Scientific American Endorses Joe Biden For Its First Presidential Endorsement In 175 Years

goombah99 shares a report from The Washington Post: Four years ago, the magazine flagged Donald Trump’s disdain for science as “frightening” but did not go so far as to endorse his rival, Hillary Clinton. This year, its editors came to a different conclusion. “A 175-year tradition is not something you break lightly,” editor in chief, Laura Helmuth told The Washington Post…

Boardwatch/EVTV Founder Jack Rickard Dies at Age 65

I’ve only paid for a magazine subscription once in my life — to Jack Rickard’s Boardwatch magazine, which through the late 1990s was the geekiest read in town. You can still read 70 issues of the magazine from more than 25 years ago at Archive.org. But this week the small Southeast Missourian newspaper reported that the magazine’s original editor/publisher Jack Rickard…

Leaked Salary Spreadsheet Reveals Microsoft Employee Earnings for a Second Year

An anonymous reader shares a report: Over the course of August 2020, more than 300 Microsoft employees shared their salaries, bonuses, and stock awards in a Google spreadsheet to continue their push for fairer compensation. “You are legally protected to share this info, and you should share it so your coworkers can determine if they’re being underpaid; however, you should still…

‘Divinity Consultants’ are Now Designing Sacred Rituals for Some Corporations

“They go by different names: ritual consultants, sacred designers, soul-centered advertisers,” reports the New York Times, describing “a new corporate clergy” working as “divinity consultants” and “designing sacred rituals for corporations.” They have degrees from divinity schools. Their business is borrowing from religious tradition to bring spiritual richness to corporate America. In simpler times, divinity schools sent their graduates out to…

What are lightning sprites?

Lightning sprites – aka red sprites – are electrical discharges taking place high in Earth’s atmosphere, above thunderstorms. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/definition-what-are-lightning-sprites…

An Online Learning Tradition From High School Through College: Meet Arjun

Arjun has been taking online courses on edX since 8th grade. It’s become a tradition to take a new course every summer. Now that he’s in college, Arjun uses online courses to explore career paths and continue to learn more about topics he’s interested in—most recently, how contract law affects our understanding of racial dynamics in America. What edX course or…

Libra? Here’s your constellation

The zodiacal constellation Libra the Scales is a fixture of the evening sky during a Northern Hemisphere summer (Southern Hemisphere winter). Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/libra-heres-your-constellation…

All you need to know: June solstice 2020

The June solstice is June 20. Longest day for the Northern Hemisphere. Shortest day for the Southern Hemisphere. Details here. Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-june-solstice…

Bryan Lunduke Explains Why Linux Sucks in 2020

Roblimo once called it “a tradition, not just a speech” — Bryan Lunduke’s annual “Linux Sucks” presentations at various Linux conferences. But before you get too upset, in his 2014 interview with Slashdot Lunduke admitted “I love Linux, I have made my whole life around Linux. I work for Linux companies. I write for Linux magazines, but it really blows…” This…