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Friday, June 30, 2023

No Agenda Episode 1568 - "Spook Head"

 

  • "Spook Head"
  • A picture named NA-1568-Art-SM
  • Direct [link] to the mp3 file
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Thursday, June 29, 2023

Technology News Thursdays and More...

 Technology News and More...



The cherry emoji and 14 other emoji you can use to sext



300+Mashable / 21min
Sexting with emoji doesn't just make you thirsty. It can make you hungry too. Between the cherry emoji, the eggplant -alternative hot dog emoji, and the peach emoji , your choices for flirty texting with emoji are a virtual grocery basket of juicy options. And beyond just the food emoji, with a little imagination, nigh-on any emoji can be made sexy . SEE ALSO: How to sext better Here are 15 saucy


Elon Musk Enlists Help From UFC Champion Ahead of Potential Zuckerberg Brawl
1KGizmodo / 15h
The battle of the billionaires is heating up, and Elon Musk is looking to claim a win. Ahead of a potential cage match with Meta’s own Mark Zuckerberg, Musk has accepted an offer from UFC champion and former mixed martial arts fighter George St-Pierre. Read more...


You Can Bury Your Dead at Sea (Because It’s Free, Eco-Friendly, and Totally Legal)
100+Lifehacker / 12h
The American death industry is a racket. Everything is overpriced. The average coffin will cost between $2,000–$5,000 , and according to some sources, the cost of a cremation averages between $4,000 and $7,000 per body —and that’s not including the memorial service. But you don’t have to settle for an overpriced burial… Read more...



'Prey's Dan Trachtenberg will direct an episode of 'Stranger Things' Season 5
Mashable / 21min
Netflix has announced that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg will direct an episode of Stranger Things ' fifth and final season. Trachtenberg is no stranger to jumping in on established sci-fi horror franchises, having previously directed Cloverfield sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane as well as Predator prequel Prey . He also directed the Black Mirror episode "Playtest," The Boys ' "The Name of the Game,"


This lifetime membership gives you coupons and courses for startups
Mashable / 21min
TL;DR : A lifetime membership to the OWNBN Business Success Toolkit is on sale for £62.88, saving you 64% on list price. Starting a business from scratch is tough, but the right tools could make the job a lot easier. If you want guidance, resources, and deals on some important software, try the OWNBN Business Success Toolkit . This lifetime membership lets you access a Startup resource platform t


Wordle today: Here's the answer and hints for June 29
Mashable / 20min
You're nearly there! Tomorrow is Friday, but today, there is Wordle . As always, we're here with some tips and tricks to help you figure out the solution today. If you just want to be told the answer, you can scroll to the end of this article for June 29's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you. Where did Wo


'Quordle' today: Here are the answers and hints for June 29
Mashable / 20min
If Quordle is a little too challenging today, you've come to the right place for hints. There aren't just hints here, but the whole Quordle solution. Scroll to the bottom of this page, and there it is. But are you sure you need all four answers? Maybe you just need a strategy guide. Either way, scroll down, and you'll get what you need. What is Quordle ? Quordle is a five-letter word guessing gam


'Full Circle' trailer: Claire Danes and Timothy Olyphant lead creepy Soderbergh thriller series
Mashable / 20min
The official trailer for Steven Soderbergh's series Full Circle has arrived, adding yet another tense crime drama to your already overwhelming backlog. The six-episode Max Original limited series follows a New York kidnapping investigation that causes past secrets to unravel, with the victim's wealthy parents Sam ( Claire Danes ) and Derek (Timothy Olyphant) potentially hiding some dark misdeeds.


'All That Heaven Allowed' asks: Did success spoil Rock Hudson?
Mashable / 20min
Attempting to wrangle the sprawling life story of Rock Hudson into 105 minutes is asking a lot. From bit player to romantic leading man to masculine archetype to, finally, "the face of AIDs" when he died in 1985, Hudson's life was Giant — just like the epic 1956 George Stevens film he starred in and the six feet, five inches of his magnificent frame. Stephen Kijak's new documentary about Hudson's


Southwest Airlines Bans Use Of TikTok, But Will Still Post To TikTok
View from the Wing / 1h
Southwest Airlines is a government contractor. That imposes myriad rules. One of those rules now involves use of TikTok. As a result, starting today, Southwest Airlines prohibits use of TikTok on its network. However the airline will still continue to engage customers over TikTok - they'll just require employees to use personal devices to do it. Continue reading ...


All About Malaria, Which We Have in the U.S. Now
Lifehacker / 1h
Five cases of locally-acquired malaria have been reported in the U.S., the CDC says —one in Texas and four in Florida. Malaria is a serious, mosquito-borne illness that was eradicated in the U.S. in the 1950s. It’s concerning to see signs that it may be making a comeback. Read more...


For a Better Ribeye, Combine Sous-Vide and Smoke
Lifehacker / 1h
One of my favorite niche insults is, “He’s the kind of guy who always orders his steak rare, no matter the cut.” (This type of guy also considers vermouth a sign of weakness, but that’s a different discussion.) There’s nothing wrong with having a preference, and a rare steak can be a beautiful thing. But some pieces… Read more...


Quordle today - hints and answers for Thursday, June 29 (game #521)
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
It's time for your daily dose of Quordle hints, plus the answers for both the main game and the Daily Sequence spin off. Quordle is the only one of the many Wordle clones that I'm still playing now, around 18 months after the daily-word-game craze hit the internet, and with good reason: it's good fun, but also difficult. What's more, its makers (now the online dictionary Merriam-Webster) are also


Android TV’s new Shop tab lets you rent and buy movies, just like the old days
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
Google is introducing a brand new Shop tab to its Android TV platform , giving users a more direct way of purchasing or renting movies. At a glance, it looks similar to the already existing Discover section since they both display content you can watch. However, Discover requires users to dig through multiple menus, whereas with Shop, you can buy a movie right then and there without needing a sub


Nokia G42 combines repairability and 5G connectivity in a handsome purple package
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 1h
Hot on the heels of the G22 launch earlier in 2023, Nokia owner HMD Global has announced the Nokia G42 as the next in its series of repairable smartphones. The G42 continues Nokia’s quest to make at-home smartphone repairs simple, accessible and affordable, but the headline feature in this latest release is the inclusion of 5G connectivity (something that was missing on the G22). Repairable and r


US public wants climate change dealt with, but doesn’t like the options
25Ars Technica - All content / 3h
Enlarge / The East Coast has gotten the chance to experience something that's become disturbingly familiar out west. (credit: Bloomberg Creative ) After rejoining the Paris Agreement and passing the Inflation Reduction Act , the US has committed to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade and hitting net-zero emissions by the middle of the century. That will require s


Brave aims to curb practice of websites that port scan visitors
28Ars Technica - All content / 3h
Enlarge The Brave browser will take action against websites that snoop on visitors by scanning their open Internet ports or accessing other network resources that can expose personal information. Starting in version 1.54, Brave will automatically block website port scanning, a practice that a surprisingly large number of sites were found engaging in a few years ago. According to this list compile


NANOGrav hears “hum” of gravitational wave background, louder than expected
54Ars Technica - All content / 3h
Enlarge / In this artist’s interpretation, a pair of supermassive black holes (top left) emits gravitational waves that ripple through the fabric of space-time. Those gravitational waves compress and stretch the paths of radio waves emitted by pulsars (white). (credit: Aurore Simonnet for the NANOGrav Collaboration) Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of spacetime predicted by Albert Ei


Medical waste company sues health system over hidden human torso
Ars Technica - All content / 3h
Enlarge / Bags to hold clinical samples labeled with Sanford Health. (credit: Getty | Tom Pennington ) A medical waste disposal company operating in Fargo, North Dakota, has filed a scathing lawsuit against health care system Sanford Health. The lawsuit claims—among many things—that Sanford employees tried to surreptitiously unload a rotting human torso hidden in a plastic container at the facili


Social Media App Shuts Down After Admitting 95% of Users Were Bots
100+Futurism / 6h
Bot Party Social media startup IRL was at one point valued at around $1.2 billion . But now, as The Information reports, it's shutting down after an internal investigation found that a staggering 95 percent of its users were "automated or from bots." According to the report, app founder and CEO Abraham Shafi repeatedly claimed over the course of several years that the app boasted roughly 20 milli


SpaceX Fires Up Starship Engines Ahead of Next Orbital Test
86Futurism / 6h
Warm Up Earlier this month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk promised that Starship would be taking to the skies for its second flight test in the next six to eight weeks. Though questions still linger over the plausibility of that schedule, Musk and his engineers seem to be making steady progress. On Monday, SpaceX conducted a static fire test of Ship 25, the latest Starship prototype, lighting up all six o


Rejoice! LinkedIn’s New AI Will Write Hustle Bro Posts For You
100+Futurism / 6h
Automated Hustle The unholy trinity of the Content Industrial Complex meets generative AI meets LinkedIn brain rot is finally here. "When it comes to posting on LinkedIn, we've heard that you generally know what you want to say, but going from a great idea to a full-fledged post can be challenging and time-consuming," Keren Baruch, director of product at LinkedIn, wrote in a LinkedIn post announc



Elon Musk Brawls With Podcaster to Prepare for Zuckerberg Fight
1KFuturism / 6h
Bring It On Elon Musk grappled with a podcaster on a mat for few hours, stoking hype for a possible cage fight between the SpaceX CEO and fellow billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook (now dubiously known as Meta ). "I'm extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground," tweeted podcaster Lex Fridman, who added two pictures of he and Musk scrapp


Researchers reconstruct 3D environments from eye reflections
Engadget / 6h
Researchers at the University of Maryland have turned eye reflections into (somewhat discernible) 3D scenes. The work builds on Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF), an AI technology that can reconstruct environments from 2D photos . Although the eye-reflection approach has a long way to go before it spawns any practical applications, the study (first reported by Tech Xplore ) provides a fascinating gli


Women’s soccer teams are coming to Football Manager in 2024
Engadget / 6h
Sports Interactive said back in 2021 that it would bring women's soccer to Football Manager , its long-running simulation franchise. Now, we have a clearer idea of when that will happen. In a blog post that looks at the franchise's future, SI says it will introduce women's teams in Football Manager 2025 , which is next year's edition. The studio initially said it would take a while to bring women


'World of Warcraft Classic Hardcore' brings permadeath to Blizzard's MMO
Engadget / 6h
Blizzard is bringing hardcore servers to World of Warcraft Classic . Inspired by the game’s popular “Death = Delete” community add-on , the mode limits any character you create to exactly one life. If your hero dies, running back to their body as a ghost won’t bring them back to life, nor can someone else resurrect your character with a class ability like the Shaman’s Ancestral Spirit spell. You


Nintendo Switch Online gets four classic Genesis games, including Ghouls ’n Ghosts
Engadget / 6h
The Nintendo Switch Online library just got a bit beefier, thanks to the addition of four classic Sega Genesis titles. The subscription-based classic games platform is now host to Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, The Revenge of Shinobi, Landstalker and Crusader of Centy , joining around 30 pre-existing Genesis titles and many more NES, SNES and Game Boy releases. That’s right. Sonic and Mario are friends now. F


How to book Star Alliance business-class flights to Europe for 45,000 miles each way
100+The Points Guy / 6h
Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with the latest information. As a European citizen with friends and family in the region, Europe is my go-to travel destination. To save on airfare, I’ve been earning Capital One miles and Citi ThankYou points , both of which can be transferred to Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles program. This program offers an excellent award chart and fan


What’s causing the over 30,000 summer flight cancellations and delays?
42The Points Guy / 6h
Well over 30,000 flights in the U.S. have been delayed or canceled this week already, with some of the busiest travel days for the Fourth of July holiday still to come. United Airlines has been among the hardest hit among the mainline airlines, with 12.6% of its flights canceled between Saturday and Monday, according to archived FlightAware data — 1,019 flights — and an even worse situation as th


We're Already Living in Barbie's Barbiecore Pink World
Gizmodo / 7h
After seeing all of the pink Barbie movie collections available, I’m definitely not thinking about death anymore . Read more...


Warner Bros. Discovery May Bring Live CNN to Its Max Streaming Platform
Gizmodo / 7h
Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly bringing live content from CNN to its rebranded streaming service, Max , in the coming year. It appears to be a move toward more news-related content, sources close to the matter told Bloomberg . Read more...


DC Comics Announces Big Presence at Comic-Con, But No Live-Action Movies Yet
Gizmodo / 7h
What would San Diego Comic-Con be without big showings from the biggest companies in the world of comics? While we recently learned that Marvel Studios, the film and TV arm of Marvel, will only have a presence on the convention floor —we now know that DC Comics will have a huge overall presence across the convention. Read more...


21 Mandalorian Season 3 Facts Revealed in New Behind-the-Scenes Documentary
Gizmodo / 7h
It’s been two months since season three of The Mandalorian came to an end, and now it’s time to find out how they got there . This week, Disney+ released the latest episode of Disney Gallery: Star Wars The Mandalorian , a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the popular show. Read more...


Women Jailed for Refusing TB Treatment Sent Home, Will Have to Take Meds or Else
Gizmodo / 7h
The long-running saga over a Washington woman’s refusal to get treated for tuberculosis might finally be drawing to a close. The woman was released from a local jail late last week, under the condition that she stay isolated at home and complete her course of antibiotics. Should she fail to do so, she could be… Read more...


Anonymous Disney Imagineer Purportedly Confirms Donald Trump Animatronic Is Hillary Clinton
200+Gizmodo / 7h
Stranger things have happened, but this one conspiracy theory might actually be true. Alex Goldman, the former host of the once-heralded, now-defunct podcast Reply All , may have just cracked the code on whether Disney replaced the skin of a Hillary Clinton robot with that of Donald Trump. Read more...


Hasbro's New Indiana Jones Toys Relive The Last Crusade
Gizmodo / 7h
To celebrate the release of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny this week, Hasbro decided to mostly ignore that movie and show us a whole host of toys from the climactic entry in the original Indy trilogy , The Last Crusade . Did they choose wisely ? Maybe, but it doesn’t mean we didn’t get at least some hints of what… Read more...


Spielberg and Scorsese May Have Just Saved TCM From Zaslav's Destructive Warpath
500+Gizmodo / 7h
Cinephile’s cherished Turner Classic Movies was slated to be Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest amputation of beloved content. Out of the blue, famed directors Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson stepped up to bat for the classic cinema channel. Now it seems the three have managed to hold Warner… Read more...


Why 2,000 Ancient PCs Mysteriously Appeared on eBay
48Gizmodo / 7h
Natural Access to Bi-directional Utilities. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? But the acronym NABU is becoming one of most interesting, burgeoning spaces for retro computer devs. Thanks to the cheap sale of these once-defunct PCs, more and more people are helping to revitalize a long-defunct cable internet service… Read more...


James Mangold on His Future Star Wars Film | io9 Interview
Gizmodo / 7h
Read more...


Captain Janeway Didn't Deserve This
100+Gizmodo / 7h
Paramount’s decision to unceremoniously both renege on its season two greenlight for Star Trek: Prodigy and completely remove the show from its streaming platform has created a PR nightmare of its own making with many, many layers to it. But amid all the concerns, the thing I keep thinking about is just how rude it is… Read more...


TuSimple may sell US business as it turns attention to Asia
TechCrunch / 8h
Self-driving truck developer TuSimple may sell its U.S. business, the company said in a regulatory filing Wednesday. TuSimple, which is on the verge of being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange for failing to file two quarterly reports, said it is exploring strategic alternatives for its U.S. business, including a possible sale. The company also has operations based out of China and Japan, an


Spire and OroraTech will launch a fleet of wildfire-monitoring satellites
TechCrunch / 8h
The past few wildfire seasons in the United States and Canada have been some of the most memorable — and dangerous — on record. But despite the billions of dollars that each government pours into fighting fires, first responders are still in need of real-time wildfire detection and monitoring data. Enter Spire Global and OroraTech. Today, the two companies announced that they would put a constell



Visa acquires Brazilian fintech startup Pismo in $1B blockbuster deal
200+TechCrunch / 8h
Credit card giant Visa is acquiring Brazilian payments infrastructure startup Pismo for $1 billion in cash in what is likely one of the largest fintech M&A deals taking place this year so far. Founded in 2016 by Juliana Motta (CPO), Ricardo Josua (CEO), Daniela Binatti (CTO), and Marcelo Parise (VP of engineering), São Paulo–based Pismo has quietly racked up a list of big-name customers, includin


Brex refocuses on startups with hire of SVB veteran, ex-a16z operating partner
32TechCrunch / 8h
Just over one year ago, spend management decacorn Brex declared that it was “ less suited to meet the needs of smaller customers ” in an announcement that caused shock waves in the startup community. While Brex soon clarified that by smaller customers it meant small to medium-sized businesses and non-funded startups, the move still felt like a stunning reversal, considering the company had starte


Celestial AI raises $100M to transfer data using light-based interconnects
TechCrunch / 8h
David Lazovsky and Preet Virk, technologists with backgrounds in semiconductor engineering and photonics, came to the joint realization several years ago that AI and machine learning workloads would quickly encounter a “data movement” problem. Increasingly, they predicted, it would become challenging to move data to and from compute hardware as AI models scaled past what could be kept on the die


Crypto losses halved in Q2 2023 to $204M
TechCrunch / 8h
As if the pessimism around crypto wasn’t enough, the industry has historically been hounded by hackers and scammers looking to make a quick buck. To make things worse, it appears tracing and recovering lost funds is now getting harder than ever as attackers use increasingly sophisticated methods. According to a new report, only $4.9 million was recovered of the $204.3 million the industry lost to


As $100M+ venture rounds evaporate, IPOs might have to carry the weight
TechCrunch / 8h
Earlier this year we wrote that the “ the $100 million venture round is going extinct .” Often our predictions wind up sideways. This time we were on the right track. According to new data from PitchBook , the U.S. venture market is continuing to endure lackluster velocity for nine-figure investments into private companies, colloquially referred to as “mega-rounds.” The Exchange explores startups


No, Windows Is Not Moving to the Cloud
How-To Geek / 8h
You may have seen a few news articles recently about Microsoft supposedly turning Windows into a cloud product, which would presumably require a suitable internet connection and a running subscription. Don’t panic, though, because that’s not really happening. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›


You Still Can’t Trust Verified Checkmarks in Gmail
How-To Geek / 8h
Earlier this year, Gmail started rolling out blue checkmarks to identify trusted senders. Scammers quickly found a way to disguised spam emails as verified, which Google said it fixed, but the issue still seems to be present. Read This Article on How-To Geek ›


Google reportedly gives up on making AR glasses—for the third time
64Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge / A Google video promoted AR's translation potential with these normal-looking consumer AR glasses a year ago, but Google's reportedly quit developing AR specs. (credit: Google/YouTube ) Google has reportedly scrapped plans to release a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses. The cancellation of the gadget, reportedly codenamed Project Iris, marks the third time the company's supposedly t


Sharpie scanning goof reveals major PlayStation budgets and revenues
21Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge / Sharpies are great for many things—labeling leftovers, writing "bedroom" on packing boxes, ruining dry erase boards. They're not the best tool for sensitive documents submitted in a federal hearing. (credit: Aurich Lawson) Most people know AAA games cost a lot to make, but they can also be cash cows if they're hits. Now, because Sharpies can fail to fully redact paper documents if you s


After merger with Google Maps division, Waze gets hit with layoffs
Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge (credit: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Late last year, Waze faced serious questions about its future at Google when, as part of Google's company-wide efforts at cost-cutting, Waze lost its status as an independent company. The mapping app was forced to merge with Google Geo (aka the Google Maps division) even though the two apps supposedly remain mostly independe


TikTok finally admits to funding users’ lawsuit against Montana ban
Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge (credit: SOPA Images / Contributor | LightRocket ) TikTok is funding the lawsuit filed by TikTok users to combat Montana's state-wide ban of the app, a New York Times report confirmed yesterday. And not for the first time. In 2020, TikTok secretly supported TikTok users who sued over the federal TikTok ban introduced by President Donald Trump. A Wall Street Journal report noted that the 2


F1 battery tech features in Mercedes-AMG’s new S 63 plug-in hybrid
Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge / You can tell you're looking at an AMG S-Class because instead of the normal grille, there's a three-pointed star on the grille. This also conceals the forward-looking sensors much more elegantly than the normal S-Class. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin) Mercedes-Benz provided a flight from DC to San Diego and a return from Los Angeles, plus four nights hotels so we could drive the S63 as well a


Apple criticizes UK bill that could require scanning of encrypted messages
Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | NurPhoto) Apple has joined the growing number of organizations opposed to the UK's pending Online Safety Bill , saying the proposed law threatens the end-to-end encryption that protects private messages. "End-to-end encryption is a critical capability that protects the privacy of journalists, human rights activists, and diplomats," Apple said in a statement reporte


ULA shipping Vulcan upper stage back to factory for more work
20Ars Technica - All content / 8h
Enlarge / The Centaur V upper stage for the first Vulcan test flight was originally lifted atop its booster at Cape Canaveral in February. (credit: United Launch Alliance ) United Launch Alliance technicians at Cape Canaveral, Florida, have partially disassembled the first Vulcan rocket to send the launch vehicle’s upper stage back to its factory for reinforcements to its paper-thin steel fuel ta


Mozilla wants Pocket users to switch to Firefox accounts, which may not be a bad thing
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 8h
For years Pocket users have been able to get away with not having a Mozilla Firefox account despite the service being on its browser, but they'll soon have to make the switch. Starting on July 11, 2023, all Pocket users will be prompted to create a Mozilla Firefox account, and it will become mandatory by August 15, 2023. But according to the official blog post , other than changing how you log in


These 'air conduction' earbuds let you hear the music and the world around you
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 8h
Audio brand Shokz is best known for its bone-conduction headphones but for its new OpenFit wireless earbuds, the company is doing something different: air conduction. One of the problems with bone-conduction headphones is the audio they output isn’t as good quality as a traditional pair of headphones. The sound reproduction isn’t quite the same. Seemingly because of this discrepancy, Shokz is equ


How Bad Is the Smoke in the Midwest? Check Out This Map
49Wired / 9h
Yet again, smoke from Canadian wildfires is pouring into the US. This mesmerizing yet troubling model forecasts how the haze is swirling.


The Emergent Industrial Metaverse
MIT Technology Review / 9h
The industrial metaverse has the potential to virtually and literally revolutionize the real world. By merging digital twins with their real-world counterparts, companies can optimize production and processes in a continuous feedback loop at previously unattainable speeds. This convergence of digital and real worlds will change the way we work and collaborate, enabling real-time interaction with


Universal Data Intelligence: The Backbone for AI
MIT Technology Review / 9h
As organizations transition to data-driven business models, they must store, protect, and most importantly analyze their data. AI, automation, cloud, and as-a-service models all must frictionlessly interweave to achieve universal data intelligence and enable businesses to gain a competitive advantage from their data. About the speakers Bharti Patel, SVP, Head of Engineering, Hitachi Vantara Bhart


Open finance heralds a new era
MIT Technology Review / 9h
Open banking, which allows consumers to securely share their banking data with third-party providers (TPPs), continues to transform financial services. A new generation of financial technology (fintech) companies—peer-to-peer payment services, mobile banking apps, and trading platforms—offer consumers powerful tools to manage their money and extend their banking capabilities. According to the onl



All Nippon Airways Mileage Club: Hidden Gem Or Overrated?
100+One Mile at a Time / 10h
In this post I wanted to talk a bit about Mileage Club, the frequent flyer program of Japan’s Star Alliance airline, All Nippon Airways (ANA). I’d consider the program to be pretty polarizing — on the surface, Mileage Club has incredibly lucrative redemption rates, though the program doesn’t come without some challenges. So let’s take a big-picture look at the program. Should you consider booking


kafkasapartment:Portrait Composition, Paris, 1938. Florence...
Music, Arts & Literature / 10h
kafkasapartment : Portrait Composition, Paris , 1938. Florence Henri. Silver print


Delta Opens The Kimono On Their SkyMiles Credit Card, Now About 1% Of The Whole Country’s GDP
View from the Wing / 10h
Before the pandemic the American Airlines co-brand portfolio had the largest charge volume, but American, United and Delta were all over $100 billion annually. Delta now says they’re “approaching 1% of U.S. GDP” on their co-brand cards, which would be ~ $255 billion. Inflation helps, but it’s reasonable to think they’re suggesting they’re around $200 billion in annual charge volume on Delta Amex


There's a Better Way to Reheat Your Boiled Egg
Lifehacker / 10h
Hard-boiled eggs are a perfect food. They’re great for bulk cooking and meal prepping. They keep for days in the fridge, they’re satisfying, hand-held, filling, and you can adjust the cooking time for a yolk that’s gelatinous and runny, firm and velvety, or somewhere in between. However, there is the small issue of… Read more...


What's New on Paramount+ With Showtime in July 2023
Lifehacker / 10h
This past week, Paramount+ caught flak for making like Max and Disney+ and removing content so its parent company could take a tax write off . This included nixing Paramount+ Originals like Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies (which only finished releasing new episodes on June 1) and, most controversially, rescinding… Read more...


This Refurbished MacBook Air Is 30% Off Right Now
Lifehacker / 10h
There are cheaper options than a brand-new computer. If you need to run demanding apps, stick with an appropriate high-spec machine, but if you just need a laptop to browse, respond to emails, or get a little work done, this 2015 MacBook Pro is on sale for $262.99 (reg. $399). Read more...


Where to Find Good, Ethical Porn
Lifehacker / 10h
Porn is fun, and a great way for us to explore sexual pleasure by ourselves or with a partner, but mainstream pornography is also problematic. It’s often catered to the male gaze, offering depictions of women in degraded or dehumanizing ways, and is usually exploitative of both the performers and production team, with… Read more...


Cruising or traveling abroad this summer? Why these cellphone packages can be your best travel companion
100+The Points Guy / 10h
Whether you’re taking a Caribbean cruise , sightseeing in European cities or trekking through South America , staying connected on your mobile phone can be a game changer. Some travelers value the ability to use their mobile phone overseas because it allows them to stay in touch with family 24/7. Others find it crucial to have access to a GPS when lost in a medieval town’s bewildering alleyways.


July 4 travel forecast: ‘Record-breaking’ traveler volumes expected
The Points Guy / 10h
Americans are expected to travel in a big way for the country’s birthday this year. AAA anticipates a “record-breaking” number of travelers over the July Fourth weekend, and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration says it’s prepared for pre-pandemic travel volumes. Related: How to get through airport security faster Millions to travel this July 4th weekend Nearly 51 million people to trav


You’ll be surprised which cruise line is offering short weekend cruises in 2024
22The Points Guy / 10h
Move over Carnival: There are new, short weekend cruise offerings in town. For the first time, Celebrity Cruises will sail three- and four-night voyages from Florida, year-round, beginning in April 2024. In offering these cruises, Celebrity will also double its capacity in the Caribbean by redeploying Celebrity Reflection to the region all year. It will join new fleet mate Celebrity Beyond , whic


DoorDash expands grocery access through SNAP and EBT payment options
Mashable / 11h
DoorDash will now allow customers to use Electric Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to pay for grocery deliveries through the app, a move that the company says will help reduce barriers to fresh groceries. In February, millions of Americans lost access to emergency SNAP benefits offered as a solution to increasing food insecurity during the


PlayStation Plus free July games include ‘CoD: Black Ops Cold War’ and ‘Alan Wake Remastered’
Engadget / 11h
Sony announced the PlayStation Plus games lineup for July today. They include Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War , Alan Wake Remastered and Endling – Extinction is Forever . All three titles will be available on PS5 and PS4 for subscribers on the Essential, Extra and Premium tiers. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020) is a controversial installment in the long-running military shooter franchise.


July 4th weeklong sale on passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2023
30TechCrunch / 11h
Here in the States, we’re celebrating the start of a great summer by traveling back in time. Back to the days of early-bird prices on passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 , which takes place on September 19–21 in San Francisco. We’re rolling back prices on passes to TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 Our July 4th early-bird rollback sale starts now and runs through Wednesday, July 5 at 11:59 p.m. PDT . Start y


House GOP discusses use of robot dogs to patrol US borders
TechCrunch / 11h
The United States Department of Homeland Security caused a stir last February when it revealed that it was exploring deploying robot dogs on the U.S./Mexico border. “The southern border can be an inhospitable place for man and beast, and that is exactly why a machine may excel there,” the DHS’s Brenda Long said at the time. “This [Science and Technology Directorate]-led initiative focuses on Auto


Evan Peters Joins Jared Leto in Disney's Tron 3
100+Gizmodo / 11h
The long-in-development third installment of the Tron franchise is set to shoot this August—if the SAG strike doesn’t happen—and it’s just added a new star to its cast. Read more...


Here Are the First Photos of the Recovered Titanic Tourist Submersible
100+Gizmodo / 11h
Pelagic Research Services is recovering debris from the Titan submersible which fatally imploded while journeying to view the Titanic wreckage last week, killing all five crew members on board. Search and rescue teams searched a 900 sq-foot area over four days in a mission that ended abruptly when an ROV discovered… Read more...


United CEO Points Finger at FAA Over Latest Flight Cancellations at NYC Area Airports
Gizmodo / 11h
As hundreds of flights to and from the East Coast were canceled this week due to severe weather, the CEO of United has an axe to grind. In a leaked email, Scott Kirby, the airline’s head honcho, blamed the Federal Aviation Administration for the cancellations. Read more...


Computer, Enhance: Scientists Reconstruct 3D Images From Eye Reflections
62Gizmodo / 11h
There’s a saying that the eyes are the window to a person’s soul, but according to a team of researchers from the University of Maryland , the eyes might instead be a mirror, providing enough data to reconstruct exactly what a person in a short video clip was looking at as an interactive 3D model. Read more...


Roland Emmerich Hates Earth So Much He's Founding Space Nation
35Gizmodo / 11h
Director Roland Emmerich hates Earth . This we know; it’s why so many of his movies feature the planet under attack by aliens , Godzillas, moons , and so forth. But it appears his frustration with not being able to properly destroy the planet is getting to him, because Emmerich is going to space... specifically Space … Read more...


Planet that shouldn’t exist found
43Ars Technica - All content / 11h
Enlarge / The Keck telescopes, where some of the key observations were done. (credit: NASA ) The exoplanet 8 Ursae Minoris b should not exist. It orbits its host star at just half the Earth-Sun distance, and by all indications, the star should have gone through a phase in which it bloated up enough to engulf that entire orbit and then some. Yet 8 Ursae Minoris b definitely appears to exist. There



Guidemaster: Track your health without ditching your mechanical watch
Ars Technica - All content / 11h
Enlarge / From left to right: Apple Watch Ultra, Shinola Bronze Monster, Oura Ring, Withings Scanwatch Horizon, a traditional ring, and Garmin Epix Gen 2. (credit: Chuong Nguyen) Everyday carry enthusiasts typically face a conundrum when it comes to choosing between a smartwatch with all the benefits of modern wrist-worn tech or giving up tracking their health metrics in exchange for classic, mec


Cyberstalkers shielded by SCOTUS ruling on speech and online threats
Ars Technica - All content / 11h
Enlarge (credit: Bloomberg Creative | Bloomberg Creative Photos ) Yesterday, the US Supreme Court decided that a lower court's logic was flawed when it convicted a Colorado man, Billy Raymond Counterman, for stalking. Counterman had sent hundreds of online messages—some of which the lower court ruled that a reasonable person would consider threatening—to a local musician, Coles Whalen, whom he'd


Amazon Prime Day electric toothbrush deals: What to buy in 2023
TechRadar - All the latest technology ne... / 11h
Amazon Prime Day is a great opportunity to snag yourself a new electric toothbrush. These high-powered devices can clean away more plaque than a manual toothbrush can. Although the actual sales event hasn't started yet, it's a good chance to get clued up on what to buy, when the sales begin, and how to get the best deals. When you're browsing the best electric toothbrushes online, it can be diffi


DoorDash, Shifting Business Model, Will Offer Drivers Hourly Pay
70NYT > Technology / 11h
The company said the option would give couriers greater choice. It could also help DoorDash find people who will make less desirable deliveries.


Film director Roland Emmerich is creating a shared universe of TV, gaming and Web3 tomfoolery
Engadget / 12h
Film director Roland Emmerich is making a massively-multiplayer online (MMO) game powered by everyone’s favorite punching bags, NFTs. The director of Independence Day, Stargate and, uh, Moonfall just announced Space Nation Online, a forthcoming RPG that's going to be part of a larger shared universe encompassing animated shorts, a live-action TV show and plenty of Web3 nonsense. To that end, ther


I consider myself a patient person, but 'The Password Game' might break me
Engadget / 12h
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s the perfect time to waste away a few minutes attempting to solve the internet’s latest obsession. If you’re on Twitter, you may have noticed some chatter about The Password Game , a browser experience that will test your creativity, patience and sanity. The password game is out now! Good luck 👹 > https://t.co/kXhmbHqYTK pic.twitter.com/d6lbnfHrbx — Neal Agarwal (


North America’s first hydrogen-powered train debuts in Canada
Engadget / 12h
This summer, North America’s first hydrogen-powered train began traveling across the Canadian countryside. The French passenger train is a short-term demonstration, running through the end of September, that aims to spark adoption in Canada and the US. “I think the most important thing that’s going to come out of it is people’s awareness and comfort with the technology,” Robert Stasko, executive


Elon Musk Seeks Support Against Rules on Free Speech Online
51Wired / 12h
During a tour in Europe to make a Neuralink announcement, Musk's real goal became apparent: Stop the European Commission’s proposed measures regarding online content moderation.


Reddit protest plunges user engagement, site activity and ad portal visits
23TechCrunch / 12h
Reddit community moderators made a bold move earlier this month that caused quite a stir online. They took a stand against the platform’s decision to charge certain developers for access to its valuable data, which many found controversial. The fallout was evident as users retreated and started to ignore the platform — popularly known as the “front page of the internet.” On June 12, moderators re


Techstars raising $150 million for new accelerator fund
TechCrunch / 12h
Startup accelerator Techstars is raising $150 million for its new fund, SEC filings show. The accelerator is seeking new capital ahead of the end of the deployment period of its third institutionally-backed fund, Techstars Accelerator 2021 , later this year. Techstars declined to offer details on how it intends to use or deploy the funding, citing regulatory restrictions. However, like its predec


'Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York' trailer digs into a terrifying true crime case
Mashable / 12h
Based on Elon Green's award-winning investigative book, Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York , HBO's new four-part docuseries digs into the serial killings that swept New York's queer community in the early '90s. The true crime series, titled Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York , looks into the killer preying upon gay men in the city's queer night


Keurig Single Serve Coffee Makers Are 40% Off For Early Prime Day
How-To Geek / 12h
Amazon Prime Day doesn’t start until July 11, but there are still plenty of deals already available ahead of the big day. For coffee lovers, a 40% off Keurig sale is one worth investigating. Read This Article on LifeSavvy ›


NASA Gets Amazing New Results Generating Oxygen on Mars
100+Futurism / 12h
Rolling the Dice NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has crushed its previous record for turning the planet's thin atmosphere into a source of oxygen, an exciting experiment that could have major implications for our future plans to visit the Red Planet. The rover's Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment ( MOXIE ) achieved a major milestone earlier this month, Space.com reports , doubling


NASA Locks Test Subjects Inside Simulated Mars Base
100+Futurism / 12h
Locked Down NASA's Mars simulation mission is officially underway. As CBS reports , NASA locked four non-astronaut volunteers inside a simulated Mars habitat on Sunday, marking the beginning of the space agency's Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA 1) missions. The participants — a group that includes research scientist Kelly Haston, structural engineer Ross Brockwell, emergenc


You Can Get an AdGuard Lifetime Subscription for Up to 80% Off Right Now
Lifehacker / 12h
AdGuard is an advanced ad blocker that comes in a personal and family plan. Normally, they’d respectively cost $39 and $59 for lifetime access, but you can get early access to a lower price during Lifehacker’s Deal Days sale. Through July 14, you can get an AdGuard Personal Lifetime Plan for $16.97, or an AdGuard… Read more...


OpenAI brings the competition to DeepMind’s doorstep with new London office
TechCrunch / 12h
OpenAI is expanding overseas. To London, specifically. Today, the Microsoft-backed AI startup announced that it plans to open an office in London, its first international outpost. When OpenAI’s London location opens its doors, it’ll focus on advancing “research and engineering capabilities” while balancing collaborating with “local communities and policymakers,” according to CEO Sam Altman. “We s


Choice & Radisson Americas Loyalty Programs Merging
25One Mile at a Time / 12h
In 2022, Choice Hotels acquired Radisson Hotel Group Americas . The deal was worth around $675 million, and with this, Choice Hotels acquired nine new brands, 624 hotels, and over 67,000 rooms. We’ve seen the introduction of some reciprocal loyalty program perks, with the goal of having the programs eventually merge. We now know when that’s going to happen. Radisson Rewards Americas program endin


Humans may be more likely to believe disinformation generated by AI
78MIT Technology Review / 12h
Disinformation generated by AI may be more convincing than disinformation written by humans, a new study suggests. The research found that people were 3% less likely to spot false tweets generated by AI than those written by humans. That credibility gap, while small, is concerning given that the problem of AI-generated disinformation seems poised to grow significantly, says Giovanni Spitale, the


Venmo now supports tap to pay on Android phones
Engadget / 12h
Your local store might only need a smartphone to accept your payments. PayPal is rolling out tap to pay on Android for Venmo and Zettle businesses in the US. Shops can accept Apple Pay, Google Pay and other contactless services or cards, including digital wallets, without requiring a card reader. You might not have to bring out your wallet, in other words. Setup takes just minutes, PayPal claims.



Vizio's redesigned TV interface helps you quickly find shows
Engadget / 12h
If Vizio's TV interface has felt stale as of late, don't worry — it's getting a makeover. The company is rolling out a redesigned home screen that it hopes will make it easier to find content. The revamp is meant to be more intuitive, with new navigation features, menus and settings. There's also a reworked on-screen keyboard to help you search faster. Discovery is likewise a major focus. The upd


Google refutes claims it violated its own guidelines and misled advertisers
Engadget / 12h
Google has denied "extremely inaccurate claims" that it may have violated its own rules and misled advertisers over ad viewership on third-party websites. Through the Google Video Partner (GVP) network and TrueView (an ad

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

No Agenda Newsletter

 

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No Agenda Show 1568

Drone Update
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George Orwell Meme where he says "he nailed it."
Tomorrow's Show

As the Titan story ends with a whimper and the Hunter Biden story is squashed like a bug by the mainstream media, the focus is targeting Putin as someone weakened by the supposed coup attempt as the Wagner group got within 200 miles of Moscow.

The proposition that 200 miles is even close to Moscow is ludicrous. For example Sacramento and San Francisco are about 90 miles apart and nobody imagines that to be close or nearby. This entire coup attempt is a farce but played with seriousness by the media and the pundits. There is some hoped for association with Trump and January 6th and this “coup” but the 1:1 relationships are not close. Whatever “op” they are trying to pull is muddy and hard to discern. You can be sure when it becomes clear, you'll be the first to know.

Photo collage of the dubious March on Moscow.
Drone Again, Naturally

Readers of this newsletter were promised some discussion of the drone situation in Ukraine and Moscow. The Russia-Ukraine war news is centeered around two things, the so-called “counter-offensive” and drone wars with dones flying in from Russia and a few headed towards Russia.

For some reason we are supposed to believe that Russia, over the years, cannot field a reasonably competent Army, cannot produce any arms or ammunition, and has to buy drones from those bastards in Iran who make them by the hundreds. It makes you wonder what the Russians do with their time. We do know that they makes the world's best rocket engines and produce world class aircraft, both fighters and other aircraft. How is it that they cannot make bullets? Or drones?

Photo of Giant Russian S-70 drone.
An actual Russian drone,, the Sukhoi S-70. Hardly cheap.

In fact, there is no evidence that they make small drones of any sort, but seem to like using them to harass Ukraine. We must assume that the constant attacks with these drones, most of which are supposedly shot down by American-made Patriot middiles and other anti-missile systems provided by the USA and Germany, are real attacks.

Chart showing the basic differences betwee Iranian and Turkish drones.

The drone most commonly used is the Iranian Shahed-136, a delta wing design launched with a rocket assist it has a small 50HP prop engine in the back. It weighs about 450 pounds and carries a 100-pound payload. It's used as a flying bomb. The Russians have been launching them in batches of up to 41 at a time, the number is hard to document. The Ukrainians claim they have downed 75-90-percent of them in flight. Below are some images of the device with various specs.

Inforgraphics showing various misc. details of Shahed 136 drone
Infographic showing the Shahed-136 specifications.
Photo that links to drone movie.
Click to link to movie about the 136.

Here is Zelenskyy himself next to a supposedly downed device that makes the drone look to be about 5-6 feet in length. This is probably a variation on the smaller Shahed-131 which is about that size.

Zelensky standing next to a small drone that crashed.

Below you can see a couple of the other drones made by the Iranians. The red one is the Shahed-129 and the one below it is the Shahed-191.

Photo of the Shahed 129 drone
Photo of the Shaded 191 srine.
Photo of launching system for drones.
Actual launching system for the 136
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Hypocrite of the Week
Hypocrite: Hakeem Jeffries. In 2016 he denies the election results then in 2020 condemns anyone who denies election results.
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