The shower is best around 2 a.m., but watch from late evening until dawn. The best morning is likely December 14. Mornings leading up to it might also offer some meteors as well, in the rich and reliable Geminid shower. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/december-geminid-meteor-shower…
Tag: fun
Smart doorbells may be fun, but we don’t know who is using your face
Training facial recognition algorithms requires masses of data, and big tech companies can go to extreme lengths to get that, says Annalee Newitz Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24432603-800-smart-doorbells-may-be-fun-but-we-dont-know-who-is-using-your-face/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Christmas Bird Count starts December 14
It’s time again for the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count. This is the project’s 120th year! Learn how to join the count here. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/audubon-christmas-bird-count-starts-december14…
Why is Mars sometimes bright and sometimes faint?
In 2018, Mars was brighter in our sky than it had been since 2003. In 2019, Mars was mostly faint and inconspicuous. But 2020, here we come! Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/why-is-mars-sometimes-bright-and-sometimes-faint…
December 3-4 brings 2019’s farthest 1st quarter moon
Although the moon reached its farthest point from Earth for the year last February 5, the year’s farthest 1st quarter moon comes on December 3-4, 2019. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/farthest-first-quarter-moon-on-december-4…
All you need to know: Geminid meteor shower in 2019
We just can’t catch a break. The Geminid meteor shower will peak around the mornings of December 13 and 14, 2019, though under the light of a bright waning gibbous moon. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-geminid-meteor-shower…
Guido van Rossum Explains How Python Makes Thinking in Code Easier
Dropbox’s Work in Progress blog shared a 2000-word “conversation with the creator of the world’s most popular programming language,” noting that many computer science schools are switching over from Java to Python, and arguing that “JavaScript still owns the web, and Java runs 2.5 billion Android phones, but for general purpose programming and education, Python has become the default standard.” They…
7 Tips for a Safe (and Non-Explosive) Turkey Day
Have a fun Thanksgiving free of exploding turkeys or Salmonella. Source: https://www.livescience.com/17133-7-tips-safe-thanksgiving-dinner.html
Geeks Successfully Transport a 50-Year-Old IBM Mainframe to Former UK Top Secret Mi6 Base
In April Slashdot reader Adam Bradley won an eBay auction for an IBM 360 mainframe computer. Then he began blogging “the saga that unfurled” in transporting it from an abandoned building in Germany to the U.K. (where Adam volunteers at The National Museum of Computing in Bletchley, England.) “The traffic from Slashdot on our original posts was incredible,” he writes today….
Apple’s Hour of Code Plans Include ‘Coding Labs’ For 3-Year-Olds
theodp writes: This week, Apple unveiled its Hour of Code and Computer Science Education Week plans which, predictably, call for the nation’s kids to learn coding the Apple way (vs. the Google, Microsoft or Amazon way!). “The new [Swift-focused] Everyone Can Code curriculum,” explains the Apple Newsroom, “integrates Apple’s Everyone Can Create project guides to help students express what they learn…