171070155
submission
MightyMartian writes:
Arizona has determined that there is not enough groundwater for all of the housing construction that has already been approved in the Phoenix area, and will stop developers from building some new subdivisions, a sign of looming trouble in the West and other places where overuse, drought and climate change are straining water supplies.
The decision by state officials very likely means the beginning of the end to the explosive development that has made the Phoenix area the fastest growing metropolitan region in the country.
Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and its suburbs, gets more than half its water supply from groundwater. Most of the rest comes from rivers and aqueducts as well as recycled wastewater. In practical terms, groundwater is a finite resource; it can take thousands of years or longer to be replenished.
101906024
submission
MightyMartian writes:
Fivethirtyeight has done a statistical analysis on three million Russian troll tweets. The archive dates from February 2012 to May 2018, with the vast majority from 2015 to 2017. FiveThirtyEight has obtained nearly 3 million tweets from accounts associated with the Internet Research Agency. To our knowledge, it’s the fullest empirical record to date of Russian trolls’ actions on social media, showing a relentless and systematic onslaught. In concert with the researchers who first pulled the tweets, FiveThirtyEight is uploading them to GitHub so that others can explore the data for themselves.
101799050
submission
MightyMartian writes:
From the story:
"On 30 April 2019, Emperor Akihito of Japan is . The decision was announced in December 2017 so as to ensure an orderly transition to Akihito’s son, Naruhito, but the coronation could cause concerns in an unlikely place: the technology sector.
The Japanese calendar counts up from the coronation of a new emperor, using not the name of the emperor, but the name of the era they herald. Akihito’s coronation in January 1989 marked the beginning of the Heisei era, and the end of the Shwa era that preceded him; and Naruhito’s coronation will itself mark another new era."
92383395
submission
MightyMartian writes:
From the story:
"Former astronaut Julie Payette will be the Queen's new representative in Canada, CBC News has confirmed.
The 53-year-old Montrealer, who speaks six languages, will be named the 29th governor general, a position that comes with a $290,660 annual salary and an official residence at Rideau Hall. ...
Payette, who is also an accomplished athlete, pianist and choral singer, will succeed outgoing Gov. Gen. David Johnston.
A computer engineer with a commercial pilot licence, Payette was picked from among 5,330 applicants in 1992 to be one of four new astronauts with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
She participated in two space flights to the International Space Station and served as the CSA's chief astronaut between 2000 and 2007."
I defy anyone else to find a head of state who is an astronaut!
89384127
submission
MightyMartian writes:
From the story:Scientists have discovered what looks the best place so far where life as we know it may exist outside our own solar system.
Seven Earth-sized planets, all of which could contain water, have been found orbiting a small star 39 light-years away.
"We have made a crucial step toward finding if there is life out there," said Amaury Triaud, co-author of the study. "I don't think any time before we had the right planets to discover and find out if there was.
73909363
submission
MightyMartian writes:
From the story:The footprints of family members gathered around a hearth fire thousands of years ago on the central coast of B.C. may be the oldest ever found in North America.
The impressions left by the feet of two adults and a child in the soft clay of Calvert Island appear to be 13,200 years old, which would make them older than any others ever found on the continent, announced the Hakai Institute, a research organization that helped support the research.
73776447
submission
MightyMartian writes:
You heard it here first. Dice is fucking over Slashdot once again, this time by replacing the handy "read story" link with some hipster doofus "share on twitter/facebook/up-my-arse" link.
Likely this indicates the sheer mental retardation of Dice's corporate overlords, people some pathetically stupid that they likely need someone to hold their phalli while they urinate.
One Dice representative was quoted as saying "Duhhhhhhhh...."
70919335
submission
MightyMartian writes:
It should prove to be no surprise for most rational people, but a group of Australian researchers have determined that homeopathy is completely useless at treating medical conditions. Researchers sifted through 1,800 research papers on homeopathy and found no reliable report that showed homeopathic remedies had any better results than placebos.
70915961
submission
MightyMartian writes:
From the article:
Sir Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series of novels who had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, has died aged 66, his publishers have announced.
He passed away in his home, with his cat sleeping on his bed surrounded by his family on Thursday.
He completed his last book, a new Discworld novel, in the summer of 2014.
Larry Finlay, MD at Transworld Publishers, said in a statement: “The world has lost one of its brightest, sharpest minds.”
66798115
submission
MightyMartian writes:
According to the BBC, there are numerous reports of the latest version of Android causing numerous problems for Nexus 7 users.
The Google Product Forums are filled with reports of both the 2012 and 2013 versions of the Nexus 7 tablet having stability problems; in particular with Chrome and the Facebook app.
On a personal note, while Lollipop works quite while on my Nexus 5, it has rendered my Nexus 7 2012 tablet all but unusable with frequent crashes and lock ups.
59500645
submission
MightyMartian writes:
I've been working for an organization now for over seven years, my best run yet. A couple of years ago, the company went through some major changes and I bought in as an owner and as a managing director; my responsibilities encompassing administration, finance and IT. It's a small (20 employee or so, plus nearly that many with subcontracting companies) organization so needless to say I retained my direct IT responsibilities.
My fellow board members have decided that I need to detach myself from the day to day IT operations and take over more management duties; in particular in the finance and budgeting end of things. Right now I'm in the process of interviewing a new IT system administrator who will, over time, take on most of my IT roles. However, since this has been a one-man shop for seven years; namely my shop, I confess some reservations about handing over the keys and moving permanently up to the top floor.
Does anybody have any suggestions on the level of permissions for servers, networks and infrastructure I should start with? Do I, for the moment, retain some of the critical functionality; like superuser passwords, and slowly move the new system administrator into his or her role, or do I move more quickly, give him the basics and then let him fly on his own?
57388465
submission
MightyMartian writes:
From the story:
"NASA and the White House are asking Congress to bankroll a new intrastellar road trip to a destination that's sort of like the extraterrestrial Atlantis of our solar system — Jupiter's intriguing moon, Europa."
Since Europa seems one of the most likely worlds in the Solar System other than Earth where we have some hope of finding extant life, let's hope Congress gives the green light to this project.
56391607
submission
MightyMartian writes:
Former US president (and everyone's favorite funny man) Richard M. Nixon announced his approval of the Slashdot Beta site.
"I was just telling Pat this morning as I made sweet Nixon love to her that what the web needed was a whitespace-riddled atrocity. Slashdot Beta is the Tet Offensive of discussion sites, so screw you, you stupid hippies."
Henry Kissinger was said to have been very pleased as well. Dr. Kissinger was quoted as saying "In Soviet Russia, Slashdot betas you!"
56378011
submission
MightyMartian writes:
According to Slashdot's blog, great progress is being made in the redesign. According to a notice on the Slashdot front page:
"MOVIN’ ON UP. You are on Slashdot Classic. We are starting to move into new digs in February by automatically redirecting greater numbers of you. The new site is a work in progress so Classic Slashdot will be available from the footer for several more months. As we migrate our audience, we want to hear from you to make sure that the redesigned page has all the features you expect. Find out more."
According to many posters who are posting off topic, there seems little appetite for the upcoming changes.
52591479
submission
MightyMartian writes:
British securities services fear foreign intelligence agencies have developed the ability to turn mobile devices such as phones and tablets into bugs without the owner’s knowledge, allowing them to eavesdrop on confidential meetings.
According to the article, UK security services fear China, Russia and Pakistway have figured out a way to turn mobiles into microphones, and have them transmit even when they're off. Ministers in sensitive government departments have been issued with soundproof lead-lined boxes, which they must place their mobiles in when having sensitive conversations.
