Monday, March 30, 2026

Scientists testing new scanning technology discover mysterious structure beneath an ancient Egyptian city

Gotta love this leap forward, using traditional methods of searching, some 3D modeling, and satellite views. 

The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of combining geophysical measurements and remote sensing data, which gave a very accurate vision in detecting buried settlements in a complex region


New quantum sensor could replace satellites for GPS-free navigation

Color me intrigued! A "quantum sensor" may be a reliable - and more accurate, without the need for satellite coverage - replacement for GPS. 

And it's about to get a full scale test in space, after being deployed overnight. 

The U.S. Will Require Travelers From 50 Countries to Pay Up to $15,000 to Visit—What to Know

I'm sorry. But this is insanity. Bad enough they opted to make the rules racist at their core. But the rules are so complicated. 

Watch "South African innovator finds low-cost solution for potholes" on YouTube

Friday, March 27, 2026

The Billion-Dollar Pivot: Fans Tell Disney Exactly How to Spend the Scrapped OpenAI Windfall

A couple of weeks ago, Disney exited a deal with OpenAI to provide some service to Disney.  I was very unclear on the objective, but it turned out to be a bad fit, so they opted out.

And that leaves Disney with around a billion dollars of capital that otherwise would have been invested in that relationship.

Inside The Magic did a little dreaming, and invited Disney fans to weigh in on ways that Disney could spend that money.  Here's what they came up with: mostly it focused on the theme parks, and lowering the costs to guests.

Land animals evolved from ocean ancestors – new study unravels the genetics behind the transition

This is a summary of an extensive research paper about how land animals evolved from sea creatures around 550 million years ago.

They studied the genetics of animals and found that there are specific things that the animals adapted to in their new environment. 

While the summary is interesting, I encourage you to read the detailed paper. 
 

US scientists turn bourbon waste into high-performance electrodes

Here's a use for "stillage," that is the waste byproduct of distilling bourbon. 

It turns out that the material makes a great material for supercapacitors - an energy storage device that's similar to a battery in this context. 

Creativity for the win.