đ Articles: Wednesday 20.Mar.2024
Guardian: Scotlandâs pledge to cut emissions by 75% by 2030 âno longer credibleâ
In a damning report submitted to the Scottish parliament, the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC) accused the Scottish government of repeatedly failing to live up to its legally binding targets.
Despite missing the annual emissions reductions required by law in eight of the last 12 years, ministers still have no meaningful plans for hitting that target after failing to produce the climate change strategy due last year, the CCC said.
Its action and policies âcontinue to fall far shortâ of what was needed. Most sectors, such as housing, transport and farming, remained so far behind their interim targets âthe acceleration required [to] meet the 2030 target is now beyond what is credibleâ.
Disappointing.
NYT: DNA From Discarded Gum Leads to Conviction in 1980 Oregon Murder
In the end, it was a discarded piece of chewing gum, casually spit on the ground in 2021, that was the key to solving the cold-case murder of a college student that had confounded the authorities in Oregon for more than four decades.
Robert Arthur Plympton had been under police surveillance since the authorities determined that year that he was a “likely contributor” to a DNA profile developed from swabs taken from the body of Barbara Mae Tucker, who was 19 when she was murdered on the Mount Hood Community College campus in 1980.
On Friday, Mr. Plympton, 60, was found guilty of murdering Ms. Tucker after a three-week bench trial in Portland, Ore. According to The Oregonian, which reported on the investigation and Mr. Plympton’s conviction, it was the oldest cold-case homicide in Gresham, Ore., east of Portland.
He was 16 at the time.
NYT: New Rules Will Still Push Carmakers to Sell More Electric Cars
Even if clean air rules announced on Wednesday in Washington are less forceful than some environmentalists would have liked, they should still have a powerful effect on the kinds of cars appearing in showrooms over the next several years, experts said.
The rules will amplify market forces pushing the industry toward battery power, giving automakers a strong incentive to sell a broader, more affordable variety of electric cars – not just the expensive sport utility vehicles that have dominated sales so far.
“It probably means more models and lower prices,” said Craig Segall, former deputy executive officer of the California Air Resources Board, an agency that played a key role in promoting electric vehicles in that state. “The way you win,” he said, referring to carmakers, “is making sure you have an E.V. in each segment.”
New Yorker: The Crime Rings Stealing Everything from Purses to Power Tools
A dozen detectives from the California Highway Patrol gathered in a Los Angeles-area parking lot the other morning for an operational briefing. In about twenty minutes, they would drive to a nearby Home Depot, where customers were known to regularly wheel carts of merchandise out the door without paying, and to stick power tools down their pants. The investigators had planned a nightlong âblitzââsurveillance, arrest, repeat. Anyone caught stealing would be handcuffed, led to a back room, and questioned: What did you plan to do with these items? Did you take them on behalf of someone else? The goal was not to micro-police shoplifting but to discover and disrupt networks engaged in organized retail crime, a burgeoning area of criminal investigation.
Letters Live (YouTube): Stephen Fry reads Nick Cave’s stirring letter about ChatGPT and human creativity
In August of this year, as part of his Red Hand Files correspondence project, legendary musician Nick Cave was asked questions about creativity and ChatGPT by two fans, Leon and Charlie.
Nick replied with a single letter, which Stephen Fry joined us to read at the 10th anniversary Letters Live show at London’s Royal Albert Hall in November 2023.
via John Philpin
Sulluzzu: HĂ„g Capisco (and Unintended Consequences)
My company provides employee benefits annually that I can put towards things such as technology, ‘lifestyle’, ISAs, medical care etc. This year I decided to put all of my ÂŁ500(before tax) towards a better task chair for home. To mitigate the discomfort of aging joints my wife had previously bought a Steelcase Gesture at great expense for her rented office, loves it, and now it felt like a good time to upgrade at home too.
Even buying refurbished chairs, a Steelcase would have burst the budget so I ordered a HĂ„g Capisco with leather upholstery in near mint condition from a company called Corporate Spec.
My hunt for a good chair continuesâŠ
via BestOfTimes (micro.blog)
9to5Mac: Apple starts rolling out new AirTag firmware update
The new version of AirTag software build rolling out today is build number 2A73 and firmware version 2.0.73. This is up from the previous firmware version of 2.0.61, which was released with âbug fixes and other improvementsâ back in October.
Thereâs no word on whatâs new in AirTag Firmware Update 2.0.73 just yet. Apple has a support document with AirTag update release notes, but that webpage hasnât been updated to acknowledge todayâs release just yet.
The process of checking your AirTag firmware version is a bit hidden. On your iPhone, open the Find My application, then choose the Items tab in the bottom navigation bar. Then, choose your AirTag from the list of items and tap on the name of your AirTag. Doing this should reveal the serial number and firmware version of your AirTag.
Again, if your AirTag does not show that it’s running the latest firmware, there is no way to force it to update. Instead, just make sure your AirTag is in range of your iPhone, and it should automatically update.
Last Updated: 20.Mar.2024 19:45 EDT