h2g2bob @h2g2bob@mastodon.dbatley.com

Enjoyed reading about the Parker Solar Probe as it prepares to skim the sun’s atmosphere - at a respectable (for humans) fraction of the speed of light - on Christmas Eve. Surviving that requires some amazing materials science!

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/were-about-to-fly-a-spacecraft-into-the-sun-for-the-first-time/

"It's devastating to just... turn it off... but this is what the Act forces a sole individual running so many social websites for a public good to do."

The London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed cycling forum, which is has been a cornerstone of UK cycling culture for many years is shutting down as a direct consequence of the Online Safety Act.

We're already seeing the chilling effect of the Act with small communities like this choosing to shut down rather than deal with the burden of complying with the Act. I can only imagine more will follow.

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/401475/

cc @openrightsgroup

#onlinesafetyact #ukpolitics #censorship

It’s a long article on these insanely bright car headlights, but it contains this paragraph ⬇️ https://www.theringer.com/2024/12/03/tech/headlight-brightness-cars-accidents?lid=dpe6tiyd81ev

This is why we don't do funding. @DoESLiverpool needs new heating. The heating in the main room has gone, so while other rooms are fine, this one gets cold in the winter. We've had a couple of quotes and it's going to cost £5k+.

Recently we got persuaded to apply for a fund to help businesses reduce their carbon footprint, through things like upgraded heating systems.

Pretty cool but also terrifying..

Voyager 1 is now about one light day from Earth! And that took about half a century

While the nearest star besides the sun is about 4 light years away from us

What I’m trying to say is.. space is terrifyingly big

"The current web pages and marketing for Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud do not mention cultural or historical preservation at any point. ... At this precise moment all of these services mention AI (a lot) and how it’s going to change everything. ... Two years ago their marketing materials mentioned web3 and the metaverse (a lot) and how it was going to change everything, and how if your business did not adapt you were going to be left behind—yet those sentiments no longer appear."

2/

Just learned this #mathstodon #math

2024 = 2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³

And for next year we'll have the entire sum of cubes from 1 to 9!

2025 = 1³+2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³

Some Concordia University professors set up a Minecraft server, and powered it with solar panels and a battery ...

... then added GUI text that shows players data on the energy ecosystem: Battery level, solar panel output, and how much energy the server is requiring at any given instant

fascinating psychological effects ensue ...

... as the players begin to notice how different actions they take inside the game use different levels of energy

Item #8 in my Linkfest: https://buttondown.com/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-27-aztec-death-whistles-supercircular/

Imagine what it would be like if we had more Technical Difficulties Reverse Trivia being released on our YouTube channel in just over an hour.

https://youtube.com/@techdif

Wow, image maps live on… on the javascriptless dark web marketplaces

"You may be wondering how such a captcha works without JavaScript. How does it know where I clicked? The answer is a little known browser feature"

https://boehs.org/node/dark-web-security

I’m on this week’s episode (112) of the @lateralcast.com podcast!

Abby Cox, @iszi and I join @tomscott for some fun puzzle solving!

Listen here: https://lateralcast.com

🎂 A lot can happen in six years. Children have gone through a massive transformation from babies unable to talk or dress themselves, into persons going to school. Dogs have run into their mid-life crisis at 42 dog years. I am grayer. Six years is also the time it takes to handle a GDPR complaint, it seems. 1/

The homeless in our era are also almost entirely voiceless. Politicians compete in promises to disperse them, to make them more invisible. Much more like this is required.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a62875397/homelessness-in-america/

Extremely valuable plug-in.