Archive for February, 2017
Trump Open to Legal Status for Some Undocumented Immigrants in Sharp Departure from Campaign Stance
February 28th, 2017Just after the election, I wrote, “What’s he going to do? Deploy the U.S. Marines to places like Santa Ana and wide swaths of Los Angeles County? Good luck with that.” Maybe someone finally convinced him that mass roundups would go very badly. Via: CNBC: President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is open to legal […]
Trump Seeks U.S. Military Spending Boost, Domestic Cuts
February 27th, 2017Mmm hmm. Via: Reuters: President Donald Trump is seeking what he called a “historic” increase in defense spending, but ran into immediate opposition from Republicans in Congress who must approve his plan and said it was not enough to meet the military’s needs. The proposed rise in the Pentagon budget to $603 billion comes as […]
RCMP Commissioner Warns Continued IT Failures Will Have ‘Catastrophic’ Consequences
February 27th, 2017Via: CBC: Canada’s top cop is warning that ongoing computer network failures and slipshod service from Shared Services Canada could have “catastrophic” consequences for police and the public. CBC News has obtained a blistering Jan. 20, 2017, memo to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale in which Commissioner Bob Paulson details how critical IT failures have […]
DHS Quietly Testing Mandatory Facial Recognition of Passengers *Exiting* U.S.
February 27th, 2017Via: Professional Troublemaker: We’re all used to having to identify ourselves as we enter a country. It is the only way we can hope to have any attempt at a secure border. But, so-called “exit controls,” where documents are checked as travelers are leaving the country, were popularized last century by Nazi Germany as a […]
Boston Dynamics: Handle
February 27th, 2017Via: Boston Dynamics: Handle is a research robot that stands 6.5 ft tall, travels at 9 mph and jumps 4? ?feet vertically. ?It uses electric power to operate both electric and hydraulic actuators, with a range of about 15 miles on one battery charge. ???Handle uses many of the same dynamics, balance and mobile manipulation […]
SpaceX to Fly Passengers On Private Trip Around the Moon in 2018
February 27th, 2017Via: space.com: SpaceX will fly two private citizens on a trip around the moon in 2018, the company’s founder Elon Musk announced Monday (Feb. 27). The private spaceflight company will use its Falcon Heavy rocket to send the two paying passengers into space aboard one of the company’s Dragon spacecraft. The two private citizens, who […]
Cameras, Microphones and Sensors on 3,200 Street Lights in San Diego
February 27th, 2017Via: Reuters: General Electric will put cameras, microphones and sensors on 3,200 street lights in San Diego this year, marking the first large-scale use of “smart city” tools GE says can help monitor traffic and pinpoint crime, but raising potential privacy concerns. Based on technology from GE’s Current division, Intel Corp and AT&T Inc, the […]
Cobalt Hoarding Ahead of Assumed Electric Car Boom
February 25th, 2017Via: Reuters: Investors are buying up physical cobalt anticipating that shortages of the metal, a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electrical cars, will spur prices to their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis. Prices for cobalt metal have climbed nearly 50 per cent since September to five-year peaks around US$19 ($NZ26.50) a […]
How EV West Recovers Battery Modules from Wrecked Tesla Vehicles
February 25th, 2017Ever wonder what the highest power density battery modules in the world look like? Via: Jehu Garcia:
Fasting Diet ‘Regenerates Diabetic Pancreas’
February 24th, 2017Via: BBC: The pancreas can be triggered to regenerate itself through a type of fasting diet, say US researchers. Restoring the function of the organ – which helps control blood sugar levels – reversed symptoms of diabetes in animal experiments. The study, published in the journal Cell, says the diet reboots the body. Experts said […]
