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

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Linkee-poo stumbles over the hump

Yes, yes, Oppy did not send the message, "My battery is low and it's getting dark." Do you feel better now? Pedantic people gonna be pedantic. The last message was an information dump on its system status including the state of the battery and the power influx from its solar panels (as well as general conditions of all its systems). In human terms that is, "My battery is low and it's getting dark."

There are stars in the Southern sky. "Astronomers have seen these stars before, mixed in with lots of stars all around them. But until now, they didn't realize the stars were part of a group. The river, which is 1,300 light-years long and 160 light-years wide, winds through the Milky Way's vast, dense star field. But 3D-mapping data from Gaia, a European Space Agency spacecraft, showed that the stars in the stream moved together at roughly the same speed and in the same direction."

"Melina Thévenot, a citizen scientist from Germany, detected an anomaly while searching through data collected by the European Space Agency's Gaia spacecraft." A very old, "dusty" White Dwarf star.

A short history of the American Public Library. (Grokked from Patrick Nielsen Hayden)

"Veteran comedians know all about the funny side of anger."

"Back in 2012, UNOCHA, the U.N.'s humanitarian agency, created 250 specialized icons to use on maps, infographics and other materials. The pictographs represent all types of topics, including disasters, food aid, transportation and damage to infrastructure." A little on the difficulty of translating language and concepts into symbolism. The problem isn't so much that the symbols are "wrong", but that they require context to understand. Not everyone has the same context (or life experiences). While there's been a lot of jokes about these, this is a deadly serious topic. Creating symbols is a highly rarified and specialized form of design. Most designers think they can do it, but most have no real clue. I'm reminded that a design publication held a contest to design new bathroom sex-indicator icons. The winning design depicted two piles of poo (sort of like the poop emoji) one in blue and one in pink. There was no real visual distinction between the two than the color (and their tonal values were similar). While the design world thought this was fantastic I just laughed. Blues and reds 1) aren't culturally universal and 2) blues and reds are common colors to be missing if you're color blind. That design, in my book, was a complete failure.

"For nearly two decades at the Grand Canyon, tourists, employees, and children on tours passed by three paint buckets stored in the National Park's museum collection building, unaware that they were being exposed to radiation." Fuck the fucking fuck fuck fuckers fuckedity fucked fuck. (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

"Whether that proximity was unsafe has not been determined. Simply being near uranium ore is unlikely to result in an unsafe dose of radiation." Repeat after me, there is no "safe" level of radiation exposure. Exposure to the sun's rays can cause cancer. Ore can discharge alpha particles which are weak in radiation, but have a bad habit of being inhaled and lodging in lungs (as well as traveling on clothing). So while you can be protected from alpha particles can a paper suit and simple mask, if you don't have those you are in serious danger of exposure (long term contact right next to susceptible tissues) without them. Uranium ore is also a beta emitter (this is the radiation you are mostly failure with). It may be "weak" (as compared to refined ore, or an x-ray machine direct beam), but it's still a fucking problem. Just because you don't drop dead in a few days, weeks, or months because of radiation poisoning does not mean your exposure was "safe."

"Scientists have launched a major new phase in the testing of a controversial genetically modified organism: a mosquito designed to quickly spread a genetic mutation lethal to its own species, NPR has learned… For the first time, researchers have begun large-scale releases of the engineered insects, into a high-security laboratory in Terni, Italy."

"Health officials and doctors treating patients with HIV in those states say any extra funding would be welcome. But they say that strategies that work in progressive cities like Seattle won't necessarily work in rural areas of Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina." While the article mostly focuses on the continuing stigma of being gay or bi in those states (and particularly in rural parts of the US), they don't talk so much that many of these states also refused to expand Medicaid or embrace Obamacare. Also there's the pitiful state of sex education in the US. "'We've had teenagers write questions like, "I've heard that if you douche with Mountain Dew after sex that it kills sperm,"' (Andy Moore, clinic administrator of the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma) says. They earnestly want to know if that's true. 'We have to back way up, and explain what sex is, how babies are made, different types of sex — before we can teach them about HIV prevention,' he says."

"Before the state's most destructive wildfire tore through Butte County, Calif., detailed plans for a tiny home village for the homeless in the northern California city of Chico were met with a mix of indifference, NIMBY-ism and outright rejection from a previous city council… But November's Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and incinerated some 14,000 area homes, breathed new life into plans for a community of one-room wooden homes to help house some of Butte County's homeless." Funny how one fire can change everyone's perception.

"The pitches to the health insurance brokers are tantalizing… Such incentives sound like typical business tactics, until you understand who ends up paying for them: the employers who sign up with the insurers — and, of course, their employees." It wasn't that long ago when these things were common business practice. I remember great swag and offers from paper mills and print shops. But that all died out in the mid 90s. It's surprising to see how retro the healthcare industry really is. And why did most businesses restrict or outright outlaw these types of things? "'It's a classic conflict of interest,' (Eric Campbell, director of research at the University of Colorado Center for Bioethics and Humanities) says." And it cost the businesses the employees worked for. Just now that extra cost goes to a third party instead of an employee.

While the rest of the retail market saw a slumping 4th quarter, "Walmart reported on Tuesday earnings and revenue for the holiday quarter that topped analysts' expectations, as its e-commerce sales surged 43 percent thanks to more shoppers using its online grocery delivery service and spending more per trip."

Living on the edge. "Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has sent out a warning to Asia in the face of mounting aggression from Beijing… In an exclusive interview with CNN, Tsai said the military threat posed by China was growing 'every day' in line with a more assertive foreign policy under its President Xi Jinping." It must be time for another series of arms sales to Taiwan.

How goes Brexit? "Three Conservative MPs – Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen – have quit the party to join the Independent Group founded by former Labour MPs." Destroying political norms and throwing the UK into chaos. Right on time.

How goes the Trade Wars. "Gilroy, Calif., is known as the garlic capital of the world. And two policies of the Trump administration — one on trade, the other on immigration — are having a mixed impact on this agricultural community south of San Francisco." The Trump giveth, the Trump taketh away. Don't fuck with my garlic, man. I'll cut you. Like a hammer.

"Teachers spent only a few hours striking before West Virginia's House of Delegates effectively killed a new bill that would pave the way for charter schools and private school vouchers in a state that relies primarily on public education."

"Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo says his department will stop serving 'no knock' search warrants, weeks after a raid on a house left two married suspects dead and five officers injured. Acevedo also reiterated that the officer who led that raid may face criminal charges… No heroin was found at the residence… The official narrative changed after it emerged that the police seemed to have opened fire first — shooting the couple's dog." You know who the villain in the story is once they kill the dog. While the investigation should probably be handed off to a third party, thank you Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo for acting responsibly in this.

"In 1994, 32 percent of Democrats said immigrants strengthen the country because of their hard work and talents. Today, 83 percent of Democrats feel that way, according to polling from the Pew Research Center." One could look at it as an evolution of party dynamics, or you could look at it as proof of the sorting of America into parties of authoritarianism and anti-fascists. Also there is a difference in the kind of immigration we're seeing today. Back in the 80s and 90s people moved across the border on a regular (if not easy) basis. Workers moved North with the seasons, following the work. Now, with "tightened" border control which increased the cost of crossing, we have a fairly stable community of immigrants living in the US without documents. They don't move back and forth (but do move internally). So we've had almost 2 decades of people contributing to their communities, putting down roots, forging friendships and business relationships. We've gotten to know them. And as we do that, the fear tends to fall. "The 2008 Democratic Party platform spoke about both the need to secure the country's borders and hire more Customs and Border protection agents, but by 2016, the platform only spoke about immigration enforcement in the sense that it needed to be 'humane.'" Yes, we tried that. It didn't work and ended up hurting more people. One party recognizes that it's a money pit and is trying to stop throwing money in it.

"CBS News has confirmed that the Vatican has secret guidelines for priests who father children, despite their vows of celibacy. Vincent Doyle, the founder of a support group for children of priests, told CBS News that a Vatican official showed him the confidential instructions."

Putin engages in chest thumping. "Russia will respond to any U.S. deployment of short or intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe by targeting not only the countries where they are stationed, but the United States itself, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday."? Oh noes. Whatever will we do? Zzzz zzzz zzz. Wake me when there is real news. "In his toughest remarks yet on a potential new arms race, Putin said Russia was not seeking confrontation and would not take the first step to deploy missiles in response to Washington’s decision this month to quit a landmark Cold War-era arms control treaty." Whispers, yes you are seeking confrontation and you already have deployed systems targeting Europe. We still have satellites you know. "Russia will be forced to create and deploy…" zzz zzz zzz. Say, Vlad, remember your big "Lookee at all our New Weapons" show last year? I do. To my Russian friends, you do understand that Putin is spending your pension money on this, right?

"The federal government has acknowledged that it shares its terrorist watchlist with more than 1,400 private entities, including hospitals and universities, prompting concerns from civil libertarians that those mistakenly placed on the list could face a wide variety of hassles in their daily lives." And you thought Facebook was bad. (Grokked from Kathryn Cramer)

"The Trump administration sought to rush the transfer of American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of the law, a new report from the House Oversight and Reform Committee alleges." What could possibly go wrong? (Grokked from Dan)

Penguin cosplay wannabe Roger Stone is in trouble. "Judge Amy Berman Jackson scheduled a hearing for Thursday at which Stone will be required to argue why Jackson should not alter the gag order she has imposed or reconsider the bail Stone was granted after his arrest." Of course, this is what he was going for. To prod the judge into making a mistake that would allow him to make an argument for a new trial.

"Sen. Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has vowed to launch an investigation into whether top officials at the Justice Department and the FBI had plotted an 'administrative coup' to drive President Trump out of office." It's the new Benghazi.

As Rick said in Casablanca, "You aren't subtle but I get your message." "The Trump administration said Tuesday that it plans to cancel $929 million awarded to California's high-speed rail project and wants the state to return an additional $2.5 billion that it has already spent… Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed a fight to keep the money and said the move was in response to California again suing the administration, this time over Trump's emergency declaration to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border."

"President Trump intends to nominate Jeffrey A. Rosen as deputy attorney general, the White House said Tuesday. Rosen, who is currently deputy transportation secretary, will replace Rod Rosenstein, who is expected to leave his post in mid-March, CBS News reported earlier Tuesday."

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