Dave’s Musings
What's happening around the world is frankly astonishing. Its the 21st century, and yet we (a year in) still have Russia trying to conquer the Ukraine. And then you have the more recent war between Israel and Hamas.
The latter is fairly hard to understand, and the media can't condense it into something short. And some people try to put a spin on it for their own reasons. Its messy. Its complicated. You often are provided erroneous information. The thing to bear in mind is that there isn't a simple root cause, nor a simple solution. Like anyone, I feel strongly about some aspects, and could surely give my opinion about what's happening. But that would be doing a disservice and feeding into the "frenzy"
Instead, I'd like to point out that this type of aggression has consequences to other humans we share this earth with, and at the heart of it, there is a humanitarian crisis and innocent people are suffering. In my humble opinion, if we can put that in perspective, maybe we can help in some small way - either by donating to a worthy cause or voicing that to people who can possibly do something. Perhaps we can make a difference in terms of the human cost in the short term.
| There are so many new images being returned, courtesy of the James Webb Space Telescope, that its sometimes hard to keep track.
Recently one image seemed to show two galaxies on top of each other. But further analysis suggested that this was somehow a galaxy that was duplicated in the image. The software and cameras were checked, and this doesn't appear to be caused by some technical issue.
The only other explanation is something that has been hypothesized but never seen: a crease in the universe, caused by a cosmic string.
Whether this is accurate remains to be seen, but the finding is interesting and worth reading more about.
https://www.sciencealert.com/we-may-have-just-found-evidence-of-a-cosmic-string-a-crease-in-the-universe |
| A company out of Vienna is looking at turbulence in aircraft. They found that some minor adjustments in flight controls and altitude can reduce the stresses on the plane. This would make the flight more comfortable for passengers, and also cause fewer mechanical issues.
Their plan is to make a smart computer system that can use real time data and forecast from ahead to make the adjustments needed automatically.
You have to admire the thought and applying some simple tech to make flying more comfortable - as the climate change continues to make flying less comfortable.
https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/this-technology-aims-to-reduce-mid-air-turbulence-in-aeroplanes |
| Disney announced recently a desire to sell off streaming services in some of the markets they entered (India being a big one). They have flirted with the idea of selling off ESPN. And they are looking to revisit some of the movie distribution deals.
Then they decided to "experiment" by simulcasting Monday Night Football on ABC (over the air) along with ESPN. Cable providers have cried foul, but so far they persist in doing that.
And then there's Hulu, which was started by all of the networks and media providers as equal partners. It was a great idea and gave viewers some competitive pricing for content. Then through purchases and acquisitions, Disney wound up owning most of Hulu.
It would not be incorrect to say they manage Hulu as part of their streaming, along with Disney+, potentially in violation of anti-turst laws. Or so says a judge who allowed a suit in that space to go forward.
What happens in that space is anyones guess. But you can see how these types of things are dragging the company down.
https://apnews.com/article/bauer-mlb-dodgers-sexual-assault-lawsuit-allegations-dc338d09c6fc3631080205b437c6f660 |
| Elon Musk is planning to charge for use of "The platform formerly known as Twitter." But its weird, because he only wants to charge $1 per year. Its an amount that is unlikely to raise too many hackles, and the millions he could make wouldn't offset his losses.
So what gives? Musk has already indicated he wants to disrupt the payments industry. And charging for use of the platform would give him access to credit card info, banking info, and so on.
As far as I know, he never created a new privacy policy after throwing out the one he inherited with Twitter. In theory, then, he could use this info however he wants - including selling it or otherwise using it to his advantage. And you wouldn't know, or have recourse.
And doing so may give him the upper hand in disrupting the payments industry.
Its crazy, but could be right up his alley.
IMHO, moving away from Twitter is a good option for those of us who see the potential problems here. Me? I have moved to Mastodon. I invite you to join me. https://techhub.social/@davey_k |
One Little Spark …
| We saw a shift in society happen over the last few years, where in a broad sense we started listening to women who say they were raped, and taking the allegations seriously (or perhaps more seriously), rather than simply dismissing them.
But with that comes a potential dark side. There's the case of Trevor Bauer the baseball player who had consensual sex with a woman he met. She claimed to have been raped, and he was suspended from baseball for more than 2 seasons in reaction to the allegations.
Only it turns out it was much more complicated, and Bauers attorneys found that she had texted a friend about his net worth and her desire to get some of the money.
I don't claim to know the details of what went on, but there was a settlement and he has been reinstated to baseball. Because it wasn't what she claimed it was.
Personally, I think we need to take the allegations seriously, but we need to find a way to withhold judgement until the facts are known.
https://apnews.com/article/bauer-mlb-dodgers-sexual-assault-lawsuit-allegations-dc338d09c6fc3631080205b437c6f660 |
Dave’s Musings
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