Archive for September, 2016
California: Governor Authorizes Fully Autonomous Vehicle Testing Without Human Driver Backup
September 30th, 2016Via: Mercury News: California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a bill that for the first time allows testing on public roads of self-driving vehicles with no steering wheels, brake pedals or accelerators. A human driver as backup is not required, but the vehicles will be limited to speeds of less than 35 mph. The […]
First Evidence of Deep-Sea Animals Ingesting Microplastics
September 30th, 2016Via: Science Bulletin: Scientists working in the mid-Atlantic and south-west Indian Ocean have found evidence of microfibers ingested by deep sea animals including hermit crabs, squat lobsters and sea cucumbers, revealing for the first time the environmental fallout of microplastic pollution. The UK government recently announced that it is to ban plastic microbeads, commonly found […]
Microsoft: 5000 Staff to AI Division
September 30th, 2016Via: Microsoft: Microsoft Corp. announced on Thursday it has formed the Microsoft AI and Research Group, bringing together Microsoft’s world-class research organization with more than 5,000 computer scientists and engineers focused on the company’s AI product efforts. The new group will be led by computer vision luminary Harry Shum, a 20-year Microsoft veteran whose career […]
My First Solar Customer to Ditch the Grid
September 29th, 2016Disclosure: I sell solar power systems in New Zealand. — I just sold my first off grid system to a customer with grid power available at his house. He’s going pretty small (2 kW array, 4x 230AH 12V AGM batteries, 4kW/48V pure sine wave inverter), but he said he’s fed up with dealing with electricity […]
Russia: U.S. Controlling an “International Terrorist Alliance”
September 29th, 2016Via: CBS: Senior Russian officials blasted the United States on Thursday for what they said were Washington’s “invitations to use terrorism as a weapon against Russia.” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and others were reacting to comments made the previous day by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, who suggested terrorists could use the chaotic battleground in […]
China’s Passion for Foreign Property
September 29th, 2016Via: Guardian: “I think it is just beginning,” says Li, of the amount of money pouring into property around the world from mainland China. “You do the figures: China has a population of 1.4 billion. If you target only 1% of China’s population, that’s 14 million people – so it’s already almost two Londons.”
AI Legion of Doom: Facebook, Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft Form AI Partnership
September 28th, 2016Via: Tech Crunch: The world’s largest technology companies hold the keys to some of the largest databases on our planet. Much like goods and coins before it, data is becoming an important currency for the modern world. The data’s value is rooted in its applications to artificial intelligence. Whichever company owns the data, effectively owns […]
Luxury Bunkers for L.A.’s Superrich
September 28th, 2016Via: Hollywood Reporter: Everyone I’ve talked to thinks we are doomed, no matter who is elected.
Power Outage Grips Entire State of South Australia
September 28th, 2016Via: Stuff: The entire state of South Australia is currently without power, with the region in the grip of what could be one of the most extreme weather systems to hit in 50 years. A mass blackout began on Wednesday afternoon, with the a “weather event” behind the unprecedented outage. Premier Jay Weatherill said the […]
Elon Musk: Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species
September 28th, 2016Via: Space: At a conference in Mexico today (Sept. 27), the SpaceX founder and CEO unveiled the company’s Interplanetary Transport System (ITS), which will combine the most powerful rocket ever built with a spaceship designed to carry at least 100 people to the Red Planet per flight. If all goes according to plan, the reusable […]
