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☆ ‘Blonde’ Review: More Marilyn Mythologizing
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The public’s endless fascination with Marilyn Monroe might not be exhausted, finally, by “Blonde,” but the viewer will be. At two hours and 47 minutes, Andrew Dominik ’s pseudo-biography is one long slog into sadness and more-than-predictable tragedy, despite a touching portrayal by Ana de Armas and the deliberately artful and often startling filmmaking of Mr. Dominik. If you’re wondering if men are swine, they are, at least according to his adaptation of the Joyce Carol Oates novel. In some ways, Monroe was the human exemplar of the observer effect in physics: When we look at a thing, the thing changes. No one in the history of Hollywood has been looked at more intensely than Monroe.

☆ Atom Computing to invest $100 mln in Colorado for quantum computer center
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An Atom Computing's Phoenix quantum computer is seen in Berkeley, California, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Jane Lanhee LeeSept 28 (Reuters) - Atom Computing, a Berkeley, California-based quantum computer maker, said on Wednesday it would invest $100 million over the next three years in Colorado where it plans to build its next generation of quantum computers. It is the latest quantum computing startup to build out its base in Boulder, Colorado. The state started to boost its involvement in quantum computing about two years ago, said Colorado's governor, Jared Polis, who attended Wednesday's Atom Computing event in Boulder. Atom Computing uses lasers to control individual atoms and build qubits, the basic unit of quantum information.

☆ See video of the moment NASA's DART spacecraft crashed itself into an asteroid and its livestream cut out
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NASA crashed a space probe into an asteroid on Monday night, practicing to deflect dangerous space rocks. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) hit the space rock in an effort to change its orbit. Watch the DART spacecraft's final moments in the footage from its camera, below. As NASA planned, DART crashed into the craggy surface and its camera feed died. Astronomers are poised to point their telescopes to Dimorphos as it continues to orbit a much larger asteroid called Didymos.

A DART view of the Dimorphos asteroid right before impact. NASA via YouTubeThe DART spacecraft, which is about the size of a vending machine, crashed into Dimorphos at 7:14 p.m. "Oh my goodness," said Elena Adams, a DART mission systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The DART mission is functioning as a proof of concept of asteroid deflection as a planetary defense strategy. Betts said he hopes the DART mission will continue to raise awareness about the importance of planetary defense.

☆ NASA’s DART Spacecraft to Smash Into Asteroid in Planetary Defense Test
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An uncrewed spacecraft is on track to smash into and deflect a distant asteroid on Monday, the dramatic climax of a National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission to test whether the technique could one day be used to protect Earth. “For the first time ever we will measurably change the orbit of a celestial body in the universe,” said Bobby Braun, head of the space exploration sector at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. The research center built the Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission spacecraft and is responsible for its operation at the direction of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

☆ NASA crashes DART spacecraft into an asteroid, testing a tactic to bump space rocks away from Earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

NASA's 1,376-pound probe traveled about 6.8 million miles before crashing into the asteroid, as part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission. Scientists will be monitoring the trajectory of the asteroid, Dimorphos, which orbits a larger asteroid, Didymos. As the DART spacecraft flew closer, Dimorphos emerged as a separate point of light that grew larger and brighter. NASABelow, one of the last frames beamed at Earth from DRACO before the DART spacecraft ate it, showing several boulders on the asteroid surface. The DART mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory erupted in applause after the probe's successful demise.

☆ From quantum computing to augmented reality, here's how 10 top Wall Street firms are looking to use cutting-edge tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Carter Johnson | Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

JPMorgan is preparing for a quantum futureDavid Castillo, Andrew J. Lang, and Marco Pistoia. The difference could allow users of the tech to process algorithms and execute calculations at blistering speeds. That's because quantum computing uses quantum mechanics, a kind of physics that leverages quantum bits, or qubits, instead of ones and zeros used by classic computers. But JPMorgan researchers say there are signs the industry is getting close to the point where quantum computers can process real-world problems faster than classic computers, often referred to as quantum advantage. The platform, run by Castillo, is also hardware-agnostic, meaning it can interface with quantum computers from different providers without needing to rewrite the application code.

☆ NASA spacecraft closes in on asteroid for head-on collision
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

A NASA spacecraft closed in on an asteroid at blistering speed Monday in an unprecedented dress rehearsal for the day a killer rock menaces Earth. The galactic grand slam was set to occur at a harmless asteroid 7 million miles (9.6 million kilometers) away, with the spacecraft named Dart plowing into the rock at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph). The $325 million mission is the first attempt to shift the position of an asteroid or any other natural object in space. The spacecraft packed a scant 1,260 pounds (570 kilograms), compared with the asteroid's 11 billion pounds (5 billion kilograms). Monday's dramatic action aside, the world must do a better job of identifying the countless space rocks lurking out there, warned the foundation's executive director, Ed Lu, a former astronaut.

☆ NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft nears planned impact with its target
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft prior to impact at the Didymos binary asteroid system showed in this undated illustration handout. NASA/Johns Hopkins/Handout via REUTERSSept 26 (Reuters) - Ten months after launch, NASA's asteroid-deflecting DART spacecraft neared a planned impact with its target on Monday in a test of the world's first planetary defense system, designed to prevent a doomsday collision with Earth. Neither object presents any actual threat to Earth, and NASA scientists said their DART test cannot create a new existential hazard by mistake. Also, their relative proximity to Earth and dual-asteroid configuration make them ideal for the first proof-of-concept mission of DART, short for Double Asteroid Redirection Test. ROBOTIC SUICIDE MISSIONThe mission represents a rare instance in which a NASA spacecraft must ultimately crash to succeed.

The mission, known as DART, or the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, will attempt a method of planetary defense that could save Earth from an asteroid on a potential collision course with the planet. On Monday, the spacecraft will crash into Dimorphos at a blistering speed of around 4 miles per second, or 15,000 mph. Ground-based telescopes will be used to time Dimorphos' orbit and determine whether the mission was a success. The Applied Physics Lab built and manages the $325 million DART mission for NASA. Even if the DART mission fails, scientists will learn a lot from the experiment, said Andrea Riley, a program executive in NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.

☆ The perils and promise of quantum computing are nearing. Here are ways to invest
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

"In a five- to 10-year timeframe, quantum computing will break encryption as we know it." Since its conceptual birth in the early 1980s, quantum computing has held promise for systems that could exponentially outperform today's computers. Rather than leaning on the zeroes and ones of classical computers, quantum computers emerged from quantum physics, which is the study of the fundamental building blocks of matter and energy. Those strange properties account for the technology's potentially explosive abilities; each additional qubit doubles a quantum computer's power. They are named D-Wave Systems , Rigetti Computing, IonQ , and Quantum Computing.

☆ The metaverse: How it became real estate's new frontier
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The metaverse – a growing number of immersive virtual online worlds where users live and play – has become a hotbed of real estate speculation. Look beyond the numbers, however, and you’ll find whole professions being shaken up, from architects and designers to developers and real estate agents. But could real estate in the metaverse ever become as reliable an investment as bricks and mortar? “It’s hard to know if the real estate inside (metaverses) is going to be stable … Least of all us, and we’re deeply in it,” said Yorio. “It’s very possible that real estate in the metaverse is a stable investment in the future,” said Robson, of analytics company WetMeta, in an email.

☆ Leaked Microsoft documents show where and how the tech titan's new moonshot team is placing its bets, from quantum computing to government cloud services
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The team formed to manage Microsoft's biggest moonshots just released its first growth strategy, according to internal documents viewed by Insider. Microsoft expects the total addressable market through the company's 2025 fiscal year for Microsoft Federal to reach $105 billion, and $149 billion for the Microsoft Communications unit. Azure Quantum, led by CVP Zulfi Alam: "Azure Quantum team is engineering the quantum machine to solve for a better future." Azure for Operators, led by CVP Martin Lund "is accelerating the Cloud transformation of mission critical communication networks for Core and Edge services." Mission Engineering, led by Zach Kramer: "Mission engineering is delivering the innovation and technology that creates the ecosystem that transform mission."

☆ I spent a year in outer space on the International Space Station. The experience still chokes me up — here's what my days looked like.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Stefano Montali | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Mark T. Vande Hei, 55, is a NASA astronaut who spent a year in space orbiting Earth. I completed my training to become a NASA astronaut in 2011. In March, I returned to Earth after spending 355 days in orbit aboard the International Space Station. On this latest flight, the Russians added two new modules, so the ISS now seems closer to a seven-bedroom home. Though I didn't go out on a spacewalk myself during this latest flight because of a pinched nerve in my neck, I have in the past.

☆ Tech leaders dish on how asinine it is to try to describe their companies, products, and worth to Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Hanna Kang | Kayla Gallagher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +24 min

Tech companies are worried an aging Congress can't meet or even understand their demands. Younger members of Congress are beginning to take the lead in conversations on tech issues. Hawley said younger members are generally more critical of big tech. However, he added, new technologies are more widely used by younger people, and users tend to understand technology better. Meanwhile, major tech companies continue to ramp up their federal lobbying spending, together spending more in 2021 than in any other year in history.

☆ A professor falsely accused of spying for China describes the toll it's taken on his family
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

The Department of Justice had accused Xi of sharing schematics for a pocket heater with peers in his research community in China. “It’s also important for the community in general, because of all the Chinese scientists and scientists of Chinese descent — many of them are being falsely charged. His arrest, Xi claimed, was discriminatory. The arrest, Joyce added, altered the family’s lives in unmeasurable ways. Several other scholars who have been falsely accused of spying struggle to recount the emotional toll the incidents took on their families.

☆ Nobel Prize-winning physicist urges Italians to cook pasta with the stove off to save 8 minutes of gas and reduce soaring energy bills
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Expensive energy bills have pushed Italians to cook pasta with the stove switched off. Some chefs reportedly said pasta "will cook really badly" and turn sticky if the heat is turned off. Normally, the heat is kept at a constant high temperature when the pasta and water are in the pan on the stove. The pasta will cook in the pan with a lid on and should be left for an extra minute until it's ready. European governments and some businesses have since implemented various measures to try to reduce power consumption ahead of winter.

☆ How crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried survived the market wreckage and still expanded his empire
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Kate Rooney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

FTX also extended $500 million to struggling Voyager Digital, which later declared bankruptcy, and was in discussions to acquire South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb. While Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency exchange FTX is suffering from the downturn in digital assets, he said market share growth helped offset the pain. FTX Trading Ltd. is headquartered in Antigua, with FTX Derivatives Markets based in the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried lives. FTX Trading has acquired companies in Switzerland, Australia, Cyprus, Germany, Gibraltar, Singapore, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, among other countries. watch nowLike Buffett, Bankman-Fried signed the Giving Pledge: a promise by the world's wealthiest individuals to donate the majority of their wealth to charity.

☆ Elon Musk subpoenaed Stanford, which he attended for 2 days back in 1995 before dropping out, over an 'email account,' according to his lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-01 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk's legal team subpoenaed Stanford University on Wednesday in its Twitter court battle. Alex Spiro, Musk's attorney, told Insider the legal team was requesting "information regarding an email account" because "Twitter is hiding stuff." Spokespeople for Twitter and Stanford University did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication. "As far as I know, neither does Stanford," Professor William Nix told The Stanford Daily. Most recently, Musk's legal team is attempting to amend its initial counterclaims against Twitter's lawsuit and delay the trial.

☆ I went from designing Xbox video games at a Microsoft-backed studio to a software job at Citadel Securities. I was surprised at how many of my skills transferred over.
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-24 | by ( Carter Johnson | Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

William Archbell works in engineering at the market maker Citadel Securities. Archbell had previously designed video games for a Microsoft-backed gaming studio. I joined the market maker Citadel Securities as a senior software engineer last September, and moved from Santa Monica, California, to Chicago, Illinois. It's similar to Citadel Securities, where we take market data, we do research, and we run experiments to build tech that meets users' needs. But the difference is that at Citadel Securities, the key performance indicators are profit and loss.

☆ Google AI may not be sentient but it is really powerful. Here's how it might actually revolutionize the way we use technology.
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-04 | by ( Alex Kantrowitz | Big Technology | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

When I sat down with Blake Lemoine last week, I was more interested in the chatbot technology he called sentient — LaMDA — than the sentience issue itself. As our conversation began, Lemoine revealed Google had just fired him (you can listen in full on Big Technology Podcast). But now, one week later, I can't stop thinking about how LaMDA — conscious or not — might change the way we relate to technology. As LaMDA-like technology hits the market, it may change the way we interact with computers — and not just for customer service. LaMDA technology is a big leap forward.

☆ How to Shop for an Ergonomic Office Chair
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +11 min

Not only does it come in three sizes, but it is also exceptionally adjustable (think seat height, seat tilt, lumbar support and armrests). It’s an especially chic white ergonomic office chair option, but if you’re not loving the leatherette, spring for Italian leather instead (about $200 more). So Via, a Las Vegas-based manufacturer of commercial office furniture, introduced a handful of their made-in-the-U.S. ergonomic chairs to the home market. “It has been the greatest decision,” the designer says of her Herman Miller ergonomic chair. In a perfect world, you’ll find an ergonomic chair with adjustable armrests, but your desk can provide that arm support too.

☆ Meet 11 people leading the aviation industry's push to slash emissions and ditch fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-31 | by ( Maia Anderson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Experts have estimated that aviation is responsible for nearly 2% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and 2.5% of carbon-dioxide emissions. Some aviation giants, like United, are signing purchase agreements to buy electric aircraft. Today he serves as CEO and chairman of the company, which aims to be a pioneer in electric aircraft. In 2000 he founded Aviation Technology Group, which developed the ATG Javelin very light jet before ceasing operations in 2007. He is also a founding member of the Nordic Network for Electric Aviation.

☆ Pollution from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic's rockets could harm human health as well as Earth's climate, study says
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-19 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Fumes from SpaceX and Blue Origin's rockets could harm health and the climate, a study showed. It said the concentration of nitrogen oxides released by a rocket was "hazardous to human health." The rise in launches by commercial space firms may have a big impact on the climate, per the study. The increase in rocket launches by commercial space companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic "could have a significant cumulative effect on climate," the study said. Blue Origin is planning its fifth human flight to the edge of space in May after already launching its resuable New Shepard rocket in March.

☆ What causes road rage? Big, expensive cars.
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-12 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

The more expensive the car, the less likely the driver was to yield the right of way. Anecdotally and statistically, evidence is mounting that driving itself turns people into bad drivers — and that maybe pricier, fancier, bigger cars make them even worse. Making cars bigger made them deadlier. "They are in a bigger car," says Bart Claus, a marketing researcher at IÉSEG School of Management in France who was one of the paper's authors. The only way to fix the fact that cars make us unsafe is to reduce the number of cars.

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