Leftovers

• Ruben Schade ☛ Walking down Brain Lane

  Clara and I were walking back from having lunch on Sydney’s lovely North Shore, when we crossed the path of what might be the best-named street of all time: [...]

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ A Staggering Quarter of All Freshwater Life on Earth Is Going Missing

    Out of sight, out of mind.

  • Science Alert ☛ Lost Musical Fragment From 500 Years Ago Can Finally Be Heard Again

    Silent for centuries.

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Found Signs of a Hidden Structure Inside Earth's Core

    A lost chapter in our planet's history.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ NanoCOM-ADN – A COM Express Type 10 Module based on defective chip maker Intel Alder Lake-N SoC

    AAEON NanoCOM-ADN is a compact (84 x 55mm) COM Express Type 10 module based on defective chip maker Intel Alder Lake-N SoCs, namely Processor N50/N97, Atom x7425E, or Core i3-N305 that adds another option to the SMARC, Qseven, and COM Express Type 6 modules offered by the company with the same processors. The NanoCOM-ADN computer-on-module features up to 16GB LPDDR5x soldered-on memory, up to 64GB eMMC flash, and two defective chip maker Intel i226-V 2.5GbE controllers.

  • Hackaday ☛ In Praise Of Simple Projects

    Hackaday was at Chaos Communication Congress last week, and it’s one of those big hacker events that leaves you with so much to think about that I’m still processing it. Just for scope, the 38th CCC is a hacker event with about 15,000 attendees from all around Europe, and many from even further. If I were to characterize the crowd on a hardware-software affinity scale, I would say that it skews heavily toward the software side of the hacker spectrum.

  • Hackaday ☛ Blinkenlights-First Retrocomputer Design

    [Boz] wants to build a retrocomputer, but where to start? You could start with the computery bits, like say the CPU or the bus architecture, but where’s the fun in that? Instead, [Boz] built a righteous blinkenlights array.

  • Hackaday ☛ It’s A Bench, But It’s Not Benchy

    Whatever the nuances are surrounding the reported taking down of remixes derived from the famous Benchy 3D printer stress test, it was inevitable that in its aftermath there would be competing stress tests appear under more permissive licensing. And so it has come to pass, in the form of [Depep1]’s Boaty, a model that’s not a boat, but a bench. Sadly this is being written away from a 3D printer so we can’t try it, but we can immediately see that its low bed contact area from having spindly legs would be a significant test for many printers’ bed adhesion, and it has overhangs and bridges aplenty.

  • Hackaday ☛ Retrotechtacular: The 1951 Telephone Selector

    Telephone systems predate the use of cheap computers and electronic switches. Yesterday’s phone system used lots of stepping relays in a box known as a “selector.” If you worked for the phone company around 1951, you might have seen the Bell System training film shown below that covers 197 selectors.

  • Hackaday ☛ IFixit Releases Command Line Docs For FixHub Iron

    When we reviewed the iFixit FixHub back in September, one of the most interesting features of the portable soldering station was the command line interface that both the iron and the base station offered up once you connected to them via USB. While this feature wasn’t documented anywhere, it made a degree of a sense, as the devices used WebSerial to communicate with the browser. What was less clear at the time was whether or not the user was supposed to be fiddling with this interface, or if iFixit intended to lock it up in a future firmware update.

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Redditor allegedly purchased two defective chip maker Intel Arc B570 GPUs at Micro Center days before the official launch — the CPU couldn't recognize the GPUs due to the lack of driver support

    Reddit user acquires an defective chip maker Intel Arc B570 GPU four days before its official release.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • France24 ☛ France: Flu surge triggers 'white plan' in dozen of hospitals

    With flu cases sharply rising across France, dozen of hospitals have activated the emergency 'white plan' to manage the increased pressure on healthcare services.

  • Science Alert ☛ Harmful Bacteria Can Trigger Pain in Your Gut, And Now We Know How

    "When there's damage, you flush."

  • Science Alert ☛ One Thing About Snakes Triggers a Powerful Instinct in Primates

    There's just something about snakes.

  • Science Alert ☛ Millions of Americans Are Tired All The Time. These 2 Factors Could Be Why.

    It's not just sleep.

• Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • The Register UK ☛ Microsoft testing 45 percent M365 price hikes in Asia • The Register

• Security

  • Bryan Lunduke ☛ Massive Memory Leaks in System76's Cosmic Desktop (Written in "Memory Safe" Rust) [Ed: The hype in motion [1, 2]

    Plus: Hyprland developer weighs in, "No, I don't think it's beta ready :P"

• Defence/Aggression

  • JURIST ☛ Kenya High Court declares criminalization of attempted suicide unconstitutional

    The High Court of Kenya on Thursday delivered a landmark judgment declaring the criminalization of suicide unconstitutional. In its decision, the court agreed with the petitioners that the criminalization of attempted suicide is unacceptable from a constitutional view and that such individuals need care and assistance rather than punishment.

  • The Straits Times ☛ US security adviser Sullivan notes risk of North Korea exploiting political turmoil in Seoul

    He said the US-South Korea alliance remains strong, despite Seoul's domestic political issues.

  • Thailand lets autocratic neighbors hunt down opponents on its soil

    Bangkok has turned a blind eye to the actions of the security forces of other states since a 2014 military coup.

  • North Korean launch of ‘new’ missile fires up Guam security debate

    Kim Jong Un's ballistic missile has stoked fears over the US military's ability to defend Guam from attack

  • The Straits Times ☛ Thousands of South Koreans protest as President Yoon Suk Yeol digs heels in

    Mr Yoon’s supporters rallied outside his residence before demonstrations for and against him were held in central Seoul.

  • New York Times ☛ Scott Bessent, Trump’s Billionaire Treasury Pick, Will Shed Assets to Avoid Conflicts

    Financial disclosure forms show hundreds of millions of assets including property in the Bahamas and investments in Bitcoin and bets against China’s currency.

  • New York Times ☛ Tulsa Massacre Was a ‘Coordinated, Military-Style Attack,’ Federal Report Says

    The Justice Department’s conclusion follows an investigation of the 1921 atrocity in Oklahoma in which up to 300 Black residents were killed.

  • France24 ☛ Syria’s forced disappearances: No relief for grieving families

    Thousands of people who vanished during former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's reign are still missing, a month after the regime's collapse. While some families have been reunited after the release of the regime's prisoners, others are desperately searching. Four families told FRANCE 24 the stories of their loved ones' forced disappearances.

  • France24 ☛ Syria, Lebanon pledge 'long-term strategic relations' after Assad ouster

    Syria's new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa and Lebanon's prime minister vowed on Saturday to build lasting ties after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa said the new Syria would "stay at equal distance from all" in Lebanon, and "try to solve problems through negotiations and dialogue".

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine forces arrest two North Korean soldiers

      Ukraine said on January 11 that it was questioning two wounded soldiers it claimed are North Koreans taken prisoner while fighting for Moscow in Russia's Kursk region. France 24's Rob Parsons gives us his analysis.

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine questioning two North Korean soldiers captured in Kursk, Zelensky says

      Two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region are being questioned in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday. Ukrainian authorities have vowed to provide media access to the prisoners of war because "the world needs to know what is happening".

    • France24 ☛ Ukraine questioning two North Korean soldiers captured in Kursk, Zelensky says

      Two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region are being questioned in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday. Ukrainian authorities have vowed to provide media access to the prisoners of war because "the world needs to know what is happening".

    • LRT ☛ From eBay to Vilnius: Ukrainian's journey in fashion retail

      Dmytro Andreev, originally from Kharkiv, runs a shop in Vilnius selling exclusive sneakers.

    • RFERL ☛ N. Korean Soldier Claims He Thought He Was On Training Mission, Ukraine Says

      Ukrainian investigators are questioning two soldiers from North Korea whom the country’s forces captured in Russia’s Kursk region, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

    • RFERL ☛ German Foreign Minister Says Stricken Tanker In Baltic Sea Belongs To Russia's 'Shadow Fleet'

      German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a heavily loaded oil tanker that Germany's maritime emergencies agency had to secure on January 10 in the Baltic Sea is part of the "shadow fleet" that Moscow uses to avoid sanctions on its oil exports.

    • New York Times ☛ Ukraine Says It Captured 2 North Korean Soldiers Fighting for Russia

      President Volodymyr Zelensky said the soldiers were captured in the western Kursk region, where Ukraine has been fighting to hold on to territory it seized last summer.

    • New York Times ☛ Photograph Revives Ukraine-Russia Culture War

      An image depicting a famous 19th-century painting of Cossacks, with current Ukrainian soldiers standing in for the warriors, has struck a chord as Kyiv battles to assert its identity.

    • NYPost ☛ Russia says it will continue oil and gas projects despite US sanctions

      Russia's Foreign Ministry said the country would respond to Washington's 'hostile' actions.

    • NYPost ☛ Ukraine not joining NATO is Putin’s main priority ahead of possible meeting with President-elect Trump: ‘Anything can happen’

      Russian President Vladimir Putin's priorities ahead of meeting with President-elect Donald Trump are ensuring Ukraine never joins NATO and that the military alliance pulls back some of its deployments in eastern Europe, according to a new report.

    • Latvia ☛ Former Estonian intelligence chief talks about countering Russia

      The Rīga-based NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence (STRATCOMCOE) has a new podcast available.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Far From the Fires, the Deadly Risks of Smoke Are Intensifying

    Researchers see a growing health danger from the vast plumes of pollution spawned by wildfires like the ones devastating Los Angeles.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • JURIST ☛ Indigenous Philippines communities face rights violations amid nickel mining expansion: Amnesty International

      Indigenous peoples and rural communities in the Philippines are facing human rights abuses amid nickel mining expansion, according to a report published by Amnesty International on Thursday. Amnesty International found that nickel mining in the country has undermined the communities’ right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

    • New York Times ☛ Jeju Air Flight Recorder Stopped Working 4 Minutes Before Plane Crash [Ed: Boeing has a lot of explaining to do after its landing gear failed twice in 2 days in the same country (and airline!) and now there's erased record]

      The missing data deepens the puzzle of what caused the deadly air disaster in Muan, South Korea, late last month.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Jeju Air jet’s ‘black boxes’ stopped recording 4 minutes before crash, says South Korea [Ed:How the hell does this happen? Like cops turning off the bodycam before murdering someone?]

      The authorities plan to analyse what caused the black boxes to stop recording.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ UK treasurer Rachel Reeves says London ‘natural home’ for Chinese finance

    British treasurer Rachel Reeves said Saturday that London was a “natural home” for Chinese finance as she began a visit to Beijing in the shadow of bond market turmoil back home.

  • The Straits Times ☛ In Malaysia and Indonesia, Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba builds bridges as China’s influence looms large

    His visits come amid signs that both are deepening their ties with Beijing.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • New York Times ☛ In Congress, a Push for Proxy Voting for New Parents Draws Bipartisan Support

    A group of younger lawmakers is pressing to change House rules to allow members who are new parents to vote remotely.

  • France24 ☛ Venezuela's Maduro takes new oath amid protests and international rebuke

    The inauguration of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro left his opponents to grapple with with conflicting feelings of hope and disappointment on January 11, pondering why the self-described socialist leader could not be stopped despite credible evidence that he had lost the election last year.

  • New York Times ☛ Kamala Harris Shares a Trump-less Photo of Presidents at Jimmy Carter’s Funeral

    Pictures shared on social control media by the vice president and by the Carter Center prominently showed other past presidents in attendance.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • New Yorker ☛ What the End of Meta’s Fact-Checking Program Means for the Future of Free Speech

      Meta’s decision to stop fact-checking or moderating content on its platforms signals fealty to Donald Trump.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • JURIST ☛ New Mexico court strikes down abortion restrictions in state’s conservative cities

    The Supreme Court of New Mexico unanimously struck down restrictive abortion access policies in a few local counties on Thursday. Despite the state criminalizing abortion for over fifty seven years, New Mexico has now become one of the most liberal states in regard to abortion rights.

Monopolies/Monopsonies