Prices of the electricity we use to charge

[lenny]

Watch: Footage appears to show sonic weapon used on protesters in Serbia
Belgrade’s authoritarian president denies security forces deployed a ‘sound cannon’ to disperse crowds

Watch: Footage appears to show sonic weapon used on protesters in Serbia

Belgrade’s authoritarian president denies security forces deployed a ‘sound cannon’ to disperse crowds

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[lenny]

For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids

For climate and livelihoods, Africa bets big on solar mini-grids

Nigeria is pioneering the development of small, off-grid solar panel installations to bring reliable electricity to remote communities — setting a model for other African countries

knowablemagazine.org

 

[lenny]

Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft

Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft

When a spacecraft is too far from the Sun to use solar panels, it needs a different reliable source of power.

theconversation.com

 

[lenny]

NASA space observatory poised to launch on a mission to map 450 million galaxies
NASA's SPHEREx mission is expected to map the entire sky four times over two years, offering a window into how the universe came to be.

NASA space observatory poised to launch on a mission to map 450 million galaxies

NASA's SPHEREx mission is expected to map the entire sky four times over two years, offering a window into how the universe came to be.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[lenny]

Personal Information on Nearly All Internet Users
The advertising industry is immensely powerful, and disturbingly opaque.

Data Broker Brags About Having Highly Detailed Personal Information on Nearly All Internet Users

The advertising industry is immensely powerful, and disturbingly opaque.

gizmodo.com

 

[lenny]

Kissing moons may explain why Earth's moon is so large
Scientists think the larger moons of Pluto and Earth formed through a collisional process.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/kissing-moons-may-explain-why-earth-s-moon-is-so-large-1.7428016

 

[lenny]

Forget about rare earth minerals. We need more copper

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/16/nx-s1-5327095/copper-rare-earth-minerals-mining-electronics

 

[lenny]

Why Mercedes Is Putting Transmissions in Its EVs—Starting With the CLA
The CLA's two-speed gearbox adds cost, but Mercedes told The Drive that the investment is worth it, especially at highway speeds.

Why Mercedes Is Putting Transmissions in Its EVs—Starting With the CLA

The CLA's two-speed gearbox adds cost, but Mercedes told The Drive that the investment is worth it, especially at highway speeds.

www.thedrive.com

 

[lenny]

BYD unveils battery system that charges EVs in five minutes

BYD unveils battery system that charges EVs in five minutes

The speeds would be comfortably ahead of Tesla’s Superchargers, which can add up to 275 kilometers of range in 15 minutes.

fortune.com

 

[lenny]

Tesla fans expose Tesla’s own shadiness in attempt to defend Autopilot crash

Tesla fans expose Tesla's own shadiness in attempt to defend Autopilot crash

A group of Tesla fans and investors has inadvertently exposed Tesla’s shadiness regarding crashes involving Autopilot by attempting to claim...

electrek.co

 

[lenny]

World’s first steam-powered piston system sparks nuclear fusion plasma in Canada
A single MTF power plant can supply power to 150,000 homes while being close to energy demand and minimizing transmission losses.
In a global first, Richmond, Canada-headquartered fusion energy company General Fusion achieved the first-ever plasma in a reactor driven by steam. This feat was achieved in the latest iteration of its prototype nuclear reactor, the Lawson Machine 26 (LM26), a press release said.

Steam-powered piston system sparks nuclear fusion plasma in Canada

Canadian nuclear fusion company uses Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) approach to achieve its first plasma, 23 years after it was founded.

interestingengineering.com

 

[lenny]

Buy, Borrow, Die
How to be a billionaire and pay no taxes
"America’s superrich have always found ways to avoid paying taxes, but in recent years, they’ve discovered what might be the mother of all loopholes. It’s a three-step process called “Buy, Borrow, Die,” and it allows people to amass a huge fortune, spend as much of it as they want, and pass the rest—untaxed—on to their heirs. The technique is so cleverly designed that the standard wish list of progressive tax reforms would leave it completely intact."
"Much of the debate around American tax policy focuses on the income-tax rate paid by the very wealthiest Americans. But the bulk of those people’s fortunes doesn’t qualify as income in the first place. A 2021 ProPublica investigation of the private tax records of America’s 25 richest individuals found that they collectively paid an effective tax rate of just 3.4 percent on their total wealth gain from 2014 to 2018. Musk paid 3.3 percent, Jeff Bezos 1 percent, and Buffett—who has famously argued for imposing higher income-tax rates on the superrich—just 0.1 percent. "

Buy, Borrow, Die

How to be a billionaire and pay no taxes

www.theatlantic.com

 

[lenny]

Nanoscale tweaks help alloy withstand high-speed impacts

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-03-nanoscale-tweaks-alloy-high-impacts.html

 

[lenny]

Alexa’s Privacy Backtrack: Amazon Pushes All Voice Data to the Cloud
Amazon is stripping away a key privacy safeguard, forcing every Alexa request through its servers.

Alexa’s Privacy Backtrack: Amazon Pushes All Voice Data to the Cloud

Amazon is stripping away a key privacy safeguard, forcing every Alexa request through its servers.

reclaimthenet.org

China Made a Spy Camera That Can See Faces from Space

China Made a Spy Camera That Can See Faces from Space

"This isn’t just about seeing a satellite -- it’s about reading its serial numbers."

petapixel.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance

 

[lenny]

Athena spacecraft declared dead after toppling over on moon

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/07/athena-spacecraft-mission-dead

 

[lenny]

Amateur Telescope Making Main Page

Stellafane ATM Main Page

Stellafane, Home of the Springfield Telescope Makers Inc., Springfield, Vermont, USA, Amatuer Telescope Making

stellafane.org

 

[lenny]

D-Wave quantum annealers solve problems classical algorithms struggle with
The latest claim of a clear quantum supremacy solves a useful problem.

D-Wave quantum annealers solve problems classical algorithms struggle with

The latest claim of a clear quantum supremacy solves a useful problem.

arstechnica.com

 

[lenny]

Hatching a Conspiracy: A BIG Investigation into Egg Prices
'More hens, less income!' So said the United Egg Producers' economist Donald Bell in 1994. The industry has gotten more consolidated ever since. And avian flu is just the latest excuse to hike prices.

Hatching a Conspiracy: A BIG Investigation into Egg Prices

'More hens, less income!' So said the United Egg Producers' economist Donald Bell in 1994. The industry has gotten more consolidated ever since. And avian flu is just the latest excuse to hike prices.

www.thebignewsletter.com

 

[lenny]

How the U.S. is confronting the threat posed by drones swarming sensitive national security sites

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/drone-swarms-national-security-60-minutes-transcript/

 

[lenny]

Kill your Feeds - Stop letting algorithms dictate how you think

Kill your Feeds - Stop letting algorithms dictate how you think

usher.dev