LastPass Breach

Wired: "Yes, It's Time to Ditch LastPass"

WIRED recommends 1Password and the free service Bitwarden, along with some alternatives. We haven't recommended LastPass since the company scaled back its free offerings a couple of years ago, given that LastPass had suffered an array of past security incidents before this latest, most dire breach was even revealed.

“One hundred percent, yes, people should switch to other password managers,” says one senior security engineer, who asked not to be named because of professional relationships with people on the LastPass security team. “They failed to do the one thing they are supposed to provide—cloud-based secure credential storage.”

AI Photographs

"The Royal Meteorological Society, which runs the Weather Photographer of the Year competition, has posed an intriguing question: Can artificial intelligence (AI) win a photography competition?" 

"To answer this, the Society drew up a Turing test in which the viewer is invited to guess which is an AI image and which is an actual award-winning photo....

Facial Recognition Update

"Face Recognition Tech Gets Girl Scout Mom Booted From Rockettes Show — Due to Where She Works". (Via D.L.)

I respect that Madison Square Garden is private property, and the owners have the legal right to exclude customers for the reasons stated in the article. But I'm not sure I'm looking forward to a world where this becomes a normal operating procedure.

Light Posting Notice

Admin note: Posting may be light this week because of the holiday season.

Time Cells

"For 'time cells' in the brain, what matters is what happens in the moment"

Yellowstone Update

"No, Yellowstone isn't about to erupt, even after more magma was found"

Sauce Splatter Physics

"Oxford scientists crack case of why ketchup splatters from near-empty bottle"

Running And Flow

"The connection between running, flow states, and creativity"

More Fusion Analysis

"The Energy Department's fusion breakthrough: It's not really about generating electricity"

MIT And "Wakanda Forever"

"Wakanda Forever, Starring MIT":

If you’ve seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, you already know that MIT is featured in the film. Spoiler alert: Don’t continue reading if you haven’t seen the film, as details are covered below...

The movie, released November 11, features scenes from around campus and Cambridge, including outside the Stratton Student Center near the Kresge Oval, a dorm room in Simmons Hall, and a fight/chase scene on the Massachusetts Avenue bridge...

Why film at MIT? Not to give away too many details, but Stark isn’t the only superhero to attend the Institute. In this latest box office hit, 19-year-old MIT student Riri Williams finds herself and one of her inventions (a school project on steroids) at the center of an international crisis. In an effort to avert disaster, two people from Wakanda (a fictional East African country) travel to Cambridge to find her...  

 

Die Hard Is A Hanukkah Movie

"You’re All Wrong, Die Hard Is A Hanukkah Movie":

But not only is the film anti-Christmas, the whole plot is Hanukkah. Do you guys even know the story of Hanukkah, or have you been too busy polishing Santa’s candy cane to learn it? Hanukkah is all about reclaiming the Temple in Jerusalem from invaders. What does John McClane, AKA J.M., AKA Jewish Man, do in Die Hard? He reclaims the skyscraper, Nakatomi Plaza, from invaders: Hans Gruber (short for Hanukkahs Gruber, aka “The Hanukkah Grabber,” aka “The Man Who Wants to Steal Hanukkah”) and his evil elves...

MARVEL Robot

"Meet MARVEL, the quadrupedal robot that can climb walls and ceilings". (Via H.R.)

Apple Encryption

Wirecutter: "Why You Should Enable Apple's New Security Feature in iOS 16.2 Right Now"

Humorous Wildlife Photos

"The 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are a good laugh".

I especially liked this one, which reminds me of a few Airbnbs I've slept in.  

AI Art And Copyright

"This Copyright Lawsuit Could Shape the Future of Generative AI"

Related: "The scary truth about AI copyright is nobody knows what will happen next".

Pseudo-Manual Transmission

"Lexus in development of a manual transmission for electric cars":

Rather than physically fitting a mechanical manual transmission to the back-end of an electric motor, this technology uses an unconnected gear stick and clutch pedal that use haptic drivers to generate ‘feel’. This is then combined with clever software and sound generators within the cabin to create a complete experience. Both elements are physically connected to, well nothing, but utilise technology already available on today’s cars to create virtual feedback...

(Via P.B.)

Radiology Orders

Hah! Another classic video from "Dr. Glaucomflecken": "Faculty Meeting -- Radiology Orders"

Fusion Explainer

"Nuclear-fusion lab achieves 'ignition': What does it mean?"

How Many People Are Actually Leaving Twitter?

"Liberals struggle to find viable Twitter alternative after Musk takeover": 

A more telling study, published in the journal New Scientist, examined 140,000 Twitter users who threatened to decamp to Mastodon and found that only 1.6 percent actually left.

Scott Alexander On Cryptocurrency

Astral Codex Ten: "Why I'm Less Than Infinitely Hostile To Cryptocurrency"