Leftovers

• Nolan Lawson ☛ Days of miracle and wonder

  Oprah Winfrey and I have something in common, which is that our favorite album is Paul Simon’s Graceland. I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the opening track, “The Boy in the Bubble”.

• Kev Quirk ☛ I Didn't Fail

  A good friend of mine at work was recently promoted to the same level as I was before I stepped down. I'm happy for him, as he's a good friend and it's nice to see people achieve their goals.

  However, a day or so after he told me the news, I found myself feeling jealous. After taking some time to think through my feelings, I think it's all ego.

  You see, he will now be one of only 2 people in our department at that level. He will also get his own office (my old office, actually), and likely an assistant too. But he will also get the kudos of being the chief.

• Kev Quirk ☛ Step Aside, Phone: Week 1

  OK, so here we are at the end of the first week of Step Aside, Phone. Quick re-cap from last week - my average phone and tablet usage combined was approximately 4 hours per day (2.5hrs on phone, and 1.5hr on tablet).

  That's high! Hopefully this week was better?

• CubicleNate ☛ Deskflow | Seamless Multi-Computer Control

  The content describes the author's experience using Synergy for productivity by seamlessly sharing a keyboard and mouse across multiple computers. It highlights the benefits of the software, including clipboard sharing and ease of setup, while noting some limitations, particularly with complex layouts and clipboard functionality. Overall, it's a promising tool for multi-computer setups.

• Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Šime ☛ The dialogs on your website should probably not be taller than 539px

    And the reason for that is the iPhone SE, specifically its 2nd (2020) and 3rd (2022) generations. These two iPhone models, which are still actively supported by Apple and run the latest version of iOS, have probably the smallest viewport height of all smartphones in use today: 549px in Safari, and only 539px in Firefox (due to Firefox’s taller address bar).

• Science

  • France24 ☛ NASA's crew-12 docks at International Space Station

    Four astronauts docked at the International Space Station on Saturday for a research mission set to last several months. Among the crew is Sophie Adenot, who joins two American astronauts and one Russian, becoming only the second French woman to travel into space. The new team is replacing a previous crew that was forced to return to Earth early because of a medical issue, as Morgan Ayre reports.

  • Science Alert ☛ DNA Mutations Discovered in The Children of Chernobyl Workers

    A tragedy spanning generations.

  • Science Alert ☛ Elite Athletes Possess a Hidden Skill That Seems Superhuman. Here's Why.

    This could change how teams scout talent.

  • Science Alert ☛ 'Pink Noise' Could Be Harming Your Sleep Quality, Study Warns

    Earplugs work better.

  • Futurism ☛ Scientists Spot Huge Cave on Venus

    This could be a breakthrough.

  • Science Alert ☛ Four New Astronauts Arrive at ISS, Restoring a Full Crew For Research

    "Let's get rolling.”

  • Science Alert ☛ Sea Levels Are Rising Globally. Around Greenland, They're Projected to Fall.

    But why?

• Career/Education

  • Benjamin Mako Hill ☛ Benjamin Mako Hill: Why do people participate in similar online communities?

    Note: I have not published blog posts about my academic papers over the past few years. To ensure that my blog contains a more comprehensive record of my published papers and to surface these for folks who missed them, I will be periodically (re)publishing blog posts about some “older” published projects.

• Hardware

  • CNX Software ☛ Creality Falcon A1 Pro Review – An easy-to-use, fully enclosed 20W laser engraver with a built-in HD camera

    Creality has sent a review sample of the Falcon A1 Pro fully enclosed laser engraver and cutting machine. It’s designed to be easy to use out of the box since it’s mostly pre-assembled. It is equipped with a 20W blue laser and can engrave and cut a wide variety of materials such as cardboard, wood, bamboo, rubber, leather, fabric, acrylic, plastic, and more.

• Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

  • New York Times ☛ Bans on Many CBD Products Loom This Year

    A federal law taking effect in November severely limits the amount of THC, the euphoric cannabis compound, allowed in over-the-counter items. Many groups are fighting back.

  • Futurism ☛ Scientists Find Intense Psychological Differences in People Who Exercise

    A massive contrast.

  • Science Alert ☛ Colorectal Cancer Is Rising in Young People. Here's How to Lower Your Risk.

    There's a lot you can do.

• Proprietary

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) / LLM Slop / Plagiarism

    • Futurism ☛ US Government Deploys MElon’s Grok as Nutrition Bot, Where It Immediately Gives Advice for Rectal Use of Vegetables

      "Start — whole peeled carrot, straight shaft, narrow end for insertion."

  • Social Control Media

    • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s Bersatu reclaims social control media page after alleged sabotage by admins

      Four administrators suspected of being behind the sabotage had been removed.

• Security

  • Integrity/Availability/Authenticity

    • The Strategist ☛ National network needed to repel scam syndicates

      The effect of organised scam activity goes beyond consumer fraud; it is a matter of national security and prosperity.

• Defence/Aggression

  • France24 ☛ African Union Summit confronts worsening conflicts

    Sudan’s civil war has emerged as the most pressing issue at the African Union summit. After nearly three years of fighting, tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 11 million forced from their homes, prompting the United Nations to describe the situation as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Despite this, a clear path to resolution remains elusive, and diplomats warn that the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates continues to overshadow the conflict while also fuelling wider regional tensions, including in Libya and between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the host nation where the summit opened on Saturday, as Nick Rushworth reports.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli airstrikes kill 11 Palestinians

    Gaza’s civil defence says Israeli airstrikes killed at least 11 people on Sunday, including strikes on a tent camp for displaced families in the north and another in Khan Younis in the south. Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating a US-brokered ceasefire reached in October. France24 correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Jerusalem.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli strikes kill at least 12, Gaza civil defence agency says

    At least 12 Palestinians were killed by Israel air strikes on the Gaza Strip Sunday, Palestinian officials said, while the Israeli military said the attacks targeted Hamas for violating the October ceasefire. The civil defence agency said one air strike hit a tent of displaced people in northern Gaza while another targeted the southern city of Khan Younis.

  • France24 ☛ IDF claims attacks were a response to ceasefire violations

    In the Middle East, new Israeli strikes have hit the Gaza Strip, leaving at least 12 people dead according to the Palestinian Civil Defense, in what is described as a violation of the ceasefire, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other, while at least 601 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the truce last October. France24 journalist Andrew Hilliar shares his insights.

  • France24 ☛ Israeli strike in eastern Lebanon kills four, targets Islamic Jihad

    Lebanon said an Israeli strike near the Syrian border on Sunday killed four people, while Israel said it targeted operatives from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad. Despite a November 2024 truce intended to end over a year of Israel-Hezbollah hostilities, Israel has continued carrying out regular strikes in Lebanon.

  • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea’s new Congress to reset arms goals as gaps seen in 2021 plan

    Pyongyang has checked off only part of a sweeping list of capabilities that leader Kim Jong Un targeted at its 2021 Congress.

  • The Straits Times ☛ Malaysia’s front-line cops now equipped with body-worn cameras

    The usage of these body cameras will limit the opportunity for misconduct, said the police.

  • The Straits Times ☛ East China fireworks store explosion kills 8

    A warning notice has been sent to fireworks enterprises nationwide.

  • New York Times ☛ Gisèle Pelicot Speaks

    She was repeatedly drugged by her husband and raped in a series of crimes that shocked the world. Pelicot talked to us about her new memoir.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China starts 9-day Chinese New Year holidays with travellers shunning Japan amid bilateral spat

    South Korea is expected to become a top overseas destination with about 250,000 Chinese visitors.

  • The Straits Times ☛ China’s Pooh-tin emphasises stability at start of new policy cycle

    China will also seek to maintain social harmony and stability, Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping said.

  • New York Times ☛ Diplomatic Feud With China Weighs on Japan’s Economy

    A standoff over the security of Taiwan has led to a steep decline in the number of Chinese visitors to Japan, which is heavily dependent on the tourists.

  • New York Times ☛ What to Know About the Homeland Security Shutdown

    Funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed on Saturday amid a standoff over restrictions that Democrats have demanded for federal immigration agents. But much of its work continues.

  • France24 ☛ Europe bashing: EU's top diplomat rejects US talk of 'civilizational erasure'

    EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pushed back against what she described as "European bashing" in a speech at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday. Kallas welcomed the message of unity delivered by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the annual gathering but dismissed the Convicted Felon administration's talk of Europe's "civilizational erasure".

  • France24 ☛ Munich Security Conference wraps up: Focus shifts to Europe's strategy and leadership

    It is the third and final day of the Munich Security Conference, the annual gathering of political, military, and security leaders. Much of the first two days focused outward on Europe, examining the European Union’s relationship with the United States and Russia’s war against Ukraine. Sunday will take a more inward look, considering the bloc’s own role and influence. Antonia Kerrigan reports.

  • New York Times ☛ In First Public Comments Since Convicted Felon’s Racist Video, Obama Laments Lost Decorum

    In a podcast interview, former President Barack Obama did not directly address the video posted by Mr. Convicted Felon but denounced a “clown show” on social control media.

  • Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine

    • The Straits Times ☛ A Nepali joined Russia’s army. He cleared his debt but didn’t return from Ukraine front line alive

      Dozens of Nepali men, many with money woes, have travelled to Russia before being recruited into the military.

    • New York Times ☛ The War in Ukraine Has Become a Way of Life

      The war in Ukraine can look like the future and the past at once. But it’s just our present, the only one we know.

    • The Straits Times ☛ North Korea opens new housing district for families of fallen soldiers

      In 2024, some 14,000 soldiers were sent to fight with Russia in Ukraine, where more than 6,000 of them were killed.

• Environment

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong sees warm Lunar New Year’s Eve as minimum temperature breaks record

    Hong Kong is seeing a warm Lunar New Year’s Eve, with the weather service logging a record-high minimum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius for the last day of the Chinese calendar year.

  • Wildlife/Nature

    • Mexico News Daily ☛ A Mexican bird finds a home north of the border, but the red-crowned Amazon might still face extinction

      Illegal trade in parrots has seen the red-crowned Amazon become a fixture in Texas, but it still faces struggles in its native Mexico.

    • Science Alert ☛ First Solid Evidence of Hannibal's Infamous War Elephants Discovered in Spain

      An elephantine legacy.

• Finance

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China to scrap tariffs for most of Africa from May, leader Pooh-tin Jinping says

    Beijing’s scrapping of tariffs for all but one African country will start May 1, Chinese President Pooh-tin Jinping said Saturday, according to state media.

• AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

  • Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China wants ‘new level’ in Germany ties, Beijing’s foreign minister tells Merz

    China’s top diplomat Wang Yi told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Beijing hoped to bring bilateral ties to a “new level”, as they met on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

  • Misinformation/Disinformation/Propaganda

    • The Straits Times ☛ Plagiarised videos reposted with false subtitles to stoke anti-Japan sentiment in China

      This comes amid deteriorating Japan-China relations.

• Internet Policy/Net Neutrality

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ Notorious 'Archive Today' website allegedly leads bizarre DDoS campaign against security blogger — Wikipedia considers removing all links to the Archive

    Wikipedia may remove links to Archive Today due to DDoS spat

Monopolies/Monopsonies

• Patents

  • Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Hot Bench: Speaking Time and Opinion Writing at the Federal Circuit

    New data from 1,000+ Federal Circuit oral arguments shows a fivefold gap in judges' speaking time and a link between talking more and writing the opinion.

• Copyrights

  • Tom's Hardware ☛ MakerWorld launches Copyright Protection Program to help 3D designers fight stolen files being resold online — stamping out knockoffs is priority number one

    The Bambu Lab MakerWorld Copyright Protection Program is a free service for MakerWorld Exclusive Designs and will fight IP infringement on any platform.

  • New York Times ☛ Warner Bros. Is Said to Consider Reopening Talks With Paramount

    Warner Bros. Discovery had agreed to sell itself to Netflix, but its contract allows it to pursue offers that may lead to a superior deal.

  • NYPost ☛ Why Paramount may soon pull ahead of DRM spreader Netflix in battle for Warner Bros. Discovery

    Warner Bros Discovery might have to take David Ellison’s barely sweetened offer for the media giant, after all, The Post has learned.