April 17, 2023
Kaktovic Numerals in Unicode
'Almost 30 years ago, a group of Kaktovik students invented a numbering system that reflected the way they counted in Iñupiaq and made math more intuitive for them.' The numerals are now part of Unicode (PDF).
Boney M - Live In Concert (Vienna 1 Nov 1979)
In 1979, German-Caribbean band Boney M [Wikipedia] were at the peak of their powers. One of the biggest recording group in Europe at this point, they appeared Live In Concert (Vienna 1 Nov 1979), presumably a television airing for a national holiday, and did an hour of their material, singing their own parts. (They were a bit Milli Vanilli in the studio.) It's a delightful concert of most of their biggest hits, with peak 70s disco costuming and wonderful performances. [more inside]
Have we forgotten that work is about getting paid?
How to Beat Superhuman AIs
Nick Sibicky, a popular Go teacher on YouTube, demonstrates how to use a recently discovered exploit to defeat one of the strongest Go playing programs in his most recent video, and shares some of his feelings on AI at this moment in time. [more inside]
Tesla is releasing a new beer to promote their vaporware truck.
At roughly $30 a bottle (guess it’s a billionaire’s beer). Meanwhile, the only successfully running Tesla truck model still belongs to this plucky inventor, aka The Queen of Shitty Robots (self-chosen appellation). [more inside]
robbery was quick, quiet, & clean, & netted more than 2.2 trillion ISK
EVE Online player uses obscure rule to pull off the biggest heist in the game's history [PC Gamer] “Instead of betrayal, this theft was dependent upon learning and exploiting the "shares mechanic" in EVE Online in order to leverage a takeover of Event Horizon Expeditionaries, a 299-member corporation that was part of the Pandemic Horde alliance. Using a "clean account with a character with a little history," Flan_Hill and an unnamed partner applied for membership in the EHEXP corporation. After the account was accepted, Flan_Hill transferred enough of his shares in the corporation to the infiltrator to enable a call for a vote for a new CEO. The conspirators both voted yes, while nobody else in the corporation voted at all. This was vital, because after 72 hours the two "yes" votes carried the day. The infiltrating agent was very suddenly made CEO, which was in turn used to make Flan_Hill an Event Horizon Expeditionaries director, at which point they removed all the other corporate directors and set to emptying the coffers. Counting all stolen assets, including multiple large ships, Flam_Hill estimated the total value of the heist at 2.23 trillion ISK, which works out to more than $22,300 in real money.” [The operation—spelled out in detail in this Reddit post.]
whose data, our data! whose science, our science!
April is Citizen Science Month! Join the 2023 City Nature Challenge global bioblitz and help document nature near you this April 28 – May 1 (global). Go on a Worm Hunt (UK). Listen to Heliophysics Audified: Resonances in Plasmas with NASA. Identify accessibility issues with Project Sidewalk. Explore the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's community air quality monitoring projects (list by region). Use HerpMapper to gather and share data on reptiles and amphibians (global, previously on MeFi).
He doesn’t say it’s on the house, but we both know that it is.
What I Think Will Happen if I Go to a Bar and Order a Whiskey Neat. Bonus: Scotch pronunciation guide from Brian Cox
Living in Adoption's Emotional Aftermath
From the New Yorker: "Adoptees reckon with corruption in orphanages, hidden birth certificates, and the urge to search for their birth parents".. Includes discussion on issues with international and transracial adoption and effects on adoptees' mental health; profiles three adults who were adopted and their journies in searching for their birth families.
Tear Gas Tuesday in Downtown Portland
A groundbreaking analysis reveals how Portland, Oregon, was blanketed with toxic chemicals, raising concerns about global teargas use: ‘This was a disaster’. [Guardian] Investigators have created a 3D simulation of the Portland police bureau’s (PPB) extraordinary use of teargas during a major protest event on 2 June 2020.
Forensic Architecture (FA), a research agency that investigates human rights violations, worked with weapons experts to analyze hundreds of videos from that evening, along with internal police files, invoice records, manufacturer data and photos of teargas canisters. The analysis reveals that the city’s downtown was blanketed with gas at more than 50 times the level federal regulators consider “immediately dangerous to life or health”. [more inside]
Don't Fear the Reaper
“You are locked in? This is what you want? Because it sounds like you have a lot going on,” the agent said, according to the affidavit. “You’re in the military. You’ve got college. You’ve got a lot going on, as far as good things in your life to kinda’ get in this world. It is a shady world, and I just don’t want you to have regrets if you come to work for us, because it, I mean it messes with your mind, shooting people.”Applying for a job through rentahitman.com is not recommended. [WaPo/archived; NBCNews] [more inside]
"The wonderful thing about music is that it's ageless." - AJ
RIP Ahmad Jamal, one of the great creators of American classical music.
Perhaps best known perhaps for his album At the Pershing: But Not for Me, especially the track Poinciana. Of the album, it's been written "if you're looking for an argument that pleasurable mainstream art can assume radical status at the same time, Jamal is your guide." An inspiration to so many, including Miles Davis, and a unique voice and vision in this world.
World Chess Championship 2023
The World Chess Championship is underway in at the St Regis Hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan. The reigning champion, Magnus Carlsen, has elected not to defend his title and play poker instead. Two players are playing a 14 game match to decide who will replace him as the official World Chess Champion: Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Lien. You can watch live coverage of the games on official channels YouTube (FIDE) and Twitch (Chess.com) [more inside]
I like things that I like
Starboard announced that it has concluded the acquisition of Parler
"No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business any more," reads the opening statement of a press release by Starboard Media on their recent acquisition of the conservative social media platform Parler.
"the dead-tree era of computer journalism is officially over"
Maximum PC and MacLife have stopped producing printed copies. Harry McCracken posts a eulogy to an era in computer journalism.
Belated Dyngus
Hello, it's Monday, and that means a new free thread, and so here we are. By the way, apologies for not pointing out observance of Śmigus-dyngus day last Monday. I guess it just snuck up on me. [more inside]
California dreamin' 2 (electric bugaloo ;)
"There was only every slot, so you had to fight for all of them"
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