Hey, we were just following orders.
Rank Structure For The Space Force
Cheap Smartphones
Buyer beware.
[Wednesday-morning update]
Related: A law to require disclosure of microphones and cameras in devices. Yes. I consider selling a device with a mic and camera, that the seller doesn’t tell you about, to be an invasion of privacy. I keep a shutter over the camera on my laptop, but I don’t have an easy way to disable its mic. Fortunately, since I run Linux on it, it’s unlikely that it’s spying on me.
[Bumped]
The Joker Movie
The latest reason it’s bad.
This is ridiculous.
Crew Dragon
Elon is still saying this year, but people are understandably skeptical.
Identifying Airliners
An idiot’s guide.
I knew most of these, but I didn’t know about the “squashed engines” rule for the 737.
Lab-Grown Meat
…in spaaaaaace…
Seriously, this is a technology that I’m really looking forward to.
The Syrian Withdrawal
The place is a mess, and it does complicate China’s life for them to have to deal with it. My only concern is for the Kurds. But maybe they can cut a deal with Assad. And it is worth noting that Erdogan will be limited in his military ambitions by the need for maintenance of his NATO equipment.
[Mid-morning update]
The fate of the Kurds.
They really deserve their own country, but that never seems to be in the cards. Ignoring the Marxist PKK, they’re the only real allies, other than Israel, in the region.
PG&E Blackouts
California is becoming more and more like a third-world country. But the idiot voters just keep voting for more of it.
Solar Inactivity
The sun is extremely quiet. It will be interesting to see what the effects are.