News gathered 2024-02-28
(date: 2024-02-28 07:59:35)
Topological Matter by Inverse Design
date: 2024-03-05, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Bösch, Cyrill
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/649929 Save to Pocket
Are screen media the new pacifiers? The role of parenting stress and parental attitudes for children’s screen time in early childhood
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Brauchli V.; Sticca F.; Edelsbrunner P.; von Wyl A.; Lannen P.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/649586 Save to Pocket
A convolutional neural network-based method for the generation of super-resolution 3D models from clinical CT images
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Zhou Y.; Klintström E.; Klintström B.; Ferguson S.J.; Helgason B.; Persson C.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/655412 Save to Pocket
Handling uncertainty in train timetable rescheduling
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Zhan, Shuguang; Xie, Jiemin; Wong, S.C.; Zhu, Yongqiu; Corman, Francesco
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/657510 Save to Pocket
Global nutritional challenges and opportunities: Buckwheat, a potential bridge between nutrient deficiency and food security
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Jha R.; Zhang K.; He Y.; Mendler-Drienyovszki N.; Magyar-Tábori K.; Quinet M.; Germ M.; Kreft I.; Meglič V.; Ikeda K.; Chapman M.A.; Janovská D.; Podolska G.; Woo S.H.; Bruno S.; Georgiev M.I.; Chrungoo N.; Betekhtin A.; Zhou M.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/660083 Save to Pocket
Human cues in eHealth to promote lifestyle change: An experimental field study to examine adherence to self-help interventions
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Cohen Rodrigues T.R.; de Buisonjé D.R.; Reijnders T.; Santhanam P.; Kowatsch T.; Breeman L.D.; Janssen V.R.; Kraaijenhagen R.A.; Atsma D.E.; Evers A.W.M.
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/660082 Save to Pocket
Socioeconomic impacts of small conserved sites on rural communities in Madagascar
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Rodríguez-Rodríguez, David; Knecht, Nielja; Llopis, Jorge C.; Heriarivo, R.A.; Rakotoarison, H.; Andriamampionomanjaka, V.; Navarro-Jurado, Enrique; Randriamamonjy, Voahirana
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/659418 Save to Pocket
Prenatal and postnatal influences on behavioral development in a mouse model of preconceptional stress
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Scarborough, Joseph; Iachizzi, Monica; Schalbetter, Sina M.; Müller, Flavia S.; Weber-Stadlbauer, Ulrike; Richetto, Juliet
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/659419 Save to Pocket
Multi-criteria assessment of inland and offshore carbon dioxide transport options
date: 2024-03-01, from: ETH Zurich, recently added
Oeuvray, Pauline; Burger, Johannes; Roussanaly, Simon; Mazzotti, Marco; Becattini, Viola
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/661076 Save to Pocket
Best of the West rankings: Gonzaga on fragile (NCAA) ground ahead of second showdown with Saint Mary’s
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Gaels are a lock for the NCAAs; the Zags are not. They need a victory in Moraga to fortify their resume.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/best-of-the-west-rankings-gonzaga-on-fragile-ncaa-ground-ahead-of-second-showdown-with-saint-marys/ Save to Pocket
Sideshow promoters, organizers face fines, jail time in Antioch
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
Antioch looks to curb illegal and dangerous street races, exhbitions with new rules.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/sideshow-promoters-organizers-face-fines-jail-time-in-this-east-bay-city/ Save to Pocket
San Francisco apologizes to Black residents and their descendants for systemic racism and past atrocities
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
San Francisco is the second major US city to issue an apology to Black residents, after Boston passed a similar edict in 2022.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/san-francisco-apologizes-to-black-residents-and-their-descendants-for-systemic-racism-and-past-atrocities/ Save to Pocket
How Selective Forgetting Can Help AI Learn Better
date: 2024-02-28, from: Quanta Magazine
Erasing key information during training results in machine learning models that can learn new languages faster and more easily.The post How Selective Forgetting Can Help AI Learn Better first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-selective-forgetting-can-help-ai-learn-better-20240228/ Save to Pocket
Bookstores should ditch the short-term thinking of efficiency & bring back big,…
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044074-bookstores-should-ditch-t Save to Pocket
Funding secured: Polestar’s (PSNY) outlook bounces back with $1 billion in external cash
date: 2024-02-28, from: Electrek Feed
Who needs Volvo anyway? Shortly after co-parent company Volvo Cars announced plans to cut ties with Polestar, the EV-centric brand has turned to an all-star lineup of international banks for external funding totaling close to one billion dollars. Polestar’s other owner, Geely Holding, is still very much involved and will also help Polestar continue work to roll out its two incoming electric SUVs and beyond.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/28/funding-secured-polestar-psny-1-billion-external-cash/ Save to Pocket
Willy Wonka event leaves bitter taste with artificially sweetened promises
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Charlie and the AI factory flop compared to ‘meth lab’
In the most flagrant case of false advertising since The NeverEnding Story, cops were called to a Wonka-themed “Willy’s Chocolate Experience” in Glasgow, Scotland, because promotional material was made entirely from AI-generated slop.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/wonka_ai_hellhole/ Save to Pocket
Pac-12 WBB power ratings: UCLA and Arizona sweep, Stanford loses at home and mayhem descends
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
The final week of the regular season begins with three teams tied for second place behind Stanford.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/pac-12-wbb-power-ratings-ucla-and-arizona-sweep-stanford-loses-at-home-and-mayhem-descends/ Save to Pocket
Chinese Cars Would Get 125% Price Increase Under New Senate Bill
date: 2024-02-28, from: Inside EVs News
Plus, every car is the Apple Car now, and Fisker gets some U.S. dealers.
https://insideevs.com/news/710459/byd-usa-tariff-china-evs/ Save to Pocket
California homebuilding permits drop, but decline was less than US slide
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
Construction plans off 6% from 2022 – but that dip was still the 16th-best performance nationally.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/california-homebuilding-permits-drop-but-decline-was-less-than-us-slide/ Save to Pocket
GM says its new Chevy Bolt EV will save billions with more affordable LFP batteries
date: 2024-02-28, from: Electrek Feed
The next-gen Chevy Bolt EV is due out next year after GM ended production of its top-selling electric model at the end of 2023. GM’s CFO Paul Jacobson says the new Bolt EV will save the company billions by becoming North America’s first Ultium-based model to use LFP batteries.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/28/gms-new-bolt-ev-save-billions-affordable-lfp-batteries/ Save to Pocket
Listen to the Universe: New NASA Sonifications and Documentary
date: 2024-02-28, from: NASA breaking news
Three new sonifications of images from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes have been released in conjunction with a new documentary about the project that makes its debut on the NASA+ streaming platform. Sonification is the process of translating data into sounds. In the case of Chandra and other telescopes, scientific data are collected […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/listen-to-the-universe-new-nasa-sonifications-and-documentary/ Save to Pocket
Streetbeat: What do you think the minimum wage should be and why?
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
“In my opinion, I think minimum wage should be a minimum of $23. I personally think that because with inflation, gas prices and
The post Streetbeat: What do you think the minimum wage should be and why? appeared first on The Roundup.
https://theroundupnews.com/2024/02/28/streetbeat-what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be-and-why/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=streetbeat-what-do-you-think-the-minimum-wage-should-be-and-why Save to Pocket
Watch Tesla Cybertruck Owner Shoot Bullets At His Truck With Submachine Gun, Shotgun
date: 2024-02-28, from: Inside EVs News
Don’t try this at home.
https://insideevs.com/news/710301/tesla-cybertruck-shot-gun-bullets-real-world/ Save to Pocket
Black History Month Luncheon
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Round Up (Peirce College Student Paper)
Photography prints, art and copies of the book “What Happened to You?” were on display in Building 600 at a Black History Luncheon presented by
The post Black History Month Luncheon appeared first on The Roundup.
https://theroundupnews.com/2024/02/28/black-history-month-luncheon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=black-history-month-luncheon Save to Pocket
Revoy electric trailer rolls into Trucking with Clean Fuels Conference
date: 2024-02-28, from: Electrek Feed
Revoy EV’s electric trailer promises to make electrifying your OTR trucking fleet easy and cost-effective, and this one just pulled into the Port of Stockton ahead of the 2024 Trucking with Clean Fuels Conference.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/28/revoy-electric-trailer-rolls-into-trucking-with-clean-fuels-conference/ Save to Pocket
MAF EAP – Holiday Blues and SAD: Discussion
date: 2024-02-28, from: NASA breaking news
The winter months provide some of the biggest challenges to wellness during the year. The stress of the holidays, the pressure of the new year, and the risk of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) take a toll and can become problematic if we do not care for ourselves. These stressors can impact appropriate healthy practices, related to […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/michoud/maf-eap/maf-eap-holiday-blues-and-sad-discussion/ Save to Pocket
‘Mind-Blowing’ Tesla Roadster Final Form To Debut This Year, Musk Says
date: 2024-02-28, from: Inside EVs News
“There will never be another car like this,” Tesla’s CEO says of the long-delayed sports car amid a slow growth year.
https://insideevs.com/news/710463/tesla-roadster-production-2024/ Save to Pocket
Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer asks judge to reject 100-year recommended sentence
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
At a November trial, the man known for his casual clothing and wild hair was convicted of fraud and conspiracy charges by a jury that wasn’t swayed by Bankman-Fried’s testimony.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/ftx-founder-sam-bankman-frieds-lawyer-asks-judge-to-reject-100-year-recommended-sentence/ Save to Pocket
2024-02-28 Use of a calendar
date: 2024-02-28, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
2024-02-28 Use of a calendar
In the last millennium, I used the
Emacs
Diary for my calendar. I mean, why not? The
Emacs
Calendar is great. Better than the cal command-line
utility, in any case. But eventually the world got mobile phones then I
wanted an online calendar.
The example from the Emacs Diary documentation:
12/22/2015 Twentieth wedding anniversary!
10/22 Ruth's birthday.
* 21, *: Payday
Tuesday--weekly meeting with grad students at 10am
Supowit, Shen, Bitner, and Kapoor to attend.
1/13/89 Friday the thirteenth!!
thu 4pm squash game with Lloyd.
mar 16 Dad's birthday
April 15, 2016 Income tax due.
* 15 time cards due.
Back then, Google didn’t want to be evil and I used Google Calendar. When Google changed its mind, so did I. I switched to Radicale.
And yet, I sort of missed those diary file entries.
Today, @tadzik posted a link to caleb.
calebwill do its best to interpret a calendar event description, create a valid iCalendar event for it and optionally upload it to a CalDAV server.
Nice!
Example usage, from the README:
$ caleb friday 5pm beer
My main problem was that it took me a while to figure out what the
correct CalDAV URL
is. I looked into my iPhone accounts (my first mistake) and tried
https://example.org/radicale/alex, then
https://example.org/radicale/alex/, then
https://example.org/radicale/alex/Alex – some of these URLs
failed silently, some of them created new collections with the
iCalendar filename
as the collection name… and I didn’t get an warnings or error messages.
I mean, it makes sense. It’s like a filesystem, you can save whatever
you want. But it’s not what the calendar apps expect.
So, how do I discover the correct URL? Using a command-line
WebDAV explorer like
cadaver. The following example shows how I log into
Radicale and list the contents of the two directory I found. One of them
is full of .vcf files (contacts), the other is full of
.ics files (calendar entries). That’s the one!
~/src/caleb $ cadaver https://example.org/radicale/alex/
Authentication required for Radicale - Password Required on server `example.org':
Username: alex
Password: *secret*
dav:/radicale/alex/> ls
Listing collection `/radicale/alex/': succeeded.
Coll: 6304bd43-5d45-208b-0e44-893e509cf3da 1239216 Feb 7 08:13
Coll: cae8e041-61d9-b51a-57db-294b07e8dc1e 520978 Feb 28 11:43
dav:/radicale/alex/> ls 6304bd43-5d45-208b-0e44-893e509cf3da
Listing collection `/radicale/alex/6304bd43-5d45-208b-0e44-893e509cf3da/': succeeded.
0008345A-1EFB-4FC2-9545-BB1D7B2EE6E0.vcf 295 Jun 19 2020
000ED281-A0C8-46F2-B3EB-1D13E4224281.vcf 241 Feb 25 2023
007A5E7D-8947-4FC1-95B5-BBADEA9E27DC.vcf 267 Jul 14 2023
...
dav:/radicale/alex/> ls cae8e041-61d9-b51a-57db-294b07e8dc1e
Listing collection `/radicale/alex/cae8e041-61d9-b51a-57db-294b07e8dc1e/': succeeded.
00A3A923-47C0-4BE4-B2BF-E365965C3975.ics 1043 May 29 2022
011F4EF6-B431-4531-BB3D-D1E45BD665AB.ics 1266 Sep 10 00:19
02909CE2-D363-436B-858D-3A243A10693E.ics 962 Jun 9 2023
...
Now I’m finally ready to go back to caleb and create the
config file, ~/.config/caleb.conf:
[caldav]
url = "https://example.org/radicale/alex/cae8e041-61d9-b51a-57db-294b07e8dc1e"
username = "alex"
password = "*secret*"
Enjoy!
#Administration #Caleb #CalDAV #WebDAV
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-02-28-calendar Save to Pocket
Nikola founder faces ranch forfeiture following fraud conviction
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Trevor Milton bought it for cash and stock options, and he wants the cash back
Try not to weep into your morning coffee, but convicted fraudster Trevor Milton might lose a ranch that a fresh filing claims he bought after lying to its owner “about Nikola’s business” to persuade the man to sell to him.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/nikola_founder_ranch_forfeit/ Save to Pocket
BYD fuels EV price war in China, cutting MSRPs of newly refreshed Tang and Han models
date: 2024-02-28, from: Electrek Feed
While Build Your Dreams (BYD) continues to gain global attention for its latest EV innovations, the Chinese automaker is targeting its home turf for its latest strategy. Earlier today, BYD launched refreshed versions of its flagship Han and Tang models, stoking an ongoing EV price war overseas by slashing the MSRPs of the updated models.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/28/byd-fuels-ev-price-war-china-cutting-msrps-refreshed-tang-han-models/ Save to Pocket
The Savvy Senior | Easy-to-use dental care products for elderly seniors
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
Dear Savvy Senior, I have arthritis and hand tremors that affect my grip strength and make brushing my teeth difficult. I’ve read that electric toothbrushes can help make the job easier. Can you make any recommendations for seniors? — Arthritic Alice Dear Alice, For seniors who suffer from arthritis or have other hand weaknesses or tremors, […]
The post The Savvy Senior | Easy-to-use dental care products for elderly seniors appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/the-savvy-senior-easy-to-use-dental-care-products-for-elderly-seniors/ Save to Pocket
GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert’s son arrested and is facing 22 charges in connection with vehicle break-in spree
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
Tyler Jay Boebert is facing charges of criminal possession of ID documents of multiple victims, conspiracy to commit a felony and “over 15 additional misdemeanor and petty offenses.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/lauren-boebert-son-arrest-tyler-colorado-rifle-theft/ Save to Pocket
35+ Bay Area beer and wine events to enjoy this spring
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
From wine tastings and festivals to game nights, film screenings and delectable dinners, here’s a sampling of local beer and wine events to check out in the coming months.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/35-bay-area-beer-and-wine-events-to-enjoy-this-spring/ Save to Pocket
AI-Generated Kara Swisher Biographies Flood Amazon
date: 2024-02-28, from: 404 Media Group
Why Read Swisher’s Burn Book when you can read KARA SWISHER : The Heroic Biography of a defining force in Tech Journalism (The Silicon Valley’s most powerful tech journalist).
https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-kara-swisher-biographies-flood-amazon/ Save to Pocket
Officials say Alameda County needs recall reform. So why aren’t they making a case for it on the ballot?
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
“There are great arguments to be made,” said Joshua Spivak, a senior research fellow at Berkeley Law’s California Constitution Center, and the author of a book on recall elections. “It would just be great if they actually made them.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/officials-say-alameda-county-needs-recall-reform-so-why-arent-they-making-a-case-for-it-on-the-ballot/ Save to Pocket
Broadcom CEO pay award jumps 164% to $160.8 million
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Stock awards front loaded, get five years in one go
Broadcom’s boss Hock Tan more than doubled his total compensation package in fiscal 2023, which will no doubt be well received by the thousands of small VMware customers and cloud providers he’s upset.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/broadcom_ceo_pay_award_jumps/ Save to Pocket
The Texas Panhandle is on Fire
date: 2024-02-28, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: Hundreds of people hunkered down in Chicago O’Hare’s emergency shelter during severe storms • Volcanic ash delayed flights out of Mexico City • The tree pollen count in Washington, DC, has been extremely high.
THE TOP FIVE
- Large wildfires burn out of control in Texas
Massive wildfires are burning in the Texas Panhandle, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions. At least four fires have scorched more than 500,000 acres so far in areas surrounding Amarillo, and the flames have crept into neighboring Oklahoma. The biggest blaze is the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which remains out of control. Some communities have been evacuated, others are sheltering in place. Texas’ Hutchinson County was experiencing power and water shortages. Much of Texas experienced record-breaking heat at the start of this week, prompting red flag warnings.
X/
- BYD not interested in entering ‘confusing’ U.S. market
The world’s top-selling EV maker apparently has no interest in bringing
its cars to the U.S. In an
interview
with Yahoo! Finance, Stella Li, CEO of BYD Americas, called the
U.S. market “interesting,” but said it was too messy to be worth a great
investment from the Chinese carmaker. “U.S. market is a little bit slow
down on electrification and a lot of confusing,” Li said, adding:
“Everything is complicated. Politics are complicated … and it’s
confusing for the consumer, and then they don’t know which to choose.”
Meanwhile, in China, “the message is strong. If you are not investing
for electric car, you are out. You will die. You have no future.”
The news dovetails nicely with an opinion piece penned by Heatmap’s Robinson Meyer yesterday in The New York Times, in which he says American automakers need to recognize that “Chinese companies now understand aspects of EV manufacturing better than their American counterparts.” Even if BYD stays out of the U.S. for now, Meyer notes Chinese automaker Geely is preparing to sell the small, all-electric Volvo EX30 SUV in the U.S. for $35,000, and BYD’s cheap EVs still threaten global sales of American cars. “In the short term, American automakers — even the homegrown electric-only carmakers like Tesla and Rivian — must be shielded from a wave of cheap cars,” Robinson wrote. “But in the long term, Mr. Biden must be careful not to cordon off the American car market from the rest of the world, turning the United States into an automotive backwater of bloated, expensive, gas-guzzling vehicles.”
- Biden administration announces funds for clean energy projects in
rural America
The Biden administration will devote $366 million to funding 17 clean energy projects across rural and remote parts of America with the goal of improving access to electricity and reducing energy bills. At least 12 of those projects will serve Native American tribes. The Department of Energy estimates that 21% of Navajo Nation homes and 35% of Hopi Indian Tribe homes remain unelectrified, and even if homes do have electricity, they frequently experience outages. The projects vary in cost and scope: Some aim to install solar panels and battery storage and microgrids, others focus on new hydroelectric facilities. There are heat pump initiatives and EV charging stations. The projects have to submit a plan demonstrating how they will benefit the local community and will undergo negotiations with the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations before they’re given the green light. The funding was made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Get Heatmap AM directly in your inbox every morning:
- Coffee farmers in Costa Rica try to adapt to climate change
Coffee farmers in Costa Rica, threatened by a lack of rain brought on by climate change, are changing their farming practices to adapt, according to AFP. One farmer said he has been planting fruit trees around his coffee plants because the shade and humidity they foster helps create a “microclimate,” and their fallen leaves help fertilize the soil below. “We have increased production,” said Jesus Valverde. At the same time, the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica is trying to develop new coffee plant hybrids that are more resistant to the changing climate. One estimate suggests rising global temperatures threaten half the world’s coffee crops. The coffee industry supports more than 25,000 families in Costa Rica.
- South Fork Wind project installs last turbine
The final turbine has been installed at New York’s South Fork Wind farm, meaning America’s first large-scale offshore wind farm in federal waters is complete. The project consists of 12 turbines that can provide clean power to 70,000 Long Island homes, eliminating up to 6 million tons of carbon emissions annually. “We are working toward full power,” a South Fork Wind spokesperson told renews. The project started sending power to the grid in December.
THE KICKER
Apple has reportedly abandoned its plans to build an electric car. Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded to the news with two emojis:
https://heatmap.news/climate/texas-panhandle-fire Save to Pocket
South Bay assemblymember’s bill would compel rights for families after police violence
date: 2024-02-28, from: San Jose Mercury News
A proposed law from Assemblymember Ash Kalra cites families who recall being kept in the dark while they were questioned about loved ones killed by police.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/south-bay-inspired-bill-would-compel-rights-for-families-after-police-violence/ Save to Pocket
Live Wire: What Should EV Noobs Know About Charging Station Etiquette?
date: 2024-02-28, from: Inside EVs News
We want to know what clueless—or perhaps downright rude—electric car drivers are getting wrong when plugging in.
https://insideevs.com/news/710356/ev-charging-station-etiquette/ Save to Pocket
Recall: Some AGV Tourmodular Helmets Could Have Buckle Not Engage
date: 2024-02-28, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
On affected units, the micrometric buckle could fail to engage properly, not securing the helmet on a rider’s head.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/710363/agv-tourmodular-helmet-safety-recall/ Save to Pocket
Tesla to unveil new Roadster this year, Elon doubles down on rockets/SpaceX collab
date: 2024-02-28, from: Electrek Feed
Elon Musk says that Tesla plans to unveil the new Roadster this year, and he is doubling down on the SpaceX collaboration to put cold air trustees on the electric supercar.
But the vehicle’s production is delayed one more time.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/28/tesla-unveil-new-roadster-this-year-elon-rockets-spacex-collab/ Save to Pocket
The Milk Chocolate That Creeps On Your Face
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/28/the-milk-chocolate-that-creeps-on-your-face/ Save to Pocket
Atos confirms sale talks for datacenter and hosting biz have failed
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Czech billionaire buyer walks away from ailing Tech Foundations division
Troubled tech giant Atos confirmed today that negotiations with the prospective buyer of its legacy IT operation have ended prematurely, coming after the recent cancellation of its rights issue to raise cash.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/questions_over_atos_finances/ Save to Pocket
Buick Wildcat Concept Could Inspire ‘Exceptional By Design’ EVs
date: 2024-02-28, from: Inside EVs News
The 2022 Wildcat concept was quite a looker, and we’re curious about what production models it’s going to spawn.
https://insideevs.com/news/710440/buick-wildcat-ev-design-tagline/ Save to Pocket
Asteroid Hit by NASA Spacecraft Was Reshaped by the Collision, Study Finds
date: 2024-02-28, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Instead of forming a crater, the agency’s intentional DART crash redistributed massive amounts of the asteroid and shot large quantities of rock into space
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/asteroid-hit-by-nasa-spacecraft-was-reshaped-by-the-collision-study-finds-180983861/ Save to Pocket
Biden Issues Executive Order to Better Shield Americans’ Sensitive Data From Foreign Foes
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
Washington — President Joe Biden on Wednesday is signing an executive order aimed at better protecting Americans’ personal data on everything from biometrics and health records to finances and geolocation from foreign adversaries like China and Russia.
The attorney general and other federal agencies are to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans’ personal data to what the White House calls “countries of concern,” while erecting safeguards around other activities that can give those countries access to people’s sensitive data.
The goal is to do so without limiting legitimate commerce around data, senior Biden administration officials said on a call with reporters.
Biden’s move targets commercial data brokers, the sometimes shadowy companies that traffic in personal data and that officials say may sell information to foreign adversaries or U.S. entities controlled by those countries.
Most eventual enforcement mechanisms still have to clear complicated and often monthslong rulemaking processes. Still, the administration hopes eventually to limit foreign entities, as well as foreign-controlled companies operating in the U.S., that might otherwise improperly collect sensitive data, the senior officials said.
Data brokers are legal in the U.S. and collect and categorize personal information, usually to build profiles on millions of Americans that the brokers then rent or sell.
The officials said activities like computer hacking are already prohibited in the U.S., but that buying potentially sensitive data through brokers is legal. That can represent a key gap in the nation’s national security protections when data is sold to a broker knowing it could end up in the hands of an adversary — one the administration now aims to close with the president’s executive action.
“Bad actors can use this data to track Americans, including military service members, pry into their personal lives, and pass that data on to other data brokers and foreign intelligence services,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet announcing the move. “This data can enable intrusive surveillance, scams, blackmail, and other violations of privacy.”
The order directs the Department of Justice to issue regulations that establish protections for Americans’ sensitive personal data, as well as sensitive government-related data — including geolocation information on sensitive government sites and members of the military.
The Justice Department also plans to work with Homeland Security officials to build safety standards to prevent foreign adversaries from collecting data. It will further attempt better checks to ensure that federal grants going to various other agencies, including the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, aren’t used to facilitate Americans’ sensitive data flowing to foreign adversaries or U.S. companies aligned with them.
The senior administration officials listed potential countries of concern as China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela. But it is China — and TikTok, which has over 150 million American users and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd. — that U.S. leaders have been most vocal about.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, recently noted, “There’s no such thing as a private business in China.”
The senior administration officials stressed that the executive action was designed to work in conjunction with legislative action. So far, however, numerous bills seeking to establish federal privacy protections have failed to advance in Congress.
Wednesday’s move follows Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence last fall that seeks to balance the needs of cutting-edge technology companies with national security and consumer rights.
That sought to steer how AI is developed so that companies can profit without putting public safety in jeopardy, creating early guardrails meant to ensure that AI is trustworthy and helpful, rather than deceptive and destructive.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-issues-executive-order-to-better-shield-americans-sensitive-data-from-foreign-foes-/7505869.html Save to Pocket
To Promote Reproductive Health And Abortion Rights, Universities Turn To Student Ambassadors
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The LAist
For years colleges have used peer educators to promote health messages to the student body. The most recent task: awareness of medication abortion.
https://laist.com/news/education/medication-abortion-pills-ucla-student-health-ambassadors Save to Pocket
A Wave Of Departures Shakes Up LA’s Homeless Agency
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The LAist
Three top officials have left the L.A. Homeless Services Authority in recent weeks without press releases announcing the moves, LAist has learned.
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-homeless-officials-executives-exit-leave-lahsa Save to Pocket
Teachers Unions Often Pick Winning School Board Candidates. Will This LAUSD Election Be Different?
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The LAist
Candidates endorsed by United Teachers Los Angeles have a significant edge — but a misstep can also be costly.
https://laist.com/news/education/lausd-school-board-election-march-2024-primary-los-angeles-unified Save to Pocket
California’s Youth Job Corps Offers A Second Chance At Career, Higher Education
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The LAist
Program goal is to bridge work and education gaps for foster, justice-impacted, low-income youth, and others.
https://laist.com/news/education/california-youth-job-corps-reentry Save to Pocket
From news desert to election do-over
date: 2024-02-28, from: Marketplace Morning Report
Today, as part of our Democracy in the Desert series, we head to North Carolina, where a Baptist minister seemed to win a 2018 congressional election by roughly 900 votes. But after a fraud scandal involving absentee ballots came to light, officials ordered a new election. We’ll hear how a lack of local news coverage played out in this story. Plus, what ever happened with Apple’s electric car efforts?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/from-news-desert-to-election-do-over Save to Pocket
City council megaproject to spend millions for manual work Oracle system was meant to do
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Train-wreck public sector project was forecast to save ‘bankrupt’ council money
Europe’s largest local authority has allocated £5.3 million ($6.7 million) in next year’s budget to pay for manual workarounds deemed necessary after its effort to transition from SAP to Oracle ended in an expensive disaster.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/birmingham_city_council_to_spend/ Save to Pocket
Apple vs. PWAs – Go act now and help avoid this disaster…
date: 2024-02-28, from: Chris Heilmann
Apple wants to disallow Web Apps on iOS to be added to the home screen, run full screen and use the APIs necessary to create a great app. And to make things worse, only in Europe. We need to stop this from happening. The European Union is enforcing its Digital Markets Act and Apple aren’t […]
https://christianheilmann.com/2024/02/28/apple-vs-pwas-go-act-now-and-help-avoid-this-disaster/ Save to Pocket
Out-of-Control Wildfires Scorch Texas Panhandle, Pause Work at Nuclear Weapons Facility
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/out-of-control-wildfires-scorch-texas-panhandle-pause-work-at-nuclear-weapons-facility/7505802.html Save to Pocket
A Cyber Insurance Backstop
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Bruce Schneier blog
In the first week of January, the pharmaceutical giant Merck quietly settled its years-long lawsuit over whether or not its property and casualty insurers would cover a $700 million claim filed after the devastating NotPetya cyberattack in 2017. The malware ultimately infected more than 40,000 of Merck’s computers, which significantly disrupted the company’s drug and vaccine production. After Merck filed its $700 million claim, the pharmaceutical giant’s insurers argued that they were not required to cover the malware’s damage because the cyberattack was widely attributed to the Russian government and therefore was excluded from standard property and casualty insurance coverage as a “hostile or warlike act.”…
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/a-cyber-insurance-backstop.html Save to Pocket
Lincoln’s Leap Day Nomination of Grant
date: 2024-02-28, from: National Archives, Pieces of History blog
160 years ago on leap day, President Abraham Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. Grant to be Lieutenant General of the Army. Three years into the U.S. Civil War, with no end in sight, President Abraham Lincoln needed to find a commander who could lead the U.S. to victory. On February 29, 1864, Lincoln signed legislation reviving … Continue reading Lincoln’s Leap Day Nomination of Grant
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2024/02/28/lincolns-leap-day-nomination-of-grant/ Save to Pocket
On-disk format change beckons for brave early adopters of Bcachefs
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
New versions of both Overstreet’s baby and OpenZFS will hit the street soon
New versions of the two leading next-generations filesystems are coming: both OpenZFS 2.2.3, and some time afterwards, an improved bcachefs.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/new_vers_bcachefs_zfs/ Save to Pocket
Creditors file to liquidate China’s largest property developer
date: 2024-02-28, from: Marketplace Morning Report
A petition to liquidate has been filed in Hong Kong’s High Court against China’s biggest private property developer, Country Garden. Then, South Korea has reported a record-low birth rate despite spending billions to encourage women to have more children. And more than 6,000,000 people visit the Sistine Chapel each year, but big numbers could cause damage to the frescos. We’ll hear about the Vatican’s team of experts who monitor conditions in the chapel.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/creditors-file-to-liquidate-chinas-largest-property-developer Save to Pocket
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-02-28, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
As promised, here’s a bit of a deeper dive into Google’s Consent Mode V2.
https://labs.tomasino.org/cookie-consent-with-google-consent-mode-v2/
#analytics #google #cookie #advertising
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/112008942294879275 Save to Pocket
@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2024-02-28, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)
Logged back into Tumblr for the first time in ages to opt out of my data being used to train AI (and found it was pre-opted out, apparently because I’d already opted out of being indexed by search engines). This prompted me to, once again, do the old mental dance of “Ugh, I haven’t even used this account in years, should I just delete it?” followed by “But I’d want a backup first…” culminating in the power move of “omg how many thousands of photos and gifsets did I reblog on this account? The backup’s going to be like 100GB!” (OK, I guess that’s not a power move? The “dancing” metaphor got away from me a bit.) I really don’t even care about 99% of this; I just want the political theory stuff I had so meticulously tagged. I requested an export anyway, but if what it produces doesn’t let me browse posts by tag (as I suspect it won’t) it won’t be very useful to me.
Oh and, I also found that my crazy online hater who’s been sending me the odd hateful screed since I was literally 16 years old sent another couple just last month. Sounds like they’ve embraced full-on Nazism now, which makes a change from when they were just obsessed with Michael Jackson. (Basically, this person hates me because my teenage self made a really sensitive and nuanced blog post, as 16-year-olds do, that I didn’t care about ol’ MJ dying because he was probably a pedo. Little did I know I was creating a nemesis who would dog me until the end of time…)
https://www.jayeless.net/2024/02/logged-back-into-tumblr.html Save to Pocket
What Might Happen Without a Leap Day? More Than You Think
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
NEW YORK — Leap year. It’s a delight for the calendar and math nerds among us. So how did it all begin and why?
Have a look at some of the numbers, history and lore behind the (not quite) every four-year phenom that adds a 29th day to February.
By the numbers
The math is mind-boggling in a layperson sort of way and down to fractions of days and minutes. There’s even a leap second occasionally, but there’s no hullabaloo when that happens.
The thing to know is that leap year exists, in large part, to keep the months in sync with annual events, including equinoxes and solstices, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.
It’s a correction to counter the fact that Earth’s orbit isn’t precisely 365 days a year. The trip takes about six hours longer than that, NASA says.
Contrary to what some might believe, however, not every four years is a leaper. Adding a leap day every four years would make the calendar longer by more than 44 minutes, according to the National Air & Space Museum.
Later, on a calendar yet to come (we’ll get to it), it was decreed that years divisible by 100 not follow the four-year leap day rule unless they are also divisible by 400, the JPL notes. In the past 500 years, there was no leap day in 1700, 1800 and 1900, but 2000 had one. In the next 500 years, if the practice is followed, there will be no leap day in 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500.
Still with us?
The next leap years are 2028, 2032 and 2036.
What would happen without a leap day?
Eventually, nothing good in terms of when major events fall, when farmers plant and how seasons align with the sun and the moon.
“Without the leap years, after a few hundred years we will have summer in November,” said Younas Khan, a physics instructor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Christmas will be in summer. There will be no snow. There will be no feeling of Christmas.”
Who came up with leap year?
The short answer: It evolved.
Ancient civilizations used the cosmos to plan their lives, and there are calendars dating back to the Bronze Age. They were based on either the phases of the moon or the sun, as various calendars are today. Usually they were “lunisolar,” using both.
Now hop on over to the Roman Empire and Julius Caesar. He was dealing with major seasonal drift on calendars used in his neck of the woods. They dealt badly with drift by adding months. He was also navigating many calendars starting in many ways in the vast Roman Empire.
He introduced his Julian calendar in 46 BCE. It was purely solar and counted a year at 365.25 days, so once every four years an extra day was added. Before that, the Romans counted a year at 355 days, at least for a time.
But still, under Julius, there was drift. There were too many leap years! The solar year isn’t precisely 365.25 days! It’s 365.242 days, said Nick Eakes, an astronomy educator at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Thomas Palaima, a classics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said adding periods of time to a year to reflect variations in the lunar and solar cycles was done by the ancients. The Athenian calendar, he said, was used in the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries with 12 lunar months.
That didn’t work for seasonal religious rites. The drift problem led to “intercalating” an extra month periodically to realign with lunar and solar cycles, Palaima said.
The Julian calendar was 0.0078 days (11 minutes and 14 seconds) longer than the tropical year, so errors in timekeeping still gradually accumulated, according to NASA. But stability increased, Palaima said.
The Julian calendar was the model used by the Western world for hundreds of years. Enter Pope Gregory XIII, who calibrated further. His Gregorian calendar took effect in the late 16th century. It remains in use today and, clearly, isn’t perfect or there would be no need for leap year. But it was a big improvement, reducing drift to mere seconds.
Why did he step in? Well, Easter. It was coming later in the year over time, and he fretted that events related to Easter like the Pentecost might bump up against pagan festivals. The pope wanted Easter to remain in the spring.
He eliminated some extra days accumulated on the Julian calendar and tweaked the rules on leap day. It’s Pope Gregory and his advisers who came up with the really gnarly math on when there should or shouldn’t be a leap year.
“If the solar year was a perfect 365.25 then we wouldn’t have to worry about the tricky math involved,” Eakes said.
What’s the deal with leap year and marriage?
Bizarrely, leap day comes with lore about women popping the marriage question to men. It was mostly benign fun, but it came with a bite that reinforced gender roles.
There’s distant European folklore. One story places the idea of women proposing in fifth century Ireland, with St. Bridget appealing to St. Patrick to offer women the chance to ask men to marry them, according to historian Katherine Parkin in a 2012 paper in the Journal of Family History.
Nobody really knows where it all began.
In 1904, syndicated columnist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer, aka Dorothy Dix, summed up the tradition this way: “Of course people will say … that a woman’s leap year prerogative, like most of her liberties, is merely a glittering mockery.”
The pre-Sadie Hawkins tradition, however serious or tongue-in-cheek, could have empowered women but merely perpetuated stereotypes. The proposals were to happen via postcard, but many such cards turned the tables and poked fun at women instead.
Advertising perpetuated the leap year marriage game. A 1916 ad by the American Industrial Bank and Trust Co. read thusly: “This being Leap Year day, we suggest to every girl that she propose to her father to open a savings account in her name in our own bank.”
There was no breath of independence for women due to leap day.
Should we pity the leaplings?
Being born in a leap year on a leap day certainly is a talking point. But it can be kind of a pain from a paperwork perspective. Some governments and others requiring forms to be filled out and birthdays to be stated stepped in to declare what date was used by leaplings for such things as drivers’ licenses, whether Feb. 28 or March 1.
Technology has made it far easier for leap babies to jot down their Feb. 29 milestones, though there can be glitches in terms of health systems, insurance policies and with other businesses and organizations that don’t have that date built in.
There are about 5 million people worldwide who share the leap birthday out of about 8 billion people on the planet. Shelley Dean, 23, in Seattle, Washington, chooses a rosy attitude about being a leapling. Growing up, she had normal birthday parties each year, but an extra special one when leap years rolled around. Since, as an adult, she marks that non-leap period between Feb. 28 and March 1 with a low-key “whew.”
This year is different.
“It will be the first birthday that I’m going to celebrate with my family in eight years, which is super exciting, because the last leap day I was on the other side of the country in New York for college,” she said. “It’s a very big year.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/what-might-happen-without-a-leap-day-more-than-you-think/7502545.html Save to Pocket
With AG opinion issued, CAHA to now determine FestPac delegation members
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
With Attorney General Douglas Moylan having opined that board members for the Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency have the discretion to decide delegates for the 2024 Festival of Pacific Arts, acting CAHA Executive Director Angie Taitague has…
https://www.postguam.com/news/with-ag-opinion-issued-caha-to-now-determine-festpac-delegation-members/article_8504a58c-d623-11ee-85a3-e774af5e9f56.html Save to Pocket
Palantir boss says company’s software the only reason the ‘goose step’ has not returned to Europe
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Motor-mouth CEO Alex Karp claims Palantir stopped ‘innumerable’ terror attacks in Europe
The CEO of controversial data-mining firm Palantir has claimed that the company’s technology has prevented terrorist attacks in Europe, thereby implicitly saving the continent from the return of fascism.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/palantir_boss_fii_speech/ Save to Pocket
Uncle Sam tells nosy nations to keep their hands off Americans’ personal data
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Biden readies executive order targeting China, Russia, and pals
US President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order today that aims to prevent the sale or transfer of Americans’ sensitive personal information and government-related data to adversarial countries including China and Russia.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/white_house_sensitive_data/ Save to Pocket
The Next Big Climate Tool: Little Chunks of Rock
date: 2024-02-28, from: Heatmap News
When we talk about carbon removal, we often focus on “direct air capture” facilities — big factories that suck carbon dioxide out of the ambient air.
But a simpler and easier way to remove carbon from the atmosphere may exist. It’s called “enhanced rock weathering” — grinding up rocks, spreading them out, and exposing them to the ambient air — and it works, essentially, by speeding up the Earth’s carbon cycle. Enhanced rock weathering recently got a major vote of confidence from Frontier, a consortium of tech and finance companies who have teamed up to support new and experimental carbon removal technologies.
Frontier’s members include Stripe, Meta, Alphabet, Shopify, and McKinsey & Company. It aims to buy nearly $1 billion of various forms of carbon removal in the next few years — an intervention meant to spur commercial and investor interest in the sector.
In this episode, Jesse Jenkins, an energy systems expert and professor at Princeton University, and I talk with Jane Flegal, a former Biden White House climate adviser and now the market development and policy lead at Frontier, about the promise of enhanced rock weathering and why Frontier just spent $57 million to do it.
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 is an excerpt from our conversation:
Jane Flegal: So enhanced weathering is a carbon removal process that speeds up a natural process which is weathering of alkaline materials. And so weathering happens naturally, it actually drives what makes the earth habitable in the first place. It just happens over very, very long periods. So essentially what happens is that rocks slowly erode when they come into contact with acid rain essentially and —
Robinson Meyer: Naturally acidic rain?
Flegal: Yeah, not like acid rain the way we think of it, rain that is acidic because it has some dissolved CO2. And so that acidic rainwater interacts with rocks and erodes them, and it results in CO2 being stored either as a solid carbonate or as a bicarbonate. So that happens naturally, again, on very long time periods.
Meyer: And I just want to interrupt before we go any further. What then happens, right, is that the CO2 winds up being dissolved as a bicarbonate. It goes into the ocean.
Flegal: Into the ocean.
Meyer: And then what happens? It’s turned into …
Flegal: It sinks and becomes part of the Earth’s crust.
Meyer: Right. Or it gets turned into a shell, a creature’s shell, and then it sinks again.
Flegal: It is functionally stable. It is thermodynamically pretty much impossible to reverse.
Meyer: And you kind of said this, but I do want to draw it out: This is the carbon cycle. This is a central Earth science process. There’s nothing fancy about this.
Jesse Jenkins: The problem is it takes centuries to play out. It’s just moving on geologic time. But this idea of enhanced weathering means we can potentially speed that up, right?
Meyer: Sorry, I just want to — this is, like, the whole problem of climate change, right? The problem of climate change is that we take fossil fuels and carbon that’s stored in geological storage out of the ground on historic time scales, on decadal … you know, every year we take millions of tons of it out of the ground, and then it would only be restored back to the ground by this extremely slow process.
Flegal: One way to think about carbon removal is, like, taking stuff out of the fast cycle and putting it into the slow cycle, basically. And essentially, you either inject CO2 underground, where it’s where it’s stable, or you turn it into salt. These are kind of the options.
And so enhanced weathering, to exactly this point, it’s enhanced for a reason, right? There’s regular old weathering, and then there’s the enhanced kind, which aims to speed up this process that typically takes millennia to years or days by either using more reactive materials than the normal rocks that would just weather naturally or increasing the surface area of the material that is exposed to CO2. So grinding up rocks into very, very fine fine powder and exposing that material to more favorable environments.
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-4-enhanced-rock-weathering Save to Pocket
January foster care payments sent out Tuesday, speaker seeks state of emergency for CPS
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
Following concerns that foster care payments were lagging, acting Department of Administration Director Elizabeth Fisher has confirmed that payments for foster care services provided in January were disbursed Tuesday, and for any residual checks, the Department of Public Health and…
https://www.postguam.com/news/january-foster-care-payments-sent-out-tuesday-speaker-seeks-state-of-emergency-for-cps/article_6d051ea4-d613-11ee-86be-f3d4dcf30213.html Save to Pocket
Chiefs parade shooting could be a new test of expanded ‘stand your ground’ protections
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The man accused of firing the first shots at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally told authorities he felt threatened, while a second man said he pulled the trigger because someone was shooting at him, according to court documents.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/chiefs-parade-shooting-could-be-a-new-test-of-expanded-stand-your-ground-protections/ Save to Pocket
Gov. Green releases details of $175M fund to compensate Maui wildfire victims
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>HONOLULU — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Tuesday that a $175 million fund to compensate families of people killed in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century will begin accepting applications at the end of the week.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/gov-green-releases-details-of-175m-fund-to-compensate-maui-wildfire-victims/ Save to Pocket
Certified global, drink it local: Beer pros place Keeau business among ‘Best New Breweries of the Year’
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A Keaau craft brewery was named by the beer, wine and spirits website Vinepair.com as one of “The 19 Best New Breweries of the Year, According to Beer Pros” for 2023.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/hawaii-news/certified-global-drink-it-local-beer-pros-place-keeau-business-among-best-new-breweries-of-the-year/ Save to Pocket
Legislature tries to play catchup on drone technology
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>State lawmakers are taking proactive measures to prevent using drones to commit crimes.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/hawaii-news/legislature-tries-to-play-catchup-on-drone-technology/ Save to Pocket
Trump and Biden win Michigan primary. But voters uncommitted to either candidate demand attention
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>DEARBORN, Mich. — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump won the Michigan primaries on Tuesday, further solidifying the all-but-certain rematch between the two men — yet early results from the state were highlighting some of their biggest political vulnerabilities ahead of the November general election.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/trump-and-biden-win-michigan-primary-but-voters-uncommitted-to-either-candidate-demand-attention/ Save to Pocket
Road closures planned for Waipio Valley Road
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Road closures are planned for Waipio Valley Road next month as survey work begins in preparation for eventual safety improvements along the treacherous road.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/hawaii-news/road-closures-planned-for-waipio-valley-road/ Save to Pocket
Toppled moon lander sends back more images, with only hours left until it dies
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A moon lander that ended up on its side managed to beam back more pictures, with only hours remaining before it dies.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/toppled-moon-lander-sends-back-more-images-with-only-hours-left-until-it-dies/ Save to Pocket
Voicemail death threat sought in case related to Las Vegas reporter’s killing
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LAS VEGAS — Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles’ defense attorney is pushing to obtain a recording of a death threat sent to Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German in the months before he was killed.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/voicemail-death-threat-sought-in-case-related-to-las-vegas-reporters-killing/ Save to Pocket
Test tube murder? Alabama Supreme Court’s terrible in vitro fertilization decision
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>“What are you doing, Alabama?” Neil Young sang. The question must be asked again and at the top of the nation’s lungs, as abortion fundamentalism has just resulted in a ruling by the state’s top court that, in the name of protecting life, shows patent disrespect for families and the children they seek to bring into the world.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/opinion/test-tube-murder-alabama-supreme-courts-terrible-in-vitro-fertilization-decision/ Save to Pocket
I went to CPAC as an anthropologist to understand Trump’s base
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>What is happening in the hearts of former President Donald Trump’s supporters?</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/opinion/i-went-to-cpac-as-an-anthropologist-to-understand-trumps-base/ Save to Pocket
Biden and party leaders implore Speaker Johnson to help Ukraine in ‘intense’ Oval Office meeting
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders emerged from an “intense” Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden on Tuesday speaking optimistically about the prospects for avoiding a partial government shutdown, but with new uncertainty about aid for Ukraine and Israel as the president and others urgently warned Speaker Mike Johnson of the grave consequences of delay.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/biden-and-party-leaders-implore-speaker-johnson-to-help-ukraine-in-intense-oval-office-meeting/ Save to Pocket
FAA closes investigation into SpaceX Starship’s double-explosion 2nd flight
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>As SpaceX continues to gear up for flight No. 3 of its massive Starship and Super Heavy from Texas, the Federal Aviation Administration has closed the investigation into the second flight that resulted in explosions of both the booster and upper stages back in November.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/faa-closes-investigation-into-spacex-starships-double-explosion-2nd-flight/ Save to Pocket
After US strikes, Iran’s proxies scale back attacks on US bases
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Iran has made a concerted effort to rein in militias in Iraq and Syria after the United States retaliated with a series of airstrikes for the killing of three U.S. Army reservists this month.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/after-us-strikes-irans-proxies-scale-back-attacks-on-us-bases/ Save to Pocket
In court, Don Henley recounts the making of the Eagles’ megahit ‘Hotel California’
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — Seated in a courtroom witness box, Don Henley opened a large brown envelope Tuesday and paged through the aging yellow sheets of a legal pad.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/in-court-don-henley-recounts-the-making-of-the-eagles-megahit-hotel-california/ Save to Pocket
Former law partner of Nathan Wade testifies he doesn’t know when relationship with Fulton County DA Fani Willis began
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>ATLANTA — Special prosecutor Nathan Wade’s former law partner testified repeatedly Tuesday that he didn’t know when Wade’s romantic relationship with District Attorney Fani Willis began, frustrating defense attorneys in Fulton County’s election interference case who hoped he would help prove the prosecutors lied under oath.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/former-law-partner-of-nathan-wade-testifies-he-doesnt-know-when-relationship-with-fulton-county-da-fani-willis-began/ Save to Pocket
2 men convicted of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay nearly 22 years after rap star’s death
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — More than 20 years after Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay was brazenly gunned down in his recording studio, a jury convicted two men of his murder Tuesday, bringing closure to one of the hip-hop world’s most elusive crimes.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/2-men-convicted-of-killing-run-dmcs-jam-master-jay-nearly-22-years-after-rap-stars-death/ Save to Pocket
Trump’s $540 million court fine tests his ‘King of Debt’ title
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Donald Trump dubbed himself the “King of Debt” when boasting about how his business empire survived hard times, but a pair of big trial court losses this year are putting that moniker to the test.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/trumps-540-million-court-fine-tests-his-king-of-debt-title/ Save to Pocket
Almost 12,000 affordable homes in Hawaii could be lost over next 20 years, study says
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Hawaii is at risk of losing nearly 12, 000 affordable homes over the next two decades, according to a study commissioned by a nonprofit promoting action to prevent such loss.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/hawaii-news/almost-12000-affordable-homes-in-hawaii-could-be-lost-over-next-20-years-study-says/ Save to Pocket
Obituaries for February 28
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Douglas Ceredon, 80, of Honokaa died Nov. 28, 2023. Born in Hawaii, he was a U.S. Army Veteran. Committal service 8:30 a.m. Friday (March 1) at East Hawaii Veterans Cemetery No 2. Online condolences: homelanimemorialpark.com. Survived by sister, Emilia Lorenzo. Arrangements by Homelani Memorial Park.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/obituaries/obituaries-for-february-28-9/ Save to Pocket
Kremlin warns against NATO ground intervention in Ukraine
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A provocative comment by President Emmanuel Macron of France about the possibility of putting troops from NATO countries in Ukraine has prompted a warning from the Kremlin and hurried efforts by European leaders to distance themselves from the suggestion.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/nation-world-news/kremlin-warns-against-nato-ground-intervention-in-ukraine/ Save to Pocket
Maui settles COVID hazard pay grievance with police for $13 million
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Less than a month after an arbitrator ruled that thousands of state workers were owed COVID-19 hazard pay for their efforts during the pandemic, the County of Maui settled a grievance with the Maui Police Department for about $13 million.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/28/hawaii-news/maui-settles-covid-hazard-pay-grievance-with-police-for-13-million/ Save to Pocket
Let Raspberry Pi spot the aurora borealis for you while you stay warm (and asleep)
date: 2024-02-28, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Frank Prins was inspired to build an all-sky camera following a magical trip to Svalbard in Norway. His budget-friendly design uses a Raspberry Pi 4, a Raspberry Pi PoE+ HAT, and a Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera.
The post Let Raspberry Pi spot the aurora borealis for you while you stay warm (and asleep) appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/let-raspberry-pi-spot-the-aurora-borealis-for-you-while-you-stay-warm-and-asleep/ Save to Pocket
Automakers say they won’t try to push back EU’s 2035 ICE ban
date: 2024-02-28, from: Electrek Feed
Rumors have been brewing for weeks now that Europe’s automakers were challenging the EU’s decision to ban ICE vehicles as of 2035. But the ACEA, Europe’s automakers association, said that it is not pushing back and is all in with the EV future. Is this PR spin or the real thing?
https://electrek.co/2024/02/28/automakers-say-they-wont-try-to-push-back-eus-2035-ice-ban/ Save to Pocket
Fernandez, Sanchez elected president, vice president
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The election was the first to use ranked-choice voting for the presidential tickets.
The post Fernandez, Sanchez elected president, vice president appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/fernandez-sanchez-elected-president-vice-president/ Save to Pocket
Plans to heat districts with datacenters may prove too hot to handle
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Report points out the difficulties of getting such a system right
Using waste heat from datacenters for district heating makes sense from an environmental standpoint, yet there are implementation challenges and potential pitfalls introduced with any government regulations covering it.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/datacenter_heat_reuse_challenges/ Save to Pocket
Gary Horton | Vote for Healthy Respect and for Real Hope
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
Back when our family was still young, there was an honest-to-goodness record store over on Lyons Avenue. In this mecca of music, one could buy vinyl records, cassette tapes, and just coming out were those shiny CDs in the brittle clear plastic cases. Lots of tempting music treats, all lined up to catch one’s eye, […]
The post Gary Horton | Vote for Healthy Respect and for Real Hope appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/gary-horton-vote-for-healthy-respect-and-for-real-hope/ Save to Pocket
Dianne Van Hook | Remove Roadblocks to 4-Year Degrees
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
Would you drive 12 hours roundtrip daily to attend college classes that lead to a bachelor’s degree? Of course not! But California State University, Sacramento, seems to think its students might. So, they’re throwing up roadblocks that are delaying approval of our proposed bachelor of arts in sustainable architecture program. Following the process outlined in […]
The post Dianne Van Hook | Remove Roadblocks to 4-Year Degrees appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/dianne-van-hook-remove-roadblocks-to-4-year-degrees/ Save to Pocket
Annette Lucas | Looks Good on Paper, But in Person?
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
The Village at Wiley Canyon is the proposed development between Hawkbryn Avenue and Calgrove Boulevard and between Wiley Canyon and Interstate 5, consisting of 379 “high-end” rental apartments, 130 independent senior apartments, 61 assisted living units and 26 memory care units — none of the senior facilities are low-cost to our seniors —and almost 9,000 […]
The post Annette Lucas | Looks Good on Paper, But in Person? appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/annette-lucas-looks-good-on-paper-but-in-person/ Save to Pocket
The Koch Network Is Killing Rail Safety
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Lever News
The billionaire-backed Koch network spent nearly $10 million stonewalling the bipartisan Railway Safety Act.
https://www.levernews.com/the-koch-network-is-killing-rail-safety/ Save to Pocket
Public-private partnership may be needed for GMH operations
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
With the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority anticipating a $30 million shortfall in operations by the end of the fiscal year, Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio said Wednesday that outside or additional help may be needed for the hospital authority’s accounting operations…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/public-private-partnership-may-be-needed-for-gmh-operations/article_3a4f85ea-d5fe-11ee-bbd0-b3025e3102ab.html Save to Pocket
Tenorio says regulatory changes possible for permitting agencies
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
Over the next few months, the governor’s administration will be directing permitting agencies to hold public hearings on current regulations and gather input about potential revisions, according to Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio, who spoke before the Guam Chamber of Commerce…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/tenorio-says-regulatory-changes-possible-for-permitting-agencies/article_6d8d7b8e-d5ee-11ee-9aa6-fb730ff68f64.html Save to Pocket
Chinese boater pleads guilty to 2022 arrival
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
A Chinese boater pleaded guilty to charges related to his illegal arrival on the island in June 2022.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/chinese-boater-pleads-guilty-to-2022-arrival/article_0319010c-d502-11ee-993c-7f6119190c88.html Save to Pocket
Complaint: Alleged drunk driver offered $300 bribe to Port police
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
A man allegedly offered $300 to authorities after he was arrested during a traffic stop.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/complaint-alleged-drunk-driver-offered-300-bribe-to-port-police/article_6f379020-d5d8-11ee-bb9b-8be4b81a3a9a.html Save to Pocket
Man accused of attempting to stab victim with kitchen knife
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
Smackson Sawata was accused of attempting to stab a man with a kitchen knife before a woman blocked it with a car seat.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-accused-of-attempting-to-stab-victim-with-kitchen-knife/article_62b79aec-d5c5-11ee-9fdd-e733a893199b.html Save to Pocket
Passenger recounts 4-car crash on Route 1’s Dead Man’s Curve
date: 2024-02-28, from: Guam Daily Post
Michelle Losongco was having what she called a “leisure day” with her husband. They were on their way to meet a friend for coffee Thursday morning, Feb. 22, when they were involved in a four-car collision on Route 1 on…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/passenger-recounts-4-car-crash-on-route-1-s-dead-mans-curve/article_d0e48ccc-d5df-11ee-ae58-6ba8a1171da4.html Save to Pocket
Office Hours: Should the Michigan primary result be a wakeup call to Biden?
date: 2024-02-28, from: Robert Reich on Substack
Friends, The question was never whether Joe Biden would win the Michigan primary. It was how successful would be a homegrown campaign to persuade Michiganders to vote “uncommitted.” Well, we now have the results, and they should serve as a wakeup call to Biden. With most votes counted on Wednesday morning, 13 percent of Michigan’s Democratic primary voters had chosen “uncommitted” — a share that represented more than 100,000 people in Michigan who made the effort to lodge their disapproval of the president.
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/office-hours-does-the-michigan-primary Save to Pocket
Office Hours: Where will Trump find the money to pay all his civil penalties?
date: 2024-02-28, from: Robert Reich on Substack
I have a guess
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-will-trump-get-the-cash-he-owes Save to Pocket
Europe probes Microsoft’s €15M stake in AI upstart Mistral
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Cash-for-Azure-access deal went through just as latest LLM landed
The European Commission is investigating Microsoft’s €15 million ($16.3 million) investment in French startup Mistral, which came just after the latter released a large language model to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/eu_microsoft_mistral/ Save to Pocket
Classifieds – February 28, 2024
date: 2024-02-28, 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 28, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/classifieds-february-27-2024-2/ Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Feb. 28)
date: 2024-02-28, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1890 – Jenkins ranch hands Dolores Cook and George Walton of Castaic slain by rival William Chormicle and W.A. Gardener. [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-feb-28-2/ Save to Pocket
The pitfalls of the ‘girls supporting girls’ mentality
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
There are some cons to the ardent gender affinity I’ve felt for fellow women.
The post The pitfalls of the ‘girls supporting girls’ mentality appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/the-pitfalls-of-the-girls-supporting-girls-mentality/ Save to Pocket
Bronny should stay in college
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
James has a lot of raw talent, but isn’t ready for the NBA just yet.
The post Bronny should stay in college appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/202744/ Save to Pocket
Women’s swim looks to lap competition at Pac-12 Championships
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
After its historic regular season, USC will battle for the Conference crown.
The post Women’s swim looks to lap competition at Pac-12 Championships appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/womens-swim-looks-to-lap-competition-at-pac-12-championships/ Save to Pocket
Political apathy is an immense privilege
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Staying ‘apolitical’ is a privilege — and one we must always keep in check.
The post Political apathy is an immense privilege appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/political-apathy-is-an-immense-privilege/ Save to Pocket
I don’t want to be useful, I want to be Prada useful
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Miuccia Prada’s “Vogue” cover story opens a new interpretation of the word “useful” and how fashion lies in the spectrum of business and pleasure.
The post I don’t want to be useful, I want to be Prada useful appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/i-dont-want-to-be-useful-i-want-to-be-prada-useful/ Save to Pocket
Students with USC Museums demystifies art
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Club leaders hope to forge working relationships with the University’s museums.
The post Students with USC Museums demystifies art appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/students-with-usc-museums-demystifies-art/ Save to Pocket
Trader Joe’s moves closing time one hour earlier
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The grocery store will move its closing time from 10 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 4.
The post Trader Joe’s moves closing time one hour earlier appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/trader-joes-usc/ Save to Pocket
Women’s basketball engages March mindset
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC will face Arizona and Arizona State following a tough loss on Senior Day.
The post Women’s basketball engages March mindset appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/202723/ Save to Pocket
Senior creates social platform for college students
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Linkd will feature groups and topics meant to cater to a student’s specific college.
The post Senior creates social platform for college students appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/28/senior-creates-social-platform-for-college-students/ Save to Pocket
Nvidia lures autonomous car boss from China’s Baidu
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Jensen Huang’s automotive engineering team has now pinched two top Middle Kingdom talents
Nvidia has picked up the former head of Baidu’s L2+ Autonomous Driving System, Luo Qi, to head the engineering team of its own automotive business unit.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/nvidia_hires_baidu_robocar_expert/ Save to Pocket
February 27, 2024
date: 2024-02-28, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
The House of Representatives will be back in session tomorrow after the February 19 Presidents Day holiday. It is facing a number of crucial issues, but the ongoing problem of the radicalism of the MAGA Republicans has ground—and, apparently, continues to grind—legislation to a halt.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-27-2024 Save to Pocket
‘Uncommitted’ Michigan Voters Send Signal to Biden on Gaza Cease-Fire
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
As negotiators push to secure a temporary cease-fire deal that would halt the Gaza war before Ramadan begins, a message from Michiganders signaling anger at President Joe Biden’s support of Israel’s campaign that has killed almost 30,000 Palestinians. Early results show that 13% of Democratic primary voters in the critical swing state, home to a large Arab American constituency, marked their primary ballots as “uncommitted” on the president. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this account with reporting from Michigan by Dora Mekouar.
https://www.voanews.com/a/uncommitted-michigan-voters-send-signal-to-biden-on-gaza-cease-fire-/7505623.html Save to Pocket
Google wants regulators to take Microsoft down a notch before it stifles AI
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Ad giant that owns over 80 percent of search traffic yells at cloud monopoly
Google has again stoked fears that rival Microsoft is using anticompetitive business practices and licenses to establish a cloud monopoly, and is calling on regulators to take action.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/google_microsoft_cloud_eu/ Save to Pocket
Many people don’t know that nuclear power is low-carbon
date: 2024-02-28, from: Hannah Richie at Substack
Less than half of Brits say that nuclear is a low-carbon source of energy.
https://www.sustainabilitybynumbers.com/p/nuclear-low-carbon Save to Pocket
US Army Slashing Thousands of Posts in Major Revamp
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is slashing the size of its force by about 24,000, or almost 5%, and restructuring to be better able to fight the next major war, as the service struggles with recruiting shortfalls that made it impossible to bring in enough soldiers to fill all the jobs.
The cuts will mainly be in already-empty posts — not actual soldiers — including in jobs related to counterinsurgency that swelled during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars but are not needed as much today. About 3,000 of the cuts would come from Army special operations forces.
At the same time, however, the plan will add about 7,500 troops in other critical missions, including air-defense and counter-drone units and five new task forces around the world with enhanced cyber, intelligence and long-range strike capabilities.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said she and Gen. Randy George, the Army chief, worked to thin out the number of places where they had empty or excess slots.
“We’re moving away from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. We want to be postured for large-scale combat operations,” Wormuth told reporters on Tuesday. “So we looked at where were there pieces of force structure that were probably more associated with counterinsurgency, for example, that we don’t need anymore.”
George added that Army leaders did a lot of analysis to choose the places to cut.
“The things that we want to not have in our formation are actually things that we don’t think are going to make us successful on the battlefield going forward,” he said.
According to an Army document, the service is “significantly overstructured” and there aren’t enough soldiers to fill existing units. The cuts, it said, are “spaces” not “faces” and the Army will not be asking soldiers to leave the force.
Instead, the decision reflects the reality that for years the Army hasn’t been able to fill thousands of empty posts. While the Army as it’s currently structured can have up to 494,000 soldiers, the total number of active-duty soldiers right now is about 445,000. Under the new plan, the goal is to bring in enough troops over the next five years to reach a level of 470,000.
The planned overhaul comes after two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan that forced the Army to quickly and dramatically expand in order to fill the brigades sent to the battlefront. That included a massive counterinsurgency mission to battle al-Qaida, the Taliban and the Islamic State group.
Over time the military’s focus has shifted to great power competition from adversaries such as China and Russia, and threats from Iran and North Korea. And the war in Ukraine has shown the need for greater emphasis on air-defense systems and high-tech abilities both to use and counter airborne and sea-based drones.
Army leaders said they looked carefully across the board at all the service’s job specialties in search of places to trim. And they examined the ongoing effort to modernize the Army, with new high-tech weapons, to determine where additional forces should be focused.
According to the plan, the Army will cut about 10,000 spaces for engineers and similar jobs that were tied to counter-insurgency missions. An additional 2,700 cuts will come from units that don’t deploy often and can be trimmed, and 6,500 will come from various training and other posts.
There also will be about 10,000 posts cut from cavalry squadrons, Stryker brigade combat teams, infantry brigade combat teams and security force assistance brigades, which are used to train foreign forces.
The changes represent a significant shift for the Army to prepare for large-scale combat operations against more sophisticated enemies. But they also underscore the steep recruiting challenges that all of the military services are facing.
In the last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the Navy, Army and Air Force all failed to meet their recruitment goals, while the Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force met their targets. The Army brought in a bit more than 50,000 recruits, falling well short of the publicly stated “stretch goal” of 65,000.
The previous fiscal year, the Army also missed its enlistment goal by 15,000. That year the goal was 60,000.
In response, the service launched a sweeping overhaul of its recruiting last fall to focus more on young people who have spent time in college or are job hunting early in their careers. And it is forming a new professional force of recruiters, rather than relying on soldiers randomly assigned to the task.
In discussing the changes at the time, Wormuth acknowledged that the service hasn’t been recruiting well “for many more years than one would think from just looking at the headlines in the last 18 months.” The service, she said, hasn’t met its annual goal for new enlistment contracts since 2014.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-army-slashing-thousands-of-posts-in-major-revamp/7505611.html Save to Pocket
CIF State Playoffs: Santa Barbara Comeback Halted by San Marcos Knights in Season-Ending 85-81 Loss
date: 2024-02-28, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Luke Zuffelato scored 46 points in the loss, including eight three-pointers.
The post CIF State Playoffs: Santa Barbara Comeback Halted by San Marcos Knights in Season-Ending 85-81 Loss appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/cif-state-playoffs-santa-barbara-comeback-halted-by-san-marcos-knights-in-season-ending-85-81-loss/ Save to Pocket
Husqvarna ports Doom to a robot lawnmower – not, thankfully, its chainsaws
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Seminal game runs on everything, so why not pay €2,199 to run it on a tiny screen?
Swedish garden appliance maker Husqvarna has ported Doom to one of its robotic lawn mowers.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/husqvarna_doom_robomower_port/ Save to Pocket
Killing of Georgia Nursing Student at Center of US Immigration Debate
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
Athens, Georgia — Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student out on her morning run at the University of Georgia when authorities say a stranger dragged her into a secluded area and killed her, sending shockwaves through campus as police searched for a suspect.
The arrest of a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case put the tragedy at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden and his border policies for the Augusta University student’s fatal beating. A conservative news site blasted “open-border elites” for accepting the deaths of women such as Riley as “collateral damage.”
It is familiar ground for Trump, who launched his 2016 White House bid by saying Mexicans were “bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
As president, he created an office for families whose loved ones were victims of violent crimes committed by immigrants, which was quickly dismantled under Biden.
The debate over the nation’s broken immigration system has emerged as a major campaign issue amid an unprecedented migration surge that has strained budgets in cities including New York, Chicago and Denver and divided some Democrats.
Trump has dialed up his anti-immigrant rhetoric to say migrants are “poisoning the blood” of the country. And he and other Republicans have suggested migrants are committing crimes more often than U.S. citizens, even though the evidence does not back up those claims.
Biden has criticized Republicans for turning against a bipartisan border security deal after Trump decried it. He will visit the Texas border city of Brownsville on Thursday, while Trump will be in another Texas border city, Eagle Pass.
On his social media site, Trump posted, “Crooked Joe Biden’s Border INVASION is destroying our country and killing our citizens! The horrible murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley at the University of Georgia should have NEVER happened!”
“He’s an animal that came in,” Trump said Tuesday on Michigan’s WFDF radio station.
Democrats have been more muted, with many expressing sorrow for Riley’s death and some accusing Trump of exploiting a tragedy and using xenophobic rhetoric for political gain.
The White House extended “deepest condolences” to Riley’s family. “People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty,” said spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, predicted Riley’s death is “gonna change this election as much as anything.”
“That’s a parent’s worst nightmare,” the South Carolina Republican said.
Many studies have found immigrants are less drawn to violent crime than native-born citizens. One published by the National Academy of Sciences, based on Texas Department of Public Safety data from 2012 to 2018, reported native-born U.S. residents were more than twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes than people in the country illegally.
Another in the journal Criminology analyzed multiple data sources from 1990 to 2014 to conclude that increases in illegal immigration were generally in sync with reductions in violent crime or had no significant correlation.
A study published last year by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private group, found immigrants have been incarcerated at a lower rate than U.S.-born white men since 1960.
“Whereas Democrats are increasingly more positive when talking about immigrants and pointing to their contributions to the U.S., Republicans remain negative and increasingly focus on crime and legality issues when they talk about immigrants,” said Ran Abramitzky, a Stanford University economics professor who has studied links between immigration and crime, referring to analyses of congressional statements going back decades.
Jon Feere, a former U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official in the Trump administration who now is director of investigations at the Center for Immigration Studies, dismissed the research. He pointed to migrants who don’t have legal permission to be in the U.S., saying they are committing crimes just by being here.
“This type of fallout’s going to continue for many years to come, even beyond this administration,” Feere said. “And they can continue to ignore it, but the American people are paying attention.”
Families of victims have heartbreaking stories.
Don Rosenberg, a retired entertainment and publishing executive, lost his 25-year-old son, Drew, in 2010, when a Honduran man who was in the country illegally repeatedly struck him with his car in San Francisco and tried to flee. As he spoke with families whose loved ones were killed by immigrants, he concluded authorities were ignoring them, even protecting perpetrators.
“I thought my case was an anomaly. No, my case was the rule,” said Rosenberg, president of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime.
Rosenberg says the high-profile cases won’t resonate with voters until news organizations give them more exposure “because Trump only talks to people who support Trump.”
The man accused of killing Riley, Jose Ibarra, was arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, amid an unprecedented surge in migration and released to pursue his case in immigration court.
At the time, the Border Patrol was releasing migrants with orders to appear at an immigration office, not even scheduling court appearances. That practice, which added years to how long it takes to resolve an immigration case, largely ceased in February 2023.
It is unclear if Ibarra, 26, followed those instructions or applied for asylum. Federal officials say he was arrested by New York police in August for child endangerment and released, though New York officials said Sunday they had no record of the arrest.
Iberra was living in Athens, Georgia, when Riley was killed last week. His attorney has not responded to requests for comment.
Trump first mentioned the killing on Friday, calling it part of what he has labeled “Biden migrant crime.” It comes after a group of migrants brawling with police in New York touched off a political furor and renewed debate over policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The influential conservative site Breitbart News linked Riley’s death to other women who were killed by people in the country illegally, including Kate Steinle, who was shot at a crowded San Francisco pier in 2015. “Their deaths were all 100% preventable,” the site said.
https://www.voanews.com/a/killing-of-georgia-nursing-student-atcenter-of-us-immigration-debate/7505609.html Save to Pocket
Getting to Bottom of Goleta’s Million-Gallon Sewage Spill
date: 2024-02-28, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The Board of Supervisors receive a briefing on Santa Barbara County’s biggest offshore sewage spill in recent memory.
The post Getting to Bottom of Goleta’s Million-Gallon Sewage Spill appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/getting-to-bottom-of-goletas-million-gallon-sewage-spill/ Save to Pocket
That home router botnet the Feds took down? Moscow’s probably going to try again
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Non-techies told to master firmware upgrades and firewall rules. For the infosec hardheads: have some IOCs
Authorities from eleven nations have delivered a sequel to the January takedown of a botnet run by Russia on compromised Ubiquiti Edge OS routers – in the form of a warning that Russia may try again, so owners of the devices should take precautions.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/ubiquiti_botnet_second_warning/ Save to Pocket
@Jessica Smith’s blog (date: 2024-02-28, from: Jessica Smith’s blog)
Last night I was cooking a chicken stew, and I had to double-check my
recipe to remember which herbs I put in it (rosemary, thyme, basil, sage
and a bay leaf). As I was grabbing the little jars out of the cupboard,
it occurred to me that this list is pretty similar to that famous lyric
– parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
– and wondered, “Hmm, why is
it I never put parsley in this? Or, actually, into anything?” So I
pulled out my little jar of parsley, gave the contents a sniff (parsley
really doesn’t have a very appealing smell, hey) and read the
description on the jar’s side:
A popular herb used to garnish or add a touch of colour to your favourite meal. Great with sauces and egg dishes.
“Oh yeah!” I remembered. “Parsley is so crap that even the parsley jar can only suggest adding it to anything for cosmetic reasons. That’s why I never use it.”
Clearly, it’s time we change the line in that song to “basil, sage, rosemary and thyme”. And a bay leaf.
https://www.jayeless.net/2024/02/parsley-sage-rosemary-and-thyme.html Save to Pocket
‘Uncommitted’ Michigan Voters Send Signal to Biden on Gaza Cease-fire
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/uncommitted-michigan-voters-send-signal-to-biden-on-gaza-cease-fire-/7505564.html Save to Pocket
EU sanctions Indian tech outfit that has partnered with New Delhi’s IT Ministry
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Si2 Microsystems was tapped for silicon photonics expertise, but has Russian ties that worry Washington and Brussels
The European Union has imposed sanctions against Indian microelectronics maker Si2 Microsystems late last week for allegedly providing Russia with goods and technology that support the country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/eu_india_si2/ Save to Pocket
A Committed Progressive
date: 2024-02-28, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Das Williams is the person you call when you’re trying to figure out how to solve a problem in local government. He understands budgets and government regulations and how to make them work to get things done.
The post A Committed Progressive appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/a-committed-progressive/ Save to Pocket
Barger calls on state agencies to close Chiquita
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a call for state regulators to revoke Chiquita Canyon Landfill’s permits Tuesday in response to their legal concerns about the county acting unilaterally against the landfill. Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, said in a phone conversation during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting that she wanted […]
The post <strong>Barger calls on state agencies to close Chiquita</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/barger-calls-on-state-agencies-to-close-chiquita/ Save to Pocket
‘America needs you’: Guest speaker at Trinity decries rise of modern socialism
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
Jake Jacobs said he is afraid of the rise of Marxism in modern American society and the direction that the country is headed. An author and historian, Jacobs was invited by the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at Trinity Classical Academy to speak at the campus on Monday evening, with the event being titled, “Karl […]
The post <strong>‘America needs you’: Guest speaker at Trinity decries rise of modern socialism</strong> appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/america-needs-you-guest-speaker-at-trinity-decries-rise-of-modern-socialism/ Save to Pocket
Quick Charge Podcast: February 27, 2024
date: 2024-02-28, 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/2024/02/27/quick-charge-podcast-february-27-2024/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-28, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
One user's perspective on the switch from Movable Type to Wordpress in 2004. I wasn’t paying attention, that was the year of podcasting.
https://mastodon.social/@jalefkowit@octodon.social/112005523070087091 Save to Pocket
Netflix Will No Longer Accept Payments From App Store Billing for Legacy Accounts
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: Daring Fireball
https://cordcuttersnews.com/netflix-will-no-longer-accept-payments-from-apple/ Save to Pocket
OpenAI claims New York Times paid someone to ‘hack’ ChatGPT
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Super lab claims ‘deceptive prompts’ that it happily processed - and may have tracked - weren’t fair, so case should be dismissed
OpenAI has accused The New York Times Company of paying someone to “hack” ChatGPT to generate verbatim paragraphs from articles in its newspaper. By hack, presumably the biz means: Logged in as normal and asked it annoying questions.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/openai_nyt_lawsuit/ Save to Pocket
City hosting community hikes
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
News release Each month, city of Santa Clarita staff will lead a hike at different trailheads and parks located throughout the community. “Whether you want to explore the outdoors or enjoy the fresh air, this is the perfect time to join fellow residents and learn more about our 12,000 acres of open spaces,” […]
The post City hosting community hikes appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/city-hosting-community-hikes/ Save to Pocket
Deputies arrest man on suspicion of indecent exposure
date: 2024-02-28, from: The Signal
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies arrested a transient man in Stevenson Ranch after responding to a report of indecent exposure at a supermarket shortly after 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. A station official said the initial report involved a 50-year-old man who was defecating in front of the Vons in the 25900 block of The Old […]
The post Deputies arrest man on suspicion of indecent exposure appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/deputies-arrest-man-on-suspicion-of-indecent-exposure/ Save to Pocket
Apple Is Canceling Electric Car Project
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: Daring Fireball
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-27/apple-cancels-work-on-electric-car-shifts-team-to-generative-ai Save to Pocket
So Just How Much Pollution Do LAPD Helicopters Emit? Officials Disagree Over How They’re Used
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The LAist
The Board of Police Commissioners presented and approved their report on Tuesday. It found that the annual CO2 emissions were 20% less than the controller’s audit and that flight times were proportional to the violent crime rates.
https://laist.com/news/lapd-controllers-audit-helicopters-emissions-use Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-28, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
I asked ChatGPT for a "list of 25 interesting blogs that regularly update.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/27/003755.html Save to Pocket
In Border Visits, Biden and Trump Will Focus On Different Priorities
date: 2024-02-28, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/in-border-visits-biden-and-trump-will-focus-on-different-priorities-/7505485.html Save to Pocket
Texas judge turns out the lights on Federal survey of cryptominers’ energy consumption
date: 2024-02-28, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Washington sees potential emergency as miners power up to chase new BTC high
A Texas judge has granted a temporary restraining order that prevents the US federal government surveying domestic cryptocurrency miners about their energy consumption.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/28/us_survey_cryptocurrency_power/ Save to Pocket
American Test Of $11,500 BYD Seagull: ‘This Doesn’t Come Across Cheap’
date: 2024-02-28, from: Inside EVs News
The imported EV hatchback may only cost $11,500 but it impressed industry veteran John McElroy.
https://insideevs.com/news/710364/byd-detroit-import-seagull-caresoft/ Save to Pocket
Smell the Results
date: 2024-02-28, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
As a result of Das Williams’s efforts, Santa Barbara County is now known nationwide as a leading cannabis producer.
The post Smell the Results appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/smell-the-results/ Save to Pocket
Wednesday 28 February, 2024
date: 2024-02-28, from: John Naughton’s online diary
Bathtime, London Spotted while walking to a meeting. Quote of the Day ”A healthy male adult bore consumes each year one and a half times his own weight in other people’s patience.” John Updike Musical alternative to the morning’s radio … Continue reading
https://memex.naughtons.org/wednesday-28-february-2024/39186/ Save to Pocket
The Jak Shave
date: 2024-02-28, from: Marginallia log
I set out a little over a week ago to add a service registry to Marginalia Search, primarily to reduce its dependence on docker. I would like it to be able to run on bare metal as well, which poses a problem since configuring the application manually is a bit of a headache with dozens of ports that need to be set up. It would also be desirable to be able to run multiple instances of important services in order elliminate downtime during upgrades.
https://www.marginalia.nu/log/a_102_jak_shave/ Save to Pocket
It’s Time to Vote in Santa Barbara
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Next Tuesday’s primary election leads up to November’s main event; don’t miss out on your chance to get your vote in.
The post It’s Time to Vote in Santa Barbara appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/its-time-to-vote-in-santa-barbara/ Save to Pocket
Biden to Republican Lawmakers: Consequences of Not Passing Ukraine Aid ‘Dire’
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
The $95 billion foreign aid package approved by the U.S. Senate this month remains stalled in the Republican-majority House of Representatives, jeopardizing the delivery of $60 billion in aid to Ukraine to help it defeat Russia. Congressional leaders met with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday to discuss the impasse. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-to-republican-lawmakers-consequences-of-not-passing-ukraine-aid-dire-/7505138.html Save to Pocket
Detectives seek help in identifying theft suspect
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detectives are asking for help in attempting to identify a person suspected of stealing from lockers inside a Santa Clarita-area L.A. Fitness in late January. According to the LASD, multiple lockers were broken into inside L.A. Fitness on Jan. 27. The suspect then allegedly used multiple stolen credit cards to […]
The post Detectives seek help in identifying theft suspect appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/detectives-seek-help-in-identifying-theft-suspect/ Save to Pocket
Six Months Too Long
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SoCal Edison should repair the damage its done, but surely it have the resources to do this work in a way that doesn’t close Tunnel Trail for six months.
The post Six Months Too Long appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/six-months-too-long/ Save to Pocket
Top Lawmaker Warns US ‘Less Prepared’ for Election Meddling
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
washington — The United States might not be ready for the onslaught of disinformation and cyberattacks expected to hit the country ahead of this year’s presidential elections, according to a top U.S. lawmaker.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner told a cybersecurity conference in Washington that despite efforts by various U.S. government agencies to protect against election meddling, there are still gaps, especially when it comes to foreign influence campaigns.
“I worry that we are less prepared for foreign intervention in our elections in 2024 than we were in 2020,” he told the Trellix Cybersecurity Summit.
He added that the prevalence of artificial intelligence could also make Russia’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election look “like child’s play.”
Top U.S. law enforcement and cybersecurity officials have repeatedly voiced confidence in their ability to protect the nation’s voting infrastructure from attacks from any number of U.S. adversaries.
“Americans can be confident in our election system and our democracy,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers last month, backed by the leaders of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency.
But officials have expressed concerns about influence operations, especially from Russia, China and Iran, designed to exploit existing U.S. domestic political divisions.
Warner on Tuesday said he believes that is where Washington election defenses are most vulnerable, citing a court ruling that has prohibited social media companies from sharing information about potential foreign influence operations with the FBI or CISA.
“That ought to scare the hell out of all of us,” he said, adding that voter susceptibility may be at an all-time high.
“We’ve got a whole lot of more Americans in 2024, unfortunately, that are more willing to believe or have less faith in our system to start with,” Warner said.
Warner’s warning about Russian election meddling echoes comments by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“There’s plenty of reason to be concerned,” Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “There is a history here in presidential elections by the Russian Federation, by its intelligence services.”
Those concerns, however, have riled some lawmakers and conservative commentators, who argue the White House is trying to resurrect what they call the “Russia hoax” — the narrative voiced by many Democrats that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help former President Donald Trump win.
Warner, talking to reporters, dismissed such arguments.
“Anyone who doesn’t think the Russian intel services have and will continue to interfere in our elections … I wonder where they’re getting their information to start with,” he said in response to a question from VOA.
In a declassified intelligence report on the U.S. 2022 elections, released late last year, the National Intelligence Council assessed with high confidence that Russia, along with China and Iran, ran operations that sought to influence the outcomes.
“The Russian Government and its proxies sought to denigrate the Democratic Party before the midterm elections and undermine confidence in the election, most likely to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine,” the report said.
China targeted a “handful of midterm races involving members of both U.S. political parties,” it added.
Both Russia and China have previously denied allegations of running influence operations aimed at U.S. elections.
https://www.voanews.com/a/top-lawmaker-warns-us-less-prepared-for-election-meddling-/7505144.html Save to Pocket
Apple’s Titan(ic) iCar project is dead as self-driving dream fails to materialize
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Cruise is parked, Waymo is in trouble, Tesla’s never quite nailed auto-autos so is China in the no-driver’s seat?
After nearly a decade of work, two indictments, the departure of a senior exec, and unknown levels of expenditure, Apple has reportedly decided to cancel its not-so-secret self-driving car effort, Project Titan.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/apple_autonomous_car_cancelled/ Save to Pocket
Grammys top moments and a Swiftie surprise
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Welcome back to “Rhythm and News!” Our hosts kick off this semester with a review of the 2024 Grammy Awards. In this episode our hosts discuss red carpet looks and give an overview of the winners. Need a recap of the Grammys? Love Taylor Swift? This episode is for you.
The post Grammys top moments and a Swiftie surprise appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/grammys-top-moments-and-a-swiftie-surprise/ Save to Pocket
Apple Reportedly Cancels Electric Car Project
date: 2024-02-27, from: TidBITS blog
So much for Project Titan and our fantasy of driving an Apple Car, but many of the affected employees will move to Apple’s artificial intelligence division to work on generative AI.
https://tidbits.com/2024/02/27/apple-reportedly-cancels-electric-car-project/ Save to Pocket
US Lawmakers, Officials Voice Concern About Chinese Police on Kiribati
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
washington — U.S. lawmakers are voicing concern about the Pacific island nation of Kirabati’s use of police from China for security, just as the U.S. State Department warns that such cooperation could bring new risks to Kiribati, a neighbor of Hawaii.
On Friday, Eeri Aritiera, Kirabati’s acting police commissioner, told Reuters that a Chinese police delegation will rotate through the island nation to “provide assistance” to Kiribati’s Community Policing program and IT department.
Aritiera says the island nation of more than 115,000, whose closest island is about 2,100 km (1,305 miles) from Hawaii, requested China’s policing assistance in 2022.
In an email to VOA, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said the U.S. conducts police training in Kiribati. The spokesperson also raised concerns about the “potential implications that security agreements and security-related cyber cooperation” with China may have for a nation’s sovereignty.
“We do not believe importing security forces from [China] will help any country,” he said in an email to VOA.
Worried about losing ground
U.S. lawmakers worry Washington is losing ground to the People’s Republic of China in the Pacific, a region that’s critical to national security.
“The PRC’s policing activities in Kiribati are a clear sign of Beijing’s growing influence in Pacific island countries through lawfare. It’s also a sign of the democracy-eroding effects of the PRC’s diplomatic isolation of Taiwan,” said U.S. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking member on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party or CCP.
“If we don’t engage more with our Pacific partners like Kiribati to counter this CCP malign influence, we could face serious trade and national security issues, said U.S. Representative Neal Dunn, a Florida Republican who also serves on the Select Committee.
“Kiribati wants a consistent on-the-ground relationship with the United States,” acknowledged democratic U.S. Representative Ed Case of Hawaii in an email to VOA, adding the region “needs help building capacity to address basic services.”
Others on the committee worry about the corrosive impact on Pacific nations as they depend more for security on police from an authoritarian state where due process often goes unenforced.
“The CCP gives zero value to human life and will most certainly intend to use Kiribati’s strategic position to their advantage, said U.S. Representative Michele Steel in a statement to VOA. Steel also serves on the Select Committee.
VOA asked the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. to comment on the reports about the new Chinese police presence in Kiribati.
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu responded to VOA in an email that China “always engages in cooperation with relevant countries on the basis of equality, mutual respect, mutual benefit, openness and inclusiveness.”
China grows police partnerships
In recent years, Beijing has increasingly positioned itself as the public safety partner of choice for Pacific nations experiencing instability. In January, Papua New Guinea requested Chinese police assistance after riots killed 15 people.
In 2022, the Solomon Islands entered into a security pact with Beijing, and a year later, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare signed a police cooperation deal with China for two years. Both Kiribati and the Solomons switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019.
But others in the region are re-examining their police agreements with China. In January 2023, after 12 years of cooperation with Beijing on policing, Fiji’s newly elected prime minister — Sitiveni Rabuka — fired the country’s police commissioner and promised to end a police training agreement that allowed Chinese police officers to be stationed in Fiji.
“If our systems and our values differ, what cooperation can we get from them?” said Rabuka last June, referring to China.
Lawmakers: Funding delay sends wrong message
With Chinese funds surging to the region — as much as $3.148 billion between 2008 and 2020, according to the Sydney-based Lowy Institute — many in Congress are questioning why their fellow lawmakers still haven’t passed a funding package for three Pacific allies that are also facing economic pressure from Beijing.
The agreement, known as the Compacts of Free Association or COFA, provide $7 billion in economic aid over 20 years to Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. It was signed last year.
Earlier this month, the funding was dropped from the security supplemental in the U.S. Senate under pressure from conservatives who wanted to lower costs. With no amendment process permitted, the funds could not be added back in.
U.S. representative Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen represents the U.S. Pacific territory of American Samoa — some 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) southeast of Kiribati.
In a statement to VOA, she called COFA “the clearest signal the U.S. can send renewing American commitments to freedom, democracy and well-being for our three closest allies, and the entire Pacific region.”
U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii agrees, warning in an email to VOA that further delay in passing COFA “opens the door for China to make similar overtures to the COFA nations.”
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-lawmakers-officials-voice-concern-about-chinese-police-on-kiribati/7505092.html Save to Pocket
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-02-27, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
https://github.com/jamestomasino/cookieconsent/
I made an open source cookie banner solution for Google’s new Consent V2 shenanigans. I’ll do a proper write-up soon that includes GTM configuration info. In the meantime if you need a free solution maybe this will help.
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/112005961614686794 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
Ocean
warming is a bad thing. Ocean currents determine the weather all
around the world, accounting for a relatively mild environment in
Europe, for example, even though a city like London is on the same
parallel as
Winnipeg.
Once the current is disrupted, people will find their buildings are not
prepared for the change, or the cost of heating homes, or growing
food.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/27.html#a230641 Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Scientists Are Freaking Out About Ocean Temperatures.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/27/climate/scientists-are-freaking-out-about-ocean-temperatures.html Save to Pocket
SCV Water adopts 2024-28 strategic plan
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
News release The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency board of directors has approved the agency’s 2024-28 Five-Year Strategic Plan. The plan, adopted Feb. 20, is the result of a nine-month development process and includes feedback from SCV Water customers gained through the 2023 Customer Opinion Survey and public meetings. The Strategic Plan was crafted […]
The post SCV Water adopts 2024-28 strategic plan appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/scv-water-adopts-2024-28-strategic-plan/ Save to Pocket
US military pulls the trigger, uses AI to target air strikes
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
People still make the final decision, but recent raids in Iraq and Syria had help
The US Department of Defense has deployed machine learning algorithms to identify targets in over 85 air strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria this year.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/us_military_maven_ai_used/ Save to Pocket
To mark the 20th anniversary of Napoleon Dynamite, stars Jon Heder (Napoleon),…
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044072-to-mark-the-20th-annivers Save to Pocket
The Home Page | Color My World — and My Walls
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Pondering painting and facing phobias
The post The Home Page | Color My World — and My Walls appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/the-home-page-color-my-world-and-my-walls/ Save to Pocket
SBCC’s Financial Aid Festival to Provide Support to All College Students in the Santa Barbara Area
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (February 27, 2024) — Santa Barbara City College invites all college students to the Financial Aid Fest on Wednesday, February
The post SBCC’s Financial Aid Festival to Provide Support to All College Students in the Santa Barbara Area appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/sbccs-financial-aid-festival-to-provide-support-to-all-college-students-in-the-santa-barbara-area/ Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-27, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
This is what it looks like in Mac mode.
Remember that this currently has the two UIs overlaid (SwiftUI + Godot) to help me during development to make sure I am not missing anything.
But I am marching towards keeping just the Canvas and the SwiftUI shell:
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112005770260108733 Save to Pocket
@Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed (date: 2024-02-27, from: Miguel de Icaza Mastondon feed)
Got back from vacation, some progress on Project Settings and Importers.
These screenshots are running the iOS app on Mac mode, it is not running on simulator, so the colors and widgets are slightly off (but it makes it faster for me to iterate)
Left: Original Godot
Right: Godot SwiftUI-ificated
https://mastodon.social/@Migueldeicaza/112005763372384022 Save to Pocket
Today in tech layoffs: Sony Interactive and Expedia
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Game over for 900 staff as PlayStation London office and more shuttered
Sony’s gaming wing has become the latest technology org to announce broad layoffs, including the complete closure of the London office of PlayStation Studios amid other headcount reductions. …
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/sony_expedia_layoffs/ Save to Pocket
Tech has shifted from the Star Trek era (smartphones, voice computing, virtual…
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044070-tech-has-shifted-from-the Save to Pocket
BYD has no plans to launch EVs in the US, says the market is too confusing for buyers
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
According to BYD executive vice president and CEO of BYD Americas, Stella Li, the Chinese automaker has no plans to sell passenger EVs in the US. The leader called the market “interesting” but too complicated due to conflicting politics.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/byd-no-plans-sell-evs-us/ Save to Pocket
Archaeologists Unearth ‘Incredibly Rare’ Roman-Era Clay Figurine of the God Mercury
date: 2024-02-27, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The excavations led to the discovery of a previously unknown ancient Roman settlement in England
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-an-incredibly-rare-roman-era-clay-head-of-the-god-mercury-180983849/ Save to Pocket
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: “Today and today only, I’m offering half…
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044071-supreme-court-justice-cla Save to Pocket
South Fork Wind just became the US’s first complete utility-scale offshore wind farm
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
The final turbine is up at New York’s South Fork Wind, making it the US’s first complete utility-scale offshore wind farm in federal waters.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/south-fork-us-first-complete-utility-scale-wind-farm/ Save to Pocket
Electric Semis Are Hitting the Road in California
date: 2024-02-27, from: Heatmap News
Deep in the Inland Empire, the vast sprawl of suburbia that extends eastward from Los Angeles, the battery-powered semi trucks are about to start their run. They navigate the congested freeways of L.A. County to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, load or unload, and then complete the round trip to trucking company NFI’s warehouse in Ontario, California. When the day’s run is done, the truck adjourns to the brand-new charging depot next door to fill up its battery for tomorrow’s trip.
These trucks are part of a project called the Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative, or JETSI. Funded by a handful of state sustainability agencies, the project aims to prove that electric power really can replace dirty diesel for trucking, at least for regional runs. Soon, about 100 electric trucks divided between two shipping companies will be driving around Southern California, delivering cargo while discovering just how challenging it will be for American trucking to run on battery power.
JETSI took a big leap toward its goal this week as NFI, one of two companies that will operate the electric semis, opened a 50-stall high-power charging depot next to its Ontario warehouse.
Jim O’Leary, vice president of fleet services at NFI, told me his company had already installed a handful of chargers and run a few EV semis as part of early initiatives such as the Daimler Innovation Fleet, a recent test project in which Freightliner EV semi drive hundreds of thousands of test miles. When California wanted a more ambitious test of electric trucking, he said, he thought NFI’s operations were an ideal match.
Electric semis still have a relatively short range and long recharge times, so battery power may not work for long-haul trucking — not for a while anyway. One of NFI’s core businesses, however, is “drayage,” or moving shipping containers on the back of semi trucks between a port and a warehouse. The current slate of EV trucks can make this 110- to 120-mile round trip before needing to recharge. Once they’re done, it takes 90 to 120 minutes to power up again.
“What we realized was going to be the sweet spot for electrification was this short haul, returning to the home base,” O’Leary said. “Electrification would be kind of perfect for that application.”
To streamline the operation, NFI was able to buy the plot of land next to its warehouse for the charging depot, negating the hassle of trucks making a separate trip to plug in. O’Leary said the company plans to install 1 megawatt of solar generating capacity on site. That’s not enough to charge the trucks on sun power, but it is enough to fill up the on-site batteries during the day when the trucks are out working, and then use the saved juice to help charge the vehicles later in the day when the sun has gone down.
While that sounds rosy, the purpose of a pilot project is to discover the pain points. With EV trucking, there are plenty. First: weight. The huge batteries needed to power a semi impart a serious weight penalty. Even though the state gives an extra allowance for zero-emission vehicles, O’Leary said (they may exceed the state’s weight limits by 2,000 lbs), they’re just not a great choice for carrying heavy cargo. That means shippers have to be careful about what they say they can move. “You can’t really haul beverage like you would a diesel,” he said.
Maintenance is a question mark. As Heatmap has noted before, passenger EVs don’t need the same kind of basic upkeep as gasoline cars — no oil changes, no spark plug swaps. But because today’s EVs haven’t gotten old yet, we don’t know for sure how their components will age over a decade or two. The same is true for EV tractor-trailers. “We know that some of the wearables go away — the oil changes and the need to grease,” O’Leary said. But no one can be sure whether electric semis will save money on maintenance in the long term.
Then there’s the question of who’s going to fix them. A trucking company has enough certified mechanics on hand to repair run-down trucks and get them back on the road. Finding enough mechanics with the proper electrical safety certifications and know-how to repair EVs is no easy task.
The big one, of course, is the cost. NFI’s JETSI project cost $45 million all-in, O’Leary said, counting the land purchase, the chargers from Electrify America, the solar power equipment and backup batteries, the trucks, and everything else. California state agencies including California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, and South Coast Air Quality Management District gave money to fund this proof-of-concept, and California cap-and-trade dollars could contribute to electrifying the trucking industry in the future. But JETSI shows just how many hurdles are involved.
“I don’t want to say we were shortsighted, because I think you can’t be shortsighted when you undertake a project like this, and you’re obviously looking to the future in some ways,” he said. “But I don’t think any of us, or our partners, realized the complexities that this project is going to have. Not only the complexities, but the capital investment that it takes to actually make a project like this work. And that’s where I think we are still a ways away from this being the norm.”
https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/jetsi-california-trucking Save to Pocket
This Tiny Fish Can Make Sounds That Rival an Airplane or an Elephant—Now, Scientists Know How
date: 2024-02-27, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Transparent and just half an inch long, male Danionella cerebrum can make noises of more than 140 decibels
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-tiny-fish-can-make-sounds-that-rival-an-airplane-or-an-elephant-now-scientists-know-how-180983859/ Save to Pocket
China Plug-In Car Sales Almost Doubled In January 2024
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
Plug-in hybrids of various types are growing quickly.
https://insideevs.com/news/710334/china-plugin-car-sales-january2024/ Save to Pocket
A Sneak Peak At Ducati’s Desmo450 MX In Action With Tony Cairoli
date: 2024-02-27, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
We’ll take every opportunity to see Ducati’s Desmo450 MX rip, and with Tony Cairoli behind the bars, it certainly does.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/710328/ducati-mx-450-tony-cairoli/ Save to Pocket
SBART Press Luncheon: Teleios Zermeno Honored as Scholar Athlete of the Year for Providence School
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Spring sports are in full swing.
The post SBART Press Luncheon: Teleios Zermeno Honored as Scholar Athlete of the Year for Providence School appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/sbart-press-luncheon-teleios-zermeno-honored-as-scholar-athlete-of-the-year-for-providence-school/ Save to Pocket
2024 Volkswagen ID.4 Starts At $39,735, Pro Models Get More Powerful
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
It will qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit when SK On components are available.
https://insideevs.com/news/710357/2024-volkswagen-id4-prices/ Save to Pocket
Everyone Agrees Wildland Firefighters Deserve a Raise. Why Can’t Congress Make It Happen?
date: 2024-02-27, from: Heatmap News
There is basically no original way left to complain about Congress. Bemoaning our elected officials is the most American of pastimes; pretty much as long as we’ve been a country, we’ve been cringing at the people who run it.
Lately, though, things have felt bleakly unfunny. Gerrymandering and tribalism have cleaved Congress into warring halves, making bipartisanship politically suicidal. The three-week House Speaker vacancy last fall exposed the legislative branch as the most dysfunctional it’s been in its quarter-millennium of existence. Lawmakers accomplished less in 2023 than any other time in the past 50 years, and experts predict 2024 will be even worse.
It’s a bad time to be someone who needs a bill passed, in other words. Like, say, a federal wildland firefighter.
Back in 2022, in the flush times after the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, President Biden allotted $600 million toward increasing the pay of federal firefighters, who made as little as $13 an hour at the time. The BIL boost was not insignificant: it bumped the starting wage to $15 an hour, and current firefighters received an annual pay increase of up to $20,000 that was retroactive to the year before.
The raise had always been intended to be temporary, serving as a “bridge for two years as the administration works with Congress on longer-term reforms,” the Biden administration explained at the time. That ran out last September — just in time for the government to implode spectacularly.
Congress had actually been working on a permanent fix last summer, the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act. A rare bipartisan piece of legislation, it was introduced by Arizona’s Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema and would mean a lasting increase to the base pay for Forest Service and Department of the Interior wildland firefighters, plus add new premium pay for those who respond to high-hazard fire incidents.
The bill cruised through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on a 10-1 vote, with only Republican Rand Paul concern-trolling about the deficit. But it never even made it to committee in a Republican-controlled House obsessed with spending cuts. “There was a window where it could have been brought up for a vote that they pretty much missed,” Riva Duncan, a wildland firefighter of more than 30 years who serves as the executive secretary of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, an industry advocacy group, told me.
Since the temporary pay bump expired in September, Congress has extended firefighters’ salaries three times using continuing resolutions, which means that every few months, there are headlines about how the force is on the brink of losing half their pay. The current supplement — and funding for the government more broadly — is set to expire March 8, and Congress will probably bridge it with a fourth extension as the bill continues to flounder and the larger budget fights continue.
Meanwhile, the 2024 fire season is already starting to heat up. Several states were under red flag warnings on Monday and Tuesday, with smoke from wildfires in the Great Plains and south drifting as far as New York City. And it’s February. Things will only get worse as the spring dries into the summer.
For the 17,000 or so firefighters affected, the uncertainty means their lives hang in a sort of limbo. Retirement accounts are suspended until Congress can work out a solution. Additionally, “a lot of people who have tried to get a loan, whether it’s for a vehicle or to buy a house or to move and pay rent — they can’t count on the supplement,” Duncan said. “So that really affects them, not having a plannable income.”
Needless to say, “morale is pretty low right now,” Duncan went on. It’s not an appealing time to be a federal firefighter, particularly when many state and private firefighting agencies can offer you actual financial stability (not to mention wages that are often higher). According to an assessment by the National Federation of Federal Employees, as much as half of the 11,000-strong Forest Service firefighters corps could start to look for other work if a permanent fix doesn’t happen soon. And if that comes to be, then “communities will burn, and people will die,” NFFE National President Randy Erwin warned in a statement last summer.
That’s because federal firefighters do things that other crews, simply, can’t. “The federal government … provides advanced-skill units not offered by state or private entities, such as hotshot crews, smokejumpers, rappellers, helitack crews, and wildland fire modules” — that is, specialist teams that are critical for fighting fires in this new era of extreme weather — Colorado’s Democratic Congressman Joe Neguse, the co-chair of the Bipartisan Wildfire Caucus, wrote in a letter last fall.
Retirements and defections from skill-based work like firefighting are especially damaging because with every senior departure goes the kind of on-the-job expertise that green new hires can’t replace. But that’s if there are new hires in the first place. Rumors abound that the agencies are struggling to fill their openings even this late in the training cycle, with a known vacancy rate of 20% in the Forest Service force alone.
To help its remaining workers make ends meet, the Forest Service has been paying firefighter wages out of its fire suppression fund, which is usually used on actual fires. In the DOI, the stopgap money comes from its preparedness fund, which is intended for day-to-day expenses. That has been working in the short term. But “if we have a big fire season, which in an El Niño year, usually we do — we know that there’s a lot less snow in the Rockies and the Sierra this year — then that pot of money for suppression, it’s not bottomless. It is a finite pot of money,” Duncan said. Agencies and lawmakers think, “‘Well, they’re making it work, so they don’t really need a permanent pay raise,’” she added. “But this is not a tenable situation.”
Each year, an average of 17 wildland firefighters die in the line of duty. Climate change doubled the number of large fires in the West between 1984 and 2015. And last year saw the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history in a place that wasn’t supposed to burn.
Firefighter pay, by all appearances, should be the rare issue on the Hill that lawmakers more or less agree on. No one wants to see communities burned to the ground, cities filled with smoke, or the people who risk their lives to contain such dramatic natural disasters go underpaid. The bill is about as close to a no-brainer as you can get in these divisive times, and Duncan feels sure that if it went to a vote, it would pass. But Congress remains distracted and obstinate. As long as the permanent bill is stalled and continuing resolutions are used as short-term fixes, federal firefighters will continue to feel undervalued or, worse, forgotten.
https://heatmap.news/politics/wildland-firefighter-salary-congress Save to Pocket
LG Gram Pro premium ultraportable Meteor Lake laptops launch for $1400 and up
date: 2024-02-27, from: Liliputing
The new LG Gram Pro line of laptops are thin and light notebook computers with big, high-res displays featuring high screen refresh rates and optional support for premium features including OLED displays and discrete graphics (on select models). First unveiled in December, the new LG Gram Pro 16, Gram Pro 17, and Gram Pro 16 2-in-1 […]
The post LG Gram Pro premium ultraportable Meteor Lake laptops launch for $1400 and up appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/lg-gram-pro-premium-ultraportable-meteor-lake-laptops-launch-for-1400-and-up/ Save to Pocket
What is GitHub Copilot Enterprise? You and your org just might find out firsthand
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Big biz invited to like and subscribe, without fear of litigation
GitHub on Tuesday made Copilot Enterprise generally available, hoping to sell corporate developers on automated coding assistance.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/github_copilot_enterprise/ Save to Pocket
Lego Letterpress Lobster
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/lego-letterpress-lobster Save to Pocket
US Announces Tech, Academic Opportunities to Empower Afghan Women
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-announces-tech-academic-opportunities-to-empower-afghan-women/7504942.html Save to Pocket
Nominations Now Open for Explore Ecology Awards
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Santa Barbara: Explore Ecology is looking for environmental heroes to honor at this year’s Earth Day Festival. Do you know
The post Nominations Now Open for Explore Ecology Awards appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/nominations-now-open-for-explore-ecology-awards/ Save to Pocket
Armored Glass Repels Tesla Cybertruck Smash-And-Grab Attempt
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
The would-be thief tried to break the Cybertruck’s side windows and sunroof but couldn’t, so he left.
https://insideevs.com/news/710342/tesla-cybertruck-armored-glass-thief/ Save to Pocket
DNA Reveals Presence of Down Syndrome in Ancient Society
date: 2024-02-27, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The burials of infants with Down syndrome in Europe provide insight into how babies with genetic conditions were cared for in premodern times, according to a new study
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dna-reveals-presence-of-down-syndrome-in-ancient-society-180983835/ Save to Pocket
Sandvine put on America’s export no-fly list after Egypt used network tech for spying
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Canadian network box maker floats in denial
The US Commerce Department has blacklisted Sandvine for selling its networking monitoring technology to Egypt, where the Feds say the gear was used to spy on political and human-rights activists.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/sandvine_us_entity_list/ Save to Pocket
Buick unveils new design and branding with a sleek gold Wildcat EV
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Buick is in the middle of “an evolution” as it introduces a new design based on the Wildcat EV concept. The company revealed a new tagline and brand campaign, “Exceptional by design,” showcased by a sleek gold Wildcat EV model.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/buick-unveils-new-design-branding-sleek-gold-wildcat-ev/ Save to Pocket
The Apple Car Is Finally Dead, Shrouded In Mystery Until The End: Report
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
After a decade and a reported $1 billion spent annually, Apple’s infamous “Project Titan” couldn’t survive the tech layoff apocalypse.
https://insideevs.com/news/710352/apple-car-dead-project-titan/ Save to Pocket
These Were the Most—and Least—Popular National Parks in 2023
date: 2024-02-27, from: Smithsonian Magazine
The National Park Service recorded 325,498,646 recreation visits across 400 sites, which is close to pre-pandemic levels
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/most-and-least-popular-national-parks-2023-180983850/ Save to Pocket
Toyota’s New Engine Can Suck Carbon Out Of The Air
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
It’s a nice addition to Toyota’s hydrogen-burning GR Corolla concept, but it can only capture a minuscule amount of carbon.
https://insideevs.com/news/710326/toyota-carbon-capture-engine-evs/ Save to Pocket
Tesla updates its mobile app with AI assistant, highlights non-car products
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla has pushed a new software update to its mobile app with a new AI chat assistant and a new menu to highlight the company’s non-car products.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/tesla-updates-mobile-app-ai-assistant-highlights-non-car-products/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
In the 80s there was a tech press that reviewed software, and explained OSes and hardware, so you really had a good idea what was going on. They just don’t do that anymore. Haven’t for many years. But along comes ChatGPT and I can get a comparitive review of hosting services that compete with Digital Ocean, just by asking for it. I wanted to get an idea of how easy it would be to create an open source app so it could be easily deployed, on any of them and what the pros and cons were. I asked for a comparison between Digital Ocean (where I host my servers now) and Amazon, Microsoft, Google and I threw in Glitch, just to anchor the whole thing simplicity-wise. Even InfoWorld wouldn’t have done such an in-depth review. This is a productivity revolution, at least.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/27.html#a194725 Save to Pocket
Daily Deals (2-27-2-2024)
date: 2024-02-27, from: Liliputing
Steam is running a Midwinter in Middle-Earth sale, with select Lord of the Rings-related PC games on sale for up to 85% off. Or if you’re looking for a complex fantasy epic that takes itself a lot less seriously, you can pick up a Kindle eBook copy of Terry Pratchett’s Mort for $2. It’s the […]
The post Daily Deals (2-27-2-2024) appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/daily-deals-2-27-2-2024/ Save to Pocket
Langley Celebrates Black History Month: Matthew Hayes
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
Matthew Hayes is a DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) project analyst with NASA’s Langley Research Center. His Langley career has spanned 16 years, starting in the model shop working on wind tunnel models and lunar rover projects. From there Hayes moved to the Electronic Systems Branch and contributed to the SAGE III mission for […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/langley-celebrates-black-history-month-matthew-hayes/ Save to Pocket
The “everything” NPM Package
date: 2024-02-27, from: Michael Tsai
Feross Aboukhadijeh (Hacker News): Just when we thought we’d seen it all, an npm user named PatrickJS, aka gdi2290, threw us a curveball. He (along with a group of contributors) kicked off the year with a bang, launching a troll campaign that uploaded an npm package aptly named everything. This package, true to its name, […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/27/the-everything-npm-package/ Save to Pocket
Reddit AI Training Data and IPO
date: 2024-02-27, from: Michael Tsai
Ben Lovejoy: It’s being reported that a deal has been struck to allow an unnamed large AI company to use Reddit user content for training purposes … The deal is said to be worth around $60M per year, and comes at a time when the company is seeking to maximize its value in the run-up […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/27/reddit-ai-training-data-and-ipo/ Save to Pocket
Slow Swift Macro Compilation
date: 2024-02-27, from: Michael Tsai
Vatsal Manot: Folks, if you’re also frustrated with the state of Swift Macros (w.r.t. compile times), please engage on the forums thread here. I can’t think of any other language where such a fundamental feature is dependent on a heavy source package that needs to be recompiled every clean build. John Bushnell: Prior to adding […]
https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/02/27/slow-swift-macro-compilation/ Save to Pocket
Apple cancels Apple Car project after more than a decade
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Bloomberg reports that Apple has officially canceled its effort to build an electric car. The move was announced internally by Apple COO Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch, who had been leading the Apple Car project since 2021.
“Apple’s most senior executives finalized the decision in recent weeks,” the report says. The project had reached a “make-or-break point” inside Apple, with Tim Cook also facing pressure from shareholders to make a decision.
https://9to5mac.com/2024/02/27/apple-cancels-apple-car-project-moves-team-to-generative-ai-projects/ Save to Pocket
US Treasury Secretary Stresses ‘Urgent’ Need to Allocate Russian Assets to Ukraine
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/treasury-secretary-stresses-urgent-need-to-allocate-russian-assets-to-ukraine/7504862.html Save to Pocket
US, Britain Target Iran, Houthi Militants With New Sanctions
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-britain-target-iran-houthi-militants-with-new-sanctions/7504843.html Save to Pocket
Langley Celebrates Black History Month: Brittny McGraw
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
Brittny McGraw serves as News Chief in the Office of Communications at NASA’s Langley Research Center. She joined NASA Langley in September 2023, after a 20-year career as an award-winning broadcast journalist. Her broadcast career included stops in New Bern, N.C., Dayton, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa. and most recently Roanoke, Va. She graduated with a bachelor’s […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/langley-celebrates-black-history-month-brittny-mcgraw/ Save to Pocket
California Sues to Block Kroger, Albertsons Merger
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the Federal Trade Commission, and a bipartisan coalition of states, announced Monday the filing of a lawsuit that challenges the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons
https://scvnews.com/california-sues-to-block-kroger-albertsons-merger/ Save to Pocket
Even Warren Buffett Thinks the Era of Private Utilities Is Over
date: 2024-02-27, from: Heatmap News
Warren Buffet, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and investing folk hero, has long had a rule for picking which companies to invest in.
“The most important thing [is] trying to find a business with a wide and long-lasting moat around it … protecting a terrific economic castle with an honest lord in charge of the castle,” he told a CNBC crowd in 1995. He has embellished the metaphor over the years — in some versions, sharks populate the moat — but the idea is the same. Seek out companies with a natural competitive advantage, even an inherent monopoly, and prosperity will follow.
For decades, investor-owned gas and electricity utilities have struck Buffett as businesses with a good moat. Over the years, Buffett has bought up a handful of utilities, including MidAmerican Energy Company in the Great Plains, NV Energy in Nevada, and PacifiCorp in the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest. Their climate record is mixed: The Berkshire utilities generate more power from renewables than the national average, but still operate several coal plants in Utah and Wyoming. Berkshire Hathaway says its utilities and pipeline companies serve about 12 million end customers in North America and the United Kingdom.
But Buffett’s faith in for-profit utilities as a sound and stable business is failing. In his latest letter to investors — an annual tradition known for its plain writing and folksy anecdotes — Buffett says that the future of for-profit utilities looks more ominous. Climate change and what he sees as higher regulatory standards are making it harder for utilities to make money, he says.
He’s speaking in part from personal experience. Last year, an Oregon jury found PacifiCorp liable for negligence that resulted in the start of four wildfires during Labor Day weekend in 2020. A series of “mini-trials” have since awarded at least $175 million to the fires’ victims, with more trials yet to come. These results didn’t take Berkshire Energy into the red — Berkshire’s utility businesses earned $2.3 billion last year — but it did result in much worse financial performance than 2022.
In his letter, Buffett says that “most” of the company’s utility businesses have done as expected. But he adds:
[T]he regulatory climate in a few states has raised the specter of zero profitability or even bankruptcy (an actual outcome at California’s largest utility and a current threat in Hawaii). In such jurisdictions, it is difficult to project both earnings and asset values in what was once regarded as among the most stable industries in America.
For more than a century, electric utilities raised huge sums to finance their growth through a state-by-state promise of a fixed return on equity (sometimes with a small bonus for superior performance). With this approach, massive investments were made for capacity that would likely be required a few years down the road. That forward-looking regulation reflected the reality that utilities build generating and transmission assets that often take many years to construct. BHE’s extensive multi-state transmission project in the West was initiated in 2006 and remains some years from completion. Eventually, it will serve 10 states comprising 30% of the acreage in the continental United States.
With this model employed by both private and public-power systems, the lights stayed on, even if population growth or industrial demand exceeded expectations. The “margin of safety” approach seemed sensible to regulators, investors and the public. Now, the fixed-but-satisfactory return pact has been broken in a few states, and investors are becoming apprehensive that such ruptures may spread. Climate change adds to their worries. Underground transmission may be required but who, a few decades ago, wanted to pay the staggering costs for such construction?
At Berkshire, we have made a best estimate for the amount of losses that have occurred. These costs arose from forest fires, whose frequency and intensity have increased – and will likely continue to increase – if convective storms become more frequent.
He later continues:
Whatever the case at Berkshire, the final result for the utility industry may be ominous: Certain utilities might no longer attract the savings of American citizens and will be forced to adopt the public-power model. Nebraska made this choice in the 1930s and there are many public-power operations throughout the country. Eventually, voters, taxpayers and users will decide which model they prefer. When the dust settles, America’s power needs and the consequent capital expenditure will be staggering. I did not anticipate or even consider the adverse developments in regulatory returns and, along with Berkshire’s two partners at BHE, I made a costly mistake in not doing so.
As has been noted elsewhere, Buffett is criticizing government regulation in this letter. But even if he has reached his conclusion spitefully, it is not necessarily wrong. In the coming years, America’s utilities will have to overhaul their infrastructure to decarbonize their power plants while also girding themselves against climate change’s effects. Both projects are expensive.
For years, most public officials have more or less assumed that the for-profit model is the best way to ensure such maintenance and upgrading get done in a timely and efficient fashion. But that may no longer be feasible or desirable.
https://heatmap.news/sparks/warren-buffett-public-power Save to Pocket
The seafloor animals who live in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean are generally “squishy”…
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044068-the-seafloor-animals-who- Save to Pocket
Langley Celebrates Black History Month: Brandon Sells
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
Brandon Sells joined NASA’s Langley Research Center in September 2023 as an aerospace engineer with the Aeronautics Systems Analysis Branch (ASAB) of the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate (SACD). Brandon earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering-aerospace concentration from North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C. He continued his education at Purdue University in […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/langley-celebrates-black-history-month-brandon-sells/ Save to Pocket
CSUN’s Lulu Sanchez Earns Big West Freshman of the Week
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Lulu Sanchez was named Big West Freshman Softball Player of the Week on Monday, Feb.
https://scvnews.com/csuns-lulu-sanchez-earns-big-west-freshman-of-the-week/ Save to Pocket
Mash Releases Awesome-Looking New B-Side Sidecar
date: 2024-02-27, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Are three wheels better than two?
https://www.rideapart.com/news/710020/mash-bside-motorcycle-sidecar-europe/ Save to Pocket
NFI deploys 50 electric semi trucks and a 38-port charging depot in SoCal
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
A new 38 port electric truck charging depot and maintenance hub is coming online to service Southern California’s ports and logistics centers, along with 50 new electric trucks from Volvo and Daimler.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/nfi-deploys-50-electric-semi-trucks-and-a-38-port-charging-depot-in-socal/ Save to Pocket
Langley Celebrates Black History Month: Alexus Cottonham
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
Alexus Cottonham is an aerospace engineer supporting NASA Langley’s Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate. She completed a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in systems engineering at Colorado State University. She started with NASA in 2020 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/langley/langley-celebrates-black-history-month-alexus-cottonham/ Save to Pocket
TMU Releases 2024 Spring Magazine
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University released its spring 2024 magazine on Tuesday
https://scvnews.com/tmu-releases-2024-spring-magazine/ Save to Pocket
Launch day discount drops Aventon’s new Ramblas e-mountain bike to $2,624, Anker power station $499, more
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Headlining today’s green deals is the debut of Aventon’s all new Ramblas Electric Mountain Bike for $2,624. It is joined by another newcomer, Anker’s new SOLIX C800 Plus Portable Power Station that is on pre-order at a discounted $499 rate, as well as Eemax’s 27kW Electric Tankless Water Heater at $514. Plus, all of the other best new Green Deals landing this week.
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/2024/02/27/aventon-ramblas-electric-mountain-bike-ankers-new-power-station-more/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Repbubs will be sad for sure if Trump loses, but we'll all be sad if he wins, except for the grifters and the Nazis, they'll be happy.
https://politicalwire.com/2024/02/27/extra-bonus-quote-of-the-day-852/ Save to Pocket
NASA, Intuitive Machines to Discuss Moon Mission, Science Successes
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
NASA and Intuitive Machines will co-host a televised news conference at 2 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 28, from the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to highlight the company’s first mission, known as IM-1. The lander, called Odysseus, carried six NASA science instruments to the South Pole region of the Moon as part of the […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-intuitive-machines-to-discuss-moon-mission-science-successes/ Save to Pocket
NIST updates Cybersecurity Framework after a decade of lessons
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
The original was definitely getting a bit long in the tooth for modern challenges
After ten years operating under the original model, and two years working to revise it, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released version 2.0 of its Cybersecurity Framework (CSF).…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/nist_cybersecurity_framework_2/ Save to Pocket
February 26, 2024
date: 2024-02-27, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-26-2024-447 Save to Pocket
Salamander Software’s Franklin’s Tomb
date: 2024-02-27, from: Computer ads from the Past
My name is Diamond, Dan Diamond. I’m a private cop.
https://computeradsfromthepast.substack.com/p/salamander-softwares-franklins-tomb Save to Pocket
Hyundai Confirms Its Georgia ‘Metaplant’ EV Factory Is Opening Early
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
As other automakers fret over demand, Hyundai Motor Group is ahead of schedule on its EV factory.
https://insideevs.com/news/710346/hyundai-metaplant-schedule-2024/ Save to Pocket
Toyota finally launches its first EV in Australia to fend off Tesla’s top-selling Model Y
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
After an 18-month delay, Toyota finally launched its first electric car, the bZ4X, in Australia. Toyota looks to defend its title as the best-selling car brand in the country as EV leaders like Tesla are gaining market share.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/toyota-launches-first-ev-australia-fend-off-tesla/ Save to Pocket
A Splash of Pink
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
A pair of roseate spoonbills add a pop of color to this image taken Sept. 13, 2005, in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, northwest of Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Spoonbills like this female (left) and male duo inhabit areas of mangrove such as on the coasts of southern Florida and Texas. These birds […]
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/a-splash-of-pink/ Save to Pocket
Tumblr and WordPress to Sell Users’ Data to Train AI Tools
date: 2024-02-27, from: 404 Media Group
Internal documents obtained by 404 Media show that Tumblr staff compiled users’ data as part of a deal with Midjourney and OpenAI.
https://www.404media.co/tumblr-and-wordpress-to-sell-users-data-to-train-ai-tools/ Save to Pocket
It’s Not AI: Here’s Video Proof That 48 Cylinder Kawasaki Is Real
date: 2024-02-27, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
The noted UK-based two-stroke lovers at 999 Lazer got up close and personal with this absolutely mental build.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/710345/closeup-video-48-cylinder-kawasaki/ Save to Pocket
All of U.S. History Has Taken Place in One Plutonian Year
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/all-of-us-history-has-taken-place-in-one-plutonian-year Save to Pocket
Central Park Dog Parks to Close Temporarily
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The city of Santa Clarita announced both dog parks at Central Park will be closed temporarily for renovations beginning Wednesday Feb.
https://scvnews.com/central-park-dog-parks-to-close-temporarily/ Save to Pocket
2024 U.S. Electric Cars Compared By Price Per Mile Of EPA Range
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
The entry-level Chevrolet Equinox EV may be the new range-value king.
https://insideevs.com/news/709962/us-ev-price-per-mile-epa-range/ Save to Pocket
Odysseus probe moonwalking on the edge of battery life after landing on its side
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Controllers estimate 10-20 hours remain for Intuitive Machines lander
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander is facing another countdown. This time the question is how much longer it can continue to operate until it exhausts what remains of the battery life.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/odysseus_battery_life/ Save to Pocket
One-Year-Old Kia Niro EVs Are Depreciating Fast And Hard
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
The current generation Kia Niro EV is becoming so cheap that it would qualify for a used car tax credit if it wasn’t so new.
https://insideevs.com/news/710327/kia-niro-ev-used-depreciation/ Save to Pocket
On POSSE
date: 2024-02-27, from: Manu - I write blog
Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere. It’s one of the principles of the IndieWeb. It’s the idea that your content should live on your site, on a domain name you own and you should then distribute that content in as many places as possible. Overall it’s a nice idea but one I never felt compelled to make mine.
My content lives here, on my site. Everything in here is under my control and it’s then distributed through three distribution channels.
The first—and most obvious—is the web itself. My content is distributed to you via the Internet. You can ask your browser to get this page you’re reading right now and get access to my content.
The second is RSS. You can tell your RSS reader to fetch the content available on my website and you can then consume my content inside your app of choice.
The final one is email. I send my posts via email because some people prefer to stay up to date that way and who am I to prevent that from happening?
But these three methods only take care of distribution and distribution of content is only part of the equation. You then have interaction. The point of putting content out there is to connect, to interact with others, to exchange ideas, and to grow. And interactions, in my world, happen via email. 95% of the interactions I have happen via email with the occasional message on iMessage. Both of those communication methods are always monitored because they live on my Mac and my phone.
Now, what if I were to follow the POSSE mantra? I’d probably sign up for a bunch of different services and scatter my content everywhere there are people. But those people might then comment and try to get in touch with me on those platforms. Platforms I’d then have to monitor. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time for that. And if I don’t check them, those are lost connections, missed opportunities to interact with other human beings.
That to me is a terrible outcome and it’s why don’t want to distribute my content outside of those three channels. But maybe I’m wrong so if you have a different opinion please reach out.
https://manuelmoreale.com/@/page/Yh6p2OSEmg1KmLPH Save to Pocket
NASA Grants to Engage Students in Quiet Supersonic Community Overflight
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
NASA has issued new grants to five universities to help develop education plans for the community overflight phase of the agency’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic flight without the typical loud sonic booms. The new grants, from NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, will provide each university team with $40,000 to […]
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-grants-to-engage-students-in-quiet-supersonic-community-overflight/ Save to Pocket
Right to Refusal
date: 2024-02-27, from: Care
<p>A comic on adversarial methods against AI extraction for artists.</p>https://logicmag.io/policy/right-to-refusal Save to Pocket
Intel urges businesses to undergo AI PC facelift with vPro update
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
You know you want to throw out that Windows 10 fleet
Intel would really like businesses to buy some new PCs, and is unveiling its latest vPro platform with an exhortation for them to refresh their fleet now in order to be “AI ready.”…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/intel_vpro_update/ Save to Pocket
Denis Villeneuve: “Frankly, I hate dialogue. Dialogue is for theatre and television….
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044063-denis-villeneuve-frankly- Save to Pocket
Find Yourself in Copyright: A Fair Use Week Webinar with the US Copyright Office
date: 2024-02-27, from: Association of Research Libraries News
Last Updated on February 27, 2024, 4:41 pm ET To kick off the 11th annual Fair Use Week, ARL was delighted to host a webinar featuring George Thuronyi, deputy director…
The post Find Yourself in Copyright: A Fair Use Week Webinar with the US Copyright Office appeared first on Association of Research Libraries.
https://www.arl.org/blog/find-yourself-in-copyright-a-fair-use-week-webinar-with-the-us-copyright-office/ Save to Pocket
Zeekr launches 001 refresh with improved specs and lower prices in hopes of doubling 2024 sales
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
One week after announcing a 2024 refresh of its flagship 001 shooting brake was coming, Zeekr has officially launched the EV with better performance and pricing. Through these upgrades, the Chinese automaker looks to stay competitive in a competitive segment and double sales and deliveries compared to 2023.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/zeekr-launches-001-refresh-improved-specs-lower-prices/ Save to Pocket
US Election Officials Prioritize Security Ahead of November Vote
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
U.S. election authorities say they are confident they will be able to fend off security threats to the November presidential vote. In Alexandria, Virginia, VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias sat in on a training for election officers, one of several measures to ensure a fair and transparent vote.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-election-officials-prioritize-security-ahead-of-november-vote/7504573.html Save to Pocket
Renewables expand to 23% of US electrical generation in 2023, with solar in the lead
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Renewables provided over 22.7% of US electrical generation in 2023, according to newly released end-of-year US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/us-renewables-2023-solar-in-the-lead/ Save to Pocket
Intel launches Meteor Lake chips with vPro, including new 9W Intel Core Ultra processors
date: 2024-02-27, from: Liliputing
Intel is expanding its Core Ultra processor family with a new line of chips featuring Intel vPro technology for business and enterprise customers. Like the consumer chips that Intel launched in December, the new processors all feature Intel’s new AI Boost integrated neural processing unit (NPU) for hardware-accelerated AI features, a tri-cluster CPU with Performance, […]
The post Intel launches Meteor Lake chips with vPro, including new 9W Intel Core Ultra processors appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/intel-launches-meteor-lake-chips-with-vpro-including-new-9w-intel-core-ultra-processors/ Save to Pocket
When Will You Be In The Office (1959)?
date: 2024-02-27, from: National Archives, Text Message blog
Today’s Federal work environment features the flextime and flexplace policies that have evolved over the past several decades. As a result, few current U.S. Government employees remember when agencies had fixed work hours. Before the flex policies went into effect, start and end times for offices in Washington, DC, were staggered to spread out the … Continue reading When Will You Be In The Office (1959)?
https://text-message.blogs.archives.gov/2024/02/27/when-will-you-be-in-the-office-1959/ Save to Pocket
tashtalk: An interface for Apple’s LocalTalk networking protocol
date: 2024-02-27, from: Tilde.news
https://github.com/lampmerchant/tashtalk Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
There’s a new faster version of news.scripting.com coming. I was originally thinking I’d do the switch today, but decided to hold it for a bit. I want to do more testing and development.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/27.html#a165527 Save to Pocket
Biden’s ‘Late Night’ Interview With Seth Meyers Revealed His Limits
date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog
Variety: "Biden has long lacked the ability to bend the medium of TV to his ends." That's true of Democrats as a group. In contrast, the Repubs do this very well. It's the only thing they do well.
https://variety.com/2024/tv/columns/biden-seth-meyers-late-night-israel-1235923991/ Save to Pocket
Former Student Launch Competitor Turns Experience into NASA Engineering Career
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
By Jessica Barnett Sometimes, all it takes is a few years and the right people to completely change a person’s career trajectory. One such example is Meredith Patterson, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, who went from knowing little to nothing about rockets to being part of the team […]
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/former-student-launch-competitor-turns-experience-into-nasa-engineering-career/ Save to Pocket
Tesla Model Y 2024 scores near-perfect in IIHS’ crash tests
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
The Tesla Model Y 2024 has been awarded IIHS’s “top safety pick +” award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) despite more stringent eligibility.
The electric SUV scored near perfect in the crash tests.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/tesla-model-y-2024-scores-near-perfect-iihs-crash-tests/ Save to Pocket
BYD storms into Europe as first car transport ship docks in Germany carrying 3K vehicles
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Global EV leader BYD is taking Europe by storm. BYD’s first cargo ship landed in Germany Tuesday, with about 3,000 vehicles set to roll out
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/byd-storms-europe-first-cargo-ship-docks-germany/ Save to Pocket
Housing in the 1st
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Supervisor Das Williams’s opponent has repeatedly opposed new housing in District 1.
The post Housing in the 1st appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/housing-in-the-1st/ Save to Pocket
Mustangs Drop Five-Set Match to Lions
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
It was a rematch of the five-set thriller from the NAIA semifinals last spring.
https://scvnews.com/mustangs-drop-five-set-match-to-lions/ Save to Pocket
Nubia Music is a smartphone with TWO headphone jacks
date: 2024-02-27, from: Liliputing
Smartphones with headphone jacks appear to be an endangered species these days. But ZTE subsidiary is pushing back with a new smartphone that not only has a headphone jack… it has two of them. The Nubia Music is a smartphone designed to put music front and center. It has two 3.5mm audio jacks on top of the device, […]
The post Nubia Music is a smartphone with TWO headphone jacks appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/nubia-music-is-a-smartphone-with-two-headphone-jacks/ Save to Pocket
Willie Nelson leads unbelievably great concert lineup out on tour
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour, with Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, touches down at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/willie-nelson-leads-unbelievably-great-concert-lineup-out-on-tour/ Save to Pocket
Campbell: Family of man slain in roadside clash decries plea agreement
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
Relatives of Greg Cirimele lament a voluntary manslaughter deal in the deadly 2021 shooting.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/campbell-family-of-man-slain-in-roadside-clash-decries-plea-agreement/ Save to Pocket
SoCal Edison Agrees to Pay $80 million Over Thomas Fire
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
Southern California Edison has agreed to pay $80 million to settle a civil lawsuit by the U.S. Forest Service that blamed the utility’s equipment for the massive Thomas Fire that tore through Southern California in late
https://scvnews.com/socal-edison-agrees-to-pay-80-million-over-thomas-fire/ Save to Pocket
This Cézanne Mural Was Hidden in the Walls of the Artist’s Family Home
date: 2024-02-27, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Workers found fragments of a naval scene while renovating the mansion in the south of France
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-cezanne-mural-was-hidden-in-the-walls-of-the-artists-southern-france-home-180983831/ Save to Pocket
FAA gives SpaceX a bunch of homework to do before Starship flies again
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
You’ve heard of Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly. How about an energetic engine failure?
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has closed its investigation into the case of another exploding SpaceX rocket with a list of corrective actions to be implemented before Starship can fly again.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/faa_closes_spacex_mishap_investigation/ Save to Pocket
All the Ways Mt. Everest Can Kill You
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/all-the-ways-mt-everest-can-kill-you Save to Pocket
Watch this 1400 hp Ford electric van shatter Bathurst track records
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
While Ford’s E-Transit work vans are busy racking up sales and electrifying the world’s commercial van fleets, Ford’s 1400 hp electric SuperVan is racking up records and electrifying race tracks around the world!
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/watch-this-1400-hp-ford-electric-van-shatter-bathurst-track-records/ Save to Pocket
The CUTE Mission: Innovative Design EnablesObservations of Extreme Exoplanets from a SmallPackage
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
Of the approximately 5,500 exoplanets discovered to date, many have been found to orbit very close to their parent stars. These close-in planets provide a unique opportunity to observe in detail the phenomena critical to the development and evolution of our own solar system, including atmospheric mass loss and interactions with the host star. NASA’s […]
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/science-enabling-technology/the-cute-mission-innovative-design-enablesobservations-of-extreme-exoplanets-from-a-smallpackage/ Save to Pocket
Moses Moody remains odd man out as Warriors tip off East Coast trip
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
The Warriors appear too deep for Moses Moody to get real opportunities.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/moses-moody-remains-odd-man-out-as-warriors-tip-off-east-coast-trip/ Save to Pocket
Opinion: FAFSA mess could cost me my chance at college
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
Federal changes on financial aid form leave children in immigrant families in limbo as college deadlines loom.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/opinion-fafsa-mess-could-cost-me-my-chance-at-college/ Save to Pocket
Survey Results and Roadmap
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Deno blog
You answered our survey and we listened. Here’s what we’re working on currently and what you can expect from Deno next.
https://deno.com/blog/2024-survey-results-and-roadmap Save to Pocket
EVP’s New Can-Am Maverick R ECU Tunes And Exhaust Spit Flames
date: 2024-02-27, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Who doesn’t love pops and bangs?
https://www.rideapart.com/news/710195/evp-ecu-exhaust-2024-maverick-r/ Save to Pocket
MINIX Z100-AERO is an Alder Lake-N mini PC with dual Ethernet ports for $219 and up
date: 2024-02-27, from: Liliputing
The MINIX Z100-AERO is a small desktop computer that measures about 5″ x 5″ x 1.7″ and features a 6-watt Intel N100 quad-core processor, support for up to 32GB of DDR4 memory and up to 4TB of PCIe 3.0 NVMe storage, and has two RJ45 Ethernet jacks: one with support for Gigabit speeds and another with […]
The post MINIX Z100-AERO is an Alder Lake-N mini PC with dual Ethernet ports for $219 and up appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/minix-z100-aero-is-an-alder-lake-n-mini-pc-with-dual-ethernet-ports-for-219-and-up/ Save to Pocket
‘Entropy Bagels’ and Other Complex Structures Emerge From Simple Rules
date: 2024-02-27, from: Quanta Magazine
Simple rules in simple settings continue to puzzle mathematicians, even as they devise intricate tools to analyze them.The post ‘Entropy Bagels’ and Other Complex Structures Emerge From Simple Rules first appeared on Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/entropy-bagels-and-other-complex-structures-emerge-from-simple-rules-20240227/ Save to Pocket
US women’s cycling team suspended for dressing mechanic as rider to avoid disqualification from race
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
US women’s cycling team Cynisca has been suspended by the International Cycling Union (UCI), the sport’s global governing body, for perpetrating a “fraud” and dressing a mechanic as a rider in order to avoid disqualification from a race.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/us-womens-cycling-team-suspended-for-dressing-mechanic-as-rider-to-avoid-disqualification-from-race/ Save to Pocket
What Trump Got Wrong About EVs During His Michigan Speech
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
Plus, BYD has “no plans” to expand to the U.S. and a European auto trade group vows not to fight 2035 ban of new gas cars.
https://insideevs.com/news/710293/trump-evs-michigan-critical-materials/ Save to Pocket
Tesla talks Cybertruck coming to Canada, Rivian accelerates deliveries
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Tesla is talking about soon bringing the Cybertruck to Canada while Rivian quickly accelerates deliveries in the market.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/tesla-talks-cybertruck-coming-canada-rivian-accelerates-deliveries/ Save to Pocket
Teaching teens personal finance has long-term payoffs
date: 2024-02-27, from: Marketplace Morning Report
A growing number of high schools are requiring students to take personal finance courses, and the long-term payoffs are significant. Plus, Macy’s is closing 30% of its stores, Expedia announces layoffs as the post-lockdown travel surge slows, and a $1 billion gift means free tuition at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/teaching-teens-personal-finance-has-long-term-payoffs Save to Pocket
Stagecoach 2024: Set times, new layout and limited passes announced
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
Producers will put a limited number of passes to the sold out Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio on Friday, March 1.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/stagecoach-2024-set-times-new-layout-and-limited-passes-announced/ Save to Pocket
Gene-Edited Pork Could Be Coming Soon to Your Dinner Plate
date: 2024-02-27, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Scientists are using CRISPR technology to make pigs immune to a deadly virus—and they’re hoping for FDA approval by early next year
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/gene-edited-pork-could-be-coming-soon-to-your-dinner-plate-180983846/ Save to Pocket
The Polestar 3 Can’t Come Soon Enough
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
Production of the Polestar 3 begins in China. This year, it will enter production in the U.S. The brand could use the boost.
https://insideevs.com/news/710289/polestar3-enters-production-china/ Save to Pocket
Boffins caution against allowing robots to run on AI models
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Before building the Torment Nexus, consider the risks
Computer scientists at the University of Maryland (UMD) have asked robot makers to do further safety research before wiring language and vision models to their hardware.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/boffins_caution_against_running_robots/ Save to Pocket
Smartphone builder Xiaomi’s first EV coming in Q2 and looks to capitalize on 20M current users
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Less than three years after establishing its own automotive arm to develop and build EVs, Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi sits on the cusp of bringing its flagship model, the SU7, to market. Furthermore, the electronics specialist has high hopes for the vehicle, expecting a large chunk of its 20 million current phone users to consider buying one.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/smartphone-builder-xiaomi-first-ev-coming-q2-looks-to-capitalize-20m-users/ Save to Pocket
Wall Street Trailblazer to Deliver CSUN Distinguished Speaker Lecture
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
R. Martin “Marty” Chavez, a trailblazing entrepreneur who turned a Wall Street trading business into a software business and in the process revolutionized the way capital moves and works, will provide insights into the world of finance on Tuesday, March 12, as part of the Younes Nazarian Distinguished Speaker Series at California State University, Northridge
https://scvnews.com/wall-street-trailblazer-to-deliver-csun-distinguished-speaker-lecture/ Save to Pocket
Juveniles seen throwing chairs at Main Street Burgers in Los Gatos
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
They refused to leave the restaurant.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/juveniles-seen-throwing-chairs-at-main-street-burgers-in-los-gatos/ Save to Pocket
Adding Full Post Content to my RSS Feed
date: 2024-02-27, from: Nora Tindall’s blog
A reader reached out to me the other day to let me know that my RSS feed for this blog didn’t include post content, just descriptions, and that this hindered their ability to read my posts offline. This obviously isn’t ideal, so I set about adding the full post content. Customizing the RSS Feed Hugo comes with a builtin RSS feed template, but it’s easy enough to override. Simply copy the contents of this file to the themes/[theme name]/layouts/_default directory, and then edit to your heart’s content.
https://nora.codes/post/adding-full-post-content-to-my-rss-feed/ Save to Pocket
Microlino Lite arrives as the world’s cutest, Mr. Bean-style microcar
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
What’s the perfect antidote to truck and SUV bloat? Why, the Microlino Lite, of course. Swiss company Micro has just unveiled a production version of its Microlino Lite – an even smaller version of its Microlino microcar – this week at the Geneva Motor Show. It won’t go faster than 28 mph (45 km/h), but it’s the next best thing to ditching cars altogether and getting an e-bike. And it could be coming to the US.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/microlino-lite-arrives-as-the-worlds-cutest-mr-bean-style-microcar/ Save to Pocket
Pay for Broadcom’s CEO soars 167% after stock award
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
Annual compensation for Broadcom Inc. Chief Executive Officer Hock Tan more than doubled last year to $161.8 million, thanks to a stock award of $160.5 million that will vest over the next five years.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/broadcom-ceos-pay-soars-to-161-8-million-after-stock-award/ Save to Pocket
With online ordering now, people have a lot of options when it…
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044062-with-online-ordering-now- Save to Pocket
US Plans Clean Energy Projects for Native American Tribes, Rural Areas
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-plans-clean-energy-projects-for-native-american-tribes-rural-areas/7504420.html Save to Pocket
2024-02-07 Apple killed music on the move, for me
date: 2024-02-27, from: Alex Schroeder’s Blog
2024-02-07 Apple killed music on the move, for me
I was thinking about joining the Tangara crowdfunding. It’s a kind of iPod, but better in that it is all open. Yay!
But then I realized something: Having an iPhone made listening to music such a shit show that I basically stopped and switched my entire phone-based audio entertainment to podcasts. Because podcast clients are great (at least iCatcher is) where as Apple Music is a pain. Having used iTunes when it was cool until it was unusable, and then realizing what a pain the weird AAC formats on the files were, and the DRM on some of them, preventing me from playing them on other machines I owned. I was so angry.
In a fit of hate I decided I was going to move all my pictures out of iPhotos and all my music out of iTunes and never go back. And I did. And so the Apple Music app died, and I guess no alternatives were allowed on the App Store because Apple is great like that, and so when the iPod classic I had with Rockbox installed finally died, all I was left with was podcasts on the iPhone.
And so now I don’t even know whether I want to listen to music any more while I’m on the move.
Apple killed music on the move, for me.
At home it’s a different story, of course, but Tangara is a portable music player.
I wish Tangara the best of luck.
2024-02-27. I joined the Kickstarter. Not because I have a terribly good feeling about it but because I remember wanting a portable audio player and I recently found, once again, that I really hate the Apple Music app.
https://alexschroeder.ch/view/2024-02-07-tangara Save to Pocket
February 2024
date: 2024-02-27, from: Association of Research Libraries News
Last Updated on February 27, 2024, 10:03 am ET Public Policy Briefing (February 2024) This issue includes: Accessibility ARL/CARL Task Force Releases Final Report on Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Appropriations CARL…
The post February 2024 appeared first on Association of Research Libraries.
https://www.arl.org/our-priorities/advocacy-public-policy/public-policy-briefing/february-2024/ Save to Pocket
Hyundai fast-tracks start of EV production in the US as it gains recognition with its own day
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
February 26, 2024, will forever be known as Hyundai Day in the state of Georgia as the automaker gears up to begin production at its first dedicated EV and battery plant in the US later this year.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/hyundai-fast-tracks-ev-production-us-gains-day/ Save to Pocket
Tesla Arson Suspect Caught On Camera: Two Model Ys Burnt
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
Police are asking for your help to identify the suspect.
https://insideevs.com/news/710295/tesla-arson-san-francisco-caught-camera/ Save to Pocket
Western Monarch Butterflies Decline By 30%: How You Can Help Protect Them
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The LAist
Climate change and pesticide use play a big part in their dwindling numbers, but habitat loss is the biggest factor in their decline.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/western-monarch-butterfly-decline Save to Pocket
Western Monarch Butterflies Decline By 30%: How You Can Help Protect Them
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The LAist
Climate change and pesticide use play a big part in their dwindling numbers, but habitat loss is the biggest factor in their decline.
https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/western-monarch-butterflies-decline-by-30-how-you-can-help-protect-them Save to Pocket
Groundbreaking Results from Space Station Science in 2023
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
Lee esta historia en español aquí. The International Space Station is a microgravity research lab hosting groundbreaking technology demonstrations and scientific investigations. More than 3,700 investigations conducted to date have generated roughly 500 research articles published in scientific journals. In 2023, the orbiting lab hosted more than 500 investigations. See more space station research achievements […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/groundbreaking-results-from-space-station-science-in-2023/ Save to Pocket
New County Loan to Aid Moderate-Income, First Time Home Buyers
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Los Angeles County Development Authority is excited to announce its new Home Ownership Program,
https://scvnews.com/new-county-loan-to-help-moderate-income-first-time-home-buyers/ Save to Pocket
Federal judge reverses himself, rules that California’s ban on billy clubs is unconstitutional
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled last week that the prohibition “unconstitutionally infringes the Second Amendment rights of American citizens” and enjoined the state from enforcing the law.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/federal-judge-reverses-himself-rules-that-californias-ban-on-billy-clubs-is-unconstitutional/ Save to Pocket
Pac-12 WBB roundup: Stanford clinches tie for the title despite home loss as UCLA sweeps
date: 2024-02-27, from: San Jose Mercury News
Arizona stunned the Cardinal in Maples Pavilion as only one of the Pac-12’s ranked teams went unscathed.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/27/pac-12-wbb-roundup-stanford-clinches-tie-for-the-title-despite-home-loss-as-ucla-sweeps/ Save to Pocket
Apple Vision Pro rentals take China by storm ahead of official release
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Factoring in the deposit, you’d be better off running away with it
Apple is a big deal in China. Despite competition from four homegrown smartphone vendors, the iPhone comes top with a 17.3 percent market share, with Honor closely behind at 17.1 percent, according to IDC.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/china_apple_vision_pro_rentals/ Save to Pocket
What We Have to Lose
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
The MAGA movement wants to take away the roots of our social equality progress since Martin Luther King Jr. stood up for equal voting rights and social equality rights for everyone in the 1960s.
The post What We Have to Lose appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/27/what-we-have-to-lose/ Save to Pocket
Ghost Kitchens Are Advertising AI-Generated Food on DoorDash and Grubhub
date: 2024-02-27, from: 404 Media Group
Reality bending, AI-generated cheesesteaks and pasta dishes are flooding food delivery services.
https://www.404media.co/ghost-kitchens-are-advertising-ai-generated-food-on-doordash-and-grubhub/ Save to Pocket
Microsoft’s February Windows 11 security update unravels at 96% for some users
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Was your Patch Tuesday followed by a Rollback Wednesday? You’re not alone
Microsoft says that February 13’s security update for Windows 11 might “face installation issues.”…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/windows_11_installation_problems/ Save to Pocket
The 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV Is A Hydrogen Plug-In Hybrid, For Real
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
Meet a very different CR-V, and the first production plug-in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle ever made. But can owners find fuel?
https://insideevs.com/news/710194/honda-crv-hydrogen-plug-in/ Save to Pocket
Podcast: Byron Tau on the New U.S. Surveillance State
date: 2024-02-27, from: 404 Media Group
We’re trying out a new interview episode for the podcast! Our first guest is investigative journalist and author Byron Tau on the adtech surveillance industry.
https://www.404media.co/interview/ Save to Pocket
Resultados científicos revolucionarios en la estación espacial de 2023
date: 2024-02-27, from: NASA breaking news
Read the article in English here. La Estación Espacial Internacional (EEI) es un laboratorio de investigación en microgravedad que alberga innovadoras demostraciones de tecnología e investigaciones científicas. Las más de 3.700 investigaciones llevadas a cabo hasta la fecha han producido alrededor de 500 artículos publicados en revistas científicas. En 2023, este laboratorio orbital albergó más de 500 investigaciones. […]
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/resultados-cientificos-revolucionarios-en-la-estacion-espacial-de-2023/ Save to Pocket
Check Out The Honda Monkey King Special Custom Edition From Cub House
date: 2024-02-27, from: Ride Apart, Electric Motorcycle News
Black and gold garb gives this mini-moto a royal flair.
https://www.rideapart.com/news/710018/honda-monkey-king-special-custom-edition/ Save to Pocket
FreeWire Boost Power Pro EV chargers offer bidirectional capabilities and work during blackouts
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Innovative EV charging developer FreeWire Technologies is improving its flagship lineup of Boost chargers to offer an even more flexible and capable lineup that now includes bidirectional capabilities, power sharing, and site backup should the local grid encounter any power outages.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/freewire-boost-power-pro-ev-chargers-bidirectional-capabilities-blackouts/ Save to Pocket
FreeWire’s New Pro Series DC Fast Chargers Can Also Power Your Business
date: 2024-02-27, from: Inside EVs News
The stalls have integrated batteries and can become backup power sources in case of blackouts.
https://insideevs.com/news/709855/freewire-pro-series-dc-fast-charger-backup/ Save to Pocket
Aventon Ramblas e-bike unveiled as brand’s first mid-drive performance electric bike
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Aventon, the Brea, California-based electric bike brand known for pushing the budget electric bike market into higher quality territory, has just announced its highest-performance model yet. The new Aventon Ramblas is the brand’s first dedicated electric mountain bike and features an Aventon-developed mid-drive motor with impressive torque and power.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/aventon-ramblas-e-bike-unveiled-as-brands-first-mid-drive-performance-electric-bike/ Save to Pocket
Be Better, FedEx
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: One Foot Tsunami
https://onefoottsunami.com/2024/02/27/be-better-fedex/ Save to Pocket
Polestar 3 production kicks off in China, US builds will soon follow
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
The Polestar 3 has officially begun production in Chengdu, China, before its first deliveries. The third bespoke model, which is also Polestar’s first electric SUV, has a lot riding on its success in multiple markets. It will also be built in the US, and Polestar provided an update on that progress.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/polestar-3-production-kicks-off-in-china-us-builds-will-soon-follow/ Save to Pocket
I dropped the ball on not featuring this gorgeous letterpress version of…
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: Jason Kittke’s blog
https://kottke.org/24/02/0044061-i-dropped-the-ball-on Save to Pocket
Brace for Weather Whiplash
date: 2024-02-27, from: Heatmap News
Current conditions: The Northern Sierra mountain range could see up to 12 feet of snow • Raging bushfires are forcing 30,000 people in Australia’s Victoria state to evacuate • It will be unusually warm across much of Michigan today as voters participate in the state’s presidential primaries.
THE TOP FIVE
- End of February brings weather whiplash
This week has already been a wild one for U.S. weather, as what is expected to be the warmest February on record comes to a close. Many states in the Midwest and South experienced a heatwave yesterday that brought record high winter temperatures. It was 65 degrees Fahrenheit in Minneapolis, for example, where the normal high is 33. Parts of Texas saw temperatures soar into the 90s. In Chicago, where February temperatures usually sit in the low 30s at best, it was a balmy 60 degrees yesterday. The warm weather brought with it wind gusts and fire risks, and red flag warnings were in place from Texas to Missouri.
But prepare for some weather whiplash: A cold front is advancing east, and will plunge some of those warmer states into frigid temperatures. Grand Forks, North Dakota, for example, won’t see temperatures rise above 9 degrees today; yesterday it was 55. In Chicago, it’ll be cold with a threat of tornadoes. Forecasters reminded Reuters climate change is making extreme and unpredictable weather more frequent.
X/RyanMaue
- Famous sled dog race canceled due to lack of snow
Authorities have canceled Maine’s Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Race, the longest such race in the eastern United States, due to lack of snow. Since 1992, the 250-mile trek has taken place in snowy northern Maine, but this year the region has seen just over half the typical amount of snowfall. “The unique challenges presented by the lack of snow have led us to conclude that moving forward with this year’s race could compromise the well-being of all involved,” wrote Can-Am President Dennis Cyr. “It is a decision made with heavy hearts but necessary caution.” National Weather Service meteorologist Joe Wegman said the lack of snow across parts of the country is creating a feedback loop: “Most of the eastern two-thirds of the country has had a relatively snow-less winter, so the ground is bare and dry. So we’re getting much warmer temperatures just due to solar radiation.”
- Report: First Solar helped create 16,000 U.S. jobs in 2023
First Solar, the largest solar panel manufacturer in America, has been a boon for the nation’s economy, according to analysis from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center and commissioned by the company. The report found that First Solar had 2,700 people on payroll in 2023, but because “each First Solar job ends up supporting six more jobs throughout the U.S. economy,” the company had a trickle-down effect of supporting some 16,000 jobs, Electrek’s Michelle Lewis explained. The company added $2.75 billion in value and $5.32 billion in output to the U.S. economy last year. By 2026, those numbers are expected to climb to $4.99 billion and $10.18 billion, respectively, as the company expands its solar capacity. First Solar is “a fully vertically integrated manufacturer of thin-film PV solar panels,” Lewis said. “This means they can turn a sheet of glass into a functional solar panel in about four hours, relying heavily on U.S.-sourced materials like glass and steel.”
- Oil and gas profits triple during Biden presidency
Major U.S. oil and gas producers have seen profits nearly triple during President Biden’s presidency as production has soared, reported the Financial Times. The 10 most valuable operators – including ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and others – amassed a combined net income of $313 billion between 2020 and 2023, up from $112 billion during the same period of Donald Trump’s presidency. “The outperformance under Biden underlines the limited role of the White House in dictating the sector’s fortunes.” But it still won’t look great on his resume as he seeks to bolster support from climate-conscious progressives heading into the 2024 election. Biden ran “the most ambitious climate platform of any U.S. president in history,” and has indeed taken aim at the oil and gas industry during his tenure, the FT wrote. But he has also pushed to keep production high in the face of inflation and energy shocks.
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- Carbon removal startup Equatic to build demonstration plant in
Singapore
Carbon removal startup Equatic confirmed today that it is building a $20 million plant in Singapore to demonstrate the company’s technology, Bloomberg reported. Equatic uses electrolysis to permanently remove carbon dioxide from seawater, enabling it to absorb more of the greenhouse gas from the air. The process also creates hydrogen as a byproduct. The company already has two smaller pilot plants in operation, but the new one will be different for a few reasons: First, it’s much bigger – when complete, it could rival the annual carbon capturing capabilities of Climeworks, currently the world’s biggest carbon removal plant. Second, it will use a new proprietary process that doesn’t produce harmful chlorine gas. And third, it will mark a step toward commercialization as the company looks to scale and find more buyers. Boeing is among its most prominent customers, committing to pay the company to remove 62,000 tons of CO2 and produce 2,100 tons of hydrogen. Equatic plans to eventually build a commercial-scale plant that it claims will remove 100,000 tons of CO2 per year.
https://heatmap.news/climate/february-extreme-weather-whiplash Save to Pocket
@Tomosino’s Mastodon feed (date: 2024-02-27, from: Tomosino’s Mastodon feed)
https://caniuse.com/css-text-wrap-balance
text-wrap: balance is now in every evergreen desktop browser. It’s not in mobile safari yet, but will be soon. Huzzah!
https://tilde.zone/@tomasino/112003667972077647 Save to Pocket
Pluralistic: Hypothetical AI election disinformation risks vs real AI harms (27 Feb 2024)
date: 2024-02-27, from: Cory Doctorow’s blog
Today’s links Hypothetical AI election disinformation risks vs real AI harms: And those real AI harms are priming people to believe disinformation. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Hypothetical AI election disinformation risks vs real AI harms (permalink) You can barely turn around these days without encountering a think-piece warning of the impending risk of AI disinformation in the coming elections. But a recent episode of This Machine Kills podcast reminds us that these are hypothetical risks, and there is no shortage of real AI harms: https://soundcloud.com/thismachinekillspod/311-selling-pickaxes-for-the-ai-gold-rush The algorithmic decision-making systems that increasingly run the back-ends to our lives are really, truly very bad at doing their jobs, and worse, these systems constitute a form of “empiricism-washing”: if the computer says it’s true, it must be true. There’s no such thing as racist math, you SJW snowflake! https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/aoc-algorithms-racist-bias.html Nearly 1,000 British postmasters were wrongly convicted of fraud by Horizon, the faulty AI fraud-hunting system that Fujitsu provided to the Royal Mail. They had their lives ruined by this faulty AI, many went to prison, and at least four of the AI’s victims killed themselves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal Tenants across America have seen their rents skyrocket thanks to Realpage’s landlord price-fixing algorithm, which deployed the time-honored defense: “It’s not a crime if we commit it with an app”: https://www.propublica.org/article/doj-backs-tenants-price-fixing-case-big-landlords-real-estate-tech Housing, you’ll recall, is pretty foundational in the human hierarchy of needs. Losing your home – or being forced to choose between paying rent or buying groceries or gas for your car or clothes for your kid – is a non-hypothetical, widespread, urgent problem that can be traced straight to AI. Then there’s predictive policing: cities across America and the world have bought systems that purport to tell the cops where to look for crime. Of course, these systems are trained on policing data from forces that are seeking to correct racial bias in their practices by using an algorithm to create “fairness.” You feed this algorithm a data-set of where the police had detected crime in previous years, and it predicts where you’ll find crime in the years to come. But you only find crime where you look for it. If the cops only ever stop-and-frisk Black and brown kids, or pull over Black and brown drivers, then every knife, baggie or gun they find in someone’s trunk or pockets will be found in a Black or brown person’s trunk or pocket. A predictive policing algorithm will naively ingest this data and confidently assert that future crimes can be foiled by looking for more Black and brown people and searching them and pulling them over. Obviously, this is bad for Black and brown people in low-income neighborhoods, whose baseline risk of an encounter with a cop turning violent or even lethal. But it’s also bad for affluent people in affluent neighborhoods – because they are underpoliced as a result of these algorithmic biases. For example, domestic abuse that occurs in full detached single-family homes is systematically underrepresented in crime data, because the majority of domestic abuse calls originate with neighbors who can hear the abuse take place through a shared wall. But the majority of algorithmic harms are inflicted on poor, racialized and/or working class people. Even if you escape a predictive policing algorithm, a facial recognition algorithm may wrongly accuse you of a crime, and even if you were far away from the site of the crime, the cops will still arrest you, because computers don’t lie: https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/texas-macys-sunglass-hut-facial-recognition-software-wrongful-arrest-sacramento-alibi/ Trying to get a low-waged service job? Be prepared for endless, nonsensical AI “personality tests” that make Scientology look like NASA: https://futurism.com/mandatory-ai-hiring-tests Service workers’ schedules are at the mercy of shift-allocation algorithms that assign them hours that ensure that they fall just short of qualifying for health and other benefits. These algorithms push workers into “clopening” – where you close the store after midnight and then open it again the next morning before 5AM. And if you try to unionize, another algorithm – that spies on you and your fellow workers’ social media activity – targets you for reprisals and your store for closure. If you’re driving an Amazon delivery van, algorithm watches your eyeballs and tells your boss that you’re a bad driver if it doesn’t like what it sees. If you’re working in an Amazon warehouse, an algorithm decides if you’ve taken too many pee-breaks and automatically dings you: https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/17/revenge-of-the-chickenized-reverse-centaurs/ If this disgusts you and you’re hoping to use your ballot to elect lawmakers who will take up your cause, an algorithm stands in your way again. “AI” tools for purging voter rolls are especially harmful to racialized people – for example, they assume that two “Juan Gomez”es with a shared birthday in two different states must be the same person and remove one or both from the voter rolls: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/eligible-voters-swept-up-conservative-activists-purge-voter-rolls/ Hoping to get a solid education, the sort that will keep you out of AI-supervised, precarious, low-waged work? Sorry, kiddo: the ed-tech system is riddled with algorithms. There’s the grifty “remote invigilation” industry that watches you take tests via webcam and accuses you of cheating if your facial expressions fail its high-tech phrenology standards: https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/16/unauthorized-paper/#cheating-anticheat All of these are non-hypothetical, real risks from AI. The AI industry has proven itself incredibly adept at deflecting interest from real harms to hypothetical ones, like the “risk” that the spicy autocomplete will become conscious and take over the world in order to convert us all to paperclips: https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/27/10-types-of-people/#taking-up-a-lot-of-space Whenever you hear AI bosses talking about how seriously they’re taking a hypothetical risk, that’s the moment when you should check in on whether they’re doing anything about all these longstanding, real risks. And even as AI bosses promise to fight hypothetical election disinformation, they continue to downplay or ignore the non-hypothetical, here-and-now harms of AI. There’s something unseemly – and even perverse – about worrying so much about AI and election disinformation. It plays into the narrative that kicked off in earnest in 2016, that the reason the electorate votes for manifestly unqualified candidates who run on a platform of bald-faced lies is that they are gullible and easily led astray. But there’s another explanation: the reason people accept conspiratorial accounts of how our institutions are run is because the institutions that are supposed to be defending us are corrupt and captured by actual conspiracies: https://memex.craphound.com/2019/09/21/republic-of-lies-the-rise-of-conspiratorial-thinking-and-the-actual-conspiracies-that-fuel-it/ The party line on conspiratorial accounts is that these institutions are good, actually. Think of the rebuttal offered to anti-vaxxers who claimed that pharma giants were run by murderous sociopath billionaires who were in league with their regulators to kill us for a buck: “no, I think you’ll find pharma companies are great and superbly regulated”: https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/05/not-that-naomi/#if-the-naomi-be-klein-youre-doing-just-fine Institutions are profoundly important to a high-tech society. No one is capable of assessing all the life-or-death choices we make every day, from whether to trust the firmware in your car’s anti-lock brakes, the alloys used in the structural members of your home, or the food-safety standards for the meal you’re about to eat. We must rely on well-regulated experts to make these calls for us, and when the institutions fail us, we are thrown into a state of epistemological chaos. We must make decisions about whether to trust these technological systems, but we can’t make informed choices because the one thing we’re sure of is that our institutions aren’t trustworthy. Ironically, the long list of AI harms that we live with every day are the most important contributor to disinformation campaigns. It’s these harms that provide the evidence for belief in conspiratorial accounts of the world, because each one is proof that the system can’t be trusted. The election disinformation discourse focuses on the lies told – and not why those lies are credible. That’s because the subtext of election disinformation concerns is usually that the electorate is credulous, fools waiting to be suckered in. By refusing to contemplate the institutional failures that sit upstream of conspiracism, we can smugly locate the blame with the peddlers of lies and assume the mantle of paternalistic protectors of the easily gulled electorate. But the group of people who are demonstrably being tricked by AI is the people who buy the horrifically flawed AI-based algorithmic systems and put them into use despite their manifest failures. As I’ve written many times, “we’re nowhere near a place where bots can steal your job, but we’re certainly at the point where your boss can be suckered into firing you and replacing you with a bot that fails at doing your job” https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/15/passive-income-brainworms/#four-hour-work-week The most visible victims of AI disinformation are the people who are putting AI in charge of the life-chances of millions of the rest of us. Tackle that AI disinformation and its harms, and we’ll make conspiratorial claims about our institutions being corrupt far less credible. (Image: Cryteria, CC BY 3.0, modified) Hey look at this (permalink) FTC Blocks Kroger-Albertsons Merger on Labor Grounds https://prospect.org/labor/2024-02-26-ftc-blocks-kroger-albertsons-merger-labor-grounds/ The Political Effects of Neoliberalism https://lpeproject.org/blog/the-political-effects-of-neoliberalism/ Defending Access to the Decentralized Web https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/02/defending-access-decentralized-web This day in history (permalink) #15yrsago Conan and copyright, by Crom! https://web.archive.org/web/20090228111053/http://www.robert-e-howard.org/AnotherThought4rerevised.html<?a> #15yrsago What were arcades like, Grandpa? https://memex.craphound.com/2009/02/27/what-were-arcades-like-grandpa/ #15yrsago Ian McDonald’s “Cyberabad Days” — short stories in 2047 India that blend technology with spirituality, love, sex, war and humanity https://memex.craphound.com/2009/02/27/ian-mcdonalds-cyberabad-days-short-stories-in-2047-india-that-blend-technology-with-spirituality-love-sex-war-and-humanity/ #10yrsago GCHQ spied on millions of Yahoo video chats, harvested sexual images of chatters, compared itself to “Tom Cruise in Minority Report” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/27/gchq-nsa-webcam-images-internet-yahoo #10yrsago Boeing’s self-destructing, tamper-resistant spookphone: the Black https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/boeings-black-this-android-phone-will-self-destruct/ #10yrsago Guest review: my daughter reviews Ariol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Dkj81uRN9Q #5yrsago Fox hit with $179m (including $128m in punitive damages) judgment over shady bookkeeping on “Bones” https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/fox-bones-arbitration-emily-deschanel-179-million-1203150879/ #5yrsago AOC grills Equifax CEO: the Congressional record now contains the obvious, infuriating truth that everyone else already knew https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/02/11/rep-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-takes-aim-equifax-credit-scoring/ #5yrsago Bunnie Huang’s tour-de-force explanation of how hardware implants and supply chain hacks work https://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=5519 #1yrago Pluralistic: Podcasting “Twiddler” https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/27/knob-jockeys/ 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: The Majority of Censorship is Self-Censorship https://craphound.com/news/2024/02/25/the-majority-of-censorship-is-self-censorship/ Upcoming appearances: The Bezzle at Powell’s (Portland) Feb 27: https://www.powells.com/book/the-bezzle-martin-hench-2-9781250865878/1-2 The Bezzle at Changing Hands (Phoenix), Feb 29: https://www.changinghands.com/event/february2024/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 Wondercon Anaheim, Mar 29-31 https://www.comic-con.org/wc/ The Bezzle at Anderson’s Books (Chicago), Apr 17 https://www.andersonsbookshop.com/event/cory-doctorow-1 Torino Biennale Tecnologia (Apr 19-21) https://www.turismotorino.org/en/experiences/events/biennale-tecnologia Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Winnipeg), May 2 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/cory-doctorow-tickets-798820071337?aff=oddtdtcreator Tartu Prima Vista Literary Festival (May 5-11) https://tartu2024.ee/en/kirjandusfestival/ 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: Radioactive (KCRL) https://krcl.org/blog/grist-investigates-doctorow-seed/ The enshittification of music (Music Ally) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh20fD3XXbg Aaron Swartz (EpistemiCast) https://open.spotify.com/episode/5t9QVHSQBjIXKUiN2EvEmK Latest books: The Bezzle: a sequel to “Red Team Blues,” about prison-tech and other grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (the-bezzle.org). Signed, personalized copies at Dark Delicacies (https://www.darkdel.com/store/p3062/Available_Feb_20th%3A_The_Bezzle_HB.html#/). “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: 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/2024/02/27/ai-conspiracies/ Save to Pocket
40k servers, 400k CPUs and 40 PB of storage later… welcome to Google Cloud
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Sabre Technology shutters 17 datacenters, says 90% of workloads transferred
Airline reservation technology biz Sabre Corporation has almost completed a mammoth migration to Google Cloud - one that would have tested the nerves of the most steely-eyed IT director.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/moving_thousands_of_servers_to_google_cloud/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
Officials admit to blown call as lowly Pistons lose again.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/feb/27/an-abomination-officials-admit-to-blown-call-as-lowly-pistons-lose-again Save to Pocket
The last local news outlet in town
date: 2024-02-27, from: Marketplace Morning Report
With local elections looming — and no more daily newspaper in the area — how are residents of Del Rio, Texas getting their information?
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/the-last-local-news-outlet-in-town Save to Pocket
Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 mobile touch monitor brings resolution, contrast, and color improvements
date: 2024-02-27, from: Liliputing
It’s been a few years since Lenovo launched the ThinkVision M14t portable touchscreen monitor with support for touch and pen input. Now the company has announced a second-gen model is coming this summer. For the most part the new ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 looks a lot like the original. It’s still a portable 14 inch display that […]
The post Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 mobile touch monitor brings resolution, contrast, and color improvements appeared first on Liliputing.
https://liliputing.com/lenovo-thinkvision-m14t-gen-2-mobile-touch-monitor-brings-resolution-contrast-and-color-improvements/ Save to Pocket
Why This Slate Of Judge Candidates Wants More Defense Attorneys Elected To The Superior Court
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The LAist
Historically, voters have elected judges with prosecutorial experience. But could a more diverse bench better serve some of the most vulnerable?
https://laist.com/news/politics/los-angeles-superior-court-defense-backgrounds Save to Pocket
LA City Councilmember Kevin de León Faces 7 Challengers And Hopes For Voters’ Forgiveness
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The LAist
More than a year after President Biden called on him to resign over his participation in a recorded conversation that included racist and derogatory remarks, L.A. City Councilmember Kevin de León is asking voters for another four-year term.
https://laist.com/news/politics/kevin-de-leon-racism-scandal-election Save to Pocket
Scientists Discover How Some Whales Can Sing While Holding Their Breath Underwater
date: 2024-02-27, from: Smithsonian Magazine
Baleen whales have evolved unique voice boxes essential for song, a new study finds—but these low-frequency vocalizations must compete with the noise of humans’ ships
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-discover-how-some-whales-can-sing-while-holding-their-breath-underwater-180983836/ Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s Scripting News (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s Scripting News)
My
Threads timeline is full of
Kara
Swisher the last few days. She has a
book
coming out. I think she’s popular with other journalists. Her theme
appears to be that it’s the personalities that matter, not what the
companies do. I don’t think she has a whole lot of insight into the
products and technology. For some reason tech, which mystifies a lot of
history and english majors, is considered irrelevant or optional, or
maybe kind of cute, by the typical reporter. So she expresses tech in
terms the journalists understand, therefore they like her.
http://scripting.com/2024/02/27.html#a124537 Save to Pocket
Capita wins uncontested extension to mega millions Northern Ireland Education contract
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Latest £33M awarded without competition in 11+ years contract that’s now worth well over half a billion
Northern Ireland’s Education Authority has awarded UK tech outsourcer Capita a managed services contract extension worth £33 million ($41.8 million) without external competition.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/northern_ireland_education_capita_deal/ Save to Pocket
Biden, Congressional Leaders Discuss Ukraine Aid, Averting Government Shutdown
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-congressional-leaders-to-discuss-ukraine-aid-and-averting-government-shutdown-/7504196.html Save to Pocket
Nigeria protests hunger and hardship
date: 2024-02-27, from: Marketplace Morning Report
From the BBC World Service: Trade unions have led demonstrations in Nigeria, as the country grapples with an economic crisis. Also: There are concerns about the tactics used by companies offering loans via cell phone apps in Kenya.
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-morning-report/nigeria-protests-hunger-and-hardship Save to Pocket
China Surveillance Company Hacked
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-26, from: Bruce Schneier blog
Last week, someone posted something like 570 files, images and chat logs from a Chinese company called I-Soon. I-Soon sells hacking and espionage services to Chinese national and local government.
Lots of details in the news articles.
These aren’t details about the tools or techniques, more the inner workings of the company. And they seem to primarily be hacking regionally.
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/china-surveillance-company-hacked.html Save to Pocket
@Dave Winer’s linkblog (date: 2024-02-27, from: Dave Winer’s linkblog)
My two cents, I can’t think of a single example of a tech revelation reported by Kara Swisher.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/02/26/kara-swisher-memoir-review/ Save to Pocket
ESA’s ERS-2 satellite began to come apart earlier than predicted
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Harmlessly entered over the North Pacific, but solar array was already bent
The European Space Agency’s ERS-2 satellite has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. While no damage to property was reported, some impressive shots were taken of the spacecraft starting to buckle as it approached re-entry.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/esas_ers2_began_its_disassembly/ Save to Pocket
Miracle WM, a new tiling window manager built on Mir
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Try preliminary version of a new environment in a snap
Version 0.1.0 of Miracle-wm is very incomplete still, yet shows that interesting stuff is happening on the back of Canonical’s Mir display server.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/miracle_tiling_wm/ Save to Pocket
A look into District 14’s candidates
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The district, which includes USC’s Health Sciences campus, is holding an election this year.
The post A look into District 14’s candidates appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/los-angeles-council-district-14/ Save to Pocket
Campus voting initiatives ramp up for primaries
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The USC Political Union, VoteSC and more organized to boost election turnout.
The post Campus voting initiatives ramp up for primaries appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/campus-voting-initiatives-ramp-up-for-primaries/ Save to Pocket
Microsoft wants to update your Windows 11 PC without forcing you to reboot
date: 2024-02-27, from: OS News
If there’s one thing Windows users hate about Windows, it’s Windows updates interrupting your workflow or gaming session with a popup asking you to restart your PC finish installing the latest security update. It happens at least once a month, because that’s how often Microsoft rolls out security updates to Windows PCs. This may soon be a thing of the past, as the company is now testing an update method called “hot patching” for Windows 11 PCs. Hot patching is already in use on some Windows Server editions, as well as Xbox, and now it appears the company is preparing to bring it to devices running Windows 11. ↫ Zac Bowden at Windows Central A welcome, good improvement every Windows user is going to benefit from. This is the kind of improvements Microsoft should really be focusing on, instead of adding more ads or useless “AI” features.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138655/microsoft-wants-to-update-your-windows-11-pc-without-forcing-you-to-reboot/ Save to Pocket
A history of the tty
date: 2024-02-27, from: OS News
It’s one of those anachronisms that is deeply embedded in modern technology. From cloud operator servers to embedded controllers in appliances, there must be uncountable devices that think they are connected to a TTY. I will omit the many interesting details of the Linux terminal infrastructure here, as it could easily fill its own article. But most Linux users are at least peripherally aware that the kernel tends to identify both serial devices and terminals as TTYs, assigning them filesystem names in the form of /dev/tty*. Probably a lot of those people remember that this stands for teletype or perhaps teletypewriter, although in practice the term teleprinter is more common. ↫ J. B. Crawford I remember first using Linux in like 2000 or 2001, and running into the abbreviation tty, and not having a single clue what that meant since I came from a DOS and Windows background. Over time I gained a lot more understanding of the structure of modern UNIX-like systems, but it’s still great to read such a detailed history of the concept.
https://www.osnews.com/story/138653/a-history-of-the-tty/ Save to Pocket
Newsom-backed Prop 1 could impact mental health, homelessness
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Proposition 1 would fund new mental health facilities in California if passed.
The post Newsom-backed Prop 1 could impact mental health, homelessness appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/proposition-1-mental-health-homelessness/ Save to Pocket
HPE boss Neri bags 15% pay hike in 2023 as targets ticked
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
CEO-to-grunt pay ratio now 300:1 as wider workforce gets 4.4% more than year earlier
HPE chief Antonio Neri was awarded $20.06 million in compensation for the company’s last financial year, according to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/hpe_neri_compensation/ Save to Pocket
California Senate Seat up for grabs
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Four candidates poll over 1% and are competing for a spot in the general election.
The post California Senate Seat up for grabs appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/california-senate-candidates/ Save to Pocket
Yankees pitcher Cortes emerges pain-free from first spring training start after injury-marred 2023
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Nestor Cortes wasn’t exactly nasty in his first spring training appearance, but the New York Yankees left-handed emerged from Monday’s game against Minnesota feeling good.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/sports/yankees-pitcher-cortes-emerges-pain-free-from-first-spring-training-start-after-injury-marred-2023/ Save to Pocket
Hart makes go-ahead basket after chaotic possession as Knicks beat Pistons 113-111
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson missed a 3-pointer, eventually got the ball back and passed it to Josh Hart for the go-ahead basket.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/sports/hart-makes-go-ahead-basket-after-chaotic-possession-as-knicks-beat-pistons-113-111/ Save to Pocket
Duke’s Scheyer wants the ACC to implement measures to prevent court-storming after Filipowski injury
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Duke coach Jon Scheyer wants the Atlantic Coast Conference to implement measures to prevent court-storming after star big man Kyle Filipowski was hobbled following a collision with a fan during a weekend loss at Wake Forest.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/sports/dukes-scheyer-wants-the-acc-to-implement-measures-to-prevent-court-storming-after-filipowski-injury/ Save to Pocket
Houston rises to No. 1 in AP Top 25 ahead of Purdue, UConn; South Florida makes its rankings debut
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Now it is Houston’s turn at the top of The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/sports/houston-rises-to-no-1-in-ap-top-25-ahead-of-purdue-uconn-south-florida-makes-its-rankings-debut/ Save to Pocket
Police: Kona man intentionally rammed vehicles with truck
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A judge on Monday freed a Kailua-Kona police say intentionally rammed parked vehicles with a pickup truck on Friday on supervised release, a form of cashless bail.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/police-kona-man-intentionally-rammed-vehicles-with-truck/ Save to Pocket
Biden will make rare visit to southern border on same day as Trump
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is planning to make a rare visit to the southern border Thursday, his press secretary said, traveling to Brownsville, Texas, on the same day that former President Donald Trump has already scheduled a border trip.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/biden-will-make-rare-visit-to-southern-border-on-same-day-as-trump/ Save to Pocket
Arrest of migrant in Georgia killing turns city into latest battleground on immigration
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>(NYT) ATHENS, Ga. — When a 22-year-old nursing student was found dead on a wooded trail at the University of Georgia in what’s believed to be the first homicide on campus in nearly 30 years, it set off waves of grief and fear that shook the university to its core.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/arrest-of-migrant-in-georgia-killing-turns-city-into-latest-battleground-on-immigration/ Save to Pocket
In Trump criminal case, Manhattan DA asks for gag order before trial
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>NEW YORK — Manhattan prosecutors Monday asked the judge overseeing the criminal case against Donald Trump to prohibit the former president from attacking witnesses or exposing jurors’ identities.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/in-trump-criminal-case-manhattan-da-asks-for-gag-order-before-trial/ Save to Pocket
Merrie Monarch Festival currently leading in USA Today poll
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Merrie Monarch Festival is uniquely Hawaiian in nature but of worldwide interest. The festival, held yearly in Hilo, is dedicated to King David Kalakaua, the “Merrie Monarch,” who revived the art of hula — which had been banned after Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaii in the 1820s.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/merrie-monarch-festival-currently-leading-in-usa-today-poll/ Save to Pocket
State measure to help combat invasive two-line spittlebug
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The State House of Representatives Committee on Finance took up a measure on Thursday to fund mitigation and control of the two-lined spittlebug, an invasive pest that has destroyed thousands of acres of pasture land on the Big Island.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/state-measure-to-help-combat-invasive-two-line-spittlebug/ Save to Pocket
Big Island cable market could see fresh face
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A new cable provider could be coming to the Big Island.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/big-island-cable-market-could-see-fresh-face/ Save to Pocket
Mountain View man accused of soliciting sex from a minor
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A 42-year-old Mountain View man was arrested and charged for sex solicitation after exchanging text messages with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a teenage girl.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/mountain-view-man-accused-of-soliciting-sex-from-a-minor/ Save to Pocket
US sues to block merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying it could push prices higher
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The Federal Trade Commission sued to block a proposed merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, saying the $24.6 billion deal would eliminate competition and lead to higher prices for millions of Americans.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/us-sues-to-block-merger-of-grocery-giants-kroger-and-albertsons-saying-it-could-push-prices-higher/ Save to Pocket
Supreme Court casts doubt on GOP-led states’ efforts to regulate social media platforms
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court cast doubt Monday on state laws that could affect how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. The cases are among several this term in which the justices could set standards for free speech in the digital age.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/supreme-court-casts-doubt-on-gop-led-states-efforts-to-regulate-social-media-platforms/ Save to Pocket
Police: HPP drowning investigation still open
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Police detectives continue to actively investigate the circumstances surrounding the Feb. 18 drowning death of 29-year-old Kala‘i Reyes-Kanekoa, who went off a cliff into the ocean in Hawaiian Paradise Park.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/police-hpp-drowning-investigation-still-open/ Save to Pocket
Primary apathy in Michigan: Democrats, GOP struggle as supporters mull whether to even vote
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LANSING, Mich. — In Michigan, a state that both major parties say they must have to win the White House in 2024, a cloud of apathy has settled over the electorate. Even with crucial races for the U.S. Senate and Congress also on the ballot, genuine enthusiasm is hard to find. The state’s voters are poised to cast ballots in their respective primaries today, but the prospect looms that they will be left with the same choices for president in November that they considered four years ago.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/primary-apathy-in-michigan-democrats-gop-struggle-as-supporters-mull-whether-to-even-vote/ Save to Pocket
Obituaries for February 27
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>John “Jack” Edward Bowen, 85, of Hilo died Dec. 7. Born in Washington D.C., he was a firefighter with the College Park, Md., Fire Department, became a Hazmat Trainer in Hawaii and worldwide, worked for C. Brewer and Co. and was a researcher for the University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture. Memorial service at a later date. Condolences: Denise Marjarum, 5277 N. Salem Church Rd. Dover, PA 17315. Online condolences: homelanimemorialpark.com. Survived by wife, Anne Bowen; daughters, Maureen (Norbert) Figueira and Denise Marjarum of Pennsylvania; eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Arrangements by Homelani Memorial Park.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/obituaries/obituaries-for-february-27-9/ Save to Pocket
Navalny was part of discussions on a prisoner exchange
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Aides to Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died this month, asserted Monday that he had been on the verge of being freed in a prisoner exchange with the West.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/navalny-was-part-of-discussions-on-a-prisoner-exchange/ Save to Pocket
Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer will present at the Oscars (plus everything else you need to know)
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a winter barrage of award shows — the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Grammys — the grandaddy of them all, the Academy Awards, are around the corner. The 96th Oscars may be a coronation for “Oppenheimer,” which comes in with a leading 13 nominations, though other films, including “Barbie,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Poor Things” are in the mix.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/al-pacino-and-michelle-pfeiffer-will-present-at-the-oscars-plus-everything-else-you-need-to-know/ Save to Pocket
The Oahu resort that’s become a favorite Hollywood film location
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>For more than a century, Hawaii has been the chosen location for countless Hollywood movies and TV shows. It’s where dinosaurs roamed in “Jurassic Park,” wealthy guests checked in to “The White Lotus,” and Indiana Jones ran through the jungle in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/the-oahu-resort-thats-become-a-favorite-hollywood-film-location/ Save to Pocket
Ronna McDaniel, the RNC’s top official, plans to step down March 8
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>The chair of the Republican National Committee said Monday that she would step down in just over a week, as former President Donald Trump seeks to install a new hand-picked leader for the national party before the general election this fall.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/ronna-mcdaniel-the-rncs-top-official-plans-to-step-down-march-8/ Save to Pocket
Sideways moon landing cuts mission short, private US lunar lander will stop working Tuesday
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private U.S. lunar lander is expected to stop working Tuesday, its mission cut short after landing sideways near the south pole of the moon.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/nation-world-news/sideways-moon-landing-cuts-mission-short-private-us-lunar-lander-will-stop-working-tuesday/ Save to Pocket
Demand increasing for help from Visitor Aloha Society
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>Michael and Merle Ross, first-time visitors from Canada celebrating their fifth anniversary, were in the middle of a tour when they got a text telling them to shelter in place because the Honolulu Police Department was dealing with a barricaded suspect at the Aston Waikiki Sunset, where they were staying.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/demand-increasing-for-help-from-visitor-aloha-society/ Save to Pocket
Let’s Talk Food: Leap Year is this Thursday
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>This Thursday is February 29, which occurs only once in four years. This is because the Earth actually goes completely around the sun 365 days, 5 hours, 38 minutes and 46 seconds, which means every four years — if you are a mathematician — would mean an extra day.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/community/lets-talk-food-leap-year-is-this-thursday/ Save to Pocket
Man accused of shooting girlfriend changes plea
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>As jury selection was underway for his trial, an Ocean View man indicted on eight counts related to an attempted murder and subsequent manhunt changed his plea to no contest Thursday in Kona Circuit Court.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/man-accused-of-shooting-girlfriend-changes-plea/ Save to Pocket
Head-on crash in Honomu kills 1, injures 2
date: 2024-02-27, from: Hawaii Tribune Harold
<p>A California woman died and two men were critically injured in a two-vehicle traffic collision in Honomu on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 19) early Monday evening.</p>
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2024/02/27/hawaii-news/head-on-crash-in-honomu-kills-1-injures-2/ Save to Pocket
Candidates rush to fill LAUSD seat
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
A long-time District 1 board member will retire this December, leaving an open seat.
The post Candidates rush to fill LAUSD seat appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/lausd-district-1-candidates/ Save to Pocket
2024 Tesla prices: How much does your favorite model cost?
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
Although its sales lead was just usurped by BYD, Tesla continues to dominate as an EV industry leader entering 2024. While other automakers are driving their new electrified models through a door in the automotive industry that Tesla originally kicked in, the American automaker now offers five ever-popular EV models. That being said, prices have risen in recent years and, in true Tesla fashion, fluctuate often. Here’s where Tesla prices currently sit in 2024.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/27/2024-tesla-prices-how-much-does-model-cost-ev-3-y-s-x-cybertruck/ Save to Pocket
More than $6 million in undistributed child support, lawmakers hear escheatment bill
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
The Child Support Enforcement Division, or CSED, of the Office of the Attorney General has more than $6.2 million in undistributed funds sitting in a trust account as of June 2023, of which more than $4.2 million have remained undistributed…
https://www.postguam.com/news/more-than-6-million-in-undistributed-child-support-lawmakers-hear-escheatment-bill/article_fbedbacc-d53c-11ee-a86b-7bf193fbe770.html Save to Pocket
Black role models in tech are making history every day
date: 2024-02-27, from: Raspberry Pi (.org)
It’s the last week of Black History Month 2024 in the USA, but by no means is the celebration over. The beautiful thing about history is that it’s not an isolated narrative about the past, but an ongoing dialogue in which we talk about how our collective past informs our present, and what more can…
The post Black role models in tech are making history every day appeared first on Raspberry Pi Foundation.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/black-history-month-2024/ Save to Pocket
Renewal of US-China Science and Tech Pact Faces Hurdles
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
STATE DEPARTMENT — With a science and technology agreement between the United States and People’s Republic of China due to expire Tuesday, the State Department said it is negotiating to “amend, extend, and strengthen protections within” the agreement but declined to specify if the U.S. would extend the deal.
“We are not able to provide information at this time on specific U.S. negotiating positions or on whether the agreement will be extended past its current expiration date,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA.
The Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement is a framework for U.S. governmental collaborations with China in science and technology.
U.S. officials have said the STA provides consistent standards for government-to-government scientific cooperation between the U.S. and China.
While the agreement supports scientific collaboration in areas that benefit the United States, U.S. officials acknowledge the challenges posed by China’s national science and technology strategies and its domestic legal framework.
Critics, including U.S. lawmakers, point out China’s restrictions on data and a lack of transparency in sharing scientific findings. Washington is also concerned about personal safety of American scientists who travel to China, as well as Beijing’s potential military application of shared research.
A report by Congressional Research Service said China’s cooperation under the agreement has not been consistent. For example, “China reportedly withheld avian influenza strains required for U.S. vaccines and in 2019, cut off U.S. access to coronavirus research, including U.S.-funded work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” said the CRS.
Advocates for renewing the agreement want to maintain some level of official and unofficial contacts amid strained relationship between the two countries.
During a recent discussion hosted by the Washington-based Institute for China-America Studies (ICAS), panelists said the STA is “important symbolically” and gives confidence to researchers on both sides to deepen their engagement with counterparts.
“In the event of the agreement’s non-renewal, the mutual confidence that sustains and underpins collaboration is bound to suffer,” said ICAS in its post-event summary.
Dean Cheng, a senior advisor to the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said the American system is far more open, so China will typically be able to gather information regardless of whether there is an agreement.
“The STA is no guarantee that American scientists will, in fact, be able to access Chinese research, information, or scholars, whereas the Chinese side will use the STA as a means of establishing an even greater presence in the U.S.,” Cheng told VOA, adding the “strategic advantage” under the deal will likely be with the PRC.
The STA was originally signed in 1979 by then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter and then-PRC leader Deng Xiaoping. Under the agreement, the two countries cooperate in fields including agriculture, energy, space, health, environment, earth sciences and engineering, as well as educational and scholarly exchanges.
U.S.-China science and technology activity increased in November 2009 with new agreements on joint projects in electric vehicles, or EVs, renewable energy, and the creation of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, or CERC, a 10-year research effort between the U.S. Department of Energy and China’s Ministry of Science and Technology.
The agreement has been renewed approximately every five years since its inception, with the most recent five-year extension occurring in 2018. Last August, it received a six-month extension as officials from the two countries undertook negotiations to amend and strengthen the terms.
https://www.voanews.com/a/renewal-of-u-s–china-science-and-tech-pact-faces-hurdles/7504097.html Save to Pocket
Elon Musk Flees To Billionaires’ New Court
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Lever News
Burned by legal decisions, Elon Musk is relocating his rocket company to Texas — where he’ll enjoy a new, separate justice system controlled by his ally, Gov. Greg Abbott.
https://www.levernews.com/elon-musk-flees-to-billionaires-new-court/ Save to Pocket
Cybercrims: When we hit IT, they sometimes pay, but when we hit OT… jackpot
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Or so says opsec firm, which confirms 70% of all industrial org ransomware in 2023 targeted manufacturers
Analysis Cybercriminals follow the money, and increasingly last year that led them to ransomware attacks against the manufacturing industry.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/manufacturing_sector_malware/ Save to Pocket
Barnett: GPD oversight hearing to address brutality allegations
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Police Department will be asked questions by the 37th Guam Legislature at an oversight hearing Wednesday afternoon about complaints against police officers.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/barnett-gpd-oversight-hearing-to-address-brutality-allegations/article_7dfbd4ec-d51d-11ee-a5b0-17a978afc506.html Save to Pocket
GMHA expects $30M shortfall
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
Although the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority is showing improvement in its operating revenue compared to this time last fiscal year, operating expenses continue to grow, and the hospital is always seeing losses from operations, according to GMHA Chief Financial Officer…
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/gmha-expects-30m-shortfall/article_af3f6446-d528-11ee-b63f-cbe9c5590de0.html Save to Pocket
Energy credit extension now law
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
Acting Gov. Josh Tenorio has signed into law another round of the Prugråman Ayuda Para I Taotao-ta Energy Credit Program, now known as Public Law 37-66, granting $100 monthly credits for power billings from January through March.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/energy-credit-extension-now-law/article_03a3a2ca-d512-11ee-8828-53da9ea97d4f.html Save to Pocket
Efforts to reduce speed on Route 1 curve
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
The Department of Public Works will be installing “candlestick stanchions” in the middle lane of the area of Route 1 known as Dead Man’s Curve in the next couple of weeks to slow down the speed of traffic.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/efforts-to-reduce-speed-on-route-1-curve/article_61e83a74-d50f-11ee-a7bd-8f0179d6bfcb.html Save to Pocket
June trial for teacher accused of sexually assaulting students
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
An elementary school teacher accused of sexually assaulting several students is scheduled to go to trial in June.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/june-trial-for-teacher-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-students/article_100c25ac-d506-11ee-bc63-1fa937ccd3c0.html Save to Pocket
Man accused of sexually assaulting girl
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
A 34-year-old man was accused of sexually assaulting a female minor when she was 9 years old and again when she was 12 years old.
https://www.postguam.com/news/local/man-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-girl/article_266f7f34-d465-11ee-a5e5-afd8dcb4ca39.html Save to Pocket
DivingBoard: a homemade MIDI controller for synth lovers
date: 2024-02-27, from: Raspberry Pi News (.com)
Oliver Hagen built the DivingBoard MIDI controller to make it easier to use synthesisers with hectic user interfaces
The post DivingBoard: a homemade MIDI controller for synth lovers appeared first on Raspberry Pi.
https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/divingboard-a-homemade-midi-controller-for-synth-lovers/ Save to Pocket
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk vs. American workers
date: 2024-02-27, from: Robert Reich on Substack
The biggest robber barons of this Second Gilded Age are trying to end the freedom of workers to unionize
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/jeff-bezos-and-elon-musk-vs-american Save to Pocket
THE CARNIVAL IS OVER
date: 2024-02-27, from: Howard Jacobson blog
This is a free post. But don’t let that dissuade you from becoming a paid subscriber and gaining access to past and future articles of this kind, as well as work in progress, letters, ruminations, reflections, desperations, new fiction, and heaven knows what else.
https://jacobsonh.substack.com/p/the-carnival-is-over Save to Pocket
Biden, Trump Win Presidential Primaries in Michigan
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/democrats-republicans-holding-presidential-primaries-in-michigan/7504082.html Save to Pocket
Classifieds – February 27, 2024
date: 2024-02-27, 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 27, 2024 appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/classifieds-february-27-2024/ Save to Pocket
Meta to build election operations center in Europe to inspect AI content
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Fact-checkers will label AI-generated media for upcoming EU elections
Meta is launching an “EU-specific Elections Operations Center” to tackle AI-generated misinformation and political advertising to prepare for upcoming parliament elections.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/meta_telection_infotrmation_ai/ Save to Pocket
Today in SCV History (Feb. 27)
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
1950 – Ex-Mrs. William S. Hart appears in court to challenge will that leaves Hart Park and Mansion to the public [story
https://scvnews.com/today-in-scv-history-feb-27/ Save to Pocket
Angel Gentle opens shop in South Central
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Not all angels wear halos — this up-and-coming L.A. designer prefers streetwear.
The post Angel Gentle opens shop in South Central appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/angel-gentle-opens-shop-in-south-central/ Save to Pocket
‘Campus Crush’ puts a new spin on reality TV
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Dating can be a struggle at USC, but student TV station Trojan Vision wants to help.
The post ‘Campus Crush’ puts a new spin on reality TV appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/campus-crush-puts-a-new-spin-on-reality-tv/ Save to Pocket
Baseball must figure out its road struggles
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojans have started out 0-4 away from “home” this season, were 8-17-1 last season.
The post Baseball must figure out its road struggles appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/baseball-must-figure-out-its-road-struggles/ Save to Pocket
Baseball hits its way to first series win
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
The Trojan bats finally broke through for 16 runs in a pair of wins over the weekend.
The post Baseball hits its way to first series win appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/baseball-hits-its-way-to-first-series-win/ Save to Pocket
Watkins frustrated, women’s basketball falls to Utes again
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Utah completed its season sweep of USC, snapping the Trojans’ latest win streak.
The post Watkins frustrated, women’s basketball falls to Utes again appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/watkins-frustrated-womens-basketball-falls-to-utes-again/ Save to Pocket
Underlying costs of college harm students
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
USC must address its high prices for the fundamental requirements of students.
The post Underlying costs of college harm students appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/underlying-costs-of-college-harm-students/ Save to Pocket
Surviving the midterm munchies
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Pre-made grocery store meals run my busy weeks.
The post Surviving the midterm munchies appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/surviving-the-midterm-munchies/ Save to Pocket
LGBTQIA+ spaces aren’t for non-queer people
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Daily Trojan (USC Student Paper)
Non-LGBTQIA+ people should be mindful in queer spaces.
The post LGBTQIA+ spaces aren’t for non-queer people appeared first on Daily Trojan.
https://dailytrojan.com/2024/02/27/lgbtqia-spaces-arent-for-non-queer-people/ Save to Pocket
Chinese Airlines Can Boost US Flights to 50 Per Week, US Says
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
WASHINGTON — Chinese passenger airlines will be allowed to boost their weekly round-trip U.S. flights to 50 starting on March 31, up from the current 35, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Monday, returning the market to nearly one-third of pre-pandemic levels.
The approval “is a significant step forward in further normalization of the U.S.-China market in anticipation of the Summer 2024 traffic season,” the USDOT said.
More than 150 weekly round-trip passenger flights were allowed by each side before restrictions were imposed in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but until August 2023, Chinese and U.S. carriers could each fly only 12 a week between
the two countries.
The number rose on Sept. 1 to 18 weekly roundtrips and then to 24 per week starting Oct. 29. The USDOT approved 35 for Chinese carriers in November.
Airlines for America, a group representing American Airlines , Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, which fly a combined 31 weekly flights to China, said it “supports the U.S. government’s approach to slowly, gradually and reciprocally reopen the market with China. It’s imperative the U.S. government maintains this approach.”
The Chinese embassy in Washington said it was “glad to see the positive progress made on increasing direct passenger flights between China and the U.S.” The embassy added it is working to “further facilitate cross-border travel and promote people-to-people exchange between the two countries.”
Reuters reported last June that newly approved Chinese flights to the United States were not overflying Russia, which would have given them a shorter flight time and fuel advantage over U.S. rivals blocked from Russian airspace.
Other international air markets involving China have reopened far more quickly, with seat capacity between China and the United Kingdom this month exceeding pre-pandemic levels by 30%, and China-Singapore by 6%, according to aviation data
provider OAG.
The USDOT said it was engaged in a productive dialogue with China’s aviation regulator towards the “implementation of a roadmap to provide for a gradual, broader reopening of the U.S.-China air services market and a phased and predictable return to the capacity entitlements” specified under a U.S.-China agreement.
On a trip to China last year, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she wanted to boost travel and tourism between the two countries.
If China returned to 2019 U.S. tourism levels, it would add $30 billion to the U.S. economy and 50,000 U.S. jobs, Raimondo said in August.
https://www.voanews.com/a/chinese-airlines-can-boost-us-flights-to-50-per-week-us-says/7504068.html Save to Pocket
Broadcom builds a SASE out of VMware VeloCloud and Symantec
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-28, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
First integration across properties, as end user compute division readies to leave home
Broadcom has delivered on its 2023 teaser of integration between VMware’s SD-WAN and Symantec’s Security Service Edge, by today debuting the “VMware VeloCloud SASE, Secured by Symantec” at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/vmware_symantec_sase/ Save to Pocket
February 26, 2024
date: 2024-02-27, from: Heather Cox Richardson blog
Lots of moving pieces on this Monday, with the biggest stories coming in international affairs. The U.S. has appointed a special envoy for Sudan, which is ten months into a civil war that has turned 8 million people into refugees, sending 1.5 million into other countries; closed 80% of the hospitals in the area of the fighting; and prompted torture, rape, and deliberate starvation of civilians, at least 14,600 of whom have been killed. Tom Perriello will, the State Department said, “coordinate the U.S. policy on Sudan and advance our efforts to end the hostilities, secure unhindered humanitarian access, and support the Sudanese people as they seek to fulfill their aspirations for freedom, peace, and justice.”
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-26-2024 Save to Pocket
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be coders, Jensen Huang warns
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Machine learning will make everyone a programmer, so best become an expert in something else
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes AI has advanced to the point at which it’s no longer necessary to prioritize computer science and coding education for the world’s youth.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/jensen_huang_coders/ Save to Pocket
US Army Using Own Funding to Pay for Training of Ukrainian Forces
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
The U.S. military has been forced to dip into its own funding to cover American training of Ukrainian forces, a strategy that could leave the Army short on finances in Europe as the Russian war on Ukraine enters its third year. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details.
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-army-using-own-funding-to-pay-for-training-of-ukrainian-forces-/7504044.html Save to Pocket
‘How do I reset my router’ isn’t in LLM corpuses. An alliance of telcos wants to change that
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Customer service data from five top telcos across Asia, Europe, and UAE will feed a carrier-centric multi-lingual chatbots
A joint venture comprising carriers SoftBank, Singtel, SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and e& Group plans to develop a large language model (LLM) they will use to automate customer service for the telco sector.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/global_telco_ai_alliance_llms/ Save to Pocket
Japan’s SLIM unexpectedly wakes up on Moon after month-long nap
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
How’s that for resilient?
Against almost astronomical odds, Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) has reestablished communication with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/jaxa_slim_moon_lander_awakens/ Save to Pocket
China warns of fake digital currency wallets fleecing netizens
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Scammers’ tactics are tiresomely familiar: get-rich-quick schemes and data harvesting
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has warned local netizens that fake wallet apps for the nation’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) are already circulating and being abused by scammers.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/china_fake_ecny_app_warning/ Save to Pocket
GPD oversight hearing to address police brutality allegations
date: 2024-02-27, from: Guam Daily Post
The Guam Police Department will be asked questions about complaints against police officers at an oversight hearing in the 37th Guam Legislature Wednesday afternoon.
https://www.postguam.com/news/gpd-oversight-hearing-to-address-police-brutality-allegations/article_24f5f3e6-d513-11ee-a28c-338345dd2df4.html Save to Pocket
CSUN hosts the CSU Folklórico Showcase for the first time
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
Known for performing regional dances from Mexico, the Ballet Folklórico Aztlán de CSUN is no stranger to cultural dance. Since its establishment in 1969, the student-run organization has focused on…
https://sundial.csun.edu/178699/arts-entertainment/csun-hosts-the-csu-folklorico-showcase-for-the-first-time/ Save to Pocket
Underwater cables in Red Sea damaged months after Houthis threatened to do just that
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Yemeni rebels thought to lack the ability to damage submarine cables, but here we are
Undersea data cables in the Red Sea have reportedly been damaged, months after Yemeni Houthi rebels threatened to do so.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/red_sea_cables_houthi/ Save to Pocket
Teens arrested after SUV crash
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies arrested two juveniles Monday afternoon after a black Mercedes Benz SUV crashed into a center divider in Valencia following a stolen-vehicle investigation. Deputies received a report that the plates on the black SUV matched a vehicle that had been reported stolen, prompting deputies to perform a traffic stop, according […]
The post Teens arrested after SUV crash appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/teens-arrested-after-suv-crash-2/ Save to Pocket
CSUN women’s rugby season opener
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Sundail (CSUN student paper)
California State University, Northridge women’s rugby team kicked off the 2024 season at home against UC Irvine last weekend. This matchup challenged the Matadors to put all their hard work,…
https://sundial.csun.edu/178695/multimedia/watch/csun-womens-rugby-season-opener/ Save to Pocket
Teen seeks to raise alarm after massage parlor visit
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
A local teen said he wanted to make people aware of what’s going on in his neighborhood after he filed a report with law enforcement alleging he was fondled against his will and then had money stolen from his wallet at a massage parlor just blocks from his house. The 18-year-old victim drove to a […]
The post Teen seeks to raise alarm after massage parlor visit appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/teen-seeks-to-raise-alarm-after-massage-parlor-visit/ Save to Pocket
Teens arrested after SUV crash
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies arrested two juveniles Monday afternoon after a black Mercedes Benz SUV crashed into a center divider in Valencia following a stolen-vehicle investigation. Deputies received a report that the plates on the black SUV matched a vehicle that had been reported stolen, prompting deputies to perform a traffic stop, […]
The post Teens arrested after SUV crash appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/teens-arrested-after-suv-crash/ Save to Pocket
New developer, new plans
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
City to hear new proposal for former Whittaker-Bermite site next week The city of Santa Clarita is expecting to hear an early public discussion next week for one of the most talked-about and worked-on plots of land in the region’s history: the Whittaker-Bermite property, which is now being proposed for development as a new project […]
The post New developer, new plans appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/new-developer-new-plans/ Save to Pocket
Is Emacs Dying?
date: 2024-02-27, from: Tilde.news
https://irreal.org/blog/?p=11995 Save to Pocket
Battery powered trailer boost range, efficiency — now for $120,000 less
date: 2024-02-27, from: Electrek Feed
The RA electric trailer from Range Energy promises to turn your diesel truck into a hybrid or extend the range of your electric semi – and now it qualifies for a $120,000 voucher in California.
https://electrek.co/2024/02/26/battery-powered-trailer-boost-range-efficiency-now-for-120000-less/ Save to Pocket
Google to reboot Gemini image gen in a few weeks after that anti-White race row
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
While you wait, Android devices will start to use gen AI to do stuff like summarize group chats
Google hopes to reinstate Gemini’s AI text-to-image generation of people in the next couple of weeks as it races to undo whatever prevented the model from accurately depicting White folks.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/google_gemini_return/ Save to Pocket
mud-pi: A simple MUD server in Python, for teaching purposes, which could be run on a Raspberry Pi
date: 2024-02-27, from: Tilde.news
https://github.com/Frimkron/mud-pi Save to Pocket
Quick Charge Podcast: February 26, 2024
date: 2024-02-27, 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/2024/02/26/quick-charge-podcast-february-26-2024/ Save to Pocket
Holocaust survivor tells life story at Hart High School
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
Holocaust survivor Joe Alexander gave a presentation on his life and experiences surviving 12 different concentration camps at Hart High School on Sunday evening. “Tonight, Santa Clarita will have the opportunity to hear from a man who has survived these atrocities,” said Councilman Jason Gibbs, who introduced Alexander alongside Rabbi Choni Marozov from Chabad of […]
The post Holocaust survivor tells life story at Hart High School appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/holocaust-survivor-tells-life-story-at-hart-high-school/ Save to Pocket
Concerned Carpinterians for Roy Lee
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
Concerned Carpinterians announces their full-hearted support and endorsement of Carpinteria City Council Member Roy Lee for 1st District Supervisor of Santa Barbara.
The post Concerned Carpinterians for Roy Lee appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/26/concerned-carpinterians-for-roy-lee/ Save to Pocket
Texas Sues Pornhub, Claiming It’s Ignoring Age Verification Law
date: 2024-02-27, from: 404 Media Group
Attorney General Ken Paxton said he “looks forward” to preventing minors from seeing “harmful, obscene material” on the internet.
https://www.404media.co/texas-sues-pornhub-claiming-its-ignoring-age-verification-law/ Save to Pocket
Even in Losing to Trump, Haley Reveals His Soft GOP Support
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
https://www.voanews.com/a/even-in-losing-to-trump-haley-reveals-his-soft-gop-support/7503925.html Save to Pocket
Russia’s Cozy Bear dives into cloud environments with a new bag of tricks
date: 2024-02-27, updated: 2024-02-27, from: The Register (UK I.T. News)
Kremlin’s spies tried out the TTPs on Microsoft, and now they’re off to the races
Russia’s notorious Cozy Bear, the crew behind the SolarWinds supply chain attack, has expanded its targets and evolved its techniques to break into organizations’ cloud environments, according to the Five Eyes governments.…
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/02/27/russia_cozy_bear_new_ttps/ Save to Pocket
Lady Mustangs Drop Regular Season Finale to Menlo Oaks 60-67
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
The Master’s University women’s basketball team got to within one in the final quarter, but it was the Menlo Oaks that pulled away in the end to get the 67-60 win Saturday afternoon in The MacArthur Center
https://scvnews.com/lady-mustangs-drop-regular-season-finale-to-menlo-oaks-60-67/ Save to Pocket
Wilk coauthors measure to pull plug on looming income-based electricity charges
date: 2024-02-27, from: The Signal
News release Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, has announced he is co-authoring the Cost of Living Reduction Act, Senate Bill 1326, which would repeal a 2022 law authorizing an income-based charge on electrical bills. “Too many Californians struggle to afford their electricity bills at a time when energy is already unreliable, and yet the Legislature […]
The post Wilk coauthors measure to pull plug on looming income-based electricity charges appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
https://signalscv.com/2024/02/wilk-coauthors-measure-to-pull-plug-on-looming-income-based-electricity-charges/ Save to Pocket
Weihai Sister Cities Association Brings in Year of the Dragon at China Pavilion
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
2024 Board members of Weihai, China Sister Cities Association hosted their annual New Year Celebration with a Year of the
The post Weihai Sister Cities Association Brings in Year of the Dragon at China Pavilion appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/26/weihai-sister-cities-association-brings-in-year-of-the-dragon-at-china-pavilion/ Save to Pocket
An Asset to the County
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
As a full-time Gaviota resident in rural Santa Barbara County, I support Joan Hartmann for 3rd District Supervisor.
The post An Asset to the County appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/26/an-asset-to-the-county/ Save to Pocket
SCV Realtor Recognized Among Wilk’s Black History Month Spotlight
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
In honor of Black History Month, California State Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, is pleased to recognize several prominent Black community leaders and organizations who are making a difference across Senate District
https://scvnews.com/scv-realtor-recognized-among-wilks-black-history-month-spotlight/ Save to Pocket
Pentagon Absolves Itself After Secrecy Surrounding Austin’s Hospitalization
date: 2024-02-27, from: VOA News USA
washington — An internal review blames privacy restrictions and staff hesitancy for the Pentagon’s failure last month to quickly notify the president and other senior leaders about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization for complications from prostate cancer surgery.
The review, which was done by Austin’s subordinates, largely absolves anyone of wrongdoing for the secrecy surrounding his hospitalization, which included several days in the intensive care unit. And it says flatly there was “no indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate.”
Instead, the 30-day examination of the lapse — which angered the White House and members of Congress — says procedures must be improved and information shared better about when the defense secretary must transfer decision-making authorities to the deputy.
Austin has been called to Capitol Hill on Thursday for a House hearing and is expected to face sharp criticism. The Defense Department’s inspector general is also conducting a review, which has not yet been completed.
Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early December and went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for surgery on December 22. On January 1, he was taken back to Walter Reed by ambulance after experiencing significant pain and was moved to the intensive care unit the next day.
Although he transferred decision-making authorities to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks during his initial surgery and then again when he was in intensive care, he did not tell her why and he did not inform the White House.
Pentagon officials have acknowledged that public affairs and defense aides were told on January 2 that Austin had been hospitalized but did not make it public and did not tell the military service leaders or the National Security Council until January 4. Only then did President Joe Biden find out. It took four more days before the reason for his hospitalization was disclosed.
Defense officials released an unclassified summary of the review on Monday and a set of recommended changes. The review suggests there was no established method for handling such an incident, and the fact that his hospitalization was “unplanned” contributed to the failure to let others know.
It also says Austin’s staff was limited by medical privacy laws that prohibited doctors from providing information and they “were hesitant to pry or share any information they did learn.” It adds that since Austin’s condition was “in flux” they could not ensure “timely secured communications.”
Major General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Monday that Austin’s aides found themselves in an “unprecedented situation.” He said that as Austin was being moved into intensive care, his aides recognized that he would not have access to critical communications, and they made the decision to transfer authorities to the deputy.
The fact that staff and not Austin made the decision raised questions about who was in control of the department at that moment, including America’s nuclear arsenal. Ryder said there were “no gaps” in command and control of the department.
Pressed on the lack of blame and whether anyone is being disciplined, Ryder said, “as the secretary has said, the buck stops with him and he’s taking responsibility for not notifying the president and the White House sooner.”
He added that “dedicated public servants were doing what they thought was the right thing.”
The 30-day review was finished and submitted to Austin on February 8, but only parts of it were publicly released. The Pentagon has argued that portions of the report are classified.
Austin, in a press briefing after he returned to work, told reporters that he never told his staff to keep his surgery and hospitalization secret from the White House, but acknowledged he should have handled it differently and he apologized for keeping Biden and others in the dark. He denied there was a culture of secrecy in his office, and also said that staff members may have perceived that “they’re doing things in my best interest.”
The recommended changes include better guidelines for the transfer of authorities and better reporting requirements during those incidents.
His secrecy about the hospitalizations prompted the White House to issue new guidelines to ensure it will be informed any time a Cabinet head transfers decision-making authorities when they are unreachable due to medical, travel or other reasons.
https://www.voanews.com/a/pentagon-absolves-itself-after-secrecy-surrounding-austin-s-hospitalization-/7503906.html Save to Pocket
Cannabis Money
date: 2024-02-27, from: Santa Barbara Indenpent News
In 2019, Das Williams said he wouldn’t accept future contributions from the cannabis industry, but he hasn’t kept this promise.
The post Cannabis Money appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.
https://www.independent.com/2024/02/26/cannabis-money/ Save to Pocket
Landmark Legislation Announced for School Employees Paid Pregnancy Leave
date: 2024-02-27, from: SCV New (TV Station)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond joined educators and members of the California Teachers Association Monday on the west steps of the California State Capitol to announce historic legislation—the Pregnancy Leave for Educators Act
https://scvnews.com/landmark-legislation-announced-for-school-employees-paid-pregnancy-leave/ Save to Pocket
Today in the Supreme Court: What’s the real answer to the problem of policing Giant Tech’s content?
date: 2024-02-27, from: Robert Reich on Substack
Today’s argument before the Supreme Court
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/whats-the-real-answer-to-the-problem Save to Pocket
Fast Poetry and pre-commit with GitHub Actions
date: 2024-02-27, from: Max Halford Blog
This is a short post to share a GitHub Actions pattern I use to setup Poetry and pre-commit. These two tools cover most of my Python development needs. I use Poetry to manage dependencies and pre-commit to run code checks and formatting. The setup is fast because it caches the virtual environment and the .local directory. I like to use custom actions for this type of stuff. These are base actions that can be re-used in multiple workflows.
https://maxhalford.github.io/blog/fast-poetry-pre-commit-github-actions/ Save to Pocket
Pure CSS single-page app routing
date: 2024-02-27, from: Lean Rada’s blog
You’re probably a busy person, so here’s the CSS:
section:not(:target) {
display: none;
}Demo: Open in a new tab
Open in a new tabExplanation
The
:target
CSS selector selects the element that is targeted by the URL fragment.
Combined with :not, we can hide sections that are
not referenced by the URL fragment.
Just as JS routers use the fragment to hide/show sections in the DOM, this “CSS router” uses the same fragment to hide/show sections in the DOM.
Experiment: Default section
Notice that the example above doesn’t start with the Home section. The content is blank initially. This is because on initial page load we don’t have a URL fragment to begin with.
We need to make an exception for the Home section.
Let’s start by not hiding the #home section by default.
Only hide #home if there’s a specific :target
section.
- section:not(:target) {
+ section:not(#home, :target),
+ :root:has(:target) #home {
display: none;
}Demo v2: Open in a new tab
Open in a new tabExperiment: Nested routes
One thing that makes most client-side routers modular is the ability to nest routes. We can do the same with CSS.
- section:not(:target) {
+ section:not(:target, :has(:target)) {
display: none;
}Demo v3: This demo is best when you view it in a separate tab
Open in a new tabParameterised routes?
The ultimate feature for client-side routers is to dynamically catch
routes with parameters like for example /post/:id.
Since HTML is static, there’s no real way to do this with CSS. ☹
Unless… you could render all possible :id values in the
markup and use it like you would nested routes.
<!-- ... -->
<section id="post/128"><!-- ... --></section>
<section id="post/129"><!-- ... --></section>
<section id="post/130"><!-- ... --></section>
<!-- ... -->But that’d be like putting the entire database in HTML. What if you have two parameters in the route? It could be a combinatorial explosion. So no, the experiments end here. 👋
https://leanrada.com/notes/pure-css-spa-router?ref=rss Save to Pocket