8.1

The Secret to Finding the Best Food in Oaxaca

Despite being the most vaccinated place in Massachusetts, Cape Cod is also seeing the most COVID-19 cases in the state

The Generational Divide in Software Developers

Toyota’s top executives, including billionaire CEO Akio Toyoda, have been on the record calling the trend toward electric vehicles “overhyped” in part because of emissions associated with power plants — which is a favorite talking point used by the oil and gas industry.

Japan pitches ‘Society 5.0’ to keep its edge in tech and science

With several thousand characters to contend with, how were the Japanese able to use typewriters before the advent of digital technology? The answer is the kanji typewriter (????????? or ?????????), which was invented by Kyota Sugimoto in 1915. This invention was deemed so important that it was selected as one of the ten greatest Japanese inventions by the Japanese Patent Office during their 100th anniversary celebrations in 1985. Here are some photos of that first model.

The greatest danger to national security has become the companies that claim to protect it

Charmless city centres and exurban business parks where people only ever went to work may die along with mass commuting.

Blogging is dead. Long live blogging. Or, why the Substack hype is much ado about very little.

A short detour. A few hundred years ago, Cosimo Medici kickstarted a financial empire. At that same time he began a grand tradition of patronage, of Donatello most notably. He kickstarted a tradition where his kids (including Lorenzo the Magnificent, which has to be a nickname he gave himself) provided patronage to Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Advertising has a negative rate of return for more than 80% of brands

In preparation for this change, CDC recommends clinical laboratories and testing sites that have been using the CDC 2019-nCoV RT-PCR assay select and begin their transition to another FDA-authorized COVID-19 test. CDC encourages laboratories to consider adoption of a multiplexed method that can facilitate detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza viruses. Such assays can facilitate continued testing for both influenza and SARS-CoV-2 and can save both time and resources as we head into influenza season. Laboratories and testing sites should validate and verify their selected assay within their facility before beginning clinical testing.

How can a house just disappear?

High-End Gaming PCs Banned in Six US States after California Energy Bill Limits Sales On High Performance PCs

The money and will of Elon Musk are reshaping a tiny Texas city. Its residents are divided on his vision for SpaceX, but their opinion may not matter at all.

Under the bill, hospitals must get written and verbal consent from patients in order for medical students and other health care providers to do a pelvic exam on a patient who is under general anesthesia. A pelvic exam is the internal and external examination of female reproductive organs, used in routine gynecological check-ups as well as during screening for certain reproductive issues and diseases. Exams on relaxed, unconscious patients give medical students better insight into the area’s anatomy.

One segment of people who have avoided shots is vehemently opposed to the idea. But there is a second group, surveys suggest, that is still deciding.

7.25

Mr. Heredia is a 19-year-old volunteer with NYC Mesh, a nonprofit community Wi-Fi initiative, and he was there to install a router that would bring inexpensive Wi-Fi to the building. Mr. Cambridge’s family said they had become fed up with the take-it-or-leave-it pricing for spotty service that internet providers seem to get away with in this part of Brooklyn.

No oil has been found yet around Greenland, but officials there had seen potentially vast reserves as a way to help Greenlanders realize their long-held dream of independence from Denmark by cutting the subsidy of the equivalent of about $680 million Canadian the Danish territory receives from the Danish government every year.

Scottish mountaineering charities have urged hill-walkers not to use Google Maps to guide them up the mountains after a series of incidents where routes downloaded off the internet have resulted in “injury or worse”.

GM just announced that it became the first investor in a project run by Controlled Thermal Resources. CTR will pump hot, salty water from deep below the Salton Sea and extract the lithium from it, along with clean thermo energy at the same time. Cleaner water goes back into the Salton Sea and the ground beneath it. It’s a win-win. You might even add another win in there when you consider the California Energy Commission’s estimate that the Salton Sea area could produce 600,000 tons of lithium per year, which is amazing since the entire world’s industry produced a mere 85,000 tons of lithium in all of 2019

The database ruins all good ideas

A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Piedad is still in operation.

Revealed: the true extent of America’s food monopolies, and who pays the price

When a bathroom towel restored an Indian bureaucrat’s pride

Language translation project/company list.

“Winning Is Not Uncomplicated”: Louisa Thomas on Sports

Anticapitalists then shut pipelines (except Russian ones) and suspend drilling leases in parts of Alaska, helping send oil prices above $70. The government says it wants to limit carbon emissions, but then it squashes better energy options like nuclear. On June 30, months after New York state closed the Indian Point nuclear power plant, Mayor Bill de Blasio asked New Yorkers to cut back on energy usage during a heat wave. You can’t make this stuff up.

The CDC failing to use standard operating procedures wasn’t Trump’s fault. The rot is deep.

Do Urgent Care Centers Reduce Medicare Spending?

Officials left dams full to the brim at least 3 weeks long during a rainy period and then failed to undertake a controlled release even when 150 mm of rain were forecast 4 days before the floods.

This is human credulity: the demand for nonsense, not the supply of it.

And of course the package turns out to be a 75-pound bale of cocaine. Falling out of the sky. During a CRIME WATCH MEETING.

Obama increased the tempo of attacks and would, two years later, introduce the novel element of killing American citizens. At first the strikes had been limited to “Al Qaeda and associated forces,” but gradually they were found useful for forces it was extremely hard to argue were associated with Al Qaeda. It was useful, Obama found, to employ drone strikes against the tribal enemies of various governments the U.S. was supporting. It was useful to target not just high-ranking members of various organizations but low-level members; useful to evolve the whole thing from an assassination program to a holistic counterinsurgency machine. In parts of Pakistan, locals had stopped drinking Lipton tea, out of fear that the tea bags were homing devices used by the CIA to attract drones.

Read Giles Coren’s letter to Times subs

If you’ve been in power for a long time and are now in your 70s & 80s? It is simply time to go. That’s not ageism. That’s an IMPLICIT part of the system. We’ve never before remotely had a President & core group this out of touch, this old, and this technically over their heads.

Rules for thee and not for me” is more than a catch phrase; it is an actual worldview with a history in political control. They are not hypocrites, they are living out their creed.

The extent of their involvement raises questions as to whether there would have even been a conspiracy without them.

Three New Estimates of India’s All-
Cause Excess Mortality during the
COVID-19 Pandemic

Is California’s electric car revolution bad for the planet?

The HQ is in the cloud – Bret Taylor

The lobbyist JEFF RICCHETTI is the brother top BIDEN advisor STEVE RICCHETTI. In the 1st half of 2020 (under TRUMP), Jeff Ricchetti’s firm collected $370k in lobbying fees. In the 1st half of 2021 (under BIDEN), Ricchetti’s firm collected $1.67M in fees.

Has the church caused all this trouble in the world?

SpaceX’s Starlink Review – Four months in

In meat animals, antibiotics often lead to weight gain, sometimes as high as 40% weight gain compared to control, and there’s reason to suspect that this might be linked to the microbiome. Gut microbiota influence energy intakeand body weight in mammals, and even short courses of antibiotics can reduce gut microbiota and increase BMIin humans (though the BMI effect was only seen in some antibiotics).

“and now everyone wants that same level of consumer trust”

A recent survey by YouGov suggested that one in 10 previous users of the app had deleted it, while one in five who still had the app installed had turned off its contact-tracing capabilities.

Retweets don’t get you into power.

Trump’s obsession/focus on a vaccine is nuts. It is totally immaterial to the short-term challenges, which are substantial.

Startup Claims Breakthrough in Long-Duration Batteries

“Bernie Sanders Tells Cuban Protesters To Be More Grateful For Their Excellent Social Programs”

AWS’s hotel California Pricing.

The Incoming Currency War

Researchers are pulling movements out of microfilm with digital history

‘This… research on viruses may not intend to produce “gain-of-function”, although that could be the end result of it.’

These recorded conversations, then, were made available to the participants in four virtual workshops held this spring. Workshop participants represented the diversity of experiences and opinions about election administration and election science: academics (both experts in election science and those new to the area), election officials, technology providers, government officials, and stakeholders. [citizens?]

Why current American politics is less screwed up than you think

Brand Values Out and About

I find personal brand expression fascinating while exploring here and there.

The supermarket – Andrew Yang:

Philadelphia – Milwaukee Tool, with an appearance by John Deere:

Madison – A Mercedes-Benz SUV adorned with an “I Deserve it” license plate:

Madison – Emotions on a Nissan:

And, I would be remiss to mention an Alfa Romeo; “Pronto” (so small!):

Oh, back to Milwaukee; this time a bartender:

Posted in Uncategorized.

American History and Civics in Our Schools

Miguel Cardona:

The teaching of civics and history – an opportunity to better understand our past and how our government works so we can engage in and influence our future – has long provided the foundation for students to be active participants in society and help our nation live up to its highest ideals. These values have been championed over the years by Americans of all backgrounds, and they are deeply embedded in our commitment to both patriotism and progress.

One of the ways the Department carries out these efforts is through programs like the American History and Civics grant programs, part of which was first launched in the early 2000’s, authorized in 2017 and supported by bipartisan leaders in the House and Senate. The goal of this program is to improve the quality of American history, civics, and government education in order to provide more students the opportunity to learn about the rich history of our nation and build the skills needed to fully participate in civic life. The program enables higher education institutions, non-profit organizations, and other interested applicants the opportunity to explore innovative and creative ways to support educators and the teaching of history to students, aiming to build a more active, engaged society. This program, however, has not, does not, and will not dictate or recommend specific curriculum be introduced or taught in classrooms. Those decisions are – and will continue to be – made at the local level.

Today the Department is posting the Notices Inviting Applications for this year’s American History and Civics grant competitions. The notices include two priorities that are invitational, meaning they encourage applicants to address topics that are important to the Department. The first invitational priority encourages projects that incorporate racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse perspectives into teaching and learning. This priority is included because the Department recognizes the value of supporting teaching and learning that reflects the rich diversity, identities, histories, contributions, and experiences of all students. As every parent knows, when students can make personal connections to their learning experiences, there are greater opportunities for them to stay engaged in their education and see pathways for their own futures.

7.18

The foreigners in China’s disinformation drive

Feeling Lonely Increases Interest in Previously Owned Products

If you want to learn more about what’s going on in your gut, the first step is to turn your poo blue

For the cover of its diversity report, ODNI bought a stock photo called “Portrait Of Multi-Cultural Office Staff Standing In Lobby” and then photoshopped a woman in a wheelchair and a blind guy into it.

Thanks to a MS-DOS emulator called iDOS 2 on the App Store, you can install Microsoft Windows 3.1 on your iPad—then play classic Windows games or simply shock your friends. Here’s how to set it up.

Effort to Decipher Hospital Prices Yields Key Finding: Don’t Try It at Home

Inside L.A.’s Ultimate Mid-century Modern Home

Ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn: How I escaped Japan in a box

Apple Music Style Guide 2.1.6

It wasn’t to be. Dante’s friend Giovanni del Virgilio promised to secure him the laureate’s crown in Bologna if he produced a poem worthy of it, perhaps a military epic in Latin. Dante declined, just as he had declined the humiliating terms on which the Florentines offered to revoke his exile.

Employees were already stirred up over opaque policies on remote work. Then a senior executive announced he’s moving to New Zealand in what some workers consider special treatment.

Spanish court rules COVID-19 home confinement was unconstitutional

Merkel seems to genuinely care about human rights, and she certainly does not seem to be eyeing any payoffs of her close ties to China during her post-chancellorship. Unlike her predecessor Gerhard Schröder, who now makes his money serving Russian President Vladimir Putin as chairman of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Merkel is not at all driven by personal wealth, and it’s very unlikely that she will accept a cent from the Chinese or Russian government or companies after leaving office this fall.

On the referendum #21: Branching histories of the 2016 referendum and ‘the frogs before the storm’

A Facebook spokesman declined to share what percentage of its users have accepted the company’s tracking prompt, but roughly 75% of the world’s iPhone users have downloaded the newest operating system, according to Branch. Seufert estimated that in the first full quarter users see the prompt, the iOS changes could cut Facebook’s revenue by 7% if roughly 20% of users agree to be tracked. If just 10% of users grant Facebook tracking permission, revenue could be down as much as 13.6%, according to his models. The first full quarter with the prompt is the third quarter. Facebook reports second quarter earnings at the end of July.

Many of my predictions in “The most likely outcome for HK” (3-Sep-2019) have come to pass, thankfully without material bloodshed. The civil service, legislature and district councils have been, or are being, cleansed of pandemocrats in a kind of inverse McCarthyism. Pro-democracy media have either been shut or are self-censoring. In schools, the Liberal Studies curriculum has been replaced with “Citizenship and Social Development”, and teachers are being watched more closely. In universities, Student Unions are being derecognised. The public broadcaster RTHK has been reined in (although I still appear on its air, while I can).

Incident: Baltic BCS3 at Copenhagen on Jul 11th 2021, both engines shut down automatically on touch down

Public API Lists

“Hokusai’s Breathtaking and Rarely Seen Wave Painting Will Go on View This Month” at the Freer Gallery of Art

TECH

Google parts with Cloud VP after uproar over his manifesto renouncing his antisemitism

“It’s hard to know whether they are going to devote resources toward successful implementation or just talk about how they support transparency but not make it a priority,” Blase said.

Citizenship for sale: fugitives, politicians and disgraced businesspeople buying Vanuatu passports

The first park she illustrated for the Instagram account was Arches and its non-license-plate-worthy scenery. Once she put up a few more and shared the account, the project took off. With more than 350,000 followers, the account has been called “an immediate hit,” taking “creativity to a whole new level” and providing “comic relief in strange times.” Soon enough, literary agents were sliding into Share’s DMs to get her to create a book with them.

Paris Memories

Elizabeth Von Guttman recently shared a short video clip of the French Foreign Legion Pioneers marching through the Jardin du Lexembourg.

I’ve pondered these scenes while visiting memorials, particulary as the percentage of American veterans continues to decline, now below 10% [1].

The awareness and experience gap must be enormous across the US population, which is rather challenging given the footprint our armed forces have across the globe [2].

1. The changing face of America’s veteran population by Katherine Schaeffer

2. The infographic reveals for the first time that the U.S. is now operating in 40 percent of the world’s nations. Stephanie Savell and 5W Infographics

Posted in Uncategorized.

7.11

Santa Clara County Revises Official COVID-19 Death Toll Down by 22 Percent: “In the midst of everything COVID people were sort of putting down that cause of death as COVID,” Gandhi said. “It is important to go back and do this accounting to see if COVID was actually the cause of death.”

The Future Is in Symmetrical, High-Speed Internet Speeds

How Underground Fiber Optics Spy on Humans Moving Above, Vibrations from cars and pedestrians create unique signals in cables. Now scientists have used the trick to show how Covid-19 brought life to a halt.

Six Days in Suez: The Inside Story of the Ship That Broke Global Trade

“that effort applied to earlier decisions increases errors later”

2 tap fast e-commerce fused with beautiful visual experiences.

The gift of print fostered distrust in institutional narratives, but this new technology did not automatically teach people how to adapt, nor ensure the level of self-education it demanded of them. Protestantism announced itself as a corrective to this, partly by granting interpretive powers to the individual based on the strength of faith alone (sola fide, sola scriptura). Gutenberg’s revolution democratized information and Luther’s revolution democratized knowledge by placing the individual’s sense-making ability on par with men of the cloth.

The Biblical teaching of election to salvation is full of comfort, but as Paul acknowledges in Romans (9-11), must be handled with great care for it to have the intended purpose of comforting afflicted and troubled Christians.

The cost of cyber insurance increased 32 per cent last year and shows no signs of easing

Welcome to dystopia: getting fired from your job as an Amazon worker by an app

Vaccine efforts, and much of public health for that matter, are about convincing and manipulating people rather than providing them options, data, or decision-making tools.

Fact Check: Did Demon Slayer Really Outsell All of American Comics?

Hospitals Often Charge Uninsured People the Highest Prices, New Data Show

Disagree and Commit: The Importance of disagreement in decision making

If we want to fix climate change, we need honesty

We Got the Phone the FBI Secretly Sold to Criminals

The Cookbook and Home Economics Collection includes books from the Young Research Library Department of Special Collections at UCLA, The Bancroft Library at The University of California, Berkeley, and the Prelinger Library. These fascinating books take us back to an America in the early decades of the 20th century covering topics on cookery, textiles, family and home, budgeting, domestic sciences, and many other delightful topics.

At the same time, events like the present European football championship are allowed. We saw a packed Wembley football stadium yesterday amid an explosive uptake of Delta variant contagion in the UK. The restrictions on different activities are not rational meant Walsh, they are politically driven.

The @StatePolicy Bob Williams Award Finalists have been announced! Selecting finalists was not easy as it was an incredible year for the network. We counted 235 policy wins-actual policy changes-from the submissions alone. Here are the finalists. 1/

In 1932, Huang had enrolled in Yenching University in Beijing (then “Beiping”), a school run by American missionaries. At Yenching, Huang mixed with left-wing professors and got hooked on books about Marxism. In short succession, he’d marched against Japanese aggression, joined the Communist Party, experimented with homemade explosives, and found himself imprisoned for subversive activities. Huang’s support for the Communists spoke to a passionate, almost visceral desire to remake his country through revolution and restore it to a place of dignity. Like many of his contemporaries in the underground Communist movement, he adopted a new name on joining the Party. Wang Rumei became Huang Hua. In Snow, the Party saw an opportunity to raise its profile in elite circles in the United States. Its treatment of Snow helped establish an enduring model where flattery and careful stage management secured the support of foreign “friends.”

“Nearly every war that has started in the past 50 years has been a result of media lies.” —Julian Assange

How Intel Financialized and Lost Leadership in Semiconductor Fabrication

Trust in Software, an All Time Low

This was true with everyone, from CIA Dir Brennan & Adam Schiff – who were on TV saying they’d seen clear evidence of collusion w/Russia, while admitting under oath behind closed doors that they hadn’t – all the way down the line. In the end we learned that it was ALL fake.

Latin & English: Thomas Aquila’s Prologue

Aquinas.cc

Prologue
Quia Catholicae veritatis doctor non solum provectos debet instruere, sed ad eum pertinet etiam incipientes erudire, secundum illud Apostoli I ad Corinth. III: tanquam parvulis in Christo, lac vobis potum dedi, non escam; propositum nostrae intentionis in hoc opere est, ea quae ad Christianam religionem pertinent, eo modo tradere, secundum quod congruit ad eruditionem incipientium.

Because the Teacher of Catholic truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but also to instruct beginners, according to the Apostle: As unto little ones in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat (1 Cor 3:1–2), we purpose in this book to treat of whatever belongs to the Christian religion in such a way as may befit the instruction of beginners.

Consideravimus namque huius doctrinae novitios, in his quae a diversis conscripta sunt, plurimum impediri, partim quidem propter multiplicationem inutilium quaestionum, articulorum et argumentorum; partim etiam quia ea quae sunt necessaria talibus ad sciendum, non traduntur secundum ordinem disciplinae, sed secundum quod requirebat librorum expositio, vel secundum quod se praebebat occasio disputandi; partim quidem quia eorundem frequens repetitio et fastidium et confusionem generabat in animis auditorum.

We have considered that novices in this doctrine have often been hampered by what they have found written by various authors, partly on account of the multiplication of useless questions, articles, and arguments; partly also because the things such novices need to know are not taught according to the order of the discipline, but according as was needed for commenting on books, or according as an opportunity for raising a disputed question presented itself; partly, too, because frequent repetition of the same things brought weariness and confusion to the minds of the readers.