Archive for March, 2019
China’s “Democracy” Includes Mandatory Apps, Mass Chat Surveillance
March 7th, 2019Change the proper nouns and it would read like the situation in Europe or the U.S. Via: ArsTechnica: As the National People’s Congress gathers in Beijing for the beginning of China’s “Two Sessions” political season, state media is making an international propaganda push on social media—including on platforms blocked by China’s “Great Firewall”—to promote China’s […]
Malfunctioning Tesla Powerwall? No, Malfunctioning Grid
March 7th, 2019Here’s another chapter in my endless saga related to the electric grid in the Far North of NZ. About a week ago, I noticed that my Tesla Powerwall 2 was not discharging power to household loads, even though it had plenty of charge. It was going into “Standby” mode and the house was drawing power […]
Trump Cancels U.S. Report on Civilian Deaths in Drone Strikes
March 7th, 2019Via: Fortune: President Donald Trump revoked a requirement that U.S. intelligence officials publicly report the number of civilians killed in drone strikes and other attacks on terrorist targets outside of war zones. Trump formally ended the requirement with an executive order on Wednesday, months after signaling such a move. The administration last year ignored a […]
FedEx Package-Delivering Robot Can Climb Stairs, Carry Hot Food, and Replace Human Workers
March 7th, 2019Via: Business Insider: FedEx revealed a cutting-edge robot on Wednesday that can deliver packages and hot food from stores and restaurants to customers’ homes. The FedEx Same-Day Bot will be hitting the streets this summer in select markets, including Memphis, Tennessee, the company said. FedEx said it collaborated with retailers including Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, Pizza […]
New Zealand: Kaitaia College Sets Solar Power Record
March 6th, 2019I tried to crack this nut several years ago. The math on system viability was simple. The news here is that they got the thing financed somehow. In the Far North, it’s not a question of the system saving money. That’s easy. In almost all situations, the customer is going to save money. A lot […]
U.S. Budget Deficit Widens 77 Percent
March 6th, 2019Via: Bloomberg: The U.S. budget deficit widened to $310 billion in the first four months of the fiscal year, underscoring the revenue hit from Republican tax cuts and an increase in government spending. The budget gap widened 77 percent compared with the same October-January period a year earlier, according to the Treasury monthly budget report […]
Survival Lilly: Hashimoto’s Autoimmune Disorder
March 6th, 2019My children and I like to watch Survival Lilly’s videos. I was surprised to find out how ill she was. Her story about how she has dealt with this is pretty remarkable; definitely worth sharing in case it can help anyone out there. Via: Survival Lilly: Book: Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding and Treating […]
Chatty Gargoyle at Denver International Airport
March 5th, 2019It’s all a silly joke. Those conspiracy theorists are a zany bunch. Laugh it up. Via: Denver International Airport: He’s 243 years old, and is here to clear the air on all the conspiracies at DEN. Turns out this gargoyle is wiser than we thought, and is sharing more than we planned. Along with giving […]
Backflipping MIT Mini Cheetah
March 5th, 2019Via: Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT’S new mini cheetah robot is the first four-legged robot to do a backflip. At only 20 pounds the limber quadruped can bend and swing its legs wide, enabling it to walk either right side up or upside down. The robot can also trot over uneven terrain about twice as […]
Tim Berners-Lee: “The Web Has Been Hijacked by Crooks and Trolls”
March 4th, 2019Via: AFP: Thirty years ago this month, a young British software engineer working at a lab near Geneva invented a system for scientists to share information that would ultimately change humanity. But three decades after he invented the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee has warned that his creation has been “hijacked by crooks” that may […]
