Legendary Science Fiction Author Ben Bova Has Passed At the Age of 88

Ben Bova “was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction,” according to Wikipedia, and was also a six-time winner of the Hugo Award. “He was also president of both the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.” Tor.com reports Bova has passed “due to complications from COVID-19 and a stroke…” Born in 1932,…

Divers Discover Nazi WW2 Enigma Machine in Baltic Sea

German divers searching the Baltic Sea for discarded fishing nets have stumbled upon a rare Enigma cipher machine used by the Nazi military during World War Two which they believe was thrown overboard from a scuttled submarine. From a report: Thinking they had discovered a typewriter entangled in a net on the seabed of Gelting Bay, underwater archaeologist Florian Huber quickly…

Schedar shines brightly at the Queen’s heart

Orange-hued Schedar is the brightest star in the distinctive W-shaped northern constellation Cassiopeia the Queen. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/schedar-short-life-of-burning-bright…

Who Will Be the First Guest Host of Jeopardy, Alex?

thomst writes: Variety is reporting that uber-champion Ken Jennings will be the first of a series of guest hosts to substitute for the late, great Alex Trebek on trivia-maven game show Jeopardy! Executive Producer Mike Richards revealed that, when production resumes on November 30, Jennings will be the first of a series of guest hosts of the program, as the show…

BMW Demos a Powered Wingsuit That Can Fly 186 MPH

Wingsuits normally create a wide surface area of fabric between a skydiver’s legs and from their legs to their arms, substantially slowing their fall. But to create a buzz for the unveiling of BMW’s new iX3 electric SUV, the company’s creative consultancy Designworks “has partnered up with Austrian stuntman Peter Salzmann to unveil a wicked-cool new electric powered wingsuit that can…

The implications of signs of life on Venus?

The planet Venus has arguably remained less captivating than, say, the legendary tennis star or, for that matter, the women’s razor blade company—both of those Venuses have at least enjoyed ample airtime on cable TV. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-implications-life-venus.html…

Slashback: How Eddie Van Halen Hacks a Guitar

In honor of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who tragically passed away today from throat cancer at the age of 65, we wanted to resurface an article Eddie wrote in 2015 for Popular Mechanics. While many know him as the guitar god, Eddie Van Halen was also an inventor and patent holder who has spent the better part of 35 years…

Moon and Mars rendezvous in early October

The moon and Mars are near each other on the sky’s dome on the night of October 2, 2020. From South America, the moon will appear to occult (cover over) Mars. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-mars-rendezvous-in-early-october…

‘Amnesia: The Dark Descent’ and ‘A Machine For Pigs’ Are Now Open Source

Legendary horror game Amnesia: The Dark Descent and A Machine for Pigs is now open source, meaning that modders can dig in and see what lies underneath the hood of both games. Polygon reports: The full source code for The Dark Descent and A Machine for Pigs has been released on Github for folks who want to take a crack at…

Linux Journal Is Back

On August 7, 2019, Linux Journal laid off all staff members and was left with no operating funds to continue in any capacity. Today, the technology magazine announced that they’ve secured a deal to keep the site alive indefinitely under the ownership of Slashdot Media. Linux Journal writes: We will begin publishing digital content again as soon as we can. If…