Chuck Wendigs's awkward author photo contest has their winners.
"The 200 Greatest Songs By 21st Century Women+… This year, our list, selected by a panel of more than 70 women and non-binary writers, tackles history in the making, celebrating artists whose work is changing this century's sense of what popular music can be. The songs are by artists whose major musical contributions came on or after Jan. 1, 2000, and have shifted attitudes, defied categories and pushed sound in new directions since then."
"The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), which is designed to hunt for alien worlds around stars not too far from the sun, began gathering science data Wednesday (July 25), members of the instrument team announced yesterday (July 27)."
"Since the Sun is older than the Earth, it's hard to find physical objects that were around in the Sun's earliest days—materials that bear chemical records of the early Sun. But in a new study in Nature Astronomy, ancient blue crystals trapped in meteorites reveal what the early Sun was like. And apparently, it had a pretty rowdy start." Hibonite crystals, never heard about those in Star Trek.
"This summer, NASA's Parker Solar Probe will embark on a mission to 'touch the sun.'"
"But a new study of which Rasgon is a senior author finds evidence of a possible biomarker for major depressive disorder, which could lead to better treatments for this sometimes crippling disease." All the caveats with this one, it's an early and small study.
"A 2013 measles outbreak rooted in a vaccine-refusing community in Brooklyn, New York cost the city’s health department an estimated $394,448, requiring 87 employees to collectively spend more than 10,000 hours on outbreak response and control, according to an analysis published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics." So the question is, should we bill them for that. (Grokked from John)
So we have hangry and low-sugar rage, what do we call this? "A growing body of evidence finds that being just a little dehydrated is tied to a range of subtle effects — from mood changes to muddled thinking." Dry-brain? Stay hydrated.
"Texas authorities found a shark on Monday that was stolen from the San Antonio Aquarium by three suspects who concealed the animal in a stroller."
"The Harley-Davidson electric motorcycle has been a long time coming. First announced as Project LiveWire back in 2014, the bike has gone through some design changes as well as becoming only one of the electric bikes the company plans to release over the next few years. Finally, though, it looks as if the LiveWire will be available next year." While there are several electronic motorcycles available on the market, they're all pretty damn expensive (compared to gas models with the same performance). The LiveWire is reported to sound like a jet turbine, so there maybe a new sound for HD to trademark.
The border crossing tweet thread by Jeff Sharlet all the cool kids are reading: "What do you tell your kids about borders?" (Grokked from nearly everybody)
"Every time you log in to any website, you’re assigned a unique identification number. It should be random, because if hackers can predict the number, they’ll impersonate you. Computers, relying as they do on human-coded patterns, can’t generate true randomness—but nobody can predict the goopy mesmeric swirlings of oil, water, and wax." A wall of lava lamps as an ersatz random number generator.
It always feels like somebody is watching me. "Some Americans have been trailed and closely monitored by undercover air marshals as they traveled on U.S. flights, as part of a previously undisclosed Transportation Security Administration program called Quiet Skies."
How go the Trade Wars? "President Donald Trump's metal tariffs have sent steel prices surging and sparked blockbuster profits for steel manufacturers." So what did those poor, beleaguered steel tycoons do right after the tariffs were imposed? They raised their prices. You know, the tariffs that were put in place because American Steel couldn't compete fairly.
"U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a mostly lower open on Monday, with the S&P 500 on course for a third losing session in a row, a sign the market is still absorbing the recent bruising from some disappointing earnings."
How goes the Brexit? "British Brexit negotiators have issued a stern warning to their EU counterparts over the damage that could be done if the EU takes an overly punitive approach to the City of London." Ah, we're at the issuing threats part.
"Think about the timing of a potential shutdown — one would come right as the election season is in full swing, as funding for the government expires Sept. 30. How about that for an October surprise?" Expect a CR sometime in September (to last until mid-December)
"The Koch Network should be celebrating. The Republican Party, whose ideas and candidates the network has spent hundreds of millions of dollars promoting, is in total power at the federal level and in control of a majority of the nation’s states." Here's the thing about right-wing politics, nothing is ever enough (the same holds true for the far-left, however at this time, the moderate right has been shut out and dismissed, so that only leaves the far-right).
"President Donald Trump said Monday that he would be willing to meet “anytime” with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without any preconditions, despite his previous reneging on an international nuclear deal and tweeting threats in all-caps to Iran’s leadership… It seems, however, that neither Iran nor Trump’s own administration is keen on the idea."
"The Washington Post, which first reported the development, said Monday that U.S. intelligence agencies are seeing signs that Pyongyang is building the missiles in the same research facility that manufactured the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that are capable of reaching the U.S. mainland." Ah, the art of the deal in full force.
"President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Monday dismissed the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, saying that collusion is 'not a crime.'" My gadtree, he's right! Collusion is not a crime. Conspiracy is. Fraud is. Campaign finance hijinkery is. And ordering such, or coordinating such, or approving of such is all racketeering, which is a crime. In this story we're approaching the "cat is dead" part. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"According to a statement from the Times, the July 20 meeting was off the record at the request of White House aides. But when the president disclosed the meeting via Twitter, Sulzberger said the off-the-record deal was no longer in effect." Rhut rho.
"Donald Trump is giving Americans a glimpse of the fury raging inside him as a pivotal moment nears for special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, and different strands of political and legal vulnerability swirling around the President become ever more threatening." Our "very stable genius" president, everybody.
"In an interview with The Daily Beast on Monday night, Giuliani appeared to blame the maelstrom he kicked up on inquisitive New York Times reporters who he suggested had compelled him to proactively spin a potentially damaging story that may or may not actually be real. Several veterans of the Trump campaign, like much of the viewing public, were left befuddled." Oh the wicked webs we weave when we seek to deceive. So now there was possibly a pre-meeting to the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians, where the president also, totally, wasn't at.
"Prosecutors preparing witnesses for the upcoming trial of President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul J. Manafort are advising them to avoid mentioning Trump’s name, ABC News has learned." Queue up the Fawlty Towers "The Germans" episode, "Don't mention the war."
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