Archive for February, 2015
Cryptogon Earnings from November 2014 to January 2015
February 8th, 2015I finally calculated earnings for Cryptogon over the last few month. For the period covering November 2014 to January 2015, total earnings came to $2249.58. Divide that by three and that’s $749.86 for each month. Thanks very much to everyone who helped keep Cryptogon going during this time.
Life Inside a Secret Chinese Bitcoin Mine
February 8th, 2015Via: Vice:
Millions of GMO Insects Could be Set Loose in Florida Keys
February 8th, 2015Via: AP: Millions of genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the Florida Keys if British researchers win approval to use the bugs against two extremely painful viral diseases. Never before have insects with modified DNA come so close to being set loose in a residential U.S. neighborhood. “This is essentially using a mosquito as […]
Oil Caps Biggest 2-Week Gain in 17 Years
February 7th, 2015Disclosure: I’m long oil and multiple companies involved with oil exploration and production. Via: Bloomberg: Crude oil capped the biggest two-week rally in 17 years on speculation a falling rig count will curb U.S. production growth. Price volatility rose to the highest in almost six years. Brent crude jumped 18 percent in the past 10 […]
Citigroup Predicts Battery Storage Will Hasten Demise Of Fossil Fuels, Utilities Focused on Centralized Generation
February 6th, 2015Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. Via: Clean Technica: Investment bank Citigroup predicts that the wide deployment of battery storage technologies will hasten the demise of fossil fuels across the globe in the coming decade, including oil, coal and gas. And it also warns that the battery phenomenon will be even more […]
The Trip Treatment
February 6th, 2015Via: The New Yorker: One of the researchers was quoted as saying that, under the influence of the hallucinogen, “individuals transcend their primary identification with their bodies and experience ego-free states . . . and return with a new perspective and profound acceptance.” Research Credit: pookie
New High-Tech Farm Equipment Is a Nightmare for Farmers
February 5th, 2015Via: Wired: Aside from using it, there’s not much you can do with modern ag equipment. When it breaks or needs maintenance, farmers are dependent on dealers and manufacturer technicians—a hard pill to swallow for farmers, who have been maintaining their own equipment since the plow. “[DIY repair] is cheaper than calling out the technician. […]
The World’s Email Encryption Software Relies on One Guy, Who Is Going Broke
February 5th, 2015If anything is real in this area, it’s GPG. It’s a shame that most people can’t or won’t use it, even now that mass surveillance is mainstream knowledge. Via: ProPublica: The man who built the free email encryption software used by whistleblower Edward Snowden, as well as hundreds of thousands of journalists, dissidents and security-minded […]
RadioShack Files for Bankruptcy, Sell Up to 2,400 Stores
February 5th, 2015I have lots of fond childhood memories of RadioShack, although I don’t know how it has survived for about the last two decades. Via: Reuters: Electronics retailer RadioShack Corp (RSHC.PK) filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Thursday and said it had a deal in place to sell as many as 2,400 stores to an affiliate […]
An Alloy of Iron and Aluminum Is as Good as Titanium, Tenth the Cost
February 5th, 2015Via: The Economist: The obvious way out of this is to alloy steel with a lighter metal. And the obvious one to choose is aluminium, which is, like iron (steel’s principal component), cheap and abundant. An alloy of iron, aluminium and carbon (steel’s other essential ingredient) is too brittle to be useful. Adding manganese helps […]
