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tpc3on Seizing the means of computation – Interview with Cory Doctorow

How popular movements can topple Big Tech monopolies

Colorado River deadline passes with no deal on voluntary water cuts KEY POINTS

- The seven states that rely on the drought-stricken Colorado River failed to meet a Jan. 31 federal deadline to strike a deal on voluntarily cutting their water use.

- After negotiations reached a standstill, six of the seven states — Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming — submitted a “consensus-based modeling alternative.”

- The proposal notably excludes California, the largest user of the Colorado River. Officials said the state will release its own plan. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/31/colorado-river-shortage-stat...

tpc3on “Internet in space” will transform the satellite imagery industry

Recent (12/21/22) article on the subject: Laser links are great for satellite relay, but challenges abound for taking it to ground https://spacenews.com/walking-a-narrow-beam-laser-links-are-...

tpc3on Chinese megawatt-level space nuclear reactor passes review

What could go wrong. . .

tpc3on The carbon capture crux: Lessons learned

From the report: Captured carbon has mostly been used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR): enhancing oil production is not a climate solution.

tpc3on Rare Russian ICBM Carrier Training Vehicle Had a Nasty Accident

Oops. . .

tpc3on Zaporizhzhia: Russian rockets damaged part of nuclear plant, Ukraine says

:-( Double-plus ungood. . .

tpc3on Observer bias and detection probabilities for moose pellet surveys

If a moose poops in the forest, and no one sees it. . . ;-)

tpc3on Facial recognition technology: How to opt out at the airport

I suspect it's the combination of the defensive medicine effect (if something does go wrong, no one wants to be the one to take responsibility for having said no to a system that someone else will argue (true or not) that that system could have stopped the event), the belief that the security theater aspect makes customers feel safer, the belief that more data and whiz-bang technology is always better, and the decision makers don't have the technical expertise to understand that it is not getting them much in terms of increased security, and they can always make some money on the side by selling the data that they collect.

tpc3on India successfully shoots down satellite in space

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/27/modi-space-wea... "veteran broadcaster Shekhar Gupta tweeted that the space missile had destroyed two targets: a satellite, and “what remained of the stature [and] reputation of Election Commission of India”"