Apparently Hertz's purging of electric vehicles from its fleet isn't going fast enough for the car rental giant. A Reddit user posted an offer they received from Hertz to buy the 2023 Tesla Model 3 they had been renting for $17,913. read more
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has been breaking records since the day it launched as the fastest space mission in history. Now, six years after it embarked on its quest to study the Sun, Parker has set yet another record. Early on Dec. 24, the spacecraft shot past the Sun at a distance of just 3.8 million miles. No other vehicle has accomplished this feat, which could help scientists better understand solar processes.
The number of homeless people counted across the country on a single night in January 2024 soared by 18% over a year-earlier count to 770,000 individuals, the Biden administration said Friday.
A vessel delivering oil for Russia was seized by Finnish authorities in connection with an undersea cable cutting incident that disconnected electricity to Estonia as concerns over similar incidents in European waters mount.
UAB research has characterized in detail how polymer-based commercial tea bags release millions of nanoplastics and microplastics when infused. The study shows for the first time the capacity of these particles to be absorbed by human intestinal cells, and are thus able to reach the bloodstream and spread throughout the body. read more
@#4 ... Houses in the United States are for wealthy people to buy and use as AirBnB rentals.
Well, yup.
But there is also this for those houses that people can afford ...
Tiny homes at risk of being stolen
www.newsnationnow.com
... Tiny homes have become targets for thieves stealing entire houses, Realtor.com reported.
In Oklahoma, a woman's dream of sustainable living was shattered when her tiny home was stolen from her locked property in Sapulpa, Okla., leaving behind cut wires and crushed cables, a Fox station reported.
Similarly, the Bennet family, who document their tiny home travels on TikTok, also had their home stolen and damaged before locating it with GPS. ...
Tiny homes seem to be promoted ...
e.g.,
Sandy tiny house has three bedrooms with room to stand
newatlas.com
... Though they are a standard feature in tiny houses, few people actually like to crawl into a loft-based bedroom. The Sandy tiny house addresses this issue by offering generous standing room in all three of its bedrooms.
The Sandy, by Indigo River Tiny Homes, is based on a triple-axle trailer, with a length of 36 ft (10 m). It's finished in smart siding engineered wood and has two storage boxes outside.
The entrance opens onto the living area, which includes a sofa for two and a little storage space, plus a TV. Nearby is the kitchen. This has solid mahogany countertops with steel sink, a microwave, an electric oven with electric cooktop, and a fridge/freezer. It also has lots of cabinetry, including a pull-out pantry. ...
Freur - Doot Doot (1983)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt ...
...
What's in a name?
Face on a stage
Where are you now?
Memory fades, you take a bow
[Verse 2]
Here in the dark
Watching the screen
Look at them fall
The final scene
[Chorus]
And we go doot
Doot-doot
And we go doot
Doot-doot-doot-doot-doot...
...
What to know about Sriram Krishnan, whose AI appointment sparked MAGA outrage
www.axios.com
... Sriram Krishnan has become a MAGA lightning rod since President-elect Trump named him as a senior adviser on artificial intelligence, due to both anti-Indian racism and Krishnan's pro-immigration views.
The big picture: Krishnan is an unlikely candidate for controversy, known throughout Silicon Valley for his affability and to the broader world as co-host of a podcast with his wife, tech entrepreneur Aarthi Ramamurthy.
Zoom in: Krishnan was born and educated in India, moving to the U.S. on an L-1 visa (intra-company transfer) in 2007 to work at Microsoft.
- - - He remained in Seattle for just over six years, mostly focused on Azure, before moving to Silicon Valley and serving in senior product roles at Snap, Facebook, Yahoo and Twitter. He became a U.S. citizen in 2016.
- - - During the pandemic, Krishnan and Ramamurthy launched a popular show on the Clubhouse audio app, which included interviews with such tech luminaries as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Moving on: Krishnan in late 2020 became a general partner with venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent backer of Clubhouse.
- - - He also would become the firm's emissary to Twitter after Elon Musk's takeover, which Andreessen Horowitz helped finance, spending time in the "war room" with Musk pals like David Sacks (who will serve as Trump's AI and crypto czar).
- - - Last year Krishnan moved to London to lead Andreessen Horowitz's first European office and to focus on early-stage crypto investments. He announced in November that he'd leave the firm at year-end, although that came before Trump's job offers to either him or Sacks.
The intrigue: Krishnan has advocated for raising country caps on green cards, but hasn't specifically commented on H-1B visas (despite incorrect social media claims to the contrary). ...
Brian Brain - Fun With Music (1985)
www.youtube.com
Woof, this song is more obscure than I had thought.
Lyrics do not seem to be available.