Just back from the operating room and to prove I'm still alive and kicking, here's a mini edition of Recommended Links. It's not that I'm a workaholic; rather, I've been told to spend more time sitting and walking than lying down. Believe it or not. Enjoy!
Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder: "Sometimes I wish I could go back in time, to the era before the internet existed." "That geek from the late 70s who invented the first personal computer, who was a companion in adventure – and a great friend, until they stopped being so – of the legendary Steve Jobs, one of the main architects of the technological revolution, of that science fiction that is now our daily bread, that man has just spent two whole hours without looking at his phone."
This is the Boiling River: the only river in the Amazon with waters running above 80°C: "Any animal life form that tried to swim across the Boiling River would at least suffer severe burns. Some records indicate that some species would even be cooked alive: along more than 6 kilometers, the waters reach temperatures of up to 80ºC, well above the average of the Amazon's currents. Located in the Peruvian Amazon, it is a branch of the second largest river in the world."
What did they laugh at in Ancient Rome?: "Every society, every culture, every generation has its own sense of humor, an element as ductile in the human being as any other of those that make up what we call culture. That is why it is pertinent to ask about laughter in the past. In the case of Ancient Rome, although it seems a difficult component to trace, we have many written sources to try to understand what aroused laughter in the Romans."
This AI veteran explains why ChatGPT is "dangerously stupid": "Gary Marcus likes to explain what he thinks of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI) that has half the world hooked on the keyboard, citing Noam Chomsky. The North American thinker turned 94 this Wednesday, but an AI very similar to ChatGPT had given him for dead, including a date of death, December 28, 2020. "I know Noam, so I wrote to him, I assumed he would find it funny. He replied: "I am very much alive!""
What happened to Google Bar... and the other clones that filled our browsers' screens for years: "The great contribution of the Google Bar to the user consisted of allowing you to search for a term directly without needing to first access Google's own website: you only needed to go to the form in the bar itself and enter what you wanted to search there. If you are frowning right now, not understanding what that contributed to the normal functioning of the search engine..."
Animals with powers, the superheroes of nature: "It is not only that chimpanzee genes show more evidence of positive selection than ours, which makes them technically more evolved; but, above all, the different species have found different evolutionary paths to better adapt to their respective environments. And in doing so, many animals have developed abilities that we can only envy as true superpowers. Here are some examples."
What is the dust around us made of?: "There will always be some of these particles suspended in the air around us and resting on our furniture. Now, do we know exactly what they are composed of? There is a myth that assures that a surprisingly high percentage of dust comes from dead skin remains. And yes, it is true that it can be one of its ingredients, but in a much lower proportion. In reality, the main components are others, which depend on the habits of the people who live in the house and even the specific room in which we find ourselves."
Winter Crops – These crops really like the cold: The thing is, there are crops highly resistant to cold. A lot. Some withstand up to -4 ºC at specific moments. You just have to keep one thing in mind: they are resistant when they are already grown and well settled in the ground. That's why it's key to prepare your winter garden now if your area is especially cold and has frosts in winter. If we wait to sow or transplant when the soil is cold, the crop, no matter how wintery, won't be ready to face that challenge.
"The Princess Bride", or the most complete film in history: "If you explain the plot of 'The Princess Bride' to someone who has never seen it, the most likely thing is that they find it inconceivable that it could become a cult classic. The story of two enamored peasants who are forced to separate their paths to later meet again in a hostile environment with a wicked prince... It doesn't sound at first too original, or even interesting. However, life is in the nuances, and this film by Rob Reiner is full of them."
VIDEOS: A drone captures the exact moment of a volcanic eruption, the steel industry in 1944 Youngstown, Ohio; three years digging tunnels under his house, the history of the mouse pointer, a ZX81 controlling a nuclear power plant, super useful construction tricks, the top-grossing Marvel movies from 2008 to 2022, Camper Van Beethoven (full concert), a Krampus animatronic, what happens if a needle collides with Jupiter at the speed of light, how many balloons filled with propane can stop a flaming arrow, why some birds can't fly, how cruise ships worth $300 million are demolished, how to terraform Mars, and the short film THE OATH: A Batman Fan Film (2022).
GALLERIES: Colorful splashes, photographs of a world that no longer exists, the evolution of Earth in Star Trek, the first comic created by artificial intelligence in Spain, the zombie fungus (winning photograph), super detailed illustrations, gothic futurism, the Vertedero Animado and the Tiradero Visual de la Semana to finish.
As I said, a mini edition of Recommended Links. Just enough to show signs of life, but not so much that everything hurts. Thanks for stopping by!
