Here are some common gambling myths surrounding F1, including 'a system can guarantee a profit', 'skill beats luck' and 'a near-miss means you are close to winning a bet'.
As the dawn of the new campaign draws ever closer, we take a look at how the reigning champs from F1 history fared under new regs – and if they were displaced, where did their successors come from?
South Korean tax authorities lost millions in seized cryptocurrency after publishing high-res photos of Ledger hardware wallets that clearly displayed the wallets' seed phrases, allowing an unknown party to drain the funds. Gizmodo reports: South Korea's National Tax Service seized crypto assets during recent enforcement actions against 124 high-value tax evaders, but now, a large chunk of that crypto cash has been lost. The operation originally resulted in the confiscation of crypto holdings worth about 8.1 billion won, or roughly $5.6 million. However, officials later issued a press release to showcase these efforts in recovering delinquent taxes, and the release included photographs of Ledger hardware wallets taken into custody along with handwritten notes that displayed the wallet seed phrases.
Those images attached to the press release turned out to be the critical error. High-resolution photos clearly showed the mnemonic recovery phrases, which serve as the master key for accessing the wallets. This exposure eliminated any protection provided by the offline cold storage on the Ledger devices. Possession of the seed phrase allows complete control, and anyone who knows the phrase can import it into software or another hardware wallet and initiate transfers without the original device.
In this case, an unknown individual who saw the photos published by law enforcement first added a small amount of ether to one of the addresses to cover Ethereum network gas fees necessary for outbound transactions. From there, they executed three transfers to move approximately 4 million Pre-Retogeum, or PRTG, tokens. At the time, those tokens carried a value of $4.8 million, but reporting from The Block indicates liquidating that much value from the holdings would have proven difficult due to market dynamics.
Those images attached to the press release turned out to be the critical error. High-resolution photos clearly showed the mnemonic recovery phrases, which serve as the master key for accessing the wallets. This exposure eliminated any protection provided by the offline cold storage on the Ledger devices. Possession of the seed phrase allows complete control, and anyone who knows the phrase can import it into software or another hardware wallet and initiate transfers without the original device.
In this case, an unknown individual who saw the photos published by law enforcement first added a small amount of ether to one of the addresses to cover Ethereum network gas fees necessary for outbound transactions. From there, they executed three transfers to move approximately 4 million Pre-Retogeum, or PRTG, tokens. At the time, those tokens carried a value of $4.8 million, but reporting from The Block indicates liquidating that much value from the holdings would have proven difficult due to market dynamics.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Japan will effectively ban the in-flight use of power banks starting in mid-April after a "recent series of alarming incidents," reports the Asahi Shimbun. From the report: Currently, mobile batteries in Japan are classified as "spare batteries" and are prohibited in checked luggage. For carry-on bags, those exceeding 160 watt-hours are banned, while passengers are limited to two units for those over 100 watt-hours. There is no quantity limit for batteries of 100 watt-hours or less. The new rule will limit passengers to a total of two spare batteries, including power banks.
While there is no limit on the number of spare batteries below 100 watt-hours, carrying power banks exceeding 160 watt-hours will remain prohibited. Power banks will be capped at two units regardless of power capacity. Additionally, charging them on board will be prohibited, and it will be "recommended" that passengers not use them at all. As a result, domestic airlines are expected to require passengers to stop using power banks, cementing the effective ban on in-flight use.
While there is no limit on the number of spare batteries below 100 watt-hours, carrying power banks exceeding 160 watt-hours will remain prohibited. Power banks will be capped at two units regardless of power capacity. Additionally, charging them on board will be prohibited, and it will be "recommended" that passengers not use them at all. As a result, domestic airlines are expected to require passengers to stop using power banks, cementing the effective ban on in-flight use.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Sprightly animation about a student’s attempt to stop the destruction of a woodland leans into Disney’s love of anthropomorphism and riffs amusingly on Avatar
Writer-director Daniel Chong brings us a witty, sprightly family animation, co-produced by Pixar veteran Pete Docter and co-written by Jesse Andrews, who may conceivably have supplied quite a bit of the punching-up and the funny incidental lines. In its modest, insouciant way, it is about protecting the environment, and riffs amusingly on films such as Avatar (there’s some amusing preemptive material about it not being like Avatar, but it is, especially at the end) as well as Inception, The Lion King and Dr Dolittle. It’s also about Disney anthropomorphism generally: the great mystery of what it must be like to be an animal and the human yearning to communicate and empathise with them.
Mabel, voiced by Piper Curda, is a teenager who lives with her grandma (the absence of her mom is slightly skated over) and learns from this wise older person the importance of loving nature, particularly the peaceful woodland glade near their house – and the associated importance of acceptance and forgiveness for people that you maybe don’t get along with. But when the evil Mayor Jerry (voiced by Jon Hamm) says he intends to destroy this glade to make way for a freeway, Mabel realises that the only way to stop him legally is to repopulate the glade with the beavers and other animals who have mysteriously vanished.
Continue reading...A magician reveals his visual tricks
Earlier today I posted five optical illusions by Olivier Redon, a French-American inventor. Here they are again – with demonstrations of how he created the effects.
Three of the images are inspired by the Necker cube, a two-dimensional drawing of a cube that can be understood in two ways: either with the bottom left face at the front, or the top right face at the front. Once your eyes settle on one interpretation, it is hard to see the other.
Continue reading...Ipsa cites abuse and constituency workloads as reasons for above-inflation increase of 5% over next financial year
The basic annual salary of MPs will rise to £110,000, the expenses watchdog has said, on the grounds of increased abuse and intimidation as well as growing constituency workloads.
This year, MPs’ basic pay will rise by almost £5,000, a jump of 5% over the next financial year to £98,599 – and will reach £110,000 by the end of the parliament.
Continue reading...Waarom slapen we na ons 60e slechter, worden we zo vroeg wakker en wat kun je eraan doen? De wetenschap achter ouder worden en slaap – plus praktische oplossingen.
Veel zestigplussers herkennen het patroon: om 3 of 4 uur klaarwakker, lichte slaap, vaker naar het toilet, en overdag toch moe. Dat is geen aanstellerij, maar het gevolg van biologische veranderingen in brein en hormonen. In de loop van de volwassenheid neemt de diepe herstellende slaap fors af en wordt de slaap gefragmenteerder; ouderen liggen vaker wakker en slapen lichter. Vanaf ongeveer 60 jaar verschuift bovendien de interne klok: mensen worden vroeger slaperig én eerder wakker.
Ook de hormoonhuishouding speelt mee. De aanmaak van melatonine – het “donkertehormoon” dat slaap inleidt – wordt minder, terwijl stresshormoon cortisol juist hoger kan blijven, wat doorslapen lastiger maakt. Bij vrouwen tellen overgang en daling van oestrogeen mee, bij mannen de afname van testosteron, wat de timing en stabiliteit van de slaap verder kan verstoren. Tegelijk stijgt de kans op slaapapneu, rusteloze benen, pijn en medicijngebruik, allemaal factoren die de nachtelijke rust ondermijnen.
Wat kun je er wél aan doen?
De geruststellende boodschap: je bent niet machteloos. Slaapkwaliteit laat zich op elke leeftijd beïnvloeden.
- Licht en dagritme: veel daglicht in de ochtend of vroege avond helpt de verstoorde klok te resetten en maakt de nacht rustiger.
- Strakke routine: elke dag rond hetzelfde tijdstip naar bed en opstaan, ook in het weekend, stabiliseert de biologische klok en verbetert de slaapkwaliteit.
- Eten, drinken, toilet: eet ’s avonds licht, beperk cafeïne na de middag en stop twee uur voor het slapengaan met veel drinken om nachtelijke toiletbezoeken te verminderen.
- Bewegen: dagelijks wandelen of andere aerobische inspanning, liefst buiten, verdiept vooral de niet-REM-slaap en maakt de nacht minder brokkelig.
- Train je brein: cognitieve gedragstherapie voor insomnia (CBT‑I) doorbreekt de vicieuze cirkel van piekeren en wakker liggen en helpt naar schatting een grote meerderheid van de patiënten, óók op latere leeftijd.
Belangrijk is ook wat níet hoeft: streven naar de slaap van een 20-jarige is zinloos en maakt alleen maar onrustiger. Een nacht van 6 tot 7 uur met een vroege wekker kan op je 60e volledig normaal zijn – zolang je je overdag voldoende alert voelt.
