Linkee-poo had a long day

And it'll be even longer tomorrow.

Beowulf 4.0. (Grokked from Hannah Bowman)

The NY Public Library Podcast featuring author speeches and presentations. I'll be in my bunk. (Grokked from Neil Gaiman)

The 2015 National Geographic Photo Contest. Damn. (okay, my artist side has a lot more to say like "look, there's some obvious trends here which show the artistic tastes of the judges, like single point vanishing lines, but that's my geeky side). (Grokked from Dan)

Twelve badass scientists who also happen to be women. I know a number more. (Grokked from Janiece)

A most unusual star. While the light from the star tells us it's old, the interference pattern of the light (as seen from the Kepler) indicates massive amounts of objects in orbit, like you would see around a young star who's planetary disk hadn't congealed into planets yet. There are some natural possibilities for this (including, but not stated, that our concept of stellar development may be wrong), but this may be an emergent Kardashev Type II civilization (where it harnesses all of the energy of a star) as you'd expect to see the same interference pattern. Note here the recent stellar search turned up no evidence of Type III civilization (which harness the power of multiple stars, possibly moving them to increased output). (Grokked from Jason Sandford)

Stupid phrase to use for people in a crisis. I admit I have used some of these, but I've excised most of them out of my vocabulary. (Grokked from Janiece)

Sikhs have a long tradition of giving to the communities and world they live in. In this case, traveling to Turkey and setting up a free bakery to serve the refugees. At one time, Christians understood this philosophy (it was the systems of hospitals, kitchens and elder-care that allowed them to strong-arm Constantine into recognizing their religion). But lately, at least in America, the concept of service (for most Christian sects) has devolved into "mission vacations." (Grokked from Janiece)

"A former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party tweeted Tuesday night during the first Democratic presidential debate that guns should be taken away from 'blacks' because 'they are the main killers.'" Whackaloon quotient skyrockets. I really just don't have the fuckin' spoons for this election season. (Grokked from Dan)

You might wonder how I define heinous fuckery. "(B)y the early 1990s (Exxon-Mobil) researchers studying the possibility for new exploration in the Arctic were well aware that human-induced climate change was melting the poles. Indeed, they used that knowledge to plan their strategy, reporting that soon the Beaufort Sea would be ice-free as much as five months a year instead of the historic two. Greenhouse gases are rising 'due to the burning of fossil fuels,' a key Exxon researcher told an audience of engineers at a conference in 1991. 'Nobody disputes this fact.'… But of course Exxon did dispute that fact. Not inside the company, where they used their knowledge to buy oil leases in the areas they knew would melt, but outside, where they used their political and financial might to make sure no one took climate change seriously." That'll do. So, when Fox News asks the question, "Just look at who stands to profit from promoting Global Warming" understand that it shouldn't be Al Gore (who has made investments in alternative energy companies) you point to, but Exxon-Mobil who willingly fucked over the planet to increase profits and create a strategic advantage for themselves. That, IMHO, is exactly the betrayal of the public trust that should cause government regulators to sieze the company, sell off its assets to competitors and put the corporate governance people (executives, board, advisory councils, etc) in jail, pay investors off at a discount, and transfer the rest to the general fund. Think I'm being harsh? Okay, in times past the executives would have been drug into the street and hung from lampposts. I'm willing to accept historical precedent here. (Grokked from Robert J Bennett)

Here I'll just remind everyone that Exxon-Mobil holds the world record for profits in 1 QTR and 1 Year. Also, it's good to remember that corporations are legal fictions which exist at the government's beneficence (and it seems the public's ignorance). We are the government. We don't have to tolerate such behavior. As the government gives (a charter) the government can take. The problem here is their disinformation campaign had significant impact, and we here in the US haven't yet seen the outlines of the coming catastrophe brought by climate change (which will be more than an inconvenience).

Why body cams and dash cams are important. Again, to the good cops out there, are these the people you want to be protecting?