Space dust may store information as a double helix.

A new computer simulation shows that dust immersed in ionized gas (i.e., dusty plasmas) can organize itself into double helixes. The simulations suggested that under conditions commonly found in space, the dust particles first form a cylindrical structure that sometimes evolved into helical structures. Along some spirals, the radius of the helix was seen to change abruptly from one value to another and then back again, providing a mechanism for storing information in terms of the length and radius of a section of a spiral.

Hessdalen light

" ... a young man with a ponytail and an earring!"

Doesn't say "young white man", but one might infer as much from the ponytail.

I am reminded of a passage from Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light (1967):

He did not move his head, but reached out to crush a beetle that stood near his hand. The tip of a small crystal and two tiny wires protruded through the broken chitin of its back.

An excellent novel, one of my favorites.

Sadly, the Avon edition that I used to own was the absolute worst example of typographical errors I have ever seen: at least a dozen cases of misplaced or duplicated lines. Bad enough that I could no longer enjoy re-reading a book so grievously mangled by the publisher.

Don't say it -- stop -- I'll say it myself: the book was full of bugs.

Evolutionary pressure will tend to select for individuals who can survive and resist these agents.

Five generations, maybe ten, and we'll have a sub-population of insurgents who drink incapacitant agents from breakfast.

Made me laugh! One more time:

They'll drop their famous fish division next and try to make up all their revenue in malt vinegar services.

Slippery banana peels remind me of a favorite scene from The Wizard of Speed and Time.

Hell, we can't even get food to people going hungry in the US without a political shit storm happening from people who think it's the same thing as communism.

Too true. We could be the heroes of mankind, or at least heroes of a proud and healthy nation: so doable, yet so not done. It hurts.

Under Capitalism, Man exploits Man.

Under Communism, it's the other way around.

... the inefficiency of producing phones solely for California means the kill switch is expected to be adopted by phone makers on handsets sold across the U.S. and around the world.

First they tempt you with California legislation.

Next thing you know, you're hooked on NAFTA, ACTA, and God knows what other Profit-Seeking Acronyms (PSA's).

I suppose we should feel lucky that Amazon is not using United Nations Black Drones to deliver tracking devices (such as your new phone) to your door ... or wherever they know you are ....

"One of the most important advances in casino technology comes from facial recognition systems, where guests entering the gambling area are photographed and their visages are compared with an ever-growing database of known cheaters and suspicious people."

- Link

"Carrier bees wait for favourable breezes. If a storm arises, they steady themselves with the weight of a little pebble held in their feet; some authorities say that it is placed on their shoulders ...."

- Pliny the Elder: Naturalis Historia

"We tend to scoff at the beliefs of the ancients. But we can't scoff at them personally, to their faces, and this is what annoys me."

- Jack Handey

"Security risks" from people self-subscribing to hotel door access?

Some would call this a "Profitable vulnerabilities" situation.

I was thinking that "staunchy" is a good word for "tending to staunch" -- for example, a bandage is staunchy when it staunches a wound.

But I was mistaking "staunch" for "stanch" -- ones stanches (not staunches) a wound.

So then I think, "staunchy", from "staunch" -- thus "tending to be loyal or devoted".

Now I find out that "staunchy" means "stinky".

Which kind of fits both ways ... bloody wounds are stinky ... tendencies to loyalty are stinky (by comparison with real, true, full loyalty, as opposed to mere tendencies) ... it all fits together.