BertvB posted a photo:
A macro close-up of the ripening berries of the Indian Pokeweed (Phytolacca esculenta).
Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
date stamped on slide, December 1976, handwritten on slide, "G.H. Spaces""
I ran across this post on Threads the other day: “What’s the hardest record in sports history to ever break?” A sampling of the replies:
- “Bill Russell’s 11 NBA championships including 8 in a row.”
- “Lionel Messi scored 91 goals in the 2012 calendar year.”
- “Cy Young 749 complete games.”
- “Fernando Tatis (Sr) - 2 Grand Slams in the same inning. Most of the others mentioned here are highly improbable, but there’s no way anyone ever hits 3 slams in one inning.”
- “Lionel Messi’s 8 Ballon d’or”
- “Sir Donald Bradman’s batting average in Test cricket. His 99.97.”
- “Russian wrestler Aleksandr Karelin. Undefeated for 13 years. 887 wins and 2 losses, both by single point.”
Last year, The Athletic offered a list of their own, which included Wayne Gretzky’s 1,963 career assists, the furthest goal in soccer (96.01 meters), Michael Phelps’ 23 Olympic golds, and Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game.
Poking around the internet a bit, there’s also FloJo’s 100m record, UConn women’s basketball team’s 111 wins in a row, Cal Ripken’s consecutive game streak, and Simone Biles’ 30 world championship medals.
Any additions to the list?
A Telegram Arrived — And I Had to Choose Between My Head and My Heart. “On Boxing Day, I rang my father and told him my news. He was momentarily silent until his delayed shock was so great that he dropped his favourite coffee cup and I heard it smash.”
Both tech companies beat Wall Street predictions on revenue in their second quarters
Apple and Amazon both released their second quarter earnings on Thursday, a test of investor confidence in major tech companies amidgrowing concerns over exorbitant AI spending.
Apple revealed quarterly revenue of $109.4bn, beating Wall Street expectations of $108.65bn in revenue. It also reported $2.02 earnings per share, driven by sales of its marquee products such as iPhones and laptops.
Continue reading...I am a cocktail and four wines in as we step out into the cool autumn night after a hefty dinner. My sweater and the alcohol and her hand will keep me warm on the walk back.
“The directions say to turn right here,” she says, as we stand in front of a church that caps the street. I recognize the church from earlier in the day. “Yes, but we can go left,” I redirect.
She follows along, her hand still in mine. She gives occasional glances to her phone, perhaps hesitant in my ability to direct us back in my inebriated state. She suggests crossing the street. “I think we need to go under the bridge,” I recommend.
Sure enough, the path under the bridge leads us back to our hotel, completing the evening and giving us rest for more adventures to come.
Have something to say? Tell me about it.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Amazon's Zoox unit has won U.S. approval for limited commercial deployment of its novel steering-wheel-free robotaxis, a first for the autonomous ride industry, the U.S. auto safety agency said on Thursday. Zoox said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's decision gives the company federal approval to begin charging for rides, and that it will soon begin charging for service, first in Las Vegas, with additional markets to follow as it completes various state requirements.
[...] NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison told Reuters that Zoox had received clearance to commercially deploy up to 2,500 vehicles in each of the next two years. Zoox currently carries passengers in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco as part of testing. The exemption would allow Zoox to charge them fees, subject to state and local approvals. The agency said it determined the vehicle is as safe as an equivalent vehicle meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards that are being waived. Zoox cannot sell any of the vehicles to the public.
"We can say pretty clearly that the systems in place on the Zoox exceed the equivalent performance requirements of a compliant vehicle," Morrison said in an interview. "But we still want to make sure that the automated driving system will operate appropriately." As part of the exemption, NHTSA is placing additional reporting requirements on Zoox for issues such as crashes or stopping inappropriately on roads, and the regulatory agency will adjust the conditions based on how the vehicles behave. "We have the ability to pull the exemption if we see major safety issues," Morrison said.
All remote operators must be located in the United States, NHTSA said, and Zoox must publish maps of areas indicating where the vehicles are operating. Morrison said NHTSA expects to develop the first federal safety standards for automated driving systems by the end of the Trump administration. It is also proposing to overhaul some existing rules written with human drivers in mind such as requiring brake pedals and rear-view mirrors.
[...] NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison told Reuters that Zoox had received clearance to commercially deploy up to 2,500 vehicles in each of the next two years. Zoox currently carries passengers in parts of Las Vegas and San Francisco as part of testing. The exemption would allow Zoox to charge them fees, subject to state and local approvals. The agency said it determined the vehicle is as safe as an equivalent vehicle meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards that are being waived. Zoox cannot sell any of the vehicles to the public.
"We can say pretty clearly that the systems in place on the Zoox exceed the equivalent performance requirements of a compliant vehicle," Morrison said in an interview. "But we still want to make sure that the automated driving system will operate appropriately." As part of the exemption, NHTSA is placing additional reporting requirements on Zoox for issues such as crashes or stopping inappropriately on roads, and the regulatory agency will adjust the conditions based on how the vehicles behave. "We have the ability to pull the exemption if we see major safety issues," Morrison said.
All remote operators must be located in the United States, NHTSA said, and Zoox must publish maps of areas indicating where the vehicles are operating. Morrison said NHTSA expects to develop the first federal safety standards for automated driving systems by the end of the Trump administration. It is also proposing to overhaul some existing rules written with human drivers in mind such as requiring brake pedals and rear-view mirrors.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
on the water photography has added a photo to the pool:
The bridge shown in the image is the Murasaki River Bridge (commonly known as the "Iron Bridge" or Tetsu no Hashi / 紫川橋). It was completed in December 1998.
Key Facts About the Bridge
Location: Spanning the Murasaki River in Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan.
Design Motif: It is one of the famed "Ten Bridges of the Murasaki River" (Murasakigawa 10 Kyo), each built around a distinct environmental theme. This specific bridge incorporates the motif of "Iron" to reflect Kitakyushu's identity as a historic manufacturing and steel-producing city.
History: It was built to replace an older, deteriorating structure previously known as the "Army Bridge" (Rikugun-bashi), which relied on nine piers that obstructed the river. The modern steel-arch design entirely eliminated the need for river-bed pillars, drastically improving regional flood control and water flow.
Visual Landmarks: In the right background of the image, the illuminated structure of Kokura Castle can be seen.