Linux overlord Linus Torvalds has revealed that inclement weather in the USA meant he recently endured six electricity-free days in his Portland, Oregon, home during which he was unable to tend to the kernel. As a result he therefore pondered adding an extra week to the merge window for version 5.12 of the Linux kernel. The Register reports: “As you can…
Tag: Oregon
What’s the coldest Earth has ever been?
Our planet’s history includes episodes of cold so extreme that glaciers reached sea level in equatorial regions. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/whats-coldest-earth-has-ever-been…
Avalanche Warnings Are Issued in Northwest
Two avalanche warnings have been issued for parts of Washington and Oregon as heavier-than-usual rainfall and snowfall is expected to hit part of the West Coast through Monday. From a report: One of the warnings, a Level 4 on a scale of 5, said there was a high avalanche danger for parts of North Cascades National Park by the Canadian border,…
Mars rovers safe from lightning strikes, research finds
If experiments done in small bottles in a University of Oregon lab are accurate, the friction of colliding Martian dust particles are unlikely to generate big electrical storms or threaten the newly arrived exploration vehicles or, eventually, human visitors. Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-02-mars-rovers-safe-lightning.html…
Happy birthday to Galileo, born February 15
One of our greatest astronomers, Galileo Galilei, was born February 15, 1564. His discoveries with the improved telescopes he made changed the way we view the universe – and got him in trouble with the church. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/galileos-birthday-feb-15-1564…
Grizzlies Are Coming Back. But Can We Make Room For Them?
As grizzly bears expand their range in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming into places where they haven’t been seen in a century or more, they’re increasingly encountering humans. From a report: Things intensified last summer as trails and campgrounds across the region flooded with inexperienced tourists seeking refuge in the outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic. Grizzly attacks spiked. Bear managers were inundated…
Intel Sues Oregon Engineer Who Left For Microsoft, Allegedly Taking Trade Secrets With Him
Intel sued a former Oregon employee last week, alleging he took trade secrets with him when he bolted for Microsoft and used the information to gain an advantage in subsequent business negotiations with Intel. From a report: The engineer, Varun Gupta, worked for Intel for a decade before leaving for Microsoft in January 2020, according to the suit. He allegedly loaded…
Opinion: Biden administration must act fast to save migratory birds
On Trump’s way out of the White House, his administration demolished a law that protects migratory birds, putting over 1,000 species at risk. The Biden administration can still salvage it, but only if they act swiftly. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/biden-administration-migratory-bird-treaty-act…
Intelligence Analysts Use US Smartphone Location Data Without Warrants, Memo Says
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The New York Times: A military arm of the intelligence community buys commercially available databases containing location data from smartphone apps and searches it for Americans’ past movements without a warrant, according to an unclassified memo obtained by The New York Times. Defense Intelligence Agency analysts have searched for the movements of Americans within…
Orion the Hunter is easy to spot
Orion is identifiable by his Belt, 3 medium-bright stars in a short, straight row at the mid-section of the Hunter. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/orion-the-hunter-is-easy-to-spot…