You know the old problem of how to portray the round globe of Earth on a flat map? Now a trio of map experts has worked together to solve this problem. Their new map is 2-sided and round. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/astrophysicists-new-design-world-map…
Tag: the illusion
Find the Geminids’ radiant point
Why is the Geminid meteor shower best around 2 a.m.? It’s because that’s when the shower’s radiant point – near the bright star Castor in the constellation Gemini – is highest in the sky. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/radiant-point-for-geminid-meteor-shower…
Cory Doctorow’s New Book Explains ‘How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism’
Blogger/science fiction writer Cory Doctorow (also a former EFF staffer and activist) has just published How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism — a new book which he’s publishing free online. In a world swamped with misinformation and monopolies, Doctorow says he’s knows what’s missing from our proposed solutions: If we’re going to break Big Tech’s death grip on our digital lives, we’re…
Surveillance Software Scanning File-Sharing Networks Led To 12,000 Arrests
Mr. Cooper was a retired high school history teacher using what NBC News calls those peer-to-peer networks where “the lack of corporate oversight creates the illusion of safety for people sharing illegal images.” Police were led to Cooper’s door by a forensic tool called Child Protection System, which scans file-sharing networks and chatrooms to find computers that are downloading photos and…
Would Star Trek’s Transporters Kill and Replace You?
schwit1 quotes Syfy Wire:
There is, admittedly, some ambiguity about precisely how Trek’s transporters work. The events of some episodes subtly contradict events in others. The closest thing to an official word we have is the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, which states that when a person enters a transporter, they are scanned by molecular imaging scanners that convert a…
January’s birthstone is the garnet
Happy birthday January babies! Your birthstone is the garnet. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/january-birthstone-garnet…
Do You Remember the Y2K Bug?
harrymcc writes: In the late 1990s, lots of people were concerned that the Y2K bug could lead to power outages, financial collapse, riots, and worse when the clock rolled over to January 1, 2000. Hundreds of books about the problem and suggestions on how to respond (quit your job, move to the country, stockpile food) not only capitalized on this fear…
All you need to know: 2019’s Leonid meteor shower
Here are all the details you need for 2019’s Leonid meteor shower, peaking on the morning of November 18, though under the light of a waning gibbous moon. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-leonid-meteor-shower…