Archive for the 'Off Topic' Category
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: […]
Ultrasonic Investigations in Shopping Centres
June 9th, 2024For the handful of people who can hear it… Via: Absorptions: I can’t remember how I first came across these near-ultrasonic ‘beacons’ ubiquitous in PA systems. I might have been scrolling through the audio spectrum while waiting for the underground train; or it might have been the screeching ‘tinnitus-like’ sensation I would often get near […]
Aune AR5000 Openback Headphones
May 9th, 2024I was going to post this to an audio forum but thought that some budget audiophiles out in Cryptogon land might be interested. The Amazon affiliate links pay me a small commission. Your support is very much appreciated. — I’ve had my Aune AR5000 openbacks for about a month and they are fantastic. Very detailed […]
JavaScript Pilot in Microsoft Flight Simulator
May 5th, 2024Via: Pomax: …we’re writing a web page that can control an autopilot running in JS that, in turn, controls a little virtual aeroplane. And by “little” I actually mean “most aeroplanes in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020” because as it turns out, MSFS comes with an API that can be used to both query *and set* […]
Alligators Freeze Themselves in Solid Ice to Survive Cold Snap in Southern U.S.
January 25th, 2024Via: Telegraph: Alligators are allowing themselves to freeze solid in icy ponds and swamps to survive an unexpected cold snap in the American South. The creatures were spotted submerged in ice with only their snouts poking out to breathe as temperatures fell as low as -10C across Texas and North Carolina. The phenomenon has been […]
City of Los Angeles Attempts to Find Next of Kin of Unclaimed Dead for Three Years Before Burying Remains in Mass Graves
January 5th, 2024Via: AP: Martirosyan and her colleagues spend three years investigating a case before relinquishing the deceased to a communal gravesite, a last resort in the county cemetery. Similar work is done in cities across the U.S. but in Los Angeles, with one of the nation’s largest homeless populations, the efforts are particularly difficult.
