đź”— Articles: Tuesday 07.May.2024
Electrek: A fully-electric, 50,000 kWh container ship has begun service
Chinese state-owned company COSCO Shipping has launched what it calls the “world’s largest” river-to-sea electric container ship. The Green Water 01 is a 10,000-ton+ fully electric vessel that sets a new benchmark in sustainability in the marine logistics industry.
Defector: Nate Jackson: I Wish I’d Never Become The NFL Weed Guy
Substance abuse is a trap waiting for any ex-athlete. The checks on your usage that existed when you were on a team—drug tests, itineraries, workouts, playbooks, paychecks, film sessions, intense competition, and simply just having something to do—all disappear. In an instant, you find yourself alone with nowhere to be, a laundry list of injuries, no doctors around to treat them, maybe some brain trauma, probably some depression, some money in the bank, and a propensity to medicate. There is a reason that ex-NFL players are four times more likely than the average American male to become addicted to opioids.
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There is a reason why they hand you a helmet your first day on the job. Your head is in danger. And since the discovery and publicity of CTE, there appeared to be very few therapeutic answers for it. Depending on whom you asked, the NFL’s concussion settlement, the “heads-up tackling” initiative, the concussion protocol, and various rule changes either made the game safer, or muddied the waters by only appearing to make the game safer. The fact remains that the most effective way to stop a large man in his tracks is to lead with your most dangerous weapon, which happens to be the helmet, and to hit him in his most vulnerable part: his head. That’s a reality that will never change on a football field, no matter how many fines or suspensions anybody hands out.
A serious article about a multi-faceted issue.
The Atlantic: Russia and China Are Winning the Propaganda War
In 2000, President Bill Clinton told an audience at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies that it was impossible. “In the knowledge economy,” he said, “economic innovation and political empowerment, whether anyone likes it or not, will inevitably go hand in hand.” The transcript records the audience reactions:
“Now, there’s no question China has been trying to crack down on the internet.” (Chuckles.) “Good luck!” (Laughter.) “That’s sort of like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall.” (Laughter.)
While we were still rhapsodizing about the many ways in which the internet could spread democracy, the Chinese were designing what’s become known as the Great Firewall of China. That method of internet management — which is in effect conversation management — contains many different elements, beginning with an elaborate system of blocks and filters that prevent internet users from seeing particular words and phrases. Among them, famously, are Tiananmen, 1989, and June 4, but there are many more. In 2000, a directive called “Measures for Managing Internet Information Services” prohibited an extraordinarily wide range of content, including anything that “endangers national security, divulges state secrets, subverts the government, undermines national unification,” and “is detrimental to the honor and interests of the state” — anything, in other words, that the authorities didn’t like.
Politico: Judge Cannon indefinitely postpones Trump’s classified docs trial
Cannon, a Trump appointee who took the bench in late 2020, indicated in the order that, before setting a new trial date, she intends to resolve the backlog of other issues in the case that have piled up on her plate. Smith’s defenders have criticized Cannon for what they see as a plodding pace in resolving pretrial matters, and tensions between the special counsel and the judge have flared in recent months over a series of puzzling rulings that threatened to derail the case.
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That reshuffling further clouds the picture for Smith, who is also awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity that could determine whether his other case against Trump – charges in Washington D.C. for attempting to subvert the 2020 election – can move forward this year.
Trump is currently on trial in a third criminal case in Manhattan, in which he is accused of falsifying records of a hush money payment to a porn star. He is also facing criminal charges in Georgia for attempting to interfere with the 2020 results in that state.
Electrek: GAF Energy’s new Texas factory is about to make a lot of nailable solar shingles
GAF Energy built the nailable solar shingle factory in Texas to meet the growing demand for its “world’s first” Timberline Solar Energy Shingle that debuted in January 2022.
The new Texas factory, the company’s second, will bump up its capacity by 500% and bring the total production of its solar shingle to 300 megawatts (MW) annually. It’s expected to employ more than 240 people. GAF Energy’s first factory, in San Jose, California, came online in 2021.
Electrek: Despite Elon’s foolishness, auto industry shouldn’t give up on Tesla’s NACS
Last week, Tesla abruptly fired its entire Supercharging team, leading to an immediate pullback in Supercharger installation plans. The explanation we’ve heard for these firings is that CEO Elon Musk was unhappy with EV Charging lead Rebecca Tinucci for not firing enough people, and retaliated by suddenly firing her and her entire team.
The firing was so ill-considered that the company has even had to send out an email blast to suppliers and contractors, seemingly confused about which companies it’s even working with on site development.
The abrupt firing has caused a lot of chaos and reconsideration in the EV industry, with some automakers reportedly having meetings about whether to proceed with the planned NACS transition or pull back on their plans.
TechCrunch: Tesla is Luminar’s largest lidar customer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that lidar sensors are a “crutch” for autonomous vehicles. But his company has bought so many from Luminar that Tesla is now the lidar-maker’s top customer.
Tesla accounted for “more than 10%” of Luminar’s revenue in the first quarter of 2024, or a little more than $2 million, the lidar-maker revealed Tuesday in its first-quarter earnings report.
Luminar reported that its revenue fell 5% from the fourth quarter of 2023, which it mostly attributed to “lower sensor sales to non-automotive customers.” That drop was “offset by sensor sales to Tesla, which was our largest lidar customer in Q1.” Luminar also noted a 45% gain in revenue year-over-year.
Time to fire the autopilot crew.
Last Updated: 07.May.2024 23:58 EDT