Well, that’s definitely not true. There’s huge heat pump adoption in Scandinavian countries and in Canada. And now in Maine. You just have to design them, right? And probably also do some energy efficiency improvements to seal up your home when you do it. But yeah, we’re moving in the right direction on heat pumps.
Meyer: Home heating oil is so crazy because it’s like, imagine heating your house with gasoline.
Jenkins: Yeah, exactly. Diesel. But dirtier.
Meyer: Right. It’s so interesting. My upshift. Is that a new analysis in Carbon Brief from Lauri Myllyvirta, who is kind of one of the leading analysts of China’s greenhouse gas emissions. And he found, basically, China’s emissions may have peaked last year. That kind of, if you look at all the factors in their economy, it’s very likely China’s emissions will go down this year in 2024 compared to 2023. That, now, that’s partially — and I would say, this is suboptimal. This is not the upper part of the upshift. That’s partially because of just very soft economic activity in China. As we record this, the Chinese stock markets have basically been falling apart over the past few days. It’s that kind of softness of industrial activity matched with this massive, massive build out of renewables that is going to that that in his analysis is going to peak, lead China’s emissions to decline in 2024, and may cause them to permanently kind of subside.
And I think the other interesting aspect of this is at the same time he sees this, he also sees, I think, what people tend to notice more, which is that China’s continuing to build coal overcapacity in its power grid. It’s continuing to build a lot of new coal plants, and it kind of talks about how there is this clash coming up between the cleaner parts of the economy and the cleaner subsectors, or the new energy subsectors, versus the kind of old fossil subsectors, both of which are building, but eventually their needs will directly conflict.
Jenkins: That’s fascinating. Yeah, we should definitely do an episode on what the heck is going on in China. You know, one of those major signposts that we have to pass if we’re going to get the world on track for net zero, is peak emissions in China the world’s biggest emitter? And until China turns the corner, you know, we won’t be able to turn the corner globally to get emissions on a downward trajectory either. Most likely. So yeah, I’d be really fascinated to see are we are we nearly at that peak. That’s some encouraging signs, but we’re not quite sure yet. All right.
Meyer: Let’s, yeah, let’s …
Jenkins: Let’s leave it there and let’s come pick up the China story again in a future episode here on Shift Key.
Meyer: Here on Shift Key. You want to share your friend’s line about what our next podcast should be called?
Jenkins: Let me find that. Yeah. So a friend and early listener said, are we going to start a recurring section about emissions trading called Caps Lock? I think we have to.
Meyer: And California has to re-up its emissions trading system pretty soon, or it’s going to try to do it pretty soon.
Jenkins: So maybe we’ll have a special issue.
Meyer: Special Caps Lock edition of Shift Key. Well, thank you for listening to Shift Key. And we’ll be back next week. And in the meantime, subscribe. And please, if you have a friend, an ally, a coworker, a nemesis, a jilted lover who you think would enjoy the stimulating discussion and intelligent conversation of Shift Key. Please. Share the podcast with them and ask them to subscribe.
Jenkins: See you next week.
Meyer: Shift Key is a production of Heatmap News. The podcast was edited by Jillian Goodman. Our editor in chief is Nico Lauricella, multimedia editing and audio engineering by Jacob Lambert and Nick Woodbury. Our music is by Adam Kromelow. Thanks so much for listening and see you next week.
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B.J. Novak considers Caps for Sale & other kid’s books. “The best…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043959-bj-novak-considers-caps-f Save to Pocket
DuckDuckGo Browser adds private password & bookmark sync (no account required)
date: 2024-02-14, from: Liliputing
The key thing that sets DuckDuckGo’s search engine and web browser apart from most others is that DuckDuckGo is focused on user privacy: the company promises not to track your behavior. But that makes it tricky to offer some of the features user expect: like the ability to keep your passwords and bookmarks synchronized across […]
The post DuckDuckGo Browser adds private password & bookmark sync (no account required) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/duckduckgo-browser-adds-private-password-bookmark-sync-no-account-required/ Save to Pocket
Athlete of the week Dara Tokeshi is a ‘titan of toughness’
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
Last Saturday, Feb. 3, Occidental College Women’s basketball team beat Whittier College 64-48, with shooting guard Dara Tokeshi (sophomore) on the court for a total of 36 minutes of game time: the most of any member on the team. According to Tokeshi, much of the team’s success has come from their unity, both on and off […]
The post Athlete of the week Dara Tokeshi is a ‘titan of toughness’ appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/sports/2024/02/14/athlete-of-the-week-dara-tokeshi-is-a-titan-of-toughness/2911075 Save to Pocket
Julie Tanaka to depart from Special Collections and urges students to ‘stay curious’
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
Julie Tanaka, Director of Special Collections and College Archives, has three mantras for every Occidental student: stay curious, be open and keep asking questions. Arriving at Occidental in May 2022, she has over a decade of experience specializing in archives, special collections and rare books. Tanaka recently accepted a position at the University of Washington […]
The post Julie Tanaka to depart from Special Collections and urges students to ‘stay curious’ appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/news/2024/02/14/julie-tanaka-to-depart-from-special-collections-and-urges-students-to-stay-curious/2911082 Save to Pocket
Hookup culture vs the ‘Oxy statistic’: Love is still in the air for those who dare
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
The post Hookup culture vs the ‘Oxy statistic’: Love is still in the air for those who dare appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/features/2024/02/14/hookup-culture-vs-the-oxy-statistic-love-is-still-in-the-air-for-those-who-dare-2/2911146 Save to Pocket
DWA and Politics departments host “How Do We Talk About Palestine and Israel?” event
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
The Diplomacy and World Affairs (DWA) and Politics departments hosted a conversation titled “How Do We Talk About Palestine and Israel?” Feb. 6 as part of the “Contextualizing Israel/Palestine Series” of events taking place this semester. About 200 students and faculty members filled up Choi Auditorium, leading many to sit in the aisles on the […]
The post DWA and Politics departments host “How Do We Talk About Palestine and Israel?” event appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/news/2024/02/14/dwa-and-politics-departments-host-how-do-we-talk-about-palestine-and-israel-event/2911084 Save to Pocket
Campus withstands heavy rainfall, despite anticipated threat
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
Dean of Students Rob Flot sent out an email Jan. 30 to Occidental students, faculty and staff on behalf of the college’s Emergency Response Team warning community members of the impending rain. Some concerns entailed flooding, power outages and storm debris. In the email, Flot said that the Emergency Response Team had a plan in […]
The post Campus withstands heavy rainfall, despite anticipated threat appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/news/2024/02/14/campus-withstands-heavy-rainfall-despite-anticipated-threat/2911087 Save to Pocket
It is Already Over
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
Red Light It was right there. Small and fragile but the light existed— maybe only for a moment. Shining on my bare chest. Tattoos with that tinge of red. Dog tags hanging from my neck. The underworld. The rest of existence: left to darkness. I learned a lot about war out in the […]
The post It is Already Over appeared first on The Occidental.
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Lowriding made legal: NELA keeps it low and slow
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
In Oct. 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill prohibiting bans on lowrider cars and anti-cruising ordinances. This law went into effect Jan. 1, 2024 in California. Lowriders, customized cars with lowered suspension often used for cruising, are strongly connected to Mexican American culture in East LA. In the 1980’s, cruising was banned in some […]
The post Lowriding made legal: NELA keeps it low and slow appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/neighborhood-reporting-project/2024/02/14/lowriding-made-legal-nela-keeps-it-low-and-slow/2911102 Save to Pocket
Better late than never: transfer athletes find a home team at Oxy
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
Transferring schools halfway through one’s athletic and academic career is not how most high school athletes predict their college experience to look like. But according to Oury Diane (junior), one of the newest recruits to the men’s soccer team, making the switch from being a winger at Connecticut College to forward here at Occidental this […]
The post Better late than never: transfer athletes find a home team at Oxy appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/sports/2024/02/14/better-late-than-never-transfer-athletes-find-a-home-team-at-oxy/2911078 Save to Pocket
Metro Micro: The Underutilized Gem of LA Public Transport
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
A few days ago, just after 2 p.m., I stood beneath a stop sign at the edge of the Occidental campus, reading a book. It was scorching out, but I didn’t mind. I knew that in less than 10 minutes, an air-conditioned van would pick me up and carry me to the pharmacy almost a […]
The post Metro Micro: The Underutilized Gem of LA Public Transport appeared first on The Occidental.
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Mold found in Food Justice House forces residents to relocate
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Occidental News (Occidental College Student Newspaper)
This Spring semester, Occidental’s campus Facilities Management confirmed to Sadie Spletzer (sophomore) and their seven housemates that Food Justice House, a themed living community, was subject to a black mold outbreak. The outbreak has resulted in a temporary relocation of the residents to various vacant dorms across campus. According to Spletzer, respiratory symptoms such as […]
The post Mold found in Food Justice House forces residents to relocate appeared first on The Occidental.
https://theoccidentalnews.com/news/2024/02/14/mold-found-in-food-justice-house-forces-residents-to-relocate/2911089 Save to Pocket
Vodafone Showcasing 5G Network-in-a-Box based on Raspberry Pi with Improved Features and New Use Cases at MWC24
date: 2024-02-14, from: Lime Microsystems news
Following on from the success of last year’s unveiling of the Raspberry Pi 5G network-in-a-box at Mobile World Congress, Vodafone is introducing a new improved version at MWC24 with numerous use cases, ranging from network coverage extension to 5G network delivery via drone. The new system will be fully compatible with Raspberry Pi 5 for … Continued
The post Vodafone Showcasing 5G Network-in-a-Box based on Raspberry Pi with Improved Features and New Use Cases at MWC24 appeared first on Lime Microsystems.
https://limemicro.com/news/vodafone-5g-network-raspberry-pi-mwc24/ Save to Pocket
Romanian hospital ransomware crisis attributed to third-party breach
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Emergency impacting more than 100 facilities appears to be caused by incident at software provider
The Romanian national cybersecurity agency (DNSC) has pinned the outbreak of ransomware cases across the country’s hospitals to an incident at a service provider.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/romanian_hospital_ransomware_crisis/ Save to Pocket
A ‘Lobby’ Where a Molecule Mob Tells Genes What to Do
date: 2024-02-14, from: Quanta Magazine
Highly repetitive regions of junk DNA may be the key to a newly discovered mechanism for gene regulation.The post A ‘Lobby’ Where a Molecule Mob Tells Genes What to Do first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-lobby-where-a-molecule-mob-tells-genes-what-to-do-20240214/ Save to Pocket
Lack Of Exposure, Experience Is Also Hurting EV Sales: Consumer Reports
date: 2024-02-14, from: Inside EVs News
Also on tap: Chrysler’s new concept touts advanced but MIA battery tech, and yes, the Sony-Honda Afeela deal is still happening.
https://insideevs.com/news/708661/consumer-reports-electric-vehicle-experience/ Save to Pocket
Virtual Stickers to Manage Replies By
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/virtual-stickers-to-manage-replies-by Save to Pocket
This Remotely Controlled Robot Will Conduct a Simulated Surgery on the International Space Station
date: 2024-02-14, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Robot surgeons could treat astronauts on long space missions—but they could also be used on Earth in places where surgeons aren’t present, such as rural areas or war zones
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-remotely-controlled-robot-will-conduct-a-simulated-surgery-on-the-international-space-station-180983775/ Save to Pocket
Plan de acción para la equidad 2023 de la NASA se centrará en educación STEM/CTIM
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
Read this release in English here. La NASA publicó su Plan de acción para la equidad 2023 el miércoles, en el cual describe los logros clave en el aumento de la diversidad, la equidad, la inclusión y la accesibilidad en toda la agencia, y sus nuevos compromisos para continuar eliminando los obstáculos y retos injustos a […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/el-plan-de-accion-para-la-equidad-2023-de-la-nasa-se-centrara-en-educacion-ctim/ Save to Pocket
NASA Updates Equity Action Plan, Adds Focus on STEM Education, More
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
Lee esta nota de prensa en español aquí. NASA published its 2023 Equity Action Plan Wednesday, which outlines key accomplishments in increasing equity across the agency, and new commitments to continue removing inequitable barriers and challenges facing underserved communities. “At NASA, we are committed to advancing equity to ensure our work benefits all humanity,” said NASA […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-updates-equity-action-plan-adds-focus-on-stem-education-more/ Save to Pocket
Hyundai Kona Electric and VW ID.4 are the top EVs selling below MSRP
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
The Hyundai Kona Electric, already one of the most affordable EVs in the US, was the top-selling electric vehicle priced below MSRP last month. Volkswagen’s ID.4 was second, with Hyundai’s IONIQ models and Kia’s EV6 also selling well below MSRP.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/hyundai-kona-electric-vw-id-4-top-evs-selling-below-msrp/ Save to Pocket
43
date: 2024-02-14, from: Chris Coyier blog
Here’s a list that has 43 <li>‘s on it.
https://chriscoyier.net/2024/02/14/43-2/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-14, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
I’ve
taken to cross-posting to various social media accounts, by opening a
new window, creating the post in one service’s
little text
box, and then opening tabs for each of the others and copy-pasting.
Twitter,
Mastodon,
Bluesky,
Threads,
Facebook.
I’m getting good at it. Yesterday I did that with the
piece about
President Biden and how he probably would rather be doing anything than
be President, for a mostly thankless country, at age 81. I imagine he
has great-grandchildren he’d like to get to know. Maybe a book or two to
read, maybe one to write. To get his affairs in order. At age 68 I’m
trying to shed responsibility as much as possible. It’s prudent, and has
a point. When I was 25 I wanted to take over the world. Now I’d just
like to feel good. As you get older you are capable of more depth of
feeling, in some ways, and grow more numb in others. I spent time with
my father at 80, his last year. He was always a curious man, wanting to
learn about anything new, but in his last days he wasn’t curious. No
ambition. But he seemed okay with it, even happy at times (possibly due
in part to the morphine he was allowed). Anyway, it’s always interesting
to see where people react to what among the different social web
networks. And in this case, the most flow came from
Mastodon,
by far. I would not have predicted that. And it’s good to see, that
interesting ideas and perspective may have more of a future outside the
networks operated by the billionaire tech companies.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/14.html#a151121 Save to Pocket
Ai and Robots
date: 2024-02-14, from: Manu - I write blog
David Pierce at The Verge just published a great long-form piece about robots.txt, the relationship between the people running websites and the people running spiders and crawlers, and what’s happening now that AI has entered the scene.
It’s a great piece and the timing is convenient for me personally because just the other day I emailed the lovely people at The Browser Company asking how can I opt out of their stupid ARC Search. They care about users and user experience and so do I so I’m sure they must have a way for me to block their new AI. I’m still waiting to get a reply…
https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/XfCsCcPWzul2eGKX Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-14, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Swift
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111930453092431377 Save to Pocket
Come to the cabaret
date: 2024-02-14, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Can Can Culinary Cabaret is nestled in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. But the COVID-19 pandemic radically transformed the business, its audiences and the performers who keep the show going. Today, we’ll hear about its return to something that resembles “normal” and what that path was like for onstage storytellers and artists. We’ll also look at how U.S. inflation figures and interest rates affect economies around the globe.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/come-to-the-cabaret Save to Pocket
There’s A CHAdeMO To CCS Adapter, But I’m Not Sure I’d Use It
date: 2024-02-14, from: Inside EVs News
A Finnish YouTuber has an adapter that allows his CHAdeMO-equipped Nissan Leaf to charge at CCS DC fast-charging stations, but the CHAdeMO association isn’t sure if this is safe.
https://insideevs.com/news/708385/chademo-adapter-youtube-safety/ Save to Pocket
The death of the world’s best marathon runner is part of a…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043969-the-death-of-the-worlds Save to Pocket
Cattle Breeder On Trial For Manslaughter After Rider Death
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Riders and animals colliding on roads is unfortunately not new, but a legal case is unusual.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708542/rider-cow-death-manslaughter-case/ Save to Pocket
Rivian app update leaks NACS adapter design, Tesla charger interoperability
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Rivian’s new app update has been datamined, leaking some details about how the upcoming NACS connector will look and how it will interface with Tesla’s charging networks.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/rivian-app-update-leaks-nacs-adapter-design-tesla-charger-interoperability/ Save to Pocket
What Is the Governor of Iowa Hiding About a Satanic Temple Statue at the Capitol?
date: 2024-02-14, from: 404 Media Group
Kim Reynolds redacts 27 pages of public documents about the government’s response to a Baphomet display at the Iowa Capitol.
https://www.404media.co/administrative-hell-iowa-governor-redacts-public-documents-about-satanic-temple-display/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-14, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
La Terminal for VisionPro, we made it for launch day, and since we got our hands on the hardware, have polished various bits:
https://blog.la-terminal.net/la-terminal-for-vision-pro/
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/111930388308998699 Save to Pocket
Solar EVs appear closer than ever – Aptera shows off production-intent build process [Video]
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Fresh off a successful crowdfunding program to gain capital and secure slots for its first 2,000 solar EV builds, Aptera Motors is offering a peek at its production-intent design currently being finalized in Italy. See more in the video below.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/solar-ev-closer-than-ever-aptera-shows-off-production-intent-build-process-video/ Save to Pocket
Elon Musk claims fatal crash was not on ‘Full Self-Driving Beta’ after Tesla said the logs were lost
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Elon Musk has claimed that a fatal crash reported by The Washington Post yesterday was not on ‘Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta’ after Tesla told the police that they couldn’t confirm it because the logs were lost.
Now, he goes as far as claiming that FSD Beta would have saved the Tesla employee.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/elon-musk-claims-fatal-crash-not-on-full-self-driving-beta-after-tesla-logs-lost/ Save to Pocket
ASML sees semiconductor upturn ahead, but China export restrictions are a risk
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
World’s only EUV photolithography maker finished 2023 with order backlog worth €39B
Even as the chip industry lifts itself out of the current deep downcycle, ASML is worried geopolitical developments outside its control could still have an unforeseen impact on business.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/asml_sees_semiconductor_upturn_ahead/ Save to Pocket
Pluralistic: Prison-tech is a brutal scam – and a harbinger of your future (14 Feb 2024)
date: 2024-02-14, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links Prison-tech is a brutal scam – and a harbinger of your future: My next novel predicts the present. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2013, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Prison-tech is a brutal scam – and a harbinger of your future (permalink) Here’s how the shitty technology adoption curve works: when you want to roll out a new, abusive technology, look for a group of vulnerable people whose complaints are roundly ignored and subject them to your bad idea. Sand the rough edges off on their bodies and lives. Normalize the technological abuse you seek to inflict. Next: work your way up the privilege gradient. Maybe you start with prisoners, then work your way up to asylum seekers, parolees and mental patients. Then try it on kids and gig workers. Now, college students and blue collar workers. Climb that curve, bit by bit, until you’ve reached its apex and everyone is living with your shitty technology: https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/24/gwb-rumsfeld-monsters/#bossware Prisoners, asylum seekers, drug addicts and other marginalized people are the involuntary early adopters of every form of disciplinary technology. They are the leading indicators of the ways that technology will be ruining your life in the future. They are the harbingers of all our technological doom. Which brings me to Minnesota. Minnesota is one of the first states make prison phone-calls free. This is a big deal, because prison phone-calls are a big business. Prisoners are literally a captive audience, and the telecommunications sector is populated by sociopaths, bred and trained to spot and exploit abusive monopoly opportunities. As states across America locked up more and more people for longer and longer terms, the cost of operating prisons skyrocketed, even as states slashed taxes on the rich and turned a blind eye to tax evasion. This presented telco predators with an unbeatable opportunity: they approached state prison operators and offered them a bargain: “Let us take over the telephone service to your carceral facility and we will levy eye-watering per-minute charges on the most desperate people in the world. Their families – struggling with one breadwinner behind bars – will find the money to pay this ransom, and we’ll split the profits with you, the cash-strapped, incarceration-happy state government.” This was the opening salvo, and it turned into a fantastic little money-spinner. Prison telco companies and state prison operators were the public-private partnership from hell. Prison-tech companies openly funneled money to state coffers in the form of kickbacks, even as they secretly bribed prison officials to let them gouge their inmates and inmates’ families: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/02/mississippi-corrections-corruption-bribery-private-prison-hustle/ As digital technology got cheaper and prison-tech companies got greedier, the low end of the shitty tech adoption curve got a lot more crowded. Prison-tech companies started handing out “free” cheap Android tablets to prisoners, laying the groundwork for the next phase of the scam. Once prisoners had tablets, prisons could get rid of phones altogether and charge prisoners – and their families – even higher rates to place calls right to the prisoner’s cell. Then, prisons could end in-person visits and replace them with sub-skype, postage-stamp-sized videoconferencing, at rates even higher than the voice-call rates. Combine that with a ban on mailing letters to and from prisoners – replaced with a service that charged even higher rates to scan mail sent to prisoners, and then charged prisoners to download the scans – and prison-tech companies could claim to be at the vanguard of prison safety, ending the smuggling of dope-impregnated letters and other contraband into the prison system. Prison-tech invented some wild shit, like the “digital stamp,” a mainstay of industry giant Jpay, which requires prisoners to pay for “stamps” to send or receive a “page” of email. If you’re keeping score, you’ve realized that this is a system where prisoners and their families have to pay for calls, “in-person” visits, handwritten letters, and email. It goes on: prisons shuttered their libraries and replaced them with ebook stores that charged 2-4 times the prices you’d pay for books on the outside. Prisoners were sold digital music at 200-300% markups relative to, say, iTunes. Remember, these are prisoners: locked up for years or decades, decades during which their families scraped by with a breadwinner behind bars. Prisoners can earn money, sure – as much as $0.89/hour, doing forced labor for companies that contract with prisons for their workforce: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2017/04/10/wages/ Of course, there’s the odd chance for prisoners to make really big bucks – $2-5/day. All they have to do is “volunteer” to fight raging wildfires: https://www.hcn.org/articles/climate-desk-wildfire-california-incarcerated-firefighters-face-dangerous-work-low-pay-and-covid19/ So those $3 digital music tracks are being bought by people earning as little as $0.10/hour. Which makes it especially galling when prisons change prison-tech suppliers, whereupon all that digital music is deleted, wiping prisoners’ media collection out – forever (literally, for prisoners serving life terms): https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/08/captive-audience-how-floridas-prisons-and-drm-made-113m-worth-prisoners-music Let’s recap: America goes on a prison rampage, locking up ever-larger numbers of people for ever-longer sentences. Once inside, prisoners had their access to friends and family rationed, along with access to books, music, education and communities outside. This is very bad for prisoners – strong ties to people outside is closely tied to successful reentry – but it’s great for state budgets, and for wardens, thanks to kickbacks: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/12/21/family_contact/ Back to Minnesota: when Minnesota became the fourth state in the USA where the state, not prisoners, would pay for prison calls, it seemed like they were finally breaking the vicious cycle in which every dollar ripped off of prisoners’ family paid 40 cents to the state treasury: https://www.kaaltv.com/news/no-cost-phone-calls-for-those-incarcerated-in-minnesota/ But – as Katya Schwenk writes for The Lever – what happened next is “a case study in how prison communication companies and their private equity owners have managed to preserve their symbiotic relationship with state corrections agencies despite reforms — at the major expense of incarcerated people and their families”: https://www.levernews.com/wall-streets-new-prison-scam/ Immediately after the state ended the ransoming of prisoners’ phone calls, the private-equity backed prison-tech companies that had dug their mouth-parts into the state’s prison jacked up the price of all their other digital services. For example, the price of a digital song in a Minnesota prison just jumped from $1.99 to $2.36 (for prisoners earning as little as $0.25/hour). As Paul Wright from the Human Rights Defense Center told Schwenk, “The ideal world for the private equity owners of these companies is every prisoner has one of their tablets, and every one of those tablets is hooked up to the bank account of someone outside of prison that they can just drain.” The state’s new prison-tech supplier promises to double the amount of kickbacks it pays the state each year, thanks to an aggressive expansion into games, money transfers, and other “services.” The perverse incentive isn’t hard to spot: the more these prison-tech companies charge, the more kickbacks they pay to the prisons. The primary prison-tech company for Minnesota’s prisons is Viapath (nee Global Tel Link), which pioneered price-gouging on in-prison phone calls. Viapath has spent the past two decades being bought and sold by different private equity firms: Goldman Sachs, Veritas Capital, and now the $46b/year American Securities. Viapath competes with another private equity-backed prison-tech giant: Aventiv (Securus, Jpay), owned by Platinum Equity. Together, Viapath and Aventiv control 90% of the prison-tech market. These companies have a rap-sheet as long as your arm: bribing wardens, stealing from prisoners and their families, and recording prisoner-attorney calls. But these are the kinds of crimes the state punishes with fines and settlements – not by terminating its contracts with these predators. These companies continue to flout the law. Minnesota’s new free-calls system bans prison-tech companies from paying kickbacks to prisons and prison-officials for telcoms services, so the prison-tech companies have rebranded ebooks, music, and money-transfers as non-communications products, and the kickbacks are bigger than ever. This is the bottom end of the shitty technology adoption curve. Long before Ubisoft started deleting games that you’d bought a “perpetual license” for, prisoners were having their media ganked by an uncaring corporation that knew it was untouchable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIqyvquTEVU Revoking your media, charging by the byte for messaging, confiscating things in the name of security and then selling them back to you – these are all tactics that were developed in the prison system, refined, normalized, and then worked up the privilege gradient. Prisoners are living in your technology future. It’s just not evenly distributed – yet. As it happens, prison-tech is at the heart of my next novel, The Bezzle, which comes out on Feb 20. This is a followup to last year’s bestselling Red Team Blues, which introduced the world to Marty Hench, a two-fisted, hard-bitten, high-tech forensic accountant who’s spent 40 years busting Silicon Valley finance scams: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle In The Bezzle, we travel with Marty back to the mid 2000s (Hench is a kind of tech-scam Zelig and every book is a standalone tale of high-tech ripoffs from a different time and place). Marty’s trying to help his old pal Scott Warms, a once-high-flying founder who’s fallen prey to California’s three-strikes law and is now facing decades in a state pen. As bad as things are, they get worse when the prison starts handing out “free” tablet and closing down the visitation room, the library, and the payphones. This is an entry to the thing I love most about the Hench novels: the opportunity to turn all this dry, financial skullduggery into high-intensity, high-stakes technothriller plot. For me, Marty Hench is a tool for flensing the scam economy of all its layers of respectability bullshit and exposing the rot at the core. It’s not a coincidence that I’ve got a book coming out in a week that’s about something that’s in the news right now. I didn’t “predict” this current turn – I observed it. The world comes at you fast and technology news flutters past before you can register it. Luckily, I have a method for capturing this stuff as it happens: https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/09/the-memex-method/ Writing about tech issues that are long-simmering but still in the periphery is a technique I call “predicting the present.” It’s the technique I used when I wrote Little Brother, about out-of-control state surveillance of the internet. When Snowden revealed the extent of NSA spying in 2013, people acted as though I’d “predicted” the Snowden revelations: https://www.wired.com/story/his-writing-radicalized-young-hackers-now-he-wants-to-redeem-them/ But Little Brother and Snowden’s own heroic decision have a common origin: the brave whistleblower Mark Klein, who walked into EFF’s offices in 2006 and revealed that he’d been ordered by his boss at AT&T to install a beam-splitter into the main fiber trunk so that the NSA could illegally wiretap the entire internet: https://www.eff.org/document/public-unredacted-klein-declaration Mark Klein inspired me to write Little Brother – but despite national press attention, the Klein revelations didn’t put a stop to NSA spying. The NSA was still conducting its lawless surveillance campaign in 2013, when Snowden, disgusted with NSA leadership for lying to Congress under oath, decided to blow the whistle again: https://apnews.com/article/business-33a88feb083ea35515de3c73e3d854ad The assumption that let the NSA get away with mass surveillance was that it would only be weaponized against the people at the bottom of the shitty technology adoption curve: brown people, mostly in other countries. The Snowden revelations made it clear that these were just the beginning, and sure enough, more than a decade later, we have data-brokers sucking up billions in cop kickbacks to enable warrantless surveillance, while virtually following people to abortion clinics, churches, and protests. Mass surveillance is chugging its way up the shitty tech adoption curve with no sign of stopping. Like Little Brother, The Bezzle is intended as a kind of virtual flythrough of what life is like further down on that curve – a way for readers who have too much agency to be in the crosshairs of a company like Viapath or Avently right now to wake up before that kind of technology comes for them, and to inspire them to take up the cause of the people further down the curve who are mired in it. The Bezzle is an intense book, but it’s also a very fun story – just like Little Brother. It’s a book that lays bare the internal technical workings of so many scams, from multi-level marketing to real-estate investment trusts, from music royalty theft to prison-tech, in the course of an ice-cold revenge plot that keeps twisting to the very last page. It’ll drop in six days. I hope you’ll check it out: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865878/thebezzle Hey look at this (permalink) DOJ’s Jonathan Kanter says the antitrust fight against Big Tech is just beginning https://www.theverge.com/24067873/jonathan-kanter-doj-antitrust-google-policy-monopoly-big-tech Just got my PAC mailing from PlutocracySF https://www.jwz.org/blog/2024/02/just-got-my-pac-mailing-from-plutocracysf/ Forest and Factory The Science and the Fiction of Communism https://endnotes.org.uk/posts/forest-and-factory (h/t This Machine Kills) This day in history (permalink) #20yrsago Amazon discloses many reviews written by insecure, sniping writers https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/14/us/amazon-glitch-unmasks-war-of-reviewers.html #15yrsago 700 comments tell the FTC “No DRM!” https://memex.craphound.com/2004/02/13/dd-to-be-reissued-by-wotc/ #15yrsago FTC gets an earful from the public on DRM, practically all of it anti- https://web.archive.org/web/20040314030944/https://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=11796&mode=thread&order=0 #15yrsago Flashbake: Free version-control for writers using git https://memex.craphound.com/2009/02/13/flashbake-free-version-control-for-writers-using-git/ #10yrsago Self-published ebooks: the surprising data from Amazon https://memex.craphound.com/2014/02/13/self-published-ebooks-the-surprising-data-from-amazon/ #10yrsago Tell the IRS that mountains of DVDs are a stupid way to distribute public records https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL0E1-5IhYE #5yrsago Tracking down Dick Davy, a mysterious “lost” comedian who once championed civil rights and antiracism https://stolendress.com/comedyonvinyl/episode-291-family-albums-episode-6-finding-dick-davy/ #5yrsago Chuck Schumer’s general counsel, once a Goldman Sachs lobbyist, won’t disclose the names of 95% of his former clients https://theintercept.com/2019/02/13/chuck-schumer-mark-patterson/ #5yrsago Burning Man purges one-percenter camp that charged up to $100K, littered like crazy, and ripped off its attendees https://journal.burningman.org/2019/02/philosophical-center/tenprinciples/cultural-course-correcting/ #5yrsago Ios and Android app stores both host Saudi government app that lets men track their spouses’ movements https://www.techdirt.com/2019/02/13/google-apple-called-out-hosting-saudi-government-app-that-allows-men-to-track-their-spouses-movements/ #5yrsago Blizzard/Activision celebrates record revenues by laying off 800 employees https://www.fanbyte.com/legacy/kiss-my-ass-activision-blizzard #5yrsago Teen journalists profile each of the 1,200+ US children killed by guns since Parkland https://sinceparkland.org #5yrsago Leak: Apple is demanding 50% of the revenue from its “Netflix for news” product https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/12/18222281/apple-news-subscription-service-50-percent-cut-publishers-media-deal #5yrsago Phone scammer tried to con William Webster, the only person ever to serve as director of both the CIA and FBI: it did not go well https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/02/12/william-webster-ex-fbi-cia-director-helps-feds-nab-jamaican-phone-scammer/ #1yrato Obama’s turncoat antitrust enforcer is angry about the Google breakup https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/13/the-last-man-to-die-for-a-mistake/#dont-let-the-door-hit-you-in-the-ass-on-the-way-out 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/ Upcoming appearances: The Bezzle at Weller Book Works (Salt Lake City), Feb 21 https://www.wellerbookworks.com/event/store-cory-doctorow-feb-21-630-pm The Bezzle at Third Place Books (Seattle), Feb 26 https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow Tucson Festival of Books, Mar 9/10 https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/?id=676 Enshittification: How the Internet Went Bad and How to Get it Back (virtual), Mar 26 https://libcal.library.ubc.ca/event/3781006 The Bezzle at Anderson’s Books (Chicago), Apr 17 https://www.andersonsbookshop.com/event/cory-doctorow-1 Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Winnipeg), May 2 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cory-doctorow-tickets-798820071337?aff=oddtdtcreator Media Ecology Association keynote (Amherst, NY), Jun 6-9 https://media-ecology.org/convention American Association of Law Libraries keynote (Chicago), Jul 21 https://www.aallnet.org/conference/agenda/keynote-speaker/ Recent appearances: Big Story Podcast https://thebigstorypodcast.ca/2024/02/13/a-story-about-how-anyone-yes-even-you-can-get-scammed/ Why Taylor Left Tiktok (Today, Explained) https://open.spotify.com/episode/62R2sJ6cEUOitIDPBdmwpy Online Platform Decay (Tim Ventura) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83SULjan-JM 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/2024/02/14/minnesota-nice/ Save to Pocket
The happiest kids in the world have social safety nets. “In a…
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0043964-the-happiest-kids-in-the Save to Pocket
January 2024 Retirements
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
Robert Paulin Aerospace Test Branch, retired Jan. 3, 2024, with 40 years of NASA service. James Douglas Kiser (Not Pictured) Ceramic and Polymer Composites Branch, retired Jan. 12, 2024, with 41 years of NASA service.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/january-2024-retirements/ Save to Pocket
The fun little JackRabbit micro e-bike gets a gigantic new battery, 2.5x the range
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
The JackRabbit electric micro bike is as divisive as it is diminutive, which is to say, “very.” But one thing just got a lot less micro on this pint-sized commuter. The company has just unveiled its RangeBuster battery, which has nearly 250% of the capacity of an original JackRabbit battery.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/the-fun-little-jackrabbit-micro-e-bike-gets-a-gigantic-new-battery-2-5x-the-range/ Save to Pocket
Podcast: An Open Source Search Engine to Replace Google
date: 2024-02-14, from: 404 Media Group
This week we chat about an annoying recruitment tool, a new open source search engine, and how a botnet of toothbrushes wasn’t real.
https://www.404media.co/404-media-podcast-week-25-open-source-search-engine-stract-paradoxai/ Save to Pocket
A Porsche Luxury Electric Minivan Would Be “Very Interesting,” Says Design Boss
date: 2024-02-14, from: Inside EVs News
Ferrari made an SUV and now Porsche is thinking about making an electric minivan. Has the world gone crazy?
https://insideevs.com/news/708566/porsche-electric-minivan-very-interesting-design-boss/ Save to Pocket
Defendant charged in fatal hit-and-run released from prison
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
A man charged in a fatal hit-and-run of a 2-year-old girl in June 2023 was released from prison.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/defendant-charged-in-fatal-hit-and-run-released-from-prison/article_4b9518d2-caf1-11ee-aa4a-434e9a7772c4.html Save to Pocket
HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR: The traditional Lion Dance is performed at the Agana Shopping Center and Micronesia Mall in celebration of the Lunar New Year.
https://www.postguam.com/entertainment/lifestyle/happy-lunar-new-year/article_d36ba68e-cac6-11ee-a457-8feeca571664.html Save to Pocket
Jury finds Nededog not guilty of Sånta Rita-Sumai murder
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Jamie John Nededog was acquitted of murder in connection to the death of Edwin Pirando.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/jury-finds-nededog-not-guilty-of-s-nta-rita-sumai-murder/article_b64206b4-cafa-11ee-814f-3739b27065ca.html Save to Pocket
Lawmakers question Port board nominee
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Port Authority of Guam board nominee Fe Valencia-Ovalles sat before lawmakers during a confirmation hearing Tuesday, where she fielded questions about how she would handle decision-making and whether she could perform her duties without interference from the PAG general manager…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawmakers-question-port-board-nominee/article_534317b0-ca4b-11ee-a9ce-27e93e88d381.html Save to Pocket
Defendant takes deferred plea in rape case
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
A man entered into a deferred plea agreement for charges stemming from sexually assaulting a woman known to him multiple times over the course of two years.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/defendant-takes-deferred-plea-in-rape-case/article_a49d8a34-ca2b-11ee-aa81-ebc9151857c2.html Save to Pocket
Bicyclist dies in Barrigada crash
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
A bicyclist died from injuries sustained in a Barrigada traffic crash.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/bicyclist-dies-in-barrigada-crash/article_69ae9762-caec-11ee-aec6-e71b67d5eda6.html Save to Pocket
Lawmakers hold hearing on bill limiting portions for sugary drinks
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Lawmakers heard testimony on Bill 199-37 on Monday. The measure would limit portions for sugary drinks sold at eating and drinking establishments and at vending machines to no more than 17 fluid ounces. Food service establishments and eating and drinking…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/lawmakers-hold-hearing-on-bill-limiting-portions-for-sugary-drinks/article_fa198b04-c966-11ee-8f5d-83787719e3f2.html Save to Pocket
A Market for 24/7 Clean Power Might Look Something Like This
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heatmap News
There are two kinds of people who work on climate solutions: Those who still believe in the promise of carbon markets, and those who think the whole concept is fundamentally flawed.
In the first category, you have people like McGee Young, the CEO of a company called WattCarbon. Young is aware of the ways carbon markets can be a race to the bottom — enabling companies to buy cheap certificates that say they used clean energy or reduced their carbon footprint, when in reality their purchase had little effect on the environment or the energy system.
And yet, there’s all this money out there for the taking! Companies want to green their image! Tackling climate change is expensive! There must be a way to funnel corporate sustainability budgets to where they can make a real impact!
To Young, the solution is a matter of better data and greater transparency. “We need a record-keeping system that allows us to raise the bar,” he told me.
Young launched his vision for that record-keeping system on Wednesday — the WattCarbon Energy Attribute Tracking System, or WEATS. It functions similarly to other environmental credit registries: Owners of clean energy assets can sign up to generate credits known as Environmental Attribute Certificates, or EACs, which buyers can then purchase to count toward their own clean energy or carbon goals.
WEATS has two main features that differentiate it. First, it will include credits from small-scale distributed energy resources like residential solar panels, batteries, and heat pumps — clean energy solutions that haven’t really been able to participate in carbon markets until now. Second, each EAC will include granular information about where and when the power was generated, in the case of solar, or the carbon savings incurred, in the case of heat pumps, down to the hour.
The first feature is part of what motivated Young to start WattCarbon. “The clean energy transition is more than just wind and solar, it’s more than just generation,” he told me. But it’s the second that Young said is key to improving the credibility of claims that companies are “using 100% clean energy,” or “achieving net-zero.”
Today, many companies simply buy enough clean energy credits to match their annual energy use, regardless of where or when the energy was generated. But researchers have shown that this strategy can have little to no impact on emissions. For example, if a company is only buying solar credits, but it is using energy at night, its carbon footprint from that nighttime energy could surpass any environmental benefits of the solar it bought.
To solve this, some energy buyers have embraced a concept called “24/7 carbon-free energy,” which means that “every kilowatt-hour of electricity consumption is met with carbon-free electricity sources, every hour of every day, everywhere,” in the words of a United Nations-led initiative to promote the concept. “It is both the end state of a fully decarbonized electricity system,” according to the UN, “and a transformative approach to energy procurement, supply, and policy design that is critical to accelerating its arrival.”
If you’ve followed the recent debate about the green hydrogen tax credit, you might be familiar with the idea. In December, the Treasury Department proposed that hydrogen producers will have to match their electricity consumption with the purchase of local clean electricity generation on an hourly basis to prove their hydrogen is clean enough to qualify for the full value of the tax credit. That means producers can either hook up directly to a solar farm or wind farm or geothermal power plant and operate only when it is generating power, or, it can buy renewable energy credits or EACs that correspond to the hours that it operates.
WattCarbon’s marketplace is one of the first to enable this by requiring sellers to include data about exactly where and when each EAC was produced. It also include the carbon intensity of the grid in the place and time when that unit of power was produced. For example, 1 megawatt-hour of solar power in West Virginia, where the grid is supplied by a lot of coal-fired power plants, would likely reduce emissions far more than 1 megawatt-hour of solar power in California, where the main fossil fuel burned for power is natural gas. Similarly, 1 megawatt-hour of solar generated in the afternoon in California will not do as much to reduce emissions as if that unit of power were stored in a battery and then dispatched at night. On other markets, all of these credits might simply be advertised as 1 megawatt-hour of solar power, and the buyer would be none the wiser.
So what does this new carbon trading marketplace look like in practice? There are a lot of possibilities, but here’s one scenario. WattCarbon partners with a company that helps homeowners electrify their heating or install and manage their solar and battery systems. That third party company can then say to their customers, “As an extra incentive to do this, we can help you sell the environmental benefits it provides to third parties through the WattCarbon marketplace,” and those extra payments are what convinces the homeowner to go for it.
Independent experts I spoke with were cautiously optimistic about what this new marketplace could do. “We need to deploy on the order of a billion machines, in the U.S. alone — and not over a century, but on the order of a decade,” said Kevin Kircher, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, whose research focuses on heat pumps and other distributed energy resources. “So there’s a lot that needs to be done, and just connecting people to money to do the work is really important.”
Wilson Ricks, a PhD candidate at Princeton University whose research informed the Treasury’s proposal for the hydrogen tax credit, said that having a platform where hydrogen companies can procure clean energy from a variety of projects, and with time and location data, would be very useful. He was also intrigued by WattCarbon’s attempt to create EACs tied to batteries because energy storage systems are one of the few resources that can produce clean power when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.
But both Ricks and Kircher warned there are a number of ways this system of credits could fall into the same traps that ensnare many carbon offset projects and reduce their credibility. For one, it’s really hard to get the math right. That’s especially true for a project like a heat pump, where the carbon savings are based on a counterfactual situation where the homeowner would have kept their gas heater. You have to basically estimate how often they would have run it, which opens the door to sloppiness at best and fraud at worst.
Another key criterion — a concept called additionality — is very hard to assess. Would the household that switches to a heat pump have done so regardless of whether they were getting extra revenue from selling EACs? If the answer is unequivocally yes, the credits are meaningless and serve to give corporate emitters an excuse to keep emitting.
Young acknowledged to me that this was likely going to be true in some cases, but still felt that heat pump owners deserved to be paid for the environmental benefits they were providing. “We provide environmental subsidies for large-scale wind and solar, and we don’t do that for the things that we’re putting into our buildings and our communities. And to me, there’s an inherent inequality in the way that we treat and value clean energy that needs to be addressed.”
That didn’t quite make sense to me — the government provides subsidies for all kinds of clean energy resources, including distributed energy resources, I countered. The Treasury will give you $2,000 for a heat pump and a 30% discount on rooftop solar.
“That’s true,” Young said. “But we don’t have enough money in all of our government programs to truly scale those.”
I couldn’t argue with that. But the real challenge is helping low-income homeowners with the upfront capital to install these devices — after-the-fact payments are not enough. Young said he had plans to create a way for companies to procure EACs in advance from groups of homeowners. The deals would be similar to the power purchase agreements that big electricity consumers like Google and Walmart make with large-scale renewable energy developers, helping to finance those projects by reducing the risk.
“This is a necessary but not sufficient step,” Young said of the version of the marketplace that launched Wednesday. “Without this, we can’t do that. But this by itself would be inadequate for the market to be able to reach its fullest potential.”
https://heatmap.news/economy/wattcarbon-clean-energy-market Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-14, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
How Slack brought the group chat to work.
https://www.theverge.com/24070725/slack-ten-year-anniversary-retrospective-groupchat-workplace Save to Pocket
Health Insurers Fret About Climate Change
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Much of the U.S. will see calmer weather over the next few days • A tornado caused “biblical damage” in Cyprus • Mexico is experiencing its worst drought in 12 years.
THE TOP FIVE
- Study: Polar bears head ashore for food as sea ice melts
A new study sheds light on how polar bears are changing their diets and behaviors in a warming world. Climate change is shrinking the sea ice on which the bears rely for hunting seals. As the ice melts, the bears are forced onto land, where they can either reduce their physical activity in order to save energy and calories, or forage for berries and small prey. The research, which involved strapping cameras to 20 bears in Canada’s Manitoba province, found that neither option is enough to prevent the animals from going hungry. All of them lost weight and two of them were on track to starve before the sea ice was expected to return. “Polar bears are not grizzly bears wearing white coats,” said Charles Robbins, director of the Washington State University Bear Center and co-author of the study in the journal Nature Communications. “They’re very, very different.” The study found some bears are spending more time in the water, which is “new and unexpected,” one polar bear expert told Vox. “These are possibly acts of desperation. Hungry and skinny bears take more risks than fat bears.”
- Health insurers fret about climate change impact
Health insurance may be the next sector to hike premiums due to climate change, The Wall Street Journal reported. The rise in extreme weather events has already roiled the home insurance market, making it more expensive – or even impossible – for homeowners in some high-risk areas to take out a policy. Now health insurers are “building new models to reassess premiums, estimate risk, and meet incoming climate reporting standards,” the Journal said. Recent research has linked extreme heat and wildfire smoke to a variety of health problems including heart attacks and cancer, and insurers want to know what this all means for their bottom lines. But the Journal reports that for now, insurers aren’t worried about their profits, “because the groups most likely to be affected by climate change aren’t covered by insurance.”
- Redfin adds air quality tracker to home listings
In a sign of the times, Redfin has become the first real estate brokerage to include air quality data alongside home listings. The feature allows house hunters to see the air quality in their prospective new neighborhoods, and tells them whether it is expected to get better or worse in years to come. One home listed in Washington, D.C., for example, came with this warning: “Over the next 30 years, this area will experience a 20.0% increase in the number of poor air quality days, i.e. where the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeds 100.”
Air
quality information on a home listing in Washington, D.C.
Redfin
Redfin already lists other risk factors like flood, fire, heat, and wind. “Redfin wants to ensure that every single person searching for a home has the information they need to understand climate risks,” said Redfin Senior Vice President of Product and Design Ariel Dos Santos. The company also published data this week showing that more people are moving into than out of metro areas that have bad air quality, not necessarily because of health concerns, but because they’ve been priced out.
- BlackRock’s ESG funds are ‘soaring’
BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest asset manager, has seen more cash flow into its ESG funds than out every quarter for the last two years, “a period that marks one of the toughest ever in the two-decade history of environmental, social and governance investing,” Bloomberg reported. Most people might associate ESG with renewables, but it also encompasses some of the biggest tech giants: BlackRock’s three top-performing ESG funds include Microsoft and Apple as their biggest holdings.
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- UK Royal Navy reportedly considering climate change course for
sailors
The United Kingdom’s Royal Navy is considering making all its sailors take a course about climate change, The Telegraph reported, citing a leaked document. The course would focus specifically on how climate change threatens peace and defense efforts. The document also said rising sea levels could damage maritime infrastructure. Other initiatives under consideration include paying for sailors to study climate change, and inviting climate scientists to conduct research on Britain’s warships. One former head of the Royal Navy told the paper he supported the plans, but added: “Climate change is not more important than fighting the King’s enemies, so it has to be done with a balance.”
THE KICKER
At a North Carolina aquarium, a round stingray named Charlotte is pregnant despite not having contact with a male of her species in at least eight years.
https://heatmap.news/climate/polar-bears-sea-ice Save to Pocket
NASA Trains Teachers on Upcoming Solar Eclipse
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
On Monday, April 8, Northeast Ohioans will get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a total solar eclipse. During this rare natural phenomenon, the Moon will pass between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun and darkening the sky for nearly four minutes. Teachers, librarians, and community leaders from across Northeast Ohio […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-trains-teachers-on-upcoming-solar-eclipse/ Save to Pocket
NASA Participates in “Ohioans in Space” Painting Unveiling
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
Representatives from NASA Headquarters and NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland participated in the unveiling of the “Ohioans in Space” painting at a large gala at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus on Jan. 24. The portrait, which depicts Ohio-born national heroes Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Jim Lovell, Judy Resnik, and Gene Kranz, is the first painting hung […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-participates-in-ohioans-in-space-painting-unveiling/ Save to Pocket
NASA’s Day of Remembrance
date: 2024-02-14, from: NASA breaking news
Every year on NASA’s Day of Remembrance, the agency pauses to honor the sacrifice of the NASA family members who gave their lives to advance the cause of exploration. Employees remember friends and colleagues, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. A key element in observances across the agency centers […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasas-day-of-remembrance/ Save to Pocket
Conquer The Urban Jungle In Style With Monty’s New E-Cargo Bikes
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Spanish bike brand BH is making waves in the growing e-cargo bike segment with new models from the Monty brand.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708550/bh-monty-v-series-e-cargo-bikes/ Save to Pocket
Roses are red, violets are blue, Opera GX gives Valentine’s a gray, rainy hue
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
HeartBlocker extension aimed at the ‘forever alone’ crowd
Opera is rolling out an extension to the gamer version of its eponymous browser aimed at users who would rather not be reminded of the significance of February 14.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/opera_gx_heartblocker/ Save to Pocket
2024-02-09 Oddµ namespaces and live updating
date: 2024-02-14, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
2024-02-09 Oddµ namespaces and live updating
It’s a slow morning. I had my two cups of coffee, ate my pancakes with plum jam, spent time online reading Mastodon, talked to my wife about wannabe-axe murderers on Swiss trains, looked up stuff about taxing the rich…
I’ve been working on Oddmu again. My goal is to be able to reproduce the Campaign Wiki setup:
- people can get a “space” for their site by signing up in some way
- they can make changes to the look and feel of their site (change the headers, footers, colours, i.e. make changes to both the HTML template and the CSS)
- feeds, list of changes and all that are limited to their site
Using Oddmu would also result in the following:
- sites are no longer publically editable (which isn’t a requirement for such spaces like role-playing game campaigns)
Oddmu now has the following features:
-
when editing pages in a subdirectory, the
indexandchangespage in the same directory are updated (instead of the root directory) - when HTML templates exist in the same directory, those are used instead of the templates in the root directory (e.g. Oddµ)
- when uploading a HTML template, it is loaded immediately (no more server restart)
Once I had this implemented using a library that watches the filesystem
for changes, I realized that I could use the same feature to index new
pages. This brings me closer to having online and offline writing
feature equivalence: Using the web site to create a page should be
equivalent to writing a page elsewhere and uploading it to the site via
rsync. (Offline you can use the oddmu notify command to add
links to index, changes and hashtag pages.)
I think I’m getting close!
Also, code complexity is through the roof, now. All the global maps
aren’t thread-safe so they need mutexes. There’s a weird Heisenbug I
have where I run the test suite and then view.html is gone.
The next test run then fails, of course. Thinking it was related to the
order of tests, I started running go test -shuffle on and
found a plethora of other bugs. And I’ve seen at least two
occasions where I noticed the disappearing view.html bug,
noted the shuffle id, reran the test with that id, got the error again,
tried for a third time, and then tests passed. So… it must be a race
condition of some sort.
How aggravating.
Maybe something got lost, with that last set of changes.
I do feel, however, that I’ve found a lot of bugs… Just now, for example, to help prevent Oddmu from showing any directories or files with a path segment starting with a period…
2024-02-14. I need to think about an archive handler that allows you to get a zip file for the current directory. (I guess zip files are more accessible than .tar.gz files? Like, for Windows and macOS…
And the archive needs to take ODDMU_FILTER into account!
Done. ✔️
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-02-09-oddmu-namespaces Save to Pocket
This Valentine’s Day, a not-so-sweet chocolate economy
date: 2024-02-14, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Lovers and chocolate lovers beware: If you’re eyeing a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day, those bonbons are going to come at a cost. Cocoa prices recently hit an all-time high and sugar prices have spiked too. Rather bittersweet, huh? But first, Tuesday’s inflation data headed in the wrong direction — and markets were not pleased. Plus, why does Walmart want to buy bargain television brand Vizio?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/this-valentines-day-a-not-so-sweet-chocolate-economy Save to Pocket
Not Enough Chargers in Top EV Market California, Drivers Say
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
Over 1.7 million electric cars are currently on the road in California. But drivers in the nation’s largest EV market say they are struggling to find chargers. VOA’s Anna Rice narrates this report by Angelina Bagdasaryan. Video: Vazgen Varzhabetian
https://www.voanews.com/a/not-enough-chargers-in-top-ev-market-california-drivers-say/7487027.html Save to Pocket
Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 Already Selling Well Below MSRP: Study
date: 2024-02-14, from: Inside EVs News
Slower-than-expected demand and revised federal tax credit rules are impacting EV prices in the U.S.
https://insideevs.com/news/708539/evs-command-lower-prices-than-msrp/ Save to Pocket
Setting Aside Local Control, Legislation Would Mandate How To Teach Reading In California
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The LAist
Pointing to dismal test scores, veteran lawmaker and a coalition of advocacy groups introduce AB 2222.
https://laist.com/news/education/california-legislation-would-mandate-how-to-teach-reading Save to Pocket
Students Panic After New Financial Aid Application Blocks Them: ‘I Don’t Know Who To Call’
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The LAist
When parents without Social Security numbers try to fill out the aid application on behalf of their children, they are blocked from continuing.
https://laist.com/news/education/fasfa-application-blocks-students Save to Pocket
California Rain Will Cause More Valley Fever
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The LAist
State health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout.
https://laist.com/news/health/california-rain-will-cause-more-valley-fever Save to Pocket
For Many Americans, Valentine’s Day Is Last-Minute Affair
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/for-many-americans-valentine-s-day-is-last-minute-affair-/7487006.html Save to Pocket
Austin Leads Talks on Defense Support for Ukraine
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/austin-to-lead-talks-on-defense-support-for-ukraine-/7486997.html Save to Pocket
Southern Water cyberattack expected to hit hundreds of thousands of customers
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Brit utility also curiously disappears from Black Basta leak site
Southern Water has admitted between five and ten percent of its customers had their details stolen from the British utilities giant during a January cyberattack.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/southern_water_cyberattack/ Save to Pocket
Improving the Cryptanalysis of Lattice-Based Public-Key Algorithms
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-13, from: Bruce Schneier blog
The winner of the Best Paper Award at Crypto this year was a significant improvement to lattice-based cryptanalysis.
This is important, because a bunch of NIST’s post-quantum options base their security on lattice problems.
I worry about standardizing on post-quantum algorithms too quickly. We are still learning a lot about the security of these systems, and this paper is an example of that learning.
News story.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/improving-the-cryptanalysis-of-lattice-based-public-key-algorithms.html Save to Pocket
Louis Armstrong: Harlem Renaissance Pioneer
date: 2024-02-14, from: National Archives, Pieces of History blog
February is Black History Month. Visit the National Archives website for more information on our resources related to African American history. Today’s post, from Alyssa Moore in the National Archives History Office, looks at the legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong. Louis Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 (although he often claimed he was born on July … Continue reading Louis Armstrong: Harlem Renaissance Pioneer
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2024/02/14/louis-armstrong-harlem-renaissance-pioneer/ Save to Pocket
Dumping us into ad tier of Prime Video when we paid for ad-free is ‘unfair’ – lawsuit
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Who could possibly have predicted this backlash?
When Netflix launched its ad-supported tier in November 2022, it tried to tempt viewers in with discounted rates, hoping to win new consumers and sell their eyeballs to ad-slingers. But Amazon Prime, well, it went a different route.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/amazon_prime_vid_suit/ Save to Pocket
Indonesia heads to the polls — and it’s all about the economy
date: 2024-02-14, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s third largest democracy. Today, citizens vote in the presidential and legislative elections, which are dominated by issues like future growth and job opportunities. Meanwhile, farmers in India continue protests over the prices they receive for their goods. And we hear from Racheal Kundananji, the soccer player who has set a new transfer record with her move to San Francisco’s Bay FC.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/indonesia-elections-economy Save to Pocket
Electric car fire risks
date: 2024-02-14, from: Status-Q blog
The idea that electric cars are a serious fire risk is one that has established itself in people’s minds, chiefly because such headlines increase advertising revenue for newspaper editors. If you can’t get a scare story with ‘Elon Musk’ in the title, at least try to include some reference to ‘Tesla’! When a big Continue Reading
https://statusq.org/archives/2024/02/14/11949/ Save to Pocket
Bumblebee malware wakes from hibernation, forgets what year it is, attacks with macros
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Trying to break in with malicious Word documents? How very 2015 of you
The Bumblebee malware loader seemingly vanished from the internet last October, but it’s back and - oddly - relying on a vintage vector to try and gain access.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/bumblebee_malware_back/ Save to Pocket
Fliteboard unveils clever new design to drastically cut electric surfboard prices
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Electric surfboards and hydrofoil boards are some of the most fun you can have on the water, but their high prices have often limited their reach to those with boat money. Today, Fliteboard announced a new line of lower-cost models known as the Flite AIR to help make electric surfboards more accessible to a broader market.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/fliteboard-unveils-clever-new-design-to-cut-drastically-electric-surfboard-prices/ Save to Pocket
Black History Month Recognizes Achievements, Contributions of African Americans
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/black-history-month-recognizes-achievements-contributions-of-african-americans/7486898.html Save to Pocket
NASA solar sail tech is ready – now who’s up to use it in a mission?
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Ready for cruising: successful deployment leaves the ball in the scientists’ court
NASA says its latest take on solar sail technology is ready for proposals for it to be flown on science missions.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/nasa_solar_sail_is_ready/ Save to Pocket
Cosmic Drive heading to Naniloa: Nighttime Top Golf-like experience will utilize hotel’s driving range
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Grand Naniloa Hotel’s driving range is about to look very different in the evening when it becomes home to Hilo’s newest nighttime attraction — Cosmic Drive.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/hawaii-news/cosmic-drive-heading-to-naniloa-nighttime-top-golf-like-experience-will-utilize-hotels-driving-range/ Save to Pocket
Affordable Connectivity Program ends soon that helped subsidize internet costs for low-income households
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A federal program reimbursing low-income households for their internet bills will end within months.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/hawaii-news/affordable-connectivity-program-ends-soon-that-helped-subsidize-internet-costs-for-low-income-households/ Save to Pocket
Hilo man sentenced for fatal Halloween stabbing
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A 44-year-old Hilo man will spend life in prison — with the possibility of parole — for stabbing a woman to death in her Hilo apartment on Halloween in 2020.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/hawaii-news/hilo-man-sentenced-for-fatal-halloween-stabbing/ Save to Pocket
Kona airport closed again
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Travelers coming to and leaving from Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole were informed Tuesday morning that the airport was closed.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/hawaii-news/kona-airport-closed-again/ Save to Pocket
CDC considers ending 5-day isolation period for COVID
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering loosening its recommendations regarding how long people should isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus, another reflection of changing attitudes and norms as the pandemic recedes.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/cdc-considers-ending-5-day-isolation-period-for-covid/ Save to Pocket
Democrat Tom Suozzi wins New York race to succeed George Santos in Congress
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Democrat Tom Suozzi has won a special election in New York for the U.S. House seat that was left vacant when Republican George Santos was expelled from Congress.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/democrat-tom-suozzi-wins-new-york-race-to-succeed-george-santos-in-congress/ Save to Pocket
Spacecraft named Odysseus makes moonshot today
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Another month, another try at the moon.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/spacecraft-named-odysseus-makes-moonshot-today/ Save to Pocket
The high court seems ready to knock over Trump’s Colorado ballot ban
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The U.S. Supreme Court expressed proper doubt toward Colorado’s attempt to exclude Donald Trump from its presidential ballot under the 14th Amendment. Trump is indeed an anti-democratic demagogue who sought to overturn the 2020 election, before and on Jan. 6. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/opinion/the-high-court-seems-ready-to-knock-over-trumps-colorado-ballot-ban/ Save to Pocket
Saving the news media means moving beyond the benevolence of billionaires
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>For the journalism industry, 2024 is off to a brutal start.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/opinion/saving-the-news-media-means-moving-beyond-the-benevolence-of-billionaires/ Save to Pocket
Roses are red, violets are blue, through Miami’s airport yours probably flew
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The roses that you buy this week from a florist, supermarket or website for Valentine’s Day in all likelihood arrived in the United States through one place: Miami International Airport, the port of entry for about 90% of the nation’s imported cut flowers.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/roses-are-red-violets-are-blue-through-miamis-airport-yours-probably-flew/ Save to Pocket
Putin seeks revenge on a world order he once wanted to join
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In Ukraine, Putin is attempting to strike a decisive blow against the U.S. and Europe to reshape that global order to Russia’s advantage. Putin’s gamble — backed by military force and grudges — is that he can bend the world to his will. China, with its own territorial ambitions, is watching carefully how much Russia is able to push the boundaries.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/putin-seeks-revenge-on-a-world-order-he-once-wanted-to-join/ Save to Pocket
Sen. Maria Cantwell to accelerate pace of aviation bills in wake of door blowout
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>US Senator Maria Cantwell plans further aviation safety oversight following the Alaska Airlines mid-flight door plug blowout on a Boeing aircraft, likely going beyond what Congress typically does for aviation.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/sen-maria-cantwell-to-accelerate-pace-of-aviation-bills-in-wake-of-door-blowout/ Save to Pocket
Obituaries for February 14
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Felipe Domingo Jr., 76, of Keaau died Jan. 25 in Hilo. He was born in Hilo. Celebration of life ceremony 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at Hilo Baptist Church, 600 W. Lanikaula St. Gathering in Kailua-Kona on Feb. 18. Online condolences: ballardfamilymortuary.com. Survived by mother, Florencia Cabanting Domingo of Hilo; brothers, Perfecto (Tina) Domingo of Hilo, Ernesto (Hannah) Domingo of Kalihi, Oahu, and Eduardo (Veronica) Domingo of Hilo; son, Felipe Domingo III of San Diego; daughters: Laurie Dizol of Las Vegas, Lanelle (Chris) Coleman of Kailua-Kona and Lennifer (Gary) Vidal of Honolulu; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, 12 step-grandchildren and a step-greatgrandchild. Arrangements by Ballard Family Mortuary.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/obituaries/obituaries-for-february-14-9/ Save to Pocket
House votes to impeach Mayorkas, a historic rebuke of sitting Cabinet member by Republicans
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House voted Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with the Republican majority determined to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border after failing last week in a politically embarrassing setback.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/house-votes-to-impeach-mayorkas-a-historic-rebuke-of-sitting-cabinet-member-by-republicans/ Save to Pocket
Biden warns opposing Ukraine funding plays ‘into Putin’s hands,’ but faces resistance in House
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for House Republicans to urgently bring a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to a vote, warning that refusal to take up the bill, passed by the Senate in the morning, would be “playing into Putin’s hands.”</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/biden-warns-opposing-ukraine-funding-plays-into-putins-hands-but-faces-resistance-in-house/ Save to Pocket
US Supreme Court gives special counsel Jack Smith one week to respond to Trump immunity claim
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered special counsel Jack Smith to respond by next Tuesday to former President Trump’s blanket immunity appeal in his stalled Jan. 6 election interference case.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/us-supreme-court-gives-special-counsel-jack-smith-one-week-to-respond-to-trump-immunity-claim/ Save to Pocket
AI chatbots should pay for news, bipartisan Senate group says
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Senators who have raised bipartisan outcry over the demise of newsrooms at the hands of Big Tech companies are rallying to protect journalism from the potentially fatal blow of artificial intelligence.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/ai-chatbots-should-pay-for-news-bipartisan-senate-group-says/ Save to Pocket
Why replacing Biden with Newsom or some ‘mythical perfect Democrat’ is unlikely
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Anyone hoping California Gov. Gavin Newsom or some other Democrat will take Joe Biden’s place on the 2024 presidential ballot is likely to be disappointed.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/nation-world-news/why-replacing-biden-with-newsom-or-some-mythical-perfect-democrat-is-unlikely/ Save to Pocket
Ka Makani boys place second, girls fifth at swimming states
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KIHEI — Hawaii Preparatory Academy swimming helped represent the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) last weekend on Maui in the K. Mark Takai/HHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships, putting on a performace for the ages.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/sports/ka-makani-boys-place-second-girls-fifth-at-swimming-states/ Save to Pocket
An arrest has been made in the theft of a Jackie Robinson statue later found dismantled and burned
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A 45-year-old man was arrested in the theft of a bronze Jackie Robinson statue that was cut off at the ankles and found days later smoldering in a trash can in a city park in Kansas, police announced Tuesday. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/sports/an-arrest-has-been-made-in-the-theft-of-a-jackie-robinson-statue-later-found-dismantled-and-burned/ Save to Pocket
Pana‘ewa rodeo on tap this weekend
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Panaewa Stampede Rodeo continues to highlight the paniolo skills of local cowboys, cowgirls, keiki and traveling rodeo contestants with the 31st annual event this year.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/sports/panaewa-rodeo-on-tap-this-weekend/ Save to Pocket
Wrap-up: Big Island Baseball Bash
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>UH-Hilo held its annual Big Island Baseball bash over the weekend.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/sports/wrap-up-big-island-baseball-bash/ Save to Pocket
McKnight, Faavi back as consultants for Warriors
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>In a double blast from the past, the University of Hawaii football team is receiving help from a former Rainbow Warrior lineman and coach.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/sports/mcknight-faavi-back-as-consultants-for-warriors/ Save to Pocket
KSH players named to HHSAA All-Tournament Team
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The All-Tournament teams for the Motiv8 Foundation/HHSAA Boys Soccer Championships were recently released, naming four Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) players in the Division II team.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/sports/ksh-players-named-to-hhsaa-all-tournament-team/ Save to Pocket
Shanahan bristles at the notion his 49ers can’t win big games following another Super Bowl loss
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Kyle Shanahan has heard the criticism that, for all his great accomplishments as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, he is unable to win the big game. </p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/sports/shanahan-bristles-at-the-notion-his-49ers-cant-win-big-games-following-another-super-bowl-loss/ Save to Pocket
New Orleans bids another joyous ‘Fat Tuesday’ farewell to Carnival season
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans bade a typically joyous goodbye to Carnival season Tuesday with Mardi Gras parades, street parties and what amounted to a massive outdoor costume festival around the bars and restaurants in the French Quarter.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/14/features/new-orleans-bids-another-joyous-fat-tuesday-farewell-to-carnival-season/ Save to Pocket
USG candidates debate for student votes
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Candidates differed on issues such as Greek life and student engagement.
The post USG candidates debate for student votes appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/usg-candidates-debate-for-student-votes/ Save to Pocket
Registration is open for Coolest Projects 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: Raspberry Pi (.org)
Big news for young coders and everyone who supports them: project registration is now open for Coolest Projects 2024! Coolest Projects is our global technology showcase for young people aged up to 18. It gives young creators the incredible opportunity to share the cool stuff they’ve made with digital technology with a global audience, and…
The post Registration is open for Coolest Projects 2024 appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/registration-is-open-for-coolest-projects-2024/ Save to Pocket
Forget company cars – electric bikes set to become the next job perk
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Getting a company car used to be a major perk of a new job, but times are changing. As more young adults flock to electric bikes for their advantages over car travel in cities, companies are now making their own changes to reflect those shifting transportation habits.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/forget-company-cars-electric-bikes-set-to-become-the-next-job-perk/ Save to Pocket
Club seeks to create new telemedicine platform
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Love and Time’s mission caters to law enforcement, mothers and at-risk youth.
The post Club seeks to create new telemedicine platform appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/club-seeks-to-create-new-telemedicine-platform/ Save to Pocket
Damn Small Linux returns after a 12-year gap
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
DSL 2024 is not as svelte as it used to be – but who is?
Seventeen years after its last major version, an old favorite, Damn Small Linux, is back with a new 2024 release.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/damn_small_linux_returns/ Save to Pocket
Police seek man for questioning regarding robbery and assault complaint
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Police Department has published a wanted flyer for Joseph Christopher Mendiola, who is sought for questioning regarding a robbery and assault complaint that occurred in the Tumon area.
https://www.postguam.com/news/police-seek-man-for-questioning-regarding-robbery-and-assault-complaint/article_2cccda02-cb19-11ee-acb6-b3736a158c93.html Save to Pocket
Office Hours: A Valentine’s Day question about people in public life
date: 2024-02-14, from: Robert Reich on Substack
Friends, There’s so much hate and nastiness in public life these days — by “public life,” I mean anyone who is known to the broad public, including politicians, celebrities, athletes, actors, writers, painters, and journalists — that it’s probably easy for you to come up with people in public life you detest. (My list would include Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Kari Lake, for example.)
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/office-hours-a-valentines-day-question Save to Pocket
2024-02-14 Oddµ bug maybe
date: 2024-02-14, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
2024-02-14 Oddµ bug maybe
I had a site where an entire subdirectory was private. Nobody but the author could read or write those pages. I had configured Apache to require authentication for this subdirectory.
The config looked a bit like this:
<LocationMatch "^/(edit|save|add|append|upload|drop|view/secret)/">
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Password Required"
AuthUserFile /home/oddmu/.htpasswd
Require valid-user
</LocationMatch>
Note the addition of view/secret.
But yesterday I realized that you can run a search in the root. Such a
search includes all the pages in subdirectories, and so Oddmu served an
extract of the pages in the “secret” subdirectory. Adding
|search/secret to the LocationMatch doesn’t
help.
I had to decide whether to disable search all together, or disable the search of subdirectories, or add a new feature.
I added a new feature.
It is tied to an environment variable called ODDMU_FILTER.
It matches the directory being searched and the directory where the
search starts. If the directory doesn’t match, the pages returned must
also not match; if the directory does match, the pages returned must
also match.
Here’s an example of three pages:
- /a
- /public/b
- /secret/c
The environment variable is set: ODDMU_FILTER=^secret/ –
what happens now?
- If you search from the root (doesn’t match the filter), then only pages a and b are searched (they also don’t match the filter).
- If you search from /public (doesn’t match the filter), then only page b is searched (also doesn’t match the filter). This behaviour is unchanged from before. Searches start with the directory the user is looking at.
- If you search from /secret (matches the filter), then only page c is searched (also matches the filter). This, too, is unchanged from before.
Naturally, you still need to change to the web server config for the actual authentication to happen:
<LocationMatch "^/(edit|save|add|append|upload|drop|view/secret|search/secret)/">
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Password Required"
AuthUserFile /home/oddmu/.htpasswd
Require valid-user
</LocationMatch>
I hope I got it right! It’s also documented in the oddmu-apache(5) man page.
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-02-14-oddmu-bug Save to Pocket
Classifieds – February 14, 2024
date: 2024-02-14, 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 – February 14, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/classifieds-february-14-2024/ Save to Pocket
It’s time we add friction to digital experiences and slow them down
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Decades of obsessing about always going faster have left us in constant danger
Column Before he woke up on the first day of February, one of my friends was robbed.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/friction_is_good/ Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Feb. 14)
date: 2024-02-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1939 – Newhall Elementary School burns down; pupils rejoice [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-feb-14/ Save to Pocket
This Valentine’s Day, heart sees heart
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
How does creativity drastically change with age and expectation, and how can we combat such narrow stigmas to open possibilities for fearless exploration?
The post This Valentine’s Day, heart sees heart appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/this-valentines-day-heart-sees-heart/ Save to Pocket
The sticky situation with USC’s most infamous trees
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
It’s not love that’s in the air but the aromas of the Callery pear.
The post The sticky situation with USC’s most infamous trees appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/the-sticky-situation-with-uscs-most-infamous-trees/ Save to Pocket
My Super Bowl LVIII takes
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The slugfest between the 49ers and the Chiefs was an all-timer.
The post My Super Bowl LVIII takes appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/my-super-bowl-lviii-takes/ Save to Pocket
America Ferrera inspires USC’s next generation of multi-hyphenates
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojan alum spoke to a crowd about her love of storytelling and activism.
The post America Ferrera inspires USC’s next generation of multi-hyphenates appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/america-ferrera-inspires-uscs-next-generation-of-multi-hyphenates/ Save to Pocket
Let’s celebrate the many ways love can look
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
As an asexual man, I’ve always felt confused by my feelings — but now, I feel free.
The post Let’s celebrate the many ways love can look appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/lets-celebrate-the-many-ways-love-can-look/ Save to Pocket
Men’s basketball seeks much-needed win against Utah
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC looks to salvage its season after falling back to last place in the Pac-12.
The post Men’s basketball seeks much-needed win against Utah appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/mens-basketball-seeks-much-needed-win-against-utah/ Save to Pocket
Women’s basketball beats Arizona for fourth-straight win
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojans started slow, but an electric second half propelled them to a victory.
The post Women’s basketball beats Arizona for fourth-straight win appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/14/womens-basketball-wins-fourth-straight-over-arizona/ Save to Pocket
ROAM secures $24M in Series A funding to expand electric motorcycle and bus production
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Kenya-based electric mobility company ROAM has successfully completed a Series A funding round totaling $24 million in equity and debt to expand local production and further electrify mobility across Africa.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/14/roam-secures-24m-series-a-funding-electric-motorcycle-bus-production/ Save to Pocket
Europe loosens the straps tying Apple and Microsoft to tough antitrust rules
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Did someone say a safety word? iMessage, Bing, Edge, Ads avoid gatekeeper restrictions
The European Commission has reversed its decision that some Apple and Microsoft offerings qualify as “gatekeeper services” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), meaning the bloc’s toughest regulations won’t be applied.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/apple_microsoft_dma_exemptions/ Save to Pocket
Upstart retrofits an Nvidia GH200 server into a €47,500 workstation
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-15, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Of course it’s bristling with Noctuas – how else do you cool a 1kW desktop?
Nvidia’s long-teased GH200 CPU-GPU Superchips are finally going on sale, and the 1,000-Watt chip – built to run in servers and handle hefty AI training and inference tasks – is even available in a workstation from German startup gptshop.ai.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/german_gh200_workstation/ Save to Pocket
Airbnb sees AI as its ticket to become a sprawling Big Tech giant
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Reckons OpenAI and Google are mere infrastructure players who don’t understand apps or how AI will change them
Airbnb sees AI as its ticket out of the travel industry ghetto, and a passport to expanding its services into other industries.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/airbnb_q4_23/ Save to Pocket
China is building more coal plants but might burn less coal
date: 2024-02-14, from: Hannah Richie at Substack
China is adding more coal capacity, but its plants are running less often.
https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/china-coal-plants Save to Pocket
February 13, 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
“History is watching,” President Joe Biden said this afternoon. He warned “Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable” that “[f]ailure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.”
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-13-2024 Save to Pocket
Australian Tax Office probed 150 staff over social media refund scam
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
$1.3 billion lost as identity fraud – and greed – saw 57,000 or more seek unearned tax refunds
One hundred and fifty people who worked for the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have been investigated – and some prosecuted – for participating in a tax refund scam promoted on Facebook and TikTok.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/ato_operation_protego_tax_scam/ Save to Pocket
Tesla increases Model 3 price, now costs as much as Model Y
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla has increased the price of the refreshed Model 3 Long Range in the US. It now pretty much costs the same as Model Y, if not more in some cases.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/13/tesla-increases-model-3-price-now-cost-as-much-as-model-y/ Save to Pocket
Democrat Tom Suozzi Wins New York Race to Succeed George Santos in Congress
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/democrat-tom-suozzi-wins-new-york-race-to-succeed-george-santos-in-congress/7486805.html Save to Pocket
Nededog found not guilty of murder
date: 2024-02-14, from: Guam Daily Post
Jamie John Nededog was found not guilty of murdering Edwin Pirando.
https://www.postguam.com/news/nededog-found-not-guilty-of-murder/article_3559208a-caca-11ee-9163-1b288820ec46.html Save to Pocket
Back to school in the new year
date: 2024-02-14, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
The first day of the spring semester was off to a rainy start at Pierce College on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Brahmas began their semester by
The post Back to school in the new year appeared first on The Roundup.
https://theroundupnews.com/2024/02/13/back-to-school-in-the-new-year/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=back-to-school-in-the-new-year Save to Pocket
Judge crosses out some claims by writers against OpenAI, lets them have another crack at it
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Scribes may have a point about unfair competition, direct copyright infringement
Updated A US judge has dismissed some of the claims made by writers in a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI, and gave the wordsmiths a chance to amend their complaint.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/tremblay_vs_openai_claims_dismissed/ Save to Pocket
HJC Channels The Power Of Venom With New Graphic For RPHA 12
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The HJC RPHA 12 Maximized Venom is the latest addition to HJC’s Marvel collection.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708548/hjc-rpha-12-maximized-venom-graphic-2024/ Save to Pocket
Feb. 17: Zonta of SCV LifeForward Workshop ‘Importance of Boundaries’
date: 2024-02-14, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Zonta Club of Santa Clarita Valley will host a free workshop designed to help participants focus on the importance of boundaries in our lives.
https://scvnews.com/feb-17-zonta-of-scv-lifeforward-workshop-importance-of-boundaries/ Save to Pocket
Crims found and exploited these two Microsoft bugs before Redmond fixed ’em
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
SAP, Adobe, Intel, AMD also issue fixes as well as Google for Android
Patch Tuesday Microsoft fixed 73 security holes in this February’s Patch Tuesday, and you better get moving because two of the vulnerabilities are under active attack.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/patch_tuesday_feb_2024/ Save to Pocket
US Senate Passes $95B Foreign Aid Package for Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific
date: 2024-02-14, from: VOA News USA
The U.S. Senate approved a $95 billion aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan early Tuesday. But as VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, the bill faces a tough path to passage in the Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-senate-passes-95b-foreign-aid-package-for-ukraine-israel-indo-pacific-/7486737.html Save to Pocket
2024 Yamaha Vino Gets Three Charming Colorways In Japan
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The Yamaha Vino is the perfect blend of stylish and practical, making it the perfect runabout for Japanese streets.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708547/2024-yamaha-vino-launch-japan/ Save to Pocket
Quick Charge Podcast: February 13, 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: Electrek Feed
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from Electrek. Quick Charge is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/13/quick-charge-podcast-february-13-2024/ Save to Pocket
Updated 2024 Honda Africa Twin Touches Down In America
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The 2024 MY comes with a host of improvements to both the Africa Twin and Africa Twin Adventure Sports models.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708545/2024-honda-africa-twin-america/ Save to Pocket
Sean O’Brien 100K Race Report (2024)
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: Educated Guesswork blog
https://educatedguesswork.org/posts/sob100k-2024/ Save to Pocket
The most 2024 things to do are laying off staff and eyeing up AI – Mozilla’s doing both
date: 2024-02-14, updated: 2024-02-14, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Firefox Mobile also getting increased attention
Firefox maker Mozilla has laid off “approximately 60” staff, or around five percent of its workforce.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/14/mozilla_layoffs_ai_pivot/ Save to Pocket
Wednesday 14 February, 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: John Naughton’s online diary
On the beach One of my grandsons on a Kerry beach on an Easter Sunday morning. Quote of the Day ”Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/wednesday-14-february-2024/39130/ Save to Pocket
2024 Honda Talon 1000 UTVs Are Here To Rip Up The Trails
date: 2024-02-14, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The Talon 1000 comes in a total of seven variants offered in both two- and four-seater configurations.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/708543/2024-honda-talon-1000-utv-launch-usa/ Save to Pocket
program: Windows 3’s Program Manager for X11
date: 2024-02-14, from: OS News
progman is a simple X11 window manager modeled after Program Manager from the Windows 3 era. ↫ progman’s GitHub page If that description doesn’t pique your interest, nothing will. What more do you people want from me?
https://www.osnews.com/story/138585/program-windows-3s-program-manager-for-x11/ Save to Pocket
Call for Proposals is open for POSETTE: An Event for Postgres 2024
date: 2024-02-14, from: PostgreSQL News
…until April 7, 2024!
The 3rd annual event now called POSETTE: An Event for Postgres (formerly Citus Con) will happen Jun 11-13, 2024 and the Call for Speakers is now open—until Apr 7, 2024! POSETTE is a free & virtual developer event organized by the Postgres team at Microsoft. The name POSETTE stands for Postgres Open Source Ecosystem Talks Training & Education.
First time & experienced speakers both welcome! Whether you’re a first-time speaker or a regular speaker at conferences, we’d love to consider your talk proposal(s) about Postgres and the rich tooling and extensions (like Citus) in the Postgres ecosystem—both open source and for Postgres in the cloud on Azure.
4 Unique Livestreams
There will be 4 unique livestreams: 2 in Americas workday timezones (PDT), and 2 in EMEA workday timezones (CEST). Each livestream will have its own keynote and set of talks—no repeats among the livestreams.
Important Dates & Deadlines
- Jan 19, 2024 – Call for proposals (CFP) opens
- Apr 07, 2024 – CFP closes @ 11:59 pm PDT
- Apr 17, 2024 – Speakers notified
- May 01, 2024 – Schedule & sessions announced
- May 02, 2024 – Virtual Speaker Meet & Greet
- May 13-17 & 20-24, 2024 – Pre-record all talks
- Jun 11-13, 2024 – POSETTE happens! Join the livestream virtually to chat with attendees and other speakers.
Key things to know
Even more information on the POSETTE CFP page
- Format: Four 4.5-hour livestreams at different times of day
- CFP closes: Apr 7, 2024
- Length: 25 mins / talk
- Virtual & free: no travel (or funding) required
- Video recording & production: All talks will be pre-recorded by the POSETTE team at Microsoft—all speakers need is a good microphone & a decent webcam. We’ll take care of the rest—including all editing, caption QA, and caption translation.
- Speaker resources: on our CFP page
- Submit your proposal: on Sessionize
Topics
Here are some of the topics we would like to see at POSETTE: An Event for Postgres (formerly Citus Con). This list is not exhaustive, other Postgres topics are welcome too!
- How you run your app on Postgres on Azure
- Open source user stories for Citus, PostGIS, & other extensions
- New capabilities in PostgreSQL 16
- Tips for building your application on Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server
- Postgres community
- Generally interesting Postgres knowledge & tips
- Data modeling and SQL best practices
- How you use Postgres extensions
- High availability techniques (including Patroni)
- Distributing Postgres with Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL
- Benchmarking & performance tuning
- Migrating to Postgres on Azure
- Monitoring tools for Postgres
- Optimizing for data-intensive analytics and time series workloads
- Azure ecosystem integrations with Postgres
- Running SaaS apps built with Ruby, Python, Node.js, Java, or .NET—and running on Postgres
- Using Postgres with Python and Django applications
- Supporting AI-based workloads with Postgres
Other useful links
https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/call-for-proposals-is-open-for-posette-an-event-for-postgres-2024-2806/ Save to Pocket