The cryptomine’s operator was likely motivated to maximize cryptocurrency gains by negating the cost of operating the mine. Cryptomines notoriously run off an excess of electricity, with all the world’s cryptomines requiring more energy than the entire country of Australia, the White House reported last year. Where Cohasset is located in the Boston area, “electricity costs have exceeded the national average” by at least 48 percent over the past five years, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
The James Webb Space Telescope discovers enormous distant galaxies that should not exist
By Tereza Pultarova published 4 days ago
Giant, mature galaxies seem to have filled the universe shortly after the Big Bang, and astronomers are puzzled.
Nobody expected them. They were not supposed to be there. And now, nobody can explain how they had formed.
Galaxies nearly as massive as the Milky Way and full of mature red stars seem to be dispersed in deep field images obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb or JWST) during its early observation campaign, and they are giving astronomers a headache.
These galaxies, described in a new study based on Webb's first data release, are so far away that they appear only as tiny reddish dots to the powerful telescope. By analyzing the light emitted by these galaxies, astronomers established that they were viewing them in our universe's infancy only 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang.
This covers the basics of medical gas storage and the requirements for health care spaces detailed in NFPA 99
We show how a malicious learner can plant an undetectable backdoor into a classifier. On the surface, such a backdoored classifier behaves normally, but in reality, the learner maintains a mechanism for changing the classification of any input, with only a slight perturbation. Importantly, without the appropriate “backdoor key,” the mechanism is hidden and cannot be detected by any computationally-bounded observer. We demonstrate two frameworks for planting undetectable backdoors, with incomparable guarantees.
First, we show how to plant a backdoor in any model, using digital signature schemes. The construction guarantees that given query access to the original model and the backdoored version, it is computationally infeasible to find even a single input where they differ. This property implies that the backdoored model has generalization error comparable with the original model. Moreover, even if the distinguisher can request backdoored inputs of its choice, they cannot backdoor a new input a property we call non-replicability. //
Turns out that securing ML systems is really hard.
A thin, light,
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AnechoicMedia @AnechoicMedia_
What an incredible rabbit hole. Margaret Hamilton, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for "[leading] the team that created the on-board flight software" for the Apollo missions, wasn't even hired until after the completed software had already flown to the moon in Apollo 8!
I then asked if it was fine or if I was going to find corruption when I tried to read it, and they suggested I do db.repairDatabase() to rebuild everything. No sooner said than done, I ran the command and left it for a few hours to run. At some point I lost my SSH connection to the server but thought that it would probably keep running or, at least, leave the database in some half-consistent state so I could rerun the query. That’s exactly what it did, but it also deleted 90% of my data, which I couldn’t recover.
In summary, I would not let MongoDB near my children, let alone run it on a production environment (or even a testing one). It’s a great piece of software when it works, but that’s not very often. A database that doesn’t really store data is very, very dangerous.
Q: Can thorium end the energy crisis?
Asked 11 years, 8 months ago
It seems that, as of lately thorium is steadily increasing in popularity, as an alternative to traditional nuclear fuels. Here's Mr. Kirk Sorensen in a TED video advocating the use of thorium. Thorium even has a nice, green website, among other resources expounding on how awesome it is.
The general picture projected by thorium advocates is that it is very much like a silver bullet for the energy crisis. This sounds wonderful, but also too good to be true. If it's as good as they say, how come thorium reactors are not common ? Surely it has disadvantages as well ?
A:
A short summary of what I understand are the key points in Kirk Sorenson's presentations. He is very good at providing sources for all his claims, so I won't repeat most of them here.
Nuclear power is essential for reducing pollution, including atmospheric CO2. This is based on its energy density (up to 6 orders of magnitude).[1]
Thorium is far more plentiful than uranium[2], and does not need to be enriched to be used as a nuclear fuel. Thorium is not fissile like Uranium-235, but it is fertile: if it is exposed to neutrons it becomes fissile in the form of U-233.
A Molten Salt Reactor, like the one demonstrated at Oak Ridge in the late 1960s, is inherently safe, and more efficient than Pressurized Water Reactors.
With a source of cheap and plentiful electricity, we could synthesize fuel usable in conventional vehicles at reasonable cost (comparable to or cheaper than present prices). These fuels would be nearly carbon-neutral because they would be synthesized using atmospheric CO2. Dimethyl ether is one suggestion as a direct substitute for diesel fuel.
Based on those points, Thorium is a very good candidate to end the "artificial energy crisis". [3]
Suggested resources:
- http://www.thoriumenergycheaperthancoal.com/
- http://www.daretothink.org/how-big-is-that-thorium-ball/
- http://www.daretothink.org/numbers-not-adjectives/lets-produce-a-gwye/
[3] http://www.daretothink.org/shortest-intro-to-molten-salt-the-thorium-reactor/
On Tuesday, the US Copyright Office declared that images created using the AI-powered Midjourney image generator for the comic book Zarya of the Dawn should not have been granted copyright protection, and the images' copyright protection will be revoked.
In a letter addressed to the attorney of author Kris Kashtanova obtained by Ars Technica, the office cites "incomplete information" in the original copyright registration as the reason it plans to cancel the original registration and issue a new one excluding protection for the AI-generated images. Instead, the new registration will cover only the text of the work and the arrangement of images and text. Originally, Kashtanova did not disclose that the images were created by an AI model. //
Based on the record before it, the Office concludes that the images generated by Midjourney contained within the Work are not original works of authorship protected by copyright. See COMPENDIUM (THIRD ) § 313.2 (explaining that “the Office will not register works produced by a machine or mere mechanical process that operates randomly or automatically without any creative input or intervention from a human author”). Though she claims to have “guided” the structure and content of each image, the process described in the Kashtanova Letter makes clear that it was Midjourney—not Kashtanova—that originated the “traditional elements of authorship” in the images. //
Despite precedents for earlier algorithmically generated artwork receiving copyright protection, this ruling means that AI-generated imagery, without human-authored elements, cannot currently be copyrighted in the United States. The Copyright Office's ruling on the matter will likely hold unless it's challenged in court, revised by law, or re-examined in the future.
https://twitter.com/Dorialexander/status/1566489664961347589?s=20&t=C-1gw5GAR6GWccj9h9z_Fg //
IncorrigibleTroll Ars Praefectus
6y
3,626
Subscriptor
Somebody should let ChatGPT know. I was asking it about copyright recently, and it was quite insistent that it is a mere tool and copyright of its output would be automatically assigned to the operator. I asked it if this was its conjectured interpretation or settled case law, and it got offended that I might doubt it.
App privacy policies openly contradict the far more visible "nutrition labels." //
Mozilla rates a few Google apps like Gmail as "needs improvement," but that's missing the forest for the trees. The report doesn't dive into this, but for Android, Google likes to do privacy sleight-of-hand and center the discussion around the idea of "app privacy," when "OS privacy"—privacy from Google—should probably be more of a concern. Google and your device manufacturer both have system-level access to the OS that exists outside the app security model, so they can basically do whatever they want on your phone, including collecting all your data. //
The same "privileged permissions" model also applies to preinstalled apps, which is part of the reason Facebook works so hard to be preinstalled on most Android phones—more permissions means better spying. It would be nice if the Play Store labels were accurate, too, but nobody wants to talk about the entire OS.
"Google consciously failed to preserve relevant evidence. The daily destruction of relevant evidence was inevitable when Google set a company-wide default to delete history-off chat messages every 24 hours, and then elected to maintain that auto-delete setting for custodians subject to a litigation hold," US Department of Justice antitrust lawyers wrote in a memorandum supporting the motion.
Google "had a duty to preserve employee chat messages" starting in 2019 due to the litigation, the US motion said. //
"Amazingly, Google's daily spoliation continued until this week," the US alleged. "When the United States indicated that it would file this motion—following months of conferral—Google finally committed to 'permanently set to history on' and thus preserve its employees' chat messages." //
A similar motion for sanctions was filed by 21 states that are also involved in the litigation against Google. The motions came in a lawsuit filed in October 2020 in which the US and states allege that Google illegally maintains monopolies in search and search advertising through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices." //
All this time, Google falsely told the United States that Google had "put a legal hold in place" that "suspends auto-deletion." Indeed, during the United States' investigation and the discovery phase of this litigation, Google repeatedly misrepresented its document preservation policies, which conveyed the false impression that the company was preserving all custodial chats. Not only did Google unequivocally assert during the investigation that its legal hold suspended auto-deletion, but Google continually failed to disclose—both to the United States and to the Court—its 24-hour auto-deletion policy. Instead, at every turn, Google reaffirmed that it was preserving and searching all potentially relevant written communications.
The dispute is similar to an earlier one in the same lawsuit that involved Google's alleged practice of routinely CCing lawyers on emails even when no legal advice is being sought. In March 2022, the US and states asked the federal court to sanction Google for misusing attorney-client privilege to hide emails from litigation.
NWS Los Angeles @NWSLosAngeles
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Due to the potential for strong winds and heavy snow, a BLIZZARD WARNING was issued for the #LACounty and #VenturaCounty mountains from 4 am Friday to 4 pm Saturday. Snow accumulations up to 5 feet and wind gusts in excess of 55 mph are expected. #CAsnow #CAwx
4:44 AM · Feb 22, 2023 //
“I have to be totally honest with you guys,” a California meteorologist said this week. “I’ve actually never seen a blizzard warning.” //
Although it’s fun to conjecture about the streets of Hollywood covered in snow, it’s still unlikely, although white powder could hit the surrounding mountains and hills and more could land on the Hollywood sign, which sits at about 1,600 feet.
The topoBuilder Application allows users to select a location and generate OnDemand topo maps that are delivered via email.
2ft elevation contours
Wings for the Word -- by Arlene Cornelius
Stories from the lives of Rolen and Arlene Cornelius, radio missionaries in Africa and the Caribbean
PDF and Audio Book
Although Boeing is no longer making the 747, and most passenger versions are retired in favor of more fuel-efficient twin-engine planes, the 747-8s will grace the skies for several more decades.
All-cargo airline Atlas Air will operate the final production 747 freighter for global logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel under a dedicated contract. The plane actually bears the livery of Apex Logistics, a Hong Kong-based airfreight forwarder K+N acquired in 2021. Atlas received the final four 747-8s produced by Boeing. Two are assigned to Kuehne + Nagel and one is flying under the control of Cainiao, the logistics arm of e-commerce platform Alibaba.
Atlas Air, Purchase, New York, is the largest operator of 747 aircraft in the world. As of Tuesday it will have 43 747Fs, including nine -8s. In total it has 50 jumbo jets, including seven 747s it flies as passenger charters for the military, sports teams and other airlines, according to the FlightRadar24 database.
Other airlines with large 747 cargo fleets include Cargolux, Cathay Pacific, Kalitta Air, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines. //
Innovations
First commercial widebody freighter and first long-haul, international freighter … First twin-aisle passenger plane, which lowered per-seat cost and made travel more affordable for the masses … First nose-loading freighter to enable loading of extra-large, nonstandard shipments … Hemispherical Hump — the 747 was originally designed as a freighter with ideal loading through the tilt-open nose. Engineers determined the best place for the flight deck was on its second level so the nose door could open without interference, which explains the iconic hump … First full-motion simulator to provide pilots immersive flight training … High-Bypass Turbofan Engines — These more efficient, quieter engines helped improve takeoff acceleration.
Townhall.com @townhallcom
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PETE BUTTIGIEG: "Sorry, I lost my train of thought."
12:12 PM · Feb 23, 2023
All his proposal would do is expand state interference in speech.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is the newest candidate running for the Republican presidential nomination. You can read about his agenda in The Wall Street Journal. It’s heavy on trendy populism, but his embrace of meritocracy and economic growth is an improvement over the dour dead-end statism of the “post-liberal” right.
But his most unique proposal, one that will probably sound enticing to many people, is a terrible one — and one that would expand state interference in speech and end up boomeranging on those it claims to protect: //
Why should any business owner be forced to hire a person who holds views they find ethically abhorrent? Political expression is already protected by the First Amendment. What Ramaswamy proposes is transforming the negative liberty of free speech into a positive “right,” which is to say, a “right” that compels others to accept, endorse, and sometimes fund political viewpoints they disagree with.
Joe Biden’s Dec. 29 signing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 was invalid because the House never actually passed the omnibus spending bill the president purportedly signed into law. At least, that’s what Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims in a little-noticed lawsuit he filed last week against the Biden administration. If a court agrees, the taxpayer-funded $1.7 trillion federal spending spree — and every other aspect of that bill — could be rendered void.
While the “if” in that sentence does some heavy lifting, it is not because Paxton’s lawsuit is weak on either the facts or the law. On the contrary, his complaint in Paxton v. Department of Justice makes a seemingly unassailable case that the House of Representatives lacked the constitutionally mandated quorum to pass the appropriations act. Nonetheless, the enormity of a court striking an omnibus spending bill may leave the judicial branch shrinking from its constitutional duty. //
When the House met on Dec. 23, 2022, to vote on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, it lacked a quorum to conduct business. Only 201 of the representatives were present. Nonetheless, the House proceeded with the vote. But it didn’t just count the votes of the present members. It added to the tally an extra 226 votes, cast by present House lawmakers on behalf of absent ones who had appointed them “proxies.”
At Amazon, we’re trying to improve the health care experience for customers. We started by building Amazon Pharmacy, with a broad selection of medications sent to you with reliable, free delivery. We then added RxPass, a new Prime benefit from Amazon Pharmacy, which for $5/month lets Prime members get as many medications as they need from a list of 60 medications frequently used to treat many common conditions—and shipping is free. We also recently launched Amazon Clinic, which offers a convenient, personalized, and affordable way to get medical advice and treatment for over 20 conditions (like migraines, allergies, sinusitis, and more) simply by messaging with a clinician—no appointments, no travel.
Today, we’re excited to announce that One Medical has joined Amazon and our mission to make it dramatically easier for customers to get what they need to stay healthy. With One Medical, customers can connect with clinicians 24/7 via video chat or messaging if that’s most convenient. Or, customers can choose to make an appointment same day or within days to visit any of One Medical’s offices in many U.S. cities. If you need a specialist, One Medical works closely with lots of hospital systems and can help you get a referral and an appointment quickly. //
For a limited time, to celebrate One Medical joining Amazon, you can now join One Medical with a discounted annual membership of $144 for the first year (a 28% discount), the equivalent of $12 per month, for new U.S. customers.