Interesting, Non Political News

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Erronius

Macho Ma'am
<Gold Donor>
16,456
42,340
sounds like he was just caught up in it cuz all the employees were dealin?

I don't know, man, but when I read your post and went to look deeper, I ran across this gem:

1671758684078.png
 

Mahes

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
4,621
5,216
it's kansas, sooner or later someone will get charged with zoophilia
I was going to respond with a " But he is not in Kansas anymore...when I realized you might be confusing the state with the city in Missouri.
 

Big Phoenix

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
<Gold Donor>
44,362
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The elistist pieces of shit are seriously rustled by AI. Kickstarter has banned projects involving AI after a stable diffusion fork that was supposed to be stable diffusion without any retarded sjw restrictions on it tried to crowdfund on Kickstarter;


These people where fine when automation and machines destroyed the value of manual/hard labor, but the second the it looks like "skilled" labor might be going the same way thats the worst thing ever. All these artist acting like theyre the ones to discover the rule of thirds so how dare AI exist.
 
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Lanx

Oye Ve
<Prior Amod>
60,072
131,369
I was going to respond with a " But he is not in Kansas anymore...when I realized you might be confusing the state with the city in Missouri.
ks/mo practically the same, just have to decide which side has the wider ppl
 
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Kuro

Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
8,264
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The elistist pieces of shit are seriously rustled by AI. Kickstarter has banned projects involving AI after a stable diffusion fork that was supposed to be stable diffusion without any retarded sjw restrictions on it tried to crowdfund on Kickstarter;


These people where fine when automation and machines destroyed the value of manual/hard labor, but the second the it looks like "skilled" labor might be going the same way thats the worst thing ever. All these artist acting like theyre the ones to discover the rule of thirds so how dare AI exist.
My Facebook feed is full of nerds screaming about AI art being theft... Who proxy their Magic cards and buy Russian Recasts of their models.
 
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Mahes

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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The tumble weed is both cool and kind of scary at the same time.

The river is WTF? I would have never guessed that was a natural occurrence. That is indeed beautiful.
 

Control

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
2,097
5,211
Of all of the ways clownworld could end, I think this is my favorite:

Every politician and media outlet for the last 40 years (at least): "If we don't stop global warming, the entire earth will die and fall in the ocean by 2012! Please give us money and power so we can fix it!"

Startup: "Hey! You know, we could pump some shit in the air and fix this problem for like $3.50..."

Politicians/media: "Hold up a sec, that sounds risky! and also like it would keep people from giving us money..."

Startup: "Risky!? You've been dicking around for 40 years and trillions of dollars when the earth is like 20 years overdue for falling in the ocean!! How can anything be more risky than that!"

Politicians/media: "BUT MUH CONSENSUS!"

Startup: "Fuck it, I'm pushing the button this weekend."

A handful of true believers spawning an insta-ice-age for relative pocketchange... /chefskiss.gif
 
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Gask

Bronze Baron of the Realm
11,732
44,084
The winter bomb cyclone dumping snow and cold weather across the country hit Buffalo and Western New York hard. The area faced hurricane force winds and snow leading to whiteout conditions. Despite the sad stories of damage, fatalities and looting, there are heartwarming stories coming out as well.

Twitter user Kimberly La Russa shared the beautiful story of a 64 year old mentally disabled man, Joey, who was saved from the frigid conditions, and probable death, by a kind stranger, Sha’Kyra Aughtry.

“Hi, you don't know me but I have your brother.” The woman’s brother’s name is Joey. He is 64 years old and mentally disabled. Joey’s sister says Sha’Kyra saved her brother’s life.
 
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Gask

Bronze Baron of the Realm
11,732
44,084
A good piece on food additives and how they may be impacting our health by the Epoch Times.
 
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Gask

Bronze Baron of the Realm
11,732
44,084
Previously disregarded as merely evidence of sloppy mixing practices, or poor-quality raw materials, the new study suggests that these tiny lime clasts gave the concrete a previously unrecognized self-healing capability. “The idea that the presence of these lime clasts was simply attributed to low quality control always bothered me,” says Masic. “If the Romans put so much effort into making an outstanding construction material, following all of the detailed recipes that had been optimized over the course of many centuries, why would they put so little effort into ensuring the production of a well-mixed final product? There has to be more to this story.”

Upon further characterization of these lime clasts, using high-resolution multiscale imaging and chemical mapping techniques pioneered in Masic’s research lab, the researchers gained new insights into the potential functionality of these lime clasts.

Historically, it had been assumed that when lime was incorporated into Roman concrete, it was first combined with water to form a highly reactive paste-like material, in a process known as slaking. But this process alone could not account for the presence of the lime clasts. Masic wondered: “Was it possible that the Romans might have actually directly used lime in its more reactive form, known as quicklime?”

Studying samples of this ancient concrete, he and his team determined that the white inclusions were, indeed, made out of various forms of calcium carbonate. And spectroscopic examination provided clues that these had been formed at extreme temperatures, as would be expected from the exothermic reaction produced by using quicklime instead of, or in addition to, the slaked lime in the mixture. Hot mixing, the team has now concluded, was actually the key to the super-durable nature.

“The benefits of hot mixing are twofold,” Masic says. “First, when the overall concrete is heated to high temperatures, it allows chemistries that are not possible if you only used slaked lime, producing high-temperature-associated compounds that would not otherwise form. Second, this increased temperature significantly reduces curing and setting times since all the reactions are accelerated, allowing for much faster construction.”

During the hot mixing process, the lime clasts develop a characteristically brittle nanoparticulate architecture, creating an easily fractured and reactive calcium source, which, as the team proposed, could provide a critical self-healing functionality. As soon as tiny cracks start to form within the concrete, they can preferentially travel through the high-surface-area lime clasts. This material can then react with water, creating a calcium-saturated solution, which can recrystallize as calcium carbonate and quickly fill the crack, or react with pozzolanic materials to further strengthen the composite material. These reactions take place spontaneously and therefore automatically heal the cracks before they spread. Previous support for this hypothesis was found through the examination of other Roman concrete samples that exhibited calcite-filled cracks.

To prove that this was indeed the mechanism responsible for the durability of the Roman concrete, the team produced samples of hot-mixed concrete that incorporated both ancient and modern formulations, deliberately cracked them, and then ran water through the cracks. Sure enough: Within two weeks the cracks had completely healed and the water could no longer flow. An identical chunk of concrete made without quicklime never healed, and the water just kept flowing through the sample. As a result of these successful tests, the team is working to commercialize this modified cement material.
 
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Wingz

Being Poor Sucks.
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It was only 15 years ago today that launched the device that changed the world at the Mac Center.

 
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