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"

Internet Failure Disrupts Chess Olympiad

"Chess Olympiad: India and Russia both get gold after controversial final"

"The Online Chess Olympiad has been impacted by a global internet outage, that severely affected several countries, including India. Two of the Indian players have been affected and lost connection, when the outcome of the match was still unclear," Arkady Dvorkovich, president of the International Chess Federation, said in a statement.

He said he decided to award both teams gold medals in the "absence of a unanimous decision" from the body's appeals committee.

Timelapse Plants

"So satisfying: Plants growing timelapse compilation"

Hsieh Forbes Column: Could A ‘Morality Pill’ Help Stop The Covid-19 Pandemic?

My latest Forbes piece is now out: "Could A ‘Morality Pill’ Help Stop The Covid-19 Pandemic?"

To The Moon

"NASA has patented a new route to the moon".

More info on Patent No. 10696423.

Neuromorphic Chips

ACM: "Neuromorphic Chips Take Shape"

Airline Ban

"Coronavirus FAQ: Can An Airline Put You On A No-Fly List For Refusing To Mask Up?"

Short answer, "yes".

Martian Avalanche

"Capturing an Avalanche on Mars". (Via H.R.)

Cyberstalker Trick

"Cyberstalker Locates Victim by Enhancing Reflection in Her Eye":

Following his subsequent arrest, Sato told authorities he identified a bus stop and other scenery in the eye reflection, then used Google Maps to match it to a real-world location.

He said he was even able to estimate the floor the pop star lived on by analyzing the windows in her photos and noting the angle at which sunlight hit her eyes.

Pure Skill Minesweeper

"Pure Skill Minesweeper"

10^16 Is Not Enough

"Japan facing credit card number shortage as people stay home and shop"

Moon Lava Tubes

"Entire cities could fit inside the moon's monstrous lava tubes". (Via H.R.)

Colorful Google Maps

"Google Maps Just Got a Colorful New Update". (Via H.R.)

Crash The Universe?

"Could We Force the Universe to Crash?"

If we’re all living in a simulation, as some have suggested, it would be a good, albeit risky, way to find out for sure...

But the neatest test of the hypothesis would be to crash the system that runs our simulation. Naturally, that sounds a bit ill-advised, but if we’re all virtual entities anyway does it really matter? Presumably a quick reboot and restore might bring us back online as if nothing had happened, but possibly we’d be able to tell, or at very least have a few microseconds of triumph just before it all shuts down.

 The question is: how do you bring down a simulation of reality from inside it? The most obvious strategy would be to try to cause the equivalent of a stack overflow—asking for more space in the active memory of a program than is available—by creating an infinitely, or at least excessively, recursive process.

And the way to do that would be to build our own simulated realities, designed so that within those virtual worlds are entities creating their version of a simulated reality, which is in turn doing the same, and so on all the way down the rabbit hole. If all of this worked, the universe as we know it might crash, revealing itself as a mirage just as we winked out of existence.

I confess to being uneasy at the idea of crashing the universe. That's where I keep all my stuff!

Fired For Bad Behavior Outside Work

WSJ: "Can You Be Fired for Bad Behavior Outside Work?"

Short answer, "yes".

Malaysian Cakes

"The Mesmerizing Geometry of Malaysia's Most Complex Cakes"

Toronto Chainsaw Attacks

"Toronto residents question safety of Cherry Beach following chainsaw attack":

Two blood-covered, chainsaw-wielding men emerged from the bushes of a popular public park in Toronto on Sunday morning, where witnesses say they screamed at, followed, and even lunged toward strangers while revving their deadly tools.

It's not the kind of thing you see very often in a large Canadian city... or anywhere outside of a horror movie, for that matter...

Awesome Library Ad

This ad from the Harris County Library system is truly awesome.

This library ad is a triumph pic.twitter.com/fO80Zhzh3y

— Jen Fulwiler (@jenfulwiler) August 9, 2020

Lego Found

"Boy finds missing Lego piece in his nose after two years"

Fake Cow Eyes

"Study confirms that painting eyes on cow butts helps ward off predators". (Via H.R.)

Unsettled Science

"What To Do, Scientifically, When Everyone Is Wrong"

Fast Star

"This Star Is Moving So Fast it Visibly Warps Spacetime":

The star S62 whips around Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, at an extremely tight orbit. At its closest approach, it can travel faster than eight percent the speed of light, according to research published in The Astrophysical Journal. That's fast enough to make visible the relativistic phenomena of time dilation and length contraction, turning the star into an interesting sandbox for curious physicists.

Invisible Driver

CNN: "A woman is stunned when her new driver's license came back with a picture of an empty chair"

Photoreal Roman Emperors

"Photoreal Roman Emperor Project"

Quantum-Proof Encryption

"The quest for quantum-proof encryption just made a leap forward"

Early Early Science Fiction

"The first science fiction story":

A True Story (Ἀληθῆ διηγήματα, Verae Historiae) is a novel written in the second century AD by Lucian of Samosata, a Greek-speaking author of Assyrian descent. The novel is a satire of outlandish tales which had been reported in ancient sources, particularly those which presented fantastic or mythical events as if they were true. It is Lucian's best-known work.

It is the earliest known work of fiction to include travel to outer space, alien lifeforms, and interplanetary warfare. As such, A True Story has been described as "the first known text that could be called science fiction".

Fusion Update

"Spacecraft of the Future Could Be Powered By Lattice Confinement Fusion". (Via H.R.)

Origin of Elements

NASA: "The Origin of Elements"

Light Posting

Admin note: Posting may be light for the next few days.

Robot Acrobatics

Video: "Massive Robot Joins Swedish Acrobats on Stage"

Bird Recognition

"Scientists have created a facial recognition software for birds"

Arctic Storage

"A Staggering 21TB of Source Code Were Just Buried in The Arctic For an Unknown Future". (Via H.R.)

DNA Storage

"How Scientists Encoded 'The Wizard of Oz' Into DNA".

Hsieh Forbes Column on Blood Type and Covid Risk

My latest Forbes piece is now out: "Blood Type May Have Minimal Effect On Covid-19 Health Risk"

Another cautionary tale on how early science reporting can be easily overturned by further study.

Alzheimer's Test

NYT: "'Amazing, Isn't It?' Long-Sought Blood Test for Alzheimer's in Reach"

Old Microbes

"Scientists revive 100 million-year-old microbes from deep under seafloor"

Mars In 4K

Video: "New footage from Mars rendered in stunning 4K resolution". (Via H.R.)

Aeroscreen Lifesaver

"IndyCar’s Aeroscreen gets first real test, saves lives at Iowa race". (Via H.R.)

Redesigned Chocolate Chips

"A Tesla Designer Reengineers the Chocolate Chip":

Labesque’s redesign for artisanal Dandelion Chocolate is a square, faceted pyramid, kind of like a flattened diamond. Two edges are thick, and two exceedingly thin, for even more textural pleasure...

 

Enhanced Moon Landing Video

"Historic Moon Landing Footage Has Been Enhanced by AI, And The Results Are Incredible". (Via H.R.)

Searching Before Google

"What Did People Use Before Google to Search the Web?" (Via H.R.)

Tiny Cameras

"A Bug-Sized Camera for Bug-Sized Robots and Bug-Sized Bugs"

Movie Recommendation: A Town Has Turned To Dust

I recently watched "A Town Turned To Dust", available on YouTube.

Excellent 90-minute play, written by Rod Serling before Twilight Zone. Although it was written in 1958, it touches on various themes of human nature and political behavior that are chillingly relevant for today.

Bonus #1: It stars a very young William Shatner, who does a great job of playing the lead role as an unsavory storekeeper in an Old West town.

Bonus #2: Includes embedded 1950's commercials. OMG.

Serling's experiences in getting the script approved apparently pushed him to the direction of science fiction:

Network pressure and sponsor meddling was making it almost impossible for him to say anything meaningful in a straight dramatic setting. A series with a sci-fi/fantasy twist, on the other hand, would open up new story possibilities — and allow Serling's social jabs to fly under the radar of nervous sponsors.

"On The Twilight Zone, I knew I could get away with Martians saying things that Republicans and Democrats couldn't," he said. And a TV legend was born.

Super Hard Proteus

"This new ultrahard material inspired by nature could make uncuttable bike locks"

Ultrablack Fish

"Scientists unlocked the secret of how these ultrablack fish absorb light". (Via H.R.)

Corona-Knights

"Swedish region hires medieval knights on horseback to fight coronavirus". 

The UK really needs to up their game and get The Knights Who Say "Ni!" into action.

Solar Flares Everywhere

"The closest images of the Sun ever taken reveal tiny solar flares dotting the star's surface". (Via H.R.)

Big Map

"Scientists produce the largest 3D map of the Universe"

Sketchy Health Advice?

"Report: Millennials, Generation Z Turn To Social Media First For Health Advice"

Space Law

"How Not to Deal With Murder in Space"

Trending Searches Over Time

Video: "The Top Trending Google Searches in Every US State Throughout the 2010s"

Amazon Fake Review Marketplace

"My Bizarre Stint As An Amazon Reviewer for Hire"

Enigma Rebuilt

"Enigma code-breaking machine rebuilt at Cambridge". (Via H.R.)

Light Posting

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

Cat Burglar

"Mysterious clothing thief turns out to be neighborhood kitty". (Via H.R.)

Noise-Cancelling Window

"Noise-Cancelling Smart Window Blocks Street Din"

Work In Barbados

CNBC: "Barbados is planning to let people stay and work remotely for a year"

Robo-Bird

"Festo's New Bio-Inspired Robots Include a Feathery Bionic Bird". (Via H.R.)

Kung Fu Nuns

"The Kung Fu Nuns Of Kathmandu"

Penguin Poo Physics

"The explosive physics of pooping penguins: They can shoot poo over four feet"

Colonizing The Sun

Robin Hanson: "We Colonize The Sun First"

New Larson

New cartoons from Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson.

Tesseract Visualization

Bartosz Ciechanowski has an amazing interactive Tesseract visualization tool.

High Res Last Supper

"See 'The Last Supper' in a New High-Resolution Scan Online"

F-15C Cockpit

"Human Interface: What (almost) every button in an F-15C fighter’s cockpit does". (Via H.R.)

Black Hole Collision

"A supermassive black hole lit up a collision of two smaller black holes":

Astronomers from Caltech have reported that they’ve observed a collision between two black holes. Normally such an event is invisible, but this time a more massive black hole sitting nearby helped illuminate the other two as they collided. If confirmed, the findings, published in Physical Review Letters, would be the first optical observations ever made of a black hole merger.

Mega Coffee

"What Does Death Wish Coffee Taste Like? (And Is It Safe?)"

Death Wish is billed as the “world’s strongest coffee.” And although the company doesn’t release caffeine-content figures, we have seen third-party test results in an eye-opening range of 650 to 728 milligrams of caffeine in a 12-ounce (Starbucks “tall”-size) cup. By contrast, Starbucks’s dark, medium, and blonde roasts have 193, 235, and 270 mg, respectively. (Darker beans generally have less caffeine than lighter ones.) So drinking a cup of Death Wish is like drinking 2½ to 3 cups of Starbucks coffee.

After brewing a 12-ounce cup of Death Wish (using the company’s recommended brewing ratio and grind size, and our top-pick pour-over dripper), I found the taste hearty and, yes, potently strong—all coffee, no subtlety. It was stronger than two Starbucks dark roasts I compared it with, but not bitter or unpleasant. It’s what I’d expect to find in the thermos of a lumberjack or a Bering Sea crab-boat skipper.

Holiday Hiatus

Admin note: I'll be taking a quick posting break for the long holiday weekend!

Herd Immunity Math

"The Tricky Math of Herd Immunity for COVID-19"

Patron Saint Of Internet?

"Italian teen moves closer to becoming 'patron saint of the internet' as miracle recognized"