NASA still hasn't decided on how Boeing Starliner astronauts will return.

But recent developments, and NASA's mention of an "unsuited return" have led to a lot of questions about why the launch and entry suits aren't compatible between Boeing and SpaceX. Let's dive into what that unsuited return means, how launch and entry suits are used, and why NASA didn't mandate compatibility here.

#space #starliner #boeing #spacex #nasa #iss

youtu.be/pFjOIf8Kd5I

Why didn't NASA make Boeing and SpaceX's spacesuits compatible?

NASA still hasn't decided whether Boeing Starliner astronauts will return on their original spacecraft or a SpaceX Crew Dragon. But recent developments, and ...

^YouTube

From our President: Hello BITS Family:

BITS Microsoft Office Fall 2024 Training Course

For JAWS or NVDA BITS members who are interested in enhancing their skills with Microsoft Office. The BITS Education team is excited to announce a new weekly class beginning September 9. This Class meets every Monday via Zoom from 7:30 to 9:30 PM EST. We plan the course until November 25, 2024. We may extend class dates into December if we feel the pace needs to be adjusted.

The course provides in-depth instruction on using Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint with screen readers. The course textbook is the third edition of David Kingsbury’s book, “The Windows Screen Reader Primer: All the Basics and More,” which can be downloaded from:
The Carroll Center. This book is also available on Bookshare. David Kingsbury, who is an experienced assistive technology instructor at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Massachusetts, serves as the primary instructor.
The first session on September 9, 2024 covers class logistics, provides an overview of The Windows Screen Reader Primer’s content, teaches students to navigate it and answers student questions about the course.

Subsequent sessions cover:

• File management with Windows 10 and 11,
• Edit, format and proof Word documents,
• Use the Outlook desktop client to manage messages,
• Excel basic and intermediate tools to create spreadsheets, and
• Create visually appealing PowerPoint presentations.

Regular class assignments and office hours are integral parts of the course. All class sessions are recorded and shared with students, so you have these as additional reference materials.

Whether you are a beginner or looking to enhance your skills, this class is for you.

To reserve your place, please sign up using this form. The URL for this form is:

bits-acb.org/office

Note: You must be a current BITS member to attend the course.
To join Bits visit: joinbits.org

Level crossing in the GB operated by a human operator, looking carefully if the crossing is clear using CCTV, closing the barriers, double checking that it is still clear and then finally signalling proceed to the train. 🙄

And I always thought it is the train which has priority on a level crossing, not the other way around.

youtu.be/UCXav-ptPeA?si=0L_LYr… (time 09:55)

Why Do We Still Have Semaphore Signals?

Network Rail invited me to take a tour of signalling through the decades, starting with the Littlehampton Signal Box - still operating semaphore signals - th...

^YouTube

How 12,000 Tonnes of Dumped Orange Peel Grew Into a Landscape Nobody Expected to Find

‘"This is one of the only instances I've ever heard of where you can have cost-negative carbon sequestration," says ecologist Timothy Treuer from Princeton University.’

sciencealert.com/how-12-000-to…

How 12,000 Tonnes of Dumped Orange Peel Grew Into a Landscape Nobody Expected to Find : ScienceAlert

An experimental conservation project that was abandoned and almost forgotten about, has ended up producing an amazing ecological win nearly two decades after it was dreamt up.

^{Peter Dockrill (ScienceAlert)}

A Sunday morning article on COVID in New Zealand

rnz.co.nz/news/covid-19/525469…

Reading it the key messages seem to be:

* Only those who are vulnerable really feel the effects of it.

* No mention of long COVID and the health complications we know can come from infection.

* It’s just sniffles we have to get used to

It’s minimising, and an ableist + eugenicist take on it all.

[Book Review] Witchcraft on a Shoestring takes the reader through a fun and engaging journey of magical practices that don’t require expensive tools or materials. Readers will have a magical time creating spells, divinations, and even recipes that cost little to no money, which reminds us that we don’t need fancy items to practice the Craft; all we need is a little imagination!

wildhunt.org/2024/08/review-wi…

#budget #witchcraft #bookreview #moneymagic #deborahblake #pagan

Review: Witchcraft on a Shoestring, Deborah Blake

Witchcraft on a Shoestring takes the reader through a fun and engaging journey of magical practices that don't require expensive tools or materials.

^{Alan U. Dalul (The Wild Hunt)}

#AndroidAppRain at apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid today brings you 5 updated and 1 added app:

As @organicmaps was kicked out of PlayStore, I decided to make an exception adding it to #IzzyOnDroid despite of being twice the per-app size limit. It's the "web" variant that comes with (part of) GMS inside for network location. As there are other apps at F-Droid and IoD supporting network location without GMS, I hope to help OM to get rid of this NonFreeComp, though.

Welcome aboard IoD, OrganicMaps!

IzzyOnDroid F-Droid Repository

This is a repository of apps to be used with F-Droid. Applications in this repository are official binaries built by the original application developers, taken from their resp. repositories (mostly Github, GitLab, Codeberg).

^{IzzyOnDroid App Repo}

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Systems Like Starlink Cause Environmental Harm Regulators Didn’t Prepare For

Last June scientists warned that low-Earth orbit ( #LEO ) satellites constantly burning up in orbit could release chemicals that could undermine the progress we’ve made repairing the #ozone #layer.

Researchers at USC noted that at peak, 1,005 U.S. tons of aluminum will fall to Earth,
releasing ♦️397 U.S. tons of aluminum oxides ♦️per year to the atmosphere, an
💥increase of 646% over natural levels. 💥

Numerous companies, most notably Elon Musk’s #Starlink and Jeff Bezos’ #Blue #Origin,
are working on launching tens of thousands of small LEO satellites in the coming years.

A new report by U.S. PIRG adds to concerns that these launches haven’t been thought through environmentally,
noting that the disposable nature of such satellites means ♦️29 tons of satellites ♦️will re-enter our atmosphere every day at peak.

After years of delays, the FCC did recently release rules requiring that satellites be removed from orbit within five years to help minimize “space junk.”

But the organization notes that very little if any thought was given by innovation-cowed regulators toward the 🔸environmental impact of so many smaller satellites constantly burning up in orbit:🔸

“We shouldn’t rush into deploying an untested and under-researched technology into new environments without comprehensive review.

Over just five years Starlink has launched more than 6,000 units and now make up more than 60% of all satellites.

The new space race took off faster than governments were able to act.”

The steady launches are also a notable pollution concern, the report notes,
releasing ♦️“soot in the atmosphere equivalent to 7 million diesel dump trucks circling the globe, each year.”

#SpaceX has consistently played fast and loose with #environmental #regulations,
with regulators even in lax Texas starting to give the company grief for releasing significant #pollutants into nearby bodies of water.

techdirt.com/2024/08/16/report…

Report: Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Systems Like Starlink Cause Environmental Harm Regulators Didn’t Prepare For

Last June scientists warned that low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites constantly burning up in orbit could release chemicals that could undermine the progress we’ve made repairing the ozone layer. Rese…

^Techdirt

Everyone who builds web applications should read the Reckoning series by @slightlyoff infrequently.org/series/reckon…

My own notes here, but you should work through the entire thing: simonwillison.net/2024/Aug/18/…

Seriously, take a look at the case-study in which the California food stamps signup site takes 29.5s to become interactive on a slow rural mobile connection, and tell me we don't urgently need to do better! infrequently.org/2024/08/objec…

Reckoning: Part 2 — Object Lesson

SNAP benefits sites for more than 20% of Americans are unusably slow. All of them would be significantly faster if states abandoned client-side-rendering, and along with it, the legacy JavaScript frameworks (React, Angular, etc.

^{Alex Russell}

"Parking your 2 ton death machine's hood over the pavement like an arsehole."

submitted by u/juoig7799
redd.it/1ev3sol
#fuckcars

Piešťanské zábaly... nie, nebol som sa rochniť v bahne - bol som si vychutnať trochu kultúry na prvom ročníku tohto divadeľného festivalu. Štvordňový vstup by bol na mňa trochu moc, ale žiaden problém - na každé predstavenie sa dal kúpiť lístok osve. Bolo to super, a to množstvo ľudí, ktorí prejavili záujem o takéto podujatie, bolo ohromujúce aj pre usporiadateľov.

Jediný zlý bod boli, samozrejme, ľudia. Ani to, že si kúpite celodenný lístok na divadelný festival z vás kultúrneho človeka neurobí. Dupľom nie, ak sa vám počas celého predstavenia nezavrú ústa a na slušné upozornenie, či by sa vám lepšie nerozprávalo hneď vedľa v kaviarni iba tupo konštatujete, že tu sa vám dobre rozpráva...

#piestany #divadlo #kultura #nekultura

When writing an email do you use 'I hope this email finds you well'❓

And how would you think people look like when they actually get your email⁉️

#emailwriting#emailmemes#findsyouwell#tuta#tutamail