2024-08-21

Cool

• Mojave Sphinx — Half Cat Rocketry

  Mojave Sphinx is a high-power amateur rocket with a liquid bipropellant propulsion system powered by nitrous oxide and any number of solvent or hydrocarbon fuels. It is designed to be as simple and economical as possible so that an individual or team with high-power or experimental rocketry experience can build and launch it within a reasonable timeline and budget.

  • Open Source Liquid Rocket Reaches For The Sky

  you should be able to build a Mojave Sphinx for less than $2,000 USD, but that assumes everything is done in-house and you don’t contract out any of the machining.

etc

• BMW recalling more than 720k vehicles due to water pump issue

• How Far Might We Fall? - by Robin Hanson - Overcoming Bias

  Unless something big changes, world population will start to fall in a few decades, after which it will most likely rise again due to insular fertile subcultures like the Amish. Falling population should then cause a more than proportionate fall in innovation rates, though that would reverse if we developed ems or human level AI. And that might fix most culture drift! Innovation rates likely fall before population does, due to aging and Africa being less innovative per person.

  But even if population rises again, when will innovation rates rise again? Even if innovation activity stayed at the same levels of relative effort and effectiveness, its effect on the economy wouldn’t rise to its pre-population-peak level until the new economy rose to be substantially bigger than that level. But would innovation effort and effectiveness stay high?

  Modern innovation rates are quite unusual historically. There were a few known ancient bursts of innovation, but they didn’t last long. Even in the last few centuries most innovation has come from a small fraction of the world, and in some of those places innovation rates seem to have greatly fallen from their peaks. All of which suggests that innovation-supporting cultures are fragile, not natural, and easily disrupted.

• US FAA requires inspections of Boeing 787 planes following mid-air dive

• Judge orders removal of 1,000ft rotting ocean liner from Philadelphia pier

Horseshit

• How Did John Wayne Influence American Drinking Culture?

• the US lays out a road safety plan that will see cars 'talk' to each other

• Emily is dying. So why is she selling off her remaining time to strangers?

• Missing scissors cause 36 flight cancellations in Japan

• 2024's Hugo Award Winners Announced

• Famed architect's sole skyscraper poised to list for sale amid financial fallout

• Disney drops bid to stop allergy death lawsuit over Disney+ terms

  • Disney reverses course on bid to block wrongful death lawsuit

• Families Are Going into Debt for Disney Vacations

• Late-phase solar flares could be more dangerous for Earth's communication

• East German culture has been ignored for too long

celebrity gossip

• Sicily yacht sinking: Morgan Stanley International chair Bloomer among missing

  • Tech Entrepreneur Mike Lynch Among 6 Missing After Yacht Sinks Off Sicily

  • Hit on the 17th, died today: Mike Lynch's co-defendant in fraud trial 'fatally struck' by car while jogging

  • HN comments

  • Missing tycoon Mike Lynch's co-defendant 'fatally struck by car'

Obit

• World’s oldest person, Maria Branyas Morera, dies aged 117

  • Maria Branyas Morera, Oldest Person, Dies at 117

Musk

• Twitter Takeover Is Now the Worst Buyout for Banks Since the Financial Crisis

Electric / Self Driving cars

• Waymo considers letting teens hail robotaxis without their parents

• Waymo says it's doubled paid rides to 100k per week

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• Illinois bans corporal punishment in all schools

• "I've not repaid a penny of my £70K student loan since leaving Britain"

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• Valve bans Razer and Wooting's new keyboard features in Counter-Strike 2

TechSuck / Geek Bait

• Inside the guidance system and computer of the Minuteman III nuclear missile

  • HN comments

• What Happened to Egghead Software?

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• 'Model collapse'? An expert explains the rumours about an impending AI doom

• Local voice transcription: Whisperfile

• Biggest US companies warn of growing AI risk

• The AI photo editing era is here, and it's every person for themselves

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• RFA first stage destroyed in static-fire test - SpaceNews

  The first stage of the inaugural Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) rocket was destroyed in a static-fire test Aug. 19, dealing a setback to the German company just as it was nearing its first launch. RFA confirmed in a statement posted on social media that the first stage of their RFA ONE rocket was destroyed in a test-firing at SaxaVord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands. No personnel affiliated with either RFA or the spaceport were injured.

  • Rocket explodes during testing at UK's new spaceport in Shetland

• Pentagon UFO expert says secret group has ‘non-human material’

Economicon / Business / Finance

• 7-Eleven targeted by owner of Circle K for convenience store takeover

• Massive looming Canadian rail shutdown could have economic ripple effects throughout America.

• Why toilet paper keeps getting smaller and smaller - The Hustle

  It’s everything I hoped for: a factory-sealed four-pack of regular Charmin Ultra toilet paper produced in 1992. I look at the fine print and gasp…170 sheets per roll! These days, a regular Charmin Ultra Soft roll, if you can find one, has 56 sheets. Even the roll they market as “Double” doesn’t have 170 sheets — it has 154. And the 1992 rolls are hardly the largest — the back of the package includes a note from parent company Procter & Gamble explaining these rolls have fewer sheets than a previous version. Toilet paper is shrinkflation at its absolute worst.

• Fed Confronts Up to a Million US Jobs Vanishing in Revision

• Starbucks' new CEO will commute 1,000 miles from California to Seattle office

• The US tipping system is teetering

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• Republicans ask Supreme Court to block 40k Arizonans from voting in November

• Texas judge strikes down FTC rule banning noncompete agreements

Harris / TBA 2024 / Democrats Demonstrate "Our Democracy"

• 'Short-sighted and stupid': Dem megadonor Ron Conway abandons crypto super PACs

• Harris has the right idea on housing

• Pallets of bricks delivered ahead of Chicago DNC; Antifa prepares for 'summer of rage' - Sqauk

Biden Inc

• Ashley Biden DNC Speech: A Personal Tribute to Her Father

  During her DNC address, as captured in the MSNBC video, Ashley Biden delivered a poignant and emotional tribute to Joe Biden, focusing on his role as a “girl dad.” She described how her father’s deep love and unwavering support have shaped her life, portraying him as a figure of strength and compassion. Biden’s speech was not merely a political statement but a personal story that aimed to resonate with voters on a human level

  • WATCH: Ashley Biden, the president's daughter, addresses the Democratic National Convention : NPR

  Ashley Biden, the youngest child of President Biden, painted a more personal picture of her father, sharing stories of him as a parent and as a political figure. A social worker and activist, Ashley has largely stayed out of the spotlight.

• Biden to 'pass the baton' to Kamala Harris at convention then jet off to California

  After his nighttime speech, in which he is expected to “pass the baton” to Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, Biden, 81, will trek over 2,000 miles west to Santa Ynez, Calif., where he will stay until Sunday, according to the White House schedule. The timing of his reported family vacation means that the highest-ranking elected Democrat in the country won’t be present for the remainder of his party’s convention this week. In doing so, he will avoid any risk of upstaging Harris in her hometown of Chicago, though it’s not clear that he would’ve outshone her.

• Scarred Biden to pass torch to Harris in DNC speech

  You know something? F--k you!" Barnicle replied. "And f--k all your friends with their anonymous quotes in the papers. Put your name on it next time!" And kept walking. A source familiar with Biden's reaction to the story told us: "He might still be laughing." Biden's friends tell us that as the president heads to his Democratic National Convention sendoff in Chicago tonight, he's somewhat relieved and pretty nostalgic — but also still stunned and pissed about the way he was pushed out of his re-election race.

Trump / Right / Jan6

• Trump’s Bizarre A.I. Stunt to Win Taylor Swift’s Endorsement Backfires | The New Republic

  The former president and convicted felon shared several A.I.-generated photos on Truth Social Sunday, including one showing the pop star dressed like Uncle Sam, pointing forward with the text “Taylor Wants You To Vote For Donald Trump.” The post also included other A.I. photos of women wearing “Swifties for Trump” T-shirts. He captioned the post, “I accept!” Trump is desperate for Swift’s endorsement, and has made some creepy comments about her appearance, repeatedly calling her “very beautiful.” Privately, some of his supporters earlier this year reportedly called for a “holy war” if she endorsed Joe Biden, and presumably that extends to Kamala Harris.

• Trump posts deepfakes of Swift, Harris and Musk in effort to shore up support

• Tech donor network co-founded by JD Vance seeks to push America to the right

• US Government accuses Iran of Trump campaign hack; Iran scoffs

• Trump is open to naming Elon Musk as an adviser, end EV Credits

• What went wrong with the Silicon Valley right

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• Thieves in Orange County likely jammed Wi-Fi during computer store break-in

• ‘Most Wanted’ fugitive sought in 2004 murder found working as police officer.

  A man who had been one of Ohio’s “most wanted” fugitives for nearly 20 years is in custody.On August 1, U.S. Marshals arrested Riano in his hometown of Zapotitlan Palmas, State of Oaxaca, Mexico, where he was working as a police officer, according to a press release.

• The Feds Are Skirting the 4th Amendment by Buying Data from Tech Companies

• The Thin Purple Line – The dubious rise of the private-security industry

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Palmdale UFO Scare Leads to Revelations About Mystery Drones over Plant 42

  The temporary flight restrictions went up around the airport in Palmdale, extending two nautical miles in all directions and “from the surface up to and including 1000 feet AGL [Above Ground Level],” on August 14. The FAA’s notice on the restrictions, which are currently scheduled to be lifted on September 15, says that “no UAS [uncrewed aerial systems] operations are authorized in the areas covered.”

World

• Tunnel under Poland palace site held secret Masons meetings

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• We Need to Rethink Our Assumptions About Nuclear Weapons Use

• Russia Offers 'Prisoner Exchange Visa' to Move to Russia

China

• Chinese spacecraft appear to reach lunar orbit despite launch setback

• China has expanded its presence in Antarctica with its new Qinling base

• China-based EV makers hit with European Union tariffs

  • EU to hit Teslas imported from China with 19% tariffs

• China backing off coal power plant approvals after 2022-23 surge

Health / Medicine

• The mysteries of inflammatory bowel disease are being cracked

• Eli Lilly's weight loss drug slashes the risk of developing diabetes by 94%

• Bad news, red wine drinkers: alcohol is only ever bad for your health

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• Crocodiles were taught to stop eating deadly toxic cane toads in Australia

• The Atlantic is cooling at record speed and nobody knows why

• Northumberland postbox closed because snails eating mail

• Drone swarms could stop wildfires, researchers say

• Climate Change's Latest Deadly Threat: Lightning Strikes

• Monarch butterfly numbers have dropped this summer in Illinois, Upper Midwest

• Climate crisis threatens medical blood supply in US amid extreme weather