Unexpected Booms

"Ashley Madison: Extramarital affairs soar in pandemic with technology's help"

Big Star

"The mind-boggling size of the largest known star, Stephenson 2-18"

Hsieh Forbes Column: Is It Safe To Crack Your Knuckles?

My latest Forbes piece is now out: "Is It Safe To Crack Your Knees And Knuckles?"

And click through to learn why Dr. Donald Unger is the deserving recipient of an Ig Nobel Prize for research in this area! 

Time Travel Physics

"Time travel is deterministic and locally free, a new paper says --resolving an age-old paradox."

Before TP

"What did people use before toilet paper was invented?"

IOT Ransomware

"When coffee makers are demanding a ransom, you know IoT is screwed"

Early Steel

"1,000-Year-Old Precursor to Stainless Steel Found in Iran, Surprising Archaeologists". (Via H.R.)

Tesla Battery Technology

"Here's what Tesla will put in its new batteries".

 Related: "How Tesla plans to make batteries cheap enough for a $25,000 car"

Pricy Chips

"The World's Most Expensive Potato Chips Will Run You $15 Per Chip" 

 

Markets In Everything: Evictions

"Gig Economy Company Launches Uber, But for Evicting People"

Android 11

"Android 11 -- The Ars Technica Review"

Tiny Medical Devices

"New 3-D printing method could jump-start creation of tiny medical devices for the body"

Apple Oximeter Accuracy

"Should You Trust Apple's New Blood Oxygen Sensor?"

Poker Scandal

"The Cheating Scandal That Ripped the Poker World Apart"

Young Adults Back Home

For the first time since the Great Depression, the majority of 18-to-29 year-olds are living in their parents' houses.

Hypnotic Sculptures

"Hypnotic wooden kinetic sculptures". Click through to see videos.

Indirect Ransomware Death?

"Patient dies after ransomware attack reroutes her to remote hospital"

New Apple

"The new Apple Watch SE and iPad Air are better 'better' options"

Encryption And National Security

"Weakened Encryption: The Threat to America's National Security"

In-Flight Software Updates?

"Updating software in flight? The Air Force may be close".

 Um, is this really a good idea?

Snake Mask

Man wears live snake as "face covering" on bus: 

One passenger... said she initially thought the man was wearing a 'funky mask' before she spotted it slithering over the hand rails.

I don't know how well it stops aerosol spread, but it undoubtedly helps motivate people to stay more than 6 feet away!

 

Mandalorian S2 Trailer

Official trailer for The Mandalorian, Season 2.

Singapore Flights To Nowhere

"Singapore Airlines is considering launching 'no destination' flights next month in a unique way to offer travel-starved locals a way to experience flying again."

Overzealous Feds

"Feds seize OnePlus Buds, mistaking them for 'counterfeit' AirPods"

Mind Bending Short Film "Circulatory Systems"

"Koyaanisqatsi meets fractals in mind-bending short film Circulatory Systems"

Circulatory Systems from Visual Suspect on Vimeo.

Google Searches For GI Symptoms May Predict COVID Spike

Google searches as leading indicator for COVID-19 spike: 

"We found that Google search interest in ageusia, loss of appetite, and diarrhea increased 4 weeks prior to the rise in COVID-19 cases for most states, with maximum correlation estimates of 0.998, 0.871, and 0.748, respectively..."

Becoming A Senior Software Engineer

"Things I Learned to Become a Senior Software Engineer"

German Flying Train

"Ride Through a German Village on ‘The Flying Train’ in Incredibly Clear Footage from 1902". (Via H.R.)

Dune Trailer

Trailer for upcoming version of Dune.  I'm cautiously optimistic!

Neuroscience Of Stuttering

"The new neuroscience of stuttering"

Dodecahedron Discovery

"Mathematicians Report New Discovery About the Dodecahedron"

Phillips Dominance

"How the Phillips Screwdriver Took Over America"

Vanishing Japanese

BBC: "The companies that help [Japanese] people vanish"

Digital Pregnancy Test

Inside the digital pregnancy test.

AI Grading Hack

"These students figured out their tests were graded by AI -- and the easy way to cheat"

Robot Harvests Coconuts

"Tree-Climbing Robot Can Safely Harvest Coconuts". (Via H.R.)

Holiday Hiatus

Admin note: GeekPress is taking a short hiatus for the US Labor Day. Posting will resume tomorrow, but may be lighter than usual the rest of this week.

Covid Hypothesis

"A Supercomputer Analyzed Covid-19 -- and an Interesting New Theory Has Emerged"

Big Bomb

NYT: "New Video Shows Largest Hydrogen Bomb Ever Exploded"

Last week, the Russian nuclear energy agency, Rosatom, released a 30-minute, formerly secret documentary video about the world’s largest hydrogen bomb detonation. The explosive force of the device — nicknamed Tsar Bomba, or the Tsar’s bomb, and set off on Oct. 30, 1961 — was 50 megatons, or the equivalent of 50 million tons of conventional explosive. That made it 3,333 times as destructive as the weapon used on Hiroshima, Japan, and also far more powerful than the 15 megaton weapon set off by the United States in 1954 in its largest hydrogen bomb blast.

Zoom Hacking

"Video editor used prerecorded clips in Zoom meetings for a week and no one noticed"

Unprecedented CDC Order

"CDC issues unprecedented order halting evictions to prevent COVID-19 spread".

The article includes details of the claimed legal basis for this action.

High Flyer (Child Ok)

"Taiwan kite festival accident sees 3-year-old girl lifted high into the air as crowd watches on"

The child was filmed being lifted dozens of metres into the air after she was caught in the strings of a kite as it was released on a gusty day...

The video ends with the tail of the kite relatively slowly dropping to the ground as those people nearby rush to help the girl.

News reports said the girl was frightened but suffered no physical injuries in the incident

(Click through to see video.)

.

 

COVID And Divorce

"US Divorce Rates Soar During COVID-19 Crisis"