Leftovers

• GNOME ☛ Christian Hergert: Guitar Builderings

  I’m from a small town in Washington State that is well-known for top-tier guitars. It was home to Boogie Bodies, co-created by Lynn Ellsworth previously of Charvel fame. You might remember some of the guitars they worked on including a number of EVH’s iconic striped guitars.

  When the company split Jim Warmoth took his half to create Warmoth Guitars, which is still in Puyallup to this day.

  My cousin happened to work for Lynn doing paint and so I was always enthralled with their custom guitars from childhood. A few years back I put a “parts-caster” strat together with Warmoth parts and just now did another iteration on it.

  The body consists of Alder from Washington State with a 5A Flame Maple laminated top from the north. It is dyed green with a small amount of burst to the edges.

• Hackaday ☛ This Robot Picks Locks, If You’re Very Patient

  We all know the Hollywood trope of picking a lock with a paperclip, and while it certainly is doable, most reputable locks require slightly more sophisticated tools to pick effectively. That’s not to say that wire is off the table for locksports, though, as this cool lock-picking robot demonstrates.

• Hackaday ☛ Poking Atomic Nuclei With Lasers For Atomic Clocks And Energy Storage

  Although most people are probably familiar with the different energy levels that the electron shells of atoms can be in and how electrons shedding excess energy as they return to a lower state emit for example photons, the protons and neutrons in atomic nuclei can also occupy an excited state. This nuclear isomer (metastable) state is a big part of radioactive decay chains, but can also be induced externally. The trick lies in hitting the right excitation wavelength and being able to detect the nuclear transition, something which researchers at the Technical University of Wien have now demonstrated for thorium-229.

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ The Maya Blessed Their Ballcourts With Rituals Using Psychedelic Plants

    More than just a game.

  • Science Alert ☛ Quantum Entanglement May Share a Profound Link With Steam Engines

  • Science Alert ☛ Watch: Boeing's Starliner Capsule Blasts Off on First Crewed Mission to ISS Today

    It's been a decade in the making.

  • Science Alert ☛ Higher CO2 Levels Have a Concerning Effect on Viruses Floating Through The Air

    How's your ventilation?

  • Science Alert ☛ Rare Roman Dodecahedron Found in England Baffles Archaeologists

    Remarkably preserved history at their fingertips.

• Hardware

  • US government auctions off supercomputer with 8,000 Intel CPUs and 300TB of RAM

    The US General Services Administration (GSA), an independent US government agency, is set to auction off what is now the 160th fastest supercomputer.

  • Hackaday ☛ Building A Rocket Engine From Scratch

    There is a reason building a rocket engine is harder than most things you want to build. If you are building, say, a car, your goal is to not have it explode. If you are building a bomb, you want that to explode. But a rocket engine needs to explode just enough and not a bit more. That’s tough, as [Ryan Kuhn] discovered. He’s behind ABL’s E2 rocket, a LOX/kerosene engine for small vehicle launches. You can catch a video of the engine’s qualification tests below.

  • CNX Software ☛ Review of CrowVi 15.6-inch portable USB-C and HDMI touchscreen display with backdoored Windows 11, Ubuntu 24.04, and Raspberry Pi 5

    Elecrow CrowVi VF156T  – or just CrowVi for shorts – is an ultra-thin 15.6-inch portable touchscreen display with mini HDMI and USB-C input ports making it suitable for a wide range of devices from backdoored Windows 11 and GNU/Linux mini PCs or laptops, SBCs such as the Raspberry Pi 5, and smartphones featuring a USB-C port with DisplayPort Allt.

  • CNX Software ☛ Nano-ITX motherboard is powered by defective chip maker Intel Atom x7000RE Series “Amston Lake” SoC

    Portwell NANO-6064-ASL is an defective chip maker Intel Atom “Amston Lake” x7000RE-powered Nano-ITX motherboard. The board looks very similar to the Portwell Nano-6062 and features an operating temperature of -40°C to 85°C. The motherboard can support a max of 16GB DDR4 memory and features triple display output, dual 2.5Gbps Ethernet, USB, M.2, SATA, GPIO, and more, and takes power from a 12V external power input. Previously, we’ve written about a range of Nano-ITX boards and SoMs with Amston Lake SoCs, including the ASRock SBC-262M-WT, conga-SA8 SMARC modules, ADLINK Atom x7000RE & x7000C COM Express and SMARC 2.1 modules and others. If you’re looking for similar options, feel free to check out those articles.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ An Expert Explains Why Your Natural Teeth Are Priceless

    Don't take them for granted.

  • JURIST ☛ UN food official urges unrestricted access for Sudan aid delivery amid starvation crisis

    World Food Programme (WFP) spokesperson in Sudan, Leni Kinzli, called Friday for unrestricted access and security assurances to deliver aid to families struggling to survive amid devastating violence in Darfur and other conflict zones across Sudan, saying “time is running out to prevent starvation.”

  • Science Alert ☛ There's a Surprising Reason Why Robots Can't Outrun The Fastest Animals

    We've still got a lot to learn.

  • Science Alert ☛ The Leading Risk Factor in Disease Is Something Few of Us Have Any Control Over

    Or do we?

  • Science Alert ☛ Scientists Discover a Missing Link Between Diet And Cancer Risk

    This explains a lot.

  • Off Guardian ☛ WATCH: Epidemic of Fraud

    The award winning documentary Epidemic of Fraud presents an alternative narrative of the “Covid Pandemic”. The film argues that early treatment options for “Covid19” – such as ivermectin and most especially hydroxychloroquine – were suppressed in order to boost vaccine profits.

• Security

  • Privacy/Surveillance

    • Ismael Olea: This website now has GPDR friendly statistics

      Now this website uses a simple statistics system which is GDPR compatible and privacy friendly. It uses Libre Counter which not need user registration neither configuration beyond adding some code like this:

    • The Strategist ☛ China’s hackers targeted our MPs. We need to talk about this relationship

      At least six Australian parliamentarians from both major parties have been targeted by Chinese state-sponsored hackers from the notorious APT31 group, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China has announced.

• Defence/Aggression

  • The Straits Times ☛ Philippines says won’t raise South China Sea tensions, won’t use water cannon

    The last thing the Philippines wants to do is to raise tensions in the strategic waterway, Mr Marcos said.

  • New York Times ☛ Teenager Fatally Shot by Australian Police After He Stabs a Man

    The episode occurred just weeks after two major stabbing attacks in the country. The youth had been under monitoring for having extremist tendencies.

  • JURIST ☛ UK asylum charity launches legal action against government Rwanda plan

    Asylum Aid, a leading UK charity providing free legal advice and representation to asylum seekers and refugees, announced on Friday that it was launching legal action against the Home Office’s Safety of Rwanda plan to “ensure that all individual cases against removal to Rwanda are properly considered.”

  • New York Times ☛ America Has a Bad Case of China Anxiety

    Anxiety about China is making American policymakers react in paranoid, repressive ways.

  • JURIST ☛ British-Palestinian doctor denied entry to France ahead of meeting on Gaza war

    Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British-Palestinian doctor, said on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Saturday that French authorities denied him entry ahead of a French Senate meeting where he was providing testimony about his experience in Gaza.. The authorities told him that German authorities placed a ban on him entering Europe.

  • Project Censored ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] The Press Freedom Clock is TikToking

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Tech Platforms Make Pitch for Ad Deals as TikTok Is Roiled by Politics

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] Last checkpoint: Ukrainians escape occupied territories

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] China's Xi Praises French Ties as Macron Prepares to Talk Trade

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] On Orthodox Easter, Zelenskiy Calls on Ukrainians to Unite in Prayer

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] Ukrainians in Embattled East Mark Third Easter Under Fire

    • Counter Punch ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Washington Post’s David Ignatius Declares Victory in Ukraine…Once Again!

    • The Age AU ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Europe must prepare to send troops to defend Ukraine, Macron says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Debris From Drones Injures Three in Ukraine's Kharkiv, Governor Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Kremlin Calls Cameron Statement on UK Arms for Ukraine a 'Direct Escalation'

    • CBC ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Hosting a Ukrainian refugee family reminds me of my own family's journey 70 years ago

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Missile Strikes Ukrainian Port of Odesa, 13 Injured, Regional Governor Says

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] GPS jamming in the Baltic region: Is Russia responsible?

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] Putin Attends Easter Service Led by Head of Russia's Orthodox Church

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] Russia Blames Baltic Countries for the Severing of Most Ties

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] Russian Attacks on Ukraine Energy System Caused $1 Billion in Damages - Minister

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] Ukraine Marks Its Third Easter at War as It Comes Under Fire From Russian Drones and Troops

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russian Enterprises Fostering Closer Economic Ties with Angola, Southern African Countries

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russia adds Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy to wanted list

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russia and Ukraine both using outlawed weapons

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Drone Footage Shows Ukrainian Village Battered to Ruins as Residents Flee Russian Advance

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] NATO Drills Show It Is Preparing for Potential Conflict With Russia, Moscow Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Poland Condemns Russian Cyberattacks, Says Has Been Targeted Too

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russian Su-25 Jet Shot Down Over Eastern Ukraine, Zelenskiy Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russian Suspected Cybercrime Kingpin Pleads Guilty in US, TASS Reports

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russia Puts Ukraine's Zelenskiy on Wanted List

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russia Puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Its Wanted List

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Russia Says It Shot Down Four U.S.-Made Long Range Missiles Over Crimea

    • Counter Punch ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Russian Oil, the U.S. Election and Opening the Cash Spigot for Ukraine

    • International Business Times ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Ukraine Introduces AI Spokesperson 'Victoria Shi' To Give Updates On War With Russia

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Russia Says U.S. Secondary Sanctions Aim to 'Contain' China

    • CPJ ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Russia puts Forbes journalist under house arrest, detains 2 others

    • Gizmodo ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] SpaceX's Starlink Internet Is Working in Places It's Not Supposed To

    • Modern Diplomacy ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Russian Brands Flooding Africa’s Continental Market

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] In controversial 'Russian law,' Georgians see threat to civil society

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Ukraine updates: Russia strikes Odesa for 3rd time this week

    • HRW ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Ukraine: Russian Forces Executed Surrendering Ukraine Soldiers

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Russian State Media Is Posting More on TikTok Ahead of the U.S. Presidential Election, Study Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Russia Is Violating UN Limits on Petroleum Shipments to North Korea, the White House Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Exclusive-Russian Troops Enter Base Housing US Military in Niger, US Official Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] NATO Says Russian Hybrid Attack Intensify on Members' Territories

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Russia Calls Claim About Its Alleged Military Ties With North Korea Inaccurate

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Send Us Patriots: Ukraine's Battered Energy Plants Seek Air Defenses Against Russian Attacks

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Lawmakers in Serbia Elect New Government With Pro-Russia Ministers Sanctioned by the US

    • CISA ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] CISA and Partners Release Fact Sheet on Defending OT Operations Against Ongoing Pro-Russia Hacktivist Activity

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Russia strikes Odesa for 2nd time this week

    • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Ukraine updates: US sanctions Russia, China firms over war

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] New US Penalties Against Russia Target Weapons Development and Countries Aiding in Sanctions Evasion

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Russian Pleads Guilty in US to Lying About Role in Sanctioned Group

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Basketball-Griner Saw World Crumbling in Russia Arrest

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] US State Dept Says Oil Service Firm SLB Not Violating Russia Sanctions

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Russia Breached Global Chemical Weapons Ban in Ukraine War, US Says

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Russian Attack Kills Two, Injures Six in Ukraine's East

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] Russians Throng to Display of Western 'Trophy' Tanks Captured in Ukraine

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] U.S., Allies Press UAE Over Russia Trade, Sanctions

    • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-01 [Older] US Issues Hundreds of Sanctions Targeting Russia, Takes Aim at Chinese Companies

    • Spiegel ☛ 2024-04-30 [Older] Alternative for Germany (AfD): How the far-right party became the Long Arm of Russia and China

• Environment

  • Energy/Transportation

    • YLE ☛ Monday's papers: Cloud-powered jobs, electricity problems and a proliferation of parking tickets

      A major US power firm is quietly scaling up production in Finland, Helsingin Sanomat reports.

    • Counter Punch ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Burning Plastic Waste is Not an Energy Solution

    • NL Times ☛ 2024-05-05 [Older] Eurostar aims to have all their trains powered by renewable energy by 2030

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • New York Times ☛ How To Know When a Good Dog Has Gone Bad

      Gov. Kristi Noem suggested that President Biden should have euthanized the family dog, as she did. Animal experts said that such an option should be a last resort.

    • Hackaday ☛ Hive Monitor Is The Bee’s Knees

      Beekeeping is quite the rewarding hobby. There’s delicious honey and useful wax to be had, plus you get the honor of knowing that you’re helping to keep the bee population surviving and thriving. [Ben Brooks] likes to keep tabs on the hive, but doesn’t like the idea of opening it up more often than necessary. After a couple of beekeeping rodeos, [Ben] decided to build his own tracker to get reports on the health and the activity of the hive through Home Assistant.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea bolsters leader Kim Jong Un with birthday loyalty oaths

    Pyongyang has never officially confirmed Mr Kim's birthdate.

  • New York Times ☛ For Markus Johnson, Prison and Mental Illness Equaled a Death Sentence

    The downward spiral of one inmate, Markus Johnson, shows the larger failures of the nation’s prisons to care for the mentally ill.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Indonesia proposes cutting payments for South Korea fighter jet project: Report

    Indonesia said it would receive fewer technology transfers from South Korea.

  • JURIST ☛ Former Vietnam government official arrested for abuse of power

    Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said Saturday that the Police Investigation Agency issued a decision to prosecute and arrest Mai Tien Dung, who served as head of the government office of Vietnam, for the offense of abusing power or position while performing official duties.

  • New York Times ☛ Panama Election: José Raúl Mulino Wins Presidential Race

    Mr. Mulino, a former security minister, gained support in the chaotic campaign from an ex-president whose bid had been disqualified.

  • Green Party UK ☛ 2024-05-04 [Older] Greens on track to win parliamentary seats following record local election results

  • Green Party UK ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Great night for the Greens with more to come

  • Green Party UK ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Greens move from fourth to first place in Hastings

  • Green Party UK ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Greens set for record number of councillors after first breakthroughs

  • Green Party UK ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Greens win every council seat in target Bristol Central constituency and cement role as largest party on Council amid “record breaking” election campaign

  • Green Party UK ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Greens set for record number of councillors as polls close

• Censorship/Free Speech

  • New York Times ☛ R.F.K. Jr. Claims Censorship After Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram Briefly Block New Ad

    The ad, a sleek 30-minute production, was blocked for several hours on Friday and Saturday. Meta, which owns both platforms, said the link had been incorrectly flagged as spam.

  • CPJ ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war

  • TruthOut ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] “Free Speech Absolutist” Elon Musk Wants to Deport Protesters Who Remove US Flag

• Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

  • New York Times ☛ Middle East Crisis: Israeli Cabinet Votes to Shut Down Al Jazeera’s Operations in the Country

    Under a law passed last month, the government can temporarily shutter foreign media outlets that have been found to undermine national security.

  • Deutsche Welle ☛ 2024-05-03 [Older] Yulia Navalnaya to receive DW Freedom of Speech Award 2024

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • The Kent Stater ☛ May 4 Commemoration honors victims, speakers address student protests

    Students and community-members flooded Blanket Hill Saturday to participate in the annual May 4 Commemoration, which honors the victims of the 1970 massacre.

  • Reason ☛ Ben Sasse on Speech and Protest at the University of Florida

    The former Senator says "the adults are still in charge" in Gainesville

  • Reason ☛ "Not In Our Name": Tablet on the Antisemitism Awareness Act

    A Jewish journal argues the problem is not the Act's definition of antisemitism, but the larger anti-speech bureaucratic edifice.

  • France24 ☛ Netanyahu defends Gaza offensive at Holocaust ceremony amid international pressure

    Israeli Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected international pressure to halt the war in Gaza in a fiery speech marking the country’s annual Holocaust memorial day, declaring: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”

  • JURIST ☛ HRW: France should press China on alleged crimes against humanity during Pooh-tin visit

    Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday issued a statement urging French President Emmanuel Macron to speak out against the Chinese government’s alleged crimes against humanity and increasing human rights repression during Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping’s visit to Paris, which is scheduled to take place between May 6-7. 

  • New York Times ☛ In China, Ruled by Men, Women Quietly Find a Powerful Voice

    Women in Shanghai gather in bars, salons and bookstores to reclaim their identities as the country’s leader calls for China to adopt a “childbearing culture.”

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian national footballer Faisal Halim suffers burns after acid attack

    A man in his 20s has been arrested, police said. The motive for the attack is under investigation.

  • US News And World Report ☛ 2024-05-02 [Older] Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's Comments About Unions Violated Federal Law, NLRB Judge Rules

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ T-Mobile Home Internet: Revisiting 5G connectivity for the home after two years

    I had a rough go with T-Mobile Home Internet on my first try, but I decided to give it another shot to more promising results.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Cycling Towards Confusion: Is there room for iFIT Fitness Services and iFIT Safety Glasses?

    In its initial decision, the TTAB dismissed iFIT’s opposition to ERB’s I-FIT FLEX registration — finding no likelihood of confusion because the goods were in separate markets.  iFIT is a major manufacturer of exercise equipment like treadmills and stationary bikes and holds several trademark registrations for IFIT marks covering fitness machines, online fitness training services and content, software, and some ancillary products like apparel.  ERB Industries applied to register I-FIT FLEX for protective and safety eyewear sold at hardware stores such as Home Depot.