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• Post #1452222

  Insider trading is hard to prove, but it sure LOOKS like Trump admin insiders and confidants are profiting from advance knowledge of major events. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cge0grppe3po

• Post #1287211

  Slowly growing climate change will render some areas more and more unlivable (like the American South). This is not yet causing people to move to cooler areas... But extream climate-related events DO slow migration INTO the most affected areas. #Climate #Migration https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/18/4/2040

• Post #1210915

  Defense of the Boundary Waters will now need to move to the permitting process. #Minnesota https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16042026/minnesotas-boundary-waters-just-lost-protection-from-mining/

• Post #1177341

  My father gave me this Everready penlight circa 1990. We would now say that it has a "retro" look. It has been unused for a long time (with batteries out so they would not leak). I recently renovated it. It now has an LED bulb (5 watt incandesescent equivalent) and USB rechargable AA batteries. #WhatsOldisNew

• Post #930025

  There'll be some grumbling about this ruling, but I think it is consistent with other media. You don't sue the phone company because outlaws make phone calls. You don't sue newspapers that print classified ads that turn out to be scams. #SCOTUS #Copyright https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/supreme-court-rejects-sonys-attempt-to-kick-music-pirates-off-the-internet/

• Post #930024

  This is good, although ICE somehow gets funding from sources not controlled by Congress. #ICE #DHS https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/27/politics/senate-agreement-dhs-funding?cid=ios_app

• Post #930023

  Today's nice news: My article (with a 2nd and 3rd author) "Optimizing AI Integration: A Framework for Evaluating AI Use in Language Education" has been approved for publication in an International Journal of Digital Learning Technology special issue. #Academics #Publishing #Research #Writing

• Post #930021

  "The revival is part of a national trend toward old-school testing methods like in-class pen-and-paper exams and oral tests to prevent AI use for assignments on laptops." #AI #NoPhoneZone https://apnews.com/article/typewriter-ai-cheating-chatgpt-cornell-ce10e1ca0f10c96f79b7d988bb56448b

• Post #930020

  Watching streaming feeds leading up to the Artemis II launch and (that are bloated with promotional hype) and thinking "Walter Cronkite, where are you when we need you?" #NASA #Artemis

• Post #930019

  It's kind of hard to find out what the Artemis II capsule is like inside, but this tour of a simulator does a pretty good job. For example, the seats where the astronauts ride for takeoff and landing fold out of the way to open up a lot of space. #Artemis https://youtu.be/wVYwFFzaPp0?si=D3NSt1yUPb1mr2ar

• Post #930018

  Existing scholarship outlines two broad categories of decision-making: #1 - fast, intuitive, and affective (emotional) processing #2 - slow, deliberative, and analytical reasoning Scholars now see a third system - uncritical outsourcing to AI. #AI https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/04/research-finds-ai-users-scarily-willing-to-surrender-their-cognition-to-llms/

• Post #908071

  In spite of renewables generating nearly half of world electricity needs, there is still pressure to build out new fossil fuel infrastructure because of... Data centers! #ClimateChange #Electricity https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/01/renewables_generated_nearly_half_global_power/

• Post #855274

  More AI means less critical thinking. In the past, cognitive offloading meant using a calculator for math or a notebook for a grocery list. Generative AI platforms take this a step further by performing the actual thinking, analyzing, and problem-solving. #AI https://www.psypost.org/chatgpt-acts-as-a-cognitive-crutch-that-weakens-memory-new-research-suggests/

• Post #841376

  Two pictures of the moon tonight, with different interpretations. #Moon #Photography

• Post #754206

  There is finally a bilateral effort in Congress to fund Homeland Security, including TSA, but not ICE. #HLS #TSA #ICE https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-funding-ice-airport-security-lines-ed04ac573dfb27e939b7234cc8245b16

• Post #738630

  The contraction of children’s independent activity since the 1960s has made them markedly less resilient. Over several decades, children’s freedom to play and explore without adult intervention declined, while rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide among young people steadily climbed. #Depression #1960s https://siliconcanals.com/d-psychology-explains-people-who-grew-up-in-the-1960s-arent-just-tougher-they-developed-a-specific-kind-of-resilience-that-comes-from-being-raised-in-an-era-when-...

• Post #712084

  The Firefly news is in: An animated reboot set between the TV series and the movie. All original cast to return (except, of course, for the late Ron Glass). They pretty much have what they need to make this happen, except a streaming platform (i.e., money), which is the current push. #Firefly #KeepFlyin #BigDamnHeroes https://deadline.com/2026/03/nathan-fillion-firefly-animated-series-development-1236754122/

• Post #712082

  Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster are suing OpenAI. They claim ChatGPT produces "near-verbatim" copies of Britannica's ​encyclopedia entries, dictionary definitions and other content, and falsely attributes halucinations to them. #AI #Copyright #Trademark https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/encyclopedia-britannica-sues-openai-over-ai-training-2026-03-16/

• Post #712081

  Nearly 58% of people worldwide value environmental protection over economic growth when the two goals are at odds. Political discourse often focuses on economic growth, but study participants often favored ecological and social well-being. #Environment https://www.uvm.edu/gund/news/global-study-finds-majority-people-worldwide-prioritize-environmental-protection-over

• Post #712080

  Seen the other day in Yankton, SD. What could it possibly be? (This photo is cropped a bit, but exactly as my phone camera recorded it.) #Photography

• Post #712079

  This is a huge loss. Throughout its lifetime, the CBS Radio Network was the most authoritative news source on radio, including the longest hourly newscasts. The stories don't address the decision economics, but news certainly requires a large infrastructure of people around the world. #News https://apnews.com/article/cbs-radio-news-bari-weiss-11372c28f9557d0b10e329e6c4be339f

• Post #712078

  More and more traditional cable TV companies are getting out of cable TV. (Note that this article is from a pro-cord cutting site, but still has some worthy information.) #TV https://cordcuttersnews.com/the-end-of-cable-tv-why-cable-tv-companies-are-abandoning-tv-at-a-record-pace/

• Post #655571

  For planning your Saturday activities, please note that

• Post #655570

  Federal judge rules for the 2nd time... Withholding public health funding from states with sanctuary cities had nothing to do with public health, so... The Federal rules about termination of public health funding were violated. The Feds using AI to justify the cuts didn't help them, the judge said. #Sanctuary #Funding #Fail https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/appears-contrived-judge-scolds-trump-admin-for-using-ai-to-generate-after-the-fact-excuse-for-targeting-sanctuary-states-w...

• Post #655569

  You will be paying more and more for what today is "free" AI. It's a standard playbook. give the product away for free, then charge a little. then charge more. Heck, HULU used to be free. #AI https://www.axios.com/2026/03/12/ai-models-costs-ipo-pricing

• Post #655568

  You know the old saying: March - comes in like a lamb, Peaks lion-like at mid-month, Then reverts to go out like a lamb.

• Post #593944

  After hemorraging users, OpenAI says it is changing its Pentagon contract to explicitly bar use for domestic mass surveillance or being deployed by defense department intelligence agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA). #AI https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/03/openai-pentagon-ceo-sam-altman-chatgpt

• Post #593943

  You may have heard that the Justice Department has asked to dismiss its appeal of a court ruling siding with lawfirms that were perceived enemies of Trump. But, bizzarely, now DoJ has asked to withdraw their motion to dismiss. Maybe somebody saw the news stories about the dismissal. #Trump https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/anathema-to-our-scheme-of-ordered-liberty-law-firms-mount-collective-pushback-against-trumps-executive-orders-with-series-of-first-amendment-lawsuits/

• Post #593942

  Just tell me she's not coming home to South Dakota to run for office again here. #Noem https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/03/05/repub/breaking-kristi-noem-out-as-dhs-secretary-trump-to-tap-oklahoma-sen-mullin/

• Post #593941

  A federal judge rules that there was no legal mechanism giving Kari Lake the power to scale back the Voice of America. It is good that we have "activist judges" who are activist in enforcing the law and the constitution. #VOA https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/03/07/kari-lake-unlawful-voice-of-america-ruling/