Leftovers

• Hackaday ☛ Feeling A Pong Of Nostalgia: Does It Hold Up In 2024?

  We have probably all been there: that sudden memory of playing a (video) game and the good memories associated with said memory. Yet how advisable is it to try and re-experience those nostalgic moments? That’s what [Matt] of the Techmoan YouTube channel decided to give a whirl when he ordered the Arcade1Up Pong 2 Player Countercade game system. This comes loaded with multiple variants of the Pong game, including Pong Doubles and Pong Sports, in addition to Warlords, Super Breakout and Tempest. This unit as the name suggests allows for head-to-head two-player gaming.

• Hackaday ☛ Figuring Out The Most Efficient Way To Reuse Bags Of Desiccant

  Everyone knows those small bags of forbidden “Do not eat” candy that come with fresh rolls of FDM filament as well as a wide range of other products. Containing usually silica gel but sometimes also bentonite clay, these desiccant bags are often either thrown away or tossed into bags of FDM filament with a ‘adding one can’t hurt’ attitude. As [Stefan] over at CNC Kitchen recently figured out, adding an already saturated bag of desiccant into e.g. an airtight container with a freshly dried spool of filament can actually make the humidity in the container spike as the desiccant will start releasing moisture. So it’s best to dry those little bags if you intend to reuse them, but what is the best way?

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Stunning Fossil Reveals Fireflies Glowed When Dinosaurs Ruled Earth

    A light blinking across the ages.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Mysterious Origins of a Rare Kind of Exploding Star Have Been Identified

    It's not what we thought.

  • Science Alert ☛ This Fungus Appears to Be Able to Recognize Shapes, Study Shows

    This is pretty incredible.

• Hardware

  • Hackaday ☛ The Design Process For A Tiny Robot Brain

    As things get smaller, we can fit more processing power into devices like robots to allow them to do more things or interact with their environment in new ways. If not, we can at least build them for less cost. But the design process can get exponentially more complicated when miniaturizing things. [Carl] wanted to build the smallest 9-axis robotic microcontroller with as many features as possible, and went through a number of design iterations to finally get to this extremely small robotics platform.

  • Hackaday ☛ DIY Air Bearings, No Machining Required

    Seeing a heavy load slide around on nearly frictionless air bearings is pretty cool; it’s a little like how the puck levitates on an air hockey table. Commercial air bearings are available, of course, but when you can build these open-source air bearings, why bother buying?

  • Hackaday ☛ A Parts Bin MIDI Controller In 24 Hours

    Part of the reason MIDI has hung on as a standard in the musical world for so long is that it is incredibly versatile. Sure, standard instruments like pianos and drums can be interfaced with a computer fairly easily using this standard, but essentially anything can be converted to a MIDI instrument with the right wiring and a little bit of coding. [Jeremy] needed to build a MIDI controller in a single day, and with just a few off-the-shelf parts he was able to piece together a musical instrument from his parts bin.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • The Gamer ☛ Indie Studio Head Thinks Big Publisher Arrogance Is Harming Game Development

    2024 has been another great year for games, but another horrendous year for game developers and development.

    Ballooning costs and unrealistic development times have led to an unprecedented number of layoffs, with Bungie, Microsoft, Epic Games, and Rocksteady beingsome of the biggest offenders.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ Live: Israeli strikes hit Hezbollah-linked finance group, reports Lebanese state media

    Lebanon state media reported four Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs Sunday, saying Hezbollah-linked financial associations were among the targets, after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for the area. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said earlier that the military was stepping up its strikes targeting Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.

  • RFERL ☛ U.S. Probing Reported Leak Of Israel's Plans For Iran Attack

    The United States will soon begin a probe of the leak of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel's preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives said on October 20.

  • New York Times ☛ Israel Strikes Hezbollah-Affiliated Financial Branches Across Lebanon

    The escalation of Israel’s war against the militant group came as rescuers searched for dead and wounded after a devastating Israeli strike in northern Gaza.

  • New York Times ☛ Residents in Lebanon Flee as Israel Strikes Hezbollah-Affiliated Financial Institution

    Branches of Al-Qard al-Hasan, which functions as Hezbollah’s de facto banking arm but also operates as an alternative bank for Lebanese, were targeted around Beirut and across the country’s south and east.

  • New York Times ☛ Dozens Killed or Missing After Israeli Airstrike in Northern Gaza, Officials Say

    The Israeli military renewed an offensive there earlier this month, saying it was trying to eliminate a regrouped Hamas presence in the area.

  • JURIST ☛ US lawmakers demand federal probe into ties between China and consulting firm McKinsey

    House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), along with US Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), called Friday for a federal investigation into consulting giant McKinsey.

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s Pooh-tin Jinping calls for troops to boost war preparedness, days after Taiwan military drills

    Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping called this week for troops to strengthen their preparedness for war, state media reported on Saturday, just days after Beijing staged large-scale military drills around Taiwan.

  • France24 ☛ At least 87 killed or missing after Israeli strikes on north Gaza, Palestinian officials say

    At least 87 people were killed or remain missing after Israeli strikes on northern Gaza overnight and on Sunday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which said that an additional 40 people were wounded in strikes on Beit Lahiya. The Israeli military said it had carried out a precise strike on a Hamas target in the town.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • The Strategist ☛ World War I was the crucible of air power. Ukraine looks the same for drones

      Some experts on airpower will tell you that Ukraine is not the best place to learn lessons.

    • RFERL ☛ Early Results Give Pro-Europe President Sandu Lead In Moldova Vote But EU Referendum Lagging

      Early results in one of two votes that will help decide Moldova's future give pro-Europe incumbent President Maia Sandu a lead over pro-Russia Socialist Alexandr Stoianoglo in a battle of 11 candidates likely to lead to a runoff election next month.

    • New York Times ☛ Tugged Between East and West, Moldovans Vote in Pivotal Elections

      Moldovan voters appear to have rejected a move to enshrine in their Constitution an “irreversible” commitment to abandon Russian influence and one day join the European Union.

    • RFERL ☛ Pro-Europe Georgians Rally As Crucial Parliamentary Elections Loom

      Tens of thousands of pro-Europe Georgians took to the streets on October 20 to rally against the ruling Georgian Dream party ahead of the parliamentary elections that could decide the direction of the South Caucasus nation’s future.

    • RFERL ☛ Moldova Wrestles With Its Future After Sandu's First-Round Win But 'No' Result On EU

      In an apparent rebuff of pro-European President Maia Sandu and her Western allies, Moldovan voters appear to have voted "no" in a referendum on potential European Union membership following a campaign marred by allegations of Russian meddling in opposition to the measure.

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • Russell Coker ☛ Russell Coker: MG4 Review

      In the past I haven’t had a high opinion of MG cars, decades ago they were small and expensive and didn’t seem to offer anything I wanted. As there’s a conveniently located MG dealer I decided to try out an MG electric car and see if they are any good. I brought two friends along who are also interested in new technology.

      I went to the MG dealer without any preconceptions or much prior knowledge of the MG electric cars apart from having vaguely noticed that they were significantly cheaper than Teslas. I told the salesperson that I didn’t have a model in mind and I just wanted to see what MG offers, so they offered me a test driver of a “MG4 64 EXCITE”. The MG web site isn’t very good and doesn’t give an indication of what this model costs, my recollection is that it’s something like $40,000, the base model is advertised at $30,990. I’m not particularly interested in paying for extras above the base model and the only really desirable feature that the “Excite 64” offers over the “Excite 51” is the extra range (the numbers 51 and 64 represent the battery capacity in KWh). The base model has a claimed range of 350KM which is more than I drive in a typical week, generally there are only about 4 days a year when I need to drive more than 300KM in a day and on those rare days I can spend a bit of time at a charging station without much inconvenience.

• Finance

  • Asia layoff tracker: latest on Love, Bonito, One Championship

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Pro Publica ☛ Who’s Mailing the Catholic Tribune? It’s Not the Church.

    One by one, Catholic dioceses in key presidential swing states are putting out unusual statements: Newspapers whose titles include the word Catholic that are showing up in people’s mailboxes aren’t what they seem and aren’t connected to the church.

    With a classic typeface and traditional newspaper design, the mass-mailed Catholic Tribune newspapers carry signposts of legitimacy. But most of the articles in the papers are inflammatory and overtly partisan, focusing on culture-war issues that resonate with conservative voters.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Trudeau has wrecked Canada-India political relations, says expelled envoy

    Mr Sanjay Kumar Verma, India's envoy to Canada, said Mr Trudeau had been relying on intelligence rather than evidence.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ DJI sues Pentagon over 'Chinese military company' designation — seeking to protect its business and reputation

    The lawsuit shows DJI taking a proactive stance as it confronts increasing pressure from Congress to ban its drones from operating in the U.S.

  • JURIST ☛ Former India spy charged with plotting New York assassination of Sikh activist

    The US District Court for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment on Thursday against a former Indian intelligence officer who is accused of planning a failed assassination attempt against a Sikh-American activist in New York City known for his vocal criticism of the Indian government.

  • New York Times ☛ Musk’s $1 Million Offer Raises New Legal Questions

    Some election lawyers said the giveaway may run into laws that prohibit paying people to register to vote.

  • BBC ☛ I’ll stand for Russian president when Putin's gone, Navalny’s widow tells BBC

    Yulia Navalnaya intends to be president of Russia, she tells me. She looks me straight in the eye. No hesitation or wavering.

    This, like so many of the decisions she made with her husband, the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is unambiguous.

    Navalnaya knows she faces arrest if she returns home while President Putin is still in power. His administration has accused her of participating in extremism.

    This is no empty threat. In Russia, it can lead to death.

  • Tech Stock Roundup: UK Social Media Law Hits Stocks, Netflix 11%, and Tesla’s Earnings

    A new law governing social media content in the U.K. and a layoff announcement from Meta impacted tech stocks last week.

  • Meta Restructures Leading To Layoffs At WhatsApp And Instagram

    Meta Platforms, Inc. has confirmed layoffs affecting key teams within WhatsApp and Instagram as part of its restructuring efforts aimed at aligning resources with strategic goals. This news highlights the company's continuous effort to adapt to the rapidly changing tech environment, following previous layoffs earlier this year and last year.

  • Russ Allbery ☛ California general election

    As usual with these every-two-year posts, probably of direct interest only to California residents. Maybe the more obscure things we're voting on will be a minor curiosity to people elsewhere. I'm a bit late this year, although not as late as last year, so a lot of people may have already voted, but I've been doing this for a while and wanted to keep it up.

    This post will only be about the ballot propositions. I don't have anything useful to say about the candidates that isn't hyper-local. I doubt anyone who has read my posts will be surprised by which candidates I'm voting for.

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • JURIST ☛ Zambia urged to release journalist amid deteriorating press freedom and human rights concerns

    Amnesty International called Friday for the immediate release of Thomas Allan Zgambo, a Zambian journalist detained since October 16 in Lusaka. Zgambo, who writes for the Zambia Whistleblower website, has been held at Ridgeway Police Station without formal charges, highlighting escalating concerns about press freedom and human rights in Zambia.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • IT Pro ☛ Business execs just said the quiet part out loud on RTO mandates — A quarter admit forcing staff back into the office was meant to make them quit

    Companies give a lot of reasons for employees to come back to the office — innovation, communication, productivity — but as many as a quarter are also quietly hoping that staff quit.

    That's according to research from BambooHR, which surveyed companies on the return to office (RTO) trend, finding that 18% of HR professionals and 25% of VP and c-suite executives hoped for some level of voluntary turnover because of a tougher RTO mandate.

    Indeed, 37% of managers, directors and executives believe that layoffs that followed RTO policies happened because fewer people quit than expected.

    And they're likely to get their wish, at least in part. More than one-quarter (28)% of employees said they would consider quitting if RTO policies were enacted at their workplace.

Monopolies/Monopsonies