This should see great success as a way to defeat test proctoring software.

Remember the IMP (Interface Message Processor) of yore? Put all of the message packaging into a separate processor between the computer and the Arpanet. Layers and layers of 1-bit state machines. Everything old is new again.

Tort oven? Try "retort" oven.

At least one Fortune 500 company I know well uses software called OCR to screen job applicants, customers, visitors, any anyone else we have contact with. This is supposedly required to meet US export controls...we can't do business with known spies or terrorists after all. But the algorithm is horrible: a logical OR of every fuzzy match of name and address. Is a substring of your last name the same as the name of an Iranian oil tanker? Hit. Do you have an ethnic first name which has ever been used by a Taliban fighter? Hit. Each hit means a delay for further review before we can do business with you, meaning for example that your chance at getting that job is a little less.

The text in TFA incorrectly summarizes the requirement. Fortunately the article includes an image of the card. What is required is that IF the officer asks for a SSN, THEN they must read the disclaimer. The disclaimer says "Federal law requires that you be informed" that the legal basis for requesting the SSN is a pre-1975 LAPD procedure. The big issues, as I see it, are that 1) the disclaimer is poorly worded and could be interpreted by the interviewee, and 2) that officers are failing to read the disclaimer.

Such a policy is vital for maintaining security, but so is a responsive system for whitelisting needed software and handling exceptions. Otherwise, you end up with a health agency which is unable to communicate with certain segments of the population (by, say, posting videos on Tik Tok). Or a critical military operation being run via Word macros (having lived near several major US military bases, I can state with confidence that has in fact happened). Or employees disabled by RSI because they weren't allowed to automate a terribly repetetive task.

"Ornamental grass" usually refers to tall, decorative grass which typically uses far less water than green turf. Some species are native to Nevada. The restriction seems to apply just to nonfunctional green turf which serves only an ornamental purpose. If you live in drought country, the distinction is important.

I wonder if the restriction applies to low-water turf such as Buffalo Grass, or if it only applies to water hogs like Kentucky Bluegrass.

By the way, the misleading headline came from TFA, so I can't blame BeauHD.

And...

• Rocking back and forth to get out of mud or snow
• Adjusting the position of an already parked car (e.g. to make room for a lawnmower in the garage)
• Dashing out of the way of moving threats (carjacker, car skidding toward you, boulder rolling down a hill)
• Changing direction when vision is partially obstructed (due to glare, fogged glasses, etc)
• Changing direction when wearing heavy gloves

D614G is already the dominant strain in many places, and that could be because it's more infectious, or because it emerged "in the right place at the right time." This article in Cell is one of many which have been written on the subject: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell...

It's also about what kind of person I want to be. Do I want to be the kind of person who is willing to sacrifice a bit for the welfare of my neighbors? Or do I think my comfort is more important than other people's lives (or their freedom to leave their homes)?

The data don't have to be perfect. Let's say there was only a 1-in-3 chance that universal mask wearing would significantly reduce the infection rate across society. Would I be willing to put up with minor inconvenience, to give you--or, if you're young and think that you're immortal, your grandparents--a lower chance of dying a horrible death? Of course.

I've had a few cases where I copy a (fully qualified) code from Google Maps and paste it back into the search bar, and get a location about 10 miles directly north of the original spot. I complained and they eventually got fixed, so I don't have any current examples to offer. But it'll take a while for Plus Codes to earn my trust again after seeing that happen.

Apparently there is some evidence that far UVC wavelengths (207-222 nm) are absorbed by the outer layers of skin before the light can do any damage. See for example this February 2018 article in Nature. I'd want to see some pretty solid evidence before trusting this, however. What are the effects on eyes? Mucous membranes?

It seems that businesses are focusing on preventing COVID-19 transmission via fomites (contaminated surfaces) because that is relatively easy to do. But once good hand hygiene is in place, transmission from asymptomatic individuals via coarse droplets, fine droplets, and perhaps aerosols is the risk which really needs to be addressed.

Multiple users have been signing up for Jio using one of my email addresses. Giving me full access to reset their passwords, edit their profiles, see their customers (some of them appear to be resellers), and probably to access their digital wallets (I haven't tried that because ethics). Multiple layers of support at Jio say they don't care or can't help. From my corner of the world, this looks to me like an infosec disaster waiting to happen.

Google used to offer a wonderful advanced search techniques class. We learned about boolean operators, various exact match operators, and "find similar images" tricks. About 99% of the cool features they taught were removed (not just hidden--removed) within 2 years.

Then there's Goodreads (owned now by Amazon). As I type my search string, the exact book I want appears at the top of the results preview. As soon as I stop typing, the results list is populated by some algorithm's guess about what I really want, pushing the correct result down 10 or 20 places. Every time.