Twilight with Moon and Planets
22 February 2026 05:43![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
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Twilight with Moon and Planets
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NASA says it needs to haul the Artemis II rocket back to the hangar for repairs
21 February 2026 23:54arstechnica_feedA day after NASA officials expressed optimism that they could be ready to launch the Artemis II mission around the Moon next month, the space agency's administrator announced Saturday that a new problem will require the removal of the rocket from its launch pad in Florida.
The latest issue appeared Friday evening, when data showed an interruption in helium flow into the upper stage of the Space Launch System rocket, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote in a post on X. Isaacman posted a more thorough update Saturday, writing that engineers are still examining the potential cause of the problem, but any fixes must take place inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.
That means NASA and contractor ground teams will immediately begin preparing to roll the 322-foot-tall (98-meter) SLS rocket off of Launch Complex 39B and back to the VAB. The rocket and its mobile launch platform will ride NASA's crawler-transporter for the 4-mile journey.
Weather Alert: Good gentles all, charge your devices [meteo, DC/NYC/MA]
21 February 2026 18:47![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sidereaIf you live in the BosWash Corridor, especially in NYC-to-Boston, you need to be paying attention to the weather. We have an honest to gosh Nor'easter blizzard predicted for the next 3 days, with heavy wet snow and extremely high winds – the model predicts the damn thing will have an eye – which of course is highly predictive of power outages due to downed lines.
Plug things what need it into electricity while ya got it.
Whiteout conditions expected. The NWS's recommendation for travel is: don't. Followed by recommendations for how to try not to die if you do: "If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle."
I would add to that: if you get stranded in your car by snow and need to run the engine for heat, you must also periodically clear the build-up of snow blocking the tailpipe, or the exhaust will back up into the passenger compartment of the car and gas you to death.
As always, for similar reasons do not try to use any form of fire to heat your house if the regular heat goes out, unless you have installed the necessary hardware into the structure of your house, i.e. chimneys, fireplaces, and wood stoves, and they have been sufficiently recently serviced and you know how to operate them safely. The number one killer in blizzards is not the cold, it's the carbon monoxide from people doing dumb shit with hibachis.
NWS says DC to get 2 to 4 inches, NYC/BOS to get 1 to 2 feet. Ryan Hall Y'all reports some models saying up to 5 inches in DC and up to three feet in NYC and BOS.
2026 Feb 21 (5 hrs ago): Ryan Hall Y'all on YT: "The Next 48 Hours Will Be Absolutely WILD...". See particularly from 3:30 re winds.
If somehow you don't already have a preferred regular source of NWS weather alerts – my phone threw up one compliments of Google, and I didn't even know it was authorized to do that – you can see your personal NWS alerts at https://forecast.weather.gov/zipcity.php , just enter your zipcode. Also you should get yourself an app or something.
Plug things what need it into electricity while ya got it.
Whiteout conditions expected. The NWS's recommendation for travel is: don't. Followed by recommendations for how to try not to die if you do: "If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle."
I would add to that: if you get stranded in your car by snow and need to run the engine for heat, you must also periodically clear the build-up of snow blocking the tailpipe, or the exhaust will back up into the passenger compartment of the car and gas you to death.
As always, for similar reasons do not try to use any form of fire to heat your house if the regular heat goes out, unless you have installed the necessary hardware into the structure of your house, i.e. chimneys, fireplaces, and wood stoves, and they have been sufficiently recently serviced and you know how to operate them safely. The number one killer in blizzards is not the cold, it's the carbon monoxide from people doing dumb shit with hibachis.
NWS says DC to get 2 to 4 inches, NYC/BOS to get 1 to 2 feet. Ryan Hall Y'all reports some models saying up to 5 inches in DC and up to three feet in NYC and BOS.
2026 Feb 21 (5 hrs ago): Ryan Hall Y'all on YT: "The Next 48 Hours Will Be Absolutely WILD...". See particularly from 3:30 re winds.
If somehow you don't already have a preferred regular source of NWS weather alerts – my phone threw up one compliments of Google, and I didn't even know it was authorized to do that – you can see your personal NWS alerts at https://forecast.weather.gov/zipcity.php , just enter your zipcode. Also you should get yourself an app or something.
Happy Birthday Zelda!
21 February 2026 21:26pennyarcade_feedToday is the 40th anniversary of Zelda, so I thought I would post the official comic we got to do for Skyward Sword!
New Vid: The Long Walk "One Foot In Front Of The Other"
21 February 2026 17:50lilly_the_kid posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
viddingTitle: One Foot In Front Of The Other
Fandom: The Long Walk
Music: One Foot In Front Of The Other by Walk The Moon
Characters/Pairing: Ray/Peter; ensemble
Summary: Taking this one step at a time.
Warnings: graphic violence
Here on AO3
Fandom: The Long Walk
Music: One Foot In Front Of The Other by Walk The Moon
Characters/Pairing: Ray/Peter; ensemble
Summary: Taking this one step at a time.
Warnings: graphic violence
Here on AO3
Dinosaur eggshells can reveal the age of other fossils
21 February 2026 13:00arstechnica_feedWhen dinosaur fossils surface at a site, it is often not possible to tell how many millions of years ago their bones were buried. While the different strata of sedimentary rock represent periods of geologic history frozen in time, accurately dating them or the fossils trapped within them has frequently proven to be frustrating.
Fossilized bones and teeth have been dated with some success before, but that success is inconsistent and depends on the specimens. Both fossilization and the process of sediment turning to rock can alter the bone in ways that interfere with accuracy. While uranium-lead dating is among the most widely used methods for dating materials, it is just an emerging technology when applied to directly dating fossils.
Dinosaur eggshells might have finally cracked a way to date surrounding rocks and fossils. Led by paleontologist Ryan Tucker of Stellenbosch University, a team of researchers has devised a method of dating eggshells that reveals how long ago they were covered in what was once sand, mud, or other sediments. That information will give the burial time of any other fossils embedded in the same layer of rock.
Have we leapt into commercial genetic testing without understanding it?
21 February 2026 12:00arstechnica_feedDaphne O. Martschenko and Sam Trejo both want to make the world a better, fairer, more equitable place. But they disagree on whether studying social genomics—elucidating any potential genetic contributions to behaviors ranging from mental illnesses to educational attainment to political affiliation—can help achieve this goal.
Martschenko’s argument is largely that genetic research and data have almost always been used thus far as a justification to further entrench extant social inequalities. But we know the solutions to many of the injustices in our world—trying to lift people out of poverty, for example—and we certainly don’t need more genetic research to implement them. Trejo’s point is largely that more information is generally better than less. We can’t foresee the benefits that could come from basic research, and this research is happening anyway, whether we like it or not, so we may as well try to harness it as best we can toward good and not ill.
Obviously, they’re both right. In What We Inherit: How New Technologies and Old Myths Are Shaping Our Genomic Future, we get to see how their collaboration can shed light on our rapidly advancing genetic capabilities.
Major government research lab appears to be squeezing out foreign scientists
21 February 2026 11:31arstechnica_feedOne of the US government’s top scientific research labs is taking steps that could drive away foreign scientists, a shift lawmakers and sources tell WIRED could cost the country valuable expertise and damage the agency’s credibility.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) helps determine the frameworks underpinning everything from cybersecurity to semiconductor manufacturing. Some of NIST’s recent work includes establishing guidelines for securing AI systems and identifying health concerns with air purifiers and firefighting gloves. Many of the agency’s thousands of employees, postdoctoral scientists, contractors, and guest researchers are brought in from around the world for their specialized expertise.
“For weeks now, rumors of draconian new measures have been spreading like wildfire, while my staff’s inquiries to NIST have gone unanswered,” Zoe Lofgren, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, wrote in a letter sent to acting NIST Director Craig Burkhardt on Thursday. April McClain Delaney, a fellow Democrat on the committee, cosigned the message.
Government upgrades drones, deploys joystick tweakers to catch illegal dumpers
21 February 2026 11:03theregister_feedElectronic eyes are watching from above, ready to catch dumpers of smashed up couches in the act
The UK government is pulling together an elite squad of drone operators to crack down on the scourge of fly tippers and unauthorized dumpers across this ever less green and pleasant land.…
Ofcom's grumble-o-meter lights up for EE, TalkTalk, Vodafone
21 February 2026 08:27theregister_feedQ3 figures show the trio drawing the most broadband complaints per 100,000 customers
The UK's telecoms regulator has named and shamed the companies it receives the most customer complaints about, with certain brands cropping up more than others.…
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21 February 2026 06:23apod_feed[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<img [...] way…”>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]
<p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html</a></p><p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html"><img src="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_260220.jpg" align="left" alt=""A ghost in the Milky Way…” says Christian Bertincourt, " border="0" /></a> "A ghost in the Milky Way…” says Christian Bertincourt, </p><br clear="all"/><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html">https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260220.html</a></p>
SerpApi says Google is the pot calling the kettle black when it comes to scraping
21 February 2026 00:56theregister_feed'The DMCA was not designed to create walled gardens for tech giants'
SerpApi, a Texas-based web scraping company, has asked a California court to dismiss Google's claim that that it bypassed digital locks to gather copyrighted content in Google Search results.…
After fueling test, optimism grows for March launch of Artemis II to the Moon
20 February 2026 23:55arstechnica_feedA second fueling test on NASA's Space Launch System rocket ended Thursday night, giving senior managers enough confidence to move forward with plans to launch four astronauts around the Moon as soon as March 6.
Unlike the first attempt to load propellants into the SLS rocket on February 2, there were no major leaks during Thursday's practice countdown at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Technicians swapped seals at the launch pad after hydrogen gas leaked from the rocket's main fueling line earlier this month. This time, the seals held.
"For the most part, those fixes all performed pretty well yesterday," said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA's exploration programs. "We were able to fully fuel the SLS rocket within the planned timeline."
Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer steps down after 38 years with company
20 February 2026 23:28arstechnica_feedMicrosoft Executive Vice President for Gaming Phil Spencer announced he will retire after 38 years at Microsoft and 12 years leading the company's video game efforts. Asha Sharma, an executive currently in charge of Microsoft's CoreAI division, will take his place.
Xbox President Sarah Bond, who many assumed was being groomed as Spencer's eventual replacement, is also resigning from the company. Current Xbox Studios Head Matt Booty, meanwhile, is being promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer and will work closely with Sharma.
In his departure note, Spencer said he told Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella last fall that he was "thinking about stepping back and starting the next chapter of my life." Spencer will remain at Microsoft "in an advisory role" through the summer to help Sharma during the transition, he wrote.
MAHA moms threaten to turn this car around as RFK Jr. flips on pesticide
20 February 2026 23:14arstechnica_feedMembers of the Make America Health Again movement are in open revolt after founder Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly backed President Trump's executive order Wednesday that would increase domestic production of glyphosate—a pesticide the MAHA movement and Kennedy have railed against.
Vani Hari, an ally of Kennedy who goes by "Food Babe," told The Washington Post she was left "speechless" by the move.
"We truly were hoping that this administration would put people over corporate power,” she said, "but this action moves us away from that commitment."
Fury over Discord’s age checks explodes after shady Persona test in UK
20 February 2026 22:41arstechnica_feedShortly after Discord announced that all users will soon be defaulted to teen experiences until their ages are verified, the messaging platform faced immediate backlash.
One of the major complaints was that Discord planned to collect more government IDs as part of its global age verification process. It shocked many that Discord would be so bold so soon after a third-party breach of a former age check partner's services recently exposed 70,000 Discord users' government IDs.
Attempting to reassure users, Discord claimed that most users wouldn't have to show ID, instead relying on video selfies using AI to estimate ages, which raised separate privacy concerns. In the future, perhaps behavioral signals would override the need for age checks for most users, Discord suggested, seemingly downplaying the risk that sensitive data would be improperly stored.
The idea of using a Raspberry Pi to run OpenClaw makes no sense
20 February 2026 23:31theregister_feedThe micro-computer maker’s shares surged this week after an X post tied the AI agent to Pi demand
opinion Beloved British single-board computer maker Raspberry Pi has achieved meme stock stardom, as its share price surged 90 percent over the course of a couple of days earlier this week. It's settled since, but it’s still up more than 30 percent on the week.…
