Daily Archives: October 13, 2021

A Guy Quit Blue Origin and Sent Jeff Bezos a Memo That Tore the Company to Shreds – Futurism

Posted: October 13, 2021 at 7:44 pm

Another week, another scathing account of Blue Origins dysfunctional and toxic work culture.

A new Washington Post investigation, which draws from interviews with more than 20 current and former Blue Origin employees, paints an extremely troubling picture, from rampant sexism to ineffective and condescending micromanagement by executives.

One mid-level employee sent co-founder Jeff Bezos and the rest of the companys leadership an excoriating memo upon his departure in 2019, telling the execs that our current culture is toxic to our success and many can see it spreading throughout the company, according to WaPo, noting that the loss of trust in Blues leadership is common.

Those are sentiments echoed by many of the space companys other former and present employees.

The C-suite is out of touch with the rank-and-file pretty severely, an unnamed former top exec told the newspaper. Its very dysfunctional. Its condescending. Its demoralizing, and what happens is we cant make progress and end up with huge delays.

The news comes just two weeks after an essay signed by 21 current and former employees painted a similarly troubling picture of the companys work environment. Three of those its signers were able to confirm allegations made in the essay to WaPo reporters.

Its clear from the outside that Blue Origin has struggled to keep up with the competition. The company was planning to fly its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket last year, but we still have yet to see a prototype.

It has also faced significant delays in producing the engine meant to carry New Glenn and the United Launch Alliances Vulcan Centaur vehicle into orbit.

Most recently, the company lost an enormous NASA lunar lander contract to SpaceX, which has drawn the ire of the space companys leadership, culminating in Bezos suing the space agency.

Reports about Blue Origins toxic work culture have often centered around CEO Bob Smith, whose leadership style has done little to build a healthy work culture, according to the report.

Its bad, one former top executive told WaPo. Leadership has not engendered any trust in the employee base.

Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO in February and is committing more of his weekly schedule to Blue Origin. Whether that will be enough to reinvigorate employees and allow the company to turn a new page is uncertain.

But at this point, you basically need a new executive team and a totally new culture to start over, one industry official told WaPo.

Bezos, Smith, and Blue Origin declined to comment to WaPo, despite Bezos ownership of the newspaper.

READ MORE: Inside Blue Origin: Employees say toxic, dysfunctional bro culture led to mistrust, low morale and delays at Jeff Bezoss space venture [The Washington Post]

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Justin Bieber Thinks Deepfake of Tom Cruise Is Real, Challenges It to Fight – Futurism

Posted: at 7:44 pm

Bieber tried to start beef with DeepTomCruise.Shadow Boxing

Justin Bieber seems to have gotten tricked online, as hes been heckling a deepfake of Tom Cruise as though he were interacting with the real actor.

Unless hes pulling a prank of his own, Bieber seems to have fallen for the trickery of DeepTomCruise, a TikTok account that posts videos of a convincing deepfake version of Tom Cruise, the Daily Dot noticed. Bieber shared a video of the deepfake playing guitar to his Instagram story but tagged the real Tom Cruise in which he complimented the actors musical prowess then challenged him to a fight. Its a bizarre, comical mistake, but it also hints at how easy it is for synthesized media to trick people who arent looking out for it.

@Tomcruise Im impressed with your guitar skills, Bieber wrote in his post. But you could still catch these hands my boy.

In another post of the same video, Bieber added ALL JOKES ASIDE @tomcruise your shredding on that guitar, once again tagging the real actor who, if he was paying attention at all, must have been confused by now.

In actuality, Bieber was complimenting both the guitar playing of actor Miles Fisher and the special effects prowess of deepfake creator Chris Ume, who edited Cruises face onto Fishers body.

Two hours later, Bieber realized his mistake.

Thats not really Tom Cruise? he wrote in another post. Lol, oh well, still hilarious.

So far, Cruise hasnt given a public response to Biebers posts, the Daily Dot notes. So the jurys still out on whether Bieber still wants to fight.

READ MORE: Justin Bieber got duped into picking a fight with a Tom Cruise deepfake [Daily Dot]

More on deepfakes: Uncanny Deepfake Tom Cruise Fools People on TikTok

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Residents Heard an Earth-Shattering Explosion and Experts Have No Idea What It Was – Futurism

Posted: at 7:44 pm

So far, there's no evidence of an earthquake.Earth-Shattering Kaboom

On Sunday morning, the sound of an earth-shattering explosion rocked New Hampshire and the ground started to shake.

Normally, that wouldnt make headlines. But in this case, experts at the U.S. Geological Surveys National Earthquake Information Center say that they have absolutely no clue what caused the shaking, The New York Times reports, and that theres no evidence whatsoever of an earthquake happening. Without a real answer, residents have been speculating wildly online, sharing ideas that include large explosions, meteorite landings, and some sort of military activity at a nearby Space Force base.

New Hampshire does experience the occasional weak earthquake, US Geological Survey geophysicist Jessica Turner told the NYT. Most recently, a magnitude 1.7 quake hit the area this past August, she said.

And just because the Geological Survey didnt pick up on an earthquake doesnt mean that one didnt happen, agency geophysicist Don Blakeman explained to the NYT.

In the meantime, New Hampshirites are left wondering what it is they just lived through. Several shared stories with the NYT of sitting at home, suddenly hearing a loud explosion, and having nowhere to turn but the internet for answers. One even joked about being ready for the end of days.

Fortunately, Id gone to church this morning, fire chief Dan MacDonald told the NYT. So I felt prepared.

READ MORE: Something Shook New Hampshire. What Caused the Boom Is a Mystery. [The New York Times]

More on earthquakes: The US Military Just Set Off Anther 3.9 Magnitude Explosion

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How to Have the Perfect Saturday Biking Around Charleston – Bicycling

Posted: at 7:43 pm

Charleston, South Carolina, where Ive lived for 15 years, has become a busy city. My home is just one mile north of downtown, and it feels foolish to drive my car in. Im usually happy to ride one of my bikes to town, but it can get really hot in the South. No one wants to arrive at their destination on a 100-degree day dripping with sweat. Recently, I found a new way to get around the city: an electric bike from Rad Power Bikes.

Gately Williams

Afterward, we wound our way around the west side of the Charleston peninsula, passing the Medical University of South Carolina hospital and heading down to the Battery along the waters edge. From there, we cruised up to Burbages Grocery, which has been in business since 1948, for a cold drink (the temperature was already 90 degrees) and a late-morning snack. I put my drink securely in my RadRunner cup holder, and we hit the road again.

We half-pedaled, half-powered through the historic streets of Lenwood, Legare, and South Battery back down to the water, passing Fort Sumter, the historic site where the first cannon of the Civil War was fired. We followed East Bay Street to Rainbow Row, a line of pastel-colored homes facing the water, where we took the obligatory photo.

As the sun passed noon, it was time to switch the Rad Runner from mode 1 all the way to 5full power on the displayand go full-throttle to Leons Poultry & Oyster Shop on upper King Street. This fantastic restaurant, which opened eight years ago, is located in a converted service station, and the historic rehab rarely has an empty table. Colby and I parked our bikes out front, grabbed the keys from the battery packs, and found two seats at the bar, where we enjoyed peel-and-eat shrimp.

By 2 p.m., we were effortlessly riding up and over the massive Ravenel suspension bridge, using the bike and pedestrian lane, on our way to the beach at Sullivans Island. We had installed the Rad Large Platform Rack on Colbys bike before we headed out in the morning, and used the three-pack of Cargo Straps to attach a duffle bag filled with swimsuits, towels, and water.

For those of you who are new to e-bikes like I am, let me explain something amazing: Some electric-powered bikes use a pedal-assist battery and components, requiring you to pedal. Rad Power Bikes have a simple throttle on the right-hand grip, which you twist to make the bike go. These bikes are designed with such precision quality that you can stop pedaling completely, which allowed us to silently ride at 19 miles per hour. Thank you, 750-watt geared hub motor.

We covered the 10-mile stretch to Sullivans Island in 40 minutes, using a few sidewalks, the quiet roads of Mount Pleasants Old Village, and a bike-and-running lane for the final two miles. While passing though Mount Pleasant, we made a brief stop at the Heart of Gold Gallery to see vintage rock-and-roll photographs.

Gately Williams

When we arrived at the beach, we pedaled our seven-speed steeds straight over the soft sand down to the waters edge where we headed away from the crowd and rode on the beach for a while. The 3.3-inch tires rolled smoothly over every kind of sand. Afterward, we rode in to the town of Sullivan's Island, where we noticed a shop called Sealand on Center Street.

Gately Williams

At the front door, we saw that they had Rad Power Bikes for rent. Sarah, who worked at the shop, was kind enough to show us how easily our batteries come in and out, using the provided key. Colby and I had been riding all day and wanted to make sure we had enough battery to get home, so Sarah put them on her store chargers while we ran across the street to Mex 1 Coastal Cantina for tacos.

We rode back into downtown Charleston at 4:30 p.m., having covered over 35 miles for the day. We were well-fed, sun-kissed, and happy. We rolled the RadRunners into the garage, and put them on their charger for another adventure in the very near future.

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Who should police the web? – The Economist

Posted: at 7:41 pm

Oct 13th 2021

SHOULD VIDEO websites have to review content before they publish it? Where does the boundary lie between hate speech and incitement to violence? Is pornography created by artificial intelligence an invasion of privacy? These are all hard questions, but behind them lies an even more difficult one: who should provide the answers?

On the internet, such dilemmas are increasingly being resolved by private firms. Social networks are deciding what kinds of misinformation to ban. Web-hosting companies are taking down sites they deem harmful. Now financial firms are more actively restricting what people can buy (see Finance section).

The digital gatekeepers are doing a mixed job. But it is increasingly clear that it is not their job at all. The trade-offs around what can be said, done and bought online urgently need the input of elected representatives. So far governments have been better at complaining than at taking responsibility.

For an example of how private firms have become the digital police, consider the rules on internet pornography being introduced by Mastercard on October 15th. In a bid to weed out illegal material, the card firm is demanding that porn sites take steps that go beyond what the law requires, including reviewing footage before publication and checking the identity of those who upload or feature in it. Sites that think these sorts of rules too onerous are under no obligation to work with Mastercard. But Visa is also cracking down, and the two firms handle 90% of card payments outside China, meaning that they are becoming the industrys de facto regulators.

Liberals must strike a balance. Private firms should in general be free to deal with whom they like. Just as Facebook may legally ban people like Donald Trump from its network and Amazon Web Services can decline to host alt-right-friendly apps like Parler, Mastercard is free to drop particular porn sites. Yet the market power of these firms and their often like-minded rivals means that without their approval and support, individuals or businesses may face exclusion, even if they have broken no law. In edge-cases, private gatekeepers will err on the side of caution. What incentive is there for a social network to allow borderline hate-speech, or for a bank to deal with a legally tricky industry like cannabis?

The best remedy would be more competition, so that if Visa and Mastercard bar a porn site or Facebook cancels a controversial figure, consumers have alternatives. That will not happen quickly: network effects are powerful in social media and crushing in the payments business.

In the meantime, private companies that find themselves acting as gatekeepers should be transparent about their rules, how they make them and what redress they offer. Under public pressure, social networks have taken steps in this direction. Facebook sends difficult decisions to an independent oversight board; Twitter this week published a set of principles for regulating online speech. Financial institutions are more opaque. Mastercard explained its new rules in a blog post. When OnlyFans, a site known for sexually explicit content, blamed banks for forcing a change in its content policy earlier this year, the banks in question made no comment.

Yet the bigger responsibility lies with governments. They are right to be wary of constraining speech. In much of the world leaders are only too ready to muzzle online debate (see International section). But the careful definition of how to draw lines around free expression and build in safeguards would help clarify where despots have overstepped the boundary.

What is more, in many areas the gatekeeping power wielded by private firms is really a consequence of government inaction. Keeping revenge-porn off the web or limiting childrens access to viral content are areas where governments could act if they wanted to. Instead, the approach of many has been to do nothing and then feign shock when profit-maximising companies come up with answers that may not be in the interest of society.

Politicians are right to warn that some private companies have too much power online. But those firms have ended up with so much responsibility partly because politicians themselves have abdicated it.

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Hungary fans provide Wembley with another dark and bruising night – The Guardian

Posted: at 7:41 pm

We came for the football. What we got, with the anthems still fresh, was 10 minutes of violent culture clash in the Wembley seats. This was a tableau of viciousness played out via the fists of Hungarys travelling ultras and what looked, at times, like a lone Metropolitan police officer waving his (massively outgunned) baton of liberal justice.

Ultra-nationalist football thugs versus the Met. And its live! It was a dismal, toxic, at times surreal night at Wembley Stadium. At 7.45pm Englands players kicked off this Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier to the usual hopeful, tinny cheers. By 7.48pm, the first fists were being thrown in the Hungary end. By 7.50pm the police had arrived in the stairwell above the main mass of away supporters and begun an attempt to force them back.

Fast forward another five minutes of full-contact free-for-all and the Met, punched, kicked and swarmed by superior numbers, had retreated back to the concourse. And so it came to pass that with the game itself barely started the away support had created a kind of Hungarian embassy in the Wembley seats. The flag will fly. This patch of soil is ours.

At half-time the police tweeted a statement. Shortly after the start of the game officers had entered the Hungary end to arrest a spectator for a racially aggravated public order offence. Before kick-off the England players had taken the knee. It drew an energetic reaction in the Hungary section. A flag was raised with a drawing of a stick man taking the knee, with a line daubed across it. Hungarys football supporters are enthusiastic repeat offenders when it comes to racist abuse.

As the officers made the arrest, minor disorder broke out involving other spectators. Order was quickly restored and there have been no further incidents at this stage, the statement continued. This is only partly true. Order was not restored. Or at least, not the order of the Met, but a little taste of alt-right dictator-culture staking its flag in the London Borough of Brent.

To their credit, the police attempted to enforce the law here. This was an attempt, undermanned and overwhelmed, but also undeniably brave, to impose the principle that racism is a crime in this country. At the same time it seemed odd even before kick-off that there was so little in the way of police presence, so little feel for the occasion and for the reputation of the visitors. What did they think was going to happen here, wading in to that 2,000-strong end in a small luminous-jacketed platoon?

Some will ask why, given Hungary were ordered to play their last home game behind closed doors for abusing Englands black players, it was then deemed acceptable for thousands of Hungarians to gather to watch football in London. Football makes noises about regulation, about saying no to racism.

Its governing bodies voice their shock every time, all the while cosying up to the nearest seedy dictator. It is a risible and insulting pretence.

The violence had started when Hungarian supporters clashed with a group of stewards. Stewards are not security guards. These people are there to manage the crowd and to help with the flow. Twenty to 30 police appeared at the top of the stairwell and were soon thrashing at the crowd with batons. The Hungarian fans surged, swarming around these insurgents in their luminous jackets. After the deserved criticism the Met have taken over recent horrific events, the internal culture of the force, failings of management, this will draw little sympathy from some. Could they not just flag down a bus?

It is worth bearing in mind who was on the other side of that line. Viktor Orban has weaponised football as a statement of personal power, and also as a muster point for an aggressive young male cultural militia. There was something jaw-dropping during the summers Euros at seeing assorted English TV pundits gushing, presumably out of ignorance, at the thrill, the warm feelings inspired by seeing men in black shirts punching the air and projecting their own kind of aggressive nationalism. Just great to see the crowds back, eh?

Here, that early incident seemed to overshadow the game. Hungary scored midway through the first half, the signal for a huge green smoke bomb in the away end. When England equalised there was some brief alarm at attempts on all sides to clamber over the security tarpaulin, but thankfully it fizzled out. By the final whistle reports suggested the police had arrested 40 Hungary fans, and were waiting for reinforcements to arrive to remove them from the stadium.

For Wembley this was another bruising night. The Euro 2020 final brought its own kind of domestic meltdown. Perhaps you could try to explain that away as a by-product of lockdown desperation, given fuel by cornercutting security and shoddy planning. Cut it back. Squeeze the margins. Hope for the best. The reality of England in 2021 went steaming right though that illusion of order, splintering it like a cardboard western set. This was something else. Welcome to the world, Wembley Stadium. It is, make no mistake, a little dark out there.

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The cultural parameter shifts that are throwing white conservatives into a panic – Denton Record Chronicle

Posted: at 7:41 pm

Country

United States of AmericaUS Virgin IslandsUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsCanadaMexico, United Mexican StatesBahamas, Commonwealth of theCuba, Republic ofDominican RepublicHaiti, Republic ofJamaicaAfghanistanAlbania, People's Socialist Republic ofAlgeria, People's Democratic Republic ofAmerican SamoaAndorra, Principality ofAngola, Republic ofAnguillaAntarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S)Antigua and BarbudaArgentina, Argentine RepublicArmeniaArubaAustralia, Commonwealth ofAustria, Republic ofAzerbaijan, Republic ofBahrain, Kingdom ofBangladesh, People's Republic ofBarbadosBelarusBelgium, Kingdom ofBelizeBenin, People's Republic ofBermudaBhutan, Kingdom ofBolivia, Republic ofBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswana, Republic ofBouvet Island (Bouvetoya)Brazil, Federative Republic ofBritish Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago)British Virgin IslandsBrunei DarussalamBulgaria, People's Republic ofBurkina FasoBurundi, Republic ofCambodia, Kingdom ofCameroon, United Republic ofCape Verde, Republic ofCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChad, Republic ofChile, Republic ofChina, People's Republic ofChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombia, Republic ofComoros, Union of theCongo, Democratic Republic ofCongo, People's Republic ofCook IslandsCosta Rica, Republic ofCote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of theCyprus, Republic ofCzech RepublicDenmark, Kingdom ofDjibouti, Republic ofDominica, Commonwealth ofEcuador, Republic ofEgypt, Arab Republic ofEl Salvador, Republic ofEquatorial Guinea, Republic ofEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaeroe IslandsFalkland Islands (Malvinas)Fiji, Republic of the Fiji IslandsFinland, Republic ofFrance, French RepublicFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabon, Gabonese RepublicGambia, Republic of theGeorgiaGermanyGhana, Republic ofGibraltarGreece, Hellenic RepublicGreenlandGrenadaGuadaloupeGuamGuatemala, Republic ofGuinea, RevolutionaryPeople's Rep'c ofGuinea-Bissau, Republic ofGuyana, Republic ofHeard and McDonald IslandsHoly See (Vatican City State)Honduras, Republic ofHong Kong, Special Administrative Region of ChinaHrvatska (Croatia)Hungary, Hungarian People's RepublicIceland, Republic ofIndia, Republic ofIndonesia, Republic ofIran, Islamic Republic ofIraq, Republic ofIrelandIsrael, State ofItaly, Italian RepublicJapanJordan, Hashemite Kingdom ofKazakhstan, Republic ofKenya, Republic ofKiribati, Republic ofKorea, Democratic People's Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwait, State ofKyrgyz RepublicLao People's Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanon, Lebanese RepublicLesotho, Kingdom ofLiberia, Republic ofLibyan Arab JamahiriyaLiechtenstein, Principality ofLithuaniaLuxembourg, Grand Duchy ofMacao, Special Administrative Region of ChinaMacedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic ofMadagascar, Republic ofMalawi, Republic ofMalaysiaMaldives, Republic ofMali, Republic ofMalta, Republic ofMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritania, Islamic Republic ofMauritiusMayotteMicronesia, Federated States ofMoldova, Republic ofMonaco, Principality ofMongolia, Mongolian People's RepublicMontserratMorocco, Kingdom ofMozambique, People's Republic ofMyanmarNamibiaNauru, Republic ofNepal, Kingdom ofNetherlands AntillesNetherlands, Kingdom of theNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaragua, Republic ofNiger, Republic of theNigeria, Federal Republic ofNiue, Republic ofNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorway, Kingdom ofOman, Sultanate ofPakistan, Islamic Republic ofPalauPalestinian Territory, OccupiedPanama, Republic ofPapua New GuineaParaguay, Republic ofPeru, Republic ofPhilippines, Republic of thePitcairn IslandPoland, Polish People's RepublicPortugal, Portuguese RepublicPuerto RicoQatar, State ofReunionRomania, Socialist Republic ofRussian FederationRwanda, Rwandese RepublicSamoa, Independent State ofSan Marino, Republic ofSao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic ofSaudi Arabia, Kingdom ofSenegal, Republic ofSerbia and MontenegroSeychelles, Republic ofSierra Leone, Republic ofSingapore, Republic ofSlovakia (Slovak Republic)SloveniaSolomon IslandsSomalia, Somali RepublicSouth Africa, Republic ofSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSpain, Spanish StateSri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic ofSt. HelenaSt. Kitts and NevisSt. LuciaSt. Pierre and MiquelonSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudan, Democratic Republic of theSuriname, Republic ofSvalbard & Jan Mayen IslandsSwaziland, Kingdom ofSweden, Kingdom ofSwitzerland, Swiss ConfederationSyrian Arab RepublicTaiwan, Province of ChinaTajikistanTanzania, United Republic ofThailand, Kingdom ofTimor-Leste, Democratic Republic ofTogo, Togolese RepublicTokelau (Tokelau Islands)Tonga, Kingdom ofTrinidad and Tobago, Republic ofTunisia, Republic ofTurkey, Republic ofTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluUganda, Republic ofUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited Kingdom of Great Britain & N. IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

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Two Journalists Started an Argument in Boston in 1979. Its Not Over Yet. – The New York Times

Posted: at 7:41 pm

A diverse new generation of reporters has sought to dismantle the old order, and much of the conflict was playing out, in recent years, at The Washington Post, whose top editor at the time, Martin Baron, had won Pulitzers and challenged presidents by making use of the traditional tools of newspaper journalism. But Mr. Baron also bridled at his employees expressing opinions on Twitter about the subjects they covered.

His former protg, the national correspondent Wesley Lowery, argued in a widely circulated New York Times opinion essay that objectivity mirrored the worldview of white reporters and editors, whose selective truths have been calibrated to avoid offending the sensibilities of white readers. Mr. Lowery, who ended up leaving The Post for CBS News, suggested that news organizations abandon the appearance of objectivity as the aspirational journalistic standard, and for reporters instead to focus on being fair and telling the truth, as best as one can, based on the given context and available facts.

That same argument has found an embrace at some of Americas leading journalism schools, as well.

We focus on fairness and fact-checking and accuracy, and we dont try to suggest to our students that opinions they have should be hidden, said Sarah Bartlett, the dean of the City University of New York Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. We embrace transparency.

Steve Coll, her counterpart at Columbia, who announced on Thursday that he was stepping down in June after nine years as dean, said that Columbia Journalism School tries to teach fairness and intellectual honesty adding that the old way of thinking has morphed into something new. The church is gone, and theres no orthodoxy left, he said. Theres many journalisms, and thats kind of liberating.

Much of the shift has to do with the changing nature of the news business, and the decline of local newspapers, whose business often depended on taking an establishment position. The internet has also blurred for readers the lines between news and opinion, which were clear in a print newspaper.

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Dinosaurs Might Have Actually Looked More Cuddly Than We Think – Nerdist

Posted: at 7:39 pm

We all have ideas of what dinosaurs looked like in our minds eye. Mostly sourced from Jurassic Park, of course. But science has evolved and paleontologists now believe that many if not most dinosaurs had some kind of plumage. In a new video, the science education YouTube channel Kurzgesagt In a Nutshelltakes a look at what dinosaurs may have looked like with that theory in mind. And while the illustrations are cartoonish, its easy to imagine real dinosaurs in a whole new light.

Kurzgesagtwhich literally translates to in a nutshell from Germanrecently posted the above video to YouTube. For those unfamiliar with the educational channel, Kurzgesagt is a small team of creators that like to make videos explaining things with optimistic nihilism and beauty. Previously, for example, the channels looked at what would happen if Earth turned into solid gold. Or if we nuked the Moon.

Kurzgesagt

In this deep dive into the past, Kurzgesagt gives a general sense of what many scientists think dinosaurs probably looked like. The channel notes that paleontologists have discovered more than 1,000 dinosaur species over the last 200 years; the evidence allows them to model dinosaur aesthetics in an accurate way. Or at least more accurate than the bony minimalist way that pervades the current dino zeitgeist.

Kurzgesagt

As for what the dinosaurs actually looked like? Apparently we should be picturing a lot more soft tissues. More fat bellies and chests. And lots of soft parts like skin flaps, lips, gums, and just more pronounced features that would make [dinosaurs] seem like much more pleasant animals than one would think. The channel notes, for example, that T. rex were possibly giant cuddly animals with feathers with an inclination for relaxing and playing, a la modern day lions.

Kurzgesagt

Obviously its impossible to say for sure what dinosaurs looked like. And who doesnt want to own a cuddly T. rex pet once scientists bring them back from extinction?

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Say goodbye to mastery of any kind – Washington Times

Posted: at 7:39 pm

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Nothing could demonstrate better how goofy many of todays grievance police have become in this instance, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) real-estate portals in parts of Ohio and Kentucky. Theyve decided to replace the offensive master bedroom descriptor with primary bedroom.

Following this, will anyone ever again be declared, much less certified as, a master plumber? University masters degrees are of course out the window, right? No more can a person be licensed as master to command a merchant ship, and no one shall ever again be the master or mistress of a pet dog, cat or pot-bellied pig.

Should historical books that refer to young boys as master (i.e., Tom, Dick or Harry), rather than mister (meaning older) be replaced with those that include the rising approbation of primary son? Can anyone now master a fear or skill?

With ignorance such as this, there is no mystery as to why American culture is increasingly fragmented, depressed and violent. Those who imagine division where there is none and ignore (or are ignorant of) history in its complexity while promoting their own reductive brand of nihilism foster a population that is more susceptible to anger and mistrust any other.

It seems weve generally been making admirable progress as a welcoming, equality-minded nation, all without some questionably motivated nag butting in. Those looking for something about which to complain, why not imagine ghosts under the bed? Those who build their own resumes by manipulating others ought to go to their room (master or not), shut the door and stay there. The rest of us will be better for it.

H. LEE LAPOLE

Loveland, Ohio

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