Encryption Lava Lamps

"The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet"

Microrobots

NYT: "The Microbots Are on Their Way"

Like Frankenstein, Marc Miskin’s robots initially lie motionless. Then their limbs jerk to life.

But these robots are the size of a speck of dust. Thousands fit side-by-side on a single silicon wafer similar to those used for computer chips, and, like Frankenstein coming to life, they pull themselves free and start crawling.

First Film Of Solar Eclipse

"The First Film Footage of a Total Solar Eclipse (1900)"

Bezos On Space

Video: "Jeff Bezos, Going to Space to Benefit Earth" (Washington DC, May 9, 2019)

On May 9, 2019, Blue Origin founder held an event in Washington, DC titled, "Going to Space to Benefit Earth." The presentation revealed Mr. Bezos' vision for Blue Origin technologies to service the Moon.

(Link via H.R.)

Early Browsers

"Before Netscape: The forgotten Web browsers of the early 1990s"

EternalBlue Havoc

"In Baltimore and Beyond, a Stolen N.S.A. Tool Wreaks Havoc"

[Off Topic] Hsieh Forbes Column: 18-Year-Olds Have The Right To Smoke

[Off Topic] My latest Forbes piece is now out, "If 18-Year-Olds Can Fight For Their Country, They Should Be Able To Smoke A Cigarette".

I discuss the latest bipartisan push to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21.

I frame the discussion in the form of three questions:

1) Is it the government’s job to stop legal adults from making unhealthy life choices?

2) If Congress allows 18-year-olds risk their lives in military service, shouldn’t they also be allowed to smoke?

3) Whose body is it, anyways?

For more details, read the full piece "If 18-Year-Olds Can Fight For Their Country, They Should Be Able To Smoke A Cigarette".

Lane Dummies

"Note to HOV Lane Cheaters: That Mannequin Isn't Fooling Anyone"

Left-Handed Snail

"It's a Lefty! Welcome to the World's First Crispr Snail Baby." (Via H.R.)

"Terminator: Dark Fate" Trailer

 The trailer for the upcoming Terminator: Dark Fate movie is now out.

The last couple of Terminator films were pretty disappointing. However, Stephen Green notes:

Dark Fate is touted as a direct sequel to T2, and will treat the other three films as though they never existed. In other words, someone ...or some thing... was sent back in time to stop the production of three Terminator movies before they could be made. Heh.

So Linda Hamilton is back for the first time since 1991, kicking cyborg booty and saving her family. And if the trailer is any indication, Dark Fate might just bring back Terminator's engaging mix of action, girl power, sex appeal, and a clever plot twist or two. 

I hope this one is good. Direct link to the video:

NYT On Thrangrycat

NYT: "The Internet Security Apocalypse You Probably Missed"

Unix Time Falsehoods

"Falsehoods programmers believe about Unix time":

These three facts all seem eminently sensible and reasonable, right?

1. Unix time is the number of seconds since 1 January 1970 00:00:00 UTC
2. If I wait exactly one second, Unix time advances by exactly one second
3. Unix time can never go backwards

False, false, false.

But it’s unsatisfying to say “this is false” without explaining why, so I’ll explain that below...

Holiday Hiatus

Admin note: Because of the US Memorial Day holiday, GeekPress will take the day off. Regular posting will resume tomorrow.

Zero-G Honey

"Honey in Zero Gravity Is Weird"

Genetics Of Dog Ownership

"Evidence of large genetic influences on dog ownership in the Swedish Twin Registry"

Belgian Beer Update

"Belgian monks resurrect 220-year-old beer after finding recipe"

China Blocks All Wikipedia

"The Wikimedia Foundation released a statement on Friday announcing that it had determined that China blocked all versions of Wikipedia."

Robot Flirting

NYT: "The future is robots, and they're teaching us how to flirt"

Surgical Vending Machine

"World's First Surgical Vending Machine"

Bacon Pudding

"Portuguese Bacon Pudding"

Eiffel Tower Climber

"The Eiffel Tower was closed Monday after a man with no ropes, dressed only in casual clothing, attempted to climb it."

Awkward Texts

"Texting Moves to the Workplace, as Do the Awkward Misfires."

The Next Space Race

"Musk vs. Bezos: The Great Migration into Space"

Google Tracks Your Shopping

"Google uses Gmail to track a history of things you buy -- and it's hard to delete"

Electron Crystallography

Derek Lowe: "Absolute Configuration With Electrons"

Dribbling Teapots

"Dribble no more: Physics can help combat that pesky 'teapot effect'". (Via H.R.)

Evacuating Planes

"How to Evacuate an Aircraft After a Crash".

tldr; don't take your bags

Breakfast Rebel

"I Broke Breakfast: Americans eat a narrower variety of foods for breakfast than anyone else. It doesn’t have to be this way."

Year In Space

NYT: "Scott Kelly Spent a Year in Orbit. His Body Is Not Quite the Same."

Compared to his twin brother who stayed on Earth:

DNA mutated in some of his cells. His immune system produced a host of new signals. His microbiome gained new species of bacteria. 

Many of these biological changes seemed harmless, disappearing after he returned to Earth. But others — including genetic mutations and, after his return, declines in cognitive test scores — did not correct themselves, provoking concern among scientists.

Thinking About Coffee

"Just thinking about coffee can improve your focus, researchers say"

14-Digit Phone Numbers

"Japan plans to create 10 billion 14-digit phone numbers as 5G era nears"

Deepest Hole

"The deepest hole we have ever dug"

Twisted Graphene

"How Twisted Graphene Became the Big Thing in Physics"

Bank Comics

"New Comic Books from the Federal Reserve Bank".

One sample below:

Video Thomas

"Why are people modding Thomas the Tank Engine into video games?"

Bad Drugs

"Blow up: How half a tonne of cocaine transformed the life of an island"

Blood Delivery Drones

"In the Air With Zipline's Medical Delivery Drones
". (Via H.R.)

Lifetime Hotel Ban Rescinded

Hilarious story: "Nova Scotia man whose Victoria hotel room was destroyed by seagulls allowed to return after 17-year ban". (Via R.G.)

Quantum Cheshire Cats

"Spin-Swapping Particles Could Be 'Quantum Cheshire Cats'"

Mysterious Key Jamming

"Car Keys Mysteriously Stopped Working in This Small Ohio Town, And We Now Know Why". (Via H.R.)

Tolkien Biopic

"Birth of Middle Earth: Tolkien biopic explores beloved author's early years"

New Viruses

"Almost 200,000 Never-Before-Seen Viruses Were Just Discovered Hidden in Our Oceans "

Google Privacy

"Limit How Long Google Keeps Your Data With This Overdue Setting"

DOD And UFOs

"What The Hell Is Going On With UFOs And The Department Of Defense?"

Beer Crisis

"'English and Irish fans drink the most': Japan is warned of a Rugby World Cup beer shortage"

Japanese Precision Walking

"Shuudan Koudou Is the Japanese Art of Synchronized Precision Walking":

If you want the really good stuff, skip to ~1:35 in the first video to watch two columns of quick-walking students march backwards through each other. Whoa.

Video link #1.



Video link #2

High Resolution Update

"Color-Changing LEDs Pave the Way to Impossibly High Screen Resolutions"

Google Updates

"Everything Big Google Announced at I/O Today"

Making Science Better

Dr. Dorothy Bishop: "Rein in the four horsemen of irreproducibility"

AI Proves Theorems

"Google AI system proves over 1200 mathematical theorems"

Pad Thai History

"History of pad Thai: How the stir-fried noodle dish was invented by the Thai government"

Indoor Waterfall

"'You forget you're in a building,' says Israeli-Canadian architect of giant airport waterfall". (Via Marginal Revolution.)

Competitive Air Guitar

"The profound and peculiar sport of competitive air guitar"

Viable Digital Newspaper

"Want to see what one digital future for newspapers looks like? Look at The Guardian, which isn't losing money anymore."

Three key components to their strategy:

1. Make your money in digital, not print
2. Make your money from readers, not advertisers
3. Make more money than you did before

Fire Extinguisher In Space

"New concept for novel fire extinguisher in space"

Selling Empty Air

"You Can Buy a Tin of Air to Commemorate the End of the Heisei Era".  I applaud the entrepreneurial spirit.

Apple Miracle

"Apple Watch lost at sea for 6 months returned to owner in working condition". (Via H.R.)