Non-IT News Thread
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Ocean heat waves remake Pacific and Caribbean habitats
Short, extreme events may have a bigger impact than a slow warming.
Climate change tends to deal in averages. We measure its progress using the global mean temperature, and we use climate models to project what that value will be in the future. But those average changes don't always capture what future climate change will be like. While you can raise an average by increasing every day's temperature by a tiny amount, but it's also possible to raise an average by throwing in an occasional extreme event. to do so by throwing in an occasional extreme event. Heat waves and extreme storms have indicated that nature seems to be going for the latter option.
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Fists of fury: Warrior channels fierce fighting spirit of Bruce Lee
The series is based on an idea Lee pitched in 1971, but studio heads took a pass.
In 1971, Hollywood lore has it that the legendary Bruce Lee pitched an idea for a TV series about a martial artist in the Old West. Skittish studio heads passed on the project (and on Lee as its star), opting to make Kung Fu with David Carradine instead. Now Lee's vision is getting a second life, as Cinemax prepares to debut its new period drama, Warrior, based on the martial arts master's own writings.
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Mercedes-Benz debuts EQV electric van at the Geneva auto show
It seats between six and eight, and will have up to 249 miles of range.
The Geneva International Motor Show just got underway in Europe. If, like me, you're sitting at home, that means waking up to a flood of new car reveals. Audi showed off a smaller e-tron sedan and some plug-in hybrids; I'm still waiting to find out which—if any—are coming to the US. There were a bunch of hand-built hypercars, some from companies you've heard of, and some you haven't. Volkswagen had the new I.D. Buggy we showed you yesterday. And then there was the Mercedes-Benz Concept EQV.
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@mlnews nice, now that I could use.
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Here be dragons: HBO drops full trailer for Game of Thrones final season
There's no guarantee of a happy ending as the epic series heads into the end game.
Based on George R.R. Martin's best-selling epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones long ago outstripped the novels in terms of plot, although the author had some input in shaping the TV series' narrative arc. We've seen plenty of sex, blood, and horrifying death over the course of seven seasons, and now it's time for the end game. This being George R.R. Martin, there's no guarantee of a happy ending.
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@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
Here be dragons: HBO drops full trailer for Game of Thrones final season
There's no guarantee of a happy ending as the epic series heads into the end game.
Based on George R.R. Martin's best-selling epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones long ago outstripped the novels in terms of plot, although the author had some input in shaping the TV series' narrative arc. We've seen plenty of sex, blood, and horrifying death over the course of seven seasons, and now it's time for the end game. This being George R.R. Martin, there's no guarantee of a happy ending.
I'll wait until the season is over and then binge watch it like I always do.
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Google pay equity analysis leads to raises for thousands of men
A 2017 lawsuit accused Google of underpaying women.
Google has given raises to thousands of men after an analysis of Google's pay structure found that the company would otherwise be underpaying those men relative to their peers, The New York Times reports. The analysis also led to raises for some women.
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There’s new evidence for what happened to people who survived Vesuvius
Archaeologist studied tomb inscriptions and matched names to historical records.
Modern visitors to the ruins of the two main cities destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD are usually enthralled when they see the site of plaster casts of those who were killed, frozen in the midst of action. The catastrophic eruption wiped out several nearby towns and killed thousands of people. But some survived, and Miami University archaeologist and historian Steven Tuck thinks he knows where they ended up. He created a database of Roman names and matched them with records from other cities in Italy, describing his findings in a forthcoming paper in the journal Analecta Romana.
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Treating lymphoma with HIV-resistant stem cells stops an HIV infection
This is the second time we've cleared HIV, and it may help us learn what works.
The identification of HIV ultimately led to the development of therapies that specifically target the virus' ability to make new copies of itself. These therapies have radically altered the lives of infected people, turning a often-lethal virus into something that can be managed for decades. But while the treatments control the virus, they don't eliminate it. Infected people still have reservoirs of virus in their bodies, raising the prospect that a drug-resistant strain could ultimately evolve.
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NASA takes to the air to capture amazing new images of shockwaves
Technique may one day lead to return of commercial supersonic flight.
To take these unprecedented photos, the space agency updated the imaging system on one of its Beechcraft B200 Super King Air aircraft. NASA scientists upgraded the camera so that it could capture a wider field of view, improved its connection to data storage, and increased its frame rate to 1,400 frames per second.
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Trump dealt blow as US trade deficit jumps
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47472282 -
The Tesla Model 3, reviewed (finally)
We finally get some proper seat time in Tesla's mass-market electric vehicle.
When the Model 3 was first announced in 2014, we didn't know much more beyond that it would cost $35,000, have a range of at least 200 miles, and be 20-percent smaller than a Model S. Two years later, the prototype was revealed to the world—and the world went nuts for it. Tesla was inundated with $1,000 deposits, filling its coffers with hundreds of millions of dollars in preorders from excited customers around the world a year before production (and its associated hell) even began. Despite Tesla's well-publicized woes, Model 3s began to trickle and then flood out of its factory in Fremont, California, throughout 2017 and 2018, first to customers in North America, more recently to Europe. Just last week, Tesla announced it was ready to start selling the Standard Range version of this car en masse.
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@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
The Tesla Model 3, reviewed (finally)
We finally get some proper seat time in Tesla's mass-market electric vehicle.
When the Model 3 was first announced in 2014, we didn't know much more beyond that it would cost $35,000, have a range of at least 200 miles, and be 20-percent smaller than a Model S. Two years later, the prototype was revealed to the world—and the world went nuts for it. Tesla was inundated with $1,000 deposits, filling its coffers with hundreds of millions of dollars in preorders from excited customers around the world a year before production (and its associated hell) even began. Despite Tesla's well-publicized woes, Model 3s began to trickle and then flood out of its factory in Fremont, California, throughout 2017 and 2018, first to customers in North America, more recently to Europe. Just last week, Tesla announced it was ready to start selling the Standard Range version of this car en masse.
I really dislike the dash - all the instrumentation on the middle display - yeah - no.
No physical volume knob.. etc
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Here are the most popular PlayStation games, based on public trophy data
New algorithm can "time travel" using trophy dates for past player estimates.
Gamstat launched in December as a clearinghouse for information gleaned from that "MyPS4Life" data leak. But in recent weeks it has unveiled a new algorithm—as outlined on the about page and in more detailed discussions with Ars Technica—that takes inspiration from previous efforts like Steam Gauge and Steam Spy (before Valve shut off the data spigot, in any case).
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OxyContin-pusher Purdue blames everyone but itself for opioid crisis
Illicit drugs and dealers are currently driving deaths, Purdue argues.
In a motion to dismiss an explosive lawsuit brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma argues that it is not responsible for the current epidemic of opioid overdoses as the Commonwealth alleges—even if the people now overdosing were initially patients who became addicted to opioids while using its highly addictive painkiller.
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Huawei sues US government over product ban
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47478587 -
Dragon has docked—but the real pucker moment for SpaceX’s capsule awaits
NASA, SpaceX watch for a stable Dragon, good parachute performance on Friday.
It started when the spacecraft’s Falcon 9 rocket hit its instantaneous launch window early on Saturday morning, streaking into the black Florida sky as if it were the world’s greatest firework. Once in space, Dragon popped open its nose cone, called home, and began firing its thrusters as anticipated.
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Russia’s passive-aggressive reaction to SpaceX may mask a deeper truth
"Elon Musk has built the ship of the future."
One of the big questions surrounding the first launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft was how the Russians would react. They have held considerable sway in the International Space Station partnership by controlling access to the orbiting laboratory since the 2011 retirement of NASA's Space Shuttle. So far, the Russian response has been one of throwing small bits of shade here and there but trying not to be too obvious about it.
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With Rape Day ban, Steam shows it’s not as “hands off” as it claims
Lack of guidelines leads to capricious, reactive responses to controversy.
Since last June, Valve has claimed that "the right approach is to allow everything onto the Steam Store," with only minor exceptions for content that is "illegal or straight-up trolling." But Valve's decision to block controversial upcoming title Rape Day from Steam shows its actual moderation policy is more reactive and restrictive than originally promised.
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@mlnews said in Non-IT News Thread:
With Rape Day ban, Steam shows it’s not as “hands off” as it claims
Lack of guidelines leads to capricious, reactive responses to controversy.
Since last June, Valve has claimed that "the right approach is to allow everything onto the Steam Store," with only minor exceptions for content that is "illegal or straight-up trolling." But Valve's decision to block controversial upcoming title Rape Day from Steam shows its actual moderation policy is more reactive and restrictive than originally promised.
I can't say I'm surprised about that... at least for that title.
