Dr. Glaucomflecken

"The internet's funniest doctor is in on the joke".

I really enjoy his videos. He has a knack for perfectly nailing the quirks of the various medical specialties.

Matrix Sequels

"Why the The Matrix never should have had a series of sequels"

Hsieh Forbes Column: When Ukrainian Surgeons Treat Russian POWs

My latest Forbes column is now out: "When Ukrainian Surgeons Treat Russian POWs". 

Wartime can put physicians in challenging emotional and ethical circumstances.

Sound On Mars

"The Speed of Sound on Mars Is Strangely Different, Scientists Reveal". (Via H.R.)

LinkedIn Fakes

"That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake"

Natural Camouflage

"7 Ways Evolution Really Nailed Animal Camouflage". (Via H.R.)

Returning The Ring -- Or Not

"Woman Refusing To Return Dead Fiancé's Engagement Ring Backed Online"

Oxygen To Blood

"A way to deliver oxygen directly to the bloodstream intravenously". (Via H.R.)

Boa Breathing

"Why boa constrictors can still breathe while squeezing the life out of prey". (Via H.R.)

Rainy Day Drone

"DJI's newest drone can fly in heavy rain -- and has its own robotic dock"

DumbPhones

"Not smart but clever? The return of 'dumbphones'"

Wright Houses

"10 Frank Lloyd Wright Houses You Can Visit Across the U.S."

Forming Memories

Wired: "Scientists Watch a Memory Form in a Living Brain"

Scotch Tape Uses

"Weird but Surprisingly Practical Uses for Scotch Tape"

Best Grilled Cheeses

"The Best Cheeses For Grilled Cheese Sandwiches"

Oldest Peace Treaty

"The World's Oldest Known Peace Treaty"

Learning Circuit

Science: "Simple electrical circuit learns on its own—with no help from a computer"

Tolkien Paintings

"Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush Lord of the Rings Landscape: The Tolkien Estate recently published a trove of rare, unpublished art by the famed fantasy author on its website"

Kids And Vegan Diets In Belgium

"Making your kids go vegan can mean jail time in Belgium":

The [Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium] determined that veganism for kids is “unethical” because it can lead to health problems for growing children, the Belgian publication Le Soir reports (link in French). The animal-product-free diet isn’t technically prohibited, and the ruling doesn’t necessarily equate veganism with child neglect. However, it will make it easier to prosecute parents who impose the strict diet and whose children have health problems.

Children can follow a vegan diet if it’s accompanied by medical supervision, regular blood tests, and vitamin supplements, Belgian pediatricians concluded. However, parents who don’t follow through on the additional requirements risk two years in prison, fines, and the possibility that their children will be removed from their homes if the kids do have associated health issues...

UK Vs. Tech

"Nadine Dorries, Britain’s Big Tech slayer"

Dorries arrived at a meeting with software giant Microsoft and immediately asked when they were going to get rid of algorithms, according to an official given an account of the meeting.

(Via Jimmy Wales, who adds, "Well, that's one approach I guess...")

Fast Robot

"MIT's Robotic Cheetah Taught Itself How to Run and Set a New Speed Record in the Process". (Via H.R.)

PDP-11 Remembered

"A brief tour of the PDP-11, the most influential minicomputer of all time"

Not Boomers

"Why People Born 1955–1964 Aren't Baby Boomers"

NYT Wordle Legal Update

"New York Times takes down third-party Wordle Archive"

Self-Driving Vehicle Legal Update

"U.S. eliminates human controls requirement for fully automated vehicles". (Via W.R.)

Swim Math

"This professor studies each swimmer as a math problem. It's helped them to be faster"

Lost Tolkien Scripts

"Hoard of the rings: 'Lost' scripts for BBC Tolkien drama discovered"

Another Island Micronation -- Or Not

CNN: "They bought a Caribbean island to start their own country"

Like many micronations before it, the Principality of Islandia has begun building all the traditional trappings of a nation-state. There's a national anthem, an Islandia flag and a government that's elected from amongst the investors. Johnson even jokes that he holds the "hush, hush role of Head of the Secret Police."...

Mayer emphasizes that the micronation should be seen as "tongue in cheek," and that while they might bring in their own rules when they are on the island (such as no single-use plastics, he said as an example), Coffee Caye still falls squarely within the laws and borders of Belize. 

Sealed Moon Rocks

"NASA opens sample taken from the Moon 50 years on". (Via J.P.)

Simulation?

Wired: "Of Course We're Living in a Simulation".

Stolen concept alert!

Rogue Wave

"Record-Breaking Rogue Wave Detected Off Vancouver Island"

A wave the height of a four-story building was recorded off the coast of Vancouver Island, and scientists say it’s “the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded.” The 58-foot-tall giant, which appeared off the coast of Ucluelet, British Columbia, on November 17, 2020, is described in the journal Scientific Reports. 

"Only a few rogue waves in high sea states have been observed directly, and nothing of this magnitude,” lead author Johannes Gemmrich, an oceanographer at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, says in the statement. “The probability of such an event occurring is once in 1,300 years."

Batman Ranked

"Batman Movies, Ranked". As usual, YMMV.

Stonehenge Update

"Stonehenge may be ancient solar calendar"

Japanese Rock

"Japan’s 'killing stone' splits in two, releasing superstitions amid the sulphur springs"

Cryptocurrency And War

Wired: "War Is Calling Crypto’s 'Neutrality' Into Question"

All About Go

"It's like putting your hand on the third rail of the universe."

Trustworthy Synthetic Faces

"AI-synthesized faces are indistinguishable from real faces and more trustworthy"

Silurian Hypothesis

"Are There Lost Civilizations in Earth's Past?" 

Color me skeptical.

Russian Nuclear Launch Procedures

"Good thread on Russian nuclear launch procedures." (Via Tyler Cowen.)

Can Russia's president launch nuclear weapons alone? The honest answer is "we don't know." A short answer is "probably." A longer answer is "it's complicated." A longish thread that may (or may not) help clarify things 1/

— Pavel Podvig (@russianforces) March 5, 2022

Biggest Galaxy

"The Biggest Galaxy Ever Found Has Just Been Discovered, And It Will Break Your Brain". (Via H.R.)

Earth's Core

"Scientists discover the Earth's inner core isn't solid or liquid. It's 'superionic.'". (Via H.R.)

Pulverizing Asteroids

"Ingenious System to Pulverize Asteroids May Be Earth's Only Chance in a Catastrophe". (Via H.R.)

COBOL Longevity

IEEE: "Long-Enduring COBOL May Still Have a Shelf Life"

Crypto And CO?

Wired: "[Colorado governor]Jared Polis received a warm welcome when he appeared onstage at last week’s ETHDenver conference to present his vision for making Colorado the 'first digital state.'"

Americans Travelling To Europe

"Americans Will Need To Register To Travel To Europe In 2023"

Metaverse Laws

"Metaverse vs. employment law: The reality of the virtual workplace"

I'm sure looking forward to spending more time on mandatory HR training videos on safety/diversity/privacy/etc. if I ever take a job in the Metaverse!

AI Chemical Discovery

"How AI is Changing Chemical Discovery"