New posts from the.micro.blog
đ Articles: Tue 12.Mar.2024
Electrek: Led by Tesla, US EV prices dropped by 13% year-over-year in February
EV prices dropped by nearly 13% year-over-year in February, led in part by Tesla Model 3 and Model Y price drops, reports Kelley Blue Book.
According to newly revised EV transaction price data, the average price paid for an EV in February was $52,314, down from a revised $54,863 in January, according to Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book estimates.
EV transaction prices in February were lower year-over-year by 12.8%, an accelerating decline compared to January, when prices were lower year-over-year by 11.6%.
AP: 20 Days in Mariupol wins Oscar for best documentary
Mstyslav Chernovâs â20 Days in Mariupol,â a harrowing first-person account of the early days of Russiaâs invasion of Ukraine in 2022, won the best documentary Oscar on Sunday night.
A joint production of The Associated Press and PBSâ Frontline, the Oscar â and nomination â was a first for both Chernov, an AP video journalist, and the 178-year-old news organization. This was the third nomination and first win for Frontline.
Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko arrived an hour before Russia began bombing the port city. Two weeks later, they were the last journalists working for an international outlet in the city, sending crucial dispatches to the outside world showing civilian casualties of all ages, the digging of mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital and the sheer extent of the devastation.
You can watch the documentary on YouTube.
Mashable: Apple developed a monster chip for its Apple Car project, report says
Apple Car may never happen, but that doesnât mean the company didnât develop some impressive tech while the project was still alive.
According to Bloombergâs Mark Gurman, Apple had developed an incredibly mighty chip to power the Apple Car. In a Q&A session on Monday, Gurman said that the chip was nearly finished, and was âequal to about four M2 Ultras combined.â
Undecided with Matt Ferrell (YouTube): The Genius of Small Hydro Turbines
Hydropower is a great source of energy that doesnât suffer the same intermittency problems as other renewables. But dams fail. A lot. About 95% of the existing hydropower systems in the States were built before 1995, and over half operate using equipment designed over 80 years ago. This aging infrastructure can be not only unreliable, but dangerous to local populations, human and animal alike. That said, hydropower doesnât always have to be postcard-perfect or 67 stories high. It actually has a lot of room for growthâŚpossibly by shrinking. Thatâs because small hydropower (or SHP) has the potential to literally usher in a new generation. Several companies are working toward integrating hydroelectric turbines on a smaller scale and with a smaller ecological footprint. Between new designs like Vortex Hydrokineticsâ bladeless turbine and Turbulentâs snail-shaped âfish-friendlyâ system (say that 10 times fast), thereâs plenty of opportunity to take advantage of rivers without having to worry about the safety of ourselves or our scaly friends.
Check out Ryanâs video on Ziroth about bladeless hydro turbines: Genius Bladeless HydroâŚ
BeardMeatsFood (YouTube): The Undefeated Codbuster Giant Fish & Chip Challenge | c.o.b. ep.171
Fish & ChipsâŚSome say the pinnacle of British cuisineâŚIâm not sure Iâd agree, but one thing I do know is that we canât have an undefeated chippy platter challenge just sat there can we? Todayâs missionâŚGive it a heavy battering!
ÂŁ18 is the cost to partake in Misterton Chippy & Bistroâs âCod Busterâ challenge. 32oz of fish, battered, accompanied by nigh on 4lb of chips, gravy, curry sauce, mushy peas, beans and two slices of buttered bread. Down it all inside 40 minutes and itâs yours on the house. And so too is a coveted winners t-shirt!
I didnât really realize just how big it was until he picked up the first piece of fish!
Easily enough food for a party of four!
CP (Yahoo): PWHL rivals Montreal and Toronto will meet at Bell Centre on April 20
A Professional Womenâs Hockey League game between rivals Montreal and Toronto is being moved to the Bell Centre.
The April 20 game was originally scheduled to be played April 21 at Verdun Auditorium, which seats 4,114 fans.
With a capacity of over 21,000 spectators, Bell Centre, which is home to the Montreal Canadiens, will be the sixth NHL arena to host a PWHL game in the leagueâs inaugural season.
Last Updated: 12.Mar.2024 20:11 EDT
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Bemused by Canadian politics? Tickled by Siriâs non-competitiveness with ChatGPT? Just for a laugh then, try asking Siri who the premier of Alberta isâŚ
Price is set to increase from $65 to $80 per tonne on April 1.
If you think this low carbon tax is expensive, trying adding up the costs of climate change!
đđ Articles: Wed 13.Mar.2024
TechCrunch: Waymo to launch commercial robotaxi service in Austin by end of the year
Waymo will begin offering a robotaxi service to the public in Los Angeles this week and in Austin by the end of the year, the companyâs co-CEO Tekedra Mawakan said Wednesday at SXSW.
The Alphabet company has been testing and validating its driverless vehicles across about 43 square miles around downtown, Barton Hills, Riverside, East Austin and Hyde Park neighborhoods. The announcement comes about a week after Waymo started letting its autonomous vehicles traverse Austin without a safety operator behind the wheel, a critical step before the company opens the program up to the public.
Politico: How Raw Milk Went from a Whole Foods Staple to a Conservative Signal
What changed since 2008 is a vivid example of a larger upheaval in American politics. The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still say raw milk is dangerous and the state dairy lobby sent lobbyists to the Iowa Capitol to defeat Schultzâs bill. But Iowa has flipped â itâs a Republican state now, from the presidential vote to the governorâs office to the near-supermajority Legislature â and that flip has occurred alongside even larger shifts in national politics, spurred on by the rise of Donald Trump. With Trump has come a new GOP electorate, one more rural, more working class, less ideological and generally more distrustful of lobbyists, big business and âthe experts.â And that has been a big help for a cause that is bucking just about every one of those groups.
Long a fringe health food for new-age hippiesand fad-chasing liberal foodies, raw milk has won over the hearts and minds of GOP legislators and regulators in the last few years. (The Iowa vote broke almost perfectly along party lines with nearly all Republicans in favor and only a handful of Democrats defecting to their side.) And itâs not just in Iowa. Montana, North Dakota, Alaska, Georgia and Wyomingall have passed laws (or changed regulations) since 2020 legalizing the sale of raw milk on farms or in stores.
Electrek: As good as it gets? What a âreal worldâ hydrogen pickup looks like
Look, I am the first person to say that battery-electric power is not the answer for everything. Iâm a âright tool for the right jobâ kind of person. I understand that certain jobs in certain fields require kilowatt hours of energy every hour. Batteries made with todayâs technology would have to be so huge to provide that power that the vehicle theyâre attached to would sink into asphalt, let alone dirt and mud. Hydrogen, when blended with diesel to cut carbon and NOx emissions and in a few other extremely limited combustion scenarios, has a (temporary) role.
âItâs just awful,â I wrote to Electrek chief Seth Weintraub. âI canât believe itâs not an April Foolsâ joke.â
A 3-foot bed?! Thatâs not even enough room for peopleâs empty Tim Hortons cups!
ScreenRant: Jurassic Park Completely Ruined One Original Book Character
In Michael Crichtonâs original novel, Gennaro was a multifaceted figure. Acting on behalf of the investors of Jurassic Park, Gennaroâs primary goal is to ensure the projectâs financial success. In the process of fulfilling his task, Gennaro is quick to recognize the potential danger posed by the park, and with little concern for his job, he takes up an active role in trying to ensure things donât go wrong. However, the film adaptation took a different approach, resulting in what most passionate fans of the film describe as a disappointing departure from Gennaroâs original portrayal. Instead of being an essential and respected figure, Gennaro was reduced to a villain â greedy and unlikable.
BNN Bloomberg: Households owed $1.79 for every dollar of disposable income in Q4: Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada says households owed $1.79 in credit market debt on average for every dollar of disposable income in the fourth quarter.
The federal agency said Wednesday that seasonally adjusted household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income fell for the third quarter in a row.
PBS NewsHour: 3 men face firearms charges after investigation into Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting
The new complaints made public Wednesday do not allege that the men were among the shooters. Instead, they are accused of involvement in straw purchases and trafficking firearms.
Itâs good to see that they are moving back up the acquisition chain.
Price is set to increase from $65 to $80 per tonne on April 1.
If you think this low carbon tax is expensive, trying adding up the costs of climate change!
đ Goodreads: Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA by Patrick Winn
The untold story of an indigenous people running the worldâs mightiest narco-state â and Americaâs struggle to thwart them.
In Asiaâs narcotics-producing heartland, the Wa reign supreme. They dominate the Golden Triangle, a mountainous stretch of Burma between Thailand and China. Their 30,000-strong army, wielding missiles and attack drones, makes Mexican cartels look like street gangs.
Wa moguls are unrivaled in the regionâs $60 billion meth trade and infamous for mass-producing pink, vanilla-scented speed pills. Drugs finance Wa State, a bona fide nation with its own laws, anthems, schools, and electricity grid. Though revered by their people, Wa leaders are scorned by US policymakers as vicious âkingpinsâ who âpoison our society for profit.â
In Narcotopia, award-winning journalist Patrick Winn uncovers the truth behind Asiaâs top drug-trafficking organization, as told by a Wa commander turned DEA informant. This gripping narrative shreds drug war myths and leads to a chilling the Wa syndicateâs origins are smudged with CIA fingerprints.
Last Updated: 13.Mar.2024 23:59 EDT
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Hmmmm. Tried submitting a bug observed in Gluon via the âSend Beta Feedbackâ link in TestFlight and it appears to have used the link for micro.blogâs Wavelength beta instead!
đ Articles: Thursday 14.Mar.2024
ABC/538: Trump is leading the polls, but thereâs plenty of time for Biden to catch up
If the 2024 general election were held tomorrow, President Joe Biden would probably lose to former President Donald Trump. Thatâs because, by 538âs averaging, Biden trails in every major swing state â not to mention in national polls, too. Things only get worse for him the closer you look: The incumbent president is currently viewed more unfavorably than his predecessor, for instance, and polls show few voters are giving Biden credit for an improving economy. They trust Trump more to handle several issues Americans rate as the most important to their vote, including immigration, jobs/the economy and foreign policy. Voters are likelier to say conditions were better under the previous president and that the current executive has made their lives worse.
SharpTech.fm: Congress and TikTok, Listening to China to Understand the TikTok Concerns, Empty First Amendment Arguments
The latest legislative push to address TikTokâs relationship to ByteDance, Benâs 2020 analysis of the threats posed by the app, the arguments and interests opposing a ban, and why US freedoms may ultimately be the best defense against a foreign influence campaign.
via Manton
When he adds or removes a feed from his file, that will be reflected shortly in the blogroll here.
And when a site in his list updates, it moves to the top of the list.
I really like Dave Winerâs implementation of this!
Oh Hello Ana (Ana Rodrigues): You donât have to be a âcontent creatorâ to have a website.
This is clearly the result of living in a capitalist society. In recent years, people have felt the pressure to monetise their hobbies, so thereâs a constant state of hustle. We all need money to exist in our society.
via Mantonâs blogroll
Tim Dietrich: Aloe.js Preview
4.Jun.2023
Over the past few months, Iâve been working on a project called Aloe.js, and Iâm excited to finally announce and give a preview of it.
Aloe is a JavaScript interpreter. Itâs designed for running JavaScript applications outside of a Web browser. It can be run from the command-line on macOS, Windows, and Linux-based computers.
NYT: Voyager 1, First Craft in Interstellar Space, May Have Gone Dark
The 46-year-old probe, which flew by Jupiter and Saturn in its youth and inspired earthlings with images of the planet as a âPale Blue Dot,â hasnât sent usable data from interstellar space in months.
Last Updated: 14.Mar.2024 20:37 EDT
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đ Articles: Friday 15.Mar.2024
CBC: Okanagan couple faces fines, legal action over tiny home
The 225-square-foot home is equipped with a kitchen, two loft bedrooms, a small wood-burning stove and a bathroom with a shower and composting toilet. King milled a large tree on the property to build counter space in the home and a spacious deck attached to the front of the trailer.
King said only grey water from the homeâs sinks goes back onto the land. He placed the tiny home on a level area on his secluded, 12-acre property which has a small creek running through it in the valley bottom.
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A letter King shared with CBC News from the RDCO lays out the issues the district has with the structure.
âIt does not align with the B.C. building code, CSA safety standards or land use regulations. It is neither a certified tiny home nor a CSA classified recreation vehicle,â the letter states.
âThe wastewater system you are currently using is not permitted in this streamside aquatic protected area.â
CBC: Aaron Wherry: Is the carbon tax suffering from a failure to communicate?
Did the Liberalsâ own changes to government advertising rules leave them at a disadvantage?
Opposed to taxes but oblivious to rebates?
Last Updated: 15.Mar.2024 12:54 EDT
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TIL They make electric running boards that emerge at the driverâs command!
đ Articles: Saturday 16.Mar.2024
Guardian: Jenny Odell on why we need to learn to do nothing: âItâs a reminder that youâre aliveâ
And Odell seems to be proposing a solution.
âI mean, I hope so,â she says. âMy own experience was one of self-observation, which I think is happening to a lot of people right now â you can only do something that makes you feel so bad, for so long, without starting to ask why. The original talk came out of me wondering why I was going to the rose garden so often, and why that felt necessary â I think this cultural moment, this kind of reckoning thatâs happening, is maybe related.â
Seems like the right idea, but another article-sized idea expanded to book length.
CBC: Premier David Eby mocks Pierre Poilievreâs letter asking B.C. to join carbon tax fight
Poilievreâs letter sent Friday asks Eby to join seven other premiers in opposing the April 1 tax increase, saying the 23 per cent hike amounts to an extra 18 cents on a litre of fuel and people in B.C. and Canadians canât afford it.
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âI donât live in the Pierre Poilievre campaign office and baloney factory,â said Eby. âI live in B.C., am the premier and decisions have consequences. The fact we face is that if we followed Mr. Poilievreâs suggestion there would be less money returned to British Columbians after April 1 than there would be if the federal government administered this increase directly.â
NewsNation: US investigating Meta for role in illicit drug sales: Reports
U.S. prosecutors in Virginia are probing whether Facebook-parent Metaâs social media platforms facilitated and profited from the illegal sale of drugs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing documents and people familiar with the matter.
The prosecutors sent subpoenas last year and have been asking questions as part of a criminal grand jury probe, the report said, adding that they have also been requesting records related to drug content or illicit sale of drugs via Metaâs platforms.
BBC: Local elections: âI got my first death threat before I was electedâ
After winning her seat on South Cambridgeshire District Council in 2018, the abuse got even worse.
âI had threats of violence and sexual violence towards me,â she said.
This is craziness!
Last Updated: 16.Mar.2024 23:43 EDT
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đ Articles: Sunday 17.Mar.2024
PBS NewsHour: Trump warns of âbloodbathâ if he isnât reelected at Ohio rally for Senate candidate Moreno
âIf I donât get elected, itâs going to be a bloodbath for the whole â thatâs going to be the least of it. Itâs going to be a bloodbath for the country,â he warned, while talking about the impact of offshoring on the countryâs auto industry and his plans to increase tariffs on foreign-made cars.
Biden campaign spokesperson James Singer accused Trump of doubling âdown on his threats of political violence.â
âHe wants another January 6, but the American people are going to give him another electoral defeat this November because they continue to reject his extremism, his affection for violence, and his thirst for revenge,â Singer charged in a statement.
Iâd definitely prefer to see this quote in context!
FreeThink: FDA approves weight-loss drug Wegovy to treat heart problems
The FDA has approved the use of Novo Nordiskâs popular weight-loss drug semaglutide (brand name Wegovy) to reduce the risk of certain major heart issues â a move that could make the medication accessible to more people.
Weight loss and� Wegovy has been approved as a weight-loss treatment for people with obesity or overweight and certain other health conditions since 2021. (Previously, a different dose of the same drug was approved under the brand name Ozempic for diabetes.)
Because the drug helps people lose weight, it was reasonable to assume it may also treat problems related to carrying excess weight, such as heart issues. However, because the trials Novo Nordisk used to get the drug approved as a treatment for obesity in 2021 didnât prove anything more than weight loss, thatâs the only indication included on its label.
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In November 2023, Novo Nordisk published the results of SELECT, reporting that Wegovy reduced the risk of âmajor adverse cardiovascular eventsâ (MACE) â heart attacks, strokes, and death from heart disease â by 20% compared to the placebo group. Deaths from any cause were also 19% lower in the treatment group.
NewsNation: Biden social media case heads to Supreme Court
At the heart of the case were attempts by the Biden administration to police online misinformation about the legitimacy of the 2020 election and COVID-19, when doubts about vaccines ran rampant.
Last Updated: 17.Mar.2024 23:55 EDT
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đ Articles: Monday 18.Mar.2024
MacRumors: iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent
MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes.
As to be expected, Apple has also been internally testing iOS 17.5, and the first beta of that update is likely to be released this week.
We consider it likely that there will also be a macOS 14.4.1 update for the Mac at some point, as there have been complaints about several bugs on macOS 14.4 related to USB hubs, Java, Bluetooth, printers, audio plugins, and more.
Guardian: Rule of law declining across EU, report warns
Civil liberties network says in states where far-right parties influence power, rule-of-law deterioration risks becoming systemic.
The rule of law is declining across the EU as governments continue to weaken legal and democratic checks and balances, a leading civil liberties network has said, highlighting in particular a sharp rise in restrictions on the right to protest.
Berlin-based Liberties said in its annual report, compiled with 37 rights groups in 19 countries, that in older democracies with mainstream parties in government, such as France, Germany and Belgium, challenges to the rule of law remained sporadic.
However, in similarly long-established â so resilient â democracies where far-right parties are in power, or influencing power, such as Italy and Sweden, Liberties said deterioration of the rule of law, while gradual, risked becoming systemic.
CNN: Global ocean heat has been at record levels every single day for the last year
The worldâs oceans have now experienced an entire year of unprecedented heat, with a new temperature record broken every day, new data shows.
Global ocean surface temperatures started breaking daily records in mid-March last year, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Maineâs Climate Reanalyzer, fueling concerns for marine life and extreme weather across the planet.
TorStar: Bonnie Crombie promises no provincial carbon tax
Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie says there will be no provincial carbon tax if she topples Premier Doug Fordâs Progressive Conservatives in the 2026 election.
âWe will ensure major polluters pay, but we will not have an Ontario carbon tax on consumers,â Crombie said Monday as she announced a new panel to develop the partyâs climate-change policies.
Whatâs going on here?! Is she relying on the federal carbon tax?
BNN Bloomberg: Sports Illustrated will continue operations after agreement reached with new publisher
Sports Illustrated will continue operations after the company that owns the brand agreed with a new publisher for its print and digital products.
Minute Media took over on Monday after reaching a licensing agreement with Authentic Brands Group. On Jan. 19, Authentic announced that it was revoking The Arena Groupâs publishing licence after Arena failed to make a quarterly payment.
Reuters: Out of money, Pentagon chief looks to convince allies of commitment to Ukraine
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday will try and convince European allies that President Joe Bidenâs administration is still committed to supporting Ukraine, even as Washington has essentially run out of money to continue arming Kyiv and few signs that Congress will move to replenish funds.
Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to call a vote on a bill that would provide $60 billion more for Ukraine and the White House has been scrambling to find ways to send assistance to Kyiv, which has been battling Russian forces for more than two years.
The US congress is dysfunctional and ignoring the huge long-term implications.
The Sun Spot: NASA Engineers Make Progress Toward Understanding Voyager 1 Issue
Since November 2023, NASAâs Voyager 1 spacecraft has been sending a steady radio signal to Earth, but the signal does not contain usable data. The source of the issue appears to be with one of three onboard computers, the flight data subsystem (FDS), which is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before itâs sent to Earth by the telemetry modulation unit.
On March 3, the Voyager mission team saw activity from one section of the FDS that differed from the rest of the computerâs unreadable data stream. The new signal was still not in the format used by Voyager 1 when the FDS is working properly, so the team wasnât initially sure what to make of it. But an engineer with the agencyâs Deep Space Network, which operates the radio antennas that communicate with both Voyagers and other spacecraft traveling to the Moon and beyond, was able to decode the new signal and found that it contains a readout of the entire FDS memory.
Daring Fireball: My 2023 Apple Report Card
Last month Jason Snell published his annual Six Colors Apple Report Card for 2023. As Iâve done in the past â 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018 â Iâm publishing my full remarks and grades here. Iâm late publishing this year because I forgot to last month. On Snellâs report card, voters give per-category scores ranging from 5 to 1; Iâve translated these to letter grades, A to E.
I mostly agree with his assessments except that I find Apple software full of a myriad of little bugs, some of them (eg dictation) getting worse and many of them many years unfixed (eg Apple Mail).
NYT: Justice Breyer, Off the Bench, Sounds an Alarm Over the Supreme Courtâs Direction
In an interview in his chambers and in a new book, the justice, who retired in 2022, discussed Dobbs, originalism and the decline of trust in the court.
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There are three large problems with originalism, he wrote in the book.
âFirst, it requires judges to be historians â a role for which they may not be qualified â constantly searching historical sources for the âanswerâ where there often isnât one there,â he wrote. âSecond, it leaves no room for judges to consider the practical consequences of the constitutional rules they propound. And third, it does not take into account the ways in which our values as a society evolve over time as we learn from the mistakes of our past.â
Last Updated: 18.Mar.2024 21:47 EDT