Smile, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum + Labs & BRZRKR
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Smile, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum + Labs & BRZRKR
Has Professor finally found a way to keep DJ in the time limit? Some say yes.
Can a smile really make you think better of someone? What if it would make you think worse of them? This study looked at the perceived trustworthiness of people with various disorders, but the Nerds think it's not particularly rigorous.
Microsoft Flight Simulator will come with a physical edition including a lovely hardcover flight manual, and ten discs. TEN discs. It's going to be a pretty significant drive eater but if you don't have a good internet connection or want a pretty book this is the way to go.
It's time to say goodbye to Paul Allen's Living Computer Museum + Labs. Paul's museum is the only place a regular civilian can access the classic Big Iron mainframes of the 60s and 70s, but they've recently announced their temporary closure which is sounding more and more permanent as more news comes out. Now if you'll excuse us, Professor needs to have a bit of a cry.
Keanu Reeves is writing a comic book called Brzkr which sounds like the most Mary Sue self insert fanfiction a man could write. We'll have to wait for the full story to come out, but the main character sounds annoying. Maybe it'll have good art though.
This week, Professor sat around waiting in Forager, DJ jumped around in Nohra and Dev-i-Boy formed an army in VRChat.
A smile can increase or decrease how trustworthy you are
- https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234574
Microsoft Flight Simulator now comes with 10 Discs
- https://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-flight-simulator-is-getting-a-10-disc-physical-version/
The future of Paul Allen’s Living Computers Museum + Labs
- https://rottedbits.blogspot.com/2020/07/on-closing-of-living-computers.html?m=1
Keanu Reeves, actor actor, musician, film producer and director and now comic book writer
Games Played
Professor
- Forager - https://store.steampowered.com/app/751780/Forager/
Rating: 2.5/5
DJ
– Nohra - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1338250/Nohra/
Rating: 4/5
Deviboy
– VRChat - https://store.steampowered.com/app/438100/VRChat/
Rating: 4/5
Other topics discussed
Segway company owner rids scooter off cliff
Facial recognition software (technology capable of identifying or verifying a person from a digital image or a video frame from a video source.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_recognition_system
Microexpression (A microexpression is a facial expression that only lasts for a short moment. It is the innate result of a voluntary and an involuntary emotional response occurring simultaneously and conflicting with one another, and occurs when the amygdala (the emotion center of the brain) responds appropriately to the stimuli that the individual experiences and the individual wishes to conceal this specific emotion.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microexpression
Microexpressions Are Not the Best Way to Catch a Liar
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01672/full
Polygraph (popularly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse,respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and answers a series of questions)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph
Truth Serum (a colloquial name for any of a range of psychoactive drugs used in an effort to obtain information from subjects who are unable or unwilling to provide it otherwise. These include ethanol,scopolamine,3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, midazolam, flunitrazepam, sodium thiopental, and amobarbital, among others.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_serum
Sodium thiopental (also known as Sodium Pentothal (a trademark of Abbott Laboratories), thiopental, thiopentone, or Trapanal (also a trademark), or Fatal-Plus in veterinary euthanasia contexts, is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anesthetic. Thiopental (Pentothal) is still used in some places as a truth serum to weaken the resolve of a subject and make them more compliant to pressure.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_thiopental#Truth_serum
Polygraph in TV (Lie detection has a long history in mythology and fairy tales; the polygraph has allowed modern fiction to use a device more easily seen as scientific and plausible. Notable instances of polygraph usage include uses in crime and espionage themed television shows and some daytime television talk shows, cartoons and films.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph#Portrayal_on_television
L.A. Noire (neo-noir detective action-adventure video game developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games.)
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.A._Noire
Good Cop, Bad Cop ("Good cop/bad cop" routine, also called Mutt and Jeff, joint questioning or friend and foe, is a psychological tactic used in negotiation and interrogation.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_cop/bad_cop
Eragon (a third-personvideo game released for PlayStation 2, Xbox,Xbox 360, andMicrosoft Windows, developed by Stormfront Studios. The game is based upon the 2006 Eragon film, which is loosely based on the 2002 book Eragon, by Christopher Paolini.)
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eragon_(video_game)
Red Dead Redemption 2 comes on two discs
- https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-10-20-red-dead-redemption-2-comes-on-two-discs
Great, Famous, and Controversial Multi-Disc Video Games
- https://www.gamezone.com/originals/great-famous-and-controversial-multi-disc-video-games/
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 PC Game in OZ Game Shop
Cardboard disc included with Fallout 76 Power Armor PC edition
WWII Collection Microsoft Flight Simulator X Add-On
- https://www.gamesmen.com.au/wwii-collection-microsoft-flight-simulator-x-add-on
Microsoft might give up microtransactions thanks to Game Pass
- https://www.tweaktown.com/news/68793/microsoft-give-up-microtransactions-thanks-game-pass/index.html
Minecraft will soon have microtransactions
- https://www.tweaktown.com/news/57063/minecraft-soon-microtransactions/index.html
Nixie Tubes Watch Face
- https://www.facer.io/watchface/6XF7aL6HY8?watchModel=moto3602
How the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)’s measly millions keep America’s museums alive
- https://theconversation.com/how-the-neas-measly-millions-keep-americas-museums-alive-71964
J.J. Abrams Makes His Marvel Debut with 'Spider-Man' #1
- https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/j-j-abrams-makes-his-marvel-debut-with-spider-man-1
Did Marvel drop the ball with J.J. Abrams' Spider-Man comic?
- https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/did-marvel-drop-the-ball-with-jj-abrams-spider-man-comic
Why Marvel's JJ Abrams Spider-Man Reveal Backfired
- https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/06/21/spider-man-4-backlash-jj-abrams-marvel-comics
Factorio (a construction and management simulation game developed by the Czech studio Wube Software.)
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorio
-https://store.steampowered.com/app/427520/Factorio/
Robolox (an online game platform and game creation system that allows users to program games and play games created by other users.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roblox
Equagesic (a combination tranquilizer and analgesic used as an adjunct in the short-term treatment of pain accompanied by tension and/or anxiety in patients with musculoskeletal disease.)
- https://www.rxlist.com/equagesic-side-effects-drug-center.htm
The Way of the Dragon (a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action-comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Dragon
James Doohan Discusses How He Helped A Suicidal Star Trek Fan
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJuF7n9gGA
Electron microscope (a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a higher resolving power than light microscopes and can reveal the structure of smaller objects.)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_microscope
Warm Red Earth (TNC podcast)
- https://thatsnotcanon.com/warmredearth
Shout Outs
19 July 2008 – It's been 12 years since Avatar: The Last Airbender aired its final episode on Nickelodeon - https://comicbook.com/anime/news/avatar-the-last-airbender-katara-trending-twitter-agni-kai-anniversary/
While this is a monumental for a number of reasons, many fans often celebrate this anniversary more for the stunning Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula before the final episode of the series. But while that is an important moment all on its own. The cartoon has recently reached a whole new audience via Netflix, who added the three seasons of the show onto their service in mid-May. The series has been a mainstay on the Netflix top 10 most-watched TV series charts since then.
19 July 2020 – Minecraft Original Title Screen World Seed Finally Found After 9 Years - https://screenrant.com/minecraft-title-screen-seed-found-original-background/
The original Minecraft world seed for the game's classic title screen has finally been found, ending a search that has spanned over nine years - but only took fans who decided to try to find it just over a month of hard work. For those unfamiliar with what a Minecraft world seed is, it is essentially a string of numbers and coding that's randomly generated and put together to make up a new Minecraft world. It may not seem like much to onlookers, but it's a bigwin for the Minecraft community and an important piece of history coming to light for one of the longest-tenured multiplayer ventures in modern gaming.
20 July 2020 – In a first, UAE spacecraft blasts off to Mars from Japan - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/uae-mars-mission-hope-spacecraft-japan-space-a9627481.html
A United Arab Emirates spacecraft began its journey to Mars with a blast off in Japan in what is the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.The launch of the spacecraft named Amal, or Hope, marks the start of the seven-month journey to the red planet. The probe will study the upper atmosphere and monitor climate change while circling Mars for at least two years. The craft is expected to reach Mars in February 2021, the year the UAE celebrates 50 years since its formation. The Emirates Mars Mission has cost $200m (£155.8m), according to minister for advanced sciences Sarah Amiri. It aims to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere for the first time, studying daily and seasonal changes. The UAE first announced plans for the mission in 2014 and launched a National Space Programme in 2017 to develop local expertise. Its population of 9.4 million, most of whom are foreign workers, lacks the scientific and industrial base of the big spacefaring nations. It has an ambitious plan for a Mars settlement by 2117. Hazza al-Mansouri became the first Emirati in space last September when he flew to the International Space Station.
Remembrances
20 July 1866 – Bernhard Riemann - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernhard_Riemann
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, German mathematician who made contributions to analysis,number theory, and differential geometry. In the field of real analysis, he is mostly known for the first rigorous formulation of the integral, the Riemann integral, and his work on Fourier series. His contributions to complex analysis include most notably the introduction of Riemann surfaces, breaking new ground in a natural, geometric treatment of complex analysis. His famous 1859 paper on the prime-counting function, containing the original statement of the Riemann hypothesis, is regarded as one of the most influential papers inanalytic number theory. Through his pioneering contributions to differential geometry, Riemann laid the foundations of the mathematics of general relativity. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 39 in Selasca,Kingdom of Italy.
20 July 1973 – Bruce Lee - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee
Lee Jun-fan commonly known as Bruce Lee, a Hong Kong American actor, director, martial artist, martial arts instructor and philosopher. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that is often credited with paving the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). Lee is considered by commentators, critics, media, and other martial artists to be the most influential martial artist of all time and a pop culture icon of the 20th century, who bridged the gap between East and West. He is credited with helping to change the way Asians were presented in American films. His Hong Kong and Hollywood-produced films elevated the traditional martial arts film to a new level of popularity and acclaim, sparking a surge of interest in Chinese nation and Chinese martial arts in the West in the 1970s. He died at the age of 32 in Kowloon Tong. There was no visible external injury; however, according to autopsy reports, Lee's brain had swollen considerably. The autopsy found Equagesic in his system. When the doctors announced Lee's death, it was officially ruled a "death by misadventure".
20 July 2005 – James Doohan - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Doohan
James Montgomery Doohan, Canadian actor, voice actor, author and soldier best known for his role asMontgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek. Doohan's characterization of the Scottish Chief Engineer of the Starship Enterprise was one of the most recognizable elements in the Star Trek franchise, and inspired many fans to pursue careers in engineering and other technical fields. He also made contributions behind the scenes, such as the initial development of the Klingon and Vulcan languages. Prior to his acting career, Doohan served in the 14th Field Artillery Regiment of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. He also served as a pilot. He saw combat in Europe during World War II, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy, in which he was wounded, apparently by friendly fire. After the war, he had extensive experience performing in radio and television, which led to his role as Scotty. He died from pneumonia at the age of 85 in Redmond, Washington. A portion of his ashes, ¼ ounce (7 grams), was scheduled the following fall for a memorial flight to space with 308 others, including Project Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper. Launch on the SpaceLoft XL rocket was delayed to April 28, 2007, when the rocket briefly entered outer space in a four-minute suborbital flight before parachuting to earth, as planned, with the ashes still inside. The ashes were subsequently launched on a Falcon 1 rocket, on August 3, 2008, into what was intended to be a low Earth orbit; however, the rocket failed two minutes after launch. On May 22, 2012, a small urn containing some of Doohan's remains in ash form was flown into space aboard the Falcon 9 rocket as part of COTS Demo Flight 2.
Famous Birthdays
20 July 1889 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Reith,_1st_Baron_Reith
John Charles Walsham Reith, 1st Baron Reith, was a Scottish broadcasting executive who established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. In 1922 he was employed by the BBC (British Broadcasting Company Ltd.) as its general manager; in 1923 he became its managing director and in 1927 he was employed as the Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation created under a Royal Charter. His concept of broadcasting as a way of educating the masses marked for a long time the BBC and similar organisations around the world. He also stated that since his departure as Director-General, he had watched almost no television and listened to virtually no radio. "When I leave a thing, I leave it," he said. He was born in Stonehaven,Kincardineshire.
20 July 1932 – Nam June Paik - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_June_Paik
Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" to describe the future of telecommunications. In 1974 Nam June Paik used the term "super highway" in application to telecommunications, which gave rise to the opinion that he may have been the author of the phrase "Information Superhighway". In fact, in his 1974 proposal "Media Planning for the Postindustrial Society – The 21st Century is now only 26 years away" to the Rockefeller Foundation he used a slightly different phrase, "electronic super highway": "The building of new electronic super highways will become an even huger enterprise. Assuming we connect New York with Los Angeles by means of an electronic telecommunication network that operates in strong transmission ranges, as well as with continental satellites, wave guides, bundled coaxial cable, and later also via laser beam fiber optics: the expenditure would be about the same as for a Moon landing, except that the benefits in term of by-products would be greater. He was born in Keijo (present-day Seoul).
20 July 1947 – Gerd Binnig - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerd_Binnig
German physicist. He is most famous for having won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Heinrich Rohrer in 1986 for the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. In 1978, Binnig accepted an offer from IBM to join their Zürich research group, where he worked with Heinrich Rohrer, Christoph Gerber and Edmund Weibel. There they developed the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. The Nobel committee described the effect that the invention of the STM had on science, saying that "entirely new fields are opening up for the study of the structure of matter." The physical principles on which the STM was based were already known before the IBM team developed the STM, but Binnig and his colleagues were the first to solve the significant experimental challenges involved in putting it into effect. In 1985, Binnig invented the atomic force microscope (AFM) and Binnig, Christoph Gerber and Calvin Quate went on to develop a working version of this new microscope for insulating surfaces. In 1994 Professor Gerd Binnig founded Definiens which turned in the year 2000 into a commercial enterprise. The company developed Cognition Network Technology to analyze images just like the human eye and brain are capable of doing. He was born in Frankfurt am Main.
Events of Interest
20 July 1968 – The first International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, with about 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Olympics#History
The first Special Olympics games were held on July 20, 1968, at Soldier Field in Chicago. About 1,000 athletes from the U.S. and Canada took part in the one-day event, which was a joint venture by the Kennedy Foundation and the Chicago Park District. Anne McGlone Burke, then a physical education teacher with the Chicago Park District, began with the idea for a one-time, city-wide, Olympic-style athletic competition for people with special needs. At the July 1968 games, Kennedy Shriver announced the formation of Special Olympics and that more games would be held every two years as a "Biennial International Special Olympics". Hayden served as the games executive director through 1972, and then in international development for the games.
20 July 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first manned landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon six and a half hours later.
-https://www.history.com/topics/space-exploration/moon-landing-1969
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11#Lunar_surface_operations
On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. As he took his first step, Armstrong famously said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
20 July 1969 – A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War". - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_War#Cease-fire
The Football War (colloquial: Soccer War or the Hundred Hours' War also known as 100 Hour War) was a brief war fought between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Existing tensions between the two countries coincided with rioting during a 1970 FIFA World Cup qualifier. The war began on 14 July 1969, when the Salvadoran military launched an attack against Honduras. Although the nickname "Football War" implies that the conflict was due to a football match, the causes of the war go much deeper. The roots were issues over land reform in Honduras and immigration and demographic problems in El Salvador.
20 July 1976 – The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars. - https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/viking-1-lands-on-mars
On the seventh anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, the Viking 1 lander, an unmanned U.S. planetary probe, becomes the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of Mars. On July 20, 1976, the Viking 1 lander separated from the orbiter, touched down on the Chryse Planitia region of Mars, and sent back the first close-up photographs of the rust-colored Martian surface. It was the first attempt by the United States at landing on Mars. Viking 1 carried a biology experiment whose purpose was to look for evidence of life. The Viking spacecraft biological experiments weighed 15.5 kg (34 lbs) and consisted of three subsystems: the pyrolytic release experiment (PR), the labeled release experiment (LR), and the gas exchange experiment (GEX). Most scientists now believe that the data were due to inorganic chemical reactions of the soil; however, this view may be changing after the recent discovery of near-surface ice near the Viking landing zone. Some scientists still believe the results were due to living reactions. No organic chemicals were found in the soil.
20 July 1977 – The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind-control experiments. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra#Revelation
In 1977, during a hearing held by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, to look further into MKUltra, Admiral Stansfield Turner, then Director of Central Intelligence, revealed that the CIA had found a set of records, consisting of about 20,000 pages. that had survived the 1973 destruction orders because they had been incorrectly stored at a records center not usually used for such documents. These files dealt with the financing of MKUltra projects and contained few project details, but much more was learned from them than from the Inspector General's 1963 report.
Intro
Artist – Goblins from Mars
Song Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)
Song Link -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJ
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