176901409
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EmagGeek writes:
Val Kilmer, star of the iconic 90's science-comedy film "Real Genius," has died at the age of 65 from complications due to pneumonia. Many of us remember his breakout role in the cult classic, where he starred as brilliant yet unmotivated student Chris Wright, whose intellect overshadowed his professor and archenemy Prof. Jerry Hathaway, played by William Atherton, another notable film actor known for his roles in blockbuster films such as Ghostbusters and popular Christmas movie Die Hard. He had many other notable roles including his brilliant portrayal of Jim Morrison in "The Doors," and also many forgettable appearances in B-movies such as Top Gun and a movie in The Batman series.
He was a versatile actor who enjoyed the craft and refused to be typecast. We'll miss him.
176612061
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EmagGeek writes:
Woolly mammoths are a step closer to roaming the world again after scientists engineered a ‘woolly mouse’.
It may be on a much smaller scale, but they are hailing it as evidence they can tweak the necessary genes to bring back the ancient ancester of modern elephants.
‘De-extinction’ company Colossal Biosciences previously set out their ambition to return three animals long gone from the planet.
They said they hoped to see the first mammoth calf born to an elephant mother in 2028, and now they’ve hit a milestone on the way.
The ‘woolly mouse’ has been engineered to have faster growing, thicker hair than its normal cousin. Photos of it held next to a standard grey mouse show that this is certainly the case, with the new version sporting a luscious mane that could be in a hair ad.
My Editorial: One has to wonder why it is necessary or even a great idea to bring back species that nature long ago determined were a failure.
174758182
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EmagGeek writes:
Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct filesharing website Megaupload, is to be extradited to the US, the New Zealand justice minister says, which could end more than a decade of legal wrangling.
Now, the justice minister, Paul Goldsmith, has signed an extradition order for Dotcom, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
“I considered all of the information carefully, and have decided that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial,” Goldsmith said. “As is common practice, I have allowed Mr Dotcom a short period of time to consider and take advice on my decision. I will not, therefore, be commenting further at this stage.”
Dotcom posted on X on Tuesday: “The obedient US colony in the South Pacific just decided to extradite me for what users uploaded to Megaupload,” in what appears to be a reference to the extradition order. He did not reply to further requests for comment.
It should be noted that the United States routinely enforces its laws against non-citizens in other countries for activities that are perfectly legal in the jurisdiction where they take place. “New Zealand copyright law (92b) makes it clear that an ISP can’t be criminally liable for actions of their users,” Dotcom said in 2017, after the high court first ruled against him. In spite of this fact, the US has pursued an aggressive and arguably illegal campaign against Kim Dotcom, likely at the behest of political megadonors from Hollywood.\
Put another nail in the coffin for Justice.
135659282
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EmagGeek writes:
A camera slowly stalks a woman walking to her SUV in a desolate, empty parking garage. “If question 1 passes in Massachusetts, anyone could access the most personal data stored in your vehicle,” a narrator says. “Domestic violence advocates say a sexual predator could use the data to stalk their victims. Pinpoint exactly where you are. Whether you are alone ” The woman’s keys jingle as she approaches her car. The camera gets closer. The woman whips her head around. The stalker has found her. The screen flashes to black. “Vote NO on 1,” the narrator says.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents nearly every major auto manufacturer in the United States, is funding this and a series of other TV ads like it to scare Massachusetts residents into voting against a ballot measure that would expand the state’s already existing right to repair law to ensure that you can continue to get your car fixed by anyone you want. The ads heavily imply—and at times state outright—that the legislation would somehow lead women to be stalked and sexually assaulted, a charge that cybersecurity experts say has no grounding in reality. Instead, the auto industry wants to ensure that when your car breaks, you have to take it to a manufacturer “authorized” mechanic or the dealer itself.
I've seen a lot of horse shit in my time, but this is pretty high up on the list.
113576990
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EmagGeek writes:
Peter Brannen has an interesting, if humbling take on the antropocentric view of geology currently held by many scientists and governments, and the staggeringly arrogant assignment to humanity of its own epoch, despite all of human civilization fitting within a time period, on a geologic timescale, equivalent to that of the exposure time on a high speed camera.
The idea of the Anthropocene is an interesting thought experiment. For those invested in the stratigraphic arcana of this infinitesimal moment in time, it serves as a useful catalog of our junk. But it can also serve to inflate humanity’s legacy on an ever-churning planet that will quickly destroy—or conceal forever—even our most awesome creations.
The article also ponders what will become of human civilization, and whether there will be any trace of it remaining when the (likely nonhuman) archaeologists of 100 million years from now go looking for new historical discoveries. An interesting read, for sure.
78992511
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EmagGeek writes:
I'm just going to leave this here: A recent lawsuit against Obama alleges he has a legal duty to act against the rock-solid proven fact of climate change, and these young climate activists are taking him to task on it.
Xiuhtezcatl Tonatiuh became a climate change activist at age 6 when he saw an environmental documentary. He asked his mom to find a way for him to speak at a rally. Now 15, the long-haired, hip-hop-savvy Coloradan is one of 21 young activists joining climate scientist James Hansen in suing the Obama administration for failing to ditch fossil fuels. "It's basically a bunch of kids saying you're not doing your job," he told me here at the U.N. COP21 climate change summit in Paris." You're failing, you know. F-minus.
78261439
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EmagGeek writes:
The full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, has been officially released, and is available for the public to see. According to CNN, The TPP is a 12-nation deal that touches on 40% of the global economy. The provisions of the deal would knock down tariffs and import quotas, making it cheaper to import and export, and open new Asia-Pacific markets. Negotiations have been going on for years, led by the United States and Japan — with China conspicuously absent from the list of signees.
55736791
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EmagGeek writes:
I live in a semi-rural micropolitan area that generally has good access choices for high speed Internet. However, there are holes in the coverage in our area, and I live in one of them. There is infrastructure nearby, but because our subdivision covenants require all utilities to be underground, telecoms won't even consider upgrading to modern technology. The result is that we're all stuck with legacy DSL (which AT&T has happily re-branded as U-Verse even though it isn't) as our only choice for wireline access.
There is a competing cable company in the area, also with infrastructure nearby, but similarly they are reluctant to even discuss burying new cable in our 22-home subdivision.
Has anyone been in this same predicament and been able to convince a nearby ISP to run new lines? If so, how did you do it? Our neighborhood association could really use some pointers on this because we hit a new brick wall with every new approach we try — stopping just short of burying our own cable and hoping they'll at least be willing to run a line to the pole at the end of the street and drop it into our box.
