Posts by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
(DIR) Post #B21sWkQrj0EQZKmMJk by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2025-10-24T23:56:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Paul Krugman:"Trump is turning the people’s house into a palace fit for a despot partly because that’s his taste, but also to show everyone that he can. L’etat, c’est moi.This isn’t a remodeling or building an addition, it’s a teardown. It’s a highly visual metaphor for the way MAGA is tearing down almost everything good about our country. And that ballroom’s hideousness is an equally good metaphor for all the political ugliness that lies in our future."https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trumps-gilded-ballroom-and-the-fall8/n
(DIR) Post #B21sWpEdrsQPSs6ASW by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2025-10-25T00:50:17Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
It's grift and corruption in plain sight.https://bsky.app/profile/kylegriffin1.bsky.social/post/3m3xzr7wzes2e#UsPol8/n
(DIR) Post #B21sWu1061U4I0kqOG by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2025-10-25T12:02:56Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
From these two graphics, it does seem that the Ballroom building will have two levels above-ground, the tall Ballroom being on the upper level. There probably is another level underground.Also, a second floor will be added to the East Colonnade.So, it can add up to 90,000 sq ft, each level having ~30,000 sq ft of floor space.https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/25/trump-white-house-ballroom-east-wing/9/n
(DIR) Post #B21saxPTPtCRyb8Qsq by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2025-10-24T01:55:31Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
A New York welcome to ICE by this brave lady.👏 Video at https://bsky.app/profile/resistrebelrevolt.net/post/3m3v72lq3us2z#UsPol #NYC #ICE1/n
(DIR) Post #B21sayOnjsFx2npPTU by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2025-10-24T02:07:30Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Here is the brave "polka dot dress" lady again in hand-to-hand resistance with ICE agents.Others joined in to stop the ICE invasion of New York.Video at https://bsky.app/profile/lorennacleary.bsky.social/post/3m3r2wcmu2c2d#UsPol2/n
(DIR) Post #B21sb3CZskRvwL9DcG by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2025-10-24T02:22:10Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
In the raid along Canal Street, NYC, on Tuesday, ICE arrested and detained 9 undocumented immigrants and 4 U.S. citizens, who were released after 24 hours in custody.NYPD was not involved in the Federal operation.https://abcnews.go.com/US/nyc-residents-increase-ice-arrests-after-crackdown-canal/story?id=126763379#UsPol 3/n
(DIR) Post #B26kF9xQFyM8g6uQkK by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-09T11:26:18Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Goodbye Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS and thanks for all the science.While a few in the most advanced civilization in the Universe (we think) tried to study you, the rest were busy preying on each other’s insecurities by generating click-bait posts about aliens on social media and killing billions of brain cells.Enjoy the views of Jupiter and its moons Eupheme and Europa on your way out but attempt no landing there!:earth_photo: ☄️ :jupiter_photo: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-system/#/home1/n
(DIR) Post #B26kFFabJjfM94HI0W by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-09T11:58:06Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Studies like these will probably do little to move the needle of humanity, much of which prefers the fantasies of aliens and alien spaceships visiting earth for benign or nefarious objectives.Heck, 56% of Americans believe aliens definitely or probably exist. 42% of Americans believe that aliens have definitely or probably visited Earth in recent years.https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-isnt-an-alien-spacecraft-astronomers-confirm-in-the-end-there-were-no-surpriseshttps://today.yougov.com/health/articles/53486-half-of-americans-believe-aliens-have-visited-earth2/n
(DIR) Post #B2Ao1q9jk8rzwwPfrk by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-11T10:55:06Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Israel is banning around 40 int'l aid orgs from entering Gaza and the West Bank because they failed to meet new security and transparency standards.Groups like MSF (Doctors w/o Borders), Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, and Rahma Worldwide.The Israeli has demanded these orgs to provide full disclosure of the identities and roles of their employees, which they have refused to do.https://www.npr.org/2026/01/11/g-s1-105070/gaza-msf-clinic-israel-aid-groups-banhttps://www.un.org/unispal/document/53-international-ngos-warn-israels-recent-registration-measures-will-impede-critical-humanitarian-action-non-un-document/
(DIR) Post #B2Y9jOOCd5f1z3PtJ2 by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-22T03:32:34Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Looks like Mars is out of Solar Conjunction and the Mars orbiters are communicating with Earth again.The NASA Mars rover Perseverance uploaded a series of images saved since late December. All of the images taken by the left Mastcam-Z camera look like this. Perseverance stayed put but active during this ~3 week incommunicado period.Welcome back Percy!No news yet on the MAVEN orbiter, which went silent on Dec 4.https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/1/n
(DIR) Post #B2ZN7uyYcQiIYpPF4a by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-23T04:15:55Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
This is not an AI-generated animation of a Gary Larson cartoon.This is a rare observation of the use of a multipurpose tool in a non-primate.Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow living in rural Austria, seems to have mastered the technique of using a deck-brush broom to scratch herself. She strategically employs both the broom and stick ends to reach different body regions.This shows that cows and other animals deserve more respect 🐮🙏https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGVo41MuLiQhttps://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01597-01/n
(DIR) Post #B2ZN7wFFtpfGUuE5js by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-23T04:32:29Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Some more intelligent and adaptive behavior among farm animals.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRSuQSym7aY2/n
(DIR) Post #B2ZN7x5ikldF7clzW4 by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-23T04:50:19Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
The authors of the paper conclude that -"Given that Bos taurus and Bos indicus diverged more than 500,000 years ago, the capacity for tool use in cattle is unlikely to be a byproduct of domestication alone but may instead reflect a deeper, latent propensity for physical problem-solving within the bovine lineage.Perhaps the real absurdity lies not in imagining a tool-using cow, but in assuming such a thing could never exist."https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)01597-0https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_tools3/n
(DIR) Post #B2ZN829RwKaModYXWS by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-23T05:07:37Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Tool-use and tool-making are well known among birds like crows."It's widely known that New Caledonian crows use sticks to extract prey from their hiding spaces. A recent study suggests crows are making those sticks into better tools by carving a hook at the end of a twig to better reach their prey. Not only are crows tweaking and improving their old designs, they are possibly sharing their knowledge with other crows."@elaterite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZM9GpLXepU4/n
(DIR) Post #B2rK6jidtqW1evX1Pc by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-31T17:23:14Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
New FCC filing by SpaceX for constellation of million data center satellites for AI apps.# of sats: up to 1 million!Orbit: 500 km and 2,000 km altitude and 30°inclinations. Multiple orbital shells 50 km apart.Cooling: radiativeSchedule: unspecifiedSat size, weight, power, cost, ..: unspecifiedLaunches: millions of tons of mass per yearThere goes the neighborhood.Or is this just marketing fluff and orbital hoarding?@sundogplanets https://www.scribd.com/document/990116826/Orbital-Data-Center-LOA-Narrativehttps://fccprod.servicenowservices.com/icfs?id=ibfs_application_summary&number=SAT-LOA-20260108-000161/n
(DIR) Post #B2rK6l8Ycyq63afERc by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-31T17:40:32Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
To keep the clueless masses intoxicated, SpaceX threw in these flowery words in the FCC filing -"Launching a constellation of a million satellites that operate as orbital data centers is a first step towards becoming a Kardashev II-level civilization—one that can harness the Sun’s full power—while supporting AI-driven applications for billions of people today and ensuring humanity’s multi-planetary future amongst the stars."Earth must be destroyed to save it?https://www.scribd.com/document/990116826/Orbital-Data-Center-LOA-Narrative2/n
(DIR) Post #B2rK6mCUfpa9M5VtDc by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-31T18:36:33Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
The filing is short on details and long on lofty goals and promises.And also a bit sloppy -"Global electricity demand for data centers is projected to more than double by 2035 driven by growth in AI — reaching ~1,200-1,700 Terawatt hours and ..."You gotta specify TW or TW-hours per month or per year.Also, I suspect the million satellite number comes from 1 million * 100 kw = 100 GW total power.For comparison, Starlink v3 satellites will generate 20 kW with a 60x8 m array.3/n
(DIR) Post #B2rK6n2bY5GXxhtVRY by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-01-31T19:23:08Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
A blunt assessment of "AI datacenters in space” by Prof. Matthew Buckley in Dec 2025 -"To be blunt, the entire stupid idea is a giant middle finger to multiple fundamentals of physics, and the fact that it is apparently being taken seriously by our tech lords, mainstream journalism, and political leaders is a damning indictment of not just the ridiculous amount of money chasing bad ideas in the tech/LLM/hype sector that has eaten the American economy, ..."https://www.physicsmatt.com/blog/2025/12/11/the-dumbest-thing-ive-seen-this-week4/n
(DIR) Post #B2rZMXSuj0nPbJATAW by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-02-01T01:59:31Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
On Dec. 27, 2024, NASA’s Juno spacecraft witnessed the most intense eruption ever recorded on Io, Jupiter’s most volcanically active moon. The eruption spanned 65,000 sq km (larger than Earth’s Lake Superior) near the south pole and released 140-260 TW of energy, > 6x the total energy of all power plants on Earth.3 other hotspots also lit up. Scientists interpret this as a single event affecting an underground network of massive, interconnected magma chambers.https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-juno-mission-spots-most-powerful-volcanic-activity-on-io-to-date/1/n
(DIR) Post #B2rZMcsGcB2yNO4Hse by AkaSci@fosstodon.org
2026-02-01T02:04:27Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Please take a look at these earlier threads for some more info on the geology of Io.https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/113646097353360432https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/1122958077523141282/n