JulianOliver

JulianOliver, 2 months ago to random

In the last 10 years 'delete' has increasingly shifted to mean leave, unfriend or remove, whereas 'cancel' has come to mean delete, block or censor (data or access). So common is this new usage I wonder when dictionaries will begin to reflect it.

JulianOliver, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago) to random

New study into the human & enviro toxicity of chemicals in plastic, the most comprehensive to date, finds that of the 4200 plastics considered very harmful, just 980 are regulated. The remaining toxic plastics in broad circulation have a range of impacts from premature births to cancers, hormonal disruptions & neurotoxic effects. The study seeks to act as a framework for improved regulation in the distribution & use of these chemicals

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/14/health/toxic-unregulated-chemicals-report-wellness/index.html

Orig study: https://plastchem-project.org/

JulianOliver, 2 months ago to random

Great interview in the Framasoft (Mobilizon, Framadate, Framaforms) blog on Extinction Rebellion France's (a huge group by now) commitment to infrastructural decentralisation and sovereignty - alongside sane and good infosec - through the adoption of free and open source self-hosted platforms (article in French) https://framablog.org/2024/03/10/extinction-rebellion-france-mouvement-de-desobeissance-civile-degafamise-by-design/

JulianOliver, 2 months ago to random

Adafruit's take on the SGP30 air quality sensor is neat. Up and running here on the Arduino Nano 'Every'. I'm reading CO2e, raw ethanol, H2 ++ with low error margins. More of an indoor sensor but all bundled together with small low-power computer and LoRa or RFM69 it could make for a potent gridless tool to stealthily collect evidence against polluters.

We will explore such a prototype in a lab I am running remotely at Eindhoven's Design Academy.

JulianOliver, 2 months ago to random

Incredible image.

JulianOliver, 2 months ago to random

No need to paraphrase. First paragraph says it all:

"Claims that artificial intelligence will help solve the climate crisis are misguided, with the technology instead likely cause rising energy use and turbocharge the spread of climate disinformation, a coalition of environmental groups has warned."

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/07/ai-climate-change-energy-disinformation-report

JulianOliver, 2 months ago to random

Antarctic research expedition, comprised of Aotearoa New Zealand and Italian scientists, finds sea ice melting at rate far faster than expected.

"The changes to the sea-ice indicate that in the coming decades coastal cities will need to be reconfigured because of sea level rise." - Dr. Craig Stevens, leader of NZ research team.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/510696/signs-found-of-worryingly-fast-antarctic-ice-melt-new-zealand-expedition

JulianOliver, 2 months ago to random

Few things that buzz me more than seeing students take the skills, strategies and understandings I have shared with them, then continuing on with their own self-learning and experimentation into new terrain. Teaching should be about empowerment, first and foremost.

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to random

As anticipated, it looks like we've officially failed the Paris Agreement, and so thereby future generations of all life.

Yes, "we", because we all played a part in that outcome, some vastly more than others of course - the rich countries in particular.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/509936/humanity-marks-first-year-under-a-1-point-5c-rise-eu-climate-service

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to random

Fellow #sysadmins, before you upgrade those MariaDB containers https://github.com/MariaDB/mariadb-docker/issues/560

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to random

Sad to learn of Alexei Navalny's purported death in an Arctic prison. A true fighter, until the end.

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to random

More on the Atlantic ocean collapse discussion. Using a supercomputer, oceanographers simulated the gradual increase of freshwater into the current system from ice melt. They showed after a certain volume, a tipping point is reached, bringing it to a halt. This could drop temperatures in Europe as much as 30C, while causing rising temps in the Southern Hemisphere.

"No realistic adaptation measures can deal with such rapid temperature changes," the study authors write

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2024/02/critical-atlantic-ocean-current-system-shows-early-signs-of-collapse-prompting-warning-from-scientists.html

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to random

Happy Lunar New Year!

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to random

Fellow RF nerds, must say this does look a bit exciting:
https://www.crowdsupply.com/microphase-technology/antsdr-e200

GPSDO would've been nice, but still sweet as is.

#radio #sdr

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to infosec

Very interesting shim vuln allowing for secure boot bypass in most if not all GNU/Linux distros. In most cases, would need adversary-in-the-middle (datacenter unfriendly), other local attack or existing vuln to exploit.

In any case, bc patching it could plausibly break secure boot in some cases, fixing in the wild has quite some challenges.

#infosec #linux

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/02/critical-vulnerability-affecting-most-linux-distros-allows-for-bootkits/

JulianOliver, 3 months ago to random

Intense and very beautiful dawn conservation mission today, checking out bush health in a rarely visited part of the Remutaka ranges. Tracing a knife-edge ridgeline through some regenerating rainforest, we were on the lookout for invasive species that might stunt its growth.

On the climb in, our redlight headlamps lit up the young canopy,an armada of clouds setting sail in the distance. #notai

Photo of a mountain forest landscape at dawn, foliage lit up in the red from our headlamps. Above a distant ridgeline long cigar-shaped clouds are seen, as though a fleet of ships on a voyage.