Archive for the 'Off Topic' Category
AMD RYZEN 7 9800X3D 8-Core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor Back in Stock
November 14th, 2024AMD RYZEN 7 9800X3D 8-Core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor If you build gaming PCs for yourself or someone else, you’re probably planning to build with the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3d. After initially selling out, it is back in stock. Your purchase supports Cryptogon. Thank you.
ASUS ROG Rapture WiFi 6 GT-AX6000 Router
November 10th, 2024ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX6000 Dual-band WiFi 6 Gaming Router Note: I have a client who is buying this. Pardon the distraction. But… If you need very fast and stable wifi, this thing feels like a wired connection. Made in Taiwan = quality. Could easily run a branch office. Dual 2.5G ports. QoS. Wifi scheduling. Monitoring. […]
The Secret Electrostatic World of Insects
October 29th, 2024Via: Wired: Invisibly to us, insects and other tiny creatures use static electricity to travel, avoid predators, collect pollen, and more. New experiments explore how evolution may have influenced this phenomenon.
X.ai: Inside the Largest AI Training Cluster in the World
October 29th, 2024Off topic, but this might be of interest if you want to see what the business end of Grok AI looks like. Also, that cable management… Woh. Via: ServeTheHome:
Natural Piezoelectric Effect May Build Gold Deposits
October 12th, 2024Via: Ars Technica: One of the reasons gold is so valuable is because it is highly unreactive—if you make something out of gold, it keeps its lustrous radiance. Even when you can react it with another material, it’s also barely soluble, a combination that makes it difficult to purify away from other materials. Which is […]
Beneficial Soil Fungus Thrives in Presence of White Noise
October 3rd, 2024Via: Science Alert: Fungi may not have ears, but their growth appears to be tuned to the noises of their surroundings. When a high-frequency monotone crackle, like that of radio static, is played to the fungus species, Trichoderma harzianum, researchers have found the organism grows and produces spores much faster than is typical – almost […]
NSA Releases Internal 1982 Lecture by Computing Pioneer Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
August 27th, 2024I wasn’t going to post this, but it might be of interest if you’re an old computer nerd. Via: Black Vault:
Stonehenge: Six Ton Altar Stone Came from Scotland
August 14th, 2024Via: Daily Mail: They’re the circle of stones that have left historians scratching their heads for centuries. Now, experts have made a ‘stunning’ discovery about one of Stonehenge’s most famous rocks. It has been known for a while that most of the monument’s world-renowned ‘bluestones’ were sourced from the Preseli Hills in Wales, around 240km […]
Quilts and Cats of Calico
July 6th, 2024This is very far off topic. My wife and daughter, Niamh, love the Calico board game. Besides the cats in the game, our actual cats love to “help” with the gameplay. I won’t play Calico and neither will my boys. Although my youngest daughter is fascinated with Calico, she is too young to play. She […]
The Land, Water and Air Around Us Are Chock-Full of DNA Fragments from Fungi that Mycologists Can’t Link to Known Organisms
June 28th, 2024Via: Scientific American: If you want to discover a hidden world of new life-forms, you don’t have to scour dark caves or slog through remote rainforests. Just look under your feet. When then-graduate student Anna Rosling went to northern Sweden to map the distribution of a particular root-loving fungus, she found something much more intriguing: […]
