Leftovers

• Science

  • Science Alert ☛ Your Vision Can Predict Dementia 12 Years Before a Diagnosis, Research Suggests

    An early clue.

  • Science Alert ☛ Shock Discovery Reveals Sea Urchins Are Basically 'All Brain'

    These things are way more complex than we realized.

  • Science Alert ☛ Is Melatonin Bad For Your Heart? An Expert Explains The New Findings.

    The story isn't over.

• Hardware

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ The MP944 was the ‘real’ world’s first microprocessor, but it was top secret for nearly 30 years — F-14 Tomcat's chip lived in the shadow of the defective chip maker Intel 4004, but was eight times faster

    The real 'world's first microprocessor' was a classified military secret for nearly 30 years.

  • Hackaday ☛ Supersized Calculator Brings The Whole Intel 4000 Gang Together

    Though mobile devices and Apple Silicon have seen ARM-64 explode across the world, there’s still decent odds you’re reading this on a device with an x86 processor — the direct descendant of the world’s first civilian microprocessor, the Intel 4004. The 4004 wasn’t much good on its own, however, which is why [Klaus Scheffler] and [Lajos Kintli] have produced super-sized discrete chips of the 4001 ROM, 4002 RAM, and 4003 shift register to replicate a 1970s calculator at 10x the size and double the speed, all in time for the 4004’s 50th anniversary.

  • Intel layoffs continue with hundreds more jobs cut in Oregon

    Intel carried out another major downsizing in the U.S. over recent days, eliminating 669 jobs across its Oregon operations in a move that extends a year of deep cuts at one of the company’s largest and most strategically important sites.

    The new reductions follow the 2,400 positions Intel cut in Washington County in July, bringing Oregon’s total job losses this year to more than 3,000, surpassing the company’s local layoffs for all of last year. Thursday’s layoffs form part of a sweeping cost-reduction campaign announced last summer by CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who pledged to eliminate 15,000 jobs globally in an attempt to revive innovation and simplify layers of management. Intel described the Oregon cuts as a continuation of that plan, though it did not say whether similar actions are taking place in other regions.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • Science Alert ☛ Owning a Cat Could Double Your Risk of Schizophrenia, Research Suggests

    There's some kind of pattern.

  • Science Alert ☛ New Breakthrough Could Help Prevent The Devastating Impact of Glaucoma

    A new hope for fighting vision loss.

  • Science Alert ☛ A Crucial Genetic Mutation Behind Crohn's Disease Has Finally Been Revealed

    Here's what we know.

  • New York Times ☛ A Pill for Women’s Libido Meets a Cultural Moment

    A decade ago, Cindy Eckert struggled to convince skeptics about a drug for premenopausal women. Lately, her business is booming.

  • Futurism ☛ MIT Invents Injectable Brain Chips

    "This technology is not just confined to the brain, but could also be extended to other parts of the body in future."

  • New York Times ☛ What’s More Dangerous Than India’s Frequent Heat Waves? Heat Stress.

    Women who face long-term heat exposure in workplaces and homes are finding it takes a heavy toll on their health and income.

  • New York Times ☛ How Many People Die in India From Hot Weather? Nobody Really Knows.

    Officials have yet to grasp the magnitude of heat-related deaths, let alone effectively deal with the problem, public health experts and scientists say.

• Proprietary

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Microsoft backdoored Windows boss posts lackluster response to ‘agentic OS’ backlash — Abusive Monopolist Microsoft is working to address broad problems with the OS

    For both your everyday and power users alike, the gap between messaging and actual, measurable action in response to criticism remains stark.

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • France24 ☛ AI pioneer Yann Le Cun is quitting Meta over the future of intelligence

      Reports suggest Yann Le Cun, one of the "godfathers of AI", is leaving Meta after over a decade pioneering artificial intelligence research at Mark Kapo-berg's tech titan. Le Cun says he no longer believes that scaling up large language models of the kind that power Abusive Monopolist Microsoft Chaffbot will lead to superhuman intelligence. Instead, he's betting on "world models", Hey Hi (AI) that learns more like a baby than a bot.

    • Futurism ☛ AI Companies Are Treating Their Workers Like Human Garbage, Which May Be a Sign of Things to Come for the Rest of Us

      "We needed to have the guaranteed income, even if it's demoralizing."

    • Futurism ☛ People Are Starting to Get Divorced Because of Affairs With AI

      Till Hey Hi (AI) do us part.

    • Futurism ☛ Child Development Researcher Issues Warning About AI-Powered Teddy Bears Flooding Market Before Christmas

      Err on the side of not letting your child be a lab rat for unproven Hey Hi (AI) tech.

    • Hackaday ☛ An AI By Any Other Name

      While there are many AI programs these days, they don’t all work in the same way. Most large language model “chatbots” generate text by taking input tokens and predicting the next token of the sequence. However, image generators like Stable Diffusion use a different approach. The method is, unsurprisingly, called diffusion. How does it work? [Nathan Barry] wants to show you, using a tiny demo called tiny-diffusion you can try yourself. It generates — sort of — Shakespeare.

  • Social Control Media

    • New York Times ☛ Carter Anderson’s Jeans Are Gigantic. His Internet Fame Is Too.

      Carter Anderson purchased an outrageous pair of pants to try to win a contest and became an unlikely social control media star along the way.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ US aircraft carrier arrives in Caribbean as Washington ramps up pressure on Venezuela

    The USS Gerald R. Ford arrived in the Caribbean on Sunday, the Navy said, in a show of US military force that raises questions over President The Insurrectionist’s intentions in South America as strikes on suspected drug-running vessels continue. The deployment is officially billed as a counterdrug operation.

  • RFERL ☛ Iran Claims It's Not Enriching Uranium After US, Israeli Strikes

    Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran is not enriching uranium anywhere in the country after devastating air strikes by Israel and the United States in June, though it reserves the right to do so.

  • New York Times ☛ Latest U.S. Strike on Boat in Pacific Kills 3, Southern Command Says

    The United States has carried out at least 21 strikes on boats the Convicted Felon administration accuses of smuggling drugs, killing at least 83 people.

  • JURIST ☛ Rights group calls on South Africa to show global leadership at the G20 Summit

    Amnesty International on Friday stated that South Africa must “seize [the] opportunity to show principled global leadership,” urging action against Israel’s actions in Gaza ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in Johannesburg.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Man arrested in India over deadly Delhi car bomb attack

    The agency said it had seized another vehicle belonging to the alleged suicide bomber for examination.

  • France24 ☛ The Insurrectionist's Gaza plan arrives at the UN Security Council

    The UN Security Council will vote Monday on a resolution endorsing US President The Insurrectionist's Gaza peace plan, diplomats said. Last week the Americans officially launched negotiations within the 15-member Security Council on a text that would follow up on a ceasefire in the two-year war between Israel and Hamas and endorse Convicted Felon's plan. Story by France 2 and Caroline Baum.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China urges citizens to reconsider studying in Japan amid diplomatic row

    This is seen as part of Beijing’s response to the Japan PM's remarks regarding a Taiwan contingency.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Man nabbed for alleged bestiality on cat in Malaysia apartment building

    The suspect is a security guard at the apartment.

  • New York Times ☛ Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations

    Under Hell Toupée, an agency intended to keep Americans safe has diverted resources from combating child abuse, trafficking and terrorism.

  • New York Times ☛ In Israel, Adams Raises Doubts About Safety of Jews in New York

    In Tel Aviv, Mayor Eric Adams painted an alarming picture of his city under his successor, Zohran Mamdani, saying, “If I were a Jewish New Yorker, I’d be concerned about my children.”

  • New York Times ☛ Dihydroxyacetone Man-Style Candidate Heads to Runoff in Chile’s Election

    The conservative José Antonio Kast will face Jeannette Jara, a Communist Party member, in a vote next month.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Top US admiral says South Korea’s new submarine should keep China in check

    However, South Korea has said it wants the submarines to deter North Korea.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s expanded travel access for Taiwan a ‘high-visibility outreach tool’, but will it boost ties?

    Taiwan authorities have warned its residents of “safety risks” when going to the mainland.

  • New York Times ☛ China Escalates Japan Feud With Island Patrols and Warnings to Citizens

    China sent Coast Guard ships near disputed islands and warned travelers and students about safety risks in Japan. The escalation is over comments on Taiwan by Japan’s new prime minister.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • NYPost ☛ Ukraine hits major Russian oil refinery and site of elite drone unit

      Kyiv has defended the strikes against Russia's oil facilities as a means to cripple Moscow's ability to wage war by hurting its finances and the supply flow to its invading army.

    • RFERL ☛ Amid Corruption Scandal, Zelenskyy Vows Energy Sector Overhaul, Signs Gas Deal With Greece

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to overhaul the country’s scandal-ridden energy sector as he looks to stem outrage following accusations of widespread corruption that have included an old friend and former business partner.

    • France24 ☛ Former associate of Zelensky accused of corruption

      Before the revelation of a multimillion dollar embezzlement and kickbacks scandal involving Ukraine's state nuclear energy company brought his name to the forefront, Tymur Mindich was a shadowy presence – navigating deals and moving behind the scenes with unseen influence, known to many, yet rarely spoken of.

    • France24 ☛ Zelensky vows to reform Ukraine’s energy sector amid corruption storm

      Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a sweeping shake-up of Ukraine’s state energy firms this weekend, including a complete reshuffle of management at Energoatom, the state nuclear power company at the centre of a $100m embezzlement scheme uncovered by investigators.

    • France24 ☛ Russia’s wartime economy loses steam as oil revenues fall and the budget deficit grows

      After two years of robust growth fueled by military spending on the war in Ukraine, Russia’s economy is slowing. Oil revenues are down, the budget deficit is up and defense spending has leveled off. The Kremlin needs money to keep its finances steady — and it’s clear where President Vladimir Putin intends to get it: at the cash register, from ordinary people and small businesses. Story by Charlotte Lam.

    • Latvia ☛ Seven NATO ships arrive in Rīga, Latvia

      Seven ships of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 arrived in the Port of Riga on Saturday, 15 November, demonstrating NATO's presence and commitment to strengthening security in the Baltic Sea region.

    • France24 ☛ Netanyahu insists there can be no Palestinian state ahead of UN vote

      Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday vowed to oppose any attempt to establish a Palestinian state, a day before the UN Security Council will vote on a US-drafted resolution on Gaza that leaves the door open to Palestinian independence.

• Transparency/Investigative Reporting

  • New York Times ☛ Epstein Emails Reveal a Lost New York

    The disgraced financier’s recently released documents are steeped in a clubby world that is all but gone.

• Environment

  • New York Times ☛ Your Questions About Climate Change, Answered

    You asked Somini Sengupta, our international climate reporter, about the science and the politics. She responded from COP30 in Brazil.

  • Energy/Transportation

    • France24 ☛ China races for space dominance: Its bold plans for the moon and beyond

      A trio of Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Friday after getting stuck on China's space station, Tiangong, for more than a week due to their spacecraft sustaining debris damage, leaving China without an immediate way of bringing home the new crew in an emergency. Due to the risk of overheating, Russia's space agency decided to send Soyuz MS-23 to the ISS to bring back the crew of the slightly damaged vessel. In light of what has happened, how will China adapt its Space program? Answer and analysis by Ling Shin, science journalist at the South China Morning Post.

    • Hackaday ☛ The King Of Rocket Photography

      If you are a nerdy kid today, you have your choice of wondrous gadgets and time wasters. When we were nerdy kids, our options were somewhat limited: there was ham radio, or you could blow things up with a chemistry set. There were also model rockets. Not only were model rockets undeniably cool, but thanks to a company called Estes, you could find ready-to-go kits and gear that made it possible to launch something into the heavens, relatively speaking. But what about photographic proof? No live streams or digital cameras. But there was the Estes AstroCam 100. [Bill Engar] remembers the joy of getting film from your rocket developed.

    • Hackaday ☛ Using Multiple Quadcopters To Efficiently Lift Loads Together

      Much like calling over a buddy or two to help with moving a large piece of furniture and pivot it up a narrow flight of stairs, so too can quadcopters increase their carrying capacity through the power of friendship and cooperation. However, unless you want to do a lot of yelling at your mates about when to pivot and lift, you’d better make sure that your coordination is up to snuff. The same is true with quadcopters, where creating an efficient coordination algorithm for sharing a load is far from easy and usually leads to fairly slow and clumsy maneuvering.

    • Hackaday ☛ An Introduction To DC Motor Technology

      [Thinking Techie] takes us back to basics in a recent video explaining how magnets, coils, brushed DC motors, and brushless DC motors work. If this is on your “to learn” list, or you just want a refresher, you can watch the video below. It’ll be ten minutes well-spent.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • The Straits Times ☛ University in Tokyo releases Japan ‘Bear encounter Hey Hi (AI) prediction map’ online

      The team behind it hopes it will help people prepare for bear activity in their areas, amid a rise in attacks.

    • Science Alert ☛ World's Largest 'Modern' Crater Found Hiding in Plain Sight in China

      Three times the size of the previous record holder.

    • The Straits Times ☛ Chinese scientists name new frog species after gongfu

      The frogs were discovered near the city of Foshan, which is known as China’s cradle of gongfu.

• Finance

  • New York Times ☛ They Got Low Mortgage Rates During the Pandemic. Now They Can’t Move.

    Many Americans bought their first houses when mortgage rates dipped to record lows. Some are ready to move but feel locked in by their low rates.

  • The Straits Times ☛ South Korea’s new president, injured as a child labourer, cracks down on ‘workplaces of death’

    He visited firms to press for improved safety and set up a special team to investigate industrial accidents.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China authorities approve arrest of ex-abbot of Shaolin Temple

    Local authorities in China said Sunday they had approved the arrest of the former head of the Shaolin Temple, known as the birthplace of kung fu, over suspicion of embezzlement. Ex-abbot Shi Yongxin was removed from his position in July for “extremely” bad behaviour.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China authorities approve arrest of Shaolin Temple’s ex-abbot over embezzlement

    He was arrested on “suspicion of embezzlement, misappropriating funds and accepting bribes as a non-state employee”.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Japanese divided on military response to China over Taiwan, Kyodo poll shows

    The opinion poll comes at a time when a diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Beijing has intensified.

• Civil Rights/Policing

  • New York Times ☛ The Unlikely Mother of a Movement, on a Hunger Strike to Avenge Her Son

    Since her son was killed with 15 others in a railway station collapse in Serbia, Dijana Hrka has become the face of widespread anti-government protests.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Harish Pillay ☛ The Elegance of TCP/IP

    As you begin to appreciate the Internet as it is, you will see how remarkable and fragile it is. The promise of interconnection and to grow understanding and care for others continues to drive most of us, despite challenges when dealing with human societies.

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Shutting the Patent Office Door: YMTC and the Entity List

    USPTO targets YMTC’s IPR petitions amid national-security concerns, raising Paris/TRIPS questions and testing the limits of Return Mail.