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🔗 Birds 🔗 Mythology

The barnacle goose myth is a widely-reported historical misconception about the breeding habits of the barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) and brant goose (Branta bernicla). One version of the myth is that these geese emerge fully formed from goose barnacles (Cirripedia). Other myths exist about how the barnacle goose supposedly emerges and grows from matter other than bird eggs.

The etymology of the term "barnacle" suggests Latin, Old English, and French roots. There are few references in pre-Christian books and manuscripts – some Roman or Greek. The main vector for the myth into modern times was monastic manuscripts and in particular the bestiary.

The myth owes its long-standing popularity to an early ignorance of the migration patterns of geese. Early medieval discussions of the nature of living organisms were often based on myths or genuine ignorance of what is now known about phenomena such as bird migration. It was not until the late 19th century that bird migration research showed that such geese migrate northwards to nest and breed in Greenland or northern Scandinavia.

🔗 Computing

The CueCat, styled :CueCat with a leading colon, is a cat-shaped handheld barcode reader that was given away free to Internet users starting in 2000 by the now-defunct Digital Convergence Corporation. The CueCat was named CUE for the unique bar code which the device scanned and CAT as a play on "Keystroke Automation Technology" and it enabled a user to open a link to an Internet URL by scanning a barcode — called a "cue" by Digital Convergence — appearing in an article or catalog or on some other printed matter. In this way, a user could be directed to a web page containing related information without having to enter a URL. The company asserted that the ability of the device to direct users to a specific URL, rather than a domain name, was valuable. In addition, television broadcasters could use an audio tone in programs or commercials that, if a TV was connected to a computer via an audio cable, acted as a web address shortcut.

The CueCat connected to computers using the PS/2 keyboard port and USB, and communicated to desktop "CRQ" software running on Windows 32-bit and Mac OS 9 operating systems. Users of this software were required to register with their ZIP code, gender, and email address. This registration process enabled the device to deliver relevant content to a single or multiple users in a household.

By year-end 2001, Codes could no longer be generated for the device or scanned with the device. However, third-party software can decode the lightweight encryption in the device.

🔗 Cryptography 🔗 Cryptography/Computer science

In cryptography and steganography, plausibly deniable encryption describes encryption techniques where the existence of an encrypted file or message is deniable in the sense that an adversary cannot prove that the plaintext data exists.

The users may convincingly deny that a given piece of data is encrypted, or that they are able to decrypt a given piece of encrypted data, or that some specific encrypted data exists. Such denials may or may not be genuine. For example, it may be impossible to prove that the data is encrypted without the cooperation of the users. If the data is encrypted, the users genuinely may not be able to decrypt it. Deniable encryption serves to undermine an attacker's confidence either that data is encrypted, or that the person in possession of it can decrypt it and provide the associated plaintext.

In their pivotal 1996 paper, Ran Canetti, Cynthia Dwork, Moni Naor, and Rafail Ostrovsky introduced the concept of deniable encryption, a cryptographic breakthrough that ensures privacy even under coercion. This concept allows encrypted communication participants to plausibly deny the true content of their messages. Their work lays the foundational principles of deniable encryption, illustrating its critical role in protecting privacy against forced disclosures. This research has become a cornerstone for future advancements in cryptography, emphasizing the importance of deniable encryption in maintaining communication security. The notion of deniable encryption was used by Julian Assange and Ralf Weinmann in the Rubberhose filesystem.

🔗 United States 🔗 Aviation 🔗 Aviation/aircraft 🔗 Aviation/aircraft engine 🔗 Ships

A toroidal propeller is a type of propeller that is ring-shaped with each blade forming a closed loop. The propellers are significantly quieter at audible frequency ranges, between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, while generating comparable thrust to traditional propellers. In practice, toroidal propellers reduce noise pollution in both aviation and maritime transport.

🔗 Computing

Compound File Binary Format (CFBF), also called Compound File, Compound Document format, or Composite Document File V2 (CDF), is a compound document file format for storing numerous files and streams within a single file on a disk. CFBF is developed by Microsoft and is an implementation of Microsoft COM Structured Storage. The file format is used for storing storage objects and stream objects in a hierarchical structure within a single file.

Microsoft has opened the format for use by others and it is now used in a variety of programs from Microsoft Word and Microsoft Access to Business Objects. It also forms the basis of the Advanced Authoring Format.

🔗 United States 🔗 California 🔗 Disaster management 🔗 Oregon 🔗 Canada 🔗 Anthropology 🔗 Canada/British Columbia 🔗 United States/Washington 🔗 Canada/History of Canada 🔗 Canada/Geography of Canada 🔗 United States/U.S. history 🔗 Cascadia 🔗 Earthquakes 🔗 Anthropology/Oral tradition

The 1700 Cascadia earthquake occurred along the Cascadia subduction zone on January 26, 1700 with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.7–9.2. The megathrust earthquake involved the Juan de Fuca Plate from mid-Vancouver Island, south along the Pacific Northwest coast as far as northern California. The length of the fault rupture was about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with an average slip of 20 meters (66 ft).

The earthquake caused a tsunami which struck the west coast of North America and the coast of Japan.

🔗 California 🔗 Plants

Hyperion is a coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) in California that is the world's tallest known living tree, measured at 116.07 metres (380.8 ft) tall in 2019.

Hyperion was discovered on August 25, 2006, by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor. The tree height of 115.55 m (379.1 ft) was verified by Stephen Sillett in 2006 using both a laser range finder and a fiberglass tape to measure the tree from the base to the crown. The tree has grown since then to reach 116.07 metres (380.8 ft) recorded in 2019. Hyperion was found in a remote area of Redwood National Park, inside of the originally designated park boundaries of 1968. The park also houses the second-, fourth- and fifth-tallest known trees, coast redwoods named Helios, Icarus, and Daedalus, which respectively measured 377, 371 and 363 feet in 2022.

The tree was named after the titan Hyperion from Greek mythology.

Hyperion is estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old and contain 530 m³ (18,600 cu ft) of wood.

The exact location of Hyperion is nominally secret but is available via internet search. However, in July 2022, the Redwood Park superintendent closed the entire area around the tree, citing "devastation of the habitat surrounding Hyperion" caused by visitors. Its base was trampled by the overuse and as a result ferns no longer grow around the tree. Anyone who gets too close could face up to six months in jail and a $5,000 maximum fine.

🔗 Theatre 🔗 Elizabethan theatre

The Parnassus plays are three satiric comedies, or full-length academic dramas, each divided into five acts. They date from between 1598 and 1602. They were performed in London by students for an audience of students as part of the Christmas festivities of St John's College at Cambridge University. It is not known who wrote them.

The titles of the three plays are

• The Pilgrimage to Parnassus
• The Return from Parnassus
• The Return from Parnassus: Or the Scourge of Simony

The second and third plays are sometimes referred to as Part One and Part Two of The Return from Parnassus.

The trilogy raises an Elizabethan question: After college – what comes next? Francis Bacon in his essay "Of Seditions and Troubles" pointed to a 16th-century problem – universities were producing more scholars than there were opportunities for them. The University Wits – Lily, Marlowe, Green, Peele, Nashe and Lodge – were scholars who found employment in theatre, not perhaps their first choice, but there was little else for them. Their great education tended to discourage them from taking up the humble trades of their fathers. The Parnassus plays may not provide a solution, but they at least illustrated the fears of such ambitious young scholastic dreamers.

For the most part, the plays follow the experiences of two students, Philomusus and Studioso. The first play tells the story of two pilgrims on a journey to Parnassus. The plot is an allegory understood to represent the story of two students progressing through the traditional course of education known as the trivium. The accomplishment of their education is represented by Mount Parnassus. The second play drops the allegory and describes the two graduates' unsuccessful attempts to make a living, as does the third play, which is the only one that was contemporaneously published. New in the third play is the serious treatment of issues regarding censorship.

It has been said that this trilogy of plays "in originality and breadth of execution, and in complex relationship to the academic, literary, theatrical and social life of the period, ranks supreme among the extant memorials of the university stage", and that they are "among the most inexplicably neglected key documents of Shakespeare's age".

🔗 Computing 🔗 Linux

The ASUS Eee PC is a netbook computer line from Asus, and a part of the ASUS Eee product family. At the time of its introduction in late 2007, it was noted for its combination of a lightweight, Linux-based operating system, solid-state drive (SSD), and relatively low cost. Newer models added the options of Microsoft Windows operating system and rotating media hard disk drives (HDD), and initially retailed for up to 500 euros.

The first Eee PC was a milestone in the personal computer business, launching the netbook category of small, low-cost laptops in the West (in Japan, subnotebooks had long been a staple in computing). According to Asus, the name Eee derives from "the three Es", an abbreviation of its advertising slogan for the device: "Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play".

In January 2013, ASUS officially ended production of their Eee PC series, citing declining sales due to consumers favoring tablets and Ultrabooks over netbooks. However, they subsequently restarted the line with the release of the EeeBook series in 2015.

🔗 Technology 🔗 Computing 🔗 Robotics 🔗 Artificial Intelligence

Vibe coding, sometimes spelled as vibecoding, is an AI-powered programming practice where you surrender to the "vibes" and power of the AI, while ignoring the details of the generated code. After describing a problem in a few sentences, you watch as the AI codes a custom solution such as an app or website. Vibe coding may feel like sorcery. Amateur programmers can now produce software, with limited features and sometimes imperfectly, that previously would have needed a software team. The practice defies the belief in the software industry that software engineering demands great skill.