The New York Times – “Companies inspired by the cryptocurrency are creating social networks, storing online content and hosting websites without any central authority…When YouTube and Facebook barred tens of thousands of Mr. Trump’s supporters and white supremacists this month, many flocked to alternative apps such as LBRY, Minds and Sessions. What those sites had… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: January 2021
Why Is Big Tech Policing Speech?
The New York Times – “Because the Government Isn’t. Deplatforming President Trump showed that the First Amendment is broken — but not in the way his supporters think….The giants of social media — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram — had more stringent rules. And while they still amplified huge amounts of far-right content, they had started… Continue Reading
Map: Here’s where we could plant 68 billion trees in the U.S.
Fast Company – “The U.S. was once covered in around 1 billion acres of forest. While much of that land has been developed, a recent study led by the Nature Conservancy found that there are still as many as 127 million acres of former forestland in the lower 48 states—an area about twice the size… Continue Reading
Tax return vs. tax refund: How they’re different, what’s changed this year
CNet – “A tax return and a tax refund. They sound similar and sometimes go together, but they’re not the same. And this year, there are more nuances than ever, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and stimulus checks. So what’s the difference between the two and what are the biggest changes you need… Continue Reading
Considering a Quarantine Pod for 2021
Consumer Reports – “With widespread vaccination on the horizon, here’s what you should know about safely socializing until then..Though there’s no official guidance on the concept from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a quarantine “pod” or “bubble” is a small group of people who agree to interact without safety measures only with each other,… Continue Reading
Online Holocaust Denial Report Card
An Investigation of Online Platforms’ Policies and Enforcement – “The Holocaust, the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews and several million others by the Nazis, is one of history’s most painstakingly examined and well-documented genocides. Nevertheless, in the decades since World War II, a small group of antisemites has repeatedly attempted to cast doubt… Continue Reading
Worrisome New Coronavirus Strains Are Emerging. Why Now?
Wired – “Across the globe, SARS-CoV-2 is evolving ways to evade the immune system and become more infectious. Blown pandemic response plans are to blame…All viruses mutate. They are, after all, just autonomous bits of protein-encased, self-replicating strings of code equipped with imperfect internal spell-checkers. Make enough copies and there are bound to be mistakes.… Continue Reading
New ‘Star Wars’ Stamps Are Coming This Spring
USPS – “The first characters fans meet in the first “Star Wars” film, “Star Wars: A New Hope,” are droids — namely C-3PO and R2-D2 — and droids have continued to play pivotal roles throughout the “Star Wars” galaxy. With 10 dazzling new character-inspired stamps, the Postal Service salutes beloved droids from the “Star Wars”… Continue Reading
The bird librarian
Nature – “In the table in this photograph are the remains of more than 130 wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax) — Australia’s largest bird of prey. The birds had been poisoned, and I needed to confirm the species for a criminal case. As collection manager of ornithology at the Australian Museum in Sydney, I not only… Continue Reading
Enabling the future of academic research with the Twitter API
Twitter Developer Blog: “…With the new Academic Research product track, qualified researchers will have access to all v2 endpoints released to date, as well as: Free access to the full history of public conversation via the full-archive search endpoint, which was previously limited to paid premium or enterprise customers Higher levels of access to the… Continue Reading
NYU Professor Creates COVID-19 Dashboard to Compare Country and State Data
“A new online dashboard, created by NYU Professor Alexej Jerschow, brings together COVID-19 data from U.S. states and countries around the world to compare cases, deaths, vaccines, and testing in a visual, user-friendly format. The tool also integrates a range of policies governments have implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19—including school closings, stay-at-home orders,… Continue Reading
Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction
“Welcome to the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction. This work-in-progress is a comprehensive quotation-based dictionary of the language of science fiction. The HD/SF is an offshoot of a project begun by the Oxford English Dictionary (though it is no longer formally affiliated with it). It is edited by Jesse Sheidlower. Please explore the menu links to learn more.” Continue Reading
