"Give the audience 40 minutes of astronomy and there would be no audience. It has to be a combination of science and showmanship. If there's a sunrise, we furnish appropriate sunrise music."—Joseph M. Chamberlain, who died this week at age 88. His work advanced astronomical education and entertainment "by leading planetariums in New York and Chicago into a new era of technology, instruction and visitor experience."
Joseph M. Chamberlain, pioneer of planetarium shows, has died
Elderly woman hit with recurring subscription after asking voice assistant to say the Hail Mary
An old lady in England got a voice assistant as a gift. A devout Catholic, she asked it to say the Hail Mary. Delighted when it did so, she made it a daily habit. And Amazon was charging her for it, writes Patrick Collinson, her son. She had "unwittingly ordered" a subscription for an app… READ THE REST
California's net neutrality law survives courtroom challenge
As Ars Technica puts it, "ISPs can't find any judges who will block California's Net Neutrality law", and it's not like they haven't been shopping hard. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted for federal net neutrality rules in 2015 and opposed their repeal in 2017, applauded yesterday's court decision."This is big. Because when the FCC… READ THE REST
The mystery of ⍼, a Unicode character of unknown purpose
⍼, "RIGHT ANGLE WITH DOWNWARDS ZIGZAG ARROW", is a Unicode character of uncertain origin. It may be summoned as the HTML entity ⍼. Jonathan Chan set out to uncover its mysterious purpose, a journey that led way back to Unicode's own antecedents. The meaning of ⍼ will be whatever meaning is assigned by whoever uses… READ THE REST
Channel your inner rock god and help a worthy cause with this guitar accessory
Whether it's Jimmy Page, Slash, or Jimi Hendrix, watching your favorite rocker can make those fantastic guitar riffs sound easy. But if you've ever picked up a guitar before, you know that acquiring those skills is easier said than done. It takes a lot of practice, a few calluses, and serious dedication to sound the way… READ THE REST
Invest in your kids' education and those in need with these great e-learning programs
As summer comes to an end, getting your kids excited about their education can be as hard as convincing them to eat some broccoli along with their pizza. But with helpful — and dare we say fun — e-learning programs, your kids can fully immerse themselves in their creativity, critical thinking skills, and more, and they can… READ THE REST
Step out in style with these waterproof hemp sneakers
Being comfortable when you travel is one of the simplest and most important ways to make any trip easier. And by any trip, that means a trip around the world or even a trip to the grocery store. The most effective way to get more comfortable is with a durable, supportive, and ideally stylish shoe. This hemp sneaker has… READ THE REST
