Comment Re:How is a 15-year old able to enter into a contr (Score 3, Insightful) 33
How is it predatory? Age is the problem.
People under 18 should not be permitted to enter into contracts without parental permission.
Comment Headline is misleading (Score 0) 190
Permanent Standard Time Could Cut Strokes, Obesity Among Americans. True
Permanent Daylight Saving Time Could Cut Strokes, Obesity Among Americans. also True
What's causing the problems is the twice a year time changes.
Agree on one, stick to it and move on.
Submission + - SpaceX built a docker from bike parts. The story explains its dominance.https:// (washingtonpost.com)
schwit1 writes: A Dragon docking prototype built from mountain bike shocks led to rapid reinvention, an example of the company’s innovative culture.
https://x.com/Yrouel86/status/...
https://x.com/Yrouel86/status/...
Submission + - If We Want Bigger Wind Turbines, We're Gonna Need Bigger Airplanes (ieee.org) 2
schwit1 writes: The world’s largest airplane, when it’s built, will stretch more than a football field from tip to tail. Sixty percent longer than the biggest existing aircraft, with 12 times as much cargo space as a 747, the behemoth will look like an oil tanker that’s sprouted wings—aeronautical engineering at a preposterous scale.
Called WindRunner, and expected by 2030, it’ll haul just one thing: massive wind-turbine blades. In most parts of the world, onshore wind-turbine blades can be built to a length of 70 meters, max. This size constraint comes not from the limits of blade engineering or physics; it’s transportation. Any larger and the blades couldn’t be moved over land, since they wouldn’t fit through tunnels or overpasses, or be able to accommodate some of the sharper curves of roads and rails.
So the WindRunner’s developer, Radia of Boulder, Colo., has staked its business model on the idea that the only way to get extralarge blades to wind farms is to fly them there. “The companies in the industryknow how to make turbines that are the size of the Eiffel Tower with blades that are longer than a football field,” says Mark Lundstrom, Radia’s founder and CEO. “But they’re just frustrated that they can’t deploy those machines [on land].”
Radia’s plane will be able to hold two 95-meter blades or one 105-meter blade, and land on makeshift dirt runways adjacent to wind farms. This may sound audacious—an act of hubris undertaken for its own sake. But Radia’s supporters argue that WindRunner is simply the right tool for the job—the only way to make onshore wind turbines bigger.
Bigger turbines, after all, can generate more energy at a lower cost per megawatt. But the question is: Will supersizing airplanes be worth the trouble?
Called WindRunner, and expected by 2030, it’ll haul just one thing: massive wind-turbine blades. In most parts of the world, onshore wind-turbine blades can be built to a length of 70 meters, max. This size constraint comes not from the limits of blade engineering or physics; it’s transportation. Any larger and the blades couldn’t be moved over land, since they wouldn’t fit through tunnels or overpasses, or be able to accommodate some of the sharper curves of roads and rails.
So the WindRunner’s developer, Radia of Boulder, Colo., has staked its business model on the idea that the only way to get extralarge blades to wind farms is to fly them there. “The companies in the industryknow how to make turbines that are the size of the Eiffel Tower with blades that are longer than a football field,” says Mark Lundstrom, Radia’s founder and CEO. “But they’re just frustrated that they can’t deploy those machines [on land].”
Radia’s plane will be able to hold two 95-meter blades or one 105-meter blade, and land on makeshift dirt runways adjacent to wind farms. This may sound audacious—an act of hubris undertaken for its own sake. But Radia’s supporters argue that WindRunner is simply the right tool for the job—the only way to make onshore wind turbines bigger.
Bigger turbines, after all, can generate more energy at a lower cost per megawatt. But the question is: Will supersizing airplanes be worth the trouble?
Comment Find new ways to motivate the decision makers (Score 1) 29
Massive fines or jailing C-level officers? Aiding and abetting similar to money laundering.
Submission + - White House asks FDA to review pharma advertising on TV (whitehouse.gov) 1
sinij writes:
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall therefore take appropriate action to ensure transparency and accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising, including by increasing the amount of information regarding any risks associated with the use of any such prescription drug required to be provided in prescription drug advertisements, to the extent permitted by applicable law. The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall take appropriate action to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Actâ(TM)s prescription drug advertising provisions, and otherwise ensure truthful and non-misleading information in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements.
Advertising dollars is a major avenue for pharmaceutical companies to influence news and attempt to shape public opinion. Advertising was a major contributor to painkiller addiction, where networks were hesitant to cover early reports of addictivness. It is likely directly contributing today to lack of critical coverage of Ozempic. It is just too big of a conflict of interest to allow to stand.
Comment Total surveillance and harsh penalties (Score 1) 181
For drunk driving and using a cell phone while driving
Submission + - NASA inspector general: Dragonfly mission is way overbudget and behind schedule (behindtheblack.com)
schwit1 writes: According to a new NASA inspector general report issued today, NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Titan is now billions overbudget and is likely not be ready to launch in 2028.
You can download the report here [pdf]. From its executive summary:
You can download the report here [pdf]. From its executive summary:
Dragonfly was selected under a New Frontiers Announcement of Opportunity with a $850 million cost cap on Principal Investigator-Managed Mission Costs, which primarily includes development costs but excludes launch vehicle and post-launch operations costs. However, by April 2024, those costs had grown to $2.6 billion and the launch delayed by more than 2 years, from April 2026 to July 2028. The cost increase and schedule delay were largely the result of NASA directing APL to conduct four replans between June 2019 and July 2023 early in Dragonfly’s development. Justifications for these replans included the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues, changes to accommodate a heavy-lift launch vehicle, projected funding challenges, and inflation.
The report now estimates the budget will eventually rise above $3 billion, cost that is eating away at NASA’s entire planetary budget, making other missions impossible. The project itself is far from ready, with multiple unfinished issues that make its present launch target of 2028 very unlikely.
Submission + - Burger King Uses Copyright Law to Nix Security Research (bankinfosecurity.com)
schwit1 writes: Self-described ethical hacker "BobDaHacker" posted Saturday a blog post disclosing authentication bypass and other vulnerabilities in the "Assistant" system used by Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International, parent company to the hamburger chain as well as Tim Hortons, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs.
The "Assistant" system is deployed across RBI brands, BobDaHacker said in the now-deleted report, which remains archived online.
The blog post, titled "We Hacked Burger King," was up for less than 48 hours, until the researcher said they received a copyright infringement notice transmitted by threat intel firm Cyble. "Their complaint specifically states that our use of the 'Burger King' trademark was unauthorized and creates 'a high degree of confusion among the public that the website is in some way endorsed by/or linked with our client,'" BobDaHacker said in a statement posted to the URL where their research previously was live.
Here it is on the wayback machine
The "Assistant" system is deployed across RBI brands, BobDaHacker said in the now-deleted report, which remains archived online.
The blog post, titled "We Hacked Burger King," was up for less than 48 hours, until the researcher said they received a copyright infringement notice transmitted by threat intel firm Cyble. "Their complaint specifically states that our use of the 'Burger King' trademark was unauthorized and creates 'a high degree of confusion among the public that the website is in some way endorsed by/or linked with our client,'" BobDaHacker said in a statement posted to the URL where their research previously was live.
Here it is on the wayback machine
Submission + - Google admits the open web is in 'rapid decline' (theverge.com)
schwit1 writes: For months, Google has maintained that the web is “thriving,” AI isn’t tanking traffic, and its search engine is sending people to a wider variety of websites than ever. But in a court filing from last week, Google admitted that “the open web is already in rapid decline,” as spotted earlier by Jason Kint and reported on by Search Engine Roundtable .
Google submitted the filing ahead of another trial that will determine how it will address its monopoly in the advertising technology business. The US Department of Justice recommends that Google break up its advertising business, but the company argues in the filing that this isn’t ideal because it would “only accelerate” the decline of the open web, “harming publishers who currently rely on open-web display advertising revenue.”
Google submitted the filing ahead of another trial that will determine how it will address its monopoly in the advertising technology business. The US Department of Justice recommends that Google break up its advertising business, but the company argues in the filing that this isn’t ideal because it would “only accelerate” the decline of the open web, “harming publishers who currently rely on open-web display advertising revenue.”
Google:
Finally, while Plaintiffs continue to advance essentially the same divestiture remedies they noticed in their complaint filed in January 2023, the world has continued to turn. Plaintiffs put forth remedies as if trial, the Court’s liability decision, and remedies discovery never happened—and also as if the incredibly dynamic ad tech ecosystem had stood still while these judicial proceedings continued.
But the changes have been many: AI is reshaping ad tech at every level; non-open web display ad formats like Connected TV and retail media are exploding in popularity; and Google’s competitors are directing their investments to these new growth areas. The fact is that today, the open web is already in rapid decline and Plaintiffs’ divestiture proposal would only accelerate that decline, harming publishers who currently rely on open-web display advertising revenue. As the law makes clear, the last thing a court should do is intervene to reshape an industry that is already in the midst of being reshaped by market forces.
The statement sharply contrasts Google’s recent narrative about the health of search on the web. Google has a clear incentive to make itself appear weaker or less monopolistic in the courtroom, but its admission reflects a reality many publishers are going through. Several digital publishers and independent website owners have reported experiencing a decline in traffic following changes to Google Search’s algorithm and the rise of AI chatbots.
Submission + - Chinese Hackers Pretended to Be a Top U.S. Lawmaker During Trade Talks (archive.is)
schwit1 writes: FBI is investigating a scheme to spy on trade groups using fake emails from China committee chair Rep. John Moolenaar
Comment The headline is fake news (Score 1) 5
The Michelin Mobility Intelligence system does not track personal identities. Instead, it aggregates data to show speeding behavior in specific locations at specific times.
As a result of this data, state troopers will focus on patrolling areas identified as speeding hotspots, including sections of I-5 and I-90. The targeted enforcement will take place from June 16 to July 31, with the aim of changing reckless driving patterns through increased patrols.
Comment BMW, I am so breaking up with you (Score 1) 143
https://techcrunch.com/2025/09...
Those first few drives felt exhilarating, too. The car was beautiful, the ride was smooth, and I felt like we were going places. Nearly two years later, I’m doing something I never thought I’d do: eagerly awaiting the end of a lease on a luxury car because its software is such a disaster that it makes my rusted-out Volvo look like a paragon of reliability.
Digital key issues have become so widespread that BMW owners have at times shared elaborate multi-step workarounds that read like instructions for disarming a bomb:
1. Open the BMW app on your phone and use it to unlock the door.
2. Sign in with your BMW ID in iDrive.
3. Place your iPhone in the vehicle’s charging tray.
4. Wait for the digital key to reappear in the Wallet app.
5. Double-click the side button, authenticate with Face ID, and—finally—start the car.
Comment You don't have a right to a Facebook page (Score -1, Troll) 56
FB Zuck owns it. It's his property, it's his call.
Submission + - Game Theory of Police Interrogation (joehuffman.org)
schwit1 writes: Here’s the problem. When you agree to a police interrogation, you and the police are playing two different games.
As the suspect, you believe you are playing a multiplayer, collaborative game.
But the police aren’t even playing a multiplayer game. They’re playing a one-player game, like Tetris.
As the suspect, you’re not a player in the game. You’re more like the game environment, producing falling blocks for the player—the police.
The police play this game by collecting your statements like blocks and fitting them into a picture that incriminates you. When enough blocks have fit together, the police have won the game and refer the case to a prosecutor.
As the suspect, you believe you are playing a multiplayer, collaborative game.
But the police aren’t even playing a multiplayer game. They’re playing a one-player game, like Tetris.
As the suspect, you’re not a player in the game. You’re more like the game environment, producing falling blocks for the player—the police.
The police play this game by collecting your statements like blocks and fitting them into a picture that incriminates you. When enough blocks have fit together, the police have won the game and refer the case to a prosecutor.
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