I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Linkee-poo is going down in a blaze of glory

"Type the word “dog” into Google Translate 19 times, request that the nonsensical message be flipped from Maori into English, and out pops what appears to be a garbled religious prophecy." Skynet is fucking with us. (Grokked from Dan)

"The Andromeda galaxy is our closest galactic neighbor, and it apparently has been hiding a dark past. Scientists from the University of Michigan discovered that this sinister figure cannibalized our sibling approximately two billion years ago. That's right, at one point, the Milky Way had a sister galaxy, and Andromeda ate it." Settle down, Francis.

"A Liberian woman who probably caught Ebola in 2014 may have infected three relatives a year after she first fell sick, doctors reported in a study published Monday." Life finds a way.

"A portion of Boeing Co.’s astronaut test capsule suffered what was described as an 'anomaly' during an engine test fire last month, which analysts said is likely to delay the Chicago aerospace giant’s first flight of astronauts from U.S. soil even further." Oopsie. But then this is why you run these tests on the ground first.

"Now, a ground-breaking new study has found a disturbing link between climate change, extreme temperatures and suicide. By comparing temperature and suicide data from thousands of US counties and Mexican municipalities over several decades, the study has revealed strong evidence that hotter weather increases suicide rates."

"American Airlines has announced that it is working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to install a new bag-scanning machine at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. The machine uses the same technology as CT scanners, providing a 3D image of a bag’s contents, and is expected to be operational in late July." Good thing we don't use film anymore. Also let me be clear about this, CT scanners use a metric fuck-ton more ionizing radiation than an x-ray machine (actually a fluoroscopy machine). And that radiation is emitted in a lot of directions which makes scatter harder to control. Scatter radiation (or Compton radiation) is what we as x-ray technologists worry the most about, because that's the primary way we are exposed. CT scatter is fucking crazy (there are debates about the effectiveness of patient shielding, right now it's not considered effective by the hospital I work at, although we'll still attempt to shield kids). (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)

"The New Zealand company behind a landmark trial of a four-day working week has concluded it an unmitigated success, with 78% of employees feeling they were able to successfully manage their work-life balance, an increase of 24 percentage points." I'm all for this (note, it was four 8-hour work days, not four 10-hour work days as I've seen here in the US). But I'll also note that it works for this group and might be less successful if, say, a country would include Friday or Monday as a part of "the weekend" (that is, these employees had a full day of access to services still open, their work life balance may have been different if on that extra day they also couldn't get anything done because most offices and businesses were closed). Also note that the 5-day work week is the result of the process of demanding time off from the 7-day work week. There is nothing "special" about a 5-day work week. (Grokked from Dan)

"Kentucky’s Medicaid administration costs jumped more than 40% after implementing work requirements , a new report from Fitch Ratings shows. Those costs were incurred before a federal judge ruled against Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirements last month, dealing the effort at least a temporary blow." Your "smaller, smarter government" conservative ideals at work. They cost more,serve fewer people, increase the bureaucracy, and just piss people off. Oh, and even though the administrative costs of Medicaid are actually a small part of the budget (most money goes to pay benefits, the costs for Kentucky increased $35M), it is estimated that the new regulations won't save nearly as much as they'll cost. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

Article from June 26 about the primary election in Maryland. "Causing particular outrage and suspicion was the last-minute revelation on Monday that the registration details of as many as 80,000 voters were caught up in a computer glitch at the Motor Vehicle Administration, leaving those who wanted to participate to cast provisional ballots, which will not be counted until next week. The problem mostly affected voters who tried to change their addresses or party affiliation through the MVA." This is how you steal elections. (Grokked from Seanan McGuire)

"The League of The South, an organization described by analysts as a neo-confederate hate group, has launched a Russian language page on their website to explore shared ideas on 'Southern nationalism.'" Oh you poor, misguided snowflakes. Russians aren't Europeans. At best those in the Western part identify as "white" (especially the descendants of the Rus), although much of their population are actually Asian (although a little less so since the breakup of the Soviet Union). Also, I'm not sure you'd really recognize Russian Orthodoxy from a Baptist perspective. However, if we translate their language into a pan-nationalist ideology it fits. But then, white supremacists have also formed ties with radical Islamic groups with the concept of America for Whites and the Middle East for Arabs division. Basically this is one authoritarian group that derives power from anger of minorities recognizing another. (Grokked from Matt Staggs)

"In an interview with Noel King for NPR's Morning Edition, Dorey-Stein says 'everything changed' with the inauguration of President Trump, whose team 'didn't know that stenographers existed.' She recounts how during the transition, it took her boss multiple tries before she was even able to get past a young press wrangler to introduce herself to the incoming West Wing staff." (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told the Journal that hackers working for a state-sponsored group known as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear were able to get inside the networks of U.S. utilities to the point that they could have disrupted power service and caused blackouts." No biggie (also, not that hard). Here's the thing though, even if they only got into small distributors doesn't mean they couldn't cause massive blackouts. The grid is integrated, and in normal operation smaller grids aren't isolated. You may remember about 15 years ago when one transmission line in Ohio grew too hot, stretched and grounded against a tree. That took out most of the Northeast (except for one small grid in Connecticut which was able to isolate themselves before that happened). (Grokked from Ellen Kushner)

"Former Donald Trump political strategist Steve Bannon and a top associate have created a Brussels-based political organization intended to undermine, and ultimately paralyze, the European Union, Bannon and the associate told Reuters." Funny how that's exactly what Putin is also trying to do. "… Bannon said he and his organization hope that by mobilizing local anti-EU groups they can elect a large enough group of Members of the European Parliament to disrupt and even shut down the Parliament and the European Commission." Funny how that's how the Republicans have run the legislature and presidency since the mid 90s. (Grokked from Emma Audsley)

"President Donald Trump's latest gambit to choke off the flow of information for past spy chiefs who have criticized him is a disturbing move that again exposes an imperious streak out of place in American democracy." The word you're searching for is "sedition."

"Butina's group, The Right to Bear Arms, covered $6,000 of (former Milwaukee county sheriff) Clarke's meal, hotel, and transportation expenses, according to the ex-sheriff's Milwaukee County financial disclosure form." Sure are a lot of Russians around here. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

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