Here at EFF digital equity is something that we advocate for, and we are always thrilled when we hear a member of the Electronic Frontier Alliance is advocating for it as well. Simply put, digital equity is the condition in which everyone has access to technology that allows them … | Continue reading
Guides created by radical groups are teaching pro-Palestinian students to use violence on campus. | Continue reading
Together, the Hasso Plattner Institute and MIT are working toward novel solutions to the world’s problems as part of the Designing for Sustainability research program. | Continue reading
Everything we purchase has a lasting impact on our well-being. Supermarket chain introduces sustainable packaging for store-brand products: 'To meet the growing global demand for circular and renewable material solutions' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
It’s hard to imagine how a building as grand as the City Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana, could ever become abandoned. Completed in 1926, the spectacular nine-story complex also included, at one time, a 1,000-seat theater, offices, a dining hall, and a gymnasium. Built at a cos … | Continue reading
Eco-friendly and biodegradable graphite pencils tipped with decomposable cellulose seed capsules (for herbs, flowers, or vegetables) that you can plant when the pencil's used up. ♻️🌱 | Continue reading
A Florida woman’s serious pneumonia that landed her in the hospital turned out to have a very strange culprit: deer meat tainted by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. Though it took some time for the woman’s doctors to discover the true cause of her worsening illness, they were able … | Continue reading
Today is day 3 of WeblogPoMo2024, a month long daily blogging challenge. I’m challenging myself to write about a song each day, but there are many other people writing about other things. You should check them out! Today’s song is “Girl!” by Terror Pigeon. Terror Pigeon! · Girl! … | Continue reading
Even though snails are slow and slimy-bottomed, they've inspired a new type of robot that could be quite useful. Groups of these bots can operate independently or join together in order to perform tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Continue Reading Category: Robotics, Tech … | Continue reading
China's launched its Chang'e 6 sample-return mission, which will haul dirt and rocks home from the mysterious lunar far side. | Continue reading
A 3,500-year-old rest house in the Sinai desert may have been used by an Egyptian pharaoh. | Continue reading
Barriss Offee is a rare character for Star Wars. Not just because she was a Jedi so horrified by the part the Order had to play in the Clone War that she took extreme action to try and stop it, but simply because the next step of her story was left untold for over a decade. Now, … | Continue reading
A mysterious AI chatbot labelled ‘gpt2-chatbot’ was briefly available online before subsequently disappearing again. The chatbot quietly made its debut… Continue reading Mysterious AI surfaces online — was it ChatGPT’s succesor? The post Mysterious AI surfaces online — was it Cha … | Continue reading
The languages of the earliest Americans evolved in 4 waves, according to one expert. | Continue reading
Andrej Karpathy muses about sending a LLM binary that could "wake up" and answer questions. | Continue reading
We read an interesting paper today (ht Sachin Benny with an assist from ChatGPT) in the Yak Collective weekly governance study group (Fridays at 9 AM Pacific). Sons of the Soil, Migrants, and Civil War, by James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin (World Development, V 39, No. 2, 2011) … | Continue reading
In Latin, as well as in English, the toponym "Avernus" is synonymous with "hell" or "underworld." It comes from the name of a volcanic crater lake in Campania, Italy. It means "birdless" in Ancient Greek (áornos), likely named so for the toxic fumes seeping from the area, which i … | Continue reading
"Could easily use old towels and washcloths too." Cleaner shares mopping tip that doesn't require expensive disposable pads: 'Enjoy a wallet and Earth friendly cleaning hack' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
I spoke on 18 April at UNFOLD, an event hosted by Domus Academy in Milan as part of this year’s Design Week. Students from 6 international design schools presented their work over the day with an accompanying exhibition, and I was honoured to open the event. I chose to speak abou … | Continue reading
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge collapsed in March after it was struck by an enormous container ship that lost power while exiting the city’s port. The collision left the stricken Dali container ship stuck under the remnants of the bridge and made entry and exit of the Port … | Continue reading
Players of Helldivers 2, the popular third-person shooter that launched in February, are discovering they need to have a PlayStation… Continue reading Sony forces PC players of Helldivers 2 to have a PSN account The post Sony forces PC players of Helldivers 2 to have a PSN accoun … | Continue reading
The IEEE–Eta Kappa Nu honor society for engineers celebrates its 120th anniversary this year. Founded in October 1904, IEEE-HKN recognizes academic experience as well as excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service. Inductees are chosen based on their technical, scientific, … | Continue reading
Nachos is an easy snack you can make any time, any day! This easy beef nachos recipe features flavorful taco seasoned beef and black bean mixture, Pico de Gallo, your favorite veggies and of course, plenty of cheese. Easy to make ahead or right when you want it, bake it until che … | Continue reading
As Peacock preps for this summer’s Olympics (and a price increase), the streamer’s genre movie library remains as robust (and as weird) as ever. Here are 10 fantasy and horror movies to check out, including a pair of Jim Henson favorites and some very recent titles that you might … | Continue reading
Even after a commendable 16-year runtime, the company is offering discounts. | Continue reading
Health officials have warned of an ongoing tuberculosis outbreak in Long Beach, California. | Continue reading
For more than two weeks, our blog has been hobbled by problems with our Domain Name Servers (DNS). Basically, the majority of our email subscribers weren’t receiving updates when we posted something new. Also, our RSS feed took a dump. So even fewer people knew we were posting an … | Continue reading
The Transportation and Security Administration plans to vastly expand its use of facial recognition technology in the U.S., going from 25 airports with the tech to over 430 by this July. And a group of 14 senators from both parties are not happy, arguing in a new letter that, “th … | Continue reading
Google: Epic Games wants court to "micromanage" Android app distribution. | Continue reading
Microsoft shared its responsible artificial intelligence practices from the past year in an inaugural report, including releasing 30 responsible AI tools that have over 100 features to support AI developed by its customers. Read more... | Continue reading
The MIT EC^3 Hub, an outgrowth of the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, will develop multifunctional concrete applications for infrastructure. | Continue reading
I used to have this singular focus on students writing code that they submit, and then I run test cases on the code to determine what their grade is. This is such a narrow view of what it means to be a software engineer, and I just felt that with generative AI, I’ve managed to ov … | Continue reading
Lawyers suing TikTok in the United States say the social media platform offers “safety features in some countries and not… Continue reading TikTok lawyers push back on addiction lawsuit claims The post TikTok lawyers push back on addiction lawsuit claims appeared first on ReadWri … | Continue reading
We come from two sides of the political spectrum, write Christopher F. Rufo and Jenin Younes. But both of us agree that the Antisemitism Awareness Act is profoundly misguided. | Continue reading
Letter of recommendation: Make a deep skillet of your favorite taco or burrito filling, cover it with cheese and broil the whole lot of it in the oven, then scoop it up with tortilla chips. I hope you’re not asking “Why?” Because I know you heard the part about the lightly charre … | Continue reading
I have spoken at several TED conferences over the years. TEDxPSU 2010: “Reconceptualizing Security” TEDxCambridge 2013: “The Battle for Power on the Internet” TEDMed 2016: “Who Controls Your Medical Data?” I’m putting this here because I want all three links in one place. | Continue reading
With roots dating to 1946, radio station WMBR airs daily on 88.1 FM. | Continue reading
"Shogun" and the forgotten depth of simplicity. | Continue reading
With a rich nuttiness and bold flavor from shallots, garlic, red chiles, palm sugar, and tamarind paste, peanut sauce is a delicious staple in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. Here’s how to make it at home. | Continue reading
My thanks to Conversation Tree Press for sponsoring Six Colors this week. This is a very different kind of Six Colors sponsor, but they’re doing something special.… | Continue reading
Restrictions on gas hookups aim to tackle a key source of pollution: carbon burned in furnaces, water heaters, stoves, and other appliances. City abruptly reverses landmark decision to ban gas hookups: 'We have ceased enforcement' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
It began when collector John Pottie found what he thought was a print of a game of billiards. Removing the art from the frame, he realized it was actually woven silk. How could such a small piece of art be created from fibers and a loom? The fascination ignited; soon the National … | Continue reading
MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering grad students are undertaking a broad range of innovative research projects. | Continue reading
‘Twas the afternoon before Star Wars Day, and all through the internet, Hasbro was stirring our wallets with yet another big stream of reveals from the galaxy far, far away. Appropriately, given that 2024's Star Wars Day coincides with the 25th anniversary of The Phantom Menace, … | Continue reading
It's a must-have for homes with picky eaters. READ MORE... | Continue reading
Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024). You’re walking in the woods in Mozambique, humming to yourself. Suddenly, a small brown bird appears. You glimpse h … | Continue reading
Physical media is very popular these days. Nostalgia, fandom, and streaming burnout have caused certain segments of American society to switch off their Amazon Prime accounts and fire up their Blu-ray players. One of the many advertised benefits of physical media is that it offer … | Continue reading
Yan Lianke at Literary Hub: In China we have a saying that reading a banned book on a snowy night is one of the true joys of life. From this, one can well imagine the kind of satisfaction that reading a banned book may bring—like candy locked up in a cabinet, it releases a sweet… | Continue reading