2021-01-26

Cool

• Cable Mechanism Maths: Designing Against The Capstan Equation | Hackaday

• The 50 Best Cult Movies - The Ringer

  • no "Noises Off", no "Nothing but Trouble", no "Blues Brothers"!

• JUST HACK IN A SWITCH “WHY???”: Womanizer & Satisfyer Disposable Wave Toys – Inside Sex Toys

• Navy "UFO Patent" Documents Talk Of "Spacetime Modification Weapon," Detail Experimental Testing

  • NASA 1998: Superconductor-Mediated Modification of Gravity? AC Motor Experiments with Bulk YBCO Disks in Rotating Magnetic Fields

• Lurking bugs behind infrequently-executed code paths

  It looks like I wrote this bug in 1989. It just bit me in 2021.

etc

• We need to throw out a mindblowing amount of science and start again | The Spinoff

  One of his examples is a mistake I’ve been caught out on: when you cut and paste lists of genes into Excel the software will helpfully rename anything that looks like a date. So MARCH1 (Membrane Associated Ring-CH-Type Finger 1) becomes 1-Mar. Which is not a gene. A 2016 study found the error affected about 20% of all genetics papers. Genes with date-like names have all been renamed; it seemed easier than getting Microsoft to fix Excel.

• Drinking In Colonial America - Thrillist

  You ever see that movie, The Secret? You know, all about how you can manifest a better universe through pleasant thoughts and whatnot? Well, I think I’ve found the real Secret. It’s drinking all day. Truth.

• (Oct 2020) Making is Show Business now – alexdanco.com

  Today, the natural constraint on open-source projects has become like an upside-down Tragedy of the Commons problem. The classic commons problem involves a self-renewing but finite public good, like the town green for grazing animals. Here, the commons at risk of being overdrawn isn’t the product; the code itself can be consumed limitlessly. The risk is that the creators become overdrawn and overwhelmed with participation, and with demands on their time.

• One killed, around 20 injured after tornado hits Birmingham, Alabama, suburb

• After 17 years underground, these bugs are reappearing in 15 states

• FDA approves first monthly injectable to treat HIV infection

• I Love Reading 1980s Computer Magazines, and So Should You

• Police: Terrorism didn't motivate fatal Oregon car attack - ABC News

  Investigators have found no evidence that terrorism, politics or any bias motivated a driver who repeatedly drove into people along streets and sidewalks in Portland, Oregon, killing a 77-year-old woman and injuring nine other people, police said Tuesday.

• Japan's Renesas steps in to ease automotive chip shortage - Nikkei Asia

  Supplier to produce key component for fire-damaged Asahi Kasei

Horseshit

• Mutant Crayfish Clones Itself, and It's Taking over Europe

• Lone Wolves Connected Online: A History of Modern White Supremacy

• Conservative Journalist Andy Ngo Flees The Country Over Antifa Death Threats | ZeroHedge

• Ghislaine Maxwell asks judge to dismiss sex case, says Jeffrey Epstein plea deal covers her

• Democratic Party In Oregon Blames ‘Republican Attacks’ After Antifa Smashed Its HQ – Summit News

• Rupert Murdoch Says Cancel Culture Threatens Freedom Of Speech

• Would it surprise you to find out Dr. Fauci is the highest paid employee in THE ENTIRE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? | Not the Bee

• Disney is finally rethinking its racist theme park rides

  • Disneyland to reimagine Jungle Cruise ride following years of criticism

• 'Historic' snow blankets parts of Midwest, disrupts travel

  More than 10in of snow fell in parts of eastern Nebraska by Monday evening,

• Anthony Fauci Finally Reveals What He Was Thinking When Trump Suggested Bleach | HuffPost

• What Happens When You Eat Nothing But Fruit for a Week

  my fruity week taught me to listen to my body. To care for it. To pay attention. I think for most of us, the perfect diet is always a work in progress.

• One problem with the dream of a traditional Congress: Most members have never seen one

  Want a Congress that looks like those of the late 1990s? Only 1-in-5 members of the House and Senate were around then

  • "late 1990's"? Gingrich's Congresses? The wave of Republican freshmen that all manner of media have told us, then til now, were the worst thing ever to happen to Democracy and so on? Those Congresses?

• China is rehearsing for when it overtakes America - CNN

• Agent Fired from Literary Agency for Using Parler and Gab

• How many people flew this year, compared to the rest of the agency's 19 year history? TSA Firearm Catch Rate Doubles in 2020

• Science Table member paid by union for arguing school re-openings | Toronto Sun

TechSuck

• YouTube strips rising media company Epoch Times of ability to monetize video content | Just The News

• Meet the Censored: Status Coup - TK News by Matt Taibbi

  • comment (no shit someone said this):

  It's simply irresponsible for so-called "independent journalists" to cover material that neither they nor their audiences are in a position to understand. We've seen what several decades of totally unregulated broadcasting have done, to the detriment of our society - without well-funded expert guidance, conspiracy theories and extremism run rampant. Platforms must be restricted to those who prove they can use them appropriately.

• The 1938–39 deplatforming of Father Coughlin.

• Elon Musk blasts Jeff Bezos, alleging effort to 'hamstring' SpaceX's ...

  • Elon Musk Says Jeff Bezos Is Trying to Ruin Starlink

• Brooklyn fiber cut appears to cause East Coast Verizon FiOS outage - DCD

• Facebook restores service to socialist pages, claiming “automation error”

• My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell Permanently Suspended From Twitter

  • Why MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's Twitter Account Has Been Permanently Suspended

• Sen. Ed Markey wrote a scathing letter to Mark Zuckerberg condemning Facebook groups as 'breeding grounds for hate' ...

• Twitter Acquires Revue blogging platform Making Twitter a better home for writers

• filed under "Suck" because this hurts us with low bandwidth, and the trackers will not be stymied long Firefox 85 Cracks Down on Supercookies - Mozilla Security Blog

• System separation in the Continental Europe Synchronous Area on 8 January 2021 – 2nd update

  • Synchronous grid of Continental Europe - Wikipedia

• Officials: Cause of fire that killed Tony Hsieh undetermined

  • the "tech media" treatment of this story was hinky. Comments mentioning the guy had problems got buried, then a week later it comes out that he had problems. He was well liked, but the smell here is "can of worms" and i suspect there's a lot of reputation at risk under this one.

• Google Play bans video app for .ass support due to Sexual Content policy

• Australia’s Proposed Media Code Turns Up the Heat on Google and Facebook

• Former Google CEO and others call for U.S.-China tech "bifurcation" - Axios

Economicon

• Billionaires made $3.9 trillion during the pandemic - enough to pay for everyone's vaccine

  + [American billionaires added $1.1 trillion in wealth during the
  

  pandemic](http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/2UskhFtsZAc/american-billionaires-added-11-trillion-in-wealth-during-pandemic-2021-1)

• Etsy shares jump 9 percent after Elon Musk tweets he 'kinda loves' it

  • The stock market is at peak dumb: Etsy soars because Elon Musk tweets about it

• "Epstien didn't kill himself" a year and a half ago. Leon Black, billionaire co-founder and CEO of Apollo hedge fund, steps down after review of ...

• BlackRock boss Larry Fink calls on CEOs worldwide to disclose concrete plans for reaching net zero by 2050

  + These are the folks buying stocks, bonds etc. for the Fed's
    "corona stimulus." Now they're investing "Green".
  

  • BlackRock Threatens to Shed Some of Its Massive Fossil Fuels Portfolio – Mother Jones

• UPS Sells Trucking Unit Under CEO’s ‘Better-Not-Bigger’ Vow

  United Parcel Service Inc. agreed to sell its short-haul trucking business for $800 million, the first substantial move in the “better-not-bigger” strategy that Carol Tome developed since taking over as chief executive officer in June.

• Cici's files for bankruptcy as pandemic accelerates the decline of the all-you-can-eat buffet

• Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Bought Call Options in Apple, Tesla, and Disney

GME / Short squeeze

This has been a brushfire today. burning port-a-potty? worse than a donkey show by the reaction.

• Short sellers are down $91B in January

• 'Big Short' investor Michael Burry blasts Reddit-fueled GameStop ...

• GME stock price continues to rise, r/WallStreetBets sends open letter to CNBC | Shacknews

• We can remain retarded for longer than they can stay solvent

• GameStop climbs another 16% as Reddit investors push stock to new highs

• "Let's Gooooo!!!" - GameStop Halted After Surging On Billionaire Call-Buying Tweet | ZeroHedge

• Gamestop Explodes Higher As Stock Is Now Trapped In Gamma Vortex | ZeroHedge

  Update 4:40pm: Well that escalated quickly. Just 20 minutes after Musk's tweet, GME exploded to $240...

  Update 4:20pm: Just one hour ago (see below) we said that it is "increasingly likely that GME will hit $200" thanks to the stock entering the peak OTM vol "gamma gravity". Well, moments ago, GME just hit a new all time high $194.50, surging about $44 after hours and nearing the $200 gamma level on, drumroll, an Elon Musk tweet that merely said... "Gamestonk!!"

Capitol Riots / National Guard in DC

• 5,000 National Guard troops will remain in Washington, DC, into March - CNNPolitics

  There are currently 15,000 troops in the city with the numbers due to be reduced to 7,000 by the end of the week and 5,600 by mid-March, according to National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Daniel Hokanson.

  Five hundred members will support the US Park Police and 550 members will support the Metropolitan Police Department over the next two weeks. Another 5,000 will continue supporting Capitol Police and 600 will support the US Secret Service through mid-March, Whitley said.

  • Baker sending up to 700 National Guard members back to Washington, D.C. for security to help Secret Service | Boston.com

• Capitol Police Chief Apologizes For Security Failures During Assault - The New York Times

• People are turning in family members, ex-romantic partners they recognize in Capitol riot footage

• Oregon Republican Party calls Capitol riot a 'false flag' operation to discredit GOP, silence ...

  + [Analysis: How Oregon just proved Donald Trump isn't going
  anywhere](http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_topstories/~3/Ptygd3AN3d0/index.html)
  

  • Oregon Republican party falsely suggests US Capitol attack was a ...

• John Lolos: Man charged in Capitol riot identified by airport police officer after he was kicked off flight for 'continuously' yelling 'Trump 2020' - CNNPolitics

• Acting DHS Deputy Head During Capitol Riot Reveals Pelosi Demanded 'Machine Guns' to Be Deployed Against Civilians in DC

BidenTime

• 'When Are You Going to Put it In?' — Kamala Harris Gets Second Shot of Coronavirus Vaccine

• Tulsi Gabbard: Calls for Biden to embrace 'KGB-style' tactics in U.S. far scarier than Capitol riot - Washington Times

• Biden’s Commerce nominee backs changes to Section 230 - The Verge

• Biden Has Signed a Record 21 Executive Orders In Less Than a Week | MRCTV

• Biden administration to buy 200 million more doses of Covid vaccine - POLITICO

• A Texas judge just blocked Biden’s 100-day pause on deportations

• Senate confirms Antony Blinken as Biden's secretary of state

• Democrats push $15 minimum wage bill

• Biden to order DOJ to end private prison contracts

  • Biden orders Justice Dept. to end use of private prisons

• Fact-checking 7 statistical claims from Biden's (quite factual) economic speech - CNNPolitics

• At UN, Biden Administration Backs Separate State for Palestinians

• Biden vows to replace US government fleet with electric vehicles

  Biden says he wants to close 'loopholes' that allow key parts like engines, steel and glass to be manufactured abroad.

• Biden to announce racial equity plan and sign executive actions

• Biden To Halt Oil, Gas Leasing On Federal Land | ZeroHedge

• Biden has first call with Putin as president

• (Video) Sweeping Changes Take Shape at Pentagon as Biden's Defense Secretary Takes Charge | Voice of America - English

  Less than a week into Joe Biden’s presidency sweeping changes are underway at the Pentagon as the new U.S. president and new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin look to undo changes made by former President Donald Trump.

• Where Joe Biden's moon rock came from

Trumpoline

• Declassified! The Russia informant transcript the FBI didn't want Americans to see | Just The News

• Sen. Patrick Leahy, who will preside over Trump impeachment trial, back home after ...

• Just five GOP senators vote Trump impeachment trial is constitutional | TheHill

• "He kept proving them wrong" They were right about his character, but his defects were obvious to almost everyone. They were wrong about virtually all else.

• Liberal Media Scream: Nuremberg trial for Trump?

• Tucker Carlson Rallies to Defense of QAnon Conspiracy Theorists

• Fact check: Hawley makes misleading denial

• Police visit home of ex-Trump aide Kellyanne Conway after nude photo of daughter appears on ...

• Fauci feared people would do 'dangerous and foolish things' after Trump's ...

• NYT Opinion: Three Weeks Inside a Pro-Trump QAnon Chat Room

• Tips for helping people leave QAnon, white supremacist groups - WHYY

• Facebook is bombarding rightwing users with combat gear ads. See for yourself

• Fox News is a hazard to our democracy

World

• Saudi Arabia: Explosion shakes Riyadh | News | DW | 26.01.2021

  The cause of the blast has not yet been confirmed, but Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV cited videos on social media of a missile being intercepted over the city.

• Italy's Prime Minister Quits As COVID-19 Response Splits Coalition Government

• Almost 200 arrested in Netherlands on 3rd night of COVID-19-related unrest

• Chinese banker took 100 M in bribes had 100 mistresses sentenced to death

• UK government backs birth control for grey squirrels

• Pope Benedict 'to spark downfall of Vatican' as major concerns over Francis' health emerge | World | News | Express.co.uk

  POPE BENEDICT will spark concerns about the survival of the Catholic Church itself, a worried expert has claimed, as fears grow about Pope Francis' health.

• How the Catholic Church Shielded $2B to Limit Abuse Payouts

• EU citizens offered financial incentives to leave UK

• South African government releases its own browser just to re-enable Flash

• Ugandan Opposition Leader Bobi Wine Freed From De Facto House Arrest

• Alexey Navalny’s Fearless Return to Russia

COVID

• Covid linked to risk of mental illness and brain disorder, study suggests

  • tomorrow: "it turns people into Trumpists!"

• In a major setback, Merck to stop developing its Covid-19 vaccines - STAT

• Who, Exactly, Is Philly Fighting COVID?

  How a 22-year-old CEO with virtually no health-care experience got picked to run the first mass vaccination clinic in Philadelphia.

• Northam administration cuts off hospitals’ supply of COVID-19 vaccine – The Bull Elephant

  As of tomorrow, hospitals in Virginia will no longer be able to administer COVID-19 vaccines. Thousands of elderly people are having their vaccine appointments canceled. From now on, all COVID-19 vaccines will go to the local health departments and none directly to hospitals.

• Covid-19: Why are Palestinians not getting vaccines?

Climate

• FINANCE: 'Enormously big deal': Fed creates climate committee -- Tuesday, January 26, 2021 -- www.eenews.net

• Schumer calls for Biden to declare climate emergency

• Biden’s “all of government” plan for climate, explained

• Bill Gates Wants to 'Cover the Sun' to Help Counter Global Warming

  spraying tons of non-toxic calcium carbonate (CaCO3) into the atmosphere. "SCoPEx is a scientific experiment to advance the understanding of stratospheric aerosols that could be relevant for solar geoengineering," the project page reads.

Obit

• James R. Flynn, Who Found We Are Getting Smarter, Dies at 86