@sohkamyung@mstdn.io
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

sohkamyung

@sohkamyung@mstdn.io

Exploring one universe at a time.
Interested in #Nature, #Photography, #NaturePhotography, #Science, #ScienceFiction, #Physics, #Engineering.

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rakyat, to random
@rakyat@hachyderm.io avatar

Oh no, I hope this doesn’t involve the old and magnificent rain trees around Bukit Bintang but I’m almost 100% sure they will be chopped down. I’ve always loved how they bring a bit of the rainforest vibe into the city centre with lots of epiphytes flourishing on their sprawling branches.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/05/10/dbkl-identifies-28-high-risk-trees-for-felling/

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@rakyat Much as I also like rain trees, they are actually not native (originally from the Americas) and might not be suitable for conditions here.

I think Singapore is moving towards replacing rain trees with more local tropical trees suitable for the weather.

sohkamyung, to singapore
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"When the Singaporean government asked local writers if they would agree to having their work used to train a large language model, it probably did not expect the country’s tiny literary community to react so fiercely."

https://restofworld.org/2024/singapore-writers-reject-ai-training/

#Singapore #AI #LLMs #Writers #Literature #Culture #Society

sohkamyung, to nature
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"The insect world is full of species of parasitic wasps that spend their infancy eating other insects alive. And for reasons that scientists don’t fully understand, they have repeatedly adopted and tamed wild, disease-causing viruses and turned them into biological weapons. Half a dozen examples already are described, and new research hints at many more."

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/living-world/2024/parasitoid-wasps-domesticate-viruses

sohkamyung, to Japan
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"Tourists to Japan from Singapore and seven other Asian countries will soon find it easier to pay for their purchases using their local QR code wallets under a new joint payment scheme.
[...]
The countries are Singapore (SGQR), Malaysia (DuitNow QR), Indonesia (QRIS), the Philippines (QRPh), Thailand (Thai QR Payment), Cambodia (KHQR), Vietnam (VietQR) and India (BharatQR)."

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-aims-to-launch-joint-qr-code-payment-system-with-asian-countries-including-s-pore-by-april-2025

sohkamyung, to technology
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"Atomic clocks are usually either ultra-precise or sturdy, but not both. Now, scientists have created a precise clock that, when put through its paces aboard a naval ship, wavered by only 300-trillionths of a second per day."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01166-6

sohkamyung, to Malaysia
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"JOHOR BAHRU: Under a pilot initiative launching in June, Malaysians travelling to Singapore on factory buses will be able to clear immigration through QR codes at both of Johor’s land checkpoints."

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/qr-code-johor-malaysia-immigration-causeway-factory-bus-4286581

sohkamyung, to Engineering
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"In the mid-1960s, Robert Kahn began thinking about how computers with different operating systems could talk to each other across a network.
[...]
It is for this work on packet communication technologies—as part of the project that became the ARPANET and in the foundations of the Internet—that Kahn is being awarded the 2024 IEEE Medal of Honor."

https://spectrum.ieee.org/bob-kahn-2667754905

#IEEE #MedalOfHonor2024 #Engineering #Technology #Communications #Arpanet #Internet #Networking

sohkamyung, to food
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

This quote from the article made me laugh: "I finally understand how Italians feel when they see pineapple on pizza." 🙂

https://www.todayonline.com/world/durian-stir-fry-strawberries-2408441

sohkamyung, to random
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"World renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett, who championed controversial takes on consciousness and free will among other mind-bending subjects, died today at the age of 82."

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/philosopher-daniel-dennett-dead-at-82/

#DanielDennett #Philosophers

astro_jcm, to Astro
@astro_jcm@mastodon.online avatar

I miss working at Paranal Observatory: the lovely sunsets, the clear sky, riding sandworms...

https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2416a/

📷 S. Lowery/ESO

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@astro_jcm Won't using thumpers to attract the sandworms interfere with observations due to vibrations? 🙂

sohkamyung, to Malaysia
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

Lovely.

"The March 2024 issue of the Malaysian Bird Report is now available for download.

There are field reports on anting behaviour in birds, the Bornean Frogmouth, prey taken by the Black-thighed Falconet, diet of the Blue-crowned Hanging Parrot and courtship of the Rufous-backed Dwarf Kingfisher. For those interested in raptors, Hans Peeters describes in great detail mimicry in birds of prey."

https://besgroup.org/2024/04/09/71032/

cydonian, (edited ) to random
@cydonian@vivaldi.net avatar

PM Anwar Ibrahim wishing ugādi subhākāmkshalu in Malay wasn’t on my Bingo card.

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@cydonian I accidentally discovered this when one of my work colleagues in Singapore commented that they couldn't contact their Indian counterparts today because of the holiday.

tangledwing, to nature
@tangledwing@ohai.social avatar

Dryas iulia or Julia butterfly, native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida, and in summer can occasionally be found as far north as eastern Nebraska.

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@tangledwing And now also found in Southeast Asia (Thailand, peninsula Malaysia and Singapore). Origins traced to butterfly releases in Thailand for social events.

@ubi

sohkamyung, to science
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"A freely available repository of thousands of natural history specimens has been created by researchers in the US.

The openVertebrate (oVert) project, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a five-year initiative between 18 US institutions to create 3D reconstructions of vertebrate specimens using computed tomography (CT) scans"

https://physicsworld.com/a/spectacular-scans-of-thousands-of-vertebrate-specimens-released/

sohkamyung, to eink
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

After reading the review of the Onyx BOOX Poke3 by @KelsonV I had a look at the BOOX range and ordered the BOOX Page. Here it is, on the right, next to my Kobo Clara HD.

So far, it has been good. I've installed the Android versions of Libby, Pocket and, yes, Firefox and they work fine. I've adjusted the E Ink refresh rates and button settings for the apps to work correctly.

Now on to more reading. 🙂

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

The review of the BOOX Poke3 by @KelsonV can be found via this post.

https://wandering.shop/@KelsonV/111903525804764826

sohkamyung, to history
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

A look at some photo studios in Singapore who kept working during the Japanese occupation.

"Some of the prewar photo studios that had serviced people wanting to mark significant events in their lives were able to reopen their businesses. It was not business as usual though."

https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-20/issue-1/apr-jun-2024/japanese-occupation-photo-studios/

sohkamyung, to physics
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

Cool. Positronium 'atoms' are made up of an electron and a positron.

"Researchers are [...] actively seeking tricks to make sources of positronium atoms that live longer. In a paper published today in the journal Physical Review A, the AEgIS collaboration at CERN describes a new way of making long-lived positronium."

https://home.cern/news/news/physics/aegis-makes-positronium-antimatter-gravity-experiments

@johncarlosbaez @gregeganSF

KelsonV, to random
@KelsonV@wandering.shop avatar

I've been using the Poke3 as my main ebook reader for a couple of years now, mainly because it's a convenient size, has a clear e-ink display, and can run the Android app for any eBook store. I just wish the touch screen was a bit more responsive.

https://hyperborea.org/reviews/products/onyx-boox/

There is a newer model -- and another similar-sized reader that's added back physical page-flip buttons -- but it still feels too early to replace the one I have.

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@KelsonV Nice. I'm using a Kobo Clara HD which has Pocket and Overdrive support.

Something like an Onyx that can read ePUB, and work with Overdrive and Pocket (and maybe Wallabag) would be great.

I presume the Android OS version is old, but maybe that isn't much of a problem for an eReader.

rakyat, to random
@rakyat@hachyderm.io avatar

If you think stray cats begging for food are annoying, wait till you encounter the hornbills of Pulau Pangkor:

(Adding a photo I took one and a half decade ago)

https://youtu.be/S20NUjjnitQ?si=cSxN69FWNYjmHfjm

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@rakyat Do the Pangkor hornbills snatch pet birds also, like cats?

That has happened in Singapore.

https://mothership.sg/2021/04/hornbill-eat-pet-bird/

sohkamyung, to technology
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

Rest well, you magnificent Martian flying machine.

"NASA’s history-making Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has ended its mission at the Red Planet after surpassing expectations and making dozens more flights than planned. [...] [I]magery of its Jan. 18 flight sent to Earth this week indicates one or more of its rotor blades sustained damage during landing and it is no longer capable of flight."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/after-three-years-on-mars-nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-mission-ends

SteveBellovin, to random
@SteveBellovin@mastodon.lawprofs.org avatar

For copyright lawyers: https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrotclassics/2024/01/25

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@SteveBellovin Maybe time for @billamend to update that comic. 🙂

cydonian, (edited ) to random
@cydonian@vivaldi.net avatar

What The…. 16-year-old Singaporean kid got radicalised with white supremacist views via the Internet and wanted to travel to US to participate in a massacre. https://mothership.sg/2024/01/radicalised-student-restriction-order/

sohkamyung,
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

@cydonian "Despite being ethnically Chinese, the boy "strongly identified as a white supremacist and pro-white sympathiser" at the time when the ISD launched an investigation."

The supremacists would have also expressed racists views against Chinese-Americans also. So I'm puzzled why would he identify with the supremacists.

sohkamyung, to eggs
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

Cool.

"Recently, micro-CT scans of the egg case revealed not only that it was millions of years old, but also that it was most likely made by a grasshopper. [...] This newly documented knowledge paints a clearer picture of that ancient ecosystem, confirming that grasshoppers were present and thriving there — and that some types of grasshoppers were burying their eggs underground."

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/16/world/fossil-grasshopper-nest-eggs-scn/index.html

sohkamyung, to random
@sohkamyung@mstdn.io avatar

"According to the paper, the two events [gravitational wave and another type of astrophysical signal] may have originated from two black holes colliding while inside of the extreme environment surrounding a much larger supermassive black hole known as an active galactic nucleus, triggering a bright electromagnetic flare."

https://astrobites.org/2024/01/20/black-holes-all-the-way-down/

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