Valerie Hansen has a new book just out: THE YEAR 1000: When Explorers Connected the World — and Globalization Began.  New York:  Scribner, 2020. A NYT review of Hansen's landmark volume is copied below, but let's first look at some interesting language notes concerning the background of the word for "slave" (Chapter 4 is on […]

Today's xkcd: Mouseover title: "Type IIII error: Mistaking tally marks for Roman neumerals" [sic] I was going to ask for your favorite (quasi-)scientific error examples, but then I realized that this just an inventory of testing-result types, so that things like p-hacking, file-drawer phenomena, confirmation bias, etc., are in a different space.

Something extraordinary happened on May 4, 2020.  Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger delivered an extremely impressive speech in virtually flawless Mandarin.  Here it is: Here's the transcript of Pottinger's speech (pdf), the formal English title of which is "Reflections on China's May Fourth Movement: an American Perspective — Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger to […]

Hi guys,  I don’t know what happened to all of my recent messages, I am guessing that the Clouds were at their nasty work again – stealing!  So I am going to write more and you write me back ok? Well I just got back from one of my favorite little planets, planet Earth.  I […]

Zombie Strippers has got to be hands down one of the cheesiet, oddest, zombie movies movies I have ever seen

When it comes to how to get website traffic, not all traffic types are equal and hold the same value. Many who are new to websites or blogs think that all traffic is one and the same. And while the number of visits might look good you have to actually look at the numbers to see the real story behind those numbers. This is one reason why using sites like Google Analytics or other traffic stat sites is important when it comes to unstanding what kind of traffic your getting. To understand if the traffic you’re getting is good or not you have to know what types of traffic are out there, they are 1. Social Traffic 2. Paid Traffic 3. Word Of Mouth 4. Search Traffic 5. Return Traffic

It used to be that if you wanted to rank well you only had one search to target, which was the main search page. It didn’t matter if you were going to share content with Google or another search engine. If you wanted to rank for a specific keyword or phrase you cold only do this through SERP’s. Fortunately those days are long gone and site owners can promote their content through a number of different channels. The search engines are very hungry for this kind of content, especially Google which is…….well a total whore when it comes to vertical search content.

Nobody likes a slow internet browser; frankly it’s a royal pain in the ass. We have better things to do then sitting around waiting for a page to load only to stair at a blank page. When it comes to slow internet browsers Internet Explorer has a history of being slow and clunky even with the best connection possible. Even their latest update Internet Explorer 9 is still much slower then browsers like Google Chrome or Firefox............

Having a slow internet connection is a pain in the ass. I hate waiting for pages that seem to take forever to load, videos that constantly buffer, and browsers that fail because it takes too long to open a web page. It’s frustrating and I have better things to do just like you, then sitting around losing my mind because my internet speed is slower then the second coming of Christ. So I put together a list of 10 things you can do to speed up your internet...............

Looks like the powers that be at Google are launching yet another free web tool you can use to help boost your sites performance. Google page speed is Google’s latest free tool, it’s purpose……well simply put it helps make your web pages load faster.........

So your website loads slower then old people Fu%@ing. Nobody likes a slow website, not the search bots, and especially not people who will leave rather then wait for a page that takes forever to load, let’s be honest our attention span is getting shorter all the time. On top of that Google’s recent Panda update looks at a sites load time to determine where it’s going to site in search results, either way you look at it your website loading time is a big deal............ So how do you speed up your website loading time? Here’s a list of 10 tips for optimizing your website to load faster.........

1. Coronavirus found in sperm after men’s recovery, research finds  7NEWS.com.au
2. New study finds coronavirus in semen  Body and Soul
3. Urgent Warning For Covid-19 Patients After Virus Found In Semen Of Some Recovered Men  10 daily
4. Coronavirus Has Apparently Been Detected In Semen  Rolling Stone
5. Coronavirus Has Been Detected in Semen, So What Does That Mean for Sex?  Prevention.com
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. In pictures: Last supermoon of 2020 rises on a world grappling to overcome pandemic  DAWN.com
2. May's flower moon lights up the sky around the globe  ABC News
3. Hurry up: Last chance to see a supermoon this year  Euronews
4. Last supermoon of the year, Photos News & Top Stories  The Straits Times
5. Stunning supermoon lights up New Zealand's skies overnight  New Zealand Herald
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Axed Western Force to rejoin Aussie rugby competition in July  PerthNow
2. New Zealand plotting stunning multi-billion dollar escape from World Rugby  Fox Sports
3. RA to ditch Super Rugby?  RugbyPass
4. Forget the Kiwis, Australian rugby's future is local  Sydney Morning Herald
5. Half of New Zealand Rugby staff face redundancy amid $NZ7m lockdown loss  The Guardian
6. View Full coverage on Google News

Playing to 130,000 online, with a virtual tip jar: Performers adapt to life under coronavirus  ABC News

1. Should You Get A Nintendo Switch Lite If You Can’t Find Switch Availability? It Depends  Forbes
2. Nintendo Switch Lite is in stock at Amazon and Best Buy: Latest inventory update  CNET
3. Best Switch Games So Far In 2020  Trusted Reviews
4. Nintendo Switch Capture Cards: How to Record Video of Your Gameplay  Screen Rant
5. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Early superannuation withdrawals frozen as hacking fallout revealed  Daily Telegraph
2. Calls for better superannuation protection  Busselton Dunsborough Mail
3. AFP investigating 'sophisticated' theft of $120,000 from 150 super accounts  Sydney Morning Herald
4. Is your super payout at risk? Thousands drained by fraudsters in COVID scam  7NEWS.com.au
5. Police confirm up to 150 victims of early super access fraud  The New Daily
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Grimes, Elon Musk romance on the rocks before birth of their son, sources say  PerthNow
2. Elon Musk bought properties around him because people use to climb walls to break in  NEWS.com.au
3. Grimes and Elon Musk Have a Difference of X Æ A-12 Pronunciation Opinion  Vanity Fair
4. How to pronounce X Æ A-12? Elon Musk explains  Hindustan Times
5. Elon Musk and Grimes reveal how to pronounce their baby’s name ‘X Æ A-12’  7NEWS.com.au
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Second White House staffer has coronavirus after Donald Trump's personal valet was infected  SBS News
2. Donald Trump 'not worried' about coronavirus spread in White House after Mike Pence's press secretary tests positive  ABC News
3. Coronavirus US: Second White House staffer catches COVID-19  NEWS.com.au
4. Member of Mike Pence's staff tests positive for coronavirus  Sydney Morning Herald
5. Coronavirus is still ravaging the US. Donald Trump's campaign ads would make you think otherwise  ABC News
6. View Full coverage on Google News

1. Queen Elizabeth's VE Day speech says veterans would be proud of coronavirus effort today  ABC News
2. Queen’s VE Day TV address: Tells Brits to ‘never give up’  NEWS.com.au
3. 'Streets filled with love': The Queen gets personal in VE Day broadcast  Sydney Morning Herald
4. King George VI VE Day speech: Read poignant message 'Our will-power is inexhaustible'  Express
5. A message of hope in difficult times  Telegraph.co.uk
6. View Full coverage on Google News

Guinness World Records has named a South African restaurant as the official titleholder for 'Most Varieties of Milkshakes Commercially Available'.

Air travelers cannot receive cash compensation if their flight is delayed by a passenger biting others and assaulting crew members, an adviser at the Court of Justice of the European Union said on Thursday.

Worried about whether you have enough toilet paper for the coronavirus lockdown? A German website can tell you how long your supply will last.

Volunteers clad as Superman and Spider-Man sprayed disinfectant against the coronavirus on Indonesia's island of Java, flanking a colleague wearing the winged helmet of local superhero Gatotkaca who shouted, "Wear masks, wash hands and stay alert."

Chewy and Miley, both two-year-old Schnauzer dogs, are getting their hair cut at a groomer in Bangkok for the first time since the new coronavirus outbreak began in Thailand in January.

A trooper stopping a car with a suspected "impaired driver" on a U.S. highway on Monday was bemused to find a 5-year-old in the driver's seat, the Utah Highway Patrol tweeted.

As Thailand's capital cautiously reopens many restaurants shuttered over coronavirus fears, the feline "employees" of the Caturday Cafe are back at work.

The 'Curtain of Distraction' is well known at Arizona State University as a hilarious sports tactic. This time Michael Phelps came out Magic Mike style to prevent a few free throws. Just look at those sweet moves, the opposing team was bound to miss. 

Frank Lee designed this gigantic version of Tetris for Philly Tech Week 2014 in Pennsylvania.

Chelsea is currently sitting at the tip of the Premier League’s bottom half of the table. It is not a..

The post Frank Lampard’s Top 3 Performances for Chelsea appeared first on Chelsea FC Blog.

Given recent news, we felt compelled to share a couple of tips with our readers. Consider them to be ocean pro-moves.

Mother’s Day is coming up this weekend and, for a lot of us, it’s an event that won’t be like normal. The possibility of many Mother’s Day traditions, like a nice dinner at a restaurant, isn’t even possible in many areas, and social distancing closes the door on many ideas, whether it’s enforced in your area or not. So, what options are there for Mother’s Day that don’t involve just ordering a gift online somewhere and having it shipped to […]

The post 12 Inexpensive and Thoughtful Mother’s Day Gifts appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Many Americans — and people all across the world — are facing a personal finance apocalypse right now. A lot of people are dealing with a sudden job loss or a major cut in hours. Some people are riding out unemployment insurance, while others may not even have that. Many people are facing unexpected and sudden medical expenses. If you add that to the fact that almost four in five Americans were living paycheck to paycheck before coronavirus arrived on […]

The post How To Handle a Personal Finance Apocalypse appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

"New England nautical vintage cottage" is the soothing style we all need right now. READ MORE...

Relativistic length contraction is theoretically predicted but not directly tested, which lead to incorrect interpretation of the theory illustrated by Bell’s spaceship paradox and Ehrenfest paradox. But these paradoxes can help us designing experiments to test length contraction. Ideal direct experimental proof should contain the following steps: 1. Measure the tested object’s length at rest,...

Length contraction is used to explain Michelson–Morley experiment. A Michelson interferometer is formed by 2 perpendicular arms. The journey of light along the vertical arm gives the time dilation law. The journey of light along the horizontal arm gives the length contraction law. The derivation scheme of the length contraction law is: 1. The time...

In a preprint Double-graded quantum superplane, Steven Duplij and I construct a “higher” graded version of Manin’s quantum superplane. To our knowledge, this is the first quantum space that has an underlying $latex mathbb{Z}_2^2$-grading. Outline The hunt was on to find a direct generalisation of Manin’s superplane [1] to the setting of $latex mathbb{Z}_2^2$-geometry [2]....

The short preprint The super-Sasaki metric on the antitangent bundle, has now been extensivly rewriten and improved. I wrote about the first draft here. One of the major improvments is that I now clearly link the construction to almost Hermitian manifolds, although the almost complex structure plays no direct role in the lifting the metric...

There are 2 types of length contraction, the physical meaning of each is explained below with the help of the example shown in Figure 1. The Earth and the star are stationary and the spaceship mobile. The 2 types of length contraction are: 1) Object contraction: In the frame of the Earth the length of...

Sarah Mitchell Programme Director for the Active and Independent Living Improvement Programme and Susan Kelso AHP Lead for Early Intervention (Scottish Government) spoke to Iriss.fm about the programme and the LifeCurve Survey.

The Active and Independent Living Improvement Programme (AILIP) was officially launched on April 26th by Shona Robison MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. The vision for Scotland as outlined in the Health and Social care Delivery Plan is to have a Scotland with high quality services that have a focus on prevention, early intervention and supported self management.

The AILIP will be a key contributor to delivering that vision.

Transcript of episode

Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free

The launch of PAssport to Independent Living (PDF), a published collection of stories written by Personal Assistants (PA) about their experiences of what it's like to work as a Personal Assistant in Scotland took place on 31 October 2017 in Glasgow.

The project was supported by Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (GCIL), the Workers Education Association (WEA) and Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

Before hearing from the Personal Assistants, Mandy, Lizzie and Susan, we spoke to Lilian Smith, SDS Development Coordinator at Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living; and Sharon Ledger, Education Co-ordinator at Worker's Educational Association, who give us some background on the project, information about the PA Network Scotland and the intentions of the publication.

The SSSC offered support through Open Badges. We heard from Yvonne and Alison who told us about the work of the SSSC, and what Open Badges are and how they can be acquired.

Transcript of episode

Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke For Free