Sneaky Vulnerability

"How cut-and-pasted programming is putting the internet and society at risk"

Alexa Advice

"Alexa tells 10-year-old girl to touch live plug with penny"

New #1 Website

"Google is dethroned as world's most popular website"

The new top 5 list for 2021 (#GetOffMyLawn):

1. TikTok
2. Google
3. Facebook
4. Microsoft
5. Apple

 

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Again, posting will be light the rest of the week due to external obligations.

Disruption History

"A History of Disruption, From Fringe Ideas to Social Change"

Jingle Bells, Batman Smells

Video: "I Asked 64,182 People About 'Jingle Bells, Batman Smells'. Here's What I Found Out." #HoHoHo #MerryChristmas 

Dinosaur Embryo

"Perfectly preserved dinosaur embryo found in China"

 

Moore's Law Marches On

"2D Semiconductors Stalk Silicon at the Edge of Moore's Law". (Via H.R.)

Crypto Benefits

"We All Need to Stop Only Seeing the Dark Side of Crypto"

Michael Dorn

"Michael Dorn is the most prolific Star Trek actor of all time"

Snowball Fights In Art

"Snowball Fights in Art". 

I especially liked some of the Asian artwork. And the photograph, "Photograph of Princeton students after a snowball fight between freshman and sophomores, 1893"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memory Storage In Brains

"Where is Memory Information Stored in the Brain?"

Within the scientific research community, memory information in the brain is commonly believed to be stored in the synapse - a hypothesis famously attributed to psychologist Donald Hebb. 

However, there is a growing minority who postulate that memory is stored inside the neuron at the molecular (RNA or DNA) level -- an alternative postulation known as the cell-intrinsic hypothesis, coined by psychologist Randy Gallistel. In this paper, we review a selection of key experimental evidence from both sides of the argument...

Joining The Jets

"We're Sorry, You Can't Join Our Street Gang Because You Don't Know Ballet".

Obligatory link to classic SNL skit, "Cobras And Panthers":

Real Markets For Virtual Goods

"Nike just bought a virtual shoe company that makes NFTs and sneakers 'for the metaverse'"

Musk And Time

"Elon Musk Is TIME's 2021 Person of the Year"

I'm not an uncritical Elon Musk fanboy. 

 

But I am glad to see Time Magazine giving this year's recognition to someone whose primary claim to fame is what they've achieved in the private sphere, as opposed to how good or bad they've been as a political ruler over others.

 

From the article: 

He’s a player in robots and solar, cryptocurrency and climate, brain-computer implants to stave off the menace of artificial intelligence and underground tunnels to move people and freight at super speeds.

Continued Light Posting

Admin note: Again, posting may be light through the month of December due to a variety of external obligations.

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be lighter than usual this week due to external obligations.

Business Phrasebook

"The business phrasebook: A short guide to what your colleagues really mean".

Here's an excerpt:

 

More Metaverse

"Why the metaverse is more than Mark Zuckerberg's dream"

Tiny Camera

"Researchers shrink camera to the size of a salt grain". (Via G.F.)

While a traditional camera uses a series of curved glass or plastic lenses to bend light rays into focus, the new optical system relies on a technology called a metasurface, which can be produced much like a computer chip. Just half a millimeter wide, the metasurface is studded with 1.6 million cylindrical posts, each roughly the size of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Each post has a unique geometry, and functions like an optical antenna. Varying the design of each post is necessary to correctly shape the entire optical wavefront. With the help of machine learning-based algorithms, the posts’ interactions with light combine to produce the highest-quality images and widest field of view for a full-color metasurface camera developed to date.

 

Reproducing Robots Update

CNN: "World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say"

Hsieh Forbes Column: Riding The Roller Coaster Of Holiday Emotions

My latest Forbes column is out: "Riding The Roller Coaster Of Holiday Emotions"

Superbug Killers

Wired: "An AI Finds Superbug-Killing Potential in Human Proteins"

Real Floating City

"South Korea hopes to build sustainable floating city by 2025"

Faking Old City Streets

Video: "How City Streets Are Transformed To Look Old In Movies"

Santa Shortage

Tight labor market for heavy-set older men, results in a "Santa Shortage".

Year Of Meals For $150

"Meet the Guy Who Spends Just $150 a Year to Eat All His Meals at Six Flags". (Via Gus Van Horn.)

Employee Monitoring

"Is your company secretly monitoring your work at home?"

Phishing Multi-Factor Authentication

"Why Is the Majority of Our MFA So Phishable?"

Light Posting

Admin note: Posting will be light or non-existent the rest of the week because of the US Thanksgiving holiday.

Bionic Hand Update

"Bionic Hand Gives Amputees Sense of Touch". (Via H.R.)

Plants Vs. Prey

"Time Lapse of Carnivorous Plants and Their Prey Preparing for Battle".

Also: "[N]ever fear, a tender disclaimer in the video’s description: 'All insects captured by the plants have been released.'"

New Mineral

"New Mineral Discovered in Deep-Earth Diamond":

A diamond that formed deep in the earth’s mantle contains a mineral never seen before in nature. The discovery is a rare glimpse into the deep mantle and may help reveal new information about the structure of the planet at depths of more than 660 kilometers...

The mineral, calcium silicate perovskite, only forms under the incredibly high pressures that occur deep in the earth...

 

Physics And Counterfeiting

"A physicist studied Ben Franklin's clever tricks to foil currency counterfeiters". (Via H.R.)

Chatting With Whales?

"Are We on the Verge of Chatting with Whales?"

More Metaverse

"Don't mock the metaverse"

Communicating Via Thoughts

"Brain Implant Translates Paralyzed Man's Thoughts Into Text With 94% Accuracy". (Via H.R.)

Drone Attack

Unsuccessful attempted assassination using explosive-laden drones.

Singularity And Metaverse

"Singularity Is Fast Approaching, and It Will Happen First in the Metaverse"

Controlling Super-Intelligent AIs

"Calculations Suggest It'll Be Impossible to Control a Super-Intelligent AI".

Not quite sure how much to be worried about this.

Link to original paper in Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research: "Superintelligence Cannot be Contained: Lessons from Computability Theory"

Alzheimer's Vaccine Update

I really hope this pans out: "Alzheimer's Disease Nasal Vaccine To Be Tested At Brigham And Women's Hospital". (Via R.T.)

Cold Case Bank Robbery Solved

"US bank robber identified after decades-long hunt":

According to the Marshal Service, Conrad had allegedly told friends of his plans to rob the bank and boasted about how easy it would be to do. He was reportedly obsessed with the 1968 Steve McQueen heist film, The Thomas Crown Affair, and watched it more than a dozen times during his preparation for the robbery. 

Crypto Tax Rules

"The infrastructure bill makes crypto tax-reporting failures a felony"

Teleportation

"Why Can't People Teleport?"

Linking Robots

"Ant-inspired quadruped robots link together to overcome obstacles"

Relativity And Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Nature: "Experimental relativistic zero-knowledge proofs". (Via G.F.)

In this work, we report the experimental realization of such a zero-knowledge protocol involving two separated verifier–prover pairs. Security is enforced via the physical principle of special relativity, and no computational assumption (such as the existence of one-way functions) is required. Our implementation exclusively relies on off-the-shelf equipment and works at both short (60 m) and long distances (≥400 m) in about one second. 

Kinetic Launch

"SpinLaunch's rocket-free kinetic launch system conducts first test flight". (Via A.A.)

Teapot Effect Solved

"Physicists say they've finally solved the teapot effect -- for real this time". (Via H.R.)

Legality Of Submerged Nation?

"Tuvalu looking at legal ways to be a state if it is submerged"

Culture Shock

America, as viewed by a newly-arrived Indian graduate student. Fascinating observations. Via A.A.

Mandatory Anti-Drunk Driving Tech

In the new "infrastructure bill" car manufacturers will be required to install technology in new vehicles to keep drunk people from driving. 

Also from the article: "The voluminous bill also requires automakers to install rear-seat reminders to alert parents if a child is left inadvertently in the back seat" and "automatic emergency braking and lane departure warnings in all passenger vehicles".

VPN Alternatives

NYT: "It's Time to Stop Paying for a VPN"

Smart Kid Uses Hand Signals As Distress Sign

"Missing N.C. teen found after using TikTok hand sign alerting she was in danger"

Battery Challenge

"Cars Are Going Electric. What Happens to the Used Batteries?"

Old Machine, New OS

"Flouting Microsoft's rules, man gets Windows 11 to work on a 15-year-old PC"

Robotic Laser Weedkiller

"Self-Driving Farm Robot Uses Lasers To Kill 100,000 Weeds An Hour, Saving Land And Farmers From Toxic Herbicides". (Via H.R.)

Space Toilet Leak

"Leaky SpaceX toilet problem will force astronauts to use backup 'undergarments'"

Petersen On Infrastructure

"Beyond the Meme: Ever Given, Supply Chains, and the Physical World". (Via G.F.)

James Bond Health Risks

Tongue-in-cheek analysis of James Bond's health risks including poor hand-washing skills and "above-average sexual activity".

Direct link: "No time to die: An in-depth analysis of James Bond's exposure to infectious agents", Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, Volume 44, November–December 2021.

Window Washing Robots

"Skyscraper Window Washing Robots Are Here to Take Over One of Our Most Terrifying Jobs". (Via H.R.)

Hoverbike Update

"Japan startup targets supercar users with $700,000 hoverbike"

 

Bombing A Volcano

"When the U.S. dropped bombs on a volcano to save a town"

First Remote Worker

"The First Remote Worker".

For various reasons, which are described in the podcast, [Paul] Lutus was living in a cabin in the Oregon woods. Before he got the Apple II in 1976, he didn’t even have electricity -- he had to run what amounted to a 1,200 foot extension cord to a construction box that he talked the utility company into installing...

[H]is backup system was to bury floppy disks of his work in an ammo can at his cabin. He started doing that after a lightning strike reset his computer while he was working. There’s a bunch of other amusing stories as well...

(Via Gus Van Horn.)

Ars Technica On MB Pro

Ars Technica: "2021 MacBook Pro review: Yep, it's what you’ve been waiting for". (Via H.R.)

Quarterstaff Technique

"Boy Scouts' Instruction on the Quarterstaff and Other Weapons"

This martial flavor is especially evident in the movement’s early literature, such as this 1925 instruction manual that teaches scouts in the tasks necessary to earn the master-at-arms badge. The first section addresses the use of the saber, while using wooden sticks as training implements. Next is the quarterstaff, which is a useful choice, as the most accessible of improvised weapons is surely a broomstick. Leaving aside the weapons, the scouts then train in the basics of boxing, ju-jitsu, and wrestling. The result is a well-rounded combatant.

Old Software

"The 'Dune' Screenplay Was Written in MS-DOS"

Opening Titles

Video: "A Celebration of Opening Title Sequences (And Why They Need To Come Back)"

Exoplanet Update

"Signs of first planet found outside our galaxy"

FBI And Telecoms

"Here's the FBI's Internal Guide for Getting Data from AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon"

Whitest White

"The whitest paint is here -- and it's the coolest. Literally."

iPod History

"20 years of the iPod: How it shuffled music and tech into a new era"

Wooden Knife

"Watch this wooden knife cut effortlessly through juicy, medium-well-done steak". (Via H.R.)

Distant Galaxies

"94% of the universe's galaxies are permanently beyond our reach"

Today, most of the universe's galaxies are already receding faster than the speed of light.

OTOH, most of them get pretty mediocre reviews on Yelp, so I wasn't planning on visiting them anyways.

Dune Universe Timeline

Video: "Full Timeline of the Dune Universe (34,000 Years)"

Death By Ransomware

WSJ: "A Hospital Hit by Hackers, a Baby in Distress: The Case of the First Alleged Ransomware Death"

Related article.

Smart Cane

"This $400 Cane Uses Autonomous Vehicle Tech to Help Guide The Visually Impaired". (Via H.R.)

Westarctica

"For the past two decades, the micronation of Westarctica has grown in prominence -- and is now using its power for something other than Antarctic domination."

I confess that I had never heart of Westarctica until now. 

Finances For The "Great Resignation"

WSJ: "How to Prepare Your Finances Before Quitting Your Job"

No Needles

"Monitoring glucose levels, no needles required". (Via Rand Simberg.)

Shatner Interview

"Captain Kirk Goes to Space: 'It's Indescribable'"

Sandpile Studies

"The Math of the Amazing Sandpile"

Nuking Asteroids

"A Last-Minute Nuke to Shatter an Incoming Asteroid Could Actually Work, Study Suggests"

Mother Of Languages

"World's languages traced back to single African mother tongue"

Fire In Microgravity

"Fire is Spherical in Microgravity"

Internet Rabbit Hole

"What useful unknown website do you wish more people knew about?"

Click through at your peril.

Punctation Is Important

"Missing Apostrophe in Facebook Post Lands a Man in Defamation Court"

At issue is the word “employees” in the post, which read: “Oh Stuart Gan!! Selling multi million $ homes in Pearl Beach but can’t pay his employees superannuation,” referring to Australia’s retirement system, in which money is paid by employers into super accounts for employees. “Shame on you Stuart!!! 2 yrs and still waiting!!!”...

On Thursday, a judge in New South Wales ruled that the lack of an apostrophe on the word “employees” could be read to suggest a “systematic pattern of conduct” by Mr. Gan’s agency rather than an accusation involving one employee. So she allowed the case to proceed...

In matters of punctuation, social media is the Wild West. In some corners of the internet, careless grammar is highly tolerated — even a badge of honor. In legal matters, however, disputed punctuation can cost millions.

COVID And Brains

"How COVID affects the brain".

Related: "Even Mild Cases of COVID May Leave a Mark on the Brain"

Remembering Names

"How to Actually Remember People's Names"

Ethical Investing?

"The thorny truth about socially responsible investing"

Wigner Crystals

"Scientists Create Material Made Entirely Out of Electrons"

Sabotaging Dancing Grannies

"China's dancing grannies: 'Stun gun' claims to solve square dancing dilemma by sabotaging the music"

Whole Brain Emulation Critique

"Whole Brain Emulation: No Progress on C. elgans After 10 Years"

Slow Motion Moths

"Witness the majesty of moths taking flight at 6,000 frames per second"

Metaverse Basics

"What is the metaverse, and do I have to care?"

Spilling The Beans

"How to Get Someone to Tell You Their Secrets, According to an Investigative Journalist"

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be lighter than usual this week due to external obligations.

Beethoven's 10th Symphony

'"How a team of musicologists and computer scientists completed Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony"

'Google' Is Most Searched Word On Bing

BBC News: "'Google' is most searched word on Bing"

Free Online Math Textbooks

Free online/downloadable math textbooks from the American Institute of Mathematics.

Ocean Photography Awards

"Winners of the Ocean Photography Awards for 2021"

Hsieh Forbes Column: How Defying One's Boss Led To A New Medical Discovery

My latest Forbes column is now out: "How Defying One's Boss Led To A New Medical Discovery" 

Sometimes innovation comes from unusual sources!

Cautionary Car Tale

"Driver Killed By His Own Car Door While Waiting In Line At Fast-Food Drive-Thru, Providing Cautionary Insights For AI Self-Driving Cars"

Insane CIA Kidnapping Plot

If this story is true, this is insane: "Kidnapping, assassination and a London shoot-out: Inside the CIA's secret war plans against WikiLeaks". (Via Z.W.)

Hamster Trader

"A hamster has been trading cryptocurrencies in a cage rigged to automatically buy and sell tokens since June - and it's currently outperforming the S&P 500"

B5 Reboot

"Warner Bros. has ordered a reboot of Babylon 5, produced and written by Straczynski as part of a deal between Warner Bros. TV and Straczynski’s Studio JMS. The series is not a continuation of the show, but a 'from the ground up' reboot of the cult classic 1993 series..."

TikTok Teen Effect

"A teenager on TikTok disrupted thousands of scientific studies with a single video"

Knee Surgery

Personal update: Left knee medial meniscal surgery, patient is doing well!

 

Daily Steps

"How Much Exercise Do We Need to Live Longer?"

Two studies suggest the sweet spot for longevity lies around 7,000 to 8,000 daily steps or about 30 to 45 minutes of exercise most days. 

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be lighter than usual the rest of this week due to external obligations.

Perils Of Contingent Job Offers

"My Job Offer Was Rescinded -- After I'd Given Notice".

I'm not an expert on employment law. However, this article offers some useful tips to avoid being stuck in this position.

COVID Baby Bust

"The Pandemic Caused a Baby Bust, Not a Boom"

Download The Universe

"Now You Can Download the Entire Universe... All 3000 TB of It". (Via J.P.)

The Texas Switch

"The Texas Switch is a filmmaking technique in which an actor and stunt person are switched seamlessly during a single shot".

Surveillance Ruling

"Police violated Colorado Springs man's constitutional rights with 24/7 surveillance, court rules". (Via T.K.)

Tesla On Tribal Land

Most states do not allow car manufacturers to sell directly to consumers, but instead force them to user local dealers. Tesla has found away around the "dealer rule" in New Mexico, by opening a store on tribal land.

Taco Subscription

CNN: "Taco Bell wants to sell you a 30-day taco subscription".

Um, that's a big "no" for me. But points for trying a creative new business model.

Nikon Microphotography Contest Winners

"Nikon Small World microscopy contest 2021: A few of our favorite images". (Via H.R.)

Toilet Training Cows

Not-an-Onion story: Toilet-training cows to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

I foresee a future IgNobel Prize!

Woolly Mammoth Update

"Lab-grown woolly mammoths could walk the Earth in six years if geneticist’s new start-up succeeds".

I wonder if woolly mammoth meat tastes good.  

Roomba Poop-Detecting AI

"New Roomba promises 'poopocalypse' horror stories are a thing of the past: The Roomba j7+ has a front camera and poop-detecting artificial intelligence."

Apple Issues Emergency Security Patch for Mac OS and iOS

"Go Update Your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch Right Now"

2021 Ig Nobels

"Sex can relieve nasal congestion, and other work honored by 2021 Ig Nobels". (Via H.R.)

Update: Year was wrong in title, fixed now!

Longevity Update

"Meet Altos Labs, Silicon Valley's latest wild bet on living forever"

Scanwiches

Scanwiches: Cross sectional images of sandwiches.

My radiologist heart is beating just a little bit faster...

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @scanwiches

 

Atom Limbs Mind-Controlled Prosthetics

"This startup is bringing the first mind-controlled prosthetic arm to market"

American Aerospace

"America's Aerospace Industry is Regenerating". (Via G.F.)

Lithium Mine Versus Wildflower

Nevada lithium deposit "could power millions of clean-energy car batteries. There's just one roadblock: a rare, fragile species of buckwheat, for which a mine might mean extinction."

Wave-Particle Duality Update

"Experimental Confirmation of the Fundamental Principle of Wave-Particle Duality"

Figure 1. Double-path single-photon interferometer with controllable source purity used in our ENBS model. Two SPDC crystals, PPLN1 and PPLN2, are pumped and seeded simultaneously by the same pump and seed coherent lasers, respectively, resulting in the emission of two signal photons s1 or s2 for quantum interference detection at PD. Then, conjugate idler photons i1 and i2 provide the which-path (or which-source) information, where the controllable source purity is determined by the overlap between the SPACS of one of the idler modes and the unchanged coherent state of another idler mode. Two idler fields can be detected independently by detectors DA and DB. Credit: Institute for Basic Science

 

Bad Science Due To Autocorrect

"Excel autocorrect errors still plague genetic research, raising concerns over scientific rigour". (Via N.L.)

Our research shows autocorrect errors, particularly in Excel spreadsheets, can also make a mess of gene names in genetic research. We surveyed more than 10,000 papers with Excel gene lists published between 2014 and 2020 and found more than 30% contained at least one gene name mangled by autocorrect...

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be lighter than usual the next week due to external obligations.

Room-Temperature Superconductor

"Room-Temperature Superconductivity Achieved for the First Time".

However, it requires enormously high pressures.

Panic Sellers

"When Do Investors Freak Out?" (Via Tyler Cowen.)

We show that panic selling and freakouts are predictable and fundamentally different from other well-known behavioral patterns such as overtradingor the disposition effect. Investors who are male, or above the age of 45, or married, orhave more dependents, or who self-identify as having excellent investment experience orknowledge tend to freak out with greater frequency.

Book Index

"The radical power of the book index"

Harvard Atheist Chaplain

"Harvard University's new chief chaplain is... an atheist"

21st Century Relationship Problems

"My [31M] fiancee/girlfriend [28F] is upset that I proposed with an NFT instead of a ring. What can I do about this?"

Missing Nazi Uranium

"More than one ton of Nazi uranium is still missing".

(Random musing: "Missing Nazi Uranium" would be a good for a punk band.)

Drum Prodigy Nandi Bushell

11 year-old drum prodigy Nandi Bushell plays Everlong live on stage with the Foo Fighters at LA Forum, 8/26/2021.

Amazon Tolkien Series Background

"Tolkien and Amazon's Fight for a Franchise":

What the Tolkien estate sold was the rights to the Second Age, but reportedly not the parts of those stories told in the books primarily about the First Age (the Silmarillion, etc.) At the same time, Amazon cannot contradict those stories either. Amazon’s series will have to be consistent with the Tolkien canon, while at the same time drawing on the vaguest, least detailed portion of it...

Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey (who was involved in the production), explains further:

Amazon has a relatively free hand when it comes to adding something, since, as I said, very few details are known about this time span. The Tolkien Estate will insist that the main shape of the Second Age is not altered. Sauron invades Eriador, is forced back by a Númenorean expedition, is returns to Númenor. There he corrupts the Númenoreans and seduces them to break the ban of the Valar. All this, the course of history, must remain the same. 

But you can add new characters and ask a lot of questions, like: What has Sauron done in the meantime? Where was he after Morgoth was defeated? Theoretically, Amazon can answer these questions by inventing the answers, since Tolkien did not describe it. But it must not contradict anything which Tolkien did say. That’s what Amazon has to watch out for. It must be canonical, it is impossible to change the boundaries which Tolkien has created, it is necessary to remain "Tolkienian"...

Health Benefits Of Coffee

European Society Of Cardiology: "Light-to-moderate coffee drinking associated with health benefits"

Up to three cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of stroke and fatal heart disease, according to research presented at ESC Congress 2021. 

Positive Shang-Chi Review

Review: "Shang-Chi made me excited about the Marvel Cinematic Universe again"

Horror Movie Tricks

"Horror movie directors use these fascinating tricks to scare the hell out of you"

Magic Windows

"Hiding Images in Plain Sight: The Physics Of Magic Windows"

I recently made a physical object that defies all intuition. It's a square of acrylic, smooth on both sides, totally transparent. A tiny window. But it has the magic property that if you shine a flashlight on it, it forms an image. And if you take it out in the sun, it produces this 3D hologram. This post describes the math that went into making the object, and how you can create your own...

Robots Doing Parkour

"Robots Doing Parkour"

The Coming Regulatory Challenge For Crypto

Jerry Brito: "The coming regulatory challenge for crypto is essentially the same as the messaging encryption debate that's been roiling for years"

Ball Drop Videos

"I challenged 3D artists to guide a chrome ball from point A to point B in the most creative way possible. Nearly 2,000 artists entered, and in this video, the Top 100 renders are featured"

Foundation Trailer

"Foundation -- Official Trailer"

Insulin Delivery Update

"An implantable device for delivering insulin that can be refilled by an ingestible capsule". 

Note: The system works so far in test animals, but is not yet ready for human trials. (Via H.R.)

Electrified Samurai Sword

"Electrified samurai sword tested"

Musk's Humanoid Robot

"Elon Musk unveils Tesla Bot, a humanoid robot that uses vehicle AI"

Broken Galactic Arm

"Astronomers Find a 'Break' in One of the Milky Way's Spiral Arms"

More Pi

"Swiss researchers calculate pi to new record of 62.8tn figures"

Solar Power From Space?

"Solar Power from Space? Caltech’s $100 Million Gambit". (Via H.R.)

Noncompetes Growing

"Noncompete Agreements Are Everywhere, Even Neighborhood Yoga Studios"

Declining Karens

"Nobody Wants to Name Their Kid 'Karen' Anymore"

Floating Micro-Origami

"Floating Micro-Origami that Magically Unfolds in Water". Click through to see video.

Auto-Aiming Bo

"Incredible Never-Miss Auto-Aiming Bow Puts Robin Hood to Shame". (Via H.R.)

Fusion Update

"General Fusion Takes Aim at Practical Fusion Power; The company plans to demonstrate its compact nuclear fusion technology in the UK by 2025".

I hope they succeed. But I'm not holding my breath.

Samsung Folding Phones, Again

"How Samsung beefed up its new folding phones: metal, tape, and a dab of goo"

Pink Salt Pond

"The Pink Salt Ponds of Camargue, France". Click through to see some beautiful images.

Small Robots

"Insect-sized robot navigates mazes with the agility of a cheetah"

Smart Slime In Space

"NASA just sent one of the world's smartest slimes to space"

Tracking Stolen Scooter With Airtags

Dan Guido: "My scooter was stolen last week. Unknown to the thief, I hid two Airtags inside it. I was able to use the Apple Find My network and UWB direction finding to recover the scooter today. Here's how it all went down".

Read the full thread!

My scooter was stolen last week. Unknown to the thief, I hid two Airtags inside it. I was able to use the Apple Find My network and UWB direction finding to recover the scooter today. Here’s how it all went down:

— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021

Space Olympics

"Astronauts Give Us a Delightful Look at What the Olympics Would Be Like in Space". (Via H.R.)

Questionable Grad Degrees

"The Great Master's-Degree Swindle". 

 The article states, "Colleges are making a killing selling dubious credentials to naïve students."

New Carnivorous Plant Discovered

"This Sweet White Flower Is Actually A Sneaky Carnivore, Scientists Discover"

Most Translated Books

The most-translated book in each nation. (Via M.R.)

Google AI Update

"Google is developing a new superintelligent AI but ethical questions remain"

Inadvertent Life On Mars?

"Could humans have contaminated Mars with life?"

Show-Off Goose

"Goose flying upside down is simply showing off, say experts".

Hey, I knew a guy just like that in high school!

Gruber On Apple's "Child Safety" Initiative

Daring Fireball: "Apple's New 'Child Safety' Initiatives, and the Slippery Slope"

Don't Do This With Hammocks

"Sheriff: Stop hanging hammocks from high-voltage power lines"

Useful Asparagus

"The Biophysicist Transforming Asparagus Into Medical Implants".  (Via D.W.)

And then came the biggest surprise of all. Rats with severed spinal cords that had been implanted with the asparagus tissue were able to walk again, just a few weeks after implantation... 

Amazon LOTR Update

"The Lord of the Rings TV series has finished filming, and it has a release date"

Pro Bowling Balls

"The insides of pro bowling balls will make your head spin". These are not regular bowling balls.

Airbus 350 Secrets

"Wow – pilot shows us the comfy pilot beds and avionics room that passengers don't get to see"

Dangerous Delta

Nature: "How the coronavirus infects cells -- and why Delta is so dangerous"

Time Crystal

"Researchers at Google in collaboration with physicists at Stanford, Princeton and other universities say that they have used Google’s quantum computer to demonstrate a genuine 'time crystal.'"

A novel phase of matter that physicists have strived to realize for many years, a time crystal is an object whose parts move in a regular, repeating cycle, sustaining this constant change without burning any energy.

“The consequence is amazing: You evade the second law of thermodynamics,” said Roderich Moessner, director of the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, Germany, and a co-author on the Google paper. That’s the law that says disorder always increases.

Time crystals are also the first objects to spontaneously break “time-translation symmetry,” the usual rule that a stable object will remain the same throughout time. A time crystal is both stable and ever-changing, with special moments that come at periodic intervals in time.

 

Earth From Space

"Only 24 people have journeyed far enough to see the whole Earth against the black of space. The images they brought back changed our world." (Via GVH and HR.)

Physics Of Drink Coasters

"Beer mats make bad frisbees".  ("Beer mat" = drink coaster.)

In this article we show why flying and rotating beer mats, CDs, or other flat disks will eventually flip in the air and end up flying with backspin, thus, making them unusable as frisbees. The crucial effect responsible for the flipping is found to be the lift attacking not in the center of mass but slightly offset to the forward edge...

 

Spectacular Saturn

"This is the best time all year to see the ringed magnificence of Saturn"

Philosophical CAPTCHAs

Philosophical CAPTCHAs.

Suspicious Airbnb Host

"Airbnb Host Cancels Vacation Rental After Guest Asks About Camera Surveillance"

Which Glass For Which Drink?

"65 Bar Glasses and What They're Meant For".

(Click on image to see full-size version.)

Nuclear Powered Game Boy

"Nuclear Powered Game Boy"

New Dune Trailer

New Dune trailer!

Warp Drive Update

"<i>Star Trek's Warp Drive Leads to New Physics"

Spotting Fake IDs

"How to spot a good fake ID"

How Math Research Works

Interesting Twitter thread on how math research now works, especially in fields like number theory. (Via Tyler Cowen.)

Vacuum Is Bad For Your Health

"PSA: Sticking your arm into the vacuum of space would really suck". Click through to see video demonstration.

Spaceflight Altitudes

"Comparing altitudes between Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX"

Overthinking

"Why I'm glad that I'm an 'overthinker'"

(Semi)-Autonomous Vehicle Update

Self-driving truck beats human drivers on multistate trip by 10 hours"

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be light or non-existent this week due to external obligations.

More Infinities

"How Many Numbers Exist? Infinity Proof Moves Math Closer to an Answer." (Via D.L.)

Tree DNA Evidence

"For the First Time, Tree DNA Was Used to Convict Lumber Thieves in Federal Investigation"

Cast Iron Pans

"The Myth of the Cast-Iron Pan:"

Having sprung from the core of the earth, it will die a tragic death if exposed to the tiniest soap bubble. The mortal gently cleanses the cast-iron with water, like a doting river nymph.

Related: "The Truth About Cast Iron Pans: 7 Myths That Need To Go Away"

Apple 69 Temperature

"Apple's weather app won't say it's 69 degrees":

If you’re an iPhone user, the weather is always a particularly nice 70 degrees. Or 68 degrees. Any temperature but 69 degrees, actually, because it turns out that the built-in weather app on some versions of iOS — including the current version, iOS 14.6 — will refuse to display the internet’s favorite number, even if the actual temperature in a given location is, in fact, 69 degrees...

Early Universe

Ethan Siegel: "Did The Universe Have A Beginning?"

Very Valuable Mario

"Mint condition Super Mario 64 game sells for record $1.5m"

EV Design

"Why Do Electric Cars Look The Way They Do? Because They Can"

Doug Mataconis, RIP

Doug Mataconis, RIP.

I never met Doug in person, but I had many a lively and enjoyable exchange with him online. I loved his keen insight and delightfully sharp sense of humor.  

You had a lot of friends on the internet. We'll miss you, Doug.

Bendy Ice

"Scientists Have Created a New Bendy And Flexible Form of Ice".

Kahneman On AI

"Daniel Kahneman: 'Clearly AI is going to win. How people are going to adjust is a fascinating problem'"

Nanosheet Transistors

"The Nanosheet Transistor Is the Next (and Maybe Last) Step in Moore's Law"

Stossel On Roundabouts

John Stossel: "Travel would be faster if America’s slow politicians adopted 'roundabouts'"

Travel would be faster if America’s slow politicians adopted “roundabouts”: pic.twitter.com/ReSQzGfn5U

— John Stossel (@JohnStossel) July 5, 2021

New Form Of Carbon

"Not graphene: Researchers in Germany and Finland discover new type of atomically thin carbon material"

Ransomware Update

"'Apex predators': Why the Kaseya ransomware attack has experts worried"

Fax Fans

"Japanese fax fans rally to defence of much-maligned machine"

Sheep Herding From Above

"Sheep Herding Patterns from Above".  These are really hypnotic to watch!

Aerial Sheep Herding in Yokneam from Colossal on Vimeo.

Disinfecting Water

"Instant water disinfectant 'millions of times more effective' than commercial purification". (Via H.R.)

Flying Car Update

"Watch BMW's awesome flying car as it makes its first flight between cities". (Via H.R.)

Stoll Vs. Amazon

"Amazon won't help Klein bottle seller after another company hijacks his product listing with a blackhead remover"

Short Hiatus

Admin note: Taking a brief hiatus until after the US July 4 holiday weekend. We'll be back on July 6. Happy Independence Day!

Spreadsheets

"The tyranny of spreadsheets"

Fire Rainbows

I had never heard of "fire rainbows" before!

This very rare form of rainbow - sometimes called a fire rainbow - is caused by the angle of the sunlight hitting cirrus ice crystals in the atmosphere. The effect is fleeting, usually only lasting a few seconds before either disappearing or turning normal-cloud white. 

 

This was spotted June 5 in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. 

 

Some think fire rainbows are where the concept of dragons came from.

 

The fire rainbow is play of light weather phenomenon, a form of Circumhorizontal arc.

 

Revealing Mouse Movements

"Mouse movements reveal your behavior"

Personal Flying Hoverboard

"Omni Hoverboard takes a super-simple approach to personal flight".

Video: 

 

The "Other" Map

Great map from xkcd. (Via H.R.)

 

Excel Art

"Meet Tatsuo Horiuchi, the 77-Year-Old Artist Who 'Paints' Japanese Landscapes With Excel"

Slowing Milky Way Rotation

"The Milky Way rotates at a whopping 130 miles (210 kilometers) per second, but a new study has found that dark matter has slowed the rotation of its bar by at least 24% since its formation nearly 14 billion years ago. "

Science Headline Of The Day

NYT science headline of the day.

I imagine science writers can wait decades for an opportunity to publish something like this.

Not Dead Cat

"Family's shock as cat they thought they had cremated comes home".

Cue Monty Python line, "I'm not dead yet!" 

New Ocean

"Hydrography: The world's 'new' ocean"

The 30m-year-old Southern Ocean, from Antarctica to a latitude of 60° south, will now be given the same status, and typeface in maps, as the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Mapmakers often use land to mark the boundaries of oceans and seas. But where two waters converge, science is needed. The waters of the Southern Ocean are kept cold by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, for example, which has allowed a distinct ecosystem to develop.

Image via Wikipedia.

 

 

Awesome Math Professor

"Math Professor Fixes Projector Screen"

LEGO Typewriter

LEGO is selling a 2,000+ piece set that makes a mechanical typewriter:

Designed to mirror the function and style of a classic typewriter, the set features a center typebar that rises each time a key is pressed. This links to the carriage, which moves across as you type, and it also features a platen roller into which real paper can be fed. 

According to the company website, the set costs $200 and goes on sale July 2021. 

Black Hole Living

"A guide to living at a black hole"

Galactic Empires Without FTL Drive

"Aliens Wouldn't Need Warp Drives to Take Over an Entire Galaxy, Simulation Suggests"

Kodak Arc

"The Rise and Fall of an American Tech Giant"

Submariners On USOs

"What U.S. Submariners Actually Say About Detection Of So-Called Unidentified Submerged Objects"

Sleep Science Update

"The new science of sleep: Everything we know about how it affects your health and brain"

Grand Elbow Compromise

A fight broke out on a flight over whose elbow got which armrest, forcing the plane back to the gate for law enforcement to sort out. This is so easily avoidable by following the rules of the Grand Elbow Compromise. (Click on image to see full size version).

 

Bowie Art Find

Painting by David Bowie purchased for $5 at thrift store likely to fetch more than $12,000 at art auction.

NFT Sale Record

"Iconic 'Doge' meme NFT breaks record, selling for $4 million"

Cat Thief

"Woman posts 'My Cat Is A Thief' sign next to her pet's stolen items". (Via H.R.)

Oxford University Press Ends Print Division

"Oxford University Press to end centuries of tradition by closing its printing arm". (Via S.L.)

The Most Irrational Number

"The golden ratio is even more astonishing than Dan Brown and Pepsi thought."

Real Lord Of The Flies

"The real Lord of the Flies: what happened when six boys were shipwrecked for 15 months"

Robot Storytellers

"Storytelling robots send parents of young children into AI's 'uncanny valley'"

Loki Review

"Loki Review: A Good Start To A Possibly Great MCU Series"

Slow Motion Simone Biles

"Simone Biles, Mesmerizing in Slow Motion":

In her floor exercise routine on the first day of the competition, Biles absolutely nailed a triple double — that’s three twists while doing two backflips. Timothy Burke took the footage and slowed it down so that we can see exactly what’s going on in the air. 

And, Jesus, I was NOT prepared for what I saw. The two handsprings that set up the final move are beautiful slowed down, leisurely even. 

But then Biles launches herself impossibly high into the air — like absurdly and spectacularly high — and starts twisting and flipping at a speed that seems fast even for slow motion. 

And the landing — it’s like she was standing there all along, waiting for the rest of her spirit to join her. Watching the routine at regular speed makes you appreciate the move even more.

More Monterey Features

"Buried features: There's more to macOS Monterey than the keynote let on"

Meteor Vs. Volcano

"Photographer Captures Shooting Star Falling ‘Into’ Volcano"

While the photo may look like the shooting star fell right into the volcano’s crater, it’s unclear whether that actually happened or whether it fell somewhere behind the mountain. From what’s seen in the security camera footage, however, it does appear that the meteor fell at a very close distance.

 

Spy Gap

USA Today: "The real issue with the COVID-19 lab leak theory? The US isn't spying on China like it used to"

Found Wallet

"Woman recovers wallet lost 46 years ago in California"

“I’m shaking,” Distin told KCAL-TV as she looked through the wallet. It contained poetry and notes, photographs of high school friends, the $5 ticket to a Grateful Dead concert at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and photos of Distin’s mother, who died several years ago.

Direct link to video:

Trojan Shield Sting

"Global sting: FBI-run messaging app tricks organized crime"

More On Ransomware Recovery

Ars Technica: "US seizes $2.3 million Colonial Pipeline paid to ransomware attackers". (Via A.B.)

It's possible that Colonial Pipeline chose to pay the higher ransom at the behest of law enforcement because bitcoin could be tracked and monero—the other currency accepted by DarkSide—is completely untraceable. Even if that is the case, it's not clear how law enforcement gained possession of the cryptographic key needed to empty the wallet.

Skipping Stones And Airplanes

"What the physics of skipping stones can tell us about aircraft water landings". (Via H.R.)

Ransomware Recovered

CNN: "US recovers millions in cryptocurrency paid to Colonial Pipeline ransomware hackers"

Invisible Art

"An Italian Artist Auctioned Off an 'Invisible Sculpture' for $18,300. It's Made Literally of Nothing"

Wow -- I feel fortunate that I only paid $10,000 for one of those!

 

Self-Creating AI

"AI is learning how to create itself". I see no possible way this could go wrong.

AI Trucker

"A Self-Driving Truck Got a Shipment Cross-Country 10 Hours Faster Than a Human Driver"

Changing Team Names

"Why Does Changing A Team's Name Take So Long?"

Venus Missions

"NASA will launch 2 new missions to Venus by 2030 to return to Earth's hellish twin"

You know someone spent a while devising acronyms that would be good for a press release: 

The two missions, called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS were selected from NASA's shortlist...

 

DAVINCI+ (short for Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry and Imaging) will plunge through the thick Venus atmosphere to learn more about it changes over time.

 

Meanwhile, VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography and Spectroscopy) mission will use radar to map Venus' surface in detail from orbit.

 

Rogue Killer Drone

"A rogue killer drone 'hunted down' a human target without being instructed to, UN report says"

Future Of Zoom

"Zoom will stay relevant despite the economy’s massive reopening, two traders suggest". (Via D.M.)