Cowboy Who?

Good morning. Some readers reported seeing a bit of freezing precipitation on Tuesday. This was due to an upper level disturbance that moved in rapidly from the west. Because the atmosphere was very dry, it was not expected that this precipitation would make it all the way to the ground, but some of it did. What you saw, in most cases, was graupel. What the heck is graupel? It is similar to, but distinct from sleet. Here’s a graphic that shows how it forms in the atmosphere. Essentially, supercooled water droplets form on falling snowflakes in a thin layer of warmer atmosphere.

Wednesday

We’re done with the wintry mix and precipitation chances for now. After a cold start, with temperatures dropping into the 30s across much of the area except for the coast, Houston should warm nicely today. Under sunny skies, we expect highs to reach about 60 degrees. Winds will be light, out of the west to southwest. Low temperatures tonight should reach about 40 degrees in the city of Houston. For the record, I’m choosing to run the Houston virtual marathon early on Thursday morning, which may give you an idea of my preferred weather conditions for long runs. In any case, Matt will be covering things on Thursday for Space City Weather as I’ll be knackered.

Thursday

After another chilly start, this will be the warmest day of the week. Look for highs to reach the upper 60s to possibly 70 degrees for some areas, with mostly sunny skies. Just as things are warming up, a cold front will push through on Thursday evening, bringing a wind shift from the north. The atmosphere will be dry enough that we don’t envision any precipitation with the front. Lows will probably drop down to around 40 degrees.

Friday

In the wake of the front, Friday will be breezy and cool. Winds out of the north will blow at about 10 to 15 mph. Look for highs in the upper 50s to 60 degrees, with mostly sunny skies. Winds will die down during the afternoon or evening hours.

Saturday

The first half of the weekend looks splendid. The day with start out in the upper 30s to 40 degrees, and with mostly sunny skies highs should reach into the low 60s.

Sunday

On Sunday we can’t rule out the possibility of some rain showers due to some atmospheric instability. However, I think chances, on the whole, are fairly low—likely 20 percent or less. Skies otherwise should be partly sunny, with highs near 60 degrees.

Next week

For Monday—M.L.K. Day—we should see the return of mostly sunny skies and highs in the low 60s. The forecast turns a bit more sour on Tuesday and Wednesday, as it looks like several ingredients will come together to bring healthy rain chances. It’s too early to have confidence in totals, but a general expectation for now is 0.5 to 1.0 inch of rain.

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Of course, really it's the gray suit and orange hair that wins her over in the end.

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At last, “Attack of the Petscii Robots” is available for sale.  Digital downloads will be made available immediately for all versions.  Lite and Boxed copies are also shipping as of February 5th, 2021 , but are currently running about 2-3 weeks behind because of the large backlog of orders.

PETSCII Robots for Commodore 64, VIC-20 and PET.

The post Petscii Robots now available for sale! appeared first on The 8-Bit Guy.

I should give up on sleeping tonight.

The FBI says those involved in storming the Capitol building should expect agents at their door, and that "significant" charges of sedition are yet to come. Follow live.

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Formlabs is announcing a new version of its Castable Wax, that’s targeted toward jewelry designers and makers. Castable Wax 40 is, as the name implies, a 3D-printable resin made up of 40 percent wax, which can be used to create molds into which metal can be poured. The company says that the material behaves the same as traditional casting wax, which is used in a process known as “Lost Wax Casting.” 

Rather than go it alone, Formlabs teamed up with Rio Grande and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to help develop the new wax. Rio Grande’s Scott Bradford said that traditional wax moulds aren’t great for things like class rings, where the lettering can present a unique challenge. By comparison, a 3D-printed material that behaves like wax enables designers to better create fine details in larger structures.

Formlabs has successfully managed to navigate through the crashed ruins of the 3D-printing hype train by substantially narrowing its focus. For instance, the company has devoted time and energy toward making 3D-printed dentures as a low-cost alternative for pricey dental prosthetics. It’s also pushed its projects with ceramics and jewelry as specific niches where its technology is superior to the existing method. 

That paid dividends with the company’s work in biocompatible materials that enabled it to help during the first wave of COVID-19. Last March, Formlabs began producing nasal swabs to address shortages of the real thing to help test patients carrying the virus. Then, in May, the FDA handed down an emergency use authorization, enabling it to print an adapter that could turn a sleep apnea machine into a ventilator. 

“We are living Orwell’s 1984.” — Donald Trump Jr. after Twitter permanently suspended his father’s account for inciting violence.

It’s finally happened, folks. We are literally living in Orwell’s 1984. I think. I mean, I’m pretty sure. I don’t know. It’s a book? I knew that. I know it’s a book. It’s just been a long time since I read it. OK, fine, I never read it. But, like, I know what it’s about. It’s about how bad 1984 was, right? And now we’re there again. In Orwell’s 1984. Who’s Orwell?

The popcorn guy. It’s the popcorn guy. Yeah, and the popcorn guy made 1984 a terrible year. And now it’s basically like we’re in the popcorn guy’s worst year. Wait, no — that’s Orville. Not Orwell. Right? Orville’s the popcorn guy.

We are living in Orville’s 1984. Free speech is like popcorn now. No, it’s the popcorn kernels. Free speech is the kernels of popcorn, and then what’s happened is they’ve popped all the popcorn kernels, so they’ve popped free speech. Yeah, that’s right. That’s the metaphor.

So we’re living in Orville’s 1984. And popcorn is everywhere. And we want to get rid of the popcorn. And that’s why it was OK to storm the Capitol. That place is full of popped popcorn.

This doesn’t sound right. Maybe it’s not Orville.

It’s Orwell? So I was right, we’re living in Orwell’s 1984. The book. The book called Orwell’s 1984, which I’ve read, and I know about. And it’s actually my favorite book, because it predicted what’s happening right now. It predicted all of this. It predicted The Masked Singer, and Bean Dad, and Baby Shark, and Left Shark, and BTS, and Adele Dazeem, and not being able to say “Merry Christmas” anymore. It was just, like, a great book.

But it should’ve stayed a book. Now it’s real. The book is real. And we need to get out of the book. Yes, that’s what I’m trying to say. We’re physically inside the book Orwell’s 1984 and we need to get out of the book.

What’s that? It’s just called 1984? Right, of course. I like to call it Orwell’s 1984, just to remind people I know that it’s called 1984 and that I know about Orwell.

So we’re living in 1984. That’s what I’ve meant this whole time. We’re living in the year 1984. We’ve gone back in time, and it’s ruined everything. We want to go… hold on… one… two… 37 years forward. So we can get back to reality, am I right?

I guess what I’m really trying to say is this: we’re somehow in the year 1984, and we need to travel 37 years into the future to stop Orville from popping all the kernels of free speech so we can start saying “Adele Dazeem” again.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has called Donald Trump the "worst president ever" and compared the attack on the US Capitol to an event that marked Nazi Germany's rise.

In an emotional video posted to Twitter, the former governor and Austrian immigrant says the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol "trampled the very principles on which our country was founded."

(Image credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for J/P HRO Gala)

We’ve been talking for several days about the collision of a cold air mass, in the form of a strong front, colliding with southerly moisture near Houston this weekend. The question for some time has been how far south the coldest air will get, and therefore where the line between rain, sleet, and snow will fall. As of late Sunday morning, we think that line will be further south than anticipated, possibly all the way down to Interstate 10. We will soon find out for sure—the best chances for a wintry mix will come this afternoon and evening.

As of 11am, precipitation is now moving into much of the Houston area. Already, rain has turned to snow in College Station, and a few locations in Montgomery County have reported sleet. As a quick reminder, the entire atmospheric column needs to remain at freezing temperatures to form snow, otherwise you can end up with sleet or even freezing rain.

As we get deeper into Sunday and Sunday evening with this storm, we wanted to share some key messages we think it’s important to share. For this, it’s important to know whether you live in an area with a “Winter Storm Warning,” a “Winter Weather Advisory,” or no warnings at all. Most all of Houston is not under a warning, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see any effects.

• Areas under a “Winter Storm Warning” face the greatest risk. And although there remain large amounts of uncertainty, it seems likely that much of the region shown in pink, above, will see 2 to 5 inches of snow. This is enough snow to cause significant problems in terms of driving, so travel to these areas later Sunday through Monday morning is not advised.
• Areas facing a “Winter Weather Advisory” likely will receive less than 2 inches of snow, and perhaps also some sleet. This is still enough of a wintry mix to cause problems on roadways, but because temperatures this afternoon should remain above freezing at the surface some travel today is OK. However, as temperatures fall to or near freezing tonight, travel may become problematic.
• For all other areas, surface temperatures should remain above freezing on Sunday and Sunday night as precipitation comes down. Therefore, while you may see some flakes in the air, or sleet, as far south as Interstate 10, it is unlikely to accumulate. The real question, of course, is, Is it going to snow at your house? For nearly all of Houston there’s a non-zero chance, but if you’re along or south of Interstate 10 the chance is still quite low. We will update later today if this changes.

This mess will come to an end tonight, as drier air filters into the region from the west. Generally, precipitation should taper off from west to east from about 10pm to 2am, or thereabouts. Monday will be a very cold day, with mostly cloudy skies and highs in the 40s for most of Houston.

Nine months have passed since I first ordered a mask online, bought hand sanitizer in bulk, and put my life on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that might return normality to my world have started arriving in Texas, but, like most Texans, I am going to have to wait weeks, if not months, for my shot of safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, under the guidance of an expert panel, created a list of those who should receive the vaccines first. Hospital workers, first responders, and those over the age of 75 should get top priority, followed by a second tier of police and certain other essential workers. At age 66 and able to…View Original Post

The post Greg Abbott’s Politics Create a Vaccine Stampede appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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Came across this argument (and many counterarguments) in Schwartz's lovely 'The Value of Science in Space Exploration'.

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GOP Virginia State Sen. Amanda Chase faces calls to resign after attending the rally that gave way to a riot on Wednesday. Following the events, she called those who stormed the Capitol "patriots."

(Image credit: Steve Helber/AP)

The Justice Department has released details on 13 defendants allegedly tied to the Capitol riots, as police continue to investigate the death of an officer who was injured during the siege.

A few days ago, after Twitter temporarily suspended Donald Trump’s account, the company said that any further breaches of its terms could result in suspension. As detailed in a blog post, Twitter decided that some of the president’s tweets posted today violate its policies and as a result his personal @realdonaldtrump account is no longer active. He’d tweeted more than 56,000 times since creating the account in 2009, and had over 88 million followers.

The @POTUS account is still present on Twitter, however without the retweeted tweets from Trump’s preferred account, it’s looking very inactive. The same goes for his official campaign account @TeamTrump, and accounts for other Trump family member.

According to Twitter, two tweets posted this morning (available for viewing at an archive) “must be read in the context of broader events in the country and the ways in which the President’s statements can be mobilized by different audiences, including to incite violence, as well as in the context of the pattern of behavior from this account in recent weeks...As such, our determination is that the two Tweets above are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021, and that there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so.”

Twitter also cited plans that have circulated on social media for future violent acts. It said “Plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.”

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook already said his account would remain suspended through at least inauguration day, and now the Twitter account where Trump built up much of his following before becoming president has been erased. Sadly, this move comes after violent events have already occurred on Capitol Hill, leaving several people dead including some of Trump’s supporters and a police officer. With only a few days left in the Trump administration Twitter finally did what some have believed it could’ve done years ago.

Update (8:42 PM ET): The ban apparently extends to Trump no matter what account he might try to use, as a tweet from the @POTUS account posted and was quickly deleted as well.

Full set of deleted tweets @POTUS account pic.twitter.com/QPD87CkZmO

— Rick Hasen (@rickhasen) January 9, 2021

In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action. https://t.co/NrANZJcAfo

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021

However, we made it clear going back years that these accounts are not above our rules and cannot use Twitter to incite violence. We will continue to be transparent around our policies and their enforcement.

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) January 8, 2021

Apple and Google have told the “free speech” social media app Parler that it must begin moderating its users content, following violence at the US Capitol this week. The app — a Twitter alternative popular among Donald Trump supporters and the far-right —  has faced renewed scrutiny for its role in the planning of the attacks.

On Friday, as pressure grew for Apple and Google to remove it from their stores, Google suspended Parler from the Play Store, citing “continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S.”

In order to protect user safety on Google Play, our longstanding policies require that apps displaying user-generated content have moderation policies and enforcement that removes egregious content like posts that incite violence. All developers agree to these terms and we have reminded Parler of this clear policy in recent months. We’re aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S. We recognize that there can be reasonable debate about content policies and that it can be difficult for apps to immediately remove all violative content, but for us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation for egregious content. In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app’s listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues.

With the suspension, Parler is no longer available in Google Play, though people who have previously installed the app can continue to use it.

Apple also threatened a ban if the company doesn’t rein in the violent threats. Apple emailed Parler CEO John Matze saying that “Parler is not effectively moderating and removing content that encourages illegal activity,” BuzzFeed News reported. The iPhone maker gave him 24 hours to create a “moderation improvement plan.” Matze has previously said he disagrees with other platform’s moderation practices.

“Apparently they believe Parler is responsible for ALL user generated content on Parler,” Matze wrote in a response posted on Parler. “Therefor [sic] by the same logic, Apple must be responsible for ALL actions taken by their phones.”

Parler, which spiked in popularity following the November election as Twitter and Facebook cracked down on election misinformation, has been called out for its role in the violence in DC this week. Apple said in its letter that it had “received numerous complaints regarding objectionable content in your Parler service, accusations that the Parler app was used to plan, coordinate, and facilitate the illegal activities in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 that led (among other things) to loss of life, numerous injuries, and the destruction of property.” 

UPDATE: The calls for violence over on Parler are getting much, much worse.

There are now open calls for the murder of police officers and planning for violence on January 20th

This obviously severely violates the law, much less the @AppStore and @GooglePlay rules.#PullParler pic.twitter.com/jNyYhxbBNs

— Sleeping Giants (@slpng_giants) January 8, 2021

Users have also turned to the app in the days since the riot to make a disturbing and violent threats about future plans. Screenshots of individuals calling for “firing squads” and threatening an armed response to Joe Biden’s inauguration have been circulating on Twitter, along with calls for Apple and Google to ban the app. (Notably, Twitter cited “plans for future armed protests” in its decision to permanently suspend Trump.)

When pressed by The New York Times this week, Matze — who in the past has decried the “censorship” from Twitter and Facebook — repeatedly insisted he hadn’t observed Parler users using the app for illegal purposes. “If people are breaking the law, violating our terms of service, or doing anything illegal, we would definitely get involved,” Matze said. “But if people are just trying to assemble or they’re trying to put together an event… there’s nothing particularly wrong about that.” Parler didn’t respond to a request for comment.

As The Verge points out, both companies have pulled apps associated with the far right in the past. Chat app Gab was removed from Google Play for hate speech in 2017. And Apple booted Alex Jones’ InfoWars app in 2018 (Google removed the app last year for spreading coronavirus misinformation). 

This story has been updated with a statement from Google.

Twitter has permanently blocked the @realDonaldTrump account after President Trump posted messages that violated the company's rules.

(Image credit: Twitter/Screenshot by NPR)

Not only was the IBM PalmTop PC 110 the world's tiniest DOS and Windows subnotebook in 1995 but it also functioned as a telephone handset! Let's take a look at this fantastic little 33MHz 486 computer from the mid '90s, which also strove to be a personal organizer, a digital notepad, a desktop clock, a portable fax machine, and a digital camera all in one handheld device.

● LGR links:
https://www.patreon.com/LazyGameReviews
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● Music courtesy of:
http://www.epidemicsound.com

#LGR #Retro #Technology

Richard Barnett, who was pictured with his feet up in the House speaker's U.S. Capitol office, and a West Virginia lawmaker are two of more than a dozen people facing charges related to the riot.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

This week has been trying for us all.¹ While I don’t want to let the incident at the Capitol overshadow all of our accomplishments,² it’s made me look deep inside myself and do some serious soul-searching.³ I even turned to my spiritual advisor⁴ for guidance. After much deliberation, I will take action⁵ and resign from my cabinet post.⁶

This was not an easy decision.⁷ Working on behalf of the American people⁸ was the greatest honor of my life.⁹ It will pain me being able to serve my country for the remainder of my term.¹⁰ While I was proud to be a part of the administration,¹¹ I simply cannot stay any longer.¹²

I became deeply troubled¹³ by the rhetoric the president used.¹⁴ Our peaceful transfer of power¹⁵ is what makes our country so great, and we must continue to protect our Constitution¹⁶ at all costs.¹⁷ I trust the president and the remaining cabinet members will act in the best interest of the country.¹⁸

That said, it’s important to remember that those small number of people¹⁹ at the Capitol do not speak for all Trump supporters, and we must hold them accountable²⁰ for their acts of violence,²¹ just as Donald Trump²² needs to be accountable for his words.²³ They were dangerous and led to unforeseen²⁴ consequences.²⁵ That’s not the America I love.²⁶

I think about the impressionable children watching what’s happening,²⁷ and I know we must do better. They are the future of our country, and one day that country²⁸ will be run by them.²⁹ It left me no choice but to step down.³⁰ I hope when it’s their turn to write the history books,³¹ they will be able to focus on the positives³² of the Trump administration,³³ and not this unfortunate blip.³⁴

God Bless America.³⁵

¹ For example, I tried to get the American people to participate in sedition.

² We told people not to cover their murder breath.

³ I found nothing.

⁴ Financial advisor.

⁵ For the first time.

⁶ And get a two-week head start on my vacation.

⁷ It was.

⁸ Corporate interests.

⁹ If you don’t count when my portfolio tripled.

¹⁰ Slightly less than the length of a mosquito’s lifetime.

¹¹ For 99% of the term.

¹² Please only remember the 1% of the time I wasn’t in the administration. We’ve always only cared about the 1%.

¹³ Six minutes ago.

¹⁴ Every day for the last four years.

¹⁵ Corporations.

¹⁶ Corporations again.

¹⁷ Please don’t make me vote on invoking the 25th Amendment.

¹⁸ The ship is sinking, and since the entire administration is women and children, I’m going to make a dash for the lifeboat. “The lifeboat” is what we call cable news.

¹⁹ Specifically, the ones wearing horns.

²⁰ I just learned what this word means.

²¹ By letting them just walk out freely.

²² And only Donald Trump.

²³ And I need to be absolved from all my involvement.

²⁴ I was wearing really dark sunglasses inside.

²⁵ We convinced them the election was stolen after repeating it all the time.

²⁶ Going forward.

²⁷ Who are thankfully probably too dumb after four years of our education policies to hold me accountable.

²⁸ Not saying if it’ll still be America.

²⁹ We are probably going to try to coup again.

³⁰ Flights to Mexico are such good deals right now.

³¹ If things like “books” or “the coasts” still exist.

³² That I stepped down.

³³ In fact, maybe they’ll just forget I was ever in it?

³⁴ Of leading the country to the point of insurrection.

³⁵ Please let me keep my book deal.

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100 is really just a starting point. We may need to go as low as 1 before we see results.

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