Photo essay in The Guardian.
11 April 2019
New Zealand bans assault and military-style weapons
Excerpts from an article in New Zealand's Stuff:
The banning of a range of rifles will become law less than a month after the massacre that prompted the swift change.In parliament on Wednesday night MPs of all political persuasions overwhelmingly voted in favour of The Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines and parts) Amendment Bill after its crucial third reading.The law, which needs Royal Assent, will become law by the end of the week. It will mean there will be a ban on all semi-automatic and military-style weapons, such as those used during the Christchurch terrorist attack that killed 50 and injured dozens...
"There are good people in all of our communities who will find themselves in possession of banned firearms, parts and magazines."This is because we are changing the law, not because these people have done anything wrong."..
She told the House the weapons used in the Christchurch terror attack were designed to kill. When she visited the hospital, not one victim had just one gunshot wound, she said."I struggle to recall any single gunshot wounds. In every case they spoke of multiple injuries, multiple debilitating injuries that deemed it impossible for them to recover in days, let alone weeks. They will carry disabilities for a lifetime and that's before you consider the psychological impact. We are here for them.""I could not fathom how weapons that could cause such destruction and large scale death, could be obtained legally in this country."
She also acknowledged the buyback scheme for compensation, which would be worked up over the next few weeks."We will operate fairly."
10 April 2019
Commonly called the "Picasso bug"
Sphaerocoris annulus, common names Picasso Bug or Zulu Hud Bug, is a species of shield-backed bugs belonging to the family Scutelleridae. The basic color is green, with eleven ring-shaped spots on the elytra. The colors and the design of these bugs represent a warning to predators.Image via
"Ranked choice voting" lucidly explained
Radiolab produces superb podcasts. "Tweak the Vote" is a detailed but reasonably concise study of ranked choice voting.
The first part of the podcast discusses a recent survey in which many - especially younger - Americans indicated that it is not of major importance to them to live in a democracy, and many of them would prefer a "strong leader who does not have to bother with Congress or elections (!).
The conversation then segues to a consideration of ranked choice voting as a more appealing (and more representative) voting system.
This system has been partially implemented in Minnesota and Maine. What surprised me is the degree to which implementation of this system instantly cuts down on the viciousness of negative campaigning (because candidates want to be second- or third-choices for their non-base.)
The transcript is here, but it's difficult to speed-read.
Addendum:
Found this cartoon today explaining voting in Australia -
Some discussion at the via.
Ransomware erases medical records
More at the StarTribune. But notice the absence of an air gap between the computer and the backup files.A computer virus recently injected itself into the electronic medical record system of Brookside ENT & Hearing Services and ruined the business.The two-doctor medical practice in Michigan has apparently become the first health care provider in the nation to shut its doors for good because of a ransomware attack, according to half a dozen cybersecurity experts contacted in the past week. Hackers are targeting Minnesota hospitals and clinics at an escalating pace, including four breaches involving patient files already reported in 2019, though any interruptions of work have been temporary...At Brookside ENT in Battle Creek, Mich., the ransomware virus started by deleting and overwriting every medical record, bill and appointment, including the backups. The virus left behind a duplicate of the deleted files, which could be unlocked with a password that the attacker promised to provide for $6,500 in U.S. currency wired to an account, doctors at the clinic said.The practice’s two ENT surgeons — Dr. William Scalf, 64, and Michigan state senator Dr. John Bizon, 66 — refused to pay the attacker’s ransom...
09 April 2019
The leg of Argentinosaurus
To estimate the gait and speed of Argentinosaurus, the study performed a musculoskeletal analysis combined with computer simulations. Similar analyses have previously been conducted on hominids, terror birds, and other dinosaurs. To conduct the analysis, the team had to create a digital skeleton of the animal in question, estimate the muscles and their properties, and estimate the weight and how it's distributed. Then using computer simulation and genetic algorithms, which could be optimised for metabolic energy cost or speed, the digital Argentinosaurus learns to walk. The study estimated that their 83 tonne sauropod model was mechanically competent at a top speed of 2 m/s (5 mph) but was approaching a functional limitPhoto via.
2018 Scrabble championship game
Arctic now in an "unprecedented state"
A new research paper by American and European climate scientists focused on Arctic warming published Monday reveals that the "smoking gun" when it comes to changes in the world's northern polar region is rapidly warming air temperatures that are having—and will continue to have—massive and negative impacts across the globe.
The new paper—titled "Key Indicators of Arctic Climate Change: 1971–2017"—is the work of scientists at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland in Copenhagen (GUES).
"The Arctic system is trending away from its 20th century state and into an unprecedented state, with implications not only within but beyond the Arctic," said Jason Box of the GUES, lead author of the study. "Because the Arctic atmosphere is warming faster than the rest of the world, weather patterns across Europe, North America, and Asia are becoming more persistent, leading to extreme weather conditions. Another example is the disruption of the ocean circulation that can further destabilize climate: for example, cooling across northwestern Europe and strengthening of storms."
08 April 2019
Skull of the Altamura Man
The Altamura Man is a fossil of the genus Homo discovered in 1993 in a karst sinkhole in the Lamalunga Cave near the city of Altamura, Italy. Remarkably well preserved but embedded in stalagmites and covered in a thick layer of calcite the find was left in situ in order to avoid damageImage via.
Altamura Man is one of the most complete Paleolithic skeletons ever to be discovered in Europe as "even the bones inside the nose are still there" and as of 2016 it represents the oldest sample of Neanderthal DNA to have been sequenced successfully
The "journey north" has begun
You can follow the monarch migration and many other signs of spring (songbirds, frogs, leafing out) for this year and previous years in the maps at Journey North.
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